Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. THE CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO. Grant began his army service in July, 1843, as brevet second lieutenant in the Fourth Infantry, his commission being signed by John Tyler. This regiment, commanded by Colonel Joseph H. Vose, was then stationed at Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, the chief military station of the West. In the summer of 1844 it was moved to Nactiitoches, La., in readiness to march on Mexico should the war at that time threatening be declared. Texas was then fighting for her independence. Her representatives had been for some time in Washington seeking to induce our Government to take her under its protection. The bill for the annexation of Texas passed Congress near the close of the session of 1844-'45, and was promptly signed by President Tyler, March 1, 1845. When the Fourth heard of this it expected marching orders immediately, no one doubting that war with Mexico would be the result. This did not come, however, until July, and then carried the regiment no nearer the seat of war than New Orleans, which, owing to the presence of yellow fever, was more dangerous to life than the battlefield. Early in September, however, the Fourth received further orders which carried them to Corpus Christi, Tex., then held by General Zachary Taylor's army of occupation. This force comprised five regiments of infantry—the Third, Fourth, Fifth, Seventh, and Eighth—one regiment of artillery acting as infantry, four companies of light artillery, and seven companies of the Second Regiment of Dragoons, the total force not exceeding three thousand, but most of them regular troops, and officered chiefly by graduates of the United States Military Academy—a compact, brave, well- drilled body of troops of excellent esprit, and, as the sequel proved, most effective. It was charged t...