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

February 27. — Brigadier-General James H. Carleton sent the following to the National headquarters, from his post at Santo Fe, New-Mexico: “What with the Navajos I have captured and those who have surrendered, we have now over three thousand, and will, without doubt, soon have the whole tribe. I do not believe they number now much over five thousand, all told. You have doubtless seen the last of the Navajo war; a war that has been continued with but few intermissions for the past one hundred and eighty years; and which, during that time, has been marked by every shade of atrocity, brutality, and ferocity which can be imagined, or which can be found in the annals of conflicts between our own and the aboriginal race. I beg to congratulate you, and the country at large, on the prospect that this formidable band of robbers and murderers have at last been made to succumb.

“To Colonel Christopher Carson, First cavalry New-Mexican volunteers, Captain Asa B. Carey, United States army, and the officers and men who have served in the Navajo campaign, the credit for these successes is mainly due.

“The untiring labors of Major John C. McFerran, United States army, the chief quartermaster of the department, who has kept the troops in that distant region supplied in spite of the most discouraging obstacles and difficulties—not the least of these the sudden dashes upon trains and herds in so long a line of communication—deserves the special notice of the War Department” •

—The United States bark Roebuck captured the British sloop Nina, in Indian River, Florida.—An expedition from the United States steamer Tahoma destroyed some important rebel salt-works, situated on Goose Greek, Florida.— (Doc. 90.)

February 25.—The following was published in Richmond, Va.:

“General Bragg has been assigned to duty in Richmond as consulting and advisory General. We regard the appointment as one very proper, and believe that it will conduce to the advancement and promotion of the cause. General Bragg has unquestionable abilities, which eminently fit him for such a responsible position. The country will be pleased to see his experience and information made use of by the President. His patriotism and zeal for the public service are fully recognized and appreciated by his countrymen. The duties of the commander-in-chief, who, under the constitution, can be no other than the President, are most arduous, and require much aid and assistance as well as ability and experience. General Bragg has acquired, by long service, that practical experience necessary to the position to which he is assigned by the general order published in to-day’s Enquirer.

“An erroneous impression obtains as to the nature of this appointment of General Bragg. He is not and cannot be commander-in-chief. The Constitution of the confederate States makes the President the commander-in-chief. General Bragg is detailed for duty in Richmond ‘under’ the President He does not rank General Lee nor General Johnston. He cannot command or direct them, except ‘by command of the President.’ His appointment has been made with the knowledge and approval of Generals Cooper, Lee, Johnston, and Beauregard, all his superiors in rank, who, knowing and appreciating the usefulness and ability of General Bragg, concur in his appointment by the President.—Richmond Enquirer.

—Fort Powell, situated below Mobile, Ala., was bombarded by the ships belonging to the National fleet.—The British sloop Two Brothers, from Nassau, N. P., was captured in Indian River, abreast of Fort Capron, Florida, by the National bark Roebuck.

February 24. — A police magistrate at St. John’s, New-Brunswick, ordered the Chesapeake pirates to be committed to be surrendered to the United States, upon charges of robbery, piracy, and murder.

February 23.—On the publication of the currency bill, passed by the rebel Congress, a panic seized the people of Richmond, and many tradesmen closed their shops. Brown sugar sold for twelve dollars and fifty cents by the hogshead, and whiskey, which a few days before sold for twenty dollars a gallon, could not be purchased for one hundred and twenty dollars.—The Second Massachusetts regiment of infantry left Boston, to rejoin the Twelfth army corps, under General Grant. The Twenty-third regiment also left Boston for Newport News, Va.

February 22.—Two companies of the Thirty-fourth Kentucky infantry (A and I) were engaged in a hand-to-hand encounter of about four hours’ duration, against superior numbers of the enemy. The rebels, about five hundred strong, attacked them at Powell’s River Bridge, Tenn., at six o’clock A.M., and after making four separate charges on the bridge, which were gallantly met and repulsed, the rebels were driven from their position and compelled to retreat in disorder, leaving horses, saddles, arms, etc., on the field. They took most of their dead and wounded with them.

There were a great many daring acts of bravery committed; but as the whole affair is one of the most brilliant of the war, it would be almost impossible to make any distinction. There is one, however, that is well worth recording. The attack was made by infantry, while the cavalry prepared for a charge. The cavalry was soon in line and moving on the bridge; on they came in a steady, solid column, covered by the fire of their infantry. In a moment the Nationals saw their perilous position, and Lieutenant Slater called for a volunteer to tear up the boards to prevent their crossing. There was some hesitation, and in a moment all would have been lost, had not one William Goss (company clerk of company I) leaped from the intrenchments, and, running to the bridge under the fire of about four hundred guns, threw ten boards off into the river, and returned unhurt. This prevented the capture of the whole force.—Louisville Journal.

—A fight occurred near Mulberry Gap, Tenn., between the Eleventh Tennessee cavalry and a body of rebels, in which the National troops were obliged to retreat

—Lieutenant-General J. B. Hood, of the rebel army, in an address to his old division, concludes as follows:

“A stern conflict is before us; other hardships must be borne, other battles fought, and other blood shed; but we have nothing to fear if we only prove ourselves worthy of independence—it is ours, but our armies must deliver us. With them we must blaze a highway through our enemies to victory and to peace. In the trials and dangers that are to come, I know you will claim an honorable share, and win new titles to the admiration and love of your country; and in the midst of them, whether I am near you or far from you, my heart will be always there; and when this struggle is over, I shall look upon no spectacle with so much pleasure as upon my old comrades, who have deserved so well of their country, crowned with its blessings and encompassed by its love.”

—A small force of National troops left Hilton Head, S. C, in transports, and proceeded up the Savannah River to Williams’s Island, arriving at that place about dark yesterday. A company of the Fourth New-Hampshire regiment landed in small boats and made a reconnoissance, in the course of which they met a small body of the enemy. The Nationals lost four men of the Eighty-fifth Pennsylvania. This morning the Union forces withdrew, bringing twenty prisoners. The reconnoissance was highly successful.

—This morning, about eleven o’clock, as a detachment of the Second Massachusetts cavalry, under command of Captain J. S. Read, who had been out on a scouting expedition, were returning toward Dranesville, Va., on the way to Vienna, they were attacked on the Dranesville Pike, about two miles from the latter place, by a gang of rebel guerrillas, supposed to be under Mosby, concealed in the pines. In the detachment of the Second Massachusetts there were one hundred and fifty men, while Mosby had at least between two and three hundred men. The Second Massachusetts were fired upon from the dense pine woods near Dranesville, and retreated. Afterward eight of their men were found dead and seven wounded, and at least fifty or seventy-five were taken prisoners, or missing. Among the prisoners was Captain Manning, of Maine. Captain J. S. Read, the commander of the detachment, was shot through the left lung, and died a few moments after being wounded.

February 21.—A plot to escape, set on foot by the rebel prisoners confined at Columbus, Ohio, was discovered and frustrated.

February 20.—The battle of Olustee, Florida, was fought this day by the National forces under the command of General Seymour and the rebels under General Caesar Finnegan.—(Doc. 87.)

—The rebel schooner Henry Colthurst, from Kingston, Jamaica, with a cargo of the munitions of war for the confederate government, and other articles of merchandise, was captured, near San Luis Pass, by the National schooner Virginia.

February 19.—A fight took place at Waugh’s Farm, twelve miles north-east of Batesville, Ark. About a hundred men, composed of company I, Eleventh Missouri cavalry, and Fourth Arkansas infantry, under command of Captain William Castle, of the Eleventh Missouri, out on a foraging expedition, with a large train of wagons in charge, were attacked by three hundred men under Rutherford. They were taken by surprise, but fought desperately against greatly superior numbers.

The rebels retreated across White River, having lost six killed and ten wounded. Of the Nationals, Captain Castle and private Alfred Wilgus, of company I, Eleventh Missouri cavalry, and a man of the Fourth Arkansas infantry, were killed. Wounded—Sergeant F. M. Donaldson, severely in the thigh and abdomen ; William Ball, severely in the foot; John II. Brandon, in both hands and breast, slightly; all of company I, Eleventh Missouri.

The Nationals lost forty prisoners, mostly teamsters, about thirty horses, and sixty wagons were burnt, and the teams, six mules to each, carried off.—Sergeant Spencer’s Account.

—The Twenty-first, Forty-seventh, and One Hundred and Eighteenth regiments of Indiana volunteers, returned to Indianapolis, and met with an enthusiastic welcome.

February 18.—An expedition, consisting of four hundred men belonging to the National cavalry, under General Gregg, left Warrenton, Va., last night, to examine the country in the direction of Middleburgh and Aldie. This evening the party returned, bringing in twenty-eight of Mosby’s rebel guerrillas and fifty-one horses. On their return they were charged on by the rest of the guerrilla band, for the purpose of retaking their fellows, but the charge was repulsed, and one more prisoner added to those already in the hands of the Union cavalry.