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

300 DESCRIPTION OF THE CONVOY.
But when it is remembered that there were more than a thousand active enemies upon the route; that the train when
extended and in motion, must be nearly or quite two miles
in length; that there was no military organization and but
little subordination among the drivers; that the road for
much of the distance was closely hedged in by dense thickets,
most suitable and convenient for ambuscading, while it was
only at rare and distant intervals in the chaparral that the
wagons could be parked; the disadvantages under which the
escort labored will be apparent. With the prospect of an
action with a strong cavalry force, to have scattered a small
body of infantry around so large a mass would have endangered the whole. The detachment was therefore divided into
but two parties; —three companies marching in front and two
in the rear of the train, each having a piece of artillery,
which, had the country been more open, would have afforded
prompt and efficient protection to the flanks. It was evident
however, that a vigorous assault on judiciously selected
ground, by an enemy numerically so superior would result in
the destruction of some portion of the train. The drivers
who had escaped the massacre at Ramas, had already by
their accounts of it, so terrified their fellows, that most of'
them were prepared to desert their teams at the first sign of
danger. A number of clerks, camp-followers, and other
Americans not connected with the army, alarmed at the
threatening aspect of affairs in Mexico, availed themselves of
the protection of our escort to leave the country. These
being poorly armed and undisciplined would have embarrassed, rather than have aided the detachment, had not Mr.