and responsible duties of that position have been ton's store, Colonel Onderdonk, commanding the performed. -THE rebel schooner Marion, bound to Havana, from Tampico, was captured by the steamer Aroostook, off Rio Brazos.-The rebel sloop Persis was captured off Wassaw Sound, Georgia, by the National gunboats Massachusetts and others. March 13.-A Union meeting was held at Huntsville, Alabama, at which resolutions were passed deprecating the action of the South, and calling upon the Governor of the State to convene the Legislature, that it might "call a convention to provide some mode for the restoration of peace and the rights and liberties of the people." Speeches were made by Jere Clemens and D. C. Humphreys in support of the resolutions. -GENERAL BUTLER, learning that the Fifth and Ninth Virginia cavalry, with a large force of armed citizens, were in the vicinity of King and Queen Court-House, immediately despatched an expedition from Yorktown under command of General Wistar, with which General Kilpatrick and a portion of his command essayed to cooperate. This rebel force was ascertained to be one thousand two hundred strong, and the same that ambushed and killed Colonel Dahlgren. General Kilpatrick left Gloucester Point on Tuesday night, March eighth, in charge of the cavalry, and was ordered to scout Gloucester County to the north and east as far as Dragon River, and drive the enemy up the Peninsula, while Wistar landed his forces by transports on Wednesday at Shepherd's warehouse, six miles above West-Point, on the Mattapony, with the purpose of heading off their retreat and charging their front and rear. Owing to a misapprehension of General Wistar's orders, General Kilpatrick marched direct to West-Point, where he arrived about the same time with General Wistar. A small cavalry force was then despatched to New-Market, and the infantry and artillery moved out as far as Little Plymouth, while Kilpatrick scouted across the Dragon River and tried to cross at Old and New-Bridge, but could not, owing to the swollen state of the stream. Our forces then moved down through the counties of King and Queen, Middlesex and Gloucester, making many captures and destroying large quantities of supplies. King and Queen CourtHouse was destroyed, and when near Carrol First New-York Mounted Rifles, and Colonel Spear, of the Eleventh Pennsylvania cavalry, came upon the looked-for rebel force of cavalry and citizens. This was in the midst of a severe rain-storm which had been pouring all day, and the mud was knee-deep; yet the rebels were gallantly charged, dispersed, and chased ten miles, their camp destroyed, about twenty killed, and seventy wounded and taken prisoners. The remainder made good their escape by recrossing the river into King William County. The Union force comprised the Forty-fifth, Sixth, and Twenty-second National colored troops the First New-York Mounted Rifles, the Eleventh Pennsylvania cavalry, parts of Hart's and Belger's batteries, and some five hundred of Kilpatrick's Richmond raiders. The only organized rebel force encountered were the Fifth and Ninth Virginia cavalry, having, however, many mounted and armed, though ununiformed citizens in their ranks, who claimed to be noncombatants. On the raid large amounts of grain, provisions, arms, etc., were destroyed. One mill filled with corn belonging to the Ninth Virginia cavalry was burned. Several of Lee's soldiers at home on recruiting service were captured; two Union officers recently escaped from Libby Prison were rescued, and one of Longstreet's men captured. The National forces returned to Yorktown to day, without the loss of a man, and but very few horses, and the objects of the expedition were as fully accomplished as were possible. The enemy was severely punished for the death and brutalities perpetrated upon Colonel Dahlgren, and General Wistar highly complimented for the success of his expedition. -PRESIDENT LINCOLN addressed the following to Michael Hahn, the newly elected Governor of Louisiana: "I congratulate you on having fixed your name in history as the first free State Governor of Louisiana: now you are about to have a commission which, among other things, will probably define the elective franchise. I barely suggest, for your private consideration, whether some of the colored people may not be let in, as, for instance, the very intelligent, and especially those who have fought gallantly in our ranks. They would probably help in some trying time to keep the jewel of But this is Liberty in the family of freedom. only a suggestion, not to the public, but to you alone." -Two men belonging to the Thirty-second Missouri infantry, Archibald Towner, of company B, and Thomas Norris, of company D, while beyond their picket-lines, in Mo., were taken prisoners by a party of guerrillas, who took them to the top of a mountain near by and tied them to a tree, where they were kept until about sundown, when they were shot, robbed of every thing valuable, and thrown from the summit of the mountain down a precipice sixty feet. Norris miraculously escaped death, which he feigned while being handled by the murderers, and succeeded in reaching camp very much exhausted. He implicated many of the citizens who received their daily rations from the Government, and several in that vicinity were arrested for trial. The body of Towner was found by the men of his regiment, while out in search of the guerrillas, and carried into camp.-Captain John T. Campbell's Report. March 14.-Major-General John Pope, from his headquarters, at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, issued an official notice to emigrants by the way of the Missouri River and across the upper plains to the Idaho mines, warning them of the dangers of that route from hostile Indians, and recommending them to communicate with General Sully before attempting to pass that way.A COMMISSION Consisting of Captain George P. Edgar, A. D. C., Captain George I. Carney, A. Q. M., and M. Dudley Bean, of Norfolk, were appointed by Major-General Butler, for the purpose of caring for and supplying the needs of the poor white people in Norfolk, Elizabeth City, and Princess Anne counties, Va., who were a charge upon the United States, and employing such as were willing to work and were without employment, etc. -SKIRMISHING occurred at Cheek's Cross-Roads, Tennessee, between Colonel Garrard's National cavalry and Colonel Giltner's rebel troops. The rebels were repulsed. -PRESIDENT LINCOLN issued an order calling for two hundred thousand men, in order to supply the force required to be drafted for the navy, and to provide an adequate reserve force for all contingencies, in addition to the five hundred thousand men called for February first.-(Doc. 111.) March 15.-Owing to the disturbance of the popular mind produced by the enrolment of slaves for the army in Kentucky, Governor Bramlette issued an address to the people of that State, suggesting moderation, and calling upon them "to uphold and maintain the Government as constituted, and obey and enforce its just demands, as the only hope of perpetuating free institutions."-FORT DE RUSSY, on the Red River, below Alexandria, La., was captured this day by the combined military and naval forces of the United States, under General A. J. Smith and Admiral D. D. Porter.— (Docs. 96 and 131.) March 16.-A party of guerrillas belonging to Roddy's command made an attack upon the Chattanooga Railroad, at a point between Tullahoma and Estelle Springs, and, after robbing the passengers and committing other outrages, fled on the approach of another train loaded with soldiers. Among other atrocious acts was the following: There were four colored boys on the train acting in the capacity of brakemen, and two black men who were of ficers' servants. These six poor creatures were placed in a row, and a squad of about forty of the robbers, under a Captain Scott, of Tennessee, discharged their revolvers at them, actually shooting the poor fellows all to pieces.-AN engagement took place at a point two miles east of Fort Pillow, Tenn., between a body of Nationals and about one thousand rebels, who were routed with a loss of fifty killed and wounded. --CAPTAINS SAWYER AND FLYNN, who had been held at Libby Prison, under sentence of death, in retaliation for the execution of two rebel spies, hung in Kentucky by General Burnside, were released. They were exchanged for General W. F. Lee and Captain Winder, who were held by the United States as personal hostages for their safety. -THE advance of General A. J. Smith's forces, coöperating with General Banks's, and under the command of Brigadier-General John A. Mower, reached Alexandria, La., accompanied by Admiral David D. Porter and his fleet of gunboats. -(Doc. 131.) March 17.-Colonel William Stokes, in command of the Fifth Tennessee cavalry, surprised a party of rebel guerrillas under Champ Ferguson, at a point near Manchester, Tenn., and after a severe fight routed them, compelling them to leave behind twenty-one in killed and wound- Reid, ("Agate,") wrote as follows concerning ed. This morning, at a little before three the Emancipation Proclamation: "A recent alo'clock, an attempt was made on Seabrook lusion to the fact that Mr. Secretary Chase's Island by a large force of rebels, who came pen supplied the concluding sentence of the down the Chickhassee River in boats. They Emancipation Proclamation, has been received approached in two large flats, filled with men, with a surprise that indicates a less general evidently sent forward to reconnoitre, with a knowledge on the subject than might have been numerous reserve force further back, to co- expected. operate in case any points were found to be exposed. One of the boats came down to the mouth of Skull Creek, where they attacked a picket-boat containing a corporal and four men of the Seventy-sixth Pennsylvania. They first fired three shots and then a whole volley, and succeeded in capturing the boat and those in it, after a severe hand-to-hand fight. Whether there were any casualties could not be ascertained. Further on, meeting an unexpected resistance, they retreated. March 18.-Colonel Stokes's Fifth Tennessee cavalry again overtook Champ Ferguson and his guerrillas on a little stream called Calf killer River, near where it empties into Cancy Fork, Tenn., and there killed eight of them. -THE behavior of the rebel brigade under General Pettigrew, at the battle of Gettysburgh, was vindicated in this day's Richmond Enquirer. March 19.-The correspondent of the Cincinnati Gazette, at Washington, Mr. Whitelaw | "When the final draft of the Proclamation was presented by the President to the Cabinet, it closed with the paragraph stating that the slaves if liberated would be received into the armed service of the United States. Mr. Chase objected to the appearance of a document of such momentous importance without one word beyond the dry phrases necessary to convey its meaning; and finally proposed that there be added to the President's draft the following sen tence: "And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God.'" "Mr. Lincoln adopted the sentence as Mr. Chase wrote it, only interlining after the word 'Constitution' the words, upon military necessity;' and in that form the Proclamation went to the world, and history. "The President originally resolved upon the policy of issuing this Proclamation in the sumAs he has expressed it himself, mer of 1862. every thing was going wrong; we seemed to have put forth about our utmost efforts, and he really didn't know what more to do, unless he did this. Accordingly, he prepared the preliminary Proclamation, nearly in the form in which it subsequently appeared, called the Cabinet together, and read it to them. "Mr. Montgomery Blair was startled. 'If you issue that proclamation, Mr. President,' he exclaimed, 'you will lose every one of the fall elections.' "Mr. Seward, on the other hand, said: 'I approve of it, Mr. President, just as it stands. I approve of it in principle, and I approve the policy of issuing it. I only object to the time. Send it out now, on the heels of our late disasters, and it will be construed as the convulsive struggle of a drowning man. To give it proper weight, you should reserve it until after some victory.' "The President assented to Mr. Seward's |