Storming of Federation Hill.

At daylight, on the morning of the 21st, General Worth put his division in motion, so formed as to present the readiest order of battle at any point at which it might be assailed. As he advanced, he found a large body of lancers drawn up to oppose him, and a spirited engagement ensued between them and McCulloch's Texan rangers, aided by Captains C. F. Smith and Scott, and Duncan's battery. The Mexicans were defeated with heavy loss, and driven beyond the gorge where all the roads from Monterey united, and thereby shut out from the city. When his preparations were completed, at noon, General Worth rode up to the men he had designed for the storming of Federation Hill, and pointing up the hill, said to them as they moved off, "Men, you are to take that hill—and I know you will do it." With one shout they replied, "we will;" and they did. The words of their general had nerved their arms and inspirited their hearts, and they crossed the river amid a shower of grape and musket balls, and advanced up the hill, supported by reinforcements sent in good season by the general, and beating back, inch by inch, the gallant forces who opposed them. At the top of this hill a cannon was captured, remounted, and turned upon the foe. The enemy had retreated to the other peak of the ridge, Fort Soldada, and a perfect race now ensued between the 5th and 7th regiments of infantry, and the Texas rangers, as to which should first enter that fortress. Captain Gillespie, of the rangers, was the first to mount the works, but he was so closely followed by Lieutenant Pitcher, of the 5th, that the two regiments shared equally the honour of having captured a gun, abandoned by the enemy as he was driven from the fort. The

Capture of the Bishop's Palace.

cannon captured in these two places, were immediately turned upon the Bishop's Palace. The generalship exhibited by General Worth in this affair, is deserving of the highest praise. The completion of his labours is not less so. Before day on the morning of the 22d, a detachment moved to assault the fortifications on Independence Hill, an almost inaccessible height, nearly perpendicular, between seven and eight hundred feet high. The party which captured this formidable position, was led by Colonel Childs and Captain John R. Vinton. His loss was few in numbers, but among the slain was the gallant Captain R. A. Gillespie, who had so distinguished himself on the preceding day. The height gained, Lieutenants Roland, McPhail, and Deas succeeded in two hours, in raising a twelve-pound howitzer to the top of this steep and rugged acclivity, and opened a terrible fire upon the Bishop's Palace, not four hundred yards distant. By a brilliant manoeuver, Captain Vinton enticed a party of the defenders to come out of the palace, then defeated them, drove them down the hill beyond it, entered the palace, and overpowered its remaining defenders. Thus, says Mr. Kendall, by a series of brilliant, well-planned, and successful movements, General Worth found himself in full possession of three of the enemy's batteries, the stronghold known as the Bishop's Palace, seven pieces of artillery, and a large quantity of ammunition and intrenching tools, two of their standards, and what was of still greater importance, the entire occupation of the Saltillo road, and a complete command of all the western portion of the city of Monterey.

The street fight in which General Worth participated

Capture of the tete du pont.

largely, will be more particularly described among the achievements of General Quitman. General Worth was soon summoned away from this scene of his triumphs to the siege of Vera Cruz, where, under General Scott, he bore a conspicuous part, and was present at the surrender. He was made commander of the city of Vera Cruz, but was not long employed on garrison duty. Leaving Colonel Wilson to look after the city, he took up his line of march for the city of Mexico, and was so fortunate as to obtain a share with his division in the brilliant victory of Cerro Gordo. With increased reputation he marched onward with Scott to Churubusco, where his brilliant feat, the capture of the tete du pont, contributed largely to the success of the day.

For an account of the taking of the Molino del Rey and Chapultepec, we have drawn largely upon the official report of General Worth himself.

"On a reconnoissance of the formidable dispositions of the enemy, near and around the castle of Chapultepec, they were found to exhibit an extended line of cavalry and infantry, sustained by a field battery of four guns— occupying directly, or sustaining, a system of defenses collateral to the castle and summit. This examination gave fair observation of the configuration of the grounds, and the extent of the enemy's lines, but, as appeared in the sequel, an inadequte idea of the nature of his defenses-they being skilfully masked.

The general-in-chief ordered that General Worth should attack and carry those lines and defenses, capture the enemy's artillery, destroy the machinery and material supposed to be in the foundry, (El Molino del Rey;) but limiting the operations to that extent. After