Year: 1861

Southern Defense of General TwiEEs.


The New Orleans Delta remarks in Sun
days issue; ...a


If we are to credit the telegram in our
yesterdays edition, President Buchanan has
committed his last act Of folly, treachery and
indignity to the South, by striking the name
OF the veteran Twiggs from the roll of the
army as Coward and traitor" That man
whose very name is the epitome of timidity,
and whose highest craftsmanship has con.
sisted in the evasion of every manly respon-
sibility, should thus undertake to brand with
the epithet of coward the Oldest most faith.
iul and efficient General in the service of the
United States-a man who has signalized
himself by the most active and efficient
service in every war in which the late Re-
public has been engaged q man who enioyed
the special confidence Of jackson, and who
was chosen second in command to Taylor;
who has received innumerable honors and
brevets from his Government, his native and
adopted States, and from the peoples GER
tainly one Of the most atrOciOus manifesto
tons which the progress of the present
revolution has yet brought forth, of the
insane fury that has seized the enemies and
traitors to the South, who have obtained
control over the luckless old man who is now
so earnestly engaged in dispensing the hos
pitalities ofthe White House to the unlettered
buftoon whom the sectional hate of the North
has elevated to the Chief Magistracy of the
Republici


If the determination to maintain a sepa-
rate and independent Confederacy needed
any new stimulus and vigor, this most grace
less and Infamous attempt to blacken the
fair fame of gallant Southern hero and
patriot, would supply it. There is no view
of this act which can afford any mitigation
ofits infamy. The conduct of Gen. Twiggs,
in evacuating the military posts in Texas, SO
far from atfording any justification or pre-.
text for striking his name from the rolls
with terms of insult ought to commend him
to the respect and consideration of all good
men.


His wise and discreet course prevented the
inauguration of civil war-a war which
would have resulted in the annihilatiou of
his command, and which would have con-
signed his name to eternal infamy. His
treason and cowardice" consisted in his
refusal to order the mercenaries of foreign
Government 70 fire upon his fellow citizens.
lie, native Georgian, and citizen of Lou
isiana, was expected and required, at the
risk OF being ignominiously dismissed from
the service as coward and traitor to de.
st1oy the lives and devastate the property Of
his own fellow-citizens


Instead of a dismissal and denunciation.
he has in fact merited the civic crown which
tue dnCleuI Romans QecreeQ TO him who
saved the life of a fellow citizen. Nor can
the Government at Washington complain of
the slightest deception or evasion of duty on
the part of the General. The facts show
indeed that it was that Government which
lodged the responsibility and failed to take
steps to maintain its power in Texas


The General in command repeatedly
warned the Government that Texas would
secede, and asked for instructions as to the
course to be pursued in that event. He re-
ceived none. Left with two small compa-
nies at San Antonio, he was surrounded by
over 1000 of the best armed troops in the
world, who demanded his surrender of the
post His soldiers were quartered in houses,
with no fort or even walled inclosure to
retreat to, with no prospect of re enforce
ment, and no means of communicating with
any other post. Under these circumstances,
to offer any resistance, would have been the
most criminal folly and rashness. It would
have called down on the veteran officer the
bitter reproach and denunciation of the oiv-
ilized world. His capitulation was therefore
made on terms honorable alike to himself
and to the State of Texas, which demanded it.