the Secretary of the Navy of "the
capture from the rebels of three thousand bales of cotton on the Washita
river, and two thousand on the Red, all of which I have sent to Cairo";
while General Banks testifies that he "took from western Louisiana ten
thousand bales of cotton and twenty thousand beef cattle, horses, and
mules." From this, the Army appears to have surpassed the navy to the
extent of five thousand bales of cotton and the above-mentioned number
of beef cattle, etc. Whether Admiral Porter or General Banks was the
more virtuous, the unhappy people of Louisiana were deprived of "cakes
and ale."

In his enthusiasm for art the classic cobbler forgot his last; but "all
quality, pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war" could not make
General Banks forget his politics, and he held elections at Alexandria
and Grand Ecore. The General describes with some unction the devotion of
the people to the "Union," which was and was to be, to them, "the fount
of every blessing."

Says General Banks in his report: "It became necessary to accomplish the
evacuation [of Grand Ecore] without the enemy's knowledge. The
conflagration of a portion of the town at the hour appointed for the
movement partially frustrated the object." And further on: "Rumors were
circulated freely throughout the camp at Alexandria, that upon the
evacuation of the town it would be burned, and a considerable portion of
the town was destroyed." Evidently, these burnings were against the
orders of General Banks, who appears to have lost authority over some of
his troops. Moreover, in their rapid flight from Grand Ecore to
Monette's Ferry, a distance of forty miles, the Federals burned nearly
every house on the road. In pursuit, we passed the smoking ruins of
homesteads, by which stood weeping women and children. Time for the
removal of the most necessary articles of furniture had been refused. It
was difficult to restrain one's inclination to punish the ruffians
engaged in this work, a number of whom were captured; but they asserted,
and doubtless with truth, that they were acting under orders.

From the universal testimony of citizens, I learned that General Banks
and the officers and men of the 19th corps, Eastern troops, exerted
themselves to prevent these outrages, and that the perpetrators were the
men of General A.J. Smith's command from Sherman's army. Educated at
West Point, this General Smith had long served in the regular army of
the United S