Thoughtfully curated historical journalism
PARTICULARS OF THE WILLIAMSBURG BATTLE.
Bravery of our Boys.
Williamsburg, May 7, 1862.
Dear Father :—As we have again been in one of these bloody encounters with the rebels, you are of course in the midst of excitement at home, each one anxiously waiting to hear from their own friends and relations in the army. It has been a terrible fight, and many of our friends lay dead on the battle field.— The 2nd N. H. regiment took a prominent part in the fight making the attack, and company B. was the first to drive them from their right position, and kept them at bay fer two and a half long hours, waiting for reinforcements — all our ammunition gone excepting two or three cartridges, which we kept for any emergency, not wishing to fire unless we were sure of our man.
The Mass. 1st came nobly up to our aid, and stood their ground manfully, meeting with a good deal of loss in both killed and wounded. In fact, all of our boys fought well, and bravely, but in the afternoon, we were whipped twice and driven back to the ground where we first attacked them.
The first four day of last week—Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday—were distinguished for the splendid operation and achievements of the Grand Army under General McClellan on the York peninsula.
On Sunday, by a triumph of consummate strategy and engineering skill, McClellan took possession of Yorktown, which the rebel Generals had been compIled to evacuate and retreat ten mile up the peninsula to their works at Williamsburg, where they doubtless calculated upon making good their position.
A Yankee correspondent says:
Mrs. Farrenhold has deserted her house, and the soldiers have taken complete possession.—Her secession proclivities have made her what she is—a ruined woman. Her slaves say they will not be hired out. She has no land to cultivate, Her husband is in the rebel ranks and she a wanderer. Many say she is a spy, left here purposely by the enemy to gather information.—She is somewhat of the “strong-minded” sort.
New York, May 7 (AP)—An ordinary photographic negative today was placed in a photoradiographic machine in Honolulu, a beam of light played through it and the complicated apparatus began clicking. One four of a second later, another machine In New York, 5,136 miles away, began dotting and dashing out a copy of the negative. Twenty minutes later the machine in New York had linked in the last dot of a complete positive—making a success of the transmission of a photograph by radio across the Pacific Ocean.
Seven times this process was repeated and seven pictures of persons and events connected with the Hawaiian maneuvers of the American army and navy of last week appeared in early afternoon editions of New York newspapers.
New Market, Va., May 7.—Yesterday afternoon a detachment of the 9th New York cavalry made a reconnoissance to Harrisburg. When five miles this side they encountered upwards of 200 of Ashby’s cavalry. They charged upon them and pursued them within two miles of the town. Ten rebels were killed and six token prisoners. Our loss was one killed and a battalion adjutant taken prisoner. The work on our side was done with the sabre, and was a very gallant affair.
Fort Macon, which guarded and protected the town of Beaufort, was situated on bluff on Bogue’s Bank, one mile and three quarters from the town. It commanded the entrance to the harbor, having a full sweep of fire over the main channel. Opposite the fort, at the entrance of the harbor, is Shackleford Bank, one mile and a half across. The fortification was of a hexagonal form, had two tiers of guns—one in casemated bombproof, and the other en barbette. Its armament consisted of twenty thirty two pounders, thirty twenty four pounders, two eighteen pounders, three field pieces for flanking defence, twelve flank howitzers, eight eight inch howitzers (light), eight eight inch howitzers (heavy), one thirteen inch mortar, three ten inch mortars, and two Coehorn mortars—making a total of eighty nine guns.
In this episode, what does the first pre-paid stamp have to do with contract shipping? Let’s connect the dots.
We start our journey in the historical maritime town of Newburyport, MA, center of shipbuilding and trade in the 19th century and home to a number of exceptional folk.
One of these lights of Newburyport was Jacob Perkins. He was one of those classic overachievers, being employed to make currency dies in his early 20’s, inventing a nail making machine shortly thereafter, and managing over his life to secure numerous US and British patents, invent the refrigerator, set up advanced and secure engraving for such things as official currency, and create high-powered, high-pressure steam devices. And a lot more.
Tradition That Has Lured Many Adventurers to Seek Hidden Gold.
From the New York Press.
Mexican tradition says that somewhere in the Central West are the ruins of a populous Aztec city, in which Guate Motzin stored the vast treasure which Cortez tried to find after the conquest of Mexico. Expeditions under Mexican and under foreign directions have tried in vain to find this city. The story of one attempt to locate the wonderful city made by Col. H. C. Haddington, a civil engineer In the employ of the Mexican government, certainly is curious. He says:
“The story of a lost city is familiar to all Mexicans, and believed in by most of them. When I visited Mexico for the first time in 1872 I became interested in the subject from associating with Mr. Early, an English engineer, who assured me of his belief in its existence. Before leaving the City of Mexico I inquired in government circles for information to substantiate the story told by Early. I found the officials in different departments ready to credit the reports, which they believed plausible, as at that time no complete survey had been made by the government of that district.