Taken from the Journal of Lieutenant Stephen C. Rowan, U. S. Navy, Executive Officer of the U.S.S, Cyane, Pacific Squadron, 1845-1848.
The Cyane, under the command of Captain William Mervine, joined the Pacific Squadron at Mazatlan, Mexico, on December 24, 1845. We found in port four of our fleet: the Savannah, Commodore Sloat's flagship; the Portsmouth, Commander Montgomery; the Levant, Commander Page; and the Constitution, Captain Percival—the latter on her way home from the East Indies, There were also in the harbor four English men-of-war, the razee America, the frigate Talbot, and the brigs Frolic and Spry.
Mazatlan was not a fortified town and could be bombarded effectively by three vessels—one in the old harbor (to the northward), one in the new harbor (to the southward), and the third inside of the White Rock (to the westward).
The mails through Mexico were unreliable and were soon cut off altogether, leaving the squadron almost without news. Hearing, however, that Gen. Taylor was at Point Isabel, and anticipating an immediate collision with the Mexicans, preparations were made and the vessels were soon ready for the expected conflict.
While matters were in this uncertain state, Lieutenant Gillespie, of the Marine Corps, appeared on the scene. Some excitement was caused by his arrival, but the hopes for service thus awakened in the Cyane's officers vanished when their captain was ordered to have his vessel ready for sea the next day. About noon on the day appointed. Lieutenant Gillespie came on board, and having announced that her destination was the Sandwich Islands and offered to carry the mails of Her Majesty's fleet, the Cyane shortly afterwards got under way. The officers were surprised that Lieutenant Gillespie did not leave the ship before she sailed, but soon learned that he was on his way to find Captain Fremont, having secret instructions for him from Washington.
We arrived at Honolulu in March, 1846, and after a week's stay made sail for Monterey, Upper California, where we anchored on the 18th of April. Captain Fremont had started for the east sometime before the arrival of the Cyane, but Gillespie overtook him and they returned to Monterey together.
The Savannah got in from Mazatlan July 2d, and on the 5th the launch of the Portsmouth came in from San Francisco with despatches from Captain Montgomery. Commodore Sloat, after consulting with his officers, decided to hoist our flag on shore. Orders were given to have the boats of the squadron alongside the flagship, armed and equipped, on the morning of the 7th, and Captain Mervine was detailed to command the expedition. At half- past nine that morning the boats left the Savannah for the shore, and at 11 A.M. the glorious Stars and Stripes were given to the breeze, greeted by the cheers of our people and a national salute from the ships, the proclamation having been previously read. The flag was also hoisted by the Portsmouth at Yerba Buena [San Francisco], Sonoma, and Sutter's fort, as soon as her launch returned [July 9, 1846]. A competent force was left at these places to protect the flag. Captain Mervine remained at Monterey in command of the land forces, and I was ordered to land with the crew of the Cyane to put up a fort. I built a strong block-house with pickets, and was thus employed when the Congress, Captain Robert F. Stockton, came in. Shortly afterwards Captain Fremont encamped near the town with a mounted force of about sixty men.
Commodore Sloat having decided, owing to ill-health, to turn over the command to Captain Stockton, now did so, and sailed for home in the Levant on the 27th July. Fremont's troop was now mustered into service by Commodore Stockton, Fremont being appointed Major, and Gillespie, Captain, while the junior captains, lieutenants, etc., were selected from among the men. The party, thus organized, embarked on the Cyane, and on the fourth day thereafter arrived in the harbor of San Diego. Landing with the marine guard and a few sailors I marched up to the town a few miles away, and, having read the proclamation, hoisted the flag without opposition. The marines were left to guard the flag, being relieved in the afternoon by Fremont with a portion of his command.
After the departure of the Levant, Commodore Stockton went to San Pedro in the Congress and landed three hundred and fifty men to co-operate with Fremont in an attack on Gen. Jose Castro, who was reported to be in the Pueblo de los Angeles, the capital of Upper California, at the head of several hundred Californians. Commander DuPont was ordered to bring his ship up and join Commodore Stockton with seventy-five men (sailors as infantry) and the marine guard. All possible dispatch was made, but it took the ship six days to run a distance of ninety miles, owing to calms and light winds, and before we arrived Commodore Stockton had quiet possession of the capital, Castro having buried his cannon and fled to Mexico.
About the 20th of August, the Warren, Commander Hull, arrived at San Pedro from Mazatlan, bringing news of the declaration of war and the taking of Matamoras. A few days later the Warren and Cyane were ordered to Mazatlan to establish the blockade. The Cyane captured two small vessels with cargoes of assorted merchandise bound to San Bias from Mazatlan, and the Warren cut out the brig Malek Adhel without firing a shot. After scuttling one of our prizes and sending the other in to La Paz, we stood for Mazatlan, communicating with the Warren and learning that they had just seized a vessel bound from Guaymas to Mazatlan with a cargo of flour.
The Cyane left Mazatlan the same evening and stood for La Paz in hopes of capturing the Mexican schooner Julia. We anchored the next morning in the harbor of Pichilinque, whence I went with the launch and two cutters to La Paz, and finding the Julia at anchor there, captured her without any trouble. I then returned to the ship, leaving Lieutenant Selden in charge of the captured schooner with a prize crew. The next day, on the arrival of the Warren, the Julia sailed for San Francisco.
The Cyane then put to sea in search of two gunboats said to be concealed in some of the bays on the west shore of the Gulf of California. Anchoring on the third day off the Mission of Loreto, I went ashore, and upon inquiry found that the gunboats were either at Muleje or Guaymas. We then weighed anchor and stood to the northward for Muleje, where we arrived on the second day and were informed by an American named Adams that the gunboats had sailed for Guaymas six days previously; so we weighed again and anchored in the harbor of Guaymas at sundown. Both gunboats were in the harbor, one of them dismantled and hauled up on the beach. The other was partly dismantled, and as we rounded the point we saw two or three hundred men tracking her along shore to where the other was beached. There was much excitement among the people on shore; the women and children had all fled to the back hills. There were some troops of the line drawn up on the shore, and others were busily engaged throwing up breastworks to protect their boats, and we anticipated a nice little fight in cutting them out or burning them. I went on shore with a flag of truce to demand the surrender of the gunboats, threatening otherwise to shell the town. After some delay a flag came off from the commandant stating that he could not give up the boats consistently with his honor as a soldier. Some foreigners came off in a shore boat requesting a little time to remove their property, and were granted one hour by Captain DuPont.
While I was seeing preparations made for the bombardment, the captain called out to me that they had fired the gunboats and directed me to give them a couple of shell. I did so, but they fell short, and we fired no more until the ship had been warped close in. There was nothing left for us then but an old dismantled brig which Capt. DuPont said we must bring out. We sent in the launch and cutter, Mr. Harrison in the launch and Mr. Higgins in the cutter, the captain having ordered me to remain on board in charge of the battery. I opened on the town, and the boats commenced warping out the brig under a galling fire from the enemy, both from small arms and a couple of pieces of artillery which they had brought up. A single broadside now silenced the enemy. I fired the shell gun myself, dropping the first shell so near their largest field-piece that the crew went scampering off. The brig was set on fire as she was towed off the point, and was then hauled on shore and entirely consumed.
After a few days' stay we weighed anchor and made sail for Mazatlan; we found there the Warren and the English brig Frolic. The same evening the Warren sailed for San Francisco. We remained at anchor blockading all the month of October, during which time we saw no foreign vessels. A few coasters and small boats with flour from Guaymas attempted to pass between Venado and the mainland, but were usually driven on shore by our boats which would be sent to cut them off. The captain soon forbade our boat expeditions, however, as whenever we started, the enemy, amounting to six or seven hundred, would line the shores and heights and open a brisk cross fire of artillery and musketry, and he thought a man's life too dear a price to pay for a little flour, as the enemy could at any rate be bountifully supplied with the necessities of life from the surrounding country.
On November 1, 1846, Captain DuPont reluctantly raised the blockade, as, owing to the non-arrival of the store-ship Keyland, which left New York in May, we were reduced to very short rations. We therefore got under way and left for San Bias in hopes that we might find the Portsmouth there and obtain supplies from her. She was not there, however, and we returned to Mazatlan. The detention of the Portsmouth was explained when a French corvette came in from San Francisco with the news that our troops at Los Angeles had capitulated to the insurgents, marched out with the honors of war, and had then embarked on board the hide-ship Vandalia in the harbor of San Pedro. Commodore Stockton on this had left San Francisco with all his available force for Monterey and other leeward ports.
We sailed then for San Jose, where we hoped to obtain some fresh water and provisions. Reaching that place we sent a boat on shore, which was met by a white flag, and a Mr. Mott, an American, informed the officer of the boat that the people of Lower California were friendly and would supply us with provisions; that water was abundant and good, but hard to obtain on account of the surf. Anchoring, we filled our tanks, took on board ten days' rations of live stock, and then made sail for San Francisco.
After a long, rough passage we anchored in Saucelito Bay. We found the Savannah, Portsmouth, Warren, and Malek Adhel lying off Yerba Buena, the former making preparations for sea. The officers of the Savannah informed us that when Stockton received intelligence of Gillespie's situation at Los Angeles he dispatched Captain Mervine in their ship to his relief When they reached San Pedro they found Gillespie and his men on board the Vandalia. By daylight the next morning, Mervine, with a force of two hundred and fifty or three hundred, including Gillespie's men who had so recently been driven out of the Pueblo, set out for Los Angeles and camped at Domingo's Ranch that night without opposition. During the night the enemy threw a few shot into the camp without inflicting any damage, but the next morning, shortly after the march was resumed, they appeared and opened upon our men with round shot. They were about seventy strong, well armed and well mounted. The first shot missed, but the second cut down two men, and the order was given to charge. The enemy retired, taking their field-piece with them, but, as soon as our men became winded, they halted, unlimbered and fired again. This was kept up for several miles, each fire laying a few more poor fellows low. At last a council was called and it was determined to return. Several had already been killed and wounded, and there were no means of transportation at hand. Luckily, however, a cart was found at Domingo's Ranch, and in this way they carried the dead and wounded to the beach, reaching which they at once embarked.
The Congress arrived shortly after this and all the crews were landed, only to be re-embarked two or three days later. Stockton told me that his object in landing the forces was to move on Los Angeles with Fremont, but that Fremont, unable to procure horses for his troop, had returned to Monterey. A few days later the Savannah was ordered to San Francisco, and Stockton, in the Congress, proceeded to San Diego to establish a base of operations against Los Angeles, and anchored off the bar some time in November [1846]. Taking two or three pilots on board. Commodore Stockton attempted to enter the harbor, but the ship striking heavily several times on the bar, they were forced to return to the outer anchorage.
On the same day with the revolt at the Pueblo, the people at San Diego rose and forced some volunteers, under the command of a man named Merritt, to evacuate the town and seek shelter on the whale-ship Stonington, then at anchor in the port five miles from the town.
Captain Merritt took charge of this vessel in the name of the United States, taking on board with him some American residents and friendly Californians. With this small party he determined to retake the town, and landed early the next morning, taking with them two small guns that they found on board the ship. Captain Hamersly, of the Stonington, a very gallant fellow, joined the expedition with his crew armed with lances and blubber spears, as did Don Santiago Arguella, a native Californian, and Don Miguel Pedrorena, an old Spaniard, both gallant men and good friends to our cause from the day of our first occupation of San Diego. As the small party neared the town the Californians hauled down the Mexican flag, cut down the flagstaff and fled to the hill-tops.
When Merritt and his party were driven out of San Diego they sent a boat to San Pedro, hoping to find some of our cruisers there and obtain relief. The Savannah was there, and Captain Mervine, who had just returned from his unfortunate attempt on the Pueblo, dispatched Lieutenant George Miner with fifty men, in the whale-ship Magnolia. Reaching San Diego shortly after Merritt's party had retaken the town, Miner assumed command. The town was entirely defenseless, and Miner at once threw up an adobe bastion and mounted two small brass guns on it. During this operation there were daily skirmishes between the enemy and our men, and it was at the height of one of these that the Congress attempted to cross the bar. In spite of the rather perilous situation of the ship, Stockton at once landed one hundred men, including the marines, to rescue the shore party.
After buoying the bar and channel the Congress entered the port, and Stockton left the ship and took up his quarters at Don Juan Bandini's. The Stonington was sent to Ensenado for cattle, and in the meantime, by the good management of Bandini and other Californian friends present, supplies were obtained from neighboring ranches. Stockton found that San Diego was the only port in Upper California where he could organize a force to put down the insurgents. An additional force was landed from the ship, and the heights that commanded the town were taken possession of and fortified, using the oil casks of the Stonington to support the breastwork. Merritt's volunteers were embarked on board the Stonington—now regularly chartered for the Government—and were sent again to Lower California for horses and cattle. The party disembarked at Ensenado, and proceeding by land some distance down the coast, collected about five hundred head of cattle and two hundred horses and mules, all of which they succeeded in driving to San Diego. The Stonington also brought some beans, wheat, and a small quantity of flour. Before this there had been nothing at San Diego which could have been used for the sustenance of troops, as the natives in possession of the country had driven off every hoof they owned.
During the absence of the party in the Stonington great exertions had been made by Lieutenant Tilghman to organize and equip a company of artillery from the crew of the Congress. Some of the guns were mounted by the ship's mechanics, others had been captured at the Pueblo. Mule harness was made of raw hide, and country carts, of which fortunately there were enough with American wheels, were fitted up for baggage and ammunition wagons.
About December 5, Commodore Stockton received an express from General Kearney announcing his arrival at Warren's Pass with an escort of dragoons. Lieutenant Beale, U. S. N., and Captain Gillespie, U.S.M.C. went out with about thirty men to escort him in.
In his letter to General Kearney, Commodore Stockton congratulated him on his arrival in the country, and stated that a party of the enemy under Andres Pico were encamped in San Pasquale. It appears that on receiving this information from Gillespie, General Kearney deviated from the direct route to San Diego for the purpose of surprising this party, said to amount to seventy or a hundred mounted men. Encamping within a few miles of the enemy. Lieutenant Hammond, two dragoons, and an Indian were sent forward to reconnoiter. When they were within a short distance of the village the Indian was sent ahead. It is said that he entered the camp, dragged an Indian out and was getting information from him, when Hammond, fearing treachery, rode up with his two men. Pico heard the jingle of their swords and the tramp of their horses and immediately called his men to horse. The scouts retreated, and, as I understand, met General Kearney a short distance from the enemy's camp. He at once quickened his march so as to reach the enemy before they made off. When the advanced guard reached the foot of the hill that overlooks the village, the order was given to "trot." The order was mistaken for "charge!" and off they started with the usual cheer. When passing the Indian huts Captain Johnston was shot through the head and fell dead from his horse. As General Kearney rode up, the enemy, seeing the advance so far from the main body, closed on them and made a deadly onslaught. News reached Moore, commanding the main body, that the General was in danger, and he made an impetuous charge, driving the enemy before him. Unfortunately, the charge was too impetuous, and the enemy seeing them in disorder and so far from the artillery, closed again and began dealing death and destruction among the brave fellows. After some delay the howitzers were brought up, and our men rallying around them, the enemy fled at the first discharge. The mules that dragged one of the howitzers, however, took fright and dragged the gun into the enemy's lines, where it was captured. General Kearney camped on the field, but he had lost many of his bravest officers besides a number of the rank and file.
The next morning Gen. Kearney resumed his march for San Diego. At Snook's Ranch, or Panaseitos, the enemy, who had concealed themselves in the gulches, made a faint charge and then retired, taking possession of a rocky hill commanding the gulch and the bed of the river through which the soldiers had to pass to gain the main road leading up the opposite hill. When passing the rocks, about thirty of our men, led by Beale, of the Navy, Emory, of the Army, and Gillespie, of the Marine Corps, made a gallant charge and sent the Californians flying. Kearney finding himself in a good position on the hill-top, camped there for the night, much harassed by the enemy.
An express had been sent to Stockton, but as Kearney feared it had not reached San Diego, and as he was in a desperate strait, he allowed Lieutenant Beale to try and pass the enemy's lines. He had at first refused Beale's request owing to the dangerous nature of the enterprise, but when Kit Carson and an Indian volunteered also, he let them set off. These three, after many hardships, finally reached Stockton, and he acted immediately, sending two hundred sailors and marines under Lieutenants Gray and Zeilin to the rescue. This party had with them one cannon which, as there were no horses, was dragged by sailors. Lying concealed in the daytime and making forced marches by night, this party arrived at Kearney's camp in two nights and a day, to the great delight of the poor fellows who had been shut up on the knoll and reduced to eating mule meat. Early the next morning ambulances were prepared for the wounded, and the whole force marched into San Diego unmolested.
During General Kearney's convalescence from a wound received at San Pasquale, Stockton completed his organization of a sailor force for another attack on the Pueblo, and just at that moment the Cyane reached San Diego. The evening we anchored, DuPont received orders from Stockton to send him one hundred men, armed with muskets and under command of a lieutenant. Measures were taken immediately, and by nightfall of the next day, Dec. 26th, each officer and man had knapsack and haversack packed and arms in perfect condition. Commodore Stockton assigned the command of the naval forces (sailors and marines) to me, giving the general command to General Kearney, and reserving to himself the supreme control.
At daylight, Dec. 29, my men were landed; Lieutenant Higgins, Acting Master Stenson, and Midshipmen Allmand, Shepherd, and Philip accompanying me. Captain DuPont and Dr. Maxwell went with us as far as San Diego. We reached there about 8 A.M. and reported to the Commodore. I divided the men from the Cyane into two companies, assigning the pikes to Stenson and the muskets to Higgins. At 10 A. M. the forces under the immediate command of Kearney, consisting of about five hundred seamen and marines under Lieutenant Rowan, a company of dragoons under Captain Turner, and a company of riflemen under Captain Gillespie, left San Diego. The cart-drivers, Indians, and shepherds were commanded by Lieutenant Miner, as quartermaster, assisted by Arguella and Pedrorena.
After an advance of a quarter of a mile we found what labor was in store for us. Almost every ox-team became stalled in the sandy bed of the dry river and had to be dragged across by the troops; on a dead level the half-starved oxen managed to drag the carts, but when we came to a hill or a sandy bottom the troops had to pull them along. These extra labors were of hourly occurrence, and when we reached the place where we were to camp for the night the men were almost exhausted.
Our first camp was at the Soledad, nine miles from San Diego. This is in a beautiful valley affording grass and water in abundance, except during the heated term, when the water dries up.
We took up our line of march at 9 A. M. on the next day (Dec. 30), and after a very fatiguing march over a hilly country, encamped in a place which afforded grass and water. On the 31st we advanced as far as Panaseitos, or Snook's Ranch; close to this camp is the rocky hill on which General Kearney was surrounded by the enemy after the fight at San Pasquale.
On January 7, 1847, we reached a ranch called Coyotes, and as we approached the bank on which the house is built, we saw one of the enemy's lookouts near a deserted hut. Seeing us unlimber a field-piece, he put spurs to his horse and disappeared.
Breaking camp about 9 A.M. the next day, at about 1 P.M. we reached an Indian Rancheria, where we saw several of the enemy, who retired as we came up. We now began to hope that the enemy would measure strength with us, and delight was pictured in the faces of all. About 2 P.M. General Kearney ordered both wings of the main body to move by the flank and allow the ox-carts, three or four abreast, to come up. In front of these were placed the pack animals. The wings of the advanced guard were thrown to the rear and those of the rear guard to the front, thus forming a hollow square for the wagons and cattle. There was a piece of artillery in front of the advanced guard, and one in front and one in rear of the two columns of the main body, which now formed the sides of the square.
We had a sharp skirmish as we approached the San Gabriel river, the enemy posting their artillery on a height and giving us a brisk fire of grape. Their fire was soon silenced, and after an ineffective charge on their part, we advanced and drove them off, gaining the bluffs on which they had been posted, but losing two men. About 10 A. M. on the next day the enemy opened upon us again with three pieces of artillery from different points. As fast as we drove them from one position they would take up another, and so we continued, moving them back as we advanced, for about four hours, when they made another ineffectual charge, passing down the lines like lightning. About 4 P.M. the enemy made their last charge, which was beaten off by the coolness and steadiness of our troops. The sailor force, I think, acted better than any other irregular body of the same experience and training. Several men were killed and wounded in these skirmishes; the dead were buried and the wounded carried on in the carts. We encamped that night [January 9] on the bank of the Pueblo river, and fortified ourselves against a cavalry charge by putting the baggage wagons fifteen yards in front of our lines and running ropes from one to the other. During the night we were much annoyed by the enemy firing into the camp and attempting to stampede some wild mares among us.
January 10, a flag of truce came from the enemy with an offer to surrender the capital on condition that life and property be spared. The Commodore acceded to these conditions, and we entered Los Angeles about 2 P.M. without further opposition. Two days later. Colonel Fremont entered the capital at the head of his force, having with him three pieces of artillery commanded by naval officers.
Shortly after Fremont's arrival. General Kearney withdrew to San Diego with his dragoons. On the day that he left I received orders from Commodore Stockton to march my command to San Pedro, en route to San Diego, whither he was to go by land. Consequently we broke camp the next morning, spent that night at Domingo's Ranch, and by 1 P.M. the next day my whole force was on board the Stonington and we were on our way to San Diego. Two days of discomfort, owing to bad weather and lack of room, brought us to San Diego, where I reported to Commodore Stockton and rejoined my ship.
In the latter part of April it was reported that General Bustamente was on his way with fifteen hundred troops from Sonora to Upper California. The Congress put to sea and in three days landed a party of observation under my command. The Commodore landed and remained with us for two days, when he returned on board. About the third day after we learned that the rumor about Bustamente was false, when the Commodore again landed and marched with us along shore to Ensenado, where we all re-embarked in the Congress and returned to San Diego.
At San Diego I was asked by the Commodore to take his dispatches to Biddle at Monterey. Accepting the duty, I left San Diego accompanied by Mr. Norris, the Commodore's secretary, and a vaquero. After a very fatiguing journey we arrived at Monterey, having made about six hundred and fifty miles in seven days. We underwent many hardships on the way, but the natives seemed kindly disposed and we paid for only one meal during the entire trip. The next day I reported to Commodore Biddle and was assigned to duty on the Warren until the arrival of the Cyane.
On May 25 the Cyane came in, having on board General Kearney, who announced his intention to start for home on June 1, via the Rocky Mountains. Accordingly he left us on that date with his suite, consisting of Colonel Cook. Captain Turner and others, escorted by a mounted party, among them Colonel Fremont and his exploring party.
The Congress, under Commodore Stockton's command, had arrived about May 27, the Commodore intending to return home overland. In the latter part of June he hauled down his flag and on July I began his long journey home.
During our stay in Monterey we sent our two companies ashore daily for battalion drill, in which all the small-arm men of the squadron took part, preparatory for the contemplated service on the Mexican coast.
July 28, the Independence, Commodore Shubrick, arrived, and about August 8 the Columbus sailed for home. August 28, the Preble arrived from Callao. October 16, the Cyane, which ship I had rejoined, stood out of the bay in company with the Independence. The Erie got under way at the same time, but failed to reach out of the harbor.
On October 29 we hove to off Cape San Lucas and, communicating with the shore, learned that Lower California was in a state of revolt. On the morning of the 30th we exchanged numbers with the Congress off San Jose. At 7 P.M. the Cyane anchored off Palmia. The Congress and Independence remained in the offing until November I, when we all anchored off San Jose. Finding the landing good, we put Lieutenant Heywood on shore with twenty men. Here we filled our casks with good sweet water and received daily supplies of fresh vegetables.
Commodore Shubrick having been officially informed that a revolution was about to break out, ordered a party of thirty mounted seamen to be sent into the interior as far as Todos los Santos. The party left San Jose under the command of Lieutenant Lewis, accompanied by Lieutenant Halleck of the Army, and Surgeon Maxwell of the Cyane, from whom I received the following account of the expedition: "The expedition bivouacked on the road the first night about five miles from the town. At early dawn the march was resumed and continued throughout the day, halting only to feed men and horses, the latter sadly in need of such care. About midday the command was met by two persons, Californians from Todos los Santos, en route for San Jose with the purpose of having an interview with Commodore Shubrick to assure him that in general the citizens of Magdalena Bay, at the head of which is the town of Los Santos, were not hostile to the United States, and that a faction was at the bottom of the unfriendly movement. They advised the return of our small force to the ship, as there was quite a force of Mexicans and Yaca Indians near Los Santos, in sympathy with the disaffected part of the population (at the head of which were the Padre Gabriel and the Alcalde), and ready to attack as soon as they could do so with safety; and said that the character of the passes and roads, or paths, was such that we could be ambushed at many points. The paisanos were evidently in earnest, as their after-conduct proved, and desired to avoid a conflict which they felt satisfied would result in disaster to them. Giving full credence to the honesty of their purpose, they were directed to seek the Commodore and make their report to him, and we, not disregarding their timely warning, continued our march and, hot and weary, bivouacked at nightfall, but in a situation very much resembling 'rats in a rat-trap,'—steep hills immediately above us, a mule path in front, and a wide arroya on our flank.
"Fortunately the night passed quietly, except the barking of coyotes, and at sunrise we resumed our march, passing the defiles and Thermopylae straits without molestation, and taking up our quarters at night in the hamlet of Piscodores, about nine miles from Los Santos. We were very kindly received here, and left the place in the morning under the impression that everything would be friendly on reaching our destination.
"As we were entering the town of Los Santos we were met by a fine-looking gentleman of about middle age, dressed in snow white linen, on a mule equally white. The Padre Gabriel, who most cordially welcomed us, rode with us to the Presidio and lodged us in his chapel, which adjoined the church and had attached to it a large corral, as was common in the early days of the country. All for awhile was couleur de rose. The officials came forward, who but half an hour before had accepted our proclamation while the sand on the ink of their rebellious predecessors was yet wet, and the Padre, head and front of the outbreak, was radiant with smiles (Judas) and an unconcealed satisfaction at this state of affairs. The cloud, however, was gathering: a sumptuous repast was ordered and universal hilarity prevailed; the advantages to be derived to both nations were discussed and the most friendly feeling was established.
"In the meantime mischief was at work outside. Our horses, sorry things at best, had been sent to some distant meadow for food, and as evening approached it was deemed proper they should be brought to the corral. At this point the Padre first showed signs of dissent from us. The horses, he said, were tired and would be in fitter plight for our return in the morning if left all night in the meadow. We could not dispute what he advanced, and would probably have yielded but for the unexpected appearance of one of the men who had warned us of the existing feeling on the part of the recent authorities. Calling one of the party aside after dinner, he asked for a private place where he could talk with safety. After some difficulty this was found, and it was then learned that the Mexican forces and their Indian allies were about thirty miles from us, and that the Padre had despatched one of his sons to inform them of our number and position and enjoining their immediate attack upon us. It was then determined to bring in the horses and corral them in the church enclosure. This gave great uneasiness to the Padre, and when the church bell tolled eight and the tread of the sentry was heard on the flat roof overhead, the Padre, who was enjoying a fragrant Havana, inquired the meaning, and being told that the sentry would pass him out or in as he desired, sprang from the table, rushed into his sanctum, closed the door and was not seen until the next morning. The entire premises had been barricaded and sentries placed; and none too soon, we were convinced, for Monsignor Gabriel had dispatched another messenger to hasten the movements of the enemy.
"In the meantime our men had been tampered with. Rum had been smuggled to them, flints had been extracted from their muskets, and in the morning they were in rather a dilapidated condition, and, not much used to riding, could scarcely keep the saddle. The Padre seeing this, dispatched, we were told, another messenger for his allies, hoping that they could intercept us should we leave in such a plight.
"Having satisfactorily arranged affairs with the newly formed municipality and no enemy appearing, it was determined to retrace our 'march to the sea' as soon as the men of the command had somewhat recovered from the effects of the too liberal hospitality of Padre Gabriel and his sons. We therefore paid our bill and took up our line of straggling march; the old Judas, again on his white mule and in his snow white attire, accompanying us to the edge of the town, though he had previously promised to go as far as his ranch that we might have a taste of his delicious rum.
"Reaching Piscadores about sunset we determined to rest there for the night, though we found a wonderful change in its hospitality and could with difficulty get our wants supplied. After the watch had been set, and far on in the night, we were suddenly aroused by a deep-toned voice calling 'Americano! Americano!' On bringing the intruder before the officer commanding, he stated that the Mexicans and Indians under General or Colonel Pineda were in hot pursuit of us, and begged we would leave at once so as to reach a pass where two could not pass abreast; that he had been shot at in his attempt to reach us, and that his brother had to make his escape also. Antonio was even beseeching in his earnestness and evidently believed all he said. A council of war was called and it was decided to stay where we were and make breastworks of saddles and blankets and what we could get, and if not molested, to move on in the morning. This decision was agony to Antonio, but there was no help for it, so he went off to a fishing village near by and took refuge on an American whaler in Magdalena Bay. This man afterwards made his way to La Paz, and it was he who later on procured horses for Lieutenant-Colonel Burton to enable him to send the expedition to San Antonio that rescued the officers of the Navy imprisoned there. We passed rather an uneasy night, but the bright, beautiful and fragrant morning of Lower California found us safe and rested, and after rewarding our unwilling hosts we returned without further incident to our respective ships."
It was hoped that the two successful expeditions under Lieutenant Selden and Passed Midshipman McLanahan, "respectively, in which quite a number of prisoners, including Padre Gabriel, were taken, would have quieted all open opposition to our rule, if rule it could be called when the mild but firm administration of Captain DuPont almost persuaded the governed that they were the governors; but a few dissatisfied persons, at the head of whom was a captain in the Mexican service, residing in Lower California, thought proper to play the guerrilla by attacking those friendly to us and intercepting supplies necessary to the comfort of the garrison at San Jose. With the view of suppressing this chief, Captain DuPont offered a reward for his apprehension. As the Californians had no love for Mexicans, this reward would undoubtedly have produced the offender, perhaps accompanied by a catastrophe. This man's family, however, had on more than one occasion been kind and hospitable to our people as they passed and repassed the hamlet of Los Palos on the direct route to Santiago, San Antonio, and other more inland towns. This kindness was not forgotten. Therefore, to avoid trouble and distress to the family, it was resolved to try milder means to bring in the insurgent chief. Permission was obtained of Captain DuPont for an effort to this end. Accordingly, Surgeon Maxwell, with Mr. Gillespie, an American resident, as interpreter, and three or four Californians, left the Cuartel of San Jose in the evening, and gaining the tableland commanding Los Palos before nightfall, waited until dark to descend unobserved, if possible, to the hamlet and surprise the object of their search. The movement was quietly made, the horses left in a ravine in charge of an armed native, and by two paths the party carefully approached the house known to be the residence of the Mexican captain's family and where it was expected to find him—but who or what can escape the vigilance and acute sense of smell of a Mexican dog? He gave the alarm and the culprit fled by a path better known to him.
The game was not up yet, however, neither was the attempt at surprise fruitless. A Mexican officer who figured at the attack on the church held by Lieutenant Heywood, was found in one of the houses, wounded and unable to move, and an interview resulted with the wife of the escaped captain. She communicated with her husband, who acceded to the proposed interview, consented to give himself up, was accordingly escorted to the Cuartel at San Jose, and delivered himself as prisoner of war to Captain DuPont.
On the 9th of November, 1847, Lieutenant Heywood was landed at San Jose with twenty marines, three officers, a twelve pounder gun, and provisions for two or three weeks. The force was a contemptible one and compromised our friends without protecting them.
On the same day the Congress, Independence, and Cyane sailed for Mazatlan, arriving on the 10th "cleared for action." The Cyane anchored close in with a spring on her cable, and the other ships anchored outside.
About 10 A.M. of the nth, the Cyane having been moored head and stern, with her broadside on the town, the boats of the other ships were sighted rounding the point (the Congress had taken position in the old harbor and the Independence to the westward of the town). We shoved off our boats containing two companies and two guns, and drew up on the beach at 1.30 P.M., Lieutenant Page and myself commanding respectively the right and left wings. We marched up to the Cuartel and stacked arms. The American flag was hoisted on the Cuartel and saluted with twenty-one guns from the Independence; and at 4 P.M. we returned to the ship, leaving Company A and the marines as our quota of the garrison.
On the 14th I was sent in charge of a boat expedition up the Estero, but was forced to return in consequence of shoal water. We found on shore two or three small vessels burned to the water's edge, took from them two small anchors, and returned to the ship.
On the 20th a water and land expedition started at 1 P.M. for the purpose of surprising a party of the enemy quartered at Urias. The water party, under my command, landed within a hundred yards of the enemy's pickets, and at dawn of day opened fire and charged on the camp, from which the enemy was driven, several of them being killed and wounded. The land party, having fallen into an ambush of the enemy's advanced guard, were severely handled, losing about twenty in killed and wounded.
On the 26th, Lieutenant Smith, of the Dale, brought word that a party that had landed from that ship at Guaymas had been fired upon, and that Captain Selfridge was wounded. At 4 P.M. the Cyane went to sea, and after beating about the coast of Lower California for a couple of weeks, arrived at La Paz at 3 A.M. December 9. Lieutenant-Colonel Burton came off in a shore boat and told us that the enemy had made repeated attacks upon his position, but had each time been driven back with loss. We stayed at La Paz until February 12, 1848, protecting Burton, sending parties on shore almost nightly, and drilling the men in evolutions and target practice.
On the 12th of February we got under way to proceed to the relief of Lieutenant Heywood. We arrived at San Jose on the evening of the 15th and got out the boats. Heywood to all appearances was closely invested, a Mexican flag flying within forty yards of his defenses. The whole sailor force of the Cyane, amounting to ninety men, was drawn up on the beach at daylight on the 16th of February, ready to move under the command of the captain and executive officer. The force marched from the beach by the flank, the two companies abreast, with the field-piece slightly in advance—tactics adopted for the reception of a cavalry charge. The advanced guard of the enemy fell back as we came on and opened fire on us from the hill-tops as the head of our column reached the hamlet of San Vincent. They were soon silenced and dislodged by the warmth of our volleys; but as our men moved on they closed in our rear and poured in a hot but ineffective fire. As we skirted a sugar field, after crossing a stream, the enemy opened again from his ambuscades, but as they fired over the fences instead of through them, they invariably overshot us. We soon silenced them by a few volleys through the fences, and marched a hundred yards before it became necessary to brush them off again. Then we were assailed from a grove of plantains, in front and from both sides of the road, and until we reached the village, a distance of four hundred yards. Heywood, mustering all his force that he could spare from his defenses, sallied forth to our assistance, and met us as we climbed a small ridge. We entered the town and drew up in front of the Cuartel. Some of the men wandering through the town received a scattering fire from some stragglers of the enemy posted on the overlooking heights, from which they were soon driven by a well directed volley; after this we received no further annoyance and dismissed the men for food and repose.
Our force on this occasion was composed as follows:
Sailors acting as infantry (Companies A and B), 84 men.
Artillery, 5 men
Marines, 5 men.
Officers, 8 men.
Total, 102 men.
Our loss was four wounded, two of these very slightly.
The officers were Captain DuPont, Lieutenants Rowan and Harrison, Acting Master Fairfax, Midshipmen Shepherd, Lewis, and Vanderhorst, and Surgeon Maxwell.
The enemy's force is estimated at from three hundred to three hundred and fifty, and his loss at from thirty-five to forty.
During the advance of our little force on the Cuartel, the enemy were distinctly seen from the ship, but the chaparral and broken ground concealed our force so entirely from Lieutenant Selden, who had been left in command, that he was unable to fire without the danger of injuring friend as well as foe. After we reached the Cuartel he threw a few shells in the valley and soon dispersed the stragglers who hovered in the corn and cane fields. The enemy entertain a holy horror of the bolas podridas, or rotten balls, as they call our shells.
When the distressed condition of the garrison, the prompt and timely aid of the Cyane, and the handsome manner in which the affair was conducted, are taken into consideration, this may be safely set down as the most creditable affair that occurred in California. Lieutenant Heywood deserves the utmost praise for his determined perseverance and cool and unflinching courage. When we reached him he had provisions for but eight days at reduced allowance, and he had made preparations for blowing up the Cuartel previous to surrender; his auxiliary forces were in despair and had begun to treat with the enemy.
The wants of the garrison having been relieved and the wounded attended to by our fighting surgeon (Maxwell) nothing remained to mar our joy but the death of Passed Midshipman McLanahan, who fell, fighting gallantly for his country, three days previous to our arrival.
Our next duty was to bring provisions from the ship to the Cuartel, a service of much difficulty, owing to the want of suitable means of transportation and the difficulty of landing provisions in the high surf Having procured three mules, we began packing a barrel of beef or pork on each, making two trips daily until we had supplied Heywood with two months' full rations for one hundred people. His force only amounted to sixty, including sailors, marines, and Californians, but allowance had to be made for the women and children of the auxiliaries. The operation of getting the provisions up consumed the remainder of the month. On March 1 we stopped the trains to enable Heywood to complete his well and protect it with a wall—a necessary work, since the enemy had made preparations to cut off his water, and but for our arrival would have succeeded in two or three days more.
The sloop Alerta, Lieutenant McRae, now arrived from La Paz with the news that all was quiet there, and that Burton was planning a surprise for the purpose of rescuing our prisoners said to be in San Antonio.
March 12, we received from the whale-ship Trescot a prisoner of war, Captain Juan Zuniga, who had recently acted as captain of cavalry under General Pineda.
March 17, the transport Isabella from Monterey hove to off the harbor with a hundred and fifty New York volunteers, from Stevens' regiment, under Captain Nagle, to strengthen the garrison at La Paz. They sailed thither in the afternoon of the same day.
March 21, Passed Midshipmen Duncan and Warley arrived from La Paz in a small launch with three men, having been rescued from captivity by Burton's surprise; the rescuing party had been composed of thirty mounted men under the command of Captain Steele, accompanied by Lieutenant Halleck of the Engineers.
On the night of March 23, Captain DuPont went with a party to surprise the enemy's camp at Santa Anita, accompanied by Lieutenant Heywood and myself; but a spy frustrated the attempt by giving the enemy information, and when we reached the camp we found it deserted.
April 1, Lieutenant Selden, with Surgeon Maxwell and a party of mounted men (sailors and marines), was sent from the Cyane to scour the country, and returned after an absence of three or four days, bringing about twenty prisoners, but without important information.
April 16, the schooner Rosita, commanded by Passed Midshipman Duncan, arrived, bringing Lieutenant Moorehead of the Army, ten men and a wagon, preparatory to the arrival of a force for the relief of Heywood.
April 20, the brig Sterling arrived with sixty-three 8-inch mortars; and the Southampton also came in, bringing two hundred volunteers for the relief of the garrison.
Sunday, the 23d, the Cyane left San Jose for Mazatlan and arrived there on the evening of the 29th. On the 7th of May, the Ohio, bearing the broad pennant of Commodore Jones, came in and anchored.
After staying a week at Mazatlan we were informed that a mutiny had broken out among the New York volunteers at San Jose, and we of the Cyane were ordered there to quell it by our presence, with instructions to use force if necessary. We got under way, reached San Jose, filled our water casks, and having received on board five of the mutineers, made sail again for Mazatlan, where we anchored on Sunday, May 21st.
June 1, 1848, having made all preparations for sea, we got under way, homeward bound; passing under the Commodore's quarter we saluted him, gave and received three cheers, and stood out of the harbor.
Arriving at San Bias we learned that the Mexican Congress had ratified the treaty of peace. This, of course, was the end, and my war service in the Cyane was over.