SUNDAY
JUNE 22, 1862
THE DAILY PICAYUNE (LA)

CANADIAN ASPIRATIONS.

While France , commencing in Mexico, with the concurrence of Spain and the silent consent and approbation of England, is preparing to make the most out of the present unhappy condition of affairs in this country, and as a matter of course is inviting as much of the attention of our people as can be spared from the progress of the war to what is going on to the south of us, there are reasons why we should also regard what results are likely to follow from this conflict between the North and the South, on the other side of the combatants. Canadian politics are just now taking their tinge from the course of events, and demand almost if not an equal degree of consideration, at the hands of both parties to this internecine conflict, with those of Mexico.

There has never been a time since the establishment of American independence of Great Britain, in which the possibility of a portion if not all of the Canadas being a part of the United States has not been considered and discussed. As far as “the mother country” of British Canada is concerned, that territory is nothing more or less than a very expensively maintained depot for colonists, and so all Englishmen consider it. But this province is the child of two mothers, a French as well as an English, and the French Canadians look upon it as a home, and, as a country, are proud of its history, and ambitious for its future.

Taking this view of the variant character of the two peoples who inhabit Canada, the Journal des Debate, of Paris, suggests as a possible thing that Upper Canada may be drawn in some degree towards eventual annexation with the United States . . . [illegible] in the opinion of that journal, to Lower Canada such a prospect is most abhorrent, even when viewed in the perspective of ages to come. They consider—these French Canadians—the confederation upon which they border as containing within it the elements of decay, and do not recently occurring events give some warrant for such an opinion? And they aspire to something higher than being merged in its nationality. A free confederation of all the provinces that compose the present British America—no less—according to the high authority we have quoted, is the object at which they are aiming. And a Union, composed of the Canadas, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Labrador, Cape Breton, Prince Edward’s, the territory of the Hudson’s Bay Company, and British Columbia in the west, a reach embracing all the breadth of the American continent, between the Atlantic and Pacific, (excepting only that owned by Russia,) would be a somewhat formidable confederation.

The Journal des Debate alludes to the developments of this project, which were made by Mssr. Tache, who was a Canadian Commissioner to the great Paris exhibition in 1855, and who has since published his views upon the subject. It is this author’s opinion that the Canadians are diligently preparing themselves to sooner or later bear the weight of their own destinies. We have not the space for these arguments in detail, but they certainly do seem to be very forcible ones, and to be most convincingly put.

To the question of how England will regard such an immigration from France as this policy invites, the reply is worthy of notice:

“Favorably, without doubt, with that good sense and liberality which distinguish her in the administration of her colonies. She comprehends that her immediate interest, whatever may be the impenetrable secrets of the future, invites her to fortify, in the heart of Canada, that national patriotism which would repel all American invasion, should war ever arise, with that thrilling of the heart which renders victory sure. Should such a test arise, the local militia and disciplined volunteers would form precious auxiliaries to the troops in garrison, which, even if they numbered 20,000, could neither cove the frontier nor defend the strategic points while a population of from eight to ten millions of inhabitants, battling for their altars and firesides, would repulse the onset of an entire people.”

If it should occur that, among the consequences of the war in which the two sections of a once united republic are now engaged, shall be the establishment, south of us, of a powerful French empire, and north of us of a rival Franco-Anglo confederation of States, an interest will be added to the history of that war, which probably was not anticipated at its commencement.

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What Then?—The New York Times prophesies. Concluding an article on the situation of affairs at the beginning o the current month, it thus vaticinates:¹

But should the rebels evacuate Virginia and be forced back from Corinth—what then? There can be no question as to their final course. Judging from the excellent strategy of defence they have hitherto displayed, they will, unless absolutely annihilated in a great battle, seek to escape, by a continuance of the same tactics, into Mexico. There they will find two parties engaged in war—the French seeking conquest, the Mexicans defending their homes. If Jeff Davis and Beauregard can succeed in crossing the Mississippi and Texas with even a hundred thousand soldiers, with them they will easily hold a balance of power, and can found in the Valley of Mexico the seat of an empire which shall become the traditional enemy of the Great Republic.

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The Old Game.—The process by which all the troubles that have gathered so fearfully upon us were superinduced by the fanatics of the abolitionist States, are still in full play, we see, at Washington. Every day we see such a record under the Federal Congressional head as the following:

Mr. Sumner, of Massachusetts, (Rep.,) presented a petition, signed by nearly 8000 women, for the emancipation of the slaves.

Mr. Cowan, of Pennsylvania, (Rep.,) presented a petition from the Women’s Society of Friends, for emancipation.

The old anti-Texas, anti-slavery-in-the-Territories, and anti-slavery in the District of Columbia game, the beneficial fruits of which we are now enjoying.

MONDAY
JUNE 23, 1862
THE SPRINGFIELD REPUBLICAN (MA)

Gallant Fight in Arkansas.
TWO REBEL BATTERIES CAPTURED.

An expedition composed of the gunboats St. Louis, Lexington, Conestoga and Mound City, with transports carrying the 43d and 46th Indiana regiments, under Colonel Fitch were sent from Memphis, some days since to remove obstructions from White river. On the 17th the expedition reached St. Charles, 86 miles above the mouth, where the rebels had erected a battery. An engagement ensued, lasting an hour and a half. While the gunboats engaged the batteries, troops under Col. Fitch landed a short distance below and proceeded to storm the place. During the cannonading a ball entered the boiler of the Mound City, causing a fearful explosion and loss of life. The crew consisted of 175 of whom 125 were killed and wounded. Capt. Keltey, the flag officer, was badly scalded, but it is thought he will recover. Col. Fitch’s charge upon the batteries was a perfect success, riving the enemy out at the point of the bayonet. The rebel loss was 125 killed and wounded, and 30 prisoners.

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Miscellaneous War News.

Col. Henry S. Briggs, of the Massachusetts 10th, has been nominated to a brigadier generalship, for good conduct at the battle of Fair Oaks.

Gen. McClellan has issued a humane order forbidding all fast driving of public horses and mules, except in cases of necessity. Trans will not move faster than a walk, except under written orders to the officer or wagon master in charge. Officers sending mounted messengers with dispatches, which are to be carried at a faster pace than a walk, will indicate on the envelope the gait the messenger is to take, whether a trot or a gallop. The general has named his headquarters Camp Lincoln. Congress should appoint a special committee to see to it that this consideration for mules is not carried to excess.

A member of the 30th Massachusetts regiment writes from Baton Rouge to the Boston Journal: “Our companies occupy the Senate chamber and the hall of the representatives. Our officers use the secretary of state, treasury, and other official rooms. The colonel uses the governor’s suite of rooms for his headquarters. Company A, with which I am attached, occupies the secretary of state’s room, which is about 25 by 35 feet, airy and furnished in beautiful style, as are all the rooms in the building. In our quarters we found several commissions signed by Gov. Moore, which I have taken the liberty of filling out and commissioning several members of the battalion, knowing that there were several if not more who would like commissions."²

All reports go to show that for a month past Shields’ division has experienced excessive hardships. A correspondent writing from Front Royal says: “Shields’ troops look much worse for wear and tear. Some of the regiments have not more than 300 men left. I was with them from Luray, and the retreat was made in good order. Shields did all that mortal man could do. He was completely overpowered, and his men were worn out by hard marching. Clark’s battery fought like tigers. They fought till their ammunition was out, and the loads of their revolvers were exhausted, and then they took stones from the roads, and threw them at the advance of the enemy. The paymaster here is paying off Shields’ men. They had no pay since January, and are destitute of clothing. Many of them are barefooted, and no shoes can be got at this place.”

Capt. Atkinson of company C, of the 50th Indiana volunteers, with 20 men, captured on Saturday last, 6200 pounds of powder at Sycamore mills, 30 miles below Nashville, and five miles north of the Cumberland river. The powder was taken up to the city on Saturday afternoon. The company also stopped at Fort Zollicoffer and brought off a 32-pound gun.

Major H. Hawks has been chosen by the Kentucky travelling legislature provisional (rebel) governor of that state, in place of George W. Johnson, who was killed in battle at Pittsburgh Landing. The rebel papers congratulate the people of Kentucky upon the election of old Hawks to the executive chair. At last accounts he was making tracks from Corinth, Miss., towards the Alabama line.

When our fleet arrived in sight of Memphis, the rabble of the city gathered in a great crowd and proceeded to the jail, in order to demolish it. It was such a vile and filthy place that they dreaded to be incarcerated in it, where the Union prisoners had long been confined. Not having powder to blow it up, they procured ladders and got on top of it and tore it down. The building is now a complete wreck.

A federal prisoner at Macon, Ga., writes from that place under date [of] 23d ult., as follows: “The confederate states have $18,000,000 worth of army stores here, and, in my opinion, they manufacture cannon and small arms here in considerable quantities, as there are extensive machine shops and iron works here. They even have a steel pen manufactory here, and I am now writing with one of them—the best steel pen I ever handled.”

Commodore Foote, writing from Cleveland, Ohio, takes occasion to express his sincere gratification with the movement of Senator Grimes to abolish the spirit ration from the naval service. He declares the senator to be a real benefactor to the service.

It is stated that after Gen. Fremont’s army left Harrisonburg on June 12, the citizens determined to celebrate the event by an illumination. In the evening, by the aid of 200 of Ashby’s cavalry, who had come into town, every house was blazing with light in honor of the evacuation. Fifty-three of our wounded and sick, besides six hundred and two previously abandoned, were left behind necessarily. In Harrisonburg, as has been the case in many other towns in the valley, the women refused to furnish our soldiers with so much as a loaf of bread, while they were busy baking for the rebels, whom they boastingly said would soon make their appearance.

The steamer Connecticut, which has arrived at New York, reports that when passing Charleston, they noticed the flags at Fort Sumter and other fortifications at half-mast, indicating the death of some important military officer.

TUESDAY
JUNE 24, 1862
PORTLAND DAILY ADVERTISER (ME)

The London Times Scolding Canada.

We think the following article from the London Times, of June 6th, will be read with not a little surprise, plainly telling Canada, as it does, that she must take care of herself, should the United States ever make an assault upon her:

It is difficult to read without emotion of some kind the announcement that at the present time, and under existing circumstances, the Canadian Parliament has refused a second reading to the bill for establishing an efficient militia for the defense of the province. Let us make all possible deductions and allowances before we give way to emotion—be it regret, surprise or indignation. The militia bill which was rejected proposed to raise a force of 50,000 men and a reserve of 50,000 more.

The finances of the province are in an exceedingly embarrassed and discouraging state. The revenue is diminished, partly, no doubt, by the calamity of the American war, but partly by an injudicious protective policy, which has straitened the in come without developing the resources of the colony. The expenditure is enormous, inflated by a succession of jobs, by which, parliamentary support has been purchased for embarrassed ministries. At the time when the colony is called upon to incur heavy expenses for the support of its militia the revenue is estimated in round numbers at $7,000,000, and the expenditure at $12,000,000, leaving a deficit of $5,000,000 to be supplied by fresh taxation or by loans.

In the first place, the late Parliament of Canada has shown itself signally wanting in those instincts of liberty which urge a free people to fly to arms on the least surmise of danger from foreign enemies. It is to us inconceivable that 8,000,000 of civilized people can watch the explosions of the great volcano without realizing to themselves the fact that the fiery flood which is desolating so large and so fair a portion of the earth’s surface may come even to them, and, were it not for what we have seen, we should have thought it equally impossible for them to perceive this danger without taking every measure in their power to anticipate and prevent its approach. The only solution that can be offered for so strange a fact is that Canada has learnt to trust to others for the performance of services for which weaker and less wealthy populations are wont to rely exclusively on themselves. We have intersected Canada with canals intended for her military defense, and paid for out of the imperial treasury. We have always garrisoned her fortresses and paid for their repairs and alterations, as if those fortresses had been everything to us and nothing to the people in whose country they are situate.

If Canada has wholly emancipated herself from the British empire, she would not by that means emancipate herself from the imperious duty of self-defense. If Canada remains ever so firmly attached to England, the duty of self-defense will still cling to her. It is time to speak out, and to dispel the illusions which have misled men’s minds in other and quieter times.

People have thought that, if separated from England, Canada would have no further concerns with questions of war or peace such as she has at present, and that the only chance of her being involved in hostilities is her present connection with Great Britain. We are disposed to hold the exact contrary of this, and think it far more likely that Great Britain should be involved in war on account of Canada than that Canada should be involved in war on account of Great Britain. Let Canada look carefully at her own circumstances, let her statesmen study the tone of the American press, and the strange and momentous position of affairs on the American continent. How long will the present civil war afford employment to 700,000 armed men? Or, if the war itself should not abate, how long will the American government be able to bear the vast strain on their finances which the payment of such an army implies? And, when the time has at last arrived when, either from the termination of civil strife or the failure of money and credit, the United States are no longer able to support their vast army, what is to prevent that army from marching toward the northern frontier, and satiating its revenge, its love of plunder and of conquest, in the rich and unwasted provinces of Canada?

Let not the Canadians, on the other hand, believe that they have in their present connection with Great Britain a sufficient protection against invasion without taking any trouble to defend themselves. Such an opinion is founded on a mistake both of our power and our will. It is not in our power to send forth from this little island a military force sufficient to defend the frontier of Canada against the numerous armies which have learnt arms and discipline in the great school of the present civil war. Our resources are unequal to so large a concentration of force on a single point; our empire is too vast, our population too small, our antagonist too powerful. But, if we had the power, it is quite certain that we should not have the will. Opinion in England is perfectly decided that in the connection between the mother country and the colony, the advantage is infinitely more on the side of the child than the parent. We no longer monopolize the trade of the colonies; we no longer job their patronage. We cannot hope from them any assistance for defending our own shores, while we are bound to assist in protecting theirs. We cannot even obtain from this very colony of Canada reasonably fair treatment for our manufactures, which are taxed twenty-five per cent. on their value, to increase a revenue which the colonies will not apply to our, or even their own, defense. There is little reciprocity in such a relation. Should the colony wish to put an end to it, we would never draw the sword to defend it, and, if Canada will not fight to protect its independence from foreign invasion, neither will England. The question is not one for Canada dissolving or maintaining its connection with Great Britain. That it may dissolve almost at pleasure. The question is of destroying or maintaining its own liberty and independence—of being a self-governed commonwealth, or a member or, perhaps—as is talked of fore the South—a subjugated territory of the United States.

WEDNESDAY
JUNE 25, 1862
MASSACHUSETTS WEEKLY SPY

The Recruiting Service.—We understand that recruiting officers are now authorized to receive volunteers between the ages of eighteen and forty-five—the limit being extended ten years. The required height is five feet, two and one half inches, or more. Lieut. Henry Bacon has been authorized to recruit for the 34th regiment.

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The Prospect at Richmond.—A distinguished senator, who carefully inquired into the condition of things in McClellan’s army a few days ago, stated yesterday that he had no doubt of a triumphant issue. The quiet that prevailed in the camps was almost appalling; the officers seemed eager for the hour of conflict, and the men were instinct with life and with hope.³ As a proof of this we give the following extract of a letter from one of the heroes of Williamsburg and Fair Oaks, received here yesterday:

“There is something brewing in Dixie.⁴ All last night we could hear them cheering and shouting in their camps, and the cars kept running to and from Richmond. Well, let them come! And whether they act in the dastardly, sneaking manner they have heretofore acted, or give our boys a fair chance, the result need not be feared at home.”--Washington Chronicle, 21st.

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General News Summary.
BOSTON AND VICINITY.

In Boston, on Friday, Horace F. Leland, a clerk in the employ of Daniel Deshon & Son, 19 Doane street, ran way with $2000 in gold, which he had been entrusted with. Late that night the detectives followed him and traced him to Nashua, where they found young Leland and a female companion at a hotel, waiting dinner, which he had ordered to be served in a private room. Leland was arrested, and upwards of $1700 of the stolen gold was found in the reticule of the woman who accompanied him. Saturday night the pair were brought to Boston, and Leland was committed to the Tombs.

Urgent calls are now made upon the United States arsenal at Watertown,⁵ by the government, for powder, and the establishment is in operation on the Sabbath as well as the other days of the week. The kind of powder wanted is that used for siege guns.

The ship North America, which arrived at Boston, on Saturday, has on board the bells which were contributed by the people of Louisiana, for the prosecution of the war against the Union, under the proclamation issued by Beauregard. They were found in the custom house at New Orleans, and are reported to be worth $50,000.

ESSEX COUNTY.

A number of ladies had their pockets picked at the Sunday school gathering in Lawrence, Wednesday. There is evidently a gang of pickpockets who follow in the wake of all large gatherings for the purpose of stealing, and females seem to be most generally the victims.

The Newburyport Herald says that the show business is reviving, and all the shoe towns feel the good effects. In Lynn, Marblehead, Haverhill, and a hundred other towns in this state, work is abundant, and the working people are few; wages have advanced, and the manufacturers refuse to take orders for the future at present prices, so that wages may be better yet. Real estate is advancing; the tradesmen are hopeful, and everything looks first rate.

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY.

Amherst has sent into the army about 100 persons, and there are now in town, by the assessor’s returns, 571 persons who are liable to be called on to do military duty.

HAMPDEN COUNTY.

The usually quiet little town of Holland is just now thrown into a state of excitement over a seduction case, in which a prominent singer in the choir of the Congregational church and a lady singer in the Methodist choir are brought before the public. Both belong to the first families of Holland, and much sympathy is manifested for the girl, who is soon to become a mother. Tar and feathers are openly talked of for the deceiver, [but] his friends have compromised the matter with money.—Palmer Journal.

BERKSHIRE COUNTY.

Three thirsty highwaymen relieved Deacon Chambers of Williamstown, of a load of beer a few evenings since, which he was just taking home from Adams. The deacon will have to get another barrel to do his haying with.

NEW HAMPSHIRE.

The London American remarks that the washing machine, sent by the Canterbury Shakers to the World’s Fair, is attracting much attention. A scheme is on foot for introducing it into a laundry on an extensive scale, in London.

VERMONT.

Hiram Atkins of the Bellows Falls Argus has been arrested for publishing in the last number of his paper, an obscene article. The Vermont Phœnix says the article was a little too much for the readers of that notoriously reckless journal.

RHODE ISLAND.

We learn from the Providence Press, that Mrs. Charles Garvin, residing in that city, on a recent morning, rejoiced the heart of her liege lord with a present of three fine boys, who are all, with their excellent mother, “doing well.”⁶

CONNECTICUT.

A black insect, very prolific, is badly injuring the trees and shrubs at Hartford. It is hatched out of eggs laid on the under side of leaves, in quantities absolutely enormous, and curls up the foliage and even the stems and small branches, so as to almost ruin the tree.

The Colt’s arms manufacturing company at Hartford have just completed a pair of pistols at the order of the president, who will present them to the king of Denmark. The best steel and black walnut compose the barrels and stocks, and gold and silver ornaments are laid with the greatest profusion. The weapons bear the inscription: “From the president of the United States to the king of Denmark,” and are contained in a rosewood case heavily trimmed with silver. The whole cost of the president is $900.

One of the Colebrook saw-mills is now completing an order for 40,000 feet of 1-4 inch boards, to be used in the manufacture of toy-drums.

WAR ITEMS.

The Charleston Mercury of the 7th announces that it has sent its press to Columbia, fearing to risk it in the city during the prospective bombardment. This is a fact significant of the condition of the public mind in the city.

THURSDAY
JUNE 26, 1862
THE PITTSFIELD SUN (MA)

The War Intelligence.
FROM MEMPHIS.

Memphis, June 19.—Nothing of general interest has occurred within the last 24 hours. Several unimportant arrests have been made, but the city is otherwise quiet.

Two hundred persons took the oath yesterday; thirty-five of them were soldiers.

Memphis, June 20.—A Greensboro (Miss.,) paper, of the 15th, says that information from Okibhega county states that the Negroes are arming themselves rapidly for the purpose of killing the whites. On the 18th of June a plot was discovered in time to be frustrated.

Advices from Vicksburg of the 17th, by way of Grenada, state that no active demonstration had been made by the Federal fleet since its retirement. Several gunboats appeared on the 15^th from below. Report says that 5,000 Federal troops, with gunboats, leave Baton Rouge on Friday for Vicksburg.

Memphis, June 21.—Col. Slack still retains command of this city. He has issued an order requiring the Board of Aldermen, Mayor, Recorder and all other city officers to take the oath of allegiance within three days, and in default they will be regarded as sympathizers with traitors and arrested and treated as such.

FROM THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC.

McClellan’s Headquarters, June 22,--8P.M..—This has been a remarkably quiet day, considering the close proximity of the two contending forces. Brisk skirmishing ensued all day yesterday and at night everything indicated that a general engagement was at hand. The enemy advanced in strong force on our lines during last night, but being promptly met soon retired.

The Richmond papers of yesterday contain a dispatch from Montgomery, Ala., dated 17th, stating that Gen. Beauregard and staff had arrived there on their way to Richmond, and it was said that they were to be followed by a large portion of the army of  the Mississippi, and that a sufficient force had been left under the invincible Bragg to check any advances by the vandals under Gen. Halleck.

FROM NEW ORLEANS.

New York, June 22.—Gen. Butler has issued an order to all citizens who hold places of trust, which calls for doing any legal act whatever, to take the oath of allegiance. The same must be the case with all citizens requiring protection, privilege passport, to have money paid to them or benefit of the power of the U. S., except for the protection from personal violence. Foreign residents must swear or affirm to do no act or be privy to none that shall aid or comfort the enemies of the U. S. so long as their Government remained at peace with the United States.

FROM MISSOURI.

St. Louis, June 22.—Gen. Schofield, commanding the Federal forces in Missouri, has issued an order holding the rebels and rebel sympathizers responsible in their property, and, if need be in their persons, for damages hereafter committed by guerillas or marauding parties in this State. $5,000 will be exacted for every soldier or Union citizen killed, $1,000 to $5,000 for every one wounded, and the full value of all property destroyed or stolen by guerillas will be assessed and collected from the class of persons above mentioned residing in the vicinity of the place where the act may be committed.

The sums thus collected will be paid to the legal heirs of the soldier or citizen killed, or to the wounded or the rightful owner of the property destroyed or stolen. This order is very stringent, and abundant machinery is provided to carry it into effect.

The Navy.—The Secretary of the Navy has sent to Congress an important communication upon the construction of armored ships. He urges Congress to take steps without delay for supplying armature and heavy ordnance for ships, and the substitution of iron for wood, in whole or in part. He urges that the Government should build its own ships-of-war and manufacture its own arms, and directs attention to the inadequacy of present navy-yards to supply demands. Great improvements are demanded, especially in view of the great efforts made by maritime nations to convert wooden into iron-clad vessels, to maintain the supremacy of the seas. The Government, says Mr. Welles, should be independent of private establishments; and he recommends an appropriation of two millions of dollars to prepare the navy-yards and material for building iron-clad vessels. This appropriation now may save hundreds of millions and the honor of the nation, hereafter.

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Deferred Items.

C.W. King, of Brunswick, Me., has drawn within the space of a quarter of an inch, a full rigged ship. With a magnifying glass the ropes, ratlines, reef-points, port-holes, and even a man in the rigging, which cannot be distinguished by the naked eye, are brought out with much distinction.

The quantity of ginseng sent from the State of Minnesota, yearly, is very great. The aggregate value of this year’s exportation from that State is estimated at $100,000. It is all for the Chinese market. The price paid for the green root is sixteen cents a pound.

A prize of twenty thousand francs has been offered at Paris, for the best essay on the “regeneration of bone,” in the hope that, eventually, medical science will no longer have to resort to amputation.

Peter C. Real was shot in New York on Friday, at his place of business, by a woman named Mary Stewart, or as she claims to be, Real’s wife. Real died almost instantly; the reason given by the woman for the deed, is that Real refused to support her, and paid improper attention to other women.

Seventy-four bales of cotton were sold in St. Louis on Friday last, by order of Maj. Gen. Halleck, on Government account. The average price paid was 27½ cents per pound.

Alanson Porter, of Montague, has a cat that some time April last, found a nest of young squirrels in the barn, which she brought in one at a time and ate, until she had eaten all but the last, which she carried and gave to some young kittens she had. The kittens didn’t want to eat it, and they adopted it into the family, and the young squirrel still lives and thrives.

A member of the Massachusetts 13th, after describing the terrible sufferings of their retreat and forced marches in Virginia, says his breakfast that morning consisted of coffee, with a little meal. He speaks of the capture of a venerable goose, while on the march, as an unusual run of luck, but its extreme toughness caused the soldiers to believe that it might possibly trace its existence to the days of the early settlement of the country.

FRIDAY
JUNE 27, 1862
THE LIBERATOR (MA)

“On to Richmond”—Our Advance Begins!

Dispatches from Gen. McClellan, June 26, state—“The enemy are making a desperate resistance to the advance of our picket lines. Kennedy’s and one half of Hooker’s divisions are where I want them. Our men are behaving splendidly; the enemy are fighting well, also. This is not a battle—merely an affair of Heintzelman’s corps supported by Keyes, and thus far all goes well, and we hold every foot of ground we have gained. If we succeed in what we have undertaken, it will be a very important advantage we have gained. Loss not large thus far. The fighting up to this time has been done by Gen. Hooker’s division, which has behaved as usual—that is, most handsomely.”

Gen. McClellan’s last dispatch, June 6—5 P.M., says—“The affair is over, and we have gained our point fully, with but little loss, notwithstanding the strong opposition. Our men have done all that could be desired. The affair was partially decided by two guns that Capt. Dusenbury brought gallantly into action, under very difficult circumstances.”

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Our Country, Right or Wrong.

The editor of the New York Observer, writing from Columbus, Ohio, where he has been attending the sessions of the (Old School) General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, comments as follows upon the suggestion of Governor Andrew to the Secretary of War, that enlistments in Massachusetts would be discouraged and retarded, if the soldiers understood that they were forbidden to fire into the enemy’s magazine.

“While we were in session, we received the papers containing the response of the Massachusetts Governor Andrew to the call for troops. We read it out here in Ohio with shame and deep regret. In the midst of a loyal, patriotic people, who are willing to give their all for their country, it was most humiliating to read from the Governor of the Old Bay State that f the President would do so and so, and this, that and the other thing could be done, &c., &c., then the people would come to the help of the Government. Shame on such patriotism! Away with such half-way patriots when we are at war. What if Governor Tod, of Ohio, should prescribe the conditions on which he would send his troops, and Morgan, of New York, make other conditions, and Curtin, of Pennsylvania, put in his ifs and buts, what would become of the country and the cause? I confess myself ashamed of the position which the Massachusetts Governor takes, and trust that the patriotic press of Boston will utter the indignant sentiment of a misrepresented people. Let us give no quarter to disloyalty, whether it shows its miscreant head in the East or the West, the North or the South. ‘Our country, our whole country,’ is the motto of every right man.”

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Secretary Welles on Fugitives. Secretary Welles has addressed the following letter to Commodore Rowan, commanding the flotilla in the North Carolina Sounds:

Navy Department,
Washington, June 8, 1862.

Sir,--In your dispatch of the 17th ult. allusion is made to a conversation with Mr. Brooks, at Elizabeth City, N.C., relative to his efforts to obtain a favorite servant, supposed to be with the United States forces. As similar application may frequently be made, it is proper to remind you that persons who have enlisted in the naval service cannot be discharged without the consent of the Department, and that no one should be “given up” against his wishes.

Very respectfully,

Gideon Welles

The President has approved the act passed by Congress to secure freedom in all the Territories of the United States. The bill consists of a single section, and provides: “That from and after the passage of this act, there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in any of the Territories of the United States now existing, or which may at any time hereafter be formed or acquired by the United States, otherwise than in punishment of crimes whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.”

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The trial of Appleton Oaksmith, formerly of Portland, on a charge of fitting out a vessel for the slave trade, was concluded before the U.S. Circuit Court in Boston, on Saturday, 14th inst., and a verdict of “guilty” rendered.

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An apology is made for refusing the use of Gen. Lee’s mansion in Virginia as a hospital for the use of our wounded soldiers, who are lying in the miasmatic swamps around it, on the ground that it is out of regard to the associations with the memory of Washington, and not to the property of a traitor. The apology is worse than the original act. No property is too sacred to be used for the benefit of human beings. King David took the shew bread from the altar, and was held blameless. The Catholic Church, in the early periods of Christianity, took pride in selling the sacred vessels of the churches for the ransom of slaves. To make such an excuse as the above for holding a fine house sacred from human use, is contemptible. Were Washington himself alive, he would blush at the conduct of his descendants.—New Bedford Standard.

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The following is related of the Yankee soldiers and Secesh viragos at Norfolk: “At Norfolk, a woman passing by two Yankee soldiers, gathered hastily her robes close to her side to prevent her garments being polluted by touching a soldier’s coat. The soldiers stopped, and one said loudly, ‘Ah, but a nice kind of woman is that; don’t you see she has got some contagious disease, and is afraid we Union soldiers shall catch it from her?’ The Secesh female looked mad enough at this interpretation of her folly. Another soldier in passing on the sidewalk was also met by a similar Secesh woman, who deliberately marched into the street to avoid contact with him. ‘Excuse me, Madam,’ said the soldier, ‘but I am a Union soldier, and not a Secesh soldier, such as you have been used to, and so am not lousy.’ “

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Some of the loyal border State members did not like the vote of the House, by which Robert Smalls and his heroic brother contrabands were awarded one half the value of the Steamboat Planter, which they ran off from Charleston harbor, and delivered to the U.S. fleet. Mr. Crittenden was particularly outraged at the “unconstitutionality” of the proceedings. When the rules were suspended for the purpose of taking up the bill, that gentleman took up his hat and left the hall, followed by some of the other loyal Kentucky members. At the door, a friend expostulated with him, but the testy old gentleman pushed muttering by. Only nine voted against the bill, among them Vallandigham, of course, and Phillip Johnson of Pennsylvania. Many of those who opposed confiscation and emancipation on the ground of unconstitutionality a moment before, voted to grant Robert Smalls his freedom and half the value of the Planter, thereby confirming the right of Robert and all other loyal South Carolinians to confiscate vessels and slaves, a power they deny Congress and the President.

SATURDAY
JUNE 28, 1862
THE SPRINGFIELD REPUBLICAN (MA)

Gen. Hunter’s Negro Regiment.—Mr. Pierce, late special agent of the treasury department for the management of the deserted plantations and Negroes on the South Carolina islands, finds fault in his report with Gen. Hunter for taking the contrabands from their work to form his Negro regiment. It seems that the Negroes did not volunteer, but Gen. Hunter sent a platoon of soldiers to collect them from the plantations, and that although some of them were satisfied to remain in the military service, a portion of them are detained against their will. Mr. Pierce says he “entered a protest against the order and its harsh execution,” but Gen. Hunter took no notice of it. Mr. Pierce’s objection was that it disarranged the work on the plantations. He also objected to forcing the Negroes into the army.

Thus far the regiment has been employed only in manual labor, the unloading of vessels and other heavy work. Arms have not been put into their hands, and nobody seems to know whether Gen. Hunter intends to arm them or not. The Negro soldiers do not wear the gay Zouave rig sent out for them. Their uniform consists of a dark blue coat, blue trousers, conical broad brimmed black hat, and black haversack—no stripe or trimmings of any sort, and no bright buttons. The general effect must be exceedingly dark; and this is heightened by an occasional glimpse of the stout unbleached cotton shirt which every man wears. The regiment has its regular field and staff officers. The line officers are taken from among the non-commissioned officers of the white regiments, more care being given to select men for their moral influence and power of control than for military qualities.

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Allotments of Soldiers’ Pay.—The allotment rolls of the 10th Massachusetts regiment have been received at Boston, and include the sum of $6000, which will nearly all be distributed among the western counties where this regiment was raised. The rolls were all forwarded on Tuesday to the treasurers of the several towns where the interested parties reside. Upon their receipt by the town treasurers, the law requires that a notice be sent to those who have money due them, who will call and sign the roll, which is to be returned to the office of the state treasurer, Many of the soldiers have directed their money to remain on deposit in the state treasury at 5 per cent interest, subject to be drawn out at any time when wanted. The entire arrangement seems to be working satisfactorily, and furnishes a cheap and safe mode by which the soldier can dispose of his surplus funds.

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Major Marsh.—From the fact that Capt. Miller of the Shelburne Falls company has been appointed major of the Tenth regiment, in place of Major Marsh, cashiered, we are to presume that Major Marsh has acted the part of a coward, and has told some rather large stories. We have told all that we have heard in his vindication, and now record his disgrace with regret. It is quite too bad that any coward should go forth from Massachusetts, and very sad that he should be a prominent officer in so good a regiment as the Tenth. Well, it may be hard to be killed, but we hope there are not many of us who would not esteem the burden which Marsh has to carry more grievous than death. The stigma can never pass away.

Have We a Congress?—Mr. Olin, one of the republican representatives from New York, is reported to have said in debate, the other day, that “there has never been a Congress assembled with which he has had any acquaintance, in which it was more easy to thrust through measures without consideration, without debate, ill advised and to the prejudice of the best interests of the country, than the present.” This is rather sweeping; we are not sure that it is just. But it is remarkable what general indifference there is as to the proceedings of Congress. Nobody seems to care very much what Congress does or what it omits, and the agent of the associated press considers its daily proceedings of too little consequence to telegraph an intelligible account of them to the eastern papers. A bill to free the slaves of rebels—one of the most important bills of the session, if it amounts to anything at all—was passed by the House more than a week ago, yet nobody has published the bill or a full and accurate account of it, and those who were urgent for the measure seem to have lost their interest in it now that it is likely to succeed.

This is partly owing to the feeling that the real business of the government for the present is the prosecution of the war, and that the talk and legislation of Congress are of little consequence except as they contribute to this end. There is also a pretty general disgust with the disposition manifested to spend a great deal of time over frivolous matters, or such as can only do mischief. But at length a tax bill has been completed, and as many of the members desire a process, there is a prospect that the necessary legislation will be completed and that Congress will soon adjourn. It will be pleasant to know that the members are resting and recuperating at their various homes, where they will have an opportunity to come into direct contact with the people and learn how they feel about public affairs. Not a few of them need light on this subject.

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Major Marsh Asks a Suspension of Opinion.—We have no disposition to do injustice to Major Marsh, and we cheerfully print this note, asking a suspension of public opinion in his case:

New Haven, Ct., June 21.

I notice in your paper, this date, that Capt. Miller has been appointed major of the 10th Massachusetts, in place of myself, cashiered. I ask you—as you say that everything you have heard in my vindication has been freely given to the public—to simply say from me that I was not cashiered, and when all the circumstances are known my friends will feel far different from what it seems they do now. As to any stories that may be or have been reported, I will with pleasure show you, and any one who desires, testimonials from every officer of the 10th regiment, besides some from other sources, that will give the denial to many reports,--I don’t know whether all, for it seems that one report makes two in a short passage. All I ask is for my friends to wait and hear all sides. Yours truly, W.R. Marsh.

¹ “vaticinates” means “to prophesy.”

² Thomas O. Moore was the Confederate governor of Louisiana, so the commissions would have been for positions in the Confederate army or State Militia; the writer “issued” them as a joke.

³ This is the adjectival form, not much used today, meaning “filled or infused with some animating principle,” as in “instinct with life.”

⁴ What was brewing had a name: Robert E. Lee, who was about to unleash the series of assaults known as the Seven Days Battles, which would push McClellan away from Richmond, and end with the Army of the Potomac cornered atop Malvern Hill, saved only by a handful of Navy gunboats.

⁵ The buildings, which predate the Civil War, remain today as Arsenal Mall.

⁶ And yet, despite this feat, she is identified only by her husband’s name, (oops--“liege lord”).