November 16th.–Bright and frosty. This is the day designated by the President for worship, etc., and the offices and places of business are all closed. It is like Sunday, with an occasional report of cannon down the river. I doubt whether the clerks in the trenches will pray for the President. Compelled to volunteer under [...]

November 15th.–Fair and cold; ice. Quiet below; rumors of further successes in the Southwest, but not official. Congress did nothing of interest yesterday in open session, but spent most of its time in secret session. There will probably be stringent martial law, for the strong hand of unlimited power will be required to correct abuses, [...]

November 14th.–Clear and cold. Lincoln is re-elected, and has called for a million of men! This makes many of our croaking people despondent; others think it only a game of brag. I saw the President to-day in earnest conversation with several members of Congress, standing in the street. It is not often he descends from [...]

November 12th.–Bright and pleasant. The rumor is revived that Mr. Seddon will resign. If he really does resign, I shall regard it as a bad sign. He must despair of the Republic; but, then, his successor may be a man of greater energy and knowledge of war. We are destitute of news, with an awful [...]

November 11th.–Clear and pleasant. All quiet. No doubt, from the indications, Lincoln has been re-elected. Now preparations must be made for the further “conflict of opposing forces.” All our physical power must be exerted, else all is lost. Mr. Sparrow, Louisiana, chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs, introduced a measure, yesterday, in the Senate, [...]

November 10th.–Warm; rain and wind (south) all night. Quiet below. One of the enemy’s pickets said to one of ours, last night, that Warren’s corps had voted unanimously for McClellan, and that New York City has given a majority of 40,000 for him. This is hardly reliable. Mr. Foote offered a resolution, yesterday, condemning the [...]

November 9th.–Rained last night; clear this morning, and warm. All quiet below, except the occasional bombs thrown at the canal by our iron-clads. The press is mostly opposed to the President’s project of employing 40,000 slaves in the army, under promise of emancipation. Some indicate the belief that the President thinks the alternatives are subjugation [...]

November 8th.–Wet and warm; all quiet below, and much mud there. Congress assembled yesterday, and the President’s message was read. He recommends the employment of 40,000 slaves in the army, not as soldiers, unless in the last extremity; and after the war he proposes their emancipation. This is supposed to be the idea of Mr. [...]

November 7th.–Dark and raining. Cannon heard down the river. To-day our Congress assembles. Senator Johnson, of Missouri (who relinquished six years in United States Senate and $200,000 for the cause), called to see me. He is hopeful of success in the West. By the Northern papers we see that Mr. Seward has discovered a “conspiracy” [...]

Sunday, November 6th.–Bright and frosty. All quiet below. Another day, and if it remains quiet, we may know that Lincoln will be re-elected. It is said news came from the North last night, that gold sold for $260, and that Governor Seymour had ordered the militia of New York to be in readiness for the [...]

November 5th.–Clear and cold. Grant has attempted nothing this week, and it is probably too late for any demonstration to affect the election. I infer that the government is convinced President Lincoln will be re-elected, else some desperate effort would have been made in his behalf by his generals. Will he float on a sea [...]

November 4th.–Rained all night; glimpses of the sun between the running clouds this morning. Windy, and likely to be cold. Our iron-clad “Albemarle” was blown up by a handful of the enemy at Plymouth–surprising the water pickets (all asleep). The manner of the loss of the town, and of the counties east of it, is [...]

November 3d.–Cold rain; rained all night. Gen. Lee, urging that his regiments from Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, etc. etc. be recruited from their respective States, concludes a recent letter thus: “I hope immediate action will be taken upon this subject, as I think our success depends much upon a speedy increase of our armies in [...]

November 2d.–Dark and dismal. The Governor continues his exemptions, now amounting to thousands. S. Basset French (State agent to buy and sell supplies to the people), with one or more clerks, and such laborers, etc. as may be necessary, I find among his last exemptions. A smart and corrupt agent could make a fortune out [...]

November 1st.–Bright and frosty morning. All quiet. No confirmation of Early’s defeat; and the nightfeat of Mahone puts the people in better hope. One-third of all our lead comes from the mines near Wytheville, Virginia. I got 128 pounds of flour from the investment in supplies in North Carolina, and one-fourth of that amount is [...]

October 31st.–Bright. Tom’s rations came in–worth $200– for a month. Gen. Lee writes that it is necessary for the gun-boats to guard the river as far below Chaffin’s Bluffs as possible, to prevent the enemy from throwing a force to the south bank in the rear of Gen. Pickett’s lines; for then Gen. P. must [...]

Sunday, October 30th.–Bright and beautiful. Some firing was heard early this morning on the Darbytown road, or in that direction; but it soon ceased, and no fighting of moment is anticipated to-day, for Gen. Longstreet is in the city. My son Thomas drew a month’s rations yesterday, being detailed for clerical service with Gen. Kemper. [...]

October 29th.–Clear and pleasant. We are beginning to get authentic accounts of the operations on Thursday; and yet, from the newspaper publications, we see that the government has withheld one of Gen. Lee’s dispatches from publication. Altogether, it must be regarded as a decisive failure on the part of the enemy to obtain any lodgment [...]

October 28th.–Rained all night, but bright this morning. We have no clear account yet of the fighting yesterday; but we know the enemy was repulsed on this side of the river. It is thought that the operations on the south side were of greater magnitude, where we lost a brigadier-general (Dearing) of cavalry. We shall [...]

October 27th.–Slightly hazy and sunshine. Quiet, save aimless and bootless shelling and picket firing along the lines on the south side of the river. Hon. Geo. Davis, Attorney-General, to whom was referred the question of the constitutionality of the purposed removal from office of clerks appointed to fill places specifically created by act of Congress [...]

October 26th.–Clear and frosty. Quiet below. Gen. W. M. Gardner (in Gen. Winder’s place here) has just got from Judge Campbell passports for his cousin, Mary E. Gardner, and for his brother-in-law, F. M. White, to go to Memphis, Tenn., where they mean to reside. Mr. Benjamin publishes a copy of a dispatch to Mr. [...]

October 25th.–Bright and beautiful morning. All quiet below. Mr. McRae has been permitted by Gen. Butler to return again to the city to await his exchange, pledged not to bear arms, etc. Many more of the government employees, forced into the trenches, would be happy to be in the same predicament. A great many are [...]

October 24th.–Clouds and sunshine. Nothing new of importance from the army. Gov. Smith has been writing letters to Gen. Lee, asking that Gen. Early be superseded in the Valley. Pity it had not been done! Gen. Lee replied, expressing confidence in Early; and the President (since the disaster!) coincides with Lee. The President administers a [...]

Sunday, October 23d.–Bright and frosty. From the United States papers we learn that a great victory is claimed over Gen. Early, with the capture of forty-three guns! It is also stated that a party of “Copperheads” (Democrats), who had taken refuge in Canada, have made a raid into Vermont, and robbed some of the banks [...]