With the Army of the West

In late spring 1846, in anticipation of war with Mexico, Colonel Stephen Watts Kearny readied an army of 1,700 regulars and volunteers at Fort Leavenworth for a possible campaign to seize New Mexico and California. By the end of June Kearny, newly promoted to brigadier general, had assembled a mixed force, grandly called "the Army of the West," consisting of his own 1st Dragoons, a volunteer force of artillery and infantry, some mounted plainsmen, and several Delaware and Shawnee scouts. When news of the war and orders to move out arrived, the army began its long march, advancing by detachments to conserve water and grass. The Army of the West did not face much in the way of Mexican opposition. The major deterrent along the route of march turned out to be the vast western distances and resupply difficulties. By August the expeditionary force had advanced 850 miles, and seized Santa Fe, New Mexico, without firing a shot. After establishing a military government, Kearny and his expeditionary force, now cut back to 300 mule-mounted dragoons, set out in late September toward California.

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MAP 2

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Lieutenant Emory's Instructions

Emory's wide ranging interests and his career following the campaign in the Southwest made him as well known as Fremont. Through his active interest in the sciences, Emory had developed close associations with notable astronomers, mathematicians, and geologists. Whenever possible he attended the yearly meetings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. His image, however, was that of a red-whiskered veteran frontier cavalryman, and his associates referred to him as "Bold Emory."2

On 5 June 1846 Emory received orders to join Kearny's army. The military members of his party included 1st Lt. William H. Warner, a seasoned topographer, and 2d Lts. Abert and Peck, both now veterans of western exploration. Emory also had two civilians attached to his topographic section: Norman Bestor, a statistician, and John M. Stanley, a landscape painter. Except for Peck the selected topogs were already in Washington and ready to move on short notice. When notification came Emory had less than 24 hours to collect instruments and make other preparations. Peck, then assigned at West Point, received his orders to proceed directly to St. Louis to join Emory's party.3

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of myself, and the officers assigned to duty with me, should be employed in collecting data which would give the government some idea of the regions traversed."5

During the short time allotted for preparations, Emory managed to gather instruments and other supplies. These he recalled proved "sufficient for all the objects appertaining directly to our military wants, but insufficient for the organization and outfit of a party intended for exploration." The bureau provided two 8½-inch Gambey sextants and some other equipment, and he borrowed two excellent box chronometers from the Navy. When the party departed on 6 June the topographer still lacked a pocket chronometer and telescope of sufficient power to observe eclipses.6

The sensitive instruments required extreme care during transport, but the topogs' best efforts were not enough. Initially, the topographers placed the chronometers in a basket and transported them by wagon. The instruments' rates changed materially after the rough crossing over the Allegheny Mountains, and the jarring motion of an Ohio River steamer further aggravated their condition. To preclude any further damage, Bestor resorted to carrying the chronometers. This turned out to be a fortuitous move, because on one occasion the wagon formerly used to transport the delicate instruments overturned. Fortunately, the instruments still worked satisfactorily when the party reached Fort Leavenworth. After arriving at the fort Emory managed to borrow a Bunton syphon barometer from the post medical department.7

From Fort Leavenworth to Santa Fe

Emory's topographic party did not linger long at Fort Leavenworth. On 27 June 1846 Emory led an advance party in the direction of Bent's Fort. A day later the main body of Kearny's Army of the West departed in the same direction. The topog began his

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journal of the reconnaissance by briefly noting the well known route between Fort Leavenworth and Santa Fe. He did, however, take detailed scientific and astronomical observations. The topographers reached the trading post on 29 July. After the main force arrived, Kearny allowed a brief rest and awaited reinforcements. Lieutenant Abert, however, became ill and remained behind when the army resumed its march.8

On 2 August, the Army of the West departed Bent's Fort and headed southwest toward Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico and the first major objective. Emory's journal entries now became more detailed. His vivid description of the column's dramatic departure sets the tone and style of his account of the expedition:

I looked in the direction of Bent's Fort, and saw a huge United States flag flowing to the breeze, and straining every fiber of an ash pole planted over the center of a gate. The mystery was soon revealed by a column of dust to the east, advancing with about the velocity of a fast walking horse-it was the "Army of the West." I ordered my horses to be hitched up, and the column passed, took my place with the staff.9

The column proceeded along the Arkansas and then followed the Timpas River southwest. At the end of the first day's march Emory recorded the route of the army and the distance it covered, a routine he would follow daily. As the army made its way to California, he included entries on elevation, astronomical observations on latitude and longitude, and remarks about vegetation, water, wildlife, climate, and the topographic features of the land they crossed.10

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The following day the army reached Purgatory Valley, and on 6 August ascended the Raton Pass into New Mexico. "The view from our camp is inexpressibly beautiful," Emory wrote in his journal, "and reminds persons of the landscapes of Palistine" [sic]. On the 7th they reached the top of the 7,500-foot pass and could observe many mountains, including Pike's Peak. Excited by the vista, Emory noted the changes in the landscape: "For two days our way was strewed with flowers; exhilarated by the ascent, the green foliage of the trees in striking contrast with the deserts we had left behind, they were the most agreeable days of the journey."12

Kearny's army rapidly descended the pass and proceeded along the old road to Santa Fe. Along the route the Americans encountered Mexicans for the first time. The natives they met seemed rather unimpressive, giving rise to some premature views of their enemy's military prowess. Observing some Mexicans who were detained, Emory noted, "They were mounted on diminutive asses, and presented a ludicrous contrast by the side of the big men and horses of the first dragoon." Fitzpatrick, the guide, who seldom laughed, became almost convulsed whenever he turned his well-practiced eye in their direction. Word also reached Kearny that the Mexican governor had proclaimed martial law and ordered all Mexicans to arms. More prisoners were detained the next day but Kearny ordered their release as soon as the rear guard had passed.13

On the 13th the Army of the West entered Watrous, New Mexico, the first town the army had seen after 775 miles of traveling. The next day messengers from the Mexican governor informed Kearny he intended to do battle but suggested negotiations as an alternative. Despite rumors that a strong Mexican force had occupied the pass on the far side of Las Vegas, on 15 August the Americans entered the town without opposition.

Kearny conciliated the local populace. Addressing the inhabitants from a rooftop in the main square of the town, the general proclaimed the area's annexation to the United States, and offered something to the people that the Mexican government had not delivered- protection against the marauding Apaches and Navahos. The American commander also promised that the people would not be harmed, nor would churches be burned or dese-

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crated by his soldiers. Kearny then required the alcalde and other officials to swear oaths of allegiance to their new government. 14

With the town peacefully occupied, Kearny prepared his army to meet a Mexican force rumored to be in a gorge two miles to the west. Filled with all the proper glory and excitement of an attack, the troopers unfurled the unit guidons and colors, bugles sounded. Emory described the charge: "All wore the aspect of a gala day; and as we approached the gorge, where we expected to meet the enemy, we broke into a full gallop, preceded by a squadron of horses." But there was no battle. As the American troops safely crossed good defensive strongpoints it became evident the enemy had fled. The Army of the West had a clear, unopposed route to Santa Fe.15

As the army neared Santa Fe, Emory began to take detailed notes describing the peoples and antiquities of the Southwest. When the Americans entered the ancient fortified town of Pecos, Emory, noted the influence of Christianity upon the inhabitants. After observing the ruins of a Catholic church in the town, he wrote that it typified the "engraftment of the Catholic church upon the ancient religion of the country." His crude study in western anthropology and archaeology also embraced the popular view that an Aztec or Mayan civilization existed in New Mexico.16

The Occupation of Santa Fe

Following the occupation of each town along the way Kearny repeated his speech and promises of protection and imposed his oath-swearing requirements. On 18 August the army began a forced march to reach Santa Fe by sundown. Emory again noted his surprise at the lack of Mexican resistance, particularly after observing the many excellent defense positions along the Americans' line of march. The topog described one spot where, with a skilled engineer and a hundred resolute men, the Mexicans could have made the position impregnable. As the Army of the West approached the provincial capital, the governor and his forces fled Santa Fe without offering any resistance. Wisely the officials left in

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charge decided to graciously welcome Kearny and his troops. After the American flag was hoisted, a prominent citizen of the town extended an invitation to several of the American officers to his house where they feasted on a splendid meal.17

Following the occupation of Santa Fe, Emory, in cooperation with Lieutenant Jeremy F. Gilmer of the Corps of Engineers, reconnoitered the town and selected a site for a fort. Within five days they obtained approval for the site and the construction plans to build Fort Marcy. The topographer also prepared a map of the region for General Kearny and Colonel Abert. Emory also dispatched eight separate reports of the army's progress along with his scientific observations to the Topographical Bureau between 18 June and 24 August. And before the mail express departed east on the 25th he managed to complete and forward a map of the army's line of march to that point. Emory also proceeded to fill his journal with remarks of this hitherto almost unknown region, some predicting the practical and theoretical economic, social, political, and religious future of the Southwest. He correctly foretold the importance of New Mexico as an American possession, mentioning the feasibility of running a rail line through the region to the West coast.18

For the time being Emory was now the sole effective Army topographer in Kearny's army. Abert had come down earlier with a debilitating illness during the stop at Bent's Fort and remained behind; later Peck also became ill; and, Warner received orders detaching him to ordnance duty. This lack of military assistants did not deter the intrepid topog from reconnoitering the region around Santa Fe on his own. On 2 September, taking only Bestor, Emory accompanied a force led by Kearny south along the Rio Grande River to challenge a Mexican force rumored moving north. On reaching Santo Domingo the following day, Kearny took the occasion to meet with the Pueblo Indians in the area.19

Emory's Comments on New Mexican Society

The stopover in Santo Domingo presented another opportunity for the astute topographer to record more observations and in-

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sights about the local Indians and New Mexican society. The Indians' relationship with the local Catholic priest particularly impressed Emory. The cleric invited him and several other officers to his home, where the ever observant topog seemed to delight in commenting about the attractive girls seen glancing into the windows and doors of the padre's parlor. Soon a cautious play of glances ensued between the young officers and the girls; a "little exchange of the artillery of eyes," Emory recorded in his journal. But he was very glad "to see the padre move towards the table, and remove the pure white napkin from the grapes, melons, and wine."20

Before departing Santo Domingo, Kearny gave his usual speech to the inhabitants, and Emory made notes on the population and the amount of ground under cultivation. By 4 September Kearny neared Bernalillo, where the American force learned that the rumors regarding the Mexican force were false. Here, too, the Americans were received with hospitality; this time a local wealthy man invited the officers to his home. Emory often participated in these repasts and took the time to record his impressions of the furnishings, food, and utensils found within the dwellings of their hosts, typically homes belonging to the wealthy or clergy. He also commented on one of the New Mexicans' more popular foods: "Chile the Mexicans consider the chef d'oeuvre of the cuisine, and seem really to revel in it; but the first mouthful brought the tears trickling down my cheeks, very much to the amusement of the spectators with their leather-lined throats."21

Because the clergy wielded considerable influence among the people, the Americans were fortunate that the priests considered them as friends. After their entry in Padilla the soldiers received another invitation to a prominent citizen's home. Playing their role as proper guests, the Americans went out of their way to attend a mass before breakfast. The mixed odor of people and incense at the service, however, caused some discomfort. Emory recalled that their attendance "proved anything but an appetizer." After their stay in Padilla, the army moved on to Isleta.22

By the 7th they reached Peralta. After a night of taking astronomical observations of the stars, Emory accompanied the army to Tome, arriving there just in time to witness a feast honoring the

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Virgin Mary. Emory found the event novel and striking. He accidentally moved into the path of the procession and had a candle thrust into his hand by a grave Mexican. Emory later wrote, "It was thought proper that the officers should show every respect to the religious observances of the country, consequently they did not decline participation in these ceremonies."23

The army returned to Santa Fe on 11 September, and Emory assigned more work to his staff before departing with Kearny for California. He ordered Warner and Peck to Taos to determine its latitude and the topography along the road. Three days later he drafted instructions for Lieutenants Abert and Peck. Both lieutenants, now sufficiently recovered from their illnesses, received word to remain with the occupation force. During their stay in New Mexico the two topogs made a separate topographic survey of the newly acquired American territory.24

Setting Out for California

With reinforcements on the way and New Mexico relatively pacified, Kearny now turned his attention to continue the march to California. He divided his expeditionary force into three columns. First, he directed the Missouri volunteers under Colonel Alexander W. Doniphan, who recently arrived with his regiment, to move to Chihuahua in Northern Mexico. Doniphan would then proceed to the southeast to join forces with General Taylor's army moving in the direction of Monterrey. The second column, his own Army of the West, began preparations to depart westward along a northern route. A third force, a battalion of Mormon infantry, received orders to march overland to California along a separate southern route. The Mormon Battalion, under the command of Lt. Col. Philip St. George Cooke, was en route to Santa Fe and not expected to arrive before Kearny's departure. Meanwhile, another American force had also left for Santa Fe to relieve Kearny.25

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On 25 September 1846 Kearny's force of 300 dragoons set out on the long march to California. Emory's topographic party, now less Abert and Peck, consisted of fourteen men. He had one officer, Lieutenant Warner, and no enlisted personnel. The rest of his staff included civilians: Bestor, Stanley, and two other civilian assistants, drivers for the instrument wagon and a transportation wagon, one man in charge of instruments, two men in charge of the mules, an assistant teamster, and two private servants for the officers.26

In order to avoid covering the same ground, Emory elected to follow a route a little west of Kearny's army, which at the time was heading in a southerly direction. This he figured on doing for a few days, but almost immediately he became seriously ill. By the sixth day of his illness (1 October) the weakened topographer finally rose from his cot without any help. By then news had reached the American force of Navaho and Apache attacks on nearby settlements. Emory speculated that the Mexican governor, Armijo, permitted these depredations in retaliation to the New Mexicans who opposed him. This lack of protection, Emory concluded, revealed the former regime's fearful and arbitrary rule.27

The army moved past Valencia and on to Socorro. Emory longed to cross the mountains and explore the haunts of the Apaches and Comanches and perhaps find a shorter return route via the Red River. "But onward to California was the word," he recorded in his journal, "and he who deviated from the trail of the army must expect a long journey for his jaded beast and several days separation from his baggage. We were not on an exploring expedition; war was the object; yet we had now marched one thousand miles without flashing a saber."28

News From California

Before reaching the town of Valverde, word reached Kearny of the American victory in California. Kit Carson, on his way to Washington to deliver a message from Fremont, had stopped at the dragoon encampment and relayed the latest information to Kearny.

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Based on this news the American commander made a fateful decision the following day. No longer feeling the need to move on to California with his full force, Kearny sent 200 dragoons back to Santa Fe and pushed on with the remaining 100 men. Emory and his party remained with Kearny. The general then assured Carson that the dispatches would be delivered to Washington, and he ordered the unhappy scout to act as his guide.29

On 7 October the now almost minuscule Army of the West passed the last Rio Grande settlement. It then continued along the left bank, departing from the southward main road. Between the 10th and the 13th Kearny held up his dragoon force to await the arrival of pack saddles, a course of action advised by Carson who was aware of the deteriorated road conditions ahead. When the pack saddles arrived, the army switched from wagons to mules. Everybody in the command seemed happy about the switch, except Emory; "My chronometers and barometer, which before rode so safely, were now in constant danger. The trip of a mule might destroy the whole." Emory now regretted all the more that he had not had time in Washington to obtain a pocket chronometer, because the large ones were unsuitable for carrying on foot or by mule. The viameter, an instrument attached to a wagon to measure mileage, was removed from the wagon and attached to a wheel of one of the small towed howitzers. At this point Emory had recorded the distance from Santa Fe as 203 miles. The march westward continued, and soon the American force began its descent from the New Mexican plateau.30

Observing the Indians Along the Way

On 15 October the army left the Rio Grande and turned west to the Black Mountains. Three days later Kearny's column reached the deserted copper mine of Santa Rita de Cobre, where the Apaches, under the notorious chief Magnus Colorado, had driven

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off the inhabitants. On the 20th, at a location just a few miles from the Gila River, Emory witnessed the meeting of his general, Magnus Colorado, and the other Apache chiefs. He observed that the Apaches swore friendship to the Americans and eternal hatred to the Mexicans, but "Carson with a twinkle of his keen hazel eye, observed to me, 'I would not trust one of them."' Still, the meeting and later trading session impressed the topographer. He recorded in his journal: "Several wore beautiful helmets, decked with black feathers, which, with the short skirt, waist belt, bare legs and buskins, gave them the look of ancient Greek warriors." The army reached the Gila River later that day. As usual Emory took notes about the local geology, vegetation, and wildlife.31

Kearny then moved on westward past ruined Indian pueblos and remnants of aqueducts. Emory saw evidence of broken and scattered pottery, and he duly recorded his findings. By 28 October the army cleared the Black Mountains and moved through the valley of the Gila not far from Mount Graham. Here Emory observed quantities of agate and obsidian fragments. He recalled that William H. Prescott, in writing his history of the Americas, had described the stones as those used by the Aztecs to cut out the hearts of victims at ceremonial sacrifices. Moving on, they passed Mount Turnbull on the last day of the month. The soldiers found further evidence of Indian ruins, and Emory prepared sketches and site plans of the various dwellings. The topographer's expectations now heightened at the prospect of seeing the well publicized Indian structures at Casa Montezuma (Casa Grande).32

On the first day of November Kearny's army moved from the Gila River to follow Carson's old trail. The column followed it for some sixty miles over rough terrain before again striking the river route. Along the route they encountered more Apaches. At that point the army's mules had worn down. The Indians promised a trade, but the number of mules they provided proved disappointingly few. By the 4th the expedition descended toward the Gila in a southerly direction. Because of the southward shift, the army made only meager progress to the west one degree and four seconds in seven days. When the expedition made its next stop Emory's jour-

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nal entry reflected: "We are yet 500 miles from the nearest settlement, and no one surveying our cavalry at this moment would form notions favorable to the success of the expedition." Sores and scars covered every animal.33

As the army moved west again along the Gila River, Emory attached appropriate names to landmarks. He named Mineral Creek and speculated on the presence of copper and gold. The army also passed through the wide plain country of the Pima and Maricopa Indians, and Emory observed that the Gila's current had slowed considerably. By 9 November, as they passed near modern-day Florence, Arizona, they saw more ruined Indian settlements. The army reached Casa Grande the following day, and Emory, his wish now fulfilled, explored the famed dwellings. During the course of his investigation he had Stanley prepare detailed sketches for use in his final report.34

Emory expressed considerable admiration for the Pimas and Maricopas. The Indians possessed well-cultivated lands with irrigated fields of wheat, corn, and other staples. The topog noted that these remote people yet did not know the evils of the white man's liquor. He also found them a peace-loving, religious people who believed in one overruling spirit. Despite their rather passive nature Emory concluded they were not helpless, for both peoples often defeated the dreaded Apaches, the evidence being warriors just returned from a battle with scalps and prisoners.35

By mid-November the army completed its trek through the Gila Bend region and moved on from the valley to another tableland. Emory wrote that most of his mules had traveled some 1,800 miles, and somehow they managed to revive after each stop. He observed more signs of former Indian habitations, and the topographer surmised that the Maricopas were moving eastward in juxtaposition with the Pimas. He observed boulders with hieroglyphic symbols beside more modern inscriptions, and Carson discovered several American names. In this more dismal stretch leading to the Colorado River, remains of former settlements were still present though fewer in number.36

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Still No Enemy

One week later the American force became aware of possible contact with the enemy. On the 22d the straggling column came upon a recently occupied camp estimated to have accommodated a Mexican force of 1,000. Although Kearny's force numbered only 110 men, with men and beasts so run down that even the general had to switch from his exhausted horse to a mule, the American commander prepared to order an attack. He ordered Emory to set off with a fifteen-man reconnaissance party. Near the juncture of the Gila and Colorado rivers, the patrol soon encountered a small group of Mexicans who were driving about five hundred horses from California to Sonora for the Mexican army. They offered no resistance. Because the captured horses appeared wild and useless, the Americans later decided to release their captives. The army then prepared for the ninety mile march across the California desert. Meanwhile, Emory, Warner, and Stanley took astronomical observations at the juncture of the two rivers. The topog's next journal entries described the impressive canyon region. Emory also reflected on the possibility of steamboat navigation on the lower Colorado and the feasibility of flatboat navigation up the Gila to the Pima villages. On the way back to camp they met a Mexican courier carrying dispatches from California to Sonora containing news of the uprisings in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara. This information, dated 15 October, stirred Kearny to hasten his column's march westward.37

On the 25th the Americans forded the Colorado River and crossed into California. The army now began a memorable eight day trek across the desert to Warner's ranch at the base of the Sierra Madres. Emory described the barrenness of the region. Midway across the desert men and animals could not quench their thirst because they could only find brackish water. The topog did not find any evidence that one of the areas they crossed, the Imperial valley, would later become a famous and rich agricultural area. The heavy sand made travel difficult for the animals, but the army moved as fast as possible, covering fifty-four miles in two days. Rations ran low, and the men resorted to eating their animals. Emory wrote that one of the officers "found in a concealed place one of

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the best pack mules slaughtered, and the choice bits cut from his shoulders and flank, stealthily done by some mess less provident than others." Wolves could be heard fighting over the abandoned, worn-out horses and mules. Thorns from desert thickets cut man and beast. Four days after setting out, the troops slaughtered a horse and ate it with great relish.38

Arrival in California

Despite the hardships the army plodded westward in anticipation that the long trek was almost over. The weary troopers advanced through an ever-narrowing valley ridged by gray granite and quartz mountains. By the first day of December they reached the deserted Indian village of San Felippe. In this final stage of the long march the men, according to Emory, repeatedly ascended "divides" in the anticipation of seeing "the glowing pictures drawn of California." On the following day the soldiers sighted the first large trees of evergreen oak since leaving the States. Then emerging from yet another pass they sighted the beautiful valley of Agua Caliente, which Emory ecstatically described as "waving with yellow grass." Crossing over another ridge the hungry and exhausted army feasted its eyes on Warner's ranch.39

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The Battle of San Pasqual

On 4 December the Army of the West, now somewhat rejuvenated, set out toward San Diego. Kearny encamped in the valley of the Rio Isabel near Stokes's ranch. Stokes had advised Kearny earlier of the latest news, and the general sent the rancher to San Diego to inform Commodore Stockton of the need for reinforcements. The following morning the troops marched out in cold and rainy weather to the Santa Maria ranch. On the way they met their escort, Captain Gillespie of the Marines in command of a party of thirty-five. Along with this joining of the two small American contingents came word that a Mexican force was some nine miles distant. For the first time in its long march, the American army sensed a distinct possibility of encountering the enemy. A reconnaissance party reported that the mounted Mexican force numbered approximately 160 men. As the Mexicans apparently knew of the presence of the reconnaissance party, Kearny decided to attack immediately. Emory recalled the excitement of the forthcoming action, "We were now on the main road to San Diego, all the 'byways' being in our rear, and it was therefore deemed necessary to attack the enemy, and force a passage. About 2 o'clock, a.m., the call to horse was sounded."41

Early in the cold, wet, and foggy morning of 6 December 1846, the small American army moved out to meet the Mexican lancers. A small advance guard mounted on the best horses led the way followed by Kearny and the main force of dragoons, mostly mounted on mules. The balance of the column, including the two mountain howitzers, brought up the rear. Kearny invited Emory and Warner to accompany him. In turn, the chief topog took four other members of his topographic party. He told Bestor, Stanley, and the others to move with the rear echelon and take care of the party's baggage, instruments, and notes.42

By daybreak the approaching Americans saw the enemy's campfires. Quickly alerted to the arrival of Kearny's combined force, the Mexicans, armed with their deadly lances, moved out to do battle. Emory recorded the events that followed in dramatic

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style. He recalled that Kearny "ordered a trot, then a charge, and soon we found ourselves engaged in a hand to hand conflict with a largely superior force." As the advance party lunged forward, the enemy fired a heavy volley and then fell back faking a retirement. Kearny's main force, mounted on horses and slower mules, soon found itself cut off and under attack by the expert Mexican horsemen. In the end, however, the Mexicans retired from the battlefield, thus concluding the so-called Battle of San Pasqual as a costly "victory" for the Americans

The battle amounted to hardly more than a skirmish. Kearny had no more than 150 men, including Gillespie's force, and perhaps 80 took part in the fighting. The Americans lost one of the howitzers when the mules towing it panicked and fled to the enemy lines. According to Emory the Americans lost 18 men killed and 13 wounded while their opponents suffered only 2 killed and a few wounded. The wounded included Kearny, Warner (in three places), Gillespie, and several key officers- one-third of all the American officers present. Emory also claimed to have saved the general from being finished off by a lancer ready to strike the American commander from behind. The topog rushed in and drove the assailant away with his sword.43

That night the Americans buried their dead while the foe hovered about. The military situation had become quite desperate for the victors. Provisions were exhausted, all the horses were dead, and the mules were in poor condition. The Americans, besides being fewer in number, were ragged, worn down by fatigue, and emaciated. Early the following day Kearny urgently dispatched several men to make their way to San Diego for help and carriages to transport the wounded.44

Emory's journal entry that morning grimly reported: "Day dawned on the most tattered and ill fed detachment of men that ever

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the United States mustered under her colors." They arranged the wounded and the pack animals in the middle of the column and straggled toward San Diego. As the weary force headed toward the ranch of San Bernardo, the Mexicans gave way. After the Americans departed the ranch, their adversaries threatened to take a hill in their path and simultaneously attack from the rear. Some of Kearny's troops charged the hill, an exchange of shots took place, and their opponent withdrew from the high ground. The now desperate American force proceeded to occupy the hill for a last-ditch stand.45

Fortunately for the Americans, further fighting did not take place the following day. That morning Kearny selected Emory to act as the American representative to a truce called by the Mexican commander, Don Andres Pico, to trade prisoners. By evening Kit Carson, leading a party of three, slipped out of the besieged encampment and headed toward San Diego, twenty-nine miles distant, to repeat the general's message for help. As usual Emory, regardless however bad things looked at the time, routinely continued recording his astronomical observations of the camp's position.46

The battered Americans waited for the relief force. During the siege the Mexicans drove a band of wild horses to harass the surrounded encampment. The Americans dexterously turned aside the animals, and took advantage of the encounter: "Two or three of the fattest were killed in the charge, and formed, in the shape of a gravy-soup, an agreeable substitute for the poor steaks of our worn down brutes, on which we had been feeding for a number of days." By the evening of the 10th a force of 180 marines and sailors from San Diego finally arrived.47

The relief force caused the Mexicans to back off, and on the following day the combined American forces moved on toward the Pacific unopposed. Anticipation of sighting the ocean swelled within the fatigued men of the Army of the West. Approximately seventeen miles northeast of San Diego they were rewarded with a magnificent panorama. "The Pacific opened for the first time to our view," Emory noted in his journal, "the sight producing strange but agreeable emotions. One of the mountain men who had never seen the ocean before exclaimed: 'Lord! there is a great prairie without

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a tree.'" They reached San Diego on 12 December, thus completing an epic journey. According to Emory, the Army of the West had marched 1,912 miles from Fort Leavenworth to the public square in San Diego, successfully covering the long distance through the entire trans-Mississippi Southwest along a route previously negotiated by only a few trappers and Indians.48

Kearny Moves on to Los Angeles

On 12 December Emory entered a few comments in his journal. They would influence the Topographical Bureau's activities and national policies for the next ten years. He extolled the fine harbor of San Diego: "The harbor of San Francisco has more water, but that of San Diego has a more uniform climate, better anchorage, and perfect security from winds in any direction." While San Francisco would become a commercial metropolis, because of the rich lands and the rivers of the surrounding area, "San Diego should be made the terminus of a railroad leading by the route of the Gila to the Del Norte [Rio Grande], and thence to the Mississippi and the Atlantic." Emory's strong advocacy of a southern transcontinental railroad route would form the basis of the bureau's later recommendations, and the Topographical Bureau would become one of the key backers of the southern route.49

At the end of December Emory received orders to report to General Kearny as his Adjutant General. He began his new duties just as the campaign to retake Los Angeles got underway. With a nondescript command of soldiers, sailors, marines, and irregulars, Stockton and Kearny joined forces and set out on the 29th. The topog in his new capacity directed the placement of defensible camp sites along the route of march. Although Emory had embarked on new duties, he still inserted topics of topographic interest in his journal. He included interesting comments about the missions of San Luis Rey, Flores, and San Juan Capistrano, and on the Santa Anna and San Gabriel rivers. On 8 January 1847 Kearny's force reached the San Gabriel River where a short skirmish took place. The next day the American force moved on to Los Angeles

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where another abortive Mexican attack took place. By the 10th the joint force reoccupied the town. The Mexicans had dispersed, and the Americans took complete possession of all California, this time for good. Thus, some six weeks before the Battle of Buena Vista and over two months before Scott's landing at Vera Cruz, the rich region was securely in American hands.50

Emory then returned to his engineering duties. He selected a site for a fort, drew up the necessary plans, and saw to the beginning of its construction. Several weeks later he received orders to return to Washington to prepare his report. Breveted twice in the battles in California, Brevet Major Emory returned to San Diego on 25 January to sail for the States.51

Emory's Report of a Military Reconnaissance

Upon Emory's return to Washington, his journal and map were incorporated into a final report and prepared for printing. Like Fremont's earlier expeditions, the U.S. government considered these reports important enough for widespread dissemination to the public. In December 1847, the Senate authorized the printing of Emory's epic "Notes of a Military Reconnoissance." The House followed suit the next month. Even a New York publisher took advantage of the public domain government publications and reprinted a commercial version. Of the two Congressional publications, the House document turned out to be more comprehensive in scope. Not only did it contain Emory's "Notes," but also Lieutenant Abbot's journal (of 27 June to 29 July 1846) and map of New Mexico, Colonel Philip St. George Cooke's report of his march to California, and many sketches and drawings.52

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Emory's report added significantly to scientific geography, particularly of the newly acquired Southwest. His map became the first professional and accurately drawn representation of the region. Included were data and topography that only he and his party observed, plus information reported by Cooke along his route. Carl Wheat wrote in his study of western maps that it "is a document of towering significance in the cartographic history of the West."53

The map immediately made all commercial atlases obsolete. With the single exception of the area of Gila Bend, Emory's map of the Gila River is accurate to this day. The gold-seekers on their way to California in 1849 used it widely along with the topog's "Notes." The Topographical Bureau later based its mapping and exploration efforts in the region on this map. When used with data collected by Fremont and other Topographical Engineers and explorers, the map became even more significant. "It tied the country together on a route at its extreme south," Wheat wrote, "and was to become of great value when the boundary of the United States and Mexico was traced a few years later."54

Emory's report alone had five lengthy appendices. The first consisted of three pages of correspondence between Emory and Albert Gallatin, a former Secretary of the Treasury, about the Indian ethnology of the Southwest. The ex-Secretary had helped to found the American Ethnological Society in 1842. Whatever Emory could furnish by way of descriptions and drawings of the pueblos, archaeological remains, and their locations were of considerable benefit to the society. In his exchange of correspondence with Gallatin the topographer regretted that he did not have the opportunity to pursue his findings about any connections between the Pimas and the Mexican Indians. Still, Emory's findings were among the first serious steps in the study of the pueblo tribes and their mysterious past. Coupled with this he provided thorough de-

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scriptions of the Maricopas and the Apaches. Only Josiah Gregg's Commerce of the Prairies, published in 1844, had thus far touched on the fields of Indian ethnology and contemporary life.55

Emory's second appendix contained twenty-five pages on the botany of the Southwest. The noted botanist John Torrey studied the cactus specimens sent back from the expedition and listed eighteen new species and one new genus as Emory's findings. He even named one of the plants Quercus Emoryi in honor of the topographer. Dr. George Englemann, a leading authority on the plants, prepared a special section on cacti. He identified fifteen species and rendered the first scientific report of the giant cactus. Emory's drawing of the plant helped to make it an item of scientific interest for years.56

The remaining three appendices in the more detailed House published report contained information which would be of great help to the Army and future travelers. One had sixteen pages of meteorologic observations. Another appendix contained several pages of geographic positions depicting the distances from camp to camp, the total distances from Fort Leavenworth, and the precise latitude and longitude at each place of observation. A huge fifth appendix, a 205-page "Table of Astronomical Observations," contained more than 2,000 astronomical observations of precise locations on the earth's surface. A total of 357 separate barometric observations also showed the elevations along the route. Many of these readings differed only slightly from more accurate modern readings, a remarkable feat considering the rough treatment given to the instruments.57

Emory's report was a significant geographic achievement. Despite the lack of time and instruments, he had prepared an interesting and lively description of the topography, animals, plants, inhabitants, archaeology, and geology of the Southwest. Like Fremont, he described the possibilities and limitations for future development of the regions traversed. For example, the topog touched upon the potential mineral resources of the territory. Like his more famous colleague, Fremont, however, he did not consider the subject to be

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the principal purpose of his examination of the region. Even today Emory's "Notes of a Military Reconnoissance" is of value because of the firsthand picture it provides of the Southwest in 1846.

Emory also included the account of Lieutenant Abert's travels to Bent's Fort. Abert's appendix incorporated a nine-page list of plants, all in their proper Latin terms, and noted the location of collected specimens.58

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