New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1866-08-06

'tOld Rough and Ready In the latter instance,
the ALTERATION took the masses as much as the
Names 1t struck the fancy like Poe's "pallid
bust of Palas,N or POpe's up the high hill he
heaves the huge round stone" At any rate we
doubt not that the anonymous correspondent of
an obscure paper won for g Old Rough and Ready"
fifty thousand votes, He should have been re-
warded with place in the cabinet, or by a first
class foreign embassy. Perhaps he was, who
knows?
The expression "war to the knife, :" which was
used so frequently during the late struggle and
fof several years preceding it, has seldom re-
ceiyed its true paternity. 1t was the answer of
Palafox to the demand of the French commander,
Marshal Money, for the surrender of SaragOssa.
This was not an idle bravado but the stern deter
mination OF brave man. who by his heroic re-
sIstance has caused the defense of SaTagossa to
be ranked with that of Saguntum and Numantia.
It was thought at the beginning that the bowie
knife would be as terrible in Southern hands as
was the mdchete in the hands OF the Spanish
peasanuy. But its inferioriy to the deadly revol-
yer soon caused it to be discarded. Gov. Harris,
OF Tennessee, who served on the stan OF Gen.
Sidney Johnston at the battle of Shiloh, related
an incident illustrating the point. A regiment
from -, which had often boosted of what prodi-
gies of valor it would perform with the bowie
knife, broke badly under whitening fire OF mimic
balls. The general rode up to the shrinking,
covering men and cried out: . You have Dragged
about what you would do with the bowie knife,
and now when the manlier weapon is put in your
hands you play the woman. II there is manhood
in Won follow me- He placed himself in front of
the regiment and rode before it until the enemy
was routed by the gallant attack He led into
action several regiments on that the last day of
his heroic life.
Gen. B. F. Butler, United States army, was the
first to use the word "coutrabandn as a designa
ton for the negro, and he has, too, the honor of
being the first to encourage that class of persons
to desert their masters. 1t will doubtless crafty
him to know that the contrabands made them
alFn5 taoF,1 70 hNtt, lhFrNFp do
rates, at least, were kept well posted about all
that occurred within and around Fortress Monroe.
The number Of ships that Mcclellan brought, and
the strength of his army, were reported with
astonishing accuracy. 1t is certain that Yorktown
knew more Of Fortress Monroe, at this period at
least, than did Fortress Monroe know Of York
town. The opposite opinion would be a poor
compliment to Mcclellan. He certainly would
have attacked on the first day Of his arrival
before MagTuders long, weak line had he known
that there were many points of 1t at which there
was not man for hundreds Of yards. There is
reason to believe that Magruder kept Butler
amused for more than year with false infOrma
ton conveyed through intelligent contTabands
while his own intelligence was accurate in the
minutest degree. The tricks played off by means
Of negroes at the beginning of the war would be
sufficiently curious; but the time is hardly come
for these revelations to be made. But even when
brought by the intelligent contraband must some
times have seemed very strange. An officer Of
McClellan's staff told the writer, during a flag of
truce, an amusing instance Of this.
After Beauregard's retreat rom COrinth Nc
Clellan was much exercised in mind lest he should
come to the relief of Lee. statement to that
effect had been published in our papers. Other
papers denounced the imprudent revelation, and
said some wise things about the Importance of
reticence. Mcclellan as a military man knew
this was the movement ought to be made and
he believed it had been made. However to make
sure on this point, he determined to examine, in
an iutalliUnu+ iugt
into his lines, direct from Richmond
Gen. NJ Is Beauregard in Richmond?
|. @. Oh, yes, masser
Gen. d. How many soldiers did he have with
him?
i. g. Hundred tousand, tree tousand, fifty tou-
sand; cars heaped up wild sogers, cherry day two,
tree weeks.
Gen. NJ Are you sure that Beauregard is there
himself?
l. @. OIL yes, him make speech at de CAPT.
tol; hear Massa Leteher call him Genral Boregar.
The news sufficiently confrmatory of Nc
Clellan's worst fears, and the intelligent contra
band saw plainly that he had " made sensation -
the thing Of all Others the most fiatterng to the
negro. AT length some one thought of testing
still further the intelligent cOntrabeud's accuracy
and the examination was renewed.
Y. Did you see General BeaureTard yourself?
A. Oh! yes, Masseri me see him for sartin.
Q. What sort Of looking man is he?
A. Him great big fat man, tomack tick out so
quitting his hands two feet in front of his ston-
ach). .-...
This was too much for the gravity OF Mcclellan
who laughed heartily with his fears all relieved.
Beanregard's leanness was too well known for
the credlbiity OF the Contraband's story it an
peared afterward that the poor fellow had mis-
taken the portly Price (who happened to be in
about that tme) for the celebrated engi-
neer The fifty tousand, tree tousand hundred
tousand were the troops of Holmes and Huger
from North Carolina aud Norfolk.