Diary of John Beauchamp Jones: October 19, 1864

Bright and beautiful.

Still all quiet below, the occasional bombarding near Petersburg being beyond our hearing.

Yesterday, Gen. Preston, a millionaire, who can stalk stifly anywhere, had an interview with the President, who admitted that he had dictated the General Orders—“76,” “77,” “78,”—rushing almost everybody into the army, but that it was not his meaning to take the whole business of conscription from “the Bureau.” et Gen. P., the superintendent, thinks the reading of the orders will admit of that construction, and he has written to the President asking another order, defining his position, etc., else his occupation is gone.

The President cannot afford to lose Gen. P. From Gen. Early's army we learn that the detailed men and reserves are joining in great numbers, and the general asks 1000 muskets. Col. Gorgas, Chief of Ordnance, says he has but 300 available, his shops being closed, the workmen in the trenches, etc.

All the ordnance, quartermaster, and commissary stores of Hood's army were ordered to Columbus, Ga. We expect stirring news from Georgia daily, and the opinion prevails that Sherman will “come to grief.”

The militia, furloughed by Gov. Brown so inopportunely, are returning to the front, the time having expired. A Mr. B. is making Lincoln speeches in New York.

It seems to me he had a passport from Mr. Benjamin, Secretary of State.

Gen. Lee writes to day that negroes taken from the enemy, penitentiary convicts, and recaptured deserters ought not to be sent by the Secretary to work on the fortifications.

SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 2, p. 310-11

Diary of Private Richard R. Hancock: Monday, November 25, 1861

It was now very cold, and the ground was frozen hard all day, in consequence of which our wagon train did not get as far as Jamestown. In place of moving with his train, or at least going no further than it could go over the frozen roads, McNairy pressed on through Jamestown, down Cumberland Mountain to Camp McGinnison Wolf River—a march of about a thirty-one miles. The result was his men were without tents and rations one very cold night, and until late in the afternoon the next day.* The following explains itself:

HEADQUARTERS,        

KNOXVILLE, November 26, 1861.

Hon. J. P. Benjamin, Secretary of Ilar:

Sir-I have the honor to report that I arrived here on Saturday last, by order of General Zollicoffer, and assumed command of this post on Sunday. I found stationed here Colonel Wood's Battalion and several companies of infantry and cavalry.

. . . There are now in custody here about seventy persons, many of whom, it is believed, were either directly or indirectly connected with the burning of the railroad bridges. Colonel Wood (Sixteenth Alabama), who was in command here before my arrival, had in contemplation a court-martial for the trial of those upon whom proof of guilt seemed to be strong. I concurred with him, and ordered the meeting on the 28th. . . .

It is important that steam power should be secured for the purpose of driving the machinery necessary in the alterations of arms. I therefore took possession of the printing establishment of Brownlow. The steam engine and building are suitable for our purposes, and it was the only one that could be procured here.

Brownlow has left, and no certain information of his whereabouts can be obtained. It is, however, certain that he is aiding and abetting our enemies. . . .

With high respect, your obedient servant,

WM. H. CARROLL,        

Brigadier-General Commanding.1

_______________

* As I was just out of a spell of fever, I did not wish to take the frozen ground that night without even a tent for shelter, so I rode over to my friend Lathan's, with whom I staid while sick of the measles in September (about one mile from Camp McGinnis), to see if I could get to lodge with him another night. As I neared his house, and before I saw him, he called out, “Yes, you may get down.” I yet feel grateful to Mr. Lathan for the comforts of that night.

1 Rebellion Records, Vol. VII., pp. 704 and 705.

SOURCE: Richard R. Hancock, Hancock's Diary: Or, A History of the Second Tennessee Confederate Cavalry, p. 84-5

Brigadier-General William H. Carroll to Judah P. Benjamin, November 26, 1861

HEADQUARTERS, Knoxville, November 26, 1861.

Hon. J.P. BENJAMIN,
        Secretary of War:

SIR: I have the honor to report that I arrived here on Saturday last, by order of General Zollicoffer, and assumed command of this post on Sunday. I found stationed here Colonel Wood's battalion and several companies of infantry and cavalry. There seemed to be much uneasiness and apprehension felt in reference to the disaffected portion of the population. I have put the city under military rule and have restored peace and security.

I have detailed and sent to the various districts where I had information there were any gatherings of disaffected citizens and had them dispersed, and in many instances the leaders arrested. As soon as possible, I dispatched companies of mounted men to scour the country, with instructions to arrest and send here all persons who were inciting rebellion or were found with arms, resisting the authorities. In all instances where there was no proof of disloyalty I have discharged the prisoners upon their taking the oath of allegiance.

There are now in custody here about 70 persons, many of whom, it, is believed, were either directly or indirectly connected with the burning of the railroad bridges. Colonel Wood, who was in command here before my arrival, had in contemplation a court-martial for the trial of those upon whom proof of guilt seemed to be strong. I concurred with him, and ordered the meeting on the 28th. The board will be composed of some of the most intelligent officers within this post, and I have no doubt their action will be prudent and discreet.

It is important that steam-power should be secured for the purpose of driving the machinery necessary in the alteration of arms. I therefore took possession of the printing establishment of Brownlow. The steam-engine and building are suitable for our purposes, and it was the only one that could be procured here. Brownlow has left, and no certain information of his whereabouts can be obtained; it is, however, certain that he is aiding and abetting our enemies. I have assured his sons, who profess to have sold the establishment to a Mr. Baxter, that full indemnity for the use of the establishment would be paid by the Government. I have every assurance that the sale to Baxter was a false one, and feel that Baxter is not reliable in his loyalty to our Government.

In obedience to your instructions, Novemeber 22, I have given orders that all contracts for hogs or cattle made with the agents of the Confederate Government shall be complied with, and have dispatched several armed parties to see that it is properly executed.

There are 1,140 sacks of salt here. I have directed 400 sacks should be delivered to D. Morris & Co. and 400 sacks to Wilson & Johnson. This is sufficient to meet their present wants, and the balance will be returned, to meet such other demands as may arise. I will report to you again soon.

With high respect, your obedient servant,

WM. H. CARROLL,        

Brigadier-General, Commanding.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 7 (Serial No. 7), p. 704-5

Diary of Private Richard R. Hancock: Saturday, November 9, 1861

Our brigade moved back from Anderson County to the vicinity of Jacksborough. McNairy's Battalion camped six miles south of town on the Clinton road.

REVOLT OF THE UNIONISTS IN EAST TENNESSEE.

East Tennessee was now ablaze with excitement on account of the uprising and open rebellion of the Union men. They were flying to arms in squads of from fifty to five hundred. Several bridges along the East Tennessee and Georgia, and Virginia and Tennessee Railroads were burned last night.

It appears that William Blunt Carter,¹ of East Tennessee, was the prime mover and chief instigator of the revolt and bridge burning above named, and the following communication will show the beginning corner of his plans:

HEADQUARTERS CAMP DICK ROBINSON,        

September 30, 1861.

Major-General George B. McClellan, Commanding Department of the Potomac:

GENERAL: I have just had a conversation with Mr. W. B. Carter, of Tennessee, on the subject of the destruction of the Grand Trunk Railroad through that State.

He assures me that he can have it done if the Government will intrust him with a small sum of money to give confidence to the persons to be employed to do it. It would be one of the most important services that could be done for the country, and I most earnestly hope you will use your influence with the authorities in furtherance of his plans, which he will submit to you, together with the reasons for doing the work. I am, sir, very respectfully your obedient servant,

Geo. H. THOMAS,        

Brigadier-General, U. S. Volunteers, Commanding.²

Suffice it to say that he received satisfactory encouragement from the Federal Government, and, setting out on his mission about the middle of October, Carter arrived in the neighborhood of Montgomery, Morgan County, Tennessee, on the 22d, and under that date he wrote to General Thomas thus:

I reached here at 2 P. M. to-day. I am in six miles of company of rebel cavalry.

The rebels continue to arrest and imprison our people.

You will please furnish the bearers with as much lead, rifle powder, and as many caps as they can bring for Scott and Morgan Counties. You need not fear to trust these people. They will open the war for you by routing these small bodies of marauding cavalry.

I find our people have suffered beyond all forbearance. Hasten on to our aid. To-morrow night I hope to be near our railroad.

You shall hear from me again soon.³

On the 27th, near Kingston, Roane County, he wrote again to Thomas as follows:

I am now within a few miles of our railroad, but I have not yet had time to obtain all the information I must have before I decide on the course best for me to adopt. If I can get half a dozen brave men to “take the bull by the horns” we can whip them completely and save the railroad.

If I cannot get such leaders we will make a desperate attempt to destroy all the bridges, and I firmly believe I will be successful.

The Union men of East Tennessee are longing and praying for the hour when they can break their fetters.

Men and women weep for joy when I merely hint to them that the day of our deliverance is at hand. . . .

I beg you to hasten on to our help, as we are about to create a great diversion in General McClellan's favor.

You must bring some small arms with you. I am satisfied that you will have to take the road by Monticello and Jamestown, unless you come by Cumberland Gap.⁴

Having succeeded in maturing his plans, the execution of which resulted in the bridge burning, as previously mentioned. Mr. W. B. Carter set out on his return November with, and arrived at his brother's headquarters at “Camp Calvert," near London, Kentucky, on the 16th, and on the same day his brother, Colonel S. P. Carter (afterward General) sent the following report to General Thomas, whose headquarters had been moved forward from Camp Dick Robinson to Crab Orchard:

My brother William has just arrived from East Tennessee. He reports that on Friday night, 8th instant, of last week, he succeeded in having burned at least six, and perhaps eight bridges on the railroad, viz. : Union bridge, in Sullivan County, near the Virginia line, Lick Creek bridge, in Green County, Strawberry plains, in Jefferson County, fifteen miles east of Knoxville, partially destroyed, Hiawassee bridge seventy miles south-west of Knoxville, and on the East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad, two bridges over the Chickamauga, one between Cleveland and Chattanooga, and the other between Chattanooga and Dalton, Georgia. These bridges are certainly destroyed. The Long Island bridge, at Bridgeport, on Tennessee River, and a bridge below Dalton, on the Western and Atlantic road, are probably destroyed.⁵

Only five bridges were burned, as the following dispatch from Colonel W. B. Wood, Sixteenth Alabama, who had been for some time guarding the railroad as best he could with the small force at his command, will show:

KNOXVILLE, November 11, 1861.

Adjutant-General Cooper, Richmond:

Three bridges burned between Bristol and Chattanooga, two on Georgia road. Five hundred Union men now threatening Strawberry Plains. Fifteen hundred assembling in Hamilton County, and a general uprising in all the counties. I have about one thousand men under my command.

W. B. Wood,        

Colonel.⁶

PRIVATE MONROE KNIGHT, Co. E, FIRST BATTALION.

In order to put down this revolt of the Unionists, Stovall's Battallion and a light field battery were sent from Richmond, Virginia, to Bristol, Tennessee (11th), the Seventh Alabama, Col. S. A. M. Wood, from Pensacola to Chattanooga (14th), General W. H. Carroll, with two regiments, though mostly unarmed, from Memphis to Chattanooga (15th), and General Zollicoffer sent the Twenty-ninth Tennessee, Colonel S. Powell, from Jacksborough to Knoxville (ioth). On the nith Col. Danville Leadbetter, of Engineer Corps, was ordered by President Davis to proceed at once from Richmond to East Tennessee, assume command of all the troops to be stationed for the   and Chattanooga, reconstruct bridges, and repair and keep open the line of communication between those points.⁷

Mr. W. B. Carter happened to enter East Tennessee on his special mission just at the right time for it to be an easy matter for him to induce the Union men of that section to do his bidding. For when Zollicoffer fell back out of Kentucky the Unionists fully believed that the Federal army would be in their midst in a few days.

On the 20th Colonel W. B. Wood wrote to the Secretary of war thus:

The rebellion in East Tennessee has been put down in some of the counties, and will be effectually suppressed in less than two weeks in all the counties. Their camps in Sevier and Hamilton Counties have been broken up, and a large number of them made prisoners. Some are confined in jail at this place and others sent to Nashville. . . . . . . . . . . . .

The prisoners we have tell us that they had every assurance that the (Federal) army was already in the State, and would join them in a very few days; that the property of Southern men was to be confiscated and divided among those who would take up arms for Lincoln.⁸

In answer to an inquiry in reference to what he should do with his prisoners, Colonel Wood received the following from the Secretary of War:

All such as can be identified as having been engaged in bridge burning are to be tried summarily by-drum head court-martial, and, if found guilty, executed on the spot by hanging. It would be well to leave their bodies hanging in the vicinity of the burned bridges.

All such as have not been so engaged are to be treated as prisoners of war, and sent with an armed guard to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and held in jail till the end of the war. Such as come in voluntarily, take the oath of allegiance and surrender their arms are alone to be treated with leniency.⁹

Some, I know not how many, were found guilty by a “drum-head court martial” and hung.

As a general thing these bands of traitors would disband and flee to the mountains on the approach of an armed force of Confederates, therefore it was a difficult matter to do any thing with them.

While W. B. Carter was in East Tennessee arousing a spirit of rebellion there, ex-Governor Andrew Johnson was with the Federal army at London, Kentucky, urging upon and pleading with Generals Schoepf and Thomas to move forward into East Tennessee. In fact, this “forward movement” had been so often urged by Johnson, Maynard, the Carters and others of East Tennessee, that it had become quite annoying to the Federal commanders, as the following correspondence will show.

On November 7th, General Thomas wrote thus to Johnson:

Your favor of the 6th instant is at hand. I have done all in my power to get troops and transportation and means to advance into East Tennessee. I believe General Sherman at (Louisville) has done the same.

Up to this time we have been unsuccessful. If the Tennesseans are not content and must go, then the risk of disaster will remain with them.

In conclusion I will add that I am here ready to obey orders, and earnestly hope that the troops at London will see the necessity of doing the same.¹⁰

At the same time Thomas addressed a letter to Schoepf as follows:

I find it necessary to reply to Governor Johnson's letter in the manner of the foregoing, which I send to you for your information. It is time that discontented persons should be silenced, both in and out of the service.

I hope you will therefore see the necessity of dealing decidedly with such people, and you have my authority and orders for doing

We must learn to abide our time, or we shall never be successful.¹¹

On the 8th, Schoepf replied to the above thus:

Yours of the 7th instant, with copy of letter to Governor Johnson, is before me, and it is with extreme satisfaction that I note the decided manner in which the case is laid down to Governor Johnson.

This outside pressure has become intolerable, and must be met with firmness, or the army may as well be disbanded.

With importunate citizens on one side and meddlesome reporters for papers on the other, I can scarce find time to attend to the appropriate duties of my position. By the way, cannot something be done to rid our camps of this latter class? I have really reached that point so that I am afraid to address my staff officer above a whisper in my own tent.¹²

Though, in place of a forward, the Federals made a retrograde, movement from London soon after the above correspondence.

On the 13th, General Schoepf set out from London to join General Thomas at Crab Orchard, with all the troops camped there, except the First and Second Tennessee and Third Kentucky (Colonel T. T. Garrard), which remained at   (Second Tennessee.)¹³

If you will excuse me, dear reader, for the above digression, I shall now return to Jacksborough and take up the movements of Zollicoffer's Brigade.

_______________

¹ A brother of General S. P. Carter, who commanded the Tennessee Federal Brigade.

² Rebellion Records, Vol. IV., p. 284.

³ Rebellion Records, Vol. IV., p. 317.

⁴ Rebellion Records, Vol. IV., p. 320.

⁵ Rebellion Records, Vol. IV., p. 359.

⁶ Ibid., p. 236.

⁷ See Rebellion Records, Vol. IV., pp. 234, 235, 538.

⁸ Rebellion Records, Vol. IV., p. 250.

⁹ Rebellon Records, Vol. VII., p. 701.

¹⁰ Rebellion Records, Vol. IV., pp. 342 and 343.

¹¹ Rebellion Records, Vol. IV., p. 347.

¹² Rebellion Records, Vol. IV., p. 347.

¹³ See Carter to H. Maynard, Rebellion Records, Vol. VII., p. 468.

SOURCE: Richard R. Hancock, Hancock's Diary: Or, A History of the Second Tennessee Confederate Cavalry, p. 74-80

Judah P. Benjamin to Robert L. Owen, November 10, 1861

RICHMOND, November 10, 1861.

R. L. OWEN, President Railroad, Lynchburg:

Your dispatch received. Colonel Leadbetter, of Engineer Corps, will leave in the morning with a battalion and battery of field pieces. He is charged with the duty of restoring and guarding the communications. Other forces will be sent to him via Chattanooga. Your earnest cooperation with him is relied on by the President.

J. P. BENJAMIN,    

Acting Secretary of War.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 4 (Serial No. 4), p. 234

Judah P. Benjamin to General Braxton Bragg, November 10, 1861

RICHMOND, November 10, 1861.

General B. BRAGG, Pensacola:

The President desires that you send one regiment of your command with the least delay to Chattanooga, with orders to report to Colonel Leadbetter, of Engineer Corps, who is charged with the special duty of restoring and maintaining the communications that have been interrupted by the burning of the railroad bridges by bands of traitors. He thinks it best to send one of the Alabama regiments now at Mobile, but leaves you to exercise your own discretion in choosing the regiment to be sent. This is so urgent as to admit of no delay, but the regiment will be restored to you the moment we can replace it. Other forces are dispatched from here to perform the same duty at Bristol, where another bridge has been burned.

J. P. BENJAMIN,    

Acting Secretary of War.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 4 (Serial No. 4), p. 234

Judah P. Benjamin to Brigadier-General William H. Carroll, November 10, 1861

RICHMOND, November 10, 1861.

General W. H. CARROLL, Memphis:

Proceed with the least possible delay to re-enforce General Zollicoffer with all your armed men, and leave some reliable officer to arm the remainder, and move them to Zollicoffer's aid as fast as possible.

J. P. BENJAMIN,    

Acting Secretary of War.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 4 (Serial No. 4), p. 234

Robert C. Kent to Judah P. Benjamin, November 10, 1861

WYTHEVILLE, November 10, 1861.

J. P. BENJAMIN,  Secretary of War:

Following dispatch received:

Mr. Branner, president East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad, came up this evening, and says Union men are gathering; about 1,500 at Carter's Depot. See commander of forces at Wytheville and urge him to come out. This is no sensation report, but truth. Bridges have been burned on East Tennessee Road. General Marshall left here for Kentucky to-day. Commanders of forces here have marching orders to follow. Will you comply with request and send troops from here to Tennessee? Reply. Battery and one regiment here.

R. C. KENT.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 4 (Serial No. 4), p. 235

Robert L. Owen to Judah P. Benjamin, November 11, 1861

BRISTOL, November 11, 1861.

Hon. J. P. BENJAMIN,  Secretary of War:

I have just returned from the burned bridge. We have at the next bridge, 10 miles beyond, about 250 men, under Captain McClellan. They have two cannon, which they found on the cars, and which were given to them by General Charles Clark, who stopped until this morning with them. The camp of the enemy is at N. G. Taylor's, 5 miles distant, with about 400 men. Another camp, at Elizabethtown, 2 miles farther, is said to contain 500 men. The two may be confounded. There is no doubt but that re-enforcements are every moment reaching them from Watauga County, North Carolina, and Johnson, Carter, and Washington Counties, Tennessee. These counties can furnish about 2,000 Lincolnites, and each fresh occasion emboldens them. They threaten to burn Watauga Bridge to-night. Should they be successful, it will bring forward hundreds now quiet. It is all-important they should be disposed of before they unite their different forces, now ranging from 50 to 500. A fight occurred last night between 22 of our scouts and the main camp of the enemy. We captured 2, killed 9, and lost none. I have given orders for all trains to give way to the troop trains now coming forward. They will reach here to-morrow morning. Can I do anything for you?

RO. L. OWEN,        

President Virginia and Tennessee Railroad.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 4 (Serial No. 4), p. 235-6

Judah P. Benjamin: Special Orders, No. 216, November 11, 1861

SPECIAL ORDERS, No. 216}

ADJT. AND INSP'R GENERAL'S OFFICE,        

Richmond, Va., November 11, 1861.

1. Col. Danville Leadbetter, Provisional Army, is hereby assigned to the command of the troops to be stationed for the protection of the railroad between Bristol and Chattanooga, Tenn. He will reconstruct bridges, repair and keep open the line of communication between those points, and will call upon railroad companies for such aid as he may require to carry out this order.

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

3. Maj. Gen. G. B. Crittenden, Provisional Army, will immediately proceed to Cumberland Gap, Ky., and assume command of the troops in that district, reporting at once by letter to General A. S. Johnston at Bowling Green, Ky.

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

By command of the Secretary of War:

JNO. WITHERS,        

Assistant Adjutant-General.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 4 (Serial No. 4), p. 538

Colonel William B. Wood to Judah Benjamin, November 20, 1861

HEADQUARTERS,        

Knoxville, November 20, 1861.

SIR: The rebellion in East Tennessee has been put down in some of the counties, and will be effectually suppressed in less than two weeks in all the counties. Their camps in Sevier and Hamilton Counties have been broken up, and a large number of them made prisoners. Some are confined in jail at this place and others sent to Nashville.

In a former communication I inquired of the Department what I should do with them. It is a mere farce to arrest them and turn them over to the courts. Instead of having the effect to intimidate it really gives encouragement and emboldens them in their traitorous conduct. We have now in custody some of their leaders—Judge Patterson, the son-in law of Andrew Johnson; Colonel Pickens, the senator in the legislature from Sevier and other counties, and several members of the legislature, besides others of influence and some distinction in their counties. These men have encouraged this rebellion, but have so managed as not to be found in arms. Nevertheless, all their actions and words have been unfriendly to the Government of the Confederate States. The influence of their wealth, position, and connections has been exerted in favor of the Lincoln Government, and they are the parties most to blame for the troubles in East Tennessee. They really deserve the gallows, and if consistent with the laws ought speedily to receive their deserts; but there is such a gentle spirit of conciliation in the South, and especially here, that I have no idea that one of them will receive such a sentence at the hands of any jury impaneled to try them.

I have been here at this station for three months, half the time in command of the post, and I have had a good opportunity of learning the feeling pervading this country. It is hostile to the Confederate Government. They will take the oath of allegiance with no intention to observe it. They are the followers and slaves of Johnson and Maynard, and never intend to be otherwise. When arrested they suddenly become very submissive, and declare they are for peace and not supporters of the Lincoln Government, but yet they claim to be Union men. At one time, whilst our forces were at Knoxville, they gave it out that great changes were taking place in East Tennessee, and the people were becoming reconciled and loyal. At the withdrawal of the army from here to the Gap, and the first intimation that the Lincoln army was like to penetrate the State, they were in arms, and scarcely a man, with only a few honorable exceptions, but what was ready to join them and make war upon us.

The prisoners we have tell us that they had every assurance that the army was already in the State, and would join them in a very few days; that the property of Southern men was to be confiscated and divided amongst those who would take up arms for Lincoln.

I have to request, at least, that the prisoners I have taken be held, if not as traitors, as prisoners of war. To release them is ruinous; to convict them before a court at this time next to an impossibility; but if they are kept in prison for six months it will have a good effect. The bridge burners and spies ought to be tried at once, and I respectfully request that instructions be forwarded at as early a day as practicable, as it needs prompt action to dispose of these cases.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

W. B. WOOD,        

Colonel, Commanding Post.

Hon. J.P. BENJAMIN,
        Secretary of War.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 4 (Serial No. 4), p. 250-1

Judah P. Benjamin to Colonel William B. Wood, November 25, 1861

WAR DEPARTMENT, C. S. A.,        

Richmond, November 25, 1861.

Col. W. B. WOOD, Knoxville, Tenn.:

SIR: Your report of the 20th instant* is received, and I proceed to give you the desired instructions in relation to the prisoners taken by you amongst the traitors in East Tennessee:

1st. All such as can be identified as having been engaged in bridge-burning are to be tried summarily by drum-head court-martial, and, if found guilty, executed on the spot by hanging. It would be well to leave their bodies hanging in the vicinity of the burned bridges.

2d. All such as have not been so engaged are to be treated as prisoners of war, and sent with an armed guard to Tuscaloosa, Ala., there to be kept imprisoned at the depot selected by the Government for prisoners of war. Wherever you can discover that arms are concealed by these traitors you will send out detachments, search for and seize the arms. In no case is one of the men known to have been up in arms against the Government to be released on any pledge or oath of allegiance. The time for such measures is past. They are all to be held as prisoners of war, and held in jail till the end of the war. Such as come in voluntarily, take the oath of allegiance, and surrender their arms are alone to be treated with leniency.

Your vigilant execution of these orders is earnestly urged by the Government.

Your obedient servant,

J.P. BENJAMIN,        

Secretary of War.

P. S.—Judge Patterson, Colonel Pickens, and other ringleaders of the same class must be sent at once to Tuscaloosa to jail as prisoners of war.

[NOTE.—The same letter with a slight verbal alteration of the opening paragraph and the omission of the postscript, was sent at the same time to Brig. Gen. F. K. Zollicoffer, Jacksborough, Tenn., and Colonel Leadbetter, Jonesborough, Tenn.]
_______________

* See “Revolt of the Unionists in East Tennessee,” Series I,Vol. IV, p. 250, this section of the Official Records starts on p. 230.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 7 (Serial No. 7), p. 701

Diary of John Beauchamp Jones: September 16, 1864

Bright and pleasant—the weather.

Gen. Hood telegraphs that his army is so much mortified at the feeble resistance it made to Sherman, that he is certain it will fight better the next time.

Mr. Benjamin asks a passport and transportation for Mrs. Jane L. Brant, who goes to Europe in the employment of the government.

Gen. Morgan's funeral took place to-day. None were allowed to see him; for the coffin was not opened. On the way to Hollywood Cemetery, Gen. Ewell received a dispatch that our pickets were driven in at Chaffin's Farm. This demonstration of the enemy compelled him to withdraw the military portion of the procession, and they were hurried off to the battle-field.

The local troops (clerks, etc.) are ordered to assemble at 5 P.M. to-day. What does Grant mean? He chooses a good time, if he means anything serious; for our people, and many of the troops, are a little despondent. They are censuring the President again, whose popularity ebbs and flows.

SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 2, p. 283-4

Diary of John Beauchamp Jones: August 8, 1864

Hot and dry.

There are rumors of battles near Winchester and in Georgia.

Mr. Benjamin writes the Secretary of War for a passport for who is going to New York, “for our service.” In the assault on the fortifications near Petersburg last week, it is said Hancock's (enemy's) corps lost half its men.

Watermelons have sold at $20 each; corn, $10 per dozen ears; and everything else in the markets in proportion.

My yellow tomatoes are just maturing. The dry weather has ruined nearly everything else in the garden.

SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 2, p. 261-2

Diary of John Beauchamp Jones: May 18, 1864

Showers and sunshine, the first preponderating.

Our killed and wounded in Beauregard's battle amount to some 1500. The enemy lost 1000 prisoners, and perhaps 1500 killed and wounded.

Railroad men report heavy firing this morning near Fredericksburg, and it is believed another battle is in progress.

From the West we have a report, derived from the enemy at Natchez, that Gen. Banks has surrendered to Lieut.-Gen. Smith.

It is rumored likewise that President Lincoln has called for 60,000 militia, to defend Washington.

A fortnight ago, Mr. Benjamin procured passports for one or two of his agents “ to pass the lines at will.” They may have procured information, but it did not prevent the enemy from coming.

Attended a funeral (next door to us) ceremony this afternoon at 5 P.M. over the body of Abner Stanfield, a nephew of Mrs. Smith, our next door neighbor, who fell in battle day before yesterday, near Drewry's Bluff. By the merest accident his relatives here learned of his fall (by the paper we loaned them), and Mr. S. had his body brought to his house, and decently prepared for the grave.

His bloody garments were replaced by a fine snit of clothes he had kept with Mr. S.; his mother, etc. live in Northern Virginia, and his cousins, the Misses S., decorated the coffin beautifully with laurels, flowers, etc. He was a handsome young hero, six feet tall, and died bravely in his country's defense. He was slain by a shell. The ceremony was impressive, and caused many tears to flow. But his glorious death and funeral honor will inspire others with greater resolution to do and to dare, and to die, if necessary, for their country. The minister did him justice, for the hallowed cause in which he fell.

SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 2, p. 214

Diary of Gideon Welles: Wednesday, August 17, 1864

 I wrote a letter to the Secretary of State, softly pointing out the proper course of proceeding in this French claim for captured cotton, for I should be sorry to have him let down himself and the Government. But I know not how, having taken charge of this claim, he will receive it. I think, however, he will show his shrewdness and tact and take the hint, if he has not committed himself, as he often does, without being aware of the effect.

Had quite a talk to-day with Mr. Lenthall, Naval Constructor, on the subject of the light-draft monitors and his duties generally. He claims to know but little about them. I told him this would not answer, that I should hold him responsible for what pertained to his bureau; that it was his duty to criticize, and let me know what, in his opinion was wrong; that it was his duty to know, and he must not plead ignorance to me; that on important matters I did not want his views second-handed, but he must come to me direct. From what I could learn in relation to the light-draft vessels, I had come to the conclusion that, while I had trusted to him, he had mere superficial conversations with Mr. Fox, without seeing or advising with me, and I apprehended Fox and Stimers had been going on without consulting others, with confident belief they would give us very superior vessels, until they awoke to the fact that they were not Naval Constructors or the men to do this work, except under the advice and direction of experts. I had supposed until last spring that Lenthall and Ericsson were giving the light ironclads their attention, but I found they were not, and I had not been advised of the fact. My plain talk seemed to astonish, and yet not altogether displease Lenthall. He said he had no doubt Mr. Fox and Mr. Stimers had committed the great mistake I alluded to. They thought after submitting their plans to him, without, however, procuring from him any computations, but an expression, that struck him more favorably than Ericsson that they could show off something for themselves that would give them a name.

Fred Seward called on me with a letter from Raymond to his father inquiring whether anything had been effected at the navy yard and custom-house, stating the elections were approaching, means were wanted, Indiana was just now calling most urgently for pecuniary aid. I told Seward that I knew not what the navy yard had to do with all this, except that there had been an attempt to levy an assessment on all workmen, as I understood, when receiving their monthly pay of the paymaster, by a party committee who stationed themselves near his desk in the yard and attempted the exaction; that I was informed Commodore Paulding forbade the practice, and I certainly had no censure to bestow on him for the interdiction. If men choose to contribute at their homes, or out of the yards, I had no idea that he would object, but if he did and I could know the fact, I would see such interference promptly corrected; but I could not consent to forced party contributions. Seward seemed to consider this view correct and left.

I am sadly oppressed with the aspect of things. Have just read the account of the interview at Richmond between Jaquess and Gilmore on one side and Jeff Davis and Benjamin on the other.¹ What business had these fellows with such a subject? Davis asserts an ultimatum that is inadmissible, and the President in his note, which appears to me not as considerate and well-advised as it should have been, interposes barriers that were unnecessary. Why should we impose conditions, and conditions which would provoke strife from the very nature of things, for they conflict with constitutional reserved rights? If the Rebellion is suppressed in Tennessee or North Carolina, and the States and people desire to resume their original constitutional rights, shall the President prevent them? Yet the letters to Greeley have that bearing, and I think them unfortunate in this respect.

They place the President, moreover, at disadvantage in the coming election. He is committed, it will be claimed, against peace, except on terms that are inadmissible. What necessity was there for this, and, really, what right had the President to assume this unfortunate attitude without consulting his Cabinet, at least, or others? He did, he says, advise with Seward, and Fessenden, who came in accidentally, also gave it his sanction. Now Seward is a trickster more than a statesman. He has wanted to get an advantage over Horace Greeley, and when the President said to Greeley, therefore, that no terms which did not include the abolition of slavery as one of the conditions (would be admissible), a string in Greeley's harp was broken. But how it was to affect the Union and the great ends of peace seems not to have been considered. The Cabinet were not consulted, except the two men as named, one, if not both, uninvited, nor as regarded Jaquess and Gilmore in their expedition. It will be said that the President does not refuse other conditions, and that he only said “to whom it may concern” he would make peace with those conditions, but that he does not refuse different and modified conditions to others. (It was undoubtedly an adroit party movement on the part of the President that rebuked and embarrassed Greeley and defeated a wily intrigue.) But, after all, I should, even with this interpretation, wish the President not to be mixed up with such a set, and not to have this ambiguity, to say the least. Most of the world will receive it as a distinct ultimatum.

_______________ 

¹ An account of the interview of Colonel James F. Jaquess and Mr. James R. Gilmore with the President of the Confederacy and his Secretary of State, written by Mr. Gilmore, appeared in the Atlantic Monthly for September, 1864.

SOURCE: Gideon Welles, Diary of Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy Under Lincoln and Johnson, Vol. 2: April 1, 1864 — December 31, 1866, p. 107-10

Diary of John Beauchamp Jones: February 2, 1864

So lax has become Gen. Winder's rule, or deficient, or worse, the vigilance of his detectives,—the rogues and cut-throats,—one of them keeps a mistress in a house the rent of which is more than his salary, that five Jews, the other day, cleared out in a schooner laden with tobacco, professedly for Petersburg, but sailed directly to the enemy. They had with them some $10,000 in gold; and as they absconded to avoid military service in the Confederate States, no doubt they imparted all the information they could to the enemy.

Mr. Benjamin, Secretary of State, asked the Secretary of War to-day to make such arrangements as would supply the State Department with regular files of Northern papers. They sometimes have in them important diplomatic correspondence, and the perusal of this is about all the Secretary of State has to do.

It is rumored that the Hon. Robert Toombs has been arrested in Georgia for treason. I cannot believe it, but I know he is inimical to the President.

The British papers again seem to sympathise with us.

Senator Orr writes to the Secretary that a resolution of the Senate, asking for copies of Gen. Beauregard's orders in 1862 for the fortification of Vicksburg (he was the first to plan the works which made such a glorious defense), and also a resolution calling for a copy of Gen. B.'s charges against Col. ——, had not been responded to by the President. He asks that these matters may be brought to the President's attention.

The weather is beautiful and spring-like again, and we may soon have some news both from Tennessee and North Carolina. From the latter I hope we shall get some of the meat endangered by the proximity of the enemy.

SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 2, p. 140-1

Diary of John Beauchamp Jones: January 19, 1864

A furious storm of wind and rain occurred last night, and it is rapidly turning cold to-day.

The prisoners here have had no meat during the last four days, and fears are felt that they will break out of confinement.

Yesterday Senator Orr waited upon the President, to induce him to remove Col. Northrop, the obnoxious Commissary-General. The President, it is said, told him that Col. N. was one of the greatest geniuses in the South, and that, if he had the physical capacity he would put him at the head of an army.

A letter from Mrs. Polk, widow of President Polk, dated at Nashville, expresses regret that a portion of her cotton in Mississippi was burnt by the military authorities (according to law), and demanding remuneration. She also asks permission to have the remainder sent to Memphis, now held by the enemy. The Secretary will not refuse.

I bought a pretty good pair of second-hand shoes at auction today for $17.50; but they were too large. I will have them sold again, without fear of loss.

A majority of the Judiciary Committee, to whom the subject was referred, have reported a bill in the Senate vacating the offices of all the members of the cabinet at the expiration of every two years, or of every Congress. This is a blow at Mr. Benjamin, Mr. Memminger, etc., and, as the President conceives, at himself. It will not pass, probably; but it looks like war between the Senate and the Executive. Some of the Secretaries may resign on the 18th of February, when this Congress expires. Nous verrons.

SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 2, p. 131-2

Clement C. Clay Jr. to Judah P. Benjamin, August 11, 1864

SAINT CATHERINES, CANADA WEST,            

August 11, 1864.

Hon. J. P. BENJAMIN,

Secretary of State Confed. States of America, Richmond, Va.:

SIR: I deem it due to Mr. Holcombe and myself to address you in explanation of the circumstances leading to and attending our correspondence with Hon. Horace Greeley,* which has been the subject of so much misrepresentation in the United States, and, if they are correctly copied, of at least two papers in the Confederate States.

We addressed a joint and informal note to the President on this subject, but as it was sent by a messenger under peculiar embarrassments it was couched in very guarded terms and was not so full or explicit as we originally intended or desired to make it. I hope he has already delivered it and has explained its purpose and supplied what was wanting to do us full justice.

Soon after the arrival of Mr. Holcombe, Mr. Thompson, and myself in Canada West it was known in the United States and was the subject of much speculation there as to the object of our visit. Some politicians of more or less fame and representing all parties in the United States came to see Mr. Holcombe and myself—Mr. Thompson being at Toronto and less accessible than we were at the Falls—either through curiosity or some better or worse motive.

They found that our conversation was mainly directed to the mutual injury we were inflicting on each other by war, the necessity for peace in order to preserve whatever was valuable to both sections, and probability of foreign intervention when we were thoroughly exhausted and unable to injure others, and the dictation of a peace less advantageous to both belligerents than they might now make if there was an armistice of sufficient duration to allow passion to subside and reason to resume its sway.

In the meantime Mr. George N. Sanders, who had preceded us to the Falls, was addressing, directly or indirectly, his ancient and intimate party friends and others in the United States supposed to be favorably inclined, assuring them that a peace mutually advantageous to the North and the South might be made, and inviting them to visit us that we might consider and discuss the subject. He informed us that Mr. Greeley would visit us if we would be pleased to see him. Believing from his antecedents that he was a sincere friend of peace, even with separation if necessary, we authorized Mr. Sanders to say that we would be glad to receive him. Mr. Greeley replied, as we were told, through Mr. Jewett, who had been an active and useful agent for communicating with citizens of the United States, that he would prefer to accompany us to Washington City to talk of peace, and would do so if we would go. We did not then believe that Mr. Greeley had authorized this proposal in his name, for neither we nor Mr. Sanders had seen it in any telegram or letter from Mr. Greeley, but had it only from the lips of Mr. Jewett, who is reported to be a man of fervid and fruitful imagination and very credulous of what he wishes to be true. Notwithstanding, after calm deliberation and consultation we thought that we could not in duty to the Confederate States decline the invitation, and directed Mr. Sanders to say that we would go to Washington if complete and unqualified protection was given us.

We did not feel authorized to speak for Mr. Thompson, who was absent, and we moreover deemed it necessary that he or I should remain here to promote the objects that the Secretary of War had given us and another in charge.

Mr. Sanders responded in his own peculiar style, as you have seen, or will see by the inclosed copy of the correspondence, which was published under my supervision.† We did not expect to hear from Mr. Greeley again upon the subject, and were greatly surprised by his note from the U.S. side of the Falls, addressed to us as “duly accredited from Richmond as the bearers of propositions looking to the establishment of peace.”

How or by whom that character was imputed to us we do not know. We suspect, however, that we are indebted for the attribution of the high and responsible office to Mr. Jewett, or to that yet more credulous and inventive personage, Dame Rumor. Certainly we are not justly chargeable with having assumed or affected that character, or with having given any one sufficient grounds to infer that we came clothed with any such powers. We never sought or desired a safe-conduct to Washington, or an interview with Mr. Lincoln. We never proposed, suggested, or intimated any terms of peace to any person that did not embrace the independence of the Confederate States. We have been as jealous of the rights, interest, and power of our Government as any of its citizens can be, and have never wittingly compromised them by act, word, or sign. We have not felt it our duty to declare to all who have approached us upon the subject that reunion was impossible under any change of the Constitution or abridgment of the powers of the Federal Government. We have not dispelled the fond delusion of most of those with whom we have conversed—that some kind of common government might at some time hereafter be re-established. But we have not induced or encouraged this idea. On the contrary, when obliged to answer the question—“Will the Southern States consent to reunion?”—I have answered:

Not now. You have shed so much of their best blood, have desolated so many homes, inflicted so much injury, caused so much physical and mental agony, and have threatened and attempted such irreparable wrongs, without justification or excuse, as their believe, that they would now prefer extermination to your embraces as friends and fellow-citizens of the same government. You must wait till the blood of our slaughtered people has exhaled from the soil, till the homes which you have destroyed have been rebuilt, till our badges of mourning have been laid aside, and the memorials of our wrongs are no longer visible on every hand, before you propose to rebuild a joint and common government. But I think the South Will agree to an armistice of six or more months and to a treaty of amity and commerce, securing peculiar and exclusive privileges to both sections, and possibly to an alliance defensive, or even, for some purposes, both defensive and offensive.

If we can credit the asseverations of both peace and war Democrats, uttered to us in person or through the presses of the United States, our correspondence with Mr. Greeley has been promotive of our wishes. It has impressed all but fanatical Abolitionists with the opinion that there can be no peace while Mr. Lincoln presides at the head of the Government of the United States. All concede that we will not accept his terms, and scarcely any Democrat and not all the Republicans will insist on them. They are not willing to pay the price his terms exact of the North. They see that he can reach peace only through subjugation of the South, which but few think practicable; through universal bankruptcy of the North; through seas of their own blood as well as ours; through the utter demoralization of their people, and destruction of their Republican Government; through anarchy and moral chaos—all of which is more repulsive and intolerable than even the separation and independence of the South.

All the Democrat presses denounce Mr. Lincoln's manifesto in strong terms, and many Republican presses (and among them the New York Tribune) admit it was a blunder. Mr. Greeley was chagrined and incensed by it, as his articles clearly show. I am told by those who profess to have heard his private expressions of opinion and feeling, that he curses all fools in high places and regards himself as deceived and maltreated by the Administration. From all that I can see or hear, I am satisfied that the correspondence has tended strongly toward consolidating the Democracy and dividing the Republicans and encouraging the desire for peace. Many prominent politicians of the United States assure us that it is the most opportune and efficient moral instrumentality for stopping the war that could have been conceived or exerted, and beg us to refrain from any vindication of our course or explanation of our purposes.

At all events, we have developed what we desired to in the eyes of our people—that war, with-all its horrors, is less terrible and hateful than the alternative offered by Mr. Lincoln. We hope that none will hereafter be found in North Carolina, or in any other part of the Confederate States, so base as to insist that we shall make any more advances to him in behalf of peace, but that all of our citizens will gird themselves with renewed and redoubled energy and resolution to battle against our foes until our utter extermination, rather than halt to ponder the terms which he haughtily proclaims as his ultimatum. If such be the effect of our correspondence, we shall be amply indemnified for all the misrepresentations which we have incurred or ever can incur.

Mr. Greeley's purpose may have been merely to find out our conditions of peace, but we give him credit for seeking higher objects. While we contemplated and desired something more, yet it was part of our purpose to ascertain Mr. Lincoln's condition of peace. We have achieved our purpose in part; Mr. Greeley has failed altogether. He correctly reports us as having proposed no terms. We never intended to propose any until instructed by our Government. We have suffered ourselves to be falsely reported as proposing certain terms—among them reunion—for reasons that our judgment approved, hoping that we would in due time be fully vindicated at home.

If there is no more wisdom in our country than is displayed in the malignant articles of the Richmond Examiner and Petersburg Register, approving of the ukase of Mr. Lincoln, the war must continue until neutral nations interfere and command the peace. Such articles are copied into all the Republican presses of the United States, and help them more in encouraging the prosecution of the war than anything they can themselves utter.

If I am not deceived, the elements of convulsion and revolution existing in the North have been greatly agitated by the pronunciamento of the autocrat of the White House. Not only Democrats, but Republicans are protesting against a draft to swell an army to fight to free negroes, and are declaring more boldly for State rights and the Union as it was. Many say the draft cannot and shall not be enforced. The Democracy are beginning to learn that they must endure persecution, outrage, and tyranny at the hands of the Republicans, just as soon as they can bring back their armed legions from the South. They read their own fate in that of the people of Kentucky, Missouri, and Maryland. They are beginning to lean more on the side of our people as their natural allies and as the champions of State rights and of popular liberty. Many of them would gladly lock arms with our soldiers in crushing their common enemy, the Abolitionists. Many of them would fall into our lines if our armies occupied any States north of the Ohio for a month, or even a week. Many of them are looking to the time when they must flee their country, or fight for their inalienable rights. They are preparing for the latter alternative.

The instructions of the Secretary of War to us and the officer detailed for special service have not been neglected. We have been arranging for the indispensable co-operation. It is promised, and we hope will soon be furnished. Then we will act. We have been disappointed and delayed by causes which I cannot now explain.

I fondly trust that our efforts will not be defeated or hindered by unwise and intemperate declarations of public opinion, by newspaper editors or others who are regarded as its exponents.

We have a difficult role to play, and must be judged with charity until heard in our own defense.

I am much indebted to Mr. Holcombe, Mr. Sanders, and Mr. Tucker for the earnest and active aid they have given me in promoting the objects of Mr. Thompson's and my mission.

Mr. Thompson is at Toronto and Mr. Holcombe is at the Falls. If here, or if I could delay the transmission of this communication, I should submit it to them for some expression of their opinions.

As I expect this to reach the Confederate States by a safe hand, I do not take the time and labor necessary to put it in cipher—if, indeed, there is anything worth concealing from our enemies.

I have the honor to be, &c.,

C. C. CLAY, JR.

_______________

* See Series III, Vol. IV.

† Not found.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series IV, Volume 3 (Serial No. 129), p. 584-7

A New Sensation—Talk of Peace—Unofficial Commissioners to Richmond—Unofficial Rebel Commissioners—The War to be Carried on for Abolition Purposes Only.

WASHINGTON, July 21, 1864.

Editors of the Enquirer:

Since I closed my letter at noon, a new sensation has appeared on the political board.  The word Peace has been uttered this afternoon as if had some insignificance.  We find that two prominent friends of the Administration have, with the direct approval and aid of Mr. Lincoln, visited Richmond, held conferences with Jeff. Davis and his Secretary of War, and returned highly pleased with the courtesy with which they were received and treated at the Confederate Capital.  Then on the other side, we have the correspondence between certain Confederate gentlemen, Horace Greely and the President in relation to a restoration of the Union by means of peace.  No other talk has been heard this afternoon, except about these two missions.  Though neither of the quasi commissioners—those from the North to Richmond, nor those at Niagara had official authority, yet each acted with the consent of its respective government; and that is a mode often resorted to by belligerent parties, to ascertain the sentiments of the other preliminary to regulate authorized negotiations.

The Commissioners to Richmond were Colonel Jos. F. Jaques, of the 73rd Illinois volunteers, and Mr. Edward Kirke, a gentleman of some literary pretentions and merit.  They have returned to the city, and it is well understood they went to Richmond to ascertain, if the war could not be stopped by a return of the seceded states on terms alike honorable to both parties.  They were in Richmond three days, had free Conference with Mr. Davis and his Secretary, Mr. Benjamin, on the subject of their visit, were treated like gentleman, and returned in good spirits.

You have doubtless read the result of the attempt made by the Southern Commissioners, at Niagara, to obtain an interview with Mr. Lincoln. It was a failure.  The contrast between the conduct of the authorities, at Richmond, towards Messrs. Jaques and Kirke, and that of Lincoln to Messers. Clay and Holcomb, is a painful one to the people of the North.  It shows there are gentleman at the head of the government at Richmond, and a boor at the head of the government at Washington.  The former are not afraid to be talked to on the subject of our difficulties by even unofficial visitors, while the latter seems to think that not only his own dignity, but the cause of the North itself, would be compromised by a conference with gentlemen from the Confederacy.  Humanity and civilization will  accord to the authorities at Richmond the mood of the praise for their willingness to listen to any within their lines, by permission of the President of the United States.

Mr. Lincoln lays down a finality, which, will preclude any conference for a settlement.  That finality is the unconditional abolishment of slavery.  He will not listen to peace on any other terms.  He will not hear what the South may have to say.  He closes all avenues of conciliation except through that one door.  He says the war shall not stop until the blacks are all freed.  He says that this is not a war for the Union, but a war for the negro.  He says that he orders conscriptions, that men are torn from their families, their relatives and friends not to restore the Union, but to free the negro.  He admits that we are making an enormous public debt, that will bring untold sorrow upon toil and labor, not for our liberty or the protections of our government, or the preservation of our national life, but to make the negro like the white man.  He sets up a condition precedent, which must be performed before the seceded States can return to the union, and which he has no authority to impose.  This war is to be continued for no other object than the abolition of slavery. Mr. Lincoln gives that to be distinctly understood.  The country will know hereafter precisely, what the war is continued for.  Every solder will know what he is fighting for, and every one that is killed will lose his life not for the Union, the Stars and Stripes, but for the negro.

CLEVELAND.

SOURCE: The Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati, Ohio, Monday, July 25, 1864, p. 2; Maysville Weekly Bulletin, Maysville, Kentucky, Thursday, July 28, 1864, p. 2.