General Franklin Pierce was among the bravest of the brave who
fought during the Mexican war. He took command of a reinforcement of
twenty-four hundred men, at Vera Cruz, shortly after the battle of
Cerro Gordo, and set out to join General Scott, who was waiting at the
city of Puebla for more troops. At the National Bridge, he was attacked
by a large body of Mexicans, and narrowly escaped being killed, a
ball passing through his hat. He succeeded, however, in defeating the
enemy, and inflicting upon them a heavy loss in men. He then pushed
on, and met with no interruption till he arrived at Puebla. After his
arrival, the commander-in-chief completed his arrangements and set out
for the capital. In the first attack upon Contreras, General Pierce was
wounded in the knee, while leading his brigade against the enemy. But
he kept the field until midnight. The next day he joined the brigade,
and pressed forward among the most heroic. He had dismounted to leap a
ditch, forgetting his wound, when he fainted and fell directly in the
line of the enemy’s fire. His escape from death was a miracle.
[Illustration: GENERAL LANE, AT ATLIXCO.]