George Meade, The Life and Letters of George Gordon Meade, Major-General United States Army
George Gordon Meade, Ed.

[139] to carry, except the six pieces of artillery (a trifle), and destroying much valuable property, now ours. Besides, there can be no doubt of the condition to which we had brought them, for the facts speak for themselves. Here was an army of six thousand men giving up to us a town with twenty-two pieces of artillery and a vast amount of the munitions of war, and retiring eighty miles to the interior and leaving us in a place they had attempted to defend. No army that was not badly whipped would have done this, and as to fighting us again, if they had all been made prisoners of war, we could not keep them, we should have been obliged to let them go, and all would have taken arms again, in spite of agreements and paroles; so we gained all we could, did away with any chance of failure, and made them believe they, as well as ourselves, were great people.

It is now ascertained they had at the commencement nine thousand men and thirty-eight pieces of artillery, with strong works, and only the defence to make. We, with six thousand, and no heavy artillery for a siege-train, one hundred and thirty miles from all our depots and supplies, and obliged to attack in the face of all this artillery, brought them to these terms. So ended the siege of Monterey, an affair, I deem, most honorable to our arms.

There was some little disposition on the part of Ampudia to jockey. There is no doubt the Mexicans were in a state of disorganization and mutiny, and that he would have been forced to accept almost any terms General Taylor had offered to him, but our old General was desirous of playing a liberal and generous part by them, and thought it impolitic to push them too hard.

For my part, you may rest assured, I was exceedingly rejoiced; many of our brave fellows slept in a nameless grave, for the bodies of some were never recovered; and any one who for four days and nights is in constant state of exposure to fire-arms of all descriptions will be very well satisfied to terminate so disagreeable an occupation.

All the amateurs accompanying the army, and we have a goodly number, are now satisfied, and are now going home. Among them was Bailie Peyton, who was an attache to General Worth. Owing to this I saw a great deal of him, and have been much pleased with his wit and humor under the most trying circumstances. We would often express to each other what enjoyment Mr. Wise¹ would have here, and you can write to Mr. Wise and tell him we all, and Colonel