the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. He was promoted to brigadier general in 1846 and commanded a division at the Battle of Monterrey. He joined Winfield Scott's expedition, commanding its 2nd Division of Regulars. He led the division in all the battles from Veracruz through Mexico City. He was wounded during the assault on Chapultepec. After the fall of Mexico City, he was appointed military governor of Veracruz. Brigadier General Twiggs was awarded a ceremonial sword by the Congress on March 2, 1849. He was an original member of the Aztec Club of 1847, a military society of officers who had served in the Mexican War. Commander of the Department of Texas After the Mexican–American War, Twiggs was appointed brevet major general and commanded the U.S. Army's Department of Texas. He was in this command when the Civil War broke out. He was one of four general officers of the line in the U.S. Army in 1861, along with Winfield Scott, John Wool, and William Harney. As there was then no mandatory retirement, all four men were over the age of 60, with three having served in the War of 1812, half a century earlier. Twiggs's command included about 20% of the Army, guarding the Mexican border. As states began to secede, he met with a trio of Confederate commissioners, including Philip N. Luckett and Samuel A. Maverick, and surrendered his entire command — all the federal installations, property, and soldiers in Texas — to the Confederacy. This included 20 military installations (including the Federal Arsenal at the Alamo), 44 cannons, 400 pistols, 1,900 muskets, 500 wagons, and 950 horses, valued at a total of $1.6 million. He did insist that all Federals be allowed to retain personal arms and sidearms, all artillery (?), and flags and standards. Already, shortly after the secession of South Carolina in December 1860, Twiggs had written a letter to Scott that proclaimed that Georgia was his home and that Twiggs would follow the state if it left the Union. Confederate service Twiggs was dismissed from the U.S. Army on March 1, 1861 for "treachery to the flag of his country." He accepted a commission as a major general from the Confederate States on May 22, 1861. He was assigned to command the Confederate Department of Louisiana (comprising that state along with the southern half of Mississippi and Alabama), but he