CAREER OF GEN. JOSEPH LANCASTER BRENT.
The late Gen. Joseph Lancaster Brent was a superb soldier, a distinguished lawyer, an incorruptible legislator, a success- ful planter, and a peerless gentleman. He was descended from "the noble and ancient family of Brent" existing at the time of the Norman Conquest, of which Odo de Brent was then Lord of Cossington. In 1254, in the reign of Henry I, the manor of Cossington was possessed by Robert Brent, the first to assume the surname of Brent. From this ancient and noble family of Cossington in the County of Somerset came Giles to .Maryland in 1637. His brother Fulke and his sis- Margaret and Mary followed in 1638. Fulke Brent, after serving in the Assembly in 1639, returned to England, and died there in 1656 without issue. Giles received the grant of the manor of Kent Fort, on Kent Island, was a membei of the Assembly in 1639, commander of Kent Island in 1639-40, member of 1 ouncil in 1642, and appointed in [643 lieutenant general, admiral, chief captain, and commander of Maryland. Gen. Joseph L. Brent was bom in Charles County, Md., on November 30, 1826, while his father was in Congress, lie was educated at Georgetown College, where he also studied common and civil law. He first practiced nis chosen pro- fession in the Attapakas section of Louisiana but 1 moved to 1 ingeles, Cal., where he acquired a lucrative pn and considerable real estate. His popularity was .us ited bj his election to the California I egislature, in which he served two terms. When the tocsin of war sounded, in 1861, he turned his face to the South "to live or die in Dixie." His only route home was by ship from San Francisco via Panama to New York. He sailed in company w itli General Sumner and three hundred Unite. 1 States troops. His sentiments were well known, and on arrival in New York be and United States tor Gwin and United States District Attorney Benham were arrested and incarcerated in Fort Lafayette on the charge of treason. Failing to confirm the charge, they were released, and General Brent made his way to Baltimore, and from there crossed the Potomac and came through the lines to Richmond, where he proffered his services to the Confederacy. He was given the position of major and assigned to the staff of Gen. John Bankhead Magruder. with whom lie served in tin Penin- sula and Richmond campaigns, After the Seven Days' battle. he was ordered to report to Gen. Dick Taylor in Louisiana, ! a .li' 1 of artillery and ordnance until pro- moted and placed in charge of a brigade. After reaching Louisiana, President Davis appointed him colonel of artillery, 111 which position he won fame and a brigadier's wreath. Colonel Brent participated in the battle of Mansfield and all other important engagement? in this section. General Taylor in his book. "Destruction and Reconstruction," has filled manj with the m . it il oi in, uoi Hi and deeds. General faylor in his concise waj of writing said of Gen eral Brent: "Ruggedlj built, although not a particularly large man, hi lool 1 d the part oi a commander of men " Of their first meeting, General rayloi says: "Returned to Alexandria and met u chief of artillerj and ordnance, Maj. J. L. Brent, just arrived from the Last with some arms and munitions, which be bad remained to bring with bun A law ycr by profession, Majoi Brent knew nothing of military ai fairs at the outbreak of tin war. but speedily acquainted him- self with the technicalities of his new duties |)eoted to work, his energj and administrative ability were felt in every directum Batteries wen equipped, disciplined, and drilled. Leather was tanned, harness made, wagons built, and a little workshop established at New Iberia by Governor Moore be- came important as an arsenal of construction. The lack of paper for cartridges was embarrassing, anil most of the news- papers were stopped for want of material. Brent discovered a quantity of wall paper in the shops at Franklin. New Iberia, and used it for cartridges, and a journal published at Franklin w as printed on this paper." Of the capture of the Indianola, General Taylor saj "Major Brent b ok command of the expedition with Captain McCloskey staff quartermaster on the Queen and Charles Pierce, a brave steamboatman, on the Webb. On February im Brent went down to DeRussj with the Queen, mechanics still working on repairs, and there called for volunteer crews from the garrison. These were furnished at once — sixty for the Webb, under Lieutenant Handy, and seventy for the Queen, on which boat Brent remained. It was a curious Feature of the war that the Southern people would cheerfully -end theii on into battle, but kept their slaves out of dan- ger. Having exhausted his powers of persuasion to no pur- pose, Major Brent threw some men ashore, surrounded a gang of negroes at work, captured the number necessary, and departed Eamous din was made by the planters and con- tinued until the negroes were safely returned "On the night of February 22 the expedition, followed by a tender, entered the Mississippi and met a steamei from Port Hudson with two hundred men sent bj General Gardiner to destroj the Queen of the West, not knowing tli.it it bad been captured. Arriving in the afternoon of the -'4th at a point sixty miles below Vicksburg, Brent learned that the Indianola was but a short distance ahead with a coal barge lashed on side. He determined to attack in the night to diminish the chance of the enemy's lire. It was certain that a shell From one of the eleven- or nine-inch guns would destroy either of his boats. t 10 P.M. the Indianola was seen near the western shore, some thousand yards distant, and the Queen, followed by the
ebb. was driven with full head of steam directly upon her.
The momentum of the Queen was Si to cut through the coal barge and indent the iron plates of the Indianola, disabling by the shock the engine that worked her paddles s the Queen backed out the Webb dashed in at full speed and tore away the remaining coal barge. Both the forward guns tired at the Webb, but missed her. "Returning to the charge, the Queen struck the Indianola abaft the paddle box. crushing her frame and loosening some plates of armor, but received the lire of tin- guns from the rear casemates. One shot carried away a dozen bales of cotton on the right sidi . the other, a shell, entered the forward porthole on the left and exploded, killit en and disabling two held pieces g.iin the Webb followed the Queen, struck near the same spot, pushing aside the iron plates and crushing timbers. Voices from the indianola announced tin- surrender and that she was sinking. As she was near the western not far bebuv Grant's army. Major Brent towed her to the opposite side, then in our possession, where some distance the bank she sank on a bar. her gun deck above water. " I bus we regained control of our section of tin Mis-, Succeeding events at Vicksburg and Gettysburg so obscured this one that, in justice to the officers and men engaged, it has seemed to me a duty to record it. "Brent returned to Red River with his boats much shattered l thi fray, and before- we could repair them Admiral Farra-
