Sketches of the campaign in northern Mexico : in eighteen hundred forty-six and seven / by an officer of the First Regiment of Ohio volunteers.

TAYLOR ENCAMPS OPPOSITE MATAMOROS. 15
sor to break up his camp at Corpus Christi, and march to the
left bank of that river. If, as many have supposed, the design of this movement was simply to quicken the tardy pace
of M exican diplomacy, an unfortunate mistake was evidentl?
committed in estimating the means necessary to aceomplisl
that object. The little army of three thousand men, whicl:
General Taylor displayed upon the frontier, rather invite*i
than averted the threatened war. In the presence of a largeforce, it is by no means certain that Paredes, the Dictator o:6 the magnanimous Mexican nation," would have ventured
to authorize those bold and offensive operations which led so
suddenly to the first shock of arms.
On the 11th of March, General Taylor marched from Cor.
pus Christi. In the latter part of the same month, afte3
establishing a depot at Point Isabel, he encamped opposite
Matamoros; the garrison of which fown was soon afterwards
reinforced by a strong division of troops from the interior,
under General Arista. From.that camp, which the Americans
hastened to fortify, " the flag of the stars " was unfurled; and
the Mexican authorities were informed that the United States
claimed all the territory north of the Rio Grande. There,
and then, too, was begun that military correspondence in which
the American general proved himself an accomplished master,
and by which, no less than by his valor and humanity, he
won the admiration of his countrymen.
In the following month (April, 1846) were shed the first
red drops of the long impending storm, which, it was even
then hoped, would pass away like an April cloud. The Mex.
ican cavalry, having crossed the river, succeeded in killing