ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA
GENERAL LEE RE-ORGANIZES ARMY!
GENERAL LONGSTREET RETURNS
Camp near Fredericksburg, Virginia- General Lee has announced that the Army of North Virginia is going to be reorganized into three army corps. The army corps of General "Stonewall" Jackson, who was mortally wounded last month, will be divided and formed into two corps. The old second will be commanded by Lt. General Richard D. Ewell and the last corps will be taken command of by Lt. General A.P. Hill. Both officers previously served under General Jackson and will lead troops who are familiar with them. General Ewell suffered a terrible wound in the Shenandoah Valley last year which resulted in the loss of a leg, but the general has returned to his duties in splendid condition. General Hill, who many will recall as the famed commander of the "Light Division", was one of General Jackson's favorite officers. His wife and family reside in Richmond. Meanwhile, General Longstreet has returned with his troops from the campaign near Suffolk, Virginia, a city has regrettably been re-enforced with more Yankee troops.
General Lee has been persistent in gathering supplies and uniforms for his army but is still in need of certain items such as shoes. Proper food for the men is also a problem- it is said that our boys are living on a quarter pound of bacon and half a cup of cornmeal per day. Some troops are reported to be without shoes or blankets.
PRESIDENT DAVIS CALMS FEARS
CONFIDENT OF VICTORY THIS YEAR
Richmond- President Davis has been very talkative about the victory of the Army of Northern Virginia at Chancellorsville last month, though he has expressed his deep concern on the serious events unfolding in Mississippi where General Ulysses S. Grant's army has succeeded in surrounding Vicksburg. "He is naturally concerned with the situation in Mississippi," a close aide confided. "But the president has been very busy conferring with many visitors and members of congress who now wish that more be done about the Southern economy." The president has been in close consultation with General Lee and has consulted with the Virginia commander about the situation on the Mississippi and Union threat in Louisiana.
Rumors of a northern "peace movement" based in New York, Boston and Pennsylvania, have made some politicians confident that the Lincoln government will wilt under the pressure of their influence on members of congress, to seek a unified solution to the crisis by letting the Confederacy live apart from those wretched northern states. It is said that Southern patriots operating from Canada have given influence to these individuals, contributing money and connections to further their cause. We can only hope that these sympathizers will succeed in their quest. Mr. Davis did state that he is confident that the Vicksburg situation will soon be remedied, suggesting help could be provided by General Lee's army in Virginia.
THE VICKSBURG SITUATION
GENERAL PEMBERTON FIGHTS PITCHED BATTLES!
 Gen. Pemberton |
Richmond- War Department officials reported that the villainous Yankee General Grant has marched his army within one mile of the center of Vicksburg, our last stronghold on the Mississippi River. Grant's army attacked General John Pemberton's Confederate troops stationed at Champion's Hill on May 16 and overwhelmed our brave boys who fought to the last round until forced to retreat. Yankee officers claimed that over 3,000 of our army were either killed or wounded and 2,000 were taken captive. The day before the battle, General William T. Sherman's yankee troops marched into and took possession of Jackson, Mississippi cutting off the railroad from there to Vicksburg and isolating General Pemberton's position around that city. Within several hours, Grant had pressed all of his troops against our exhausted soldiers who stood watch at the last line of city's defenses.
While Grant has expressed hope that their recent victories will persuade the Confederates to recognize the desperate situation they are in and surrender the city, General Pemberton has vowed to fight on until he can be re-enforced by forces coming from Tennessee and Louisiana. Meanwhile, Yankee gun boats have shelled the city and run close to the outer line of batteries, suffering heavy losses in their foolhardy attempts to break down the city defenses. General Pemberton's men are said to be in fine spirits and ready to defend the city from the vengeful Union horde posed just outside the defenses.
YANKEES CALL UP NEGRO TROOPS!
"OUTRAGEOUS!" SAY GOVERNORS
SECRETARY OF WAR OFFERS OPINION
Washington- The Yankee Secretary of War, referring to the intention of raising negro troops immediately upon the return of the adjutant general, said that "within six months we would have 200,000 negro troops in the field." Their treacherous plan for recruitment is to raise regiments of runaway slaves and freedmen and turn them against their old masters who only wish to be left alone. These regiments will be led by white Yankee officers, who have turned their backs on the morale values involved in this conflict. As of this writing there are only a handful of Yankee negro troops in the field, such as the Massachusetts 54th Infantry Regiment commanded by the abolitionist Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, on duty on the South Carolina coast. The governors of each state of the Confederacy have expressed their opinions that negro troops will be sacrificed by the Lincoln government, fighting for a cause that they cannot win. Our Secretary of War has also expressed his concern over the morales of this issue and whether the Yankee War Department can control their negro troops who may be bent on revenge against their old masters.
The Northern states appear to be desperate for recruits, especially after the sound defeats they have suffered at the hands of our generals on many a southern battlefield. It is reported that the threat of a draft has angered many with the Washington administration for forcing young men into the army against their will.
ARMY SUPPLIES PURCHASED AT PREMIUM PRICES
CIVILIANS SUFFER FROM YANKEE BLOCKADE
from the Richmond Examiner- The price list of the Board of Commissioners appointed under the act of the Confederate Congress to estimate the prices to be paid for articles purchased for the Southern army were set by recent legislation. A sample of these prices are: Wheat at $4.50 per bushel, corn at $4 per bushel, potatoes at $5 per bushel, flour at $22.50 per barrel, bacon, salt pork or lard at $1 per pound; brown sugar at $1 per pound; coffee priced at $3 per pound, and hay at $80 per ton. Government agents are authorized to barter for purchase these stores from any individual. Regrettably the Yankee blockade has caused inflation to rise, especially for the purchase of imported goods. A recent check of market prices for the average civilian in Richmond found that a day at the grocer will cost $10 for a pound of coffee and $3 to $4 dollars for sugar. The weakness of our Confederate dollar and the effectiveness of the Yankee coastal blockade is said to be having this effect and is stretching the Confederate war budget to a limit. It is a shame that the civilian population must face such privations, but such is the price paid for freedom from the tyranny of the Lincoln government!
A side note to this story is the success of our blockade runners in exporting goods from Southern ports. Our best blockade runners succeeded in running 28,000 bales of cotton out of Charleston, South Carolina last year and have delivered over 9,800 out of the Confederacy to foreign markets during the first quarter of 1863.
LETTERS FROM THE ARMY
The SOUTHERN DEFENDER is pleased to announce that letters have been arriving at our home office and we will be publishing many of them beginning with the next issue. We are pleased to print what they and their families send us.
Miss Holly Stilwell has sent this letter from her husband serving in the 53rd Georgia Infantry, who comments on the recent Battle of Chancellorsville:
"May 5th, 1863
"My dear affectionate Holly,
"Thanks be unto almighty God that I am permitted to address you once more and blessed with health and strength. Molly, we have had some of the hardest fighting ever seen but thank God the victory is complete. We have knocked the harness off of the Yankey mule. Joe Hooker drove his army across the river in perfect confusion and disgrace. Oh, the dead and wounded Yankeys! It is true we have lost a great many men but nothing like them. Our brigade covered itself with glory. They whipped a whole corps of Yankeys, the noble 53rd captured two stands of colors, one national flag and a white flag they raised to deceive our men pretending that they had surrendered, but our sharpshooter shot down the flag bearer and took the white flag. We lost one hundred and forty brave men killed and wounded. I hear of no prisoners being taken from our regiment; they don't surrender."
- William R. Stilwell