The Rebellion Record—A Diary of American Events; by Frank Moore

December 24.—Yesterday a foraging party was sent out from the Union camp at Tullahoma, Tenn., under the command of Lieutenant Porter, of the Twenty-seventh Indiana volunteer infantry. There was a guard of the Fourth Tennessee cavalry, and a detail from the battery, to guard and load forage. They went to Lincoln County, loaded up, and were on the way to camp for the night. The train was divided—one half under Sergeant James, of the battery, was in camp about one mile ahead; Lieutenant Porter, with the rear part of the train, was on his way to the same place. There was one wagon considerably ahead of the others, accompanied by George Jacobs, driver; John Wesley Drought and Newell Orcutt, foragers; and James W. Foley, battery wagon-master—when they were surprised by four guerrillas, and told to surrender or they would blow their brains out. They being unarmed, could make no successful resistance. Lieutenant Porter then came riding up, when he was seized also. They were then taken through the woods some eight miles, and halted to camp, as the guerrillas said, for the night They then tied their hands behind their backs, asked if they were ready, and fired, when all fell except the Lieutenant, who being uninjured, ran. The bodies were then dragged to the end of the bluff and thrown into Elk River. Drought was killed instantly. His body floated down and lodged on a tree-top. Jacobs was only wounded in the arm and was drowned. Orcutt was shot through the bowels, and managed to get out of the river, but died next day. Foley having loosed his hands, reached shore, but being severely wounded in the groin, lay near the river all night, where he was found next day by a citizen and properly cared for.—The schooner Fox captured the British schooner Edward, from Havana, off the Suwanee River, while endeavoring to run the blockade.—The United States steamer Sunflower, off Tampa Bay, Florida, captured the rebel sloop Hancock.

—A battle took place near Bolivar, Tenn., between a party of rebel raiders belonging to the command of General Forrest, and five hundred of the Seventh Illinois cavalry, under Colonel Edward Prince, who had been sent out to scout and patrol the crossings on the Mississippi Central Railroad. Finding himself overpowered by numbers, Colonel Prince fell back on Summerville, with a loss of three killed and eight wounded. (Doc. 50.)

—The rebel House of Representatives, by a vote of four to one, resolved that a “person otherwise liable to military duty shall no longer be exempt by reason of having provided a substitute. It declared also that the substitute should not be discharged, and rejected a proposition to refund to the principal any portion of the money paid for his substitute.”—The enlistment of colored troops at Nashville, Tenn., continued with great success.—The ship Martaban, from Moulmein to Singapore, was captured and destroyed by the rebel privateer Alabama.

December 23.—A bill, prohibiting dealing in the currency of the United States, was passed in the rebel Congress: “Any person violating the provisions of the act was subject to indictment and prosecution in the confederate court holden for the district within which the offence was committed, and should, upon conviction, forfeit the amount so bought, sold, circulated, or used, or a sum equal thereto, and be moreover subject to a fine of not more than twenty thousand dollars, nor less than five hundred, and be imprisoned not less than three months, nor more than three years, at the discretion of the court; and it was declared the duty of the judges of the several confederate courts to give the act specially in charge to the grand-jury : Provided, that the purchase of postage-stamps should not be considered a violation of the act”

—The rebel forces, under General Longstreet, still remained in the neighborhood of Rutledge and Morristown, Tenn. “General Longstreet was unable to follow up his advantage in consequence of the large number of bare-footed men in his command. The weather was extremely cold, and the mountains covered with snow.”

—A party belonging to the rebel Colonel Harrison’s guerrilla band, headed by James Cavalier, entered Omega, La., and after capturing twelve or fourteen negroes, proceeded to murder them in cold blood, after which they hurried away upon mules captured in the town.—In discussing the conscription proposed by the rebel Congress, the Raleigh Progress says: “There is not another man to spare from the farms or other industrial pursuits of the country, and a further draft on this class will be fraught with the most disastrous consequences. If more men are wanted in the line, let the thousands of able-bodied men already in the pay of the government be placed there, and the drones and non-producers who insult honest toil by their constant swagger, and who have been shielded by the corruptions of office-holders since the war commenced, be gathered up and compelled to fight for that liberty for which they ever profess to be so ready to pour out their precious blood.

“Congress, we fear, is disposed to run into extremes, especially those members whose States are largely or entirely in the hands of the enemy. If this war is to be fought out to the last man and the last dollar, if we are really battling for independence, we must husband our resources. We must have men to fight, and we must have something to feed them on. Beware of destroying the seed-corn.”

—The Yankees made a raid on Luray, Va., and burned P. B. Borst’s large tannery, the old Baptist Church, and Mr. Booton’s workshop; broke open all the stores, and robbed them of all their goods, and what they could not take off, they distributed among the negroes. They also broke open the meat-houses, and stole, carried away, and destroyed nearly all the pork and bacon in the place, besides killing nearly all the chickens they could find. They also burnt the tannery of William R. Barbee, about six miles east of Luray.—Richmond Despatch.

—Lieutenant-general Leonidas Polk, assuming command of the rebel army in Mississipppi, issued an order at Meridian, in which he recognizes the defeats and discouragements the confederate cause has sustained of late, but seeks to stimulate his troops to fresh efforts, by assuring them that there is still, in the South, ample material for a continued and successful prosecution of the war. “The vigorous employment of our own resources,” he closed by saying, “with unity, harmony, and an unflinching determination to be true cannot, under God, but crown our efforts with triumphant success.”

December 22.—A fight occurred at Fayette, sixteen miles from Rodney, Miss., between a party of Nationals, belonging to General Ellet’s Marine Brigade, under the command of Colonel Curry, and about an equal number of rebels, attached to the forces under General Wirt Adams. After a brief skirmish, the rebels fled, leaving ten of their number in the hands of the Nationals.— The bark Saxon arrived at New-York last night, in charge of Acting Master E. S. Keyser. She was captured by the gunboat Vanderbilt, on the twenty-ninth of October, on the west coast of Africa, four hundred miles north of the Cape of Good Hope, and had on board part of the cargo of the bark Conrad which vessel was captured by the pirate Alabama, and afterward converted into the pirate Tuscaloosa.—Brigadier-General Averill, arrived at Edray, Va., having successfully accomplished his expedition to cut the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad.—(Doc. 25.)

—A squad of forty men, under Major White, of the First regiment of confederate cavalry, made a dash into Cleveland, Tenn., driving in the National pickets, killing one, wounding several, and capturing six, besides twelve horses, and some small-arms.—John Kelly was killed by a party of guerrillas, on the Arkansas shore of the Mississippi River, opposite Memphis, Tenn.— General Michael Corcoran died at Fairfax Court-House, Va., from injuries received from a fall from his horse.

—General Joseph E. Johnston, in command of the rebel department of Mississippi, relinquished it, by order of Jefferson Davis, to Lieutenant General Polk, and issued farewell orders, as follows: “Having felt great pride in this army, the undersigned leaves it with much regret. He assures his brave comrades of his full appreciation of the high soldierly qualities they have exhibited. Harmony of opinion and purpose has existed in all ranks. Amid events tending to produce gloom and despondency, they have presented the rare spectacle of the constant improvement of all arms in efficiency and discipline. He offers them his best wishes for their future success.

“In leaving this command, it is a source of great satisfaction to him that it devolves upon the distinguished General chosen for it by the President—one who, on each of so many bloody battle-fields, has proved himself worthy of such troops as constitute this command.”

December 21.—The bark Tuscaloosa, formerly the Conrad, of Philadelphia, captured by the Alabama, was seized at St. Simon’s Bay, Cape of Good Hope, by British officers, upon an alleged violation of British laws.

December 20.—The Third Wisconsin cavalry returned to Fort Smith, Ark., from a successful reconnoissance southward. They were within five miles of Red River, but finding that the rebels had changed position since last advices, they were unable to proceed further. Their return was a constant skirmish for over one hundred miles, strong bodies of the enemy being posted at all the cross-roads to intercept them. They, however, cut their way through. In some places they evaded the enemy by taking blind mountain-passes. Their loss was small.—Mrs. Anne Johnston, of Cincinnati, was tried at Nashville, Tenn., before the Military Committee, for acting as a rebel spy, and smuggling saddles and harness from Cincinnati into the rebel lines. The articles were packed in barrels, purporting to contain bacon, for the shipment of which permits had been regularly obtained.—The schooner Fox, tender to the United States flag-ship San Jacinto, East-Gulf squadron, destroyed in the Suwannee River, Florida, a rebel steamer, supposed to be the Little Leila, formerly the Paw-Paw, and before the Flushing. She was set fire to by a boat’s crew belonging to the Fox.—(Doc. 23.)

December 19.—Mrs. Patterson Allan, charged with carrying on a treasonable correspondence with persons in the North, was arraigned before Commissioner Watson, at Richmond, Va. The letter which she was charged with writing, was inclosed in a box, and directed to Rev. Morgan Dix; both were then placed in a buff envelope, and addressed to Miss H. Harris, New-York.— Captain George Washington Alexander, commandant at Castle Thunder, was relieved from command at that point, and confined to his quarters, under arrest, charged with malfeasance in office. It was alleged that he extorted large sums of money from prisoners confined in that institution, by promising to use his influence for their benefit, and in some cases permitting the prisoners to go at large, upon paying him large sums of money. He was also charged with trading largely in greenbacks.—Colonel A. D. Streight, and his Adjutant, Lieutenant Reed, in attempting to escape from Libby Prison, at Richmond, Va., were detected, and “put in the dungeon.”—Major-General Grant arrived at Nashville, Tenn.

December 18.—The Richmond Despatch of this day contained the following: “We can assure such members of the confederate Congress as feel disposed at this decisive crisis in the national affairs to give undue prominence to querulous complaints and denunciations of the government, that they do not represent the public sentiment of the country—nay, so far from that, they are arousing in the minds of a people whose salvation depends upon the harmony and cooperation of all the public servants, deep and stern dissatisfaction.

“At this solemn moment, when every patriot should be willing to postpone all minor differences to a period when the enemy shall not be thundering at the gates, the country has a right to demand that the voice of faction shall be hushed, and that every man shall smother his private griefs, and give his heart and hand to the common salvation.

“We are all embarked in the same vessel, we are all tossing upon the same stormy sea, and, in the event of shipwreck, none has as much to lose as the officers of the ship, and especially the man whom we have ourselves called to the quarterdeck, and who has every conceivable motive to do the utmost for our preservation that human wisdom and energy can accomplish.

“Would to heaven that, for a time at least, till this hour of imminent peril be passed, the voice of dissension and discord could be hushed, and the counsels of patriotism and prudence govern the pulsations of every heart, and the utterance of every lip. We can assure Congress, that nothing so disheartens the true friends of the country as the fault-finding abuse heaped upon the public servants, at a time when we should all be engaged in beating back the public enemy.

“It would be mournful enough that our cause should be borne down by our vile and dastardly foes, but a far deeper humiliation, an unspeakable disgrace, that it should perish by our own hands. But the people will not let it perish either by the hands of indiscreet friends or open foes, and we warn them both to stand clear of an avalanche which will inevitably fall upon their own heads.”

—Captain Leeper, commanding National scouts in South-East Missouri, overtook three guerrillas, belonging to Reeve’s band, near Black River, and succeeded in killing the entire party.

—A fight took place at Fort Gibson, between a party of guerrillas, under Quantrell, and six hundred National troops, belonging to the Indian brigade, commanded by Colonel Phillips. The engagement lasted five hours, and resulted in the complete defeat of the guerrillas.

—The chaplains of General Lee’s army held a meeting at Orange Court-House, Va., to-day. Most interesting reports were made, showing a high state of religious feeling throughout the army. The great success of the army is due to the religious element which reaches every corner of it; whilst, on the other hand, I am very much disposed to fear, from what I have been told by officers who have served in the army of Tennessee, that the lack of success of that army is due, in a large measure, to the want of religious influence upon the troops.—Cor. Richmond Despatch.

—In the Virginia House of Delegates, Mr. Hutcheson offered a series of resolutions deprecating the Amnesty Proclamation of President Lincoln as “degrading to freemen, that, having calmly counted the cost and weight, the dangers and difficulties, necessary for the achievement of the rights and independence they covet, the people of the Old Dominion spurn with contempt the proffered pardon and amnesty.”—Five military executions took place in the respective divisions to which they belonged, in the army of the Potomac.—Commodore Gershom J. Van Brunt, of the United States navy, died at Dedham, Mass.

December 17.—From his headquarters at Memphis, Tenn., General Hurlbut issued the following general order: “The recent affair at Moscow, Tenn., has demonstrated the fact that colored troops, properly disciplined and commanded, can and will fight well, and the General commanding deems it to be due to the officers and men of the Second regiment West-Tennessee infantry of African descent, thus publicly to return his personal thanks for their gallant and successful defence of the important position to which they had been assigned, and for the manner in which they have vindicated the wisdom of the Government in elevating the rank and file of these regiments to the position of freemen and soldiers.”

—The Richmond Enquirer, in an article on the exchange of prisoners, held the following language: “The Yankees are not going to send their negro troops in the field: they know as well as we do that no reliance can be placed upon them; but as depot-guards, prison-guards, etc., they will relieve their white troops. This is the use that will be made of them. Should they be sent to the field, and be put in battle, none will be taken prisoners—our troops understand what to do in such cases.”

—President Lincoln sent a message to the Congress of the United States, communicating a letter addressed to him from a committee of gentlemen, representing the Frcedmen’s Aid Societies of Boston, New-York, Philadelphia, and Cincinnati, in relation to the freedmen under the proclamation of emancipation.—The United States bark Roebuck captured off the mouth of Indian River, Florida, the English schooner Ringdove, twenty-three tons burden, of and from Nassau, with a crew of five men. Her cargo consisted of one hundred and ninety bales of salt, three bags of coffee, two half chests of tea, and three barrels of whisky. When first discovered, she attempted to escape, but on being fired at, ran aground on the bar.

—For several days past the detectives at Richmond, Va., have been on the hunt for parties who are either suspected of stealing the clothing sent by the Yankee Government for the prisoners now in our hands, or receiving the same, knowing it to have been stolen. Several soldiers, wearing the confederate uniform, have lately been seen with blankets branded “U. S.,” and in some cases, shoes, with the Yankee mark on them, have been sold to citizens at uncommonly low figures by some of the guards of the prisons. Several individuals have been arrested on the above charge.—Richmond Examiner, December 19.

—Colonel Carter, of the First rebel Virginia cavalry, with six other persons, was captured at Upperville, Va., by a detachment of the Twenty-second Pennsylvania cavalry.—An entire company, belonging to the Third North-Carolina rebel cavalry, was captured near Washington, N. C, by a party of the Fiftieth Pennsylvania regiment, commanded by Captain Blakely. Yesterday, at sunset, the Nationals left Washington, and after a march of twenty-four miles, came upon the enemy’s camp. The night was dark and rainy, rendering it possible for the troops to come upon the rebels unheard, and a complete surprise was consequently effected, the enemy being taken in their tents asleep, without the firing of a gun. The number taken was thirty-four, with their horses, equipments, and arms. The surprising party was led by Mr. Henn, who acted as guide, and who previously had been of great use upon cavalry expeditions. On this occasion he entered the rebel camp alone in advance of the attack, and reconnoitred the enemy’s position.—The rebel partisan Standwaite, with a portion of his force, made an attack upon the outposts of Fort Gibson, Ark., but was repulsed, and compelled to retreat across the Arkansas River.—A body of Stuart’s cavalry made a descent at eight o’clock this night upon company I, of the One Hundred and Fifty-fifth New-York regiment, stationed at Sangster’s, three miles west of Fairfax Station, Va., slightly wounding one man, capturing four, and burning the tents belonging to the company. The attack was unexpected, but, nevertheless, the guard made a gallant defence. On being charged upon by the enemy, they withdrew behind their encampment, pouring in repeated volleys upon the rebels, and finally compelling them to retire.

December 16.—A fire broke out this evening in the hospital of the One Hundred and Forty-eighth New-York regiment at Yorktown, Va., and in a few moments the building was all on fire, and as there were no engines or water near, it was impossible to subdue it. The Government bakery also took fire, and communicated it to the Arsenal. For several hours, the loaded shell stored within exploded, until the magazine was reached, when a terrific explosion took place, scattering the building and shell in every direction. The loss was estimated at one million dollars.—Major-General Buford, commanding a division in the cavalry corps of the army of the Potomac, died at Washington, D.C.—The steamer Chesapeake was recaptured in Mud Cove, Sambro Harbor, Nova Scotia, by the National steamer Ella and Anna, under the command of Lieutenant Commander John F. Nichols.