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

July 17.—J. J. Pettigrew, of the rebel army died at the residence of Mr. Boyd, at Bunker Hill, Va., from the effects of a wound received at the battle of Falling Waters, Va.—The attack on Fort Wagner, by the monitors and mortar-boats, was continued.—At New-York the riot was suppressed, quiet was restored and business resumed. — Provost-Marshal General J. B. Fry ordered the enforcement of the draft in New-England and the Middle States, by the aid of the military.—Edwin Hides and Henry Light, at York, England, were sentenced to imprisonment for counterfeiting the circulating notes of the United States.—The battle of Elk Creek, Kansas, was fought this day, by the National forces under General Blunt, and the rebels under General Cooper.—(Docs. 100 and 109.)

—The cavalry battle near Shepherdstown, Va., was fought this day. (Doc. 145½.)—Major-General Stanley, in command of the National forces, entered Huntsville, Alabama, without opposition, capturing six hundred horses, two hundred of them having contraband riders.— Many of the most prominent and influential lawyers of the cities of Brooklyn and New York, “sensible of the wrongs inflicted during the late riots upon the colored inhabitants of these cities and vicinity, offered their professional advice and assistance, free of charge, to aid such persons in recovering compensation for the damages inflicted upon them by riotors.”—Corinth, Miss., was occupied by the advance of the National forces under the command of General Hurlbut.

—General Richardson, the notorious guerrilla, returned to his former field of operations in the neighborhood of Hickory, Wythe, Galloway’s Station and Belmont, in the counties of Tipton, Shelby, and Fayette, Tenn. Richardson had a force of about two hundred men. These were, like himself, destitute of all principle save that of self-interest. Richardson was aided by the Rev. Captain Burrow and Captain Murray. One thing very remarkable was, that each of these men once laid claim to sanctimoniousness. Richardson was once a great exhorter among the Methodist friends in Memphis. Burrow was a minister of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, while Murray was a very sanctimonious elder of the same denomination with Burrow.—Memphis Bulletin, July 17.

July 16.—Major-general Dix, preparatory to assuming command of the Eastern Department, relinquished the command of the Department of Virginia, to Major-General J. G. Foster.—General Heckman returned to his quarters at Morehead City, N. C., having been absent four days on a reconnoissance toward Swansboro. The objects of the expedition were fully accomplished without casualty.—Jackson, Miss., was evacuated by the rebels.—(Doc. 98.)

—The steamboat Imperial arrived at New-Orleans, La., from St Louis, Mo., the first boat between the cities for more than two years.—The rebels made an attack on General Terry’s brigade on James Island, S. C., but were repulsed. The monitors and mortar-boats kept up an almost constant fire upon Fort Wagner all day, but most of them withdrew at night

—A force of National troops visited the salt works, near St. Mark’s, Florida, and succeeded in destroying them completely, besides carrying off fifteen slaves.—The rebel forces under General Morgan passed through Piketon, Ohio.—The Colored Convention of the State of New-York, met at Poughkeepsie, and issued a manifesto and call to the colored population, defining their position.—The draft riot continued in New-York.— A Sharp cavalry fight occurred near Shepherdstown, Va.—(Doc. 145½.)

July 15.—Foreigners of every age and sex crowded the office of the provost-marshal, in Richmond, “anxious to get passports to go North, by way of the blockade. The Jew, whose ample pockets were stuffed with confederate money; the Germans, with hands on pockets tightly pressed; Italians, with the silvery jargon; and the Irish woman, with ‘nine children and one at the breast,’ all beset the office and wanted passports to leave the country.” This was on account of the late conscription proclamation of Jefferson Davis. “It is not fair,” said the Richmond Enquirer, “that those who have drained the very life-blood of our people, should be let off thus quietly, and not made to shed the first, at least, if not the last, drop of blood for the Government which protected them in the collection of their hoarded pelf.”—Vallandigham arrived at Niagara Falls, Canada West, and issued an address to the people of Ohio.— (Doc. 129.)

—General John G. Parke, with a body of National troops, was attacked by a legion of South Carolina troops, near Jackson, Miss. After an engagement of half an hour the rebels retreated with a loss of three hundred, leaving the Nationals in possession of the field.

—The draft riot continued at New-York City. Mayor Opdyke issued a proclamation announcing that the riot, which for two days had disgraced the city, had been in a good measure subjected to the control of the public authorities.—Drafting commenced in New-Haven, Ct, Springfield, Mass., and Philadelphia, and passed off quietly.—The National cavalry overtook and engaged the rebels on their retreat, near Charlestown, Va., and captured near one hundred prisoners.—A riot broke out at Portsmouth, N. H., but was suppressed without casualty.

A party of rebel cavalry entered Hickman, Kentucky, and pillaged all the stores in the town.—Joel Parker, Governor of New-Jersey, owing to the excitement consequent upon the draft, issued a proclamation calling upon the citizens of the State “to avoid angry discussions, to discourage large assemblies of the people, and use every effort to preserve the peace.”—Great excitement was caused among the rebels in Central Mississippi, by the movements of General Sherman, with the National forces. Large numbers of negroes, cattle, horses and mules were run across the Tombigbee River, at every ferry.

—Jefferson Davis issued a proclamation calling out, under the rebel conscription act, all white men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five, to serve for three years, under penalty of being punished for desertion in case of disobeying the cal. They were offered the privilege of joining volunteer organizations before the enrolment The Columbia (Ga.) Times estimated ninety-five thousand, three hundred and twenty-four, as the number that would be obtained under this proclamation.—(Doc. 39.)

July 14.—At Indianapolis, Ind., while the Twelfth Michigan battery was marching through the streets, a caisson exploded, instantly killing three soldiers and the driver.—The draft riot continued in New-York; business was suspended; loyal citizens were called upon by the Mayor to enroll themselves as special policemen for the restoration of law and order; General Wool issued a call to the veteran volunteers to tender their services to the Mayor; severe conflicts were carried on between the rioters and the soldiery; Colonel O’Brien was killed; negroes were hanged and burned; travelling was suspended, and the operations of the railroads arrested; Governor Seymour made a speech to the rioters at the City Hall, and issued a proclamation calling “upon all persons engaged in these riotous proceedings to retire to their homes and employments, declaring to them that unless they do so at once, I shall use all the power necessary to restore the peace and order of the city.”—(See Supplement.)

—A reconnoissance was made from Donaldsonville, La., down the La Fourche River by the National troops under Generals Weitzel and Grover. The rebels were met in strong force, and the Nationals were obliged to retire with the loss of one section of the First Maine battery.—Riots occurred at Troy, N. Y., and Boston, Mass., both of which were suppressed without much trouble. —(Doc. 128.)

—General Thomas’s corps of the army of the Cumberland, following in the rear of General Bragg’s retreating forces, reached Elk River, and encountered a portion of General Buckner’s division of infantry and artillery together with a part of Wheeler’s cavalry, whom they dispersed after a short skirmish.—The rebels under General Morgan reached Miamiville, on the Little Miami road, this morning, tore up the track and committed other outrages.—(Doc. 47.)

—Joe Hart, the rebel guerrilla, was killed near Chillicothe, Mo., by a detachment of militia under Lieutenant Gibbs, of the Fourth Provisional regiment—The cavalry belonging to General Meade’s army occupied Falling Waters, having overtaken and captured a brigade of infantry one thousand five hundred strong, two guns, two caissons, two battle-flags, and a large number of small-arms.— (Docs. 97 and 104.)

July 13.—A fight took place at Donaldsonville, La., between the rebels and a force of National troops under the command of Brigadier-General Dudley and Colonel Morgan, resulting in the retreat of the Nationals with a loss of four hundred and fifty killed and wounded, and two guns.

—President Lincoln wrote the following letter to Major-General Grant:

“My Dear General: I do not remember that you and I ever met personally. I write this now as a grateful acknowledgment for the almost inestimable service you have done the country. I wish to say a word further. When you first reached the vicinity of Vicksburgh, I thought you should do what you finally did, march the troops across the neck, run the batteries with the transports, and thus go below; and I never had any faith, except a general hope that you knew better than I, that the Yazoo Pass expedition, and the like, could succeed. When you got below and took Port Gibson, Grand Gulf, and vicinity, I thought you should go down the river and join General Banks; and when you turned northward, east of the Big Black, I thought it was a mistake. I now wish to make the personal acknowledgment that you was right and I was wrong.”

—The funeral of Brigadier-General Samuel K. Zook, who was killed at the battle of Gettysburgh, took place at New-York City.—General George G. Meade issued a proclamation in reference to depredations committed by citizens, or rebel soldiers in disguise, and announced the punishment therefor.—A riot was threatened in Newark, N. J.—D. H. Hill, the rebel Major-General, was appointed Lieutenant-General, and assigned to command by Jefferson Davis.—Williamston, on the Roanoke River, was bombarded by four National gunboats under Captain Flusser, the bridge across Gardner’s Creek destroyed, and the rebels driven entirely from the river.—The case of Clement L. Vallandigham was elaborately discussed in the New-York World.—Fort Powhatan, on the James River, Va., was taken possession of by the National fleet under Admiral Lee. The rebels had removed the guns before evacuting the Fort.—The draft was resisted, and a riot broke out in New-York City. The offices of the provost-marshals were burned, the machinery for the drawing destroyed, telegraph wires cut, railroad tracks torn up, private houses sacked, the Colored Orphan Asylum burned, and a number of the police force badly injured, among them Superintendent Kennedy.—(See Supplement.)

—The rebel army under General Lee crossed the Potomac River at Williamsport, and escaped. —(Doc. 95.)

—Yazoo City, Miss., was captured by a combined naval and military National force. Rcar Admiral D. D. Porter, hearing that General Johnston was fortifying the place and gathering troops there for the purpose of obtaining supplies for his army from the Yazoo country, and that the remainder of the rebels’ best transports were there, consulted with Major-General Grant, and determined to send an expedition to capture and destroy them. The Baron de Kalb, National, Kenwood, and Signal, were despatched, under command of Lieutenant Commander John G. Walkcr, with a force of troops, numbering five thousand, under Major-General Frank J. Herron. Pushing up to the city, the Baron de Kalb engaged the batteries, which were all prepared to receive her, and after finding out their strength dropped back to notify General Herron, who immediately landed his men, and the army and navy made a combined attack on the enemy’s works. The rebels soon fled, leaving every thing in the possession of the Nationals, and set fire to four of their finest steamers that ran on the Mississippi. The army pursued the enemy and captured their rear-guard of two hundred and sixty men. Six heavy guns and one vessel, formerly a gunboat, fell into the hands of the Union troops, and all the munitions of war. Unfortunately, while the Baron de Kalb was moving slowly along she ran foul of a torpedo, which exploded and sunk her. There was no sign of any thing of the kind to be seen. While she was going down another exploded under her stern. No lives were lost on the National side.—Admiral Porter’s Despatch.

July 12. —This morning a portion of the fleet blockading the port of Wilmington, N. C., ran a rebel vessel on shore, close in by the edge of Smith’s Island. While trying to get her off, the rebels in Fort Fisher despatched a steamer with a battery on board to prevent it. She had been it Smith’s Island but a short time when a fire was opened from the National fleet on the eastern side of the shoals. At the same time a party of rebels was discovered approaching with a piece of artillery. Upon this, the fleet on the western side of the shoals opened fire to prevent the reenforcement of the rebels, and finally succeeded. The firing was continued until four o’clock, when the Union fleet returned to its station.—The blockade-runner Emma was captured by the Union transport steamer Arago.— Hagerstown and Funkstown, Md., were occupied by the Union forces after a slight engagement.— (Doc. 32.)

—Natchez, Miss., was occupied by a detachment belonging to General Grant’s army.

July 11.—This morning at daybreak the National forces on Morris Island, under the command of General Gillmore, attempted to carry Fort Wagner by assault. The parapets were gained, but the supports recoiled under the fire to which they were exposed, and could not be got up. Captain S. H. Gray, commanding twp companies of the Seventh Connecticut regiment, gives the following report of the affair: After the success of yesterday “we bivouacked for the night under easy range of Fort Wagner. About half-past two A.M., General Strong came and called the Lieutenant-Colonel out. Ho soon returned and said: ‘Turn out! we have got a job on hand.’ The men were soon out and into line, but rather slow to time, as they were tired with the work the day before.

“The programme was to try to take Fort Wagner by assault; we were to take the lead, and to be supported by the Seventy-sixth Pennsylvania and Ninth Maine. Silently we moved up to the advance-line of our pickets, our guns loaded and aimed, and bayonets fixed. We were then deployed into line of battle, (we had one hundred and ninety-one men and officers, all told,) reached and crossed the neck of land that approached the Fort, our right resting on the beach. We were deployed and ready for the start. Our orders were to move steadily forward until the pickets fired, then follow them close and rush for the works, and we were promised ready support. General Strong gave the order: ‘Aim low, and put your trust in God. Forward the Seventh!’ And forward we went, being not over five hundred yards from the Fort when we started.

“We had not gone far before the picket fired, and then we took the double-quick, and with a cheer rushed for the works. Before we reached the outer work, we got a murderous fire from the riflemen behind the works. A few fell— a check in the line. An encouraging word from the officers, and right gallantly we reached the outer works; over them with a will we went; down the opposite side, across the moat—there being about one foot of water in it—right up to the crest of the parapet; and there we lay, anxiously waiting for our support to come up so far as to make it a sure thing for us to rise up and go over with a bound; our men in the mean time busying themselves by picking off the sharpshooters and gunners. We lay so near the top that one had to put his head up and point across the parapet to kill his man.

“As near as I can ascertain, we were in this position from ten to twenty minutes, when both of the regiments that were to support us broke and fled, leaving us to take care of ourselves as best we might. As soon as the regiment in front broke and ran, they paid particular attention to our case. They threw hand-grenades over the parapet, and soon sent men into the flank of a bastion, which commanded the front upon which we lay. They had us there at a great disadvantage. The question was whether we should surrender as prisoners, attempt to carry the works, and to be entirely annihilated, (as they greatly outnumbered us,) or take the back-track and run the gauntlet for our lives.

“Upon consulting the Lieutenant-Colonel, he reluctantly gave the order to retreat. Lieutenant Phillips exclaimed: ‘For God’s sake, don’t let us retreat.’ As if by magic, the order was recalled, and although some had started, they returned; but the order had to be repeated, and down in and across the moat we went over the works. They had a perfect enfilading fire of small-arms for a thousand yards—besides, their pieces were giving us grape and canister. They fell on all sides of me, and I alone of four captains was spared, and out of one hundred and ninety-one officers and men that marched out to attack the foe, only eighty-eight returned safe to camp; and ever let it be said, to the credit of the Seventh Connecticut volunteers, that not one straggler could be discovered. Fifteen minutes after we got in camp, the roll was called, and but one man came in afterwards, and he was delayed in assisting a wounded comrade.

“Met General Strong coming off, and with tears in his eyes he said we had done our whole duty, and covered ourselves all over with glory, and if the support had come in time, that ‘we should have taken the works,’ and without a doubt we should have done so. But our loss is great. We had eleven officers in our mess. Now we have but four. It is hard, but such is the fate of war.

“Our attack on the tenth July was a fearful surprise to them. They had but few troops on this Island. Had they five thousand infantry here, the natural defences are of such a character, that we never could have taken it.”

The National losses in the actions of yesterday and to-day, were one hundred and fifty killed, wounded, and missing. Eleven pieces of heavy ordnance and a large quantity of camp equipage was taken from the rebels, who lost two hundred men in casualties. — General Gillmore’s Report.

—At New-York the draft was begun and carried on without any disturbance.—The First National Bank of Pennsylvania announced business at Philadelphia.—Lieutenant A. L. Sanborn, of the First regiment of colored volunteers, was killed at Norfolk, Va., by Dr. David M. Wright, a prominent rebel physician of that place.—A grand torchlight procession took place at New Orleans in honor of the capture of Port Hudson and Vicksburgh, and “to celebrate the redemption of the South-West from treason and rebellion.”—Vernon, Indiana, was visited by the rebels under John Morgan.—(Doc. 47.)

—The rebels evacuated Hagerstown, Md., last evening, but returned to the town again to-day.— A sharp engagement took place on the Hagerstown road, resulting in the defeat and pursuit of the rebels to Funkstown, where a strong rebel position was found.—William McKee, one of the proprietors of the St. Louis Democrat, was put under arrest by order of General Schofield, for the publication of the letter of President Lincoln to General Schofield, explaining the reasons for the removal of General Curtis, and for refusing to state in what manner such letter came into his hands.—The rebel forces under John Morgan reached Vienna, Indiana, at one o’clock this morning, and burned the dépôt and bridge belonging to the Jefferson Railroad at that place.— (Doc. 47.)

July 10.—Lord Palmerston, in a speech in the House of Commons, requesting Mr. Roebuck to submit to a postponement of the debate on the question of the recognition, of the confederate States, declared anew his hostility to the policy of recognition, and the unchanged sentiments of “Her Majesty’s Government” on the subject His language was:

“It is not likely, I think, that the House would agree either to the motion of the honorable and learned member for Sheffield, or to the amendment which has been moved to it; and, indeed, I think it very disadvantageous to the public service that any such resolution should be adopted. Therefore the discussion, as far as any practicable results may have been expected by those who are in favor of the motion, would have no important effect. I can assure the House, whereas now it is plainly acknowledged by every body, that the wishes of the Emperor of the French to find a fitting opportunity for advising the reestablishment of peace in America are not changed, that, on the other hand, her Majesty’s Government do not see that that opportunity has arisen.”

—The expedition under General J. G. Blunt reached Cabin Creek, fifty-five miles from Fort Gibson.—Thirty-one battle-flags captured by the National forces at Gettysburgh, were sent to the War Department by Major-General Meade.— (Doc. 92.)

—The siege of Jackson, Miss., was commenced this day by the Union forces under General Grant. It began by skirmishing on the Clinton road with musketry and artillery; shells were thrown into the city, and several persons were killed and wounded.—Mobile Advertiser, July 18.

—As artillery and cavalry battle took place at a point on the road from Boonsboro to Hagerstown, Md., between the Union forces under Generals Buford and Kilpatrick, and the rebels belonging to the army of General Lee.—(Doc. 32.)

—Major-General Schenck, from his headquarters at Baltimore, issued an order regulating the treatment of rebel prisoners in his department—The Mayor of Lynchburgh, Va,, issued a proclamation to the citizens of that place, requesting them to suspend business on Friday afternoons, in order that the members of the different military organizations might have an opportunity of attending regularly the drills of their respective companies….

“It is high time,” said he, “that we should act, and act at once, toward putting ourselves in readiness for any emergency.”

—General Joseph E. Johnston, at Jackson, Miss., issued the following battle order to the troops of his army. It “was read along the line amid deafening shouts:”

“Fellow-soldiers: An insolent foe, flushed with hope by his recent success at Vicksburgh, confronts you, threatening the people, whose homes and liberty you are here to protect, with plunder and conquest. Their guns may even now be heard as they advance.

“The enemy it is at once the duty and the mission of you brave men to chastise and expel from the soil of Mississippi. The Commanding General confidently relies on you to sustain his pledge, which he makes in advance, and he will be with you in the good work even unto the end.

“The vice of ‘straggling’ he begs you to shun, and to frown on. If needs be, it will be checked by even the most summary remedies.

“The telegraph has already announced a glorious victory over the foe, won by your noble comrades of the Virginia army on Union soil; may he not, with redoubled hopes, count on you while defending your firesides and household gods to emulate the proud example of your brothers in the East?

“The country expects in this, the great crisis of its destiny, that every man will do his duty.”

General Johnston ordered all pillagers to be shot, the guard to shoot them wherever found.

—Martial law was declared at Louisville, Ky.—The letter of William Whiting, Solicitor to the National War Department, to the members of the Fremont League, was published.— Salem, Ind., was visited and sacked by the rebel forces under John Morgan; the railroad bridge over the Blue River was also destroyed by the same parties.—(Doc. 47.)

—The National forces under the command of General Q. A. Gillmore, at five o’clock this morning, made an attack upon the rebel fortifications on the south end of Morris Island, in the harbor of Charleston, S.C., and after an engagement of over three hours, captured all the strongholds in that part of the Island, and pushed forward their infantry to within six hundred yards of Fort Wagner. The attacking party was gallantly led by Brigadier General George C. Strong. It landed from small boats under cover of the National batteries on Folly Island, and four monitors, led by Rear-Admiral Dahlgren, which entered the main channel abreast of Morris Island, soon after the Union batteries opened. The monitors continued their fire during thp rest of the day, principally against Fort Wagner. — General Gillmore’s Report.— (Doc. 147.)

July 9.—Charles Macbeth, the Mayor of Charleston, S. C., noticing the preparations being made by the Nationals for the attack on Morris Island, issued the following proclamation to the citizens of that city and its vicinity:

“Whereas, the enemy by land and sea have appeared in large force on the islands and neighborhood of the city, and in consultation with General Beauregard, he expressed the opinion that an attack upon our city is imminent, and with the concurrence of General Beauregard, I advise and earnestly request all women and children, and other non-combatants, to leave the city as soon as possible.”

This was followed by two other proclamations, calling on citizens to close their places of business, and ordering the arrest of all free negroes in the city, as they were wanted to work on some unfinished defences on Morris Island. During the day some five or more transports appeared off the harbor, and the National gunboats in Stono River were occupied in shelling two points on James’s Island.

—Corydon, Ind., was captured and plundered by the rebel forces under General John Morgan. —(Doc. 47.)

—A short engagement took place at Aransas Pass, Texas, between the gunboat Scioto and the rebel batteries at that place, without important results or loss of life.—General Abner Doubleday published an order, returning his thanks to the Vermont brigade, the One Hundred and Fifty-first Pennsylvania volunteers, and the Twentieth New-York State militia, for their gallant conduct in resisting in the front line the main attack of the enemy at Gettysburgh, after sustaining a terrific fire from seventy-five to one hundred pieces of artillery.—Mr. Wolff, a candidate for Congress in Kentucky, was arrested in Owen County, and sent to General Burnside, at Cincinnati, in consequence of the following words, used in a speech to the people of Owen: “This is a John Brown raid—a war against slavery, and he hoped every true Kcntuckian would rise in arms in opposition to it. He was for secession, separation, or any thing against it.”— The National troops marched into Port Hudson, Louisiana.