The weekly Butte record., 1863-09-26
The End Of a Braggart.

Ing 10 Oluer coasters anu popaulIS- he
was great military engineer; he spent
four months in the safe and easy task of
investing a fort whose garrison was for
hidden TO interfere with his operations.
He multiplied batteries against the half
starved handful Of men who looked on
from the ramparts of the fort, but were
ordered not to fire gun. In this blood
less enterprise he showed himself the
bravest of the brave. knowing of Ma
jor Anderson's orders against firing,
Beauregard was ever in the front Of his
works. 1t is believed, however, that
when Anderson sent him word not to
approach nearer, under threat of a thir-
ty-two pound shot, he showed himself
as prudent as he had been ventursome
before. However that may be, this
great engineer was at last ready. His
batteries were built, his guns placed,
his men drilled, his ammunition and other
supplies collected, without opposition
from Major Anderson. When he was
ready he stopped the supplies of Sumter
and sent summons to surrender. Its
commander had no orders to that effect
but he replied that in three days his
provisions would be exhausted, and at
the end of that time he would have to
give up the place. Here was Beaure-
CARDS great opportunity, and he knew
how to use it. He might have waited
three days and quietly received Major
Anderson sword; but where then would
have been the glory? What then wo'd
his immense preparations have gained
for him? The great engineer knew a
trick worth dozen of that. He had
counted his chances; he knew that the
garrison of Sumter was but ffty-six
men strong. He knew that for every
gun Anderson could fire he had ten ;
that for every man Of Anderson's he had
hundred. He refused to wait, but he
roically opened fire on Fort Sumter,
and did not cease until his shell had set
the place on fire, and forced the starv-
ing garrison to surrender. For this he
roic exploit, the like of which the world
never saw before, he was rewarded with
Maj jor- -Generalship and no end of
praise. For awhile he was believed by
the rebels to be the greatest General of
any. Napoleon was a mere tyro t.
Beauregard, who was regarded as Marl-
borough, Wellington and Prince Eu-
gene rolled into one. 1t was confidently
believed that at the sound of his name
whole armies of Yankees would run
away; while a rebel army led by him,
would not fail to march triumphantly
from one end of the American continent
to the other-wol,d breakfast in Phila-
delphia, dine in New York and sleep
under the shadow of Bunker Hill mon
ument, where the distinguished Toombs
at one time intended to call the roll of
his slaves. Well, time brings its re-
yenges. Beauregard took Sumter, and
fate decreed that he should in turn de-
fend it. He has had two years and
more to complete the works around
Charleston; he has been undisturbed all
that time. This great engineer has
been busily at work, and the world has
been assured by his friends that Charles
ton was impregnable-that the cursed
Yankees could never set their feet with
in gunshot of it, and that Sumter was
prepared to resist all assaults. One
day comes along plain Yankee engin-
eer--not celebrated, clustering, vain
glorious braggart, but a quiet gentleman
man of few words. who never tells
beforehand what wonders he is going to
perform. General Gilmore sets himself
down before Fort Sumter; he drives in
the outposts OF his opponent; he gains
a commanding position en- Morris Is
land before the astonished Beauregard
is awake to what is going on; he con-
structs battery after battery in the teeth
Of all his opponents efforts; and one day
he opens on Fort Sumter and knocks it
down. And with it he knocks down the
short lived fame of the great engineer
Beauregard. This wretched braggart
has now lost the last pretension he could
make to ability in his profession. He
has been tried in every branch of it
When he commanded in the Virginia
valley he thought battle could be gain
ed by bold lying, and issued his infam-
Gus order the rebels that our armies had
hoisted banner on which were the
words Beauty and Booty" At Bull
Run his incapacity had lost the rebels
the dav. when the imnntuo1s charge Of