History of the War between the United States and Mexico/Chapter 12
CHAPTER XII.
CONTRERAS AND CHURUBUSCO.
Route from Puebla — The Valley of Mexico — Fortifications — Turning Lake Clialco — Affair at Oka Laka — March of Major Lally from Vera Cruz to Jalapa — Arrival of the American army at San Augustin — Attempt to reach the San Angel road — Crossing the Pedregal — The Night Bivouac — Storming the Intrenchments at Contreras — The Enemy driven from San Antonio — Battle of Churubusco — The Victors at the Gates of the Capital.
General Scott left Puebia, in person, on the 8th of August, and on the same day overtook, and then continued with, the leading division under General Twiggs. The different corps of his army moved forward, en echelon, being at no time beyond five hours, or supporting distance, apart. The city of Mexico is something more than ninety miles from Puebla. The road ascends gradually through a fertile rolling country, checquered with beautiful gardens and hedges of cactus, with fields of maize and plantations of the aloe, until it reaches the tierra fria, or cold region, "the third and last of the great natural terraces into which the country is divided."[1] Here the feathery palm gives place to the evergreen, and the fruits and vegetation of the tropics, make room for those usually found in more northern climes. Leaving Cholula to the south, on the third day of their march the Americans arrived at the pass of Rio Frio, ten thousand feet above the level of the ocean. Far away to the north extended the mountain crests of Anahuac, and on the other hand rose the lotty peak of Iztaccihuatl, and still further to the left, and towering still higher into the clouds, "the great volcan," Popocatepetl, — the cold bleak winds of winter ever whistling about their summits, and the gentle breezes of an unending summer sporting and playing with the shrubs and flowers that blossom at their feet.[2]
From Rio Frio the descent is rapid. Shortly after the advance of the army emerged from the pass, and on turning an angle of the mountains, which left their view to the westward entirely unobstructed, the Valley of Mexico burst upon them like some vision of enchantment. Spread out before them, and beneath them, lay the gorgeous panorama, of hill and mountain, grove and forest, river and lake, hamlet and city, — upon which they gazed with emotions similar to those with which Hannibal and his followers looked down from the Alps, over the fair plains of Italy; or those that animated the mail-clad warriors of Cortés, when they sounded their cheering war-cry of "San Jago and San Pedro!" through these wild gorges, or, flushed with victory and conquest, turned their eyes upon the same glorious scenes, beholding, "in the midst, — like some Indian empress with her coronal of pearls, — the fair city of Mexico, with her white towers and pyramidal temples, reposing, as it were, on the bosom of the waters, — the far-famed 'Venice of the Aztecs!'"[3]
The Valley of Mexico, or Tenochtitlan, as it was called by the ancient inhabitants, in which the capital is situated, is an irregular, oval basin, about two hundred miles in circumference, inclosed by walls of porphyritic mountains, and surrounded by some of the highest peaks of the Cordilleras. Lying in the centre of the great table land of the country, it is protected alike from the fierce norte, and the rude breezes of the east, by the bold Sierras that encircle it. Favored with a most genial temperature, this sunny spot teems with the valuable products, quickened into existence by the warm breath of the tropics, and watered by copious showers of rain, and the torrents that gush forth from the fissures of the neighboring cliffs. Forests of oak and pecan trees adorn the more elevated ground. Here a copse of sycamores, and there a group of tall cypresses, fling their broad shadows over the landscape. lighted by the rays of the burning sun, or the soft bright moon. The glossy leaves of the myrtle nestle close beside the pepper tree, whose scarlet berries cast a rich flush over its delicate foliage. Aromatic shrubs load the air with the intoxicating odors that invite the senses to repose, and an endless variety of flowers add their gay and brilliant colors to enhance the beauty of the scene.
Just beneath the range of mountains on the east, is the series of lakes which form the most picturesque at — traction of the valley, looking up, like the blue eyes of the turquoise, to the azure heavens above them, whose glory they reflect. Pretty gardens are scattered lavishly around them, and smiling villages and haciendas peep out in every direction from the groves in which they are imbosomed. But, conspicuous above all, is the city of Mexico, — containing a population of two hundred thousand souls — the most ancient, as it is the most splendid capital on the Western Continent! Her white domes, her Gothic churches, her shady paséos, and her beautiful Alameda; her noble cathedral, whose fretted roof, and groined arches, echo daily with the swelling notes of old Te Deum; and her lofty palaces, with their sculptured facades, and porticos embellished with porphyry and jasper, are the first to attract attention — the first to elicit admiration.
As there is no happiness without its alloy, so there are patches covered with rocks of lava, or masses of scoriæ, occasionally to be found in this lovely valley; and now and then a dark buttress, destitute of vegetation, — save, perhaps, a stray creeper, rooted in some crevice, and clambering up its rugged sides, — may be seen projecting from the mountains. Still, it may be questioned, whether these do not, by the very contrast they exhibit, serve to add to, rather than diminish, the beauty that surrounds them. The chinampas, — those floating wildernesses of sweets and blossoms, far surpassing the Alcinas and Morganas of the Italian poets — which dotted the lakes in the time of the conquest, have nearly disappeared.[4] The clearing away of the primeval forests, too, and other influences connected with the improved condition of the country, have caused their waters to recede from their original limits, and some of them are now girded by barren strips of land, covered with white sand, or incrusted salts.[5] Standing close beside them, they appear much less beautiful than in former days, but seen in the distance, with the Sunlight streaming over them, they appear like a cluster of rich jewels in a framework of silver.
The principal lakes in the valley are five in number. The salt lake, Tezcuco, occupies the lowest ground, near the centre of the basin; separated from it by a narrow isthmus on the north, is San Christóbal, and further to the north-west is Lake Zumpango; between five. and six miles south of Tezcuco, is Xochimilco, and near the eastern extremity of the latter is Lake Chalco. At the period of the conquest by the Spaniards, the city of Mexico was entirely surrounded by the waters of Lake Tezcuco, and connected with the mainland by three massive causeways or dikes, which, at this day, form important avenues to the capital. For along time it was liable to frequent inundations, when the great central reservoir, which received the surplus waters of the other lakes, was swollen beyond its ordinary height. The elevation of the site by the ruins of the ancient dwellings of the Aztecs, thrown down by Cortés during the siege, — the subsidence of the waters — the building of embankments and sluices, — and the construction of the great drain of Huehuetoca. in the seventeenth century, — have entirely obviated the danger. The plaza mayor, or great square, is now four feet higher than the average level of Tezcuco; but the environs of the city, though more or less cultivated, are quite wet and marshy, especially during the rainy season, that commences towards the latter part of June, and terminates in September.
The modern city,[6] which is over 7,600 feet above the level of the sea. lies about three miles west of Lake Tezcuco, and near six miles from the north-western point of Lake Xochimilco. It is approached by six great roads, terminating in stone causeways, from one and a half to three miles in length. The National Road, from Vera Cruz, along which the reader has followed the march of General Scott and his army, skirts the southern shore of Tezcuco, and enters the capital from the east. The Acapulco road, which terminates in the San Antonio causeway, approaches it from the south; the road from Toluca, entering upon the Tacubaya. causeway, with a lateral branch leading to the causeway of San Cosmé, from the south-west; and the great western, or San Cosmé road, from the west. The other two roads enter the city from the north. Between these principal roads are smaller ones, also terminating in causeways, which lead to the different towns in the valley and its neighborhood.
Few soldiers have ever wooed fortune for the smallest of her favors, so assiduously, and with such poor encouragement, as Santa Anna, the provisional President of Mexico, and General-in-chief of her armies. His military career, subsequent to the overthrow of the federal constitution, presents but a series of disasters; yet, in the midst of his reverses, he seems never to have been absolutely discouraged or disheartened. With the recollections of Angostura and Cerro Gordo fresh in his remembrance, he still hoped for the best. A majority of his countrymen appeared to be with him, heart and hand; [7] the clergy, who possessed the means, contributed from their vast wealth for the national protection; new levies were made, and large numbers of citizens enrolled in the National Guard; and he never suffered his energies to relax, nor his spirits to be dampened, after the avowal of his determination to prosecute the war to the uttermost. One triumph, — one repulse, — but a single check given to the unbroken tide of victories sweeping in advance of General Scott, as he progressed towards the capital, — would be sufficient to place him on that proud pinnacle of power to which his aspirations were directed, and enable him, and those whom he served, to proffer, instead of accepting, terms of peace to the enemy, without humiliation, and without dishonor.
Early in the month of August, 1847, Mexico was placed in a tolerable condition of defence. The main avenues leading to the city, on the south and east, by one or other of which it was supposed the American army would approach, were strongly guarded. Sweeping away, in a wide semicircle, from the southern border of Lake Tezcuco to the western mountains, a chain of bristling fortifications met the eye. About seven miles from the capital, in a south-easterly direction, is El Peñon, an isolated hill, three hundred feet high, having three plateaus of different elevations, each of which was garnished with a tier of guns, and infantry breastworks. Directly at its base, on the north, is the National Road, passing along a causeway constructed upon the very verge of Lake Tezcuco. The height was completely surrounded by a deep ditch, flooded by sluices from the lake. There was a strong battery, also, on the causeway, four hundred yards in advance of the hill, another by its side, and a third, about a mile from the gate of San Lazaro. Three miles in front of El Peñon, at the hamlet of Los Reyes, a second road, though but an indifferent one, branches off to the south-west, to the village of Mexicalcingo, situated at the foot of Lake Xochimilco, on the outlet or canal leading to Mexico, from which it is about five miles distant. The ground in the vicinity of the village is low and boggy, and the bridge over the outlet was fortified, and flanked to the right and left, by powerful batteries.[8]
Two miles south-west of Mexicalcingo, upon the opposite shore of Xochimilco, is Churubusco, on the Acapulco road — the first high ground west of the lake. A short distance north of the village, the road, or cause-I way, crosses the river Churubusco, over a large stone bride. This was protected by a tête du pont, with bastioned fronts regularly proportioned, and a wide ditch. The outer face of the south front was seventy five yards in length: — the eastern front was one hundred yards, and the western nearly the same. Between two and three miles south of Churubusco, at the village of San Antonio, there were strong fieldworks, containing seven batteries, with twenty-four heavy guns, and two infantry breastworks, which commanded the approaches in that direction.
Five miles north-west of Churubusco, where the mountains on the west incline nearer to the city, is "the royal hill of Chapultepec,"[9] — once washed by the waters of Lake Tezcuco — in ancient times the favorite retreat of the mild Montezuma and his royal ancestors. At a later day it was crowned with the splendid palace of the Viceroy Galvez — subsequently converted into a military school and fortification. The main structure and terre-plein, covering about four hundred square yards, and provided with heavy armaments, occupied the summit of a rocky acclivity, one hundred and fifty feet above the adjacent meadows, near the east end of an oblong inclosure, surrounded by a stone wall ten feet high, four hundred yards broad, from north to south, and nine hundred yards in length, from east to west. On the rising ground, beyond a gentle slope inclining towards the west from the base of the acclivity, and adorned with a magnificent grove of cypress trees, twelve hundred yards distant from Chapultepec, was El Molino del Rey, "the Mill of the King," a long range of stone buildings, with towers at the end, originally, as the name implies, used as a mill; but when the Americans entered the valley, it was occupied by the Mexican troops. From four to five hundred yards further to the west, upon a ridge, and nearly on a line with the northern face of El Molino del Rey, was Casa de Mata, an old square building, with thick stone walls, surrounded by ditches and bastioned intrenchments, erected for a fort, but afterwards occupied as a dwelling. Ditches, batteries, redans, and breastworks, varying in form and extent, were constructed in and about this group of fortifications.[10] Less than a mile south of Chapultepec, and within range of its guns, is the village, or hermitage of Tacubaya, containing the palace of the archbishop, and a number of fine country seats. At the south-eastern angle of the inclosure, the Toluca road intersects the causeway, leading direct, one and a half miles, in a north-easterly course, to the gate of Belén. Here also commences the branch conducting to the San Cosmé causeway, about two miles further north. The Tacubaya causeway, the branch, from the north-eastern angle of the wall encompassing the heights of Chapultepec, and the San Cosmé causeway, from its intersection with the latter, — are double roadways, on either side of massy elevated aqueducts, supported on heavy arches and pillars, which supply the city with fresh water. The causeways are all flanked by deep ditches, and marshy grounds.
Within this exterior chain of defences, which mounted, together, over one hundred pieces of artillery, there was also an interior line scarcely less formidable. A wide and deep navigable canal, intended for drainage and for custom-house purposes, and extremely difficult, I if not impossible, to bridge in the face of an active enemy, surrounded the city throughout its greater extent. There were eight main entrances, at each of which there was a garita, or large fortified gateway, where duties were collected, as in many European towns.
On the left of the Tacubaya causeway, but a short distance in rear of the garita Belén, was the Ciudadela, or citadel, a solid rectangular work, between two and three hundred yards square. Batteries and redans were} built upon and near the causeways and garitas, and. in the intervals between them; and preparations were made to connect the works by a continuous line of breastworks and redoubts, and to barricade the heads of the streets leading into the principal thoroughfares. The losses sustained by the Mexicans during the progress of the war had occasioned a great deficiency in artillery, and the interior line of defence was but poorly supplied with guns; it having been the intention, probably, of Santa Anna, if forced to retreat, to withdraw his artillery from the exterior line, and employ it in defending a new position.
The army under the immediate command of the Mexican President and General-in-chief, numbered over 30,000 men, who were well provided with arms, and well disciplined. The various fortifications south and east of the city were garrisoned, and General Valencia was thrown forward with his division, on the road to Puebla, to hold that route in observation. Santa Anna took post with the main body of his troops, in the vicinity of the capital, in readiness to succor any point that might be menaced. General Valencia advanced as far as the pass of Rio Frio, where the mountains close down upon, and overhang the road, for nearly a mile. Trees were felled, and embankments thrown up, but on the approach of General Scott, he fell back towards Mexico, and the march of the former was entirely unobstructed.
Rumors of resistance were quite frequent as the Americans advanced into the interior; but they encountered no Obstacle worthy of mention, and saw no enemy, except, it might be, an occasional guerillero flitting away over the distant cliffs, with the speed of the wild deer chased by the hunters. Major Sumner, with the companies of the 2nd dragoons, and one company of mounted rifles, led the advance; and on approaching the foot of the mountains, he discovered a body of the enemy's lancers posted about a mile in his front, near the hacienda of Buena Vista. Promptly ordering a charge, the Mexicans were compelled to make a hasty retreat. General Twiggs reached Ayotla, fifteen miles from Mexico, on the 11th of August, where he halted with his division. The other divisions of the army soon came up, and encamped in his rear, about the head of Lake Chalco.
There were three different routes that suggested themselves to General Scott, by which the city could be approached; the first, to make the circuit of Lake Tezcuco, and enter it by way of Guadalupe, from the north; the second, to proceed straight forward upon the National Road; and the third, to turn Lakes Chalco and Xochimilco, and approach it on the south. The first was ascertained to be too tedious and too circuitous to be undertaken. Close and daring reconnaissances of El Peñon were made on the 12th and 13th, which disclosed the strength of the position, and convinced the American commander that the work could not be carried except at a great sacrifice of life. Several skirmishes took place with the enemy's advanced corps, while these reconnaissances were being made, and on the 13th a superior force of Mexican cavalry were attacked and routed by a small party of dragoons escorting Lieutenant Hamilton, aid-de-camp to General Scott, who was ordered to make an examination of a foundry near Mil Flores, a small town five or six miles beyond Chalco. On the 13th instant, another reconnaissance was directed upon Mexicalcingo, when it was found that, masking El Peñon, the passage of the bridge at that place could be forced. But it was also ascertained that the causeway beyond the bridge was very narrow, and flanked on both sides by water and marshes. To proceed by either of the routes on the east, was, therefore, deemed unadvisable, if a more feasible one could be found.
General Scott had long entertained the project of passing around Lakes Chalco and Xochimilco, in order to gain the harder and firmer, though more uneven ground, to the south, and south-west of the capital.[11] On the 11th of August, Captain Mason, of the engineers, supported by a party commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Duncan, reconnoitred the southern route, and discovered that there was a practicable road for artillery, by which the strong fortifications east of the city could be avoided. Orders were immediately issued for putting the columns in motion. The order of march was now reversed. General Worth's division, with Colonel Hartley's brigade in the advance, marched in the afternoon of the 15th instant. Generals Pillow and Quitman followed the movement closely with their divisions, and on the 16th General Twiggs brought up the rear with his command. At the hacienda of Oka Laka, about half a mile south of the National Read, General Twiggs encountered the division of General Valencia, formed, as he thought, to cut him off from the leading columns. His men were quickly and handsomely arrayed in line of battle, and then moved forward to meet the enemy. Captain Taylor at the same time opened upon them with his guns, but they judged it prudent to retire before the American infantry came within range. They were driven nearly two miles from the road, by the fire of the battery, leaving several of their dead on the field, and General Twiggs then continued on his course unmolested.
Following the miserable trail that wound its devious way around Lake Chalco, the Americans once more came in sight of the glittering spires of the capital, as they reached the-southern borders of Xochimilco, no longer, as its name imports, "the field of flowers." The road was almost impassable; in some places being nearly covered with water and excessively muddy; and in others running beneath frowning cliffs,or across deep rocky gulleys. A few straggling parties of the enemy were discovered, but no attempt was made to impede the progress of the American columns, til the 17th instant. General Worth then found the narrow road, beyond the hacienda of San Gregorio, badly cut up and filled with rocks. These obstructions considerably retarded his advance, as it became necessary to remove them before the column could proceed. Near Santa Cruz a scattering fire was opened upon the head of the division, by a body of Mexicans, posted on the hills above the road on the left, who were quickly dispersed by the light battalion under Lieutenant Colonel C. F. Smith, and the 2nd artillery under Major Galt. At La Novia, also, the American advance had a skirmish with one of the enemy's pickets, which was driven in.
After the evacuation of Jalapa by the American troops, on account of the inability of General Scott to garrison so many posts on the road to Vera Cruz. that city became the head-quarters of the guerilla chiefs, whose bands had infested the road. The severe chastisement the latter had received from Generals Cadwalader and Pierce had produced a deep impression, and it required some powerful attraction to draw them in very great numbers from their hiding-places. On the 6th of August Major Lally, of the 9th infantry, left Vera Cruz with about 1,000 men, consisting of nine companies of infantry, belonging to different regiments, two companies of voltigeurs, one company of Georgia mounted volunteers under Captain Loyall, and a battery of two six-pounders, commanded by Lieutenant Sears, of the 2nd artillery. The command escorted a train of sixty-four wagons, which, it was erroneously reported, contained one million of dollars in specie. The opportunity of reaping this golden harvest was not lost by the guerilleros. The intelligence was conveyed with great rapidity through the country, and General Soto, governor of the state of Vera Cruz, in connection with the guerilla leaders, Padre Jarauta, Señor Aburto, and others, succeeded in collecting together between twelve and fifteen hundred men, with several pieces of artillery.
Anticipating an encounter with the banditti upon the road, Major Lally placed the left wing of his detachment, under Captain Winans, of the 15th infantry, in front of the train, and the right wing, under Captain Hutter, of the 6th infantry, in the rear. The centre guard, of two companies, was commanded by Lieutenant Lear, of the 5th infantry, and mounted flankers were thrown out on either side. The enemy were first discovered, on the 10th of August, at Paso de Ovejas, where they attempted to harass the American troops, by firing at long distances, for the purpose of drawing them into the Chaparral in a fruitless search. Their object was soon understood, and the command continued steadily on their route. About two o'clock in the afternoon, the principal attack was made from behind the ruins of a stone house, upon a hill on the right of the road in front. Lieutenant Sears opened an effective fire of grape and ball on the house, and Captain Alvord, of the 4th infantry, seconded by Lieutenant Leigh, of the voltigeurs, gallantly stormed the height with a party, and drove the enemy before them. In the meantime an attack was made on the head of the train, which was repulsed by Captain Winans. Daring assaults were also made on the centre and rear that were promptly met by Lieutenant Lear and Captain Hutter.
Major Lally immediately dispatched a messenger to Colonel Wilson, in command at Vera Cruz, with the intelligence of his rencontre with the guerilleros, and on the 13th instant Captain Wells, of the 12th infantry, was ordered to reinforce him, with two companies of infantry and one company of the Louisiana mounted volunteers, under Captain Fairchild. Meanwhile Major Lally had proceeded with his detachment, having been joined, on the 11th instant, by a company of Louisiana cavalry under Captain Besançon. On the 12th, he discovered the enemy, posted in force, at the Puente Nacional. As usual, the bridge was barricaded, and a terrible fire from the Mexican escopetas was poured upon the command, from the fort, and the heights on the right of the town beyond the stream. Lieutenant Sears attempted to breach the barricade with his guns, but could not bring them to bear in such an exposed position. They were then withdrawn, and the fire of one piece was turned upon the fort, while the other, from a hill on the right, opened on the heights near the town. At the same time Lieutenants Wilkins and Doyle, of the 15th infantry, and Lieutenant Loring, of the 11th infantry, with parts of their companies, advanced to the parapets of the bridge, from which they kept up a constant fire. Lieutenant Loring succeeded in passing the barricade with a small party, and was instantly followed by a body of foot and horse. The artillery had now dislodged the enemy from the fort and the heights; the bridge was cleared; and at sunset Major Lally was in possession of the town, where he remained until the morning of the 14th instant, to give time for any reinforcements that might be sent from Vera Cruz, to come up, with him.
Captain Wells found the road swarming with guerilleros, and was compelled to fight his way, foot by foot, to the National Bridge. He attempted to cross the river, but found all the adjacent heights occupied by the enemy. repeated efforts were made to effect the passage of the stream, though without success. Nearly all the mules attached to the wagons were killed, and being destitute of artillery. the party were eventually forced to retire, with the loss of ten or twelve men killed and wounded. All the wagons, with one exception, containing the baggage of the officers and knapsacks of the men, fell into the hands of the Mexicans.
Before his arrival at the National Bridge. Captain Wells had detached thirteen men of Captain Fairchild's company, to inform Major Lally of his approach. The party succeeded in joining him on the 15th of August, at the Plan del Rio, whither he had advanced on the previous day. His forage having been exhausted, Major Lally left his train at this point, under a strong guard, and moved forward with the main body of his command to the pass of Cerro Gordo, which, as he had anticipated, was occupied by the guerilleros, who still clung with the utmost tenacity, to the hope of securing the glittering prize promised by their leaders. Three hundred yards below the main height of Cerro Gordo a barricade, four feet thick, was thrown across the road; and the hills and thickets of Chaparral on the right, between the National Road and the road cut by General Twiggs. and the intrenchments and breastworks on the. series of bluffs upon the left, were filled with Mexicans. As the Americans approached, the enemy commenced firing from the hill-side and wooded ravines on the right, and Lieutenant ears immediately brought his guns to bear upon them. The fire was continued for some time, when Captain Hornsby, of the 12th infantry, was ordered to dislodge them with three companies of infantry and one of voltigeurs. Moving rapidly through the Chaparral, he scaled the height, and drove the enemy from their position in a few moments. On the left of the road, Lieutenant Ridgely, of the 4th infantry, with three companies, boldly stormed the intrenchments on the central bluff, notwithstanding a destructive fire of musketry, and of canister from a nine-pounder gun, which the enemy poured down upon his party. The work was carried, and two nine-pounder guns and nine thousand musket cartridges captured from the enemy. Lieutenant Ridger now turned his fire upon the other positions occupied by the Mexicans, and they soon after fled at all points. The hills along the road were at once ordered to be occupied by detachments of the command, and Captain Besançon was then dispatched, with fifty mounted men, to communicate with Captain Wells.
Captain Besançon learned that the National Bridge was in possession of the enemy, and rightly concluded that the reinforcement had been driven back.-Upon receiving this information, Major Lally pushed forward with his train, on the l7th instant. The guerilleros had become very much dissatisfied with their ill fortune; — the American artillery at the Puente Nacional had committed sad havoc among them, and the heights and gorges of Cerro Gordo were covered with their dead comrades. In such a service, where the pay was booty, and that only to be reached through torrents of cannon balls, and over the bayonets of a firm and unflinching infantry, there were few inducements for an army of bandits. Large numbers of them dispersed to their homes; but in the afternoon of the 19th instant, Major Lally was again assailed by the remnant of the band, at Las Animas, one and a half miles from Jalapa, who had posted themselves behind a stone fence on the left of the road. Several rounds of canister discharged upon them, and a vigorous charge of infantry, speedily cleared the road. The Americans were delayed but little more than an hour, and entered the suburbs of Jalapa in the evening, where they rested on their arms until daylight, on the following morning, when they took possession of the town without opposition.
This hazardous march was accomplished with the loss of but one hundred and five men killed, wounded, and missing.[12] Not a single wagon was left upon the road, or captured by the enemy. Shortly after he reached Jalapa, Major Lally was joined by Colonel Wynkoop,[13] who had heard of the affair at Cerro Gordo, with about three hundred men. The former concluded to remain temporarily at Jalapa, to recruit his com — mand, and Colonel Wynkoop returned to Perote.
The tedious march of General Worth's division, rendered far more fatiguing in consequence of the labor required to fit the road for the passage of their wagon-train and artillery, was terminated on the 17th of August, by their arrival at San Augustin, on the Acapulco road, — twenty-seven miles from Ayotla, by the route traversed by the American army, and nine miles south of the city of Mexico. Captain Blake, of the 2nd dragoons, in command of the advance guard, had a slight skirmish with the enemy's pickets, as he entered the town, in which the latter were easily routed. General Scott came up early in the morning of the 18th, and General Worth was then ordered to move along the causeway, towards San Antonio, two and a half miles further north, to make room for the other divisions to close on him. On approaching San Antonio, it was discovered that the fortifications at that point commanded the causeway and the marshes on the left, as far as Lake Xochimilco. The right was protected by a pedregal, or field of volcanic rocks, impassable for cavalry or artillery, and nearly so for infantry, extending some four or five miles westward, to the San
Angel road, which left the San Antonio causeway near the tête du pont, and continued up the valley of the Churubusco river, in a south-westerly course, by way of Cojohuacan, or Coyoacan, as it is now usually written, and San Angel, to the factory of Magdalena, about nine miles from Churubusco.
General Worth halted his column at a hacienda, within fifteen hundred yards of the enemy's works at San Antonio, and Captain Mason, assisted by Lieutenants Stevens and Tower, all of the corps of engineers, was sent forward to reconnoitre, supported by Captain Thornton with his company of the 2nd dragoons. The Mexican batteries opened on the party, when they came within range; the first shot killing Captain Thornton, and severely wounding the guide. No practicable route, even for infantry, could be discovered to turn the position on the right, and none on the left, except by crossing the pedregal. An assault in front could only be made by battering in breach, and the use of scaling-ladders and fascines. In the meantime a reconnaissance was made by Captain Lee and Lieutenant Beauregard, of the engineers, of a mule path leading through the pedregal, and intersecting the San Angel road about four miles directly west from San Augustin. Lieutenant Colonel Graham, with the 11th infantry, and Captain Kearny, of the 1st dragoons, with his troop, covered the reconnaissance. A large body of observation was discovered in that direction, with the advance corps of which the supporting party had a successful skirmish. A second reconnaissance of this route was made in the morning of the 19th, and Major J. L. Smith, the senior engineer officer with the army, also made a careful examination of the different approaches to the city. These reconnaissances rendered it certain that the mule path could be made practicable for artillery, and General Scott at once determined to gain the San Angel road, and then move round to the attack of San Antonio in rear.
As soon as it became known that the American army had changed their course, and were proceeding south of Lake Chalco, to reach the Acapulco road, Santa Anna moved the greater part of his forces to the San Antonio causeway and its vicinity. The works at San Antonio were garrisoned with 3,000 men. Eight guns were mounted in the tête du pont at the Puente del Rosario, the fortified bridge near Churubusco. A strong fieldwork was thrown up around the southern front and angles of the stone church of San Pablo, from three to four hundred yards to the right and front of the tête du pont. This work, which was also surrounded by a high wall, commanded the San Angel road, and a cross-road extending about half a mile to the south, where it intersected a similar road leading from the San Angel road to the San Antonio causeway. Seven guns were placed in battery at San Pablo, the garrison of which was commanded by General Rincon. General Valencia was posted on the San Angel road with 7,000 men, said to have been "the flower of the Mexican army," and twenty-four pieces of artillery, half of which were of heavy calibre. Santa Anna remained near Coyoacan, with the main body, between twelve and fourteen thousand strong, and General Perez, in command of the reserve, occupied the hacienda of Portales, three-fourths of a mile in rear of Churubusco, 0n the San Antonio causeway. In the morning of the 18th of August, General Valencia was directed to fall back on Coyoacan; but in violation of his orders, as subsequently stated by Santa Anna,[14] he proceeded to the Hill of Contreras Where he was permitted to remain, something more than two miles beyond San Angel, upon which he intrenched himself, and planted his guns. The troops under his command were those discovered by Captain Lee on the 18th instant. The hill on which they were posted lies in a bend of the San Angel road, that winds around its northern and eastern faces, and fronts the opening of the mule path along which General Scott decided to advance. East of the hill and San Angel road, and between the latter and the pedregal, is a broad and deep ravine, which it was necessary for a party assailing the position in front, to cross under a plunging fire. The guns on the left flank of the intrenched camp enfiladed the road descending towards San Angel, for more than a mile.
In conformity with the determination of General Scott, the division of General Pillow, and the company of sappers and miners, commanded by Lieutenant G. W. Smith, were advanced on the morning of the 19th, under the direction of Captain Lee of the engineers, to open the mule path leading to the San Angel road, and General Twiggs was ordered to cover the movement in front, with his division. The route was quite hilly, and lay partly through fields of corn, and hedges of chaparral, growing in the rich intervals of the barren and rocky waste, and over ditches filled with water, and lined with maguey and prickly pear. General Twiggs moved forward with his command — both officers and (men picking their way on foot — within one mile of the enemy's position. Captain McLellan of the engineers proper, and Lieutenant McLellan of the topographical engineers, being sent forward to reconnoitre, they were fired upon by the enemy's skirmishers, now occupying the ground in front. The rifles, under Major Loring, were brought up to clear the road. This done, General Pillow detached from his division Captain Magruder, — with his field-battery, and the rocket and mountain howitzer battery of the voltigeurs, in charge of Lieutenant Callender, of the ordnance. After much severe labor in dragging the artillery over the rocks, Captain Magruder placed his guns in battery at nine hundred yards distance from the Hill of Contreras, and Lieutenant Callender planted three of his pieces on the left, — Lieutenant Reno, also of the ordnance, moving still further to the left, with the rocketeers. Colonel Riley, with the second brigade of General Twiggs' division, received orders to cross the pedregal on the right, and having gained the San Angel road, to attack the enemy in rear. General P. F. Smith moved to the left and front of the batteries with his brigade, and General Pierce, in command of the first brigade of General Pillow's division, took post on the right.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, the American guns opened a lively and well-directed fire on the Mexican position, though but partially covered, by ledges of rocks, from the incessant shower of balls and howitzer shells which fell among them. A fierce cannonade was kept up for hours, during which the men at the batteries, and the brigades of Generals Pierce and Smith, occasionally engaged with the enemy's skirmishers, suffered severely. While the battle was raging at this point, General Pillow sent General Cadwalader to the support of Colonel Riley, with the second brigade of his division. General Scott arrived at the scene of action a few minutes later, and immediately ordered Colonel Morgan, of the 15th infantry, belonging to General Pierce's brigade, till then held in reserve, to move in the same direction.
The severity of the fire, so long gallantly sustained by the batteries of Captain Magruder and Lieutenant Callender, and the other troops in front, was not abated for a moment. General Smith saw that the slope and ravine, intervening between his position and that of the enemy, could not be crossed except at the imminent hazard of the entire destruction of his force. To remain longer in this position was useless. He therefore moved round to the rear of Captain Magruder, and leaving three companies of the 3rd infantry under Captain Craig, a detachment of the rifles under Captain Sanderson, and a small party of the 1st artillery, to support the battery, he also entered the pedregal. Subsequently General Shields came up with his brigade of General Quitman's division, and was directed, by the General-in-chief, to follow the same intricate and difficult path over the field of lava, — perhaps resembling nothing so much, as what one might fancy, the fabled battle — ground of the Titans. The route being wholly impracticable for artillery, Captain Taylor, of Twiggs' division, was forced to remain behind with his battery.
The different corps ordered to cross the pedregal, were at no time out of range of the heavy guns of the intrenched camp of General Valencia. Divested of their knapsacks — the officers being dismounted — with buoyant and manly strides they sprang from rock to rock, — tearing their way through closely matted thickets of chaparral, climbing over jagged precipices, and leaping across wide fissures, and deep chasms. The distance to the further side of the pedregal was nearly a mile, and, on emerging from the rocks, Colonel Riley crossed a ravine, at the bottom of which was a small stream. On ascending the opposite slope, he came upon the San Angel road, at the hacienda of Ensaldo, about fourteen hundred yards north of the Hill of Contreras. Passing another ravine, also the bed of one of the tributaries of the Churubusco, he gained a second slope or elevation, upon which was the hamlet of San Geronimo, or Contreras, four hundred yards west of the main road, and connected with it by a narrow lane. Beyond the village was a third ravine, to which he extended his line, for the purpose of sweeping through the hamlet, and driving back the enemy's cavalry, large bodies of which had been dispatched by General Valencia to check the attempt to gain his rear.
Repeated attempts were made by the enemy's lancers to force Colonel Riley to retire, but they were always repulsed with loss. Having driven them back upon their support, he sheltered his brigade, temporarily, from the fire of the Mexican guns, in a ravine south and west of San Geronimo. Upon the arrival of Generals Cadwalader and Smith, with their brigades and the 15th infantry, a heavy force of cavalry and infantry, supported by six pieces of artillery, — afterwards ascertained to consist of 12,000 men, commanded by Santa Anna in person, — were discovered advancing from San Angel, and occupying the slopes west of the road. Colonel Riley now joined the other corps, and General Smith, as the senior officer present, took command of the united force, at most, but 3,300 strong.
General Smith commenced making his dispositions for attacking the enemy's columns in the direction of San Angel; but the delay in the transmission of his instructions, in consequence of the officers being without their horses, prevented their completion till long after sunset, and his orders were then countermanded. The night set in dark and lowering, gloomy and inauspicious. The cold rain began to pour down in torrents. The American soldiers were posted in the lanes and orchards, in the gardens and groves of San Geronimo. Feeble in numbers, ignorant of the country around, with no fires to cheer them, cold,wet, and hungry, — they were still sustained by the ambition and emulation that had achieved so much, and the soldierly pride and daring ready for any enterprise of danger or peril. Some few were sheltered in the church, and other buildings of the hamlet; others sought the friendly cover of a shrub or tree; but many lay down on the damp ground, wholly unprotected from the pelting storm. To all it was a lonely bivouac. Those who watched were well nigh overpowered with fatigue, and those who slumbered, awoke unrefreshed, to listen to the wild howlings of the blast!
On the other side of the pedregal, all was anxiety and suspense. General Pierce marched the remainder of his brigade to the left of the batteries, which ceased firing after nightfall. Generals Pillow and Twiggs made ineffectual efforts to cross over to the San Angel road, and seven different officers, dispatched by General Scott to communicate instructions to the troops at San Geronimo, lost their way in the darkness and were compelled to return.
In the meantime General Smith and his officers had assembled in consultation. They were obviously in a critical position, and liable at any moment to be surrounded by an overwhelming force. Had they been opposed by an active enemy, they would not have 
But there was yet one difficulty, — to hold in check the large force hovering on the road to San Angel. The enterprise must not fail, and the troops required for this purpose could not well be spared from the storming party. At this juncture, the aid of General Shields arrived, with the information that his commander had crossed the pedregal with his brigade, consisting of about 600 men. About midnight, General Shields reached San Geronimo, and on being informed of the arrangements for the morning, though the senior officer present, he magnanimously declined interfering with the plans of General Smith, but reserved to himself the double task of cutting off the retreat of General Valencia, and holding the other force in check. — Captain Lee was dispatched to General Scott to request that a diversion might be made in front, simultaneously with the attack in rear. He succeeded in crossing the pedregal, and the necessary instructions were issued for a compliance with the request.
At three o'clock in the morning of the 20th, the movement under General Smith commenced. It was still raining, and so dark that an object could not be seen at the distance of six feet. The men were ordered to keep within touch, that the rear files might not go astray. Moving along the narrow path, through clayey mud, and over slippery rocks, they cautiously approached the Mexican position. Lieutenant Tower headed the column; Colonel Riley led the advance with his brigade; General Cadwalader followed; and the brigade of General Smith, temporarily commanded by Major Dimmick, of the 1st artillery, with the company of sappers and miners, brought up the rear. As the columns marched by a flank, the line was so extended, that the morning began to dawn before the head of General Cadwalader's brigade had reached the ravine.
The day broke heavily. Dark masses of clouds drifted across the sky, or rested gloomily over the distant mountains. The dusky lines of the force under Santa Anna were soon discovered making preparations to beat off the attack which they had anticipated. General Shields occupied the hacienda of Ensaldo and the hamlet of San Geronimo, and directed his men to build their fires, as if to cook their morning meal. The enemy in front were thus kept in ignorance of the movement going on in his rear, until it was too late to make a. successful diversion.
Having reached a favorable point nearly in rear of the intrenched camp of Valencia, General Smith ordered a halt, and directed the brigades to close up. It was now six o'clock. The men examined their pieces, and replaced the loads which had been wetted. Colonel Riley formed his command into two columns, and advanced further up the ravine. He then gave the word, and in an instant his men ascended the bank on their left. A slight acclivity still remained between him and the enemy. That was surmounted, and the camp lay beneath him. Throwing out his leading divisions as skirmishers, with a swoop, like that of the eagle darting on its prey, he dashed down the slope. The sappers and miners, and the rifle regiment, had been thrown across an intervening ravine under the brow of the slope, and now swept it in front of his column. General Cadwalader hastened to the support of Colonel Riley, and Major Dimmick, with the remaining regiments of General Smith's brigade, was ordered to face to the left, and engage a body of the enemy's cavalry under General Torrejon, hastily forming on that flank.
The boldness and daring of this manœuvre took the enemy by surprise. Colonel Ransom, of the 9th infantry, in command of the brigade of General Pierce, who had been severely hurt by a fall from his horse among the rocks, on the 19th instant, together with the detached companies of the rifles and the 3rd infantry, diverted their attention in front, until Colonel Riley appeared above the crest of the hill in rear, when they also sprang forward to join in the attack. Pouring a heavy fire into the enemy's camp, as they rushed down the declivity, Colonel Riley and his men gained the intrenchments, unchecked by the torrents of grape and musketry which they encountered. Portions of the other commands likewise joined in the immediate assult. The contest was brief but bloody. In the short space of seventeen minutes the work was carried. Major Dimmick drove back the cavalry by a vigorous charge, and at the same moment the brigade of Colonel Riley leaped over the breastworks, sweeping the enemy before them with fixed bayonets, and taking possession of their loaded guns. Captain Drum, of the 4th artillery, was the first to discover, among the pieces in the camp, the two guns captured from another company of his regiment at the battle of Buena Vista. As the word was passed, the officers and soldiers of the 4th artillery gathered around the trophies, and rent the air with their shouts and cheers.[15]
The road to San Angel was now blocked up with a crowd of fugitives hastening from the Scene of their disaster, and General Shields promptly interposed his command to intercept the retreat. Many were killed by the fire of the guns from the camp, which were turned upon them as they fled; General Valencia and a considerable portion of his troops escaped towards the mountains; and large numbers were taken prisoners. Twenty-two pieces of artillery, — seven hundred pack mules and many horses, and great quantities of shells, ammunition, and small arms, were captured. Seven hundred of the enemy were killed, one thousand wounded, and eight hundred, including four general officers, taken prisoners. The Americans lost but sixty, killed and wounded, in the assault.
General Scott had directed General Worth to leave one of his brigades to mask the position at San Antonio, and to join him with the other early in the morning of the 20th, intending to move forward to support the assault of the intrenched camp of Valencia. General Quitman, who had previously occupied San Augustin,the general depot of the army, with the 2nd Pennsylvania, and the battalion of marines, constituting his second brigade, received similar instructions; and Colonel Harney was ordered to garrison San Augustin with the cavalry. These orders were executed; and while General Scott was advancing in the direction of Contreras, he received the cheering intelligence that the work had been already carried. General Worth was now sent back to threaten San Antonio, and attack it in front, when the General-in-chief had moved round through San Angel and Coyoacan, with the troops on that road and had made his appearance in the rear. General Quitman returned to San Augustin with his command, and the cavalry brigade under Colonel Harney followed General Scott to the San Angel road. Immediately after the works on the hill of Contreras were carried, the Mexican reserves commanded by Santa Anna, began to retire towards Churubusco. Major Gardner, with the 4th artillery, and detachments from other regiments, was left in charge of the prisoners, and the American troops were forming for the pursuit, when General Twiggs arrived, and ordered them to move rapidly forward. At San Angel General Pillow assumed the command. The rifle regiment, in the advance, had repeated skirmishes with the enemy's rear, upon which they kept up a galling fire. At Coyoacan the columns were halted to await the arrival of General Scott, and receive further instructions.
In none of the actions that took place during his campaign in Mexico, was the old war spirit of General Scott, which shone so brightly on the plains of Niagara, more fully aroused than on this occasion. Arrived at Coyoacan, the whole scene of action lay before him. In a few seconds all the officers of his staff were hurrying with his orders to different parts of the field. General Pillow, with the brigade of General Cadwalader, following a reconnaissance by Captain Lee, supported by the rifles, was directed to attack San Antonio in rear. General Twiggs, accompanied by Major Smith, of the engineers, was ordered to follow the company of sappers and miners, supporting Lieutenant Stevens in a reconnaissance, and attack the church of San Pablo, with the brigade of General Smith, and Captain Taylor's battery, followed by the brigade under Colonel Riley. After a brief interval, Gene' al Pierce, though suffering severely from the injury he had received, but still able to keep the saddle, was dispatched by a third road, further to the left, to turn the right flank of the enemy, and gain their rear, with his brigade, and the howitzer and rocket battery, now commanded by Lieutenant Reno; and immediately thereafter, General Shields, with the New York and South Carolina volunteers, forming the brigade under his command, was sent in the same direction, with orders to take command of the left wing. The troops were now all employed; and, almost alone and unattended, General Scott followed closely after the division of General Twiggs for protection.
The orders issued to General Pillow were anticipated by the prompt and energetic movements of General Worth. On returning to his position in front of San Antonio, he determined forthwith to advance upon the works. The first brigade, under Colonel Garland, consisting of the 2nd artillery, Major Galt, 3rd artillery, Lieutenant Colonel Belton, and the 4th infantry, Major Lee, with the battery under Lieutenant Colonel Duncan, moved slowly along the causeway to an angle which partially masked them from the enemy's fire, and, at the same time, Colonel Clarke made a détour to the left, with the second brigade, and the light battalion, under Lieutenant Colonel Smith, through thickets of I Chaparral, and across the wide bed of lava, to envelope the right of the position, and cut off the retreat of the enemy. Before the movement could be completed, the garrison at San Antonio, alarmed at the capture of the intrenched camp of Contreras, commenced evacuating the works. Guided by Captain Mason, of the engineers, Colonel Clarke performed his weary march, of more than two miles, in a very short time; but, on approaching the causeway, twelve hundred yards in rear of San Antonio, the enemy were discovered in full retreat towards Churubusco. Preceded by two companies of the 5th infantry, under Lieutenant Colonel Scott, the brigade advanced upon the road and cut the Mexican column in two — one portion continuing their retreat upon Churubusco, and the other filing off to the hamlet of Dolores, between the causeway and Lake Xochimilco. As soon as Colonel Clarke opened his fire, Colonel Garland advanced rapidly in column upon San Antonio. The enemy had withdrawn most of their guns. Five pieces, however, which they had abandoned, large stores of public property, and a number of prisoners, among whom was one general, were captured.
Six hundred yards in advance of San Antonio, General Worth reunited his division, and pressed forward with alacrity upon the strong fortifications at Churubusco. Santa Anna had now concentrated his forces, at least 25,000 in number, at the tête du pont and the fortified church of San Pablo, and upon their flanks, and in the interval and rear. The cornfields were filled with his skirmishers, and the wall around the church, its roof and towers, and the tops of the adjoining convent, and other buildings along the line of battle, were crowded with dense masses of infantry. Approaching Churubusco, General Worth detached the first brigade and the light battalion, obliquely to the right, to drive the Mexican infantry from the cornfields and marshes, and approach the fortified work at the bridge on that flank. The 6th infantry, under Major Bonneville, moved directly along the high road to storm the tête du pont in front, exposed, meanwhile, to a raking fire of grape, canister, and musketry. The remaining regiments of the second brigade — the 5th and 8th infantry, under Colonel Mcintosh and Major Waite — advanced immediately upon the right of the road, to co-operate in the assault. Lieutenant Colonel Duncan, being unable to counter-batter the heavier metal in front, remained in reserve.
While giving directions to his battalions, General Worth was joined by General Pillow, The latter had turned to the left on hearing of the fall of San Antonio, had crossed over two deep ditches, with the brigade of General Cadwalader — the rifle regiment having rejoined their brigade — and was advancing against the enemy in his front. The officers of his command were all dismounted, and struggled, with their men, through the marshes, on foot. Such was the spirit of enthusiasm manifested by the troops, that the feeling was communicated to those the least liable to be moved by it; and Chaplain McCarty, of Colonel Clarke's brigade, was the first to assist in pulling down the growing corn, to fill up a ditch for the passage of the troops under General Pillow.
The brigade of General Smith, with which General Twiggs moved upon the defences of San Pablo, was soon warmly engaged. One of the most terrific fires ever witnessed, was poured upon the column from both musketry and artillery. The leading companies of the 1st artillery were almost swept away. Captain Taylor brought his battery up, and opened on the enemy — persisting in holding his position, though fearfully exposed, regardless of the carnage produced around him.
Having advanced far enough on the road which he was directed to follow, to gain the Mexican rear, General Pierce turned to the right with his brigade. Making their way through the fields of corn, and floundering through the difficult morasses, his troops approached the enemy at the hacienda of Portales. General Shields arrived in a short time with his command, and moved further to the left. Sheltered by the stone buildings upon and near the causeway, the Mexicans delivered a most effective fire upon the two columns, and the action now became general along the entire line.
For more than two hours a continuous roar of artillery shook the earth. The sharp roll of musketry was incessant. Broad torrents of flame rolled down from the enemy's fortifications. Lurid columns of smoke shot up towards the sky, and mingled in a heavy canopy over the field of combat. The air seemed "full of daggers."
The clangor of the battle was wild and high, and the voices of the officers could no longer be heard in the din. Numbers fell at every discharge, — yet, resistless and impetuous as the waters of the ocean, on swept the American soldiers, wave upon wave, bearing every thing before them.
The Mexican left was first agitated and thrown into disorder. The 8th and 5th infantry — the latter now led by Lieutenant Colonel Scott, Colonel Clarke having been wounded, and Colonel McIntosh taking command of the brigade — crossed the ditch, and carried the tête du pont with the bayonet. The 6th infantry was not far behind, and the 11th and 14th infantry, under Lieutenant Colonel Graham and Colonel Trousdale, followed immediately thereafter. About the same time, the Mexican infantry, opposed to Colonel Garland's brigade and the light battalion, began to waver and break, and retreated towards the causeway, with the victors dashing after them in pursuit.
At San Pablo the enemy still held out. Captain Taylor's battery had been sadly crippled, and was ordered out of range. Captain L. Smith, and Lieutenant Snelling. of the 8th infantry, instantly turned the fire of one of the guns captured in the tête du pont, upon the church; and a section of Lieutenant Colonel Duncan's battery, supported by the voltigeurs under Colonel Andrews, was also brought to bear upon the principal face of the work, at a short range, from the San Antonio causeway. This determined the contest. The 3rd infantry, under Captain Alexander, followed by the lst artillery, under Major Dimmick, now pressed forward for the assault, and Colonel Riley was moving against the left flank of the position, with the 2nd infantry, under Captain Morris, and the 7th infantry, under Lieutenant Colonel Plympton. Captain Smith and Lieutenant Shepherd, with their companies of the 3rd infantry, gallantly entered the work, and planted the regimental colors, as the enemy threw out white flags, on all sides of the church, as signals of surrender. General Rincon, the commanding officer, and a large number of other officers and soldiers, among whom was a battalion,mostly foreigners, composed of deserters from the American army, were made prisoners. General Scott, who had been wounded by a grape shot, arrived at the church soon after the surrender, and was greeted with deafening cheers by his brave troops.
On the extreme left, the brigades of General Shields and Pierce had sustained themselves manfully. Fainting from pain and exhaustion, General Pierce was borne from the field. The 9th infantry under Colonel Ransom, the 12th under Captain Wood — Lieutenant Colonel Bonham having been wounded in the morning — and the 15th under Colonel Morgan, advanced against the enemy with the steadiness of veterans. Colonel Morgan was severely wounded, and transferred the command of his regiment to Lieutenant Colonel Howard. Colonel Butler, of the South Carolina volunteers, fell dead in the thickest of the fight, and Lieutenant Colonel Dickinson also receiving a mortal wound, Major Gladden assumed the command. Colonel Burnett was likewise dreadfully wounded, and Lieutenant Colonel Baxter took charge of the New York regiment. It was a noble sight to witness the strife between the Palmettos and the New Yorkers. Side by side, and shoulder to shoulder, they moved against the enemy, each striving to be foremost in the encounter. Twice were the colors of the New York regiment shot down, but they were snatched again by some brave spirit, ready to peril all in their defence. Both regiments lost more than one-third of their number in this fearful struggle, and the clothing of the survivors was literally riddled by the bullets. At length, the fire of the American muskets, and the howitzer battery actively served by Lieutenant Reno, aided by the panic communicated by the troops giving way in front, and followed by a charge with the bayonet, caused the enemy's infantry to faker, and with their supports of cavalry, to retreat towards the capital. General Shields instantly followed, and succeeded in taking a number of prisoners. Major Sumner had been ordered to support the left wing, understood to be hardly pressed, with the rifles, previously held in reserve, and a troop of the 2nd dragoons under Captain Sibley, but he did not come up until the contest was over.
The Mexicans no longer made serious resistance. The causeway was covered with the masses of the retreating troops; and General Shields, with his command, meeting the forces of Generals Worth and Pillow in the road, joined them in the pursuit. At the special request of Colonel Harney, the way was cleared, and he was permitted to follow the enemy with a part of his brigade, up to the gate of San Antonio, interchanging sabre-cuts with the Mexican lancers, and cutting down all who refused to surrender. The recall was sounded when the battery at the garita opened on the pursuing force; but Captain Kearny, of the 1st dragoons, who headed the charge with his troop, and that of Captain McReynolds of the 3rd, persisted in remaining until Major Mills, of the 15th infantry, who accompanied him, was killed, and most of the officers of the squadron, himself among the number, were badly wounded. The trophies of this memorable day, which had witnessed such a series of brilliant triumphs, including the captures at Contreras, were thirty-seven pieces of siege and field ordnance; large numbers of small arms, standards, pack mules and horses; and vast quantities of shot, shells, and ammunition. The enemy lost 4,000 men in killed and wounded, and there were 205 officers and 2,432 rank and file, taken prisoners. Among the captured officers were Generals Garey, Anaya, Salas, Mendoza, Blanco, Garcia, Arellano, and Rincon. The first two being members of the Mexican Congress, were unconditionally released, by order of General Scott.[16] Generals Frontera and Mexia were killed.
The American loss, though much less in proportion, was still very severe. There were 137 killed, embracing some of the bravest and most estimable officers, 879 wounded, and 40 missing.[17]
At sunset the battle was ended. Taking advantage of the panic that prevailed, General Scott might, perhaps, have immediately forced his way into the capital. He had but 8,000 effective men, most of whom had been fasting, and fighting with the elements and the enemy, for the last thirty-six hours; and the enterprise was too hazardous to be undertaken. The powers of endurance of his men might have sustained them still further; but had they proved unequal to the task, the morning sun would have smiled on their folly and disgrace.
- ↑ Prescott's Conquest of Mexico, vol. i. p. 8.
- ↑ These two mountains, in former times, were looked upon by the Indians as divinities; Iztaccihuatl, "the white woman," as the name signifies, being regarded, according to their superstition, as the wife of Popocatepetl, or "the hill that smokes." During the past century the latter has rarely been in a state of activity.
- ↑ Prescott's Conquest of Mexico, vol. ii. p. 51.
- ↑ The chinampas, or floating gardens, were rafts formed of reeds and rushes, and the branches of young trees woven firmly together, which were covered, to the depth of three or four feet, with the alluvial wash of the streams, and the black mould drawn up from the bottom of the shallow lakes. Vegetables, flowers, and small trees, were raised in them, and sometimes they were capable of sustaining a but for the residence of the gardener. Although they could be pushed through the water without much difficulty, they were usually moored near the shore for safety. This was certainly a rare device to insure the presence of sufficient moisture to counteract the burning heat of a tropical sun. — Humboldt's Essai Politique, tom. ii. pp. 87, 153. — Murray's Encyclopedia of Geography, pp. 323-4.
- ↑ The waters of Lake. Valentia, in the valley of Aragua in Venezuela, similarly situated with those in the vicinity of Mexico, have subsided in like manner. The same is also true of the lakes of Switzerland, and of those near Ubaté, in New Granada. The reader will find this subject, — the influence of agriculture on the quantity of running Water of a country — discussed, at length. in Boussingault's Rural Economy.
- ↑ Mexico was rebuilt by Cortés, on the site of the ancient capital of the Aztecs
- ↑ In the month of July a coalition was formed by the authorities of the five states of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, Zacatecas, Jalisco, and Queretaro, who declared that they would be bound by no treaty so long as the army of the United States threatened the capital, or occupied any part of the Mexican territory.
- ↑ At El Peñon there were twenty batteries, mounting 51 guns, and fifteen infantry breastworks; and at Mexicalcingo, eight batteries, mounting 38 guns, and one breastwork for infantry.
- ↑ The Hill of Grasshoppers.
- ↑ There were seven batteries at Chapultepec, mounting 19 guns, and seven infantry breastworks.
- ↑ This was, mainly, the route taken by Cortés, on his second visit to the capital of the Aztecs. During the siege, his head-quarters were at fort Xoloc, on what is now the San Antonio causeway.
- ↑ In the affair at the National Bridge, Mr. George D. Twiggs, acting as an officer, and expecting a commission and an appointment on the staff of his relative, General Twiggs, was killed.
- ↑ An amusing incident connected with the guerilleros, in which Colonel Wynkoop performed a prominent part, took place subsequent to the evacuation of Jalapa, upon the advance of General Scott from Puebla. When the American garrison was withdrawn from the city, four sick and wounded officers, not sufficiently recovered to travel, were left behind in care of the chief alt-aide, who treated his guests with great kindness and humanity. But a few days afterwards he was compelled, by threats of violence, to deliver them up, though very reluctantly, to four guerilla chiefs, two of whom were said to be natural sons of Santa Anna, whose bands were in the vicinity. When this was made known to Colonel Wynkoop, he formed a project for the capture of four leaders of the marauding parties, in order to exchange them for the American officers. The expedition was undertaken with secrecy, and was eminently successful. Four of the guerilla chiefs, and, as it proved, the identical persons who had coerced the alcalde, were captured. It is unnecessary to add, that they were quite willing to regain their liberty by an exchange.
- ↑ "Manifesto of Santa Anna, dated at Mexico, August, 23rd, 1847. — The private correspondence between Santa Anna and Valencia, on the 18th and 19th of August, intercepted by the Americans, corroborates the statement in the Manifesto.
- ↑ These two guns, with other captured pieces, were organized into a battery, and placed in charge of Captain Drum, and his company of the 4th artillery.
- ↑ Report of Lieutenant Colonel Hitchcock, acting Inspector General, August 25th. 18-17.
- ↑ Nineteen American officers were killed. or mortally wounded, dur — ing the operations of the 18th, 19th, and 20th of August,viz:- — Captain Thornton, 2nd dragroons; Captains Capron and M. T. Burke, and Lieutenants Hoffman, Irons, and Johnstone, 1st artillery; Captain J. W. Anderson and Lieutenant Easly, 2nd infantry; Lieutenant Bacon, 6th infantry; Captain Hanson, 7th infantry; Major Mills, Captain Quarles, and Lieutenants Goodman and Goodloe, 15th infantry; Lieutenant Chandler, New York Volunteers; and Colonel Butler, Lieutenant Colonel Dickinson, and Lieutenants Adams and Williams, of the South Carolina volunteers.