Diary of Private Daniel L. Ambrose: September 4, 1863

All quiet this morning; the companies sent out yesterday return this evening; only captured one guerrilla.

SOURCE: Daniel Leib Ambrose, History of the Seventh Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, p. 188

Diary of Private Daniel L. Ambrose: Saturday, September 12, 1863

This morning, at the sound of the bugle all are on their feet. After eating our breakfast, we move forward and pass through Adamsville at eight o'clock A. M., and taking the road leading towards Jack Creek. The flankers and scouts now and then run into skulking squads of rebels. We go into camp six miles from Jack Creek. This evening Company I is sent on a scout to Skinner's Mill, where they encounter and drive to the bush twice their number of guerrillas. The object of this expedition is to break up Newsom's conscript arrangements in West Tennessee.

SOURCE: Daniel Leib Ambrose, History of the Seventh Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, p. 189

Diary of Private Daniel L. Ambrose: Sunday, September 13, 1863

This morning by sun-rise we are moving. The advance encounters a squad of Newsom's band at Jack Creek, which is soon put to flight. One company is now left with the teams, and the command dashes forward, but soon comes to a halt. A dust is discovered ahead. One company is dismounted and deployed forward, but no enemy is seen; all are now far away in the brush. The regiment now hastens on as fast as possible to Johnson's mill. Here, also, our advance encounters a lurking band, which quickly makes its exit. We halt here for dinner, after which the soldiers commence on the mill, and soon it is destroyed. No more guerrilla bands will ever grind their corn here. The command is now divided, and ordered to leave Johnson's mill in different directions, and after scouring the woods for miles around, the different detachments and companies concentrate, but as soon as done a squad of guerrillas dashes across the road and fire into our rear as they pass. But their buck and small shot pass harmlessly over our heads. The regiment moves on slowly and camps for the night on Forked Deer, five miles from Henderson. Tonight our pickets decoy and capture a rebel Major, a conscript officer.

SOURCE: Daniel Leib Ambrose, History of the Seventh Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, p. 189-90

Diary of Private Daniel L. Ambrose: Monday, July 27, 1863

We move early this morning; cross Jack Creek about noon—a noted guerrilla resort. As the rear was crossing, some of the flankers were fired upon by the bushwhackers, and in vain were our efforts to capture them, they having made good their escape into the brush. We move on and arrive at Lexington about four o'clock, and go into camp near the town. Everything looks dreary and desolate here; we see the effects of war's ruthless hand everywhere. The male inhabitants have nearly all cast their destiny with the South in her desperate struggle for power. Chivalry's daughters seem to rule the place, exhibiting a vaunting defiance. One boasted that no Yankee vandal had ever soiled her carpet. A cavalryman hearing her boast, soon dismounts and presently we hear the music of huge spurs and clanking sabre coming from the shaded corridor; we now hear in the front room sharp and bitter invectives; they come from fair chivalry's wrathful tongue, but the stoical and stern soldier heeds them not, but calmly and coolly he makes his exit, rides to camp, lights his pipe, sits down and rehearses to his comrades his adventure through one of chivalry's gorgeous mansions.

SOURCE: Daniel Leib Ambrose, History of the Seventh Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, p. 181-2

Diary of Private Daniel L. Ambrose: Monday, June 15, 1863

The late raid of the dashing Cornyn to Florence, Alabama, is attracting considerable attention. Though it may be diverging, we would ask the reader to indulge us in recording here Colonel Cornyn's laconic letter, written while at Florence to Colonel Biffle, commanding forces C. S. A., which is as follows:

COLONEL BIFFLE:

Sir—Your pompous demand for the surrender of one squadron of cavalry (Fifteenth Illinois), occupying this place, and your cowardly retreat before you received Captain Carmichael's reply, suggested the propriety of visiting upon the traitor citizens here who tried to assist you in the capture of those gallant Illinois boys, a little legitimate revenge of my government; therefore, in the name of our glorious Union, I hereby make good the grand exordium of the declaration of independence, i. e., “that all men are created free and equal," and to-day I free and take with me from this place, every colored creature who inherits with the human race everywhere the image of his Maker and an immortal soul.

FLORENCE M. CORNYN,        

Colonel Commanding Cavalry Brigade.

An officer accompanying the raid, rehearsed to us to-day the following conversation held between Colonel Cornyn and the Rev. R. A. Y., one of Alabama's D. Ds., formerly of St. Louis:

Y. Do you not think it horrible to shell a town occupied by women and children?

Cornyn. Do you not think it horrible for a rebel Colonel and a traitor to seek a town and its houses to make breastworks and cover for his cowardly traitors from which to shell and shoot the brave and generous patriots of this land of liberty, who are willing to meet their country's enemies in open fields every hour of the night and day?

Y. I don't.

Cornyn. You lie, d---n you! You, the offspring of some low white libertine and a debauched Indian squaw, are trying to establish a distinction in favor of yourself, a child of shame, and the negro, a race from the hand of God, bearing his image and ennobled by an immortal soul. The negro is your superior.

Y. Are my wife and children safe while your forces hold this town?

Cornyn. Yes; the brave are always generous, and my soldiers are among the brightest examples on this planet.

An order comes to the Seventh this evening, to the effect that they are to be mounted on “the meek and patient mules.” The guerrillas in West Tennessee will be hunted down now.

SOURCE: Daniel Leib Ambrose, History of the Seventh Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, p. 172-3

Diary of Private Daniel L. Ambrose: Sunday, June 28, 1863

This morning companies F, G, H, I and K, mounted and equipped, under the command of Colonel Rowett leave Corinth. We move out on the Purdy road; our mules travel finely; at noon we halt and feed our mules out of a rebel wheat field, after which we pass on through Purdy. This town shows marks of change since we last passed through it. War's scourge has been felt here; some of the finest mansions have been laid in ruins, which is the legitimate vengeance of the loyal Tennessee cavalry. Passing on some miles farther, we are informed by our guide, Captain Aldridge, a loyal Tennesseean, that we are now two miles from Colonel Horton's, one of the guerrilla leaders of West Tennessee, and that in all probability he is now at home; therefore, Colonel Rowett, with an intent if possible to capture him, makes a disposition of the companies, directing them to file around in different directions and surround his house. The house is circumvented, but no Horton can be found. It is night now, and we go into camp on the plantation; a descent is made upon the corn pens, and also on the garden and chickens. These proceedings, of course, embitter the family against the soldiers. The old lady's ever ready weapon is soon plying; she talks bitterly, using the words "vandals," "ruffians,” and “black abolitionists,” freely. Finding that her invective tongue proves powerless, she gathers a hoe, attacks the men, and of course drives them from the yard ; then commences on the mules tied to the yard fence and after beating them awhile and seeing Colonel Rowett passing through the yard, she makes an assault upon him, attacking him simultaneously with her hoe and wrathful invectives. “You the leader of these vandals, clear out of my yard.” The affable Colonel soon succeeded in quieting her, and we believe he succeeded in persuading the old lady to give him his supper. After the camp fires had gone out, a company of volunteers, under the command of Captain Clark, of Company D, are sent out, and guided by Captain Aldridge, they visit every guerrilla house in the country and succeed in capturing a Captain from Bragg's army.

SOURCE: Daniel Leib Ambrose, History of the Seventh Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, p. 174-6

Diary of Private Daniel L. Ambrose: June 29, 1863

This morning the command proceeds on to Cotton Ridge, where it is joined by Captains Clark and Aldridge, who were sent out last night on the hunt of guerrillas. From this ridge we move in the direction of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. In the evening we strike the railroad at Henderson, but no guerrillas are found, all having fled to the woods. The command goes into camp on a plantation near Henderson. We fare sumptuously to-night; hen-roosts and potato patches at our disposal. We sleep in an old cotton gin; the cotton is strewn everywhere to make beds.

SOURCE: Daniel Leib Ambrose, History of the Seventh Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, p. 176

Diary of Private Daniel L. Ambrose: Tuesday, June 30, 1863

This morning we take the road for Bethel, but after riding about six miles some Union citizens come riding after us at full speed, and report a company of guerrillas at Montezuma, about four miles from Henderson. The Colonel immediately countermarches the command, and hastens back, and deploys and makes a charge through the town. But no rebels; all have fled. It is now noon. Colonel Rowett divides the command into small squads, and putting them in charge of our guide, Captain Aldridge, they are sent to the rebel houses to get their dinners, and as a matter of course the boys are supplied with the requisite necessaries, though they were furnished with reluctance. After dinner Colonel Rowett proceeds toward Fort Hooker, where we arrive about dark and go into camp. Nothing found to-day. Everything in the shape of an armed rebel flees away into the brush.

SOURCE: Daniel Leib Ambrose, History of the Seventh Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, p. 176

Diary of Sergeant David L. Day: April 18, 1864

GUERILLA HUNTING.

The country above here and that part of it lying between the Suffolk and James rivers is a good deal infected with guerrilla bands. It was thought best to send out in different directions three or four regiments to stir them up. In accordance with that arrangement we left our mud hole early in the morning of the 13th going aboard a big double-ender steamer at Portsmouth. In company with a small gunboat we steamed up the James river some 20 miles, when turning to the left we entered a small creek; following this a few miles we came to a village called Smithfield.

We landed here about noon and marched up into the street. The village seemed to be deserted, scarcely any one in sight. We had not been here many minutes before Col. Pickett was met by a good-looking elderly gentleman, who seemed to be considerably agitated about something. He wished the colonel to send a guard to his house, as he feared the negroes would take too many liberties with him during our stay. The colonel inquired if there were many Confederates about here. The old gentleman replied that he had seen none recently, and just then the report of rifles was heard up the creek. At this the colonel in a very abrupt and ungentlemanly manner, said: “D--n you and your house! Forward, march!" The old gentleman turned away sorrowfully, and started for home. This man's name was Atkinson and he was formerly a member of Congress.

A little farther up the street we made another halt to fix on some plan of action. While waiting here I went into a house. There was no one at home, but from some books and papers lying around, I learned that its occupant was a namesake of mine, a Mr. Day, a lawyer by profession. I was disappointed in not finding the 'squire at home. Mrs. Day had just finished ironing and her clothes lay on a table nice and clean. I noticed among them some towels, and being short of these, I borrowed a pair. I left my card expressing regrets at the 'squire's absence and said if he would send me his address, I should like to correspond with him.

Just out the village the roads forked. We halted a minute to determine which one to take, and while waiting a darky came along driving a pair of bulls hitched to a cart. Not being accustomed to seeing so grand a display, the animals became frightened and balked. The darky standing in the cart applied the whip and yelled at them. They began to bellow, and sticking their tails straight up in the air, went bellowing down the road at a gait which would have shamed a locomotive. We went out on the Suffolk road about five miles, where we met some scouts who said there was a regiment ahead of us. We then returned to Smithfield and soon after we were joined by the 9th New Jersey, who informed us that the 23d Massachusetts had had a brush with a party of guerrillas and bad driven them towards Suffolk; those were the troops who were ahead of us when we met the scouts. The next morning on going down to the boats we flag spread over something on the deck of the gunboat, and learned that it covered the body of a lieutenant of marines who was shot while going in a boat up the creek; those were the shots we heard. We arrived back to Camp Wellington in the afternoon.

SOURCE: David L. Day, My Diary of Rambles with the 25th Mass. Volunteer Infantry, p. 134-5

Diary of Private Daniel L. Ambrose: April 14, 1863

Remaining in camp at Corinth without anything of note occurring until the evening of the 14th, we receive marching orders. The guerrilla Roddy, having been hovering around Glendale and Iuka, committing unwarranted depredations for some time, the rumors this evening, confirmed by general indications are, that General Dodge is about to start on an expedition against him, and the camps seem in a bustle all around Corinth this evening.

SOURCE: Daniel Leib Ambrose, History of the Seventh Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, p. 146

Diary of Sergeant David L. Day: February 5, 1864

CAMP WEST.

Yesterday afternoon Camp Hancock became a thing of the past. Under command of Major Mulcay, we marched on to the parade ground of the 139th New York during their dress parade, and before it was dismissed, the major marched us up and introduced us to Col. Roberts. The colonel received us cordially, and complimented us for our soldierly bearing and the good appearance of our arms, equipments and uniforms. We then listened to the reading of an order, assigning us temporarily for duty to this command. A gleam of light now dawned on us. Col. Roberts again addressed us, saying we were here only during the absence of our own regiment, and would hold the same rank and perform the same duties we had done in our own regiment. He added: “Although among strangers, with not a single officer of your own, I know by your appearance and from what I have heard of you, that you will as willingly observe your orders and perform your duties as cheerfully as you have done heretofore.” Then addressing his own regiment, he said: “Receive these men cordially, sharing with them your quarters and blankets, and in all ways treating them as you would like to be treated under similar circumstances.” We made the welkin ring with cheers for Col. Roberts and his command, which were responded to by the 139th. After this another order was read, stating that the long expected march would commence tomorrow morning, the 6th. Col. Roberts, after addressing a few remarks to his own regiment, turned to us and said: “To you of the 25th Massachusetts, I have nothing to say. You know your duty and I am satisfied you will perform it.”

We were then divided off into parties which would equalize the companies of the regiment; the balance, about 25, were sent to Fort Magruder, which is only a short distance away. A dozen others and myself were assigned to company I, Capt. Phillips. The boys were warmly welcomed, and all set about introducing themselves to each other and getting acquainted. This camp is constructed of small log houses, with board doors and glass windows. The houses are furnished with stoves, chairs, stools, table and sleeping bunks. The officers’ quarters are built of logs with the bark left on, and are large and roomy. Some of them are two stories, others are neat little cottages built in Gothic style, and all present a neat, attractive and artistic appearance. These houses are all supplied and furnished with home comforts, some of them containing cabinet organs. The officers have with them their wives, sisters and other female relatives, who fancy the romance and rough experience of a soldiers' camp. This is a Brooklyn regiment; it has been out but little more than a year and has been stationed here all this time, so the men have had the opportunity to fix up their camp to suit them. Their first and only service was with Gen. Dix, when he went up the country towards Richmond in the fall of 1862. Since then they have done picket duty around here, and some scouting up in the woods beyond the town.

They seem to have a mortal horror of bushwhackers, and say the woods above here are full of them, with some guerilla bands. It would seem from what these fellows say that the principle business of these guerilla bands is to look out for prisoners escaping from Richmond, and in connection with bushwhackers, to harass small parties of troops who are sent out to look after them. The scouting parties which go out seem to think that the proper way to deal with bush whackers is to capture them, but scarcely a party goes out without bringing back one or more of their own number either dead or wounded. It is only two days ago I saw a funeral from the camp of the New York First Mounted Rifles of a man who had been killed up there. I tell the Brooklyn boys that the best use a bushwhacker can be put to is to make a target of him, and be sure to hit the bull's eye when you draw a bead on him; never make a prisoner of one. The Brooklynites are asking our boys a thousand questions, and the latter are telling them blood and thunder stories till the former have come to think we are the veritable heroes of Waterloo.

Our friends here seem to be anxious and troubled about the morrow, wondering what kind of a scrape they are going to get into and whether they will come out all right, and are probing to the bottom the dark side of the matter. I try to cheer them up by telling them that from what experience I have had in this business I am not anticipating much of a storm. It has been too long underway and has been too well advertised; we may have a skirmish, nothing more. If the force around here is all that is going, we shall have to look out and not get into much of a skirmish.

The mystery which has for so many days hung over us is at last cleared up, and Gen. Butler, after finding we were not to be driven nor frightened, has in his order assigning us temporarily for duty, acknowledged he was exceeding his authority in threatening us with permanent assignment and taking our warrants from us.

If it had been some other general who didn't know any better I should think he was relenting of his shabby treatment of us, but Gen. Butler knew better, and that makes his treatment of us all the more reprehensible. I presume we shall have to get ourselves and knapsacks back to the News the same way we got here, although there are boats running round twice and three times a week.

SOURCE: David L. Day, My Diary of Rambles with the 25th Mass. Volunteer Infantry, p. 115-7

Major-General Ulysses S. Grant: General Orders No. 50, August 1, 1863

GENERAL ORDERS, No. 50.}

HDQRS. DEPT. OF THE TENNESSEE,        

Vicksburg, Miss., August 1, 1863.

I. All regularly organized bodies of the enemy having been driven from those parts of Kentucky and Tennessee west of the Tennessee River, and from all of Mississippi west of the Mississippi Central Railroad, and it being to the interest of those districts not to invite the presence of armed bodies of men among them, it is announced that the most rigorous penalties will hereafter be inflicted upon the following classes of prisoners, to wit: All irregular bodies of cavalry not mustered and paid by the Confederate authorities; all persons engaged in conscripting, enforcing the conscription, or in apprehending deserters, whether regular or irregular; all citizens encouraging or aiding the same; and all persons detected in firing upon unarmed transports.

It is not contemplated that this order shall affect the treatment due to prisoners of war, Captured within the districts named, when they are members of legally organized companies, and when their acts are in accordance with the usages of civilized warfare.

II. The citizens of Mississippi within the limits above described are called upon to pursue their peaceful avocations, in obedience to the laws of the United States. Whilst doing so in good faith, all United States forces are prohibited from molesting them in any way. It is earnestly recommended that the freedom of negroes be acknowledged, and that, instead of compulsory labor, contracts upon fair terms be entered into between the former masters and servants, or between the latter and such other persons as may be willing to give them employment. Such a system as this, honestly followed, will result in substantial advantages to all parties.

All private property will be respected except when the use of it is necessary for the Government, in which case it must be taken under the direction of a corps commander, and by a proper detail under charge of a commissioned officer, with specific instructions to seize certain property and no other. A staff officer of the quartermaster's or subsistence department will in each instance be designated to receipt for such property as may be seized, the property to be paid for at the end of the war, on proof of loyalty, or on proper adjustment of the claim, under such regulations or laws as may hereafter be established. All property seized under this order must be taken up on returns by the officer giving receipts, and disposed of in accordance with existing regulations.

III. Persons having cotton or other produce not required by the army, will be allowed to bring the same to any military post within the State of Mississippi, and abandon it to the agent of the Treasury Department at said post, to be disposed of in accordance with such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may establish. At posts where there is no such agent the post quartermaster will receive all such property, and, at the option of the owner, hold it till the arrival of the agent, or send it to Memphis, directed to Capt. A. R. Eddy, assistant quartermaster, who will turn it over to the properly authorized agent at that place.

IV. Within the county of Warren, laid waste by the long presence of contending armies, the following rules to prevent suffering will be observed:

Major-General Sherman, commanding the Fifteenth Army Corps, and Major-General McPherson, commanding the Seventeenth Army Corps, will each designate a commissary of subsistence, who will issue articles of prime necessity to all destitute families calling for them, under such restrictions for the protection of the Government as they may deem necessary. Families who are able to pay for the provisions drawn will in all cases be required to do so.

V. Conduct disgraceful to the American name has been frequently reported to the major-general commanding, particularly on the part of portions of the cavalry. Hereafter, if the guilty parties cannot be reached, the commanders of regiments and detachments will be held responsible, and those who prove themselves unequal to the task of preserving discipline in their commands will be promptly reported to the War Department for muster-out. Summary punishment must be inflicted upon all officers and soldiers apprehended in acts of violence or lawlessness.

By order of Maj. Gen. U.S. Grant:

T. S. BOWERS,        

Acting Assistant Adjutant-General.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 24, Part 3 (Serial No. 38), p. 570-1

Diary of Private Daniel L. Ambrose: August 7, 1862

[T]he regiment is ordered to advance a short distance and clear off a new camping ground. In the evening we notice some of the Seventh boys escorting in from the picket line a squad of guerrillas. They are taken to Corinth that they may have their names registered and obtain lodgings at the Military Hotel.

SOURCE: Daniel Leib Ambrose, History of the Seventh Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, p. 83-4

Major-General Philip H. Sheridan to Brevet Major-General Wesley Merritt, November 2, 1864

HEADQUARTERS MIDDLE MILITARY DIVISION,               

November 27, 1864.

Bvt. Maj. Gen. WESLEY MERRITT,

Commanding First Cavalry Division:

GENERAL: You are hereby directed to proceed to-morrow morning at 7 o'clock with the two brigades of your division now in camp to the east side of the Blue Ridge, via Ashby's Gap, and operate against the guerrillas in the district of country bounded on the south by the line of the Manassas Gap Railroad as far east as White Plains, on the east by the Bull Run range, on the west by the Shenandoah River, and on the north by the Potomac. This section has been the hotbed of lawless bands, who have, from time to time, depredated upon small parties on the line of army communications, on safe guards left at houses, and on all small parties of our troops. Their real object is plunder and highway robbery. To clear the country of these parties that are bringing destruction upon the innocent as well as their guilty supporters by their cowardly acts, you will consume and destroy all forage and subsistence, burn all barns and mills and their contents, and drive off all stock in the region the boundaries of which are above described. This order must be literally executed, bearing in mind, however, that no dwellings are to be burned and that no personal violence be offered to the citizens. The ultimate results of the guerrilla system of warfare is the total destruction of all private rights in the country occupied by such parties. This destruction may as well commence at once, and the responsibility of it must rest upon the authorities at Richmond, who have acknowledged the legitimacy of guerrilla bands. The injury done this army by them is very slight. The injury they have indirectly inflicted upon the people and upon the rebel army may be counted by millions. The Reserve Brigade of your division will move to Snickersville on the 29th. Snickersville should be your point of concentration, and the point from which you should operate in destroying toward the Potomac. Four days' subsistence will be taken by the command. Forage can be gathered from the country through which you pass. You will return to your present camp, via Snicker's Gap, on the fifth day.

By command of Maj. Gen. P. H. Sheridan:

JAS. W. FORSYTH,             

Lieutenant-Colonel and Chief of Staff.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 43, Part 1 (Serial No. 91), p. 679

Major-General Philip H. Sheridan to Lieutenant-General Ulysses S. Grant, October 7, 1864—9 p.m.

WOODSTOCK, October 7, 1864—9 p.m.                

(Received 9th.)

I have the honor to report my command at this point to-night. I commenced moving back from Port Republic, Mount Crawford, Bridgewater, and Harrisonburg yesterday morning. The grain and forage in advance of these points up to Staunton had previously been destroyed. In moving back to this point the whole country from the Blue Ridge to the North Mountains has been made untenable for a rebel army. I have destroyed over 2,000 barns filled with wheat, hay, and farming implements; over seventy mills filled with flour and wheat; have driven in front of the army over 4[,000] head of stock, and have killed and issued to the troops not less than 3,000 sheep. This destruction embraces the Luray Valley and Little Fort Valley, as well as the main valley. A large number of horses have been obtained, a proper estimate of which I cannot now make. Lieut. John R. Meigs, my engineer officer, was murdered beyond Harrisonburg, near Dayton. For this atrocious act all the houses within an area of five miles were burned. Since I came into the Valley, from Harper's Ferry up to Harrisonburg, every train, every small party, and every straggler has been bushwhacked by people, many of whom have protection papers from commanders who have been hitherto in this valley. From the vicinity of Harrisonburg over 400 wagon-loads of refugees have been sent back to Martinsburg; most of these people were Dunkers and had been conscripted. The people here are getting sick of the war; heretofore they have had no reason to complain, because they have been living in great abundance. I have not been followed by the enemy up to this point, with the exception of a small force of rebel cavalry that showed themselves some distance behind my rear guard to-day. A party of 100 of the Eighth Ohio Cavalry, which I had stationed at the bridge over the North Shenandoah, near Mount Jackson, was attacked by McNeill, with seventeen men; report they were asleep, and the whole party dispersed or captured. I think that they will all turn up; I learn that fifty-six of them have reached Winchester. McNeill was mortally wounded and fell into our hands. This was fortunate, as he was the most daring and dangerous of all the bushwhackers in this section of the country. I would have preferred sending troops to you by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad; it would have been the quickest and most concealed way of sending them. The keeping open of the road to Front Royal will require large guards to protect it against a very small number of partisan troops. It also obliges me to have a pontoon train, if it is to be kept open, to bridge the Shenandoah and keep up communication with Winchester. However, in a day or two I can tell better. I sent a party of cavalry through Thornton's Gap, and directed the balance of the division of cavalry which I have left in the Valley to take position at Millwood, occupying Chester Gap and Front Royal. Thornton's Gap I have given up, as of no value. With this disposition of forces, I will move infantry round the mountains, via Strasburg, as soon as possible. To-morrow I will continue the destruction of wheat, forage, &c., down to Fisher's Hill. When this is completed the Valley, from Winchester up to Staunton, ninety-two miles, will have but little in it for man or beast. In previous dispatches I have used "lower Valley" when I should have said "upper Valley," or, in other words, in my last dispatch I intended to say that the grain and forage from Staunton up to Lexington had been sent to Richmond, and that the grain and forage from Staunton to Strasburg had been left for the wintering of Early's army. Yesterday Colonel Powell captured a guerrilla camp on the mountains, with ten wagons and teams.

P. H. SHERIDAN,                

Major-General.

 Lieutenant-General GRANT.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 43, Part 1 (Serial No. 91), p. 30-1

Major-General Philip H. Sheridan to Lieutenant-General Ulysses S. Gant, August 19, 1864 – 10:30 p.m.

CHARLESTOWN, August 19, 1864—10.30 p.m.

Lieutenant-General GRANT:

All the information received to-day shows a large concentration of the enemy at Winchester. I receive constant reports of the passage of troops across to this Valley from Culpeper. I have taken the defensive until their strength is more fully developed. They have made no attempt to pass down the Valley to Martinsburg, which I hold with a small force of cavalry. If they cross the Potomac they expose their rear and I will pitch into them. I destroyed everything that was eatable south of Winchester, and they will have to haul supplies from well up toward Staunton. Our loss at Winchester will be about 200. Guerrillas give me great annoyance, but I am quietly disposing of numbers of them. The enemy appears to be uncertain as to what course to pursue. The intention so far as I can learn was to send a column direct from Culpeper to the Potomac and Early to advance at the same time from Martinsburg. This was frustrated by Early being compelled to fall back and your operations on the north side of the James. I still think that two divisions of infantry have come here and Fitz Lee's cavalry. My force will have to be weakened to supply the place of the 100-days' men serving at Harper's Ferry and in West Virginia. Grover has joined me. I now can calculate on bringing into action about 22,000 or 23,000 infantry and about 8,000 cavalry.

Respectfully,

P. H. SHERIDAN,                

Major-General.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 43, Part 1 (Serial No. 90), p. 841

Lieutenant-Colonel John S. Mosby to General Robert E. Lee, October 29, 1864

NEAR MIDDLEBURG, October 29, 1864.

General R. E. LEE,

Commanding Army of Northern Virginia:

GENERAL: I desire to bring through you to the notice of the Government the brutal conduct of the enemy manifested toward citizens of this district since their occupation of the Manassas road. When they first advanced up the road we smashed up one of their trains, killing and wounding a large number. In retaliation they arrested a large number of citizens living along the line, and have been in the habit of sending an installment of them on each train. As my command has done nothing contrary to the usages of war it seems to me that some attempt at least ought to be made to prevent a repetition of such barbarities. During my absence from my command the enemy captured six of my men, near Front Royal; these were immediately hung by order and in the presence of General Custer. They also hung another lately in Rappahannock. It is my purpose to hang an equal number of Custer's men whenever I capture them. There was passed by the last U.S. Congress a bill of pains and penalties against guerrillas, and as they profess to consider my men within the definition of the term, I think it would be well to come to some understanding with the enemy in reference to them. The bearer of this, my adjutant, will give all the information you desire concerning the enemy in this county. Of course I did not allow the conduct of the enemy toward citizens to deter me from the use of any legitimate weapon against them, but after throwing off the train they guarded the road so heavily that no opportunities were offered for striking any successful blow, and I thought I would be more usefully employed in annoying Sheridan's communications. I received the list of deserters you sent me. I will do what I can toward arresting them, but none are with my command.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

JNO. S. MOSBY,                  

Lieutenant-Colonel.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 43, Part 1 (Serial No. 91), p. 909-10

Major-General William T. Sherman to Major-General Henry W. Halleck, July 14, 1862

MOSCOW, July 14, 1862.

General HALLECK:

Yesterday one of our forage trains, guarded by fifty cavalry, was fired on by a party that immediately fled, having killed 1 man and wounded 3 of ours. The attacking party was composed of horsemen, but their dress was not clearly seen in the ambush. I believe they were citizens hastily called together to fire on the train as it was returning loaded, and have sent a strong party to bring in twenty-five of the most prominent of the vicinity, each with a horse, saddle and bridle, whom I wish to send to La Grange and thence under guard to Columbus by to-morrow's train. I am satisfied we have no other remedy for this ambush firing than to hold the neighborhood fully responsible, though the punishment may fall on the wrong parties. The scene of the occurrence was seven miles out, south of Wolf River, and two miles and a half from where I have a regiment on picket.

W. T. SHERMAN,                

Major-General.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series II, Volume 4 (Serial No. 117), p. 211

Major-General William T. Sherman to Salmon P. Chase, August 11, 1862

HEADQUARTERS FIFTH DIVISION,                 

MEMPHIS, TENN., August 11, 1862.

Hon. S. P. CHASE, Secretary of the Treasury.

SIR: Your letter of August 2d, just received, invites my discussion of the cotton question.

I will write plainly and slowly, because I know you have no time to listen to trifles. This is no trifle; when one nation is at war with another, all the people of the one are enemies of the other; then the rules are plain and easy of understanding. Most unfortunately, the war in which we are now engaged has been complicated with the belief on the one hand that all on the other are not enemies. It would have been better if, at the outset this mistake had not been made, and it is wrong longer to be misled by it. The Government of the United States may now safely proceed on the proper rule that all in the South are enemies of all in the North; and not only are they unfriendly, but all who can procure arms now bear them as organized regiments or as guerrillas. There is not a garrison in Tennessee where a man can go beyond the sight of the flagstaff without being shot or captured. It so happened that these people had cotton, and, whenever they apprehended our large armies would move, they destroyed the cotton in the belief that, of course, we would seize it and convert it to our use. They did not and could not dream that we would pay money for it. It had been condemned to destruction by their own acknowledged government, and was therefore lost to their people; and could have been, without injustice, taken by us and sent away, either as absolute prize of war or for future compensation. But the commercial enterprise of the Jews soon discovered that ten cents would buy a pound of cotton behind our army, that four cents would take it to Boston, where they could receive thirty cents in gold. The bait was too tempting, and it spread like fire when here they discovered that salt, bacon, powder, firearms, percussion caps, etc., were worth as much as gold; and, strange to say, this traffic was not only permitted but encouraged. Before we in the interior could know it hundreds, yea thousands, of barrels of salt and millions of dollars had been disbursed, and I have no doubt that Bragg's army at Tupelo, and Van Dom’s at Vicksburg, received enough salt to make bacon, without which they could not have moved their armies in mass, and from ten to twenty thousand fresh arms and a due supply of cartridges have also been got, I am equally satisfied. As soon as got to Memphis, having seen the effect in the interior, I ordered (only as to my command) that gold, silver, and Treasury notes were contraband of war, and should not go into the interior, where all were hostile. It is idle to talk about Union men here: many want peace, and fear war and its results, but all prefer a Southern, independent government, and are fighting or working for it. Every gold dollar that was spent for cotton was sent to the seaboard to be exchanged for banknotes and Confederate scrip, which will buy goods here and are taken in ordinary transactions. I therefore required cotton to be paid for in such notes, by an obligation to pay at the end of the war, or by a deposit of the price in the hands of a trustee—viz., the United States quartermaster. Under these rules cotton is being obtained about as fast as by any other process, and yet the enemy receives no “aid or comfort.” Under the “gold” rule the country people who had concealed their cotton from the burners, and who openly scorned our greenbacks, were willing enough to take Tennessee money, which will buy their groceries; but now that trade is to be encouraged and gold paid out, I admit that cotton will be sent in by our own open enemies, who can make better use of gold than they can of their hidden bales of cotton.

I may not appreciate the foreign aspect of the question, but my views on this may be ventured. If England ever threatens war because we don't furnish her cotton, tell her plainly if she can't employ and feed her own people to send them here, where they can not only earn an honest living, but soon secure independence by moderate labor. We are not bound to furnish her cotton. She has more reason to fight the South for burning that cotton than us for not shipping it. To aid the South on this ground would be hypocrisy which the world would detect at once. Let her make her ultimatum, and there are enough generous minds in Europe that will counteract in the balance. Of course her motive is to cripple a power that rivals her in commerce and manufactures that threaten even to usurp her history. In twenty more years of prosperity it will require a close calculation to determine whether England, her laws and history, claim for a home the continent of America or the isle of Britain. Therefore, finding us in a death struggle for existence, she seems to seek a quarrel to destroy both parts in detail.

Southern people know this full well, and will only accept the alliance of England in order to get arms and manufactures in exchange for their cotton. The Southern Confederacy will accept no other mediation, because she knows full well that in old England her slaves and slavery will receive no more encouragement than in New England.

France certainly does not need our cotton enough to disturb her equilibrium, and her mediation would be entitled to a more respectful consideration than on the part of her present ally. But I feel assured the French will not encourage rebellion and secession anywhere as a political doctrine. Certainly all the German states must be our ardent friends, and, in case of European intervention, they could not be kept down.

With great respect, your obedient servant,

W. T. SHERMAN, Major-General.

SOURCES: William T. Sherman, Memoirs of General William T. Sherman, by Himself, Volume 1, p. 266-8; Manning F. Force, General Sherman, 92-4.

Major-General William T. Sherman to Major-General Ulysses S. Grant, August 17, 1862

HEADQUARTERS FIFTH DIVISION,                 

Memphis, August 17, 1862.

Major-General GRANT, Corinth:

DEAR SIR: A letter from you of August 4, asking me to write more freely and fully on all matters of public interest, did not reach me till yesterday.

I think since the date of that letter you have received from me official reports and copies of orders telling almost everything of interest hereabouts; but I will with pleasure take every occasion to advise you of everything that occurs here.

Your order of arrest of newspaper correspondent is executed, and he will be sent to Alton by the first opportunity. He sends you by mail to-day a long appeal and has asked me to stay proceedings till you can be heard from. I have informed him I would not do so; that persons writing over false names were always suspected by honorable men, and that all I could hold out to him was that you might release him if the dishonest editor who had substituted his newspaper name to the protection of another would place himself in prison in his place. I regard all these newspaper harpies as spies and think they could be punished as such.

I have approved the arrest of the captain and seizure of the steamboat Saline for carrying salt down the river without permit and changing it off for cotton. I will have the captain tried by a military commission for aiding and abetting the public enemy by furnishing them salt wherewith to cure bacon, a contraband article; also for trafficking on the river without license or permit. I hope the court will adopt my views and stop this nefarious practice. What use in carrying on war while our people are supplying arms and the sinews of war? We have succeeded in seizing a good deal of Confederate clothing, percussion caps, &c., some mails, &c.

At our last regular muster I caused all absentees to be reported “deserted,” whereby they got no pay; but inasmuch as the order for the muster for to-morrow, August 18, is universal, I will have the muster to-morrow and all absent then will be treated as deserters, and I will remit the former penalties as they are incurred under my orders.

I have sent out several infantry parties, as also cavalry, and am certain there is nothing but guerrillas between this and Senatobia and Tallahatchie. All the people are now guerrillas, and they have a perfect understanding. When a small body gets out they hastily assemble and attack, but when a large body moves out they scatter and go home.

Colonel Jackson commands at Senatobia, Jeff. Thompson having been ordered away. Villepigue is at Abbeville Station, 18 miles south of Holly Springs. They have guards all along the railroad to Grenada and cavalry everywhere. I think their purpose is to hold us and Curtis here while they mass against you and Buell or New Orleans. Price has been reported coming here, but of this we know nothing. If he comes he can and will take care that we know nothing of it till the last moment. I feel certain that no force save guerrillas have thus far passed north toward McClernand.

All the people here were on the qui vive for Baton Rouge and Nashville, but there seems to be a lull in their talk. I find them much more resigned and less presumptuous than at first. Your orders about property and mine about "niggers" make them feel that they can be hurt, and they are about as sensitive about their property as Yankees. I believe in universal confiscation and colonization. Some Union people have been expelled from Raleigh. I have taken some of the richest rebels and will compel them to buy and pay for all the land, horses, cattle, and effects, as well as damages, and let the Union owner deed the property to one or more of them. This they don't like at all. I do not exact the oath universally, but assume the ground that all within our lines are American citizens, and if they do any act or fail in any duty required of them as such then they can and will be punished as spies.

Instead of furnishing a permanent provost guard I give Colonel Anthony two good officers to assist him and change the regiment weekly. All are in tents and have their transportation ready to move. I am also in tents. I think 4,000 men could land opposite Helena, march rapidly to Panola, destroy that bridge, then to Oxford and Abbeville and destroy that, thus making the Tallahatchie the northern limits of their railroad. Afterward, Grenada, Jackson, and Meridian must be attacked. Break up absolutely and effectually the railroad bridges, mills, and everything going to provide their armies and they must feel it. The maintenance of this vast army must soon reduce their strength.

The lines of the Mississippi must be under one command. As it is, Curtis and I are perfectly independent of each other. He was here the other day. I know him well; he is very jealous of interference and will do nothing at another's suggestion. If you want him to do anything you must get Halleck to order it. Fort progresses too slow; 1,300 negroes at work on it. One installment of guns received; balance expected every hour. Weather heretofore unbearably hot, but now pretty cool.

Yours, truly,

W. T. SHERMAN,                

Major-general.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 17, Part 2 (Serial No. 25), p. 178-9