Letters and Diaries

Title -   General Taylor's letters: letter of Gen. Taylor to Gen Gaines; Secretary Marcy's reprimand of Gen. Taylor; and Gen. Taylor's reply; with the fable alluded to annexed. November 9, 1846

Date -   November 9, 1846

Publication Information -   United States, 1846

Format -   Letters (correspondence)

Collection -   The University of Texas at Arlington Library, Special Collections.

Call Number -   E 405.1 .T23 1846

Description -   General Taylor to General Gaines - In this unofficial letter, written six weeks after the Battle of Monterrey, Taylor gave an account of the siege and its aftermath to his close friend, General Edmund Gaines, commander of the army’s Western Division. Having learned of the Polk administration’s criticism of his decision to sign an armistice with Mexican general Pedro de Ampudia, Taylor explained his reasons for doing so. Having recently learned that the administration was contemplating an invasion of southern Mexico, Taylor expressed his belief that the United States should instead establish a defensive position, occupying the lands it now held above Tampico, and force the Mexican government to sue for peace. Secretary of War Marcy’s Reprimand to General Taylor - Marcy informed Taylor that his letter to General Gaines of November 9, 1846 had appeared in many U.S. newspapers, and rebuked him on the grounds that the information regarding troop movements, etc., which it contained could be used by Mexican commanders to thwart Washington’s war plans. Marcy further maintained that Taylor’s remarks would make it harder to reach a negotiated settlement with Mexico. General Taylor to Secretary of War Marcy - In this letter to the War Department, Taylor defended his letter to General Gaines, asserting that its contents did not tell Mexican leaders anything they did not already know. Taylor expressed regret that the dispute had lessened the War Department’s and the President’s confidence in his leadership.