Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1846-11-19
: BIZ JOHN 5. s HoRATIo N TcAIL,LAHEn.

~ otuer mai YOU say better under
stand The character al ne conflici. which
shall presently s,iem pt 10 arsetibe. and
appreciate NE indomtlahle coutaas and
resolution 81 our liltle army a. displayed
I'm The 's,ormlng 81 Monterey il is pro.
per that you should frsi learn the position
lof ne parties 81 issue.
Mon,erey contains about Is 0091in.
habiian,s. and is situated Il The bsse5oi ..
lofty range " rugged mouniaias. called
the Sierra Madra.l IA branch OF tbs San
Juan river DIVIDES, the city in unequal
/ psrts--the larger and better portion be
ing between the rises and lhe base Of The
mountain. "A gently ascending slope. GOV.
eredEiD places with chappefal--Nfih here
end ,isese Geld of corn 81 SUGAR cane.
spreads itself before lie town. The TOAD
by which orr srmy approached. descends
over thia plain into the centre Of the city.
Standing upon The elevated ground, mid.
way between our camp ind town, but lit
Tie 81 the latter can be seen. /, is em-
powered 10 tees spira Of white wall
being. in some places. All that il visible
| through their branches,
| In front Of The city, and about one
fourth Of mile out upon The plain.
stands. solitary and alone, an immense fort,
covefing 3 Of 4 acres Of ground. Ills
built ofsolid masonry. with basiions, ditch.
es, Sc, and ID one ofthose strong holds
which in the opinion Of our military engi.
neers can only be taken BY what they
call regular approaches This Hort Is
pierced for 30 guns and commands eve.
~ avenue 10 The city over the plain up.
on The Est. II throws both shot and
shell from its walls; and j, was this fort
t.nsFnsd afterwards BY our boys-'lha Old
Colofed Gentlsnan'-7from its diogy ap.
Pesrance } that fired upon our advanced
division on the day OF our arri, all.
10 the rear. or west Of the city. rises
ridge after ridge, aad peak over peak.
the lofty Sierra Madra. Ga the north
Of the city is deep gorge 10 the noun.
tain, through which isihe road 10 SaItillo
and Mexico. This pass and The ap-
prosches to Monterey upon that side, are
defended by a series Of batleriessplaced
upon peaks ju,ting out from the sides Of
the great Sierra. end by q strong and ell.
evated fortress. located about half way
between the pass spd town-known as
! THE Bishops Palace Il was through
this pass alone, that the Mexican Army
could receive reinlorcsmen,s or retrea,
with safety. The city vas protected on
the south. by chain Of email forts
(six think in number.l extending from
, the foot Of The mountain out 10 the
plain.
II In addition TO these immense exterior
!, defeuces. almost every street and sqaar,
ofthe city was barricaded, and raked by
, field pieces. and every house (beinl
built 10 the old Mexican style. will
thick walls and stone roofs. was for
.ress These furlifc atoms Of Monterey
Che position and strength OF many 81
which We learned by5cruel experience, J
were occupied by al least 10 900 regu.
lar Mexican troops. and defended by for
" Or fifty pieces Of heavy artillery. ],
will thus be seen thai Monterey is one oil
the strongest places on the Continent.
+ When il is recollecied that the. assail-
ants Of such places should (other things
being tquall be much more numerous
than Tho besieged. you will perceive how
great was the work 10 be achieved by our
arms. Indeed the Mexicans had The ad
vantage.in every thing but the character
OF the troops. The Anglo Saxon race
cannot be beaten by any other On The face
OF the Earth. The Msxicans having felt
the power Of our arms al Palo Alto and
Resaca, had wisely rs.reaied 10 one Of
their stfonghoidsin thu interior, knowing
we'll that il We should be unsuccessful
there our army would be utterly Destroy
! ed: for had we Jailed /, would have been
impossible for us 10 retreat ibrougha will.
derness without provisions the FIRST step
backwards. would be our ruin. Every
Ranchero between the mountains and the
coast would have been encouraged 10 take
up arms 10 defence Of bis bleeding coun-
Try, and assist iI driving back The bold in
vaders.
Such was the position OF affairs on The
, 19,h Of September. We 5all felt tba. our
safety could only be secured. BY Wrestling
Monterey from the MexicaDs and as
our Army was unprovided with aIsiege
train, OF heavy Artillery for }batlering
the city was 10 be won by downright
hard fighting and good luck 1.-The place
u must be carried by storm and that too
4 without delay a. every hour strengthen
ed the Me xicans and weakened US
i Accordingly on Sunday the120th Of
September Gen. Worth with his division
1000 strong and the flower Of the army,
marched out oi camp ID secure posses
sion ofihe Ssltllo pass and ihe heights
| on the north of the town. In order to
n attract attention from Wofih's movement,
Gen. Hamer's Brigade made feint upon
II The town. which was however unsuc-
cessful. as the Mexicans sent oul body
Of Lancers 10 watch The movement Of
lGen. Worth's division. These Lancers
we're driven back alter some skirmishing.
IbY The Texan Rangers. and the divi
sion bivouacked that night at The mouth
Of the pass and within HE rsnge3okthe
enemy's guns prepsted 10 conpence
the conflict with The dawn 81 the NOR
row.
4 On The following morning (Monday
September 2l1 The drums is camp beai
10 arms, and The Regiments were Quickly
formed. The wagons were packed ard
one company from s1eh Regiment Jeff 10
guard Them.
/ The Isl division 81 r4gniars under Gen.
Il Twiggs, and Gen. Buffers division DC vol
unleersi4 Regimenisl were msrchs d hall
way down 10 The city and farmrd il line 81