Wool and His Topogs Join Taylor

In August 1846, at about the same time Taylor was making preparations to depart Camargo and march on Monterrey, Brig. Gen. John E. Wool assembled another army in Texas to march into Mexico and join forces with Old Rough and Ready. Wool's march from San Antonio did not match the more sensational campaign of Colonel Doniphan's Missouri Volunteers, nor did the column encounter any significant opposition or march as far as Doniphan who set out from Missouri in June 1846, and after pausing at Valverde, New Mexico, resumed his march in December. The topogs who accompanied Wool's army, however, put their time to good use. As a result more geographic information along Wool's route became available as contrasted to Doniphan who did not have any topographers.

Wool's Army Assembles in San Antonio

By September 1846 a Topographical Engineer staff with orders to serve in Wool's army assembled in San Antonio. A month earlier Colonel Abert ordered Captain George W. Hughes to report to Wool as the "Chief of Staff of Topographical Engineers to the Army of the Centre." Other topogs assigned to help the captain included 1st Lt. Lorenzo Sitgreaves, 2d Lt. William B. Franklin, and 2d Lt. Francis T. Bryan.1

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enue between the White House and the Capitol. Sitgreaves received his commission from West Point in 1832; however, he began his service in the artillery. After a two-year separation from the army, he joined the Topographical Engineers in 1838 and later served in various construction and survey projects. Sitgreaves received his instructions to report to Texas while surveying the Florida reefs. After his tour with Colonel Kearny's dragoon reconnaissance, Franklin served for a while at the Topographical Bureau. He then moved on to do survey work at Ossabow Sound in Georgia, where he received his orders. Bryan had just graduated from West Point.2

Wool and his staff had very little geographic information on the route the army would take toward Chihuahua. As a result, the topogs' duties would not differ much from those accomplished by Emory and his staff in support of Kearny's march across the Southwest. The route the 3,400-man army planned to take ran from San Antonio to Presidio in Mexico, then in turn passing through Monclova and Parras. Hughes also had somewhat different views compared to Emory as far as gathering scientific specimens along the way. Unlike Fremont, Emory, and the young Abert, he did not have an interest in such matters nor did he maintain close connections with American scientists in the East. Instead, the pragmatic Hughes felt more inclined to associate himself mainly with his military and tactical duties. As a result, he focused his attention on preparing a map, but his memoir of the regions he crossed nevertheless described many of the same interesting topics.3

The March to Mexico

Hughes also reconnoitered supply routes in Texas. Before arriving in San Antonio in early September, he and Sitgreaves investigated the road from Port Lavaca, Wool's base of supply, which ran through Goliad. Franklin and Bryan reconnoitered a second route

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diverging from Victoria and passing through Seguin to San Antonio. In his report Franklin pointed out a serious disadvantage to travel in South Texas. "As it was mid-summer," he wrote, "to save our horses we left Victoria just at dusk. During the day the flies are so numerous that the horses are set nearly frantic, and humanity as well as his own comfort will dictate to the traveler in this part of Texas that he must lie by during the day and travel at night." As a result of these surveys Hughes recommended the shorter Goliad route.4

Before departing San Antonio Hughes did make some interesting observations of the recently annexed state of Texas. "The Alamo," he reported to Colonel Abert, "if placed in a suitable state of repair, would accommodate a regiment, and might at the same time be rendered a strong defensive work, well supplied with water." Somewhat familiar with agricultural methods, he recorded some astute observations of the once intensely farmed region and its irrigation works. He cautioned that it should "well be questioned whether this operation is not injurious rather than beneficial to the lands; for the soil being highly calcareous, and the water being nearly saturated with the same substance too much carbonate of lime must, in the course of years, be deposited in the fields." He suggested that "The remedy for this excess may be found in deep plowing, following in the rotation of crops." He also commented on the potential of grazing lands, adding "The cows are bad milkers, but might be easily improved by a cross on the Durham or Devon." The topog followed up with facts on population, climate, and health conditions of the area he saw in Texas.5

On 23 September 1846, Hughes departed San Antonio as head of the army's advance party. Suddenly the topogs became the envy of the whole camp, because even Corps of Engineers officers, including Captain Robert E. Lee, Wool's chief engineer, had to stay farther back to supervise pick and shovel work on the road and bridges. Hughes' well-armed party consisted of the four Topographical Engineers, an interpreter, a hunter-guide, two wagoners, four laborers, and two servants.6

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As the party moved south toward Mexico Hughes kept a running commentary of his observations. On the 24th the topog passed the French-German settlement of Castroville. Impressed by what he observed, Hughes praised the settlers, "who have brought with them to this wilderness the habits of industry, sobriety, and economy of their father-land." Later he touched on the weather and in particular the Texas "norther." Hughes noted that when storms hit the area, "The greater parts of Texas and the adjacent Mexican provinces are subject to these sudden and extreme transitions of climate; which often prove deleterious to animal life." Ironically, the following week the topog came down with dysentery.7

Along the route to the Rio Grande the other topogs continued with their duties. Franklin scouted ahead to pick camp sites for the moving army, and Sitgreaves continued to record observations for eventual use in determining latitudes and longitudes. They also kept a wary eye on the movements of Comanche Indians near the army's route. Eleven days and 164 miles after setting out, the engineers reached the Rio Grande, some five miles from Presidio. Hughes proudly asserted that when "the glorious flag of the stars and stripes was for the first time displayed in that far-off wilderness, many an eye glistened with patriotic emotion, and many a pulse beat high with the hope of future expectation."8

The Crossing of the Rio Grande Into Mexico

By 12 October the army began crossing the Rio Grande into Mexico. The Corps of Engineers contingent supervised the assembly of a "flying bridge," prefabricated in San Antonio for the crossing. Wool, unlike Taylor, had the foresight not to wait for pontoon bridging to arrive from the East. Escorted by a squadron of dragoons, the Topographical Engineers moved out again ahead of the army toward Santa Rosa, their next objective. According to Hughes: "The object was to reconnoiter the country, especially in reference to supplies, water, and encampments, with directions to communicate the information thus obtained daily to the commanding general."9

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The route led them some 105 miles to Santa Rosa. The topogs led the army past the settlements of Nava, San Fernando, and Santa Rita Springs, reaching Santa Rosa on the 20th. Along the way Hughes noted abandoned farms, the result of depredations by Comanches and Apaches. He wrote that the Indians "have driven the timid inhabitants from their rural dwellings, and cooped them up within the precincts of the villages, converting this once smiling garden into a howling wilderness."10

The small advance guard moved into Santa Rosa with no opposition. Hughes recalled, "It was quite amusing to see how soon they fraternized, and it was evident that the population hailed us as protectors and deliverers; and, in fact, more than one proposition was made to me to encourage a pronunciamento against the Mexican government." Santa Rosa presented a slight improvement over the other towns they passed, but Wool's chief topog observed that "the town wears that appearance of decay so common in Mexico."11

The next leg of Wool's march took the army deeper in Mexico to Monclova. The Topographical Engineers continued to survey the surrounding country, took astronomical observations, and made long distance reconnaissances. They also drew hasty maps, calculated their astronomical observations, laid out encampments, and chose camp sites for the troops. Wool made Monclova his base of supply, and no longer had to depend on a long supply route from San Antonio. While in Monclova, Hughes and his party also had time to prepare reports for Wool and the Topographical Bureau.12

Because of Taylor's armistice arrangements following the capture of Monterrey, Wool's army sat out the entire month of November in Monclova. The topogs kept busy reconnoitering the surrounding area, and near the end of the month Franklin made the more than 100 mile trip to Monterrey as a courier. Within the limited time allowed he also made a hasty reconnaissance of the route between the two cities. Upon reaching Monterrey Franklin had to proceed on to Saltillo to locate General Taylor. Returning with dispatches intended for Wool, the widely traveled topog found Wool's column already on the move southwest toward its next objective, the city of Parras.13

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From Monclova to Parras

By 25 November Hughes rode out again in front of Wool's army on the road to Parras. He made journal entries of terrain, vegetation, and wildlife, but his somewhat plain prose paled when compared to the more colorful writings of Fremont, Emory, and Abert. Along the way he stopped off at the hacienda of San Lorenzo de Oboja on 3 December. The topogs found an efficiently managed establishment under American-educated owners, and this visit appeared to be the only item to impress him on this leg of the march. Hughes, considering himself to be a connoisseur of wine, praised the high quality of the vineyards, noting "They are all pure juice of the grape." He also commended the grain, cotton, and fruit crops.14

As the army wended its way unopposed to Parras, Hughes perceived a difference in the nature of the people of this more prosperous region. He considered them "industrious, sober, thrifty, intelligent, and unfriendly to the present form of their government," and also "favorably inclined to our government and its institutions." At Nadadores, sixteen miles to the south of Monclova, he quoted one wealthy Mexican, who on one occasion visited the United States, as saying, "sir, we have a glorious country and a good population, but our government is the worst in the world. I would rather be under the domination of the Comanche Chief." On arriving unopposed at their destination, Hughes found Parras to be "a collection of haciendas," where "the vineyards and gardens separate the homes from each other except on the principal streets."15

While waiting for further instructions from Taylor, Wool settled down in Parras, again making good use of the time. He kept his army in a high state of readiness and made sure that sufficient reconnaissance patrols roamed the area, especially toward Saltillo. Hughes commended his commander for fostering good relations with the local populace, thereby reducing any threat from that quarter. The topog further praised Wool's efficient handling of the march thus far over a difficult 700-mile trek, and at the same time maintaining its excellent fighting condition.16

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Wool Joins Taylor at Buena Vista

Wool's preparedness paid off when suddenly on 17 December he received orders to move out to join Taylor's threatened and outnumbered force near Buena Vista. Within two hours the troops began marching down the well-known routes, thanks to the earlier reconnaissance patrols of the Topographical Engineers. Four days later, and nearly 120 miles to the east, Wool joined General William J. Worth's force. At a place called Agua Nueva, about twenty miles south of Saltillo, the Americans prepared for the arrival of Santa Anna, now reported moving north with a new army.17

Hughes, on a reconnaissance to Durango at the time the army suddenly moved, rejoined the army on its third day out. That evening Wool, Hughes, Robert E. Lee, and their staffs carefully checked the terrain in the darkness and fog. The general immediately noted the disadvantages of his assigned position and returned to Saltillo to confer with Taylor. Santa Anna, however, did not show; it would be several months before the Mexican leader moved north.18

By early January 1847 a large portion of Taylor's command including some of the topogs had marched off to join Scott's expeditionary force. This, of course, left Old Rough and Ready faced with defending northern Mexico. Hughes joined Worth's staff and departed with the division on the 9th. During the redeployment several Corps of Engineers officers, particularly Robert E. Lee, also departed. Meanwhile, Wool, now with one less topographer on his staff, found terrain near Buena Vista more advantageous for defense.19

By the third week in February Santa Anna's army suddenly appeared. The ensuing battlle swirled around the undulating terrain, and Buena Vista became one of the most vicious engagements of the war. During the battle Sitgreaves and Franklin went out on frequent reconnaissance patrols and served as couriers. Bryan served with a three-piece mobile artillery detachment under Lieutenant John Paul Jones O'Brien. Early in the battle the artillery detach-

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ment deployed forward with the 2d Indiana Regiment to halt a Mexican advance. The attack, however, proved too strong, and the Indiana regiment retreated, leaving O'Brien, Bryan, and their gunners alone. They maintained fire with double charges of canister for as long as possible, leaving their guns only after suffering heavy casualties. The delaying action allowed the Mississippi Rifles, other reinforcements, and additional artillery to deploy and repulse the Mexican attack.20

Wool's topogs also received glowing comments in his reports of the battle. The general spoke highly of Sitgreaves and O'Brien praised Bryan. O'Brien wrote, "I saw him [Bryan] when exposed to a close and murderous cross fire of grape and canister on one side, and musketry in front, direct the fire of his piece, and give his commands with the same coolness as if he were on parade. He received a flesh wound in the arm." As a result of their services in battle, Sitgreaves received a promotion to brevet captain and Bryan and Franklin to brevet first lieutenants.21

Hughes Reports on the Future of Texas

Although Hughes rode off to join Scott's command, the topog later prepared a series of revealing reports which encompassed geographic and military affairs. Colonel Abert consolidated these and others submitted by the other topogs serving under Wool into one document and map, which the Senate published in 1850. The published report focused on military concerns, more than the all-encompassing reports of Fremont, Emory, and Abert. Wool, with his reputation for form and discipline, may have had some influence in keeping the Topographical Engineers from spending more time investigating the flora, fauna, and cultures of the regions. In addition, Hughes took a slightly different approach to his topographic duties. Wool employed his engineers to the maximum on military duties, thereby ensuring him the intelligence to meet any situation.

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Hughes' letters and final report made several recommendations regarding the defense of the Texas frontier. In February 1847, he wrote to Abert suggesting the building of a line of forts along the newly surveyed route between San Antonio and Presidio to protect settlers against robbers and predatory Indians. He also incorporated this recommendation in his formal report published by Congress. Such a plan required a regiment of mounted troops stationed at key posts at San Antonio, on the Quihi River, on the Leona River, and at the Rio Grande crossing near Presidio. The topog believed this measure need only be temporary, stating, "there can be no question that the protection which they [the army] would afford would be the means of rapidly settling the country with a population that soon would be able to defend itself." As a result, the army would serve as the spearhead for advancing settlement, similar to the Spanish presidios, except that mobile troops rather than infantry garrisons would be employed. By 1850 the government adopted this concept and established an inner ring of forts in western Texas.22

This measure also required facing up realistically to the hostile plains Indians. Hughes wrote, "It must be obvious to even the most superficial observer that hostilities with the Comanches and Lipans, the most warlike of the native tribes, are neither remote nor contingent." He also correctly predicted: "I regard it as inevitable, and believe we shall never establish cordial relations with them until they have been severely punished- an affair, by-the-by, not easy of accomplishment."23

The topog also noted the possible results of marauding Indians on the Mexicans. He believed clearing the border area might force the hostile tribes to prey "upon the northern provinces of Mexico, which they would assuredly desolate- a consequence which we may deplore, but cannot avert." This became a genuine concern of the Mexican government, and the resultant peace treaty incorporated a clause making the United States responsible for preventing Indian raids into Mexico.24

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Hughes believed that Texas had immense potential despite some of the new state's obvious disadvantages. After describing the fertility of the eastern region, he agreed that "tis all barren" beyond the Rio Antonio and Nueces rivers. Although the state had pleasant rolling country with plenty of game, Hughes remarked, "The reverse of the picture is, that it abounds with venomous reptiles, snakes, scorpions, centipedes, and the tarantulas, and also annoying to the traveler were the innumerable crowds of ticks and red bugs, who fasten and prey upon him with an instinctive avidity." 25

According to Hughes the line of forts he recommended could also exploit the potential of the large state. If the Army built the forts, he felt sure that "the natural advantages of the country could not fail to attract the attention of foreign immigrants, and of our own roving and adventurous countrymen." Almost prophetically the topog revealed the future greatness of Texas

But it requires only a slight effort of the imagination to fancy it peopled with an industrious and teeming population, its heights crowned with human habitation, its fertile valleys in cultivation, and its plains covered with bleating flocks and lowing herds. It remains but for the government to will it, and this picture will be realized.26

Views on Northern Mexico

Hughes' comments on the social, religious, political, and economic aspects of Mexican life may not appear as fascinating as those crafted by Emory, but he still presented several significant points. Although Wool emphasized the military mission of his attached topogs, Hughes acknowledged that he did have instructions authorizing him to operate "independently of such duties as might be assigned by the commanding general." Therefore, he could, like Emory, gather whatever information he deemed relevant, but he admitted, "I only regret that these important duties have not been more satisfactorily performed."27

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of Mexican political affairs, "in a country pretending to be civilized, so inefficient, despotic, capricious, and oppressive as the government of the (so called) Mexican republic." The topog pointed out the Mexican government did not appear concerned with the welfare of the population in the northern provinces nor did it protect the people from marauding Indians. For the first time, Hughes noted, the people felt secure when the American army occupied the region. The topog detected an inclination of the inhabitants to either become an independent state under the protection of the United States or to join the Union. Presenting a case for further expansion, he suggested: "With the slightest encouragement during the last summer, the whole State of Coahuila would have pronounced against the existing government of Mexico."28

Hughes' comments on the Mexican people, however, ran counter to popular American beliefs disparaging its southern neighbor. The topographer rebutted the popular notion that the Mexicans exhibited an unusual degree of treachery and cruelty. "I should say," he wrote, "that they are naturally hospitable, kindhearted, and amiable. In their manners they are extremely courteous, and the most civil people I have ever known." When out in front of Wool's army with his vulnerable advance party, the topog recalled, "Wherever I went, whether to the princely hacienda or the humble rancho, I was treated with kindness and hospitality; and I must confess that the impression made upon me was greatly in their favor." He never felt fearful in such situations and noted any acts of barbarity by the Mexicans were often committed in retaliation for acts committed by American soldiers. Hughes believed that the depredations of the rear or quartermaster troops, not Taylor's fighting men, caused ill feeling among the local inhabitants. His observations of the people did not derive solely from his service with Wool, but mainly through his later experiences under Scott as a commander of a volunteer infantry unit and as military governor.29

The pragmatic Hughes, however, provided some otherwise interesting vignettes in his report. He occasionally sprinkled in light comments on Mexican food and women. "Mexican cooking is," he wrote, "to my taste, detestable; but many Americans, less fastidious perhaps, affect to like it." In describing female costumes, he con-

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cluded an interesting dialogue on the "chemise which exposes more of the person than is in most countries considered to be consistent with a due regard to modesty; but this is the custom of the country, and I am not disposed to criticize it."30

Hughes' Final Report

While accomplishing his topographic duties and later preparing his map and report of Wool's march, Hughes presented the military situation from his perspective. He supported the decision for Taylor's army to go on the defensive rather than attempt the long overland march to Mexico City. Noting the geographic obstacles to such a venture, the topog assumed that a disaster not unlike that of Napoleon's drive to Moscow could have resulted. The lines of operation and supply would have been longer, and the terrain was very rugged. Hughes, however, did not make the point that Santa Anna did succeed in moving his army over the same ground, albeit with much suffering by his troops, before and after Buena Vista.31

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All these facts went into the preparation of a high quality map depicting the region from San Antonio to Saltzllo.32

Hughes final report also added a variety of appendices. These included the journals and memoirs of Franklin and Sitgreaves; recapitulations of latitudes and longitudes; drawings of San Antonio, the Alamo (including a site plan), and the cathedrals of Monclova; and a report and map by Josiah Gregg, the famous prairie traveler. Gregg's memoir and map traced the march of an Arkansas regiment to its rendezvous at San Antonio. Though not a Topographical Engineer, Gregg's interesting account added to the geographic knowledge of the region along a route that ran past the Texas towns of Washington and Seguin and along the Brazos River. His journal also included a history of San Antonio.33

Thus, Hughes' report and map, like those of his colleagues, brought a new understanding in the United States of hitherto practically unknown regions. Although his report and map did not entirely relate to the geography of the American West, they became the subject of primary interest to later historians of the war. Hughes brought geographic knowledge of areas in Texas and another region of northern Mexico to the attention of the American public for the first time. Along with the other Topographical Engineers, he emphasized the potential of the West at a propitious time in American history.34

The Other Topographical Engineers

Except for Hughes and Meade, the other Topographical Engineers finished their Mexican War service in the northern theater, and following the war many of them continued to serve the Corps in a variety of assignments. Captain Linnard and Lieutenant Franklin returned to assignments in the East where they remained. Lieutenants Sitgreaves, Bryan, and Pope remained in the West, where they concentrated on further topographic surveys.

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Lieutenant Franklin had a long successful career in military and private life. He joined the faculty at the Military Academy as an assistant professor in natural and experimental philosophy (1848-1851) . After a year's leave of absence, he made surveys of Roanoke inlet (1852-1853), inspected lighthouse construction (1853-1856), supervised construction of a customs house and a marine hospital in Portland, Maine (1855-1857). He served another tour with lighthouse construction (1857-1859), and participated in engineering studies for the construction of a bridge over the Mississippi at Rock Island, Illinois (1859). He later supervised construction of the new dome of the Capitol in Washington, work on the Post Office Building, and an extension to the Treasury Department building (1859-1861) . During the Civil War Franklin rose to the rank of major general of volunteers and saw action at Bull Run, Malvern Hill, Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Sabine Crossroads. He resigned in 1865 and became vice president and general agent for Colt Firearms Company (1865-1888) and held several public positions. He died in 1903.36

After the war Lieutenant Sitgreaves also rotated between duties in the East and West. He worked on the Creek Indian Territory Boundary Survey (1849) and at the Topographical Bureau (1850), and accompanied a Department of New Mexico expedition down the Zuni and Colorado rivers in 1851. He then inspected lighthouse construction from 1852 to 1856. After several years' sick leave, Sitgreaves returned to active duty in 1861. He worked to improve temporary defenses in Kansas and Nebraska and harbors on Lake Michigan. He attained the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Corps of Engineers in 1864, but retired because of a disability in 1866. Sitgreaves died in Washington, D.C., in 1888.37

Lieutenant Bryan, who had been assigned artillery duties during the war, returned to topographical duties. He joined the Department of Texas after the war and made extensive surveys (1848-1852). Bryan then took charge of surveys and construction of military roads in Kansas and Nebraska (1855-1858), served in Utah (1858), and worked on the Western Rivers improvement projects (1858-1859) . He resigned his commission in 1861 and did not see service during the Civil War. He lived most of the remainder of his long life in St. Louis and died there in 1918.38

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Lieutenant John Pope continued to serve a long career in the Army. After the war he participated in surveys of Minnesota (18491850) and the Department of New Mexico (1851-1853). Pope had an irrepressible personality even after receiving a reprimand from Colonel Abert, who at times noted Pope's misconduct, inefficiency, and even plagiarism of other Topographical Engineers' reports. After the Mexican War the Army gave him the responsibility to survey one of the proposed railroad routes to the Pacific along the 32d degree latitude. He also experimented, somewhat unsuccessfully, with artesian wells in west Texas and New Mexico (1855-1859). Pope constructed lighthouses (1859-1861) , and during the Civil War rose to the rank of major general of volunteers. During the war he exuded his usual confidence and bravado by leading the Army of the Potomac to disaster from his "headquarters in the saddle" at Second Manassas. After the Civil War he held an important post as commander of the Department of Missouri (1880-1883). Pope retired as a major general in 1886 and died in 1892.39

For all purposes the campaign in northern Mexico had come to a stop. Except for some guerrilla warfare and maintaining a defensive posture, the American force served as an occupation army. Although the campaign in this theater of war did not result in any decisive action ending the war, it did provide several notable triumphs in battle, thus raising the spirit of the American public and the forces involved. The crucial test of arms remained. The strategic decision had been made to shift the bulk of American forces for the landing at Vera Cruz and the march on Mexico City. Perhaps this approach would force the Mexican government to sue for peace. The other topogs- Emory, Meade, and Hughes- moved on to new assignments, this time with General Scott's command.

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Brevet Major General John E. Wool. (Library of Congress)

Young Robert E. Lee, 1838. (National Archives)

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Major General Winfield Scott. (Library of Congress)

The landing at Vera Cruz. (Library of Congress)

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Joseph E. Johnston during the Civil War. (National Archives)

Lieutenant George H. Derby. (National Archives)

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Drawing the "As-sault" by Derby under the pseudonym John Phoenix. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers); below, View of Cerro Gordo when Twiggs' division stormed the main heights. (Library of Congress)

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Map of Cerro Gordo by Major Turnbull and Captain McClellan. (National Archives)

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Map of the Valley of Mexico by Lieutenant Hardcastle. (National Archives)

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Map of Battle of Molino del Rey by Lieutenant Hardcastle. (National Archives)

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Map prepared by topographical engineers of battles for Mexico City. (National Archives)

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Scott's entry into Mexico City. (Library of Congress)

Capture of the tete de pont at Churubusco. (National Archives)

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