Friday, November 30, 2012

Special to New York Papers

(Herald’s Special.)

WASHINGTON, March 24. – The party which left here on Tuesday to look for the remains of Colonel Slocum, Maj. [Ballou] and Capt. Tower of the 2d Rhode Island Regiment, killed at Bull Run, returned this morning bringing their remains.  The party was composed of Governor Sprague, Col. Arnold, Mr. Walter Coleman, his secretary, Lieut. Col. Sailges, Capt. Dennison and Surgeon Grady of the Rhode Island Cavalry, accompanied by two of the Rhode Island Volunteers who had been taken prisoners at Bull Run and had noted the place were officers were buried.  The party arrived Friday at Dudley’s Church.  Col. Slocum and Maj. [Ballou] were buried in the yard of [a] building nearby which was used as a hospital on the day of battle.  This building had been destroyed by the rebels, but the graves were found.  After they had commenced to dig a negro girl inquired if they were digging for the body of Col. Slocum and stated that about six weeks after the battle some soldiers of a Georgia regiment had dug it up, cut off the head and buried the body at the side of the run close by, and taken the coffin away to bury a dead negro.  Her story was corroborated by a white boy and man who lived in the same neighborhood.  On repairing to the spot indicated there was found a pile of ashes and which were pronounced by the Surgeon to be human corpses, which were buried in a box and Major [Ballou] in a coffin.  Upon opening the graves the box was recognized by Mr. Richardson who was present at the interment, and the remains in it were identified as Col. Slocum’s.  Upon opening the other grave it was found to be empty, showing that the body dug up and burned by the Georgia barbarians was that of Maj. [Ballou], as only the two have been interred in that yard.


(Tribune’s Dispatch.)

It is rumored that Green Clay will be transferred from the Secretaryship of Legation at St. Petersburg to that at Turin, the present incumbent, Mr. Fry, having declined on account of ill health.

Dr. John Evans of Chicago has been nominated and confirmed as Governor of Colorado territory, vice Gov. Milliu.  Stephen S. Hardin, of Indiana was on Friday nominated Governor of Utah, vice Geo. Dawson, rejected.

Small squads of rebel horsemen are scouring the country within five miles of Manassas impressing all able bodied men left, robbing the farmers for the hundredth time and destroying what they can’t carry away.

The Saturday’s work of the Ways and Means Committee on demands of delegations for the modification of the tax bill was to put a 3 percent ad valorem charge upon paper of every description; to adopt the schedule on leather substantially as they were presented to the Committee by Mr. Alley, a tanner, and a member of the House; to fix the rate on hoop skirts, umbrellas and parasols at f per cent ad valorem; ready made clothing at 3 per cent ad valorem; to leave salt is in the bill; and later long discussion to let the tax as first reported on tobacco and all its manufactures stand unaltered.  The tax on billiard dabbles was reduced half – to ten dollars a year.  On rock oil petroleum and coal oils the only change was of phraseology so that the refining and produce from distillation shall not be charged for brokers.  The committee took off the tenth of one per cent on their stock sales. Thinking that through their use of powers of attorney, transfer stamps and other assessable incidents of their business they would get taxed enough.  Flour was not disposed of.  The desire to tax of course exists.  The only difficulty in fixing the rate has been presented by the Canadian reciprocity treaty.  The belief has at least obtained in the Committee that flour can be taxed by branding the barrels and taxing the sales without violating the stipulations of that treaty.  The charge on the gross receipts of horse railroads was reduced one half.  It was decided not to tax coal at all, because it enters in the business of nearly the whole nation.  During the discussion on this bill the work on the tariff progressed.  Reference is continually had to it and when an article is taxed for income revenue at the same time an equivalent custom duty is placed on the tax list.  This principle will be adhered to throughout.

The Times’ Washington correspondence says the Commission of State Prisons will, to-morrow, take up the case of the celebrated Mrs. Grenshaw [sic], who will probably be transferred from a state prison to a Lunatic Asylum.

Gen. Montengrey [sic] has been transferred from his post as Military Governor of Alexandria, and placed in a like command at Annapolis.

Painful rumors have been afloat for two days, affecting a prominent officer in the civil department of the Government.  We are promised the denouement this week.

It is not true that the steamer Vanderbilt has been purchased by the Government to be altered to an iron clad vessel.  She is merely chartered for a short time as transport.

The commanding officer at Fort Craig writes to the Government that he has not a doubt of being able to hold the post.

– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, March 29, 1862, p. 4

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