Diary of 4th Corporal Bartlett Yancey Malone, February 23, 1863

day was warm and clear but the snow dident melt no great deal

SOURCE: Bartlett Yancey Malone, The Diary of Bartlett Yancey Malone, p. 30

Diary of 4th Corporal Bartlett Yancey Malone, February 24, 1863

warm and General Stokes Bregaid and General Lautons (Lawton?) had a snow ballen

SOURCE: Bartlett Yancey Malone, The Diary of Bartlett Yancey Malone, p. 30

Diary of 4th Corporal Bartlett Yancey Malone, February 25, 1863

a warm sunshiney day

SOURCE: Bartlett Yancey Malone, The Diary of Bartlett Yancey Malone, p. 30

Diary of 4th Corporal Bartlett Yancey Malone, February 26, 1863

a raney day and nearley all of the snow was gone by nite.

SOURCE: Bartlett Yancey Malone, The Diary of Bartlett Yancey Malone, p. 30

Diary of 4th Corporal Bartlett Yancey Malone, February 27, 1863

warm and cloudy and our Brass Ban got back from Richmond.

SOURCE: Bartlett Yancey Malone, The Diary of Bartlett Yancey Malone, p. 30

Diary of 4th Corporal Bartlett Yancey Malone, February 28, 1863

the last day of February was coal and cloudy. And Mr. Portland Baley of Company D. 6th Regiment N. C. Troops was shot to death to day at 2 oclock with musketry.

Now the dark days of winter is gon And the bright days of Spring is come.

SOURCE: Bartlett Yancey Malone, The Diary of Bartlett Yancey Malone, p. 30

Diary of Henry Greville, Wednesday, January 29, 1862

Tottenham Park.¹—І came here on Monday and found the Flahaults, Charles Bruces, Lady Ailesbury², Granville, Dunkellin, Henry Corry, and George Bruce. The place is much improved by the alterations already made, and those in progress. Some days ago Lady Holland wrote to me from Paris, that it was believed there that one of the objects of King Leopold's visit to England was to advocate an arrangement by which his son-in-law, the Archduke Maximilian, should be made Emperor of Mexico, and that the new Empire should be guaranteed by England as well as France and Austria. I treated this report as an idle canard, though it was subsequently repeated in the French newspapers. To-day I was surprised, on mentioning the report to Flahault, to hear from him that the Emperor would be very willing to lend himself to any such arrangement, provided there were a strong monarchical party in Mexico, and that His Majesty would not object even to lend the aid of a French Army if it were necessary. It is now said that the Archduke declines having anything to do with this project. John Russell's despatch in answer to Mr. Seward's long rigmarole on the rights of neutrals is published, and is a well-reasoned document, and will show the Americans that they will not be allowed to play their tricks with impunity.

There is also a curious correspondence published on the Papal Question between M. Thouvenel and M. de Lavalette, wherein the Pope is conjured, ' whilst it is time, to act no longer on the basis of exploded pretensions and untenable claims, but to descend from the imaginary elevation on which he has placed himself, into the lower world of facts and opinions, of things and realities, and to condescend to look at his own position through the medium of a plain common sense.' To this, M. de Lavalette replies, that to all suggestions of this nature, His Holiness answers, 'Let us wait on events,' that on addressing himself to Cardinal Antonelli, His Eminence has recourse to the non possumus. It is not, he maintains, in the power of any Pope or College of Cardinals to assent to the diminution of the States of the Church. They have taken an oath to maintain them in their integrity. It is argued by some people, and not without good reason, that if the Emperor intended to perpetrate the occupation of Rome, he would not have suffered this correspondence to be published, because his position with regard to that question was already bad enough, without aggravating it by making it transparently manifest to the rest of the world that he was powerless to obtain any concessions from the Pope. I suspect the Papal feeling in France is so strong as to make the withdrawal of the French army from Rome dangerous to the Emperor, and Cardinal Antonelli is quite conscious of the strength of that party. As a proof of this strong feeling, I will cite a curious thing that happened the other day at Paris. Edmond About, the famous author of several anti-Papal pamphlets, brought out a drama at the Odéon a short time ago, called 'Gaetana.' The audience positively refused to allow the piece to be heard, and at the very beginning made such an uproar, that the actors were unable to proceed. This scene was repeated on every subsequent attempt to act it, and it was ultimately withdrawn; and a large part of the audience proceeded to About's house, where they gave him a charivari. In the provinces the same thing occurred, and at Lyons the tumult was so serious that the military were called out to quell it, and About with difficulty escaped from ill-treatment at the hands of the mob.

_______________

1 Tottenham Park. Now called Savernake. It stands in Savernake Forest. I believe the present owner has reverted to the former name.—Ed.

2 Lady Ailesbury. Maria, second wife of the first Marquis of Ailesbury. Known in society as “Lady A.”—Ed.

 

SOURCE: Alice Countess of Stratford, Leaves from the Diary of Henry Greville: 1861-1872, pp. 13-5

Diary of Henry Greville, Ash Wednesday, March 5, 1862

The Federals, under the command of General Grant, have at last achieved a brilliant success, having captured Fort Donnelson after hard fighting, and (according to their own version), have taken 15,000 prisoners and a vast amount of war material, and the Confederates were in full retreat. This success will probably be attended by political consequences of great importance, as Fort Donnelson was the key of a strong position, and its capture will open the road to further advances. Already the New York papers proclaim that the rebellion is on the point of being crushed, and great rejoicings are going on throughout the Northern States. It remains to be seen whether the South will preserve its constancy under the great difficulties which now begin to surround them, and if they will be able to maintain the strife. The Times' says: “The recent triumphs, though they have undoubtedly improved the position of the North as regards any possible negotiation for a division of territory, have scarcely brought the Federal Government any nearer than before to a reconstruction of the Union.” Fanny Kemble complains to me in a letter I received from her to-day, not only of the gross ignorance but the wilful misrepresentation of American affairs by the “Times” newspaper.

Last night at Flahault's I met Lacaita, who is about to start for Turin, by no means in good heart at the state of affairs there, and regretting the fall of Ricasoli, whom he considers to be the most honest public man in Italy.

SOURCE: Alice Countess of Stratford, Leaves from the Diary of Henry Greville: 1861-1872, pp. 25-6

Diary of Private Theodore Reichardt, Thursday, May 1, 1862

News of the capture of New Orleans.

SOURCE: Theodore Reichardt, Diary of Battery A, First Regiment Rhode Island Light Artillery, p. 41

Diary of Private Theodore Reichardt, Friday, May 2, 1862

Camp "Winfield Scott." Steady cannonading all day.

SOURCE: Theodore Reichardt, Diary of Battery A, First Regiment Rhode Island Light Artillery, p. 41

Diary of Private Theodore Reichardt, Saturday, May 3, 1862

The rebels are preparing to evacuate Yorktown. Heavy firing, day and night.

SOURCE: Theodore Reichardt, Diary of Battery A, First Regiment Rhode Island Light Artillery, p. 41

Diary of Private Theodore Reichardt, Sunday, May 4, 1862

Evacuation of Yorktown. Our lines advanced at daybreak, and found the fortifications deserted by the rebels, leaving most of the siege-guns behind. Stoneman's cavalry is following up the enemy's rear-guard. Our whole army ready to march.

SOURCE: Theodore Reichardt, Diary of Battery A, First Regiment Rhode Island Light Artillery, p. 41

Diary of Private Theodore Reichardt, Monday, May 5, 1862

A battle going on at Williamsburgh since morning. Our division marched into Yorktown towards afternoon, under a heavy rain. Explosions of torpedoes very frequent. We commenced to camp inside the fortifications, but we were ordered to march towards Williamsburgh immediately. The column started; halted shortly after on the turnpike road, and remained during the night, under an incessant rain. This was one of the most horrid nights we ever saw in the service. At two o'clock in the morning orders came for us to retire to our camps to rest.

SOURCE: Theodore Reichardt, Diary of Battery A, First Regiment Rhode Island Light Artillery, pp. 41-2

Diary of Private Theodore Reichardt, Tuesday, May 6, 1862

Our battery moved to the river, close to Yorktown, ready to be shipped. General Franklin's corps is embarking already. We loaded ammunition all day.

SOURCE: Theodore Reichardt, Diary of Battery A, First Regiment Rhode Island Light Artillery, p. 42

Diary of Private Theodore Reichardt, Wednesday, May 7, 1862

Our guns were put aboard the steamer Delaware. We started for West Point, at the mouths of the Pamunkey and Mattapony rivers. Arrived there at five o'clock P. М., and dropped anchor for the night. General Franklin's corps had a fight with the enemy's rear-guard.

SOURCE: Theodore Reichardt, Diary of Battery A, First Regiment Rhode Island Light Artillery, p. 42

Diary of Private Theodore Reichardt, Thursday, May 8, 1862

Captain Arnold, of the regular artillery, inspected the unloading of our battery. We camp close to the Pamunkey.

SOURCE: Theodore Reichardt, Diary of Battery A, First Regiment Rhode Island Light Artillery, p. 42

Diary of Private Theodore Reichardt, Saturday, May 10, 1862

West Point. The horses were landed to-day. By five o'clock P. M., we marched two miles, and camped at Elkhorn, on the Pamunkey.

SOURCE: Theodore Reichardt, Diary of Battery A, First Regiment Rhode Island Light Artillery, p. 42

Diary of Private Theodore Reichardt, Sunday, May 11, 1862

General McClellan arrived here to-day. He brought the news of the destruction of the Merrimac.

SOURCE: Theodore Reichardt, Diary of Battery A, First Regiment Rhode Island Light Artillery, p. 42

Diary of Private Theodore Reichardt, Monday, May 12, 1862

At Elkhorn. Inspection of the division.

SOURCE: Theodore Reichardt, Diary of Battery A, First Regiment Rhode Island Light Artillery, p. 42

Diary of Private Theodore Reichardt, Thursday, May 15, 1862

Marched towards New Kent Court House, fifteen miles from Elkhorn. Our camp five miles from Cumberland Landing.

SOURCE: Theodore Reichardt, Diary of Battery A, First Regiment Rhode Island Light Artillery, p. 43