July
July 1.
Carlisle, Pa., was occupied by the Union troops under the command of General W. F. Smith. Soon after the occupation, the rebels returned and demanded a surrender of the town, which was refused, when a bombardment by the rebels was commenced, and the United States arsenal was set on fire, and other buildings were destroyed.--A body of cavalry belonging to the command of General Crittenden, in pursuit of General Bragg from Tullahoma, Tenn., fell in with the rebel cavalry on the road between Pelham and Winchester, and had a fight which resulted in the defeat of the rebels, and the wounding, mortally, of Lieutenant-Colonel Webb, of the Fifty-first regiment of Alabama mounted infantry.--Captain Dahlgren, with twenty men, and Captain Kline, of the Third Indiana cavalry, visited Greencastle, and captured the orderly of General Lee and his entire escort, who had very important despatches from Jefferson Davis to General Lee, together with orders to the various generals of Lee's army, muster and pay-rolls, and other military matter.--the Missouri ordinance of freedom passed the State Convention, in session at Jefferson City, by a vote of eighty yeas against thirty noes.--(Doc. 90.)
A train of cars on the road between Louisville and Frankfort, Ky., was thrown off the track, the rails having been removed by the rebel guerrillas.--General John F. Reynolds, with the First and Second corps of the army of the Potomac, checked the advance of Longstreet and Hill, near Gettysburgh, after a desperate and bloody engagement, in which General Reynolds was killed.--(Docs. 20 and 118.)
Tullahoma, Tennessee, was occupied by the advance of General Rosecrans's army, the rebels having fled, taking the road toward Winchester. Strong fortifications, a quantity of stores, and three siege-guns were captured by the Nationals.--(Doc. 115.)
The new rebel gunboat Virginia was launched from Rocket's ship-yard at Richmond, Va.--the question of rank between the major-generals of the United States army was decided by the board of officers convened for that purpose at Washington, D. C.--(Doc. 91.)
General Getty with his brigade, left White House, Va., for the purpose of destroying the bridges over the South-Anna River, that were not burned by Colonel S. P. Spear, in his late raid. At Baltimore Cross-Roads he met a large force of rebels, and after a brisk engagement retired, having lost two killed and five wounded. He did considerable damage, destroying some miles [22] of railroad track and a depot.--the following notice was published by the rebel Bureau of Conscription at Richmond:
To answer numerous inquiries, and to correct errors not uncommon, the following notice is published to all concerned: 1. Under the recent call of the President, extending the conscript age, all substitutions have ceased to be valid if the substitute be less than forty-five years old, and is not otherwise exempt by law. 2. Membership, whether as officer or private, of local organization for home defence or special service, confers no claim to exemption from confederate service; neither does service in the militia, unless in the case of officers actually in commission who have duly qualified. 3. Hereafter any one furnishing a substitute will become liable in his own person whenever the services of the substitute are lost to the government from any cause other than the casualties of war. 4. Applications for exemption, on any ground whatever, must first be addressed to the local enrolling officer, who, if he has not power to act, or is in doubt, will refer them to higher authority, with report of the facts. All such addressed direct to higher authority will necessarily and invariably be referred back for local examination and report; and the applicants will thus have uselessly lost time and prolonged suspense.
The public debt of the United States, at this date, amounted to $1,097,274,403.
July 2.
The Richmond Whig of this date contained the following:
If it be true that the confederate forces occupy Harrisburgh, the attention of the commanding general will no doubt be directed to the coal-fields, which lie within forty or fifty miles of that city. His first aim will be to cut all the railroad connections, and thus put a stop to the transportation of fuel. His next will be to destroy the most costly and not easily replaced machinery of the pits. Whether he would stop at this is questionable. He might set fire to the pits, withdraw the forces sent out on this special duty, and leave the heart of Pennsylvania on fire, never to be quenched until a river is turned into the pits, or the vast supply of coal is reduced to ashes. The anthracite coal is found in large quantities in no other part of the world but Pennsylvania. Enormous quantities are used .in the United States navy, the countless workshops and manufactories of the North, in the river boats, and even upon locomotives. It cannot well be replaced by any other fuel. The bituminous coal which is found near Pittsburgh would not answer the purpose, even if it would bear the cost of transportation. Our troops already hold the railroads and canals leading from the Cumberland coal-fields. All that is needed is to seize the anthracite fields, destroy the roads and the machinery of the pits, set fire to the mines, and leave them. Northern industry will thus be paralyzed at a single blow. These views may have induced General Lee to move upon Harrisburgh. We doubt whether he would fire the mines, but the destruction of the Mauch Chunk Railroad and pit implements would be as legitimate as blowing up tunnels and aqueducts or burning bridges. Of one thing we may be sure, that whatever is best to be done will be done by General Lee, and if he thinks fit to destroy the Pennsylvania mines they will certainly be destroyed. Should he leave them untouched, it will be for the best of reasons. But it is impossible not to indulge the hope that he will avail himself of the tremendous power which the possession of the coal-fields, even temporarily, would confer.
A skirmish occurred near Bottom's Bridge, Va., in which Sergeant Barnett, of company C, Fifth Pennsylvania cavalry, was killed. There were no other casualties. The Fifth Pennsylvania captured twenty-five prisoners.--the United States steamer Maumee was launched at Brooklyn, N. Y.
General Neal Dow was captured by a party of rebel scouts at a private residence near Clinton, La., and sent to Richmond, Va.--the rebel blockade-runner Britannia was captured by the National gunboat Santiago de Cuba.--at Baltimore, Md., the following order was issued by the General Commanding:
Until further orders, the citizens of Baltimore city and county are prohibited from keeping arms in their houses unless enrolled in volunteer companies for the defence of their homes.The dwellings of citizens were visited by the Provost-Marshal and the police, for arms, in accordance with this order.
General William Jackson, with one thousand seven hundred men, and two pieces of artillery, attacked the Union troops at Beverly, Va., but was repulsed and routed with some loss. The rebels expected to make an easy prize of the garrison, which contained the Tenth Virginia [23] infantry, Captain Ewing's battery, and one company of cavalry, under the command of Colonel Harris, of the Tenth Virginia, who was ordered by General Averill to hold the place until he could reach him with reinforcements, which he did; but before their arrival, the rebels were repulsed and the Nationals were in pursuit.--the battle of Gettysburgh was resumed at early daylight this morning.--(Docs. 20 and 118.)
The rebel Impressment Commissioners of the several States, met in convention at Atlanta, Ga., to-day. Virginia, North-Carolina, and Florida were not represented, and the other States only partially. Consequently the Convention adjourned to the twenty-seventh instant for a full attendance.
A picked force of infantry, artillery, and cavalry, under General Foster in person, left Newbern, N. C., on an expedition inland.--the battle of Cabin Creek, Indian Territory, ended on this day.--(Doc. 30.)
July 3.
The following “commendable appeal” to the foreign residents of Richmond, Va., appeared in the Enquirer, published in that city, to-day:
To British Subjects:
Fellow-countrymen: If you desire to protect your homes, and the homes of your friends, from the touch of the ruthless invader; if you believe, as we do, in the justice of the 