The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1865-06-16
n Second Battle of PalO AltO.
BRAZOS SANTIAGO. Nav IA. 1865.

ter(lay became again a battlefield. But
alas that it was not a second time a scene
of glory to the Union arms. 1t was my
lot, as lieutenant a company of the S7th
L. S. c. infantry: to participate last
night with that regiment in covering the
retreat of the three regiments engaged in
the conflict After these had passed with
the wounded to our rear, the enemy, as
we since learn from our flag of truce, ap-
preached our pickets, but awaiting the
arrival of their artillery, their advance
guard came up at sunrise to the lagoon
which bounds this island upon the north,
only to find that we had ust recrossed and
were safe behind our Notifications.
Col. L. II. Barrett Of the cd L. S. c..
infantry, commanding the L. S. forces
upon Brazos, has the credit, or otherwise,
of our misfortune. He sent. on the 18th
inst, beyond our lines towards Browns
vile an expedition for horses and beef,
consisting Of so of our I'd Texas cavalry
and 25O of his own regiment At Pal
metto Rancho, on the Rio Grande, they
attacked a rebel cavalry camp and cap
tured its stores and camp equipage; but
upon learning that 500 rebel reinforce
ment was approaching from Brownsville
they fell back to White Rancho on the
Palo Alto prairie. AT this juncture COL
B., instead Of recalling the expedition or
reinforcing it by the whole 87th L. S. c.
infantry, 34th Indiana volunteers and I'd
Texas cavalry, went to its relief with only
less than 200 of the 34th Indiana, under
It.-COl. Morrison, a brave Vermontcr.-
Meantime the rebels obtained from Maxi
millian's side of the Rio Grande chow and
whereby Uncle Sam will yet investigated
three pieces of artillery, which, it is said,
were posted under the supervision of Gen
Masruder who happened to be in the Vi
cinity on some political errand relative to
the formation of Kirby Smiths projected
Southwestern Contederacy." The re-
suit was that the rebels availed themselves
Of the cover OF certain groves of chappar-
rel, outtlanked the impetuous-'' fool
hardy" must stand outcast from military
parlance, the impetuous colonel's posi-
ton, took over 100 prisoners, including
two of our Texas cavalry lieutenants,
killed number, doubtless equal to that
of their own killed, which an escaped
prisoner puts at l., and drove him back
five miles or more until met by the S7th
regiment, as before stated. Col. Barrett
hurried past us on foot back to Brazos,
leaving our commanding officer. Lt-Col
Billy Bliss, a cool and keen young New
Englander, to act at his own discretion
"till further ORDERS The latter prompt
ly threw out reliable pickets with judicious
instructions. Our du~ky heroes quietly
smacked their lips in no cowardly whs-
pers about the probabilities of Immediately
having little more business with their
old Texan masters, similar to what some
of them had transacted at Port Hudson !;
but what with one eye on the front hori-
zon, where the flames of the burning Ran
cho indicated the presence of the Johnies,
and one ear turned from the meddlesome,
noisy breakers of the beach, whose sands
were their only bed, they did not get last
night, exactly what Prof Pepper would
call ga very good artikel Of sleep" That
our want of light artillery and cavalry was
"what's the matter''-still they 'don't see
it,"
This battle may deserve no Importance
from the numbers cngaged-the rebels less
than 1000 men-but rather from the po-
litical relation of some of its incidents to
our Maxi-Mexican neighbors 1t is re-
ported that at the commencement of the
retreat some parties across the Rio Grande
fired upon us, and that some of our skir-
mishers crept up to the river bank and
shot two of them dead. by our flag
of truce comes a report from the reb-
els that steamer from Bagdad for Mata-
moras passed up Just as the artillery begar
firing, that the rebels, not observing she
had hoisted the French flag, fired into her
sending one shot through her cabin, and
that when last seen she was floating down
stream.
Bagdad is the Mexican port at the
mouth of the Rio Grande, noted for g the
shipping off Bagdad "a grand array o
monitors and men-of-war, whose flag:
represent every nation. Brazos is tree
less sand-iSland, six miles long, separated
from Bagdad by the main channel of tho
Rio Grande and from Point Isabel by {
wide lagoon. Since our evacuation o.
the rest of Texas, it has become of first
class Importance as a military post The
S7th has been stationed here since oul
abandonment of Brownsville last August
With no drink except condensed sea wa
. ter-nature substituting northers for rain
and little or no antiscorbutic food, th'
regiment has begun to be ravaged will
the scurvy. And consequently there ar
rived yesterday the good transport Gin
, ton with an Arkansas colored regiment t,
: relieve us, and the 10th inst. we start fo
| New Orleans.
r Your readers may expect me to sa.
;, something as the truth OF incOrrcctness o
5 certain statements of the n. o. papers
relative to some penalty by Gen. Canb,
2 upon majority of the 7th Vermont, to
misconduct at Mobile | must defer com
ment thereon till better informed. O
Y one thing | am positive, namely-that
part of the regiment at least, are not a
fatigue duty, nor under any ban that pre-
G vents their daily folding to their bray
r bosoms the regimental colors. BF.B.