Southport telegraph. [volume] (Southport, W.T. [i.e. Kenosha, Wis.]) 1840-1850, 1846-12-16

cAKAGoSSA AND MON3EkZ1.
In the letter We publsbsd lsst Tussday
giving an aenooDt OF she ssoxmiHg and cap
tafe OF Monterey, our corrsspoDdeps said
Inc aErsngeme nts Cor the inferior defencI
Of The city were perfect. and the place IN
the hands Of determined enery. would
nave proved second Sarragossa-" Re
collections Of that famous seige hare been
revived in the minds Of others BY .be scenes
at Monterey. The Baltimore Amsriea,
THIS alludes to it:
I'D Naplei's admirable history Of the
renlnsuls war most interesiin descrip-
Ton - found Of the seige and capture Of
Safagossa by the Frensh, under Marshal
Lannes. the ramparis having been bat
tered down, the history begins:
"Ihe walls Of Saragossa thus went TO the
ground; but Saragossa herself remained
erect, and as the broken grde fell from
the heroic city, the beseigers startled at
The view OF her naked strength: the regu-
lar deiences had indeed crumbled before
the skill OF the assalants: but the popular
resistance was Immediately called, with oil
lis ierrors, INTO action, and, as if fortune
had resolved to mark the exact moment
when all the ordinary calculations Of sci
ence should cease, the chief engineers on
both sides were simultaneously slain The
French General, La Cos,e, young man,
intrepid, skillul, and endowed with genius
persisted like brave soldier. The Span.
ish COL San Gems died not only ,oith the
honor Of soldier, but the glory OF the pa:7
rot-his blood staining the rampant he had
himself raised for the protection Of his ma
tive place."
"Ihe combat being now IN the streets
of Saragossa, the sound of the alarm bell
was heard in every Cuarter-ihe people
crowded into the hou es nearest the lodg-
menis OF the enemy-addilona barbados
were constructed across The principal tho
roughtares-mlnes were prepared in the
more open spaces, and the internal COM
munications from house to house were null.
liplied until they formed vast labyrinth,
the intricate windngs Of which were only
TO be traced by the weapons and the oead
bodies of the defenders From the height
of the wall which we had conquered, Lam
mes contemplated this terrific scene, and,
Judging that men so passionate and so pre-
pared could not be prudenly encountered
IN open battle, he resolved 10 proceed by
the slow but certain progress OF the mat
took and the NINE"
Napier proceeds to relate the farther
operations of the seige; how house after
house was blown up, stree: by street gain
ed and finally Sarasossa captured. but only
after il was almost reduced 10 an ind scrim-
m IF tJar;pr rnipo
In both Of the instances here specified
the slaughter was immense. And it may
be inferred beyond doubt, that if our
troops al Monterey had continued the street
fighting as il was begun on the first day of
the assault, the final capture of the place
would not have been accomplished without
fearful loss, The city was prepared for
just such defence as that which Saragos
sa maintained; it was in fact prepared with
more care than had been bestowed upon the
latter place, which had its walls to rely up
on, and therefore did not mature lis int.
rior defences until the walls were destroy
ed. The streets Of Monterey were not
only raked and enfilated by artillery plan
ted in redoubts ard fortified houses, but
barbados Of solid Masonry were also
erected across the streets leading TO the
plaza, by which the adj ance Of the assail.
ants might be stopped, while at every mo-
ment, volleys Of musketry could be pour
ed from the tops Of the houses on both sides
OF men concealed behind parapets.
The mode adopted Of penetrating ihro'
the houses, on both sides Of the street, by
making holes in the interior partition walls
and thus gaining possession OF the adjon-
ing houses successfully, rendered the street
defences of the Mex cans wholly useless.
10 addition to the advantages secured by
thus advancing under cover, the American
rife, in the hands ofsuch men as the Tex
as Rangers and the Western Volunteers,
was a more efficient weapon in such con-
test as this than any which the asSallants OF
Saragossa possessed. The rifle, used as
i; can be used by the American only, is in
a fact a weapon which must give superiori-
ty to our arms against any foe, in any
kind Of battle in which it can be efficiently
employed. 1t is usual 10 read, in the ac-
counts of battles, of troops being under fire
for hours with an aggregate loss in the end
so small as to be almost ncred ole. Now
il is not possible for columns of men to be
exposed to The fire of American rhemen,
even for short time, without loss because
every riheman is a marksman, and no.
marksman shoots without singing his man.
Connected with This Mexican war, there
are some recollections that il would DO
we'll 10 bear in mind. The Spanish race
has ever been noted for its stubborn char
acter. From the dreadful sieges of Nus
mantia and Saguntum in the days OF the
old Romans, down TO The Peninsula war OF
lsIO-'13, the Spa niards have shown the
most hero conduct and endurance in re.
sis,ing an enemy. Every house has been
made fortress, and so we may find Il as
we penetrate into Mexico. The difficult
ties of The war in that country have but
jus, begun.-Buf. Com. Adv.
MAIL To AND FROM THE SEAT OF WAa.
The larges, mails probably now made
no or received in the United States arc
those between New Orleans and The seat
Of war The mail received after The cap
lure of Monterey at New Orleans contain
fourteen thousand letters; and the ordina>
~ mail ranges from six to eight thousand.
The mails despatched thence to the kio
rJo ,ra EQUALLY large.