American Flag. (Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico), Vol. 2, No. 104, Ed. 1 Monday, June 7, 1847 Page: 1 of 4
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VN1
«
long mat it wave o'er the land of t1ie free and the home op the brave."
Vol. II.
MATAMOROS, JUNE 7, 1847.
--rarr crrr-
No ]U4.
THE AMERICAN FLAG
13 published Wednesdays and Saturdats, jiear
the corner of Bravo and Abasolo streets, in (he
building known -.13 the "Casa de Ste&mbote," by
I. N. FLEESON and J. R. PALMER.
"terms?
Subscription for One Year, Eight Dollars;
Six Months, Four Dollars ; Three Months, Two
Dollars and Fifty Cents; Single Copies, One
Dime—payable invariably in advance.
Advertisements, not exceeding- ten lines, One
Dollar for the first, and Fitly Cents for each subse-
quent insertion; fir Three Months, Ten Dollars;
those of greater length charged in proportion.
white paper in their caps to distinguish them
from the enemy, gallantly moved forward at
the low word of command. At midnight the
two columns, headed by their forlorn hopes,
came in sight of the fortress, along whose
dark ramparts the sentinel was lazily tread-
ing his accustomed round, while the deep
"All's well," fell faintly on the listening ear.
Grim and still, the huge black rock loomed
up the Hudson, the stars appeared once more
in the shy, and all was over. The lordly
river went sweeping by as it had done during
the deadly strife that cast such a baleful light
on its bosom, and darkness and death-like si-
lence shrouded the shores. Mournfully and
slow those forlorn hopes and their brave com-
panions who had fallen in the assault, were
brought up from their gory beds and con-
REVOLUTIONARY VALOR.
Whilst engaged in admiring and eulogiz-
ing the recent deeds of bravery of our gallant
generals and soldiers in Mexico, it may not
be out of place, or inappropriate to the times,
to revive the remembrance of some of those
achievements which distinguished our revo
gle note to cheer their steady courage, moved
, • . j . , in dead silence straight on their palisades.
]„ onary comes , and gave to our national, xhe nojse had nowfe„larmed the sentinels.
t CJ — p a«» r I 1 Will I
up against the black, soon to shake with its veyed to thy grave.
own thunder, and stand a blazing volcano in j Wayne's wound proved to be not severe— !
the midnight heavens. Noiseless and swift jthe ball having only grazed the skull for two !
the fearless patriots kept on their way, when I inches, and he lived to wear the laurels a !
lo ! as they came to the marsh, they saw only ! grateful nation placed upon his brow The '
a smooth sheet of water—the tide was up | whole plan of the assault was most skilfully
flooding the whole ground. The brave fel-1 laid, and the bearing of Wayne throughout:
lows paused n moment, as this new and un-1 gallant in the extreme. He chose the po«t
expected obstacle crossed their path, but at I of danger at the head of his column, and led '
the stem forward, of their leaders, they j his men where even the bravest iniorhtshrink
boldly plunged in, and without a drum or bu-1 to follow, and when struck and apparently
.yI» 'n't"""" 4 dying, heroically demanded to be carried for-
ward, that he might die in the arms of vie-
, . , , ... I * uau uuvv (iicit int.u iiic atiiiirieis.
galaxy so many bright and illustrious names, j at,d the rapid discharge of their muskets thro'
In Headley's lively work of Washington and the gloom was followed by lights, moving
his Generals, we find the following spirited y about apon the ramparts, and hurried
crintion of one of the. most shouts of "To arms! to arms!" and the fierce
and vigorous description of one of the most
brilliant victories in the war of independence.
STORMING of STONY POINT.
But the most brilliant action of Wayne's
life, and one of the most illustrative of his
character, was the storming of Stony Point.
Washington, nt Wayne's request, had organ-
ized a corps of light infantry, and put him
over it, with directions to take this strong-
hold. This fortress was apparently impreg-
nable to any storming party; for, situated on
a hill, it was washed by the Hudson on two
sides, while on the other lay a marsh which
every tide overflowed. Besides these natu-
ral defences, a double row o\ abattis surroun-
ded the entire hill, and on the top were high
ramparts bristling with cannon. Six hun-
dred veteran troops garrisoned this rock—
sufficient, one would think, to defend it against
five times the number. But it was no com-
mon obstacle thit could deter Wayne when
his mind was once made up, and he deter-
mined, formidable as it was, to execute the
task assigned him, or perish in the attempt.
It is sajd that while conversing with Wash-
ington on the proposed expedition, he remar-
ked: "General, if you will only plan it, 1
will storm Hell ! "
He carefully reconnoitred the ground, and
having ascertained the exact position of
things, formed his plan of attack. On the
15th of July, 1770, he started from Sandv
Beach, 14 miles distant, and at eight in the
evening, arrived within a mile and a half of
the fortress. It was now twilight, and the
wild summer evening with its cooling breeze
stole over the water—the stars came out one
by one on the sky, and the tranquil river
flowed by in majestic silence, and all was
sweet and peaceful. While nature was thus
reposing in beauty around him, Wayne,with
hisstrong soul wrought up to the task before
''im, stood in the gathering shades of the
evening, and gazed long and anxiously in the
direction of the fort.
Over hills, across morasses, and along the
roll of drums, rousing up the garrison from
its dream of security. The next moment
that dark rock was one mass of flame, as the
artillery and musketry opened along its sides,
shedding a lurid light on the countenances
of the men below, and "Advance! advance/"
rung in start ing accents along the ranks.
'ory. His troops were woithy of such a lea-
der, and more gallant officers never led men
into battle.
ARKANSAS TROOPS AT BUENA VISTA.
As some controversy has already sprung
up respecting the conduct of a portion of the
Arkansas volunteers at the battle of Bucna
Vista, we think it no more than just to let a
member of that corps recite, in his own way,
- o - o i its deeds on the occasion referred to. The
I he ramparts were alive with soldiers, and • (V A i • ,
• i i r . , . , , , , op oitunitv to uo so is afforded bv the an-
amid shouts and hurried words of command, , •
the fiery torrent from the summit kept rolling ncXl eXtlacts om a 'elter u appears
on th ,se devoted men. The water around ,n l-le 'ast Arkansas State Democrat, pub-
them was driven into spray by the grape shot lished at Little Rock, into which paper it is
and balls that fell in incessant showers, while! transferred from the Gazette, of the same
HUrS"?g £hc'l.3',lravmi"? !!;<■ place. The letter is dated
air in every direction, added inconceivable'
terror to the scene. Yet those forlorn hopes i Buena Vista, February 25, 18-17.
toiled vigorously on, and heaved away at' the The position assigned our regiment was at
abattis to open a gap for the column, that,
without returninga shot, stood and crumbled
under the fire, without returning a shot, stood
and crumbled under the fire, waiting with
fixed bayonets to rush to the assault. At the
head of one of these was Wayne, chaffing like
a lion in the toils, at the obstacles that arres
ted his progress. The forlorn hope in front
of him worked steadily on in the very blaze
of the batteries, and the rapid blows of their
axes were heard in the intervals of the thun-
der of artillery that shook the midnight air,
while one after another dropped dead in his
footsteps, till out of the twenty that started,
only three stood up unharmed. Yet still
their axes fell steady and strong until an
opening was made, through which the col-
umns could pass, and then the shout of the
heroic Wayne was heard above the din and
tumult, hurrying his followers on. With
fixed bayonetsthcy maiched sternly through
the portals made at such a noble sacrifice,
and pressed furiously forward—through the
morass—over every obstacle—up to the very
mouths of the cannon, and up the rocky ac-
clivity, they stormed on, crushing every
thing in their passage. Towering at the
head of his shattered column, pointing still
onward and upward with his glittering blade,
l i . ; o ^ | wiimuim unu upnutu »nu mo gimuiu^ umui
o 'en shores of the Hudson, he had led his and sending his thrilling shout back over hii
"«iearmy noiselessly, in Indian file, and now | followers, Wayne strode steadily up the
waited for the deepening night to lock his height, ti;l at length, struck in the head b\
enemies m c.m i.„ J K.. ° ■ . ,. . ° . , . .. . *
enemies in slumber. Still undiscovered by
ihe garrison, he began to reconnoitre the
works more closely, and at half past eleven
put his columns in motion. Hedivided his
arrn3" into two poitions, one of which was to
cnter 'he fortress on the right, and the other
?n l'le 'eft- In advance of each went a for-
orn hope of twenty men, to remove the piles
0 rubbish that were stretched in double rows
around the rock, and placed just where the
a teries could mow down the assailants fast '
' Behind the.«e foilorn hopes maiched two
^ropanies 0 hundred and fifty men each.
a\ne knew tlmt p»or« —mst rest on
o T o » J
a musket ball, he fell backward amid the
ranks, Instantly rising on one knee, he
cried out—"March on !—Carry me into the
fort, for I will die at the head of my column!"
And those heroes put their brave arms around
him and bore him onward. Not a shot was
fired, but taking the rapid yolleys on their
unshrinking breasts, their bayonets glittering
in the flash of the enemy's guns, they kept
on over the living and dead, smiting down
the veteran ranks that threw themselves in
vain valor before them, till they reached the
centre of the fort, where they met the other
column, which, over the same obstacles, had
«yne knew that every thing mus culu,i„.t »uiu.,u.c. u.c
"erv ^0'I''anCf or(^erp^ achieved the same triumph. At the sight of
of those two companies to be each other, one loud shout shook the heights
his < ' W,V et/le ^'st man " ho should take and rolled down the bleeding line—was again
out 0rrT ^'S 8 ' or utter a word with-J sent back until the heavensrung with the wild
f rfh^ rctreat» w.as ^.e! huzzas, and then the flag of freedom went up
pfj,. - • "i.cii.jji iu retreat, w
ipjitlv t^31 ky the officer nearest him. Si- and flaunted proudly away on the midnight
^Pera'p 8 e*° hands submitted to the ajr> The thick volumes of smoke that lav
measures, and fixing a piece of; around that lock,slowly lifted and and rolled
i'"""™ ■ -c
tae noith base of the mountain. The battie
upon the heights had commenced with the
break of day—the enemy above and the vol-
unteers lower down. Bayonets and guns
glittered among the rocks and shiuboeries
as if a shower of silver was falling. The
enemy's number increased till the whole
mountain was in a roar and covered with
smoke. They swept down in thousands,
and the few defenders gave way and took
another position lower down.
Soon after, iho main body of the enemy
appeared, coming immediately lo our posi-
tion One cf the Indiana regiments was or-
dered to our support; but after standing a
heavy fire for a time, it gave way and left us
alone. We were ordered to fall back and
take a position across a deep ravine. We did
so, but the result was that we had to aban-
don it also, for we were threatened with a
charge from the lancers in the midst of a
shower of balls from cannon and muskets.—
As soon as we commenced falling back, the
lancets did make a charge, and we repulsed
them and drove them back to the Mexican
infantry.
Here Col. Yell gave an unfortunate order.
He dismounted Dillard's squadron to fight
in a ravine, until aid could come from the
right flank of our army. The Mexican in-
fantry was advancing and pouring a shower
of bu lets down the ravine. We were near
being taken prisoners. Alter firing a round
or so, which checked the advance of the en-
emy, we started for our horses. They were
all killed or gone but two or three. Some
of us regained ours and joined the regiment.
We then took a stand about two hundred
yards from the ranch of the Buena Vista.—
The Kentucky cavalry, under Col. Marshall,
1 forgot to mention, had shared the day with
us, bad as it had been. When the stand at
the ranch was made, both regiments could
not have counted more than three hundred
and fifty men; the res-t had all been scattered
by horses getting away, throwing them, or
being killed under thrm.
The lancers, about two thousand strong,
bore doun upon lis; at about c o h indred
yards distance we levelled and fired upon
them. Thev sprung at the fire and we char-
ged them. They separated in two divisions,
one upon our left and the other on our right.
We pressed those on the left, and the work
of death was raging. If balls and lances,
sabres, smoke and dust, shouting, groaning,
and dying, compose glory, we were in the
midst of it. Not a word was spoken—it was
all fighting. Here Col. Yell fell, and Capt.
Porter—and poor John Pelhain, the beloved
of our regiment.
The Mexicans tumbled on every side. I
saw them struck down with sabres and tram-
pled beneath our horses' feet. I saw them
beg with uplifted hands for mercy, but it was
remembered that those very hands had driven
their lances into the hearts of our country-
men. They scattered; one part flrd back to
the Mexican infantry; the other got ueross a
deep gulley, and through the gap of a moun-
tain on the right, and were seen no more that
day. A piice of ordnance gave them a few
farewell balls as they went.
During this time the other volunteers were
in the midst of the fight on the right flank.
When w*j returned to the field after the route
of the lancers, the aspect of things brightened
in our favor. The Mexicans chargtd up
within sixty yards of a 6-pounder and the
Mississippi regiment; in another moment a
fire burst Jorth from our men. and the enemy
fell like wheat before a gust of wind.
J he Illinois volunteers were in the midst
of glory. Never did I hear such a roar of
guns. A lady may sweep her fingers along
the piano's keys for the muskets, and strike
the bass strings every second for the cannon,
and it seems to me an idea of the firing might
be conveyed.
Col. Hardin was killed in a charge. He
was the bravest of the brave. Col. Clay, and
several other gallant officers, also fell.
The fight lasted till night. It had not been
of an hour's duration, or of two hours, but
from sun to sun it had raged, and during ev-
ery moment of that time, bullets, cannon balls,
bombs and bayonets, had been acting in their
death-work on every side. Historians will
record a bloodier and more gallant victory
than Monterrey—than any, perhaps,this con-
tinent has ever witnessed.
The loss of our regiment is six'een killed,
a good many woundtd, hut few of them mor-
tally. There are some who will remember
Buena V ista with regret, for their own cow-
ardly conduct, A few from all our compa-
nies, when we fell back from our position at
the base of the mountain, imagined that the
battle was lost, and ran off and took shelter in
Saltillo, telling those there who were to de-
fend the city, most appalling tales of Santa
Anna's victory. When they heard the tide
had turned, the most of them came hack, and.
were loud in their accounts of their own
valor. Men fled to Saltillo that we thought
were brave, and men fought that we thought
were wavering.
Colonel Yell was fearless to recklessness;
Capt. Porter was not able to draw his sword
in action, having suffered some time with
rheumatism. It does me good to tell the
world of many of our regiment who fought
at Buena Vista. There are Desha, and the
two Searcy's, brothers, of Capt. Porter's com-
pany, who stood and fought in danger wher-
ever it offered, not only in one attack, or
two, hut a3 long as the battle lasted, they
were in the field. And I must do justice to
Col. Roane, whom I hate as a politician as
much as any one on earth. He was with us,
encotyaging and managing our affairs with
a skill I thought he did not possess. He
shone upon this battle field in a better light
than I ever saw him. He seemed to fight
for glory, and combined it with duty; he
stood calm and cheered ihe men when two
riflemen were shot down on either side of
him; and when it came to the charge at the
ranch, his sabre fell about like a streak of
lightningon the Mexicans, and their blood is
upon it now. He led, and did not choose
safety's side for himself, and there is not one
of us that does not feel that he honored our
fetate by his gallant bearing at Buena Vista.
All the officers of our regiment, with one
or two exceptions, passed the fiery ordeal;
j that is, all that fought any. Pike's squad-
Iron was attached to Col. May's dragoons, and
, did not fire a gun during the day. Those
whom, it is said, faltered and ran off to town,
belonged to the rifle companies.
W aUEENSBURY
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Fleeson, Isaac Neville & Palmer, J. R. American Flag. (Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico), Vol. 2, No. 104, Ed. 1 Monday, June 7, 1847, newspaper, June 7, 1847; Matamoros, Mexico. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth478004/m1/1/?q=%22Stony+point%22: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Library Consortium.