to Camargo, General Taylor pushed his way across the desert to San Juan, which point he reached on September 19. The defense of Monterey was of first class character, consisting of a garrison of ten thousand men, more than two-thirds of whom were regular troops, with forty-two pieces of cannon. Its outworks were of an important character, and additions of defense had been made wherever experience could suggest or means be obtained. The entire force of the Americans numbered but six thousand six hundred and seventy-five men, with no siege train, and an artillery force of but one ten-inch mortar, two twenty-four pound howitzers, and four light field batteries of four guns each.

General Taylor decided to make his main attack on the westerly side of the town, where the road to Saltillo offered to its occupants the only means of escape. On the twentieth General Worth was ordered to move his command toward that road, which he did with such success that by a day of hard fighting on the twenty-first he occupied the road and stormed the heights adjacent to the city on the west. General Taylor at the same time had personal charge of an attack on the opposite side of the town, which was so well conducted that the streets of the city were reached, and the roof of a prominent building taken possession of for the purpose of commanding a fort, an attack meanwhile being made on the fort from the outer side. Under this combination the fort fell-an event of great fortune to the Americans.

On the day following General Worth captured the bishop's palace on Independence hill, while the commander occupied the day in relieving his troops who had passed the night on the lower side of the town. On the third day an advance into the city was made, the men fighting from house to house and square to square, in the face of grape shot in the streets and a galling fire of musketry from the windows and roofs, until at last they had gained a point but one square distant from the main plaza, where the greater portion of the Mexican force was concentrated. Meanwhile a similar advance had been made from the opposite side by General Worth. The city was doomed, and a capitulation put an end to the scene of carnage. The terms allowed were so liberal to the Mexicans that some fault was found at Washington, but a full consideration of all the facts and a complete understanding of Taylor's position at the time, justify his course as one of good sense and patriotic wisdom.

General Taylor's last battle on Mexican soil was his greatest. The United States government had by this time come to the conclusion that a serious and strong blow must be struck at the very heart of Mexico if any lasting results were to be obtained. In November, General Scott was ordered to the Gulf of Mexico, to take such measures as wisdom and a review of the situation might suggest. On his arrival and the conclusion of his plan of operations, he decided that it would be necessary to take

from General Taylor a large portion of his best troops to be used elsewhere, leaving the latter in a condition to act only on the defensive. Accordingly, about January 1, 1847, the divisions of Generals Patterson and Pillow, and the brigades of Quitman and Twiggs, as well as General Worth, were detached from him for the purpose of acting under Scott against Vera Cruz and such other points as might dispute the passage to the capital city of Mexico. On their departure General Taylor continued at Victoria, where he was then stationed, until the close of January, when he returned to Monterey. He had, all told, an army of not more than six thousand men, nearly ali of whom were volunteers who had been sent him since the departure of the troops above described. The task he was compelled to perform with these undisciplined forces was to hold Monterey, and keep in check the immense army that General Santa Anna had now gathered. On reaching Monterey he received word that the Mexicans were already operating in his vicinity. He immediately determined to commence the difficult work that was before him, and on January 31, marched to Saltillo, leaving about fifteen hundred men to defend Monterey. He reached Saltillo on February 2, and two days later proceeded to Agua Nueva, a strong position twenty miles away, where he remained until the twenty-first, for the purpose of disciplining his troops, and to watch the movements of the enemy. Word was brought him that Santa Anna was advancing at the head of his whole army, and was then within a short distance. Believing Buena Vista, a point twelve miles nearer Saltillo, to be a more favorable position for defense than the one he then occupied, he fell back to that place, formed his army in order of battle, and calmly awaited the enemy's approach.

The army

The position of the Americans was critical in the extreme. of Santa Anna was admirably equipped, was composed of the flower of the Mexican nation, and numbered four to one of its opponents. All the chances were in their favor, and hope as well as necessity inspired them to action and enthusiasm. To defeat the Americans now would be to sweep them from the valley of the Rio Grande, and to strike a blow that the American government might well consider.

On February 22, a day even then memorable to the Americans by reason of the love they held for the hero of the Revolution, General Taylor saw the enemy approach in solid and imposing form. But he firmly held the pass he had selected, and determined to leave nothing undone that valor could accomplish or coolness and experience suggest. As the enemy made his appearance, the road along which he came was defended by a battery of eight guns, supported on either hand by companies of infantry. The remaining troops were placed in positions of advantage on a plateau and amidst the ravines across the whole breadth of the valley. At eleven o'clock came a summons from Santa Anna which evinced more humanity

for the American troops than the Mexican general had ever shown to his own, and has been well called "A model of that assurance for which he was far more celebrated than for his military talent or courage." It was couched in the following language:

"You are surrounded by twenty thousand men, and cannot, in any human probability, avoid suffering a rout and being cut to pieces with your troops; but as you deserve cons'deration and particular esteem, I wish to save you from a catastrophe, and for that purpose give you this notice. in order that you may surrender at discretion, under the assurance that you will be treated with the consideration belonging to the Mexican character, to which end you will be granted an hour's time to make up your mind, to commence from the moment when my flag of truce arrives in your camp."

The reply of General Taylor was equally characteristic.

"In reply to your note of this date summoning me to surrender my forces at discretion, I beg leave to say that I decline acceding to your request."

The resort to the supreme trial of arms was now the only course, and the attack was opened by the Mexicans. There was some slight skirmishing during the afternoon, but the general engagement did not occur until the twenty-third. At daylight the attack was commenced, with great fury and uncertain success. There was danger of the American position being turned, but by a series of skilful manœuvres admirably executed, the enemy was driven back.

Santa Anna could hardly comprehend the determined character of the resistance from a force so much smaller than his own. He determined on one last effort, to be led by himself. He rallied his forces for a determined attack on the central plateau, and would have gained it had he not been met by the American artillery, the Mississippi rifles, and other companies. that had been swiftly brought up to confront him. It was during this attack that General Taylor gave utterance to that sentence that became famous the world over-" A little more grape, Captain Bragg." The further description of this battle can be best given in the words of General Taylor's official report:

"The moment was most critical. Captain O'Brien, with two pieces, had sustained the heavy charge to the last and was finally obliged to leave his guns on the field, his infantry support being entirely routed. Captain Bragg, who had just arrived from the left, was ordered at once into battery. Without any infantry to support him, and at the imminent risk of losing his guns, this officer came rapidly into action, the Mexican line being but a few yards from the muzzles of his pieces. The first discharge of canister caused the enemy to hesitate; the second and third drove him back in disorder and saved the day. No further attempt was made by

the enemy to force our position, and the approach of night gave an opportunity to pay proper attention to the wounded, and also to refresh the soldiers who had been exhausted by incessant watchfulness and combat. Though the night was severely cold, the troops were compelled for the most to bivouac without fires, expecting that morning would renew the conflict. During the night the wounded were removed to Saltillo, and every preparation made to receive the enemy should he again attack our position."

Santa Anna, however, made no such attempt. Leaving his wounded by the way, he retreated to San Luis Potosi. The victory to the Americans was complete. It not only maintained them in the position they then held, but secured the whole Rio Grande frontier, struck dismay to the Mexican heart, and became, in fact, the great point on which turned the. destiny of the war.

Some idea of the terse sense and modest bearing of the hero of this battle of Buena Vista can be learned from the following order written at its conclnsion:

"I. The commanding general has the grateful task of congratulating the troops upon the brilliant success which attended their arms in the conflicts of the twenty-second and twenty-third. Confident in the immense superiority of numbers, and stimulated by the presence of a distinguished leader, the Mexican troops were yet repulsed in efforts to force our lines, and finally withdrew with immense loss from the field.

"2. The general would express his obligations to the officers and men engaged for the cordial support which they rendered throughout the action. It will be his highest pride to bring to the notice of the government the conspicuous gallantry of officers and corps whose unwavering steadiness more than once saved the fortunes of the day. He would also express his high satisfaction with the conduct of the small command he left to hold. Saltillo. Though not so seriously engaged as their comrades, their services were very important and efficiently rendered. While bestowing this just tribute to the good conduct of the troops, the general deeply regrets to say that there were not a few exceptions. He trusts that those who fled ingloriously to Buena Vista, and even to Saltillo, will seek an opportunity to retrieve their reputation, and to emulate the bravery of their comrades who bore the brunt of the battle, and sustained, against fearful odds, the honor of our flag.

3. The exultation of success is checked by the heavy sacrifice of life which it has cost, embracing many officers of high rank and rare merit. While the sympathies of a greatful country will be given to the bereaved families and friends of those who nobly fell, their illustrious example will remain for the benefit and admiration of the army."

The demands of the situation were such that General Taylor was com

pelled to remain comparatively inactive during the remainder of the war. Retiring to his camp at Monterey, he kept a vigilant eye upon the movements of marauding parties of the enemy who were hovering in the vicinity. He was too much crippled by the severe losses he had met at Buena Vista to make it safe to march upon the capital from the Rio Grande. He finally grew restive under this enforced and unwonted idleness, and seeing that others could do the work he then had in hand, he determined to turn his attention to his private affairs that had been so long neglected. He asked permission to return to the United States, and it was granted. He took his departure from Monterey early in November. His separation from those who had so long been under his command and who had borne with him so many hardships and won with him such lasting honors, was affecting and touching in the extreme. "Soldiers as well as officers shared equally in the feelings of regret which he himself experienced upon relinquishing his coinmand of the noble little army whose gallantry had filled the world with its fame."

As a soldier, his course had ever been such as to win the confidence and command the respect of his men. He had shared the privation and met the danger of every private in the ranks. He required no service from the humblest that he was not willing to give himself, and he ever regarded their interests as his own. His courage, military skill and readiness of resource won the faith of all, and his men were prepared to go whereever he would lead. He was a typical American soldier, and his military record forms one of the brightest and clearest pages in our national record. General Taylor went direct to his residence in Baton Rouge, which he reached during the same month-November. 1847. Although there seemed a disposition in certain quarters in Washington to withhold from him the full portion of praise that was his due, the people were moved by no such feeling. He was regarded as a hero who had lent luster to the American arms. He was everywhere received with the most marked expressions of affection and respect. The congratulations of eminent men. and powerful public bodies were conveyed to him. Invitations poured in on him to visit all parts of the Union. But he modestly declined the greater part of them, and refusing to be lionized, retired to the quiet seclusion of his home. His feelings under this accumulation of honors are found in the following, taken from his response to one cordial expression of good will:

"I lay no claim to praise for the success which crowned my exertions in the trying and sanguinary struggles in which it was my lot to be engaged between the forces under my command and the common enemy of my country. I but tried to discharge my duty to that country, whose servant I am proud to be. Sir, the manner in which you have alluded to my brothers in arms, on both lines of our army, has filled my heart with grat