As  if  by  magic  he  leaped  into  fame  as  a  prosecutor.  "He
seldom  failed  to  convict."  The  Hon.  Joe  Gillespie  said  of  Bis-
sell  after  hearing  him  in  an  impassioned  speech  at  the  close  of
a  murder  trial :  "I  realized  then  to  its  fullest  extent,  the  power
of  language  in  the  mouth  of  a  master  over  the  feelings  of  man-
kind. If  that  effort  had  been  taken  down  and  could  be  read
by  us, — of  itself, — it  would  have  made  the  name  of  William  H.
Bissell  immortal."

When  the  Mexican  War  broke  out,  Bissell  was  one  of  the
first  to  enlist.  He  was  elected  colonel  of  the  secoiTd  Illinois
regiment.
The  troops  from  Illinois  started  from  Alton,  July   17,

1846,  and  arrived  at  Mexico  early  in  August.     The  first  and
second  regiments.  Cols.  John  J.  Hardin  and  Wm.  H.  Bissell
were  attached  to  the  army  of  the  center  under  General  Taylor
and  participated  in  the  battle  of  Buena  Vista,  February  23,

1847.  It  lasted  all  day.     The  Mexican  army  of  20,000  under
Santa  Anna  being  opposed  by  only  4,500  Americans.  General
Taylor  in  his  report  of  the  battle  bears  willing  testimony  to  the
•excellent  conduct  and  the  spirit  and  gallantry  with  which  the
two  Illinois  and  Kentucky  regiments  engaged  the  enemy  and
restored  confidence  in  that  part  of  the  field,  adding :    "Colonel
Bissell,  the  only  surviving  colonel  of  the  three  regiments  merits
notice  for  his  coolness  and  bravery  on  this  occasion."     The
.second  regiment  lost  62  kill  and  69  wounded  in  this  battle.
