, 1864-04-07
Qblfago Qrtbl1ue.
THURSDAY, APRIL 7. 1864
LIZ AGD RIVER E;KPED1.
TlON.-
HOW Eankcc General Ont1ryttc1 III,
Rebels,

11o'S aankcc General OutgyIttcI tn
Aec"e4s'
T. correspondence Of the N. T. .Tribaue.l
hkAp2uARrEns RED RtyEn EXPEDITION.
- " ooAnD sTKA1ER CLARA BEL,
ALEXANDRIA, La, March ~, 1s;4.
By steamer Luminary. Capt. Weaver. 7 ,u
enabled: to send the details Of the successfn
e1pedition sent out By Gen L. J. Smith. com
mAnd1ng Red River Expedition, on tho morn
Ing Of tue 2lst inst. Long before this rcache;
you, the telegraph will have drawn the ont
tInes OF this handsome victory gained BY 8
nen1'ng General, John L. Mower. whose In.
1eteht 4ankeeis1n" was SO strongly nnpI.
Tested on this victorious expedition. From
scouts and rebel dcserters Gen. Smith re.
celved sufficient Information regarding the
rebel forces in this vicinity to warrant him
In ordering & thorough Reconnaissance to-
ward Bayou Rnpides and Henderson's Hil,
the latter point being twenty -four miles from
Alexandria At midnight on Sunday, Cen.
Smith had matured his plans and orders were
forthwith sent to Gen Mowers he4duuarkars.
On beard the steamer Des Molnes, to prepare
for an early march. Gen. Mower promptly
set LIS necessary military machinery in run
ming order, aud by working hard ali nipbt
! the commissary, ordnance and medical stores
| necessary for the expedition were supplied
and in complete readiness
At daylight Aonday, with rain and hail de-
eeending In torrents, the column Vas In mo-
ton, comprising the ID and Sd brisades Of
the LIST division. the 69th Indiann yoi1ntecrs.
and the 9Th Indiana battery from the Cd brig
ade, Sd division, 10th army corps, together
With one brigade Of Gen. Lees cavalry. mn
der command Of Col, Lucas, the cavalry BE-
ing portion Of Gen Banks forces, With
cd ca' 1anI annIsSestsn delay the expedition march
countered the rebel pickets, and drove them
~, capturing sercral- It was at BAYOU Rap,
1des that Col sargent,: Of, the Sd Massaeli1.
Getts Is eava Sa;t seceiyed q ngy s1aet Tonnd
Hendea oon's Hill at O'Clock Monday u1sht
Gen. Mower left the cavalry force to harrass
and threaten the enemy while he made
rapid detour Of twelve miles, through mud
and miro, for the purpose Of turning the enc
mE's right flank. 10 do this it was neccssa.
~ to march round an impossible sWamp.
which the rebels relied upon as q natur1l bar.
Iier. Without causing any alarm Gen. Now.
CT very quietly gained his desired position.
having first captured two mounted rebel
couriers, who we're hurryfng to Gen. Walk
ers hcadquartcrs with important dispatches
tantty regiment 70 be sent to reinforce lin,
togsther with {, 1000 rounds Of Enfield riae
ammunition At the time these courfers
Were taken prisoners, Gen. Walkers forces
were six miles in Gen. Mowers rear.
shonld not omit mentioning the maneu-
rebels, and By which he gaIned the victory
over the bewildered chiyalry. Oyertakinr
one Of the cour1ers,. Gen. Mower In very in
dignant tones accused him Of being i'd
Yankee spy, at which the dispatch bearer be- |
came alarmed, ard protested his innocence,
his way With highly important dispatches. |
As proof Of his identity, he handed over
MS papers Tor the General to examine, asking ]
him to read them quickly, as he did not wish I
to be detained. Gen. Mo xer pronounced the
documents forgeries, and said, "You are
The Colonel: I am Gen. Walker, and you
cannot deceive INC in this way.D The aston
lshed soldier replied, "Vcry well, General. I
"lll lead you to the colonc1's headquarters,
and he viii explain that ] am not Yan.
deludcd rebel piloted Gen. Mower nnd his
stall some two miles. As fast as the General
nearcd the cavalry pcxtt1, rho were ac:.1d
IN picturesque groups around their camp |
tires, scarcely noticing our troops rs they
passed, they Wcte ordered to the rear Ap-
preaching the encampment on Hendersonss
llil, Gen. Mower sent for two companies Of
infantry to march forward. Before piyinr
this order he questioned the courier abonf
the disposition Of the cavalry and artillery.
tcll1ng him the Yankees were not far oil.
Eager to be Of service, the messenger e.
plaincd nc precise location Of each gun As
infantry TO advance he discovered his terrible
but il. was too late. The terrified
soldier expected to be shot, md he BECAME t.
highly excited, telling the General to "hurr7
md ant II tese that gun on that 5oad, pointing
We were in the cavalry camp, captnr1nu
prisoners at d rasid rate, when some of fhec5
attempted to take basty depart11rn The
report q the muskets frightened several Of
the artillery horses: who dashed of ut furi-
|
sary to shoot several horses In order to save
.hc guns and caissons from destruction, Thof
4r1ng a"oke several Of the officers, some Of
whom were asleep In fine mansion on tho
Plant plantation, and rushing out to ascertain the
loor By several Of Gen Mowers stef officers,
VINO demanded them to surrender. Stag
:e1ed With nnutterable disna5, the ''chIT- !
dr.' stood for moment speechless, as they
'eneld the aholition!sts" driving OFT the
y'eaned in tic light Of their rebel cans.
Tres. Discovering their dilemma, they sui
enly delivered up their side-arms, occasionally
bursting ont Into wild paroxisins of rage,
,ccompaniad With great deal Of profanity.
4 desperate attempt was made to dtschsrge
one Or the 12~pounder guns. which Tas 1oa3s
q With g1:'pc, among our men. but the de-
ign was thHartcd. By the time tho 1.st
prisoner was secured, the storm had ceased.
md the moon began to CLEAN its silvcrv
3ght upon the romantic but to the prisoners
iisagreeable scene. 1t Tas one o'clock. and
ne long and weary march of thifty-two
niles over such dificult roads lad welI-nigh |
Exhausted even the energies Ut these iron
uen Of the West After rebuilding the bridge
yer Bayou kapidesa which the rebels Ihad I
on1plishcd his object, pushed on I'VE mics
nd encan3pcd for the night. Starting on bis
ttnrn ut dayhrcak Tuesday morning, the er-
edition reached Alexandria at noon ycster-
az, the 23d nit, the troops marching with
aaueA APPARENT elasticity rs though on .