them were able to join their commands till after the crowning victory of the next morning. Pierce's command, however, passed the night on the field, in front of the camp, and Pierce passed the night with it.

"At nightfall, on the nineteenth, although the enemy had not been driven from his camp, he had gained position surely placing the victory in our hands. Amid the pelting storms of the afternoon and night, with loss of food and sleep, our men did look forward with some anxiety to the day. But no stain of misconduct rested on a single officer or man, and each had made the firm resolve to do all and dare all for his country.

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Pierce, though badly injured and in great suffering, was in front in the midst of his command, and the brigades of Riley, Shields, Smith and Cadwallader were in the villages, and on the road leading to the city of Mexico. From this strong position, Smith, to whom the command had been most magnanimously yielded by his senior, Shields, in consequence of his having preceded him on the ground, and knowing from personal observation more of the field, determined to attack the entrenched camp before daylight in the morning, and break the whole of Valencia's command into pieces, before succor could be brought. The camp was to be reconnoitred, the paths thereto marked, and the troops led out in the night. The rain was still falling in torrents. Scarcely a man had had food or

sleep. The officers of engineers and of the staff groped their way with their hands, the path so slippery that they were constantly thrown upon the ground, and they marked the route by cutting down the maguey plant which lined the wayside. They conducted the troops by feeling their way along the cut magueys with their hands. Such were the difficulties in organizing the attack in the village. On the front, orders were received from General Scott soon after midnight-who, knowing the facts of the whole field, the meditated attack of Smith, and the resolution of his troops, the good spirits of the men in front under Pierce, and who, in consequence, looked forward with calm confidence to a glorious victory-to organize the command, and be ready to co-operate in the attack on the camp.

"Pierce had, after nightfall, withdrawn his troops from their advanced position on the rivulet, and in the pedregal, where they were necessarily much scattered, to near the base of the hill, where they were brought together, and put in order to pass the night, and be ready for the duties of the morrow.

"These troops, the 9th and 12th infantry, scattered bodies of the rifles and other commands, were conducted back slowly and painfully over the pedregal to the stream occupied by them the previous day, and were at dawn in readiness for the attack.

"This movement was personally conducted by Ransom, Pierce not having the physical strength, from the injuries of the previous day, to make his

way through the rocks. It must be remembered that this movement was made in the dark, in the midst of rain, over sharp and slippery rocks, and one like that accomplished by Smith, deemed by the enemy to be utterly impracticable.

"Thus at daylight, and struggling with such difficulties, our troops reached their positions, and the attack was made. In seventeen short minutes the entrenched camp and large numbers of prisoners were in our hands. The whole command of Valencia was entirely broken into pieces. Riley in the fierce storm of the camp, Cadwallader and Dimick (temporarily commanding Smith's brigade) in support, Shields holding the villages, and Pierce in front, first holding the attention of the enemy, thus carrying out the ideas of the previous day, and afterwards participating in the fight, all gloriously did their duty, and are entitled to the gratitude of their country.

"The spirit and enthusiasm of the army now rose to the culminating point; fatigue was no longer felt; the sick and feeble man became for the time well and strong; the anxious bivouac and the toils of the pedregal were forgotten. All eyes were turned towards the city of Mexico; all hearts burned to pursue the enemy and strike the great blow of the war. The spontaneous and irresistible impulse of ten thousand men in arms was promptly availed of by the commander-in-chief, and by commanders of all grades. Shields, Twiggs, Pillow, Smith,

Pierce, Cadwallader, and Riley, all at the head of their respective commands, urged on our troops. Worth also put his division in movement in front of San Antonio, and after dispersing its retreating garrison, 3,000 strong, pressed forward on the high road to Mexico. It was no time for groping reconnoisances, or nice calculations as to the circumstances of the ground. The victory of Contreras drove the enemy through San Angel and Cuoycan, and the advance under Twiggs, uniting with Worth, attacked with such terrible energy the enemy retreating through the strong position of Churubusco, that there the enemy was compelled to make his final stand, some miles from the city. In a few moments, the roar of cannon and the incessant rattling of musketry developed the whole field, and immediately the general-in-chief threw his reserves into the action. First Pierce and then Shields was sent to attack and cut off the enemy's retreat upon the capital. It was the grand strategic movement of the field. Pierce, 'just able to keep the saddle,' in suffering and anguish from the accident of the previous day, and only fit for a sick-bed, at the head of his command, steadily pursued his way.

"It was through thick corn, over wide ditches, filled with water and marshy ground. The day was oppressively hot. No actor in that field will ever forget the desperation with which it was contested, or the awful and incessant thunders of the fight. On the front the shouts of the assailants and defen

ders mingled in hoarse tones of defiance. For two hours the contest was maintained with equal hand, and no serious impression was made upon the enemy's line, till the decisive and splendid flank movement of Pierce and Shields distracted his attention. and compelled him to change his order of battle.

"It is not my design to go into details. Suffice it to say, that after extraordinary exertions and experiencing great loss, the whole reserve, under the command of Shields, drove back the overwhelming force of the enemy, and relieved all parts of the field. Worth joined his victorious troops with Shields, the convent soon held out the white flag, and the city and valley of Mexico lay at our feet.

"The foregoing narrative will show the important part assigned to Pierce, at the head of the reserve, to decide the fortunes of the day. It is surprising that in his feeble condition he should have undertaken to lead his troops and struggle with the difficulties of the ground. He, however, boldly led them into the presence of the enemy, and endeavoring to make his way on foot, fell, faint and exhausted, under the heavy fire of that field. But his friends rejoiced that he had strength enough to do a noble, gallant and important part. The impression which he made upon the army at this time, will best be shown by the following quotations from the official reports:

"General Scott says, in his report of the battle of Churubusco:

"Accordingly, the two advanced divisions, and