Rebellion Record: a Diary of American Events: Documents and Narratives, Volume 6.
Frank Moore, Ed.

[280] After a vain search for them, he drew on the coat, clapped the spurs on his stocking feet, and started down-stairs for his horse. “But,” says W----, “won't the guard arrest us if we are out after night without the countersign?” “Eh?” “countersign!” “guard!” and H----paused for an instant on the stairs. Just then another puff of wind brought the sound of the drum from the distant hills; that decided the matter, down-stairs they went, out to the stable, clapped on saddles and bridles, mounted horse and away, and for three miles out from the north side of Oxford, their flight from the sound of that drum was equal to Tam O'Shanter's race with the witches across the bridge.

Toward breakfast-time, not finding the road full of crowds, running away like themselves, and the woods around looking rather guerrillaish, they concluded that it would be better to show their pluck by coming back to town. Last night one of the pair, H----, determined to have more courageous company, and changed his lodging-place. On going to bed, he inquired of his room-mate if the enemy would be likely to search a man's stockings for money, in case he was captured? On being told that they probably would not think to look in them, he stowed away six thousand dollars in one of the stockings, which he took the precaution to wear on his feet during the night. In the morning he had forgotten where he had put the money, and went to a mutual friend of himself, his room-mate, with a grievous story of his room-mate having robbed him. Half an hour after his room-mate heard of it, and told him that his money was in his own stockings.

Ridiculous as the foregoing story may appear, it is all true, to which there are numbers here can attest.

special field orders, No. 23.

It is with pain and mortification that the General Commanding reflects upon the disgraceful surrender of the place, with all the valuable stores it contained, on the twentieth instant, and that without any resistance, except by a few men, who form an honorable exception; and this, too, after warning had been given of the enemy northward, the evening previous. With all the cotton, public stores and substantial buildings about the depot, it would have been perfectly practicable to have made, in a few hours, a defence sufficient to resist, with a small garrison, all the cavalry force brought against them until the reenforcements which the commanding officer was notified were marching to his relief, could have reached him.

The conduct of officers and men in accepting paroles under the circumstances is highly reprehensible, and to say the least, thoughtless. By the terms of the Dix-Hill cartel, each party is bound to take care of their prisoners and send them to Vicksburgh, or a point on the James River, for exchange, on parole, unless some other point is mutually agreed upon by the generals commanding the opposing armies.

By a refusal to be paroled, the enemy, from his inability to take care of the prisoners, would have been compelled either to have released them unconditionally, or to have abandoned further aggressive movements for the time being, which would have made their recapture, and the discomfiture of the enemy, almost certain.

The prisoners paroled at this place will be collected in camp at once by the post commander, and held under close guard until their case can be reported to Washington for further instructions.

Commanders throughout the department are directed to arrest and hold as above, all men of their commands, and all stragglers who may have accepted their paroles upon like terms.

The General Commanding is satisfied that a majority of the troops who accepted a parole did so thoughtlessly, and from want of knowledge of the cartel referred to, and that in future they will not be caught in the same way.

sir: I have the honor to report that I remain ed behind the advance of the army for the purpose of establishing a large general hospital at Holly Springs. I took a building that had been built for an armory by the confederates, consisting of six large rooms, each two hundred and fifty feet long and numerous out-houses, and after three weeks of incessant labor, in which I was greatly assisted by Surgeon Powers of the Seventh Missouri infantry, I had every thing prepared for two thousand.

The Acting Medical Purveyor of the Southern portion of the department had been ordered to bring all his supplies to this hospital, which he did, and on the morning of the twentieth of December one of the most completely finished and extensive hospitals in the army was ready to receive its sick.

On that morning the town of Holly Springs was taken by the confederate forces under Gen. Van Dorn.

As soon as I discovered the enemy were in possession of the place, I repaired to the headquarters of the rebel General, near the town, and made a formal request that the armory hospital should not be burned, entering my solemn protest on the subject, as the confederates had al ready set fire to the railroad depot and a commissary store-house, and had declared their intentions to destroy all houses occupied by our troops.

I received the assurance by Gen. Van Dorn's Adjutant that the armory hospital should not be burned, but that it would be protected by a guard. Satisfied with this, I returned to my quarters, but had not been there an hour when I was informed that the building was in flames;