Wild North America 1846

Chapter 84 Colonel Stephen Carney was forced to ask for help

Nov. 1846, 6

Noon
In Rio Rancho, one of the few oasis towns in the barren New Mexico, the most precious Sanhuang River flows through here, giving birth to an oasis with rich water and grass nearby.The river water is a spring of life in this vast land full of Gobi, desert and dark red rocks.
New Mexico's only water source comes from the mighty Colorado River, which flows south from Colorado through central and eastern New Mexico.

The San King River, a tributary of the Colorado River, forks in the middle of the state and winds its way to the northwest. Wherever the river passes, it nourishes life and turns barren land into pastures and fields.

The endlessly flowing San Huang River flows through the dry land, thus creating a series of towns built along the river, such as Rio Rancho, Milan, Gallup, Flagstaff, Kingman, and Las Vegas. , like an oasis strung together like a string of pearls, showing a geographical direction from east to west, which is consistent with the area where the Shenghuang River flows.

A winding dirt road built along the town goes east to west, passes through the above-mentioned towns, and goes west to Los Angeles on the west coast of North America. It is the only land route from the United States to California.

from a military point of view

Following Rio Rancho, Gallup, and Las Vegas to the west until they reach Los Angeles, and then turn north to attack San Francisco and Sacramento, this is the only feasible route for the US military to advance.

Along this route, there are abundant water sources and pastures, and small western towns scattered like pearl chains, which can provide the necessary supplies for the army along the way, especially the precious water source, which is indispensable for the Continental Confederate Army equipped with a large number of horses. lack of resources.

The West Route Army, led by Colonel Stephen Carney, led more than 1700 troops. It initially set off from Detroit by train, and after arriving in Kansas City northeastward, it had already reached the terminal of the railway line.

After a short rest in Kansas City, the U.S. Army on the West Road used horses and carriages to move westward across the vast Kansas wilderness and Gobi, and arrived in Denver about 740 kilometers.

After a short rest in this coal mining town, I turned north and crossed more than 600 kilometers of uninhabited land to approach Rio Rancho Town.

Although the marching route adopted by the U.S. military took a detour, it was possible to take a train for more than 1300 kilometers from Detroit to Kansas City, which greatly reduced the suffering of traveling.

Otherwise, the distance from Detroit to Denver is 2043 kilometers. There is no modern transportation facility between the two places, and no 1-kilometer railway has been built. There are only Indian tribes chasing the winding paths left by the buffalo herd. a disaster.

Early 19s
The American railway has more than 5000 miles, and by 1846 it has exceeded 12000 miles, densely distributed in the eastern and central parts of North America, forming a criss-crossing railway network.

The well-developed transportation conditions are conducive to the rapid deployment of a large number of troops by the US Federal Army to southern Texas, but that's all.

in the vast midwest

U.S. capital has not yet touched this field. Whether it is railways, roads or bridges, there is nothing. The cavalry can only ride horses across the grasslands, Gobi and deserts for thousands of miles, and march towards the Kingdom of Tang Dynasty.

Along with the development of railways, long-distance telegraph lines covered wider areas, and telegraphs made information that would take weeks to travel instantly available.

By 1846, the total length of telegraph lines in the United States had reached 17000 miles, connecting the five major river regions with well-developed heavy industries in the east and central regions, and reaching Texas and Florida in the south, forming a dense long-distance telegraph network like a spider web.

And in the vast and desolate northwest, there is also a blank space.

town of richo rancho

Captain James Kahn forcefully spat out the grass stalk he was chewing in his mouth. Looking at the dilapidated battlefield with gunpowder smoke rising in front of him, with more than [-] American corpses lying on the street in front of him, the anger in his eyes flashed away.

He shouted loudly to his men to bring the wounded soldiers into the house for treatment, and then shouted, "Lu, Lu, where are you?"

"Here... Captain, are you looking for me?" A lieutenant officer ran over from the corner of the street behind him, panting quickly.

He is Lu Zhiran, the musketeer squadron leader of the advance team. He belongs to the first batch of Central American immigrants. He has worked in Cuban plantations and on the Panama Railway. He has been in America for more than five years.

Lu Zhiran was promoted because of his strong organizational skills, proficiency in writing and ink, and some English and Spanish. After short-term military training, he served as the squadron leader of the Musketeers.

"Lu, we must repair the place that was bombarded by the artillery to prevent the Yankees from rushing in. You quickly take someone to see if there are any tables and door panels that can be dismantled. I will arrange for others to dig and fill. The barricade must be reinforced again. a bit."

"Tnnd these Yankees, marching long distances with artillery, caught us off guard, damn it!"

"Don't complain, Lu. Fortunately, we are well prepared. Now we have to frustrate the Yankees' offensive momentum. I don't think they will bring a lot of shells and gunpowder. The premise is that we can hold on."

"Okay, the musketeers on the ground can't be withdrawn, I'll take those Mexicans to find them first."

just do it
Lu Zhiran immediately took a few soldiers to greet the Mexican gunmen, preparing to search for door panels and bed panels in the town, and continue to strengthen the existing barricades that were bombarded by artillery.

Today is the 4th day since the arrival of the U.S. military. From the afternoon of June 6, when the leading U.S. cavalry unit was repelled, to the arrival of the large U.S. cavalry unit on the 11th, there were only a few small-scale exchanges of fire.

Facing the waiting army of the Tang Kingdom, the Yankees exchanged tentative fire several times, leaving more than 30 corpses and retreating, and never came to die again.

Colonel Stephen Carney of the U.S. Federal Army arrived with his troops and went to the front line of Rio Rancho to inspect the town. He found that the town had formed a solid defense, like a small fortress, and his brows were frowning.

For any cavalry unit, attacking fortifications is not a strong point.

He didn't expect that the little Tang Kingdom's army would dare to advance so far to defend?

In Colonel Stephen Carney's plan, he believed that only in Los Angeles or San Francisco could he encounter the enemy's tenacious resistance. After all, it was only a small armed force, said to have only a thousand people?

Limited by the lack of information, the information Mr. Colonel received was already more than two months ago, which is quite different from the facts.

Mr. Colonel Stephen Carney tried to send someone to persuade him to surrender, but he failed to enter the opponent's position, and was forced to retreat by a few tough warning shots.

The attitude of the defenders is obvious, that is, to stick to the town of Rio Rancho.

In the two days after the arrival of more than 300 cavalry from the advance troops of the U.S. Army, the defenders in the town never tried to go out of the town to fight back. The small city wall is average.

The real battle began on the morning of the 14th. Colonel Stephen Carney took out his treasured trump card, and seven 6-pound Napoleon cannons brought from thousands of miles away bombarded them in turn to cover the attack of the dismounted cavalry.

Bronze-cast Napoleon cannon mounted on a solid axle. This front-loading smoothbore gun fires prototype cast-iron shells, blasting shells, or shrapnel. These cannons are manufactured according to French drawings. The U.S. military is equipped with 6-pound and 12-pound calibers. Mainly used to attack solid enemy targets.

Colonel Stephen Carney brought a lighter 6-pound gun with a caliber of 93mm and a caliber of 117mm. It can shoot at a rate of two rounds per minute. The barrel length is 1.68 meters, and the whole gun weighs more than 550 kilograms. Model 1841 light field gun mount.

After a fierce battle in the morning, more than 110 shells were fired, which only blasted a few big gaps in the barricade, killing and wounding more than [-] enemy soldiers.

The cavalry under Stephen Carney were forced to dismount and fight on foot. During the attack, they encountered intensive volleys of guns. There were more than 170 casualties, of which less than 60 were injured.

Because the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty had solid barricade defenses and could hide in the windows and shoot condescendingly, the number of casualties in the battle was much less than that of the U.S. military. If they died, it would look like three or forty people. More than half of the casualties were caused by violent shelling.

Such a difficult battle situation made Colonel Stephen Carney feel furious. This damned barricade, the damned Orientals, and this damned rotten place, everything is terrible!

The U.S. military barracks is located on the banks of the Holy Yellow River. It consists of neat tents one after another. It is about 6 kilometers away from the town of Rio Rancho. Patrols and cavalry with guns on their backs often pass by, full of the chilling atmosphere of wartime.

in the barracks
The painful howls and groans of the wounded came from time to time. In this era of lack of medical treatment and medicine, [-]% of injuries depend on the resistance of soldiers, [-]% depend on God's blessing, and only [-]% come from simple to crude treatment.

New Mexico has a typical desert climate, with strong sunshine and little rain. In mid-June, the temperature at noon has exceeded 6 degrees. The sweat of the heavily armed soldiers has soaked their clothes, and they can only hold water bottles and drink desperately.

During the attack in the morning, seven or eight soldiers had passed out due to heat stroke.

Colonel Stephen Carney was restless now, and he knew it;

The further you go in this ghost place, the higher the temperature is. In July and August, when the temperature is the hottest, the temperature is as high as 47 degrees, and in some places it is even higher.

If the small town in front of you cannot be captured as soon as possible, and the situation will get worse if you quickly cross the 1260-kilometer west wilderness to Los Angeles.

Departing from Kansas City, the westward marching force led by Colonel Stephen Carney now has a logistics line of more than 1300 kilometers. It is completely guaranteed by a carriage team. When it set off, it was fully loaded with 50 carriages and finally arrived in Rio Rancho. There were less than 15 vehicles, and a large amount of other materials were consumed on the way.

Among them, the black beans and other concentrates needed by the horses alone accounted for more than half, plus ammunition, guns and other necessities, it was only enough for his army for a week.

If the damn town in front of us cannot be conquered, and the lone army led by Colonel Stephen Carney continues to penetrate, and the logistics line may be cut off by the enemy at any time, then it will really be over.

The situation ahead has been clarified. A large number of reinforcements have recently arrived in Gallup Town, about 190 kilometers away, with a total of more than a thousand people, which makes the current situation extremely severe.

Colonel Stephen Carney sighed deeply, spread out the letter paper, picked up a quill pen and began to write a letter for help, he said in the letter;

I will do my best to conquer and occupy the current town of Rio Rancho, but I will request a large amount of supplies and reinforcements to continue the difficult western expedition...

(End of this chapter)