The Tri-Weekly Telegraph (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 28, No. 156, Ed. 1 Monday, March 16, 1863 Page: 1 of 2
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vol. xxvni
HOUSTON. MONDAY, march 16, 1863
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From the Alexandria Democrat, 4th.
PART1CDUAB4 OP THB f1ght WIffH
the! indianola.
We have token great mine to procure an aeon
rate account of our great rlrer victory, and oan as
aure our readers that the following will be foand
correct In almost every particular. We are under
many obligations to several of the officers of that'
expedition for a^l the main facts and particulars;
and with the same usual oourtesy from official
sources wo havo gathered the true and interesting
faots of this unparalleled victory.
The expedition started from Tort DeRussy on
Sunday, the82d ult., and arrived at the mouth of
the river la a few hours, and turned theirheads up
stream
The Indladola had forty-eight hours the start of
the Red River fleet at Ackfin s; at Natchez she
was less than twenty-five hours in advahte. They
left Natchez on the Bid, and the commander found
that be 'could easily overhaul the enemy on the
morning of the 3"4tn, and determined not to do so,
in order to bring on a night engagement. , Grand
Gulf was reached before sunset and there informs-
tion waa had that the enemy was only about foQr
hours in advance. We oame up with her about
9s40, above wew Ci
and Immediately the
e, near Palmyra Island,
""ebb" was signalled to
prepare for action. The order of battle on approach
W«s aa follows S
The Queen of the West about five hundred yards
in advance of tbe Webb, and the Dr. Batey, Lieut.
Opt. Brand commanding, two miles in the rear,
lathed tq the.tender Grand Era. Tbe moon was
partially obscured by a veil of white clouds, and
gave and permitted Just sufficient light fdr our men
t6 see where to strike with otfr>ams, and jostsuffli-
cient obscurity to render uncertain the aim of the
formidable artillery of the Inuianola. She was
first discovered when about & distance of one
thousand yards, hugging the eastern bank of the
river, with hor bow quartering across and down
the river. No Indication of life was given as we
darted towards her, no light; no perceptible mo-
tion of her machinery was discemable. The lights
on the Queen and the Webb bad been obseured,
and only the fires of the Grand Bra could be seen
two miles back, where she waa towing the Batey.
The distance between us had diminished to about
five hundred yards. The long, black line of hef
coal barges, which protected her sides, could be
clearly distinguished, from forward of her bow to
nearly abreast of her wheels—when within one
hundred and fifty yards. Gapt. McOloskey, on the
Queen opened fire with his two pivot guns and one
brass Impounder; at the second fire the SO-pouqd
Parrot was dlsabtod by the blowing out of it# von*
pieee. The first intention was to dash the bow of
the Queen Into the larboard whoelhouse or the In-
dianola, Justin rear of the coal-barge, but whop
about i50 yards from her she backed and interpos-
ed the barge between the Queen and herself. ,The
bow of the former went dear through thaburge,
and wasnotarrested.uotll it shattered some of her
timbers amidships, and deeply indenting the,iron
plating of her hull. So tremendous was the mo.,
mentum of the attack that for nearly live minutes
the Queen could not,disengage herself,but remain-
ed attack fast. )\hen in this position her sharp-
shooters opened fire on overy iight and crevice
that they could see. But not a Hying soul was to
be seen on the Indianola's decks. While thus ad-
hering to the latter, tho Webb came dashing by the
Quean, and plunged with terrific force Justin the
- rear fit the bow.of the iron-clad federal.
The-result <of the first onset was to strip the in-
diatiqlaofher coal barges which protected her
sides, and to injure her to some extent in her
Wheel; So soon as the Webb had swept away
clear of her, the Queen swung around and again
dashed upon the Federal, who this time with par-
tial success, endeavored to break the force of the
onset by presenting her bow to the blow. But
she was too slow in hor movement*);, the Queen
struck her a little in advance of amidships, but
as she was turning, the force of the blow glanced
alongher side and past her wheel house without
inflicting any very serious damage. The Queen
swung clear of her stern, and Just then tho Fed-
eral opened on her with her two aft nine inch
guns. One shot struck her on tho shoulder and
knocked off a ffew bales of 6otton, and tho'other;
& shell, entered her front port hole, on the port
side, passed nut and struck the chas j of a 12 pound
'gundnd exploding, killed two men, wounding
four^atad disabled two pieces. Tpi time the
Queen swung around rapidly up stream, and in a
very-brief intwtalagfein,dashed oa her, striking
a little to the rear of tho starboard whoelhouse,
Crushing through and shuttering her frame work
and loosing some of her iron plates. By this time
the Webb had ran up stream, turned, came career-
ing on wHh a'full bead of steam, and struck her
nearly in the same place where the Qgean bad nit
her. Through and through her timbers, crushlng
and dashing her iron plates, the sharp bow ofthe
Webb penetrated as it'it weregoing to pans entire-
ly through the boat. As the Webb backed clear, the
indianola with all the speed she could raise de-
clined further fight, and run down the river to-
wards the b&nk with the intention of getting a
line ashore, in order to land her officers and men,
and abandon her. Tho Queen was again brought
up all ready for another butt.
, Whilst the Webb had her bow knocked off, hea
splendid machinery was unhurt, and she quickly
and gallantly bore up for Iter third charge, when
bearing down > and Approaching the Indian-
ola, Capt. Pierce wsS hailed from her deck an-
nouncing the surrender and begging to be towed
ashore as she was sinking. Capt. Pierce placed a
line on board and commenced towiag the Indian-
ola, when the line parted; >.. I.
Aa the Queen of the West was running off from
her last eherge, to make a circuit to obtain more
space to add increased momentum to her onset,
she encountered the Doctor Batey, who had east
from the tender Grand Era, and was hovering
aroundlto enter the fight when an opportunity of-
fered. She was crqwdcd with near two hundred
and fifty gallant spirits, Who volunteered from the
forcesfat P.ort Hudson, ai.d who bad embarked on
her with tho resolution to fight the enemy by
boarding him. From the deck of the Queen,
voices called out,to them that the opportunity for
boarding had arrived. Lieut. Col. Brand, with
hU command, gallantly approached, and he gave
the Command, ''prepare to board," when he was
' greeted by a voice from the decks of the enemy
announcing that he bad surrendered and was in a
siuklpg condition. ' - * '
The Indianola1 was found to be a most formlda-
bl#Monltor,200 feet long* 53feet beam, mount-
ing two 11-lhch guns forward; and two 9-inch guns
itft; and, all protected by splendid iron casemates
utterly lmpreviim* except to the heuvlestartiilery
at the very shortest range. Her propelling power
consisted of side wheels and two screw propellers.
1 She waa filled with a most valuable cargo, em-
bracing supplies of every kind. The officers and
ottVvamounting to ever one hundred men, fell
into our hands as'prlSoners. They were put out at
Grand Gulf, and placed In charge of Col. Wirt
Adams' Cavalrf. . r
as an avldeijiee of herperfectprotection, we will
state that our," artillery frequently fired at her at
the distance pt twenty end thirty yards, and ut-
terly foiled to Injure her'. Lieut. Handy, of the
Webb, fired his38-poand rifled gun
casemates that it a t#ally .
holes ih< flames and yet no lnju
I gun so close to her
fnveleped both port
injury waa sustained.
Our skillful and ooaragaous sharpshooters fired
deliberately at every onset* Notwithstanding all
these circumstances, the enemy lost butone man
kiltad, audi none wounded.
Wo gather from all souroe# that every soul in the
tion acted his part well, and done his duty
Qr.i The expedition was under
Messrs. UUl
Bet Engine
1
wok*
bar. Bet _
ItoWrtbjUi
P. Pierce. Her
Derby
Aiervj,
peiru*
d of
U' Brftat. The Queen of tftoWrst was
Capt. J. McCUsky. Her Pilots
" n, Milloy, LUtrell, and Dan-
Messrs. Arlbo, Woo<r,Graw-
jpauiel, and her mte W. H.
the oeinmand of Gatft. C.
its are Messrs. Hugh
fltoefcton, Gonklin and
Her Pilete
0. Oakley andO. S. Burdett; and J er mate N.
Whits. Lieut. Handy,of the Crescent Artillery,
commanded the troops on the Webb; nad.Lleut.
Hutton was Chief of Artillery. The troops who
wsre on the Webb and Queen, were Capt. Oarncs
and Lieut. Rico's, companies of theSlst Tennes-
see and a detachment of Major Burnett's Texas
Battalion. . ,
In closing this article tre cannot refrain men-
tioning specially the condnct of Sergt. K. II.
Langley of tho 5th Maryland Artillery. He had
on the "Queen" a detaenment of thirteen men of
his artillery, and was placed in charge of the two
Parrot guns, llo himself took command of the
30-pound gun on the bow of the Queen, where he
remained during the aotionl Neither he nor his
gallant oomrades ever leaving their posts for a
moment. While the bow'of tbe Queen was still
resting against the sides of the Indianola, he still
manned and fired his gun, though he and his men
Were without the least ooyering or protection. In
addition to thie courage, the skill and Judgment
be showed in manouverlng his piece, mounted on
wheels, within a most protracted space, is cer-
tainly deserving of the very highest commenda-
tion.
George
Smith,-
Pierce,
Albert Pike1* Letter Addressed to General
,. , Holmes.
- y' Little Rock, Ark., Dec. 30th, 1862.
When Mr. C B. JohAaon agreed, In Septembkr,
to loen your Quartermaster at Little Rock, $350,-
000 of tbe money he was conveying to Major
Quesenbury, the Quartermaster of tbe Department
of Indian Territory, you promised him that it
should be repaid to Malor Quesenbury as goon as
you should receive funds, and beforo he would
have disposed of tho remaining million. You got
the mon y by means of that promise ; and you did
not keep the promise. On the cpntrarv, by an
order that reached Fort Smith three hours before
Mr. Johnson did, you compelled Major Quesen-
bury, tbe moment he received the money, to turn
every dollar of it over to a Commissary at Fort
Smithand it teas used to supply the needs of
Oe i landman's troops: when the Semlnoles,
fourteen months in the .service, have ne^er been
paid a dollar ; and the XShiekasaw and Choctaw
Battalions, and Chilly Mcintosh's Creeks, each
corps a year and more in the service, have re-
ceived only $45,000 each, and no clothing. Was
this violation of your promise, tbe act ofthe Gov-
ernment?
To replace the clothing I bad procured for tho
Indians in December, 1861, and which, with near
100* tents, fell into the hinds ofthe troops of Gen-
erals Price aud Van DOrn, I sent an agent, in
June, bo Richmond, .who went thence to Georgia,
und there procured some 6500 sultB, with about 3000
skirts and 3000 pairs of drawers, and some two or
throe hundred tents. These supplies were in
Monroe early in September ; and the Indians
were informed that they and the moneys had been
procured and were on the way. The good news
went all over their country, as if on the wings of
the wind; and universal content and rejoicing
were the consequences.
The clothing reached Fort Smith ; and its issue
to Qen. Hindm&n's people, commenced immedi-
dlately. I sent a Quartermaster for it, and he was
retained there,, If any of it has ever reached the
Indiaos, it has been only recently, and but a
small portion of it.
You pretended to believe that the Indians were
in a "ferment" and discontented ; and you took
thin very opportune occasion to stop all the moneys
due their troops and for debts in their country/
and to take and appropriate to the uses of other
troops the clothing promised to and procured for
them. The clotHing and tho money .were their \
and you were in possession of an order from the
War Department/; forbidding you to divert any
supplies from their legitimate destination; an or-
der which was issued, as you knew, ia consequence
Of my complaints, and to prevent moneys'and sup-
plies for the Indians being stopped—find yet you
stepped all.
You borrow part of the money, and then seize
the rest, like a genteel highwayman, who first bor-
rows all he can of a traveler, on promise of punc-
tual repayment; and then claps a pistol to.his
head) and orders him. to "stand and deliver" the
rest. And you did even more than this.
For ydu promised the Acting Commissioner of
Indian Affairs, when he was at IAttie Rock, about
the 1st of October, oh his way to tbe Indian
country, to [give the Indians assurances of the
o d faUb of the ffovernment—you promised him,
say, wjt the clothing in question should go to tho
Indians. He told the Chiokasawsand Seminoles,
at least, of this promise. Ytfu broke it. You did
not send, thom the clothing. Ton placed the com-
missioner and the government in an admirable
attitade beforo the Indians; and the consequence
has been, I understand, the disbanding ofthe
Chickasaws, and the failure of the Seminole troops
to reorganize. The copsequence will be far more
Berious yet. Indians cannot be deceived, and
)romises mtde them shamelessly broken, with
mpunity. .
While you were thus stopping their clothing,
and robbing the half-naked Indians to clothe other
troops, the Federals were sending home the Choc-
taws whom thiey had taken prisoners, after cloth-
ing them comfortably and patting money in their
pockets. No one need be astonished when all
the Indians shall l^ave turned their arms against
us.
}u and Gton. Hlndman not procure by
your own exertlons^bat you needed for your
troops? He reached Little Rock on the 31stof
May. You came here in August. I sent my agents
to Richmond, lor money and clothing, In June
and July. I never asked either of you for any
thing; I could procure for my command all I
wanted. You and he were Major Generals; I '
only a Brigadier; and Brigadiers are plenty as
blackberries in their season. It is to be supposed
that if J could procure money, clothing and sun-
ilies for Indtans,yon and he could do so for whito
roops. Both of you come blundering out to Ar-
kansas with nothing, and supply yourselves with
what I procure. Some officers would be ashamed
so to supply deficiencies caused by their own'want
of foresight, energy or sense.
You do not even know you need in Engineer,
until one of mine comes by, with 20,000 in his
hands for Engineer service in the Indian Territory,
some of whloh belongs to me for advances made,
and with stationery ,and instruments procured by
me, for my Department, in Richmond, a year ago;
and then you find out that there are such things as
Engineers, and that you need ohe; and you seize
on Engineer, money and stationery. Yon oven
take, Notwithstanding IT VI, of General Orders
No. 50, the stationery procured by roe for the Ad-
jutant General'* Offi&e of my Departinent. by pur-
chase in Richmond in December, 1861; for the
want of which I had been compelled to permit my
own private stock to be used for months.
The Federal authorities were proposing to the
Indians, at the verv time when you stopped their
elothina and money, that, if they would return to
the old Union, they should not be asked to take up
arms, their annuities should be paid in money, the
negroes token from them be restored, all losses
and damage sustained by them be paid for, and
tney bo allowed to retain, as so much clear profit,
what had been paid them by the Confederate
States. It was a liberal offer and a greattempta-
tion. to come at the moment when you and Hind-
man were felicitously completing your operation!,
and when there were no breads tuffs in their coun-
ts and they andlbeir women and children were
half naked. You chose an admirable opportunity
to rob, to disappoint, to outrage and exasperate
them, and make your own government flradulent
and contemptible in their eyes. If any human ac-
tion can deserve it, the hounds of hell onght to
hunt your soul and Hindman's tor it through all
6'instead of co-operating with the Federal au-
thorities, and doing all Siat he and Jon eeuli do
to'Induce tho Indians to listen to and ocoept their
propositions, he had better 1 ave expelled flieane;
my from Arkasase or " perished lu the attempt;
«oa had better havo marched ofi Helena, be-
fortlfications were finished,, and purged
I and yon
I tors its
pointing them
You asked mo, in August
what was the need of
any while troops at all, In the Indian country; aqd
you said that the few mounted troops I had, if
kept in the- Northern part of the Cherokee Coun-
try , would have been enough to repel any Federal
force that ever would havo entered U. As you und
Hindman never allowed any ammunition prooured
by me to reach the Indian Country, if you could
prevent it, whether J obtained it at Richmond or
Corinth, or in Texas, and as you approve of his
course in taking out of that couutry ail that was to
be found in it, 1 am entitled to suppose that you
regarded ammunition lor the Indians as little nec
essary, as troops to protect them in conformity to
tho pledge of honor of theGovernmect* One thing,
however, is to b,e said to the credit of your next in
command. When he has orderod anything to be
seized, he has never denied naving done so, or
tried to cast the responsibility on an inferior. Af-
ter you hud written to me that you had ordered
Col. Darnell to seize, at Dallas, in T^xas, ammu-
nition furnished by me, you denied to bim, I un
derstand, that you bad given the erder. Is it so,'
and did he refuse to trust the order in your ban
or even to let you see it, but would show it to Gen.
MoCulloch V , ,
Probably you know by this time, if you are capa
ble of learning any thing, whether any white
troops are needed in the Indian Country. The
brilliant result of Gen. Hindman's profound caf
culations and masterly strutegy.and of his long-
contemplated invasion of MissQuri, is before the
countrv ; and the disgraceful rout at Fort Wayne,
with the manoeuvres and results oh tho Arkansas,
are pregnant commentaries on the abuse lavished
on me, for not taking " the lino of the Arkan-
sas," or making Headquarters on Spring River,
with a force too small to effcet anything any where.
I have not spoken of your Martial Law and Pro-
vost Marshals in the Indian country, and your
seizure of salt-works^there ; or, in detail, of your
seizure of ammunition procured by me in Texas,
and on its way to the Indian troops ; of the with-
drawal of all the white troops and artillery from
their country; of the retention for other troops of
the mountain howitzers procured by me for Col.
Walte, and the ammunition sent me for them, and
for small arms, from Richmond. This letter is but
a part of tho indictment I will prefer bye and bye,
when the laws are no longer silent, and the (Con-
stitution and oven public opinion no longer'lle
paralyzed under the brutal heel of Military Pow-
er ; and whon ,tho results of your impolicy and
mismanagement shall have been fully developed.
* * ♦ * * % *
You dare to pretend, sir,{that I might be dis-
loyal, or even in thought coupft the word Treason
with my name I What peculiar merit is it in you
to serve on our side in this war 1 You were bred a
soldier, and your only chance for distinction lay
in obtaining promotion in the arnly, and in the
army of the Confederacy. Xou teere.a Major, or
something of tho sort, in the old army, and you
are & Lieutenat General. Yonr reward,I think,
for what you have done or not done, is sufficient.
I was a private citizen, over fifty years of age,
and neither needing or desiring military rank or
civil honors. I accepted the office of Commission-
er, at the President's solicitation. I took that of
Brigadier General, with all the odium that I knew
would follow it, and fall on mo as tho Leader of a.
force of Indians, knowing there would bo little
glory to be reaped, and wanting no promotion,
simply and solely to see my pledges to the Indians
carried outvto keep th?m loyal to us., to save their
country to the Confederacy, a.id to preserve the
Western frontier of Arkansas and the Northern
frontier of-Texas from devastatibn and desola-
tion.
What has been my reward 1 All my efforts have
been rendered nugatory, and my attempts /even to
collect and/ormau army frustrated, by the con-
tinual plundering oftmy supplies and means by
other Generals, and yTJur and their deliberate ef-
forts to disgust and alienate the Indians. Once
betore this, an armed forco waft sent to arrest me.
^ou all disobey the President'/) orders, and treat
me as a criminal for endeavoring to have them
carried out. The whole country swarms with
slanders against me : and at, lap t, because 1 felt
constrained reluctantly to re-assume command,
after learning that the Presideht would not accept
my resignation, 1 am taken from Tishomingo to
Washington, a prisoner, under an armed guard, it
having been deemed necesaury; for the sake of
effect, to send two hundred aud fifty men into the
Indian Country, to arrest mo. The Senatorial
election was at hand.
I had, unaided and alone, secured to the Con-
federacy a magnificent country, equal tn extent,
fertility,'i beauty and resources t« any one of our
States—nay, superior to any. I had secured the
means, in men and urms, of keeping it. I kne
Iasitcd
the eastern port of the State of the enemyS pres-
ence. If you had succeeded as admirably in that,
as you have in losing the Indian Country, you
would havo merited the eternal gratitude of Ar-
kansas, instead of ita execrations; and tho laurel,
Instead of the halter. I said that you and your
Lieutenant had left nothing undone. I repeat it.
Take another small example. Until I left the
command, at the end of July, the Indian troopf
had regularly had their half ration of coffee. As
soon as I was eot rid of, an order from Geu. Hind-
man look all the remaining coffee, some 3000 lbi., a--— —«.
to Fort Smith* Even in this small matter, ho could * could have given them no information concern-
not forego an oppportunity of injuring and dlsap* 'u8 the sons, brothers, fathers and lovers,they sent
letter from Wanderer.
Head Q'as 32d Battalion Va. Cavalxv, I
New Kent coQnty, Va., Feb. lit, • . !•
Editor Telegraph -1 have had so little leisure
rooently that I have fousd It impossible to grot
ify my private Inclination for correspondence, by
writing to the Telegraph. Even If the ueoessatv
time had been allowed me, I fear I would have
fklled to interest those who have read my pa*t
communications with pleasure, for tbe reason that
out in the ranks ofthe peerless Texas Brigade,two
years ago, to meet the Invader of our commou
country. Aod since I have thought of this aspect
' I have no right to
of the affair, I have concluded
how only it could be defendea.
no aid oi
any of you. I only asked to be let alone. Verily,.
I have my reward also, as Hastings had his, for
winning India for the British Empire. . •.
It is your day now. You sit above the laws and.
domineer over the Constitution. "Order reigns
in Warsaw." But bye and bye, there will be a just
jury empannelled, who will hear all th£ testimony
and decide impartially-—no lesj u jury than the
People of the Confederate Slates—and for their
verdict as to myself, I and my children will be
content to wail; as also for th6 sure and stern sen-
tence and universal malediction, that will fall like
a great wave of God's Just anger on you and the
murderous miscreant by whos^ malign prompt
ingj you are making yourself accursed .
Whether I am respectfully yours, you will bo
able to determine from the contents of this letter.
ALBEltT PIKK, Citizen of Arkansas.
Theophilus H. Holm.es, Major General, ac.
GOVBRNMENl TRANSPORTATIONNOTICK.
Teams and Teamsters wante<k>to transport
freight for Government use to and itom Browns-
ville—full freights both ways. Conscripts will be
—"—-1 from all military
lis service for the
vruTciiuuviii,, ifw-i'r-f, b address, number
of teams, Sc. c., to the following agents of the Quar-
termaster's Department: John B. Lubbock,
Alloy ton; Peter Gallagher, Brownsville ; Clinton
'•.W- ~ " "—
AilU/kUU J rctci A ivnu«i4 v , «
G. wells, office of Wood & Power, Houston; John c
WillettWharton. S. HART, i
feb25twlm Major & A. Q. M. «
News copy 2 months and send bill to Wood &
Power
OKMIRABLK COlftffRY UKSlDKNCU
FOR SALE near Brenham, Washington eounty,
will be sold for Confederate money, or ex-
changed for properly in Houston or QalteSJon.
Apply to [fflbC-twef4w | W. B. SOKLBYi
ANTED—A Substitute over 45 years of age
Address G. B. at this office, march 0 tw
W
< FOR GOVERNOR. .
GEN. T. J. CHAMBERS,of Ohambersvllle.
SHOES—.'ust received a fine assortment of La-
dles and Gf nts and Children* Shoes. For sale
by • ltaarch0-3t| JOHN C. CUTTKK.
r^OPPBR KB FINER—The Stats Military Board
wish.to
wlstuto employ immediately* scientific and
- - - "' liberal wages
"OVA,
Beard.
practical copper refiner, lo whom liber
will be given. P. DILORDC
moh4-3t. gee. Mil.
Bk panMBYl'BKY of UKAZUg stands ad'
Jonrned te meet at Brenhoa, oa Iks irat
Thursday of April, at 7 P. M.
' W. C. 80MKRVILLB,
! mar34t Stated Olerk
claim or expect an audieneo to any thiug I may
(ay, us I cannot ease the anxiety and solicitude of
any mlndi by disclosures of the circumstances of
those upon whom all their love ehd hope is cen-
tered, or discourse in any manner claiming to be
accurate, of tho bealth. condition and location of
the gallant men who have won imperishable dis-
tinction on every battle field of Virginia and Ma-
ryland. I am no longer in intimate connection
with those who canle with me from my Southern
homo, in the first zeal and fife of patriotism, to
tight the bloody battles of our country, and build
upon tbe shattered wreck of a rained nation a
proud and princely government whloh will give
poace, glory and prosperity once more to distract-
ed Amerioa, and learn tyrants that liberty always
rewards Its votaries with success,;and overwhelms
its enemies with confusion, shamo and InAtmy. I
oan no longer claim companionship with the noble
men with whom I have endured for nearly two
years the fatignes of tbe march, the sickness ofthe
camp, and th thiok falling dangers of battle ; and
as I enter myself upon a new field of unfamiliar
duties, I cannot but sigh when 1 look around me
andOiscover none of thoso familiar faces which
once met mine in cordial, friendly greeting. By
one of the many freaks of fortune, I have been
transferred from among my original comrades in
arms, to another organization, unknown—except
as a fraction of the Confederate army—to Texas o<-
Texans ; and I feel as if the relinquishment of the
old ties andt tho formation ofthe new excludes me
from those^privileges and local advantages I once
enjoyed ae a' member of a Texas regiment. The
abandonment of my connection with my original
regiment, and the junqtioh' of my fortunes with a
new one, has deprived me of my identity as a
Texan; it would therefore be both wrong and pre-
sumptuous in me to expect a continuance of that
favor my correspondence might once have claimed
Trom partial friends, who imagined the writer in-
teresting because his theme was so all-engrossing,
and unjustly awarded to him the praise his sukject
Would nave elicited when invoked by the duuest
imagination, or most infaoile pen. Urged as I am
by these paramount coasideratieos, to,deny myself
the pleasure of correspondence with my old friend
Telegraph, I freely confess the determination
awakens within me many serious ^egrets; and
while upheld by the consciousness of discharging
my duties in proper faith to your readers, I cannot
but recall with mournful pleasure the mainy.enjoy
mcnts I have experienced as your correspondent,
and the untold advantages that have accrued to
mo by the exercise of u proud privilege whioh
now ceases to be mine by my praotical alienation
from the men with whom 1 was once associated,
and whose gallantry, patriotism, self-denlal, glory
and splendid reputation will be linked to my soul
by the brightest chain of a fond memory—for-
ever. ...
Would that I could ever be a sharer ot their for-
tunes, and a chronicler of their high deeds, mag-
nanimous courage, devotion to a principle,"and
undefilod love for their country !-r-
But there is a destiny which shapes our ends,
Bough hew them as we may"— " ' '
and I bend in obedience to its unchangeable de-
crees. I can nover foiget the enthusiasm with
which the young manhood and peerless chivalry
of Texaa first left tho allurements of a peaceful
"loine,," to try conclusions" with abase, perfld-
ous enemy on the green mountains and lh the
beautiful, ilower-gemmed values of the grand old
Mother of States; and the unflinching resolution,
the determined valor with which they have proven
their faith by their works, will evef hold graven
places in my most enduring recolleotiona. I wish
to indulge in no idlo panegyric ; I wish to pass no
meaningless encomiums; but the spirit of Justice
would demand its rights, and the conciousness of
an inflicted, though passive wrong, would bprden
my mind with an incubus of misery, should I with-
hold from my old, scarred, battle-worn comrades,
that tribute to their characters, which notalrthe
exaggerations of u fertile fancy, nor all the rheto-
rical combinations of glowing language, could
torture into a more flattering semblance, than the
one presented by the pure, unadorned, historical
truth. /When this war shall have ended, and quiet
peace have returned from her long| exile-
while others may want proud titles to prefix tholr
names, and brilliant reputations to point their
characters, I desire no more distinguished honor
frfaa my kind, than the possession and appreci-
ation' by them of tho simple knowledge—that I
was once a member of " Hood's Texas Brigade."
To fathers and mothers, in this my valedictory, I
will now make my last appeal. Nurture your
young babes as their eldest brothers were nurtur-
ed! Educate theknwith high instinctive princi-
ples of honor and manhood burning in their bo-
soms, as th ey burn in the souls of those heroes yon
have sent I lefore them, and all with our dear coun-
try will yeife bo well. Its future will be brightaud
prosperous as its present is dark and unhappy.
To the bright eyed and soft-hearted lassie—who
has wept oft for her lover's absence, and sighed
wearily whlen lie did not como through tbe long,
long summ er day ; and mourned sudly when the
quickly re volving sun of thedronry winter hours
shone not liipon his manly form—1 would say: Be
consiant to tho vows tho angels in heaven have
heard you Whisper, and bo ready to prove to your
chosen Kt iglit—(if God should spare him) when
he returns to have those long and fondly remem-
bered pledges ratified and conlirmod before earth
and. heavoia, that the cruel wasto of his life's
^riug time has not been in vain—that the bitter,
bloody tofli ngs of weary, ceaseless months shall
not go unrewarded. Do not dash d°wn the cup
of his life's hopes by the curse of unrequited affec-
tion. De n ot smile to deceive. Do not favor to
betray. Ac t. your part as if heavy responsibilities
were resting on you—for you are a soldier in a
higher and more exalted sense than the veterans
of the Confederacy. They guard human liberties.
You should cherish and protect human hearts. En-
quire into the actual realities around you, and ex-
tend your s phere of usefulness. Learn to knpw
'{ogling and combination of love for
country and worship for woman is tho strongest
with me, Mr.' Cushing, ifl havo claimed your space
too long. Perhaps an apology it due you and yoar
teiders for t^his intrusion upon them of so much
refcdors for itlns intrusion upon them of so much
matter, whicli will bo called by the uncharitable—
" egotistical,*' and cannot be modified by tbe most
psriialof my' apologists into anything other than
" personal." 1 But as this is the last occasion on
which t will msk their indulgence, I hope It may
be granted. And now. with tho most gracetalbow
of which I a.\n capable, and the most gracious
imife my eoun tenanee can assume, I doff the gown
ef the study (tent), throw aside the goose quill of
the scribe, and retire from the arena of public cor
WANI)E;
respondence.
ERBR.
Head Q'cri RTEks, Waco, McLennan Co., |
March 4th, 1863.. j
GENERAL ORDERS, No. 1.
In obediance to orders from Major Gen Walker,
I have established my Headquarters at this place,
to collect all officers and soldiers belonging to any
of the regiments now serving In Arkansas (noton
special duty, or absent by proper authority), and
bring them with my command to Arkansas. 1
therefore order ell each officers and soldiers to re-
port te mo at this plaoO by the ttth day of Mareb,
1863, prepared to march to Arkansas.
By order of ' W. A. RYAN,
inch ll-tw3t* Msj. 18th Reg't T# 0.
—
T* Wh)>pswl| IslWlsUr,
er noLUi 4. fcoour. >
whole no. 8653
SRBSS
V k. t
. ... Ths ltlly hath lost ber leaves;
And tbe fern, that hath clothed hlra In asben grey,
By the edge f f the river the Uve lou« day, . i
0 For t ho loss of his mtslresn grieves.
T, e gl-'Mous rose Is dead,
Aud her vas<el« all east off tbeir laments tfreen:
Aod the ja«oiinee and violets lo>t their sbeeu
When the soul or ber beauty tbd.
rben the soul or ber beauty tl
* ' >*
The read-breasted robin*, aro'tlown;
They are tunning their pinions In frtry bowers;
They «re drinking the dewdvops from tropical flowers
'Neath the sun of e summer tone.
I • ' , • '• S ' "3 K ' *
Aud there where the^OMntP blow*,
Dreaming in shades of the ftagant lime, v'
The nlulitlngals nursed In that brighter clime ' •
Htth forgottou bis trae-hearted rote.
1 hey are guns radiant band ;
braQUOBt things,
fickle wlpge
The blot-solus have died with
And the bird# a'l have tilt '
To tho saores
iled with all
e flitted on
i ot a far-off
land.
,r
T!u>y have gone In summer's train—
The i why dost thou linger, thou solemn blru,
W base voleeln the shadowy eve Is neari
Kinging its mournful train? .
Through the low and lonely wall
That Is strewn by the pipes oa the reckless blast,
pr comes Abating, like the heart sob;
Oast on thtf wings of the gale.
'' ■ "f- o; c • ■ , . .
What dost thou bfcref, thou bird X
Thit form should be where tbe myrtle twines-
Whore the ti emblmg leaves of the fri
By tho sweet, south wind are
•grant vines
stirred.
The swullows wjll koineward'fiy,
■n the wot U vine frail by The Stream
the rushing sounds of the winter Wl
When
Aud the rushing i
On the th
e breast of April die-
Is twined,
wind. ~
The robins will flutter lu;
They will tell of the land where the summer gale,
With fiasrance laden, swept up the vale t . >
Whore whiter hath never been.
The bulbul will come with Spring; '
He wll] Woo the ros with his lender song i
He will pour oyt his music the pines among—
Then Oh! whaf wilt thou slhgf ~
■ • -1 . ' •••.., s
, Thou'it have beta uiourplul tale;
Thy foot hath not rested in emerald bowers;
Thou never hstbtsistedtbe nectar from flowers, ■,
Nursed in a tropical vale I. ■
Oh! bird of
Thy win* hath but
e dusky form! t - • i
, „|ttled wlthdriitlng snow; [low,
And thy song hath been heard, when the winds lay
' In the midst of the rushing storm I > > f -
Oh 1 bird of the gloomy wif>g I"
Whon the Spring In her beauty Uatb'come agalu, .
Thy voice will be hoaid In the gloaming then.
Still moaning the same sad thing!
* Nought, ah 1 nought can
winter will pass with Its wind
change thy tope;
nd and i '
The winter win pass with Its wind and ralu.
And the Spring in her beauty will come again a
Rut thy song wll be stllla moan!
Rut oh! what dost thon here r ■ •
Dost thou linger here ior some lost love's sake ?
If or this does thy dirge in Its sadness break
As the Haunted hour draWenear 1 ■' -
Alas! I may aotknow!
No answering sentence will come from thee, l a
Thro' the bush of the twilight here to me. ...
With tho sound of the river's flow;
■ ' ' , f ").iv ' i!
Rut sing thou on, thou bird!
Too t-ad art tneu for some lighter hearts; " '
Vor lh some life adthen s no broken pacta
'Mid. tbe swoetor notes are heard.
Too sad for the morn of mirth— 1 ■
For hearts whose passions and bodes are new, ,
From whose bright leaves liters early dew
Is yet unclaimed t y earth.
Too sad the rioon of love !—
Too fiad for proud eyes that are deep with llfs—
Too sad for high hearts that with hope are rife—
Too sad for tbe noon of love I—
. Rut tor twilight hearts like mine, >
Whose sunlight has faded beyond the clouds;
Whose skies are so wreathed In purple shroud?,
That no tender light can sblilb—,
No voice; no song can thrill >' i
Over souls like mine with such s&d pvwort
In the mystic hush of this haunted hour. '
As thine, lone Wnlpporowlll!
TvtBn. Feb. 18.1*61. > , '
COJIWAY'M aPBHCH.
We gavb an extract
speech oftbS abolition
a late paper. We now
full
•rVj
to-'
W i.
rah of the a boll t
te paper, jfranow copy
fell tram the Cluclunstl Meqatret;
A fiiw days ago, Mr, Conway ef JUn-
«s, one ofthe most nitre. **e wall u
me ef the ablest or the KepubHeeu
•rs<if(>>ngVcsaiJe«to> a strong
&
ahd the step,
aldtoi
sea j
in favor ©ft
e war. Th* Speech la said i
e. approval of Gof. Andrew.-.
Sumner, Wendell Phillips, Hot-
"ley. and other leading Abo.
~ a caucus In Wash-
was delivered, it t
demonstration,'
xtraetafrom it,
a'aete#: ;.-s 1
U| AGAINST MMMRdR, "
ace i
lttlontKs1; who held a caucus
ingtohJost before If
a very Important de
e take |be following eat
liich fully show Its oiai
' US t(| AyAlNST oi'l
I am niptln favor bfrestorlh'g the
aatitutlonal relations orfhe glaVehold-
I'tQ the Utifon. nOr vf conducting tbq -
a that and. Oj the contrary, I Jm
and Torew opposed to both;
i,n *qr ol .the ^Unioj.a^it existg
„ — ^e Amer;
Wo"*-""'-
fxm:
race, color, or
be the oiani^
oan naUitth/ _
Ameilcae cqutlnanlt a . „
Tpoucslve, therefore, that
slngtl
an nal'.o
mencan nauap. ■
Steffi sf-
w" "JfatW
*,loh. end. the South
love
the
into e distinct public nod v.*
In a position *to pursue the
aepwrate State, I bolleye that
rectlon of the war to any other encLls a
perversion of H. calculated to sWert
the vary vhJect Jt waedefclgried pf-
. HIS OTfomioi.
1 have never allowed myi
dulae la th ( superstitious
the Union so prevalent wuot
Pie but honest people, npr that
cai cant abeut the r
among dlsnpnSst oi
regarded.lt «a a
to be valued Ihp
Its as an. Instreme
perity ana honor.
„ taaeotrtW
The war Wljiph
tbe North,i
two years, 1
has substituted id the
of mttlona! pros-
G< verrtment tor thai ofWe t5nlon.
ThU is the fact, and the Act In such a
matter Is the importint thmg.
In suchL
ties the" law.'^No " t^nTcafcy^fJTa
eu est ion of this kind cSu f ld. The
war,has blt&ly dbwolvctUbo cofiflec-
tlon between tho North a d South,
and rendered them seperetrSn«4nde
endent powers In the worid, This Is
enecessary legal ertject of civil war
' s tho bollgeretit
pet
the
anywhere.
—Ttlsaindi
id UDleixs tt:
Jr,. they cohtin«ejj <
lb, other loteVflr. The prlncipll is
laid down bvVattel, as follow*; "When
a nation becomes divided Into ft
partlssindepeudentforthe time being,
Ohe succupibs t<f the
Independent"of
war
upon
P«ct,
'4!
nth
weetl ,the two
eeathe grbuud,
as a
CIRCULAR.
Orricg Chiif Qoarter Master ,
Trans-Mississippi Department,
January 31st, 1863.
The following letter, receirea ftrom the Inspec-
tor General of Field Transportation, is published
for tho Information of Quarter Masters of this de-
partment. The reporta called for by this letter
will bo made and forwarded through this office,
with as llttledelay as possible :
"Having received but few returns from Quarter
Masters under yoar orders, I have to request thit
attention bo again called to Genera! Order No.
76. "
"Answers to the following questions are reques-
ted of Quarter Masters in oharge bf Field Trans-
portation ; "
"Numberof horses, mules, oxen, waftoni, am-
bulances, carts, sets of harness, tho condition and
employmentor the same ; number of men, things
employed With transportation, and wages paid.1'
"Number of horses, mules, wagons, &c.^ pur-
chased slnoe last report, and average prices paid ;
average cost of forage purchased, number of
hosses, mules, wagons, &.O., condemned as unfit
for service; whether condemned to be reeruited
nd repaired, or recommended to be sold."
"Authority to sell condemned property of thip
kind must be obtained (Tom the Secretary of War,
by application through this offloe.'' >•>
"All publio property should be branded C. 0."
"The allowance to a regiment in the army of
Northern Virginia Is seven four-horse wagons and
teams for infantry, ahd twelve four-horse wagons
and teams for cavalry."
Please advise me of the allowance In your ar-
my : it is very desirable to make it uniform
throughout tbe whole army."
< - W. L. CAHELL, Chief Q. M.,
Trans-Mississippi Department.
Attention is also called to tho following letter
ffom the Quarter Mastor General. The returns
called for by this letter must be furnished as re-
quired by the Regulations—paragraph 1)3 :
Quarter Master General's Orricg, j
Riohmond, Jan. 1,1863. j
Sir t—It is observed that many of the Quarter
Masters of your district do not render their re-
ports of persons and rolls of extra duty promptly.
You will please call their attention to paragraph
93, of the Regulations, which requires that these
returns shall b« forwarded within five days after
the expiration of eaoh month.
Respectfully, your ofeedlobt servant,
JL. C. MVERS,
Quarter'Master General.
To Msj or W. L. Cabell, Chief Q. M. Little Rock,
Ark. ——
W. L. CABELL, Chief Q. M.,
Trfcns-Mlssisslppl Department.
The attention of Quarter Masters in this District
Is called to the above circular. They will send to
this office answers to the questions propounded by
Major Cabell at once, to enable me to make the
necessary report. B. RLOOMPIKLD,
Major Chief Q. M. Eastern Hub-Dist. of Texas,
mar. 0-twSt.
V*KAXDAH HOTBL VOB HALM—I Wish to sell
V the Verandah Hotel and Vamltan, at Rich-
mond. Apply to the undersigned,or to J. *. Sul-
livan, at Richmond.
March
9-tW«t
".HE
parties mauas
j m.e^pry Tes-
. _. public war between two
different natloni."—BOok Til, chap.
17, p 429. It is not to be tfondefed at,
therefore, that so learned and pro-
found a jurist as the honorable mem-
ber from Pennsylvania <Mr.' Stevens)
should express the same opinion.
THE DKHOChACY TRUE to T1|E UJflOW.
Will
separation
Hon, in, the
sltlon to dissolve the Union—for whlt li
one ought to be hanged. THey expect
the question whether the Union shall
l"t t0
The Dqmocrr.tp will n t of course
listen to separation for an instant, bnch
asuggestion. In, their eyos. is a propo-
" —for which
.% i , — Plan is to oppose
the Administration simply on Its anti-
clpatlon Act, the President's Proclam
atlon of Imanclpatlpn, These .meas-
ures they pronounce unconstitutional,
deny their validity and everything
done, or to be done, in pursuance of
them. In aildltlou to this, they at-
taok the administration oi^ pccount of
Its suspeuslon of the writ' of habeas
corpus, false imprisonments
tion, imbecility, Ac., aud a
other incidents. But on the wSr and
imprisonments, corrop-
... ... - thousand
tho integrity tuf tho Onion, they are
like adamant itself. They claim to fa-
vor the war for tho sake of tbe 'Union,
hut to be for compromise rather than
war. 1 hoy soy very truthfully that
the Republicans have tried for two
years, and exhausted the couutry, aud
upon this clalui toe ado, tion ot their
method as all that is left to be Uone.
This Is tho manner in which the phli-
S, f iVir. A- A
tlclans of the counti y
minute this great confll
propose
let.
to ter-
TUE lilts AT Cf'NHEItVATIVE I'ARTY.
An alliance seems recently to have
been eliected to this end between cer-
talu elements heretofore hostile. The
Border State politicians are the rem-
nant of the old Whig and Kbow-noth-
lug party, who, all their lives,cherish-
ed an Intense hatred of tho Democra-
cy. l'hay now unite with thatp-irtfy
to effect this object. jTho Republicans
of the Albany school, under the saga-
cious leadership of Mr. Weed, who for
long years fought the Van Bcfren
regency and llnally broke it down
through the agency of freesoli; are
also hand
neuts.
oracy takes
id In glove with their eppe-
lhuslhe army of the Dem«-
kos the field for the next great
political battle, supported on the left
by the followers of Ola
don, and on the right by the "special
friends of Wm. II. Sewsrd. 8ueh a
host may well feel confident. It Is a
combination for victory. The elements
havo been well shaped. Not In vslu
have the .Border State politicians
thronged the hall of the Presidential
mansion. Not4n vain has tbe discreet
Secretary of Btato incurred the repu-
tation oi having becoma ini beetle. Wot
in vain has the whole Administration
Buffer#! the odium of drifting, with the
icy. They could
passed that stage,
in tueir keeping.
tide for lack of a policy
well afford to dispense witli tho ai —
plause of the rmoLxU, whllo thev si-
lently directed that uuder curreut
which was to refer the gigantic <iues
lions, with which they could not grai -
pie, '.o the decision of another PresU
denttal Weetlon. TheConservatlves will
triumph,
liie cnlef element In the accomplish^
mentof this reactionary movement Is
the war, which the Administration Is
conducting for the restoration at the
Union. The war is lnde«d the fiomp
card of the Democracy: not war for
conquest, but Mr. Lincoln's warfor the
Union. They have'no iesr tbat It will
" Abolition. It has
Its results are now
A . All they wish la Its
prolongation to the principle that tho
Union is Intact, and the Constitution
"bpoo to amendment through Southern
votes. In tbe next placw, the respon-
sibility of it, being with the Republic
cans. It weakens them sadly in the
elections. And tn Que tblrd plsce Its
effectls to wear away and depress the
slaveholders,and dispose them In favor
ol conciliation. The war, Id whatever
aspect it may be presented, Is an
admirable Instrument for them. If it
should happen to meet with unexpect-
ed success, and defeat the rebellion,
the slaveholdera will be brought back
Justin time to loin themlp the elec-
tion. If it should lsg and accomplish
no results, as now seems likely, this
will inevitably losure them a.trlumph
In the popular vote. Their theory Is—
and it Is a sound one—tbat the two
forces Abolition and Secession, new In
deadly oonfltel, have only to be per-
mitted to continue the light long
enough to wear each other eut, ami
cense the political waters to subside to
v < .1
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Cushing, E. H. The Tri-Weekly Telegraph (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 28, No. 156, Ed. 1 Monday, March 16, 1863, newspaper, March 16, 1863; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth236499/m1/1/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.