The Civil War Day By Day Sesquicentennial Thread

[farmersdaughter]

October 19 1861

—Colonel Morgan, with two hundred and twenty men of the Eighteenth Missouri regiment, with two pieces of artillery, had a fight with some four hundred rebels, on Big Hurricane Creek, in Carroll County, Mo., killing fourteen, taking eight prisoners, and putting the balance to flight. Colonel Morgan had fourteen men wounded, two mortally.—(Doc. 98.)

—The Leavenworth (Kansas) Conservative of this date gives an account of the surrender of Fort Fillmore, New Mexico, as follows:—On the 6th of July, Major Lynde had command of seven companies of infantry and two of cavalry, in all about seven hundred men. The next officers in rank were Captains Poster and Stevenson and Lieut. McAnnelly. On the 24th of July, at three o’clock p.m,, four hundred and eighty men, with four pieces of artillery, started for Mesilla; arrived there at dark; were drawn up in line of battle between two cornfields; there were no flankers and no skirmishers out; the cavalry were within eighty-five yards of the ambuscade laid by the Texans, who numbered less than two hundred, and were poorly armed. Shots were fired out of the cornfield, one of them taking effect on Lieut. McAnnelly, a true Union man. Major Lynde was behind a wagon. A perfect cross fire was opened on the cavalry, and, no officer now being in command of them, they retreated. No order had been given them to dismount, fire, or charge, and they retreated “on their own hook” to the rear of the infantry, in order to give the artillery a chance to fire. Our own infantry opened a perfect volley on our own cavalry—by mistake, it was said. A few shots were fired by the artillery, when the whole command was ordered to retreat back on the post. Arrived there at nine o’clock. Next day all were engaged in fortifying. At half-past ten an order was given to evacuate that night. The commissary was ordered to roll out the whiskey, and the infantry were allowed to drink it and fill their canteens. No water was furnished for the hot march before them. The march was undertaken in the most irregular manner, and before we had gone ten miles men were dropping from the ranks and falling down drunk. At two in the morning Texan troops were seen advancing on the Los Crusas road. Our adjutant, on being informed of it, made no preparations to resist an attack, but said:—”They have nothing to fear from us.” Of the seven companies, so many had been left drunk and captured that no more than two companies went into camp. The officers left the men, and held a long council of war. The men of the rifle command decided among themselves to fight. Just as they were ready Captain Gibbs came up, ordered a retreat upon camp, saying:—“We will fight them there.” As soon as they reached there, they were formed into line, and told to dismount for the last time. “You are turned over as prisoners of war,” was all they heard. All the arms and supplies were given up, the oath was administered, and next day the men were released on parole.

—The schooner Fairfax, of Georgetown, D. C., bound up the Potomac with 1,100 bales of hay and 500 barrels cement, was captured by the rebels off Shipping Point. This schooner and another vessel, in tow of the steam-tug Resolute, were fired upon when passing the rebel batteries, and at that critical moment the hawser by which the Fairfax was attached to the steamer broke. The vessel had necessarily to be left to her fate. She drifted toward the batteries, from which several boats started and took possession of her. The Resolute, with the other vessel in tow, proceeded up the river. This is the first serious disaster that has happened to any vessel in passing these batteries. —National Intelligencer, October 21.

—Twenty rebel prisoners, selected from among the North Carolinians on Bedloe’s Island, were sent to Fortress Monroe, there to be released upon taking the oath not to bear arms against the United States Government. This is done in response to the recent release of fifty-seven wounded soldiers at Richmond. As nearly all the persons released by the rebel authorities are disabled by wounds and disease, more than half of them having had a limb amputated, Col. Burke made a selection in the same manner from among the common soldiers, and these were taken who appeared to be most disabled and weakened by disease. Their names are not given. This action of the Government was an agreeable surprise to the prisoners, and the fortunate ones hailed their deliverance with unfeigned delight.—Baltimore American, October 21.

—Abel Smith, colonel of the Thirteenth regiment of New York Volunteers, died this morning, at Mechanicsville, N. Y., from injuries sustained on the railroad, at that place.

—Gen. Heintzleman made a reconnoissance in considerable force along the telegraph road as far as Pohick Church and Acotink Creek, in Virginia, when some of the rebel pickets were met and driven back. It was ascertained that the rebel forces were posted between the telegraph road and Occoquan.—Washington Star, October 21.

—General Wool, at Fortress Monroe, issued an order, giving every male contraband employed in the department, eight dollars per month, and every female four dollars per month. —New York Tribune, October 21.
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[farmersdaughter]

October 20 1861

—Two or three companies of the Forty-third Indiana regiment, stationed at Camp Vigo, in Terre Haute, under command of their colonel, proceeded quietly this evening to the office of the Journal and Democrat, and in a short time demolished every thing it contained. They then proceeded to several private houses, and served them in the same manner.—New York Times, October 22.

—This morning a heavy detachment from General Smith’s division made a reconnoissance to Flint Hill, Va., which is about two miles and a half from Fairfax Court House, and from which there is a good view of the village. A strong picket was observed there, and indications that a large or reserve force was in the vicinity. The reconnoitring party consisted of portions of Mott’s and Ayres’ batteries, and companies from the Fifth (regular) and from Col. Friedman’s regiment of cavalry. Generals McClellan, Porter, Smith, and Hancock accompanied the expedition.—National Intelligencer, October 21.

—The Sixth regiment of Vermont Volunteers, under the command of Colonel Nathaniel Lord, Jr., passed through Jersey City, N. J., en route for Washington. The regiment numbered one thousand and fifty men.
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[farmersdaughter]

October 21 1861

-Twenty-one hundred men of the Fifteenth and Twentieth Massachusetts, the First California, and the Tammany regiments; the First U. S. Artillery, and Rhode Island battery, with five pieces of artillery, crossed the Potomac at Harrison’s Island or Ball’s Bluff, under command of Colonel E. D. Baker, to support reconnoissances above and below, under the general direction of Brig.-Gen. Stone. At about four p. M., they were suddenly attacked by a body of five thousand rebels under the Confederate General Evans. Unable through the disparity of numbers to hold their position, they were driven back to the river, and there, as no adequate means to pass the stream had been made, they were driven into it, or slaughtered on the bank. National loss: Killed, one hundred and fifty; wounded, one hundred and fifty; prisoners, five hundred. —(Docs. 35, 99.)

—The gunboat Conestoga having made a reconnoissance up the Tennessee River as far as the State line, returned to Cairo, Ill., this evening with two barges of flour that were seized on the way to the rebels.—N. Y. World, Oct. 22.

—The land forces destined to cooperate with the naval expedition against Port Royal sailed from Annapolis.—N. Y. Times, Oct. 24.

—A private letter published in the Boston Transcript, shows that Mr. Albert Pilsbury, for eight years American Consul at Halifax, is now acting as agent for the Confederates, purchasing vessels which he loads with assorted cargoes of warlike munitions, and then despatches to try and run the blockade. One of his ventures, the Argyle, sailed from Halifax a few days since, with a cargo valued at one hundred thousand dollars, and another is about ready to leave, with one hundred barrels of powder, packed in codfish drnms.

—The Ellsworth regiment, numbering one thousand and sixty muskets, left Albany, N. Y., for Washington. There was a perfect ovation at the departure of this regiment. Prior to their departure a handsome regimental banner was presented to the troops, with appropriate ceremonies, by the wife of Erastus Corning.—N. Y. Herald, Oct. 22.

—A Large body of rebels, under Jeff. Thompson and Lowe, were defeated at Fredericktown, Missouri, by Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana troops, about two thousand in number, under Colonel Carlin, Colonel Ross, Colonel Baker, Major Plummer, and Major Scofield. The engagement lasted two hours, when the rebels fled from the field in disorder, and took to the woods. Major Gavitt and Captain Hingham were killed in making a charge. Colonel Lowe, the rebel leader, was killed and four heavy guns were captured. The rebels were pursued for Twenty-two miles, when the chase was given over. ed.—(Doc. 100.)

—Capt. J. H. Barnes, with one hundred and fifty men of the Third Mass, regiment, while out from Newport News, Va., to get wood for the fort bakery, was attacked by a body of rebels, whom he drove off without loss.—N. Y. Herald, Oct. 24.

—Major Mix, of the Van Alen Cavalry, with thirty-one men, made a reconnoissance from Edwards’ Ferry, in Virginia, along the Leesburg road, beyond Goose Creek, drove in a vidette of the enemy’s, received the fire of a platoon of the rebels’ infantry, and returned without other loss than that of two horses.—(Doc. 101.)

—The Charleston Mercury, of this date, says: Our privateers are far from idle, although we hear less than formerly of their doings in the Kew York papers. Among their latest exploits is the capture of the brig Granada, of Portland, Me., (Pettingill, master,) from Neuvitas, Cuba, for New York, with a cargo of sugar, molasses, mahogany, and honey. We also hear it whispered that there has been an important (and not involuntary) accession to our stock of sugar, molasses, coffee, &c.

—General Zollicoffer, with six thousand infantry, sixteen hundred horse, and one battery of artillery, was repulsed by the Union forces under General Schoepf at Camp Wild Cat, Laurel County, Ky. For some days previous, the position had been held only by Colonel Garrard’s Kentucky regiment; but when it was knows that Zollicoffer would attack it, the Thirty-third Indiana and Seventeenth Ohio regiments, and Captain Stannard’s Ohio battery, were harried forward, and participated in the fight. Two separate, resolute, and unsuccessful attempts were made by the rebels to carry a bill occupied by the Federal force, when they withdrew. Their loss was unknown. National loss was four killed, and twenty-one wounded. (Doc. 10)
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[farmersdaughter]

Battle of Ball's Bluff
October 21, 1861

Background
McClellan had been promoted to general-in-chief of all Union armies and, now, three months after the First Battle of Bull Run was building up the Army of the Potomac in preparation for an eventual advance into Virginia. On October 19, 1861, McClellan ordered Brig. Gen. George A. McCall to march his division to Dranesville, Virginia, twelve miles southeast of Leesburg, in order to discover the purpose of recent Confederate troop movements which indicated that Col. Nathan "Shanks" Evans might have abandoned Leesburg. Evans had, in fact, left the town on October 16–17 but had done so on his own authority. When Confederate Brig. Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard expressed his displeasure at this move, Evansreturned. By the evening of October 19, he had taken up a defensive position on the Alexandria-to-Winchester Turnpike (modern day State Route 7) east of town. McClellan came to Dranesville to consult with McCall that same evening and ordered McCall to return to his main camp at Langley, Virginia, the following morning. However, McCall requested additional timeto complete some mapping of the roads in the area and, as a result, did not actually leave for Langley until the morning of October 21, just as the fighting at Ball's Bluff was heating up. On October 20, while McCall was completing his mapping, McClellan ordered Brig. Gen. Charles Pomeroy Stone to conduct what he called "aslight demonstration" in order to see how the Confederatesmight react. Stone moved troops to the river at Edwards Ferry, positioned other forces along the river, had his artillery fire into suspected Confederate positions, and briefly crossed about a hundred men of the 1st Minnesota to the Virginia shore just before dusk. Having gotten no reaction from Colonel Evans with all of this activity, Stone recalled his troops to their camps and the "slight demonstration" came to an end. Stone then ordered Col. Charles Devens of the 15th Massachusetts Infantry (stationed on Harrison's Island facing Ball's Bluff) to send a patrol across the river at that point to gather what information it could about enemy deployments. Devens sent Capt. Chase Philbrick and approximately 20 men to carry out Stone's order. Advancing in the dark nearly a mileinland from the bluff, the inexperienced Philbrick mistook a row of trees for the tents of a Confederate camp and, without verifying what he saw, returned and reported the existence of a camp. Stone immediately ordered Devens to cross some 300 men and, as soon as it was light enough to see, attack the camp and, per his orders, "return to your present position." This was the genesis of the Battle of Ball's Bluff. Contrary to the long-held traditional interpretation, it did not come from a plan by either McClellan or Stone to take Leesburg. The initial crossing of troops was a small reconnaissance. That was followed by what was intended to be a raiding party. On the morning of October 21, Colonel Devens' raiding party discovered the mistake made the previous evening by the patrol; There was no camp to raid. Opting not to recross the river immediately, Devens deployed his men in a tree line and sent a messenger back to report to Stone and get new instructions. On hearing the messenger's report, Stone sent him back to tell Devens that the remainder of the 15th Massachusetts (another 350 men) would cross the river and move to his position. When they arrived, Devens was to turn his raiding party back into a reconnaissance and move toward Leesburg. While the messenger was going back to Col. Devens with this new information, Colonel and U.S. Senator Edward Dickinson Baker showed up at Stone's camp to find out about the morning's events. He had not been involved in any of the activities to that point. Stone told him of the mistakeabout the camp and about his new orders to reinforce Devensfor reconnaissance purposes. He then instructed Baker to go to the crossing point, evaluate the situation, and either withdraw the troops already in Virginia or cross additional troops at his discretion. On the way upriver to execute this order, Baker met Devens' messenger coming back a second timeto report that Devensand his men had encountered and briefly engaged the enemy, one company (Co. K) of the 17th Mississippi Infantry. Baker immediately ordered as many troops as he could find to crossthe river, but he did so without determining what boatswere available to do this. A bottleneck quickly developed so that Union troops could only cross slowly and in small numbers, making the crossing last throughout the day. Meanwhile, Devens's men (now about 650 strong) remained in its advanced position and engaged in two additional skirmishes with a growing force of Confederates, while other Union troops crossed the river but deployed near the bluff and did not advance from there. Devens finally withdrew around 2:00 p.m. and met Baker, who had finally crossed the river half an hour later. Beginning around 3:00 the fighting began in earnest and was almost continuous until just after dark. Col. Baker was killed at about 4:30 p.m. and remains the only United States Senator ever killed in battle. Following an abortive attempt to break out of their constricted position around the bluff, the Federals began to recross the river in some disarray. Shortly before dark, a fresh Confederate regiment (the 17th Mississippi) arrived and formed the core of the climactic assault that finally broke and routed the Union troops. Many of the Union soldiers were driven down the steep slope at the southern end of Ball's Bluff (behind the current location of the national cemetery) and into the river. Boats attempting to cross back to Harrison Island were soon swamped and capsized. Many Federals, included some of the wounded, were drowned. Bodies floated downriver to Washington and even as far as Mt. Vernon in the days following the battle. A total of 223 Federals were killed, 226 were wounded, and 553 were captured on the banks of the Potomac later that night. It is interesting to note that the Official Records incorrectly state that only 49 Federals were killed at this battle, an error probably resulting from a mistaken reading of the report of the Union burial detail which crossed over the next day under flag of truce. [4] Fifty-four Union dead—of whom only one is identified—are buried in Ball's Bluff Battlefield and National Cemetery.

Aftermath

This Union defeat was relatively minor in comparison to the battles to come in the war, but it had an enormously wide impact in and out of military affairs. Due to the loss of a sitting senator, it led to severe political ramifications in Washington. Stone was treated as the scapegoat for the defeat, but members of Congress suspected that there was a conspiracy to betray the Union. The ensuing outcry, and a desire to learn why Federal forces had lost battles at Bull Run (Manassas), Wilson's Creek, and Ball's Bluff, led to the establishment of the Congressional Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, which would bedevil Union officers for the remainder of the war (particularly those who were Democrats) and contribute to nasty political infighting among the generals in the high command. Lt. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., of the 20th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, survived a nearly fatal wound at Ball's Bluff to become an Associate Justice of the SupremeCourt of the United States in 1902. Herman Melville's poem "Ball's Bluff -A Reverie" (published in 1866) commemorates the battle. Holmes' great friend and role model, Lt. Henry Livermore Abbott also survived the battle but did not survive the war. In 1865, Abbott was posthumously promoted to Brigadier General. Another outstanding young officer named Edmund Rice also eventually reached the rank of Brigadier General, won the Congressional Medal of Honor and was fortunate enough to survive the war by near a half century. John William Grout was killed in the battle; his death inspired a poem (and later a song) titled "The Vacant Chair". The site of the battle has considerably overgrown today, though ongoing efforts by volunteers have thinned out the overgrowth and made interpretation of the battlefield much easier. It is preserved as the Ball's Bluff Battlefield and National Cemetery,
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[farmersdaughter]

October 22 1861

—Flag-officer Craven, of the Potomac flotilla, arrived at Washington, and reported the Potomac River effectually closed, rebel batteries commanding it at every point below Alexandria.

—A letter from Richmond, of this date, says: Bad news from the forces under General Lee at Big Sewall Mountain. A gentleman of this city, occupying a high position in the Government, has just reached Richmond from General Lee’s head-quarters. The enemy, under Rosecrans, was in full retreat toward the Ohio, but pursuit was impossible. The roads were in the most awful condition. Dead horses and mules that had perished in their tracks, broken wagons, and abandoned stores, lined the road to Lewisbnrg. There was no such thing as getting a team or wagon through uninjured. The road beyond Big Sewall was if any thing worse than on this side of it. To be sure, the difficulties were quite as great—perhaps even greater—for the Yankees, in their flight, as for our troops in pursuing them. But General Lee was entirely out of provision, and had not the wherewith to cook the next meal for himself or to serve the next ration to his soldiers. The General was not in the best health, and it may well be imagined, not in the best spirits. The splendid horse that was presented to him just before he left this city had been lamed in two legs, and was unfit for service. It will be absolutely necessary for General Lee to abandon hi position in a very short time as uninhabitable for his army, and go into winter-quarters. Where this will be—whether in the Kanawha Valley or on the line of the Central Railroad—is uncertain, but much depends on the choice as to the footing the Yankees will have in Western Virginia next spring.
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[farmersdaughter]

October 23 1861

—To-day a battle was fought at West Liberty, Ky., between a part of the Ohio Second, supported by one company of cavalry belonging to the Ohio First, and two pieces of light artillery on the side of the Federals, and seven hundred rebels. The rebels were completely routed, with a loss of twenty-one persons killed, the number of wounded not stated. The Federals captured thirty-four prisoners, fifty-two horses, ten or twelve mules, two jacks, and one large bear, and a great number of guns, knives, and other articles. None killed on the Federal side, and only two wounded—-one of them a flesh wound in the thigh, the other shot on the end of one of his thumbs. General Nelson, with Colonels Marshall and Metcalfe’s commands, took Hazelgreen, routed two hundred rebels, took thirty-eight prisoners, and established his head-quarters in the house of G. Trimble, one of the leading rebels. There was not a gun fired at that place. The troops at both places were acting under General Nelson’s orders, the whole belonging to his brigade.—(Doc. 103.)

—When the Union troops were withdrawn from the Virginia side, near Harper’s Ferry, this night, the Sixteenth Indiana, occupying the most advanced and exposed position, were not aware of any withdrawal until the rest had been successfully ferried over. They lay upon the cold ground, almost frozen, with loaded muskets in their hands, every moment expecting a furious and overpowering assault from a concealed and reinforced enemy, whose numbers were known to exceed our own by many thousands; yet the only murmurs uttered by these hardy sons of the Northwest were at the orders to retire without disputing the ground inch by inch with their adversaries. Slowly and mutteringly they retired to the place of embarkation, picking up and loading themselves down with the knapsacks, canteens, guns, and equipments left there by others who had retired before them.—Balt. American, Oct. 30.

—Mr. Charles J. Helm, late United States Consul at Havana, arrived there in the British steamer from St. Thomas, with credentials from the Confederate Government, naming him consul for the Southern Confederation. He presented his papers, asking to be admitted as Consul, but the Captain-General would not do any thing in the matter beyond reporting the case to the Home Government. Other consuls, though the Madrid Government may not have granted the exequatur, are at once admitted to the free exercise of their office before that formality, but this will not be the case in the present instance.—N. Y. Com. Advertiser, Oct. 30.

—Fifty men of the Sixth Indiana regiment, under Lieutenant Grayson, were attacked on the road near Hodgeville, Kentucky, by about double their number of rebels, whom they repulsed. Three rebels were left on the field dead, and five wounded. Three of the Union men were severely wounded, Lieutenant Grayson being of the number.—(Doc. 104.)

—General Fred. W. Lander was ordered to the command of the brigade recently commanded by Colonel Baker. Only a few hours subsequent to his assumption of the command, and while engaged in a reconnoissance, he received a musket ball in the calf of the leg. It was extracted.—N. Y. Times, Oct. 24.
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[farmersdaughter]

October 24 1861

—Mr. Shufeldt, U. S. Consul at Havana, telegraphed to Capt Wilkes, of the U. S. sloop San Jacinto, at Trinidad, to bring his vessel to Havana, in view of the numerous Confederate vessels finding refuge there, and remaining there unmolested to ship cargoes and return; perhaps, also, in view of the presence there of the rebel commissioners Mason and Slidell, en route for Europe.—National Intelligencer, November 1.

—An interesting correspondence between Gen. Mclernand and the “Confederate” Gen. Polk, on the subject of a recent exchange of prisoners, was made public.—(Doc. 105.)

—Capt. H. L. Shields, of Bennington, Vt., was arrested, charged with having carried on treasonable correspondence with the rebels. He obstinately denied the charges made against him, and promised to bring sufficient evidence of their falsity. He was conveyed to Fort Lafayette. Capt. Shields graduated at West Point in 1841, served ten years in the regular army, and was twice brevetted for gallantry in the Mexican War. —N. Y. Times, October 28.


—President Lincoln suspended the writ of habeus corpus for the District of Columbia. The judges and lawyers had made themselves so troublesome by their officious interference with military affairs that this had become necessary. —N. Y. Evening Post, October 24.

—The steamer Salvor, captured whilst attempting to run the blockade into Tampa Bay, Florida, arrived at New York.

—Western Virginia almost unanimously voted in favor of a division of the State.

—The funeral of Col. Edward D. Baker, who was killed at the battle of Ball’s Bluff, took place at Washington, D.C. The remains were deposited in the congressional burying ground.

—Reports were circulated throughout the country that Gen. Banks had been killed and his army slaughtered, that Gen. Sickles’ brigade had suffered a similar fate, and that the Confederates had crossed the Potomac, both above and below Washington.—Baltimore American, October 25.

—This night a skirmish occurred between Gen. Ward’s pickets and a scouting party of about one hundred rebels in Green County, to the southwest of Campbellsville, Kentucky. The captain of pickets unfortunately was taken prisoner, but the National forces suffered no other loss, though there were several of the rebels killed and wounded. A Tennesseean who was attached to the Federal forces killed two of them.—Louisville Journal, October 26.
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[farmersdaughter]

October 25 1861

—General Fremont’s body guard, numbering three hundred men, under command of Major Zagonyi, charged against two thousand rebels, drawn up in line of battle at their camp, near Springfield, Missouri, routed them, cleared Springfield of rebels, and retired.—(Doc. 106.)

—At Pilot Knob, Missouri, Col. Boyd, of the Twenty-fourth Missouri regiment, commandant of the post, announced the modification of the proclamation of Gen. Fremont by the President, and declared that martial law would be rigidly enforced in the counties of Jefferson, St. Francois, Washington, and Ironton, and that all persons taken in arms against the Government of the United States, in an irregular warfare, or who might be found to have participated in any manner in the burning or otherwise injuring railroad or other bridges, or cutting telegraph wire, or injuring any public property, would be summarily shot. Also, that the sympathizers with the rebellion, who were constantly visiting the stations on the Iron Mountain Railroad, and giving information to the rebels, would hereafter be arrested and dealt with as spies.—N. Y. World, Oct. 26.

—The Ulster Guard, Twentieth regiment of New York Volunteers, under the command of Col. George W. Pratt, left Kingston for the seat of war. The regiment numbers nine hundred and seventy-five men.—Idem.

—Gen Franklin extended his picket lines a mile beyond Annandale, on the Little River turnpike, which leads direct to Fairfax Court House, Va,

—Walter W. Smith, one of the crew of the privateer Jeff Davis, captured on board the Enchantress, was convicted of the crime of piracy.

—Col. Marshall, of the Seventh Maine regiment, died in Baltimore, of typhoid fever. He had been sick two weeks. His regiment started for Washington.—N. Y. Times, Oct. 26.

—An artillery duel was fought across the Potomac River, at Edwards’ Ferry. Firing was kept up by rifled cannon from nine o’clock in the morning until two in the afternoon. A large number of shots were thrown from both parties. Several balls fell in a portion of Gen. Banks’ encampment, killing two and wounding two or three. A few tents were struck and injured, rendering it prudent to move the encampment some distance back. Shot and shell were thrown rapidly into the Confederate encampments, doing, as is believed, serious damage. The rebels were also obliged to move their quarters/—Cincinnati Gazette, October 30.

—Yesterday, at Charleston, S. C., Judge A. G. Magrath, in the “Confederate” court, delivered an opinion with regard to questions raised by J. L. Pettigru, Nelson Mitchell, and William Whaley, as to the constitutionality of the rebel sequestration act.—(Doc. 109.)

—At a banquet given at Inverary, Scotland, the Duke of Argyle declared that “no more tremendous issues were ever submitted to the dread arbitrament of war, than these which are now submitted to it upon the American continent;” that it is “the absolute duty of Great Britain to remain entirely neutral;” and that “we ought to admit, in fairness to the Americans, that there are some things worth fighting for, and that National existence is one of them.” —London Times, October 29.

—The Fifteenth Mass, regiment, in Maryland, had to-day their first parade since the battle at Ball’s Bluff, on the 21st. After the parade the regiment was formed in a square and the gallant Colonel Devens made them an address. No description could produce the tender subdued fervor with which the colonel first spoke, the electric sympathy by which his men were affected, or the earnest determination with which the question was asked and answered: “Soldiers of Massachusetts, men of Worcester County, with these fearful gaps in your lines, with the recollection of the terrible struggle of Monday fresh upon your thoughts, with the knowledge of the bereaved and soul-stricken ones at home, weeping for these whom they will see no more on earth, —with that hospital before your eyes, filled with wounded and maimed comrades, —I ask you now whether you are ready again to meet the traitorous foe who are endeavoring to subvert our Government, and who are crushing under the iron heel of despotism the liberties of a part of our country? would you go next week? would you go to-morrow? would you go this moment?” One hearty “Yes!” burst from every lip. Brigadier General Kelley with Twenty-five hundred men, of Virginia and Ohio Volunteers, left New Creek, Virginia, at night, on an expedition against the rebels in Romney. Nearly at the same time, Thomas Johns, of Second regiment Potomac brigade, marched from the mouth of Patterson’s Creek, with seven hundred men, to favor Gen. Kelley’s attack on Romney, by a feint or dive
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[farmersdaughter]

First Battle of Springfield
October 25, 1861

Prelude

Having accomplished little since taking command of the Western Department with headquarters in St. Louis, Maj. Gen. John C. Frémont formulated a plan to clear Maj. Gen. Sterling Price's Confederates from the state and then, if possible, carry the war into Arkansas and Louisiana. Leaving St. Louis on October 7, 1861, Frémont's combined force eventually numbered more than 20,000. His accompanying cavalry force, numbering 5,000 men and other mounted troops, included Maj. Frank J. White's Prairie Scouts and Frémont's Body Guards under Maj. Charles Zagonyi. Maj. White became ill and turned his command over to Zagonyi. These two units operated in front of Frémont’s army to gather intelligence.

Battle

As Frémont neared Springfield, the local state guard commander, Col. Julian Frazier, sent out requests to nearby localities for additional troops. Frémont camped on the Pomme de Terre River, about 50 miles from Springfield. Zagonyi's column, though, continued on to Springfield, and Frazier's force of 1,000 to 1,500 prepared to meet it. Frazier set up an ambush along the road that Zagonyi traveled, but the Union force charged the Confederates, sending them fleeing. Zagonyi's men continued into town, hailed Federal sympathizers and released Union prisoners. Leery of a Confederate counterattack, Zagonyi departed Springfield before night, but Frémont's army returned, in force, a few days later and set up camp in the town.

Aftermath

In mid-November, after Frémont was sacked and replaced by Maj. Gen. David Hunter, the Federals evacuated Springfield and withdrew to Sedalia and Rolla. Federal troops reoccupied Springfield in early 1862 and it was a Union stronghold from then on.
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[PandamoniumReigns]

FD - Thank you as always. I love reading this every day i'm on here.

 

[farmersdaughter]

October 26 1861

—At Mill Creek, five miles from Romney, Gen. Kelley’s force came upon the rebel’s outposts, which they drove in, and advanced to the Indian Mound Cemetery, to the west of the town, where the rebels made a stand and opened fire with a twelve-pound rifled gun, placed in a very commanding position in the cemetery, and with a mountain howitzer from the high grounds on the east bank of the river, which point commanded our approach for a distance of over a mile. At the east end of the bridge the enemy had also thrown up intrenchments, from which they kept up a constant fire of musketry upon the head of the column. One twelve-pounder and two six-pounders responded to the artillery on Kelley’s post until the General was enabled to fully comprehend the enemy’s position, when he soon gave the command to charge upon their batteries and intrenchments. The cavalry under the lead of Capts. Keys and McGhee, dashed across the river, (which was fordable at this point,) while the infantry, under Cols. Mason and De Puy, Lieut.-Col. Kelley, and Major Swearingen, rushed over the bridge to encounter the foe, at the very muzzles of his guns. No sooner did the rebels perceive this movement, than they immediately abandoned their positions, and commenced a precipitate retreat, rushing “pell-mell” through the town, and directing their flight toward Winchester. General Kelley captured some four hundred or five hundred prisoners, among whom was Colonel E. M. Armstrong, late a member of the Richmond Convention, two hundred horses, three wagon loads of new rifles, three cannon, a large quantity of corn, tents, and, in fact, every thing they had. The loss on the Federal aide was but one man killed and five wounded. When about one and a half miles from Springfield the rear of Col. Johns’ column (ordered to make the feint from the north) was attacked from the heights by the enemy, severely wounding two men and detaining the column about an hour. The march was then resumed through Springfield, and on arriving within half a mile of the bridge crossing the south branch of the Potomac, Col. Johns discovered the enemy on the opposite bank, when a brisk firing commenced. An attempt to force the passage of the bridge was ineffectual, the rebels having destroyed a portion of it. Captain Shaw marched his company upon the bridge with a view to carry the position, but lost one killed and six wounded. At this time, hearing nothing further of the firing at Romney, and concluding that Gen. Kelley had carried the place, and that the object desired had been accomplished, Col. Johns withdrew his force to Oldtown, Md., after a march of twenty-five miles.—(Doc. 107.)

—A large meeting was held at Elkton, Cecil County, Maryland, by the Union men. Speeches were made by Henry Winter Davis, Edwin U. Webster, Alexander Evans, S. S. Maditt, Esq., and others. There were several hundred ladies on the ground, and the display was grand.—N. Y. Tribune, October 30.

—Parson Brownlow has been forced to suspend the publication of his paper, the Knoxville (Tenn.) Whig. He gives his readers a farewell address, in which he says that he will neither give a bend to keep the peace, nor will he take an oath to support the Jeff. Davis Confederacy, and he informs the authorities that he is ready to go to jail. He has been indicted by the Grand Jury for treason, because, as he says, he has refused to publish garbled accounts of skirmishes in Kentucky, and other articles, the insertion of which in his sheet was insisted upon by the rebels.—(Doc. 108.)

—A wagon train was established between Baltimore, Md., and Washington, D. C. Fifty wagons were employed in the service. This was rendered necessary by the closing of the Potomac and the great amount of freight thus thrown upon the railroad.—Baltimore American, October 26.

—Generals Fremont and Sigel arrived at Springfield, Missouri, and were received with a display of National flags and every demonstration of joy.—National Intelligencer, Nov. 1.

—The Charleston Mercury, of this date, declares that the Northern army “has broken its ranks forever;” that “no trumpet will call them to battle again;” and that “however new forces may be mustered, and new generals commissioned, the decree of Manassas cannot be reversed;” that therefore Southern “independence is assured,” and it accordingly gives some space to the consideration of what the relations of the new Government “with the world are to be.” It describes the late prosperous and happy condition of the United States, and its present condition, and fears that Europe will not understand the South when it looks upon it as the active agent in the destruction of so much good. (Doc. 110.)

—Three companies of the Ninth Illinois regiment went to Saratoga, Ky., on the Cumberland River, and attacked a body of rebels, whom they routed, killing thirteen, taking twenty-four prisoners, and capturing fifty-two horses. They had two wounded on their side. These affairs, though not important in their results, in one sense, do nevertheless show in a clear light the spirit and bravery of the National troops, and add new proof to the evidence already gathered that the rebels are sure to be defeated in a fair fight with equal numbers, or with numbers not greatly inferior to theirs.—(Doc. 111.)

—This day a scouting party of thirty men of the Eighth Illinois regiment, under the command of their colonel, Johnson, left for Fort Holt, near Cairo, Ill., and proceeded several miles in the direction of Columbus, Ky. An advance guard was sent out to keep their way clear. They returned to their command and reported to Col. Johnson that a large force of the enemy’s cavalry was advancing upon them; whereupon Col. Johnson ordered his men to a turn in the road, and directed them to lie in ambush for the enemy, who, upon coming up, were confronted by Col. Johnson and ordered to surrender, to which they replied by opening a fire upon him, which he escaped. At this moment the men of his command fired a volley into the midst of the rebels, from the brush, killing their captain and lieutenant, and several others, which so astounded and surprised the rebels that they broke and ran in a promiscuous retreat, leaving their lieutenant dead in the road. —Louisville Journal, November 1.
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[farmersdaughter]

October 27 1861

—Brigadier-General Wm. H. T. Walker, of the Confederate States Army, resigned his position this day, because, despite all his claims as a soldier who has seen service, and as among the first to offer themselves to the South, he finds that he is continually “overslaughed” by new appointments. —Richmond Whig.

—A fight took place at Plattsburgh, Clinton County, Mo., fifteen miles south of the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad. A force of seven hundred Union men attacked and captured a camp of rebels, killing eight of them, capturing twelve prisoners, one cannon, and a lot of small arms. —Leavenworth Conservative
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[farmersdaughter]

October 28 1861

—On the night of the 25th, the boats of the U. S. gunboat Louisiana made a reconnaissance of the Virginia shore for a number of miles, and discovered in Chincoteague Inlet, about two miles from its mouth, a number of rebel vessels undergoing repairs; and this night an expedition, under command of Lieutenant Alfred Hopkins, consisting of three boats, with twenty-five men, well armed, proceeded to the inlet with the intent to cut out or destroy the aforesaid rebel vessels. Proceeding cautiously up the narrow inlet, on the banks of which the rebel sentries could be heard, the boats at last reached the rebel fleet; but, finding the channel so intricate and so well guarded, they were unable to bring any of the vessels out. Preparations were, therefore, made to fire them, and at a given signal the match was applied to three large vessels, and as the flames broke forth in the darkness of the night, brilliantly illuminating the skies with lurid glare, the men sprang to their boats, while the enemy, in confusion at the suddenness of the attack, were quite dumbfounded, and unable to offer any resistance or fire a single shot at the brave fellows who made so gallant a dash into their very midst. As the boats shot out of the inlet the troops sent up rockets to announce to their comrades on board the steamer the complete success of the expedition. At daylight the boats arrived alongside the Louisiana without having lost a man. The only casualty was received by Lieutenant Hopkins, who had his right hand severely burned while applying a torch.—Philadelphia Press, Nov. 14.

—Gen. John B. Henderson, of the Missouri State Militia, made a compromise with the rebels at Dyer’s Mills, near Concord, Missouri, by which he agreed that the United States would not make any arrests if the rebels would lay down their arms and return to their homes. Gen. Prentiss acquiesced in the compromise. The rebels were four hundred strong, and Gen. Henderson’s force numbered one thousand five hundred. The proposition for compromise came from the rebels.—National Intelligencer, Nov. 1.

—General Kelley issued a proclamation from Romney to the people of Hampshire County and the Upper Potomac, in which he assured them of protection to their persons and property.—(Doc. 112.)

—Asa T. Pratt, of Braintree, Mass., who expressed strong secession sentiments at a Democratic Convention at Dedham, was ridden on a rail by several of his town’s people.

—In accordance with orders received from the War Department, Gov. Curtin, of Pennsylvania, issued marching orders to eight regiments in addition to these already at the seat of War.

—Gov. Andrew, of Massachusetts, has written a letter in reply to an inquiry from Hon Geo. S. Boutwell, whether the Fifteenth regiment, which behaved so gallantly in the action at Leesburg, was sent into the field with inferior arms. He says that rifled muskets have been given all the regiments to which it was possible to supply them. Some of the commanders, however, have preferred smooth-bore muskets as decidedly preferable for close action, and these Col. Devens’ men had. —N. Y. Times, Oct. 30

—By direction of the President of the United States, a Commission was appointed, consisting of David Davis, of Illinois; Joseph Holt, of Kentucky, and Hugh Campbell, of St. Louis, to examine and report upon all unsettled claims against the Military Department of the West, which might have originated prior to the appointment of General Fremont, at which time the order was issued that all money must be disbursed by the regularly appointed agents of the Government.—N. Y. Times, Oct. 28.

—The Fifth New Hampshire regiment, Col. Edward E. Cross, left its camp, near Concord, for Washington. It numbers one thousand and thirty-three men, and is armed with the Enfield rifle.—N. Y. Commercial, Oct. 30.
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[farmersdaughter]

Side note *

Cherokee Nation Declaration of Causes
October 28 1861

General Stand Watie Of The Cherokee Nation

Declaration by the People of the Cherokee Nation of the Causes Which Have Impelled Them to Unite Their Fortunes With Those of the Confederate States of America

When circumstances beyond their control compel one people to sever the ties which have long existed between them and another state or confederacy, and to contract new alliances and establish new relations for the security of their rights and liberties, it is fit that they should publicly declare the reasons by which their action is justified. The Cherokee people had its origin in the South; its institutions are similar to those of the Southern States, and their interests identical with theirs. Long since it accepted the protection of the United States of America, contracted with them treaties of alliance and friendship, and allowed themselves to be to a great extent governed by their laws. In peace and war they have been faithful to their engagements with the United States. With much of hardship and injustice to complain of, they resorted to no other means than solicitation and argument to obtain redress. Loyal and obedient to the laws and the stipulations of their treaties, they served under the flag of the United States, shared the common dangers, and were entitled to a share in the common glory, to gain which their blood was freely shed on the battlefield. When the dissensions between the Southern and Northern States culminated in a separation of State after State from the Union they watched the progress of events with anxiety and consternation. While their institutions and the contiguity of their territory to the States of Arkansas, Texas, and Missouri made the cause of the seceding States necessarily their own cause, their treaties had been made with the United States, and they felt the utmost reluctance even in appearance to violate their engagements or set at naught the obligations of good faith. Conscious that they were a people few in numbers compared with either of the contending parties, and that their country might with no considerable force be easily overrun and devastated and desolation and ruin be the result if they took up arms for either side, their authorities determined that no other course was consistent with the dictates of prudence or could secure the safety of their people and immunity from the horrors of a war waged by an invading enemy than a strict neutrality, and in this decision they were sustained by a majority of the nation. That policy was accordingly adopted and faithfully adhered to. Early in the month of June of the present year the authorities of the nation declined to enter into negotiations for an alliance with the Confederate States, and protested against the occupation of the Cherokee country by their troops, or any other violation of their neutrality. No act was allowed that could be construed by the United States to be a violation of the faith of treaties. But Providence rules the destinies of nations, and events, by inexorable necessity, overrule human resolutions. The number of the Confederate States has increased to eleven, and their Government is firmly established and consolidated. Maintaining in the field an army of 200,000 men, the war became for them but a succession of victories. Disclaiming any intention to invade the Northern States, they sought only to repel invaders from their own soil and to secure the right of governing themselves. They claimed only the privilege asserted by the Declaration of American Independence, and on which the right of the Northern States themselves to self-government is founded, of altering their form of government when it became no longer tolerable and establishing new forms for the security of their liberties. Throughout the Confederate States we saw this great revolution effected without violence or the suspension of the laws or the closing of the courts. The military power was nowhere placed above the civil authorities. None were seized and imprisoned at the mandate of arbitrary power. All division among the people disappeared, and the determination became unanimous that there should never again be any union with the Northern States. Almost as one man all who were able to bear arms rushed to the defense of an invaded country, and nowhere has it been found necessary to compel men to serve or to enlist mercenaries by the offer of extraordinary bounties. But in the Northern States the Cherokee people saw with alarm a violated Constitution, all civil liberty put in peril, and all the rules of civilized warfare and the dictates of common humanity and decency unhesitatingly disregarded. In States which still adhered to the Union a military despotism has displaced the civil power and the laws became silent amid arms. Free speech and almost free thought became a crime. The right to the writ of habeas corpus, guaranteed by the Constitution, disappeared at the nod of a Secretary of State or a general of the lowest grade. The mandate of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was set at naught by the military power, and this outrage on common right approved by a President sworn to support the Constitution. War on the largest scale was waged, and the immense bodies of troops called into the field in the absence of any law warranting it under the pretense of suppressing unlawful combination of men. The humanities of war, which even barbarians respect, were no longer thought worthy to be observed. Foreign mercenaries and the scum of cities and the inmates of prisons were enlisted and organized into regiments and brigades and sent into Southern States to aid in subjugating a people struggling for freedom, to burn, to plunder, and to commit the basest of outrages on women; while the heels of armed tyranny trod upon the necks of Maryland and Missouri, and men of the highest character and position were incarcerated upon suspicion and without process of law in jails, in forts, and in prison-ships, and even women were imprisoned by the arbitrary order of a President and Cabinet ministers; while the press ceased to be free, the publication of newspapers was suspended and their issues seized and destroyed; the officers and men taken prisoners in battle were allowed to remain in captivity by the refusal of their Government to consent to an exchange of prisoners; as they had left their dead on more than one field of battle that had witnessed their defeat to be buried and their wounded to be cared for by Southern hands. Whatever causes the Cherokee people may have had in the past, to complain of some of the Southern States, they cannot but feel that their interests and their destiny are inseparably connected with those of the South. The war now raging is a war of Northern cupidity and fanaticism against the institution of African servitude; against the commercial freedom of the South, and against the political freedom of the States, and its objects are to annihilate the sovereignty of those States and utterly change the nature of the General Government. The Cherokee people and their neighbors were warned before the war commenced that the first object of the party which now holds the powers of government of the United States would be to annul the institution of slavery in the whole Indian country, and make it what they term free territory and after a time a free State; and they have been also warned by the fate which has befallen those of their race in Kansas, Nebraska, and Oregon that at no distant day they too would be compelled to surrender their country at the demand of Northern rapacity, and be content with an extinct nationality, and with reserves of limited extent for individuals, of which their people would soon be despoiled by speculators, if not plundered unscrupulously by the State. Urged by these considerations, the Cherokees, long divided in opinion, became unanimous, and like their brethren, the Creeks, Seminoles, Choctaws, and Chickasaws, determined, by the undivided voice of a General Convention of all the people, held at Tahlequah, on the 21st day of August, in the present year, to make common cause with the South and share its fortunes. In now carrying this resolution into effect and consummating a treaty of alliance and friendship with the Confederate States of America the Cherokee people declares that it has been faithful and loyal to is engagements with the United States until, by placing its safety and even its national existence in imminent peril, those States have released them from those engagements. Menaced by a great danger, they exercise the inalienable right of self-defense, and declare themselves a free people, independent of the Northern States of America, and at war with them by their own act. Obeying the dictates of prudence and providing for the general safety and welfare, confident of the rectitude of their intentions and true to the obligations of duty and honor, they accept the issue thus forced upon them, unite their fortunes now and forever with those of the Confederate States, and take up arms for the common cause, and with entire confidence in the justice of that cause and with a firm reliance upon Divine Providence, will resolutely abide the consequences.

Tahlequah, C. N., October 28, 1861.

THOMAS PEGG, President National Committee.

JOSHUA ROSS, Clerk National Committee. Concurred.

LACY MOUSE, Speaker of Council.

THOMAS B. WOLFE, Clerk Council.

Approved. JNO. ROSS
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[farmersdaughter]

October 29 1861

—Col. Burbridge, with two hundred a//nd fifty men, and two pieces of artillery, having marched from Owensbero, in Kentucky, to Morgantown, within eighteen miles of Bowling Green, crossed the river at Morgantown in presence of a body of rebels formed upon the bank, drove the rebels into the town of Woodbury, attacked them to the number of four hundred in their camp, routed them, and took possession of the camp, with equipage for five hundred men, and all their camp utensils; but as he had no means of transportation, the entire camp was burned.—(Doc. 113.)

—At a public meeting held at Woolwich, England, Mr. Salomon, M. P., said: “The civil war now raging in America is full of importance to this country, and ought to be condemned. The North is now attempting to dominate over the South. (Cries of ‘No, no.’) We have a right to criticize the dreadful state of affairs now prevailing in America, although it would be dangerous to do so on the other side of the Atlantic. It is a most diabolical quarrel, of which we hear more from the North than the South, because the South knows how to keep its own counsel. Whatever is the result of this conflict, America will suffer from it; and if the North is able to subjugate the South, it will change the government of the country, which will then become a despotism similar to Russia. At the outset of the contest the North did not endeavor by every means to come to a peaceable settlement. (Expressions of dissent.) Why, Mr. Buchanan remained in office for three months, and did nothing to promote such an object, but rather to stir up the strife; and now he comes forward and sounds his penny whistle to induce a vigorous prosecution of the war. It is, however, the true policy of this country not to interfere in the strife, although we all wish to see it ended, and the Americans again resume their position as a purely peaceable and commercial people.”—London Post, Oct. 30.

—Letters of this date from New Orleans, represent that city as completely ruined by the rebellion.—N. Y. Times, November 11.

—The Richmond Examiner of this date says: By this time our able representatives abroad, Messrs. Mason and Slidell, are pretty well on their way over the briny deep toward the shores of Europe. We commit no indiscretion in stating that they have embarked upon a vessel which will be abundantly able to protect them against most of the Yankee cruisers they may happen to meet, and the chances are consequently a hundred to one that they will reach their destination in safety. The malice of our Yankee enemies will thus be foiled, and the attempt to capture them fail of success. Great will be the mortification of the Yankees when they shall have learned this result. Our ministers did not choose to leave at any other port than one of our own, or under any but the Confederate flag. We anticipate from Mr. Mason’s presence in England a very happy effect upon our interests in that quarter. Mr. Mason is, in his points of character, a very good representative of the best qualities of the English people. He is frank, bold, and straightforward, disdaining all concealments or evasions. His diplomacy will consist in telling the truth in the language of a gentleman and a statesman. As the representative of a name linked with the earlier ages of the American Republic, an ex-Senator of the United States for many years, and the honored servant of the Confederate Government, he will wield an influence abroad such as perhaps no other man could hope to enjoy. He is the very best man we could send abroad to show foreign nations that the Southerner is a different type altogether from the Yankee—that he scorns like the latter to lie, to evade or dissemble, to fawn, or play the bully and the braggart; that the despicable traits of avarice, meanness, cant, and vulgarity which enter into the universal idea of a Yankee, were left behind us when we seceded from the Lincoln Government. We are glad to be able to contrast such a gentleman with Charles Francis Adams, the Puritan representative of freedom at the Court of St. James, and he knows little of British character who is disposed to set a slight value upon the advantages derived from the personal character of a representative in this matter. We believe that at no distant day Mr. Mason will have the pleasure of signing a treaty of amity, on behalf of the Confederate States, with one of the oldest and greatest dynasties of Europe, and thus cement these relations of commerce upon which our future so largely depends.

—Yesterday forty-five “contrabands” were brought into Fortress Monroe. They came oat of the Rappahannock in boats, which were picked up by the tug Rescue. Their story was, that they escaped in order to avoid being sent to Richmond to be sold South. Today forty more contrabands were brought in, who had escaped from Gloucester, opposite Yorktown, where, according to their reports, great destitution exists.—National Intelligencer, November 6.

—Capt. Hunter of the Confederate steamer Curlew reports that on this day, when near the inner buoy at Hatteras Inlet, he was fired upon by two or three Union steamers and the fort; that he “sighted a rifled gun at the Harriet Lane” and fired, and that the fort and steamers continued to fire at him as rapidly as possible. We fired, he says, six shells and the stern gun at them five times. It is uncertain whether the enemy sustained any injury. The Vandals fired twenty-three shells at us, only one of which came near. “Feeling that I had carried out the spirit of my instructions I withdrew and waited within half a mile of the buoy, hoping to draw the steamer outside. When we fired the stern gun, the fort returned the shot. We stood back, fired another shell and took our departure. All hands displayed great enthusiasm, and seemed delighted, when one steamer began moving toward us.”—Richmond Examiner, November 4.

—Get. Rosecrans makes some interesting statements regarding the condition of the troops under his command, in a letter addressed to Governor Dennison, of Ohio, under this date. The soldiers in his department have been poorly clothed, because they were nearly all of them despatched hastily in answer to pressing calls, and since entering upon their duties they have changed their positions so frequently that supplies have not reached them regularly. Now, however, they are in very good condition. Gen. Rosecrans contradicts the statement that his force have suffered greatly from sickness. The number in hospital have averaged only four per cent. He recommends that supplies of clothing and other necessaries should be accumulated at some depot, so as to be made available when the troops shall go into winter-quarters.

—”Gentlemen from several counties” in Kentucky, assembled in Russellville, in that State, to confer “together in reference to the situation of the country, and the steps to be taken to better preserve domestic tranquillity.” Nearly all the prominent rebels of the State were present. Resolutions were passed which “bid defiance both to the Federal and State Governments,” and recommend the people to organize and arm, and resist every authority but that of the Confederate States.—(Doc. 118.)

—Two advertisements in reference to confiscation were published in the Washington papers. One, at the instance of the President of the United States, commands the Marshal to attach certain real and personal property of William Shields, and to give notice to all persons having any thing to say why the same should not be condemned to the use of the United States, to appear before the District Attorney on the 28th of November next. The second advertisement, published by order of the court, is in accordance with the first, and sets forth that Wm. Shields, formerly of Washington, some months ago removed, with his family, to Richmond, where he has been residing ever since, and where he has been and is now engaged in the insurrection and resistance to the laws of the United States of America, now existing in said States, and in secret correspondence with the enemies of said United States residing in the city of Washington and elsewhere, transmitting to them money and other valuables, and receiving the same from them in return, which has been applied in part to aid and abet and promote the said insurrection and resistance to the laws.

—The great Southern Expedition sailed from Fortress Monroe, the Wabash leading, and the Cahawba bringing up the rear. The line of vessels, comprising nearly fifty, made a magnificent appearance.—N. Y. Tribune, October 31.

—A Great Union demonstration was made by a concourse of the citizens of Baltimore, Maryland, at the Front street theatre. The principal feature of the occasion was an address by Francis Thomas, formerly governor of Maryland.—(Doc. 115.)
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[farmersdaughter]

October 30 1861

—At Worcester, England, the Conservative Association celebrated its anniversary by a dinner at the Shire Hall. About six hundred persons attended, the hall and anteroom being crowded to inconvenience. The chair was taken by Sir E. A. H. Lechmere. “The House of Lords” having been proposed by Captain Candler, the Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbet responded. The House of Lords, he said, was an institution highly valued, and, if he might be allowed to say so, deservedly esteemed by the nation. It had often been said by noisy democrats and clamorous republicans, that the House of Lords was of no use. Reference had been made by previous speakers to the unhappy contention that was going on on the other side of the Atlantic. (Hear.) In America they saw democracy on its trial, and they saw how it failed. (Hear.) He was afraid the result would show that the separation of the two great sections of that country was inevitable, and these who lived long enough would, in his opinion, see an aristocracy established in America. He would not say an aristocracy of dukes and earls, but an aristocracy of some sort or other, so great was the necessity of having a middle state between democracy and despotism. (Hear, hear.) With regard to the present Government, he said they had kept themselves in power by advocating one set of principles and practising another. Lord Palmerston had been connected with every party that had been in office in his time, and he likened him to a successful political Blondin—(laughter)—who from his political tight rope looked down from the giddiest heights, only caring to keep himself where he was. —London Times, November 1.

—The Fifty-first New York regiment, Colonel Ferrero, left New York City for Washington.—N. Y. Times, Oct. 31.

—The schooner Elite, which left Savannah with a cargo of naval stores, bound for Havana, and was stranded off Warsaw beach while going out, was visited by three launches, from a U. S. steamer, with about one hundred and fifty men and one howitzer or mortar, to take possession of or burn the wreck. Captain Anderson, in command of the forces on Warsaw Island, immediately sent out a considerable force from the intrenchments, ordering them through the woods to a point opposite the wreck, and within musket-shot of the boats, when the latter should reach their destination. The party lay in ambush until the launches got within reach, when they sallied out uponom the beach and opened fire upon them. The salutation was returned with shells, and the firing was kept up for some time. When the boats commenced firing shell, Captain Anderson turned the guns of the fort upon them and kept up the fire until dark came on, though they were too far round the point of the island for the shots to be directed with accuracy.—Savannah Republican, november 1

—Citations issued from the Court of Admiralty of the Confederate States, South Carolina, distinctly call upon all persons in general, except citizens of the United States, “who claim any interest in the brigs Betsy Ames and Granada, to show cause, if any they have, why the said vessels should not be condemned as lawful prizes of war.”—(Doc. 116.)

—John C. Breckinridge has published a manifesto to the people of Kentucky. It is dated at Bowling Green, and he says it is written at the first moment since his expulsion from home that he could place his feet on the soil of Kentucky. In it he resigns his seat as a member of the Senate of the United States, saying, “I exchange, with proud satisfaction, a term of six years in the United States Senate for the musket of a soldier.” The address is very long. He says, “there is no longer a Senate of the United States within the meaning and spirit of the Constitution”—”the United States no longer exists—the Union is dissolved.”—(Doc. 117.)

—A Letter, published in the National Intelligencer, at Washington, gives a circumstantial account of the cruise of the U. S. ship Powhattan in pursuit of the privateer Sumter, and a minute description of that vessel. Her crew is, the letter states, made up of men of all nations, the greater part being Portuguese, Spaniards, and English, and the writer expresses the opinion that she will finally turn pirate against all commerce.—(Doc. 119.)
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[farmersdaughter]

October 31 1861

—A skirmish occurred at Morgantown on Green River, Ky., between a Union force under Colonel McHenry and a party of rebels belonging to Buckner’s camp, in which the latter were driven across the river with some loss.—The camp occupied by the Indiana regiments, on the farm of Jesse D. Bright at Jeffersonville, is called Camp Jo Wright, in homer of ex-Governor Wright—Cincinnati Gazette, Nov. 8.

—The Twenty-fifth regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers left Camp Lincoln, at Worcester, for the seat of war. The regiment is commanded by Colonel Edwin Upton, of Fitchburg, and numbers one thousand and thirty men, well equipped, and armed with the Enfield rifle.

—All the rebel prisoners in Fort Lafayette, New York harbor, were removed to Fort Warren, near Boston.
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[BigOrangeCrush32]

FD....just wanted to say thanks for the all the time you put into this thread....love reading it....by the way.....I was born and raised in Athens......lived in the Rogers Creek area all my life til last June.....moved bc of work with the Railroad.....anyway good to see a hometown girl on the site....

 

[farmersdaughter]

FD....just wanted to say thanks for the all the time you put into this thread....love reading it....by the way.....I was born and raised in Athens......lived in the Rogers Creek area all my life til last June.....moved bc of work with the Railroad.....anyway good to see a hometown girl on the site....

Love Rogers creek, have rode many miles with Tom Dooley and the Boyd clan hope you have many safe travels on the rails
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[farmersdaughter]

November 1 1861

—Lieutenant-General Winfield Scott, in a letter to the Secretary of War, dated October 31, having requested that his name might “be placed on the list of Army Officers retired from active service,” a special Cabinet Council was convened, and decided that Gen. Scott’s request, in view of his advanced age and infirmities, could not be refused; and his name was accordingly so placed, “without reduction in his current pay, subsistence, or allowances.” Major-General George B. McClellan was thereupon appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Armies of the United States, to succeed Gen. Scott, and assumed the position in a general order, in which he expresses his regret “that the weight of many years, and the effect of increasing infirmities, contracted and intensified in his country’s service, should just now remove from our head the great soldier of our nation.” (Doc. 122.)

—Colonel Mulligan, made prisoner by the rebels at the capture of Lexington, was exchanged.—St. Louis Democrat, Nov. 3.

—The Federal prisoners at Charleston were removed from Castle Pinckney. Along the whole line of march, the streets were thronged with a motley crowd of people, juveniles, and darkies. Great eagerness was expressed to see the officers, especially Colonel Corcoran, late of the New York Sixty-ninth regiment. The privates were indeed a sorrowful-looking set, but seemed in quite good humor; and many of them carried along on their shoulders their chairs, chess beards, and other similar conveniences, which they had extemporized during their stay at Castle Pinckney.—Charleston Mercury, Nov. 2.

—The Tenth regiment of Connecticut Volunteers, commanded by Colonel Charles H. Russell, passed through New York.

—Lieutenant-Colonel Morse, with four hundred cavalry, surprised a rebel camp, eight hundred strong, near Renick, Randolph County, Mo., and drove out the rebels in complete rout. —(Doc. 123.)

—Some scouts from the Second Kentucky regiment, under Captain Wheeler, reported to Gen. Rosecrans, the rebels in considerable force on the west side of New River, some few miles above Gauley Bridge, in Virginia. Shortly after Captain Wheeler’s return, two batteries were opened upon the National troops in the vicinity of Gauley Bridge from the hills on the opposite side of the river—one directly opposite the bridge, and the other two miles lower down, at the falls of the Kanawha, opposite a large brick house in which commissary’s supplies were stored. These batteries played away nearly all day, the commissary’s quarters affording them a fine mark; but so bad was their firing, they did not strike the building once! In almost every instance their balls and shell fell short. The upper battery, after wasting a good deal of ammunition, succeeded in driving the Eleventh Ohio from their camp on the hillside opposite, and in sinking a flat-boat, which served the army as a ferry. This was the extent of the damage done. Not a man was killed, and the flat-boat was raised again the same evening, and made to do good service that night. It was not till the day had far advanced that the National artillery could be brought to bear upon the rebel batteries. The rifled guns were all at the various camps up New River; but when they were once placed in position, it was not long until both the rebel batteries were silenced. A train of wagons, on its way from Gauley Bridge to the encampments above, was fired upon the same day, when five or six miles up the river, by rebel infantry, and two of the Nationals were wounded. Three companies from General Benham’s camp, at Hawk’s Nest, came to their relief, and soon drove the enemy back of the hills.—Cincinnati Gazette, Nov. 5

--An important proclamation relating to the coming election in Maryland, was issued by General Dix. It having been understood that persons formerly residing in the State, but who had recently been bearing arms against the United States Government, had returned with the intention of taking part in the election, with the purpose of carrying out treasonable designs, General Dix ordered the United States Marshal of Maryland and the Provost-Marshal of Baltimore to arrest all such persons; and he further directed the election judges throughout the State to detain all such persons who might present themselves at the polls, until they could be taken into custody by the proper authorities.—(Doc. 124.)

—Since the Twentieth and Twenty-first regiments have been in camp near Griffin, Pike County, Georgia, the measles and typhoid fever have broke out among them. There are now over two hundred on the sick list and several have died. Two large buildings have been set apart as hospitals, and the sick receive the daily attentions of the benevolent ladies of Griffin.—Griffin Union, Nov. 1.

—General Fremont signed, at Springfield, Mo., an agreement entered into with two commissioners, on the part of the rebel General Price, “to facilitate the future exchange of prisoners of war,” and which provides, “that all persons heretofore arrested for the mere expression of political opinions, may be released from confinement on parole; also, that in future the war be confined exclusively to the armies in the field.” —(Doc. 125.)
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[farmersdaughter]

November 2 1861

—The British brig Ariel arrived at Philadelphia, Pa., in charge of a prize crew. She was from Liverpool, bound to Charleston, with a cargo of salt. She was captured off Frying Pan Shoals, while trying to run the blockade of Charleston, by the gunboat Gemsbok.—Philadelphia Inquirer, Nov. 4.

—General McClellan was presented with a sword by the city councils of Philadelphia to-day, at his residence in Washington. In responding to the presentation address General McClellan said: I ask you, sir, to give my warmest and deep thanks to the honerable body you represent for this entirely unmerited compliment. I could thank you better if I thought that I deserved it, but I do not feel that I do. Nothing that I have yet accomplished would warrant this high compliment. It is for the future to determine whether I shall realize the expectations and hopes that have been centred in me. I trust and feel that the day is not far distant when I shall return to the place dearest of all others to me, there to spend the balance of my life among the people from whom I have received this beautiful gift. The war cannot last long. It may be desperate. I ask in the future, forbearance, patience, and confidence. With these we can accomplish all; and while I know that, in the great drama which may have our hearts’ blood, Pennsylvania will not play the least, I trust that, on the other hand, she will play the highest and noblest part. I again thank you, and ask you to convey to the councils my most sincere thanks for the sword. Say to them that it will be my ambition to deserve it hereafter. I know I do not now.

—The Twenty-seventh Massachusetts regiment, under the command of Colonel H. C. Lee, left Springfield at two o’clock to-day for Hudson, where they took the steamer Connecticut for New York, at seven o’clock in the evening.—Springfield Republican, Nov. 4.

—The British steamer Bermuda, with a cargo of eighteen hundred bales of cotton, ran the blockade from Savannah, Ga. About eight o’clock she weighed anchor, proceeded down the stream, and finding all things favorable, made a clear and triumphant exit over the bar. She cleared for Havre.—Savannah Republican, Nov. 4.

—The Charleston (S. C.) Mercury, of this date, says: The trial of our privateersmen for piracy, in New York and Philadelphia, our readers have noticed, among other intelligence published. It is a subject that must stir the gall of every earnest man in the Confederate States. In the deficiency of a navy proper, these gallant men, commissioned by our Government our militia of the sea, have gone forth to punish our enemy to the extent of their ability. It has been our only naval resource, and accords with the laws and customs of nations. It is a right which the United States freely exercised in the last war against Great Britain, and within a few years peremptorily refused to waive by treaty stipulation. But now, because it bears disagreeably upon their commerce, the practice is denounced by the United States, and our captured privateersmen are subjected to the ignominious treatment of common felons. Paraded in chains through the streets of Northern cities, for the gaze of the hostile rabble, they are put into the wretched dungeons of “the Tombs,” surrounded by filth and vermin. Here for long months they are kept, that confinement and anxiety may prey upon their health, and that wounded self-respect may fret their hearts in the torture of humiliation. They are now dragged forth, before the public gaze of our infuriated enemies, to be tried for their lives as the worst of criminals—enemies to the whole human race. These are the men whom we have sent forth to fight our battles, under the broad seal of our country; and this is the treatment which they have met with as prisoners, at the hands of our enemies, the yankees. The law of retaliation is retributive justice, used for self-protection. It is a law wholesome in its operation against those whom no argument of propriety can convince, no plea of humanity or justice affect. It is logical and touchingly effective. It speaks with more power than the voice of reason. It is more convincing than precedent and law, and hard, dry logic. It has a voice to charm and to be heeded. The Yankee prisoners in South Carolina are in jail in close confinement. There they will abide the issue of the trials of our privateersmen at the North. Should one drop of Southern blood be shed by Northern courts, for defending the South on the seas, it will be paid for with interest in Charleston. Self-protection, and the enforcement of the laws of nations and of humanity, alike require, in this instance, full and ample retaliation. It is a matter of high State policy, which must and will assuredly be carried out.

—General Fremont received, at Springfield, Mo., an unconditional order from Washington, relieving him at once from his command; and newspapers, with the announcement of his removal, reached Springfield at the same time. The intelligence spread rapidly through the camps, and created considerable excitement. Feeling ran high, especially in the General’s body-guard. Although, after notifying General Hunter, as his order directed, he had no longer command over the troops, General Fremont spent several hours in making a personal examination of the grounds about the city to be prepared for a battle; and, in accordance with a written request from all the brigadier-generals, he remained through the night, to lead the army in case of an attack, which it was thought possible might be made. General Fremont issued an order, in which he took leave of the army with many expressions of regret.—(Doc. 126.)

—A Skirmish took place about six miles east of Leavenworth, Mo., between a small force of Missouri militia, under Major Josephs, and one hundred and fifty rebels. The latter were dispersed, with a small loss. —National Intelligencer, November 6.

—The Charleston (S. C.) Mercury, of to-day, contains the following: —”In view, probably, of the expected visit of the Yankee armada, Gen. Anderson, commander of North Carolina coast defences, has called on the authorities for the assembling of the militia of Brunswick County, at Smithville, and of New Hanover, at Wilmington, without delay. Every man is requested to bring such arms and ammunition as he can procure, and come quick.”

—In a letter of this date to the U. S. Secretary of State, Gov. Curtin, of Pennsylvania, criticizes somewhat sharply the Secretary’s circular on coast defences. He can do nothing, he says, until authorized by the Pennsylvania Legislature, which will not meet until after Congress has met; and he does not see that he should call an extra session, as the Secretary assures him that “the prospect of disturbance is now less serious than it has been at any time since the insurrection began.” Since, then, the duty properly belongs to Congress, why not leave it with Congress?—(Doc. 127.)

—Capt. John A. Thompson, A. D. C. on Gen. Fremont’s Staff, accompanied by Mr. Teed, Lieutenant Tosk, and Sergeant Carlton, left General Fremont’s camp, at Springfield, for the headquarters of General Price, in order to effect an exchange of prisoners, and complete the arrangements for the future conduct of the war in Missouri.—St. Louis Democrat, November 10

—In a letter of this date to the U. S. Secretary of State, Gov. Curtin, of Pennsylvania, criticizes somewhat sharply the Secretary’s circular on coast defences. He can do nothing, he says, until authorized by the Pennsylvania Legislature, which will not meet until after Congress has met; and he does not see that he should call an extra session, as the Secretary assures him that “the prospect of disturbance is now less serious than it has been at any time since the insurrection began.” Since, then, the duty properly belongs to Congress, why not leave it with Congress?—(Doc. 127.)

—Capt. John A. Thompson, A. D. C. on Gen. Fremont’s Staff, accompanied by Mr. Teed, Lieutenant Tosk, and Sergeant Carlton, left General Fremont’s camp, at Springfield, for the headquarters of General Price, in order to effect an exchange of prisoners, and complete the arrangements for the future conduct of the war in Missouri.

—St. Louis Democrat, November 10. —To-day was published an address to the people of Tennessee, by Gov. Harris, calling upon them to furnish every double-barrel shot-gun and rifle they have to arm the troops now offering their service. He says the State must aid to the full extent of her resources. Her soil shall be protected. He calls upon Tennesseeans to exhaust every resource of the State before the foot of the invader shall pollute the soil of Tennessee. —Baltimore American, Nov. 16.

—The Charleston Mercury, of this date, contains the following:—”In view of the especial malignity exhibited by the North toward the Palmetto State in general, and toward Charleston in particular, we are happy to announce that all our defences are now in perfect order, and that General Ripley is ready, if not anxious, to give the invaders a warm reception. Yesterday the families residing on Sullivan’s Island received notice to remove. In the event of an attack they might have greatly embarrassed our forces. We also hear, on good authority, that a series of obstructions, of a somewhat unusual character, have been placed across the harbor entrance. We don’t envy the occupants of any hostile vessel that, entangled in these obstructions, may be subjected to the cross-fire of the big Columbiads, Dahlgrens, and rifled guns of the batteries of forts Moultrie and Sumter.
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[farmersdaughter]

November 3 1861

—The ladies of Springfield, Mo., presented a flag to the Prairie Scouts, commanded by Major Frank J. White. They desired also to present one to Fremont’s body-guard, but it was declined, on behalf of the Guard, by Major Zagonyi in a letter, whose tenor is that the honor was rendered valueless to the Guard by its being at the same time conferred upon the Scouts.—(Doc. 128.)

—Lieut. Alfred Kantz, of the steamer Flag, taken prisoner by the Confederates, arrived at Washington, D. C., having been liberated on parole, to make arrangements for the exchange of the Federal prisoners at Richmond. He represented them there as suffering from an insufficiency of clothing and other necessaries.—Baltimore American, November 4.

—The Columbia South Carolinian, of this date, has the following: —”One hundred and fifty of Lincoln’s mercenaries, part of the second grand army of Washington, arrived yesterday from Richmond, and are quartered for safe keeping in our district jail. Coming to destroy our property, our people, and our liberty, they have been foiled in the effort, and lost their own freedom. They have learned a lesson of wisdom, and no doubt found that they were mistaken in entering a crusade for the subjugation of a race of people who are their superiors. They are here a degraded herd, and unworthy of sympathy or commiseration. Every one deserves to be shot, and the chances of liberation taken from him. We trust they will be entirely isolated from all external communication, and looked upon as John Brown’s men, as they are. The prisoners were under the charge of Lieutenant Porter, C. S. A., and a detachment of fifty-six men from the Charlotte Greys, under command of Lieutenant T. S. Henry. There are many boys among them, and they are generally a rough-looking set.”

—General Hunter arrived at Springfield, Mo., and assumed command of the forces previously under General Fremont.—Nea York Herald, November 5.

—Gen. Beauregard wrote a letter to the editors of the Richmond Whig, in relation to the controversy upon the publication of a synopsis of his report of the battle of Manassas. He entreats his friends “not to trouble themselves about slanders or calumnies aimed against him,” and declares his intention to return to private life after having assisted to the best of his ability in securing Southern independence.—(Doc. 129.)
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[farmersdaughter]

November 4 1861

—The Richmond Enquirer of to-day, has the following:—Our summary of news from the North is of more interest to-day than usual. The sailing orders of the great naval expedition will attract especial attention. Speculation will now soon be at an end; and perhaps before these lines shall be printed the telegraph will tell us where the blow has fallen. After reading these orders, however, we cannot join in the opinion which to some extent prevails, that the contemplated landing is intended on any comparatively secluded and undefended spot. If this great force is to take possession of some sand bar, or marshy island, or sea-coast village, why such strict injunction that the expedition should sail in a body and the soldiers land in such heavy array, and with the admonition that their courage will probably be tested? If we judge these orders by the ordinary rules, and in connection with the Northern beasts that a terrible blow is to be struck, and at our very vitals, we cannot but conclude that it is expected to debark either in the vicinity of a strong Confederate army or of a large Confederate city. Applying these tests, Pensacola and Charleston, and Savannah and New Orleans are the points which present themselves to our mind. There is something so absurd in the injunction to keep the expedition close together, and to land in a long line of boats, and with elaborate preparations, for the capturing Sand Point or Mosquito Bar, or Alligator Inlet, that it is difficult to conceive that the Northern Generals would thus make themselves ridiculous. If the expedition attempt to land at an important point, we hope that our force would be sufficient for their repulse. If among the pines and swamps, they will have committed, a great folly, and injured themselves, not us. We are not, however, without other hopes. The winds have been howling, and the clouds have been pooling out their floods. We confess it—the blast of the storm has sounded in our ears like sweetest music. It has made us think of the Spanish armada, that sailed in great pomp, on grand design, but was dispersed by the winds, and vanquished without meeting an enemy. Who knows but that stormy Hatteras was created for such a time as this? Who can tell but that the rocks and sands of the Florida coast shall prove the instruments of Providence to punish the wickedness of man? The grand fleet sailed on Tuesday, the 29th. On Friday afternoon the storm commenced. Three days had thus elapsed. Where the fleet had got to—whether the storm there raged, and whether it claimed its prey—we have yet to learn. But, whether by the winds of Heaven, or by the blessing of Heaven on Southern valor, we trust soon to be able to announce that the fleet which sailed from Hampton Roads is a fleet that shall never more return, unless, indeed, under another flag.

—Tins Sixtieth regiment of New York Volunteers, under the command of Colonel William B. Hayward, passed through New York for Washington. This regiment was recruited in St. Lawrence County, is one thousand strong, and is composed of hardy farmers. Before leaving New York, they were presented with a regimental flag by Mrs. A. T. Stewart. —New York Herald, November 6th.

—Adjutant Carpenter, of the Second Tennessee regiment, absent from his camp near Boston, Whitely County, Ky., learned when on his way to return that a band of rebels had secured the mountain pass, and that he must either abandon his horse, and go on foot through the by-paths, or fight. Returning to Boston, he gathered together twenty-two Home Guards, fourteen of whom remained steadfast to their purpose; and creeping up the mountain gorge at midnight, they shot the sentinel, alarmed the rebels, who tumbled out of the house and sprang to their saddles, eight of which were emptied in a moment, and with three of their horses the Adjutant galloped off, bringing them safe into camp. —Cincinnati Gazette.

—Barboursville, Kentucky, was taken possession of by a picket of the Federal army, amounting to fifteen hundred men. They entered the town in the evening, and hoisted the Stars and Stripes without opposition. —Cincinnati Times, November 12.

—The expedition, under Col. Dodge, which left Rolla, Missouri, in quest of ex-Judge Freeman’s band of marauding rebels, took possession of Houston, Texas County, and captured a large amount of rebel property and several prominent secessionists, including some officers of the rebel army. A large mail for the rebel army was also captured, containing information of the position of the entire rebel force in Missouri.—St. Louis Democrat, November 7.

—An enthusiastic mass meeting of the Union citizens of Baltimore County, Md., was held at Calverton, at which Reverdy Johnson delivered an eloquent defence of the Constitution and the laws. Like all that has proceeded from him on the subject of the present national troubles, it breathes a spirit of ardent devotion to the Union, in its hour of peril. —(Doc. 130.)
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[farmersdaughter]

November 5 1861

—Parker H. French, alias Lieut. Carlisle Murray, alias Charles Maxy, who had been travelling in various parts of the West and North, for the purpose chiefly of organizing the order known as the Knights of the Golden Circle, was arrested in Branford, Connecticut, by the superintendent of the Government detective police from Washington and detective Franklin, of Philadelphia. He had been in Branford and vicinity for some weeks, under the alias of Maxy, had organized a lodge of “Knights,” and had succeeded in estranging many from loyalty to the Government. The Boston Post says: “In his possession were found the Constitution and By-Laws of the Golden Circle, and entire authority from parties at the South for organizing the institution. He also had many other documents of interest and importance. Among them were letters purporting to be from Jeff. Davis, Emerson Etheridge, Parson Brownlow, and others, most of which are doubtless forgeries. He is believed to have had much genuine correspondence with influential secessionists. French was one of Walker’s right-hand men in the Nicaraguan affair. Through a forged letter in the name of Parson Brownlow, he obtained the sum of one thousand dollars from Amos Lawrence, of this city, the money being given in support of the Parson’s somewhat famous paper. He has figured in various schemes of villany, particularly in California.” French was sent to Fort Warren.—National Intelligencer, November 9.

—Brig.-Gen. W. Nelson, in command of the Union forces, occupied Prestonburg, Ky., and proclaimed the jurisdiction of the State and protection to the civil authorities.—(Doc. 131.)
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[farmersdaughter]

November 6 1861

—The extra session of the Legislature of South Carolina, after sitting three days, adjourned sine die, after choosing Presidential Electors, and ordering the banks to loan the State three hundred thousand dollars. The names of the Presidential Electors are: Henry C. Young, Wm. H. Trescott, Robert F. W. Allston, John S. Palmer, J. Duncan Allen, John C. Hope, T. Edwin Ware, and Franklin I. Moses.—Atlanta (Ga.) Southern Confederacy, November 9.

—An expedition from the U. S. steamer Cambridge went up the Corrotowan Creek, Va., in the tug boat Rescue, and burned a large schooner. On their return the expedition was fired upon by a large number of riflemen, concealed on the bank, and was several times grazed by shells from a rifled cannon.—(Doc. 132.)

—Two parties of rebel troops met on the peninsula, above Newport News, Va., and mistook each other for enemies. Brisk firing at once commenced, and a number on each side were killed and wounded before the mistake was found out. Among the killed was Major Bailey, of Mobile.—Memphis Appeal, November 16.

—The Grand Jury in session at Frankfort, Kentucky, adjourned, having found indictments for treason against thirty-two prominent citizens, among whom were Robert J. Breckinridge, jr., J. C. Breckinridge, Humphrey Marshall, Ben. Desha, and Harry T. Hawkins. Nineteen persons were also indicted for high misdemeanor.—Baltimore American, Nov. 13.

—Electors for President and Vice-President were chosen throughout the revolted States, and also members of Congress. The Congress is to meet at Richmond on the 18th of February, 1862, .and the votes for the two highest offices in the Government will be counted next day.—New York Tribune, November 18.

—One hundred and Twenty Federal troops, under Capt. Shields, were captured by the rebels near Little Santa Fé, Mo., this morning. The Federals were on their way to join Gen. Fremont’s column. The force of the enemy was five hundred men.—N. Y. World, Nov. 8.

—The Thirteenth Indiana regiment, under the command of Col. J. J. Sullivan, and a portion of Capt. Robinson’s Ohio Cavalry, returned to Huttonsville, Va., from an arduous scout of nine days’ duration through a very rough country, heretofore not penetrated by the Union troops. They accomplished a march of some one hundred and eighty-five miles, and had a successful skirmish with the rebels in the mountains of Webster County. Several were killed and wounded, and thirteen prisoners captured, the notorious Bill Bennet being among the latter. The Nationals were very fortunate, having only one man, a private in Company G, Thirteenth Indiana, wounded.—Louisville Journal, November 9.

—The Tenth Legion N. Y. S. V., under the command of Colonel C. H. Van Wyck, left Newburgh for the seat of war.

—The Forty-first regiment of Ohio Volunteers, under the command of Colonel William B. Hazen, left Camp Wood, at Cleveland, for the seat of war in Kentucky.—N. Y. Herald, November 7.

—Gens. Grant and McClernand, of the United States forces, left Cairo for Belmont, a rebel post opposite Columbus, Ky., on the Mississippi, with the Twenty-second Illinois regiment, Colonel Dougherty; the Twenty-seventh Illinois regiment, Colonel Buford; the Thirtieth Illinois regiment, Colonel Fouke; the Thirty-first Illinois regiment, Colonel Logan; the Seventh Iowa regiment, Colonel Lamon; Taylor’s Chicago Artillery, and Dollen’s and Delano’s Cavalry, in all three thousand, five hundred men, on the steamers Alex. Scott, Chancellor, Memphis, and Keystone State, accompanied by the gunboats Lexington and Tyler.
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