Read Online Amazing Tales for Making Men Out of Boys by Neil Oliver - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Neil Oliver
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hours of the morning, the company commander there offered to supplement the company with a platoon of his own. Danjou refused and the 3rd Company carried on its way.
The Mexican force out hunting the convoy was 2,000 strong—1,200 foot soldiers and 800 horsemen. The cavalry were armed with US-made Remington and Winchester repeating rifles—far superior weapons to the muskets carried by the Legionnaires. The commander was General Francisco de Paula-Milan, and his spies had provided him with accurate information about the Legionnaires he sought—and the cargo they were tasked with protecting. As he rode in pursuit he was confident his men would quickly destroy the defenders and relieve them of their riches.
Some time around dawn Danjou and his men marched through the ruinous remains of a hamlet the locals called Hacienda Camarón. In time the men of the Legion would come to know the place as Camerone but for now it registered as no more than a cluster of dilapidated buildings and huts enclosed by a high, stone wall. The Third Company did not stop, marching for another mile before Danjou called a halt and told the men to prepare their breakfasts. A handful of sentries were posted on the perimeter of the makeshift camp. Now at least there was daylight, and while they waited on water to boil for coffee the Legionnaires could look around at the unfamiliar vegetation smothering the landscape. Maybe a few of them noticed that the waist-high profusion might at least prove a hindrance for any enemy cavalry coming their way.
There would be no time for coffee this morning. Most of these Legionnaires would never taste it again. With the water still cold in the billycans the sentries sounded the alarm. Cavalry! It was the outriders of Milan’s force and hundreds of mounted men werebearing down on the tiny company. Buglers licked dry lips and sounded the call to arms as best they could.
Legionnaires were men for whom drill was second nature and they formed their defensive square without having to think about it. Disciplined volley fire from their muskets was keeping the Mexicans at bay for now—but there was no hope of survival out here in the open. Danjou ordered a fighting retreat toward the only hope of salvation—the buildings and walls of Hacienda Camarón. Still in their square, the Legionnaires began a steady withdrawal, keeping to the thickest of the vegetation to deter any solid charge by the mounted men.
Confident of victory, Colonel Milan held his horsemen back and had them simply circle the Legionnaires, harrying them and picking them off one by one.
It was now that Danjou suffered his first setback—when the mules carrying the company rations and ammunition bolted out of the square and into the clutches of the enemy. Now the defenders had only the musket balls and powder they carried in their pouches and webbing. Danjou remained in control. Twice on the way back toward the hacienda he brought the square to a halt and ordered volley fire. Mexican cavalry fell from their saddles, but there were still too many.
Then came the second blow—16 of Danjou’s Legionnaires had been cut out of the square by the encircling horsemen. By the time the survivors reached the relative safety of the hamlet, their captain was in command of just 46 men. Several of those were wounded. Suddenly rifle fire poured into the company from within Camarón itself—some of Milan’s men had made it there first and were in sniping positions in the upper floors of the ruined farm building.
Even by the standards of men accustomed to making the best of awkward situations, this was dire. The men of the 3rd Company were surrounded by unknown and potentially overwhelmingnumbers and already their only sanctuary was compromised by an enemy within.
Danjou had no room for thoughts about their chances as he gave orders to barricade all entrances to Camarón and to throw up a makeshift perimeter between the scattered walls and sheds. The courtyard
The Mexican force out hunting the convoy was 2,000 strong—1,200 foot soldiers and 800 horsemen. The cavalry were armed with US-made Remington and Winchester repeating rifles—far superior weapons to the muskets carried by the Legionnaires. The commander was General Francisco de Paula-Milan, and his spies had provided him with accurate information about the Legionnaires he sought—and the cargo they were tasked with protecting. As he rode in pursuit he was confident his men would quickly destroy the defenders and relieve them of their riches.
Some time around dawn Danjou and his men marched through the ruinous remains of a hamlet the locals called Hacienda Camarón. In time the men of the Legion would come to know the place as Camerone but for now it registered as no more than a cluster of dilapidated buildings and huts enclosed by a high, stone wall. The Third Company did not stop, marching for another mile before Danjou called a halt and told the men to prepare their breakfasts. A handful of sentries were posted on the perimeter of the makeshift camp. Now at least there was daylight, and while they waited on water to boil for coffee the Legionnaires could look around at the unfamiliar vegetation smothering the landscape. Maybe a few of them noticed that the waist-high profusion might at least prove a hindrance for any enemy cavalry coming their way.
There would be no time for coffee this morning. Most of these Legionnaires would never taste it again. With the water still cold in the billycans the sentries sounded the alarm. Cavalry! It was the outriders of Milan’s force and hundreds of mounted men werebearing down on the tiny company. Buglers licked dry lips and sounded the call to arms as best they could.
Legionnaires were men for whom drill was second nature and they formed their defensive square without having to think about it. Disciplined volley fire from their muskets was keeping the Mexicans at bay for now—but there was no hope of survival out here in the open. Danjou ordered a fighting retreat toward the only hope of salvation—the buildings and walls of Hacienda Camarón. Still in their square, the Legionnaires began a steady withdrawal, keeping to the thickest of the vegetation to deter any solid charge by the mounted men.
Confident of victory, Colonel Milan held his horsemen back and had them simply circle the Legionnaires, harrying them and picking them off one by one.
It was now that Danjou suffered his first setback—when the mules carrying the company rations and ammunition bolted out of the square and into the clutches of the enemy. Now the defenders had only the musket balls and powder they carried in their pouches and webbing. Danjou remained in control. Twice on the way back toward the hacienda he brought the square to a halt and ordered volley fire. Mexican cavalry fell from their saddles, but there were still too many.
Then came the second blow—16 of Danjou’s Legionnaires had been cut out of the square by the encircling horsemen. By the time the survivors reached the relative safety of the hamlet, their captain was in command of just 46 men. Several of those were wounded. Suddenly rifle fire poured into the company from within Camarón itself—some of Milan’s men had made it there first and were in sniping positions in the upper floors of the ruined farm building.
Even by the standards of men accustomed to making the best of awkward situations, this was dire. The men of the 3rd Company were surrounded by unknown and potentially overwhelmingnumbers and already their only sanctuary was compromised by an enemy within.
Danjou had no room for thoughts about their chances as he gave orders to barricade all entrances to Camarón and to throw up a makeshift perimeter between the scattered walls and sheds. The courtyard
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