New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1862-01-10
Western ter MILITARY Correspondence.

Il q
JEFF rhompsons Christmas Frolic-Ee scares the Town of
Commerce and Chases Federal steamer-A Lively sS-
4 Y ploit-And Other Things.
/ Special to the New Orleans orescentT u sS 3$,i
Is6 ,sF CoLuAEus, KY, january 5, lsa2
| Nj. Edior-New Years day passed oil as oiitne.
ly as the preceding holidays. Our gallant young
friend, Major Shaw, Of your city, now aid to Gen.
JEFF Thompson, passed portion OF the 6 day Wl,n
I us. He gives a funny account OF ihollipsoh 9
rather lively Ghristmas frolic :, a - !.
s "A day or SO after Christmas, JEFF. proposed 70 80
| ont from New Madrid and give the enemy scare,
iustfor the fun Of it. Volunteers enough responded
| but all were not wanted. a small force, COM
| prisingaa large number Of officers and Two light
pieces Of artillery started, their destination being
mifes above Cairo and sixty miles from New Mad
rid Before going far the little field pieces broke
down and had to be left; SO THOMPSON and forty,
one other men, all told, continued the trip, armed
AIRY. They rode swiftly and reached Commerce
isat O'Clock in the afternoon, taking in with them
such loiterers as they found BY the roadside s
The especial object Of the visit to the town,
which is Inhabited solely by was to IN
tereept tie steamer City Of Alton, fitted out for
war purposes by the Lincolnites at an expense OF
$4,000, and known to be on her way down 70
Cairo. JEFF. and the boys rested and recuPerated
for two or three hours, when the steamer move N
sight jeff at once concealed his men behind the
houses and wood piles, and told the ladies, anqmc
Eber &c whom were Watching his movements-the
men in the town having stamp ded-to get into
their houses, as they would soon be in danger.
All obeyed the order except one, spunky and
determined creature, who remained on the Dank,
declaring she would die IN her tracks before
leaving. 1s, E.E-.s .t,, E.
being the only man visible hailed her or signaled
her to land, and she began rounding to- But Just
at this moment, the Amazon on the bank hailed
the boat, jumping up and down and screaming n
the most vehement manner. g Captain don't
land ~ she shouted; g go back go back It's
jeff Thompson, Captain, it's JEFF. Thompson go
back! !" The Captain, at once hearing and be-
lieving Immediately backed OF as rapidly as pos
sble and double;quicke it for Cairo put: before
he could get well under way, OF out of reach,
Thompson's men rushed out upon the bank with
their guns and put over hundred shots into the
boat. They could not, of course, tell whether they
sons intention to burn the boat had she landed,
foritwould have been impossible for hmto take
her past Cairo.
| Some Of the boys thought the General ought to
have used gentle force upon the woman who
but he refused to do it, being always polite to the
ladies', no matter what their opposition. Even
after the boat had escaped, he took 1t good
humoredly and never said a word to the, woman.
This woman is doubtless q heroine throughout the
North by this time. sssts
The merry Thompsonians, having dosed the
steamer with their pills, took to horse again and
scOOted back to New Madrid, taxing WIN mem
lot Of horses and other SPOIL chiefly clothing that
they had found in the town. They traveled fast;
to avoid an interception from Birds Point; and
after they reached home, they found that thou
sand or two of Hessians had made the attempt to
cut them off but, as usual, missed il by two or
three hours. Major Shaw declares that it was en-
phatcally one of the trips.
/ ]. The news of Gen. Pillows resignation will have
reached you ere this. His departure was the oc-
easion of much emotion among the Tennesseeans.
1.-The weather is cold and rainy again, and ter
ribly muddy. Oh, what a job it is to get up and
down hill, on any other than. horses feet
The Kennedy Battalionstill increases in number.
Another baby, the third in two weeks, was added
a few evenings ago.. IT is girl, born to Lieut..
Neal, whose other child died the week before.
~