Thursday, June 7, 2018

Colonel Rutherford B. Hayes to Lucy Webb Hayes, July 24, 1863

Camp White, July 24, [1863].

Dearest: — The happiness of this week's operations is dashed by the death of Captain Delany and the probable loss of a number of other good officers and men in our cavalry. Captains Delany [and] Gilmore, the Thirty-fourth mounted infantry, and Second Virginia Cavalry left Raleigh, on the day we returned from there, to cut the Tennessee Railroad at or near Wytheville. On the very day we (the infantry) were gaining bloodless (or almost bloodless) victories over Morgan on the Ohio, our cavalry were fighting a most desperate battle with superior numbers three hundred miles off at Wytheville. Our men were victorious, carried the town by storm, but they lost Colonel Toland, Thirty-fourth killed, Colonel Powell, Second Virginia, mortally wounded, Captain Delany, killed, his two lieutenants, mortally wounded (you know them both), and four other lieutenants, wounded; thirteen privates, killed, and fifty, wounded or prisoners. It was a most creditable but painful affair.

I am expecting my two companies, the survivors, back tomorrow. Wytheville has been one of the most violent Rebel towns from the first. They always talked of “no quarter,” “the black flag,” etc. The citizens fired from their houses on the troops as they rode in. Colonel Powell was shot in the back. The town was burned to ashes. I will write you more about it when they get in.

We are cleaning camp and getting settled again. The old lady moved into the cottage when we left; I occupy the tent Captain and Mrs. Hood were in. Captain Zimmerman went today to relieve Captain Hunter as commandant of post at Gallipolis.

Uncle Scott and Uncle Moses will feel very hopeful in view of this month's work. We have taken, as I reckon it, seventy thousand prisoners this month besides killing or disabling perhaps fifteen thousand to twenty-thousand more. A pretty big army of Rebels disposed of.

Morgan is not yet caught. He may get off, but his ruin is very complete. — Love to all.

Affectionately, your
R.
Mrs. Hayes.

SOURCE: Charles Richard Williams, editor, Diary and Letters of Rutherford Birchard Hayes, Volume 2, p. 422

William Hope Hull* to Congressman Howell Cobb, May 22, 1846


Athens [ga.], May 22,1846.

Dear Howell, We are pretty quiet here in the midst of the general war fever. I believe there will be an effort made to raise a company for Texas, but I doubt its success. Clarke county is too much under the influence of Whiggery to have much enthusiasm in the matter. By the way, speaking of the Texas question, I am afraid the Democratic party is about to take untenable ground about the boundary there. The Rio de Norte is the western boundary, but not for its whole course. No possible logic can prove that Santa Fe and the other towns on the east side of the river on its upper streams, were ever a portion of Texas. The true line would leave the river somewhere above Mier, and follow the mountains north, leaving a large section between the line and the upper parts of the river. You may think all this very superfluous on my part, but I have not yet seen the distinction drawn by any one in Congress, nor by Ritchie, and you may depend upon it is a serious consideration and worthy of attention. I think you seem a little “riled” that your friends here have not taken up the cudgels on your behalf on the 54.40 question. We acted, as we thought, for the best, not only for you but for the party. If an attempt had been made to rally the party upon the “whole of Oregon” I do verily believe it would have split us in fragments, and for aught I can see would have given the Whigs and “moderate men” a majority. But by letting the thing be quiet and not fanning the embers of opposition, I think that all disaffection will die away and produce no unpleasant consequences. The same way we reason about a convention. I have no question that there is opposition to you in the breasts of some professed Democrats, but it has taken no open and distinct form, and if no fuss is made it will die of itself; but if we called a convention, though (I beg you to observe) I have no doubt as to the issue and am not at all afraid but that you would break down your opponents and be nominated and elected in spite of them, — still feelings might be engendered and factions started which might do us very serious injury hereafter. For this reason we thought it best to say nothing until towards August or thereabouts, when our papers will put up your name as a matter of course; and I presume there will be no opposition. In the meantime, however, if a call is made for a convention by your enemies, we shall not object, but shall go into it confident of a decided majority for you. I have given you with perfect candor my views on the subject, in which I concur with the most of your friends in Athens. Mr. Calhoun has killed himself about here as far as Democratic support goes. I have not heard the first Democrat sustain his course on the War bill. If he intended to quit us he could not have chosen a time nor a topic on which he could do us less harm in Georgia. . . . You speak in yours of the prospect of a settlement of the Oregon dispute. I am unable to see the signs of it in anything that has come to my knowledge. I wish you would let me into the secret in your next. . . .
_______________

*A neighbor and warm personal and political friend of Cobb.

SOURCE: Ulrich Bonnell Phillips, Editor, The Annual Report of the American Historical Association for the Year 1911, Volume 2: The Correspondence of Robert Toombs, Alexander H. Stephens, and Howell Cobb, p. 78-9

Diary of John Beauchamp Jones: September 25, 1863

The latest dispatch from Gen. Bragg states that he has 7000 prisoners (2000 of them wounded), 36 cannon, 15,000 of the enemy's small arms, and 25 colors. After the victory, he issued the following address to his army:

headquarters Army Of Tennessee,
field Of Chickamauga, Sept. 22, 1863.

It has pleased Almighty God to reward the valor and endurance of our troops by giving our arms a complete victory over the enemy's superior numbers. Thanks are due and are rendered unto Him who giveth not the battle to the strong.

Soldiers! after days of severe battle, preceded by heavy and important outpost affairs, you have stormed the barricades and breastworks of the enemy and driven him before you in confusion; and destroyed an army largely superior in numbers, and whose constant theme was your demoralization and whose constant boast was your defeat. Your patient endurance under privations, your fortitude, and your valor, displayed at all times and under all trials, have been meetly rewarded. Your commander acknowledges his obligations, and promises to you in advance the country's gratitude.

But our task is not ended. We must drop a soldier's tear upon the graves of the noble men who have fallen by our sides, and move forward. Much has been accomplished — more remains to be done, before we can enjoy the blessings of peace and freedom.

(Signed)
Braxton Bragg.

The President has received an official report of Gen. Frazer's surrender of Cumberland Gap, from Major McDowell, who escaped. It comprised 2100 men, 8 guns, 160 beef cattle, 12,000 pounds of bacon, 1800 bushels of wheat, and 15 days' rations. The President indorsed his opinion on it as follows:

This report presents a shameful abandonment of duty, and is so extraordinary as to suggest that more than was known to the major must have existed to cause such a result. — J. D. Sept. 24.

The quartermasters in Texas are suggesting the impressment of the cotton in that State. The President indorses as follows on the paper which he returned to the Secretary of War:

I have never been willing to employ such means except as a last resort. — J. D.

The Secretary of War is falling into the old United States fashion. He has brought into the department two broad-shouldered young relatives, one of whom might serve the country in the field, and I believe they are both possessed of sufficient wealth to subsist upon without $1500 clerkships.

SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 2p. 52-3

Diary of 1st Sergeant John L. Ransom: November 15, 1864

At about six or seven o'clock last night six hundred men were taken away, making in all twelve hundred for the day; another six hundred are ready to go at a moment's notice. I don't know what to think. Can hardly believe they go to our lines. Seems almost like a funeral procession to me, as they go through the gate. Rowe and Hub Dakin talk of going to day, if any go, having decided to flank, I have concluded to wait until it is my turn to go. If it is an exchange there is no danger but all will go, and if not an exchange would rather be here than any place I know of now. Later —Eight hundred have gone, with Rowe and Dakin in the crowd, and I am here alone as regards personal friends. Could not be induced to go with them. Have a sort of presentiment that all is not right. Still later. —Six hundred more have gone, making 2,600 all together that have departed, all heavily guarded.

SOURCE: John L. Ransom, Andersonville Diary, p. 116-7

Elizabeth Adams Lusk to Lieutenant-Colonel William T. Lusk, July 14, 1863

Longview, Enfield, Conn.,
July 14th, 1863.
My own dear Son:

I received your last letter on Saturday, and rejoice in your health, and in your resolve to relinquish the use of tobacco. I have no doubt your flesh will increase, and that you will be benefitted by the change.

The terrible riot in New-York is at present engrossing our thoughts. The blacks seem to be peculiarly obnoxious to the excited mob; I suppose you have seen that they have burned the Colored Orphan Asylum. The draft commenced yesterday in Hartford. All was quiet through the day, but some anxiety seems to be felt lest the example of New-York may produce an evil efFect to-day. They have tried to obtain a few companies of Regulars to preserve order (from New Haven) but they cannot be spared. Aunt Sarah, Nellie and Tom were to return to New-York to-day, but they dare not until the disturbance is quelled. The telegraph wires are all cut, and I fear we shall have no papers. The Times and Tribune offices are torn to pieces. We are all sad enough. God is merciful, may He speedily help us, and deliver us from our troubles.

Cousin Henry is wishing for, and looking for, a Dictator, the sooner the better. Capt. Nichols has gone to Vicksburg with Col. McKaye, to inquire into the condition of the Freedmen. You have no idea how unreasonable the lower class (of Irish particularly) are in this vicinity. Their feelings have been so wrought upon by unprincipled men. The leader in the N. Y. riot was a man from Virginia, who harangued the multitude and counselled resistance.

A telegram has just arrived from your Uncle Phelps at Saratoga, saying Nellie and Aunt Sarah must not return to-day. Dr. Grant leaves in ten minutes, so good-bye. A longer letter next time. God guard you, my own dear, dear son, is my constant prayer. All send love, and I am

Always
Your loving
Mother.

SOURCE: William Chittenden Lusk, Editor, War Letters of William Thompson Lusk, p. 287-8

Captain Charles Wright Wills: May 1, 1864

May 1st, 1864.

Bivouac at Mud Creek. Up at daylight, and off on time. 6 a. m. The camp was full of citizens early, all after our leavings. The way they did snatch for old clothes was far from slow. They actually stole lots of trash right under the noses of the soldier owners. Out “jayhawking” old jayhawk himself. Started off in best of spirits — men cheering right from their hearts. About two miles out on the road, General Harrow and staff passed us. The men not having the fear of “guard house” in their minds, yelled at him, “Bring out your Potomac horse,” “Fall back on your straw and fresh butter,” “Advance on Washington,” etc., all of which counts as quite a serious offense, but he paid no attention to it. You recollect he is from the Potomac Army. The first expression comes from a punishment he inaugurated in our division. He put up a wooden horse in front of his quarters, and mounted on it all the offenders against discipline that he could “gobble.” Some waggish fellows wrote out some highly displayed advertisements of the “Potomac horse” and posted them throughout the camp, and finally one night the men took it down and sent it on the cars to Huntsville, directed to McPherson, with a note tacked on it, telling him to furnish him plenty of straw and use him carefully, as he was Potomac stock and unused to hardships.

We only marched some ten miles to-day and have a splendid camping ground. Have had a wash in a mill race near by.

SOURCE: Charles Wright Wills, Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, p. 231-2

Wednesday, June 6, 2018

Diary of 2nd Lieutenant Luman Harris Tenney: Tuesday, September 6, 1864

Relieved at dark. Spent the day getting papers signed. Letter from home. Oats and rations. Not in camp till after dark. Pleasant place.

SOURCE: Frances Andrews Tenney, War Diary Of Luman Harris Tenney, p. 130

Diary of 2nd Lieutenant Luman Harris Tenney: Wednesday, September 7, 1864

Division moved out at 4:30. Our regiment in rear, reconnoissance. Went within two miles of Winchester, found the enemy and returned — sharp firing. In camp at dark.

SOURCE: Frances Andrews Tenney, War Diary Of Luman Harris Tenney, p. 130

Diary of 2nd Lieutenant Luman Harris Tenney: Thursday, September 8, 1864

Rainy and cool. Lay still all day. Read "Charles Vivasseur." Wagons came up, oats and rations. Wrote home and to Mrs. Wood.

SOURCE: Frances Andrews Tenney, War Diary Of Luman Harris Tenney, p. 130

Diary of 2nd Lieutenant Luman Harris Tenney: Friday, September 9, 1864

Moved camp, beautiful place on left and rear of infantry. Busy. Regiment not to be consolidated.

SOURCE: Frances Andrews Tenney, War Diary Of Luman Harris Tenney, p. 130

Diary of 2nd Lieutenant Luman Harris Tenney: Saturday, September 10, 1864

Busy over monthly papers. Letter from home. Fixed up my commissary returns.1
_______________

1 In my possession are a large number of these duplicate packages of “Monthly Returns of Quartermasters Stores,” “Monthly Returns of Clothing, Camp and Garrison Equipage, Abstracts, Vouchers,” etc., etc., all carefully assorted and securely fastened. (F. D. T.) The following is a copy of one of the vouchers: “I certify on honor that during the months of November and December, 1864, the following quartermasters’ stores were necessarily expended under my direction in Co. C, 2nd Ohio Cav.: 113, one hundred and thirteen grain sacks (worn). During the greater portion of this time our Regiment has been continually moving and these sacks have been used for bedding, for horses and men.

Luman H. Tenney,                 
Capt. 2nd Ohio Cav.  
Com'd'g Co. C. ”
Camp Russell, Va., December 30, 1864.

SOURCE: Frances Andrews Tenney, War Diary Of Luman Harris Tenney, p. 130

Official Reports of the Campaign in North Alabama and Middle Tennessee, November 14, 1864 — January 23, 1865: No. 96. — Report of Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield, U.S. Army, commanding Army of the Ohio.

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE OHIO,         
Columbia, Tenn., December 31, 1864.

GENERAL: In accordance with the desire of the major-general commanding, I have the honor to report the operations of the troops under my command from the time of the separation of the Twenty-third Army Corps from the main army, under General Sherman, to the present time.

On the 30th of October, 1864, at Rome, Ga., I received the order of Major-General Sherman (inclosed herewith and marked A1, directing me to march with the Twenty-third Corps to Resaca, Ga., and report by telegraph to Major-General Thomas, then at Nashville, for further orders. I marched on the following day and arrived at Resaca on the 1st of November, reporting by telegraph to Major-General Thomas from Calhoun on the afternoon of the 31st of October.

At Calhoun, on the 1st of November, I received orders from Major-General Thomas (inclosed herewith and marked B2, directing me to move via Tullahoma to Pulaski, Tenn., which was subsequently changed, and I was ordered to move by way of Nashville and to send my wagon trains forward to Chattanooga. Accordingly the troops commenced to move as soon as the first railroad trains arrived, which was the 3d of November, but owing to delays in the railroads the last of the troops did not reach Nashville until the 9th of November. I arrived at Nashville in person on the 5th of November, and received the orders of the commanding general to go to Johnsonville instead of Pulaski, to repel an attack then being made on that place by a rebel force under Forrest. My advance (Colonel Gallup's brigade of the Second Division) reached Johnsonville on the night of the 5th of November, and found the enemy had already retreated. Upon reporting this fact to the commanding general I was ordered to leave at Johnsonville such portion of my command as was necessary for a strong defense of that place, and to repair with the remainder of my troops to Pulaski and assume command of all the troops in that vicinity. I left two brigades (General Cooper's and Colonel Gallup's) at Johnsonville, with instructions to strongly fortify the place according to plans furnished by the chief engineer of the Department of the Cumberland; placed Colonel Strickland's brigade, Second Division, at Columbia, and the Third Division (General Cox's) about three miles north of Pulaski, the latter place being then occupied by the Fourth Army Corps, Major-General Stanley commanding.

My instructions from the major-general commanding were embraced in the accompanying telegram (marked C3) to Major-General Stanley, a copy of which was furnished with the order to assume command at Pulaski, and subsequent dispatches, explaining that the object was to hold the enemy in check, should he advance, long enough to enable General A. J. Smith's corps, then expected from Missouri, to reach Nashville, other troops in the Department of the Cumberland to be concentrated, and General Wilson's cavalry to be remounted and fitted for the field. The re-enforcements thus expected were about equal to the force we then had in the field, and would make our entire force, when concentrated, equal or somewhat superior to that of the enemy. To effect this concentration was, therefore, of vital importance — a consideration to which all others were secondary. This required that the enemy's advance should be delayed as much as possible, and, at the same time, a decisive battle avoided unless it could be fought on favorable terms.

I reached Pulaski on the night of the 13th, and assumed command on the 14th of November.

The following is my report of operations [dated December 7] from November 14 to December 1, 1864, when the troops under my command reached Nashville, which is made part of this report:

I assumed command at Pulaski on the 14th of November, 1864. The forces at and near that place were the Fourth Army Corps, Major-General Stanley commanding, and General Cox's (Third) division, Twenty-third Army Corps; General Hatch's division and General Croxton's brigade of cavalry were in front of Pulaski, along Shoal Creek, and Colonel Capron's brigade was near Pulaski. My effective force was 18,000 infantry and four brigades of cavalry. The enemy, under General Hood, was lying about Florence, preparing for an aggressive movement. His force consisted of the old army of Northern Georgia, which had opposed General Sherman during the latter part of his operations, increased by such fragments as could be collected in Alabama and Mississippi, together with all of Forrest's cavalry. The enemy's force was variously estimated at from 30,000 to 40,000 infantry, and from 10,000 to 20,000 cavalry; the largest estimate for the infantry and the smallest for the cavalry are most probably nearly accurate.

November 19, Hood commenced his advance via Lawrenceburg and Waynesborough toward Columbia. His advance reached Lawrenceburg and drove our cavalry from that place on the 22d. I sent all the public property from Pulaski to Columbia, and fell back to Lynnville, and then to Columbia. My advance (General Cox's division) reached that place on the morning of the 24th, just in time to beat back a large rebel force which was driving in General Capron's cavalry from Mount Pleasant. At Columbia I was re-enforced by one brigade and two regiments of General Ruger's division, Twenty-third Corps, the other half of that division having been sent, by order of the major-general commanding, to guard Centerville and other crossings of Duck River below Columbia.

The troops were put in position covering the pontoon bridge on the pike at Columbia and the railroad bridge two miles below. The position was much too extended for the troops I then had, but re-enforcements were expected daily, and it was essential to have that position from which to take the offensive when our force should become sufficiently large. Therefore I determined to hold it as long as possible. I also intrenched an interior line covering the railroad bridge, and short enough to be held by the Fourth Corps.

On the night of the 25th, finding that the enemy had his entire army in my front, and that he might without difficulty effect a crossing of Duck River above Columbia, I sent General Cox, with two brigades of his division, to the north bank to check any such movement, and General Ruger's troops to the railroad bridge to construct and occupy a small bridge-head at that point, and withdrew two divisions of General Stanley's corps to the interior line. General Wood's division and a brigade of General Cox's were left on the exterior line, and our picket line was maintained in its original position. At daylight in the morning the pontoon bridge was floated down the river and laid near the railroad bridge. In this way I hoped still to hold the south bank of the river until re-enforcements should arrive.

We succeeded in holding the outer line during the 26th and 27th against a heavy pressure. But the enemy did not assault, and it became evident that he intended to turn the position by crossing the river above. To hold the south bank longer would have hazarded the loss of the army. I therefore withdrew the whole force to the north bank during the night of the 27th, left General Ruger to hold the crossing at the railroad bridge, General Cox in front of Columbia, and placed General Stanley in reserve on the Franklin pike, ready to meet the enemy should he attempt to force a crossing at any point near Columbia. The crossings below Columbia were guarded by General Ruger's infantry, and General Wilson had all his cavalry, save one brigade, to guard the river above. The troops rested in this position during the 28th, and I had strong hopes of being able to hold the line of Duck River until re-enforcements should arrive. But I learned from General Wilson, about 2 a.m. on the 29th, that the enemy's cavalry had forced a crossing near the Lewisburg pike; and about daylight in the morning that his infantry was also crossing at Huey's Mill, five miles above Columbia, from which a road leads into the Franklin pike at Spring Hill. The enemy might endeavor to reach the latter place in advance of me, and thus cut off my retreat or strike me in flank near Duck River, or both. He had already forced a column of cavalry between General Wilson and me, and cut off all communication between us. I therefore sent General Stanley, with a division of infantry, to Spring Hill to hold that point and cover the trains. General Cox was left in his position to hold the crossing at Columbia. Generals Wood and Kimball were put in line facing Huey's Mill, with a brigade thrown forward to reconnoiter, and General Ruger was ordered to move on to the pike in rear of Rutherford's Creek, leaving one regiment to hold the ford near the railroad bridge, the bridges having been destroyed.

General Stanley reached Spring Hill with General Wagner's division just in time to drive off a body of rebel cavalry and save our trains, which were assembling at that place. Late in the afternoon a division of rebel infantry arrived and attacked. A severe engagement ensued, lasting until dark. General Stanley held his position, except that his right was pressed back so as to nearly uncover the Columbia road, and the enemy's cavalry got possession of the pike, both north and south of Spring Hill. The enemy worked steadily and persistently all day to force a crossing and lay a pontoon bridge at Columbia. This was essential to him, since his artillery could not be crossed at Huey's Mill. But General Cox firmly held his ground, although it was in the concave bend of the river and commanded from the opposite bank. The enemy was repeatedly repulsed with heavy loss. About 3 p.m. I became satisfied the enemy would not attack my position on Duck River, but was pushing two corps direct for Spring Hill. I then gave the necessary orders for the withdrawal of the troops after dark, and took General Ruger's troops and pushed for Spring Hill to reopen communication with General Stanley, and was followed at a short distance by the head of the main column. I struck the enemy's cavalry at dark about three miles from Spring Hill, but we brushed them away without difficulty and reached Spring Hill about 7 o'clock.

General Whitaker's brigade, which followed General Ruger, was put in position parallel to the pike, and confronting the enemy's left, within 800 yards of the road, to cover the column as it passed, and I pushed on with General Ruger's division to clear the road at Thompson's Station, which had been occupied by a large body of the enemy's cavalry at dark that evening. On our arrival at Thompson's the enemy had disappeared, his camp-fires still burning, and General Ruger took possession of the cross-roads without opposition. I then returned to Spring Hill and met there the head of General Cox's column about midnight, he having withdrawn from in front of Columbia after dark. General Cox now took the advance and pushed rapidly for Franklin, the trains following under immediate guard of General Ruger, the men marching by the side of the wagons and General Stanley marching in rear of the trains. General Wagner's division held on at Spring Hill until near daylight, and then quietly withdrew and followed the column as rear guard. A small body of rebel cavalry made a dash upon the train a short distance north of Thompson's, and succeeded in destroying a few wagons and stampeding a few cattle; with this exception the whole column and trains arrived at Franklin without loss.

I arrived at Franklin with the head of column a little before daylight on the 30th, and found no wagon bridge for crossing the river and the fords in very bad condition. I caused the railroad bridge to be prepared for crossing wagons, and had a foot bridge built for infantry, which fortunately also proved available for wagons, and used the fords as much as possible. I hoped, in spite of the difficulties, to get all my material, including the public property, and a large wagon train at Franklin, across the river, and move the army over before the enemy could get up force enough to attack me. But I put the troops in position as they arrived on the south side, the Twenty-third Corps on the left and center, covering the Columbia and Lewisburg pikes, and General Kimball's division of the Fourth Corps on the right, both flanks resting on the river. Two brigades of General Wagner's division were left in front to retard the enemy's advance, and General Wood's division, with some artillery, was moved to the north bank of the river to cover the flanks should the enemy attempt to cross above or below.

The enemy followed close after our rear guard, brought up and deployed two full corps with astonishing celerity, and moved rapidly forward to the attack. Our outposts, imprudently brave, held their ground too long and hence were compelled to come in at a run. In passing over the parapet they carried with them the troops of the line for a short space and thus permitted a few hundred of the enemy to get in. But the reserves near by instantly sprang forward, regaining the parapet, and captured those of the enemy who had passed it. The enemy assaulted persistently and continuously with his whole force from about 3.30 p.m. until after dark, and made numerous intermittent attacks at a few points until about 10 p.m. He was splendidly repulsed along the whole line of attack. The enemy attacked on a front of about two miles, extending from our left to our right center, General Kimball's left brigade. Our two right brigades were only slightly engaged. I believe the enemy's loss in killed and wounded cannot have been less than 5,000, and may have been much greater. We captured 702 prisoners and 33 stand of colors.

Our loss, as officially reported, is as follows:


Killed.
Wounded.
Missing.
Aggregate.
Fourth Army Corps:




     First Division
5
37
18
60
     Second Division
52
519
670
1,241
     Artillery
10
51
6
67
Twenty-third Army Corps: 




     Second Division
30
142
135
307
     Third Division
48
185
97
330
72d Regiment Illinois Volunteers
10
62
86
158
44th Regiment Missouri Volunteers
34
37
92
163
     Total
189
1,033
1,104
2,326

I am not able at this time to give fully the names of the killed and wounded officers. Among the latter is Major-General Stanley, commanding the Fourth Corps, who was severely wounded in the neck while gallantly urging forward his troops to regain the portion of our line which had been lost. General Stanley is deserving of special commendation, and has my hearty thanks for his cordial support and wise counsel throughout the short but eventful campaign. Brig. Gen. J. D. Cox, commanding temporarily the Twenty-third Corps, deserves a very large share of credit for the brilliant victory at Franklin. The troops were placed in position and intrenched under his immediate direction, and the greater portion of the line engaged was under his command during the battle. I recommend General Cox to the special consideration of the Government. Brigadier-General Ruger, commanding Second Division, Twenty-third Corps, held the weakest portion of our line, and that upon which the enemy's assaults were most persistent. He is entitled to very great credit. Brigadier-General Reilly, commanding (temporarily) the Third Division, Twenty-third Corps, maintained his lines with perfect firmness, and captured twenty battle-flags along his parapet. I am also under great obligations to the division commanders of the Fourth Army Corps, Brigadier-Generals Wood, Wagner, and Kimball, for the admirable manner in which they discharged every duty, and cannot refrain from expressing my high commendation, though in advance of the official report of their immediate commander. Col. Emerson Opdycke, commanding First Brigade, Second Division, Fourth Army Corps, the reserve which recaptured the lost portion of our line, is spoken of by Generals Stanley and Cox as having displayed on that occasion the highest qualities of a commander. I cordially indorse their recommendation. For other special instances of gallantry and good conduct I must refer to subordinate reports.

On my arrival at Franklin I gained the first information from General Wilson since the enemy commenced his advance from Duck River. I learned that he had been driven back and had crossed the Harpeth above Franklin on the preceding day, leaving my left and rear entirely open to the enemy's cavalry. By my direction he sent General Hatch's division forward again, on the Lewisburg pike, to hold Forrest in check until my trains and troops could reach Franklin. This was successfully done, and General Hatch then retired before a superior force, and recrossed the river, connecting with my infantry pickets on the north bank, early in the afternoon. A short time before the infantry attack commenced the enemy's cavalry forced a crossing about three miles above Franklin, and drove back our cavalry, for a time seriously threatening our trains, which were accumulating on the north bank, and moving toward Nashville. I sent General Wilson orders, which he had, however, anticipated, to drive the enemy back at all hazards, and moved a brigade of General Wood's division to support him, if necessary. At the moment of the first decisive repulse of the enemy's infantry I received the most gratifying intelligence that General Wilson had driven the rebel cavalry back across the river. This rendered my immediate left and rear secure for the time being. Previous to the battle of the 30th I had ordered all trains except ammunition and hospital wagons to Nashville, preparatory to falling back from Franklin when it should become necessary, which I expected on the following day. The enemy having nearly double my force of infantry and quite double my cavalry, could easily turn any position I might take and seriously endanger my rear.

Only one division of the enemy's cavalry had been engaged with General Wilson during the 30th. The remaining three divisions were free to strike my line of communications, which they could easily do about Brentwood by daylight the next morning. My experience on the 29th had shown how utterly inferior in force my cavalry was to that of the enemy, and that even my immediate flank and rear were insecure, while my communication with Nashville was entirely without protection. I could not even rely upon getting up the ammunition necessary for another battle.

To remain longer at Franklin was to seriously hazard the loss of my army, by giving the enemy another chance to cut me off from re-enforcements, which he had made three desperate though futile attempts to accomplish. I had detained the enemy long enough to enable you to concentrate your scattered troops at Nashville, and had succeeded in inflicting upon him very heavy losses, which was the primary object. I had found it impossible to detain him long enough to get re-enforcements at Franklin. Only a small portion of the infantry and none of the cavalry could reach me in time to be of any use in the battle, which must have been fought on the 1st of December. For these reasons, after consulting with the corps and division commanders, and obtaining your approval, I determined to retire during the night of the 30th toward Nashville. The artillery was withdrawn to the north bank during the early part of the night, and at 12 o'clock the army withdrew from its trenches and crossed the river without loss. During the next day, December 1, the whole army was placed in position in front of Nashville.

Information obtained since the above report was written, and principally since the reoccupation of Franklin by our troops, makes the enemy's loss 1,750 buried upon the field, 3,800 disabled and placed in hospitals in Franklin, and 702 prisoners, making 6,252 of the enemy placed hors de combat, besides the slightly wounded. The enemy's loss in general officers was very great, being 6 killed, 6 wounded, and 1 captured. It is to be observed that more than half of our loss occurred in General Wagner's division of the Fourth Corps, which did not form part of the main line of defense. This loss arose in two brigades of that division from their remaining in front of the line after their proper duty as outposts had been accomplished, and after they should have taken their positions in reserve, and in the other brigade (Colonel Opdycke's) in its hand-to-hand encounter with the enemy over the portion of the parapet which had been temporarily lost by the precipitate retreat of the other two brigades. When it became apparent that we should have to fall back from Columbia, orders to rejoin the army were sent to General Cooper, commanding the troops guarding the crossings of Duck River below Columbia at Centerville, both by myself and the major-general commanding, which were obeyed as soon as received, and General Cooper marched for Franklin. Owing to delays in receiving his orders and the time necessary to concentrate his troops, General Cooper could not reach Franklin before its occupation by the enemy, and turned his column direct for Nashville. Arrived at the Brentwood Hills by the Charlotte pike on the night of December 2, and again found the enemy between him and the army. He then marched to Clarksville, where he arrived in safety on the 5th and rejoined my command on the 8th of December. General Cooper deserves great credit for the skill and judgment displayed in conducting his retreat.

BATTLES OF THE 15TH AND 16TH OF DECEMBER IN FRONT OF NASHVILLE.

My command consisted of the Second and Third Divisions of the Twenty-third Army Corps, commanded, respectively, by Maj. Gen. D. N. Couch and Brig. Gen. J. D. Cox. The effective strength of each division was about 5,500 men. Previous to the battle the corps occupied the line of defense from Block House Casino to the Nolensville pike, including Fort Negley.

According to the plan of battle, as modified on the evening of the 14th, my troops were to be relieved by Major-General Steedman's at dawn of day in the morning, pass in rear of General Wood's corps, and take position in reserve near the right to support the attack on the enemy's left. The movement commenced at daylight as ordered. General Couch's division debouched from our works on the Hardin pike and formed in rear of General Smith's left, and General Cox's, save one brigade, by the Hillsborough pike, in rear of General Wood's right. General Cox's third brigade was left temporarily in his old works to support, if necessary, General Steedman, who was making a demonstration upon the enemy's right. As General Smith advanced against the enemy's position General Couch moved forward, keeping within supporting distance, while the proper position of General Cox, as reserve to the center, remained essentially unchanged. About 1 p.m. the major-general commanding, remarking that General Smith had borne more to our left than had been expected and had not reached the enemy's flank, ordered me to move my corps to the right of General Smith, attack the enemy's flank, and gain, if practicable, before dark, possession of a group of fortified hills near the Hillsborough pike, which formed the left of the enemy's position. I at once put my troops in motion, moving rapidly by the flank in rear of General Smith's line, rode forward and found General Smith near the right of his line, and informed him of the movement I was making. General Smith then put in his reserve, extending his line about half a mile to the right, and assisted General Hatch's cavalry (dismounted) in assaulting and carrying a high hill, covered by a redoubt, which proved to be a detached work commanding the Hillsborough pike and constituting the extreme flank of the enemy's infantry position, but not connected with  his main line of defense.

General Couch, whose head of column had by this time arrived opposite the right of General Smith's line, at once moved forward, deploying as he advanced, passed immediately by the right of the hill just carried and across the Hillsborough pike, crossed an open valley about half a mile in breadth, and swept by the enemy's artillery and carried the left of a series of hills parallel to and overlooking the Granny White pike, one of the enemy's only two lines of retreat. This assault was made by General Cooper's brigade, led by its brave commander, and was most gallantly executed. The enemy now moved a considerable force toward our right, with the evident design of turning our flank and recovering the position just lost. General Couch sent Colonel Mehringer's brigade, the only one he had disengaged, to meet this movement. Colonel Mehringer met the enemy, much superior to him in numbers, in the valley which General Couch had just passed, and held him in check until General Cox, who had just come up, sent two brigades, Colonel Doolittle's and Colonel Casement's, to his support, when the enemy was repulsed and driven back. The engagement here was sharp, attended with considerable loss on both sides, and lasted until dark. Immediately south of the hill carried by General Couch was a still higher one held by the enemy, without the possession of which his position north of Brentwood was untenable. I had ordered this hill to be carried immediately after the success of General Cooper's assault, but the counter attack made by the enemy occupied our whole available force until dark, and compelled us to rest with the success already gained. After dark the troops intrenched their position and bivouacked for the night.

BATTLE OF THE 16TH.

In the night of the 15th I waited upon the major-general commanding at his headquarters, and received his orders for the pursuit of the enemy on the following day. Our operations during the 15th had swung the right and right center forward so that the general direction of the line was nearly perpendicular to that before the attack. Only the right was in contact with the enemy, and was therefore much exposed. Apprehensive that the enemy, instead of retreating during the night, would mass and attack our right in the morning, I requested that a division of infantry be sent to re-enforce the right, which was ordered accordingly from Major-General Smith's command. In response to this order General Smith sent five regiments and a battery (about 1,600 men), which were put in reserve near the right. In the morning it was found that the enemy still held his position in our front, of which the hill in front of General Couch was the key, and had thrown up considerable breast-works during the night. He had also increased the force on his left during the night, and continued to mass troops there during the early part of the day. During the morning, therefore, our operations were limited to preparations for defense and co-operation with the cavalry, which was operating to strike the Granny White pike in rear of the enemy. About noon the troops on my left (Generals Smith and Wood) having advanced and come in contact with the enemy in his new position, the enemy again withdrew from his left a considerable force to strengthen his right and center, when I ordered General Cox to advance in conjunction with the cavalry, and endeavor to carry a high wooded hill beyond the flank of the enemy's intrenched line, and overlooking the Granny White pike. The hill was occupied by the enemy in considerable force, but was not intrenched. My order was not executed with the promptness or energy which I had expected, yet, probably, with as much as I had reason to expect, considering the attenuated character of General Cox's line and the great distance and rough ground over which the attacking force had to move. The hill was, however, carried by General Wilson's cavalry (dismounted) whose gallantry and energy on that and other occasions, which came under my observation, cannot be too greatly praised.

Almost simultaneously with this attack on the extreme right the salient hill in front of General Couch was attacked and carried by General Smith's troops, supported by a brigade of General Couch's division, and the fortified hill in front of General Cox, which constituted the extreme flank of the enemy's intrenched line, was attacked and carried by Colonel Doolittle's brigade of General Cox's division, the latter capturing 8 pieces of artillery and 200 to 300 prisoners. These several successes, gained almost simultaneously, resulted in complete rout of the enemy. The cavalry had cut off his line of retreat by the Granny White pike, and such of his troops as were not captured on the line could only escape by climbing the Brentwood Hills. It is believed all of the artillery along the left and center of the enemy's line fell into our hands. Our troops continued the pursuit across the valley and into the Brentwood Hills, when darkness compelled them to desist, and they bivouacked for the night.

During the operations of the 15th and 16th our troops behaved with their accustomed gallantry and even more than their ordinary enthusiasm, attacking almost inaccessible heights, crowned by breast-works and covered by numerous artillery, with a confidence which presented a most striking contrast to the feeble and spiritless resistance offered by the already demoralized enemy.
The losses of the Twenty-third Corps during the 15th and 16th amounted to only 9 killed, 154 wounded, and none missing.4

The division and brigade commanders displayed their usual high qualities of gallantry and skill. Brig. Gen. J. A. Cooper, commanding First Brigade, Second Division, is specially worthy of mention for gallantry in leading the assault on the 15th.

The officers of my staff were then, as always, active and efficient, discharging every duty with honor and credit.

The commanding general's orders for the pursuit of the enemy placed my corps in rear of the entire army and the main portion of its trains. I was, therefore, able to do no more than follow slowly in rear from the 17th until the 26th, when I was ordered to halt at Columbia, my troops not being needed in advance. On the 30th I received the order of the commanding general, announcing that the rebel army had been driven entirely across the Tennessee River, and ordering the pursuit to cease.

I inclose herewith report of Brig. Gen. J. D. Cox, commanding temporarily Twenty-third Army Corps, of the operations during the retreat from Pulaski, including the battle of Franklin, and the reports of his subordinate commanders; also the reports of Generals Couch and Cox of the operations of their divisions during the battles of December 15 and 16, including lists of killed and wounded.

No report has yet been received from Major-General Stanley (he being absent wounded) of the operations of the Fourth Corps while the troops in the field were under my command. The numbers of killed, wounded, and missing furnished by the division commanders are embraced in my report of the battle of Franklin.

I also append hereto copies of orders and correspondence relative to operations of the troops under my command, which are made part of this report.5

I have the honor to be, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

J. M. SCHOFIELD,  
Major-General.
Brig. Gen. WILLIAM D. WHIPPLE,
Chief of Staff, Department of the Cumberland.


ADDENDA.

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE OHIO,         
Washington, D.C., January 31, 1865.
Brig. Gen. L. THOMAS,
Adjutant General, U.S. Army, Washington, D.C.:

GENERAL: I have the honor to forward to the War Department nine stand of colors captured from the enemy by the Twenty-third Army Corps at the battle of Franklin on the 30th of November, 1864. They are borne by the gallant soldiers who are recognized among their comrades as the actual captors of the flags, and as the representatives of the noble regiments to which they belong. The following are the names of the soldiers to whom this special honor is accorded: Maj. Ed. E. Mullenix, One hundred and seventy-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry; Capt. John H. Brown,6 Company D, Twelfth Kentucky Volunteer Infantry; Capt. George V. Kelley,6 Company A, One hundred and fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry; Lieut. W. H. Langstaff, Company E, One hundred and seventy-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry; Corpl. Joseph Davis,6 Company C, One hundred and fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry; Corpl. Newton H. Hall,6 Company I, One hundred and fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry; Private John H. Ricksecker,6 Company D, One hundred and fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry; Privates Abraham Greenwalt6 and John C. Gaunt,6 Company G, One hundred and fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry.

These flags, with eleven others, were captured by the Twenty-third Army Corps along its parapets. They afford at the same time evidence of the strength of the enemy's column of attack, and of its disastrous repulses.

I am, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

J. M. SCHOFIELD,  
Major-general.
_______________

1 See Special Field Orders, No. 111, paragraph 1, Vol. XXXIX, Part III, p. 511.
2 See Vol. XXXIX, Part III, p. 538.
3 See Vol. XXXIX, Part III, p. 650.
4 But see revised table, p. 100.
5 Orders and correspondence not found with original report on file in the War Department.
6 Awarded a Medal of Honor.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 45, Part 1 (Serial No. 93), p. 339-48

Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Senator Thomas Hart Benton to Congressman John Scott, February 8, 1825

Senate Chamber, Feb. 8th, 1825.

SIR: I received on the morning of the 6th instant your note of the 5th, in which you make known to me your intention to give the vote of Missouri to Mr. Adams.

Sinister rumors, and some misgivings of my own, had been preparing my mind for an extraordinary development; but it was not until I had three times talked with you, face to face, that I could believe in the reality of an intention so inconsistent with your previous conversations, so repugnant to your printed pledges, so amazing to your constituents, so fatal to yourself.

The vote which you intend thus to give is not your own — it belongs to the people of the State of Missouri. They are against Mr. Adams. I, in their name, do solemnly protest against your intention, and deny your moral power thus to bestow your vote.

You have been pleased to make a reference, in one of your conversations, to my personal wishes in this election. I now reiterate that I disdain and repel the appeal; and again remit you to the exalted tribunal of honor and duty.

For nine years we have been closely connected in our political course; at length, the connection is dissolved, and dissolved under circumstances which denounce our everlasting separation.

For some expressions which you felt as unkind, in our conversation on Sunday, I ask your pardon and oblivion. I have a right to give you my opinion on a point of public duty, but none to inflict a wound on your feelings, and, in this unexpected breaking of many ties, there is enough of unavoidable pain, without the gratuitous infliction of unkind words.

To-morrow is the day for your self-immolation. If you have an enemy, he may go and feed his eyes upon the scene; your former friend will share the afflicting spectacle.

With sincere wishes for your personal welfare, I remain,* &c.,

Thomas H. Benton.
_______________

* These letters and my account of the election in the main are from Parton's Jackson, iii., pp. 61-66.

SOURCE: William Montgomery Meigs, The Life of Thomas Hart Benton, p. 145

Monday, June 4, 2018

Amos A. Lawrence to Dr. Webb, Secretary of the Emigrant Aid Company, July 20, 1855

Boston, July 20, 1855.

Dear Doctor, — Here is a letter which indicates that the crisis approaches, and it shows that our friend Robinson is the man to meet it. That a revolution must take place in Kansas is certain, if that can be called a revolution which is only an overthrow of usurpation. When farmers turn soldiers they must have arms. Write to Hartford and get their terms for one hundred more of the Sharps rifles at once.

Yours truly,
A. A. L.

SOURCE: William Lawrence, Life of Amos A. Lawrence: With Extracts from His Diary and Correspondence, p. 96

Sunday, June 3, 2018

Thomas Wentworth Higginson, June 1859

Worcester, June, 1859

I got home from Pennsylvania on Friday morning. Whittier was in the same region a month before me and he said, “God might have made a more beautiful region than Chester County — but he never did. A beautiful rolling country, luxuriant as Kansas and highly cultivated as Brookline; horses and cattle pasturing in rich clover fields; hedges of hawthorn; groves of oak, walnut, pine, and vast columnar tulip trees towering up to heaven and holding out their innumerable cups of nectar to the gods above the clouds; picturesque great houses of brick and stone, gabled and irregular, overgrown with honeysuckle and wistaria, and such a race of men and women as the “Quaker settlement” in “Uncle Tom” portrays. All farming country; no towns nearer the meeting-house than Westchester, nine miles off, and Wilmington (Delaware) twelve. Only little old taverns here and there, known through all the country as “The Red Lion,” “The Anvil,” and “The Hammer and Trowel.” Only three houses in sight from the meeting-house and twenty-five hundred vehicles collected round it on Sunday, with probably seven thousand people on the ground.

Almost all the people in the region were Quakers, and being dissatisfied with the conservative position held by that body on slavery and other matters, they have gradually come out from among them and formed a Yearly Meeting of Progressive Friends which retains little of the externals of Quakerism and all its spirit and life. The young people have abandoned the Quaker dress, as indeed they have done everywhere, but retain all the simplicity, kindness, and uprightness. So noble a people in body and mind, I never saw before. I never was in the presence of so many healthy-looking women, or so many good faces of either sex. Their mode of living is Virginian in its open-house hospitality; they say incidentally, “we happened to have thirty-five people in the house last night.” . . . I stayed at three different houses during my four days’ visit and might have stayed at thirty. I passed from house to house as through a series of triumphal arches and yet not from any merit supposed in myself, but simply because, as Conway wrote to them in a letter, “the earnest man is a king at Longwood; he finds friends and sumptuous entertainment wherever he turns. To say that they make one at home is nothing; one fears forgetfulness of all other homes.”

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

Do not imagine that these people are ignorant or recluse; they have much intercourse with people, especially with Philadelphia; the young people are well educated, and all take the “Atlantic.” One feels in cultivated society. Aunt Nancy will like to hear that Bayard Taylor originated there and is now building a house there; I saw his father's house; also that of John Agnew, where his beautiful bride lived and died. I saw John Agnew himself, a noble-looking old man, erect as an arrow. I saw the lovely Mary's daguerreotype, and her grave. They all speak well of B. T. and praise his simplicity, modesty, and love of home; I never had so pleasant an impression of him, and if you will read his spirited poem of the tulip tree you can imagine a Chester County for a background.

The little meeting-house was crowded — seven hundred or so; the rest of the Sunday crowd was collected outside and there was speaking in several places. I spoke on the steps. Other days the church held them all. There were morning and afternoon sessions, and at noon we picnicked under the trees every day. They discussed everything — Superstition, Slavery, Spiritualism, War, Marriage, Prisons, Property, etc. — each in turn, and uniting in little “testimonies” on them all, which will be printed. There were some other speakers from abroad beside myself, but none of much note. No long speeches and great latitude of remark, among the audience, commenting or rebuking in the friendliest way. “Friend, will thee speak a little louder? What thee says may be of no great importance, but we would like to judge for ourselves.” Or sometimes to the audience: “Have patience, friends, this old man (the speaker) is very conscientious.” Sometimes stray people, considerably demented, would stray in and speak; one erect old man, oddly dressed, who began and said, “My mother was a woman”: and then a long pause. It seemed a safe basis for argument. Of course, they all knew each other and called by their first names. One old oddity seemed to devote himself to keeping down the other people's excesses, and after two persons (strangers) had yielded to too much pathos in their own remarks, he mildly suggested that if the friends generally would get a good chest and each speaker henceforth lock up his emotions in it and lose the key, it would be a decided gain! There was one scene, quite pathetic, where one of the leading men announced that after great struggles he had given up tobacco — they rejoiced over him as a brand from the burning; it was most touching, the heartfelt gratitude which his wife expressed.

There was one park not far from the meeting-house which I have never seen equalled; the most English-looking place I ever saw — two avenues of superb pines and larches, leading down to a lake with other colonnades of deciduous trees at right angles. The house to which it belonged was buried in shrubs and bushes and surrounded by quaint outbuildings. At Hannah Cox's house, the most picturesque at which I stayed, there was a large wax plant in a pot, trained over much of the side of the house: this is seven years old and is taken in every fall and trained over the side of the room; and the thick leaves serve as registers of visitors' names, which have been scratched on them with a pin; some were dated 1851; I marked mine on two, lest one should fall. . . . Every time it is changed it takes five persons three hours to train it.

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

I took tea one evening at the house of some singular Quaker saints . . . with a capacity for sudden outpourings of the Spirit in public meetings. ... In the old square house General Washington had been quartered and the neat old Quaker mother well remembered when the Hessian prisoners were marched through the city. The two sisters always talked together, as is usual in such cases, and when I walked them to the evening meeting, one on each arm, the eldest was telling a long story of her persecutions among the Orthodox Friends, and whenever the sister interrupted, the eldest would unhook her own arm from mine, for the purpose (as I at last discovered) of poking her sister's elbow and thus admonishing to silence. It was done so promptly and invariably that I was satisfied that it was the established habit of the family.

SOURCE: Mary Potter Thacher Higginson, Editor, Letters and Journals of Thomas Wentworth Higginson, 1846-1906, p. 72-77

John A. Andrew to George L. Stearns, Monday [October 24, 1859]

My Dear Sir:

I went over the subject last evening, canvassing the books and cases with great care, occupying some four hours. Enclosed is my conclusion. I see no possible way in which any one can have done anything in Massachusetts for which he can be carried to any other state. I know nothing for which you could be tried even here.

Yours very truly,
J. A. Andrew.

SOURCES: Franklin B. Sanborn, The Life and Letters of John Brown, p. 462; Preston Stearns, The Life and Public Services of George Luther Stearns, p. 187-8

Samuel Gridley Howe to Charles Sumner, July 9, 1850

11 Gower St., London, July 9th, 1850.

My Dear Sumner: — . . . I did not intend to go into the grand monde here at all, and called on very few persons; but somehow or other we have got in for it, and have engagements for several evenings ahead.

The pleasantest dinner we have had was at Stephenson's, M. P. (the tubular bridge man) who has one of the most beautiful houses in London, fitted with exquisite taste and adorned by choice articles of virtu. Among other things he has the original of Powers' Fisher Boy, which strikes me as the most beautiful and original thing he ever did. The dinner was on ne peut pas mieux: I should say the most remarkable thing about it was the paucity of edibles. Everything was exquisite in appearance and flavour, and yet one had to partake of every dish in order to make as hearty a dinner as one is disposed to after fasting until seven p. M. The portion of soup was very tiny, and eaten with a tiny spoon; the fish just enough to taste; the pièce de resistance only so in name; and so through to the dessert, which was very rich and ample. It is true it was a Sunday dinner, and was called an unceremonious one; I think I observe, however, that there is a great improvement in London dinners, in respect to profusion; there is enough, but only enough. So far as I have seen and known, wine-bibbing has materially diminished. My impression is that the luncheon has risen in public opinion, and that the English are adopting the French déjeuner a là fourchette; they used, I know, long ago, to lunch pretty heartily, but perhaps lunch is now becoming par excellence the meal.

These culinary speculations are very crude and founded on very narrow observation; they are therefore worth little, but then they cost me nothing, and you shall have them, valeant quantum.

I have not called on all my old friends and acquaintances or your friends, being rather shy of seeming to challenge attentions, which in English mean dinners. I shall, before I go, call on Morpeth1 (that was), Ingham and others of your friends. Some have been very, very kind, as Sir H. and Lady Inglis; the first trotted in to see us and welcome us as soon as he heard of us, and the latter brings in her knitting and chats away of an evening with Julia. They are most kind and worthy people.
_______________

1 Earl of Carlisle

SOURCE: Laura E. Richards, Editor, Letters and Journals of Samuel Gridley Howe, Volume 2, p. 314-6

William T. Sherman to Ellen Ewing Sherman, November 12, 1859

Alexandria, La., Sunday, Nov. 12 [1859].

I wrote you a hasty letter yesterday whilst the stage was waiting. General Graham and others have been with me every moment so that I was unable to steal a moment's time to write you. I left the wharf boat at the mouth of Red River, a dirty, poor concern where I laid over one day, the stage only coming up tri-weekly, and at nine o'clock at night started with an overcrowded stage, nine in and two out with driver, four good horses, Troy coach, road dead level and very dusty, lying along the banks of bayous which cut up the country like a net work. Along these bayous lie the plantations rich in sugar and cotton such as you remember along the Mississippi at Baton Rouge.

We rode all night, a fine moonlight, and before breakfast at a plantation we were hailed by Judge Boyce who rode with us the rest of the journey. His plantation is twenty-five miles further up, but he has lived here since 1826 and knows everybody. He insisted on my stopping with him at the plantation of Mr. Moore, who is just elected governor of Louisiana for the coming four years, and who in that capacity will be President of the Board of Supervisors, who control the Seminary of Learning, and whose friendship and confidence it is important I should secure. He sent us into town in his own carriage. Alexandria isn't much of a town, and the tavern where I am, Mrs. Fellow's, a common rate concern, as all southern taverns out of large cities are. Still I have a good room opening into the parlor.

General Graham came in from his plantation nine miles west of this, and has been with me ever since. At this moment he is at church, the Episcopal. He will go out home tonight and to-morrow I go likewise, when we are to have a formal meeting to arrange some rules and regulations, also agree on the system of study. He is the person who has from the start carried on the business. He was at West Point, but did not graduate, but he has an unlimited admiration of the system of discipline and study. He is about fifty-five years, rather small, exceedingly particular and methodical, and altogether different from his brother, the general.1

LOUISIANA STATE SEMINARY IN 1860
Sherman's office was the room to the left of the entrance.
The building is a gorgeous palace, altogether too good for its purpose, stands on a high hill three miles north of this. It has four hundred acres of poor soil, but fine pine and oak trees, a single large building. Like most bodies they have spent all their money on the naked building, trusting to the legislature for further means to provide furniture, etc. All this is to be done, and they agree to put me in charge at once, and enable me to provide before January 1 the tables, desks, chairs, blackboards, etc., the best I can in time for January 1, and as this is a mere village I must procure all things from New Orleans, and may have to go down early next month. But for the present I shall go to General Graham's tomorrow, be there some days, return here and then remove to the college, where I will establish myself and direct in person the construction of such things as may be made there.

There is no family near enough for me to board, so I will get the cook who provides for the carpenters to give me my meals.

It is the design to erect two buildings for the professors, but I doubt whether the legislature will give any more, $135,000 having already been expended. The institution, styled by law the Seminary of Learning, has an annual endowment of $8,100, but it is necessary for the legislature to appropriate this annually, and as they do not meet till the third Monday in January, I don't see how we can get any money before hand. I think when the appropriation is made, however, my salary will be allowed from November 1.

When I first got here it was hot, but yesterday it changed, and it is now very cold. I have a fire here, but several windows are broken, and the room is as cold as a barn, and the lazy negroes have to be driven to bring in wood.

I expect plenty of trouble from this source, the high wages of servants and the necessity to push them all the time to do anything. I would hire whites, but suppose it would be advisable and good policy to submit to the blacks for the present.

On arrival here I found your and Minnie's2 letters, seven days in coming, which is better time than I expected. Mails come here tri-weekly by stage by the route I came. . .
­­_______________

1 General R. B. Mason, Sherman's commanding officer in California. — Ed.

2 Sherman’s eldest daughter.

SOURCE: Walter L. Fleming, Editor, General W.T. Sherman as College President, p. 47-52

Governor Salmon P. Chase to Thomas Spooner, Esq.,* New York City, New York, December 18, 1859

Columbus, Dec 18, [1859.]

Dear Spooner: From what you say in yours of the 14th, I infer you had not received mine previously written to you. It was directed to Cincinnati, and perhaps it has since reached you.

I do not desire to be quoted as expressing any opinions as to time or place of holding the Convention, or as to the mode of its organization either in respect to membership or number of delegates — or mode of electing them. The reasons for my not desiring even to seem to influence members of the Convention are obvious.

You, as our Ohio member, have a right to my views, and I will give them to you briefly:

1st. The Convention should be held between the Alleghenys and the Mississippi. It would be best, I think, to hold it at Pittsburg, Wheeling, Cincinnati or Covington, but next best, to hold it at Columbus, Indianapolis, Springfield or St Louis. Among these next best places, my judgment would incline to Indianapolis.

2d. The Convention should be held soon after the Democratic. This, I think, would be best. No considerable harm would probably result, however, if not held till the 17th June, as in 1856.

3. The Convention should be composed of all who are opposed to the extention of Slavery beyond the limits of Slave States, and in favor of reform in National Administration. The call should be addressed to Republicans and all others, without distinction of party, willing to unite for these objects. A resolution should be adopted expressing the opinion of the Committee that the members of the People's party of New Jersey and Penn'a, and all citizens of other States holding similar political principles, are regarded as described in the call and invited to participate in the Convention, but the Call should not be addressed to those parties as such.

4. The Committees should apportion the delegates among the States by recommending the election of, say, four Senatorial delegates from each State, and one Representative from each Congressional District, and additional representatives from each Congressional District for each six or seven thousand votes cast for Republican candidates, and another for a majority fraction of that number. Votes for opposition or people's Candidates in New Jersey or Pennsylvania, and for Anti-Lecompton Democrats supported by the Republicans, should be counted the same as Republican votes.

5. The Committee should recommend, and strongly recommend, the election of Senatorial delegates by State Conventions, and of Representative Delegates by District Conventions.

I have no time to argue these views. I am, however, strong in the faith that their adoption would secure fairness and equal representation in the nomination — harmony and vigor in the support of the nominees — In what is now a duty — success not merely for our organization but for our principles — success, therefore, lasting and honorable.

Ashley, I understand, will represent Kentucky under Clay's proxy. You can show this letter to him and if you think proper to Mr. Willey or Mr. Howard of Connecticut. Let me hope that you and Ashley will act together. It is desirable, many ways.
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* From letter book 7, pp. 61-62

SOURCE: Diary and correspondence of Salmon P. ChaseAnnual Report of the American Historical Association for the Year 1902, Vol. 2, p. 283-4