Show TILE CAPTURE OF NEW SAn S-An Incident as Described by a flesh dent of thc City From The Century War Papers we quote the following from the paper by George W Cable on New Orleans before be-fore the Capture What a gathering The riffraff of the wharves the town the gutters Such womensuch wrecks of women I And all the juvenile ragtag The lower steamboat landing well covered cov-ered with sugar rice and molasses was being rifled The men smashed the women scooped up the smashings The river was overflowing the levee A rain storm began to threaten Are the Yankee ships in sight I asked of an idler He pointed out the tops of their naked masts as they showed up across he huge bend of the river They were engaging the batteries at Camp Chal mette the old field of Jacksons renown Presently that was over Ah me I see them now as they come slowly round Slaughterhouse Point into full view silent so grim and terrible black with men heavy with deadly potent the long banished Stars and Stripes flying against the frowning sky Oh for the JVlissis sppi the Mississippi Just then here I she came down upon them But how I drifting helplessly a mass of flames The crowds on the levy howled and screamed with rage The swarming decks never uttered a word but one old tar on the Hartford standing with lanyard lan-yard in hand beside a great pivotgun so him plain to view that you could see smile silently patting its big black breach and blandly grinned And now the rain came down in sheets About 1 or 2 oclock in the afternoon as I remember I being in the store with but one door ajar came a roarof shouting and imprecations and crowding feet down Common street Hurrah for Jeff Davis i Shoot them Kill them Hang them I locked the door from on the outside and ran to the front of the mob bawling with the rest Hurrah for Jeff Davis About every third man had a weapon out Two officers of the United States Navy were walking abreast unguarded and alone looking not to the right or the left never while the mob flinching frowning never 1 screamed in their ears shook cocked c in their faces cursed and crowed pistols gnashed upon them So through the and walked to two men gates of death those demand the towns surrender Hall to he City deeds bravest of the render It was one done I ever saw events except one I leave to Later An officer from the fleet other pens the roof about to lower the flag stood on In the street beneath of Louisiana the bayonets of a body of gleamed A howitzer pointed up and marines another down the street All around I Mayor the mob Just then I swarmed lest the officer above should be Monroe howitzers upon the fired upon and out open alone and stood just before crowd came howitzers tall slender fore one of the re folded arms eyeing the gunner with Captain Bell tall Down andstiff went marched the flag off with the flag rolled the howitzers clank under his arm and behind Then cheer after cheer rang ing And now I dare say out for Monroe that after all is well pleased every one lowered her colors New Orleans never with her own hands |