Started in rain, 14
miles to St. Cloud and put up for the night. Trouble with Third about relieving
guards. Gov. Ramsey here. Cannon arrived—9-pounder. Spent the evening at
Ball's. Fort built in five days to hold 500 men, 100 feet in diameter.
SOURCE: Lewis C.
Paxson, Diary of Lewis C. Paxson: Stockton, N.J., 1862-1865, p. 4
Cloudy; rained last
night. 2 P.M.—Cold, and prospects of snow.
The news of Early's
disaster, and loss of artillery at Strasburg, is confirmed, and casts a new
vexation over the country.
Mr. M. Byrd, Selma,
Ala., is addressing some bold letters to the President on the blunders of the
administration.
Gen. Longstreet has
resumed command of the first army corps.
G. W. Custis Lee
(son of the general) has been made a major-general.
There was no
fighting below yesterday, that I have heard of.
Gold, which was $1
for $30 in Confederate States notes, commands $35 for $1 to-day, under the news
from the Valley. Yet our sagacious statesmen regard the re-election of Lincoln
(likely to follow our reverses) as favorable to independence, though it may
prolong the war. It is thought there will certainly be revolution or civil war
in the North, if the Democrats be beaten; and that will relieve us of the vast
armies precipitated on our soil. Many of the faint-hearted croakers are anxious
for peace and reconstruction.
Gen. Butler, called
“the Beast” by the press, has certainly performed a generous action. Messrs.
McRae and Henley, two government clerks in the local battalion, wandered into
the enemy's lines, and were put to work in the canal by Gen. Butler, who had
been informed that we made some prisoners taken from him work on the
fortifications. This was done but a short time, when they were relieved; and
Mr. McRae was permitted to return to the city, to learn whether the Federal
prisoners were really required to perform the labor named. No restrictions were
imposed on him, no parole required. He came with Gen. B.'s passport, but felt
in honor bound to communicate no intelligence, and voluntarily returned to
captivity. We had Federal prisoners at work, but they were
remanded to prison.
Slightly hazy and
sunshine.
Quiet, save aimless
and bootless shelling and picket firing along the lines on the south side of
the river.
Hon. Geo. Davis,
Attorney-General, to whom was referred the question of the constitutionality of
the purposed removal from office of clerks appointed to fill places
specifically created by act of Congress previous to the enactment of the
Conscript law, without there being alleged against them any misconduct,
inefficiency, dishonesty, etc., has reported that as several subsequent acts of
Congress already indicate an intention to put all capable of bearing arms in
the army, it is the duty of the President and the Secretary of War to carry out the intentions of Congress,
leaving the constitutional question to the decision of the courts! The
Constitution they swore upon the holy, etc. to support! Thus, & refugee
must either starve his wife and children by relinquishing office, or be disgraced
by appealing to the courts!
It is reported that
30,000 of the enemy crossed to this side of the river last night, and that
fighting has began at 10 A.M.; but I hear nothing save an occasional report of
cannon.
It is said brisk
skirmishing is now (12 m.) going on along the lines.
Gen. Cooper and Mr.
Secretary Seddon wants Brig.-Gen. R. (Charleston) relieved, for insulting a lady in one of his fits
of drunkenness. The President is reluctant to consent.
We have intelligence
to-day of gun-boats and transports ascending the Rappahannock River. Another
squall from that quarter!
Three P.M. The
cannonading has grown quick and terrific along the lines, below the city (north
side), with occasional discharges nearer, and farther to the left (north), as
if the enemy were attempting to flank our army.
The sounds are very
distinctly heard, the weather being damp and the wind from the southeast. We
can distinguish the bursting of the shell quickly after the discharge of the
cannon.
The firing ceased at
dark. It rains hard and steadily, now. What a life! what suffering; in mud and
water, without tents (in the trenches), burdened with wet blankets, and perhaps
without food! To-morrow, in all probability, a battle will be fought.
Gen. Lee, for
several weeks, as if aware of the impending operations in this vicinity, has
been on this side of the river, superintending in person the fortifications
multiplied everywhere for the defense of the city, while reinforcements have
been pouring in by thousands. It must be a fearful struggle, if Gen. Grant
really intends to make another effort to capture Richmond by assault! Our
works, mostly made by the negroes, under the direction of skillful engineers,
must be nearly impregnable, and the attempt to take them will involve a
prodigious expenditure of blood.
As Zollicoffer had by that afternoon thrown a good portion of his command to the north side of the river, he moved his headquarters from Mr. West's to Mill Springs.
General Shoepf became so alarmed at the movements of Zollicoffer on yesterday, that he fell back with his entire company last night to a position three miles north of Somerset.1
Fishing Creek runs south into the Cumberland five miles above Mill Springs, and lies between that place and Somerset. One road to the latter place crossed
Fishing Creek seven miles from Mill Springs, and the other
eleven. The enemy had thrown up fortifications at the more distant crossing.
1 Rebellion Records, Vol. VII., p. 476.
SOURCE: Richard R. Hancock, Hancock's Diary: Or, A History of the Second Tennessee Confederate Cavalry, p. 90-1
Our men were still very busily engaged crossing the river and intrenching (at “Beech Grove ”) on the north bank.
A cavalry scout crossed Fishing Creek at the upper crossing, passed through the fortifications on the east bank and returned without meeting any, not even a picket, of the enemy.
Bright, and very warm.
There is a report that Gen. Hood's army is at Marietta, in Sherman's rear, and it may so.
One of the clerks (Mr. Bechtel) was killed yesterday by one of the enemy's sharpshooters at Chaffin's Farm. He was standing on the parapet, looking in the direction of the enemy's pickets. He had been warned to no purpose. He leaves a wife and nine children. A subscription is handed round, and several thousand dollars will be raised. Gen. R. E. Lee was standing near when he fell.
All is quiet to-day. But they are impressing the negro men found in the streets to-day to work on the fortifications. It is again rumored that Petersburg is to be given up. I don't believe it.
Sept. 21st.
Our Reg. is still working on the
fortifications, and the work goes on well.
The Gen. is building five forts at this place, when finished they will be
impregnable The troops are coming in very
fast—we have from 10,000 to 15,000 now, and when they all get here we shall
have from 25,000 to 30,000. They we
expect to go to Arkansas and Texas where there are a few jobs to be done in the
way of fighting. Hindman is said to have
a large force somewhere south of us, and if he does not attack us soon we will
attend to him. I am anxious for this war
to close; not that I regret having enlisted to serve my country, but because I
would like to be at home with my friends.
– Published in The Union Sentinel,
Osceola, Iowa, Saturday, October 18, 1862, p. 2
To build the detached works spoken of in your note of last
evening I see no way but to divide the work between the l5th and 17th Army
Corps All other troops are too far off A heavy detail can be got to do the work
by collecting Stragglers and working them constantly under guard, and without
reference to the Corps they may belong to. I will have the ground examined with
reference to locating these works, and will be glad to have the ground
all the information you can gather by having the ground further reconnoitered
Hot and dry, but breezy.
A dispatch from Gen. Lee, 9 P.M. last evening, says nothing of moment occurred along the lines yesterday. Our loss in the unsuccessful attempt of Gen. Haygood [sic] to storm a portion of the enemy's works, on Friday, was 97 killed and wounded, and 200 missing
Gen. Hampton dispatches Gen. Lee that he attacked the enemy's cavalry in Charles City County, Friday, and drove them out of their intrenchments, pursuing them eight miles, nearly to Charles City Court House. The enemy left their killed and wounded on the ground, and strewn along the route. Gen. Lee says Gen. H. deserves much credit. The enemy (a portion of Sheridan's force) are still prevented from forming a junction with Grant.
Flour fell yesterday from $500 to $300 per barrel.
An official report shows that we lost no arms or ordnance stores of consequence at Staunton. Communications will be restored in that direction soon. The Valley and Western Virginia, being clear of the enemy, the fine crop of wheat can be gathered.
Beauregard is in disgrace, I am informed on pretty good authority; but while his humiliation is so qualified as not to be generally known, for fear of the resentment of his numerous friends, at the same time he is reticent, from patriotic motives, fearing to injure the cause.
It is stigmatized as an act of perfidy, that the Federal Government have brought here and caused to be slaughtered, some 1600 out of 1900 volunteers from the District of Columbia, who were to serve only 30 days in defense of the Federal city. At the same time our government is keeping in the service, at hard labor on the fortifications, Custis Lee's brigade of clerks, who were assured, when volunteering, that they never would be called out except to defend the fortifications of the city, built by negroes!
WILLIAMSBURG, VA.
Leaving Newport News
on the afternoon of the 21st, we made a march of about ten miles, reaching
Little Bethel just before dark, when we halted and put up in an old church
building for the night. Little Bethel contains beside the church an old grist
and saw mill, a blacksmith shop and three small houses, all in a rather
dilapidated condition. There was no enemy within 100 miles of us, but Capt.
Parkhurst, either as a matter of form or through force of habit, put out a few
pickets. The old church had long ago been stripped of its seats and pulpit, if
it ever had any, leaving the whole floor unobstructed. After supper and getting
a little rested, a dance was proposed. A gallery extended across one end, and
on the front of this the candles were thickly set, lighting up the old church
in fine style. One of our German comrades of Company G had a violin and
furnished the music. Sets were formed and the fun commenced. The pickets
outside, hearing the sounds of revelry within, left their posts and came in,
and standing their rifles in a corner threw off their equipments and joined in
the dance. The captain remonstrated at such unlawful proceedings, but the cry
was “Never mind the pickets! on with the dance! let fun be unrestrained.” The
dance was kept up until the candles burned low, when we spread our blankets and
laid down for rest.
In the morning we
found outside five men with their horses and carts, waiting to sell us oysters.
Fortunately we were the possessors of a few scraps of paper bearing the
signature of Uncle Samuel. With a portion of this paper we bought the men's
oysters, and after breakfast we chartered them to carry our knapsacks to
Yorktown, thereby nullifying the order of the great Mogul at Fortress Monroe,
and I have not the slightest doubt that if he knew of it he would hang every
one of those men for giving aid and comfort to the incorrigible.
Leaving Little
Bethel we marched over McClellan's famous corduroy road through white oak
swamp, coming out at Warwick court house. This is a county seat, containing a
small court house situated in a pretty grove of trees, a jail, church, half a
dozen houses and a blacksmith shop. We arrived at the forks of the roads, a
mile below and in full view of historic old Yorktown, about the middle of the
afternoon.
Here we were met by
an officer and commanded to halt till further orders. I thought this was as
near as they dared have us come the first day for fear the malaria would strike
us too suddenly.
From here the dim
outlines of Washington's old intrenchments could be traced and near by was what
appeared to be an angle in the line on which guns were probably mounted and
which commanded the whole open plain between here and town. Now it did not
require a great stretch of the imagination to go back to those days and see
those brave men toiling and suffering behind those works, to build up for
themselves and their posterity a country and a name. I could see in my mind the
haughty Cornwallis march out upon this plain, surrendering his army and his
sword to Washington, in the last grand act in the drama of the American revolution.
But how is it today? Yonder rebel fort tells in thunder tones how well their
degenerate sons appreciate the legacy.
About dusk an
orderly rode up, bringing an order for us to proceed to Williamsburg, some fifteen
miles further up the country. We tried to get the captain to stop here till
morning and go through the next day, but it was of no use; he had got his
orders to march and was going through tonight. I could not see that it was a
military necessity to force the march, and after we had gone three or four
miles my knapsack began to grow heavy and I grew tired. I halted by the
roadside and said I was going to put up for the night and if any one would like
to keep me company I should be pleased to have them. About twenty rallied to my
standard. After the column bad passed we stepped through a low hedge of bushes
into a small open space, surrounded by high bushes which served as a shelter
from the winds. There we spread our blankets and laid ourselves down to forget
in our slumbers the weight of our knapsacks. The stars looked down on us and
the watchful eye of the Almighty was the only sentinel.
When we awoke in the
morning the rising sun's bright ray was peeping through the bushes. The first
object which met our gaze was a lean, lank, sundy-complexioned, long-haired
native, who stood peering over the bushes at us. The first salutation that
greeted his ears was, “Who are you and what do you want?" He replied, “I
seed you was down yere, and thought I would come down and see if I could get
some 'baccer?” Looking up we saw a house out in the field some distance off,
and asked him if he resided there. He said he did. We gave him some tobacco and
inquired about the roads and distince to Williamsburg. We inquired if there
were any bush whackers about here? He said “There mought be once in a while one
found." Then we put on a ferocious look and said they had better not be
found by us unless they wished to join the antediluvian society and have their
bones scattered in every graveyard from here to Jerusalem. The old chap's eyes
stuck out and he began to edge off, thinking perhaps we had got on a
thick coat of war paint. We made our coffee and started on our
journey, and by easy stages came up with the boys in the afternoon. They had
pitched the camp and got it all fixed up and named Camp, Hancock.
I thought the
captain was as glad to see us as anyone, but he put on a stern look and inquired
where we had been and why we fell out. We told him we were tired and lay down
by the side of the road to rest and take a nap. He lectured us on the enormity
of such proceedings, telling us we had committed a very flagrant breach of good
order and military despotism. We assented to all the captain
said, but kept thinking all the time that as we were a sort of outcasts, did
not belong anywhere and were under no particular command, there wouldn't much
come of it.
SOURCE: David L.
Day, My Diary of Rambles with the 25th Mass. Volunteer Infantry, p.
111-3
A letter from Stephenson congratulating me on my election by twenty-four hundred majority. [In the] First District, Eggleston has seventeen hundred majority. Still busy on entrenchments.
Like most other Sabbaths in the army, so was this; all day busy
cleaning up the camp ground, tearing down the board shanties which former
occupants had erected and using the material for flooring in our tents. We had
our Fourth of July dinner today; bean soup, hoe cake and lemonade. Hill's Point
is not a point in the river, as the stream here runs straight, but is a bluff
some 25 feet higher than the river and about 20 rods wide. It is the terminus
of the table-land beyond, and is formed by wide, deep ravines on either side
which run back and soon ascend to the level of the table-land. Heretofore the
enemy had a habit of running batteries down here and intercepting the boats
coming up the river, forming a sort of blockade, causing our gunboats to waste
right smart of ammunition, or necessitating the marching of troops across the
country from Newbern to drive them out. During the siege last spring, they had
a powerful battery here which caused Gen. Foster a heap of trouble. Since then
he has occupied it himself. This is an intrenched camp, sporting three brass
six-pounder field pieces. When or by whom these works were built is to me
unknown, but they look like the work of the enemy. They contain a great number
of angles; commencing on the edge of the bluff next the river, they run several
rods along the edge of the ravines, then cross in front of the camp, and from
any part of the line can be got direct, cross and enfilading fires. The three
guns are in battery on the flanks and center. Major Atwood is in command, and
in his absence, Capt. Foss of company F. Such is a description of our present
abiding place.
A bright spring day.
We look for startling news from the Rappahannock in a few days. Longstreet will be there.
Gen. Lee writes that the fortifications around Richmond ought to be pushed to completion: 2000 negroes are still at work on them.
SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 2, p. 183
Work goes bravely on
at the fort; one gun mounted today and if we can have two or three days more we
shall be ready to receive company. Our little force here is being well handled,
and with the aid of the boats can make a stubborn resistance. We heard that
Gen. Spinola left Newbern with quite a force, going overland to the relief of
Gen. Foster, but when about half way there he got scared and turned back. Gen.
Foster will not compliment him very highly for that feat. I have heard a rumor
that we have had an invitation to surrender; that a flag of truce came to our
lines and requested an interview with the post commander. Col. Pickett went
out. They said something about his surrendering, when the colonel replied he
had not been in communication with his superior recently and had received no
orders to surrender, and that under the circumstances he thought it wouldn't
look hardly military to surrender without first burning a little powder over
it. He then dismissed the fag. Bravo, colonel, bravo!
GEN. FOSTER ARRIVES.
Gen. Foster arrived this morning and went to work laying out a fort and other defences which we are to build. That job done, he took companies F, I and K of the 25th and H of the 27th Massachusetts with a party of marines, and a boat howitzer (on board his boat, the John Ferrin,) and left on some sort of an excursion up the Chowan river. The general is no idler, he is always on the move and seeing that everybody else is. He is ubiquitous, turning up at any time in all parts of his domain, and keeping everybody within fifty miles on the qui vive.
SOURCE: David L. Day, My Diary of Rambles with the 25th Mass. Volunteer Infantry, p. 86
PITCHING CAMP.
We have cleared off the debris from a portion of the burnt district and pitched our camp there. The colonel might take a little more pride in showing us up to the naval officers at dress parade than he did when we were here last fall, but he is in command of the post; Lieut. Col. Moulton is in command of the regiment and he will do the honors. The 46th Massachusetts has arrived and will pitch their camp on the right of us, in the burnt district.
WORK ON THE FORT.
Work commenced today on the defences. Capt. Foster of Company D is to be superintendent and general boss. I was detailed to take command of a working party from my company. Now this was all new business to me. I knew nothing about building forts, so I stood with my men and looked on.
This was not very hard work, but after a spell the captain said, “Bring your men this way." The order was promptly responded to, and the boys set to work. I thought they worked well enough, although I noticed that the bank in front of them did not rise very fast, but I supposed that was owing to the hardness of the soil. After a while they complained of feeling tired; I told them to rest, and they squatted. After that they seemed to be tired pretty much of the time. The captain would come along and ask me why my men were not working. I would answer him that they were tired, and after resting would bundle their spades right smart. At night we had a bank thrown w about a rod long and nearly a foot high, but the boy's worked well and I know they will sleep well after it.
Companies A, E and I arrived yesterday, and also the companies of the expedition who left with the general, except company I, which remains at Edenton for a few days.
SOURCE: David L. Day, My Diary of Rambles with the 25th Mass. Volunteer Infantry, p. 86-7
Thunderbolt, Ga., January 10, '65.
We joined the brigade in the suburbs of the city, and took the shell road to this place, only four miles by land, but 18 by water. There are some fine works here, erected by the Rebels to guard the water approach to the city. I send you a little chip of a palmetto log in a Rebel work here.
SOURCE: Charles Wright Wills, Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, p. 336
Our company went to work to-day throwing up breastworks.
SOURCE: Louis Leon, Diary of a Tar Heel Confederate Soldier, p. 10
Still digging dirt.
SOURCE: Louis Leon, Diary of a Tar Heel Confederate Soldier, p. 10
With Lieut. West, I went up to the Hon. Thomas Butler King's estate, and confiscated a nice bath tub and three new windows for my hospital, which has only shutters. At four this afternoon the John Adams steamed down the bay.
SOURCE: Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Volume 43, October, 1909—June, 1910: February 1910. p. 348
