Civil War Notebook

Sunday, January 15, 2017

Diary of Brigadier-General William F. Bartlett: Sunday, September 18, 1864

Chilly day. Read service all the morning. Had no book to read. Quite unwell to-day, very weak.

SOURCE: Francis Winthrop Palfrey, Memoir of William Francis Bartlett, p. 139

Diary of John Beauchamp Jones: January 25, 1863

Gen. Lee mentions, in his recent correspondence, an instance of the barbarity of some of the Yankee soldiers in the Abolition Army of the Potomac. They thrust into the Rappahannock River a poor old negro man, whom they had taken from his master, because he had the small-pox; and he would have been drowned had he not been rescued by our pickets. It is surmised that this dreadful disease prevails to an alarming extent in the Yankee army, and probably embarrasses their operations. Our men have all been vaccinated; and their recklessness of disease and death is perhaps a guarantee of exemption from affliction. Their health, generally, is better than it has ever been before.

The government at Washington has interdicted the usual exchange of newspapers, for the present. This gives rise to conjecture that Lincoln experiences grave difficulties from the adverse sentiment of his people and his armies regarding his Emancipation Proclamation. And it is likely he has met with grave losses at sea, for the invading army in North Carolina has retired back on Newbern. But the season for naval enterprises is not over, and we are prepared to expect some heavy blows before April.

The revelations in the intercepted dispatches captured with Mr. Sanders, whose father is a notorious political adventurer, may be most unfortunate. They not only show that we even were negotiating for six war steamers, but give the names of the firms in Europe that were to furnish them. The project must now be abandoned. And Louis Napoleon will be enraged at the suspicions and imputations of our Secretary of State regarding his occult policy.

Gen. Rains has invented a new primer for shell, which will explode from the slightest pressure. The shell is buried just beneath the surface of the earth, and explodes when a horse or a man treads upon it. He says he would not use such a weapon in ordinary warfare; but has no scruples in resorting to any means of defense against an army of Abolitionists, invading our country for the purpose, avowed, of extermination. He tried a few shell on the Peninsula last spring, and the explosion of only four sufficed to arrest the army of invaders, and compelled them to change their line of march.

SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 1, p. 245-6

Diary of 2nd Lieutenant George G. Smith: May 18, 1864

Relieved in morning and returned to camp. First Louisiana crossed the bayou again and camped all night. Built a bridge by anchoring steam boats along side each other and laying on planks. It took twenty steamboats to reach across.

SOURCE: Abstracted from George G. Smith, Leaves from a Soldier's Diary, p. 119-20

Diary of 2nd Lieutenant Lemuel A. Abbott: Wednesday, July 13, 1864

Good! I have been looking for it! The First and Second Divisions of the Sixth Corps arrived in Washington last night just in season by double quicking through the city from the boats to drive the enemy from the fortifications; can hear heavy guns in that direction this morning; don't know what the difficulty is but if the rest of our Corps is there the Johnnies will never take the capital, and we are all right. Hurrah! I am on picket to-day at Mr. Donaldson's, a wealthy Union man who has a lovely home and family. This is an aristocratic neighborhood, and people embarrass me with their courteous attentions. I would much rather be left to myself, for I'm tired and haven't anything with me but the clothes worn through so many battles, besmeared, ragged, riddled with bullets and torn by exploding shells; so I am not dressed to appear at table with conventional people; but still they insist upon it, and what plagues me more make a lion of me. Oh dear! I'd rather make an assault on such a place as the “Bloody Angle” at Spottsylvania! The young ladies are awfully pretty, so nice and attentive, too, that I feel overwhelmed. I'm not sensible enough, though, not to wish myself somewhere else, for I'm dirty and unpresentable. It's truly a sunny spot in a soldier's life, though, to run across such families occasionally when presentable. General Tyler has come in to-night; all's quiet.

SOURCE: Lemuel Abijah Abbott, Personal Recollections and Civil War Diary, 1864, p. 120

Diary of Luman Harris Tenney: Friday, November 7, 1862

Capt. Quigg after examination released “Dr. Brissel” without a parole. Capts. Lucas and Nettleton and all the boys think the man fooled us — black hair and whiskers, good looking and very gentlemanly. Heard no mean expression. When I bade him good morning, three miles out, he shook hands with me, and said if we ever got into trouble, he would be glad to do what he could for us. At 11 A. M. got orders to march with two days' rations, at 12 M. Had no bake kettles and no rations but beans and flour. Got me a canteen full of bean soup. Ready at noon. 25 2nd Ohio and 25 6th Kansas. Had charge of platoon of twelve — our boys. Went west, trotted most of the time. Got to the tannery at 3 P. M. 13th at work getting out the hides from the vats. Soon Col. Cloud with 250 or 300 — and all went to work. A grand scene. Would like to see it represented in Leslie. Burned up twenty or twenty-five thousand dollars worth of property. Started in about dark — southwest. Went 15 or 20 miles, mostly on a trot. Then stopped at a field of corn and lay down by fires till 4 or 5 A. M. Changed platoons to get 2nd Ohio together. Capt. N. with Kansas platoons.

SOURCE: Frances Andrews Tenney, War Diary Of Luman Harris Tenney, p. 42

Diary of 2nd Lieutenant John S. Morgan: Thursday, March 16, 1865

Pleasant day although cool morning, drill A. M. at 2. P. M. orders to move tomorrow with 3 days cooked rations. Go over to Commissary for box of sea biscuit & see the supply train loading, popped the last of the pop corn from home. Mail comes to the Regt at 9. P. M. was up late getting ready.

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

Saturday, January 14, 2017

Diary of Gideon Welles: Tuesday, February 17, 1863

The President read to the Cabinet a correspondence between himself and Fernando Wood. The latter wrote the President on the 8th of December last that he had good reason to believe the South desired a restoration of the Union, etc. The President replied on the 12th of December that he had no confidence in the impression, but that he would receive kindly any proposition. Wood's letter was confidential; the President made his so. All was well enough, perhaps, in form and manner if such a correspondence was to take place. Wood is a Representative and his letter was brought to the President by Mayor Opdyke.¹ Mayor Opdyke and ex-Mayor Wood are on opposite extremes of parties, — so opposite that each is, if not antagonistic, not very friendly inclined to the President. Wood now telegraphs the President that the time has arrived when the correspondence should be published. It is a piece of political machinery intended for certain party purposes.

Chase says that Howard and Trumbull of the Senate were dissatisfied with their vote in favor of his bank bill, which they had given under the impression it was an Administration measure, but they had since understood that Usher and myself were opposed to it. I told him that my general views were better known to him than them, that I had no concealment on the subject; I had, however, no recollection of ever exchanging a word with either of those Senators concerning his measures; that I had given his financial questions little or no attention, had never read his bill, had but a general conception of his scheme; that, so far as I was informed, it was not in conformity with my old notions, as he well knew, for I had freely communicated with him early, though I had not been consulted recently and matters had taken such a shape I was glad I had not been, and that the whole subject had been committed to him and Congress. I had neither time nor inclination to study new theories, was wedded to old doctrines and settled principles. Usher said he had electioneered for the measure with sundry Congressmen, whom he named. I told him I had not with any one and did not intend to.

_____________

¹ George Opdyke, Mayor of New York.

SOURCE: Gideon Welles, Diary of Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy Under Lincoln and Johnson, Vol. 1: 1861 – March 30, 1864, p. 237-8

John Hay to Abraham Lincoln, April 10, 1863

[Stono] River, S. C,

April 10,1863.

MY DEAR SIR:

I went yesterday morning to Charleston Harbor to deliver to Admiral Dupont the despatches with which the Navy Department had charged me. I found the Admiral on board the “Ironsides,” which, with the rest of the Monitor fleet, was lying inside the bar, at the point where they had anchored after the engagement of Tuesday. I delivered my despatches, and, while he was reading them, I had some conversation with Capt. Rodgers, fleet captain of the [South Atlantic Blockade] Squadron. He said that although the attack had been unsuccessful and the failure would of course produce a most unhappy effect upon the country, which had so far trusted implicitly in the invincibility of the Monitors, all the officers of the Navy, without exception, united in the belief that what they had attempted was impossible, and that we had reason for congratulation that what is merely a failure had not been converted into a terrible disaster. The matter has now been fairly tried. With favoring circumstances, with good officers, with good management, the experiment has completely failed. We sailed into the harbor not sanguine of victory. We fought only about forty minutes, and the unanimous conclusion of the officers of the Navy is that an hour of that fire would have destroyed us. We had reached and touched the obstructions. To have remained there long enough to have removed them would have ensured the destruction of some of the vessels. If the others had gone by the fort they would still have been the target of the encircling batteries. There was no sufficient land force to have taken possession of the city. There was no means of supplying them with ammunition and provision, for no wooden ship could live ten minutes in that fire. The only issue would have been the capture of the surviving and the raising of the sunken vessels. This would have lost us the command of the coast, an irremediable disaster. So the Admiral took the responsibility of avoiding the greater evil by saving the fleet, and abandoning an enterprise which we think has been fairly proved impossible.

The Admiral, who. had been listening and assenting to the latter portion of what Rodgers had been saying, added: — “And as if we were to have a visible sign that an Almighty hand was over us for our good, the orders you have given me show how vast was the importance of my preserving this fleet, whose power and prestige are still great and valuable, for the work which I agree with the President in thinking most momentous, the opening of the control of the Mississippi River. After a fight of forty minutes we had lost the use of seven guns. I might have pushed some of the vessels past Fort Sumter, but in that case we ran the enormous risk of giving them to the enemy, and thus losing the control of the coast. I could not answer for that to my conscience.”

The perfect approval of their own consciences which these officers evidently felt, did not prevent their feeling the deepest grief and sorrow for the unhappy results of the enterprise. Their whole conversation was as solemn as a scene of death. At one time I spoke of the estimation in which they were held by the government and the country, which, in my opinion, rendered it impossible that blame should be attached to them, and their eyes suddenly filled with tears. A first repulse is a terrible thing to brave and conscientious men accustomed only to victory.

I was several times struck by the identity of opinion and sentiment between Admiral Dupont and yourself. You had repeatedly uttered, during my last week in Washington, predictions which have become history.

When I left the harbor, they were preparing the torpedo raft for the destruction of the sunken Keokuk.

I have taken the liberty of writing thus at length, as I thought you should know the sentiments of these experienced officers in regard to this unfortunate matter. I hope, however, the news may be received that due honor may be given to those who fought with such bravery and discretion the losing fight.

Yours very respectfully,

[JOHN HAY.]

SOURCES: Clara B. Hay, Letters of John Hay and Extracts from Diary, Volume 1, p. 75-8; Michael Burlingame, Editor, At Lincoln’s Side: John Hay’s Civil War Correspondence and Selected Writings, p. 34-6 where the entire letter appears.

Lieutenant-Colonel Rutherford B. Hayes to Sophia Birchard Hayes, June 15, 1862

Camp On Flat Top Mountain, June 15, 1862.

Dear Mother: — It is a beautiful Sunday morning. We are on the summit of a range of mountains, perhaps one-third to half a mile high, giving us extensive views of mountains and valleys for thirty or forty miles south, east, and west of us. The nights are cool, often cold, and the brisk breezes make even the hottest part of the day agreeable. We are exceedingly healthy and with just enough to do to keep blood circulating, and occasionally a little flowing.

I hear from home very often, letters usually reaching me about seven days after they are written. I am rather glad that Lucy will remain in Cincinnati this summer. By next summer the war will, perhaps, be ended and we can all spend it in Fremont together. The boys seem to be doing well in the city and can afford to wait.

I hope Uncle's health is again as good as usual. It will not surprise me if he goes up to seventy as you have [done]. It doesn't seem such a great age as it once did. You are no older, or but little older, as I think of you, than you were many years ago. — My love to Laura and all.

Affectionately, your son,

R. B. Hayes,

Mrs. Sophia Hayes.

SOURCE: Charles Richard Williams, editor, Diary and Letters of Rutherford Birchard Hayes, Volume 2, p. 290

Diary of 1st Sergeant John L. Ransom: December 8, 1863

The men all turned out of the enclosure and are being squadded over. A very stormy and cold day; called out before breakfast and nearly dark before again sent inside Very muddy and the men have suffered terribly, stand up all day in the cold drizzling rain, with no chance for exercise and many barefooted. I counted nine or ten who went out in the morning not able to get back at night; three of the number being dead.

SOURCE: John L. Ransom, Andersonville Diary, p. 16

Diary of Brigadier-General William F. Bartlett: Saturday, September 17, 1864

Beautiful day. Oh, it is too bad to lose all this lovely weather. This week has passed very quickly. Arthur's being here accounts for it. We play poker every evening. Another hitch in the exchange question between Hood and Sherman. It is very disheartening for the poor men.

SOURCE: Francis Winthrop Palfrey, Memoir of William Francis Bartlett, p. 139

Diary of John Beauchamp Jones: January 24, 1863

Gen. Smith writes that he deems Wilmington in a condition to resist any attacks.

The exposition of Mr. Benjamin's dispatches has created profound mortification in the community.

Another transport has been taken from the enemy in the Cumberland River. No further news from Arkansas.

There is a white flag (small-pox) within seventy yards of our house. But it is probable we must give up the house soon, as the owner is desirous to return to it — being unable to get board in the country.

Gen. Rains, who has been making a certain sort of primer, met with an accident this morning; one of them exploded in his hand, injuring his thumb and finger. He was scarcely able to sign his name to official documents to-day.

Mr. Hunter has brought forward a measure for the funding of Treasury notes, the redundant circulation having contributed to produce the present fabulous prices in the market.

In the New Jersey Legislature petitions are flowing in denunciatory of Lincoln's Emancipation scheme, which would cast into the free States a large excess of profitless population.

SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 1, p. 245

Diary of 2nd Lieutenant George G. Smith: May 17, 1864

That General Smith was a joker was conceded by everybody, our friends, the enemy, as well as the union army. When we were in Alexandria I was on guard at the pontoon bridge. An Irishman, stood at the end of the bridge, smoking a clay pipe. Smith returning from a scouting expedition at the head of his forces, rode up to the Irishman coolly took the pipe out of his mouth and put it in his own, and rode on smoking contentedly as though nothing had happened. The Irishman laughed heartily, well pleased with the joke. Many stories were reported of his pleasantries with the enemy while covering our retreat from Alexandria. At one time coming down the plank road he left a baggage wagon on the road and placed a company in ambush within easy range. The rebel hangers on in the rear spied it and made for it on the gallop with a yell. At the proper time the ambush rose up and many saddles were emptied and riderless horses were seen cantering through the woods. The force was nearly all killed or taken prisoners. At two times cannon were left with similar results. Marched into Simsport about noon. The day was hot and the roads were dusty so that our clothes were saturated with mud as well as sweat. It was my practice, during the whole time I was in the army to bathe whenever an opportunity presented itself, and so here was a good one The water in the rivers and ponds we had been passing were generally almost milk warm and I thought this would be, so without further ado I plunged in. “O my! Holy Moses, how cold it was!” I could hardly swim to shore. But I did, and got out too but I did not go in any more that day. The reason of the water being so cold was on account of the rise in the Mississippi river at this time of the year, called the June rise. It is caused by the melting snows in the Rocky mountains, at the head waters of the Missouri and in the Northern part of Minnesota, where the Mississippi rises, and it is a little strange, that water is nearly as cold when it reaches the Gulf of Mexico as it is when it leaves the snows of the Rocky mountains. When this mighty river is high it backs up the Red river and discharges its surplus waters through the Atchaffalaya Bayou into the Gulf of Mexico, so that bayou is really one of the mouths of the Mississippi. It was my turn to go on picket guard that night, so we crossed the bayou on a steamer and went up that stream about a mile and posted the pickets in the woods across the bottom where we fought mosquitoes all night. It was a question which was the worse, the mosquitoes or the rebels. I was not feeling very well from the effects of my bath, so after the guard was posted I hunted the dryest place I could find and laid down, but the conditions were not very favorable for a good night's rest. It did not however last forever.

SOURCE: Abstracted from George G. Smith, Leaves from a Soldier's Diary, p. 117-9

Diary of 2nd Lieutenant Lemuel A. Abbott: Tuesday, July 12, 1864

Still the Tenth and Sixty-seventh regiments are allowed to remain undisturbed by the enemy while it is having things pretty much its own way in the vicinity of Baltimore and Washington. It's reported this evening Gilmore's rebel cavalry have burned the Gunpowder Bridge, destroyed a railroad train, robbed the passengers, etc. The greatest consternation prevails throughout the country, as the enemy is reported to be only three miles from the National Capital. We wait anxiously for the next news.

SOURCE: Lemuel Abijah Abbott, Personal Recollections and Civil War Diary, 1864, p. 120

Diary of Luman Harris Tenney: Thursday, November 6, 1862

In the morning went out with four men to forage three and one-half miles south. Load of oats for 6th and 2nd. The owner just up from Vanburen with two bushels of salt. Seemed to have considerable information, so took him in to Capt. Quigg. One of the boys met me with my horse to go with Capt. and 20 men on scout. Had to gallop a good distance to catch up. Within seven miles of Fayetteville, fifteen miles distant from camp, took a prisoner from Col. Armstrong's conscripts. He was at home — on furlough — been sick. Out with horse saddled, talking with his wife washing by the clear stream of water. She seemed a very pretty lady, pitied her — innocent looking man. Before reaching Fayetteville two miles out, Capt. sent me with three men, Porter, Morgan and Shaw. After going a mile, found a fire; soon spied two mounted men with glistening guns around a point of woods, watching us and quietly disappearing. Sent back word. No answer and went on. After half a mile we got within sight of them, but did not know whether to shoot or not — no instructions. They took a final look and went pellmell down the hill. Sent word to Capt. No instructions again. Neared town — women and girls at windows and doors — perfectly ignorant! Didn't know that there were any secesh in town. Passed by a large house. Big negro woman stood on the stoop, showing her teeth and pointing to town ominously, and shook her head. Such were appearances. By the tannery stood a grey horse, looking like the one the picket was riding; were discussing whether to take it or not, when two men came out, citizens apparently; said there were but two or three dozen in town. Capt. halted his command and overtook us and asked what we had learned. Told us not to go further for the present. Turn back if he whistled. After enquiries whistled and turned back. Porter and I kept in the rear in hope that they would follow us. Three miles out saw a man at a house near by. Rode out and learned that he had charge of a hospital at F. Had no papers to show it. Took him to Capt. He brought him to camp. Rode along beside him all the way in. Had been in the service one year last May, on Raines' staff. Dressed in a field officer's uniform, coat, black pants, neat gloves and cap and patent leather boots. Was perfectly sanguine of success eventually — perfectly posted in regard to our movements. A lady was out riding with him, out to see some sick. Very indignant. Waited at a private house with him for supper, while Capt. went to camp and back. Ladies very much pleased to see him. Very sure he is an officer of rank. Said he had no commission as surgeon. Showed an appointment as assistant surgeon by surgeon of 8th Div. Mo. State Guards.

SOURCE: Frances Andrews Tenney, War Diary Of Luman Harris Tenney, p. 41-2

Friday, January 13, 2017

Diary of 2nd Lieutenant John S. Morgan: Saturday, March 11, 1865

Much more pleasant today. All the Gunboats & Monitors move out early this morning, going up the Bay toward Mobile, A little before 9. A. M. heavy firing. Many rumors as to where the fleet was at work, the firing was a good distance off & kept up incessantly all day except from 1.30 to 3 P. M. No news in from the fleet this evening

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

Diary of 2nd Lieutenant John S. Morgan: Sunday, March 12, 1865

A. M. Inspection & Reading Articles of War to the company P. M. reading Fabiula, N. O. papers of 10th no news, this morning all the Gunboats lay in the cove, the firing was on some of the forts in the vicinity of Mobile. Service at 3 P. M. weather cool Genl Canby on the Pout this P. M. artillery practice today