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

[77] she was to sail, of two steamers, one bringing one hundred and eighty recruits, and the other four companies of the First Regiment of Infantry. This will increase our little army some three hundred men, which will render the garrison of this place sufficiently strong to sustain itself against any attack, and leave General Taylor some twentyfour hundred men to march to Matamoras with. Our only inferiority (except in numbers) to the enemy is in cavalry, they having some two thousand and we only about two hundred. But we have two batteries of field artillery (one you have seen in Philadelphia, Major Ringgold's) which are so far superior to anything they have, from their rapidity of manoeuvring and firing, that we fully expect annihilating their cavalry, when they show themselves. We only wait now for the arrival of the steamers from New Orleans, when we shall march for Matamoras.

I should have mentioned your friend Dr. McPhail is in the fort, and it is confidently anticipated that even before this he has composed a piece of poetry commemorative of the event, which will be set to music, and without doubt you will receive an acquisition to your musical library.

We were obliged to leave all our baggage in the fort and in my trunk I left your miniature, bringing with me the daguerreotype. I very much fear some impudent shell has ere this blown you up, and you will have been in action before myself.

I have but little additional intelligence to give you, beyond my letter of the fifth of our operations here. We are assured of the safety of our friends at the fort opposite Matamoras, by hearing at intervals the sound of their guns. About two hundred and fifty men have arrived since my last, and will be left to strengthen this place, and an additional quantity of artillery (ten and twelve pounders) which will make it strong enough to resist any force the Mexicans can bring against it. Under these circumstances General Taylor deems it advisable to move to the support of the fort opposite Matamoras, as it is not impossible it may be getting short of ammunition. The army, in consequence, moves this afternoon at three o'clock, and I shall accompany it. There are various reports of the number and position of the enemy between us and our destination, but there are none to be relied on, except that we have every reason to expect to meet them whenever we move across the country. I fully believed