Page:History of the War between the United States and Mexico.djvu/371



REVOLT IN NEW MEXICO.

anta Fe came very near proving a Capua to the American soldiers. Colonel Price, of the 2nd Missouri mounted volunteers, who remained in command of the troops in that quarter, does not appear to have been a martinet in discipline, although he certainly displayed both ability and energy as an officer in the field. Relaxation and excess were more frequently witnessed than subordination and good order, and the wholesome restraints imposed by General Kearny were, one by one, disregarded. During the fall of 1846, and the ensuing winter, the soldiers were employed in the construction of a fort on a high hill commanding the town and the surrounding country, which was named Fort Marcy, in honor of the head of the War Department. There was a great deal of leisure time,however, neither wisely nor profitably spent; and many of them fell victims to diseases engendered by unreasonable indulgences, and the unfriendliness of the climate.