Wiley Pope Hale letter, 1847 February

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Letter written by Wiley Pope Hale of the 2nd Tennessee Regiment, at the ruins of Convent St. Malibran, 1 1/2 miles from Vera Cruz, Mexico, to Harriet A. Hale, New Orleans, Louisiana, dated February 18, 1847.

The letter reads:

[page1]

Ruins of Convent St. Malibran one & half miles from Vera Cruz, Mexico

Feby 18^th 1847-

Dear Mother-

I am still in the land of the living! I have secarcily time to write you any thing so busy are we engaged now in the siege of this city. You must then excuse me if I give you some of the particulars of the fight so far, in a very brief style – We arrived here with 10,000 men from Tampico on the 7^th [7 written over 5] inst. On the morning of the 9^th we effected a landing on the beach about 2 miles south of the city. The whole force then encamped immediately on the sea shore where we landed. Just before day-break on the next morning our picket guard was attacked by an advanced party of the enemy, and a brisk skirmish kept up untill nearly daylight. At 9 o.clock we took up our line of march to invest and surround the city. The two Tennessee regiments were in the advance- About 2. o.clock we reached the old ruins of St. Malibran which we took possession  of- hardly had this been done before the Mexicans opened a heavy fire of Musketry upon us from the neighbouring heights- The fire was kept [page 2] up for several minutes, when Genl Pillow sent the first Regt Tennesseans (Col. Campbell’s) to capture a magazine about ½ mile distant which was done in handsome style- The General then ordered the glorious 2^nd Regt. (Col. Haskell’s)  to charge the heights and drive in the force which was firing upon us- We gave a shout and commenced the charge amidst a shower of bullets which fell around us like hail- You should have seen our boys as they rushed up that hill with our continual shout of defiance- though the hill side was covered with an almost impenetrable chapparal (thicket-of bushes) we gained the summit of the height in less than 15 minutes- The Mexicans who had been firing upon us from the height, fled precipitously upon our approach- We gave them a parting fire as they ran down the hill towards the city which was in full view- planted our flags- and gave three cheers for Tennessee & Col. Haskell! Our shouts must have been distinctly heard from the walls of the city- for as the echo died away, a heavy discharge of cannon was poured into us from several forts, which we did not by any means take as a compliment but gave three more shouts as a token of our defiance- It was now nearly sun down and we encamped upon the hill [page 3] although the cannon balls fell around us untill nearly dark – We killed & wounded several of the Mexicans and up to this day have not lost a man from this Regiment. The next morning (the 11^th) several other Regiments came up the height, when the cannons again opened their deadly fire upon us- The Rifles (the Regiment to which Tom Ewell belongs) came up then & had one man struck dead by a cannon ball- on the same day a poor little drummer boy had his arm taken off with in ten feet of me- I was blind for several minutes from the sand which the ball threw in my eyes- The forts then commenced throwing bomb shells which exploded around without doing any dammage untill about 2 o.c. when Capt. Albertis of the regulars had his head shot off- the same shot also taking off the leg of a corporal who was standing near the Capt. The cannonading has been continued from the enemy forts every day since- We have kept possession of hill, sleeping every night upon the sand without tents- and having a shower of rain upon us every night. I regret to say that Capt. Jones accidentally shot himself through the foot, a few days since- the wound, however, is not [page 4] dangerous- he is doing very well- our Regiment was moved from the hill this morning, and have taken a position near an old convent situated upon the Rail Road immediately before the gates of the city- The cannonading is still going on as I am writing- We have become used to it now-  It is really a pretty sight to see the bomb shells wending their deadly way through the air upon their message of destruction! Our army now entirely surrounds the city in a few days more we will open our cannon upon their very walls, and Vera Cruz will either be ours or destroyed- The whole American loss so far has only been six killed and fourteen wounded- The loss of the Mexicans has been much greater- Genl Morellos commands the city, and Genl. La Vega the castle- From the view which I now have of Vera Cruz, it is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen. It seems to be built of churches and other splendid public buildings- so many are the spires and cupolas which is presented to the observer from without the walls- The castle of San Juan [page 5] D’ullua is a magnificent work- with a spy glass we can see the men in the castle working the cannon- (There goes another cannon at us!) These rascally Mexicans keep such a noise with their artillery that I scarcely know what I am writing – however we will pay them back in the same coin soon- The north wind at sea for the last five days has prevented us from landing our large cannon but it is now becoming more calm, and we have succeeded in landing some to day- I think we will be ready by day after tomorrow to open up the city- Then the fun will be upon our side- I will write you by every chance I get- I want you to look for the “Memphis Enquirer”. Mr. Irvine who is here and is one of the editors of that paper told me a few days since that he had written a very complimentary account of our charge upon the heights in which I am spoken of in a very complimentary manner- I hope in a few days [page 6] to have the opportunity of doing something more- Genl. Pillow has also spoken very highly of Col. Haskell & his officers in his report to Genl. Scott-

I wrote to Sal upon the first day of the fight and once upon our arrival off the city in the fleet-

Give her my best love- My respects to Mr. Keatts Tom & Sam Henderson Ed Johnson and Jo Jenkins

Maj. Bennett who travelled with you & Sal down the Mississippi desires to be remembered to you both- no more now- God bless you dear mother

Your affectionate Son

Wiley

Identifier

sc.0024.001_008.001

Date

1847 February 18

Subjects

Hale, Wiley Pope, 1821-1847.

Recommended Citation

"Wiley Pope Hale letter, 1847 February" (2021). Letters. 8.
https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/speccoll-mss-halewp1/8