The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1906-02-22
were concerned; and on one occasion
the English captain set up the same

was seen to come out from nCCle
creek or cove where the Confederate
flag was flying. Though the steamer
was flying the Mexican flag she was
taken by us and sent to the prize
courts at New York, but under pro-
test from the captain of the British
war ship. They claimed that our
blockade was too rigid, while their
Governments at home claimed that
the blockade was not properly enforced
and should be declared broken. The
following letter from Admiral Farra-
gut to the Secretary of the Navy will
explain itself.
U. S. S. HARTFORD, |
Mississippi River, March %, 1861.
ir:-By the enclosed correspondence be-
tween Commander Swartwout Omission in
copy) YOU will perceive that the English and
French ships of war off the Rio Grande are
not complaining of the laXlty OF the DOCK
ade, but of the rigidty of it, and it certain
ly looks a little singular that vessel OF war
should accompany the lie Gage, or arrive
from Matamoras on the same day that she
did, and that her commander should object
to her being boarded by Commander SWart-
won't, who it appears did not know the char
acter of the vessel.
Very respectfully,
your obedient servant,
ID. G. FARRAGUT,
Flag Officer Western Blockading Squadron.
On the coast of Texas there is an in
land water passage from Matagorda to
the Rio Grande, distance OF $50 miles,
and for many miles there is but mar
row strip of land between this passage
and the ocean. One of these strips of
land that extends from Corpus Christi
to BrownvilIe, a distance of about 100
miles, is called Padre Island, and is no.
where more than three miles in width,
and the strait inside is called Laguna
del Madre, and from the masthead of
our ships we could see large fleets of
these small vessels passing up and down
through this strait continuously, which
we had no means of preventing. There
are several passes that lead into these
inland waters from the gulf. but they
afforded passage for nothing but boats
whose draught did not exceed three feet,
and at the entrance to these passes the
rebels had erected sand batteries. 1t
was quite an undertaking to land and
drive them out of these batteries, and
although we did on several occasions
we could not hold them, and by the
time we had returned to the ship they
had again taken possession. \ further
description of these operations Will be
given in the next number
As the British and French govern
ments were continually looking for a
breach Of the neutrality laws, and as the
vessels that went in and out through
Matamara over the outer bar of the Rio
Grande carried but feet of water, and
as the nearest approach to the main
Confederate army was at the Red River,
over 100 miles distant, and as there were
no railroads in the State and all had to
be transported by train, Admiral Farra-
gut, in order to avoid all complications
relative to the neutrality laws, fearing
a war with England-which We wished
to avoid at that time, as we had our
hands full-ordered the Portsmouth to
take up her station off BraZos, which
is about is miles up the coast. and to
abandon the Pass at the Rio Grande to
them, as it was next to an impossible
ity to make a seizure without an inter
ference of some sort by one or all of
the nations represented by their ships
at that station. In fact, the blockad-
ing of the entire coast OF Texas was
but of little service to the Union cause,
for they were molc injurious to us
than we were to them Our forces
captured Galveston i'll 1862, but in about |
three months the rebels recaptured it,
The vast influx of immigration and
capital and the development of mines
and title ranches have made Texas one
of the wealtheSt and most important |
States in the Union, but from the time
she became the Lone Star State up to |
the War of the Rebellion a large part |
of the sparce population of that State
there was less than three persons to |
square mile-were people who had left |
their country for their country's good.
Murderers, thieves and defaulterS OF
every kind had locked to that country
from every part of the United States, |
Canada, Mexico, and from all over the
globe, to avoid the laws of their re- /
spective lands Indeed it was like the
cities of refuge mentioned IN the Bible, |
viz, in Numbers, 80 6; Deut., 4 Al; 1911:
JOSH, POL. 1t was land to which any |
one who had killed, or i'll amy other way |
violated the laws of their country, |
could flee for refuge. Away back in |
the tifties, when | was a boy, there |
used to be trite saying among the
profane which sounded something like
this: GU go to he'll and will go to
Texas"
In 1859 | went as mate of small
schooner to Galveston with cargo OF
lime, and during the ten days we re
n aimed IN that port saw anu HtdIu ol
more pure and unadulterated cussed-
ness than | have ever seen or heard
elsewhere in all my life, including the
war of the Rebellion. Every morning
during our stay there we heard OF some
one being killed, or shot or stabbed in
some one of the many gambling dens ,
or brothels of Galveston, and from OBJ
servation made up my mind that very
many who had come to Texas, belonged
in the other place. In confederation OF
this statement, l give the following:
Just after the war of the Rebellion
Gen. Phil Sheridan had command of
the department of the gulf, with head
quarters at Austin, Texas. On his
return some one asked him how he
liked that State His reply was: eff [
owned He'll and Texas, | would rent
Texas and live in He'll"
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