It was the 2d Pennsylvania regiment that brought with it a case of confluent small pox, and one of varioloid. By landing the troops, and leaving the patients on board, by ventilation and fumigation, the spread of the infection has been prevented, and the two patients are again well. To-morrow, under the advice of a medical board, I shall deem it safe to re-embark the detachments. We find this harbor, against northers, even better than I had anticipated. One has now been blowing some forty hours, and has brought down all the vessels ready to sail, that were outside of the bars at the Brazos and Tampico. The next will take the fleet to Anton Lizardo, whither I am sending off ships with surf boats, in order that the latter may be launched, under the care of the navy, and held ready for my arrival. Captain Saunders, of the United States sloop-of-war St. Mary's, has rendered me most valuable services in general, besides landing and re-embarking volunteers. The island has afforded them the means of healthy military exercises, and tolerable drinking water. The few surf boats launched are admirably adapted to the purposes for which they were intended. Herewith I send copies of letters to Brevet Brigadier General Worth, and to Major General Patterson, together with the report of the chief engineer on the defences of. Tampico. Copies of many orders go [to] the adjutant general. I have the honor to be, sir, with high respect, your most obedient servant, Hon. W. L. MARCY, Secretary of War. WINFIELD SCOTT. P. S.-This letter is despatched by the schooner (pilot boat) Pioneer, to New Orleans. W. S. Memoranda for General Worth. HEAD-QUARTERS OF THE ARMY, Brazos Santiago, February 14, 1847. I leave you to finish the embarkation of your troops for Lobos and Anton Lizardo. The quartermaster's department here seems confident that it will have vessels for all your troops in a few days, and also for 5,000 men at Tampico. I hope the means may be provided to take off 1,500 more from that place, with 500 horses of the Tennessee mounted regiment. Ships being off this bar, fitted up for the reception of horses, I think you may commence at once to embark your cavalry and horse artillery. Every transport must be provided with rations, forage, and water for thirty days, at least; but, sooner than stop the embarkation, twenty days' water may suffice for men and horses, the last to embark. Of the three steamers, the Edith, the Virginia, and the Alabama, two are destined as transports from Tampico, and must be despatched to that place with short intervals between them. By each of the two, as well as by the third, with your own head-quarters on board, I desire to receive information from you and the senior quartermaster at this place, of every thing interesting to the expedition I am to conduct, viz: in respect to the new transports that may arrive here, the ordnance, ordnance stores, surf boats, &c., of the expedition, as well as intelligence of the arrival or approach of new regiments of volunteers. See my general orders, No. 6, of the 30th ultimo. By the same steamers, as well as by all other vessels, sailing hence to join my expedition, I desire that letters, &c., for myself and the general staff may be duly forwarded. I prescribe no particular day for your departure hence, in order to follow me, but suppose you will remain here until your troops have all embarked or are ready for embarkation, when I know you will be eager to join me at Tampico, and, if I am not there, at the general redezvous behind the island of Lobos. Assistant quartermaster Captain Hetzel is instructed to follow me, as soon as he shall have seen the troops in this neighborhood embarked, with the land train, &c., of the expedition. He will probably take with him assistant quartermaster Captain Wayne. I wish you to be prepared, on joining me, to give the name of each vessel having detachments of your command on board, together with the number of the detachment. WINFIELD SCOTT. Major General Scott to Commodore D. Connor. HEAD-QUARTERS OF THE ARMY, SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the 'receipt of your two letters, dated, respectively, the 11th and 18th ultimo. I arrived off this place yesterday, and am afraid that I may be delayed some days longer, waiting for the arrival of a sufficient number of transports to receive the troops in the neighborhood. Many ships, with the materiel of the expedition, are also behind, though believed to be near at hand; I hope, however, to be up with you, off Anton Lizardo, before the end of the month. I shall be in the United States steamer Massachusetts, with a pendant at the mainmast head, of a blue ground, and a square red field in the centre. I doubt not that you will have continued successful in obtaining information of the enemy's numbers, movements, and designs about the coast opposite to your anchorage, and for some distance in the interior, up to my arrival. . With great respect, &c., &c., &c., WINFIELD SCOTT. HEAD QUARTERS OF THE ARMY, SIR: I am desirous that, after designating a competent garrison for the defence of this place, the strength and composition of which will be given below, the whole of the remaining forces under your command should be promptly embarked and despatched to the harbor behind the island of Lobos, some sixty miles south of this place, there to await further orders. The embarkation will be made in the order of the rank of the four brigadier generals under your command, commencing with Brigadier General Twiggs's brigade, and other regulars. If possible, I desire that transportation may be found by the quartermaster's department, for both the men and horses of the Tennessee cavalry. Let that regiment be the last to embark; and, if sufficient transportation should not arrive, embark the men and leave the horses (to follow as soon as practicable) in the charge of (say) men per company. When the embarkation shall have advanced as far as Brigadier General Quitman's brigade, you will charge him, and in succession, Brigadier General Shields, with the completion, and personally follow me to Lobos. Should I have left that rendezvous before your arrival, you will please direct all vessels of the expedition you may find there to join me off Anton Lizardo, and follow yourself to that anchorage; but I shall exceedingly regret to leave Lobos before you are up with me. You and your troops, however, cannot fail to join me before any descent can be made in that vicinity, and I cannot dispense with such important aid. The garrison to be left for holding and defending this position may be one company of artillery, the Maryland and District of Columbia battalion of volunteers, and the Louisiana regiment of volunteers; the whole under the command of Colonel Gates of the United States 3d artillery. You will please give him such instructions as the importance of the place evidently requires. His command will commence from the time that he shall find himself the senior officer of that place. His special reports, of course, will be made to general head-quarters, with monthly returns of the garrison. All ordinary returns will be made by him direct to Washington. Besides the troops, mentioned above, for the garrison of this place, there will no doubt be a number of men in hospital-invalids and convalescents left by other, regiments-found available in emergency. Please give instructions for saving on board the transports as many subsistence casks as practicable, to be used as gabions to cover lines in seiges. I remain, sir, with great respect, your most obedient servant, WINFIELD SCOTT. Colonel J. G. Totten, chief of the corps of engineers, to Lieutenant · II. L. Scott, acting adjutant general. TAMPICO, February 19, 1847. SIR: I have to report for the information of the general, that I have this day examined with care the works lately thrown up for the defence of the two avenues into this town. These works are nearly complete, and it gives me great satisfaction to state my opinion that they have been planned with judgment and executed with skill; nothing less, however, was to have been expected from the officers who have been engaged thereon, namely: Captain Barnard and Lieutenant Beauregard, of the engineers, assisted, for the greater part of the time, by Lieutenants Coppé, of the artillery, and Woods, of the infantry. Lieutenants McGilton, G. P. Andrews, and Sears, are reported to have rendered valuable aid, though for shorter periods. Although these defensive lines were designed to meet the case of a weak garrison, and much talent has been displayed in profiting of local circumstances to that end, still, the space to be covered is large, and even a minimum garrison must consist of a considerable body of men. I do not now take into account the value of the object covered. If its importance be such as to justify the leaving of a garrison at all, that garrison must be able to maintain itself for some time, entirely independent of succor from without; any less garrison we might expect to lose. Knowing how important it may be to other issues of the approaching campaign to take hence all the force that can be spared, I have looked at the subject with a sincere desire to reduce to the utmost my estimate of the numbers indispensable to an efficient defence; but I have not been able to reduce, it below the following figures. Along the altaniera front of the town, there are eight distinct works requiring garrisons, varying, according to magnitude or position, from 20 men to 120 men, each, at least-provision being made for mounting thereon 26 pieces of artillery. The aggregate of these posts will be.... Reserve of 4 companies.. Giving On the canal front, at the other extremity of the town, there will be needed in these posts. Total..... making a total of, say, 1,000 men. 500 men. 320 There should be a reserve on the canal front, also, of not less than 200 men, making the whole force of that front 400 men, and the total force 1,200 men; but, in my desire to reduce the estimate, I have omitted this reserve, on the supposition that a body of at least 200 volunteers may be raised at a moment of need among the residents of Tampico. Twenty-four pieces of artillery are actually mounted in the several works, which ordnance should be left in the hands of the reglar artillery only. I have, therefore, in conclusion, to recommend to the generalin-chief that there be left, for the defence of Tampico, a force of not less than 1,000 effective men, with 24 pieces of artillery; of which force, one full company, at least, should be of regular artillery. I purpose leaving orders with Lieutenant Beauregard to complete the defences at once, so that he may, be in time to afford his aid in the contemplated operations at Vera Cruz. I have the honor to be, &c., &c., &c., JOSEPH G. TOTTEN, Colonel and Chief Engineer. No. 12. HEAD-QUARTERS OF THE ARMY, SIR: The pilot boat Pioneer, being delayed by the wind, yesterday, enables me to say, that after closing my report of that date, I had occasion, most unexpectedly, to issue the accompanying general orders, No. 37, touching the reappearance of small pox. It shall be followed up with the most rigorous measures to prevent the infection of the transports or detachments. Writing, before sunrise, a steamer and two other vessels are reported in sight. The first has, no doubt, Brigadier General Worth on board, and if the field batteries are in the other two, the signal shall be instantly made for the fleet to sail for Anton Lizardo. I have the honor to be, sir, with high respect, your most obedient servant, Hon. W. L. MARCY, GENERAL ORDERS, No. 37. WINFIELD SCOTT. HEAD-QUARTERS OF THE ARMY, 1. Several new cases of undoubted small pox having been just reported on board the transport General Vesay, of this fleet, the three companies of the 2d Pennsylvania volunteers in this ship, excepting the sick, with the field company officers attached thereto, |