Officers and men are low-spirited to-night. The news of yesterday has been confirmed. Our army has been beaten at Manassas with terrible loss. General McClellan has left Beverly for Washington. General Rosecrans will assume command in Western Virginia. We are informed that twenty miles from us, in the direction of Staunton, some three thousand secessionists are in camp. We shall probably move against them.
SOURCE: John Beatty, The Citizen-soldier: Or, Memoirs of a Volunteer, p. 34
The Fifteenth Indiana, Colonel Wagner, moved up the valley eight miles.
The sickly months are now on us. Considerable dysentery among the men, and many reported unfit for duty.
My limbs are stiff and sore from yesterday's exercise, but my adventure proves to have been a lucky one. The mountain path I stumbled on was unknown to us before, and we find, on inquiry, that it leads over the ridges. The enemy might, by taking this path, follow it up during the day, encamp almost within our picket lines without being discovered, and then, under cover of night, or in the early morning, come down upon us while we were in our beds. It will be picketed hereafter.
A private of Company E wrote home that he had killed two secessionists. A Zanesville paper published the letter. When the boys of his company read it they obtained spades, called on the soldier who had drawn so heavily on the credulity of his friends, and told him they had come to bury the dead. The poor fellow protested, apologized, and excused himself as best he could, but all to no purpose. He is never likely to hear the last of it.
I am reminded that when coming from Bellaire to Fetterman, a soldier doing guard duty on the railroad said that a few mornings before he had gone out, killed two secessionists who were just sitting down to breakfast, and then eaten the breakfast himself.
SOURCE: John Beatty, The Citizen-soldier: Or, Memoirs of a Volunteer, p. 39-40
Intelligence has
reached London this morning from New York dated 14th, by which it appears that
Fort Sumter had been attacked by the Secessionists, who, after a bombardment of
forty hours' duration, had taken it without much loss on either side. Letters
received in the City state that the excitement in New York and Washington was
prodigious. John Russell declared in the House of Commons that Her Majesty's
Government had no intention of offering their mediation.
SOURCE: Alice
Countess of Stratford, Leaves from the
Diary of Henry Greville: 1857-1861, p. 371
At 10 A. M. we were ordered to the front; passed quite a number of regiments on our way thither, and finally took position not far from the enemy's works. We were now at the head of the column. A small brook crossed the road at this point, and the thick woods concealed us from the enemy. A few rods further on, a bend in the road gave us a good view of the entire front of his fortifications. Major Keifer and a few other gentlemen, in their anxiety to get more definite information in regard to the position of the secessionists, and the extent of their works, went up the road, and were saluted by a shot from their battery. We expected every moment to receive an order to advance. After a time, however, we ascertained that Rosecrans, with a brigade, was seeking the enemy's rear by a mountain path, and we conjectured that, so soon as he had reached it, we would be ordered to make the assault in front. It was a dark, gloomy day, and the hours passed slowly.
Between two and three o'clock we heard shots in the rear of the fortifications; then volleys of musketry, and the roar of artillery. Every man sprang to his feet, assured that the moment for making the attack had arrived. General McClellan and staff came galloping up, and a thousand faces turned to hear the order to advance; but no order was given. The General halted a few paces from our line, and sat on his horse listening to the guns, apparently in doubt as to what to do; and as he sat there with indecision stamped on every line of his countenance, the battle grew fiercer in the enemy's rear. Every volley could be heard distinctly. There would occasionally be a lull for a moment, and then the uproar would break out again with increased violence. If the enemy is too strong for us to attack, what must be the fate of Rosecrans' four regiments, cut off from us, and struggling against such odds? Hours passed; and as the last straggling shots and final silence told us the battle had ended, gloom settled down on every soldier's heart, and the belief grew strong that Rosecrans had been defeated, and his brigade cut to pieces or captured. This belief grew to certain conviction. Soon after, when we heard shout after shout go up from the fortifications in our front.
Major Keifer with two companies had, early in the afternoon, climbed the hill on our right to look for a position from which artillery could be used effectively. The ground over which he moved was broken and covered with a dense growth of trees and underbrush; finally an elevation was discovered which commanded the enemy's camp, but before a road could be cut, and the artillery brought up, it was too late in the day to begin the attack.
Night came on. It was intensely dark. About nine o'clock we were ordered to withdraw our pickets quietly and return to our old quarters. On our way thither a rough voice cried: "Halt! Who comes there?" And a thousand shadowy forms sprang up before us. The challenge was from Colonel Robert McCook, and the regiment his. The scene reminded me of the one where
SOURCE: John Beatty, The Citizen-soldier: Or, Memoirs of a Volunteer, p. 24-6
Six or eight hundred Southern troops sent in a flag of truce, and surrendered unconditionally. They are a portion of the force which fought Rosecrans at Rich mountain, and Morris at Laurel Hill.
We started up the Valley river at seven o'clock this morning, our regiment in the lead. Found most of the houses deserted. Both Union men and secessionists had fled. The Southern troops, retreating in this direction, had frightened the people greatly, by telling them that we shot men, ravished women, and destroyed property. When within three-quarters of a mile of Huttonville, we were informed that forty or fifty mounted secessionists were there. The order to double-quick was given, and the regiment entered the village on a run. As we made a turn in the road, we discovered a squad of cavalry retreating rapidly. The bridge over the river had been burned, and was still smoking. Our troops sent up a hurrah and quickened their pace, but they had already traveled eleven miles on a light breakfast, and were not in condition to run down cavalry. That we might not lose at least one shot at the enemy, I got an Enfield rifle from one of the men, galloped forward, and fired at the retreating squad. It was the best shot I could make, and I am forced to say it was a very poor one, for no one fell. On second thought, it occurred to me that it would have been criminal to have killed one of these men, for his death could have had no possible effect on the result of the war.
Huttonville is a very small place at the foot of Cheat mountain. We halted there perhaps one hour, to await the arrival of General McClellan; and when he came up, were ordered forward to secure a mountain pass. It is thought fifteen hundred secessionists are a few miles ahead, near the top of the mountain. Two Indiana regiments and one battery are with us. More troops are probably following.
The man who owns the farm on which we are encamped is, with his family, sleeping in the woods tonight, if, indeed, he sleeps at all.
SOURCE: John Beatty, The Citizen-soldier: Or, Memoirs of a Volunteer, p. 27-8
Bardstown, where we
are now encamped, is an old city of about six thousand inhabitants. The
Seminary, which we now occupy as a hospital, was built when there were but
three houses in Cincinnati. The majority of the people, I am told, are
secessionists. We are encamped on the farm of Senator Wycliff, just outside of
the city, in a fine grove of beech and maple; a beautiful stream runs through
our camp, while a spring of pure water, enough to supply a brigade, bursts from
a crevice in the rocks.
SOURCE: David Lane,
A Soldier's Diary: The Story of a Volunteer, 1862-1865, p. 37
Reached Grafton at 1
P. M. All avowed secessionists have run away; but there are, doubtless, many
persons here still who sympathize with the enemy, and who secretly inform him
of all our movements.
SOURCE: John Beatty,
The Citizen-soldier: Or, Memoirs of a Volunteer, p. 9
On the 19th of June,
1861, the 5th Regiment of Wisconsin Vols., being partially organized, went into
camp at Madison, Wis. Here it remained for a time, perfecting its organization,
drilling and preparing itself for the hardships, the dangers, and the
responsibilities to be encountered in the battle-field, against a people
warlike and chivalric; a people who are taught to regard physical courage, and
recklessness of physical danger, as the noblest qualities of the human race,
and a people whose chief pride was to win in fight, whether with individuals or
in masses; but a people, who, having entrusted their politics to professed
politicians, were misled to believe that, by their brothers of the Northern
States of this Union, their rights of property were invaded, and their homes
were coveted as a prize for distribution amongst the overgrown population of
the North. But to enter into a discussion of the merits of this rebellion, now
devastating the most beautiful country known to man, carrying in its march a
passover of beggary, of destitution, and of death, is not in accordance with
the object of this little book. It is therefore passed over, that the reader
may at once be permitted to enter into a detail of the subjects indicated in
our preface.
From the time of the
commencement of the rebellion, by actual war on Fort Sumter, in April of this
year, its settlement by rapid and decisive victories over the rebels was
subject of merriment, and looked on as matter of course. We were going to war
with a people of not half our numbers, without money, without munitions of war,
without navy, without anything in fine of those elements which go to make up
the ensemble of a people powerful in war, and we were entering into the strife
as a short interlude to the hum-drum vocations of life. "How could a
people thus situated hope to compete with the parent Government, rich in every
element which makes a great people?" This was the reasoning. In vain were
our people told of the character of the Southerners. In vain were they referred
to the results of our own rebellion and successful revolutionary war with
England. "Oh!" was the reply, "Steamships were not known in
those days, and England had to cross the ocean to fight us." "But Hungary,
with its population of only 3,000,000, and without revenue, withstood the whole
power of Austria, till the hordes of Russia had to be called in to aid in their
subjugation." "But Austria had become a superannuated and feeble
people." No reasoning would answer. The subjugation of the revolted States
was to be a pastime, and could be nothing but a pastime. Thus went on matters,
drilling as an amusement, preparatory to the enjoyment of a war, all the
results of which were to be on our side, and obtained without sacrifice or suffering.
*
* * * * *
On the afternoon of
the 21st July, 1861, the electric wires brought us the intelligence from Bull
Run that our army was whipped, was routed, was scattered in flight. The heart
of the whole North received a shock of sadness and of disappointment. Soldiers
in camp began to realize that war meant work and danger, and the Regiment of
which I was a member at once received orders to be in readiness to march at the
earliest possible moment, to hurry to the aid of its companions
in arms. It was in
sad plight for the exposures of camp life. ’Twas in the heat of summer, when
fevers and diarrhoea prevail in their worst forms. The measles had broken out
in camp, and one-third of the soldiers were suffering from disease of some
kind. Nevertheless, active preparation went on, and on the fourth day after the
receipt of the sad news the Regiment was on its way to battle.
On the 27th of July
we reached Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and went into Camp Curtin. For months this
had been a rendezvous for regiment after regiment. The grounds had not been
cleaned—the weather was intensely hot, without a leaf to intercept the
scorching rays of the sun. The stench of the camp was intolerable, and the sickness
of the troops rapidly increased.1
On the 29th of July,
at night, we received orders to be ready to march at 3 o'clock next morning.
Our destination was supposed to be Harper's Ferry, where we were at once to
engage the enemy and to "wind up the war." So great was the
excitement (these things were all new then) that very few laid down for rest
during the night. At 3 A. M., of the 30th, all tents were struck and rolled up;
mess chests were packed, and everyone ready for the order to move. But sunrise came
and found us sitting on our packages. The day wore on, I think the hottest I
ever experienced. The troops remained exposed to the broiling sun till 2
o'clock P. M., when we embarked on open platform cars, without seats, and
without covering. We ran down through the city, crossed the Susquehannah
Bridge, halted, and remained sitting or standing in the sun till evening. The
heat of the day, determining the circulation to the skin, had brought out the
eruption in many cases of measles, and the poor fellows had to sit and suffer,
without a place to lie down, or even a back to lean against. At dusk we found
ourselves again under way; ran down to York, Pa., about forty miles. It had now
commenced raining, and the cars were run out from the depot, and the suffering
men who had been all day washed with their own perspiration, were compelled to
sit all night in the rain. Sick or well, 'twas all the same. None were permitted
to leave the open cars and go back into the depot. Towards morning the rain
stopped; the wind shifted suddenly to the Northwest, and it was cold as
November. After the long tedious night of suffering, the morning came, and we
ran down to Baltimore, arriving there at 8 o'clock on the morning of July 31st.
We had anticipated
trouble here. We disembarked, marched with muskets loaded, and bayonets fixed,
from north to south through the entire length of the city, without molestation,
except from the scowls of secessionists, and the welcoming hurrahs of friends.2
At the Camden Street depot we remained in the most uncomfortable condition which
it is possible to conceive till sunset, when we were ordered for the twentieth
time during the day to "fall in." We disembarked, marched about two
and a half miles, and camped on an elevated ground to the north of, and
overlooking a large part of the city and bay. The regiment did not get settled
till midnight, and many were so exhausted that they threw themselves on the
ground, with their clothes still wet from the previous night's rain. The
medical department, however, succeeded by 10 o'clock in getting up tents to
protect the sick, and they were made as comfortable as the circumstances would
permit.
Here the regiment
remained till the 8th of August, without any occurrences worthy of note, except
that sickness continued to increase, and the knowledge I gained as to how
little some military commanders cared for the comfort of their sick men. After
we had been here five or six days, the Colonel was positively ignorant of the
fact that we had a hospital on the ground, though there were three within fifty
feet of his quarters, filled to their utmost capacity with the sick and
suffering. I was now receiving but little support in my efforts for their
health and comfort.
1 I made it my business to visit every tent
twice a day, to see that they were thoroughly cleaned, and that the sides of
the tent were raised so as freely to admit a current of air. But here the air
without was so foul as to improve the condition inside but little. I will here
say, however, that the Surgeon of a Regiment who does not visit every tent in
his encampment at least once a day, to satisfy himself by personal inspection
that it is thoroughly cleaned and ventilated, and that at least once a week the
tents are all struck, and the sun admitted for several hours to the ground on
which they stand, is not deserving of the position which he holds.
2 Only two companies were armed. They were
placed one in front, the other in the rear of the Regiment, and so marched
through the city.
SOURCE: Alfred L. Castleman, The Army of the Potomac. Behind the Scenes. A Diary of Unwritten History; From the Organization of the Army, by General George B. McClellan, to the close of the Campaign in Virginia about the First Day January, 1863, p. 5-9
"I am monarch
of all I survey." Last night, intelligence being received that an attack
was expected on Washington; we were ordered to move there instanter, and at
once the regiment was in motion. It got off in the course of the night, leaving
me here in charge of about forty men who were too sick to be moved. I am left
without provisions or money, except a few pounds of flour with which to feed
and care for the sick, and the ten well ones left with me, to aid me and to
look up deserters who have been left here. How am I to do it? I find a strong
secession element here, and at times it is very bold. The hurrahs for Jeff.
Davis are frequent, and all day the children are flaunting secession flags in
our faces, and flying secession kites in our camp ground
SOURCE: Alfred L.
Castleman, The Army of the Potomac.
Behind the Scenes. A Diary of Unwritten History; From the Organization of the
Army, by General George B. McClellan, to the close of the Campaign in Virginia
about the First Day January, 1863, p. 10
FALL OF FORT SUMTER.
The ball has opened;
crowds of eager citizens may be seen gathered together at the corners of the
streets excitedly discussing the grand topic of the day, and that topic is war.
Yes! bloody, destructive war will soon be upon us in all its horror. Oh, God!
grant us the power and fortitude to withstand the terrible calamity now hanging
o'er us, which no power, save that of Divine interposition, can prevent.
Dispatch after
dispatch, from the far South, comes over the magnetic wires, and soon the
astounding news, "big with the fate" of a new-born people, is shouted
by a thousand tongues that
“SUMTER HAS
FALLEN."
The crowds on the
street soon become a dense mass—calm, dignified men seem instantly transformed
into wild Secessionists; there are no Unionists now; we are all determined to
stand by the South, right or wrong—too late for discussion now—with her to
conquer or die.
Some one in the
crowd cries out, "For the Governor's House." This was received with a
shout, and as “Honest John Letcher" had been excessively Union, the crowd
rushed furiously toward the Governor's mansion, and after repeated calls,
Governor Letcher made his appearance, not a little discomposed by the clamor
and confusion of this excited mob. He attempted to speak, but the maddened
populace suspected "Honest John" was still unwilling to come out
boldly for the Confederate cause, and consequently his remarks were unheard,
save by those immediately around him.
Only half appeased were
the dizzy and infatuated mass. Some other excitement was wanted, and the
"Star Spangled Banner" floated, as it were, half timidly upon the
highest point of our State Capitol, and each star seemed to weep as the Demon
of Death stretched forth his mighty wings to begin his sad flight.
"Tear down that
accursed flag," was shouted by the crowd, and immediately some half dozen,
bolder than the rest, rushed quickly into the Capitol, in which the State
Convention was then sitting, hurried up the steps, and in less time than I take
to write this the Star Spangled Banner was torn from its flag-staff, and
supplanted by Virginia's proud motto, "Sic Semper Tyrannis."
Peal after peal of
long continued applause rent the air, seeming to ascend up to the very throne
of Heaven and calling upon God to witness the stern determination of the
Southern people. The few Unionists who still madly clung to the fond hope that
peace would yet be restored, threatened vengeance on the Secessionists for
tearing down the United States flag, and, in fact, it was said that
"Honest John" went so far as to order out the "Public
Guard" to disperse the crowd collected on the Capitol Square.
Well was it for the
"Guard," and also for “Honest John" that such was not the case,
for had they made their appearance, a terrible riot would have been the
inevitable consequence.
Indeed, the times
and the Richmond people remind me much of the run-mad Red Republicanism of
France, for never were a people so enthusiastically mad as now. However, any
nation to be successful, must first be baptized in the blood of its own
citizens, and now we are to have this theory brought practically into effect.
Nightfall, instead
of quieting the excitement, seemed if possible to add fresh fuel to the flame.
The crowded streets and wild shouts of the people, together with the lurid
glare of an hundred tar-barrels, torches steeped in rosin, and rockets whirling
high above the houses, presented a spectacle rarely witnessed by our somewhat
apathetic people of Richmond.
Already the work of
Revolution has commenced. Far away on the coast of South Carolina the smoke and
din of battle has awakened the people of Virginia, who too long have
slumbered when work should have been done, to the consciousness that the war
cloud, with all its pent up fury, is now bursting upon them. The question now
most agitating the public mind is—“What will be the action of
the Virginia Convention, now sitting in the State-House, and elected
as it was by such an overwhelming Union majority?"
They cannot
withstand this outside pressure brought to bear upon them, and must either
remove to some other point in the State or pass the Ordinance of Secession at
an early date, and then leave it to the people whether or not we will cast our
lot with our sister Southern States. My mind is fully made up to join the
Southern army no matter whether Virginia secedes or not, though from
the time I can remember I have bitterly opposed the doctrine of secession.
SOURCE: William S.
White, A Diary of the War; or
What I Saw of It, p. 89-91
PADUCAH, KY. On Saturday morning about five o'clock we
were ordered to be ready to march in twenty-five minutes. We soon learned our
destination was Paducah. We embarked at Cairo on board the "Fair
Play." This boat had been captured from the rebels. We arrived here in the
night time and on Sunday morning disembarked. This is a beautiful place and
much preferable to Cairo. We are encamped on the banks of the Tennessee river
on a bluff about fifty feet above the river and on a sandy soil which soon
dries after a rain. On our arrival I was appointed "officer of the
day" and had to make the grand rounds, which means to visit all the
pickets. I had to ride about fifteen miles in a drenching rain at 12 o'clock at
night but I did not mind it as I was only too glad to have something to do. Men
are all better satisfied at getting south of the Ohio River as they feel they
are now in the enemy's country. We are kept busy drilling in battalion drill
which to me is preferable to company drill. There are a great many
secessionists in this place and no doubt but what our movements are made known
to the rebel officers daily. I forgot to say that our surgeon, Dr. E. Powell,
is one of the best in the service. 1st Assistant Surgeon Dr. Durham is only a
beginner.
SOURCE: Joseph Stockton,
War Diary (1862-5) of Brevet Brigadier
General Joseph Stockton, p. 2
Judge Allen for many years was one of the most distinguished lawyers and jurists of Western Virginia. He was born at Woodstock, Shenandoah County, Virginia, September 25, 1797. His father, Judge James Allen, was also an able lawyer and jurist and was eminent in his day and generation. The subject of this brief sketch was educated at Washington College, Lexington, Virginia, and Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He read law under the guidance of his father and was admitted to the practice in the courts of the Valley of Virginia. In 1819 he located at Clarksburg in the western part of the State and began the practice of his profession in Harrison and adjoining counties. Being thoroughly equipped he was not long in forging to the front and securing employment in important litigations of those early days. Indeed by ability and learning he very soon found employment on one side or the other in most big law suits in the three or four counties in which he practiced. Late in the twenties he formed a partnership with Gideon D. Camden, also a lawyer of prominence at Clarksburg, which continued for eight or ten years, until Mr. Allen in 1836 was appointed a Judge of the Circuit Court of Virginia, when he retired from the firm.
In 1827 Judge Allen was elected to the State Senate, and while a member of that body he introduced a bill, which afterwards became a law, for the settlement of land titles, in trans-Allegheny, Virginia. In 1834 he was elected Commonwealth's Attorney for the counties of Harrison, Lewis and Preston. At the same time he was a member of the 23d Congress, serving from 1833 to 1835. In all of the public positions he held he was faithful, honorable and able. He married in 1824. Although he was extremely reserved while in public life, he was gentle, affectionate and communicative in his social relations with his family and friends, and was firm and sincere in his religious convictions. He was appointed a Circuit Judge in 1836, and removed his residence to Botetourt County, and was promoted to the Supreme Court of Appeals in December, 1840. He died at Fincastle in 1871. He was an ardent secessionist at the beginning of the war, and retired from active life in 1865. He was a member of the Supreme Court for a quarter of a century, and his opinions show him to be a man of vast erudition. He was, beyond question, an able and just Judge, and his private and public life were above reproach.
SHERWOOD FOREST, November 10, 1860.
So all is over, and Lincoln elected. South Carolina will secede. What other States will do remains to be seen. Virginia will abide developments. The Bellites will seek to divide parties into Unionists and the reverse. We shall see the result. It is said that Rives is offered the premiership. He will only take it upon satisfactory assurances being given, I am sure. For myself, I rest in quiet, and shall do so unless I see that my poor opinions have due weight. In the meantime confidence between man and man is giving way, and soon gold and silver will be hoarded by those who are fortunate enough to have them.
Love to all.GENERAL: My brother William has just arrived from East Tennessee, and the news he brings I think of so much importance, that I will dispatch a special messenger to convey it to you. My brother left Roane County, near Kingston, on Monday night last. 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 Greene County; Strawberry Plains, in Jefferson County, 15 miles east of Knoxville, partially destroyed; Hiawassee Bridge, 70 miles southwest of Knoxville, and on the East Tennessee and Georgia. Railroad; two bridges over the Chickamauga, between Cleveland and Chattanooga, and 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 Atlantic road, are probably destroyed.
The consternation among the secessionists of East Tennessee is very great. The Union men are waiting with longing and anxiety for the appearance of Federal forces on the Cumberland Mountains, and are all ready to rise up in defense of the Federal Government. My brother states that he has it, from reliable sources that the rebels have but 15,000 men at Bowling Green, many of them badly armed and poorly organized. The other 15,000 men are distributed at two other points in Southwestern Kentucky.
The above information was obtained from Union members of Tennessee legislature who were at Bowling Green on last Monday was a week ago.
On last Monday, as nearly as could be ascertained, Zollicoffer had in East Tennessee 8,000 men, about 1,000 of whom were unarmed, and about 1,500 on sick list, most of them badly clothed, and many poorly armed. About 6,000 of the above were at different points on Cumberland Mountains; at Jacksborough there were some troops, but the exact number could not be accurately ascertained. There were 1,400 at Knoxville, but only 600 of them able to bear arms. There were 60 at London, 60 at Carter's Depot, and 300 at Jamestown.
The only troops that have passed through East Tennessee in last six weeks was an Alabama regiment, 800 strong, which went to Virginia; they were without arms.
I send you a Nashville paper, brought by my brother, containing some account of the attack on Port Royal.
I to-day moved Colonel Garrard's regiment to the ground which was occupied by the Thirty-third Indiana, and the First and Second Regiments East Tennessee to the heights where the artillery and Thirty-eighth Ohio were encamped. I have heard nothing definite since yesterday from Cumberland Gap, but I have reason to believe that the reported loss of the Union men at Cumberland Ford was not correct. If possible, general, send me some artillery, for if I am attacked with artillery I cannot resist with any hope of success. Some cavalry are also necessary to our security.
General, if it be possible, do urge the commanding general to give us some additional force and let us advance into East Tennessee; now is the time. And such a people as are those who live in East Tennessee deserve and should be relieved and protected. You know the importance of this move, and will, I hope, use all your influence to effect it. Our men will go forward with a shout to relieve their native land.
The brigade commissary has not yet handed in his report of the amount of provisions on hand; but I think we have already nearly, if not quite, a month's supply on hand.
With much respect, I am, dear general, yours, very truly,
We have word that Sheridan has had a battle with a part of Lee's army, has captured six Rebel generals and several thousand prisoners. His dispatch intimates the almost certain capture of Lee.
In the closing up of this Rebellion, General Grant has proved himself a man of military talent. Those who have doubted and hesitated must concede him some capacity as a general. Though slow and utterly destitute of genius, his final demonstrations and movements have been masterly. The persistency which he has exhibited is as much to be admired as any quality in his character. He is, however, too regardless of the lives of his men.
It is desirable that Lee should be captured. He, more than any one else, has the confidence of the Rebels, and can, if he escapes, and is weak enough to try and continue hostilities, rally for a time a brigand force in the interior. I can hardly suppose he would do this, but he has shown weakness, and his infidelity to the country which educated, and employed, and paid him shows gross ingratitude. His true course would be to desert the country he has betrayed, and never return.
Memo. This Rebellion which has convulsed the nation for four years, threatened the Union, and caused such sacrifice of blood and treasure may be traced in a great degree to the diseased imagination of certain South Carolina gentlemen, who some thirty and forty years since studied Scott's novels, and fancied themselves cavaliers, imbued with chivalry, a superior class, not born to labor but to command, brave beyond mankind generally, more intellectual, more generous, more hospitable, more liberal than others. Such of their countrymen as did not own slaves, and who labored with their own hands, who depended on their own exertions for a livelihood, who were mechanics, traders, and tillers of the soil, were, in their estimate, inferiors who would not fight, were religious and would not gamble, moral and would not countenance duelling, were serious and minded their own business, economical and thrifty, which was denounced as mean and miserly. Hence the chivalrous Carolinian affected to, and actually did finally, hold the Yankee in contempt. The women caught the infection. They were to be patriotic, Revolutionary matrons and maidens. They admired the bold, dashing, swaggering, licentious, boasting, chivalrous slave-master who told them he wanted to fight the Yankee but could not kick and insult him into a quarrel. And they disdained and despised the pious, peddling, plodding, persevering Yankee who would not drink, and swear, and fight duels.
The speeches and letters of James Hamilton and his associates from 1825 forward will be found impregnated with the romance and poetry of Scott, and they came ultimately to believe themselves a superior and better race, knights of blood and spirit.
Only a war could wipe out this arrogance and folly, which had by party and sectional instrumentalities been disseminated through a large portion of the South. Face to face in battle and in field with these slandered Yankees, they learned their own weakness and misconception of the Yankee character. Without self-assumption of superiority, the Yankee was proved to be as brave, as generous, as humane, as chivalric as the vaunting and superficial Carolinian to say the least. Their ideal, however, in Scott's pages of "Marmion," "Ivanhoe," etc., no more belonged to the Sunny South than to other sections less arrogant and presuming but more industrious and frugal.
On the other hand, the Yankees, and the North generally, underestimated the energy and enduring qualities of the Southern people who were slave-owners. It was believed they were effeminate idlers, living on the toil and labor of others, who themselves could endure no hardship such as is indispensable to soldiers in the field. It was also believed that a civil war would, inevitably, lead to servile insurrection, and that the slave-owners would have their hands full to keep the slaves in subjection after hostilities commenced. Experience has corrected these misconceptions in each section.
Great is the professed enthusiasm of the Democrats over the doings at Chicago, as if it were not a matter of course. Guns are fired, public meetings held, speeches made with dramatic effect, but I doubt if the actors succeed even in deceiving themselves. Notwithstanding the factious and petty intrigues of some professed friends, a species of treachery which has lurked in others who are disappointed, and much mismanagement and much feeble management, I think the President will be reëlected, and I shall be surprised if he does not have a large majority.
At Chicago there were extreme partisans of every hue, —Whigs, Democrats, Know-Nothings, Conservatives, War men and Peace men, with a crowd of Secessionists and traitors to stimulate action, — all uniting as partisans, few as patriots. Among those present, there were very few influential names, or persons who had public confidence, but scoundrels, secret and open traitors of every color.
General Gillmore and Fox went yesterday to the front to see General Grant and try to induce him to permit a force to attack and close the port of Wilmington. It is, undoubtedly, the most important and effective demonstration that can be made. If of less prestige than the capture of Richmond, it would be as damaging to the Rebels.
SOURCE: Gideon Welles, Diary of Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy Under Lincoln and Johnson, Vol. 2: April 1, 1864 — December 31, 1866, p. 132-3
The whole nation seems now to be heartily bowing its neck; in the North to Abolition, and in the South to Democracy and Secession. Each of the leaders seems to me to be conducting us to perdition. Being compelled to wear one or the other of these yokes, the latter is less galling to me and the goal seems more distant, and I bow my neck and submit to the goad.
In the present attitude of affairs no man will more willingly strengthen the military arm of the South and repel our invaders, but when the victory is won and peace restored, it is evident our late political opponents will regard us as subjugated vassals. They only tolerate us now because they need our aid to do the fighting. Events have proved Yancey's political sagacity. With the aid of the old villain Lincoln, the Secessionists have “warmed the Southern heart and influenced the Southern mind.” I regard the revolution as successful and the new government bound together with no [word illegible] of mind. But I know how impotent are the efforts of the wisest to look into the future, and find consolation in the hope that when Wickedness and Folly shall have finished their carnival, that Providence will bring good out of the miseries now impending
SOURCE: J. G. de Roulhac Hamilton, Editor, The Correspondence of Jonathan Worth, Volume 1, p. 157-8
I have just returned from Raleigh. The State regards the impending war as a sectional one and all seemed determined to repel it. A large majority up to the issuing of Lincoln's proclamation were firm for the Union. Some of us would have made any sacrifice to preserve it. The small concessions made by the last Congress had strengthened us. Lincoln prostrated us. He could have devised no scheme more effectual than the one he has pursued, to overthrow the friends of Union here. Whether this was his design in order to make war upon slavery, or his purpose only what he professes, we are in doubt. [Next three lines illegible.] Whatever may be his purpose, any sensible man could foresee, and this act of his will prove, that he is the most efficient auxiliary of the secessionists. I have been the most persevering and determined public man in my State to preserve the Union—the last to abandon the hope, that the good sense of the Nation would prevent a collision between the extremes, each of which I viewed with equal abhorrence. I am left no other alternative but to fight for or against my section. I can not hesitate. Lincoln has made us a unit to resist until we repel our invaders or die. I can see no hope in the future, whatever may be the issue of the fight, which now seems inevitable. The best chance for ultimate re-union would be a peaceable separation.
Our Legislature is terrible. You will have seen our new stay law. All collection for creditors at home and abroad is cut off, without any security to creditors.
Will you please let me know how accts. stand between me and you? I intend to pay the little I owe North and South, if I can be permitted to do so without being a traitor.
Read Gov. Graham's speech to the Hillsboro volunteers, published in the Standard this week. It is a true exponent of the views of all quondam Union men here.
PHILADELPHIA, PA.
SOURCE: J. G. de Roulhac Hamilton, Editor, The Correspondence of Jonathan Worth, Volume 1, p. 143
ASHEBORO, May 20,
'61.
Knowing that you are an ardent personal and political friend and that you cannot hear well, and that you are concerned on account of the slanders which my ignoble political opponents are industriously circulating, not to promote the good of the country by breaking me down, but to gratify personal malevolence—I desire to say to you that I have changed no political opinion I have heretofore maintained.
I still firmly believe in the wisdom and virtue of Washington and the early promoters of our government and that war. no other divided government can ever be built up so good as the United one we are pulling down—and hence I abhor the Northern Abolitionist and the Southern Secessionist, both co-operating with different objects, to break up the Union, but the whole nation has become mad. The voice of reason is silenced. Furious passion and thirst for blood consume the air. Democracy and Abolition, moved and instigated by the Devil, are the opposing factions. Nobody is allowed to retain and assert his reason. The cartridge box is preferred to the ballot box. The very women and children are for war. Every body must take sides with one or the other of these opposing factions or fall a victim to the mob or lose all power to guide the torrent when its fury shall begin to subside. It is barely possible that the leaders may pause before the carnage fairly sets in. The best chance to produce such pause and prevent war, is for us to show a united purpose to enlist besides, if we must fight, none of us can hesitate to fight for our wives-our homes-our sections. I have therefore concluded to urge our young men to volunteer. Division or hesitation among us will but invite the invasion of the black Republicans. My maxim has always been to choose among the evils around me and do the best I can. I think the annals of the world furnish no instance of so groundless a war—but as our nation will have it—if no peace can be made—let us fight like men for our own firesides.
SOURCE: J. G. de Roulhac Hamilton, Editor, The Correspondence of Jonathan Worth, Volume 1, p. 148-9
This State is now a perfect unit as the North seems to be. No man desired or worked harder than myself to preserve the Union, but the Abolitionists North and the fire-eaters South have gradually forced everybody into the ranks of the one or the other. In N. C. the Union sentiment was largely in the ascendant and gaining strength until Lincoln prostrated us. Congress having refused to pass the force bill, we felt that the President could abandon Sumter and Pickens without any sacrifice of his principles, but in conformity with the Legislative will. He induced the whole South so to believe. The assurance of Seward to Judge Campbell seems to have been made with deliberate duplicity, and we can not doubt that Mr. Lincoln knew his policy would disarm all Union men in the Southern States. He did more than all the secessionists to break up the Union, but whether he did this, not being statesman enough to comprehend the effect of his measures; or whether his purpose was to drive all the slave States into rebellion, thinking he could bring against us men enough, with the aid of a servile insurrection, to overthrow us and abolish Slavery, we are in doubt. If the Union be restored, the War must at once cease. Our white population and our slaves will resist to the death. I infer from all I can see that Lincoln's measures have united the North. The have certainly united North Carolina. The North must stop her warlike measures and consent to a severance of the government—or the God of Battles must long gloat over the carnage of alienated brethren. Reason has left. Rage controls both sections.
God save the Country.-
Gov. Graham, as I presume you know, is universally respected for every quality which should commend the regard of good and wise men. He was as strong for the Union as Edward Everett till Lincoln's proclamation. I enclose a late speech of his. Have it published in some of your leading papers. Let good men North and South understand each other.
BOSTON, MASS.
