Baltimore  June 18th 1862
United States of America
         To Wm. Meade Addison
(Late U.States Attorney)                       Dr.

To services rendered the United
States in the seizure of the Tele-
graph Office, & the papers therein,
in the City of Baltimore in May
1861——-                                 $250:00

The circumstances under which this
claim arises are as follows:–
    About the 6th of May 1861, Mr Peter-
kin, a Special Agent of the War Depart
ment, accredited to me by the
Attorney General as one possessing
the full confidence of the Secretary
of War, presented to me a letter
from the Attorney General, a copy
of which is enclosed, “inviting &
requesting my prompt & energetic
cooperation with all the means at
my command”‘ to get possession
of any Telegraphic Messages that
might have been sent with

[page 2]
purposes hostile to the Government
, or in relation to supplies of
Arms & Provisions, purchased for
and forwarded to the Southern Rebels.
      Mr. Peterkin was a stranger
in this city: and the work was
necessarily to be done by me.
     He informed me that it was
the wish & purpose of the Govern-
ment that the seizure should be
made simultaneously in many
cities.  This was necessary in order
that the measure might be ef-
fectual–
      After prudent and long in-
terviews with Mr. Peterkin, the plan
was formed, & on the day fixed upon
for the seizure, I went to Fort McHen-
ry, the HeadQuarters of General Cad-
wallader: informed him of the project,
and requested him to place an
armed force at my command, in
the City of Baltimore & within reach
of my orders, so that if it should
become necessary to resort to violence
to accomplish the object, the troops
would be at hand.  This he did.
                                                At

[page 3]
At the appointed hour, I went, accom
panied by the Special Agent, to the
office & sent for the president Mr. Zenus
Barnum, one of our wealthiest citizens–
On his arrival I explained my pur-
pose, reminded him of the frantic condition
in which the City then was: that it
was the interest of all good citizens to
quiet it as much as possible: and
that this was particularly the interest
of the large property-owners: that the ne-
cessities of the Government required the
seizure of the despatches, no matter
what the consequences might be:
and then informed him that I had an
Armed Body of men within reach suf-
ficient to effect a seizure without
fail: and invited him to give me peace-
ably the documents required.  He as-
sented to it-& I sent to the Post-Office
in the city for mail-bags & a Post-Office
clerk: superintended the collection of the
despatches: received them: had them
                        in a Post Office wagon
sealed up & carried ^ to the Mail Car of
the Balto & Ohio R-Road company, by which
they proceeded to Washington, where in the
evening they were delivered under
the superintendence of Mr. Peterkin to the
War Department–

[page 3]
Thus it will be seen that the wishes
of the Department were perfectly
gratified.
    The agent Mr. Peterkin distinctly
informed me that the Department
would compensate me liberally
for the services to be rendered.
    the services were rendered heartily
and with pleasure, notwithstand
    they were
-ing  ^ aside of my regular duties
and the action wholly without
precedent: and, in view of the temper
of the city at the time, not without
the risk of some personal peril.—-

Respectfully
      Wm. Meade Addison
      Late U. States attorney—

[enclosure]

    Copy
                 Attorney General’s Office
                     6th may 1861

Sir:
   This will be handed to you by
a special and accredited agent
of the Secretary of War. The object
in view is to enlist your services
and exertions on behalf of the Uni-
ted States Government to obtain
possession of any Telegraphic Despatches
that may have been sent with pur-
poses hostile to this Government,
or in relation to supplies of arms
& provisions purchased or forwarded
to the Southern Rebels.  all of which
will be fully explained to you by the
Agent of the War Department.
                The object of this letter is
to invite and request your prompt
and energetic cooperation, with all
the means at your command, in
carrying out in this regard the objects
and purposes of the Government.
              I am very Respectfully
 (signed)   Edwd. Bates
                    Attorney General

Wm. M. Addison, Esqr.
       U.S: Attorney for Md
                Baltimore–Md–

[on second page]

Account No. 2

MSS 4707

         Jones
Camp  ^Flat Top Mountain
Wednesday Thursday morning June 18
Dear Father
      We are again
fixed in camp
with a fair prospect
of remaining here
some time.
We removed
our camp about a mile
from where I wrote
you last
We have again recd
Tents We have now
the Sibley Tent the
largest and best in
use.  Our camping place
is a very pleasant
one We have a
most magnificent
view of the mountains

[page 2]
only 6 Companies of
our Regiment are here
now the other 4 Companies
are down on the New
River near the mouth
of bluestone guarding
th a ferry
I Recd a letter from Mother
a few days since she
asked if I wanted my
watch yet certainly
if you can send it–
I have heard that the
boys are getting up
a band again in Sav–
is this so if it is tell
Eli and Tom to fix up
my old horn and they
can learn if they
get up a band and
can send them
musick and it will
cost them nothing

[page 3]
Savannah should
support a band and
I am certain can have
as good a one as
Ashland
Are you doing anything
about that matter in
Pa
Have you shorn the
sheep? what will you
do with the wool?
How much corn have
you planted?
I have written in
great haste to get it
in this days mail
I have to go to practice
now and must close
write soon 
      J D Templeton

[James Dinsmore Templeton, musician and private in the 23rd Ohio]


MSS 10317

[from the diary of Eliza Oswald Hill, refugee from Wilmington, N.C.]

Wednesday 18th  one letter only.  No papers–That one from Willie K Hill
I wish I could see the dear little thing–She is very smart-very graceful
& I think quite pretty.  How proud her father would have been of her
had he lived–She was 9 years old in Nov. & has read Beulah,
Mather’s Recompense & several other books thro’ went to afternoon service
very few there.  No company at night.

MSS 6960

[from the diary of Dr. Brodie Strachan Herndon]

18th  Letter from our dear Jim.  He
has charge of Hospital in Richmond
and Brad is his assistant. They
have their hands full of sick & wounded.
Dick Maury’s wound was gun
shot fracture of the arm  He is
doing well  Mat’s people have letters.

MSS 2563-b

                                                               Camp near Staunton
                                                                   June 18th 1862
My own darling Bettie
                               Wednesday, the 18th June, finds us occu-
pying one of the most beautiful spots we have yet camped on
A belt of wood, sloping northward skirts a most charming
little stream, as rapid and restless as the times we live in,
though taking its rise from a few springs not more than 100yds
distant.  Beautiful fields, covered with the richest grass, are spread
out before us.  Horses and men, for the present are enjoying
most delightful repose.  Merry, rolicking fun & the jocund
laugh have usurped the places of the stern look & war-worn
visage of the weary soldier.  I suppose we have some 8,000 or 10,000
men camped around here, most of them, however, being reinforcements
lately brought out, and I can say with Coleridge that we appear
as lazy and “Idle as a painted ship, upon a painted ocean.”
We have reason however to be very thankful, for we are mostly
very well, though some, a good many indeed, have given way
under the exposure of our late marches and have sever attacks
of fever & pneumonia.  the Captain has been quite sick, and Lt
Cochran is just entering upon an attack of fever–has been
sick no some five days.–I seldom leave camp and
never except on business, and have but little intercourse
with the remainder of the world, excepting the army.  But
camp life has its charms, as well as it sins and horrors

[page 2]
No good soldier can pass through a campaign, however arduous,
without being able to say he has had many a happy hour;
but wickedness & religion, the serious & the profane, the amusing
and the ridiculous are here in most wonderful combinations.
Let me introduce to your acquaintance Segt Waller Holladay
He is our 6th sergt and commands the 5th gun & detachment.
He is quite a wonderful specimen of the “genus homo”. He is a
lean man and short, has dark hair foxy eyes, blackish
sandy beard, dark pair and a over-eaten cadaverous
visage.  He is a son of the Revd Mr Holladay, who was elected
prof (president) of H.S. College & died soon after.  Waller first
saw the light in Turkey (I think) while his father was a missionary.
He is a boy of fine sense, can learn well, and has very con-
siderable literary & scientific attainments, and, for  his age, is an
excellent mathematician; but he has about as little common
(very uncommon) practical sense as any man I ever saw.
Without him to amuse us we would miss many a hearty
laugh which we now enjoy.  He knows nothing about riding
a horse, and we gave him a very good horse which had
some little spirit, and Waller was so afraid of it that we
had (at  his most earnest solicitation) to trade it for “The Sergt’s
little mare,” which is now one of the best known personages
about camp.  On our retreat, when we came to ford South River, the
ford was very deep & the current rapid, and one of the lead horses
of one of the carriages was washed down & cam very near being
drowned. The Sergt. had not crossed & was in great perplexity about

[page 3]
about the status of his “little mare”. We soon began to discuss the
question, & it was soon pretty generally concluded that Holladay’s “little
mare” was a May colt and that such colts always were prone
to lie down in water.  With equal unanimity it was soon
agreed that the only method of preventing such a dire calamity
was to tie up the “little mare’s” tail, which was no sooner agreed
upon than done by the sergeant to the infinite amusement of
                      practiced
the bystanders who ^ upon his childish ignorance.  The sergeants
mare has had a very sore back also, which it is said, the
sergeant proposed to relieve by shortening his stirrups and
rather standing up in them.  But, upon inquiry, the sergeant
says, that, if any man says that he proposed any such
                                         “he
remedy for a sore-back horse ^ tells a lie”—-who comes there.
An orderly who brings news from our commanding officer–“Prepare
to march immediately & proceed by way of Staunton toward
Waynesboro”–Captain about–horses all out–many men all
about–hot as fire with the sun–such is war and so here
we go.  My orders are “Prepare to march immediately–strike
tents–drivers to your teams!”  I have my own horse to saddle
mess chest to put in &c &c, so goodbye for the present

[letter of James L. Dinwiddie, 1st Lt, Carrington’s Company, Virginia Light Artillery will resume on the 20th]

MSS 10102

[from the diary of Joseph Addison Waddell, civilian employee of the Quartermaster Dept.]

[from the diary of Daniel D. Logan, younger brother of General Thomas M. Logan, formerly a Sgt, Co. B, 1st Special Battalion (Rightor’s), now with the Hampton Legion]

                        Wednesday – June 18th 1862
Spent the day in the office – Brother
came out in the Evening & spent the
night with me – Capt Harrison is quite sick
today – he is so uneasy when I leave him that it
confines one to the house – in consequence I have been
unable to go to the outposts – Wrote a letter to Jude
today – care Mr Hagaman Clinton La. –
Maj Conner of the Legion has been Elected Col of the
22nd NoCa Regt – & Capt Gary Lieut Col of the Legion
& adjutant Dingle Major! Col Griffin gone home –
Mullie sends word today that he wants to see me
immediately – Nothing from the lines today   our
forces & the Enemies are within two hundred yds of
Each other on the Mechanicsville & nine mile road –
McClelland has thoroughly Entrenched & seems to
be waiting reinforcements – My bowels are impro-
-ving today –


James Hervey Dingle, Jr.

[transcript by Mary Roy Dawson Edwards]

MSS 6154

[from the diary of James Dinsmore Templeton, musician and private in the 23rd Ohio]

Tuesday June 17, 1862
This entry is
for June 18th
Guard mounting
after which we
practiced.
Wrote letter to
Father this morning
Did not play for
this afternoon
Parade and drill
this evening
Have done very
little to day
A cloudy day with
showers Cool

MSS  10317

[from the diary of Samuel Johnson of the 1st Massachusetts Independent Light Battery]

                        June 18th

Were turned out early as usual, packed
and harnessed up, and at noon we were
releived by D. Battery 5th U S. Arty’
of Porters 15th Corps.  Left our position at
Mechanicsville, and were soon on the
tramp again.  At seven P. M halted and
encamped at Fair Oaks, crossing the
Chickahominy river, at Woodbury bridge,
This bridge a mile long (that is corduroying
and trussle work) was built by the U. S.
Engineer brigade in nine days.  We are
now but four miles from Richmond.
Pleasant during the day, cloudy and at
times rained hard during the night.

[transcript by Mary Roy Dawson Edwards]

MSS 8493

               Poe’s farm  2 miles below
               Richmond June 17th 1862

Dear Nannie
                       I have given up
all hopes of ever getting another
letter from any of you & had
determined not to write again
myself until some of you wrote,
but I thought this morning that
I would write once more to let
you know where I am & if you
didn’t write pretty soon then, just
to let the correspondence drop.  I
know you are perfectly horrified
at my talking this way, but you
need not be surprised at it, when
I tell you that the only letter I
have received from anybody, with

[page 2]
the exception of one from Pa, since
the middle of May was on written
by Aunt Mary on the 5th April.
Pa has been to see me twice & its
afforded me the greatest pleasure
to see him & be with him, even for
a little while, but the last time
he was down I didn’t have time
to talk to him about hardly
anything, he staid such a little
while. I think you might have
at lest time enough to write me
word where you all are & how you
are.  We are stationed at the same
place we were when Pa & Uncle
John were down.  There is consid-
erable skirmishing on the lines
nearly every day, but there has
been no fight of importance

[page 3]
since the battle of “Seven Pines” I
suppose you have already seen
numerous accounts of that battle
and I will not bore you with a
long account of my own.  Our company
arrived upon the field late Saturday
evening & was subjected to a heavy
infantry fire for 20 or 25 minutes,
but finally succeeded in driving
off the rascals with a few rounds
of Canister & shrapnel.  We
had one man shot through the
hand right badly with a minnie
ball, & several horses wounded.
I had the honour of holding two firey
steeds myself, both of which were
wounded one seriously, the other
very slightly: my only regret was
that both the old brutes were not

[page 4]
killed instead of wounded. We
remained that night in the enemy’s
old camp which was one solid
mass almost of dead horses &
men. It was the only time I have
ever seen anything that came
near the accounts I have read
in History of battlefields covered
with blood.  All around & admidst
the the artillery which the cowards
left, there were in some places
pools of blood & the horses were
actually piled up on each other.
As soon as dark came so we could
leave our guns the boys com=
menced plundering the yankee
camp & there was nothing in the
world necessary for a soldier’s
comfort that we didn’t find.
They left splendid India
rubber cloths & knapsacks
& overcoats & blankets by the
thousands.  There were barrels
of sugar & coffee & of the
latter my detachment got
enough to last nearly twelve
months.  We have genuine
coffee now twice a day.

[page 5]
Some of the fellows filled their
knapsacks with nice clean
yankee clothes, but I had no
desire myself to wear their
clothes & in fact I didn’t plunder
much anyway; I got me two
good rubber clothes, one Haver-
sack & knapsack & a pair of
yankee spurs.  It was very
dark & in walking around
nearly every other step I took,
my foot would either fall
upon a dead man or in a
hole several inches deep in
blood.  The wounded & dying
were all around us, uttering
the most hideous & painful
groans all night.  The next
day (Thursday) we remained there
all day, & were again subjected
to a hot fire from the enemy’s

[page 6]
artillery, but hadn’t an opportunity
of returning it.  We helped also
to bury a good many of our dead
that day.  The Sun was shining
very hot and it certainly was
the most sickening offensive
place I ever saw.  That night
we left the field about nine
o’clock & returned to this place
where we have been ever since.
I don’t think there can be many
more days before the big fight will
take place, when, I sincerely believe
the Yankee army will just
be annihilated.  I suppose you
have re4ad all about old Jacksons
victories & more recently of
Stuart’s brilliant exploit
I believe that the whole Yankee

[page 7]
army & Government, to use a
camp phrase, are about
“played out” & if they are not
now, will be in a few months.
I must now begin to close.  I suppose
Pa told you about my intention
to leave this company & join a
Maryland company, & my reasons
for so doing.  I have gotten the
transfer signed by Capt Watson
& the Capt of the other company &
Col Brown & it only remains now
to be approved by the Sec of
War, who will, I am certain,
approve of it.  I have sent it in
& expect to get it today or to=
morrow. If it is appd by Sec
War, I shall immediately join
the other company which is

[page 8]
now stationed on the river near
Drury’s bluff, under old Wise,
but which will probably join
old Stonewall pretty soon.
If you will just write to me
immediately & let me know
where you are I will write
you the particulars &c
in a few days.  How are
Mama, Aunt Mary & all
the children? Give my
love to every one of them
& write to
                    Yr aff brother
             James P. Williams

P.S. Tell Pa I got the shoes
from the Exchange hotel
and that they are the very
things.
           J.P.W.
Love to all at Leighwood
& Uncle Tom’s

James P. Williams, 1844-1893, 1st Regt. Va. Artillery and Maryland Volunteers, Chesapeake Artillery.


MSS 490