The West Virginia journal. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1864-1877, 1869-01-13

| volunteers, sent round by the loft
flank. pressed tho enemy ut tho hacien-
da of Los Portalcs. But for this 1t Is q
oue,tion. whether Churubusco would
have been carried SO soon. .,
Thi. brigade, OF. Its own siac' had
enough work to do: 1t consisted OF
the New York aud South Carolina
regiments.
As We stood side by side that day,
our flags swayed by the samc breeze,
our muzzlcs pointed in tho samc di.
rcction, who could have thought that
those standards should ever DO seen In
opposing ranks, or those bayonets ever
ciash In tho conflict OF intcrnecinc
strife! Surely not one Of Us.
No; wc had enough to think OF
without that, rs our men fell, side by
side. or one upon the other, mingling
their lifc-blood togcther--the best OF
the North, as OF tho South. -.
And both flowed equally, rs freely !!
In those days men used to talk or
Waterloo and its terrible carnage;
Nun for man there was more Oloou
SMILED ut Churubusco. The writer OF
this sketch was IN command OF sixty
volunteer soldiers. When tho action
was over, hc counted thirty-two OF
them lying on the grass, near Il dozen
Of them dcadl After this It Is not nec.
cssarv to saw they were brave.
And It needed all their courage to
carry the deicnccs Of Los Portales.
There was time when they wavcrcd.
What troops would not have done so
under shower Of lca,len hail, that, in
addition to half their numbers, Ind
low every iicld-olilcer III tho brigade |!
II would have been no cowardice, had
they nt TINT time rctrentcd.
but they did not. 4 Young officer,
belonging to the New York reg imcni.
sprang forth, anl called upon them to
follow him to tho charge. Tho Irish
drummer, Murphy, dashed out after
gave n sonl-stirring tap to his drum
and. rs If keeping time to its quick
rolling, Empires and Palmettos rushed
forward at bayonct charge.
The coming Of the cold steel was q
warnin. to the Mexican troops. ~
squadron Of their cavalry. threatening
4 charge on our left, wheeled their
horses quick about, and went off ut Il
hand -yallop for the city; while the
foot defenders Of Los Portalcs and the
causcway Of the Acapulco road. flung
down their discharged cScOpettcS, and
scattered OIL through swamp aud chap
pnral.
Still led by the New York officer,
the remnants Of tho half.Slnughtcrcd
brigade plunged brcast-dcep into the
Shiny =0ncn, clnmbcred up the cause
way, and continued the pursuit along
! the level road.
Exhausted by the long-continucd
struggle, saturated with water from
sole TO waist. laden with sink mud,
they made but slow progress.
But ut that moment there appeared,
comm. along the causcway. troop
goiu" quicker. that promised to take
the pursuit of their hands. II was q
troop Of horscmcn, with horses all OF
light gray color"
Emerging from the smoke cloud Of
Churubusco, they looked like band
Of angels with Gabriel at their head
| II was kcarncy with his squadron OF
cavnlry.
Before tho ratigucd foot Ind time to
congratulate themselves on the relief.
tho dragoons cainc sweeping past.
They wcrc going at full sallop In halt
sections Of twos, tho mcn with slopcd
sabrcs, the horses with snorting nos
trils, each buried in the spread tail of
that preceding him; the hoofs OF all
striking simultaneously OH the firm
crown Of the causcway, rs If they were
gallopinS to set music!
At their head rode man Of slight
stature. with iight-colorcd hair, and
complexion to correspond. A long
tawny moustachc became the classical
type Of face, md somewhat aquiline
nose that surmounted it. They were
features belonging to natural-born
commander, and looked in their place
Mt tho head Of a charging troop. They
were the features Of Phil. Kcnrncy.
Tho young New York officer, recog-
nizing them rs those Of his gnl liant
friend, cried out 10 his tired comrades:
Now, boys; three cheers for Phil.
Kcarncy! You've still breath enough
for thatI"
The shout that responded showed he
had not mistaken their strength. Most
Of them wcrc New Workers, and know
that kcarncy was Of their kind,
The dras had scarce passed when
m oid-tlc.camp rode up, bearing mes
sage from the commander-in-chicf. 1t
was al order to stay the pursuit!
1t was given to licutenant-coloncl
tho only field officer upon the ground.
Tho order came upon the men like
bombshcll, projected from the rear. =.
Stop tho pursuit! What did 1t mean
They had pu: the enemy to flight; and
they knew he would not again make
stand to oppose them that side the city.
Nor oven In the city; for the scare up
on his scattered troops would DO sure
10 carry them clear through 1t, espec-
tally when chased by Kcarney. Stop
tho pursuit! What could 1t mean!
Tho lieutenant-colonel could not tell.
He could only beg OF them to obey.
Thcy laughed at him, for he had not
led them; and only looked to the lieu-
tenant who had. -.
Tho lattcr lisrcned to the order from
tho aid-de-camp: for it was Mt length
directed to him, as the only ono who
had the power to enforce obedience to
u,T;s a fatal mistake" said he, "and