634 



MEXICO. 



On February 16th the French advance be- 

 gan its march from San Augustin del Palmar to 

 Puebla, a distance of twelve leagues, and 

 about the same time the garrison was with- 

 drawn from Jalapa, to reenforce the invading 

 column. After many tedious delays General 

 Forey set out from Orizaba on the 23d, having, 

 a week previous, published at Vera Cruz a 

 proclamation announcing his intention to march 

 immediately upon the capital, and assuring the 

 Mexicans that he came as a friend, not as an 

 enemy. Four days later he was followed by 

 his diplomatic coadjutor, M. Saligny, with the 

 rear guard. His advance, however, had only 

 Beached within fifteen miles of Puebla when he 

 ^vas obliged to fall back some twenty miles to 

 protect his communications, constantly threat- 

 ened by guerilla bauds ; and, at the beginning 

 of March, his troops were scattered over a wide 

 extent of country, and reported to be moving 

 in various directions. 



In. the meantime the national forces were 

 concentrating at Puebla and Mexico, and mak- 

 ing every preparation for a determined defence. 

 In the former city the property belonging to 

 convents of nuns was confiscated for the sup- 

 port of the army, as that of the monks had 

 been some time before, and the defences, con- 

 sisting of an outer line of twelve forts, and an 

 inner line of smaller works, principally con- 

 vents, were strengthened by every resource of 

 engineering skill at the disposal of the defend- 

 ers. General Ortega held command within 

 the city, while near at hand, on the road lead- 

 ing to Mexico, was another force under Gen- 

 eral Comonfort. A unanimity of feeling and 

 purpose, more apparent than real, seemed to 

 animate the people, and the Government issued 

 a stirring address, in which it reiterated its in- 

 tention to maintain liberty and independence 

 at all hazards, and to use the dictatorial pow- 

 ers conferred upon it for war purposes by Con- 

 gress to their fullest extent. No clemency 

 was to be shown to traitors, and the influence 

 of preachers, it was announced, must restrict 

 itself to the affairs of their ministry, without in 

 any way interfering with public issues, or ob- 

 structing the acts of private life. 



About the middle of March the French, 20,- 

 000 strong, with the addition of 5,000 Mexicans 

 under Marquez, began to invest Puebla, occu- 

 pying the hill of Amalocam, which^commands 

 the road to Vera Cruz, and is about three miles 

 from the nearest Mexican fort, and four miles 

 from Puebla itself; and the hill of San Juan, 

 on the road to Mexico, two miles from the 

 nearest fort, and a little more than two miles 

 from Puebla. Frequent skirmishes took place 

 between Gen. Forey's troops and the advanced 

 parties of Ortega and Comonfort. Deserters 

 went over to the Mexicans in considerable 

 numbers, and guerillas continued the system 

 of annoyance by which they had so seriously re- 

 tarded the French advance ever since their first 

 landing in the country. On the 21st they at- 

 tacked, at La Purga a working party of 1,500 



men, some of them armed, who were building 

 the railroad upon which the French were to 

 depend for their supplies, and carried off the 

 Mexican laborers prisoners. 



In the meantime Gen. Forey had opened 

 the siege. On the 20th he attempted to thi*ow 

 his whole force upon Gen. Comonfort, who 

 then occupied a position on a hill some miles 

 beyond the French advanced posts, on the road 

 to Mexico ; but Comonfort, divining his inten- 

 tion, made a seasonable retreat, and the French 

 returned to Puebla, devoting their particular 

 attention to the establishment of batteries on 

 the side toward Mexico. On the 21st the bom- 

 bardment opened. The Mexicans made re- 

 peated sorties and frequently dislodged the be- 

 siegers from their positions. A Mexican ser- 

 geant, captured by Ortega, was " branded in 

 the face with the mark of a traitor, and then 

 released, that the nation might know her good 

 from her bad children." On the 26th, after 

 having battered down a part of Fort San Zavier, 

 the French sent out a storming party to take it 

 by assault, but they were repolsed. Soon after 

 midnight, on the morning of the 29th, a similar 

 attempt was made with a tike result. A third 

 assault likewise failed, and Gen. Forey there- 

 upon concentrated the fire of all his artillery 

 upon the fort, which being built of adobe, was 

 soon rendered untenable, and was carried by a 

 large force of foot chasseurs and Zouaves. Part 

 of the garrison of 700 men was captured, but 

 Ortega succeeded in removing most of the 

 guns and ammunition. 



This success gave the besiegers a foothold in 

 the city, and the speedy capture of two adjoin- 

 ing fortified positions enabled them to occupy 

 two of the principal streets leading to the Place 

 d'Armes. Their difficulties, however, seemed 

 only to have begun. Every street wa,s bar- 

 ricaded, every house a fortress ; and the Mex- 

 icans fought with an obstinate valor, which 

 severely tested the patience of their adversaries. 

 But step by step the latter advanced, until by 

 the middle of April nearly one half of the city, 

 including the Place d'Armes and the Cathedral, 

 which had been converted into a huge fortress, 

 was in their possession. The advantages gain- 

 ed, however, were more nominal than real, as 

 Ortega, holding the strong forts of Loreto and 

 Guadalupe, with but slightly diminished re- 

 sources, commanded the French position. On 

 the other hand, the French had effectually in- 

 terposed themselves between Comonfort and 

 the garrison, so that the latter were cut off from 

 reinforcements and supplies from the city of 

 Mexico. Toward the latter part of April, the ap- 

 proaches were brought within a short distance 

 of Fort Guadalupe, and a heavy cannonade 

 was directed against Forts Carmen, Totimihua- 

 can, Zaragoza, and other adjoning works. At 

 daybreak on the 25th, after the explosion of 

 several mines by the besiegers, a vigorous as- 

 sault was made by a battalion of Zouaves upon 

 the fortified convent of St. Inez. The head of 

 the column penetrated into the building, but 



