Copy of the official report of the assault of the 24th May, 1866, of the Paraguayan forces upon the allied army encamped at Tuyuty., 13th July, 1866

Copy of the official report of the assault of the 24th May, 1866, of the Paraguayan forces upon the allied army encamped at Tuyuty.

On the 24th May, 1866, between the hours of eleven of the morning and twelve m., the army of our enemy adventured an assault upon our lines with the greater part of their forces, sallying from their intrenchments, favored by the woods and numerous groups of trees which masked their movements, so that their intentions were not perceived until their full force was upon us; and having previously most ably combined the action of the three arms so as to produce the greatest effect simultaneously on what they had considered to be our most vulnerable point, they precipitated themselves upon our centre, our right, and our left, and at full speed fell pell-mell upon our troops, calculating that by rapidity of movement our fire would be less fatal to them; this headlong speed, however, proved only the more fatal to them, as it turned out, for they were received by an army of cool and well disciplined troops.

On the extreme right was the Argentine contingent, in the centre was the Oriental division, with the 1st division of mounted artillery, backed by the 3d division, and later on, by the 1st. On the extreme left were the 2d, 4th, 5th divisions and the light brigade.

The fight became general along the whole line, heaving, twisting, advancing, and retreating, now one part giving way, reforming again, and back into the melee, until half past four in the afternoon, when the enemy turned and abandoned the contest, leaving the allies masters of the field, and sought the shelter of their fortifications; there remained on the field of battle 3,000 killed, 200 mortally wounded, and 421 prisoners of the Paraguayans. The wounded were sent to the hospitals. Our troops had captured, further, four mortars with their munitions, two flags, one standard, ten chests of war, nine trumpets, great quantities of ammunition, infantry armament, and stacks of rockets. Our loss being twenty-nine officers and three hundred and eighty-four privates killed; one hundred and ninety-three officers and one thousand nine hundred privates wounded and bruised.