Ahead of the Army

by William Osborn Stoddard

  CHAPTER XVI.

  GENERAL SCOTT AND HIS ARMY

  "There they come! They are going to march right in! But what I want,most of all, is to see the general himself. There he is!"

  Telescope in hand, Ned Crawford was standing on the parapet, near one ofthe southerly gates of Vera Cruz, watching the triumphant entrance ofthe American army. He could hardly have told whether he was more glad tosee them come, or because the siege and the bombardment were over. Hewas already familiar with the various troops of Mexico, and he knew thatsome of them, but not many, could perform their military evolutions inpretty good style. The one thing which struck him most forcibly now,however, as his glass was aimed here and there over the approachingcolumns and lines, was that at no point was there a flaw or a defect inthe orderly movements of the American soldiers. With admirable drilland under perfect management, they swung forward across the broad levelbetween their earthwork batteries and the badly shattered wall of thecaptured city. Compared with them, the garrison which had surrenderedwas, for the greater part, only a little better than an ill-provided,half-armed, undisciplined mob. Wealth, arms, civilization, scientificgeneralship, had all been on the side of the great republic of theNorth, and there had been no doubt, from the beginning, as to what theresult must be. The one important seaport of Mexico, with all itsforeign commerce, was now under the control of the United States, andcould not be taken from them.

  Ned saw one of the advancing lines melt beautifully into the shape of along column, and file through the gate near him. Then followed a sectionof field artillery and a small detachment of cavalry. All these were tobe admired, of course, but his eyes watched them only for a moment, forjust behind the horsemen came an exceedingly brilliant cavalcade, infront of which rode the remarkable man whom Ned was most anxious to see.

  Beyond a doubt, General Winfield Scott had many severe critics and not afew personal enemies. By these, he was said to be arrogant, blunt inmanners, opinionated, and also a military martinet with terriblyunvolunteer ideas relating to the rigid discipline required for successin war. He had seen, however, a deal of hard service in the war of 1812and otherwise, and his military record was without a flaw. There weregood judges, both in America and Europe, who believed and declared thatfor the management of a difficult campaign he had no superior among thegenerals then living. He was now actually called upon to prove that hecould perform apparent impossibilities under very trying circumstancesand with somewhat limited resources. Physically, he was a large,fine-looking man, and he was even excessively particular concerning thefit and elegance of his parade uniform. He was therefore looking hisbest when he rode in to take possession of Vera Cruz.

  Ned went down a ladder as soon as he could, after breathlessly staringat the great commander, but he did not succeed in witnessing theformalities of the surrender, whatever they were. The crowds in his waywere too much for him, but not long after General Scott and his staffdisappeared through the portal of the building which had been theheadquarters of poor General Morales, Ned worked his way through athrong of downcast Mexicans toward a young officer who appeared to be incommand of about a half company of infantry. From the excitement of themoment and from a good many months of daily custom, he spoke to thelieutenant in Mexican Spanish, in a recklessly eager manner and withouttouching his hat.

  "What on earth do you want?" was the curt and gruff reply. "I'm onlyLieutenant Grant. You'll have to see somebody else, whatever it is. Youhad better go and speak to one of the staff."

  If Ned had really been a young Mexican, speaking no tongue but his own,he might not have understood that perfectly. As it was, however, he atonce broke out with energy into a language to which he had for some timebeen unaccustomed. Even now, nevertheless, he forgot to touch his hat.

  "Well, Mr. Grant," he said, "I've been all over the country. I've beenin the city of Mexico and among their troops, and I believe I know a lotof things that I ought to report to General Scott, or somebody."

  It was a patriotic idea which had been growing in his mind all thatmorning, and it had driven out of him every ounce of bashfulness.

  "You have, have you?" said Grant. "I declare. Seems to me you speakEnglish pretty well for a greaser--almost like a born American. I guessthe general's willing to hear almost anything. But you will have to seesome member of the staff. Hullo! I say! Captain Lee! Here's a kind ofspy. I think you'd better hear him. I can't leave my post."

  "Spy?" exclaimed Ned. "No, I'm not any such thing, but my name is EdwardCrawford, and I'm from New York. I got stuck in Mexico and I couldn'tget out. I've been all around everywhere. Things are mixed--"

  "Grant," said Captain Lee, "he may have something worth while. I'll takehim in to see Schuyler Hamilton. Let the captain pump him."

  Captain Robert E. Lee was not exactly off duty at that hour, for he andother engineer officers had been ordered to make a survey of thefortifications, but he was there to receive instructions and he couldtake Ned in with him. He was a taller, handsomer fellow than Grant, andhe was all of three times as polite in his treatment of Ned. Perhaps,however, Grant's first manners had been damaged by being addressed insuch a style, in Spanish, by an excited young Mexican.

  In went Ned and Lee, and there was no difficulty in obtaining aninterview with Captain Hamilton. Ned had never heard of him before, buthe was now aware, from Captain Lee, that he was a descendant of GeneralPhilip Schuyler and General Alexander Hamilton of the Revolutionary War.Ned thought of Senora Tassara's great ancestors for a moment, and thenhe did not really care a cent for pedigree. He even startled Hamiltonhimself by the energy and rapidity with which he told what he knew ofthe condition of things throughout the country, the movements of SantaAnna, and the political plots and conspiracies. Hamilton was a slender,graceful young man, handsomer than even Lee, and with piercing blackeyes.

  "Lee," he said, "the cub is a genuine curiosity. I can't imagine how onearth he learned so much. He isn't a fool, by any means. General Scottwill be at liberty in a few minutes, and Crawford must see him."

  "All right," said Lee. "I have my instructions now, and I'll leave himwith you. They say the old castle's badly knocked in pieces."

  If, as Lee intimated, the fortress of San Juan de Ulua was just then inbad condition, so was Ned when he heard what they were going to do withhim. He had supposed that his errand had been completely done to thesharp-eyed staff officer, but now they threatened to bring him beforethe general, whom he considered the most tremendous man on the earth. Itwas a little too much, but he drew a long breath and stood as straightas a ramrod, looking very red indeed. In three minutes more he wasbrought face to face with the commander-in-chief of the armies of theUnited States, and he felt as if he had been surrounded and compelled tosurrender. Captain Hamilton reported the matter in the fewest wordspossible, but all the while the general had been watching Ned, lookingright through him, and in a moment Ned found himself feeling perfectlyeasy. If General Scott had been his uncle, he could not have spoken tohim in a kinder or more carelessly familiar way. He questioned him aboutall his experiences, and an acute listener might have gathered that hepaid more attention to Ned's political information than to anything ofa strictly military nature.

  "Hamilton," he slowly remarked, at last, "General Taylor did anexceedingly good thing for us down here, after all. The battle of BuenaVista was our own battle. Santa Anna will not be able to raise anotherarmy like the one that was so roughly handled up there. If it had beenhere, in good shape, we would have had ten times as much trouble intaking Vera Cruz. Santa Anna's power is already half broken."

  "Perhaps a little more," suggested Hamilton.

  "Perhaps," said the general, "but our patriotic young friend here hasmade a valuable report. Ah, McClellan! You and Beauregard are to makethe inspection of the castle with Captain Lee. Take Crawford back toGrant, as you go. He may serve with the Seventh as an unenlisted man.Let him have his orders, Hamilton. He is a brave fellow."

  Out went Ned with a pair of as yet undistinguished o
fficers, both ofwhom were to be heard of again in after time, and it did not occur tothe very much elated "scout," as he now considered himself, to correctGeneral Scott's apparent idea that Lieutenant Ulysses S. Grant was aparticular friend and guardian of his.

  "Now, if this isn't bully!" he thought. "I've been on the Mexican sideall the while till now. I've been kind of part of the garrison of VeraCruz, but I've been praised by General Scott, for all that. I wonderwhat our folks at home would say to it!"

  It was a grand thing to think of, and Ned felt as proud as if he hadbeen promoted for storming an enemy's entrenchments.

  There was another experience of an entirely unexpected character justbefore him, however. Hardly had McClellan and Beauregard turned him overto Grant, and while the latter was inspecting the order written byCaptain Hamilton, Ned was suddenly shaken from head to foot. Not thatanybody, Mexican or American, was actually handling him roughly, butthat a hoarse, eager voice at his right ear exclaimed:

  "Edward! My son! Is this you? Are you a prisoner?"

  "No, Mister," responded Grant, before Ned could gather his wits to uttera word. "He isn't a prisoner, but I'm ordered to stick him into theoutside of the Seventh somewhere. Is he your son?"

  "He is, lieutenant," said Mr. Crawford. "And, oh, how glad I am!"

  "Father!" Ned had shouted, as a pair of strong arms went around him."How did you happen to be here?"

  "I came on one of our own supply-ships," said Mr. Crawford. "I'll tellyou all about it by and by. I had all but given up hearing anything ofyou, and we sail for New York to-morrow. Lieutenant, I haven't seen himfor more'n a year. I want a good long talk."

  "Of course you do!" said Grant, heartily. "Take him along, and let himreport at the camp of the Seventh to-morrow morning. You may go now, myyoung greaser, but you'd better get on another rig than that before youcome."

  "He will do that," said Mr. Crawford. "Come along, Ned. Let's go wherewe can be by ourselves. I want to hear your whole yarn, from beginningto end, and I've all sorts of things to tell you."

  "Father," said Ned, "I know just the place. We'll go and get supper atold Anita's, and we can talk all the way. Hurrah! How's mother?"

  All the most important home news followed quickly after that, and Nedfelt that the capture of Vera Cruz was more important than ever.

  "I am going to let you stay here, though," said his father. "You canlearn more than in any other way that I know of."

  "That's what I want," said Ned. "And now I shall be in our army."

  The father and son were not walking very fast, but they could talkrapidly, and they had a great many things to say. They had some thingsto see, as well, for everywhere, as they went, they encountereddetachments of United States soldiers patrolling the city, restoringorder and setting things to rights. That they were doing so appeared tobe a tremendous surprise to large numbers of the inhabitants, who hadalmost been expecting to be ruthlessly plundered, if not murderedoutright, by these cruel barbarians from the awful republic of theNorth. Not all of them were panic-stricken in this way, however, forwhen the house of old Anita was reached, she was standing in thedoorway, and she greeted them loudly with:

  "O Senor Carfora! I knew all the while that you were a gringo. I am soglad that we have surrendered! Santa Maria Gloriosa! Praise all thesaints! We shall have no more cannonading! We shall have plenty to eat!"

  "That is just what we want, Anita," replied Ned. "This is my father. Hehas come to see me, and you must give him some dinner. Then I will tellyou all about General Scott and the American soldiers."

  She had neighbors with her, as usual, and some of them had becomeaccustomed to regarding Ned as a kind of newsboy. They were now alsoprepared to thank a large number of religious personages that he was agenuine gringo, and on good terms with the conquering invaders, who werehenceforth to have the control of affairs in Vera Cruz.

  It was late that night when Ned said good-by to his father, and it waslike pulling teeth to let him go, but there was no help for it, as thesailing of the supply-ship could not be delayed. Ned was once more alonein Mexico, and it took all his enthusiasm for his expected army life toreconcile him to the situation. Perhaps there was not a great deal ofsound sleeping done, in the hammock that swung in the little room in theTassara mansion, but at an early hour next morning he was on his way tohunt up the camp of the Seventh Infantry and the tent of LieutenantGrant. This was accomplished without much difficulty, and almostimmediately Ned made a discovery. His probable coming had, of course,been reported to the colonel commanding the regiment, and thatofficer's common-sense remark was:

  "Unenlisted orderly, eh? Yankee boy that can speak Spanish, and thatknows every corner of this miserable city? Just what we want. I'm gladold Fuss and Feathers sent him to us. He is the greatest general in theworld. Send your scout right here to me. I've errands for him."

  Therefore, the next chapter in Ned's Mexican experiences was that hefound himself sent out, soldierlike, upon a long list of duties, forwhich he was peculiarly well prepared by knowing where to find streetsand houses which were as yet unknown to the rank and file of the gallantSeventh. The men, on their part, soon came to regard him as a soldierboy, like themselves, and he had a fine opportunity for learning, fromday to day, the processes by which General Scott was organizing hisforce for his intended march across the sierra, on the road he hadselected for reaching the city of Mexico. It was soon to be plainlyunderstood that, whenever that army should march, it would do so as asort of human machine, ready to perform any military work which itscommander might require of it.