A Rebel War Clerk's Diary At The Confederate States Capital - free ebook by J. B. (John Beauchamp) Jones

VOLS. I and II.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1866, by J. B. LIPPINCOTT &amp; CO., In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania....

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PREFACE.

This Diary was written with the knowledge of the President and the Secretary of War. I informed them of it by note. They did not deprecate criticism on their official conduct; for they allowed me still to execute the functions of a very important position in the Government until the end of its career. My discriminating friends will understand why I accepted the poor title of a clerkship, after having declined the Chargéship to Naples, tendered by Mr. Calhoun during the administration of Presiden

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CHAPTER I.

My flight from the North and escape into Virginia.—Revolutionary scene at Richmond.—The Union Convention passes the Ordinance of Secession.—Great excitement prevails in the South. April 8th, 1861. Burlington, New Jersey. —The expedition sails to-day from New York. Its purpose is to reduce Fort Moultrie, Charleston harbor, and relieve Fort Sumter, invested by the Confederate forces. Southern born, and editor of the Southern Monitor , there seems to be no alternative but to depart immediately. For

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CHAPTER II.

Depart for Montgomery.—Interview with President Davis.—My position in the Government.—Government removed to Richmond.—My family. May 1st. —Troops are coming in from all directions, cavalry and infantry; but I learn that none scarcely are accepted by the State. This is great political economy, with a vengeance! How is Gov. Letcher to be ready to fight in a few days? Oh, perhaps he thinks the army will spontaneously spring into existence, march without transportation, and fight without rations or

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CHAPTER III.

Troops pour into Richmond.—Beginning of hostilities.—Gen. Lee made a full general.—Major-Gen. Polk.—A battle expected at Manassas. June 1st. —In the absence of the Secretary, I arranged the furniture as well as I could, and took possession of the five offices I had selected. But no business, of course, could be done before his arrival. Yet an immense mass of business was accumulating—letters by the hundreds were demanding attention. And I soon found, as the other Secretaries came in, that some d

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CHAPTER IV.

My family in North Carolina.—Volunteers daily rejected.—Gen. Winder appears upon the stage.—Toombs commissioned.—Hunter Secretary of State.—Duel prevented.—Col B. Secretary for a few hours.—Gen. Garnett killed.—Battle of Manassas.—Great excitement.—Col. Bartow. July 1st. —My family are gone. We have moved the department to Mechanics’ Hall, which will be known hereafter as the War Department. In an evil hour, I selected a room to write my letters in, quite remote from the Secretary’s office. I th

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CHAPTER V.

My son Custis appointed clerk in the War Department.—N. Y. Herald contains a pretty correct army list of the C. S.—Appearance of “Plug Uglies.”—President’s rupture with Beauregard.—President sick.—Alien enemies ordered away.—Brief interview with the President.—“Immediate.”—Large numbers of cavalry offering.—Great preparations in the North. August 1st. —Col. Bledsoe again threatens to resign, and again declares he will get the President to appoint me to his place. It would not suit me. August 2d.

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CHAPTER VI.

Four hundred thousand troops to be raised.—Want of arms.—Yankees offer to sell them to us.—Walker resigns.—Benjamin succeeds.—Col. J. A. Washington killed.—Assigned, temporarily, to the head of the passport office. September 1st. —The press and congressional critics are opening their batteries on the Secretary of War, for incompetency . He is not to blame. A month ago, Capt. Lee, son of the general, and a good engineer, was sent to the coast of North Carolina to inspect the defenses. His report

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CHAPTER VII.

An order for the publication of the names of alien enemies.—Some excitement.—Efforts to secure property.—G. A. Myers, lawyer, actively engaged.—Gen. Price gains a victory in Missouri.—Billy Wilson’s cut-throats cut to pieces at Fort Pickens.—A female spy arrives from Washington.—Great success at Leesburg or Ball’s Bluff. October 1st. —I find that only a few hundred alien enemies departed from the country under the President’s proclamation, allowing them forty days, from the 16th of August, to ma

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CHAPTER VIII.

Quarrel between Gen. Beauregard and Mr. Benjamin.—Great Naval preparations in the North.—The loss of Port Royal, S. C., takes some prestige.—The affair at Belmont does not compensate for it.—The enemy kills an old hare.—Missouri secedes.—Mason and Slidell captured.—French Consul and the actresses.—The lieutenant in disguise.—Eastern Shore of Virginia invaded.—Messrs. Breckinridge and Marshall in Richmond. November 1st. —There is an outcry against the appointment of two major-generals, recommende

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CHAPTER IX.

Gen. Lee ordered South.—Gen. Stuart ambuscaded at Drainsville.—W. H. B. Custis returns to the Eastern Shore.—Winder’s detectives.—Kentucky secedes.—Judge Perkins’s resolution.—Dibble goes North.—Waiting for Great Britain to do something.—Mr. Ely, the Yankee M. C. December 1st. —The people here begin to murmur at the idea that they are questioned about their loyalty, and often arrested, by Baltimore petty larceny detectives, who, if they were patriotic themselves (as they are all able-bodied men)

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CHAPTER X.

Seward gives up Mason and Slidell.—Great preparations of the enemy.—Gen. Jackson betrayed.—Mr. Memminger’s blunders.—Exaggerated reports of our troops in Kentucky and Tennessee. January 1st, 1862. —Seward has cowered beneath the roar of the British Lion, and surrendered Mason and Slidell, who have been permitted to go on their errand to England. Now we must depend upon our own strong arms and stout hearts for defense. January 2d. —The enemy are making preparations to assail us everywhere. Roanok

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CHAPTER XI.

Fall of Fort Henry.—Of Fort Donelson.—Lugubrious Inauguration of the President in the Permanent Government.—Loss of Roanoke Island. February 1st. —We had a startling rumor yesterday that New Orleans had been taken by the enemy, without firing a gun. I hastened to the Secretary and asked him if it could be true. He had not heard of it, and turned pale. But a moment after, recollecting the day on which it was said the city had fallen, he seized a New Orleans paper of a subsequent date, and said th

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CHAPTER XII.

Nashville evacuated.—Martial law.—Passports.—Com. Buchanan’s naval engagement.—Gen. Winder’s blunders.—Mr. Benjamin Secretary of State.—Lee commander-in chief.—Mr. G. W. Randolph Secretary of War. March 1st. —It is certain that the City of Nashville has been evacuated, and will, of course, be occupied by the enemy. Gen. Johnston, with the remnant of his army, has fallen down to Murfreesborough, and as that is not a point of military importance, will in turn be abandoned, and the enemy will drop

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CHAPTER XIII.

Gen. Beauregard succeeds Gen. Sydney Johnston.—Dibble, the traitor.—Enemy at Fredericksburg.—They say we will be subdued by the 15th of June.—Lee rapidly concentrating at Richmond.—Webster, the spy, hung. April 1st. —Gen. Sydney Johnston having fallen in battle, the command in the West devolved on Gen. Beauregard, whose recent defense at Island No. 10 on the Mississippi, has revived his popularity. But, I repeat, he is a doomed man. April 2d. —Gen. Wise is here with his report of the Roanoke dis

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CHAPTER XIV.

Disloyalists entrapped.—Norfolk abandoned.—Merrimac blown up.—Army falling back.—Mrs. Davis leaves Richmond.—Preparing to burn the tobacco.—Secretary of War trembles for Richmond.—Richmond to be defended.—The tobacco.—Winking and blinking.—Johnston’s great battle.—Wounded himself.—The wounded.—The hospitals. May 1st. —The ladies shower loaves of bread and slices of ham on the passing troops. May 2d. —An iniquitous-looking prisoner was brought in to-day from Orange C. H., by the name of Robert St

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CHAPTER XV.

Huger fails again.—A wounded boy.—The killed and wounded.—Lee assumes command.—Lee prepares to attack McClellan—Beauregard watches the gold.—Our generals scattered.—Hasty letter from Gen. Lee.—Opening of grand battle.—First day, 26th June.—Second, etc.—Lee’s consummate skill.—Every day for a week it rages.—Streets crowded with Blue Jackets.—McClellan retires. June 1st. —The ambulances are now bringing in the enemy’s wounded as well as our own. It is the prompting of humanity. They seem truly gra

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CHAPTER XVI.

Terrific fighting.—Anxiety to visit the battle-field.—Lee prepares for other battles.—Hope for the Union extinct.—Gen. Lee brings forward conscripts.—Gen. Cobb appointed to arrange exchange of prisoners.—Mr. Ould as agent.—Pope, the braggart, comes upon the stage.—Meets a braggart’s fate.—The war transferred to Northern Virginia. July 1st. —To-day Gen. Magruder led his division into action at Malvern Hill, it is said, contrary to the judgment of other commanders. The enemy’s batteries commanded

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CHAPTER XVII.

Vicksburg shelled.—Lee looks toward Washington.—Much manœuvring in Orange County.—A brigade of the enemy annihilated.—McClellan flies to Washington.—Cretans.—Leo has a mighty army.—Missouri risings.—Pope’s coat and papers captured.—Cut up at Manassas.—Clothing captured of the enemy. August 1st. —Vicksburg has triumphantly withstood the shelling of the enemy’s fleet of gun-boats. This proves that New Orleans might have been successfully defended, and could have been held to this day by Gen. Lovel

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CHAPTER XVIII.

Lee announces a victory.—Crosses the Potomac.—Battle of Sharpsburg.—McClellan pauses at the Potomac.—Lee moves mysteriously.—The campaign a doubtful one in its material results.—Horrible scene near Washington.—Conscription enlarged.—Heavy loss at Sharpsburg.—10,000 in the hospitals here. September 1st. —Official dispatches from Lee, announcing a “signal victory,” by the blessing of God, “over the combined forces of the enemy.” That is glory enough for a week. When Lee says “signal victory,” we k

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CHAPTER XIX.

McClellan has crossed the Potomac.—Another battle anticipated.—I am assured here that Lee had but 40,000 men engaged at Sharpsburg.—He has more now, as he is defending Virginia.—Radicals of the North want McClellan removed.—Our President has never taken the field.—Lee makes demonstrations against McClellan.—A Jew store robbed last night.—We have 40,000 prisoners excess over the enemy.—My family arrived from Raleigh.—My wife’s substitute for coffee.—Foul passports.—My friend Brooks dines and wine

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CHAPTER XX.

General Lee in Richmond: beard white.—First proposition to trade cotton to the enemy.—Secretary in favor of it.—All the letters come through my hands again.—Lee falling back.—5000 negroes at work on the fortifications.—Active operations looked for.—Beauregard advises non-combatants to leave the city.—Semmes’s operations.—Making a nation.—Salt works lost in Virginia.—Barefooted soldiers.—Intrigues of Butler in New Orleans.—Northern army advancing everywhere.—Breach between the President and Secre

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CHAPTER XXI.

The great crisis at hand.—The rage for speculation raises its head.—Great battle of Fredericksburg.—The States called on for supplies.—Randolph resigns as Brigadier-General.—South Carolina honor.—Loss at Fredericksburg.—Great contracts.—Lee’s ammunition bad.—Small-pox here. December 1st, Monday. —There is a rumor to-day that we are upon the eve of a great battle on the Rappahannock. I doubt it not. I am sorry to see that Col. McRae, a gallant officer, has resigned his commission, charging the Pr

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CHAPTER XXII.

Lee in winter quarters.—Bragg’s victory in the Southwest.—The President at Mobile.—Enemy withdraw from Vicksburg.—Bragg retreats as usual.—Bureau of Conscription.—High rents.—Flour contracts in Congress.—Efforts to escape conscription.—Ships coming in freely.—Sneers at negro troops.—Hopes of French intervention.—Gen. Rains blows himself up.—Davis would be the last to give up.—Gov. Vance protests against Col. August’s appointment as commandant of conscripts.—Financial difficulties in the United S

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CHAPTER XXIII.

Proposed fixture of prices.—Depreciation in the North.—Gen. Hooker in command of the U. S. forces.—Lee thinks Charleston will be attacked.—Congress does nothing.—Some fears for Vicksburg.—Pemberton commands.—Wise dashes into Williamsburg.—Rats take food from my daughter’s hand.—Lee wants the meat sent from Georgia to Virginia, where the fighting will be.—Gen. Winder uneasy about my Diary.—Gen. Johnston asks to be relieved in the West. February 1st .—The Virginia Legislature, now in session, has

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CHAPTER XXIV.

Removed into Clay Street.—Gen. Toombs resigned.—Lincoln dictator.—He can call 3,000,000 of men.—President is sick.—His office is not a bed of roses.—Col. Gorgas sends in his oath of allegiance.—Confederate gold $5 for $1.—Explosion of a laboratory.—Bad weather everywhere.—Fighting on the Mississippi River.—Conflict of views in the Conscription Bureau.—Confederate States currency $10 for $1.—Snow a foot deep, but melting.—We have no negro regiments in our service.—Only 6000 conscripts from East T

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CHAPTER XXV.

Symptoms of bread riots.—Lee forming depots of provisions near the Rappahannock.—Beauregard ready to defend Charleston.—He has rebuffed the enemy severely.—French and British advancing money on cotton.—The Yankees can beat us in bargaining.—Gen. Lee anxious for new supplies.—The President appeals to the people to raise food for man and beast.—Federal and Confederate troops serenading each other on the Rappahannock.—Cobbler’s wages $3000 per annum.—Wrangling in the Indian country.—Only 700 conscr

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CHAPTER XXVI.

“ Chancellorville , May 4th. “ General :— “I have just received your note informing me that you were wounded. I cannot express my regret at the occurrence. Could I have dictated events, I should have chosen for the good of the country to have been disabled in your stead. “I congratulate you upon the victory which is due to your skill and energy. “Most truly yours, “ R. E. Lee . “ To Gen. T. J. Jackson .” “The nation’s agony,” as it is termed in a Washington paper, in an appeal for 500,000 more m

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CHAPTER XXVII.

Vicksburg refuses to surrender to Grant.—Spiritualism at the White House.—Lee is pushing a little northward.—It, is said Grant has lost 40,000 men.—He is still pounding Vicksburg.—Petty military organizations.—Mr. Randolph busy.—Foolish passport rules.—Great battle imminent, but speculation may defeat both sides.—Early’s victory.—We have only supplies of corn from day to day.—Chambersburg struck.—Col. Whiting complains of blockade running at Wilmington.—False alarm.—Grant still before Vicksburg.

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CHAPTER XXVIII.

“ Charleston , July 22d, 1863. “The enemy recommenced shelling again yesterday, with but few casualties on our part. We had, in the battle of the 18th inst., about 150 killed and wounded. The enemy’s loss, including prisoners, was about 2000. Nearly 800 were buried under a flag of truce. “Col. Putnam, acting brigadier-general, and Col. Shaw, commanding the negro regiment, were killed. “(Signed) G. T. Beauregard , General .” It is said the raiders that dashed into Wytheville have been taken;

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CHAPTER XXIX.

Some desertion.—Lee falling back.—Men still foolishly look for foreign aid.—Speculators swarming.—God helps me to-day.—Conscripts.—Memminger shipping gold to Europe.—Our women and children making straw bonnets.—Attack on Charleston.—Robert Tyler as a financier.—Enemy throw large shells into Charleston, five and a half miles.—Diabolical scheme.—Gen. Lee has returned to the army. August 1st. —The President learns, by a dispatch from Gen. Hardee, of Mississippi, that information has reached him, wh

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CHAPTER XXX.

Situation at Wilmington.—Situation at Charleston.—Lincoln thinks there is hope of our submission.—Market prices.—Ammunition turned over to the enemy at Vicksburg.—Attack on Sumter.—Stringent conscription order.—Disaffection in North Carolina.—Victory announced by Gen. Bragg.—Peril of Gen. Rosecrans.—Surrender of Cumberland Gap.—Rosecrans fortifying Chattanooga.—Mr. Seward on flag-of-truce boat.—Burnside evacuating East Tennessee.—The trans-Mississippi army.—Meade sending troops to Rosecrans.—Pem

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CHAPTER XXXI.

Suffering of our wounded at Gettysburg.—Prisoners from the battle of Chickamauga.—Charleston.—Policy in the Southwest.—From Gen. Bragg.—Letter from President Davis.—Religious revival.—Departure of the President for the Southwest.—About General Bragg.— Movement of mechanics and non-producers.—About “French” tobacco.—The markets.—Outrage in Missouri.—-Speculations of government agents.—From Gen. Lee.—Judge Hastings’s scheme.—Visit to our prisons.—Letter from Gen. Kirby Smith.—President Davis at Se

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CHAPTER XXXII.

Letters from various sections.—The President and Gen. Bragg.—State of the markets.—Causes of the President’s tour.—Gen. Duff Green—Return of the President.—Loss of Hoke’s and Haye’s brigades.—Letter from Gen. Howell Cobb.—Dispatch from Gen. Lee.—State of the markets.—Letter from A. Moseley.—Mrs. Todd in Richmond.—Vice-President Stephens on furloughs.—About Gen. Bragg and the battle of Lookout Mountain. November 1st. —No news from any of the armies this morning. But Gen. Whiting writes that he is

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CHAPTER XXXIII.

Assembling of Congress.—President’s message.—The markets.—No hope for the Confederate currency.—Averill’s raid.—Letter from Gov. Vance.—Christmas.—Persons having furnished substitutes still liable to military duty. December 1st. —This morning the ground is frozen hard. There was no battle yesterday, only heavy skirmishing. Both armies were drawn up in line of battle, and the front lines slept on their arms. Some froze to death. This morning the enemy opened with artillery—but no battle ensued th

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CHAPTER XXXIV.

Hospitalities of the city to Gen. Morgan.—Call for a Dictator.—Letter from Gen. Lee.—Letters from Gov. Vance.—Accusation against Gen. Winder.—Treatment of Confederate prisoners (from the Chicago Times ).—Change of Federal policy.—Efforts to remove Col. Northrop.—Breach between the President and Congress.—Destitution of our prisoners.—Appeal of Gen. Lee to the army.—New Conscription Act.—Letter from Gen. Cobb. January 1st, 1864. —A bright windy day, and not cold. The President has a reception to-

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CHAPTER XXXV.

Gen. Lovell applies for a command.—Auspicious opening of 1864.—Mr. Wright’s resolutions.—Rumored approach of Gen. Butler.—Letter from Gov. Brown.—Letter from Gen. Lee.—Dispatches from Gen. Beauregard.—President Davis’s negroes.—Controversy between Gen. Winder and Mr. Ould.—Robbery of Mr. Lewis Hayman.—Promotion of Gen. Bragg, and the Examiner thereon.—Scarcity of provisions in the army.—Congress and the President. February 1st. —Hazy, misty weather. Gen. Lovell (who lost New Orleans) has applied

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CHAPTER XXXVI

Attempt to capture Richmond.—Governor Vance and Judge Pearson—Preparations to blow up the “Libby” prisoners.—Letter from General Lee.—Proposal to execute Dahlgren’s raiders.—General Butler on the Eastern Shore.—Colonel Dahlgren’s body.—Destitution of the army.—Strength of the Southwestern army.—Destitution of my family.—Protest from South Carolina.—Difficulty with P. Milmo &amp; Co.—Hon. J. W. Wall. March 1st. —Dark and raining. As the morning progressed, the city was a little startled by th

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CHAPTER XXXVII.

Return of Mr. Ould and Capt. Hatch from Fortress Monroe.—Quarrel between Mr. Memminger and Mr. Seddon.—Famine.—A victory in Louisiana.—Vice-President Stephens’s speech.—Victory of Gen. Forrest.—Capture of Plymouth, N. C.—Gen. Lee’s bill of fare. April 1st. —Cloudy all day, with occasional light showers. No war news; but the papers have an account of the shooting of an infant by some Yankees on account of its name . This shows that the war is degenerating more and more into savage barbarism. Apri

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CHAPTER XXXVIII.

Dispatch from Gen. J. E. Johnston.—Dispatch from Gen. Lee.—Mr. Saulsbury’s resolution in the U. S. Senate.—Progress of the enemy.—Rumored preparations for the flight of the President.—Wrangling of high officials.—Position of the armies. May 1st. —Cloudy and showery, but warm, and fine for vegetation. My lettuce, cabbage, beans, etc. are growing finely. But the Yankee corn and lima beans, imported by Col. Gorgas, Chief of Ordnance, have rotted in the ground. No war news. Yesterday a paper was sen

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CHAPTER XXXIX.

Beauregard’s plan.—The battle.—Defeat near Staunton.—Fight at Petersburg.—Decision about Marylanders—Beauregard in disgrace.—Dispatch from Gen. J. E. Johnston. June 1st. —Bright and warm. At 7½ a.m. cannon and musketry heard northeast of the city, which either ceased or receded out of hearing at 12 m. ; or else the hum of the city drowned the sounds of battle. Up to 3 p.m. we have no particulars. Beauregard is on the right of our line; Lee’s headquarters was at Yellow Tavern. He is sufficiently

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CHAPTER XL.

Gen. Lee’s dispatch announcing Gen. Hampton’s victory.—Cost of a cup of coffee.—From Gens. Johnston and S. D. Lee.—Gen. Early in Maryland. Rumored capture of Baltimore.—Letter from Gen. Lee.—Dispatch from Gen. Hood.—Status of the local troops. July 1st. —Clear, hot, and dry; my snap beans, corn, etc. burning up. The papers this morning fail to confirm the capture of as many prisoners, near Petersburg, as were reported yesterday. But the dispatch (subjoined) of Gen. Lee renders it certain that th

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CHAPTER XLI.

From the Northern papers.—Letter from J. Thompson, Canada.—From Mr. McRae, our foreign agent.—Dispatch from Major-Gen. Maury.—“General Order No. 65.”—Battle of Reams’s Station. August 1st. —Hot and clear; but it rained yesterday three-quarters of an hour in the afternoon. Our loss in the affair at Petersburg is about 800, the enemy’s 3500. We captured 2000 small arms. We have nothing yet from Atlanta, but no doubt there has been another battle. I hope no disaster has befallen us there. No doubt

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CHAPTER XLII.

The Federal Presidency.—The Chicago Convention.—Fall of Atlanta.—Bureau of Conscription.—From Gen. Hood.—Vice-President Stephens on the situation.—Letter from Mrs. Mendenhall.—Dispatch from Gen. Lee.—Defeat of Gen. Early.—From Gov. Vance.—From Gov. Brown, of Georgia.—Gen. Lee’s indorsement of Col. Moseby.—Hon. Mr. Foote.—Attack on Fort Gilmer.—Indiscriminate arrest of civilians. September 1st. —Clear, bright, and cool. The intelligence from the North indicates that Gen. McClellan will be nominat

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CHAPTER XLIII.

Attempt to retake Fort Harrison.—A false alarm.—Dispatches from Gen. Lee.—Impressments.—Gen. Butler’s generosity.—Matters in and about the city.—Beverly Tucker’s contract with a New York firm for supplies. October 1st. —Raining and cold. Horrible for the troops in the trenches! The battle, yesterday (on this side of the river), was an attempt of Gen. Lee to retake Fort Harrison, near Chaffin’s Bluff, which failed , after two essays. Gen. Lee deemed its recapture important, and exposed himself ve

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CHAPTER XLIV.

Proclamation for a day of public worship.—Gov. Allen, of Louisiana.—Letter from Gen. Beauregard.—Departure for Europe.—Congress assembles.—Quarrel between Gens. Kemper and Preston.—Gen. Forrest doing wonders.—Tennessee.—Gen. Johnston on his Georgia campaign.—John Mitchel and Senator Foote.—Progress of Sherman.—From Gov. Brown, of Georgia.—Capture of Gen. Pryor. November 1st. —Bright and frosty morning. All quiet. No confirmation of Early’s defeat; and the night-feat of Mahone puts the people in

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CHAPTER XLV.

Desertions.—Bragg and Kilpatrick.—Rents.—Gen. Winder’s management of prisoners.—Rumored disasters in Tennessee.—Prices.—Progress of Sherman.—Around Richmond.—Capture of Fort McAlister.—Rumored death of the President.—Yankee line of spies.—From Wilmington and Charleston.—Evacuation of Savannah. December 1st. —Bright and warm. It is said there is a movement of the enemy menacing our works on the north side of the river. There was shelling down the river yesterday and day before, officially announc

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CHAPTER XLVI.

“ Headquarters , January 15th, 1865. “ Hon. J. A. Seddon. “Gen. Early reports that Gen. Rosser, at the head of three hundred men, surprised and captured the garrison at Beverly, Randolph County, on the 11th instant, killing and wounding a considerable number and taking five hundred and eighty prisoners. His loss slight. R. E. Lee. ” January 18th. —Cloudy and cool. Cannon heard down the river. No war news. But blockade-running at Wilmington has ceased; and common calico, now at $25 per yard,

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CHAPTER XLVII.

Gen. Lee appointed General-in-Chief.—Progress of Sherman.—The markets.—Letter from Gen. Butler.—Return of the Peace Commissioners.—The situation.—From Gen. Lee.—Use of negroes as soldiers.—Patriotism of the women.—Pardon of deserters.—The passport system.—Oh for peace!—Gen. Lee on negro soldiers.—Conventions in Georgia and Mississippi. February 1st. —Clear and pleasant; subsequently thawing and foggy. Gen. R. E. Lee has been appointed General-in-Chief by the President, in response to the recent

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CHAPTER XLVIII

From the North.—Rumored defeat of Gen. Early.—Panic among officials.—Moving the archives.—Lincoln’s inaugural.—Victory in North Carolina.—Rumored treaty with France.—Sheridan’s movements.—Letter from Lord John Russell.—Sherman’s progress.—Desperate condition of the Government.—Disagreement between the President and Congress.—Development of Grant’s combination.—Assault at Hare’s Hill.—Departure of Mrs. President Davis. March 1st. —Cloudy, cold, and dismal. We have no news, except from the North,

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CHAPTER XLIX.

Rumors of battles.—Excitement in the churches.—The South Side Road captured by the enemy.—Evacuation of Richmond.—Surrender of Gen. Lee.—Occupation of Richmond by Federal forces.—Address to the people of Virginia by J. A. Campbell and others.—Assassination of President Lincoln. April 1st. —Clear and pleasant. Walked to the department. We have vague and incoherent accounts from excited couriers of fighting, without result, in Dinwiddie County, near the South Side Railroad. It is rumored that a ba

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