Daily national Republican. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1862-1866, 1863-01-29

A correspondent OF the n. Y. Tm,:, writing
from Cairo, says:
The advance guard of the rebol prisoner
! lately captured at Arkansas Post arrived herr
Yesterday evening, including Gen. Churchill
the commander Of all the dofcnecs of tho Ar
kansas, and the line officers attached 10 the
various regiments. They came up on three
stCamCrs-thc Nebraska, Sam GatZ and John J
! Roc. Gen. Churchill was aboard the Nebras
, ka. He takes his captivity very coolly, chats
! fluCntly Of the events through which he has
lately passed, aud In common with the othoi
officers, attribute their final defeat and cap.
turU to the destructive effect Of the gunboat
feet upon their Notifications, which thoy had
deemed almost impreguablC. Our heavy cali
bres, however, were too much for their case.
mates Of oak aud railroad iron, penetrating
them like so much pasteboard. Their guns
were dismOuntGd or broken by our accurate
rife practice, and the gunnors killed by our
shot and tho flying splinlcrs Of wood and iron
which were scattered in showers among the
robol troops inside the fort. Two feet of one
rebel O-inCh casematG gun was knocked of by
Oi-pOund shot from one of the Union gun.
boats, but the enemy continued 10 load and fire
tho piece several times, even in It's shattered
condition,
The rebel troops arc in a very miserable con.
dtion for clothing, shoes and blankets; and
Of cold weather that they have been in the
Mississippi. They will be two days moro In
getting to st. Louis.
/ ConvCrsed with some OF them, aud found
them generally Disguised with fighting, and
anxious to be at home attending to their legtl-
mate business. rs a general thing, they can
give no Ineligible explanation OF their CON
duct, or toll what they arc in arms against tho
Government for. IL would be- safe to assert
that not one in five Of the whole party ever
read a newspaper or wrote his own name.
There are In this batch OF prisoners one
general, ten colonies, ten lieutenant colonies,
ten majors, one hundred captains, two hun
drCd lieutenants, and some thirty or forty ad.
lutants, staff officers, quartCrmasturs, surgeons,
SC, making Il total Of about five thousand
the lnrgclt haul of prisoners since Fort Don.
cson. There was no manifestation of mutiny
on the part of the prisoners, and they were
generally quiet and civil in their behavior.
They were treated with all the Kindness which
the crowded condition Of the boats permitted,
and were supplied with full regular army ra.
tons until tho dav before the boats reached this
place, when the provisions gave out, owing to
the IrUlOngation Of the trip, caused by the
heavy current against which they had to con.
tend.
a fresh supply Of cOmmlssary stores was laid
in here and after allowing some portion of the
prisoners to lay in few Injuries, and purchase
a little whisky "Gor very sick man." in some
part Of III" boat they again started for st. Louis
The gunboat Lexington conveyed the steamers
to their destination, \ dozen or 50 died coming
up, and the boats stopped and buried the pOoI
fellows on the banks OF the river.
One man attempted to effect his escape Jy
running away al one Of these Landings, and re-
iuslng 10 halt md return, was fired upon and
killed.
These troops are all from Texas, aud a con
siderable proportion are Conscrpts.
The Ohio and Mississippi rivers, during tn,
last "a hours, have fallen slightly.