The contest was kept up until nightfall, without forcing Valencia's
intrenchment. General Pierce remained in the saddle until eleven o'clock
at night. Finding himself, at nine o'clock, the senior officer in the
field, he, in that capacity, withdrew the troops from their advanced
position, and concentrated them at the point where they were to pass the
night. At eleven, beneath a torrent of rain, destitute of a tent or
other protection, and without food or refreshment, he lay down on an
ammunition wagon, but was prevented by the pain of his injuries,
especially that of his wounded knee, from finding any repose. At one
o'clock came orders from General Scott to put the brigade into a new
position, in front of the enemy's works, preparatory to taking part in
the contemplated operations of the next morning. During the night, the
troops appointed for that service, under Riley, Shields, Smith, and
Cadwallader, had occupied the villages and roads between Valencia's
position and the city; so that, with daylight, the commanding general's
scheme of the battle was ready to be carried out, as it had originally
existed in his mind.
At daylight, accordingly, Valencia's intrenched camp was assaulted.
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