The Trinity journal., 1856-11-08
Arrival Of the Sonnra.

Ihe ullleu lorccS naVlng advanced upon
Managua, Gen. Walker ordered the garri-
ron at that place, amounting to $50 men, to
fall back Immediately OH Granada, in order
to allow the enemy to occupy the place
This they did, and it was the unanimous
wish of every American in Granada that
their apparent success would inspire them
with sufficient courage to attack Granada.
Such an attack could be followed only bv
one reSult-a disastrous defeat The cti-
xens, that is the persons not belonging to
the army but engaged in trade and attend
ing to the civil business Of the State formed
themselves into a company to assist in the
defense of the city and participate in the
glory of victory. AS the allied forces
would not advance, Walker, having been
reinforced with men and two mounted how
ltzers, advanced to Nlasaya to give them
battle. The Americans entered Masaya by
the way known as the Middle road. They
had scarcely appropriated to themselves
place to spend the night when the enemy
began to shoot in the direction in which our
soldiers were encamped Random shooting
was kept up for about two hours, but there
was not any Of the Americans killed, al
though fonf were wounded, one only of
whom is dangerously so.
About daylight in the morning of Octo-
bcr 10Th, the battle began. The American
forces were stationed on an eminencc The
enemy were seen in large numbers at dis
tancc of about five hundred yards. They
fired upou us with large gun, and it seemed
that it was too dark to determine their mo-
tons accurately, but they were supposed to
be advancing under the cover Of its fire A
bomb from one Of our howitzcrS fell with
nice precision in their midst When the
smoke cleared away there was not one of
them in sight. The howitzers continued to
throw shots until they got in sight of the
church on the upper plaza. The FIRST Rifles
were now in sight Of the church shell
was thrown in the plaza, and the word given
to charge. With three loud cheers and
the widest enthusiasm the Rifles ran down
the slope, followed steadily by the remain
der of the forces.
The enemy, unable to resist such vigor-
GUS attack, fed in every direction. Compa-
nv c, commanded by Capt. Doan, had the
good fortune to be first in. Two of the
Generals Aids, Mahon and Gist, accom-
panied them. The church and the houses
surrounding were entered in a minute, and
when Gist returned and said General, the
Plaza is takcn,' u loud shout of triumph
rent the air
A we'll organized company Of sappcrs and
miners were set to work to clear away the
houses towards the large Plaza sufficiently
large to allow the passage Of our guns
Almost every house was full Of the enemy
They were driven steadily back from one to
the other, until they were at length all in
the large Plaza The howtzcrs threw shell
into the houses, and the soldiers rushed in
and took possession. They thus fought all
day. The taking Of this Plaza decided the
fate of Masaya.
We had now advantage Of a good posi-
tion, and Il vigorous assault Of few minutes
would have placed the whole city in our
hands. The soldiers requested permission to
charge directly on the large church in the
center of the large Plaza but Walker would
not permit them to run the risk of losing
their lives
About midnight General Walker received
intelligence that large body of the enemy
were moving out Of Masaya, towards Gra-
NADIA. AT 3 O'Clock on the morning Of the
18th, the American soldiers started in pur-
suit, The enemy was not oycrtaken until
they entered Granada. General NclassO,
San Salvadorlan, who is commanders in-chicf
Of the allies, heard of Gen. Walkers APP
proach He despatched by a different road
about GOO men to attack Granada lie
must have been under the impression it had
been left wholly unprotected, and that it
would fall easily into his hands. The
forces despatched by the Allied General
arrived about o'clock on the afternoon of
the 18th and entered Granada by two parts
They attempted to get into the Plaza, but
were rcpulSed with considerable loss. They
then got into houses and began to cut their
way into the center Of the city. About
O'Clock IN the afternoon the enemy rang
bells, and gave other demonstrations of
having been reinforced Night came-the
americans were on the edge of the large
Plaza-the firing gradually lesScncd, and
about 10 O'Clock it almost entirely ceased.
AT this time in addition to our two killed,
we had tiiteon men disabled by wounds
The enemy had to our knowledge, 100 men
killed
There must have been many killed bv our
smells IN the large church and about it, Of
the number of whom we could know moth
ing There were only about $50 Americans
in Granada, and these, under Brig Gen
Fry, held the city and fought against this
great odds for twenty-one hours.
Many OF the women and children were
placed for safety in the large parochial
church, and few sought the protection of
the house of the American Minister. But
the American flag was no protection. Brave
men and Mississippi rifles We're all that saved
them. Among those who thus lost their
lives was Mr. Wheeler, who had been
sent here to distribute Bibles by the Bible
Society of New York, the Rev Mr. Fergu-
son and Mr. Lawless, who had been a
merchon; here for somo years.
Ahont oo,a"k in the morning on the