The National tribune., 1901-11-07
WITH WEITZEL IN TEXAS.
Hazardous Service Along the Mexican Boz
der After the Civil War.

der After the civil War.
EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: Some
weeks ago 1 saw an article in The Ma
tional Tribune on soldering in Texas un
der Weitzcl. l thought this one of the
| best of your numerous war stories, and
can vOuch TO its truthfulness, as / was
| there; but there are many incidents that
| took place cut there on the frontier that
the comrade did not recount.
Our regiment was one of the first to
| arrive at Brazos, landing there about June
1; 1860, where we stayed until the latter
part of the month, when we went to
Clarksburg, at the mouth of the Rio
Grande, to do garrison duty during the
month of July, and we had a big cele
bration on the Fourth that woke up the
whole country "'round about them dig
gins"
l well remember the donble-distilled or
extra heated water we got; how much and
how hot it was, after coming out of the
condenser, and how much hotter it got
after it was pumped up into the tank,
standing in the sun all day without any
covering. Our ration was one quart per
day to the man for all purposes, and
when we got any more it was by packing
it in amp-kettles hung on pole between
two men from the Rio Grande, 10 miles
away, and then sometimes when we got
,ato camp, if the river was running out,
here would be about onethird mud in
Tie kettles when the water settled.
We stayed at ClarkSbuIg until the col
ored troops from the Army of the Po-
tCmac came, when We marched to Browns
vile. | remember several things that
happened ut Clarksburg while We re-
manned there: that about all the troops
became drunk on whisky and champagne
smuggled there by the Assistant Quarter
master-General in boxes marked cloth
ing; that the soldiers stole and filled the
whisky into wine bottles, and what was
not drunk they buried in the sand to keep
the officers from finding it, and how some
of it was sold on the march to Browns
vile at 50 per bottle.
After this some of the white soldiers
mutinied about not getting mustered out
of the service after the cOlored troops
came. Another thing was of IA Major of
one of the cOlOred regiments taking some
troops on the river into Bagdad, in Mex
leo, and raiding the town. The last |
knew of the Major was that we left him
in the City Prison at Brownsville await
ing his trial by court-martial.
On cur march to Brownsville from
ClarkSburg we camped on the old battle
field of Palo Alto, where picked up some
relics of the Mexican War; and, by the
way, the last fight of the rebellion took
place on that historic ground, just before
we arrived in Texas, between an Indiana
regiment and, | think, Gen. Slaughter's
Brigade of Confedefates, that refused to
surrender to the Union troops when Gen.
Dick Taylor surrendered his forces, at
the close of the civil war. These Confed-
crates were making their way across the
Rio Grande into Mexico, so | was told
by the citizens around Brownsville, so as
to avoid surrendering themselves and their
armies to the hated Yankees. Quite
number of them were enlisted in the Mex
lean army, when MaXimillian invaded
Mexico with his French troops to estab
lish his empire there. If this was not
the last Union soldiers. outside of the
Regulars, under fire of an enemy.
COmrade Peck forgot to tell about the
gunbOat coming up the Rio Grande, run
ming the Mexican blockade that was es-
tablished below Brownsyile) under the
American flag, as a merchant sloOp from
New York, and at the siege of MatamOras
firing on the Union soldiers while they
were watching the fight at MatamOras,
and cheering the Mexican soldiers when
they would make a charge.
| was standing close to small tree,
where Gen. Weitzel, or Wright, | forget
which now, was taking observations
through field-glass, when the gunb0at,
said to be manned by a rebel crew, fired
three solid shots right among the Union
soldiers on the Texas side of the river.
Fortunately none Of the shots hit anyone,
but | remember how quickly the General,
which ever one it was, mounted his horse
and rode up to Brownsville to order our
artillery to train their guns on the city
of MatamOras and then sent word to the
French officers in command not to have
another shot fired from the gunboat, as it
was neutral waters, and if it did he would
open fire with his artillery on the boat
and blow it out of the river, and then open
fire on the city and level it to the ground;
so there was no more firing from that
gunboat.
COmrade Peck spoke about the fam
dangOs or dances among the Mexicans,
and how they would start a fight to get
to kill some Americanos, as they called
soldiers; that is, if there were only rev
Americans present, for they always knew
when to get up fight, and that was when
they had 20 to one. l well remember see
ing 10 Americans lying in drug store.
They had been brought in from off little
prairie back Of town. The "Greasers"
had caught them there with their lassoes