Take the Cannon!

As fighting raged in the brush, Zachary Taylor ordered Captain Charles May to seize six Mexican cannons that blocked the road near here. May and 40 dragoons charged and scattered the Mexican gun crews, but could not hold the cannon. While May regrouped his horsemen, Taylor angrily ordered infantrymen to assist. In a second charge, U.S. troops captured the Mexican guns and General Rómulo Díaz de la Vega, clearing the way to advance down the road toward Matamoros. Accounts of the clash recall May shouting for his men to follow as they swept up the ravine, while Díaz de la Vega, even after his horse was killed and most of his men were dispersed, held his post until he was seized in hand-to-hand combat and taken prisoner without retreating a single step.

Brownsville, Texas · United States