Major-General William T. Sherman to Lieutenant-General Ulysses S. Grant, November 2, 1864

HDQRS. MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MISSISSIPPI,

In the Field, Rome, Ga., November 2, 1864.

Lieut. Gen. U.S. GRANT,

City Point, Va.:

Your dispatch is received.* If I could hope to overhaul Hood I would turn against him with my whole force. Then he retreats to the southwest, drawing him as a decoy from Georgia, which is his chief object. If he ventures north of the Tennessee I may turn in that direction and endeavor to get between him and his line of retreat, but thus far he has not gone above the Tennessee. Thomas will have a force strong enough to prevent his reaching any country in which we have an interest, and he has orders if Hood turns to follow me to push for Selma. No single army can catch him, and I am convinced the best results will result from defeating Jeff. Davis' cherished plan of making me leave Georgia by maneuvering. Thus far I have confined my efforts to thwart his plans, and reduced my baggage so that I can pick up and start in any direction, but I would regard a pursuit of Hood as useless; still if he attempts to invade Middle Tennessee I will hold Decatur and be prepared to move in that direction, but unless I let go Atlanta my force will not be equal to his.

W. T. SHERMAN,

 Major-General, Commanding.

­­­_______________

* Of November 1, p. 576

SOURCES: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 39, Part 2 (Serial No. 79), p. 594-5; John Bell Hood, Advance and Retreat, p. 265-6

John Brown to his Children, January 23, 1852

Troy, N. Y., Jan. 23, 1852.

Dear Children, — I returned here on the evening of the 19th inst., having left Akron on the 14th, the date of your letter to John. I was very glad to hear from you again in that way, not having received anything from you while at home. I left all in usual health, and as comfortable as could be expected; but am afflicted with you on account of your little boy. Hope to hear by return mail that you are all well. As in this trouble you are only tasting of a cup I have had to drink deeply, and very often, I need not tell you how fully I can sympathize with you in your anxiety.  . . . How long we shall continue here is beyond our ability to foresee, but think it very probable that if you write us by return mail we shall get your letter. Something may possibly happen that may enable us (or one of us) to go and see you, but do not look for us. I should feel it a great privilege if I could. We seem to be getting along well with our business so far, but progress miserably slow. My journeys back and forth this winter have been very tedious. If you find it difficult for you to pay for Douglass' paper, I wish you would let me know, as I know I took liberty in ordering it continued. You have been very kind in helping me, and I do not mean to make myself a burden.

Your affectionate father,

John Brown.

SOURCE: Franklin B. Sanborn, The Life and Letters of John Brown, p. 148

Major Rutherford B. Hayes to Sardis Birchard, July 24, 1861

Camp Chase, July 24, 1861.

Dear Uncle: — I am surrounded by the bustle and confusion attendant upon a hurried leaving of camp. We go tomorrow at 5 A. M. to Zanesville by railroad, thence down the Muskingum on steamboats to Marietta, and on the Ohio to Ripley Landing, a short distance from Point Pieasant in Virginia. We are to be a part of General Rosecrans' force against Wise.

Last night I had a good chat with Fremont. He is a hero. All his words and acts inspire enthusiasm and confidence. He and the governor reviewed our regiment today. Lucy, Laura, and many friends were present. It was a stirring scene. I wish you could have been here. You would subscribe heartily to General Fremont. Good-bye. My saddest feeling — my almost only sad feeling — is leaving you in such bad health.

Affectionately,

R. B. Hayes.

P. S. — Always send me full sheets of paper — the blank sheet is so useful. The use and scarcity of paper is appalling.

S. Birchard.

SOURCE: Charles Richard Williams, editor, Diary and Letters of Rutherford Birchard Hayes, Volume 2, p. 42-3

Major-General Thomas J. Jackson to Mary Anna Morrison Jackson, November 11, 1862

November 11th.

. . . Tell Colonel E––– that I am glad to see he has so pleasant a post as Charlotte, and that I would rather be stationed there¹ than anywhere else in the Confederacy. Colonel Boteler deserves the lasting gratitude of the country for having done so much towards clothing our men.

_______________

¹ Where his wife then was.

SOURCE: Mary Anna Jackson, Life and Letters of General Thomas J. Jackson (Stonewall Jackson), p. 365

Major-General George G. Meade to Margaretta Sergeant Mead, September 24, 1863

Headquarters Army Of The Potomac, September 24, 1863.

The last time I wrote I told you of my having referred to Washington the question of a further advance. As I expected, no decisive answer was sent to me, but I was told to act in accordance with my own judgment. The next thing I was summoned to Washington and informed that the President considered my army too large for a merely defensive one, and proposed to take a portion of it away. I objected and reasoned against this, and left Washington with the belief that the President was satisfied. I had just arranged the programme for a movement, and was about issuing the orders, when orders came from Washington, taking troops away. Of this I do not complain. The President is the best judge of where the armies can be best employed, and if he chooses to place this army strictly on the defensive, I have no right to object or murmur. I was in Washington from 11 p. m. Tuesday till 1 p. m. Wednesday; saw no one but the President, Mr. Stanton and General Halleck; was treated very courteously by all. I told the President and General Halleck that if they thought I was too slow or prudent, to put some one else in my place. Halleck smiled very significantly, and said he had no doubt I would be rejoiced to be relieved, but there was no such good luck for me. I cannot very well tell you all that transpired; the intelligence, by no means favorable, had been received from Rosecrans, and it was evident, without any one knowing what exactly might or could be done, that there still existed a feverish anxiety that I should try and do something. Now that I have been weakened, I presume the country will not be so exigeante.

SOURCE: George Meade, The Life and Letters of George Gordon Meade, Vol. 2, p. 150-1

Brigadier-General Thomas Kilby Smith to Elizabeth Budd Smith, October 22, 1863

Headquarters Second Brigade,

First Div., Seventeenth Army Corps,

Vicksburg, Miss., Oct. 22, 1863.

My Dear Wife:

I propose sending to you to-day, per Adams’ Express Company, a box of pictures.

The group will be interesting to strangers, containing as it does, Generals Grant and Thomas; the other gentlemen are members of General Grant's staff — Captain Jane, Colonel Duff, Colonel Riggin, and Captain Carncross, the latter aid to General Thomas.

I congratulate you upon the results of the late election, partial news of which has this night reached me. The soldiers of Ohio will begin to feel that they may yet find a home outside their camp. I think Mr. Pugh and his tool, Mr. Vallandigham, have gone to their political grave, from which there will be no resurrection.

Major General U. S. Grant and Officers
New Orleans, 1863

SOURCE: Walter George Smith, Life and letters of Thomas Kilby Smith, p. 342-3

Diary of Alexander G. Downing: Thursday, October 1, 1863

We had brigade inspection this morning at 7 o'clock, by General McArthur. Colonel Hall of our regiment is in command. There were three regiments of infantry, one of cavalry and three batteries. In the afternoon I was on fatigue duty, and part of the time in a heavy rain; this is our third successive day of rain.

Source: Alexander G. Downing, Edited by Olynthus B., Clark, Downing’s Civil War Diary, p. 145

Diary of Charles H. Lynch: April 29, 1863

Our company was ordered for guard duty to guard the railroad bridge over the Gunpowder River, on the Baltimore & Philadelphia Road. A very pleasant change and much enjoyed in the fine early spring weather. The fishing and sailing were fine. Many boats at that point we were allowed to use. Many attempts had been made to burn the bridge. It had to be kept well guarded. (It was later destroyed by rebel guerillas making a raid through Maryland.)

SOURCE: Charles H. Lynch, The Civil War Diary, 1862-1865, of Charles H. Lynch 18th Conn. Vol's, p. 15

124th Ohio Infantry

Organized at Cleveland, Ohio, and mustered in January 1, 1863. Left State for Louisville, Ky., January 1; thence moved to Elizabethtown, Ky., and duty there till February 10, 1863. Attached to District of Western Kentucky, Dept. of the Ohio, to February, 1863. Franklin, Tenn., Army of Kentucky, Dept. of the Cumberland, to June, 1863. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, 21st Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to October, 1863. 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, 4th Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to June, 1865.

SERVICE.--Moved to Nashville, Tenn., February 10, 1863; thence to Franklin February 21, and duty there till June. Action at Thompson's Station, Spring Hill, March 4-5. Thompson's Station June 2. Middle Tennessee (or Tullahoma) Campaign June 23-July 7. Camp at Manchester till August 16. Passage of the Cumberland Mountains and Tennessee River and Chickamauga (Ga.) Campaign August 16-September 22. At Poe's Tavern August 20-September 9. Passage of the Tennessee River September 10. Lee and Gordon's Mills September 11-13. Battle of Chickamauga September 19-20. Siege of Chattanooga, Tenn., September 24-November 23. Reopening Tennessee River October 26-29. Brown's Ferry October 27. Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign November 23-27. Orchard Knob November 23-24. Mission Ridge November 25. March to relief of Knoxville, Tenn., November 28-December 8. Operations in East Tennessee till April, 1864. Operations about Dandridge January 16-17. Atlanta (Ga.) Campaign May 1 to September 8. Demonstrations on Rocky Faced Ridge and Dalton, Ga., May 8-13. Battle of Resaca May 14-16. Adairsville May 17. Near Kingston May 18-19. Near Cassville May 19. Advance on Dallas May 22-25. Operations on line of Pumpkin Vine Creek and battles about Dallas, New Hope Church and Allatoona Hills May 25-June 5. Pickett's Mills May 27. Operations about Marietta and against Kenesaw Mountain June 10-July 2. Pine Hill June 11-14. Lost Mountain June 15-17. Assault on Kenesaw June 27. Ruff's Station July 4. Chattahoochie River July 5-17. Peach Tree Creek July 19-20. Siege of Atlanta July 22-August 25. Flank movement on Jonesboro August 25-30. Battle of Jonesboro August 31-September 1. Lovejoy Station September 2-6. Pursuit of Hood into Alabama October 3-26. At Athens, Ga., October 31 to November 23. March to Columbia, Tenn., November 23-24. Columbia, Duck River, November 24-27. Battle of Franklin November 30. Battle of Nashville December 15-16. Pursuit of Hood to the Tennessee River December 17-28. Moved to Huntsville, Ala., and duty there till March, 1865. Operations in East Tennessee March 15-April 22. Duty at Strawberry Plains and Nashville till June. Mustered out June 16, 1865.

Regiment lost during service 7 Officers and 78 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 1 Officer and 124 Enlisted men by disease. Total 210.

SOURCE: Frederick H. Dyer, A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion, Part 3, p. 1548

Governor William F. Packer to Governor Henry A. Wise, December 1, 1859

State of Pennsylvania,

Executive Chamber. Harrisburg, Dec. 1, 1859.

To His Excellency, the Governor of Virginia, Richmond, Va.:

Sir — Your letter of the 25th, having been missent to Harrisonburg, Virginia, was not received until this morning. Of all the desperadoes to whom you refer, not a man, so far as I can learn, was a citizen of Pennsylvania; nor was their rendezvous (which you say was unobstructed by guards or otherwise), in this State, but in Maryland or Virginia. In relation to them, Pennsylvania has done her duty. Virginia has no right to anticipate that she will not do so in the future. The information you have received in regard to a conspiracy to rescue John Brown, will, undoubtedly, be found, in the sequel, utterly and entirely without foundation, so far as Pennsylvania is concerned. Nor will we permit any portion of our territory, along our borders, or elsewhere, to be made a depot, a rendezvous, or a refuge, for lawless desperadoes, from other States, who may seek to make war upon our southern neighbors. When that contingency shall happen, the constitutional and confederate duty of Pennsylvania shall be performed; and, under all circumstances, she will take care to see that her honor is fully vindicated.

WM. F. PACKER

SOURCE: George Edward Reed, Editor, Pennsylvania Archives, Fourth Series, Volume 8, Papers of the Governors, 1858-1871, p. 198-9

Governor Henry A. Wise to Governor William F. Packer, November 25, 1859

Richmond, Va., November 25, 1859.

To His Excellency, the Governor of Pennsylvania:

Dear Sir — I respectfully send to you the information contained in a letter to the President of the United States, of which the enclosed is a copy. I submit it to you in the confidence that you will faithfully co-operate with the authorities of this State in preserving the peace of our coterminous borders. Necessity may compel us to pursue invaders of our jurisdiction into yours; if so, you may be assured that it will be done with no disrespect to the sovereignty of your State. But this State expects the confederate duty to be observed, of guarding your territory from becoming dangerous to our peace and safety, by affording places of depot and rendezvous to lawless desperadoes who may seek to make war upon our people.

With the highest respect,

I am, sir, yours truly,

HENRY A. WISE

SOURCE: George Edward Reed, Editor, Pennsylvania Archives, Fourth Series, Volume 8, Papers of the Governors, 1858-1871, p. 197

Governor Henry A. Wise to James Buchanan, November 25, 1859

Richmond, Va., November 25, 1859.

To His Excellency, James Buchanan, President of the United States:

Sir — I have information from various quarters, upon which I rely, that a conspiracy, of formidable extent in means and numbers, is formed in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and other States, to rescue John Brown and his associates, prisoners at Charlestown, Va. The information is specific enough to be reliable. It convinces me that an attempt will be made to rescue the prisoners, and, if that fails, then to seize citizens of this State as hostages and victims in case of execution. The execution will take place next Friday as certainly as that Virginia can and will enforce her laws. I have been obliged to call out one thousand men, who are now under arms, and, if necessary, shall call out the whole available force of the State to carry into effect the sentence of our laws on the 2d and 16th proximo. Places in Maryland, Ohio and Pennsylvania have been occupied as depots and rendezvous by these desperadoes, unobstructed by guards or otherwise, to invade this State, and we are kept in continual apprehension of outrages from fire and rapine on our borders. I apprise you of these facts in order that you may take steps to preserve peace between the States. I protest that my purpose is peaceful, and that I disclaim all threats when I say, with all the might of meaning, that if another invasion assails this State or its citizens from any quarter, I will pursue the invaders wherever they may go into any territory, and punish them wherever arms can reach them.

I shall send copies of this to the Governors of Maryland, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

With due respect and consideration,

Yours truly,

HENRY A. WISE

SOURCE: George Edward Reed, Editor, Pennsylvania Archives, Fourth Series, Volume 8, Papers of the Governors, 1858-1871, p. 197-8

Lieutenant-General Ulysses S. Grant to Major-General William T. Sherman, November 1, 1864 – 6 p.m.

CITY POINT, VA., November 1, 1864 – 6 p.m.

Major-General SHERMAN,

Atlanta, Ga.:

Do you not think it advisable now that Hood has gone so far north to entirely settle him before starting on your proposed campaign? With Hood's army destroyed you can go where you please with impunity. I believed, and still believe, that if you had started south whilst Hood was in the neighborhood of you he would have been forced to go after you. Now that he is so far away, he might look upon the chase as useless and go in one direction whilst you are pushing in the other. If you can see the chance for destroying Hood's army, attend to that first and make your other move secondary.

U.S. GRANT,

Lieutenant-General.

SOURCES: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 39, Part 2 (Serial No. 79), p. 576; John Bell Hood, Advance and Retreat, p. 265

John Brown to Mary Ann Day Brown, December 22, 1851

Boston, Mass., Dec. 22, 1851.

Dear Mary, —  . . . There is an unusual amount of very interesting things happening in this and other countries at present, and no one can foresee what is yet to follow. The great excitement produced by the coming of Kossuth, and the last news of a new revolution in France, with the prospect that all Europe will soon again be in a blaze, seems to have taken all by surprise. I have only to say in regard to those things, I rejoice in them, from the full belief that God is carrying out his eternal purpose in them all. I hope the boys will be particularly careful to have no waste of feed of any kind, for I am strongly impressed with the idea that a long, severe winter is before us.

SOURCE: Franklin B. Sanborn, The Life and Letters of John Brown, p. 146

Major Rutherford B. Hayes to Sardis Birchard, July 23, 1861

Camp Chase, July 23, 1861.

Dear Uncle: — We are in the midst of the excitement produced by the disastrous panic near Washington. We expect it will occasion a very early movement of our regiment. We shall, perhaps, be ordered to the Kanawha line. We certainly shall, unless the recent defeat shall change the plan of the campaign. Colonel DePuy's regiment is on that line, so that the Fremont companies are likely to be in the same body with us. Their association will be pleasant enough, but there are two or three regiments with them in which I have very little confidence; viz., the Kentucky regiments “falsely so called.” We are yet raw troops, but I think we shall soon grow to it.

The Washington affair is greatly to be regretted; unless speedily repaired, it will lengthen the war materially. The panic of the troops does not strike me as remarkable. You recollect the French army in the neighborhood of the Austrians were seized with a panic, followed by a flight of many miles, caused merely by a runaway mule and cart and "nobody hurt." The same soldiers won the battle of Solferino a few days ago [later]. But I do think the commanding officers ought not to have led fresh levies against an enemy entrenched on his own ground. Gradual advances, fortifying as he went, strikes me as a more prudent policy. But it is easy to find fault. The lesson will have its uses. It will test the stuff our people are made of. If we are a solid people, as I believe we are, this reverse will stiffen their backs. They will be willing to make greater efforts and sacrifices.

We worked late last night getting our accoutrements ready. In the hurry of preparations to depart, I may not be able to write you before I go. Good-bye.

Sincerely,

R. B. Hayes.

S. Birchard.

SOURCE: Charles Richard Williams, editor, Diary and Letters of Rutherford Birchard Hayes, Volume 2, p. 42

Major-General Thomas J. Jackson to Mary Anna Morrison Jackson, November 10, 1862

November 10th.

Colonel A. R. Boteler telegraphs me from Richmond that arrangements are made for supplying my command with blankets. Yesterday about seventeen hundred and fifty were distributed in Winchester. There has been much suffering in my command for want of blankets and shoes, especially the latter.

SOURCE: Mary Anna Jackson, Life and Letters of General Thomas J. Jackson (Stonewall Jackson), p. 365

Major-General George G. Meade to Margaretta Sergeant Mead, September 19, 1863

Headquarters Army Of The Potomac, September 19, 1863.

At present I am very busy. I made the advance I did under the belief that Lee had sent away a large portion of his army, and would perhaps, if threatened, retire to Richmond. I find, however, he evinces no disposition to do so, but is, on the contrary, posted in a very strong position behind the Rapidan, where he can hold me in check, and render it very difficult to pierce his line or turn his position. Under these circumstances I have referred the question to Washington.

To-day John Minor Botts, who lives in this vicinity, came to see me and told me Beckham had been at his house a few days ago (before we advanced), and spoke in the most enthusiastic terms of me; so that Beckham is not changed. A Mr. Pendleton also, who was in Congress and knew your father, called, and spoke of Mr. Joseph R. Ingersoll, who had been at his house. Both these gentlemen are Union men.

SOURCE: George Meade, The Life and Letters of George Gordon Meade, Vol. 2, p. 150

Brigadier-General Thomas Kilby Smith to Eliza Walter Smith, October 20, 1863

Headquarters Second Brigade,

First Div., Seventeenth Army Corps,

Vicksburg, Miss., Oct. 20, 1863.

My Dear Mother:

General Grant received your letter and of this I have written before. He is now gone, I don't know whither — flitted with his staff and surroundings before I had come back, as the swallows flit in the fall. I do not think you have got a right estimate of Sherman. You call him “slow, cautious, almost to a fault.” On the contrary, he is as quick as lightning, the most rapid thinker, actor, writer, I ever came in contact with — proud and high-spirited as an Arab horse. Grant is slow and cautious, and sure and lucky. They are both good men. Men you would admire if you knew them, and men who upon first blush you would be marvellously deceived in.

You ask about the tribute from the old “54th.” I understand the boys have made arrangements to fit me out; but haven’t received the articles. Somebody said that they were sumptuous. I suppose they would get the best that money could buy, for they think a heap of “old Kilby” — the only name by which I am known in the Fifteenth Army Corps. Strangers used to come and ask for Kilby, and for a long time I rarely heard the name of Smith as applied to myself. I don't know but what their presents have been burnt up or sunk in the river. There has been a great deal of loss lately. When they come, I will let you know and tell you all about them.

Enclosed herewith find copy of a letter written by General Sherman to the 13th Regulars on the occasion of the death of his son at Memphis. I saw a copy by accident to-day, and together with the brief notice that his son had died, is the only intelligence I have. He had his boy with him, a bright, active little fellow, who rode with him wherever he went, and who was a great pet with his own old regiment, the 13th Regulars. You know General Sherman came into the service as colonel of this regiment at the outset of the war. The death must have been sudden, and you perceive by the tenor of the letter how deeply he feels it. I do assure you that we find every day in the service, that “the bravest are the tenderest, the loving are the daring.” I will forward your letter to him, and perhaps you had better address him again on the occasion of his bereavement. I am sure he is a dear friend of mine, and in the chances of this war, calculating upon his position and mine, it is hardly probable we shall meet again. Like him, “on, on, I must go, till I meet a soldier's fate, or see my country rise superior to all factions, till its flag is adored and respected by ourselves and all the powers on earth,''¹ and now our paths are slightly divergent. Can you imagine it, even as I write, the enclosed order is handed me, and received without one pang of regret. I copy verbatim. You may understand the chances and changes of a soldier's life. The darky says, “here to-morrow and gone to-day.”

Special Orders

No. 236.

headquarters Seventeenth Army Corps,

Dept. Of The Tennessee,

vicksburg, Miss., Oct. 20, 1863.

Brig.-Genl. E. S. Dennis, U. S. Vols., will report forthwith to Genl. McArthur, to be assigned to command of Second Brigade, First Division, and will relieve Brig.-Genl. T. K. Smith.

Brig.-Genl. T. K. Smith, on being relieved from command of Second Brigade, First Division, will proceed forthwith to Natchez, Miss., and report to Brig.-Genl. M. M. Crocker, commanding Fourth Division, for assignment to command of Brigade in Fourth Division.

By order of Maj.-Genl. Mcpherson,

W. T. Clark,

A. A. General.

Brig.-Genl. T. K. Smith,

Com'g Second Brigade, First Division.

Thus you perceive, having licked the Second Brigade into shape, I am assigned elsewhere. Meanwhile, pray for me, and thank God that everything has transpired to take me out of the filthy God-forsaken hole on a hill. My next will be from Natchez and will contain full directions how to address me. Keep writing, and enclose my letters with request to forward to Major-Genl. James B. McPherson, commanding Seventeenth Army Corps, Department of the Tennessee, Vicksburg, Miss. He is my warm, intimate, personal friend, and will see that all come safe to hand. I enclose you his carte. He is very handsome, a thorough soldier, brave as Caesar, young, a bachelor, and — engaged to be married.

Genl. M. M. Crocker, to whom I am about to report, is a most excellent gentleman and eke a soldier, thank God! graduate of the Military Academy of West Point, also an intimate of mine and friend. Somehow or other, the West Pointers all take to me, and by the grace of God I find my way among soldiers. You can't understand all this, but it is most delightful to have a soldier, a real soldier, for a commander and associate. Natchez, by this time is a second home to me. I know a heap of people and have some good friends even among the '”Secesh.” I may be there a day, a month, a year, nobody knows and nobody cares. I can pack, and “get up and dust” as quickly as any of them.

_______________

¹ General Sherman's letter to Capt. C. C. Smith 13th Regulars.

SOURCE: Walter George Smith, Life and letters of Thomas Kilby Smith, p. 340-2

Diary of Alexander G. Downing: Wednesday, September 30, 1863

It rained all day. I was on fatigue, helping to clean up the review ground. We are to have general inspection in the next few days by General McArthur, our division commander, and General McPherson, corps commander. Our company is returning to its old-time form and numbers.

Source: Alexander G. Downing, Edited by Olynthus B., Clark, Downing’s Civil War Diary, p. 145

Diary of Charles H. Lynch: April 1863

Having been an inmate in the hospital for three months, at my own request, I was allowed to join my company, located at Fort Marshall, east end of Baltimore. Reported to Lieutenant Merwin, commanding company. He would not allow me to go on duty. Wished me to remain at Regimental Hospital for a while until I could get stronger.

SOURCE: Charles H. Lynch, The Civil War Diary, 1862-1865, of Charles H. Lynch 18th Conn. Vol's, p. 15