PFC Cowell, Nathan
NCO Blood Stripe
As we all know all to well red is often affiliated with violence, bloodshed and passion in real life as well as in literature. It also is affiliated with courage and the ultimate sacrifice. As all marines know the officers and non commissioned officers wear the scarlet stripe down their trouser legs of their dress blues. This is know to all marines, to commemorate all that were lost in the courageous and tedious fighting that took place at the battle of Chapultepec. Even though we know this I am sure most of us do not know what happened at this historic battle that means so much to the Marine Corps history.
The battle took place on September 13th 1847, with the battle of Molino Del Rey where the United States forces managed to force the Mexican army back to the Chapultepec Castle. This castle guarded Mexico City form the west and was a very important strategic position so it was a valuable structure for the marines to take over. The original plan was to attack from the south and not to even go to Chapultepec but after a motivating by a General Pierce the plans changed and they attacked from the west assaulting the castle.
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was in command of the army at Mexico City. He understood that Chapultepec Castle was an important position for the defense of the city. The castle sat atop a 200-foot hill top how ever they only had roughly 1,000 men to hold the hill, including 200 cadets some of them only 13 years old.
The marines started the assault on the castle by bombarding it with artillery on the 12th of September. The order was given to charge the castle by General Winfield Scott. 40 Marines led Captain Casey's storming party followed by James Shields brigade of volunteers north towards Chapultepec. Again the storming party stalled while waiting for ladders, and the rest of Shields' men halted in the face of Mexican artillery. The scaling ladders arrived, and the first wave ascended the...