Friday May 31

This morning rumors of a skirmish near Parkersburg in which one of the Union Blues is said to have been killed, also six secessionists --  probably not true.  Rumors of every description are afloat.  Lizzie and I took dinner at B. C. Bailey's with Mr. and Mrs. Munsell.  It is rumored that the secessionists had planned to burn Marietta and other towns in Ohio.  The Government troops are still advancing upon Virginia.  Lucy came down.  We prepared lint all day.


Editor's comments:
The immediacy of the war, even in the early stages, is apparent in Julia's journal entries as she expresses the concern for the Union Blues, a regiment from Ohio, the rumors of danger that their town might be invaded and burned, and the work of preparing lint to be used as bandages.

Thursday May 30

Went in the morning to see little Charlie Bailey.  Found him quite sick.  He fell into their cistern night before last and nearly drowned.  He is now suffering from congestion of the lungs.  Mr. and Mrs. Munsell, Kate and I went up to the graveyard before dinner.  I went with our friends to Mr. Burgess' to tea.
It is reported that Bill Scott took up a horse to sell for the use of the flying artillery.  Gen. Buttles liked the horse and did not object to the price, but before the bargain was completed, some one informed the General that Scott was a secessionist.  Whereupon he told Scott he could go home with his horse, as he would have nothing to do with traitors.  Mr. Scott thereupon appealed to an acquaintance standing by to endorse his loyalty, which he declined to do.  Scott blustered, but by the time three or 400 men had gathered around, he "sang small".  
Ohio troops are advancing toward Grafton from Wheeling in connection with loyal Virginia troops from camp Carlisle on Wheeling Island.  The 14" and 18" are moving from Parkersburg toward the same point.  Col. Steadman of the 14" leads this movement.  They took possession of the telegraph and will of the railroad.  It is said that they frightened Judge Jackson so seriously that he being a secessionist has decamped.  Gen'l M'Clellan has issued a proclamation to loyal Virginians assuring them of protection for themselves and their property and their magnificent railroads.  We are all picking lint for the soldiers and making pin cushions for their convenience.


Editor's comments:
During the Civil War, women would "pick lint" from old clothes and it would be repacked to be used by surgeons as dressings for wounds.  Another way women could provide aid to soldiers was to prepare things that they needed.  Since soldiers would need to do their own mending, compact pin cushions filled with buckshot were made by women and sent to the regiments.  Here's a link to a pin cushion replica pattern.

Wednesday, May 29

Kate went with Mr. and Mrs. Munsell to Marietta.  Troops have been passing from Camp Putnam to Virginia.  The Lizzie Martin went down with part of the 18th regiment this morning to Parkersburg.  Going back she had on board the Gallia company under Capt. Aylshire.  They were wrapped in white blankets and looked rather grotesque.  Kate saw Capt. Aylshire in town and sent him a bouquet of flowers, red, white, and blue.  In the afternoon the Webster went down with two barges in tow having the remainder of the 18" regiment on board.  Their red uniforms were very showy.  They had also a splendid flag.  Returning again the Webster took down in the evening two companies of Light Artillery.  This looks as if something will be done in western Virginia soon.  Probably they will advance upon Grafton and dislodge the secessionists from that place.  Our troops were in high spirits, anxious to go and meet the rebels.  The issue is with God.  May He inspire that courage which will lead to valorous deeds.

Tuesday May 28, 1861

William goes to Chillicothe.  The railroad employees have struck; troublous times are these.  Letter from Clara.  She needs help.  Can we extend it to her?  I do not know but we shall all be swamped.  Let us submit --  patience, patience!  God knows what is best.  
Mr. and Mrs. Munsell came today.  They have sold their property in Illinois and will probably remain in Ohio.  She has told me enough about Clara and the west to convince me that Illinois is not El Dorado.  
George E. Cutler, the only son of my late brother, Charles, has enlisted in the 17th regiment O.V.M. [Ohio Volunteer Militia] and is now at Camp Anderson near Lancaster.  He is an orderly sergeant.  The Union Blues went down on the cars today.  We waved to them and they hurrahed as they passed.  The 14th regiment left sixty six in camp.  Sarah is going to offer to assist in nursing.  She thinks of Rufus and is doing as she wishes to have him done by, if away from friends sick.  I wrote to Clara today.

Editor's comments:
Julia had a great many family concerns on her mind today.

Her brother William was an officer on the board of the Marietta and Cincinnati Rail Road and striking railroad workers would disrupt railroad service.  The M&C Rail Road meetings were held in Chillicothe, Ohio.

Clara is Julia's youngest sister.  Clara had married when she was 30, bore 5 children, and was 45 in 1861. She lived in Pana, Illinois, which was about 500 miles due west of Marietta, Ohio.

Julia's half-brother, Charles Cutler, was born in 1792 and died heading west to California in 1849.

Julia's sister Sarah Cutler Dawes was the mother of Rufus R. Dawes who had raised a company of volunteers in Wisconsin, where he had been working for his father.  He was to begin service as Captain in Company K, 6th Wisconsin Volunteers, but in late May, 1861, Rufus was still in Wisconsin, awaiting orders.  On May 27, Rufus' mother, Sarah Cutler Dawes wrote to him from Marietta:
All of the first ladies in the city have given their names to nurse or furnish supplies for the sick.   As yet we have no system, but hope to get organized in a day or two.  The hospital is an old brick building near the Fair ground.  There are thirty-nine sick men there to-day, and they are far from comfortable.  But the Citizens are sending in things every day and we shall soon get fixed.  Most of the men are sick with the measles.  There is one case of typhoid fever.  Another regiment (18th Ohio) came in to-day.  Everybody is making bandages, lint, and Havelock caps.  L___ has made five and a half dozens of plasters of mutton tallow, spread on linen rags, four inches square and done up neatly in oiled silk, very acceptable, the surgeons say.

Monday May 27

This is Ephe's birthday.  He is now twenty-one.  
Mr. B. C. Bailey was here this morning, says the quarter masters like the ground at the Gravel Pit and will probably send some of the companies down this week to prepare the parade grounds etc.  
Lucy and Marion went to Marietta with William.


The 14th Regiment under Col. Steadman at Camp Putnam received orders last night after they were in bed to advance this morning into Virginia with six days rations.  They went to Parkersburg on the steamer Ohio and encamped expecting to advance upon Grafton (which is in possession of secession troops) by way of the Northwestern Railroad.  Quarter Master Kingsbury who dined here yesterday goes with his regiment into Virginia.  They were to leave Parkersburg today at four o'clock p.m.  The citizens of Marietta presented them with a beautiful stand of colors.  Soon they will be engaged in the fearful struggle.  God strengthen them to fight and shield them from dangers seen and unseen.  
The 18th, into which the Marietta Union Blues were mustered, arrives at Camp Putnam tonight from Athens.  They are mostly from southern Ohio.  
Bennet C. Bailey says from what he can learn of the state of feeling, the contest in Virginia will be fearful -- father against son -- brother against brother.  In the Cook family, cousins to the Bailey's, Paul is rabidly secession, Bennet as decidedly union, while James remains neutral.  
The reported battle at Sewall's Point is not confirmed.
Mr. McMasters called to wait for the train and train time has been again an hour later than before.


Editor's comments:
Ephe is Ephraim Dawes, Julia's nephew, (the son of Sarah Cutler Dawes, Julia's sister).  Julia was particularly close to the Dawes' nieces and nephews who returned to the Old Stone House to live in 1840.

Parkersburg, Virginia, is across the Ohio River from Marietta, Ohio.

Sabbath May 26, 1861

Mr. Wakefield preached an excellent practical sermon from Job 34:33, "Shall it be according to thy mind".  During sermon a carriage filled with military men, and two officers on splendid horses passed the church.  When we got home from sabbath-school we found them all here.  They were Gen. Buttles, Col. Barnet, Col Sturges (sic), Quartermaster Brown, Quarter Master Kingsbury and Quarter Master Townshend.  They all, with Mr. Wakefield, staid to dinner.  They are very gentlemanly.  
Col. Barnet of the 1st Regiment of Light Artillery, now stationed at Camp Putnam, is a Cleveland hardware merchant, wealthy and a good man.  Lieut. Col. Sturgess is a banker.  Quarter Master Brown, now at Camp Putnam, resigned his seat in the Ohio Legislature to enter the service.  Kingsbury is connected with the 14" Regiment of Light Infantry now in Camp Putnam.  Gen. Buttles is a Columbus man, I believe.  He is here on a tour of reconnoissance and has the over sight of the quarter master's department of southern Ohio and will not long remain, as I suppose.  Quarter Master Townshend is a gentleman in his manners and belongs to the Light Artillery.  He gave us a family "pass" to visit Camp Putnam.
They report a battle at Sewall's Point yesterday.  United States troops took possession of it, having 84 killed and wounded.  Rebels had between three and four hundred killed and wounded, and a large number of prisoners taken.  There has also been a skirmish at Arlington Heights, result not reported.  These officers are thinking of moving their camp to Gravel Pit.  There are now about 1100 men in Camp Putnam.  About eight o'clock this evening a steamboat passed down with music, drum beating, men hurrahing.  There are probably volunteer troops aboard.  (It proved to be the Clarksburg company).  
This has been a strange sabbath.  For the first time in my life I have seen bona fide soldiers, who expect to fight and if God wills it to die on the field of battle.  It is sad to think how soon these gallant men may be laid low.  But God reigns, and in the sermon today we were taught submission to his high behests.


Editor's comments:
Julia frequently mentions attending Sunday meeting and sabbath school and she occasionaly comments on the sermon (or the delivery of the sermon).  As I am unfamiliar with this quote in the Bible, I searched for it on biblos.com, a site the compares different editions of the Bible.  Here are the comments about Job 34:33:
  
Should it be according to thy mind? - Margin, as in Hebrew "from with thee" - המעמך hamē‛imekā. There has been much diversity of opinion in regard to the meaning of this verse. It is exceedingly obscure in the original, and has the appearance of being a proverbial expression. The general sense seems to be, that God will not be regulated in his dealings by what may be the views of man, or by what man might be disposed to choose or refuse. He will act according to his own views of what is right and proper to be done. The phrase, "should it be according to thy mind," means that it is not to be expected that God will consult the views and feelings of man rather than his own.


I was curious about the officers who visited the Cutlers but was unable to track all of them.  What I did discover was that some of these men enlisted for a short period, e.g., three months, then reenlisted in other regiments from Ohio.  This reminded me that many thought the war would be of short duration and some of the first volunteers were concerned that the war might be over before they had the opportunity to see action.

Saturday May 25

William is about home today which has been seldom the case lately.  Lucy is quite sick.  
Did not get our Cincinnati Gazette today, but received dispatches which state that Alexandria was taken by federal (i.e. government) troops, but with the loss of Col. Elsworth of the New York Zouave regiment, -- a gallant young officer, who is much lamented.  He was I believe, an Illinoisian, had visited the Crimea and on his return taught a company in Chicago the Zouave drill, then went to New York city where he enlisted the fire-companies for the same service.  The pranks of Elsworth's Zouaves in and about Washington have supplied many newspapers items.  They saved Willard Hotel from being destroyed by fire.  At  Alexandria it was Col. Elsworth who took down the secession flag and run up the Stars and Stripes.  Soon after he was fired upon and killed by a concealed foe, who is reported to have been discovered and immediately put to death.  The Zouaves threaten to take a terrible revenge.  Twelve thousand troops have been sent into Virginia.  The war has begun.  God give success to our armed hosts.  A company of troops from Clarksburg, Va., went up to Wheeling today to get their arms to fight for the Union.


Editor's Comments:

There were several regiments which were "Zouave" units, i.e., styled after North African units that were fighting for the French in the 1830s.  The uniforms were distinctive:  baggy pants, a vest and short jacket, and a fez.

Julia refers to Col. Elsworth (correct spelling is Colonel Elmer Ellsworth) who formed a Zouave unit and toured with it in 1860, challenging other military units to drill competitions.

Cover on Harper's Weekly, May 26, 1861

Ellsworth and his unit of fire-fighting Zouaves did indeed extinguish a fire in Washington.  Ellsworth had recruited a regiment of New York fire fighters and the recruits made their way to Washington.  On May 9, 1861, fire broke out at the Willard Hotel.  The fire-fighting Zouaves helped save the building.

Elmer Ellsworth

Two weeks later news of Virginia's secession spurred Ellsworth to march his troops to Alexandria.  He found an inn above which waved a Confederate flag.  He was determined to take down the flag and did so himself.   Coming down the staircase of the inn, Ellsworth  was shot by the owner of the inn, who was immediately shot by one of the men in Ellsworth's unit.  Col. Ellsworth was the first Union officer to die in the Civil War.