Monday, April 30, 2012

April 30 - Tennessee Civil War Notes

April 30, 1863 - The war against prostitution in Memphis 
Closing Houses of Ill Fame. -- It is a fact too notorious that our city at the present time is a perfect bee hive of women of ill fame. The public conveyances here become theirs by right of conquest, so much so, that a lady fears to side through the streets for fear of being classed with them. To a certain extent the steamboats plying between this and other cities North of here have not the same respectability that characterized them in former years. In fact morality, from importation of lewd women from the North, is almost at a discount. It is no common occurrence to see that class of beings walking arm and arm with men who wear the apparel of gentlemen, who are here in civil as well as military capacity, in broad daylight, to the infinite satisfaction of the women and the great annoyance to respectable people. The nuisance can be stopped, will it be? An order closing houses of ill-fame, punishing officers and soldiers for associating with the inmates of those houses and making it a heavy penalty for steamboatmen to bring lewd women down the river would no doubt have the desired effect.

Memphis Bulletin, April 30, 1863.

 

 

30, "Reducing the Poor Man's Wages"
There are those in our country who, at all hazards, are resolved on holding on to the negro, and perpetuating slavery, even in the loyal region of East Tennessee. They know and feel that the people are sick and tired of fighting to perpetuate slavery in the Cotton States; that not one in ten of all the voters in East Tennessee have any interest in the institution; that they have seen their homes made desolate, and their loved ones slain and cruelly murdered on account of the nigger [sic]; that the spirit that actuated these outrages is showing itself as malignant as ever, under the guise of Unionism, [sic] and of upholding the constitution and laws, and finally, the real people see that there will be no peace in the country while the struggle is kept up to hold on to the disturbing element.
Gentlemen, with a view to carry the poor and laboring classes with them, at the ballot-box, to bolster up the institution, take the ground that if the negroes are emancipated, the competition will become so great between the negroes and the laboring classes of the whites, that poor men will have to work for nothing. This is all stuff. The emancipating of negroes will not increase their numbers, but diminish them. They are already here, and as slaves are in competition with white laborers, and really keep down the white man's wages. [sic] Emancipate them, and they will cease to be in competition with white laborers. Nay, more, our theory is, that in process of time they will, like the Indian tribes, become extinct.
But it is of no use to argue this question. The institution will be wiped out, and out to be, and that section that clings to it longest will see the most trouble, and the last to get rid of the horrors of war. Men who lend themselves to help bolster up slavery now, whether they own any or not, are in their own light, and will prove to be their own tormentors.
Brownlow's Whig and Independent Journal and Rebel Ventilator, April 30, 1864.


Friday, April 27, 2012

April 27 - Tennessee Civil War Notes

27, Confederate orders to burn all cotton on the banks of the Mississippi River
HDQRS. ARMY OF THE WEST, Memphis, Tenn., April 27, 1862.
Capt. JOHNSON, Memphis:
SIR: You will proceed in the steamer furnished for the purpose by the quartermaster along the Mississippi River. You will inform the planters on its banks that the river is now open to the enemy, and that the interests of our country demand that they shall at once destroy all of their cotton. No time is to be lost in the execution of this duty. Should any hesitate or fail to comply with your call upon them, you will yourself take possession of and burn the cotton, taking care to injure no other property.
It is made your duty to see that all of the cotton within reach of the river is destroyed at once. The proprietors will take an account of the amount destroyed, as you will of all which you may have to destroy yourself. These orders are given to you by Gen. Van Dorn under instructions from Gen. Beauregard.
In executing the above orders you will go as far up and down the Mississippi as the gunboats of the enemy will allow; and in the event of your being pursued by them, if you cannot run your boat into a place of security from them, you must, on abandoning, destroy her, to prevent the enemy from getting possession of her.
Very respectfully, yours,
DABNEY H. MAURY, Assistant Adjutant-Gen.
(Copies to Lieut. Hill, Capt. Lyles, Capt. Clendening, Memphis.)
OR, Ser. I, Vol. 10, pt. II, p. 455.

 

 

27, "A Smuggler Caught."
A doctor who rejoices in the name of Woodson, Jon C. Woodson, not being satisfied with making a living by his legitimate profession, tried the smuggling dodge, hoping thereby to make his pocketbook a little more plethoric, even if the contents was rebel scrip. To do this he purchased about 200 ounces of quinine, placed it in a secret part of his buggy, procured a pass and started on his winding way rejoicing. The detectives, however, had a sharp lookout for the gentleman, they being suspicious that all was not "on the square." After he had proceeded to within a few miles of the lines, those inquisitive gentlemen stopped his horse and asked the privilege of looking into the buggy of Dr. Woodson – They were not long is discovering the hidden treasure which was placed in the posession [sic] of the Provost Marshal for confiscation. There's a moral in the story, but the doctors says he can't see it.
Memphis Bulletin, April 27, 1863.


Thursday, April 26, 2012

April 26 - Tennessee Civil War Notes

26, "Palmyra True to the South;" demagoguery and enlistment in Clarksville
The citizens of Palmyra and its vicinity met here to-day, in obedience to a call made for the purpose of raising a volunteer company, to enlist in defense of Southern Rights.
S. F. Allen was called to the Chair, and Rbt. Eldridge appointed Sec'y.
Col. W. A. Quarles, of Clarksville, then took the stand, and addressed them, with great earnestness and ability, exposing the duplicity practiced upon the South by Lincoln and his Cabinet, condemning the vile and flagrant acts of usurpation by which they seek to carry out their unholy purpose of subjugating the Southern States. He proved conclusively that the "armed neutrality" position advocated by some, for Kentucky and Tennessee to assume tended only to assist the North. His speech was marked by sincerity and patriotic zeal, was every appropriate, effective, and well received. At the conclusion of which, it was moved by A. Outlaw, Esq., and seconded, that the resolutions presented by Col. W. A. Quarles, to the Southern Rights Association, held at Clarksville, on the 13th inst., as published, be adopted by this meeting, which was agreed to unanimously. Col. M. G. Gholson, having been solicited, gallantly accepted the invitation and announced that he would take command of a company of volunteers, if a sufficient number would enlist. Faster than the Secretary could record their names, 36 of the honest and patriotic young men offered themselves, and were well received.
Liberal contributions were made to supply them with provision while on drill.
The call then for a Home Guard was responded to by every man present, in the district. Col. Quarles proceeded to organize them, by having officer elected. W. B. Russell, Esq., was elected Captain; Mr. R. M. [?] Williamson, 1st Lieutenant; H. T. Oliphant, 2nd; M. C. Powers, Ensign; and S. A. Caldwell, O.S.
On motion of Col. Gholson, it was ordered, that the Clarksville papers be furnished with a report and requested to publish the proceedings of this meeting, which then adjourned, having been conducted with the most exemplary order, particularly characterized by unanimous feelings of indignation and defiance towards the North, and unflinching devoted [sic] to Southern Rights.
Clarksville Chronicle, April 26, 1861.

 

 

26, Skirmish at Atkins' Mill 
No circumstantial reports filed. 
Excerpt from the Report of Brig. Gen. Gordon Granger, U. S. Army, commanding cavalry division, of operations from April 23 to June 10, 1862, relative to the skirmish at Atkin's Mill, April 24, 1862.
HDQRS. CAVALRY DIVISION, ARMY OF THE MISSISSIPPI, Near Corinth, June 19, 1862.

GEN.: The division which I have the honor to command is composed of four regiments of cavalry, of twelve companies each, comprising the First Brigade, under Col. J. K. Mizner, consisting of the Third Michigan and Seventh Illinois, and the Second Brigade, consisting of the Second Iowa and Second Michigan, under Col. Elliott.
* * * * 

April 24.--Col. Elliott, commanding Second Brigade, with a battalion each of Second and Third Michigan, Second Iowa, and Seventh Illinois, proceeded to Greer's Ford. On the 26th Capt. Fowler, Second Michigan, while on escort duty with his company, was fired upon by the enemy's pickets, severely wounding Private John Foster, Company G. The enemy retreated, and the nature of the ground forbade much pursuit. Four companies, same regiment, under Maj. Shaw, drove in the enemy's pickets at Atkins' Mill. Had 1 man wounded. Col. Elliott's force for several days were continually scouring the country toward Monterey.
OR, Ser. I, Vol. 10, pt. I, p. 727.

 

 

26, "River Guerrillas in the West."
The announcement from Cairo a day or two since that Gen. Ellet's Marine brigade and Gen. Fitch's gunboats had cleared the banks of the Cumberland river of guerrillas was followed yesterday by; the account of the capture of two steamboats, the Alhambra and the Hope, with valuable cargoes, by the guerrillas on the self-same river. The work of Ellet and Fitch was not so thoroughly done, then, but that it requires immediately to be done over.
So far as the Cumberland river is concerned, a little experience will teach our Western Commanders the impracticability of dislodging guerrillas from its banks so long as a disloyal population remains in the country bordering on the river, and armed bands from the rebel army are able to reach that population land stimulated it with the hope of eventual rebel success. No river in the world is better adapted than the Cumberland to the successful operations of guerrillas. The stream is narrow, and the banks on each side are mostly precipitous, ragged, rocky cliffs, from 75 to 150 feet height. It is the easiest thing for armed men to hide themselves in the glades crowning these cliffs and fire down upon passing boats. To return the fire effectively from boats, with any sort of cannon, is simply impossible; and if pursuit be assayed, a boat fired upon might have to run some miles up or down, before a suitable place to land emerge from the bluffs could be found. In the meantime, the guerrillas would have ample time to escape.
With the best intentions and the best service it is possible for men to give, it will be found impracticable to suppress the system of guerrilla warfare by attacking if from the water. The disease is in the body politic in the country through which the rivers run. It must be purged from the interior before it ceases to break out upon the rivers. And this can only be accomplished by advancing southward the lines of the Union army by successful battles -- by strengthening the lines when advanced, and connecting them closely from Memphis to Nashville, so as to make it impossible of rebel bands to appear among the population of Southern Kentucky and Tennessee, to keep alive their rebel sympathies and excite their hopes of reel success. When this result can be established, we shall be rid of guerrillas on the Tennessee, Cumberland and Mississippi Rivers -- not before.
New York Times, April 26, 1863.

 

 

26, 1864 - Entry in Alice Williamson's Diary, Sumner County
Weather beautiful. Yanks behaving like human beings with a few exceptions. Today a Yankee officer made his appearance in the school room accompanied by a Northern being whom I supposed to be a man, as he was not a gentleman; he came to look at the church saying that he was president of a school and six of his assistants had just arrived and was going to teach the "freedmen" He says he will have 3 or 400 scholars and will need the largest house in town. What a learned city - or rather yankee nest - this will be. I suppose some of us citizens will get a situation as assistant teacher in the "Freedmens University."
Williamson Diary

 

 

26, Anti-guerrilla mopping up initiative on East Bank of Holston River
HDQRS. DISTRICT OF EAST TENNESSEE, Knoxville, Tenn., April 26, 1865.
Col. J. H. PARSONS, Cmdg. Ninth Tennessee Cavalry:
SIR: If the Rogersville Branch Railroad is in such condition as to enable you to procure supplies at its terminus, I wish you to move with your whole regiment to the east bank of the Holston River. Arrived there, you will leave all your impediments on the east side, and with the mounted portion of your regiment you will cross the river and thoroughly scour and clear of guerrilla and other bands of outlaws all that portion of East Tennessee and Southwestern Virginia lying between the Holston River on the east and the Cumberland Mountains on the west. In the performance of this duty you are authorized and instructed to use the utmost vigorous and severe measures. The persons with whom you have to deal are outlaws so long as they are at liberty, and as such should be treated. When taken prisoners they must be treated as prisoners, and are entitled to trial, which takes time and entails trouble and expense. Give them to understand that no false mercy will be shown them and no prisoners taken, and that every man found in arms under whatever pretense, and acting without authority from Federal officers or the legally constituted authorities of the State of Tennessee, will be treated as a public enemy and an outlaw and killed like a mad dog by any one who meets him. See that your command does not interfere in any way, either in their persons or their property, with the peaceably disposed, and with those who stay at home and mind their own business. In case the railroad is not in running order to the Holston River you will make your depot camp at or near the Rogersville Junction, from which point you will draw your supplies. You will give all the aid and assistance in your power to all civil officers in the execution of their functions, and urge upon the people the necessity of re-establishing civil authority and the supremacy of State laws as soon as possible, and before the U. S. forces are disbanded or withdrawn from this section of the country. Make me, either by courier or telegraph, a daily report of your operations.
I am, colonel, very respectfully, &c.,
GEORGE STONEMAN, Maj.-Gen., Cmdg.
OR, Ser. I, Vol. 49, pt. II, pp. 475-476.


Wednesday, April 25, 2012

April 25 - Tennessee Civil War Notes

25, Forrest's command conducts conscript sweep and arrests deserters from his command in West Tennessee
HDQRS. FORREST'S CAVALRY, Jackson, April 25, 1864.
Lieut. Col. THOMAS M. JACK, Assistant Adjutant-Gen.:
COL.:...My entire command is engaged conscripting and arresting deserters. They are scattered in all directions, but are moving toward this place; will have all concentrated here by the 30th, and will reach Tupelo by the 5th or 6th proximo. I shall move myself via Bolivar and Ripley, and nay dispatches for me will meet me on the road.
I would be glad if the cars would run as far above Tupelo as possible, as I have about 30,000 pounds of bacon which I shall carry in wagons to Corinth, and send it down for my command on hand-cars until it meas a train.
I am, colonel, very respectfully, yours, &c.,
N. B. FORREST, Maj.-Gen.
OR, Ser. I, Vol. 32, pt. III, pp. 821-822.

 

25, Major-General Nathan Bedford Forrest on the "massacre at Fort Pillow"
HDQRS. FORREST'S CAVALRY, Jackson, April 25, 1864.
Lieut.-Gen. POLK, Cmdg. Department:
GEN.:
* * * * 
Much having been said in the Northern press in regard to the massacre at Fort Pillow , I shall forward you by next courier copies of all the correspondence in regard to the demand for surrender and a statement of all material facts; an extra copy of same will also be sent you, with a request to forward to the President. Capt. Young, the provost-marshal at Fort Pillow, now a prisoner, can corroborate all the facts, as he was the bearer of the enemy's flag of truce, and it would be well to have him taken care of on that account.
I am, general, very respectfully, yours, &c.,
N. B. FORREST, Maj.-Gen.
OR, Ser. I, Vol. 32, pt. III, p. 822


Tuesday, April 24, 2012

April 23 - Tennessee Civil War Notes

23, 1862 - Confederate Proclamation to the Disaffected People of East Tennessee
PROCLAMATION.
The major-general commanding this department, charged with the enforcement of martial law, believing that many of its citizens have been misled into the commission of treasonable acts through ignorance of their duties and obligations to their State, and that many have actually fled across the mountains and joined our enemies under the persuasion and misguidance of supposed friends but designing enemies, hereby proclaims:
1st. That no person so misled who comes forward, declares his error, and takes the oath to support the Constitution of the State and of the Confederate States shall be molested or punished on account of past acts or words.
2d. That no person so persuaded and misguided as to leave his home and join the enemy who shall return within thirty days of the date of this proclamation, acknowledge his error, and take and oath to support the Constitution of the State and of the Confederate States shall be molested or punished on account of past acts or words.
After thus announcing his disposition to treat with the utmost clemency those who have been led away from the true path of patriotic duty the major-general commanding furthermore declares his determination henceforth to employ all the elements at his disposal for the protection of the lives and property of the citizens of East Tennessee, whether from the incurious of the enemy or the irregularities of his own troops and for the suppression of all treasonable practices.
He assures all citizens engaged in cultivating their farms that he will protect them in their rights, and that he will suspend the militia draft under the State laws that they me raise crops for consumption in the coming year.
He invokes the zealous co-operation of the authorities and of all good people to aid him in his endeavors.
The courts of criminal jurisdiction will continue to exercise their functions, save the issuing of writs of habeas corpus. Their writs will be served and their decrees executed by the aid of the military when necessary.
When the courts fail to preserve the peace or punish offenders against the laws these objects will be attained through the action of military tribunals and the exercise of the force of his command.
E. KIRBY SMITH, Maj.-Gen., Cmdg. Department of East Tennessee.
HDQRS. DEPARTMENT OF EAST TENNESSEE, Office Provost-Marshal, April 23, 1862.
To the Disaffected People of East Tennessee:
The undersigned, in executing martial law in this department, assures those interested, who have fled to the enemy's lines and who are actually in their army, that he will welcome their return to their homes and their families. They are offered amnesty and protection if they come to lay down their arms and act as loyal citizens within the thirty days given them by Maj.-Gen. E. Kirby Smith to do so.
At the end of that time those failing to return to their homes and accept the amnesty thus offered and provide for and protect their wives and children in East Tennessee will have them sent to their care in Kentucky or beyond the Confederate States lines at their won expense.
All that leave after this date with a knowledge of the above acts their families will be sent immediately after them. The women and children must be taken care of by husbands and fathers either in East Tennessee or in the Lincoln Government.
W. M. CHURCHWELL, Col. and Provost-Marshal.
OR, Ser. I, Vol. 10, pt. II, pp. 640-641.
See also OR, Ser. II, Vol. I, pp. 882, 884.

 

 

23, 1864 - Report of the capture of the Reynolds' guerrilla band at Lick Creek, Greene county
CAPTURE OF A BAND OF THEIVES.
A few days ago, that most efficient of our Federal scouts, Capt. Reynolds, in command of about fifty picked men visited Greene county for the purpose of breaking up a nest of twenty five thieves and murderers, under the command of a villain by the name of Reynolds [sic], who have been for months robbing Union houses and killing Union citizens. They were an independent organization, and had done as much real and hellish work as any equal number of assassins in the rebel service. Our troops came upon them o­n the workers of Lick Creek, some ten or twelve miles from Greeneville, and killed ten, and captured the remaining fifteen with their infamous leader included, bringing them all to this city and the leader of the gang in irons.  We think our soldiers are to blame for making prisoners out of any of them – they ought all to have been executed o­n the spot.
Knoxville Whig and Rebel Ventilator, April 23, 1864.



April 24 - Tennessee Civil War Notes

24, Engagement at Green Bottom Bar, Tennessee River (U.S.N.)
Report of William Griswold, acting Master, commanding U.S. Gunboat Emma Duncan, on engagement at Green Bottom Bar, Tennessee River, April 24, 1863.
Fort Heiman, April 24, 1863
Sir: I have the honor to state that while on my way to report to Lieutenant-Commander LeRoy Fitch, senior officer, Tennessee River Squadron, I was attacked at a place called Green Bottom Bar, on the east bank of the river, early this morning (2 o'clock), by a strong party; of guerrillas with four pieces of light artillery. This place is one of the worst in the river navigation, so the pilots describe it. I have given orders to my executive officer to go to general quarters for the purpose of exercise at 2 o'clock a.m., as the crew had never been drilled. Had not been at quarters more than five minutes when the enemy; opened fire. One shot (shrapnel) came in forward through the iron sheathing, struck the reinforce band of No. 1, first division, and exploded, mangling the right arm of 2 men and left of another to such an extent that immediate amputation was decided upon by the surgeon, which was successfully performed. When close abreast the enemy, I ordered the pilot to stop the ship, as I wished to engage the broadside on, but he reported the channel too narrow to work the vessel in that position. I accordingly went ahead, using my broadside guns as long as they could be brought to bear. Having reached a good position, I brought my stern guns into action, and , I think, though it was very dark, with nothing but the flash of the guns to reveal their position, they did good service, as in a short time the enemy used but one gun and soon ceased firing entirely. My attention was then called to the fact that the enemy were making signals -- burning a red and blue light -- which were answered on the western bank in a bad place (the pilot said). I immediately ordered the pilot to go ahead under full steam and shelled the woods on both sides in those places that were suspicious, but elicited no response, though lights were seen moving about in one place a number of camp fires. On inspection, it was found that the enemy had hulled [sic] us seven times. One shell came in aft and burst over the heads of the second division, tearing away the hammock carline and the cabin floor, but did not injure materially a man; others came through the wheelhouse, causing but little damage, however. The cabin and wardroom suffered badly in their light work.
As the enemy could not be found, I proceeded up the river and, pursuant to order, reported to Lieutenant-Commander LeRoy Fitch, commanding gunboat Lexington. As he was coming down to this place, I was ordered to follow him. On passing Green Bottom Bar nothing was to be seen of the enemy.
My pilots say it was without doubt Forrest's light artillery. They are evidently well drilled and their sharpshooters skillful.
I also beg leave to state that the conduct of my officers and men was highly honorable....
I have the honor to remain, most respectfully, your obedient servant,
William Griswold, Acting Master, Commanding
Navy OR, Ser. I, Vol 24, pp. 86-87.

 

 

April, Sunday 24, 1864
This has been a terible day of excitement, two wagons from Memphis came out and camped in front of our gate all day, the Yanks did not bother them this morning only to take some Whiskey - two Confederate Soldiers were sitting in the Parlor all the time they were here, they did not see them coming in time to run, but fortunately they did not come in the Parlor. Mr. Falls and Miss McKinney, Sister of one of the Soldiers, came out to see them, the other Soldier was Mr. Hutchinson. I sent a package of Papers and letters to Mobile by Mr. McKinney, they had not more than rode out of sight when five Yanks came up all drunk, they robbed those people with the wagons of all their money, drank up all the whiskey and treated them shamefully, they had not been gone long before three Confederates, John & William Hildebrand and Ben Henderson came riding up, we told them about it, they rode off full speed, in a little while we heard firing, continued about five minutes, then all quiet. Father and Uncle Elam went down to Dave Hildebrand's after tea, our boys just left all right, - they met the Yanks returning, only four, and they frightened to death almost - no particulars. I am very much afraid, Laura, the Goslins, Tip and I all alone. 
DIARY OF BELLE EDMONDSON 

January - November, 1864


Friday, April 20, 2012

April 20 - Tennessee Civil War Notes

April 20, 1862
 20, The Bank of Tennessee and the United States Court in Nashville
The Nashville Union, of April 20, has these items:
"We are told that the Bank of Tennessee, and perhaps, the other banks, have removed their deposits and all their specie into the Southern Confederacy. If this be so, it is a gross outrage o­n the rights of the depositors, and the officers should be held strictly accountable. Let it be investigated forthwith. The amount placed in the Bank by depositors amounted, according to its own report, to the enornmous sum of $8,865,000. Have the people been robbed of all this by an institution favored with the peculiar privilege by the State?
The April Term of the United States Court for the District of Tennessee will commence o­n Monday (to-morrow) the 21st inst. His Honor Judge Catron, who is now in the city, will preside. It will doubtless be o­ne of the emost deeply interesting Courts ever convened in this country."
New York Times, April 27, 1862.

 

20, Elvira Powers' visit to the Refugee Home in Nashville
Visited the Refugee Home this P. M. As I entered one room, a woman was bustling about in a great passion, and picking up a few personal rags, while ordering her son to get up and they would find a place to stay where shouldn't be "set to do niggar's [sic] work!"
She was a healthy, strong woman, and had been repeatedly requested to make her own and son's bed, and assist in sweeping or cooking for the numerous inmates. Indeed, I think she had received a gentle hint that it might be as well to see that her son and herself hand clean linen as often as once in two or three weeks, and that the use of a comb occasionally would not detract from personal appearance. But she had her own peculiar ideas, obtained from living under the domination of a peculiar institution, and didn't fancy being dictated to in the delicate matter of her personelle. [sic]
 
Upon entering what is called the lecture-room we saw several families and parts of families, which had within two hours arrived on the trains from Alabama or Georgia.
I found that some of these snuff-dipping, clay-colored, greasy and uncombed ladies "from Alabam and Gorgee," [sic] are as expert marksmen as any of our northern exquisites, as the deposit the 'terbaker' juice most beautifully into and around any knot-hole or crack in the floor, and while they are at a distance of several feet. Its wonderful how they do it -- I am afraid I should never be able to learn.
We approach one woman who is standing by a rough board bunk, upon and around which are several children overcome by the fatigue of travelling [sic]. She, unlike the generality, is neatly dressed in a clean dark calico and sunbonnet, and wears a cheerful and intelligent look. She informs us that these are all her children -- six of them, that her husband is in the Union army, only a few miles out, that he had sent for to come here, and she expects to see him in a few days. She cannot write, for she hasn't been to school a day in her life, and she says: --[sic]
 
"An' that thar's suthin' you people hev' up north, thet we don't. Poor folks that, hev' a chance to give thar children some larnin'; but them that owns plantations down our way don't give poor folks a chance. Larnin's only for rich folks. But my children shan't grow up to not know no more nor that father nor thar mother, ef I kin'help it. Ef this war don't close so's to make it better for poor folks down har, well go north. Thar's a woman what kin' write, 'she adds with an admiring glance to the other side of the room, 'an'she's writin' a letter for me to my husband.'
We glance that way, and see a youngish woman, whose entire clothing evidently consists of one garment, a dress which is colored with some kind of bark. She sits in conscious superiority, scarcely deigning to notice up, as we approach, while he is carefully managing the writing with one eye, while her head is turned half way from it, so that the ashes or coal, from the long pipe between her lips, man not fall upon the paper. Her air and manner are evidently intended to be regal, for isn't she the woman "what kin'write!" [sic]
 
At a little distance sat a hale, broad-shouldered, stalwart men, who looked as if he were able to do the work of half a dozen common men, who inquired of us, where "'Hio [sic] was -- if 'twas in Illinois' -- and whether if he went to either of those places he would be "pressed into the service." In reply, we informed the gentleman that "Ohio was not in Illinois," but if he went to either, he would probably have to stand his chance of being drafted, together with other good loyalists -- with the physicians, lawyers, editors, and ministers. He did not reply to that, but his look spoke eloquently.
"For a lodge in some vast wilderness,--
Some boundless contiguity of shade
 
Where war and draft not come."
Miss Ada M., the Matron of the Refugee Home, was, in our room this eve, and said that she was yesterday preparing some sewing for some young Misses, who were conversing earnestly about the Yankees. Finding their ideas rather erroneous with regard to that class of people, she made a remark to the effect that she was one herself.
"Why, you aint a Yankee?" [sic] exclaimed a Miss of fifteen dropping her work in bland astonishment.
"Yes, indeed, I am," was the reply.
"Why," said the girl, with remarkably large eyes, "I've allays hearn [sic] tell that the Yankees has horns, and one eye in the middle of their foreheads!" [sic]
 
Powers, Pencillings, pp. 54-59.


Thursday, April 19, 2012

April 19 - Tennessee Civil War Notes

19, "Mechanics and Refugees."
The depots, on Sunday, were crowded with refugees, and mechanics, the former from below, and the latter from above, and their destination respectively North and South. Several families of refugees, with an almost unlimited number of flax-haired children, left in the train for Louisville yesterday morning.
Nashville Dispatch, April 19, 1864.

 

19, Elopement and Cuckholdry in Nashville
"Sloped and Eloped"
Dame Rumor says that before the "snaik man sloped," [sic] a former Lieutenant in the Federal army eloped with the wife of a friend, leaving the disconsolate husband and interesting children to take care of themselves. What the said Lieutenant has done, or intends to do, with his own wife, the good dame is not advised, but promises developments in due course.*
Nashville Dispatch, April 19, 1864.
* Ed. note - apparently the story dropped from the columns and no new news about the story was printed.


Wednesday, April 18, 2012

April 18 - Tennessee Civil War Notes

 "Why, it has turned out like the other promises of rich rebels to the victims whom they have trapped in their damnable net."
Rebel Liberality to the Poor.
Some "Old Treasures"—The Poor Used as Catspaws by Rich Rebels.
In the Nashville Union and American of April 22d, 1861, the bloody-minded Secession organ which called for confiscation, banishment, imprisonment and hanging for all who remained loyal to the Union, we find this exceedingly magnanimous and stirring offer from o­ne of our citizens. The editor of the Union calls it— 
The Voice of a Venerable Patriot.—R. C. Foster, Sr., sends to the Patriot the following patriotic proposition, which we gladly publish:
["]Nashville, April 22, 1861.
To the Editors of the Patriot: From age and infirmity I am unable to do service o­n the battle-field for the rights of the South; but I am a volunteer with any number of Tennesseans under like disability, to pay annually to the Governor of Tennessee two hundred dollars for the comfort and support of the wives and children of the citizens soldiers of Tennessee, whilst serving in defence of the constitutional rights of the South.
R. C. Foster, Sr.["]
Noble, warm and generous proposition! It does credit to humanity. The promise held out is splendid. We have no doubt that many a poor mechanic, many a needy laborer as he embraced and kissed his wife and children before going into the rebel army pointed his family to this generous card, and consoled them in their bitter bereavement by exhibiting it all-comprehensive philanthropy. What about the fulfillment of the promise? Has it ever happened? Who has heard of it being done? What has become of this fostering care so kindly pledged to the poor? Why, it has turned out like the other promises of rich rebels to the victims whom they have trapped in their damnable net. We published the other day a list of cards from wealthy Nashville rebels, similar to the o­ne which we have given above, in the magnificence of their promises and the nothingness of their fulfillment. Yes, confiding and misguided men have been seduced from their country's flag, and their dependent families, and are now wandering utterly deserted, friendless and penniless, in distant States, abandoned by the very tempters whose poisoned tongues and hollow professions corrupted, misled and ruined them. The Secretary of the Sanitary Commission at St. Louis wrote to Gov. Johnson o­n the 19th of March, that citizens of Tennessee formerly belonging to the rebel army were "wandering through the streets of that city without the means of living or returning to their homes." Gov. Johnson called upon the men of this place who had made so grandiloquent promises for aid, but not o­ne dollar has been given! There is the real spirit of the Secession leaders. They are eager to use the poor as tools to do their work, and then cast them contemptuously away when they have got into power. The rebel organ itself, the Nashville Union and American, could not refrain from rebuking the extortion practiced by the wealthy upon the poor, and denounced it in its issue of September 18, 1861, in these terms:
 ["]We have an army of women in our midst, with an average of three children each, whose husbands are fighting out battles. These mothers earn about thirty cents a day, when they can get the work to do. Their helpless offspring are clad in the thin and worn garments of last spring, shoeless and stockingless. They are to be shod and clothed for the winter, and fed, even if it be upon cheap bread alone. Yesterday reminded us that they must have fires to protect them from "winter's chilly blasts." There is within the limits of the city a sufficiency of coal. If economically used, to last until spring. This coal cost o­nly peace prices to mine and deliver it here, and twenty days ago, as we are informed, it could have been bought at twenty cents per bushel, and a handsome bonus would have been paid to the person who would have found a purchaser, because it would have been a good speculation o­n the part of holders to have sold out at that rate. Yesterday thirty five and forty cents per bushel were demanded, with an intimation that to day the price may be fifty cents.
In the name of humanity, shall this army of women and helpless children, the wives and children of the brave men who are paying their lives that we may have peace and independence—freeze, because the exorbitant prices demanded by holders had placed coal out of the reach of their limited means? A more gloomy prospect for winter certainly never has hung over the poor of this city and especially in cases where the heads of families have gone to drive the invaders from Southern soil. Almost every necessity of life has gone up to worse even than famine prices. It really seems as if sharpers had combined to monopolize the trade, and to fatten upon the necessities of those who are fighting the battles of their country. We hear o­ne universal complaint that the prices of almost every comfort as well as necessity, are exorbitantly high. The people, who [illegible] now by their labor than they did before the war commenced, cannot [illegible] stand or appreciate this [illegible] advance and they naturally conclude that speculators are at the [illegible] We are at a loss to how the poor of Nashville are to be cared for the coming winter, under the circumstance s that surround us.
 The course pursued by tradesmen generally in the South has produced a great deal of discontent, and not without apparent reason.["]
 Here we have a picture of wretchedness and suffering in the families of those who had gone off after these enemies of their race, Harris, Bishop, Polk, Cheatham, and others, which is enough to chill o­ne's blood. And this is precisely the goal of suffering to which this hellish rebellion is hurrying the masses with the swiftness of Niagara's rapid. The rich rebels and those belonging to the "first families," (which usually means those who manage to live without working or paying their debts,) get good offices, or else amass fortunes by speculating off the necessities and miseries of the poor.
Nashville Daily Union, April 18, 1862.

 

 

18-22, Anti-insurgent patrols, Fulton and Van Buren's landings, Tipton County, along Hatchie River to Brownsville, and Randolph, execution of guerrilla leader Wilcox

SPECIAL ORDERS, No. 102. HDQRS. DISTRICT OF WEST TENNESSEE, Memphis, Tenn., April 18, 1865.

For the purpose of capturing Quantill and his band of about sixty men now operating o­n the Hatchie River, and Mat Luxton, with his band of about twenty, now operating in the same region, and other enemies, the following troops, will be sent out, viz: Two hundred and fifty cavalry o­n the steamer John Raine, upon which they will embark at 5 p. m. to-day; 350 cavalry o­n barges in charge of steamers Raine and Cleona at same hour. The steamers will proceed up the river and land the troops o­n the barges at Randolph, and will then proceed immediately to Fulton and land the troops o­n the steamer. The steamer will then return to Fulton. The troops landed at Fulton will dash forward to Ripley and Brownsville, and will send a party to Brownsville Landing same night, where they will meet the steam-boats of the expedition. Two hundred of the troops landed at Randolph will dash forward to Covington, and will scour the country and reach Brownsville Landing same night. o­ne hundred and fifty cavalry will dash forward, via Portersville or Beaverdam, to Brownsville Landing, and pursue, destroy, and kill all guerrillas they may find. The steamers Cleona, Dove, and Pocahontas will proceed to-night at 5 o'clock up the Mississippi and Hatchie rivers, each with fifty cavalry and fifty infantry o­n board, and will form a junction with the rest of the command at Brownsville Landing. From that point the commander of the expedition will move as the object of the expedition may require, and will return to Memphis overland or by boat and barges as may be thought best. The cavalry will take three days' rations, and two days' rations of forage will be placed o­n o­ne of the Hatchie boats, and three days' rations for the men. All commanding officers are enjoined to maintain the strictest discipline and allow no marauding or ill treatment of citizens, but citizens must be required to give information in regard to guerrilla whereabouts so far as they know, or they will be regarded as harboring and encouraging them.

By order of Maj. Gen. C. C. Washburn:

OR, Ser. I, Vol. 49, pt. II, p 406.
washburn1u.JPG (15400 bytes)
Maj. Gen. C. C. Washburn



HDQRS. CAVALRY DIV., DISTRICT OF WEST TENNESSEE, Memphis, Tenn., April 22, 1865.

Maj. W. H. MORGAN, Assistant Adjutant-Gen.:

MAJ.: I have the honor to report that in obedience to Special Orders, No. 102, from your headquarters, I proceeded as follows: By steamer John Raine and barges, Fourth Illinois Volunteer Cavalry (250 men), Maj. Search; Third U. S. Colored Cavalry (250 men), Lieut.-Col. Cook; by steamers Sallie List, Dove, and Pocahontas, Eleventh Illinois Volunteer Cavalry (200 men), Maj. Davis. Disembarking the Third U. S. Colored Cavalry at Randolph, Lieut.-Col. Cook proceeded, via Covington, to Brownsville Landing, capturing o­ne _______ Wilcox, alias J. M. Luxton, who was in command of seven others, whom he was unable to capture. He could not reach Brownsville Landing, the country being flooded. Lieut. Col. Funke, in command of the troops sent up Hatchie River, proceeded up the Hatchie River, but the boats being unwieldy, pilots not acquainted with the river, made but little progress, and in order to reach Brownsville Landing to co-operate with the Fourth Illinois Cavalry he disembarked at Van Buren's Landing, marching from there to Brownsville, arriving there o­n the 21st. The Fourth Illinois Volunteer Cavalry, Maj. Search, disembarked at Fulton, which place was reached o­n the 19th at 12 p. m. At 3 p. m. the command moved to Brownsville, reaching that place at daylight o­n the 20th, capturing at that place nine prisoners (as per inclosed roll of prisoners of war) and Col. B. J. Lea, Capt. E. J. Martin, commissary of subsistence, and Lieut. S. M. Russell. The Fourth and Eleventh Illinois returned to Fulton in the afternoon of the 22d and embarked. The Sylph and Annie E, with Dove, Pocahontas, and Sallie Listarrived at mouth of Hatchie River at about the same time. Arriving at Randolph, Wilcox, alias Luxton, was tried by drum-head court-martial...and at 6.30 was by my order hung by the neck until he was dead, and left hanging as a warning to his brethren in crime. The command arrived at Memphis with total loss of o­ne man accidentally wounded and left. Eight horses died from buffalo gnats, and gained o­n the expedition twelve horses. People of the country were extremely friendly, and those in the vicinity of Brownsville can hereafter, in my opinion, take care of themselves. I am under obligations to the commanding officers of gun-boats 57 and 58 for valuable assistance.

I am, major, respectfully, your obedient servant,

E. D. OSBAND, Brevet Brig.-Gen.

OR, Ser. I, Vol. 49, pt. II, pp. 441-442.


Report of James Fitzpatrick, Acting Master, commanding U.S.S. Siren, Off Randolph, Tenn, April; 22, 1865

Sir: I most respectfully make the following report:

April 19 an expedition under command of Brigadier general Osband started for Brownsville, Tenn., in three columns; o­ne form this place, o­ne by way of Hatchee River, and o­ne from Fulton, Tenn.

They returned this afternoon, having been successful in capturing 1 colonel, 1 manor, 4 captains, 2 lieutenants, and 12 men, and killing General Shelby's adjutant. o­ne of the men captured is the fellow that has been passing for Luxton. General Osband hung him from a cottonwood tree at this place this evening; his body is still hanging from the tree.

He confessed to burning the St. Paul and to killing o­ne man o­n board of her. His proper name is Wilcox. His father lives in Memphis, Tenn.

The steamers Anna, Everton, and Sylph were not burned by the guerrillas. They came out of Hatchee [sic] River this afternoon.

Very respectfully, our obedient servant,

JAMES FITZPATRICK, Acting Master, U.S.S. Siren.

Navy OR, Ser. I, Vol. 27, p. 149.
Note: "Eight horses died from buffalo gnats...."

  

  

 

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April 17 - Tennessee Civil War Notes

17, Governor Isham G. Harris' reply to President Lincoln's request for Tennessee militia to support the defense of the Union
Executive Department
Nashville, Tennessee
April 17 1861
Hon. Simon Cameron

Secretary of War

Washington, D. C.
Sir:
Your dispatch of [the] 15th Inst. informing me that Tennessee is called upon for two regiments of militia for immediate service, is received.
Tennessee will not furnish a single man for the purposes of coercion but 50,000* if necessary for the defence of our rights and those of our Southern brothers.
Isham G. Harris
Governor of Tennessee
Messages of the Governors of Tennessee, Vol. 5, facing p. 273.
*Ed. note - in the original hand written note, Harris began to use the figure 75,000, but must have thought better of it and used the figure 50,000. Whether he was hedging his bets or was aware that it would be very difficult to raise 75,000 as opposed to 50,000 troops is not known.

 

 

17, "The Women of the Revolution"
There is nothing more striking in the proceedings connected with the revolution now in progress, than the part taken in it by the women of the South. They are bearing their full share of the burden, and performing to supererogation, duties they have undertaken on the impulse of a devoted and self-sacrificing patriotism. In sharing the privations, and assuming a share of the labors essential to the final success of the cause in which the country is now engaged, the ladies of the South have not forsaken that gentleness of demeanor, nor those retires and modest habits that make them so engaging and so lovable. What they do is performed under impulses that are kept within the sway of propriety, with the calmness of well-regulated reason, and the circumspectness that flows from good sense.
The have all the warmth of patriotism, and the desire to render personal service in their country's cause, that distinguished that miracle of her sex, JOAN OF ARC. [sic] But they have no wild imaginings, no mystical dreams; they hear no strange voices calling them to their country's aid, as did the inspired maid of Orleans. For the women of the South of this day to know their country requires their aid is enough -- they need no other call. Neither with JOAN OF ARC [sic] do they step from that gentle and loving domain where their mild graces, their quiet dignity, and their modest attractions make them so powerful, and so irresistible. They assume not, with the martyred JOAN, [sic] habiliments unbecoming her sex; they put on no coat of mail, they wield no sword, they march not at the head of advancing armies, nor mix in the blood and carnage of the battle. The pattern they imitate is no JOAN OF ARC, [sic] issuing the work of command, amid the clangor of arms; no CHARLOTTE CORDAY, [sic] apostophyzing [sic] liberty at the guillotine; but FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE, [sic] the noble woman who has demonstrated that patriotism can be allied with benevolence, and active service in the cause of the country with the retiring characteristics of the female sex.
Since the war broke out, how many thousands of our gentle countrywomen, ladies raised in affluence who fingers were more familiar with the piano keys than the needle, have spent months in laboriously sewing at the coarsest material to make clothing for our young men in the field. We have seen them from "early morn to dewy eve," seated patiently in some school-room, church or vestry, toiling as faithfully as the unhappy heroine of "The Song of the Shirt"[1] at their laborious task. A rude, rough, harsh task it was, but "the boys" wanted clothing, and the country wanted the boys, and that was incentive enough and payment enough.
At the moment we are writing, hundreds of the gentlest ladies of the city are leaving their elegant homes where all the appliances and luxuries wealth procures surround them, to spend the day in hospitals, where sick and wounded soldiers are detained from their active duties in the field by wasting suffering. Overcoming the disgust that the least fastidious must feel at entering rooms crowded with beds, in which lie patients moaning with pain or wasting with disease, they seat themselves beside the sufferers couch; no, not crouch, but plain, prosy, hospital pallet, and look on and aid while the physician lays bare gaping wounds, while blood flows, and the lance pierces the torn flesh. They cool the brow with icy applications, smooth the pillow, administer the necessary potions, kindly coax the sufferer to partake of food offered with smiles, and reasoned with words of sympathy, and soft, womanly winningness, that is of itself the best of all medicine to the sick and suffering soldier, who can have no fond mother, no loving sister to watch, and soothe, and comfort in the pain, the lassitude, and the weary, weary hours of sleepless restlessness. Often we have watched delicately raised ladies performing kindnesses such as these, and more than it is necessary here to specify, until we have felt fully the sentiment experienced by a grateful Irishman, when he said of one who kindly nursed him in his sickness: "When I began to get better I used to lie for hours in my bed watching her, expecting every minute the wings would start from her shoulders, and she would fly back to heaven where she belonged."
But the Southern women do more than these things -- they give their sons to their country. Stifling the pleadings of their hearts, subduing their fears, conquering the anguish that is rending their souls, deliberately encountering the days of fearful expectancy, and nights of despondent sleeplessness that must be their portion during the absence of their children, they send their loved ones forth to the battle. These are the sacrifices which "the women of the revolution" are making.
An incident that occurred in this city yesterday, which is mentioned in another part of this paper, illustrates the spirit that prevails among the ladies of the South at this moment. A soldier arrives mortally wounded from the field; the lady to whom he is engaged -- one standing high on account of her attractive powers, amiable disposition, and unusual talent and acquirement -- in order that she may have a wife's sacred right to lavish upon him all her cares, all her wealth of love, all the treasures her heart has hoarded up with a miser's care, to pour upon him when he should be her own -- united her fate with his, and his few days will be gladdened, his sufferings lightened, his last moments soothed by the accomplishment of the great wish of his life.
When we contrast woman's' devotion, her cares, her toils, her self-immolation, her untiring labors, with what man does in the struggle of war, how striking is the difference! Man's path is strewed with carnage and deluged with blood; devastation, flame and death mark his desolating course; but woman's toils and efforts are all for good. They are glorified with the halo of charity; sympathy, gentleness and kindness immortalize her deeds. She seeks to shelter the houseless [sic], clothe the shivering, cure the sick, and assuage the sufferings of the wounded. With such attributes of affection and mercy about her, a sacred beauty, a holy purity environs her, and consecrates her works of mercy.
The history of the Southern revolution that will be read by future generations, will recount great deeds performed by brave and gallant men, heroes who died on the battle-field [sic] for their country's gain; but the story will be one of destruction and death. How bright will be the page in which "the women of the revolution" are mentioned -- with what reverence will their deeds be regarded -- what a solemn sanctity will enshroud their memories! Earnestly will the women of the future commend to the imitation of their daughters the lofty virtues of "the women of the revolution."
Memphis Daily Appeal, April 17, 1862.

[1] The Song of the Shirt is a poem written by Thomas Hood in 1843.

It was written in honour of a Mrs. Biddell, a Lambeth widow and seamstress living in wretched conditions. In what was, at that time, common practice, Mrs. Biddell sewed trousers and shirts in her home using materials given to her by her employer for which she was forced to give a£2 deposit. In a desperate attempt to feed her starving infants, Mrs. Biddell pawned the clothing she had made, thus accruing a debt she could not pay. Mrs. Biddell, whose first name has not been recorded, was sent to a workhouse, and her ultimate fate is unknown; however, her story became a catalyst for those who actively opposed the wretched conditions of England's working poor, who often spent seven days a week labouring under inhuman conditions, barely managing to survive and with no prospect for relief.

The poem was published anonymously in the Christmas edition of Punch in 1843 and quickly became a phenomenon, centering people's attention not only on Mrs. Biddell's case, but on the conditions of workers in general. Though Hood was not politically radical, his work, like that of Charles Dickens, contributed to the general awareness of the condition of the working class which fed the popularity of trade unionism and the push for stricter labour laws.

Following is the first stanza of the poem:

With fingers weary and worn,
With eyelids heavy and red,
A woman sat in unwomanly rags,
Plying her needle and thread –
Stitch! Stitch! Stitch!
In poverty, hunger, and dirt,
And still with a voice of dolorous pitch
She sang 'The Song of the Shirt!'

 

Thursday, April 12, 2012

April 12 - Tennessee Civil War Notes

12, Home manufacturing on small farms in Lincoln County, Tennessee.
The Industry of the Women of the South.--A letter from Lincoln county, Tenn., says: On the small farms throughout this section all is life, activity, and industry. Many a woman who never before held a plow, is now seen in the cornfield.--many a young girl who would have blushed at the thought before of handling a plow line, now naturally and unconsciously cries "gee up" Dobbin, to the silvery tones which the good brute readily responds, as if a pleasure to comply with so gentle a command. 

Many a Ruth, as of old, is seen to-day binding and gleaning in the wheat field, but, alas! no Boaz is there to control or to comfort. The picture of the rural soldier's home is at this time but a picture of primitive life. Throughout the country, at every farm house and cottage, the regular sound of the loom, as the shuttle flies to and fro, with the whirl of the spinning wheel, is heard, telling of home industry. Cotton fabrics, of neat, pretty figures, the production of home manufacture, are now almost wholly worn in Tennessee, instead of calicoes. 
Southern Watchman [Athens, Georgia], August 12, 1863. 

 

 

12, Brigadier General John Beatty's word of warning to historians of the battle of Stones River
The historian who accepts these reports as reliable, and permits himself to be guided by them through all the windings of a five-days' battle, with the expectation of finally allotting to each one of forty brigades the proper credit, will probably not be successful. My report was called for late o­ne evening, written hastily, without having before me the reports of my regimental commanders, and is complete, unsatisfactory to me, and unjust to my brigade.
Beatty, Citizen Soldier, p. 252.

 

12, Juvenile delinquency in occupied Nashville
"Recorder's Court."
* * * * 
Twelve boys, arrested by the military on Thursday [14th], were then called up, charged with disorderly conduct and vagrancy. The following are their names: William Taylor, of Baltimore, John Ryan, of Washington, D.C., arrived here three days ago with the eleventh army corps. Jas. McClusky, of New York, came here a few days ago, with the 14th Michigan; Jno. Burns and Joseph Merker, of Louisville, who say they have been driving treams; Charles Henry Anderson, of Philadelphia, who came here with the 15th Pennsylvania cavalry; Hugh Muray, of Michigan; Louis Evans, of Philadelphia; Thomas Moran, Charley Talman, and Edward Wade, of Nashville; and Tom Watts, of nowhere in particular. These boys vary in age from eight or nine perhaps to sixteen , an are about as hard a looking dozen as can well be picked up anywhere. Mr. Cliff, a Government watchman at the Chattanooga depot, deposed that [the] defendants were all the time idling about the depot, day and night. They had taken wagon bodies and fixed up a house to sleep in; they had been in the neighborhood for several weeks -- perhaps months. On Thursday they were very troublesome, and witness ordered them away; defendants laughed at him, and he went for the guard, when they began pelting him with mud. Witness has seen them eating on the streets; does not know where they belong. Two or three other witnesses were examined, one of whom said the boys generally slept in wagons back of the camp; he had caught several of them stealing, and identified four of those present as among the guilty parties. All of them were ordered to the work-house for future disposition. What will be done with them we cannot say, but we would suggest that all who do not belong to Nashville be sent home, consigned to the Mayor or Chief of Police of the town whence the came, who will no doubt see that they are properly disposed of. With regard to our own boys, it is difficult to suggest any plan of reformation under existing circumstances; but we present this as another evidence of the necessity of a house of correction for juveniles. Some of the bad boys of Nashville have very respectable parents, whose hearts are nearly broken in consequence of the disgrace brought upon them by the conduct of their children, who are grown beyond the control of their parents, and roam the city a large, night and day. Something must be done to reform these boys, and that very speedily, or we shall be overrun with burglars, and thieves, and incendiaries, or our own raising. A lodgment in the work-house for a day or two is no punishment to most of them. The fare better there than when sleeping in wagons or in depot sheds. Try them in the dungeon for forty-eight hours with nothing to eat by bread and water; it may serve at least a temporary check upon their wicked life. 
* * * * 
Nashville Dispatch, April 16, 1864.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

April 10 - Tennessee Civil War Notes

 10, A Connecticut-Tennessean offers support to the Confederacy
NEW HAVEN, CONN., April 10, 1861.
Hon. JEFFERSON DAVIS:

MY DEAR SIR: I am a native of Tennessee, the stepson of the Hon. John Bell, of that State; the brother-in-law of Capt. John Pope, of the topographical engineers, the relative of Mrs. Mary McRee, in whose husband's company you served as lieutenant. I enter into this personal detail that I may, in some degree, prove to you that my connections are respectable, and that my statements and propositions may be received with some confidence. From present indications war seems to be resolved upon. If this dead contingency should arise, I can, without the slightest difficulty, raise and equip from this city two companies of 100 men each to serve under your command, every man a Democrat, upon whom you can rely. I have an independent fortune, and do not ask pecuniary assistance from any quarter. I o­nly ask from you that you will receive these companies and grant for the war commissions to such officers as they may elect. I am a lawyer by profession, a graduate of Yale College, served in the Mexican war, was present at the siege of Vera Cruz and the battle of Cerro Gordo, and o­n account of my health have resided in this city for the past six years. Mr. Toombs is acquainted with my family, and will, I doubt not, assure you of its respectability; but I believe you know my mother, Mrs. John Bell, whom you have met in Washington.
With my most ardent wishes for your personal welfare, and for your successful administration amid the difficulties and embarrassments which encompass you,

I remain, with great personal esteem, most respectfully, your friend,

THOMAS YEATMAN.

OR, Ser. IV, Vol. 1, p. 216.

 

10, Lieutenant-General Leonidas Polk suggests stiffening security at military hospitals to decrease desertion rate of the Army of Tennessee
HDQRS. POLK'S CORPS, ARMY OF TENNESSEE, April 10, 1863.
Gen. S. COOPER, Adjutant and Inspector Gen., Richmond, Va.:
It has been said that "hospitals are the leaks of armies," and our experience justifies the truth of the remark. In this army, ever since its organization, efforts have been made to devise a remedy for this evil, and we believe we have accomplished it as far as in the nature of things it is practicable. Our system has been in operation for several months, and works admirably. Before its introduction the wastage was enormous. It is not as perfect as we think it could be made, but it is a very great improvement on the old condition of things.
 
It is as follows:
Each corps has its own hospitals, which are devoted exclusively to the use of its own sick. Take the hospitals assigned to my own corps, for example. These are established at Rome and Atlanta, Ga. Every day the sick of my corps, now at Shelbyville, who require hospital treatment are sent down to one or the other of these hospitals. Rations are provided for them on the cars, and a surgeon detailed to accompany them. For better security, they are placed under the charge of an officer, with a detail as a guard, whose duty it is to accompany them to the hospital, to see that they neither escape nor are left by the way, and who turns them over to the commanding officer of the post where the hospital is established. This commanding officer has been detailed from the corps, with an adequate detachment, to take charge of the hospital post. It is his duty to receive the men sent down for treatment, to enroll them as apart of his command, and to be responsible for their safe-keeping and proper care while under his orders. So soon as they are sufficiently convalescent for light duty, they are put to squad or company drill, for the sake of the exercise, and, when competent for field service, they are sent back to their commands in the corps under an officer and a guard, as they came down. It will be perceived that, by this mode of proceeding, these men are always in hand, and in the hands of officers belonging to their own proper corps. These officers make returns of their commands to corps headquarters tri-monthly, and their number and condition are thus known to corps headquarters. It will be seen also that the loss of men through the hospitals under this system is next to impossible, and that the parties most interested in their speedy recovery are those who are charged with looking after them. It will be seen also that they are much more likely to receive sympathy and special attention, because they are in the hands of their own corps and among their friends. Abuses, too, are much more likely to be corrected, for the reason that they are more likely to be known, and the power to correct them is at hand.
Such is the system we have inaugurated, and which has been for the last two months in operation in its substantial details. We have found it, as I have remarked, to work admirably and to cure the evils of the old system. If it were to be continued, I would suggest one change, which I regard as important to a high degree; it is, that the surgeons taking care of the sick in the hospitals report to the medical director of the corps directly, just as the surgeons taking care of the sick in the field do. I see no good reason why this should not be done, and there are several why it should be. The authority of the officers of the corps over its men is never removed, and the responsibility of taking care of these men is where it ought to be, and those whose they are and who are most interested in their recovery. This arrangement would not abridge the authority of the army surgeon-general in the least, as the reports of the corps medical director would be made directly to him, just as the reports of the commanders of the corps are made to the general commanding the army in reference to matters purely military. If the medical director of the army is not satisfied with the management of the medical director of the corps, he can, through his medical inspector, have the evils corrected. But I regret to see that an order has been issued from the Adjutant and Inspector General's Office at Richmond declaring that corps, army, and department commanders are excluded from having anything to do with the general hospitals, and , therefore, all our plans for the benefit of the sick are overthrown at a blow. This order is No. 28, March 12 [1863] Paragraph V. I have respectfully to submit that , in my judgment, this is not expedient or wise. It goes back to the old system, which has worked badly, and lost us, by desertion or otherwise, a large number of all who have been sent to our hospitals. I desire respectfully to place these views before the Secretary of War, and to ask that we be permitted to manage our hospitals in the manner I have above indicated.

* * * *
 
 L. Polk, Lieut.-Gen., Cmdg.
 
OR, Ser. I, Vol. 23, pt. II, 747-749.

 

 

10, a trip from Fairmont to Lebanon; excerpt from a Confederate woman's diary
* * * *
After trying for three weeks to get a conveyance and escort to Lebanon, Mr. Dick Malone at last said he'd risk the consequence and take me. I went over April 10 [1863] with Margart [sic], Leila and 7 trunks - taking most of the wearing apparel of the family that had been saved from the fire, to try to save it. Imagine my consternation to come right on the rear guard of a column of Yankees, numbering 3,000. Mr. Malone's. coolness and address saved our trunks and pockets from being rifled. He offered the keys and insisted that an officer should examine the trunks; but, they told us to drive out to the side of the road and they would pass. They wheeled the columns and went back to Murfreesboro. This was ten miles from L.[ebanon]. We rode on and in 4 miles met the Southern Pickets. [sic] This then was the cause of the [Yankees'] sudden return [to Murfreesboro]. - Wheeler was certainly in Lebanon with 6000 men and had torn up the Railway at 2 points the night before, taking a number of prisoners, capturing the mail and doing them great damage otherwise. Words fail me in speaking of the unexpected pleasure of meeting my dear Husband in L.[ebanon] after an absence of 3 months, during which we had met such painful vicissitudes of fortune. When I had last seen him, I was almost dead and he was in eminent danger of being captured that he had to leave me.

Journal of Bettie Ridley Blackmore


Monday, April 9, 2012

April 9 - Tennessee Civil War Notes

April 9, 1861, Domestic violence in Memphis


Domestic Felicity - Mike Moriorty and his better half, Mary, have been a source of annoyance to the police for a year or two past. Both exhibit an undue fondness of "Dean's Strychnine," and when under its influence, become imbued with a decidedly belligerent spirit. At one time Mike is arrested for whipping Mary, and at another, Mary is required to answer in police court for disfiguring the physiognomy of her pugnacious lord. Mary is a bruiser and generally gets the best of the little "mills" between herself and loving husband. Last night in a friendly set-to Mary was worsted. He will have his trial tomorrow.


Memphis Argus, April 9, 1861.

 

 

9, "The Victorious o­n the Field of Shiloh."
It is our proud privilege this morning, to congratulate our fellow citizens throughout the Confederacy, our fellow-citizens throughout the Confederacy, o­n the success that has crowned our arms o­n the corpse-heaped plain of Shiloah [sic]. For two days have the brave soldiers of the South, stood the utmost efforts the finest troops the North could make against them. Men well drilled, armed with the most perfect weapons, modern skill can produce, and in possession of those numerous advantages which the expenditure of unstinted millions, and free access to the workshops of Europe impart, were driven before them in ignominious flight.  Breast to breast our gallant boys stood before the confident foe; but unawed by their swelling cohorts, their proud array their pompous panoply, they charged them with a weapon no art can produce no money buy – the chivalrous attribute of Southern COURAGE [sic]. With sparkling eye, cheek unblenched, eager step, and unfailing soul, they marched o­n the opposing ranks – they baffled their mightiest efforts, they subdued their loftiest rage, they drove back their seried [sic] files, and taught the vaunting legions that brave hearts and iron wills, sting by a sense of wrong, and fired with the ardor of patriotism, cannot be conquered.  In the pages of history the hard-won field of Shiloah [sic] will have a name among the great battle-grounds of the world.
Memphis Daily Appeal, April 9, 1862.

9, The Courageous Governor.

"Gov. Harris in the Field."

Governor Harris was present on the field during the terrible struggle at Shiloah [sic], and while there he played a brave and active part. We learn that, in the course of the action on Sunday [6th]. A Tennessee regiment, on being ordered to the charge, showed some symptoms of wavering. Gen. Johnston called the attention of the Governor to the fact. That gentleman at once rode up to the regiment, addressed to them a few stirring, thrilling words, and placing himself at their head, ordered the charge. The charge was made – it proved unsuccessful. Again he led them, and, the second time the enemy stood the shock. A third time he brought them to the contest, and with a vigor so determined, that the foe gave way and retreated, leaving a considerable number of prisoners on the hands of the Tennessee boys and their gallant Governor.
Memphis Daily Appeal, April 9, 1862.

Pittsburg Landing