impregnable position, but it must be
captured or the whole campaign would have to be abandoned.


BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO.

There was no hesitation on the part of our troops, who, under the lead
of the bravest and most skillful of officers, attacked with their usual
energy and daring. The Mexicans made the best defense possible, but
within a few hours they abandoned every position and were driven in
headlong confusion from the field. They lost 3,000 prisoners, among whom
were five generals, while the escape of Santa Anna was so narrow that he
left his cork leg behind.

The American army pressed on to Jalapa, which made no resistance, and
furnished a large amount of supplies, and Puebla, a city of 80,000
inhabitants, was occupied on the 15th of May. There the ground was high
and the air cool andand expensive as to be beyond the reach of private parties,
without congressional assistance. Still all felt that the road must be
built, and, in 1853, Congress ordered surveys to be made in order to
find the best route. The building of the railway, however, did not begin
until the War for the Union was well under way.


PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 1852.

When the time arrived for presidential nominations, the Democratic
convention met in Baltimore, June 12, 1852. The most prominent
candidates were James Buchanan, Stephen A. Douglas, Lewis Cass, and
William L. Marcy. There was little variance in their strength for
thirty-five ballots, and everybody seemed to be at sea, when the
Virginia delegation, on the next ballot, presented the name of Franklin
Pierce of New Hampshire.

"Who is Franklin Pierce?" was the question that went round the hall,
but, on