The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1852-11-29
HE DAILY DISPATCH
Incident Of she Battle Of New OrIcen,

Incident Of she Battle Of New Orleans.
British officer who was in the battle OF
New Orleans, mentions an incident of thrilling
strangeness, and very descriptive of the ives
tern hunter, many Of whom marched to the de-
fence OF New Orleans, as volunteers in the
| army under the renowned Andrew jackson.
We marched, said the officer, in solid column
OF twelve thousand men, in direct line upon
the American defeEces. belonged to the staff
and as we advanced, we watched through
our glasses the position and arrangements OF
our enemy with that intensity an officer only
feels when marching into the jaws of death,
| with the assurance that, while he thus offers
himself as sacrifice to the demands of his
country, every action to be successful or other
wise, will be judged with the most heartles.
scrutiny.
1t was a strange sight, that long range OF
cotton bales-a new material for breastworks-
| with the crowd Of human beings behind, their
| heads only visible above the line of Defence
We could distinctly see their long hes laying
| over the bales, and the battery of Gen. Coffee
directly in front, with its great mouth gaping
| towards us, as they waited to devour us, and
| the position Of Gen. Jackson, with his s,af
| around him. But what attracted our attention
most, was the figure of tall man standing on
the breastworks, dressed in linsey woollsn,
with buckskin leggins, and broad brimmsd
felt hat, that fell around the face, almost con-
cealiBg his features. He was standing in one
OF those picturesque and graceful attitudes, Pc
culiar to those natural men-dwellers in the for.
ests. The body rested on the left leg, and
swayed with curved line upwards the right
arm was extended, the hand grasping the rifle
near the muzzle, the but of which rested near
the toe of his right foot, while with his hand
he raised the rim of the hat from his eyes, and
seemed gazing from beneath intensely rpon
our advancing column. The cannon of Gen.
Coffee had opened upon US, and tore through
our ranks with.dreadful siaug ghter; but we con.
tinued TO advance, Hnwavering and cool, as if
nothing threatened our progress.
The roar of cannon eemed to have no effect
upon the figure standing on the cotton bales,
but he seemed fixed and motionless as a statue.
At last he moved, threw back the hat-rim over
the crown with his left hand, raised the rifle 10
his shoulder, and took anrat our group. Our
eyes were riveted on him. Al whom had he
levelled his piece2 But the distance was 90
great that we looked at each other and smiled.
We saw the rifle fash, and my right hand COM
panion, as noble looking a fellow as ever rode
| at the head Of his regiment, fell from his sad,
die. ...-
The hunter paused few moments without
| moving the gun from his shoulder, then re-
loaded and assumed his former attitude
Throwing the hat rim over his eyes, and ag gair
holding it up with the left hand, he fixed his
piercing gaze upon US, as ifhunting out an
other victim. Onse more the hai-rim was
| thrown back, and the gun raised to the shoald
| er. This time we did not smile, but cast shor
glances at each other, to see which of US mus
| die and when again the rifle flashed, another
| Of US dropped to the earth. There was some
thing awful ia thus marching on to certain
| death.
Gen. Cofee's battery, and thousands of mus
1 1as LolI n G,x
| for--ihere wassa chance ofescaping unscathed
Most Of us had walked upon batteries hun
dred times more destructive without quailing
but to know that every time that rife was lie
| veled towards Us, and its bullet spraBg frou
| the barrel, one Of US must as surely fall i--fC
see the cleaning sun fash as the deadly iror
came down, and see it rest, motonless, as j
poised upon a rock, and know, when the ham
mer struck and the sparks few to the fall
primed pan, that the messenger Of death drove
unerringly to Its goal-to know this, and still
| march on, was awful. .
Ieould see nothing but the tall figure stand
ing on the breast-work. He seemed to grow
| phantom like, taller and taller, assuming
| through the smoke the supernatural appear.
| ance Of some great spirit. Again did he reload
and discharge his rifle with the same unfailing
| aim and it was with indescribable pleasure
| that beheld, as we neared the American lines,
| the sulpnurous sthOHe gdtucIeu dIoubu US, ana
| shut that spectral hunter from my gaze. We
| lost the battle and, TO my mind, the Kentucky
| riheman contributed more to our defeat than
ANYTHING else for while he remained TO our
sight, our attention was drawn from our duties;
and when at last we became enshrouded in the
smoke, the work was complete-we were in
utter confusion, and unable, in the extremity,
to restore order sufficient to make any success
full attack. -s.. ..EE
So long as thousands and thousands Of rifles
remain 10 the hands of the people, so long as
men come up from their childhood able, ere
the down appears on the chin, to hit the centre
of mark, or strike the deer at one hundred
and iftv Yards in the most vital point; so long
as there is great proportion Of the Republic
who live as free as the wild Indian, knowing no
leader but their own choosing knowing no
law but that Of right. and the honorable obser-
vance of friendly intercourse, America is un-
conc uerabie and alI the armies OF the COM
binsd world, though they might drive them
from the seacoast and across the Allegheny
Mountains, would not be able to subdae the
frea.soulet hunter among the mountains and
gre at prairies and mighty rivers of the West.
n