Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1847-05-14
The Battle Field of Buena Vista.

A correspondent Of the Ne,O Orleans Della,
in a letter from Saltillo, thus describes the
awful spectacle of the battlefield, after the
battle had been fought. What a picture does
it present of war
"At one time during the fight, we return
ed over the ground on which was made our
fist charge. We there saw the mangled boz
dies of our fallen comrades, and, although
animated by the excitement of the fierce con-
test which was just then to be renewed, yet
| think there was not a heart among us which
did not for a moment cease to beat, on be-
holding that horrible scene. But for his
straw hat, and a few other articles of cloth
ing which the %rufiians had left on him, |
should have failed to recognize the body of
young Eggleston. He was shot, stabbed
and otherwise abused. This was, indeed,
the fate Of all whom ] saw. Lieut.. Moore,
and a man named Couch, Of our company,
were the only persons whose bodies ] easily
recognized.
After the battle, | rode over the whole
field. Parties were engaged in burying the
dead-but there were still hundreds of bodies
lying stiff and cold, with no covering save
the scanty remnant of clothing which the
robbers of the dead found too valueless 10 take
from them. ! saw the human body pierced
in every place. saw expressed in the faces
Of the dead almost every passion and feeling.
Some seemed TO have died execrating their
enemies, and cursing them with their last
breath-others had the most placid and re-
signed expression and feeling. Some SEEM
ed to have died defending their lives brave
ly TO the last, while others evidently used
their last words in supplicating for mercy
Here lay youth and mature age r~eposing in
unilnely death.
Passing on from this part of the bloody
ground, | went over 20 the plain literally CO.
vered with the dead bodies of those who had
recently been our enemies This scene was
horrible enough, God knows-but was di-
vested of some of its horrors by the fact that
not one of the Mexican soldiers was either
robbed or stripped of his clothing, nor was
there The least appearance of the bodies hav-
ing heen abused after being wounded. This,
indeed, speaks much for the barbarous
volunteers of The United States Of the North"
as the MeXicans style US.
Among the hundreds of dead bodies whom
| saw there, | was much touched by the APP
pearance of the corpse of a beautiful Mexi-
can boy, whose age, | should think, could
not have exceeded Is years. A bullet had
struck him full through the breast, and must
have occasioned almost instant death. He
was lying on his back, his face slightly In
cIined to one side, and, although cold, yet
beaming with a bright and sunny smile,
which eIoquently told the spectator that he
had fallen with his face to his country's foe.
SaItillo is one vast hospital. Besides our
own wounded, (four or five hundred in num-
ber,) Gen. Taylor has collected the Mexicans
who were left by their army, and put them in
the hospital. 1t is most disgusting 10 visit
one of these places. All of them 1.-THE Mexi-
cans) are badly wounded, for those that were
wounded went of. They are dying
every hour in the day."