The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1861-01-23

voice tremhied with emotion as he closed his
brief and affecting remarks, by the announce
nrnt that he rrl,uquished his authority 10 the
representative OF tin sovereignty Of Florida, !.
The order was Immediately given by Capt.
Renshaw. flag officer To haul down the flag of
the Union, which was done; and, in lieu
thereof is another flag with thirteen alter
nate stripes of RID and white. and blue field
with large white star. announcing the
changed political condition of our State. Ev
Crythlng was conducted in the most orderly
and res pee ttnl manner. al tended with 4 degree
OF solemn interest which was manifested upon
the coun tenanccs Of the hundreds Of citizens
md soldiers present. ... ,..t..
Fort Pickens with 700 T. s soldiers, and
mounting 2l2 guns is commanded by Lieut.
Simmer, a native of New England, who re
fuses 10 surrender. A desertar of il says: -
Under the protection of its immense bate
l3es the ships of an enemy could make good
fhClr harbUr in the Bay OF Pensacola. or II
they did not care to run the risk from shore
batteries. which could not be IN very dangerous
range they could land forces and supplies on
fife fort To the eastward on Santa Rosa Island
which il some forty miles long, and thus
throw in reinforcements and rendezvous even
an army at the fort without interruption, un-
less of a force intrenched on the island itself,
in the rear of the fort--which. however, is al
most il not quite a. defensibIe from rear
front. If We are TO have war, the seizure of
this stronghold is. of course, OF the first inn
portance for unless " Is occupied by us il will
NftNtI' ~ iht tHt4HN FL pdSt Ci titiiiitfE iiollB
our whole Gulf coast, and keep open road
right iuto the heart Of the South which can
not be- obstructed by any fixed fortifeations
II II Is TO be seized by direct power of arms
IL will not he by 4 force coming under its guns
from the water approach. Ii must he stormed
bv a sudden attack from 4 heavy force concen-
troted on the island 10 the eastward which
viii take il with Ioua ave-like rush in double
q,ck time-pouriDg into it in such numbers
to at once oycrpower every chance of re-
Sistancc on the part of the garrison. Though
done in tn" night. and with the quickest move
ment, aid though escaping loss from the bat
I tCrirs III the approach, the work at the walls
will b" n bloody business if the garrison have
Il mind 10 make ii so. The commander has
committed the same act Of hostility that An
derson did at Moultrie, but We do believe that
he will soon surrender the fort, as the COM
mandant at Baton Rouge did the arsenal, on
the grounds of the presence of an oyerw helm
ing force and the plea OF avoiding useless
bioodshetidng. He is reported To have said he
woud not fire on his conntrymen. We DO not
believe that he will
--LATEST FROM THE KEY WEST roRrrrICATfoSa,
A letter from Key West. ola ted the 18th inst =.
says:
The L. <. steamship Crusader. 1t. Com
Monatt. arrived on the morning of The 1lth
inst. from Mobile. Ni;t Havana. She is now
at The naval wharf, coaling, The L. =.
steamship Mohawk, 1t. Com. Craven, is AT
the naval wharf. repairing her boilers.
Fort Taylor is now gatrisonrd by a COM
pany Of L. =, artillery, in command of Capt
!. NJ. Branhan. Capt. +. Is. Hunt, I. =
Corps OF Engineers. is still in command of the
fort and is actively engaged In completing the
work designed To be done with the present
appropriation. The fort is so far completed
. a to be mace available in case OF foreign in
! yasion. The armament mounted is sufficient
TO enable the Federal officers to act on the de-
fenSiYc, If necessary.
TR0oPa IN wAsHISGToS.
dispatch from Washington da ted the 22d
inst, says
One company of Sappefs and Miners, num-
hering siXty-three rank and file, arrived here
this morning from West Point. They are
known Their, as the Engineer corps. Lieut.. i.
. &. Duane is i'll command. Lieut.. WetZel is
second in command They have been under
orders three weeks. They left West Point
j yesterday. One of the Dragon corps of West
Point are under orders. and Will arrive here
in few days. They will bring with them a
battery. consisting of four teld-pieces and
two hoWitzers. and act as flying artillery. un-
der the command of Captain Griffin. They
: Will bring seyrnty-eight of the best well
+ trained horses. The Sappers and Miners came
int this city this morning just before day
break, and proceeded quietly to the Colum-
( bian ArnorY, which had been previously ar
ranged for them. They were armed with rifles
and sabres.