Aug. 8.
I have sad news for you to-day; which, however, you will have heard before this reaches you.
Mr. Rantoul is dead.
I have been spending the morning about him, and the arrangements to be made on his account. It will devolve on me to announce his death in the House to-morrow: so I can write you no more to-day.
SOURCE: Mary Tyler Peabody Mann, Life of Horace Mann, p. 378
Aug. 9.
The melancholy duty is done. Poor Mrs. Rantoul! Of course it is a case where there is no language of external signs. The heart alone knows it. She arrived in the morning: he died that night. Every thing was done that could be done. Funeral services were performed at his lodgings. At four o'clock, Mrs. Rantoul, accompanied by several friends, took the cars for home. What a sad meeting!
SOURCE: Mary Tyler Peabody Mann, Life of Horace Mann, pp. 378-9
WASHINGTON, Aug. 12, 1852.
I never had the slightest doubt that the "old Hunkers" of Massachusetts would rejoice over Rantoul's death. The Hunkers rejoice in his removal, just as the proslavery men rejoiced in Gen. Taylor's death, some of whom said they believed it to be an express interposition of Providence to defeat his work!
Drayton and Sayres are pardoned through Sumner's influence, and off in free territory. This was done last evening. The marshal of the district, who has the control of the jail, received the order for their enlargement last evening. He called on Sumner to go to the jail with him, but learned from the jailer that Mr. Stuart, the Secretary of the Interior, a Virginia man, had sent to him to delay their enlargement till this morning. Sumner saw at once what his object was, — that is, to get a requisition from the Governor of Virginia to take them into Virginia for trial; for some of the slaves whom they took in their schooner were from Virginia. He therefore insisted on the marshal's executing the order of the President for their release immediately; and, as the marshal had no responsible excuse for not complying, they went to the jail, and the men were enlarged. Sumner took them up into the street, and then made arrangements at once for taking them to Baltimore last night, which was done; and this morning they started from Baltimore for a free State, and are safe. He was afraid some sham process would be got up to hold them here until notice could be given to the Governor of Virginia. They are safe. Sumner has done well in this: but it could not have been done until now; that is, until the nominations had been made.
SOURCE: Mary Tyler Peabody Mann, Life of Horace Mann, p. 379
AUG. 15.
I have not gone the journey yet, and do not know that I shall. If a little bit of a speech which I am thinking of, but not talking about, were off my hands, I might; but I do not know when it will be, if at all.
I had encouragement for the floor when I wrote to you: but the House passed a resolution stopping debate; so the promise was worth nothing. The next time we go into "Committee of the Whole," &c., we, of course, shall have a new chairman, and then I shall be as far off as ever.
SOURCE: Mary Tyler Peabody Mann, Life of Horace Mann, pp. 379-80
AUG. 17.
Miss Dix's bill is now up. We are calling the yeas and nays upon it. It will pass, I think, without doubt; but I shall let you know before I seal this.
Miss Dix finds new work all the time. This District has about forty lunatics, which it supports at the Institution of Maryland, near Baltimore. These are all to be turned out in a few days; and she is trying to get a bill passed for a hospital in this District.
The bill for a hospital has passed the House!
I thought I was to have the floor just now, and my heart went pit-a-pat; for I have never yet been able to speak anywhere without trepidation. But the chairman gave it to another man. At ten minutes to three, I shall try again.
Miss Dix's bill passed by yeas 98, nays 54. It always took two-thirds to get it up: so a majority did not help us.
Miss Dix is alarmed about her land-bill in the Senate; but I think it will go through there. She wishes to get through here, so that she can go to Nova Scotia, where they have made an appropriation for a hospital.
I had rather a boisterous time for half an hour with my speech. It blew hard; but I weathered the storm.
Don't be alarmed when you see what Polk said about my not holding myself responsible; that is, according to the laws of the duello. He is a poor drunken fellow from Tennessee, for whom no one has any respect, though he is brother of the former President. They tried to choke me down: but they might as well have tried to roar down old Boreas; for, when I "gets up" a little, I am quite as hard to be subdued as the more noisy ones.
I hope to have it all printed, and perhaps in your hands, this week.
You will see what an attack Polk made on Parson Fowler yesterday, — not violent and furious, but annoying. He said to the parson coseyly, while speaking, "You know we two are Christians." Polk is drunk every day. But it is now said that it will be honorably arranged, and there will be no "coffee and pistols" between them.
SOURCE: Mary Tyler Peabody Mann, Life of Horace Mann, pp. 380-1
AUG. 27, 1852.
Sumner spoke about four hours yesterday; and it was a very finished and able speech, sustaining in every point his high reputation as a jurist and a scholar. It was delivered in a very elegant and finished manner. To speak in full, the 26th of August, 1852, redeemed the 7th of March, 1850.
Webster came into the Senate very early in the speech. He took a seat not far from Sumner, and about eight feet from me; so situated that I must look into his face, or turn my head. I looked at him fascinatingly. I think he felt the magnetism streaming out of me. In about two minutes, his countenance fell: he got up and walked round to the other side of the Senate Chamber, staid a while, and went off. Sumner, during all the time he was there, was in the least solid part of his speech. It was one of his best orations, well studied and well delivered, and will tell on the country, and be a speech for a book and for history.
That drunken Clemens of Alabama jumped up instanter, and said,
"Mr. President, it is proper sometimes to take notice of the ravings of a lunatic; but the yelpings of a puppy are not to be regarded."
Miss Dix's bill has gone over to the next session. She sent for me yesterday afternoon in despair. But she has got an appropriation of a hundred thousand dollars for a hospital in this District; and it is thought that her land-bill can be carried next session. It has passed the House, and, unless some amendments are made to it, will not have to come back here again.
SOURCE: Mary Tyler Peabody Mann, Life of Horace Mann, p. 381AUG. 28.
I got off a speech yesterday; but it was too late to let you know by yesterday's mail. The Southern men tried to stop me by starting points of order. But it was always without reason: so I went on, and gave them a pretty strong blast. I think it best to show them that they can't stop debate; that, the more they try, the more it won't stop.
I wish I could be at home to behold the flowers and their beholders; but it is of no use to talk about that at present.
SOURCE: Mary Tyler Peabody Mann, Life of Horace Mann, pp. 381-2
Edited by Steven E. Woodworth and Charles D. Grear
The capture of Forts Henry and Donelson in
February 1862 marked one of the most important early turning points of the
American Civil War. Yet, despite their enormous strategic significance, these
operations sometimes receive less attention than the more celebrated campaigns
and battles that followed. In The Forts Henry and Donelson Campaign:
February 6–16, 1862, editors Steven E. Woodworth and Charles D. Grear have
assembled a collection of seven essays that revisit this pivotal campaign and
offer readers several fresh perspectives on the events that opened the
Confederate heartland to Union invasion.
The Union victories at Fort Henry on February
6 and Fort Donelson on February 16 transformed the military situation in the
Western Theater. Under the combined efforts of General Ulysses S. Grant and
Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote, Federal forces gained access to the Tennessee and
Cumberland Rivers, forcing Confederate withdrawals from Kentucky and much of
western Tennessee. The surrender of more than 13,000 Confederate soldiers at
Fort Donelson also brought national attention to Grant and established his
reputation as a determined military commander.
Rather than simply retelling the familiar
story of these engagements, the contributors examine several aspects of the
campaign that deserve greater attention. Among the subjects explored are the
influence of environmental conditions on military operations, the cooperation
between the Union Army and Navy, Nathan Bedford Forrest's decisions at Fort
Donelson, and the Confederate breakout attempt of February 15. Other essays
examine Brigadier General Charles F. Smith's decisive assault against the
Confederate defenses, Colonel Gabriel C. Wharton's efforts to justify the
surrender, and the reaction of Texans to the Confederate defeats.
One of the strengths of this collection is its
variety. Michael Burns's examination of environmental conditions reminds
readers that weather, terrain, and geography could be just as influential as
the decisions made by commanding generals. Blakeney K. Hill's discussion of
Union Army-Navy cooperation offers an interesting look at the challenges of
conducting joint military operations. Jonathan M. Steplyk's examination of the
Confederate breakout attempt is particularly worthwhile, drawing upon soldiers'
letters and diaries to explore what participants on both sides could actually
see and understand amid the confusion of battle.
I also found the essays examining Confederate
leadership and the consequences of defeat especially interesting. The contributions
by Sheilah R. Elwardani and Charles D. Grear extend the discussion beyond the
battlefield, exploring how Confederate officers attempted to defend their
decisions and how the defeats affected Texans' understanding of the war. These
chapters help demonstrate that the consequences of Forts Henry and Donelson
extended well beyond the immediate loss of two military installations.
The editors have succeeded in bringing
together established and emerging historians to examine a campaign from several
different perspectives. Even readers who are already familiar with the events
of February 1862 should find something new and worthwhile in these essays.
The Forts Henry and Donelson Campaign is a welcome addition to the Civil War
Campaigns in the West series and a useful contribution to the scholarship of
the Western Theater. For anyone interested in the early career of Ulysses S.
Grant, the development of Union river operations, or the military collapse of
Confederate positions in Kentucky and Tennessee, this book deserves its place
on everyone’s Civil War bookshelf.
ISBN 978-0809339976, Southern Illinois University Press, © 2026, Paperback, 164 Pages, Maps, Tables, Photographs, End Notes follow each essay & Index. $24.95. To Purchase the book click HERE.
Isaac Arwine was wounded very bad in the
Sholder. the ball entered the right sholder and lodged in the left sholder. now
at present he is in very bad misery and is thought that he wont live. he said
he thought he was a dead man.
SOURCE: Vinson Holman Diary Exerpts, Pea Ridge National Military Park: https://www.nps.gov/peri/learn/historyculture/vinsonholman.htm
accessed November 9, 2026
I am still in Camp waiting on Arwine and the Boys that is wounded. There
is any amount of legs, arms, hands lying around in Damp that had to be cut off
on account of thair bones being broken. the Doctors are taking off arms, and
legs and hands evry day. it is nothing to see them cut a mans arm off or a leg.
I hope to God that I wont have to witness the same again. it is horable to
think of.
SOURCE: Vinson Holman Diary Exerpts, Pea Ridge National Military Park: https://www.nps.gov/peri/learn/historyculture/vinsonholman.htm
accessed November 9, 2026
The wounded has nothing to ly in but leaves and rocks and nothing to eat
but some Buisket made with water and some coffee without any cream.
SOURCE: Vinson Holman Diary Exerpts, Pea Ridge National Military Park: https://www.nps.gov/peri/learn/historyculture/vinsonholman.htm
accessed November 9, 2026
the Doctors are stil taken legs and Arms off everyday. there is no
excitement. Arwine is in great misery and isnt expected to live.
SOURCE: Vinson Holman Diary Exerpts, Pea Ridge National Military Park: https://www.nps.gov/peri/learn/historyculture/vinsonholman.htm
accessed November 9, 2026
