, 1863-03-14
INTERESTING FROM VERA
CRUZ


u kuG FIEuEn F0fEG8s
IFrom the New Orleans E:a, Feb. as.l
Capt. Ellis, Of the steamship Melville,
kindly furnishes us with the following inter-
csting information Of the state of afFlirs at
Vera Cruz:
The French military forces invading Nexi-
CO. are IN state Of cntlre inaction and wholly
unable 10 assume the offensive, until ,11sy re-
Ssise f'r NEge reiuforcements. The prevailing
impression ut Vera Cruz, among persons whos3.
opinions are entitled to respect, is that The cx
pedition Will prove a complete failure, and the
invaders be driven from Mexican soil, unless
VERY large addition. say Of at least $1,000
men, Is made to their present effective
evidently vastly surpassed tie expectations
o1 tAosc planning the details Of this attempt
against the Mexican Republic. for thus f,r
the means provided have been singu1arly in
ADEQUATE to the magnitude Of the work under
taken. Some Of the French officers express
their extreme disgust at the whole enterprise
and are by no means slow in the declaration
of the wish that they were well ont of the
whole affair. The climate has had m cx-
trcnlely dcbilitating effect upon the physique
and morale of the army. ANY one accustomed
to see French troops would have great difa-
army Of France, if It were not for their uni
forms: They appear dispirited; are sadly
worn By the eucryating influence Of continu
Gus tropical heats; have no gestice Of the
Tgg TT!gor, dae1, ,: and abandon characterizing the
The forces occupying Vera Cruz arc largely
composed Of negroes. These arc brought
principally from Martinique. They are u3u-
a4iy employed OH guard duty in the citY, and
wherever there is u necessity for continued
exposure TO the sun: White soldiers are rare
" seen on duty at Vera Cruz under the pres
ent authorities.
Tue Inhabitants of the city yield obedience
to tue martial Law Of the French. nwar,, that
resistance would bc wholly inefItctual eycent
to their own injury. The merchants woufd
power reluctantly and without showfne ~ NV trS
tendency to forget the cause Of Mexico. Onn
the other hand, the Church party seems more
kindly disposed toward the invaders but
among this faction there is much national
feeling, and much concealed hostility toward
The bulk of the French army Is Mt and neo,
Ia Puebla, something over Il hundred rn;las
from Fera Cruz, on the road to Mcxico. Re.
tween this body and Vera Cruz. their h,sa
Of supplies. the country is infested With
guerilla bands Of Aexicans, well armed and
!uounted on t+le swift mustangs Of that coun.
capture all trains Of supplies scnt inward war; Tar for
Ia Pucbla, unless they are escorted by n
strong force. These gucrillas can often be
seen from Vera Cruz ITSELF, suddenly adyanc.
ing and disappearing for the purpose of r..
colnoltering, aud discovering any prey
that may bc wrested from the french.
IN the 18th inst. they spread apart the rail-;
gu the railway leading toward La Pueblo. a. a
distance Of some lalf.dozen miles from, thc
city: and having in this way thrown from fhc
track train of cars from Vera Cruz, part;ailr
laden with supplies for the army at La Pn
ebla, they plnndercd it Of all its freight. One
man stopped to defend the property and was
shot, the others escaped unharmed. a cnm-
pany or two Of cavalry, more than half black.
and mounted, some on mules and some on
horses, were sent ont to recover the Foods
con,plishcd.
Vast sandy plains lie between Vera Cruz
and La Puebla, across which loaded team
cannot pass, the ouly available means Of trans
roTtation being packmules. As already stat
ed, this inefficient method of conveyance can
accomplish nothing, except when accompa.
MED By strong escort. To avoid these an
noyanccs Of delay, expense and capture, the
French are constructing railway ncross to
La rucbla- The MeSicans are shTewd enough
10 allow this work 10 70 on uumolested, CON
WINGED that it will remain to the enduring nd.
vantage Of the State, though now intended for
their injury. Indeed, tho guerillas are careful
to interfere with no Que but the French, md
th0se rcndring them assistance.
The French occupy both Tuspall and Nina
titlan, as vel! Us Vera Cruz. At Nina titan,
they have collected a large amount Of cotton.
At Tu6pan the fo.ce is believed to be small.
They are well supplied with stores Mt Vera
Cruz. Flour sells there at 50 per barrel, and
potatoes at S. Corn and oats are plenty.