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

RETREAT OF THE MEXICANS FROM BUENA VISTA. 295
ty,' had trembled in the balance. Every allusion to' Old
Rough and Ready,"-from his heroic reply to Santa Anna's
summons at the commencement of the action, to his memorable order, "' A little more grape Captain Bragg," at its close,
was received with shouts and tears of joy. We immediately
fired salutes and rang the long silent bells of the city in
honor of the glorious achievement. In a few days the citizens began to return to their homes and property, lookingmuch to our amusement-quite disappointed and crest-fallen.
After one of the most lamentable retreats recorded in history,-and in which the Mexican writers confess that he lost
from desertion and death in every horrible form, ten thousand five hundred men,-General Santa Anna re-entered San
Luis de Potosi on the 9th of March. We were soon afterward informed, by a person who traveled from San Luis to
Monterey, that the dead were strewed along the road for sixty
leagues. But while we may well exult in the heroism of our
troops and skill of our officers, the impartial observer of these
events, must also respect and admire the valor and patriotism
with which our enemies, undismayed by a series of disastrous defeats, prepared to continue the war. Look for example at the alacrity and fortitude with which Santa Anna's
shattered battalions, yet bleeding from the wounds of Buena
Vista, hastened to meet the army of General Scott and to
incur new disasters at Cerro Gorda.