Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1857-11-04
5M&l(istellareol1s Rtabilr(J
From the Marion American.
THE PALMETTOES IN MEXICO.
BY ONE OF rHETwo HUNDRED.
NEW SERIES-NO. v

|
My last chapter left US at Montgomery. Five
hundred men were crowded on the steamboat
William Bradstrect, and kept two days without
anything to cat, and in quarters fit only for a
galley slave. The weather was mtently cold
and bitter and half starved and almost frozen,
the men Could he seen crowding round the boil.
ers of the boat to preserve life i'll their stiienins
| bodies. 1t was 4 sad and pitiiul sight to look
| upon them. Boys who had been reared in luXu-
ry and splendor- had never done days
work in their lives, and had never suffered a
hardship, were suddenly reduced to gnawing
hunger to the bitterest blasts of winter, and to
quarters hidcously loatisome to refined feeling.
A part of these hardships were unavoidably. and
! part Of them were the result of willul neglect
and careeSsnesS. The government which had
practised fraud upon US in the terms OF service
imposed, aggravated the injury by gross and
wilful neglect. Some hardslnps were unavoida-
bic. The inclement season of the year, the bad
ness of the roads, the long and hurried11R arch,
and. the sipeyperience of the men and 6lhcers,
brought hardships that were unavoidable! But
there was no necessity for starving and crowdlnS
us on the Alabama river. Three steamboats, it,
stead of one would lave prevented crowding
and starving. When the government asks the
service of brnteS, and pays them SO much per
month"; 10 be treated rs brutcs, it is very well,
but when the government asks gentlemen to
fight its battles, it ought to treat them as gen.
tenen.
1t was too much for men Of spirit to bear
curses both loud and deep were freely uttered,
and there was bold and open mutiny. Forty or
fifty men, mostly of the Barnwell company be-
lieve fixed bayoncts, and went ashore. They
were ordered to be put under arrest, but the
others sympath;zed with them, and refused to
obey the order. The mntinccrs carried their
point, ard the matter was hustled up.
One bright morning we arrived at Mobile.
The lst Battalion had been there few days.
We were quartered in large warehouse on the
bay in the western suburb Of the city. Our
quarters here were very comfortable, and we
were, for the first time, decently fed. The
hardShips we had suffered began to develop their
effects upon us. The hospital was full Of pa
tients, prostratcd by pneumonias, and diarrheas.
! This last disease is common to all armies. Sud-
| den changes of china e and of diet are certain
to produce it. Among volunteers the liability
to disease was much greater than to seasoned
soldiers Their change of habits and mode of
life was sudden and great-their transition from
comfortable and luxurious homes to privation,
labor, and hardship was too abrupt. In this
march, during the first month of their service,
the germs of disease were sown, which soon
eliminated into III abundant harvest of death.
write this narrative without the aid of any
notes or memoranda. 1t is written purely from
| memory but memory singularly vivid and re-
tentive The dates which | give may be inaccu-
rate by few days, but I think the inaccuracies
will be trihing.
It was between the 18th and Goth of january,
I presume, when we reached Mobile. We were
detained there about ten days waiting for ships
to transport U.s. During that time we were
drilled severely every day.
During our stay in Mobile some generous gen
tlenen Of that city gave lis 4 barbecue. Two Of
them remember observation-disclosures L. Day or
Deas, and \. B. Meek. Meek was the orator OF
the Mubilans, and it was his assigned part, to
make the address to us. Meek was then in his
prime, young, ardent, winningly handsome, and
knowingly eloquent. HIS address was gem OF
brilliants
I" Like orient pearls at random strung"
In musical flow of language, warm, spontanc.
Gus, impetuous and grand, he spoke Of the histo.
ry and people of Sout! Carolina, their names o
li7G, s:ricl in historic lcgacieS, ,"-names which
still lived in immortal history, and i'll their living
representatives, among the Palmettoes. H(
closed in burst of gorgeous beauty, dazzling
al a shower of falling stars. a decade of years
marked with blstering memories, and wild
strange events have passed over me since then
but remember Meek, hi eye, his face, his words
as viydly as if all had occurred only an houl
AGO. Meek closed with Offering the followin:
| t,,.t imnrt III
"The Palmetto Regment-nay it soon 81
down to a nobler feast than it las partakcn tt
day, prepared by the hands of its own Butter il
the halls of the Montczumas."
Col. Butler rose to reply: but his big hear
was too full.
"When the heart feels most, the lips more not
Butler was ordinarily prompt and fluent speak
er, but on this OCCASION he could not speak,
Altcra few words, turning TO Meek, he said. {"
thank you-irom the bottom ofIny heart thanl
you''-hs bosom leaved, and gush of tears WI;
his only response. My eyes were not dry. Hal
l ever doubted the courage, or humanity, o
greatness Of Butler, the doubt would have beel
dispellcd forever. What spectacle 10 Sc
Butler on grand, public occasion, weeping lil,
u clid-a man who had sounded all tlledepth
and shoals of honor,"-a soldier, and hero,-
! so gentle, so sympathetic, and 80 childlike, tha