Valencia, was frightened into turning back. The ground was so broken that he could not ascertain the strength of the battle array that spread before him, and, believing it much larger than it really was, he made haste to retire in the direction of the city.
It rained during the night of the 19th of August, and the troops were encamped in the mud without fires. Early on the 20th operations were resumed, and before five o'clock in the morning the fortified camp of Contreras was in possession of the Americans. The only severe fighting was in the camp itself, where the Mexicans made a stout resistance before retiring. The American loss in killed, wounded, and missing was about one hundred men, while that of the Mexicans is thought to have been fifteen hundred killed and wounded. One thousand Mexican prisoners were taken, including four generals and eighty-eight officers of other grades. General Valencia escaped early in the battle, and was nowhere to be found.
After a brief halt to take breath, the army was again in motion in the direction of Churubusco, which Santa Anna considered the key to the city and was ready to defend with twenty-five thousand men. There was a massive stone convent in the village of Churubusco, which was surrounded by a field-work having embrasures and platforms for many cannon, and was the right point of the Mexican line. The walls of the convent were pierced for musketry, the parapets of the azoteas and windows afforded good positions for troops, and there was an abundance of ammunition stored in the building. Beyond the convent there extended a line of works, commanding the causeway of San Antonio and capable of a strong resistance. Happily for the Americans, the Mexicans were in great confusion at the time the former advanced, and only General Rincon's division, which held the convent and the position immediately around it, was ready for battle. The army which Santa Anna had led
