Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1848-10-11

'%O. M. XLVII.
the other was near by TO avenge him. There wer,
nelghboIs, too, and friends, who had grown up TO
gether IN school-boy days. They were not We
separated The survivors stood there, while thos,
"no had oorno all these tender relations 10 their
were srewn, dead OF dying on every hand. We,
all In sight they lay the familiar forms and faces
OF those to whom they had been deeply attached
and whom they had called by their first names
from infancy 1t canuo, be wondered a, then. tina,
these men stood firm.
it was sublime. terrible sight The troops
on oo'n sides were so cool and determined, that all
knew the struggle must be sanguinary and desper-
ate In the extreme. Not word was spoken the
din OF the surrounding battle seemed for moment
hushed; the rumbing sound of the earth. rs the
brigade swept onward like living thunderholt.
appeared TO be The only audible manifestation OF the
approaching carnage. As the Mexicans came near
en- they evidently INDUCED The belief that thew
csaid draw the fire Of our before i, caa1,, be
very destructive, and that then, while the pieces
were empty, they could overwhelm the slight bar
rier before them, and finish their work with the
lance. But finding, on the contrary, that not
/ piece was discharged nor man moving, the whole
brigade u1gan insnctiveiy to diminish its gait
This was fatal misako and, on their side, it
seemed pity 1t should have been made, it was so
out OF Keeping with the skill indicated BY their SOL
dierly appearance and gallant bearing. Finally.
instead OF dashng forward in most splendid charge,
as they could have done, having the ground upon
which to execute it, they had the madness to pull
up to walk, and at length to hale in the very net
work OF the two lines of fire. The instant they did
SO, the pieces came down on both faces of the an
gle, as if swayed by the same hand. For mo-
nent their muzzles moved slowly about, as each
man fet for his aim then they settled steady and
firm as bars Of steel. Now, like the blast off,
trumpet, the dreadful word was shouted-"FIRE !"
Two sheets of flame converged on that beautiful
brigade 1t was appalling! The whole head OF
the column was Frustrated, and riderless horses n
multitude, and crimson with blood, scattered from
ii in every direction
Before the MeXicans could recover from the eff.
reefs OF this blow, Sherman cut them up with grape
and canister. Then came the rapid and deadly
firing by file, of our rifemen and infantry. No
troops in the world could have faced il without the
most awful sacrifice Of life and under i, the whole
brigade gave way, and fled towards the mountains
leaving the ground literally covered with its dead.
In this affair, had it not been for that unac-
conniabe and suicidal pulling up to halt before
body of the best maTksmen in tho world, and dis
tant only eighty yards had this compact mass Of
cavalry, in doing thus, dashed at speed into the an
gle before them. they would have lost many men.
no doubt; but it is difficult to conceive what could
have saved the Mississippi and Indiana troops from
total destruction and had so large 4 force broken
through our lines, and at this time gained the road
between Buena Vista and La Angostura, the for.
tunes OF the day would again have been placed in
jeopardy most painful to contemplate.
TERRIBLE RETRIBUTIoN.
Tho Mexicans, who were thus hemmed in. were
played upon by no less than nine pieces of our light
artillery at the same moment; being the centre of
cross lire from Reynolds pieces to their right and
OBren's and Thomas pieces on their left, while
onerna'' and Bragg We're tearing them UP "a front.
Although at first they answered our troops by a
fire OF muskery, as the ground from point 10 point
afforded them cover, yet, they became more con-
densed and the effect Of shot more destructive
they grew panic-strcken Then horse and foot
mingled together, and without ceasing to resist the
storm under which they suffered, pressing closer
toward the mountain These were the men who
had Killed our wounded, when they drove us in the
morning. These were the men who took no pris-
oners, when they might have many. These were
the men who left no sign Of life in any thing Amer
lean which had fallen into their hands,-the men
who had stripped our poor fellows, and then stood
over them and mutilated their remains in the most
horrible and revolving manner. These were the
| men who had received the surrendered sword of
the Texan Lieutenant, Campbell, gallant gentle
man, and then plunged ii into his bosom. These
were the men who in the morning lad surrounded
tina; grey haired man, Lieutenant Price of Illinois
seveatytw years old, and cruelty forced their
lances through him, as if for pastime. Now they
were going back over the same ground where all
this work had been done. We had but little con-
sderation for those who had had no pity for our
mangled and bleeding comrades. And every one
knew, if the battle finally went against US, what
would inevitably be his own fate. All these things
inspired our troops with determination never to
despair Of victory and nerved them to press on
ward 10 the punishment Of an enemy, who, i'm civ
lllzed warfare, had the first example of murder
ing wounded men. Faster and faster our troops
gathered them into that little cove the side OF
the mountain. They were about 5000 or 5000 in
all cavalry and infantry mingled in confusion an
armed multitude; mere chaos Of men and horses
dead and dying, with flags, pennons, lances, and
muSkets, all mixed up Hundreds ofthem endeav.
ored to escape by camberng up the steep sides o.
the mountains; but most Of them stood huddled To-
gether, while our shot went crashing through them
and our shells likewise opening for themselves {
bloody circle wherever they exploded.
THE CLOSE OF THE BATTLE.
As the sun sank lower and lower, the occasona
rattle Of musketry gave place to dropping shot
which, in turn, became less and less frequent, anC
at length entirely ceased The fire of artillery or
both sides had gradually subsidized the sun wen
down; the heavy and reveIberated report Of cannon
had longer and more uncertain intervals finally i
was hushed profound and painful silence sue
) ceeded, and again The cold, deepening shadows o
evening began silently TO steal over the field. TIL,
two armies still there and were still sternly
regarding each other face to face They were
standing almost upon the same ground where they
} had respectively stood the night before. But il
the Mexican lines we could hear no animated har.
! rangue, no responding Uiras, approving cheers
and the night wind brought not To cars again
the wltchery ofthat sweet music. One could hard
ly realize, as ne now looked upon the dark masses
Of tho two armies that they had been 50 mingled
in bloody strife since last no saw them similarly
situated all was nov 50 calm. Indeed. hardly
sound could be heard, tho occasional Tapping
Of the wings Of the fierce zapaloes, lowering
over the Pass OF the distant and almost human yell