Newspapers / The Lincoln Courier (Lincolnton, … / April 17, 1847, edition 1 / Page 2
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K V Leut Ci itiTden was contacted blind . tabled teethe ivnt of the Mexican General in-Chief, which h fuundhajortg Jtstance from the scene of action, and which he thought -the afesf place lie had "been m to ting- the'whole day; - As he approached Santa -Anna's tent, he 'was greeted wi'h a most tremendou fiorish of trampete, which might have been heard a mile off, but pro' !uced no very great terror, in the mind of the Kentuckian.. 1 II is blind was taken off, nd he f jund hioioelf in ".he presence of i he famous Mexican -Chief, aorroundeiJ y u brillant Staff of bedizzened, jf'Med, and moustached officers- SaaAniia apolo gized to the Lieutenant for the act of his officers, in having him blindfolded, saying, that so far from having any desire Id con ceal his situation, he was desirous of ex hibiting to Gen Taylor the utter folly of resisting so many as he had under his command. To which the Lieutenant re: plied, .that his simple message was to de mand hi- Sanla Anna's immediate sur leader to Gen. Taylor. When this ex inordinary demand w?9 translated to the Mexican, he raised hands and eyebrows in utter astonishment at the temerity and presumption of such a message, and re plied, that he would expert, Gen Taylor to surrender in an hour, or lie would de biry nil nis threes. Lieut Crittenden's reply, which we have already given Oen Taylor neter surrenders'.' ter minated ti e interview, and the battle re commenced, and was continued untill night. Santa, Anna toek three small pieces of onr artillery, which, under Lien:. O'Brien, had been posted too far in advance to be covered by our infantry. All the gunners were shot down, and when the guns were captured there was not a soldier left to roan them. One of these pieces was an old Texan 6-pounder. which, during the Texan Revolution, had done good execu tion amonng the Mexican ranks. As to the flags he boasts of having taken, they are very probably mere companv markers, Mrhich wore droped on the field and picked up by the valiant Mexicans. His Excel lency of the War Department, to whom Santa Anna has sent these trophies will no doubt be sore disappointed in the size, texture, and beauty of these standards. Mexican pride is easily satisfied when ruch feeble mementoes of their "prowess nnd valor as these console them for so in glorious a defeat. All the officers on our side in this hard fought battle distinguished themselves; the details of batde were confided to Gen Wool, who nobly justified the confidence of his commander and brother-veteran, by the most active, zealous, efficient and gallant conduct. Throughout the whole action he was constantly engaged in the disposi tion of our forces, and in rallying them to tiie onset. It was a miracle that he es i aped the thick flying balls which thinned ioe ranks he was marshalling. There was but one complaint made against him add that was, that he exposed himself toe much. Brig- General Lane, also, showed himself to be a brave, and capable officer. Although wounded early in the action, he kept his horse until it elosed and never for a moment left his post. The old General-in-Chief remained at his original and much exposed position, superintending the battle and narrowly watching its events. An escopette ball passed through his overcoat ttiat tame old brown, so familiar to all the officers and meu who have ever been under his com mand, and which nas seen several cam paigns in Forida, in Texas, and in Mexico. . On the night of the 22d, both armies drew off from the field of battle. Our men were engaged all night u: bringing iu the wounded and taking care of them the Mexicans as well as their own men - There were, however, but few of our men j found on the field wounded. They were, :r, ui5 oanta Mtin4 significant words, in I his despatch, " all dead,' the cowardly j miscreants having killed every man they o vertook, wounded and helpless on the field. With like turpitude and treachery, they left their own dead unburied and their wounded uncared for, on the field where ihey fell. The latter were carried to Sal tdlo, in our own wagons, the former were buried by the alcade, under the orders of Gen. Taylor. A number of officers were taken priso ners, and an exchange was effected, by which all our men who are now in their hands were released. Cassius 1. Clay's party are understood now to be in the city of Mexico- Among the killed and wounded of the Mexicans are, three general officers and twenty colonels and commanders of battal ions. Gen. Minon, it appears, has not as yet realized the brilliant career of which lie considered his capture of Mj. Borland un earnest. He was ordered by Santa An na to attack and carry Saltillo during liio engagement at Buena Vista. With this object, lie made a demonstration against the town with 2000 cavalry. Lieut. Shu ver, with sixty men and two small pieces f artillery, went out to meet the valiant Jenera!, and at one discharge of his cau tion, sent him and his large force to the light about in double-quick time. Retreat of Santa Anna. We understand from reliable authority, says the Mafamo ras Flag of the 13th iust., that then are letters in town from Mexicans stating that Saul a Auou is in full retreat to Sari Luis Polosi. The letters alsp state tint he held a consultation witb his principal officer after the first day' engagement, and that a re treat w9 then strenuously advocated.- Before the battle corn,rm!iiced,the Mexicans 4'rrrnly believed that Gen. Taylor would re tire' before their vastly superior numbers, and that in . his retreat they could supply themselves with provisions, ol which they were -in great need -almost starving Finding the Americans obstinate, snd deter mined to fight for their eatable with the. ferociousness of buil-dos.'. they despaired of getting a dinner from them, and deemed it prudent to retire., ' " MESSAGE From Ilia Excellency, Gov. Graham, com municating Report of professor Mitchell, on the Turnpike from Raleigh West. To ike Honorable the General1 Assrmbly of Ar. Carolina: T I enclose herein, the Report of the Rev. l)r Mitchell the Engineer ; appointed tinder the Act of the last Session of the General Assembly, to make a survey for a Turnpike Road from Raleigh to the Bun comb Road, and thence to the Georgia line, with a branch on the Eastern side of the Yadkin River to the Town "of Fayette ville. 1 have not had leisure to give the Report an attentive perusal,' but hope the Legisla ture will find the work to which it relates, won ly to be immediately undertaken. . It does seem to me, a most appropriate dispo sition of the Funds raised from the bale of Cherokee Lands, to devote them to the construction of a good high way from that distant part of the S ale u the Capitol, and one of our chief market towns. WILL. A. GRAHAM. REPORT. To his excellency, William A Graham. Sir: The Act of the Legislature under which 1 had the honor of appointment from you, prescribes the duties to be performed in the words following: It shall be the duty of (he Governor of this State, before the third Monday of November, 1816, to cause a survey to be made with a view to making a Turnpike Roau f'om Raleigh, west to the Buncomb Turnpike road, thence to the Georgia State line in Cherokee County in this State also from the town of Fayettvilie, to intersect the same at some point east of the Yadkin river. . "Beit further enacted. That the engi neer making such survey, be required to examine and report upon both of the routes over which the mail stages now run from Raleigh to Ashville, and . that he furn ish estimates of the probable cost of ma king a turnpike road or roads on the differ eut sections ot said road." That the business migh be so performed as to be satisfactory ;o the Legislature, it seemed necessary to enquire what are the particular ends to be accomplished by the construction of the roads in question. That leading from Rdeigh west is under stood to have been proposed and favored by the gentlemen from the western part of the State, When a County is laid off, and a Court House built, roads are immediately opened from the out-skirts of the County, giving to all its population free access to the scat of justice. An Raleigh is the seat of the Legis auve, Executive and Supreme Judi cial authority ,and the Treasury, an d all the other public offices are t!iere4 the people of the remote west may well claim it as an act of simple justice to themselves that something should be done to facilitate their communications with the Capital ; es pccially as what might be dont for their benefit would also accommodate the pop ulaliu.'i of the country along the whole line of the route. Murphy, the County seat of Cherokee, is 370 miles from Ral' cigh, by the shortest road that can be trav veiled. Tnere will be a perpetual stream of trav. j el flowing from North Carolina into Ten- nessee, and from Tcmicsse into North Car olina, which will also increase if it may be accomplished over good roads, and for ihe accommodation of which, it seems that there should be one good road leading from east to west through the Siate. It is most desirable the eastern and wes tern section of this great Commonwealth should be bound together by an easy and free communication between them. An intelligent gentleman in the western part of the State remarked to me that as th:ngs now arc, he has less to do wuh the people on the northern side of the Albemarle Sound, than with those of some of the re motest regions of the globe. Trade will always incrsse with , the in creasing ease and freedom of commumca tion, though the influence of an eastern and western turnpike upon the amount of traf f c would not probably be very considera ble. It is in a direction nearly at right angles to this, that the produce of the cen tral and western Couotb finds a market. r. I A .1 .w!..r.. ' aau msnu tciureu fruua uu u.s nwuui tion of fore'gn countries are returned. People unfiling the eastern and westeni roaiwill gftie r.tl ly wish to pass through the villages and t'ounly seats; it is along lines leading fro town to town, that -.the con veyance of the mail must be effected, and that short j uirneys on busines will he made. If a good road . were opened, which avoi ded the villages and passed over the in termediate ground, .it would be very little frequented. Such aroid there might b leading from Chapel Hill, midway between Greensboro and Ashboro, loLeving'.on-- beyond Salisbury the position of th two j good lords ot the Catawba, and a chain of mountains extending from the Blue Ridge eastward, between the Countirs of Burke and Rutherford; compels ua to keep eith er ihe upper or lower Stage route. The act, therefoie, widely directs that particu lar attention -shall be given to the routes o ver which the mail stages now run. The first thing to be done, was to make out an accurate map or plot of the existing roady, ; to ascertain their length, and wheih er they are tolerably straight, and if not, on which side'we arc 10 search, for the route combining in the greatest possible degree the two qualities of directives of ground. The two routes were thcroforf surveyed ! with the chain and compass from Raleigh to Ash v ill?. Beyond the last named vil lage, the survey was not carried; not be cause the section beyond is less important than the rest, but because the distance to the Georgia line ia alreody eufficionily known; and we are, by the positions of the different County seats and the passes of the mountains, (excepts in a few cases.) confined very much to a country track. The survey. was fust plotted on a scale of sixteen inches to a mile, on seientv sheets, each containing from four to seven sections of tho road, Mid which accompanv this report.- .The use of this scale was rendered necessary by tho shortness of some of the courses. It was afterwards reduced fo a scale of 4 5th of an inch to a mde on six sheets, and fhally to a scale of l-15ih of an inch to a mile on two sheets, where will be seen at r glance the courses of the roads as they now run. Small win dings,rr the purpose of passing creeks and branches, or avoiding hills, will of course disappear on this reduced scale. In general, the existing roads exhibit less considerable deviations froin o sJruight lino than might havefbenh Expected.- -.The distance from town to town, or other im. portant points, as tho road runs, and in a straight line, is given below. That from Ch ipel E I ill to Greensboro is given direct. The roid by Hillsborough is about ten miles longer, but is one that will never be followed iu all its windings by a turnpike. It will be taken in hand in a few days, and perhaps finished in time to be. added toths report, before the question of constructing these roads shall have been decided by the Legislature. That in measuring upwards of 4000 an g'es with the compass and as many Isns with the chain, laying all these down on paper, and reducing them from otic scale to another.r.c errors have been committed, is not to bs expected. It is hoped and be lieved tint they are neither numerous nor important. MILLS. Till PS. DIRECT. From I'a'eigh to Chapel Hill, Road 3 Chapel Hill to Greensboro. 4V Greensboroush to Lexington, 34 Lexington to Salisbury, 16 Salisbury to Statesvile, 26 States ville to Island Ford, 12 Island Fonl to Morganton, fi6 Morgarton to Uuck Creek, 25 Buck Creek to Top of Ridge, 13 Top of Kidgc to Ashevillc, 13 Salisbury to .4hviilc upper route, 134 Salisbury to Ashevillc, lower Kute, 136 4G2 3! 6 J 1210 1569 1-2 36S 1-8 916 825 577 1-2 880 1C89 434 1-2 ICoo 1-2 1490 1.3 718 231 286 44 913 1-2 517 407 From Kaleigh to Pittsboro', Pittsboro' to AsUborough, Ashboro' to Salisbury, Salisbury to Beatty's Ford, Be atty's Ford to Lincolnton. 34 39 41 32 18 Lincolnton to Ifu'-herfordton. 43 Uuthcrfordton to Top of Ridge,27 Top of Ridge ta Asheville, 42 Of the kind of Road to be built. A niacedamizcd or rock turnpike, cannot bo constructed at any expense which lht Legislature would be willing to incur, or which would be, reasoncbly, within the means of a chartered comnanv : if for no other reason, from a deficiency of pro per materials, through long distances, The best materials for such roads, should have four distinct qualities: hardness,tough ness, uniformity of texture, and the ab sence of liability to disintegrate, under the action of the weather. Limestorce want the first two, but possessing the two last is used in places, though it wears out pretty rapidly Most granite is unfit for thi. purpose. White flint, though hard en ough, is brittle. There is a space of fif teen miles on each of tho roads -on one, between Paleigh and Pituboro, and ,on the ; other, between Raleigh aud Chapel Hill over which a stone Turnpike could not be made for one hundred thousand dollars.' This body of sandstons has ia terpersed sparingly through it a rock which is an excellent material for a road; euch as ha recently been employed upen the low grounds of New Hope, at the ex pense of th Courty of Orange. Hut this rock is so little abundant, and would have to be transported through distances so considerable, that the expense would be enormous; nor is there any thing t-ls?, within tt-.e limit of these 15 n iles, that could be used instead of it. The circumstance jast noticed, of the ab sence of hard rocks through long dis'.at:cet, is favorable in a. very high degree to the ihiow up of a rounded embankment of earth in other words constructing a dirt turnpike. Fiomttaleigh o foot of the Moun tain, there will, except in 2 or three places, i be no dilfiiu!iy in the execution of snch a work. There are no swamps to pass, few, if any hrge and solid rocks to be removed by blasting, few hills of much importance to pass but a country gently undulating, and the construction of a turnpike through which, will he as p'airt and t-ioiple a bus iness, as the cultivation of a field of corn. The question, ' how much will it cost to make such a road ?" is somewhat of same nature with the enquiry, how much will it cost to build a house not susceptible of a definite answer, where so much depends upon the kind of road to be made, or house to be built. The results of experiments mdc elsewere, show that uch a road could be made at an expense of from 200 to 500 dollars per mile Of the two routes from Raleigh to Sal isbury, that through Putsboro' and Ashbo ro will be from 15 to 20 miles the shor ter, even if ue take the most direct route from Hillsborough o Grcenshorough, and avoid the long deflection towards the South which the stage now follows. Hut on tlic other ha::d, it will run over worse giound and accommodate the population of a smal ler number of Counties. On both sides of Ashboro, the country is very broken, and the construction of a good road will be difficult. The structure of the country on which this depends, will be noticed when speaking of the Faveiteville road. In oth er p3rts, other obstacles will be encountered. The slate-rocks which occupy most of the region traversed by this mute, decompose very irregulary and "uneqtullv, so that when they rise to ' the surface, as they sometimes do, aud are exposed there, they arc uneven, and ui p'easatit to travel over. The slate also decomposes into a ciay which retains water and kcep3 the road muddy, when the lighter. sanJier foil of the upper route, permits the water to filler through and the ground to become d:y in a short lime. Beyond Salisbury, the condition of things is' partly reversed. The upper route will still accomodate the population of the greatest number of Counties; it passes through a country both more fertile and more remote from a market, and where the wants of the traveller may be both more cheaply and more plentifully supplied, the ascent of the ridge is easier, the valley of the Catawba being three or four hundred feet higher than that of Broad River; but this upper route is over trorse ground. The question which of the two shall be ta ken, is one which iavokes the wisdom of the Legislature, rather than the judgement of the Engineer, for its decision there be ing ruch important and countervailing ad vantages on both sides. From Salisbury to Beaty's Ford, much of the ground is g od for a road, and some of it exreilent. From Oeatty's Ford to Lincolntou, there is a good deal of light, spongy soil, over which the travelling is necessarily bad in wet weather. Lincoln ton to Rutherfordton, great part of the way is level, or very gently undulating, inclin ing to sand, forming especially an excel lent winter road, and n is remarkable, that we are able to reach the very foot of the Illue Ridge, wilhont encountering any very considerable hill. A low snur fram the . ... , . . raoge mentioned is extending eastward from the Rid'-e between the counties of . th. counties r McDowell and Rutherford, can hardly be regarded as an exception. The route from Salisbury to Slatesf ille, acr&sj first second ind third creeks, is by no means equal to that leading to Beatty's Ford. From Siatesville to Morganton, there is much level and good ground, hut some that is considerably broken as we ap proach Morganton. The principal dif ficulty on this route is between Morganton and the Pleasant Gardens. If the road wind over the high grounds or where the county seat of McDowell is most unfortu naiely located, like an Eagle's nest on ihe top of a mountain there will be many hills to ascend and descend ; if we leave Ala ricui omf rind keep near the river bauk',,Jhe work, though practicable, will be cxpea sivc. - : " " V. Throughout the whole distance, which ever route be selected, the road is likely to keep near the present track. Wherever this seems to ber.d and depart from the true course, a substantial reason i on a littlo examicatinn,d scovered.tuth as the watejis of a cretk or a tract of broken ground, which it is to avoid, if we have to g o somewhat further. For laying tiff the road, a plot interme'' aie between Hie unwieldy one in 70 sh and the' reduced on herewith trat.. milted, wo-ild be the best, and with tl. Material in hand, may easily be drawn. . Respectfully submitted, by i:. MITCHELL, Engineer. Raleigh Salisbury, by Chapel Hill, 120 rnilf s, GO yards. Raleigh to Salisbury, b'y Pittsboro, 1 18 mi'cs 719$ yards. Important from Vera Crstz. f ' By the arrival, at an early hour this morning? of the Schr. Portia, Copt. Powell, which left Sacrificios on the 15th inst., we are in receipt ol the following highly iiitr resting intelligence from'lhe forces ro-op crating against Vera Cruz. For the facta ' detailed we are indebted to our correspond ence and conversations with passengers. - Troops were landed, af fcr a reconnoisance on the 7th, by Generals Scott, Patterson, Worth, Pdiow, Quitman, and Twiggs,wiil their Aids and the Topographical corps which approached near the shore, towards the direction of the Castle, the gurs from San Joan deUllon opening fire upon the par fy, throwing shell and round-shot, but with" out doing any dnrragc to the recounoiterinj! party the round-hot cither passing over or filling sliorf, and the shll, although thrown with prcct-iion, bursting at a cor.sidV erable elevation doing no harm. , . The first COOO of our troops were being landed at 2 o'clock, P. M., on the 9h, and, the remainder during the yay. The land . ing is spoken of by persons who were cye!L witnesses, as a scene of magnificence; rnt;c ly witnessed more than once in a l.fftime. The troops landed amounted to the exact number .f 12.11)0 . ; - . t " After tho landing, the different columns, took up their line of march far the positions ( assigned to thm in the important action and sicgo of Vera Crux- The sleamars Vixen and Spitfire, laying., under Punta de Hornos, opemd on the cityv. across the point and in the direction of the Castle, with sludl and round shnt. . which -was returned by the Castle, but v. ithout" efFee. . - Gen. Worth1! division, which, it is said, has been assigned to the operations ..on the left flank of ti c city, from the local-..-is of the landing on the Sou'.h and under-. Punta dc Hornos, had nec?ssan!y to move, in cchcllon to the rear, past the .right, iu order to gnio his proper pasition in tho . execution nf which it became necessary to , attack and possession of two redoubts thrown up by the enemy, on one of which was a piece of artillery, and both hlledJj with infantry. The redoubts werepitackeoVj charged, and taken, a spirited resistance being made by the enemy, who lost scve ml in killed, wounded, and prisoners oor .-. Ios, some seven killed and several wound ed. There: lifts boon considerable skirmish iog to-day, and .vo no twenty of cur .rr.en wounded, among them Lieut. Col. Dicken. son, of tho South Carolina regiment, but . not datigrously. Fifteen or twenty of tho Mexican cavalry have been taken prisoners, horses and men, and some fifty killed This evening a .32 pounder bill from the.', city fell into the 2d Infantry, taking off he head of Captain William Alburtis, of.-, that regiment, and. severely, if not mortal..' ly wounded two men. ..,.4 The skirmishing was howevsr no check to the advaucing column,wnich passed stca ti dily forward to its position on the loft and : . , , rear o: ine city, waere u naiica ana com . , menced the work of entrenchment The pipes used for ihe purpose of sup' plying the city with fresh water, havebveh discovered and broken up completely cut ting off the supply from the tanks, which are situated some distance from the city. During the advance upon the rear of tho , j city passed midshipman Rogers, who hitf " nofvet been sent from Vera Cruz, wasT" bound on a cart, and ordered to be' coa . veyed under a guard, to the prison of Pc-f; rote,but fortunately they were encountered r by our forces and Mr. Rogers, was rcscuef - and is now or. board his ship.' - ' . - H i 41 -..ml V
The Lincoln Courier (Lincolnton, N.C.)
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April 17, 1847, edition 1
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