West of the road from where we were, stood a house occupying the south-west angle made by the San Cosme road and the road we were moving upon.  A stone wall ran from the house along each of these roads for a considerable distance and thence back until it joined, enclosing quite a yard about the house.  I watched my opportunity and skipped across the road and behind the south wall.  Proceeding cautiously to the west corner of the enclosure, I peeped around and seeing nobody, continued, still cautiously, until the road running east and west was reached.  I then returned to the troops, and called for volunteers.  All that were close to me, or that heard me, about a dozen, offered their services.  Commanding them to carry their arms at a trail, I watched our opportunity and got them across the road and under cover of the wall beyond, before the enemy had a shot at us.  Our men under cover of the arches kept a close watch on the intrenchments that crossed our path and the house-tops beyond, and whenever a head showed itself above the parapets they would fire at it.  Our crossing was thus made practicable without loss.

When we reached a safe position I instructed my little command again to carry their arms at a trail, not to fire at the enemy until they were ordered, and to move very cautiously following me until the San Cosme road was reached; we would then be on the flank of the men serving the gun on the road, and with no obstruction between us and them.  When we reached the south-west corner of the enclosure before described, I saw some United States troops pushing north through a shallow ditch near by, who had come up since my reconnaissance.  This was the company of Captain Horace Brooks, of the artillery, acting as infantry.  I explained to Brooks briefly what I had discovered and what I was about to do.  He said, as I knew the ground and he did not, I might go on and he would follow.  As soon as we got on the road leading to the city the troops serving the gun on the parapet retreated, and those on the house-tops near by followed; our men went after them in such close pursuit—­the troops we had left under the arches joining—­that a second line across the road, about half-way between the first and the garita, was carried.  No reinforcements had yet come up except Brooks’s company, and the position we had taken was too advanced to be held by so small a force.  It was given up, but retaken later in the day, with some loss.

Worth’s command gradually advanced to the front now open to it.  Later in the day in reconnoitring I found a church off to the south of the road, which looked to me as if the belfry would command the ground back of the garita San Cosme.  I got an officer of the voltigeurs, with a mountain howitzer and men to work it, to go with me.  The road being in possession of the enemy, we had to take the field to the south to reach the church.  This took us over several ditches breast deep in water and grown