Winyah Observer

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PUBLISHEO KVKlUi' WEDNESDAY  .-^TTSIUEC  DOLLARS PEIJ AIJtNUi'iJ, IN ADVANCE
BYE. WATERiTIA]*.
Gcorg^ctoivii) S. C. W^edne§(IaT, June 10, I§'16.
Vol. VII-—IVo.294
Battles of the Sth and Oth May.
A grupliic (lescription ol" llie two battles in Tex¬ as, coiiied I'roiii the Ballitiiore xlmericnn.
Camp opposite IWutuinoras,
May 13ih, 1846.
On the Isl of ISlay the Army under General Taylor took np ils lino of maich at 3 o'clock, 1'. .M. for Point Isabel, thiny miles distant, in order to force up frotn that point provisions, which were necces¬ sary to tho rniiinlainaiico ofour Fort heie. To defc'iiJ it in our absence, Geji. Taylor left the 7tli Ivegimeiit of Infantry, .Biuco's battery of four six pouinJets, Captain Lowd's battery of four eighteen pounders and some convalescenls as 'i garrison—lhe vvhole under lhe commund of Major lirowii of the Army. We had heard of the cross¬ ing of six or seven ihousand of tlj^e enemy to oppo.se our march tijriur Depot, and ex- pectsd to see them goirlg down—but did not meet to see t]ieni. 'On the Snd instant ill the afternoon, we reached Point Isabel, and on the 3d heard llie bombardment of our Fort at this place. Thia bombard¬ ment continued at iiitervi»la for several days. Ill the meantime. General Taylor, having learned by express frorn Major Brown that he could hold the Fort, put his whole command to work in tho en¬ trenchment at Point Isabel, the basis ofour opetations, having made it sufKciently strong and loaded about three hundred wagons with piovisions and ammunition, lie detei mined to proceed at once Jo the relief ofour gallant little band in this Fori, and to give batlle to the enemy if neces- uary. He commenced his march ,at 2 o'clock,, P. W. on the 7t,h insiant, in ^tlie following Older:—A squadron of I)ra- jToons, cdinnianded hy Capt. May in fiorit; the,third r?rigade, composed ofthe 3d and 4lh Regiments of infantry and Ringgold's Light Artillery ; the Sth Infantry not Brigaded, and 1st Brigade, composed of Artillery Battalion serving as Infahtry; Huncnn's Liglit Artillery and the Sth Re¬ ginient of Infantiy—to whicii must lie ad¬ ded two eighteen pounders drawn by oxen and Capt. Kerr's s(^uadron of Dragoons protecting the rear—the wagon's on. the inarch being in a great degree intersper-, sed between the Brigades for greater se¬ curity.
On the night of the "th w«?. encamped about 12 miles from Po(nt Isabel, without seeing the enemy. On the Sih wo had advanced abotit 0 miles, when w«' descri¬ bed the enemy some two miles distant, drawn up in great fo-.ce on the open prai¬ rie, and occupying the crest of a yery gen¬ tle slope, with thoir backs to- the thick bushes, called in this country ¦' chapjjo- ral."
We immediately foiniedlinetothefroiit, and advonced calmly and quietly and qui- etly*to the attack. Oui brave and con¬ siderate old Oenerfil, finding that ihe ene¬ my failed to receive us, and that we were passing near a lake of water, the day be¬ ing very hot and the mou thirsty, halted in full view ofthe adversary and direcied the men to fill their canteens with water. We had now a little leisuro#to examine the force ofthe enemy and it's compo.sition. The horizon in ou^ front snd to the right appeared lined wilh cavalry, (Lancers and Dragooiia.) The woods in their rear were giving up column of Infantry, which were manouvred with great regularity, and batteries of Artillery were observed taking their de.iigiiated places in our front and on our flanks.—The lowest estimate of all arms—our ovvn being under 2,000 at the time of tho enemy's force was 5,000 fighting men. We have since learned that on this occasion the en<:?my had over C.OOO fighting men. But the greatest dif¬ ficully under which we laboured was the' absolute necessity of protecting in an open prairie, from the enemys's numerous cav¬ alry, our enoimous train of provisions and ammunition, without which, even, we could not relievo our garrison opposite Matamoras, or maintain our position theie. Besides'we wete miserably deficient as to the number of our cavalry, having only
some 200 Dragoons. While the' enemy, could not have had less than 1,800 or 2,000 The men being refreshed, our Iieneral rode to each B i igade, told the men to keep cooP, and when the enemy charged not to tire a shot until they were lepulsed withitho bayonet, and had turned theii backs in flight.
Our advunce then recoinmeiieed mar- clfitigslowly, but firmly, wagons and all ; and when we arrived within good artillery range, iheir  butteries   opened   upon   us,
sotfie  of their   balls bouncing   along  llie ' tanks,   creating    great   liav(ic,    but    noi. plain and   passing us in  lhe " lechocel;" j clieckirtg entiiely their onward movement, oihers flying over  our heads,   and fulling   They   maiched   forward to   within  tlow' in the tear, showing us in a few aiomonts that their   pieces   were   served   with skill
line. Hovvever it was thi'own into square grace of the Ameiican Army, and the by a piotn]it iiianiBuvre, and awaited stead- ruin of the interests of our Government, ily the Mexican charge. On they came, | for some time, at least, in this part of the " luii'se, fiiot and dragoons," •shouting and j vvorld. W'e could not afi'ord to be driven yelling, when a single lioisenian rode into I back a single inch, and all vvere piepared the Square, and said, " Men, 1 place my- j for any thing but retreat, self in your .Square." The General was j On the morning of the Olh the Mexican iinmediiitely i'ecognize(J by the men, who j amiy left the field at early dawn, and af- gave him ihree cheeis for'lhis evidence iif i t.jr arranging our train, vve commenced his confidence. At this flioment Lieut, j the marcli mwards our Foil at this^^lace.. Churchill discharged one ofhis 1^ ponn-, At 2 o'clock P. M., we found the enemy ¦lers loaded with grape into the advancing j drawn up in great fiirce, occupying a ra¬ vine, wh|ch our road ciossed, with thick " chapporal'i or thorny bushes on cither side before it reached  the   ravine,  and   c^
and [irecision. A movement vvas now ob¬ served among the 'eneiny's cavalry as if about to charge, and the Regiments near¬ est ihem vveie thrown into .square, or for¬ mation preparatory to the sipiare, and so disposed as to protect nur own artillery whenever it w'as mdeied to iire. During this time, (some fifleen minules, the ene¬ my's fire was received in peifect silence by us, and ut length, Caplain Duncan having been ordeied to open upon them, advan¬ ced in   the most gallant  maniiei, and pla
musket range, some  150 yards of us, luil- teiiand  delivered   their   fire,   vvhich our
men leceived quietly at a shoulder. Fin¬ ding that lliey vvould come no nearer. Col. Childs, conmianding this Battalion, order¬ ed the volley, which was given as if in pa- rude, when the enemy immedialely relired, and llio iiction ended for the night. Our army slept on.llieir arms pieci.sely as night found tliemv and ocou^iiedlho position in which the enemy commenced tfie buttle — The two armies slept quietly almost in pieseiTce ^f each other. The night was eiene aniPbti^iiliful, the moon casting the
ing himself in a position to he  prmtected ''. softest light 6n every thing aiound us, and
by the infantry, to assault the enemy's cavalry, and.<iiie which -A-onld enable him at the same time to gall tlieir cavalry and masses of infantiy, sent a withering-fire (imong tbem, which creaied some confu¬ sion, and which was answeied by our S(|naies of infantry by one long simnllanf
but for the groans oftho wounded and the screams of tho.se who were siiffeiiiig un¬ der the knii'e of the Surgeons, no one could have imagtned the scenes which had ocen I red but a f'lSw hours previoii.sly.
On our side we had fifty-five killed and wounded,—The gallant Major   RrNoooi.n
ons sli(iut,.^wliiL'h showed how anxious llnjy : »as mortally wounded, and his noble were lo lead to the chaige at mice—Init sleed killed by the same shot, tis he was this could not be.   ' Tliey were destined lo i giving his last fire for the nighl,   and after
give the stioligest evidence of courage that a soldier can exhibit—lo sland in s(|uareB for hours undet the fire ofthe enemy's ar¬ tillery, so as to protect from the enemy's cavalry our  own   aitilleiy, whilst the lat
liaving distiiignished himself by the cool¬ ness, precision and efFect with which he managed his Battery. Capt. .Iohn P.^ge, ofthe 'Ith Infantry, was hoiiilily wounded, supposed to   be mortally.    .Many  officers
lor was moving down the eii(!my's ranks. | hiid hoises shot under tliern^—Captain As soon as Duncan opened. Major Rinci- | I'l-is.s, Lieutenant Daniels, Captain GOLij'.s*' thunder was heu'rd on the right,! Montgomery, and several others. Lieut. CiiriU'iiii.i.'s frorn the IS pounders] Many Dragoon horses were-also killed, in the centre, and all'tlie eneiny's hatie-1 and lhe escapes were almost inciedible. ries opening at the same time, it tiemen- j I'i INf.'VuiiiiOKu's company two men, whilst dous cannonading ensued, which, on lliis i at a^rordec, had the bayonets oftheir miis- plaiii of almost boundless e.xteiit, presen- j kets cnt off by cannon ball's, passing just ted a spectacle of griial magniliceiKie. 'fhe i "ver tlieir shoulders and beivveen llieir " attlo  commenced at   10   minutes ptist 2,   head.s.    He had also a man killed   on his
immediate right  and left.    Sinne  of the balls fell into the centres  of  the   squares.
P. M. h had lasted about an hour, wheii a large hody ofthe enemy's red Lancers charged the 5lli Infantry, vvilh a view of cutting off our wagon train, 'i'hey we're met with the most perfect tranquillity, and a discharge of .-nusketry ffoni the ¦'ilh (Col. Biiook's) Regiment told* us their fate. 'Ihey fled Jtercipitatel^i, leaving men, hor¬ ses and guidons on the field. l<i the mean time lhe whole order of batlle had been changed to coiiform to the raanoeuvie.s of the enemy, and our Brigade, the Ist whicii was. the left, now found itself in advance and ob the right—.-the Aili'lery Battalion being on the extreme right and moat in advance. It must be observed also that ill these diff'erent changes our General was always slowly but steadily gaining ground to the front, and the enemy's fire having slackened, and then ceased, Gen. Ta>'i.or, from his nevi- and more advanced position, ordered all his batteries to ojien, and ill his turn attacjied the enemy with such fury as to cause evident destruction in his ranks ; but still they remained firm.
By a charge on them they might have been effective regular cavalry, and well-drilled routed entirely, but then vvo must h^ive ex¬ posed our wagons to be captured by their cavalry, and that could not be thought of The battle had now lasted from 10 min¬ utes past 2 P. M. to about 7 r. M. At this moment the enemy was discovered coming down wifti bis left fli.rik in gioat force of cavalry and infantry, on tbe Ar-, tillery Battalion and the 18 pounders which that Battalion supported. The 18 pounders were seived by thirty men, and the Artilloiy Battalion was about 360 stiong. BiMh the battery and this Battal¬ ion were in such a position that they could not bo supported by the other portion of the army, and at the time the charge com¬ menced  the Battalion had  deployed into
and recochcii ont again, without touHiinn' any (iiie. Others fell just on lhe outside and bounced over. To stand patiently and coolly, in situate, under such a fire, for five hours, without firing a shot, is the best evidence nf discipline and invincible courage that tioops can give. But more : the effect ofthis conduct, whicii none but regulars could have shown, must be con¬ sidered. Tho next morning the enemy retreated, leaving the field strewed vvitii their dead, and having lossed by their ovvn confession five hundred in killed and wounded ; but we have found out since that his loss is much gieater.-—The ene¬ my's artillery was numerous and served vvitll great rapidity and precision ; while vve had little cavalry, and they had an im¬ mence pioporiion of that arm—-Hence our shell and grape shot told briskly among them. In shoit, we gainad on that day a great victory. When we consider the enemy's numbers, his numerous and
infantry and artillery, and above all that he had chosen his ovvn ground, that upon which he is most accustoriied to fight,— the plain,—and compaia all this with our inferiority in all arms, and that we were incumbered by a train we cuuld not aff'ird to lose, vve can only account forthe result by the impression made on the enemy by our fi,rm aild unshaken advance; by the steadiiie"with which vve repulsed their c&valry, and by the unrivalled skill of our artillery officers and mon—to which must be added a perfect knowledge on the part of both men and .'jfficeis that if wo lost ihat battle the Fort at Malamoros li^ould fall.
pond of water on  either side,  where   it. crossed  the   ravine,   constituting   a  corn- plele defile.    They vvere 7000  sirong, we ^4 weaker than  the   jirevious   day.    The General ordered an immediate attack, by all the troops   except ;lio  First Brigade, whicll was kept in leserve,   and   soon  the latlliiig fire  of  musketry,   mingled   witli the heavy sound   of artillery,   announced the  conimericement  of the  action.—The enemy had chosen  his position   which  he considered impregnable—vvas   vastly   su¬ perior   to   us   in   numbers,   and  had   ten pieces of artillery,   planted  in the  defile, vvhicii   swept the  road   with grape, ami which it was absolutely necessary  fiir us lo lake before he could be beaten.    These pieces   were   flanked on   either aide bv a Regiment of biave veteran  troops, from Tampico,  and   we wero obliged to  stand an awful   shower   of grape and bullet be¬ fore a chaigo could reach thera.    The bat¬ lle had lusted .snine two hours   with great fury on both sides, and many heroic deeds had been done, but no seiious  impression made, wlien (ien. Tayler sent for Captain May,   of the 2nd Dragoons,   and   told hiin he must take that battery with his Squad¬ ron   of Dragoons,   if he  lost every man. May instaiilly. placed   himself at the  head ofhis  men, and   setting off' at full speed, vvith cheers   and   shouts, flashed   into the defile, where he was gieeted vvith an over¬ whelming discharge of grape and   bullets, which nearly annihilated his first and sec¬ ond platoons, but he was seen unhurt dart¬ ing like lighliiing, through this murderous hail storm, and iii a second, he and his men drove away or cut to pieces the artillerists. The speed (>f bis horses   was   so great, however, they passed through the battery, aud were halted in its rear.    There  turn¬ ing, he charged back, and was just in time to rescue a Mexican General officer  vvho would not leave his   guns,   and' who  was parrying the strokes of one  of the men. He handed li'is svvord to May,  announced himselfas General Vega, and gave his pa¬ role.    May turned him over to  an (jfficer, and galloping back   to   Gen.   Taylor,   re¬ ported that he had captured the  enemy's battery, and the gallant Gen. Vega, brave¬ ly defending it, whose svvord he   had  the honor.to present his Commanding officer. The General was extremely gratified, and felt no doubt ihat a 'nlow bad  been given, from   which   it vvould  be  difficult fiir the enemy to lecover—and so it proved, for a portion (if  the 5lli   Infantry,   finding that the enemy   had  immediately   re-occupied and commenced serving their pieces, gal¬ lantly charged  and   brought   off several, when the Sth,  which   had just come  up, marched to the attack by its gallant  com¬ mander, Col. Belknap, seconded nobly by Captain Montgomery:   and  took   oft   tho remaining pieces.    Col. Belknap, leading his Rei;iment into the thickest of the fight, seized a Mexican standard, and waving  it over his head, dashed in front ofbis   men, until his  horse stumbled over some   dead bodies  and   threw   him.    Being a heavy man, he was   helped on his  horse  by   a soldier, who in the  act   received   a ball through his lungs, and  at  lhe  same   mo¬ ment a shot carried away the Mexican fla(» leaving out tbe handle with   the   Colonel He dushe I ahead vvith that, however   sb^ his Regiment cairied every  ihing   fcefiire it.    And   ut  this   moment   tbe   fyJexi^Qans gavo away entiiely,   und   thrc^wtag   down
the Army   be   destroyed, and  our depot,   their arms, fled in every dir^,,(i^pigg,yi„„ Point Isabel be taken, tp  the eternal dis-j all their  storee,  munilior^t of war arm^