Mexican Lancers advancing. General is a Hinchliffe figure. Others are by
Frontier.
Twenty years of intermittent revolutions had provided plenty of combat
experience. Mexico had expected to win a war with the United States, and the
European press concurred. The London Times in 1845, reported that the
Mexican soldiers "are superior to those of the United States." [2]
Beneath this exterior appearance there were many serious defects. One of
the most serious flaws was the use of conscription to fill the ranks. According
to the law of January 26,1839, a quota of men was set for each department. On
the last Sunday of every October, lots were drawn and their names posted in
public for eight days.
The draftees entered the army on December 15, for a term of six years. All
single men, childless widowers, married men separated from their wives, and
childless married men, who were eighteen to forty years old and at least sixty
Mexican inches tall were subject to conscription, but there was a long list of
exemptions. Drafted citizens could hire substitutes, but if the substitutes
deserted, the draftees had to serve. [3]
Men not included in the draft could volunteer, but these were few. When the
war began, on the first day of the call for the enlistment of volunteers, only
eleven men came forward in Mexico City. [4]
Obviously, anyone with a little money could avoid the draft. Few educated
or upper-class men served in the ranks, except for the privileged Active
Commerce Regiment of Mexico, a militia unit of merchants and professional
men, nicknamed the polkos or "polka dancers", by the people. [5]
Therefore, the burden of service fell upon the lower classes, the peons.
Most of the rank and file were ignorant Indians and mestizos. [6]
Apparently, the formalities of drawing lots and exemptions did not provide
enough recruits, so the army resorted to the use of press gangs. These would
impress vagrants, criminals and poor passers-by on the streets. [7]
Reportedly, Indians often were hunted down and caught with lariats.
[8]
Naturally, by recruiting only the poorest and most wretched people, the
ranks were filled with those who had the least interest in defending the country.
[9]
Many were poor physical specimens. The average soldierwas of less than
medium stature. Enlistment records list heights of five feet-two inches, five
feet-one and one half inches, etc. Some had rickets.
[10]
The recruit's introduction to drill was with the aid of the rod. John Scott
observed, "... the sergeant taking in his hand a long and supple hickory,
would lead them forth and drill them; and if they failed to execute his orders
with precision and promptitude he would lash them with unmitigated severity
while no sign of resistance would be manifested on the part of the soldier."
[11]
The switch was officially carried by all corporals (except in the Military
Academy and Invalid Corps) as their "badge" of rank.
[12]
The compensation paid to the conscripts was poor. The rate of pay
established in 1839 for a thirty-day month was 15 to 26 pesos depending on
rank or unit type for enlisted men. In comparison, a Division General was paid
500 pesos a month in the field or about 330 in garrison.
[13]
Paydays were irregular, some troops reportedly had not received their
complete pay for many years and had to work on the side so they could buy
enough food. [14]
Under these circumstances, desertion was heavy. Mexican armies often
melted away through desertion, especially during retreats, such as the long
march from Matamoros or Buena Vista. At Chapultepec eight hundred of the two
thousand defenders deserted in one night. [15]
The military jails and courts were full of defendants and cases. General
Pedro Maria Anay wrote: "We never had an army, but a mass of pernicious
men... After the battle of Angostura, in which our army lost 9,000 men
through desertion, it improvised a defense of Cerro-Gordo, and the results were
what one would expect of the kind of troops with which we fought all the
combats. Those defeats... recommended that the congress dictate new laws to
replace the corps of the army with useful men, and not with imbeciles and
vicious men who don't know their duties nor those that society imposes, and do
not understand the Spanish language." [16]
Later in the war, a broader base of manpower was attained, when the
National Guard was called out and a decree was issued for all males, sixteen to
fifty years old, to enlist or forfeit all political rights.
[17]
Although these "volunteers" were poorly trained, they put up a spirited
defense of Mexico City, for example the Bravos and Independencia
Battalions at Churubusco, the National Guard at Molino del Rey, and the San
Blas Battalion at Churubusco. [18]
Although the conscripted troops were somewhat unreliable, the problem was
not an insoluble handicap, as many excellent armies relied upon conscription
before and since. The quality of the Mexican draftees was not necessarily bad
material for an army. Justin Smith wrote: "The Indians in particular could be
described as naturally among the best soldiers in the world, for they were
almost incredibly frugal, docile and enduring, able to make astonishing
marches.." [19]
Many times Mexican armies demonstrated their capacity for long marches.
General Pedro Ambudia reported that one day his brigade marched about forty-
eight miles [2] . In the march to La Angostura, Santa Anna's army traveled
almost fifty miles in twenty-four hours, and then began a battle. Thirty-six of
those miles were passed without food or water.
[21]
The Mexican soldiers were not lacking in bravery either. Although not warlike
by nature, they had enough courage to face danger without fear.
[22]
Justin Smith wrote that they were "quite ready - from animal courage, racial
apathy or indifference about their miserable lives - to die on the field.
[23]
The Mexican Indian was a fatalist. Justo Sierra declared, "The Mexican
soldier.. when hungry and weary, still fights on with courage and ardor. But,
subject to sudden fits of despondency, like all the undernourished, and the
panic, like all high-strung. when he loses confidence in his officer or his leader
he deserts; remembering that he was carried off by the levy and educated by
the rod.. " [24]
Many eye witnesses have testified to the bravery of the Mexican soldiers in
battle. Ulysses S. Grant said, "I have seen a brave stands made by some of
these men as I have seen made by soldiers."
[25]
Pierre T. Beauregard wrote: "The Mexican stood artillery and infantry fire
fully as well as our own troops."
[26]
At Palo Alto, the American artillery decimated the Mexican battalions, but
the gaps were always closed up. All of the original color bearers were shot down,
and the Fourth Infantry lost three in a row. [27]
Some thought that this courage was of limited duration. However, this is not
necessarily true. A study of the battle reveals that the Mexicans retreated from
Resaca de la Palma, only after their pickets were driven in, their center
penetrated by a cavalry and infantry charge, and their flank turned. This would
be enough to cause almost any army to break and run.
Though the morale of the Mexican Army generally was good -- after the
disastrous retreat from Buena Vista, when thousands deserted, the veterans
still had spirit -- after the route at Cerro Gordo, a certain defeatism appeared.
Jose Remirez wrote: "The troops have come back very much depressed. The
leaders and officers declare that the Yankees are invincible, and the soldiers
are telling terrible tales that bring to mind the conquest Some say that the
enemy soldiers are such huge, strong men that they can cut an opponent in two
with a single sweep of their swords. It is also said that their horses are gigantic
and very fast and that their muskets discharge shots which once they leave
the gun, divide into fifty pieces, each one fatal and well-aimed. Let us say
nothing about their artillery, which has inspired fear and terror in all our troops
and is undeniable proof of our backwardness in military art."
[28]
Even with such stories going around the activity of the preparation for the
defense of Mexico City renewed the hope of the army.
[29]
It continued to fight stubbornly and with spirit in spite of poor rations, brutal
discipline, low pay, defeats and lack of national feeling; the army was able to
make repeated attacks at Buena Vista, and fight tenaciously at Churubusco,
Molino del Rey, Casa Mata, and Chapultepec.
The main problem with the morale of the Mexican soldiers was that itwas
somewhat brittle, prone to fits of panic. He seemed to lack motivation. As
discussed earlier in the paper, the average Mexican of the lower class did not
have education, nationalism or social mobility. He had little loyalty beyond the
extended family, regarding the Mexican government as something alien. He had
little respect for his officers.
REGULARS (Total: 17,717)
Infantry 11,501
Cavalry 3,934
Artillery 1,840
Engineer Corps 442
PRESIDIAL CAVALRY (Total: 1,209)
ACTIVE MILITIA (Total: 14,615)
Infantry 6,470
Coast Guard Infantry 3,624
Cavalry 3,990
Coast Guard Cavalry 531
TOTAL ARMY 33,541
* Raphael Semmes, Service Alloat and Ashore during the Mexican War (Cincinnati: William
H. Moore, 1851), pp. 38-39; Manuel Balbontin, Estacto Militar de la Republica Mexicana en 1846
(Mexico: Ignacio Pombo, 1891), p. 13.
The Mexican Army 1846
At first glance, the Mexican Army appeared to be excellent. The artillery,
engineers, and showy cavalry were highly regarded by the Mexicans and
foreign observers [1] .
TOTAL STRENGTH OF THE MEXICAN ARMY IN 1845*
1 Guard Grenadier Battalion
11 Line Regiments (+1 in 1846)
3 Light Regiments (+1 in 1946)
1 Standing Battalion in Mexico & 1 in California
1 Invalid Battalion2 Squadrons Guard Hussars
2 Squadrons Cuirassiers
2 Squadrons Jalisco Lancers & Mounted Rifles
10 Regiments Cavalry
1 Company in Tobasco3 Brigades & 5 Companies Foot Arty. (116 guns)
1 Brigade Horse Arty. (24 guns)35 Companies in interior & California 1.209
5 Regiments
16 Battalions14 Battalions as Coast Guards
8 Veteran Companies of Coast Guards5 Regiments
8 Detached Squadrons
1 Detached Regiment in Aguascalientes
11 Detached Squadrons of Auxiliaries in interior5 Squadrons 8 Detached Companies
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