Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1896-03-27
ANERIcANs FouaHr ZOE MExIco.
A Thrilling Incident Of the Macmillan
Campaign.

4
A Thrilling Incident Of the Macmillan
Campaign.
He was an old soldier. He came into
a Chicago club the other night as the
guest of one Of the members, and, If the
story he told is true. there is a bit of
uuwritten history which goes to show
that the United States was not always
punctili0us about the observance Of
neutrality laws
Immediately after the surrender Of
/ Lee. said the veteran, Grant dispatch
cd Sheridan TO the Rio Grand with an
army corps SO that he might be at hand
In case the United States decided TO aid
Juarez in eXpelling the French from
/ Mexico. l was attached to the corps.
and on arriving at the river the troops
were distributed uD ami down the Amer
/ lean bank. / was with a command OF
cavalry. and less than a mile distant
from us was encamped an infantry reg
imeE- which had been through all the
battles Of the civil war with the army
Of The Potomac Directly across the
river from where we lay was an earth
work fertilization, held by TWO battal-
ions CT MaXimiiian's troops. Two reg
iments of the republican party OF Mex
leo had been trying to take that fort
for weeks. Their eucampment was be-
. low the river bank. a mile or so distant
from the mInarchist troops.
Every morning regularly the Mex
leans would come out aud charge that
IedOubt and every morning as regular
ly they would break, scatter and run
before they had reached a point nearer
than 100 yards OF the forts parapet.
We usej 10 turn out daily and watch
the num- but as the same thing was re-
peated over and over again. the sport
srew tame. and finally no one took the
. trouble 20 so to the bank and see the
charge.
zone morning the adjutant OF our
command went TO an the first ser
geants and in.imated that there might
be something worth seeing on the other
side the next day. We supposed that
Che republicans must have received re
Inducements, and that the thing was TO
I be ended. So shortly after reyille the
next morning our whole cavalry COM
mand lined the north bank of the Rio
I Grand. and STOOD watching MaXimil-
ian's redoubt
Pretty soon. from a mesquite grove,
| Ear down TO the left. the white coated
+ republican troops emerged. Instead of
/ having been reinforced. there appeared
To- De only about half as many as usual
/ They marched in columns of companies
/ 90 point about goo yards distant from
/ the fort, and appeared to mind very
little the shots shat went hurting
/ through their ranks. All at once their
I command swung into regimental front
at double time and made straight for
/ the enemy's parapet. We expected to
see them break and run. as usual. at
the 100-yard line but they passed over
it with uubrOken ranks and swept on
like a simeon They reached the foot
of the parapet. passed up and over it,
I and into the fort like the unOrOken
wave of ground swell We heard
/ shouts and wells. and then cheers. and
q momen, afJerward the flag of repubh-
can Mexico had replaced that of Max
imiliGn.
Twenty minutes later another reg
iment of republican troops came out
from the shelter of the mesquite trees,
and marched into the captured redoubt
It was not long before the command
which had captured the fort passed over
the parapot and retraced its steps over
! the ground taken in the assault. The
| captOrs were making their way back to
/ the republican camp. Shortly after
I ward. away down the river our glasses
/ revealed TO us a queer sight A hun
dred small barges filled with men in
/ dark clothing were making their way
from the Mexican to the American
shore I'm an hour there passed through
! our company streets the veteran infant
ny regiment of the army of the FotO-
mac, which had been encamped on our
right They had a dozen wounded men
with them
Those fellows had grown tired of
seeing the oft repeated farce on the 9TH
or side OF the Rio Grande. and had
made a night march into the camp of
of the Mexican republican troops. There
they had been supplied with white uni
/ forms, and at break of day had turned
/ themselves loose at Maximilian's re-
doubt with the same dash that had car
ried them over the parapets at Peters
| burg
II dont know whether France ever
heard of this or not but il is certain
/ that the Mexican government never
made any kick. Chicago Times-Her-
aid.