Page:The Presidents of the United States, 1789-1914, v. II.djvu/176

 136 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS where he was joined by Gen. Wool with his com mand from Chihuahua. Gen. Santa- Anna saw the invitation offered by the withdrawal of Gen. Taylor s troops, and with a well-appointed army, 20,000 strong, marched with the assurance of easily recovering their lost territory. Gen. Taylor fell back to the narrow pass in front of the hacienda of Buena Vista, and here stood on the defensive. His force was 5,400 of all arms; but of these only three batteries of artillery, one squadron of dragoons, one mounted company of Texans, and one regiment of Missis sippi riflemen had ever been under fire. Some skirmishing occurred on February 22, and a gen eral assault along the whole line was made on the morning of the 23d. The battle, with varying fortune, continued throughout the day ; at evening the enemy retired, and during the night retreated by the route on which he had advanced, having suffered much by the casualties of battle, but still more by desertions. So Santa- Anna returned with but a remnant of the regular army of Mexico, on which reliance had been placed to repel invasion, and thenceforward peace was undisturbed in the valley of the Rio Grande. At that time Gen. Tay lor s capacity was not justly estimated, his golden silence being often misunderstood. His reply to Sec. Marcy s strictures in regard to the capitula tion of Monterey exhibited such vigor of thought