: Condensed History of the Mexican War and Its Glorious Results by Hungerford Daniel E McKay William Murphy Charles J Charles Joseph Cowan John E Compiler - Mexican War 1846-1848

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The art of dying at the right time is the art preservative of great reputations.

The Mississipi Rifles were soon bravely supported by the 1st Illinois, 2nd Indiana, and 2nd Kentucky regiments with section of Bragg's famous battery, and the ground lost on our left flank was in great part recovered. At the base of the ridge the left flank of the enemy was held in check by Indiana and Arkansas infantry, and the destructive fire of our artillery.

At that moment, when his army had met with a disastrous and demoralizing repulse, General Santa Anna sent forward a flag of truce and our fire was suspended. The bearer of the flag, to the amazement of General Taylor, presented a demand for the surrender of his army.

This expedient cannot be too strongly commended in the art of war, although writers upon grand strategy have strangely overlooked it. It is not suggested even by General Jomini, in his exhaustive work "Trait? des grandes Op?rations Militaires."

It may, however, be thus formulated: When your attacking columns are shattered and repulsed, hurry up a flag of truce, and check the advance of your exultant enemy, and demand his surrender, and then, before he can recover from his astonishment at your sublime impudence reform your shattered lines and advance to further vantage ground, or retire in good order, under the shelter of the peaceful symbol.

Santa Anna's messenger returned with General Taylor's laconic answer, "I decline acceding to your demand," and the Mexicans again advanced to the attack, bringing into action all their reserves, and were again repulsed with heavy loss, after a terrible struggle.

The battle of twelve sanguinary hours on that mountain plateau had ended, and "our flag was still there."

General Santa Anna retired rapidly with his army, only pausing in the vicinity long enough to send off a bulletin to the Capital announcing that he had "won a decisive victory over the barbarians of the North." Thus ended in a blaze of glory the battle-record of the "army of occupation," under General Taylor.

In the meantime, the Army of the West, under the command of General Stephen W. Kearney, had been reaping a rich harvest of laurels.

Dividing his force at Santa F?, General Kearney with 1,500 Dragoons marched to California, and defeated the enemy in a warm engagement at San Pasqual. He then formed a junction with the California rifle battalion, and a force of 750 sailors and marines from the naval squadron, under the command of Commodore Stockton, who had just succeeded the gallant Commodore Sloat, who had previously taken the California port of Monterey. Prior to the arrival of General Kearney, however, that brilliant soldier, and untiring and sagacious explorer, John C. Fremont, had hoisted the American standard in California. He was there under orders to ascertain and lay out a new route to Oregon further South than that travelled by our emigrants.

The Mexican Governor of California having in May, 1846, ordered all American settlers to leave that province, and having raised a force to expel them, Colonel Fremont recruited a body of 400 men and defeated the Mexicans in several sharp engagements in the valley of the Sacramento, before he had even heard that war existed between the United States and Mexico. Under his able and enterprising leadership the Americans in California, united with many of the natives, declared the independence of the province of California on the 4th of July, 1845.

It has since transpired that but for this timely action on the part of Col. Fremont and the resolute Americans associated with him, a large force would have been landed from the British fleet in that vicinity, and California would have been taken possession of by England, under an arrangement with its Mexican Governor.

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