American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1864-08-24
Colonel Anderson Charged with Iresohery.


counts telegraphed from Mobile, the con-
clusion is inevitable traitor has deliv-
cred up to the enemy powerful Confed-
crate fortress, one of the chief defences
Of Mobile harbor, garrisoned by 900 men
and provisioned for six months-deliyer-
cd it up after few hours shelling, and
contrary to the express command Of his
superior oficers-delivered it up with all
its garrison and stores, and powerful az
mament, which has, of course, been turn
ed against the other defences Of the city
and hUrbor. 1t is black infamy.
This is the first case of surrender of
any post, large or small, by Confederate
officer to the enemy, in which the marks
and signs Of treason are unmistakable--
if the dispatch is true. New Orleans
looked bad; yet there wasnothing which
might not possibly bear the explanation
Of criminal improvidence, on the part of
the government, before the event, and a
too nervous fear, when the time came, of
exposing rich city to shot and SHE'LL
The surrender of Cumberland Gap was
still worse; yet drunkenness or incompe-
tence, or both combined may be and have
been supposed as a kindof poor paliation.
On the whole the very mildest theory of
that transaction was painful and the less
said about it the better
But here what is to be said? Colonel
Charles Anderson Of the Twenty first Al
ALBANIA regiment Is placed in command Of
that fine work; sees Fort Powell, minor
fortiGcation, abandoned and blownup (why
we do not yet know y finds that the de-
fence of the harbor depends now upon his
own post and that of Fort Morgan. He
is repeatedly tclegraphed' by superior
officer on shore TO hold on to his fort but
after few shells have fallen upon it
without any communication of his pur-
pose to the commanding General--on the
same night"-that is, on the night Of
the 7th-this Col Anderson was on board
the Yankee feet - arranging terms Of cap
itulation.'
And now comes another singular part
of this performance, as We find it on the
dispatch. That document mentions very
often the name of Gen, Page, and is ap-
parently prepared with view to produce
the impression that this Gen. Page used
great exertions to prevent the surrender.
Gen. Pages /" attention was attracted by
signal guns" at the fort. Gen. Page in
quired by signal what his (Anderson's)
purpose was. Then Gen. Page repeated
ly telegraphed g hold on to your fort y
General Page visited Fort Gaines that
same night" and found that Anderson was
on board the Yankee feet. Now was
General Pages time to act, if ever; and
the dispatch tells us that he did act he
relieved Anderson of his command"
and left peremptory orders for him, on
his return, not to surrender. On his re-
turn?
Why was the traitor ever to be permit
ted to return? His superior officer was
on the spot found that he was with the
enemy, and relieved him on the spot
did he not then give the command to some
other officer to keep Anderson out of the
fort, as he was out, and to let him stay
among his Yankee friends and surrender
his own carcass only? And if not, why
not? And who is General Pager We
never heard of him before. The COM
manding General at Mobile is understood
to be General Maury; why do not we
hear one word of him, and so very much
of Page?
OF course it is out Of the question to
take for granted the perfect accuracy of "a
first press dispatch, and especially from
Mobile. More light will be shed upon
that dark transaction in few days, and
neither treachery nor cowardice is to be
hastily attributed to officers of the Con-
federate army; but as the matter appears
to stand now, upon the information which
has come to hand Col. Charles Anderson
appears to have committed disgraceful
treason, General Page to have behavedin
a manner yet quite unexplained, and
General Maury to have done nothing at
all.
The capitulation of Fort Gaines may
probably be followed by the reduction of
Fort Morgan also and, if So the enemy
win then be nearly in as favorable po-
sition for besieging the place as they were
in respect to Charleston, after taking the
batteries on the north end of Morris Is
land, Mobile is not even yet besieged,
and has probably the means still of eff
cient defence; but the reducing of all the
outer forts may place the city within reach
of shells; and then Mobile will have a
taste of the Yankees peculiar style of
warfare, as already experienced at Charles
ton, Atlanta, Petersburg and Fredericks-
burg-when they cannot actually besiege
a town to scatter and burn its houses over
the heads of its peaceful inhabitants, in
order to reconcile them to the " Union of |
their fathers"
The defence of the place now may cost
much more fighting by reason of the loss
IF the outer forts so that the capitula-
ion of Fort Gaines, " to save the effusion |
IF blood" may, as usual in such cases,
cause the effusion of ten times as much |
then it will not be Col An
lerson's.
EsS~ A Lad of seventeen in Lawrence
county, o., shot four out of eight guerril-
A. L L L. L