trading post as early as 1745, was garrisoned by less than 200 American troops under the command of Maj. George Croghan.

Proctor hoped that Fort Stephenson would be surrendered without a struggle and he argued with Croghan that if it were necessary to take the fort by storm, the Indians could not be restrained. Croghan would not yield; he had told his commanding officer, Gen. William Henry Harrison that "We have determined to maintain this place, and by Heaven we will."

On August 2, 1813, the British began their assault. The fort was bombarded by gunboats in the river, and from shore batteries of three 6-pounders. Not being able to make a breach, the British 41st Regiment marched to the pickets of the fort. They were mowed down by Croghan's Kentucky sharpshooters. The fort had only one piece of artillery, affectionately known as "Old Betsy," which was uncovered and brought to bear on the enemy. With great and effective force, Old Betsy emitted nails and grape. After 2 hours and with a loss of all of his officers, Proctor withdrew, leaving casualties of 26 dead, 38 wounded, and about 30 missing. American casualties were one killed and seven wounded. After the disaster at Fort Stephenson,

Proctor raised the siege at Fort Meigs and fell back to Canada.

GEORGE CROGHAN

1791-Born near Louisville, Ky.

1810 Graduated from William and Mary College, Va. 1811-Was a volunteer aide-de-camp to Colonel Boyd. second in command at the Battle of Tippecanoe. 1812-Appointed captain in the regular army. Marched with a Kentucky detachment, under General Winchester, to relieve General Hull in Canada. 1813-Commissioned major; made an excellent record in the defense of Fort Meigs, where he served as an aide to General Harrison.

Distinguished himself at Fort Stephenson, for which he was later brevetted a lieutenant colonel, and awarded a gold medal by resolution of the Congress on February 13, 1855.

1817-Resigned his commission. 1824-Served as a postmaster; reentered the Army. 1825-Promoted to rank of Inspector General and colonel. 1846 Served under Gen. Zachary Taylor in Mexico, taking part in the Battle of Monterey. 1849-Died in New Orleans, January 8.

335-478 O 69 13

of General Taylor, facing the right; underneath, branches of oak and laurel.

By S. Ellis and C. C. Wright.

REV. BUENA VISTA FEB. 22. & 23. 1847. Within a circle formed by two serpents, one of which is a rattlesnake, the American Army, commanded by General Taylor, is repulsing the attack of the Mexicans. Beneath are branches of cactus and oak.

By F. A. Smith and C. C. Wright.

ZACHARY TAYLOR ("Old Rough and Ready") 1784-Born in Orange County, Va.

Moved to a plantation near Louisville, Ky. 1808- Entered the Army as first lieutenant, 7th Infantry. 1810-Captain, assigned to duty at Fort Knox, Ky. 1812-Distinguished himself on September 5 by his de

fense of Fort Harrison in Indiana against the Indians, led by Tecumseh. Was breveted major. 1814-Full major; was given command of Fort Knox. 1819-Lieutenant colonel, 4th Infantry, New Orleans. 1822-Built Fort Jesup on the Louisiana frontier. 1829-32-Indian superintendent at Fort Snelling, Minn. 1832-Colonel in charge of 1st Infantry Regiment, Fort Crawford.

Served as a regimental commander under Gen. Henry Atkinson during the Black Hawk War. This campaign was waged mainly in Illinois and Wisconsin with a faction of Sac and Fox Indians led by Chief Black Hawk.

1837-Won the Battle of Lake Okeechobee against the Seminoles, December 25, for which he won promotion to brigadier general and was made commander in chief in Florida, 1838. It was because of this campaign he was given the nickname "Old Rough and Ready."

1840 Commander of the first division in the Southwest: moved from Kentucky to Louisiana, where he bought a plantation near Baton Rouge. 1845-Appointed commander of the Army of Occupation in Texas.

1846-In January 1846, following a break in diplomatic

relations with Mexico. President Polk ordered General Taylor to positions on or near the Rio Grande. Taylor promptly established a supply depot at Point Isabel (Fort Polk) and erected fortifications at a point opposite the river from Matamoros (Mexico), which he later called Fort Brown (Brownsville). Mexican forces crossed the Rio Grande in April: they ambushed 63 Americans, killing 11 of them and capturing or wounding the others. Following this, President Polk sent a message to the Congress, telling them that American blood had been shed on

American soil. The Congress authorized a declaration of war, and on May 13 the war bill was signed into law.

Even before a formal declaration, Taylor had already made the war with Mexico a fact. On May 8 he met a force of 6,000 Mexican troops at Palo Alto, a few miles north of the present town of Brownsville. With American forces a third the size of the Mexican unit, Taylor and his troops engaged in combat which started in midafternoon and continued for 5 hours. The superior artillery equipment, its skillful use and precise deployment by American troops inflicted heavy casualties on the Mexicans, causing them to withdraw the fol lowing morning.

Taylor threw advance parties forward to cover the Mexican retreat, and on the afternoon of May 9 he marched the main body of his troops in pursuit. Writing from his camp at Resaca de la Palma, 3 miles from Matamoros, Taylor gave the following account of the battle:

"When near the spot where I am now encamped, my advance discovered that a ravine crossing the road had been occupied by the enemy with artillery. I immediately ordered a battery of field artillery to sweep the position, flanking and sustaining it by the 3d, 4th, and 5th Regiments, deployed as skirmishers to the right and left. A heavy fire of artillery and of musketry was kept up for some time, until finally the enemy's batteries were carried in succession by a squadron of dragoons and the regiments of infantry that were on the ground. He was soon driven from his position, and pursued by a squadron of dragoons, battalion of artillery, 3d Infantry, and a light battery, to the river. Our victory has been complete. Eight pieces of artillery, with a great quantity of ammunition, three standards, and some one hundred prisoners have been taken: among the latter, General La Vega and several other officers. One general is understood to have been killed. The enemy has recrossed the river (Rio Grande), and I am sure will not again molest us on this bank."

On July 16, 1846, the Congress awarded a gold medal to General Taylor and resolved that: “the thanks of Congress are due, and are hereby tendered to Major General Zachary Taylor, commanding the army of occupation, his officers and men. for the fortitude, skill, enterprise, and courage which have distinguished the recent brilliant operations on the Rio Grande."

Taylor's next major campaign was directed to Monterey, a heavily fortified city in northeastern Mexico. The Mexican commander, Gen. Pedro de Ampudia, had occupied the town with his forces, constructed defenses commanding the northern approaches, and installed artillery and troops in the heights commanding the city. Taylor hurled divisions at the fortress from all directions, with particular emphasis on the fortified hills. On September 23, after house-to-house fighting, the Americans completed their conquest, securing an armistice from Ampudia.

In his report on the victory, General Taylor stated: "Upon occupying the city, it was discovered to be of great strength in itself, and to have its approaches carefully and strongly fortified. The town and works were armed with forty-two pieces of cannon, well supplied with ammunition, and manned with a force of at least 7,000 troops of the line, and from 2,000 to 3,000 irregulars. The force under my orders before Monterey, was 425 officers and 6,220 men. Our artillery consisted of one ten-inch mortar, two twenty-four

pounder howitzers, and four light field batteries of four guns each; the mortar being the only piece suitable to the operations of a siege.

By resolution of March 2, 1847, the Congress awarded a second gold medal and its thanks to General Taylor "for the fortitude, skill, enterprise, and courage which distinguished the late brilliant military operations at Monterey."

A third gold medal was presented to General Taylor by resolution of the Congress on May 9, 1848. The resolution commended him for "valor, skill, and good conduct, conspicuously displayed, on the twenty-second and twenty-third days of February last (1847), in the battle of Buena Vista, in defeating a Mexican army of more than four times their number, consisting of chosen troops, under their favorite commander, General Santa Anna."

After Buena Vista, the Mexican War shifted to Vera Cruz, where Gen. Winfield Scott won a splendid victory, on March 29, 1847. 1849-Became President of the United States. 1850-Died in the White House, July 9.

OBV. MAJOR GENERAL ULYSSES S. (Simpson) GRANT. JOINT RESOLUTION OF CONGRESS DECEMBER 17. 1863. Bust of General Grant, in uniform, facing the left. In the upper part of a circle, branches of laurel and oak; in the lower part, sugarcane, the cotton plant, tobacco leaves and wheat, united by the national flag; in a second circle, 13 stars, emblematical of the 13 original States of the Union.

By Antrobus and Paquet.

REV. America, personified as a maiden, is seated on a rainbow, with the eagle at her side. She holds in her left hand a cornucopia of flowers, and in her right a crown of laurel and the American shield, on which, in bend, is the word DONELSON. Below, dividing the medal into two parts, is a trophy of arms, surmounted by the cap of liberty, and protected by two sentinels kneeling; to the left is the city of Vicksburg, at the foot of which flows the Mississippi River, bearing two steamboats; VICKSBURG: to the right are Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge; the Federal army encamped on the banks of the Tennessee River; CHATTANOOGA. In a first circle the Mississippi River, on which are four steamers, two of which are gunboats; MISSISSIPPI RIVER; in a second, 13 starsemblematical of the 13 original States of the Union.

ULYSSES SIMPSON GRANT

1822-Born at Point Pleasant, Clermont County, Ohio. 1843-Graduated from the U.S. Military Academy; com

missioned brevet lieutenant in the 4th Infantry. 1845-47-Promoted to full second lieutenant; fought

under Gen. Zachary Taylor in the battles of Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, and Monterey.

1847 Served under Gen. Winfield Scott in the battles leading to the surrender of Mexico City; promoted to first lieutenant, for bravery.

1848-Was breveted captain at Chapultepec.

Service in the Mexican campaigns gave him an opportunity to know many of the men who, later. held commands in the Confederate Army. 1848-52-Assigned garrison duty in New York and Michigan.

1854-60-Resigned his commission, after service on the west coast, farmed in Missouri, and went into real estate in St. Louis.

1860-Moved to Galena, Ill., to work in his father's leather shop.

1861-With the outbreak of the Civil War, he reentered service, with the Union forces, as a colonel of the 21st Illinois Volunteers.