June 6, 1863, The New York Herald
Correspondence of Mr. S.M. Carpenter.
HEADQUARTERS, ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, May 27, 1863.
THE GRAND ARMY has subsided. An oppressive dulness rests upon every one, and the sultry days wear away slowly, with our energies dormant and our zeal at zero. The cheering news from Vicksburg stirred us for a while, and the camp seemed livelier and the melody of the bands more merry; but even that excitement has passed away, and utter stagnation prevails. The troops on the barren hillsides pant in the scorching sun, shielding their eyes from the glare and dust, and the hoofs of our cavalry clatter on the hardened ground, fighting flies; but, except these, all is quiet on the Rappahannock. Rumors of wars reach us from the Mississippi with the echo of congratulations over victories; but the pickets of the enemy at Fredericksburg are undisturbed – the Army of the Potomac is asleep. We think how near we have been to victory, how shattered must be the regiments of Lee’s little army (we know that it is not large), and wonder that we are idle. The arms, ammunition and equipments lost at Chancellorsville have been replaced; and our soldiers are anxious to atone for recent blunders by achievements like those of former days. There is no depression, no discouragement, no lack of confidence in ultimate success, and an order to march to-morrow would be hailed with satisfaction.
OUR CAMP.
We thought our winter camps could not be excelled in beauty and variety, but spring gave us brighter materials wherewith to rear our cities, and royal arches of cedar boughs, festooned with flowers and wreathed with the glistening leaves of oak and maple, adorn the entrances to shady bowers and rural retreats beneath the verdant palaces of our soldiers. Headquarters is delightful, a model of rustic elegance, wonderfully suggestive of the visions that are dreamed in the bowers and gardens of the Gothamites. A murmur of fountains and a more extensive display of crinoline are all that is needed to make the similitude complete; but the improvements are not yet concluded, and the summer months may find us in the quiet possession of all the comforts of pleasure seekers at home. We already have our sherry and brandy and champagne and ice in abundance. Mint grows by every rivulet, lemons are to be had for the asking; why should we not be comfortable? It is, indeed, very pleasant, sitting in the shadow of the arches, or reclining within the neatly woven walls of pine and cedar. The laughter of fair visitors, the tinkle of glasses, with their fragrant odors, and the click of steel and ice, make one forget that he is in the field, and drive away all ugly thoughts of gullets and the surgeon. If one tires of lounging, there are smooth, hard roads outside the park, swift horses in the stables, carriages under the trees, ready for the display of the Jehus. If very particular one may have a sulky, a dashing […..], that would astonish even the habitues of Bloomingdale. In the midst of all these comforts and visions of pleasant days yet to come the public should not ask troublesome questions about the next movement. It is annoying to the commanding officers, and, besides that, fruitless. This army is still able to capture correspondents. Better than they fall a victim to “hari kari”than betray any intelligence possessed by the enemy.
OUR PICKET LINES.
Nothing can be more pleasant than a ride along the picket line down by the river. Above Falmouth the country is too rugged, but below bright meadows, waving fields of wheat and acres of pink topped clover stretch away to the pine crested knolls, fragrant with the perfume of roses and honeysuckles, musical with the notes of the thrushes and robins, and the hum of bees in the sweet locust blossoms. The river, so narrow that one can toss a stone across, winds along in the shadow of the maples and the beech trees on the banks, its waters calm and unruffled, bright in the sunbeams as a polished mirror. The pickets sit along the shores, fraternizing like members of the same regiment. Occasionally a rebel swims over, and sometimes we get a Richmond paper; but owing to the restrictions recently placed upon our own pickets the communication has almost entirely ceased. Hopes are frequently expressed that the belligerent parties will meet hereafter under more pleasant circumstances and once or twice the officer of the rebel picket has allowed letters to be sent over, to be examined and allowed to pass through our mails. No picket firing is allowed. The rebels say it would be death to any one who should fire at this side without cause, and our own orders are such that none dare shoot at the enemy. A ride along the river, within a stone’s throw of the rebels, is attended with no more danger than a trip to Washington.
PROVISIONS.
The inhabitants are evidently far from suffering. Cattle, sheep, hogs and fowls are found upon almost every plantation, and the crops now growing promise full storehouses at harvest. Some of the fences are gone; but at so short a distance from our camps it is remarkable that so little has been destroyed. The people are intensely […..], notwithstanding the fact that many of them are supported by our commissary department. Scores of these people visit headquarters every week, purchase articles of food of better quality and at lower rates than in Washington, and go to their homes without one word of acknowledgment, inwardly cursing us as invaders. We cannot allow poor women and children to starve, nor do we wish to tear them from their homes and send them within the lines of the enemy; but it is not pleasant to feed people who we know hate us most intensely and who would rejoice at our defeat.
On the other side affairs remain quiet. There are some suspicious movements, however, and there are indications that Lee contemplates offensive operations.
REBEL MOVEMENTS.
A letter which has fallen into our hands says that the “Yankees” are about to be stirred up, and a deserter states that the rebels are preparing for a march, as they did when under Jackson they flanked us at Manassas, and afterwards when they entered Maryland. There is a slight increase of their force along the river, and rifle pits are daily added to the long line of earthworks defending the south bank of the Rappahannock. Appearances, however are deceptive. Lee may contemplate a raid up the valley, or in the direction of Loudon, via Warrenton, or he may be preparing for the evacuation of Fredericksburg. I am unable to perceive sufficient cause for the latter, and with so much at stake his prudence would hardly allow him to attempt the former. This much is certain – our commanding officers have fresh and important intelligence from the other side, and preparations are being made for any emergency. The enemy does not seem to be very jubilant over his success at Chancellorsville. Prisoners claim a great victory, inasmuch as we were the attacking party, and were repulsed; but they also acknowledge that another struggle like that would be to their army’s destruction.
THE PROVOST MARSHAL’S DEPARTMENT has now a slight relief from its labors. For some time the abuses practised by the purveyors were such that complaints were being forwarded to headquarters daily. A purveyor for the headquarters of a brigade was found with ten barrels of eggs; another with two hundred and fifty dozens of whiskey. All of them were speculating enormously, and the abolishment of the office had become an imperative necessity. The army was flooded with whisky of the vilest kind, and intoxication prevailed to an alarming extent. Happily, those evils have been corrected but they will doubtless spring up again in another form, and with equal detriment to the troops. A number of the officers connected with the Provost Marshal’s office have recently gone home, their term of service having expired, and others are going. General Patrick has not been able to leave, however, owing to the press of business, and, although he has not visited his family in two years, it does not at all seem probable that he will get off this summer. One of his staff, Captain Little, leaves this week, his regiment belonging to the two years troops. Several commissions have already been offered him; but if he remains at all it will be in his present position. General Patrick has addressed a letter, endorsed in the strongest terms by Adjutant General Williams, and General Hooker, to the Secretary of War, requesting that the Captain be induced to remain, “his service being indispensable.”
NEWSPAPERS.
Attempts having been made to mislead the public concerning the suppression of newspapers in the army, its may not be amiss to offer an explanation of the proceedings. When General Hooker assumed command of the army a large number of individuals were engaged in the business of supplying the army with papers. An order was immediately issued limiting the number to one newsboy to each division of the army, and the whole thing given to parties in New York, the principal one of whom is connected with a leading sporting journal. It was decided by them to suppress the HERALD if possible, and make the Times the paper of the army. The attempt proved a failure. After a while the HERALD came as before, the circulation attaining to nearly ten thousand. During the battles at Chancellorsville there were some restrictions upon the sale of papers; but as soon as we returned to our camps they were removed. All the papers were received as usual; but the following week criticisms appeared, and every journal was suppressed. Seven thousand copies of the HERALD were seized at Aquia, and ordered to be burned, and even the copies sent singly in the mails to the subscribers were detained in Washington. Days passed by, the criticisms ceased, and the restrictions were removed. We now get the papers as usual; but it is not pleasant to reflect that whenever the operations of the Commanding General fail to meet the approval of the press an immense army of reading men must be deprived of all newspapers.
A great number of people are daily visiting the army and recovering the remains of friends. Nearly every train of cars to Aquia has one or more coffins upon it, and cases for the dead are piled up on the wharves in every direction. The wounded are progressing finely, and the hospitals are rapidly discharging their patients. Deaths are not frequent, and a few weeks will suffice to set nearly all of the wounded upon their feet.
The general health of the army is good. Some fears are entertained that the debris and decomposing vegetable matter about the deserted camps will breed contagion; but every precaution has been taken to guard against disease, and the new camps have so far proved exceedingly healthy.