Raining; rained all
night.
The following
dispatch was received this morning:
"WILMINGTON,
December 20th, 1864, 10 A.M.—The head of the enemy's fleet arrived off this
port during last night. Over thirty steamers are now assembling, and more are
following.—BRAXTON BRAGG."
It may be hoped that
Gen. Bragg will do something more than chronicle the successes of the enemy
this time. He is nearer to him than when he remained at Augusta; and yet the
press could be made reticent on arrivals, etc.
Lieut. Col. Sims,
Assistant Quartermaster General, has contracted with the Southern Express
Company to transport all the funds of the Quartermaster's Department—hundreds
of millions!
Mr. Hunter was with
the Secretary this morning, when I laid before the latter Bragg's dispatch. I
doubt not it failed to contribute to a mollification of their painful
forebodings.
By Northern papers I
see President Lincoln disapproves Gen. Dix's order to troops to cross the
Canada line in pursuit of raiders. Gold is $45 for one to-day.
The army has no meat
this day, the commissaries, etc. have it all, and are speculating with it—it is
said. So many high officials are interested, there is no remedy. We are at the
mercy of the quartermasters, commissaries, railroad companies, and the Southern
Express Company. The President and Secretary either cannot or will not break
our shackles.
An official account
states the number of houses burnt by the enemy in Atlanta to be 5000!
There is a rumor of
another and a formidable raid on Gordonsville. The railroad is now exclusively
occupied with the transportation of troops—perhaps for Wilmington. The raid may
be a ruse to prevent reinforcements being sent thither.
The Andersonville
Report belongs to the Adjutant-General's Office, and therefore has not come
back to me.
SOURCE: John
Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate
States Capital, Volume 2, p. 360-1
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