teers into action against the enemy's batteries. The Texans, however, though they held their position, were annoyed by the capture during the night of over two hundred of their mules. border ground where the same State fur-ful attempt was made to bring the volunnished combatants to both armies, the struggle almost of necessity acquired a personal bitterness and hostility under the stimulus of partisan warfare. There it was emphatically a war of individuals, and every resource of men always accustomed to rely upon their own exertions was brought into requisition. In future days battles like those fought in Virginia may be repeated on other soil, but the border struggles of the West of the present day will remain unique in history. In a remoter region than Kansas, Colonel Canby's Department of New Mexico neanwhile was seriously threatened by the advancing enemy from the South, a horde of Texan invaders, led by Brigadier-General Sibley, recently Major 1st Dragoons in the United States service. At the end of December, this rebel officer issued a proclamation to the people of New Mexico denouncing the National Government, and demanding aid and allegiance to his army of invasion. In the month of February, the two forces met in serious conflict in the vicinity of Fort Craig, when after some manoeuvering on the right bank of the Rio Grande the enemy under command of General Sibley-with a view of obtaining the advantage on the opposite heights, or cutting off the communication with the fort from above,-crossed to the Eastern side whither they were pursued by Colonel Canby and brought to an engagement. The battle which has its name from Fort Craig, or as it is sometimes called from a neighboring village Valverde, took place on the 21st of February, 1862. It was fought from 9 o'clock in the morning until the close of the day. Colonel Canby's force in the engagement was about 1500 regulars and volunteers of the department, a portion of the latter commanded by the famous Kit Carson, the type of the hardy, adventurous, military pioneer. The force of the enemy is stated at from 1500 to 2,000. The battle in fact, commenced on the 20th, when an unsuccess "The fight," says a New Mexico correspondent of the Missouri Republican, "commenced in the morning, between a portion of our troops, under the command of Colonel Roberts, and the enemy across the Rio Grande, with varied success, until toward one or two o'clock of that day. Colonel Canby then crossed the river in force, with a battery of six pieces, under Captain McRea of the cavalry, but detailed in command of the battery; also, a small battery of two howitzers. The enemy were supposed to have seven or eight pieces. The battle commenced by the artillery and skirmishers, and soon became general. Towards evening the most of the enemy's guns were silenced. They, however, made a desperate charge on the howitzer battery, but were repulsed with great loss. Captain McRea's battery was defended by Captain Plympton's company of United States infantry and a portion of Colonel Pino's regiment of New Mexican volunteers. The Texans now charged desperately and furiously with picked men about six hundred strong. They were armed with carbines, revolvers, and long seven-pound bowie-knives. After discharging their carbines at close distance, they drew their revolvers and rushed on the battery in a storm of grape and canister. The Mexicans of Pino's regiment were panic-stricken, and most ingloriously fled. Captain Plympton and his infantry stood their ground and fought nobly, till more than one-half were numbered with the dead. With his artillerymen cut down, his support either killed, wounded, or flying from the field, Captain McRea sat down calmly and quietly on one of his guns, and with revolver in hand, refusing to fly or desert his post, he fought to the last, and glori AFFAIRS IN NEW MEXICO. 173 ously died the death of a hero, the last fort was in danger of falling. This force man by his guns. The Texans suffered joined to the troops at the fort, presently terribly in this charge. Many officers advanced and met the enemy at Apache distinguished themselves on this day. Pass, about twenty miles from Santa Fe. Major Donaldson, who was the chief Aid | The conflict was severe, resulting in a of Colonel Canby, acted bravely, and Union loss of one hundred and fifty killed, was conspicuous on every part of the wounded, and missing; while that of the field. His horse was wounded in several foe is stated at twice the number; ninetyplaces, but the Major was, fortunately three rebels were taken prisoners, of for the service, not injured. The cele- whom thirteen were officers. This debrated Kit Carson, in command of a feat of the rebels repaired the previous regiment of volunteers, who were de- disaster, and leaving the Union forces in ployed as skirmishers, did good service secure possession of the two military during the action, and behaved well. strongholds of the country, Fort Craig We have, however, to name the loss of and Fort Union, baffled the attempt of Lieutenants Michler and Stone, who, like the insurgents to add New Mexico to Captain McRea, nobly and bravely main- the Confederacy. tained the honor of our flag to the last, and gloriously died the death of patriots. Many other officers were wounded." The Union loss in this engagement is stated at sixty-two killed, and one hundred and forty wounded; that of the enemy supposed to be larger, is not known. Captain McRea fell in the prime of early manhood. He was a native of North Carolina. A graduate of West Point of 1851, he entered active service as a Lieutenant of mounted rifles, and had recently been appointed Captain in the 3d regular cavalry. Captain Nathaniel Michler, of the engineers, was a native of Pennsylvania, and a graduate of West Point of 1848. With the vigorous and auspicious movements in General Halleck's Department which we have described, ended the year in Missouri-a year of much anxiety and novel experience for the State. But a comparatively small portion of its surface had escaped the visitations of war. In a table before us, fifty-three places-cities, towns, villages, and river banks, are enumerated as the scenes of various battles and skirmishes. From the northern line of the Hannibal and St. Joseph's railroad, to the border of Arkansas, by the Missouri, the Osage and the shore of the Mississippi, there was scarcely a county of importance which had not witnessed the contest with After the battle, the enemy leaving armed rebellion. In these various enFort Craig behind them, advanced north-gagements, commencing with Booneville, wardly and took possession of Albuquer- on the 17th of June, and ending with que and Santa Fe. They were unable, General Pope's successes in December, however, to attack the National troops the aggregate loss, taking the killed, in their stronghold of Fort Union, which was shortly after reinforced by a.body of volunteers from the adjacent territory of Colorado. The march of this regiment, 960 strong, from Denver city to the relief of Fort Union, over a region presenting all the difficulties of a mountain wilderness, is one of the truly heroic incidents of the war. It is stated that they accomplished forty miles a day, during the last four days, when they heard the wounded, and prisoners on both sides, has been calculated at about 10,000. The number of killed and wounded in this estimate was far greater on the Confederate side; Carthage, Wilson's Creek, Fredericktown, and Belmont, furnishing the largest numbers. The surrender of Lexington gave the enemy a large excess of prisoners. * Appleton's Annual Cyclopedia, 1861, article Missonri, p. 496 CHAPTER XLIX. AFFAIRS IN VIRGINIA-MESSAGE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS, ETC. NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1861. had disbanded, and there consequently being no enemy to meet in the field, the troops quietly restored the authority of the United States. An important portion of Virginia was thus diverted from active coöperation with other portions of the State in the furtherance of the rebellion. In the following March an election was held in the 1st Congressional District of Virginia, of which these counties formed a part when Mr. Joseph Segar was chosen their representative in the National Congress. ON the 13th of November General | the obstructed state of the roads. BeDix, from his headquarters at Baltimore, fore his arrival the insurgents in arms addressed a proclamation to the people of Accomac and Northampton counties, Virginia, constituting what is called "the eastern shore," announcing that the military forces of the United States were about to enter that region as a part of the Union." The paper was particularly guarded in its reference to the preservation of the rights of person and property, and especially announced that "the condition of any person held to domestic servitude," was not to be interfered with. To make this delicate point thus politely conveyed in the euphemism for the institution somewhat more assured, it was then added that the command of the expedition was intrusted to Brigadier-General Henry H. Lockwood, of Delaware, "a State identical in some of the distinctive features of its social organization with your own." It was stated that the design of the mission was to reopen commercial and other intercourse with the loyal States, to reëstablish the lights interrupted on the coast; and, in fine, to put an end to the embarrassments and restrictions brought upon the region by a causeless and unjustifiable rebellion." To those who wantonly resisted the force about to be sent, the severest punishment warranted by the laws was threatened. Four thousand troops were sent across the frontier from Maryland to second the injunctions of this message. They found the people generally disposed to yield to an argument so convincingly supported. General Lockwood advanced to the headquarters of the rebels at Drummondtown, the county seat of Accomac, without other interruption than A second general fast-day was observed in the Confederate States on the 15th of November, in accordance with the following proclamation by President Davis: "Whereas, it hath pleased Almighty God, the Sovereign Disposer of events, to protect and defend the Confederate States hitherto, in their conflict with their enemies, and to be unto them a shield; and, whereas, with grateful thanks we recognize His hand and acknowledge that not unto us, but unto Him belongeth the victory; and in humble dependence upon His Almighty strength, and trusting in the justness of our cause, we appeal to Him, that He may set at naught the efforts of our enemies, and put them to confusion and shame; now, therefore, I, Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States, in view of the impending conflict, do hereby set apart Friday, the 15th day of November, as a day of fasting, humiliation and prayer; and I do hereby invite the reverend clergy and people of these Confederate States to repair on MESSAGE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. that day to their usual places of public worship, and to implore the blessings of Almighty God upon our arms, that he may give us victory over our enemies, preserve our homes and altars from pollution, and secure to us the restoration of peace and prosperity." 175 the Confederate States for manufacturing the necessaries and comforts of life within themselves, increase as the conflict continues, and we are gradually becoming independent of the rest of the world for the supply of such military stores and munitions as are indispensa This was succeeded by a rapid, general review of the military movements following upon Sumter. "The operations of the army, soon to be partially interrupted by the approaching winter, have afforded a protection to the country, and shed a lustre upon its arms, through the trying vicissitudes of more than one arduous campaign, which entitle our brave volunteers to our praise and our gratitude. From its commencement up On the 18th of November the Con-ble for war." federate Congress met in a second session at Richmond. A quorum composed of the members of six States was present. The next day the customary message was received from President Davis. Like other documents of its kind, from this source it may; of course, be accepted as an authoritative exposition of the hopes and prospects of the rebellion as its instigators were desirous they should appear in the eyes of the world. Much doubtless lay concealed beneath the sur-to the present period, the war has been face, but we can offer the reader no better evidence at least of the determined will which directed the movement, than the successive, confident, unyielding messages of Jefferson Davis. If there were assumptions in these documents, they none the less supplied motives to the people of the Confederate States for vigorous action. The message commenced with the expression of thankfulness, usual in such papers, for the returns of agriculture, with which it coupled a new development in the manufacturing arts "The few weeks," was its language," which have elapsed since your adjournment, have brought us so near the close of the year that we are now able to sum up its general results. The retrospect is such as should fill the hearts of our people with gratitude to Providence for His kind interposition in their behalf. Abundant yields have rewarded the labor of the agriculturist, whilst the manufacturing industry of the Confederate States was never so prosperous as now. The necessities of the times have called into existence new branches of manufacture, and given a fresh impulse to the activity of those heretofore in operation. The means of enlarging its proportions and expanding | To people, after being deceived into a mistaken security, were unarmed, and in danger of being subjected by the Federal forces, our armies were marched into that State to repel the enemy, and prevent their occupation of certain strategic points which would have given them great advantages in the contest-a step which was justified, not only by the necessities of self-defence on the part of the Confederate States, but also by a desire to aid the people of Kentucky. It was never intended by the Confederate Government to conquer or coerce the people of that State; but, on the contrary, it was declared by our generals that they would withdraw their troops if the Federal Government would do Bethel, Bull Run, Manassas, Springfield, Lexington, Leesburg, and Belmont, has checked the wicked invasion which greed of gain and the unhallowed lust of power brought upon our soil, and has proved that numbers cease to avail when directed against a people fighting for the sacred right of self-government and the privileges of freemen. After seven months of war, the enemy have not only failed to extend their occupancy of our soil, but new States and Territories have been added to our Confederacy, while, instead of their threatened march of unchecked conquest, they have been driven, at more than one point, to assume the defensive; and, upon a fair comparison between the two belligerents as to men, military means, and financial likewise. Proclamation was also made condition, the Confederate States are relatively much stronger now than when the struggle commenced." Of the relations of the Confederate government to the States of Missouri and Kentucky it was said: "Since your adjournment, the people of Missouri have conducted the war, in the face of almost unparalleled difficulties, with a spirit and success alike worthy of themselves and of the great cause in which they are struggling. Since that time Kentucky, too, has become the theatre of active hostilities. The Federal forces have not only refused to acknowledge her right to be neutral, and have insisted upon making her a party to the war, but have invaded her for the purpose of attacking the Confederate States. Outrages of the most despotic character have been perpetrated upon her people; some of her most eminent citizens have been seized and borne away to languish in foreign prisons, without knowing who were their accusers or the specific charges made against them, while others have been forced to abandon their homes, their families, and property, and seek a refuge in distant lands. Finding that the Confederate States were about to be invaded through Kentucky, and that her of the desire to respect the neutrality of Kentucky, and the intention to abide by the wishes of her people as soon as they were free to express their opinions. These declarations were approved by me, and I should regard it as one of the best effects of the march of our troops into Kentucky, if it should end in giving to her people liberty of choice and a free opportunity to decide their own destiny according to their own will." A compliment was then paid to the Navy, which had shown itself "effective. in full proportion to its means." Many difficulties, it was acknowledged, had arisen in the transportation of the mails in which the breaking up of the old system, so liberally conducted by the United States, must have been deeply felt. The absorption," it was said, "of the ordinary means of transportation for the movement of troops and military supplies, the insufficiency of the rolling stock of railroads for the accumulation of business, resulting both from military operations and the obstruction of water communication by the presence of the enemy's fleet; the failure and even refusal of contractors to comply with the terms of their agreements; the difficulties inherent in inaugurating so vast and |