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Subject Area: Political Theory

GALLATIN TO GEN. WINFIELD SCOTT. - Albert Gallatin, The Writings of Albert Gallatin, vol. 2 [1879]

Edition used:

The Writings of Albert Gallatin, ed. Henry Adams (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1879). 3 vols.

Part of: The Writings of Albert Gallatin, 3 vols.

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GALLATIN TO GEN. WINFIELD SCOTT.

New York, November 2, 1847.

My dear Sir,—

Though opposed in principle to the Mexican war, I have followed with great interest the series of your military operations, and, as your sincere friend and admirer, I do most heartily congratulate you on the great skill you have displayed, and on your most extraordinary success. The Administration did undoubtedly all that was in its power; but the force with which you were supplied was inadequate to the object in view. It became impossible to keep open your line of communication. Insulated and left to your own resources, you had, with hardly 10,000 effective men, to encounter and conquer all the forces of Mexico, concentrated for the defence of their capital and protected by strong positions and fortifications. Nothing short of your talents, of those of your distinguished officers, and of the unparalleled bravery of your troops could have overcome such obstacles. Yet it is deeply to be regretted that your force was so small; for my part, I am satisfied that to this must be chiefly ascribed the great and most lamentable loss suffered by your army. I am convinced that if you had been enabled to enter the valley of Mexico with 20,000 men you would have attained all the objects in view with an inconsiderable loss; and that, under the circumstances in which you were placed, you did all that could or ought to have been done. Writing to you, I could not help expressing these sentiments, though the object of my letter has no reference to military operations.

I am quite sensible that you have not at present any time to bestow upon literary pursuits and inquiries; but among the civilians attached to the army I hope that there may be some one to whom you may hand the enclosed memorandum, and who will take pleasure in complying with my request. You will perceive that my wish is to obtain grammars and vocabularies of the various languages of Mexico, and, indeed, every information which may throw light on their history and antiquities.

The bearer of this letter is Lieutenant Emory, a distinguished topographical engineer and lately appointed lieutenant-colonel of a regiment of volunteers. I beg leave to recommend him to you. He has in charge to be forwarded to you the first volume of the Transactions of the New York Ethnological Society, of which I am president. I think the volume will not be uninteresting to you, as it contains all we know with certainty of the languages, history, astronomy, and progress in art of the semicivilized nations of Mexico and Central America. And it will show you how far I have already investigated the subject.

I do not wish to expend more than $400 for the objects stated in the memorandum, and I think I may request you to advance the amount, which I will repay in any way and to any person you may please to designate.

As peace must come at last, I wish to obtain some Mexican correspondent, known to be well versed in the languages and antiquities of the country, who should be willing to correspond with me, and afterwards with the Ethnological Society, on those subjects.

I am approaching my eighty-eighth year, write with difficulty, and am obliged to dictate. Accept the assurance of my most distinguished consideration, and believe me to be your faithful friend and servant.

[Enclosure.]

The occupation of the city of Mexico by the American army may afford an opportunity of procuring books and copies of documents which would be highly useful to those who occupy themselves with ethnological, antiquarian, and philological researches.

It is, therefore, my wish to procure as many printed grammars and vocabularies of the several languages spoken within the dominions of Mexico as can be obtained; not exceeding one grammar, however, for each language. And with respect to those languages of which no grammar or vocabulary has been published, it would be desirable, if there be any manuscript one, to obtain a copy, provided the expense be not too great.

Heretofore the only languages of which I could procure grammars were the Mexican proper, or Aztec, the Ottomi, the Maya, and the Huasteca, spoken in the vicinity of Tampico, and which is allied to the Maya.

Besides these, ten or twelve others are said to be spoken south of latitude 25°, within the boundaries of the present Mexican confederacy. The most important are:

Totonaque, the language of the natives of Vera Cruz and its vicinity.

Tarasca, the language of the old kingdom of Michoacan.

The Mizteque and Zapoteque, spoken in Oaxaca.

The Mixe, spoken also (I believe) in Oaxaca.

Next in importance are, the Tlapaneque, spoken at Tlapa, about latitude 17°, longitude 96°-97°.

The Matlazincan, spoken at Toluca, in the vicinity of Mexico.

The Popoluque, spoken at Tlamachalco, situation not known.

Other names have also been mentioned, to wit: Core, Teotihuacan, Cakciquen, of which the situation is not known to me.

And there is also a distinct language spoken at the mouth and on the lower portion of the Rio del Norte, the name of which I do not know.

There are also in the ancient viceroy’s palace some remnants of Boturini’s collection, and among these, or collected from other sources, some chronological Mexican manuscripts representative of their ancient histories or legends, principally of the Toltecs and of the Aztecs. We have a copy of one of these already published in Lord Kingsborough’s collection. As the expense of transcribing any of these would be very great, it is only in case any opportunity should offer to procure one on very reasonable terms that this should be attended to.

Enclosed is the list of the words of which we have a comparative vocabulary in the Mexican, Ottomi, Maya, and Yucatan languages.