726 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



"battle. Here is the explanation of the miracle. Taylor's last fight 

 was at Buena Vista, where he had less than five thousand men. 

 Many of these had also fought at Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, 

 and Monterey. It is liberal to say that all the battle-soldiers of 

 Taylor did not exceed ten thousand. Scott's last fight was at the 

 city of Mexico, where he had about eleven thousand men. Many 

 of these were the same soldiers who had fought at Cerro Gordo, 

 Contreras, Churubusco, Chapultepec, and Molino del Key. Scott's 

 real battle-soldiers could all be included within a total of twenty 

 thousand men. Allowing for losses of all kinds, it is not likely 

 that more than twenty thousand battle-soldiers of the American 

 army in Mexico were alive at the close of the war in 1848. It is 

 not likely that two thousand of them are living now. Every one 

 of these is compelled to lead nine comrades under the flag of booty 

 to the gory field of pensions. Where does he get the nine ? He 

 gets them from the army of redundance, thus : 



Although the fighting ended in September, 1847, when Scott 

 captured the city of Mexico, peace was not declared until June, 

 1848. This nine months' interval was passed in "negotiations." 

 This valuable time was wisely employed by our Government in 

 re-enforcing the American armies in Mexico, so that our invincible 

 numbers might act as a moral pressure upon the Mexicans, con- 

 vincing them how hopeless was their cause. This policy was suc- 

 cessful. The Mexican Government, deeming further resistance 

 useless, ratified the Treaty of Quere*taro. 



From September, 1847, until June, 1848, new regiments, com- 

 panies, and detachments were poured into Mexico to re-enforce the 

 divisions already there, so that only a small fraction of the army 

 that marched home did any fighting in the Mexican War. Ship- 

 loads of soldiers arrived at Vera Cruz in June, before the ratifica- 

 tion of the treaty of peace was known at Washington. They were 

 ordered back without being permitted to disembark, because, peace 

 having been declared while they were on the way, there was no 

 necessity that they should land. It is this overflow army that 

 now swoops down upon the Capitol, augmented by the home troops, 

 who did garrison duty at the various posts in the United States 

 during the war, and now march into the treasury by file left, under 

 the pretense that they also are soldiers of Mexico. They can as 

 truthfully claim to be soldiers of Austerlitz.* 



Pensions pauperize the character and abase the souls of men, 

 especially those men who have no scars to show. They poison 

 honest pride and make nobility itself ignoble. They paralyze 

 conscience and weaken self-respect. To obtain and retain pen- 

 sions men will scruple not at perjury. Men of the highest rank 



* The benefits of the act are limited to men over sixty-two years of age, so that the 

 soldiers of Mexico who were under twenty-one at the close of the war are yet to hear from. 



