William J. Worth
William Jenkins Worth (
March 1,
1794 -
May 7,
1849) was a
United States general during the
Mexican-American War.
Worth was born in
1794 in
Hudson, New York, to Thomas Worth and Abigail Jenkins. Both of his parents were
Quakers, but he rejected the
pacifism of their
faith. He received common schooling as a child and moved to
Albany where he was working as a merchant when the
War of 1812 began.
During the war he served as an aide to (then brigadier general)
Winfield Scott, and developed a friendship with him. Worth later named his son
Winfield Scott Worth. He distinguished himself at the battles of
Chippewa and
Lundy's Lane during the
Niagara campaign. In the latter battle, he was seriously wounded by grapeshot in the thigh. He was not expected to survive, but after a year's confinement he emerged with the breveted rank of Major--though he would remain lame for the rest of his life.
After the war he was
Commandant of Cadets at
West Point and would rise to the rank of
Colonel in
1838 when he was put in command of the newly-created Eighth Infantry Regiment. Using his own tactics he successfully prosecuted the
Second Seminole War in
Florida and was made a brevet
brigadier general in
1842. Eventually, he convinced
Secretary of War John C. Spencer to allow the remaining Indians in the territory to confine themselves to the region south of
Peace Creek, and declared an official end to the war in August of that year.
When the
Mexican-American War began Worth was serving under
Zachary Taylor in
Texas and negotiated the surrender of the Mexican city of
Matamoros. He next commanded the 2nd Regular Division, Army of Occupation at the
Battle of Monterrey. In 1847, Worth was transferred to his old friend Winfield Scott's army and placed in command of the 1st Division. During the amphibious landings at
Veracruz he jumped from the landing craft into shoulder deep water and waded ashore to become the first American to make an amphibious military landing. He took part in the
siege of Veracruz and engaged in the following battles of
Cerro Gordo,
Contreras and
Churubusco. In
Mexico City Scott ordered Worth to seize the Mexican works at the
Molino del Rey. Worth and Scott's friendship came to a head when Scott refused to allow Worth to modify the attack and the battle caused the 1st Division severe casualties, much to Worth's dismay. Worth later renamed his son Winfiled Scott to William. He next led his division against the
San Cosimó Gate at Mexico City. When U.S. forces entered Mexico City, Worth personally climbed to the roof of the National Palace and took down the Mexican flag replacing it with the
Stars and Stripes.
For his service at the
Battle of Chapultepec,
Congress awarded him with a sword of honor. He was in command of the Department of Texas when he died of
cholera in 1849 in
San Antonio. His remains were reinterred in a monument on the corner of
Fifth Avenue and
Broadway at
Madison Square Park in
New York City's
borough of
Manhattan.
The city of
Fort Worth, Texas and the
Lake Worth Lagoon in
Florida, and consequently, the city of
Lake Worth, Florida on its shores, are named in his honor.
*
Seminole Wars*
Battle of Molino del Rey*
Battle for Mexico City* http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/WW/fwo28.html
* http://www.aztecclub.com/bios/worth.htm
* John K. Mahon,
History of the Second Seminole War, 1835-1842, Revised Edition, University Press of Florida, Gainesville, 1985.
