Sketches of the campaign in northern Mexico : in eighteen hundred forty-six and seven / by an officer of the First Regiment of Ohio volunteers.

THiE FIRE OF'THE PURISIMA OPENS ON US. 175
salivated him, continued with his company for some time
after receiving the wound.
Aided by the lively and effective fire still maintained by
our friends in the Teneria, we were beginning to hope that
we might ere long silence the guns of Fort E1 Diabolo,
when, suddenly as the lightning's flash, and loud as the
thunder's peal, a battery was opened close upon our right,
and swept the regiment with grape shot from flank to flank.
It took all by surprise, and taught some young soldiers a
lesson they will not soon forget. It sufficiently explained,
too, why the Mexican engineers had suffered that garden
wall in front of the Diabolo to remain for our protection."
A question which I had asked myself more than once. So
dense had been the smoke, and so intent had we been on
engaging the enemy before us, that we had not observed on
entering the street that it was enfilade-l by the tete-de-pont
of the Purisima on the right. The same causes, with the
uninterrupted cannonade, had probably prevented the garrison of that formidable work from sooner discovering our
exposed position. At the Purisima, General Mejia, who
was charged with the northern defenses of the city, commanded iin person, and his artillerists having us "1 in a
string," kept the street so full of balls that the escape of the
regiment from utter destruction seems now, in a calm retrospect of the affair, almost miraculous. But our men displayed much coolness and dexterity in the emergency, and
dividing into small parties availed themselves promptly and
prudently of such shelter from this new and angry cross-fire,
as happened to be near.