General La Vega yielded, and the battery was won.
But the brave Tampicoäns still refused to fly or yield,
And maintained the unequal fight until the last one kissed the field;
When their flag went down a cry of anguish rent the Mexic ranks,
And our foemen broke and fled despairing toward the river’s banks.
All was over: we pursued them, and the now-descending sun,
Saw Resaca de la Palma’s bloody battle lost and won!
| [1] | Resaca de la Palma—the Swamp of Palms. Resaca has no equivalent in English. Literally speaking, it is a place on which the tide ebbs and flows. |
