Page:A series of intercepted letters in Mexico.djvu/43

 As soon as Santa Anna received notice of the defeat of Valencia, (whom, it is said, he might have aided to advantage, but did not, because he said he had not ordered Valencia to engage in fight,) he ordered the camp at San Antonio to be raised, and begin the retreat on Mexico. Here the disorder began, the soldiers in some corps were altogether without chiefs, and only employed themselves in taking away the cannon from the batteries. The enemy, who was observing all our movements from the hacienda of Coapan, detached a column of about three thousand men on our left wing, with the object of flanking us and afterwards besieging 8 an Antonio, but we pushed the movement of our troops, in spite of the confusion, so that the enemy only gained his object in a very small degree, intercepting a small portion of our troops and capturing two pieces of spiked cannon that were left in the hacienda, where, in a very few moments after the battallionsbattalions [sic] of Hidalgo and Victoria had left it, there were heard the musketry of the enemy, not of the column that had been detached, but of another body that came directly down the road, and soon took the place.

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. From this till half-past 2, the battalions of Hidalgo and Victoria arrived, sunburnt, tired and hungry, their feet all blistered and in desperation, as they had brought in their guns as they had carried them out.

[All Mexican accounts agree, that these two battalions did not fire a shot.]

They had an opportunity, not only to annoy the enemy, but to repulse him, but they never received an order to fire at all.

Oar troops were at night at the gates of La Viga, Candolaria and Nino Perdido. Some had gone to Chapultepec, others to their barracks.

The enemy remained in possession of the haciendas Portalis, Santanita and other towns of the neighborhood. It is said that our loss in killed, wounded and prisoners, is about four thousand men. The loss of the enemy is said to be five thousand; we will see the truth in time.