Indiana State sentinel. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1864-05-16
Correspondence Of the New York worldl
BALTIMORE, May 5, 1864
OF THE DEFEAT oE THE RED RIVER
EXPEDITION.

Correspondence Of the New York World.l
BALTIMORE, May 5, 1864
CONSEQUENCES OF TIE DEFEAT oE THE RED RIVER
EXPEDITION.
have some highly important news to day in
regard TO the rebel designs in Texas, and the
means which the rebels have at their disposal for
carrying those designs into execution. II will
not surprise the readers ofthe World to learn that
the deplorable result of the Red river expedition
has put in great jeopardy the feeble tenure BY
which the Federal forces hold the entire western
slope of the Mississippi Valley. Ii is not believed
by the rebel leaders that the policy of coucentra-
ton can be wholly carried out by General Grant
But they do believe that be is sufficiently master
of the situation TO see TO it that no more troops
are sent to the Department of the Mississippi at
present, and they know full well that Banks has
been so crippled and cut up that be must con-
tinue bis retreat from Alexandria to Baton
Rouge. while they are confident that General
Steele has either been compelled to surrender
at Camden or else has been driven back TO Little
Rock
This state of things, and the evident deter
mination of the Union Government to make the
extreme East the theater of their operations this
summer, has led the Confederate authorities to
resolve on bold stroke in Texas. This is moth
ing less than the expulsion of the few remaining
Union troops that yet in that State. and the
seizure and permanent occupation of the whole
State. They believe that il will be impossible for
Banks or his successor to leave the southeastern
corner of Louisiana this summer, and they are
satisfied that the rebel troops in Arkansas are
amply sufficient to take care of General Steele
They intend to concentrate the whole of their
remaining force west of the Mississippi, together
with the new regiments that have lately been
raised in Texas, at some convenient point in the
IL. O. Gse...
San onio, or perhaps near the coast as Co
lad 0. Houston, aud to operate first against
whatever point is most strongly held by the Fed
era troops. Their operations will afterward ex-
tend over a wide belt of country east Of Texas.
embracing fully the northern half of Louisiana.
as far down as Alexandria, aud the southern part
of Arkansas. as far north as the mouth of the
Arkansas river, and as far west as the Rio
Grande.
CONFEDERATE TROOPS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
When the expedition under General Banks
started up the Red river. the Confederate troops
west of the Mississippi river consisted of the fol
lowing bodies of men, all under Lieutenant Gen
era Kirby Smith, viz:
Gen. Dick Taylor's division, at Shreveport,
1000: Gen. Prince Polignac's division, 1000;
Prices forces in Arkansas, 10000; Magruder's
troops at Galveston. and at other points in Texas,
lO,uOO, osooos OiCOh OttSaoCs
900; Siddel's brigade. 5000; the last three
brigades being on the Red river below Shreve-
port. This constitutes force of SO 900 troops
These of course were not all engaged in the bat
ties on the Red river. The forces which Banks
fought were those under Gems. Taylor, Prince Po-
lignac, Walker, Green and Sidell, as above; a
small detachment from Price. probably 5000.
and large detachment from Magruder, probably
5000 in all 25 900 The forces which are now
or we're recently engaged against Gen. Steele,
at Camden are understood to be the whole of
Prices l2 900, and $4,000 of those recently en-
gagged against Banks The Confederate losses
in the recent engagements on the Red river are
understood in Richmond TO have been 1000
men.
FoRrIFIcATIoSs OF HOUSTON.
The proclamation of General Magruder. issued
on the 4th of March, calling on the planter of
Texas for more negroes to work on the fortIiea-
tions of Houston, had been responded to with
great alacrity. Over eight hundred negroes, who
had been sent sent in from the interior, were busy
at work when nv informant left. and there was
every prospect that the fortihcatiOns would be
speedily completed.
NEGROES TAKEN FROM THEEAsI TO TEXAS.
But the people OF Texas have done more than
this During the last wear the influx of negroes
from the States east of the Mississippi has been
very great. After the Union armies had gained
virtual possession of Kentucky and Tennessee;
after Nashville had fallen into our hands; when
the army of Rosecrans advanced from Murfrees-
boro and Sheipyville toward Chattanooga; above
all, when our armies touched the northern coun-
ties of Mississippi and Alabama, thousands OF
negroes were taken by their masters from those
States to Texas. Msny planters in those States
owned large estates likewise In Texas-estates
which they bad never workedto any great extent,
but which were capable of being made very pro-
ductive To these estates they now took many
of their negroes, both i'm order to save them from
"the Yankees" and in order that they might
raise in Texas the crops which they could not raise
in safety in their native States The results of
this STEP in connection with the military opera
tions alluded to. will have an important bearing
Oh the future progress of the war.
CATTLE, HORSES AND HOGS
In 1860 there were in Texas 800, 900 horses.
63 900 mules, 77nOOO head of cattle. 7S3, 900
sheep and 1885, 900 hogs These animals in
crease very fast, and notwithstanding the very
large supplies of each that Texas has furnished
to the South, the number of each now in Texas
is undoubtedly greater than just stated
AGRICULTURAL CAPACITY OF TEXAS.
In&1s50 there we're less than seven hundred
thousand acres of land under cultivation in
Texas. In 1860 the number of acres under cul-
tivation amounted to two millions six hundred
and fifty thousand. Last year il was estimated
that three millions of acres were under cultiva-
ton. This year the number of acres cultivated
will not exceed that figure. But the whole three
million of acres will be worked to the utmost de-
gree of produetveness. What that will be can
be readily seen.
AGRICULTURAL PRoDUcrIvESss OF rExAs.
In 1860 there were raised in Texas one mil
lion four hundred and sixty thousand bushels ot
wheat sixteen million FIVE hundred thousand
bushels of corn, and four hundred thousand bales
or one hundred and sixty million pounds of cot.
ton. Much of the cotton lands were last year
and still more Of them this year will be devoted
to raising grain and cattle. Last year the grain
crop of Texas amounted to three million bushes
of wheat and twenty million bushels of corn
This year it is estimated that the yield will be
fully four million bushels of wheat and thirty
million bushels of corn.
IMMENSE TERRITORIAL AREA OF TEXAS.
1t will be remembered in this connection thai
the area of Texas, 237 600 square miles. is equal
in extent to the area occupied by the nine States
OF Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Msssa-
chusetts Connecticut. New York, Pennsy yIvania
Ohio, and Indiana No wonder the rebels think
it is empire worth striving for.
HOW GENERAL xAeRuDER RAISED TEN THOUSAND
YOUNG TEXAN VOLUNTEERS
| / alluded above to some new regiments thai
had recently been formed in Texas IL is said
that these are composed entirely of volunteers
and mostly of young men who have recently
reached the military age The basis OF the or
ganizatiois were home guards which were formed
as long AS two years ago. But when General
Magruder was sent to his present command in
Texas he found that these cOmpanies of homf
| guards (for they had not regimental organize
ton at that time) contained more youths. boys q
| from fifteen To seventeen, than old men, II,
i lcnnrai xed the design lherelnre of rnisino snma