Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1837-02-04

, pcin:. e. a future past, with reference to wood, as near
thnse fails as practicable.
In respect to every object, except the mere entrance
into the Wyihlacorchee, we have sect! l!ial the eAieu'
ton WAS G signal failure.
he first knnw!rdge that | had ct this most nhe*-
pecled result was received May the Isl. at 81. angus
| tine, through a lel,e. from Governor Iai, ua'eu iho!l
2jth, and which gave me the more as;ounu'"s .nvti
(! gence, viz "A few days sincc, | Tecei:cd 4 c"lilniuH''
! culinn from Major hkLcmore, stationed en- lhe Snwa-
nee frontier, informing me thai: under orders from zen;
Scott. he had assembled ;he Aythlacoochee river, and
erected A block house on the south bank, snne len or
twelve niles above its meath, aud that he had lrita gaIr:'
son of4n men in the btock.house, and il large quantity OF
corn and picked beef. ahis mornIng, al daylight, MAJ.
Reed, OF the Florida battalion: arrived nj Iaiiailass'eI
bringing The rs"lligence that he discovered u u
month "f The Tiv'r one. halt uf Il large Hat boat, WING"
had been cat in two. az paieulIy with Il dull axe, aEu "
an inc perienctt hand. HIS description corr. Spo"u" '''
that given of lIc boat left at The b!ock-li"!se, &C
As lhls letter was addressed to me, or INC G0,"minm'
inn rtTcr at t0l DrQRe, like tie report, oatco 9p"i -,
of the establishment Of the biuck-house, and siShtu ny
Maicr McLemore's ad jutant, icCants) Do1h Palt's
were lead By General Clinch, and Together TRANSMITTED
10 me, then at 81 Augustine. l have suid that l 's'e''
ed them on The lSt OF May.
The Cour, has seen, MIR. President, the correspond.
ence between Gen. CIncb, then al FMt Ora'''. ana
myself, o.. this NOS. painful! sutjrct. The time OF His
volunteers having EXPIRED or re'"g aoout " tAP"', =,
had alrradr seat most ui them home, ait IN HIS al"ihP'
10 rpisn q ,ar,y OF mounted men IN the Alachua settle
.nents 10 20 IT, tie relief THE block house: ne utterly ia'''
ed. early became satisfied that Gen. C!lnc", uhusr
the circumstances, did al IN h:a power IN aonpune 'ne
second suogss;iua OF Gov. Gall, rIz: but should II Or
iuprac,icaDir tor you to send a sufficient force, by iailu,
to ascertain THE tate Of the party IN the b'Uck-Aou'e.I l
have ordered ! tnrtited boat TO be III readiness al Su"a-
nee Old Town, to proceed with q part OF Inc men ~
thai place TO The relief oil the garrison, and transport IL
back tn Old Town, unless the commanding q, neral
should other wise direct. Hou will: therefore, he pleaSeu
to send az express 10 Minor McCanis, coin"andi'i5 al
Old iowa, and inform him whether troops nave Oteh
senl by laad IL The relief of the block. house, or whether
The bnul which viii bs III readiness shall be sent on tliat
service Gen. Clinch sent the order Tor The b"at To
proceed and the detachment, in the bInck-ho'lse was ul-
tiua,cly TAKEN off By Major Read, aud without h''hG i
gun.
it is in evidence that Major Reads report 10 me, (nf
his first ex peaiilluu,D though dated The 21lh ot 4 pm,
came to land III Columbus (Gro) as late US The oh "t
June, when he'd not leisure 10 give attention To II, even
if 1t had been less iiirgib!e, aud thus II happened that |
never knew lis contents uutIl, with some accide'ita! as
sis,ance, the lctge Advocate made out TO deeips'erl II be-
fore tins Cuart. The last paragraph OF THIS report aP'
pears TO bc Us tuinws:
Il discovered a, the mouth Of the [Wy,hlacoochee]
! the halt of i Hat UotlOm buat, i common Jerry 1iat boat
it appeared 10 have beg. 1t had been cut aSundcr,
&c. "Wirm arrived at ST. Marks, lca;nt, I" my
asloHislusmi, uIoI liicallnn and regret: that your E%ceI'
lency TGeueral- Scultl had ordered Major McLeniore to
establish a depot ii that place" "Ail which was stuti'
ously Concealed from The. did not lcdrn, e'tller irolh
your order, or from tine numerous interviews | had lie
homer 10 EJIG "lll your fSccIenCS, lilhl iloJt .hSbS-
more was even in HE field, much less that was going
To rriIc sc d deluciurnt OF his command ordered out ~
your t.xce!!ei!cy.
The Count bas seen in mi report ON this subject TO
the AGiuiant. General, dated at ST Augustine, May ii,
winch was founded on Gov. Calls letter noticed aooTe,
aud al grtcic III Il ne wspaper, hlnGed 10 me Us Tie pro-
ducuon Vi Major Read, | said that lie (MaJ Il mas, al
Tallahassee, caused Il statement! 10 be made, declaring
tEut ! Rad refused him per mission IL ascent TIC ii yih'a-
cOosA,s' And again, prrsuming the statement to have
been furnished uy i!HI, he denies having ever heard that,
.poSsiJiY, ie In,ght tiEI i block house and gHIrisUn esta-
b!isileu nea: TIE tails Of the rYer. Nav, | affirm that 1t
was generally known throughout The night wing ol lie
army, that il YVES Just possible that Mai. McLenoIe, a
highly merit?i!nus FIoridian, had made such establish
n,rnt. The possibility was mentioned To hlalpr Read,
and although c. |. Cadsdrn by accident omitted The sub.
jecl in l:e letter OF Instruction., yet when The Mayor saw
ud:i Of Il Ia ruGe:y cut IN twU, so Gov. Call had writ
ten. tia, whlch was extremely doubtful before, became
Il nullc- OF The Most perfect certainty; aud II HE Mayor lad
been bound !Iunir without other orders. 1t immediately he.
caMe his !npcriuus duty 10 % INSTANTLY To the relief OF
his country men. The ial could never have belonged To
Indians, and It would not have been destroyed If the gar.
rison l2d rS!Urucd By water TO tue Suwanee, and AlaJ'
Read KEW tia, It cGuld only have returned by wafer.
Now, sir, did not say III This or any other letter that
/ had told Major Read any thing Of u detachment hay.
ing been permitted 10 visl: The v ylhlaconchee about The
rnd vi March. The Court will presently learn hDM II
happened ~ be omitted IA COLONEL Gadsdsn : lei!sr to
MAJOR tiead, and by the in conversation with tic latter
Nevertheless, The subject MES not forgotten al bead quar-
terS, MOI Iud ceased To De occasionally mentioned anniag
the officers who had come down 10 Tampa Bay lron
Fort Drune. One OF these, Captain Draue, has testified
before This Court, that lie, ut Tampa, stated his iinprss'
sion To Major Read tina. There was u detachment OF Flo
viaians on lie Wy;hlcUucice with PROVISIONS. lie wIt.
ness having heard ''at Fort Drane llnL tiilnksJ GENERAL
Ciluch had stated II to [him] that Maj"r AcLrm"re had
volunteered his serVlcts to 20 IL the n.oG!h y! tic wynn
lacooclec.
, Go not here, Mr.. President, eiuindy this testimony
TO contradict Alajns Read, hut simpiy 10 accoun; for the
strong language applied 10 IN" !" ''s liter Iast Ino: su
n Nv iTn Il mi sil'pfc sscd. had not, in May, las
has been seen, recc. we'd his report. | al that time, We.
; :!iy believed, on the opinion u c:hefs, as well as ireln
iaternal evidence, tina! the false assertions ut the article
III The Tallahassee paper were from hiss pen, or his lips;
enc Governor Calls letter had SAID not one word as 10
the causes which led 10 The ili!ure ii the expedition
TIE spread Of sickness unIong lie 'nrn, the wait ct
neSicines, and The want Of guod waller. Now, sir, at
though luIlik that 1t least two ut thuse causes i"Iy!il
have aeen guarded against by due foresight. and activity
On LEs part y! the cu.inander, and when reported 10 HIM
Gu;iGa To have been closely sriutulZ"d III person., before
ahanaauing ,Me great nbjrcrs contiGed 10 his intelligence
a,G - ,nd'Ict-- am ri only unwilling L" re. produce ti"se
ha-Gswr iu!puialluns, h"Lrey!cL that they were ever made.
Sic, tip 10 THIS day, have received no mole or mess tgc OF
any ,A:nd from MIjur Reed. Ny recantatiom is founded
OF. ]uic rrcelt assurance of q trirnG, (Gen Cinch) that
Y 1,,;U;ec Red had 10 agency in the published arlic.r aliu-
Geu TO, aEd To his previous and Subsequent ga!iantIy
and good conduct in the same war against tic Ssinino!e
lnjisas.
In ,he first deposition Of Col. Gadsden, (Which is in
cvi4cucp.D he gives the history of the block-house on
he Nythiacooc!lrr, thus:
Majv: hirl.cnipre supght the service, by a private
letter TO tie undersigned, stating that lie had, on tile SUI
vance, It boat suitable iuT the expediion: and supplies,
which he could bring with i'ira to that point, if with the
consent and appreciation of Cen. Scott. The following
is the reply penned by me, and by diIcc'i"n IF the &C.
neral, to whom it was read before lranslnilted.'
| beg, Mr.. President, that The Court will again read
every word uf ltis letter. | regret that AN Too much
ia,igued 10 emU"ty II entire in This summary. The pc
ruSul of il will shuw hrw unnecessary II was deemed ul
Tampa, to call the attention Of Major Read specifically
t, the very remote chance of his finding any detachment
on the Wylhacoucilee. Nevertheless: lhnuyiI II was
more than a hundred TO one that tic detachment was not
there, as late US The l4th Of Aprl, OF even the 9TH, if the
Major could have ascrnded only seven miles higher up