Democratic banner., 1848-05-29
From the SAuta Cruz Banner of March 18th.
Official Reports OF fac Battle Ofkanta
Graz de E~20SaEas.

~ 'HGN 4
18th March, 1913. \
Sir: In the action Of Yesterday, agaims
the enemy, according TO tie order of tic
commanding General, placed myself wit!
four companies of my command, G, T., +,
aud |, in front of this town, covering I'll,
batteries Of Capt. HasS.ndeubel and Lieut.
Love, the former on my right flank, and The
latter on my left. Company {, Capt. Ieb-
hardt, orderedt 10 7~osition midway between
the river, to protect the right Of Capt. Has
sendeubePS battery, as ais" TO prevent eS-
capes from the town by avenues leading to
Sonora and the mountains.
As Capt. Hassendeubel moved his bat
teIy, forward in direction Of the euemvs'
batteries. TO give more efficient effect to the
shells he continued to pour into the town,
and as we were placed there mainly f"r
protection to the batteries, il was discover
ed that BY advancing my entire right flank
TO the support of Capt. Ilassendcu5cl, NY
entire line would be raked by the cnemy'S
batteries, which continued from the begin
ming to return a brisk fire, while my left
manned fast in support of Lieut.. Loves
battery. | then ordered Capt. Lotiand.
with company E, to move forward with and
flank Capt. HIS battery on its left, as ii
took position nearer the town, with orders
10 Capt. Loland to range his line at right
angles with the enemy's batteries, and to
keep his files four feet apart.
In the prompt movement of the battery
to a position nearer the enemy, Capt. LOT
land moved gallantly forward under a gal
ling fire, and in hating his command, it
was discovered Il at he failed to align his
company at right angles with the guns of
the enemy, and that they would rake his
right flank, and before Adiutant S. Hart
could convey the order and assist to fix
this company at right angles with the enc
my'S batteries, one of bis men with six hor-
ses were killed, and one man seriously
wounded, when General Price ordered
Captain LoHand to range further to the
rear, more out of reach of the enemy's
fire. Captain Lofiand and his entire COM
maad sustained the destructive fire of the
enemy, as did my entire line, without fin
ching i'll the least, although we were all i'll
point blank distance, under a constant and
uninterrupted fire from the enemy's batter
les for the space Of two hours and a bali.
When the Lancers were discovered ap-
preaching the left of the town on the road
from San Puebla, my Battalion moved in
that direction in good order, and when I
learned that the two companies Of my COM
mand, then acting as squadron, under the
command of Lieut.. Col. Lane, had hardly
dispersed this body of Mexican cavalry
destined to reinforce the enemy, l remain
ed to cover and p~rotect the two batteries.
About this time a large body of Lancers
left the town in direct route to the noun
;ains. Capt. Clarkson was despatched
with his company to assist in cutting off
their retreat. He rendered Major Wal.
kcr's Battalion efficient aid in this service,
and the retreating Lanccrs fell back to the
town, suffering considerable loss, our for
ces; with Major Walkers, charging them
up to almost the very mouths of the Mexi-
can batteries. When the order was re-
ceived at about five o'clock, P. NJ, to
storm the batteries and the town, my Bat
talon was GiSinounted and in line of bat
tile for charge. It moved off upon the run
with loud cheers, keeping the church stee-
pie to the right; entering the town, we had
t. cross a street at the head of which was
placed "a field howitzer charged with
canister shot. My four companies, num-
boring one hundred: including officers,
where close to the walls on either side, in
single file for some distance, and where the
street narrowed a little by projecting hous-
es; the head of the charging column was
halted with orders for the rear to close up;
as they were thus closing, the twenty-four
pound howitzer was discharged by the enc
my. when the air seemed to become I~itera-
rally filled with missiles of death; but nv
men were comparatively safe. When the
smoke and dust had blown away, my gal
liant little column had possessed themselves
of the inside and top of a house, and but
two men had fallen in the street by the
howitzer discharge, both severely woun-
ded. We were then nne-fourth of ii mile
from the church, which We were determin-
ed to possess ourselves of, and of the sur
rounding batteries, that had defcd us for
the whole day. Every house, including
the one we first occupied, was filled with
Mexican infantry and l~ancers, WHO were
killed and driven before us, at the same
time our men possessed themselves OF the