New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1863-01-19
THE AFFAIR AT GALVESTON
FULL ACCOUNT OF THE DISASTER
NARRATIVE or MAJOR ". |. BURT.
Position Of Affairs Prior to the At'acK'
HOW THE REBELS APPROACHED.
fhe Attack on the Harriet Lane.
A NOBLE AND GALLANT DEFEHsE.
A Bloody Struggle on her Decks
PHg BLOWING UP OF fHE WgSTFlbID.
Fhe Attack on the Harriet Lane.
A NOZZLE AND GALLANT DEFENSE.
A Bloody Struggle on her Decks
Hg BLOWING UP OF fHE WESTFlBID.

A., f,o,n Nes- Orleans Jan. 2. sDd Key West jan
"a s,ea. M. making the passage from the later
mort TO Sandy Hook in four days and six hours She
i,t at Key Wes. the propeller Prometheus, coa'ing;
the United States sieaDer Sycamore, and propeller
Osrood coaling. The following is list OF her pss-
seugep:
~ A. Charles r Dunbar N. Dyer jr, Mira NJ Diessy
md three chdr,, Miss r. NJ ode Mise Els F"fsp MI
4 (utteTman Mr. Martin van buIen Osp'' - - '" ~
three ia the sieetage
We are indebted 10 Purser Sampson OF the Mlssls'
,ipti delivery Of letters from our correspondent
THE account Of the disaster at Galveston subj lined vas
wmded BY our the day before he Illinois
sailed so thu. the mar alive by the Illinois and puo-
Hhed BY rs o. Saturday, merely Supplement- y TO IBIS
The arrival Of the Illinois In advance Of the Mississippi COM
pei ed rs to publish the later leueI' hrst-Ed Ir'o
From Our Special ConespOuaen, ,,..
Yesterdav, at sunset a startling rum0r reached
,ls city, II was said that the Rebels at Galveston,
Texas, had made an unexpected attack in overpow'
erug numbers upon the handful OF United States
soldiers who, supported by few war-vessels, have
he'd the place in nominal sabieeton; that the for
uer had been killed or taken prisoners, the Harriet
Lane captured apd--worst Of all-the Wesfeld,
tie Hsg-sbip of the Aotlla, blown 10 pieces, nvol-
yirg the destruction Of Commodore Renshaw, tie
commander, aud a pumber Of officers aud men, just
Sc he was abandoning lis vessel lnqniry traced
the rumor to telegiapbic despatch received by
Gen. Banks from down the river For an hour or
two its purport was questioned, contested, disbe-
hsyed-pre sently sdm.ted bat indefinitely. This
NOR ing brings onfrDoon, in all its appalling par
bculsrs.
derive the following narrative (which l shall
g, deavor To render clear and coherent as is posi-
blel from Major w. L. Burt Of Gen. Hamilton's
tiff who has this morning returned from thu scene
Of the recent tragedy. He was dispatched thither
se tie Generals representative IN his future Gu
pacty Of Military Governor OF Texas, ms duties
COMPRISING the assisting Of Uoion men aud the
r.,siug OF recruits for Tue wrestling OF the State
frvpo ~, bluody al rale Of treason now rampant
there. w th bi n went also Capt. s. w. C0zzeDs OF
T. xas, TO be assigned to command. Both gentle
men left Ils pOri in the Mary A. Boaromsn on the
night OF Monday Dee. %, just Elk days sgo. BE.
fore relate Major BurPs experience IL e advisable
" mention q lew preliminary details Becessary TO
the understanding of his story.
THE POSITION.
At Galveston the position of affairs was as fol-
lows: The town. STACKED and taken by Commodore
Rensbaw on Oc,. 10, 1862, the Rrbels flying npon
the appearance OF be gunboa 9, had renamed in a
com aratv ly oesered condition under their coutrol.
1t was held merely as landing place for future
operations, and occupied principally by. Union.
r.fuge4s, fugi,ves from the terrorism OF
the Interior. We had barely the city
aud island upon which it stands, mere
sand bsbk, thirty niles long. DOT over two
In width, and connecting with the interior by a
bridge Of two miles in extent, built upon cedar
piles. Over this bridge the iveston and Houston
Railroad crosses West Bay and enters the former
city. Unfortunately NO ATTEMPT had beea made to
destroy this structure, IN coDsde ration Of Its
and possibly future uskfDDess, mark VI cODfid-r-
alton i'm the Rebels have improved to bloody 3D.
vantage. They had exclusive pose sson Of il, oom-
ing md going at pleasure, controlling IL by means of
three batierie. At Virginia Poinl-tbe north, or
mainland end--and by another, on The leland end, at
. spo. called Eagle Grove. sort OF tacit com2ro-
mise seems TO have existed, by which the enemy
agreed neither The bridge for belhigerent pnf
poses. uor TO modest the Harriet Lane. on duty
guarding It, while she refraiDed from shell prague
o. be la .teriss until an scve necessity arose for
dong co. oollte INK herself with mutsly meDacing
them and comm anoiDg both the bridge and the four
miles space intervening between IL abd the ,hy. Ia
what saDga nary spape the contingency appeal ed
will pre- emily be- narrated.
Ihefe were in GayesiOn, up 10 within "a week OF
the stt.ek, absolutely no troop, the place being
bsld mer.ly by the naval arm. Two regiments had
been ordered thi her, ths 42d MsssaeI useits Col.
Barriil the "a Connecticut, Col. -, win ole
battery, tue "a Vernon, under command 81 Capt.
h0iCOmb; also faction Of Tie Is Texas cavalry,
ths expected nucleus of regiment. vi thee
uogps only the 42d Massachusetts embarked for
Texas Oh or beIols y . 18TH Of December, the sd
Com lieut. IeuaiDing ~ ship Isiud, where IL iii
IL. Ibe IL st-nens.o ed Regiment went IN three
trsnst crs under The ecIve charges Of ige Colo
mel l!euieDsDt-COiODei. and MAJOR. Tue vetsel-
bel x low, oliy tlres companies oi tnIs rosInent
u der Col B4rrill, ha4 arrived landing ou a wharf
besr he upper part OF GdlyettoD. lber, theJ tooa
Possession of One Of tbe churches "a lookout and
waited tue arrival IL lhclr comrades. 1ney were.
H. I'll boul 800 III H. hoL e. oug. " establish eaets
.1y In IA rel al AZ & L.
fog L,ir safety ana protection. ibe Saxon, wbicn
hid brought item, III lay 10 the bGrbOr oufilde
tho bar IN sAosi wate.I with Cos rn.dOre Re-
shaw hag.sEip WeS.hoid, tbe gunboats C,itoh
bnC O,farcJ, la adoii Dn 10 tie Htrn0t Lane, kerg
ine atch and w. over The silent eat y-eucI was
tie condition VI OsY rton up 10 lie 3J.b OF Dccem
Der. appeDd bfiei list 81 tic armament OF the
vessels ia COM icte tns part VI the subect:
tisg ship Ne,lhsd Com.odOfe AeTshaw-z siDen guns,
Ihe -rlie Lane CAPT Wainwrisht-s sinch guns, 30
De Chon C.gt Law s-iaeh suIs, apoOnd.rs,
rhs Ows'co Capt wi'cnl llineh gun. 30 pound rnsd
Sun, = pcnd S0~ttzsla
VOYAGE OF ALE MARY A. BOARDMAN.
TIE Mary a. Boafdman, the Honduras, ind the
Cun.b,id wee expected. The INST IA propeller.
built for Chinese wntersl wat laden will .tOIes ana
fraae; tie second carried the Vermont battery be-
Tor. rpoken Of; and the Cumbria leo ptur.d of
Cbsrles,0tl contained u number OF Texas refugees
embryo United Safes cavalry men with 600 and
OF arms for the usc Of Iner loyal coultry nieO.
The.e vessels were 10 nave lett New Orleans Oh or
abOul Dec. u. None OF them, however, got Of
until two aays later, when, az already related, the
Mary A. Bvardmsn stesmcd southwark for Gal
Weston, aud With her the Honduras, leaving the
slower Cambria 10 brIGg up tue rear, Inii forty.
eight hour subsequeD,. The Mary A. Boardm1n
parted with Der companion tire Delta Of the Mis-.
sissippi, on the bar " The Southwest Pass, and
henceiOrwaId held on her way alone. Az a 0'clocf
on Tho afternoon Of Dec. 81 size arrived ID Calves
ton. Here al ominous sight awaited her In Tie