59 
mfication due to them, but without any great hopes of receiv¬ 
ing it. 
Colonel Wool inspected the two companies of the first and 
fourth regiments, under Major Twiggs stationed here; both to¬ 
gether made at the most, eighty men under arms. The inspec¬ 
tion took place before the Cathedral. I admired the good order 
and great propriety of these companies, as well as their uniformity 
of march and dressing, which I had no opportunity to observe 
before, in the troops of the United States. There was indeed 
many things to be wished for; as for example, the coats of the 
men did not fit, and many were too short; the grey cloth panta¬ 
loons were of different shades, and much too short; no bayonet 
sheaths, nor gun straps; the belt intended for the bayonet sheath 
over that of the cartridge box: the privates had wooden flints in 
their guns, and none in their cartridge boxes, also no spare flints, 
files, screwdrivers, nor oil flasks. From the false maxim, that 
the second rank, if they are shorter men, cannot fire over the 
front, the lesser men are ranged in the first, and the taller in the 
second rank through the whole army of the United States, and 
this produces a great eye-sore. There was some manual exer¬ 
cise, and manoeuvres in battalion training: all good. The sol¬ 
diers were mostly young, handsome and strong men, well fed 
and healthy looking natives of the western states; there were 
some Germans and Irish among them. The Irish, however, since 
their conduct is often in nowise commendable, are no longer ad¬ 
mitted. Governor Johnson remained during the review, which 
lasted above an hour or more; there were also several members 
of the legislature now assembling, present. I formed an acquaint¬ 
ance here with General La Coste, who formerly had been en¬ 
gaged in the Spanish service, and at present commanded a divi¬ 
sion of the Louisiana militia. Colonel Croghan also attended the 
review. * 
When the review was over, the governor showed me the two 
extensive buildings, joining the Cathedral, with arcades, as before- 
mentioned. One of them is devoted to the use of the several 
courts of justice, and the other is the City Hall. In the first, the 
United States court was holding its sessions, and as it was rather 
cold, the judge had removed himself to the fire-place, there to 
have the business transacted before him. The suit in controversy 
related to the sale of a negro. The buyer had purchased him 
* Colonel Croghan was one of the most distinguished officers of the Ameri¬ 
can army. In the last war, he defended a miserable stockade, (Fort Stephen¬ 
son) on Lake Erie, against a force eight times greater than his own, which had 
artillery, and drove it back. After the peace, he was appointed Post Master of 
New Orleans, and during my stay in this city, he had entered again into the ar¬ 
my, and held the post of second Inspector-General. 
