--A Richmond correspondent of the New Orleans
Crescent relates the following singular instance of the sagacity of the brave
Beauregard:
‘
As for
Columbus, I repeat my confidence in the genius of
Beauregard.
If the place can be held by human pluck and skill, he will hold it. To show his military intuition, I will tell you a fact which came to me lately from the
Chief of his Staff.
Do you remember a story in the
Yankee papers about an interview between
McClellan,
Lincoln, and a third person, whose name was not given?--
McClellan told Abraham of the trap he had laid to catch our forces at
Mason's and
Munson's hills, and said that it must inevitably have succeeded, but for the treachery of some person who threw up rockets to give the rebels warning in time to get out of the way.-- ‘"Only two persons,"’ added
McClellan, ‘"knew of this plan; one is myself, the other is now in this room."’ This other person is believed to have been
Adjutant General Thomas, who, about that time, lost his high position in the United States army.
In truth, though, poor
Thomas was as innocent of treason as an unborn babe.
When the
Yankee advance upon Munson's hill began, rockets were thrown up by the various divisions to notify each other that they were in motion.
Of course this was at night.
Gen. Beauregard, seeing the rockets, suspected something was in the wind.
He, therefore, caused his
Chief of Ordnance,
Col. Alexander, to be waked up, and told him that, while he was entirely ignorant of the meaning of these rockets, he was satisfied that we ought to throw up rockets, too.
Alexander threw up the rockets, the
Yankees suspected foul play, became alarmed, and took the back track.
Hence the mysterious story connected by the Chinese imagination of the
Yankees.
’