Civil War Overview
Civil War 1861
Civil War 1862
Civil War 1863
Civil War 1864
Civil War 1865
Civil War Battles
Robert E. Lee
Civil War Medicine
Civil War Links
Civil War Art
Republic of Texas
Civil War Gifts
Robert E. Lee Portrait
"The Capital of the Tycoon," a
narrative of a three years' residence in Japan, by Sir Rutherford Alcock. This
is the story of the British Minister in Japan, and it is the most comprehensive
survey of Japanese life and institutions that we have had. The detailed
descriptions and the copious illustrations, with facsimiles from Japanese
drawings, give it a curious interest. Sir Rutherford kept his eyes open
constantly, and does not omit the smallest details. He tells us that the Cape
jasmine is one of the few flowers in Japan that are fragrant, and that the wheat
is never sown broadcast. His descriptions of social life are valuable; and from
his account it is clear that there is the same kind of fierce, barbarous hate of
foreigners in Japan that there is of men who love liberty in our southern
country. As to the vexed question of the treaties between Japan and Great
Britain, Sir Rutherford clearly inclines to the opinion that the Japanese should
be strictly held to their agreements. The chief difficulty lies in the
disposition of the Daimios, a kind of regal aristocracy. But he says that the
Government represents and controls elements of strength and order independent of
them, and with that Government a firm and friendly policy is desirable. It is a
most timely work. (Harper & Brothers.)
BLOWING HOT AND COLD.
THE most amusing result of the
overwhelming Union and Administration victory in Maine is the various shades of
excuses urged by the various shades of Copperheads for their disastrous popular
defeat. One says it was because the Copperhead platform was not strong enough
for peace. Another declares that it was not strong enough for war. But the most
ludicrous of all is the position of the paper which said on the 12th of August
that the platform of "the Democracy" in New York "will be that of the Kentucky
conservatives, that of General Tuttle in Iowa, that of Bion Bradbury in
Maine....It embraces unconditional loyalty to the Union .... the support of the
war by all necessary men and means." On the 15th September, the morning after
the news from Maine, the same paper remarked in a double-leaded paragraph:
"There is a very simple solution for the defeat of the Democracy .....Bion
Democratic candidate for Governor, was set up
not only as a Copperhead of the peace pattern of Seymour of Connecticut," etc,
etc. And it concludes by saying that, if the party had adopted the platform
which on the 12th of August it declared it had adopted, Bradbury would have been
Of all political slop the drivel
of what is called "Conservatism" is the poorest.
OUR winter prospect of music is
most excellent. Max Maretzek, the best operatic manager we have had, will direct
the Academy with Medori, whose success in Norma and the grander roles was very
decided. He announces fresh operas and good singers, and the public has learned
that he keeps his word. He has established, by long and faithful service, a
feeling of interest in the public heart which is a part of his capital; and
every frequenter and lover of the Opera heartily bids him welcome again and
Mr. Gottschalk, also, begins a
series of concerts in the city immediately. He has no superior for popularity in
the concert-room, and his manipulation of the piano is marvelous. No man
executes such astonishing tours de force as Gottschalk, and yet, in certain
impassioned pieces of Chopin, he is as rigorously exact as the most purely
classical performer. It is a constant surprise and pleasure to hear him, and he
has mastered the secret of success.
Mr. Anschutz, stimulated by his
good fortune last year, will produce the German Opera, more perfectly
represented than last year. But he will search far before he gives us any thing
better than Madame Johannsen's Fidelio; and we earnestly beg him to remember
that he will disappoint his most faithful friends if he does not let us hear
that Opera very often.
OLD SAW AND MODERN INSTANCE.
Governor Seymour says, in his last speech, "I
am not disposed to criticise the President's recent letter unkindly." Probably
not. His Excellency's success in criticising and answering the President's
letters has not been signal. The same remark may be made of his Excellency's
similar efforts with the letters of
General Dix. It is a wise old saw that says, "A
burned child fears the fire."
LET every man whose support is
claimed for the anti-administration ticket reflect, that the chief authority
which declares that the Government will be defeated in this State by fifty or
sixty thousand majority insists that Fernando Wood should be made next Speaker
of the House, because "he can best serve the Conservative cause in that
The ex-Mayor and hero of the
Peace meeting, who regretted that he could not send arms to the rebels, is
presented as the model "Conservative." And justly so. Of what is now called
"Conservatism"—a policy for the success of which
Jeff Davis prays—he is a perfect
THE Lounger has received several
letters informing him that Mr. Seymour is the purest of patriots and the
greatest of statesmen. He has also received several stating that
Mr. Lincoln is an ape, a gorilla, and a baboon.
The Lounger has the honor in these lines to reply to both classes of his
correspondents, and to inform them that he is of a different opinion. He does
not consider a gentleman who has conducted this war to its present condition an
ape or a gorilla; nor does he think a gentleman who says that he prefers slavery
to the Union the
purest of patriots; nor a
Governor who calls bloody rioters his "friends" the greatest of statesmen.
HAWTHORNE'S LETTER TO PIERCE.
THAT Mr. Hawthorne should cling
to his college friends is natural. That he should feel kindly toward the man by
whose influence he went to Europe, and saw "Our Old Home," is simply human. That
after that man had shown himself in his official career the most pliant of tools
for the basest of purposes, and in his subsequent retirement the most shameless
abettor of bloody war upon the Union, Mr. Hawthorne should be anxious to declare
his friendship, is a kind of friendly generosity which is yet intelligible. But
that he should gravely say of Franklin Pierce that "no man's loyalty is more
steadfast," can be explained only by the fact that the letter to Pierce is dated
on the 2d of July, while it was not until the 4th of July that Pierce made his
Concord speech, and not until September that his letter to Jeff Davis was
published, in which the ex-President assures his ex-Secretary that the North
would support his rebellion even to blood.
Mr. Hawthorne owes it to
himself—to every friend of his who loves liberty and man—to his country, and to
the name of loyalty which he profanes by coupling it with so dishonored a name
as Franklin Pierce—to explain in a subsequent edition that the final proof of
Pierce's infamy had not then been spoken or printed, and was unknown to him.
ARMY AND NAVY ITEMS.
GENERAL HALLECK is fast recovering from his
late protracted though not serious indisposition, through all of which his
official labors have been pursued with that inexorable industry which is one of
his main characteristics. He is at his head-quarters every morning at nine, and
remains at work until four in the afternoon, when he returns to his residence on
Georgetown Heights. His labors are again resumed at eight in the evening, and
continues without intermission until the last item of-the day's work is disposed
of—often not ceasing until the "wee sma' hours" after midnight.
BENJAMIN F. BUTLER will enter immediately into
the canvass in Pennsylvania in favor of the re-election of Governor Curtin. His
first speech will be made at Harrisburg.
Lieutenant-Commander JAMES E.
JONETT is detached from the command of the R. R. Cuyler, and ordered to the
command of the Sebago.
Among the casualties in the
recent battle of Chattanooga are the following:
Colonel HEG and Colonel BRADLEY,
commanding brigades, wounded.
Colonel JONES, of the
Thirty-sixth Ohio regiment, and Colonel CARROL and Major VANNETTA, of the Tenth
Indiana regiment, wounded.
Lieutenant JONES, of Company A,
Tenth Indiana regiment, killed.
Lieutenant-Colonel HUNT, of the
Fortieth Kentucky regiment, and Lieutenant-Colonel MAXWELL, of the Second Ohio
Lieutenant DEGRAW, Lieutenant
LUDLOW, and Lieutenant FESSENDEN, of Battery H, Fifth Artillery, wounded.
Lieutenant FLOYD, of Battery I,
Fourth Artillery, and Captain BROWN, of the Thirty-first Illinois regiment,
Captain SEARLES, Assistant
Adjutant-General of STARKWEATHER'S brigade, killed.
departed last week on his inspection tour through the several military
departments. Colonel Thomas, of Philadelphia, is Acting Quarter-master-General.
It is reported that General INGALLS is also about to set out upon a mission
similar to that of General MEIGS.
A young officer recently released
from the Libby prison in Richmond, furnishes the following information in
relation to Captain SAWYER and FLYNN, who were condemned to death by JEFF DAVIS:
Captains SAWYER and FLYNN, it
will be remembered, have been condemned to death in retaliation for the
General BURNSIDE of two rebel officers caught
recruiting within his lines. The Richmond mob demanded the death of these brave
and patriotic men, but the authorities were deterred by the threatened fate of
WINDER and LEE, held by us at Fortress Monroe. Captains SAWYER and FLYNN are
confined in a sort of cage or bin partitioned off from the cellar of the
building. Measured by the eye, it appeared not larger than six feet by eight.
The only light and air are admitted through a hole near the ceiling, about a
foot square, through which also the food is passed down twice a day. This den is
damp, dark, and most shockingly filthy; and the unfortunate victims of rebel
hatred are enduring within it a living death from day to day. The plan seems to
be, since their cowardly tormentors dared not shoot or hang them, to torture
their lives away by this long agony, and then report them as having died of
The court of inquiry demanded by
Colonel DAVIS, of the Twelfth Illinois Cavalry, is still in session at
Washington. This inquisition thus far fails to
adduce any evidence derogatory to Colonel DAVIS'S character as a brave and
Commander REED WORDEN has been
ordered to the Navy-yard at Philadelphia.
Lieutenant-Commander R. V. SCOTT
is detached from the South Atlantic Blockading squadron, sick, and waiting
Lieutenant-Commander CLARK WELLS
is detached from the Navy-yard at Philadelphia and ordered to the command of the
Captain BARBER, Fifth New York
Cavalry, was seriously wounded near Kelly's Ford on 17th. There is some reason
to believe that the shot was fired by a deserting conscript to avoid being
The many friends of Major R. J.
FALLS will be pleased to learn that he has so far recovered from the injuries
received in General STONEMAN'S raid to the rear of
LEE'S army as to be able to perform light duty.
He has been ordered on General HATCH'S Staff, at Philadelphia, where his duties
are mainly the instruction of young officers.
A letter from
Cairo says: Some changes have taken place in
this vicinity since last I wrote you. They are as follows:
Colonel W. F. LYNCH, of the
Fifty-eighth Illinois Infantry, is to command the post of Cairo, vice General A.
B. BUFORD, who is ordered to Helena.
Captain J. R. FREESE, of
Pennsylvania, late with General MONTGOMERY, is Acting Assistant Adjutant-General
to Colonel LYNCH.
Captain T. C. WEATYARD goes with
General BUFORD as his Assistant Adjutant-General. Lieutenant COOPER, his
aid-de-camp, will also go to Helena with General BUFORD. They start to-day.
Colonel JAMES K. MILLS,
Twenty-fourth Missouri, is commanding at Union City, in place of Colonel Fox,
who is ordered to St. Louis to attend the court-martial there.
Captain BENSON, Thirty-second
Iowa, is commanding at Island No. 10, in place of Captain GORDON, relieved to
accompany his command to Nashville.
Major W. R. ROWLEY, newly
appointed to the responsible position on General GRANT'S Staff of Provost
Marshal of the Department of the Tennessee, started yesterday for Vicksburg to
assume the duties of the post. He has been upon the General's Staff since the
times of Donelson, and is an able, experienced officer and a gentleman. What
Colonel KENT, the present occupant of the Provost Marshalship, is to do has not
transpired. He will probably
have a leave of absence, or be
assigned some equally important duty with that he has been relieved from.
The following assignments of
medical officers have been made:
Assistant Surgeons S. S. HOLMAN
and Enoch PEARCE, U. S. Volunteers, recently appointed, to report to Major-General
MEADE, commanding Army of the Potomac.
Assistant Surgeon KNEELAND, U. S.
Volunteers, to report to Major-General BANES, commanding Department of the Gulf.
Assistant Surgeons W. S. ELY, H.
C. ROBERTS, and C. C. CHAFFEE, U. S. Volunteers, to report to Major-General
FOSTER, commanding Department of North Carolina.
Assistant Surgeon M. K. HOGAN, U.
S. Volunteers, to report to the Medical Director, Washington, for duty with
Battalion First, D. C. Volunteers, Colonel L. C. BAKER.
Assistant Surgeons H. W. BURRITT,
GERHARD SAUL, and ROBERT GOWAN, U. S. Volunteers, to report in person to
Major-General BURNSIDE, and by letter to Assistant Surgeon-General R. C. WOOD,
at St. Louis, Missouri.
Assistant Surgeons M. H.
SALISBURY and J. C. NORTON, U. S. Volunteers, to report to Major-General
ROSECRANS, and by letter to Assistant Surgeon-General R. C. WOOD, at St. Louis,
Assistant Surgeons JABEZ PERKINS
and W. C. DANIELS, U. S. Volunteers, to report to Major-General GRANT, and by
letter to Assistant Surgeon-General Wood, at St. Louis, Missouri.
Assistant Surgeon JOHN D. WOOD,
U. S. Volunteers, is hereby relieved from duty in the Medical Department, and
will report in person, without delay, to Major-General ROSECRANS, Department of
the Cumberland, and by letter to Assistant Surgeon-General R. C. WOOD, at St.
Surgeon EDWARD SKIPPEN, U. S.
Volunteers, now on duty in the Army of the Potomac, will report without delay to
Surgeon W. S. KING, U. S. Army, Medical Director Department of the Susquehanna,
to relieve Surgeon PAUL B. GODDARD, U. S. Volunteers, in charge of the South
Street General Hospital, Philadelphia.
Commander JOHN C. HOWELL has been
detached from the command of the Metacomet and ordered to the command of the
Commander T. G. CORBIN has been
detached from the Naval Academy and ordered on ordnance duty in the Philadelphia
Commander DONALD M'N. FAIRFAX has
been ordered to the Naval Academy as commandant of midshipmen.
Lieutenant-Commander P. LOWRY has
been ordered to the command of the Metacomet.
Captain JACOB S. STRETCH, Provost
Marshal for the Third district of Pennsylvania, has been dismissed.
General BURNSIDE, the Washington
Republican says, tendered his resignation not on account of any personal or
political grievances, but from a desire to attend to his private affairs. Having
finished his campaign in Tennessee, he thought he might be relieved from
service. The President thought otherwise; and at his request General BURNSIDE
has patriotically consented to remain at the head of his command.
Four hundred men, belonging to
Colonel TEVIS'S cavalry regiment, arrived at Philadelphia on 21st from Fort
Delaware. They were originally captured rebels, who refused to be exchanged,
took the oath of allegiance, and joined the Union service.
McCLELLAN testimonials are passing through the
Army of the Potomac. One of these, proffered to an officer, was headed by
General SYKES with a subscription for $20.
Major-General Dix, commanding the
Department of the East, is about to visit Boston on a tour of inspection. He
will be accompanied by General TOTTEN of the Engineer Corps.
Governor TODD has sent JAMES M.
EDWARDS (Rep.) and Colonel WILLIAM MUNGEN (Dem.) to
General GRANT'S army to canvass the votes of
the soldiers. He has also arranged to record the votes of the Ohio soldiers in
The rebel ram Atlanta arrived in
Philadelphia last week, in tow of the United States steam-frigate Powhatan. The
Atlanta will be fitted up for sea in such manner as may seem best to the naval
BATTLE OF CHATTANOOGA.
A VERY important and bloody
battle was fought near Chattanooga on Saturday, 19th, and Sunday, 20th Sept.,
General Rosecrans and Bragg's rebel army, which
had been heavily reinforced. Up to the present time we have no full and reliable
account of the battle. A Louisville dispatch, received here on 21st, stated that
Rosecrans had been "badly beaten." Later dispatches merely speak of his being
obliged to fall back on Chattanooga. The following account is condensed from the
Washington Star, and is supposed to be official:
BEGINNING OF THE FIGHT.
On Saturday, the 19th, a
demonstration was made by the rebels in strong force, which appears to have been
repelled by the force under
General Thomas, with the advantage on the Union
On Sunday an engagement commenced
late in the morning. The first gun was fired at nine A.M., but no considerable
firing took place until ten. Previous to ten o'clock General Rosecrans rode the
whole length of our line. Soon after the battle commenced.
General Thomas, who held the
left, began to call for reinforcements. About twelve o'clock word came that he
had been forced to retire.
The second line of reinforcements
were then sent to him, and M'Cook's whole corps, which was on the right and as a
reserve in the centre, was sent to his assistance. General Wood, of Crittenden's
corps, and Van Cleve, who held the front centre, were also ordered to the left,
where the fury of the cannonade showed that the enemy's force was massed.
Their places were filled by Davis
and Sheridan, of General McCook's corps. But hardly had these divisions taken
their places in the line, when the rebel fire, which had slackened, burst out in
immense volleys upon the centre.
This lasted about twenty minutes,
and then Van Cleve, on Thomas's right, was seen to give way, but in tolerable
order; soon after which the lines of
Sheridan and Davis broke in disorder, borne
down by the enemy's columns, which are said to have consisted of Polk's corps.
These two divisions were the only divisions thrown into much disorder. Those of
Negley and Van Cleve were thrown into confusion, but soon rallied and held their
places, the first on the left and the second on the right of Thomas's corps.
Davis and Sheridan, late in the day, succeeded in rallying about eight thousand
of their forces, and joined Thomas.
THOMAS CHANGES POSITION.
General Thomas, finding himself
cut off from the right, brought his division into position for independent
fighting, his line assuming the form of a horse-shoe along the crest of a wooded
ridge. He was soon joined by Granger, from Roseville, with a division of General
M'Cook and General Steadman's division. and with these forces firmly maintained
the fight until after dark.
Our troops were as immovable as
the rocks they stood on. The enemy repeatedly hurled against them the dense
columns which had routed Davis and Sheridan in the morning; but every onset was
repulsed with dreadful slaughter. Failing first on one and then on the other
point of our lines, the rebels for hours vainly sought to break them. General
Thomas seemed to have filled every soldier with his own unconquerable firmness;
and General Granger, his hat torn by bullets, rode like a lion wherever the
combat was thickest. Every division commander bore himself gloriously, and among
them Generals Turchen, Hazen, and Parker especially distinguished themselves.
Turchen charged through the rebel lines with the bayonet, and being surrounded,
forced his way back again. Parker, who had two horses shot under him on
Saturday, forming his men in one line, made them lie
down until the enemy was close
upon them, when suddenly they rose and delivered their fire, with such effect
that the assaulting columns fell back in confusion, leaving the ground covered
with killed. When night fell this body of heroes stood on the same ground
occupied by them in the morning, their spirits being unbroken. Their losses are
not yet estimated.
General Thomas telegraphs (Monday
forenoon) that the troops are in high spirits. He brought off all his wounded.
Of the sick and wounded at Crawfish Spring, including our main hospital, nearly
all had been brought away.
The number of prisoners taken by
the enemy will hardly surpass two thousand, besides the wounded, of whom not
more than one thousand could have fallen into their hands. Of rebel prisoners we
have sent thirteen hundred to Nashville.
Most of our losses in artillery
were occasioned by the killing of all the horses.
General Thomas retired to
Rossville on Sunday night after the battle had closed.
General Rosecrans had issued
orders for all his troops to be concentrated with the forces at Chattanooga.
In the last two assaults our
troops fought with bayonets, their ammunition being exhausted.
The latest information that has
reached this city is from Chattanooga last evening, and was to the effect that
General Rosecrans would concentrate on Chattanooga last night.
General Thomas had been engaged
with the enemy prior to 5 P.M. yesterday, and it was therefore questionable
whether he would be able to reach Chattanooga last night.
There were indications that the
enemy were contemplating a demonstration on another part of our line last
CAVALRY FIGHT AT CULPEPPER.
We have received the full details
of the recent cavalry fight with the rebels near to, at, and beyond Culpepper
Court-House. The Union forces were under the chief command of General
Pleasanton, with Generals Buford, Kilpatrick, and Gregg as division commanders.
The gallantry of our troops has again been brought to the test with a grand
result. The rebels were under the command of General Stuart, and the rebel
accounts of the fight acknowledge the loss of the three pieces of artillery
mentioned in the Union accounts as having been captured from them. The rebels
took refuge in the houses of Culpepper during the contest, and fired from the
windows and street-corners, necessitating the shelling of the place to drive
them out, and thereby causing the death of several non-combatants. On Wednesday
the rebels drove back part of our forces at Raccoon Ford; but General
Kilpatrick, dismounting a Michigan cavalry regiment, and being assisted by
artillery, speedily redrove the rebels back beyond the Rapidan, capturing
seventeen prisoners. The head-quarters of the Union generals were also shelled
without serious effect. The rebel guerrillas are still operating successfully on
the outskirts of the various Union camp lines and along the railroads.
We have particulars of an
expedition under General Franklin to the mouth of the Sabine River, Texas, which
has proved unsuccessful. On arriving at the place designed for the landing of
the troops, outside the enemy's fortifications, it was found impossible to
disembark, owing to the marshy nature of the ground and excessively shallow
water. Upon the gun-boats Clifton, Sachem, and Arizona, therefore, devolved the
whole task of attacking the batteries, and they came gallantly up to the work.
The bombardment continued some time, gradually increasing in briskness until the
vessels got within point-blank range of the forts, when the enemy suddenly
opened a terrific fire, in which they were aided by a fleet of three cotton-clad
steamers and a schooner further up the river. At first the fire from our
gun-boats was more accurate than that of the enemy, and we seemed clearly to be
getting the advantage; but unfortunately the Sachem grounded broadside to the
rebel fleet, and very soon she was riddled and left an utter wreck. The
Arizona's greater draft of water would not admit of her nearer approach to the
batteries, and the Clifton was compelled to essay the task of silencing them
unaided. In the gallant attempt she also struck hard on the bottom, and was not
long before meeting a fate similar to the Sachem's. Captain Crocker, her
commander, made a heroic effort to save his vessel, but seeing the matter
hopeless, he loaded his after-gun with a 9-inch solid shot, and fired it through
the centre of the ship, crashing the machinery in pieces and effectually
destroying the vessel. The Arizona was then forced reluctantly to withdraw,
unable to cope singly with the enemy. Besides the vessels' crews, we lost as
prisoners 98 soldiers, who were acting as sharp-shooters. The numbers killed and
wounded are not very large.
OCCUPATION OF LITTLE ROCK.
The following dispatch has been
received at the head-quarters of the army at Washington:
DISPATCH FROM GENERAL STEELE.
LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS, September
Major-General H. W. Halleck,
We have just entered Little Rock.
The cavalry under General Davidson is pursuing the enemy, who are in full
retreat South. F. R. STEELE, Major-General.
SURPRISE OF OUR MEN.
A dispatch, dated Knoxville,
Tennessee, Wednesday, September 16, says: On Wednesday, Lieutenant-Colonel Cayes,
with 300 men of the One Hundredth Ohio regiment, was attacked near Tilford, 23
miles up the railroad, by 1800 rebels under General Jackson.
After fighting gallantly for two
hours, our forces, losing heavily in killed and wounded, were compelled to
surrender to overpowering numbers.
At latest dates
General Gilmore was very busy mounting heavy
guns on the upper part of Morris Island for the purpose of bombarding
Charleston, and, although Fort Sumter was still
held by the rebels, the siege was progressing favorably. General Gilmore has
issued an eloquent congratulatory order to his troops, and a copy is to be
placed in the hands of every living officer and soldier who has participated in
the Campaign on Morris Island. On the morning of the 15th inst. the magazine of
one of the rebel batteries on Sand Point, near Fort Johnson, exploded with
terrific violence, destroying the battery, its magazine, guns, etc. One hundred
rebel prisoners, taken on Morris Island, came North in the McClellan.
REBEL RAMS TO BE DETAINED.
WE have the very important
information that the British Government has decided to detain Laird's rebel iron
rams. This fact has thrown a decided gloom over the rebels and their
sympathizers in England.
NEW MEXICAN EMPEROR.
Three members of the Mexican
deputation dispatched to tender the crown to the Archduke Maximilian have
arrived in Paris. Although five of their colleagues were still at sea, it was
reported that the offer had been made and accepted, the Cabinet of Spain, with
the King of Belgium, approving of the decision of the Archduke. It was said that
he stipulated for two conditions only, viz., "A unanimous appeal to him from the
Mexican people, and the moral and material co-operation of the Western Powers in
the establishment of a respected and stable Government."
Secretary Seward's recent circular has caused
some ill-feeling at the French Court. The Moniteur, with all the official
journals of Paris, in publishing the paper, print the article of the London
Times, in which it is analyzed and condemned, side by side with it.