The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1862-03-15
Tho Columbus snyssery.


Correspondence Of the Cincinnati, Gazette, Saturday.
The public are rather curious about the lego
tistiops which preceded the evacuation of CO.
lumbus. II will be remembered that snexpedi-
tion Of grnboats aud troops went down for re-
connoissance in force. As it came nearly In
range with Columbus, q flag Of truce came out,
and the expedition returned. Ten days after,
an imposing force OF gunbosts, mortar boats
and transports went down to attack the place,
and after considerable maDeuyering, finally as
,certained that the birds had flown.
The letter Of our correspondent at tbst place
shows that they we've ready TO take, panic II
our guuboats opened FIRE. II seems that our
Generals we're regularly sold, and that the Con-
fedcrates we're negotiating TO gain time for des-
| troying the property and decamping The re-
ply of Gen. Grant TO Buckner's proposition to
negotiate is better.
CAIRO, H., March 8, 1852.
| The loyal people of the North are so much
gratifed over the news of the evacuation Of
Columbus BY the rebels, aud its occupation by
our troops, that they do not stop TO inquire into
the character Of the generasbip that permitted
10000 men to make good their escape, and to
effect the removal Of all their stores, smmuni-
tion and arms.
A hundred different circumstances combine
to prove that the military authorities of this
department knew little of the rebel position at
the Gibraltar of America" The gunbodts re-
connoitered the place six or seven times, yet at
the last reconnaissance Commodore Footc was
scarcely able to determine the position of the
water battery, even after four shots had been
fired from it. The only "informstion," with
respect to the strength of the enemy was Brought
here by q set of 1awiess fellows---a disgrace to
the army--styled the Jessie Scouts. mink
can safely assert that not one of the Scouts was
ever within Eve miles of Columbus, consequent
ly they brought to headquarters nothing but the
basest fabrications and these were always taken
at par. As illustration of the reliability Of
the scouts: They returned from an expedition
down the river about four weeks ago and re-
ported through their Captain that they had had
. conference with JEFF. Thompson, in the camp
at Columbus, and that he had given them valua-
BILE information, which they went on to detail to
the commanding officer here.
We have since learned from the records at
Columbus that JEFF. Thompson had not been in
Columbus for four weeks previous to the date Of
the pretended visit of the Jessie scouts. The
department occasionally get in possession of
Memphis paper, and read blstent articles about
the ponderous earthworks and heavy cannon,
until the Generals in command actually became
believers in the impregnability Of Columbus
The Notifications were stroDg-perhaps stronger
than any others in the South--but they we're in
judiciously constructed, and could not have stood
mortar feet The water battery stood out in
such relief from the bluff that a we'll directed
mortar shell would have buried 1t under a hund
red tons OF earth from above. There were no
casemates to protect the artillery from the gall
ing fire OF seven gun boats; and how long could
men, unsheltered, have stood a continuous hail
from twenty-one guns, throwing-eight-inch she'll
The truth of the matter is. that the rebels COW
cred their retreat by the flag of truce which
they first presented to Commodore Foote on the
2Sd ult. On that date they were in fnll force
10000. On the following Tuesday they com
menced the work Of evacuation which they con-
tinued during the week, while the negotiations
were still pending. On Sunday, March Z, the
white flag treaty was concluded, aud on that day
the last remnant of the rebels left the camp
Had they been attacked two weeks ago, they
would have surrendered, or If not, would have
beat hasty retreat, leaving everything behind
them. This have from an intelligent citizen of
Columbus, who was well acquated with their
every movement. As it is, they carried off all
their stores, ammunition and small arms. The
few heavy guns they left behind them are spiked
and not worth drilling for future use, being
made of cast iron-Memphis and New Orleans
manufacture.
Commodore Foote was opposed to giving the
rebels any chance to leave Columbus. He want
ed to shell them into surrender, and he felt
confident OF his ability to do So with the gun
boats and eight mortars. He gave way, how
ever, to the ''admonitions' of Gen. Culium and
Others and the result has been what may be
called strategic triumph for the rebel cause
Gen. Polk knew full well that the Southern Con-
federacy's downfall would follow hard upon the
defeat of the Southern arps at Columbus, hence
the cunningly devised evacuation carried on
while our Generals were soberly musing over the
flag of truce. The rebels knew that they had TO
fall ar Columbus, and it was thei. policy to fall
as easily as possible.