Gen. Persifor F. Smith volunteered his services as Colonel, and Mr. Lawson, as Lieut. Colonel: the latter gentleman, the head physician of the United States, has since proved that the profession of arms is not inconsistent with the duties of a follower of Æsculapius. The enlistment was commenced on the 24th January, and a body of seven hundred men was quickly raised. The citizens, with their usual liberality and patriotism, supplied the troops with comfortable quarters, till the 3d of February. Each intervening day the regiment was inspected in the Custom House yard: on the 2nd February the troops received their uniform, blankets and other necessaries, and on the 3rd were mustered in the Barrack yard. Louisiana had done her part--she had raised a fine and as was afterwards proved, an effective body of men. They received their arms, colors and bounty, thirty dollars (the wages were ten dollars per month) and marched, some that evening, others next morning, to the rail road, where we found the cars in readiness and were soon embarked on Lake Ponchartrain. Two steamboats, the Watchman and Merchant were chartered to transport us to Tampa Bay, and the David Brown proceeded to the same point, via the Balise. The Watchman reached Pensacola on the 6th without any adventure except being detained a few hours on a mud bank. We took in wood and again put off, but the evening looked very dirty and the vessel was any thing but a good sea boat. Our captain accordingly determined not to go to sea, and lay too, close to the Fort, which is a few miles below the town. Here we had comfortable quarters for the night, and next morning again embarked. We arrived at Tampa Bay, on the 9th, and landed on the 10th. The Merchant had been in a day before us, and the David Brown arrived the day after. Here was a scene well calculated to rouse the spirits of the lukewarm, (if any such were among us). Almost every house in this beautiful spot had been torn down or burnt, and the inhabitants had been compelled to fly for protection to the vessels in the bay. We bivouacked outside the Fort, under the boughs of the live oak trees, which are very numerous; the watch-fires at night--the groups of men lying around them sleeping in their blankets--the stack of arms--the flash reflected from the musket and bayonet of the centinel as he stalked slowly by the fires; the _tout ensemble_ had a very imposing, and in my eyes, a very military aspect. We were twice alarmed on the second night; the first time from the accidental discharge of a musket, and the second time from the mistake of a Dutch centinel; he had been posted on the piquet guard, with orders to hail any thing which should approach and to fire if he received no answer to the third challenge. Minheer Dutchman heard some noise in the bushes and called three times as he had been ordered, “Who goes dere?” no answer, “Den I fire.” He did fire, and in an instant, the bugles