The Hillsborough recorder. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1820-1879, 1848-08-30
z .IIsnglh. . 90 senrtIl. 9 J lenpoIa

Ahoul 2 o'rlork IN ihr dsy. afler ; 81
ries d desperate enrounieFs--foE he hat
lie throughout panook more 10 his char.
seieT Than me Of general engsgrElsni--
Wien The right wing Of The MeKirans had
brsn enliisiy rul 81. and fSur thousand
laneers and infantry were u the mercy
Of nraeg's bakery. The FIRE nI their arl,lle-
~ suddenly creased. and fur officers. un-
der he TIoifrii'n n = Tag of Truce. dash.
r,l into The American lines. and inquired
fnr General Taylnr. zine Of lien. an
aid-de.eamp 10 Santa Anna. was enniuei-
ed II lis prrsenee. wlan he cnureonsly
stated that he had been . sent bv his tx-
eailenry General Santa Anna 10 inquire
what General Taylor wanted" Tie an.
swer was. he only wanted :. General Sar-
IA Anna and The MeAican army Ia snnen.
der" This proved = Ilse 10 gain time.
but for Uhirh the tafle wonld have hem
quickly ended. and the terrible slaughter
which afterwards occurred. in which our
l0ss was 30 severe, have hetn prevented.
By this mannnvre Santa Anna was ena-
'hled ~ exlrirale his right wing. AMI min
fnrce himself with heavy body Of hnIh
Infantry and ra,algy. Once mere. then.
he brought his whole force 10 hear against
our lines. 10 crush them IL possible by
OverpoweriRg numbers. II came with the
shock of ihunderhnli, and bath armies
fought with unusual desperation. Our men
were as one 10 five. hui their lack Of mum.
hers was made up by their almost super
.human valor. The infantry did all that
infantry .couiiexecule ndercircumslanrss
most fhsorahle. but The artillery was The
main reliance in that death struggle for
victory. No matter what frighhul masses
were hurled against them, no matter
whether infantry or cavalry charged, they
rose with the crisis, and threw them back,
stunned ard Ifeless. beneath the steady.
unceasing blaze nf their well-mannrd bat
teries. Thnre did they change the for
tune nf The day, and in the last terrific
charge. wilen the Mexicans had driven
back The infantry and were sweeping
along like an avalanche. and defeat seemed
certain. shower Of grape arrested their
progress, and .snaIched victory from the
very grasp Of despair. $50
The battle now ragged fnI nearly ten
!. hours. .wlien, after The last scene .nf car
mage aud slaughter, both parties seemed
willing 10 cease the contest. Night soon
closed in, and General Taylor slept once
more. with his exhausted troops, on the
field Of battle, ready il necessary To resume
the bloody conflict on the coming morrow.
! Advised 10 fall back, lie merely said " We
will feel Item in the morning." but when
the sun rose again the Mexicans were
gone, and their dead and dying Iell 10 the
compassion of their enemies.
| Thus was the greatest battle on record,
perhaps, gained by less Ihanfve thousand
troops, nearly all of them volunteers,
against twenly-one ihousaud-a well.ap-
pointed and well.disciplined army. Those
tweniy.one thousand led on, too, by one
among the ablest Generals Of his day--a
man. odions and Infamous, as he may be,
no less remarkable for energy of charse-
Ter than qnickness and fertility. Of concep-
ton. And this man. who marshalled
that emha,iled host, flushed with the an
ticipaiion of easy victory, was the very
man who left his exile and returned IL
/ Mexico, at least under the connivauce al
our President, to raise armies and crush
the :. northern barbarlans," as he called
them, whom the same President had SEM
there 10 defend the flag Of The Union. Il
matlered moi; there was with that Spartan
, band one whose clear head and steady
hand grasped every difficulty and made
them inyincible. The odds were fright.
full, and al times the siouiesi hearts quail.
ed; but whenever his form was seen amid
The roar and shock of hallle. hope came
back and their spirils rose; for such was
the. moral power of his name, and such the
confidence of his men in General Taylor
that so long as he was safe, all felt " th,r re
was no such word as fall Fully 10 ap'
preeiaie him on that occasion. his whole
position musi be reviewed and The result
, Of his victory looked to. in connection
with subsequent operations IN the wa
with Mexico. 1t will be reeollected tina
, he was indirectly ordered 10 fall back ant
take his position al Monterey. This wa'
understood To be the intention of the Gov
eminent; he was of a different opinion
He readily foresaw that il he reirealed Z
Monterey, he was TO be suit up there, 4
o defend doubtful siege, and thereby les'
every advantage which had been secute'
from the time the tir<, blow was struck OF
t,he Rio Grande. He felt ii was safest
after all, TO meet than to flee the threaten
4, ing storm; he therefore picked his groun
and stood TO stake every thing on The Is
a sue. be The hazard what it might. Hi
y determination, Notwithstanding the man
ner in which his force had been reduced
was TO Ugh, and conquer; he did bo'i
And The night before that memorable ba
n lie, when his enemies at home WEI
NJ straining all their energies TO raise Lie,