Year: 1864

From tho 27th.


New ORLEANS,


April 14th, 1864.
Dear Times My last to you was mailed
at Vicksburg where, after stopping over
night and attending to the prelimnaries Of
reporting, drawing rations, renewing trans
portation, &C., we again shipped for New
Orleans, where we landed on the evening
Of the 9th, all safe, and after turning over
our men to the camp Of distribution, we
prepared to spend day looking at the great
city of military orders. | will here state
that it has never fallen to my lot since the
war broke out, to travel with so many
social. whole.souled gentlemen, officers and
owners. as we found on the steamer Lam
caster No. 4, from Ticksburs 10 this place
Mr.. Lppe, Of Memphis, principal owner,
an old bachelor at that, is the very soul of
fun and good company nothing wrong in
him only his being unmarried.


New Orleans is not, in my estimation, a
handsome city, although there are some
handsome places in it. Canal street is the
great thoronghfare it is wide. with double
track Railroad and shaded on both sides.
In it stands the colossal statue of Henry
Clay, on which, up to this time, there is no
inscription, but the engraver is now to
work on it. In a beautiful Park stands the
equestrian monument Of Andrew jackson.
with the beautiful inscription standing out
boldly, 1.-The Union, it must and shall be
preserved" We have visited the Cemeteries
and read on plain boards the names of
scores of brave men who gave their lives to
their country's cause also Of those deuded
men who can only be thought Of as Traitors
to the best government ever given to mar.
But | will not bore you with history of
all we have seen here better writers might
fail to please.


| send you papers this morning with
items OF interest 10 your many readers, and
will send particulars Of the fight up the
Red River if can procure them.


TO morrow morning we get transporta.
ton to Texas by way Of the Gulf for our
detachment, and may in Texas fall in with
the slst legt.; hope we shall.


FRIDAY EVENING, 15ru.


We did not get off TO day as we EXPECT.
ed; this Red River affair absorbs every.
thing here at present, especially transpor-
tation, in sending forth reinforce ments.
send you late news and more details of the
fight We have been badly whipped, |
think more so than the papers tell, but
hope that all will come out well in the end
am inclined to the opinion that General
Banks or some other man was caught nap
ping.


will continue to send you papers while
remain here.


Respectfully, T. G. DRlPs.
STEAMER JULIA, NEAR MEMPHIS, Tenn !


April 2lSt, 1864.


Dear Times You will see by this that
war, like the Indians opinion of the white
man, is uncertain. When | wrote last l
expected to 60 to Texas. The next day an
order came to stop forwarding troops Of any
corps headquarters at Memphis. The
the Red River, as you will see by the pa.
pers sent you Banks was badly beaten,
and only for the timely aid of Gen. A. G.
Smith, his whole army at that place would
have been killed or compelled to surrender
Almost every one censures Banks severely,
and officers direct from the battle field, say
tina. it was most outrageous blunder,
useless sacrifice Of life. An officer said in
nv hearing, that if a 1st Lieutenant that
had been in the service one year, had done
as Banks did, he would have been dismissed
from the service. What course Banks will
take to get out Of it is hard to tell, but |
suppose the usual way: throw the blame
on some one else Our Iowa Regiments
as usual have suffered, the 2Sth being in
the hottest Of the fight and nearly exter.
mined. | have talked with an officer oc
that Regiment, and he says that the 18th
army corps will not serve under Gen. Banks
any longer than they are compelled to-
Our Regiment was in the fight, but in the
second line of battle, and from what | can
learn suffered but little, but We have no
direct news from them. | was in hopes
that We would hear more as We came up
the river, but the farther up we get the less
We hear. Reinforcements were going for
ward from New Orleans as fast as hey
could be sent, but it is the opinion of some
who pretend to know, that the expedition
will have to be abandoned in consequence
Of the Red River falling rapidly some of
our gnnboats are aground now.


Immense amounts Of cotton are coming
out of Red River, and our gunboatmen are
chuckling over their prizes. An officer OF
one Of them told me that there was not an
officer or sailor on board, that had not
made a thousand dollars clear of his last
months pay in prizes; all cotton. May
we not infer that the whole affair was one
grand cotton speculation? King or no
King, it has plenty of subjects


The news We get from Stee's depart
ment is good; he was steadily advancing
through the Washitaw country, driving
everything before him.


Forrest is still the terror Of west Tenn
and Kentucky. He is for some cause al
lowed to do about as he pleases; his horrid
butchcry at Ft Pillow is outrageous. yet
there seems to be no force in this depart
ment sufficient to cope with him. hope
some means will be devised to bring him to
account for his inhuman butchery. Shoot.
ing would be too honorable death for him
but he is not caught yet.


The guerrillas or bush whackers still
continue to fire into boats; every day or
two some one is killed or wounded while
travelling up or down the river. We have
had a veIy quiet passage so far, and will
soon be to Memphis; the next boat may
not fare so well.


l am sorry to see some Of the papers
already pitching into Gen. Grant, but l
hope he will defeat all opposition and ride
down President-making ut Washington
but he is also human and no doubt the
pressure will be great. What do politicians
care for this war! Nothing, if they can
carry their own views.


Az soon nc 7 can hear from tho Rnomont