city, and beaten all opposition, with only one killed and two wounded. The same thing could not have been done in daylight [89] against such odds with one hundred times the loss. In less than one hour after daylight opened upon us, their artillery was silenced and deserted, and the enemy had recourse to the housetops, from whence they ventured to pour down upon the houses we occupied volleys of musketry. In the many thousand cartridges discharged at us an occasional one would take effect, and we had some valuable men killed and several wounded. In this situation, none but our best rifles and surest shots were brought into play, and they not permitted to fire except with dead rest and sure aim.* This explains why a large majority of their killed and wounded were shot in the head and breast, the only part exposed in firing at us. However, to obtain a better position for some of our picked riflemen, holes were made in the roofs of the houses we occupied, through which they ascended, and in that position we soon cleared all the houses within reach. Thus the battle continued until 12 M., and it was perfectly clear, from the manner in which their fire had slackened in every quarter, that they were badly crippled. One movement more on our part was necessary to complete the victory, and that was by commanding the public square, their stronghold. To effect this, a simultaneous movement - from the house occupied by the right wing, upon the alcalde's [90] office, about fifty yards distant, with a charge of Captains Reese and Pearson's companies upon a corner house just above them - was necessary. We obtained permission of Colonel Fisher to cross over to Reese and Pearson's building and give the order. The house which these companies were to occupy was still in possession of a strong body of the enemy, and it was necessary to make a charge upon it from different directions. One breach had already been made in the wall communicating with the back yard of said house; and Captain Reese and myself ascended a scaffold which still remained against the wall of a new house in our rear, to reconnoitre the enemy and see how that wall could be scaled. Here we were in the double danger of falling from this slender scaffold, fifteen or twenty feet high, as well as the fire of the enemy; and we occupied it but a moment, when we were driven below by a shower of musket-balls, fired by a platoon of the enemy at not more than forty yards' distance, which made the splinters fly thick about us. When I say that neither of us were touched, it will give the reader a fair specimen of Mexican marksmanship. We, however, determined that it would be better to make farther breaches in the wall than to expose the men to the enemy's fire by ascending such an elevation. To make these breaches required time; so we returned to Colonel Fisher with the report, while measures were taken to carry out the order. [91]

Just about this time, private Cody, who has since perished in the mountains,

* We might name many instances which came under our observation of astonishing marksmanship on the part of our men, by Colonel Wm. F. Wilson and others, but must refrain from so doing for fear of making this report too prolix.