Year: 1861

From Miners Rural. American.


An Incident of the Battle of
New Orleans.
A British officer who was in the bat
tie of New Orleans, mentions an Incl


dent of thrilling strangeness, and very
descriptive of the Western hunter,


many of whom marched to the defense
of New Orleans, as volunteers in the
army under the renowned Andrew Jack
son.


| We marched, said the officer, in a


solid column of twelve Thousand men, in


direct line upon the American defenses.
| | belonged to the staff; and as we ad-


vanced, we watched through our glasses


the position and arrangements Of our
| enemy with that intensity an officer only


feels when marching into the jaws of
death, with the assurance that while he
thus offers himself as sacrifice to the


demands of his country, every action, be


he successful or otherwise, will be
| Judged with the most heartless scrutiny


1t was strange sight, that long range
! of cotton bales-a new material for


breastworks, with the crowd of human
beings behind, their heads only visible


above the line Of defense. We could
distinctly see their long rifles laying


over the bales, aud the battery Of Gen.
Coffee directly in front, with its great


mouth gaping towards us, as they waited


to devour us, on the position of Gen.
Jackson, with his staff around him.
But what attracted our attention most,


was the figure of tall man standing on
the breastworks, dressed in insey-


wooden. with buckskin leggins, and a
! broad -brimmed felt hat, that fell around


his face, almost concealing his features.
He was standing in one of the most pic


turesque and graceful attitudes peculiar
to those natural men-dwellers in the


forests. The body rested on the lef leg


and swayed with a curved line upwards;


the right arm was extended, the hand


grasping the muzzle of a long rifle, the
butt Of which rested near the toe Of his


right foot, while with his hand he raised


the rim of the hat from his eyes and


seemed gazing from beneath intensely
upon our advancing column. The can
non of Gen. Coffee had opened upon US


and tore through our ranks with terri


Bile slaughter; but we continued to ad


vance uuwavering and cool, as if moth


ing threatened our progress.
The roar Of cannon seemed to have


no effect upon the figure standing on


the cotton bales, but he seemed fixed
and motionless as statue. At last he


moved, threw back the hat rim over the


crown with his left hand, raised the ri
fe to his shoulder, and took aim at Our


group. Our eyes were riveted upon


him. At whom had he levelled his


piece? But the distance was so great


that we looked at each other and smiled


We saw the rifle fash, and my right


hand companion, as noble looking Il fell
low as ever rode at the head Of his reg
iment, fell from his saddle. The hun


ter paused few moments, without


moving the gun from his shoulder, then
! reloaded and assumed his former atti-
tude. Throwing the hat rim over his
eyes, and again holding it up with his


left hand, he fixed his piercing gaze


upon us as if hunting out another vic
tim. Once more the hat rim was thrown


back and the gun raised to the shoul


der. This time We did not smile, but
which of US must die; and when again


the rifle flashed, another one of us
dropped to the earth. There was some
thing most awful in thus marching on
to certain death


Gen. Coffccs battery, and thousands
of musket balls playing upon our ranks,
We cared not for-there was a chance of
escaping unscathed. Most of US had
walked upon batteries a hundred times
more destructive without quilting; but
to know that every time that rifle was
Ievelled towards Us and It's bullet sprang
from the barrel. one of us must surely
fall; to see the cleaning sun flash as the
deadly iron came down. and see it rest


motionless, as if poised upon rock, and
know when the hammer struck and the
sparks flew to the full primed pan. that


the messenger Of death drove unerringly
to its goal-to know this, and still march
on, was awful.


[ could see nothing but the tall figure
standing on tie breastwork. lie seemed
to grow, phautom-like, supernatural APP


pearance Of some great spirit. Again
did he reload and discharge his rifle
with the same unfailing aim; and it was


with indcscribable pleasure that / be-
held, as we neared the American lines,


the sulphurous cloud gather around us,
and shut that spectral hunter from my


gaze. We lost TIE battle; and to my


mind, the Kentucky riflemaa contribu~
ted more to our defeat than anything
else: for while he remained to our light.
our attention was drawn from our duties,
and when, at last, we became enshrouded
in the smoke, the work was complete:


we were in utter confusion, and unable,
IN the extremity, to restore order suf-
fcient to make amy successful attack.
So long as thousands ard thousands


Of rifles remain in the hands of the peo-
pie, SO long as men come up from their


childhood, able, ere the down appears


on their chins, to hit the center Of
mark or TO strike the deer at $50 wards