Battle of Churubusco

“ He was engaged in the battles of Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, and Monterey, the siege of Vera Cruz, the battle of Cerro Gordo, the capture of San Antonio, and the battle of Churubusco, receiving the brevet of major, 20 Aug., 1847, for gallantry at Contreras and Churubusco. ”

“ They stormed, at a loss, Cerro Gordo—
Every mile in their movement it cost;
And when they arrived at Puebla,
Some thousands of men they had lost.
“Ere our capital fell, and the city
By foreign invaders was won,
We called out among its defenders
Each man who could handle a gun.
Chapultepec stood in their pathway;
Churubusco they had to attack;
The Mill of the King—well, I fought there,
And they were a hard nut to crack.
“While their right was assailing the ramparts,
Our force struck their left on the field,
Where our colonel, in language that stirred us,
To love of our country appealed. ”

“ An armistice followed, and gathering our wounded from the fields around Churubusco, the army retired into the villages. The four divisions occupied respectively the pueblos of Tacubaya, San Angel, Mixcoac, and San Augustin de les Cuevas. San Angel was our destination; and the day after the battle my brigade marched back, and established itself in the village.
I was not long in repairing to the house where I had left my friend. I found him suffering from fever, burning fever. In another day he was delirious; and in a week he had lost his arm; but the fever left him, and he began to recover. ”

“ Following the retreat of our troops, we came to the bridge, where Santa Anna was found fortifying himself with activity, and where we were united with the brigade of Perez, and we heard the firing at Churubusco, which point was defended by the battalions of Independence and Bravo, who gave up very soon, and probably are prisoners. The enemy advanced against the bridge, where the firing was maintained about an hour, but in the end we lost, with a great sacrifice of men and an immense quantity of ammunition there and at Churubusco. ”

“ Xalapa taken; the glorious triumph of Churubusco had been achieved. The names of Scott, Worth, Wool, Quitman, Pillow and others were crowned with honor. Others again, whose humble names and unnoticed heroism have never been recorded, endured as nobly, suffered as patiently, and fought as bravely. Our own young hero, Herbert Greyson, had covered himself with honor.
The war with Mexico witnessed, perhaps, the most rapid promotions of any other in the whole history of military affairs.
The rapid ascent of our young officer was a striking instance of this. ”

“ It seems impossible that in the space of six hours, eight thousand men should have been destroyed, of which not the eighth part were killed. But our troops scarcely saw a movement of the enemy before they fled, and that without the possibility of stopping them. The battalions of Bravo and Independence were attacked in the convent of Churubusco, and taken prisoners, and it is thought that Gorostiza is of the number. ”

“ All along the causeway, and in the fields and swamp on either side, heaps of dead men and cattle, intermingled with broken ammunition-carts, marked where the American shot had told. A gory track leading to the tête de pont, groups of dead in the fields on the west of Churubusco, over whose pale faces some stalks of tattered corn still waved, red blotches in the marsh next the causeway, where the rich blood of Carolina and New York soaked the earth, showed where the fire of the heavy Mexican guns and the countless escopetas of the infantry had been most murderous. ”

“ We stood on the defence, and they, certainly through pity, took the other road, all the time accompanying us on the left. Hardly had we reached the bridge at Churubusco, when the artillery fire was commenced at that place. General Santa Anna arrived there at the moment we passed, and he ordered such of the artillery as was convenient, should be turned upon the enemy, and that we should continue (to retreat!) On the way we met the division of General Perez, which afterwards engaged the enemy, and while the action continued we reached the city. ”

“ Their failure to repel the invaders was largely due to bad generalship, which permitted the unopposed advance of the Americans across the mountains and around Chalco Lake, and depended too much on the expectation that the enemy would fall into traps and go exactly into the positions the Mexicans desired. Another thing to be considered is their defective organization, the rawness of the troops, and the inferior arms with which they fought. These circumstances add to the glory of the defence at Churubusco, Molino del Rey, and Chapultepec, which were certainly well defended. ”

“ By the capture of Contreras, the Mexicans were forced to concentrate at Churubusco, which was still more strongly fortified than Contreras. General Scott brought his whole army to the attack upon Churubusco, and never did men behave with more valor and heroism. The fire of the Mexicans was tremendous, and the Americans suffered much from it. But post after post was carried, and the enemy found that their superior numbers could not withstand the onset. ”

“ Clarke's brigade of Worth's division now moved west over the point of the Pedregal, and after having passed to the north sufficiently to clear San Antonio, turned east and got on the causeway leading to Churubusco and the City of Mexico. When he approached Churubusco his left, under Colonel Hoffman, attacked a tete-de-pont at that place and brought on an engagement. About an hour after, Garland was ordered to advance directly along the causeway, and got up in time to take part in the engagement. ”

“ They passed a very troublous night, for many soldiers had no protection from the rain for the arms they would have to fight with on the following day; and if the armies should meet it seemed likely that the artillery and arquebuses could do little harm. If this battle were being joined in Spain, or if one host encountered another in Italy, there would be no cause for wonder, and nothing need be stated beyond the fact that two thousand men met to kill each other. ”

“ To pause after the conflict began would have chilled the ardor of the troops and encouraged the enemy. Victory or defeat were the only alternatives, and a defeat could not be thought of. [16]
The Fortifications of Churubusco Convent
Victory did not arrive, however; so now the Second and the Seventh Infantry, led by Riley, attacked the Mexican right. Amidst the corn the American infantry became scattered, yet in the same haphazard way fought on ”

“ Guided by Captain Mason, of the engineers, Colonel Clarke performed his weary march, of more than two miles, in a very short time; but, on approaching the causeway, twelve hundred yards in rear of San Antonio, the enemy were discovered in full retreat towards Churubusco. Preceded by two companies of the 5th infantry, under Lieutenant Colonel Scott, the brigade advanced upon the road and cut the Mexican column in two — one portion continuing their retreat upon Churubusco, and the other filing off to the hamlet of Dolores, between the causeway and Lake Xochimilco. ”

“ How the messengers arrived at the camp of Vaca de Castro, how it was learnt that Don Diego had left Vilcas, how Pedro Anzures went to reconnoitre; and how the opposing forces approached to give battle, each leader animating his men and exhorting them to fight.
THE time was now approaching when the hills of Chupas would be sprinkled with the blood of men who were born in Spain, to bear witness in future times that the herbs and stunted bushes growing on them are seedlings sprung from Spanish elements. ”

“ Others also advised that the encounter should not be put off until later than the next morning at daybreak; because, at such times, a lost opportunity is not readily regained, and quickness and suddenness of attack count for much, whilst to delay is to court disaster. Alonso de Alvarado was of this opinion, and told Vaca de Castro [273] that, without further ado, the battle should be joined on the coming morn, for the soldiers were ready and eager and the first shock of a conflict is steady and forceful, because the heated blood courses through the body and gives strength to the men. ”

“ The enemy are now at the gates of the city, possessed of Churubusco. Some of our troops are at El Nino Perdido La Piedad, and the rest are in barracks, and since 3 o'clock yesterday there has been a profound silence. I cannot tell why the enemy has not entered the capital, nor why, if it is still to be defended, that our troops have retired to their barracks, from which they have not moved all day. The firing has entirely ceased. The enemy are at the gates and our troops are in their barracks; the one advances no further, the other makes no movement for defence. ”

“ At this time the men of Chile were about a league from the Pachacama forces. Don Diego held a consultation with his officers to decide what should be done. There was some difference of opinion. Some thought that they should give battle to their enemies, which could easily be done. Others said that victory would be easier to gain by going out to the spur of Chupas, wheeling to the right, and marching into Guamanga. ”

“ Did he turn the southern side of the lakes, a field of lava, deemed almost impassable for troops, interposed a primary obstacle, and fortified positions at San Antonio, San Angel, and Churubusco, with an intrenched camp at Contreras, were likewise to be surmounted before the southern causeways could be reached. Beyond these there yet remained the formidable castle of Chapultepec and the strong enclosure of Molino del Rey to be stormed before the city gates could be reached. Powerful batteries had been mounted at all these points, and ample garrisons detailed to serve them. ”

“ Generals Navarre and Luque were ordered to crush the insurgent army at all hazards. Their combined forces consisted of 5,000 infantry, 200 cavalry, and 11 pieces of artillery. After a two-days' march they were joined by General Arizon's command, which had encountered Maceo's rear guard the previous day, with disastrous results.
Near Quivera Hacha, Navarre's skirmishers encountered a small band of insurgents, and fearing that all of Maceo's army was near, lines of battle were quickly formed. ”

“ An unwise imitation of European strategy; an error in tactics in part, and in part an Argentine prejudice, caused the shameful loss of this battle. Videla Castillo knew that Quiroga was approaching, but did not believe, as no other general would have believed, that he would attack Mendoza; he therefore sent to the Lakes his veteran troops, who, with some other detachments from San Juan under the command of Major Castro, formed a force strong enough to resist an attack, and to force Quiroga to take the road to the Llanos. ”

“ The English gazed with sincere emotion on the body of the hapless Churruca, for the fame of his courage and genius was known to them and [Pg 191] one of them spoke to this effect: ‘A man of such illustrious qualities ought never to be exposed to the risks of battle; he should be kept to live and serve the interests of science and navigation.’ Then they prepared for dropping him overboard, the English marines and seamen forming a line of honor alongside of the Spaniards ”

“ In a letter written a short time before the battle of Ayacucho Bolivar cautioned Sucre in the following words:
"Remember, that on your army corps depends the fate of Peru, perhaps forever; and with it, that of the whole of America, perhaps for years. Considering the terrible consequences which a battle lost may entail upon us, every means of foresight and strategy is to be exerted so as not to make a move without gaining a decided and absolute success." ”

“ In Chile, about the same time that a violent earthquake wrecked more than four hundred houses at Valparaiso, a military insurrection broke out under Colonel Ourriola. In a sharp engagement between the government troops and the insurgents Ourriola with three hundred of his followers was killed. The insurrection was prolonged by General José Maria de la Cruz. Between four and five thousand men were killed in the desultory engagements that followed. At last the revolt was crushed by the decisive defeat of General Cruz in the battle of Longamilla. ”

“ He also relates in detail, the murder of the captain Sotelo at Cuzco, the death of his murderer, and the proceedings of young Almagro until his final overthrow at the battle of Chupas and subsequent execution at Cuzco. The account of the battle of Chupas by Cieza de León is very interesting. It is as good as, but not better than, that of Zarate, who also came to Peru soon after the event. Neither of these authors knew the ground. Mr. Prescott writes of "the bloody plains of Chupas." There are no plains near the position; it is a very mountainous broken region. ”

“ Don Diego, seeing that the battle was inevitable, mounted his horse, with his lance in his hand, and, turning to the soldiers, addressed them thus: "Oh captains, to whom I owe so much, and soldiers so valorous! the battle must be fought, for the enemy is at hand. Bear in mind that to-day is the day when fortune promises us the government of the country, with full vengeance on our enemies and the best repartimientos for yourselves, so do not fail to smite those who have shown themselves to be our enemies. ”

“ Those who went out to reconnoitre that morning did get sight of the enemy scouts, and reported it to Vaca de Castro. Little time elapsed before the factor Mercado and Lope Idiáquez arrived where the Governor was, and reported what had occurred, and how the men of Chile had been minded to kill them; and finally that war was certain, and peace quite out of reach, for the enemy would brook none but what they might win at the point of their lances. ”