
Excerpt:...GRANDE.-General Taylor having been ordered with his troops into the disputed territory, advanced to the Rio Grande and built Fort Brown. Returning from Point Isabel, whither he had gone for supplies, on the plains of Palo Alto (pah-lo ahl'-to) he met six thousand Mexicans, under General Arista (ah-rees-tah), drawn up across the road. (Map opp. p. 161.) Though they outnumbered his little army three to one, he routed them with a loss of but nine men killed. The next afternoon he met them again at Resaca de la Palma (ray-sah-kah day lah pahl'-mah), posted in a deep ravine through which the road ran, flanked by thickets. Their artillery held Taylor's men in check for a time, when Captain May, charging with his cavalry in the face of a murderous fire, captured the guns, and with them their commander, General La Vega (lah-vay-gah), just in the act of firing a gun. The infantry now rushed forward and drove the enemy, who fled across the Rio Grande in utter rout. INVASION OF MEXICO. -Capture of Monterey (Sept 24).-General Taylor, with about six thousand men, advanced upon Monterey (mon-tay-ray). This city, surrounded by mountains and almost impassable ravines, was strongly fortified, and its streets were barricaded and defended by a garrison of ten thousand men. A grand assault was made on the city. To avoid the deadly fire from the windows, roofs, and barricades, the troops entered the buildings and dug their way through the stone walls from house to house, or passed from roof to roof. They came at last within one square of the Grand Plaza, when the city was surrendered. The garrison was allowed to march out with the honors of war. Illustration: BATTLE OF RESACA DE LA PALMA Battle of Buena Vista (bway'-nah vees'-tah) (February 23, 1847).-Santa Anna, the Mexican general, learning that the flower of Taylor's command had been withdrawn to aid General Scott, determined to crush the remainder. The little American army took post at Buena Vista, a narrow...
Page Count:
322
Publication Date:
2015-06-08
Publisher:
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN-10:
1503220613
ISBN-13:
9781503220614
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