The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1870-02-11
4D4SHING DRAGOON.
THE MURAr OF THE AMERICAN hRMT.
By MAYNE REID.


so never fails TO strike upon the ear
Will an interest almost romantic. In
Il The soIdierrecognize the ring Of the
true metal; and its mention calls up
fhe image of as fine dragroon officer,
as ever drew sabre or sci foot IN sur
rup.
Wds! How sad an old comrade
feels in penning the past tense! Would
] could say, Isl
Alas it cannot be. HIS lfe-hooul
Of which he was so daringly regard
less. has fertiiized the sod OF Chantil-
": his ashes rest in the tomb OF M
ancestors: and his heroic soul i1asseo
to a more peaceful world. But fol
that fatal shot that made him a corpse
i'm the saddle, his name would now
have been louder upon the lips of his
eountrymen. For the man who crleo
acowardice or treason ~ when Nal
yern Hill was so basely abandoned t.
the foe. would have led To victory hat
he lived: and this man was Genera
Philip Kearney.
To saw this i no disparagement u
the successful leaders who survived him
] don't think there is oneamong then
will derry. that, had Phil. KcaTney nol
met premature death, he would have
achieved rank second 10 none, a sec
ond to none has lac won reputation
And IT Is a reputation that viii, yeal
after vear. and day after day, grow
brighter: al. under the calm retrospect
of Deaee. his deeds Of waTlike daring
of high chivairic heroism-becom6
better known.
II is not my purpose To write the Dl'
ography Of General Philip Kearney
There are other pens better fitted foi
the task: and some ~ them will n6
doubt perform this national duty. j
should be a labor OF love for any pat
riot to write the story Of such life
and there is no patriot who should no
read it. ! am incapable for while
Kearney was engaged in that granC
struggle, that gave the latest proofs
alike of his gallantry as devotion t.
his eountry's cause, j was far away il
a distant quarter of the globe.
In the lesser strife, that by some
thing more than a decade preceded i
the Second Conquest of Mexico
was by his side, and saw him do dec
that fixed him in my mind, for eve
1t is of this deed, too little known,
desire to make record so that il ma,
assist the future biographer of the gal
liant Kearney, as also the historian o
that spirited Mexican expedition
still but feebly chronicled. Partly 70
these reasons and partly, that the eye
witnesses of those far-distant events
in their day thought stirring, and still
picturesque-are gradually growing
less in number.
Alas, that from among us Phil
Kearney is missing! But his memo
ry Is with us; and now, for a chapte
that will not only recall him to TIN
thoughts of his old comrades, but hi
countrymen, in all the dash, the daT
ing, the unparalleled picturesquenes'
of his character.
1t was the battlefield, known in his
tory as Churubusco; so called from ;
q stream of the name, with a vii
Iage upon its banks-a cluster of hut
and churches, with a grand conven
rising massiveiy in their midst. 1t i
on the famed National Road leading
south toward Acapulco from the city
of Mexico, and about five miles from
the suburbs ofth latter city-the ga
rita of San Antonio de Abad.
The crossing of the stream was de
Tended by a battery on the tete dc pOnt
by fianking works along the hanks Oh
both sides and by a strong body OF
troops that occupied the convent Of
Churubusco, for the time transformed
into fortress.
1t cost the American army deadly
struggle TO take these works; all the
leadlier that they were defended by
two hundred brave Irishmen, who, as
is too often the case, Were fighting on
the wrong side. They were deserters
and fought in despair-with the pros
l,ect of a halter if taken.S
The tete de pOSf, although desper-
ately defended, was at length carried
3 the sooner that brigade of gallant
volunteers, sent round by the left
flank, pressed the enemy at the haci.
enda of Los Portales. But f0f this q
question, whether ChurubuscO would
nave been carried so soon.
This brigade, on its own side, haC
enough work TO do. It consisted o
the New York and South Carolins
regiments. n
As we stood side by side that day
our flags swayed by the same breeze
our muzzies pointed i'm the same di
rection, who could have thought thai
those standards should ever be seen in
opposing ranks, or those bayOnets ever
cash IN the conflict of internecine
-,rife2 Surely not one of us.
No; we had had enough to think %
ithout that, as our men fell, side Joy
side, or one upon the other, minglDs
ieir life-bioOd together-the best %
RE North, as of the South.
And both flowed equally, as freely,
Il those days men used to talk o
Waterloo and its carnage. Man fol
man there was more blood spilled al
Churubusco. The writer of this sketch
was I'M command of sixty volunteer
,ldiers. When the action was over
IA counted thirty-tw0 lying on the
:. ass, nearly "A dozen of them dead
-Afuer this ii is not necessary to say
;ley Were brave.
And It needed all their courage tC
carry the defences of Los Portales.- =
There was time when they wavered
What troops would not have done SC
under a shower of leaden hail, that
IN addition to half their numbers, laiC
low nearly every field-officer in tho
5rigande? 1t would have been no
,wardice, had they at that time re.
Gated.
But they did not. Asyoung officer
belonging to the New York regiment
,rang forth, called upon them to fol.
i.lw him TO the charge. The Irisf
srtlmmer, Murphy, dashed out after
ave a soul-sGrring tap to his drum
.,nd, as if keeping time to its quick
rolling, Empires and PaImettOes rush.
etl forward at bayonet charge.
The coming of the cold steel was a
warming to the Mexican troops. A
,quadron of their cavalry, threaten
ng a charge on our left, wheeled theil
horses quick about, and went off at q
hand-gallop for the city while the
loot defenders of Los POrtales and the
esuseway of the Acapnlo road, flung
Town their discharged escopetteS, and
scattered off through swamp and chap
iaral.
Still led by the New York officer
the remnants of the half-slaughtered
brigade plunged breast-deep into the
shiny zdncd, clambered up the cause
way, and continued the pursuit along
The level road. i-
Exhausted by the long-contnued
struggle, saturated with water sole to
waist, laden with sink mud, they made
but slow progress. I
But at that moment there appeared,
coming along the causeway, a troop
going quicker, that promised to take
the pursuit off their hands. 1t was a
troop of horsemen, with horses all OF
light gray cOlor.f
Emerging from the smoke cloud OF
ChurubuscO. they looked like a band
of angels with Gabriel at their head
II was Kcarney with his squadron OF
cavalry.
Before the fatigued foot had time to
congratulate themselves on the relief,
The dragons came sweeping past
They Were going at full gallop in half
sections of twos, the men with sl0ped
sabres, the horses with snorting nos
trils, each buried in the spread tail of
that preceding him; the hoofs of all
striking simultaneously on the firm
crown of the causeway, as if they
were galloping to set music,:
At their head rode a man of slight
stature, with light-coiOred hair, and a
complexion to correspond. A long
tawny moustache became the classi-
cal type of face, and somewhat aquiline
L