Bosque

On February 16 a reconnaissance in force was pushed to within a mile of the fort and battle offered on the open plain. The challenge was disregarded, and only noticed by the sending out of a few well-mounted men to watch our movements. The forces of the enemy were kept well concealed in the bosque (grove) above the fort and within its walls.

[page 495] He drove them with great slaughter from the bosque they had then seized, repulsed a determined charge of their Lancers, made with audacity and desperation, and was master of the field. [...] [page 496] The heavy bosques in our front were terminated by a drift of sand extending from the high bluff of the Contadero to the river. Behind this drift the enemy, concealed from my observation, rallied all their forces abandoning wagons on the sand hills, tents, and other supplies, including ammunition, with the desperate resolve to storm our batteries.