Saturday, 24th—I reached home this morning at daylight, having left Davenport late yesterday afternoon, riding out with a farmer to “the forks” of the Hickory Grove and the Allen’s Grove roads, and from there walked the twenty-one miles home, after night, all alone.
This is a fine day. I went over to Mr. Sparks’ and accompanied him to the grove out southwest of Tipton, to a camp meeting which is being conducted by the Christian church. We got there in time for the meeting.
Saturday 24.—Doctor and I laughed at a soldier who said it was Saturday. We thought it was Thursday. The finest day’s march yet. Streams, mountain views, and invigorating air! Reached Buckhannon [Beverly] at 2 P. M.; greeted by friends in the Guthries warmly—Captain Erwin, Captain Bense, Captains Tinker, Clark. Saw Tatem, sick, Charles Richards, Tom Royse, and others. Danger here; men killed and an enemy coming or near Cheat River. Ambulance guide and men of “Guthries” killed. We camped on a pretty spot. Captain McMullen’s howitzers and one-half of McCook’s regiment with us on the march. Ours the only band here.
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BEVERLY, VIRGINIA, August, Saturday, 24 or 23, 1861.
DEAREST:—Your letters are all directed right—to Clarksburg, Virginia—got one from you, one from Uncle and one from Mother with a nice Testament today.
We marched from Buckhannon as I wrote you; but the rain stopped, the air was delicious, the mountain scenery beautiful. We camped at night in the hills without tents. I looked up at the stars and moon—nothing between me and sky—and thought of you all. Today had a lovely march in the mountains, was at the camp of the enemy on Rich Mountain and on the battlefield. Reached here today. Saw Captain Erwin and friends enough. It is pleasant. We had one-half of our regiment, one-half of McCook’s German regiment and McMullen’s Field Battery. Joe and I led the column. The Guthrie Greys greeted us hospitably. Men are needed here, and we were met by men who were very glad to see us for many reasons. We go to the seat of things in Cheat Mountain perhaps tomorrow.
I love you so much. Write about the dear boys and your kindred—that’s enough. Your letter about them is so good.
Affectionately,
[R.]
P.S.—My favorite horse has come out fine again (Webby first, I mean) and Webby second is coming out. Joe and I vote these two days the happiest of the war. Such air and streams and mountains and people glad to see us.
MRS. HAYES.
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BEVERLY, VIRGINIA, August 24, 1861.
DEAR UNCLE:—Thank you for the postage stamps. The traitors at home, you need not fear. . . We are needed here. Shall march towards the enemy tomorrow again. I am better pleased with this than with the main army at Washington. . . .
Affectionately,
R. B. HAYES.
S. BIRCHARD.
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BEVERLY, August 24, 1861.
DEAR MOTHER:—Fifty miles further in the mountains. Most lovely streams and mountains. My tent now looks out on a finer scene than any yet. Thank you for the Testament. I see war enough. I prefer to read something else. We expect to move on soon. We are at the jumping-off place. You will not hear often now.
Affectionately,
R. B. HAYES.
MRS. SOPHIA HAYES.
SATURDAY 24
Saw the President this morning 1/2 past 8. Applied for a Pay Mastership in the Army. Too many already appointed, gave me a line to Mr Seward. Came home and found Mr Brownson of Lyons at the house. Went with him and Julia up to Camp Cameron to see the “Anderson Zuaves.” Col Riker conversed awhile with the Chaplin Rev Mr Harvey from N[ew] Y[ork] Mills, Oneida Co[unty], NY. There is one Co[mpany] of the Zuaves who are Frenchmen, some of whom served in Africa. Mr Seward was there and reviewed the Regt, 1000 strong.
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The three diary manuscript volumes, Washington during the Civil War: The Diary of Horatio Nelson Taft, 1861-1865, are available online at The Library of Congress.
Letter To The Editor Of The Lexington “Gazette.”
Camp Harmon, August 24,1861.
I do not merit the compliment paid me in a paragraph contained in a recent number of your paper, which gives me the position of leading a portion of the 4th Va. and 7th Geo. in the charge upon the enemy’s batteries. The 4th Va. was led by its gallant officers, Preston, Moore and Kent, and it was by order of Col. Preston, who was the first to reach the battery, that I placed the flag upon it. The 7th Geo. was led by one whom history will place among the noblest of the brave men whose blood stained the field of Manassas—the lamented Bartow; when he fell, then by its immediate commander, Col. Gartrell, until he was carried, wounded, from the field; and then, until the close of the day, by Major Dunwoodie, the next in command.
If the paragraph means, not leading, but foremost, the compliment is equally unmerited. In the midst of the terrible shower of ball and shell to which we were subjected, and whilst our men, dead and wounded, fell thick and fast around us, my associates in the command of our company, Letcher, Edmondson and Lewis, were by my side; the dead bodies of my comrades, Fred Davidson and Asbury McClure, attest their gallantry; and the severe wounds which Bowyer, Moodie, Northern, Neff and P. Davidson carried home show where they were. I witnessed, on the part of many of our company around me, heroism equal to that of those I have named; but as others whom, in the excitement of the occasion, I do not remember to have seen, did quite as well, I may do injustice to name whom I saw. Compared with the terrible danger to which we were exposed at this time, that seems trifling when, at a later hour and in another part of the field, the flag was placed on some of the guns of the Rhode Island battery, which the enemy were then leaving in rapid retreat, the day being already won, and the glories of Manassas achieved.
Again, I did not get the flag when Bartow fell, but sometime after, from the color-sergeant of the regiment, who, wounded, was no longer able to bear it.
The work done by Jackson’s Brigade and the 7th Geo., and the credit to which they are entitled, is stated in the following extract from the official report of Gen. McDowell: “The hottest part of the contest was for the possession of this hill with a house on it.” Here Jackson and his gallant men fought. Here the work of that memorable Sabbath was finished.
Note: This particular diary entry—a document written in 1861—includes terms and topics that may be offensive to many today. No attempt will be made to censor or edit 19th century material to today’s standards.
August 24th.—My servant came in this morning, to announce a trifling accident—he was exercising my horse, and at the corner of one of those charming street crossings, the animal fell and broke its leg. A “vet” was sent for. I was sure that such a portent had never been born in those Daunian woods. A man about twenty-seven or twenty-eight stone weight, middle-aged and active, with a fine professional feeling for distressed horse-flesh; and I was right in my conjectures that he was a Briton, though the vet had become Americanised, and was full of enthusiasm about “our war for the Union,” which was yielding him a fine harvest. He complained there were a good many bad characters about Washington. The matter is proved beyond doubt by what we see, hear, and read. To-day there is an account in the papers of a brute shooting a negro boy dead, because he asked him for a chew of tobacco. Will he be hanged? Not the smallest chance of it. The idea of hanging a white man for killing a nigger! It is more preposterous here than it is in India, where our authorities have actually executed whites for the murder of natives.
Before dinner I walked down to the Washington navy yard. Captain Dahlgren was sorely perplexed with an intoxicated Senator, whose name it is not necessary to mention, and who seemed to think he paid me a great compliment by expressing his repeated desire “to have a good look at” me. “I guess you’re quite notorious now. You’ll excuse me because I’ve dined, now—and so you are the Mr. &c, &c, &c.” The Senator informed me that he was “none of your d___d blackfaced republicans. He didn’t care a d___ about niggers—his business was to do good to his fellow white men, to hold our glorious Union together, and let the niggers take care of themselves.”
I was glad when a diversion was effected by the arrival of Mr. Fox, Assistant-Secretary of the Navy, and Mr. Blair, Postmaster-General, to consult with the Captain, who is greatly looked up to by all the members of the Cabinet—in fact he is rather inconvenienced by the perpetual visits of the President, who is animated by a most extraordinary curiosity about naval matters and machinery, and is attracted by the novelty of the whole department, so that he is continually running down “to have a talk with Dahlgren” when he is not engaged in “a chat with George.” The Senator opened such a smart fire on the Minister that the latter retired, and I mounted and rode back to town. In the evening Major Clarence Brown, Lieutenant Wise, a lively, pleasant, and amusing little sailor, well-known in the States as the author of ” Los Gringos,” who is now employed in the Navy Department, and a few of the gentlemen connected with the Foreign Legations came in, and we had a great international reunion and discussion till a late hour. There is a good deal of agreeable banter reserved for myself, as to the exact form of death which I am most likely to meet. I was seriously advised by a friend not to stir out unarmed. The great use of a revolver is that it will prevent the indignity of tarring and feathering, now pretty rife, by provoking greater violence. I also received a letter from London, advising me to apply to Lord Lyons for protection, but that could only be extended to me within the walls of the Legation.
AUGUST 24TH.—We are resting on our oars after the victory at Manassas, while the enemy is drilling and equipping 500,000 or 600,000 men. I hope we may not soon be floating down stream! We know the enemy is, besides, building iron-clad steamers—and yet we are not even erecting casemate batteries! We are losing precious time, and, perhaps, the government is saving money.
August 24th.—Daniel, of The Examiner, was at the President’s. Wilmot de Saussure wondered if a fellow did not feel a little queer, paying his respects in person at the house of a man whom he abused daily in his newspaper.
A fiasco: an aide engaged to two young ladies in the same house. The ladies had been quarreling, but became friends unexpectedly when his treachery, among many other secrets, was revealed under that august roof. Fancy the row when it all came out.
Mr. Lowndes said we have already reaped one good result from the war. The orators, the spouters, the furious patriots, that could hardly be held down, and who were so wordily anxious to do or die for their country—they had been the pest of our lives. Now they either have not tried the battleield at all, or have precipitately left it at their earliest convenience: for very shame we are rid of them for a while. I doubt it. Bright’s speech¹ is dead against us. Reading this does not brighten one.
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¹ The reference is to John Bright, whose advocacy of the cause of the Union in the British Parliament attracted a great deal of attention At the time.
August 24.—Depredations by soldiers on the property of citizens of Elizabeth City and County, in Virginia, occasioned an order from Gen. Wool, in which marauders were threatened with severe punishment—(Doc. 4.)
—The Cameron Rifles, N. Y. S. V., commanded by Col. Robert J. Betge, struck their tents at Hudson City, N. J., and departed for the seat of war.—N. Y. World, August 26.
—The Nashville American of this day says: We very much regret to observe that in some quarters, that are generally regarded as highly influential in moulding and controlling public opinion in the South, there is betrayed an evident willingness to create strife or dissension among the leaders of that grand revolution which is now exciting the respect and admiration of the civilized world, and is destined to eventuate in placing the South among the foremost nations of this or any other age. Whether this spirit arises from mistaken zeal of opinion, undue ambition, or envy of the prominent position of some in the revolution, we shall not stop to inquire. Whether it originates in all or either of these causes, it is alike calculated to lead to the most serious and disastrous consequences, unless checked by the patriotic unanimity of the people, in frowning down these incipient steps to party division. All the power, resources, malignity, and hostility of the enemy could not now do us a heavier injury than could be done by an angry, determined and acrimonious dissension, in which the people could be induced to enlist their feelings and array their strength on the different sides.
There is, indeed, no greater calamity that could befall the great Southern cause at this time than for a spirit of jealousy to get the ascendency in the councils of the Confederacy, or a deep-seated dissension to arise with regard to the conduct of the war, the policy of finance, or any other measure that may claim the attention of the Administration. Unity of action is so clearly necessary to the Southern cause, that we do not deem it necessary to illustrate or enforce its importance by argument. To the present time it has proven the chief strength of the Confederate States. That there will necessarily be differences of opinion, cannot be doubted. These are inevitable. They are useful. They promote sound views and healthy action. But these differences should be surrendered when decision has given place to discussion, and when the proper authorities determine on their policy.
The great mass of the people are prepared to follow those, whom they have chosen to lead in the war, in whatever direction they may designate. They are, moreover, prepared to make whatever sacrifices in fortune, in privation, or even in life, that may be necessary to maintain their rights, liberties and independence, and to secure for themselves and children the blessings of constitutional freedom. They have the highest confidence in the courage, prudence, judgment, and patriotism of those they have selected to lead them. No amount of criticism can shake their confidence, until the acts of the leaders of the revolution shall demonstrate that they are incapable of conducting our cause to success.
Their superior statesmanship thus far vindicates their wisdom. We will rally as one man, the people of the Confederate States, one and all, to sustain their policy, because it has proven to be the best, the wisest, and most successful. We will listen to no mere cavil. We will not forget that the leaders of the Revolution of ’76 had their rivals, even amid the storms of war. And we will remember that the patriotism of our ancestors sustained their chosen leaders, frowned down discord, and saved the cause.— Nashville American August 24.
—This morning James G. Berret, Esq., Mayor of the city of Washington, was arrested at his residence by a portion of the Provost-marshal’s Guard, and conveyed northward by the early railroad train. The causes of his arrest are unknown to the public. Several days ago he declined to take the oath prescribed by the act of Congress for members of the Board of Police Commissioners.—Capt. Robert Tansill and Lieut. Thos. S. Wilson of the Marine Corps, who had tendered their resignations, were also arrested and conveyed to Fort Lafayette. Mrs. Phillips, wife of Philip Phillips, Esq., ex-member of Congress from Alabama, and Mrs. Greenhow, widow of the late Robert Greenhow, were arrested on the charge of holding correspondence with the Confederates.—National Intelligencer, August 26.
—Last evening, while ex-Governor Thomas was addressing a crowd in front of a hotel at Cumberland, Va., some secessionists raised a disturbance which resulted in their being driven home and the destruction of the Alleghanian office, a secession newspaper. This morning the train bound West, which had ex-Governor Thomas aboard, when near Cumberland, came suddenly on several cross-ties thrown across the track, and at the same time a number of armed men were seen rapidly descending a neighboring hill. The engineer increased the speed of the locomotive, and succeeded in throwing the ties off the track with but little damage to the engine. Some Federal scouts then fired into the train, it is supposed by mistake, but without doing any damage. The design of the secessionists was to take ex-Governor Thomas prisoner.—(Doc. 5.)
—The True American, the Democratic organ of New Jersey, published at Trenton, suspended this morning, giving as a reason for the act that the National authorities had virtually interdicted the publication of every paper that did not support the Government and Administration.—N. Y. Times, August 26.
—Two attempts were made in Connecticut to raise peace flags—one of which failed, while the other was successful. The first was at Stepney, ten miles north of Bridgeport. According to previous announcement a meeting was to have been organized after the raising of the flag. No sooner was the flag hoisted, however, than the Union men made a rush for it, pulled it down, and tore it into shreds. A Union meeting was then organized, which passed a series of Union resolutions. Soon after the Farmer newspaper office, published in Bridgeport, was demolished, notwithstanding the efforts of prominent citizens to prevent it. The other flag-raising was at New Fairfield, where about four hundred persons were engaged in the enterprise. An attempt was made by about seventy Union men to pull the flag down, and a desperate fight ensued, in which two of the “peace” men were seriously injured.—(Doc. 6.)
—To-day a detachment of Col. Richardson’s Home Guards arrived at Jefferson City, Mo., from an expedition to Jamestown. This place is about twenty-three miles above Jefferson City. The soldiers left on Wednesday on board the steamer Iatan. They took no provisions with them, there being plenty of rebels in the vicinity they intended visiting, and were ordered to quarter themselves on the secessionists. At Sandy Hook they discovered eight mounted rebels on the bank, who, on seeing the steamer coming, fled. Ten men were immediately detached in pursuit of them, and, coming within sight of the rebels, fired. Two of them immediately dismounted and, leaving their horses, escaped into the woods— the horses and two fine double-barrel shot-guns were captured, and a lieutenant’s uniform fell also into the hands of the Nationals.
One of the horses had a sabre cut across the head, and the rider was known to have been engaged in the battle at Springfield. Meanwhile, the balance of the force were marched to Jamestown. About four miles from Sandy Hook they arrested two of the most noted secessionists in the whole State, George Jones and C. Hickox, besides seven other of lesser note. From the first-mentioned, who is a wealthy farmer, the troops took ten horses, and plenty of fodder and provisions from all the rebels in the vicinity. They returned with twenty horses and a considerable quantity of provisions and nine prisoners. One of the prisoners, put on a confession, divulged the names of all the men, eighteen in number, who fired the other day with such fatal effect upon the railroad trains. Jones was the President of the Knights of the Golden Circle. The property of the Union men was left untouched. —Dubuque Times, August 27.
—Hamilton E. Gamble, Governor of Missouri, at Jefferson City, issued a proclamation calling for forty-two thousand troops to aid the Federal Government in expelling the forces of Ben McCulloch from the State.—(Doc. 7.)
—The Memphis Argus of this day publishes the following proclamation from the Mayor of that city:
“To the Citizens of Memphis: Applications hare repeatedly been made to me, as executive officer of the city, for protection against indiscreet parties who are sent out to impress citizens into service against their will on steamboats. Many of these men have been dragged from their beds, wives, and children, but never has there been a man taken who had on a clean skirt. I hereby notify any citizen who may wish a pass within the city of Memphis to call on me, and I will furnish the same, and will see he will be protected. One poor man being shot yesterday by one of these outlaws, as they may be called, causes me to give the above notice.
“John Park, Mayor.”
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