Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1846-05-28

Ac tnctA} n@u uetWteA S,UU and ON
troops in the TWO battles, but we with -
troops completely routed them. -"
: We exchanged prisoners. got Cant. Tpo,
ETor, HARDEE, and his little band. onr ~
GERS while prisoners were well treated hsy;s.
lived with AMpunIA ever since they Vs. sr,
taken, Gen. TAYLOR would not exchsne~ Y.
Lieut.. DEAs as prisoner of war. as II ,egsli
be sancuoning his crossing the river, whirb n
did not, having reprobated his crossing n m
seyerest manner.
In this second and glorious battle. we h..
about the same number Of men as IN the e,v,
but had more officers wounded. Cant. w,
YER with his heroic band Of rangers. was ~.
last that fired at the Mexicans. The anny ~;
him and his comrades on the bank Of ID. rye.
shooting them as they attempted to cross
Tomorrow Gen. TAYLOR leaves here ;,
make an attack on Matamoras. in copnsyoo
with Com. CONNER, who has sent a boat en-
petition up the river.
forgot TO mention that Gen. TAYroR am;
we'd here yesterday, with all our wounded 10
tween SO and 60, with Gen. RoauLus nr >,
VEGA. one Mexican captain and two heu,eb
ants who go with this letter in the Col. Has
ney.
The Augusta, from New Orleans. arrived
last evening. The mules from Matamo,ss
some 500, were sent in TO day, as well as be-
Mexicans wounded.
should not forget to mention that an ,bo
shell, ball, and grape shot Of the MeSicans am
made Of brass or copper. This letter must
close, with details ofglory enough for one day
FURTHER ITEMS OF WAR NEWS
rT1l. m
in the proportion of four to one; they had ther
choice of position. and selected one exueus
w advantageous; they were driven from
with great loss, and forced across the Ri
Grande-and the victory has been stained b
no act of cruelty on our part.
In the casualties which were reported inoE
postscript of the morning, we have some cor.
rections to make. BY the official report ofhe
action, it appears that Col. MclNrosH is not
killed, but desperately wounded Maj. BRows
not Col, as we stated---was killed in CON.
mand Of Fort Taylor by the explosion off shell
The following is as complete a list of the oil.
GERS killed and wounded on our side, in boh
actions, as we have been able to obtain:
KiLled-Maj. BRowN, 9TH infantry--wound.
ed in Fort Tay lor--died on the 10Th; Major
RISGGoLp, Sd artillery wounded on the sh
and died on the 10th Lieut.. INeEs, Cd Dn-
goons; Lieut.. CocHRANr, 4th Infantry Lieut.
CHApBuRNE, sth Infantry.
Wo,mded-Lieut. Col. McINTosH, 5ih In.
fanuy; Lieut.. Col. PAYNE, 4,h ARTILLERY;
Capts. PAGE Gin the action Of the SHY HooE
MONTGOMERY; Lieuts. LUTHER Gin the acton
of the sth) GATES, SELDOM, MCCLURE, Bua-
BANK, JORDAN, FOWLER.
-. r.. a. l.. t....
CAMP Victory, NEAR MATAMoRAs,
May 18th, 1876.
Gents: presume some gentlemen having
more leisure than myself will transmit you
detailed account ofone of the hardest fought
battles which has occurred in any country
since the war of the Revolution. will only
say then, that about two thousand men Of oar
much abused army met, on the 9Th ilStant,
with six thousand chosen Mexican troops,
under Gen. ARIsrA, the latter having chosen
their position, the former being upon tier
march from Point Isabel to this place--encum.
bered moreover with train Of near three hun.
bred wagons.
You observe the advantage which thg
had not only in numbers, but in every thing
else We have beaten them ahoBefully and
driven them across The Rio GrGnde--hare car
t,ned their trhole park Of artillery, and almost
ererg thing they had ,citl, them. We have buried
hundreds Of their dead, and / understand will
send over tothem this morning about one hun
bred of their wounded. We have had threeen-
gagements with them. Their killed, and woun-
ded and missing has not yet been ascertalned,
Gen. TAYLOR sent over yesterday permission
to Gen. ARIsTA 10 send over Doctors to assist
in taking care Of his wounded--they cane
over last night, and reported forty eight Of be
Mexican officers missing while we lost lu
three.
This morning those gallant dragons capu
red from us some weeks since, ARE to be brought
over and exchanged-we might give ten fr
one.
You will receive full account soon Of tbs
glorious battle, ,he-last Il Think that we shall
have with the Mexicans. Our loss has been
comparatively light. Our wounded all doing
well. Yours. OLD FRIEND.
Gen. TAYLOR left Point ISABEL on the 18Th,
instead of the llth, as we inadvertently stated.
FURTHER ITEMS Of INTELLIGENCE.
An extra from the New Orleans Bee, dated
at | o'clock, p. NJ, contains the following
items:
In this second engagement Is Americans
were reported TO be killed. On the Mexican
side the loss was very considerable, but We
were unable to ascertain the number.
We conversed with several Mexican pms
oners on board the Hrney, who stated that The
Mexican forces did not amount TO more than
5000 or 1000, and were under the command
of ARIsTA.
We have the following verbal intelligence !.
from one Of the Dragons of the U. S. Army;
Gen. TAyLoR's army was composed only o.
those men which were under his order, DO
others having yet arrived.
He states that when Gen. TAYLOR cane N
sight of the enemy, their number appeared %
large that he Exclaimed "Friends, we must
vanquish or de-" saying which he ORDERED
the Dragons to charge on the Mexican Anu
lery. They Immediately, obeyed their Com
mander's order, and made such an onslaught
on them that they were compelled TO aban'
don nine field pieces and seek their safety IN
flight. The pieces captured were brought 70
the camp.
Our informant further states that the Mex.
cans retreated in confusion TO the other SIDE Of
the Rio Grgnde, and that he was among those
who pursued them up TO the river Seyenl
Mexicans were drowned in attempting 70
cross. He is not positive whether the whole
or part only of the Mexican army attempted 10
recross the Rio Grande.
The Mexicans, he adds. stood their ground
pretty well at the commencement ofthe acton,
and that throughout it was well contested