24th.—No active work to-day, save of my mind. The condition of the country and of the army, past, present, and prospective, is the material on which it has worked. Notwithstanding that one year ago our little army had been repulsed at Bull Run, and the heart of the nation was sorrowful, yet the “whole broad continent was ours.” And with our little army in spirits, though momentarily baffled, we were almost unembarrassed to go where we pleased. The country, confident in its leaders, had risen as one man to sustain the best Government the world ever saw. Three hundred thousand troops were called for, and the question was not who shall be obliged to go, but who shall have the privilege of going. A few weeks later, this “Grand Army of the Potomac,” two hundred and twenty thousand strong, had, like the spirited steed, to be restrained by the strong arm of power from rushing forward to the contest. Summer passed, amidst impatient appeals of the men to be led against the enemy. Winter came, with joyful assurance that we were not to go into quarters, because they were soon to advance upon the enemy and to end the war. But spring found them still in canvas tents, impatient for the word to move. At length, with 130,000, shortly afterwards swelled to nearly 160,000 men, such as no General ever led to battle, we sailed and marched till we met the enemy, about three thousand strong, entrenched at Young’s Mill, when we turned around and marched back. After waiting till they had left, we again took up our march, and overhauled them at Yorktown, now increased to seven or eight thousand strong. Instead of crushing them at once, we settled down and digged, lest they should crush us. After they had tired of waiting for us, they quietly packed up and left our General, with his one hundred and forty thousand men, to enjoy his diggings in the swamps of Warwick. They went to Williamsburg, and having had plenty of time, they had swelled their force to about thirty thousand men. They gave us no time to dig here, but came out to meet us. They punished us severely, but were driven, and instead of following actively in pursuit, we settled down and cried for help! The patience of the soldiers was exhausted; their patriotism was worn out. The malaria of the marshes, and the fatigues of digging, produced low grades of fever which began to carry off the men. And on the 25th of June, although the muskets and the bayonets and the artillery of the enemy had scarcely marked our army, we brought out to meet the opposing foe, which had now swelled to a monster army, less than eighty thousand of the one hundred and sixty thousand men. One half of this eighty thousand dragged themselves to battle, but yet fought like heroes. And now that noble army, instead of moving where it pleased, as it could a year ago, is shut up in a little circuit, with a radius of less than a mile and a half, and cannot leave it. I am induced to hope that in all this there is nothing worse than incompetency. But I doubt the ability of any other set of honest men to use up such an army with so little fighting. There is another call for three hundred thousand men, but before it is filled I fear the hydra-head of party will rear itself and give us trouble. But in whatever manner raised, here this remnant of a great army must remain besieged until a new one is drafted, drilled, and brought to relieve us. Somebody has failed. The men have not.
July 2012
Thursday, 24th—We were relieved from picket this morning by the Thirteenth. Wild fruit is becoming plentiful and while on picket we added quite a variety to our rations.
Camp Green Meadows, July 23, 1862.
Dearest: — I today received a dispatch from Captain Clements that I have been appointed colonel of the Seventy-ninth Regiment to be made up in Warren and Clinton Counties. I shall make no definite decision as to acceptance until I get official notice of it. I suppose it is correct. I shall much hate to leave the Twenty-third. I can’t possibly like another regiment as well, and am not likely to be as acceptable myself to another regiment. If there was a certainty of promotion to the command of the Twenty-third, I would certainly wait for it. But between you and I [me], Colonel Scammon is not likely to deserve promotion, and will perhaps fail to get it. If he gets it he will probably keep command of the Twenty-third — that is, have it in his brigade. Besides, I begin to fear another winter in these mountains. I could stand it after two or three months’ vacation with you in Ohio, but to go straight on another year in this sort of service is a dark prospect. Altogether, much as I love the Twenty-third, I shall probably leave it. I shall put off the evil day as long as I can, hoping something will turn up to give me this regiment, but when the decision is required, I shall probably decide in favor of the new regiment and a visit to you and the boys. I know nothing of the Seventy-ninth except that a son of the railroad superintendent, W. H. Clements, is to be major. I knew him as a captain in the Twelfth, a well-spoken-of youngster. It will be a sad day all around when I leave here.
Last night various doings at headquarters of brigade disgusted me so much, that before I went to sleep I pretty much resolved to get up this morning and write in the most urgent manner soliciting promotion in a new regiment to get out of the scrape. But when this morning brings me the news that I have got what I had determined to ask, I almost regret it. “Such is war!”
Write me all you learn, if anything, about the new regiments — what sort of people go into them, — are they likely ever to fill up? Etc., etc.
24th, A. M. — A year ago tonight you and I walked about Camp Chase looking at the men cooking their rations to be ready to leave the next morning. A short and a long year. Upon the whole, not an unhappy one. Barring the separation from you, it has been a healthy fine spree to me.
Since writing to you yesterday I learn from Dr. Joe, who is now here, that there really seems to be a fair prospect of Colonel Scammon’s promotion. This will probably induce me to hold off as long as I can about the Seventy-ninth business. You can simply say you don’t know if you are asked before hearing further as to what I shall do. — Love to all the boys.
Affectionately,
R.
Mrs. Hayes.
24th. Marched at 3 A. M. Reveille at 2 A. M. Marched 12 miles. Encamped.
Eliza Woolsey Howland and Georgeanna… were planning to join the hospital service again, and keep near [Eliza’s husband] Joe, under the Sanitary Commission auspices.
Frederick Law Olmsted to Eliza Woolsey Howland
U. S. Sanitary Commission,
New York Agency, 40 Broadway.
New York, 25th July, 1862.
Dear Mrs. Howland: I have just received your note of the 22d.
It is expected that the “Euterpe” will leave here on Saturday for Old Point, there to “await orders.” Dr. Jenkins writes me that Dr. Cuyler changed his mind and his orders about the use of the hospital vessels two or three times a day, and he could form no plans. . . .
I hope some decided and tangible line of work may be determined on. At present everything remains as when we left James River. . . .
The Commission would, of course, be glad to have you and your sister take passage upon the returning hospital ship if you wish; and you can do so without placing yourself under any obligation to remain upon her. You could, upon arrival at Fortress Monroe, determine, by consultation with Dr. Jenkins, whether you could find duty at Berkely. Most respectfully yours.
Early in August Joseph Howland broke down once more with malarial fever and was sent home by the army surgeons, this time not to return to the regiment, and our going to the front was given up.
July 24th. Warm pleasant day; towards evening foggy. Porter’s corps was reviewed to-day, and a whole host of Second corps officers rode over to see how it looked. It is the only corps that has any so-called regular infantry. There is one brigade only; the regiments are small battalions, generally commanded by company officers, and are inferior in appearance to scores of volunteer regiments. The Fifth New York is brigaded with them and is by all odds the finest regiment in the whole corps. As a whole, the corps looked soldierly and are a well disciplined body of troops, but we thought not equal to the Second corps. Our regiments average greater strength, and carry themselves more soldierly; there are few regimental commanders like Brooke and Zook and Cross; and, then, Sumner never tires in disciplining everybody, even himself I don’t mean to say we have no poor regiments, because we have; but they are very few in number.
July 24.—The steamer Tubal Cain was seized as a prize by the United States gunboat Octarora this day, having on board a cargo of small arms, salt, saltpetre, military buttons, shells and various other goods suitable for a Southern market.—The schooner Emma was captured by the United States steamer Adirondack, commander Gansevoort.—Skirmishes took place at Malvern Hill, Va., and Coldwater, Miss.
— At St. Louis, Mo., the Union Merchants’ Exchange unanimously adopted a stirring and patriotic address to the people of Missouri. Unfaltering and unconditional fidelity to the Union was the sentiment, and liberal aid to the volunteer fund was pledged. — The City Council of Philadelphia appropriated five hundred thousand dollars for the payment of bounty of fifty dollars to each volunteer to supply the quota for the city under the recent call of the President
—A skirmish took place at Trinity, near Decatur, Ala., between a small party of Union troops under the command of Captain Harman, Thirty-first Ohio, and a much superior force of rebels, resulting in the retreat of the latter with a loss of ten or twelve killed and thirty wounded.— (Doc. 157.)
—In consequence of the fear entertained by the Irish and other foreign residents of St. Louis of being forced into the militia service of the State, General Schofield issued an order informing them that the subjects of foreign powers, lawfully pursuing their avocations, were exempt from such service.—The Union forces stationed at Grand Junction, Miss., were withdrawn from that place to Bolivar, Tenn. All the public property and cotton were removed prior to the withdrawal
— Lieutenant-Colonel W. C. Starr, Ninth Virginia infantry, and about eighty of his command were surprised and captured at Summcrville, Va., by a superior force of rebel cavalry under the command of Major Bailey.
—Large and enthusiastic meetings were this day held at Pittsburgh, Pa., Oswego, N.Y., Stamford and Middletown, Conn., to promote enlistments into the army under the call of President Lincoln for additional troops. At the meeting at Stamford two thousand five hundred dollars were collected for the families of volunteers, and in that of Oswego resolutions were unanimously adopted in favor of a more vigorous prosecution of the war; the confiscation of rebel property; the employment of the slaves of fugitive and rebel masters in the military and naval forces of the Union, and pledging united and determined resistance against foreign intervention in the affairs of America. The Board of Supervisors added fifty dollars to the bounty of each recruit, and a number were obtained on the spot
—A company of rebel cavalry entered Gloucester Point, Va., and captured a number of contraband negroes accumulated there; set fire to a lot of ship-timber, and impressed into the rebel army nearly every man capable of bearing arms. Parties of rebel cavalry were to be seen in the vicinities of Gloucester Point and Williamsburgh in quest of plunder, and impressing into the rebel service every man who could be of any use to them.
— The Union fleet of gunboats under the command of Commodore Farragut, embarked the Union army under General Williams at Vicksburgh, and proceeded down the Mississippi to Baton Rouge, La. The flotilla of mortar vessels, under command of Commodore Davis, left its position before Vicksburgh, and proceeded up the Mississippi to the mouth of the Yazoo River, where it came to anchor.
William D. Porter (10 March 1808 – 1 May 1864) was a flag officer of the United States Navy. He was the son of Commodore David Porter (1780–1843) and brother of Admiral David Dixon Porter (1813–1891) as well as foster brother of Admiral David Farragut (1801–1870). (Wikipedia)
July 23— To-day at noon we started on a scout to Page County with the Twelfth Regiment of cavalry. We marched down the Valley pike to New Market, then turned east and moved out two miles on the Sperryville pike, and camped for the night at the western foot of the Massanutten.
23d.—Letters and papers to-day. It is reported that Hindman has captured Curtis and his whole command in Arkansas. Delightful, if true. The army hi Virginia, and our dear ones, well.
JULY 23D.—To-day I received the following note from the Secretary :
“JULY 23D, 1862. ”
J. B. JONES, ESQ.
“Sir:—You will not issue passports except to persons going to the camps near Richmond.
“Passports elsewhere will be granted by Brig.-Gen. Winder.
“Respectfully,
“GEO. W. RANDOLPH,
“Secretary of War.”
