The National tribune., 1902-01-23
With WeitZsl In Texas.

!
! EDITOR NATIONAL TIaBUNE: / read
! Comrade Pitncr's experience in Texas, as
given in The National Tribune of Oct.
| 81: also Comrade sPeck's comments on
| Pitncr, and again Pitner on Peck, Nov.
81. They woke me up, and my mind
goes back TO those days, and l am in
! tercsted enough to heartily say, "Shake,
old boys, shake | was there. and while
wildly rccollrct the circumstances they
relate, / think | can refresh their mem
ory To some other scenes.
Our regiment (34th Ind) was sent to
BRACES de Santiago. Tex, the Winter of
'64-61. We were on the island when Lee
! surrendered at AppomattuX, and when
our beloved Lincoln WAS assassinated and
did not get the news until April 10. 1860.
On May II, 1860, our regiment, with two
( c0lorcd regiments. under command of Col.
! Barrett marched across Boca Chca Pass
on 10 mainland, then to Roca del Rio, and
up the Rio Grandc River toward Browns
Vile. When at Whites Ranch. the old
! Palo Alto battle-ground. where Gen. Taylor
whipped Santa Anna in '46. We met the
enemy, under Kirby Smith, who gave us
| fight. Cos. \ and II. Of our regiment,
were thrown out rs skirmishcrs. When
the fight was on Col. Barrett discovered n
regiment of rebel cavalry on our right, and
ordered the main column to fall back
| about thrcc-quarterS of q mile To some
U
! licve the skirmish line, and they stood
their ground, while the cavalry did not
| fail to take in nearly all the line. AS
near as | now remember, six of the Co. 4
| boys on the left. which was on the river,
escaped by running to the river, throwing
in their guns. jumping in, and swimming
across To the Mexican shore, coming down
on the Mexican side to ClarkSyille. We
called it "Bagdad," or Boca del Rio
/ (mouth Of the river. When they arrived
near d. rk a storm on the Gulf of Mexico
made the "Boca" so rough no Mexican
would ferry them over.
In this battle of May Is, 1865, our reg
iment lost 80 prisoners, one killed and
several wounded John McJohnsOn, Of
wounded. The next day we again ad-
vanced. and the enemy surrendered, and
the regiment went on to Brownsville. 1t
was said that Kirby Smith told some Of
our officers that it was his intention to
surrender the first day, but when he dis
covered the colored regiments with us,
he could not resist the temptation TO give
us Il - good lickin'."
The regiment was sent up to RinGgOld,
10 miles further up the Rio Grande. We
were there but short time, when We
returned to Brownsville, in August, 1860.
There, with good old nth Ohio and 9TH
ILL.,, we sat on the banks of the river and
looked at thousands of men, many regi-
mcntS as well as the whole Twcnty-ffth
Corps, going down the river on boats en-
route home.
During our stay in the Winter of go
we were at that bend of the river opposite
the city of Matamoras, and helped cheer
Gen. COrina's men in their charge on
the French defenscs of the city. When
the gunboat fred among us, We too, took
to our quarters, only on orders from our
f,ffi fi.snr HI fn
and help the MeXicans take the city. One
commander Of a strong fort that protected
the city was, for price, to surrender
the fort as the Mcxicans advanced. This
was reported to the French General com
manding the whole force Sc"eral days pre-
viOuS to the attack. On the night Of the
attack the officer w:is arrested court-m
tailed. and hanged inst outside the fort.
The Mexicans making the attack at 4 a.
m, suppOsing they would capture it easily,
Mexicans making the attack at 4 q. m,
Supposing they would. capture it easily,
were repulsed with great loss by the gar
rison under the new commander.
AS to the gunbOat, our understanding,
from information gained at that time, was
that when Gen. WeitZel reported the
firing on the L. $. soldiers to the French
commander he sent officers to inquire into
the cause Of the firing on our men. 1t
was shown that the commander Of the
gunboat had agreed with u certain Mexi-
can emissary for price to fire on our men,
who were expected to b. just where they
were during the attack. 1t was thought
that this would so eXasperate the boys
that they in their rage would cross the
rvier and assist the MeXicans to capture
the city, which if ] remember correctly,
would have taken place had it not been
for the positive orders from our officers to
go to quarters and stay there. The gun
boat Captain was hanged that evening to
a yard-arm of his boat. The Mexican
army was repulsed and defeated, and the
French occupied the city so long as we
remained there. On Feb. 3, 1866, we re-
ceived orders to muster-out and go home.
LEE MARTZ, Quartermaster, 34th Ind,
Bluffton, Ind.