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

August 28.—A fight took place at Readyville, Tenn., between the Twenty-third Kentucky infantry under the command of Col. Mundy, and a large force of rebel cavalry under Gen. Forrest, resulting in a rout of the latter with heavy loss. —Cincinnati Times.

—General Schofield at St. Louis, Mo., issued an order assessing five hundred thousand dollars upon secessionists and Southern sympathizers in St Louis County — the money to be collected without delay, and used in clothing, arming and subsisting the enrolled militia while in active service, and in providing for the support of such families of militiamen as might be left destitute.

—A severe fight took place at a point six miles west of Centreville, Va., between the National forces under Generals Sigel and McDowell, and the rebels under the command of Gen. Jackson, who was driven back at all points, with a loss of a large number of prisoners.—(Docs. 104 and 199.)

— City Point, on the James River, Va., was completely destroyed by the National gunboats under Commodore Wilkes. For some time the rebels had been firing into the transports passing up and down the river, and Commodore Wilkes sent them word that if it was not discontinued, he would destroy their rendezvous. To-day the rebels brought down to City Point eight cannon and about two hundred riflemen, and attacked the Federal flotilla, which at the time was abreast of the place, whereupon the gunboats opened fire upon them, demolished every building in the town, and dispersed the rebel force.

—Twenty men of the Second (Union) Virginia cavalry, under the command of Lieutenant Montgomery, attacked seventy-five rebel cavalry at Shady Springs, ten miles from Raleigh Court-House, Va., and completely routed them, taking five prisoners.—The Union troops occupied Hernando, Miss.

—The Secretary of the Treasury issued an order establishing regulations concerning internal and coastwise commercial intercourse, with the purpose of preventing the conveyance of arms, munitions of war, and other supplies to the insurrectionary districts, and the Secretaries of War and the Navy issued orders directing all officers of the army and navy to render such aid as might be necessary in carrying out said regulations.

August 27. — The British schooner Anna Sophia was captured by the United States gunboat R, R. Cuyler, while endeavoring to run the blockade of Wilmington, N. C.—The draft was postponed in Pennsylvania until September fifteenth.

—James M. Graham, Assistant Adjutant-General, sent the following despatch from Leavenworth, Kansas, to the War Department at Washington:

“Major Champion Vaughan, of General Blunt’s staff, has arrived at these headquarters with despatches. Gen. Blunt marched with one thousand five hundred men from Fort Scott, August seventeenth, and followed the rebels as far north as Lone Jack. The enemy declined an engagement and commenced a retreat. They were hotly pursued by Gen. Blunt, and driven in utter confusion across the Osage, with the loss of all their transportation and equipments, besides numerous arms, prisoners, etc.

“It is considered that the expedition saved the Missouri towns and the western border from devastation, besides striking terror into the hearts of the enemy as far as the Arkansas line. Gen. Blunt’s column returned to Fort Scott on the twenty-second, having marched nearly three hundred miles in six days. Col. Cloud was left to continue the pursuit, and it is not improbable that the main force of the rebels will be forced to surrender.”

—A party of rebel cavalry, under the command of Captain White, entered Waterford, Va., early this morning, and captured a large portion of a company of National cavalry under Capt. Means. Capt. Means escaped.—The Nineteenth regiment of Maine volunteers, under the command of Col. Frederick D. Sewall, left Bath for the seat of war. —An enthusiastic war meeting was held at Boston, Mass., at which speeches were made by Gov. Andrew, Edward Everett, Robert C. Winthrop, Senator McDougal of California, and others.— Battle Creek, Ala., was evacuated by the Union army under General Buell.

—The battle of Kettle Run, near Bristow Station, Va., was this day fought by the Union forces under Gen. Hooker, and a division of the rebel army of Gen. Jackson, under Gen. Ewell. The engagement lasted for several hours, terminating only at dark, the rebels retreating with great loss.—(Doc. 104.)

—A great war meeting was held in the city of New-York, at which speeches were made by Generals Mitchel, Foster, Sickles, Walbridge, Corcoran, and Busteed; Mr. Arnold of Illinois, Mr. Wright, of New-Jersey, Col. Nugent, and others.

August 26.—A fight took place near Madisonville, Ky., between a Union force under Lieut. Col. Foster and a large body of rebel guerrillas, resulting in the retreat of the latter with considerable loss.—Lieut.-Col. Foster’s Report.

— The One Hundred and Twenty-sixth regiment of New-York volunteers, left Geneva, for Washington, D. C. The regiment was commanded by Colonel Sherrill—The Ninth regiment of New-Hampshire volunteers, Col. Enoch Q. FelIows, passed through New-York City for the seat of war. It left Concord, N. H., yesterday morning.

— A skirmish took place near Fort Donelson, Tenn., between a force of Union troops under command of Col. Lowe, Fifth Iowa cavalry, and a body of rebel guerrillas under Col. Woodward, resulting in the retreat of the latter with the loss of their artillery. The Nationals had two men killed and eighteen wounded.—(Doc. 191.)

— Brigadier-general Lloyd Tilghman, in accordance with a special order issued by General Bragg, August 16th, assumed command “of all abolition and confederate officers and soldiers in the vicinity of Vicksburgh, Miss., for the purpose of being exchanged or paroled,” and ordered them to report immediately at headquarters at Jackson, Miss. ,

—A large force of Gen. Stuart’s rebel cavalry, led by Fitz-Hugh Lee, entered Manassas, Va., and, after scattering a small body of Union troops stationed there, destroyed a railway train, several buildings, a large quantity of government stores, and other property.—(Doc. 194.)

August 25.—Seven men of the Bath County (Ky.) home guards, under Captain Warren, surprised and captured near Mount Sterling, Ky., eighteen rebel guerrillas with their horses and arms.—S. C. Pomeroy, Senator of the United States from Kansas, issued an address to the free colored people of the United States, suggesting the organization of emigration parties of such people for settlement in Central America.

—Major Lippert, Thirteenth Illinois cavalry, with one hundred and thirty men, was attacked by a force of rebel guerrillas, three hundred and fifty strong, under Colonel Hicks, thirty-six miles beyond Bloomfield, Mo. The rebels were totally routed, twenty of them being killed, many wounded, and a number taken prisoners.

—Colonel Woodward, with a strong force of rebel guerrillas, attacked Fort Donelson, Tenn., and was repulsed with heavy loss.—(Doc. 191.)

—After fighting the Sioux Indians during the two preceding days, and finally routing them, the whole population, including the garrison under command of Capt Flaudrau, of New-Ulm, Minn., evacuated that place this day.—(Doc. 192.)

—The Eleventh New-Jersey regiment of volunteers, under the command of Col. Robert McAllister, left for Washington.—The One Hundred and Twentieth regiment, New-York State volunteers, left Rondout for the seat of war, under the command of Col. George H. Sharp.—The Fourteenth regiment of Connecticut left Hartford for Washington. It was commanded by Col. Dwight Morris.—Two hundred guerrillas, encamped on Shelby farm, six miles from Danville, Ky., were surprised by a party of the Harrodsburgh and Danville home guards, who succeeded in killing three and wounding several of them, besides capturing a number of horses.—(Doc. 193.)

August 24.—Gen. Butler, believing that a large portion of the colored militia force of the State of Louisiana were willing to take service in the volunteer forces of the United States, issued an order at New-Orleans, directing that the members of the “Native Guards,” and all other free colored citizens recognized by the late Governor and authorities of the State as a portion of the militia of the State, who should enlist in the volunteer service of the United States, should be organized by the appointment of proper officers, and accepted, paid, equipped, armed and rationed as other volunteer troops of the United States, subject to the approval of the President

—The battle between the Union army under General Pope, and that part of the rebel forces under Gen. Lee, which crossed the Rappahannock yesterday, was this morning resumed in the vicinity of Sulphur Springs and Waterloo Bridge. Cannonading was kept up all day, but without doing much damage to either side.—(Doc. 104.)

—Quantrel’s and Hays’s bands of guerrillas, overtook six companies of the Second and three companies of the Sixth Kansas regiments near Lamar, Kansas, when the attack was commenced by the Sixth under the command of Major Campbell and Capt. Grand. The fight continued two hours, during which time the Nationals lost two killed and twenty-one wounded. The Second Kansas regiment took no part in the affair.—The schooner Water-Witch, was captured off Aransas, Texas, by the United States schooner Corypheus. —The Eighteenth regiment of Maine volunteers, commanded by Col. Daniel Chaplin, left their camp near Bangor, for the seat of war.—Charles J. Ingersoll was arrested at Philadelphia, Pa., by Deputy-Marshal Schuyler.

—A skirmish took place near Dallas, Mo., between four companies of the Twelfth cavalry regiment, Missouri State militia, under the command of Major B. F. Lazear, and a numerically superior force of rebel guerrillas, under Col. Jeffries, resulting in a rout of the latter, with some loss.— St. Louis Republican.

August 23.—The United States steam sloop-of-war Adirondack struck on a coral reef near Little Abaco, W. I., and was lost. The crew were saved. —The Eighteenth regiment of Connecticut volunteers, under the command of Col. Wm. S. Ely; the One Hundred and Eleventh regiment, New York State volunteers, Colonel Jesse Segoine, and the Thirty-fifth Massachusetts, commanded by Col. Edward A. Wild, passed through New York City, en route for the scat of war.

—The schooner Louisa, while attempting to run the blockade of Charleston, S. C, was captured by the United States steamer Bienville.—A train of cars on the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, when three miles beyond Courtland, Tenn., was attacked by guerrillas numbering four hundred, who destroyed the train, which was in charge of a detachment of the Forty-second Illinois regiment. Eight rebels were killed. The Federal loss was two wounded and two missing.—This afternoon a mutiny broke out among the soldiers belonging to Spinola’s Empire brigade, at their encampment, East New-York. One man was shot and a number seriously injured. An attack was made upon the Howard House by the mutineers, who subsequently fled to Brooklyn and New York. The police was called out, and succeeded in quelling the riot. A squad of United States marines was put on guard, and order was restored. —A Passenger train on the Winchester (Va.) Railroad, when between that place and Harper’s Ferry, was fired into and stopped by a party of rebel guerrillas. The passengers were released, except four soldiers of the First Michigan, who were made prisoners. The train and its contents were completely destroyed.

—The battle on the Rappahannock between the armies under Gen. Pope and Gen. Lee, was resumed at an early hour this morning by a cannonade all along the opposing lines, which lasted for several hours. In consequence of the swollen state of the Rappahannock, the railroad bridge was in great danger of being carried away, and the advanced column of the Union army was therefore removed from the left to the right bank of the river, and the bridge was destroyed. New positions were taken, from which the old ones could be enfiladed, and on the rebels appearing in strong force for the purpose of occupying the abandoned position, a terrific cannonade was opened upon them, which drove them back into the woods with great loss. In the afternoon a portion of the rebel army succeeded in crossing the Rappahannock River, in the vicinity of Sulphur Springs, and a sharp engagement took place between them and Gen. Milroy’s brigade, the advance of Gen. Sigel’s corps, which resulted in the rebels being driven across Great Run, suffering great loss. In consequence of the success of the rebels in throwing a part of their forces across the Rappahannock, General Pope advanced his whole army from his position in the vicinity of Rappahannock Station to Warrenton and Sulphur Springs.— (Doc. 104.)

—A skirmish occurred near Big Hill, Madison County, Ky., between the Union troops under General Metcalfe and a superior force of rebels, resulting in the retreat of the Nationals to Richmond, Ky.—(Doc. 190.)

August 22.—Rear-Admiral George Campbell Read, Governor of the Naval Asylum at Philadelphia, died in that city this day.—General Michael Corcoran arrived at New-York City, and met with a most enthusiastic reception.

—The Seventeenth regiment of Maine volunteers, commanded by Col. Thomas A. Roberts, passed through New-York City en route for the seat of war.—Two bridges on the Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad, east of Loveland, Ohio, were burned, it was supposed, by rebel sympathizers.

—To-day, and the preceding two days, a series of skirmishes occurred near Crab Orchard, Ky., between the Ninth Pennsylvania cavalry, under the command of Gen. Green Clay Smith, and a rebel cavalry regiment, under Col. Scott, resulting in the defeat and retreat of the latter on each occasion.

—A force of Gen. Stuart’s rebel cavalry made a dash at Catlett’s Station, Va., and destroyed or carried off a great quantity of sutler’s and other stores, sacked the hospital, captured Gen. Pope’s wagons with all his papers, etc., and then proceeded towards Warrenton.—(Doc. 188.)

—President Lincoln, in response to a letter written by Horace Greeley, stated that his paramount object was the restoration of the Union, and not the safety or destruction of slavery. If he could save the Union without freeing the slaves, he would do it; if he could save it by freeing all the slaves, he would do it; and if he could save it by freeing a portion and leaving others alone, he would do that.—See Supplement.

—The One Hundred and Seventeenth regiment, New-York volunteers, Col. W. R. Pease, left Camp Huntington, near Rome, at noon to-day for the seat of war. This was Oneida County’s first regiment under the new call, and her fourth for the war.

—The day before yesterday, and to-day, Fort Ridgely, Minn., was attacked by a large body of Indians, who, on each occasion, were repulsed by the garrison, of whom three were killed and thirteen wounded.—(Doc. 189.)

—This morning, at five o’clock, the rebels opened fire from their batteries along the whole line of the army on the Rappahannock. The Union army on the opposite bank of the river promptly replied, and the cannonade was kept up, with short intermissions, all day. The principal attack was on the Union centre, occupied by General McDowell’s army corps. At about nine A.M., the cannonading having almost ceased, Gen. Sigel ordered Gen. Schurz to ford the river with a brigade of his division, and reconnoitre the enemy’s position on the opposite side. When about a mile from the river, Gen. Schurz discovered the rebels, who, after receiving a volley or two, precipitately retreated, in the hope of drawing the Unionists into an ambush. This failed. General Schurz took up his position, and in turn was attacked by the rebels in force. A fierce battle ensued, which lasted until six P.M., when, the Unionists not being sufficiently strong to hold the advanced position, retired to the north bank of the river, and joined the main body of the army. —(Doc. 104.)

August 21.—Jeff Davis issued an order from Richmond, directing that Major-Gen. Hunter and Brig.-Gen. Phelps should no longer be held and treated as public enemies of the rebel States, but as outlaws; and that in the event of the capture of either of them, or that of any other commissioned officer of the United States employed in drilling, organizing, or instructing slaves, with a view to their armed service in the war, he should not be regarded as a prisoner of war, but held in close confinement for execution as a felon, at such time and place as Jeff Davis might order. —To-day the Union army, under Gen. Pope, and the rebel army, under Gen. Lee, faced each other on the Rappahannock, the former on the north and the latter on the left bank of the river. An attempt was made on the part of the rebels to cross the river at Kelly’s Ford, for the purpose of turning the position of the Unionists, but it was foiled by General Reno, who opened fire with his batteries, and then followed it with a cavalry charge, which put them to flight, and determined them to make no more attempts to cross at Kelly’s Ford.—(Doc. 104.)

—A war meeting was held at Southficld, Staten Island, N. Y. —Thomas Shultzer, one of the editors of the Maryland News Sheet, was released from Fort McHenry, on taking an oath not to engage in newspaper business, nor do any thing to aid and abet rebellion during the continuance of the war. Carpenter and Neilson, the responsible editors and publishers of the same paper, refused to take the oath.

—The rebel schooner Eliza, loaded with salt and other contraband goods, was captured off Charleston, S. C, by the United States steamer Bienville.

—The Union pickets on Pinckney Island, near Hilton Head, S. C, were attacked by a superior force of rebel troops, and thirty-two of their number taken prisoners, three killed and three wounded.—A very large and enthusiastic war meeting was held at St. Louis, Mo., in the Mercantile Library Hall, at which Gov. Gamble made the principal speech. He recommended a most vigorous war policy in the State, and deprecated the disposition to find fault with the policy of the Federal Government. He recommended the extermination of the guerrillas in the State, and would make the secessionists pay for the protection they received from the Government. He would drive South all non-combatants who denounced the Government. The military authorities held bonds from the rebels to the amount of over a million of dollars, and he advised all broken bonds to be collected at once. The speech was received with tremendous applause.

—A severe fight took place at Gallatin, Tenn., between a body of Union troops under the command of General R. W. Johnson, and an inferior force of rebel cavalry, under Col. John H. Morgan, resulting in a rout of the Unionists with great loss.—(Doc. 187.)

Winfield Scott Hancock (February 14, 1824 – February 9, 1886) was a career U.S. Army officer and the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 1880. He served with distinction in the Army for four decades, including service in the Mexican-American War and as a Union general in the American Civil War.

Auguet 20.—British subjects who had declared their intentions to become citizens of the United States, being apprehensive that they might be drafted into the militia, Secretary Seward informed them, through the British Charge d’ Affairs at Washington, that none but citizens were liable to military duty in the United States.— Secretary Seward’s Letter.

—E. Kirby Smith, the rebel General, from his headquarters in East-Tennessee, issued the following address to the citizens of Knox County, and the adjacent counties in Kentucky:

“Finding that you have been deceived by the misrepresentations of our enemies, and have been induced by them not only to leave your homes, but also to resort to the cowardly practice of bushwhacking, I now promise you that, if you return quietly to your homes and lead orderly lives, you will not be disturbed, but will be protected in your rights.

“If, on the contrary, you persist in firing upon my soldiers from the woods, you will be hung when you are caught, and your houses and property will be destroyed.”

—To-day the Union army, under Gen. Pope, reached the Rappahannock River, in its retreat from the Rapidan, closely followed by the rebel army, under Gen. Lee. At Brandy Station the two armies came within sight of each other, and the rear-guard of the Nationals, supposing the advance of the rebels to be a mere skirmishing party, turned for the purpose of driving them back; but on charging upon them, they discovered their error, for after receiving two or three volleys, which thinned their ranks considerably, they retreated to the bridge at the station, closely pursued by the rebels. Here the Unionists were supported by two batteries of artillery, which opened fire on the rebels with great effect, compelling them to fall back undercover of the adjacent woods.— (Doc. 104.)

—A fight took place at Edgefield Junction, Tenn., between a small number of the Fiftieth Indiana volunteers and a superior force of rebel guerrilla cavalry belonging to Col. John H. Morgan’s command, resulting in a retreat of the latter, with a loss of seven men killed and twenty wounded.

—A fight took place near Union Mills, Mo., between a force of National troops, under the command of Major Price, and a party of rebel guerrillas. The Nationals did not discover the rebels until they were fired upon from an ambush; but, notwithstanding this disadvantage, they charged upon them and put them to flight, capturing sixteen horses, a number of guns and swords, and a quantity of lead and powder. Four of the rebels were taken prisoners and one killed. Four of the Union party were killed and three wounded.—St. Louis Democrat, August 23.