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

July 7.—The Richmond Enquirer, speculating upon the probabilities and terms of a peace, continues:

“The confederate States, when victorious and about to propose terms of peace, will have nothing more to demand than they would have proposed before the fall of Sumtcr, except indemnification for those outrages committed by the enemy against every law of civilized warfare.

“The acknowledgment of the independence of every State now in the Confederacy, and the free choice of the people of Maryland to determine whether they will elect the Confederacy or the United States, will form the first of the ‘conditions.’ Kentucky and Missouri are already members of the Confederacy, and, upon the hypothesis of confederate success, must remain members of the Confederacy unless their people determine otherwise. With their future destiny the United States can have nothing whatever to do, and will not be permitted to exercise any authority or exert any influence upon their people.

“The navigation of the Mississippi, though lost to the United States by the trial of battle, may yet be theirs by the ‘conditions of peace.’ Its advantages are reciprocal, and will be readily yielded to the United States.

“The return of all negroes deported by the Yankees, or payment of their value, will be another of the ‘conditions of peace.’ The laws of war were violated in letter and spirit by the running off of these negroes, and the destruction of the property of private, unarmed citizens—payment will be a condition of peace.

“Trade relations will also form a part of these conditions—what their nature or character may be it is impossible to speculate upon. But as they are mutual in their advantages, and exist by treaty between all nations, they will doubtless arise, despite the animosity engendered by the war.

“With such conditions of peace accepted by the United States, in what particular will they have sustained damages by separation which justified this war?

“The people of the United States have been kept in ignorance of the real demands of the confederate States; they have been taught to believe a pro-slavery propaganda, involving the conquest and conversion to slavery of the States of the Union, to be the purpose and designs of the Confederacy.

“The conditions of peace that the victorious confederates will propose are simple, and we believe will, in the course of time, prove advantageous to both nations.

“The people of the confederate States believe that their future destiny can be better accomplished in separate nationality than under the Federal Union.

“To attest the honesty of this belief, they have maintained a war which has desolated much of their territory, sacrificed many of the bravest and best of their people, and endured all the privations and cruelties inflicted by the enemy. They have demonstrated their determination never again to live in union with the people of the United States; and they have illustrated their power to defy the enemy’s efforts by a series of victories unparalleled in the annals of war. Their conditions of peace will involve no humiliation of the enemy; no loss of power except such as is incidental to our separate nationality.

“If the enemy are unwilling to accept these conditions of peace, so let it be. The war is and will remain in Pennsylvania, and further North.”

—The ship Sunrise, commanded by Captain Richard Luce, was captured and bonded by the privateer Florida, in lat. 40° N., long. 68° W.

—A cavalry expedition sent from Newbern, N. C., on the third inst., under Colonel Lewis of the Third New-York cavalry, returned to that point, having successfully accomplished their mission without loss. They destroyed (twisting rails, etc., by General Haupt’s plan) two miles of the railroad at Warsaw; also, for five miles more, all the culverts, as well as the telegraph. At Kenansville, an armory was destroyed; large quantities of small-arms and quantities of commissary and quartermaster stores were burnt. About one hundred and fifty animals, and thirty prisoners, were captured by them; and some one hundred men and about three hundred women and children, negroes, followed them in.—General Foster’s Report.

—The Twenty-seventh regiment of Maine volunteers, Colonel Wentworth, passed through Boston, Mass., on their return from the seat of war.—The steamers Alice Dean, and J. S. McCombs, were captured by a party of rebels, at Brandenburgh, Kentucky. — Colonel William Burney opened an office in Baltimore, lid., for the recruiting of negro troops.—At Washington, the victories at Gettysburgh and Yicksburgh were celebrated with great enthusiasm. Speeches were made by President Lincoln, Secretaries Stanton and Seward, General Halleck, Senator Wilson of Massachusetts, and Representatives E. B. Washburne and Arnold, of Illinois.

—The expedition sent out from White House, Va., by General Dix, on the first instant, returned. — Colonel Roddy, with eleven companies of rebel cavalry, made an attack upon a “corral for convalescent horses and mules,” near Corinth, Tenn., and succeeded in carrying off over six hundred animals. The “corral” was guarded by one company of the Thirty-ninth Iowa, under Captain Loomis. The attack was made just at daylight, and the picket was captured after a slight resistance. The rest of the company made a stout defence, until they were surrounded, when some escaped; the captain and twenty of his men were taken prisoners. The rebel loss was two killed; the National, one slightly wound ed.—The Sixth regular cavalry, under Captain Chaflant, made a reconnoissance near Boonsboro, Md., and had a sharp fight, in which they lost eight or nine men.—(Doc. 32.)

—A battle took place near Fort Halleck, Idaho Territory, between a party of Ute Indians and Union soldiers belonging to the Fort, under the command of Lieutenants Brundley and Williams, of the Seventh Kansas volunteers. The battle lasted two hours, when the Nationals, led by Lieutenant Williams, charged upon the Indians, who fled to the mountains, and gave up the contest. The Nationals lost one killed and several wounded, while the Indians’ loss was twenty-one killed, and thirty-nine wounded.— Salutes were fired, and celebrations were held throughout the loyal States, in honor of the victories at Vicksburgh and Gettysburgh. — The rebel army of the Tennessee, under the command of General Bragg, on its retreat before the army of General Rosecrans, reached Lookout Mountain, near Chattanooga, Tenn.

July 6.—Portions of the Tenth Kentucky and First Ohio, under the command of Major Brown, made an expedition through Pound Gap, Ky., into South-western Virginia, and succeeded in surprising the rebels, capturing one hundred and twenty-five prisoners, killing thirty, and wounding about the same number. The National loss was one killed and fourteen wounded.—The English schooner Lady Maria, was captured off Mobile Bay, by the National gunboat De Soto.

—A fight took place near Quaker Bridge, on the Trent River, N. C., in which the rebels were defeated by a force under the command of General Heckman.—The case of the British prize ship Peterhoff, was opened before Judge Bctts, sitting in prize court at New-York.—The cavalry battles of Hagerstown and Williamsport, Md., were fought this day.—(Doc. 32.)

—Knights of the Golden Circle entered the depot at Huntington Indiana, at an early hour this morning, and seized and distributed among themselves a quantity of guns and ammunition.— A large amount of money and other necessaries, in aid of the wounded at Gettysburgh, was raised throughout the loyal States.—At New York City a conspiracy to resist the draft was discovered, and precautionary measures were taken to thwart it.

—So much of the order, issued by Brigadier General Emory, at New-Orleans, on the third instant, as prohibited peaceable citizens from being out after nine o’clock P.M., provided that they are not in parties of more than three, was rescinded.—General Lee’s army was in full retreat, the Nationals following rapidly. Hopes were entertained that the whole army of rebels would be captured.—At Frederick, Md., a rebel spy, named Wm. Richardson, about fifty years old, was hung this morning. He was captured yesterday at Oxford, Md. He had been previously captured, and made his escape. He admitted the charge, and said that he had been in the business a long time. Important communications between Lee and Ewell were found on his person.—Major-General Oglesby resigned command of the left wing, Sixteenth army corps, army of the Tennessee, in consequence of the effects of a severe wound which he received in the battle at Corinth, in October last.—The Richmond Sentinel published an elaborate article, setting forth the plan of General Lee for his movement into Pennsylvania. The “most important part of it was to quit the defensive and assume the offensive toward the enemy.”

July 5.—This evening, General Kilpatrick captured a rebel train and a large number of prisoners, at a point near Monterey Gap, Va., and in the afternoon he defeated the rebel cavalry under J. E. B. Stuart, at Smithsburgh, Va.— (Doc. 32.)

—A small party of rebel cavalry entered Mechanicstown, Md., and after committing some depredations, retired, taking with them a quantity of flour and several horses.—The following order was officially promulgated at the headquarters of the army at Washington Commanding Officer Fort Monroe, Colonel Ludlow, Agent for the Exchange of Prisoners of War:

The President directs that you immediately place W. H. Lee and another officer selected by you, not below the rank of captain, prisoners of war, in close confinement and under strong guards; and that you notify Mr. R. Ould, confederate agent for exchange of prisoners of war, that if Captain H. W. Sawyer, First New-Jersey volunteer cavalry, and Captain John Flynn, Fifty-first Indiana volunteers, or any other officers or men in the service of the United States, not guilty of crimes punishable with death by the laws of war, shall be executed by the enemy, the afore-mentioned prisoners will be immediately hung in retaliation. It is also directed, that immediately on receiving official or other authentic information of the execution of Captain Sawyer and Captain Flynn, you will proceed to hang General Lee and the other rebel officer designated, as herein above directed, and that you notify Robert Ould, Esq., of said proceedings, and assure him that the Government of the United States will proceed to retaliate for every similar barbarous violation of the laws of civilized war.

H. W. Halleck, General-in-Chief.

—The steamer Harriet Pinckney, from Bermuda, arrived at Halifax, N. S., having on board C. L. Vallandigham.—At seven o’clock this morning, John Morgan, with four thousand cavalry, attacked the Twentieth Kentucky infantry, four hundred strong, under Colonel Hanson, at Lebanon, Kentucky. After a seven hours’ fight, Morgan’s forces commenced burning the town, setting fire to the railroad depot and six or seven houses. Colonel Hanson then surrendered, and Morgan’s forces left in the direction of Springfield.— (Docs. 47 and 108.)

—A battle took place near Bolton, Miss., between the National forces under General W. T. Sherman, and the rear-guard of the rebels under Joe Johnston, in which the latter were compelled to surrender their entire force. The Union loss was very slight, while the number of rebels captured amounted to over two thousand.—General James G. Blunt, having under his command portions of the Second and Sixth Kansas, Third Wisconsin, and Fourteenth Kansas regiments, left Fort Scott for the seat of war in the far West.

July 4.—The rebel gunboat Torpedo, formerly the Dragon, came down the James River, Virginia, having on board Alexander H. Stephens, Vice-President of the rebel government. By flag of truce it was reported that Stephens was the bearer of a letter from Jefferson Davis to President Lincoln, and ho requested permission to go to Washington in the Torpedo, to present the letter to President Lincoln in person. This request was declined by the President and Cabinet, but before their determination could be communicated, the Torpedo had left its moorings and proceeded up the James River, without waiting for an answer.—(Docs. 23 and 34.)

—Vicksburg, Miss., was surrendered to the National forces under the command of Major General Grant—(Docs. 25, 36, 94, and 141.)

—Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, “announces to the country, that the news from the army of the Potomac to ten P.M. of the third, is such as to cover the army with the highest honor and promise a great success to the cause of the Union, and to claim the condolence of all for the many gallant fallen, and that for this ho especially desires, on this day, that He whose will, not ours, should ever be done, be everywhere remembered with the profoundest gratitude.”

—The battle of Helena, Ark., was fought this day, by the National troops under the command of Major-General B. M. Prentiss, and the rebels under Generals Marmaduke, Price, and Holmes.— (Docs. 24 and 111.)

—General Sheridan’s division of Rosecrans’s army, in pursuit of General Bragg, crossing the Elk River, Tenn., was thrown forward toward Dechard and Cowan, after reoccupying Winchester. This day he sent his cavalry force, under Colonel Watkins of the Sixth Kentucky, toward the mountains. Near University Place, they encountered the rebel cavalry, killed and wounded forty, routed and drove them three miles up the side of the mountain, and returned with the loss of twelve men. The rebels’ flight was so precipitate, that they threw away every thing which could at all impede them, and their course could be traced for miles by their cast-off equipments and accoutrements.

—Captain Turner, the Commandant at the Libby Prison, at Richmond, Va., received the following order:

“Headquarters Department of Henrico,

“July 4,1863.

“Special Order, No. 160.—Captain T. N. Turner, commanding confederate States prison, is hereby commanded to select, by lot, from among the Federal Captains now in his possession, two of that number for execution. ” John H. Winder,

“Major-General Commanding.”

Captain Turner at once proceeded to carry out the order, and caused all the captains, seventy-five in number, to be assembled in the large room on the first floor. The order commanding the selection of two of them for execution was then read aloud in their presence, by the Captain, and the seventy-five names deposited in a box placed upon a table. Captain Turner inquired if they would designate any particular person to draw from the box, and explained that the two first names drawn would be the parties selected. There was a deep silence for some moments, when one of the captains spoke and named Rev. Mr. Brown, Chaplain of the Fifth Maryland (Yankee) regiment, as their choice. Mr. Brown here stepped forward, from three chaplains in the room, and, evincing considerable emotion, drew the first name from the box, written upon a piece of paper.

Without glancing at the card, he handed it to Captain Turner, who read out: “Henry Washington Sawyer, Captain First New-Jersey cavalry.” Then it was a singular coincidence struck every one present, for Sawyer was the party who named Mr. Brown for the unpleasant duty he was then discharging. Great drops of sweat beaded Sawyer’s brow, as he stepped out from the ranks. The next name was drawn and read out, as before, “John Flinn, Fifty-first Indiana regiment;” and Flinn took his place with Sawyer. The drawing over, the balance of the officers were returned to their quarters, and Sawyer and Flinn taken from the prison to the office of General Winder. Sawyer was talkative, and said if it was his fate, he would stand it. Flinn said but little.—Richmond Examiner, July 8.

—The First North-Carolina (Union) volunteers, Colonel McChesney, returned to Newborn, N. C., from an expedition up the Pungo River, where the regiment captured two large schooners heavily laden with rebel supplies, large numbers of prisoners, horses, cattle, negroes, and several thousand bushels of corn. This regiment effected a landing near Wade’s Point, and moved with great celerity at midnight, taking the enemy everywhere by surprise. Several thousand dollars’ worth of rebel commissary stores were also destroyed.

—Orlando H. Moore, Colonel of the Twenty-fifth regiment of Michigan infantry, commanding at Green River Bridge, Kentucky, was summoned to surrender, by the rebel General John Morgan, when he replied, “that the Fourth day of July was no day to entertain such a proposition,” and immediately after, a fight was commenced by the rebels, which resulted in their defeat and the loss of over fifty killed and two hundred wounded.—(Doc. 44.)

July 3.—The following “commendable appeal” to the foreign residents of Richmond, Va., appeared in the Enquirer, published in that city, to-day:

To British Subjects:

Fellow-countrymen : If you desire to protect your homes, and the homes of your friends, from the touch of the ruthless invader; if you believe, as we do, in the justice of the Southern cause, and desire its success; if you have interests here to defend, then it is manifestly your duty, as brave and chivalrous men, to take up arms at this crisis. The history of our past precludes the possibility of our being cowards; but let us here, and now, in this righteous struggle for constitutional law and liberty, add another laurel to our ancestral history.

Those of you who are willing to offer yourselves, for either temporary or permanent duty, should report at once to the undersigned: Sydney II. Davis, Lieutenant H. B. M., Sixteenth regiment, Arlington House. F. L. Buxton, Lieutenant Royal Berks volunteers, Mrs. Duval’s, corner Fourteenth and Ross streets.

—At Vicksburgh, Miss., at eight o’clock this morning, flags of truce appeared before A. J. Smith’s front, when the rebels, Major-General Bowen and Colonel Montgomery, were led blindfolded into the Union lines. They bore a communication from General Pemberton, of the following purport:

“Although I feel confident of my ability to resist your arms indefinitely, in order to stop the further effusion of blood, I propose that you appoint three commissioners, to meet three whom I shall select, to arrange such terms as may best accomplish the result.”

General Grant replied in these words:

“The appointment of commissioners is unnecessary. While I should be glad to stop any unnecessary effusion of blood, the only terms which I can entertain are those of unconditional surrender. At the same time, myself and men, and officers of this army, are ready to testify to the distinguished gallantry with which the defence of Vicksburgh has been conducted.”

At eleven o’clock the messengers returned. This afternoon General Grant met General Pemberton between the lines, and after an hour’s consultation settled the surrender of the place. —(Docs. 25, 36, and 146.)

—The National Guards, Colonel “Wright commanding, composed of the most substantial citizens of Newbern, N. C., received their arms and equipments and entered upon duty at the garrison of that place.

—Major-general French sent a force toward Williamsport, Md., which was successful in capturing and destroying the pontoon train of the rebels. The guard, consisting of a lieutenant and only thirteen men, were taken.—General French’s Despatch.

—The following orders were issued at New Orleans, La., by Brigadier-General Emory: “Hereafter no public assemblages, except for public worship under a regular, commissioned priest, will be allowed in this city for any purpose or on any pretence whatever, by white or black, without the written consent of the Commander of the defences of New-Orleans ; and no more than three persons will be allowed to assemble or congregate together upon the streets of the city. Whenever more than that number are found together by the patrol, they shall be ordered to disperse, and failing to do so, the offenders shall be placed in arrest.

“All bar-rooms, coffee-houses, stores, and shops of every description, will be closed at nine o’clock P.M.

“All club-rooms and gambling-houses are hereby closed until further orders.

“No citizens or other persons, except the police and officers in the United States service, or soldiers on duty or with passes, are to be allowed in the streets after nine o’clock P.M.”—

The United States transport boat Zephyr was fired into, at a point six miles below Donaldsonville, La, and two men were wounded.—A fight occurred at Fairfield, Pa., between the Sixth United States cavalry, under Major Samuel H. Starr, and two brigades of rebel cavalry, under Generals Robinson and Jones.— Philadelphia Enquirer.

—The battle of Gettysburgh was concluded this day. Repulsed at every point, General Lee withdrew in the night, leaving General Meade master of the field.—(Docs. 20 and 118.)

—Suffolk, Va., was evacuated by the Union troops.—A circular letter was issued from the Treasury Department by Secretary Chase, regulating the disposition of abandoned, captured and confiscable property in the rebel districts.