Iowa territorial gazette and advertiser. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa Territory [Iowa]) 1840-1846, 1846-05-16
BURLINGTON, IOWA: SATURDAY, MAY Is, 1886

. Ncted slale OF the public mind ~ regards
or Mexican affairs and the welfare Of our
little army, that most exaggerated reports
creep into the public prints, thereby car
.rying with them sorrow and anxiety into
the bosons Of the friends and relations Of
many officers, | deem it my duty to give
you hasty but correct account OF the cap
tuFe Of Capt. Thornton, and squadron Of
the I'd Dragons, by force Of 2, 900 Mex
leans, under the command Of Gen. Torreion.
Gen. Taylor, on the 24th, had received a
report that the enemy were crossing the
river above this camp. Captain Thornton
with his commend, was sent out on the
evening Of the Path, to examine the coun-
try above, and see whether there was any
truth in the report. His command was
composed Of Capt. Hardee, Lieu,s. Kane
and Mason, 5 sergeants, 4 corporals, bu-
gler and - privaies. His Mexican guide
returned this morning, stating that he had
been attacked At 8 o'clock on the morning
Of the 18th by . large number Of the ene-
my, and that the whole command was cap
tured or destroyed. The guide warned
him that he was in the vicinity Of the enemy
and refused to proceed. He waited until
night. and none Of the party coming in, he
returned home. About l / this morning,
private of the party was brought here in
a cart. He was wounded in two places.
The man who brought him was the bearer
ola note from Gen. Terrejon to Gen. Tay-
lor. the amount of which was. that con the
score Of humanity he claimed the privilege
Of sending in to him two dragons, who
were wounded in an engagement brought
on by charge from an American cavalry
officer against his command Of 200 men, as
he had no flying hospital" He then spoke
Of the rest being prisoners, and said .sthey
would be treated with the consideration
due prisoners of war, agreeably to the
custom Of civilized nations." From the
wounded dragoon We obtain the following
facts: That the charge was made in open
ground; that when the command s'charge''
was given, but few OF the enemy " ere
seen; but as they dashed over hill the
whole command presented themselves, they
were fired upon, and Immediately surroun-
ded and taken prisoners. He does not
know what became Of Capt. Thornton.-
Capt. Hardee and Lieut.. Mason are pris-
on, rs, and are well. He reports Lieut..
Kane as shot, and it is feared he is killed.
Ten men were killed. Before the cart
left, one Of the two men mentioned died.
From the letter of Gen T. it seems that he
accuses Capt. Thornton Of charging upon
him. One can hardly conceive Of such
madness as charging 200 men with 63, and
it is fair to presume that he was SUR ound-
ed, and charged to cut his way through
Time will clear it up. The capture Of
Capt. Thornton's party, and the sad death
Of Lieut.. Porter, and murder Of Col. Cross,
are fat"of f-1t--fs-.a 4As >.,4- a
The war. ! say scor, for there is no doubt
Of its existence, and that unless an armis-
lice is signed in ten days, we must have
some hard fighting. The enemy are COL
lecting in some considerable numbers, and
l think their force may be estimated with
safety at 500. General Taylor is rapidly
pushing forward his field works, and UNI
derstand has sent for AGO volunteers
1000 from Louisiana and 2OUO from Texas.
Ii they will give us a fair fight We do not
doubt our ability to whip them; but if they
are going to give us second edition Of the
Florida ,car, it will be very annoying
affair. Yours very truly,
w 6 HtNRV TT IT g