Following the American Civil War Sesquicentennial with day by day writings of the time, currently 1863.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Journal of Surgeon Alfred L. Castleman.

April 10, 2012

Journal of Surgeon Alfred L Castleman.

10th.—Fell back to-day about a mile and a half out of reach of enemy’s shells. Patience and endurance of everything, without expression of thought, can scarcely be considered a virtue, even in a military subordinate. The Western Army is all activity and execution. No. 10 taken, Beauregard whipped on his own ground, all our armies accomplishing glorious deeds, except this poor old thing of the Potomac, called an army: Nearly a year has been spent by us in squatting around in sight of the enemy, rushing forward to-day, till within fighting distance, to-morrow falling back, as if afraid that some one might get shot. Here we have been for five days in sight of the enemy we came to capture or destroy, and this morning, because they threw a few shells into our camp, we are falling back! We are within twenty miles of one of our principal military stores and depots, with our men and animals starving. My ambulance horses-have not had a mouthful of any thing to eat for nearly three days, and to-day they are expected to draw the heavy ambulances over the worst roads I ever saw. Yes, here we are, in a “cul de sac,” the rivers on either side of us held by the enemy, the ground in front blockaded by them, and their pickets jeeringly calling across the little creek to know whether we are not most ready to fight. Who is to blame? Many of us begin to question the ability of General McClellan.

If we can get forage and rations here, I think we must make some kind of a fight before we get away. How much of a fight, I cannot tell. It is surprising how man is modified by habit. During the late skirmishes, we who are not engaged, sat in our tents, smoking, singing, jesting with as much indifference as we would sit by our fires at home and listen to the falling of the axeman’s blows. True, we sometimes notice the sounds of a report heavier than usual, and “wonder how many that shell did for.” Would such indifference have overtaken us, if we had been kept engaged in the ordinary duties of an army? I verily believe not. It is the offspring of a kind of desperation. We came to effect something. We have been disappointed, and are growing careless of consequences. Nor are the moral habits of the men less changed. Stealing is becoming a pastime with them, and is scarcely looked on as a crime.

General McClellan’s command has dwindled down to three corps d’armee, and I regret to say that the opinion is beginning to be held by many, that he is not competent to the command of even this force.

No mail now for ten days. This is very hard; harder even than to sleep out and go hungry. Even now our families may be suffering, dying, and we have no means of knowing it. Well, in time of war this is necessary, and perhaps it is all for the best. God controls and directs.

“When did an educated people ever bungle so in the management of a great issue!”–Adams Family Letters, Charles Francis Adams, Jr., to his father.

April 10, 2012

Adams Family Civil War letters; US Minister to the UK and his sons.

Hilton Head, S.C., August 10, 1862

Affairs here are as dull as dull can be. We have had a little excitement about your old friend the Fingal, which has turned up in Savannah harbor as an ironclad of much force, but that seems to be dying out now, though I can’t help thinking that we shall some day hear from her when we least expect or desire to.

General Hunter’s negro regiment was disbanded yesterday and now they have all dispersed to their old homes. Its breaking up was hailed here with great joy, for our troops have become more anti-negro than I could have imagined. But, for myself, I could not help feeling a strong regret at seeing the red-legged darkies march off; for, though I have long known that the experiment was a failure, yet it was the failure of another effort at the education of these poor people and it was the acknowledgment of another of those blunders which have distinguished all and every our experiments on slavery throughout this war. When did an educated people ever bungle so in the management of a great issue! I feel sick and almost discouraged at what I see and hear. What God made plain we have mixed up into inextricable confusion. We have had declarations of emancipation ingeniously framed so as not to free a slave and yet to thoroughly concentrate and inflame our enemy. We have wrangled over arming the slaves before the slaves showed any disposition to use the arms, and when we have never had in our lives 5000 of them who could bear arms. Why could not fanatics be silent and let Providence work for awhile. The slaves would have moved when the day came and could have been made useful in a thousand ways. As it is, we are Hamlet’s ape, who broke his neck to try conclusions….

Post image for Nicely prepared for 300 men.

Nicely prepared for 300 men.

April 10, 2012

Woolsey family letters during the War for the Union

Sarah Woolsey to Georgeanna.

New Haven, April.

I spent one delightful day in New York with Jane at the New England rooms, where everything is nicely prepared for 300 men. The superintendent has time during intervals to rush down stairs and compose puffs on Jane, which he publishes in the newspapers next morning! The day we went down, we had the luck to fall upon the first wounded soldier of the season, and, though he was not very sick, Jane went to work in the most approved way, and you should have seen her with her bonnet off, her camel’s-hair shawl swung gracefully from her shoulders and a great pocketed white apron on, making tea over a spirit-lamp and enjoying it all so thoroughly. The Newbern hero was fed with sardines and oysters and all sorts of good things, and face and hands washed by Jane’s little paws so nicely. . . . Don’t say anything when you write home, for Jane is rather huffy when we talk too much about it, since her appearance in the public prints. Did you see the letter from a soldier in the hospital, describing Jane, and using the celebrated sentence which, as she says, leaves no doubt as to the identity: “I dare not mention her name, but she is beautiful.”

Post image for A Diary of American Events.

A Diary of American Events.

April 10, 2012

The American Civil War,The Rebellion Record—A Diary of American Events; by Frank Moore

April 10.—In the rebel Senate at Richmond, Va., a bill was passed authorizing the issue of five millions of Treasury-notes of the denomination of one dollar and two dollars.—A joint resolution from the House, expressing the thanks of Congress to the patriotic women of the country for their contributions to the army, was concurred in.

The House of Representatives adopted resolutions of thanks to Gen. Sibley, his officers and men, for the victory in New-Mexico, and to the officers and men of the Patrick Henry, Jamestown, Teazer, and other vessels engaged in the naval battle at Hampton Roads, for their gallantry on the occasion.

Bills regulating the fees of Clerks, Marshals, and District-Attorneys, were passed. The maximum annual salary of District-Attorneys was fixed at five thousand dollars. The report of Capt. Buchanan of the naval battle at Hampton Roads was received, and two thousand five hundred copies of it ordered to be printed. Being a very lengthy document, its publication was necessarily deferred to a future day.—Richmond Whig, April 11.

—President Lincoln issued a proclamation recommending the people of the United States, on the next day of worship occurring after its reception, to give thanks to Almighty God for the recent victories, and to implore spiritual consolation for those who have been brought into affliction by the casualties and calamities of sedition and civil war.— (Doc. 127.)

—Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War of the United States, issued the following orders this day to the Military Supervisor of Telegraphs: “You are directed to stop all telegraphic communications to the Philadelphia Inquirer, until satisfactory proof is furnished to this department that the recent publication respecting operations by the army at Yorktown were duly authorized.

You will proceed to Fortress Monroe and make arrangements to enforce the orders of this department.

Ordered—That all applications for passes by newspaper editors or correspondents be referred to Col. Edwards S. Sanford, Military Supervisor of Telegraphs, etc., and be subject to such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by this department.”

The editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer states that the despatch deemed objectionable by the Secretary of War was countersigned by General Wool on the letter itself, and on the envelope, and feels confident of making a satisfactory explanation to the Government Meanwhile the editor requests that the order of Secretary Stanton be withheld from publication, or, if published, to be accompanied by this note of explanation.

—A Reception was given this evening, at the Academy of Music in New-York City, to the heroes of the frigates Cumberland and Congress, destroyed by the Merrimac in Hampton Roads. The Academy was crowded in every available part, and the most enthusiastic greeting was given to the men-o’-war’s men. Pelatiah Perit presided, and speeches were made by Professor Hitchcock, William M. Evarts, George Bancroft, and William E. Dodge. Descriptions of the fight and songs were given by the crew.—(Doc. 128.)

—Resolutions were unanimously adopted in both branches of the Massachusetts Legislature to-day, in furtherance of the suggestions of the Secretary of War, inviting the citizens of the Commonwealth to join, on Sunday next, in a general Te Deum in honor of the recent victories, and congratulating the Western States upon the valiant deeds of their soldiers in the Valley of the Mississippi.

Gov. Andrew ordered a salute of one hundred guns to be fired to-morrow, at noon, in honor of the recent victories.—Boston Courier, April 11.

—The police of St Louis, Mo., broke up an extensive counterfeiting establishment in that city, and seized about twenty-five thousand dollars in counterfeit United States Treasury Notes. —St. Louis News, April 11.

—Two fine batteries of rifled guns were this day found in the woods near the Mississippi river, below Island Number Ten.—Cincinnati Commercial, April 12.

—Humphrey Marshall, whose head-quarters were at Lebanon, Russell Co., Va., called out the militia of Russell, Washington, Scott, Wise, and Lee, to drive back the National troops threatening to advance by way of Pound Gap.—New York World.

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