Vicksburg, Wednesday, Sept. 9. —— and —— drunk and noisy. Lieutenant Hood endeavored to arrest ——, but he ran away. Corporal Neefe chased him over the hills awhile and returned, when King, corporal of the guard, with three men, tried it, but with no better success. They then returned to camp. When —— thought pursuit was bandoned, he returned, when three guards with sabres arrested him, but he got away, putting them at defiance, running over the hills yelling like a maniac. Lieutenant Hood now mounted the guards, and after a good deal of running and more excitement, he halted from exhaustion and attacked the guards, Proctor and Richardson. At this time quite a mob of ——sympathizers made for the guards and interfered, but were finally subdued, and in the afternoon Hood took ——, —— and ——to the Provost Marshal, and they are to-night locked up in jail. Army regulations read at roll call.
September 2013
Wednesday, 9th—Still more of the boys are coming down with the ague. I had a shake of it myself today, for the first time in my life. I passed through all the degrees of fever and chill. Am thankful tonight to find that I am still among the living.
9th. Friday. Moved camp, beautiful place on left and rear of infantry. Busy. Regiment not to be consolidated.
by John Beauchamp Jones
SEPTEMBER 9TH.—Troops were arriving all night and to-day (Hood’s division), and are proceeding Southward, per railroad, it is said for Tennessee, via Georgia Road. It may be deemed impracticable to send troops by the western route, as the enemy possesses the Knoxville Road. The weather is excessively dry and dusty again.
Gen. Jos. E. Johnston, Morton, Miss., writes that such is the facility of giving information to the enemy, that it is impossible to keep up a ferry at any point on the Mississippi; but he will be able to keep up communications, by trusty messengers with small parcels, with Lieut.-Gen. E. Kirby Smith’s trans-Mississippi Department. He says if he had another cavalry brigade, he could make the navigation too dangerous for merchant steamers between GrandGulf and Natchez.
Two letters were received to-day from privates in North Carolina regiments, demanding to be transferred to artillery companies in the forts of North Carolina, or else they would serve no more. This is very reckless!
Ordnance officer J. Brice transmitted to the Secretary to-day, through the Ordnance Bureau, an OFFICIAL account of the ammunition, etc. at Vicksburg during the siege and at the evacuation. He says all the ordnance stores at Jackson were hastily removed to Vicksburg, and of which he was unable, in the confusion, to get an accurate account, although he accompanied it. He detained and held 9000 arms destined for the trans-Mississippi Department, and issued 120 rounds to each man in the army, before the battle of Baker’s Creek. Much ammunition was destroyed on the battlefield, by order of Gen. Pemberton, to keep it, as he alleged, from falling into the hands of the enemy. During the siege, he got 250,000 percussion caps from Gen. Johnston’s scouts, and 150,000 from the enemy’s pickets, for a consideration. There was abundance of powder. The ammunition and small arms turned over to the enemy, on the surrender, consisted as follows: 36,000 cartridges for Belgian rifles; 3600 Brunswick cartridges; 75,000 rounds British rifled muskets; 9000 shot-gun cartridges; 1300 Maynard cartridges; 5000 Hall’s carbine cartridges; 1200 holster pistol cartridges; 35,000 percussion caps ; 19,000 pounds of cannon powder. [click to continue…]
September 9.—Chattanooga, Ga., was occupied by the National forces belonging to the army of General Rosecrans.—Colonel Cloud, with his division, belonging to the army of General Blunt, attacked a body of over one thousand rebels at Dardanelle, Ark., and defeated them, capturing their entire camp and a large amount of stores.—Lieutenant-colonel Hays, with companies A, B, H, and parts of E and F, of the One Hundredth Ohio regiment, was attacked near Telford, Tenn., ninety-three miles up the railroad, by one thousand eight hundred rebels, under Jackson, and fought them gallantly for two hours, losing heavily in killed and wounded, but was finally compelled to surrender to overpowering numbers. National loss by the affair was about three hundred — killed, wounded, and prisoners — of which an undue proportion were commissioned officers.—The bombardment of Fort Moultrie, S. C., was continued.
September 9—To-day we had a review. Present: General Lee, General Ewell, General Early, General Johnson and General Rodes, of our corps, and General Hill, Gen. J. E. B. Stewart, and smaller fry of our army. It was certainly a grand scene. Nothing more up to the 14th.
Tuesday, 8th—All quiet. I went off over to John’s last night, but big Cousin was not there.
August 8. [September]—We have been detained at Dalton all night, and as there was an uncertainty as to when the train would leave, we could not get off to go to any place.
Mrs. W., who is not very well, managed to get on some of the baggage and rest for the night. Some of the other ladies did the same. Mrs. Dr. Cross (whose husband is one of the surgeons) and her two daughters sat up on chairs; I do not recollect of seeing them lay their heads down once.
Mrs. General A., her three children, and myself had a space about four feet square on the floor. Mrs. A. spread a comfort, on which she placed her children, and seated herself along side of them.
I managed to get my head on my valise, with my mouth in the direction of the door, where Drs. Gore and Bemiss were seated on chairs. I was so much pleased that I had procured a place where I could get some fresh air, that I exclaimed, “O, this is so nice!” Dr. Gore laughed, and said he was glad I was so much pleased. I can not tell what became of my feet, but think I managed after awhile to get them under a table. Every time I moved, Mrs. A. said I was taking part of her children’s bed. We had many a good laugh through the night at our novel positions.
I could not but admire the ease with which Mrs. A. took this trip, as she had three young children, and one quite sick. They seemed to be no trouble to herself or any one else. She is a fine-looking woman, refined, intellectual, and a Christian, a fit companion for her brave husband. If we are to judge of him by what his men say about him, he is one on whose “brow shame is ashamed to sit.” My brother has been for some time in his command, and is one of his many admirers.
At Tunnel Hill we saw a number of new hospital buildings; there were so many that they looked like a village. It does seem too bad that we are compelled to leave all of our hard work for the enemy to destroy.
The hospitals at the different stations which we passed were packing up to move. We think this bodes a very important move of General Bragg’s. Some are hopeful and certain it will be a good one, while others are prophesying all kinds of evil.
Mrs. A., who is well acquainted with General B., says her husband has every confidence in him, and thinks he is one of our greatest generals.
She has related some very amusing anecdotes in regard to “private opinion publicly expressed,” which she has heard about our generals. At one time she had to sit quietly and hear two ladies discuss the merits of her husband. They spoke so highly in his praise, that each wished to claim him as being a native of their own state. One saying he was a Mississippian, the other a Floridian. They had quite a quarrel on the subject. He is neither, but is a Kentuckian. His command is from Mississippi, and he has been living some time in Florida.
Mrs. A. was more fortunate in hearing good of her husband than I think most of our generals’ wives would have been, for the characters of our generals, both military and civil, do not receive what St . Paul says is the greatest of all Christian graces, and the best-abused man we have is our commander-in-chief; so his subordinate generals need not mind.
I have heard many say that General Bragg has shown more patriotism by holding his position and braving all slander than any thing else he has done.
This is a free country, and people can say what they please, and at this time, when we are not at liberty to act as we please, it seems a kind of revenge to use that unruly member which we are told to keep in restraint.
The men are all busy out doors getting coffee made for the sick; some of whom have suffered no little in their journey. Lieutenant Payne has been very ill; we have sent him some cordial, which seems to do him a great deal of good.
September 8 — On picket until late this evening; were relieved then and moved back to camp.
8th. Reveille at 3 and off at 5. Marched near Tazewell and fed and got coffee. Saddled and marched half a mile and halted in shade most of the afternoon by order of Burnside, coming up with Infantry. Rode through town and got supper. Camped in a secesh widow’s orchard, two sons in rebel army, Jones. Found plenty of peaches, apples and oats. Rest of the regiment remained saddled in the streets. Moved on at sundown, Burnside having arrived. Marched to within three miles of the Gap and camped on Powell river.
