Showing posts with label Ft Morgan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ft Morgan. Show all posts

Friday, September 9, 2022

William T. Sherman to Ellen Ewing Sherman, January 8, 1861

ALEXANDRIA, Jan. 8, 1861.

 . . . Things are moving along with the rapidity of revolutions. The papers announce that the people of Alabama have seized the arsenals at Mobile Point, Fort Morgan, and above Mobile. I think similar steps will soon follow at the forts at the mouth of the Mississippi and Lake Pontchartrain. I have been in town today and had a long talk with Dr. Smith who goes next week to Baton Rouge to attend the meeting of the legislature and convention. He knows well my opinions; I have not concealed them, that I cannot do any act hostile to the United States. . .

The Board is unwilling to entrust the management here to any one of the other professors. It takes me all I can do to suppress disorder and irregularity. I had a cadet threaten me yesterday with a loaded pistol because I detected a whiskey jug in his room and threatened him with dismissal. He did not await trial but went off. Although a large majority of the cadets are good boys still we have some hard cases.

From what I see in the New Orleans papers Anderson is still in possession of Fort Sumpter, and the general government has failed to reinforce him and will wait till he is attacked. This disgusts me and I would not serve such a pusillanimous government.

It merits dissolution. This fact will increase the chances of an attempt to prevent Lincoln's installation into office, and then we shall see whether the wideawakes will fight as well as carry cheap lamps of a night zigzagging down the streets.

I see every chance of long, confused, and disorganizing Civil War, and I feel no desire to take a hand therein. When the time comes for reorganization then will come the time. I feel anxious for your comfort and safety but these cannot be threatened. . .

SOURCE: Walter L. Fleming, General W.T. Sherman as College President, p. 331-2

Monday, July 25, 2022

Diary of John Beauchamp Jones: August 26, 1864

Clear; but rained copiously last night.

A letter from Gen. Lee indicates that the “Bureau of Conscription” fails to replenish the army.

The rich men and slave-owners are but too successful in getting out, and in keeping out of the service. The Governor, who commissions magistrates, is exempting some fifty daily, and these, in many instances, are not only young men, but speculators. And nearly every landed proprietor has given bonds to furnish meal, etc. to obtain exemption. Thus corruption is eating to the heart of the cause, and I fear the result of the contest between speculation and patriotism. Mr. Seddon says he has striven to make the conscription officers do their duty, and was not aware that so many farmers had gotten exemption. He promises to do all in his power to obtain recruits, and will so use the strictly local troops as to render the Reserves more active.

What that means we shall soon see. A dispatch from Mobile says Fort Morgan is in the possession of the enemy! Per contra, a dispatch from the same place says Memphis is in the possession of Forrest.

SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 2p. 272

Monday, May 2, 2022

Major-General Dabney H. Maury to James A. Seddon, August 11, 1864

MOBILE, August 11, 1864.
Hon. J. A. SEDDON,
    Secretary of War:

Raid preparing at Pensacola Navy-Yard; quiet elsewhere. Nothing late from Fort Morgan; wires broken. Forrest drove enemy's advance out of Oxford last night. All particulars of Fort Gaines' surrender known are commanding officer communicated with enemy and made terms without authority; his fort in good condition, garrison having suffered little. He made [no] reply to repeated orders and signals from General Page to hold his fort, and surrendered; conditions not known. Serious delays and mischief occasioned by depot quartermasters refusing to issue necessary supplies, except by orders from Richmond; please correct it.

D. H. MAURY,        
Major-General.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 39, Part 2 (Serial No. 78), p. 770

Sunday, March 14, 2021

Diary of Gideon Welles: Friday, September 2, 1864

Admiral Farragut’s dispatch relative to the capture of Fort Morgan and the infamous conduct of General Page in spiking his guns after his surrender is received. It was most disgraceful and would justify severe treatment.

Some of the Administration presses and leaders have undertaken to censure me for slighting Du Pont. Not one of them awards me any credit for selecting Farragut. Yet it was a great responsibility, for which I was severely criticized, and until he had proved himself worthy of my choice, I felt it.

The contrast between Farragut and Du Pont is marked. No one can now hesitate to say which is the real hero; yet three years ago it would have been different. Farragut is earnest, unselfish, devoted to the country and the service. He sees to every movement, forms his line of battle with care and skill, puts himself at the head, carries out his plan, if there is difficulty leads the way, regards no danger to himself, dashes by forts and overcomes obstructions. Du Pont, as we saw at Sumter, puts himself in the most formidable vessel, has no order of battle, leads the way only until he gets within cannon-shot range, then stops, says his ship would not steer well, declines, however, to go in any other, but signals to them to go forward without order or any plan of battle, does not enjoin upon them to dash by the forts; they are stopped under the guns of Sumter and Moultrie, and are battered for an hour, a sufficient length of time to have gone to Charleston wharves, and then they are signalled to turn about and come back to the Admiral out of harm's way.

When I appointed Du Pont to command a squadron, I met the public expectation. All but a few naval officers, most of whom were under a cloud, approved and applauded so judicious a selection. But no cheering response was made to the appointment of Farragut. Some naval officers said he was a daring, dashing fellow, but they doubted his discretion and ability to command a squadron judiciously. Members of Congress inquired who he was, and some of them remonstrated, and questioned whether I was not making a mistake, for he was a Southern man and had a Southern wife. Neither the President nor any member of the Cabinet knew him, or knew of him except, perhaps, Seward, but he was not consulted and knew nothing of the selection until after it was made. When told of the appointment, he inquired if Farragut was equal to it, and asked if it would not have been better to have transferred Du Pont to that command.

Farragut became a marked man in my mind when I was informed of the circumstances under which he left Norfolk. At the time the Virginia convention voted to secede he denounced the act, and at once abandoned the State, leaving his home and property the day following, avowing openly and boldly, in the face and hearing of the Rebels by whom he was surrounded, his determination to live and die owing allegiance to no flag but that of the Union under which he had served. This firm and resolute stand caused me not only to admire the act, but led me to inquire concerning the man. I had known of him slightly during Polk's administration, when I had charge of a naval bureau, remembered his proposition to take San Juan d'Ulloa at Vera Cruz, and all I heard of him was well, but he was generally spoken of as were other good officers. Fox, Foote, and Dahlgren gave him a good name. Admiral D. D. Porter was emphatic in his favor, and his knowledge and estimate of men were generally pretty correct. Admiral Smith considered him a bold, impetuous man, of a great deal of courage, and energy, but his capabilities and power to command a squadron was a subject to be determined only by trial.

Had any other man than myself been Secretary of the Navy, it is not probable that either Farragut or Foote would have had a squadron. At the beginning of the Rebellion, neither of them stood prominent beyond others. Their qualities had not been developed; they had not possessed opportunities. Foote and myself were youthful companions at school. And I have stated the circumstances under which Farragut was brought to my notice. Neither had the showy name, the scholastic attainments, the wealth, the courtly talent, of Du Pont. But both were heroes. Du Pont is a polished naval officer, selfish, heartless, calculating, scheming, but not a hero by nature, though too proud to be a coward.

SOURCE: Gideon Welles, Diary of Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy Under Lincoln and Johnson, Vol. 2: April 1, 1864 — December 31, 1866, p. 133-5

Thursday, February 11, 2021

Diary of Gideon Welles: Monday, August 29, 1864

We have word through Rebel channels that the Union forces have possession of Fort Morgan. This will give us entire control of the Bay of Mobile.

The President sent me a bundle of papers, embracing a petition drawn up with great ability and skill, signed by most of the Massachusetts delegation in Congress and a large number of the prominent merchants in Boston, asking special favors in behalf of Smith Brothers, who are under arrest for fraudulent deliveries under contract, requesting that the trial may be held in Boston and that it may be withdrawn from the military and transferred to the civil tribunals. Senator Sumner and Representative Rice wrote special letters to favor the Smiths. The whole scheme had been well studied and laboriously got up, and a special delegation have come on to press the subject upon the President.

He urged me to relieve him from the annoying and tremendous pressure that had been brought to bear upon him in this case by religious or sectarian and municipal influence. I went briefly over the main points; told him the whole subject ought to be referred to and left with the Navy Department in this stage of the proceedings, that I desired him to relieve himself of all care and trouble by throwing the whole responsibility and odium, if there was odium, on the Navy Department, that we could not pursue a different course in this case from the others, — it could not be made an exception. He then asked why not let the trial take place in Boston and thus concede something. I told him this might be done, but it seemed to me inexpedient; but he was so solicitous — political and party considerations had been artfully introduced, against which little could be urged, when Solicitor Whiting and others averred that three Congressional districts would be sacrificed if I persisted — that the point was waived and the President greatly relieved. The President evinced shrewdness in influencing, or directing me, but was sadly imposed upon by the cunning Bostonians.

A Mr. Buel, formerly of Connecticut, who has recently taken up his residence in Bermuda, called on me a day or two since with a letter from Collins Brothers, of Hartford, who presented him as a worthy, truthful, and reliable man, brought up by themselves, — had lived with them from 1854 to 1862, etc., — representing that he had matters of moment to communicate, etc. Buel wanted permission to export four horses to Bermuda, where he was engaged largely in agriculture, with a view of supplying New York and New England with early vegetables. In this matter I declined to interfere farther than to indorse the respectability of the Messrs. Collins. But Buel had a public matter to communicate. When at Bermuda, Consul Allen had introduced him to a Mr. Bailor, who claimed to be a commissioner duly authorized by the authorities of the State of Georgia to negotiate for peace. His credentials he had given into the hands of Consul Allen, from whom they were stolen when going from Hamilton to St. George's, at a house where he stopped with a lady who had come with him that distance. Not only were Bailor's credentials stolen, but his own dispatches to our government. As he deemed the subject of great importance, and as Bermuda was filled with Rebels and their sympathizers, Consul Allen hastened to St. George's, where the packet was about to sail, and, having no time to write an explanatory letter, had merely penned a line, and opened his heart to Mr. Buel, to whom he communicated the above facts, which Buel narrated to me. Bailor had come on from Bermuda to New York with Buel, and is now in Washington or on his way hither from New York.

Buel, besides the indorsement of the Messrs. Collins, had the appearance of an honest man, but the story appeared to me so absurd and incredible in many and most respects, that I gave it little weight, and felt inclined to believe that both he and Allen were imposed upon. So believing, I soon dismissed Mr. Buel, referring him in the matter of his horses to the Secretary of the Treasury, or War, or both.

To-day, when leaving the President, Buel met me in the outer hall, where he was in waiting, and again introduced the subject of his horses and Bailor. The latter, he said, was in Washington, had had interviews with the President and Mr. Seward, had dined with the Secretary of State on Saturday, etc., and suggested that it might be well for the President to see him (Buel) on the matter of Bailor's credentials; and he wanted also a definite answer about the horses. The latter, I perceived, was the most interesting and absorbing topic with him, and I was therefore for passing on, when it occurred to me that if Bailor was really here, having interviews with the President and Secretary of State, whether empowered or not, - an intriguing busybody or mischief-maker, - I ought perhaps to inform the President in regard to Buel and mention my own impressions. I therefore returned to the President, briefly stated the facts, and asked if he would see Bailor. He was evidently a little surprised at my knowledge of Bailor, said he had been here and got in with Seward, who had become sick of him, he thought, and the President himself believed Bailor a "shyster.” I introduced Buel, who did not remove the impression that Bailor was a “shyster,” and most of the conversation was on the condition of Bermuda and Buel's private affairs.

The Rebel leaders understand Seward very well. He is fond of intrigue, of mystery, of sly, cunning management, and is easily led off on a wild chase by subtle fellows who can without difficulty excite his curiosity and flatter his vanity. Detectives, secret agents, fortune-tellers are his delight: and the stupid statements of Bailor, especially when corroborated by Allen, who is evidently a victim, imposed upon him.

SOURCE: Gideon Welles, Diary of Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy Under Lincoln and Johnson, Vol. 2: April 1, 1864 — December 31, 1866, p. 124-7

Diary of Gideon Welles: Tuesday, August 30, 1864

Not much of interest at the Cabinet. Seward, Blair, and Bates absent from Washington. The capture of Fort Morgan is confirmed by accounts from Sherman.

Am trying to arrange for changes in command of our squadrons and of our navy yards. Something must be done to close the entrance to Cape Fear River and port of Wilmington. I give no credit to the newspaper gossip of connivance on the part of our naval officers with blockade-runners which many good men believe; but there is a want of effective action. Admiral Lee is true and loyal, careful, and circumspect almost to a fault, but, while vigilant, he has not dash and impetuous daring, and there seems some defect in the blockade which makes Wilmington appear an almost open port. It is true that blockade-running has become systematized into a business, and the ingenuity and skill of Englishmen and the resources of English capital are used without stint in assisting the Rebels.

I have been urging a conjoint attack upon Wilmington for months. Could we seize the forts at the entrance of Cape Fear and close the illicit traffic, it would be almost as important as the capture of Richmond on the fate of the Rebels, and an important step in that direction. But the War Department hangs fire, and the President, whilst agreeing with me, dislikes to press matters when the military leaders are reluctant to move.

Fox urges the immediate recall of Farragut and giving him the North Atlantic Squadron. But to withdraw Farragut from Mobile suddenly will give cause for censure. The country is expecting the capture of the city of Mobile. I do not think it an important object at this moment. We have the bay and have closed all communication from abroad. To capture the city will be difficult, very difficult if the army does not take the principal work in hand. If Farragut is recalled, the failure or omission to take the city will be imputed to the Navy Department. Besides, to withdraw Farragut and place him in the North Atlantic Squadron will be to advertise our object, and cause the Rebels to prepare for the work of defense. These and other considerations have weight, and prevent me from acting. It is important, however, that the port of Wilmington should be closed, and no effort should be spared to secure that object. Stanton expressed himself willing in our last conversation but doubted if General Grant could be brought into the movement just now, and was, I saw, disinclined himself to advise or recommend the measure. Have had some talk with Fox and sent him to urge Halleck and Stanton. He had an errand to perform with the President and proposed to open the subject to him also. As I had done so several times, and always found the President willing, and on the last two or three occasions solicitous, yet, like Stanton, deferring to Grant, I thought well of the proposition. It was suggested that Gillmore was at leisure or would be a good officer to command in such an expedition. I have a good opinion of Gillmore as a second officer and as an engineer or artillery officer, but his skill and strength in other respects and particularly in organizing and controlling men and planning and carrying out details of an important movement as chief are questionable, and therefore, I should, unless satisfied by competent men who know him better than I do, hesitate in regard to his selection. This is pretty plain and direct work, and he may succeed. Stanton has agreed to send for Gillmore and get his views. In some proposed changes of our squadron commands I find embarrassments. This one of taking Farragut from the West Gulf and transferring him to the North Atlantic is one. It will be a right and proper measure at the right time. But who shall succeed him? Dahlgren has asked to be relieved of his present command, which he earnestly sought, but I am doubtful about giving him the Western Gulf. Though I do not question his courage, which, however, is artificial, he evades responsibility, is craving in his demands, and profuse in expenditure. Fox has advised his transfer to the Mississippi, and that Porter should take Dahlgren's command. But this change does not suit me nor would it gratify either of those admirals. A second suggestion from Fox is that Porter should have command of a flying squadron for the defense of the coast and the West Indies which it is proposed to raise. This strikes me more favorably, provided he is to leave the Mississippi.

SOURCE: Gideon Welles, Diary of Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy Under Lincoln and Johnson, Vol. 2: April 1, 1864 — December 31, 1866, p. 127-9

Sunday, December 13, 2020

Diary of Gideon Welles: Wednesday, August 10, 1864

The tidings this evening from Mobile, derived from the Rebels, are satisfactory. It is stated that the Tecumseh was sunk by Fort Morgan's guns. I discredit this. She may have grounded or she may have encountered a torpedo; but most likely it was one of the river boats, though they, being of light draft, would be less likely to keep the channel and encounter the obstructions and torpedoes. If the guns of Fort Morgan sunk an ironclad, it was doubtless one of the river monitors.

SOURCE: Gideon Welles, Diary of Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy Under Lincoln and Johnson, Vol. 2: April 1, 1864 — December 31, 1866, p. 101

Thursday, March 5, 2020

Captain Charles Wright Wills: September 5, 1864

September 5, 1864.

News of the capture of Fort Morgan. Orders to march at 8 p. m. I was detailed to bring off the pickets, which was accomplished without trouble. Rebels did not know when we left, as we heard them shooting after we got back in our old works at Jonesboro. The whole army moved into the works we built the 30th. I, with my pickets, got back just before day.

SOURCE: Charles Wright Wills, Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, p. 298-9

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

John W. Mclaughlin

JOHN W. McLAUGHLIN, farmer and stock-raiser, living on section 30, Decatur Township, was born in Marion County, Ohio, April 24, 1840, he being the youngest in a family of six children.  His father was a native of Virginia, and was married in Ohio to Catherine Dunbar, a native of Pennsylvania.  He died in Delaware County, Ohio, in May, 1852, aged forty-eight years.  When our subject was fourteen years of age, in 1854, the mother came with her family to Decatur County, and made her home in Bloomington Township.  She is still living, her home being near the home of our subject.  John W. McLaughlin remained with his mother till 1862, when, August 15 of that year, he enlisted in Company I, Thirty-fourth Iowa Infantry.  His first engagement was at Chickasaw Bluffs, under General Sherman, in December, 1862, after which he was in line at the capture of Arkansas Post, participating in that campaign which culminated in the surrender of Vicksburg.  He then went with his corps, the Thirteenth, to the Louisiana department, and was soon after incapacitated from duty by sickness, spending several weeks in hospital and convalescent camp at Factory Press, New Orleans.  He rejoined his regiment December 25, 1863, at Mattagorda Island, near Galveston, Texas.  During the Red River campaign his corps reinforced General Banks at Alexandria, and in Banks' disastrous retreat served as guard of property and baggage.  During the closing scenes of the war Mr. McLaughlin participated in the capture of Fort Gaines and Fort Morgan, at Mobile, Alabama, and was in line at the storming of Fort Blakely, at Mobile, Alabama.  He served gallantly and faithfully as a soldier till August 15, 1865, when he received an honorable discharge, and is now a member of Decatur Post, No. 410, G. A. R.  Returning to Decatur County he was married October 19, 1865, to Mary E. Woodmansee, of Decatur Township, where her parents, James W. and Rachel Woodmansee, reside.  They have four children living — Ettie G., Ann Laura, James W. and Reuben.  Their third child, John, died aged two years.  In December, 1865, Mr. McLaughlin bought 108 acres of his present farm, in Decatur Township, forty-five acres being broken, on which was erected a comfortable residence.  He soon commenced the improvement of his land, and has since added to it till his farm now contains 215 acres of upland, meadow and timber land, making one of the best stock farms in Decatur Township, his farm being watered by Grand River.  In politics Mr. McLaughlin has been identified with the Greenback party, since its organization.  He cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln.  He is a member of Decatur Lodge, No. 109, A. F. & A.M., and of Decatur Lodge, No. 102, I.O.O.F.

SOURCE: “Biographical and Historical Record of Ringgold and Decatur Counties, Iowa,” p. 554

Monday, September 18, 2017

Diary of John Beauchamp Jones: July 28, 1863

The rumor that Gen. Lee had resigned was simply a fabrication. His headquarters, a few days ago, were at Culpepper C. H., and may be soon this side of the Rappahannock. A battle and a victory may take place there.


Col. J. Gorgas, I presume, is no friend of Pemberton; it is not often that Northern men in our service are exempt from jealousies and envyings. He sends to the Secretary of War to-day a remarkable statement of Eugene Hill, an ordnance messenger, for whom he vouches, in relation to the siege and surrender of Vicksburg. It appears that Hill had been sent here by Lieut.-Gen. Holmes for ammunition, and on his way back to the trans-Mississippi country, was caught at Vicksburg, where he was detained until after the capitulation. He declares that the enemy's mines did our works no more injury than our mines did theirs; that when the surrender took place, there were an abundance of caps, and of all kinds of ordnance stores; that there were 90,000 pounds of bacon or salt meat unconsumed, besides a number of cows, and 400 mules, grazing within the fortifications; and that but few of the men even thought of such a contingency as a surrender, and did not know it had taken place until the next day (5th of July), when they were ordered to march out and lay down their arms. He adds that Gen. Pemberton kept himself very close, and was rarely seen by the troops, and was never known to go out to the works until he went out to surrender.

Major-Gen. D. Maury writes from Mobile, to the President, that he apprehends an attack from Banks, and asks instructions relative to the removal of 15,000 non-combatants from the city. He says Forts Gaines and Morgan are provisioned for six months, and that the land fortifications are numerous and formidable. He asks for 20,000 men to garrison them. The President instructs the Secretary, that when the purpose of the enemy is positively known, it will be time enough to remove the women, children, etc.; but that the defenses should be completed, and everything in readiness. But where the 20,000 men are to come from is not stated — perhaps from Johnston.

SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 1, p. 389-90

Monday, July 31, 2017

1st Lieutenant Charles Wright Wills: August 8, 1862

Tuscumbia, Ala., August 8, 1862.

My pet negro got so lazy and worthless I was compelled to ship him. I'll take back, if you please, everything good that I ever said of free negroes. That Beauregard nigger was such a thief that we had to also set him adrift. He stole our canned fruit, jellies and oysters and sold some of them and gave parties at the cabins in the vicinity. This was barely endurable but he was a splendid, smart fellow and the colonel would have kept him, but he got to stealing the colonel's liquor. That of course, was unpardonable, when the scarcity of the article was considered. In my last I spoke of a ride on the railroad and having to turn back on account of bridges being burned There were, maybe, 150 sick soldiers on board, and they concluded to march to Decatur, only 10 miles. They were attacked just after we started back, five of them killed and about 100 taken prisoners. There was a woman along and she was wounded. There were three little fights yesterday between here and 25 miles east. In all, four killed and 13 wounded. The fight first spoken of was day before yesterday. Orders have been given us to put every woman and child (imprison the men) across the line that speaks or acts secesh, and to burn their property, and to destroy all their crops, cut down corn growing, and burn all the cribs. That is something like war. ’Tis devilish hard for one like me to assist in such work, but believe it is necessary to our course. Having been very busy preparing reports and writing letters all day, feel deuced little like writing you. People here treat us the very best kind, although they are as strong Rebels as live. Bring us peaches and vegetables every day. I can't hardly think the generals will carry out the orders as above, for it will have a very demoralizing effect upon the men. I'd hate like the deuce to burn the houses of some secesh I know here, but at the same time don't doubt the justice of the thing. One of them has lent us his own cook, or rather his wife did; and they don't talk their secessionism to you unless you ask them to. We are getting a good many recruits from this country. All poor people, in fact that is the only kind that pretend to any Unionism here. There are now three full companies of Alabamians (Union) at Huntsville, and many more coming in. It is the opinion of the court that this new law, a copy of which you sent me, will boost me out of the service. I will make no objection, although would rather stay in if I thought the war would last 30 or 40 years. Don't see how the boys can stay at home under the pressure. A young man here, and a splendid fellow, if he is a Rebel, showed me four letters from different young ladies urging him, by ridicule and appeals to his pride to go into the army. He was in for a short time, and was stationed at Fort Morgan. Business keeps him out now — crops, etc. I think will arrange things so that he can leave, if we carry out orders. ’Twould be quite a change for me to be out of the army now. I don' know how I would relish it while the war continues, although am sure could stand it if peace times would come again.

SOURCE: Charles Wright Wills, Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, p. 123-5

Thursday, March 23, 2017

Diary of 1st Lieutenant John S. Morgan: Friday, June 2, 1865

Continental succeeded in getting free at 12, M. run down in Bay near Ft Morgan anchored Regt embarked at 2. P. M. Men so thick cant all lie down. No orders. Star light runs along side loaded with Commissaries for the Ship load part of them, G. C. Richardson & James Smith sent back to Mobile sick. No orders yet where to go to. Evening ship passes with Capt Lacy on board, weather very warm.

SOURCE: “Diary of John S. Morgan, Company G, 33rd Iowa Infantry,” Annals of Iowa, 3rd Series, Vol. 13, No. 8, April 1923, p. 604

Monday, January 16, 2017

Diary of 2nd Lieutenant John S. Morgan: Saturday, March 18, 1865

Regt on the road at 6. at 7.30 made Bon secure bayou, see great heaps of oyster shells more low ground today. they bay & gulf one place at the neck not more than 3/4 of a mile apart. Hear heavy guns all P. M. supposed to be the fleet at Mobile, move about 10 miles today. We see one happy wench, we were the first yankees she had seen. After dark a squad of 15, belonging to the Div. 2 of whom belong to our Regt get into camp. They were at Ft. Gaines Hosp. crossed to Morgan & finding their Regt gone pushed on & walked all the way from the Cove today. They report Genl. Veaches Div. coming right on & Genl Smiths Corps landing at the Cove & will start Monday The Estimate is 10000 men with us & 20000 more to follow & we expect to form junction with Steele, who started from Pensacola the 17th with between 20000 and 25000 men

SOURCE: “Diary of John S. Morgan, Company G, 33rd Iowa Infantry,” Annals of Iowa, 3rd Series, Vol. 13, No. 8, April 1923, p. 578

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Diary of 2nd Lieutenant John S. Morgan: Thursday, March 9, 1865

Go to Commissary at Ft. Morgan to buy provision for Mess, get to ride most of way to & from. Ship load of troops at the pier near the Ft. papers from New Orleans of the 6th nothing new. Gen Field order no. 1. from Genl Canby Capt Prince detailed to take charge of Pioneer Corps. Some Regts rec large mail, Henry Shull arrives. Reports Dan Wiser dead Raining from 2. P. M. Evening stormy

SOURCE: “Diary of John S. Morgan, Company G, 33rd Iowa Infantry,” Annals of Iowa, 3rd Series, Vol. 13, No. 8, April 1923, p. 577

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Diary of 2nd Lieutenant John S. Morgan: Thursday, March 2, 1865

A. M. to Ft. Morgan, at 12 M. Steamer Tamanlapas crosses, to Ft Gaines, I succeed in being mustered to date from Feb 21st 1865. Judge Ft Gaines not so good a fort as Ft. Morgan. Return to camp at 5 P. M. Regt just from Parade listening to speech from Agent of Orphan Asylum, Regt Subscribed about $5000. a brig loaded with lumber & hay was wrecked on sand island yesterday during the fog. Meet an old friend Joel Deweese of 23d Iowa

SOURCE: “Diary of John S. Morgan, Company G, 33rd Iowa Infantry,” Annals of Iowa, 3rd Series, Vol. 13, No. 8, April 1923, p. 576

Monday, January 9, 2017

Diary of 2nd Lieutenant John S. Morgan: Sunday, March 5, 1865

Morning with major Boydston to Ft Morgan to go to Ft Gaines No boat. All through fort. Near the pier & within 400 yds. of Ft. a pole which is fixed to the turret of the Gunboat Tecumseh sunk by the explosion of a torpedo, shows the watery grave of 100 brave boys, who are yet in the great iron coffin 30 ft below the surface, I mile out a smokestack sticks out of the water, a little this side the pier is the wreck of the Reb Gunboat Gaines, crippled & beached during the action P. M. in camp. Service at 3. P. M. News — 35 men of our Regt lately exchanged are at New Orleans — Col Benton of 29th Iowa, & Col Glasgow of 23d Iowa appointed Brevet Brig. Genl's by the President, Detailed tonight to take charge of fatigue party tomorrow. All experienced Rail, Road, men called for, to report to Capt Jackson. It is the purpose to make a permanent Rail Road from Ft Morgan to Navy Com & extend around the Bay to Mobile as the Army advances.

SOURCE: “Diary of John S. Morgan, Company G, 33rd Iowa Infantry,” Annals of Iowa, 3rd Series, Vol. 13, No. 8, April 1923, p. 576

Saturday, January 7, 2017

Diary of 2nd Lieutenant John S. Morgan: Saturday, February 25, 1865

Slept well, rained all night. At 10. a. m. start through pass, aground at 11. Brown with 4 co of our Regt passes us here. Men runing short of rations & begin to complain at 2 P. M. Small steamer Mustang comes to our relief, transfer men and baggage. Ship floats fast an hour again right in the pass abreast of Ft Powell, when she gets off Mustang runs alongside and transfers back. 3 reb deserters from Mobile come to us on Mustang. about 5.30 Ship touches at Ft. Gaines. thence to 4 mile above Ft. Morgan, at 7. P. M. disembark, march through sand 3/4 of mile to camp. on the beach of Gulf, sleep within 200 yds of Gulf, breakers Ligh & night clear, a Grand sight. 30 000 men here now.

SOURCE: “Diary of John S. Morgan, Company G, 33rd Iowa Infantry,” Annals of Iowa, 3rd Series, Vol. 13, No. 8, April 1923, p. 575

Diary of 2nd Lieutenant John S. Morgan: Tuesday, February 28, 1865

Rain during the night. this morning go up to Ft Morgan 5. Miles to try to be mustered. No mustering officer this side of the Bay. P. M. Regt mustered. Evening sets in raining again. News that Charleston is ours.

SOURCE: “Diary of John S. Morgan, Company G, 33rd Iowa Infantry,” Annals of Iowa, 3rd Series, Vol. 13, No. 8, April 1923, p. 576

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Diary of John Beauchamp Jones: November 4, 1862

An expose of funds in the hands of disbursing agents shows there are nearly seventy millions of dollars not accounted for!

The members of the legislature are fearful of an attack on the Southern Railroad, and asks that Gen. Mahone be sent to Petersburg.

The government is impressing flour at $12 per barrel, when it is selling at $24; and as the railroads are not allowed to transport any for private use, it may be hoped we shall have our bread cheaper some of these days. But will the government make itself popular with the people?

The Examiner says a clerk in the War Department is making money in the substitute business. If this be true, it is rank corruption! But, then, what is the cotton business?

The Chief of Ordnance Bureau, Col. J. Gorgas (Northern by birth), recommends the Secretary of War to remove the lighter guns, some sixty in number, from the lower tiers of Forts Sumter, Moultrie, and Morgan, for the defense of the rivers likely to be ascended by the enemy's gun-boats.

I saw, to-day, the President's order to revoke the authority heretofore given Gov. Baylor to raise a brigade, and in regard to his conduct as governor (ordering the massacre of the Indians after collecting them under pretense of forming a treaty of peace). The President suggests that nothing be done until the Governor be heard in his own defense. It was diabolical! If it had been consummated, it would have affixed the stigma of infamy to the government in all future time, and might have doomed us to merited subjugation.

SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 1, p. 182-3

Friday, June 17, 2016

Diary of Sir Arthur James Lyon Fremantle: Monday, May 25, 1863

I was disappointed in the aspect of Mobile. It is a regular rectangular American city, built on a sandy flat, and covering a deal of ground for its population, which is about 25,000.

I called on General Maury, for whom I brought a letter of introduction from General Johnston. He is a very gentlemanlike and intelligent but diminutive Virginian, and had only just assumed the command at Mobile.

He was very civil, and took me in a steamer to see I the sea defences. We were accompanied by General Ledbetter the engineer, and we were six hours visiting the forts.

Mobile is situated at the head of a bay thirty miles long. The blockading squadron, eight to ten in number, is stationed outside the bay, the entrance to which is defended by forts Morgan and Gaines; but as the channel between these two forts is a mile wide, they might probably be passed.

Within two miles of the city, however, the bay becomes very shallow, and the ship channel is both dangerous and tortuous. It is, moreover, obstructed by double rows of pine piles, and all sorts of ingenious torpedos, besides being commanded by carefully constructed forts, armed with heavy guns, and built either on islands or on piles.

Their names are Fort Pinto, Fort Spanish River, Apalache, and Blakeley.1

The garrisons of these forts complained of their being unhealthy, and I did not doubt the assertion. Before landing, we boarded two iron-clad floatingbatteries. The Confederate fleet at Mobile is considerable, and reflects great credit upon the energy of the Mobilians, as it has been constructed since the commencement of the war. During the trip, I overheard General Maury soliloquising over a Yankee flag, and saying, “Well, I never should have believed that I could have lived to see the day in which I should detest that old flag.” He is cousin to Lieutenant Maury, who has distinguished himself so much by his writings, on physical geography especially. The family seems to be a very military one. His brother is captain of the Confederate steamer Georgia.

After landing, I partook of a hasty dinner with General Maury and Major Cummins. I was then mounted on the General's horse, and was sent to gallop round the land defences with Brigadier-General Slaughter and his Staff. By great good fortune this was the evening of General Slaughter's weekly inspection, and all the redoubts were manned by their respective garrisons, consisting half of soldiers and half of armed citizens who had been exempted from the conscription either by their age or nationality, or had purchased substitutes. One of the forts was defended by a burly British guard, commanded by a venerable Captain Wheeler.2

After visiting the fortifications, I had supper at General Slaughter’s house, and met some of the  refugees from New Orleans — these are now being huddled neck and crop out of that city for refusing to take the oath of allegiance to the United States. Great numbers of women and children are arriving at Mobile every day; they are in a destitute condition, and they add to the universal feeling of exasperation. The propriety of raising the black flag, and giving no quarter, was again freely discussed at General Slaughter's, and was evidently the popular idea. I heard many anecdotes of the late “Stonewall Jackson,” who was General Slaughter's comrade in the Artillery of the old army. It appears that previous to the war he was almost a monomaniac about his health. When he left the U. S. service he was under the impression that one of his legs was getting shorter than the other; and afterwards his idea was that he only perspired on one side, and that it was necessary to keep the arm and leg of the other side in constant motion in order to preserve the circulation; but it seems that immediately the war broke out he never made any further allusion to his health. General Slaughter declared that on the night after the terrific repulse of Burnside's army at Fredericksburg, Stonewall Jackson had made the following suggestion: — “I am of opinion that we ought to attack the enemy at once; and in order to avoid the confusion and mistakes so common in a night-attack, I recommend that we should all strip ourselves perfectly naked.”3 Blockade-running goes on very regularly at Mobile; the steamers nearly always succeed, but the schooners are generally captured. To-morrow I shall start for the Tennessean army, commanded by General Braxton Bragg.
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1 A description of either its sea or land defences is necessarily omitted.

2 Its members were British subjects exempted from the conscription, but they had volunteered to fight in defence of the city.

3 I always forgot to ask General Lee whether this story was a true one.

SOURCE: Sir Arthur James Lyon Fremantle, Three Months in the Southern States: April-June, 1863, p. 129-33