The daily Evansville journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1862-1863, 1862-08-18

More About the Baton Rouge Fight-Dis-.
patchJronl Breckinridge- TIE Rebel Ram
Arkansas Bloom APP Late AdVioes from
,Arhansds, &c, Se.
MEMPHIS, August IL, via CAIRO, August
IA We have at last received some infer
nation in regard to the Baton Rouge fight
1t is reliable as far as it goes, being a copy
of part of dispatch FROM Breckenridge TO
some one in Grenada aud published in the
Extra Grenada Appeal of the 9Th. The
first dispatch is dated in camp on Cullito
river, August 9th, and reads thus:
@The Arkansas lay with her machinery
injured, five miles above town OF the oppo-
site bank of the river all day yesterday
Her commander sent me word last evening"
that he would try and get up tue river, and
he asks that if possible, you send boat to
aid him. From the report to me, she is
permanently unserviceable." ~
The second and last is as follows:
"AMITI RIVER, August 6.-About l
o'clock this day, the Federal gunboa,s at
tackled the Confederate ram Arkansas. The
messenger tells me she fought them well
for some time, indicating great deal of
damage She was then blown up by the
crew, and the messenger thinks all escaped.
aJoHN q. BRECKINRIDGE."
The Grenada Appeal is received in this
city regularly by few known rebel SYM
paibizers, bat it is next to impossible for
loyal man to get hold of one, without
trucking 10 treason. The same paper which
contains the dispatches, it is said, states
that Baton Rouge is in the bands of Breck-
inridge, aud that on land aud water, four
regiments and six transports bad been cap
tured, and two gunboats sunk.
On Sunday night, gentleman who had
been compelled, under the CONSUMPTION act,
to enter Hin1man's army, and who had
made bis escape from Little Rock, Ark, has
reached this city He estimated, from in
quiry and observation, that the troops un-
der Hndman would number between FIVE
and eight thousand.
He relates that last week three regiments
of Hindman's conscripts, Texas troops, on
their march from DuvalI's Bluff for Little
Rock, deserted en- masse and touk up their
march for Texas. Four regiments were
sent after them TO bring them back, but
they also Joined the disafected conscripts,
and the hole seven regiments made off in
a body.
3 Ii this report be entirely correct, it gives
no very high opinion of the system of fore
ing men into the army. W
Boats that have been engaged in coasting
trips down the river, give strange accounts
of the state of things between this place
and Helena, especially about the mouth of
the Arkansas RIVER. Negroes, it is stated,
are selling the mules on the deserted plan
tatious in some cases as low as S. head.
They are all represented to be bringing in
cotton that has been hid away in the woods,
and selling it for Is cents pound. 1t is
said that negroes pull from their pockets
rolls of "green backs" who were unable to
distinguish one hundred notes from tens.
Many planters who are willing aud sbx-
ious to sell their cotton, dare not do so on
account of threats of banging and of the
burning of their homes by guerrillas.-
These Iawless parties are driving many fa-
miles from their homes, for no other Of
fence than having sold their cotton, or for
having taken the oath, without which they
could not be allowed to carry their pur-
chases outside the city. Five or six fami-
lies so driven eff, aud deprived of all they
owned, arrived at our landing yesterday on
one boat
There is ore party of guerrillas, consist.
ing of not more than twenty men, who are
well armed aud very active, who keep the
whole of the neighborhood of Council Bend
in a state of terror. Those who sell cotton,
and those who come into Memphis and
take the oath, they declare they will kill
or burn all the property they possess.
An officer of the ram Switzerland iust uT
from Helena, reports that on yesterday
Sunday morning . skirmish occurred at
place 10 Mississippi nine miles back of the
river opposite Helena. A detachment o
the I'd Wisconsin regimant of infantry, hat
been sent over to guard some cotton be
longing to some spectators. The cottor
was boiog hauled, attended by strons
guard from plantations, whicl were still
further back in the country and while III,
wagons were gone a band of guerrilla
made a dash at that which bad aread,
been brought in. The men defended tn
purchases of the SPECTATORS and saved it
but in doing SO two were killed and seyera
wounded. -
Fully fifty men have been lost in tina
neighborhood during the last week or tw,
in the same way.
Gcn. Sbermau's order removing all re
| strictions from the purchase and sale
cotton continues in force, aud several lot
which were seized yesterday by Col. Hill
yer under General Grants order, was re
leased to-day. ~a ~ e.
.ISsl & .a4t $50 SASH =.