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

October 28.—A company of Union troops under Captain Partridge was captured by a force of rebels, while on picket-duty in the vicinity of Pensacola, Fla.—The rebel steamer Caroline, formerly the Arizona, with a cargo of munitions of war, was captured off Mobile, Ala., by the United States steamer Montgomery, and taken to Pensacola, Fla.

—A fight took place at Cross Hollows, near Fayetteville, Ark., between a Union force of about one thousand cavalry, under the command of General Herron, and a large body of rebel troops, consisting of five regiments of Texan Rangers and two pieces of artillery, under the command of Colonel Craven, resulting, after an engagement of about an hour’s duration, in a rout of the rebels with a loss of eight men killed and the whole of their camp equipments left in the hands of the Nationals.—(Doc. 17.)

—General Grant sent the following message from his headquarters at Jackson, Tenn., to the War Department: “The following despatch is just received from Brigadier-General Davis, at Columbus, Ky.: The expedition to Clarkson, Mo., thirty-four miles from Madrid, under command of Captain Rodgers, company K, Second Illinois artillery, has been entirely successful in dispersing the guerrillas, killing ten, and mortally wounding two, capturing Colonel Clark in command, Captain Esther, three lieutenants, three surgeons, thirty-seven men, seventy stand of arms, fifty-two horses, thirteen mules, two wagons and a large quantity of ammunition, burning their barracks and magazines, entirely breaking up the whole camp.”

—General Halleck, Commander-in-Chief of the armies of the U. S., addressed a letter to Secretary Stanton, in reply to general interrogatories concerning the supplies furnished to the army of the Potomac, under General McClellan. From all the information General Halleck could obtain, he was of opinion that the requisitions from that army had been filled more promptly, and that the men as a general rule, had been better supplied than the Union armies operating in the West.

—An expedition, consisting of twelve thousand Union troops, under the command of General John G. Foster, left Newborn, N. C, and proceeded up Albemarle Sound. Its destination was unknown. Part of the force went by land and part on schooners, the latter being convoyed by two gunboats. It was surmised that the expedition was to attack Weldon, N. C, an important railroad centre.

—Mackey’s Point, S. C, was this day bombarded by a part of the Union blockading squadron.—A company of rebel cavalry were captured in the vicinity of Cotton Creek, Fla., by a scouting-party of Union troops.

—The barque Lauretta, Captain W. M. Wells, which left New-York on the twenty-fifth instant, laden with flour, etc., and bound for Madeira and Messina, was this day captured by the rebel privateer Alabama, and destroyed by fire. The cargo was said to be owned by a British merchant.— The Union forces under General Weitzel entered Thibodeaux, La., without opposition.

—The British schooner Trier, of and from Nassau, N. P., laden with salt, etc., was captured while attempting to run into Indian River, Fla., by the U. S. gunboat Sagamore.

October 27.—The British steamer Anglia, with an assorted cargo, while attempting to run the blockade of Charleston, S. C, was captured by the United States bark Restless and steamer Flag.— (Doc. 14.)

—A fight took place near Fayetteville, Arkansas, between a force of Union troops, under the command of General Herron, and a large body of rebel guerrillas, resulting, after an hour’s duration, in the utter rout of the rebels, leaving eight dead on the field, some wounded, all their baggage and many of their wagons.

—The United States gunboat Clifton captured a rebel schooner with eighteen bales of cotton on board, in Matagorda Bay, Texas. The cotton was transferred to the gunboat, and the schooner burned.—A fight took place at Putnam’s Ferry, Mo., between a force of Union troops under the command of Colonel Lewis, Twenty-third Iowa, and a body of rebels numbering about one thousand five hundred, in which the latter were defeated with a loss of several killed and over forty taken prisoners.

A skirmish took place near Labadieville, La., between a force of Union troops under the command of General Weitzel, and a body of rebels under Colonel J. P. McPheeters, resulting in the rout of the latter with great loss. Colonel McPheeters was among the killed.—(Doc. 16.)

October 26.—The schooner Crenshaw of New-York, Captain Nelson, from New-York for Glasgow with a cargo of flour, was this day captured in latitude 40°, longitude 64°, by the rebel privateer Alabama, and burned.

—Indianola, Texas, surrendered to the United States gunboats Clifton and Westfield without firing a shot.—A party of Unionists attempted to land at Saint Mary’s, Georgia, but were repulsed. The gunboats then shelled and completely destroyed the town.

October 25.—By order of the President, Major-General Buell was removed from the command of the Department of Kentucky, and Major-General Rosecrans appointed in his place.—The rebel conscript law went into effect in East-Tennessee, today, and was rigidly enforced.

—Chattanooga, Tennessee, was visited by a severe snow-storm, preceeded by sleet, causing the ground to be frozen so as to retain the snow. The ground was entirely covered to the depth of an inch and a half.—General Rosecrans, at his headquarters at Corinth, Mississippi, issued an order taking leave of his army, and announcing that the troops of that district would hereafter be commanded by General C. S. Hamilton, he having been called to duty elsewhere.—A party of the Forty-third Indiana regiment, while on a foraging expedition in the vicinity of Helena, Arkansas, were fired into by a band of rebel guerrilla cavalry, killing three and wounding two. The rebels escaped before a shot could be fired at them.

October 24.—A party of rebels, a hundred and fifty strong, attacked a force of Union troops, numbering only eighty, stationed at Manassas Junction, Virginia. The Union troops retreated with the loss of fifteen men and two officers taken prisoners. Captain Conger of the Third Virginia cavalry, with a detachment of his regiment, who had been on a scouting expedition, met the same party of rebels between Catlett’s Station and Warrenton. Captain Conger attacked and dispersed them, killing several and taking two prisoners.

—A fight took place near Grand Prairie, Missouri, between a small force of Union troops, under the command of Major Frank J. White, and a body of rebel guerrillas, resulting in a complete rout of the latter, with a loss of eight killed and twenty wounded. The Union party had only two or three of their number wounded.

A reconnoissance in force, under the command of Brigadier-General Ferry, was made from Suffolk, Virginia, to the Blackwater. At a place near the river, known as the Common Road Crossing, a small party of rebels were encountered, when a skirmish ensued, terminating in a retreat of the rebels, with a loss of six of their number. The Unionists had one man killed, Lieutenant Wheelan, of the New-York Mounted Rifles.—(Doc. 15.)

—A skirmish took place at Morgantown, Kentucky, between a detachment of Union troops, and a force of Morgan’s rebel guerrillas, resulting in a retreat of the latter, with a loss of sixteen of their number left in the hands of the Unionists.

—The United States gunboat Clifton captured in Matagorda Bay, Texas, a yacht.—The British steamer Scotia, while attempting to break the blockade of Charleston, South-Carolina, was captured by the United States bark Restless, under the command of Lieutenant Commanding Edward Conroy.—(Doc. 14.)

October 23.—The British schooner Francis, of Nassau, N. P., was captured in the vicinity of Indian River, Florida, by the United States gunboat Sagamore.—The rebel authorities at Richmond were notified that aliens, or persons claiming the protection of foreign governments, would not be allowed to go North on the flag of trace boats.

—A fight took place near Waverly, Tenn., between a reconnoitring party of Union troops, consisting of about two hundred of the Eighty-third Illinois infantry, supported by one piece of artillery, under the command of Major Blott, and a large force of rebel guerrillas, which resulted, after an hour’s duration, in a complete rout of the latter, with a loss of about forty of their number killed and wounded, and thirty taken prisoners. The Unionists had one killed, and several wounded.—(Doc. 38.)

—General Rosecrans issued an order from his headquarters at Corinth, Miss., announcing that “the Seventeenth Iowa regiment, by its gallantry in the battle of Corinth, on the fourth, charging the enemy and capturing the flag of the Fortieth Mississippi, had amply atoned for its misfortune at Iuka, and stands among the honored regiments of his command.”—The United States gunboats Merrimac and Mississippi, with the Third, Fifth, and Forty-fourth Massachusetts regiments on board, left Boston this morning for Newbern, N. C.—The Richmond Dispatch of this date published a letter purporting to be from a nephew of Secretary Seward.—See Supplement.

—The combined rebel armies under Generals Bragg and E. Kirby Smith, reached Tennessee on their retreat from Kentucky this day. A correspondent, who accompanied the army, thus writes to the Sun, a rebel paper at Columbia, Tenn.: “The combined armies of Generals Bragg and Kirby Smith, including the forces of McCown, Stephenson, and Marshall, began their retrograde movement on the thirteenth instant, from Dick’s River, not far distant from Harrodsburgh, Ky., General Bragg’s force leading and passing out of the State ahead of General Smith. Many of the men are worn out with almost constant marching, by day and by night, pinched a great portion of the time by hunger and thirst, and having to subsist a good portion of the time on parched corn, pumpkins, etc, and drinking frequently water from holes. How different the feelings of officers and men of these armies now, compared with what they were upon their entrance into Kentucky two months since! It is unnecessary for me to say here that the expedition of the confederate forces into Kentucky, has resulted in a miserable failure.”—Columbia Sun. —A fight occurred at a bridge near Shelby Depot, Tenn., between a reconnoitring force of Union troops under the command of Colonel Stuart, Fifty-fifth Illinois, and a body of guerrillas, who had set fire to the bridge, resulting in a rout of the rebels, with a loss of eight or ten of their number killed.—The Fifteenth regiment of Vermont volunteers, commanded by Colonel Redfield Proctor, passed through Springfield, Mass., on the way to the scene of war.—Springfield Republican.

—A force of five hundred Union cavalry, under the command of Colonel Edward McCook, left Crab Orchard, Kentucky, this morning, and proceeded toward Point Lick and Big Hill, where they encountered several bands of Morgan’s guerrillas and Scott’s rebel cavalry, killing four or five of them and capturing their telegraph operator, with his apparatus; also, thirty-three wagons, partly loaded. Thence the Union forces proceeded to Richmond, where they captured two hundred sick and wounded rebels, whom they paroled.

—The ship Lafayette, of New-Haven, Captain Small, from New-York for Belfast, with a cargo of wheat and corn, was this day captured, and burned in latitude 40, longitude 64, by the rebel privateer Alabama.

October 22.—General Blunt with a division of Union troops this day attacked a force of rebels five thousand strong at Old Fort Wayne, near Maysville, Ark., and after an hour’s sharp fighting completely routed them and captured all their artillery, a large number of horses, and a portion of their transports and garrison equipage, the rebels retreating toward Fort Smith.—General Schofield with a Union force this day drove the rebels under General Hindman, through Huntsville, Ark., to a point beyond the Boston Mountain.—(Doc. 12.)

— Yesterday an expedition of troops, gunboats, and transports, under command of General J. M. Brannan, left Hilton Head, S. C, by way of the Coosahatchie and Pocotaligo Rivers, to destroy the bridges and tear up the track of the Charleston and Savannah Railroad. One wing of the expedition under command of Colonel W. B. Barton, to-day marched upon the village of Coosahatchie, attacked a passing train, killing and wounding several, afterward tore up the railroad track, cut the telegraph wires, and marched upon the bridge, but was prevented from burning the bridge at this point by the presence of a superior rebel force. The other wing of the expedition, under command of General Brannan, landed at Mackay’s Point, marched ten miles inland to Pocataligo bridge, skirmishing with and routing the rebels as they advanced. At the bridge a superior force was encountered well intrenched, and after a warm engagement and considerable loss, the expedition was compelled to abandon its object and return to the boats.—(Doc. 13.)

—A sharp fight took place near Van Buren, Ark., between a force of Union cavalry under the command of Major B. F. Lazcar, and a body of rebel guerrilla cavalry, numbering four hundred and fifty men, under Boone, resulting in a complete rout of the latter, with considerable loss.

—The Twenty-fourth Texas Rangers to-day captured a train of thirty wagons, of the Fifth and Ninth Illinois cavalry, near Helena, Ark., and took several prisoners.—The Fourteenth regiment of Vermont volunteers, under the command of Colonel W. S. Nichols, passed through Springfield, Mass., en route for the seat of war.— Springfield Republican.

A skirmish took place between the Union and rebel pickets in the vicinity of Nashville, Tenn., terminating in a retreat of the Unionists to their intrenchments at Nashville, with some loss.—The British brig Robert Bruce, of Bristol, England, Captain Muir, was this day captured off Shallotte Inlet, N. C, by the United States gunboat Penobscot, while attempting to run the blockade.—Two squadrons of the Fourth Pennsylvania cavalry, under the command of Captain Duncan, made a reconnoissance to-day in the vicinity of Hedgesville, Va. Captain Duncan drove the rebel pickets into the town, and then charged the main body, routing them and taking nineteen prisoners, including three officers.

October 21.—A reconnoissance was this day made by a strong force of Union troops, under the command of General Geary, into Loudon County, Va. Several skirmishes took place with parties of the rebels, resulting in their retreat, leaving in the hands of the Unionists seventy-five prisoners, including a number of officers, and about thirty horses.

— President Lincoln addressed a letter to Major-General Grant, Governor Johnson, and all having military, naval, and civil authority under the United States within the State of Tennessee, recommending Thomas R. Smith, a citizen of Tennessee, who went to that State, seeking to have such of its people as desired to have peace again upon the old terms under the Constitution, to manifest such desire by electing members to the Congress of the United States, State officers, and a Senator of the United States. The President wished the parties addressed to aid Mr. Smith, and all others seeking for this object, as much as possible.—A Union meeting was held in Beaufort, N. C. Patriotic speeches were made, and resolutions indorsing President Lincoln’s proclamation liberating the slaves of rebels, were passed.

The Union army under General Schofield, left Pea Ridge, Ark., last evening, in pursuit of therebels retreating through that State. One portion of the Union army under General Schofield, taking the road toward Huntsville, and the other under General Blunt going toward Maysville, on the boundary line between Arkansas and the Indian Nation.—(Doc. 12.)

— A skirmish took place at Woodville, Tenn., between the Second Illinois cavalry, under the command of Major John J. Mudd, and a party of rebel guerrillas under Haywood, resulting in a complete rout of the latter, leaving in the hands of the Unionists forty of their number as prisoners, a wagon-load of arms, a large number of saddles, and about one hundred horses and mules.

— A fight occurred at Fort Cobb, in the Indian Territory, between a body of loyal Indians belonging to six different tribes, numbering about seven hundred, and a force of rebel Indians, of the Tongkawa tribe, under Colonel Leper, resulting in the defeat of the rebels with great slaughter. Colonel Leper, who was a white man, was killed.—Leavenworth Conservative.

October 20.—A skirmish took place on the Cumberland River, a few miles from Nashville, Tenn., between a considerable force of rebel cavalry under General Forrest, and a body of Union troops under the command of Colonel Miller, in which the rebels were driven across the river with some loss. A number of prisoners, including a colonel, were taken.

—Five hundred cases of yellow fever were reported in Wilmington, N. C. The mortality was very great, thirty or forty dying daily. The publication of the Journal newspaper had to be suspended, as almost all the hands necessary to carry on the work were sick with the fever.

—President Lincoln issued an order establishing a Provisional Court for the State of Louisiana, and appointing Charles A. Peabody, of New-York, to be a Provisional Judge to hold the court.—(Doc. 11.)

—Major Woodson, of the Tenth cavalry, Missouri State militia, attacked a band of rebel guerrillas on Auxvois River, dispersed them, killing and wounding several, capturing arms, ammunition, blankets, and horses.—The Twenty-seventh regiment Maine volunteers, left Portland this morning for the seat of war.

—Lieutenant-colonel James Stuart, with a portion of the Tenth Illinois cavalry, attacked two hundred rebel cavalry near Marshfield, Mo., this day, completely routing and disorganizing them, and capturing twenty-seven prisoners.— The plantations in the vicinity of President’s Island, on the Mississippi, were burned to-day in retaliation for an attack upon the steamer Catahoula by the rebels.