Roll call as usual
at 5½ O'clock Inspection of men & tents at 9 o'clock by the Col. & Lt.
Col Pass granted to 8 men to visit Birds Point Also 1 large Squad to attend
Church.
Nothing doing to
day. John Brown & Elijah Hickman went into Town to day without a pass—came
back drunk Compelled to tie Hickman—will be put on extra duty to-morrow Weather
pleasant-continues dry.
SOURCE: Transactions
of the Illinois State Historical Society for the Year 1909, p. 224
Clear and fine. Roll
call at 5½ A. M. as usual-Breakfast at 6½ Squad drill &c. more activity
will be observed this week in drilling than heretofore. Lt. L. F. Williams
appointed junior Officer of the Guard to day. One of our men who came from town
yesterday in a state of intoxication—by name John Brown is very sick to day—great
suffering & pain in his stomach and lower extremities supposed to emanate
from poison in the liquor drank yesterday. The 2 gun boats stationed here left
this afternoon & 1 Regt. of In from Birds Point, their destination &
the No. of the Regt. we are not informed. Heavy firing heard at 8 O'clock this
evening in the direction of New-Madrid Mo. supposed that our Gun Boats have
engaged the enemy at that point
SOURCE: Transactions
of the Illinois State Historical Society for the Year 1909, p. 224-5
Weather fine &
pleasant,—with indications of rain Duties of the morning as usual—much
rejoicing through out the camp—though no open demonstration—at the news of the
success of Gen. Butler in his operations on the coast of N. C. Received this morning.
Conflicting reports concerning the result or doings of the expidition sent down
the Miss. River yesterday. More troops sent down from Birds Point to day across
the country to the scene of action. Where it is not yet known in camp, some say
it is Columbus, Some New Madrid, no person knows anything definite about the
movements going on at Head Quarters—here all military movements are kept secret
by the Senior Officers of the different commands at both Posts Cairo &
Birds Point. Commenced raining about 4 O'clock this afternoon which put an end
to squad drill & set the men to work putting their tents to rights &
preparing for a spell of weather. Firing heard this evening again in the same
direction as that of last evening Still raining at 10 O'clock.
SOURCE: Transactions
of the Illinois State Historical Society for the Year 1909, p. 225
Cloudy drissling
rain, very unpleasant underfoot—quite a No. not out at Roll Call—placed on
Extra Duty in consequence. Our Co. placed on Police Duty to day-by order of the
Col.
Camp McClernand Cairo Ills.
it is therefore
exempt from drill to day no news of consequences. has rained at intervals all
day The Two Gun Boats have returned, reported to have had a brush with a Gun
Boat of the Enemy's—called Yankee—near a place called Hickman in which the
latter was worsted Also bombarded the place. News of Jefferson Davis' death
this evening generally not credited
SOURCE: Transactions
of the Illinois State Historical Society for the Year 1909, p. 225
morning duties
performed as usual Lt Allen Officer of the Guard to day. Weather pleasant but
showery.—nothing of importance but drilling. Water scarce on account of
negligence of water master. Death of Jeff Davis confirmed today—that is still
believed. Report this evening that Pillow is within one days march of Birds
Point—4 Comp from th[e] 9th Regt. And the Chicago light Artillery left to night
tis said for Columbus Ky.
SOURCE: Transactions
of the Illinois State Historical Society for the Year 1909, p. 225
Weather pleasant.
Drilling and other duties performed as usual. 60 muskets drawn by our Company
this afternoon Other Comps. in our Regt. also have drawn in proportion to the
number of men. No news of consequence to day Great activity through out the
camp, however in our vicinity
SOURCE: Transactions
of the Illinois State Historical Society for the Year 1909, p. 225
No variation in the
daily routine of duties to day One of our men Thomas Onwhistle severely reprimanded
for disrespect towards the Col. At Dress Parade this evening 48 of our men were
ordered on patrol dutty for the night in the City of Cairo. 2 Regts. left for
Paducah Ky. which place is now occupied by Gen. Grant Commandant of this Post. Successor
to Gen. Prentiss.
SOURCE: Transactions
of the Illinois State Historical Society for the Year 1909, p. 225
Camp McClernand
Cairo Ills. The 48 of our camp, detailed
as patrol last night returned this morning at 5½ O'clock Roll call as usual.
Heavy and incessant firing heard this morning from 7 till 9 O'clock down the
river in the direction of Columbus. Two boat loads of Troops arrived this
morning from St. Louis. Inspection on Co. parade ground by the Field Officers
at 9 O'clock Dress Parade this evening at the usual hour
SOURCE: Transactions
of the Illinois State Historical Society for the Year 1909, p. 225
Duties as usual
performed. no Officers drill this morning as was given out last evening on
Dress Parade Abut 10 O'clock to day one of the Gun Boats arrived to Port with 3
Prizes in tow. One said to be laden with tobacco—tis not known here yet the
substance of the prizes Reported this Afternoon that 1 of the Gun Boats was
taken this morning by the enemy. Col. Oglesbys Regt. & the other Gun Boat
have gone down Col. Watters Regt. arrived at Birds Point this evening
SOURCE: Transactions
of the Illinois State Historical Society for the Year 1909, p. 225-6
Reported capture of
our Gun Boat proves to be false L. W. Williams detailed as Officer of the Guard
to day Officers Drill this morning. Nothing of importance to day.
SOURCE: Transactions
of the Illinois State Historical Society for the Year 1909, p. 226
Stormy Night.
Indications this morning good for a rainy day A marvelous assault was committed
at the St. Charles Hotel yesterday by the Reporter of the St. Louis Democrat on
the person of the surgeon on the 8th Mo Regt. The surgeon was shot in the small
of the back by a pistol ball wound not mortal.
Camp McClernand Cairo Ills.
The reporter gave
himself up and is now in custody. Dress Parade omitted this evening on account
of the inclemency of the weather.
SOURCE: Transactions
of the Illinois State Historical Society for the Year 1909, p. 226
Duties of the
morning gone through with as usual Our Company on Police Duty to day cleaning
up the Parade ground & digging sinks. nothing of importance transpired to
day. Dress Parade this evening as usual.
SOURCE: Transactions
of the Illinois State Historical Society for the Year 1909, p. 226
Everything quiet
about camp today Lt Allen on guard to day,—Officer of the Guard. No news of importance to day.
SOURCE: Transactions
of the Illinois State Historical Society for the Year 1909, p. 226
Duties as usual this
morning. The Regt on Police duty today, cleaning up the regimental Parade
ground. News encouraging from the seat of war to day. reported fight going on
down the river near Norfolk on the Mo. side this evening.
SOURCE: Transactions
of the Illinois State Historical Society for the Year 1909, p. 226
1See Eddy, The Patriotism of Illinois,
II., pp. 53-54. The 27th Illinois was raised for the most part in the
counties of Adams, Scott, Pike, Madison, Jersey, Mason, Macoupin,
Mercer, Jackson, Henry and Morgan. Eddy states that it was mustered into
service at Camp Butler on the 10th of August, 1861. Some of the officers
who will be mentioned in this diary are: Colonel, N. B. Buford;
Lieutenant-Colonel, F. A. Harrington; Adjutant, Henry A. Rust; Quartermaster,
David B. Sears; Chaplain, S. Young McMasters; Captain W. A. Schmitt of Company
A; Captain Jonathan R. Miles of Company F, who later becomes Colonel of the
regiment. The officers of Company C, of which our diarist was a member, at this
time were: Captain, Lemuel Parke; 1st Lieutenant, Lyman G. Allen; 2nd
Lieutenant, Laommi F. Williams.
SOURCE: Transactions
of the Illinois State Historical Society for the Year 1909, p. 226
First division, and
one section of our battery and two sections of Hazlett's Battery, went across
the Potomac as far as Kearneysville. We drove the rebels from the river to
Charlestown, Va., having several skirmishes, with losses on our side small. In
our battery we had one man, Charles Donahoe, slightly wounded, and one horse
killed. Stopped at Kearneysville that night, and returned across the river the
morning of the 17th, passing through Shepherdstown on the way. Gen. Humphreys
commanded the Union forces.
SOURCE: John Lord
Parker, Henry Wilson's Regiment: History of the Twenty-second
Massachusetts Infantry, the Second Company Sharpshooters and the Third Light
Battery, in the War of the Rebellion, p. 268
Started from
Blackburn Ford, Md., at six P.M., and at eleven o'clock put up for the night.
Ten miles.
SOURCE: John Lord
Parker, Henry Wilson's Regiment: History of the Twenty-second
Massachusetts Infantry, the Second Company Sharpshooters and the Third Light
Battery, in the War of the Rebellion, p. 268
Started out at
half-past nine A.M., and marched to Loudon, passing through Harper's Ferry; and
went into park at seven P.M. Eight miles.
SOURCE: John Lord
Parker, Henry Wilson's Regiment: History of the Twenty-second
Massachusetts Infantry, the Second Company Sharpshooters and the Third Light
Battery, in the War of the Rebellion, p. 268
In camp in Pleasant
Valley all day. Mustered for two months' pay.
SOURCE: John Lord
Parker, Henry Wilson's Regiment: History of the Twenty-second
Massachusetts Infantry, the Second Company Sharpshooters and the Third Light
Battery, in the War of the Rebellion, p. 268
Started out at eight
A.M., marched to Snickersville, and went into camp at Snicker's Gap. Eleven
miles.
SOURCE: John Lord
Parker, Henry Wilson's Regiment: History of the Twenty-second
Massachusetts Infantry, the Second Company Sharpshooters and the Third Light
Battery, in the War of the Rebellion, p. 269
In battery at
Snickersville all day and night, and until Nov. 6.
SOURCE: John Lord
Parker, Henry Wilson's Regiment: History of the Twenty-second
Massachusetts Infantry, the Second Company Sharpshooters and the Third Light
Battery, in the War of the Rebellion, p. 269
Started at half-past
six A.M., passing Millville and Philmont, to Millburg, where we saw a lot of
wounded rebels, and went into camp at five o'clock. Eighteen miles.
SOURCE: John Lord
Parker, Henry Wilson's Regiment: History of the Twenty-second
Massachusetts Infantry, the Second Company Sharpshooters and the Third Light
Battery, in the War of the Rebellion, p. 269
Started out at
half-past seven, and marched to White Plains, where we camped for the night.
Seven miles.
SOURCE: John Lord
Parker, Henry Wilson's Regiment: History of the Twenty-second
Massachusetts Infantry, the Second Company Sharpshooters and the Third Light
Battery, in the War of the Rebellion, p. 269
Started from White
Plains at half-past six, passed through New Baltimore, and went into camp three
miles from Warrenton. The roads being covered with snow made it bad marching.
SOURCE: John Lord
Parker, Henry Wilson's Regiment: History of the Twenty-second
Massachusetts Infantry, the Second Company Sharpshooters and the Third Light
Battery, in the War of the Rebellion, p. 269
In camp at
Warrenton. Gen. McClellan left the army to-day, and Gen. Burnside was his
successor. He reviewed the troops before he left, and we fired a salute of
thirteen guns. Gen. McClellan was the father of the Army of the Potomac.
SOURCE: John Lord
Parker, Henry Wilson's Regiment: History of the Twenty-second
Massachusetts Infantry, the Second Company Sharpshooters and the Third Light
Battery, in the War of the Rebellion, p. 269
Gen. Porter left his
command to-day, and Gen. Hooker took his place. He reviewed his corps before
leaving, and we fired a salute of thirteen guns in his honor.
SOURCE: John Lord
Parker, Henry Wilson's Regiment: History of the Twenty-second
Massachusetts Infantry, the Second Company Sharpshooters and the Third Light
Battery, in the War of the Rebellion, p. 269
The corps was
reviewed by Gen. Hooker.
SOURCE: John Lord
Parker, Henry Wilson's Regiment: History of the Twenty-second
Massachusetts Infantry, the Second Company Sharpshooters and the Third Light
Battery, in the War of the Rebellion, p. 269
WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 1852.
MY DEAR SIR,—I see
the Whigs are to meet in Frankfort on the 24th of this month to select
delegates to the national convention for the nomination of a candidate for the
Presidency. I think that Mr. Fillmore has fairly earned and fully deserves the
highest favor and confidence of the Whigs, and that he is in mere justice
entitled to the nomination. I do not know that he will be a candidate; I am
sure he will not seek such a position. But neither you nor I will think that he
therefore deserves it the less. I am anxious that your Frankfort convention
should make some strong expression of its approbation of Mr. Fillmore, and its
preference for him as their candidate. When they shall have done that, and with
it their determination to support the nominee of the national convention, they
will have done all that they ought to do. I beg you to do all you can to
procure such an expression of preference for Mr. F. You will gratify and serve
me by this. I believe that Fillmore is, as he ought to be, the favorite
candidate of Kentucky. I see that in one of your county meetings there has been
an expression of a preference for me as the candidate for the Presidency. If
any purpose of that sort should be manifested in the convention, I beg you and
all my friends to suppress it. It would do me no good in any event; it would be
a prejudice to me in any of those contingencies or prospects which my
too-sanguine friends might anticipate. You know my sentiments on this subject.
I shall always be proud of any favorable expression of the sentiments of
Kentuckians to me, but at this juncture I should much regret a nomination for
the Presidency. Besides its other injurious effects, it would furnish a
plausible ground to doubt the sincerity of my conduct and advice to others who
are here and expose me to suspicion of contrivance and selfish ambition, than
which nothing could be more unjust. Reflect upon and attend to this. Let me
hear by telegraph the first expression of preference for Fillmore.
Ballard House,
Richmond.—We have taken Richmond, if the Yankees haven't! Yes, we are here; but
had some trouble to get settled. The fashionable mode of living is
room-keeping, and we are strictly in the fashion. And now how nicely comes in
that trunk of provisions my thoughtful papa made me bring, much against my own
wishes. On opening it, we found meal, hominy, flour, a side of bacon, some
coffee, tea, and a quantity of potatoes. They will help us along wonderfully,
as all food products bring a tremendous price in this beleaguered city.
Ernestine went to market this morning and paid $10 for a steak for our
breakfast. At that rate we can only afford to take a savory smell occasionally!
Ernie is simply angelic in spirit—she never loses patience, never gets cross,
never says anything she oughtn't to say, even against the Yankees ! The city is
crowded to suffocation, the streets thronged with soldiers in uniform, officers
gaily caparisoned, and beautiful women, beautifully dressed, though not in the
latest Parisian toilettes. I should say there is no more brilliant capital
among all the nations. Are there great and somber tragedies going on around us?
Is there a war? I thought so before I reached Richmond!
SOURCE: South
Carolina State Committee United Daughters of the Confederacy, South
Carolina Women in the Confederacy, Vol. 1, “A Confederate
Girl's Diary,” p. 277-8
Our department
quarters here are not nearly so comfortable as those left behind in Columbia.
They do well enough, however. I have not had a chance to mention that handsome
officer we saw on the train after leaving Greensboro. He was of the blonde
type, with tawny, flowing mustache, and hair bright as "streaks from
Aurora's fingers." Tall and broad-shouldered, he was attired in a
captain's uniform, and deeply absorbed in reading a book. What was the book?
Lise and I were wild to find out. We did find out, and, I hope, without
exciting the least suspicion on his part. The book was "Quits."
Knowing the story so well, and his face being so expressive, we could almost
guess the contents of the pages as he turned them over. But after awhile he did
not appear so deeply interested in it, and when our train had to be exchanged
for another he stepped forward, raised his hat, and asked to be allowed to
remove our packages. He was very grave and dignified. Were we wrong in
accepting the attention? Sadie says we must not accept the slightest attention
from unknown men while thus traveling. We have been thrust forth from the safe
environment of our homes and cannot afford to take any risks. Sadie is as
proper as a dowager duchess of eighty. But, ah! the strange exigencies of these
times! What is to become of us? There is no longer the shadow of a doubt—our
homes are in ashes.
SOURCE: South
Carolina State Committee United Daughters of the Confederacy, South
Carolina Women in the Confederacy, Vol. 1, “A Confederate
Girl's Diary,” p. 278
I find myself
regarding Lise with increasing admiration and affection. She is surely the most
graceful girl in existence, combining a lot of downright amiability with a vast
amount of tact. Also, she has a deal of fun and mischief. That blonde stranger
must have noticed all of this with his eyes, so darkly blue.
SOURCE: South
Carolina State Committee United Daughters of the Confederacy, South
Carolina Women in the Confederacy, Vol. 1, “A Confederate
Girl's Diary,” p. 278
A letter from home!
A letter from home! It reached me by hand through the department—is most
reassuring and at the same time most delightfully comprehensive. They are all
safe—thank God, my dear ones. Johnny came through without a scratch, and so did
my new Steinway. It was a night of untold horrors (the 17th), but in the
general conflagration our house was saved. My father and mother made friends
even among their enemies, and through their exertions and old Maum Nancy's the
family were fed and protected during the whole time. A number of Federal
officers were quartered with the family until the morning of the 20th. One of
them, whom mamma describes as "a most attractive young lieutenant,"
examined my music, tried my piano, playing with no little skill, and then
inquired, "Where is she; the young lady who plays?" And when my
father answered, “Gone to Richmond," he laughingly rejoined, "Ran
away from the Yankees! Now, where was the use of that? We are just as sure to
catch her there as here." Are you, Mr. Lieutenant? I fancy not; Sherman's
army can't expect to overrun the whole earth; we are safe enough in Richmond.
And yet I regret again not being there. I might have conducted the argument on
both sides, for awhile, with that attractive young lieutenant, and who knows?
perchance make one Yankee's heart ache a little. What fun! What an opportunity!
What a chance to get even have I lost!
SOURCE: South
Carolina State Committee United Daughters of the Confederacy, South
Carolina Women in the Confederacy, Vol. 1, “A Confederate
Girl's Diary,” p. 278-9
Oh! the seduction,
the novelty, the fascination of this life in Richmond! If patriotism is its
master-chord, pleasure is no less its dominant note, and while it is as
indescribable as the sparkle of champagne, it is no less intoxicating. Last
night the parlor was full of visitors, and the same may be said of almost every
night—officers, privates, congressmen, senators, old friends and new ones, from
all parts of the country. They are finding out our whereabouts and paying their
devoirs. And what do you think, my little book? The blonde captain was among
them. Strange things are the most natural, I have begun to think, for our
strange acquaintance has come about in the most natural way. Dr. S—— knows his
relatives in Maryland, and we are acquainted with his relatives in Carolina, so
not even Sadie could gainsay the fitness of the acquaintance—nor Ernestine, who
is an anxious mother to the last one of us.
SOURCE: South
Carolina State Committee United Daughters of the Confederacy, South
Carolina Women in the Confederacy, Vol. 1, “A Confederate
Girl's Diary,” p. 279
He is just as
charming a gentleman as I thought he would be I refer to the captain, of
course. Last night I saw him gazing at Bet's hair in the most admiring manner.
It is magnificent. I should be awfully vain of it, were it mine—but she is not.
Bet is as level-headed as a girl can be, and as sweet and modest as a violet.
SOURCE: South
Carolina State Committee United Daughters of the Confederacy, South
Carolina Women in the Confederacy, Vol. 1, “A Confederate
Girl's Diary,” p. 279
Wish I had been
taught to cook instead of how to play on the piano. A practical knowledge of
the preparation of food products would stand me in better stead at this
juncture than any amount of information regarding the scientific principles of
music. I adore music, but I can't live without eating—and I'm hungry! I want
some chicken salad, and some charlotte
russe, and some ox-palate, and corn muffins! These are the things I want;
but I'll eat anything I can get. Honestly, our cuisine has become a burning
question. Dear, sweet Ernie bears the brunt, and has to, because the rest of us
are simpletons! She'll be canonized some of these days, or deserves to be, if
she isn't.
SOURCE: South
Carolina State Committee United Daughters of the Confederacy, South
Carolina Women in the Confederacy, Vol. 1, “A Confederate
Girl's Diary,” p. 279
With a sharp knife cut out smoothly the interior of a large sponge cake, leaving the bottom and the sides standing. Make a rich boiled custard, (see Custard Puddings, Chapter XV.,) of one pint of cream, one pint of milk, eight eggs, and flavored with vanilla or peach water; mix this custard with an ounce of isinglass, or patent gelatine, previously boiled to a jelly in a little water; stir them well together, and sweeten them with fine white sugar; then whip to a stiff froth one pint of rich cream, flavored with rose-water; take off the froth as it stiffens, and add it gradually to the custard, stirring it all the time; pour this mixture into the mould already formed in the sponge cake; cover the whole with an icing, (see Chap. XVIII.,) and keep it upon ice until it is wanted.
CHARLOTTE RUSSE, WITH VANILLA.
Line a plain round mould with Savoy Biscuits, (see Chap. XVII.,) cutting off the end of some, to make them stand upright around the sides, and lapping others over each other at the bottom to form a rosette. Fill the mould, thus prepared, with Vanilla Cream, (see page 247,) and keep it upon ice until it is wanted.
CHARLOTTE RUSSE, IN MOSAIC.
Cover the bottom of a plain round mould with black and white grapes, strawberries, bits of stewed apple, pears, or any fruit in season, variegating them as much as possible to imitate mosaic; set the mould upon ice, and pour into it a little clear jelly, sufficient only to cover the fruit; line the sides of the mould with Savoy Biscuits, (see Chapter XVII.)
Put into a stew-pan one and a half ounces of isinglass, or of patent gelatine, (which is better,) half a pint of water, the juice of two lemons, and six ounces of fine white sugar; boil all together until it is reduced one half; skim it and pass it through a sieve into a bowl; when it has become cool, add four glasses of Madeira wine and two glasses of brandy; and when it is on the point of setting, stir into it one pint of cream well whipped. Pour this preparation into the mould or moulds, prepared as above, and keep it on ice until it is wanted.
CHARLOTTE RUSSE, WITH STRAWBERRIES.
Line a plain round mould with large ripe strawberries, in the following manner :-Bury the mould up to its rim in ice, cut the strawberries in halves, dip them in Calf's Foot Jelly, which must be cold, but not set, cover the bottom of the mould with the strawberries, the cut side downwards, then build them up to the sides of the mould in the same position the jelly will make them adhesive; when this is finished, fill the mould with cream as prepared for Charlotte Russe, or for Charlotte Russe in Mosaic; keep the mould upon ice until it is wanted; then dip the mould in warm water, and empty it carefully upon your dish.
The cream which you pour into the mould must be very nearly set when you put it in, or it will run between the strawberries and produce a bad effect.
CHARLOTTE RUSSE, WITH PINE-APPLE.
Peel and cut a pine-apple in slices, put the slices into a stew-pan with half a pound of fine white sugar, half an ounce of isinglass, or of patent gelatine, (which is better,) and a wine glass of water; stew it until it is quite tender, then rub it through a sieve, place it upon ice, and stir it well; when it is upon the point of setting, add a pint of cream well whipped, mix it well, and pour it into a mould lined with Savoy Biscuits, (Chapter XVII.) or prepared in any other way you prefer.
SOURCE: Mrs. Bliss, The Practical Cook Book, published in 1860, p. 247-9
Little book, give me
your ear. Close! There! Promise me never to breathe it! Blank loves Blank! Yes,
he does! And she doesn't care for him—not a pennyworth! It is a dreadful state
of affairs, to be sure. Why must there be so much loving and making of love?
How much nicer to just keep on being friends with everybody (except one!) and
nothing more. It is a shame that I have so little time to devote to my journal.
We meet so many delightful people and so many famous people. The other day,
attended a review of Gary's Brigade, by Generals Fitzhugh Lee and Longstreet,
in an open field between the Nine Mile and Darby Town roads. We went in an army
ambulance, attended by a number of our gentlemen friends. Fitz. Lee passed very
near us. It was the sight of a lifetime; it thrilled and pulsated all through
me. When the review was over, we were speedily surrounded by a throng of
gallants, officers and privates—the noble privates, heroes, I love them! They
bear the yoke and do the fighting, while some of the officers don't do anything
but ornament the army. Mind, I don't say all—some. Do you think we women give
no heed to these things? I know what kind of a heart a man carries under his
brass buttons. We spoke to many of our own State troops, some of them gaunt and
battle-scarred veterans, and some of them young in service but with the courage
of veterans in them. Whether we get whipped in this fight or not, one thing
will be forever indisputable—our soldiers are true soldiers and good fighters.
Sometimes I fear that we are going to get the worst of it—but away with all
fears!
To doubt the end were want of trust in God.
So says Henry
Timrod, in his Ethnogenesis, and he is a poet, and the poet has a far-seeing
eye. It open beautifully—this poem, I mean—
Hath not the morning dawned with added light?
And shall not evening call
another star
Out of the infinite regions of the night
To mark this day in Heaven?
I hear Timrod's
health is poor. What a pity! I hope he will live to sing us many songs. I must
not forget to chronicle the fact that I saw my gallant cousin, Robert D—, out
at the review. We greeted each other with unfeigned pleasure.
SOURCE: South
Carolina State Committee United Daughters of the Confederacy, South
Carolina Women in the Confederacy, Vol. 1, “A Confederate
Girl's Diary,” p. 280
The drawing room was
again crowded last night, and we got up an important dance on the spur of the
moment. General Kershaw, General Gary, and General Ruggles were present; also our
friends, the congressman, the captain, the major, and the M. P. Oh! yes. We
know Mr. Connelly, an Irish M. P. and Southern sympathizer. He seems to have plenty
of money, and lives here in great style for war times; owns a steam yacht, and
we are to have an outing on it before long. There are so many interesting
things I could and ought to write about, but just can't, because I am so
hungry! And having nothing to eat, I am going to bed to fill up on sleep.
SOURCE: South
Carolina State Committee United Daughters of the Confederacy, South
Carolina Women in the Confederacy, Vol. 1, “A Confederate
Girl's Diary,” p. 280-1
Thank goodness! I'm
not hungry tonight, and for a very good reason: we dined with the Secretary of
the Treasury and his family, the Trenholms. It was a symposium to us poor
Treasury girls, attractive and impressive. We discussed the varied menu,
elegantly prepared and daintily served, with a Confederate appetite, sharply
whetted for long-denied delicacies. Mr. Morgan, the young midshipman, was
there, quite en famille. I did not
hear when the wedding is to be. I suppose after the war. Everything is going to
take place after the war. As we arose from the table, President and Mrs. Davis
were announced. This famous man honoris
causa, I had already seen before in Columbia, but this was my first glimpse
of his wife. She was graciousness itself. Some people whom I have heard talk,
and who look upon Mr. Davis as a mere function of government, are disposed to
regard him as a conspicuous failure, but, in the name of reason, how can one
man please everybody? His role is certainly one of great difficulty. Socially,
he may rub some persons the wrong way, but not so with us. He was pleasant,
polished, and entertaining.
SOURCE: South
Carolina State Committee United Daughters of the Confederacy, South
Carolina Women in the Confederacy, Vol. 1, “A Confederate
Girl's Diary,” p. 281
A delicate piece of
business is this managing of so many men in one lump! They will have ideas of
their own, the most stupid among them! And they all want to be first in
importance. I feel in a humor to "size up" some of them tonight, not
ill-naturedly, but only for my own amusement. Major W—— is a squire of dames
and admirable as a raconteur; Colonel P—— laughs and flatters, and flatters and
laughs, and positively that is all he ever does or knows how to do; B—— is an
amiable, domesticated creature; T—— has excellent intentions, and a great many
of them, and no doubt, in due course of time, he'll find that place where such
things are said to abound; C—— just falls short of everything—but can he help
it, poor fellow? P—— is a man who has risen superior to himself; Z—— is a dead
level of dulness; as to C——'s manners, he is a debtor "both to the Greeks
and the barbarians"; K—— is a Joseph Surface; General "enjoys"
bad health; L—— is a negative instance; F—— is a mosaic of sentiment; and as
for the others, it being so late, and I so sleepy, they will happily escape
this time!
SOURCE: South
Carolina State Committee United Daughters of the Confederacy, South
Carolina Women in the Confederacy, Vol. 1, “A Confederate
Girl's Diary,” p. 281-2
The Trenholms are
exceedingly kind to us. Whenever that majordomo of theirs makes his appearance
with that big basket of his, plenty prevails in this section of the Ballard.
Heaven bless them! To demolish the contents of that basket is like getting into
a home kitchen. Will the time ever come when we can have real coffee to drink
again? Our trunk of provisions is gone, and we often feel gone without them!
Ernestine says Lise and I are completely spoiled for any other life than this
surging, intoxicating stream of brass buttons, epaulettes, and sword-belted
manhood. It may be so; I am afraid it is. There is an air of military
inspiration around us; it pervades our being; we exist in a tremor of ecstasy,
or else foreboding. Our Richmond life holds a little of everything, save ennui—not
a grain of that in it.
SOURCE: South
Carolina State Committee United Daughters of the Confederacy, South
Carolina Women in the Confederacy, Vol. 1, “A Confederate Girl's Diary,”
p. 282
SPEECH IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
AUGUST 29, 1850.
MR. BROWN said he
designed to make a few remarks only in reply to the gentleman from Illinois
[Mr. McClernand], and the gentleman from New York [Mr. Brooks], who had just
taken his seat. Both these gentlemen had taken a position which had been
assumed since the beginning of the session by many gentlemen from the Northern
States, and had put forth views which they seemed to regard as likely to obtain
the favor of the South. If these gentlemen (said Mr. B.) were right in
supposing that we of the South are mere shadows, occupied only in the pursuit
of shadows, then they might succeed in the object at which they aim. But if we
are real, substantial men, things of life and not shadows, then they will find
themselves mistaken in their views. What was it the South had demanded? She had
asked to be permitted to go into these newly-acquired territories, and to carry
her property with her, as the North does; and he desired to tell his friends
from Illinois and from New York, that she would be satisfied with nothing less
than this. It was in vain to tell the people of the South that you will not
press the proviso excluding slavery, because circumstances are such as to
exclude slavery without the operation of this provision, and therefore it is
not necessary to adopt it. He would tell gentlemen who use this argument, that
the southern people care not about the means by which slavery is to be
excluded. They will not inquire whether nature is unpropitious to the existence
of slavery there, while they know that the whole course and desire of the North
has been with a view to its exclusion from the shores of the Pacific. It was
only necessary to look at the history of the last few years to satisfy
ourselves that it has been the purpose of the North to produce this exclusion.
The honorable
gentleman from Illinois had administered a welldeserved rebuke to the factious
spirit of free soil, as manifested in the proposition of the gentleman from
Ohio [Mr. Root]; for that he (Mr. B.) felt as profoundly grateful as any other
man. It was a spirit which ought to be rebuked everywhere. It deserved the
universal execration of all good men. But it was his duty to say to his
honorable friend, that so much of his remarks as were directed against the
proviso, on the ground that it was not necessary to our exclusion, failed to excite
his (Mr. B.'s) gratitude, as they would fail to elicit the gratitude of the
southern people. The gentleman from Illinois would not be informed that he had
Mr. B.'s highest respect as a gentleman, and his sincere personal regard—but,
as a southern man, he felt bound to say at all times, and on all occasions, to
all persons, friends and foes, that he and his section demanded as a right an
equal participation in all these territories, and they could not feel grateful
to any man who placed his opposition to the proviso on no higher grounds than
that they were excluded by other means. If his honorable friend had placed his
opposition to the proviso on the grounds that the South had rights, and that
those rights ought to be respected, then Mr. B. and the whole South would have
felt a thrill of gratitude which none of them would be slow to express. If the
proviso was wrong, it ought to be opposed on the high ground of principle, and
not on the feeble assumption that it was unnecessary. To oppose it on the ground
that it was not necessary, was to say in effect that it would be sustained if
it was necessary.
The gentleman from
New York had just informed the House that he was elected as a Wilmot proviso
man, and now he rises and makes it his boast that he is backing out from the
position he then assumed.
Mr. BROOKS (Mr.
Brown yielding) said, that although this proviso was made a test, he had told
the people who elected him that he would not pledge himself to vote for it;
that he was willing to remain at home, but that, if he was elected, he must go
as an independent man.
Mr. BROWN resumed.
The gentleman from New York had certainly taken high ground. But, if he was not
mistaken, that gentleman was the editor of a daily paper in New York (the
Express), and in that journal, unless he was again mistaken, the Wilmot proviso
had been supported. The gentleman, therefore, had not left much room for doubt
as to his real sentiments. There was very little occasion for him now to come
forward and to say whether he was for or against the proviso. But he desired to
ask that gentleman, whether he was for or against this proviso when its
adoption was deemed necessary for the exclusion of slaves from the new
territories? If he was then in favor of the proviso, the fact that he is now
opposed to it, because he is satisfied that the
South cannot carry
her slaves thither on account of the hostility of the climate and soil, and
other more potential causes, his position was one not calculated to excite the
gratitude of the friends of the South.
Mr. BROOKS (Mr.
Brown yielding) said, he had not changed one principle, but he had been
converted to the gentleman's doctrine of nonintervention, or non-action. It had
always been his opinion that the power of the general government ought never to
be exercised, whether in favor of or against slavery. If the South should
suffer from her inability to carry her slave property into these territories,
the North would suffer still more if she was permitted to do so, because her
citizens would not consent to go to these territories if slavery existed there.
Mr. HOLMES. I
congratulate the whole country that the gentleman from New York has given up
his adhesion to the Wilmot proviso.
Mr. BROWN
(resuming). The conversion of the gentleman from New York to the doctrine of
non-intervention had come about as much too late as his abandonment of the
Wilmot proviso. They were both too late to do any good. If the gentleman had
kept his hands off slavery before the last presidential election, then, indeed,
the southern people might have had some reason for gratitude. But, instead of
doing that, the gentleman adheres to the proviso until it is too late for
non-intervention to do any good, and then he forsakes the former and becomes a
convert to the latter.
The gentleman from
New York appeared to be greatly horrified at what he was pleased to call
political associations on this floor—at the strange phenomenon of the two great
extremes of the North and the South voting together. He would explain this
apparent inconsistency. The South regarded the whole of the territory to
latitude 42° and east of the Rio Grande as the property of Texas, and was not
disposed to permit any portion of that territory to be surrendered for the
purpose of being made free soil. This was the position occupied by the southern
extreme. The northern extreme considers the title of the United States to all
this territory as clear beyond dispute, and therefore are opposed to purchasing
it. This is the reason why the two extremes are acting together on principles
apparently antagonistical, for the purpose of defeating this bill. Is it
remarkable that he (Mr. B.) and his southern associates, believing
conscientiously that the title to the country, in the language of the gentleman
from Kentucky [Mr. Marshall], is in Texas, and that the United States has
neither title nor color of title, should refuse to give it up? Is it strange
that other gentlemen, believing, as they say they do, that the title of the
United States is clear and indisputable, should refuse to pay Texas ten
millions to withdraw an unfounded claim? Gentlemen may pretend to marvel at
this singular political conjunction, but they all know perfectly well the
motives which have produced it.
He, however, deemed
that it would be found quite as remarkable a political phenomenon that the
gentleman from New York, and many of his political friends from the South,
should be found cheek-by-jowl with these same detested Free-Soilers on another
question. We vote with them from exactly opposite motives, as the gentleman and
the whole country very well know. But from what motive does the gentleman and
his southern friends vote with them for the admission of California? Is there
any opposite motive there? None, sir, none. There is one motive common to them
all, and that is, the admission of a free state into the Union. The gentleman
expresses special wonder that we are found voting with the Free-Soilers. Can he
give any other reason than the one just assigned why he and his southern
friends vote with them on another question?
Until the gentleman
could assign some satisfactory reason why he and his party, North and South,
were found in political fellowship with every Free-Soiler and Abolitionist in
the land for the admission of California, it would be modest to suppress his
wonder at the accidental association of Free-Soilers and southern gentlemen on
the boundary of Texas.
The difference
between us (said Mr. B.) is this: we act with them from extremely opposite
motives; you from concurrent opinions and sentiments; and we will leave to
posterity and the country to decide which stands most justified in the eyes of
all honest and impartial men.
But his main object
in rising to address the House was to say what were the demands of the South.
She asks for an equal participation in the enjoyment of all the common
property; and if this be denied, she demands a fair division. Give it to her,
give it by non-intervention, by non-action, or by any other means, and she will
be satisfied. This is her right, and she demands it. But if, instead of doing
this, the North insists on taking away the territory and abridging the rights
of the South, she will not submit to the wrong in peace, nor meanly kiss the hand
that smites her. He uttered no threat, but it was his duty to say that the
South could neither forget nor forgive a wrong like this. She cannot forget
that these new territories were purchased in part by her blood and treasure,
and she will not forgive the power that snatches them from her. He had never
undertaken to say what course the South would feel it her duty to pursue on the
consummation of her unjust exclusion from these territories, but he would say,
that the act of her exclusion would sink like a poisonous arrow into the hearts
of her people, and it would rankle there, and in the hearts of their children,
as long as the union of these states continued. The consummation of northern
policy may not produce an immediate disunion of these states; but it will
produce a disunion of northern and southern hearts; and he left it to others to
say whether a political union under such circumstances could be long
maintained, or whether it was worth maintaining.
It can excite no
feeling of gratitude that the gentleman from New York [Mr. Brooks] says he is
now opposed to the Wilmot proviso. He is for the spirit of the proviso. He
would be for its letter, if it was necessary for our exclusion. He consents to
abandon it simply because it is useless. There was a day when it was potential.
Then the gentleman was for it. Now, when he supposes our exclusion almost
perfect, and the means at hand for its entire consummation, he magnanimously
abandons the proviso. Wonderful liberality! Amazing generosity to the South! If
the gentleman is not canonized as the most generous man of his age, surely
gratitude will have failed to perform her office.
We of the South well
understand the means employed for our exclusion. This proviso, once so much in
favor with the gentleman from New York, now so graciously abandoned, performed
its office. It was held in terrorem over California: southern property, termed
as property always is, was kept out of the country. The column of southern
emigration was checked at the onset—whilst every appliance was resorted to to
swell the column of northern emigration. Every means was resorted to which
political ingenuity could devise and federal power make effective, to hurry on
this emigration, and then, with indecent haste, the emigrants, yet without
names or habitations in the country, were induced to make a pretended state
constitution, and insert in it the Wilmot proviso. The gentleman need not be
told how far the federal administration was responsible for these things. He
need not be reminded that he and his quondam proviso friends were prominent
actors in all these scenes. Need he be told that the proviso was the SHIBBOLETH
of their power? It was used so long as it was effective. It was used for our prostration,
and now it is thrown aside for no better reason than that it is useless— that
it is no longer necessary.
Does not the
gentleman from New York know very well that the California constitution is no
constitution until adopted by Congress? Does he not know that that constitution
contains the proviso? Does he not know that the proviso is powerless in that
constitution until sanctioned by Congress? And does he not mean to vote for
that constitution, with the full intent and purpose of giving vitality to that
proviso? With how much of liberality—with how much of justice to the South,
does the honorable gentleman come forward to assure us that he is against the
proviso? The gentleman is opposed to ingrafting the proviso on the territorial
bills for Utah and New Mexico; and we thank him for his opposition. But what
reason does the gentleman give for this opposition? The decrees of God have
already excluded us. He has no idea that slavery would ever penetrate the
country opposed to the proviso, because it is unnecessary. If it was at all
necessary for our exclusion, the honorable gentleman would be for it. He must
excuse us if our gratitude fails to become frantic for this singular exhibition
of forbearance and liberality.
Mr. Brown was
willing to trust the rights of the South on the strict doctrine of
non-intervention. If God, in his providence, had in fact decreed against the
introduction of slavery into Utah and New Mexico, he and his people bowed in
humble submission to that decree. We think the soil and climate are propitious
to slave labor; and if they are not, we shall never seek the country with our
slaves. All we ask of you is, that you will not interpose the authority of this
government for us or against us. We do not fear the Mexican laws, if you will
in good faith stand by the doctrine of non-intervention. We will risk the
protection of the Federal Constitution, and the banner of the stars and
stripes, for ourselves and our property. All we ask of you is, that you will in
good faith stand neutral.
He had never
announced his purpose of voting against the territorial government for Utah. He
meant to vote for it, and he should vote for the territorial government for New
Mexico if the boundary was so arranged as to respect the rights of Texas. He
was opposed to the admission of California, because her constitution was a
fraud—a fraud deliberately perpetrated for the purpose of excluding the South;
but he was in favor of giving governments to Utah and New Mexico on the ground
of strict non-intervention. He did not want to be cheated in this business, and
he therefore proposed this question to the honorable gentleman from New York:
Suppose we pass these Utah and New Mexican bills at this session without the
Wilmot proviso; and suppose the Southern people commence moving into the
territories with their slaves, and it becomes apparent that they are to be
slave territories and ultimately slave states; and suppose that the gentleman
from Ohio [Mr. Root], at the opening of the next Congress, offers the Wilmot
proviso with a view to check our emigration and to exclude us from the
territories with our slaves, will the gentleman, if a member of Congress, then
vote for the proviso?
Mr. BROOKS replied
in the negative, as far as he was heard.
Mr. BROWN. Then if
we take our slave property into the territories, we are assured that we are not
to be disturbed in its peaceable and quiet enjoyment by any act of this
government.
Mr. BROOKS said,
that if he should be here he certainly should not vote to repeal any
territorial bill for which he had voted. He only spoke for himself.
Mr. BROWN was
gratified to hear this statement; whilst he could not insist on the gentleman
answering for the North, he must express his regret that he did not feel
authorized to answer at least for his political friends. The gentleman had
answered manfully, and, he did not doubt, sincerely; and if the whole North, or
a majority even, would answer in the same way, it would go far towards
restoring harmony. He asked honorable gentlemen whether they were ready to pipe
to the tune set them by the gentleman from New York? If they were, the whole
South. would listen. It was a kind of music they liked to hear from the North.
There was in it more of the gentle harp, and less of the war-bugle than they
had been accustomed to from that quarter.
Mr. BROOKS said, it
appeared after all that there was no essential difference between them.
Mr. BROWN. So far as
this Congress is concerned, we ask nothing more than that we shall be treated
as equals, and that no insulting discrimination should be made in the action of
Congress against slave property. If the gentleman agrees to this, there can be
no essential difference between us.
Now, Mr. Speaker, to
the subject of the Texas boundary. Is there one man in this House, or throughout
the nation, who does not know that but for the question of slavery, there would
be no such question as that of the Texas boundary? Suppose, sir, that Texas and
New Mexico were both as clearly slaveholding countries as North and South
Carolina, how long, sir, do you think it would take this Congress to fix a
boundary between them? Not one hour—certainly not one day. Of what consequence
could it be to the North, whether Texas extended to the 32d or to the 42d
degree, or to any intermediate point? Take out the question of slavery, and of
what consequence is it where the boundary of Texas may be fixed? Does any man
suppose that the money-loving men of the North would vote ten millions of
dollars from a common treasury to buy a slip of soil from a slaveholding State,
simply to give it to a slaveholding Territory? No, no. We all understand this
matter. If the country is left in the possession and ownership of Texas, it
must be slave territory, and if it is given up to New Mexico, you mean that it
shall become free territory, and you do not intend to leave any stone unturned
to accomplish this end. We know this, and we govern ourselves accordingly. Let
northern gentlemen speak out on this subject.
The thin covering,
that they want to do justice between Texas and New Mexico, furnishes a poor
disguise to the real purpose. We all know that slavery restriction is the lever
with which you are lifting the title of Texas off this country, and giving it
up to New Mexico; and we all know that you are attempting to do this without
right, or color of right, to perform such an act.
Mr. MCCLERNAND (Mr.
Brown yielding) said, that Texas claimed the Rio Grande for its whole extent to
be her western boundary. By the resolutions annexing Texas to the United
States, slavery is interdicted north of 36° 30' within her professed limits.
The amendment proposed by the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Boyd) provides that
slavery may exist in any portion of the territory west of the boundary of
Texas, as proposed by the Senate bill, between 32° and 38° north latitude, east
of the Rio Grande. That is, the amendment provides that slavery may exist in
any part of said territory, according as the people inhabiting it may determine
for themselves when they apply for admission into the Union. So that to the
extent of so much of said territory now claimed by Texas, lying between 36° 30′
and 38° north latitude, the South, according to the test of my able and worthy
friend from Mississippi, stands upon a better footing under the amendment
proposed than she does under the resolutions of Texas annexation.
Mr. BROWN resumed.
If we are left in that condition in which we were by the annexation
resolutions, we are satisfied. What we ask in regard to Utah, New Mexico, and
California, is, that the North will not, by means direct or indirect, disturb
us then in the quiet enjoyment of our property. What we ask in regard to Texas
is, that you will abide by the resolutions of annexation. We are satisfied with
the contract, and we are opposed to making any other. This contract gives us
all south of 36° 30' as slave territory, and dedicates all north of that line
to free soil. We stand by this. If gentlemen want to buy from Texas her
territory north of 36° 30′, let them do it. They had his full consent to give
her ten, twelve, or fifteen millions of dollars. He should interpose no
objection. But when it came to selling out slaveholding Texas with a view of
enabling the North to make New Mexico a non-slaveholding state the more
readily, he felt it his duty to interpose by all the means in his power. He
never meant to give his vote for any proposition or combination of propositions
which looked to the deprivation of Texas of one inch of her rightful soil. He
wanted to deal fairly by all parts of the country. He trusted he should be as
ready to act fairly by the North as by the South, but he invoked the vengeance
of Heaven if ever he gave his vote for any bill or proposition to buy the soil
of a slave state to convert it into free soil.
SOURCE: M. W.
Cluskey, Editor, Speeches, Messages, and Other Writings of the Hon.
Albert G. Brown, A Senator in Congress from the State of Mississippi, p. 208-14
I cannot but feel
depressed at what seems to be great imbecility in the management of our
military affairs. By whose fault, I know not. Here we are with one hundred and
fifty thousand troops, and we can stand on our National Capitol and see the
rebels fortifying on Munson's Hill. I wonder if Gen. McClellan does not need a
rest to hold his glass steady whilst he looks at them.
We have just
received news of Dupont's having got a foothold in North Carolina. This places
us in rear of the enemy, and brightens our prospects wonderfully, if our army
there will only press their advantage.
SOURCE: Alfred L.
Castleman, The Army of the Potomac. Behind the Scenes. A Diary of
Unwritten History; From the Organization of the Army, by General George B.
McClellan, to the close of the Campaign in Virginia about the First Day
January, 1863, p. 20
The following
extract from a letter which I have just written to a friend, is the sum and
substance of my thoughts, journalized for to-day. "Major will not write
his mother whether an attack on Washington is expected. I will tell you what I
think: From the dome of the Capitol we can see the rebels throwing up works
just beyond Arlington. Every day or two we have picket skirmishing.
On Wednesday night
we had, within a short distance of Washington, seven men set as picket guards.
The next day I saw one of the seven wounded in the side by a musket ball. The
other six were killed. Almost everybody here is looking for an attack, but I do
not believe we shall have one. I have no doubt that Beauregard would like to
draw us out to attack him; that he would then retreat, with the hope of drawing
us into his nets as he did at Bull Run. But
he will not attack us here.
SOURCE: Alfred L.
Castleman, The Army of the Potomac. Behind the Scenes. A Diary of
Unwritten History; From the Organization of the Army, by General George B.
McClellan, to the close of the Campaign in Virginia about the First Day
January, 1863, p. 20-1
I introduce the following letter to a friend, as sufficiently explicit as to the occurrences since the last date:
CHAIN BRIDGE, VA., Sept. 6, 1861.
I
commence this letter with the reiteration, Poor Virginia! That State, which for
forty years has stood as the guiding star of our galaxy of States,—that State,
which alone could, six months ago,
have assumed the position of umpire to the belligerents, and which only would
have been respected in the assumption—now stands at the very foot of the list.
In the commencement of this contest she degraded herself by offering to become
the cat's paw for South Carolina, and was still farther degraded by South
Carolina rejecting the proposition to become her menial. By her officious
subservience, however, she got her paw into the fire, and how dreadfully it is
burned only those who are on her soil can form any idea. Everywhere is the
destruction going on. Her soil is the battle-field, and, so far as the
destruction of property is concerned, it matters but little which party is
successful. Armies must have room to move and manœuvre, soldiers will have the
fruits and vegetables which grow around their encampment, and camp life is a
poor fertilizer of that moral growth which marks the line of "meum et tuum."
This letter is
written on sheets taken from the former residence of Hon. W. W. Slade, once a
member of Congress from Virginia. I rode around with a foraging party. We
entered his fine old mansion, and I could not but weep over the sad changes
which I could see had taken place within a few hours, Within no living soul was
left. The soldiers entered; for a time I stood back, but when I did go in what
a sight presented itself! Already the floors were covered knee-deep with books
and papers, which it must have required a long life of toil and trouble to
amass, fine swinging-mirrors shivered into thousands of pieces—a fit emblem of
the condition to which efforts are being made to reduce this glorious
government—each piece reflecting miniature images of what the whole had shown,
but never again to reflect those pigmy images in one vast whole. In the large
and spacious drawing-room stood the ruins of one of those old-fashioned
sideboards, around which had grown so much of the reputation of Southern high
life and hospitality; its doors, wrenched from their hinges, lay scattered on
the floor; large mahogany sofas, with their covers torn off, marble-top tables,
stationery, china, stoves and spittoons, were there in one promiscuous heap of
ruins. I stepped into the library, hoping to bring away some relic that had
been untouched by the soldiers, but I was too late—all here was ruin. In a
corner I picked up a few yellow pamphlets, and read "Constitution and
By-Laws of the National Democratic Association." Sadly enough I left the
house, and seated myself, to rest and think, on the spacious verandah. For a
moment I looked on the vast orchards, the beautiful flower garden, the long
rows of laden grape vines, the broad acres of corn and clover, and thought,
"What a place and what a condition to pass old age in comfort and
quiet," and my heart began to lighten. How momentary the lightning, for
just then company after company from the different regiments came up; gates
were thrown open, fences thrown down, and horses, cattle and mules were
destroying all these evidences of prosperity and comfort. And this is but one
feature in the great haggard countenance of war which stares at us whenever we
look at Virginia's "sacred soil." Alas, poor Virginia! This subject
alone would give interest to a whole volume, but I must leave it.
On Tuesday night, at half-past ten o'clock, the "long roll" brought our brigade, of five regiments, to their feet, when we found ourselves under orders to march at once for the Virginia side of the river, where, it was said, a large body of rebels had been collecting just at night. We had had slight skirmishing in that neighborhood for several days, and now the crisis was expected, and our regiment was to have a chance. All was excitement, and in half an hour from the alarm we were ready to start. By the time we arrived here it had commenced raining—we found no enemy—bivouaced for the night, and slept in the rain to the music of the tramp, tramp of infantry, and the rattling, roaring tear of artillery wagons over the roughly macademized road which passed by our encampment. Yesterday it rained all day, as if every plug had been pulled out; still we kept on our arms and ready for action—our general and brigade officers dashing about all the time, and warning us to be ready for an attack. Day before yesterday a scouting party of our brigade went in pursuit of a party of cavalry who had been seen hovering about us. When they came in sight the cavalry took to their heels, leaving to us only three large contrabands, who "tink massa oughten to run away from poor nigga so, heah! heah! They just run and leab us to de mercy of de darn abolishuns, heah! heah!" They report that around Fairfax and Centreville there are sixty or seventy regiments, who are well provisioned, but that there is a great deal of sickness among them, measles being the prevailing disease. We had, when we left Kalarama, about twenty-five in the hospital, whom we left there under the charge of Dr. There are three or four here who have sickened in consequence of exposure to the two days and two night's rain, but they will be out in a day or two. We have not yet lost a man by disease or accident, though I hear that one man yesterday received a musket ball through his cap, but as it did not hit his head it is thought he will recover. The musket was carelessly fired by some soldier in our camp.
A little occurrence
to-day has caused quite a stir in our camps, and I deem it worthy to be noted
here for my remembrance. Capt. Strong, of the Second Regiment of Wisconsin
Volunteers, was with a small party on picket guard. He strolled away from his
company, and suddenly found himself surrounded by six of the rebel pickets.
Being out of reach of help from his men, he surrendered himself a prisoner.
After a short consultation as to whether they should kill the "d----d
Yankee" on the spot, they concluded that they would first take him into
camp. They demanded his pistols, which he took from his belt and presented. But
at the moment when the rebels were receiving them, they both went off, killing
two of his captors on the spot. But there were four left, two on foot, two on
horseback. He dashed into a pine thicket, they discharging their pieces after
him and immediately giving chase. He struck into a deep hollow or ravine
leading down to the Potomac. It was so precipitous that the horsemen could not
follow. But when he emerged from it near the river; he found himself confronted
by the two horsemen who had ridden around and reached the spot in time to head
him off. He had received a shot through his canteen. Immediately on seeing his
pursuers he fired again, killing one more of them, and simultaneously he
received another shot through his cheek. He continued firing with his revolvers
till he had made in all eleven shots. By this time the fourth man had been
unhorsed. The footmen did not pursue, and he made his way into camp. This is
the story, though some are so uncharitable as to discredit it, notwithstanding
one hole through his canteen and another through his cheek.
SOURCE: Alfred L.
Castleman, The Army of the Potomac. Behind the Scenes. A Diary of
Unwritten History; From the Organization of the Army, by General George B.
McClellan, to the close of the Campaign in Virginia about the First Day
January, 1863, p. 21-5
On the high land
overlooking the Potomac, about six or seven miles above the Navy Yard at
Washington, we have, since our arrival here, thrown up a small fort, formed
extensive abattis, and made redoubts and fortifications to command the turnpike
leading down the river, and the bridge over which any enemy must pass from any
direction above here to reach Washington. This looks like business. The
earthwork fort is small, but very strong, and its large siege guns, from twelve
to eighteen feet long, with their sullen faces watching up and down the road in
every direction, give it a most formidable appearance. A brigade (I have not
learned what one) has just advanced beyond us to commence another fort, about
two miles to the southwest of us. Neither fort has yet been officially named,
but the one just finished is called by the soldiers Fort Mott; the one about to
be built they will for the present distinguish by the name of Fort Ethan Allen.
In this manner we are closing on the enemy by slow approaches, or parallels.
Let Dupont and Butler, from North Carolina, advance to meet us, whilst Fremont
takes care of the Mississippi, and we shall have an early closing up of the
war. Every day's observation more and more satisfies me that the enemy will not
fight us here.
9 P. M.—Our fort is
completed, and we have just received orders to cook three days rations, and be
ready to move at a moment's notice.
I will here note,
once for all, the manner of the soldiers taking care of themselves in a storm,
when they have no tents. They all have "rubber blankets." Two forks
are set, and a pole laid from one to the other, some four or five feet from the
ground. A kind of lean-to roof is made by placing brush or poles against this,
one end resting on the ground, the other end resting on the pole. To make this
roof water-proof, the rubber blankets are stretched, like tiles on a roof, and
no water gets through. In moderate weather the men cuddle together under this,
and are reasonably comfortable. In cold weather they make large log fires in
front of these "bivouacs," and pass the nights without freezing.
An order was
received to-day from the War Department, that in future no labor shall be
required of soldiers on the Sabbath, except what is absolutely necessary for
our defence.
SOURCE: Alfred L.
Castleman, The Army of the Potomac. Behind the Scenes. A Diary of
Unwritten History; From the Organization of the Army, by General George B.
McClellan, to the close of the Campaign in Virginia about the First Day
January, 1863, p. 25-6
Our regiment has
received two months pay to-day, and to-night all are boisterously happy. We had
been notified to have our muster-rolls ready, and we should be paid off on the
first day of this month. The rolls were ready but the pay was not. We had
received no pay since we entered Uncle Sam's service. We had had to use all our
little private means to buy uniforms and outfit for the war, and there was not
money enough in the whole regiment to pay for washing one shirt. We were all in
debt, and momentarily expecting orders to march into the deserted parts of
Virginia. What were we to do? We could not think of leaving so. Day before
yesterday we had intimations from our commanding officers that we should remain
a day or two longer where we are, and our troops who heretofore had been
constantly impatient to advance, were now overjoyed at the delay, not doubting
but that it was to receive our pay, and oh how many dreams of little presents
to be sent home before we should be plunged into the wilderness. Perhaps some
thought of photographs for sweethearts and wives. But scarcely had the joyous
echoes from the rocky hills around us died away, when we were officially
informed that there was no money in the treasury. It was a damper. I at once
made business to the city; saw the paymaster; through him and my friends, got
audience of the Secretary of the Treasury; told a story of our penury (and such
a story). I got the money which the paymaster had failed to procure. To-day we
have been paid off, and to-night I ride a high horse in the affections of the
regiment. If they do not dismount me before their money is all expended, their
constancy will be greater than my knowledge of human nature generally warrants
me in expecting. We are all joyous to-night.
SOURCE: Alfred L.
Castleman, The Army of the Potomac. Behind the Scenes. A Diary of
Unwritten History; From the Organization of the Army, by General George B.
McClellan, to the close of the Campaign in Virginia about the First Day
January, 1863, p. 26-7
Had some skirmishing
to-day. Took some prisoners, who state that within twelve miles of us is the
center of operations of about one hundred thousand rebels, who are preparing to
attack us and march on Washington. This, if true, falsifies all the predictions
of this journal, that there is no considerable force of the enemy in front of
us, and that we shall have no general engagement here. Nevertheless, my opinion
is unchanged.
This morning quite a
body of troops, infantry, cavalry and artillery, passed us, on the road going
in the direction of where the enemy are supposed to be. By twelve o'clock
artillery firing was distinctly heard some four miles in the direction which
they took. In the afternoon we were hurriedly called to march to the support of
our retreating men.
We met them about
two miles this side of where the fight was. They claim to have gained a great
victory, but they brought in no prisoners; no guns captured. Why was that.
These reports of victories are very unreliable affairs. All kinds of stories
are going through the camp, but I shall record none of them till they have
assumed a shape worthy to be remembered.
SOURCE: Alfred L.
Castleman, The Army of the Potomac. Behind the Scenes. A Diary of
Unwritten History; From the Organization of the Army, by General George B.
McClellan, to the close of the Campaign in Virginia about the First Day
January, 1863, p. 27-8
Part of the truth
relating to the story of yesterday's fight has come to light. The fact is,
these "great fights," "great victories,” “great number of
prisoners," "great numbers killed," are the greatest humbugs of
the times, and as a specimen I put on record here the stories with the facts of
yesterday. At 8 o'clock A. M. a body of soldiers passed up the turnpike. They
were followed by batteries of artillery, and a few companies of cavalry. What
does all this mean? was asked. And everyone wishing to be wise, an answer was
soon manufactured satisfactory "to all concerned." "Four
thousand infantry and artillery had passed (Lie No. 1, there were only 2,000),
to take a fort about seven miles off.” (Lie No. 2, there was no fort near.)
About 12 o'clock we began to hear frequent reports of artillery, and by 2 P. M.
the firing was brisk, and we could see the smoke of the shells exploding in the
air from four to five miles away. About 3 o'clock we got orders to march on
double-quick to the support of our troops, who were said to be retreating.
(Truth No. 1.) Off we went on a full run, all vieing to see who could get there
first. We had gone about a mile, when we were told to push forward, that one of
our regiments was surrounded and being cut to pieces. (Lie No. 3.) On we went
for another half mile, when "Halt, the rebels are retreating," (lie
No. 4,) and in a few minutes, "We must change our position, for the rebels
were flanking us." (Lie No. 5.) A few minutes later, our officers ordered
us back to camp; we had gained a great victory. (Lie No. 6.)
Now these are the
generalities of statements of the "great victory" of yesterday, which
are being proclaimed to-day loud-mouthed. Let me put here the particulars, that
in future when I hear of our great victories, I may refer to these, and draw
some conclusion as to the probability of their truth.
In the morning,
about two thousand men from Gen. Smith's division, with a few pieces of
artillery, passed up the pike to reconnoitre, in other words to examine the
country and to ascertain what they could of the whereabouts of the enemy. They
made their reconnoissance and started for camp. When they had marched about a
quarter of a mile on their return, the rebels opened fire on them from a masked
battery. Our artillery replied quickly and with spirit, our shot and shell
mowing down hazels, oak grubs and saplings. These were all the enemy they saw.
But above the heavy brush, in which the enemy's batteries were masked, the
smoke from their guns could be distinctly seen, and into this brush we fired
without knowing the effects of our shot, though it is said that we silenced
their battery. After about an hour thus spent our force retired, with the loss
of some twenty or thirty men in killed and wounded, without capturing the
battery which they had silenced, or without taking time to bring away even our
own killed and wounded! What a "glorious victory!" So glorious that
we must rush back to camp to announce it, leaving the enemy to look after our
killed and wounded! A few "such victories would ruin us." Gen.
McClellan visited us to-day; made a speech, and promised us the luxury of a
fight soon unless the rebels run. The appreciation of his kind promise was
manifested by most unmistakable signs of joy.
SOURCE: Alfred L.
Castleman, The Army of the Potomac. Behind the Scenes. A Diary of
Unwritten History; From the Organization of the Army, by General George B.
McClellan, to the close of the Campaign in Virginia about the First Day
January, 1863, p. 28-30
I am alone to-night,
and tired enough to lie and sleep for twenty-four hours, did not the scenes
around call up associations which banish repose, and yet invite it. In the
deep, deep woods, in a deep, deeper valley, with a mountain rising high on
either side of me, and the semi-roaring babble of a large mountain brook,
leaping over stones and precipices just in front of my lonely tent; the night
speaks of the wildness of nature, and carries back my imagination to the times
when the red man revelled here in the luxury of his mountain hunt. The song of
the catydid talks to me of the rural home of my childhood, while the scream of
the screech-owl right over my head awakens mingled feelings of aboriginal
wildness, and of the ruins of civilization. The night is still, and over the
mountain comes the strain of vocal music, with the accompaniment of a martial
band, from more than a mile away, where with a regiment of Vermonters our
chaplain is holding religious exercises, and "Dundee's sacred
strain," mellowed by the distance, is in harmony with all around me. These
are my nearest settled neighbors to-night, and so far away that I am outside of
all their guards, yet near enough to hear the "Halt! who comes
there?" of the picket, as he hails the rock, loosened from above, as it
comes rushing down the mountain side. The tattoo of the night drums, too, as it
comes rumbling over the mountains, and calls the soldier to his hard, but
welcomed bed, awakens in the reflecting mind sad stories of the passions of
men; of happy homes, deserted; of families, once united, now separated, perhaps
forever; of the once freeman, to whom the dungeon now denies all hope of
liberty again; of a country, once a unit, which held the world at bay, now an
object of the ridicule or pity of nations which but a few short months before
trembled at her power; of reflections which, I fear, must convince that
"war is the normal condition of man." There were threats of an attack
on us yesterday and to-day. My hospital was in an exposed position, and my sick
must be moved. At dark I commenced moving to a more secure place; selected this
beautiful ravine; got my tents here, but not deeming it best to disturb the
sick by moving them in the night, am here alone to take care of my tents and
stores. And how beautifully the moon sheds its reflections over this quiet
little valley, and brightens, as with myriads of diamonds, the ripplings of the
little mountain streams! How deliciously sweet the fresh odor of the clean
grass, untainted by the stench of the camp. But hark! I hear at this moment,
from Fort Corcoran, "the three guns," a signal of approaching danger,
and in another moment the "long roll" may summon us to scenes of
trouble. I am still stubborn in the belief that the enemy is only making a
feint, and that we shall have no fight here. The long roll does not call me.
The “three guns” must have made a false alarm, and so I will retire and
"bid the world good-night."
SOURCE: Alfred L.
Castleman, The Army of the Potomac. Behind the Scenes. A Diary of
Unwritten History; From the Organization of the Army, by General George B.
McClellan, to the close of the Campaign in Virginia about the First Day
January, 1863, p. 30-1
I have just come
from the library, in one of whose alcoves sits Miss Dix, and fills the members
that she calls about her with her divine magnetism. When I see her and some
others, how I do long to have her portion of the human race rise to their true condition!
I am for "woman's rights," in the highest sense of the word; not for
her being made a politician, a soldier, a judge, or a president, but for her
entering that glorious sphere of benevolence which Nature has opened, but which
the selfishness and shortsightedness of men have hitherto closed up. . . . She
is full of anxiety about her bill now before Congress. She reminds me of my old
anxiety for some of my educational measures; and in this particularly, that I
see, that, as soon as she can accomplish her present plans, she has others
lying behind, and ready to be brought forward to take the place of the
successful ones.
One fortnight from
to-day, we close!
I hope to have but
one more black Tuesday in this place. . .
SOURCE: Mary Tyler
Peabody Mann, Life of Horace Mann, p. 330-1
There is a great
rush here of the Tariff party. Mr. Webster has held out the idea all summer,
that, if we would surrender liberty, the South would withhold their opposition
to a tariff. This is the idea that has worked such a wonderful change in
Boston, and in those parts of the State connected by business with it; and
almost all parts of the State are so connected. It is the pecuniary sensorium,
and the nerves reach to all the extremities; for it is within twelve hours of
every part of the State by railroads, &c. This idea, therefore, that money
is to be made by a settlement of the difficulties in favor of slavery, has been
the corrupting idea of the year, and it has worked its way with prodigious
efficacy. Several attempts have been made to get a tariff measure through; but,
as yet, all have failed. I suppose this to be the reason why there is such a flocking
here now from Lowell and Boston. How disgraceful it is! and yet, if these
motives were exposed, they would first be denied, and then the author of the
charge would be sacrificed. It is a corrupt state of affairs; but I think not
all who are engaged in it either see or feel how base it is.
It is this class of
people who are making the outcry against me.
SOURCE: Mary Tyler
Peabody Mann, Life of Horace Mann, p. 331
WASHINGTON, Sept.
21, 1850.
MY DEAR SIR,— . . .
You have seen how Websterism overrides everything in Boston. A large portion of
the voters in my district belong in Boston, and have no sympathies or interests
but in Boston, and only come out into the country to sleep and vote. They are
exciting an opposition to me, to the extent of their influence and Webster's
money. Were it not for this, I should long ago have positively declined to be a
candidate again. The posture of affairs may compel me to withhold the execution
of this purpose. . . . I have no heart to write a word on the course of things
in Congress this session. The slaveholders have overthrown principles, and put
them to rout as Napoleon did armies.
SOURCE: Mary Tyler
Peabody Mann, Life of Horace Mann, p. 331-2
