Nothing further has been heard from Corinth. A great battle
is looked for in Kentucky. All is quiet in Northern Virginia.
Some 2500 Confederate prisoners arrived from the North last
evening. They are on parole, and will doubtless be exchanged soon, as we have
taken at least 40,000 more of the enemy's men than they have captured of ours.
Yesterday, Congress, which has prolonged the session until
the 13th instant, passed a bill increasing the pay of soldiers four dollars per
month. I hope they will increase our pay before they adjourn. Congress
also, yesterday, voted down the proposition of a forced loan of one-fifth
of all incomes. But the Committee of Ways and Means are instructed to bring
forward another bill.
This evening Custis and I expect the arrival of my family
from Raleigh, N. C. We have procured for them one pound of sugar, 80 cents; one
quart of milk, 25 cents; one pound of sausage-meat, 37 cents; four loaves of bread,
as large as my fist, 20 cents each; and we have a little coffee, which is
selling at $2.50 per pound. In the morning, some one must go to market, else
there will be short-commons. Washing is $2.50 per dozen pieces. Common soap is
worth 75 cents per pound.
SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's
Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 1, p. 164-5
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