The silence of our guns in the presence of an assailing foe, disheartened our men for an instant, but they immediately betook themselves energetically to their task on the defences, though the enemy's shells exploded in every direction about them. On the 4th the Mexicans again resumed the fight and continued their vollies until midnight. At nine o'clock on that evening irregular discharges of musketry were heard in our rear apparently extending a mile up the river, and continuing until near the termination of the cannonade. Every soldier in the fort therefore stood to his arms all night long, manning each battery and point of defence in expectation of an assault from the forces that had crossed the river and filled the adjacent plains and thickets. But the anxious night passed without an attack at close quarters, and, at day-light, on the 5th, the enemy again commenced their fire from the distant batteries. The sound of war was gratifying to the Mexicans, but its conflicts were safer from behind the walls and parapets of their forts, with an intervening river, than in dangerous charges against the muzzles of our guns! As soon as the cannonade recommenced, it was immediately returned by a few discharges from the eighteen-pounders and six-pounder-howitzer; and the voice of our guns once more exhilarated the men, though their shots were ineffectual. Both batteries ceased firing simultaneously, and our indefatigable soldiers again set to work on the defences, completed the ramparts, and made rapid progress in the construction of a bomb-proof and traverse in rear of the postern.
These were anxious days and hours for a garrison short of ammunition, assailed by an enemy equipped with every species of deadly missile, probably surrounded by superior numbers concealed on the left bank of the river, and yet forced to labor on the very fortifications which were to keep off the foe. During all this time, however, no one desponded. Day and night they toiled incessantly on the works amid the shower of shot and bombs, nor was a sound of sorrow heard within the little fort until its brave commander fell, mortally wounded by a shell, on the 6th of May. The game was kept up during all this day; mounted men were seen along the prairie, while infantry were noticed creeping through the thickets; but a few rounds of canister, from Bragg's battery, dispersed the assailants.
About four o'clock of this day a white flag was observed at some old buildings in the rear of our work, and a parley was sounded by the enemy. Two officers were soon descried approaching us, and an equal number were despatched by Captain Hawkins, (who had succeeded Major Brown in the command of the fort,) to meet them within two hundred and fifty yards of our lines. A communication from General Arista was delivered by the herald, and the Mexicans were requested to retire a short distance and await the reply.
In this document Arista declared that our fort was surrounded by forces adequate to its capture, while a numerous division, encamped in the neighborhood, was able to keep off all succors that might be expected. He alleged that his respect for humanity urged him to mitigate as much as possible the disasters of war, and he therefore summoned our garrison to surrender, in order to avoid by capitulation, the entire destruction of the command. This mingled mission of humanity and revenge demanded the immediate notice of our troops, and, accordingly, a brief council was held in which it was unanimously resolved to decline the philanthropic proposal. Hawkins, at once despatched his courteous but firm reply, and the enemy acknowledged its receipt by a storm of shot and shell which was literally showered into the works.
It would be but repeating a narrative of one day's scenes were we to detail the events of the 7th, 8th and 9th of May. The bravado contained in Arista's despatch, had failed in its effort to intimidate us; nevertheless we were compelled to undergo the severest task that a soldier can suffer in passive non-resistance, whilst the enemy, from afar, strove to bury our fort under the weight of their projectiles. Bombs and shot were, however, unavailing. The defences proved equal to our perfect protection; and all continued to work cheerfully in the trenches until the distant sounds of battle were heard booming from Palo Alto and Resaca. Anxiety was dispelled, and hope ripened into certainty as the cannonade grew louder and drew nearer the river, until, at last, on the evening of the ninth, the Mexican squadrons raced past the fort and received the reserved shot of the eighteens which poured their masses of grape among the flying groups. As our pursuing forces rushed out from behind the thickets and beheld the American flag still aloft in the works, they sent forth a cheer which was answered by the rejoicing garrison, and the valley of the Rio Grande reverberated with the exultation of delight. Victory and relief; a routed foe and succored friends, enlivened every heart, and even the foremost and bitterest in pursuit halted a moment to exchange congratulations upon the events of the glorious day.
Thus the separate forces of the United States were again brought together; and Fort Brown,—which now received its name from the brave Major who died on the 9th,—was found to have lost but two by death and only fourteen wounded during the whole bombardment.
Every war produces its singular characters whose influence or example are not without their due effect upon the troops, and, at the conclusion of these chapters, which are so stained with blood and battle, it may not be useless to sketch, even upon the grave page of history, the deeds of a woman whose courageous spirit bore her through all the trials of this bombardment, but whose masculine hardihood was softened by the gentleness of a female heart. Woman has every where her sphere of power over the rougher sex, but the women of a camp must possess qualities to which their tender sisters of the saloon are utter strangers.
Some years ago, in the far west, a good soldier joined one of our regiments, with his tall and gaunt wife, whose lofty figure and stalwart frame almost entitled her as much as her husband to a place in the ranks of the gallant seventh. Unwilling to abandon her liege lord upon his enlistment, this industrious female was immediately employed as one of the laundresses, three of whom are allowed to draw rations in each company, and are required to wash for the soldiers at a price regulated by a council of officers. The "Great Western,"—for by this soubriquet was she known in the army,—arrived at Corpus Christi with her husband, and up to the period of our departure for the Rio Grande performed all her appropriate duties, keeping, in addition, a "mess" for the younger officers of the regiment. When the army advanced, the women, with some exceptions, were despatched by sea to Point Isabel, while a few procured ponies to follow the soldiers in their tedious march. The husband of the Great Western was sent in one of the transports to the Brazos, but his hardy spouse did not deign to accompany him in this comfortable mode of transit, declaring that "the boys of her mess must have some one to take care of them on their toilsome march." Accordingly, having purchased a cart and loaded it with luggage, cooking utensils, and supplies, she mounted behind her donkey with whip in hand, and displayed during the wearisome advance, qualities which the best teamster in the train might have envied. Throughout the whole journey she kept her boarders well provided with excellent rations; and, when her brigade reached the banks of the Colorado she was one of the first who offered to cross in the face of the resisting enemy. After calmly surveying the scene, which has been described in another chapter, she remarked, with great coolness, that "if the general would give her a stout pair of tongs she would wade the river and whip every scoundrel Mexican that dared show his face on the opposite side!"
When Taylor marched to Point Isabel on the 1st of May, the Great Western was of course left behind with the seventh infantry. Together with the eight or ten women who remained, she moved, at once into the fort, where her mess was soon re-established in a tent near the centre of the works. The enemy's fire began on the 3d, as she was commencing her preparations for breakfast, and the women were, of course, immediately deposited for safety in the almost vacant magazines. But it may be recorded to their honor that they were not idle during the siege. Nobly did they ply their needles in preparing sand bags from the soldiers' and officers' tents to strengthen the works and protect the artillerists whilst serving at their guns; yet, the Great Western, declining either to sew or to nestle in the magazine, continued her labors over the fire in the open air. After the discharge of the first gun all were at their posts, answering the shot from the Mexican forts; and, when the hour for breakfast arrived, none expected the luxury that awaited them. Nevertheless the mess was as well attended as if nothing but a morning drill, with blank cartridges, had occurred, and, in addition, a large supply of delicious coffee awaited the thirsty, who had but to come and partake, without distinction of rank. To some of the artillerists who were unable to leave their guns, the beverage was carried by this excellent female; and, as may readily be believed, no belle of Orleans, ever met a more gracious reception. The fire of the artillery was kept up almost incessantly until near the dinner hour, when the Great Western again provided a savory soup which she distributed to the men without charge.