American Flag. (Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico), Vol. 2, No. 194, Ed. 1 Wednesday, April 26, 1848 Page: 1 of 4
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" long mat it wave o'f.r the land op the free and the home of the brave."
Vol. II.
MATAMOROS, APRIL 2G, 1848.
No 194.
THE AMERICAN FLAG
Ib published Wednesdays and Saturdays, near
the corner of Bravo and Abasolo stru ts, in the
building known as the "Casa de Sieambote," by
L N. FLEESON and J. R. PALMER.
TERMS.
Subscription for One Year, Eight Dollars;
Si* M )nlli«, Four Dollars ; Three Months, m Two
Dollars and Fifty Cents; Single Copies, One
Dime —fiayttbln invariably in advance.
APVERTD-EMbNTS, not exceeding- ten lines, One
Dollar for the first, and Fitly Cents lor each subse-
quent insertion ; for Three Months, Ten Dollars;
thoae of greater length charg-d in proportion.
SANTA ANNA'S VALEDICTORY.
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, General
of Division, and well-deserving of his coun-
try , to his fellow-countrymen:
On the eve of quitting the beloved land of
my birth, to seek, on a foreign soil, the quie-
tude of private life, it become* my duty to ad-
dress you foi the last time, in order to ac-
quaint you with the true motives which com-
pel me to condemn myself to a voluntary os-
tracism. , Far be from me the idea ofopening
afresh, at this solemn moment, the wounds
which have produced, in the bosom of my
country, the struggles of parties—the contin-
ual agitations which have conducted us to
our present situation. A noble object dictates
these lines: lam not impelled by pride or
ambition. Indebted to the Republic for a
thousand spontaneous act? of honor, whereby
she has inscribed my name forever in her an-
nals, it becomes me to satisfy her in quitting
her confines, at the most critical moimnt
to undergo a hundred defeats lather than ac-
quiesce in the ignominy of the Republic,—
This it was which induced me to proceed at
once to San Luis in order toorgamzean army
and dedicate myself entirely to the labors of
the campaign, convinced that i left my ene-
mies behind me with every facility to carry
on their machinations against my person
without fear and
while Mexican blood flowed at Vera Cruz , ject of scrutiny to all parties and as 1 had ne-
and the enemy s auny menaced its wads.— j vei suffered myself 10 beruhd by any of them
Circumstances compelled me to udopt a con- they all, with common accord plotted my
ciliatoiy policy; and, although the same men ; destruction. You know, Mexiwn* that in
who prostrated themselves, ut that momentat; this attempt, in oider to destroy my influence
my feet, were the authots of the tumult of the j and despoil me of the Chief Maoutracy • the
27th February, i forgot their outrages, and 1 honor and rights of the nation weieto bJsac-
thouglit only of ■employing our whole j ririced at the feet of the ihVudeis; therefore I
without impediment: bui strength to secure the chastisement of the for- i abandoned* power for the interest my country
the Americans occupied my attention much I eign invader. and of my own free will • since in order to
more than the contemptible manoeuvres of po-j 1 just entered upon the discharge of my satisfy my ambition to serve the'Republic I
luteal parties. j Executive duties, when the loss of our f.ou- hurried in pursuit of the enemy in the State*of
In i he midst of the general disorder which | tier fortresses, Vera Oruz and San Juan de Puebla. How was thi« ™
three revolutions had produced iri every j Ulua, incurred, which opened on that side
branch of the administration, 1 ormed the j ih. gates of the Republic to invasion, im-
resolution of opposing the invasion, although j mediately L flew to the rescue, in order to op-
1 needed all the elements of resistance, which j pose his passage—otherwise noobstacle would
however were so necessary for successfully have been lound in his route. In eight days,
without workmen, lacking sufficient, instal-
ments. 1 partially lortili- d the position of Cer-
10 Gordo—with a handlul of liar raised and
sick soldiers—and with a body of peasants,
conducting the war, for all those which I had
created during three years, had been in a
great degree destroyed in 1845. You will
admit, fellow-countrymen, that if I had post
poned the defence ol the nation until the tune (imperfectly armed, and snatched from their
when human probability would have been on i labors — I Jaced fourteen thousand veterans,
our side, then the American forces would flushed with victory. On that occasion, as
have possessed themselves of the country
without encountering the slightest resistance.
My honor demanded that I should rush into but to die
on pieceding ones, 1 resolved to give battle,
because u was no longer our duty to conquer.
the contest with only the resources which cir
cuinstances had conferred upon me. Patriot
ism and my own loyalty compelled me to sus-
tain the foreign war in which the nation was
engaged, and to snuggle at the same time
against the efforts of civil discord, against the
webs woven by suspicion and calumny.
Scarcely had 1 collected the men who were
which c.nuld arrive to any nation, and when itn 'tlcrease the army, when the press of the
foreign hands snatch from us the emblems of! caP'li,'» conducted by the most influential
our sovereignty,and thespoilsofthe immense ; mer,)hers of Congress, began to attack me,
territory which cowardic#, egotism, and trea-j ^ec'ar'n« "that the army quartered at S n
Luis ought to operate against the aimy of in-
vasion, and not threaten the public liberty, as
it did, by the shadow of my name; that it he
came the army to employ the resources fin -
uished it by the Government, to secute the
sive allusions disheartened me, for from that
moment. 1 understood the main object of this
saw myself comp
compelled to
son have caused to fall into their power*. In
simple phrase, devoid of oratorical parade. I
will succinctly reiate the events as they have
occurred.
You have been witnesses of the cou se ^f
conduct pursued by me from the day when
the solemn proclamation of August, 1*46, re.
stored me to my country, in drawing me from
the exile in which the hatred and rancor of,
factions had plunged ine. The Capital ofthe 'declamation, and 1
nation—the population stretching from Vera ] pi'ocInim, in a manifesto, the injustice o; such
Cruz to San Luis—are witnesses that, at that ' 1^JJT'»ti.»ns and my true position. The iroojs
period, I was overwhelmed with honors arid
praises by all classes of society : which more
and more excited my gratitude towards the
generous nation who placed implicit confi-
dence in me. Heaven bears me witness that
while these things were passing around me, deposited in 'he treasury ofthe army. This
I never ceased to address my players to the :irmy stood in need ofev< iy element indispen-
Etcmal lor the prosperity and elory of the !10 ",al»ea movement It appeared im-
Mexican name. | possible that it could begin hostilities, for it
Uesuny and the caprices of fortune had fa
cilitated to the arms of the United S'ate* tin
victorious passage of their standards across iieasons demanded it Revolutionary t( ti-
the waters of the Rio Bravo; the hapless!denoies commenced to penetrate into head-
fields of Palo Alto and Resaca opened, in the j gaiters, demoralization vvus beginning; in a
North, the gates ofthe Republic to theenp-|levv hours, more than five hundred men of
my who, without difficulty and without resis- different coips of the army had forsaken their
tance, occupied a consideiuble portion ol the 1 colors i indigence increased suffering and it
States of New Leon, Coahuiia and Tamauli-j became preferable to end the math r. under
pris. j lhe blows of the enemy, than to behold the
These reverses occurred while I wes lan-!"1°°Pfi diminish by deseition arid criminal
Alter the battle of Cerro Gordo, my ene-
mies, and those of my country, presented me,
according to their custom, under the most
odious colors to the whole woi Id. In the city
of Mexico, a revolution was immediately set
on loot, in order to deprive me of the Presi-
dency and the command of the army. The
Puebla. How was this self-denial on my
part rewarded / 1 he hand that had received
from me the sword which 1 voluntarily re-
signed, was turned against me.
lhe arbitrary order, depriving ifte of my
military command, fulminated against me,
was the most solemn guarantee foi the ene-
my, for from that moment he remained undii>
lurbed possessor of places which lately he
had moistened with his blood, thankB to mv
efforts.
It would have seemed natural that after my
renunciation of nil command, my retreat at
least should have been respected. Machina*
tionsef every kind were practised to cut the
thread ol my life, and, if Providence had not
watched over it, unworthy Mexicans, screen-
ed behind the enemy, would have sacrificed
me. I ime will reveal these in famous facte.
1 he ministerial press has accused me of
having desired war only, and of having sus-
tained it, impelled by personal considerations.
1 hese allegations mask the wicked desire ol
honorable cha.acter of the President ad inte- imputing to me thecriminal and ignoble pas
rtm, Pedro Maria Anaya, alone prevented sion of pr ' • r
the consummation of this attempt
1 endeavored, at Orizaba, to organize some
troops, wi;h the assistance of the patriotic and
uufoitunate Gen. Antonio de Leon. In the
veiy presence of the t nemy, 1 performed my
march upon Puebia, where it was no longei
possible to resist him, in coiisi qtience of the
ibsoiute want ol every means ol defence. The
national d> fence, and not in fomenting vice coin'matiuing General ol that State, either of
and crime." The repetition of these often
under my command underwent horrible pri-
vations. 'lhe city of San Luis is witness thai
in otder to bring them into the field, they
were aided by sums borrowed on my respon
sibili'y,and even with my own funds, which I
lacked eveiything in 'he middle of winter.—
Nevertheless lhe campaign opened; potent
liis own accoid or under orders from hi* su
periois, had collected and transported to a
great distance the materials w hich existed in
that city, lor no one dreamed of opposing the
• •ncioachments ol the enemy. It set out for
Mexico, determined not to let the capital be
captured without a battle,
lJuting my absence, the Government, sur-
pi ised, so to speak, by the progress of the hos-
ti e force, by the catastiopines which had be
111 leu us, by the egotism ol the wealthy class-
es, by the inaction of the larger portion ofthe
Siati s"*l the < 'onfederacy, which, entienchiiig
themselves behind their sovereignty, did noth-
ing for the common defence—despair, d ol the
Capitol and determined on its evicu.iiion —
In view of this discouragement, and a.though
behind me a host of conspiracies were form-
ing, 1 resumed pmveraud look measures to
carry out the accomplishment of my resolu-
tion. In little more than two months, I con-
struct'd fortifications; I collected a vast quan-
tity of materials of war; 1 organized a third
army, with which I resisted to the last extre-
mity, and so long as the honor of the nation
demanded it.noi withstanding lhe disobedit nee
. land insm bordination which, in that time of
ol preferring my private interests to the
wellate ol the nation. [ will explain, in a
few words, my convictions with regard to the
necessity arid utility of the war.
From the moment that the nation began the
strugge, four months before my return from
exile, in consequence of the aggressions of
the United Stales, and for the purpose of its
legitimate defence, it was indispensable that
the entire Republic should unite as one man
to repel the invasion. The interests and the
rights which were to be defended belong not
only to the present generation, but in the
question was likewise concerned the future
welfare and nationality of the Republic. To
permit ourselves to be despoiled of lhe great-
er portion of our teriitory, was not only to
cause its dishonor but even lhe destruction of
us political existence. Those who foresee
coming events, know that these fears, which
have tormented my mind, will assume a reali*
iy, tor when once the limits of the neighbor-
ing Republic shall have been advanced to the
hen it of oui own, we shall lose forever the
equilibrium : nevertheless, by a false politi-
cal calculation, lhe war has been ended,and
with it, the hopes of our posterity. Without
having recourse to profound investigations,,
without cading m aid the seciets of foreign
politic*, the thinking man reflects with hor-
ror that this unfortunate people is stricken
from the catalogue of nations, and that the
generation which witnessed the birth of in-
dependence, which struggled to obtain it, will
assist ai its interment. 1 therefore desired——
I sustained war, because it was the only
means oj preserving existence. More has
guishing on a couch ot pain in Havana, j„ ku^siions. My destiny has always impe , , „ .
consequence of the frequent sufferings which H me to march in the midst of dangers. j extr. me peril, caused the failure of my plan j been granted to the enemy than he demanded.
1 still experience from the wound received by ! Let it be said to the glory and honor of the ' camPu,g" arnl my combinations. My ofii- Henceforth our children can say, "We have
roeat Vera Cruz while fighting against lhe ! national army, it was by i's constancy and re- Cl<1 /' ''uMs lU.1( ollie^ documents of that pe- j no future, and no country." May heaven do
* rench. 1 could then listen to the counsel of isignation that I was enabled to combat the 1 lu< r'Jh,'"r' 1 K- P'u0 <»( these irmbs, as well.cree that 1 am deceived in my predictions!
personal interest, and piofitting by the Jestons ! invader in his entrenchmi ntsat Buena Vista;! "S 1 ''!al1 ol !"y ,)ub !c acts* 1 hav* "H The friends of humanity and justice have
of the past, enjoy the tranquility of my i>ireat, j sus ained again by the>~ same qu iliiie* I was u '!' ' " (|°i"i'. ,."C< !" f g°? Se',8e °f. ' raised their voices in lhe very centre of the
in contemplating from a distant country the i empowered, notwithstanding the fatigues of mve .m.uie , »[ the calm of my A j Capital, to warn us of the immense
" conscience an impartial verdict, despUe dangers .hat threatened u The oEtTnacT
measures of my enemies. This is the i t ■ . . oostinacy
■ ■ ■ - ana hatred ot parties, egotism and treason,
have prevented these echoes of truth from be-
ing heard, and an inopportune treaty hasde-
frightful storm which was soon to burst over it he desert and the epidemic wlicli decimated
niy native land. I could then ap preciate, in ! it, to traverse the R* public, and to marshal it,
1U lrue intanina, the baseness of political par- • calm and serene, in front of the enemy at Cer-
ties which, pressing around me, offered niejio Gordo.
incense of th^ii adulation and solicited my ! The early scenes of the war. during- the
re§ards. Then 1 could,alter my return, if I monthsof Febiuary and Apu'l, are described
na88uchfcs my personal enemies repiesenied,! in official documents, which have informed
a?ain seize lhe power which thev should | the nation that every kind of sacrifice and suf- !PriVt*,lu' ofthe command. I knew that those
P dCe in my hands, chastise severely, desei-: fet ing was undergone in O'der to crown it who, in this country, passed for honest ?n*n,
ll°n and calumny, and manage public aflaitsjwith the lautelsof the victoiv. that is to say cowards and accomplices of the
■fording to the dictates ol my conscience and j I was dragged from the field of battle by a emmy, could no longer supjinit the evils of
Agencies of the moment.
I as the detail of my public acts. I have al-
ways h id confidence in the good sense of th
nation.
owl
the measures ol my
reason why I have heatd without fear the I
roar of the billows of revolution, and the cry!
of factions has not intimidated me.
The course of events had taught me that
every catastiophe prompted alU mpis to de-
to act I revo.uiion, th** programme (.
wh ich
had in
war. a in
sooner
pnved us >t ihe advantages which we could
have obtained m suflering, with more resig-
nation. the evils of war, and in facing with
mote resolution, the events ofthe future.
1 hose who am acquainted with the histo-
tyol public life—those who are a ware of the
honors u Inch have been heaped upon me by
this generous nation—power without limits
ho have seen
to per-
know the
long pos-
say, are persunded of the
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Fleeson, Isaac Neville & Palmer, J. R. American Flag. (Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico), Vol. 2, No. 194, Ed. 1 Wednesday, April 26, 1848, newspaper, April 26, 1848; Matamoros, Mexico. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth478300/m1/1/: accessed May 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Library Consortium.