Born in Prince George’s County, Maryland, Trueman Cross is remembered as the first American casualty of the U.S.-Mexico War.
Cross enlisted in Lieut. Colonel William Beall's Maryland Militia 17th Regiment as a private in the War of 1812. Following the Battle of Bladensburg on August 24, 1814, where British forces led by Major General Robert Ross defeated U.S. troops and then burned the public buildings in Washington, Cross became an ensign in the 42nd United States Infantry Regiment. Noted for his organizational skills and attention to details, Cross advanced quickly in rank. He was promoted to 2nd lieutenant in October 1814, 1st lieutenant in January, 1818, and captain in 1819. In 1825 Cross published Military Laws of the United States…, a compilation of military laws and court proceedings. By 1839 he had been promoted to the rank of Colonel.
Col. Cross accompanied General Zachary Taylor and the United States Army of Observation to Corpus Christi, Texas in the fall of 1845 as Quarter Master General in charge of acquisition and distribution of supplies and material. In this capacity Cross received numerous complaints regarding the lack of adequate shelter and transportation for US troops. In March 1846, the U.S. Army marched into the Trans-Nueces, an area claimed both by Texas and Mexico, camping along the Rio Grande opposite Matamoras.
On April 10 Col. Cross left the newly constructed Fort Texas for an afternoon ride. When Cross failed to return, General Taylor ordered the firing of cannons at appropriate intervals to help guide the lost colonel back to camp. On April 19, Mexican lancers ambushed a scouting party led by Lt. Theodoric Porter of the 4th Infantry, killing Porter and another man. News of the death of Lt. Porter, the son of Commodore David Porter, overshadowed Cross’s disappearance. On April 21 a Mexican farmer discovered the badly decomposed remains of Col. Cross. A board of officers concluded that Colonel Cross had been killed by the blow of a pistol butt to the head.
Four days later, Mexican troops fired on a company of US dragoons led by Capt. Seth Thornton, providing the Polk administration with the pretext for a declaration of war.
Bibliography
Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers Who Served During the War of 1812 Record Group: 94 National Archives Catalog ID: 654501NARA M602. Alphabetical card index to the compiled service records of volunteer soldiers who served during the War of 1812. Roll: M602_0050
Registers of Enlistments in the United States Army, 1798-1914 Record Group: 94 National Archives Catalog ID: 575272 NARA M233 Roll Number: 3
Brooks, Nathan Covington A Complete History of the Mexican War 1846-1848: Its Causes, Conduct, and Consequences The Rio Grande Press, Inc. 1849 rprt 1969
Frost, John The Mexican war and its warriors; comprising a complete history of all the operations of the American armies in Mexico - with biographical sketches and anecdotes of the most distinguished officers in the regular army and volunteer force. New Haven, Philadelphia, H. Mansfield, 1850.
Image Details
Description: in Charles J. Peterson, The Military Heroes of the War of 1812 and of the War with Mexico. 6th ed. (Philadelphia: William A. Leary & Co., 1850), opp. p. 209. The University of Texas at Arlington Libraries Special Collections, Gift of Jenkins Garrett; Call Number: E353 .P48 1850 Garrett
