| Explanatory
Notes: William
"Harrison" Harry Daily was
born in Charlestown, Clark Co., Indiana in 1819
and was the eldest child of David Wise Daily and
his wife, Mary A. (Shirley). He was a 1st
lieutenant, Adjutant, of Company I of the 3rd
regiment and was mustered in on 22 June 1846 at
New Albany, Indiana, by Colonel Samuel Churchill.
Transferred to staff, Harrison was mustered out
24 June 1847, at New Orleans, Louisiana.
D.W.
Daily was father of Harrison Daily. He
was born David Wise Daily in Charlestown, Indiana
on 16 August 1798 and was the son of Philip Daily
and Mary (Wise).
Col.
Newman S. Clarke was born in Connecticut
and was appointed from Vermont an ensign in the
11th infantry on 12 March, 1812, became a
lieutenant in March following, first lieutenant,
15 August, 1813, served as adjutant in 1813, and
as brigade-major to General Ripley in 1814.
Breveted captain for gallantry in the battle of
Niagara on 25 Jul 1814, he was promoted to a
captain in 1814, became a major in 1834,
lieutenant colonel in 1838, and colonel in 1846.
He commanded a brigade in Mexico in 1847, and
received the brevet of brigadier-general on 29
Mar 1847 for gallant conduct at the siege of Vera
Cruz. He died in San Francisco, California on 17
Oct 1860.
General
Robert Patterson - born in Cappagh,
County Tyrone, Ireland on 12 Jan 1792. After his
father's involvement in the Irish rebellion of
1798, the family emigrated to Delaware Co.,
Pennsylvania. After attending public schools, he
became a clerk in a Philadelphia counting house.
Commissioned as a First Lieutenant, Infantry,
during the War of 1812, he was later commissioned
a Major-General of Volunteers at the outbreak of
the Mexican War. He commanded his division at
Cerro Gordo on 12 Apr 1847, and led the cavalry
and advanced brigades in the pursuit to enter and
take Jalapa. He later served in the Civil War,
and on 07 Aug 1888, died in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania.
James
S. "Doc" Athon, author of the
letter, was a surgeon mustered in from Clay
County on 20 Jun 1846, at New Albany, Indiana, by
Colonel Samuel Churchill and mustered out 23 Jun
1847, at New Orleans, Louisiana. He served in the
Indiana Volunteer Infantry, 2nd Regiment, Company
C (Mexican War). Was surgeon mustered into the
5th Regiment on 22 Oct 1847, at Madison, Indiana,
by Major Morrison. He was mustered out 28 Jul
1848, at Madison, Indiana, by Major H. A. Goff.
General
Zachary Taylor was born in
Barboursville, Virginia in 1784. In 1808, he
joined the U.S. Army and was commissioned as a
first lieutenant. Soon afterward he was ordered
west into Indiana Territory, taking command of
Fort Harrison. In the War of 1812 he became known
as an excellent military commander. He served in
the Black Hawk War and the Second Seminole War
(1835–1842), and in 1846 President James K.
Polk sent an army under his command to the Rio
Grande. When the Mexicans attacked his troops,
Taylor defeated them despite being outnumbered
four to one and he won additional important
victories at Monterrey and Buena Vista, becoming
a national hero. He was sworn in as the 12th
President of the U.S. on 05 Mar 1849, and died
the following year in Washington D.C. on the 9th
of July.
Colonel
James Henry Lane was born at
Lawrenceburg, Indiana, on 22 June 1814. He was
the son of Amos Lane, a political leader and
member of the Indiana House of Representatives.
Receiving a common school education, James later
studied law and in 1840 was admitted to the bar.
During the Mexican War he served as a colonel
under General Taylor, and then commanded the
Fifth Indiana regiment which he had raised.
Captain
Thomas W. Gibson of Clark County was
mustered in Indiana 3rd regiment on 22 Jun 1846,
at New Albany, Indiana, by Colonel Samuel
Churchill. Mustered out 27 Jun 1847, at New
Orleans, Louisiana, by Colonel Samuel Churchill.
Seth,
Tommy & Lizzie - Harrison's youngest
siblings. Seth (1839-1888) later married Barbara
Stierheim, daughter of Francis and Sarah (Neely)
and went to California where he died in Butte
County; Thomas Hart Daily (1841-1881), the
youngest of David W. and Mary (Shirley) Daily's
children, later served during the Civil War
becoming a Captain in the 22nd Indiana and
afterwards married Margaret Walsh, daughter of
John and May (Dalgleish); Elizabeth
"Lizzie" Daily (1837-1925), Harrison's
youngest sister, was the wife of William James
and the great-grandmother of David James,
contributor of the collection of is Mexican War
letters.
Matamoros
is a city and port in northeastern Mexico on the
Río Grande, near its mouth on the Gulf of Mexico
and is situated opposite of Brownsville, Texas.
It was the scene of bitter fighting in the
Mexican War and was occupied by U.S. troops under
Zachary Taylor in 1846. It is now one of Mexico's
chief ports of entry for tourists and for the
import and export of goods.
Camargo
was founded in 1749 and was the first
settlement on the lower Rio Grande. Located west
of Reynosa, east of Cerralvo, and southeast of
Mier. Most of its settlers came from Cerralvo,
Cadereyta, Monterrey and those surrounding
townships. On 14 July 1846, the U.S. forces
occupied Camargo and Taylor established it as
another depot. Situated three hundred miles up
the shallow Rio Grande, it could be supplied only
by steamboat.
Tampico
is a Mexican city located on the Pánuco River, a
few miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico. It was
occupied by a U.S. force during the Mexican War
and by French troops in 1862, during the French
intervention. With the discovery of oil around
1900 by English and American geologists, it
became Mexico's most important seaport, and
although it is used primarily for Mexico's
petroleum industry, it possesses excellent modern
facilities and serves as an export center for
other goods, including cattle, hides, sugar, and
additional agricultural products.
Monterrey
was founded as a Spanish colonial outpost in 1579
and was given the name Monterey (later changed to
Monterrey) in 1596 in honor of the count of
Monterrey, the Spanish viceroy of Mexico. The
city played a minor role in the struggle for
Mexican independence from Spain in the early 19th
century. General Zachary Taylor's troops captured
the city in September 1846.
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