by Jeff Shaara
The duty is harsh and difficult, involves the protection of new settlers who are pushing the American influence westward, often resulting in hostile confrontation with the Indians.
In late 1857 his father-in-law, the patriarch of the Arlington estate, dies. Lee is granted an extended leave from the army, returns to Virginia to manage the plantation, must endure a difficult legal and financial storm. He spends all of 1858 and much of 1859 at Arlington, but still performs duties for the army that arise because of his proximity to Washington. In October 1859 one of these duties involves quelling the insurrection of radical abolitionist John Brown at Harper’s Ferry. He performs this duty with efficiency, and Brown is ultimately hanged. In February 1860, Lee naively returns to Texas, having no idea about the explosive effect Brown’s execution will have on the growing hostility over the issue of slavery.
Lee now commands the Second Cavalry Regiment, under the overall command of General Davy Twiggs. Twiggs has grown more bitter since his days in Mexico, and regards Lee with disdain, as merely a puppet of Winfield Scott. If the duty in the Texas wilderness is disagreeable at best, under Twiggs, Lee suffers miserably.
As the angry forces begin to drive the country toward civil war, Lee seems unaware of the depth of the passions, maintains an idealistic view that God will not allow such foolishness to engulf the country, and he writes frequently that reason will certainly prevail. In a letter to his son Custis, Lee says, “The southern states seem to be in a convulsion.… It is difficult to see what will be the result, but I hope all will end well.”
In February 1861, when Texas votes to secede, Twiggs suddenly surrenders the army’s property in Texas, and Lee is recalled to Washington. Lee writes his son again, “I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than a dissolution of the Union … If the Union is dissolved … I shall return to my native State, and share the miseries of the people, and save in defense will draw my sword on none.”
With the shelling of Fort Sumter and the start of the war, Lee receives an extraordinary offer from Francis Blair, an old friend. Speaking for Lincoln, Blair extends a Major General’s commission and command of the Union army which Lincoln is organizing to put down the rebellion. The offer is endorsed strongly by Winfield Scott. To the dismay of official Washington, Lee turns it down, resigns from the army and returns to his home, believing his service to his country is at an end. Winfield Scott tells Lee, “You have made the greatest mistake of your life.”
In Lee’s letter of resignation, he states again, “Save in defense of my native State, I never again desire to draw my sword.”
Invited by the governor of Virginia to assume command of the state’s defensive forces, Lee finds himself caught up in the growing passions of the war, cannot escape from the memories of and the attraction to combat he experienced in Mexico. Thus his devotion to the defense of Virginia brings him closer to an increasing involvement in the South’s military cause. After serving in the relatively unimportant and unfulfilling role as military advisor to Confederate President Jefferson Davis, Lee is offered command of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. He accepts.
ANTONIO LOPEZ DE SANTA ANNA
In late 1847, Santa Anna continues to command what forces will remain loyal, still refers to himself as the “Napoleon of the West.” He orders the assault against American garrisons in Puebla, but American reinforcements from the coast arrive in time to prevent any significant Mexican advantage. Frustrated by the slow collapse of the army under him, he tries but cannot muster enough men to wage any kind of campaign with any hope of doing damage to the American occupation forces.
With the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the government, under the interim leadership of Supreme Court Justice Pena y Pena, demands that Santa Anna relinquish all control of the army. In late February 1848, General William Butler, replacing Winfield Scott, provides Santa Anna with a passport, and permits him free passage to the coast, to leave the country. Santa Anna narrowly misses capture and a possibly violent end by a renegade group of Texas volunteers under Colonel John Hays.
Santa Anna accepts exile in Jamaica, and in 1850 moves to the island of Granada. He never considers himself retired, stays close to events in his home country, always searching for opportunity. When a new crisis overcomes the Mexican government, his leadership is sought again, and he returns in April 1853 to assume, once more, the control of Mexico, and is named “Perpetual Dictator.” His rule is brief again, however, and he falls victim to a new revolution, led by Benito Juarez. Exiled again, he lives first in Cuba, then moves to the Bahamas. In 1864 he enters into negotiations with the United States to place him back in power against the French puppet Maximilian, and at the same time attempts to win over the friendship of Maximilian himself. The negotiations with Washington are short lived.
After the removal of Maximilian, he returns to Mexico in 1867, believes his time has come again, expects a hero’s welcome, but is arrested and put on trial for treason by officials loyal to Juarez. Avoiding a political and public relations disaster, Juarez allows Santa Anna to escape the obligatory death sentence. But Santa Anna is exiled again, spends six more years in Cuba, the Virgin Islands, and the Bahamas, where he writes his memoirs. The book is a stream of attacks on enemies real and imagined, and seeks to justify every act of his life as a response to the traitors and enemies that constantly threatened him and his country. Described as the ultimate patriot by some, and a brutal and abusive despot by others, when questioned as to why he does not believe liberty is appropriate for the Mexican people, he responds: “A hundred years to come my people will not be fit for liberty. They do not know what it is, unenlightened as they are, and under the influence of the Catholic clergy. A despotism is the proper government for them, but there is no reason why it should not be a wise and virtuous one.”
He completes the memoirs in 1874, at age eighty. Crippled and nearly blind, he nevertheless outlives his bitter enemy Juarez, and is allowed to return to Mexico. He is welcomed only by a small party of old friends and is ignored by the government. He dies in 1876, a bitter man, still believing it is his enemies that prevent him from again rising to power, serving a nation that only he understands. In its obituary, one newspaper says: “The last hours of his life inspire the saddest reflections: the man who controlled millions, who acquired fortune and honors, who exercised an unrestricted dictatorship has died in the midst of his greatest want, abandoned by all except a few of his friends … A relic of another epoch, our generation remembered him for the misfortunes he brought upon the republic, forgetting the really eminent services he rendered to the nation.”
Another says, “His career formed a brilliant and important portion of the history of Mexico, and future historians will differ in their judgment of his merits. General Santa Anna outlived his usefulness and ambition, and died at the ripe age of eighty-four [sic]. Peace to his ashes.”
It is a strange footnote to his long and controversial life that despite spending nearly as much time in exile as he spent in Mexico, he served as leader of that country on eleven separate occasions.
NICHOLAS P. TRIST
He pursues the treaty with the Mexican authorities with dogged determination, often at the expense of his own health. His distance from Washington causes him to assume somewhat more authority than the administration had thought appropriate, and despite the unqualified support of Winfield Scott, or perhaps because of it, in November 1847, Trist is sent a recall letter by Polk. It is an order popular to no one in Mexico, least of all the Mexicans themselves, and so, encouraged by Scott, his British friends, and his Mexican adversaries, Trist ignores the recall and completes the negotiations. The resulting Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo provides for the Mexican government to relinquish all control of the territory of Texas above the Rio Grande, the territory of New Mexico, and all of what is today California. As compensation, the United States pays the Mexican government fifteen million dollars. The treaty is all that Polk and his allies in Washington had
hoped for, and thus they are caught in the difficult situation of pushing for ratification of the treaty by Congress while at the same time condemning Trist, the man who engineered it. The treaty is finally ratified on May 30, 1848.
Trist returns to Washington, but can no longer find employment with a government he has embarrassed. Polk is so outraged at Trist’s show of independence, he will not recognize Trist’s legitimacy as a government agent, and thus Trist is not reimbursed for his considerable expenses until 1871, twenty-three years after his return.
He practices law, is never particularly successful, and fades into obscurity, made notable only by his appointment to the job of Postmaster of Alexandria, Virginia, by President Grant in 1870. He fills the post until his death in 1874.
PRESIDENT JAMES K. POLK
Elected at forty-nine years old, the youngest President up to his time, and the man who defeated the enormously popular (and favored) Henry Clay, Polk does not seem like a man who will build a healthy gallery of enemies. He enthusiastically embraces the policy of Manifest Destiny, has no difficulty dismissing the moral questions that much of the nation wrestles with over the war with Mexico.
Polk states early in his presidency that he is a one-term office-holder, promises to retire without running again in 1848. Upon his retirement, he says, “I feel exceedingly relieved that I am now free from all public cares.” The retirement is brief. After leaving office he travels extensively, contracts cholera in New Orleans, and dies on June 15, 1849.
“[Polk] is a bewildered, confounded and miserably perplexed man.”
—Abraham Lincoln, 1848
“James K. Polk is a great president. Said what he intended to do, and did it.”
—Harry S. Truman, 1960
CAPTAIN JOSEPH E. JOHNSTON
Recognized by his superior officers for conspicuous command of his volunteer infantry, Johnston receives two brevets for exceptional service under fire. He serves in garrison duty as the war concludes, returns home to immediately begin duty in the newly acquired territory of Texas and New Mexico. With little need for infantry commanders, the army recalls Johnston’s skills as an engineer, places him in charge of an effort to construct a lengthy railroad line linking Texas to California. But the scramble for financial opportunity in the new territory creates chaos in Congress, pulled by lobbying interests on all sides of the question, and the railroad, and thus the duty, is never completed.
In 1852, Johnston seeks and is granted extended leave from the army, and returns to command various engineering projects along the Mississippi, Ohio, and Arkansas rivers. He suffers similar frustrations that plague his friend Lee, looks to command infantry again as a means of advancement. He is thus surprised and somewhat disappointed when, in 1855, he receives assignment as second-in-command of the First Cavalry Regiment in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and soon finds himself in the middle of the growing hostilities of Bloody Kansas.
In 1859 he is appointed Inspector General of New Mexico, but serves only a short time, has his eye more strongly than ever on promotion. When Quartermaster General Jesup dies in 1860, Johnston recognizes the opportunity offered by the vacancy and vigorously lobbies for the post, which carries the automatic rank of Brigadier General. Winfield Scott nominates four men for the position, including Robert E. Lee, but Johnston’s efforts at self-promotion are rewarded. He receives the appointment and thus becomes the first graduate of West Point to rank as a general officer in the regular army. But Johnston finds the difficult position unfulfilling, and the complicated administrative duties are not easily dealt with by a man who prizes most his own talents for leading troops in the field.
As the issues dividing the nation grow hot, Johnston agonizes over the issue of secession, decides to place his loyalties with his home state of Virginia. Despite personal pleas from Winfield Scott, Johnston resigns from the army the same day as Robert E. Lee. However, unlike Lee, Johnston seeks service beyond the defense of Virginia, is soon appointed Brigadier General of the Confederate Army, the highest ranking regular army officer to join the Confederacy. He is immediately placed in command at the first major engagement with Union forces at Manassas (Bull Run).
As the war progresses, Johnston has great difficulty adapting to the ways of Jefferson Davis, and begins a feud that boils the rest of his life. The result for the Confederacy is destructive, and when Johnston is wounded in 1862, Davis uses the opportunity to place Lee in Johnston’s place. The relationship between Lee and Johnston deteriorates, to the great dismay of Lee, who cannot understand Johnston’s increasing hostility to everyone around him, and his suspicions of anyone in power. Their friendship suffers, and the closeness, so important to both men in Mexico, will never rekindle. When Lee dies in 1870, Johnston expresses deep regret that their relationship was not closer. He dies of pneumonia in 1891.
MAJOR GENERAL WILLIAM WORTH
Cleared of wrongdoing at the Court of Inquiry in spring 1848, Worth’s career nonetheless suffers. He will never receive the glory he feels he deserves, and after the war, he settles reluctantly for command of the Department of Texas. But his own fears about his health prove to be accurate, and he contracts cholera, dies in San Antonio in May 1849, at age fifty-five.
MAJOR GENERAL ZACHARY TAYLOR
“Old Rough and Ready,” the crude and plainspoken Indian fighter, achieves an unexpected reputation for heroism in northern Mexico, surprising even himself. He begins to accept what those around him are saying, warms to the idea of running for President, and in June 1848 receives the nomination of the Whig party despite similar ambitions from Henry Clay and Daniel Webster. He defeats Lewis Cass, and is inaugurated in March 1849. He proves to have no tolerance for the enormous wave of details that confronts the office, and suffers from a complete inability to understand the necessary concept of compromise. He does not complete one term, suffers heatstroke at a Fourth of July celebration, and dies July 9, 1850. He is succeeded by his vice president, Millard Fillmore.
MAJOR GENERAL GIDEON PILLOW
President Polk’s law partner brings on much of the controversy that results in the Court of Inquiry, insists that he was responsible for the American victory at Padierna, goes so far as to write an anonymous report of the battle in which he is named principal hero. The article is published in New Orleans in September 1847.
His political strength is too solid to be affected by the controversy, and he returns to law practice in Washington and continues to be active in the politics of the day. He actively supports his former subordinate, Franklin Pierce, who defeats Winfield Scott for President in 1852. It is a source of lasting satisfaction for Pillow. However, he is denied his own political goal, is not considered electable as a vice-presidential candidate, seeks the nomination again in 1856, and is again rebuffed.
As a native Tennessean, he is nonetheless outspoken against secession. However, Pillow cannot reject another opportunity for personal glory, and he accepts a commission as Brigadier General in the Confederate Army in July 1861.
His service to the Confederacy consists of a brief term as subordinate to Leonidas Polk at the battle of Belmont, Missouri, and later he is given command at Fort Donelson, which he almost immediately passes off to Simon Buckner, who ultimately surrenders to Ulysses Grant. It is not a distinguished act, and Pillow is suspended from service by Jefferson Davis.
Pillow’s investments in Confederate bonds ruin him financially, but he resumes his law practice after the war in Memphis, Tennessee, and survives until 1878.
BRIGADIER GENERAL DAVID TWIGGS
In December 1847, Twiggs leads a column of troops that assists in clearing the army’s main route to Vera Cruz of the threat of guerrillas. Appointed Military Governor of Vera Cruz, he serves that post only briefly; he returns home in March 1848. Taking no part in the controversy surrounding the clash of personalities, he thus keeps himself immune to political backlash. He is appointed to command of the Army of the West, and then command of the Department of Texas, where among his subordinates is Rob
ert E. Lee.
A Georgian, his sympathies lie with the southern cause, and with secession he does not hesitate turning over the army’s property to the rebellious Texas authorities. Branded a traitor in Washington, he is dismissed from the army, and returns briefly to his home state. In May 1861 he accepts appointment from Jefferson Davis as Major General in the Confederate Army, in charge of the District of Louisiana, but the command is insignificant and he sees little action. His age betrays him, and he dies in July 1862 at age seventy-two.
COMMODORE DAVID CONNER
One of the most efficient and accomplished naval officers of his time, Conner returns home in spring 1847 to no fanfare, spends two years in relative obscurity, but is remembered by the veterans who rise to prominence in the new administration of Zachary Taylor. He is thus appointed to a token position as Commandant of the Philadelphia Naval Yard in 1849, but it is a short-lived duty and his poor health keeps him from further service. He dies in 1856, at age sixty-four.
MAJOR GENERAL JOHN QUITMAN
Quitman returns to Mississippi with the full attention due an honored native son, despite the fact that he was actually born in Rhinebeck, New York. He receives much fanfare for his exploits under both Taylor and Scott, and is elected Governor of Mississippi in 1849. He involves himself in the Cuban insurrection of 1850, the controversy Robert E. Lee had avoided, but it is a violation of Federal neutrality laws, and Quitman is forced to resign in 1851. He is elected to Congress in 1854 for two terms, dies in Natchez, Mississippi, in 1858, at age sixty.
