Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1863-08-18
From vicksburg.

writes, Aug. LIST, that, one of the most in
tereating phases Of affairs here is the deyel-
opement of the dormant Union sentiment
which has Enthusiastically prevailed inVicks-
burg during the whole war. Several of
the city and county officers last elected are
unequiyocal Union men, and as such have
been known, marked and prosecuted by the
secesh. One Of the most prominent of
them is Judge Houghton, the Judge Of the
Probate Court. Mr.. Steele, Mr.. Mygatt,
and others have stood by their Union prin-
ciples throughout. / met nearly dozen
of them together the other day, and to say
that it did. my soul good tos.counsel with
them would be but feebly to express my
feelings. A number of them were New
Workers, but some were natives Of the
South.
And | noticed particularly that there
was no halfway Unionism about these men.
Among the very first utterances chat fell
from their lips was a condemnation, strong
and bitter, of the Copperheads of the North
They seemed as solictous to know what
were the probabilities OF Vallan9igham for
Governor of Ohio, as to hear from the
Potomac or Charleston. They are about
TO proceed with the organization ola, Union
League, and will hold a series of public
Union meetings. They are full of faith
and hope in the speedy and complete tri-
umph of the Union cause, and, propose
Immediately to show forth to the world
what they think and how they feel. Ipar-
ticularIy noted among the Union men Of
Vicksburg, an absence of any squeamish-
ness on the subject Of slavery. "Let every
trace gift be swept away-that will c'ae:
the way for the only peace that W can have
that will be lasting, Those were the
words of one of their number to me yester-
day and they were endorsed by the whole
party present. Don't come to VIoksburg
to find Border-State Unionism.
For the past week a regiment of negroes
strong, robust looking fellows-have
marched fourth through the streets each
morning, armed with spades and picks, on
the mission-the Herculean mission-of
cleaning The streets of this city, something
that has evidently not been done for long
time before. And the evidences of the
good work done by this black brigade are
exhibiting themselves most gratifyingly.
Cutters that are filled up foot deep with
rubbish and dirt, now give free passage for
the water, and after the first rain the Vicks-
burgers will hardly know their own city,
which was one 81 the filthiest ones | ever
saw, South or North, when we took it from
the bands of Pemberton.
Poor Joe Davis Joe Davis is brother
of jeff. Joe and jeff haa a plantation in
partnership out near Jackson, and the said
plantation was we'll stocked with negroes.
Those negroes are now nearly ail Of them un
der the Stars and Stripes, some of them as
soldiers, and some as cooks and servants
to Federal officers. Poor old Joe is living
upon his plantation, and how many Of his
''peoplo" do you suppose are "faithful to
him! Hardly enough to carry home his
subsistence, which he is obliged to draw
from the commissariat Of the army of the
Unionl Ny impression is that Joe intends
eventually to turn out Union man, and is
now staying on his plantation with view
of saving bis half of it. He is nothing of
politician, and dosen't seem to have much
of an inclination toward the capitol Of the
Confederacy at Richmond.
The Quartermaslers of the Federal army
have discovered large quantities of sugar
and molasses stored away in the city.
Some lots of hundred and fifty thousand
dollars worth have been discovered. OF
course their owners or their representatives
are turning up, and offering to sell these
stores to the Government and often claim
inc to be Union men. Gen. Grant has
adopted uniform rule in such cases. which
is TO take possession Of the subsistence
stores, give receipts therefore, to be paid
at the end of the war, on proof Of the 10y
atty of the claimants. This is hard on
some of them, who have been making fine
calculations on handsome sums to be thus
realized. But it makes practical, yigor-
ons-prosecution-of-the -war man of many
one in this fix, for It gives them mont
ed interestin having the war speedily end
in the triumph of the old Government.
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