The record-union., 1897-12-01
Ell MOLInOS DEL REY.
GENERAL FITZ JOHN PORTER
TELLS OF THE BATTLE.
Brilliant ana Sanguinary Conflict
General Scott's First Attack
on Santa Ana.

/ w euneSuay, September oth. 1t was
Scott's first attack upon Santa Ana S
stronghold. outside of the City of Mex
leo, and in point Of daring the most
brilliant feat of arms during the cam
paign General Fitz John Porter is
the sole surviving officer of the attack
ing party. He was breveted captain
for his gallantry at Molinos. Five
days later, all his superior officers in
the battery were killed in the attacks
on the gates of Mexico. The bravery
of young Porter after his chiefs had
/ fallen remains as one of the proudest
traditions of the American army. Here
! is his story of the battle, told in his own
| language:
| Il believe | am the last surviving Of
! ficer of the battle of Molinos del Rey.
| We lost nine officers killed and forty
nine wounded, and these casualties fell
principally upon two brigades and bat
teries, and a picked storming party of
| 500 men. My command that day was
Captain Drums Fourth Artillery.
While the attack was successful it
proved barren victory. Still, 1t was
step in advance. for it taught US that
we could defeat the MeXicans on their
chosen ground. We had driven Santa
Ana to is last ditch. In order to
defend the City of Mexico, he placed
| his army outside the suburbs under
cover of the guns of lofty Chapultepec.
Alongside of Chapultepec was pile of
| buildings over 600 feet in length, known
as Ell Molinos del Rey, the Mills of the
King. This whole structure was of red
sandstone, with heavy thick walls ex-
| tending three or four feet above the
roofs. The courtyards and alleyways
| between the detached buildings were
provided with thick stone doors guard
ed by stone or earthen barricades. One
of the buildings was used for the stor-
age of powder, and it was uartly for
the purpose of destroying the maga-
zine and partly in the hope that the
position was the key to the castle of
Chapultepec that Scott decided to make
the attack.
The boldness of the attack is seldom
equaled in warfare. Scott had reached
point i'm the campaign where he be-
leved that we should stop at no sacri-
flee to drive the enemy from the strong
| hold and plant our guns there to COM
mand the city itself He ordered Gen
| eral Worth to move to the attack with
| his division on the morning of Septem
ber Sth The line was formed with
Colonel Garland's brigade upon the
right. Our battery or two pieces Of
our battery. accompanied Garland. To
the left of us were the battering guns.
and picked storming party, consist
ing of five companies of 100 men each,
under Major George Wright On our
extreme left, opposite the Mexican
right, was Clark's brigade with Dun
cans battery.
| ''At daylight the batterfng guns fired
the signal for attack, and Major
! Wright's storming column dashed for
ward upon the Mexican battery in the
center of the formidable line. 1t was
| greeted with round and grapeshot
| Double quickstep was ordered, and the
men pressed forward under crossfire
| of musketry, within close range They
took the battery and turned it upon the
enemy. But the triumph of the
stormers was Of short duration. The
| MeXlcans rallied and concentrated
close and destructive fire upon Wrights
men from the walls of the aqueduct,
which ran along the whole line, from
the house tops, and stone walls Out
| of twelve officers at the head of the
storming party, ten were shot down
within five minutes. The loss among
enlisted men was terrible. Shaken by
| this disaster the remnant of the storm
| ing party was driven back
Then our time came. To prevent
the Mexican pursuit in the center upon
the defeated column, Garlands bri-
gade dashed forward on the right We
kept close upon the heels of the infan-
! try with our guns, and opened fire at
200 yards. While we We're unlimbering
a discharge of Mexican grape disa bled
several horses. which were cut from the
traces. The guns then moved forward
| by hand. Our first round was all solid
shot. Then we pushed the guns for
my and gave them canister, enfilading
! their entire line of guns. where Major
/ Wrights column had charged The
! light battalion then dashed over the
ground where Wright had been re-
pulsed and seized the guns.
AS our line approached the mills we
were stormed with grape and canister
and musketry fire from the roofs of the
| buildings. Our infantry broke through
| the barricaded gates and doorways of
/ the mills exposed to a heavy fire Once
| on the inside we found ourselves in the
midst of an armed enemy. When driven
| from one portion of the walls the Mexi-
cans would retire to another, contesting
| every incho of ground. Only by climbing
J through roofs and making our way
through iron barred windows could we
! go forward At last we cleared the
| buildings and drove the Mexicans off
! toward Chapultepec. A considerable
| force of them. however. rallied, and
with an 1S-pounder, advanced down
/ the road toward the mills Captain
| Drum led us forward with one piece
and after a rapid and effective fire
cleared the road. The enemy aban-
doned their gun.
THE cannon used in this contest with
the Mexican 1S-pounder was one of our
6-pounders. These guns had history.
At the battle of Buena Vista the Mexi-
cans captured them from Taylor. They
| were then brought across the country
to confront Scott's army at Contreras,
where we recaptured them. Captain
Drum was one of the first TO enter the
enemy's batteries at Contreras. and he
laid his hands upon two 6-pounders.
| which proved to be the Buena Vista
cannon. They were then assigned to
us and proved very serviceable on oc-
casions like Molinos because we could
move them rapidly by hand They
carried we'll. for l remember distinctly
] hattering the walls of the castle OF