When it had once become understood that our army had retreated, a deep feeling of gloom settled down upon the North, while the South became highly elated and confident. The Richmond “Whig” of July 12, 1862, in an article entitled, “The Tide in Our Affairs,” urged upon the Confederate government the necessity of continuing aggressive movements toward the Union army, saying: “The foe should never be allowed to recover from their stunned and bewildered state. We should rain blows upon them so fast and thick that they would have no chance to collect their faculties. The watchword of Danton should now be ours, ‘_L’audace! l’audace! toujours l’audace!_‘”
The same paper, in an article headed, “Effects of Rain,” said: “One of the effects of rain in this city is the appearance of numerous Yankee overcoats in the street. Nearly every Confederate soldier is provided with one; and on rainy days, when they are worn, an imaginative person would fancy that the city was garrisoned by Yankee troops.” This was written in order to magnify their victory, and to convey the impression that our soldiers had been virtually stripped of their clothing.
The barbarous sentiment that prevailed among the Confederates is shown by the following extract from a Richmond paper of this period: “What has become of the buzzards? It is a singular fact, that very few buzzards have been seen in this section for some time past. One explanation of their absence is, that they have been driven away by the stench from the carcasses of the slain wretches who came here to desolate our State and murder our citizens.”
With all this boasting and blasphemy, it was still apparent that the people of the South had quite as much reason to mourn as had the people of the North. All the Southern, and especially the Richmond papers, were filled with long lists of the slain and wounded in the late battles. One of the Richmond papers published about this time a list of the killed and wounded of the Twenty-sixth Alabama Regiment at Gaines’ Mill, June 27, which alone contained the names of over one hundred and fifty. The same paper contained numerous obituary notices of brave officers and men who had lost their lives in these battles; and under the title, “Information Wanted,” many inquiries were made of the fate and whereabouts of missing Confederate soldiers.