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

THE NIGHT OF THE TWEN'TY-FIRST. 8%
Dismal indeed was the night of the 21st of September.
"Darkness and the shadow of death obscured it; and no
joyful voice came therein." The complexion of the elements
as well as the aspect of our camp was peculiarly gloomy, and
pressed heavily on the spirits. Many of the soldiers sank
immediately to rest upon the ground, too much exhausted to
prepare supper, and needing repose more than food. To add
to the discomfort of those who had no tents, a drizzling rain
set in and continued to fall mournfully through the trees,
while the wailing night-winds sang a requiem in their trembling boughs. Nature herself seemed to weep and moan
o'er the sad scene. In the dimly-lighted hospital-tents were
to be seen and heard what I shall not attempt to portray.
The surgeons, unremitting in their attentions to the wounded,
were engaged the whole night in dressing wounds and amputating limbs, their duties, as General Taylor remarks in his
report, being rendered uncommonly arduous by the small
number serving in the field. The commanding general himself, though bred to the iron trade of war, yet possessing a
heart ever ready to sympathize with its unfortunate victims,
visited the hospitals and the quarters of all his wounded officers before retiring to rest.
In consequence of the many melancholy duties of the
night, our mess did not assemble for supper until a very late
hour. When at length we approached the board used for a
table, and the bright light of a couple of lanterns was allowed
to fall upon it, all gazed with as much amazement and disgust upon it as if the banquet of Tereus or a feast of the
Anthropophagi had been spread before them. The table