December
December 1.
Both Houses of the Congress of the United States met at Washington. The message of President Lincoln was received and road. Among the recommendations offered for adoption in the message, were the following resolution and articles emendatory to the Constitution of the United States: Resolved, By the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, two thirds of both houses concurring, that the following articles be proposed to the Legislatures or Conventions of the several States, as amendments to the Constitution of the United States, all or any of which articles, when ratified by three fourths of the said Legislatures or Conventions, to be valid as part or parts of the said Constitution, namely:
Article--. Every State wherein slavery now exists, which shall abolish the same therein at any time or times before the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred, shall receive compensation from the United States as follows, to wit: The President of the United States shall deliver to every such State, bonds of the United States, bearing interest at the rate of----, for each slave shown to have been therein, by the eighth census of the United States; said bonds to be delivered to such State by instalments, or in one parcel at the completion of the abolishment, according as the same shall have been gradual or at one time within such State; and interest shall begin to run upon any such bond only from the proper time of its delivery as aforesaid, and afterward. Any State having received bonds as aforesaid, and afterward introducing or tolerating slavery therein, shall refund to the United States the bonds so received, or the value thereof, and all interest paid thereon.
Article--. All slaves who shall have enjoyed actual freedom, by the chances of the war at any time, before the end of the rebellion, shall be forever free; but all owners of such, who shall not [21] have been disloyal, shall be compensated for them at the same rates as is provided for States adopting abolishment of slavery — but in such a way that no slave shall be twice accounted for.
Article--. Congress may appropriate money and otherwise provide for colonizing free colored persons with their own consent, at any place or places without the United States.
William W. Lunt, lately a private belonging to the Ninth regiment of Maine volunteers, was executed at Hilton Head, S. C., for desertion.--The National cavalry, belonging to the army of General Grant, under the command of Colonel Lee, took possession of the rebel forts on the Tallahatchie River. By a sudden descent, early in the morning, Colonel Lee captured a battery of six guns, with the horses attached thereto, on the north side of the river.--A slight skirmish took place in the vicinity of Horse Creek, Dade County, Mo., between a detachment of the Fourth Missouri cavalry, under the command of Major Kelly, and a small band of guerrillas, in which the rebels were routed, leaving five of their number in the hands of the Unionists.--Springfield Missourian.
A detachment of the Third Virginia National cavalry, under the command of Captain S. B. Cruger, entered Warrenton, Va., to-day, after routing the rebel cavalry, and capturing one prisoner, nine horses, and a wagon, without any Union loss.--T. R. Cressy, Chaplain Minnesota Second regiment, made a report of the operations of the regiment, from the first of August to this date.--(Doc. 56.)
The British schooner George, from Nassau, N. P., laden with coffee, salt, etc., was captured off Indian River, Florida, by the United States gunboat Sagamore, Lieutenant Commanding Earle English.--Official confirmation of the hostile plans of “Little Crow,” and a portion of the northern Indians, was this day received by W. P. Dole, Commissioner of Indian Affairs for the United States.--St. Paul Press, January 1, 1863.
A Union boat expedition, under the command of Acting Master Gordon, proceeded up Bell River, La., and captured an armed rebel launch, mounting a twelve-pounder brass howitzer.--This morning, Gen. Slocum, with a body of National troops, had a skirmish with the rebel cavalry, under White, Henderson, and Baylor, near Charlestown, Va., and succeeded in routing them. This evening he again attacked them at Berryville, killing five and wounding eighteen.--General Slocum's Report.
December 2.
Abbeville, Miss., was evacuated by the rebels, and occupied by the National cavalry alry belonging to the army of General Grant.--A fight took place near Franklin, Va., between a force of Union troops, under the command of Colonel Spear, Eleventh Pennsylvania cavalry, and a body of rebel cavalry, supported by artillery, resulting in a complete rout of the rebels, with considerable loss.--(Doc. 57.)
Lieutenant Hoffman of the First New Jersey cavalry, and six of his men, were surprised while on picket-duty, at a point three miles from Dumfries, Va. In their unsuccessful resistance, private Thomas Buffin was seriously wounded.--General Averill sent a reconnoisance from Brooks's Station, up the Rappahannock River, which succeeded in capturing a number of rebel pickets, and obtaining valuable information.--At three o'clock this morning parts of two companies of the Eighth Pennsylvania cavalry, numbering sixty men, under the command of Captain Wilson, were attacked at King George Court-House, Va., by a large body of rebels, who succeeded in getting between their station and the main body of the National cavalry, and thus compelled them to retreat with some loss.--A portion of the expedition under the command of Major-General Banks, sailed from New York.--Reverdy Johnson, of Maryland, in an elaborate letter to the National Intelligencer, refuted the charges, made by a New Orleans journal, reflecting on his conduct as Commissioner of the United States, in that city.--Major-General Halleck made a report of the operations of the armies of the Union, from the twenty-third day of July, when, in compliance with the President's order, he assumed command as General-in-Chief, to this date.--(Doc. 58.)
Colonel J. M. Glover, commandant at Rolla, Mo., having intelligence that several hundred rebels were in camp on Current River, at the head waters, on the thirtieth ultimo, proceeded with one hundred and thirty men to attack them. His force were parts of companies A and B of the Third Missouri cavalry, and part of company H, Ninth Missouri cavalry. This morning he found a light force of the enemy in the gorges of the Ozarks and routed them, killing four, capturing two, and taking four horses. The detachment marched two hundred miles in seven days, and not a man of it was harmed. No considerable body of the rebels could be found, and the force returned to Rolla.--General Curtis's Despatch.
[22] A successful reconnoissance was this day made from Bolivar Heights, Va., by a force of Union troops, under the command of General Geary, to Charleston, Berryville, Winchester, etc.--(Doc. 59.)
December 3.
Major A. P. Henry, with a party of National troops, belonging to the Ninety-first Indiana infantry and Fifteenth Kentucky cavalry, entered and took possession of Princeton, Ky., at eight o'clock this morning, capturing a number of guerrillas and other persons inimical to the Government of the United States.--The schooners Emma Tuttle, Brilliant, and J. P. Boker were captured while attempting to run the blockade; the first two at New Inlet, and the last at Deep Inlet, N. C.
A series of skirmishes occurred near Oxford, Miss., between a brigade of Union troops under the command of Colonel Hatch, and a considerable force of the rebels, resulting in the capture by the Unionists of ninety-two prisoners, and the killing and wounding of twenty of their number.--Cincinnati Commercial.
December 4.
A sharp fight occurred between six United States gunboats lying off Port Royal, on the Rappahannock River, Va., and the rebel batteries behind the town. The firing was very rapid, and lasted about two hours, completely riddling some of the houses, when the rebels ceased firing, and the gunboats dropped down the river one and a half miles. Some of the rebel shot struck very near the boats, but no damage was done them.
The North-Carolina House of Commons unanimously passed a series of resolutions, expressive of their confidence in the patriotism and uprightness of Jefferson Davis, and his ability to sustain the government of the rebels; also heartily approving the policy for the conduct of the war set forth by Governor Vance, and finally declaring that the “separation was final, and that North-Carolina would never consent to reunion at any time or upon any terms.” --A skirmish took place near Tuscumbia, Ala., in which the rebels were compelled to abandon their camps, after losing a large number of horses, and seventy taken prisoners.-Winchester, Va., surrendered to a reconnoitring force of Union troops under the command of General Geary.--(Doc. 59.)
A sharp fight took place at Watervalley, Miss., between two brigades of Union troops, commanded by Colonels Hatch and Lee, and a large body of rebels. After a charge from the Union troops, the rebels were routed, leaving three hundred of their number, and fifty horses in the hands of the Unionists.
The rebel General Hindman, before making his attack on the National forces in Arkansas, issued an address to his soldiers, in which he told them what to do, and what not to do in battle.--(Doc. 60).)
December 5.
A fight took place near Coffeeville, Miss., between a force of Union cavalry, numbering about two thousand, under the commands of Colonels Dickey and Lee, and a body of rebel infantry about five thousand strong, resulting, after a contest of about two hours duration, in a retreat of the Unionists with a loss of about one hundred men killed, wounded, and missing.--(Doc. 63.)
To-day the Thirtieth Iowa and Twenty-ninth Wisconsin regiments arrived at Helena, Ark., and after pitching their tents, were attacked by a body of three hundred rebels, whom they repulsed, killing eight and capturing thirty.--General Winfield Scott, through the columns of the National Intelligencer, replied to the letter of James Buchanan.
December 6.
General A. P. Hovey, from the headquarters of his expedition, issued an order to the officers and soldiers under his command, thanking them for their cheerfulness and bravery during the expedition to Mississippi. In concluding, he said: “Brigadier-General Washburne's energy and skill deserve particular mention.”
The rebel schooners Southern Merchant and Naniope, laden with sugar and molasses, were this day captured in Chicot Pass, on the Mississippi, by United States gunboat Diana, under the command of Acting Master Goodwin.--General Viele, Military Governor of Norfolk, Va., issued a proclamation and a writ of election for a member of Congress for the Norfolk district of Virginia.--Major-General Dix, commanding Department of Virginia, issued an address from his Headquarters at Fortress Monroe to the inhabitants of Norfolk, Princess Anne, Nansemond, and Isle of Wight Counties, informing them that smuggling goods across the line to the rebels was prohibited; that every person detected in the attempt would be put at hard labor in Fort Norfolk, and the property seized and sold for the benefit of the poor. Also, that in order they should resume their place in the Union, with the full enjoyment [23] of all their rights as citizens of the United States, an election would be immediately ordered, enabling them to return a member to represent them in the next House of Representatives.
The schooner Medora, of Baltimore, Md., laden with borax, medical stores, military uniforms, shoes, blankets, ammunition, etc., supposed to be intended for the rebel army, was captured by a company of Union troops under the command of Captain Kearney, while lying at anchor near Hackett's Point, Md.
A fight took place near Lebanon, Tenn., between the Ninety-third Ohio infantry, Colonel Charles Anderson, acting as the guard of a forage train, and a force of rebels, resulting in the retreat of the latter.--(Doc. 64.)
December 7.
The United States mail steamer Ariel was captured off the eastern shore of Cuba by the rebel privateer Alabama, but was released after some detention, on giving a bond for two hundred and twenty-eight thousand dollars, payable in thirty days after the acknowledgment of the rebel government.--General A. P. Hovey, returned to Friar's Point on the Mississippi, this morning.
The battle of Prairie Grove, or Fayetteville, Arkansas, was this day fought between the National forces under the command of Generals Blunt and Herron, and the rebels under Generals Hindman, Marmaduke, Parsons, and Frost, resulting in the defeat of the latter with heavy loss.--(Doc. 24.)
A fight took place at Hartsville, Tenn., between a body of Union troops under the command of Colonel A. B. Moore, of the One Hundred and Fourth Illinois, and a numerically much superior force of rebels under General John H. Morgan, resulting in the surrender of the whole Union force.--(Doc. 65.)
December 8.
Andrew Johnson, Military Governor of Tennessee, issued a proclamation appointing and ordering elections to be held on the twenty-ninth day of December, 1862, to fill the vacancies in the Thirty-seventh Congress.--Rumors of an invasion of New Mexico, by outlaws from Texas, were received at Barclay's Fort, N. M., and preparations were made to repel it.--The iron-clad steamer Shenandoah was launched at Philadelphia, Pa.--At New Orleans, La., notice was given, by direction of the Commanding General, that all persons arriving at that place would be required to take the oath of allegiance to the United States.
December 9.
A fight took place near La Vergne, Tenn., between a detachment of Union troops, acting as a guard and escort to a forage-train of fifty wagons, and a large force of rebels, resulting in a retreat of the latter with considerable loss.--(Doc. 66.)
Yesterday the steamer Lake City was set on fire and destroyed by a band of guerrillas at Concordia, Ark., and to-day the United States naval despatch-boat De Soto went to Concordia, and burned forty-two houses.
Theodorus Bailey, Acting Rear-Admiral of the United States Navy, assumed command of the Eastern Gulf Blockading squadron, and issued general orders to that effect.--At New Orleans, La., General Butler issued a repetition of General Order No. 55, by which certain cotton-brokers, who had subscribed to aid the rebellion, were assessed at the rate of twenty-five per cent on the amount of their subscription, for the relief of the poor of the city.--Butler's General Orders, No. 105.
A skirmish took place near Brentville, Tenn., between a reconnoitring party of Union troops, under the command of Colonel John A. Martin, and a body of rebels, resulting in a precipitate retreat of the latter, leaving their guns on the field in their flight.--(Doc. 67.)
December 10.
A fight took place between seven or eight United States gunboats on the Rappahannock River, above Port Royal, Va., and the rebel shore batteries. At the commencement of the fight, the gunboat Teazer succeeded in bringing out two schooners which were within range of the rebel guns. The firing lasted for nearly three hours, when the rebels' guns were silenced. The fleet lay off all night and reopened in the morning, but no reply was made Two of the gunboats were struck several times, killing one man and wounding three.
The town of Plymouth, N. C., garrisoned by a small force of Union troops, was this day captured by a body of rebels, and partially burned. The U. S. gunboat Southfield, Captain C. W. F. Behm, lying in the stream opposite the town, was also attacked; but, after being considerably damaged she escaped.
The schooner Alitia, with thirteen bales of cotton on board, was this day captured by the United States gunboat Sagamore, while attempting to escape from Indian River, Florida.--The bill creating the State of Western Virginia, was passed [24] by the United States House of Representatives by a vote of ninety-six to fifty-five, having been previously adopted by the Senate.--J. Wesley Green published an extended statement, that he brought certain peace propositions from Jefferson Davis to President Lincoln, and that he had several interviews with the President, and two with the Cabinet.--New York Evening Post.
December 11.
The United States gunboat Cairo was sunk in the Yazoo River, by a torpedo. The vessel sank in seven minutes after being struck. The crew were saved, but every thing else on board was lost.--(Doc. 72.)
Colonel Jones, of the rebel army, surrendered himself to a scouting-party of the Sixth Missouri cavalry, commanded by Colonel Catherwood, near Warrensburgh, Mo.--President Lincoln, in compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the United States, sent a message to that body, accompanying all the information in his possession, touching the Indian barbarities in the State of Minnesota.--An expedition, consisting of a strong Union force of all arms, under the command of Major-General Foster, left Newbern, N. C., this morning, for the purpose of destroying railway and other bridges in the interior of that State.--(Doc. 73.)
Gen. Bragg, commanding the rebel troops at Murfreesboro, Tenn., addressed a letter to Gen. Rosecrans, commanding the Union forces at Nashville, informing him that as a number of citizens of Tennessee, charged only with political offences or proclivities, were arrested and imprisoned in the penitentiary at Nashville, he should enforce rigid and unyielding retaliation against the commissioned officers, who should fall into his hands, until this violation of good faith should be corrected.
Governor Vance, of North-Carolina, issued a proclamation prohibiting, for the space of thirty days, the transportation from the State of articles of food and apparel.--Fredericksburgh, Va., was bombarded by the National forces under General Burnside.--(Doc. 68.)
December 12.
A skirmish took place near Corinth, Miss., between a body of Union troops, under Colonel Sweeney, Fifty-second Illinois, and a rebel force, commanded by Colonel Roddy, resulting in a rebel loss of eleven killed, thirty wounded, and forty prisoners. The Union party lost one killed and two prisoners.--One thousand seven hundred and fifty paroled Union prisoners, captured by the rebel guerrilla chiet, John H. Morgan, arrived at Nashville, Tenn., this day.
A reconnoissance was this day made by a strong force of Union troops, under the command of General Ferry, to the Blackwater River, Va. The rebels were discovered, in great strength, all along the river in the vicinity of Zuni. After an artillery fight of three or four hours, in which the rebels were driven back, the National force returned to their camp at Suffolk.--(Doc. 71.)
This afternoon the gunboat Essex, accompanied by the transport Winona, while making a reconnoissance of the fortifications at Port Hudson, was fired upon by a party of rebel artillerists, under the command of Captain Boone, and compelled to retire.--About day-break this morning, a large body of General Stuart's rebel cavalry entered Dumfries, Va., and captured thirty-five National pickets and sutlers. After destroying the telegraph and several Government wagons, they retreated, and the town was soon after occupied by the Union troops, under Brigadier-General Steinwehr.--A skirmish took place on the Kinston road, about fourteen miles from New-bern, N. C., between the column of the expeditionary forces, under General Foster, and a small body of rebels, resulting in a rout of the latter with some loss.--(Doc. 73.)
The rebel salt-works, at Yellville, Ark., were completely destroyed by a body of Union troops, under the command of Captain Milton Birch. Six thousand dollars' worth of saltpetre was destroyed. The works cost the rebels thirty thousand dollars.--(Doc. 70.)
Brigadier-General D. S. Stanley, with a strong force of National cavalry, made a descent from Nashville, this morning, upon Franklin, Tenn., and after routing the rebels from the town, destroying mills and other property useful to them, returned to his camp, having lost but one man. Five rebels, including one lieutenant, were killed, ten wounded, twelve taken prisoners, and a large number of horses were captured.--Fredericksburgh, Va., was occupied by the National troops, under General Burnside.
December 13.
To-day the battle of Fredericksburgh, Va., was fought, between the Union army of the Potomac, under the command of Major-General Burnside, and the rebel forces, under General Lee. The battle was fiercely and stubbornly contested on both sides, and resulted in the repulse of the Unionists.--(Docs. 25, 68.)
[25] Jefferson Davis reviewed the rebel forces, under General Bragg, at Murfreesboro, Tenn.--John N. Cocke and company, of Portsmouth, Va., having refused to pay their debts to Northern citizens, on the ground that a law of the rebel Congress had released them from all obligations to Northern creditors, General Viele issued a pro-clamation informing them that their excuse was not valid, and that they must pay or a sufficient amount of their property would be seized and sold.-Two regiments of Union infantry, and one company of cavalry, surprised a band of rebels, at Tuscumbia, Ala., completely routing them, and capturing seventy prisoners, their horses and. baggage. The National loss was four killed and fourteen wounded.
Governor Johnson, of Tennessee, this day issued an order assessing certain individuals in the city of Nashville, in various amounts, to be paid in five monthly instalments, “in behalf of the many helpless widows, wives, and children in the city of Nashville, who have been reduced to poverty and wretchedness in consequence of their husbands, sons, and fathers having been forced into the armies of this unholy and nefarious rebellion.”
The Michigan Twenty-sixth infantry, Colonel J. S. Farrar, numbering nine hundred and three men, this day left Jackson, Mich., for the seat of war in Virginia.--A fight took place at South-West Creek, N. C., between a detachment of the expeditionary forces, under General Foster, and a body of rebel troops, in which the latter were routed with the loss of a number of prisoners, a six-pounder gun, caisson, etc.--(Doc. 73.)
A fleet of small boats, under the command of Captain Murray, left Newbern, N. C., to attack the rebel works on the river at Kinston; but owing to the lowness of the water, only one boat — under Colonel Manchester, marine artillery--was brought into action, and the works being found too strong, she was obliged to retire.--(Doc. 73.)
December 14.
A skirmish occurred at Wireman's Shoals, about five miles below Prestonsburgh, Ky., between a body of Union troops, numbering two hundred men, under Captain Thornbeery, who was sent by Colonel Dills, of the Thirty-ninth Kentucky, to guard some arms, munitions, etc., intended for his regiment, and a force of rebels, estimated at eight hundred men, which resulted in the defeat of the Unionists, and the capture by the rebels of seven hundred muskets, forty thousand rounds of cartridges, several hundred uniforms, and a large supply of provisions.
The True Presbyterian and the Baptist Recorder, published in Louisville, Ky., were suppressed, and the editor of the Recorder sent to the military prison.-Coffeeville, Miss., was this day occupied by the Union forces under Colonel Mizner and Colonel Lee.
A battle was fought near Kinston, N. C., by the expeditionary forces under General Foster, and a strong body of rebel troops under the command of General Evans, resulting in a retreat of the rebels, and the capture and occupation of the town by the Unionists. In this affair a rebel battery of field-pieces and four hundred prisoners were taken.--(Doc. 73.)
At Helena, Ark., a picket-guard, consisting of a Lieutenant and twenty-three men of the Sixth Missouri, were surrounded and made prisoners by a party of rebel guerrillas.--A skirmish took place at Woodsonville, Tenn., without any result.-This evening about eight o'clock, a body of rebel cavalry under Major White, made a raid into Poolesville, Md., and captured a party of the Scott Nine Hundred cavalry.--A wagontrain, laden with provisions and clothing for the troops at Ringgold Barracks, Texas, escorted by a small party of soldiers on the way from Fort Brown to the Barracks, was this day attacked by a party of Mexicans and captured. All the soldiers and teamsters, except one man who escaped, were killed.--Brownsville Flag.
December 15.
The National War Committee of the citizens (f New York addressed an urgent memorial to Congress, asking for the passage of a law authorizing the granting of commissions to private armed vessels for the capture of the Alabama, and other cruisers, and the offer of a suitable reward for the capture.
The General Assembly of the State of Louisiana, in accordance with a proclamation of the rebel Governor, Thomas O. Moore, met at Opelousas, “to consider and provide for the exigencies of public defence.” --The advance of General Banks's expedition arrived at New Orleans.--General Hovey's expedition returned to Helena, Ark.
General Butler having been superseded by General Banks, as commander of the Department of the Gulf, issued his farewell address to the “Soldiers of the army of the Gulf,” and another [26] “To the people of New Orleans,” in which he reviewed his government since he had been appointed to the command of the department.--(Doc. 74.)
December 16.
A detachment of Union troops, under command of Major Withers, Tenth Virginia infantry, while on a reconnoitring expedition, entered the village of Wan densville, Va., and captured the whole rebel mail, consisting of several hundred letters and a large quantity of newspapers.--Wheeling Intelligencer.
In obedience to orders from President Lincoln, Major-General Banks issued a proclamation assuming command of the Department of the Gulf.--(Doc. 75.)
A body of rebel troops, numbering about one thousand two hundred men, encamped in the vicinity of New Haven, Ky., was surprised and captured by a detachment of Wolford's cavalry, under command of Captain Adams, First Kentucky, without firing a shot.--(Doc. 76.)
The army of the Potomac was withdrawn from Fredericksburgh, Va., to the north side of the Rappahannock, because General Burnside felt fully convinced that the rebel position in front could not be carried, and it was a military necessity either to attack the enemy or retire. A repulse would have been disastrous to the National arms, under the then existing circumstances. The army was withdrawn at night without the knowledge of the rebels, and without loss either of property or men.--General Burnside's Despatch.
An artillery fight took place along both banks of the river Neuse, near Whitehall, N. C., between the forces under General Foster and the rebel forces under General Evans, resulting, after an hour's firing, in the withdrawal and silence of the rebel guns.-(Doc. 73.)
December 17.
Four hundred and sixty Union soldiers, including eleven commissioned officers, taken prisoners before Fredericksburgh, arrived at Richmond, Va.--The one Hundred and Seventy-third regiment of New York volunteers left New York for the seat of war.--Baton Rouge, La., was occupied by a portion of the command of General Banks.
Major-General Grant, commanding Department of the Tennessee, issued an order from his headquarters at Oxford, Miss., expelling every Jew within his department, within twenty-four hours after the publication of the order.
A fight took place at Goldsboro, N. C., between the expeditionary force of Union troops, under the command of General Foster, and a body of rebels, under General Evans. The object of the Union General was to destroy the Goldsboro railroad bridge, which being accomplished, after nearly two hours fighting, he retired, unmolested by the rebels.--(Doc. 73.)
December 18.
Lexington, Ky., was this day entered and occupied by a large force of rebel troops under General Forrest. Before capturing the town the rebels encountered a body of Union troops under the command of Colonel R. G. Ingersoll, Eleventh Illinois cavalry, but after a fight of three hours duration, in which the rebels lost forty of their number killed and wounded, the Unionists were forced to yield, leaving two pieces of artillery in the hands of the rebels.
Yesterday the steamer Mill Boy, while lying at Commerce, Miss., was fired into by a body of rebel cavalry, killing three persons. On arriving at Helena, Ark., the Mill Boy reported the fact, when the gunboat Juliet, and transport City Belle, with detachments of the Eleventh and Forty-seventh Indiana, were despatched to Commerce, where they arrived to-day, and burnt the town and plantations for five miles around.
December 19.
To-day Colonel Dickey, in command of a detachment of Union cavalry, returned with his command to camp near Oxford, Miss., after an absence of six days on a scouting expedition, during which time he and his party marched about two hundred miles, worked two days at the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, of which they destroyed thirty-four miles, captured one hundred and fifty prisoners, and a large amount of rebel stores, and returned, passing around a body of rebels numbering nine to one, and reached camp without having a man killed, wounded, or captured.--(Doc. 77.)
Yesterday a party of General Stuart's rebel cavalry captured a train of twenty-six wagons laden with army supplies, at Occoquan, Va., and to-day twelve of them were recaptured by a squadron of Union cavalry under Colonel Rush, after a sharp fight, in which the rebels were defeated, they having to destroy the remainder of the wagons in their flight.--The funeral obsequies of the late Brigadier-General George Dashiel Bayard, took place this day at Princeton, N. J.--Rev. Dr. McPheters, of Saint Louis, Mo., was ordered by the Provost-Marshal General to leave the State within ten days for encouraging the rebellion, and sustaining disloyalty in his church.--A [27] general dissolution of President Lincoln's Cabinet was announced.--The Legislature of Connecticut adopted a resolution declaring its confidence in the President of the United States, and pledging itself to support and sustain him in the prosecution of all measures which might be found necessary to suppress the rebellion.
December 20.
Holly Springs, Miss., was this day entered and sacked by the rebel army under General Van Dorn. An immense amount of public and private property was carried off or destroyed. The garrison surrendered after a very short resistance.--(Doc. 79.)
A skirmish occurred near Halltown, Va., between a detachment of Union cavalry, under the command of Captain Vernon, and a body of rebel guerrillas. After a short fight the rebels were routed, leaving three of their number in the hands of the Unionists.--Frederick Examiner (Md.).
Trenton and Humboldt, Tenn., were this day entered and captured by the rebel forces under General Forrest. They burned the depots, and all the Government stores they could not carry off.--(Doc. 80.)
A train of wagons, twenty-seven in number, laden with provisions for the army of the Potomac, and a guard of one hundred and seventy men, were captured near Occoquan, Va., by a detachment of rebel cavalry under the command of General Wade Hampton.--Richmond Dispatch, December 24.
The expeditionary army under command of Major-General W. T. Sherman, embarked at Memphis, Tenn., in over one hundred transports, for Vicksburgh.--(Doc. 91.)
December 21.
A skirmish occurred near Nashille, Tenn., between a party of National troops belonging to General Van Cleve's division of the army of Tennessee, and a reconnoitring party of rebles, supported by four pieces of artillery, who were driven off, after exchanging a few shots.--Secretaries Seward and Chase having sent in their resignations, President Lincoln acknowledged their reception, and informed the Secretaries that the acceptance of them would be “incompatible with the public welfare.” They accordingly resumed their respective portfolios.--The expeditionary forces under General Foster, which left Newbern, N. C., on the eleventh instant, returned to their former quarters in that town to-day, having successfully accomplished the objects of the expedition.--(Doc. 73.)
A fight took place at Davis's Mills, Wolf River, Miss., between the Union garrison stationed at that post, composed of two hundred and fifty men, under the command of Colonel William H. Morgan, Twenty-fifth Indiana, and a force of over five thousand rebel cavalry under General Van Dorn, resulting, after a desperate contest of three and a half hours duration, in the withdrawal of the latter, leaving in the hands of the Unionists twenty-two dead, thirty wounded, twenty prisoners, and one hundred stand of arms. The rebels carried off the field, in ambulances and otherwise, between two and three hundred of their wounded.--(Doc. 81.)
December 22.
General Pryor, with a detachment of rebel troops, attacked a body of New York Mounted Rifles, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel B. F. Onderdonk, who were stationed at Isle of Wight Court-House, Va., to protect the election of representatives to Congress, under a late order of General Dix. The Nationals were compelled to retreat after a short skirmish, in which the rebels lost two cavalrymen and a number of guns.--Baltimore American.
Governor Shorter, of Alabama, issued an appeal to the people of that State, calling upon the men and youths exempt from the service of the rebel States by reason of their age or other cause, who were capable of bearing arms, to organize themselves into companies, to constitute a reserved force, subject to service in the State upon the call of the Governor.--(Doc. 84.)
After reading the Commanding-General's report of the battle of Fredericksburgh, the President issued a proclamation tendering to the officers and soldiers of the army of the Potomac “the thanks of the nation.” --Major-General Robert C. Schenck assumed command of the Middle Department and Eighth Army Corps of the United States, and issued general orders to that effect from his headquarters at Baltimore, Md.
December 23.
Jefferson Davis issued a proclamation declaring General Butler, commanding the Department of the Gulf, to be a felon deserving of capital punishment, and ordering that he should no longer be considered or treated merely as a public enemy of the rebel States, but as an outlaw and common enemy of mankind.--(Doc. 85.)
The rebel schooner Pelican, with a cargo of eighty-two bales of cotton, ran the blockade at Mobile, Ala.--Major P. Graham, and [28] Lieutenant E. T. Dorton, both of the Fifteenth Arkansas rebel cavalry, “being convinced of the wickedness and folly” of the rebellion, respectfully requested “alike the privilege of peacefully returning to their allegiance and to their homes” in the North.--An attempt was made by a party of rebels to cross the Rappahannock, fourteen miles below Port Conway, Va., and capture a squadron of the Eighth Pennsylvania cavalry, but the movement was frustrated by timely information of the rebel intentions by a trusty negro.--The National forces moved from Romney and took possession of Winchester, Va., which place was evacuated by the rebel pickets on their appearance before the town.--National Intelligencer.
December 24.
In promulgating President Lincoln's preliminary proclamation of emancipation, General Banks, commanding the Department of the Gulf, issued an address to the people of Louisiana in order to correct public misapprehension and misrepresentation, for the instruction of the troops of his Department, and the information of all parties in interest.--(Doc. 86.)
A letter from Alexander H. Stephens, Vice-President of the rebel government, written on the 24th of December, 1860, was made public. In it occurs the following: “While I hope for the best, I am prepared for the worst. The election of Mr. Lincoln, I am well persuaded, is owing much more to the divisions of the Democratic party, and the disastrous personal strifes among its leaders at Charleston and at Baltimore, than to any fixed determination on the part of a majority of the people of the North to wage an exterminating war against Southern institutions. Disappointed ambition has much to do with the origin of our present troubles; the same cause will be greatly in the way of amicable and satisfactory adjustment. I can but believe that there is still enough patriotism in the land, North as well as South, to save the present Union under the existing Constitution, with all its guarantees and obligations, if the great heart of the nation can be touched and aroused. All that is wanting is a little time and patriotic forbearance.” --A brief skirmish took place in the vicinity of Munfordville, Ky., between a detachment of the Second Michigan cavalry, under the command of Lieutenant Darrow, and the advance-guard of the rebel forces, under General J. H. Morgan, resulting in a retreat of the latter with some loss.--(Doc. 88.)
The obsequies of Rev. A. B. Fuller, late Chaplain of the Sixteenth regiment of Massachusetts volunteers, killed at Fredericksburgh, Va., took place at Boston, Mass.--A portion of Colonel Spears's Eleventh Pennsylvania cavalry, had a spirited engagement at Joiner's Bridge, four miles above Franklin, on the Blackwater River, Va., with a squadron of rebel cavalry and a body of infantry, whom he dispersed, capturing one man and horse, and three infantry soldiers and their arms.--Philadelphia Inquirer.
A detachment of General Sherman's expeditionary army, under the command of General M. L. Smith, destroyed a section of the Vicksburgh and Texas Railway, about ten miles west of Vicksburgh, and burned the stations at Delhi and Dallas.--(Doc. 91.)
December 25.
A skirmish took place at Green's Chapel, near Munfordville, Ky., between a detachment of Union troops, under the command of Colonel Gray, and the advance-guard of the rebel forces under General J. 11. Morgan, which resulted in the latter falling back on the main body, with a loss of nine killed, twenty-two wounded, and five prisoners.--(Doc. 88.)
The rebel schooner Break-o‘--Day, with a cargo of cotton, ran the blockade of Mobile, Ala.--Colonel Shanks, in command of the Twelfth Kentucky cavalry, attacked the rear-guard of the rebel forces, under General Morgan, at Bear Wallow, Ky., killing one, wounding two, and taking ten or twelve officers and men prisoners, with no loss to his own force.--(Doc. 88.)
A skirmish took place at Bacon Creek, near Munfordville, Ky., between a company of the Second Michigan, Captain Dickey, and the advance-guard of the rebel forces, under General Morgan, resulting in a retreat of the Unionists, with a loss of twenty-one men and two officers taken prisoners.--(Doc. 88.)
December 26.
Thirty-eight condemned Indians were hung at Mankato, Minnesota, for participating in the late massacre in that State.--Jefferson Davis delivered an extended address on the subject of the rebellion, before the Legislature of Mississippi, assembled at Jackson.--(Doc. 87.)
Major Stevens, of the Fourteenth Kentucky cavalry, with one hundred and fifty men, who were ordered upon a scout to ascertain the whereabouts of a large band of guerrillas in the eastern part of Powell County, Kentucky, after travelling all night over obscure and dangerous bridle-paths, [29] came upon the rebel camps this morning. The Nationals dashed upon them, capturing their leader, a noted guerrilla, and eleven of his band. The remainder, though outnumbering Major Stevens's force, were utterly routed, and escaped into the dense woods, brush, and mountain gorges. Twenty-five horses and a large amount of clothing, blankets, guns, pistols, etc., that were being transported to Humphrey Marshall's camp, were also captured.--General Wright's Despatch.
December 27.
Elizabethtown, Ky., was this day captured by the rebel forces, under General J. H. Morgan, after a short resistance by the Union garrison of the post, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel H. S. Smith. An immense amount of public and private property was destroyed and carried off by the rebel troops.--(Docs. 52 and 88.)
A fight took place at Dumfries, Va., between the garrison of the town, consisting of three infantry regiments, a section of a field-battery, and a regiment of cavalry, under the command of Colonel Charles Candy, and the rebel forces of Generals Stuart and Fitz-Hugh Lee, with a battery of artillery, in all about three thousand five hundred men, resulting, after a desperate conflict of several hours' duration, in a retreat of the rebel forces with great loss.--(Doc. 89.)
Yesterday the expeditionary army, under General Sherman, successfully disembarked near the mouth of the Yazoo River, and to-day marched on Vicksburgh.--(Doc. 91.)
To-day the Union army under General Sherman, in conjunction with the gunboats on the Mississippi, commenced the attack on the rebel forces before Vicksburgh. The gunboats, after several hours' firing, were compelled to retire, considerably disabled, but the Union troops, after a desperate contest of eight hours duration, closing at nightfall, drove the rebel forces back some distance toward their works, both forces resting on their arms for the night.--(Doc. 91.)
December 28.
The trestle-work at Muldraugh's Hill, Ky., guarded by the Seventy-first Indiana regiment, was captured, after a fight of ten hours, by a superior force of rebels, under John II. Morgan, and destroyed.--New Madrid, Mo.. was evacuated by the National forces, after destroying the barracks and magazine.--Louisville Journal.
A skirmish occurred to-day in the vicinity of Suffolk, Va., between a reconnoitring force of Union troops, under the command of Acting Brigadier-General Gibbs, and a force of rebel cavalry, in which the latter were routed and driven for six or eight miles. The Nationals captured a number of horses and fire-arms, the latter of which the rebels threw away in their flight.--Baltimore American. Van Buren, Ark., was entered and captured by a force of Union troops, under the command of General J. G. Blunt, together with the rebel garrison, a large amount of ammunition, four steamboats laden with army supplies, and a ferry-boat.--(Doc. 90.)
Major Foley, commanding an expedition sent by Major-General Granger to Elk Fork, Campbell County, Tenn., composed of two hundred and fifty men of the Sixth and Tenth Kentucky cavalry, surprised a camp of rebels, three hundred and fifty strong, at that place, killing thirty, wounding one hundred and seventy-six, and capturing fifty-one, without the loss of a man. All of their camp equipage was burnt, eighty horses, and a large amount of arms captured.--(General Wright's Despatch.
Early this morning the attack on Vicksburgh was resumed, and continued all day, but without any important result. The rattle of musketry and booming of cannon was heard on all sides, but when evening came, the opposing armies were found to be in much the same positions as when they began.--(Doc. 91.)
A skirmish took place near Clinton, La., between a party of Stuart's Baton Rouge rebel cavalry and a detachment of National cavalry, resulting in the retreat of the latter, with a loss of one man and five horses killed.--Jackson Appeal (Miss.).
December 29.
A party of Mexicans, under the leadership of a half-Indian, named Munoz, invaded the State of Texas, and stole forty horses and fifty head of cattle from a ranche in Zapata County. Demand was made through the United States military authorities for the arrest and punishment of the robbers by the Mexican officers, and also for the restitution of the property. Governor Lopez, of Tamaulipas, had the criminals arrested, but they subsequently escaped. The property was never returned.--Brownsville Flag.
The United States Provisional Court for the State of Louisiana was opened at New Orleans, with the reading of the order from President Lincoln, establishing the tribunal and appointing [30] Judge Charles A. Peabody to preside over it.--The Union army, under General Sherman, made a concerted assault on the rebel works at Vicksburgh, Miss., and after a desperate contest, were repulsed at all points with great loss.--(Doc. 91.)
December 30
The Union army before Vicksburgh were occupied all day in removing the wounded and burying the dead.--(Doc. 91.)
To-day, the Union expeditionary forces, under General Carter, completely destroyed the Union and Watauga bridges on the East-Tennessee and Virginia Railroad, and a locomotive, tender, and cars. They also captured four hundred rebel troops, six or seven hundred stand of arms, and a large quantity of valuable stores.--(Doc. 92.)
Major-General Sherman, commanding the Union army before Vicksburgh, raised the siege of that town by reembarking his army on his transports, and sailing out of the Yazoo.--(Doc. 91.)
General J. E. B. Stuart, with his rebel cavalry, returned to Richmond this morning from his expedition to Occoquan, Dumfries, and Anandale,Va., having been absent seven days, during which time he burned several bridges on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, and captured or destroyed large quantities of National stores.--Richmond Dispatch, January 3, 1863.
The iron-clad steamer Monitor, Commander Bankhead, sprung a leak and foundered a few miles south of Cape Hatteras, N. C. Four officers and twelve men were lost in her.--(Doc. 93.)
The battle of Parker's Cross-Roads, Tenn., was this day fought between a detachment of Union troops, under the command of Colonel C. L. Dunham, and a large rebel cavalry force, under General Forrest. After a desperate conflict of several hours' duration, during which neither party obtained the victory, General Sullivan arrived on the field with reinforcements, and attacked the rebels, routing them with great slaughter.--(Doc. 94.)
The battle of Stone River, or Murfreesboro, Tenn., fought by the Union army of the Cumberland, under the command of Major-General Rosecrans, and the rebel forces under General Bragg, commenced early this morning. After a desperate conflict of more than ten hours duration, both armies receded and suspended operations for the night, the contest being undecided.--(Docs. 26 and 146.)
Emancipation was celebrated in various portions of the loyal States of the Union.--A meeting of the workingmen of Manchester, England, was held at “Free trade” Hall, for the purpose of passing resolutions in support of the National cause in the United States, and agreeing on an address to President Lincoln.--(Doc. 96.)
December 31
No entry for December 31, 1862.
