[Inclosure.] HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF TEXAS, Statement of the number of troops to be removed from the Department of Texas, in compli ance with General Twiggs' agreement with the commissioners on the part of the State of Texas. Besides the officers and enlisted men included in the above list, there is one doctor and one paymaster stationed at Fort Brown, and one paymaster at Fort Bliss. One ordnance sergeant is stationed at Brazos Santiago, and a hospital steward at Fort Brown. SPECIAL ORDERS, C. A. WAITE, Colonel, U. S. Army, Commanding Department. HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF TEXAS, Bvt. Lieut. Col. D. T. Chandler, U. S. Army, will proceed to the headquarters of the Army and deliver the dispatches with which he is charged. He will travel with all possible haste, as it is important that the information contained in the communications intrusted to his charge should reach Washington as early as possible. On arriving in Louisiana Colonel Chandler will communicate with the governor of that State, and ascertain if a safe transit for the troops evacuating Texas will be afforded through the State of Louisiana, with permission to purchase the necessary supplies and secure the required means of transportation. For this purpose he will deliver a communication addressed to the governor of that State by the commissioners on behalf of the committee of public safety of the State of Texas. After having complied with these instructions Colonel Chandler will return to San Antonio. By order of Col. C. A. Waite: W. A. NICHOLS, Assistant Adjutant-General. THE TEXAS SURRENDER. HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF TEXAS, Lieut. Col. L. THOMAS, 9 Asst. Adjt. Gen., Headquarters of the Army, &c. COLONEL: I have the honor to report that in compliance with Special Orders, No. 22, Adjutant-General's Office, Washington, January 28, 1861, I assumed command of the Department of Texas on the 19th instant. I send herewith by Bvt. Lieut. Col. D. T. Chandler, U. S. Army, a communication, dated the 19th instant, of Brevet Major-General Twiggs, giving a full account of the forcible entry into and occupation of this city by the troops of this State, on the 16th instant, together with the proceedings of the military commission therein referred to, and the papers connected with it.* I am, colonel, very respectfully, your obedient servant, SPECIAL ORDERS, HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF TEXAS, } San Antonio, February 27, 1861. No. 36. Department Special Orders, No. 32, of February 24, 1861, are modified as follows: The garrisons of the posts above Fort Clark-viz, Fort Bliss, Fort Quitman, Fort Davis, Fort Stockton, Fort Lancaster, and Camp Hudsoninstead of marching as therein directed, will march upon the coast as soon as the means of transportation shall be received by them. The public property at the several posts, except what is expressly mentioned in Department General Orders, No. 5, and the circular of the commissioners on behalf of committee of public safety, under date of San Antonio, February 18, 1861, will be turned over to authorized agents of the State of Texas, who will give due and proper receipts for the same. Should, however, any agent on the part of the State fail to appear or any one refuse to give the proper receipts, the commanding officer will call a board of survey, with instructions to make inventories of the property to be abandoned. (See General Orders, No. 22, of 1859, from the War Department.) By order of Col. C. A. Waite: W. A. NICHOLS, Assistant Adjutant-General. GENERAL ORders, Į War DEPT., ADJT. GENERAL'S OFFICE, No. 5. Washington, March 1, 1861. The following order is published for the information of the Army: WAR DEPARTMENT, By the direction of the President of the United States, it is ordered that Brig. Gen. David E. Twiggs, major-general by brevet, be, and is hereby, dismissed from the Army of the United States for his treachery to the flag of his country in having sur rendered, on the 18th of February, 1861, on the demand of the authorities of Texas, the military posts and other property of the United States in his department and under his charge. ASSISTANT ADJUTANT-GENERAL, Headquarters Department of Texas, San Antonio, Tex. SIR: Pursuant to the orders of the commander of the department, I have the honor to submit the following report of the taking possession of the public property in San Antonio on the morning of the 16th ultimo: * I had ordered that our men should not leave their quarters, but should be prepared to resist any attempt to take their arms; and between 9 and 10 o'clock, wishing to relieve them from this constraint, and to avoid any chance of accidental collision, I proposed to move the command into camp at a convenient distance from town. The commissioners objected to this arrangement unless I would assure them that I would not move from the camp except to leave Texas by the coast. I told them I could give no such assurance without the consent of the general commanding, as I might be otherwise ordered. After some discussion of the feasibility of the plan of the troops going out by Indianola and up the Mississippi, with the approbation of General Twiggs, who was present, I gave the assurance asked for, and immediately issued the necessary orders for the companies to go into camp. The headquarters of the post and Eighth Infantry and band of the Eighth remain in town. As required by the colonel commanding the department the reports of Major Smith and Captain King are submitted herewith. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, W. HOFFMAN, Lieutenant-Colonel Eighth Infantry, Commanding. [Inclosure No. 1.] CAMP SAN PEDRO, TEX., February 23, 1861. Lieut. Col. WILLIAM HOFFMAN, Eighth Infantry, Commanding San Antonio Barracks. COLONEL: In compliance with instructions that I should report such information as I possess on the subject of the events which transpired in San Antonio on the 16th instant, I have the honor to state as fol lows: For several days previous to the 16th there were many rumors of the formation of forces to take possession of the public property at the depots. They were not generally credited until the 14th, when more reliable information was received that a strong force of citizens was collecting from the counties to the east and northeast. This was confirmed on the 15th, and it was generally understood that several hundred men would enter the city the next morning. The orders given to the guard were that they should not resist a large organized force, but to préserve the public property from depredation by individuals or any mob, as usual. The troops, consisting of Company I of the First and A of the Eighth Infantry, were to form at quarters and await further orders in case of the approach of any considerable force. At fifteen minutes of 4 o'clock on the morning of the 16th I received a message from the officer of the day that a large armed force was entering the city. Repairing to my company quarters, a low, one-story building, marked B on the accompanying plot,* situated in the yard used as a depot for ordnance, the men were formed, and ordered to remain at their quarters. I then proceeded to the Army offices in the building marked A, where officers were awaiting developments rather than orders, it being understood that no resistance would be made. A few minutes after, some eighty armed citizens took position across the street at the point C, and another party in the lot at H. Returning towards my company quarters, I found a strong party on the street leading to the plaza, some of them ascending the stairs to the second story of the ordnance building, D. Approaching them, I was accosted by two persons, who seemed surprised at being observed. One of them was announced as Colonel McCulloch. I informed him that the house on the corner was occupied by soldiers. He said he could not help that. I asked, "Perhaps you will tell me what you intend to do;" to which he replied that his force was in commanding positions, and would take possession of all the public property, after which, if anything was wanted, it would have to be asked of the commissioners, and that the persons of my men were secure, and would not be molested. During this conversation he gave me to understand that the force on the east side of the river served to prevent my company and that of the First Infantry at F from uniting. In the meantime his people were mounting to the roof of the ordnance building, of the house adjoining on the south, and of the Masonic Hall at G. About one hour after this conversation, having heard that it was intended to demand the arms in the hands of our men, I sought Colonel McCulloch, and asked him if I had understood him rightly that the persons of the soldiers would not be molested. He answered, "Yes." I stated that they would consider their persons very much molested if their arms were interfered with. He replied, "That is a question for the commissioners to determine." I added that such an attempt would be followed by serious consequences, which would be painful to all concerned, and suggested that he would confer with his commissioners on that subject if he had not been instructed upon it. He signified his intention to obey their instructions, whatever they might be, at any cost, and added, "Some of you had better arrange this matter quickly, or my men will do it for you,' thus intimating that they might not be controlled. Near 7 o'clock Colonel McCulloch came to me with a letter addressed to the commander of the Department of Texas. I informed him that I was not the officer, and referred him to you as commanding the post. These matters were all reported to you. At 10 o'clock I particularly reported the situation of my company, in contracted quarters, and so completely surrounded and commanded by the citizens' force that no man could move without having several hundred guns pointed at him, at the option of that force, and that they had been in this situation nearly six hours. You notified the department commander of this. It seemed to be of consequence, in yielding to the Texas commissioners, that these two companies should leave the State * Omitted as unimportant. "by the way of the coast." On this point you are better informed than I am; my knowledge of it is incomplete. I understood, however, that our troops would not be permitted to leave their quarters if this demand was not acceded to, and that it was the one measure to restore quiet. About 11 o'clock the order was given to prepare to go into camp, and at 3 p. m. the two companies marched out of the city, and formed their camp at this place. I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Lieut. Col. W. HOFFMAN, LARKIN SMITH, Major by Brevet, Captain, Eighth Infantry. [Inclosure No. 2.] CAMP SAN PEDRO, TEX., March 1, 1861. Eighth Infantry, Commanding San Antonio Barracks, Tex. SIR: By your order, I report to you that I was on duty as officer of the day at San Antonio Barracks on the 15th ultimo. At night the guard at the Alamo had orders not to load their muskets, and not to resist in case an armed force attempted to seize the public property. Some time before daybreak the corporal at the Alamo reported to me that the citizen troops we had been expecting for a day or two had arrived in the city. Our soldiers were notified of it, and the sentinels withdrawn from their posts. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, JNO. H. KING, Captain, First Infantry. SAN ANTONIO, TEX., March 2, 1861. We, the commissioners on behalf of the committee of public safety, will place at the disposal of the commanding officer of the troops in Texas such means of transportation as are at our command, to be used by said troops in transporting their baggage, provisions, forage, and other supplies to such points on the coast as have been selected for embarkation. THOS. J. DEVINE, Commissioners on behalf of Committee of Public Safety. SPECIAL ORDERS, Į HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF TEXAS, San Antonio, March 5, 1861. The garrisons of the following-named posts will march for the coast, via San Antonio, as soon as they receive the requisite means of transportation, viz, Fort Inge, Camp Wood, Fort Mason, Camp Colorado, Fort Chadbourne, and Camp Cooper. Upon arriving at Green Lake, some twenty miles from Indianola, the troops will find a camp established, where they will remain until the transports are ready for their embarka tion. It is desirable that sufficient provisions and forage be taken to last to that point. If the means of transportation will not permit recourse must be had to the several posts on the line of march. By cader of Col. C. A. Waite: W. A. NICHOLS, Assistant Adjutant-General. |