November 1, 1862

November 1, 1862:  In northwest Arkansas, all Confederate forces have retreated southward into the Boston Mountains.  Gen. Hindman, who had sent Douglas Cooper and his Indian troops to contend with James Blunt’s Federals, takes all of his troops southward, and Union Gen. Schofield takes his troops to Osage Spring and Cross Hollows, just south of Bentonville, and makes camp.  (Oddly enough, Gen. Schofield makes his HQ nearly 30 miles away from his army at Elkhorn Tavern at the old Pea Ridge battlefield.)  A series of feints and miscues around Fayetteville leaves Schofield confused, and convinces him that he probably does not have anything to fear from Hindman. 

---Gen. Grant prepares to advance southward to Holly Springs, to break up the Confederate concentration there under Price and Van Dorn.

---John Beauchamp Jones, clerk in the Rebel War Department, writes in his journal about a worrisome proposal to actually trade through enemy lines in order to get food and supplies for the Confederate Army:

I have been startled to-day by certain papers that came under my observation. The first was written by J. Foulkes, to L. B. Northrop, Commissary-General, proposing to aid the government in procuring meat and bread for the army from ports in the enemy’s possession. They were to be paid for in cotton. The next was a letter from the Commissary-General to G. W. Randolph, Secretary of War, urging the acceptance of the proposition, and saying without it, it would be impossible to subsist the army. . . . Mr. Benjamin, Secretary of State, has given Mr. Dunnock permission to sell cotton to the Yankees and the rest of the world on the Atlantic and Gulf coast. Can it be that the President knows nothing of this? It is obvious that the cotton sold by Mr. Dunnock (who was always licensed by Mr. Benjamin to trade with people in the enemy’s country beyond the Potomac) will be very comfortable to the enemy. And it may aid Mr. Dunnock and others in accumulating a fortune. The Constitution defines treason to be giving aid and comfort to the enemy. I never supposed Mr. Randolph would suggest, nay urge, opening an illicit trade with “Butler, the Beast.” This is the first really dark period of our struggle for independence.

---Action in coastal North Carolina:  The naval vessels USS States of the Union and USS Northerner steam up Pungo Creek on Oct. 31, loaded with a detachment of the 3^rd New York Cavalry and two field pieces, all under the command of Major Garrard.  The force lands and takes possession of Montgomery, Germantown, Swanquarter, and Middletown, capturing a large number of horses and a few prisoners, officers amongst them.  This morning, this detachment skirmishes with a small force of Rebel cavalry and drives them off, and marches safely back to Montgomery to board the steamers.

---The USS Westfield and the USS Clifton stand in to port in Matagorda Bay, Texas, and begin shelling the town of Lavacca.  The Confederate artillery answers, and neither side gains much advantage.  Finally, the Union ships begin to run out of ammunition, and give up the assault.

---The Confederate States schooner Adventurer tries to run the blockade off the Louisiana coast, but is captured by the USS Kensington.