siege of Veracruz from March 9–29, then the skirmishing near Amazoque on May 14, and the Battle of Contreras on August 19–20. Stone then fought notably during the Battle of Molino del Rey on September 8, and was appointed a brevet first lieutenant from that date for "gallant and meritorious conduct" in this fight. On September 13, 1847, Stone participated in the Battle of Chapultepec, and was appointed a brevet captain for his conduct on that day. He then fought in the Battle for Mexico City until September 15, and was part of a successful climbing party of the volcano at Popocatepetl, raising an American Flag at its summit. He was an original member of the Aztec Club of 1847, a military society formed by U.S. Army officers who had served in Mexico. Pacific coast After the war with Mexico ended, Stone returned to the Watervliet Arsenal in 1848, again taking up his position as Assistant Ordnance Officer. He then was granted a leave of absence from the U.S. Army, and proceeded to Europe to study military practices of the armies there for two years. In 1850 he resumed duty at the Watervliet Arsenal briefly, and then was given command of the Ft. Monroe Arsenal into 1851. Later that year Stone was appointed Chief of Ordnance for the Pacific Department, a post he held until 1855, and also began construction of the Benicia Arsenal in California that year. During this time he was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant, effective February 26, 1853. Marriage In 1853 Stone married Maria Louisa Clary, daughter of Esther Philipson and Lt. Robert Emmett Clary, a West Point classmate of Jefferson Davis; Davis served as best man at Esther's wedding on March 31, 1829. Post-military career On November 17, 1856, he resigned his commission in the U.S. Army, "finding the pay inadequate" for his family. He briefly became a banker in 1856 in San Francisco, but the bank failed the following year due to the "...absconding of its treasurer." Stone then went back to Mexico, where he worked in various government jobs. From 1857 to 1860 he surveyed the Mexican state of Sonora, and from 1858 to 1860 he surveyed the lower region of California. Also from 1858 to 1859 Stone served as acting consul at Guaymas, Mexico, the municipal center of Sonora. In 1860 he moved his family back to the U.S., settling