The Civil War Day By Day Sesquicentennial Thread

[farmersdaughter]

March 9 1862

—Early yesterday afternoon, the rebel iron-plated steamer Merrimac came out of Norfolk harbor, moved slowly down the channel leading to Newport News, and steamed direct for the United States sailing frigates Cumberland and Congress, which were lying at the mouth of the James River. The Cumberland opened fire on her, but the balls had no effect. In the meantime the rebel steamers Yorktown and Jamestown, came down the James River and joined in the engagement The Merrimac ran against the Cumberland, striking her about midships and laying open her sides. This movement was repeated, and then the steamer started for the Congress. The latter surrendered, and in the evening it was fired. The Minnesota attempted to engage in the conflict, but run aground not far from Newport News. The St Lawrence fired a number of shots, but was unable to get near the rebel steamers. The gunboat Oregon was disabled by a shot in her boiler, and the gunboat Zouave was also damaged to some extent The new Ericsson iron-clad battery, the Monitor, arrived in the roads at ten o’clock in the evening, and at once went to the protection of the Minnesota. This morning the contest was renewed, and from eight o’clock to twelve o’clock, the two iron-clad steamers fought, part of the time touching each other. At last the Merrimac retired, having sustained serious injuries. The Monitor was uninjured.—(Doc. 82.)

—A Brigade of United States troops from Cairo, Ill., occupied Point Pleasant, Mo., about ten miles below New-Madrid, thus cutting off the communication of the rebels with the main confederate army further down the Mississippi River. At Point Pleasant the National troops took possession of a rebel transport loaded with flour, and scuttled her. —Cincinnati Gazette.

—The citizens of Shelbyville, Bedford County, Tenn., burned a large quantity of confederate stores, to prevent their falling into the hands of the rebel troops under A. Sydney Johnston, who were in full retreat from Murfreesboro’.

—Cockpit Point, Va., was occupied by the National troops. About two P.M., the rebels commenced to retreat, and fired their tents and other property difficult of removal. They also burned their steamer George Page, and all the other craft which they had in the creek. The National gunboats opened fire on the battery about three o’clock P.m., and at half-past four a force was landed, and ran up the Union flag over the rebel works.—(Doc. 83.)

—Great excitement existed throughout the seaboard cities and towns of the Northern States, concerning the possibility of the rebel gunboat Merrimac’s escaping from Hampton Roads and visiting them.

—This morning at daybreak, the camp of Gen. McCook, situated on the Franklin Turnpike, three miles south of Nashville, Tenn., was attacked by a party of rebels, and a corporal of the First Wisconsin regiment killed. —Louisville Journal, March 12.

—A skirmish took place to-day at Burk’s Station, near Fairfax Court-House, Va., between a detachment of the Linconn cavalry, consisting of fourteen men,under command of Lieut. Hidden, and about one hundred and fifty rebel infantry. The cavalry charged upon the rebels and drove back the majority of them, with the loss, however, of Lieut. Hidden. The remainder fought desperately on both sides, three rebels being killed, five wounded and eleven taken prisoners. The members of the Lincoln cavalry were commanded by Corporal Eugene Lewis, after Lieut. Hidden fell.—(Doc. 84.)

—Two powder-mills, on the opposite side of the river, at New-Orleans, were blown up, and five workmen were killed. The loss of property was principally in machinery. There was only about three thousand pounds of powder on hand. —New-Orleans Crescent, March 10.

 

[farmersdaughter]

March 10 1862

—Lieut. J. D. Joak, of the First Iowa cavalry, with thirty men,encountered a band of marauders posted in a log-house and barn in Lafayette County, Mo. The enemy were defeated after a short engagement, in which they had nine killed and three wounded. The National loss was one killed and four wounded.—N. Y. World, March 21.

—Au expedition, sent out from Sedalia, Mo., by Brig.-Gen. McKean, into Bates County, returned with forty prisoners of war, recruits from Gen. Price’s army, a quantity of arms, ammunition, and other effects.

—In the United States Senate a joint resolution, in accordance with the suggestion in the President’s Special Message, tendering the aid of the Government to the States of Maryland and Delaware, and favoring voluntary emancipation, was offered by Mr. Wilson, of Massachusetts, but objected to by Mr. Saulsbury, of Delaware, and laid over. The Confiscation bill was taken up, and Mr. Browning, of Illinois, made a speech in opposition to it. At the conclusion of his speech a joint resolution of thanks to Commodore Foote was passed. The House bill, providing a new Article of War, prohibiting officers of the army from returning fugitive slaves, was debated at considerable length, and finally passed as it came from the House, twenty-nine to nine.

—The gunboat Whitehall, lying at Hampton Roads, Va., took fire at two o’clock this morning, and was totally destroyed. Three of her guns, all of which were shotted, went off at intervals, and a shell burst in the air, scattering its fragments about Fort Monroe, without, however, doing any damage. Another gun was saved by the harbor crew. The Whitehall was formerly a Fulton ferry-boat, at New-York.

—This day Col. James Carter, with his regiment of loyal Tennesseeans, left Camp Cumberland Ford, and went through the mountains, some forty odd miles, to Big Creek Gap, some four miles above Jacksboro, Tenn., where they had a fight with the rebel cavalry. Two of the rebels were killed, four badly wounded, and fifteen taken prisoners, among whom was Lieut.-Col. White. Col. Carter also obtained all of the tents for three companies, their camp equipage, and provisions, and some arms. Twenty-seven of the rebels’ horses were killed, and fifty-nine captured, with seven mules and four wagons. Lieut.-Col. Keigwin, of the Forty-ninth regiment Indiana volunteers, accompanied Colonel Carter, and rendered most efficient service. The National casualties were Lieutenant Myers and one private slightly wounded.—Louisville Journal, March 24.

—This morning the National forces, amounting to upwards of two thousand, proceeded to Centreville, Va., and occupied the village about four o’clock in the afternoon. It was altogether deserted. The rebels had destroyed as much of their property as they could not carry away, by fire and otherwise. The bridges, railroad track and depot, in that vicinity were extensively damaged, and nothing but wreck and desolation were apparent—N. Y. Herald, March 12.

—In the confederate House of Representatives, a resolution was passed advising the planters to withdraw from the cultivation of cotton and tobacco, and devote their energies to raising provisions and cattle, hogs and sheep.

—Charles Williams, of Fredericksburg, Va., and Samuel P. Carrect, of Washington City, were arrested for disloyalty in Richmond, Va., this day. —Brunswick, Ga., was this day occupied by the National forces.

 

[farmersdaughter]

March 11 1862

—Manassas, Va., being evacuated by the rebel troops, this day the National forces took peaceable possession. Previous to their retreat the rebels attempted to destroy such of their stores as they could not carry with them. Bridges were burnt, the railroad tracks were broken up, and a large amount of commissary stores and other property was destroyed by fire. They left behind them, however, eighty army wagons, six caissons in good order, a large quantity of army clothing, good supplies of medical stores, besides many other useful articles. The forts were all dismantled, but the huts, sufficient to accommodate twenty-five or thirty thousand men,and built in a substantial manner, were left unharmed.—(Doc. 85.)

—This day Jeff. Davis sent a message to the rebel Congress, stating that he had suspended Gens. Floyd and Pillow from their commands until they could give more satisfactory accounts of their action at Fort Donelson. He is dissatisfied with their reports. The message states that neither of them say that reinforcements were asked for, nor do they show that the position could not have been evacuated and a whole army saved as well as a part of it. It is also not shown by what authority two senior generals abandoned their responsibility by transferring the command to a junior officer. —(Doc. 46.)

—This afternoon Assistant Surg. A. C. Rhoads, of the Pocahontas, by permission of his commanding officer, landed with a boat’s crew near Brunswick, Ga., for the purpose of procuring some fresh beef, for the ships. Having accomplished his object, the boat was returning to the Pocahontas, but had scarcely gone twenty yards from the beach, when they were suddenly fired upon by a body of rebels concealed in a thicket, and two men,John Wilson and John Shuter, were instantly killed, and seven wounded, one, William Delaney, mortally, and two severely, namely, William Smith, second, (first-class fireman,) and Edward Bonsall, (coxswain.) After the rebels had fired their first volley they called out, in most offensive language, to surrender; but this demand was refused by Dr. Rhoads, who, with the assistance of Acting Paymaster Kitchen and his wounded boat’s crew, pulled as rapidly as they could toward the Pocahontas, the enemy continuing their fire. In a few minutes a shell from one of the eleven guns of the Mohican dropped among them, and quite near to another company of about sixty men,who were advancing rapidly. The rebels scattered and fled in all direction. Several shells were also fired at a locomotive and train observed in the distance, and it is supposed with effect —Flag-Officer Du Pont’s Report.

—In the rebel Congress at Richmond, Va., a vote of thanks was passed to Capt Buchanan, his officers and crew, for their gallantry in the action in Hampton Roads, Va.

—Gen. Grant was this day presented with a sword by the officers of his command, at Fort Henry. The sword is of most exquisite workmanship, and manufactured at great expense. The handle is ivory, mounted with gold, and the blade of the finest texture and steel. There are two scabbards —one of fire-gilt and the other of gilt, mounted at the band. Accompanying the sword is a beautiful sash and belt, all inclosed in a fine rosewood case. The inscription on the sword was simply as follows: “Presented to Gen. U. S. Grant by G. W. Graham, C. R. Lagou, C. C. Marsh, and John Cook, 1861.”

—Gen. C. F. Smith has taken command of the army in the field, Gen. Grant remaining at Fort Henry. The latter has applied to Gen. Halleck to be relieved of his command altogether.

—Col. Geary, Acting Brigadier-General of troops at Leesburg, Va., made a personal reconnoissance yesterday as far as Carter’s Mills. The trail of the retreating enemy was blackened with the ruins of granaries, ashes of hay and grain-stacks, fences, etc. He found the bridge over Goose Creek had been burned. The rebels have completely fallen back. The command continues to make captures of rank secessionists. The loyal feeling is growing, and many persons come forward to take the oath of allegiance daily. Col. Geary, with some of his officers and a detachment of the First Michigan cavalry, rode to Ball’s Bluff to-day and buried the whitened bones of the brave Union soldiers who fell upon that field in October last. Impressive remarks preceded this humane act, and a monument of gross rebel neglect was hidden from human sight— N. Y. Times, March 12.

—The occupation of Manassas, Va., by the National troops, was celebrated throughout the loyal States in every manifestation of joy and patriotism.

—President Lincoln assumed the active duties of Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States. His first order, issued January twenty-second, but only now made public, directs a general movement of the land and naval forces against the rebels on the twenty-second day of February. The army and naval forces designated for this movement are especially directed to be ready, and the Secretaries of War and of the Navy, the General-in-Chief, McClellan, and all other commanders and subordinates are notified that they will be held to a strict and full accountability for the prompt execution of the order. The second order directs the organization of the Army of the Potomac into five corps, and designates the commanders of each. The third order states that Gen. McClellan, having personally taken the field, he is relieved of the command of all other military departments except that of the Department of the Potomac. The two departments of Generals Halleck and Hunter, with a portion of that now under Gen. Buell, are consolidated and designated as the Department of the Mississippi, and placed under the command of General Halleck. The country west of the Department of the Potomac, and east of the Department of the Mississippi, is designated the Mountain Department, and placed under command of General Fremont This department will include Western Virginia and East-Tennessee north of Knoxville. Commanders of departments are notified to report directly to the Secretary of War, and that prompt, full and frequent reports will be expected of them.—(Doc. 86.)

 

[farmersdaughter]

March 12 1862

—The forts in the harbor of NewYork, were this evening garrisoned by order of Edwin D. Morgan, Governor of the State.—The Union Defence Committee of New-York met at noon and passed a series of resolution complimentary to the officers, soldiers and seamen of the United States, for their participation in the recent victories of the National arms. —N. Y. Evening Post, March 12.

—Winchester, Va., was occupied by the Union forces under the command of Gens. Hamilton and Williams. .Company A, of the Wisconsin Third, Captain Bertrain, and a company from Connecticut, followed by Capt Coles’s company of Maryland, and a squadron of Michigan cavalry, were the first to enter the town. Two slight skirmishes occurred on the march. The troops encountered a strong fort one mile out, which was evacuated by Jackson last night. The people generally were intensely delighted, and hail the coming of the Union army as a harbinger of peace and future prosperity. The regiments, as they passed, were cheered and greeted from the houses with various tokens of welcome, which were responded to warmly by officers and men.—(Doc. 87.)

—Serg. Wade, with a squad of the Carolina light dragoons, captured two of the enemy, about one mile from the Evansport batteries. The prisoners proved to be Lt. Wm. T. Baum, of Philadelphia, belonging to Gen. Hooker’s staff, and Mr. Gregg, telegraph operator, of the same division of the Federal army.—Norfolk Day Book, March 19.

—A Battalion, comprising the First Nebraska regiment and a portion of Curtis’s Iowa cavalry regiment, under the command of Colonel W. W. Lowe, attacked a force of rebels six hundred strong, this morning, defeating them and taking possession of the town of Paris, Tenn., but being apprised that a large force of rebels was within a few hours’ marching distance, they retired, bringing away a number of prisoners. Company A lost five men killed, among them the Sergeant-Major. A second battalion, under command of Lieut.-Col. Patrick, crossed the river to-day to reenforce them.—(Doc. 88.)

—In the United States Senate, Mr. Davis presented petitions from citizens of Kentucky, asking Congress to disregard all schemes for emancipation and attend to the business of saving the country.

—The town of Berryville, Va., was occupied by the National troops yesterday, Gen. Gorman directing the advance. The enemy had five hundred cavalry there on their arrival; but the signal ordered a charge of the New-York cavalry upon them, supporting the onset with a sufficient force of artillery and infantry. The enemy did not wait to fight, but retreated toward Winchester. Twice last night were the pickets of Gen. Gorman’s brigade compelled to fall back by the charges of Ashby’s cavalry. This morning Gen. Gorman made a reconnoissance in force to within two miles of Winchester, drawing the rebel posse into an ingenious trap. They were again charged upon by the Union cavalry, losing four men killed and wounded. The arms, horses, and equipments, of the four victims, were captured.—N. T. Herald, March 13.

—The Florence (Ala.) Gazette, of this date, has the following: “We learned yesterday that the Unionists had landed a large force at Savannah, Tenn. We suppose they are making preparations to get possession of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad. They must never be allowed to get this great thoroughfare in their possession, for then we would indeed be crippled. The labor and untiring industry of too many faithful and energetic men have been expended on this road to bring it up to its present state of usefulness to let it fall into the hands of the enemy to be used against us. It must be protected. We, as a people, are able to protect and save it. If unavoidable, let them have our river, but we hope it is the united sentiment of our people, that we will have our railroad.” —Jacksonville, Fla. was occupied by the National forces.—(Doc. 89.)

 

[farmersdaughter]

March 13 1862—About nine o’clock this morning six companies of the Seventh regiment New-York Volunteers, encamped at Newport News, Va., started on a reconnoissance on the Williamsport road, running parallel with the James River. Col. Van Schak was in command. At about ten miles distant from camp they came across three hundred and fifty rebel cavalry pickets stationed at the junction of the Williamsport and Great Bethel roads. When the enemy were discovered, the troops were deployed into line and charged upon them. The latter, after firing a few shots at the Union skirmishers, and setting fire to the houses they had lately occupied, turned and fled. Some provisions, etc., were found, which were distributed among the troops.—N. Y. World, March 17.

—This afternoon, while twenty-six of the Union cavalry were foraging on the Strasburg road, three miles from Winchester, Va., they came upon a large barn, bearing evidence of having recently been occupied by Ashby’s men. While the teams were loading with hay, about two hundred of the latter came near, and threw out two companies as skirmishers. The Union men covered the departure of their teams, and prepared to resist an attack, which was finally commenced. At length six Wisconsin pickets came up with rifles, and killed two of the enemy. One of the cavalry dashed upon the rebels, amid a shower of bullets, and killed one of them with his pistol. The enemy made no effort at a charge, but gradually advanced as the Nationals fell back in good order and unharmed.

—Bishop Whittingham, of the Protestant Episcopal Church of Maryland and the District of Columbia, transmitted to all the clergymen of that church in parochial charge in the District, a prayer of thanksgiving for the late Federal victories, to be used on all occasions of public worship within eight days following the Sunday after its receipt —Baltimore American, March 15.

—Gen. Banks, at Winchester, Va., issued an order to the troops under his command, forbidding depredations of any kind whatsoever, and deeply regretting “that officers, in some cases, from mistaken views, either tolerate or encourage” such a course.

—The War Department of the United States, this day ordered, that Joseph Holt and Robert Dale Owen be, and they are hereby appointed a special committee to audit and adjust all contracts, orders, and claims on the War Department, in respect to ordnance, arms and ammunition, their determination to be final and conclusive, as respects this department, on all questions touching the validity, execution and sum due, or to become due upon such contract, and upon all other questions arising between contractors and the Government upon said contracts.

—Gen. Halleck, at St. Louis, Mo., issued an order assuming the command of the Department of the Mississippi, which includes the present Department of Kansas and Missouri, and the Department of Ohio and country west of a north and south line drawn through Knoxville, Tenn., and east of the western boundaries of the States of Missouri and Arkansas.. The headquarters of the Department of the Mississippi will remain until further orders at St Louis.

—Daniel Tyler, of Connecticut, was this day confirmed by the United States Senate, a Brigadier-General of Volunteers in the National army.

—In the House of Representatives of the United States, a resolution was passed tendering the thanks of Congress to Gen. Curtis, and the officers and men under his command, for the brilliant victory at Pea Ridge, in Arkansas.

—The bridge of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, at a point twenty miles from Jackson, Tenn., was totally destroyed by the third battalion of the Fifth Ohio cavalry, in command of Major Charles S. Hayes. The cavalry landed five miles above Savannah, and made a forced march of thirty miles into the rebel country. Just as the destruction of the bridge was completed, a party of rebel cavalry was discovered and pursued, and two of the party captured.—Cincinnati Commercial.

—Lieut. -Col. Bennet, of the Fifty-first Pennsylvania regiment, Lieutenant Riley of the Forty-seventh New-York, and S. H. Wills, Union Government Agent and Cotton Broker, were captured by the rebel pickets, on Edisto Island, and carried to Charleston, S. C, as prisoners of war.

—Brig.-Gen. Gatlin, of the department of North-Carolina, issued an order, by direction of the rebel Secretary of War, requiring that all cotton, tobacco and naval stores, within that department, shall be removed west of the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad; or, if distant from any railroad or navigable stream, put in such places of security that they cannot be reached by the enemy. Such of the above-mentioned products as are in exposed positions, must be removed at once, and those less exposed, removed or secured by the twenty-fifth instant, otherwise they will be destroyed by the military authorities. The General expresses a hope that the owners themselves will apply the torch rather than see the enemy gain possession of the much-coveted products. —Norfolk Day-Book, March 19.

 

[farmersdaughter]

March 14 1862

—An order was unanimously adopted, in the Massachusetts House to-day, authorizing the construction of one or two iron-clad steamers, on the plan of Ericsson’s Monitor, for the protection of the harbors of the State.

—Gen. Stoneman, Chief of Cavalry, with a force of about fifteen hundred cavalry and eight hundred infantry, made a reconnoissance this day, extending from Manassas up the Orange and Alexandria Railroad to Cedar Run. At that point they came across the rebel pickets, whom they drove over the run to a large force of the insurgents, who made no attempt to follow Gen. S., on his return toward Manassas. The rebels had burnt the Cedar Run bridge, and the bridge at Bristow, but not otherwise injured the railroad. The roads travelled over by the reconnoitring force were found strewed with hats, caps, muskets, blankets, ammunition, knapsacks, broken and abandoned loaded wagons, etc., confirming all other evidence that the retreat of the rebels was made under a panic.—(Doc. 92.)

—Early this morning, after several days’ skirmishing, and a number of attempts, by the rebel gunboats,to dislodge Gen. Pope, at Point Pleasant, Mo., the rebels evacuated their works at New-Madrid, leaving all their artillery, field-batteries, wagons, mules, and an immense quantity of other property of the greatest value. The rebels abandoned their works so hurriedly as to leave all the baggage of the officers, and knapsacks of the men,behind. Their dead were unburied. Their suppers were on their tables, and their candles were burning in their tents. The operations of Gen. Pope’s army, which led to the evacuation, were as follows: A heavy battery was established during the night of the twelfth inst, within eight hundred yards of the enemy’s works, and opened fire at daylight on the thirteenth inst. During the whole day the National lines were drawn closer around the works of the enemy, under a furious fire of sixty pieces of artillery, and the fear of an assault upon their works at daylight induced them to flee during the night. Many prisoners were taken, and the colors of several Arkansas regiments. The National loss during the siege was about fifty killed and wounded. —(Doc. 93.)

—Gen. McClellan issued a brief, spirited, and most telling address to the Army of the Potomac. He tells his troops, and through them the people, the purpose of their inaction. They were to be disciplined, armed and instructed, and the formidable artillery they now have created,and other armies were to move on and accomplish certain results, in order that the Army of the Potomac might give the death-blow to the rebellion. These preliminary results are now accomplished, and the Army of the Potomac is pronounced a real army—”magnificent in material, admirable in discipline and instruction, excellently equipped and armed,” with commanders all that the General-in-Chief could wish. The period of inaction is passed, and the General promises to place his troops face to face with the rebels. He will gain success with the least possible loss, but does not disguise the fact that they have brave foes to meet. Further, he says that he will demand of the army heroic exertions, rapid and long marches, desperate combats and privations: The patience they have shown is wonderful, and their confidence in their General is unbounded. He trusts in them to save their country.—(Doc. 94.)

—The battle of Newbern, North-Carolina, was fought this day between a combined land and naval force of the United States under Gen. Burnside and Commodore Goldsborough, and a rebel force under the command of Gen. Lawrence O’B. Branch. Day before yesterday, the National fleet left Roanoke Island, and entering the mouth of the Neuse River, landed the troops under cover of the gunboats yesterday morning at Slocum’s Creek. The men then marched some twelve miles up the river, and bivouacked for the night on the railroad, while the gunboats proceeded further up, and shelled a rebel battery. This morning the march was again resumed, and the troops had proceeded but a short distance when the rebels were discovered. Their works consisted of a series of strong batteries, extending over a distance of two miles, and defended by about ten thousand men,with twenty-one guns in position, besides a formidable array of field artillery. The batteries of the enemy were taken one after the other—the last and most formidable one, where the rebels had concentrated their whole strength, by a gallant bayonet-charge, in which the Massachusetts Twenty-first and the Pennsylvania Fifty-first figured conspicuously. The rebels then fled across the Trent River, destroying the bridges behind them, and having a sufficiency of cars at hand, made their escape in the direction of Goldsborough, leaving everything behind them, and about three hundred of their number as prisoners. They attempted to burn the town of Newborn before leaving it, but succeeded in doing very little damage, the citizens extinguishing the fires as fast as kindled. The Neuse River was obstructed by sunken vessels and chevaux-de-frise, which interfered with the operations of the gunboats. The rebels also had scows filled with tar and turpentine, at Newbern, to send down the river to burn the fleet, but the tide did not serve them as they desired, and the project failed. The National troops captured three light batteries of field-artillery, forty-six heavy siege-guns, large stores of fixed ammunition, and three thousand stand of small arms, and among the prisoners were one colonel, three captains and four lieutenants. They left a number of dead on the field, but as they carried off a large part of their dead and wounded, their loss cannot be known. The National loss is from ninety to one hundred killed, and about four hundred wounded.—(Doc. 95.)

 

[farmersdaughter]

March 15 1862

—This day a reconnoitring party started from the north side of Quantico Creek, and occupied Dumfries, Va. From the river to the village the road was strewn with dead horses. Some were in harness attached to wagons. The rebel force in and around Dumfries was composed of Texans, Alabamians, South-Carolinians, under the command of Wigfall, of Texas. About thirty cartridge and cap-boxes, some blankets, flour, etc., were found in the house used as Wigfall’s headquarters. A large quantity of shells and cartridges were also stowed away in a barn, and seventy-five boxes of ammunition were found near the creek.—N. Y. Commercial, March 17.

—The United States frigate Cumberland, which was sunk by the attack of the Merrimac, rebel steamer, still keeps her masts above water, and the Stars and Stripes are yet flying at her masthead.

—A Naval expedition, composed of the gunboats Benton, Louisville, Cincinnati, Carondelet and Conestoga, under Flag-Officer Foote, left Cairo, Ill., at seven o’clock this morning. At Columbus they were joined by the Pittsburgh, St Louis and Mound City, and were overtaken by eight mortar-boats, in tow of four steamers, with transports and ordnance-boats. They arrived at Hickman, Ky., at half-past four o’clock this afternoon. The mounted pickets of the enemy were in sight on the bluff, when two companies of the Twenty-seventh Illinois regiment were sent after them, but they escaped.—N. Y. Herald, March 10.

—Early yesterday morning the Island Belle entered Aquia Creek, Va., near the pier and commenced shelling the battery on the hill, the battery on the water –line having been abandoned. The fire was returned from the hill-battery. No harm was done to the Island Belle, save the carrying away of a piece of joiner’s work from the engine-room by a fragment of a shell. Later in the day the Anacostia and the Yankee shelled the field-battery at Boyd’s Hole, and, after a lively interchange of iron compliments, which did no harm to the vessels, they both retired. The steamer Yankee visited the Navy-Yard at Washington, took on board a quantity of shell, and to-day, with the Anacostia, she proceeded to shell the rebel batteries at Aquia Creek. The enemy replied briskly with their guns, but failed to reach the Yankee, although they made several excellent line-shots. One shell struck but a short distance from the Yankee, in direct range with her wheel-house. Most of the shots were too high for the Anacostia, many of them passing over to a great distance. The heavy guns of the Yankee enabled her to lie off out of range, and drop her shells with precision into the batteries. After firing some time the Yankee and Anacostia hauled off, without being struck.

—Gen. Lew. Wallace’s division went to Purdy, McNair County, Tenn., burned the bridge, and took up the track, on the railroad leading from Humboldt to Corinth, Miss., cutting off a train heavily laden with troops, which arrived while the bridge was burning. —N. Y. World, March 17.

 

[farmersdaughter]

March 16 1861

—This day Gen. Garfield defeated a body of rebels, intrenched on the summit of the Cumberland Mountains, in Eastern Tennessee. The National troops, numbering six hundred men,detailed in about equal numbers from the Forty-second and Fortieth Ohio, and Twenty-second Kentucky regiments and McLaughlin’s cavalry, left their camp on the fourteenth, destined for Pound Gap. That point was reached to-day after a march of thirty-seven miles, performed in some thing less than two days. The enemy were taken by surprise, dislodged from their stronghold, and driven routed and discomfited from the field. The entire camp, with its equipage, consisting of numerous log-huts, canvas tents, subsistence stores, wagons, and all the trappings of camp life, together with some three hundred squirrel rifles, fell into the hands of the Unionists. In the absence of means of transportation, all but what the troops could carry on their backs was submitted to the flames. It was a brilliant success, and the entire detachment returned without loss or damage to a man.—(Doc. 96.)

—This day a battalion of the Fourth Illinois regiment had a skirmish with a squadron of rebel cavalry, near Pittsburgh Landing, resulting in the defeat of the latter with some loss. Four of the Nationals were wounded.

—The bark Glen, which had been blockaded in the harbor of Beaufort N. C, for some time, was set on fire by the rebels, and completely destroyed.

—The Nashville (Tenn.) Times suspended publication, owing to the restriction of its “independence” by Gov. Andrew Johnson.—N. Y. Times, March 28.

—Gen. Wright, Commander of the Department of the Pacific, instituted martial law in San Francisco, and issued an order dated February second, by which Major Hiram Leonard, of the United States Army, is appointed Provost Marshal.— N. Y. Herald, March 28.

 

[farmersdaughter]

March 17 1862

—The United States gunboat Cimerone, was launched at Bordentown, N. J., this day. She was built by Capt D. S. Mershon. —N. Y. Tribune.

—The United States Senate confirmed the following nominations for brigadier-generals of volunteers: Major William F. Barry, chief of artillery, attached to Gen. McClellan’s staff; Willis A. Gorman of Minnesota; Col. Schuyler Hamilton; Thomas L. Price, member of Congress from Missouri; Major James N. Palmer, Fifth cavalry; Lieut.-Col. Wm. H. Emory, Sixth cavalry; Major Andrew J. Smith, Fifth cavalry; Marcena L. Patrick of New-York; Isaac F. Quinby of New-York; Orris S. Ferry of Connecticut; Hiram G. Berry of Maine. The following brigade-surgeons, all of Pennsylvania, were confirmed: James D. Shawbridge, R, B. McKay, George L. Kemblc, J. H. Taylor, George L. Pancoast, C. F. H. Campbell, F. H. Gross, Washington J. Dufee.

—A petition was presented from citizens of NewYork, asking Congress to stop the agitation of the slavery question, and attend to the restoration of the Union.

 

[farmersdaughter]

March 18 1862

—Jefferson Davis sent a message into the rebel Congress, recommending that all the rebel prisoners who had been put on parole by the United States Government, be released from the obligation of their parole, so as to bear arms in defence of the rebel government. Of this message the Richmond Examiner said: “The recommendation was urged as a retaliation for the infamous and reckless breach of good faith on the part of the Northern Government, with regard to the exchange of prisoners, and was accompanied by the exposure of this perfidy in a lengthy correspondence conducted by the War Department We have been enabled to extract the points of this interesting correspondence. It appears from the correspondence that, at the time permission was asked by the Northern Government for Messrs. Fish and Ames to visit their prisoners within the jurisdiction of the South, our government, while denying this permission, sought to improve the opportunity by concerting a settled plan for the exchange of prisoners. For the execution of this purpose, Messrs. Conrad and Seddon were deputed by our government as Commissioners to meet those of the Northern Government under a flag of truce at Norfolk. Subsequently, a letter from Gen. Wool was addressed to Gen. Huger, informing him that he (Gen. Wool) had full authority to settle any terms for the exchange of prisoners, and asking an interview on the subject Gen. Howell Cobb was then appointed by the government to mediate with Gen. Wool, and to settle a permanent plan for the exchange of prisoners during the war. The adjustment was considered to have been satisfactorily made. It was agreed that the prisoners of war in the hands of each government should be exchanged, man for man, the officers being assimilated as to rank, etc., that our privateersmen should be exchanged on the footing of prisoners of war; that any surplus remaining on either side, after these exchanges, should be released, and that hereafter, during the whole continuance of the war, prisoners taken on either side should be paroled. In carrying out this agreement, our government has released some three hundred prisoners above those exchanged by the North, the balance in the competing numbers of prisoners in the hands of the two governments being so much in our favor. At the time, however, of sending North the hostages we had retained for our privateersmen, Gen. Cobb had reason to suspect the good faith of the Northern Government, and telegraphed in time to intercept the release of a portion of these hostages, (among them Col. Corcoran,) who were en route from points further South than Richmond to go North under a flag of truce to Norfolk. A number of these hostages, however, had already been exchanged. It now appears that, in contravention of the solemn agreement of the Northern Government, not one of our privateermen have been released, and the Fort Donelson prisoners, instead of being paroled, have been taken into the interior, where they are still confined. As a judgment upon this open and shameless perfidy of the North, it is proposed that our prisoners, who have been paroled by the Yankees, shall be released from their obligations. There is as little doubt of the honor of such a proposition as there is of its justice and meetness as a retaliatory measure for an act of flagrant perfidy. —Richmond Examiner, March 19.

—The rebel steamer Nashville escaped from the harbor of Beaufort, N. C, this night, evading the National blockading vessels by superior speed.—(Doc. 97.)

—A short time since, anticipating rebel movements in Texas County, Missouri, Gen. Halleck ordered five companies of troops and two light steel six-pounders, mounted on two wheels amd drawn by two horses, under Col. Wood, to repair to that vicinity. Finding no enemy there, Col. Wood pushed on to Salem, Fulton County, Arkansas, where he encountered a largely superior force of rebels, and after a sharp fight routed them, killing about one hundred and taking many prisoners, among whom were three colonels. The National loss was about twenty-five.—(Doc. 98.)

—The ship Emily St Pierre, was this day captured off Charleston, S. C, by the vessels of the United States blockading fleet She had a full cargo of gunnies, and was ostensibly bound to St. John’s, New-Brunswick. She showed no colors, nor was any national ensign found on board. A few moments before she was boarded they were observed to throw over the stern a small package, which immediately sunk.

—To-day Gen. Sickles ordered a portion of the First regiment, Excelsior brigade, under the command of Col. Dwight, to reconnoitre the position of the enemy’s forces between Dumfries and Fredericksburgh, Va. His skirmishers, after marching to a place four miles in the interior, suddenly came upon a force of rebel cavalry, who were put to flight When within a short distance of Fredericksburgh, a camp of the enemy was discovered, said to number one thousand three hundred infantry and artillery. The force of Col. Dwight being inadequate to make an assault upon them, fearing he might be cut off, he marched toward Dumfries. On the way the force examined a barn where some rebel cavalry were seen to emerge, and found it filled with choice commissary stores, to which the soldiers helped themselves. On the march from Dumfries to Shipping Point, within five miles of the latter place, a large camp was discovered, containing many good log houses and tents. Articles of furniture were also found, such as sofas, bedsteads, mirrors, cushioned arm-chairs, officers’ trunks, mess chests, and a variety of articles for camp use, which lay scattered in every direction. The soldiers of Col. Dwight’s force came in at Shipping Point loaded down with commissary stores or articles in the shape of trinkets. One prisoner was captured, who said he belonged to a North-Carolina regiment stationed at Aquia Creek.—N. Y. Times, March 20.

—Aquia Creek, Va., was evacuated by the rebels to-night Previous to their retreat they burned the wharves and buildings of the town.

—A New military department, to be called the Middle Department, and to consist of the States of New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia, and the counties of Cecil, Hartford, Baltimore, and Anne Arundel, in Maryland, was created. Major-Gen. Dix, was assigned the command, his headquarters at Baltimore.

—Near New-Madrid, Mo., Gen. Pope allowed a rebel gunboat to approach within fifty yards of a masked battery, and then sunk her, killing fifteen of those on board. He had previously allowed five rebel steamers to pass on toward the town, and they are now between his batteries, unable to escape.—N. Y. Tribune, March 22.

 

[farmersdaughter]

March 19 1862

—The bridge-builders captured by Morgan’s party, on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, having been released, returned this evening to Louisville, Ky.

—At New-Orleans, Gen. Lovell, C.S.A., issued the following order: “Hereafter no exemptions from military duty will be allowed permanently, except in the case of minors or persons physically unable to do service. Applications for the release of those engaged upon work for the government must be made to this department in the form of certificates from the owners or foremen of the shops, when an order will be issued to the commanding officer of the camp to which the applicant belongs to grant a furlough of a certain number of days, which can only be renewed by a subsequent certificate and order from these headquarters.”— Neva-Orleans Delta, April 4.

—The Ninety-seventh regiment of New-York Volunteers, under the command of Col. Charles Wheelock, passed through New-York City for the seat of war. Col. Wheelock, a wealthy and influential resident of Oneida County, who undertook the task of organizing the regiment, expended upward of nine thousand dollars out of his own pocket towards the support of the families of the men and for the advancement of the organization.—N. Y. Tribune, March 22.

 

[farmersdaughter]

March 20 1862

—Gov. Curtin issued a general order complimenting the Fifty-first regiment of Pennsylvania for gallantry at Roanoke and Newbern, N. C, at the latter engagement storming the enemy’s batteries at the point of the bayonet, and ordering the names of these battles to be inscribed on their colors. The regiment is commanded by Col. Hartrauft, and mainly composed of those who left Bull Run before the battle. They were the first to plant the flag at Newbern, and seem determined to recover their lost fame.— .N. Y. Herald, March 22.

—The One Hundred and Fourth regiment of New-York volunteers, under the command of Col. John Roorbach, left Albany for the seat of war. This regiment was organized by the consolidation of seven companies which were recruited in Genesee, and three companies in Troy, and numbers about nine hundred and fifty men,who are well uniformed, and give every indication of being a hardy set of fellows.—N. Y. Tribune, March 22.

—Seventy-seven citizens of Loudon County, Va., accused of loyalty to the Federal Government, were sent to Richmond on the central cars, and committed to one of the military prisons.— Lynchburgh Virginian.

—A Meeting of loyal citizens was held at Jacksonville, Fla., at which a declaration of rights and a protest and resolutions were unanimously adopted to the following effect: That no State has a constitutional right to separate from the United States. That the act of secession adopted by the State Convention of Florida is void, being in conflict with the Constitution and never having been submitted to the people for ratification. That Florida is an integral part of the United States, subject to constitutional jurisdiction, and it is believed that thousands of her citizens hail with joy the restoration of the Government, bringing deliverance from the terrors of an unrestrained military despotism. They protested against all the acts and ordinances of the convention, as depriving them of their rights as citizens of the United States; against the despotism which denied freedom of speech and of the press; against the contributions of money, property, and labor and military enlistments forced upon them; against the tyranny which demands the abandoment of their homes and property, and the exposure of their wives and children to sickness, destitution, and famine, and untold miseries; against the barbarous policy which sends brutal soldiers to pillage and burn property and destroy life as a punishment for remaining in their homes; and against the government who threatens to hang them because they will not tamely submit to such indignities. Having been released from such dangers and indignities, and restored to the Government of the United States, and the reign of terror having passed, it now becomes them as loyal citizens to rise up and state that the State and Government demands that a convention of all loyal citizens be called forthwith to organize a State Government of the State of Florida. Also that the Chief of the Military Department of the United States be requested to retain sufficient force to maintain order and protect the people in their persons and property.—(Doc. 100.)

—The United States gunboat Juniata was launched at Philadelphia, Pa., this day.

—Six citizens of Sangamon County, Ill., were arrested by order of Gen. Halleck, and sent to Alton, to be placed in close confinement, for aiding the escape of rebel prisoners from Camp Butler.—Cincinnati Gazette, March 22.

-Gen. Sherman issued a proclamation to the people of Florida, in which he stated that the troops of the United States had come to protect loyal citizens and their property, and enable them to resuscitate their government All loyal people who return or remain at their homes, in the quiet pursuit of their lawful avocations, shall be protected in all their constitutional rights. The sole desire and intention of the Government was to maintain the integrity of the Constitution and laws, and reclaim the States revolted from the national allegiance to their former prosperous condition. He expresses great satisfaction at the evidence of loyalty, and recommends the citizens to assemble in their cities and towns and proscribe and throw off the sham government forced upon them, and swear true fidelity and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States, organize a State government, and elect officers in the good old ways of the past When this is done, he predicts a return of prosperous and happy times, immunity from want and suffering, and the enjoyment of honest labor, and the sweets of happy homes, and the consolation of living under wise and salutary laws, due only to an industrious and law-abiding people.

 

[Nerd-Vol]

Great stuff Fd.

I can't wait till Sherman burns the hell out of Atlanta.

 

[farmersdaughter]

Great stuff Fd.

I can't wait till Sherman burns the hell out of Atlanta.

We still got a couple years to wait lol.

 

[farmersdaughter]

March 21 1862

—Yesterday an expedition was sent out to the vicinity of Indian Creek, west of Keitsville, Mo. Capt Stevens, with fifty-two men,and one of his mountain howitzers, were accompanied by thirteen home-guards. On the route, he was informed that a rebel force was to rendezvous at the house of one Boone the next night Capt Stevens approached the house early in the morning, and captured nine rebels who were in the house. Eight more, who arrived soon after, were also taken in. The prisoners thus taken, seventeen in number, who were all carried into the Union camp, include three rebel captains,to wit: James W. Bullard, George R. McMinn, and Jasper Moore. The men were all armed, and the arms fell into the hands of the Nationals. About one thousand pounds of bacon, which had been collected at the house for the use of the rebel army, was also taken possession of by the Union troops. —St. Louis Republican.

—Commodore Dc Pont, having received from the Mayor and inhabitants of St Augustine, Fla., an invitation to take possession of that place, several gunboats,with the battalion of marines, proceeded down and came to off the harbor, where they found that Com. Rodgers, of the Wabash, had taken quiet possession of the place, with his marines and some volunteer soldiers, under Gen. Sherman. The volunteers had possession of the fort, and the marine-guard were quartered in the towa —(Doc. 101.)

—Two new military departments were constituted by the President; the first, called the Department of the Gulf, which comprises all the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, west of Pensacola harbor, and so much of the Gulf States as might be occupied by the forces under Major-Gen. B. F. Butler, United States Volunteers; the headquarters to be wherever the General commanding was. The other was denominated the Department of the South, comprising the States of South-Carolina, Georgia and Florida, with the expedition and forces under Brig.-General T. W. Sherman, to be under the command of Gen. David Hunter.

—Secretary Welles, of the United States Navy Department, made the following acknowledgment of services rendered by Lieut. George U. Morris, and the men of the Cumberland: “Sir: In the calamitous assault of the armed steamer Merrimac upon the sloop Cumberland, and frigate Congress, on the ninth inst, which were comparatively helpless, the Department has had occasion to admire the courage and determination of yourself, and the officers and men associated with you, who, under the most disastrous and appalling circumstances, boldly fought your formidable assailant, exposed, as you were, to an opponent secure in his armor, while attacking the Cumberland. To your honor, and that of those associated with you, the guns were coolly manned, loaded and discharged, while the vessel was in a sinking condition, and your good ship went down with the flag at the gaff, and its brave defenders proved themselves worthy of the renown which has immortalized the American navy. The gallant service of yourself and the brave men of the Cumberland, on the occasion, is justly appreciated by a grateful country, and the Department, in behalf of the Government, desires to thank you and them for the heroism displayed, and the fidelity with which the flag was defended.”

—At a meeting of the cashiers of the Associated Banks of Baltimore, to-day, all the Banks being represented, the following resolution was unanimously adopted, namely: “Resolved, That United States Demand Treasury Notes shall be received by the Associated Banks of Baltimore, on and after Saturday, the twenty-second inst, without limit, on deposit.

—This day a boat-fight took place at Mosquito Inlet, Florida, in which Lieut. Commanding T, A. Budd, and Acting Master Mather, together with three sailors of the United States Navy, were killed.— (Doc. 102.)

—The Norfolk Day-Book of this day complains that drunkenness is frightfully on the increase in Virginia. It firmly denounces the officers and soldiers, but censures the civilians less harshly. Here is a portion of its remarks: “Whisky—Whisky—Whisky. —In the cars, at the shanties, at the groceries, in village taverns and city hotels—whisky. Officers with gold lace wound in astonishing involutions upon their arms, private soldiers in simple homespun, and civilians in broadcloth, all seem to drink whisky with persistent energy and perseverance. They drink it too, in quantities which would astonish the nerves of a cast-iron lamp-post, and of a quantity which would destroy the digestive organs of the ostrich. Truth is often unpleasant to tell, but the public safety demands that the vice in question should be rebuked and reformed; for it is a fact which the press should neither palliate nor conceal, that whisky which is no more akin to rye than rye is to coffee—whisky which is of the unadulterated tangle—first chain-lightning distillation is guzzled down in a manner alike revolting to public decency and the general good.”

—Washington, N. C, was occupied by the National forces under Gen. Burnside. The Unionists landed from their gunboats,and, headed by a band of music, marched through the town, playing Hail Columbia, and waving the Stars and Stripes at a lively rate. The few people who had remained in the place since the fall of Newbern, received them with marked coolness. Their music and their banners wholly failed to arouse any of that Union feeling which Marble Nash Taylor collected several thousand dollars in New-York to set free, so they left without disturbing cither persons or property.—Petersburg (Va.) Express, March 27.

 

[Nerd-Vol]

Sounds like the folks in Virginia knew how to have a good time!

 

[farmersdaughter]

March 22 1862

—At Nashville, Tenn., Andrew Johnson delivered an eloquent and impressive address, on political affairs. There was nothing new in the remarks of the Governor, he merely dwelling upon the Northern views of the war, its origin and purposes; but he was listened to by many men,secessionists in sentiment, but former political friends of the Governor, who cannot fail to be influenced by his honesty.

—Yesterday a National reconnoissance in force was made from Camp Cumberland Ford to Cumberland Gap by infantry, cavalry and artillery. On arriving within one and a half miles of the Gap, an advance guard was thrown out, which came in contact with the rebel pickets and drove them in. A few shots were exchanged without loss. The forces encamped last night, building the fires out of range of the enemy’s guns. Considerable snow fell during the night. Shortly after day this morning, firing commenced with skirmishes from the Unionists, to which the enemy responded from rifle-pits, now and then throwing a shell. The artillery was then brought into the field, some timber cut, and firing began in earnest. During tho day the battery, Capt Wetmore’s, fired about one hundred and fifty shots, while the rebels fired some two hundred, very few of that number reaching the position of the Union forces. No one was injured on the National side, nor was it known that any injury was done to the rebels, the distance being so great.— Louisville Democrat, March 29.

—A Union meeting was held in Fairfax Court-House, Va., this day. Speeches were made by Charles H. Upton, J. C. Underwood, and others. Resolutions were adopted expressing thanks to President Lincoln and Secretary Seward for their sagacity and wisdom in managing our domestic and foreign affairs, and appealing to Gov. Pierpont to order an early election for county officers.

—The Senate of Massachusetts to-day unanimously passed resolutions eulogizing Lieut.-Col. Merritt, Adjutant Stearns, and other lamented men of Massachusetts, who fell at the battle of Newborn.

—A Skirmish occurred between a detachment of the Sixth Kansas regiment and Quantrell’s band, near Independence, Mo. The latter were routed with seven killed. The Unionists lost one killed, and captured eleven prisoners and twenty horses. The rebels killed two of the Unionists, and burned the bridge over the Little Blue River.

—A Scouting party from the New-York Sixty-first regiment, while passing down the railroad from Manassas toward Warrenton, Va., were fired upon by a party of cavalry, supposed to belong to Stuart’s regiment Upon making a demonstration toward the assailants, the rebels fled in great haste. It was undoubtedly their intention to pick off a man or two; but they were fortunately beyond range, and thus failed in their object—N. Y. Herald, March 26.

—The Newbern (N. C.) Progress made its appearance to-day under new auspices, and altogether new management, with the following salutatory: “We come before the people of North-Carolina an earnest advocate of that glorious Union which her patriotic ancestry so nobly aided to cement and establish. “The Progress has been heretofore one of the most virulent and bitter opposers to the Government in the South, and its former proprietor, not satiated with treason already committed, has filled his cup of bitterness by openly taking up arms against the Union which so long fostered and nourished him.” The Progress is edited by George Mills Joy, and is published by E. L. Davenport &

 

[farmersdaughter]

Quantrills Raiders

Further information: see Bleeding Kansas and Missouriinthe AmericanCivilWar

The Missouri-Kansas border area was fertile ground for the outbreak of guerrilla warfare when the Civil War erupted in 1861. Historian Albert Castel wrote:

For over six years, ever since Kansas was opened up as a territory by Stephen A. Douglas' Kansas-Nebraska Bill of 1854, its prairies had been the stage for an almost incessant series of political conventions, raids, massacres, pitched battles, and atrocities, all part of a fierce conflict between the Free State and proslavery forces that had come to Kansas to settle and to battle. [1]

In February 1861 Missouri voters elected delegates to a statewide convention, which rejected secession by a vote of 89-1. Unionists, led by regular US army commander Nathaniel Lyon and Frank Blair of the politically powerful Blair family, and increasingly pro-secessionist forces, led by governor Claiborne Jackson and future Confederate general Sterling Price, contested forthe political and military control of the state.By June,there was open warfare between Union forces and troops supporting the Confederacy. Guerrilla warfare immediately erupted throughout the state and intensified in August after the Union defeat at the Battle of Wilson's Creek. [2]

By August 1862, with the Union victory at the Battle of Pea Ridge, the state was free ofsignificant regular Confederate troops but the violence in Missouri continued. One historical work describes the situation inthe state after Wilson's Creek:

Unlike other border areas in Maryland and Kentucky, local conflicts, bushwacking, sniping,and guerilla fighting marked this period of Missouri history. "When regular troops were absent, the improvised war often assumed a deadly guerrilla nature as local citizens took up arms spontaneously against their neighbors. This was a war of stealth and raid without a front, without formal organization, and with almost no division between the civilian and the warrior." [3]

The most notorious of these guerrilla forces was led by William Clarke Quantrill.



Methods and legal status


Quantrill was not the only Confederate guerrilla operating in Missouri, but he rapidly gained the greatest notoriety. He and his men ambushed Union patrols and supply convoys, seized the mail, and occasionally struck towns on either side of the Kansas-Missouri border. Reflecting the internecine nature of the guerrilla conflict in Missouri, Quantrill directed much of his effort against pro-Union civilians, attempting to drive them from the territory where he operated.

Under his direction, Confederate partisans perfected military tactics such as coordinated and synchronized attacks, planned dispersal after an attack using pre-planned routes and relays of horses, and technical methods, including the use of the long-barreled revolvers that later became the preferred firearm of western lawmen and outlaws alike. The James-Younger Gang, many of whose members rode withQuantrill,applied these same techniques after the war to the robbery of trains and banks.

Confederate induction

On 15 August 1862, Quantrill and his men were officially mustered into the Confederate army under the Confederate Partisan Ranger Act. Quantrill was designated as a captain and other officers were elected by the men. Quantrill often referred to himself as a General. Despite the legal responsibility assumed by the Confederate government, Quantrill often acted on his own with little concern forhis government's policy or orders. [4]

His most notable operation was the Lawrence Massacre, a revenge raid on Lawrence, Kansas in August 1863.

Lawrence had historically been the base of operations of abolitionist organizations, and during the war, pro-Union irregular raids by Redlegs and Jayhawkers into Missouri. A month prior to the raid, familymembers of Quantrill's men held as hostages by Unionist forces in a dilapidated and overcrowded Kansas City prison, died when that building collapse Calling for revenge, Quantrill organized a unified partisan raid on Lawrence, Kansas, the center of these Union forces. Coordinating across hundreds of miles, smallbands of partisans rode over 300 miles (480 km) to rendezvous on Mount Oread in the early morning hours beforethe raid. Quantrill's men burned a quarter of the town's buildings, and killed at least 150 men and boys. [5]

One of the main targets of the raid, Abolitionist U.S. Senator Jim Lane, escaped by fleeing into corn fields. [6] The Lawrence raid was the most successful and infamous operation of Missouri's Southern guerrillas.

Confederate reaction

The Confederate leadership was appalled by the raid and withdrew even tacit support from the "bushwackers". Following the raid, in the winter of 1863-64, Quantrill led his men behind Confederate lines into Texas. There, their often lawless presence proved an embarrassment to the Confederate command.

Some Confederate officers appreciated the effectiveness of these Missouri irregulars against Union forces, which never gained the upper hand over them, especially Quantrill. Among these was General Joseph O. Shelby, who rode south into Mexico with his troops rather than surrender at the end of the war, and whose command was remembered as "The Undefeated". Their exploits are also immortalized in a later addition to the post-war ballad, "The Unreconstructed Rebel":

"I won't be reconstructed– I'm better now than then. And for that Carpetbagger I do not care a damn. So it's forward to the Frontier soon as I can go.

I'll fix me up a weapon and start for Mexico." [7]

John Noland

Among Quantrill's men was a free African American man named JohnNoland. He was one of Quantrill's scouts, reputed to be his best one. Noland helped scouting Lawrence, Kansas,beforethe raidbyQuantrill's menin 1863. He joined Quantrill's raiders because of the abuse his family suffered at the hands of Kansas Union Jayhawkers. Post-war pictures show him sitting withcomradesat reunions of the Raiders. Inthe 1999 movie Ride with the Devil, depicting a group of fictionalized Missouri bushwhackers similar to those of Quantrill's Raiders as well as the Lawrence raid, the character of Daniel Holt was representative of Quantrill's John Noland.

Dissolution

During late winter 1863, Quantrill lost his hold over his men. In early 1864, the guerrillas he had led through the streets of Lawrence returned from Texas to Missouri in separate bands, none led by Quantrill himself.

Deaths

A former lieutenant, "Bloody" Bill Anderson, seems to have assumed command by this time when? and many raiders, including Frank James, rode in 1864 under "BloodyBill",who was killed in October 1864.

Although Quantrill regathered some of his men in late 1864, the days of Quantrill's Raiders were over. Quantrill died at the hands of Union forces in Kentucky in May 1865, but his legacy lived on.

Much of that group continued under the leadership of Archie Clement, who kept the Raiders together afterthe war and harassed the state government of Missouri during the tumultuous year of1866 . In December 1866, state militiamen killed Clement in Lexington, Missouri, but his men continued on as outlaws, emerging intimeas the James-Younger Gang.

Popular culture

In the 2010 film True Grit, protagonist Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) prides himself in having served with Quantrill's Raiders during the Civil War while arguing withTexas Ranger LaBoeuf.

 

[farmersdaughter]

March 23 1862

—The battle of Winchester, Va., was fought this day. Yesterday afternoon the rebels, consisting of five hundred of Ashby’s cavalry and two guns, drove in the National pickets, and then skirmished with the Michigan cavalry and a portion of the Maryland First. Gen. Shields then brought up his forces and fired rounds of shell, drove them back, and took several prisoners. He was wounded in the arm by the first fire of the enemy. The Nationals slept on their arms at night. This morning, at sunrise, Jackson, being reenforced, attacked Gen. Shields near Kearnstown. The enemy’s force consisted of five hundred cavalry, five thousand infantry, and nine pieces of artillery, with a reserve of eighteen pieces. The fight was continued until noon, when a charge, made by one regiment of infantry and two of cavalry, on their right, drove them back half a mile, when they got their guns in position again in a dense wood, flanked by infantry, and drove the Union forces back. A short artillery duel ensued, when Gen. Shields ordered Col. Tyler to turn their left flank, which was executed with great loss, the enemy being protected by a stone-ledge. The Eighty-fourth Pennsylvania and Thirteenth Indiana charged their centre and the fight became general, with great massacre on both sides. Col. Murray, of the Eighty-fourth Pennsylvania, was killed. The enemy retired slowly, bringing their guns to bear at every opportunity. The Nationals rushed forward with yells, when a panic occurred among the enemy, and troops followed and drove them till dark, capturing three guns, three caissons, muskets, equipments, etc., innumerable, and bivouacked on the field. Gen. Williams, First brigade, Col. Donnelly, of the Twenty-eighth New-York, commanding, reenforced Gen. Shields’s forces. Gen. Banks, who was on the way to Washington when the battle occurred, returned and assumed command. In the mean time, Gen. Shields’s division, commanded by Col. Kimball, pursued the enemy beyond Newton, shelling them the whole distance. Jackson’s men were perfectly demoralized and could not be rallied. They threw overboard the dead and wounded to lighten the wagons. They confessed a loss of eight hundred and sixty-nine killed, wounded and missing. The National forces lost one hundred and fifteen killed and four hundred and fifty wounded.—(Doc. 103.)

—This morning the schooner Cora, prize to the United States gunboat Pinola, Lieut. Crosby commanding, arrived at Key West, Fla. The Cora was captured on the sixth inst, about one hundred miles south of Apalachicola, from which port she had escaped two days before, and is loaded with two hundred and eight bales of cotton. There was a most exciting chose before she was taken. Several shells were fired at her, and not until they burst between her masts did she condescend to heave to. She was commanded by Robert May, an Apalachicola pilot, and was brought here by Acting Master’s Mate D. C. Kells, of the United States brig Bohio, who was prizemaster of the schooner Eugenia Smith, and on his way as passenger on board the Pinola to rejoin his vessel when the Cora was captured.—National Intelligencer.

—The bodies of Col. Slocum, Major Ballou, and Capt. Tower, all of Pawtucket, R. I., recovered from the battle-field near Manassas, were placed on the cars this afternoon for transportation to Rhode Island.—(Doc. 104)

—The new Cabinet of President Davis was confirmed by the rebel Senate this morning, as follows: Secretary of State, J. P. Benjamin, La. Secretary of War, Geo. W. Randolph, Va. Secretary of the Navy, S. R. Mallory, Fla. Secretary of the Treatury, C. G. Memminger, S. C. Attorney-General, Thomas H. Watts. Pottmatter-General, Mr. Reagan,Texas.

—President Davis declared martial law over the counties of Elizabeth City, York, Warwick, Gloucester, and Matthews.—Norfolk Day-Book, March 24.

—Three hundred privates and fifty-eight officers, the first detachment of prisoners taken at Pea Ridge, arrived at St Louis, Mo.

—This day Gen. Parke’s brigade of Gen. Burnside’s division, took possession of Morehead City, N. C., finding it evacuated by the inhabitants. Lieut. Flagler, ordnance officer, and a member of Gen. Parke’s staff, crossed over to Fort Macon, a distance of two miles across Rogue’s Sound, with a flag of truce, and demanded a surrender. A considerable parley took place, in which the folly of the rebels attempting to hold out was set before them. The Fort was occupied by some five hundred secession troops, which were in command of Lieut. Smith. Lieut. Flagler assured them of the ample means at the disposal of the Nationals to reduce the Fort and deprecated the sacrifice of life which it would occasion. Lieut. Smith persisting in his refusal to surrender, Gen. Burnside at once commenced the operations of investment— N. Y. Commercial, April 3.

—A National force was sent to Nicholas Landing, sixty miles south of Savannah, Tenn., which seized fifteen hundred pounds of fresh pork and forty-five thousand pounds of cured hams and shoulders. For a long time this had been the mart for the pork business for the rebels.—N. Y. Commercial, March 29.

 

[farmersdaughter]

March 24 1862

—At Jacksonville, Fla., a meeting of the citizens was held, at which resolutions were passed declaring their repugnance to secession, and inviting the citizens of the State to retujrn to their allegiance to the United States.— (Doc. 106.)

—Postmaster-general Blair issued the following notice to the Postmasters of the United States: The Secretary of War now regulates the transmission of information by telegraph, affecting the conduct of the war, in order to prevent the communication of such information to the rebels. It is also thought necessary by the Secretary to put restrictions on the publication of facts of this character, however derived, and the aid of this department is requested for this purpose. You will, therefore, notify publishers not to publish any fact which has been excluded from the telegraph, and that a disregard of this order will subject the paper to be excluded from the mails.

—At Cincinnati, Ohio, to-night, Wendell Phillips attempted to lecture. He commenced avowing himself an abolitionist and disunionist. Persons in the galleries then hissed, yelled, and threw eggs and stones at him, some hitting him. The hissing was kept up some time. Finally he made himself heard, and proceeded until something again objectionable was said, and again eggs were thrown, hitting him. He persevered, and a third time was heard and a third time stoned and egged. The crowd now moved downstairs, crying “Put him out,” “Tar and feather him,” and giving groans for the “******, Wendell Phillips.” They proceeded down the middle aisle toward the stage, and were met by Phillips’s friends. Here a fight ensued amidst the greatest confusion, ladies screaming and crying, jumping on chairs, and falling in all directions. During the fight Phillips was taken off the stage by his friends.—Cincinnati Commercial.

—In the United States Senate the joint resolution in favor of affording pecuniary aid for the emancipation of slaves was taken up, and opposed by Mr. Saulsbury, of Delaware. Mr. Davis, of Kentucky, offered a substitute, declaring slavery to be exclusively within the jurisdiction of the people of the several States, yet that when any State determines to emancipate its slaves the Federal Government should pay a reasonable price for the slaves and the cost of colonizing them. The subject was then laid aside, and the bill to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia was taken up. The question was taken on Mr. Davis’s amendment, to colonize the slaves, and resulted in a tie vote. The Vice-President voted in the negative, and the amendment was rejected. A debate on the merits of the bill then ensued, which was continued until the adjournment.

—An engagement occurred between the gunboats Tyler and Lexington and a masked battery in the vicinity of Eastport, Tenn. The gunboats fired fifty shots. The Tyler’s smoke-stack was struck once. The effect on the enemy’s works was not ascertained. —N. Y. Commercial, March 29.

—This morning two boats’ crews from the United States steamer Yankee landed at Shipping Point, Va., to remove the guns left by the rebels, but while so engaged a body of rebel cavalry, said to be the Dumfries cavalry, numbering one thousand five hundred men,made their appearance on the hill, and the men pulled off, after securing two guns, one a nine-inch Dahlgren and the other a long thirty-two-pounder, both smooth bore, which were found to be double-shotted. The Yankee fell out into the stream, on the appearance of the enemy, and turned her guns upon them, but they retired and kept out of range.— Washington Star, March 28.

 

[farmersdaughter]

March 25 1862

—Washington, North-Carolina, was visited by the United States steamer Louisiana, under the command of Lieut. A. Murray, who reported “that underlying an apparent acquiescence of the people of the town and neighborhood in permitting the building of gunboats and the construction of batteries to repel the approach of the Federal forces, was a deep-rooted affection for the old Union.”—(Doc. 107.)

—Two hundred and thirty rebel prisoners, captured at the battle of Winchester, Va., arrived at Baltimore, Md., this afternoon, and were provided with quarters in the north wing of the new city jail. They are all Virginians, with the exception of five or six Baltimoreans, who left before the war broke out. One of the prisoners, on reaching the quarters, threw up his hat and exclaimed: “Thank God, I am in the United States once more!” Others congratulated themselves at the prospect of getting something good to eat, which they admitted they had not had for some time—N. T. Times, March 26.

—This day the National gunboats Seminole, Wyandotte,and Norwich, under the command of Capt Gillis, senior officer, proceeded up Wilmington River, Ga., and upon arriving within a mile of the Skidaway batteries, dispersed the rebel cavalry stationed there by shell, and then destroyed the batteries. The rebel force fled, leaving everything behind them, even their dinners. Captain Gillis landed and hoisted the American flag on the ramparts. Another flag was hoisted over the rebel headquarters by Acting-Master Steele. The rebel batteries were entirely destroyed, but the dwellings were spared. The dwellings were afterwards burned by the rebels. The batteries mounted ten guns, and were well built. —(Doc. 108).

—Gov. Johnson directed a letter to the officials of Nashville, Tenn., requiring them to take the oath of allegiance, but the Common Council, by a vote of sixteen to one, refused to do so. The sixteen declined on the score that it was never contemplated that that they should take such oath. The one who voted ay, said he would subscribe to the oath, but immediately resign.— Nashville Patriot.

 

[farmersdaughter]

March 26 1862

—Gen. Curtis, in command of the Army of the South-west, this day issued the following emancipation order: Charles Morton, Hamilton Kennedy, and Alexander Lewis, colored men,formerly slaves, employed in the rebel service, and taken as contraband of war, are hereby confiscated, and, not being needed for the public service, are permitted to pass the pickets of this command northward, without let or hindrance, and are forever emancipated from the service of masters who allowed them to aid in their efforts to break up the Government and the laws of our country.— National Intelligencer, April 3.

—A spirited skirmish took place at the town of Warrensburgh, Mo., between Quantrell’s guerrilla followers and a detachment of Col. Phillips’s Missouri regiment, under the command of Major Emery Foster. Quantrell unexpectedly approached the town with two hundred men,and made a furious attack on the Union troops, who were only sixty in number. The latter made a gallant defence, and having the protection of a thick plank fence around their position, they succeeded, after an obstinate conflict, in repulsing the guerrillas’, and driving them beyond the limits of the town. In the action Major Emery Foster, in command, and Capt Foster, his brother, were wounded, one private was killed, one mortally wounded, since dead, and nine non-commissioned officers and privates were wounded. The rebels sustained a loss of nine men killed and seventeen wounded, and twenty of them lost their horses, which fell into the hands of Foster’s men.—Chicago Journal, March 29.

—This night a band of from five to eight hundred rebels attacked four companies of State militia, at Humonsville, Polk County, Mo. They were completely defeated, with a loss of fifteen killed and a large number wounded. The National loss was none killed, but a number wounded. Among the latter were Captains Stockton and Cosgrove, severely.

—A slight skirmish took place this evening, at McMinnville, Tenn., between a party of Ohio cavalry under the command of Capt. Hastings, and a body of rebels under Capts. McHenry and Bledsloe, in which the latter were compelled to retreat —(Doc. 109.)

 

[farmersdaughter]

March 27 1862

—At Burlington, N. J., Rev. Samuel Aaron, a Baptist preacher, of Mount Holly, attempted to deliver an Abolition lecture, this evening. He commenced his remarks by denouncing the present Administration and avowing himself against the manner in which the war was conducted. At this the crowd began to hiss him, and storm him with rotten eggs. The ladies in the audience got frightened at these proceedings, and the excitement of the crowd rose to fever-heat, and there were angry cries of “Kill him,” “Tar and feather him,” etc The Mayor of the city was present, and tried to stop the excitement, but did not succeed in doing so. Finally the gentleman withdrew and was taken away from the hall by his friends. —N. Y. Commercial, March 28.

—The Petersburgh Express of this date, says that wood has become as scarce in that city as good coffee, and appeals to the farmers and railroads to relieve the distress. Brooms are pronounced a luxury, and the growing of broom-corn is earnestly recommended. So scarce has leather become, that hickory splits are recommended as a substitute in harnesses. In view of the scarcity of lead, merchants and others having old tea-chests, are recommended to bring them out for the lead they contain. “There is also,” says the Express, “a large quantity of lead on the various iron railings about the city, which the owners could spare.”

—The Board of Provost-Marshals of New-Orleans, consisting of N. Tre***uier, H. M. Spofford, Cyprien Dufour, H. D. Ogden, Victor Burthe, and Pierre Soule, by special order prohibited “the traffic in gold and silver against the notes of the confederate States of America,” and also declared that all traffic in paper currency, tending to create distrust in the public mind, or otherwise to produce embarrassment, should be held as acts of hostility against the government, and would be dealt with summarily.—New-Orleans Delta, April 4.

—Ashby’s cavalry, with a battery of four guns, appeared near Strasburgh, Va., and threw several shells into the Union camp, killing one man and wounding another. His position was such as prevented his being cut off. The Union guns, however, soon routed the enemy

—Gen. Banks reconnoitred all positions within five miles of his camp, returning after dark.—Baltimore American, March 29.

—The National troops from General Hooker’s command are removing the guns from the abandoned rebel batteries on the Lower Potomac, tho gunboats Yankee and Wyandank being actively employed in this service. Large numbers of negroes from the Virginia side are pouring into Gen. Hooker’s camp since the rebels left that line of defence.—New- York Herald, March 27.

—A recosmoissance was made from Newport News, Va., as far as Big BetheL where the rebels were discovered to be posted to the number of one thousand five hundred. Upon the approach of the National troops, they vacated the place without showing fight, and Big Bethel was occupied by the Union soldiers.—(Doc. 110.)

—Two squadrons of the First New-Jersey cavalry, under command of Col. Wyndham, surrounded a party of rebel Texas Rangers near Dumfries, Va., twelve miles below the Occoquan. A few shots were fired on both sides without injury, except that one of the Nationals was slightly wounded in the wrist. Ten prisoners were taken and carried to Washington. The National troops captured a number of wagons loaded with wheat, but owing to the want of horses, were enabled to bring off only four of them.

—The Petersburgh, Va., Gazette of this date, complains that Gen. Burnside occupies “the palatial residence of the President of the Bank of Commerce;” that Gen. Foster “has taken possession of another handsome dwelling,” while Gen. Reno “occupies the Bank of Newbern.” It is charged that the Unionists are “plundering the country for miles around.”

 

[farmersdaughter]

March 28 1862

—This day Morgan’s rebel cavalry captured a train on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. Col. Curran Pope, of Kentucky, was taken prisoner, with a few other Union officers. The locomotive was run into a ditch and the cars destroyed.

—A fight took place this day at Apache Canon, eighty miles from Union and twenty miles from Santa Fe,New-Mexico, between the Nationals under Major Chivington, Capts. Lewis and Wynkoop, and a party of Texans. Three battalions advanced to the canon when the pickets reported no enemy in sight. The command then advanced, when shots were fired at them by the Texans, who were in ambush, and succeeded in killing four privates. The Unionists under Slough, rushed on them, killing twenty or thirty Texans, wounding many of them, and taking seven prisoners, four officers, and three privates. Major Chivington’s command went ahead and surprised the Texan pickets, taking sixty-seven prisoners and sixty-four provision-wagons. A plan of action was determined upon—to meet the enemy in front, and flank them at the same time. About twelve o’clock, the action became general, the Nationals doing wonders. The battery under Capt Bitter, and also the howitzer-battery under Lieut. Claflin, dispersed the Texans with terrible effect The fight lasted until four o’clock, when flags of truce were interchanged, to bury the dead and care for the wounded The enemy had about two thousand men and one six-pounder. The Nationals had one thousand three hundred men and one six and one twelve pounder and four howitzers. The enemy lost their entire train (sixty-four wagons and provisions) and two hundred and thirty mules; about one hundred and fifty killed, two hundred wounded, and ninety-three taken prisoners, among whom are thirteen officers. Some of the latter held commissions in the volunteer corps of the Territory. Capt. Cook was wounded. His heaviest injury was sustained by his horse falling down and bruising his ankle. Lieut. Marshall, of Cook’s company, shot himself while trying to break one of the Texan guns lying in the field after the battle. Lieut Chambers was wounded severely, and afterward died. Lieut Baker and Lieut P. McGrath, were also killed. —Denver Extra, Extra, April 9.

—Col. Kensett’s cavalry, accompanied by seventy-five mounted men from Loomis’s battery, returned to Murfreesboro’, Tenn., from an expedition through the country for many miles south and southeast of that place. During the expedition they penetrated as far as Shelbyville and Talahome. Between these places they fell in with about three hundred of Wood’s rebel cavalry, who, as soon as they saw the troops, charged boldly down through a piece of woods toward them. No sooner did Col. Kennett’s men perceive the enemy coming, thinking them in good earnest, they drew out in battle array, and advanced rapidly to meet them. But before they got within gunshot, the hearts of the rebels failed them; quickly as they could, they checked the career of their horses, turned tail and fled from the field, leaving behind them seven dead and several wounded and taken prisoners. Not a person was injured on the National side.— Cincinnati Gazette, April 5.

—A detachment of the First Illinois cavalry, under Capt Thompson, overtook a guerrilla band under Colonel Parker, about ten miles west of Warrensburg, Mo. Fifteen rebels were killed and twenty-five taken prisoners. Among the latter Col. Parker and Capt. Walton. The Union loss was two killed and several wounded.

—Shipping Point, Va., was occupied by the National troops. As the steamer Mount Vernon passed that place they had raised the flag of the Union, and the band was playing the “Star Spangled Banner.” All the rebels who have been in that vicinity for some time past have left, with the exception of two or three roaming companies of cavalry.—N. Y. Evening Post, March 29.

—The steam sloop-of-war Canandaigua, was launched this day at the navy-yard at Charlestown, Massachusetts.

—The following State prisoners were to-day released by the commission relating to State prisoners: J. Barrett Cohen, O. Norris Bryan, A. J. Mitchell, and Wm. B. Bryan, on their giving their written parole. F. P. Ellis was discharged on taking the oath of allegiance. E. P. Bryan, H. A. Stewart, P. W. Carper, and W. J. Raisin were recommitted.

—A resolution was introduced in the Massachusetts Legislature, instructing the Committee on Federal Relations to consider the expediency of addressing to the President of the United States, a memorial asking for the immediate trial of General Stone, then in military confinement. The resolution was opposed on the ground that such interference was uncalled for; though the speakers expressed the hope that General Stone would speedily have a trial, which common justice demanded. The resolution was rejected almost unanimously.

—A reconnoissance was made by the National forces beyond Warrenton Junction, Va. A body of the enemy’s cavalry retreated as the troops advanced, and burned the bridge over the Rappahannock. There was some slight skirmishing, but no loss of life or any wounded of the Unionists.

 

[farmersdaughter]

March 29 1862

—This day, Col. Geary’s advance encountered three hundred of Stuart’s and White’s rebel cavalry, and a force of rebel infantry, at Middleburg, Va. He marched from Philomont in the morning, and drove in the rebel pickets outside of Middleburg,[1] when he entered the town, and discovered the infantry in retreat, and the cavalry posted to make a stand. A gun was placed to command the main street, and the Twenty-eighth regiment advanced by all the approaches to the town, while the main body rushed through it with bayonets fixed, and on a “double-quick,” driving the enemy before them. The rebels made a halt in a hollow beyond the town, evidently manoeuvring to draw out the Michigan cavalry in pursuit, so their infantry might flank them. Companies of the Twenty-eighth now opened on them from behind stone fences, with their rifles, when the cavalry dashed off precipitately. A gun of the Twenty-eighth, in the centre of the town, was brought to bear upon them, and drove them from a thicket two miles distant, every shell exploding in the woods. The charge through the town was fraught with great excitement. Knapsacks were thrown aside in the street as the men rushed forward. Overcoats and blankets lined the sides of the road. Stores were speedily closed, women screamed, horses dashed forward. Everything was excitement, but in good order. Col. Geary pushed on at the head, and at one time was within two hundred yards of the rebel cavalry. —Philadelphia Inquirer.

—Gen. Fremont, at Wheeling, Va., issued an order, assigning Brig.-Gen. Kelley to the command of “all of Western Virginia north and east of the counties of Jackson, Roane, Calhoun, Braxton, Lewis, Barbour and Tucker inclusive, and west of the Alleghanies, Maryland and Pennsylvania, constituting the Railroad District”

—Henry W. Bellows, D.D., delivered at Irving Hall, New-York, this evening, a conversational lecture, detailing the experience of a three days’ visit to the battle-field of Bull Run and Manassas. He exhibited a number of trophies secured on the spot, including rebel letters, arms and equipments, and the skull and bone of a Union soldier, picked up from the spot where they had been inhumanly left exposed

—A new military department, called the Middle Department, was created,consisting of the States of New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, the eastern shore of Maryland and Virginia, and the Counties of Cecil, Harford, Baltimore, and Anno Arundel, in Maryland, to be commanded by Major-Gen. Dix,with headquarters at Baltimore.

—This afternoon a detachment of Stuart’s Virginia cavalry made a dash at the residence of a Union lady, named Tennant, who lived about a mile and a half from Difficult Creek, and about six miles from the Chain Bridge, above Washington, D. C. While engaged in ransacking and pillaging the residence of Mrs. Tennant, they were discovered by a portion of Col. Bayard’s Pennsylvania cavalry, who at once charged down upon them, when quite a smart engagement ensued, which resulted in the hasty flight of the rebel cavalry, but not before they had secured Mrs. Tennant and her daughter, whom they conveyed away in Mr. Tennant’s buggy, into which they had previously harnessed the horse for that purpose. The only casualty to Col. Bayard’s cavalry, in the skirmish, was the wounding of one soldier, who was conveyed to Washington. The loss of the rebels could not be ascertained.—Baltimore American, March 31. [1

] Middleburg Is a handsome post-borough, of Loudon County, Va.. on a small affluent of the Potomac, one hundred and forty-three miles north from Richmond. It is one of the principal towns of the county, and before the present rebellion had an active trade. It has a population of about eight hundred, and contains three churches, an academy, seven stores, and one tobacco factory.