From The 11th Iowa Regiment

2 MILES WEST OF BATTLE GROUND,

PITTSBURG, TENN., April 28.

EDITOR GAZETTE:– On Friday last the Iowa 11th and 13th struck tents and marched out about 3 miles to a new camping ground, to the front and in line of battle with the army here.  Shortly afterwards the Iowa 15th and 16th arrived, and moved to our left.  These four regiments constitute the third brigade of the 6th division of the army of the West.  The division is under Gen. McKean, and this brigade is commanded by Col. Crocker of the 13th Iowa, and is the first and only brigade made up wholly of Iowa troops.

The Colonel commanding the brigade has the entire confidence of all who know him.  Col. Crocker is a good officer; at the head of his troops and in the thickest of the fray on Sunday, he gallantly lead the regiment, until Col. Hare’s injuries compelled him to leave the field, and the command of the brigade devolved on Col. Crocker, and no one who witnessed the heroic endurance with which his command still held the foe at bay, until night closed the scene can fail to appreciate the skill and honor his heroism and that of his men.

Our New Iowa brigade will do no discredit to our gallant State.  The best feeling prevails between the different regiments, and we all feel happy to be brigaded with a regiment that has so nobly vindicated the courage of our State, as the 13th, and under so noble a commander as Col. Crocker.  I might give thrilling incidents of the conduct of both officers and men of the 13th in the late engagement, as narrated to me, but prefer to leave this to others, who say and partook of the action with them.

We all concluded on Monday that among the most beautiful and moving things in history of poetry, were “Buell’s lines on Beauregard.”

On Saturday our regiment had scarcely settled down in our new quarters, and dried off the rain of the day before, from clothing and accoutrements, when we were visited, on half hour notice, by. Gen. Inspection, (who is at no time a very welcome visitor to the soldiers) by Gen. Halleck, Inspector General.

Gen. Pope’s army has arrived, bringing up the Iowa 2d Cavalry and the 4th and 10th regiments of Infantry.  Your readers may think it a vastly pleasant time here to visit friends and enjoy this warm spring weather – birds singing overhead, and the pleasant breezes blowing through your evening tent, as you sit around the supper table, narrating thrilling incidents and “hair-breadth escapes.”  In reality it is almost as difficult to visit one’s friend outside the division to which we belong, as though States intervened.  Gen. Halleck has issued orders, forbidding company officers or men leaving their own division (except on duty) under any pretext, without leave from headquarters.

Mr. Editor, as one who had some little part in the battle of Pittsburg Landing, I am vexed to see those who took no part in Sunday’s fight, saying we were whipped that day.  I desire to deny the assertion.  Borne back by numbers, but with unconquered will, 20,000 brave men of the morning army fought through this day and lay on their arms at night to renew the fight next morning, and with Lew. Wallace’s division we would have won the battle on Monday.  No army is beaten while it can raise such a force and with such feelings as animated out brave men.

The sun shines once more warm and drying.  Skirmishers are out ahead and little encounters of pickets and skirmishers are of daily occurrence.  Look out for large events ere long.  Our army has all confidence in Gen. Halleck.  The health of our men is improving and we were ready to act at any time.

We have already buried over 3,000 of the rebel dead, from the late battle, and we are still finding them were their wounded were abandoned in their flight of Monday night.  Our present camp is near where Gens. Johnston and Beauregard lay the night before the battle.

Yours truly,

Co. B, 11TH IOWA.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, May 5, 1862, p. 2

Sir James C. Ross, the explorer . . .

. . . died at Aylesbury, England on the 3d of April, aged 62.  He was the discoverer of the North Magnetic Pole, and in 1839-43 reach 78 degrees 10 seconds south, the nearest approach to the South Pole ever made

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, May 5, 1862, p. 2

Diary of Alexander G. Downing: Tuesday, September 23, 1862

We moved out of the old camp in the woods and went into bivouac in a large field. We are obliged to form a line of battle every morning at 2 o'clock and remain in line until after sunrise. A few of the rebel cavalry are still watching us in this vicinity. Our entire division is at this place, but it is thought that we shall soon leave for Corinth, as Iuka is not a very important point to hold, but Corinth, because of its two railroad lines, is very important.

Source: Alexander G. Downing, Edited by Olynthus B., Clark, Downing’s Civil War Diary, p. 71

First Of May Receipt - To Clean Paint

Smear a piece of flannel with common whiting, mixed to the consistency of common paste, in warm water.  Rub the surface to be cleaned quite briskly, and wash off with pure cold water.  Grease spots in this way will be almost instantly removed, as well as other filth, and the paint will retain its brilliancy and beauty unimpaired.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, May 5, 1862, p. 2

From Cairo

CAIRO, May 2.

The river is stationary, and eight inches higher than was ever before known.

The news from Pittsburg is of the highest importance, but its transmission over the wires is prohibited.

The bombardment of Fort Pillow is continued by mortars, at short intervals.  It was generally believed that a simultaneous attack would be made by the fleet before the close of the week.

Deserters say that the entire rebel gunboat fleet, under command of Hollins, had arrived at Fort Pillow, and would make an attack on Com. Foote as soon as preparations were complete.

A Memphis paper of the 24th April says a meeting held the night previous had concluded to burn the city in case of the approach of the Federal fleet.

The fall of New Orleans is referred to, but no particulars are given.

An editorial urgently calls on the people to reinforce Price at Fort Pillow, as the only hope of salvation of the city.

Gov. Yates left here to-ni9ght for Pittsburg, with the steamer Champion, fitted up to accommodate 400 wounded Illinois soldiers.  He also takes up a large quantity of sanitary stores for distribution among the Illinois hospitals.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, May 5, 1862, p. 2

Diary of John Beauchamp Jones: Saturday, July 18, 1863

Lee has got over the Potomac with a loss, in crossing, of 1500; and Johnston has abandoned Jackson, Miss.

But we have awful good news from New York: an Insurrection, the loss of many lives, extensive pillage and burning, with a suspension of the conscription!

Gen. Morgan is in the enemy’s country.

SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 1, p. 381-2

Diary of Alexander G. Downing: Monday, September 22, 1862

No news of importance. Rain last night. Foraging parties are bringing in all the fresh pork that we can use, besides plenty of sweet potatoes. Our crackers, having been kept in storage so long, are musty and full of the weevil web, and there are no trains from Corinth to bring a fresh supply. We often clean them the best we can and bake them again in ashes or in skillets.

Source: Alexander G. Downing, Edited by Olynthus B., Clark, Downing’s Civil War Diary, p. 71

From Washington

WASHINGTON, May 2.

The Senate confirmed the appointment of Brig. Gens. Mitchell and Ord to be Major Generals of volunteers, and Capt. John Gibson, of the 4th artillery, to be Brigadier General.

Vessels that go South, excepting in the employ of the Government, no matter what their cargo, will be seized and confiscated.

According to a recent order from the War department, when the care of sick and disabled soldiers is assumed by the State from which they came, the subsistence department will commute there rations at 25c.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, May 5, 1862, p. 2

Diary of John Beauchamp Jones: Friday, July 17, 1863

At last we have the authentic announcement that Gen. Lee has recrossed the Potomac! Thus the armies of the Confederate States are recoiling at all points, and a settled gloom is apparent on many weak faces. The fall of Charleston is anticipated. Subjugation is not apprehended by the government; for, if driven to an interior line of defense, the war may be prolonged indefinitely, or at least until the United States becomes embroiled with some European power.

Meantime we are in a half starving condition. I have lost twenty pounds, and my wife and children are emaciated to some extent. Still, I hear no murmuring.

To-day, for the second time, ten dollars in Confederate notes are given for one in gold; and no doubt, under our recent disasters, the depreciation will increase. Had it not been for the stupidity of our Dutch Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Memminger, there would have been no financial difficulties. If he had recommended (as he was urged to do) the purchase by the government of all the cotton, it could have been bought at 7 cents per pound; and the profits alone would have defrayed the greater portion of the expenses of the war, besides affording immense diplomatic facilities and advantages. But red-tape etiquette, never violated by the government, may prove our financial ruin beyond redemption. It costs this government five times as much to support an army as it does the United States; and the call for conscripts is a farce, since the speculators (and who is not one now?) will buy exemptions from the party who, strangely, have the authority to grant them.

The last accounts from Jackson state that Burnside is reinforcing Grant, and that heavy .skirmishing is going on daily. But all suppose that Johnston must retreat. And Bragg is in no condition to face Rosecrans.

Whether Lee will come hither or not, no one knows; but some tremble for the fate of Richmond. Lee possibly may cross the Potomac again, however, if Meade detaches a heavy force to capture Richmond.

What our fate would be if we fall into the hands of the invader, may be surmised from the sufferings of the people in New Orleans.

SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 1, p. 381-2

Diary of Alexander G. Downing: Sunday, September 21, 1862

We lay around all day in the camp which the rebels vacated. Their tents are badly torn, but the wooden bunks are in good condition. The wounded have all been cared for and the dead were buried today. A detachment of our army is still in pursuit of the rebels. Our brigade has been detailed to garrison this place and we expect our tents to arrive soon. I was detailed on camp guard this morning.

Source: Alexander G. Downing, Edited by Olynthus B., Clark, Downing’s Civil War Diary, p. 70

In The Review Queue: John Bell Hood

John Bell Hood: The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of a Confederate General

By Stephen Hood

John Bell Hood was one of the Confederacy's most successful-and enigmatic-generals. He died at 48 after a brief illness in August of 1879, leaving behind the first draft of his memoirs Advance and Retreat: Personal Experiences in the United States and Confederate States Armies. Published posthumously the following year, the memoirs immediately became as controversial as their author. A careful and balanced examination of these "controversies," however, coupled with the recent discovery of Hood's personal papers (which were long considered lost) finally sets the record straight in John Bell Hood: The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of a Confederate General.

Outlived by most of his critics, Hood's published version of many of the major events and controversies of his Confederate military career were met with scorn and skepticism. Some described his memoirs as nothing more than a polemic against his arch-rival Joseph E. Johnston. These unflattering opinions persisted throughout the decades and reached their nadir in 1992, when an influential author described Hood's memoirs as "merely a bitter, misleading, and highly distorted treatise" replete with "distortions, misrepresentations, and outright falsifications." Without any personal papers to contradict them, many historians and writers portrayed Hood as an inept and dishonest opium addict and a conniving, vindictive cripple of a man. One writer went so far as to brand him "a fool with a license to kill his own men." What most readers don't know is that nearly all of these authors misused sources, ignored contrary evidence, and/or suppressed facts sympathetic to Hood.

Stephen M. "Sam" Hood, a distant relative of the general, embarked on a meticulous forensic study of the common perceptions and controversies of his famous kinsman. His careful examination of the original sources utilized to create the broadly accepted "facts" about John Bell Hood uncovered startlingly poor scholarship by some of the most well-known and influential historians of the 20th and 21st centuries. These discoveries, coupled with his access to a large cache of recently discovered Hood papers-many penned by generals and other officers who served with Hood-confirm Hood's account that originally appeared in his memoir and resolve, for the first time, some of the most controversial aspects of Hood's long career.

"Blindly accepting historical 'truths' without vigorous challenge," cautions one historian, "is a perilous path to understanding real history." The shocking revelations in John Bell Hood: The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of a Confederate General will forever change our perceptions of Hood as both a man and a general, and those who set out to shape his legacy.

ISBN 978-1611211405, Savas Beatie, © 2013, Hardcover, 336 Pages, Photographs & Illustrations, Maps, Footnotes, Appendices, Bibliography & Index. $32.95.  To Purchase the book click HERE.

Loan Negotiated

Mr. Cisco to-day negotiated the exchange of one million of 7 3-10 notes for $1,000,000, the interest upon the notes to be paid up to date by the Banks making the exchange.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, May 5, 1862, p. 2

We Hope So

It is said that Gen. Hunter has orders to burn the city of Charleston.  “And let all the people say Amen!”

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, May 5, 1862, p. 2

Diary of John Beauchamp Jones: Thursday, July 16, 1863

This-is another blue day in the calendar. Nothing from Lee, or Johnston, or Bragg; and no news is generally bad news. But from Charleston we learn that the enemy are established on Morris Island, having taken a dozen of our guns and howitzers in the sand hills at the lower end; and that the monitors had passed the bar, and doubtless an engagement by land and by water is imminent, if indeed it has not already taken place. Many regard Charleston as lost. I do not.

Again the Enquirer, edited by Mitchel, the Irishman, is urging the President to seize arbitrary power; but the Examiner combats the project defiantly.

Mr. Secretary Seddon, who usually wears a sallow and cadaverous look, which, coupled with his emaciation, makes him resemble an exhumed corpse after a month's interment, looks to-day like a galvanized corpse which had been buried two months. The circles round his eyes are absolutely black! And yet he was pacing briskly backward and forward between the President's office and the War Department. He seems much affected by disasters.

The United States agent of exchange has sent a notice to our agent that the negroes we capture from them in battle must be exchanged as other soldiers are, according to the cartel, which said nothing about color; and if the act of Congress in relation to such soldiers be executed, the United States would retaliate to the utmost extremity.

Captains H. W. Sawyer and John Flinn, having been designated by lot for execution in retaliation for two of our captains executed by Gen. Burnside for recruiting in Kentucky, write somewhat lugubriously, in bad grammar and execrable chirography, that, as they never served under Burnside, they should not be made to suffer for his deed. They say we have two of Burnside's captains at Atlanta (and they give their names) who would be the proper victims.

I saw a paper to-day, sent to the department, with a list of the United States officers at Memphis who are said to have taken bribes; among them is Col. H____r, of Illinois, Provost Marshal General (Grant's staff); Col. A____, Illinois, ex-Provost Marshal; Capt. W____, Illinois, Assistant Provost Marshal; Capt. C____ (Gen. Herbert's staff), and “Dan Ross,” citizen of Illinois, procurer.

On the 9th instant Gen. D. H. Hill (now lieutenant-general, and assigned to Mississippi) asks if troops are to be sent to cover Lee's retreat; and fears, if the enemy establish themselves at Winchester, they will starve Lee to death. Speaking of the raid of the enemy to the North Carolina Railroad, he said they would do the State infinite service by dashing into Raleigh and capturing all the members of the legislature. He also hits at the local newspapers here. Their mention of his name, and the names of other officers in the campaign round Richmond, informed the enemy that we had no troops at Goldsborough and Weldon, and hence the raid. And, after all, he says the enemy were not more numerous than our forces in the recent dash at Richmond. He says it was no feint, but a faint.

To-day an order was issued for the local troops to deliver up their ammunition. What does that mean?

And to-day the President calls for the second class of conscripts, all between eighteen and forty-five years of age. So our reserves must take the field!

SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 1, p. 380-1

Baltimore, May 3 [1862].

The Old Point boat has arrived, but it brings no news.  A flag of truce had come down from Norfolk, but no later intelligence came with it.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, May 5, 1862, p. 1

Diary of Alexander G. Downing: Saturday, September 20, 1862

We remained in line of battle all night and early this morning advanced in a line about two miles, when we received orders to march on into Iuka. The rebels retreated during the night, and General Rosecrans' forces are after them. We learned this morning that a battle had been fought yesterday here by Rosecrans' forces alone. When we were waiting for the sound of Rosecrans' cannon, we could not hear them on account of an unfavorable wind. The rebels attacked him and made the fight come off a day before the time set for our capture of them. The Sixteenth Iowa of Crocker's Brigade had been detached from us and sent forward, being the only regiment of our brigade engaged in the fight. Their loss was fourteen killed. The Fifth Iowa in Rosecrans' army was trapped in an ambush which was made with a battery masked in green leaves, and lost forty-one killed. The rebels were driven out and left their dead and wounded on the field. Quite a number of our wounded are now being brought into town from the battlefield. Iuka is a nice place with some good buildings. It is well supplied with good water from splendid springs. There is poor farming land around here, it being quite rolling in this part of Tennessee. The timber, mostly pine, is rather scrubby.

Source: Alexander G. Downing, Edited by Olynthus B., Clark, Downing’s Civil War Diary, p. 70

From Washington

WASHINGTON, May 2.

The current report that Gen. McDowell has crossed the Rappahannock and occupied Fredericksburg is untrue.  Telegraph communication is now established with him.

Dispatches from Gen. Halleck, dated to-day, say nothing of the reported evacuation of Corinth.  It is discredited.

Deserters from the rebel army here continue to be numerous.  They are coming in daily, almost hourly, from various directions, and all agree in their statements that the rebel force numbers about 100,000 and of a very general depression in spirits both among officers and men.  The news of our recent victories is sedulously kept from them.

Time’s Special.

The town was startled by a rumor to-day that all the members of Congress of the border slave States, and a number of conservative sympathizes from other States, were seriously contemplating the propriety of withdrawing in a body from the Senate and House thus precipitating a decision by the people of the whole country on the radical measures of emancipation and confiscation.

The finance committee of the Senate received a deputation of butchers from New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore to-day by those arguments they were prevailed upon to reduce the tax on slaughtered animals.

WASHINGTON, May 3.

The following was received at the Navy Department to-day:

FLAG SHIP WABASH,

PORT ROYAL, S. C., April 28.

I have just time, this A. M., before the departure of the Susquehanna, to inform the department of the arrival here of the rebel steamer Isabella, Ella Warley, in charge of Lieut. Wilson, and a prize crew, she having been captured by the St. Jago de Cuba, Commander Ridgeley, 10 miles north of Abaco.  She is deeply loaded with Enfield rifles, and has, it is supposed rifled cannon in her forehold, which has not yet been examined.  These arms were taken on board of course at one of the neutral colonies of our coast.  I am informed by Lieut. Gibson that the St. Jago de Cuba discovered and chased the Nashville, but the latter was much too swift for her.  The Nashville also had arms on board for the rebels, intending to run the blockade if possible,

Very respectfully,

Your ob’t serv’t.,

S. F. DUPONT,

Flag Officer Commanding, &c.

To Hon. Gideon Welles, Sec’y of the Navy:

On the 8th ult. The army forces under Gen. Reno, departed at Cabb’s Point, N. C., for the purpose of destroying the locks of the Dismal Lock Canal  Having retired without accomplishing the object, Commander Rowlan determined to destroy the canal with the naval forces under his command.

The following is the report of the successful accomplishment of the work:

U. S. STEAMER COM. PERRY,

OFF ELIZABETH CITY, N. C., April 26.

SIR: – In obedience to your orders I left this place on the 22d inst., in the Lockwood, with the Whitehead and Putnam in company, each with an officer and detachment of men on board.  The Lockwood towing the wrecking schooner Emma Slade, with the apparatus for blowing up the banks to block up the Albemarle and Chesapeake canal at the North river.  We were joined by the Shawsher, having in tow a schooner which had been sent the day before to Roanoke Island, to be filled with sand.  On the morning of the 23rd, fifty men were landed on each bank, while a launch with a heavy twelve-pounder, was sent up the canal, and with this force we moved up two miles examining the banks to find the best place for operations.  I concluded to place the obstructions near the mouth, that the men while at work might be under the cover of the guns of the steamers, and the enemy prevented from moving it.  The schooner was sunk just inside of the canal and with brush, stones, trees and earth the passage was obstructed.  We were occupied from noon till sun-set.  Earth was thrown in by hand as far as could be, but we had no wheel-barrows to carry it to the middle.

Prof.  Mailler, of the Sub-marine Engineering Co., and his assistants, were of the greatest assistance to me.  Indeed, I was merely governed by his advice, as he is more familiar with this sort of work than I am.  He is of the opinion that it will require two or three months’ labor with a dredging machine to remove all what we have placed in a day and a half.  He says it will be easier and cheaper to cut a new outlet than to remove the obstructions.  The rebels, I think have no thought of using the canal, as they have themselves been obstructing it above and below the bridge.

WASHINGTON, May 3.

Special to the Post.

Secretaries Chase and Seward went down to Fortress Monroe last night.

Measures are in contemplation for the better defense of our northern frontier.

WASHINGTON, May 2.

Herald’s Special.

About two months ago I stated that there was in contemplation by the Government an amnesty measure; that it was proposed to offer an amnesty as soon as our power extended over Richmond, and a few other specified places.  Now I learn direct, not indirect, that the subject matter of such amnesty measure is actually under consideration, and my soon be issued – the whole depending on the immediate success of defeat of our arms.  I was told some time ago that such amnesty would be extended to all except Davis and his cabinet, and the Confederate Major and Brigadier Generals, with a few prominent and prominent civilians.

Senator Sumner’s bill, of which he gave notice, repeals three sections of the act of 1808, regulating the coastwise slave trade and makes the transportation of slaves from one port of the United States to the other a special offence.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, May 5, 1862, p. 1

Diary of John Beauchamp Jones: Wednesday, July 15, 1863

There was a rumor of another battle beyond the Potomac, this morning, but it has not been confirmed.

From Charleston we have no news; but from Jackson there has been considerable fighting, without a general engagement.                                                               

The Enquirer and Sentinel to-day squint at a military dictatorship; but President Davis would hardly attempt such a feat at such a time.

Gen. Samuel Jones, Western Virginia, has delayed 2000 men ordered to Lee, assigning as an excuse the demonstrations of the enemy in the Kanawha Valley. “Off with his head — so much for Buckingham!”

There is some gloom in the community; but the spirits of the people will rebound.

A large crowd of Irish, Dutch, and Jews are daily seen at Gen. Winder's door, asking permission to go North on the flag of truce boat. They fear being forced into the army; they will be compelled to aid in the defense of the city, or be imprisoned. They intend to leave their families behind, to save the property they have accumulated under the protection of the government.

Files of papers from Europe show that Mr. Roebuck and other members of Parliament, as well as the papers, are again agitating he question of recognition. We shall soon ascertain the real intentions of France and England. If they truly desire our success, and apprehend danger from the United States in the event of a reconstruction of the Union, they will manifest their purposes when the news of our recent calamities shall be transported across the ocean. And if such a thing as reconstruction were possible, and were accomplished (in such a manner and on such terms as would not appear degrading to the Southern people), then, indeed, well might both France and England tremble. The United States would have millions of soldiers, and the Southern people would not owe either of them a debt of gratitude.

SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 1, p. 379

Diary of Alexander G. Downing: Friday, September 19, 1862

Each man was ordered to have sixty rounds of cartridges, and leaving our bivouac, we marched a short distance and formed a line of battle waiting for the sound of cannon from Rosecrans' men in and around Iuka, on the opposite side of the rebels. Not hearing anything we slowly moved forward about four miles through the woods, remaining all the while in line of battle. We drove the rebel pickets in. At noon the Eleventh Iowa was on a high piece of ground in open field awaiting orders. Some of the boys started fires to boil their coffee, and the rebels, seeing the smoke, opened with a few shots from a battery of four-pounders. Then our battery of heavy guns, lying in front of us, suddenly opened up on them and soon put them out of business. But the boys put out their campfires in short order. When the rebels first opened fire upon us, I was lying on the ground resting my head upon my knapsack and a ball passed just over me, striking the ground at my left. That was a closer call than I cared to have and I did not think of taking a nap again.

Source: Alexander G. Downing, Edited by Olynthus B., Clark, Downing’s Civil War Diary, p. 69-70

In The Review Queue: The Last Battle of Winchester

The Last Battle of Winchester: Phil Sheridan, Jubal Early, and the Shenandoah Valley Campaign, August 7 - September 19, 1864

By Scott Patchan

The Last Battle of Winchester is the first serious study to chronicle the largest, longest, and bloodiest battle fought in the Shenandoah Valley. The fighting began about daylight and did not end until dusk, when the victorious Union army routed the Confederates off the field. It was the first time Stonewall Jackson's former corps had ever been driven from a battlefield, and the stinging defeat set the stage for the final climax of the 1864 Valley Campaign at Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek. The Northern victory was a long time coming.

After a spring and summer of Union defeat in the Valley, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant cobbled together a formidable force under redoubtable cavalryman Phil Sheridan. His task was a tall one: sweep Jubal Early's Confederate army out of the bountiful Shenandoah and reduce the verdant region of its supplies. Thus far, the aggressive Early had led Jackson's veterans to one victory after another at Lynchburg, Monocacy, Snickers Gap, and Kernstown.

Author Scott Patchan, recognized as the foremost authority on the 1864 Valley Campaign, dissects the five weeks of complex maneuvering and sporadic combat before the opposing armies ended up at Winchester, an important town in the northern end of the Valley that had changed hands dozens of times during the war. Tactical brilliance and ineptitude were on display throughout the day-long affair as Sheridan threw infantry and cavalry against the thinning Confederate ranks, and Early and his generals shifted to meet each assault. A final blow against Early's left flank collapsed the Southern army, killed one of the Confederacy's finest combat generals in Robert Rodes, and planted the seeds of the sweeping large-scale victory at Cedar Creek the following month.

Patchan's vivid prose is based upon more than two decades of meticulous firsthand research and an unparalleled understanding of the battlefield. Nearly two dozen original maps, scores of photos, hundreds of explanatory footnotes, and seven invaluable appendices enhance our understanding of this watershed battle. Rich in analysis and dramatic character development, The Last Battle of Winchester is certain to become a classic Civil War battle study.

About the Author:

A life-long student of military history, Scott C. Patchan is a graduate of James Madison University in the Shenandoah Valley. He is the author of many articles and books, including The Forgotten Fury: The Battle of Piedmont (1996), Shenandoah Summer: The 1864 Valley Campaign (2007), and Second Manassas: Longstreet's Attack and the Struggle for Chinn Ridge (2011). Patchan serves as a director on the board of the Kernstown Battlefield Association in Winchester, Virginia, and is a member of the Shenandoah Valley Battlefield Foundation's Resource Protection Committee.

ISBN 978-1932714982, Savas Beatie, © 2013, Hardcover, 576 Pages, Photographs, Maps, Footnotes, Appendices, Bibliography & Index. $34.95.  To Purchase the book click HERE.

Southern News

WASHINGTON, May 3.

According to reliable information from Richmond the planters have determined to raise no tobacco this season, and the military had received the stock on hand to prevent its falling into the hands of the Federal army.  The Richmond Examiner of May 2d contains the annexed news and items:

SAVANNAH, May 1.

A dispatch from the Corinth correspondent of the Republican, dated 28th April, says the enemy have been reinforced and are advancing.  There is heavy skirmishing daily.  Quite an affair occurred to-day this side of Monterey.

MOBILE, May 1.

A special dispatch to the Mobile Advertiser, from Corinth, 26th ult., says that Col. Scott, of the Louisiana Cavalry, with two companies, had driven out a regiment of Federals from Tuscumbia, killing several and taking 40 prisoners.  The enemy burnt their stores and were pursued by the Confederates.  The result is unknown.  The telegraph operator from the Bay St. Louis has telegraphed the Mobile office that the stores at New Orleans were being emptied of sugar and molasses, which were thrown into the streets and river.  The city was to have been formally surrendered on the 16th ult., but the time was extended.  Some of the enemy’s vessels have gone up river.

AUGUSTA, April 30.

The New Orleans Bulletin of Friday, says that F. D. Renshaw, Confederate States Navy Agent telegraphed from Point Alabasche on the 26th, that seven of our gunboats had been fired after being overpowered by the enemy.

The Navy Department received a similar dispatch last Saturday, but it is not known what boats are referred to.

SAVANNAH, May 1.

Gen. Lawton has formally communicated to the city council his determination to surrender the city.  The council have resolved to sustain Gen. Lawton.

MEMPHIS, April 29.

Dr. Foulkes, editor of the Memphis Avalanche, has been arrested for publishing an article calculated to array the planters against the government.

CHARLESTON, May 1.

The Federals have captured a small battery of two guns near White’s Point, twenty two miles from Charleston.

Gen. Evans has sent a force to look after the Yankees.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, May 5, 1862, p. 1

The Capture of Fort Macon

NEW YORK, May 3.

A special to the Tribune, giving an account of the capture of Fort Macon, says the fire of our batteries dismounted 13 guns and tore up the glacis and ramparts in the most effective manner.  Of 1,100 shots and shell thrown by them at the fort 560 struck the work.  The guns of the Fort were worked with skill and courage, but the hind hills of our position afforded complete protection to the men, and the hoisting of the white flag was followed by a conference with Gen. Parks [sic], and a suspension of hostilities until the following morning.  During the night the proposition to surrender was communicated to Gen. Burnside and in the morning articles of agreement were signed, and the garrison surrendered as prisoners of war, but were released on parole, and were allowed to take their private effects with them; the officers retained their side arms.  These were the terms originally proposed by Gen. Parks, but refused by Col. White, commandant of the fort.

The surrender of Fort Macon gives Gen. Burnside a port of entry with secure anchorage for his heaviest vessels.  It gives the Government another of the stolen fortifications with 50 guns, and 20,000 pounds of powder, with shot and shell in proportion, 400 stand of arms, and a large store of provisions, 420 prisoners and 30 horses.  It releases a portion of the blockading fleet for service elsewhere, and insures the retention of the district.

Gen. Burnside, in a general order congratulating Gen. Park on his victory, commands that the name “Fort Macon” be inscribed on the colors of the 4th and 5th R. I. regiments and the 8th Conn. Regiment.  The command of the fort was offered to Capt. Lewis Morris, 1st artillery, after the surrender, but declined and Col. Rodman, of the 4th R. I., was placed in charge.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, May 5, 1862, p. 1

Diary of John Beauchamp Jones: Tuesday, July 14, 1863

To-day we have tidings of the fall of Port Hudson, on the Mississippi River, our last stronghold there. I suppose some 10,000 or 12,000 of our men had to surrender, unconditionally. Thus the army of Gen. Pemberton, first and last, some 50,000 strong, has been completely destroyed. There is sadness and gloom throughout the land!

The enemy are established on Morris Island, and the fate of Charleston is in doubt.

We have nothing authentic from Gen. Lee; but long trains of the slightly wounded arrived yesterday and to-day.

It has been raining, almost every day, for nearly two weeks.

The President is quite amiable now. The newspaper editors can find easy access, and he welcomes them with smiles.

A letter was received to-day from a Major Jones, saying he was authorized to state that the Messrs. _____, engine-makers in Philadelphia, were willing to remove their machinery to the South, being Southern men. The President indorsed that authority might be given for them to come, etc.

Gen. Beauregard writes for a certain person here skilled in the management of torpedoes — but Secretary Mallory says the enemy's gun-boats are in the James River, and he cannot be sent away. I hope both cities may not fall!

A heavy thunder-storm, accompanied with a deluging rain, prevails this afternoon at 5½ o'clock P. M.

SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 1, p. 378-9

Diary of Alexander G. Downing: Thursday, September 18, 1862

It rained all night and till about 10 o'clock in the morning. We were on the march again for fifteen miles and then bivouacked for the night. We have traveled forty miles in the two days and learn that we are about ten miles from Corinth.

Source: Alexander G. Downing, Edited by Olynthus B., Clark, Downing’s Civil War Diary, p. 69

From the Army of the Potomac

From the Correspondent of the Associated Press.

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC,

May 2 – 2 P. M.

The rebels opened this morning with their rifled Columbiads, 68-pounders, placed on the heights of Yorktown.  Our No. 1 battery of 100 and 200-pounder Parrotts, was then brought to bear upon the only gun that has given us any trouble.  Our shots were falling over and around it with every prospect of its being very soon dismounted, when, on its twenty-third discharge, the enemy’s gun burst into a thousand pieces, tearing up the parapet and making havoc with the crowd who collected around it at the time.  No less than ten persons were standing on the parapet within six feet of it, besides those who were hid from view by the works.  The destruction of life must have been considerable.  This was the only gun which the rebels have shown capable of doing our No. 1 battery any harm.

All firing on their side ceased, while our guns were manned with renewed vigor, directing their shells into the town.  About one hundred shots were fired by our guns up to 2 o’clock this P. M., when all firing ceased.

A rebel steamboat came down the river and attempted to land at Yorktown, but was prevented by a few shots from our 100-pounder Parrott.  The rebels kept up a continuous fire all last night on our men in the trenches.  The only casualties were the wounding of two.

The weather is again pleasant.  If it should continue, you can look out for startling news from this quarter.  The work laid out is approaching completion.

Jos. Docker, Co. G., Berdan’s Sharpshooters, was wounded last night and taken prisoner.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, May 5, 1862, p. 1

From Corinth -- Southern Accounts

CORINTH, April 28th.

Purdy was evacuated last night, and has since been burned.  Every building is said to be destroyed.  The Yankees are moving in that direction.  Our outposts had a skirmish with their advance early this morning, capturing sixty prisoners, including nine commissioned officers.

CHICAGO, May 3.

The Memphis Argus of the 29th has the following dispatch:

CORINTH, May [sic] 28.

Beauregard is moving large bodies of troops southward; some go by rail, others afoot.  Few have gone West.  It is generally understood he is evacuating, though he declines answering questions.  He says President Davis understands his movements.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, May 5, 1862, p. 1

Capture of the Confederate Arsenal at Baton Rouge

CHICAGO, April 3.

The Tribune’s Special from Cairo says: – From the fleet we learn of the capture of Baton Rouge and the Confederate Arsenal.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, May 5, 1862, p. 1

Diary of John Beauchamp Jones: Monday, July 13, 1863

The Enquirer says the President has got a letter from Gen. Lee (why not give it to the people?) stating that his operations in Pennsylvania and Maryland have been successful and satisfactory, and that we have now some 15,000 to 18,000 prisoners, besides the 4000 or 5000 paroled. Nonsense!

Lee and Meade have been facing each other two or three days, drawn up in battle array, and a decisive battle may have occurred ere this. The wires have been cut between Martinsburg and Hagerstown.

Not another word have we from either Charleston or Jackson; but we learn that monitors, gun-boats, and transports are coming up the James River.

Altogether, this is another dark day in our history. It has been officially ascertained that Pemberton surrendered, with Vicksburg, 22,000 men! He has lost, during the year, not less than 40,000! And Lovell (another Northern general) lost Fort Jackson and New Orleans. When will the government put “none but Southerners on guard?”

Letters to-day from the Governors of South Carolina, Alabama, and North Carolina show that all are offended at the Confederate government. Judge Campbell's judicial profundity (and he is the department's correspondent) is unfortunate at this crisis, when, not great principles, but quick and successful fighting, alone can serve.

It appears that President Lincoln has made a speech in Washington in exultation over the fall of Vicksburg, and the defeat of an army contending against the principle that all men were created equal. He means the negro — we mean that white men were created equal — that we are equal to Northern white people, and have a right, which we do not deny to them, of living under a government of our own choice.

SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 1, p. 377-8

Diary of Alexander G. Downing: Wednesday, September 17, 1862

Our division started at 6 o’clock this morning, leaving all our baggage in the tents. Each man is carrying sixty rounds of ammunition, and only such teams as are needed to haul extra ammunition are taken along. The whole Union army, excepting a small garrison left at Corinth, is on the move. We are marching out to the northwest, but the men do not know where they are headed for. We marched twenty-five miles today, and went into bivouac for the night. We got our gum blankets just in time, as it rained nearly all day, and the roads became very muddy, especially where the artillery went. The men built fires tonight to dry their clothes.

Source: Alexander G. Downing, Edited by Olynthus B., Clark, Downing’s Civil War Diary, p. 69

From Fort Monroe

FORT MONROE, May 2.

A refugee from Norfolk left last night in a row boat, and arrived here this A. M.

Com. Tatnall received sealed orders on Monday, and sailed, but opening them in Elizabeth river, he found he was ordered to run the blockade and proceed to York River.  He therefore returned to Norfolk and immediately resigned his commission together with his chief officers.

There was a general expectation in Norfolk that the Merrimac would come out at once.

There are 6,000 or 7,000 rebel troops under Hugher [sic], between Pig Point and Norfolk.  Three companies in Portsmouth rebelled a few days since.  It is also reported that part of Gen. Magruder’s forces had mutinied at Williamsburg.

A torpedo has been constructed at Norfolk, calculated to be managed under water by one man, and be propelled by him under the vessel to be destroyed.  It is said to be five or six feet long.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, May 5, 1862, p. 1

From Yorktown

BEFORE YORKTOWN, May 2.

Prof. Lowe has brought up a huge balloon, called the ‘Intrepid.’  It was built to carry up from four to six persons and from its position in the edge of the woods towers up above the lofty pines.  It lies at anchor, ready at all times to make an ascension. – Gen. Barnard went up a few days ago, and remained at anchor over Yorktown nearly four hours.  This is the fourth balloon we now have here between the York and James rivers.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, May 5, 1862, p. 1

The Headquarters Monuments at Shiloh National Military Park

Major General Ulysses S. Grant, Commanding the Army of the Tennessee

• Headquarters at Savannah, Tennessee
• Headquarters on the Night of April 1862

•  Major General John A. McClernand, 1st Division

• Colonel Abraham Hare, 1st Brigade
• Colonel Julius Raith, 3rd Brigade
• Colonel Leonard F. Ross, 3rd Brigade

• Brigadier General William H. L. Wallace, 2nd Division
• Colonel James M. Tuttle, 1st Brigade
• Brigadier General John McArthur, 2nd Brigade
• Colonel Thomas W. Sweeny, 3rd Brigade

• Brigadier General Stephen A. Hurlbut, 4th Division
• Colonel James C. Veatch, 2nd Brigade

• Brigadier General William T. Sherman, 5th Division
• Colonel John A. McDowell, 1st Brigade
• Colonel David Stuart, 2nd Brigade

• Brigadier General Benjamin M. Prentiss, 6th Division
• Colonel Everett Peabody, 1st Brigade

Lieutenant Colonel Albert R. Anderson, 4th Iowa Infantry

SOURCE: Photograph listed for sale on Ebay July 7, 2013.

Diary of John Beauchamp Jones: Sunday, July 12, 1863

There is nothing additional this morning from Charleston, Mississippi, or Maryland. Telegraphic communication is still open to Jackson, where all was quiet again at the last accounts; but battle, then, must occur immediately. From Charleston we learn that Beauregard had repulsed every assault of the enemy. It is rumored that Lee's account of the battle of Gettysburg will be published to-morrow, showing that it was the “most brilliant and successful battle of the war.”  I hope he may say so — for then it will be so.

Our papers are publishing Milroy's papers captured at Winchester.

SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 1, p. 377

Diary of Alexander G. Downing: Tuesday, September 16, 1862

We drew some clothing today; I got a rubber poncho, which cost $2.50. It is about three by six feet, with eyelets every six inches all around the edges, so by four men going together in bivouac and putting their ponchos over a pole resting on two forks, they will have a roof that will turn rain better than any canvas roof. They are good, heavy rubber cloth.

Source: Alexander G. Downing, Edited by Olynthus B., Clark, Downing’s Civil War Diary, p. 69

Major General Ulysses S. Grant's Headquarters Monument: Shiloh National Military Park, Savannah, Tennessee

HEADQUARTERS

ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE

MAJOR GENERAL ULYSSES S. GRANT, COMMANDING

President Abraham Lincoln to Major General Henry W. Halleck, July 7, 1863 - Never Sent

\

War Department

Washington City,

July 7 1862

Major Genl Halleck

We have certain information that Vicksburg surrendered to General Grant on the 4th of July. Now, if Gen. Meade can complete his work so gloriously prosecuted thus far, by the litteral [sic] or substantial destruction of Lee’s army, the rebellion will be over.

 Yours truly,

 A. LINCOLN

SOURCE: National Archives & Records Administration, Washington D.C.

Diary of John Beauchamp Jones: Friday, July 10, 1863

This is the day of fate — and, without a cloud in the sky, the red sun, dimly seen through the mist (at noonday), casts a baleful light on the earth. It has been so for several days.

Early this morning a dispatch was received from Gen. Beauregard that the enemy attacked the forts in Charleston harbor, and, subsequently, that they were landing troops on Morris Island. Up to 3 o’clock we have no tidings of the result. But if Charleston falls, the government will be blamed for it — since, notwithstanding the remonstrances of Gen. [Beauregard], the government, members of Congress, and prominent citizens, some 10,000 of his troops were away to save Vicksburg.

About one o’clock to-day the President sent over to the Secretary of War a dispatch from an officer at Martinsburg, stating that Gen. Lee was still at Hagerstown awaiting his ammunition — (has not Col. Gorgas, Chief of Ordnance, been sufficiently vigilant?) — which, however, had arrived at the Potomac. That all the prisoners (number not stated), except those paroled, were at the river. That nothing was known of the enemy — but that cavalry fighting occurred every day. He concluded by saying he did not know whether Lee would advance or recross the river. If he does the latter, in my opinion there will be a great revulsion of feeling in the Confederate States and in the United States.

Another dispatch, from Gen. J. E. Johnston, dated yesterday, at Jackson, Miss., stated that Grant’s army was then within four miles of him, with numbers double his own. But that he would hold the city as long as possible, for its fall would be the loss of the State. I learn a subsequent dispatch announced that fighting had begun. I believe Johnston is intrenched.

To-day Mr. Secretary Seddon requested Attorney-General Watts, if he could do so consistent with duty, to order a nolle prosequi in the District Court of Alabama in the case of Ford, Kurd & Co. for trading with the enemy. Gen. Pemberton had made a contract with them, allowing them to ship cotton to New Orleans, and to bring back certain supplies for the army. But Mr. Attorney-General Watts replied that it was not consistent with his duty to comply, and therefore he demurred to it, as the act they were charged with was in violation of the act of Congress of April 19th, 1862.

We lost twelve general officers in the fall of Vicksburg — one lieutenant-general, four major-generals, and seven brigadiers.

Dispatches from Jackson, Miss., say the battle began yesterday, but up to the time of the latest accounts it had not become general. Johnston had destroyed the wells and cisterns, and as there are no running streams in the vicinity, no doubt Grant's army will suffer for water, if the defense be protracted.

From Charleston we learn that we lost in yesterday’s combat some 300 men, killed and wounded — the enemy quite as many. This morning the Yankees assaulted the battery on Morris Island, and were repulsed in two minutes, with a loss of 95 killed and 130 wounded, besides prisoners. Our loss was five, killed and wounded. Nothing further was heard up to 7 o'clock P.M.

From Lee we have no news whatever.

A letter from Governor Vance, of North Carolina, complains of an insult offered by Col. Thorburn (of Virginia), and asking that he be removed from the State, and if retained in service, not to be permitted to command North Carolinians. The Governor, by permission of Gen. Whiting, proceeded down the river to a steamer which had just got in (and was aground) from Europe, laden with supplies for the State; but when attempting to return was stopped by Col. [Thorburn], who said it was against the rules for any one to pass from the steamer to the city until the expiration of the time prescribed for quarantine. The Governor informed him of his special permission from Gen. Whiting and the Board of Navigation — and yet the colonel said he should not pass for fifteen days, “if he was Governor Vance or Governor Jesus Christ.” The President indorsed on this letter, as one requiring the Secretary’s attention, “if the case be as stated.”

Again the blockade-runners are at their dirty work, and Judge Campbell is “allowing” them. To-day Col. J. Gorgas, who is daily in receipt of immense amounts of ordnance stores from Europe by government steamers, recommends that passports be given N. H. Rogers and L. S. White to proceed North for supplies. This is a small business. It is no time to apply for passports, and no time to grant them.

We now know all about the mission of Vice-President Stephens under flag of truce. It was ill-timed for success. At Washington news had been received of the defeat of Gen. Lee — which may yet prove not to have been “all a defeat.”

SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 1, p. 375-7

Diary of Alexander G. Downing: Monday, September 15, 1862

We pitched our tents and built our bunks today. It had rained all night and rained some more this afternoon. The men are not pleased with this camp ground, as it is low and level. There will be a great many on the sick list if we remain here. On account of the dry weather all summer, the springs no longer furnish the branch with running water, and we are compelled to get our drinking water from a stagnant pool. Our former camp here in Corinth, which we left in July, was on high ground and all had hoped that we would be permitted to occupy that spot, but we were disappointed in that — such is the life of a soldier.

Source: Alexander G. Downing, Edited by Olynthus B., Clark, Downing’s Civil War Diary, p. 69

Brig. Gen. William T. Sherman's Headquarters Monument: Near Shiloh Church, Shiloh National Military Park

HEADQUARTERS, 5TH DIVISION,

ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE

BRIG. GEN. WILLIAM T. SHERMAN, COMMANDING

Ft. Warren Prisoners

BOSTON, May 3.

Col. Davison, of the 3d Miss. Regiment captured at Ft. Donelson, died at Ft. Warren, on Tuesday.  His body has been sent to his friends.

Austin Smith, late navy agent at San Francisco, has been released from Ft. Warren, in exchanged for Wm. Ayers, of Philadelphia, who was captured while rambling over the battle field of Bull Run after the evacuation of Manassas.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, May 5, 1862, p. 1

Report on the Stevens Battery

NEW YORK, May 3.

It is understood that a board, recently appointed by the Secretary of the Navy to examine the Stevens’ Battery, has, after a full investigation, reported that it should be finished, but that some modifications be made in the details of the work remaining to be done.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, May 5, 1862, p. 1

Washington, May 3, [1862]

The latest accounts shows that there are now 168 Brigadier Generals, and that 26 in addition await senatorial action.  A favorable report has been made on the recommendation of Dan. E. Sickles, and there seems no doubt that he will soon be confirmed.  The bill proposing to limit the number of Brigadier Generals to 200, and Major Generals to 26, will in all probability become a law.

Thus far, or within two days applications have been filed for compensation for 42 of the slaves manumitted in the District of Columbia, under the emancipation act.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, May 5, 1862, p. 1

Powder Mill Explosion

BANGOR, Me., May 3.

A powder mill explosion occurred at Gatam yesterday.  Eight buildings exploded successively.  Two hundred barrels of powder were in them.  The hands were all at supper at the time.  Cause of the explosion unknown.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, May 5, 1862, p. 1

Diary of John Beauchamp Jones: Thursday, July 9, 1863

The sad tidings from Vicksburg have been confirmed by subsequent accounts. The number of men fit for duty on the day of capitulation was only a little upwards of 7000. Flour was selling at $400 per barrel! This betrays the extremity to which they had been reduced.

A dispatch to-day states that Grant, with 100,000 men (supposed), is marching on Jackson, to give Johnston battle. But Johnston will retire — he has not men enough to withstand him, until he leads him farther into the interior. If beaten, Mobile might fall.

We have no particulars yet — no comments of the Southern generals under Pemberton. But the fall of the place has cast a gloom over everything.

The fall of Vicksburg, alone, does not make this the darkest day of the war, as it is undoubtedly. The news from Lee's army is appalling. After the battle of Friday, the accounts from Martinsburg now state, he fell back toward Hagerstown, followed by the enemy, fighting but little on the way. Instead of 40,000 we have only 4000 prisoners. How many we have lost, we know not. The Potomac is, perhaps, too high for him to pass it — and there are probably 15,000 of the enemy immediately in his rear! Such are the gloomy accounts from Martinsburg.

Our telegraph operators are great liars, or else they have been made the dupes of spies and traitors. That the cause has suffered much, and may be ruined by the toleration of disloyal persons within our lines, who have kept the enemy informed of all our movements, there can be no doubt.

The following is Gen. Johnston's dispatch announcing the fall of Vicksburg:

“JACKSON, July 7th, 1863.

“HON. J. A. SEDDON, SECRETARY OF WAR.

“Vicksburg capitulated on the 4th inst. The garrison was paroled, and are to be returned to our lines, the officers retaining their side-arms and personal baggage.

“This intelligence was brought by an officer who left the place on Sunday, the 5th.

“J. E. JOHNSTON, General.”

We get nothing from Lee himself. Gen. Cooper, the Secretary of War, and Gen. Hill went to the President's office about one o'clock. They seemed in haste, and excited. The President, too, is sick, and ought not to attend to business. It will kill him, perhaps.

There is serious anxiety now for the fate of Richmond. Will Meade be here in a few weeks? Perhaps so — but, then, Lee may not have quite completed his raid beyond the Potomac.

The Baltimore American, no doubt in some trepidation for the quiescence of that city, gets up a most glowing account of "Meade's victory" — if it should, indeed, in the sequel, prove to have been one. That Lee fell back, is true; but how many men were lost on each side in killed, wounded, and prisoners — how many guns were taken, and what may be the result of the operations in Pennsylvania and Maryland — of which we have as yet such imperfect accounts — will soon be known.

SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 1, p. 374-5

Diary of Alexander G. Downing: Sunday, September 14, 1862

We started early this morning with General Crocker in command and marched fifteen miles without stopping to get a drink. But several of the men became overheated, for it was a dreadfully hot day and the roads were dusty. We reached Corinth at 1 p. m., and going out a mile south of town, stacked arms and remained there the rest of the day. We were nearly famished when we reached Corinth. Our road was on a pine ridge, hot and dusty, with a mile to water on either side, and it was utterly impossible for one to fall out of rank, get water, catch up and get back to his place in line. It was one of the hardest marches I have ever been on.¹ On passing through the town, by the college grounds, the young lady students worked hard at drawing water from the well and giving it to the men to quench their thirst. We bivouacked in a large cotton field, as our teams had not yet arrived with our tents. It commenced to rain about sundown and we lay on the ground without any protection.

__________

¹ The fast march and doing without water so long was all uncalled for, as after we got to Corinth we did nothing but lie around. — A. O. D.

Source: Alexander G. Downing, Edited by Olynthus B., Clark, Downing’s Civil War Diary, p. 68

News From Pittsburg

The telegraph informs us that the news from Pittsburg is of the highest importance, but its transmission by telegraph is prohibited.  A citizen received a letter from his son on Saturday, dated Pittsburg the 29th, which stated that they were on the eve of a battle, and had orders to pack up everything in readiness for the “long roll.”  Even if a battle had been fought for was being fought there, we see no reason why the news should be contraband.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, May 5, 1862, p. 1

Relief Assosciation

This evening the members of the Relief Association, and the public generally, will bear in mind, is the monthly meeting of that Society.  It is needless to say that there ought to be a large attendance at the meeting.  Even before to-night a savage battle may have been fought at Corinth, and hundreds more of Iowa’s soldiers be stretched in death on the field, or suffering with gaping and agonizing wounds.  Let there be a full attendance, and let the spirit of the meeting be such that our soldiers, hearing of it, may realize that they have faithful friends here, ever solicitous for their welfare, and may feel assured that strong hands and eager hearts will render them abundant assistance, both when in health and when prostrated by sickness, or by wounds received in battle.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, May 5, 1862, p. 1