Having put in at Pensacola and Apalachieola for sup*



TBA WA1U 133

plies of fuel, the Merchant, Watchman and David Brown
successively arrived in Hillsboro' Bay, about four miles
distant, but within sight of the garrison, on the 8th, 9th
and 10th of February, and the troops were immediately •
disembarked and bivouacked outside of the fort; This
structure is a triangular work formed by pickets, with
blockhouses at the apex, the base resting upon the bay,
and flanked on the west side by the Hillsboro' river.
On our arrival here, we found about two hundred regu-
lars, composed of companies A, B, C and H, of second
artillery, and company A of the fourth infantry, with Ma*
jors Belton, Zantzinger, Mountfort, Lieutenants Gray-
son, M'Kenzie, Casey, Legate, Morgan, Allen and
Alvord, and Doctors Heiskell and Reynolds, u. s. a*—
the first named being the commanding officer of the post.
General Gaines having received instructions at Pen-
sacola from the Secretary of War,* to repair and take
charge of the forces which were assembling on the Mex*
ican frontier, he announced the fact to Colonels Twiggs
and S mi tli ; but the troops on hearing of it manifested
much dissatisfaction, and insisted that, as they had vo-
lunteered to go under the command of General Gaines, he
should accompany them. Finding the current ^o strong

* The following is extracted from the letter of the Secretary to Gene-
ral Gaines : —

" War Department, Jan. 23, 1886.
