so perfectly well pleased with it that he could not interfere
with it, but left it to the gallant projector to carry it into glo
rious and successful execution. In this battle, with about
4500 men, our army engaged an enemy with a force of
16,000, occupying a position which could only be reached
with extreme difficulty by infantry, with entrenched works
commanding the approach to it for a mile round in every di
rection, with, as I have before observed, twenty-nine pieces
of artillery. The victory was most brilliant and complete.
Nothing could have been better planned than this battle. I
must relate an interesting and exciting incident that occurred
during the rage of the battle. A Mexican officer being seen
by one of General Pillow's aids to leave the enemy's lines,
and to advance several yards nearer our position, the gene
ral, as soon as he heard of the impudent rashness of the
Mexican, put spurs to his charger, and galloped at full speed
towards him. As soon as he got near to the Mexican, the
general called out, in Spanish, " Saque su sabel para defen-
derse let the honor and prowess of our respective countries
be determined by the issue of this combat." Straightway the
Mexican drew his sword with one hand and balanced his
lance in the other, and rushed towards our general, who,
with a revolver in one hand and his sabre in the other,
waited the onset of the Mexican. The combat was a long
and severe one. The Mexican was a large, muscular man,
and handled his arms with great vigor and skill, but our gen
eral was his superior in dexterity and coolness. At last the
Mexican made one terrible charge at our general with his
lance, which the latter evaded with great promptitude and
activity, using his sword, he tossed the weapon of the Mexi
can high in the air, and then quietly blew his brains out with
his revolver. Both the American and Mexican armies wit
nessed this splendid effort.*

Extracted from the famous Leonidas Letter, attributed to Gen. Pillow,



46 ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS.

Death of Major Ringgold.

At the battle of Palo Alto fell Major Ringgold, a valuable
and accomplished officer, whose death has been universally
lamented. The flying artillery, adapted by him to the
American Army, has proved of great utility in every engage
ment in which it has borne a part ; and, in fact, may be
termed the life guard of our army. Upon the fields of Palo
Alto and Resaca de la Palma it proved of eminent service,
and saved the day at Buena Vista.

His death is thus described by an able writer in one of
the eastern papers.

Major Ringgold having rode a little to the rear of the eight
een pounders, checked his horse in range of the Mexican
batteries whose fire at this moment was concentrated on this
point. At the same instant, Lieut. Col. Payne, inspector
general of the army and acting as aid to Gen. Taylor, came
up and got of Churchill permission to sight his pieces. This
he did, and sent forth a thundering volley, opening a view of
the sky through the Mexican ranks. A cloud of smoke
enveloped Ringgold from their view, and instantly from the
Mexican guns several large shot passed over Churchill's
battery, throwing up a cloud of dust in the rear. In a mo
ment a soldier rushes forward towards Col. Payne exclaiming,
"Colonel, look there !" He points to where Ringgold lay
bleeding on the neck of his dying horse. A six-pound shot
had first struck bis right thigh and passing through his horse
cut his left thigh in the same line in which the ball first struck
him, exposing but not breaking the bones. Payne, Churchill,
and several soldiers cluster around him, and to them, amid
the rattling hail of the enemy's artillery, he said ; "Leave me ;
there is work for you yonder. You must drive the Mexicans
before you and save our comrades at Fort Brown !" Then
taking a chain from his neck, and with it his gold watch, he
handed them to Col. Payne, saying ; "Give that to my
sister !" He took out his purse and handed that to Col.
Payne also, with the same request.



47

Gen. Taylor's Good Things.

If Gen. Taylor did not say the good things that are as
cribed to him, we must give the gentlemen who have put
them in his mouth, credit for an admirable perception of what
is becoming in the mouth of a great commander. A collec
tion of his reputed sayings in times of emergency, would be
as fine an ' ana' as there is in print anywhere. His abrupt
close of the conference with Ampudia, for instance, when
treating for the surrender of Monterey, is as much to the pur
pose, and as full of meaning as anything in Wellington's
despatches " Sir, I hold you, and your town, and your
army, in the hollow of my hand, ami you know it. The
conference is closed in thirty minutes you shall hear from
my batteries."

Of course Gen. Taylor would not have said this to a gal
lant and respected enemy. He would have spoken in a very
different vein to a brave and gallant general, who had main
tained his position as long as it could be maintained, and now
having satisfied the demands of honor and duty to their full
extent, was ready, with the frankness of a soldier and a gen
tleman, to accept the necessity of his position. But to
Ampudia, neither brave nor gallant, and whiffling over a
capitulation which he knew to be inevitable, the response
was as fitting as it was well-timed and effective.

There was, on the other hand, a delicious touch of humor
in the old General's acknowledgement to the * boys' who
laughed at him for dodging. In the thickest of the fight, at
Buena Vista, when the balls were flying * considerable,' Gen.
Taylor saw some of the men ducking their heads as the
missiles whizzed by, and called out, " No dodging, gentlemen,
soldiers never dodge." But in a few minutes a twenty-four
pounder came humming so near the old gentleman's nose,
that he involuntarily ducked his own head whereat some of
the ' boys' " snickered out." " Dodge the balls, gentlemen,"
exclaimed old Zach, as grave as a mustard pot ; u dodge
the balls, gentlemen, but don't run."



48 ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS.

In the same style was his quiet remark at Resaca de la
Palma, where the balls made lively music, too. One of them
cut off a piece of his coat-tail ; whereupon he dryly remarked
to one that was near him, " These balls are getting excited."

But the best thing he is said to have said, was also at
Buena Vista. It was not only quaint, but grand ; there
was a sort of heroic largeness about it, in conception and
expression, than which, we know of nothing that more fills
the mind's eye. It was when the last, desperate, almost
overwhelming charge was made on Capt. Bragg's battery.
The Captain saw the mighty cohort coming, with an anxious
gaze, for there was no infantry at hand to sustain him. Place-
ing his pieces in position, he hurried to the general, who was
not far off, to represent that his little band would be ridden
over, and to beg for a reinforcements. "I have no reen-
forcement to give you," answered the general, " but Major
Bliss and I will support you."

" Major Bliss and I" accordingly put spurs to their horses
and took post by the cannon. We all know what the
result was.



A thrilling Incident.

Gloomy foreboding pervaded the American squadron sta
tioned off Vera Cruz at the time the battle of Buena Vista
was reported to be in favor of Santa Anna. It was about
dusk when this news so joyful to the Mexicans, was made
Icnown within the wall of Vera Cruz. The firing of cannon,
the blaze of rockets bursting in mid air, the rolling of drums,
the displaying of flags from every prominent point, and the
loud huzzas of the population, struck dismay among the brave
tars composing our navy. These rejoicings of the Mexicans,
however, were to perish by the rising northern blast, like bud
ding flowers which sometimes fall before they ripen to per
fection of beauty in the early spring time. For, whilst the



THRILLING SKETCH. 49

rejoicings were progressing, a speck much whiter than the
crested wave appeared bobbing up and down in the far dis
tance. The glasses were soon in requisition, and the little-
speck was magnified into a sail, above which floated in
glorious triumph the stars and stripes of America. The
fierce norther freshened every moment, and the foaming bil
lows succeeded each other in mad and powerful ar-ray.

Great solicitation was felt by every one in the squadron for
the safety of the frail craft which bore aloft the flag of our
country. Now she was seen, and then to disappear; pres
ently she arose "once more upon the waters," and came
dashing proudly on. She soon became an object of univer
sal attraction. The bright galaxy of stars, shedding their
lustre -from an 'enormous' flag at her mast head, cast so
much light upon the real character of the little skipper of
the seas, that the attention of the Mexicans was alarmingly
attracted. Sounds of rejoicing within the walls seemed to
cease, and a big gun was elevated at the castle of San Juan
de Ulua, to give the stranger rather a warm reception. As
she came dashing through the spray, every heart in the
squadron beat quicker and quicker with indescribable emo
tion ; all was breathless attention and anxiety ; it was, so to
speak, like the calm which i? the usual precursor of the
storm.

The news must be of a cheering nature, thought they on
board our gallant navy, or such an enormous flag would not
be unfurled to the gale. The launch came on before the
breeze, and did not deviate from a given point, inside the
vesseh. To have s;one to leeward she never could have

o

made the vessels. Her course was straight, and when within
three hundred yards of the fortress a cannon was fired there
from, and the ball passed across her bow. It made no dif
ference to the stout hearts on that little craft. Her course
was steady ; and, when within one hundred and fifty yards
of the castle, immediately in front, another cannon, much
5



50 ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS.

larger than its predecessor, was fired, but it only gave the
crew a good drenching, which, however, they had become
familiar with by this time. So far ( the little craft escaped,
and the valiant heroes at the castle determined to sink her.
They fired another gun, but its huge messenger of death fell
harmless. It was the parting gun. The launch soon hauled
up alongside the flagship of the navy, and gave the joyful
news that General Taylor had a rough and ready fight with
Santa Anna at Buena Vista, and had put wooden-leg and
his army to flight. What a glorious reaction immediately
took place ! The good news was spread through the squad
ron. by means of naval telegraph, and every stripe of bunting
was flung to the breeze; every sailor manned the rigging,
and such hearty cheering was never heard before. It was
our turn ; long-toms were brought out, which sent the news
of the glorious victory into the very heart of Mexico;- >9?; ;

That little Texas launch was manned only by two men and
a small boy, all of whom hail from Texas The little fel
low had the helm at the time of the firing from the castle*
and his steady and devoted attention to the commands of the
two men reflected the highest honor upon his head and heart,



jj-,i



T/jbe Lame Drummer* t-nm

Whilst a regiment of volunteers were marching through
Camargo, a captain, a strict disciplinarian, observing that
one of the drums did not beat, ordered a lieutenant to in
quire the reason. The fellow, on being interrogated,
whispered to the lieutenant, " I have two ducks and a turkey
in my drum, and the turkey is for the captain." This being
revealed to the captain, he exclaimed, "Why didn't the
drummer say he was lame? 1 don't want men to do their

duty when they are not able."

iti



GUERILLA FIGHT. 51

Gapt* Baylor's Fight with Guerillas.

The frequent depredations of numerous guerilla parties
upon the wagon trains of the American army, passing
between Cerralvo and Monterey, were of so annoying a
nature, that Col. Abbott, commandant at the former place,
ordered Captain Baylor, with a small detachment; to proceed
to several of the ranches in the neighborhood, and arrest all
who bore the appearance of having participated in the assaults
upon the trains ; and also to burn and destroy their habita
tions : thus taking summary vengeance upon those who
carried on this barbarous kind of warfare.

The captain accordingly proceeded, in obedience to his
orders, and scoured the country for several miles around
Cerralvo, taking some half-dozen or more prisoners. When
about to return to the main road, the captain suddenly found
himself surrounded by about two hundred Mexican guerillas,
His own force numbered but twenty-seven, all told; yet the
gallant captain determined upon giving the enemy battle.
But he did not attempt such fearful odds without first con
sulting his men; who, to a man, being all Texans, declared
for fight. "Follow me, then," exclaimed the heroic cap
tain " we must cut through the enemy, or die in the
attempt! " The little band sent up a shout, and swore to
" stick to him to the death ! "

The large body of the enemy had now entirely surroun
ded the devoted band ; yet every eye that gleamed in fiery
hate around them seemed but to add another nerve to their
heroism. The Mexicans threw their deadly lances* and
fired their escopetas, which told fearfully upon the little
band ; yet they were not idle, every shot brought a Mexican
in agony to the dust. But soon they come hand to hand.

* The Mexican Lance is attached to the saddle bow by means of a lasso,
which enables the rider to regain his weapon aftsr having hurled it at the ene
my. The Mexican Lancers' dexterous use of his lance has been a source of
wonder and admiration to all who have witnessed the evolutions of their
brilliant squadrons.



52 ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS.

The brave Baylor was foremost in the thickest of the fight ;
his sword dealt deadly blows upon his enemies. But the
unequal conflict could not last long. Already had half of
the little band fallen. Captain Baylor, seeing that all would
be lost unless an effort a tremendous effort was made to
cut through the enemy's ranks, waved his sword to bid his
remaining comrades follow, and made a dash through the
lines. Terrible was the onslaught! The lances were
thrust in myriads against the breasts of the brave Texans,
but with their swords they dashed them aside, and reached
the open field ; they were no longer hemmed in, but only six
men of the gallant twenty-seven remained ; three, partially
wounded, escaped into the chapparal, and afterwards bore
the lamentable news to Cerralvo. They last saw the brave
Baylor with two of his men uhorsed, though still with sword
in hand manfully combatting the enemy.



Swappin" Bosses.

General Taylor's marque at Victoria was about a mile
above that of General Patterson's, and between the two the
Tennessee cavalry was encamped. General Taylor was
riding from his quarters lo Gen. Patterson's one day, upon
a beautiful Mexican pony, and on his route passed close to
a Tennessee trooper, who was rubbing down his horse.
Totally ignorant of the rank of the plainly dressed old man,
and struck by the beauty of his animal, he accosted him with

" Look here, stranger, would'nt you like to swap that ar
4 tjj-ii oHii tfonti v- imi* nbflvfo

pony ? "

nJ5'jlfcjf > ', i'^J-~n,' ! '': r ) {$.1)1 JfHI. '"'' V9IU ' ' /" I t*/T/r

-No, friend," quietly responded the general, "he is a
favorite nag of mine, and I do not desire to part with him."

A comrade of the trooper's, recognizing the general, said
to him in an under tone, "Bill, you d - -d fool, don't you

know who vou're a talkin' to? That's Gineral Taylor!*'

- j .,,1,



BOMBARDMENT OF FORT BROWN. 53

Now, Bill, regarding General 'Old Rough and Ready' as
the greatest man on the face of the smiling earth, was terri
fied at finding that he had put his foot in it, and stammered
out " G-g-gineral, I-I-I didn't know it was you I beg
p-p-pardon, gineral." The old commander kindly offered
his hand to the trooper to relieve him from his embarrass
ment, inquired his name and residence, complimented the
Tennesseeans, telling him he found them the bravest of the
brave, and rode quietly on.



Bombardment of Fort Brown.

At noon, on the 2Sth of March, 1846-, Gen. Taylor en
camped opposite the city of Matamoras, and gave orders for
the commencement of the fortifications which were subse
quently called " Fort Brown."

Shortly after, Gen. Taylor left the fort for Point Isabel, to
prepare himself for battle, as well as to secure that positioc.
The Mexicans, feeling that ths small body left in the foft
would' be unable to resist them, commenced a bombardment
on Sunday morning, May 3, from a seven gun battery sta
tioned at the outskirts of Matamoras. The fire was answered
with effect by Major Brown, and in less than twenty minutes
time one of the Mexican guns was blown twenty feet into the
air, accompanied by torn and bleeding bodies. This had the
effect of silencing the battery. The cannonading was re
sumed with few intermissions till midnight. During the day
the Americans had one man killed, (Sergeant Weigart) and
an artillery soldier wounded. The Mexicans took to them
selves great glory for this day's achievement. An official
despatch was forwarded to the Mexican government, setting
the loss of the Americans at fifty-six, and their own at one
Sergeant and' two artillery-men* The firing on the fort was
heard by Geiii. Taylor at Point Isabel, and he immediately



54 ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS.

despacthed Captains May and Walker to ascertain the con
dition of Major Brown ; they returned with intelligence that
he could resist any force that might be brought to bear
against it.

The firing continued, with but casual intermissions, until
about 6 o'clock on Wednesday. Major Brown ordered the
signal guns to be fired, as agreed upon between himself and
the general-in-chief. The firing recommenced and continued
until ten o'clock A.. M. just before which time the gallant
Major Brown received a mortal wound from a falling shell,
which took off one of his legs, and otherwise mangled him
in a shocking manner. He was taken to the hospital and his
leg amputated above the knee. He lingered until Saturday
the 9th, when he died, lamented by the army and the whole
country. The command then devolved on Captain Hawkins.
About this time parties of infantry and mounted men appeared
in the rear of the fort, but a few rounds from Capt. Bragg's
battery sent them back in hot haste. For several hours that
brave and devoted band received a continual shower of shot
and shells, which, for want ,of ammunition, they dared not
return. At half past four o'clock a parley was sounded, and
Gen. Arista sent a summons to the commander of the fort to
surrender " for the sake of humanity," offering him one hour
to return an answer, and threatening to put the garrison to the
sword in case his demand was not complied with. This was
a trying emergency. The garrison scarcely numbered three
thousand men ; their enemy several thousands ! Captain
Hawkins called a council of war, comppsed of the several
company commanders in the fort, and laid the subject before
them. They had neither time nor disposition to deliberate,
"Defend the Fort to the Death!" broke forth almost simul
taneously from the lips of that devoted band. The firing was
renewed' and continued until sun-set.

The tremendous fire of the enemy's batteries, continued
throughout the entire day, and frequently part of the night,
seemed to intimate to the besieged that there was but little



ROMBARDMENT OF FORT BROWN. 55

hope for them. The brave defenders of the fort became ex
hausted, and began to be indifferent of life ; when, during
one of the intermissions, at about half past two, a heavy can
nonading was heard in the direction of Point Isabel, which
revived the drooping spirits of that heroic band. It was the
firing where Gen. Taylor was engaged with the Mexicans at
Palo Alto. The Americans welcomed the sound with a
tremendous shout. They knew that for Taylor to fight was
to conquer. The enemy recommenced their bombardment
with redoubled energy ; but the continuous and exulting
shouts of the Americans finally silenced the bombardment.
At sun-set, a Mexican deserter brought the news of the victory
of Palo Alto ; and the wearied garrison felt that their labor&
and dangers were nearly closed.

On Saturday the 9th of May, the 7th and last day of the
bombardment, at about ten o'clock, a heavy discharge of
shells, canister, and round shot was received from the Mex
ican batteries, which continued to pour out shells until about
half past two, when a rather severe connoaading was heard
in nearly the same direction as that of the preceding day. It
was the guns of Resaca de la Palma. The defenders of the
fort again raised such shouts as seemed to paralyze the
Mexican batteries, for they ceased their action until about
6 o'clock, when they fired their last shots and joined the
retreating cavalry and infantry that were escaping from the
disastrous field of Resaca de la Palma.

The defence of the "Alamo," and that of Craghan at
" Fort Erie," afford, perhaps, the only parallel to this glo
rious defence. And they stand upon the pages of history
as memorable instances of what may be accomplished by
the determined bravery of a few, against an opposing force
greatly superior in numbers. How different might have
been the result, if the ten thousand troops within the
walls of Monterey had been actuated by one jot of the in
domitable spirit of the heroes of the Alamo, Fort Erie, or
Fort Brown !



56 ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS.

An American Matron*

When the afflicting intelligence was conveyed to the
mother of Lieut. B of his death, (on the 9th of Sep
tember, in the battle of Molino del Rey,) not a tear fell from
her eyes, not a sigh escaped from her breast " Is he dead ?
Did he do his duty? Thank God, he left no widow !"
were the only words she uttered. What a sublime illustra
tion of a woman's heart was this "Thank God, he left no
Widow!" How perfectly free from selfishness the thought
that prompted the expression ! Even when she felt that
the ties of love were severed, and knew that her life was
rendered a barren winter, instead of the joyous summer h
had been before, warmed by the sunny smiles of her darling
boy, yet a generous feeling for her sex drove every thought
of selfishness from her breast, and she was thankful that no
widow's or orphan's wail would mourn a husband or a
father, and that a mother alone was left to sorrow over his
loss ! "Did he do his duty?" Patriotism was paramount
to affection Love of country, and anxiety for her child's
honor, stood proudly forth before the throbbings of a
breaking heart !



Anecdote of Gen. Urrea.

Four or five privates of the 2nd* Ohio regiment were
taken prisoners by General Urrea, having straggled from the
main body of a train guard passing from Cerralvo to Mon-
tery. They were afterwards marched to San Luis Potosi,,
and treated with considerable rigor. On their being brought
before him, General Urrea expressed himself as follows :.
" The Americans are mumal, (very bad,) that no more than
200 or 300 of them (alluding to Col. Morgan's command,.
on the 20th of Feb.) ; fought 1500 of his men that they
stood up in an open plain, and received his fire for half a.



ANECDOTE OF CAPTAIN COFFY. 57

day, and had the impudence to wave their caps and yell like
wild Camanches, and bid defiance to the whole Mexican
world ! "

This anecdote was related by Dr. Bullock, an American
resident at Cadaretta. General Urrea also told the doctor
that " he did not believe these voluntaries fought for love of
country, but for mere love of fighting. And that he believed
they would as lief shoot a Mexican as some wild animal ;
and he considerad these soldados Americanos no bueno
mucho diaboCo ! "



Anecdote of Captain Coffy.

The 2nd Illinois Regiment received, with the 2nd Indiana,
the first and heaviest fire of the enemy on the morning of
the 23d, on the field of Buena Vista. The 2nd Indiana
retreated in disorder, and left the 2nd Illinois with two pieces
of light artillery, commanded by Lieut. French, who was shot
down by his gun, the only force at this critical moment to
resist the advancing line of the enemy, more than ten times
their number.

At this time, Captain CofFy, who commanded a company
in the Illinois Regiment, received a severe wound in the left
arm, fracturing it ; the lieutenant colonel was standing near,
the gallant captain came up to him and said " Colonel, I
am wounded, but must stick to my company." In a few