[2]: 153 On February 8, Colonel Alexander Doniphan's force of 924 soldiers and 300 civilians left El Paso del Norte for Chihuahua, despite learning that John E. Wool had abandoned his march there.

[2]: 154 At sunrise on February 28, the Americans took up the line of march and formed the whole wagon train into four columns with the artillery and mounted men in the middle.

[2]: 154 Doniphan used his cavalry to screen the movement of his force parallel to the Arroyo Seco and to the right and out of range of the Mexican artillery.

[2]: 155  Doniphan formed the wagons into a fort after crossing the gully onto a plateau, and Major Meriwether Lewis Clark Sr.'s guns fired on General Garcia Conde's lancers, forcing them to flee.

While interned in a Chihuahua City prison, the main character meets a veteran of the battle who recounts the events.