IBTCPOTME Novel - Chapter 134
**Chapter 134**
**The Mexican-American War (7)**
“Hey, hey! This is my house!”
A militiaman shouted, but it was useless.
He was now under command, and the United States was at war.
Under the command of Colonel Peter Jones, the army that had begun to ransack every building in New Orleans had gathered every grain of food, but even that soon reached its limit.
This was because most of the ordinary citizens had also taken their food and left.
March 19, 1846.
Exactly one month after the Battle of New Orleans ended, New Orleans ran out of food.
Everyone, including the officers, had been surviving on one meal a day, but they hadn’t prepared for a siege, and they had taken most of the food they had, so it was natural that they couldn’t hold on any longer.
New Orleans, the third-largest city in the United States, was not enough to feed 30,000 adult males with just scraps.
“···We’ve held out this long, it’s enough.”
They were all healthy adult men. They couldn’t say it out loud, but many were dissatisfied with even one meal a day.
The militia defending New Orleans naturally included many residents of New Orleans, so some were unhappy that their homes had been ransacked.
Of course, they couldn’t fight. Even a month ago, they wouldn’t have stood a chance, and now, with no food and no strength, they couldn’t fight.
It was the limit.
“Send a messenger. We surrender.”
“Yes.”
A messenger with a white flag rode out of the city. He returned quickly.
“They will treat us humanely, so come out quickly.”
It was a bland answer, considering how solemnly they had sent him.
“Well, alright. Let’s go out quickly.”
30,000 men walked out of the city, looking like defeated soldiers. The besieging forces didn’t even tense up. There weren’t many of them in the first place.
Bang bang bang-!
As they left the city, gunshots could be heard in the distance.
“···Could it be training?”
Colonel Jones asked cautiously.
“Yes, of course.”
“Huh.”
Even though they had occupied it, it was still enemy territory, so training there was strange. It meant they had brought a lot of ammunition. And if they had plenty of ammunition, they also had plenty of everything else. It meant they were still well-supplied, and their level of war preparation was overwhelmingly different.
“Have some of this.”
The Mexican army generously provided meals.
“You don’t need to do this much for prisoners.”
“Ha ha, of course you have to earn your keep.”
It was a way of saying they would be forced to work. After all, they were 30,000 prisoners, not just one or two. It would cost a fortune to keep them alive, so they couldn’t just let them idle around.
He would have done the same if he had been on the other side.
The prisoners moved the barbed wire that had surrounded New Orleans with their own hands.
“Put it over there.”
The Mexican officer pointed with his finger towards the north. They were building a defensive line against their own country.
***
“Now we can finally set out with peace of mind.”
They had spent a month managing the occupied territory and supply lines, reorganizing their troops, conducting further training, and waiting for New Orleans to surrender.
They knew roughly how many people had retreated to the city based on the number of enemy dead and the size of the enemy force that had retreated north, but they didn’t attempt to engage in urban warfare.
Because it would lead to unnecessary casualties. There were also suggestions to shell the city and turn it into a wasteland, but that was also rejected.
‘It could become part of our Mexican Empire.’
It wasn’t a hint from above. It was just a strategically important location near the border, and it was one of the largest cities in the United States, so they left it just in case.
Of course, there were drawbacks to waiting for surrender. It took time. They couldn’t just send the main force out without leaving 30,000 enemy troops in the rear.
They had made good use of the month for maintenance, but they were starting to get impatient.
“All troops! Prepare to march!”
65,000 troops began preparing to move. They decided to leave 10,000 troops behind, along with the wounded, to manage New Orleans, the southern occupied territory, and the supply lines.
March 20, 1846.
The First Corps of the Mexican Empire began marching north along the Mississippi River.
They occupied every village they encountered along the way, and there was no significant resistance.
After marching about 120 kilometers north, they saw Baton Rouge, a city they had seen on their way down.
At the time, it was across the river from New Orleans, so they had just ignored it, but now they were across the river from it.
It was a city that needed to be occupied, but there was no battle.
“They say the fleet has already passed.”
“Well, of course.”
The city’s residents looked scared.
The city, which had no proper defenses or garrison, showed signs of having been subjected to a brutal bombardment. The traces of their efforts to build some defenses had been completely crushed.
The First Corps easily captured Baton Rouge and requisitioned some food.
“This means there will be no battles until we join up with the Second Corps.”
The Second Corps, which had set out in early March, was sweeping through the vast occupied territory west of the Mississippi River.
They were systematically establishing an occupation management system, destroying all the militias that had been raiding supply lines.
The destination where the two corps were to meet was ‘Memphis’. It was a large city, located in the middle reaches of the Mississippi River, and it was a strategic and economic hub.
‘I guess we’ll have a real fight there.’
The enemy wouldn’t give up Memphis unless they were crazy.
***
Late March. More bad news arrived in New York, the largest city in the United States.
“Extra! Extra! New Orleans has fallen!”
“What? Already?”
The news that they had lost the Battle of New Orleans had already hit New York hard.
“What in the world is going on.”
“Just one month? I thought they would hold out for at least two months…”
The third-largest city in the United States by population had been captured.
The international community, including Britain, had predicted that Mexico would have the upper hand in the early stages, so they were watching with no concern, but it was a major shock to American citizens.
They knew that the Mexican Empire had a strong navy, but they didn’t know that they would be pushed back so decisively on land.
Not only had they been the first to declare war and be invaded, but they had also failed to defend the river crossing and had been defeated in New Orleans.
Some criticized President James K. Polk for starting a war without sufficient preparation, but Polk continued to make clever arguments, blaming Mexico for the situation.
“Look at the Mexican Imperial Army! They were prepared to invade our country! They were prepared in advance, they created a pretext for war, and they made us make the decision to go to war to defend ourselves!”
Many military experts and intellectuals also supported the president’s claim, saying, “The Mexican Empire’s level of war preparation must have been the result of long-term preparation.”
In fact, the Mexican Empire’s lightning-fast attack was beyond common sense.
In a situation of national and personal crisis, James K. Polk began to incite the public with more blatant and aggressive language.
“The barbaric ‘imperial state’ of the Mexican Empire has mobilized a massive army by enacting a ‘mass conscription law’ that allows even women and the elderly to be conscripted! Citizens of the United States who love freedom! Our freedom and democracy are in danger! Help defend America!”
President James K. Polk spoke as if he had been ‘invaded’.
He openly preached his expansionist beliefs, sent troops to the border to create a pretext for war, and ultimately pushed the two countries into war, but he felt no shame whatsoever.
Lack of shame was a great talent for an agitator. American citizens began to believe that all this was the work of the Mexican Empire.
Whether they were truly deceived or wanted to be deceived was unknown.
Even if it was due to temporary emotions, at this moment, the national unity of the United States was being strengthened against the enemy, the Mexican Empire.
By the end of March, the United States was rapidly shifting to a wartime footing, but shocking news continued to arrive in the meantime.
***
The Mexican Empire’s fleet appeared off the coast of New York.
“Their defenses are impressive.”
Indeed, New York Harbor had defenses worthy of its reputation.
From Fort Wood near Liberty Island, several forts protected the harbor.
New York Harbor was one of the largest and most important harbors in the United States, serving as a major gateway for international trade and immigration, so the United States had built defenses worthy of its importance.
“This far. No further.”
The defenses on the Mississippi River were nothing short of a joke compared to the forts and coastal guns that were plastered everywhere, but it didn’t mean much.
“A blockade doesn’t have to be done by bringing a fleet into the harbor and destroying all the coastal defenses.”
“Yes, it’s enough to simply block ships entering the harbor from the outside and ships leaving the harbor from the outside.”
As the busiest port in the United States, many ships were coming and going. This was because they didn’t know about the war yet, or even if they did, they didn’t know about the blockade.
But the sudden appearance of the Mexican fleet blocked them. The Mexican Empire’s fleet sent signal flags to all ships from a position in front of the harbor, out of range of the coastal guns.
“Due to the ongoing military conflict, our country is implementing a full blockade of designated waters, including New York Harbor.
Attempts to enter the blockade zone are strictly prohibited, and any ship violating the blockade measures cannot be guaranteed safety.
We strongly urge all ships to carefully consider this notice and avoid approaching the blockade zone and use safe alternative routes.”
It was a big loss for the merchant ships to come all the way to the harbor and then turn around, but no captain was bold enough to ignore the warning with the cannons pointed at them.
“Damn it, this voyage is completely ruined.”
“Should we turn towards Canada?”
“Yes.”
The citizens of New York who were watching the scene were furious, but there was nothing they could do. The only way to lift the blockade was to send out their fleet.
“Mobilize all the warships we can!”
This was the order from the Navy Command. They didn’t need ironclads for a blockade.
Even the ships of the line and frigates that were considered outdated in Mexico now had the power to make ordinary merchant ships fear them, and they were enough to carry out a blockade.
“Ha ha ha ha, a country without a fleet.”
The remaining fleet in the United States retreated to Pensacola, which was blockaded by 12 ironclads and 20 monitor ships. It was twice the strength of the opposing fleet.
And so, America’s maritime trade routes began to be blocked.
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