Alexandria Gazette

THE STORMING OF CERRO GORDO.

Mr. Kendall in one of his letters to the Picayune gives the following account of the storming of Cerro Gordo. But for the illness of General Smith the assault would have been led by that gallant officer. In his stead Col. Harney has reaped the laurels of this glorious achievement, and long may he wear them. The mischance of one chivalrous spirit made way for the valor of another, who approved himself, upon this, as upon other occasions, capable of the most daring feats of gallantry.

The storming and capture of the strong works on Cerro Gordo, by the brigade under Col. Harney, may be looked upon as one of the most brilliant achievements of the Mexican war—the fate of the battle turned upon it, and here the enemy had placed an overwhelming force of his best troops. The hill was steep and naturally difficult of ascent; but independent of this, the ground was covered with loose craggy rocks, an undergrowth of tangled chapparal, besides many small trees, the tops of which were cut off some four or five feet from the ground, and turned down the hill to impede the progress of the stormers. To climb the height at all, even without arms of any kind, would be an undertaking that few would care about essaying: what then must it have been to men encumbered with muskets and cartridge boxes, and obliged to dispute every step of the precipitous and rugged ascent? Murderous showers of grape and canister greeted our men at the onset, and as they toiled unfalteringly through a tempest of iron hail, a heavy fire of musketry opened upon them. Not a man quailed—with loud shouts they still pressed upward and onward.

At every step our ranks were thinned; but forward went the survivors. When within good musket range, but not yet then, was the fire of the enemy returned, and then commenced the dreadful carnage of the strife. The Mexicans held to their guns with more than their usual bravery, but nothing could resist the fierce onset of the stormers. Over the breastworks with which the Mexicans had surrounded the crest of the hill they charged, and shouting, attacked the enemy in his very stronghold. The latter now fled panic-stricken, but still they were pursued; and it was not until the affrighted fugitives had reached a point without the extreme range of their own cannon, which had been turned upon them at the onset, that they ceased in their flight. The national colors of our country now supplanted the banner of the enemy, the different regimental flags were also planted on the crest, and shouts louder than ever from the victors rose upon the air, and struck terror into the very hearts of the enemy in the works still untaken, for they knew that their strong positions had been turned and that they were at the mercy of the men they had scoffed at in the morning. Never was victory more complete, although purchased with the blood of some of our best men. Lieut. Ewell, of the rifles, was among the first within the enemy's breastworks, and it was here that he received his death wound. The interior was covered with the dead of the enemy, among them Gen. Vasquez, Col. Palacio, and many of their officers, while the hill side down which they fled was strewn as well. Near 200 men were left dead, while the wounded would swell the number to at least 500—some even put it down as high as 700.

The regiments composing Col. Harney's command, and which successfully stormed the noted Cerro Gordo, were the 1st Artillery under Col. Childs, the 3d Infantry under Capt. E. B. Alexander, the 7th Infantry under Col. Plympton, and a portion of the rifles under Maj. Loring. Many cases of individual bravery, performed by subaltern officers, have been mentioned; but as I cannot particularly notice such as I have heard of, without perhaps doing injustice to others equally meritorious, I shall forbear writing until I have more full information. I had almost forgotten to state that four companies of the 2d Infantry, under Col. Riley, took an active part in the assault.