The Litchfield County post., 1828-04-10

moon, which was now clear and unimpe-
 ded. To my extreme surprise and discom- fort, found that what we had been ted tO
 consider as a mere foraging party of fifty
 men, was, tn fact,a detachment of at least
 two hundred and fifty strong! easily dis
 cerned the commanding officer, who rode on mule. The moon shonc directly up- on his face, and saw distinctly, that im-
 mense mustachioS, white as the driven
 snow overshadowed all the lower part of the face. There was no mistaking such
 man. Velasquez saw him also, for he
 made solt of a convulsive spring, which ] would have betrayed us prematurely, had
 not pressed my hand forcibly upon his
 arm, and kept him in his place. The French were, at this time, about one hum
 dred yards from US, on our left, advancing
 with little or no order, and preceded by a
 drove of about twenty bullocks, driven by
 eight or ten Spaniards. looked at their
 dense mass, as they came on, and then at our scanty line, which consisted of not a.
 bove ninety-five men. It is true, the kee- nest and fercest de ermnations shone in } the dark expl essive eyes of my Cacadores, but dreaded their impetuosity,-and
 awaited the result with strong anxiety. I
 knew, right we'll, that no quarter would be given--none received. "Victory or death" was here not an unmeaning cry, but an unavoidable alternative.
 On they came, the cattle in front of all, and then the Spaniards, whose looks of a. gitation plainly showed they expected what was to happen. Notwithstanding all had said, the Portuguese were so impatient, that they had scarcely waited for the last of the drivess to get past them,--when cal
 ling to them "Take care !' they pointed their fire into the French column. Its ef- fleets was murderous. The whole line had fired, with the exception of small body immediately around me, who had before staid with me, and the closeness of the enemy caused almost every shot to fell. At one part of the line, our men could almost have touched theRenemy with the muzzles of their frelocks. But the officer had es- caped,-w saw him on his mule, encour- aging his men, who were taken aback by so unexpected and deadly an attack. Eve ry man of ours pointed towards him, as i! by simultaneous movement, and leaping from the bank, they charged the French, and drove them back upon the heath. l never saw charge made with the fury and inveteracy, or this. Every individu- al man had given obiect---to reach the officer--and each rove madly to ac- complsh it. I must do this man justice if he was a ruffian, he was bra, e one. Enveloped as he had been in shower of balls, it seemed as if he bore charmed life,-every man had fired at him, no one touched him.-He meanwhile fought like a lion, shouting and calling at his men and at us, and loading and discharging fusee with which he was armed, bringing down a man at every shot. But on our side af- ter the first discharge, there had been no more firing; the men did not take time to reload, but fought land to hand with the bayonet, and the deadly Portuguese knife. When we got upon the heath the French, seeing the smallness of our numbers, recovered from their surprise & panic; and compelled us to give ground in turn, towards the spot where the conflict had begun. The Cacadores, however, disputed it inch by inch,---shcy did not give, and they would not receive, quarter. They fought man to man; and even when they fell, the dying still grappled with the dying; such was the inveteracy of this singular struggle.
 With great difficulty had restrained the small body immediately around me (of whom have more than once spoken) from following the first charge, and they had al- so kept their fire. I felt the bitter neces- sity we should soon have for reserve and, small as it was, its effect was most extraordinary. As our men were drlven beyond the spot where we now stood, the enemy came unanimously on, when gave the word to fire, and our close and steady discharge, though it was, probably, of not more than dozen pieces, seemed to the French as though second attack, similar to the first, was commenced; and they fell back, in some disorder. We again char ged them all together; and second time, we drove them out of the ravine, upon the heath beyond. Here, for the confusion was great, both sides became divided into several parties, and the conflict continued with unabating obstinacy. Still our men dropped fast, and the smallness of our number made every loss material. The French were still gradually giving ground; but our relative strength became more and more disproportionate every moment.
 The bulk of our men were. as may be