The Abbeville banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, March 24, 1847, Image 2
-v
" f' ' y
f rom (he Hamburg Rep.?jG.r. 18, insl.
FROM THE ARMY.
Tho New Orleans mail this morning
brought us the following important information,
Avhich we copy from an extra from
tho Delta Oflice, of tho 13th instant.
At an early hour this morning we received
our correspondence from the seat of
war, by the schr. Cinderella G. Scull,
which arrived here last night, our letters,
which are up to the last hour of the express
starting from Montercv. t'nnfirm tho iirr?lir?_ I
w J I *
bility of a battle having been fought between
Gen. Taylor and Santa Anna.
Our correspondence from the Brazos
represents the valley of the Rio Grande as
swarming with Mexican soldiers and ranchcros.
A hard battle was commenced
near Saltillo, between Gen. Taylor with |
3,000 men, and Santa Anna, with a force j
of upwards of 20,000 men. The Mexicans
had no artillery. Gen. Taylor lost, it is
said, about 2,000 men and the Mexicans
4,000, Taylor had taken position at a
mill pond, about three miles from Saltillo.
Gen. Marshall had left Monterey with provisions
and two 13-pounders, guarded by a
ar: strong escort, to join General Taylor.?
The Mexicans about Camargo think Santa
Anna has been badly whipped. Col. Morgan
of the Ohio Volunteers, stationed at
r* 1 - ....
vciidivu vvnn u strong lorcc, has been attacked
and his force cut up all along the
line of observation as far as Mier. Another
report is,that Morgan was slightly wounded
and has retreated. Several of our trains
and many mules with sutler's goods, have
been captured by the Mexicans. Urrera
is on his way to Matamoras with 4,000
cavalry.
From the Malavioras Flag, of March 8.
Our town has been thrown into the most
intense excitement by the reports constantly
reaching'here relative to the perilous situation
of Gen. Taylor's division of the army.
They are so vague and confused that we
hardly know how to commence an abstract
even. That a battle has been fought, no j
one can doubt for a moment, but how it has ;
-i 1 -i i
ilouiiuu, ui wuai uungurs llllj)unu Oil mo j
line of the Rio Grande, is enveloped in the
most perplexing uncertainly. We give, i
however, what seems to be the best authen-!
ticated statement received from the scat of
hostilities:
Gen. Taylor, while at Agua Nueva, '
22 miles from Saltillo, with 5,000 men, was
attacked, on the 22nd ult., by a Mexican!
force of 15,000. Finding that he could not
maintain his positon, he made good his retreat
to Saltillo, covering his wagon train.
Here a severe engagement look place in
the streets, in which the Mexicans suffered
a heavy loss. After destroying what of the
public store he could not transport, he continued
his retrograde movement on Monterey
until he reached the Rinconda Pass,
where he was again attacked, but successfully
defended himself.
Here all the rumors, reports and letters
leave him. Once in Monterey und he
would be safe, but his ability to accomplish
this was altogether problematical, as the
Mexicans was swarming in every direction.
A merchant in Camargo, under date of
the 25th ult., writes to his friend in this place
?" Three expresses to-day from Monterey
?fighting in Sallillo?Marin in Mexican
possession?large train of wagons, 126, and
180 private mules taken McCuloch's
company taken?800 cavalry this side the
mountains, and things in general turned
upside down." From another -.ource we
learn that Col. Morgan had abandoned
Cerrulvo.destroyed all the nrnnortv hp muM
J -r ~ J I | J
not take with him; that a courier from
Monterey reported at Camargo, 15,000
Mexicans between the two places, and that
3,000 more were in the neighborhood of
Victoria.
The destination of several boats has been
changed within the last few days, or> reaching
this place, and held in reserve at Camargo
to convey despatches.
* Six companies of the Virginia Regiment
liave passed through Matamoras on their
route to* Camargo.
'the following letter to the editor of the
t>eha was enclosed in one from the mouth
of the Rio Grande, coroborating the report
of General Taylor being hard pressed by
the enemy under Santa Anna.
Camargo, Feb. 26, 1847.
?r? i. * * **
- janitors ueua,?A letter Irom (Japtain
Montgomery, has just been received, giving
* the following information?
That Gen. Taylor had been attacked in
his position at Agua Nueva by a force of
25.000 men, and the engagement was still
? : going on. When the courier left, Santa
- Anna's ultimatum was " surrender."?Gen.
Taylor's reply was " come and take us."
On the'24th orders were received here to
. Mop and turn back all the teams leaving
f GamargO?which was accordingly done to
the number of one hundred teams. The
teaittsters hive been armed to-day. A train
' . of l30 wagons left hero on the 17th, and
? fears are entertained that they have been
' cut off before reaching Monterey, from
r which place all communications have been
cutofk, Marina is occupied by a large force
* " "ofihe ebWrofe' Whp are 6aid to he rapidly
:? : AfiDroachfe^pon ^mar^o, sO ppos^d to be
Santa Anna is confirmed by news through I
many other authentic sources, which would !
be entirely superfluous to publish, as they
all speak of the same facts which are detailed
ahovn. Tifilnr intellifTfirirfi will V?o
anxiously and daily cxpectcd, which shall
be furnished to our reader in an Extra as
soon as received.
On the 28th ult. between 50 and GO
ships left Tampico and Lobos Island with
troops and ammunition of war of every
description for the bombardment of Vera
Cruz, General Scott himself is said to
have stated that the demonstration would
be commenced on the 10th inst.
From the North American.
- From New Mcxico.
Mexican Insurrection at Toas?Horrible \
Massacre Governor of Neiv Mcxico 1
Murdered?Assassination of Aviericans? !
Probable Capture of Santa Fe?Trap set
in t.tt.rr c^.n! Ti/in.i/nh.n.n it; c tin i o m /
Danger. I
Pittsburgh, March 16, 1847.
By the river, we have St. Lewis papers
four clays in advance of mail, with dates j
from Santa Fe covering important news, j
There has been an extensive Mcxican in- j
surrections at Toas All the Spaniards who
evinced any sympathy with the American
cause had been compelled to escape.
Gov. Bent, Stephen Lee, Acting Sheriff,
Gen. Elliot Lee, Henry Seal, and twenty
Americans were killed, and their families
despoiled. The Chief Alcalde was also
killed. This all occurred on the 17th Jan- I
uary. The insurrection made formidable j
headway and the disaffection was rapidly i
spreading. The insurrectionists were send- .
ing expresses out all over the country to '
raise assistance. The number engaged in 1
. 1 .1 ... 1. _ ? rn _1 4 mi
me ouiDreuK ai 1 aos was aooui ouu. ? ney i
were using every argument to incite the
Indians to hostilities, and were making preparations
to take possession of Santa Fe.
The Americans at Santa Fe. had only
about 500 effective men there, the rest were
on the sick list or had left to join Col. Doniphan.
Such being their situation they
cannot send sucoor out, as they are hardly
able to defend themselves. It is thought
Santa Fe must be captured, as neither the
Fort nor Block Houses are completed.
It is announced as the intention of the
insurrectionists who captured Toas, to take
possession of the government wagon trains,
which are carrying forward our supplies,
and thus cut off all communication.
The representations made to Co!. Doniphan,
that Chihuahua would be an easy
conquest, were evidently intended as u lure
to entrap him, beget a spirit of security, arid
lead him far off into the interior, where he
might be easily cut off.
It is the universal ODinion* in Santa Fe
i that if General Wool had gone direct to !
' Chihuahua there would have been no trou- !
! ble in New Mexico. Col. Doniphan had j
j possession of El Passo Del Norte on the ;
; 28th of Decemhcr. Letters.had been rc- !
i ceived from the Governor of Chihuahua, 1
stating that Gen. Wool was within three j
days march of the capital. This, too, was
another ruse to lure Col. Doniphan on in :
confidence, and cut him off from all chances
ot escape, or of falling back upon Santa j
Fe, to relieve it in its emergency.
The Mexicans are bold in their tone and
confident of capturing Col. Doniphan and
his command, which consists of about 600
men, 500 of them being of his own troops,
the first regiment of mounted Missouri
volunteers, and a detachment of 100 men
r j a T :?<.
I iruni oumu. r c. uuuct uinuiuuiiu ui uicui.
i Col. Mitchell, of the 2nd regiment?con'
sisting of 30 men from Clark's battalion of
| light artillery, under command of Captain
Hudson and Lieut. Kribben, and 70 from
Col. Price's regiment and Col. Willock's
batalion. They assert that they will massacre
every American in Now Mexico and
confiscate all their goods.
A letter from Lieut. Albert, U. S. Topographical
Engineer, of later date, confirms
all the above intelligence. The details of
the battle of Bracito are also confirmed.?
The massacre, .beyond doubt, has been a
horrible one, of which we have as yet heard
but the beginning; and the insurrection
has been kept so quiet until all was ready
for the outbreak, that our handful of troops
must be demolished, before any effort
can be made to relieve them from the most
advanced of our Western military posts.
From the New Orleans "Picayune.
Letter from Major Gaines.
Wo take great pleasure in publishing the
following letter from Major John P. Gaines,
written from San Louis Potosi on the lOlh
ult., since which date the Major, with the
other prisoners, has 16ft for the city of Mexico.
His friends will read with satisfaction
the circumstances which account for the
surprise and surrender of the party, as well
as of the treatment they received from the
Mexicans:
San Luis Potosi, Mexico, Feb. 10,1847.
I wrote you from Saltillo, informing you
of my movements up to about pie 10th inst.
With the three companies undor my command,
I was stationed . alternately at Agua
JNUeva and the i'asa of l'alomas, both out- ]
posts. For more than one month after my
arrival at Saltillo there were constant rumors
of th0 approach of the enemy, and the
great advantage they had over us (being vx
ft
Puss with Oapt. C. M. Clay, Lieut. Davidson
and thirty chosen men taken, equally
from Milam's, Pennington's and Clay's
companies, and travelled about eighty miles
towards this place on the Palomas road, and
finding no enemy and hearing nothing ot
him, I bore westward and passed the mountain
into the plain, through which the Agua
Nueva road passes, which I struck between
the hacienda Incarnacion and San Salvador.
At this place I met with many Mexicans,
who gave me the most positive assurances
that to their knowledge there was no Mexican
army in the neighborhood, and it being
late in the evening of the third day of recoiinoisance,
and my men being very tired and
hungry, I determined to go to the hacinda,
about ten miles distant, and spend the night.
At this place I met with Major Borland,
of the Arkansas cavalry, with about forty
men, who had been there three days, awaiting
the arrival otan additional force, to enable
him to attack a detachment of tlio enemy,
two hundred strong, then said to be at
the town of Salado, about forty miles distant.
Our united forces we considered
equal to the undertaking; and on the fol
lowing evening, a little betore night, we
started 011 this enterprise. After travelling
about twelve miles we met with some Mexicans,
who assured us there were no Mexican
soldiers at Salado, and that the distance
was at least sixty miles. We had no guide,
and the night was very dark, and a tremen- !
dous storm was coming up. These facts,
together with the information given us of the
non-existence of the enemy in the neighborhood,
determined us to return to the hacienda.
Had we continued our route one
or two hours longer we should have met
Gen. Minon with 3000 cavalry.
On the following morning we found ourselves
completely encompassed by this force,
and a little after sunrise their bugles sounded
on all sides, which we answered with
our solitary bugle and three cheers well
told. The troops approached on one side,
and a white flag upon another. We requi
i * !
iim high tuict.lv> pio.iuua wai.j v.0.1- ,
ference, which being complied with, the ;
flag approached, and the result was, that i
in one hour we would answer their admonition
to surrender. We had sixty-six men
and six officers, with about twenty rounds
of ammunition each?no water, no bread,
no meat. They said they had 3,000 men
present, and the demonstrations around us
left but little room to doubt its truth substantially.
The result of our deliberation was,
that we would hear a proposition from them,
in auswer to which they proposed to send
in an officer of equal rank with myself, j
whilst I repaired to their camp. This be- i
ing done, I -ode out, received the proposition j
of the General, returned, and stated them
to our officers, who agreed to them ; again
returned to the General, and about 11
o'clock we surrendered as prisoners of war
?the terms being that we were entitled to
the most liberal and extended privileges to
which prisoners unders any circumstances
are entitled.
Notwithstanding the great disparity of
numbers?about forty-four to one?our
men exhibited a thirst for the fight truly
| astonishing. If there was a single mdividj
ual who felt the slightest disinclination to
' the conflict, it could not be detected, and
j many, very many, actually shed tears at
| the necessity of a surrender. To have al:
lowed them to fight under the circumstances
would have subjected them to inevitable
j destruction, without rendering any valua>
' ble services to their country. Whatever11
! mnt? kn fh/Mirvkl aT fkio
ikiixy uo uiwu^ui yji uuo iinoiuiiuiiu uy UUf
| countrymen, all we ask is, that they will |
; be slow in passing censures until they can
j hear from us more in detail.
Wo left the hacienda Incarnacion the
day after our capture for this place, and on
the evening of that day Capt. Henrie of the
Arkansas volunteers made his escape, and
has not since been heard of. He is the son
of Major Arthur Henrie, formerly of the
i Pearl-st., House, Cincinnati.
S His escape was the occasion of some
| occurrences on our route which it is unne|
cessary to repeat here, but which were far
from agreeable to us.
! On our route here, we met the renowned
Gen. Santa Anna, in a large clumsy carriage
drawn by eight mules, two behind, two
in front and four in the centre. I had a
; short conference with him, in which, after
asking me a few questions concerning our
army and generals, and the purpose of my
expedition to Incarnacion, he gave me assurances
of good treatments whilst prisoners,
told us we would be sent fr^m this to
the city of Mexico, and he llopeu shortly to
our own country. His appearance made
a favorable impression on our officers and
men. We have now been here five days,
but know nothing as to the time we shall
leave.
I shall write you frequently and through
you to my family should circumstances favor
it.
I am very respectfully, ,
JNO. P. GAINES.
To this letter is appended the following
uuaidcnpi vyuuuui a Hi^uuiure nuu nuiwu
by another hand. We presume the information
it contains is entirely authentic.
Maj. Gaines and party (07) left for the capital
on the 15 th of February, the officers
were supplied with horses for the road,
and will doubtless be allowed their parole
on arrival.
ABBEVILLE C. II., S. C.
Wednesday, March 24, 1817.
Cotton Market.
Charleston March tlio 20th from 10 to 11
1-2. Hamburg, March 20th, from. 10 1-4
to 11 cts.
A BOY some 14 or 15 years of age of
steady industrious habits can get a situation
in this_office by applying immediately.
New Mexico.
It appears that affairs in Mexico are about
to verify the addagc that " misfortunes rare
ly corric single handed hut in battalions."
The latest news from Santa Fe informs us
of an insurrection there and of the massacre
of some twenty or more Americans.
This revolt is said to be quite formidable,
and rapidly spreading. At Taos some
600 were engaged in it, and every effort
was being made to excite the Indians to
hostilities. It is thought Santa Fe will be
re-captured as the Americans have only 500
effective men to oppose the insurrectionists.
Mcxica.ii news
It will be seen by extracts in another c olumn,
that the news from Mexico is exciting
and full of interest. There seems to be no
doubt now, that a battle has been fought between
Gen. Taylor and Santa Ann^v,
near Saltillo on the 22d of February, and the
loss on both sides is said to be considerable.
There is so much of rumor in this news,that
we know not how much, or what part of it
to believe ; there is no doubt however that
Gen. Taylor is in a ctitical position, being
surrounded pretty much by the troops of
Santa A inn a. The forces under Taylor,
arc said to be 6000 volunteers, the regulars
all having been drawn off by Gen. Scott,
for the attack of Vera Cruz, whilst that of
i Santa Anna is represented at 15000 or
20,000.
It is said that there arc from7 to 8000 men
between Camargo and Monterey, who have
entirely cut off all communication between
these places. Gen. Urrea was at Marino,
a town 28 miles irom Monterey with 6000
Cavalry. Col. Morgan's command left Ceralvo
to join Gen. Taylor, with some 400
men, and it is confidently believed that they
have cither been cut to pieces or taken prisoners.
It is thought that should Gen. Tatlor
be able to fall back upon Monterey, he
can hold out until rc-inforcements reach him
as they have some sixty days provision at
that place.
dfPalmetto Regiment and the atIs
tack on Vera Cruz.
Supposing that nothing would be more acceptable
to our readers than news from the
army, we have devoted a goodly portion of
this week's paper to correspondents. The
troops that have been cencentrating at Lobos,
have embarked for Anton Lizardo about
eight miles from Vera Cruz, and doubtless
the attack has been made before this, as it
was to have taken place on the 10th ult.
We shall await in painful anxiety to hear
the result of this battle; perhaps even now
the lifeless bodies of many of our friends are
slumbering in death beneath the walls of
Vera Cruz, food for hungry wolves and carrion
kites.
If the representations wo have seen of
the strength of Vera Cruz be correct, the
attack upon it will be attended with great
loss of life. It is said there are at present
mounted within the periphery of the Castle,
Uiim jnA/1 AontiAnd nf lOia flO.q and a
11UUU UUUUl^U ?A*UUVAtO VI VIVW} MHU M
large number ef 10 inch Paixhan guns, and
these are so arranged, that a fleet moving
up to the attack, must be exposed to the concentrated
fire of 70. cannons over two miles,
before it can get into a position to return a
( single shot. Besides the great Strength pf
this place, it is said to be well garrisoned,
there being init-about 2000 troops. V
The Charleston Evening News, contains
a plan of the attack, as to the correctness of
it we know nothing. A sand hill on the
south-western side of the city about seven
hundred yards from its walls and ten feet
above them, is to be stormed with regulars
and mounted with guns to play upo&^ciiu^to
and city. It is the opinion^ the Commander
of theSicge TrainofArtillery that if
regulars arc to advance and storm the breach. jflK
A division of volunteers covered by the reg- jlff
ulars, arc to advance at the same time. _ ?
On the northern side is tho position saidfl^B
to be allotted to the Palmetto Regiment whol^R
arc to advance on that side at the same time
if a breach can be effected in the walls aijSSjjF*
that point. The writer says that he is not ^
certain that this will be the exact point of
the assault of the Palmetto boys, but ' that fltt
Gen. Scott informed Col. Butter that
breaches would be made in the walls of th&SHjQyl
city, and that while the regulars were storming
one, the South Carolinians were to %*'"
mnrpli nn tlir> ntlifti*
.
Editor's Table. m
Southern Journal of Medicine and Pharmacy?Edited
by p. c. Gaillard, m. d., |g
& H. W. DkSaussure, m. d.?Bi- \
monthly, $4, Charleston s. c. c a*?
The following is the list of contributors ^
to the March number of this popular peri- ^
odical: j
j. c. Nott, m. d., Savannah Ga.; p. g.
Edwards, m. d., e. c. Baker, m. d., Ab- t
beville s. c.; and j. e. Pearson, Ala. i
In our last notice of this work we an- 1
nounccd to our readers that Dr. Sinkler, the
Senior editor had departed this life. His
~i i? i i:-j
. [iiuw mia uuuu suppuuu uy me appointment
I of Dr. DeSaussure.
The present number informs us that Dr.
J. L. Smith, its first Senior Editor, has been
appointed Geologist and inspector of Mines
to the Sultan of Turkey.
We again recommend this work to the
patronage of the Medical public.
Quarterly Review?Edited by H. B. Bascom,
M. D. L. L. D., President of Transylvania
University.?Vol. 1., No. 1., |
, January 1847,. Louisville Ky., $2 in ad' I
vancc. I
A periodical bearing this title has been I
laid on our table by a friend. From the
i character of its editor, together with a haa!
ty view of the present number, we have no
| doubt it will be a work of rare merit. It is
! published under the auspices of the Metho|
dist Episcopal Church, South. It will be *
seen, however, by reiering to the table of
contents, that it is a work of Literary and
Scientific bearing, not exclusively religious.
Art. I. Introduction.?By the Editor.
j Art. 2. Dignity and importance ot Mathematical
Science.
Art. 3. Patriotism as connected with the
nature and claims of civil Government. 1
Art 4. Mesmerism or Magnitism.
Art. 5. Rationale of crime.
Art. 6. The tendency of Science to correct
the sensualism of civilization.
Art. 7. Infidelitv and Miricles.
Art. 8. The sufferings of Christ.
Art. 9. Critical notices.
We will take pleasure in handing over
the name of any one, disposed to subscribe
for this ably conducted periodical.
We are indebted to friends in this
place, for the use of the following letters.
Lobos, (Mexico) Feb. 27,1847.
I have just received yours of the 28th ult.;
it is the first I have received from you since
we left Mobile. I have just returned from
Tampico. It is only about 60 miles from
here ; yet wo were two days on the way,
becalmed part of the time. I had the
mumps while there, besides a slight attack
of diarrhoea, and could not indulge very freely
in eating oranges, watermellons, green
corn, and a great numberof fruits that I
know nothing about. Thero are somc few Hotels
in Tampica, kejJt by Mexicans,. They
chargc pretty high, Irat you can get almost
anything you call for. Y ou sit down/to tte ;v*
table without any osccjt jour
plate, knife and fork. They have the finest
duck, ftehi artd turtle, I ever isaw. There
are all sorts of drinking, and eating esti&?
lishments ; they are, however,. prohibited
from selling the genuine liquor* but keep ?Jl
sorts of wines, cider, beer &q/
When I arrived here I found that- one half
of our Resriment?-the Abbeville
with them-?had gone a board the ship, and
were ready to set sail for Vera Cnw. <jTb?
right wing struck their tents and cOmmett*
ced embarking yesterday morning,' biit were
stopped by a norther which ^mn^ed
blowing about 11 o'clock, and $0-contin.
uea, so that ther&is.no cortainty w$^we
will get tinder Way, but should we have four
days fair weather, there Ifc no
there will be fifteen thouaand troops isL&d
at the Isle Of S. Anton Liaardo, aijout eight
miles South of Vem Crux. -There ar? fifty
vessels* at ancho^ here now, and when wefcft
TAmpico, there was between twent^fiv? ?