MM
IJS
tvto noLMtt rnn anxlx?
!lA!.r-VEAi:iV IN ADVANCE. 5
AND FARES' AND PEOHAIIGS5 REGISTER.
err tot rVro wmTnt rnr. vtuw
PRINTED AND PUBLISHED AVEEICLY BY JONATHAN RO W, SOMERSET, SOMERSET COUNTY, PA,
I;exv Scries.
TUBSBA3T, SEPTEMBER 22? I8S,
Vol. 4.rCo. 5.
Tin: DEATH BED.
VV watched her breathing thro' the night.
Iter breathing soft and low.
As in I'.cr breast the wave of life
Kept heaving to and fro.
So silently we seemed to speak,
?o slowly moved about.
As we lent her half our powers.
To ckc her being out.
Oar very hopes belied cur fears,
Our Afar? our hopes belied;
XV c thought her dying when she slept,
And sleeping when she died.
Tor when the morn came dim and sad,
And o!i ill with curly showers.
Her quiet eyelids closed; she had
Ano.her mem wen ours.
Tifii: Hsu n a u mniST
or
FORT
IS.
cv an orncEi: or Tii;:AnMr.
The various letters which have beer,
written on the snbjectof the bombardment
of Fort Brown semi to have been gotten
up on the spur cf the moment written
dariu'r the bi:h excitement which prc-
viiL-il r'vwnc tic. without rpo-ird fr ri- i
licet, o07.-rc, non-commissioned officers,
r.nl soldiers, and to the importance of 1
m-h an event in oar militarv history. j
Having occupied a position to judge of
,J(j
the coin i:ncd action 01 t!ie garrison.
of o!er iiv :.ll t:ie various
incidents
1
the bombardment, I take pleasure hVfur- j
nishing :i rwv-r account of it, as I ain ;
, v;o,.a .,,..!,. inc'L-Mn -, M.
ll'H ' il (MI.M-MIO l-t 'CJ I ... I V, I .mi. .
' I
c
I'.c.i, out am
mxious that events which I
Cl'M b
ir an important r! ice 1:1 on
I , n. mot. !
l
v history dio;ild be fully and correcdv
dola'.led to the public. And if I succeed
in resciiitv from oblivion any of tb.ose i
events which redound so muHi to the cred
it an I !i m r of our r.-gul ir army, I shall
f ,,.1 ,h ii i ve at l'vst contributed mv !
f,
mil- towards re-ssUi'li$hin" its wo.ih jn
the esti .nation of t'.iose of our people who,
from Ion vontmued peace, had s!;im.tw
-5
gotten! it.
On tlieiSthr.
f Annl, the day after tiie
attack and capture ol I hornton s squ.a!
ron of '2 dragoon, we were first pos-sei-sjj
?f cert tin iiiformation that the ene
rnv h id crossed th? luo Grande in con-sCk-rablc
fiirce, and it was evident that
he had in view one of two objects, either
10 Movi've 0:1 Point Iahrl to cut otT or.r
Thornton s
.unnlies, or to attach
G?n. Tavlor in
1 "?itiOn',e;ui"r 01 nu n u nm i 1 1 in'- v . .ij
1 r ...1.: .1. I dm
nl -iion of Fort Brown of
linm.Inte ne-
rcsttv, m order t'l-jt it migm oe neiu ny
.
e lield by
der of the
a sm ill fo.ve.
wliiist the remain
army was free to move against the enemy
leaving the United Stales dig still planted
an 1 pro'.ccte.l on tlte it f1 bank 'f t!;e Uio
Grande. Tlr; importance of tliis was
v
d COnt iV;
1
!V1'1
commanding
Ge-
rvr.d. an 1 its execution was
but
a portion
of a pi. m of operation? not less boidiy
pon.vive.l than su.-c 4ssfvdiy accomplishvd,
an 1 to whlc'.i liisVry shows no paraliel.
r,.,.,- iiwctimo tn t'ip lstofM.iv tho for
ces were kep more constancy engaged ; led by the Mexicans Li . Fortinc de la
01 -he work, l-boring hard by dav, whilst i Flecha,) from La rortinc de la Flecb.a,
a- nibt tbcv were kept consuntlv on the ! ihe mortar battery m its vicinity.
-i -t"in chelation of an attack. ' j After silencing La Fortine Kedonda, our
" On the of M 'V llie Commanding j batteries continued a deliberate fire on the
Gmer d ordered ihe movement of his other batteries and the town until ten o'
armv, du.'ignttitig as the garrison of Fort ; clock, when the enemy ceased firing to
t 1, cn,C-u r.ri n. vit r.f inf-r'rv. ' repair tiicir batteries, the embrasures of
l J II C. - . 1101 . 1 . - ' '
(' I.T.I- co:"otiv ol tiie second j
nrV:l:e.-v, anJ Lien'.' Bra-g's battery of j were compelled to cease our fire, in con
Iiht artillery, composed of two six-pound- j sequence of ihe necessity of .using our
crs and two'twelve-pounder howitzers. j ammunition as sparingly as possible, the
movrdat 3 o'cl-ck P. M.nn the ! fort having been left with only one hun-
I..T '1 ,-.C rn It.-iiwn i
. H i kU L.ili.:o,i "i '
r. rchedin two companies or the sev-
cn'h infmtrv beinr assigned to every has- j
tinn except" the one occupied by Cant, i
- :
I ou d s company, vrh'cti manneti i::c j
. t
atterv of four puns, i
Ivir-iTci tl'c town cf 'Matamoras and 1
r'.creccn-poanuci
llie Mexican batterie?. "When the army i the bastian commmdedby Captain Ilaw-i-it
w-i confidently exp-vte I that 1 kins: one under Lieut. Thomas, in the
t'v
fo-t
M. T:
won a
not b? attacked, b;it tlvit ;
i
t I . ." 1.. 1, ..... t..li :
tr wo'aiu cer.auiiv o m; uin. ,
r.t I
f 't r in going or re.umn uom i imuv
Ii.bH. Tii2 fi)M was now far from be- j
ing f.n:h-d, or in a proper
stat
te of de-i
ent'rrlv unfinished,
!?r:ea otie curiam
I'-.e. .!rn'.v,1ri''-f and interior de'e.'!
lefeticcs not
vet commenced. ' Oar commander ver.tmg our enemy irom placing lus bat
raw l.elore him an immense deal of labor i teries almost wherever he pleased, and
l be expended on tha work before it using ngainst us his immense supply of
revedbe n guidcd in a nrop,-r state of de- ' ammunition - to every advantage. The
f-r.c-.and that not a moment ou-dit to be ; conduct of the officers rnd men of Captain
3 ii -i
lent in i's cnnirdetum. I
: Immediately after the reveille on the 2d
of May. the f-cvcn.h infantry was turned
r.ni to work, rn.i con.rta? t to laoor narcl
t I 1 . t 1 1 1 .
darin"- lite wlud day, at; I until bmg after ;
I gate-
dark. m the uniimr. e l .carta in r.ro
i
wav, whilst tiif5 artillery companies were
.- n t . ' i : t;.. it.i.
UO. !es'S US-nl! i" Ctti iO'. t::i ui jh.ic.u i n
I tl.l '.. n(rn.7E!l'.'i
1:2 t 7 ' S 1!1 !l Cnn'i. tr Jll IS- ' -l:c
ready to repair to his place at the parapet
at a moment's warning. During the day
muskets were placed in the hands of eve-
ry man capable of bearing arms, and our
force numbered five hundred ami sixty
men and fortv officers; thirty-two officers
; and triree Imndred and iorty-one rank and me excessive latigue ol oar men, Irom battery in the chaparral north of east from to disperse. We were now compelled bastion commanded by Cant. Le, and in
file seventh infantry; throe officers and constant hbor under the fire of thecnemy the fort and cross the river, from which to be very particular in the use of our which Johnson had h'is six-pounder. At
forty-two rank and tile of CapT. LowdV (not being able even to hear the then de- much was lo be dreaded; and not knowing ammunition for cannon, as the supply " we heard the Talo Alto cannonadm
company; four officers r.nd forty-one rank hghtful sound of our own guns) and from how soon it would open on us, prepara- . was becoming very limited, whilst the coining to us in sounds that could not iZ
I and hiti ol Lieut. JJragg s company, six constant watching, tlicy were- in the high- lion had to be made for its reception. suppl
drr.goons, anJ one otucer ana ninety-two csi spirits, omy regretting our inability to I nis morninrour eiJlitcen-pounder threw ; tihle, as
rank and file of a detachment of inefficient .' return ilie enemy s lire. Captain Walk- some shot so directly into their einbra-i iron sh
men leu irom oilier regiments, ut tins cr, sent irom captain .Mays command, sures, so as to let them know we had a sed fn
number, ninety-five were on the sick re-
! port, seventy-seven being of the number :
of inefficient men left from other regi-;
j ments, and the remainder of the five bun- j
: d.ed an.- sixty were citizen and sutler?, ;
i twentv-five in number. This was the :
Kevcil'e on the memorable morning of
the 3d found the gallant Brown at his
j post, and, whilst givin an order to his
) staff officer to have the the seventh infan
j try turned out to work on the defences,
J his attention was attracted to the first shot
fired by the enemy. Willi a smile of
! joy he turned to his staff officer and said:
; "Sir, we have other work lo do' to-day;
! order die batteries manned; go 10, the
! rLdtt and see that every man is at his
; post, I will go to die left."' Lowd's bat-
lfry
needed no order; it was already
'.ned and each piece directed try an
? W Cf!ft' fr engineer,
lnv,n? kmteered to aim the fourth
piece. At tins time it was ooservcu ttiat
t!ie Jlag had been overloked and not yet
.'raised, when Lieu. Van Dorn volunteer
ine ' .waf ne under the
hre of the enemy, winch was drawn upon
ne worn commence.i, ami, not
'pi 1 1 1
....hnn.. I- T. 4 . . , . I I A ( . -
;"-"'- 1 7 " "
'1A,t 11 1!1L U1U 1 -pouMuera wiuau uoi
land it, it was done, and well done.
The enemy's fire was opened on us
irom
the nearest fort, called by us the
Sand-bag Battery," by the Mexicans
J.a i-ortme Ledouda. this was corn-
posed of one ri:dit-pounderand two mor-
ts, under the command of Captain P.is-
samente, a Prcncliman, who.as he asserts
tO'! up arm fo" bi oilptol tmrj
and for the protection of his family, but
who braveiy declined to follow the for
tunes of General Arista when he inglori
ously fled from Matamoras. To the
.-kill of Captain Passamente as an artil
lerist we car. ail bear witness, as a con
stant and weil-dirccled fire was kept up
from bis battery until his eight-pounder
was dismounted by us. The enemy's
fire was commenced and continued with
nine pieces of altiliery four mortars, the
rest six and eight-pounder guns, throwing
copper shot and sheiis. Bragg's battery
was now playing upon them well; and in
tliiriv ny.rttcs after our first fi: "Ia !
Fortune Kedonda' was abandoned, the
eighi-j
ounder being dismounted, and the
shells fro:n Bragg s battery having made
it rather warm work for them at tiie mor
tar?. At this lime Sergeant Weigirt, of
j B company 7th infantry, was killed by a
! a round thot. The enemy's was now
j continued from tha batteries between La
i Fortina Hcdonda and the lower fort, (cal-
1
w.ucu were wen ioni iu pieces.
well
We
dred and fifty rounds
of ammtmititm
"
. I 1 ..!.... C.
'Neam?ior, grap-e, au.i rmuui in u.t..i
eighteen-poumler, and the six-ponndcr
just as badly provided. Lieut, Bragg
v. as no uu.nai w i-'uo; nu
barPette m the several bastians forueiencel
one, un ler his own direction, pld in
if , 1 t T 1 11
bastion commannu oy .njor.-awe;i;one
!. ttir 1 1 rie :on if I m.it T?ri-m.-!.1j
"v .....v.-.. w ...t. ... ii...
i! t . n 1 1 ct iom fif l .lllinn III Mnrl thr
-...v, ......
other, under the direction of L-ut. Job-ri
son. m tnc oasiion commatiu-id iv tapt.
Lee. In this condition we were sur-
rounded, and without the means of pre-
Invil s and kieut. liragg s companies
during the cannonade with their batteries ;
deserve
high commendation, as they at- j
he admiration of the whole com-
. . I
tracteo t
mand by the skilful management of their
!gnns. From seven o'clock Wihe "1st I
1 the seventh infantry was kept constantly
. .... i .i i. . t.
m uu on: ueiences, inougii ioe rue
rl.-'i irt-irj" fr.ll .-,1 v-. 1 ,1 . . . 1 1 .,11 Ann- i
o i J ion v : a y it itt u III ill! uun.
stren-iiiol o.ir.orce during me whole of j On the morning of the -lib, at five o'- had just received one. At ton o'tdock to- ; tinned at intervals at the pleasure of the These columns reinforced Gen. Arista,
the bombardment, and it has been truly . tdock, we were again saluted from the day we were deprived of the services of j enemy, taking time to procure the ammu- 'We now well knew that the attention of
Paid that "we were surrounded hv as - .' k ..;,.. i !,. .: .1 rmr nr ilt int ,.,.1,,-,,, 1 n;0 i .,:,:'' c ..' 1 . i .1. . ?.-. l.r,K- 1 : t
1 many thousands as we had hundreds." . at intervals during the day. To-day our shattered above the knee by a falling shell. ! We lost several horses to-dav, and one of f''m us; and several officers expressed to
time, and was kept up at intervals until
twelve o'clock at night; and when the
men of the 7th infantry could no longer
worii from fatigue, they were ordered to
stand to their arms at thcjarapet and kept
on the alert all night. .Notwithstanding
came into the fort at three o'clock A.M.
to bear intelligence from us to the Com-
man ling General. Left us at four o'clock
but returned at daybreak, having found
that he was discovered by the enemy and
his return before daylight impracticable.
j r-J 1
labor was continued under the fire of the"
enemys mortars, and at night the unfin-
ished curtain and gateway were nearly
completed, but nightfall could afford no
rest to our men: there were barriers to be
removed on the outside which might af-
ford protection to an approaching party of
tiie enemy, and 11 was necessary to move
tiiem at nitrlit; lor, li attempted dunn? the-
day, our men would have been exposed
to 'a calling lire of canister, crape, and
round shot. As much of this work was
,
tively little, owing to the fatigue of the
men, when they were permitted to get
rest they could, with arms in hand at the
p.irapet. 1 his evening Capt. Walker
left us to return, much fear being enter- officers. The cannonade and bombard
lamcd for his safety, although he was not meni was now kept up irregularly, and
only conn lent himself of Ins safety, bnt daring the intervals of cessation small
expressed his determination to kill or i
capture one of the enemy's pickets on his !
return. At nine o'clock to-night, when
we were all seeking a little repose from
our labors, a random fire of Musketry
was heard about three or four hundred ;
yards off in our rear, and extending some j from the six-pounders. The eseopettes ) took effect in r lie fort. All the instru- I grape, and round shot. They found it im
distancc up the river, the object being j were generally aimd at the sentinels and j ments of the 7ih infantry band were lost j possible to raise the topmast, but fastened
either to annoy us, or, by imitation of a ! gunners on the look-out. Observing the to-day by the ex plosion" of a bomb-shell: ! it in position, and raided the natioral
a t() haw out a small party. This
ure ; was extremely annoying to us, as the
u.ti, iiiLiioiiL'ii sneiii, icii an -n!iji'i !is.i
dl all n-ro'.ind ns 1
tinii" inrown Irom a gun" called lV the
Mexicans "escoocttes," (a short gun, car-
rviug a bail nearly as large as a grape I
shot,) and which, being elevated, throw
tiie balls a con;-iderable dist.uii-e: this iire
contmed about an b.our, but served to
keep us on the alert all night.
On the morning of the 5di the cnemy
commenced the fire from his batteries at
theusu.d hour, wiiich we now expected
' . I !
a great deal more rr-gid ulv than our
breakfast,
an 1 to-day
Our labor commenced again;
t.ie 1 tu imantrv was
employ
shelters, ed in eon.-tructmg bomb-proof
which had become of tliPinost urgent nee
cssity from t!ic great precisionwithwtiitch
the enemy threw shells. This morning
our commander determined to try some
s'ud's from one of the twelve-pounder
Uv,; ri t;, virf..r!v,ncrv imf. Ip-
in -r hcvond the eiDriive rairre, nothiiv ! Jonnson, and i.nnsmg were orderci! to tire ( devoived the pic!et-guanl duty, at tins ; o.mo, .is n u loiu j uiuucu perceive ims
was done to orcvent the enemy's lire I a charge of canister or grape at the one- ' time-the most dangerous and arduous duty i advance of our artillery and musketry.
from benv continued; however, we were I m', whenever an opportunity ofi'ered to to he performed. On this duty Sergeant Our operations, however, still went on.
even Had to hear the sound of our guns, j (' execution. At 4 o'clock a white flag j Wragj. Corporal MaTs an. privates Bal- : This afternoon Lieut. McLaws was sent
and the exhilarating effects of it on our j wns shown at tho old buildings in rear, j lard and Melton distinguished themselves out with a party to cut away tiie chapar
men was very perceptible. Immediately I an ' we" knowing its purport, every man j by their daring bravery in approaching ral bushes, drawing the fire of the enemy,
rfter our fire'eeased the enemy became I advantage of this opportunity to pnl j the -enemy's lines. Corporal Manson but woiking without any regard whatever
.,;t i..u ; nr-,,,.,, ! himself and his arms in onhr for warmer : and nrivates Ballard and Melton were al- to their imminent danger. The effort?
ijtlll wwiu ill win it .ii ;. ....iiiiiiuft liuoi ;
tiie precision of their moriar firing and the
perfect silence in the fort, that great exe
cution had been done, lieconnottering
parties of infantry and cavalry were seen
all around us.some small part es approach
ing within two or three hundred yards of
the fort. Lieut. Hanson, Tdi infantry.
with six dragoons, was sent out to look i
at them, who found the enemy in force
and constructing a mortar batterv on this
side of the river, about six hundred yards
distant, and a little west of north of us; to
this work the rceonnoitering parlies re
treated very precipitately; and Lieut. Han
son, having aceomoli.-hed very, gallauiiv
tue object for winch he was sent out, re-
turned, bringing us important information,
To-day every man was kept hard at work
the artillery in erecting traverses to
protect themselves at their guns, ami the
7 if i itrfantrv in eon.dructmg bomb-proof
shelters, filling and making sand-hags; no
man was idle; and at the time, when all
the virtues of the American soldier were
called into action, every man weighed in
the balance, and results have proven that
none were found wanting. Night brought
us no respite but from the fire of the ene
my's cannon, and of this even we were by
no means certain. ' were found
necessary to be placed on the counter
scran atthe salients. Barriers had to be
removed, and this must be done at night
I
as quietly as possible. Captains ' Haw-
kins and Lee were seutont with their com-
nanies. covered by a nartv of skirmishers,
commanded by Lieut, II umber, to clear
away brushes and other obstacles. 1 his i On the i. instant, at 52 o clock A. M., ' firing was continued during the day at n
work continued until one A. M.. when the enemy's batteries opened on us, and tervaK The flaT-.-taiT, being some 1 s-
w.l ...no C.irt,! n an r. r-, . f.l-. innn Qllfl
iv "i . t- i 1 1 1 1 hi uti i i , i' in im...,
cr. The enemy had now a cross fire on us
and it was warmly kept up. No exertion
Had been spared1 to lessen our danger
from it, as the almost exhausted energies
of oar men well attested. V"e well knew
at this time that the enemy had a masked
litte ammunition left; the compliment
was directly returned by them; one of the
six's striking the trunnion cap of ourcigh-
teen-pounder, but did it no harm; and,
being already loaded, it returned a shot
directly into t!v pmhr.-isurA fro in u-liid, it
m- ----- . ' ..v... ' a v
1 u'as e;ir him when he fell.ct nevcrshall
forget his brave and manly bearing tin-
der the circumstances, when, being borne
to the hospital, he turned 10 some of his
n who had collected around him and
S;d, "go to your work, men, I am but one
among you." lie lived until the ninth,
wnen ne nieo 01 11 is wound, deeply la-
nienwu oy nis rejriment
ejriment. He was a brave
:er, and will long be re-j
is regiment as one of its
,nu ,auani omce
membcred by his
brightest ornaments.
,
mand, and, fully impressed with the im-
portance of his position, lie was active
and energetic in ihe exercise of his com-
mand, and was ably sustained bv all his
parties advanced, under cover of the ra-
vine 'and old houses and bushes in our
; rear, firing eseopettes, which annoyed us
'so much that it was found necessary to
1 order Iohnson and Bra to 2-ive them a
few rounds of "Tine and canister shot
force of the enemy now increasing around
us, occupying the temporary entrench-
inerr.s km
merits left bv thv arm v. it was thought
ton :;n assault migiu Mfwm v tre cxtn:tru,
an 1 one of the cightecn-pounders, under
the direction of Lieut. L inking, was trans-
ferred from the southwest bastion (Capt.
Lowd's) . to the north-eastern bastion, eighty men, were scut out to level it,
(Maj. SeaweU's.) which here protected ; w i 1 h orders to use tiie utmost precaution,
the most probable points of attack This j and to work as silently as possible, in or
gun was Jiardly in position before it was der not lo draw the enemy's fire. This
found necessary to fire one or two rounds i dangerous operation was accomplished
o( nisier at the sharp-shooters of the
I t . .!.--
enemy, who endeavored to conceal them- j have astonishrd the enemy the next mor
sclves in t!ie chaparral b!ihr. near t!ie ; ning to find that it had been done without
old dragoon fneampment: thi-' firing f t'tf ir not'ee. This P'ir'.v wa covered !Ty
the eighteen and six-pounders drove tiie ja d tacluncnt of light infantry, comm m-sharp-shootcrs
off. Large parties of j ded bv Li-?n. Potter, who performed his
mounted men and infantry wrr? now seen : duty with gr:at credit 10 himself, throw
tit a distance all around U. The cannon- ing his party up :tnd donn the wver.
ade and bnmb ard.nent was continued, al- ; The guard was regularly detailed from the
lowing us now and then a respite of
(!ue 15 or 2 ) minutes
Bragg, Thomas,
iri -
-
work; the charges were drawn, fresh ones
put in. and all were delighted at the ap-
proaching crisis, which was then suppo-
sed to be near at hand. Two Mexican
officers advance.!, and by direction of
Captain Hawkins were met by Mai. Sei-
weii and Lieut. Briiton. who brought him
a commum
at ion signed bv General Aris-
tn, dem mding a surrender of the forces
under his command, giving him one hour
t.r ronl r A rrTiifiI ti'ii iir-i.fi (o!d .nd
i X w:Jllll)'l ill 4i.- 1IV.-IVJ OHM
a very appropriate rcptv unanimously
agreed upon, and .sent oil in the allotted
time. It was now understood by all of
our men that the crisis was rapidly np- :
proaching, and everv man took the favor-
able, opportunity of the cessation of firing
to put his arms in first-rate order; at this
ali went to work cheerfully, and seemed
glad that they were at length to have an
opportunity of meeting the enemy hand
to hand. The day had been excessively
hot, and. laboring continually, the n,Pn
were almost, constantly exposed in the
burning sun. The night came and found
lions had been made to hold one part of
Uo Ui,, v ...... ,
the fort if driven from llie other, and even
to barricade a bastion if so tightly press-
ed; all the means of barricading (wagon
bodies, axles and wheels) were collected
at those-points where it was thought ne-
cesary, ana every preparation was mane
j t Il0,(J out J he last extremity. The
J n'gt passed off very quietly, but we
j "'pre constanlly on the alert, almost ccr-
in ol an attack the next morning.
1 1 1 I T S.bpll WfTP I Yt rft IV n VI' i ' ll (TrpOt
...... -. . .......... ...... i . v . v ..
At 71 o'clock small parties of the enemy
were seen in our rear, occupying the old
houses on the road and the old guard-
house of the 2d brigade, Bragg, John-
son, and Lmsing each gave the.i7a round
of canister and jrnine. which cauod them
ies ol the cnemv seemed mexhaus-
thev now commenced throwing
elis for the first lime. It was sup-
mi the firiii'. that one of the mor-
tars had been removed from our rear, and
: we had every reason to expect tt in a very
: short time from another direction, as the
i enemy commanded far more preferable
: positions for batteries than they had yet
: plr,.i.,l TI,o L,mir.lmmii -...-
( -yv-" . m. I 1U I " I I 1 ' . I I ' II J lib l U ' I 1
1 the wheels of a caisson of Brad's bat-
? try was disabled. Our bomb-proofs
" were now pretty far advanced, and served
j to protect our men from the sun whilst
1 engaged in making sand-bazs, and the re-
j livinr parlies for labor. Again, at 2 o'-
j clock I. M., we were annoyed by the
j lire ol eseopettes, Irom the hank o! the
j rivcr-and ravine, so distant, however, as
to be harmless. This cowardly action
j on the part of the cnemv served but to
incense our men, and manv of them ap -
( plied to be permitted to pick them od
with rifles incase they showed them-
j selves. It s as about this time a Mexican
j - Tjfficer was observed frequently to take a
1 position in a tall tree, on the other side of
the river, to examine into the effect and ; were sent out to perform this duty. It
range of their shells; from his position could not be done without great labor and
he could observe the manoeuvres of the i exposure to ihe fire from the enemy's bat
piece directed by Bragg in person, and j teries, which was immediately directed,
was once or twice driven very precipi- j upon thein notwithstanding. Quarter
tately from his position by pointing his j master Sergeant Henry and privates Col
rifie at him. The bombardment was con- lins and Howard stood on the cross-trees
tinued without intermission until sunset,
mil mnrp ih-.n tivn-i!ir.!sj of tho shnll
I and Private Moody, of II company, 7th
infantry, lost his arm. It was now con -
H-Wr-! np.'f.x!-,rv tn wmnw t!w ir-vpr
j unuu ui nv inn. orai s roniuianu ut-
1 fare the for! was commenced, and about
nine o'clock Capt. Miles, in command,
with Lieuts. Van Dorn and Glitz, with
with astonishing rapidity
It I.I
n d
It tllii
j 7th infantry, and on the non-comnti-sion-
' ed officers 'and m?n of the 7th infantry
I i i . I -
; wavs volunteers when there was danger-
; - - -
; ous service for a picket, and invariably
! performed the dn'v ttiot .gallantly. About
j 1 1 tnight Sergeant Wragg. by tin? lire
1 of one of the enemy's pickets, received
! a ball inhise ip without injury to him-
s-ii. and retreat witli his nickel, having
laving
aflo
I returned the fire. A shart tt
i wards a body of tiie enemy advanced to
! within about three hun :o I yards of ihe
i iV... n.inntAn,i.i ! (fi,-. l!i.ii n
I tort.
I
lf M I ttiii-l l.WiJI.ii. lit i 1 i I I t ' 1 . llt-ll 1. '
P
Vl It
each vol lev prec:
1 !)v several blasts on
i "i
iglcs. T!i
pvici ij'irnort of loss we
P
could
not understand, though n kept ih
' ...
. on the alert all night, with little or no
j rest to officers and men. Tii: firing was
; continued until near diylight, the time
j when we expected the enemy's columns
! to advance to attack us.
J 0n tiit 8di instant, at daylight.
mnrnmg there was no evidence of
the advatice of the enrmv. m:l at 5' A.
1 the nU?x0B opened on ns a-um from
; Ll Fortinc de la Flecha. La Fortine U?-
(jo;;., and t;ie initcrv in onr rear
j i n i ,t . i,,.,,-, 'ir.v,. W1, eon'in-
VVit.'l
.;,t , ,i. ,u, ,o-,,;nr
j),.rinr ti,e h.ivv hn-T,'nr i.n-at, at tha
f .rion of Capt. Mansfi -Id. a picket
j W3Pnt ont t0 ,urn tiie ol(j I0;:c,. n,nr
j lhe trav?rse thrown down the ni-ht be-
, for? Thig hv (:) yUn
j gon ana private l.ilard,'who volunteered
i to porform the' service; an 1. as soon as
, t!ipv .vor,'nuryf i ,iPP... t!u. jire of the
cnc;mv with round, shot and sh- ll. The
t . ..! 1- T . t, fUrf 1!1'1 PVt'OSCd t. )
; jailer nillMilr HI im; i'"'i .
his dmv very gallmdv. A new mor'ar
battery "now opened oil us from the chae-
arral "ridge immediately west cf Fort
Brown, from which shells were threw:!
with astonishing accuracyfive Tut of
seven successive kUoU imKiinf i-i ib
mistaken, and lasted until 7 o'clock. Du-
ring t!i:s time the bombardment and cr-
nonading was kept up onus comin..:.!ly.
and lia excitement m our command nm-
not be described. A short time befors
sunset a column of infantry was seen ad-
vancing on the road to the P..Io Alto, ha
vmg crossed at the upper ferry, and a
l-rge body of cavalry, which had crossed
hr -low. nt'v meed in'tlin tn.lirrM;,,,,
7 " - - JUt((v M I t k. ll"ll
roe a desire to volunteer to storm the bnt-
teries, had it been deemed expedient by
the captain commandtng. The night was
; passed quietly.
j 9rn instant. This mornin the bat
teries opened on us again the mortar on
'this side of the river bavin"-been remo-
ved to a position between I'oit I'arcdcs
' and the chaparral ridge west of us, which
' fired accurately though much further r.ff.
; This rnornin the captain commandi.i.'
' determined to h-n-p il-.o C. 0 r- tl
; staff on the outside of the fort, and, tho
I halliards bein unnWed, t'i-2 to'nn.ist fad
to be lowered to replace liiem. Lieut,
Hanson, with Quartermaster Ser-cant
Henry, and privates Collins and Howard.
! at least twenty minutes, during the tirno
rxnosed lo a ront.mt firn -.n:r
' the admiration of the whole command.
j At the suggestion of Capt. Mansfield tka
1 commandin. nfficpr nnirrnd a n.ifv
f ...
rear, which had been occupied by the ene-
my. Sergeant Jones, of C company, t Ll
mtantrv was sent out wi.r. ten men to per
form this service private B.dlard t-gain a
volunteer to burn the houses. Capt.
Mauficdd accompanied this party, and
each house was burnt successive! under
the fire of the enemy's batteries. Lieut.
Gantt, with a party of twenty men armeti,
and widi axes, was sent out to cut away
bushes and obstacles on the ground be
tween the dragoon encampment and tha
fort. This party drew and stood the fire
of the enemy until recalled by the com
manding officer, bringing in with them
old barrels for use in the fort. Shortly
after 2 o'clock P. M. we heard the re
engagement of the armies, which caused
. the most pleasant excitement in our com-
: .1.1 . I . . 7 . . I .
ol the enemy at their batteries seemed
now to be redoubled, and the bombard
ment and cannonading were at this time
heavier thao we had yet sustained, and
was kept up constantly until some time
r.fter we had heard of the total rout of
the enemy at kesaci de la P.dma. At
oi o'clock we saw the Mexican cavalry
and infantry in precipitate retreat to the?
river, but entirely oat ol the ran re of the
six-pound guns, notwithstanding oir.c
few shots were fired from a six and eigh-tcen-poumler.
The latter had scarcely
fired once before we perceived the danger
r i ! .
i Kiumg oar own nrjii, when the hang
censed on both side of the river. Oar
dolig it on hearing tn result oi tn Inula
of th:;9;!i is in
d fc ibib!,v Having b:crt
rssed for seven successive davs with
out rost. and performing const mt labor
daring tiie liiiie, witiiout the excitement
of meeting the enemy hand to hand, our
e i?rgies were nearly cxh msted, and W3
ne ,nl d only rest an 1 an opportunity to
avenge ourselve. The c T.dnct cf offi
c?rs an I men, sent out on daiacheJ par-
t-' exp-c I Ci cotistant cmnom
n-r from
t'i3 en jmy, d tscrves tiie highest commc n
c n-
u r.ton
.'or t; i car
I the cool
!-,!ih.'.-e m:innr in which they j1-
I- tan
an 1 i
bored willio.it th? excitement of a halt -cannot
!'e too highly praised Th" dis
tinguished services of Qn irtcrmastcr Sfr
geant Henry. Corporal Manson, and pri
vate Ballard deserve the highest pra'se.
V.
Jami
ne, way uo von
no, be afu'r Z'
ting vour life insuredl"
An, v hv shrc!d I. mv kna-y!
d.'fet:i.i'.
oar -gal;
...l-i ...I
hislrusi
Vati
rta-
nu rav
Id
rc
ti;.
npy
; cv
cry