A letter from Hon. G. A. Henry, on the Danville Railroad, saying only 1000 men were there to defend it, with but two cannon without appropriate ammunition!
Soon after a dispatch came from Col. Withers, at Danville, stating it was reported 10,000 of the enemy were approaching the road, and only thirty-two miles distant. He called for reinforcements, but stated his belief that the number of the enemy was exaggerated.
I delivered these to the Secretary myself, finding him engaged writing a long letter to Gen. Kirby Smith, beyond the Mississippi!
In this moment of doubt and apprehension, I saw Mr. Randolph, formerly Secretary of War, and Mr. G. A. Myers, his law colleague, at the telegraph office eagerly in quest of news.
To-day the President decided that Marylanders here are “residents,” or “alien enemies;” if the former, they must fight—if the latter, be expelled. A righteous judgment.
Last night, as Custis staggered (with debility) upon the pickets at the fortifications of the city, not having a passport, he was refused permission to proceed. He then lay down to rest, when one of the pickets remarked to him that he was not “smart, or he would flank them.” Custis sprang up and thanked him for the hint, and proceeded to put it in practice.
The Examiner to-day says that Col. Dahlgren, a month before his death, was in Richmond, under an assumed name, with a passport signed by Gen. Winder, to go whithersoever he would. I think this probable.
At 3 p.m. the wires cease to work between here and Petersburg, and there are many rumors. But from the direction of the wind, we cannot hear any firing.
June 17th.—Clear and pleasant.
A dispatch from Beauregard states that two assaults of the enemy yesterday, at Petersburg, were repulsed with loss; and it is reported that he recovered all lost ground to-day. Yet Beauregard has an enemy in his rear as well as in his front.