19 August
We have received a long letter from John giving an account of the 3 engagements in which he was in the Arkansas they were most brilliant and the vessel did wonderfully for the Machinery evidently was not of sufficient force to make the vessel effective. The Majestic way in which she moved was as fast as she could go. The end of this was naturally the destruction of the vessel. We are now most anxious to hear from John he sent us a drawing of the vessel and which he wishes photographed and we saw by the Papers that the last engagement of the poor Arkansas ended in her being blown up by her own crew they all escaped to the shore.—
Mr & Mrs Vanderhorst are up here for change of air they remained a few days in the Village spent an evening with us, were at the Palmetoe house, and then to the Cherokee Springs. Arnoldus Vanderhorst has had a duel with Alfred Rhett, neither of them hurt, the bench of honor managing the affair.