From the 16th Iowa Regiment

PACKET CRESCENT CITY,

PADUCAH, Ky., April 2d, 1862.

ED. COURIER: – Dear Sir:  The 16th Iowa Regiment, accompanied by the Iowa 15th, Missouri 23d, Michigan 15th and a Wisconsin Regiment, and also three Batteries, arrived here from St. Louis this A. M., bound for Pittsburg, on the Tennessee River.  We will join the 3d and 12th Iowa at or near that place.  In fact all Iowa troops, excepting four regiments, are stationed in that vicinity.

I would state that all Waterloo “boys” connected with the 16th are well and “spilling” for a fight.  The 16th is fully armed and equipped in best style, and is determined to make her mark.

The “boys” in our company are hard up.  Not any of us have money to buy stamps. – All letters for the North, written South of here, are holden [sic] at this point for fear that plans may be exposed.  They are making great preparations for a fight.  Not less than 160,000 troops are concentrated at the point above mentioned.  It is to be the fight of the season.

Those in Blackhawk County having friends in the 16th should address letters “In care of Company I, 16th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, St. Louis, Mo.”  They will be forwarded to the Regiment.  More anon.

HANK.

– Published in The Waterloo Courier, Waterloo, Iowa, Wednesday, April 16, 1862, p. 2

The Yankees in Gen. Banks’ division . . .

. . . showed themselves dandy in various was during the advance into Virginia.  They helped about the pontoon bridge for crossing the Potomac, repaired bridges and telegraph lines on the route, and coming to a large field, containing several acres near Charleston, filled with corn in shocks and unhusked, the troops detailed to make it available for the Quartermaster’s department performed that service in double quick style rarely before exhibited in agricultural operations in slaveholding districts.

– Published in The Waterloo Courier, Waterloo, Iowa, Wednesday, April 16, 1862, p. 2

A New Book

Parson Brownlow has arrived in the land of freedom.  He is about publishing a book giving his experience in Secessia.  It will undoubtly [sic] be very interesting, and those who would know how outrageously this stern old patriot has been treated by the rebels, and at the same time give a man that has lost his all in the cause of the Union a little “material aid,” can do so by sending to Geo. W. Childs, Philadelphia, for the book.

– Published in The Waterloo Courier, Waterloo, Iowa, Wednesday, April 16, 1862, p. 2

Dubuque, Marion & Western Railroad

Mr. Farley informs us that arrangements have been perfected by which the trains on this road will be started again on Monday next.  This will open a large tract of country once more to our trade, and doubtless give a new impetus to business.  It is said farther arrangements have been made by which the road will be completed to Marion. – Dubuque Times.

– Published in The Waterloo Courier, Waterloo, Iowa, Wednesday, April 16, 1862, p. 2

Diary of Alexander G. Downing: Friday, June 6, 1862

We struck our tents and at 7 a. m. started on our march. We marched through Corinth and went into camp again about a mile northwest of town, making camp number 9. The Eleventh Iowa went out on picket.

Source: Alexander G. Downing, Edited by Olynthus B., Clark, Downing’s Civil War Diary, p. 52

Application Of The Mad Stone

Two weeks ago yesterday the son of Mr. Temple of this city, was bitten on the thumb by a mad dog.  The same animal bit other dogs, and hydrophobia ensued.  This of course, alarmed his parents, and last week the young man was taken to the owner of the mad stone – the Rev. R. W. Blake of Lisbon, Linn county, in this state.  The stone was applied on Saturday night, and filled itself three times with a greenish matter.  The fourth time it was only partially filled, after which it would draw no more.  Mr. Temple now feels confident that the poison is entirely withdrawn, and that no evil effects will come of it. – Davenport Democrat.

– Published in The Waterloo Courier, Waterloo, Iowa, Wednesday, April 16, 1862, p. 2

William Tecumseh Sherman's Headstone

WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN

GENERAL, U. S. A.

Born At Lancaster, O.

Feb. 8, 1820

Died At New York City

Feb. 14, 1891

__________

FAITHFUL AND HONORABLE

Section 17

Cavalry Cemetery and Mausoleum,

St. Louis, Missouri

Major General William T. Sherman to Senator John Sherman, March 24, 1864

On March 24, 1864, General Sherman writes from his headquarters, then at Nashville, Tenn.

I went to Cincinnati with Grant to see Ellen. I stayed but two days, and am now here. I go to Decatur, Huntsville, and Chattanooga, to be gone a week, and then return here. I shall have plenty to do. I am bored for photographs, etc. I send you the only one I have, which you can have duplicated, and let the operator sell to the curious. Give Grant all the support you can. If he can escape the toils of the schemers, he may do some good. He will fight, and the Army of the Potomac will have all the fighting they want. He will expect your friendship — we are close friends. His simplicity and modesty are natural and not affected. Whatever part is assigned me I will attempt, cost what it may in life and treasure. . . .

And again he writes: —

Grant encourages his juniors and takes pleasure in supporting them. . . . Newspaper men are afraid of me, and I hope before the war is much older we shall be allowed to conscript every citizen of good physique found about our camps, on the ground that he has fled to escape the draft. Such an order would have an admirable effect.

SOURCE: Rachel Sherman Thorndike, Editor, The Sherman Letters: Correspondence Between General and Senator Sherman from 1837 to 1891, p. 223-4

The following patents have been recently issued from the Unites States Patent Office:

Joseph Robmer, of Chicago, Ill, for improvement in grain winnower.

Noah Shaw, W. B. Easterbrooks and C. A. Piper, of Eau Claire, Wis., for Improved shingle machine.

J. J. Johnson, of Kalamazoo county, Mich., for improved tanning process.

Nathan Chapin, of East Saginaw, Mich., for improved apparatus in manufacturing salt.

H. M. Wyeth, of Pulaski, Iowa, for improvement in pumps.

G. W. Scollay, of St. Louis, Mo., for improvement in burial cases.

– Published in The Cedar Valley Times, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Thursday, April 17, 1862, p. 1

The amount of bulk meat confiscated . . .

. . . and seized by the Government on the Cumberland river, mostly at Nashville, Tenn., was very large, amounting to 3,000,000 pounds, but a large portion of it is said to have soured.

– Published in The Cedar Valley Times, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Thursday, April 17, 1862, p. 1

Diary of Alexander G. Downing: Thursday, June 5, 1862

We received marching orders with one day's rations. It is reported that General Buell will move with the Army of the Ohio into central Tennessee. It is clear and hot today.

Source: Alexander G. Downing, Edited by Olynthus B., Clark, Downing’s Civil War Diary, p. 52

Abraham Lincoln to George Ashmun, May 23, 1860

Hon. George Ashmun,

President of the Republican National Convention.

Springfield, Ills., May 23, 1860.

Sir: I accept the nomination tendered me by the convention over which you presided, of which I am formally appraised in a letter of yourself and others acting as a committee of the convention for that purpose.

The declaration of principles and sentiments which accompanies your letter meets my approval, and it shall be my care not to violate it, or disregard it in any part. Imploring the assistance of Divine Providence, and with due regard to the views and feelings of all who were represented in the convention, to the rights of all the states and territories and people of the nation, to the inviolability of the constitution, and the perpetual union, harmony, and prosperity of all; I am most happy to co-operate for the practical success of the principles declared by the convention.

Your obliged friend and fellow-citizen,

A. LINCOLN.

SOURCES: Draft of this letter from The Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress;  G. M. Van Buren, Abraham Lincoln's Pen And Voice, p. 14; Roy P. Basler, Editor, Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, Volume 4, p. 52

Jefferson Davis' Proclamation Appointing Alexander H. Stephens As Special Commissioner to Virginia, April 19, 1861

Jefferson Davis,

President Of The Confederate States Of America,

To All Whom These Presents Shall Concern, greeting.

Know ye, that for the purpose of establishing friendly relations between the Confederate States of America and the Commonwealth of Virginia, and reposing special trust and confidence in the integrity, prudence, and ability of Alexander H. Stephens, Vice President of the Confederate States of America, appointed special commissioner of the Confederate States to the Commonwealth of Virginia, I have invested him with full and all manner of power and authority, for and in the name of the Confederate States, to meet and confer with any person or persons authorized by the Government of Virginia, being furnished with like power and authority, and with him or them to agree, treat, consult, and negotiate of and concerning all matters and subjects interesting to both Republics; and to conclude and sign a treaty or treaties, convention or conventions, touching the premises, transmitting the same to the President of the Confederate States for his final ratification, by and with the advice and consent of the Congress of the Confederate States.

In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the Confederate States to be hereunto affixed.

Given under my hand at the city of Montgomery this 19th day of April, A.D. 1861.

{SEAL}

JEFFERSON DAVIS.

By the President: Robert Toombs, Secretary of State.

SOURCES:  Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 3, p. 98;  James D. Richardson, editor and publisher, A Compilation Of The Messages And Papers Of The Confederacy, Volume 1, p. 62;  Edward Mayes, Lucius Q.C. Lamar: His Life, Times, And Speeches, 1825-1893, p. 639

Diary of Alexander G. Downing: Wednesday, June 4, 1862

Nothing of importance. Some of the troops are returning to Pittsburg Landing, a part of them to go down the Tennessee river and then up the Cumberland to reinforce the army in eastern Tennessee, and the others are to join the forces going down the Mississippi.

Source: Alexander G. Downing, Edited by Olynthus B., Clark, Downing’s Civil War Diary, p. 52

Senator John Sherman to Major General William T. Sherman, January 29, 1864

UNITED STATES SENATE, Jan. 29, 1864.

My Dear Brother:

I received your letter from Lancaster, and also one from Cairo. If I had known when I left Washington that you were to be at Lancaster, I would have met you there. But on leaving Washington I engaged to meet certain gentlemen at New York, on New Year's Day, and this left me no time. I have met several from Cincinnati who saw you there, and all concur in saying you bear the storms of life well, and appear in better health and spirits than before the war. Your official report is very interesting, and I wish to see it published. I inquired of Cullen if it has yet come by military channels to the adjutant-general, and he says not. When it does come, he will have it published. As to your proposition to increase the cadets at West Point, I find some difference of opinion among regular officers. Cullen says that to graduate the number would require new buildings, professors, etc.; that the utmost capacity of the school is four hundred and fifty. Both he and Hardie seem backward about drawing the bill without the assent of Stanton, but promised to send me a bill doubling the cadets if Stanton would consent. This delicacy seems to me absurd, for I will assume it, introduce it, and may be able to pass it. . . . We are all looking to the operation on the Mississippi and at Knoxville. The latter seems to me the point of danger. If Longstreet should be reinforced, why could he not pounce upon Foster, or his successor, and make another march necessary for his relief. The movement of recruiting is going on well enough. The draft will then be thoroughly enforced. So Stanton says, and I believe him. The general prosperity of the country is so marked that I am afraid of a reaction or a collapse. The currency is awfully inflated, and our ability to borrow and to pay interest has a limit. If the war continues two years longer, we shall be terribly embarrassed. Still we have the sure foundation of public credit, a great country, and a large and active population. Let me hear from you as often as possible.

Affectionately yours,

JOHN SHERMAN.

SOURCE: Rachel Sherman Thorndike, Editor, The Sherman Letters: Correspondence Between General and Senator Sherman from 1837 to 1891, p. 222-3

Franklin Rockefeller, Private, Co. A, 7th Ohio Infantry: Pension Index Card

SOURCE:  Civil War And Later Veterans Pension Index at Fold3.com

Diary of Alexander G. Downing: Tuesday, June 3, 1862

The weather is very hot. We have no picket duty now, but get plenty of exercise by regular drills, having company drill twice a day. We also get exercise in keeping the camp clean; have to sweep it every morning.

Source: Alexander G. Downing, Edited by Olynthus B., Clark, Downing’s Civil War Diary, p. 52

Mr. Lincoln's Verbal Reply To Committee Notifying Him Of His Nomination To The Presidency

At Springfield, Ill., May 18, 1860.

Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Committee: — I tender to you, and through you to the Republican National Convention, and all the people represented in it, my profoundest thanks for the high honor done me, which you now formally announce.

Deeply, and even painfully sensible of the great responsibility which is inseparable from the high honor, a responsibility which I could almost wish had fallen upon some one of the far more eminent men and experienced statesmen whose distinguished names were before the convention, I shall, by your leave, consider more fully the resolutions of the convention, denominated the platform, and without any unnecessary or unreasonable delay, report to you, Mr. Chairman, in writing, not doubting that the platform will be found satisfactory, and the nomination gratefully accepted. And now I will no longer defer the pleasure of taking you, and each of you, by the hand.

SOURCES: G. M. Van Buren, Abraham Lincoln's Pen And Voice,  p. 13; Roy P. Basler, Editor, Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, Volume 4, p. 51



Proclamation of Jefferson Davis, April 12, 1861

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE CONFEDERATE STATES.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas, an extraordinary occasion has occurred, rendering it necessary and proper that the Congress of the Confederate States shall convene to receive and act upon such communications as may be made to it on the part of the Executive;

Now, therefore, I, Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States, do issue this my proclamation, convoking the Congress of the Confederate States for the transaction of business at the capitol, in the city of Montgomery, on the 29th day of April, at twelve o’clock noon of that day, of which all who shall at that time be entitled to act as members of that body are hereby required to take notice.

Given under my hand and the seal of the Confederate States, at Montgomery, this 12th day of April, A.D. 1861.

[L. S.]

Jefferson Dav1s.

By the President: R. TOOMBS, Secretary of State.

SOURCE: James D. Richardson, editor and publisher, A Compilation Of The Messages And Papers Of The Confederacy, Volume 1, p. 60

Major General William T. Sherman to Senator John Sherman, January 28, 1864

ON BOARD JULIET,

Bound for Vicksburg in a fog,

Friday, Jan. 28,1864.

Dear Brother:

I have organized a cavalry force to sweep down from Memphis towards Mobile, and have gathered together out of my garrisons a very pretty force of twenty thousand men which I shall command in person, and move from Vicksburg down east in connection with the cavalry named, to reach Meridian and break up the railroad connections there. This will have the effect to disconnect Mississippi from the eastern Southern States, arid without this single remaining link they cannot keep any army of importance west of the Alabama River. Our armies are now at the lowest point, and so many are going home as re-enlisted veterans that I shall have a less force than should attempt it; but this is the time and I shall attempt it. It seems my luck to have to take the initiative and to come in at desperate times, but thus far having done a full share of the real achievements of this war, I need not fear accidents. . . .

You who attach more importance to popular fame would be delighted to see in what estimation I am held by the people of Memphis, Tenn., and all along this mighty river. I could not well decline an offer of a public dinner in Memphis, but I dreaded it more than I did the assault on Vicksburg. I had to speak, and sent you the report that best suited me, viz., that in the "Argus." The report of the bulletin which may reach the Northern press is disjointed and not so correct. Indeed, I cannot speak from notes or keep myself strictly to the point, but ’tis said that the effect of my crude speeches is good. . . .

I know that for us to assume that slavery is killed, not by a predetermined act of ours, but as the natural, logical, and legal consequence of the acts of its self-constituted admirers, we gain strength and the enemy loses it. I think it is the true doctoring for the time being. The South has made the interests of slavery the issue of the war. If they lose the war, they lose slavery. Instead of our being abolitionists, it is thereby proven that they are the abolitionists. . . .

The Mississippi is a substantial conquest; we should next get the Red River, then the Alabama, and last push into Georgia. . . .

Your affectionate brother,

W. T. SHERMAN

SOURCE: Rachel Sherman Thorndike, Editor, The Sherman Letters: Correspondence Between General and Senator Sherman from 1837 to 1891, p. 221-2