Hessian John

(From the Battle of Buena Vista in the Mexican War–1847) I heard General [Zachary] Taylor tell Colonel [Jeff] Davis, “I fear my green troops might rush into an uncontrollable rout. The experienced general's calmness was as important as his troop's confidence in him. Hence, he did not rattle or break. With full canteens our regiment came to the northern edge of the plateau to meet General Wool's troops who were flooding rearward. The Mexicans seemed ready to overwhelm Wool’s forces when two artillery batteries galloped in from the north, followed by our Mississippians led by Colonel Davis who re-inspired the retreating Indiana regiment. That combined body attacked the Mexican right and forced it back into the ravine. Meanwhile, the Mexican left that was pursuing the Illinois and Kentucky regiments was cut to pieces by Bragg's accurate artillery. As our Riflemen moved forward with the half-strength Indiana regiment that Colonel Davis had rallied, we stopped the Mexican cavalry that was attempting to outflank us on the plateau. Despite our unfavorable odds (400 against 4,000 Mexicans), Colonel Davis never wavered. He pushed his red-shirted troops at double-quick time until we came within rifle range of the foe, where he ordered his men to advance while firing. With Davis leading on horseback, our riflemen rushed forward under the heaviest hail of fire that one officer had ever seen. My Baptism of Fire This was it! I was running among fallen soldiers in my white medical jacket without a weapon, amazed at the vivid sounds of battle––irregular cannon fire, the popping and whizzing of rifle slugs, and the rising pitch of screams from the wounded on both sides. Four of us battlefield surgeons were moving closely behind with too few stretcher-bearers and pick-up wagons to serve our growing numbers of casualties. The best we could do was to apply tourniquets and pressure cloths to staunch bleeding in attempts to save as many wounded and dying as possible. In the face of heavy fire, our Mississippians navigated an abrupt ravine and poured a torrent of lead into the dense ranks of the Mexicans. Meanwhile, Major Bragg's artillery came across the road from the western hill with fresh Kentuckians ready to join the fight. Colonel Davis led the charge that continued to force the Mexicans back, but just as our forces were about to enjoy victory, General Santa Anna sent in his reserve division from a ravine where it had been hidden and fell upon two Illinois regiments and one from Kentucky, forcing them back under withering fire. At the same time the Mexicans stormed our weakened center. Although the shock of Colonel Davis's thrust had saved the American effort for the moment, the danger of such over-whelming enemy numbers had not faded. The collision had cost our Mississippi regiment dearly in this bloody encounter. Colonel Davis himself suffered a painful wound when a musket ball pierced his foot near his right ankle, driving shards of his shattered spur deep into his foot. Even though I had raced forward behind our regiment, I didn't see Colonel Davis wince from the hit that caused him to lose much blood. Despite that wound, he stayed with the fight leading the most critical horseback charge. Even with a painful wound, he refused to leave the battle, but after moving the regiment to a more secure position, he allowed me to cut away his boot and bind the wound while he remained in the saddle. Still aware of our exposed position, Colonel Davis pulled his regiment back to a stronger defensive position to be joined by the 3rd Indiana Regiment. Some volunteers from other units also began reappearing finding themselves facing another crisis when Santa Anna sent a cavalry brigade to get behind us. Since I was up front tending the wounded, I heard Davis warn of another impending attack. Sitting high on his horse, he pointed to a body of 2,000 richly uniformed lancers advancing in perfect order––a solid mass of men and horses. Colonel Davis acted quickly because a massed cavalry charge could overrun us and plunge down onto the Saltillo road, crushing the American left and exposing the rear to slaughter. Our men had never confronted such a massive cavalry charge. In response, Davis quickly deployed his forces in an open-mouthed "V" with the Indiana troops on the right and our Mississippi Rifles on the left, and one artillery piece farther left while the rest of us, including our wounded were treating the most severely wounded. The pinch of our “V” formation caused the Mexican cavalry to clump as it bore into the converging angle with Colonel Davis ordering our troops to hold fire until the enemy was almost upon us. I took a quick look for more casualties just as the brightly uniformed Mexican horsemen began slowing from a gallop to a trot and then to a walk when only fifty yards away. At the last moment, shots exploded from both sides of Davis’s “V” in a volley so destructive that the massed body of horses folded from the staggering blow, blockading survivors as they attempted to flee with artillery from the middle plateau firing down on the bloodied lancers. Since our Mississippians [and the artillery] had shattered the cavalry charge so thoroughly, the Saltillo road was secured as we worked furiously to deal with wounded and dying soldiers. At one point, I stood up to see hundreds of Mexican cavalrymen and their horses writhing in agony as Santa Anna’s forces fled in disarray, leaving wounded behind heaped upon struggling heaps for us to attend.