The American Civil War

July 7.—The steamer Emilie, formerly the Wm. Seabrook, of Charleston, S. C, was captured off Bull’s Bay, S. C, by the United States steamer Flag and the bark Restless.—At New Orleans, La., the system of distributions and sales of provisions to the poor of that city went into operation.—The Anglo-rebel steamer Adela was captured off Abaco, by the National gunboat Quaker City.—Official Reports.

—The Common Council of Buffalo, N. Y., appropriated eighty thousand dollars for the purpose of raising a new regiment, giving seventy-five dollars bounty for each recruit.—Gen. Burnside’s army arrived in the James River, Va.

—The battle of the Cache, Ark., was fought this day by the National forces, under Col. C. E. Hovey, and over two thousand rebel troops, commanded by Albert Rust, resulting in the defeat and rout of the latter with a severe loss.—(Doc. 82.)

July 6.—The steamer Juniata, while aground about four miles from Harrison’s Landing, on the James River, was fired into by the rebels, from the opposite shore, and one man wounded.

—A fight took place at Grand Prairie, near Aberdeen, Ark., between a body of Union infantry, under the command of Col. Spicely, and a superior force of rebel cavalry, resulting in the rout of the rebels with great loss.—(Doc. 146.)

July 5.—C. M. Irvin, in behalf of the citizens of Lee County, Va., informed the rebel Secretary of War that Gen. Mercer, of the rebel army, had issued an order impressing twenty percent of the male slaves throughout the State, and inquired if he was authorized so to do by the War Department. In reply to Mr. Irvin, the rebel Secretary of War informed him that Gen. Mercer had not communicated with his department in reference to impressment of slaves, nor had any authority to make such impressment been granted.

—Gen. Thompson, of the rebel army, issued a proclamation to the inhabitants of Panola and De Soto Counties, Miss., calling upon them to do the “watching and picketing duty which their knowledge of the country peculiarly fitted them for.”— (Doc. 85.)

—The bombardment of Vicksburgh was reopened at about eight o’clock on the evening of this day. The Union fleet of gunboats and mortar-vessels threw shot and shell into the city for an hour.

—The Governors of Indiana, Illinois, Vermont, and Rhode Island issued proclamations calling upon the citizens of those States for their quotas of troops, under the call of President Lincoln for three hundred thousand men.

July 4.—The American flag waved in every State of the Union. Since she rebelled, Texas had not been visited by the emblem of freedom, but to-day a party of men from the steamer Rhode Island landed at Galveston and raised the old flag. They were subsequently driven off, but they had accomplished their purpose.

—The anniversary of American independence was celebrated with great enthusiasm in the Northern States. It was not celebrated as usual in Paris, France. There was a meeting of loyal Americans in London, England, but the proceedings were not reported. The London Times, in an editorial, satirized the anniversary, and published a mock “oration” for Americans. At Frankfort-on-the-Main, the day was celebrated in a very appropriate manner at the Forst Haus, aoout two miles from Frankfort, in a beautiful forest.

Consul General Murphy, the President of the day, opened the proceedings with some remarks, after which the Declaration of Independence was read in English by Dr. S. Townsend Brown, of Philadelphia, and afterwards in German by Aug. Glaser. Gen. B. A. Hill, of St. Louis, made some very striking remarks on the causes of the civil war in America, which he said could all be charged to slavery, which was the real cause. He said a great fight was going on to maintain the Union and constitutional liberty, and the God of battles would give the victory to the army of freedom, right, and justice. Being an intimate friend of Mr. Stanton, Secretary of War of the United States, he gave some interesting facts about the army.

After the oration the party, at half-past two o’clock, sat down to a dinner, prepared by the host of the Forst Haus, in the large hall in the grove. The room was elegantly decorated with evergreens and flowers, and a large portrait of Gen. Washington, painted expressly for the occasion. The flags of England, America, and the city of Frankfort waved side by side.

To the toast of “The Union, one and inseparable,” Gen. Hill responded in good style; and to the toast of “The Queen of England,” one of the thirteen regular toasts, Sir Alexander Malet, the representative of her Britannic Majesty, responded. He said there was no cause for ill-feeling between England and America. There was no reason for jealousy. England was proud of her children in America—a people with whom they were associated largely in business, and connected in language and consanguinity. Mother England was as proud of an Irving and a Cooper as were the people of the United States; and he knew America must reverence a country from whom they derived their notions of civil and religious liberty. The good feeling and the attention shown the Prince of Wales on his journey through America would long be remembered and appreciated by the English. His speech elicited much applause.

The English Consul was also at the dinner, as well as Consul Stote, of Manheim, and Mr. Strauss, Consul for the Argentine Republic. The Rev. Dr. McClintock, of Paris, spoke to the toast of “The Clergy.” About one hundred persons sat down to dinner, and there was generally a very pleasant time. To the toast of “The President,” the band, by mistake, played “God Save the Queen,” which made considerable fun at the table. Not understanding English very well was probably the cause of this little mistake. Unfortunately for the London Times and its celebrated prophecy of what would be the manner of the celebration, it happened to be in a very different style. No abuse of England took place in the replies to the toasts. The day was very pleasant, and was the first for the past four weeks that had been fine. The party broke up about six P.M.—London News, July 12.

—General McClellan issued an address to the “Soldiers of the Army of the Potomac,” recapitulating the events through which they had passed during the preceding ten days, and declaring that they should yet enter “the capital of the so-called Confederacy.”—(Doc. 79.)

—A small body of Union troops under command of Lieut.-Col. “Wood, while reconnoitring in the vicinity of the Little Red River, Ark., shelled a rebel camp, putting the rebels to flight, and captured a large quantity of provisions and stores.

—General McClellan, commanding the army of the Potomac, issued an order directing that the day should be celebrated in the army by firing a National salute at noon at the headquarters of each army corps; and that immediately thereafter the bands were to play appropriate National airs.—In the afternoon Gen. McClellan paraded the troops, and made them a few hopeful and encouraging remarks, thanking the men in feeling terms for their uniform bravery, fortitude, and good conduct.

—A large and enthusiastic meeting of the citizens of Springfield, Mass., was held for the purpose of devising means to meet President Lincoln’s call for more troops. Patriotic resolutions were unanimously passed, and speeches were made by Mayor Bemis, George Ashmun, Gen. Devens, M. K. Kum of Missouri, George Walker, Judge Chapman, and others.

—The bombardment of the rebel fortifications at Vicksburgh, by the Union mortar-fleet, was continued during the whole of this day, ceasing at ten o’clock at night.—At Port Royal Ferry, S. C, a skirmish took place between a party of National pickets and a body of rebels, resulting in the defeat of the latter.

—Governors Bradford, of Maryland, and Curtin, of Pennsylvania, issued proclamations calling upon the citizens of their States for their quota of troops, under the call of the President for three hundred thousand men.

—The British schooner Richard O’Brien, laden with medicines and a general cargo, from Jamaica, and bound for Matamoras, Texas, was this day run ashore near San Luis Pass, and captured by the United States steamer Rhode Island, under the command of Captain S. D. Trenchard.

—A skirmish took place near Grand Haze, on the White River, Ark., between a body of rebel guerrillas and the Thirteenth Illinois regiment of Gen. Curtis’s army.—The rebel gunboat Teazer was this day captured in a bend of the James River, Va., by the United States steamer Maratanza.—(Doc. 146.)

July 3.—The news of the retreat of the Union army under the command of General McClellan, from before Richmond to the James River, caused great excitement throughout the North. The details of the repulse fell upon the community with disheartening effect, and produced such a shock as had not been felt since the commencement of the war. Crowds of excited people were everywhere to be seen discussing the matter, and all sorts of inferences and conclusions were drawn therefrom.

—The brig Delilah was captured off the Hole in the Wall, Abaco, by the United States steamer Quaker City.

—Governors Tod, of Ohio, and Buckingham, of Connecticut, issued proclamations calling upon the citizens of their States for their quota of troops, under the call of the President for three hundred thousand men.

—The bombardment of Vicksburgh was continued at short intervals all day. The rebels made an attempt to capture the mortar vessels, which lay at the levee within rifle-shot of the rebel pickets, but without success.

—A skirmish occurred between a brigade of the Union army of the Potomac, on the James River, Va., under the command of Gen. Davidson, and a force of rebels, resulting in the rout of the latter, the Unionists capturing six guns and a number of prisoners.

July 2.—The army of the Potomac, under the command of General McClellan, in their retreat from before Richmond, this day reached Harrison’s Bar, on the James River, Va.—President Lincoln approved and signed the Pacific Railroad and internal tax bills.

—A Scouting party of Union troops proceeded from Catlett’s Station to Warrenton, Va., and on reaching that place found it occupied by five hundred rebel cavalry.

—Governor Morgan, of New-York, issued a proclamation calling upon the citizens of the State for their quota of troops, to serve for three years or during the war, under the call of the President for three hundred thousand men.—At Clarendon, Ark., a party of Texas cavalry succeeded in capturing three men and six horses belonging to the National force near that place.

July 1.—At New-York City a meeting was held this evening at the Cooper Institute, in response to a call addressed to “those who desired the Union as it was, and the Constitution as it is.” Speeches were made by Mr. Wickliffe of Kentucky, Wm. A. Duer, James Brooks, and Fernando Wood.

—The battle of Malvern Hill, Va., the last of the “seven days’ contests” during the retreat of General McClellan, was fought this day. The National troops were successful, repulsing the rebels at every point.—(Doc. 78 and Supplement.)

—A battle was fought at Booneville, Miss., by a body of Union troops under Colonel Sheridan, of the Second Michigan cavalry, and a force of the rebels consisting of parts of eight regiments, numbering in all about four thousand seven hundred men. After seven hours’ hard fighting, Colonel Sheridan succeeded in defeating the rebels with great loss. They left sixty-five dead on the field. The loss on the Union side was forty-one killed, wounded, and missing.

—President Lincoln, in reply to seventeen Governors of loyal States, who signed an address requesting him to call on the people of their respective States for more men for the Union army then in the field, informed them that he had decided “to call into the service an additional force of three hundred thousand men.”—(Doc. 143.)

— C. C. Fulton was this day unconditionally released from Fort McHenry.

— A skirmish occurred near Morning Sun, Tenn., between the guard of a Union wagon-train of Gen. Sherman’s command, and a body of rebel cavalry, resulting in the retreat of the rebels, with a loss of several killed and wounded.

—A fight took place between the Union ram fleet, under Commodore Porter, and the forts and land batteries at Vicksburgh, Miss. The fleet dismounted one gun in the water-battery, and another—”a big rifled piece” — in one of the forts. The rebels attempted to erect defences and drive off the fleet, but as often as they made the attempt they were driven off.—(Doc. 144.)

—Gen. Butler sent to President Lincoln, from New-Orleans, three swords, formerly belonging to the rebel General Twiggs, accompanied by a letter giving the history of their seizure, and suggestions as to their disposal.

— The President, in accordance with the act for the collection of direct taxes in the insurrectionary districts within the United States, issued a proclamation declaring in what States and parts of States insurrection existed.—(Doc. 90.)

June 30.—C. C. Fulton, one of the proprietors and editors of the Baltimore American, was committed to Fort McHenry by order of the Secretary of War.

—Lord Brougham made a speech in the House of Lords concerning the civil war in the United States. His lordship was informed that horrible cruelties and crimes were committed on both sides; he deprecated these barbarities, but he threw no imputation on the character of the American people, for it was incident to and inseparable from civil war that horrible crimes should occur. He thought that neither England nor France should interfere. But all must have felt equally anxious that the conflict should cease. Those who were most friendly to America were the most anxious that this should take place, and he had ever been most friendly to her. If war was to go on, it would produce a state of things worse than American slavery. The whites would suffer more by the war than ever the negroes suffered under the most cruel masters. It was his lordship’s opinion that the war was creating more mischief and misery, and would lay the foundation of more lasting animosity and injury than all that had been said against what was called the “domestic institution.” If the Americans would only listen to their true friends, they would see the absolute necessity, if they regarded the continuance of their reputation in Great Britain, and the affection entertained for them there, of putting a speedy end to the civil war. This was what the truest and staunchest friends of America most ardently desired.

—General Crawford, with a portion of his brigade and a cavalry force under Col. Tompkins, made a reconnoissance in force up the Valley of the Shenandoah, and entered Luray, Va., this morning, driving out the rebel picket-guard, and capturing one of them. Four companies of rebel cavalry which occupied the town fled on his approach. They were pursued a mile out on the New-Market road, when a skirmish ensued, the cavalry charging the rebels, wounding several of them, and capturing four prisoners. The Union loss was one killed and three wounded. The object of the reconnoissance was fully accomplished. —The bombardment of Vicksburgh was reopened to-day at two P.M., and continued all night.

—General Butler, at New-Orleans, issued the following order: John W. Andrews exhibited a cross, the emblem of the sufferings of our blessed Saviour, fashioned for a personal ornament, which he said was made from the bones of a Yankee soldier, and having shown this, too, without rebuke, in the Louisiana Club, which claims to be composed of chivalric gentlemen:

It is therefore ordered, that for this desecration of the dead, he be confined at hard labor for two years on the fortifications at Ship Island, and that he be allowed no verbal or written communication to or with any one except through these headquarters.—Special Order, No. 152.

—A Turnpike bridge between Harrodsburgh and Ferryville, and another between Nicholasville and Pekin, Ky., were burned, supposed by rebel guerrillas.—Louisville Journal, July 1.

—The United States gunboat Sagamore made an attack upon the town of Tampa, Fla. After firing sixty or seventy shells, she succeeded in silencing the battery on shore, but finding it impossible to get near enough to the town to protect the boats that intended to land, she was obliged to retire without effecting the object for which she went.

—Fidel Keller and Mrs. Philip Phillips, of New-Orleans, were arrested by order of Major General Butler, and sent to Ship Island. The first for “exhibiting a human skeleton, labelled ‘Chickahominy,’ in his bookstore window,” and the latter for laughing and mocking at the remains of Lieut. De Kay, during the passage of his funeral procession before her residence.

—The battles of Glendale or White Oak Swamp, and Charles City Cross-Roads, Va., were fought this day.—(Doc. 78 and Supplement.)

June 29.—The British steamer Ann was cut out from under the guns of Fort Morgan, at the mouth of Mobile Bay, by the United States steamer Kanawha. She ran in during the night, passed the blockading fleet, and as it was very dark, she could not be seen by the vessels.

Lights had been kept burning on the fort ah night, so that she had no trouble in finding the channel. This morning she was discovered by the Susquehanna, within a half-mile of the fort, unloading her cargo into a rebel steamer alongside. The Susquehanna, accompanied by the Kanawha, then got under weigh, and steamed within gunshot and opened fire, which was returned by the fort, and kept up for an hour on both sides. In the mean time the crew deserted the steamer. She was soon discovered to be adrift, and dropped down with the current about a mile, when the Kanawha was ordered to go in and bring her out, which she did under a heavy fire from the fort.

—The battles of Peach Orchard and Savage’s Station, Va., were fought this day.—(Doc. 78 and Supplement.)

—A fight took place at Henderson, Ky., between a company of the Louisville Provost-Guard, supported by a detachment of Captain Andrew’s Michigan battery, and a force of rebel guerrillas, which resulted in the complete rout of the latter.

—Moorefield, Va., was this day captured by a body of Ashby’s cavalry, eighty-six in number, under the command of Colonel Harris. A large company of the Maryland Home Guard occupied the place at the time, but they made no defence, having been informed that the rebel force was four thousand strong. They were taken prisoners, and were released next day.

—General Halleck, at Corinth, Miss., issued an order authorizing the protection of the mail service in his department.—The bombardment of Vicksburgh was continued to-day. The firing commenced at noon, and, with the exception of an intermission of an hour, did not cease until about twelve o’clock at night.