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174 the vicinity of the palace, in readiness to co-operate with General Taylor in an assault upon the town. The main body of the army spent the 22nd in burying their dead, and caring for the wounded; although the enemy did not remit their fire from the citadel and the works on the east side of the town. Many an anxious eye was turned from General Taylor's camp towards the scene of General Worth's operations, and when the American flag was unfurled on the Bishop's palace, the welkin rang with glad hurrahs. General Quitman's brigade relieved Lieutenant Colonel Garland's command, with the exception of Ridgely's battery, in the occupation of the captured fort, and an assault on the remaining works was now contemplated to be made on the following day: but at early dawn on the 23rd, it was discovered that the enemy had abandoned their defences in the lower part of the town, and were concentrating their forces near the main plaza, for a last desperate struggle. The brigade of General Quitman, the 2nd regiment of Texan volunteers under General Henderson, who had returned from General Worth's position, and Captain Bragg's battery, supported by the 3rd infantry, immediately entered the city. Detachments of the troops proceeded gradually, breaking through the stone walls, springing from one house to another, mounting to the flat roofs, and driving the enemy before them, until they had advanced within two squares of the main plaza. About noon a communication was received from the governor of the State of New Leon, requesting permission for the inhabitants who were non-combatants, to leave the city. This application was made too late, and General Taylor refused to grant the request. At three in the afternoon he directed the troops on the east side of the town to