21st. Got up reasonably early, breakfasted and then moved on. Reached Jonesboro near night. Quite a town and many secesh. Girls sang “Bonny Blue Flag.” Marched 6 miles and camped on a Rebel’s place. The prettiest and most refined girl I have seen in Tenn. Got some butter and biscuit. Abbey and Thede are messing with me. Our Brigade expecting a fight all the time, skirmish yesterday and fight today. Foster retreated.
September 2013
Helena, Monday, Sept. 21. Harnessed up my team this morning instead of wheel team on five caisson. The first time I ever drove on the wheel, but got along very well. I killed about two hours. Went on guard as soon as I returned. Felt some better, but very sore. Times very dull and passes away slow. Nothing to read whatever, not even a “Yellow Cover”, which is very plenty and juicy.
Monday, 21st—Three companies were sent out on picket today. I was on camp guard today. It is reported that the battle south of Chattanooga is still in progress, and also that our gunboats are throwing shells into Charleston, South Carolina. We hear that there was a riot in Mobile, when six hundred women and children demanded bread of the city.
September 21, P. M. — “Rosecrans [at Chickamauga] has been badly beaten”! Such is the shock the dispatch gives us this evening. After months of success one of our great armies is defeated. A concentration of Rebel armies has overwhelmed our noble Army of the Cumberland. How these blows strike my heart! I had just read a joyous dispatch from “L. W. H.”, “Billy Rogers has a baby.” But nerve ourselves, we must. We shall recover from the blow.
I have thought over it and feel easier. I suffer from these blows more than I did from the loss of my sweet little boy. But I suffer less now than I did from Bull Run, or even Fredericksburg. Can Rosecrans hold Chattanooga? Has he lost his army? Will he be driven across the Tennessee? He ought to have stopped his campaign with the capture of Chattanooga, fortified the place, and awaited events. Easy to say so now, but impossible before, I suppose. Jim McKell, Lieutenant Nelson, Colonel Mitchell (Laura’s husband), all with Rosecrans. Anxious hearts at home.
September 21.—Twenty-one persons, exiled for various degrees and offences of disloyalty, accompanied by nine ladies, who went by permission of the War Department to rejoin their families, permanently residing at the South, left St. Louis, Mo., in charge of Captain Edward Lawler, of the First Missouri infantry. They were sent within the rebel lines in accordance with orders of the National War Department, of April twenty-fourth, 1863.—James M. Mason, the rebel commissioner in England, informed Earl Russell, at-.the Court of St James’s, that his commission was at an end, and that he was ordered by Jefferson Davis to remove from the country.— The British schooner Martha Jane, was captured by the gunboat Fort Henry’s tender Annie, off Bayport, Florida.
—The revenue steamer Hercules, while lying off the Virginia shore, was attacked by a large party of rebel guerrillas, but they were driven off after a fight of about twenty minutes, without inflicting any serious damage to the steamer or her crew.—The battle of Chickamauga, Ga., was concluded by the Union forces falling back on Chattanooga, after a gallant fight by General Thomas’s corps.—(Doc’s. 43, 105, 123, and 184.)
by John Beauchamp Jones
SEPTEMBER 21ST.—The President was called out of church yesterday, and was for three hours closeted with the Secretary of War and Gen. Cooper. It appears that the enemy were occupying Bristol, on the line between Virginia and Tennessee, with seven regiments, and Carse’s brigade was ordered (by telegraph) to reinforce Gen. S. Jones. But to-day a dispatch from Gen. Jones states that the enemy had been driven back at Zollicoffer, which is beyond Bristol. This dispatch was dated yesterday. It is unintelligible.
But to-day we have a dispatch from Gen. Bragg, announcing a great battle on the 19th and 20th insts. He says, “after two days’ engagement, we have driven the enemy, after a desperate resistance, from several positions; we hold the field, but the enemy still confronts us. The losses on both sides are heavy, and especially so among our officers. We have taken more than twenty guns, and 2500 prisoners.” We await the sequel—with fear and trembling, after the sad experience of Western victories. The Secretary of War thinks Longstreet’s corps had not yet reached Bragg; then why should he have commenced the attack before the reinforcements arrived? We must await further dispatches. If Bragg beats Rosecrans utterly, the consequences will be momentous. If beaten by him, he sinks to rise no more. Both generals are aware of the consequences of failure, and no doubt it is a sanguinary field. Whether it is in Georgia or over the line in Tennessee is not yet ascertained.
September 21—Our regiment was relieved to-day by the 3d Alabama, of Battle’s Brigade.
September 20.—Mrs. W. and myself went to the Presbyterian Church this morning; heard a very good sermon from the pastor. He gave a glowing description of the glories of heaven, but spoiled it by saying, with bitterness, that there would be no taking churches there for hospitals. It was rather too much rancor to housed in such a place, and in a scene like the one he was describing.
All the churches here have been taken for hospital purposes, and this is the last Sunday service will be held in that one. When I looked around and saw how neat every thing was in it, and thought of the ruin which would be wrought in making it ready for patients, I could not wonder that he was annoyed, and more so as I do not think there is any necessity for taking them at present, as I know there are more buildings which we could get; for instance, a young ladies’ college, and I have no doubt others; so at present they are not really needed; and, without that, I think we should not take them. We act as if churches wore built rather for our amusement than the worship of the living God. He has told us he is a jealous God, and will visit every sin against him; not only visit it on us, but on the third and fourth generation. If this ignoring his sacred temple will not bring retribution, I think nothing will. How can we expect a blessing, or any thing but curses, such as were pronounced many times on the children of Israel, when they were guilty of the same offense of forgetting their Maker. We have their example, and deserve a worse downfall.
Tuesday, 15th—Sunday, 20th—During this time I made the acquaintance of Miss Mary Reece, Miss Mary Davis and Miss Eugenie Holt. I spent all my leisure time visiting them. Very nice ladies indeed.
Sept. 20. Our last furloughed men have returned, and I have the promise of one next week, and am congratulating myself on the prospect of once more seeing home. I am anticipating a great deal when I get home; among other things the pleasure of once more sitting down to a clean, well-spread table, with a good square dinner before me. In anticipation of such an event, I send by this mail a small bill of fare of such dishes as I think I shall relish, and have ordered them to be ready and smoking hot on my arrival:
Roast—Sirloin of beef, spare rib of pork, breast of veal, turkey with cranberry sauce, chicken.
Baked—Bluefish, oyster dressing. Chicken pie.
Boiled—Halibut. Fried—Pouts.
Chicken salad. Lobster salad.
Oysters—Stewed, fried, escalloped. Clam chowder.
27 dozen Providence river oysters on the half shell.
Mashed potatoes, boiled onions, beets, turnips, squash, sweet corn, string beans, succotash, stewed tomatoes, tomatoes sliced with vinegar or sugar, apple dumplings with sugar sauce; mince, apple, berry, lemon, cream and custard pie.
Also one moderately sized pumpkin pie, say about thirty-six inches across and not less than eight inches deep; that is as small a pumpkin pie as I care to bother with.
Oranges, apples, pears, grapes, chestnuts, walnuts, cider.
N. B. No boiled salt pork, beef soup or rice and molasses. I don’t hanker for that.
With that bill of fare, and such other things as my folks will naturally think of, I reckon I can make a tolerable dinner.
