The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1895-05-30
BRANDED AS A WHOLESALE
MURDERER

BRANDED AS A WHOLESALE
MURDERER.
Butler had New Orleans at the time,
and, among other things was running the
papers. Later | read an account of my
brush with the gunboat in one of Buffers
journals 1t could not be called an un-
biased statement. 1t reviled me as a
most abandoned and bloodthirsty charac-
ter and declared that even after the
gunboat surrendered | kept on pouring
shot into her as if my one purpose in
life was wholesale murder. OF course
this was not so. | wouldn't have fred
~2n anybody after he had hauled his flag
down, and besides that, didn't have the
ammunition to waste.
After | rejoined the rest of my battery
following the exploit of the gunbOat, |
hunted trouble with the Yankees more
zeaIously than ever. One day | was
fully gratiiied We were still in Louisi-
ana Inc sun came up one morning
and found some 10000 of us facing a
largely superior force of Yankees. We
couldnt nave crawled out of a fight even
were we so disposed. but no one suggested
any retreat The fact was we felt duite
cockey, and were full of belief that
we could whip the invader. The fight
began, and | soon had my hearts wish:
was in peck of trouble with tho
Yankees, | and my battery. | had suc-
ceeded in attracting the attention and
Gettihg a hearing, as it were, from three
1ahkee batteries at the same time. They
were reasonably brisk outfit, and it
lldht take them a minute to get my
e@1SG, lhen 1T began to rain sorrow
ma nan despair for my battery,
10 show You how hot those Yankees
made 1T, one need only to say that they
wounded or killed 30 of my 66 men and
1lsm0untcd two of my brass beoutioS
IN 30 minutes. You might have plontnd
corn where my battery stood when thnv
got through, it was so plowed and bor.
rowed by the Yankee fire
MEN MOVED DOWN
1T was in the thick of the LottIo 7
was standing near the No, I cun mo-,
by the name of Thomson was stnnmin,,
forward with n shot in his honJs ~, liioni
Without Il word or cry ba SndJoni, Tnii
forward on the gun and thnn sIimnod -,
the ground limp as n wet towel am
non ball had torn through his Ghost
ordered a man TO his place Rcforo no
was there n moment q rrogn,o,t - W. -"
from out of the skv strnri, hin, -, - t H"r,
his head and he fell dead by thn SILK "
Thompson. 1t was sucb whirI If
smoke and roar that | couldn't tnii u.ho ;
was going ON at the other ems nn n,,i
less in other parts of the field bod %'om
ordered TO hold nv poSition and boI
made up my mind TO hold il whiln = ,," ,
and a man of my battery hold torntL"r
| ordered another to fake tbr niocn Of thn
second lying dead under thc gmn Tbis
man got there lust i'm time IN r"coirn =
rifle bullet in his month If emma ont
under his ear. This man. however, diLr't
die. | met him wears nrtnr tbn U.or
Three men were all that were ovniI,.
BILE for this especial duty. They We're
the post myself. | DOM knn,,. ' b'u. i i1Wr
it was-whethcr one minnie or tom
when. without the slightest fnnlir~ -,
pain or warninr. | was hnrt my, Laws W.
way and | sank to thn rrnnnd 81, ~,
same instant an explosion, ike forty bat
teries all united in one Grand 6isci,r"o
broke loose lust to thr reor nT M" a. 4 ,1I
umn of fire and smoke shot tnv.ori ,t,
sky as if a volcano had boon Ioosod law
the general ior and din nf hottIn T. ,,. ~