1862 February 19 Staunton, Va.

[from the diary of Joseph A. Waddell, civilian clerk in the Quartermaster Dept., Staunton, Va.]

Wednesday night, Feb. 19, 1862

No particulars yet from Fort Donelson. Most
that of the intelligence we have received is from the North, via Norfolk.
It is reported that we lost 15,000 men, and Gen's
Pillow, Buckner + Johnson! Floyd, with 1000 or
1200 men escaped to Nashville. The enemy were ex-
pected at that place very soon. There is a report
from Augusta, Ga., that Gen. A. S. Johnson had
offered to surrender the city if the Federalists would
agree to respect private property. Kate has given
up her trip to Richmond. It is impossible for
me to describe the state of feeling in the commu-
nity — the depression and feverish anxiety. Union
with the North, however, on any terms, is not
thought of. The Richmond papers give us no news
directly from Nashville or that region. The enemy's
force at Fort Donelson is said to have been 50,000
— ours 15,000. They had transportation by water.

[transcription by Valley of the Shadow]

MSS 38-258