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HDQRS. SECOND BRIGADE, MARTIN’S CAVALRY DIVISION,
Unionville, Tenn., April 30, 1863–6 a.m.
Lieutenant-General Polk’s Chief of Staff:
I have the honor to report all quiet along my lines this morning. I would respectfully ask that the order to report every six hours be modified, as there is no place between here and Shelbyville where a courier station can be kept up, for want of forage. Should any movement of the enemy take place, I will report every two hours, or even at shorter intervals.
I think that the enemy will send out to-morrow morning a heavy foraging party from Triune toward College Grove. Such I infer from the large number of wagons concentrating about the former place.
Brigadier-General [Major-General] Schofield commanded the expedition we drove back yesterday. It consisted of about 500 mounted men and some artillery. The latter was not brought into action, but fell back almost immediately to Triune.
If the lieutenant-general commanding will send me two regiments of infantry, with two days’ rations, to report here as soon as possible, I will be able to concentrate my command on the [upper] pike, and, leaving the infantry to guard this road, where the enemy will come to forage, I can get into his rear and capture his wagons. My line of vedettes is too long to concentrate my command for an offensive movement, as it will leave one or other of the pikes with a weak guard. The enemy will bring, as he generally does, about one regiment of infantry with his cavalry, and, perhaps, a section of artillery.
I remain, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
LAWRENCE W. ORTON,(*)
Colonel, Comdg. Second Brigade, Martin’s Division of Cavalry.
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O.R.– SERIES I–VOLUME XXIII/2 [S# 35]
Correspondence, Orders, And Returns Relating To Operations In Kentucky, Middle And East Tennessee, North Alabama, And Southwest Virginia, From January 21 To August 10, 1863.
CONFEDERATE CORRESPONDENCE. ETC.–#8
Page 804
[From the New Orleans, La., Picayune, September 4, 1904.]
NOTE.–Tuesday, August 30, 1904, was the twenty-fifth anniversary of the death of General J. B. Hood.
Sadly and wearily,
Eyes dimmed by grief,
Thou, who has fought for us
With thy blood bought for us,
Freedom so brief–
Slumbereth now peacefully,
Resteth now fair,
Could I but have thee now,
Soothe from thy furrowed brow
All lines of care!
Bleeding and aching wounds
Counted for naught,
They did not pierce thy heart,
Injustice’s cruel dart
Such sorrow wrought.
Only the victor is
Honored and cheered,
But Defeat’s martyr must
To kind oblivion trust,
Misery reared. <shv32_152>
Yet, where is he so strong,
Standing alone,
Fighting with Dignity
All the Malignity,
As thou hast done?
Though thou art dead and gone,
Better than fame
Thou hast to us bequeathed,
With holy memories wreathed–
A noble name.
Slumber now peacefully,
Thou didst thy share,
Thou hast not lived in vain;
Leaving the stormy main,
Rest thee now fair.
Southern Historical Society Papers.
Vol. XXXII. Richmond, Va., January-December. 1904.
In Memory Of General J. B. Hood
“I know there is a God, and that He hates injustice and slavery. I see the storm coming, and I know that His hand is in it. If He has a place and work for me, and I think He has, I believe I’m ready. I am nothing, but Truth is everything.”
Abraham Lincoln, during his first presidential campaign
The Commissary man — he happened to be in our mess, never had any sugar over, any salt, any soda, any coffee — oh no! But beg him, plead with him, bear with him when he says, ‘Go way, boy! Am I the commissary general? Have I got all the sugar in the Confederacy? Don’t you know rations are short now?’ Then see him relax. ‘Come here, my son, untie that bag there, and look in that old jacket and you will find another bag — a little bag — and look in there and you will find some sugar.’ ‘Now go round and tell everybody in camp, won’t you. Tell ‘em all to come and get some sugar. Oh! I know you won’t. Oh yes! of course.’
Harper’s Weekly, April 18, 1863
Southern Historical Society Papers.
Vol. I. Richmond, Virginia., February, 1876. No. 2
Camp Fires Of The Boys In Gray.
The Forager was a good fellow. He always divided with the mess. If there was buttermilk anywhere inside of ten miles he found it. Apples he could smell from afar off. If anybody was killing pork in the county he got the spareribs. If a man had a cider cart on the road he saw him first and bought him out. No hound had a keener scent, no eagle a sharper eye. How indefatigable he was. Distance, rivers, mountains, pickets, patrols, roll calls — nothing could stop or hinder him. He never bragged about his exploits — simply brought in the spoils, laid them down and said, ‘pitch in.’ Not a word of the weary miles he had traveled, how he begged or how much he had paid — simply ‘pitch in.’
Harper’s Weekly, August 17, 1861
Southern Historical Society Papers.
Vol. I. Richmond, Virginia., February, 1876. No. 2
Camp Fires Of The Boys In Gray.
There are several fully-restored homes in the Battery area one can visit and even take inside tours. The Edmondston-Alston House is on 21 East Battery row.
It was originally built in 1825. Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard is said to have stood on the second story piazza on April 12th 1861 to watch the bombing of Ft. Sumter.
One of our favorite items about this house is a painting displayed that pictures a street scene of East Battery street around 1825.
Their web site states:
The stately Edmondston-Alston House was built in 1825 on Charleston’s High Battery and is one of the city’s most splendid dwellings. A witness to many dramatic events in Charleston’s history, the Edmondston-Alston House is a classic example of the city’s changing and sophisticated taste in architecture and decorative arts.
The Edmondston-Alston House is a repository of family treasures, including Alston family silver, furniture, books and paintings that remain in place much as they have been for over a century and a half. There is an exquisite collection of prints and other artifacts collected on Alston family trips abroad. Guided tours of the house give visitors an insight into the lifestyle of merchant Charles Edmondston, who first built the house in 1825, and Georgetown County rice planter Charles Alston, who later bought the house in 1838.
Mr. Lincoln’s T-Mails: The Untold Story of How Abraham Lincoln Used the Telegraph to Win the Civil War, by Tom Wheeler
Order it on Amazon
Book description:
The Civil War was the first “modern war.” Because of the rapid changes in American society, Abraham Lincoln became president of a divided United States during a period of technological and social revolution. Among the many modern marvels that gave the North an advantage was the telegraph, which Lincoln used to stay connected to the forces in the field in almost real time.
No leader in history had ever possessed such a powerful tool to gain control over a fractious situation. An eager student of technology, Lincoln (the only president to hold a patent) had to learn to use the power of electronic messages. Without precedent to guide him, Lincoln began by reading the telegraph traffic among his generals. Then he used the telegraph to supplement his preferred form of communication—meetings and letters. He did not replace those face-to-face interactions. Through this experience, Lincoln crafted the best way to guide, reprimand, praise, reward, and encourage his commanders in the field.
Mr. Lincoln’s T-Mails tells a big story within a small compass. By paying close attention to Lincoln’s “lightning messages,” we see a great leader adapt to a new medium. No reader of this work of history will be able to miss the contemporary parallels. Watching Lincoln carefully word his messages—and follow up on those words with the right actions—offers a striking example for those who spend their days tapping out notes on computers and BlackBerrys.
An elegant work of history, Mr. Lincoln’s T-Mails is an instructive example of timeless leadership lessons.
Visit Mr. Wheeler’s web site (He lists several facsimiles of Lincoln’s telegraphs on his site, like the one below).
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HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
Washington, D.C., April 23, 1863.
Colonel LUDLOW, Fort Monroe.
COLONEL: It has been officially reported that on the arrival at Tullahoma of the prisoners of war of the Twenty-second Wisconsin Volunteers, captured at Thompson’s and Brentwood Stations, up in Tennessee, they were by order of General Bragg stripped of their overcoats and blankets.
You will at your next interview with the officer appointed by the enemy for the exchange of prisoners present him with a copy of this letter and ask an answer whether this allegation be true and whether the Confederate authorities approve or disapprove the act alleged.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
H. W. HALLECK,
General-in-Chief.
[First indorsement.]
HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT NO. 2,
[May 21, 1863.]
The complaint is true; my action was retaliatory. Prisoners captured from this army have not only been stripped of overcoats and blankets but money, watches and even small articles of priceless value to them, though of no earthly use to the robbers who took them.
I informed Major-General Rosecrans when I first gave the order early in December last and expressed my regret that the conduct of the officers of his Government imposed this unpleasant duty upon me. The staff officer of the general who received the prisoners with this notice acknowledged the precedent and told his men in the presence of my representative that he regretted the act but would not complain, the example having been set by them. Instead of checking such outrages the general has permitted them to a greater extent, and has recently by general orders required the uniform pantaloons to be taken from my men when captured. He has even pronounced the death penalty against prisoners who may be taken wearing the uniform prescribed by our Government and ordered that no quarter shall be shown them on the field. There is not one of us from the private up but will come within the terms of this general order.
BRAXTON BRAGG,
General, Commanding.
[Second indorsement.]
RICHMOND, VA., May 29, 1863.
Respectfully transmitted through Col. R. Ould, agent for the exchange of prisoners, to Maj. Gen. H. W. Halleck, commanding U.S. Army.
By command of Secretary of War:
S. COOPER,
Adjutant and Inspector General.
[Third indorsement.]
HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, June 2, 1863.
The within letter of General Halleck to Colonel Ludlow and General Bragg’s reply forwarded by General Cooper are referred to General Rosecrans for report. As the Government of the United States has uniformly treated prisoners of war with the utmost kindness, supplying them with clothing and blankets when needed and in all cases adopting the most lenient rules of civilized warfare, it is presumed that if there have been any such abuses as here complained of by General Bragg they have been committed by unknown persons on whom due punishment could not be imposed.
H. W. HALLECK,
General-in- Chief.
WASHINGTON, April 23, 1863.
General CURTIS:
The Secretary of War authorizes the exchange of Major Major for Major McConnel as recommended in your telegram to General Halleck of yesterday. You will please make the exchange and report your action to Colonel Hoffman.
E. A. HITCHCOCK,
Major-General.
************************
O.R.–SERIES II–VOLUME V [S# 118]
UNION CORRESPONDENCE, ORDERS, ETC., RELATING TO PRISONERS OF WAR AND STATE FROM DECEMBER 1, 1862, TO JUNE 10, 1863.–#21
Robert E. Lee wrote to his sister on April 20, 1861:
“With all my devotion to the Union and the feeling of loyalty and duty of an American citizen, I have not been able to make up my mind to raise my hand against my relatives, my children, my home.”
That same day Lee wrote a letter to General Winfield Scott, tendering his resignation of the U.S. Army:
“I therefore tender my resignation, which I request you will recommend for acceptance. It would have been presented at once but for the struggle it has cost me to separate myself from a service to which I have devoted the best years of my life, and all the ability I possessed.”
“Mr. Blair, I look upon secession as anarchy. If I owned the four millions of slaves in the South, I should sacrifice all for the Union but how can I draw my sword upon Virginia?”
Recommend read:
Robert E. Lee: A Biography, Emory M. Thomas
Book description:
The life of Robert E. Lee is a story not of defeat but of triumphtriumph in clearing his family name, triumph in marrying properly, triumph over the mighty Mississippi in his work as an engineer, and triumph over all other military men to become the towering figure who commanded the Confederate army in the American Civil War. But late in life Lee confessed that he “was always wanting something.”
In this probing and personal biography, Emory Thomas reveals more than the man himself did. Robert E. Lee has been, and continues to be, a symbol and hero in the American story. But in life, Thomas writes, Lee was both more and less than his legend. Here is the man behind the legend.
Order it from Amazon
“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have stained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battle-field, and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearthstone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”
- Abraham Lincoln, March 4, 1861, First innaugural address
