Holly Springs gazette., 1845-11-08

,srtler IN the las. Of June to sail for New
Orleans there to waitfurther orders. ne
embarked with his company at Chafieslon
on the 25:h June, and arrived at New Or.
leans on the 18th July. He there received
advices from Washington, informing nm
hat his company was to be mounted aho
equipped a fyirg Artillery his guns were
10 be shipped from New York, and MS
horses TO be sent to the Texan frontier from
Fort Jesup! He was directed to proceed,
on the arrival of his cannon in New Or
leans. to ioin Gen. TAYLOR at the mouth OF
the Sabine. As the age OF giants as well
as that of chivalry is gone. Lit b. would
have found II a serious underta king to have
dragged, by hand. his pieces from New
Orleans TO the mou.h of the Sabine. For.
tuuateIv for him he found Gen Taylor 10
the sCresenl City, ready to embark with
\ brigade of Infantry for Arar sas, Texas,
without the remotest intention of approach
ina within two hundred miles ofthe mouth
of The Sabine. Gen. Taylor relieved the
Artillery company from the somewhat one,
rous task of dragging cannon several hun>
dr ed miles without horses. by ordering II TO
sail for Aransas ia the ship Victoria. with
five companies Of the 4th Infantry. The
Sd Infa nfry embarked al New Orleans on
the 2lst July; the 4h Infantry and the A
ii Iery company on the 23d. Their cannon
not harans arrired, the Arfaiers company
sailed acith0ut Hem.
To those who cannot appreciate the mo-
tives of the War Department, and excuse
| an apparent blunder, it may seem llI.le
strange that the Artillery company should
leave handsome field battery in park al
Fort Mcultrie. where such battery was en-
tre!y useless, and sail 10 New Orleans,
there 10 await anott er battery from Now
York This, however, was part OF that
wise but my ysteFious policy of the War De-
pa rtment which only the initiated can un-
derstand In fact. the policy of the powers
tnat be, though unqneslionably characteri
sed by eminent wisdom. does seem little
queer Ii is, / believe, fixed military
principle; that the Infantry arm is weak
and nesv5le>s when unsupported by Caval>
ry and Artillery. Our War Department
has esta 5lished precedent hitherto wanting
in the military annals Of all nations, from
creation unti tie present day. Till the
The year l545. the world had never heard
of the INVASION of populous nation by In
fantsy clone.
But to explain On Gen Taylor's arri-
val at Afansas he found orders to cross ihe
Neuces. Although The troops under his com
mand Except the Artillery company had
been m camp on the Sabine for more than
YEA in daily expectation of orj r 10 pro-
ceed 10 the Texan ftontier, Gen. L. has not
been authorised to send an officer into the
country who could furnish him with accu>
rate information with regard TO lis bays,
harbors, inlets, sc. &c. As a natural con
sequence Of this most strange neglect. the
Army of Occupation" was entirely igno-
rant of The country. The pilot employed al
New Orleans had never been at Aransas
but once before. and that many years ago,
and to cap the climax. the two steamboats,.
brought out as lig transports for the troops.
drew two feet of water too much for the
Corpus Christi, and Aransas Bay. Gen.
Taylor was compelled TO employ at their
own rates. some row and trade boats be-
longing to the traders al this place He al
so despatched an officer to Galveston 10
charter the only steamboat of light draught
at that city. This boat arrived. not in time
| to assist in the transportation OF the Sd and
and 4th Infantry, bat in time to Destroy by
her explosion, the lives of two valuable Off
GERS and several fine soldiers. With such
inadequate means of transporting troops
from Aransas, .5e operation was of course
anu SLOW. 1NOl InOI0 sHdu iDfl1
men, on an overage, were landed daily.
The point of Decentralization was about
three miles from the Neuces. and conse-
quenlly in the disputed territofy; that terri
tory, too, inhabited entirely by Mexieans, of
whom there are said to be about fifty thou
sand. One hundred of these, resoute and
we'll armed, would have been sufficient TO
have iepel!ed ali the row boats and skiffS
Gen. T. could have mustered. The iand>
ing of the troops is usually protected by
Artillery la this case there was necessa.
rily departure from the dictates of com.
mon sense and the custom of war, as the
cannon of tbe Artillery company was snug
Iy housed in Waiervliet arsenaIi
Well the Sd and 4ih Infantry landed at
Iast.-They were now in vast prairie, in
an enemy's country, within three days
march of a strongly fortified town. One
not au fat as to the motives actuating the
War Department would probably have
thought it little strange that the Dragons
had not been put in motion from Fort Jes>
up in tlme-.o have co.operated with the In.
fan;ry al their first landing. to serve as Vi
delies at the outposts as scouts on the pfa-
ires, &c. &c. As it was, Gen. Taylor had
tu rely for information as to Mexican move
menis entirely upon the Corpus Christi ira