The “French Lady” has been captured. As many of you will remember, we reported the seizure of the steamer St. Nicholas by Secessionist forces on July 3. There was some dispute regarding which Southern officer dressed as a woman in order to hide himself away on the ship until the time to strike arrived. We appear now to have confirmation not only that the man in disguise was Captain Thomas of St. Mary’s County, but also that he has been captured. Lieutenant Thomas H. Carmichael and Mr. John Hornes apprehended him in Baltimore on July 9.
Mississippi is preparing itself for warfare. Governor Pettus recently called on both state and county officers to collect all arms, rifles, and shotguns and send them to Jackson. Non-functional arms are also wanted, as they will be repaired once they reach the capital. Pettus also advises citizens to arm themselves with double-barrel shotguns to be ready to fight at an hour’s notice if needed.
While Mississippi is urging its citizens to arm themselves with shotguns, there have still issues with side arms in other parts of the country, due in large part to the increasing number of deaths caused by accidental shootings or drunken brawls. In response to the public outcry, the following resolution was adopted at a meeting of the Common Council in Richmond on Monday:
Resolved, That the Mayor be instructed to impress upon the commandants of the various posts on the suburbs of the city, the propriety of requiring men to divest themselves of side-arms on leaving camp.
The school for military instruction at the University of Virginia is off to a roaring start. One hundred gentlemen have already entered, and the school is receiving many more applications every day. Major George Ross, graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, is performing the duties of chief instructor of the corps, with Captain Thomas U. Dudley, Jr. serving as assistant instructor. Four Cadet Officers have been appointed, among them General Lee’s son, Robert E. Lee, Jr.
The new government in western Virginia is beginning to take form. John S. Carlisle was unanimously elected United States Senator on July 9. There were also several elections for other state officers on that same day. Increasingly large areas of the western part of the state are recognizing the new government; recognition from the rest of the state has not been so forthcoming, to put it mildly.
Judge George Thompson, a resident of Wheeling, where all these deliberations have taken place, is particularly vocal regarding his distaste for the decisions made about western Virginia. He is staunchly against the newly forming government, as well as the oath of loyalty that Lincoln and his men have recently created. Regarding the oath, Thompson said:
I refuse to touch the taint and grime of this oath, also, because the oligarchy at Wheeling is, in the main, composed of the drippings and leavings of the old party, to who very heart the offices of the Republic has become a corrupt, a degrading and a constant desire in their life pursuit of them through all forms of party and all changes of name, and all bargains and corruptions in the combinations of disappointed and greedy place-hunters to the last act of infamy and disloyalty to integrity and worth, the trade and sale of body and soul to abolitionism, and the instauration of negro equality on the soil of Virginia.
By all accounts, Thompson’s sentiments are popular throughout the Old Dominion.
In the News:
- The Richmond Daily Dispatch provides an update on the city’s defenses.
- The New York Times discusses interesting news out of the New Mexico territory.
- The Democratic Banner prints the President’s message at the extra session of Congress on July 5.
- The Lebanon Advertiser reports the discovery of lead mines in Buck County.
- The Press gives us the latest updates from the Indian Territory.
Commentary:
- The Richmond Daily Dispatch prints the address of M.P. O’Connor, Esq. to the Charleston Riflemen on the Fourth of July.
- The New York Times claims that secession is in its last throes.
- The Democratic Banner asks why Senator Breckinridge has not been arrested for treason.
- The Lebanon Advertiser analyzes the President’s message.
Arts and Culture:
- The New York Times reminds us that Raising the Wind will be performed at Winter Garden this evening.
Runaways:
- “From the Medical College the slave James Thornton, a Negro man about 25 years of age, 3 feet 8 or 9 inches high compactly and strongly built, weighing 160 to 175 pounds.”
- Negro named Abraham. “He is about 35 years of age, 6 feet high, and of a dark brown color, usually wears a handkerchief on his back and has a scar on his forehead or face.”
Military Notices:
- Wanted: Twenty men “to complete a volunteer company. Uniforms, equipment, etc. furnished free. Good board and comfortable quarters.”
Obituaries:
- Mrs. Eugenia E. Chalkley, 25 years old, died at the residence of her month in Chesterfield county on July 5.
- William Simmons, five years old, died in the residence of his parents, John and Ellen Simmons, on the evening of July 8.
- A man named Morgoar fell while cutting his grass, breaking a glass bottle in his pocket which punctured his leg, causing him to bleed to death.
