Newspaper Page Text
VOLUME XXXV.]
MILLEDGEVILLE, GEORGIA, TUESDAY, MAY 31, 1864.
SUMBEJi 2.
BOIKJHTON,N t ISBET,BARNES&^OKE
Publishers and Pror^ etors -
9 . If. BOl’fiHTO.'Vj Edit.ro
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T. S
q'ty, <£<mfebcriitc
Pinion
T t r J>h*hed Weekly, in Milled’gerUle, Ga.,
Corner of Hancock and Wilkinson Sts.,
(opposite Court House.)
At $10 a year in Advance.
Ol’B NEW TERMS.
On and after March 2d,1864, the Terns of Snh-
aaription to the Confederate Union, nre Ten Dol
urj, inraribly in advance. All indebtedness for
subscription to this paper, previous to June 1st, 1863,
is at the rate of Three Dollars per year.
ed by the Government when the Navy
Department was organized, ajtd the
number and kind now r owned by it;
the naval defences of* the Mississippi
river, and especially of New Orleans,
of the Cumberland, Tennessee and
James rivers, and of the city of Nor-
Tu^k the circumstances connected
wun* the destruction of the Virginia,
the Louisiana, the Mississippi, the Ar
kansas and other gunboats ; the caus
es of our naval disasters' and of the
failure of our Navy to meet the pub
lic expectations.
The Committee do not deem it nec
essary to review all the facts relating
to thes topics, or to express their con
clusion upon each of them, as the tes-
Legal Adv ertising. j p mi0ll y j s herewith presented and may
Sheriff a gales, per levy of ten lines, or less, !|io U« ■ , • , , ,, , , • ,, • p
a sales, y ; be read by all who desire the tnforma-
Tax Collector’s Sales, per square, « oo j tion it furnishes. % 1 hey think they
Citations for Letters of Administration, 5 00 j will discharge their duty by express-
** “ “ Guardianship, 5 00 iug the general result of their investi-
Letters of application for dism’n. from Adm’n 8 00
’ .. » *• " “ Guard'n 8 00
to obtain ordnance stores ; the num
ber and kind of vessels purchased or
built, of whom purchased or by whom
built; the contracts for them and bow
complied with ; the contracts for new i Texas that I should so soon have to re
vessels now pending ; the vessels own- cord two of the most bloody batles which
f sisters Surrounded by all the horrors of
. war, tire daughters of Louisiana prove tniu
I istering angels in the cause of suffering hu-
Mar.sfield, La., April loth, 1864.- Little ■ m auitj% and, like the good Samaritan,
did I think when 1 hid you farewell in they never tire in watching at tho couch
From the Houston Telegraph, April 21.
Battles of flansfield and Pleasant Hill.
ADVERTISING*
Transient.—Two Dollars per square of ten
lines for each insertion. ,
Tribute, of respect. Resolutions by Societies, (Obit
•arie. exceeding six lines.) Nominations for office,
Ca-n-nunications or E litorial notices for individual
beaeftt,charged as trantient advertising.
have been fought during this eventful war,
and while the shouts of victory are ring
ing and a thankful people are praising the
Almighty fur the success of our arms in
bearing back the tide of invasion, still
many once happy homes in Texas, Ar
kansas, Missouri and Louisiana are mourn
ing for some loved and lost relatives or
friends.
The battle of Mansfield was fought two
and a half miles from the little city of the
same name. The battle had been pre
ceded by some heavy skirmishing, but
the general battle commenced on the 8th
of April, about 10 a. m., Maj.-Gen. Taylor
in command. Maj.-Geu. Green command-
ded the left wing, Brig.-Gen. Mouton the
corps had never before met such a numbei
of Texans, and they all sav they now be-
j. lieve the stories they have so often heard
| of the Texans’ lighting qualities. The
prisoners all lay the defeat on Gen. Banks
—say he is no general, etc. We fought
the flower of the United States army, and
our hands; they are attended by their own I I must say that the Western men acted
surgeons, and our authorities give them ! bravely, but they could not stand the Tex
every facility to assist them, and they re- an yell and fearful charge. The loss of
ceive as kind treatment as those of our! the enemy in officers is very large, many
of suffering. God bless them. The ma
jority of the wounded of the enemy aie in
own army.
This is a sad night in camp. A few
rods from where I am writing lies the body
pse of Major-Gen. Thos. Green, the Na-!
poleon of the West. Many a heart in Tex- 1
being among the wounded. I visited the
battle-fields of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill
a few days ago.
The field of Mansfield was a plantation
skirted with woods and composed of small
as will mourn the loss of our hero. Just 1 hill* and valleys. It contains some 300 or
promoted, having never known defeat j 400 acres of land, but much of the hardest
when he commanded, enjoying the confi,
dence of his troops to a degree uusurpassed-
and very rarely equaled, with a constitu
tion of iron, and a will like adamant. Gen
eral Green leaves a void in the armies of
the Confederacy which will ret: ain unfilled,
right, Gen. Walker’s division on the right and future generations of Texas will tell ! cord a harder contested field
of Mouton, and two cavalry regiments on 0 f the heroic deeds, and the no less heroic of dead horses are strewn -
Appl'n for leave to sell land and negroes,
Hotic9 to Debtors and Creditor.
Buies ot land or negroes, per square,
“ perishable property, 10 days, per sq.
Estray Notices. 30 days,
Foreclosure of Mortgage, per square.
LEGAL advertisements.
8 00 )
6 00
8 no
2 00
r> oo
2 00
gations. They are gratified that they
can state that after long, patient and
careful investigation, they have found
nothing in the administration of the
Navy Department that justifies any
censure of Mr. Mallory. The testi
mony shows that he has been vigilant,
j industrious and energetic in employ-
Sales of Land and Negroes, by Administrators, Ex- j i°g the means with his power to pui-
or Guardians, are required bylaw to be held , C’llUSe and build H Davy.
• n the first Tuesday in the month -. between the hours \ T , * , _ . ,
•f 19 in tho forenoon and three in tlie afternoon, at the i Inasmuch 3S there has bectl tltUcll
Court house in tiiecounty iu wnich the property is | misrepresentation and crimination of
** Notice of these sates must be given in a public ga-1 the Secretary of the Navy and ot the
■ette to days previous to the day of sale. MeSSrS. Tift beCHUSC of their failure
Notices for the sale of personal property must be . j --
giveninlike manner 10 days ^previous to sale day. ^ j to Complete and to SUVC the MlSSlSSip- j here, too, that the lamented Cbancey B.
the extreme right of Walker. Gen. Green
commenced the attack with a portion of
his dismounted cavalry. The enemy pres
sing the left wing heavily, Gen. Green
then ordered Moutou’s division to advance,
and the fighting was terrible along the
lines of both combatants.
The battle regard fiercely for five hours,
when the enemy broke and fled, having
been forced back two miles, where com
menced a general rout.
Gen. Churchill’s division did not arrive
in time to participate iu this action, but
were in the battle of the following day.—
Gen. Mouton fell early in the action, while
receiving the surrender of a large body of
the enemy. He fell but a few feet from
the muzzle of their guns. He is reprted
to have acted gallantly, and his noble di
vision lost heavily in both officers and men,
1 and covered themselves with glory. Col.
i Phil Herbert was here wounded, and Col.
Buchel mortally—since dead. It was
fighting took place in the timber where the
enemy were. The fence had been levied
by the enemy upon hearing of Gen. Tay
lor's advance,expecting to tako us by sur
prise and slaughter our troops on the open
plain. The annuals of history do not re-
Thousands
over the field,
° fan C8tate ! Pb is if but sheer justice to say
Not ice that application will be made to the Court of
Ordinary for leave to sell Land or Negroes, mnai.be
published for two month*.
that
these gentlemen are not related by
blood or marriage to Mr. Mallory ; that
Citation* for letters of Administration Guardianship, {hev undertook to COMStl’UCt their VeS-
c., must be published 30 day*—for dismission from • J . ,
iministration, monthly nix months—fur ditfHiiBwion SGi Without p<?CUniciry fGW»Y F U ? cUlU
prosecuted the work on it with rare
industry and energy and with extraor-
fcc
Administration, monthly
from Guardianship, 40 days
Rules for foreclosure of Mortgage must be published
monthly for four month*—for establishing lost papers,
ftr the full apace of 'hrecmonth*— forcompellingtitles
from Executors or administrators, where bond lias been
given by the deceased, the full space of three months.
Publications will always be continued according to
these, the legal requirements, unlessotherwiseordered.
fy When a subscriber finds a cross mark on
his paper be will know that bis subscription has
expired, or is about to expire, and must be renew
ed if he.wishes the paper continued.
iy We do not send receipts to new subscri
bers. If they receive the paper they may know
that we have received the money,
ty Subscribers wishing their papers changed
from one post-office to another must state the
name of the post-office Irora which they wish it
changed.
To Tax Rcccivrra.
Tlie Comptroller General famishes each Receiver
•f Tax Returns with three Books. If any Receiver
wishes an Extra book, or sheets for a blotter, we will
furnish him at the rate of 50 cents a sheet. One dollar
extra if the sheets are bound.
Interesting reading matter will
be found on the 4th page.
dinary despatch ; that their loyalty,
patriotism and integrity are unques
tionable, and that neither they nor
tlie Secretary are censurable for tlie
iucompleteuess of that vessel when
theenemy reached New Orleans, or
for its destruction.’
HOME \EWS II KITTLE TIME.
D-VING! Along the trodden, bloody field,'
Along the hills where still tlie tide of battle
ran.
The night came down with flaming spear and
shield—
Came down with starry legions marching in her
van—
Came down and touched the rows of mangled
dead.
Across the knolls and by the little ridges ly
ing,
With loving smile, and, silent, bowed her head.
Like some pale mourner, o'er other brave ones
d> ing.
| Just on the edges of the stormy fight,
As the soft night came down, a group of sol
diers knelt,
Around <. comrade, lying calm and white,
A stain of flowing blood updh his bayonet-
belt ;
! Closs by him on the trampled meadow-grass,
! Beside his musket au unopened letter lay—
' A message from the home which now, alas !
Must be forever dark because of this sad
day.
' ‘‘Read to me, Corporal,” he said-at last—
j “Kend me what Mary says; I shall die happier
so;"
! Then, while across his face a spasm passed,
He sadly moaned ; "It only came to-day, yon
know ;
Just as I came afield *twas given me—
I couid not pause to read it then; but, comrades,
hark !
I’m going now—the long, dim way I see—
Read me what Mary says; 'twill cheer mein the
dark.”
Read
Was
CF*By the request of friends, we
publish the following from the Albany
Patriot. It will probably be remem
bered that when the New Orleans was :
captured some of the officers in the
army endeavored to throw censure j
upon Col. N. Tift of Albany, and his t
brother, for the destruction of the gun- :
boat Mississippi, then building at New j
Orleans. It will be seen by reading ■
the extract below, that the Naval ;
Committee, after fully investigating j
the affair, completely exhonerate the j
Messrs. Tift from all blame in the 1
premises.
Hon. S. II. Mallory, Secretary of State \
—Messrs. Tift—Report of the Joint
Select Committee of Congress.
We find in the Richmond papers an ;
interesting report from the Joint jSe-j
lect Committee of the Senate and j
House of Represenatives, “appointed j
to investigate the administration of!
the Navy Department under its pres- '
ent head, with power to send for per- The dying soldier. sobbed •,
sons and papers,” which we hope to j „ 0
publish in full, if we can find space,; by. 1 ”
hereafter. In the mean time we think j iiis v0 ^® t grew faint ’ then
it will be gratifying to our readeiS to Close to tlie fading lips heard this: "Goodnight,
publish the extracts containing the! my dears.”
conclusions of the Committee which 1 A ’ if w ‘ th t,eath .' s co ‘ , ! i clliil j nd rains f ™ er , e J 1 ?"*-
v Sweet memories of home-dreams of life s brigh
ter years.
And still the battle throbbed along the hills.
Abd still th^ dying and the dead in billows lay.
Along the slopes and by the crimson rills—
The night shades folding all in mantles dun and
gray,
There, where he fell, they scooped a shallow
grave.
And with her letter on bis heart, so cold and
calm,
They read him, as he wished, the precious lines—
The words of love, of brave encouragement and
cheer—
liiin how Mary, ’mid her household
shrines,
hopeful and content; how Llaby, “little
dea'r,”
learned to walk; how Tom had won the
Had
At
prize.
school last term ;
how he, the dear one far
for' nightly ; how with straining
day*
away.
Was prayed
eyes,
They waited his return, as for a festal
They ceased. Upon the pallid, vacant face
A deeper shadow fell, and with a weary cry,
Give them Thy
I-'ather ; shield till the etorm goes
ceased—but one who
vindicate both the Secretary of the
Navy and the. Messrs Tift from all
charges of improper couduct relative
i to the steamer Mississippi or other
wise. It will be remembered that int-
Dufctliately after the fall of New Or-
1. au *, this community, in public meet-
P n S> upon their knowledge of the char
ter of these gentlemen, was the first Left him to wait the roll call of the brave,
re P fc l the charges —* ; The summons to receive t
_ - v**—j,-'- made against
! * , un <l it will be seen that the re
sult justifies their action :
[Extracts front the Report of the
Committee of Cougress.]
Ja. will appear \ n the printed tes
timony herewith submitted, that the
Committee have inquired into every
thing relating to the materials and the
operation of the "^avy within the Con
federate States; •he means and re
sources for building a navy ; the ef
forts to purchase or build vessels and
Balm-
the victor’s crown and
About to Marry Old Men and Shin
plasters.—An Alabama “girl” writing to
her sweetbart in the army says:
“Jack the gurls is all about to di about
yon and ‘bey are about to marey old men
and shinplasters an if you don’t hurey an
com horn you wont get narry wone but old
refused woues Jane b—sends herlov and
best respects to you an *as you must send
ber a ring 6he sas sbe wonts ti» see you
very bad sbe ses you are the piMest thing
she ever saw.”
Sheppard, of Gen. Green’s staff', fell, and
the gallant Major J. D. Sayres wounded.
The fruits of the victory consisted in
capturing 2,500 prisoners, 200 wagons
loaded with stores, 1,400 mules, thirty-six
ambulances, with immense medical and
other stores. In this battle the enemy
fought three army corps, viz : the I3tb,
19tli and famous 16th, formerly command
ed by Gen. Sherman, and which had so
often boasted that it had never known de
feat. The loss of the enemy in the two
engagements will not be less than 6,000
killed, wounded and prisoners.
The enemy commenced their retreat as
soon as routed, in the direction of Pleasant
Hill, some eighteen miles from the battle
field of Mansfield.
Our army having pursued, the line of
battle was formed about 4 P M. of the 9th
of April, and was more bloody than on the
preceding day. Gen. Green’s division
under his command, was posted on the ex
treme left ; Mcuton’s division, under com
mand of Brig.-Gen. Polignac, on Green’s
right ; Gen. Walker, ou Polignac's right;
Gen. Churchill’s division of Arkansians
and Missourians, having arrived on the
extreme right; the Yalverde battery open-
iug the battle and losiug the majority of
their horses, but few xnen injured. Gen.
Churchill, with bis division of infantry,
then moved forward, and the battle com
menced furiously along the whole line.—
The enemy pressing Churchill in over
whelming numbers, he was compelled to
fall back. Gens. Walker and Polignac then
moved forward and broke the entire line
of theenemy, and threw thsm into a gen
eral rout, and night put a stop to the car
nage. They fell back to Roubiere bayou,
some twenty miles. Green’s cavalry in
hot pursuit, who followed them to the river.
Gen. Walker was slightly wounded. So
was Gen. Scurry. (Gen. Polignac was not
wounded, as first reported )
Gen. Waul was iu command of a brig
ade, and every man, both officer and pri
vate acted like heroes. Col. Debray (since
promoted to Brigadier General) is reported
to have behaved very gallantly. He had
his horse killed under him here. Our loss
was very heavy. Gen. Scurry took
1200 men iuto the fight and lost 400
killed and wounded. Our loss in the two
battles is estimated to be 1400 killed,
wounded and 150 prisoners.
We captured in the two battles 32 pieces
of artillery, and small arms beyond compu
tation, and about 4000 prisoners, many
officers among them. These are the great
est battles fought west of the Mississippi
and of all the battles the most fruitful.—
The invasion of Texes is no longer to be
thought of, and probably the complete
evacuation of Western Louisiana by the
enemy, besides relieving the pressure on
Arkansas, which General Price may be
enable to regain. I should here state that
General Taylor fought these battles con
trary to the opinion of others, and he has
eclipsed the fame of Lis father, old “Rough
and Ready.
I yesterday visited the different hospit
als in this vicinity, seeking some of our
Texas boys. I found but a few. I found
Major Sayers and Capt. T. J. Hare, of
company K DeBray’s regiment; they are
not dangerously wounded; also Lieut.
Fisher, of the same regiment, slightly
wounded. I shall proceed to Pleasant
Hill in a day or two, and seek others.—
Hardened as my heart is to scenes of suf
fering and mi-ery, the silent tear started
nnbidden from eyes unused to weeping, as
1 passed among the maimed and wounded.
Here-1 found a noble youth who a few
weeks ago left home so full of hope for the
future, upon the couch ol the sufferer. His
fond mother’s and sister’s kiss, as he part
ed from them, came to my mind, and I
found that war was a reality and a sad
thing. May God comfort the mourners.
The streets of this city are daily throng
ed with the ladies carrying food and com
fort to the sufferers They watch over
them with all the affection of mothers and
death ol the man who first led our cow
boys to board and capture vessels of war.
Major-Gen. Green was killed instantly,
about 5 o’clock on the evening of the J'St h
inst., at Blair’s landing, on Red river,
about thirty-five miles from this place,
while directing an attack with one thous
and men on five gunboats and five trans
ports, the latter loaded with troops, the
former iron-clads. He was standing near j
the edge of the bank, which at-that place
is about thirty feet high. While encourag- |
ing his men under a terrific lire Irom the !
gunboats, ho was struck over the right
eje by a charge of grape-shot—the whole j
top of his head was carried away, and j
death of course, instantaneous. His body
was brought to this camp the next day, and \
will be sent to Texas by Major J. H.l
Beck, quartermaster of the cavalry corps, j
The tent is lighted up and guarded by a j
detachment of Texas cavalry. The sen-1
sation caused by his death it is impossible
to describe. Geiis. Polignac, Waul and
Scurry shed burning tears when they heard
of it. Every one seemed to have lost a
near and dear relative and friend. Gen
Taylor was overwhelmed with grief, for
Green had always been his true and
staunch friend. 1 am told that when his
and the stench is horrible. I was forced
to run my pony at the height of his speed
over many portions. The majority ot our
troops who fell were buried in the city
cemetery, while those of the enemy are
buried upon the field. They were buried
in treuclies side by side as decently as
possible.
When our cavalry pursued, after their
rout, hundreds were cut down, and all
along the road to Pleasant hill, twenty
miles is strewu with the carcasses of dead
horses, and occasionally a new-made grave
is seen by the roadside. The battle-field
of Pleasant hill extends lor the distance
of a mile from the town. The enemy bad
madeastand on the top of a high hill, one
mile from the town. Planting their bat
teries, they awaited the approach of our
pursuing forces. As soon as their scouts
gave warning that our cavalry were in
range, they opened a brisk fire in every di
rection. Our batteries got into position,
the old Yalverde opened and soon silenced
their main battery, killing nearly all their
horses, while DeBray, at the head of his
regiment, charged up the hill followed by
Buchell—the enemy turning and retreat
ing. The Arkansians and Missourians,
under Gen. Churchill, tho Louisitnians,
officers remonstrated against his going into i under Polignac, and the cavalry of Green,
the fight, he said that he wouldn’t if he. i threw them into a complete rout.
had his old brigade with him, but some of! I was misinformed when I stated in my
his troops were new and he must go. The
troops engaged were Wood’s and Gould’s
regiments., and Parson's brigade. We
lost seventy-five men killed and wounded.
The slaughter of the enemy on board the
transports was fearful, as our men were
last letter that Col. Buchell fell on the
field of Mansfield—it was here that he fell.
But when 1 see the regimental reports, I
shall do justice to the humblest private.—
Many of our killed were buried on the
field in separate graves. Our loss in kill-
only thirty or forty yards from them, and ! ed was not near as large as that of the en-
one of the gunboats was completely si-1 emy. The enemys line of battle extended
lenced and about to surrender, when three i several regiments deep along the whole
others came to her assistance ; none were , line of battle and when our bateries open-
captured. Had Gen. Green lived, no one ; ed the slaughter was horrible. Tho battle
doubts but wbat ho would have captured j was fought on ground much like that of
all the transports—the engagement lasted j Mansfield, but they had many advantages;
about half an hour after the general fell', : ditches had been cut by the owner of the
when the officer who took command with- plantation for the purpose of drainage, and
drew the troops. Such is the statement ■ the enemy used them as rifle pits ; but
of officers who were there. J they were soon driven from them by the
Texas also mourns the loss of Chancy j desperate assaults of the infantry. The
B. Sheppard. I knew' him well. He j last of the series of these hills and ditches
was a true friend, and a braver man did not ! extended up to and was part of the town,
fall on these bloody fields. The hero of a ! But few horses, comparatively, were killed
dozen fights, he now sleeps with his old ' here, but the slaughter of the enemy was
chief in a soldier’s grave. Peace to his j fearful. The dead are buried together in
ashes ! But his memory will forever le- ; scores, and it was an awful sight to view
main green in the heart of every Texan, thescene. I could .trace with my eyes j
I shall proceed to the vicinity of the bat- the spots wffiera the most desperate carnage I
tie fields in a few r days, and I dread to I had taken place.
meet our suffering friends. I shall keep | The enemy are fortifying at Grand
your readers posted as often as possible. ; Ecore, and no one knows tbeir plans. We
15 ' possibly may have another battle ere long,
Sioux
In the Saddle (three miles from the
extreme front), Near Grand Ecore, April
17.—After a hard ride of fifteen miles, 1
find myself facing the enemy again, hav
ing been declared released from the parole
given by me on my release from New Or
leans as a prisoner of war.
’ I have many interesting incidents rela
ting to the recent battles which will be
sent as soon as I can get reliable informa
tion concerning them.
I have received many courtesies from
Gen. Taylor and his acting adjutant-gen
eral, Major^urget.
Major-General Prince Polignac, second
in command to General Taylor, also treat
ed me very courteously, as also bis A. A.
G., Major J. C. Mencuxe. I had a con
versation with him yesterday, and be re
grets the error of his being mortally wound
ed should gain such wide circulation. He J
is not injured in the least and now com- i
tnands in tho field. Brigadier General
Bee being second to him, is in command of
all the cavalry in West Louisiana. As
tor our troops are anxious for the fray.—
TMie boys are'enjoying remarkable good
health. Sioux.
In the Saddle, Near Grand Ecore,
La., April IS.—The public are still anx
ious to hear further of the great battles,
and I proceed. All is still bustle and ex
citement at the front. Slight skirmishing
going on daily. A flag of truce, borne
by Col. G. W. Chilton and Major G. W.
McNeel, of Gen. Bee’s staff, held commu
nication with the enemy a short time ago.
The Federals desired to send supplies and
surgeons to their wounded, and we agreed
to receive and receipt for the stores, but
not let tbeir surgeons pass into our lines.
The Federal truce officer, who was a col
onel, paid a high compliment to the brave
ry of our troops on the field and acknowl
edge the defeat. He was courteous and
gentlemanly towards our officers.
A reconnoitering party, composed of
two companies of DeBray’s regiment com
manded by Lieut. Story and Peck, of com
pany’s B and F. mafip n daring dasli into
the fact, of my bolng with a majority ot 1 tlm city at Natchitocfiee on the evening of
.1. _ m i i :n 1 , Jr. i J* rr<> i ,
the Texas troops at the present will not
be considered contraband to publish in 1
your paper, it being so far distant, I will j
men who were in the State that I have i
met with • many of the late bat
tles and never have I seen them j
in better: spirits, despite tbeir late hard-
tile 15th 'inst. They passed through a
portion of the town, driving in the pickets
of the enemy. The main body of the
enemy are stationed betwen the upper por
tion of the town and the town of Grand
Ecore. This feat is considered a brilliant
one. A portion of Col. Madison’s regi-
sbips. The loss among the Texan troops | merit, of Gen. Major’s brigade, have also
is not as severe as at first reported. Our made many daring recounoissances of late
boys, when they went into the fight, did ! The Texas cavalry have all covered them-
their workup quick. It was charge and! selves with glory. I have conversed with
chase, from first to Jast. Company K. t mauy officers high in rank and position
DeBray’s regiment, commanded by Capt. 1 u f late to give me the names of a few of
Hare, suffered the most of any—twenty-! tbeir privates and non-commissioned offi-
one horses being killed. Only three men I csrs who distinguished themselves the
killed, but some ten or twelve wounded.— | most. But all make the same reply to
Many reported as among the wounded are j my inquiries, “All are equally deserving
only slightly so, and are iu the saddle again j of praise.” Every man seemed to endea-
ready for. another fight. The wounded! vor to outdo his comrades in deeds of valor,
are ail doing well and receive every at-! Aud while I give proper credit to our
tention from the ladies of the country. i brave Texans, I must not overlook the
It would be contraband in me to state j gallant Louisianians under the in'repid
the force of the army of Louisiana, and! Mouton, or the Arkansians and Missouri-
I have seen large armies before, but this 1 ans under Churchill.
surpasses all I have yet seen. Bkirmish-
ing is going on daily, and a few prisoners
are brought in. They all admit that they
were badly whipped the other day, and
say the “Texas fellers” fought like tigeis.
A number of tbeir officers told me that
Side by side did they advance to the
terrible charges and now fill the same
graves. The Louisianians under Mouton
covered themselves with glory, the far fam
ed Crescent regiment of New Orleans
leading in the charges. This noble band
they bad never seen such bravery as dis- ! of meu have passed through many severe
played by the Texans; tbe 16th army j fights. I saw them on the field of Shiloh,
^ and even there they held in check an en
tire brigade of the enemy on Monday
morning after the enemy had been rein-
! forced by General Buell. Their loss on
the field of Mansfield was terrible; entire
i plattoons fell at every discharge of the
| enemy’s guns, they advanced across an
i open field without firing a gun, until they
; had reached a few yards of the enemy,
i when they opened and soon drove the
j enemy in a pet feet rout from their posi-
i tion.
The division of Gen. Churchill marched
forty-five miles in fifteen hours, to be in
time for the fight at Pleasant Hill. Nobly
did they stand side by side with their
comrades through that bloody struggle,
and their graves on the battle-field tell
plainly how tb§y suffered. As I said be
fore, 1 cannot get tbe officers to name any
of their meu who distinguished themslves
more than others, consequently all must
receive equal credit. I shall only speak
of conspicuous brigades and divisions with
their chief commanders. ,
1 stated in my first letter lhat General
Taylor made the attack without orderjj
from Gen. Smith and contrary to the ad
vice of many officers. But the general
knew the spirit of his troops and knowing
the topography of the country so well,
risked a battle and has thereby saved
Texas from the perils of an invasion.—
While we extol our own heroes of* tbe bat
tles, Texans must not forget Taylor, Mou
ton, Polignac or Churchill. One of tho
greatest heroes on those-fields was Brtga-
dier-General Bee, commanding a brigade
of cavalry on the extreme left, at Pleasant
Hill. He had two horses shot under him.
and himself slightly wounded. Major G'
\ W. McNeel. inspector-general on his staff,
had two horses shot under him, and Order
ly L. Schneider had two shot wdiile carry
ing Gen-Bee’s orders on tbe field. .Major
.W. T. Mecbling, A. A. G, and Col. G. W.
Chilton, are reported to have acted nobly
in the terrible charge where tbe gallant
Col. Buchel fell mortally wounded.
Nor must I forget the interpid Brig.
Gen. C. P. Major. He was with the la
mented Green throughout, and it would be
useless for me to go into details of his acts.
Suffice it to say that he won fresh laurels
here. His staff, Major Magoffin, Captains
^acharie, Winston and Ogden are highly
praised for their gallantry. Of Colonel
(now Brigadier General) Dabry, I must do
the justice to say, that he acted the hero
throughout tbe battles, never faltering
when ordered to charge, and placing him
self at the head of uis noble regiment bold-
lvled them against the enemy’s walls of
glittering bayonets.
Loud are the praises I bear of tbe gal-
antry displayed by Capt. McMahan's bat
tery of light artillery. At Mansfield, tho
the battery was in position on the summit
ofa hill, and poured a deadly volley into
the ranks of. the enemy. Gen. Taylor
presented two rifled captured pieces to the
battery on the field, they laying aside
their smooth-bore gnus. Lieut. Sam Hous
ton, Jr. commanded one section of the bat
tery, and is reported to have acted the
hero, directing the guns with his own
hands.
Capt. W. G. Moseley, of Brazoria county
Texas, commanded his battery on one of
the wings, and did-fearful execution every
discharge. I have heard officers high in"
rank extol tbe Texas batteries, especially
the old Valverde. Of the Louisiana and.
Arkansas batteries, Gen. Taylor’s official
report will do them justice. They are ful
ly equal to the Texans. The slaughter of
the enemy at Pleasant Hill is described
by old soldiers to have been the greatest
they ever saw. Whole regiments fell like
chaff before the wind, and the piles of buri
ed dead on the field show plainly tbe ex
tent of the carnage’ I must do Col.
Gould’s regiment of cavalry justice.—
Many people in Texas have been loud in
defaming these men. They are from
Northern Texas, but they have put tho
blush of shame upon their slanders. They
never faltered; won laurels in the fight at
Blair's landing where the lamented Gen.
Green lost his lifr. Cf Col. Buchel’s regi
ment too much praise cannot be given.—
1 have always considered this regiment
the flower of tbe Texas cavalry. I have
noticed that those regiments which are
well drilled and disciplined, do far better
service in action. Brig- Gen. JIee and
Cols, Buchel and Debray handled th^r.
men as though they were playing a game
of chess with them. Nor must I omit the
well drilled body of men under Col. Wood’s
command: all were heroes, which is sayiDg
a great deal.
The road after leaving Mansfield ^ to
this place is strewn with dead horses which
fell by the pursuit of cavalry. Many of
the stately residences along the route are
blackened ruins, the fences destroyed by
fire, and a scene of desolation and devas
tation is 6een on every side. I wondered
wbat tbe object was for an army aud peo
ple professed to belong to a Christian na
tion, to thuB devastate tbe land they pro
fess to come to save—oh shame! where is
thy blnsb/ I had formerly believed that
many of the stories of the burning of dwel
lings. robberies of churches, fete." were ex-
aggerated. but after seeing these things
with my own eyes I am now satisfied they
are true. A Catholic church in tbe Span
ish settlement near Double bayou bridge
was sacked and the church ornaments were
taken. 'This cannot be denied.
In the knapsack of one of the 10th army
corps was found the jewelry of a young
lady,. Ear-ringg, breastpins, and even
her underclothing was there. I will do
the enemy the justice to say that the or
ders of tLeir generals severely punish out
rages of this kind, but many of the inferior
officers encourage their men to do these
acts, and even share witb them in the
spoils. These incidents are no bombast
or misrepresentation. I can vonch for
their truth. Well may we say. “Oh,
Union, what atrocities are committed in
thy name!”
I never saw so much sorrow as I see