The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 72, July 1968 - April, 1969 Page: 440
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
the order. Singly and in groups the men moved to the rear. Within
minutes the battle line was gone. Now, all that stood between the
Mexicans and disaster was O'Brien and his three-gun battery, but
without infantry support its position was untenable. He withdrew,
although heavy casualties forced him to leave one gun behind."
Sensing victory the Mexican lancers dashed after the fleeing Ameri-
cans. The retreat became a rout.
Meanwhile, General Lane and several of his officers had spurred
their horses in an attempt to head off and rally the Hoosiers. They
succeeded in holding some two hundred just as a regiment of Missis-
sippians under Colonel Jefferson Davis and the Third Indiana came
rushing forward to plug the breach. The shattered remnants of the
Second, including Colonel Bowles, fell in with the fresh troops." They
repulsed the Mexicans and Zachary Taylor went on to his finest victory.
Except for the brief lapse during the retreat the Hoosiers had
fought like veterans. Of the 360 men in the Second Regiment who
had answered at morning muster, io8 were dead or disabled; the
Third Indiana counted 65 casualties." Joe Lane had been oblivious
to danger: a musket ball bored through his right arm, hot canister
seared a cheek, and his horse was shot in four places.20 Bowles was no
coward either. He had grabbed a musket, joined the Mississippians,
and fought well enough to be cited for gallantry."2
Valor alone, however, would not remove the stigma of retreat. No
one was more aware of that than General Lane, a proud man who
did not bear disappointments easily."22 Bitter because his moment of
glory had been snatched away by the cowardice of his men (as he
believed at the time), he secluded himself in his tent, nursed his
17Testimony of John Paul Jones O'Brien, ibid., 35.
""Perry, Indiana in the Mexican War, 161; Jefferson Davis to William W. S. Bliss,
March 2, 1847, SD 1, p. 197.
19Joseph Lane to John E. Wool, February 25, 1847, Mexican War, 1846-47, Box 2,
Records of the Office of the Adjutant General (Record Group 94, National Archives,
Washington). Joseph Lane listed 32 killed, 72 wounded, and 4 missing. The Third
Indiana had 9 killed and 56 wounded.
20[Wallace], An Autobiography, I, 187; Joseph Lane to Ratliff Lane, March 7, 1847,
Joseph Lane Papers, Robert S. Ellison Collection (Lilly Library, Indiana University).
"1Davis to Bliss: "He [Bowles] remained with us throughout the day, and, under all
circumstances, displayed much personal gallantry."
22A letter written several weeks before the battle contains an interesting appraisal of
Lane's mental outlook. "Gen Lane is in excellent health and full of activity[;] his
anxiety to have an encounter with the enemy equals yours and I fear a disappointment
will go hard with him if it happens." D. S. Lane to Henry S. Lane, January 7, 1847,
Henry S. Lane Papers, Robert S. Ellison Collection (Lilly Library, Indiana University).340
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 72, July 1968 - April, 1969, periodical, 1969; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117146/m1/394/: accessed March 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.