guns were taken on the field. I had three of | ment, in Gen. Slack's division, where he fell them in my charge that night. We have a fine battery, nearly equal to our old one, and hope to do continued good service against our eneinies. mortally wounded, near Totten's battery, covered all over with wounds. I received his sword to keep it from the enemy. Meanwhile, the enemy's batteries were captured by the State and Confederate forces, and routed in every direction, except on the heights west, where Lyon commanded in person, and made his last, most desperate struggle. General Parsons now advanced with his four pieces, and poured a terrific fire into the enemy's right, while Woodruff's Arkansas bat We took about four hundred prisoners, who have been released on parole. The Federal wounded are taken as good care of as our own, though that is not the best, medicine being scarce. Lyon's corpse is now within one hundred yards of my tent; it was disinterred this afternoon, and to-morrow starts for St. Louis. Billy Corkery and Bob Finney are our Sec-tery mowed down his left. At this point of ond and Third Lieutenants. Johnny Corkery is severely wounded, but will recover. I was wounded at Carthage by shell, but am now as well as ever. I have the honor to be, With great respect, yours truly, J. T. HUGHES ACCOUNT. time General McCulloch came up, and directed Slack's division to charge Totten's battery in front, and the Arkansas troops on the right. This was the most terrific storm of grape and musketry ever poured out upon the ranks of any American troops. On both sides the men were mowed down like the ripe harvest before the sickle. My own regiment was then decimated, and Churchill's and McIntosh's Arkansas regiments suffered most severely. Here On the morning of the tenth, Gen. Lyon at- General Lyon was killed, Totten's battery tacked our encampment at break of day with driven from the heights, and his whole force fourteen thousand men and eighteen pieces of scattered in flight. This ended the bloody artillery, having received large reinforcements strife of that most bloody day. Never has a within the last few days. The attack was greater victory crowned the efforts of liberty made simultaneously at four different points- and equal rights. The best blood of the land Gen. Lyon on the west, Siegel on the south, has been poured out to water afresh the tree Sturgis on the north, and Sweeney, I think, on of liberty. This is only a synopsis of the fight the east. Our encampment was taken by sur--it is impossible to give you details; I cannot prise, but in hot haste soon formed for battle. do justice to all the officers and men. It will The forces engaged were about equal on each require volumes to do it. It is sufficient to say side, the Federals having the advantage in posi- that all the officers and men on our side betion and heavy artillery. The red harvest of haved most bravely, and fought like veterans. death now commenced. The cannonading was It is certain we have gained a great victory most terrible, and the slaughter on both sides over the Federal troops. The loss on our side, immense. In quick succession the hosts mar- as near as I can ascertain, is two hundred shalled for the conflict and bared their breasts killed and four hundred wounded; some say to the storm of battle. The Louisiana troops, more. The whole field for miles is literally the Arkansas, the Texans, and Missourians, ri- covered with the dead. That of the enemy is valled each other in this great and bloody day. fifteen hundred killed, and from two thousand For six long hours the palm of victory re- to two thousand five hundred wounded! I mained undecided. Seven times Lyon was re- have lost one hundred and forty-two in killed, pulsed from the western heights by the Mis- wounded, and missing, from my cominand of souri and Arkansas forces, and seven times re- six hundred and fifty men. gained his position. He had a strong force of regulars posted with Totten's battery around his person. large quantity of good arms. My regiment fought in that part of the field where General Lyon was slain. This is a just reward for the thirty-five men and children butchered by him on the 10th of May in St. Louis. I will furnish you a list of the killed and wounded as soon as possible. Respectfully, T. J. HUGHES, -Western Argus, Mo. We captured thirteen of the enemy's best cannon, and all of the accompanying carriages and ammunition. Also some four hundred The Missouri troops at the north, the Louisi-prisoners, and several stand of colors, and a ana troops at the southeast and south, and General Weightman's brigade of Missouri forces at the southwest, including his fine battery of artillery, having been victorious at each point, rallied to the heights on the west, to support Gen. Slack's division, which had borne the brunt of the fight up to that time, for five or six hours, unsupported. Generals Price and Slack were both actively and gallantly urging forward this column, when Gen. Slack was severely wounded and taken from the field. Gen. Price was slightly wounded also, but not disabled. He continued to lead his wing on to victory most gallantly. Gen. Weightman now filed his column in on the right of my regi GENERAL FREMONT'S order. General Orders No. 4: I. The official reports of the commanding officers of the forces engaged in the battle near Springfield, Mo., having been received, the Major-General commanding announces to the troops embraced in his command, with pride and the highest commendation, the extraordinary services to their country and flag rendered by the division of the brave and lamented General Lyon. For thus nobly battling for the honor of their flag, he now publicly desires to express to the officers and soldiers his cordial thanks, and commends their conduct as an example to their comrades, whenever engaged against the enemies of the Union. Opposed by overwhelming masses of the enemy, in a numerical superiority of upward of twenty thousand against four thousand three hundred, or nearly five to one, the successes of our troops were nevertheless sufficiently marked to give to their exploits the moral effect of a victory. II. The General commanding laments, in sympathy with the country, the loss of the indomitable General Nathaniel Lyon. His fame cannot be better eulogized than in these words from the official report of his gallant successor, Major Sturgis, U. S. Cavalry: "Thus gallantly fell as true a soldier as ever drew a sword; a man, whose honesty of purpose was proverbial; a noble patriot, and one who held his life as nothing where his country demanded it of him." Let all emulate his prowess and undying devotion to his duty. III. The regiments and corps engaged in this battle, will be permitted to have "Springfield" emblazoned on their colors, as a distinguished memorial of their service to the nation. IV. The names of the officers and soldiers mentioned in the official reports as most distinguished for important services and marked gallantry, will be communicated to the War Department for the consideration of the Govern ment. V. This order will be read at the head of every company in this Department. By order of Major-General Fremont. J. C. KELTON, Assistant Adjutant-General. A REBEL SHOUT OF EXULTATION. The victory in Missouri is gloriously confirmed; Lyon is killed and Siegel in flight and believed to be captured; Sweeney is killed, and Southwestern Missouri cleared of the National scum of invaders. All honor and gratitude to Ben. McCulloch and the gallant men with him, who met and scourged the minions of National tyranny. The brave sons of Louisiana were there and foremost in the fight, as at Manassas. There was a panic, it seems, of the untried and probably half-armed troops of Missouri, but the steady discipline and dashing courage of the Arkansas and Louisiana regiments retrieved the day, and after a stubborn fight with the United States regulars, under their most vaunted generals, made a clean sweep of the field. The flying enemy, intercepted by Hardee, have laid down their arms, and the day of the deliverance of Missouri is nigh. These were the best soldiers which the United States had in the State and in the West. They were well drilled by veteran officers, and confident of an easy victory in Missouri. They were the nucleus of the grand Western army which was to hold Missouri in bondage as the basis of a grand movement for the subjugation of the States on the Lower Mississippi. They have been broken and dispersed. Southwestern Missouri is free already. The Southeast cannot long stand before the advancing armies of Pillow and Hardee, joined to those of McCulloch; and the next word will be: On to St. Louis! That taken, the power of Lincolnism is broken in the whole West; and instead of shouting, Ho! for Richmond! and Ho! for New Orleans! there will be hurryings to and fro among the frightened magnates at Washington, and anxious inquiries of what they shall do to save themselves from the vengeance to come. Good tidings reach us from the North and the West. Heaven smiles on the arms of the Confederate States; and through the brightly-beaming vistas of these battles we see golden promises of the speedy triumph of a righteous cause-in the firm establishment of Southern independ-N. O. Picayune, August 17. ence. To Doc. 175. ISHAM G. HARRIS' ORDER FOR A SEARCH FOR ARMS IN TENNESSEE. the Clerks of the County Courts of the State of Tennessee: You are hereby requested to issue to each constable in your respective counties an order requiring him to make diligent inquiry at each house in his civil district for all muskets, bayonets, rifles, swords, and pistols belonging to the State of Tennessee, to take them into possession, and deliver them to you. A reward of one dollar will be paid to the constable for each musket and bayonet or rifle, and of fifty cents for each sword or pistol thus reclaimed. You will forward the arms thus obtained, at public expense, to the military authorities at Nashville, Knoxville, and Memphis, as may be most convenient; and will inform the Military and Financial Board by letter, addressed to them at Nashville, of the result of your action and of the expenses incurred. A check for the amount will be promptly forwarded. It is hoped that every officer will exert himself to have this order promptly executed. ISHAM G. HARRIS, Governor, &c. NASHVILLE, August 10, 1861. Doc. 176. RESOLUTIONS OF THE CONVENTION AUGUST 10, 1861. transporting, &c., of this expedition, and of its support while here. This occupation will continue until the marauders who fired upon the train, and those who in open day disarmed Mr. Wilcox, are captured and surrendered to the Whereas, a portion of the people of the military authorities, and will be rigidly enforced. Southern States, in violation of their constitu- If the county authorities cannot be found, or tional obligations, have attempted a dissolution are unwilling to act, the authorities of the city of this Union, and have thus precipitated the of Palmyra will be required to fill this order and render their charges against the county. All country in a civil war; therefore, Resolved, That the action of Congress, in vot-persons who know of parties engaged in the ing the men and money to suppress this rebellion and preserve the Union, receives the hearty approval of this Convention. Resolved, That we are unalterably opposed to any compromise with the rebels short of laying down their arms and returning to their allegiance to the United States Government, and that we will hold all who aid and abet in such compromise as enemies not only to the Government of our fathers, but as enemies to human liberty throughout the world. Resolved, That we will aid the Administration at Washington in suppressing the rebellion with all our power, both morally and physically, and sedulously guard against all acts and doings that would militate in the least degree against the Union cause, or embarrass the Administration in putting down the rebellion. Doc. 177. GEN. HURLBURT'S PROCLAMATION. QUARTERING SOLDIERS ON THE ENEMY. HEAD QUARTERS BRIGADE, County Authorities of Marion County, Mis- By command of my superior officer I have occupied your county-seat. By like command I require you to deliver, every morning before nine o'clock A. M., to Colonel Smith, commanding Sixteenth Illinois regiment, the following rations for his command: Salt pork or bacon, 412 pounds, or in lieu thereof, 687 pounds fresh beef; corn meal, 687 pounds; beans, 44 quarts, or 55 pounds rice; coffee, 55 pounds; sugar, (brown, dry,) 8 pounds; vinegar, 5 gallons; soap, 22 pounds; salt, 11 quarts; potatoes, or mixed vegetable diet, 550 pounds; molasses, 2 gallons; wood, cord; corn in ear, 2 bushels; water sufficient for command to be hauled. If these articles are promptly furnished receipts will be given by Colonel Smith; if not furnished, they will be taken from the most convenient persons and places, and the regiment will be billeted upon the city of Palmyra, in private houses, according to the convenience of the regiment. If your authorities desire to avoid this great evil and inconvenience, you will fulfil this order. The county of Marion will also be held responsible, and compelled to pay all expenses of above criminal acts are required to give sworn information to us or Colonel Smith, commanding Sixteenth regiment. S. A. HURLBURT, Brigadier-General U. S. Army. Doc. 178. PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S PROCLAMA- APPOINTING A DAY OF FASTING AND PRAYER. By the President of the United States of America. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas, A joint committee of both Houses United States, and requested him to "recomof Congress has waited on the President of the mend a day of public humiliation, prayer, and fasting, to be observed by the people of the United States with religious solemnities, and the offering of fervent supplications to Almighty God for the safety and welfare of these States, His blessings on their arms, and a speedy restoration of peace; " And whereas, It is fit and becoming in all people, at all times, to acknowledge and revere the Supreme Government of God; to bow in humble submission to his chastisements; to confess and deplore their sins and transgressions, in the full conviction that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and to pray, with all fervency and contrition, for the pardon of their past offences, and for a blessing upon their present and prospective action; And whereas, When our own beloved country, once, by the blessing of God, united, pros. perous, and happy, is now afflicted with faction and civil war, it is peculiarly fit for us to recognize the hand of God in this terrible visitation, and in sorrowful remembrance of our own faults and crimes as a nation, and as individuals, to humble ourselves before Him, and to pray for His mercy-to pray that we may be spared further punishment, though most justly deserved; that our arms may be blessed and made effectual for the re-establishment of law, order, and peace, throughout the wide extent of our country; and that the inestimable boon of civil and religious liberty, earned under His guidance and blessing by the labors and sufferings of our fathers, may be restored in all its original excellence; Therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do appoint the last Thursday in September next as a day of humiliation, prayer, and fasting for all the people of the In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the [L. 8.] United States to be affixed, this 12th day of August, A. D. 1861, and of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-sixth. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. By the President: nation. And I do earnestly recommend that | church was surrounded by a troop of cavalry all the people, and especially to all ministers from Colonel Stuart's First Virginia regiment, and teachers of religion, of all denominations, and we were all, both wounded and surgeons, and to all heads of families, to observe and made prisoners-of-war. We were allowed, keep that day, according to their several creeds however, to remain at our duty till the next and modes of worship, in all humility, and with afternoon, (Monday,) when all the surgeons all religious solemnity, to the end that the were taken in ambulances to Manassas, kept all united prayer of the nation may ascend to the night, and the next day a parole offered us, and Throne of Grace, and bring down plentiful our accepting it was made a condition to our blessings upon our country. being allowed to return to the wounded at Sudley Church. Those who chose to take the parole, myself among the number, were sent immediately back, and remained at that hospital for twelve days, doing our best to relieve the sufferings of our wounded men. At the expiration of that time, they were removed to Richmond, and we followed them; and as our services, though pressed upon the authorities there, were no longer required, we were sent home via Norfolk and Fortress Monroe. As far as my observation has gone, our wounded have been treated with kindness, and have been made as comfortable as circumstances would allow. Assistant-surgeons DeGraw and Winston, of been efficient and unwearied in the discharge our regiment, have returned with me, and have of their duty. Below I inclose a list of the members of our regiment wounded and prisoners, now in the hands of the enemy at Richmond: A, fractured arm, doing well; Private VenaWOUNDED: Private O. H. Swift, Company bles, Company B, fractured arm, doing well; Private Clune, Company G, fractured thigh, doing well; Private Denny, Company D, fleshwound of arm, well; Private Whitehouse, flesh-wound of leg, well. Doc. 179. THE RELEASE OF THE SURGEONS. AUGUST 12, 1861. THE following is a copy of the parole signed by the surgeons who were permitted to leave Richmond: The undersigned officers in the service of the United States do make an unqualified parole of honor that we will not, unless released or exchanged, by arms, information or otherwise, during the existing hostilities between the United States and the Confederate States of America, aid or abet the enemies of the said Confederate States, or any of them, in any form or manner whatever. [Signed by five.] This is endorsed on the back by Gen. Beauregard as follows: HEAD QUARTERS FIRST CORP3, ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, Aug. 3. The parole of these surgeons was taken to prevent the necessity of guarding them while they were attending to the enemy's wounded, with the understanding that it was to be continued by the War Department after leaving here, and that they were to be permitted to return to their homes when their services would no longer be required, on the ground that they were non-combatants, and might have got off if they had imitated their fellow-officers. G. T. BEAUREGARD, THE EIGHTH REGIMENT N. Y. S M. REPORT OF THE SURGEONS. SIR: I beg leave to submit the following report. When our forces retreated, after the action of the 21st July, several surgeons, myself among the number, deemed it our duty to remain with the wounded, of whom there were about 300 in and about Sudley Church, the place assigned us for a hospital. About half an hour after our forces moved off the field, the PRISONERS: Captain Griffin, Company E; FOSTER SWIFt, Surgeon 8th Regiment, N. Y. S. M. STATEMENT BY MRS. CURTIS. Some three weeks ago, I took a notion one fine morning I would ride out toward Falls Church, and see if I could see any thing of the secessionists. Accordingly the horses were brought up and saddled, and Miss Pierce, Mr. Eldridge, and myself started. We rode along without interruption until we came within about half a mile of the village, when a rebel picket rode out from the fields and arrested the gentleman, (he being somewhat in the rear,) and soon overtook Miss Pierce and myself. The picket told me that I must go with them before a Confederate officer and report, whereupon I told them very plainly I should do no such a thing. I told them I acknowledged no allegiance to the rebel Government, and would never go willingly. I offered to compromise with them. I told them if they would let Miss Pierce return home, I would then accompany them myself. After some deliberation, they accepted my terms, and allowed her to return. mond the same evening, where I was immediately surrounded by a crowd, composed chiefly of greasy darkies, who seemed highly pleased. I was kindly received by the officers of the War Department. They, for the first time, informed me why I had been arrested. They said I was suspected of being a spy, and that they thought I was in a dangerous situation. I told them I did not fear them. They must treat me as they saw fit. I was prepared for any thing. I was provided with board at a private house, in the family of a Mr. Pryor, who treated ine well. They then sent Mr. Eldridge and myself, under an escort, to Colonel Stuart, of the First Virginia regiment, who, I may as well here remark, treated me with all the kindness in his power. He is one of nature's noblemen, and I am truly sorry his talents are enlisted upon the side of the rebels. At Fairfax Court House they relieved me of my horse, as they did my companion. I have not seen Mr. Eldridge since we arrived at Fairfax. I remained at Fairfax Court House five days, during which time I succeeded in ascertaining that there were at least four regiments stationed there. I met some of General Beauregard's staff, and also All this time I was obliged to wear my ridsome of General Bonham's, to all of whom I ing-habit. The Government never provided expressed my opinion pretty freely upon theme with a thing. They often promised me to subject of secession. Some of them seemed pleased at what they termed my "Yankee grit," while others were for having us all hanged. I was told by some ladies of Fairfax that our troops, while passing through that place, were very respectful in their deportment toward the ladies that remained. So you can see that the stories that the rebels tell about their insulting women and children are false. Some of the residences were very much injured by some of our soldiers, but I think it was done more for mischief than any thing else. get me every thing I needed, but it never The fifth day after my arrest I was sent to Manassas, Col. Stuart having tried every means to have me released, but without success. We started about 10 o'clock in the morning, and we did not arrive at Manassas until 6 o'clock in the evening; the distance is about sixteen miles. You can have some idea of the speed with which they travel in Virginia. I was accompanied by Mr. Edward Saylas, of Cincinnati, who was arrested at Fairfax after the battle. He is still at Richmond. We passed by the famous battle-field, and never shall I forget it. The atmosphere for miles was impregnated with the nauseous vapors that it seemed impossible to breathe, and upon every hand rose the huge graves of our martyred soldiers. When I arrived at Manassas, Gen. Johnston refused to hear any thing I had to say, but ordered me to be sent to Richmond by the first train. I was then sent to the quarters of the provost-marshal, who insulted me shamefully. He threatened to put handcuffs on me. I was placed in a room and a guard placed at the door, with orders not to let me escape. The next morning I was sent forward to Richmond, with Captain Tremain as an escort; he is of the Eighth Louisiana regiment. He treated me with kindness, and did every thing in his power to render my situation more pleasant. At every station I was surrounded by a rabble of men and boys, and I am sorry to say that sometimes ladies PROCLAMATION OF BEN. McCULLOCH. mixed in with the crowd, who amused me by suggesting that I had better be hung, and by asking me if I washed and sewed for the soldiers: and by crowding around me and staring at me as though I was the famous What is It? at Barnum's. But, with all my trouble, I arrived at Rich Doc. 180. HEAD QUARTERS WESTERN ARMY, CAMP NEAR SPINGFIELD, Mo., Aug. 12, 1861 To the People of Missouri : Having been called by the Governor of your State to assist in driving the National forces out of the State, and in restoring the people to their just rights, I have come among you sim |