408 APPENDIX. 
soldiers to the town. An officer was despatched to San Nicolas, to acquaint 
the General, and receive his orders; but as he had crossed the Arroyo del 
Medio, the officer had orders to proceed to the encampment of Lopez, and 
call him to the assistance of the town. The Portefiian army, consisting of 
about 3000 men, advanced (trotting) in four parallel columns, with a strong 
guerilla in their front. 
A detachment of fifty men were sent out to entertain the enemy; and our 
retreat was continued in column of divisions at the regular pace of' our horses. 
Our guerilla repulsed that of the enemy, who immediately advanced a co- 
lumn of 800 men to sustain the attack on our rear. Reunion was sounded ; 
and our guerilla took its place in the column, which now began to trot. The 
enemy pressed close on the rear of our column, and annoyed it much by a 
heavy fire. A German officer, who commanded the rear division, seeing his 
men begin to fall, and rightly judging the fortune of the day to be desperate, 
preferred to die fighting his enemy, rather than fall in the retreat. He 
ordered his men to secure their carabines, sword in hand; and faced 
them about without any order from the Colonel, or even acquainting him of 
his design.” He precipitated himself with his valiant little band of thirty on 
a division of the enemy consisting of 800 men, throwing them into great dis- 
order. Another of the enemy’s columns, which was on our flank, quickly. 
occupied the intervening space between our division and that brave officer, 
obliging Colonel Benevente to continue the retreat: as it was impossible to 
give any assistance to the men who were engaged, they all perished. Abeck, 
the officer who commanded that party, had served with Napoleon in Russia, 
and several other campaigns. He was an engineer, and possessed much 
professional knowledge ; in his private character and domestic qualities he 
was as amiable and generous, as he was honourable and brave considered as 
a soldier. The dismounted soldiers had by this time entered the town, which 
was fortified by a deep dike, having only two entries, which were defended 
by artillery: our column began to gallop, in order to enter the town; but 
being closely pressed in the rear, friends and enemies entered together, 
thereby in a great measure rendering useless our artillery. Two columns 
of the enemy opened to the left, and surrounded the town by a strong line 
of battle, that none should escape. ‘The brave Benevento rallied his men in 
the Plaza; where, with the assistance of a few infantry soldiers, he maintained 
the unequal conflict for upwards of two hours, — at the expiration of which 
time he had not more than thirty men, and a few officers on horseback : with 
