CHAPTER XVI.
ORDERED TO BROWNSVILLE - EVACUATION OF THE ISLAND - ON THE WAY - THE RIO GRANDE RIVER - CHARACTER OF THE INHABITANTS ON ITS BANKS - ARRIVAL AT BROWNSVILLE - ON DUTY THERE - ALARMS AND SKIRMISHING - FORTS ARMSTRONG AND BROWN - FOURTH OF JULY - EVACUATION OF BROWNSVILLE AND VOYAGE TO NEW ORLEANS.
ON the 23d of June orders were unexpectedly received to evacuate the Island at once, and proceed to Brownsville. This order reached us at the time the greater portion of the men in our regiment had completed building comfortable quarters, and with much difficulty had furnished them with articles of comfort, and even luxury. The little frame huts, many of them, contained mahogany and rosewood furniture of the richest description - procured, during scouting expeditions to various places on the coast; by confiscation from houses abandoned by the rebels.
Our preparations for leaving the Island were completed at an early hour on the morning of the 24th, and we embarked on board the steamship Alabama, leaving our quarters in most part uninjured, for the accommodation of such of the refugees as still remained.
We had a pleasant voyage to Brazos de Santiago, which place we reached early on the morning of the 26th where we disembarked, and after placing our camp
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and garrison equippage on wagons, started on the march to Clarksville, where it was thought we should re-embark on Rio Grande river steamers for Brownsville. On arriving at Clarksville, however, it was found there had been no boat provided sufficiently large to accommodate us, and we therefore made preparations to continue the march to Brownsville, taking the old river road. Those of the men who were unable to march the distance, (38 miles), as also the knapsacks and camp equippage of the entire regiment, were put on board the steamer Matamoras, to go by river, and started off immediately.
We found a large number of French and English vessels lying off the bar, and the French garrison at Bagdad withdrawn since our previous visit to the locality. No movement had as yet been made towards the capture of Matamoras since the failure of December. There seemed to be a strong sympathy existing here between the confederates and Mexicans, as large numbers of the former were in the town, while at Matamoras the same state of feeling was manifested between the American speculators and Mexicans. Politics was here made subservient to interest. While the Mexicans held Matamoras, which was the receiving point for cotton crossing the Rio Grande from Texas between Brownsville and El Passo, the people gave the confederates their sympathies in return for their cotton trade. When the cotton arrived from Matamoras at Bagdad it likewise produced the same harmonizing effect in that locality, where the English traders were by some means enabled to hood-
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wink the French authorities, and get possession of it, thus evading complication with either the French or American Governments.
While detained here, cooking our dinner, we had leisure to observe the active cotton trade carried on between the confederate government and English traders through the medium of the Mexicans. Boats in great numbers were busily engaged in carrying this coveted staple across the bar to vessels lying outside waiting to receive it. In doing this they run directly under the guns of our own blockading fleet, and past the French squadron, without hindrance from either, and discharged their cargoes on board English vessels. While contemplating this proceeding we could not refrain indulging in some admiration of the shrewdness displayed by our English friends in thus outwitting the agents of the two governments who had been placed there to guard against it.
The country lying between the mouth of the Rio Grande and Brownsville is all low - the highest elevation above the level of the Gulf being perhaps not over twenty-five feet - while the soil is composed in large part of land, with a light growth of large thorn-covered bushes at intervals along the route, known as chapparal. There are a few ranchos (or residences) along the banks of the river, inhabited by the native Mexican Indians, called "Greasers," which appellation seemed peculiarly appropriate from the fact that as they usually went in an almost nude state, their bright copper-colored skins had very much the appearance of being greased. The ter-
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ritory lying between the two rivers, Rio Grande and Nueces, was formerly the Mexican province of Tamaulipas - the Nueces being the southern boundary of Texas previous to its becoming a State in our own Union.
Gen. BANKS, ever alive to "progress," and endowed with an unusual degree of enterprize, had ordered the construction of a railroad through this almost barren desert of sand from the sea-coast to Brownsville, and we found it nearly completed on our arrival. The few Greasers, however, who inhabited the country, seemed oblivious of the vastness of the enterprize, or incalculable benefits likely to result to them by this "internal improvement" affair, and Gen. HERRON, in order to prevent them tearing up the track for boat timbers and coyote-traps, was compelled to maintain a large cavalry patrol for its protection.
After our dinner of "hard tack" and so___ bacon had been prepared, and "disposed of in the usual way," we resumed our march towards Brownsville - leaving the Rio Grande, as we supposed, in our rear; but after proceeding a few miles, unexpectedly again found ourselves on its banks; again we left it, but after passing through a thicket of chapparal were somewhat surprised to find ourselves still on its banks. This circumstance puzzled us, and produced a feeling of curiosity to know if it was possible for one river to flow in a channel distracted by such tortuous abrupt windings, or whether there were not really a great number of rivers whirling about us in interminable confusion. We soon arrived on an exten-
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sive sand prairie, where the view was unobstructed by chapparal, and were enabled to trace its course, when two facts became apparent, viz: that there was but one river, and that one the very embodiment of crookedness. In running a distance of five miles in a direct line a vessel on the Rio Grande travels twenty. This fact explained the apparently contradictory reports we had received as to the distance from Brazos to Brownsville - the natives on shore assuring us that it was only thirty-eight miles, while the boatmen gave the distance as eighty-five. The current in this river was very rapid, the water a compromise between mud and fluid, the banks soft clay and perpendicular, while the scenery consisted of long dry grass, which a few half-starved cattle were vainly endeavoring to pull off for food.
Occasionally a picturesque mansion, built of mud and reeds, peeped out from a clump of chapparal, among which a close observer might detect the tawny hides of the Greasers as they lay stretched out in the sunshine, taking their afternoon siesta, or quietly sitting on the ground, surrounded by their youthful progeny, munching tortillas. When we addressed one of these natives, he either paid no attention, or looking up lazily replied, "Senor meno entende Americano," and resumed his tortilla or drowsy sleep, from which no second attempt at conversation could distract his attention.
After wandering about until nightfall among the chapparal and windings of the river, Capt. THOMSON, who was in command of the regiment, became confused by
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the intricacies of the route, and concluding we had lost our way, decided to bivouack for the night, which we accordingly did on the banks of the river - (because we couldn't get away from it,) at a place called "White Ranche," having only marched, in a direct line, seven miles from Point Isabel.
On the following morning we resumed our march at daybreak, still following the course of the river, and proceeded steadily until 3 o'clock P. M., when we again bivouacked - this time among timber, and at a wood-yard. As we had now arrived in a locality where the Centipede and Tarantula abounded, and the bark of the coyote and hoot of the owl filled the air, our slumbers were somewhat unrefreshing from a fear of the one and annoyance of the other. We accordingly set out at 2 o'clock next morning, reaching Brownsville at nine, after passing over the old batte-fields of Palo Alto and Ressaca de la Palma.
Marching through the town past Gen. HERRON'S headquarters, we encamped one mile beyond on the banks of the Rio Grande, opposite Matamoras, Mexico, and a short distance south of Fort Armstrong. We here found ourselves in a new Brigade, composed of the 20th and 38th Iowa, and 91st Illinois, but still under command of Col. McE. DYE, whose headquarters were established in the fort. The other regiments composing our Division-the 19th and 34th Iowa, 20th Wisconsin, 94th Illinois, and one battalion of the 1st Texas cavalry,
On page 278 - preceding - in line 22 from top, read "sand" for "land."
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- were occupying grounds in the vicinity of Fort Brown, on the river and north of the city.
We found but few American residents in the city, the greater portion having left it at the time Gen. Bee evacuated the place on the first landing of our forces at Brazos. The inhabitants remaining were in most part "Greasers," who occupied their time, and earned a livelihood by rolling barrels of the muddy Rio Grande water through the streets for sale - going in an almost entirely nude state. The market was attended by a few of the more enterprizing of the same class from the Mexican side of the river, who sold "tortillas" and red peppers during the early part of the day, and a very poor quality of vegetables in the evening. Saloons abounded here, and the natives seemed to divide their time equally between rolling water casks, munching "tortillas," drinking whisky, and sleeping.
During our stay, we made frequent visits to Matamoras, where we met many confederate officers and soldiers, who seemed to congregate here for the purpose of gambling. A number of our own soldiers also imitated their example in this, and the monte-tables were nightly surrounded by eager crowds of Federal, Confederate, and Mexican soldiers, who staked, lost, won, drank, quarreled and sometimes fought all night, parting in the morning after losing all their ready money, to repeat the same scenes on the ensuing night.
Col. Ford, commander of the confederate forces in this, section since the flight of Gen. Bee to Galveston,
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frequently relieved the monotony of our camp life by making sudden attacks on our picket-line. At such times all the disposable forces at the post were promptly turned out, and after "double-quicking" some two miles to the chapparal, arrived in time to witness the activity of our new cavalry recruits - the Greasers - in getting back into town out of danger. These attacks by the rebels, however, were not without an object, as we could see on the day following, when long trains of cotton-wagons came past on the opposite side of the river, on their way to Matamoras - the cotton being taken across the river from Texas, between El Passo and Brownsville, while our attention was diverted by the attack on our pickets. This ruse by the confederate colonel was perfectly transparent, and there was not a man in the army who did not fully understand it; yet our commanders persisted in falling into the error of believing that Ford seriously designed attacking, with a force of perhaps 800 undisciplined men, a fortified position defended by 6,000 thoroughly equipped veterans!
The construction of Fort Brown being nearly completed, it was dedicated by hoisting the American flag over the works, on July 4th, accompanied by a national salute, and a review of the army by Gen. HERRON. The observance of the day was concluded by a ball at the Market-house in the evening, which was attended by the Mexican ladies from Matamoras. This terminated, however, as such affairs usually do in that locality, in a general dissatisfaction, and a slight melee - the latter oc-
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casioned perhaps by a too free indulgence in lemonade, and the former doubtless arising from the inability of either party to understand the language of the other.
Gen. CANBY, having assumed command of military affairs in the Department, perhaps failed to appreciate the importance of retaining so large a force where no necessity for it existed, and on the 20th of July Gen. HERRON received orders to evacuate the coast, and move his command to New Orleans. Accordingly, after partially destroying the works at Brownsville, and turning the railroad enterprize over to the Greasers, we left Brownsville on the 29th, and took up our line of march for Brazos de Santiago, where we arrived at noon on the 31st, bivouacking on the beach.
On the 1st of August we embarked on the sailing ship Panama, and started on our return voyage to New Orleans, the ship being towed by the steamer City of Richmond. We arrived at South West Pass on the evening of the 4th where our ship ran on the bar, and the hawser by which she was attached to the steamer parted, killing and wounding a number of men belonging to the 38th Iowa, who were on board the steamer. She continued her course, however, leaving us hard aground, where we remained until a tug boat arrived from New Orleans and pulled us off on the following evening. We arrived at Carrollton on the 6th, and with the remainder of our Division encamped on the shell-road.
Soon after going into camp we were gratified by the arrival of Lt. Col. LEAKE, who had been released from cap-
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tivity at Tyler, Texas, and reached New Orleans a few days previously. His appearance was hailed by the regiment in a spontaneous outburst of welcome in deafening cheers. Corporal ROBERT TROOP, of company E, who was captured at the same time with Col. L., also rejoined the regiment on the same day. Capts. COULTER and TORREY, who had shared prison life with the Colonel, had also been released, but did not join us until a few days subsequently. All the released prisoners who had been incarcerated at Tyler - among whom were our comrades of the 19th Iowa and 26th Indiana - had arrived in the city. The whole appearance of these men bore unmistakable evidence to the hardships they had suffered while in the hands of the rebels - eliciting compassion even among rebel sympathizers in New Orleans.