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348 by force; but no active resistance was offered, and on the 20th the army crossed the stream, the enemy retreating to Matamoros. On the 24th the army halted at a point about ten miles from Point Isabel, and leaving General Worth in command of the infantry brigades, Taylor proceeded thither with the cavalry and an empty train, in order to establish his depôt. On his approach the inhabitants abandoned the village, having previously set fire to their dwellings. The transports had just arrived; and having made arrangements for the defence of the depôt, leaving Major Monroe in command with two companies of artillery, the general returned to the army. Resuming his march, he arrived opposite Matamoros on the 28th, and at once sent Worth across the river with a communication to General Mejía expressing a desire to maintain amicable relations, and his willingness to leave the port of Brazos Santiago open to citizens of Matamoros until the boundary question should be settled. The Mexican commander, however, declined to hold any conference with a subordinate officer, and appointed General Vega to meet Worth. The meeting produced no other result than the intimation on the part of the Mexican general that the movement of the American army was considered as an act of war, and the refusal to allow Worth to have an interview with the United States consul at Matamoros. Taylor, in view of this hostile attitude, at once commenced to throw up fortifications on the left bank of the Rio Grande in front of Matamoros, and in a short time a fort with six bastions was erected, capable of containing 2,000 men, and batteries were mounted with heavy guns bearing upon the city.