of the Fijo the Mejico, and the 1st and 12th regiments of the line, with six pieces of artillery, were commanded by General Simeón Ramírez. The 4th light battalion (600 men)and 11th regiment of the line (900 men), were commanded by General Francisco Pérez. In the grove of Chapultepec was the reserve 1st and 3d light battalions (700 men). Battle At 5:45 am, on 8 September, Worth sent an assault column of 500 men, assembled from the various units of his division and led by Major George Wright of the 8th Infantry, down a gently sloping plain against the western end of the buildings. Behind them, he placed Colonel Charles F. Smith's light battalion and George Cadwalader's brigade in the center, and to their right was Garland's brigade and a battery under Captain Simon H. Drum. On the left, attacking the Casa Mata, was Colonel James Duncan's battery and a brigade commanded by Colonel James S. McIntosh. Major Edwin Vose Sumner commanded three squadrons of dragoons on the left flank. Captain Benjamin Huger's heavy guns provided support. Major Wright's force came under intense artillery and small-arms fire, which drove them back, killing or wounding 11 of 14 officers. Lt. Col. Miguel Maria Echeagaray's 3d Light Infantry launched a counterattack, prompting Worth to send in Capt. Ephraim Kirby Smith's light battalion. Similarly, McIntosh's men withdrew in the face of a counterattack, but Duncan's guns forced Pérez's men to withdraw from Casa Mata. Worth sent the Voltigeur Regiment and the 11th Infantry into the assault, while Scott sent in the 9th Infantry. General León and Col. Lucas Balderas were killed. Brigadier General Matías Peña y Barragán led two counterattacks, but the Americans were able to force two gates and then fight room-to-room to take the mill after 2 hours, but found only a few gun molds. The Casa Mata caught fire and blew up near noon, causing more casualties, but by 1:00 pm, the Americans were back where they started. 685 Mexicans were taken prisoner and historian K. Jack Bauer estimates their killed and wounded at about 2,000. Aftermath Col. Hitchcock called the battle a Pyrrhic victory for the Americans. Scott still needed an assault path into the city, despite the destruction of Molino del Rey. Preparations began immediately thereafter for the Battle of Chapultepec. See also List of battles of the Mexican–American War References Further reading Brooks, N.C. A Complete History