with fifty men, half of
them unfit for duty. A strong party of Indians, under the Prophet,
brother of Tecumseh, made a midnight attack upon the Fort; but Taylor,
though weak in his force, and without preparation, was resolute and on
the alert; and after a battle, which lasted till after daylight,
completely repulsed them. Soon after, he took a prominent part in the
expedition under Major-General Hopkins against the Prophet's town; and
on his return, found a letter from President Madison, who had succeeded
Mr. Jefferson, conferring on him a Major's brevet for his gallant
defense of Fort Harrison.

After the close of the British war, he remained in the frontier service
of the West, till 1818. He was then transferred to the Southern
frontier, where he remained, most of the time, in active service till
1826. In 1819, and during his service in the South, he was promoted to
the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. In 1826 he was again sent to the
North-West, where he continued until 1836. In 1832 he was promoted to
the rank of Colonel. In 1836 he was ordered to the South to engage in
what is well known as the Florida War. In the autumn of 1837 he fought
and conquered in the memorable Battle of Okeechobee, one of the most
desperate struggles known to the annals of Indian warfare. For this he
was honored with the rank of Brigadier-General; and in 1838 was
appointed to succeed General Jessup in command of the forces in Florida.
In 1841 he was ordered to Fort Gibson to take command of the Second
Military Department of the United States; and in September, 1844, was
directed to hold the troops between the Red River and the Sabine in
readiness to march as might be indicated by the charge of the United
States, near Texas. In 1845 his forces were concentrated at Corpus
Christi.

In obedience to orders, in March, 1846, he planted his troops on the Rio
Grande opposite Matamoros. Soon after this, and near this place, a small
detachment of General Taylor's forces, under Captain Thornton, was cut
to pieces by a party of Mexicans. Open hostilities being thus commenced,
and General Taylor being constantly menaced by Mexican forces vastly
superior to his own in numbers, his position became exceedingly
critical. Having erected a fort, he might defend himself against great
odds while he could remain within it; but his provisions had failed, and
there was no supply nearer than Point Isabel, between which and the new
fort the country was open to, and fu