himself and his paper obnoxious to the citizens. They again left, but at 10 A. M. appeared with a platoon of soldiers and posted guards at the doors and detailed a squad of printers from their ranks to print said proclamation of said Butler. During yesterday morning the Yanks took possession of Lafayette square for a camp, and of the City Hall, posting guards inside and on the immediate outside of the latter. General Butler also ordered the occupation by his men of the St. Charles Hotel, which the proprietor had closed. Butler has there established his headquarters, and has it thoroughly guarded, and even has four field-pieces planted on the St. Charles street sidewalk. He means to be well protected himself. There are very many troops in the custom-house, and some are also quartered in Lytle's and Beard's warehouses, fronting the levee. Nothing of great moment happened to-day, except that the grand proclamation came out. I have read it and think nothing of it, though there is something in it to which to object. It is written in the regular Butler style of nonsensical bombast. The Ninth regiment of Connecticut volunteers arrived to-day, and they appeared to be a very rough set of fellows, being mostly foreigners. Rumors have been reaching us for several days of a great fight on the Peninsula, and that we have been successful and have cut the invaders to pieces. God be thanked for it, if true. I have two brothers under Magruder, and I pray God they may be safe. Good-night.

P. S.-I forgot to state that the telegraph offices were seized yesterday by the Yanks, and that they also look possession of the Evans House, on Poydras street, to use as a hospital. A couple of Federal officers entered the book-store of Thomas L. White, on Canal street, and asked if they had any copies of the maps of the Mississippi river. The proprietor answered, "Yes, sir." "Well," said they, we want to buy one. How much is it?" Mr. White mentioned that he did not sell them. They then left, and shortly after appeared with a squad of soldiers and demanded that Mr. White sell them a copy. "Well," said he, "gentlemen, I should like to accommodate you, but there is nothing left of them but their ashes, and that would be of no use to you." Those Yankee officers left at once, feeling rather cheap, I should imagine. To my knowledge, there have been no Union flags displayed by any of our people, and it is to the everlasting honor of the Crescent City. Long live the glorious stars and bars of our beloved South.

[From the Raleigh (N. C.) State, November 6, 1895.]

MARTIN'S BRIGADE, OF HOKE'S DIVISION, 1863–64.

In the fall of 1863, Brigadier-General James G. Martin, commanding the district of North Carolina, with headquarters at Kingston, was, by the Secretary of War, directed to organize a brigade from the troops in his district and assume the command for service in the field. This was composed of the Seventeenth North Carolina troops, Colonel William T. Martin; the Forty-second North Carolina troops, Colonel John E. Brown; the Fiftieth North Carolina troops, Colonel George Wortham, and Sixty-sixth North Carolina troops, Colonel A. Duncan Moore.

The brigade staff consisted of Captain Charles G. Elliott, assistant adjutant-general; Major A. Gordon, quartermaster, succeeded by Captain John S. Dancy, assistant quartermaster; Major James DeMille, commissary, succeeded by Captain Lucien D. Starke, assistant commissary sergeant; Lieutenant Theodore Harrell, ordnance officer; Lieutenant William B. Shepard, Jr., aid-de-camp.

་་

Soon afterwards ordered to Wilmington in the department commanded by Major-General W. H. C. Whiting, the brigade was placed in camp near the city, and for several months went through a rigid course of instruction and discipline from "squad drill" to evolutions of the line," and became as well drilled as a corps of regulars, and as well clothed and equipped as a Confederate brigade could be. No enemy appeared in front of Wilmington, but when General George E. Pickett was sent with his division to Kinston and ordered to attack and recapture Newbern-on the 2d of February, 1864—General Martin was sent from Wilmington on an expedition to cut the Atlantic and North Carolina railroad and destroy the bridge at a village called Shepperdsville, now known as Newport, a few miles west of Morehead City. General Pickett's demonstration was feeble and completely failed, but Martin successfully accomplished the task assigned to him after a very long and fatiguing but energetic march, most skillfully concealed from the enemy, and a spirited battle with the forces protecting the railroad bridge. His force consisted of two regiments of his brigade, the Seventeenth and Forty-second, a squadron of cavalry, Lieutenant-Colonel Jeffords, and a battery of artillery, Captain Paris. Finding White Oak river bridge destroyed, General Martin's commissary, Captain Starke,

acted as engineer and quickly constructed with pine trees a sort of dam over the stream, without nails, over which the command passed going and returning. The enemy was surprised, vigorously attacked, driven out of his forts and block houses, abandoned his quarters and lost cannon, arms, and a large quantity of supplies, and many prisoners. The bridge was burned. But as Pickett had failed, Martin was compelled to return to Wilmington.

When the Confederates from Lee's army under General Robert F. Hoke assaulted and captured Plymouth, N. C., after a bloody engagement (with the valuable aid of the iron-clad ram Albemarle, which was built at Edward's Ferry, on Roanoke river, under contract with the Confederate States Navy Department, by Lieutenant Gilbert Elliott, of the Seventeenth North Carolina troops, detached), Martin's Brigade was ordered to relieve Hoke's command, which made another demonstration against Newbern without material results. Soon after this all available forces in the Carolinas and at South Atlantic posts were concentrated at Petersburg and south of the James to resist Butler's army. Martin's Brigade reached Petersburg, and reported to Major-General W. H. C. Whiting, on the 14th of May, 1864. The commanding general, Beauregard, was then fighting Butler's army near Drewry's Bluff, having driven the enemy towards the river Beameg, and planned a great general battle to "bottle him up," and directed Whiting to co-operate. General Whiting's infantry consisted of the brigades of Martin and Wise. He had the valuable assistance of Major-General D. H. Hill, then without a command, and Brigadier-General Roger A. Pryor was serving with him as a mounted scout. As some of General Whiting's staff officers were left in Wilmington, and General Martin had a full staff, he directed me to offer my services to General Whiting, and I rode with him part of the day when his unfortunate failure occurred. Butler's army having seized the main road between Richmond and Petersburg, General Beauregard sent a staff officer by a long detour through Chesterfield county to ride with a battle order to Whiting. I saw General Whiting have the order, and heard him read it. It plainly ordered him to advance from his position, which was then across Swift Creek, on the morning of May 17th, and " move rapidly forward in the direction of the heaviest firing"-along the Petersburg and Richmond road and towards Port Walthall Junction-the point where a road crosses the former, and ¡eads to James river. Had this junction been seized, Butler's army would have been cut off.

But General Whiting would not advance

after forming his line of battle, because he did not hear heavy firing. There must have been a condition of the atmosphere to prevent it, for the sound of the firing was not heavy. From this General Whiting claimed that Beauregard had ceased to fight and feared that he would endanger Petersburg and expose his own right flank—if he moved forward. General Pryor told him he had been seven miles down the Appomattox and there was no enemy to flank him. General Hill, General Martin, and General Wise urged him to go forward, but he would not give the order. There was but a feeble skirmish line of cavalry in our front. The history of the great battle shows that Butler's army retreated by the very road that Whiting could easily have reached and held. General Whiting the next day admitted his blunder-was relieved of the command, and returned to his post at Wilmington. A few days afterwards this brigade and Wise's were placed under the command of General D. H. Hill, and on May 20th, anniversary of the day on our battle-flags, Martin's Brigade was formed on the right of Beauregard's line of battle, with Wise in reserve. After a heavy artillery duel of an hour the charge began from the left, and as the rebel yell came up the line like a tornado, under its inspiration Martin ordered his brigade to forward, guide center, charge!-the Seventeenth on the right, the Fortysecond on the left, and the Sixty-sixth in the center.

The General, with Captain L. D. Starke and myself, moved immediately behind the Sixty-sixth, all on foot, the line with great enthusiasm charging through a field of small grain into a pine thicket, where the enemy were strongly entrenched and supported by his artillery. During the charge General Martin ordered me to tell Colonel Moore, of the Sixty-sixth, that his regiment was advancing too rapidly ahead of the right and left, and to preserve the alignment. When I gave the order to Colonel Moore he seized his color, planted the staff upon the ground, and lifted his sword in the air above his head-the well-known signal-and his command halted, dressed on the colors until the regiments on the right and left came upon the same line, then, with a start, all three sprang forward and rushed upon the enemy's ranks. The foe retreated, and our men held the line, subjected to a severe artillery fire. Lieutenant-Colonel John C. Lamb, of Williamston, N. C., of the Seventeenth North Carolina, sprang on the breastworks, cheering his men, and fell mortally wounded—a most gallant, able, and efficient officer cut off in the flower of his youth. He fell with shouts of victory from his beloved men resounding in his ears. Observing the enemy moving to

our right, General Martin directed me to go to General Hill and ask for troops upon our right flank. Going to the rear, on this errand, I met General Hill coming up with Wise's Brigade, delivered my message, and received his order to direct that brigade to the line at the point of junction with our own, which I did. Our men converted the enemy's works into our own defensive line, Butler being then bottled up at Bermuda Hundreds. We called this action of May 20th the battle of Howlett's House, as a Mrs. Howlett lived on the grounds.

In a few days a new division was organized under Major-General Robert F. Hoke, of North Carolina, promoted for his gallant capture of Plymouth and hard-fighting under Beauregard at Drewry's Bluff, and for his great merit, the division being Martin's North Carolina, Clingman's North Carolina, Colquitt's Georgia, and Hagood's South Carolina Brigades of infantry, with Reid's Battalion of artillery. General Hoke hesitated about commanding General Martin, an old soldier, who, as adjutant-general of North Carolina, had commissioned Hoke as a lieutenant, but Martin insisted that he should include his brigade in the new division, and it so remained until the close of the war.

The personal bravery of General Martin in the charge at Howlett's was so conspicuous, and his bearing so cool and inspiring, that his men after the battle carried him around on their shoulders, shouting, "Three cheers for old One Wing," he having left one arm on the field of Cherubusco, in Mexico. Although this disturbed his dignity, it was very gratifying to the General, for his strict and severe discipline had not made the men very affectionate towards him. From this time on he was the object of their admiration, and so was Captain Starke, who acted wtih great coolness and courage on the field, and also, as commissary, always fed them as well as he possibly could. Captain Starke, in addition to his duties as commissary, acted also as assistant inspector, and in every battle accompanied General Martin, and conveyed his orders with coolness and gallantry.

From this point Hoke's Division marched to Cold Harbor to reenforce Lee, arriving at Turkey Ridge, and taking position on the right of the line, under fire, on the evening of June 2d; Martin's Brigade on the extreme right, the Seventeenth on the left, Fortysecond in the center, and Sixty-sixth on the right of the grand army, all digging for dear life, and by next morning completing a fair line of entrenchments.