His next object was the capture of Monterey, the capital of New Leon.

On reaching the city, on the 19th of September, it was found to be strongly fortified: a large work had been constructed, commanding all the northern approaches, added to which, the bishop's palace, and some heights in its vicinity near the Saltillo road, had been fortified, and occupied with the troops and artillery. A close reconnoissance of the several works, however, convinced General Taylor of the practicability of throwing forward a column to the Saltillo road, and thus turn the position of the enemy. This duty was assigned to General Worth; who, on the afternoon of the 20th, led his division, the second, to the attempt; General Taylor, meanwhile, directing a strong diversion in his favor by an attack in front of the town by the first division, under General Twiggs, and the first division of volunteers under Major-General Butler. That night, General Worth and his troops occupied a defensive position, just without range of a battery above the bishop's palace. The diversion in favor of General Worth's division was successful, and one of the enemy's advanced works was carried, and a strong foothold had in the town. Early in the morning of the 21st, the advance of the 2d division had encountered the enemy in force, and after a brief but sharp conflict, repulsed him with heavy loss. General Worth then succeeded in gaining a position on the Saltillo road; thus cutting off the enemy's line of communication. From this position, the two heights south of the Saltillo road were carried in succession, and the gun taken in one of them turned upon the bishop's palace. On the 22d, the heights above the bishop's palace were carried, and soon after the palace itself, and its guns turned upon its fugitive garrison.

During the night of the 22d, the enemy evacuated nearly all his defenses in the lower part of the city. On the morning of the 23d, the troops advanced from house to house, and from square to square, until they reached a street but one square in rear of the principal plaza, in and near which the enemy's force was now mainly concentrated.

At this stage of operations, General Taylor, deeming it expedient to make no further attempt upon the city, without complete concert as to the lines and modes of approach, (General Worth being at the northern extremity of the city, and advancing from that direction,) despatched a messenger to the latter, directing him to suspend his advance, until he, General Taylor, could have an interview with him. Early on the 24th, the Mexican general, Ampudia, proposed to evacuate the town; a suspension of hostilities was arranged till 12 o'clock, during which, at the request of Ampudia, General Taylor had an interview with him, which resulted in a capitulation, placing

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the town and the material of war, with certain exceptions, in the possession of the American general.

The place, on taking possession of it, was found to be of great strength. There were mounted 41 pieces of cannon. The Mexican force consisted of seven thousand troops of the line, and two thousand irregulars. The American force was four hundred twenty-five officers and six thousand two hundred and twenty men. The artillery was one ten-inch morter, two twenty-four pound howitzers, and four light field batteries of four guns each.

The American loss was twelve officers, and one hundred and eight men killed; thirty-one officers and three hundred and thirty-seven wounded. The loss of the Mexicans was still more considerable.An armistice was allowed by General Taylor, of eight weeks, subject to be revoked by either government. On receiving intelligence of the armistice, and its conditions, the American government, it is said, directed its termination. The Mexican army were permitted to retire, and marched out with the honors of war.

The capture of Monterey, considering the manner in which it was fortified, and the number of soldiers concentrated to defend it, was a bold and daring achievement. The annals of war seldom disclose greater wisdom on the part of a commanding officer, or greater valor and determination on the part of troops, than was manifested by General Taylor and his army at the siege of Monterey.

For several months following the capture of Monterey, the American

forces were employed in various military movements, having for their object the occupation of several places in the vicinity. But, on the 31st of January, with about five thousand men, General Taylor left Monterey for Saltillo, a distance of sixty-five miles in the direction of San Luis Potosi. On the 2d of February, he reached Saltillo, whence he proceeded about twenty miles further, taking a position at Agua Neuva. At this point, on the 20th of February, intelligence was communicated to him that General Santa Anna was at the hacienda of Encarnacion with a large force, and was meditating an attack.

As the camp of Agua Neuva could be turned on either flank, and the enemy's force, especially of cavalry, was greatly superior to his own, he deemed it expedient to retire to the hacienda of Buena Vista, about eleven miles nearer to Saltillo, and there awaited an attack, for which all necessary preparations were made, and such positions taken as were admirably adapted to resist a large with a small force.

On the 22d, early in the morning, the enemy made his appearance, and, at two o'clock in the afternoon, a demand was made by General Santa Anna, requiring General Taylor to surrender at discretion. This was promptly refused; immediately upon which various skirmishes ensued, and were continued without intermission until dark.

It was now apparent that a general battle was at hand. The Mexican general had more than twenty thousand men, completely organized, and elated with the prospect of routing a force of less than five thousand, of which, not more than five hundred were regular troops. It was a night of proud anticipation on the one side, and of strong determination on the other. The odds were fearful, but what the Americans lacked in point of numbers, they were determined to supply by superior skill and characteristic bravery.

At sunrise, on the following morning, the contest was renewed, and, with slight intermissions, was continued on both sides until dark. By means of his immensely superior force, the Mexican general, at one time, drove the American army for some distance, but at a moment, the most critical, two pieces of artillery were brought to bear upon the enemy, throwing canister and grape so thickly, so destructively, as to compel him to halt. "Yet, for several hours," says the hero of Palo Alto, "the fate of the day was extremely doubtful; so much so, that I was urged by some of the most experienced officers, to fall back and take up a new position." This advice, however, was declined, and the struggle went on, which, according to the American general's report, was the severest contest which he had ever witnessed. Night only put a stop to the contest, and, strange to say, both armies occupied the same position they did in the morning before the battle commenced.

All that night the Americans lay upon their arms, as they had done the two previous ones, there being no fire to be had, and the mercury below the freezing point; ready, and expecting to renew the contest on the following morning. The twenty thousand Mexicans, however, had witnessed a sufficient display of American prowess. Leaving their killed and many of their wounded on the field, they retreated during the night, proceeding in the direction of San Luis, in a wretched and disorganized condition.

Few victories, whether in ancient or modern times, have been more remarkable. The skill and experience of Santa Anna, are well known, and yet, with a regularly formed and well-disciplined army of 20,000 men, that skill and experience were insufficient to cope with the army of General Taylor, supported as he was, by less than one-quarter of the enemy's number.

The loss on both sides was great-amounting on the American side to two hundred and sixty-seven killed, four hundred and fiftysix wounded, and twenty-three missing. The Mexican loss, in killed and wounded, probably reached two thousand. At least five hundred of their killed were left on the field of battle. The loss of American officers was severe-twenty-eight having been killed on the field—and among them may be mentioned, as conspicuous, not only for their grade, but for their great skill and bravery, Captain George Lincoln, assistant adjutant-general; Colonels Hardin, McKee, Yell, and Lieutenant-Colonel Clay, the latter being a son of the distinguished American statesman of that name.

For some months, the attention of the American government had been directed to preparations for an expedition against Vera Cruz, the principal sea-port of Mexico, on the Gulf of Mexico, and the castle San Juan d'Ulloa, the latter situated on a small island a short distance from the city. The reduction of these places was thought to be important, as thereby a favorable route would be opened to the capital itself, about three hundred miles in a north-westerly direction. This expedition was intrusted to General Scott, who, aware of its difficulties and importance, was allowed to collect a large military and naval force for the object contemplated. His troops, consisting of regulars and volunteers, to the number of some thirteen thousand, were in the first instance collected at Tampico, a Mexican sea-port, at this time in possession of the Americans. Most of the regular troops belonging to the army of General Taylor, were detached for this purpose, and hence that officer was left with a comparatively small force, with which to meet the thousands of soldiers under Santa Anna, at the battle of Buena Vista.

On the 2d of March, the above thirteen thousand men were landed

by the American navy in the vicinity of Vera Cruz, without the loss of a single life. On the 13th, the investment of the city was effected. On the 22d, the preparations were completed, and, on that day, the American commander-in-chief demanded of the governor a surrender of the city; and urged that surrender by considerations drawn from a desire to spare that beautiful city, its gallant defenders from

Battle of Buena Vista