SUNDAY
OCTOBER 2, 1864
THE DAILY TRUE DELTA

Plans of the European Despots.
Curious Political Disclosures from Germany.

A London paper says the following curious statement has been put in circulation by a provincial contemporary:

Private letters from persons in Vienna and Berlin, possessing access to the very highest sources of information, have been placed in our hands. They profess to reveal the existence of one of the most extraordinary political schemes of modern times. It is nothing less than the immediate realization of the great dream of Teutonic statesmen–the practical unity of Germany. The scheme originates with Bismarck, the Prime Minister of Prussia, of whom Motley, our envoy in Austria, who has known him for many years, declares that he is characterized by splendid abilities, unlimited ambition, a hearty love of absolutism, and a determined obstinacy in executing his projects. This new scheme involves consequences of the utmost importance to Europe. It necessitates the blotting out from the map of Central Europe of four kingdoms and a number of minor powers. The chief features of this astounding arrangement, as they have been presented to us, are as follows:

1. The King of Prussia is to assume the title of Emperor of North Germany, and the Emperor of Austria is to proclaim himself the Emperor of South Germany.

2. North Germany is to comprise all of Protestant Germany, including, in addition to the present territory of Prussia, the kingdoms of Saxony and Hanover, the duchies of Schleswig, Holstein, Mecklenburg, Oldenburg, Brunswick, Nassau, Saxe-Coburg and Save-Weimar, and the electorate of Hesse Cassel. South Germany is to embrace all Catholic Germany, including, besides Austria proper and Bohemia, the kingdoms of Bavaria and Wurttemberg, and the duchies of Baden and Hesse Darmstadt.

3. The two Emperors will reside for a portion of the year at Frankfort, and have a united cabinet; while a single Parliament, representing all Germany, will assemble in the same city. The Emperors will retain their [current] capitals, or residenzen, as they are styled, which will be, as now, Vienna and Berlin.

4. Whenever the direct male issue of either Emperor shall become extinct, the head of the other imperial house shall be sole Emperor of Germany.

5. The consent of France to this plan has been obtained by the promise of a cession of the territory on the Gallic side of the Rhine, that of Italy by the promised cession of Venetia, and that of Russia by the transfer to her of large portions of the polish provinces of Austria and Prussia.

The existence of such a scheme explains many recent mysteries of German politics. It explains the bitter feud existing between the lesser powers of Germany and the two monarchies of Austria and Prussia, and the treatment experienced at the hands of Bismarck and Rechberg, the Austrian Premier, by the Prince of Augustenburg, the legitimate heir to the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. It explains the indifference manifested of late by the liberals of Prussia, who are also ardent advocates of German unity, to the unconstitutional measures of Bismarck. It explains the attitude assumed at the London Conference by France and Russia. It explains, finally, the meeting of the three Eastern sovereigns at a German bathing-place, the frequent interviews between Napoleon III and the representatives of Austria and Prussia at Paris, and the journey of the Italian Minister of War, Menabrea, to the French Court. It is needless t expatiate on the results likely to accrue from the execution of such a project. The new power created by it would form such an empire as Europe has not seen since the days of Charles the Fifth.¹

Southern Manufactures.—The impossibility of getting many articles of prime necessity from te4h North or from Europe has obliged the Southern people to produce them at home. Hence, since the war began, manufactures of various kinds have sprung up in a section of the country where they were not known before. A correspondent, writing from Georgia, says that at Richmond there are glass works, where not only window glass, but also tumblers and glass dishes are made, of excellent quality. At Danville, in Virginia, there is a stocking manufactory, where both cotton and woolen hose are made. At Raleigh, in North Carolina, there is a manufactory of knives and forks, which turns out work equal to that formerly bought from Connecticut. There are manufactories where hats are made at eleven different towns in the three States named above. There are two places in South Carolina where ladies’ straw bonnets are made. There are seven places in Georgia where cotton cards are manufactured, and yet the demand for them exceeds the supply. There is a blanket manufactory at Montgomery, in Alabama, one at Macon, and one at Savannah, at all of which blankets of excellent quality are made, both for the army and for domestic use. There are manufactories of glassware and fine earthenware–cups and saucers–at both Savannah and Columbus, in Georgia. There are manufactories of pins and knitting needles at a dozen places in the South, where, three years ago, such things were not thought of.

•••••

An Epitome of “Jeff’s” Life.—John Wentworth, at the late Chicago meeting said:

Jefferson Davis entered Congress about the same year that I did. I have met him often and know him well. But there was a difference between Jeff Davis and me: I paid for my education, Jeff didn’t for his. He was taken at a tender age and placed at West Point, and your father and mine were taxed to pay for the instruction that rescued him from oblivion. We made the very common mistake of judging by his head rather than his heart, and did not notice the viper that was coiling there, and which we nursed into life to sting us if possible to death. When his school-boy days were over, Jeff was sent out West–out West here at the Government’s expense–and spent a year or so surveying around Calumet, fishing and lounging and shooting grouse at Government expense, and eating them himself. [Laughter.] He then married into the Government, his wife being the daughter of Gen. Taylor, who was supported by the Government; went to the Mexican war, and returned to become Secretary of War, and to vilify the gallant soldiery of Illinois for their part upon the field of Buena Vista. For this Governor Bissell called him out, but on this particular occasion Jeff didn’t come out. [Great laughter.]

MONDAY
OCTOBER 3, 1864
THE DAILY RICHMOND EXAMINER (VA)

The Result of Sherman’s Order–A Picture of Yankee Warfare.

The condition of the poor refugees and exiles banished by Sherman from Atlanta must be sad and distressing in the extreme. Our Georgia contemporaries represent them as in a very destitute and suffering condition. We reproduce some passages that have fallen under our eyes, with the view of showing to the world the warfare adopted by our enemy, and the result of an order issued and enforced by one of their chief commanders, upon a whole community of defenceless women and children. The frightful picture presented below is but the fate of every town and city in the South that may be overpowered and conquered by the Yankee armies.

Speaking of these poor exiles turned upon a cold world by the Yankee brute Sherman, the Macon Confederate says:

“But there still remains in and about this city two hundred families who are without shelter. Just think of it. Almost a thousand children exposed to the inclemency of the weather, and with scarcely food enough to eke out their miserable lives. The Mayor’s office is thronged with these unfortunate women daily, who with tears plead merely for bread that their little ones may not starve. To have the sympathy of the people of this city enlisted, we would recommend a walk amongst the cars where the exiles are still stopping. Destitute of home, money, food or strong arms to provide these things for them, they present a sickening aspect. Many of them have young babies at the breast. Some four or five were confined last week on the cars. In the name of justice, we beg the people to go to work and mitigate the circumstances of these people.”

Another Macon paper says:

“It is suggested that the exiles, who have no definite homes provided, and who are dependent on the assistance of our benevolent people, be removed to Southwest Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. That portion of the country abounds with provisions of all kinds, and thus the most prominent difficulty will be disposed of. The country in that region is not subject to the rigorous changes of climate that makes the winters further north so discomforting. Some of our acquaintances have built tent poles, and inform us that they expect to live in them during the winter, which they say is sufficiently mild and open to permit this method of life.”

The editor of the Clarion writes to his paper from Augusta:

“In passing through Macon I saw some fifty car loads of the horseless wanderers, and God only knows and will ever know the sufferings of these unfortunate people. Nothing but government aid can relieve them from suffering the pangs of hunger. They are too numerous to be reached by private aid. I saw families who, in Atlanta and the towns around, stood high in social position and wealth, the occupants of box cars, and but too glad to get even that shelter. I believe that every exertion is being made for their relief; but what amount of untold suffering will be endured before that relief can reach all, I fear to express.”

Soldiers of the army, here is but a picture of what awaits your own wives and children if the enemy conquer us; death would be preferable to being at the mercy of such a wicked, barbarous foe.

Senator Hill, of Georgia, made a publick speech a few days ago in Macon. Referring to the situation in Georgia and the prospect of peace, he said:

“No honorable peace can be attained for Georgia until the enemy is crushed. The only peace which the invading army can give is to make freemen slaves and slaves freemen.

“And we can crush this enemy; I feel that they are as much our prisoners now as the Yankees at Andersonville. How can that be done? Is it possible we cannot crush Sherman? He has three hundred miles of railroad to keep up, which must and can be destroyed. He must not himself escape. We have the means to do this. We must return the absentees. They are everywhere. They eat at your tables; you meet them in your parlors; you meet them on the streets; you all know who they are. Cease complaining on the gallant soldiers in the field and urge forward the absentees. Do that, and the moon will not wax and wane thrice before Sherman is defeated and the exiles can go home.

“I know that we all want peace, and if God knows my heart there is no one who more fervently prays for it than I do. But how can we make it? Not with Sherman, who says he means extermination. I recently read a letter from him more intensified with malignity than ever escaped the lips of man. He said he meant to destroy the present people and populate our country with a better people–the Yankee! You can make with him or Lincoln only one peace–that is submission.

“Another reason why you cannot make peace with Sherman is, our gallant army will not let you–you have not the power to make a dishonorable peace. There is no man more anxious to stay the revolution than I am, nor no man who will work more earnestly to secure that boon; but I will never acknowledge inferiority to Yankees.

“Why, then, indulge in despondency? It can do no good. Georgians, do not despond! In the midst of disaster be strong. I do not doubt Sherman in Atlanta must be destroyed. I said twelve months ago that if the enemy ever got to Atlanta, he would be destroyed. It is true I would have preferred his being defeated before he got there. But now we can and will crush the enemy, and that very soon.

“There is no peace party in the North if we are willing to be subjugated. All will subjugate us if they can. Peace can only come by the defeat of the enemy.”

•••••

Progress of the Pacifick Railroad.—The work on this great thoroughfare s being rapidly pushed forward, and a few months will see it completed and trains running direct from St. Louis to Kansas City, and even fifty miles beyond, upon the lien of the Union Pacifick railroad. So say the St. Louis papers.

TUESDAY
OCTOBER 4, 1864
THE SPRINGFIELD DAILY UNION (MA)

Army Stories.

A correspondent of the Columbus (OH) State Journal, who writes from Sherman’s army, of what he calls “Sights on Horseback,” tells this story of

A Brave Boy.

“In the dearth of  exciting war news, I will give you the history of a ‘Private Soldier’ who is now serving in this army. He is John Fletcher, of Lafayette, Indiana, private in Company C, Sixty-Fifth Indiana volunteer infantry. He was born in Albany, New York, 1852, enlisted at Washington, D. C., in the Fourth United States cavalry in 1861, at the age of nine years! He was instructed in drill and horsemanship at Carlisle barracks, and sent to the field during Buell’s and Bragg’s campaign in Kentucky. He served in the Fourth Regular Cavalry in that campaign, and was twice wounded, once in the leg, at the engagement at Richmond, Ky., and again in the thigh at Perryville. He was discharged from the Fourth Cavalry on account of wounds. He re-enlisted in the Sixty-fifth Indiana infantry volunteers in February, 1864. Besides serving in the campaign in Kentucky under Buell, he was at the battles of Chickamauga, and Mission Ridge, and at Resaca, and Kennesaw Mountain, and is now before Atlanta in the present campaign.

“He is quite small for his age–no as tall as his own gun–but packs his gun, knapsack, canteen and haversack with the steadiness of an old soldier, which he really is, though so young in years. He is now twelve years old; in good health, and takes his turn of duty in the trenches.”

A Horse Story.

The same correspondent says:

“Among ‘cavalry people’ the horse is second in interest only to the man. In fact, ‘horse and rider’ are usually spoken of as one and the same person. Every good cavalry man takes good care of his horse, provided he has a good one; and if he has not, he is mighty apt to get such. And when he secures such a one, the attachment the brave trooper will form for his horse is almost romantic. You will, therefore, understand why I consider it not unworthy of the annals of this war to give the rather remarkable history of as gallant an animal as ever snuffed powder, now owned by an officer in our cavalry command, and mounted upon which he has been some forty times under fire. ‘Nellie’ was born and raised, till she was six years old, in Athens county, Ohio; was there sold to her present owner on account of her fondness for her neighbor’s pastures and grain fields, and her total disregard for fences, whether rail, picket or hedge. She was taken into the cavalry service in 1862, but could not be rode in line on account of her high spirit. By reason of her being a ‘hard rider,’ i.e., trotting, prancing and going ‘sidewise,’ all the time, making it decidedly uncomfortable for the rider, she was not used; being kept only as a pet till John Morgan’s first raid through Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio in 1863. Her owner  rode her six days on that raid, and was completely worn out by her restlessness and fretting. He then put a black boy on her who rode her during the remainder of this whole raid, riding her twenty-seven days and most of the nights, from Somerset, Ky., to Buffing Island, Ohio, following the trail of Morgan with Gen. Hobson, and thence back to Stamford, Ky., in all a distance of almost one thousand miles. ->

“After resting two days at Stamford, her owner rode her with General Burnside’s advance across the mountains into East Tennessee, and rode her every day through that campaign, lasting from August, 1863, to April, 1864; and in every engagement which his command was in. In one engagement her owner, while riding her into an ambush of the enemy, a part of the bridle bit was shot from her mouth, leaving the rider only one rein; pulling too hard on that, her head was so suddenly turned that she fell with him, and the rider was made a prisoner. Springing up, she swam the Tennessee river and rejoined our cavalry with the Federal troops. Her owner also escaped and came in a few days after. She has three times crossed the Cumberland mountains, where forage has to be packed on mules for a distance of one hundred miles, and three times made the march from Tennessee Valley to the Blue Grass region of Kentucky.

“In the engagement of Cynthiana, Ky., June 12, 1864, with the rebels under John Morgan, her owner rode her in a cavalry charge upon the rebel retreating column. She leaped a stone wall with him, and carried him so close to the rebels that the blood from the wound of a rebel shot by her rider splashed over her face and ears. On the recent march from the Blue Grass region of Kentucky to join the army near Atlanta, a distance of four hundred miles, she had no rider, and was neither bridled nor haltered during the whole march, lasting twenty-four days, keeping her place in the march during the day, and staying close in the camp at night. She never made a false step of her own fault, even on the worst of mountain roads and in the darkest nights. She knows the whistle of a bullet or the shriek of a shell and the directions of their flight, almost as well as her owner does.”

•••••

All Sorts of Paragraphs.

A young man formerly of humble circumstances has an income of $7,000 per day paid him as his share of certain oil lands in Pennsylvania. This amounts to $2,548,000. He may be able to live on it.

Chloroform is recommended as an excellent for scolding wives. A husband who had tried it says, “No family should be without it.”

Women are said to have stronger attachments than men. It is not so. A man is often attached to an old hat; but did you ever know of a woman having an attachment for an old bonnet? Echo answers, “never.”

The bad liquor in Philadelphia is now called coal oil whiskey.

The Philadelphia papers have begun to find fault with the treatment which colored people receive on the horse railroad cars of that city. They are bound to bring about a reform similar to that which has been effected in New York.

WEDNESDAY
OCTOBER 5, 1864
THE CONSTITUTION (CT)

War News.

The latest news from Gen. Grant is up to five o’clock Friday afternoon. Friday morning Gen. Warren advanced from his position on the Weldon Road and attacked the enemy’s extreme right, carrying their line of works handsomely, with a number of prisoners. He immediately prepared to follow up his advantage. Gen. Meade, according to the dispatch, moved out a force from his left and carried the rebel works near Poplar Grove Church in the direction of the Danville road. Our forces on the North side of the James successfully hold all the ground they gained on Thursday. The rebels assaulted our position near Chapin’s Farm but were handsomely repulsed by Gen. Butler’s forces.

The Secretary of War telegraphs that there is no later news from Gen. Sheridan than that announced Friday, which placed his cavalry in occupation of Staunton on Monday last. The Orange and Alexandria Railroad to Manassas Junction and the Manassas Gap Railroad to Staunton are being repaired for Gen. Sheridan’s use.

The rebels are invading the State of Missouri in strong force. The fort at Pilot Knob, about which so much has been said, is strongly built and mounts four 62 pounders and six field pieces, but the fort is commanded by Shepard Mountain. In the attack on Mineral point Tuesday night the rebels lost fifty killed. Pike’s headquarters were then at Fredericktown. The railroad above Big river is abandoned.

At Centralia, thirty-four soldiers, mostly veterans returning from Atlanta, were shot in cold blood and their bodies terribly mutilated. A number of citizens were also murdered. An hour after the guerrillas left, Major Johnson with one hundred and fifty militia arrived and started in pursuit. Three miles out they were ambushed and ninety-six of them, including Maj. Johnson, were killed.

•••••

Rebel Cant Laid Bare.–The following is the reply of Gen. Sherman to Gen. Hood’s change of “studied and ungenerous cruelty,” which was received at Washington 21st inst.

“General J. R. Hood: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of this date, at the hands of Messrs. Ball and Crew, consenting to the arrangement I had proposed to facilitate the removal South of the people of Atlanta who prefer to go in that direction. I enclose you a copy of my orders which will, I am satisfied, accomplish my purpose perfectly. You style the measure  proposed ‘unprecedented,’ and appeal to the dark history of war for a parallel, as an act of ‘studied and ungenerous cruelty.’ It is not unprecedented, for General Johnston himself very wisely and properly removed families all the way from Dalton down, and I see no reason why Atlanta should be excepted, nor is it necessary to appeal to the dark history of war, when recent and modern examples are so handy. You yourself burned dwelling houses along your parapet, and I have seen to-day fifty houses that you have rendered uninhabitable because they stood in the way of your forts and men. You defended Atlanta on a line so close to the town that every cannon shot and many musket shots from our line of investments that overshot their mark went into habitations of women and children. Gen. Hardee did the same at Jonesboro and Gen. Johnston did the same last summer at Jackson, Miss. I have not accused you of heartless cruelty, but merely instance these cases of very recent occurrence, and could go on an enumerate hundreds of others and challenge any fair man to judge which of us has a heart of pity for families of ‘brave people.’ ->

“I say it is kindness to these families of Atlanta to remove them now at once from scenes that women and children should not be exposed to, and ‘brave people’ should scorn to commit their wives and children to rude barbarians who thus, as you say, violate laws of war, as illustrated in the pages of its dark history.

“In the name of common sense, I ask you not to appeal to a just God in such sacrilegious manner, who in midst of peace and prosperity have plunged a nation into civil war–dark and cruel war; who dared and badgered us to battle, insulted our flag, seized our arsenals and forts that were left in honorable custody of a peaceful ordnance sergeant, seized and made prisoners of war the very garrison sent to protect your people against Negroes and Indians long before any overt act was committed by the (to you) hateful Lincoln government; tried to force Kentucky and Missouri into rebellion in spite of themselves; falsified the vote of Louisiana; turned loose your privateers to plunder unarmed ships; expelled Union families by thousands; burned their houses; and declared by act of your congress confiscation of all debts due northern men for goods had and received. Talk thus to the marines, but not to me who has seen these things, and who will this day make as much sacrifice for the peace and honor of the South as the best born southerner among you. If we must be enemies, let us be men and fight it out as we propose to-day, and not deal in such hypocritical appeals to God and humanity. God will judge us in due time and he will pronounce whether it will be more humane to fight with a town full of women and families of a ‘brave people’ at our back or to remove them in time to places of safety among their friends and people.–W. T. Sherman.

•••••

The following is one of Lincoln’s stories. These he often tells in private conversation, rarely in his speeches: “I once knew,” he said, “a good sound churchman, whom we will call Brown, who was in a committee to erect a bridge over a very dangerous and rapid river. Architect after architect failed, and, at last, Brown said, he had a friend named Jones, who had built several bridges, and could build this. ‘Let us have him in,’ said the committee. In came Jones. ‘Can you build this bridge, sir?’ ‘Yes,’ replied Jones, ‘I could build a bridge to the infernal regions if necessary.’ The sober committee were horrified. But when Jones retired, Brown thought it but fair to defend his friend. “I know Jones so well,’ said he, ‘and he is so honest a man, and so good an architect, that if he states, soberly and positively, that he can build a bridge to Hades, why, I believe it. But I have my doubts about the abutment on the infernal side.’ ” So Mr. Lincoln, added, “When politicians said they could harmonize the northern and southern wings of the democracy, why, I believed them. But I had my doubts about the abutment on the southern side.”

THURSDAY
OCTOBER 6, 1864
THE BOSTON HERALD

Affairs in Mexico.
A Revolution in the City of Mexico.

New York, Oct. 5.–The steamer McClellan, from New Orleans 28th, has arrived. She passed on the 20th the steamer Constitution, from New Orleans for New York, with prisoners.

Advices from Brazos state that the French, who advanced from Bagdad, were whipped by Cortinas. The rebels appeared on the Texas side of the river and covered the retreat of the French.

One of Juarez’s special agents brings word to the Union commander that during the absence of Maximillian, Miramon, backed by the Archbishop of Mexico and the clergy, issued a pronunciamiento, declaring against Maximilian. Half the city of Mexico had been taken by Miramon and he had appealed to the people to sustain him and drive out the invaders.

The French left Monterey to co-operate with the forces from Bagdad, leaving only a small garrison.

The Liberal General Quinoga took the garrison prisoners and began to fortify.

The French at Bagdad are fortifying within range of their ships.

Cortinas is confident of holding out against all opposition.

The French have one frigate and two corvettes off the Rio Grande. Admiral Bosse refuses to allow a messenger to pass his lines to our consul at Matamoras. His orders are to shoot everybody who approaches his lines after dark.

About sixty Mexicans are at Brazos, released from a French prison. They refuse to take the oath to support the Empire, and can enter Mexico upon no other terms.

The English frigate Liverpool and corvette Buzzard, and U. S. gunboat Penobscot are off the mouth of the Rio Grande.

The Union men of New Orleans are much elated over Gen. Sheridan’s victories.

After several skirmishes the rebels were driven from the Atchafalaya and the vicinity of Morganza. One cannon, considerable stores, and a few prisoners were taken. Losses in killed and wounded on both sides were trifling.

The rebel Gen. Hodges, commanding a narrow strip of Mississippi and outside the Union lines near Baton Rouge and Port Hudson in Louisiana has issued an order forbidding private traffic with the enemy.

The cotton crop, though badly damaged, is not destroyed. The average will be near half a crop. Cotton was dull on the New York quotations of the 20th. Awaiting further news. Cotton begins to come in rather freely.

•••••

The Missouri Invasion.

St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 4.–A train which left Hannibal yesterday morning for the west ran off the track 17 miles from Palmyra, and was soon afterwards visited by a band of guerrillas, who searched the train for soldiers, seized the express safe containing about $20,000, took three revolvers from the passengers, and compelled one of the employees to fire the cars. A freight train, which arrived soon after the accident, was also burned. Three soldiers were on the cars, but through the aid of the passengers managed to change their uniforms for civilian dress, and escaped.

Robert Loudon, the notorious boat burner and rebel mail carrier, under sentence of death, escaped from his guard to-day while en route for Acton Military Prison.->

An official dispatch from  Jefferson City says sixty of Col. Fletcher’s men, of Gen. Ewing’s command, had reached Herman. Gen. Ewing, with the principal portion of his troops, had arrived at Rolla.

All quiet at Jefferson City, the enemy not having appeared in that vicinity.

The rebel army is between the Pacific and Southwest Branch Railroads with a train of 200 wagons, apparently aiming for Rolla. The Pacific road is materially damaged, but the Southwest Branch is almost entirely in the hands of the rebels, and the depots at St. Clair, Sullivan, Harrison and Cuba and the bridges across the Merrimac have been burned. Nearly all the goods in Franklin have been taken by the rebels and many private houses plundered. Norton and Arcadia were completely gutted. Irondale was sacked after Price’s chief of staff and other offices had assured the citizens that private property would be respected.

A dispatch from Cape Girardeau says Colonel Hiller, commanding there, reoccupied Charleston and sent a force to Bloomington. His outposts and cavalry are scouting the country in all directions.

•••••

[Miscellaneous.]

An eclipse of the planet Jupiter by the Moon came off yesterday afternoon, agreeably to the announcement by astronomical authorities.

General Canby’s recent cotton order is to be aimed more at the transactions of certain attaches of the army in the Gulf Department, than at the rebels or rebel sympathizers themselves. In other words, he believes that a vast amount of illicit trade is going on in which the army are gainers, and he is determined, for the honor of his Government, to put a stop to it at once.

Exertions are making to secure to Brown University at Providence a library worthy of the College. Isaac Rich, of Boston, has promised to put up a library building to cost not less than $25,000, if the library fund, now amounting to $11,000, be increased to $25,000.

Gen. Rosecrans has ordered all traitors and spies caught attempting to communicate with the rebel forces invading Missouri to be shot on the spot.

Potatoes are selling at 60 cents a bushel in Lewiston, Me., and butter at 40 cents a pound.

Twenty-three car-loads of cattle passed over the Maine Central railroad on Monday for the Massachusetts market.

At the Cattle Show and Fair held last week at Ellsworth, Me., one of the attractions was a girl 12 years old, weighing 260 pound, measuring 44 inches round the waist, 19 inches round the arm, and only 3 feet 9 inches in height.

A young woman threw herself into the Scioto river at Columbus, Ohio, last week, but was rescued by a party of men working near by. She had, however, taken so large a dose of laudanum that she died in a short time, in her last moments calling upon “Gilbert,” her deceiver.

The Oxford Democrat tells of an old lady in Lovell, Me.,–widow Hannah Andrews–who has reared thirteen children and had two hundred and thirty-five descendants. Verily, she has done what she could.

FRIDAY
OCTOBER 7, 1864
THE SPRINGFIELD DAILY UNION (MA)

A Pen-Picture of Gen. Sherman.—While I was watching to-day the endless line of troops shifting by, an officer, with a modest escort, rode up to the fence near which I was standing, and dismounted. He was rather tall and slender, and his quick movements denoted good muscle added to absolute leanness–not thinness. His uniform was neither new or old, but bordering on a hazy mellowness of gloss, while the elbows and knees were a little accented from the continuous agitation of those joints.

The face was one I should never rest upon in a crowd, simply because, to my eye, there was nothing remarkable in it, save the nose, which organ was high, thin, and planted with a curve as vehement as the curl of a Malay cutlass. The face and neck were rough and covered with reddish hair, the eye light in color and animated, but, though restless and bounding like a ball from one object to another, neither piercing nor brilliant; the mouth well closed, but common, the ears large, the hands and feet long and thin, the gait a little rolling, but firm and active. In dress and manner there was not the slightest trace of pretension. He spoke rapidly, and generally with an inquisitive smile. To this ensemble I must add a hat which was the reverse of dignified or distinguished–a simple felt affair with a round crown and drooping brim–and you have as fair a description of General Sherman’s externals as I can pen.

Seating himself on a stick of cord-wood hard by the fence, he drew a bit of pencil from his pocket, and spreading a piece of note-paper on his knee, he wrote with great rapidity. Long columns of troops lined the roads a few yards in front; and beyond the road, massed in a series of spreading green fields, a whole division of infantry was waiting to take up the march, the blue ranks clear out against the verdant back-ground. Those who were near their general looked at him curiously, for in so vast an army the soldier sees his Commander-in-chief but seldom. Page after page was filled by the General’s nimble pencil and dispatched.

For half an hour I watched him, and though I looked for an expected to find them, no symptoms could I detect that the mind of the great leader was taxed by the infinite cares of a terribly hazardous military coup de main. Apparently it did not lie upon his mind the weight of a feather. A mail arrived. He tore open the papers and glanced over them hastily, then chatted with some general officers near him, then rode off with characteristic suddenness, but with fresh and smiling countenance, filing down the road beside many thousand men whose lives were in his keeping.

•••••

Horrible Incidents of the Rebel Invasion of Missouri.—The St. Louis Democrat gives the following harrowing details attending the occupation of Centralia by a band of 175 guerrillas:

The citizens at first took them for State Militia. Shortly after their arrival, a gravel construction train came along, which was seized and stopped. A few minutes later the passenger train from St. Louis arrived, which they also immediately seized. Three civilians who made some resistance were shot in the cars, and either killed or wounded, and were left on board. ->

The other passengers, including twenty or thirty soldiers, were all ordered out of the cars, and plundered of their money and valuables. As soon as the stripping was completed the vile miscreants commenced firing upon their captives, the unarmed soldiers, some of whom attempted to escape by running in to the houses and out into the fields, but were pursued and shot down like wild game.

Twenty-four of these soldiers were thus butchered, seven of whom were of the 1st Iowa cavalry, stationed at Mexico, and ten of whom were discharged soldiers, veterans returning to their homes from Atlanta, after a faithful three years and four months service in the cause of their country, the four months being the extra service generously given by them to the Government. After these men were thus hunted and shot down, their bodies were beaten, their heads cut off or hacked with swords, and every possible indignity inflicted upon them. Mr. Rolland, express agent at Centralia, was also among the killed. The murderous work having been accomplished, the torch was applied to the depot, and the train containing the three wounded civilians was fired and started on its way up the road. It ran about six miles, when it stopped and was slowly consumed.

The band then passed on, and in about one hour was followed by Major Johnson and his command. Two or three miles beyond Centralia, in Boone county, on the farm of a Mr. Fulweider, of this city, Anderson hid his gun in the bushes and waited his pursuers. Major Johnson, approaching the ambush, was fired upon. He immediately withdrew his command, dismounted them and formed in line of battle. At this moment the guerrillas burst from their hiding place with fierce yells and rapid firing. Major Johnson’s horse took fright and left him and his men to wage the unequal contest on foot. They had delivered but one volley when the guerrillas were upon them, shooting, hacking and slaying to the right and left. The militia made no stand, but scattered and fled in all directions. Eighty-six of their number, including Major Johnson, were killed in the very field where they dismounted. Ten others were found dead in the prairie toward Centralia. Out of the whole company of 150 men, 25 were all that, up to our latest advices, had escaped. A number of dead bodies were brought down yesterday to Mexico by train. Others will be  brought down to-day.

This completes our account of the most horrible butchery our State has yet been afflicted with. The shocking details bear some resemblance to the Lawrence massacre of last year. In brutality and fiendishness these horrible deeds were never surpassed. The people of the surrounding country are terribly excited. They say these guerrillas have their homes and their hiding places in Callaway county, and that they never will have peace and protection until that and the adjoining counties, which are so notoriously disloyal, shall be thoroughly purged of rebels and rebel sympathizers.

SATURDAY
OCTOBER 8, 1864
THE NEWPORT MERCURY (RI)

Rebel Officials Robbing the Burial Fields.—It is ascertained that trains on the railroad from Richmond have been running to within a few miles of Fredericksburg for several weeks, to transport old iron, rags, &c., from the Wilderness battlegrounds. The rebels are exhuming the bodies of the slain, and stripping them for the rags. Commissioned officers have charge of the trains.

•••••

Farragut and Wilmington.—There is a thrilling significance in the announcement that Farragut has been ordered to the command of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. A part of that squadron is blockading the port of Wilmington. We suspect that the blockade runners will not be at all gratified that he is to visit their neighborhood. Now that we have absolute control of Mobile Bay, Wilmington is the only port into which our “neutral English cousins” can run their vessels, laden with ammunition and supplies. Farragut, we may hope, will soon pay his compliments to out “misguided fellow citizens” in the vicinity of Cape Fear River. If he will stop up that rebel highway, the navy will nearly have finished its heavy work in this war.

•••••

Severely Perforated.—The U. S. sloop of war Brooklyn, which arrived at Charlestown (Mass.) last week from Mobile, had 50 shots in her sides, 73 in other parts, and 1,200 pounds of iron shot and shell buried in her decks.

•••••

The Advance Sounded in Georgia.—There has been an ominous lack of intelligence from Atlanta for several days past. Press dispatches have ceased to come and Secretary Stanton’s letter bulletins make no mention of affairs in that quarter. Nor is this owing to Forrest’s presence in the rear. His operations have been confined mainly to the Tennessee and Alabama, and not to the Chattanooga railroad, Sherman’s route of communication with Nashville. A morning dispatch from Chattanooga says that this road has not yet been touched. But even if it had, telegraphic communication with Atlanta would still be had by way of Knoxville, Cleveland and Chattanooga.

This silence may mean nothing, but it certainly has a portentous look, and may be the prelude to another battle storm.

A full month has elapsed since the Georgia army rested from its labors within the fortifications of Atlanta. To remain inactive during that time would certainly be incompatible with Sherman’s character. On the contrary, we believe that he has been making preparations for a speedy renewal of operations against the foe. Reinforcements have been going on to him from as far East as this city, and the arrival in one day of more than two hundred car loads of supplies was recently announced. The last movement which resulted in the capture of Atlanta was made during Wheeler’s absence in the rear with the rebel cavalry. It is very probable that Sherman will again take advantage of the absence of the Georgia militia and a large detachment of cavalry and move upon Beauregard, who now commands the Western rebel army.

The Louisville Journal of the 30th ult. says, on this point:

It is believed that Sherman’s army is in motion, and the movement ultimately will compel Forrest speedily to withdraw from Tennessee. Sherman, as we understand it, is not detaching a force to look after his rear, but has concentrated his entire command for a bold advance and an eagle-like swoop down upon the army under Hood. The blow will be marked with dispatch, and, it is believed, will prove decisive. We shall be much surprised if the news of another glorious victory is not flashed over the wires.

[Miscellaneous.]

The Narragansett Association of Baptist Churches held its annual session with the Central Baptist Society in this city, commencing on Tuesday and closing Wednesday afternoon. The annual sermon was preached by Rev. C. L. Frost. The following resolutions on the state of the country were passed:

Whereas, Our Heavenly Father is now writing in letters of blood upon our beloved land lessons which it becomes a disobedient and gainsaying people carefully to study. Therefore,

Resolved, That we acknowledge His right as the God of nations to punish us for our rebellion against His government, ad that we recognize in the terrible character of the punishment His utter abhorrence of our great national sin, and His fixed purpose to purge us from it.

Resolved, That we most gratefully thank Him for permitting us to see the dawning of the day of “liberty to all people,” a day which our fathers longed for, but died without the sight.

Resolved, That we will cheerfully pay our proportion of the expenses of the war, that we will give our prayers, our friends, and if need be ourselves, and will use all our rights as citizens to aid the government to suppress the rebellion and to establish peace upon principles which will make it permanent.

Resolved, That we tender our hearty thanks to our army and navy for their patriotic sacrifices and heroic achievements, and to Almighty God for the glorious victories which He has enabled them to win.

Resolved, That we tenderly sympathize with those who have laid their loved ones on the altar of liberty, and that we will aid them to bear the heavy burdens which their sacrifices have heaped upon them.

Resolved, That we have unwavering confidence in God’s purpose to preserve this nation, to bring it up from this baptism of fire and blood to a higher, purer, and happier life, and to fit it to guide the nations to civil liberty and true religion.

The usual business of the Association was transacted, a resolution of thanks voted to the Central Baptist Church for the hospitality extended, and the session was closed to meet next year at Wakefield.

•••••

The story so generally circulated that President Lincoln recently offered an important command to Gen. McClellan if he would withdraw from the Presidential canvass is denied upon authority.

•••••

Atlanta.—The Chicago Journal of the 28th ult. says that it has learned from a gentleman just arrived in that city from Atlanta, that more than half the population of Atlanta preferred to come North, instead of going South, as was their option under Sherman’s order.

¹ Map of the Germanies prior to Bismarck’s unification.