The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1863-05-09

the CITY. The other district composed the
remainder of New Orleans. and all along
the river above for sixty miles to Donald
sonville. therefore sent an expedition,
under General Weitzel, to Donaldsonville,
and swept down through that country to
were there in considerable force, and
brought the whole of that region, from one
end to the other, within the Union lines.-
thus got under the control of the Ameri-
can soldiery nearly the entire two districts
now represented by Mr.. Flanders and Mr..
Hahn. General Shepley, as Military Gov
ernor, then issued his proclamation for an
election, in order that every man in those
districts should be allowed to vote who had
taken the oath, and had the other qualifica-
tions prescribed by the laws Of Louisiana;
and every body did vote. There were sew
en- candidate running in one district, and
two in the other.
In taking possession of that District,
which had heretofore been in the possess
sion of the enemy, we obtained possession
Of region of country containing more SUI
gar plantations and more slaves than any
other portion of Louisiana. Some 5000,
perhaps 2O, 900 slaves came, by that expedl-
ton, under our control and, as Congress
had passed law declaring that all slaves
held by rebels in regions that afterwards
came into our possession, should be Tree,
and all those slaves became free. And l
enlisted third regiment and two batteries
of heavy artillery from among those ne
groes thus made free. Two OF these color
ed regiments were employed in guarding
the Opelousas Railroad, running from Ber-
wick Bay to Algiers; and when left there
they were still thus employed. For the
other regiments had enlisted found this
use The planters there, while some claim
ed to be loyal and some disloyal, had come
to the conclusion not to lay down any ira
toons'' Of sugar cane, as they are called;
that is, pieces Of cane are laid in the earth
in order to preserve their eyes from injury
by frost, and when the season comes they
are planted and the new cane springs up
from these eyes. They had come to the
conclusion not to lay down any ratoons,
and to preserve no seed for oth1 crops, SO
that if the Presidents proclamation of Sep
TENDER should be followed, as they feared,
by one in January, declaring the slaves to
be free, they would throw them upon us,
and we would have nothing for them to do,
and nothing for them to eat during the
coming year from the crops. I therefore
employed, for many weeks, the last regi-
ments that raised, in laying down cane
cutting it down and laying it in the ground
to protect the eyes from the frost. And
have no doubt that in that way l have
made sufficient provision for the coming
cane crop upon the plantations necessary
to be worked by the Government; and al
so in preserving sweet potatoes and corn
for the next years planting, to find en-
ployment and sustenance, if these fifteen
or twenty thousand negroes should be
threwn upon US, provided we went no fur
Their. Turned over to my successor, of SOL
diers II 800, including the black regiments,
though Ihad bat IL, 700 to start on.
Concerning Gen. Buffers removal, and
Tho robo1 Gor1vorco inflammation on that
subject, and the information that General
Butler has not yet been able to get, he
says: ....@
On the 23d of November, eleven days be-
fore Gen. Banks left New York, it was
known in New Orleans that was to be SUI
perseded by him and a bet of 800 to $40
was made in secesh Club-room that with
Gen. Banks. Gen. Weitzeps scouts bro't
in the same news from the Teche; and a
drunken broker, whom had put on Ship
Island for three months, and who had
served out his time there, came to General
Shepley, as early as that day, and boosted
of the fact of my being superseded; and
five days before Gen. Banks left New York
Of the information had got. On the 10th
day of December, the day turned the COM
mand over to Gen. Banks, jeff. Davis had
come down to Jackson, only forty miles
from Vicksburg, upon an expedition
to strengthen the defenses on the river to
meet Banks expedition. Yet, after know
ing all that, he, on the 23d, issued his pro-
clamation that should be treated as fell
on, knowing that on the 10th had turned
over my command to Gen. Banks.
Q.-Have you any means of knowing
the causes for your removal?
Al have no knowledge. I have asked
every body have seen in Washington, and
nobody has been able to tell me.