missible. The Mexican government was informed of his decision, in a dispatch from the Department of State, on the 15th of April. It was also stated, that the offer to negotiate would not again be renewed, until a more pacificatory spirit was manifested by the Mexican authorities; yet, in order that an opportunity to make peace might at all times be afforded, the chief clerk in the State Department, Mr. Nicholas P. Trist, would be sent to the head-quarters of the army forthwith, as a. commissioner invested with full powers to conclude a. treaty.[1]
Before this diplomatic correspondence was finally closed, the army under General Scott had carried the victorious standard of the American Union far into the interior of Mexico.
Vera Cruz[2] has long been celebrated, both for its commercial importance, and its commanding position at the terminus, on the Gulf, of the great national road leading from the city of Mexico to the sea-coast. It is situated on the exact spot where Hernando Cortés and his brave Spaniards landed, on the 2lst of April, 1519. The name of Chalchiuheuccan was then given to it; but no permanent colony was established there at that time. The city was founded near the close of the sixteenth century, while the Marquis of Monterey was governor of Mexico, and received a charter of incorporation in 1615. The location has always been an unhealthy one, as is the case with most of the towns situated in the tierra caliente, or low ground bordering upon the Gulf. The climate is moist, and its natural Warmth is increased by the reflection from the sandy
