John Hay to Charles G. Halpine, April 13, 1864

April 13, [1864]

MY DEAR HALPINE:

I thank you for your kind and most unjust letter. I did call at your house on Bleecker Street, and you were not at home—nor was M. la Generale. I am too old a soldier to pass through your camp without reporting.

I thank you for offering to set me right with the pensive public. But the game is not worth so bright a candle. The original lie in the Herald was dirty enough, and the subsequent commentaries were more than usually nasty. But the Tycoon never minded it in the least, and, as for me, at my age the more abuse I get in the newspapers, the better for me. I shall run for constable some day on the strength of my gory exploits in Florida.

I am stationed here for the present. I fear I shall not get away soon again. I have a great deal to do. It is the best work that I can do if I must stay here.

I am yours,

[JOHN HAY.]

SOURCES: Clara B. Hay, Letters of John Hay and Extracts from Diary, Volume 1, p. 182. Michael Burlingame, Editor, At Lincoln’s Side: John Hay’s Civil War Correspondence and Selected Writings, p. 80; Tyler Dennett, Editor, Lincoln and the Civil War in the Diaries and Letters of John Hay, p. 171.

John Hay to John G. Nicolay, April 16, 1863

Hilton Head, S. C,

April 16, 1863.

MY DEAR NICOLAY:

The General and the Admiral this morning received the orders from Washington directing the continuance of operations against Charleston. The contrast was very great in the manner in which they received them. The General was absolutely delighted. He said he felt more encouraged, and was in better heart and hope than before, at this indication of the earnestness of the government to finish this business here. He said, however, that the Admiral seemed in very low spirits about it. He talked despondingly about it, adhering to the same impressions of the desperate character of the enterprise as I reported to the President after my first interview with him. Perhaps having so strongly expressed his belief that the enterprise was impracticable he feels that he is rebuked by an opposite opinion from Washington.

General Hunter is in the best feather about the matter. He believed before we came back that with the help of the gunboats we could take Morris Island and from that point reduce Fort Sumter; and he is well pleased to have another chance at it. Whether the intention of the government be to reduce Charleston now, with adequate men and means, or by powerful demonstrations to retain a large force of the enemy here, he is equally anxious to go to work again.

I write this entirely confidentially for you and for the President to know the ideas prevalent here.

Gen. Seymour has been with you before this, and has given to the government the fullest information relative to military matters here. His arrival, I suppose, will only confirm the resolution already taken. Admiral Dupont's despatches by the Flambeau of course put a darker shade on the matter than anything Seymour will say, as he was strongly in favor of staying there and fighting it out. . . .

SOURCES: Clara B. Hay, Letters of John Hay and Extracts from Diary, Volume 1, p. 81-3; Michael Burlingame, Editor, At Lincoln’s Side: John Hay’s Civil War Correspondence and Selected Writings, p. 36-7 where the entire letter appears.

John Hay to John G. Nicolay, April 14, 1863

April 14, 1863.

MY DEAR NICO:

Here is one of the cleverest things I have seen since the war began. It is an impromptu order of Halpine’s on Miss Mary Brooks, a New York lady, who was down here on a visit with Mrs. Raymond. The “Hay” is, of course, Charlie, not the Colonel.

We are living very pleasantly here since the return from Charleston of the K 's. The General has some fine horses and the rides are pleasant.

Yours truly,

J. H.

_______________

Headquarters, Dept. of the South,

Hilton Head, S. C., March 25, 1863

 SPECIAL ORDERS,

A. No. 1

I.

With her charming looks

And all her graces,

Miss Mary Brooks,

Whose lovely face is

The sweetest thing we have seen down here

On these desolate Islands for more than a year,

Is hereby appointed an extra Aide

On the Staff of the General Commanding,

With a Captain of Cavalry's strap and grade,

And with this most definite understanding.

II.

That Captain Mary,

Gay and airy,

At nine each day, until further orders,

To Colonel Halpine shall report

For special duty at these Headquarters:—

And Captain Mary,

(Bless the fairy!)

Shall hold herself, upon all occasions,

Prepared to ride

At the Adjutant's side

And give him of flirting his regular rations;

And she shan't vamoose

With the younglings loose

Of the junior Staff, — such as Hay and Skinner;

But, galloping onward, she shall sing,

Like an everlasting lark on the wing—

And she shan't keep the Adjutant late for dinner.

III.

The Chief Quartermaster of Department

Will give Captain Mary a riding garment:—

A long, rich skirt of a comely hue,

Shot silk, with just a suspicion of blue,—

A gipsey hat, with an ostrich feather,

A veil to protect her against the weather,

And delicate gauntlets of pale buff leather;

Her saddle with silver shall all be studded

And her pony, — a sorrel, — it shall be blooded:

Its shoes shall be silver, its bridle all ringing

With bells that shall harmonize well with her singing.

And thus Captain Mary,

Gay, festive and airy,

Each morning shall ride

At the Adjutant's side

And hold herself ready, on all fit occasions,

To give him of flirting his full army rations.

By Command of Maj. Gen'l D. Hunter,

Ed. W. Smith,

Assistant Adjutant-General.

Official Copy:

Chas. G. Halpine,

Lieut.-Col. and Assistant Adjutant-General,

10th Army Corps, and Department of the South.

SOURCES: Clara B. Hay, Letters of John Hay and Extracts from Diary, Volume 1, p. 79-81; Michael Burlingame, Editor, At Lincoln’s Side: John Hay’s Civil War Correspondence and Selected Writings, p. 36 where the entire letter appears.

John Hay to John G. Nicolay, April 8, 1863

Stone River, S. C,

Wednesday, April 8, 1863.

MY DEAB NICO:

I arrived here to-night at the General's headquarters and was very pleasantly received by both him and Halpine. They are both in fine health and spirits. Halpine is looking better than I ever saw him before. They asked after you. On the way down I had for compagnons de voyage Generals Vogdes and Gordon; Gordon on sick leave and Vogdes to report for duty.

I hear nothing but encouraging accounts of the fight of yesterday in Charleston harbor. General Seymour, chief of staff, says we are sure to whip them; much surer than we were before the attack. The monitors behaved splendidly. The Keokuk was sunk and the Patapsco somewhat damaged, but as a whole they encountered the furious and concentrated fire of the enemy in a style for which even our own officers had scarcely dared to hope. The attack will soon be resumed with greater confidence and greater certainty of what they are able to do than before. An expedition is on for the army from which they hope important results. The force of the enemy is much larger than ours, but not so well posted, and as they are entirely ignorant of our plans they are forced to scatter and distribute their strength so as greatly to diminish its efficiency. Our troops are in good order and fine spirits apparently. I think highly of Seymour from the way he talks; like a firm, quick and cool-headed man. On the whole, things look well, if not very brilliant.

The General says he is going to announce me to-morrow as a volunteer Aide without rank. I am glad of it as the thing stands. If I had not been published as having accepted, hesitated and rejected such an appointment, I would not now have it. But I want my abolition record clearly defined, and that will do it better than anything else in my mind and the minds of the few dozen people who know me. . . .

I wish you could be down here. You would enjoy it beyond measure. The air is like June at noon and like May at morning and evening. The scenery is tropical. The sunsets unlike anything I ever saw before. They are not gorgeous like ours, but singularly quiet and solemn. The sun goes down over the pines through a sky like ashes-of-roses, and hangs for an instant on the horizon like a bubble of blood. Then there is twilight such as you dream about. . . .

SOURCES: Clara B. Hay, Letters of John Hay and Extracts from Diary, Volume 1, p. 72-4;  Michael Burlingame, Editor, At Lincoln’s Side: John Hay’s Civil War Correspondence and Selected Writings, p. 32-3 where the entire letter appears.