Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1847-12-14

and hIee hundred wouaGcd, and The City of At
lxco captured. For The d:ais OF these very sue
ce>stul operations and the instances OF individual
courage and distinguished conduct on the part OF
our officers and soldiers, respectfully refer You 10
the 'eporls OF General Lane, herewith transmitted.
There have been also many severe conflicts be-
tween dsIachmen:s OF cur troops and the gue!!l!c-
ros along the lines Of our communications, almost
invariably with results highly cIcIilable 10 our
arms. Those in which the small command OF
Major Lally was engaged, in its aiduous march
from Vera Cruz TO Jalapa, we're Of character
which merits special notice. The Formidable dill!
fcullies il met and overcome, al successive points
n The ronie attest the ability Of the officers and
the bravery oil the troops, composing this Ge:ach.
menl. The particular incidents Cilhs march, and
The crcdilabe conduc, Of The iicefs and men, arc
presented in the accompanying epor Of The CON-
manding officer.
The Sketches have pre-. cnlel, Of the operations
Of the two main columns Of cur army, do not en-
brace an account Of all the achievements in The
enemY's country, which have reflected Insie or
our arms. As early as August, 1916, General
hearny informed the department, in letter from
Santa Fe, that he should have disposable force
at that place, beyond what would be required IC
hold il, and 10 accompany bin to CaGiaInia; anc
he proposed 10 send Gelarhmen 10 chihuahua
10 Join General Wool, VINO was advancing upoI
that place. On The 53i Of September he ordered
Colonel Doniphan, with The first regiment OF Mis-
souri, volunteers, on that service. Alter being de
tanned some time tor the reduction Of the Nava iot
lndians-a restless an! predatory Tribe inhabilin.
the region Of New Mexico, West OF the range ri
MOUNTAINS bordering The valley Of The Rio
Grandc -Coonel Doniphan projected on hi, tx
peii;ion, attended with larg. com pany OF Anne
rican merchants. On The 25h OF December, the
90 no ron nd ot hy 10 U
in considerable force, near srazi,o, when an cn-
cagement look place. which resulted in the total
defeat of the Me1icanS, with loss on their part
! OF nearly Two hundred in killed and founded and
on ours Of only seven wounied. The force enga-
eed in this affair, on ou7 silr, was less than five
| hundred, and On that Of the enemy one Thousand
Two hundred and twenty, OF which over five han
dred were cavalry. PursuiIg lis march, the COM
mand entered I'll Paso without further opposition
Here it was asccriained lhat he column under Ge-
| neral Wool had been diveled from its original
destination. II, therefore, cc2mc necessary Tor
the detachment TO iema; IN aul Paso until reintor.
ccd by artillery, which hat been previously o.
dered from Santa Fee. ThisacccSson cf force did
not DIN The command until Rrly in February, I'D
then il moved forward ;OwTdS Chihuahua On
lis arrival al The Pass al lt' Sacramento about
fifteen miles from lie Capilt Of The STATE, Oh The
2oh OF February, the enem' was there discover.
ed in great force, strongly posted on the COM
| mandiug heish's, fortified by entertainments,
/ and well supplied with artillery. Arrange
ments were promptly male for an attack,
| AMI a fire al once opened from onr batteries. The
action soon became genera, and la:ie, irom 3
O'Clock in hs afternoon till lcar dark Al The
| enemy's rcdoub,s were carret, AMI ne was driven
with great slaughter IRON the field and complete.
| ly dispersed. His artillery, consisting Of ten
pieces and some culverins, vas captured; and
| his loss in killed AMI w0un!ci was about six hnn-
| dred, while ouGs did not e1ceei nhe men. The
| numerical strength ul The .ncmy in This engage
men. was over tour !houani-twelve huuired
cavalry, Twelve hundred ttan!Iy, three hundred
artillery, and over fourteen hundred ranchcros-
under The command OF several officers oil high
rank and distinction. Our entire force in the ac-
ton was less than nine bundled. On the succeed.
| ing day our victorious troops entered he capital
OF Chihuahua, and, after remaining there soma
weeks, proceeded 10 Jon The army under Major
Gen. Taylor al Mon;c'ey.
This adventurous m,rch by Col d iphln and
his small and gallant command of more than
Une thousand mite, tnTcosh hostile country, in
the course o.! which I'VE to~ifs were fuu., Is,
agains! vastly superior uumbers. and decisive vic
tories won, with geai loss ON the pdrt OF the enc
my, ami almost boodiesS Oh OURS, is AN achieve
men, 10 which il would D. difficult 20 find pa.
rallel in he history o! military operations
Alter taking possession Of Santa Fe in The sum-
mer OF 1916, and makingihe necessary arrange.
menis for holding II anc the territory II New
| Mexico, Gen. kearny, pursuant 10 instructions
| from this department, preceded to California
| He commenced this expedition in September, pro.
ceedine by an unusual ami almost unkaGwn route.
Going down the Rio CTanGe more than lwo han
dred miles, he passed ove! 10 The river ella, and
followed lis course 10 its junction win The Cole
RADIO Of the Wes;, distance Of five hundred
miles. bis march was continued forty miles
down The Colorado, thence sixty miles across The
great desert. On Inc 2t OF December he arrived
al settlement: on the frontier OF California
While pursuing his march from that place, he
| was met Two days thereafter, abuu, fory miles
from San Diego, by small tetachmen, of volun.
leers under Captain Gillespie, sent out by Com
| modpre Stockton TO give intelligence Of the enc
| my, who, 10 The number Of six or seven hundred,
| were reported 10 be in arms in the territory.
Being informed that an armed parry Of Caiiior-
mans was al San Pasq0al, eight or zen r,ics dis
iant from him, he mUved forward on Ihe OH with
a view 10 attack them. An action enSued anG
result cd in their defeat, with considerable loss in
| killed and wounded. The force under General
Kearny engaged on This occasion did not exceed
eighty; the enemy were more than Gouble tha
number, a d, being all well mounted, were able
10 make good their retreat.
The next day the detachment proceeded on il:
march, and again encountered hostile party oc
] cupying hill near San Bernardo, and drove
them from their POSITION. Gen. KeaTny remain
ed with his command al Ibis place uniilihe lin
when he was joGedby parry oi sailors and ma
| rines, sent out by Com. Stockton, and then pro
ceedcd 10 San Diego. Here terminated mos
| x.l, 49,, nd md t,,rtu Ihro
miles, through 4 country never before raverseC
BY an armed force. and besel with formidable dif
| fcullies, only 10 be suymounted by ex'raordlnarl
energy and perseverance, and towards iis close oh
strucred By an enemy who opposed i desperate
resistance, which was overcome by severe ant
saneuiuaIy conflicts. Our successes, SO cfetita
10 the heroic band who achieved hem, were no
obtained without he less OF three brave and &C
complished officers, and about eighteen galIan
men.
Onthe 2g;h Of December, force Of five HIM
| dred men consisting oi dismouDied dragons, 70
| lunteers marines and sailors, moved from Sal
Diego pon CiuIad de los Angeles. the stronghold
ot The enemy. with view To Succor party 9
Americans moving OH the same point from Mon
lcrey. On The Sh o! January, this force reach-,
| the San Gabrie! river, where II found The enemy
full GOO strong, with artillery stationed On TN
heights which commanded the passage OF ne river
and determined 10 dispute it. a severe conilic
epsued, witch lasted an hour and hall, when ih'
heights we're carried, and the enemy defeated am
driven from The field. The ncxl day he was agar
met and routed on the plains of Misa. Withou
further resi- ,tan nee the detachment moved forwaIt
and arrived on the 10th al Ciudad de los An
seles, and took peaceabc possession oil the place
The results OF these engagements were so dsas
lrous TO the enemy, that some OF the leaders Of
the Califonans. few days thereafter, met Liza
tenant Colonel Fremont who was in command
of four hunired volunteers near San Fernando
and entered into capiiuIalon with him. where.
BIZ The psopls under arms and in the fed agreed
10 disperse and remain quie: and peaceabIe.-
Thus The seious disturbances which had arisen
in California subsequent 10 The first occupation
of The county by our forces were put down; and
| from that time 10 the latest period to which ouI
information extends, all was there lranqui, and
no serious apptehcbsons Of further disturbance
were entertained.
Colonel Mason was sent from the United Stale;
in Noyenbr, 1916, 10 California, where ne ar
rived in FEBRUARY. General KeaTny, had per.
mission TO return home when The condition Of al
fairs should 10 longer require his presence in ha
| oil 10