TEXAS. 





were left in Xew Mexico, as killed, wounded, 

 or prisoners. They reached Xusilla with five 

 pieces of artillery and seven wagons, and even 

 tliis scanty supply, the small remainder of the 

 magnificent train with which they had invaded 

 the Territory, was destined to be still further 

 diminished before they reached El Paso. With 

 bitter curses on their leaders, who had gone on 

 in advance, and left them to take care of them- 

 selves, the half-starved and wretched remnant 

 of the Texan troops, once the flower of the 

 Texas chivalry, made their way, sadly and 

 slowly, homeward, and every point which 

 they left, as for instance, Xussilla, Fort Fill- 

 more, Fort Bliss, and El Paso, was immedi- 

 ately occupied by loyal troops, under the effi- 

 cient movements of Gen. Carleton. 



ARIZONA. This new Territory, organized in 

 March, 1863, comprises about two fifths of the 

 former territory of New Mexico, being all that 

 portion lying S. of the line of 34 X. lat. The 

 eastern portion, forming a part of the Llano 

 Estacado or Staked Plains, is arid and not de- 

 sirable for settlers ; the western portion, wa- 

 tered by the Colorado and the Gila and its tribu- 

 taries, has many fertile valleys and abundant 

 mines of gold, silver, quicksilver, and copper 

 of great productiveness. 'Many new mines, 

 rivalling in richness the best of those in Cali- 

 fornia, Idaho, or Colorado, were discovered in 

 the summer of 1862. A new port, with a good 

 harbor, near the head of the gulf of California, 

 has been opened, and bids fair to open this re- 

 gion abounding in mineral wealth to the com- 

 merce of the world. 



TEXAS, the most south-western of all the 

 States, was so completely cut off from com- 

 munication outside of the Confederacy, during 

 the year 1862, that but little is known of the 

 internal affairs of the State. The increase in 

 the population of the State during the ten 

 years ending June, 1860, was 391,622, of whom 

 131,405 were slaves. For the further details 

 of the census of 1860 relative to this State the 

 reader is referred to UNITED STATES. 



The crops of the State in 1862 were good, 

 and that of grain was the largest ever known. 

 Beef, mutton, corn, and wheat were plentiful 

 and cheap. Thousands of cattle were sent 

 across the Mississippi to feed the Confederate 

 army, and immense supplies of grain. In ad- 

 dition to these supplies, Texas furnished as 

 many men to the army, in proportion to the 

 population, as any other State. In July she 

 had furnished forty-eight regiments, or forty- 

 five thousand men, out of a voting population 

 of sixty -four thousand. This number of troops 

 was increased to sixty-four regiments. The 

 conscript act was also fully enforced. Even 

 many churches were abandoned by their pastors 

 for the army. In the Confederate Congress, 

 on a motion to authorize the President to 

 receive into service any regiments of conscripts 

 organized by any commanding officer.west of 

 the Mississippi, Mr. Oldham, the Senator from 

 Texas, thus spoke of affairs there : 



The section west of the Mississippi was as import- 

 ant as any part of the Confederacy ; but regiments 

 after regiments have been transported east of tL 

 sissippi, and far ^beyond the Alleghany mountains, to 

 fight battles in Virginia. I am proud of the fact that 

 they were brought here, inasmuch as they were not 

 needed at the time and were an enormous expense to 

 the Government. The enemy are going to make one 

 convulsive movement, and I think it will be their last. 

 My impression is, that they will make an effort soon 

 west ot the Mississippi. I nave received information 

 from an officer in the Engineer Department that the 

 enemy has obtained a footing upon the Gulf coast ; 

 they have possession of the Aransas Pass. They are 

 building gunboats of light draft which they can run 

 up the Tittle streams and take possession of the entire 

 coast. The troops of Arkansas are united with us by 

 fate the same destiny pertains to the one as to the 

 other ; and Missouri is linked in the same chain of 

 good or ill fortune. The best troops of Texas you 

 have transported east of the Mississippi, brought to 

 Virginia, put into the hottest part of the contest, 

 where they have been decimated, and now three 

 fourths of each regiment from Texas sleep in their 

 graves or have been discharged on account of sickness. 

 Let this Government continue to draw on the fighting 

 population of Texas to keep up these regiments and 

 Texas will be ruined, irretrievably ruineo. I think it 

 is wrong and impolitic and unjust. My constituents 

 have families, property, and homes to defend, and I 

 protest against the men west of the Mississippi being 

 transferred east of it, leaving their country open to the 

 incursions of the enemy north, east, west, and south. 



On the wild goose Sibley expedition thirty-five hun- 

 dred of the very best troops of Texas were sent to 

 perish on the arid plains of New Mexico, and they 

 have only drawn the enemy upon our frontier, ready 

 to come down upon us this winter. If the Government 

 had sent these troops with other troops in Arkansas, 

 and struck into Missouri, and there raised a hundred 

 thousand men, which she would have furnished, seiz- 

 ing St. Louis, and made a diversion in favor of Ten- 

 nessee and Kentucky, what would not have been ac- 

 complished that now remains to be done at the sacri- 

 fice of oceans of blood ! I do not think it is just to 

 deplete those States west of the Mississippi of their 

 protective forces, that their troops should be brought 

 away to fight the battles of the populous States. 



Some military movements of interest took 

 place on the coast. On the 17th of May the 

 commander of the Federal naval forces before 

 Galveston, Henry Eagle, summoned the place 

 to surrender " to prevent the effusion of blood 

 and the destruction of property which would 

 result from the bombardment of the town,'' 

 also stating that the land and naval forces 

 would appear in a few days. The reply was 

 that " when the land and naval forces made 

 their appearance the demand would be an- 

 swered." The city, however, was finally taken 

 on the 8th of October. The military and th 

 municipal authorities retired, and the inhab- 

 itants appointed a temporary mayor. On the 

 morning of that day Commander Renshaw, 

 with four steamers, approached so as to com- 

 mand the city with the guns of his vessels, 

 and upon a signal the mayor came off to the 

 flag ship. The mayor requested Commander 

 Renshaw to communicate to him his intentions 

 in regard to the city, informing him at the 

 same time of its abandonment by the military, 

 of the absence of the mayor and city council, 

 and of his appointment as mayor pro tern, by a 

 meeting of citizens. 



