little desert island of Sacrificio, where the time-worn walls and battlements of Vera Cruz, and the old grim castle of San Juan d'Ulloa, with their ponderous cannon, tier upon tier, basking in the yellow rays of the sun, burst upon our view. It was a most beautiful, nay, a sublime sight, that embarkation. I still retained my position in the fore-top, and was watching every movement with the most anxious interest; for it was thought by many that the enemy would oppose the landing of our troops. About four o'clock, the huge surf-boats, each capable of conveying one hundred men, were hauled to the gang-ways of the different men-of-war, and quickly laden with their warlike fraughtage;' formed in a single line, nearly a mile in length; and at a given signal, commenced slowly moving toward the Mexican shore. It was a grand spectacle! On, on went the long range of boats, loaded down to the gunwales with brave men, the rays of the slowly-departing sun resting upon their uniforms and bristling bayonets, and wrapping the far inland and fantastic mountains of Mexico in robes of gold. On they went; the measured stroke of the countless oars mingling with the hoarse dull roar of the trampling surf upon the sandy beach, and the shriek of the myriads of sea-birds soaring high in air, until the boats struck the shore, and quick as thought our army began to land. At this instant, the American flag was planted, and unrolling its folds, floated proudly out upon the evening breeze; the crews of the men-ofwar made the welkin ring with their fierce cheering; and a dozen bands of music, at the same time, and as if actuated by one impulse, struck up T is the star-spangled banner! O, long may it wave, "Early the next morning, the old grim castle of San Juan d'Ulloa commenced trying the range of its heavy guns, throwing Paixhan shells at the army, and continued it at intervals for a week; but with the exception of an occasional skirmish with a party of the enemy's lancers, they had all the fun to themselves. In the mean time our forces went quietly on with their preparations, stationing their pickets, planting their heavy mortars, landing their horses, provisions and munitions of war, constantly annoyed with a ceaseless fire from the Mexican batteries, which our troops were as yet too busy to return. "On the 24th, Lieutenant Oliver Hazard Perry, with a zeal worthy of his illustrious father, the hero of Lake Erie,' dismounted one of the waist guns of the Albany,' a sixty-eight-pounder, procured a number of volunteers who would willingly have charged up to the muzzles of the Mexican cannon with such a leader, and taking about forty rounds of Paixhan shells, proceeded on shore, where, after dragging his gun through the sand for three miles, he arrived at a small fortification, which the engineers had constructed of sand-bags for him, and there planted his engine of destruction, in a situation which commanded the whole city of Vera Cruz. Roused by such a gallant example, guns from each of the other ships of the squadron were disembarked, and conveyed to the breastwork, which was as yet concealed from the eyes of the Mexicans, by being in the rear of an almost impervious chapparal, and in a short time a most formidable fortress was completed, which was styled the Naval Battery. "At this period, General Scott, having quietly made all his arrangements, while a constant shower of shot and shell were thrown at his army by the enemy, sent a flag of truce, with a summons for the immediate surrender of the city of Vera Cruz, and the castle of San Juan d'Ulloa, and with a full understanding that unless his demand was immediately complied with, an attack would follow. As a matter of course, the Mexicans, expecting an assault, for which they were well prepared, and not a bombardment, returned an indignant refusal, and were told that at four o'clock, P. M., they should hear farther from us. In the mean time, the chapparal had been cut away, disclosing the Naval Battery to the gaze of the astonished Mexicans, and the mortars and heavy artillery, which had been planted upon the hills overlooking the city, and were ready to vomit forth their fires of death. Every person was now waiting with trembling anxiety the commencement of the fray. "About four o'clock, P. M., while the crews of the squadron were all at supper, a sudden and tremendous roar of artillery on shore proclaimed that the battle had begun. The tea-things were left to 'take care of themselves,' and pelimell tumbled sick and well up the ladders to the spar-deck. I followed with the human tide, and soon found myself in the fore-top of the Albany,' and looking around me a sublime but terrific sight my elevated perch presented to the view. Some two hundred sail of vessels were lying imme diately around us, their tops, cross-trees, yards, shrouds - every thing where a foot-hold could be obtained - crowded with human beings, clustered like swarming bees in mid-summer on the trees, all intently watching the battle. I turned my eyes on shore. JONATHAN had at last awakened from his slumber, and had set to work in earnest. Bomb-shells were flying like hail-stones into Vera Cruz from every quarter; sulphurous flashes, clouds of smoke, and the dull boom of the heavy guns arose from the walls of the city in return, while ever and anon a red sheet of flame would leap from the great brass mortars on the ramparts of the grim castle, followed by a report, which fairly made the earth tremble. The large ships of the squadron could not approach near enough to the shore to participate in the attack upon the city, without exposing them to the fire of the castle; but all the gun-boats, small steamers, and every thing that could be brought to bear upon the enemy, were sent in and commenced blazing away; a steady stream of fire, like the red glare of a volcano! This state of things continued until sunset, when the small vessels were called off; but the mortars kept throwing shells into the devoted town the live-long night. I was watching them until after midnight, and it was one of the most striking displays that I ever beheld. "A huge black cloud of smoke hung like a pall over the American army, completely concealing it from view; the Mexicans had ceased firing, in order to prevent our troops from directing their guns by the flashes from the walls; but the bombardiers had obtained the exact range before dark, and kept thundering away, every shell falling directly into the doomed city. Suddenly, a vivid, lightning-like flash would gleam for an instant upon the black pall of smoke hanging over our lines, and then as the roar of the great mortar came borne to our ears, the ponderous shell would be seen to dart upward like a meteor, and after describing a semi-circle in the air, descend with a loud crash upon the house-tops, or into the resounding streets of the fated city. Then, after a brief but awful moment of suspense, a lurid glare, illuminating for an instant the white domes and grim fortresses of Vera Cruz, falling into ruins with the shock, and the echoing crash that came borne to our ears, told that the shell had exploded, and executed its terrible mission' "Throughout the whole night these fearful missiles were travelling into the city in one continued stream; but the enemy did not return the fire. At day-light, however, the Mexicans again opened their batteries upon our army, with the most determined bravery. "About eight o'clock, A. M., the gallant Perry and his brave associates, having finished the mounting of their guns, and completed all their arrangements, opened with a tremendous roar the Naval Battery upon the west side of the city, and were immediately answered from four distinct batteries of the enemy. The firm earth trembled beneath the discharge of these ponderous guns, and the shot flew like hail into the town, and were returned with interest by the Mexicans. Their heavy guns were served with wonderful precision; and almost every shot struck the little fort, burst open the sand-bags of which it was constructed, and covered our brave officers and men with a cloud of dust. Many shot and shell were thrown directly through the embrasures; and to use the expressions of one of our old tars who had been in several engagements, 'the red-skins handled their long thirty-two's as if they had been rifles!' Several of our men and one officer had fallen, but the remainder of the brave fellows kept blazing away; while the forts and ramparts of the city began to crumble to the earth. This state of things continued until the twenty-seventh; the army throwing a constant shower of bombs into the city, and the Naval Battery, (manned daily by fresh officers and men,) beating down the fortifications, and destroying every thing within its range, when a flag of truce was sent out with an offer, which was immediately accepted, of an unconditional surrender of the city of Vera Cruz and the castle of San Juan d'Ulloa." Before the siege commenced, General Scott had sent printed passports to the different consuls, and also requested a surrender of the city, in order to preserve the lives of the non-combatants. These were disregarded at the time; but when the siege was in full operation, he received a communication from the consuls, requesting that the women and children might be permitted to pass out. answer we give in his own words :— His "I enclose a copy of a memorial received last night, signed by the consuls of Great Britain, France, Spain, and Prussia, within Vera Cruz, asking me to grant a truce to enable the neutrals, together with Mexican women and children, to withdraw from the scene of havoc about them. I shall reply, the moment that an opportunity may be taken, to say-1. That a truce can only be granted on the application of Governor Morales, with a view to surrender. 2. That in sending safeguards to the different consuls, beginning as far back as the 13th inst., I distinctly admonished them-particularly the French and Spanish consuls-and of course, through the two, the other consuls, of the dangers that have followed. 3. That although at that date I had already refused to allow any person whatsoever to pass the line of investment either way, yet the blockade had been left open to the consuls and other neutrals to pass out to their respective ships of war up to the 22d instant; and 4th: "I shall enclose to the memorialists a copy of my summons to the governor, to show that I had fully considered the impending hardships and distresses of the place, including those of women and children, before one gun had been fired in that direction. The intercourse between the neutral ships of war and the city was stopped at the last-mentioned date by Commodore Perry, with my concurrence, which I placed on the ground that the intercourse could not fail to give to the enemy moral aid and comfort." The following were the terms of surrender, finally agreed upon. by Generals Worth and Pillow, and Colonel Totten, on the part of the Americans, and Villannuera, Herrera, and Robles, on the part of the Mexicans ! "1. The whole garrison, or garrisons, to be surrendered to the arms of the United States, as prisoners of war, the 29th instant, at ten o'clock, A. M.; the garrisons to be permitted to march out with all the honours of war, and to lay down their arms to such officers as may be appointed by the general-in-chief of the United States' armies, and at a point to be agreed upon by the commissioners. “2. Mexican officers shall preserve their arms and private effects, including horses and horse-furniture, and to be allowed, regular and irregular officers, as also the rank and file, five days to retire to their respective homes, on parole, as hereinafter prescribed. "3. Coincident with the surrender, as stipulated in article 1, the Mexican flags of the various forts and stations shall be struck, saluted by their own batteries; and, immediately thereafter, Forts Santiago and Conception, and the castle of San Juan de Ulloa, oc cupied by the forces of the United States. "4. The rank and file of the regular portion of the prisoners to be disposed of after surrender and parole, as their general-in-chief |