He promptly refused to obey me, and sent in his resignation. I had to refuse to accept it, and the whole matter was laid before the President. In the strongest language of which I was capable I represented to the President my great desire to have Phelps remain with me. They held the matter under advisement at Washington.
I wished to satisfy myself that there was not to be any attack made upon us from the neighborhood of Manchac Pass. Such an attack could not be made unless that pass was largely fortified by the enemy. Accordingly, I permitted Major Strong, at his request, to take two companies up towards Pontchatoula, where Brig.-Gen. Jeff Thompson held his rebel camp. With great courage and determination, and in the face of innumerable difficulties, Strong extended his reconnoissance up to Pontchatoula. All the rebel troops ran away, and Thompson had gone before that; and all Strong could do was to capture Thompson's sword and spurs and destroy the other property and burn up some number of carloads of the provisions, as he had no means of bringing them away. A more daring performance than that of Strong was not done during the war by anybody.
In the meantime I had become satisfied that the French government had come to an understanding with Mr. Seward and had broken off with Mason and Slidell; and that Seward was to aid the French Emperor in his attack on Mexico. That fact the man Seward himself confessed by an order issued that no arms should be sold to go out of the country because all were wanted to arm our troops. When the war commenced, very many thousands of guns had been bought with which to arm our troops until we should be able to make our own, which was very soon. Most of those rifles had been discarded and sold to various dealers in arms. They were not needed by us then, nor have they been used by us since. Mexico, finding that she was to be invaded by the French troops, sent into the United States for those arms with which to arm her troops,--and they were certainly better than nothing. When Seward's order was made it was so worded as not to appear to be a thrust at Mexico, for we were claiming to be friendly with Mexico and against the
