11th. — Every thing seems unchanging in the outer world during the few past days. We were most delightfully surprised last night. While sitting quietly in the Colonel’s room, (in the basement,) the window was suddenly thrown up, and in sprang our son J., just returned from Northern captivity. Finding that we had changed our quarters since he was here, he walked up the street in search of us, and while stopping to ascertain the right house, he espied us through the half-open window-shutter, and was too impatient for the preliminaries of ringing a bell and waiting for a servant to open the door. He was in exuberant spirits, but much disappointed that his wife was not with us. So, after a short sojourn and a cup of tea, he went off to join her on “Union Hill.” They both dined with us to-day. His confinement has not been so bad as we feared, from the treatment which many other prisoners had received, but it was disagreeable enough. He was among the surgeons in Winchester in charge of the sick and wounded; and when we retreated before Sheridan after the battle of the 19th of August, it fell to his lot, among eighteen or twenty other surgeons, to be left there to take care of our captured wounded. When those duties were at an end, instead of sending them under flag of truce to our own army, they were taken first to the old Capitol, where they remained ten days, thence to Fort Delaware, for one night, and thence to Fort Hamilton, near Fortress Monroe, where they were detained four weeks. They there met with much kindness from Southern ladies, and also from a Federal officer, Captain Blake.
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Colonel Lyon’s Letters.
Huntsville, Ala., 11 o’clock p. m., Jan. 11, 1865—I write at this late hour because I have had no time to do so before. I am constantly occupied, early and late, and it is with difficulty that I get time to write at all. In addition to my other duties, the command of our brigade is thrown upon me again. Colonel Doolittle is commanding a brigade in the 23d Army Corps. This is Colonel Doolittle of the 18th Michigan.
Everything moves along nicely with me. Our town is full of Generals. Wood, Kemble, Beatty, Elliott, Granger, and others are here. My relations with them are very pleasant indeed. Granger and Elliott called upon me tonight. I knew the latter as Colonel of the 2d Iowa Cavalry, and went up the Tennessee river with him in April, 1862, to Pittsburg Landing.
I am about making an entire change of force on the railroad, and shall probably go to Stevenson in a day or two to superintend the necessary movements. I have received a reinforcement of two regiments, the 84th Illinois and the 18th Michigan, to enable me to increase the strength of garrisons here and on the railroad. When Colonel Doolittle returns I shall be relieved of the command of the brigade, and I hope of the post, so that I can devote my whole time to the railroad and river defenses.
11th. Wednesday. Letters from Mrs. Wood. Watrous.
Wednesday, 11th—It is clear and quite cool. We learn that a part of the Fifteenth Army Corps landed at Beaufort today and will come out this way and go into camp. We expect to be joined by the other two corps from Savannah as soon as they succeed in crossing the river, when we shall all move forward at the same time. We had company inspection today.
January 11th.—Clear and pleasant. Cannon heard down the river.
Mr. E. A. Pollard, taken by the Federals in an attempt to run the blockade last spring, has returned, and reports that Gen. Butler has been relieved of his command—probably for his failure to capture Wilmington. Mr. Pollard says that during his captivity he was permitted, on parole, to visit the Northern cities, and he thinks the Northern conscription will ruin the war party.
But, alas! the lax policy inaugurated by Mr. Benjamin, and continued by every succeeding Secretary of War, enables the enemy to obtain information of all our troubles and all our vulnerable points. The United States can get recruits under the conviction that there will be little or no more fighting.
Some $40,000 worth of provisions, belonging to speculators, but marked for a naval bureau and the Mining and Niter Bureau, have been seized at Danville. This is well—if it be not too late.
A letter from Mr. Trenholm, Secretary of the Treasury, to Mr. Wagner, Charleston, S. C. (sent over for approval), appoints him agent to proceed to Augusta, etc., with authority to buy all the cotton for the government, at $1 to $1.25 per pound; and then sell it for sterling bills of exchange to certain parties, giving them permission to remove it within the enemy’s lines; or “better still,” to have it shipped abroad on government account by reliable parties. This indicates a purpose to die “full-handed,” if the government must die, and to defeat the plans of the enemy to get the cotton. Is the Federal Government a party to this arrangement? Gold was $60 for one yesterday. I suppose there is no change to-day.
Judge Campbell, Assistant Secretary, returned to his room today, mine not suiting him.
Col. Sale, Gen. Bragg’s military secretary, told me to-day that the general would probably return from Wilmington soon. His plan for filling the ranks by renovating the whole conscription system, will, he fears, slumber until it is too late, when ruin will overtake us! If the President would only put Bragg at the head of the conscription business—and in time—we might be saved.
