Halls of Montezuma

by Tony Roberts

  “Thank you sir,” Case straightened and saluted. He’d had to learn to use the American version of saluting. It was like the British navy, rather than the British army’s method. No matter, he learned fast. No matter how long he’d lived, he always seemed to pick things up quickly, like languages. He wondered whether it was the Curse or just his natural abilities?

  The men were packed into specially built landing craft and rowed ashore, accompanied by the band playing loud fanfares. It was all rather unnecessary, Case thought. If any Mexican had missed their approach from the sea, then even the dead would have heard their arrival. The Marines remained on board for the moment and Case caught one last sight of their wistful expressions before they were rowed to shore.

  The infantry set up a perimeter and dug defensive ditches, but the enemy stayed put inside the walls of Vera Cruz. The series of defeats they’d experienced thus far made them reluctant to venture out of their fortress. The cannons were next unloaded, and while that was going on Case was called to attend Major Ross. Ross was a tall, balding man with a white goatee beard and a discernible paunch. Obviously officers’ meals were very good.

  “Corporal Lonnergan?”

  “Sir,” Case saluted. Another man stood by the side of Ross, dark haired and wearing a mustache, exuding a calm manner. He was smartly dressed in a captain’s uniform.

  “This is Captain Lee, engineers. I’ve assigned the captain here to scout out the enemy positions, but I understand you have knowledge of this area from a previous visit?”

  “Yes sir. I have traveled from Vera Cruz all the way to Mexico City and back again in my younger days. I know the land hereabouts.”

  “Excellent. I also understand you’re from Virginia, is that correct?”

  “Yes sir. Lynchburg.”

  “Well, the Captain is from Stratford, Virginia, so the two of you have something in common. I would like you to accompany the captain here on his reconnaissance of Vera Cruz and to judge where best to place artillery so as to bombard the Mexicans into surrender. I would also like you to provide protection for Captain Lee. I understand you distinguished yourself at Monterey, so I hear.”

  “Thank you sir. I would be honored. Captain,” Case saluted the smiling Lee.

  “A nasty scar you have there, corporal. How did you come by that?” Lee asked.

  Case laughed, somewhat embarrassed. “Ah, well Captain, I shall give you a piece of advice as my answer; never short-change a whore.”

  Lee’s eyes widened and a slight smile played across his lips, while Major Ross cleared his throat, a disapproving look on his face. “Ah well, yes,” Ross said uncomfortably. “Perhaps one should learn lessons from such instances, Corporal. Perhaps it’s best to leave such persons alone altogether.”

  “Of course sir,” Case said woodenly. Captain Lee nodded. Major Ross unrolled a parchment and spread it across the table that took up much of the space inside his tent. “Now, we are here,” Ross jabbed a thick stubby finger onto a spot on the coast. “We need to isolate the garrison swiftly, so I require the two of you to find me good artillery sites here,” he pointed to a spot just south of Vera Cruz, “here to the west and here,” he jabbed his finger to the north. “I also need to know if it’s possible for a relief force to approach us from Puebla and if there’s any other routes than the Puebla road. Report back to me within two days; General Scott wishes to take the city as soon as possible before the fever season is upon us.”

  Captain Lee saluted, so Case did too and both left the tent. Lee stopped Case outside. “How good are you with a rifle, corporal?”

  “A rifle, sir? Can’t recall I’ve ever held one of those. All I have is a musket.”

  Lee smiled and beckoned to the Eternal Mercenary. “If we are to scout, then I need a man who can keep any enemy at arm’s length. A musket can reliably hit someone at 75 yards or under; a rifle can hit someone at 400. I have one you can test. See how you get on with it, corporal.”

  “Sir.” Case felt excited. He’d heard lots about the rifle. They had been used by the British during the Napoleonic wars with varying degrees of success, but the musket still remained the popular choice by the armies of the world. Currently there were debates flying around in military circles at Sandhurst, West Point and Saint Cyr as to the merits and demerits of the rifle. Case was aware that loading the rifle was much more difficult because of the rifling inside the barrel, and the effort needed to force the ball down the muzzle. In contrast the smooth bore of the musket provided no resistance so it loaded faster. Those who wanted greater firepower shunned the more accurate rifle, stating by the time you’d reloaded your rifle once, the muskets had fired three times. There had been some recent innovations but these had been tested and found wanting. The military had stuck to the musket.

  Now Captain Lee had a rifle for him to test out. Well, might as well, nothing to lose. If it don’t work, I can always return to my musket. The captain’s tent had a few boxes lying on the grass and Lee opened one, bringing out a gun not too dissimilar to the musket. It had a slightly shorter barrel and ramrod, but that was the main difference. “Corporal, I give you the Minié rifle.”

  Case took it and examined it closely. It felt slightly lighter and gleamed as only new firearms can. Lee passed Case a pouch. “Here. The cartridges.”

  “Thank you, sir”

  “Take a look.” Captain Lee smiled slightly.

  Case opened the pouch and picked up the projectile that the rifle fired. It was spherical, a normal ball shape he was used to, but larger than the normal musket balls he used. Case looked at the captain in wonder. “Where did you get these, Captain?”

  “A French weapons supplier hitched a ride with us from New Orleans and insisted we try out these weapons. Nobody’s had the chance, and to be honest, Corporal, not many of my fellow officers want to look silly pressing an untried weapon on the men. It struck me that a single man on a scouting mission might be the perfect opportunity. Now, the arms dealer told me that the projectiles don’t need a great deal of force to ram down the barrel and that you’ll need to adjust the sights for greater distance. You see, the speed by which the ball comes out of the muzzle of this gun is slower than most other arms we have and it takes a different trajectory, a bit like a shell from an artillery piece. So the further away the target, the higher you got to aim. The range of these things is phenomenal, but I’d say accurate shooting is around 300-400 yards. Go try it out there in that canyon. I’ll keep an eye on the shots.”

  The two walked out of camp towards a small ravine where a number of rocks lay scattered about. The captain arranged a few rocks at varying intervals and then climbed the side of the ravine and sat down, notebook in hand. Case stood halfway down the ravine and proceeded to load, finding that as Lee had said, the ball didn’t need half the effort to push it in. This would make loading much easier.

  He took sight on the largest rock, and guessed it to be 100 yards distant. Captain Lee was about 50 yards back and off to the right. “When you’re ready, Corporal,” he called out.

  Case squeezed the trigger and the shot blasted out, missing the rock. Way beyond the target a puff of dust and rock splinters rose up. Case puffed out both cheeks. That must have been two hundred yards away and a little to the left of the line he was aiming at. Quickly reloading he tried again. This time he grazed the rock and the shot struck past the first impact. This was some weapon!

  “Okay Captain,” Case said, “I think I’ve got it now.” Sure enough the third shot struck the rock squarely in the center. Case slowly lowered the rifle. This made things vastly different. With a musket he would have probably missed a target that size three times out of three. This was far more accurate, and once you got used to the trajectory a man with a steady aim could be goddamned dangerous at two, even three hundred yards further than before.

  Some men, attracted by the shots, had come to the edge of the ravine. They noted what was going on and sat with interest along the rim. Captain Lee ignored them. “Okay
Corporal, try the second one, another fifty yards beyond.”

  This rock was a round stone with a large bulge on one side. It lay on the stony ground and was perhaps the size of a horse’s head. Case stepped to one side so that the original rock wasn’t in the way. He gauged the distance and made a slight adjustment to his sight. The barrel now rose a touch higher. He took aim and fired.

  Jeers from the spectator confirmed his miss. Cursing, Case reloaded. The shot had gone too high again. Dropping the sight a fraction, he sent the next shot into the rock. Captain Lee nodded in satisfaction. “Try the same target, Corporal, three more shots.”

  Two of those hit.

  Case looked at the rifle with admiration. This was one damned deadly weapon. At a stroke it changed infantry warfare. Hell, Case thought, you won’t get soldiers 70 yards apart with this thing trading volleys in line. You’d kill half of them at 150! With sight training a soldier could keep cavalry at bay too!

  “Now, the third rock. I gauge that at 250 yards. Can you hit that?”

  Case grinned at the challenge in Lee’s voice. “I’ll sure try, sir.” Taking careful aim, he shot. The ball kicked up dust in front of the rock and ricocheted over the top. The watching soldiers made rude noises and laughed. Case ignored them, raised the barrel slightly, and clipped the rock with his second. The third struck square, the fourth missed (more jeers) and the fifth knocked the rock over.

  Case wiped his watering eyes and slowly walked towards the captain who had stood up and was studying his notes. “Well, sir, it looks like it’s a good weapon to have.”

  Lee nodded. “Much more accurate than the musket, and not much difference in the time it takes to reload. One thing we were told, Corporal, make sure you clean it thoroughly; the powder clogs up the rifling fairly quickly.”

  “Yes sir. Does this mean I can keep this rifle?”

  “When you’re with me yes. I’m afraid you’ll have to give it back when you return to your regiment, Corporal.”

  Case shrugged in disappointment. He would like to test it out in battle, surely the only certain way a weapon can be properly tested. Captain Lee led the walk up to the top and through the curious men to the tent. Lee eyed the milling throng in irritation. “Okay fellers, the show’s over. It was just a test. Plenty more testing to come yet. Best get back to your units or some officer might find a hard working task for you.”

  The men muttered and broke up, more than one looking at the opened box by the tent. Case put the lid back on and sat on it. “It might be a good idea to hide this box away, sir. I think there were more than one tempted to, ah, have a closer look just then?”

  Lee nodded. “While we’re gone it’ll be looked after by Major Ross. Best get ready; we’ll be going in thirty minutes.”

  Case cleaned the rifle, and then grabbed a few more cartridges before Lee emerged from his tent, dressed in a rougher version of his uniform. He also carried a telescope and his notepad. On his belt a pistol was holstered and a sword slung in its sheath. “Okay Corporal, this way.”

  The two went through camp, pausing to check with Major Ross first. Then they left camp and made their way down a gully thick with bushes and trees. The ground was sandy and soft underfoot, and they made fairly good progress. After about twenty minutes the captain stopped and looked to the right. “I don’t know how close we are to Vera Cruz, Corporal, but we’re not too far away. Be alert.”

  Case nodded and they slowly ascended a small rise and peered over the top. A clear area stood in front and to the right, towards the sea, they could see a small collection of red roofed houses. A village. Vera Cruz stood ahead in the distance with nothing to block the view. “Excellent,” Lee commended, writing furiously, “this would make a perfect artillery position.”

  Case nodded. “The land drops off to the left but it rises up and down. We can make our way along there unseen from the city, sir. The only place we may have trouble is where the road from Puebla crosses our path. But it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.”

  Lee nodded and indicated for Case to show the way. Case’s memory filled with him and Marina walking together in this area long ago, each learning the other’s language. He remembered the way the land rolled in waves, so that the two could move south to north totally unseen from the city. Lee noted more positions and they reached the road before long. Not much was traveling along the dusty surface and they scampered across into the undergrowth on the other side before the next wagon rumbled into sight.

  No military traffic was visible and they continued their expedition around to the north. Here the land was flatter and moving without being seen was more difficult but eventually a position was marked and the two retraced their steps. However it was late and darkness fell shortly after they crossed the road, so they found a sheltered place to spend the night.

  They talked about Virginia in hushed voices, and Case was impressed by Lee’s love of that state. Case realized that to men like Lee, their first loyalty was to their state rather than the United States as a whole. Lee saw himself as a Virginian before an American. This gave Case an insight into the thinking of many people who had been born in America. The new immigrants tended to think only of the US as a whole, but those who had lived there all their lives saw it differently.

  They arrived back at camp early the next morning and Lee went to report to Ross while Case returned the rifle reluctantly to its box. He had been disappointed not to use it in anger. But maybe the chance would come again.

  General Scott acted swiftly. Using Lee’s intelligence, he moved his army round the port in a semi-circle and got men to hack away big clearings for the guns. Then, asking for and getting big guns from the ships, mounted a number of impressive artillery emplacements all round Vera Cruz. Then the navy moved closer to the port and at a pre-arranged time, all opened up with a bombardment that smashed into the walls, buildings and defenses of the city.

  After five days the garrison commander had had enough. The white flag was raised and the American forces marched in, thus securing a supply base and port for their ships. Having secured Vera Cruz, Scott then marched his army out along the Puebla road and along the coastal plain towards the mountains, now called the Sierra Madre. Case, who had rejoined his comrades, told them about the new rifle which interested them. They all wanted a go but groaned when Case told them it was still being viewed suspiciously and it was unlikely the ordinary soldier would be given it.

  The land began to rise, a familiar sight for Case, and the first pass through the hills loomed ahead. The Spanish had named this the Cerro Gordo – the ‘Fat Hill’ – and it was here that Santa Anna placed a new army, infantry and artillery, on either side of the road. He was protected by a river and ridge on one side and a hill on the other, and anyone using the road would be smashed to pieces.

  Case was sent for again and this time he was interrogated by a number of officers. Case was surprised to see Lieutenant Longstreet there too, and the lieutenant obviously remembered him from Corpus Christi because he nodded and smiled. Case did likewise. Captain Lee and Major Ross were also present and there, standing in the middle, was the burly white haired General Winfield Scott. Smart and correct, the oldest of the men there, Scott formally requested Case describe the terrain about the pass.

  Case pointed at the ridge they had to cross. “The road passes through the only easy route through this point, sir. Otherwise it’s a difficult climb around.”

  “But there is an alternative?” Scott pressed.

  “With men, yes sir. But not with artillery. The paths are steep and narrow.”

  “Show me, Corporal.”

  Case pointed to a route round the steep hill to the north of the pass. “You can send men round this hill and out to the rear. It will be tough but it’s possible sir.”

  “Thank you Corporal.” Scott turned to Lee. “Captain. I want you to map a route around the hill to the north. You will be accompanied by a detachment of the 8th infantry under Lieutenant Longstreet. Report back to me
the moment you return. That is all.”

  The meeting broke up, Case feeling more than a little disappointed. Captain Lee stopped him as he was leaving. “I’m sorry you’re not coming along but General Scott doesn’t like to mix up men from different units. Since you’re in the fourth he wouldn’t like you being attached to a unit from the eighth. I have commented to him how useful you were at Vera Cruz, and at least he’s noticed you. You might get another chance, corporal. Thank you anyway for what you’ve told us.”

  “Thank you sir. Good luck.”

  Case kicked his heels with the rest while the scouting party sneaked round Santa Anna’s left flank. When they returned Scott launched a feint attack on the right flank of the Mexican while half of the infantry filed round the left and poured out behind the surprised Mexicans. Santa Anna’s army fled down the road in panic, leaving behind supplies, ammunition and a host of dead. They also lost 3,000 taken prisoner.

  Scott was delighted and advanced his men through the pass and up into the mountains. But then he got a nasty surprise. Not from the enemy, but from his own men. Those who had signed up the previous year for a twelve month stint now demanded they be allowed home and refused to advance any further. Despite pleas to the contrary, they refused to yield and marched back down to Vera Cruz and boarded ship for home.

  Suddenly the American army had lost nearly half their number, and were deep inside Mexican territory, with an unknown number of the enemy ahead of them.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  “So we carry on just like that?” Jimmy said incredulously. “With half a bloody army?”

  “That’s what General Scott said,” Case replied. “He’s not hanging around waiting for the Mexicans to come and drive us back into the sea. Anyway, there’s reports of bandits raiding the supply road back to Vera Cruz and there’s not enough soldiers left to patrol it.”