504 



MEXICO. 



became reasonable to suppose that the Imperial Gov- 

 ernment would be driven out of the country. The 

 acknowledged head of the Liberal Government of 

 Mexico during all these important events was Pres- 

 ident Juarez, and it is well known that General Or- 

 tega fled his country and took no part .in bringing 

 about these events ; but, on the contrary, he, while 

 in a foreign country, did as much as he could to 

 counteract them, by creating political divisions, and 

 bv the publication of real or pretended rights as con- 

 stitutional President of Mexico. So far as this went, 

 it did not interfere with my command, and there was 

 no violation of our neutrality laws. But this did not 

 satisfy General Ortega or his schemers, but an ap- 

 peal to arms must be made to enforce his claims, and 

 combinations were formed in New York and Browns- 

 ville, within the United States, for an armed asser- 

 tion of his claims at the expense of a violation of our 

 neutrality laws. To counteract these machinations, 

 and to prevent our neutrality laws from being vi- 

 olated, my letter of October 23d to General Sedg- 

 wick was written, and a copy of it placed in the 

 hands of General Ortega in the city of New Orleans. 

 Not heeding this, but under the belief that we gave 

 directions in our country for ' buncombe,' General 

 Ortega was about to cross the line of our frontier, and 

 was arrested on the same principle that the Fenians 

 were arrested in attempting to violate our laws by 

 the invasion of Canada. Since the termination of 

 the rebellion, the people of the United States have 

 suffered in trade, from the disturbed condition of 

 affairs on the Rio Grande line, about $12,000,000 

 yearly. First, by Imperialism ; then, by the hostility 

 of foreign merchants in Matamoras, who set up such 

 men as Canales and Ortega, supporting them and 

 reimbursing themselves by passing goods out from 

 the citv free or nearly free of duty. 



P. H. SHERIDAN, Major-General. 



On the 6th of December General Sheridan 

 issued an order releasing Ortega and his suite 

 from arrest. The latter made no further effort 

 to violate the neutrality laws, hut contented him- 

 self with issuing another protest, addressed to 

 the people of the United States, and also a proc- 

 lamation to the Mexicans, in which his consti- 

 tutional rights were vindicated at great length. 



The military situation, as we last left it, may 

 be described in a few words. The Imperialists 

 had succeeded in holding all the central strategic 

 points in the country, but their position very 

 closely resembled that of a besieged fortress, a 

 part of whose outworks is in the hands of the 

 enemy. The apparent inertness of the' French 

 no longer excited surprise, in view of the stipu- 

 lation? of Napoleon for the withdrawal of the 

 expeditionary corps ; but as the year wore on 

 it became evident that, without the assistance 

 of these powerful auxiliaries, Maximilian's ill- 

 constructed empire must succumb to the dan- 

 gers that menaced it. As Bazaine continued to 

 retire his forces toward the capital, but feeble 

 efforts were made by the Imperial generals to 

 rstain the positions evacuated by him. It must 

 not be supposed, however, that all was har- 

 mony in the Eepublican ranks. Juarez un- 

 doubtedly possessed the sympathy and sup- 

 port of a large majority of the Liberal 

 party; but the adherents of Ortega, as pre- 

 viously intimated, were powerful in certain 

 quarters of the north, and their opposition 

 seriously retarded in several instances the 

 movements of the Eepublican armies. At Mat- 



amoras this was particularly noticeable. Upon 

 the surrender of the town to the Liberals by 

 Mejia, Carvajal was appointed Governor of 

 Tamaulipas; but having made himself odious 

 by his extortions and mercenary contracts, he 

 was displaced, and Oanales was nominated by 

 the army to succeed him. Meanwhile Juarez, 

 ignorant of this pronunciamento in favor ol 

 Oanales, had appointed General Tapia to succeed 

 Carvajal. Canales refused to surrender, the 

 command to the new-comer, and, shutting him- 

 self up in Matamoras with a considerable force, 

 well supplied with munitions of war, and pro- 

 tected by fortifications, bade him defiance. 

 Such acts have been of so frequent occurrence 

 in Mexico, that it would have been unnecessary 

 to allude to this, but for certain circumstances 

 attending the issue of the quarrel, which might 

 have endangered our relations with France, 

 and caused the order for the evacuation of 

 Mexico by the French troops to be counter- 

 manded. Throughout October the town was 

 besieged by Cortinas, who, on November 1st, 

 was joined by Tapia. The latter, after vain 

 attempts to bring about a peaceful settlement 

 with Canales, who was now well known to be 

 a favorer of the pretensions of Ortega, died 

 suddenly of cholera on the 9th; but the invest- 

 ment continued, and toward the close of the 

 month Escobedo arrived from Monterey, to take 

 command of the besieging army. On the 24th 

 Canales sent a message to General Sedgwick, 

 at Brownsville, expressing the desire to sur- 

 render the city to the United States forces, on 

 the ground that ho could not control his men, 

 who had been for sometime without pay. Gen- 

 eral Sedgwick responded by sending a de- 

 tachment of troops across the river, who took 

 possession of the town, which was formally 

 given up to him by Canales. But as the latter 

 had stipulated that his men should not be re- 

 moved from the fortifications, and that no other 

 forces than those of the United States should 

 enter the town, his position was rather im- 

 proved than otherwise, as he had now full op- 

 portunity to repel the threatened attack of 

 Escobedo, without the need of protecting his 

 rear. Early on the morning of the 27th Esco- 

 bedo delivered his attack, but after several 

 hours' hard fighting, was repulsed at all points, 

 with a loss of seven hundred men, who could 

 ill be spared from his small army. The Amer- 

 ican flag continued to float over Matamora?, 

 supported by a garrison of fifty men, until 

 the 30th, when General Sedgwick, anxious to 

 repair the blunder he had committed, de- 

 manded the surrender of the place, intending 

 to turn it over, with its garrison, to Escobedo. 

 This Canales declined to do, but surrendered to 

 Escobedo in person, whereupon the United 

 States troops were withdrawn to the Texas 

 side of the river, and on December 1st Escobedo 

 took possession of the town. 



On December 6th General Sheridan arrived 

 at Brownsville, called thither by the recent 

 grave events, and promptly ordered General 



