Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1912-05-22
De
CIVIL WAR
FIFTY YEARS AGO
THIS WEEK
May 20, 1862.

May 20, 1862.
Edwin stanly of North Carolina re
ceived his commission as military gov
ernor of the state. with authority TO
perform all the functions Of that sta
tion and suspend the writ Of habeas
corpus during the pleasure of the
president, or until the loyal citizens of
the state re-estahlished a loyal gov
eminent, in accordance with the Con-
stitution Of the United States.
Lieutenant Colonel Downey,< who
was sent TO Wardensville. near Nor
field, Va, after guerrillas who had re-
Gently overpowered company of con
valescent wounded National soldiers.
reported having killed the chief OF the
band and taken twelve prisoners.
A train of seventeen wagons that
left Rolla. Mo, was captured by par
tisan Confederate band twenty miles
out on the Springfield road. The
wagons and their contents were
burned, and the mules driven on
Lieutenant Colonel West took pos
session OF Tucson, Ariz.. for the United
States. The Confederate force guard
ing the town retreated before over
balanced numbers, and the citizens
turned out to welcome the Union
troops.
Four Union gunboats bombarded
the Confederate works on Coles Is
land and Stone Inlet. S. c., compelling
the Confederates to abandon the is
land, which they did after burning
the barracks.
The Confederate pickets were driven
across Bottoms Bridge by skirmish-
ers OF General Couehs division of the
Army of the Potomac. General Stone
mans division reached New Bridge,
also on the Chiekahominy.
General Shepley was made mayor OF
New Orleans by order of Genela al But
Ter until such time as the citizens
should elect to that office loy;I citi-
zen of the United States.
May n, 1862.
The second division of Gen eral Hal
Corinth, under command of Gen
Thomas A. Davies, defeated the Con.
federates in battle at Phillips Greek
Miss
General Stoneman, in company with
Prof. Lowe. made a balloon reconnois.
ssnce from Gaines Mills, Va, where,
from an altitude OF 500 feet they
could see the city of Richmond, and
forces of Confederates in motion. Gen.
eral Mcclellan sent the following re-
port to the war department; Il have
Just returned from Bottoms Bridge
Have examined the country on the
other side, and made a reconnaissance
on the heels of the enemy, who prob
ably did not like the skirmish of yes
terday. The bridge will be repaired
by tomorrow, and others built. AL
the camps have advanced today"
Two mortars opened on Fort Pillow
at one o'clock and continued to fire
until six The fire was returned at in
tervals Deserters from Fort Pillow
reported that 1856 dead bodies hac
been removed from the gunboats after
the recent engagement with the
Union fiotilla.
Commodore Prentiss, u S. N. on
the Albatros. penetrated the interior
waters of South Carolina as far as
ten miles above Georgetown on the
Waceamaw river. He had not sui
ficient force to make landing.
Colonel Sedgewick, with the First
Second and Twentieth Kentucky Ma
nrrfv, Sc
sance in front of Corinth to develop
the position and strength of the en-
envy. He returned after a two hours
scrimmage, in which he learned what
be wanted to know.
Recruiting offices that had been
previously closed were reopened by
order of the United States govern
ment
Brig Gen. l. p Hatch, commanding
the cavalry in General Banks Union
division, had a skirmish with some OF
Canby's cavalry near Strasburg, Va
May q, 1862.
An attempt by civil officers to ar
rest fugitive slaves in the city OF
Washington was frustrated, after two
negroes had been taken, by the Sew
enty-sixth New York. The soldiers
leveled their muskets at the police
and carried the remainder OF the
slaves away with them.
The foreign consuls at Galveston
requesting of Captain Eagle. on the
u. S. S. s. Santee, that he assign a
bnr he IN
the impending bombardment, received
the following reply: Let me assure
you, gentlemen, that no person can
deplore more than myself the misery
that would result from the lombard
ment Of the town of Galveston and
its fertilization. yet it is duty that
win become necessary to enforce its
surrender 1t IS not in my power to
give you an assurance of security dur
ing the bombardment, for it is impos-
sible to tell what direction the shot
and shell will take"
General Prentiss' troops, captured
at the battle Of Pittsburg Landing.
Miss, were paroled by the Confed-
crates in Montgomery, Ala.
Company ], Seventeenth Massachu-
sets, fell into an ambuscade a: the
forks of the Trenton and Pollocks-
vile roads, Va, whittier they we're
bound from Newbern. n C., to seize
cotton that had been gathered togeth-
err by the Confedera+es. They es-
capped with q loss of three killed and
eight wounded.
The Court of Impeachment for the
purpose Of trying West H. Humphreys.
late district Judge OF the United
States for the Second district OF Ten