Diary of Alexander G. Downing: Wednesday, December 10, 1862

Our troops are still moving out to the front. It is fine weather for marching. There is very little sickness among the men now.

Source: Alexander G. Downing, Edited by Olynthus B., Clark, Downing’s Civil War Diary, p. 87

Major General Robert E. Lee to Mary Custis Lee, April 30, 1861

. . . glad to hear all is well and as yet peaceful. I fear the latter state will not continue long. I think, therefore, you had better prepare all things for removal from Arlington — that is, plate, pictures, etc., and be prepared at any moment. Where to go is the difficulty. When the war commences no place will be exempt; in my opinion, indeed, all the avenues into the State will be the scene of military operations. I wrote to Robert that I could not consent to take boys from their schools and young men from their colleges and put them in the ranks at the beginning of the war when they are not needed. The war may last ten years. Where are our ranks to be filled from then?

SOURCES: John William Jones, Life and Letters of Robert Edward Lee: Soldier and Man, p. 139.  A full transcription of this letter may be found in Elizabeth Brown Pryor’s Reading the Man: A Portrait of Robert E. Lee Through His Private Letters, p. 298-9.

Brigadier General William T. Sherman to Ellen Ewing Sherman, August 19, 1861

FORT CORCORAN, August 19, 1861.

. . . Among my regiments are three who claim to have been enlisted only for three months, but the Secretary of War has decided they are in for two years. In each of the regiments there has been a kind of mutiny, not open and decided, but a determination to do no duty.

Yesterday, Sunday, I had two companies of regular cavalry and one of artillery ready to attack one of these regiments. For some hours I thought I would have to give an order to fire, but they did not like the artillery and have gone to duty; but I think this is a bad class of men to depend on to fight. They may eat their rations and go on parade, but when danger comes they will be sure to show the white feather.

Still, they are now in a state of subjection. I went over to Washington on this business some days ago, saw the President and General Scott; at the table of the latter I met Robert Anderson for the first time. I only had a few words with him, but on Saturday he sent for me to meet him at Willard's. There I found Senator Johnson, a Mr. Maynard, and two or three other members of Congress from Kentucky and Tennessee. One of them, Senator Johnson I think, premised by saying that it was the determination of the government to send assistance to the Union men of Kentucky and Tennessee; that there were large numbers of them who merely needed arms, money and organization; that Anderson was the proper general to organize and lead the movement; but that his health was liable at any moment to fail him, and the President had agreed that he might select any three of the Brigadiers to go with him; that he had at once asked for me, and two others, Burnside and Thomas, which was conceded; that when McClellan heard I was asked for he did not want to spare me, as he thought there remained imminent danger of an attack here. Then Anderson said he would prefer to wait a few days till things assumed a more settled shape — say seven to ten days, at the expiration of which time I should be relieved, and ordered to Kentucky. I have said or done nothing one way or other, but in about seven days I will, if nothing threatening happens, apply for relief that I may stop at Lancaster to see you, for a day or so. I expect to go to Louisville and thence through East Kentucky and Tennessee, to see myself the state of the country, and if possible, to organize resistance to the southern Confederacy. It is a matter of great importance and upon it may hang the existence of the present government.

Most assuredly events have favored the southern Confederacy, and instead of making friends, the administration seems to have lost ground, not only in the South and Middle States, but also in the North. The clamor for discharge on every possible frivolous pretext has been a severe blow to the army and may be to the country. I hear that the new enlistments drag. This every reasonable person must have apprehended from the foolish cry first raised, a mere impulse sure to be followed by reaction. . . .

SOURCES: M. A. DeWolfe Howe, Editor, Home Letters of General Sherman, p. 217-8.  A full copy of this letter can be found in the William T Sherman Family papers (SHR), University of Notre Dame Archives (UNDA), Notre Dame, IN 46556, Folder CSHR 1/139.

Diary of Alexander G. Downing: Tuesday, December 9, 1862

No news of importance. Our foraging parties destroy a great deal of property unnecessarily, especially when the owner of a plantation is away with the rebel army — then there isn't much left when the boys get through.

Source: Alexander G. Downing, Edited by Olynthus B., Clark, Downing’s Civil War Diary, p. 87

Review: All The Great Prizes

All the Great Prizes:

The Life of John Hay, from Lincoln to Roosevelt

By John Taliaferro

If you were anyone in the United States during the last half of the 19th Century, you most likely knew John Hay.  His list of personal friends and acquaintances is a who’s who of America from the Civil War to the Gilded Age.  He was Abraham Lincoln’s personal secretary, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom, and served as Secretary of State in the McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt administrations.  He was a lawyer, journalist, author and historian.

John Taliaferro has written an extensively researched biography of Hay, “All the Great Prizes: The Life of John Hay, from Lincoln to Roosevelt.”  It is a richly detailed narrative of the life and loves of John Hay, and the times in which he lived.  Hay was both a witness to and the author of much history from the Civil War until his death in 1905.  Unfortunately, unlike his first benefactor, Abraham Lincoln, I found the more I read about Hay, the more I disliked him.  This of course is not the author’s fault, but rather the fault of his subject.

“All the Great Prizes” is a cradle to grave biography, its linear narrative covers the entirety of Hay’s life chronologically. From his early years in Illinois and his schooling, to living in the White House during the Civil War; from London and Paris and back to Washington D. C.  Its author’s meticulous research has culled a treasure trove of Hay related correspondence which illuminates many personal and intimate details of his life that should Hay find himself alive today I am sure he would be mortified to find had become public knowledge.  His marriage to Clara Stone to Taliaferro’s readers takes a back seat to his infatuation with Elizabeth Sherman Cameron, niece of General William T. Sherman, wife of J. Donald Cameron and daughter-in-law of Simon Cameron.  Hay may or may not have been guilty of adultery, but his relationship with “Lizzie” was definitely an affair of the heart, be it an unconsummated one.

Taliaferro makes short work of the Lincoln years, this is well covered ground, volumes have already and will continue to be written about those four tumultuous years of Hay’s life.  The author spends a fair amount of pages on Hay’s literary and journalistic career, as well as his friendships with the literary giants of his age Mark Twain, Horace Greeley, Henry Adams, Henry James to name but just a few.

Politically speaking Hay rubbed elbows with nearly every president, sovereign, power broker, and robber baron of the Gilded Age.  And through these connections Hay’s political career soared.  Taliaferro aptly and adroitly shows many of Hay’s fingerprints on much of the United States’ foreign policy during the late 19th Century most notably the Open Door with China, the Boxer Rebellion, and the building of the Panama Canal.

John Hay was a deeply flawed man, but John Taliaferro’s “All the Great Prizes” is a tour de force biography which brings the full breadth and depth of the life of John Hay from out of the shadows of Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt of and into the light of history.

ISBN 978-1416597308, Simon & Schuster, © 2013, Hardcover, 688 pages, Photographs, Illustrations, End Notes, Bibliography & Index. $35.00.  To purchase this book click HERE.

Review: Wisdom from the Oval Office

Wisdom from the Oval Office:

Words from George Washington to the Present

By Pierce Word

A few weeks ago my cousin, who is an elementary school teacher shared a few pictures of her classroom after she had prepared it for her new class.  On the wall, above the whiteboard was the following quote from Theodore Roosevelt: “Believe you can & you are halfway there.”  Being the investigative type that I am, I wanted to track back the source of the quote, and its original context.  I did countless internet searches, and all agreed that Theodore Roosevelt said it, but nowhere could I find a speech or letter which contained to quote.  In a final act of desperation I turned to Pierce Word’s “Wisdom from the Oval Office: Words for George Washington to the Present.”

Within the pages of Mr. Word’s book, touted on the cover as being “The Ultimate Presidential Quote Book,” is collected quotations from each of the forty-two men to have been fortunate enough to hold the office of President of the United States.  The author has grouped the quotes into forty categories: America, Belief, Business, Change, Constitution, Country, Democracy, Economy, Education, Error, Freedom, Friendship, God, Government, Happiness, History, Honor, Hope, Law, Leadership, Liberty, Life, Love, Mind, Money, Office, Peace, Politics, Power, Presidency, Religion, Rights, Success, Time, Trust, Truth, War, Wisdom, Wish, and World.  Within each category the quotations are arranged chronologically by President.  Below each quote Mr. Word has noted its source, and each categorical chapter concludes with its own end notes.

Flipping through its pages, I hunt for the Theodore Roosevelt quote that started my quest.  Closing in on my prey I flip to the section on “Belief.”  There on page 20 I spied “Believe you can & you are halfway there,” and below it was the object of my desire, a source citation: “U. S. Congress, Congressional Record, October 9, 2007⁴.”  What?!  2007???  How can that be, Theodore Roosevelt died in 1919!  I then flip to the chapter’s end notes, where Mr. Word included the following note: “4 Vol. 153, pt. 19, U. S. Congress, Congressional Record, October 9, 2007.”

I’ve come too far now to give up.  A search of the Congressional Record, for October 9, 2007 brings me to the speech of Congressman Harold Rogers of Kentucky, “Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of Pride – Personal Responsibility in a Desirable Environment,” in which he states “Theodore Roosevelt understood the need to protect our natural resources and a short sentence he once said sums up so well the spirit of PRIDE today: ‘Believe you can and you're halfway there.’”  So I’m back to where I started.  Everyone agrees that Theodore Roosevelt said it, but even Mr. Word could not track down the origins of the quote.

Every other quote in “Wisdom from the Oval Office” that I have checked tracks back to its original source material, I just happened to pick the one that didn’t, and I suspect with this particular quote Mr. Word was as frustrated as I.

Nevertheless, “Wisdom from the Oval Office” is a fantastic resource for Presidential quotations.  Whether or not it is the “Ultimate Presidential Quote Book” I will leave for you to decide.

ISBN 978-1933909493, History Pub Co LLC, © 2013, Paperback, 323 Pages, Chapter Notes, & Index. $18.95.  To Purchase the book click HERE.

Brigadier General George G. Meade to Margaretta Sergeant Meade, September 30, 1861

TENALLYTOWN, September 30, 1861 — 3 P. M.

We have been under arms all day, and once started for up river, believing the enemy were crossing some fifteen miles above us. The report proved erroneous, but we keep all ready to move at a moment's notice. They have retired from our front on the other side of the river, and are showing themselves above and below. We cannot tell what they are about, but I believe we are ready for them, let them come in what direction they choose.

SOURCE: George Meade, The Life and Letters of George Gordon Meade, Vol. 1, p. 221

Major General Robert E. Lee addresses the Virginia Secession Convention, April 23, 1861

[The Virginia Secession Convention in the Hall of the House of Delegates, Virginia State Capitol, Richmond, Virginia, April 23, 1861.]

Mr. President and gentlemen of the Convention: Profoundly impressed with the solemnity of the occasion, for which I must say I was not prepared, I accept the position assigned me by your partiality. I would have much preferred that your choice had fallen upon an abler man. Trusting in Almighty God, an approving conscience, and the aid of my fellow-citizens, I devote myself to the services of my native State, in whose behalf alone will I ever again draw my sword.

SOURCE: John William Jones, Life and Letters of Robert Edward Lee: Soldier and Man, p. 135

Brigadier General William T. Sherman to Ellen Ewing Sherman, August 17, 1861

WASHINGTON, D. C.,

August 17, 1861.

. . . I have not undressed of a night since Bull Run, and the volunteers will not allow of sleep by day. Two regiments have mutinied, claiming that the United States has no right to hold their services. Under the influence of a battery of artillery and squadron of regular cavalry the number who refused duty dwindled down to sixty-five in one regiment and thirty-five in another, all of whom were marched down to the Navy Yard and placed in irons on board a man-of-war. The remainder of the men and officers of these regiments are sick of the war and want to go home. McClellan still thinks Beauregard will attack the city. Most assuredly he should do so, but it may be he will not.

I was over here a few days ago and met Robert Anderson who sent for me today. It seems he is to organize some kind of a force in Kentucky and Tennessee to support the general government, and has asked for me. The President agrees to send me as soon as McClellan can spare me and McClellan will not leave me go, until he conceives the city to be out of danger — say one week – then I am to be sent into Kentucky post haste. Whether I am to be allowed to stop a day at Lancaster or not I cannot imagine, but I suppose not. I will endeavor to stop to see you for a moment, but I know how it will be — McClellan will not relieve me from duty till the latest moment, when Anderson will be calling for me in Kentucky. The bluer the times the more closely should one cling to his country. . . .

I do not know why we should not have a government. The old government was as mild as any on earth, and it may be that it is the best; but true it is, its administration had become very corrupt. Even now, it is hard to hold her people to their allegiance; but we must have a future, and a government, and I will not attempt to advise or guide events till I see some end to this muddle. Thus far, the Union party has the worst of the fight, and our armies are too scattered. If they order me to any place I'll go if I can. With Anderson I suppose we will have to go into Kentucky and Tennessee to organize an army in the face of that prejudice which you complained so much about in Missouri. That prejudice pervades the public mind and it will take years to overcome. In all the southern states, they have succeeded in impressing the public mind that the North is governed by a mob (of which unfortunately there is too much truth) and in the South that all is chivalry and gentility.

Out of this chaos some order in time must arise, but how or when I cannot tell. . . .

I have just sworn in as a Brigadier General, and therefore I suppose I might as well admit the title. . . .

SOURCES: M. A. DeWolfe Howe, Editor, Home Letters of General Sherman, p. 215-7.  A full copy of this letter can be found in the William T Sherman Family papers (SHR), University of Notre Dame Archives (UNDA), Notre Dame, IN 46556, Folder CSHR 1/139.

Diary of Alexander G. Downing: Monday, December 8, 1862

The Sixth Division is running a mill now, the quartermaster having taken possession of a grist mill which he is running day and night. We are now drawing full rations of meal instead of crackers and we have plenty of fresh pork and sweet potatoes. The boys have confiscated every bake oven in the country; each company has from three to five, and by keeping them hot all day we bake all the corn bread needed. We all appreciate full rations after our fast at Grand Junction.

Source: Alexander G. Downing, Edited by Olynthus B., Clark, Downing’s Civil War Diary, p. 86

Brigadier General George G. Meade to Margaretta Sergeant Meade, September 26, 1861

TENALLYTOWN, September 26, 1861.

Yesterday, Baldy Smith¹ made one of his reconnoissances, and our division was held in readiness all day to move at a moment's notice to support him, in case of emergency. He returned, however, without encountering any force of consequence, though we could see him from my tent firing his artillery at small bodies hovering around him. To-day being the day set apart by the President for fasting, humiliation and prayer, all duties were suspended and the day observed as Sunday. I have a letter from Willie,² written in good spirits, and saying he expects to take the field in a few weeks, with the First Battalion of his regiment.

__________

¹ Brigadier-General William F. Smith, commanding a division, and an old Detroit friend of the Meade family.

² William Sergeant, brother of Mrs. Meade, captain 12th U. S. Inf. Afterward wounded at Gravelly Run, Va., March 29, 1865. Died April 11, 1865.

SOURCE: George Meade, The Life and Letters of George Gordon Meade, Vol. 1, p. 220-1

John Janney, President of the Virginia Secession Convention, addresses Major General Robert E. Lee, April 23, 1861

[The Virginia Secession Convention in the Hall of the House of Delegates, Virginia State Capitol, Richmond, Virginia, April 23, 1861.]

Sir, we have by this unanimous vote expressed our convictions that you are at this day among the living citizens of Virginia, "first in war." We pray to God most fervently that you may so conduct the operations committed to your charge that it will soon be said of you that you are, "first in peace;" and when that time comes you will have earned the still prouder distinction of being "first in the hearts of your countrymen." I will close with one more remark.

When the Father of his Country made his last will and testament he gave swords to his favorite nephews, with an injunction that they should never be drawn from their scabbards except in self-defense, or in defense of the rights and liberties of their country; and that, if drawn for the latter purpose, they should fall with them in their hands rather than relinquish them.

Yesterday your mother, Virginia, placed her sword in your hand, upon the implied condition, that we know you will keep to the letter and in spirit, that you will draw it only in defense, and that you will fall with it in your hand, rather than the object for which it was placed there shall fail.

SOURCE: John William Jones, Life and Letters of Robert Edward Lee: Soldier and Man, p. 134-5

Brigadier General William T. Sherman to Ellen Ewing Sherman, August 13, 1861

[Undated: apparently August 13, 1861.]

The incessant wants of 5,000 men, all complaining, with sick wives and children and fathers at home, wanting to go to Georgetown and Washington and everywheres where they should not go, growling about clothing, shoes, beef, pork, and everything! Now in an army all these things are regulated by sergeants, captains and colonels. A brigadier only has to operate through them. An irregularity in a regiment is checked by a word to the colonel; but here every woman within five miles who has a peach stolen or roasting ear carried off comes to me to have a guard stationed to protect her tree, and our soldiers are the most destructive men I have ever known. It may be other volunteers are just as bad, indeed the complaint is universal, and I see no alternative but to let it take its course. When in Fairfax County we had a majority of friends. Now I suppose there is not a man, woman or child but would prefer Jeff Davis or the Czar of Russia to govern them rather than an American volunteer army. My only hope now is that a common sense of decency may be inspired into the minds of this soldiery to respect life and property. Officers hardly offer to remonstrate with their men, and all devolves on me. As usual I cannot lie down, go away, without fifty people moving after me. Had I some good regulars I could tie to them. As it is, all the new Brigadiers must manufacture their Brigades out of raw material. Napoleon allowed three years as a minimum, Washington one year. Here it is expected in nine days, and Bull Run is the consequence. I don't believe McClellan will be hurried, and the danger to our country is so imminent that all hands are now conscious that we must build up from the foundation. . . .

A good many little incidents, shooting of sentinels and pickets, all the cruel, useless attendants of war occur daily, but I no longer apprehend an attack by Beauregard's forces, though strange to say he receives news much more freely than we do. McClellan has notice of large forces coming up from Georgia, Alabama and the extreme South. . . .

SOURCES: M. A. DeWolfe Howe, Editor, Home Letters of General Sherman, p. 214-5.  A full copy of this letter can be found in the William T Sherman Family papers (SHR), University of Notre Dame Archives (UNDA), Notre Dame, IN 46556, Folder CSHR 1/139.

Diary of Alexander G. Downing: Sunday, December 7, 1862

No news of importance. The weather is getting quite cool. The chaplain of our regiment is not with us at present and we have no preaching on Sundays, though we have prayer meeting in the evening. We had regular company inspection this evening. Our guard and picket duties are light at this place.

Source: Alexander G. Downing, Edited by Olynthus B., Clark, Downing’s Civil War Diary, p. 86

How New Orleans was Taken

The following graphic account, and the only one we have seen of the taking of the city of New Orleans, was transmitted by telegraph on Monday from Cairo to the Chicago Tribune:–

A gentleman who left New Orleans on the 29th ult., o the last train which departed, under Confederate auspices, arrived at Cairo this evening on the Diligent.  The Federals took possession on Thursday at 2 P. M.  On that morning at half-past 3 the Hartford, Richmond, Brookland, and five gunboats passed Forts St. Philip and Jackson, and steamed to the city without being fired at, except at a point called Chalmetto.  At the time of the passage there were eight or ten Confederate steamers above the fort without steam up, and the crews asleep.  When the Federal boats hove in sight, the Confederates set fire to these and blew up the splendid gunboat Louisiana, without firing a shot.  During the bombardment, several of our vessels were badly damaged.  When they passed the forts three were lashed together, so that if one was disabled the others could cut loose and proceed on their way.  In this manner they succeeded in passing.

As soon as the rumor of the passage of the forts reached New Orleans, there was a tremendous consternation in the city.  The authorities immediately set fire to the transports, and two gunboats lying at the levee, a few steamers belonging to the tributaries of the Mississippi, fled crowded with the citizens, up the Arkansas, Red, White, Ouachita, and Yazoo Rivers.  Every dray and vehicle suitable for the service, was impressed by the authorities to carry cotton, sugar and molasses to the levee, where they were piled and burned.  All military stores where removed to the depot of the New Orleans and Jackson Railroad, except the powder, which was thrown into the river.  The conflagration was tremendous, and the sky for several miles was lurid with flame.  The smoke was so thick as to completely darken the atmosphere.

Disorganized Confederate troops in companies and parts of companies fled in wild disorder to the depot to seek a passage to Ponchartulas, fifty miles in the interior, where the military rendezvous was located.  The negroes stole molasses and sugar from the levee, and women and children could be seen in great numbers rolling barrels of sweets over the pavements to their huts in the suburbs.  The streets were so slippery with the drippings that the cab horses could hardly stand upright.

While affairs were in this confusion, the eight Federal frigates and gunboats in firing trim, topmast, guns shotted and run out of the port holes, and the stars and stripes flying from every masthead, anchored on at the foot of each principal street leading to the river, the Hartford, with Com. Farragut’s blue pennant flying from her foretop, taking her position at the foot of Canal street.  After the ships were in position, Capt. Bayless, second in command of the gulf squadron, in a pinnance, unattended and alone, landed on the levee.  Just before him a man stood at the levee with a loaded pistol, and threatened to shoot him if he stepped his foot upon the shore without a flag of truce.  Capt. B. pulled out a white handkerchief and waving it, stepped upon the levee and proceeded directly to the city Hall through a crowd of full twenty-five-thousand men, women and children.  This act of bravery elicited a shout of admiration form the vast assemblage.  He called upon the Mayor, presented a dispatch from Commodore Farragut, and demanded the surrender of the city.  He required the Louisiana State flag to be lowered, and the Stars and Stripes to be hoisted upon the Mint, Custom House, and all the public buildings.  The Mayor informed him that the city was under martial law, that Maj. Lovell was in command, and that he, the Mayor, had no authority to act in the premises.  At this juncture, Gen. Lovell appeared, refused to surrender the city, but offered to withdraw his forces and surrender his authority to the civil authorities.  The Mayor then told Capt. Bayles that he would convene a session of the Common Council that evening, and send an answer to the Commodore’s dispatch in the morning.  The answer, as promised was returned the next day.

On Tuesday the 28th, 500 marines landed with a few small brass pieces and marched to the City Hall, demanded to be shown to the top of the building, hauled down the State flag, which a marine rolled up and carried off under his arm, and then proceeded to the Custom House, where the remains of two hundred gun carriages were still burning, hoisted the National Emblem, left a guard to protect it, and returned to the gunboat.

The day previous forts St. Philip and Jackson had surrendered, their own men spiking the guns and refusing to fight longer.  In consequence of this mutiny, General Duncan was compelled to raise the white flag and surrender the fort.  Gen. Duncan and all his officers were released upon their parole and allowed to retain their side arms.  The former came up to the City Hall and made a speech in which he counseled the people not to despair, everything would come out right yet.

The fort having surrendered, the way was clear for transports, which at the same time our informant left were expected.  Order was re-established in the city, shops were being opened, but the St. Charles and principal hotels remained closed, more in consequence of the currency and the scarcity of provisions than from any fear of the Federal soldiers.

Considerable apprehension was felt that the lower classes, Spanish, French, Germans, and foreigners generally, taking advantage of the disorganized condition of the city, might commit excess, and plunder the citizens, the inhabitants were more fearful of these than of the Federals.  Confederate scrip was still current, but prices of provisions were enormously high.

The day after the gunboats arrived, two of them steamed up the river to Baton Rouge, hoisted the U. S. flag on the capital building and arsenal, and captured two steamers for transport service.  Thousands of people were constantly on the levee, gazing at the gunboats and soldiers, towards whom they manifested no ill will or bitterness of filling.

Our informant passed through Gen. Lovell’s camp at a point called Songapoa, about 125 miles north of New Orleans, on the New Orleans and Jackson railroad.  Munitions of war, troops, provisions, &c., were lying about on the utmost confusion.  They were intending to join Gen. Beauregard at Corinth.  People by the thousands were leaving Vicksburg and Natchez for Jackson, which place was crowded to over flowing. – There was an alarming scarcity of provisions.  Our informant reached Memphis on the 2d inst., and left on the morning of the 5th, for a point on the Memphis and Ohio Railroad, 14 miles south of Humboldt, just before dispatches were received confirming reports that six thousand troops had landed at New Orleans.  The citizens of Memphis were satisfied that upon the first determined attack on Ft. Pillow it would surrender.  On the Hatchee river, below Ft. Pillow, and twenty-five from its mouth, an Aid-de Camp of Gen. Beauregard is superintending the construction of a pontoon bridge, to facilitate the retreat of troops from the Fort, in case an evacuation becomes necessary.  Our informant thinks, that if, on the consummation of that event a gunboat will run up the Hatchee river, it will be able to destroy the bridge and cut of their retreat.

A mile and a half below Memphis, 4,000 bales of cotton are piled ready for the torch, as soon as the fall of Ft. Pillow is ascertained; there are also several thousand hogsheads of sugar and molasses ready to be rolled into the river.  There is no telegraph from the Fort, and if, on the occupation; a gunboat will steam directly towards Memphis, then anchor opposite the pile, the entire lot can be secured from the station on the railroad.  When our informant left, he went by land to within fourteen miles of the Mississippi, to a point twenty miles above Ft. Pillow.  By this means he evaded the Confederate pickets and reached the river in a dug-out through the backwater.  On his way thither he passed hundreds of deserters from the Confederate army.  On the 10th he reached the encampment of the 47th Indiana, at Tiptonville, and reported to Col. Slack, Commandant.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Wednesday Morning, May 14, 1862, p. 2

Brigadier General George G. Meade to Margaretta Sergeant Meade, September 24, 1861

HEADQUARTERS SECOND BRIGADE, MCCALL'S DIVISION,

TEN ALLY-TOWN, September 24, 1861.

Nothing of importance has transpired since I last wrote to you. I am getting pretty familiar with my duties, which thus far have been principally paper work. You would be astonished to see the amount of writing and papering required of a general in the field. A good deal of it is regular circumlocution, or “How not to do it.” Nevertheless, being regulations, one has to comply with the requirements, however foolish they may seem. Our mess is very comfortable. Dr. Stocker is caterer, and I have a young man from one of the regiments acting as my adjutant general, till the arrival of Captain Baird. Captain Ringwalt, a Chester County farmer, has been assigned to me as quartermaster. He is said to be a most respectable and wealthy farmer of Chester County.

SOURCE: George Meade, The Life and Letters of George Gordon Meade, Vol. 1, p. 220

Robert E. Lee to Sydney Smith Lee, April 20, 1861

ARLINGTON, VA., April 20, 1861.

My Dear Brother Smith:

The question which was the subject of my earnest consultation with you on the 18th inst. has in my own mind been decided. After the most anxious inquiry as to the correct course for me to pursue, I concluded to resign, and sent in my resignation this morning. I wished to wait till the ordinance of secession should be acted upon by the people of Virginia; but war seems to have commenced, and I am liable at any time to be ordered on duty which I could not conscientiously perform. To save me from such a position, and to prevent the necessity of resigning under orders, I had to act at once, and before I could see you again on the subject, as I had wished. I am now a private citizen, and have no other ambition than to remain at home. Save in the defense of my native State, I have no desire ever again to draw my sword. I send you my warmest love.

Your affectionate brother,

R. E. LEE.

SOURCES: John William Jones, Life and Letters of Robert Edward Lee: Soldier and Man, p. 134; Fitzhugh Lee, General Lee, p. 88-9

Colonel William T. Sherman to Ellen Ewing Sherman, August 3, 1861

WASHINGTON, August 3, 1861.

. . . I still am acting as a Brigadier General in command of six regiments of volunteers called by courtesy soldiers, but they are all we have got and God only knows the issue. Our adversaries have the weakness of slavery in their midst to offset our democracy, and 'tis beyond human wisdom to say which is the greater evil. I learn today that the President selected Hunter, Sherman and Buell out of the list for Brigadier Generals of the Regular Army, but Major Garesche tells me the list has been changed, that no appointments will now be made in the regular army, but that a whole batch of Brigadiers will be made, ranking according to former commission. This will still keep me where I want, in a modest position till time and circumstances show us daylight.

McClellan told me last night he should proceed with great caution, endeavoring to advance so as never to make a slip backward. I am now satisfied that the Southern army is not much better than ours, else Beauregard would certainly have taken Washington. If they could, they also from their central position would throw their force on Banks or Rosecrans.

In East Virginia all are secessionists and we can gain no authentic information of their movements by spies. It is different, I suppose, in West Virginia. At all events in invading Virginia from the Chesapeake the army must be of a size to encounter the whole southern army. Now that they have been successful, Davis can assemble just as many men as he wants, and they are as well armed, dressed and fed as we are. Indeed I never saw such a set of grumblers as our volunteers about their food, clothing, arms, etc., and I shall make a requisition for two nurses per soldier to nurse them in their helpless, pitiful condition.

Oh — but we had a few regulars. But all our legislation has so favored the volunteer that no man will enlist in the regular service. I propose to go on as heretofore, to endeavor to fill my place as well as possible, to meddle as little as possible with my superiors, and to give my opinion only when asked for. . . .

You may hereafter address me at the Georgetown Post Office. I send over there pretty often for marketing. Address me, Colonel W. T. S., Fort Corcoran, Georgetown, D. C. If I am made Brigadier General, use General W. T. S. as above. I know not why I feel no ambition. If we could handle volunteers so that our plans could be carried out I would launch out, but I know that they will mar any plan and blast the fair fame of anybody. They, of course, the people, can't do wrong. If defeat arises, then it is mismanagement, masked batteries and such nonsense. . . .

SOURCES: M. A. DeWolfe Howe, Editor, Home Letters of General Sherman, p. 212-3.  A full copy of this letter can be found in the William T Sherman Family papers (SHR), University of Notre Dame Archives (UNDA), Notre Dame, IN 46556, Folder CSHR 1/139.

Diary of Alexander G. Downing: Saturday, December 6, 1862

I was on duty today with a foraging party of our division, to help load the wagons with corn and cotton. We brought in seventy-five loads of cotton worth about $40,000. At one plantation some negroes were out at work picking cotton, while others were baling it in the gin houses, but we drove into the houses and loaded up without asking for the privilege. The Sixth Division almost every day brings in from seventy-five to one hundred loads of corn or cotton. This part of the state is thickly settled and the settlements are rich, there being a great deal of corn and cotton.

Source: Alexander G. Downing, Edited by Olynthus B., Clark, Downing’s Civil War Diary, p. 86

Brigadier General George G. Meade to Margaretta Sergeant Meade, September 22, 1861

IN CAMP, September 22, 1861.

I hope you will not be very much put out at not receiving a letter earlier from me, but I have really been very much occupied, and yesterday, in addition to other duties, we had a grand division review for the Prince de Joinville¹ and others. I was so sorry you and Sergeant² had gone. The review passed off very well, pretty much the same as you saw, except that, having been advised of the arrival of the distinguished strangers only the night before, Gauttier did not have the privilege of sticking McCall for a fine collation. McClellan, however, took the Frenchmen over to the Chain Bridge and by Ball's Cross-Roads.

I felt very sad when you drove off, and could hardly shake off the idea that I was looking on you perhaps for the last time — at any rate, for a long while; but I trust matters will be more favorable to us, and that it will please a just and merciful Providence to permit us to be happy once more, united, and free from immediate trouble. There has been nothing new since you left. We have daily the usual announcement that the enemy have been seen somewhere above us, on the opposite side; but they confine their operations to letting us see them. What they are going to do, no one without the gift of second sight can possibly imagine. In the meantime we are becoming better prepared to meet them, and after awhile if they don't show themselves, I presume we shall have to hunt them up. I find camp life agrees very well with me, and the active duties I have entered on are quite agreeable. Sometimes I have a little sinking at the heart, when I reflect that perhaps I may fail at the grand scratch; but I try to console myself with the belief that I shall probably do as well as most of my neighbors, and that your firm faith must be founded on some reasonable groundwork.

William Palmer brought Kuhn³ out to see me, who presented letters from Harrison Smith⁴ and Henry Fisher, asking me to assist him in procuring a staff appointment. He said he supposed my staff was full, but would be glad to serve on it as a volunteer, as pay was no object to him, but simply a position and a chance to see service. While I was talking to him I received Charley Cadwalader’s letter. I then told him C.’s declination made a vacancy, but I did not know whether I could appoint a civilian, not commissioned in the volunteers; that McClellan, McCall and myself were trying to have young Watmough⁵ appointed in this manner, which if we succeeded in would be a precedent. He expressed himself greatly pleased, and said he would await the result in Washington.

__________

¹ Third son of Louis Philippe, King of the French 1830-1848.

² Son of General Meade.

³ James Hamilton Kuhn, of Philadelphia, afterward A. D. C. to General Meade and killed at the Seven Days' Battle, June 30, 1862.

⁴ Brother-in-law of Mrs. Meade.

⁵ William Watmough, cousin of Mrs. Meade, afterward A. D. C. to General Meade.

SOURCE: George Meade, The Life and Letters of George Gordon Meade, Vol. 1, p. 219-20