Show HE first war to be complete P ly reported in the dally daily press was the conflict 0 of I 1 1846 and 1847 which was fought in the valley of the ht ax ia rio granie grande and among the 1 mountains of the central 7 part of 0 mexico the first w war ar correspondents of the modern type were george wilkins kendall and the other american newspaper men who rode with zachary taylor and winfield scott GO CO years ago these facts have not heretofore been recognized by students ot of the history of journalism usually sir william howard russell Is called the inventor of war tar correspondence spon dence and the first professional reporter of wars he certainly was but what la Is said in the biography ot of the famous editor of the london times john thaddeus delane that when russell was sent to the crimea tile idea of having a special correspondent spon dent with the army moving with the troops and describing in detail every action and incident of the camp was on an entirely new feature in journalism nall sin is not quite accurate tor for precisely that thing ayas was done eight years ears previously in the war between the united states and mexico in america the tact fact has been almost forgotten and in england it has never per haps been known the few writers who have had occasion to refer cursorily to the development ot of the art of war correspondence have mentioned the work done by crabbe Robin i in 1807 and 1808 and referred to the mission of charles lewis gruneisen to spain in 1837 and then they have leaped to russell and the crimean letters in 1854 and the fol following loning years crabbe robinson made it no part of 0 his business to bee a battle nine years before the war between mexico and the united states began the morning post sent gruneisen to watch the earn campaign he was attached to the headquarters of don carlos and he saw fighting but the days of strenuous exertion to get the news home had bad not yet arrived arrive dand and there was no competitive struggle to be first in london with dispatches from the field gruneison was the first definitely commissioned war reporter but it was not until the united states went to war with mexico in 1846 that newspaper men began to show in a land destitute of the railway and the telegraph gr ph the same qualities of resourcefulness and enterprise in obtaining the news and getting I 1 it t over laud land and sea to their papers that archibald archin forbes displayed I 1 in n france franc I 1 in a 1870 1970 kendall and his fellow workers organized a courier service very similar to that used by macgahan millet and forbes in the russo turk ish war 30 years later and by the occasional cas ional employment of special steamships fitted up as composing rooms roams with type cases and compositors these reporters of 70 years ago scored their scoops and outspend the government dispatch bearers the stylo style of some of the dispatches sent out from tile the camps of scott and taylor glittered with gewgaws and in some there Is palpable intention to flatter certain commanders F few ew of these reporters were competent military critics their letters are in the main a chronicle of thrilling achievements by our gallant troops when that new enterprise chat challenged american journalism a new dew implement tor for the collection and distribution ot of news wal wag just coming into use over a wire 40 miles long a year and a halt half before the first shots were fired the telegraph had demonstrated its utility as a bearer ot of news As the fighting began on the rio grande only about 1200 miles of telegraph were in operation and the wires stretched almost entirely north from the city of washington into the populous middle and eastern states the city of new orleans near the mouth of the mississippi 1000 miles from washington was the center for the news of the war to the southern metropolis the tidings were brought by steamboat and sailing vessels from point isabel from tampico and from vera cruz and to the ships the news was nas brought by the daring couriers the express riders who had bad to run the gauntlet of the guerrillas who infested the dry plains of northern mexico and the difficult mountain region between the capital and the city of vera cruz whence scott started on ills his march inland I 1 them was fierce rivalry among the new orleans papers to be the first on the street burcet with the news which the couriers and the ships brought to the city from new orleans eho news was sent up the mississippi river by steamboat but the most strenuous exertions were made to send it on to io in the shortest possible ros bible time gy by steamboat and pony express tile the t 6 0 0 0 0 4 T 7 WA lvir X 11 v 1 X 5 4 k MT an ap r WE AA r IM I 1 Vs N I 1 1 I I 1 I 1 za C V ay G copies of 0 the papers and the packets I 1 of letters were hurried across the southern states once in washington the new morse service was at the service of 0 the government and the press and there were between 2000 and miles of railroad in operation but over vast areas of 0 the north n neither either wire nor rail were available tor for the transmission of news new orleans was the focal point to which all the lines converged in the mexican war time and from which they diverged again to all parts of the united states in that romantic and cosmopolitan city george wilka allkins s kendall a new hampshire yankee and francis A lumsden established the picayune the first cheap paper which the city possessed in 1837 kendall became one ot of the most brilliant and enterprising journalists of 0 his generation and a father of the art of 0 war correspondence born bom in 1809 developing a fondness tor for jocosities while in newspaper work in new york and landing in new orleans orleana at the age of he issued with lumsden the first number of the picayune after a few years kendall embarked upon an adventure which took him to mexico tor for the first time this was the santa fe expedition the history of which is contained in the graphic narrative written by the editor ot of the picayune the members of the invading party were seized near santa fe and marched to the city of mexico several were shot and all were imprisoned gen waddy thompson was sent to mexico to investigate the rumors which came to the united states of the fate of the members of i what hat was after all a filibustering expedition and he found kendall among the lepers in a hospital his release secured after some time the writer returned to new orleans to find himself a popular hero in the city where he be long before had been accepted as a wit the necessity of 0 the war with mexico was steadily maintained in the columns of his paper and no sooner did the conflict actually begin than kendall was away for the rio grande through the summer of he was as much of the time with the rangers ot of capt benjamin mcculloch before the battle ot of buena vista was fought taylors veterans were ordered to tampico to become a part of the army to be mobilized ed for service under general scott As the central part of mexico was nas now to become the scene of the most important operations kendall made his way to tampico and lits his partner lumsden also established himself there thus kendall missed the battle which gave taylor his greatest fame and which made him president but the picayune scored a great beat on the news nevertheless that battle was fought A february 23 1847 but the result was not known for a month although the country was aas filled with disheartening lun lumora lors at last the picayune got the facts from a messenger who left monterey on march 3 9 sailed from the brazos aboard a schooner on march 14 and ro 50 miles below the city took passage in a towboat which landed him in ill new orleans at three on tho the morning of march 21 the copies of tile picayune containing the joyful tid ild ings reached baltimore and washington at the very time when a fierce political debate was vas going on as to tile responsibility tor for the weakening of the army of taylor to such an extent that santa anna had been able to wreck it the official dispatches arrived a day later meantime scott had been organizing the army with which he was to march to the capital of mexico the investment of vera cruz was begun by general worth with whom throughout the campaign kendall was closely associated in 14 days the americans were in the city kendalls pen was very busy thirteen inch shells from the castle of san juan de ulloa were bursting near him as he wrote his message ile he sent with his messages topographical sketches of 0 the defenses and the lines of 0 investment and forwarded them by schooner and cutter sending duplicates by any vessel that might be leaving port the fighting resumed scott was able after two severe actions to enter the city at the cluster ot of some buildings once used as a foundry worth fought the battle of del rey and in his dispatches he mentions mention kendall 1 I have to acknowledge my obligations to the gentlemen of my staff who performed their duties with accustomed cust cus tomed orned intelligence and bravery G W kendall esq of louisiana captain wyse and mr hargous army agent who came upon the field volunteered ered their acceptable services and conducted themselves in the transmission of orders with conspicuous gal lantry five days later the steep and rocky hill with the heavy stone walled for tress of chapultepec was stormed a an 13 action in which worth had a part with kendall again on his staff the following day scott made his formal entry into the capital just before lighting fighting ceased kendall tor for the first time was aas wounded lie he was struck in ID the knee by a bullet and again worth mentioned him in his formal report saying major borland and G W kendall volunteer aides de camp the latter wounded each exhibited habitual gal lantry and intelligence and devotion what has been said indicates the difficulties which newspaper men had to overcome to reach their journals with their packets of news from three to five days was the ordinary time between point isabel or brazos de santiago and new orleans with the news from the army of general taylor from five to seven days was the time of the passage between vera cruz and new orleans with the tidings from scott other newspaper men served with great credit in that war returning to america this pioneer war correspondent removed to texas and established himself upon a large ranch in the county which now dow bears his name lie he died in 1867 |