May 2023

Confederates retreating to Vicksburg: “Wan, hollow-eyed, ragged, footsore, bloody, the men limped along unarmed, but followed by siege-guns, ambulances, gun-carriages, and wagons in aimless confusion.”

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War Diary of a Union Woman in the South

May 17th, 1863.—Hardly was our scanty breakfast over this morning when a hurried ring drew us both to the door. Mr. J., one of H.’s assistants, stood there in high excitement. “Well, Mr. L., they are upon us; the Yankees will be here by this evening.” “What do you mean?” “That Pemberton has been whipped [...]

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Cruise of the U.S. Flag-Ship Hartford -Wm. C. Holton

May 16th. Commences with light southerly breezes; at seven A. M. saw a wreck floating down, and sent the gunboat Sachem to see what it was; at nine A. M. inspected crew at quarters. The supposed wreck proved to be a snag; at 10 A.M., Commodore Palmer, and his clerk Nathaniel P. S. Thomas, also [...]

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Civil War

From the diary of Osborn H. Oldroyd MAY 16TH.–We rolled out of bed this morning early, and had our breakfast of slapjacks made of flour, salt and water, which lie on a man’s stomach like cakes of lead–for we are out of all rations but flour and salt, though we hope soon for some variety. [...]

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Civil War

May 16, 1863, The Charleston Mercury IMPORTANT FROM MISSISSIPPI. Rumors were rife in the city last night that the expected advance of GRANT’S forces into Mississippi had taken place, and that the city of Jackson had been occupied by the enemy. From what we can learn, we fear that this report is correct; although we [...]

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News of the Day

May 16, 1863, (Marshall) Texas Republican             The Raleigh State Journal alluding to the high prices of newspaper, and the difficulty of procuring it at almost any price says:             What remedy is there for this state of things?  We see but two:  either an enormous increase in the price of subscription, or a suspension [...]

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1860s newsprint
News of the Day

May 16, 1863, Peoria Morning Mail (Illinois)             A Pennsylvania girl, who has been serving as a soldier in the Army of the West for ten months, says that she has discovered a great many females among the soldiers, one of whom is now a Lieutenant.  She has assisted in burying three female soldiers at [...]

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1860s newsprint
News of the Day

May 16, 1863, Natchez Daily Courier The Macon Telegraph of the 2d, contains the following: A factory at Seven Islands, in Butts county, had loaded a wagon with seven bales of manufactured goods, and dispatched it by their customary driver, a trusty old negro, to Forsyth, for transportation upon the Macon and Western Railroad.The wagon [...]

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News of the Day

May 16, 1863, The Charleston Mercury The attention of the country is at this moment fixed upon the important campaign of GRANT against Vicksburg and Jackson, Miss. From our Western exchanges we glean some intelligence from that quarter that will be read with interest. The Jackson correspondent of the Mobile Advertiser, writing on May 7th, [...]

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News of the Day

May 16, 1863, The Charleston Mercury PARTICULARS OF HIS DEATH – HOW HE RECEIVED HIS WOUNDS – HIS LAST HOURS – THE FUNERAL CORTEGE IN RICHMOND – HIS BURIAL PLACE. We copy from Richmond papers of Tuesday morning some interesting details of the last hours and obsequies of the illustrious Stonewall JACKSON: General Jackson, having [...]

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News of the Day

May 16, 1863, The Charleston Mercury It is possible, says the Augusta Chronicle, that one may sometimes entertain an angel unawares, though he is far more apt to get hold of the Cloven Foot in the disguise of a gentlemen; but we believe there is not the slightest doubt as to the identity of the [...]

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News of the Day

May 16, 1863, The New York Herald General Hooker was yesterday in Washington on official business. Immediately after his unexpected retreat he was visited at his headquarters by the President and General Halleck in order to ascertain at once the exact state of affairs. More recently, Senators Wade and Chandler, the radical chiefs of the [...]

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News of the Day

May 16, 1863, The New York Herald Our most important news today is from the Southwest. Gen. Grant despatches to Washington that there is no truth in the reports of his either having beaten the rebels under Gen. Bowen on the 6th inst., or of his having been defeated by them on the 4th inst. [...]

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News of the Day

May 16, 1863, The New York Herald The Correspondence of L.A. Hendricks. FIFTH ARMY CORPS, IN CAMP, NEAR FALMOUTH, Va., May 10, 1863. THE STAY-OUT-OF-THE-FIGHT CHAPLAINS. This is Sunday; but it looks very little like it in this far away, strange, busy camp life. An occasional chaplain, it is true, busies himself an hour in [...]

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1860s newsprint
News of the Day

May 16, 1863, Mobile Register And Advertiser Jackson, May 6, 1863.             People are leaving Jackson in numbers.  The trains for the interior are crowded with non-combatants, and the sidewalks blocked up with cases, barrels, old fashioned trunks and chests, which look antiquated enough to have come out of Noah’s ark.  One doesn’t see the [...]

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News of the Day

Destructive Conflagration—Burning of the Crenshaw Woollen Mill and a Portion of the Tredegar Works. Richmond Dispatch,  May 16, 1863 About 2 o’clock yesterday morning a fire broke out in the Crenshaw Woollen Mill, of this city, resulting in one of the most destructive and disastrous conflagrations which the city has ever been called upon to [...]

War Diary of Luman Harris Tenney.

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War Diary of Luman Harris Tenney.

15th. Theodore brought over a letter from Melissa. Good. Reported this morning for duty. I am glad we can be together. We now belong to the 1st Cav. Brig. 4th Div. 23rd Army Corps. Another beautiful day. Morgan expected. Thede and Dod got two beef creatures and butchered. Wrote a letter to Minnie. Read some [...]

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Cruise of the U.S. Flag-Ship Hartford -Wm. C. Holton

May 15th. At eight forty A. M. the iron-clad Lafayette made her appearance, coming down Red river; she soon came out of same into the great Mississippi, and communicated with us. Between the hours of twelve and four o’clock P. M., picked up out of the Mississippi, which came down from above, supposed to have [...]

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Louise Wigfall Wright — A Southern Girl in ’61

(excerpt) “I have just come up from witnessing the funeral procession of dear ‘old Stonewall.’ I never saw a more solemn scene and hope never to see another such. This morning early I went to the Governor’s and saw the body lying in state. He looks perfectly natural, more as if he were asleep than [...]