Diary of Margaret Junkin Preston: November 6, 1862

Randolph [Col. P.'s fourth son] has come home from the Institute sick.

SOURCE: Elizabeth Preston Allan, The Life and Letters of Margaret Junkin Preston, p. 156

Diary of Margaret Junkin Preston: November 10, 1862

Randolph very ill with typhoid fever; has been delirious almost a week. The Dr. thinks there is some change for the better. I pray it may be God's will to spare his life. A cadet has died at the Institute, with this same fever, after seven days' illness.

SOURCE: Elizabeth Preston Allan, The Life and Letters of Margaret Junkin Preston, p. 156

Diary of Margaret Junkin Preston: December 8, 1862

A long hiatus in my little note book. Poor Randolph has been trembling in the balance between life and death ever since my last entry; sometimes the scales seemed descending beyond all hope; again they incline toward the side of life. Today his symptoms are more discouraging.

SOURCE: Elizabeth Preston Allan, The Life and Letters of Margaret Junkin Preston, p. 156

Diary of Margaret Junkin Preston: December 10, 1862

Have had the extreme joy of receiving today a short note from my precious sister; the first I have had from her since August 21st, 1861, a year and a half ago! No wonder I rejoice. It contained comfortable tidings of my beloved ones; my dear Father well and in good spirits; for which thank God! Julia had received my note of October 28th.

SOURCE: Elizabeth Preston Allan, The Life and Letters of Margaret Junkin Preston, p. 156

Diary of Margaret Junkin Preston: December 18, 1862

Today, at half past three o'clock in the afternoon, our poor suffering Randolph breathed his last!

SOURCE: Elizabeth Preston Allan, The Life and Letters of Margaret Junkin Preston, p. 156

Diary of Corporal Alexander G. Downing: Saturday, May 28, 1864

We started at 7 o'clock this morning and dragging along slowly with our heavy trains, went into bivouac when we reached Somerville at 3 o'clock. Most of our road was over very rough country and besides we had to wade one river, the bridges being gone. Somerville is a mere village with a courthouse, a few stores and about twenty dwellings.

Source: Alexander G. Downing, Edited by Olynthus B., Clark, Downing’s Civil War Diary, p. 191

Diary of Corporal Charles H. Lynch: July 16, 1864

Yesterday we had a long tedious march, putting in a hard day. Last night we were glad to drop on the ground for rest and sleep. This is a hot morning out here in the open fields. Our cavalry boys brought in a captured rebel wagon train. The rebel teamsters were driving as directed by our boys who held guns in their hands. The teamsters knew what that meant. Orders came for us to move into the shaded woods which we found cool and fine.

General David Hunter relieved of his command. General George Crook now our commander. The 8th Corps. Six pointed star. We are also known as the Army of the Shenandoah.

SOURCE: Charles H. Lynch, The Civil War Diary, 1862-1865, of Charles H. Lynch 18th Conn. Vol's, p. 99

Diary of Luman Harris Tenney: March 22, 1862

A report circulated that we are to be among the regiments disbanded. Hope not true — prefer to see the thing through without re-enlisting. After all would like a short furlough. Dealt out the bacon. Got a good piece of beef for myself. Heard the wolves howl during the night.

SOURCE: Frances Andrews Tenney, War Diary Of Luman Harris Tenney, p. 10

Colonel Charles Russell Lowell to Major Caspar Crowninshield,* June 20, 1863

Camp Brightwood, June 20, '63.

We are lying here anxiously expecting orders, — two squadrons are just back from over the river collecting stragglers from the Army of the Potomac. The First Massachusetts Cavalry had a severe fight at Aldie on Wednesday afternoon. Captain Sargent and Lieutenant Davis (not Henry) reported killed, — Major Higginson wounded in four places, not seriously, — Lieutenant Fillibrown wounded, — Jim Higginson captured, — loss killed, wounded, and missing, 160 out of 320, according to Major Higginson, who is at Alexandria, — but this is evidently a mistake.¹ The loss in prisoners is great, because Adams's squadron was dismounted and was supposed to be supported by the Fourth New York, which neglected to support at the proper moment and left our fellows unprotected.

_______________

* Major Caspar Crowninsbield of Boston, noted in college for his great strength and rowing prowess in victories of Harvard over Yale, had done good service in the Twentieth Massachusetts Infantry. Thence he was commissioned Major of the Second Massachusetts Cavalry, took the field in command of the First Battalion, and continued in service throughout the war. After Colonel Russell's promotion to the Fifth Massachusetts Cavalry he became lieutenant-colonel, and, as such, commanded the regiment from the moment that Colonel Lowell commanded a brigade. After the colonel's death, he, for a time, commanded the Reserve Brigade.

¹ Major Higginson's wounds from shot and sabre proved so severe as to necessitate his resignation, after a long period of suffering. His brother was, as here reported, taken prisoner on the same field. Captain Lucius Manlius Sargent, left for dead on the field, recovered, and did active service until December, 1864, when he was killed in action at Bellfield, Virginia. Captain Adams, the son of our minister to England, has since become well known as a good citizen and author.

SOURCE: Edward Waldo Emerson, Life and Letters of Charles Russell Lowell, p. 262, 427

Lieutenant-Colonel Rutherford B. Hayes to Sardis Birchard, November 4, 1861

Camp Ewing, November 4, 1861.

Dear Uncle: — Your letter of October 21 came to hand the day before yesterday. I am very glad you are so much better. If you will now be careful, I hope you will be able to get comfortably through the winter. You have no doubt heard that Matthews has been promoted to a colonelcy and has left us. I have been promoted to his place of lieutenant-colonel. We regret to lose him. He is a good officer. I have now been relieved from duty as judge-advocate, and will hereafter be with my regiment. The colonel of our regiment is a genial gentleman, but lacks knowledge of men and rough life, and so does not get on with the regiment as well as he might. Still, the place is not an unpleasant one.

The enemy has appeared in some force, with a few cannon, on the opposite side of New River at this point, and on the left bank of Kanawha lower down, and are, in some degree, obstructing our communications with the Ohio. To get rid of this, we are canvassing divers plans for crossing and clearing them out. The river here is rapid, the banks precipitous rocks, with only a few places where a crossing, even if not opposed, is practicable; and the few possible places can be defended successfully by a small force against a large one. We are getting skiffs and yawls from below to attempt the passage. If it is done, I shall do what I can to induce the generals to see beforehand that we are not caught in any traps.

This is Birch's birthday — a cold, raw November morning — a dreadful day for men in tents on the wet ground. We ought to be in winter quarters. I hope we shall be soon. We are sending from this army great numbers of sick. Cincinnati and other towns will be full of them. . . .

[R. B. Hayes.]

S. BIRCHARD.

SOURCE: Charles Richard Williams, editor, Diary and Letters of Rutherford Birchard Hayes, Volume 2, p. 137-8

Brigadier-General John A. Rawlins to Mary Emeline Hurlburt Rawlins, April 24, 1864

Culpepper C. H., Va., April 24, 1864.

. . . The trees are beginning to put forth their leaves, and the fruit trees their blossoms; the green grass is making its appearance, and real spring is upon us. I rode out for exercise this afternoon and could but contrast the acts of our soldiers in fencing in and caring for the cemetery near here, in which is buried many hundreds of the enemy's dead, with the brutal massacre at Fort Pillow. How full of reverence for Christianity is the contrast in favor of our brave but humane soldiers. The dead and those who are captives with our army cease to be objects against which they war. All that religion demands in reverence of the one, and all that humanity requires in kindness to the other, is freely and willingly given by those who fight for our Democratic institutions beneath the bright banner of stripes and stars.

Enclosed I send you some lines written by Alfred B. Street on the presentation of war banners to the Legislature of New York. I think them decidedly beautiful and hope you will coincide with me in this opinion. I also send you by to-day's mail a late Richmond paper, from which we have the latest news from Plymouth, which is that that place was carried by storm on the 20th by the enemy, with a loss to us of full sixteen hundred men, besides armament, supplies, etc. This place had held out stubbornly, and we were in hopes all would be safe after they had repulsed the first assaults. This comes of the Government persistently urging the holding of places for political effect on the people in the seceding States and abroad, also for the protection of such of the inhabitants as commit themselves to our side. General Butler had asked permission to withdraw the troops from Plymouth some time since, but the reasons urged, as I heard him state to General Grant, were the ones I have just recited. If the force was to stay at Plymouth, then capture will not materially affect us, for they were virtually dead to the service while they remained there, at any rate. I hope that Policy will after a while have discovered that she can only succeed through force of arms, and that force should be made as strong as possible and as compact, and be directed with energy against one point at a time. In this way only can we succeed. . . .

SOURCE: James H. Wilson, The Life of John A. Rawlins, p. 423-4

Lieutenant-Colonel Theodore Lyman to Elizabeth Russell Lyman, November 28, 1864

November 28,1864

Let me see, I had got to Fort Harrison, had I not? Really I got so sleepy last night over the second sheet that I should not be surprised if it contains numerous absurdities. From the Fort you have an excellent view of the Rebs in their line opposite, their main fort being only 800 yards distant. I was surprised they did not fire upon us, as there was a great crowd and evidently several generals among us. But I believe they never shoot. The pickets, on either side, are within close musket-range but have no appearance of hostility. There was one very innocent “Turkey,” who said to me: “Who are those men just over there?” When I told him they were Rebs, he exclaimed: “God bless me!” and popped down behind the parapet. . . .

Thence we all went to view the great canal. You will notice on the map, that the river at Dutch Gap makes a wide loop and comes back to nearly the same spot, and the canal is going through there. This cuts off five or six miles of river and avoids that much of navigation exposed to fire; and it may have strategic advantages if we can get iron-clads through and silence the Rebel batteries on the other bank. The canny Butler sent an aide to see if they were shelling the canal, who reported they were not; so we dismounted a little way off and walked to the place. It was very worth seeing. Fancy a narrow ridge of land, only 135 yards wide, separating the river, which flows on either side; a high ridge, making a bluff fifty feet high where it overhangs the water. Through this a great chasm has been cut, only leaving a narrow wall on the side next the enemy, which wall is to be blown out with several thousand pounds of gunpowder. We stood on the brink and looked down, some seventy feet, at the men and the carts and the horses at work on the bottom. Where we stood, and indeed all over the ridge, was strewed thickly with pieces of shell, while here and there lay a whole one, which had failed to explode. Had the Rebs known that a Lieutenant-General and two Major-Generals were there, they would hardly have left us so quiet. . . .

Though we got off very nicely (I thought as I stood there: “Now that line is the shortest one to our horses, and you must walk it with dignity — not too fast when they begin to shell”), there was a fat “Turkey” who came after us and was treated to a huge projectile, which burst over his head; he ran and picked up a piece and cried out: “Oh! it's warm. Oh!! it smells of sulphur. Oh!!! let us go now.” He was delighted with this and all other adventures, and was quite elated when his horse tumbled in a ditch and muddied him greatly. After dark we were treated to an exhibition of a “Greek fire.” They burst a shell in a bunch of bush and immediately the whole was in a roaring blaze. “They've got the fuses to work well now,” said Grant calmly. “They tried the shells on three houses, the other side of the river, and burnt them all without difficulty.” Good thing for the owners! Then they spirted the stuff through a little hose and set the stream on fire. It was a beautiful sight and like the hell of the poets, with an unquenchable fire and columns of black smoke rolling up. Owing to these pyrotechnics, we only got home at midnight. In my next I will tell more of the genius of Butler. General Meade, you will be glad to learn, has been informed officially, that he will be appointed a Major-General in the Regular Army, to rank General Sheridan!

SOURCE: George R. Agassiz, Editor, Meade’s Headquarters, 1863-1865: Letters of Colonel Theodore Lyman from the Wilderness to Appomattox, p. 282-3

In The Review Queue: Engineering Victory

Engineering Victory: The Union Siege of Vicksburg

By Justin S. Solonick

On May 25, 1863, after driving the Confederate army into defensive lines surrounding Vicksburg, Mississippi, Union major general Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee laid siege to the fortress city. With no reinforcements and dwindling supplies, the Army of Vicksburg finally surrendered on July 4, yielding command of the Mississippi River to Union forces and effectively severing the Confederacy. In this illuminating volume, Justin S. Solonick offers the first detailed study of how Grant’s midwesterners serving in the Army of the Tennessee engineered the siege of Vicksburg, placing the event within the broader context of U.S. and European military history and nineteenth-century applied science in trench warfare and field fortifications. In doing so, he shatters the Lost Cause myth that Vicksburg’s Confederate garrison surrendered due to lack of provisions. Instead of being starved out, Solonick explains, the Confederates were dug out.

After opening with a sophisticated examination of nineteenth-century military engineering and the history of siege craft, Solonick discusses the stages of the Vicksburg siege and the implements and tactics Grant’s soldiers used to achieve victory. As Solonick shows, though Grant lacked sufficient professional engineers to organize a traditional siege—an offensive tactic characterized by cutting the enemy’s communication lines and digging forward-moving approach trenches—the few engineers available, when possible, gave Union troops a crash course in military engineering. Ingenious midwestern soldiers, in turn, creatively applied engineering maxims to the situation at Vicksburg, demonstrating a remarkable ability to adapt in the face of adversity. When instruction and oversight were not possible, the common soldiers improvised. Solonick concludes with a description of the surrender of Vicksburg, an analysis of the siege’s effect on the outcome of the Civil War, and a discussion of its significance in western military history.

Solonick’s study of the Vicksburg siege focuses on how the American Civil War was a transitional one with its own distinct nature, not the last Napoleonic war or the herald of modern warfare. At Vicksburg, he reveals, a melding of traditional siege craft with the soldiers’ own inventiveness resulted in Union victory during the largest, most successful siege in American history.

About the Author

Justin S. Solonick, PhD, is an adjunct instructor in the Department of History and Geography at Texas Christian University. His most recent publication, “Saving the Army of Tennessee: The Confederate Rear Guard at Ringgold Gap,” appeared in The Chattanooga Campaign, published by SIU Press in 2012.

ISBN 978-0809333912, Southern Illinois University Press; 1st Edition Edition, © 2015, Hardcover, 304 pages, Maps, Photographs & Illustrations, Appendix, Glossary, Bibliographic Essay, End Notes, Bibliography & Index. $37.50.  To purchase a copy of this book click HERE.

Diary of John Beauchamp Jones: July 10, 1861

There are indications of military operations on a large scale on the Potomac. We have intelligence that McDowell is making preparations to advance against our forces at Manassas. Gen. Johnston is expected to be there in time; and for that purpose is manœuvring Gen. Patterson out of the way. Our men have caps now — and will be found in readiness. They have short-commons under the Commissary Department; but even with empty stomachs, they can beat the Yankees at the ordeal of dying. Fighting is a sport our men always have an appetite for.

SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 1, p. 60

Diary of Mary Boykin Chesnut: March 20, 1862

The Merrimac is now called the Virginia. I think these changes of names so confusing and so senseless. Like the French “Royal Bengal Tiger,” “National Tiger,” etc. Rue this, and next day Rue that, the very days and months a symbol, and nothing signified.

I was lying on the sofa in my room, and two men slowly walking up and down the corridor talked aloud as if necessarily all rooms were unoccupied at this midday hour. I asked Maum Mary who they were. “Yeadon and Barnwell Rhett, Jr.” They abused the Council roundly, and my husband's name arrested my attention. Afterward, when Yeadon attacked Mr. Chesnut, Mr. Chesnut surprised him by knowing beforehand all he had to say. Naturally I had repeated the loud interchange of views I had overheard in the corridor.

First, Nathan Davis called. Then Gonzales, who presented a fine, soldierly appearance in his soldier clothes, and the likeness to Beauregard was greater than ever. Nathan, all the world knows, is by profession a handsome man.

General Gonzales told us what in the bitterness of his soul he had written to Jeff Davis. He regretted that he had not been his classmate; then he might have been as well treated as Northrop. In any case he would not have been refused a brigadiership, citing General Trapier and Tom Drayton. He had worked for it, had earned it; they had not. To his surprise, Mr. Davis answered him, and in a sharp note of four pages. Mr. Davis demanded from whom he quoted, “not his classmate.” General Gonzales responded, “from the public voice only.” Now he will fight for us all the same, but go on demanding justice from Jeff Davis until he get his dues — at least, until one of them gets his dues, for he means to go on hitting Jeff Davis over the head whenever he has a chance.

“I am afraid,” said I, “you will find it a hard head to crack.” He replied in his flowery Spanish way: “Jeff Davis will be the sun, radiating all light, heat, and patronage; he will not be a moon reflecting public opinion, for he has the soul of a despot; he delights to spite public opinion. See, people abused him for making Crittenden brigadier. Straightway he made him major-general, and just after a blundering, besotted defeat, too.” Also, he told the President in that letter: “Napoleon made his generals after great deeds on their part, and not for having been educated at St. Cyr, or Brie, or the Polytechnique,” etc., etc. Nathan Davis sat as still as a Sioux warrior, not an eyelash moved. And yet he said afterward that he was amused while the Spaniard railed at his great namesake.

Gonzales said: “Mrs. Slidell would proudly say that she was a Creole. They were such fools, they thought Creole meant—” Here Nathan interrupted pleasantly: “At the St. Charles, in New Orleans, on the bill of fare were ‘Creole eggs.’ When they were brought to a man who had ordered them, with perfect simplicity, he held them up, ‘Why, they are only hens' eggs, after all.’ What in Heaven's name he expected them to be, who can say?” smiled Nathan the elegant.

One lady says (as I sit reading in the drawing-room window while Maum Mary puts my room to rights): “I clothe my negroes well. I could not bear to see them in dirt and rags; it would be unpleasant to me.” Another lady: “Yes. Well, so do I. But not fine clothes, you know. I feel — now — it was one of our sins as a nation, the way we indulged them in sinful finery. We will be punished for it.”

Last night, Mrs. Pickens met General Cooper. Madam knew General Cooper only as our adjutant-general, and Mr. Mason's brother-in-law. In her slow, graceful, impressive way, her beautiful eyes eloquent with feeling, she inveighed against Mr. Davis's wickedness in always sending men born at the North to command at Charleston. General Cooper is on his way to make a tour of inspection there now. The dear general settled his head on his cravat with the aid of his forefinger; he tugged rather more nervously with the something that is always wrong inside of his collar, and looked straight up through his spectacles. Some one crossed the room, stood back of Mrs. Pickens, and murmured in her ear, “General Cooper was born in New York.” Sudden silence.

Dined with General Cooper at the Prestons. General Hampton and Blanton Duncan were there also; the latter a thoroughly free-and-easy Western man, handsome and clever; more audacious than either, perhaps. He pointed to Buck — Sally Buchanan Campbell Preston. “What's that girl laughing at?” Poor child, how amazed she looked. He bade them “not despair; all the nice young men would not be killed in the war; there would be a few left. For himself, he could give them no hope; Mrs. Duncan was uncommonly healthy.” Mrs. Duncan is also lovely. We have seen her.

SOURCE: Mary Boykin Chesnut, Edited by Isabella D. Martin and Myrta Lockett Avary, A Diary From Dixie, p. 148-50

Diary of Judith W. McGuire: April 27, 1862

The country is shrouded in gloom because of the fall of New Orleans! It was abandoned by General Lovell — necessarily, it is thought. Such an immense force was sent against the forts which protected it, that they could not be defended. The steamer Mississippi, which was nearly finished, had to be burnt. We hoped so much from its protection to the Mississippi River. Oh, it is so hard to see the enemy making such inroads into the heart of our country! It makes the chicken-hearted men and women despondent, but to the true and brave it gives a fresh stimulus for exertion. I met two young Kentuckians to-night who have come out from their homes, leaving family and fortunes behind, to help the South. After many difficulties, running the blockade across the Potomac, they reached Richmond yesterday, just as the news of the fall of New Orleans had overwhelmed the city. They are dreadfully disappointed by the tone of the persons they have met. They came burning with enthusiasm; and anything like depression is a shock to their excited feelings. One said to me that he thought he should return at once, as he had “left every thing which made home desirable to help Virginia, and found her ready to give up.” All the blood in my system boiled in an instant. “Where, sir,” said I, “have you seen Virginians ready to give up their cause?” “Why,” he replied, “I have been lounging about the Exchange all day, and have heard the sentiments of the people.” “Lounging about the Exchange? And do you suppose that Virginians worthy of the name are now seen lounging about the Exchange? There you see the idlers and shirkers of the whole Southern army. No true man under forty-five is to be found there. Virginia, sir, is in the camp. Go there, and find the true men of the South. There they have been for one year, bearing the hardships, and offering their lives, and losing life and limb for the South; it is mournful to say how many! There you will find the chivalry of the South; and if Virginia does not receive you with the shout of enthusiasm which you anticipated, it is because the fire burns steadily and deeply; the surface blaze has long ago passed away. I honour you, and the many noble young Kentuckians who have left their homes for the sake of our country, but it will not do for Kentucky to curl the lip of scorn at Virginia. Virginia blushes, and silently mourns over her recreant daughter, and rejoices over every son of hers who has the disinterestedness to leave her and come to us in this hour of our bitter trial.”

I do not believe that this young man really means, or wishes, to return; he only feels disheartened by the gloom caused by our great national loss.

SOURCE: Judith W. McGuire, Diary of a Southern Refugee, During the War, p. 108-9

Diary of Margaret Junkin Preston: October 27, 1862

Yesterday it rained steadily all day; the first day of continuous rain we have had since August: and even yet, Mr. P. says, in plowing today at the farm, they turn up dry earth.

Mr. P.'s cousin, Rev. R. Taylor here to tea tonight. He is a chaplain in the army. It makes me feel despairing to hear him tell of the ragged and barefoot soldiery: of the desolation inflicted by war: of the country laid waste, and the houses burned, and the blackened chimneys standing. It is a very serious question how the army is to be clothed and fed this winter.

SOURCE: Elizabeth Preston Allan, The Life and Letters of Margaret Junkin Preston, p. 155-6

Diary of Corporal Alexander G. Downing: Friday, May 27, 1864

We remained in bivouac until 2 o'clock waiting for rations. After getting our rations we crossed the Tennessee river by pontoon bridges and started on our way for Rome, Georgia. The railroad bridge of the Memphis & Ohio, here at Decatur, was destroyed by our gunboats soon after the battle of Shiloh. It took seventy-two pontoon boats to make our bridge. Our road today lay through a large swamp which it took some time for the artillery and provision trains to cross; besides we had some very rough country to cross, and did not get into bivouac until midnight.

Source: Alexander G. Downing, Edited by Olynthus B., Clark, Downing’s Civil War Diary, p. 191

Brigadier-General John A. Rawlins to Mary Emeline Hurlburt Rawlins, April 23, 1864

Culpepper C. H., Va., April 23, 1864.

. . . Clear, dry weather. . . .

Burnside's corps commenced moving up from Annapolis today to join this army. The moment it arrives we will be ready for action. Reports from Sherman, Butler and Sigel are all as cheering as we could hope for under the circumstances. The enemy have attacked Plymouth in Butler's Department and been repulsed. This initiatory move of theirs will delay Butler somewhat in his preparations for cooperation with the movements of this army. Sherman and Sigel will both be in readiness without doubt at the appointed time, as will, we trust, General Butler, notwithstanding this attack at Plymouth. In Sherman, Meade and Butler, General Grant has three Generals, all in important commands, whom he can trust. They are all three loyal to their country, friends of the General, and consequently with no ambitions to be gratified that look not to the success of our arms in obedience to and in accordance with his orders and plans.

General Sigel shows a fine disposition, and I have great hopes that he is a much better officer than General Pope gave him credit for being. He is active in his preparations for the part he is to perform in the coming campaign, is subordinate as far as I am able to judge, and has unquestionably the interest of the country at heart.

As yet no official report has been received from General Banks. General Grant has discharged his duty faithfully in this matter by suggestions to the President that Banks be relieved by General J. J. Reynolds in the command of the Gulf Department. What the President will do we don't as yet know. General Banks may be, and I have no doubt is, a splendid man on presentations, but certainly as a soldier he is a failure. The men under his command are to all intents and purposes dead to the service. Private information would indicate that we have retrieved much that we had lost in the Red River affair. I hope this may be true.

The Fort Pillow Massacre is one of the most brutal and horrible acts of fiendishness on record. If it is true as reported, and the Confederate authorities endorse and approve it, I hope the tongue of every Northern person who would speak in justification of them or their cause may cling to the roof of their mouths. This might make dumb many who profess to be my friends, but certainly could not hush to me the sweet voice of the wife I love, for at such acts of cruelty and barbarism her noble and queenly nature will ever revolt.

Reports from the front are that Lee is massing all his cavalry near Fredericksburg with a view to advance against us, which may be true, but I doubt it. . . .

SOURCE: James H. Wilson, The Life of John A. Rawlins, p. 422-3

Lieutenant-Colonel Theodore Lyman to Elizabeth Russell Lyman, November 27, 1864

November 27, 1864

I think I will occupy the remainder of this letter with an account of our picnic yesterday to Butlerdom. The day was further remarkable for the departure of my dear General Humphreys to take command of the 2d Army Corps. For Hancock has got a leave of absence, and will doubtless be put to recruiting fresh troops, while it is hoped that the President will permanently assign Humphreys to this Corps. He is in high glee at going, and will be in despair if a big fight is not got up for his special benefit. He was a great favorite and was escorted by some fifteen mounted officers of the Staff to his new quarters, at which compliment I think he was gratified. I regretted not to be with him, but had to go with the General, who started by the mail train, at 8 A.M., to be early at Grant's Headquarters, whence they were to start. We took our horses on a freight car. In the train we found Generals Warren and Crawford, who were invited to be of the party. Arrived at City Point, we discovered that the Lieutenant-General was still in bed, whereat Meade did laugh, but the three stars soon appeared and went to breakfast. After which meal, our horses were put on the boat and we put ourselves on, and off we started. The party was a big one. There were Generals Grant, Meade, Warren, Crawford and Ingalls, and several Staff officers. There were then the bourgeois: to wit, a great many “Turkeys” (gentlemen who had come down to distribute those Thanksgiving fowls); two men who wanted to sell a steamer; one Senator, viz., Nesmith of Oregon, and one political blackguard named H–––, whose special business was to praise a certain Greek fire, of which more anon. This fellow's name is usually prefixed by “Pet.” He has wild hair and beard and a face showing a certain ability; his distinguishing mark, I am told, is the absence of any sort of morality or principle. With him was his son, a small and old boy, of whom they said that, if papa could not get the best at a game of poker, son would come in and assist. Senator Nesmith is a child of the people, and was prepared for his congressional duties by a residence of twenty-five years among the Indians. When he first got to Washington, he had never before seen a railroad, a telegraph, or a gas-light. “Senator Fessenden asked me what I thought of things. ‘Well,’ says I, ‘when I first came along I was full of the dignity of the position to which I had been elected; but now all I want to know is, who in thunder ever sent you fellers here!’” He has plenty of brains, this same, but is a very coarse man. The “Turkeys” were of various sorts: several of them were Club men, e.g., Mr. Benson, a gentleman who seemed a middle-aged beau, with much politeness and no particular brains. He kept bowing and smiling and backing into persons, and offering his chair to everyone, from orderlies up to General Grant. He requested to know whether in my opinion he could be properly considered as having been “under fire; because,” said he, “I stood on the Avery house and could see the shells explode in the air, you know!” All this motley crowd started at once for Deep Bottom; nor should I omit to say that we had also on board a Secesh bishop — Leigh of Georgia — who was going by flag of truce to Richmond. He had remained in Atlanta, and Sherman had told him if he wished to get back, he must go via Richmond. From him they got a good deal of entertaining conversation. His opinion of Sherman was very high and complimentary. “The old Book tells us,” he said, “that the race may not be to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, and we feel that Providence will not desert our righteous cause.” “Yes,” said General Meade, “but then we feel that Providence will not desert our cause; now how are you going to settle that question?” Whereat they both laughed. The bishop was a scholastic, quiet-looking man, and no great fire-eater, I fancy. The boat made fast at Aiken's landing, halfway between Deep Bottom and Dutch Gap. A Staff officer was there to receive us and conduct us, two miles, to General Butler's Headquarters. Some rode and some were in ambulances. The James Army people always take pretty good care of themselves, and here I found log houses, with board roofs, and high chimneys, for the accommodation of the gentlemen of the Staff. You might know it was Butler's Headquarters by the fact that, instead of the common ensign, he had a captured Reb battle-flag stuck up! This chieftain asked in the general officers and we were left to the care of the Staff, who were not behindhand in their civility.  . . . Presently Butler climbed on his horse and led the way to see Fort Harrison, which was captured in the movements at the end of September. It was well worth seeing, for on our side of the river we have no hills: it is pretty much one plain with gullies. But here was a regular hill, of some size, dominating the whole country about. How they took the place, I hardly see, for the land is often for a mile in front of it, and the Rebs had artillery in position and a regular infantry running quite to the river. . . .

SOURCE: George R. Agassiz, Editor, Meade’s Headquarters, 1863-1865: Letters of Colonel Theodore Lyman from the Wilderness to Appomattox, p. 279-82