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

July 27.—Brigadier-General Saxton, commanding the department of South-Carolina, at Beaufort, issued the following to the colored soldiers and freedmen in his department: “It is fitting that you should pay a last tribute of respect to the memory of the late Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, Colonel of the Fifty-fourth regiment of Massachusetts volunteers. He commanded the first regiment of colored soldiers from a Free State ever mustered into the United States service.

“He fell at the head of his regiment, while leading a storming party against a rebel stronghold. You should cherish in your inmost hearts the memory of one who did not hesitate to sacrifice all the attractions of a high social position, wealth and home, and his own noble life, for the sake of humanity—another martyr to your cause that death has added, still another hope for your race. The truths and principles for which he fought and died, still live, and will be vindicated. On the spot where he fell, by the ditch into which his mangled and bleeding body was thrown, on the soil of South-Carolina, I trust that you will honor yourselves and his glorious memory by appropriating the first proceeds of your labor as free men toward erecting an enduring monument to the hero, soldier, martyr — Robert Gould Shaw.”

—Gold was sold at Atlanta, Ga., at twelve dollars and eleven cents rebel currency for one dollar.—The Twenty-seventh regiment of Connecticut volunteers returned to New-Haven.— A Salute of one hundred guns was fired at Boston, Mass., in honor of the victories at Port Hudson, Vicksburgh, and the opening of the Mississippi River.

July 26.—General R. E. Lee, from his headquarters, army of Northern Virginia, issued the following order:

“All officers and soldiers now absent from this army, who are able to do duty and are not detached on special service, are ordered to return immediately. The Commanding General calls upon all soldiers to rejoin their respective regiments at once. To remain at home in this the hour of our country’s need is unworthy the manhood of a Southern soldier. While you proudly boast that you belong to the army of Northern Virginia, let it not be said that you deserted your comrades in a contest in which every thing you hold dear is at stake. The Commanding General appeals to the people of the States to send forth every man able to bear arms to aid the brave soldiers who have so often beaten back our foes, to strike a decisive blow for the safety and sanctity of our homes, and the independence of our country.”

John J. Crittenden died at Frankfort, Ky, at half-past three o’clock this morning.—General John H. Morgan, with Colonel Cluke and about four hundred of his men, was captured at a point four miles south of New-Lisbon, Ohio, by the National forces under Colonel J. M. Shackleford.—(Doc. 114.)

The National gunboat Sagamore, accompanied by the steamer Oleander, mortar-schooner Para, and schooner Beauregard, on an expedition into Mosquito Inlet, Florida, succeeded in destroying the town of Smyrna, and capturing two schoonners, one of which was loaded with cotton. An attempt was made to capture another schooner loaded with cotton, when the rebels set fire to the vessel, and it was totally destroyed. The expedition returned to Key West, having met with no casualties.

July 25.—The rebel steamers Merrimac and Lizzie were captured by the National gunboat Iroquois, they having run the blockade of Wilmington, N. C., the evening previous. — The rebel steamer Beauregard, after attempting to run the blockade of Charleston, S. C., returned to Nassau, N. P.—Jefferson Davis, “regarding the furloughs granted the paroled prisoners from Vicksburgh of too great duration in the present condition of the country, with the exception of those of men most distant” from the camp of General Pemberton, at Demopolis, ordered that they be reduced, and an order to that effect was issued by General Pemberton.

July 24.— General John Morgan, with his guerrillas, was attacked at Washington, Ohio, by a party of National troops under Major Krouse, and driven from the town.—The blockade-runner Emma, in latitude 33° 41′, longitude 76° 13′, was captured by the National transport steamer Arago, under the command of Captain Gadsden.—The bombardment of Charleston was renewed this morning, and continued all day, except for a short time, during which a flag of truce visited the rebel authorities and perfected an exchange of prisoners.—Brashear City, La., was occupied by the National forces.—A fight took place at Wapping Heights, near Manassas Gap, Va., between a brigade of National troops under the command of General Spinola, and a brigade of rebels under General Wright, resulting in the defeat and rout of the latter.—(Doc. 104.)

—The battle of Big Mound, Dakotah, was fought this day.—(Doc. 110.)

—Major-general J. G. Foster, at Newbern, N. C., made the following report to headquarters at Washington:

“I have the honor to report that the cavalry raid, having for its object the destruction of the railroad bridge at Rocky Mount, has returned completely successful. The expedition consisted of the Third regiment New-York cavalry and a squadron of the Twelfth, and of Mix’s men, (cavalry,) and one company of the North-Carolina regiment, and was under the command of Brigadier-General Edward E. Potter, Chief-of-Staff.

“The bridge over the Tar River, at Rocky Mount, a station on the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, was completely destroyed. The bridge was three hundred and fifty feet long, and the trestle-work over one hundred more. A cotton mill, filled; a flouring-mill, containing one thou sand barrels of flour and large quantities of hard bread; a machine-shop, containing shells, gun powder, and every munition of war; a large depot, offices, etc.; an engine and a train of cars; a wagon-train of twenty-five wagons, filled with stores and munitions; an armory and ma chine-shop, with the machinery and materials and eight hundred bales of cotton, were all destroyed.

“At Tarboro, two steamboats and one large and fine iron-clad in process of construction, a saw-mill, a train of cars, one hundred bales of cotton, and large quantities of subsistence and ordnance stores, were destroyed; about one hundred prisoners taken, and some three hundred animals, (horses and mules.)

“Some three hundred contrabands followed the expedition into Newbern. The force had constant fighting with the enemy, who made great endeavors to intercept their return, but in every case the enemy’s position was either turned or they were compelled to retire. Our loss in killed, wounded, and missing, will not exceed twenty-five men.”—(Doc. 101.)

—A slight resistance to the draft occurred at Lancaster, Pa.—Alexander H. Stephens, the Vice-President of the rebel government, delivered a speech at Charlotte, N. C., expressing entire confidence in the ability of the rebels to maintain their cause and achieve independence.— (Doc. 42.)

July 23.—The enrolment was resisted in the vicinity of Jarrettsville, Harford County, Md.— The First regiment of colored United States volunteers was completed at Philadelphia, Pa., and Colonel Benjamin Tilghman appointed to the command.—The draft took place in Auburn, N. Y., and every thing passed off with the best of order. The occasion, instead of being one of rioting, arson, and murder, was rather one of rejoicing and demonstrations of loyalty. The drafted men formed in procession, with a band of music, and marched through the streets cheering for the draft, the Union, etc., and in the evening listened to patriotic speeches from the Provost-Marshal, the Mayor and others.

July 22.—Major-General John G. Foster, pursuant to instructions from the War Department, commenced the enlistment of colored troops within the lines of the Department of Virginia and North-Carolina; and the unoccupied land on Roanoke Island was set apart for the use of the families of negro soldiers and other contrabands in the service of the United States.—The rebel privateer Florida was at Bermuda, being delayed there by the refusal of the naval authorities to furnish her with coal.

July 21.—The Fifty-fifth regiment (colored) of Massachusetts, left Boston for Newbern, N. C. —A Party of thirty bushwhackers early this morning, made a descent upon a settlement on Indian Creek, near Olathe, Kansas, and after plundering several of the inhabitants, retired, taking with them a large quantity of stock, and several men.—The schooner Revenge was captured and destroyed at a point near the Sabine Pass, by the Union gunboat Owasco, under the command of Lieutenant Commander J. Madigan, Jr.—The Forty-third regiment of Massachusetts, returned to Boston from the seat of war.—The Twelfth regiment, of Rhode Island, returned to Providence, and was received by the military of that place.—General Rosecrans, from his headquarters at Tullahoma, Tenn., issued a circular regulating the circulation of newspapers in his army.

July 20. — The Chamber of Commerce, at Cincinnati, Ohio, at a business meeting, expelled thirty-three members of their body for refusing to take the oath of allegiance.—At New-York City a large meeting of merchants was held, to adopt measures for the relief of the negro sufferers by the riots. Speeches were made by Jonathan Sturges, Richard Warren, A. F. Dow, and others; and resolutions were adopted, pledging the protection of the merchants to the negroes, in pursuing their customary avocations.

—Colonel Bussey, Chief of Cavalry of the army under General Sherman, returned to Jackson, from an expedition to Canton and beyond. At Canton, on the eighteenth, he met Jackson’s rebel cavalry division, four thousand strong, with three pieces of artillery, and, after a severe engagement, drove him across the Pearl River. The National force consisted of four thousand cavalry, under Busscy, and one thousand infantry, commanded by Colonel Wood, of the Seventy-eighth regiment of Ohio. They destroyed the railroad bridge over the Big Black, one mile of trestle-work between the Big Black and Canton, burning Way’s Bluff Station, destroying six miles of the track of the Jackson and New-Orleans and Mississippi Central Railroad, five locomotives, fifty cars, thirteen large manufacturing establishments and railroad buildings; completely destroyed the Dixie Works, and burned a large quantity of lumber. At Canton, they also destroyed the railroad, burned two locomotives, twenty-five cars, the depot, and a large lot of cotton. At Calhoun, they destroyed a pontoon-bridge, the ferry at Grant’s Mills, and several railroad bridges. They captured nearly one hundred prisoners, and lost twenty in killed and wounded.—(Doc. 138.)

July 19.—At Charleston, S. C., a large side-wheel steamer, endeavoring to run into the harbor, was chased by the Canandaigua, and other outside blockaders, and finally driven upon the shoals by Commander George W. Powers, of the Kaatskill, then anchored abreast of Fort Wagner, on picket-duty. The steamer was fired by her crew, and was totally destroyed. —Rear-Admiral Dahlgren’s Report.

—Greenville and Sparta, N. C., were visited by the National forces, under the command of Brigadier-General Potter, and every thing at those places belonging to the rebel government destroyed.—(Doc. 101.)

—James B. Fry, Provost-Marshal General, issued the following circular: “Existing laws make a distinction in the matter of pay, bounties, or other allowances, between soldiers of African descent and other soldiers in the service of the United States. Men of African descent can only be accepted as substitutes for each other, under the Enrolment Act.”—The battle of Buffington Island, Ohio, was fought this day.—(Doc. 47.)

—At Cleveland, Ohio, Bishop Rappe preached a sermon in the cathedral, on the subject of riots in New-York. He was unsparing in bitter denunciation of the mob that had committed such outrages. He warned his hearers against any act that tended in any degree to provoke like scenes there. He said that the laws must be obeyed, and the conscription law quietly submitted to among the rest He urged the members of his flock to attend strictly to their business, and not even to discuss the question of the draft. If any of them were drafted, and could not procure exemption, they must do their duty to the country as soldiers. If the drafted man was poor, and no provision had been made by the city or county for the relief of his family, they should be cared for by the Church.

He warned them not to ill-treat the colored people. A colored man had as much right to live and to labor for his living as a white man had, and their right must be respected. It was cowardly and sinful to molest these people, because their skin was of a different color.

He also spoke against the practice of demanding extortionate wages. It was wrong and wicked to extort from employers more than the fair price of their labor.

Finally, he warned them not to provoke a breach of peace in any manner, and said that he had pledged his word, as a Catholic Bishop, to the citizens of Cleveland, that there should be no disturbance from the Catholic Irish, and he looked to them that his pledge should not be broken.