120 Ex. Doc. No. 41, 



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my's side of the river. Our people, very brisk in firing, made the 

 fire of the enemy wild and uncertain. Under this cover, the 

 wagons and cattle were forced with great labor across the river, 

 the bottom of which was quick sand. 



Whilst this was going on, our rear was attacked by a very bold 



charge, and repulsed. 



On the right bank of the river there was a natural banquette, 

 breast high. Under this the line was deployed. To this accident 

 of the ground is to be attributed the little loss we sustained from 

 the enemy'« artillery, which showered grape and round shot over 

 our heads. .In an hour and twenty minutes our'baggage train had 

 all crossed, the artillery of the enemy was silenced, and a charge 



made on the hill. * , 



Half way between the hill and the river, the enemy made a furious 

 charge on our left flank. At the same moment, our right was 

 threatened. The 1st and 2d battalions were thrown into squares, 

 and after firing one or two rounds, drove off the enemy. The right 

 wing was ordered to form a square, but seeing the enemy hesitate, the 

 order was countermanded; the 1st battalion, which formed the right 

 was directed to rush ior the hill, supposing that would be the con- 

 tested point, but great was our surprise to find it abandoned. 



The enemy pitched his camp on the hills in view, but when 

 morning came, he was gone. We had no means of pursuit, an 

 scarcely the power of locomotion, such was the wretched condition 

 of our wagon train. The latter it was still deemed necessary to 



drag along for the purpose of feeding the garrison, intended to e 

 left in the Ciudad de los Angeles, the report being that the enemy 

 intended, if we reached that town, to burn and destroy every arti- 

 cle of food. Distance 9.3 miles. 

 January 9. — Th 



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were not much recruited by the night's rest; we comraenceu u 

 march leisurely, at 9 o'clock, over the "Mesa/' a wide plam ^^^ 

 tween the Rio San Gabriel <M\d the Rio San Fernando- 

 Scattering horsemenj and small reconnoitring parties, hung ^ 

 our flanks. After marching five or six miles^ we saw the enem} 

 line on our right, above the- crest made by' a deep indentation 

 the plain, • '' 



• Here Flores addressed his men, and called on them to make on^ 

 more charge; expressed his confidence In their ability to "^.^^ , ^ 

 line; said that "yesterday he had been deceived in supposing 

 he was fighting soldiers." 



We inclined a little to the left to avoid giving Flores the advan-^ 

 tage of the ground to post his artillery; in other respects we co 

 tinned our march on the Pueblo as if he were not in view. 



When we were abreast of him, he opened his artillery at a lo»s 

 distance, and we continued our march without halting, except for 

 moment^ to put a wounded man in the cart, and once to excnano 

 a wounded mule, hitched to one of the guns. 



As we advanced, Flores deployed his force, maklag a horse sbo 

 in our front, and opened his nine-pounders on our right A^"^' f". 



|W0 smaller pieces on our front. The shot from the nine-pounder 



