Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1846-11-03
September -, 1916.


OCCUPATION, ACCOMPLISHMENTS. I
Dear Brough: Ny last advices 10 YOU were
dated Cerralvo, 18th inst. What then told you
has proved true. The len days have passed,
dreadful battle has been fought and Monterey is
ours. We arrived at our present enca mpmenl
from three 10 tour miles from town, about noon
Rs t9e inst That aaX As nsh 81 t 5e 81
tho strongest nossibe natural positions; made APP
pals".,y inpfegnab BILE, by batteries, bastions bar
rcades and castles; absolutely covered with hea-
w artillery, and defended by al least ten thou
sand men. The town is situated al the foot oil
the chain oil hills called the "Sierra Ma
DIRE" or The mother chain, and commands The
pass upon The Sallillo road, and is, in taci the
key 10 The whole plain from here to the Gulf; and
if defence had been successful no further inroad
could have been made BY the army OF "OccuPA-
TIoN" into the interior OF Mexico from this direc-
lion.
The west end Of the town is defended by what
is called The Bishops Palace, on hill OF several
hundred leet in height, and mounted with Is poun-
ders, commanding the town, and the entire plain
in front, within reach Of its metal. This castle
was in turn defended by three batteries in lis rear
on successive elevations, sweeping the hill side
in the only direction where approach was posi-
BILE, and commanding the Saltillo road. The
town itself was a forlfcation, or defended by a
succession Of forts, running through The whole
town. from east TO west and so arranged that all
cond range upon each one east, as they BY
chance should fall into our hands, while each OF
them could command The plain in 'front.' The
whole OF these defended by the bishops Castle"
Batteries we're literally placed al every street cor
ner sweeping the streets in every direction by
fires You discover, therefore, the impossibiiy
OF knowing the resistance your infantry would
meet with in the town, after having passed two
<,fr and Il
shot, raking you in every direction until You
found yourself surrounded by stone walls-and
your men falling in whole ranks around you.
The first step, therefore, was TO take The "Bish-
ops Castle" That once in our possession would
enable us, eectually, 10 attack each fort in sue
cession, upon the mosi vulnerable and least pro-
ected front-as the enemy no doubt had regarded
that as totally impossible, fully believing the on
ly attack with the renioest hope ofsuccess, would
be from east 10 west-and not from west 10 east.
To accomplish this task, Gen. Worth was assign
ed, with about Two thousand infantry and a couple
OF pieces OF Duncans six-pound artillery. He
commenced his march from camp about ~ o'clock
al noon of The 20th so as to efiecually obtain the
poin, in The rear OF the hill before dark and in the
night TO take up his position on The hill side
on the morning OF The Goth, the remaining rcgu-
lar infantry and all The volunteers OF Gen. Buffers
Division, were led To The attack upon The east end,
thus 10 divert the forces otlhe enemy, for The relief
of Gen. Worth. Both attacks were made about
the same time in the dav, say abou o'clock, A.
M. OF the 20h The conflict was awful beyond con-
cspion Our whole force OF infantry were con.
tending with muskels only against stone walls,
batteries and forts, from morning ill night
Dreadful was the havoc. The officers in the en-
gagement of The 9Th and OH pronounce il nothing
compared with the horrors al this dreadful day.
i H. L. ti,pl Inn II I,a ,;x
or eight hundred, in my opinion. The Isl Ohio
Regiment was in the hottest part of The fgM all
day, but did moi suffer as much as the Tennessee
and Mississippi Regiments Col. Mitchell is
wounded severely in the leg, By two ounce ball
passing through il below his knee; he is doing
well. Adj't. Armstrong, Of the Cadets, a noble
and gallant fellow, has had his leg ampnlalcd.-
Capt George, OF the Butler Boys, was slightly
wounded, and about thirty or forty Of The regiment
killed and missing; the names Of whom cannot
give you. but some officer Of the regiment will Of
course give you them all. In my hurry, howev-
er, 10 inform You of our immediate friends, have
disressed from The general engagement
On thenight ofthe 2lsi, our men, exhausted and
rom out with labor, returned 10 camp leaving
sufficient force only 10 keep possession oil Two
batteries and Two forts, and 10 throw up defence
in the nisht-while on the morning ofihe 2ls,,
General Worth sent a despatch that be had pos
session OF all the batteries Of The enemy, and was
using them upon him, commanding the Bishops
Palace, and trotld soon hare n-ihat he had met
them in open field, and dispersed them with great
slaughter. Our troops therefore again marched
10 the conflict, and did what they could, while
Gen. Worth went on with his work Abou,
O'Clock in the afternoon was discovered, by the
aid of the glass, general scramble Of troops Tor
the Castelar, indiscriminale scramble OF Mexi.
cans and Americans, all going in together. In
about twenty inmates THE SPANISH FLAG
| WAS DOWN, and The Stars and Stripes were
waving the Castle was ours
Worth lost in all lhis-the creates, achieve
men, of modern times-aboul thirty men,
The infantry in the East end OF the town seeing
this, renewed their courage and energy, while
Worth lost no time in running his forces down
the hill into the West end, with tremendous havoc.
Each division thus in possession OF opposite
ends OF the town, and in possession Of strong
holds. closed the second days work OF horrors In
the mean lime Duncan had his battery in town,
going from house 10 house, advancing half a