ORDER—No. 20.
The Regiment is organized in two Battalions, the first is composed of the companies of Captains Burt, Lee, Williams, Rogers and Thistle, the second of the companies of Captains Marks, Ker, Magee, Smith, Abodi and Barr. Lieutenant Colonel Lawson is chief of the first Battalion, and Major Marks of the second. The companies will form in the order here named.
By order of
A. G. BARRON, Adjutant.
Head Quarters, Western Department, }
Fort Izard, on the Outhlacouchy, Florida, March 9, 1836. }
ORDER—No. 7.
1. Called to East Florida, by the savage massacre and conflagrations of the 28th December, and the following month, the Commanding General hastily collected together in Louisiana, the forces which accompany him from that patriotic State. These forces have, in the short space of thirty-six days, marched by land and sea, nearly eight hundred miles, one hundred and forty of which was through the country occupied by the enemy, whose principal force they have met, beaten, and forced to sue for a peace.
2. These important objects of the campaign have been accomplished, with the hearty and cordial co-operation of Brigadier General Clinch, to whose sound judgment the defence of this frontier had been confided, and by whose gallantry the enemy had been chastised on the 31st of December, and since held in check, as far as his limited means would allow: the troops from Louisiana are placed under his command, to guard against the known faithlessness of the enemy, until the arrival of the forces with the Officer charged with the diplomatic arrangements of the War Department. Whenever, and so soon as that Officer shall mature his plan of operations, and accomplish the duties assigned him, the forces from Louisiana, will return to New Orleans.
3. The Commanding General cannot, consistently with his views of propriety, take leave of the troops by whom he has been so manfully sustained, without tendering to them his grateful acknowledgements, for the constancy and courage with which they have performed every duty, and borne privations, the recital of which could not fail to command the admiration of the virtuous and the wise, in every section of the Republic. The officers and soldiers, comprehending the whole force, (including the Artillery from Tampa Bay,) acting as the Light Brigade, under command of Lieutenant Colonel Twiggs, of the fourth Infantry, have performed their duty so much to the satisfaction of the General, that he cannot discriminate between the relative claim of officers or individuals of corps, without the risk of invidious distinctions. All did their duty cheerfully and gallantly, and when it became necessary to meet the question, whether to eat the meat of their own horses, or to abandon an important position, all cheerfully resolved to prefer this unpleasant species of subsistence, to any movement which might endanger the frontier. The horse meat was accordingly eaten by officers and men, until the enemy was beaten, and sued for peace, when a timely supply of subsistence arrived, escorted by the brave Georgians, Floridians and Regulars, under General Clinch, at the moment the pacific proposals of the enemy were being answered; and the Indians were fired on by the General’s light troops, before he could be notified of the object of their being so near the camp. They have since disappeared.