| And now, Chapultepec lies before us—a strongly fortified post, high
up on an abrupt and steep hill, and which commanded the city of Mexico,
and its passes. “It must be taken,” says the Commander-in-Chief.
“It shall be taken,” echoed the Ninth, and to General Pierce’s
brigade was assigned the advance, and to the Ninth, the coveted privilege
of leading the attack. On this occasion, fired with gratitude and zeal,
the ardent Ransom grasped the hand of his brave General, and uttered the
prophetic words, “I pledge my word to you, to lead my regiment into
that castle or die.”
--Hopkins, The Obsequies of Truman B. Ransom (1849), p.
14. |