April 15th. Yesterday a few vessels went up the river, and today the most of those remaining followed, including all of the mortar fleet. They “came to” just below range of the enemy’s guns at the fort.

April 15th.–Mrs. Middleton: “How did you settle Molly’s little difficulty with Mrs. McMahan, that ‘piece of her mind’ that Molly gave our landlady?” “Oh, paid our way out of it, of course, and I apologized for Molly!” Gladden, the hero of the Palmettos in Mexico, is killed. Shiloh has been a dreadful blow to us. [...]

April 15th.–Trescott is too clever ever to be a bore; that was proved to-day, for he stayed two hours; as usual, Mr. Chesnut said “four.” Trescott was very surly; calls himself ex-Secretary of State of the United States; now, nothing in particular of South Carolina or the Confederate States. Then he yawned, “What a bore [...]

APRIL 14th.—There will soon be hard fighting on the Peninsula.

April 14th.–Our Fair is in full blast. We keep a restaurant. Our waitresses are Mary and Buck Preston, Isabella Martin, and Grace Elmore.

APRIL 13th.—Gen. Wise now resolved to ask for another command, to make another effort in defense of his country. But, when he waited upon the Secretary of War, he ascertained that there was no brigade for him. Returning from thence, some of his officers, who had escaped the trap at Roanoke, crowded round him to [...]

YORKTOWN, VA., April 13, 1862. Dear Mother: I commenced a letter to you the other day but was unable to finish it, being called off to participate in a slight skirmish with the Yankees. We arrived at this place last Thursday evening and having sent out our portion of the picket, of which I was [...]

Camp New Madrid, Mo., April 12, 1862. I have the extreme happiness to inform you that there is at last a hope of my dating the next letter from Memphis or vicinity. Our regiment has for several days been alone at Point Pleasant and we enjoyed it very much. When we are under a general [...]

APRIL 12th.—The committee (Congressional) which have been investigating the Roanoke Island disaster have come to the conclusion, unanimously, and the House has voted accordingly, and with unanimity, that the blame and guilt of that great calamity rest solely upon “Gen. Huger and Judah P. Benjamin.”

April 12th. Day before yesterday, just about this time of evening, as I came home from the graveyard, Jimmy unexpectedly came in. Ever since the 12th of February he has been waiting on the Yankees’ pleasure, in the Mississippi, at all places below Columbus, and having been under fire for thirteen days at Tiptonville, Island [...]

APRIL 11th.—The enemy are at Fredericksburg, and the Yankee papers say it will be all over with us by the 15th of June. I doubt that.

April 10.—The Rebels have run and left Island 10, and our boys have taken some 2,000 of them prisoners below here. They passed up on a boat this morning. We will be paid off to-day or to-morrow.

APRIL 10th.—The condemned spies have implicated Webster, the letter-carrier, who has had so many passports. He will hang, probably. Gen. Winder himself, and his policemen, wrote home by him. I don’t believe him any more guilty than many who used to write by him; and I mean to tell the Judge Advocate so, if they [...]

APRIL 9th.—There are several young officers who have sheathed the sword, and propose to draw the pen in the civil service. To-day I asked of the department a month’s respite from labor, and obtained it. But I remained in the city, and watched closely, still hoping I might serve the cause, or at least prevent [...]

APRIL 8th.—Col. Bledsoe has been appointed Assistant Secretary of War by the President. Now he is in his glory, and has forgotten me.

April 8th. Was signalized by the mortar fleet, twenty-two in number, arriving from Pilot Town, where they had gone to be stripped of their rigging. They looked very pretty as they ranged along the shore in line of battle, with their flagship, the Harriet Lane, at their head. We look for a great noise from [...]

Headquarters 7th Illinois Cavalry, In a very fine House, Point Pleasant, Mo., April 7, 1862. If this isn’t fine your brother is incapable of judging. Cozy brick house, damask curtains, legged bedsteads, splendid tables and chairs, big looking glass, and everything just as fine as a peacock’s tail. I do wish you could have been [...]

APRIL 7th.—R. G. H. Kean, a young man, and a connection of Mr. Randolph, has been appointed Chief of the Bureau of War in place of Col. Bledsoe, resigned at last. Mr. Kean was, I believe, a lieutenant when Mr. Randolph was colonel, and acted as his adjutant.

April 7th. Until that dreary 1861, I had no idea of sorrow or grief. . . . How I love to think of myself at that time! Not as myself, but as some happy, careless child who danced through life, loving God’s whole world too much to love any particular one, outside of her own [...]

APRIL 6th.—Two spies (Lincoln’s detective police) have been arrested here, tried by court-martial, and condemned to be hung. There is an awful silence among the Baltimore detectives, which bodes no harm to the condemned. They will not be executed, though guilty.

April 5, 1862.—One of our boys has just returned from Madrid and says he saw our gunboat Cairo there. She slipped by the batteries at “Island No. 10” in the storm last night. Mosquitoes here already.

APRIL 5th.—Newbern, N. C., has fallen into the hands of the enemy! Our men, though opposed by greatly superior numbers, made a brave resistance, and killed and wounded 1000 of the invaders. The enemy were piloted up the river to Newbern by the same Mr. Dibble to whom I refused a passport, but to whom [...]

Camp, near Point Pleasant, Mo., April 4, 1862. I received your last letter within three days after it was mailed, and praised Uncle Sam duly therefor. Our regiment has had a run of bad luck since we’ve been here. Two men killed on the plank road, two wounded at same place, two killed by falling [...]

APRIL 4th.—The enemy are shelling our camp at Yorktown. I can hear the reports of the guns, of a damp evening. We are sending back defiance with our guns. The President has not taken any notice of my communication. Mr. Benjamin is too powerful to be affected by such proofs of such small matters.