The American Civil War

November 16.—The Fifty-first Ohio regiment, Col. Stanley Mathews, and the Nineteenth Ohio regiment, Col. Beatty arrived at Cincinnati from Camp Dennison, and left for Louisville. The Fifty-first took passage on the mammoth steamer Strader, and the Nineteenth Ohio on the Monarch and Hastings. Both regiments were in fine condition, and fully equipped.—Ohio Statesman, November 19.

—An expedition left Paducah, Ky., to-night, in the direction of Columbus. It was composed of the Fortieth and Forty-first Illinois regiments, a section of Buell’s artillery—three guns, and two companies of cavalry, under command of General Paine. Information had been received that fifteen or eighteen hundred secesh, commanded by H. Clay King, were at Lovettsville, sixteen miles distant, on the road to Columbus. There is a large flouring mill there, and it was the design of General Paine to rout the rebels and take possession of the mill. No enemy was found, however, and General Paine confiscated the flour, and took some of the machinery of the mill to prevent its being of any use to the rebels, and returned to Paducah.—Louisville Journal, November 23.

—Flour, in Vicksburg, Mississippi, is held at twenty dollars per barrel. The Vicksburg Sun hopes it will be “taken,” its owners paid a “fair market valuation for it, and receive a strong hint to leave the country.”—(Doc. 167.)

—Salutes were fired at various places in the loyal States, in commemoration of the victory at Port Royal, South Carolina.

—This morning a foraging party, consisting of fifty-seven of the Thirtieth N. V. Volunteers, attached to Gen. Keyes’ Brigade in the army of the Potomac, went out to Doolin and Brush’s Farm, three miles and a half west of Upton’s Hill, Va., to draw away the forage which they had collected and left a day or two before. They took with them five four-horse wagons, and after loading up, Doolin, one of the owners of the farm, invited the men in to dinner. The soldiers foolishly accepted, and more foolishly stacked their arms outside the house, and went in, leaving eight men acting as pickets in the neighborhood. The moment the men sat down to dinner Doolin despatched a servant to the house of Brush, a mile distant, with a message that he should inform the rebels of the presence of the soldiers. This being done, rebel cavalry, numbering about two hundred, suddenly appeared, overpowered the pickets before they could give alarm, and surrounded the festive fools at Doolin’s table. A number of men made their escape, but the following, together with the wagons and horses, were captured by the rebels: Captain W. L. Lanning, Second Lieutenant James W. Andrews; corporals, M. White, P. Cooney, and G. H. Vanderzer; privates, P. Frazier, George McWharton, L. Hardigen, Harris Stafford, John Sleight, D. G. B. Morris, A. Holtzer, N. W. Rowland, Coles Stanton, C. B. Elms, William Peck, A. W. Porter, Thomas Porter, Walter Merrick, Louis Marto, H. C. Smith, Robert Whelan, William McCormick, Stephen Stickles, Freeman Clapper, James Morrison, Daniel Connor, and Ned Riley. Doolin and Brush, who previous to this time were supposed to be good Union men, were arrested on the charge of having betrayed the troops.—N. Y. Tribune, November 18.

—Gen. C. P. Buckingham, Adjutant-General of Ohio, issued a stirring appeal to the men of that State, calling upon them to swell the number of soldiers already provided by Ohio, by contributing at least thirty-five thousand more. He urged upon them the duty of opening the Mississippi to the Ocean, which was the work of the great Northwest.—(Doc. 168.)

—Near Pleasant Hill, Cass Co., Mo., fifty wagons and five hundred Oxen, on their way to Sedalia, were captured by the rebels. When the wagon-master escaped, the yokes of the oxen were being burned, and preparations were also being made to burn the wagons. The teamsters were all taken prisoners.—N. Y. Times, November 17.

—The D’Epineuil Zouaves, under command of Col. D’Epineuil, and the Sixty-sixth regiment N. Y. S. V., under command of Colonel Pinckney, left New York for the seat of war.

—Sixty-eight prisoners arrived at Tallahassee, Florida, in charge of a detachment of Captain Sheffield’s company, the whole under Colonel M. Whit Smith. They are composed of Spaniards, Yankees, and Floridians, and were captured while engaged in fishing around the Florida coast in the vicinity of Egmont Key for the Federals at Key West. Colonel Smith says they are the crews of twelve fishing smacks, and that the craft captured are worth, in the aggregate, from thirty-five thousand dollars to forty thousand dollars.— Tallahassee Sentinel, Nov. 17.

—Gen. Patterson, at an entertainment given by the Philadelphia City Troop, made a statement in relation to his conduct while in command on the Upper Potomac, which appears to relieve him from the odium of failure to participate in the movement which resulted in the defeat at Bull Run.—(Doc. 169.)

November 15.—The following challenge appeared in the Louisville Journal of this day:

Camp Sherman, Jeffersonville
November 12, 1861.

Will you oblige by inserting the following: I hear that in connection with other braggadocio they brag a great deal, among the Confederate troops, in regard to their fine field-music. Therefore I, W. F. Robinson, do challenge any fifer in the Confederate army to perform with me on the fife for the sum of five hundred ($500) dollars a side. The music to be played shall be selected by both parties, Yankee Doodle and the Star-Spangled Banner to be included in the list. The trial match to come off when Buckner and his army have been taken prisoners, or as soon thereafter as practicable, the challenged party to have the choice of ground, provided every thing be peaceable. Any communication sent to Major W. F. Robinson, First Wisconsin Volunteers, Louisville,, Ky., will meet with prompt attention.

—U. S. Steamer San Jacinto, Capt. Wilkes, arrived at Fortress Monroe with Messrs. Mason and Slidell, prisoners, on board.—N. Y. Times, November 17.

—Fast Day, in the rebel States, was observed with religious services in the various churches of the South. In the Broad street Methodist church, of Richmond, Va., Rev. James A. Duncan preached a sermon, taking his text from the prophecies of Isaiah, fifty-first chapter, ninth and sixteenth verses. We make the following extract from his remarks:

The enemy boasted of his “eighteen millions ” who were to come down and overwhelm us, but whose first efforts at our destruction at Bethel church, and on the plains of Manassas, proved so disastrous to himself, when his legions were sent howling back to their capital in consternation and dismay. Well might we ask “where is the fury of the oppressor as if he were ready to destroy?” And now one of their foremost orators, who made himself conspicuous on the floors of Congress for his bitterness against us, has lately been slain by Southern bullets—he who said that Massachusetts should yet furnish a Governor for South Carolina. Peace to his ashes! We wish to his spirit no harm, but we could ask, “Is he ready to destroy? where is the fury of the oppressor?”—(Doc. 164.)

—The schooner Carrie Sandford, Capt. _____, arrived at Wilmington, N. C, from Nassau, N. P., with a cargo of four thousand five hundred bushels of salt, seventy-one barrels of sugar, a quantity of arrowroot, &c.; very acceptable articles just at this time, and no doubt a very large profit will be realized therefrom.— Wilmington. Journal, November 16.

—The Collector of the port of Boston received instructions from Washington, D. C., to stop the exportation of saltpetre and gunpowder from the city of Boston.—New York Herald, November 16.

—The steamship Champion arrived at New York, from Aspinwall, N. G., with ex-Senators Gwin and Brent, and Calhoun Benham, the Attorney-General ot the State of California, under the Administration of Mr. Buchanan, under arrest, by order of General Sumner, who also arrived, together with several companies of regular, soldiers, and a considerable quantity of small-arms. The arrested persons took passage from San Francisco to Panama on board the Orizaba, with the intention of making their way to New Orleans from some of the West India Islands. Before arriving at Panama, however, they were placed under arrest by General Sumner. They were conveyed across the Isthmus under guard of the National troops, notwithstanding a protest on the part of the New Granadian authorities, who considered such a proceeding a violation of the neutrality. The force at the command of General Sumner was too formidable to be interfered with, or a forcible rescue would probably have been made. The prisoners were, unfortunately, allowed to destroy a quantity of documents while on board the Orizaba, by throwing them overboard.—New York Times, November 16.

—Lieut. H. G. Bell, of the Ninth Iowa regiment, with fifteen men, went from Camp Herron, Mo., to Manchester, Twenty miles distant, and captured a large secession flag.—(Doc. 165.)

—The Norfolk Day Book, of to-day, contains the following notice:

Plans and offers for the construction of four seagoing, iron-clad, and ball-proof steam ram-ships, to carry at least four heavy guns each, are invited by the Navy Department, up to the 1st of December, 1861. Parties making offers are requested to accompany their plans by descriptive drawings and specifications; and a proper compensation for the labor of preparing such plans and drawings as may be submitted will be made by the Department.

S.R. Mallory,
Secretary of the Navy.

—Ford’s Ferryy, eight miles below Caseyville, Ky., was visited by one hundred rebel cavalry, under command of the notorious Capt. Wilcox, who was supposed to have been killed in the skirmish at Saratoga, Ky. The rebels seized upon three casks of bacon, five sacks of coffee, twelve barrels of salt, and five hundred empty sacks, and announced their determination to take in future whatever they desired. Ford’s Ferry is the terminus of an excellent road which leads out into the heart of Kentucky. Wilcox’s cavalry belong to a camp of twelve hundred rebels, about thirty miles in the interior. They are becoming very bold and troublesome, and require the attention of a regiment or two of Union troops.—Louisville Journal, Nov. 21.

The British schooner Mabel was captured by the U. S. steamer Dale, in the attempt to run the blockade at Charleston.—(Doc. 166.)

November 14.—A large and enthusiastic Union meeting was held at Cincinnati, Ohio, at which addresses were made by Rev. Granville Moody, Colonel Guthrie, of the Ohio Volunteers, and General Carey.—Cincinnati Commercial, Nov. 15.

—The Savannah Republican, of to-day, has the following: “From the moment the news of the attack on South Carolina soil, and the danger of our own coast became known, one loud burst of patriotism has resounded throughout the State of Georgia, from Tennessee to the seaboard. Every able-bodied man and boy is aroused and anxious to fly to our rescue and repel the invaders. Arms only are wanted, and of these every species is being gathered and forwarded to this city. Fifty thousand Georgians could be placed—or rather would place themselves—in the field within a week, did we only possess the materials to arm and equip them. We love our noble State the more for this grand exhibition of the patriotism and valor of her sons. A dozen Lincoln fleets could not conquer such a people.”

—The Planters’ Convention, at Macon, Ga., adopted a resolution indorsing the defensive measures of the Confederate Government, and recommending a discriminating duty of twenty per cent, on the productions of the United States. It was also resolved that if the war should continue, and the present crop remain undisposed of, the planters should not plant next Spring beyond the wants of home consumption.—Norfolk Daybook, Nov. 14.

—The Richmond Examiner published “The Constitution of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Confederate States of America,” as proposed by the General Convention of that Church held at Columbia, South Carolina.—(Doc. 161.)

—The privateer schooner Neva, from China, was seized at San Francisco, Cal., by Captain Pease, of revenue cotter Mary.—N. Y. Tribune, Nov. 16.

—Lieutenant J. H. Rigby, of the Gist Artillery, detailed with twenty men, by Brigadier General Lockwood to proceed to Wilmington and New Castle, Md., with a view of securing a quantity of arms then in possession of secessionists in these places, promptly obeyed the order, and seized two fine brass six-pounders in the former city, and one piece of the same calibre, at New Castle. In addition, he secured one hundred United States muskets. These arms were all removed under charge of the detachment to Salisbury, where the main body of the forces recently sent to the eastern shore of Maryland were stationed.—Baltimore American, Nov. 18.

—The Richmond Dispatch, of this date, says: “It has been apparent for many months, and is obvious now, that the enemy is making a formidable demonstration toward East Tennessee from Eastern Kentucky. The object of the enemy in pushing forward there, is probably threefold. The chief purpose, doubtless, is to bring to its own support the large disaffected element of the population of East Tennessee which have been corrupted by the clamor of Andy Johnson, Maynard, Brownlow, and Trigg. The next object of the enemy is, probably, to get possession of the salt works in the western corner of Smythe County, where half a million of bushels of salt a year are now manufactured. And last, but not least, the enemy aims at the possession of a portion of the Virginia and Tennessee railroad, so as to cut off our direct communication from the seat of Government with Nashville, Memphis, and our armies in Western Kentucky. The clandestine burning of bridges at a concerted period in Eastern Tennessee proves the enemy’s designs upon this important highway of transportation and travel.

“If that country be given up, and East Tennessee be in consequence lost, the empire of the South is cut in twain, and we become a fragmentary organization, fighting in scattered and segregated localities, for a cause which can no longer boast the important attribute of geographical unity.”

—The schooner Maryland, loaded with wood, was becalmed in the Potomac, opposite the rebel battery on Pig Point, and some rebel boats put off to take her, whereupon the crew took the boats and rowed away. The rebels boarded, fired, and then left the schooner; and after their departure Lieutenant Chandler, with some men of the Eleventh Massachusetts regiment, went on board and put out the fire.— (Doc. 162.)

—The Governor of Florida has issued a proclamation forbidding the enlistment of citizens of that State to serve in other portions of the Confederacy. He orders, therefore, that all military officers in commission from the State of Florida shall interfere, by arresting and sending out of the State, any person found recruiting or enticing the citizens of Florida to enter into the service of any other State.—Memphis Appeal, Nov. 16.

—The pickets of Gen. Kelley’s brigade were advanced to-day five miles from Romney, Va., on the Winchester road, and were fired into, losing two killed and several wounded. Detachments sent in pursuit of the rebels, captured about twelve prisoners.—Cincinnati Times, Dec. 3.

—The Richmond (Va.) Examiner, of this day, has the following: “With pride and pleasure we record the gratitude of the Southern people, in announcing that no less than thirty thousand dollars, made up by the free-will offerings of men, women, and children, now stand to the credit of the widow and children of the martyr Jackson, [the assassin of Col. Ellsworth,] the brave Alexandrian, who fell in defence of the flag of his country. Should the marauders penetrate to our hearthstones, we trust that they will fined that the example of Jackson is not lost upon the fathers, husbands, sons, and brothers of our city.”

—In pursuance of the Government’s intention to establish a permanent depot for naval and military purposes at Port Royal, S. C., orders were this day given for the preparation of lumber for the construction of buildings for a depot at Port Royal, for the manufacture of all kinds of machinery for naval and other purposes, also to despatch at once storeships, which are to be permanently stationed at that point —N. Y. Herald, Nov. 15.

—There was a skirmish in London County, opposite Point of Rocks, Maryland. Colonel Geary had received information of the intention of the rebels to erect fortifications in that neighborhood. He crossed the river with Captain Chapman and twenty-five picked men of the Pennsylvania regiment, reconnoitred the vicinity, and found a force of rebels upon whom he quietly closed and surprised with a volley of shots. After firing two or three volleys, the rebels were routed, leaving three men and one horse dead on the field.

—Gen. Lockwood, with the expedition for the eastern shore of Virginia, marched from Snowville, Worcester County, Maryland.—N. Y. Express, Nov. 20.

—The First Kansas Cavalry, Colonel Jennison, went to Sedalia, Mo., to protect supply trains and other Government property at that and neighboring points. Colonel Jennison issued a proclamation to the people of Jackson, Lafayette, Cass, Johnson, and Pitt counties, Missouri, in which he said, that “every man who feeds, harbors, protects, or in any way gives aid and comfort to the enemies of the Union, will be held responsible for his treason, with his life and property.”—N. Y. Commercial, Nov. 16.

—Gen. Benham, in pursuit of the retreating army of Gen. Floyd, came up with a portion of their rear guard at McCoy’s Mills, and defeated it, killing fifteen rebels—among them Col. Croghan. No loss on Benham’s side.—(Doc. 163.)