by John Beauchamp Jones
JUNE 28TH.—Bright and cool—a little rain last night.
The Departmental Battalion is still kept out. They have built a line of fortifications four miles long—to Deep Bottom from near Chaffin’s Farm. The Secretary of War intimates that these clerks are kept out by Gen. R. E. Lee.
The superintendent of the Central Railroad informed the Secretary of War to-day that the road would be reopened toStaunton on Thursday (day after to-morrow), such is the slight damage done by the enemy. He asks that the bridge near Hanover Junction be defended, that being the only part of the road that can be much injured by a small raiding party. And he don’t want the papers to say anything about the reopening of the road.
The news from the North, that Congress has refused to repeal the $300 clause in their military bill—allowing drafted men to buy out at $300 each—and the rise of gold to $2.30 for $1—together with the apparent or real inertia of Grant, seem to inspire great confidence in our people to-day. They think the worst is really over, and so do I.
My little garden, during the month of June, has saved me $150. A single cabbage head to-day in market was sold for $10. Although the joint salaries of Custis and myself amount now to $8000 per annum, we have the greatest difficulty to subsist. I hope we shall speedily have better times, and I think, unless some terrible misfortune happens to our arms, the invader will surely be soon hurled from our soil. What President Lincoln came to Grant for is merely conjecture—unquestionably he could not suggest any military enterprise more to our detriment than would occur to his generals.
