General Hunter

MARCH 14, 1863.]

HARPER'S WEEKLY.

165

MAJOR GENERAL DAVID HUNTER, U.S.A.—[PHOTOGRAPHED BY BRADY.]

THE APPROACHES TO
SAVANNAH.

WE are indebted to several correspondents in the Department of the South for the pictures which we publish on page 164. The situation of the Nashville, lying ensconced close to the railway line, is shown: she is temporarily blockaded in her refuge by the Montauk, but before long other means will be devised to render her helpless. Beulah Battery, a work of some pretensions, intended to impede the operations of our gun-boats, is shown on the same page.

The new rebel iron-clad Turtle, of which a picture is also given, was launched a few days since at Savannah. We are not at liberty to disclose the means by which our picture was obtained. As we said before, very little transpires either in Charleston or Savannah which is not soon known to our officers. The Turtle is said to be a very strong and formidable vessel. She is 200 feet long, 58 feet wide; her hold is 7 feet deep. She mounts eight 7-inch rifled guns, which are said to be of British manufacture and of the Armstrong pattern. Admiral Dupont will probably soon be able to give a good account of the Turtle.

MAJOR-GENERAL HUNTER, U.S.A.

WE publish herewith a portrait of MAJOR-GENERAL DAVID HUNTER, U.S.A., commanding the Department of the South.

General Hunter was born about the year 1802, in the District of Columbia, and was appointed from thence to West Point in 1818. He graduated in the infantry in 1822, and served eleven years with his regiment. In 1833 he was appointed Captain of Dragoons. After three years' service he resigned, and settled in Illinois, which State has ever since been his home. In 1842 he was offered, and accepted, the post of Paymaster in the army.

After the election of Mr. Lincoln to the Presidency Captain Hunter was one of the army officers appointed by the War Department to escort him to Washington. On the reorganization of the army he was appointed Colonel of the Sixth Cavalry, and on 13th August, 1861, Major-General of Volunteers, thus ranking

all the Major-Generals of Volunteers except Banks, Dix, and Butler. He had just previously taken part in the battle of Bull Run in command of his regiment, and received a severe wound in the throat, which compelled him to quit the field. On his recovery he was dispatched to the West, where

he served as second in command under Fremont in the latter's brief campaign in Missouri. General Hunter was one of the first to denounce Fremont's incapacity; and, on the removal of that officer, he succeeded him in command of the army. He had no opportunity to distinguish himself, however, as

he was himself very shortly afterward superseded by General Halleck. On his return to Washington he soon found a vacancy in the command of the troops at Port Royal, vice "Port Royal" Sherman, who was removed. While in this command he achieved no military triumphs; but he attracted

more attention than any other man in the country by issuing a short order emancipating all the slaves in the Department of the South. This order was revoked by the President, and General Hunter returned home in consequence.

After a brief holiday he was again assigned to the command of the Department of the South, and is now at Port Royal. When the attack is made upon the city of Charleston or Savannah, it is expected that General Hunter will direct the operation of the land-forces.

General Hunter, though sixty years of age, is a veteran of remarkable vigor, energy, and iron will. He tolerates no insubordination in his command, and is as much feared by his officers as by the enemy. Bred in extreme pro-slavery views, the war has converted him into a firm abolitionist. He has always been in favor of arming the negroes, and has now quite a little negro army under his command at Port Royal. "Black Dave," as the soldiers call him, will make or mar himself in the course of the next ninety days.

The Tribune correspondent states that General Hunter has organized an expedition of 5000 negro troops to penetrate one of the most thickly-populated districts of the Department of the South with a view to rouse the slaves. The invaders are to carry extra muskets, and are to be supported by an adequate force of regular troops. Though the scheme in itself seems feasible, the story is generally discredited at the North.

SMITH'S BRIDGE.

ON this page we illustrate THE OVERFLOW OF THE TUSCUMBIA RIVER, near Corinth, Mississippi, from a sketch by Mr. Flournoy of the Second Iowa Volunteers. Mr. F. writes: "CORINTH, MISSISSIPPE, Feb. 17, 1863. "Please find inclosed a guard-post at Smith's Bridge, 4 1/2 miles northwest from Corinth, Mississippi, across the Tuscumbia River, on the road leading from this place to Kossuth. To use the native expression, the 'river's riz' and flooded the 'bottom' or swamp, which at this place

 is some 2 1/2 miles in width, and in order to reach the post it is necessary to 'take the water' about 'waist deep.' The shelter, or 'shebang,' as the boys term it, is located upon the only dry spot, about 10 feet square, on the east side of the stream. There is a corresponding knoll on the opposite side. "With respect, yours truly, "SILAS FLOURNOY,    "Company I, Second Iowa Infantry."

THE OVERFLOW OF THE TUSCUMBIA RIVER NEAR CORINTH, MISSISSIPPI.—[SKETCHED BY MR. FLOURNOY OF THE SECOND IOWA VOLUNTEERS.]