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NEWALINUMBER 73.ITHE SEW ALBANY COMMERCIAL»•» fijbi.ihiieo daily and wekki.y byX. P. LUSE cto OO.At the Commercial Buildings, COKNER OF MAIN AND STATE STS.NEW ALBANY IND.TIIE TWENTY-THIRD INDIANA.with the successful defense of Helena, and witl the great battle of Gettysburg, the downfall JUSJ5 of ihe rebel cause was steady and assured. During the seige the regiment held a conspicuous position. It was engaged in the unsuccessful assault of the 22nd, and as a part of Logan s Division, occupied the centre and i operated against the main defenses of the city. On the first day of the siege, theIof 1:SeeiniOPair;\\On Garrison Duly in Tennessee.sharp-shooters of Companies E, and I, sue- ; a hoThe Yocbana Expedition.The Bottles Around Vicksburg.Siege and Fall of the City.Duriug the protracted siege of Corinth the 23d Regiment was in the reserve, and therefore did uot encounter the hardships to which some others were exposed. On the 1st of June, it was ordered to Boiiver. Teuu.. and arrived at that place on the 4th.Col. Sanderson being assigned to the command ol the post, and Lieut. Col. Anthony j sjiarp yasjt 0f r|fle3 whose muzzles almostceeded iu silencing the guns of the main fort, udu they were kept sileuced thereafter. Day after day our lines were pushed up, trenches and mines worked, until the two lines were seperated only by u single enbauk-ment. Iu fact the enemy's line of entreuch-meut was mined, and a portion of his fort blown up before the surrender.The writer visited the regiment while these operations were going on, and found it perched along the hi 11-sides, literally without shelter, but exultant at the progress it was making. He followed up the approaches until he could almost touch the opposite line of defences, and saw thebeing absent, the regimeut passed into the touc-lieJ each other. And when on the 4thof July the surrender was made, to thiscommand of Major Davis. While in the discharge of garrison duty the regiment madeseveral reconnoisances, but without becoming actively engaged with the enemy. Six companies of the regiment, under Mgjor Davis, together with the 12th Wisconsin aud 17th Illinois, were ordered to reinforceDivisiou was assigued the pleasure of being first to enter the city, aud the duty of acting as its garrison. It was right fairly won by the trials and dangers it had undergone. Invidious comparisons are not intended, but eertaiuly no division had lien. Hurlbut at Hatchce river, but before j JqUC a greater amount of arduous and dar-their arrival a battle bad been fought aud | j„g service throughout the whole campaign the euemy defeated. j that of Logan ; and none better de-Rctuvuiug to Bolivar, the regiment re-I served the post of honor it obtained. And wuiued until October 5, wlieu it was or- ; ^ie 23rd Indiana, shared in the dangers nodered to La Grange to join the main army under General Grant, then preparing forless than the triumphs of this Divisiou.an advance in force into Mississippi. It j THE FENIANS AND THE CLERGY*was assigned to the First Brigade, (ColonelCalviu Marsh,) Third Divisiou, (General Logan.) .Seventeenth Army Corps, (GeneralJ. B. McPherson..) On the 27th, they began their march, and proceeded as far as the Yodiaua river, enduring the hardships • ■filial unfortunate winter campaign, marching through mud and water, sleeping in the snow, and suffering for the want of provisions. On returning to Tennessee, the regimeut was ordered to Memphis, which itreached January 21, 1SU2. At Memphis. Colonel Sanderson was detailed for important duties, and remained here for more than a year, while the regiment was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Davis, who had received promotion by the transfer of Colonel Authouy to the command of the Ufith regiment.The regiment moved with the army iu the memorable campaign against Vicksburg, and participated in almost all the preliminary struggles. In was in the vicinity of Lake Providence from February 22d ot April —Atli. aud worked ou the canal, whose failure had well nigh cost Gen. Grant bis command, and then moving with the army across the Mississippi, executing the first of those flank movements for which the western army became so famous. On the 1I of May the regiment participated iu the battle of Thompson's Hill. In this battle it was the first regiment of the corps to become engaged, and lust live killed and twenty wounded. The officers in command in this battle were :Lieut. Col. W. P. Davis, of the regiment; Company A, Lieut. Kromautz ; Company B, Captain Donough ; Company C, Captain .Smith ; Company 1). Lieut. Gleason ; Company F. Lieut. Hale; Company G, Captain Tubbs; Company G, Captain McIIugh; Company I, Captain Walter ; Capt. Babbitt, of Company D, was acting as Major, and Company E, Captain Clarke, and Company K, Captain Kirk, were detailed to guard prisoners.On the 3d of May the regimeut was engaged iu the battle of Bayou Pierre, losing four men wounded ; and on the 12th in that of Raymond. Here the regiment held the advance. and opened the engagement. It went into the field 375 strung, rank and file, and lost 132; eighteen killed, eighty-seven wounded, twentv-seveu prisoners. During this battleSpicy Litter from a Sister— Bishop Tim on Roughly Handled.The ladies of the Buffalo branch of the Fenian sisterhood arc out with the following letter to the Catholic bishop of that diocese. with regard to his opposition to their organization :Bi ffalo, November 20, lSfif). nil,ht Her. J-iis/i'i/t Tint on :Rev. Sin—We respect you as a bishop, but you have strayed from your calliug.V on first denounced the Feuiau brotherhood, aud did all in your power to breakup the society, and you did not succeed; your denunciation bad some effect, it is true, upon mauy poor, unfortunate people, who consider that they are bound to obey their bishops and priests iu politics, as well as religion ; but those who consider that., as men, they have minds nf their own to guide them in temporal affairs, believed it was uot your duty to dictate to them iu such matters, and it had the good effect of increasing the circle.These truly patriotic men considered that God did not create the Irish people to be slaves or mure degraded than other people.They did not expect when they leit their own unfortunate and oppressed couutry that they would be so grievously oppressed bv British influence in this laud of freedom, on tlorthoi:we \periwheuish$5,0 to p upoi of I who him:tal landiugwasa eopro\audwellwhitbus!a ba vo aearrhis iuiunlookartiieverplaiichaseoulcamsicthethefronItbusikepiThegoot.shojtiuc(onen iuiyoubrieeolopeaigoot.luteof tlpoulday*tor lt;equiNapiM the kecj of d mix cles. auol iu 1chai si do otiicfereThey believe that, as Irishmen, it is their duty to do all in their power to end her misery by establishing her freedom.We, the Fenian sisterhood, believe also that if wc can aid in establishing our country’s independence, that it is our boundeu duty to do si), and we do not sec why the ban of excommunication should be pronounced upuu us for aiding in so holy and just a cam-o. We know that the degraded condition of Ireland is the cause of so many ' of her unfortunate daughters to be leading the wretched life they do. They leave their own country in poverty and distress, and when they land from the emigrant ship, being destitute of friends and uiouey, they are, alas, easily led astray,and betake themselves to anything which will gain for them a miserable subsistence; look lor such instances iu all our cities.We think that perhaps you have been misinformed by some of those altar-scrapers, who may have told you that the Brotherhood andSisterhood meet on the same night and at the same place. But this is not so ; and even if they did. it would be no harm, because it is only the most respectable of your congregation that are members of these societies. We consider it a dreadful charge for you to be questioning the morality of our nightly meetings. This is, of course, laying a doubt upon our characters. We meet at a most respectable private house, and are attended home, at a seasonable hour, by our own relatives. We think it great inconsistency fur be speaking of the irnnior-the regiment was iu command Lt. Colonel ulhy of°our “nightly meetings* Look to your Davis, and the companies as follows: Co. fairs, that one in particular which was heldA. Lt. Orth; Co. B, Capt. Dorrough— wounded during the action, and then by Berg't. John Tobin; Co. C, Lt. Jackson; Co. D, Lt. Higgle—Capt. Babbit acting Major, and Lt. Gleason acting Adjutant; Co. E, Capt. Clark; Co. F, Lt. Hale; Co. G, Capt. Tubbs—taken prisoner by tlic euemy; Co. II. Capt. McHugh ; Co. I, Capt. Walter; Co. K, Capt. Kirk. This was a most disastrous engagement for the regiment. as is seen by its heavy losses. Still it continued to maintain its place in the line of battle. On the 14th the battle of Jackson was fought, but the regiment was in the second line, aud suffered no loss.On the Itith it was the iurtune of the regimeut to be in the advance, and to bring onlast winter, by which you realized the haudsomc sum of six thousand dollars. From whom? Did you refuse the money, or prevent those from entering whose character could be questioned? No! but their money and presence were as acceptable as those of the most respectable persons; in consequence of which it was a most immoral place lor any lady to attend. They were not advised to remain at home. On the coutrary, they were strongly urged to attend, by the priests of the different churches Jin your diocese. It had, therefore, a most uufortunate effect upon some of them. Those nightly meetings, wnich continued for weeks, you did not censure; where, at very unseasonable hours, ladies were in company with the most abandoned ; and now you speak of the immorality of our nightly meetings. This is a serious charge, Right Reverend Sir, before you thoughtdamgqlt;xcitiaof { Stor goolt; mat mor not i bad we s as w far ; Sug fiveto ficentthebe lcoffeerihopnowper;gettfindbeeenoeretwarusandeonRVaToutof a TH•he memorable battle „f Champion Hill, Jit !?“.hrm. . , _ „ t , you say those who attend the nightly rneet-Ihiswasthe most extensive battle of the jog* or balls of the Fonian Sisterhood willwillconvorTllossllOlwhole scries, and resulted in driving the enemy into his defences around Vicksburg. The loss was one killed and eighteen wound-od. The companies were commanded as follows. Co. A, Lieut. Orth; Co. B, Sergeant Tobin; Co. C, Lieut. Murphy; Co. D, Lieut. Higgle; Co. E, Corporal Mix, (Capt. Clark having been wounded at Raymond ;) Co. F, Lieut. Hale; Co. G, Sergt. Frank Tubbs; Co. II. Capt. McHugh; Co. I, Capt. Walter ; Co. K, Capt Kirk*. Pressing on from Champion Hill, there was but a feeble defense made at Black lliver bridge, the regiment not being here engaged; on the 19th of May, the enemy's works werereached, and the sejgg of Vicksburg eoni-days from tross-nccd. Tarmy bad made a circuit of i.ioS^r i a hundred miles, fighting an enemy nearly equal in numbers, and driving him from point to point, until he was inclosed in his last defenses.The siego of Vicksburg lasted forty-sevendays, and was one of the most important events of the war, both on account of the protracted and severe service, aad the mag-u'ficieut results finally attained. Up to this date the general tide of success had been with the erneiny. But from the surrender ef Vieksburg, concurring in point of timebe excommunicated, you should inquire into thcjcharacter of those persons and the place of their meetings, and not depend upon wrong information. At our balls we do not allow all those to enter who present themselves with their entrance fee or ticket, as is the case at fairs. No ! But when the character of a person undoubted, entrance is refused to him or her.We cannot conceive what motive so mauy of the bishops and priests have for doing all in their power to keep the’ Irish people in such a state of ignorance and degradation, for it is universally acknowledged that they are the moat oppressed iieople on the face of the earth. But thank God that all the bishops and priests are uot so; there are many of those good men whose hearts arewith the majority of the Irish people in aiding the good cause. There are some of those even in our own city.Rt. Rev. Sir, your denunciations and excommunications have done more harm than good as regards the saving of souls. Do not blame the meu for not making their jubilee, for you may well know the cause; many of them dislike to enter the edifice in which there ia such hostility manifested toward those who are trying to elevate the position of the Irish race, and that hostility is the cause of making many Catholics careless in their teligiouB duties.We know that the cause in which we are working is a holy and just one, and nothing can make us abandon it. We are fully confident that wo are doing no wrong, and that the saerameals were not instituted t# triflearethechaof*f*B1(crecco
Newspaper Details
New Albany Daily Commercial
New Albany, Indiana, US
Wed, Nov 29, 1865
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Taylin A.
USA 31 May 2018
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