Item #4593 [Mexican War soldier’s letter on the Battle of Cerro Gordo.]. William Dorrance, J.
[Mexican War soldier’s letter on the Battle of Cerro Gordo.]
[Mexican War soldier’s letter on the Battle of Cerro Gordo.]
[Mexican War soldier’s letter on the Battle of Cerro Gordo.]
[Mexican War soldier’s letter on the Battle of Cerro Gordo.]

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[Mexican War soldier’s letter on the Battle of Cerro Gordo.]

Jalapa, Mexico, 24 and 25 April 1847. 4to (7.5” x 12.25”), with integral address cover. 3 pp. of a bifold with ALS. Standard mail folds, with bold ink.

A Mexican American war letter by a U.S. Corporal reporting on the Battle of Cerro Gordo, reflecting both his relief at having survived and his uncertainly about the future.

Corporal William Dorrance, of the 7th U.S. Infantry Co. Division, writes home to his uncle Captain John Moulton in Windham, Connecticut. He opens thus: “Sunday, April 25, one week ago today I was engaged in a battle with the Mexicans, in storming of Cerro Gordo, presuming that you would be pleased to hear the description of the battle and hear the more minute details of the said battle, I send you the American Star; the first number of an American Newspaper printed at this place.”

The Battle of Cerro Gordo took place on 18 April 1847 near Xalapa (Jalapa), Veracruz. General Winfield Scott commanded 8,500 troops against Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna’s superior numbers. Careful planning by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers—which included Pierre G.T. Beauregard and Robert E. Lee—enabled Scott to outflank and surround the Mexican army. Dorrance offers a vivid assessment of his good fortune in the war thus far:

This is the fourth genral action that I have been in since the commencement of the war; and yet thanks be to God, I have escaped unharmed, while in the last battle, three of the Company to which I belong were left dead on the field, with one mortally wounded, who did not live the day out, and ten wounded. Should I live to see you again I can tell you something about war.

He continues—with the same weariness and uncertainty of his own survival:

When I wrote to you from Monterey I expected to be able to write again at Victoria but I did not have the oportunity of so doing, our march from Tampico, was fatiegueing it being five hundred miles… Should I survive this war, and get my discharge, I have concluded to locate myself on a quarter of a section of land in some of the western states, and establish myself in some business of my own, and in the meantime you must not fail to write me a few lines.

The battle of Cerro Gordo began at 7:00 A.M., with U.S. troops surrounding El Telegrafo, quickly taking the hill, and turning the captured Mexican guns on the retreating Mexican forces. The U.S. Army’s losses totaled 263 killed and 368 wounded; the Mexicans lost 1,000 killed and more than 3,000 captured. It was at this battle that the Illinois 4th Regiment famously captured General Santa Anna’s artificial leg, which remains on display at the Illinois State Military Museum. General Scott and his forces moved onto Xalapa, whence Dorrance composed the letter offered here.

A sharp and concise letter reflecting the experience of the common soldier in the Mexican-American War.

CONDITION: Small bits of paper loss occurring on the integral address page, with light soiling on exterior panels.

Item #4593

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