Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1862-04-15

We publish the following reproach upon
our arms as a1ning 10 our soldiers and
commanders ve7ywhere. fhe officers who
allowed such miserable discipline h!:,i suffered
such q surprise, arc utterly disgracod, and de-
gcrvs the seVcrest sentence OF 4 Oourt Martial.
There is no excuse for them
rcorre,poudsrr. 81 IN. Mobile Advcrtiserl
MEMPHIS, April 1, 1862 The capture OF q
PORTION of ou. forces at Caion Oily, yesterday
morning, and the dispersion of the remainder,
sumo accounts Of which Isent yon by tee
yraol was really dsgracefut. An srmy may
be forced 20 yield to superior hunters, or to
the zane numbers with superior arms and pos
stlon, but there can be 20 excuse tor sIir-
prise. If picksts, however, are permitted to
Sleep upon thair posts, OF to get drunk, or to
retro from thor stands 10 deserted houses ana
play cards and swlg mean whisky through
the night, then ws had better abandon the
struggle at once aad prepare onr necks iur the
yoke.
Ohio railroad just below the line, OF X entucky,
and designated on the map as Tattan's Wells,
1t is about twenty miles below Hickman, Tor
somo time in possession Of the enemv, and
about twenty-five miles from Island No. ~,
across the country. 1t appears tnat we haa
4 picket force stationed there, consisting o. the
2lst Tennessee regiment and two battalions
o. cavalry thirteen companies-both OF TINS
State. Tie enemy Gin what numbers have
no, been able to loarr) lett Hickman Sunday
night, and finding our pitkets IN ah'old cnurcn
playing cards, they concluded they might as
we'll capture them, which they DID. Ihey
then proceeded to Union City, where they, ar;
rived about : o'clock yesterday (Monday)
morning, and found tho Colonel IN commsno
rot vet ont Of bis tent. But for c;tizen who
witnessed the capture OF the picket guard, and
brought word to tIaion City fe" minutes Dc:
fore the cntluy got There, our entre force might
have been taken. IA 1t wsa, they opened upon
the Confederatea with battery OF Blk pieces at
two oc threo hundred yards, killed and crippled
four or five, captured about 90, ,Eshd took oe-
t~oen 800 and 400 ravalfy horses, all the bag
gage, tents, wagons, stores, &c MeahW ME lno
Consctlcra!es, alter ona or two feeble efforts TO
form into lire, broke for the railway train which
was jnst leaving, and many escaped that way
others Game away Oh foot, including many OF
the cavalry, aad minus everything except what
they carried on their backs and in their hands.
1t is rap"rted, | hope truly, they saved nearly
ali tLcr small arms -..---r.-
the enemy destroyed the hotel and depot
buildings, the thrao cara left bahind, and all
the tents, stor es S1d baggage which cur men
hid abandoned, aud at last accounta wore pre-,
pairing to roturn to Hickman, to jser at South.
srn courage and laugh over thoir agreeable
mornings pastime Indeed, such affairs arc
enough to make ones heart sick. We had q
surprise at Fort Henry; another at Paris; a
third ut Pordy, where tho, Fedorals actually
succeeded in destroying portion OF; the trestle
vol: on tho railroad aud now 5Rs have 8
iour.h at Uaion City, Really, these surprise
qarties are becoming disgrscefully frequent =
| fns loss oe such men is slight, compared with
the moral couseq uences, which are ss deplora-
ole as the behavior OF the men engaged is dis
creditahlc.