The Civil War Day By Day Sesquicentennial Thread

[farmersdaughter]

November 7 1861

—Gens. Grant’s and McClernand’s forces landed at Belmont at eight A. M., were formed into line of battle and immediately attacked the rebel works. They were met by the rebels in force, under General Cheatham, whom, however, they drove to and through their camp, captured a battery of twelve guns, burned their camp, and took the rebel baggage, horses, and many prisoners. Large bodies of rebels crossed from Columbus and reinforced these at Belmont, when another severe fight took place, and the National forces withdrew to their boats. Their retreat was well covered by the gunboats.—(Doc. 133.)

—A large and influential meeting was held in Cooper Institute, at New York, to express sympathy for and take measures to furnish relief to these loyal inhabitants of North Carolina, who, deprived of their usual means of support, and overawed and crushed by rebels in arms, are reduced to great straits of suffering. The Hon. Geo. Bancroft presided. Eloquent addresses were made by the Chairman, by the Rev. M. N. Taylor, T. W. Conway, William Cullen Bryant, Gen. A. E. Burnside, Prof. Roswell C. Hitchcock, Dr. Lieber, the Rev. Dr. Tyng, and others. J. M. Morrison and W. E. Dodge, jr., were appointed to receive subscriptions and donations of supplies.

—The New York Second regiment of Light Artillery left their camp at Elm Park, Staten Wind, for the seat of war. Previous to its departure the regiment was presented with a stand of colors, the gift of Gen. Morgan, whose name the regiment bears.

—The Fifty-eighth regiment N. Y. V., Col. W. Krzyzanowski, left New York city for the seat of war.

—Get. Hunter repudiated Gen. Fremont’s agreement with Price, in Missouri, and in report to head-quarters assigned his reasons to be —that it would render the enforcement of martial law impossible, give absolute liberty to the propagandists of treason, and practically annul the confiscation act.—(Doc. 134.)

—Two Federal gunboats went up the Cumberland River together as far as Tobacco Port, eight miles below Fort Donelson, Tenn., when one of them proceeded up the river within three miles of the fort, and lay there under the point ten minutes. She fired three cannon, and then started back down the river to Tobacco Port —Nashville Gazette, November 10.

—At a meeting of the merchants of Santa Fé, New Mexico, it was resolved that they would indorse for the National Government to any amount that may be advanced to the territory. This action was taken in consequence of the scarcity of coin, which has heretofore made up the circulating medium in the transactions of business, and has, from some cause, almost entirely disappeared.—N. Y. World, Nov. 29.

—The New York Chamber of Commerce, upon the occasion of the retirement of Gen. Scott, adopted a series of resolutions highly appreciative of his great services.—(Doc. 135.)

—This day a battery of two rifled cannon was opened from Gen. Rosecrans’ position on the New River, Va., and silenced the rebel battery opposite on Cotton Hill. The rebel battery thus silenced had been opened on the 30th ult., and by its command of the only road by which Gen. Rosecrans’ position could be reached from Gauley Bridge, it had maintained a siege ever since, and supply trains previously run at all hours had been run only at night. By its silence the “siege” thus established was raised. —(Doc. 136.)

—The United States fleet, under command of Commodore S. F. DuPont, achieved a great victory to-day on the coast of South Carolina. The expedition arrived off Port Royal harbor, S. C., last Sunday evening, Nov. 3. The next morning, the Vixen and Mercury, with several gunboats, entered the harbor to take soundings, and were attacked by the rebel battery on Bay Point, known as Fort Beauregard, assisted by five rebel steamers, under command of Commodore Josiah Tatnall. A skirmish ensued, lasting till darkness came on. The following morning, Nov. 5, the whole National fleet went inside, and seven gunboats went up to make a reconnoissance and discover the location of the rebel batteries by drawing their fire. In this they were successful, and consequently withdrew at about nine o’clock. In the afternoon the heavy men-of-war moved inward to get into position, but the Wabash grounded, where she remained for an hour and a half. This circumstance postponed the general engagement. On Wednesday, the 6th, the day was stormy and unfavorable, and a council of war decided to “wait a little longer.” This morning, at nine o’clock, the fleet got under way, and soon after the rebels opened fire. The Wabash gave one broadside to Fort Walker, on Hilton Head, and another to Fort Beauregard, on Bay Point. The rebel navy also opened fire, but kept at a distance from the big guns of the National ships. The Wabash, Susquehanna, and Bienville swept down in line, and “delivered their compliments at Hilton Head, in the shape of ten-second shells, while the lively gunboats put in the punctuation points for the benefit of the rebel commodore,” at the same time enfilading the two batteries. The firing was now incessant, and a perfect shower of shot and shell fell inside the rebel forts. At noon, the three ships above named came down, and poured full broadsides into the two forts, the gunboats keeping their positions, and doing excellent service. The flag-ship, the Susquehanna, and Bienville went within six hundred yards, and made terrible havoc with their five-second shells, silencing several of the rebels’ guns. This fire was continued for four hours, during which the National fleet delivered over two thousand rounds. The rebels fought with desperation, and inflicted considerable damage on the National vessels, nearly all of which were hit by shots. At three o’clock P. M. the guns of the enemy had been dismounted or silenced, and Commander John Rogers went on shore at Fort Walker, found it vacated, and hoisted the Stars and Stripes. A considerable number of killed and wounded were discovered, and it was estimated that the rebels must have suffered a loss of at least one hundred men killed and an equal number severely wounded. The rebels fled in the greatest confusion, leaving every thing in their tents, even to their swords, watches, private papers, and clothing. The loss on board of the National fleet was eight killed, and six severely and seventeen slightly wounded. Not one of the National vessels was disabled or destroyed, though several of them were badly cut up.—(Docs. 36 and 137.)
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[farmersdaughter]

Battle of Belmont
November 7 1861





The Battle of Belmont was fought on November 7, 1861, in Mississippi County, Missouri. It was the first combat test in the American Civil War for Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, the future Union Army general in chief and eventual U.S. president; Grant's troops in this battle were the "nucleus" of the Union's notable Army of the Tennessee. [1] On November 6, Grant sailed from Cairo, Illinois, to attack the Confederate fortress at Columbus, Kentucky. The next morning, he learned that Confederate troops had crossed the Mississippi River to Belmont, Missouri. He landed his men on the Missouri side and marched to Belmont. Grant's troops overran the Confederate camp and destroyed it. However, the scattered Confederate forces quickly reorganized and were reinforced from Columbus. They then counterattacked, supported by heavy artillery fire from across the river. Grant retreated to his riverboats and took his men to Paducah, Kentucky. The battle was minor, but with little happening elsewhere at the time, it received considerable attention in the press. Confederate Union Further information: Confederate order of battle and Union order of battle At the beginning of the war, the critical border state of Kentucky, with a pro-Confederate governor but a largely pro-Union legislature, declared neutrality between the opposing sides. This neutrality was violated on September 3, 1861, when Confederate Maj. Gen. Leonidas Polk occupied Columbus, a key position on the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River. Two days later Union Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant seized Paducah. Grant, commanding the District of Southeast Missouri, requested permission from theater commander Maj. Gen. John C. Frémont to attack Columbus, but no orders came. For the next two months only limited demonstrations were conducted against the Confederates. Frémont learned the Confederates planned to reinforce their forces in Arkansas, and on November 1 he ordered Grant to make a feint toward Columbus to keep the Confederates there. Grant sent about 3,000 men under Col. Richard Oglesby into southeastern Missouri. However, when Grant learned that Confederate reinforcements were moving into Missouri in the direction of Oglesby's column, he sent reinforcements and he ordered Brig. Gen. Charles F. Smith to move from Paducah into southwestern Kentucky to distract the Confederates. Grant chose to strike against Belmont, a ferry landing and tiny hamlet consisting of just three shacks, some 2,000 feet across the river from Columbus. Grant's Expeditionary Command consisted of 3,114 men, and was organized into two brigades under Brig. Gen. John A. McClernand and Col. Henry Dougherty, two cavalry companies, and an artillery battery. On November 6, escorted by the gunboats USS Tyler and USS Lexington, Grant's men sailed from Cairo on the transport ships Aleck Scott, Chancellor, Keystone State, Belle Memphis, James Montgomery, and Rob Roy. Confederate Maj. Gen. Leonidas Polk had about 5,000 troops at Columbus. When he learned of Grant's departure from Cairo, he assumed that Columbus was their primary objective and that Belmont was merely a feint. He ordered 2,700 of his men under Brig. Gen. Gideon J. Pillow to Belmont, retaining the remainder to defend Columbus. Grant found a small Confederate camp of observation, named Camp Johnston, at Belmont, plus an artillery battery. He decided to attack to prevent the Confederates from reinforcing Maj. Gen. Sterling Price or Brig. Gen. M. Jeff Thompson of the Missouri State Guard, and to protect Oglesby's exposed left flank from attack.

Battle
At 8:30 a.m. on November 7, Grant's force disembarked at Hunter's Farm, 3 miles north of Belmont, just out of range of the six Confederate batteries at Columbus. (The Columbus heavy water batteries featured 10-inch Columbiads and 11-inch howitzers and one gun, the "Lady Polk", was the largest in the Confederacy, a 128-pounder Whitworth rifle.) They marched southward on the single road, laboring to clear obstructions of fallen timber that formed an abatis. A mile before town, they formed a battle line in a corn field. The line, from north to south, consisted of the 22nd Illinois Infantry, 7th Iowa Infantry, 31st Illinois Infantry, 30th Illinois Infantry, and 27th Illinois Infantry, intermixed with a company of cavalry. The Confederate battle line, on a low ridge northwest of Belmont, from north to south, was made up of the 12th Tennessee Infantry, 13th Arkansas Infantry, 22nd Tennessee Infantry, 21st Tennessee Infantry, and 13th Tennessee Infantry. Grant's attack pushed back the Confederate skirmish line and for the remainder of the morning, both armies, consisting of green recruits, advanced and fell back repeatedly. By 2 p.m., the fighting became one-sided as Pillow's line began to collapse, withdrawing toward Camp Johnston. The orderly retreat began to panic and four Federal guns opened up on the retreating soldiers. After a volley from the 31st Illinois killed dozens of Confederates, the Union soldiers attacked from three sides and surged into the camp. The beaten Confederates abandoned their colors and their guns, and ran towards the river, attempting to escape. Grant was constantly at the front, leading his men. His horse was shot from under him, but he mounted an aide's horse and continued on. Grant's inexperienced soldiers became, in his words, "demoralized from their victory." Brig. Gen. McClernand walked to the center of the camp, which now flew the Stars and Stripes, and asked for three cheers. A bizarre, carnival-like atmosphere prevailed upon the troops, carried away by the joy of the moment, having taking several hundred prisoners and the camp. In order to regain control of his men, who were plundering and partying, Grant ordered the camp set on fire. In the confusion and blinding smoke, wounded Confederate soldiers in some of the tents may have been accidentally burned to death, causing returning Confederates to think that prisoners had been deliberately murdered. As the Federals began to march back to their transports, taking with them two captured guns and 106 prisoners, they were attacked by Confederate reinforcements brought on the transports Prince and Charm who appeared to cut off Grant's avenue of retreat. They were the men of the 15th Tennessee Infantry, the 11th Louisiana Infantry, and mixed infantry under Pillow and Col. Benjamin F. Cheatham. As the Union men turned to face the Confederate reinforcements, the "Lady Polk" fired into their ranks from Columbus and numerous other Confederate guns opened fire. The Union gunboats exchanged fire with the Confederate batteries. Grant said calmly, "Well, we must cut our way out as we cut our way in." Once back at the landing, one Union regiment was unaccounted for, separated from view by the terrain. Grant galloped back to look for it, but found only a mass of Confederate soldiers moving in his direction. He spun his horse and raced for the river, but saw that the riverboat captains had already ordered the mooring lines cast off. Grant wrote in his memoirs, "The captain of the boat that had just pushed out recognized me and ordered the engineer not to start the engine: he then had a plank run out for me. My horse seemed to take in the situation. He put his fore feet over the bank without hesitation or urging, and, with his hind feet well under him, slid down the bank and trotted on board."

Aftermath
The Confederates claimed Belmont as a Southern victory, but it was actually inconclusive. Grant had staged a demonstration and it was beaten off. Union losses were 607 (120 dead, 383 wounded, and 104 captured or missing). Confederate casualties were slightly higher at 641 (105 killed, 419 wounded, 106 captured, and 11 missing). The most important result of the battle was simply to give Grant combat experience at commanding a large force. It also gave President Abraham Lincoln, who was desperate for his armies to attack the Confederates somewhere that winter, a positive impression of Grant. [9] Belmont Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, was named after this battle
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[farmersdaughter]

November 8 1861

—The Charleston Mercury of this day has the following: South Carolina began the war, and it is, perhaps, fitting, in the nature of things, that she should end it. The rage and hate of her enemies have precipitated them on her coast. They come to punish her for daring to assert her liberties and independence. Hence, as General Butler, of Massachusetts, says: “The war is to be illuminated by her burning cities and villages.” We have foreseen and have deprecated the wretched policy which has induced the invasion of the State. We have wished that it could have been otherwise, and that the redemption of Maryland and the protection of South Carolina had been accomplished by fighting on the banks of the Potomac. But since all our efforts to shield South Carolina from invasion have failed, we await with cheerfulness the fate which is upon us. There are few calamities without some redeeming advantages to these who suffer. We can, and we will, make this invasion another occasion for illustrating the characteristics of Southern soldiers. “Let the invaders come” is the unanimous feeling of our people. Our Yankee enemies will, sooner or later, learn to their cost the difference between invaders for spoils and power, and defenders of their liberties, their native land. If they can take Charleston with twenty-five thousand men, let them have it We are unworthy to possess it; and it will be a fitting memorial—laid in, ashes—of our imbecility and base degeneracy. But if, on the contrary, we shall give to every one of our invaders who shall remain on our soil a prison above it, or a grave beneath it, will it not end the contest? Carolinians, the great cause of the Confederacy rests on your arms. Strike for the independence of the Confederate States, your homes, and your native land. It has pleased God to place upon you the responsibility of closing, as He did that of commencing, this glorious war. Free and far let your names spread amongst the nations of the earth as one of the freest, bravest, and most enlightened people that has lived in the tide of time. Let us all, with one heart, repeat the noble sentiment of one of her dead sons: “It is better for South Carolina to be the cemetery of freemen than the home of slaves.”

—There were two military executions in the rebel army, at Pensacola, Florida: the one, a volunteer, shot for the killing of an orderly sergeant while in the discharge of his duty as an officer; the other, a regular, for the striking of a captain. He was said to have been a most excellent soldier, and at the time of committing the offence was crazed with liquor. He met his fate like a man.—Mobile Register, Nov. 11.

—At Washington, D. C., the new Minister Resident from Sweden and Norway, Edward Count Piper, was .presented to the President by the Secretary of State. He addressed the President as follows:


Mr. President: The King, my august sovereign, having vouchsafed to name me as his Minister Resident near the Government of the United States of America, I have the honor to deliver the letters which accredit me near you, Mr. President, in such a capacity. The King, my sovereign, having sincerely at heart the desire of maintaining the good relations which have at all times subsisted between his kingdom and the American Union, has ordered me to become near you, Mr. President, the organ medium of the sentiments of friendship which animate his Majesty, and of the value which his Majesty attaches to cultivating and cementing still more the relations so happily existing between the two Governments. Upon my heart, Mr. President, I shall be happy, if, during the period of my mission, I may be enabled to maintain and strengthen the bonds of perfect understanding which at all times, to the profit of international interests, have so happily united the two Governments, and I shall not fail, believe me, Mr. President, to give my entire zeal to contribute thereto.

To which the President replied:

Sir: I receive with great pleasure a Minister from Sweden. That pleasure is enhanced by the information which preceded your arrival here, that his Majesty, your sovereign, had selected you to fill the mission upon the grounds of your derivation from an ancestral stock identified with the most glorious era of your country’s noble history, and your own eminent social and political standing in Sweden. This country, sir, maintains, and means to maintain, the rights of human nature, and the capacity of men for self-government. The history of Sweden proves that this is the faith of the people of Sweden, and we know that it is the faith ad practice of their respected sovereign. Rest assured, therefore, that we shall be found always just and fraternal in our transactions with your Government, and that nothing will he omitted on my part to make your residence in this capital agreeable to yourself and satisfactory to your Government.

—The United States gunboat Rescue went up the Rappahannock River, as for as Urbanna Creek. Off the mouth of the creek, she captured a large schooner, from which she took off all her stores and movable property, and burnt her to the water’s edge. The Rescue was fired upon by a masked battery on shore. The fire was returned, and the rebels were completely shelled out. The commander of the Rescue occupied the entire day shelling every spot where were indications of the presence of rebel troops. Subsequently a small boat was seen crossing the river with three men. The Rescue’s boat was sent in pursuit, and captured the boat and two of the men, but the third managed to escape by jumping out and wading to the shore with a bag of letters.—(Doc. 132 and 138.)

—Five railroad bridges were burnt in East Tennessee by Unionists. Two on the Georgia state road, two on Chickamange Creek, Hamilton County, and one on the East Tennessee and Georgia railroad on Hiawessee River, Bradley County. Five minutes after the guard passed through, the whole bridge was in flames. Two bridges on the East Tennessee and Georgia railroad on Lick Creek, Green County, and another on Holston River, were also burned. The guard at Lick Creek were unarmed. They were overwhelmed, tied, and carried away and kept during the day. The bridge on Holston River was not guarded. It was thought unnecessary to guard it, Sullivan County being strongly Southern in feeling. The bridge at Holston River is at Strawberry Plains. In Jefferson County the bridge was fired, but the fire was put out by the people.

—The city of Savannah, Ga., was in a state of intense excitement. The news of the capture of the Walker battery on Hilton Head, and the arrival of retreating troops, among them many of the wounded, aroused the intensest feeling. Everybody was in the street, and large crowds collected around the news and telegraphic offices throughout the day until late at night. Families commenced packing up, and large numbers of females and children were sent from the city by the night train to the up-country. The efflux will probably continue, and upon the whole we think this portion of the population should not be present to embarrass the defensive preparations.—Savannah Republican, Nov. 9.

—It having been reported that there were sundry rebel batteries near Beaufort, which is about ten miles above Port Royal, the gunboats Seneca, Ottawa, and Pembina were detailed to go up and clear the way, if they, perchance, should find any thing to clear. They, however, ran the whole distance without encountering any opposition, or seeing any thing to lead to the belief that there were any masked guns along the river. They found the village entirely deserted by white people, the only man remaining being too drunk to get away. There were a number of negroes remaining, however, who stated that the inhabitants had left in the utmost hurry, fearing the advent of the Yankees would be their immediate destruction. The slaves had broken open some houses for the purpose of plundering.

—Capt. Wilkes with the U. S. steam sloop of war San Jacinto, overhauled the English mail steamer Trent in the Bahama channel, and demanded the surrender of the rebel emissaries Mason and Slidell, passengers on beard that vessel. Resistance on the part of the Trent was impossible, as the San Jacinto was prepared to enforce the demand, and against the violent protest of the English captain the commissioners and their secretaries were transferred to the San Jacinto.—(Doc. 139.)

—The Court of Inquiry, in the case of Col. Miles, made its report. About fifty-eight witnesses were examined, and their evidence presents the most extraordinary conflict of testimony. Twenty-eight swear positively that they saw Col. Miles on the day of the battle of Bull Run, and that he was drunk. About twenty swear just as positively that they saw him within the hours alleged, and he was not drunk. After weighing the testimony, the Court gave the following decision: First—That Col. J. B. Richardson was justified in applying the term drunkenness to Col. D. S. Miles’ condition about seven o’clock P. M., on the 21st of July last. Second—That the evidence is clear that Col. Miles had been ill several days before July 21 last, was ill on that day; that the surgeon had prescribed medicines for him on the day of the battle; had prescribed for him small quantities of brandy. The Court, however, considers his illness as a very slight extenuation of the guilt attached to his condition about seven P. M., on July 21 last. Opinion—The Court is of opinion that evidence cannot now be found sufficient to convict Col. Miles of drunkenness before a court-martial, and a court-martial cannot be convened for this trial without great inconvenience to the service, and recommends that no further proceedings be had. The proceedings were laid before the Major-General commanding, and approved to-day.—Baltimore American, Nov. 8.

—Governor Gamble, of Missouri, arranged with the President the organization of the militia of that State, to be employed in the defence of the State against invasion, and the suppression of rebellion within its limits. The number of troops to be raised is not specified, but they are to be mustered into the State service and be armed, equipped, clothed, subsisted, transported, and paid by the Government. Governor Gamble stipulates that there shall be but one major-general of the militia, and to secure unity of action, the general commanding the department of the West becomes also the major-general of the State Militia, by the appointment of Governor Gamble to the position. As many brigadier-generals are to be appointed as there are brigades of four regiments each, and the staff officers shall not be paid more than the same are allowed in the regular service, whatever be their rank under the State law. As the money to be disbursed in this service is the money of the United States, United States staff officers are to be assigned to make the expenditures, or if United States officers cannot be spared from the regular service to perform the duties, Governor Gamble will appoint from the State Militia such officers as the President shall designate. —Idem.

—Colonel Grensle reached Rolla, Missouri, on his return from an expedition against the rebels in Texas County, bringing nine prisoners, five hundred head of cattle, and forty horses and mules, the property of armed rebels. Among the prisoners are Spencer Mitchell, quartermaster, and Lieut.-Col. Tyler, inspector of Gen. McBride’s brigade. Before leaving Houston, the county town, Col. Grensle issued a proclamation to the effect that the rights and property of Union men must be respected.—(Doc. 140.)

—Colonel John S. Williams, with one thousand rebels at Piketon, Pike County, Ky., informed of the march of General Nelson against him, made every preparation for defence. At Prestonburg General Nelson had divided his command into two bodies. One of them, composed of the Ohio Thirty-third regiment and a few hundred irregular Kentuckians mounted, under command of Colonel Sill, was sent by a circuitous route to Piketon in the hope to take that place in the rear, and prevent a rebel retreat, while the main body under General Nelson advanced by the direct road along the Big Sandy River. Colonel Marshall’s Ohio regiment, the advance of Nelson’s main body, near four P. M. was ambuscaded by two hundred rebels in a very strong natural position, about twelve miles from Piketon, when a brisk fight took place, the enemy firing upon the Ohio troops from each side of the road; but after standing their ground for a time, they give way and scattered in the surrounding brash, making good their escape. Colonel Marshall’s loss was four men killed and twenty wounded. Some skirmishers of the enemy were met and driven in, at night, by the force under Colonel Sill. The rebels lost ten killed, fifteen wounded, and forty missing.—(Doc. 141)
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[farmersdaughter]

Battle of Ivy Mountain
November 8 1861

The Battle of Ivy Mountain, also known as Ivy Creek or Ivy Narrows, was an early battle of the American Civil War, fought in Floyd County, Kentucky, on November 8 and November 9, 1861. While recruiting in southeast Kentucky, Confederates under Col. John Stuart Williams ran short of ammunition at Prestonsburg and fell back to Pikeville to replenish their supply. Brig. Gen. William "Bull" Nelson sent out a detachment from near Louisa under Col. Joshua W. Sill, while he started out from Prestonsburg with a larger force in an attempt to "turn or cut the Rebels off." Williams prepared for evacuation, hoping for time to reach Virginia, and sent out a cavalry force to meet Nelson about eight miles from Pikeville. The Rebel cavalry escaped, and Nelson continued on his way. Williams then met Nelson at a point northeast of Pikeville between Ivy Mountain and Ivy Creek. Waiting by a narrow bend in the road, the Confederates surprised the Union troops by firing upon their constricted ranks. A fight ensued, but neither side gained the bulge. As the shooting ebbed, Williams's men felled trees across the road and burned bridges to slow Nelson's pursuing force. Night approached and rain began which, along with the obstructions, convinced Nelson's men to go into camp. In the meantime, Williams retreated into Virginia, stopping in Abingdon on November 9. Sill's force arrived too late to be of use, but he did skirmish with the remnants of Williams's retreating force before he occupied Pikeville on the 9th. This bedraggled Confederate force retreated back into Virginia for supplies. The Union forces consolidated their power in eastern Kentucky mountains.
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[farmersdaughter]

November 9 1861

—General Nelson again attacked the enemy at Piketon. At about ten A. M., they made an unconditional surrender. Their loss was four hundred in killed and wounded, and by their surrender the Nationals were left with two thousand prisoners.

—The Union men of East Tennessee burned a number of railroad bridges and the telegraph wires to prevent the transportation of troops. One bridge, of two hundred feet span, was destroyed on the East Tennessee railroad. Four structures on the line north of Knoxville were entirely demolished. A very heavy wooden bridge at Charleston, Bradley Co., Tennessee, was destroyed. Charleston is seventy-five miles southwest of Knoxville, and contains two hundred inhabitants.—N. Y. Commercial Nov. 13.

—The Richmond Whig, of to-day, says that the Confederate army in Virginia is reorganized. The State is constituted a department, comprising the three armies of the Potomac, the Valley and Acquia, under the chief command of General Johnston. General Beauregard commands the army of the Potomac, General Thomas Jackson that of the Valley, and General Holmes, Acquia, The army of the Potomac comprises four divisions: the first, including the Valley, under General Doren; second, G. W. Smith; third, General Longstreet; fourth, General Kirby Smith.

—A meeting of German citizens was held at Chicago, Ill., at which speeches were made by Caspar Butz and others, and resolutions sustaining the action of General Fremont were adopted.—(Doc. 142.)

—At the Lord Mayor’s dinner in London, England, the Chief Magistrate of that city proposed the “Foreign Ambassadors,” coupling the same with the name of Mr. Adams, the American Minister. That gentleman in his reply, stated that his mission was to promote and perpetuate the friendly relations of the two countries. Lord Palmerston said, although circumstances may, for a time, threaten to interfere with the supply of cotton, the temporary evil will be productive of permanent good. England would find in various portions of the globe a sure and ample supply, which would render her no more dependent. He stated that the country witnessed with affliction the lamentable differences among her American cousins; but added, it was not for her to pass judgment in their dispute. He expressed a hope of the speedy restoration of harmony and peace.—(Doc. 144.)

—The Atlanta (Ga.) Confederacy, of to-day, says: “Gen. Beauregard is a genuine patriot. How different from these who resign because every thing does not please them. His heart is as big as his country’s wants, and he nobly looks to meeting the demands of patriotism, and not to his own glory or preferment. All honor forever to his name, and to any man possessed of such a noble and unselfish nature. What next will the two or three journals do that have been trying to get up a difference between him and President Davis, and to force him to resign? Wonder if they will feel encouraged?”

—Christian Martin, an important witness on the part of the United States Government, in the trial of the Knights of the Golden Circle, at Cleveland, died at Marion, Ohio, to-day. His evidence was of great importance to the United States. His decease was quite sudden. —Louisville Journal, November 11.

—The Southern (Ga.) Confederacy, of this date, publishes an article urging the Legislature to pass such laws as will effectually stop the extortions of speculating men, who furnish the Southern army with food and clothing at the most exorbitant prices. “Such men,” it says, “have at heart their own interests more than the good of their fellow-mortals, and of the country,” and should be made to comply with the obligations and duties which extraordinary times, like the present, impose. It commends the action of the Governors of several Southern States, in condemning the systematic practice of defrauding the Confederate Government, and in calling the attention of the legislatures to the subject.—(Doc. 145.)

 

[LookinUp]

Thanks for your informative work!

 

[farmersdaughter]

November 10 1861

—Captain Gillespie’s cavalry surrounded a body of Lincolnites in Paw Paw Hollow, Sevier County, Tenn., and captured twenty-five of them. —Knoxville Register, Nov. 11.

—Major-general Halleck, lately arrived from California, was appointed to the command of the Military Department of the West, in place of General Fremont, and General Buell, of Ohio, an efficient army officer who can point to a brilliant record, was put in charge of Kentucky, in place of General Sherman, resigned. These two men are in the prime of life—about forty years of age—and their antecedents warrant the expectations that there will be no more mistakes in the Western section.—N. Y. Herald, November 11.

—The New Orleans Crescent has the following: “Unfortunately the resources of the Hessian Government of Lincoln have been underrated. It is now nearly six months since a vessel entered the port of New Orleans from a distant country. The same remarks will apply to Mobile and other ports on the gulf. Where a vessel with a cargo of merchandise has passed the Lincoln blockade, twenty passed the blockade in the war of 1812. Flour from Spain can be delivered via Havana, at our levee, at eight to ten dollars per barrel, such as we ourselves paid yesterday eighteen dollars for.”

—Captain H. H. Miller, of the Twelfth Miss, regiment, informs the Lynchburg Virginian that on this day he, with twenty-two Virginians, attacked three hundred Union men in East Tennessee, at Taylor’s Ford, on the Watauga River, killed nine, wounded seven, and withdrew without loss.—(Doc. 146.)

—Lots were drawn by the United State prisoners in Richmond, Va., which should stand as a hostage for Smith, convicted of piracy in Philadelphia. Col. Corcoran was designated. Thirteen others were set apart as hostages for the men taken on the privateer Savannah.—(Doc. 147.)

—A band of rebels, armed and mounted, broke open and plundered the store of a loyal citizen, at Clark’s Station, seven miles east of Tipton, Mo., to-night. Col. Deitzler, on hearing of it, sent a squad of cavalry, under command of Lieut. Shriver, from the First Iowa regiment, in pursuit. All the gang but one were captured, and the property recovered.—(Doc. 148.)

—Gen. Benham, with his brigade, crossed the Kanawha River near the mouth of Loup Creek, Western Virginia, and marched forward on the road to Fayetteville Court House, to get in the rear of the rebel army under Floyd, on Cotton Hill, at the junction of the New, Gauley and Kanawha Rivers.—Part of Gen. Cox’s brigade at the same time crossed the New River near Gauley, and attacked Floyd’s force in front. After a slight skirmish, the rebels fell back to Dickenson’s Farm, four miles, and at night retreated toward Raleigh.—(Doc. 149.)

—One Hundred and Fifty Union men of the Ninth Virginia regiment were surprised by seven hundred rebels under one Jenkins, at Guyandotte, in Western Virginia, and all killed or taken prisoners. Apparently the surprise was effected by the treachery of the inhabitants of the town, as when it was made the soldiers were scattered all over the place at houses to which they had been invited with the appearance of hospitality.—(Doc. 150.)
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[farmersdaughter]

Guyandotte raid
November 10 1861

*sorry, its really long

In 1861, western Virginia was the scene of a fierce struggle which magnified the bitterly divided sympathies of its populace. In effect, this area of Virginia experienced its own civil war, and within two years, the great conflict engulfing the United States led to the formation of the new state of West Virginia. By the fall of 1861, Union forces had gained tenuous control over most of this region, although Confederate cavalry raids were frequent and discouraging to Uniin. supporters. One such raid, carried out on November 10, 1861, targeted the town of Guyandotte, Virginia, which served as the hostile host of a Union recruit camp. While successful, this action precipitated the burning of the town by Union troops and sympathizers in one of the Civil War's early acts of retaliatory destruction. These events foreshadowed the increasingly harsh nature of the Civil War, reflecting the hardships suffered by the soldiers of both sides, as well as the civilian population and local communities. Guyandotte's fate was a result of the residents' suspected collaboration with the Confederate raiders and the town's established reputation as a "hot bed of secession." By the middle of the nineteenth century, Guyandotte was a small, bustling port on the Ohio River. Founded in 1810 at the confluence of the Ohio and Guyandotte rivers in Cabell County, the town featured a number of profitable businesses including the Buffington Mill, reportedly the largest flour mill on the Ohio River between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.1 Guyandotte hosted many river travelers and a road, built in the early 1830s, connected the town with the James River and Kanawha Turnpike at Barboursville, the county seat. To boost commerce, locks and dams were built along the Guyandotte River in the early 1850s, enabling navigation southward into the Guyandotte Valley.2 The Guyandotte Herald predicted continued growth for the town, stating that "once the Guyandotte is fairly opened, the increase of business will be beyond conception."3 In 1857, Eli Thayer, a United States congressman from Massachusetts, unveiled his plans for founding a colony in the region. Thayer, a staunch abolitionist, firmly believed that the colony's labor force would be provided by organized emigration and lead to the elimination of slavery. Following a successful venture in Kansas during the tumultuous mid-1850s, Thayer set his sights on Virginia, the country's most prominent slave state. This small-scaled colonization plan exemplified the bitter divisiveness which led the country inevitably toward armed conflict. While many Virginians were hostile toward his plans, others, especially those from the less prosperous western part of the state where slavery was not as important, welcomed Thayer and the influx of labor and capital promised by his venture.4 After a brief visit to the area in May 1857, Thayer selected a site ten miles west of Guyandotte for his fledgling community, which he named Ceredo. On July 25, he returned to address a town meeting in Guyandotte. Thayer assured local citizens that his primary objective was to make a profit and that he had no intention of violating state laws regarding slavery. The Guyandotte audience supported Thayer's plans with resolutions welcoming the new colony.5 While the Northern press applauded the reception given Thayer, a tremendous outcry arose from the South condemning Guyandotte's citizens as "yankee speculators" and "anti-Virginians." In response to the criticism, another meeting was held in Guyandotte on the afternoon of August 26, attended by the town's vocal anti-Thayer faction. The resolutons passed at this meeting vowed to extinguish any attempts to abolish slavery and declared steadfast loyalty to Virginia. Congressman Albert Gallatin Jenkins, who had recently visited the budding community, gave a stirring speech denouncing Thayer and Ceredo. Jenkins, a Cabell County native, also called upon Virginia Governor Henry Wise to intervene, but Wise refused to become involved in the controversy.6 Regional tension was exacerbated as a result of John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, which strengthened support for secession in Guyandotte. Although few of the town's citizens were slaveholders, they protested against Northern sympathy for Brown and vowed "to repel at all hazards" any further encroachment upon their right as Virginians to own slaves.7 Local supporters of the newly formed Confederacy rejoiced when Virginia seceded from the Union on April 17, 1861. William McComas, the Cabell County delegate to the convention which decided the fate of the Old Dominion, voted against secession, as would a majority of the county's voters one month later. The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer declared the county's vote misleading, however, and noted that Guyandotte in particular was a "hot bed of secession." The town voted to secede, reportedly the only town along the Ohio River to do so, and the Virginia state flag was boldly displayed.8 A meeting held in Guyandotte on April 20 was attended by several local militia companies and a large number of county residents. A newly sewn state flag was raised by two of the town's oldest citizens "amid the enthusiastic applause of the multitude and the rejoicing of the ladies, a large number of whom were present."9 One of many speeches given that day was interrupted by the arrival of a steamer, which brought the official news of Virginia's break with the Union. The already upbeat mood turned jubilant, and salutes were fired to the Confederacy and to President Jefferson Davis. Albert Jenkins, who had given up his congressional seat, arrived and led some of the volunteer companies to his farm at Greenbottom, where they began drilling in preparation for war. Known as the Border Rangers, these local men soon joined a Confederate force at Camp Tompkins in the Kanawha Valley.10 Despite the troops' departure, Confederate sympathy remained rampant in Cabell County, especially in Guyandotte. Property and livestock were stolen from Union sympathizers and some were forced to flee into Ohio.11 On May 25, when merchandise bound for a Guyandotte resident was seized as contraband in Proctorville, Ohio, some of Guyandotte's citizens threatened to cross the Ohio River and take the goods by force. Nearly two hundred members of the local Ohio Home Guard gathered to repel any "invasion." Responding to fears expressed by some Guyandotte citizens, the Ironton Register stated that "if the people of Guyandotte keep that traitor flag down, and attend to their own affairs, they need not be at all afraid of trouble from loyal citizens of the Government."12 Although no fighting occurred and tempers cooled, Guyandotte's reputation was further blemished in the eyes of Union supporters. In July 1861, a Union regiment, the Second Kentucky Infantry, was ordered to Guyandotte as a result of the Border Rangers' seizure of a steamboat near Greenbottom. Shortly after the arrival of Union troops on July 11, several of Guyandotte's citizens took the oath of allegiance and Union flags were prominently displayed. A uniformed Home Guard unit rowed across the river accompanied by an elderly female color-bearer, Mrs. Caroline White. White, a Union supporter from Guyandotte who had fled to Ohio, presented a flag to one of the Union companies and gave them her blessing, to which the soldiers replied with "vociferous cheers."13 After dispersing local militia in a brief fight at Barboursville on July 13, however, the Second Kentucky moved into the Kanawha Valley and civil chaos in the county resumed unchecked. To counter the aggressive Confederate sympathizers, Union authorities initiated the formation of local Union regiments. In Ceredo, threats of destruction issued by area secessionists led the townspeople to form the Fifth Virginia Infantry. Later in the year, Kellian V. Whaley, who had filled the congressional seat vacated by Albert Jenkins, was authorized to form another Union regiment, the Ninth Virginia Infantry. Whaley began raising troops in Ceredo, but in late October the regiment's recruit camp was moved to Guyandotte, a step which must have horrified the town's Confederate supporters.14 Nearly one hundred and fifty troops were stationed in Guyandotte, but they were untrained recruits who had not yet been mustered into service. Sickness, particularly measles, was prevalent in the camp. The regimental surgeon recorded that twenty men were on furlough and eighteen others were hospitalized. Colonel John Zeigler, who commanded the Fifth Virginia, lent Whaley about thirty-five cavalrymen, but their commanding officer refused to allow his troopers to patrol outside the town, thereby rendering them ineffectual. The head of the cavalry detachment, Lieutenant William E. Feazel, declared, "I did not come here to scout, but to recruit my horses and get them shod." The lack of reconnaissance left the town open to an attack, a fatal mistake exploited by the Confederates. In the first week of November, Confederate General John B. Floyd ordered a cavalry force to "proceed in the direction of the Ohio River, and to strike the enemy a blow. . . ."16 The raid was led by Colonel John Clarkson, whose force numbered about seven hundred horsemen from the Fifth and Eighth Virginia Cavalry regiments, the latter led by Colonel Albert Jenkins. Clarkson's cavalry departed from Camp Dickerson in Fayette County on November 4 and struggled through the rugged mountain wilderness, reaching the outskirts of Barboursville at sunset on November 10. The Confederate cavalry charged into town at full speed, capturing several Union sympathizers before crossing the Mud River and moving toward Guyandotte.17 It is uncertain when Guyandotte was chosen as the target of the Confederate raid. In fact, Ceredo may have been the original destination. Seven companies of the Ceredo-based Fifth Virginia had been ordered to the Kanawha Valley, leaving only a small Union force to guard the town. Somewhere along the march, however, the decision to attack Guyandotte was made and the fate of the Federal recruits was sealed. It is quite possible that a few of the town's citizens who had sons serving under Colonel Albert Jenkins had gotten word to their boys that a Union regiment was forming in the town. This may have infuriated the proud Border Rangers and sparked cries for action. The Border Rangers, now Company E of the Eighth Virginia, were certainly elated at the thought of returning to Guyandotte. Corporal James D. Sedinger, a native of the town, recalled, "the boys were all happy then. We were going home for the first time since the spring."18 As Clarkson's column approached Guyandotte, orders were issued for the assault. The Border Rangers were to seize the suspension bridge which spanned the Guyandotte River, preventing escape to the west, while a detachment led by Major Henry Fitzhugh moved to the east end of Guyandotte to complete the encirclement. The remaining Confederate cavalry penetrated the center of town to attack and annihilate the small Union force.19 Guyandotte was deceptively peaceful on Sunday night, November 10, 1861. Some of the recruits were returning home from worship services while others were visiting with friends or simply relaxing, unaware of the dramatic events about to unfold. The silence was shattered as the Confederates raced into town unopposed. A Union picket guarding a small bridge just outside the town had seen their approach, but he was so stunned by the sudden appearance of the enemy that he failed to fire a warning shot. The Border Rangers, headed by Captain James Corns, met another picket as they stormed the suspension bridge. Standing firmly in harm's way, the Union soldier shot and killed one of the Border Rangers before being hit by return fire. Sedinger noted, "why he did not throw down and surrender was always a mystery to us. He was a small red headed man --would weigh about one hundred and forty pounds." The Confederate company dismounted on the west side of the bridge as the remainder of Clarkson's force began its attack.20 When the first shots rang out, the Union soldiers dashed into the streets, curious as to the source of the commotion. The Ninth's young drummer boy began sounding the alarm, but his instrument was pierced by a Confederate bullet. By the time the recruits realized they were under attack, it was too late. Many were cut off from their Enfield rifles and were unable to resist as the Confederate cavalry raced through the town hunting down Union troops and sympathizers. Some tried to flee across the suspension bridge but were cut down by the Border Rangers, who had secured this escape route.21 Others who attempted to swim across the Guyandotte River were fired on by some of the town's Confederate supporters gathered along the riverbank. Several witnesses later described the murder of a Union recruit attempting to swim across the river by a former sheriff of Cabell County, Wilson B. Moore. Moore apparently persuaded the youth that he would not be harmed if he surrendered. When the recruit reached shore, Moore aimed his revolver at the Union man and "discharged its contents into his head, literally blowing his brains out, mutilating his head in a shocking manner."22 Major Whaley and a small portion of his command positioned themselves near the suspension bridge. Whaley decided to seek assistance and ordered Lieutenant William Wilson to take command of the tiny resistance force. Wilson wrote of his experience shortly after the battle: "We continued to fire for some time. I saw Sine fall. He said he was a dead man. I saw one little man bleeding at the mouth. He cursed and swore, but continued to load and fire. . . . He was grit to the bone --no better soldier, when wounded, certain. About this time I was wounded and the enemy drew nearer. I gave the boys orders to leave, and every man to take care of himself."23 Meanwhile Whaley had made his way to the stables, seeking cavalry support to reopen an escape route across the bridge. To his dismay the major discovered that although the horses were saddled, no troopers could be found. He managed to round up a few Union recruits who continued to resist the Confederates' overwhelming numerical advantage. These Union soldiers fought bravely but they were steadily pushed back and forced to make a final stand around the Forest Hotel. Suddenly Captain Henry Clay Pate, who had four years earlier been on the losing end of a battle with John Brown in "Bleeding Kansas," stormed forward with his Petersburg Rangers. This fierce charge overwhelmed the remaining defenders and ended the battle. Major Whaley's life was threatened when he refused to assist Pate in rounding up the scattered Union recruits, but Colonel Clarkson rode up and saved him, declaring, "he is a brave man, and I desin so to report him."24 Although Union armed resistance had been brief, the victorious Confederates spent the remainder of the night rounding up terrified recruits who were either attempting to flee the town or hiding in hope that the new day would bring relief. A tragic incident occurred in the Forest Hotel when Colonel Clarkson mistakenly shot and killed Confederate Captain Tom Huddleston, commander of Company I, Eighth Virginia Cavalry. Huddleston's death deeply affected his men. A trooper of the Confederate cavalry wrote, "I saw many of his old comrades near his dead body in tears, and others kissed his pale, tranquil face, which they will never see again."25 At least three Confederates were killed on the night of November 10 and ten others wounded. Despite later Northern reports of a "massacre," only ten Union recruits were killed, while at least ten more were wounded. One of the Federal casualties was Captain George B. Bailey, Whaley's second-in-command, who was shot in the chin and apparently drowned while attempting to swim across the Guyandotte River. Bailey had briefly attended the United States Military Academy; when he was expelled his position had been filled by his boyhood friend, Ulysses Grant. Ninety-eight Union troops and sympathizers were taken prisoner by the Confederate cavalry. They were assisted by a number of Guyandotte's Confederate supporters, who used the occasion to settle grudges against their fellow townspeople who had sided with the North.26 An incident which typified the bitter divisiveness in Cabell County was the murder of Achilles Fuller, a Union supporter, on November 10. Earlier in the year Fuller had killed Henry Shelton, a Confederate supporter whose sons served in the Confederate cavalry. On the evening of the raid on Guyandotte, Private George Shelton and a few of his comrades from the Eighth Virginia Cavalry split off from the Confederate column at Barboursville and rode to the Fuller home, where Achilles Fuller was discovered and immediately murdered.27 Although it remains difficult to assess the extent of Guyandotte's citizens's involvement in the raid, there is little doubt that many were exhilarated by the sudden reversal of power. Contemporary accounts which accused several local citizens of shooting at the fleeing Union recruits are too prevalent and similar to be entirely without merit. The claim that residents of Guyandotte had foreknowledge of the raid and had furnished intelligence to the Confederate cavalry may have been true; however, the attack was so sudden, unexpected, and overwhelming that success was inevitable. n the morning of November 11, the Confederates tied their prisoners in pairs with rope readily supplied by a Guyandotte merchant.29 A quarter-inch rope was then used to bind each pair to the next, until all were tied together. As they were herded out of Guyandotte, the captured Union soldiers and citizens were subjected to verbal abuse by the town's women, many of whom were wearing their "secession aprons."30 The march commenced at a run as the column proceeded south along the Guyandotte River. The pace was so severe that Major Whaley requested he and his men be shot rather than forced to endure such a torturous march. Whaley made a daring escape at Chapmanville, but the remaining prisoners were subjected to further hardships until the column reached Newbern, Virginia, where the captured soldiers and citizens were force into rail cars which transported them on to several prisons in Richmond. During the grueling march to Newbern, several secessionist refugees from Guyandotte heckled and threatened the Union prisoners. Some also testified against their release, although other former Guyandotte residents living in Richmond worked on their behalf and provided assistance for their return to western Virginia.31 As the triumphant Confederates withdrew from Guyandotte with their prisoners in tow, the steamer SS Boston appeared, moving slowly up the Ohio River. Aboard were approximately two hundred Union soldiers from the Fifth Virginia Infantry, who had advanced from their camp in Ceredo after learning of the attack. When shots were fired at the steamboat by the rearguard of the Confederate column, a small two-pounder aboard the SS Boston responded, "sending a ball through a rebel's brick house." The boat then veered to the Ohio side of the river and landed near Proctorville. Here an unruly, frightened mob of Ohio Home Guards had gathered to defend the town. These men and boys, anxious and excited, boarded the SS Boston, which took them across the river toward Guyandotte. As the steamer neared the Virginia shore, two men were spied along the riverbank waving white flags. Although J. C. Wheeler, the adjutant of the Ninth Virginia, stated in his report that these were "hypocritical secession citizens," they were in fact Union supporters, who were attempting to convince the citizens of Proctorville to halt their random firing into Guyandotte. The SS Boston landed about one mile above the town near the home of Robert Stewart, a prominent secessionist. A rumor that fleeing Union recruits had been fired on by inhabitants of the home stirred the men into a frenzy and the dwelling was quickly burned.32 The Union men then marched into Guyandotte, where they found a number of dead and wounded comrades and heard reports citing collaboration between some of the townspeople and the Confederate cavalry. The rage of the gathered Union troops and sympathizers now boiled over. Most accounts of the incident accuse Colonel John Zeigler of issuing orders to burn Guyandotte. Whether or not orders were given is irrelevant, since according to one observer, "three regiments would not have prevented them from burning the town."33 The business section of Guyandotte was completely gutted, purportedly to prevent the Confederates from returning for supplies. The Buffington Mill was burned, as was the Forest Hotel. Even churches were not immune from the torch. The Guyandotte Baptist Church was burned after two unsuccessful attempts when Union soldiers tore off the shutters and stuffed them with straw before setting them alight in the church belfry. The Guyandotte Methodist Episcopal Church, South may also have been burned.34 Many houses were set ablaze, with special attention given to the town's most prominent secessionists. Women and children were forced into the streets, and some of the residents reportedly had to leap out of windows to escape the flames. Union reports later declared that no homes belonging to Union supporters were torched. One eyewitness, however, claimed that the first home to be burned belonged to a Union man, as were the majority of the residences consumed by fire. One example typifies the random destruction inflicted upon Guyandotte. Mrs. Charlotte Douthit, the wife of a prosperous Guyandotte merchant, had witnessed the seizure of her husband and eldest son by Confederate troops in the aftermath of the raid. On the morning of November 11, Union troops appeared at Mrs. Douthit's front door and warned her to remove any valuables from the house, as they had orders to burn it. Mrs. Douthit pleaded with the soldiers and told of her distressing sacrifices, but the soldiers burned the Douthit home and a brick storage building filled with wheat.35 A few homes were saved by their owners, who doused the flames following the departure of the Uion troops. Another home was saved by the determination of the woman of the house, Mrs. Mary Carroll. Mrs. Carroll barricaded her family in the home and ignored the soldiers' admonitions to get out. Her iron will prevailed as the troops grudgingly moved on.36 Later in the day Union Colonel William Bolles of the Second Virginia Cavalry arrived in Guyandotte aboard a steamboat. Upon seeing the wanton destruction, he immediately sought out Colonel Zeigler and implored him to bring his troops under control. When Zeigler declared that he could not subdue his men, Bolles rode through the streets threatening the Union troops, who were finally persuaded to stop the devastation. Before departing from Guyandotte, Colonel Zeigler's troops arrested sixteen local citizens for their role in the battle. These men were immediately shipped off to Camp Chase Prison in Columbus, Ohio.37 The Confederate raid on Guyandotte, exaggerated as a "massacre" by the Northern press, shocked and angered Union supporters. Shortly after the news reached the northern panhandle town of Moundsville, the streets filled with "excited men and women" who assaulted four secessionists and jailed three while shouting, "Guyandotte must and shall be revenged." A committee of Union men went to the homes of other secessionists and ordered them to leave town. The raid also led many Northerners to re-evaluate the nature of the war: "One thing is becoming more and more evident each day, both to patriots and traitors. And that is, that this rebellion will be put down at whatever cost of blood and treasure. The time for dallying and temporising with traitors is gone . . . rigid retribution is now to be the policy."38 Guyandotte's fate was a chilling portent of the devastation that would be increasingly levied not only on the soldiers fighting the war but also on the civilian population supporting it, particularly in the South. There was little sympathy in the North for the citizens of Guyandotte. Although the participation of some of the townspeople in the Confederate raid was undoubtedly a factor in its destruction, Guyandotte's notoriety was also an essential element. The Ironton Register commented: "Guyandotte's machinations hath kept the border in constant alarm; its people hath sown to the wind, and already reaped the whirlwind." Another northern paper, the Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, was even more blunt in its unconcealed glee at the town's fate: "Guyandotte . . . has always had the reputation of being the `ornaryest' place on the Ohio River." After comparing the town to Vicksburg, the paper added that Guyandotte "ought to have been burned two or three years ago."39 The raid instilled a fear in Union supporters living in this border region which remained throughout the war. This fear spurred Union authorities to maintain troops in Guyandotte during much of the next four years. Ironically, the county seat was moved to Guyandotte in 1863 because it was deemed more secure than Barboursville. Although Confederate cavalry returned to Cabell County on several more occasions, their success at Guyandotte was not repeated. Following the Confederacy's defeat in 1865, soldiers from both sides returned home to rebuild their lives. Guyandotte also rebuilt and before long the business section was thriving once again. By 1872, more than fifty businesses were operating in the community, including six legal firms, a photograph gallery, a jewelry store, a woolen factory, a book and stationary store, four hotels, and five saloons. local newspaper estimated that one thousand people resided in Guyandotte and described the citizens as "social, hospitable, and generous."
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[farmersdaughter]

November 11 1861

—At Columbus, Ky., a Dahlgren gun exploded, killing two lieutenants and six privates. General Polk narrowly escaped. A portion of his clothes were torn off.—N. Y. Evening Post, November 14.

—One Hundred And Tnx men of the Kansas Jayhawkers, under Col. Anthony, attacked a rebel camp on the Little Blue, near Kansas City, defeated the rebels, and captured a large number of horses. The Federal loss was eight killed and eight wounded. The rebel loss is not known. —(Doc. 151.)

—The Richmond Enquirer gives the subjoined list of property subject to the war tax in the South: “Real estate, including all lands and estates therein, with ferries, bridges, and mines; slaves of all ages; merchandise, of all kinds, for sale, except agricultural products of the country; bank stock, except such as may be returned the bank, by its proper officer; railroad and other corporate stock; money at interest, including bills and all notes and securities bearing interest, except Confederate bends; cash on hand or deposit, in bank or elsewhere; cattle, horses, and mules, raised or held for sale; gold watches; gold and silver plate; pianos, and pleasure carriages.”

—The Twenty-third Massachusetts regiment, Col. John Kurtz, left Boston, via Fall River and New York, for Annapolis.

—The obsequies of Col. Baker, killed at Ball’s Bluff, took place in New York City. At eleven A. M., the procession consisting of the Seventy-first regiment N. Y. S. M., with full band and drum corps, the staff of the First Division, and numerous residents of Philadelphia, Washington, and the city, hailing from the Pacific slope of the Republic, marched down Broadway, and by Battery Place and West street to Pier No. 8, North River, where the body was received on board the steamer Northern Light, which shortly afterward sailed for the Isthmus of Panama, whence the remains were conveyed to their last resting-place, near San Francisco. Flags were at half-mast on the City Hall and other public buildings, and the whole scene was very impressive.—N. Y. Times, November 12.

—A Grand torch-light procession, in honor of General McClellan, took place at Washington. The entertainment was planned by General Blenker’s division. The procession, after passing the President’s house, halted at that of General McClellan, and serenaded the General. Speeches were delivered by Secretary Cameron, Mr. Seward, and Gen. Blenker, after which the procession moved through the city and across the Potomac.

—A reconnoissance was made by Col. Weber in the direction of New Market bridge, near Fortress Monroe. The rebels were met in some force, but were compelled to retire with a loss of two killed and several wounded. —N. Y. Commercial, November 18.

—The Fifty-second N. Y. regiment, Col. Paul Frank, left its encampment on Staten Island, and proceeded to Amboy on its way to Washington. The regiment numbers nearly a thousand men, all of whom are thoroughly uniformed, armed, and equipped.—N. Y. Times, Nov. 12.

—Within the last ten days over fourteen thousand soldiers have been entertained at the Volunteer Refreshment Saloons, in Philadelphia, Pa. From the 2d to the 8th inst., nine thousand and seventeen troops were transported over the Camden and Amboy, and Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad to the South.—Philadelphia Ledger, November 9.

—Guyandotte in Western Virginia, the scene of the massacre of a number of men of the Ninth Virginia regiment, was burned by two hundred men of the Fifth Virginia regiment.—Wheeling Intelligencer, Nov. 14.

—Col. Graham, of the Excelsior Brigade, crossed the Potomac at Matthias Point with five hundred men, and made a reconnoissance. He found no enemy or batteries at the point, and saw but one rebel picket, who was killed by one of the advance pickets because he attempted to run away. The rebels were in force some nine miles in the interior, but refused to offer battle to the reconnoitring party. Much forage for rebel cavalry was destroyed. The troops returned to their encampment, near Port Tobacco, on the Maryland shore, without the loss of a single man. Subsequent to their return they learned that, at Boyd’s Hole, only a few miles below, the rebels had a battery of six heavy guns, which it was believed the forces could have taken had they been aware of the fact when they were on the Virginia shore.—(Doc. 152.)

 

[farmersdaughter]

November 12 1861

—Three regiments, and two companies of cavalry, and a battery of artillery, were sent from Bowling Green in the direction of Scottsville, Ky., supposed for Gen. Zollicoffer’s relief. This movement originated in the report of an advance by the National troops on Danville.—Bowling Green Courier, Nov. 12.

—Judge Haliburton, of the Confederate District Court at Richmond, charged a Grand Jury on the law of treason, and described as “alien enemies” “all citizens of the United States, except citizens of Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri, and the District of Columbia.”—(Doc 153.)

—Thirty-seven contraband negroes arrived at Philadelphia, Pa., having walked northward from Accomac County on the peninsula of Virginia. They were supplied with money by the Wisconsin troops. Numbers of these people are constantly arriving at Philadelphia, which has stimulated a public meeting to be held to assist them.—Boston Transcript, November 14.

—Six regiments of infantry, two batteries of artillery, and three companies of cavalry, under command of Gen. Heintzelman, made a reconnoissance to-day, as far as Occoquan Creek, about Twenty-five miles from Washington, D. C., or eighteen miles from Alexandria, Va. They started at four o’clock in the morning and returned late in the evening. The entire force first went to Pohick Church, and there divided —a portion taking the telegraph road to Burk’s Station, on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad; the other the road to a point on the Occoquan Creek, about three miles from the Potomac River. The latter crossed Pohick and Accotinck Creeks, and reached Occoquan without meeting with any opposition. Capt. Todd’s company of Lincoln Cavalry, which was with the party that went in the direction of Burk’s Station, were sent out to make a reconnoissance in advance of the infantry, and when several miles from the other part of the division were suddenly surrounded by a large number of rebels who had been concealed in the woods. Their only hope of escape, therefore, was by cutting their way through, and a skirmish accordingly occurred, the cavalry effecting their purpose, but with a loss of three men killed, one wounded, and three taken prisoners, including Capt. Todd, who had ventured too far in advance of his command. The object of the reconnoissance having been accomplished, Gen. Heintzelman ordered the troops to return to their encampments.—(Doc. 154.)

—This afternoon six companies of the Fifth regiment N. Y. S. V., or New York Zouaves, left their encampment at Federal Hill, near Baltimore, and took the steamer Pocahontas, for Salisbury, Md. They were commanded by Col. Governeur K. Warren.—Baltimore American, November 13.

—Several new military departments were defined by general order as follows: The Department of New Mexico is to be commanded by Col. E. R. S. Canby; the Department of Kansas, including Kansas, part of the Indian Territory, Nebraska, Colorado, and Dakota, is to be commanded by Maj.-Gen. Hunter; the Department of Missouri, including Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Arkansas, Kentucky west of the Cumberland River, is to be commanded by Maj.-Gen. Halleck; the Department of Ohio, including Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky east of the Cumberland River, and Tennessee, is to be commanded by Brig.-Gen. Buell; the Department of Western Virginia, including that portion of the State lately in the old Department of Ohio, is to be commanded by Brig.-Gen. Rosecrans.—N. Y. Tribune, November 13.

—An attack was made on the vessels of the United States fleet, in the Mississippi River, at the head of the Passes, by the steam ram Manassas, accompanied and assisted by the Calhoun, three guns; the Joy, two guns; the Jackson, two guns; the McRae, six guns; the Tuscarora, three guns; and the Pickens, five guns. These vessels were under command of Capt. Hollins. The Manassas, armed with a false prow, approached the U. S. ship Richmond, at three A. M., and by the force of the concussion broke a hole a foot square into the Richmond’s bow, near the water line. She then made for the Vincennes, which ship evaded her. A brisk fire was opened upon the Manassas from the Richmond and the Preble, and deranged her machinery. Signals were then sent up from the Manassas, and several fire-ships were let loose above, and came down the current of the river with the other vessels of the rebel fleet behind. In their endeavors to evade the fire-ships, the Vincennes and Richmond both got aground. Some attempt was made by the rebels to press the attack upon the vessels aground, but they were beaten off without difficulty.— (Doc. 155.)

—One of the police guard of Alexandria, Va., arrested a little girl, to-day, who wore a red and white cape, alleging that the colors of the cape were obnoxious. The mother of the girl accompanied her to the office of the Provost-Marshal, where she stated that the article of dress had been made four years since. Capt. Griffith promptly ordered the release of the little lass, and directed the guard to devote his attention in future to weightier matters than the clothing of children.—Alexandria News.

—Capt. John Brown’s company of sharpshooters arrived at Camp Jennison, Kansas City, Mo., and were attached to the command of Colonel Jennison.—(Doc. 160.)

—The privateer schooner Beauregard, of Charleston, S. C., Capt. Hay, was captured one hundred miles east-northeast of Abaco, by the W. G. Anderson, U. S. Navy, Lieut. W. C. Rogers commanding.—(Doc. 156.)

—By general order issued this day, all officers appointed on the staff of Gen. Fremont, from civil life, were dismissed the service; and all of his appointments not hitherto sanctioned by the President were cancelled.

 

[farmersdaughter]

November 13 1861

—The Legislature of Tennessee passed a law authorizing Governor Harris, of that State, to seize all private arms and call ten thousand men into service.

—The Eleventh regiment Maine Volunteers, under command of Colonel Caldwell, passed through Boston to-day, en route for Annapolis, Md, to join Gen. Burnside’s brigade. They were accompanied by one hundred and ten men,sharpshooters, commanded by Capt. James D. Fessenden, (a son of Senator Fessenden,) and one hundred recruits for the Fourth Maine regiment. —Boston Evening Transcript, Nov. 14.

—Gen. Zollicoffer, with his entire army, retreated from Cumberland Ford to Cumberland Gap, Tenn., and blockaded the road along the entire distance by blasting immense rocks from the hills on either side.— N. Y. Times, Nov. 16.

—To-day, at Washington, Colonel John Cochrane delivered an address to his regiment in the presence of Secretary Cameron and other distinguished persons. The most important point in his argument was relative to the treatment of slaves during the present contest. He said we need to use every means in our power to subdue the rebellion. We should take their cotton and sell or burn it a was best, confiscate their property, and when necessary take their lives; and as their slaves are used as an element of strength against us, we should not hesitate to take them if necessary, and to place arms in their hands that they might assist in establishing the rights of common humanity. —(Doc. 157.)

John S. Inskip, Chaplain of the New York Fourteenth regiment, in a letter thanking the Young Men’s Christian Association for the gift of a chapel tent, gives a good account of the morals of the army.— (Doc. 158.)

—General Dix ordered four thousand troops from Baltimore to march into and locate themselves in Accomac and Northampton Counties, Va. Accomac County is loyal, and will receive the troops; but Northampton County, it is said, is disposed to resist them. General Dix issued a most important proclamation, stating that the object of the advance of his troops is to maintain the authority of the Government, to protect the people and restore commerce to its original channel; that no one held to service under the laws of the State shall be interfered with, and that unless resistance is offered no fireside will be molested.—(Doc. 159.)

—Several citizens of Baltimore addressed the President on behalf of the unemployed and destitute laborers and mechanics in that city, when the President promised that they should enjoy a fair share in the labor incident to the supply of Government material, etc.—N. Y. Commercial, November 16.

 

[farmersdaughter]

November 14, 1861_ A large and enthusiastic union meeting was held at Cincinnati, Ohio, at which addresses were made by Rev. Granville Moody, Colonel Guthrie, of the Ohio Volunteers, and General Carey.—Cincinnati Commercial, Nov. 15.

—The Savannah Republican, of to-day, has the following: “From the moment the news of the attack on South Carolina soil, and the danger of our own coast became known, one loud burst of patriotism has resounded throughout the State of Georgia, from Tennessee to the seaboard. Every able-bodied man and boy is aroused and anxious to fly to our rescue and repel the invaders. Arms only are wanted, and of these every species is being gathered and forwarded to this city. Fifty thousand Georgians could be placed—or rather would place themselves —in the field within a week, did we only possess the materials to arm and equip them. We love our noble State the more for this grand exhibition of the patriotism and valor of her sons. A dozen Lincoln fleets could not conquer such a people.”

—The Planters’ Convention, at Macon, Ga., adopted a resolution indorsing the defensive measures of the Confederate Government, and recommending a discriminating duty of twenty per cent, on the productions of the United States. It was also resolved that if the war should continue, and the present crop remain undisposed of, the planters should not plant next Spring beyond the wants of home consumption.—Norfolk Daybook, Nov. 14.

—The Richmond Examiner published “The Constitution of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Confederate States of America,” as proposed by the General Convention of that Church held at Columbia, South Carolina.—(Doc. 161.)

—The privateer schooner Neva, from China, was seized at San Francisco, Cal., by Captain Pease, of revenue cotter Mary.—N. Y. Tribune, Nov. 16.

—Lieutenant J. H. Rigby, of the Gist Artillery, detailed with twenty men,by Brigadier General Lockwood to proceed to Wilmington and New Castle, Md., with a view of securing a quantity of arms then in possession of secessionists in these places, promptly obeyed the order, and seized two fine brass six-pounders in the former city, and one piece of the same calibre, at New Castle. In addition, he secured one hundred United States muskets. These arms were all removed under charge of the detachment to Salisbury, where the main body of the forces recently sent to the eastern shore of Maryland were stationed.—Baltimore American, Nov. 18.

—The Richmond Dispatch, of this date, says: “It has been apparent for many months, and is obvious now, that the enemy is making a formidable demonstration toward East Tennessee from Eastern Kentucky. The object of the enemy in pushing forward there, is probably threefold. The chief purpose, doubtless, is to bring to its own support the large disaffected element of the population of East Tennessee which have been corrupted by the clamor of Andy Johnson, Maynard, Brownlow, and Trigg. The next object of the enemy is, probably, to get possession of the salt works in the western corner of Smythe County, where half a million of bushels of salt a year are now manufactured. And last, but not least, the enemy aims at the possession of a portion of the Virginia and Tennessee railroad, so as to cut off our direct communication from the seat of Government with Nashville, Memphis, and our armies in Western Kentucky. The clandestine burning of bridges at a concerted period in Eastern Tennessee proves the enemy’s designs upon this important highway of transportation and travel. “If that country be given up, and East Tennessee be in consequence lost, the empire of the South is cut in twain, and we become a fragmentary organization, fighting in scattered and segregated localities, for a cause which can no longer boast the important attribute of geographical unity.”

—The schooner Maryland, loaded with wood, was becalmed in the Potomac, opposite the rebel battery on Pig Point, and some rebel boats put off to take her, whereupon the crew took the boats and rowed away. The rebels boarded, fired, and then left the schooner; and after their departure Lieutenant Chandler, with some men of the Eleventh Massachusetts regiment, went on board and put out the fire.— (Doc. 162.)

—The Governor of Florida has issued a proclamation forbidding the enlistment of citizens of that State to serve in other portions of the Confederacy. He orders, therefore, that all military officers in commission from the State of Florida shall interfere, by arresting and sending out of the State, any person found recruiting or enticing the citizens of Florida to enter into the service of any other State.—Memphis Appeal, Nov. 16.

—The pickets of Gen. Kelley’s brigade were advanced to-day five miles from Romney, Va., on the Winchester road, and were fired into, losing two killed and several wounded. Detachments sent in pursuit of the rebels, captured about twelve prisoners.—Cincinnati Times, Dec. 3.

—The Richmond (Va.) Examiner, of this day, has the following: “With pride and pleasure we record the gratitude of the Southern people, in announcing that no less than thirty thousand dollars, made up by the free-will offerings of men,women, and children, now stand to the credit of the widow and children of the martyr Jackson, [the assassin of Col. Ellsworth,] the brave Alexandrian, who fell in defence of the flag of his country. Should the marauders penetrate to our hearthstones, we trust that they will fined that the example of Jackson is not lost upon the fathers, husbands, sons, and brothers of our city.”

—In pursuance of the Government’s intention to establish a permanent depot for naval and military purposes at Port Royal, S. C., orders were this day given for the preparation of lumber for the construction of buildings for a depot at Port Royal, for the manufacture of all kinds of machinery for naval and other purposes, also to despatch at once storeships, which are to be permanently stationed at that point —N. Y. Herald, Nov. 15.

—There was a skirmish in London County, opposite Point of Rocks, Maryland. Colonel Geary had received information of the intention of the rebels to erect fortifications in that neighborhood. He crossed the river with Captain Chapman and twenty-five picked men of the Pennsylvania regiment, reconnoitred the vicinity, and found a force of rebels upon whom he quietly closed and surprised with a volley of shots. After firing two or three volleys, the rebels were routed, leaving three men and one horse dead on the field.

—Gen. Lockwood, with the expedition for the eastern shore of Virginia, marched from Snowville, Worcester County, Maryland.—N. Y. Express, Nov. 20.

—The First Kansas Cavalry, Colonel Jennison, went to Sedalia, Mo., to protect supply trains and other Government property at that and neighboring points. Colonel Jennison issued a proclamation to the people of Jackson, Lafayette, Cass, Johnson, and Pitt counties, Missouri, in which he said, that “every man who feeds, harbors, protects, or in any way gives aid and comfort to the enemies of the Union, will be held responsible for his treason, with his life and property.”—N. Y. Commercial, Nov. 16.

—Gen. Benham, in pursuit of the retreating army of Gen. Floyd, came up with a portion of their rear guard at McCoy’s Mills, and defeated it, killing fifteen rebels—among them Col. Croghan. No loss on Benham’s side.—(Doc. 163.

 

[farmersdaughter]

November 15 1861—The following challenge appeared in the Louisville Journal of this day:

Camp Sherman,

Jeffersonville November 12, 1861.

Will you oblige by inserting the following: I hear that in connection with other braggadocio they brag a great deal, among the Confederate troops, in regard to their fine field-music. Therefore I, W. F. Robinson, do challenge any fifer in the Confederate army to perform with me on the fife for the sum of five hundred ($500) dollars a side. The music to be played shall be selected by both parties, Yankee Doodle and the Star-Spangled Banner to be included in the list. The trial match to come off when Buckner and his army have been taken prisoners, or as soon thereafter as practicable, the challenged party to have the choice of ground, provided every thing be peaceable. Any communication sent to-

Major W. F. Robinson,
First Wisconsin Volunteers,
Louisville,, Ky., will meet with prompt attention.

—U. S. Steamer San Jacinto, Capt. Wilkes, arrived at Fortress Monroe with Messrs. Mason and Slidell, prisoners, on board.—N. Y. Times, November 17.

—Fast Day, in the rebel States, was observed with religious services in the various churches of the South. In the Broad street Methodist church, of Richmond, Va., Rev. James A. Duncan preached a sermon, taking his text from the prophecies of Isaiah, fifty-first chapter, ninth and sixteenth verses. We make the following extract from his remarks: The enemy boasted of his “eighteen millions ” who were to come down and overwhelm us, but whose first efforts at our destruction at Bethel church, and on the plains of Manassas, proved so disastrous to himself, when his legions were sent howling back to their capital in consternation and dismay. Well might we ask “where is the fury of the oppressor as if he were ready to destroy?” And now one of their foremost orators, who made himself conspicuous on the floors of Congress for his bitterness against us, has lately been slain by Southern bullets—he who said that Massachusetts should yet furnish a Governor for South Carolina. Peace to his ashes! We wish to his spirit no harm, but we could ask, “Is he ready to destroy?where is the fury of the oppressor?”—(Doc. 164.)

—The schooner Carrie Sandford, Capt. _____, arrived at Wilmington, N. C, from Nassau, N. P., with a cargo of four thousand five hundred bushels of salt, seventy-one barrels of sugar, a quantity of arrowroot, &c.; very acceptable articles just at this time, and no doubt a very large profit will be realized therefrom.— Wilmington. Journal, November 16.

—The Collector of the port of Boston received instructions from Washington, D. C., to stop the exportation of saltpetre and gunpowder from the city of Boston.—New York Herald, November 16.

—The steamship Champion arrived at New York, from Aspinwall, N. G.,with ex-Senators Gwin and Brent, and Calhoun Benham, the Attorney-General ot the State of California, under the Administration of Mr. Buchanan, under arrest, by order of General Sumner, who also arrived, together with several companies of regular, soldiers, and a considerable quantity of small-arms. The arrested persons took passage from San Francisco to Panama on board the Orizaba, with the intention of making their way to New Orleans from some of the West India Islands. Before arriving at Panama, however, they were placed under arrest by General Sumner. They were conveyed across the Isthmus under guard of the National troops, notwithstanding a protest on the part of the New Granadian authorities, who considered such a proceeding a violation of the neutrality. The force at the command of General Sumner was too formidable to be interfered with, or a forcible rescue would probably have been made. The prisoners were, unfortunately, allowed to destroy a quantity of documents while on board the Orizaba, by throwing them overboard.—New York Times, November 16.

—Lieut. H. G. Bell, of the Ninth Iowa regiment, with fifteen men,went from Camp Herron, Mo., to Manchester, Twenty miles distant, and captured a large secession flag.—(Doc. 165.)

—The Norfolk Day Book, of to-day, contains the following notice: Plans and offers for the construction of four seagoing, iron-clad, and ball-proof steam ram-ships, to carry at least four heavy guns each, are invited by the Navy Department, up to the 1st of December, 1861. Parties making offers are requested to accompany their plans by descriptive drawings and specifications; and a proper compensation for the labor of preparing such plans and drawings as may be submitted will be made by the Department. S.R. Mallory, Secretary of the Navy.

—Ford’s Ferryy, eight miles below Caseyville, Ky., was visited by one hundred rebel cavalry, under command of the notorious Capt. Wilcox, who was supposed to have been killed in the skirmish at Saratoga, Ky. The rebels seized upon three casks of bacon, five sacks of coffee, twelve barrels of salt, and five hundred empty sacks, and announced their determination to take in future whatever they desired. Ford’s Ferry is the terminus of an excellent road which leads out into the heart of Kentucky. Wilcox’s cavalry belong to a camp of twelve hundred rebels, about thirty miles in the interior. They are becoming very bold and troublesome, and require the attention of a regiment or two of Union troops.—Louisville Journal, Nov. 21.

The British schooner Mabel was captured by the U. S. steamer Dale, in the attempt to run the blockade at Charleston.—(Doc. 166.)

 

[farmersdaughter]

November 16 1861

The fifty-first Ohio regiment, Col. Stanley Mathews, and the Nineteenth Ohio regiment, Col. Beatty arrived at Cincinnati from Camp Dennison, and left for Louisville. The Fifty-first took passage on the mammoth steamer Strader, and the Nineteenth Ohio on the Monarch and Hastings. Both regiments were in fine condition, and fully equipped.—Ohio Statesman, November 19.

—An expedition left Paducah, Ky., to-night, in the direction of Columbus. It was composed of the Fortieth and Forty-first Illinois regiments, a section of Buell’s artillery—three guns, and two companies of cavalry, under command of General Paine. Information had been received that fifteen or eighteen hundred secesh, commanded by H. Clay King, were at Lovettsville, sixteen miles distant, on the road to Columbus. There is a large flouring mill there, and it was the design of General Paine to rout the rebels and take possession of the mill. No enemy was found, however, and General Paine confiscated the flour, and took some of the machinery of the mill to prevent its being of any use to the rebels, and returned to Paducah.—Louisville Journal, November 23.

—Flour, in Vicksburg, Mississippi, is held at twenty dollars per barrel. The Vicksburg Sun hopes it will be “taken,” its owners paid a “fair market valuation for it, and receive a strong hint to leave the country.”—(Doc. 167.)

—Salutes were fired at various places in the loyal States, in commemoration of the victory at Port Royal, South Carolina.

—This morning a foraging party, consisting of fifty-seven of the Thirtieth N. V. Volunteers, attached to Gen. Keyes’ Brigade in the army of the Potomac, went out to Doolin and Brush’s Farm, three miles and a half west of Upton’s Hill, Va., to draw away the forage which they had collected and left a day or two before. They took with them five four-horse wagons, and after loading up, Doolin, one of the owners of the farm, invited the men in to dinner. The soldiers foolishly accepted, and more foolishly stacked their arms outside the house, and went in, leaving eight men acting as pickets in the neighborhood. The moment the men sat down to dinner Doolin despatched a servant to the house of Brush, a mile distant, with a message that he should inform the rebels of the presence of the soldiers. This being done, rebel cavalry, numbering about two hundred, suddenly appeared, overpowered the pickets before they could give alarm, and surrounded the festive fools at Doolin’s table. A number of men made their escape, but the following, together with the wagons and horses, were captured by the rebels: Captain W. L. Lanning, Second Lieutenant James W. Andrews; corporals, M. White, P. Cooney, and G. H. Vanderzer; privates, P. Frazier, George McWharton, L. Hardigen, Harris Stafford, John Sleight, D. G. B. Morris, A. Holtzer, N. W. Rowland, Coles Stanton, C. B. Elms, William Peck, A. W. Porter, Thomas Porter, Walter Merrick,Louis Marto, H. C. Smith, Robert Whelan, William McCormick, Stephen Stickles, Freeman Clapper, James Morrison, Daniel Connor, and Ned Riley. Doolin and Brush, who previous to this time were supposed to be good Union men,were arrested on the charge of having betrayed the troops.—N. Y. Tribune, November 18.

—Gen. C. P. Buckingham, Adjutant-General of Ohio, issued a stirring appeal to the men of that State, calling upon them to swell the number of soldiers already provided by Ohio, by contributing at least thirty-five thousand more. He urged upon them the duty of opening the Mississippi to the Ocean, which was the work of the great Northwest.—(Doc. 168.)

—Near Pleasant Hill, Cass Co., Mo., fifty wagons and five hundred Oxen, on their way to Sedalia, were captured by the rebels. When the wagon-master escaped, the yokes of the oxen were being burned, and preparations were also being made to burn the wagons. The teamsters were all taken prisoners.—N. Y. Times, November 17.

—The D’Epineuil Zouaves, under command of Col. D’Epineuil, and the Sixty-sixth regiment N. Y. S. V., under command of Colonel Pinckney, left New York for the seat of war.

—Sixty-eight prisoners arrived at Tallahassee, Florida, in charge of a detachment of Captain Sheffield’s company, the whole under Colonel M. Whit Smith. They are composed of Spaniards, Yankees, and Floridians, and were captured while engaged in fishing around the Florida coast in the vicinity of Egmont Key for the Federals at Key West. Colonel Smith says they are the crews of twelve fishing smacks, and that the craft captured are worth, in the aggregate, from thirty-five thousand dollars to forty thousand dollars.— Tallahassee Sentinel, Nov. 17.

—Gen. Patterson, at an entertainment given by the Philadelphia City Troop, made a statement in relation to his conduct while in command on the Upper Potomac, which appears to relieve him from the odium of failure to participate in the movement which resulted in the defeat at Bull Run.—(Doc. 169.

 

[farmersdaughter]

November 17 1861

—This morning a detachment, under Col. Alcorn, stationed at Calhoun, attacked Hawkins’ regiment at Cypress Bridge, three miles back of Rumsey, in McLean County, Ky., and completely routed the rebels, killing a great number, taking twenty-five prisoners, three hundred horses, and a number of guns, blankets, etc. The national loss was ten killed and fifteen wounded.

—A panic prevailed at Charleston, which “a week before the battle of Port Royal was regarded as absolutely impregnable.” In explanation of the panic it is said: “The entire fighting population of Charleston and Savannah, as well as the intervening and adjacent country, is on active duty. The exempts are very few in number, being confined to these who are engaged in expediting the preparations for the war, or are detained by other occupations which the public interest requires not to be suspended. Thus the community of Charleston and that of Savannah, alike shorn of the young and vigorous men,who give buoyancy and a sense of security to the household, is now made up almost exclusively of women and children, and nervous old men who have passed the period of military service. In such a condition of things it is scarcely wonderful that vague and unreasonable apprehensions should prevail.”—Richmond Examiner, November 20.

—A party of Union troops recaptured nearly all the wagons and cattle which were seized by the rebels yesterday, near Pleasant Hill, Mo.

—This morning the Ninety-seventh regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, numbering nine hundred and fifty muskets, under command of Col. Guess, arrived at Baltimore, Md.

—Four hundred and eighty-eight U. S. Artillery and Infantry, commanded by Lieut.-Col. C. S. Merchant; the Sixty-sixth regiment N. Y. S. V. under command of Col. Pinckney; the Fifty-first regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, and a detachment of five hundred sailors, belonging to the Ellsworth and Naval batteries, commanded by Col. Wainwright, also arrived at Baltimore during the day.—Baltimore American, November 18.

—The Wild Cat Brigade, under Gen. Schoepf in Kentucky, reached Crab Orchard after a forced marched of four days in retreat.—(Doc. 170.)

—United States steam gunboat Connecticut captured the British schooner Adelaide, of Nassau, N. P., near Cape Canaveral, and took her into Key West. She was loaded -with coffee, lead, and swords, having several cases of the latter. The supercargo, Lieutenant Hardee, a relative of “Tactic” Hardee, is an officer in the Confederate army, he claimed the cargo as his property, and acknowledged that he was taking it to Savannah, Ga. The Adelaide had made several voyages to Savannah since the blockade.—N. Y. Commercial, November 27.

—Lieutenant George W. Snyder, of the U. S. Engineers, first assistant to General Barnard on the construction of the forts on the line of the Potomac, died at Washington, D. C., to-day, of typhoid fever. He was one of the garrison at Fort Sumter, from its occupation by Major Anderson until its evacuation, and during the bombardment commanded a portion of the men. His gallant conduct elicited the highest praise. Fort Ellsworth and six other fortifications, opposite Washington, were constructed under his direction. He was but twenty-eight years of age, but was one of the most talented members of the engineer corps. He graduated at the head of his class, and was thereupon appointed an instructor at West Point in the engineering department. Subsequently, on entering the army, he was employed in the fortification of Pickens, at Pensacola, and other forts. He had charge of the landing of the first troops at Annapolis; was in General Heintzleman’s staff at the battle of Bull Run, and brought off the last of the troops from the field. At one time he was tendered the colonelcy of the Twelfth volunteer regiment from New York, by Governor Morgan, but his services as engineer in the regular army were too valuable, and the Government would not permit his acceptance of the position.

—A Large number of rebels on their way to join Price’s army, were attacked near Palmyra, Mo., by a detachment of the Third Missouri Cavalry. The rebels lost three killed, five wounded, and sixteen prisoners.—N. T. Commercial Advertiser, Nov. 17.

 

[farmersdaughter]

November 18 1861

—The New Orleans Crescent very strongly urged planters to destroy their “cotton or other property,” rather than let it fall into the hands of the Yankees.—(Doc. 171.)

—The rebel Congress to-day met in Richmond, Va. Howell Cobb took the chair. Rev. Mr. Flynn, of Georgia, chaplain of Col. Cobb’s regiment, opened the session with prayer. The Secretary called the roll, when it was found there was a quorum present, six States being represented.—Present—Messrs. Barry, of Mississippi; Tenable, of North Carolina; House, Jones, Atkins, and De Witt, of Tennessee; Curry and Chilton, of Alabama; Cobb, of Georgia; William Ballard Preston, Tyler, Macfarland, and Rives, of Virginia. The Chair announced the presence of a quorum of the House.—Mr. Venable, member from North Carolina, moved that a committee be appointed to wait upon the President and inform him that there was a quorum present in the House, and Congress was ready to receive any communication from him.—The Chair appointed the following members: Messrs. Venable, of North Carolina, Scott, of Virginia, and Barry, of Mississippi.—Richmond Enquirer, Nov. 19.

—Judge Thomas S. Richards was shot through a window of the court house in Memphis,Scotland Co., Mo., while confined as a prisoner in the hands of Colonel Moore, of the Home Guard. Colonel Moore subsequently offered a reward of one thousand dollars for the apprehension of the assassin.

—The steamers Georgia and Georgiana arrived at Baltimore this morning from Newtown, Worcester Co., Maryland. Four thousand Federal troops were preparing to go into Virginia. On the way up the Pocomoke River a boat was sent ashore with General Dix’s proclamation, which was read to a large number of Virginians in a farm-house, who declared it entirely satisfactory, and claimed the protection of the Government from the secessionists, who were forcing them into the ranks against their will. The gunboat Resolute had given them protection through the day, but at night they had to seek shelter in the woods. —(Doc. 159.)

—General Drayton, at Hardeeville, South Carolina, assured the Governor of that State that he had “neither seen nor heard of any act of pillage or incendiarism in any direction” on the part of the slaves. —(Doc. 172.)

—Colonel Wofford’s Eighteenth regiment of Georgia Volunteers left Richmond, Va., for Manassas, via Fredericksburg.—National Intelligencer.

—Captain A. H. Foots was appointed Flag-officer of the fleet in the Western Military Department. He thus ranks with the Major-General. This arrangement will obviate any possible conflict of authority between the commanders respectively of the land and water forces.

—The following military appointments were made to-day, viz.: Assistant Adjutant-Generals of Volunteers—Captain Leonard Scott, for General Paine’s brigade; Captain George A. Hicks, for General Burn’s brigade; Captain John Pound, for General Pace’s brigade; Captain Andrew C. Kemper, for General Wade’s brigade; Captain William Von Dohn, for General Duryea’s brigade; Captain Charles A. Reynolds, to be an assistant quartermaster in the regular service; William Sheffler, to be an aide-de-camp to Major-General Banks.

—North Carolina, by a Convention of Delegates representing forty-five counties, declared a Provisional Government, and entirely repudiated the secession act of the State, reaffirming her loyalty and devotion to the Constitution of the United States. The Convention met at Hatteras. The act passed contained several sections, the substance of which is as follows: The first declares vacant all the offices of the State; the second names Marble Nash Taylor Provisional Governor; the third adopts the Constitution of the State, with the statutes and laws contained in the revised code of 1856; the fourth repudiates the ordinance of secession pawed at Raleigh on the 20th of May, together with all other acts then adopted; the fifth directs the Provisional Governor to order a special election for Members of Congress; the sixth gives to the Governor authority to make temporary appointments to official vacancies. The Convention adjourned, subject to the call of the President Governor Taylor issued his proclamation for an election in the Second Congressional District, which will be held on Wednesday, the 27th inst. —(Doc. 173.)

—A portion of the Fourteenth regiment N. Y. S. M., from Brooklyn, while on picket duty about a mile and a half west of Fall’s Church, Va., were attacked by rebel cavalry and forced to fall back, with one man wounded. They were subsequently reinforced by a considerable body of troops, when the rebels retired, with a loss of several killed and wounded.—N. Y. Times, November 19.

—Gov. Buckingham, of Connecticut, in a general order, congratulated the soldiers from that State who went with the Port Royal naval expedition, for having been the first to land upon the traitorous soil of South Carolina.—N. Y. Times, November 19.

—The Massachusetts Twenty-sixth regiment, under command of Col. Jones, and the Connecticut Ninth, commanded by Col. Cahill, embarked from Boston this afternoon on board the steamship Constitution. Both regiments were enthusiastically cheered on their march through the city. They were reviewed on the common by Gen. Butler previous to embarking. They were splendidly armed and equipped.—National Intelligencer, November 21.

—Letters from Upper Arkansas relate the imposition practiced by Albert Pike upon the Comanche Indians, and the conclusion of a treaty between these Indians and the Confederate States.—(Doc. 174.)

—The Sixty-ninth New York State Volunteers, a new regiment recruited mainly from the old Sixty-ninth New York State Militia, left New York for the seat of war. Previous to its departure, the regiment was presented with a stand of colors at the residence of Archbishop Hughes. Speeches were made by Father Starrs, V. G.,Judge Daly, and Col. Meagher. —(Doc. 175.)

—One hundred and fifty rebels were captured by a company of Union cavalry near Warrenburgh,Mo.

—Jeff. Thompson with two hundred men boarded the steamer Platte City at Price’s Landing in Missouri, ransacked her in search of papers, and took off two men whom he hung as spies.—(Doc. 176.)

 

[farmersdaughter]

November 19 1861

—Some men of Capt Hill’s Cavalry had a skirmish near Wirt Court House, Western Virginia, with a gang of rebels calling themselves the Moccasin Rangers. There was a corn-husking at the house of a secessionist, about a mile from Wirt Court House, and some of Capt. Hill’s men obtained leave of absence and attended the affair without arms. After the men had started, the balance of the company were advised that their companions were to be attacked and captured at the husking, by the Moccasin Rangers. Accordingly the company armed themselves, and proceeded as quietly as possible down to the husking. They had scarcely reached the house and formed themselves in position, when the Moccasin Rangers made a charge upon the house. Capt. Hill’s men fired upon the Moccasins before the latter were aware of their presence in force, killing a lieutenant and wounding five or six others. The rangers retreated.

—The rebel steamer Nashville, Capt. Pegram, captured, in the British channel, the American ship Harvey Birch, bound from Havre to New York, in ballast, the captain and crew of which were taken off, and the vessel burnt to the water’s edge. The Nashville then ran into Southampton, England, landed the prisoners, and remained there.—(Doc. 182.)

—Isham G. Harris, Governor of Tennessee, called out the militia of the Second, Third, and Fourth Divisions of that State to be ready to march by the 25th, “unless, in the mean time, a sufficient number of volunteers shall have tendered their services to fill” the requisition made upon him by General A. S. Johnson of the Confederate States Army.—(Doc. 177.)

—Warsaw, the capital of Benton County, Missouri, was burned. The flames broke out at six P. M., and all the business portion of the town was laid in ashes.

—G. Wallace Ewer, son of Captain John Ewer, of New Bedford, Massachusetts, was promoted from a Master’s Mate to Acting Master, for gallant conduct at the Port Royal fight. He served on board the Mohican. His father was in the same action on board the Sabine.

—Major-General H. W. Halleck, U. S. A., assumed command of the department of the Missouri, Major-General Hunter having been assigned to the Department of Kansas. Gen. Halleck issued an order establishing his headquarters at St. Louis.

—This morning, about ten o’clock, Company A, of the First Delaware regiment, left Camp Hamilton, near Fortress Monroe, on a scouting expedition. The corps was under command of Captain Watson, of Wilmington. They crossed Hampton Creek, and when about one and a half miles beyond the outer pickets encountered a considerable body of rebel cavalry, who were accompanied by two field-howitzers, brass rifled pieces, and the first intimation the Delawarians had of the enemy’s position on near approach, was the whistling of a projectile through the woods and underbrush. Captain Watson then threw up a temporary defence of brushwood and earth, after advancing to an eligible position, and sent back for reinforcements. General Mansfield, accompanied by three companies of the New York Twentieth, Col. Max Weber, proceeded to the relief of the Delaware troops.

—A Flag of truce from Norfolk to-day brought to Fortress Monroe, Va., Lieut. Worden, U. S. N., who was taken prisoner while bearing despatches to Fort Pickens at the breaking out of hostilities, and imprisoned at Montgomery, Alabama, for some time. He was exchanged for Lieut. Short, of the rebel army, who was taken at Hatteras Inlet, and had been confined on the frigate Congress at Newport News.—National Intelligencer, Nov. 21.

—The United States gunboat Penobscot, built at Belfast, Me., by Messrs. C. P. Carter and Co., was launched to-day.—Baltimore American, November 21.

—A Message from Jefferson Davis, President of the “Confederate States,” was received by the rebel Congress in session at Richmond. —(Doc. 178.)

—The U. S. gunboat Conestoga, on a reconnoitring expedition up the Tennessee River, from Paducah, Ky., to-day, discovered a rebel battery near the Tennessee line, and threw shell, routing the enemy from their guns. Still further up another battery was discovered, and an engagement followed, in which the rebels were driven off and a number killed. The Conestoga was but slightly damaged.

 

[farmersdaughter]

Battle of Round Mountain
November 19, 1862

T he Battle of Round Mountain (also known as Round Mountains) No primary source documents report the engagement as having occurred at a place named "Round Mountains". The name originates from a single writer who noticed a curl at the end of Mountain on the report and changed 'mountain' to its plural. This distinction supports the Yale site as to where the battle was fought because that location has two twin mounds. November 19, 1861 (the location mentioned has never been shown as being the

actual location of the engagement, and is disputed by many historians.)

Col. Douglas H. Cooper, Confederate commander of the Indian Department,was unable toreconcile differences with Chief Opothleyahola, commander of a band of Unionist Creeks and Seminoles. Cooper set out on November 15, 1861, with about 1,400 men to either compel Opothleyahola 's submission or “drive him and his party from the country.” Cooper's force rode up the DeepFork ofthe Canadian River to find Chief Opothleyahola’s camp deserted. On November 19, Cooper learned from captured prisoners that part of Opothleyahola’s band was erecting a fort at the Red Fork of the ArkansasRiver.

Cooper’s men arrived there around 4:00 p.m. Charging cavalry discovered that Opothleyahola’s followers had recently abandoned their camp. The Confederates located and followed stragglers; the 4th Texas blundered into Opothleyahola’s warriors on the tree line at the foot ofthe RoundMountains.The Federal response chased the Confederate cavalry back to Cooper’smain force. Darkness prevented Cooper's counterattack until the main enemy force was within 60 yards. After a short fight, Opothleyahola’s men set fire to the prairie grass and retreated.

The following morning, Cooper advanced on Opothleyahola’s new camp but found that the Federal forces had fled. The Confederates claimed victory because Chief Opothleyahola had left the area.

This was the first of three encounters between Opothleyahola’s Union bands and Confederate troops. The chief was forced to flee to Kansas at the end of the year.

The Confederate loss in the engagement was 1 captain and 5 men killed, 3 severely and 1 slightly

wounded, and 1 missing. Opothleyahola lost about 110 killed and wounded.

 

[farmersdaughter]

November 20, 1861

-flags was made throughout New York City in honor of the Port Royal victory, and Mr. James E. Ayliffe, the chimer, rang the following airs on the bells of Trinity Church: ringing the changes on eight bells, Hail Columbia, Yankee Doodle, airs from Child of the Regiment, Home Sweet Home, Last Rose of Summer, Evening Bells, Star-Spangled Banner, ringing the changes on eight bells, airs by De Beriot, airs from Fra Diavolo, Columbia the Gem of the Ocean, Hail Colombia, and Yankee Doodle.

—Several old whale ships purchased by the U. S. Government at New London, Connecticut, and New Bedford, Massachusetts, and loaded with what the soldiers of the Massachusetts Sixth regiment call ” Baltimore rations,” (stones and brickbats,) sailed for the South, to be sunk at the entrances of certain harbors.

—Seven divisions of troops, embracing all arms of the service, and about seventy thousand men,were reviewed, on the Potomac, by General McClellan and staff, accompanied by the President and cabinet, the diplomatic corps, &c., all of whom were mounted. The General was escorted by his body guard (Major Barker’s dragoons) and two regiments of regular cavalry— in all nearly two thousand mounted men. The salute was fired from fifteen batteries of artillery —about a hundred guns—and the whole was witnessed by between twenty and thirty thousand spectators.

—Colonel Burchard and twenty-four men of Jennings’ brigade attacked Captain Hays, with one hundred and fifty rebels, at the latter’s place of residence (near Kansas City) today, and succeeded in driving them away, burning Hays’ house, and the house of a man named Gregg. Both Hays and Gregg were captains in the rebel army. Colonel Burchard and Lieut. Bostwick were slightly wounded, and their two horses were killed. The rebels had five men killed and eight wounded.

—News from the eastern shore of Virginia —Aocomac and Northampton Counties—represent that the advance of General Dix and the distribution of his proclamation give general satisfaction. The rebels, three thousand in number, have disbanded, and the Union men have gained courage. The Stars and Bars have been lowered, and the glorious Stars and Stripes have taken their place, and the residents of these counties have welcomed the advance of the Union troops as a harbinger of returning peace and prosperity.—(Doc. 179.)

—A sensation was produced this morning in Baltimore, Md., by the seizure of Miller’s Hotel, corner of German and Paca streets, with all its contents, including a large number of horses. The object of this movement was to prostrate the mail arrangements of the rebel sympathizers there. It was supposed that from the hotel there had been regular communication kept up with teams to West River and thence to Virginia. The proprietors of the hotel had not been suspected generally, and were regarded as loyal men;but it was supposed that certain employees or lodgers had been receiving and transmitting letters forward to Secessia.

—The Richmond Enquirer, of this date, contains the report of the committee appointed by the Virginia State Convention to report on amendments to the State Constitution. It commences by saying that all good governments and the great interests of every community depend on the elements of labor and capital, which it is the part of enlightened statesmanship to equalize. It complains that, in the Northern States, the element of labor preponderates, which has caused the division of society into two distinct classes, thereby destroying the social system. It denounces the system of free schools, by which the children of the poor are educated at the expense of the rich, and rejects universal suffrage as calculated to demoralize the masses and foster corruption at the polls.—(Doc. 180.)

—Marble Nash Taylor, chosen Provisional Governor of North Carolina by the Union men at Hatteras, issued a proclamation calling upon the people of that State to return to their allegiance to the United States. —(Doc. 181.)

—The Richmond Dispatch, of this date, has the following: We are informed by one of our principal publishers, that the demand for Yankee books is not affected by the war, and that, a few days ago, he had an order for a considerable number of a Yankee arithmetic, although his shelves are filled with a work by an eminent Southern scholar, which is confessed to be the best in the language. There was one sentiment in the first letter of Prince Napoleon from this country, which filled us with dismay. He freely expressed in his letter his opinion of the uphill job which the North had undertaken in its attempt to subjugate the South. But he added that, in his opinion, after the war, trade would resume its usual channels. If he was right in that prediction, the war might as well—might better—have never been fought. If the South is to continue a commercial tributary of the North—if, above all, it is to look to the North for the education of its children, it is a subject and dependent province, and nothing more or less, no matter by what mocking name of freedom it is deluded. How long a war will it require to win this people from dependence upon the North?Better it should last forever than that the priceless blood already shed should have been shed in vain. We have no reason to fear the North in war; but when the army of bayonets becomes converted into an army of drummers, .the structure of Southern independence will be subject to a test more severe and terrible than any which Scott or McClellan are able to apply. As soon as this war is over, a Northern horde of salesmen will overrun the land, or come here to live, and vote down our liberties at the polls. If we do not make provision in our laws to prevent these objects, Southern independence is an idle dream.

—Letters from Loudon, Laurel County, Ky., emphatically deny the prevalent reports that the citizens of Loudon refuse to sell the Federal Government forage and ask exorbitant prices therefor, and also that General Zollicoffer had blockaded the Cumberland Gap by blasting rocks, etc.—Louisville Journal, November 20.

—In pursuance of a resolution of the Common Council, salutes of thirty-four guns each were fired in New York City, and the bells were rung as a token of rejoicing for the brilliant victory at Port Royal.—N. Y. Commercial Journal, November 20.

—The Congress of the Confederate States has passed an act to remove the capital from Richmond to Nashville, Tennessee.—Richmond Enquirer, November 20.

—The rebel Gen. Floyd suddenly broke up his camp in the vicinity of the Gauley River, and made a hasty retreat. Tie burned over three hundred of his tents, and destroyed a large amount of camp equipage. In his flight he cast aside ten wagon loads of ammunition and arms.

—The Ninety-third regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, under the command of Colonel McCarter, left Harrisburg for Washington.

—The new steam sloop-of-war Housatonic was launched at the Charleston, Mass., Navy Yard. The Fourth Massachusetts Light Battery went on board the ship Constitution at Boston.

 

[farmersdaughter]

November 21 1861

—The Legislature of Mississippi upon hearing that more troops were needed at Columbus, Ky., in view of an apprehended attack from the enemy, immediately passed a bill authorizing the Governor to “call out an optional number of volunteers for such time as their services may be needed, as an auxiliary force to our army up the river.” A half million dollars were also voted to maintain these troops at the expense of the State while in the field.— Richmond Dispatch, November 28.

—Col. Cavanaugh’s Sixth Illinois Cavalry regiment left Camp Butler, at Springfield, Ohio, for Shawneetown, to act as a garrison at that place, which is on the Illinois side of the Ohio River. This makes the sixth regiment of cavalry that Illinois has sent into active service, besides two independent squadrons. Illinois has now sent forty-seven thousand men into the field, (two thousand six hundred more than her quota,) and some half-a-dozen other regiments are ready for marching orders.—N. T. Times, November 27.

—Colonel Philip St. George Cooke was appointed Brigadier-General in the regular army of the United States.

—Captain John M. Schofield, of the First Artillery, and Major Thomas J. McKean, of Iowa, were appointed Brigadier-Generals of volunteers.

—The Eighty-fifth regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, under the command of Colonel Joshua B. Howell, left Harrisburg for the seat of war.

—Since the negotiation of the new loan on the 15th Nov., Secretary Chase has placed to the credit of disbursing officers in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, over five and a half millions of dollars, to be paid to contractors and other Government creditors.

—Fourteen Hundred cavalry, four regiments of infantry, and two batteries of artillery, were reviewed by Gen. Love and Gov. Morton and staff this afternoon, on the large common west of Camp Vajen, at Indianapolis, Ind. The column was nearly a mile in length, and altogether it was one of the grandest sights ever witnessed in the West. Several thousand people were in attendance. The coffee mill guns were objects of great curiosity, and performed to the satisfaction of the admiring crowd.—Cincinnati Commercial, November 22.

—The Fifteenth regiment N. Y. S. V., this afternoon made the first attempt at pontoon bridge building, near their camp, on the Eastern Branch of the Potomac. The pontoons of India rubber were inflated, and a bridge one hundred and eighty-eight feet long laid in thirty-three minutes. Fifty men crossed at ordinary and double-quick time, and on the run, and horses walked over. The regiment is supplied with a pontoon train and tools for constructing bridges and fortifications.

 

[farmersdaughter]

November 22 1861

—This morning, at New Orleans, Lieut. Morel, of the Third District Police, upon information received, arrested a German named Frenzel, who lived on Charles street, in the Second District, charging him with being an incendiary and a traitor to the State and Southern Confederacy. It appears that Frenzel, who was quite an intelligent man, had excited Lieut. Morel’s suspicions, by remarks that he was reported to have made in favor of Lincoln and his dynasty; he was watched—the result of which was, that he was heard to boast that there was a powerful organization in New Orleans—at least five thousand strong—which, the moment that the Lincoln army made its apance (sic) there, or on the coast, would rise and help them to the best of their ability.—New Orleans Crescent, November 23.

—Charles Macbeth, Mayor of the city of Charleston, S. C., issued a proclamation calling upon the citizens to assist the military and civil authorities in putting the city in a proper state of defence, by promptly contributing all their unemployed laborers for that object.—(Doc. 183.)

—General Huger, of the rebel army, at Norfolk, replies as follows to an inquiry made by Gen. Wool, as to whether United States soldiers, prisoners in the South, would be permitted to receive clothing and other necessary articles: “I consider myself fully authorized to reply at once to the inquiry made in your letter of the 8th inst. My Government will allow blankets and articles of clothing necessary for the comfort of prisoners of war to be sent to them. Such articles as you may send to me will be promptly forwarded by the Southern Express Company, and money may be sent to pay the freight here, (at Norfolk, Va.,) or it may be paid on delivery.”—N. Y. Commercial Advertiser,November 25.

—Price’s rebel army crossed the Osage River at Hoffman’s Ferry, Mo., and began a further march northward toward Sedalia.—Baltimore American, Nov. 26.

—On information obtained from a deserter, an expedition consisting of two gunboats,left Fortress Monroe late this evening, and proceeded to the junction of the James’ and Warwick Rivers, Va., about five and a half miles above Newport News, where they shelled the camp of the Second Louisiana regiment, completely destroying it, and causing much havoc among the rebels.—(Doc. 184.)

—The Second regiment of cavalry N. Y. S. V., “Black Horse Cavalry,” under the command of Colonel A. J. Morrison, left Camp Strong, near Troy, for the seat of war. Previous to their departure the troops were presented with an elegant stand of colors. Col. Morrison is an officer of considerable military experience. He served in the Mexican war, in the expeditions of Lopez and Walker, and with Garibaldi in Italy. On his return to the United States he was authorized to raise a regiment of cavalry, which he has designated the “Black Horse Cavalry,” and which is now the second regiment of volunteer cavalry of New York.

—Fort Pickens opened fire upon the rebel steamer Time, just as she entered the Navy yard at Warrington, Fla., and was answered by the rebels at Forts Barrancas and McRae. The firing continued upon both sides nearly all day.

 

[farmersdaughter]

November 23 1861

—The bombardment of the rebel Forts McRae and Barrancas was continued from Fort Pickens and the National ships in Pensacola harbor. Fort McRae was completely silenced, and Barrancas and the Navy yard at Warrington very much damaged. The town of Warrington was destroyed, together with the rebel rifle works at that place. Fort Pickens sustained no damage beyond the disabling of one gun. The loss on the Union side was one killed and six wounded.—(Doc. 191.)

—Brig.-Gen. H. H. Lockwood, in command of the Union force on the eastern shore of Virginia, issued a proclamation, by which the various officers of the civil government in that locality were restored to the exercise of their functions interrupted by the ordinance of secession. This expedition accomplished important results without bloodshed. Ten pieces of cannon were captured, eight of them new and in good condition; also a thousand stand of arms, rebel flags, &c.—(Doc. 185.)

—The Confederate gunboat Tuscarora, on her way up the Mississippi from New Orleans, took fire about fifteen miles above Helena, Ark. A strong wind was blowing at the time, and it was found impossible to save the boat. An effort to save the magazine was successful, but the shells on board began to explode soon after the fire commenced. The explosion fired the negro quarters on Mr. Harbutt’s plantation, as well as the tops of trees on the bank of the river. The boat was burned to a wreck.—Memphis (Tenn.) Avalanche, Nov. 25.

—The Germans of Cincinnati, Ohio, turned out in large numbers to-night, to attend a meeting held at Turner Hall, in that city, for the purpose of expressing sympathy with Gen. Fremont in the course lately pursued toward him by the Administration. The meeting was called to order by Dr. A. Bauer; Frederick Werner was appointed secretary. Judge Stallo and the Rev. Mr. Eisenlohr addressed the assemblage in the German, and Rev. M. D. Conway in the English language. A series of resolutions in German censuring the Administration for the supersedure of Gen. Fremont was passed.—Cincinnati Gazette, Nov. 25.

—Some citizens of Frankfort, Ky., faithful to the Union, met in that city and passed a series of resolutions in which they condemn the doctrine set forth by Simon Cameron and John Cochrane, in relation to arming the slaves, and express their belief that such a course “would add to the calamities of the present civil war, the further horrors of servile insurrection, murder, rapine, and plunder.”—(Doc. 186.)

—Lieut. J. L. Barnes, Missouri Volunteers, met D. K. Barclay, Confederate Commissioner, in St. Louis, and arranged for the exchange of the Union men taken prisoners by the rebels at Lexington, and the rebels taken prisoners at Camp Jackson by Gen. Lyon.— St. Louis Democrat.

—The steamer Constitution and Forest City, with the van of Gen. Butler’s expedition, sailed from Portland, Maine.—Boston Post, Nov. 25.

—Public notice was given that Government “will give the pay of U. S. soldiers who are prisoners of war to persons presenting written authority from the prisoner to draw his pay, or, without such authority, to his wife, the guardian of his minor children, or his widowed mother.”—(Doc. 187.)

—Gen. Thomas, in command of the left wing of the Union army in Kentucky, advanced his entire force from Danville to Columbia in Adair Co.—The Fifty-ninth regiment N. Y. S. V., Col. W. L. Tidball, left New York City for the seat of war.—N. Y. Herald, Nov. 30.

 

[farmersdaughter]

November 24 1861

—This evening a skirmish took place at Lancaster, Schuyler County, Mo., between a body of troops, under Col. Moore, and four hundred and twenty rebels under Lieutenant-Colonel Blanton. In the morning Col. Moore, with his command of four hundred and fifty men,left Memphis, Scotland County, Mo., for Lancaster, where he had learned that Colonel Woodwards, with a detachment of about one hundred men,was surrounded and in need of early assistance. Lancaster is, by the nearest road, some eighteen miles from Memphis, but by a forced march, Colonel Moore arrived there in the evening. The enemy was concealed in the brush and corn, about a mile west of the town, where an engagement took place, lasting half an hour, or until it was too dark to tell friend from foe. The rebels were completely routed. Thirteen were killed, several more wounded, and many taken prisoners. Among the rebels killed were Captain McCulloch and son, somewhat noted in that section. The Union loss was one killed, Joseph Garrison, one man named Adams mortally wounded, and another, named Gallupe, slightly wounded. Colonel Moore took possession of Lancaster to-night.—St. Louis Republican, November 30.

—At night Capt. Moreau’s Cavalry, accompanied by Gen. McCook’s body guard, went to the traitor Buckner’s farm, situated on Green River, a few miles above Munfordsville, Kentucky, and took possession of the stock, a large amount of grain, wheat, corn, &c.—N. Y. Times, November 80.

—William H. Carroll, Brig.-Gen. of Confederate forces at Camp Lookout, East Tennessee, annulled the proclamation of martial law made by his predecessor.—(Doc. 188.)

—United States gunboats Flag, Augusta, Pocahontas, and Seneca went from Port Royal in S. C., to Tybee Island at the month of the Savannah River, and threw in a few shells which drew no response from the rebel works; a body of marines was then landed, and the fortifications found to be deserted. Formal possession was then taken of the island.— (Doc. 189.)

 

[CagleMtnVol]

Today is also the 148th Anniversary of the Battle of Lookout Mountain

 

[farmersdaughter]

November 25 1861

—Two National gunboats landed troops at Buckingham, on the mainland of South Carolina. General Lee issued orders that no one should leave Charleston without a permit. The greatest activity prevailed in army movements, and “General Lee will dispute every inch of ground with a courage and desperation which will teach the Yankees a severe lesson. They will not be allowed to gain a permanent foothold on the mainland of South Carolina.”— Charleston Courier, November 26.

—Following the retirement of the Union forces, the rebels in Missouri advanced to Lebanon, fifty miles northeast of Springfield.

—Col. Buchanan, with six companies of the Fourth Infantry U. S. A., and the Ninth (Davidson’s) squadron of U. S. Dragoons, arrived in New York from California on the North Star.—National Intelligencer, Nov. 26.

—A Secessionist in Paducah, Ky., by the name of Woolfolk, hung a secession flag out of his window to-day, as some of the National troops were passing by, and hurrahed for Jeff. Davis. The man had done the same thing before on several occasions, and the matter was reported to General Smith, but he refused to interfere. This refusal of General Smith caused great indignation among the troops, and doubts of his loyalty were freely expressed in Paducah. The matter having been reported to General Wallace, he sent his aide-de-camp with a squad of men to order the traitorous flag to be taken in, and if Woolfolk refused, then to take it in, and erect the Stars and Stripes over his house. Woolfolk, knowing that General Smith was senior officer, refused to obey General Wallace’s order, whereupon Wallace’s aid forcibly took down the rebel flag, and hoisted the Stars and Stripes in its stead. In the mean time Woolfolk having appealed to General Smith, the latter sent his aid, Lieutenant Price, to order General Wallace to have the Stars and Stripes taken down from Weolfolk’s house. Wallace refused to obey the order, and sent word to Smith that the flag should not be taken down while there was a live man in his brigade. Wallace’s aid said that Woolfolk should sleep under a loyal flag one night, anyhow; Smith’s aid replied he did not consider that any great honor; whereupon Wallace’s aid knocked Smith’s down. General Paine sent Wallace assurances of his cooperation. As General Smith had nobody but his discomfited Lieutenant to enforce his order, the “old flag still waves.” The occurrence, however, was the subject of an order from Gen. Smith, deprecating the mutinous spirit manifested by the troops under his command.— (Doc. 190.)

—The Ninth New York Cavalry regiment left Albany for the seat of war in Virginia. This regiment was raised in Chautauqua, Cataraugus, and Wyoming counties, and the men are mostly agriculturists.—N. Y. Herald, Nov. 27.

—The affair of the black-flag is thus alluded to by the Charleston Courier of to-day: War in its best estate is war, and is horrible enough. If we must meet invaders, let us meet them with all the mitigation which invasion affords. To say that no prisoners are to be taken under any circumstances, is only to proclaim a war of extermination, in which both sides will suffer uselessly. The cry of extermination, black-flag, and no quarter, is shouted most vociferously by some who are evading any kind of war. People who fight are willing enough to accept a war of rules, as long as possible; and if they catch thieves and incendiaries, they can readily discriminate against them in, favor of prisoners of war.

—Major Isaac Lynde, Seventh U. S. Infantry, for abandoning his post—Fort Fillmore, New Mexico—on the 27th of July, 1861, and subsequently surrendering his command to an inferior force of insurgents, was, by direction of the President of the United States, dropped from the rolls of the army from this date.— General Orders, No. 102.

—A party of the Ninth Iowa regiment, on a scout, near Pacific City, Mo., overtook a body of rebels who had stolen a herd of cattle, hogs, and sheep from the Union men in the neighborhood, and succeeded in dispersing them, with one killed of the rebels.—Dubuque Times, Dec. 8.

—S. P. Sewell, a Yankee school teacher at Memphis,Tenn., has been arrested by the Committee of Safety as a person inimical to the South. —Nashville (Louisville) Courier, Not. 25.

—Intelligence of the capture and destruction of the rebel privateer Royal Yacht was received at Washington. At midnight of the 7th of November a volunteer expedition left the U. S. frigate Santee for the purpose of capturing the yacht, then lying at the entrance of the harbor of Galveston, Texas. The expedition was under command of Lieut. James E. Jouett, and consisted of the first and second launches, armed with howitzers, with forty men. Lieut John G. Mitchell commanded the second launch. The other officers were Wm. Carter, gunner, and Acting Master’s Mate Charles W. Adams. At three o’clock in the morning the yacht was boarded and captured after a sharp conflict, in which several of the rebels were killed, though some escaped. She was then set on fire, and her gun, a light thirty-two-pounder, was spiked, and before the boats regained the ship the yacht was entirely destroyed. A few stand of arms were captured, also thirteen prisoners, (three of them wounded,) and the yacht’s colors. The officers engaged exhibited great coolness and courage. Henry Garcia, seaman, was killed; and John L. Emerson, coxswain, died of his wounds. Lieut. Jouett, and Wm. Carter, gunner, were wounded; also five men,Edward Conway, Gunner’s Mate; Geo. Bell, Coxswain; Hugh McGregor, Ordinary seaman; Francis Brown, seaman; and Charles Hawkins, seaman.—(Doc. 192.)