CHURUBUSCO, choo-roo-boos'IcO, Bat tle of, one of the principal engagements of the Mexican War, took place 20 Aug. 1847. Con treras (q.v.) was won in the early morning, Churubusco in the forenoon 'and early after noon, of that day, but they are quite distinct battles. The main road north to the City of Mexico,. via San Augustin and San Antonio, an elevated paved 'causeway, converges with that on the west from Contreras and Coyoacan at Churubusco, a village six miles south of the capital and a mile northeast of Coyoacan. Just north of it runs east and west the little stream called Rio Churubusco, crossed by the main road at a bridge fortified with a bridge-head; there was a strong bastion 75 to 100 yards on a side, with embrasures sweeping the San Antonio road. Along the sides were cornfields, maguey plantations, hedges and thickets, and irrigating ditches full of water. In the western part of the village, southwest of the bridge-head, on the Coyoacan road, was the Convent of San Pablo, a massive building with walls so thick that field-pieces could make no impression on them, defended on two sides by strongly built bastions with six or eight heavy guns, and the building it self an impregnable cover for musket-fire. Around it was a flooded moat, in front were cornfields and thickets. The two points to be carried were the convent and the bridge-head; and since, after the rout at Contreras, this was the last place where the Mexicans could make a stand Short of the City of Mexico, the resist ance was likely to be desperate. The wreckage of Contreras was being pursued by Pillow and Twiggs along the Coyoacan road; and Worth, having turned the works at San Antonio on the main road, had captured a considerable body of the enemy, and was advancing along the causeway. Santa Anna threw a battalion into the convent, placed five guns and a heavy body of troops at the bridge-head, and posted several regiments along the north bank of the stream. The first assault was made on the convent. Bennet Riley's and Persif or F.
Smith's brigades, Dimick's and Taylor's bat teries, attacking it from the west and south, were received with a storm of shot and shell from the guns in embrasures and barbette; and as they struggled out of the cover they were swept by the musket-fire from the build ing itself, with heavy loss. Seizing a line of adobe buildings 60 yards from the convent, they opened fire under that protection and held it till the time for advance. Meantime Worth's division, with Pillow, Cadwalader, Garland, Clarke and others, had charged down the causeway, blocked for several hun dred yards with loaded wagons, and through the fields to the bridge-head. Broken into irregular fragments by the hedges and ditches, they were twice repulsed with tremendous loss by the plunging fire of the Mexican guns; but Shields had moved north from Coyoacan and, after a fierce combat, which nearly overwhelmed him, he was reinforced by Lee and Sumner, carried the river line, and moved east against the rear of the bridge. In danger of having their retreat from , the capital cut off, the Mexicans lost
and a third charge from the Americans carried the head with a rush. Thence they turned southwest against the con vent; the American artillery was still batter ing , it on the other side; a sally from the garrison was driven back and, as the fire slackened, both divisions of the Americans entered it from opposite sides at the same time. The American forces in this battle numbered a little over 7,300; the Mexican numbers are uncertain, but probably about 25,000. The American losses, at Contreras and Churubusco together were 1,053, not over 100 at Contreras. The Mexican loss was 2,6.37 prisoners at both, and probably 2,000 at least killed and wounded at Churubusco. Consult Bancroft, H. H., 'History of Mexico' (1885) ; Scott, General, (Autobiogra.phy' (New York 1864) ; Wilcox,