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No intelligence from Santa Anna's army, though, at the last accounts, he was within a day's march of General Taylor, and a battle was looked for hourly.
God grant the old General may whip him!
February 27.
The weather continues unfavorable for the departure of the vessel that is to carry the mail.
This is bad luck for us, as it stops the shipping of the troops, and every day is of the utmost importance.
No news from General Taylor, though the Mexicans have a rumor that Santa Anna's cavalry made a night attack on him, and were most signally repulsed.
We are in the greatest state of anxiety to hear the result, as we are now certain that Santa Anna has thrown himself with his whole force upon him. February 28.
I expect I shall leave before my letter, for it is arranged that we go to-morrow, early in the morning, in the steamship ‘Alabama,’ one of the best steamers in the service, and the mail will not probably leave till the day after.
You may therefore get later intelligence than I can give you. Our anxiety about General Taylor still continues, as we hear nothing beyond the report I gave you yesterday, that he had repulsed a night attack of cavalry.
As to Vera Cruz, we are in a perfect state of ignorance.
One day we hear that it is abandoned, the next that it has a garrison of fifteen thousand men; so that you really know not what to believe.
My impression is that we shall meet with resistance, which we will successfully overcome; and such being the case, as I told you before we reached Monterey, the more they have there the better.
We are going perfectly prepared, having, I understand, forty pieces of heavy artillery, besides forty large mortars; and the place is to be taken scientifically—that is, with the least possible loss of life.
I feel perfectly confident of success; we can take the town without much trouble, and the castle we will starve out.
If General Taylor whips Santa Anna, as I hope he will, and believe he will till I hear the reverse, and we take Vera Cruz, I think there will be some hope of peace.
We leave to-morrow for Lobos.
It will be some time before all the troops rendezvous there, and then we have to go to Anton Lizardo, about eighteen miles below Vera Cruz, where it is proposed to 