When the first call for troops was made it was understood that they would be used to guard the overland mail route, via Salt Lake. But it was afterwards decided to use them for an invasion of the State of Texas by the way of Sonora and Chihuahua, landing at Mazatlan or Guaymas, in Sonora. Permission was obtained from the Governors of those Mexican States, and from the Mexican Government. General Sumner was assigned to the command, and the troops to compose the expedition were selected. The following is the correspondence relating to it:
Brigadier-General E.V. SUMNER, U.S.A., San Francisco: You are to command an expedition into Texas, via Mazatlan, to be composed of two batteries and ten foot companies of one regiment of volunteer cavalry and four regiments of volunteer infantry. Brigadier-General J. W. Denver will be associated with you, and take with you Captain R. L. Ogden, Assistant Quartermaster. A requisition has been made on the Governor for the volunteers. Communicate with him. Particulars by mail. WINFIELD SCOTT |
Brigadier-General E.V. SUMNER, U.S.Army, Commanding, etc., San Francisco, Cal.: SIR: A telegram was sent to you this day in relation to an expedition to Texas, and the General-in-Chief directs me to write more fully in regard to it, as follows: You are to fit out an expedition in San Francisco, preparing for embarkation thence the necessary supplies and land transportation, to land at Mazatlan, and march thence to western Texas and regain the public property in that State and draw off insurgent troops from Arkansas, Missouri, etc. J. W. Denver, Esq., of California, has been appointed Brigadier-General U.S. Volunteer Service, and will be under your command. Captain R. L. Ogden, appointed Assistant Quartermaster, and now in San Francisco, will also be subject to your orders. A requisition has been made on the Governor of California for one regiment volunteer cavalry and four regiments volunteer infantry, and he has been requested to report them to you when ready. You will please confer with him in relation to them. You will add to this force two batteries of regular artillery and ten companies regular foot, to be collected from such points as may be most advisable. Orders will no doubt go to you from the War Department concerning the contract to be made with the steamship company. The General will only say on this subject that it will be advisable to make provision as early as possible for having coal for the transports placed in depot at Mazatlan. On leaving the Department of the Pacific, turn over the command to Colonel [George] Wright, Ninth Infantry. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
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Lieutenant-Colonel E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant-General: COLONEL: I have received the General-in-Chief’s dispatch informing me that I am to command an expedition to Texas. While I feel flattered by this selection, and willing to undertake it, especially on account of the almost insuperable difficulties that will attend it, I feel it to be a duty to the General to let him know precisely the state of things on this coast. Up to the time of the reverse in Virginia everything was perfectly safe here. There has always been a strong Secession party in this State, but it was overawed and kept quiet. Since that news was received these people have been getting much bolder, and I have found it necessary to take strong measures to repress any attempt on their part to thwart the Government. I think I can do it; but if they should succeed in electing their candidate for Governor, of which they are very confident, I shall not be able to do it without the most stringent measures. The Union party here is divided, and neither portion of it will sacrifice their trifling local interests for the public good; and as the dis-unionists are very active and zealous, I am by no means certain that they will not carry the election. Their numbers are variously estimated from twenty-five thousand to forty-five thousand voters. I shall get the force authorized to be raised here into my hands as soon as possible; but it will take some time to do this. It is a very different thing to raise volunteers in a State where there is a strong party opposed to the Government from what it is where all are loyal. I shall lose no time in organizing this force and getting it ready for any emergency. In marching to Texas I would respectfully represent that Guaymas will be a much better point of departure than Mazatlan. The roads and country from the former are much better than from the latter, and the distance is but little more. I suppose, however, that the route must depend upon the one taken by the Secessionists if they should move in this direction. If they should make no movement hitherward, and the object of my expedition should be to recover and hold Texas, I would respectfully suggest whether it would not be a more feasible plan to take my command by sea to some point in Texas, there to meet such an additional force from the North as the commanding General might think necessary. This plan would give me the necessary munitions, which it would be impossible for me to carry across the continent; besides this, a march at the usual rate across those deserts would inevitably unfit volunteers for some time for efficient service in the field. Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
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Col. E. D. TOWNSEND, Asst. Adjt.-Gen., Hdqrs. of the Army, Washington, D.C.: COLONEL: Since my letter to you of the thirtieth ultimo the Union party has triumphed in the election, which makes things much safer here. There are about twenty thousand Secession voters in this State, and the dissolute and loose portion of this party are congregating in some force in the southern counties, in the hope of receiving support from Texas. I am reinforcing the regular troops in that quarter as speedily as possible, in order to check this movement. The great and unaccountable success in Arizona and New Mexico will no doubt embolden them, and it is by no means certain that they will not make some attempt in this direction, and if they should ever get an organized force into this State, as a rallying point for all the Secession element, it would inevitably inaugurate a civil war here immediately. I stated to you that I thought Guaymas would be a better point of departure from this coast than Mazatlan. This was on the supposition that I was to enter Texas on the northwestern border. I find on further inquiry that this route would be next to impracticable with a large force, for the want of water, grass, etc. I fitted out General Kearny’s command of one hundred men on the Rio Grande in the fall of 1846. I gave them the best of everything in the regiment, and yet when he arrived on this coast this small force was completely broken down and unable to contend successfully with the Californians who attacked him. If the object of the march is to move through Mexico and reach Texas low down on the Rio Grande, the best point of departure would be San Blas. I inclose a letter from Mr. Beale, the Surveyor-General of this State. His knowledge of Mexico is founded on his having actually traveled over it, and he is a sensible and reliable man. From Guadlaxara I could make my way north, but it would be a very long and severe march, and with all the care I could take I could not feel sure of having an army of volunteers in fighting order when I reached Texas. I am, however, prepared to undertake it, and, if it is not impossible, the object of the expedition will be attained. I took the liberty in my last letter of suggesting whether it would not be better to take my command by sea to some point in Texas, there to be joined by a force from the North with all the necessary munitions, etc. If the main object of the expedition is to recover Texas, I would respectfully ask the General-in-Chief to reconsider this matter for a moment. I should feel great confidence in such an expedition, and I believe, with the additional force the General would give me, that I could recover and hold Texas, and thus make an important diversion in favor of the operations on the Mississippi. This plan would also have another great advantage. It would keep the troops here for some time while undergoing the necessary discipline, and still I should reach Texas much sooner than by overland route. I think the presence of these troops here for a time would put down this restless and unscrupulous Secession party, and prevent any attempt from Texas. Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
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HEADQUARTERS, ARMY, September 16, 1861. Brigadier-General E.V. SUMNER, U.S.A., Commanding Department Pacific, San Francisco: SIR: A dispatch was sent you by the pony express the tenth instant and a duplicate the fourteenth, directing you to suspend the expedition, via Mazatlan, to western Texas, and to prepare to send all the regular troops, except four companies of artillery, by steamer to New York. The General-in-Chief directs that you accordingly leave one company (Third Artillery) at Fort Vancouver and three companies in the harbor of San Francisco. The remainder of the regulars you will send forward by steamer to New York as fast as they can be collected for embarkation. The cavalry and artillery horses will be disposed of in such manner as may be deemed best for the public interest. The arms and equipments of the troops will be brought with them; also, ten thousand of the muskets remaining in store. The field batteries and their equipments will be left behind. You will send orders to Colonel Wright to repair to San Francisco to relieve you in command of the department, and after his arrival will proceed to the headquarters of the Army and report in person. Brig.-Gen. J. W. Denver, U. S. Volunteer Service, will be ordered to California to relieve Colonel Wright, who will then proceed to report in person at Army headquarters. The following dispatch was sent to you this day by pony express and also by telegraph: “Besides the volunteer force called for from California to guard the overland mail route, the five regiments (one of cavalry and four of infantry) originally ordered will be organized and held ready for service on the Pacific Coast and elsewhere, according to future orders to be given. “I send a copy of this to the Governor of California.” I am, sir, etc.,
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Col. E. D. TOWNSEND, Asst. Adjt.-Gen., Hdqrs. of the Army, Washington, D. C.: COLONEL: I am compelled to assume the high responsibility of changing the destination of the troops ordered to the plains. The disaffection in the southern part of this State is increasing and becoming dangerous, and it is indispensably necessary to throw reinforcements into that section immediately. The Rebels are organizing, collecting supplies, and evidently preparing to receive a force from Texas, and the worst feature of the affair is this: They have managed to seduce the native Californians by telling them that they will be ruined by taxes to maintain the war. I shall establish a strong camp at Warner’s Ranch on the road to Fort Yuma, which will support that post, prevent the gathering of Rebels in that vicinity, and be prepared to repel any force advancing through Arizona. The only available troops I have at this moment are those raised for the overland mail route. These troops are now ready, whereas I could not get any of the last requisition ready before a month. Another consideration is this: The Fourth Infantry, now in the southern part of this State, are the only available regulars for my expedition. I cannot withdraw another man from Oregon or from any post in California, and it would be madness to withdraw this regiment from its present duty without replacing it with other troops. No evil will result from this change, as no protection from the Indians is necessary for the mail. Some of the principal agents have said to me that they did not need any protection; nevertheless, I have ordered a company of dragoons at Fort Churchill to make a march as far out on the mail route as Ruby Valley, which is beyond all the Indians from whom there is anything to apprehend. I inclose a copy of my instructions for this movement. I shall place Colonel Wright in command of all the troops in the disaffected district till I am ready to leave with the southern expedition. I would respectfully ask an early reply to my letters of the thirtieth ultimo and seventh instant, in which I took the liberty of asking the General-in-Chief to let me proceed by sea, via the isthmus, to Brazos Santiago. Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
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Col. E. D. TOWNSEND, Asst. Adjt.-Gen., Hdqrs. of the Army, Washington, D. C.: COLONEL: I am compelled to assume the high responsibility of changing the destination of the troops ordered to the plains. The disaffection in the southern part of this State is increasing and becoming dangerous, and it is indispensably necessary to throw reinforcements into that section immediately. The Rebels are organizing, collecting supplies, and evidently preparing to receive a force from Texas, and the worst feature of the affair is this: They have managed to seduce the native Californians by telling them that they will be ruined by taxes to maintain the war. I shall establish a strong camp at Warner’s Ranch on the road to Fort Yuma, which will support that post, prevent the gathering of Rebels in that vicinity, and be prepared to repel any force advancing through Arizona. The only available troops I have at this moment are those raised for the overland mail route. These troops are now ready, whereas I could not get any of the last requisition ready before a month. Another consideration is this: The Fourth Infantry, now in the southern part of this State, are the only available regulars for my expedition. I cannot withdraw another man from Oregon or from any post in California, and it would be madness to withdraw this regiment from its present duty without replacing it with other troops. No evil will result from this change, as no protection from the Indians is necessary for the mail. Some of the principal agents have said to me that they did not need any protection; nevertheless, I have ordered a company of dragoons at Fort Churchill to make a march as far out on the mail route as Ruby Valley, which is beyond all the Indians from whom there is anything to apprehend. I inclose a copy of my instructions for this movement. I shall place Colonel Wright in command of all the troops in the disaffected district till I am ready to leave with the southern expedition. I would respectfully ask an early reply to my letters of the thirtieth ultimo and seventh instant, in which I took the liberty of asking the General-in-Chief to let me proceed by sea, via the isthmus, to Brazos Santiago. Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
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Hon. SIMON CAMERON, Secretary of War: SIR: I have the honor to inclose an extract from a dispatch of the twenty-eighth ultimo, received from Mr. Corwin, relative to an apprehended invasion of Sonora by the insurgents of the United States, and to recommend that the subject be submitted to the General-in-Chief commanding the Armies of the United States for such directions as may be deemed most proper, asking at the same time whether a force of ten thousand men would not be a reasonable one for the service to be performed. I am, sir, your obedient servant, WILLIAM H. SEWARD
The General-in-Chief directs me to say, in reply to the question of the honorable Secretary of State, that he deems the force named by the Secretary a proper one. Respectfully submitted.
U. S. LEGATION, MEXICO, August 28, 1861. Mr. Pickett, Commissioner from what he denominates “The Confederate States,” is still here. He and three Southern persons sojourning in this city were engaged last night in rejoicing over the victory at Bull Run and Manassas Gap. The sketch of that battle in the New York “Herald” of the twenty-third of July reached here yesterday. The paper came here from Havana by private conveyance. Mr. Pickett has learned that Mexico has granted the United States the privilege of marching troops through Mexican territory to Arizona. He has informed the Government here that this will be considered as offensive to the “Confederate States,” as New Mexico has placed herself under the protection of those States. He has said, in private conversation, “If his decree is not annulled, Mexico will lose the State of Tamaulipas in sixty days.” By looking on any map of Mexico it will be seen that Tamaulipas, Neuva Leon, Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Sonora all adjoin Texas or New Mexico. Tamaulipas is easily approached by her port, Tampico, on the Mexican Gulf, and also by land from Texas. All the others of these States can be reached by land from Texas or New Mexico. Guaymas is the great port on the Gulf of California, from and to which, shipments are made for the States of Sonora and Chihuahua, and also to our Territory of New Mexico, including Arizona. It is, therefore, reasonable enough to conclude that the United States troops from California could be landed at Guaymas in seven days by steamer, and with a safe passage through Sonora could confront any Rebel force operating in Arizona or New Mexico proper, and also be in a position to act against any filibustering enemy which might attack any of the Mexican States bordering on Texas. It is no doubt the design of the “Southern Confederation,” whenever it can, to seize all of these States; indeed, to possess itself of the entire Tierra Caliente of Mexico, that being well adapted to slave labor. If Mexico should be attacked under pretense that she had justly offended the Confederate States by the grant of passage through Sonora, every obligation of honor would seem to require that our troops should be ready to enforce our laws against filibustering expeditions from our Territories against the Territories of a nation with whom we are at peace. Such troops would at the same time be efficient to restore our lawful dominion in Texas and New Mexico. Upper California, Oregon, and Washington Territory could furnish a respectable force for all these purposes, which could be conveyed by water to Guaymas, and from thence by land over good roads to their proper points of operation. The States bordering on Texas and our New Mexican frontier are very weak in population and wealth, and could be conquered by a comparatively small force. Tamaulipas has only one hundred and eight thousand of all ages, races, and sexes. The entire population of the five Mexican States above named is stated in the most reliable census to be six hundred and twenty-eight thousand of all ages, sexes, and races, covering an area of sixty-seven thousand five hundred and sixty-three square miles. I am informed that recent discoveries of mineral wealth in Sonora and Chihuahua have invited large bodies of men from California to those two States. It is suspected that they are of a class easily induced to united with the Southern Rebels in an attack on these and their neighboring Mexican States, as well as to promote Southern pretensions in New Mexico and Texas. I suggest whether a prudent forecast would not invite our Government to raise in California and Oregon a force which should pass from Guaymas through Sonora to our possessions in New Mexico and Arizona for the purposes suggested above. |
The proposition to send the California troops out of the State created considerable excitement and feeling, and an earnest appeal was made to the Secretary of War to countermand the order and keep the troops in California.
The following is the letter to the Secretary of War, signed by sixty-five business men and firms of San Francisco:
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SAN FRANCISCO, CAL., August 28, 1861. Hon. SIMON CAMERON, Secretary of War: DEAR SIR: Since the arrival of the pony express, with Washington dates of August sixteenth, a rumor has been in circulation that an enlistment of five thousand additional men from this State has been ordered for service in Texas, to which State they were to proceed with all convenient dispatch, under command of General Sumner. This report has caused the most lively apprehensions of danger in our midst, and so deeply are we impressed that your department is not sensible of the true condition of affairs upon this coast, that we most respectfully ask the rescinding of so much of the order as calls for the withdrawal of the troops to be raised, and that transfers General Sumner to another field of duty, and thereto we present the following reasons: A majority of our present State officers are undisguised and avowed Secessionists, and the balance, being utterly hostile to the administration, are advocates of a peace policy at any sacrifice, upon terms that would not be rejected even by South Carolina. Every appointment made by our Governor within the past three months unmistakably indicates his entire sympathy and cooperation with those plotting to sever California from her allegiance to the Union, and that, too, at the hazard of civil war. About three eighths of our citizens are natives of slaveholding States, and almost a unit in this crisis. The hatred and bitterness towards the Union and Union men, manifested so pointedly in the South and so strongly evinced on the field of battle, is no more intense there than here. These men are never without arms, have wholly laid aside their business, and are devoting their time to plotting, scheming, and organizing. Our advices, obtained with great prudence and care, show us that there are upwards of sixteen thousand “Knights of the Golden Circle” in this State, and that they are still organizing, even in our most loyal districts. The fruits of so much devotion to the cause of secession and intriguing for its promotion are manifested in the securing of certain timid and ease-loving classes, hailing from free States, styling themselves Union men, but opposed to the war. Thus is secession consummated. Another class, by no means small, powerful through its wealth, has affiliated with the disunionists to avoid and oppose paying a pittance towards maintaining the integrity of the Government in its hour of trial. The native Spanish race have been persuaded that all real estate complications will meet prompt adjustment at the hands of another organization; and the unwarranted doubts, difficulties, and delays that have characterized the action of the administrative branch of the Government in the final adjustment of titles under Mexican grants furnish an argument to ignorant men that human ingenuity cannot answer. The squatter and lawless trespasser, having litigated with the landed proprietor for years in his own name and that of his Government, is made to believe that no change can result to his disadvantage; that principles established by the Federal Courts will be overturned, and Mexican grants only known in history. Upon these several subjects, which comprise the prominent points of our present position, electioneering pamphlets, resolutions, platforms, speeches, and circulars are distributed with an unflagging industry, and are placed in the hands of every voter in the State. The special object of this extraordinary effort is to carry the State election, which takes place one week from to-day, September the fourth. In this campaign the Union voters are unfortunately divided, and the best devised plans have failed to unite them. The Secessionists, the Douglas party, and the Republicans have each a full ticket in the field, and we are overwhelmed with apprehensions lest the enemies of the country may triumph. Should such be the case, civil strife would be forced upon our loyal population, and the most prosperous State in the Union would be desolated and destroyed. The frightful scenes now transpiring in Missouri would be rivaled by the atrocities enacted upon the Pacific Coast. Loyalty and patriotism embrace within their firm grasp the body of the wealth and intelligence of California, and an attempt at a severance will be contested with inflexible determination. We need not remind you of the vast importance of preserving California to the Union. Its great geographical extent, its mineral and agricultural wealth, the fact that it is our chief seat of empire upon the Pacific, and that its political action will exercise a powerful, if not controlling, influence upon its neighbors at the North, imperatively demand that no precaution should be neglected to insure its fidelity. We need only appeal to the examples furnished by Missouri, and even Virginia, to show that the efforts of a comparatively small number of audacious and unscrupulous men are sufficient to precipitate an unwilling population into disunion, or at least to inaugurate civil war. If, unfortunately, from the causes we have mentioned, the secession minority in this State should obtain control, you will at once perceive with what power for mischief it would be armed, and how imminent is our danger. To retain a State in its allegiance is a thousandfold more easy than to overcome disloyalty affecting to act under State authority. Nothing will more certainly check treasonable attempts than a conviction of their hopelessness. To deprive us of the military support of the Government at this time is to hold out a direct encouragement to traitors. We beg most earnestly to remind you that in our case an “ounce of preventive is worth a pound of cure.” Very respectfully, yours,
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The foregoing letter seems to have had the desired effect, for orders were soon issued directing the suspension of preparations for the expedition. A copy of the order is given below. The reflection on the Governor’s loyalty seems to have been uncalled for; there is no evidence in the records that indicates that “his entire sympathy and cooperation were with those plotting to sever California from her allegiance to the Union at the hazard of civil war.” He seems to have done promptly everything required of him by the Government, and the officers he appointed and commissioned in the volunteer forces from this State were, without exception, loyal to the Government and faithful in every position in which they were placed.
On the very day the above letter was written he wrote as follows to General Sumner:
Brig.-Gen. E. V. SUMNER, U. S. Army: GENERAL: Your letter of yesterday is received. I regret exceedingly that I have been unable to visit San Francisco during the last week, as I have been most anxious to confer with you in regard to the recent requisition. You will see that I have lost no time in making the call. I am satisfied from the assurances received from the most populous counties of the State that in two weeks we will have the requisite number of men to fill the requisition. Enlisting is going on rapidly, and the fife and drum are heard in every village. I have repeatedly assured you that none other than those loyal to the General Government would be offered bearing “commissions” of the State. And surely none entertaining disloyal sentiments to the Federal Government would desire to place themselves in a position at once false and dishonorable. As I have repeatedly assured you, there will be no clashing of sentiment on this head. The volunteer soldiery of this State desire to be commanded by their own distinguished citizens, as far as possible; and I assure you, with all candor, that if it were differently understood we would find it exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to fill the demand of the President. Notwithstanding the pressure of business now pouring in upon me, I will on to-morrow visit San Francisco for the purpose of having a free and frank interview with you on this subject. I am, General, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
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The following is the further correspondence regarding the Texas expedition:
Brig.-Gen. E. V. SUMNER, U. S. A., Commanding Department of the Pacific, San Francisco, Cal.: SIR: Lieutenant-General Scott, with the assent of the Secretary of War, directs that you suspend preparations for the expedition against western Texas, via Mazatlan. Instructions will be sent you by the next mail for other purposes. Prepare the regular troops, except four companies of artillery, to come by steam to New York. Two regiments of volunteers will replace the regulars. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
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Col. E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant-General, Washington: COLONEL: I have just received the commanding General’s dispatch countermanding the expedition to Texas, and I do feel greatly relieved thereat. I was willing to undertake it, but I could not feel sure that I could carry it through, for the difficulties were all but insuperable. You will have received my letter of the seventeenth instant, informing the General that I had changed the destination of the troops ordered on the overland route. If I could have anticipated this last order I should not have made this change, for I should have had troops enough without them for the disaffected part of the State. As this change has already been made, and nearly all of Colonel Carleton’s command is now in the southern part of the State, I do not think it advisable to bring them back, at a heavy expense, to send them on the overland route this fall, especially as their presence there is not necessary for the protection of the mail. A company of the First Cavalry has left Fort Churchill to march to Ruby Valley and back. Colonel Carleton’s command can move out on the overland road in March next, and thus save an immense expense in forage for this winter. The hay would cost $60 a ton and the barley $9.96 a bushel. I would respectfully ask the General’s sanction for this arrangement. Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
WAR DEPARTMENT, October 28, 1861. Approved:
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Col. E. D. TOWNSEND, A.A.G., Headquarters of the Army, Washington, D.C.: COLONEL: I deem it my duty to submit to the General-in-Chief the condition of affairs in the Southern district of California, and the prudential measures which I consider of vital importance in suppressing any attempts of the Rebel forces to gain a foothold on the Pacific Coast. The United States troops in this department can repel any direct invasion of the State by the Rebels, but the adjoining State of Sonora, with a feeble government and sparse population, presents inducements of the strongest kind for the Rebels to march a force into that country and obtain possession of the fine port of Guaymas. This once accomplished, it destroys our commerce in the Gulf of California, and interrupts the natural transit in and out of Arizona. The fondly cherished hopes and aim of the Rebels are to obtain a port on the Pacific. Timely interference on our part will frustrate their designs. To protect Arizona, and reestablish the authority of the United States Government in that country, the occupation of Sonora is a military necessity. The amicable relations existing between our Government and that of Mexico would not necessarily be interrupted by our temporary occupation of Sonora; the design and object would be apparent. At all events, Sonora is de facto independent of the central Government, and has been so for four years, and I am assured by persons whose responsible positions and reputation guarantee their assertion, that the introduction of a force of United States troops would be hailed with joy, and meet with the moral and physical support of the entire population. We would not enter the country as conquerors, but as friends, to unite with the Government and people in driving back the Southern Rebels, who are now threatening their country with ruin and devastation. I am informed by gentlemen of high standing that the introduction of United States troops into Sonora would be agreeable to the present Governor – Pesqueira. Under all the circumstances, to protect ourselves, I consider it imperative that we should take the initiative in this matter. Sonora is weak and unable to resist a Rebel force, and if our aid is withheld she will inevitably be overrun – virtually conquered – and the Rebels obtain possession of the port of Guaymas. Let two regiments, one of cavalry and one of infantry, with a light artillery battery, be promptly thrown into Guaymas, and all will be well. A discreet and prudent commander would conciliate the Government and people of Sonora, and cooperating harmoniously together, no Rebel forces could enter the State. Peace and prosperity would reign within its borders. Once occupy Sonora, and the reestablishment of our authority in Arizona would be a work of easy accomplishment. The force necessary for the expedition is now on this coast, and could be transported to Guaymas by steamers in a week’s time. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
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Brig.-Gen. L. THOMAS, Adjutant-General, U. S. Army, Washington, D. C.: From the latest and most reliable information, I am more strongly than ever impressed with the importance of an early and prompt occupation of Guaymas.
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GENERAL: Inclosed herewith is a copy of a telegraphic dispatch which I had the honor to transmit to you yesterday. Also, copy of extract from a letter from Mr. Thomas Robinson, a resident of Guaymas, Sonora. This extract was presented to me by Mr. Flint, of this city, a gentleman of standing and reliability, connected with the steamship line between this place and Guaymas. From the best information in my possession at this moment, I am disposed to believe that the views taken by Mr. Robinson as to the intended movements of the Rebel forces are in the main correct. The large force I am assembling in the southern portion of this State, preparatory to an advance from Fort Yuma, will doubtless cause the Rebel leaders to deflect from their line of operations, and, if possible, gain the port of Guaymas. To frustrate all such attempts, I deem it of the first importance that a strong force should be thrown into that city, aided by the presence of a few ships of war. I propose to open a correspondence with the Governor of Sonora on this subject, and I am assured by the best authority that our temporary occupation of Guaymas, or any portion of the State, to protect it from the inroads of the Rebels, would be cheerfully acquiesced in by the authorities and people of that country. The storm has somewhat abated for a few days past. To-day it is raining again, and the roads are not in a condition to advance my expeditionary forces to Fort Yuma. However, it is only a question of time; we will be successful. I have no special news from the district of Oregon; all was quiet in that quarter when last heard from. The winter has been unusually severe, and the navigation of the Columbia River entirely obstructed by ice. The Legislature of California is now in session in this city, compelled to abandon Sacramento temporarily. Very respectfully, your most obedient servant,
Brig.-Gen. L. THOMAS, Adjutant-General, U. S. Army, Washington, D. C. Immediately on the receipt of this please call upon General Wright and state to him, in my name, that by express received by me to-day from Arizona and from most reliable sources, I have the following statement: “The Southern troops, under Colonel Baylor, Military Governor, are expected at Tucson within ten days, numbering nine hundred men. It is said they will immediately make a strong and continued campaign on the Apaches. Reports say (which I fear is very probable) they will march into Sonora. In the meanwhile their headquarters will be at Calabazes, on the line. Agents to purchase flour, corn, etc., are actually in the Territory, under escort; contracts for hay have already been given out. Brigadier-General Sibley, C.S.A., with three thousand men, takes command in Arizona and New Mexico, and will immediately attack the United States forces in New Mexico. The Southern soldiers are full of fight; only the other day one hundred crossed the Jronada del Muerto, drove in the pickets of the United States forces, and made forty prisoners.” These same reports were afloat here three days since, when I arrived, and to-day they are confirmed. There is no doubt in my mind as to the desires and intentions of these Southern forces. What the devil do they care for Arizona, without one hundred souls in it, and nothing worth having there! They wish to march into Sonora, as is intimated from many sources, and take quiet possession, for we are not at present in condition to resist, having just passed through a very sore trial, although with success. If they once get possession of this State and its posts, the North may just as well give up the complete line through from Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of California, and it will require a supreme effort to evict them. This is no newspaper talk, but something certain, and the only way to avoid a most serious and difficult position is for the United States Government to send without a moment’s delay the necessary forces to act. Let me request of you to urge upon General Wright the necessity of this step. Let one thousand men, properly equipped, be sent immediately to Guaymas, officered by gentlemen of prudence and judgment, and I will see that they get through immediately to Arizona. The Government and people will be too happy to see such a friend coming to their rescue. If necessary, let the General telegraph to Washington for the necessary powers. But he must act promptly, and I will guarantee his full success. And by adopting these measures he will have acquired a victory which will be more than galling to the South. I will take the contract for transporting troops and equipments to Arizona and furnishing everything necessary. You are aware the Congress of Mexico has given a cordial permit for transit of troops through Sonora, and our State will be pleased to forward the views of the United States Government or its representatives. You can assure General Wright that all my influence and that of my friends will be used in favor of his forces. Yours, sincerely, THOMAS ROBINSON. |