"Attempts were now made by the American government, in 1827 and 1829, to purchase Texas from Mexico. They were ineffectual. It was obvious, however, that the possession of it was absolutely necessary to the South, in order that her system might have freedom of expansion westwardly, and an equipoise be maintained with the North in Congress. Adventurers from the neighboring Slave States were therefore encouraged by the prevailing public sentiment to emigrate to it, with the intention of detaching it forcibly from Mexico. That republic, torn by internal dissensions, was so little able to counteract their movements, that in 1836, when the independence of Texas was proclaimed, the resistance that could be made was altogether insignificant. Nevertheless, the Texans were defeated at the Alamo and Goliad, and those of them who were taken prisoners of war were atrociously murdered in cold blood. At the San Jacinto they were avenged, the Mexicans being surprised while passing the river, and not only totally defeated, but Santa Anna, their commander, the President of their republic, taken prisoner. Santa Anna, at the mercy of his conqueror, General Houston, who was a Virginian by birth, was thus constrained in his extremity to acknowledge the independence of Texas. The United States forthwith acknowledged its independence."*

"In less than a year application was made to the United States government to receive the new republic into the Union, and, though this was at the time declined, it was obvious that the question was destined to play a most important part in American civil policy. The North saw in the whole movement a predetermined attempt at the extension of slavery."*

"Mr. Tyler, on the last day of his term of office, unwilling to leave to his successor, Mr. Polk, the honor of completing this great Southern measure, dispatched a swift messenger to Texas; her assent was duly secured, and the Mexican province became a state of the Union."*

"The annexation of Texas accomplished, General Taylor, the United States commander in the Southwest, received orders to advance to the Rio Grande . . . a combat ensued at Palo Alto with Arista, the Mexican commander, who crossed over that stream. It ended with the defeat of the Mexicans, and the next day another engagement took place at Resaca de la Palma, with the same result."*

"As soon as intelligence of what had occurred reached Washington, President Polk, forgetting that the author of a war is not he who begins it, but he who has made it necessary, addressed a special message to Congress announcing that the Mexicans "had at last invaded our territory, and shed the blood of our fellow citizens on our own soil." Congress at once (May 13th, 1846) passed an act providing money and men."*

THE FIRST AMERICAN KILLED IN THE MEXICAN WAR: Colonel Cross, U. S. Army Half-plate daguerreotype Probably photographed by James R. Clarke of Anthony, Edwards, & Clark New York City c. 1845 (Click on the image to view further details) Compare this daguerreotype to a steel plate engraving made from it that appears in an 1846 book on the U.S. Army with biographies of distinquished officers. All illustrations in the book were made from daguerreotypes. Note how the engraver added fancy epaulets to Col. Cross's likeness. (Click on the image to view further details) See Fayette Robinson, An Account of the Organization of the Army of the United States (Philadelphia: E.H. Butler & Co., 1846).

In 1846 President James K. Polk ordered an American force under General Zachary Taylor to occupy land disputed with Mexico between the Nueces and Rio Grande Rivers. Colonel Truman Cross served as acting Quartermaster General of this Army of the Occupation. An early casulty of Manifest Destiny, Cross rode out of Fort Brown on 1 April 1846 and never returned. Mexican soldiers ambushed a troop of dragoons sent to search for him. Cross's body was later discovered shot through the head, stripped, and robbed. His death and the death of the dragoons sent to search for him were among the incidents used by Polk and the American Congress to declare war on Mexico. Truman Cross's life represents a military kaleidoscope of the early American republic. Born in 1799, he joined the army at the age of 15 in 1814 as an Ensign of Infantry. He rose through the ranks of the young American army during the first third of the 19th century. He served under Andrew Jackson, Winfield Scott, Thomas Jessup, and others. He spent years in the Quartermaster Corps headquartered in Washington D.C., fought the Seminole Indians in Florida, and was closely involved with the expanding grid of U.S. Army forts established along the western frontier. By 1846, Cross was one of only nineteen full Colonels in the regular army. Due to retire in a short time when killed, his blood became a transfusion into the conquest of Mexico and the onrush of Manifest Destiny to the Pacific Ocean. Across America, men enlisted and fought in the Mexican War to the stirring song: Remember gallant Cross laid low, Assassinated by the foe, Then strike the bold avenging blow Upon the Rio Grande.

"War being thus provoked by the American government, General Scott received orders to take command of the expedition intended for the invasion of Mexico. . . . Scott now commenced his march to Mexico along the national road, through a beautiful country abounding in magnificent scenery.* The crest of the mountains gained, the Valley of Mexico lay at his feet.* On September 14, 1847, the flag of the United States was hoisted on the national palace of Mexico, and Scott made his triumphant entry at the head of less than 6,000 troops. In the treaty that ensued, New Mexico and Upper California were ceded to the United States, and the lower Rio Grande, from its mouth to El Paso, was taken as the boundary of Texas. Such were the results of the military operations. . . . At once arose the question which had already so frequently given origin to perilous dissension, What should be the character of the new Territory, free or slave?"*

A handwritten note behind this daguerreotype contains the following information: "Theophilus Larned with his mining tools, pick, shovel and pan for panning gold in California in 1850 or 1851. Grandma Bliton's father who was born in Hopewell, Ontario Co. N.Y. June 1, 1828. Died in Ann Arbor Jan. 3, 1903 aged 74 yrs. 7 months, 2 days.

CALIFORNIA GOLD MINER Theophilus Larned with pick, shovel, and pan Sixth-plate daguerreotype Photographer unknown c. 1850 (Click on the image to view further details)

"In the mean time California was rapidly settled. A workman, building a saw-mill in January, 1848, discovered particles of gold in the mud; a farther search revealed the fact that Eldorado was found at last. Forthwith a stream of population set in, first from the adjoining Mexican countries, then from Oregon and the Sandwich Islands, the circle extending as the rumors were confirmed, and Peru, Chili, Australia, and even Asia becoming involved. The excitement in the United States rose to a mania. Early in 1849 multitudes made the journey across the continent, encountering the great desert, and forcing their way over the Rocky Mountains. Very soon 4000 horsemen and 9000 wagons had gone through the Pass. So great were the perils and privations that the track was marked with skeletons. Some of the adventurers, preferring to encounter the dangers of the sea rather that the treachery of the Indians and the hardships of the land, went round Cape Horn. A new form of sailing-ship--the clipper--was invented to meet the need. Others tried the pestilential passage of the Isthmus of panama. In eighteen months one hundred thousand persons had gone from the United States. The Bay of San Francisco was all alive, and where this beautiful city now stands was an extemporaneous collection of shanties and tents, bowers and huts. Since the days when all the human race undertook to build the Tower of Babel, never has there been such a confused gabble of strange tongues. People from every nation under the sun swarmed together--some trafficking, some digging, many gambling. Ships were left sailor less in the harbor; their crews--sometimes, it is said, with their officers at their head--had run off to the mines. Occasions are mentioned in which captains of singular virtue had handcuffed or fettered their men to keep them. Judges stealthily left the bench to try their luck. The attorney general of the king of the Sandwich Islands joined in the rush. Every man was all things to himself; the hiring of labor was out of the question: the wages demanded were often from thirty to fifty dollars for a single day."

"Yet, as if by enchantment, this clamorous anarchy ceased, organization ensued, streets were laid out, houses built, stores erected, wharves made, roads constructed, municipal and state institutions established."*

Young girl holding BOOK OF IDEALIZED WESTERN DRAWINGS Sixth-plate daguerreotype Photographer unknown c. 1855 (Click on the image to view further details)

The book this girl holds shows a picturesque western landscape and an Indian on horseback hunting buffalo.

For native peoples overwhelmed by Eastern migration, the reality of Manifest Destiny was often harsh exploitation and rapid extermination of a way of life. The cheap and common trade blanket this woman clutches, symbolically smothers most of her native costume worn beneath. With this daguerreotype is the following information: DWIOUSKI (Showsky for Hannah), ISCHUNUONGWANDT (Tunangnant).

AMERICAN INDIAN WOMAN wrapped in a common trade blanket of the period Sixth-plate daguerreotype Photographer unknown c. 1848 (Click on the image to view further details)

GRAND CANYON OF THE COLORADO RIVER Looking West 32" x 37" (2 ½ x 3') glass transparency in wooden frame Photographed by John K. Hillers (1843-1925) and James Fennemore April 1872 Fennemore had recently joined the J. Wesley Powell Expedition of the Colorado River as a photographic assistant. For this image, Fennemore acted as photographer. Hillers posed on the cliff in the middle distance. This extremely large glass transparency must have been created to attempt to convey the extraordinary grandeur of the scene. (The size defies any attempt to convey the extreme sharpness of detail and sheer visual power of this image on a computer) (Click on the image to view further details)