Santa Anna superseded.

put an end to the battle; the enemy withdrawing from the town. The Mexicans lost two of the four cannon, and some thirty wagon loads of ammunition. Santa Anna thus out-generaled, abandoned his intention of contesting the pass of Pinal. But for this maneuver the Americans must have suffered severely in this narrow and difficult pass.

After relieving the garrison at Puebla, which city was evacuated by General Rea, General Lane advanced upon Atlisco, which he captured after gaining a victory over General Rea, who contested the field with unusual · spirit, having suffered a loss of more than five hundred killed and wounded.

General Santa Anna, after these reverses, fled with a small band to Tehuacan, where even these troops be

came

mutinous for want of pay, and soon deserted him.

The president then deposed him from the head of the army and appointed General Rincon to succeed him. In grief and indignation at this treatment from the executive whom he himself had just called to power, Santa Anna issued an address on the 16th of October to the army, and another on the 22d of October to the people of any of his papers Mexico, both more remarkable than for its lofty tone, for the appeal to his enemies to testify concerning his conduct, and the assertion that his enemies are in favour of peace.

We now turn our attention to the operations of the

navy, which had been engaged under Commodores Conner and Perry in the difficult service of blockading the rocky coast of Mexico. On the 8th of August, and on the 15th of October, 1846, two unsuccessful attempts were made by Commodore Conner to capture the town

Loss of the Truxtun

of Alvarado, the high seas and strong currents rendering it unadvisable to land troops on the rocky coast, and the bar preventing some of the vessels from entering the river. The people made a considerable show of defense, for which the government rewarded them in a peculiarly Mexican manner by brevetting their town a city!

During the summer, almost the only events that occurred to break the monotony of a blockade were the accidents that arose from the dangerous character of the coast. On the 15th of August, 1846, the brig Truxtun ran aground on the bar off Tuspan, while standing in shore to cover her boats on an expedition for fresh water and provisions. Every effort was made to lighten her without success. A boat was sent off to the squadron for aid, and a Mexican vessel was captured in the hope that the crew might be taken off, but the sea ran so high as to render this impossible, and the small boat's crew and the crew of the prize reached the squadron after several days of danger and privation. The Princeton was sent to the relief of the stranded brig, but the crew had gone on shore and surrendered as prisoners before her arrival, and they could only burn and blow her up. Every thing of value was gone except an iron cable attached to an anchor overboard. In April, 1847, the town of Tuspan was, by an expedition under Commodore Perry, so well planned that failure was impossible. Three forts, the guns of which raked the river and defended the approach to the town, were silenced in succession, and each of them was taken possession of by the seamen and marines under their immediate officers who landed in boats along the shores of the river, and

Expedition against Tobasco.

planted the soul-stirring flag of our Union upon the battlements. On reaching the town, Commodore Perry proceeded to the shore with his staff and took possession of the city without opposition, Senor General Don Martin P. de Cos, commandant of the place, "having," to use the words of a humorous letter writer, " struck out for country quarters some time before the fight with the forts was done. A disembarkation of the marines was made, and the stars and stripes saluted by a stalwart band of sea soldiers with two brass field-pieces in the plaza. Commodore Perry established his head-quarters in the city. From the forts and one of the public stores were taken guns, sails, rigging, &c., that had belonged to the unfortunate brig Truxtun, and an expedition sent up the river returned with her boats, besides schooners, launches, and boats captured from the enemy.

On the 16th of October, 1846, Commodore Perry sailed from the squadron to attack the town of Tobasco. On the 24th the bar was crossed, and Frontera, the town at the mouth of the river, captured with all the vessels in port. The expedition then moved up the river to Tobasco, which Commodore. Perry consented to spare from the horrors of a bombardment on the representation of foreigners, that the military had no interest in the place. But while the flag of truce was flying from the mastheads, in agreement with the arrangements made, and by which the commodore was to retire unmolested, one of the prize schooners got aground below the town, and a brisk fire of musketry was immediately opened upon her from the shore. Lieutenant Morris being sent from the flag ship to the assistance of Lieutenant Parker, who commanded the stranded vessel, was also fired upon