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rlw. Hay Ikiwnwtnr,Though not one of your correspondent*. 1 propose o give you » true ami correct statement, as Ur as I u „ tmahlfl, of the UU tat (Uvular on Matagorda Pe- 1®? ninsula ; and shall endeavor lo let honor fall where | P®, moor Is duo. Much hat hern said and written aarie*coming the expedition, and the otject for whioh It was intended. It la nfl-.dlesa for me to recite and l Ihoo before the public, as baa been already done by many, the particulars of (he brilliant of Cols.Iitachel ami Brown, in the Peninsula, lq attempting in rescue (Japt. llemler*on and hie oompsny of Vl-dotien, anl to prevent them from falling Into the hands r f the enemy. Now for facts, oe I have hid thorn from Cap!* Kuge'ey. Hall, Iittbbook, and Mar-mlirn, and also fri m aeyeral of (he aurvlvor# who rett-hi'd toe Ponirvula in sa'ety. Capt. Marmlon laitfie e,renit |{ i f t!ii( 'ihtb, got Up Bieam on tlih .;it!i liont John P. Oarr, and directed ids course to t‘Pettm«ule. in order to render what assistance he Miuld to our Und forces. On the 30th, Capt. M. af nt a dispatch to Oapt, Hugely commanding Port Matagorda, to the effect that to oaae lie should hear any firing from the “Carr, to coma with the “Go-rsand bring S!.r men of hi* company. About ‘i P, M several ahota were plainly seen trom the ahore to be fired from the Oarr, and replied to by the enemy's gunboat*—and in aooordange wtfh Oapt, U.’ert»4atat, Oapt K. started from tbif place on boardOapt. Lubbock’s, A. C. S.* son of Xx^Iov. Lubbock: James A. Dugan, a eitixan of BrowasvUle, Kdward Lake, 17 yexee of age, ’Jamsi Bngeley, 17 yean old and a brother of Capt. Rugeley, and ThomsWilcox of the Signal corpa. The Cora reached the Carr about sundown, and learned that several shots had been fired from the Carr, at the enemy on the Peninsula, who were men plainly constructing breast works, and not numbering over seventy five or eighty; (and I have since learned from a reliable man living on the Peninsula, that twenty flvo or them were negroes;) This statement was made by Capt. Marmlon. A consultation waa hold, conAll olvin; as ovii been p Congr alter I knowr hr duplic t!io Hi produr his his Tr The Tax A been thus S Capt. Capt. Capt, Capt.Capt.Capt.Capt.Recelsisting of Captain* Marmlon, Hall and Kupely, to de-termlno what course should b« pursued. It waaagreed that thrse man should be sent ashore and certain the depth of the water, and how near small; launches might approach the ahore. The men returned about 8 P. M., and staged that there was 18 inches of water within on* hundred and fifty yards of shore. A consultation was again held, consisting of the above named o(Boars, and It was determined that they should embark In three small boats, taking all the men. The following disposition was made In loading the boat*:—thirty-six men under Lieut. Turner, with | Mr. Decrow and McGee as oarsmen, who thoroughly understood how to man age a boat in a storm, embarked in the launch, Which was capable (so says the marine officer) of oarrying forty-five or fifty men easily, And not at hsatlly laden is a correspondent over the signature of “Ot-ney,ln the Telegraph states. The second boat a large yawl, was loaded With three men of Oapt. Rugelvy’s company and ten Of the orew of the Oarr, and placed In charge of Oorporal Q. Vap Eenthnaeu, of Co. B. Goods Regiment, and :ibo third, a dingy, was',loaded with Captain Rogelsy, U*n,|Labbock and Marmlon, together with four other men, Ths boats left the Oarr abont 10 P. M. which was then lying in about thres and a half feet water, and twelve hundred yards from shore. The offioers and men were in blgh spirits, {expecting soon to have a chance to lay before the eye* of the world a proof of the noble bearing and true bravery of Texlan soldiery, and at (the same time wipe out the dls grace of the affair which had taken place on the Peninsula a few hours previous.When within 300 yards of the shore a violent norther apraDg up, and orders were given for the boats to come about and make fur the steamer. A few minutea developed to the men the taak they had to undergo, and all energies wero brought to bear. The boat containing the officer* succeeded In reaching the Oarr. The boat in charge ot Capt. Tan Benlhn-sen broke one of her oars {and was then left to the mercy of the waves ; but by the superior skill of Capt. Van B., in managing hia boat be succeeded In keeping her straight for shore, and when within 390 yards of shore she filled with water and sunk. Oapt. v. B. ordered th* men oat of the boat and then to hold on to th* guwalei and drift ashore; whioh they(Porn m Uec ISO—,Cfor thi [Here the No. 11and were all saved. The launch, in charge or ) largeLt. Turner, having only one pair of oara waa too to be managed and swamped in about 3 feet water Previous to sinking, Messrs. Decrow and MaGkee prevailed on the men to get ont of the boat and lat her drift to the Und, but they refused to obey their request, stating that they would drown. After theThpiledwithlt;withllverimadtmastOPFPs 117, date for tinfveh!boat sunk, they still remained standing on it,ing to;get out and let it rise. Mr. Decrow then Ipubthereitreat uople ofore pres-tber-out rds of f our ilsing i, and tving good it weedlng ry or ich it Every •hel ihould p and round, cattle used pres le thitreated them to get out and wads ashore and save themselves, and he would take them to a home; but his endeavors were of no avail, and ho had to leave them (or rather a majority of them) to their fata and go to the shore to save his own life. All that left with him were saved; among whom was Lt. F„ who, after getting on land, wanted the men to let him lie down and die, and would have died had It not been for some of his comrades. Several others were ao completely exhausted that they were unable to aland* up, and had to be carried to die Yankee fort, (even and a half mile* distant, where they found a fire and remained all night. Ameag th* numhsr who deterye to be commended for tbeir noble acts, are—BHjsh Robert!, Robt. Decrow,G. Tan Benthusen and R.Q. Moore. A party »f the men went np the Peninsula to a house some 5 or tt miles distant and remained all night, end a number, with Decrow, went down the Peninsular 9 miles and stayed at a hobse. Out of those that remained In the boat, some 9 succeeded in reaching the »hore, and were so entirely exhausted,(not knowing which way to go) conoluded to all lie down together and sleep until morning. When morning came, there were bnt three alive. Mr. Forrester, James Seyburn and Tom Wadsworth — Jamet 8. since died, and F. started for the Fort. In the mean time, R. G. Moore and JSlish* Roberta, who had remained in the Fort, came down early and found Forrester in the gras*. Roberts remained With him and Moor* wont on to the beach, and there found Tom Wardswortb, whom be endeavored to carry to the Fort, but being in water knee deep, and the wind blowing bitter cold, and the distance to the Fort so great, he was compelled to leave him and go back and save bis own life. On the way he came ap with Roberts with Forrester, and assisted In carrying Urn, whose life they saved. These facts are given as stated by Mr. Forrester, now in camp.On the morning of the 31st Oapt. Ilall and Sergt. Gerring volunteered to go aihore In the little dinky whlcli they succeeded in doing about 7 a. m. They went Immediately to Tom Wadsworth; whom they saw before leaving the steamer, and pat him upon the Sergeant’s back and started for the Fort. They had not gone far before he expired.These are all th* important facta connected with the expedition; as related by both tho men and officers.Considerable censure has been heaped upon the officer* in charge orthe expedition. Som^ contend that they ought to have known that there waa a Norther approaching, but 1 am told that there waa no one on board either of tho boat* who entertained any such opinion. When they left for ahore, everything waa perfectly calm and not a ripple was to be seen on the bay. Again the officers ar* blamed for not attempting to render any assistance after reaching the steamer*. 1 am told that there was no mean*, except that proposed by Capt. Lubboaa, which waa to cat the Cora looao and let her drift ashore, which would, I think, have saved a psrt of the men. 1 cannot see thst the officers are to blame, only In this respect: Before taking the entire foree ashore, they should have eont a scout to ascertain the strength and position of tho enemy, and U'd»eim-od prudent to attack them. The lives ofnear-ly ail the men (in the opinion of most persons 1 have spoken with) might have been saved by those who went to the houeaa, had they returned after getting warm, and brought a wagon, instead of going to bed, arid icavusg t^cir corm'itdoo or) tho shore almost entirely naked-’ (which they had a ri»;htio suppose) to freeze lo dentil.In cencluelon. Mr. Editor, 1 have wrUion the j above in order that the community mav have a oor net statement, and tben judge tor themaelvoa.-I Twciuv-fonr bodies have been recovered, and two j j i are eltil missing, Goo. Bowie and Jaliu* Snow. {1 Youis, UPPER CANS!' I
Newspaper Details
Galveston News Tri Weekly
Galveston, Texas, US
Fri, Jan 29, 1864
Page 2
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AR, USA 14 Aug 2024
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