Tennessee militia believed to have
fought in Battle of Monterrey in 1846
DOVER AIR
FORCE BASE, Del. — With dignified precision befitting the honors due to fallen
American soldiers, as many as 13 skeletal remains unearthed from what was a
Mexican War battlefield were welcomed home Wednesday (Sept. 28) after 170
years.
The
solemn movement of the two flag-draped transfer cases, believed to contain
members of the Tennessee militia who died in the Battle for Monterrey in 1848,
was the culmination of more than five years of diplomatic negotiation, sparked
by the urging of a Middle Tennessee State University anthropology professor.
That
professor, Hugh Berryman, director of MTSU's Forensic Institute for Research and
Education, stood on the flight line, at the home to the Air Force Mortuary Affairs
Operations and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System, to witness the
transfer of the remains from the Army C-12 aircraft and pay his respects.
For
Berryman, his work is just beginning. He will lead a team of MTSU professors,
along with colleagues from other academic institutions, who have volunteered to
assist the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System in the historical,
bio-archaeological and forensic analysis of the remains.
Joining
Berryman in Dover on Wednesday was U.S. Rep. Diane Black, R-Gallatin, as well
as MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee, interim Provost Mark Byrnes, interim
College of Liberal Arts Dean Karen Petersen and retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen.
Keith Huber, the university's senior adviser for veterans and leadership
initiatives.
Also,
presiding over Wednesday's movement was U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Robert Moore, a
native of Murfreesboro and Riverdale High School graduate, who received his
master's degree from MTSU’s Jones College of Business in 1990.
“We hope
to have findings that allow a deeper understanding of the men who gave their
lives in the engagement at La Teneria,” Berryman said. “The skeleton is
excellent at recording its own history.”
Berryman
said analysis of the remains may allow interpretation of the quality of life of
mid-19th century American soldiers, their overall health conditions, and
perhaps how their wounded were treated. There’s a remote possibility, he said,
they may even be able to identify the remains.
“The
bones can provide a window through which to examine the aftermath of battle
during the Mexican-American War,” he said.
Berryman’s
involvement with the repatriation of the remains goes back to 2013 and began
through his work as a consultant to the military’s forensic efforts. The
project earned a $55,000 grant from the Tennessee Wars Commission and picked up
support from members of the state’s Congressional delegation.
The
remains were first discovered in 1996 at the site of an apartment and parking
complex being built in Monterrey near the Tannery Fort site. Historical
evidence, including uniform buttons and coins, indicated that the remains were
likely those of Tennesseans or Mississippians who fought in the battle.
Berryman,
intrigued by the potential tie to Tennessee, mounted a concerted effort to have
the remains brought to the U.S.
“After
five years of ongoing negotiations with the Mexican government, we have finally
returned our fallen Volunteer State heroes back to American soil,” said Rep.
Black, whose office joined the push in 2011.
“I am
grateful to the dedicated faculty and administrators at Middle Tennessee State
University who joined with me in this personal journey, as well as the State
Department and U.S. Army personnel who answered our requests for help.”
In 2013,
U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais, R-South Pittsburg, asked the Department of Defense
to secure the remains and for Tennesseans to be buried in the Gallatin City
Cemetery, the site of a Mexican-American War memorial. Black, as well as Sen.
Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, also signed the letter.
The
Congressional effort was also joined by U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Nashville, and
U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee. Corker's office first reported confirmation Tuesday that the remains
were aboard U.S. military aircraft and headed for Dover.
McPhee
thanked Black and the entire Congressional delegation for the work that led to
Wednesday's solemn movement at Dover. He also praised Berryman and the other
MTSU professors affiliated with the project.
“The
work by professor Berryman and his colleagues reflects the very best of our
university's commitment to innovation, dedication and public service,” he said.
Huber,
who attended Wednesday's movement in full dress uniform, said Berryman's work
was “yet another example of how MTSU shows respect for those who have served in
our armed forces.”
Joining
Berryman on the project is Shannon Hodge, an associate professor and a
bio-archaeologist with a specialty in paleopathology, and Derek Frisby, a
faculty member and military historian in the Global Studies Department. Both
Hodge and Frisby also attended Wednesday's ceremony.
ABOUT THE BATTLE OF MONTERREY
The
Mexican-American War and the Battle for Monterrey is an oft-forgotten part of
U.S. military history. This war cemented Tennessee’s reputation as the
“Volunteer State” and fostered the careers of many national figures.
American
soldiers, both regulars and volunteers, engaged in urban combat for the first
time at Monterrey, and the lesson proved costly, particularly for many
Tennesseans.
In
September 1846, American forces caught the Mexican army in retreat at the city
of Monterrey in northern Mexico, referenced as “a Perfect Gibraltar” for its
formidable defenses.
Instead
of a frontal assault, U.S. commander Zachary Taylor sent regular soldiers and
Texas militia as the main attack force to the western sector to block Saltillo
Road sealing off the enemy’s line of reinforcement.
At the
same time, a regiment of regulars led by West Point officers such as Ulysses S.
Grant and Braxton Bragg, along with volunteer regiments from Mississippi and
Tennessee, attacked El Fortin Del Teneria (or Tannery Fort), dominating the
northeastern sector.
The
diversionary attack unknowingly stepped into a deadly crossfire from reinforced
Mexican forts. Tennessee and Mississippi troops soon found themselves under
heavy artillery fire from batteries supporting Tannery Fort.
According
to one Mexican account, a cannonball tore through the Tennesseans’ ranks,
“releasing fragments of human beings in the air and covering the living with
their blood. So terrible in fact was the fire that the killed and wounded lay
in pyramids.”
Although
vital to overall success, the capture of Tannery Fort proved extremely costly.
The First Tennessee suffered approximately 26 killed-in-action and 77
wounded-in-action (many mortally), nearly twice that of the Mississippi
Regiment.
From
that day forward, the Tennessean regiment would be referred to as the “Bloody
First.” Fourteen percent of all forces engaged were killed or wounded (about
394 men), representing one of the bloodiest days in West Point history as 11
former cadets fell in action.
Due to
the logistical difficulties in transporting the dead, many of those killed were
likely buried near the Tannery Fort site. Mexican records indicate that the
dead were buried in hastily covered mounds on the roadside. On many occasions
observers noted that these makeshift graves were disturbed by animals and
partially exposed.
Over the
next 150 years, Monterrey expanded rapidly around and over the battlefield, and
the historical memory of the impromptu cemetery was lost. In 1996, construction
of an apartment/parking complex revealed human remains believed to be those of
Americans killed during the Battle of Monterrey.
Historical
evidence strongly indicates that these burials are likely those of Tennesseans
or Mississippians who fell taking Tannery Fort.
No comments:
Post a Comment