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YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

DOWN SOUTH,

VOLUME II.

DOWN SOUTH;
OR,
AN ENGLISHMAN'S EXPERIENCE

THE AMERICAN WAR.

SAMUEL PHILLIPS DAY,
SPECIAL COREESPONDENT OF THB " MORNINa HERAI,!)."

m TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. n.

LONDON:
HURST AND BLACKETT, PUBLISHERS,
SUCCESSOES TO HENEY COLBUEN,
13, GREAT MAKLBOEOUGH STKEET,
1862.
The right of Tramlation is reserved.

c.

LONDON :
printed by e. born, gloucester street,
regent's park.

CONTENTS OF VOL. II.

CHAPTER L
the battle oe the bull eun.
Ruse of the Enemy — Disposition of Troops — Opening Fire
— Engagement at Stone Bridge — Arrival of Reserves —
The " Stampede'' — Beauregard's Valour — Unwarlike
Practices — Resolutions Adopted by Congress — Address to
the Army — ^Promotion of Beauregard — Position of the
Battle-field— " Cut Run Bridge"— Letter of Arnold
Harris — Official Report of the Battle — Another Disaster
— Satire after Southey — Effecte of the Battle . 1
CHAPTER n.
over the battle-field.
A Metamorphosed Sailor —Terpsichorean Amusemente — A
Negro Girl — Visit to Major Walton —Arrival at Head
quarters — The Captured Mail Bag — The Sublime and the
Ridiculous — Venus versus Mars — The "Cow" and the
" Chickings" — A Facetious Wife — The Camp Bedstead —
Equestrianizing — ^Dead left on the Field — A Wounded
Prisoner — VandaUsm — Abandoned Stores — Desecration
of Centreville Church — ^Defences at Manassas . 36

VI CONTENTS.
CHAPTER m.
state of public feeling north and south 
HOSPITALS and PRISONS.
Anticipated Victory — Unity of the South — Scene in Con
gress — " General" Greeley — " The Biggest Coward in the
World" — Belhgerente in Congress — A Demonstration —
An Irish Captain — :An Amusing Incident — " Booty and
Beauty" — Defeat before Battle — Sick and Wounded —
Federal Outrages — ^Violating Parole — The Sutler System
— Treatment of Prisoners — Ingratitude of Prisoners 81
CHAPTER IV.
DOWN THE JAMES RIVER.
The Steamer " Northampton " — Captain Hicks — An Intru
sive Lady— A Sun-stroke— The "Tiger Rifles "•— Clare
mont— Curl's Neck— Birthplace of President Harrison-
Birthplace of Ex-l'resident Tyler— City Point — A Con
federate Gun-Boat — An Assembly of Negresses  West-
over— Fort Powhatan— Grove Wharf— The Old "Stone
House "—Town of Smithfield— Ruins of a Church 114
CHAPTER V.
TRIP TO JAMESTOVra ISLAND, WILLIAMSBURG, TOKKTOWN
HAMPTON, AND GLOUCESTER POINT.
Head- Quarters— The Main Battery— ArtiUery Encamp
ment—Classic Ground—" In Memoriam"— Wilhamsburg
under the Crown— William and Mary College— The
First Newspaper in Virginia— Statue of Lord Botetourt—
The Old Magazine and Capitol— Hotel Accommodation
—System of Defences— Position of Yorktown— The Nel
son Monuments— Tomb of the Hon. WiUiam Nelson—
The Fortifications — General Magruder . 13^

CONTENTS. VU
CHAPTER VI.
CONFEDERATE VICTORIES IN MISSOURI.
Contest at Oak Hill — Retreat of the Federal Troops —
General M'CuUooh's Proclamation — Proclamation of
Governor Jackson — Propositions to General Lyon —
Calling out of the MiUtia — Storming of Lexington —
Demanding a Surrender — A Truce — Renewing of the
Siege — Novel Appliance of AVarfare — Hoisting the
White Flag — The Capitulation — " Almost Bloodless
Victory " — General Price's Ofiical Report — ^A Scape-goat 169
CHAPTER vn.
NON-SUBJUGATION OF THE SOUTH  THE BLOCKADE.
A " Short and Decisive" Contest — Strength of Confederate
Army — Percentage o± Population in the Field — Perils of
Invasion — Federal Finances — ^A Doleful Cry in Congress
— Specie in Southern Banks — Pressure on the Govern
ment — A Poem for the Times — The Blockade— Pro
position of the French Government — Ineffectiveness of
the Blockade — Recognition of the Confederacy — ^Destruc
tion of Charleston Harbour  195
CHAPTER VIIL
FROM EICHMOND TO WASHINGTON, BY " FLAG OF TRUCE."
Norfolk— The Dismal Swamp— A Legend— General Huger
—Gosport Navy Yard—Old Point Comfort— The Rip-
Raps— General Wool — ^Fortress Monroe— City of Balti
more— Ari'ests— City of Washington— Fast-day Sermon
— "The Profanest Nation in the World" — "Fast-day

Vlll CONTENTS.
Looseness" — Anathemas on the South — Army Contract
System — Swindling of Union Patriots — " The Ahnighty
DoUar" — Skirmish near Lewinsville — ^Insubordination in
Camp — "Bar-room Braves" — Madame Tochman — A
TruckUng Press  221
CHAPTER IX.
VISIT TO MUNSON'S HILL  FROM WASHINGTON TO
NEW YORK.
General Scott — A Confederate Ruse — A Supposed
Enemy — Federal Vandalism — Conduct in Camp — An
Unwelcome Visitor— My Arrest — Office of the Provost-
Marshal — "Secession Proclivities" — American Passports
— " Dry-Goods Brigadiers " — Philadelphia — The Mint —
Complaints of Contractors — Coming Events — "Dis
honoured and Disgraced" — Threat to England — ^New
York — ^Treatment of Negroes North and South . 273
CHAPTER X.
" HOME RETURNING."
Under Weigh— View of Fort Lafayette— A Storm— Feel
ing at Sea — Off Cowes — "Young America"  Arrival
at Southampton ..... 300

DOWN SOUTH.

CHAPTER I.
THE BATTLE OF THE BULL EUN.
Ruse of the Enemy — ^Disposition of Troops — Opemng Fire
— ^Engagement at Stone Bridge — Arrival of Reserves —
The "Stampede" — Beauregard's Valour — Unwarlike
Practices — Resolutions Adopted by Congress — Address to
the Army — ^Promotion of Beauregard — Position of the
Battle-field— " Cut Run Bridge"— Letter of Arnold
Harris — Official Report of the Battle — Another Disaster
— Satire after Southey — Effects of the Battle.
The battle of the 18 th July, was but the precursor
of one far greater in magnitude. The Battle
of Manassas, or the Bull Run, which took place on
the Sunday following (July 21st), is the most
remarkable in the records of American history,
and doubtless will furnish the future historian
with interesting material. Never was a victory
so triumphant, never a defeat so disgraceful. The
VOL, II. B

2 BATTLE OF THE BULL KUN.
" Grand Army of the North," so long in forma
tion and preparation — who came into the field
with a flourish of trumpets, and equipped and
furnished such as no army on American soil had
ever been before — have been defeated and put to
ignominious flight, and by an antagonist far infe
rior in numbers and resources — in fact, in every
thing but valour. " Tell it not in Gath, publish
it not in the streets of Askalon ! "
The mtended attack of the Federal forces was
ascertained a few days previous. Accordingly,
General Johnston — who had command of the army
of the Shenandoah, posted at Winchester — arrived
at Manassas on Friday the 19th, with 4,000 of
his division, in order to reinforce the army of the
Potomac, of which he was appointed Commander-
in-Chief. This new arrangement, however, did
not interfere with the plans of General Beaure
gard, who was left to carry out his previously-
prepared designs, assured, meanwhile of the cordial
co-operation of General Johnston. The night
before the battle, as may well be conceived,
was one of much Interest and occupation. The
military orders for the forthcoming day were pre
pared, and expectation was on tip-toe until the
morning dawned. Oh ! how many manly hearts
throbbed wildly that night, thinking how the for
tunes of war would turn on the ensuing day!

" ruse" of THE ENEMY. 3
How many fixed their thoughts on home and Its
endearments, and recalled wife, children, and re
latives with a sigh and a prayer I How many
brave, noble fellows, hale in body and strong of
soul, gazed from out their tents upon the pale
star-light, and beheld the sun rise in the heavens
for the last time !
Shortly after daybreak the presence of the
enemy was made known by a heavy cannonade
from several batteries of riSed pieces ia the di
rection of Mitchell's Ford, on the road to Centre
ville. These guns continued to play without
intermission upon the Confederate forces occupy
ing the BuU Run until after 11 o'clock, but without
producing any reply, or doing any material Injury
to our men. The objects of the enemWn keeping
up this constant fire were to force our troops frora
their position, to ascertain their strength, aud
withdraw attention from the main point of attack.
The ruse was perceived, and the danger to which
it would manifestly lead thereby averted. The
Federal forces occupied the Run from Stone
Bridge to Union Mills, where the road to Fairfax
branches off, and, upon the best authority, were
not less than 100,000 strong. Our troops, which
only numbered some 45,000 men, or 50,000 at the
most, took up positions on one side ofthe Bull Run,
tolerably well supported by artillery. Three wings
b2

4 BATTLE OF THE BULL EUN,
were formed — the right being under command of
General Ewell, the centre under General Bonhain,
and the extreme left under General Jackson.
And here I must observe, that, owing to the
non-arrival of an order sent from head-quarters
to General Ewell — the courier having been shot
— the entire plan of the battle had to be not only
remodelled, but radically changed; a circumstance
which tells favourably for the military and stra
tegic genius of General Beauregard. The order
alluded to directed General Ewell to form a junc
tion vvith other brigade officers stationed at Black
ford's and Mitchell's Fords, etc.; and as similar
instructions were forwarded by couriers to these
posts, a concentration of the several forces was to
have been effected, when the enemy's centre would
have been attacked at the Turnpike, in his move
ment from Centreville to Stone Bridge. This
mana3uvre, had it been carried out, General Beau
regard was confident, would in a few hours have
decided the glory of the day, and have placed
thousands of prisoners in hi^ hands. As it was,
the whole plan had to undergo alteration, which
led to difficulties that might have proved serious,
if not irremediable.
About six miles to the left of Manassas, in a
north-westerly direction, is Stone Bridge, a rather
rude-looking and primitive construction, having

OPENING FIRE, 5
merely two arches of narrow span. The principal
battle-ground occupied an area of nearly seven
miles in the immediate vicinity of the creek,
although sundry engagements on a small scale
occurred at a few adjacent fords during the day —
sometimes our troops, and sometimes the enemy,
being repulsed. At noon, Generals Beauregard
and Johnston assumed command of the main
body at the above-mentioned place. The fact is,
that the enemy, taking advantage of the woody
country, had outflanked our left without being
perceived — a movement which, according to mili
tary science, was highly perilous.
At eleven o'clock our artillery were first to open
fire. Half an hour afterwards the infantry en
gaged, aud then it was that the battle began to
rage. The dusky columns which had thus far
marked the approach of the two armies now
mingled with great clouds of smoke, as It rose
from the flashing guns below, and the two shot up
together like a huge pyramid of red and blue.
The shock was tremendous, as were the odds be
tween the rival forces. With what anxious hearts
was that pyramid of smoke and dust observed I
When it moved to the right it was known that
the enemy were giving way ; and when It moved
to the left, It plainly indicated that the Southerners
were receding.

6 BATTLE OF THE BULL EUN,
Twice this pyramid moved to the right, and as
often returned ; and thus it continued to move for
two mortal hours. The enemy was endeavouring
to turn our left flank, and to reach the railroad
leading hence In the direction of Winchester,
To this he extended his lines, which he was
enabled to do by reason of his vast resources.
This happened unfortunately, as it required a cor
responding extension of our lines to prevent his
extreme right from out-flanking us — a movement
which weakened the force of our resistance along
the whole line of battle, and which finally ex
tended over a space of two miles. It likewise
increased the difficulty of bringing up reinforce
ments, as the further the enemy extended his
right, the greater the distance our reserves had to
travel to counteract the movement. This effort
to turn our flank was pressed with great deter-:
mination for five weary hours, during which the
tide of battle ebbed and flowed along the entire
line, with alternate fortunes. At one time during
the day General Johnston took the flag of a
regiment, in order to rally the men, who were
drooping. The enemy's column continued to
stretch away to the left like a huge anaconda
seeking to envelope us within its mighty folds
and crush us to death ; and at one time it really
looked as if it would have succeeded.

ENGAGEMENT AT STONE BRIDGE. 7
General Evans, of South Carolina, was the first
to lead his brigade into action at Stone Bridge,
which was ably sustained by that of General
Cooke, and the troops under command of Colonels
Withers and Preston, These brave fellows, toge
ther with the 7th and Bth Georgia regiments,
commanded by General Bartow, had to sustain the
brunt of the action ; and, as a heavy, constant,
and concentric fire from Sherman's battery was
showered upon them, the wonder is how so many
escaped unharmed. For several hours, under
the fierce rays of a burning sun, the fight raged
terribly ; the enemy meanwhile pressing our left
flank with formidable effect.
The Federal infantry kept up a well-sustained
and well-directed fire of musketry, which, together
with the enemy's numerous field-pieces of heavy
calibre, already began to tell with fatal and fearful
effect upon our ranks. About two, p.m., a number
of our men had to be reraoved from the field
wounded or exhausted; and the fortune of the
day appeared to tremble In the balance ! Here
Beauregard proved himself a military genius of
the first order, and able to cope with the difficul
ties and dangers of the hour. Several leading
general officers, such as Bee, of South Carolina ;
Bartow; Kirby Smith, of Florida; and Lieutenant-
Colonel Johnson, of the Hampton Legion, had

8 BATTLE OF THE BULL EUN.
already fallen ; others were wounded, while hun
dreds of our men had been placed hors de combat.
With Colonel Johnson I had been speaking on
the previous Friday evening, when Prince Po-
lignac, (now a Colonel In Beauregard's Staff), my
self, and a party of ladies paid a visit to his quar
ters. His parting words to me were ominous —
" Sir, we must not all expect to return."
The effect of such serious disasters was anything
but supporting or encouraging to the jaded, and,
indeed, gloomy spirits of the volunteers, fairly
worn out by fatigue, and positively sinking from
exhaustion ; men who, for the most part, had
hitherto been accustomed to every comfort, and
even luxury — to whom suffering was unknown,
and toil a stranger. In this hour of trial and
danger, when the enemy was on the point of
proving triumphant, General Beauregard headed
his troops, urging them on to victory and glory, and
sustaining thera by his presence and promises of
support. Advancing his column step by step, at
various intervals of time— for he dare not suffer
his command to fall back— he held out assurances
of timely reinforcements ; although at the moment
he was very dubious of any such aid being acces
sible or available. Bravely did the Southerners
with few exceptions, maintain their ground against
such fearful odds. Even when our artillery were

ARRIVAL OF RESERVES. 9
diminished, Lieutenants Harman and Imboden
worked at the guns, to relieve the few men that
had been left. While the latter held the handspike
directing his piece, one of its rings was shot off
the trail by the explosion of a shell.
The enemy had now three batteries employed,
supported by vast columns of men, numbering
at least 30,000. Just as the critical moment
had arrived, and after General Johnston was
heard to exclaim, " Oh I for four regiments ! "
General Kirby Smith, formerly of the United
States' army, was observed approaching to the
rescue with 4,000 men of General Johnston's
division, who had just arrived from Winchester,
They should have reached the day before, but
were prevented by an accident on the railroad.
They dashed on with loud shouts, and in the
most gallant style. About the same time, Major
Elsey, (formerly of the Augusta Arsenal,) coming
down the railroad from Winchester, with the last
of Johnston's column, and hearing the firing,
immediately quitted the train and marched across
the country ; and, as fortune would have it, he
encountered the extreme right of the enemy, as
he was feeling his way around our flank, and with
his brigade struck him, like a thunderbolt, full into
the face ! Finding he was about to be oufc-flanked
, himself, the enemy gave way after the second fire.

10 BATTLE OF THE BULL RUN.
Meanwhile, Beauregard rallied the centre and
dashed In the very thickest ofthe fight; while after
him rushed the Southern boys, with a shout that
seemed to shake the very earth. Elsey's brigade,
although fatigued from a long journey, a quick
march of some miles in the scorching sun, and the
absence of food for several hours, entered into the
engagement with great spirit. No wonder that
Beauregard should have exclaimed, when their
leader arrived on the field —
" Elsey, you are the Blucher of the day ! "
Their presence struck sudden terror into the
hearts of the enemy, who, seized by some unac
countable panic, retreated in the utmost disorder
along the Turnpike-road, through Centreville,
placing the four remaining guns they had left on
the brow of a neighbouring hill to guard their
retreat. These guns were quickly charged by a
body of cavalry, taken, and turned upon the
retreating battalions, so that the enemy had no
resource left but hasty flight,
I believe that the annals of military warfare
may be searched In vain for such an utter, igno
minious routing as the " Grand Army of the
North" sustained on this occasion. For miles
along the road, as well as in the Immediate
neighbourhood of the battle-ground, guns, cais
sons, medicine chests, waggons, horses, stores.

THE " STAMPEDE," 11
ambulances, flags, rifles, canteens, over-coats,
blankets, and even the mail-bags, were to be
seen. Some positively left their clothes and rations
behind ; while numbers, in order to accelerate
their escape, took off their shoes and stockings !
The dead and wounded lay scattered in every
direction, although, judging from the huge mounds
of earth that rose up here and there, many must
have been interred — in some instances, I have
reason to think, alive ! for one man's arms were
observed rising out of his grave. Thus did a force
of under 15,000 men, supported by only 18 field-
pieces, put to flight an army of nearly 60,000
men, with 90 pieces of cannon. The Confederate
forces, including those occupied In the right and
centre wings, and the reserves, did not, as I have
stated, exceed 30,000 ; while the Federal troops
engaged in the action fully amounted to 35,000,
President Davis arrived from Richmond just in
time to witness the retreat of the invading army —
which began at half-past four o'clock — although
he did not take any command. The loss on the
Confederate side was about 2,000 killed and
wounded. That of the enemy was estimated at
nearly three times this number. Considerably
over a thousand prisoners were taken.
The Northern army evidently meant to have
entered Richmond without much trouble, imagi-

12 BATTLE OF THE BULL RUN.
ning that their huge Parrot gun, drawn by ten
horses, and large and efficient batteries, together
with their vast armed host, would have made the
" rebels " quail before them. That they fully ex
pected to have had a pic-nic party at Manassas or
Richmond is evident, for they brought with thera
abundant stores of the most recherche description,
and even hampers of champagne ! Ladies and
members of Congress came along in carriages to
witness the brilliant fete of that day ; and from
letters found it appears that instructions were
given to friends at Washington to address their
correspondents "at the post-office, Richraond."
Was ever expectation so disappointed ? Was
ever pride, boasting, and self-confidence so utterly
prostrated in the dust ? Generals who had
entered the field like princes during the morning
of Sunday, surrounded with every display, re
treated at nightfall unnoticed, like the humblest
private in their coramand. Alas ! for the pride,
glory, and the pomp of war I The enemy was
pursued beyond Fairfax, where the Confederate
flag was hoisted araid the most jubilant shouts of
the soldiery. The approach of night only pre
vented further pursuit.
And here I must observe, that General Beau
regard had for some time previous been planning
and preparing the attack. Before his arrange-

Beauregard's valour. 13
ments had become fully matured, the presence of
the enemy in large force was ascertained, and
consequently he had to act on the defensive.
That the enemy knew the ground well was plain
from the fact, that he had selected the best and
most commanding positions. Indeed, several
finely-executed and elaborate plans of the locality
were picked up on the field after the retreat, two
of which I have myself seen. Amongst the
enormous quantity of material left behind, was a
handsome chair Intended for General Scott ; and
large boxes of handcuffs, one of which was marked
" for officers ! " General Beauregard promised to
present me with a pair. Certainly, handcuffs had
hitherto been unknown in modern warfare, and
savour so much of the spirit of barbarism that it
is only proper to give European publicity to the
circumstance. During this sanguinary encounter, Beaure
gard exhibited the greatest courage and coolest
demeanour. Covered with dust, and the perspi
ration falling in big drops frora his brow, he
might be observed in the thickest of the fight,
the presiding genius of war, urging on his cora
mand, and dashing along the lines, directing and ,
sustaining the somewhat unwieldy mass of volun
teers, who had to do battle with a better disci
plined foe. While leading the final charge, the

14 BATTLE OF THE BULL RUN.
General's horse was shot from under him, but he
mounted another with the utmost composure, as if
nothing had happened.
" If my life," he observed to me, " be of service
to my country, I am prepared to lay it down ! "
Amid the commotion of the day- a few mis
haps occurred to the Confederate troops. One or
two regiments, the Alabamians and Mississippians,
mistaking one another for the foe, fired volley
after volley of musketry into each other's ranks.
In this way the Mississippians lost some eighty
men in killed and wounded.
Pendleton's Battery did very effectual service
during the engagement. Having marched four
miles in the short space of thirty minutes, It came
into action at half-past twelve, P,M,, when it at
tacked and dismounted Rickett's, (otherwise Sher
man's) Battery, killing forty-five horses, and either
wounding or killing all the artillerists and drivers.
Captain Pendleton is a minister of the Gospel,
from the Valley of Virginia, and his command
consisted of 105 men. Upon making the attack
on the enemy's famous battery, this brave officer
first said to his gunners —
" Reserve your fire I " then, « Ready— fire ! "
The aim was unerring; not a man but was
either killed or disabled. At the second fire
the same happened to the horses attached to

UNWARLIKE PRACTICES, 15
the battery. One officer informed me that,
in giving the orders for the first volley, which
took such tremendous effect, he addressed his
men thus : —
"The Lord have mercy on their souls! — but
fire ! "
The enemy resorted to very unwarlike and un
warrantable practices in order to gain advantage
over the Southern troops. For example, they not
only in some instances adopted the Confederate
badges, but positively carried the Confederate
colours. There is also reason to believe that
they have killed wounded men, as well as fired
into hospitals, signalized by the usual yellow flag !
The news of this important and remarkable
victory was telegraphed to the Seat of Govern
ment, where the greatest excitement prevailed.
All the male population turned out into the streets
and surrounded the hotels, awaiting further intel
ligence. At a late hour the President sent the
following telegram from the field of battle to
Richmond, which was read by General Waul
from one of the windows of the Spotswood
House, to an iraraense asserablage of persons, who
gave "three cheers for Jeff.Davis and Beauregard."
The message is guarded in its statement, and falls
far short of the facts as they afterwards became
developed. It was dated " July 21st, at night."

16 BATTLE OF THE BULL RUN.
" To General S. Cooper.
" Night has closed on a hard-fought field. Our
forces have won a glorious victory. The enemy
was routed and fled precipitately, abandoning a
very large amount of arms, munitions, knapsacks,
and baggage. The ground was strewn with their
killed for miles, arid the farm-houses and grounds
around were filled with their wounded. The pur
suit was continued along several routes toward
Leesburg and Centreville, until darkness covered
the fugitives. We have captured several field-
batteries and regimental standards, and one United
States' flag. Many prisoners have been taken.
Too high praise cannot be bestowed, whether for
the skill of the principal officers, or for the gal
lantry of all the troops. The battle was mainly
fought on our left, several miles from our field-
works — our force engaged there not exceeding
fifteen thousand : that of the enemy estimated at
thirty-five thousand,
"Jeff, Davis."
The morning after the battle, Brigadier-General
Beauregard received an autograph letter from the
President of the Confederate States, promoting
him to the full rank of General, as a reward for
his valiant services. The Intelligence was received
with cheers at mess, when Beauregard essayed a

RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BT CONGRESS. 17
neat speech on the occasion. The army had suf
fered severely, as, owing to imperfect commissa
riat arrangements, supplies had run short, and the
men had no food since the previous day. It was
late on Monday before they could break their
fast; but they seemed patient under the priva
tion. Their victory over the eneray doubtlessly
helped to appease the cravings of appetite and
sustain their spirits.
So soon as Congress had assembled at Rich
mond, on the day after the battle, the Hon. Mr.
Memminger of South CaroHna, Secretary of the
Treasury, submitted the annexed resolutions for
the adoption of that body, which were passed
unanimously : —
" 1. Resolved, — That we recognize the hand of
the Most High God, the King of Kings and Lord
of Lords, in the glorious victory with which he
has crovnied our arms at Manassas, and that the
people of the Confederate States are invited, by
appropriate services on the ensuing Sabbath, to
offer up their united thanksgivings and prayers
for this mighty deliverance.
" 2. Resolved, — That we deeply deplore the ne
cessity which has washed the soil of our country
with the blood of so many of our noble sons, and
that we offer to their respective families and
friends our warmest and most cordial sympathies,
VOL. IL C

rs BATTLE OF THE BULL EUN.
assuring them that the sacrifice made wilt be con
secrated In the hearts of our people, and will then
enshrine the names of the gallant dead as the
champions of free and Constitutional govern
ment. "3. Resolved, — That we approve the prompt
and patriotic efforts of the Mayor of the city
of Richmond to make provision for the wounded,
and that a committee of one member for each
State be appointed to co-operate in the plan.
" Resolved, — That Congress do now adjourn."
The recommendation of Congress was univer
sally complied with. At St. Peter's Cathedral,
Richmond, Bishop Magill delivered a very suit
able and impressive discourse. He took the Di
vine Providence for his theme, drawing his argu
ments and illustrations from the events preceding
and attending the battles of the 18th and 21st.
The venerable church was filled with pious wor
shippers, some three hundred soldiers forming part
of the congregation. When the bishop adverted,
with marked pathos, to the vast preparations
made in order to subdue the South — the vile em
blems of degradation captured on the field (two
thousand handcuffs) — and recounted some of the
trying and thrilling incidents of the battle, an
evident but suppressed sensation was perceptible
throughout the crowded cathedral.

ADDRESS TO THE ARMY. 19
Shortly after the memorable victory a patrlotio
and stirring address was issued to the army by
Generals Johnston and Beauregard, which I Intro
duce. A manuscript copy was furnished to me by
the Adjutant-General, Colonel Jordan, to whom
I am indebted for further marks of attention and
courtesy : — " Head-quarters, Potomac Army,
"Manassas, July 29, 1861.
"Soldiers of the Confederate States, — One
week ago a countless host of men, organized
into an army, with all the appointments which
modern art and practised skill could devise, in
vaded the. soil of Virginia. Their people sounded
their approach with triumphant displays of antici
pated victory; their Generals came in almost Royal
state ; their great Ministers, Senators, and women
carae to witness the immolation of our army and
subjugation of our people, and to celebrate the
result with wild revelry,
" It is with the profoundest emotions of grati
tude to an overruling God, whose hand is mani
fest In protecting our homes and liberties, that
we, your Generals commanding, are enabled, in
the name of our whole country, to thank you for
that patriotic courage, that heroic gallantry, that
devoted daring, exhibited by you in the actions
of the 18th and 21st, by vvhich the hosts of the
C2

20 BATTLE OF THE BULL RUN.
enemy were scattered, and a signal and glorious
victory obtained,
"The two affairs ofthe 18th and 2l8t were but
the sustained and continued effort of your patri
otism against the constantly-recurring columns of
an enemy fully treble your numbers ; and these
efforts were crowned, on the evening of the 2 Ist,
with a victory, so complete, that the invaders were
driven disgracefully from the field, and made to
fly In disorderly rout back to their entrenchments
— a distance of over thirty miles.
" They left upon the field nearly every piece of
their artillery, a large portion of their arms, equip
ments, baggage, stores, etc., etc., and alraost every
one of their wounded and dead, amounting, toge
ther with the prisoners, to many thousands. And
thus the Northern hosts were driven from Vir
ginia. " Soldiers ! we congratulate you on an event
which ensures the liberty of our country. We
congratulate every man of you whose glorious
privilege It was to participate in this triumph of
courage and truth— to fight In the battle of Ma
nassas, You have created an epoch in the his
tory of liberty, and unborn nations will rise up
and call you ' blessed,' "
" Continue this noble devotion, looking always
to the protection of a just God, and before time

POSITION OP THE BATTLE FIELD. 21
grows much older, we will be hailed as the deli
verers of a nation of ten millions of people.
" Comrades ! our brothers who have fallen have
earned undying renown upon earth ; and their
blood shed in our holy cause is a precious and
acceptable sacrifice to the Father of Truth and of
Right. " Their graves are beside the tomb of Washing
ton ; their spirits have joined with his in eternal
communion. " We will hold fast to the soil in which the
dust of Washington is thus mingled with the dust
of our brothers. We will transrait this land free
to our children, or we will fall into the fresh
graves of our brothers in arms. We drop one
tear on their laurels, and move forward to avenge
them, "Soldiers ! we congratulate you on a glorious,
triumphant, and coraplete victory ; and we thank
you for doing your whole dut-y In the service of
your country, " J, E, Johnston, General C. S. A.
" G. T. Beauregard, General C. S. A."
" T. Jordan, Adj. -General.
The reader will be better enabled to judge of
the position of the battle-field, and of the route
taken by the Northern army, from the subjoined
brief topographical sketch.

22 . battle of the bull eun.
From Alexandria it is twenty-two miles, by a
turnpike road, to Dranesville, and thirty-six miles
to Leesburg.
From Alexandria to Anandale, by turnpike, Is
eight miles ; to Fairfax Court-house fourteen
miles ; to Centreville, twenty-one ; to the battle
ground, twenty-six; to Gainesville, thirty-two;
and to Warrenton forty-two miles. Pursuing the
Little River turnpike, it is forty miles frora Alex
andria to Middleburg. A turnpike road, known
as the " Colurabia," leads south-westerly from the -
Long Bridge to the Warrenton turnpike, inter
secting the Leesburg and Alexandria turnpike at
Bayley's Cross Roads. This point is about five
miles from the Long Bridge, and six frqm Alex
andria. From Alexandria to Dumfries is twenty-
eight railes. Acquia Creek is~ twelve miles lower
down the Potomac.
From Alexandria to Manassas Junction, by
railroad, Is twenty-seven miles. The distances of
the successive stations are — Springfield, nine
miles ; Burke's, fourteen miles ; Fairfax, eighteen
miles; Sangster's, twenty miles; Union Mills,
twenty-three ; and Manassas, twenty-seven miles.'
From Alexandria, by the Alexandria, Loudon,
and Hampshire railroad to Leesburg, the stations
and distances are as follows: — Alexandria to
Arlington, six miles ; . Fall's Church, eleven ;.

23
Vienna, fifteen ; Hunter's Mills, eighteen ; Thorn
ton, twenty-one ; Herndon, twenty- three ; Guild
ford, twenty-seven ; Farmwell, thirty-one ; and
Leesburg, thirty-eight miles. Frora Manassas
Junction, by the Manassas railroad, the distance
to Gainsville Is eight miles, to the Thoroughfare
fourteen miles, to Plains Station nineteen miles,
to Strasburg (beyond the Blue Ridge and the
Shenandoah^ sixty-one miles.
There are now no bridges across the Potomac of
the east Blue Ridge, except the " Chain Bridge "
and the " Long Bridge." The former is so called,
because it was formerly a suspension bridge, sup
ported by two vast chain cables. It is now
supported by piers and abutments, but retains
the old cognomen. The "Long Bridge" Is about
a mUe in length. Half of it is a solid causeway,
built upon the bar or mud flat in the centre of
the river. At each end, the bridge is a wooden
structure, supported on wooden piles, and is In a
very rickety condition. Besides these bridges,
and between thera, there is a canal aqueduct,
which may afford transit for men and horses. It
is a decayed wooden structure, supported -on
stone piers.
, The road from Centreville to Warrenton, at
about two miles from the former, crosses Cut
Run. Here is the " Cut Run Bridge," where

24 battle of the bull run.
the Federal army sustained such loss in its
flight. Two miles further on the road crosses Bull
Run by the " Stone Bridge," and a short dis
tance beyond conducts to the battle-field of the
21st. Immediately after crossing " Cut Run
Bridge," a road curves off to the north-west, and
intersects the one leading from the battle-ground
to Leesburg. It was by this route, which crosses
Bull Run at Sudley Mills, that the enemy ad
vanced to the attack.
The Southern army was thus approached from
the north, and upon Its left flank. The Confede
rates were spread along the south-west side of
Bull Run, from the Stone Bridge to the Union
Mills. The road frora Centreville to Manassas
crosses Bull Run at MltchelFs Ford, where the
centre of Beauregard's forces was posted. Lower
down Bull Run is Blackburn's Ford, the scene
of the battle of the 18th, which took place on the
right wing.
The day after the battle of Bull Run, some
relatives of Colonel Cameron — who fell in the
action — made application to General Beauregard
for his body ; when the following correspondence
ensued between the military authorities and Mr.
Arnold Harris, a Northern subject :—

letter of ARNOLD HARRIS, 25
" To General Beauregard, or Commanding Officer,
Confederate Army. "July 22, 1861.
"Sir, — I send this by a friend and trusty servant,
who is well known to many officers in your army.
He is sent for the purpose of obtaining frora you
a permit for Mr. H, S. M'Graw and myself, to pass
your lines to obtain the body of Colonel Cameron,
who fell in the action of yesterday. My solicitude
in this matter is an impulse of private character.
The rigid rules established in Washington, with
reference to flags of truce, prevent me from carry
ing out my wishes without proceeding as I am now
doing, I believe General B, will recollect me
while a resident in New Orleans ; but if President
Davis, General Lee, General Johnson, General
Wigfall, Colonels Miles, Keitt, or Withers, are
present, they will not hesitate to vouch for me.
General Bonham, and, in fact, nearly all the offi
cers, know me. In addition to the gratification
of performing a sacred duty, I would be highly
delighted to meet in your camp many of my most
valued friends. It is proper for me to add, that I
have not been in any manner connected with the
Govemment here, and that I am a neutral.
" Very respectfully, yours, etc.,
(Signed) " Arnold Harris.

26 BATTLE OF THE BULL BUN.
" Please make the passport for A. Harris, H.
S. M'Graw, and two servants. I have not named
my friend or servant for prudential reasons, but
either of the gentleraen above-named can vouch
for them."
To this communication General Beauregard
replied through his "aide," Governor Manning: —
" Head-quarters of the Army of the Potomac,
Manassas Junction, July 23, 1861.
" Sir, — I ara Instructed by General Beaure
gard, commanding the First Corps, Army of the
Potomac, to say that he has received your note
of the 22nd, and to reply thereto. '
" The General declines giving an informal per
mit to anyone residing beyond his advanced lines,
for any purpose which raay be accomplished by
those formal proceedings known to and practised
by civilized belligerent nations. By no act of his
win he lower the dignity of the Confederate
States as a nation, by perraitting that to be done
indirectly whioh the usages of civilized warfare
accomplish directly.
" The arbitrary and unusual course adopted in
such cases as you refer to, by the United States'
Government, will be the guide of the .General's
conduct in return. Anyone, therefore, coming
withm his lines without the proper flag will be sent

OFFICIAL REPORT OF THE BATTLE. 27
under an escort to the Confederate Government
for examination.
" The General deems it proper for me to add,
that humanity should teach an enemy to care for
its wounded, and Christianity to bury its dead.
" I am, sir, your obedient servant,
" John L. Manning,
" Aide-de-Camp.
"To Arnold Harris."
The above correspondence produced some
degree of interest, and , Beauregard was highly
praised In the Southern journals for the calm but
yet firm dignity he displayed In refusing the very
unusual and unofficial request made of him.
For some time General Beauregard deferred
preparing his official report of the battle of Ma
nassas. Indeed, I was led to believe, frora infor
mation received by the late Secretary-at-War, that
as the leading Generals (Johnston and Beaure
gard) could not quite agree, it was arranged to
decline furnishing to the War Office any report.
Beauregard, however, prepared a prolix account
of the affair, a portion of which has only been
made public. This circumstance occasioned ani
madversions and insinuations on the part of some,
to which Beauregard replied in a letter to one of
the Richmond journals. It runs as follows :—

28 BATTLE OF THE BULL BUN.
" Centreville, within hearing of the
Enemy's Guns, Nov. 3, 1861.
"Gentlemen, — My attention has just been
called to an unfortunate controversy now going
on relative to the publication of a synopsis of my
report of the battle of Manassas. None can regret
this more than I do, from a knowledge that, by
authority, the President is the sole judge of when
and what part of the Coramanding Officer's
report shall be made public. I, individually,
do not object delaying its publication as long
as the War Department thinks proper and neces
sary for the success of our cause. Meanwhile,
I entreat my friends not to trouble themselves
about refuting the slanders and calumnies aimed
against me. Alcibiades, on a certain occasion,
resorted to an extraordinary method to occupy
the minds of his traducers — let, then, that
synopsis answer the same purpose for me. In this
instance. If certain minds cannot understand
the difference between patriotism (the highest
civic virtue), and office-seekers (the lowest civic
occupation), I pity them from the bottora of my
heart. Suffice it to say, that I prefer the respect
and esteem of my countrymen to the admiration
and envy of the world, I hope, for the sake of
our cause and country, to be able, with the
assistance of kind Providence, to answer my

ANOTHER disaster. 29
calumniators with new victories over our national
enemies ; but I have nothing to ask of the
country, Government, or any friends, except to
afford me all the aid they can in the great
struggle we are now engaged. I am not either
a candidate, nor do I desire to be a candidate,
for any civil office in the gift of the people
or Executive. The aim of my arabition — after
having cast my mite In the defence of our sacred
cause, and assisting to the best of my ability In
securing our rights and independence as a nation
— is to retire into private life : my means then
permitting, never again to leave my home, unless
to fight anew the battles of my country,
" Respectfully, your most obedient servant,
« G. T, Beauregard,"
Shortly after the engagement at Bull Run,
the Federal troops met with another disaster.
An Indiana regiment, 700 strong, were taken
prisoners by some Confederate cavalry at Fall's
Church, within three miles of their fortifications
on Arlington Heights, That regiment took part in
the recent battle, and suffered severely. Being
unacquainted with the country, the troops got
lost during the " stampede," and wandered about
for several days, when, utterly exhausted, they
reached Fall's Church. Upon the scouts gettiug

30 battle of the bull run.
intelligence of the affair, a courier was at once
dispatched to Manassas, and a strong detachment
of troops was speedily on the way. The result
was the capture of the entire regiment, with such
arms and ammunition as they possessed. They
were finally removed to Richraond.
I shall wind up the account of the greatest and
most sanguinary battle ever fought on American
soil with an admirable satire, written and fur
nished to me by a personal friend, upon the
Federal disaster. As illustrative of Araerican
raodern history, and as a specimen of Southern
literature, it raay not be uninteresting : —
" ON TO RICHMOND ! "
AFTBK SOUTHEt'S "MARCH TO MOSCOW."
Major-General Scott
An order had got
To push on the column to Richmond ;
For loudly went forth,
Prom all parts of the North,
The cry that an end of the war must he made
Ll time for the regular yearly Fall Trade ;
Mr. Greeley spoke freely about the delay,
The Yankees " to hum " were all hot for the fray ;
The chivahous Grow
Declared they were slow,
And therefore the order
To march from the border
And make an excursion to Richmond.

SATIEE AFTER SOUTHEY, 31
Major-General Scott
Most hkely was not
Very loth to obey this instruction, I wot ;
In his private opinion
The Ancient Dominion
Deserved to be pUlaged, her sons to be shot.
And the reason is easily noted ;
Though this part of the earth
Had given him birth,
And medals and swords.
Inscribed with fine words.
It never for Winfield had voted.
Besides you must know that our First of Commanders,
Had sworn, quite as hard as the army in Flanders,
With his finest of armies and proudest of navies,
To wreak his old grudge against Jefferson Davis.
Then " forward the column," he said to McDoweU,
And the Zouaves, with a shout.
Most fiercely cried out,
" To Richmond or h — 11," (I omit here the vowel) ;
And Winfield, he ordered his carriage and four,
A dashing turn-out, to be brought to the door.
For a pleasant excursion to Richmond.
Major-General Scott
Had there on the spot
A splendid array
To plunder and slay ;
In the camp he might boast
Such a numerous host.
As he never had yet
In the battle-field set ;
Every class and condition of Northern society
Were in for the trip — a most varied variety :
In the camp he might hear every hngo in vogue,
" The sweet German accent, the rich Irish brogue."

32 BATTLE OF THE BULL RUN.
The " buthiful boy
From the hanks of the Shannon "
Was there to employ
His excellent cannon.
And besides the long files of dragoons and artiUery,
The Zouaves and Hussars,
All the children of Mars,
There were barbers and cooks.
And writers of books, —
The chef de cuisme with his French bills of fare.
And the artist to dress the young officers' hair.
And the scribblers all ready at once to prepare
An eloquent story
Of conquest and glory ;
And servants with numberless baskets of sUlery,
Though Wilson, the Senator, followed the train.
At a distance quite safe, to " conduct the champagne : "
While the fields were so green and the sky was so blue.
There was certainly nothing more pleasant to do
On this pleasant excursion to Richmond.
In Congress the talk, as I said, was of action.
To crush out -instanter the traitorous faction.
In the press, and the mess.
They would hear nothing less
Than to make the advance, spite of rhyme or of reason,
And at once put an end to the insolent treason.
There was Greeley,
And Ely,
The blood-thirsty Grow,
And Hickman, (the rowdy, not Hickmi(n, the beau).
And that terrible Baker
Who would seize on the South every acre,
And Webb, who would drive us all into the Gulf or
Some nameless locahty smelling of sulphur •

THE "march INTO RICHMOND." 33
And with all this bold crew
Nothing would do.
While the fields were so green and the sky was so blue,
But to march on directly to Richmond.
Then the gallant McDowell
Drove madly the rowel
Of spur that had never been " won " by him,
In the flank of his steed,
To accomplish a deed,
Such as never before had been done by him ;
And the battery called Sherman's
Was wheeled into hne,
While the beer-drinking Germans,
From Neckar and Rhine,
With Minie and Yager,
Came on with a swagger.
Full of fury and lager,
(The day and the pageant were equaUy fine.)
Oh ! the fields were so green and the sky was so blue.
Indeed 'twas a spectacle pleasant to view,
As the column pushed onward to Richmond.
Ere the march was begun,
In a spirit of fun.
General Scott, in a speech.
Said this army should teach
The Southrons the lesson the laws to obey.
And just before dusk of the third or fourth day,
Should joyfully march into Richmond.
He spoke of their drill.
And their courage and skiU,
And declared that the ladies of Richmond would rave
O'er such matchless perfection, and gracefuUy wave
In rapture their delicate 'kerchiefs in air
At their morning parades on the Capitol Square.
VOL. II. D

34 BATTLE OF THE BULL RUN.
But alack ! and alas !
Mark what soon came to pass,
When this army, in spite of his flatteries,
Amid war's loudest thunder
Must stupidly blunder
Upon those accursed " masked batteries.''
Then Beauregard came,
Like a tempest of flame.
To consume them in wrath
On their perilous path ;
And Johnston bore down in a whirlwind to sweep
Their ranks from the field
Where their doom had been sealed,
As the storm rushed over the face of the deep ;
While swift on the centre our President prest.
And the foe might descry
In the glance of his eye
The light that once blazed upon Diomed's crest.
McDowell ! McDoweU ! weep, weep for the day
When the Southrons you met in their battle array ;
To your confldent hosts with their buUets and steel
'Twas worse than CuUoden to luckless Lochiel !
Oh, the Generals were green, and old Scott is now blue,
And a terrible business, McDoweU, to you
Was that pleasant excursion to Richmond.
The capture of Richmond was the elixir for a
long time held out to revive the drooping spirits
of the Northern people, to sustain the national
credit, and attract gold to the Executive coffers.
The retreat to Washington has, I fear, pro
duced a collapse so serious that the body politic
is threatened with imminent danger ; so much so,

EFFECTS OF THE BATTLE. 35
indeed, as to necessitate a new batch of State
physicians to meet the emergency, and, if possible,
ward off the last throes of dissolution.
" As a spectacle," remarks a Southern perio
dical, " the battle of Manassas was as grand as
any that has been fought; but we must include In
that spectacle the defeat, the retreat, the flight,
the rout, the panic, the confusion, the hot and
murderous pursuit, the heat, the thirst, the hun
ger, and the fear and trembling in high places in
Washington as the news of the disastrous result
took the place of falsely-reported victory. All
America was spectator of the corabat. Ere the
pursuit and the slaughter were ended, the electric
spark had borne the news to every corner of
America, filling each honest Southern heart with
pride, gratitude, and exultation; and striking
terror, dismay, and self-abasement into every
Northem bosom."

d2

36

CHAPTER IL
OVER THE BATTLE-FIELD.
A Metamorphosed Sailor —Terpsichorean Amusements — ^A
Negro Girl— Visit to Major Walton —Arrival at Head
quarters—The Captured MaU Bag — The Sublime and the
Ridiculous — Venus versus Mars — ^The " Cow " and the
" Chickings" — A Facetious Wife — ^The Camp Bedstead —
Equestrianizing — ^Dead left on the Field — A Wounded
Prisoner — Vandalism — Abandoned Stores — Desecration
of CentrevUle Church — Defences at Manassas.
I LEFT Richmond to return to Manassas at
6 o'clock, on the morning of Wednesday, the
24th of July ; and, as early rising is one of
the " Ills of life " which I cannot well brook, had
no slight difficulty in accomplishing the feat. I
often wish that the world were more disinterested
and generous, and less interested and scrupulous,
in meting out honours to heroes ; for why should
not the man who has gained a victory over him-

A METAMORPHOSED SAILOR. 37
self be as great as a Csesar, and be reverenced
accordingly ? I am, of course, glad to find that
Solomon was of my opinion, — and think him a
very wise man in consequence.
My fellow-passengers consisted of soldiers and
civilians — the forraer going to join their respec
tive regiments, having been either sick or on fur
lough ; the latter bent on errands of mercy or
duty, although I am Inclined to think that several
were actuated by no higher impulse than that of
gratifying a morbid curiosity. One raan, who
had been a sailor in the United States' service,
particularly amused me. He had now becorae
metamorphosed into a soldier, and appeared proud
ofthe change, for he observed: —
" You can make a soldier out of a sailor ; but
shiver my timbers if you can make a sailor out of
a soldier ! "
He at one time addressed his comrades in a
hoarse voice, meant, doubtless, as innocently ironi
cal of a certain gallant general, who had lost his
voice after a few hours' campaigning at Manassas
on the Sunday previous, although he had taken
no active part in the engagement. In palliation,
I must observe that the offender was what is
jocularly termed " half-seas over," and evidently
thought it no harm to burlesque the man for
whom he was going to fight.

38 OVER THE BATTLE-FIELD.
The journey, although disagreeably protracted,
went on well enough until the train reached Gor
donsville, a distance of seventy miles, where I
was detained nearly an hour. Meanwhile, a num
ber of people had congregated In the immediate
vicinity of the station, Intent upon the same jour
ney. Some of them did not possess the necessary
" pass " from the Governor of the State or the
Secretary-at-War ; and I undertook to Intercede
with General Beauregard on behalf of a clergy
man and his young daughter (who intended minis
tering spiritual consolation to the wounded) should
they meet with any difficulty upon their arrival at
Manassas. Devotion evidently actuated me In
this proffer of friendship, but it partook more of
gallantry than religion, although I trust I am not
wanting in the latter respect at suitable times and
on proper occasions. Where is the man who will
not put himself out of the way when a lady Is in
the way ?
While awaiting the "cars," I took a cursory
view of some wounded men just brought in, whom
the enemy had left on the field in their hasty
flight during the previous Sunday. The wounded
were in a pitiful condition — so much so, indeed,
that the miserable objects were almost unapproach
able. They were stretched In "cars," upon blan
kets furnished to theni by those very "rebels'"

TERPSICHOREAN AMUSEMENTS. 39
whose land they so lately came to invade and dis
honour, and were only awaiting transit to hospitals
at Culpepper Court House and Richmond.
After having my patience pretty well tested,
the train for Manassas at length arrived. A
general rush was imraediately made for the " cars,"
which happened, however, to be already full.
Nevertheless, groups of people ascended the steps
both front and rear, and, after blocking up the
intermediate passages, took up positions outside,
some even being so adventurous as to mount on
to the roofs, thereby endangering their necks and
limbs. Here, elated by the success of Sunday's vic
tory, sorae volunteers — who werenot in the affray —
commenced a series of Terpsichorean amusements,
until I positively thought they would come through
the roof, to the manifest peril of their less jubilant
fellow-travellers pent up inside. To avert such a
calamity, I knocked up powerfully with my um
brella — a thing for which I have a peculiar attach
ment, and a worse might be formed — but it was
of no avail. On they danced, the fragile timbers
yielding and creaking beneath their lusty tread,
which was anything but a manifestation of the
" light fantastic toe " business. Worn out by
exertion — for pleasure is often a pain — they
finally desisted, to my infinite composure and gra
tification.

40 OVER THE BATTLE-FIELD.
Meanwhile I had been undergoing the horrors
of suffocation, and it afforded me no relief to
know that others were similarly situated. Feeling
anything but corafortable, and somewhat appre
hensive of continuing in so confined a position, I
made a desperate effort to regain the front of the
" car." Had I a corpulent physique I dare not
have attempted such a struggle ; indeed, as It was,
my poor corpus got nearly squeezed to nothing.
" Thank Heaven I" I involuntarily ejaculated, on
accomplishing my purpose, " I now breathe freely
at last !" Here, in front of the " car," having
scarcely roora to stand erect, I continued for
nearly an hour, holding on by an iron rod, with
some half dozen or raore persons, who had sought
the same refuge, for corapanions. By-and-bye.an
additional "car" was attached to the train, which
but slightly relieved the over-crowding. We
jogged on slowly — very slowly — half-baked from
the sun, which sent his piercing rays right through
the frail timber-work, until the heat was almost,
unendurable. Occasionally the train would play the most
pertinacious pranks, and cut the most cabalistic
capers. While jogging along on the "even
tenour of its way" — which It seldom kept for any
considerable time — suddenly it would take an un
accountable retrograde movement, then bound

A NEGRO GIRL, 41
forward with a jerk that lifted me from my feet.
One moment it would halt without any assignable
reason, and the next roll backward with a very
un-euphoneous sound — ^just, for all the world, as
if the railroad were a chess-board and the train
provokingly bent upon playing a game ! These
violent and repeated movements hither and thither,
anywhere and nowhere, coupled with the oppressive
heat, brought on exhaustion, which necessarily
created thirst. But the temporary relief of water
was not available — a most unusual circumstance
in American railway travelling. Some of the
cisterns (usually attached to the " cars") had been
broken ; all the others had run dry, and seemed
in a wretched condition of drought themselves.
In vain was the faucet turned, re-turned, and
manoeuvred in various ways. Not one drop of
liquid would reward the toil of the most per
severing and delicate operator ! At length, after
much weary waiting, the train arrived at an inter
mediate station, where cries of
" Water !" " Water !" " Bring us some water I"
resounded from every " car."
A little negro girl who had been present rushed
to the rescue; and having procured, at a neigh
bouring cottage, a bucket of this refrigerative
drink, reached it to one of the soldiers, who, after
slaking his own thirst, sent it round from hand to

42 OVER THE BATTLE-FIELD,
hand until the contents were exhausted, when It
was replenished again and again. In this manner
were all the thirsty souls supplied. The little
negro girl to whora T refer had " done the State
some service" by her attention to the volunteers
that day ; and I see no reason why such a
meritorious act should go unrewarded, 1 love to
see "virtue" (even in the dark race) "In humble
life," more especially when, as in the present in
stance, it was "its own reward!"
Finally, after much fumbling and grumbling,
the train arrived at Manassas Junction, rather late
In the afternoon. Here a scene of confusion en
sued, more easily Imagined than described ; in
fact, It baffles description. Soldiers were vainly
inquiring the way to their regiments, which they
could not find ; relatives were as fruitlessly seek
ing the whereabouts of their friends ; while others
(spectators, I suppose) did not know where to go,
or what to do. I never beheld such looks of utter
discomfiture as I witnessed on many countenances.
The tiny hotel at the Junction, where a few days
before one might, perchance, have got a trifle to
eat, and perhaps a bed on the boards, was now
turned into a hospital, and its stout, lusty, good-
natured host gone — Heaven knows where ! The
young lady (and her papa), whom I had taken
under my protection, and to whom I had proffered

VISIT TO MAJOR WALTON, 43
my friendly offices, was nowhere to be found, I
looked for her in vain ; but it appeared to me as
if the earth had swallowed her up ; so I had to
abandon further pursuit of the interesting creature
— rendered interesting solely, good reader, I assure
you, on account of the praiseworthy mission upon
which she was bent ; for who does not love and
admire a woman when she becomes a messenger
of mercy I
As time was advancing, and the shades of
evening were fast closing over the busy scene, it
was urgent that I should make a move. First of
all, I started for General Beauregard's head-quar
ters, but, to my surprise, was informed that he had
removed, with his Staff, to another house about
two miles distant. Weak, and Indeed hungry, for
I had partaken of no .solid food during the day, I
wandered for awhile listlessly about. While
observing the newly-erected breastworks and
fortifications, I met with my friend Dr, Cullen, of
General Longstreet's brigade. To hira I detailed
my position.
" Oh ! " observed he, " Major Walton, whom I
have lately parted from, has a marquee yonder.
You will be sure to obtain sorae refreshment there,
before you proceed to head-quarters."
After rauch difficulty and endless inquiries, I
discovered the gallant Major, vvho happened to be

44 OVER THE BATTLE-FIELD.
temporarily separated from his battalion. Having
warmly Interchanged courtesies — for I had not
seen him since before the actions of the 18th and
2 Ist, in which his artillery took an active and
dangerous part — I observed,
" Major, let me have a biscuit and even a glass
of water, for I feel exhausted."
"I have neither, I regret to say," was the
response; "I ara literally 'used up;' and am
awaiting supplies. As for the water, the wells
have nearly run dry, and there is scarcely any to
be had."
" When I see a poor devil worse off than myself,
I pity hira," I continued, at the same time drain
ing the last drop of brandy that remained in a
flask which I carried, and handing the cup to the
Major. He accepted the same with good grace, and
swallowed its contents with avidity.
After bidding my worthy friend " good even
ing," and wishing him " better luck shortly," I
sallied forth, carpet-bag In hand, for the General's
quarters. From the fact of being frequently
misdirected, I got entangled in a wood, and
almost lost my way. The trees had been exten
sively cut down, to form an abatis ; so I found
the obstruction considerable. These impediments
having been designed to harass and annoy the

ARRIVAL AT HEAD-QUARTERS. 45
invading enemy, should he approach near enough
to the Confederate entrenchments, I thought it
hard that one of her Britannic Majesty's subjects
— very far, indeed, from being a foe — should
experience the inconveniences designed for others
of less friendly intentions. However, I sum
moned up courage and fought my way manfully
through the thicket, receiving only a few slight
scratches during the rencounter.
" Heaven be praised ! " I exclaimed, upon get
ting clear of the dusky wood, and alighting upon
a road. Fortunately, I discovered an ambulance
moving forward ; so having made the driver draw
up, I scrambled my way in, and jogged along
upon my knees — anything but a luxurious mode
of travelling, especially in a heavy vehicle and
over a rough highway. In a short tirae I was
brought in front of General Beauregard's recent
head-quarters, at Ware's House, on the Centre
ville Road, and felt relieved, for I knew I should
meet with the needful hospitality there. Having
passed the sentry at the lodge gate — who at first
seemed rather unwilling to admit rae, but whose
qualms of soldierly conscience quickly subsided
upon showing my authority, although he "had
positive orders to let nobody pass the gate" — I
duly announced myself, and was received with
the same urbanity, and, indeed, cordiality, that I

46 OVER THE BATTLE-FIELD.
had hitherto experienced, both from the General
and his Staff. After congratulating General
Beauregard upon the reraarkable victory of Sun
day, and his miraculous escape, I was politely
ushered Into "supper;" and I verily believe that
never before In my life did I enjoy a meal with
such gusto.
During and after the evening's repasjt, much
desultory conversation took place. The General
looked remarkably well, and in unusually high
spirits, although one would naturally imagine that
the excessive fatigue he underwent but three days
before would have utterly prostrated him. Of
course the recent battle, and the chief incidents
connected therewith, were the leading topics of
interest and conversation. In this respect the
contest was fought over again, with, evidently,
renewed delight. With what pleasurable, if not
ecstatic feeling, did Wellington and Washington,
and even Napoleon In his bleak exile, recall their
hard-won victories? So will it one day be with
lieauregard — for the battle of Manassas was pre
eminently his battle, having been planned, re-
planned, and carried out by him, I make this
remark without any invidious object, or In the
least wishing to abstract one justly-earned laurel
from the brow of General Johnston, now the
Commander-in-chief of the army of the Potomac.

THE CAPTURED MAIL-BAG. 47
I siraply desire to uphold the apophthegm,
" Honour to whom honour is due ! "
THE CAPTURED MAIL-BAG.
During a rather discursive conversation, en
livened by occasional sallies of wit and humour,
the captured mail-bag of the " Grand Army"
carae upon the tapis. So, after hearing some
epistles read, and perusing others, I adjourned to
my friend Colonel Chisolm's tent (where I was to
be quartered), in corapany with another Staff
officer, to be entertained by sirailar effusions until
"the clock told the hour for retiring" — to bed.
Some of those letters are not only racy but rabid ;
while others again exhibit the low moral status
that Is, I fear, too frequently found among
Northern soldiers, and the little patriotism that,
in many instances, sustains their valour. The fol
lowing extracts may be taken as fair specimens of the
general style and sentiment that pervade the entire
correspondence, coraprising five hundred letters.
One epistle, dated "Berlin, Conn., July 19,"
is particularly indicative of Northern feeling to
wards the Secessionists. It is addressed by a
father to his son. After a soraewhat prosy exor
dium with reference to the haying season, and the
condition of grass, potatoes, and corn crops gene
rally, paterfamilias grows warm, romantic, and

48 OVER THE BATTLE-FIELD.
even patriotic. Thus he handles the Federal mili
tary leaders : —
" Lyon and M'CleUan are Conn." (Connecticut)
" boys — the only ones who have done much. We
are getting out of patience with Scott. We like
the spirit of Congress, We want the rebellion
crushed, and the traitors hung; and the sooner
the better. Brag has been plenty at the South ;
pluck is lacking. We want it understood that we
acknowledge no inferiority at the North 
I still hope you will move on and conquer
Richmond before you return — but the hope is
faint." I must give this old man some credit for kindly
feeling ; for he only wishes that the Tories in the
House of Representatives were " at Weathersfield
working for a living."
The young soldier apparently must have grown
tired even of his short service, for he consults his
father respecting his chance of obtaining a situa
tion of au easier and more lucrative kind under
Government. His father replies with charac
teristic sagacity : —
" I hope there will be a clearing out of the
Augean Stable soon. Congress seems determined
to sweep out Secessionists, as they ought. If so,
your application should be made Iraraediately.
The Government, and others, would write Mr.

the SUBLIME AND THE RIDICULOUS, 49
Welles, If no application, or very few, have
come frora the eastern part of the State, you
would be likely to succeed."
A correspondent at Wilton waxes warm, and
even wroth, perhaps having imbibed too much
during " the glorious 4th of July," which he tells
his friend had just passed over. Then, as if to
" improve the occasion," — after the manner of dis
senting preachers, — he dashes off into declamatory
eloquence, and puts a number of interrogatives, to
which he himself replies : —
" What," he indignantly asks, "did we celebrate
the 4th of July for? In corameraoration of our
freedom" (Italicised) " from British chains. I ask,
are we a free people to-day ? Far from it. Our
brethren are already In the field, waiting to meet
that old devil, J.D., let loose from that hot h — l-hole
of Southem slavery I"
Then, in order to stimulate the patriotism pf
his friend, by the twofold consideration of country
and pecuniary interest, he observes : —
" When you go to battle, remember the good
old flag you are fighting under, and how much it
cost ; and do your duty to preserve it !"
Finally, the writer, after so much effervescence,
grows flat and cool, and winds up his correspon
dence by observing : —
"Then you think you will come home when
VOL, II. E

50 OVER THE BATTLE-FIELD.
your three months are out 1 How long before
that expires 1 I hope you will live to come home,
and no doubt you will  We are now
getting in hay — a little different frora a soldier's
life. Mowing is different from shooting : is not
that so f '
Another letter, dated frora the " National Hotel,
Washington, July 16," Is addressed to one " Came
Dear." On the top of the not e paper is a coloured
print representing an artillerist firing a gun, over
which floats the American Stars and Stripes. This
communication Is interesting for several reasons.
It describes the status of the Northern soldiers,'
and the privations which they undergo. The
writer appears to be more inspired by Venus than
by Mars, and even hints that he might desert the
service of theiatter for that of the former. He
also boasts of his constancy to " Carrie," and in
dulges In sentimental reverie at times, and even
matrimonial anticipations : —
" At last a line from you was received, it showed marks
of much travel the envelope was worn tiirough showing
plainly a long and cercuitous march ; 'twas, oh, how wel
come ! You cannot conceive what a lone wilderness it is
here, aU home connections sundered, none but rough savage
men for companions, and men you know I never admired
for associates, but now nothing but men, I have not spolien
to any female since I left the state of Maine. Strange stat«
of things for me. Carrie dear, did you know how short was
your letter a few words and aU was ended. Did you think

VENUS VERSUS MARS. 51
how the value of letters increased, with increase of dis
tance ? Surrounded constantly with the confusion of camps,
the din of preparation for war, the bugle almost daily
sounding the advance, Could you for one minuote been an
observer of the scene our regiment presented at Alexandria.
We got into the Depot, about mid-night, a thousand weary
men, dropped down upon the floor, UteraUy paving it with
living, sleeping forms soon might have been seen an officer,
distinguished by a green Sash, showing him to be a Surgeon,
walking up & down trying to find a Jai-e place, about six
feet by two, but in vain I wrapped my over-coat round me,
& wandered out on the streets of Alexandria, but but was
soon brought to a halt by the hoarse orders of a Zouave
sentinel, to, stand. He struck a match & looked me over
said aU was right, invited me to their guard house, ofiered
me a blanked on the floor of the faraous Marshell Hous,
which is used for a guard house now. I was soon in a pro
found snoze, & slept tiU the bugle sounded the advance.
My first experience on sleeping on a blanket. There was
but little poetry, that could be squezed out of the perform
ance. It was however better than a bed in the gutter or
on the sidewalk. No breakfast no dinner, hard beef &
bread for supper. But no metter I am in exceUent health,
& that makes aUelse right. I cannot tell you where to
direct your next letter, but will when I get settled let you
know but how long you waited It seemed an age, is it
always ones fate when far away to be forgotten almost. The
past shines up brightly in my evening reverie & home plea
sures, & loved ones scenes past never to be forgotten intrude
constantly, not unwelcome reminesceces, will never while
Ufe lasts be forgotten. When a home & loved ones never
shaU once be my own, shall never more desire to wonder,
the time will soon pass away, but shaU I find all as I left ?
or wiU the cold glance of scarce recoUection greet me, when
this long anticipated time comes. If such should be my
fate my stay wiU be short, & would not nor could not hve
E 2

52 OVEE THE BATTLE-FIELD,
where all could serve only to recall the happy past, which
could only add a pang to the then present. I know it will
not be so, & wiU not indulge in thoughts Uke these.''
A lady who signs herself " Jane " writes from
Morristown to her " absent, though not forgotten
Charley." After describing a volunteer regiment
that had just left that town for the Seat of War,
she somewhat ominously observes : —
" It was a solemn sight to see fathers carrying
their sons to the field of battle, to suffer they
know not how much — to be buried they know not
where ! "
In the sarae letter I find a simple, but some
what ridiculous, request, viz. —
" I would like your miniature after you get your
uniform ; " with the intimation, " you should have
mine, if I had it."
A wife writes thus to her husband from South
Norwalk : —
" Dear James — I am very sorry to hear that you
have to go to war ; but I trust in God you will
come back safe. . . I see the newspapers every
day, and see how many there Is killed and wounded;
It makes me feel so bad, that I almost think every
day a week long, until your time is up!"
A poor, lonely wife, whora no feeling of pa
triotisra can reconcile to her newly - bereaved
condition, writes from South Norwalk (July 14)

THE " cow" AND THE " CHICKINGS." 53
to her spouse, in a strain which admirably com
bines the sauviter in modo with the fortiter in re.
The letter is worthy of being reproduced : —
"Deare Husband. I received youre letter safe and was
glad you did not sufer much, the money com in good time.
i had bought two pigs and wos hard up for cash, times is
hard heard and money shose skerce. i wont you to write
and lett me know what time you will be home sos I' can get
som close made ready fur you. I wear ben to church.
herd Brother woley preach, the Rev. Doctor tod is Dead.
I heve tarying with me a lady and she comenc a select
school hear tomorrow, httle mary is not weU to day. I
heav a good menny chickings and the cow is flrst rate and I
wont you to come home as soon as posable. time semes so
long sinse you went away, wee are aU well, except mary.
we think it is babby sore mouth, she never had it before.
so good by from your wife. Sakah Jane."
What a pity the poor fellow did not receive
this letter ! He would have been undone as
quickly and effectually as Sampson in the hands
of Delilah ! He might be enabled to withstand
the blandishments of woman ; might, perhaps, be
moved somewhat by patriotic principles ; but the
probability is, that the "cow" and the "chick
ings" would absorb all minor considerations.
Another wife addresses her husband (belonging
to the 3d Washington Regiment) in the follow
ing strain ; and the same burden runs through
most of the feminine correspondence : —
" If you want to march anywhere, march home.

54 OVER THE BATTLE-FIELD,
This Is the place for you. Oh ! when will you be
home ? I am afraid you will never be home If you
go with the rest. Oh, don't go — don't !"
An Individual, the Intellectual and moral calibre
of whose mind is far from being of an exalted
order, thus writes from Norwalk to his " friend
Charies : "—
" I want You to come home, donte you enlist
In any darned cavelry, to Hell with thera. when
Youre time Is up, come home, where you can have
Youre," etc.
I must make a Hiatus here, as the context Is
unfit for publication. This letter, which Is written
on a folio sheet of paper, was subsequently pre
sented by me to the Hon. Mr. Brown, Assistant-
Secretary of State.
A wife, who does not sign her name, addresses
her husband, and urges his return, as follows : —
" W. Meriden July 16th 1861
" Dear Husband since I wrote you this morning I have
heard that the Gentleman from Meriden buisness were to
have all of the rigments unlist over a gain 1 want you to
write and tell me if you are a going to stay there any
longer then your three mounth out do not stay if you get a
thousand a mounth unless you want to get rid of me for I
cannot stay hear in so much excitement much longer for I
am aU wore out. now I have be sick a most all of the time
since you left home do not stay I want you to write me as
soon as you get this and give me a desided answer so I may
npw what to depend a pon So Good by My Dear for the
present "

A FACETIOUS WIFE. 55
One " Harry " addresses his cousin " Will
Morton," from Boston, informing him of the
motive which induced him to turn soldier, and the
reason why he is deterred ; neither, however, are
flattering to his patriotism. He remarks : —
" Will Morton, you do not know how I wish I
were going with you. Business is nowhere these
times. Mother is afraid I shall go, and I should
go if it was not for Mary, and it has taken all her
power now to keep me at home, Ifl could leave
her well provided for I would go instanter ; but,
Morton, these woraen think war Is awful, and so
it Is ; and it is also hard for mother to part with
son, and wife with husband — but who does not
wish to rush to sustain the glorious fiag, and
save the country from the ruthless invader and
tyrant? , . , , It is a great honour, indeed, to
fight for one's country, and to fight under such a
Commander-in-chief as General Scott. Oh !
may he be spared to carry us through this trying
scene ! "
A soldier is addressed by his wife, from "Durhara,
July 9," who signs her letter, " One who pines to
see you," This " loving wife " grows very face
tious, and manifests none of the indications of
sorrow. She writes thus : —
" Uncle wants to see you when you get back.
Abbie must up and be sick last night — hot enough

56 OVER THE BATTLE-FIELD.
to kill folks— she has got a sonny this time.
Don't you wish you was papa? this hot weather,
and would It suit you ? Don't despair. Better
tiraes coraing, when the war Is over. Don't you
think so?"
" AU I can offer you is a blanket," said General
Beauregard to me, as we were parting for the
night ; and certainly I did not expect nor desire
more. I had to put up with the sarae solitary
covering, and a carpet-bag for a pillow, on former
occasions ; so with an oil-cloth under me, and a
blanket In which to enwrap myself, with the stars
for torches, I should have luxuriated on the green
sward as much as the epicure who courts the
yielding softness of a downy couch. While my
bed was arranging, I turned out of tent and
perched myself on the garden fence, where I
smoked my meerschaura like a philosopher, mean
time ruminating, amid the darkness and stillness,
upon the eventful contest of the previous Sunday,
and anon " Watching the flight of bodies of Ught ; "
although, unlike the sage in the song, keeping
midnight vigils, there was no danger of my mis
taking lustrous feminine orbs for their sister
spheres! Shortly, one of Afric's swarthy sons
announced the agreeable Intelligence —

THE CAMP BEDSTEAD. 57
"All is ready, massa ! "
When, having grown tired of abstractions, I
shook the ashes from out my pipe, and, leavlno-
stars to romantic lovers, proceeded to my quar
ters. Here, to my surprise, within a comfortable
tent, I found a camp-bedstead and a very cozy-
looking bed indeed, prepared for my reception,
with nothing worse to " murder sleep " than some
large flies which, like evil-doers, seeraed to dread
the light, for they took refuge in the apex of the
marquee, and evidently felt uneasy.
Having undergone the troublesome operation
of undressing — thanks to our civilization, which
necessitates many other inconveniences — I folded
my garments and placed them on the foot of the
bed, as chairs and wardrobes are luxuries not
appurtenant to camps. I had only just reclined,
and was upon the point of falling into the gentle
embraces of Morpheus, when, with a sharp harsh
sound, that almost set my teeth on edge, I found
my support going from under me. By Jupiter !
it was too bad ! The canvas at one side of the
bedstead had taken summary leave of the tiny
nails that attached it to the timber frame-work ;
consequently I had no slight difficulty in main
taining my equilibrium during the night, which
I succeeded In accomplishing by a number
of " strategic movements," probably unknown

58 OVER THE BATTLE-FIELD.
in military experience. The camp-bedstead
had, to all appearance, never been used before,
but It was now fairly " used up." So I perceived
that military contractors were no better or more
conscientious in Richmond than in other places —
in the new than in the old country.
Next morning I rose rather early, although not
with the lark — I wonder at what time this re
spectable bird goes to roost ? — and took as exten
sive an ablution as was possible, considering that
no bath rooms or bath apparatus are attached to
camps, I accomplished the troublesome routine
of the toilet, too, without the aid of a lookino--
glass — a feat which would have been death to a
woman ! If ever Southern dames should take It
into their heads to turn Amazons (the thing is not
unhkely), and adopt any more forraidable weapons
than their own arms and tongues to stay the
inroad of the enemy, trust me, a mirror is an
article they will not dispense with.
After sniffing the morning air for awhile, and
enjoying the quiet beauty of the landscape— for
Nature in these regions appeared as calm as Ifthe
din of battle had never disturbed her serenity —
breakfast was announced. For those who, like
myfeelf, are accustomed to take their first meal in
bed, there is a particular charm in " going down to
breakfast ; " but it is a charm, nevertheless, which

EQUESTRIANIZING, 59
diminishes with its frequency. The General and
his Staff were all present at table, so, after inter
changing no end of " good mornings," I pre
pared heartily to renew my physical powers.
Although the table did not groan beneath the
weight of luxuries, still there was a plenteous
supply of necessary comforts — a fact which would
scarcely obtain credence in the North, where the
Southern army has been long represented as in a
semi-state of starvation.
When this simple, but substantial repast was
over. General Beauregard sent written instructions
to his " aide," Colonel Chisolm, to conduct me
over the battle-ground. For this purpose the
General had kindly placed his private ambulance
at my disposal ; but as I was iijforraed that such
a conveyance could not possibly ti;avel to sorae
spots of interest on the field, owing to the absence
of proper roads, nothing was left but to make " a
virtue of necessity," and equestrlanize. Now, this
was a kind of exercise to which I had not been
accustomed — for my ambition In this way never
reached higher than a mule's back ; and my eques
trian experience was hitherto entirely confined
to scaling a few Swiss mountains, and journeying
from Turin to Superga— the burial-place of the
Sardinian Kings— on the species of quadruped
already mentioned. At length a pretty little nag

60 OVER THE BATTLE-FIELD,
was saddled for ray use — a quiet, docile creature,
warranted not to run away with its rider, or
Indulge in eccentricities with Its hind legs. So I
mounted the animal, and made a tentative attempt
at horsemanship — although not without some de
gree of misgiving, I confess. Of course, I endea
voured to become "master of the situation," and
to hold rayself erect and look as much at ease as
possible, thinking the while of John Gilpin and
the ridiculous figure he cut on a similar occasion,
to the astonishment of all the villagers.
We capered along at rather a slow pace at first,
through fields and woods, down declivities, and
over streams — where sometimes the animal I rode
would persistently refuse to stir a step until I had
slaked Its thirst, notwithstanding all the pettings
and coaxings, a la Rarey, and sundry kicks in the
side, which It received. Soraetiraes, as I passed
stray groups of citizen-sol diers^-who Invariably
gave the military salute — I fancied that they took
particular notice of my unskilled horsemanship ;
but I consoled myself by the reflection, that they
were but novices in military experience, as I was
in the new art to which I aspired.
Colonel Chisolm finally apprized me that we
were in close proximity to the battle-field— a
fact, indeed, easily perceptible from the intolerable
effluvia which assailed my nostrils. Here my

DEAD LEFT ON THE FIELD, 6 I
reflections became sombre and solemn — for horror
gives horrent shapes to thought — and the enor
mity of civil war seized upou my mind with
absorbing force — an Internecine war for which
there was no necessity, and which has thrown all
Europe into comraotion, " Good Heavens ! "
thought I, " and is It thus that the Great Republic
has ended ? — the " Model Republic," of which
Americans have been so justly proud, and which
monarchical nations have so long regarded with
interest and respect ?"
It was not long ere I arrived at the spot where
the mighty action was fought which has shed
glory on the Southern arms, and given an Euro
pean prestige to the Confederacy that, perhaps,
it could not otherwise — or, at least, so readily
have obtained. The country that but a few
days before had looked so luxuriantly beautiful,
now appeared blighted. Rich corn-crops were
trodden down and destroyed by the hoofs of
cavalry and the tread of infantry ; while exube
rant meadow-fields were upturned as If a plough
share had been driven through thera. The deep
ruts raade by gun carriage and waggon-wheels
were perceptible everywhere ; and everything In
dicated that a fierce and terrible conflict had
lately taken place. Numerous dead bodies of the
enemy, too, lay about In all directions, the intense

62 OVER THE BATTLE-FIELD,
heat of the sun rendering them intolerable to
approach, I became forcibly reminded of what
General Beauregard observed to me some hours
before : —
" The Northern hordes come to Invade our soil;
but the portion I shall give each man is six feet by
two ! "
Some of the enemy's batteries I also observed
in position, with the horses attached to them,
lying lifeless and welteringin the very places where
they had fallen. The fields and roads frora Stone
Bridge, and along the Turnpike-road to Centre
ville, bore numerous traces of the sanguinary
rencontre. The ground was literally covered with
bandages, bloody garments, coat.s, caps, canteens,
wadding, shoes, stockings, and other wearing
apparel, besides rations ; and here and there dead
horses, and portions of artillery-carriages, cais
sons, and ambulances. In some places I noticed
clots of blood which so saturated the earth, that
the incessant heavy rain of the previous Monday
did not obliterate the crimson stains. Although
in the dread presence of death — and death so
Inexpressibly terrible to look upon — the sight of
the shoes and stockings (and even more indispen
sable articles, needless to particularize) was too
much for my risibility to resist. Imagination
vividly conjured up the " Grand Array " divesting

A WOUNDED PRISONER, 63
themselves of these slight, and even necessary
encumbrances, in order to facilitate their flight,
which, no doubt, was accelerated by the impres
sion that Beauregard, by the employment of
Faustic skill, had erected " masked batteries in
the air" — an idea for which I am indebted to the
General himself.
Having reached the encampment of the
17th Virginia Regiment, Colonel Chisolm and
myself alighted and partook of some slight
refreshment, kindly furnished to us by Colonel
Withers, who took an honourable and onerous
part in the recent affray. The sun was scorch-
ingly hot, so a draught of new sweet milk was
very acceptable, and tasted like the nectar of the
gods, I then sat down on the grass, under the
shade of a tree, with several officers, smoked a
pipe, and listened to sundry interesting reminis
cences of the previous fight. Subsequently
Colonel Withers accompanied me to his marquee,
where I was presented to a wounded officer.
Colonel Wood, of the Brooklyn Zouaves, to
whora the utmost attention and kindness had
been extended. That very morning — fully three
days after the battle — the unfortunate sufferer
was accidentally discovered in a neighbouring
thicket, whither he had crawled after being dis
abled. A few of his command remained with

64 OVER THE BATTLE-FIELD.
him, attended to his wounds, and brought him
water — the only refreshment they could procure.
This Is a deed of soldierly heroism worthy of
being recorded.
I had some desultory conversation with the
wounded officer, who appeared so gentlemanly
and amiable, that I was not surprised to learn
he was highly esteemed by his command.
" How much better," said I to him, " that a
milder measure than war should have been
resorted to, and that the unfortunate differences
which have severed both sections of the country
should have been met by mutual concessions?"
" Indeed," said the poor exhausted man, with a
look sb piteous that it penetrated my very soul —
" Indeed, better it had been so. We might have
done without bloodshed what we yet 8hall_ be
obliged to do even with it!"
Colonel Wood seemed deeply sensible of the
kindness and hospitality shown to him by an
enemy at whose hands he was led to expect
no mercy, and from whose hearts no compassion,
I was credibly informed that the Federal prisoners
in Southern hospitals have frequently wept,
owing to the uniformly kind manner in which
they had been treated. It seems, I fear, a
prevalent idea with Northerners that the Con
federate soldiers are destitute of the common

VANDALISM, 65
feelings and amenities of humanity ; and that no
quarter need be expected should the fortune of
war place them at their mercy,
"Kill me if you like," observed a wounded
man to a Southerner, who approached him as he
was lying helpless on the field — " Kill me if you
like, I am a true citizen and Southerner, but
was forced into the thing ! Kill me If you
like!" After taking farewell of Colonel Withers and
his officers, we set out on further explorations.
As we proceeded to Centreville I found the
same indications of a bloody conflict that I had met
with during the former portion of my journey :
rich fields trodden down, com crops destroyed,
houses burnt to the ground — a species of Van
dalism intolerable In the nineteenth century !
In yonder cottage dwelt an aged bed-ridden
woman and two grown daughters, who surely
thought that no one would be cruel enough to
injure or disturb them. The helpless woman was
shot in her bed !
Observe that farm-house on the right. It
looks very unpretentious, and plainly indicates
that the owner is but a struggling man. The
Federalists entered here, robbed the poor fellow
of two horses, spoiled his farm, and took every
portion of food provided for himself, his wife and
VOL. II. ^

66 OVER THE BATTLE-FIELD.
a family of eight children, some of them mere
infants — so that for twenty-four hours, or longer,
they had no means whatever of procuring food.
I had this Intelligence frora the lips of the injured
man himself. Here also I ascertained the follow
ing incidents : —
Mr. Alfred Ely, raember of the United States'
Congress, during the rout lay down in a field, and
pretended to be asleep. Upon being discovered
by one of General Beauregard's "aides," he held
out his hand in friendly recognition of a forraer
friend, which questionable mark of friendship was
indignantly spurned. When taken prisoner he
alleged as an excuse that " he had only come out
to see the fight !" — an expression of feeling which
was appreciated as It deserved.
Some time after the rout began, Miles' reserve
made a stand on the heights above Centreville ;
but as the scattered array approached the wing
broke, and pushed on towards Alexandria.
A commissary-sergeant, who had been shot
by a Federal picket, had on his person seven
hundred and fifty dollars in gold. From a note
book found In his pocket, it appeared that he
was engaged in administering the oath of alle
giance to Northern soldiers, for which the
authorities allowed him twenty-five cents a-piece,
I continued my ride in company with Colonel

ABANDONED STORES. 67
Chisolm, visiting sundry hospitals, temporarily
improvised, and depots for the reception of the
enemy's waggons, stores, etc, abandoned on the
field, until I arrived at General Longstreet's head
quarters at Centreville, eight miles distant frora
Manassas Junction. Here luncheon was promptly
prepared for us by the hospitable and brave
soldier, whose name will long be remerabered In
connection with the battle of Blackburn Ford (at
which he commanded) as well as with that of
Manassas, or Bull Run. The luncheon formed a
portion of the manubial stores left behind during
the precipitate flight of Sunday, and consisted of
preserved tripe — a very delicate dish, reader, 1
assure you. They apparently preserve every
thing well in the North except the Constitution ;
but this, having been so fingered and fly-blown,
has, for a long time, savoured of corruption,
which, I fear, no available antiseptic can restore,
even If attempted by the most experienced poli
tical mani^lator. I cannot well tell how it was
I so relished that tripe. Huraan nature is a
heterogeneous amalgamation — a combination of
incongruities — an incomprehensible mass of con
flicting elements. Was the delicious flavour I
experienced an intrinsic component of this deli
cate, delicious edible? — or was It entirely, or even
partially, produced by the subtle consciousness of
f2

68 OVER THE BATTLE-FIELD,
how it had been procured? Verily, I cannot
answer. All I know is, that I enjoyed it im
mensely. This savoury edible having been fol
lowed by a copious draught of brandy and water
— very necessary to assist digestion, and keep up
the exudatory action of the body's surface during
such a warm season — General Longstreet directed
my attention to the little Episcopal Church on
the hill, within a few yards of the carap, which he
recommended rae to visit.
After a little, I acted upon the General's sug
gestion, and was perfectly horrified upon behold
ing the sacrilegious raanner in which an edifice,
devoted to the worship of the Omnipotent, had
been desecrated and polluted by the Federal
troops, who had been quartered therein on tbe
night preceding the battle. There can be no
palliation for such a crirae. I do not believe that
an array of Invading barbarians would have thus
done violence to the religious feelings and senti
ments of the human family. Several soldiers and
some civilians were In the church when I entered,
having astonishment depicted on their countenan
ces, I found every portion of the walls covered over
with writing, even to those of the vestry; while as
much of the ceiling as could be reached from the
pulpit and gallery was also defaced. For the
most part the disfigurement consisted of simple
signatures, many of them German ; but in several

DESECRATION OF A CHURCH, 69
instances I noticed lengthy sentences, grossly
abominable expressions (in large characters), and
the most disgustingly obscene figures drawn on
the walls, and even on the wood-work of the
gallery. The very neighbourhood of the altar
was not respected, for. In close proximity to it, I
observed the words —
"Death to Traitors ! thus saith the Lord !" to
gether with a cartoon, representing President
Davis suspended by the neck, elucidated by the
sententious sentence, "J. D., the son of a  !"
"Death to Secessionists !" however, seemed to
have been the favourite motto, for I noticed it
inscribed everywhere.
The following sentence, being more pretentious
than the rest, I copied into my note-book. It
was written in the centre of the wall, at the right-
hand side of the altar : —
" Citizens of Virginia, your cowardly acts will
certainly fall upon your own heads. You will,
like Haman, be hanged upon your own gallows !
You will find that the way of transgressors is
hard, and that the war, which you have brought
on by your own acts, will leave your native homes
desolate, and many of your rebellious brothers
sleeping In traitors' graves.
" A Supporter of the Constitution
OF the U. S. a., and a Lover of
THE Old Stars and Stripes."

70 OVER THE BATTLE-FIELD.
"A Daniel come to judgment," truly ! What
a contrast this blatant prophecy presents to the
Ignominious "stampede" that took place a few
short hours after all this was written! L'liomme
propose et Dieu dispose. I was struck by one 'sen
tence underneath that already quoted; and as
it is worthy (from the contrast it presents and the
moral it conveys) of more extensive circulation
than it can possibly obtain In the village church
where now it cannot be read by those for whose
special benefit it was Intended, I trust Colonel
Withers will excuse me for thus giving such
prominence and publicity to his name : —
" John Withers, 1 7th Virginia Volunteers, takes
it upon himself to say, that the writing upon the
wall Is a sure Indication of the qualities of' the
Vandal hordes of Abolitionists whora true Sou
thern MEN are fighting against."
Whilst engaged In examining the " handwriting
on the wall," — which on another occasion was the
precursor of terrible disasters — I met with the
worthy Mayor of Richraond, Mr. Mayo, to w^hom
I waa presented. This gentleraan seeraed greatly
affected at the painful and disgusting sight, and
proposed to handsomely remunerate anybody who
would carefully copy all the inscriptions and figures
in the church. He is an admirable representative
of the civic office, and his good-fellowship and

EETURN TO HEAD-QUAETERS, 71
portly figure forcibly reminded me of a London
turtle-loving Lord Mayor,
I was glad to turn out of the church, for my
eyes had grown weary and my heart pained at
the sights I witnessed, which I could not have
believed possible had I not ocular demonstration
of the fact, I rode to head-quarters by the same
route I had come, with the exception of passing
over the battle-ground of Blackburn's Ford, where
but few and slight indications remained of the
gory fight of Thursday, the 18th July, beyond
the torn-up ground and some bullet-marks in
trees. It was a memorable journey — one never
to be forgotten.
I returned to head-quarters rather fatigued, my
mind, too, being burdened with sombre and so
lemn irapressions. Shortly afterwards " supper "
was announced, to which I repaired with any
thing but a vivid appetite. General Beauregard
questioned me as to the Impressions I had formed
during the day's excursion, and I endeavoured to
answer the brave soldier's inquiries to the best of
my ability. Conversation finally assuraed a dis
cursive character. Upon asking how it happened
that the enemy had left his dead in such nurabers
unburied on the field, I was informed that a flag
of truce had been sent in, accorapanied by a dis
patch addressed " To the General Commanding

72 OVER THE BATTLE-FIELD,
Forces at Manassas," for permission to perform
the usual rite of sepulture, which request was
refused, as the document In question had been
improperly and even offensively superscribed.
Thus, In order to gratify personal vanity, and to
maintain a ridiculous etiquette and the assump
tion of military superiority, the feelings and duties
of humanity were ignobly set aside by the Com
manders of the Federal army. So the enemy's
dead were left for several days together, festering
in the sun and polluting the atmosphere for miles
around, until an opportunity offered for their in
terment. Next morning I prepared to take my depar
ture ; but General Beauregard, my kind host,
prevailed on me to prolong my visit until the
following Saturday, as he was desirous that I
should view the "gory field of fight" once more
in company with hiraself, I, of course, gladly
acquiesced. After breakfast, which consisted of a very plain
meal, plainly served, I passed an agreeable hour
with the General in his private room. This an
swered the double purpose of a study and sleeping
apartment. It was sparsely furnished, and a num
ber of maps and plans ornamented the walls, and
lay scattered upon the table. Here the whole
programme of the recent battle was lucidly ex-

DEFENCES AT MANASSAS. 73
plained to me, the General pointing out on the
plan he had himself drawn the principal places of
interest. He appeared chagrined that the non-
arrival of a dispatch to General Ewell should
have disconcerted his pre-arranged movements —
"Otherwise," he observed, "the battle would not
have lasted three hours, for I should have cut the
enemy's centre, and taken one-third of the Federal
army prisoners."
The remainder of the day until dusk I spent
wandering along the lines, inspecting the fortifi
cations, vvhich stretch along for several miles in
an easterly and westerly direction, and, from their
strength and position, can be effectually defended
against assault by a comparatively small force.
These works were laid down under the direc
tion of Beauregard hiraself, who as a military
engineer has few compeers. Curiosity prompted
me to visit the depots in which the enemy's bat
teries had been placed. I reckoned sixty-two
pieces of ordnance, consisting of parrot-guns of
various calibre, Dahlgrens, brass rifled guns, be
sides caissons complete, travelling forges, and
battery waggons. Now and again my raeditatlons
would be disturbed and my peregrinations Inter
rupted by a loud, sonorous voice calling out —
"Halt! Who goes there?"
Which inquiry I usually satisfied by answering.

74 OVER THE BATTLE-FIELD,
" Friend," and shewing my " pass " from the
General in coramand.
It is not altogether safe for a civiHan, especially
if not dressed In a seml-mllltary garby to wander
about In such a locality by himself. Since the
battle of Manassas, a gentleman was assaulted by
a party of drunken soldiers — some " black sheep"
in the Southern fold — and nearly left for dead.
He was travelling on one of the adjacent roads in
a " buggy," with the object of coming into camp
to see his son, who had volunteered into the Con
federate service. These Inebriated fellows would
insist that the stranger was a " Yankee," and no
protestation he could make to the contrary had
the slightest effect In altering their preconceived
notion both as regarded the man and his motives.
An encounter accordingly took place, and the un
offending and loyal subject of the Confederacy
received a severe but not fatal wound. The as
sailants, I am happy to say, were discovered, and
met with their due deserts, while the unfortunate
object of their dastardly attack received the
promptest and best attention it was possible to
bestow. Sometimes the pickets, after being relieved
from duty, indulged in the dangerous practice of
firing off their rifles, without taking the precau
tion to point them upwards. While ridbg

CONVERSATION AT MESS. 75
along a road close to one of the outposts, a bullet
whizzed right over my head. I could not see it,
of course, but I heard the peculiar whistling sound
distinctly, and I was conscious that the deadly
missile was rather within too close proximity.
I reached head-quarters before dusk, not deem
ing it safe to prolong my excursion later. The
slender stock of food I carried in my haversack,
and my supply of diluted rye whiskey, became
exhausted early in the day ; so I had a two-fold
object in reaching my destination in proper time.
General Beauregard and his Staff were in high
spirits during "supper," which was prolonged con
siderably beyond the usual time. I observed to
the General —
" The eneray carae to plant his Stars and Stripes
upon your soil, but you gave him the stripes
without the stars ! " a sentiment which he flatter
ingly acknowledged.
Upon remarking that the ladles of Richmond
were determined, when the opportunity offered,
"to kiss the General to death!" he pleasantly
replied : —
" Oh, I couldn't stand that ! 'Tis too bad !—
and from a married man too ! "
Upon one gentleraan expressing his regret that
the battle of BuU Run had not a designation raore
worthy of historical record, and of being handed

76 OVER THE BATTLE-FIELD,
down to posterity, Beauregard tritely remarked: —
" Why, it will do very well to associate with
Cowpen ! "
During the evening the General amused us all
by narrating a circumstance of which he had just
been inforraed. A lady occupying a farmhouse
some few railes distant, had, by the display of
much courage and the eraployraent of a little stra-
tagera, made some half-dozen Federal soldiers
prisoners on the previous Sunday. While the
battle was raging these men, in couples and
singly, had come to the house in question for the
purpose of procuring water or some other re-
freshraent. They were kindly welcomed by tbe
chivalrous hostess. Invited into the parlour or
some other apartment, and duly supplied with
every corafort. Meanwhile, they were requested
to lay down their arms, which they unsuspectingly
did, when a sharp negro servant at once pounced
upon the weapons and removed them out of
sight. By and bye, when the martial visitors
raanifested a disposition to depart, their fair captor
assumed rather a defiant attitude, naively assured
them that they were her prisoners ; and, pointing
a revolver towards her surprised victims, Informed
them that she should "put a ball through the
first man that moved ! " The poor fellows were
wonderfully chapfallen and duly submissive ; and

A FIELD-DAT, 77
were held in durance of a solitary amazon, until,
after the fortunes of the day had been decided,
intelligence of the affair was conveyed to one of
the Confederate officers, when they were removed
in custody of a military guard.
After breakfast on the morning of Saturday,
General Beauregard and his numerous Staff, at
tended by a strong escort of cavalry, set out for
the purpose of inspecting the field and the various
troops encamped around. I had the pleasure of
accompanying them, upon a horse lately in the
possession of the United States' army, a well-
trained animal, but disagreeable to ride. The
sight was an Imposing one, although the General
and his "aides" were dressed very plainly, and
almost devoid of those trappings which in Europe
are considered indispensable to officers of distinc
tion. Subsequently we were joined by Generals
Johnston, Evans, Jones, Longstreet, and Colonel
Hampton, who was slightly wounded in the late
engagement with the enemy. As we all rode
along at rather a rapid pace, the fe-w country
people and visitors we encountered turned up their
eyes in amazeraent ; under the impression, proba
bly, that we were going to enter Washington!
As we approached each encampment the troops
turned out, presented arms, and cheered, when

78 OVER THE BATTLE-FIELD,
General Beauregard dashed along the lines in fine
military style, and, cap in hand, duly and grace
fully bowed his acknowledgments.
When we arrived on the field of battle, I met a
party of Federal prisoners, under guard, who had,
during that morning, been scouring the woods. In
order to discover and Inter the remainder of the
slain, I heard the captain in coraraand observe that,
up to that time, his men had buried eighty bodies.
After being earnestly reminded that every kind
ness possible, consistent with discipline, should be
extended to the prisoners. Governor Manning,
one of Beauregard's " aides," procured some •
brandy from a flask he carried, and politely ten
dered it to the officer, who received the favour
gladly, ahd no doubt derived considerable benefit
from the exhilirating draught, which, under the
circumstances, must have been particularly agree
able. Later in the afternoon, after having visited
every locality of interest — such as the spots
where General Bartow, Colonel Johnson, and
other brave officers fell — Brigadier-General Evans
invited us all to partake of refection at his head
quarters, A very substantial repast was in rea
diness, with copious accessories in the shape of
good, liquor — to which, there can be no harm in
observing, most of us did ample justice, I noticed

A VALIANT SOLDIER, 79
Beauregard suddenly leave the apartment which
we all occupied. A few moments afterwards an
orderly entered, who informed me that the Ge
neral requested my presence in an adjoining
room, I followed the messenger, and found
General Beauregard supporting himself on one
knee, by the bedside of a wounded officer. After
introducing me to the poor fellow, whose name is
Lieutenant Carey, (grand-nephew to President
Jefferson), of Major Wheat's battalion, the Ge
neral requested me to note down the stateraent of
the valiant soldier, I complied, and these are
alraost his very words : —
" Having been severely wounded in the leg and
abdoraen, I lay on the field fainting from loss of
blood. While in this condition I was approached
by an officer of the Federal array, who uncererao-
niously demanded my bowie knife, I delivered
it up upon his solicitation. He next requested
my revolver, which I refused to part with. He
drew his sword, pointed it over me, and threatened
to take my life. Immediately, with the little
strength I had left, I seized my revolver and shot
him throush the heart ; for I knew his Intention
was to kill me. He fell right on me, and held me
in his death-grasp for an hour, until I was dis
covered by my own men, and removed from the
field !"

80 OVER THE BATTLE-FIELD.
This story fully supports the statements I have
frequently heard, that the usual etiquette of war
fare, so to speak, has been disregarded by
Northern soldiers. Nothing more of Interest
transpired during the day. As the shades of
evening closed, 1 arrived, with the General and
his attendants, at head-quarters, where I sought
relief in repose, for which my equestrian exercises
particularly disposed me. Early next morning I
departed for Richraond, having sustained no
further mishap at Manassas than that of being
excessively sunburnt.

81

CHAPTER III.
STATE OF PUBLIC FEELING NORTH AND SOUTH —
HOSPITALS A.ND PRISONS.
Anticipated Victory — Unity of the South — Scene in Con
gress — " General" Greeley — " The Biggest Coward in the
World" — BeUigerents in Congress — A Demonstration —
An Irish Captain — An Amusing Incident — " Booty and
Beauty" — ^Defeat before Battle — Sick and Wounded^
Federal Outrages — ^Violating Parole — The Sutler System
— Treatment of Prisoners — Ingratitude of Prisoners.
The horrors and carnage of war havlngbeen brought
forcibly before the public mind, after raonths of
painful expectation and preparation, anxiety and
sorrow quickly found their way to many a heart
where such guests had almost hitherto been
strangers. Mothers mourned in hopeless anguish
for their sons ; sisters grieved for their brothers,
cut off in the prime of life; wives were incon
solable for their husbands, who went to protect
VOL. II. G

82 STATE OF PUBLIC FEELING.
their homes, but found graves while defending
their native soil. Those who were not prostrated
by bereavement were bowed down by anxiety ;
for who could tell how soon they, also, might have
to lament the loss of those they held most dear on
earth. Yet, notwithstanding this wide-spread
desolation and solicitude, there was no fruitless
repining heard. With the magnanimity of heroes
— 1 had almost said, the fortitude of saints — deep
griefs were patiently borne; such, indeed, as
might well blanch the ruddiest cheek, and sub
due the stoutest heart. I doubt whether patriotism
could have been displayed in a more powerful or
pleasing form ; or whether It is embedded more
deeply in the hearts of any people. The love of
country and the thirst for Independence to me ap
peared indigenous to the Southern constitution;
and no sacrifices, no matter how serious pr sacred,
were regarded as too dear Nfor the purchase and
possession of such blessings.
The remarkable victory of the 21st July con
tinued for several weeks the one absorbing idea.
Speculation was on tip-toe as to what moral effect
it would have on the " Grand Array of the Union,"
and as to the manner in which the startlins intel-
ligence would be received in Europe. How far
the defeat of the Northern arms has operated
against the Washington Cabinet, the journals of

ANTICIPATED VICTORY. 83
that section plainly testify. The " short and de
cisive war'' that Mr. Lincoln hoped to realize,
when he called for four hundred thousand ad
ditional troops, and four million of dollars, was
simply the unsubstantial, impracticable creation
of his own mind.
For several months previous, the best equipped
army ever raised on Northern soil had been pre
paring to enter the Confederate capital — the
war-cry being, " On to Richraond ! " It was com
posed of experienced " regulars" and well-trained
volunteers. It was furnished with the most
improved rifles, an abundant supply of ammunition,
and supported by several powerful batteries of
light and heavy calibre. Its progress was marked
by an egotistic flourish of trumpets. Its banner —
"The Stars and Stripes that never knew defeat!"
— was regarded as the signal of victory, and
viewed as reverentially and confidently as God
frey did the supernatural empyrean symbol that
led him and the Crusaders on to the conquest ofthe
Holy Sepulchre — " In hoc signo vincit" Senators
and "ladies of quality" carae in carriages, attended
by out-riders, to witness the extermination of the
" rebel hordes," and to enjoy a champagne
banquet while the sanguinary tragedy was being
enacted. The best positions had been selected, and
g2

84 STATE OF PUBLIC FEELING,
excellent generalship displayed In the deploy
ment of the troops. Some thirty-five thousand
men were arranged In line of battle, with reserves
to the extent of as many thousands more. Fifteen
thousand Confederate troops, (exclusive of re
serves), ill-disciplined, and but Indlfl'erently sup
plied with the Indispensable appliances of warfare,
had to measure swords with a vastly superior
enemy. And what was the result? Why, that
after eight or ten hours' hard fighting, attended
by great slaughter, the " Grand Army " was hope
lessly scattered, utterly, demoralized, and igno-
miniously driven frora the field, en route for
Washington, leaving almost everything they
possessed behind. Thus did an array whom it
had taken four raonths to march frora the Federal
capital to Manassas, march back again to their
" old settieraent " In nearly as many hours !
Since Xerxes was defeated and routed at
Platea, no battle has been fought so dramatic in
its preparation, Its action, and its results. The
objects and character of the contending forces
were the same. On the one side, boastful denun
ciations, and luxurious preparations for antici
pated easy victory, manacles with which to bind
prisoners, and all the pomp and parade of the
camp. On the other side, modest simplicity of
manner, confidence in the justness of their cause.

UNITY OF THE SOUTH, 85
inflexible resolve, and heroic courage. The
Southern States, like those of Greece, are
inhabited by men of one race, speaking one and
the same language, inspired by one and the same
purpose, imbued with the same patriotic spirit,
resolved upon driving the invader from their soil,
or perishing in the attempt. Greece fought to
maintain her liberty against those who came to
subjugate her ; and she succeeded most nobly.
The South did more. Her sons fought to recover
liberty, and for the establishment of their country's
independence ; so that she might take a proud
place among the nations of the earth. Those
who fought at Manassas wiU remember that day
with pride, and commemorate it with festivity.
They will " gentle their condition," and speak as
exultingly of their prowess as Henry V., in antici
pation of the victory of Agincourt : —
" He that outUves this day, and comes safe home,
WiU stand a tip-'toe when this day is named.
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall hve this day and see old age,
WUl yearly on the vigU feast his friends.
And say, to-morrow is Saint Crispian :
Then wiU he strip his sleeve, and show his scars.
And say, these wounds I had on Crispian's day.
Old men forget ; yet all shall be forgot.
But he'U remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day : Then shaU our names,
FamiUar in their mouths as household words.

86 STATE OF PUBLIC FEELING.
Harry the king, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, SaUsbury and Gloster,
Be in their flowing cups freshly remembered :
This story shall the good man teach his son ;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by.
From this day to the ending of the world.
But we in it shall be remembered ;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers ;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
ShaU be my brother, be he ne'er so vUe,
This day shall gentle his condition ;
And gentlemen in England, now abed.
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here.
And hold their manhood cheap, whUe any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day."
A few days after the battle of Bull Run, some
copies of the New Yorh Herald of the 22nd July,
reached Richmond. In that Issue appeared large
head-lines, announcing a " Glorious Victory ! " —
" Defeat of the Rebels !" etc., with leading articles
to correspond, manifestly written on the previous
Sunday, in anticipation of the Federal army being
In possession of the " rebel " capital. Such a pal
pable misrepresentation of facts did not, however,
appear to surprise the Southern people, as they
put no faith In the verity or honesty of the leading
"sensation" journal, whose sudden advocacy of
the Lincoln policy, and of outr& Republicanism,
they considered more the result of coercion than
principle — of mob-terrorism than either the

SCENE IN CONGRESS. 87
sacred dictates of conscience or the pure impulses
of patriotism.
The chagrin and disappointment felt in the
North, especially at Washington, when the
Government allowed the telegrams of the disaster
to the Federal army to be made public, was as
wide-spread and excessive as the rejoicing through
out the Southern States. Everybody attributed
the disgraceful defeat to everybody else, and to
everything but the proper cause. The Northern
public put the onus of the disaster on " General"
(" Massa") Greeley, who had for a long time been
hounding on the populace and the army to the
attack in the rabid columns of the Tribune.
Even General Winfield Scott endeavoured to
shift the burden on the shoulders of the Adminis
tration ; who. In return, flung it back again upon
his own.
On the 24th of July a most exciting, and.
Indeed, disgraceful scene occurred in the Con
gressional Session at Washington, with reference
to this subject. Mr. Richardson, the Kentucky
representative, in defending the Commander-in-
Chief against the attacks of some members in the
House, observed: —
" The men frora the Northern States, who aided
and encouraged the organisjatlon of the Brecken
ridge party, are at the head of our array to-day.

88 STATE OF PUBLIC FEELING,
Butler, of fMassachusets ; Dix, of New- York;
Patterson, of Pennsylvania; and Cadwallader —
all of thera were in this movement to break down
and disorganize the Democratic party and the
Government of the country. Why is this so?
Did not the Douglas party furnish you one-half of
your entire army ? Where is your General ?
Where is your chief man in command to-day ?
He belongs to that party. Have you, Republicans,
sympathized with this Breckenridge party ? Are
you sympathizing with them now, and lending
your aid and influence to the men who led our
armies into misfortune and disgrace? I ask you
to look at these things. I have spoken with feel
ing, because I feel, and feel deeply. You have at
the head of your army a man who carried your
flag through the war of 1812, and through the
war with Mexico, with a strategy unequalled in
the annals of warfare. You have sought to dis
grace him, and you have sought to impair the
public confidence in him. He fought this battle
over here, which was so disastrous to our army,
against his judgment. Who caused it? You
forced it upon him. And I tell you now, that
unless you rally around him the great fighting
army of the North, which is Democratic, he will
not support you, I tell you that, when you look
over the list of the military men of the earth, you

" GENERAL " GREELEY, 89
will find that he is the greatest of them all. He
fought the battle of Sunday last against his judg
ment, and in opposition to the plans he had formed.
The strategy of General Scott was the finest ever
planned ; and had he not been forced to precipitate
an engagement he would have won a victory
without fighting a battle,"
Mr. Curtis, of Iowa — " Who upon this side —
what American citizen, has impugned the character
of General Scott, and where is the man now who
is not willing and anxious to march under his
banner ? Who could hope at this tirae to succeed
that great General, who never lost a battle in the
service of his country ?"
Mr, Richardson — " I will reply. General Greeley
— [Mr. Greeley is the editor of the New Tork
Tribune^ — (laughter) — who, I think, ought to be
placed at the head of all your Generals appointed
by Mr. Lincoln, He ought to be iraraediately
dispatched to Richmond, and, according to his
own account, he could do it. He has presumed
to command General Scott, and to direct the
whole movements of the army. If we could get
rid of such men we would be doing a service.
That is my opinion, I give it you, and charge
you nothing for it." (Laughter,)
Mr. Curtis — " It cannot be said that I, or any

90 STATE OF PUBLIC PEELING.
of my partners on this side, disapproved of the
conduct of General Scott."
Mr. Richardson — " I have not charged the
gentleman with having assailed General Scott. I
would be amazed, indeed, to hear him question
any military movement that General Scott makes.
But when I have said that of my friend, and of
a few other gentlemen upon that side, I have
done. Again, I say, we have forced this battle
upon General Scott, and it has been lost because
you have forced It upon him ; and I declare be
fore God to-day, as my soleran conviction, that if
this thing is to be perraitted to continue, you de
stroy this Government for ever. I stand here in
my place, and make the declaration, that If
General Scott cannot conduct the war we have
nobody that can. If he cannot by strategy, skill,
and courage save this Government, it is impossible
to save it."
Mr. Blair, of Missouri — " I desire to say a few
words. Generals Butler, Patterson, and Cad
wallader, were from the Breckenridge party. That
two of these gentlemen were appointed by the
Adrainistration I beheve to be correct : but
General Butler carae here as a Brio-adler-General,
It was Massachusets which first conferred that
honour on him, and he was made a Major-General
for putting down a mob."

"the BIGGEST COWARD IN THE WOELD." 91
Mr. Richardson — "I said four Generals were
appointed frora the Breckenridge, but none from
the Douglas party ; but I have no complaint."
Mr. Blair — " Of all the Douglas men who are
qualified for such comraand, I have no doubt the
gentleman is the first and best."
Mr. Richardson (bowing) — "I am very much
obliged to you."
Mr. Blair — " The gentleman said that General
Scott had been driven to risk a battle by gentle
men on this side ; but nothing had been said here
derogatory to that soldier. Is the Major-General
fit to command, If he can be forced to battle
against his own best judgment, and at the outcry
of outsiders? Nobody on this side has said
aught against General Scott. The charge came
from the gentleman from Illinois, and it was dero
gatory in the highest degree."
Mr. Richardson — " I take it all back — (laugh
ter). I repeat that General Scott had been forced
to fight this battle. I will tell him what occurred
yesterday morning. My colleagues, Messrs,
Logan and Washburne, and myself were present
with, the President, Secretary of War, and
General Scott, In the course of our conversation
General Scott remarked, *I am the biggest
coward in the world !' I rose from my seat,
' Stay,' said General Scott, ' I will prove it. I

92 STATE OF PUBLIC FEELING.
have fought the battle against my judgment, and
I think the President ought to remove me to
day for doing it.' ' As God is my judge,' he
added, after an Interval of silence, ' I did all in
my power to make the army efficient, and I de
serve removal, because I did not stand up when I
could, and did not.' I stand here to vindicate
General Scott. I am indebted to the gentleman
from Missouri for the compliraent he paid me. I
desire to say for myself that I am here the last of
a generation, ray father and grandfather having
fallen beneath the flag of their country. I, too,
have fought under its folds at home and abroad,
and, God willing, there will I stand to the end of
my life, defending it against all foes."
Mr. Washburne, of Illinois — " As my colleague
has referred to General Scott's remarks, he might
also allude to what the President said."
Mr. Richardson — "I will do so. 'Your con
versation implies,' said the President to General
Scott, 'that I forced you to battle.' To which
General Scott replied, ' I have never served
under a President who has been kinder to me
than you have been.' But General Scott did not
relieve the President from the fact of the latter
having forced him to fight the battle. General
Scott thus paid a compliment to the President
personally, I desire to say of the President, that

BELLIGERENTS IN CONGRESS, 93
I have known him from boyhood. If you let him
alone he is an honest raan. (Laughter.) But I
am afraid he has not firmness to stand up against
the politicians around him,"
Besides the warm attack and defence of the
impugners and defenders of General Scott, a per
sonal altercation took place between belligerent
parties In the House, which I reproduce from the
report of the Congressional proceedings, as Illus-r
trative of the irascible and intense feelings that
were evoked by the previous defeat of the Federal
army : —
Mr, Richardson — " I have desired, during this
entire Session, to say a word or two to my friend
from Kentucky (Mr, Burnett). More than any
other man in this House, he is responsible this day
for the condition in which the country now finds
itself. When he aided, by his counsel, advice,
and co-operation, the divisions of the Democratic
party at Charleston and Baltimore, he brought the
existing calamity upon the Union. Sir, I have
no regard for your position. You have stood with
the Republicans, and have aided them in eleva
ting Mr. Lincoln to the Presidency by dividing
the Democratic party, and now you make that the
pretext for the breaking up of the Government,
I stand here and declare that fact in the face of
the nation. It is true, sir. I understand it as

94 STATE OF PUBLIC FEELING,
well as any man in this House or in this coun-
try." Mr. Burnett — " Will the gentleman permit me
to ask him a question ? "
Mr. Richardson — " Certainly, sir."
Mr, Burnett — "The gentleman from Ilhnois
surely does not raean to do me injustice?"
Mr. Richardson — " Of course not, I will in
tentionally do no man injustice."
Mr, Burnett — " Then, when the gentleman
states that at Charleston I was engaged in plot
ting to break up the Democratic party, he states
that of which he knows nothing ; I had no agency
or hand In It, I tell him, further, that when the
Southern States' Delegations retired from the
Charleston Convention, I was the only man, I
believe, from any of the Slave States who went
into the hall and made a speech appealing to them
to come back,''
Mr, Richardson — "I am not mistaken in the
position I assume, I found the gentleman there
in association and co-operation with those who
brought dissension and subsequent destruction
upon the party, I stand here and say, that for
what I say I am responsible,"
Mr. Burnett — " I say, then, to the gentleman>
so far as responsibility is concerned, I never refuse
to take it."

A DEMONSTRATION. 95
Mr. Richardson — " And I, so help me God — I
am responsible, here and everywhere, for what I
have said" (sensation and partial applause).
Mr. Burnett — " So am I, here and everywhere
else." The Speaker said if the demonstration were
repeated, he would order the galleries to be
cleared. Mr. Richardson — " I hope they will be cleared,
if there is another violation of the order of the
House. I do not wish to push the gentleman
from Kentucky. I do not desire to press upou
him, and that Is the furthest from my motives and
from my purpose. I stand here to declare what
I saw myself."
Mr. Burnett.— " I desire to say this to the gen
tleman from Illinois, that I will have no personal
controversy with any gentleman on this floor. I
have never had one, and 1 never Intend to have
one. If, though, the gentleman desires a personal
controversy with me, and to make a personal
issue with me, he cannot, sir, have it here — but
he can have it anywhere else."
Mr. Richardson — " I say to the gentleman from
Kentucky that I desire no personal controversy
with anybody ; but, if anybody desires a personal
controversy with me, so help me God, he cau
have it anywhere ! "

96 STATE OF PUBLIC FEELING.
Mr. Vallandigham, of Ohio, rose to a point of
order-^" At this time of great public disaster, and
with the enemy almost within cannon-shot of the
Capitol, this personal altercation does not become
the dignity of this House."
" The Chair desires that gentlemen will preserve
order." Mr. Richardson — " I have stated to the gentle
man from Kentucky, as I will state to any gen
tleman, that I am not in quest of personal
difficulties. I do not desire them, but I shall
not shrink from them when they are presented.
Born on that land where it is no credit to say of
a man that he has personal courage, I have car
ried the lessons of my boyhood In Kentucky to
my horae in Illinois, and I trust I will adhere to
them to the end of my days. I fear no man
that ever walked the face of God Almighty's
earth. I have spoken of this conspiracy to break
up the Democratic party, and I have said that
the gentleraan from Kentucky was in it. I know
the fact, and I will not permit him to shrink from
it." Mr, Burnett — " Let me tell the gentleman, once
for all, when he talks to me^  "
Mr, Richardson (vehemently) — " I know you
were in it, and that is enough,"
The Speaker — " Does the gentleman yield."

AN IRISH CAPTAIN, 97
Mr, Richardson — " I will yield to no such
man." Such is a forcible illustration of the wounded
pride and tortured feeling occasioned by the
"stampede" of the " Grand Army of the Union,"
as it displayed itself in the Federal Congress three
days after that memorable occurrence — for which
" nobody was to blame." There would have been
a display of dignity, had public men but borne
the unexpected disaster with equanimity or In
silence. They had not, however, been trained in
the school of Socrates; and their national vanity
being so egregious and "bumptious," must neces
sarily make a noise upon explosion. Pride gene
rally precedes a fall; and a people whose vain
glorious boast it was that they "could lick creation,"
have had, as a retributive process, to eat the leek
of bitter humiliation.
The following incident of the Bull Run defeat
came to my knowledge. It is certainly confirma
tory of the hackneyed distich, that
" He who fights and runs away,
WUl Uve to fight another day."
A celebrated Irish Captain, who had made his
own country "too hot to hold hira," succeeded
in raising a regiment and obtaining the command.
With jubilant heart he left Washington with his
VOL, II, H

98 STATE OF PUBLIC FEELING,
men — a nucleus of the "Grand Army" — to aid
in subduing the " rebels," and sustaining the
"integrity of the Union," On the evening of
the 21st July, his wife received Intelligence that
her husband was mortally wounded while gal
lantly leading on his comraand In a charge. The
poor woman, in the Intensity of her grief, wrung
her hands, tore her hair, and became posi
tively inconsolable. A leaden and an outer coffin
were immediately ordered of an undertaker — the-
former being sent home after a few hours. Before
daylight the following morning the disconsolate
widow was apprized that her husband's remains
had arrived In the city. Frantic with grief, she
rushed to the door of her house, and in a short
time beheld half a dozen soldiers bearing the
warrior's body on their shoulders. This painful
exhibition caused her to give greater vent to
her grief, which was arrested by one of the
bearers exclaiming —
" Arrah thin, whist, ma'am I — shure 'tisn't dead
our Captain is at all, at all ! You know, ma'am.
He only tuck a leetle dhrop too much sperrit
afther the great fighting he did; and faith it's
home we've brought him to you now, safe and
sound! Dhry your eyes, ma'am — dhry your
eyes !"
The gallant Captain was, upon this announce-

AN AMUSING INCIDENT. 99
ment, conveyed to his bedroom, in a perfectly
unconscious condition, although what his drearas
might have been it is difficult to opine. Hav
ing been partially undressed, he was placed In
bed, already arranged in order to "wake" hira.
The leaden coffin was supported on chairs In the
same room, and the candles that were prepared as
a last mark of honour to the departed were
solemnly shedding their fiickering light around
the apartment. A few intimate acquaintances
assembled, and endeavoured, by means of restora
tives, to arouse him frora his torpor. This opera
tion was partially effective : he gently raoved,
opened his eyes, took a quick glance around,
stared at his wife and friends, and — evidently
under the irapression that he had been taken
prisoner by the Confederates — incoherently
ejaculated : —
"Hur-rah — for Jeff. — Davis! Hur-rah for —
the South'rn Con-fed-racy ; There's not a — raan
a-mong you — more a — South'rn at heart — than
my-self! Hur-rah ! Hur-rah ! Hur-rah for
Jeff. — Da-vis! Three cheers for— the South'rn
Con-fed-racy !"
This amusing aud highly ludicrous occurrence
shortly afterwards got "wing" at Washington,
and created infinite merriment in sorae circles.
For several days after the battle of Manassas
h2

100 STATE OF PUBLIC FEELING.
the Federal capital presented a scene of un
mitigated disorder. The remains of twenty
regiments could be seen scattered about the city,
without order, discipline, or restraint. They slept
on door-steps, in cellars, barns, and the basements
of hotels. The roads were lined with them, and
they were frequently found in a state of helpless
inebriety. Many of them solicited charity;
while others were maintained by private citizens.
Crimes of every kind disgraced the capital —
plainly exhibiting what evils would ensue had
they succeeded In overrunning the Southern soil,
and in feasting their swinish appetites upon that
"booty and beauty," to the undisputed possession
of which they had looked forward so impatiently.
A day did not elapse without the perpetration of
a murder — virtuous women were repeatedly and
wantonly outraged — quarrels and drunkenness
were continual — and even an unoffending lady
was shot In the public streets.
But, lest the picture I have presented should
be deeraed exaggerated, I Introduce an account
frora the New York Times— the truest friend and
supporter of the Lincoln despotisra. After par
ticularizing the crimes daily perpetrated, and
upbraiding the officers for "lounging and smoking
in bar-rooms. Indifferent to their own respon
sibilities and the pubhc honour," it proceeds to

DEFEAT BEFORE BATTLE. 101
describe the demoralized condition of the " Grand
Army": " No effort was made to collect the men or get
them to camp, or feed, or house thera. Some
absolutely suffered from hunger. No oue knew
where the head-quarters of his regiment was, or
what had become of its officers. The army was a
mob. Wherever the stranger went-^over George
town, Arlington, Alexandria, and Washington — he
met there wandering soldiers in search of a regi
ment. These three days were another defeat of our
forces — as bad as the causeless rout of Manassas,
Of some of the regiments, it is doubted if they
can ever be collected and re-organized, so tho
roughly disorganized have they become. The
truth Is, not a single regiment ought to be quar_
tered In the city. It has become a den of liquor-
shops and gambling-hells for soldiers. If General
M'CleUan does not look after the police of the
capital, he will find his army defeated before
a battle." If these things be done in the green tree, vvhat
would be done in the dry? No wonder that
the Southerners should regard the Northern army
as a host of marauders, bent only on outrage and
spoliation. With a praiseworthy promptitude and libe
rality, the citizens of Richmond set about making

102 HOSPITALS AND PRISONS,
preparations for the sick and wounded, A public
meeting was called by the Mayor, and a large
amount of subscriptions was speedily obtained.
The great difficulty, however, was to provide
suitable accommodation. The hospitals and
private residences at Culpepper Court-house
were inconveniently crowded — some seven
hundred patients being received therein —
and It became necessary to improvise hospitals
at Richmond, without delay. For this pur
pose public buildings, hotels, and even private
houses, were fitted up with beds, and sup
plied with all other matters indispensable, at
the expense of the city — while a numerous
and well-qualified medical staff were appointed.
Dr. Charles Bell being elected Inspector-
General. A few weeks afterwards I made the round of
the hospitals, and took notes of the number of
sick and wounded In each, I now introduce the
list :—
1, General Hospital, New Alms House, con
tained four hundred sick and wounded, all belong-
ing to the Confederate army,
2. Medical College Hospital, contained one
hundred soldiers, all sick,
3. Belvlew Hospital, Church Hill, accommo
dated seventy-five sick and wounded.

SICK AND WOUNDED. 103
4. Masons' Hall Hospital, Church Hill, had
one hundred sick and wounded.
5, Main Street Hospital contained about one
hundred wounded,
6. St. Charles's Hotel, Main Street, which
was crowded, contained four hundred sick and
wounded, 7, Bird Island Hospital accommodated over
two hundred sick and wounded,
8. Sycamore Hospital held thirty wounded.
9. Steward's School-room contamed forty sick,
10. School-house, Clay Street, accommodated
fifteen wounded.
11, Another School-house in Clay Street had
twenty patients.
12. Catholic Hospital of St. Francis de Sales
accommodated two hundred wounded.
These hospitals, however, did not contain raore
than a fractional part of the sick and wounded.
There was scarcely a gentleman in or about Rich
mond who had not from one to four patients in
his house, upon whom the utraost attention was
bestowed. One prominent citizen died of typhoid
fever, which had been communicated to him by
one of his guests.
Too much eulogy cannot be bestowed upon the
female portion of the comraunity for their untir
ing exertions and remarkable self-denial. Their

104 HOSPITALS AND PRISONS.
gentle forms bending over suffering humanity,
whilst administering medicines or nourishment,
forcibly recalled to my mind the well-known lines
of Walter Scott: —
" When pain and anguish rend the brow,
A ministering angel thou ! "
And "ministering angels" they assuredly were.
During long weary hours I have noticed ladies
patiently standing by the bed-side of the wounded,
in closely -confined wards, engaged In fanning
away the flies, which were very numerous, Jest
they should disturb or Irritate the patients. Not
a day elapsed without a visit from those fair
attendants; many of whom before starting from
home would fill the seats of their carriages with a
number of delicacies, both of a solid and refresh
ing nature.
Nor was this profuse generosity or gentle
attention confined merely to the soldiers of the
Confederacy, In the exuberance of Christian
charity, and the exercise of a lofty magnanimity,
the men who came to invade the Southern soil
were no longer regarded as enemies— now that
disease or accident had rendered them objects of
commiseration. They had the same amount of
medical and surgical aid as the Southern troops.
Although the Washington Cabinet had rendered
quinine, and other medical stores, " contraband of

FEDERAL OUTRAGES. 105
war," the inefficient supply available was meted
out to the Federalists according to their need, in
the sarae proportion, and with the same alacrity,
as to the Confederate patients. All feeling of
enmity was forgotten, so far as they were Indivi
dually concerned; and beneficence assumed the
place of vengeance.
The State of Virginia being well supplied with
medical practitioners (to the number, I was In
formed, of two thousand three hundred) proved
of great advantage. Before the other States had
seceded, Virginia took the precaution to purchase
quinine and chemicals in anticipation ; while large
quantities of quinine and morphia were subse
quently "smuggled" into that State by ladles, who
succeeded, by tbe aid of a little strategy, in effect
ing such purchases North, and conveying them
into the other section.
With reference to the outrageous policy of the
Lincoln Cabinet, in prohibiting medicines from
enterino; the Southern States, and the barbarous
and wanton practices of the Federal troops in
firing into hospitals. President Davis remarks in
his inaugural Message : —
"Mankind will shudder to hear the tales of
outrages committed on defenceless females by the
soldiery of the United States now invading our
homes. Yet, these outrages are prompted by the

106 HOSPITALS AND PRISONS.
inflamed passions and madness of intoxication.
But who shall depict the horror with which they
regard the cool, deliberate malignity with which,
under the pretext of suppressing an insurrection
— said by themselves to be upheld by a minority
only of our people — raakes special war on the
sick, including women and children, by carefully
devised measures to prevent their obtaining the
medicines necessary for their cure ? Sacred
claims to huraanity, respected even during the
fury of actual battle, by a careful deviation of an
attack upon the hospitals containing wounded
enemies, are outraged, in cold blood, by a Go
vernment and people that pretend to desire a
continuance of fraternal connections. All these
outrages must reraain unavenged, save by the
universal reprobation of mankind. In all cases
where the actual perpetrators of wrongs escape
capture, they admit of no retaliation. The hu
manity of our people would shrink instinctively
from the bare idea of waging a like war upon the
sick, the woraen, and the children of the enemy,"
The enemy's sick and wounded had no just cause
for complaint, except, indeed, it was the gross ne
gligence of, and criminal abandonment by, their
own army-surgeons. About twenty of this class
were taken prisoners at the battle of Manassas,
Some eight or ten of the party were suffered to

VIOLATING PAROLE, 107
go at large upon giving their parole of honour
that they would not abuse the privilege accorded
to them, and quit the State ; and also on condition
that they should afford their professional assistance
to such of their fellow-prisoners as were wounded
and infirm. But how did these men fulfil their
obligations ? They abused the confidence reposed
in their honour ; neglected and left to the com
passion of their enemies those upon whom it was
their bounden duty to attend ; and, by sorae mys
terious means, succeeded in effecting their escape
to the North, although the accoraplishraent of
this object must have entailed a journey of several
thousand railes.
The medical staff of the Union army was not
held in much repute — either for its efficiency or
its humanity — by the troops. A wounded New
York Zouave observed to me :
" The doctors in our army are not worth their
cost. They have no more care or feeling for us
soldiers than if we were a flock of sheep ! "
This assertion, I fear, is unhappily but too true.
At all events, the incident I have just recorded
affords painful evidence that there existed some
grounds for the sweeping accusation,
I have conversed with several prisoners of war,
both at Manassas and in Richmond, which city
contained about 1,400 of them, besides 250

108 HOSPITALS AND PRISONS.
wounded. For the most part they appeared finely-
formed, well-developed young men ; still they were
manifestly wanting in stamina, and were never
likely to undergo the fatigues and hardships of a
carapaign like Southern soldiers, whose capability
of endurance is remarkable, although the reverse
is generally believed. I know for a fact that
many of the eneray found dead on the battle-field
did not receive a single wound during the engage
ment, but simply sank from sheer exhaustion and
sudden prostration of the vital powers. Besides,
the Southerner has more individuality and self-
confidence, and infinitely less regard for life than
his Northern antagonist. Even when scattered in
straggling groups on the field, they will fight, re
gardless of consequences, while such demoraliza
tion would be productive of the worst results to
the other troops,
" Why did you all run away In so cowardly a
manner? " I observed to one of the prisoners.
" Because our officers first led the way. We
would have stood our ground, but they wouldn't!"
was the curt rejoinder.
Some of the Federalists avowed that there waa
much discontent in the camps, owing to the men
not receiving the amount of pay they had been
led to expect when first they were Induced to vo
lunteer Into service. Instead of the promised

THE "SUTLER SYSTEM," 109
specie payment or its equivalent, a novel sort of
money had been improvised, consisting of bits of
printed paper pasted on cardboard and endorsed
on the back, which money-medium was distributed
freely, from a dollar down to very small denomi
nations, although I take it for granted that the
currency was as limited as the sura represented.
Annexed is a fac-simile of the same : —

GOOD FOB.
5 Cents.
K. Minnesota Eegiment. O. King.

They complained excessively of the "sutler
system," as the greatest abomination in the North
ern army — whereby the men were mulcted right
and left of their miserable pay — and of the faci
lities which It afforded for running in debt, " loaf
ing," and drinking horrible whiskey, upon which
the sutler — who is frequently in partnership with
the Colonel — would realize from fifty to one hun
dred per cent, profit.
The sickness amongst the Confederate army was
unprecedented in the history of campaigning.
There was scarcely a regiment that had not a

110 HOSPITALS AND PRISONS.
large proportion of Its strength unfit for duty. A
Florida regiment numbering 1,100 had 700 sick;
the 4th South CaroHnians, out of 1,050, had but
218 fit to take the field ; while of the 2nd MI^'8is-
slppians, 1,134 strong, only 175 answered to the
roll-call. The other regiments were more or less
diminished by the same cause. The principal
diseases which so seriously operated against the
efficiency of the army consisted of a malignant
form of measles, small-pox, chills, and intermit
tent and typhoid fever. As might be supposed,
the deaths were very numerous ; and were it not
for the assiduous attention of the medical staff,
the mortality would have been much more severe.
As it was, the undertakers had a most busy tirae
of it, working day and night ; and It was a pain
ful sight to witness carts laden with coffins going
off every morning to the hospitals.
How to dispose of the prisoners of war — over
two thousand in number — was the main difficulty.
However, several large tobacco warehouses at the
north end of Richmond were appropriated to this
purpose. To provide comfortable accommodation
in the way of soft beds, and other luxurious
accessories, was, of course, out of the question.
Even If the city was desirous of defraying the
expense, such articles could not be procured ; nor
was there labour or material sufficient at hand to

TREATMENT OF PRISONERS. Ill
manufacture the same. The best accommodation
that could be supplied was unstintingly afforded.
The prisoners received the same amount of rations
from the commissariat department as the Con
federate troops, until sugar and coffee ran short,
when the ordinary supplies were stopped — so that
they had no just cause for complaint ; besides
which, several of the citizens were exceedingly
generous, and, in the exercise of a noble spirit of
beneficence, in which all feeling of antagonism
became emerged, furnished them with nuraerous
luxuries, so as to render their position the more
supportable. Nor was the restraint placed upon them very
rigorous. They were allowed to amuse thera
selves as they pleased. They sang, conversed
freely, smoked and read, sat on the window-sills,
and, to my raind, had a very agreeable time of it.
Only a few soldiers were placed as sentries over
them; approved persons were permitted to visit
them ; while occasionally they would be suffered
to go out for a walk in small parties, attended by
a solitary guard. One morning a captain of the
Confederate army called on me at my lodgings,
leaving half a dozen Zouave prisoners In the hall,
whom he was conducting from hospital to prison.
When he acquainted me with the circumstances,
I observed : —

112 HOSPITALS AND PRISONS.
"Are you not afraid to entrust these men by
themselves ? Suppose they should make their
escape ?"
" Not at all," he replied. " They know better
than that : they prefer being our prisoners to
having to fight us !"
At my request, he called these men up to my
room, where I made them partake of some refresh
ment. They were all young, tall, slim, and un-
rauscular, and appeared sadly dispirited. They
had been engaged in respectable pursuits previous
to having becorae soldiers ; for which calling they
then seemed to entertain a thorough distaste.
Poor fellows ! they had their Zouave caps and
jackets concealed under the arms of their gray
overcoats, so as not to attract attention while
passing along the streets.
The leniency, and indeed clemency, extended
to the prisoners became, however, shortly abused,
A regularly-organized plan of escape had been
entered Into, which, had it not been discovered
in time, might have led to serious results. Several
prisoners effected their escape, but were subse
quently recaptured. This occurrence necessitated
more stringent regulations. Lieutenant Todd, of
the Confederate army — brother-in-law of Presi
dent Lincoln — was placed In charge of the prisons,
and the guard was largely augmented. The cost

INGEATITUDE OF PEISONEES. 113
of the prisoners' maintenance exceeded thirty
thousand doUars per month ; and they were only
held in confinement until the fate of the Southern
privateersmen would be ascertained. Those who
rendered any special services to the sick or
wounded were liberated and sent North by flag
of truce, and without receiving any corresponding
return of Southern prisoners in exchange.
I ara not only amazed, but indignant, to find
that prisoners thus favoured should have abused
those from whom they received such clemency
so soon as they had got under the broad aagis of
the " Stars and Stripes." They endeavoured to
cloak their malevolence beneath the meanest and
grossest mendacity ; and, as they were defeated
in physical combat, atterapted to stab the honour
and humanity of Southerners into whose hands
they had faUen, and who extended to them pro
tection, and even fireedom.

VOL, II.

114

CHAPTER IV.
DOWN THE JAMES EIVEE.
The Steamer " Northampton " — Captain Hicks — An Intru
sive Lady — A Sun-stroke — The "Tiger Rifles" — Clare
mont — Curl's Neck — Birthplace of President Harrison —
Birthplace of Ex-President Tyler — City Point — A Con
federate Gun-Boat — ^An Assembly of Negresses — West-
over— Fort Powhatan— Grove Wharf— The Old "Stone
House " — Town of Smithfield — Ruins of a Church.
One Saturday afternoon, early in the month
of August, I accompanied Lieutenant Johns (son
of Bishop Johns, of Virginia), who had charge of
the commissarlat-departraent, and a few other
friends, on board the steamer "Northampton,"
for a trip down the James River, This elegant
little vessel used regularly to ply between
Hampton and Richmond, but, since the breaking
out of hostilities, has been purchased by the

AN INTEUSIVE LADY, 115
Confederate Govemment, for the transport of
troops and war-material to various points on the
river, where It had become necessary to locate
troops and erect defences.
The commander, Captain Hicks, was a short,
stout man, rather advanced in years, who la
boured under an affection of gout ; which, I
should say, from his exceedingly temperate habits,
had not been engendered by luxurious living. A
kinder heart than his never beat in a human
breast, for his thoughts seemed always concen
trated upon making his guests happy, while he
evidently sacrificed his own comforts in the
endeavour. I dehght to meet with individuals of
exuberant feeling and warm hearts — they show
up humanity in so sunny a manner. But the
existence of such attributes In those who are
descending the "hill of life," and whom oue
might naturally expect to find subdued or petri
fied from their long contact with the world, is a
spectacle the gods must love to look upon !
No sooner had we passed the sentinels and
gone on board the steamer at the Rockets, than
the captain received us most politely, conducted
us to the saloon, and insisted upon our taking
refreshment, I noticed a most extraordinary-looking old
lady, attired in shabby black silk, in the upper
l2

1 16 DOWN THB JAMES RIVER.
part of the saloon — although by whose authority
she got there Is still a mystery to me, I know
not what to corapare her to, except it be to one
of the witches in " Macbeth. " Upon our
entrance Captain Hicks approached her, and
requested that she would withdraw to the Inner
cabin, as the saloon was private. She reluctantly
complied. After a few moments, however, she made her
appearance again, and, to my surprise, walked
towards where I was seated with my friends.
Without uttering a word, she rudely thrust a
religious tract into my hand, which I condescend
ingly accepted, at the same time observing —
"Thank you, madam, we do not require
these monitors; we are all reUgious persons
here." The old lady, upon this announcement, com
pressed her lips, gazed at me with fixed eyes — oh,
such a ghastly look ! it seems to haunt me still ! —
cast a furtive glance at my compagnons de voyage,
and anon at some champagne bottles, decanters,
and glasses on an adjacent table, and with a
grave and significant shake of her head,
replied : —
" I hope so, sir — 1 hope so ! — but I'm afraid—
I'm afraid  " At the sarae time retreating
to her quarters, leaving a hiatus in the sentence.

THE "tiger RIFLES. 117
which it required no great effort of the imagina
tion to supply.
A number of the Tiger Rifles and a company
of artiUery, under Captain Southall, shortly after
wards embarked, wheu the " Northampton " put
off. The artillerists had made a quick march
from Camp Magruder, a few miles outside of
Richraond, during the most sultry part of the
day, in consequence of which one of their
number received a severe sun-stroke. The poor
fellow fell flat on the deck of the vessel, and,
although a stout strong man, writhed in pa
roxysms of agony for a long time. He was
quickly attended to by Dr, Page, who happened
to form one of our private party, to whose
prompt attention the sufferer's life was mainly
owing, A strong mustard poultice was speedily
prepared, which the doctor applied to the nape of
the patient's neck — Lieutenant Johns having
given his pocket-handkerchief for the purpose.
Captain Southall was likewise very solicitous
about his corporal, and stood anxiously over him
for an hour, fanning his fevered brow, evidently
affected. These delicate attentions on the part
of officers towards their command are not unusual
in the Confederate army, who regard each other
as a band of brothers, and sink rank and position
in this fratemal recognition.

118 DOWN THE JAMES EIVEE,
As we steamed swiftly down the tortuous but
beautiful river, which yet preserves Its Royal title
— of which it seems to be consciously proud — the
Tiger Rifles congregated in the fore part of the
vessel, rendering it rather boisterous on shipboard.
Bet ween these volunteers and the feline genus ofthe
same narae, which prowl the forests, there was no
similitude In conformatioh or habit that the most
experienced comparative anatomist could detect.
Nevertheless, they were far from being as meek
as lambs, I deem it expedient to mention this
point of dissimilitude, as the reader's association of
ideas might possibly involve him In false conclu
sions, more especially as several analagous cases
exist. Par exemple, when it became known that
a Confederate regiment, designated the "Black
Horse Cavalry," was organized, an Hibernian
editor asserted that these volunteers were aU
negroes — a very mistaken notion indeed.
The " Tigers," of whom mention has been
made, were an exceedingly rough, and, indeed,
fierce body of raen. They were raised in Texas,
and had been, for the most part, accustomed to
warfare, as their swarthy faces and muscular limbs
clearly indicated. Their uniform was of a dark
grey colour, and consisted simply of a jacket and
trowsers, evidently the worse for wear. Although
lacking the graceful amenities and grateful

CLAREMONT. 119
courtesies that adorn highly - civilized society,
nevertheless there was a bold, vigorous honesty of
character, and such a display of generous good
nature about them, as more than atoned for aU
these artificial deficiences. They sang, shouted, and
amused themselves right merrily, considering that
they were absolved from the restraint of camp.
One ditty, in which the entire company joined,
sung to the enlivening air of " Part^nt pour la
Syrie," commenced as foUows : —
" He that hath good peanuts.
And gives his neighbour none —
He shaU have none of my peanuts.
When his peanuts are gone !"
In this way they continued to amuse one another,
and annoy the more quietly-disposed portion of
the voyageurs during several hours. Having been
in camp for many weeks previous, their hilarity
could weU be accounted for and forgiven. It Is
not easy, under the most favourable conditions, to
carry out the ancient canon of strict propriety,
" Aliis Icetus, sapiens sibi."
Several fine mansions and extensive plantations
adorn either side of the James River, Contiguous
to Curl's Neck, a few miles down, is Claremont, the
residence of WiUiam Augen AUen, who is reputed
to be the wealthiest gentleman in Virginia, In ad
dition to this large estate, he is the proprietor of ten

120 DOWN THE JAMES RIVER,
farms on the river, together with tbe entire Island
of Jamestown. Mr. Allen was at that time
captain of a volunteer company stationed at the
latter place — where the first defences had just
been erected — undergoing aU the privations ofthe
coramonest of his command. The family man
sion, near Curl's Neck, is so embedded in a thick
wood, that scarcely any of it could be discerned
from the water. One curious circumstance con
nected with it is, that it was built of bricks ex
pressly imported from England for the purpose.
So serpentine does the James become near this
place, that upon arriving opposite one particular
spot, after two hours fast steaming, you are
brought exactly to the other side of the narrow
strip of land which forms the course of the river.
Lower down, and a few hundred yards from the
water's edge, is Berkeley, the birthplace of Wilham
Henry Harrison, ninth President of the United
States, who was born here in February, 1773. It.
is a very old-fashioned brick structure, surrounded
by an Imposing grove of poplars, agreeably inter
mingled with other trees. The edifice is now
occupied by Mrs. Harrison, grand-daughter of the
illustrious general and statesman, whose ancestors
settled In Virginia as early as 1640, and whose
family name has always been among the most
prominent in that State.

CITY POINT. 121
Five miles below this spot is the birth-place of
ex-President Tyler, whose present residence is
further along the river. Mr. Tyler, although
" silvered o'er with years," is a tall, weU- propor
tioned, haudsome man, and possesses a marked
resemblance to the late Duke of Wellineton.
His wife, who is considerably younger than him
self, is considered one of the finest-looking ladies
in Virginia, I have had several conversations
with the ex-President, and entertain a high
opinion of his moral and mental qualities. He is
a warm Southerner, and took an active part in
inducing the secession of his State frora the
Union. Mr. Tyler's old mansion is now occupied
by John Selden.
Lying snugly between Curl's Neck and Berke
ley on the other side of the James, and just where
that river forms a junction with the Appomattox,
is City Point, a sraall village containing about
thirty dwellings. The place, however, Is of some
importance, being the outport of Richmond and
Petersburo', Here I noticed several wharves
projecting into the river, some of which had been
partially destroyed, as a precautionary measure
against invasion. Before the blockade was estab
lished, a large foreign shipping trade was done
here, and the white sails of domestic commerce
used daily to gladden the eye as they passed this

122 DOWN THE JAMES RIVER.
port, freighted with the wealth, productions, and
exports of every cUme. City Point is said to be
a more suitable site for a commercial town than
Richmond; and, according to tradition, would
have been the seat of the Colonial Government,
had not its proprietor— a Dutchman — refused to
part with it on any terms.
Lying outside City Point I noticed the steamer
"Yorktown." The captain, who formerly be
longed to the United States' Navy, ran her into
Richmond — although but a passenger vessel — upon
the breaking out of hostilities. She had just been
iron-plated, armed with heavy metal, and well
furnished with cutlasses, boarding - pikes, and
other weapons of naval warfare. She had like
wise an efficient crew, and several hundred of fine,
sraart-looking marines, on board; and it was al
leged that her comraander's intention was to run
the blockade at Newport News and. Hampton
Roads, if such could possibly be effected. The
soldiers on board our boat cheered lustily, which
salute the sailors and marines of the " Yorktown"
returned — and for some minutes there was a uni
versal hurrahing and waving of hats and hand
kerchiefs, WhUe at City Point Wharf, the volunteers
handed their canteens to a number of negresses —
who came attired in highly-starched white muslin

MTESTOVEE, 123
dresses, and clean pink aprons, to greet their ar
rival—in order to get a supply of cool, fresh
water. No sooner had the " darkles " got posscs-
sion of the canteens, than they scampered off in
every direction to fiU thera. In a short time, and
just as the boat was putting off, they returned
with the refreshing liquid ; but the difficulty was
for the men to obtain their own drinking-vessels.
A general cry arose of " Here, here, that is my
canteen ! " so that there were some twenty or
thirty claimants for each one. The consequence
was, that they were all distributed to the wrong
persons. Adjacent to Berkeley is a remarkable and in
teresting spot, known as Westover, long the seat
of the distinguished Byrd famUy, Originally it
was in the possession of Colonel WiUiara Byrd,
(who eraigrated from this country in the seven
teenth century) the founder of Richmond, and is
the oldest mansion on the river. In his time this
princely residence was beautifully decorated, and
even after so many years it still exhibits the re
mains of his taste, and all the appointments for
magnificent expenditure. Colonel Byrd, one of
the most accomplished men in Virginia at his day,
was the author of the W^estover MSS., and of a
pubhshed work bearing the title of " The History
of the Dividing Line," In opinion and feeling

124 DOWN THE JAMES RIVER,
he was the worthy representative of the old Ca
valiers, During thirty-seven years he was a
member, and ultimately became president of the
Colony, He died at the fine old age of threescore
and ten. In the year 1 744. His grave is indicated
by a marble monument, which so far has with
stood the ravages of tirae. The Marquis de Chas-
tellux, who visited Westover in 1782, gives a
most glowing description of it in his " Travels,"
" It surpassed," he observes, " all the seats in the
country round about In the magnificence of Its
buildings, the beauty of its situation, and the
pleasures of its society," He eulogizes the then
Mrs, Byrd, as a lady of great sense and agreeable
countenance, who fulfilled the obligations incum
bent upon her, as the head of a large household,
with uncoraraon skill. Her negroes she did all in
her power to render happy, and " attended them
herself as a doctor in tirae of sickness,"
At Fort Powhatan, seventeen miles down the
river, we took on board 300 troops and six 32-
pounders, In order to strengthen the defences
at Day's Point, within a few miles of Newport
News. Fort Powhatan is situated in the county
bearing its name, which is not very extensive,
being merely twenty-five railes long and fifteen
miles wide. The soil, although low. Is fertile,
owing to the James and the Appomattox Rivers

GROVE WHARF, 125
bounding two sides of the county at fuU length.
Coal mines abound here; but, the distance to
market being so great, they have not as yet been
worked advantageously.
A portion of Powhatan county was originally
settled by Huguenots, a few of whose descendants
still remain in the neighbourhood of Manakin
Town Ferry, named after a tribe of Indians who
inhabited that locality. These refugees — who
were sent across the Atlantic by the munificence of
English Royalty — met with a bountiful reception
upon their arrival at Monacan Town. Large do
nations were bestowed upon them, in the forra of
money and provisions, for their support, while
they were exempted for several years from every
tax ; and, by a brief obtained from the Govemor,
were privileged to receive the charity of all bene
volently-disposed persons, so that they were com
fortably supplied with every necessary. For the
most part, however, they continued poor, needy,
and negligent.
We steamed past the Island of Jamestown —
the first English settlement on our left — and
proceeded towards the WUliamsburg landing at
Grove Wharf. This wharf extended nearly a
mile from the shore ; but had been partially burnt
by order of General Magmder, lest the enemy
should come up the river and effect an entrance

126 DOWN THE JAMES RIVER.
into the town, about six miles distant. All the wood
work that once composed the landing-stage had
been consumed, and only chan'ed log shafts were
visible— arising like giants out of the water. At
this point the James River is very wide. Here
the volunteers who came on board at Richmond
were put ashore in a lighter. A number of tents
and a few log-houses were scattered along the
raargin of the river. Some fortifications had
been erected, but no guns were then mounted.
Ere long the " Northampton " got alongside of
Stone-House Wharf, when Major Wilson's bat
talion disembarked, In order to garrison Harding's
Bluff battery. An extensive line of breastworks
was then erecting, under the superintendence of
Captain Myers, a young, but talented engineer.
Near this place Is a remarkable and ancient
structure, called the " Stone House," from which
the wharf takes its name. The waUs and chimney
which remain are composed of sandstone. The
house Itself is eighteen and a-half feet by fifteen
In extent, and consists of a basement room under
ground, and a story above. There Is a doorway
on the west side, about six feet wide, affording
ingress to both apartments, and loop-holes In the
waUs at regular distances apart. The waUs vary
In thickness, being two feet thick in the basement,
and eighteen inches in the upper portion of the

THE OLD "stone HOUSE," 127
building. Great care and nicety have manifestly
been bestowed on the masonry, judging from the
evidences of good workmanship which still remain.
The house stands solitary in an extensive waste
of woods, on a high knoll or promontory, around
the foot of which winds the eastern bank of
Ware Creek, a tributary of York River. The
ruin faces the creek, being elevated one hundred
feet above its level, and three hundred feet from
its margin. The spot is approached by a long
circuitous defile, the comb of a ridge, so narrow
in some parts, as that two carts could not pass
abreast. Besides, the defile Is involved In such a
labyrinth of dark ridges of forest and deep gloomy
ravines, mantled with laurel, that it is considered
impossible to find the way without the assistance
of a guide. Nor is the place more accessible by
water; the surrounding country forming the
most broken and desert tract to be found east of
the Blue Ridge.
The old " Stone House " is Indeed a singular
stmcture, and its wild, secluded, desolate site,
have naturally given rise to traditions and con
jectures as to its origin and purpose. There
exists a tradition that it was erected thirteen
years after the landing at Jamestown, and that
it belonged to a notorious pirate named Black-
beard, who built it as a safe depository for his

128 DOWN the JAMES RIVER.
plunder. This statement, however, has been con
tradicted. Another fanciful conjecture is, that
this elaborate construction, like the cave of
classic story in which Dido entertained JEiaea,s,
was the favourite rendezvous of Captain Smith
and the Indian princess, Pocahontas.
According to the opinion of some antiquarians,
this singular memorial of the past was built at the
commencement of the seventeenth century, two
or three years after Smith and his companions
landed at Jamestown, and that it was designed
as a retreat, in case they should happen to be
driven by the Indians from their island settle
ment. It is believed, also, that the building was
never completed; and certainly the absence of
any relic of either roof or floor favours the sup
position. Having arrived on board after my excursion, I
proceeded onwards to Day's Point, BurreU's Bay,
which lies on the opposite side. The last Confede
rate battery on the river is erected at this place,
comprising ten guns — four 9 -Inch Columbiads, and
six 32-pounders, Here the remaining portion of
the volunteers disembarked, and a quantity of
shot, shell, and ammunition was conveyed on
shore. The Federal batteries and camps at New
port News — only twelve mUes distant — were
plainly discernible by the aid of a glass ; while I

RUINS OF A CHURCH. 129
could perceive, with the unaided eye, the Union
flag-staff planted upon an eminence, and the Stars
and Stripes floating gaily In the breeze.
Three miles distant frora the river bank is
the pretty-little town of Sralthfield. It occupies
an elevated position on the margin of the Pagan
creek, a navigable stream, commanding an exten
sive marine and land prospect. Ten years after
the founding of Richmond, this town was estab
lished by one Arthur Smith, the proprietor of the
soil. The population of Smithfield Is somewhat
over one thousand; and, owing to trees shading the
porches of the dwellings, the place impresses a
stranger very favourably.
In the depths of a neighbouring forest, about
an hour's ride from the town, stands the ruins of
a church. It was built during the reign of
Charles I., and was the second Episcopal edifice
erected in Virginia ; the brick, lime, and timber
of which It Is composed, having been imported
from this country. So substantially was it raised,
that In those places where it has not been exposed
to rain, the oak appears perfectly sound, and the
mortar seems as compact and firm as stone. Its
walls are overrun with a deUcate net-work of
vines, and the tower Is in an exceUent state of
preservation. ,
At the request of Lieutenant Johns, the Captain
VOL. IT. k:

130 DOWN THE JAMES RIVER.
of the "Northampton" steamed round Day's
Point, and approached to within a couple of miles
of the blockading fleet, numbering six ships of
war, when our vessel was sighted by the sentinels.
It was evident that we should have got a warm
reception had we continued our course ; for, by the
aid of a glass, we observed some commotion on
board one of the enemy's ships, and several men
busy about the guns. So, not being in a position,
and having no disposition, to show fight — in fact
not having so much as a rifle on board — the
"Northampton's" head was reversed, and we
resumed our journey to Richmond, where we
arrived about noon the following day.

131

CHAPTER V.
TRIP TO JAMESTOWN ISLAND, WILLIAMSBURG,
YORKTOWN, HAMPTON, AND GLOUCESTER POINT.
Head-Quarters — The Main Battery — ArtiUery Encamp
ment — Classic Ground — " In Memoriam" — Williamsburg
under the Crown — ^WiUiam and Mary College — The
First Newspaper in Virginia — Statue of Lord Botetourt —
The Old Magazine and Capitol — Hotel Accommodation
— System of Defences — ^Position of Yorktown — The Nel
son Monuments — ^Tomb of the Hon. WiUiam Nelson —
The Fortifications — General Magruder.
One very sultry moming in August, I proceeded
on board the " Northampton " steamer, in com
pany with Colonel Talcott, the chief engineer of
the James and York River defences, in order to
visit various places of Interest in the Peninsula,
and inspect the fortifications that were either
recently erected or in course of forraation.
On our way to Jamestown Island, we paid a
k2

132 JAMESTOWN ISLAND.
passing visit to the hospitable mansion of Captain
Harrison, whose wife is grand-daughter to the
United States' President of that name. The
Captain was with his regiment in Yorktown, so
we were entertained by the mistress of the house
— a very amiable and excellent lady. After
taking farewell of our generous friend we re-
embarked, put off from the wharf, and In a couple
of hours arrived at Jamestown, the first point of
our destination, when we stepped on shore,
leaving the " Northampton " to proceed down the
river. .
At the wharf I observed many anxious-looking
faces, moustached and be-whiskered to an extent
that clearly indicated the visits to a barber to
have been like angels' —
" Few and far between."
But the sinewy form, the determined mouth, and
the bright clear eye, were illustrative of such
chivalrous spirits as could win a second Manassas
victory. "Head-quarters" were situated about half-a-
mUe from the river; and as I approached the
same, could not but fancy I was about to visit
some fine old English residence. The brlck-
bulldlng — the spacious avenue belted with trees,
whose luxurious foliage seemed to defy the
boldest strokes of a mid-day Southern sun— the

THE MAIN BATTERY. 133
sanded pathway — and the capacious vestibule, put
me forcibly in mind of raany an ancient yeoman's
residence in the " old countrle."
No sooner had Colonel Talcott and myself
entered the "airy hall" than we were most
courteously greeted by the commandant of the
island. Captain Catesby R. Jones, In whom were
combined the qualities of an energetic disciplina
rian, and a polite gentleman.
Having partaken of some refreshment, I accom
panied Colonel Talcott and the principal officers
in charge, to view the neighbouring fortifications.
The main battery at the western portion of the
island is well and judiciously located, and com
mands the channel so effectually as to render it
alraost impossible for any vessel to pass without
becoming disabled in the attempt. Four faces of
this elaborate work possess embrazures and
strong murlons, with six 32-pounders and three
9-inch Dahlgren guns, mounted on heavy car
riages. Sweeping the island, together with the lower
portion of the Jaraes River, I noticed several
8-inch Columbiads, mounted on pivot carriages en
barbette. West of the main battery are guns
of heavy calibre, similarly mounted, and coraraand
ing an equally judicious position. To the north
ward the chief defences are well protected by a

134 JAMESTOWN ISLAND.
heavy Dutch and parapet breast-work, capable of
withstanding land artUlery raunltlon, or small
arms of any force. In a northerly direction is
a small redoubt coraraanding the creek, which
makes Jamestown an Island. Between this
redoubt and the main battery are advanced
breast-works of an extended nature, rendered the
more defensible from the natural elevation upon
which they are erected. About the centre, or
what might be termed the waist of the island, is a
large redoubt, called the Powhatan battery,
mounting heavy pivot guns, and possessing an area
sufficient to accommodate six thousand troops.
These defences embrace a portion of the old fort
which has been re-constructed, and which, accord
ing to tradition, was carried during the Revolu
tionary war. This redoubt Is flanked on three
land sides by a redan forty yards square, in addi
tion to almost impassable marshes.
To the southward, and adjacent to the river, Is
a smaU water-battery— the only "masked bat
tery " I have observed in any of the Confederate
defences— completely protecting an approach from
the shore ; while at the end or eastern point of
the Island, Is another battery of alike description,
having heavy guns in circular bastions. Through
the energetic exertions of Captain Jones, late of
the United States' Navy, and the engineers

ARTILLERY ENCAMPMENT. 135
associated with him, these extensive and effective
works were thrown up in an incredibly short time;
but yet seeraed in a thorough degree of com
pleteness. In addition, hot-shot furnaces, a shell
house, powder magazine, and all the necessary
appurtenances of a well-constructed^battery, are
fuUy and perfectly carried out. I was forcibly
struck by the beautiful regularity of everything
appertaining to the defences, as well as the manner
in which the artillery encampment was arranged.
Four companies of the Albemarle Everett Artil
lery, of Charlesville, besides a strong garrison
of infantry, were stationed on the island, the pro
prietor of which — William Allen, of Claremont
— being captain of one corps; through whose
generous and hospitable endeavours the troops
were enabled to enjoy raany coraforts. The men
appeared particularly cheerful and attentive to
their duties ; while little more than the ordinary
sickness incidental to camp life was experienced.
The soldiers were well-drilled, and perfectly con
versant with their work. The excellent order and
discipline that prevailed speak highly for the ability
and administrative talent of the commandant
and his drill assistants. Lieutenants De Lagnier
and Lewis.
The classic ground of Jamestown is deserving
at least of a passing notice.

136 JAMESTOWN ISLAND.
This island is about three miles in length, and
at Its widest part one and three-quarter miles In ex
tent. It Is replete with annals of the past history
of Virginia, Here It was that many of the best
and bravest English families emigrated early in
the seventeenth century, subsequently to Captain
Smith and his companions having select ed it for
their settieraent, — then a wilderness, inhabited by
fierce red-skinned Indians, with whom they had
to do battle. Once, indeed, there was a town or
city here ; but, alas ! I could not trace the re
motest relic of its existence, beyond the dilapidated
tower of an ancient church — embedded In thick
foliage, said to be standing nearly two centuries
and a half — and a few tombstones, all of which
were in a sad state of decay, I could not gaze
upon that venerable memento of antiquity, sur
rounded by the awful proofs of human mortality,
without recalling to mind the pathetically solemn
language of the Bard of Avon : —
" The cloud-capt towers, the gorgeous palaces.
The solemn temples, the,great globe itself.
Yea, aU which it inherits, shaU dissolve ;
And, hke this unsubstantial pageant faded.
Leave not a wreck behind ! "
Strange to say, the site Is a point of land pro
jecting into the James River ; and, as the water is
fast gaining on the shore, the time is Ukely to

137
arrive when the waves wUl roll in mournful re
quiems over it.
While musing and wandering about the church
yard, I traced on several of the monuments — which
were composed of English sand-stone — armorial
bearings nearly obliterated, but yet sufficiently
distinct to show that underneath reposed the
bones of "English worthies" and the scions of a
noble race. The oldest inscription I could de
cipher was on a slab erected " To the memory of
the Reverend John Crouch, 1 684,"
, Among the most perfect was the following
" In memoriam," The slab, however, bore no
date : — "Here Lveth William Sherwoo"
That was Born In the parish
or white Chappell Near
London. A Great Sinner '
Waiting For a Ioyfull
Resurrection."
While gazing on the remains of the old church
— within whose sacred walls the Indian Princess
Pocahontas was baptized and married — It appeared
to grow more and more dismal, as if mourning
that ever its haUowed precincts should be in
fringed by the warlUse preparations that were
going on around. Sadly, but reverently, I picked
out a piece of the mouldering superstructure,

138 WILLIAMSBURG
where once reverberated the solemn voices of de
vout worshippers, and which echoed with the
convincing truths of religious argument. Every
Sunday a religious service Is held in the church
yard, while the sacredness and sombre reminis
cences of such a sanctuary impart to the celebra
tion a degree of solemnity and Intensity scarcely
experienced In the most gorgeous cathedrals, or
bedecked raodern churches.
During the Revolution two actions were fought
in this vicinity. The first and principal was on
June 25, 1781, and occurred at Spencer's Ordinary,
in the forks of the road leading to Jamestown
and Williamsburg. Lord Cornwallis, after halt
ing nine days at Williamsburg, advanced on the
4th July to Jamestown Island,
Having Inspected the leading fortifications on
the island, we all returned to head-quarters,
where, after partaking of an excellent dinner, a
carriage was provided, when Colonel Talcott and
myself set off for the interesting city of Williams
burg. A few hours' drive through plantations
and dense forests brought us to the town : so,
having puUed up at the only hotel in the place—
a mouldy and miserable-looking building— we,
alighted, and having entered our names, separated
for the evening,
Williamsburg is fifty-eight miles from Richmond,

UNDER THE CROWN. 139
seven from Jamestown, and twelve from York-
town, and is finely situated on a plain between
the York and James Rivers, It is laid out In
paraUel streets, having a square in the centre
several acres in extent. Through this square
runs the principal street, which is pretty wide,
mathematically straight, and about a mile in ex
tent. At one end is the William and Mary College,
and at the other the old Capitol, both buildings
having been converted into military hospitals.
Upon the State House becoming burnt down
at Jamestown — the first metropolis — Governor
Nicholson removed his official residence to this
place in the year 1698. From that period
until 1779 it continued the seat of Government,
and became the metropolis of Virginia under the
Crown, I could scarcely reconcile it to my
mind that this dreary, dllapitated town, was once
the centre of the fashion, wealth, and learning of
the " Old Dominion" — the influence of which has
left its impress on the place, and even the raanners
and characteristics of its inhabitants. And yet
there can be no doubt that being once the resi-
dence of the Governor — the Vice-Regent of the
British Sovereign — a kind of Royal splendour was
observed here ; and that, during the session of the
House of Burgesses, stately modes of life were
adopted, when the city would teem with gaily-

140 WILLIAMSBURG.
attired citizens, and the streets exhibit a scene of
animated and glittering tumult.
The old College was founded by Royal Charter,
during the reign of WilUam and Mary, who
granted to it a donation of twenty thousand acres
of land. This endowment was further augmented
by the duty of a penny per pound levied on
tobacco exported from Virginia and Maryland, in
addition to imports upon liquors, skins, and furs.
From all sources it possessed a revenue of three
thousand pounds, communitus annis. Several ad
ditional benefactions were subsequently added,
such as that of Mr. Boyle — an Englishman — for
the education of the Indians, and their instruction
in the doctrines of the Christian religion. The
building was originally modelled by Sir Christo
pher Wren. After a time the old collegiate
edifice was consumed, when another was erected
on the same site, under the Ingenious direction of
Governor Spotswood, This construction is of
brick, and is well-contrived ; the exterior aspect
of which strikingly resembles Chelsea Hospital.
With the exception of Harvard University,
WiUiara and Mary College is the oldest literary
and scholastic institution in Vir^nia. It is dis
tinguished for the number of its graduates who
have arisen to positions of eminence, and fulfilled
the highest offices in the American Republic.

THE FIRST NEWSPAPER. 141
The first newspaper published in Virginia was
the Virginia Gazette, the first issue of which ap
peared August 6th, 1736. In size it was only
twelve inches by six. Sorae of the nurabers are
stiU preserved. Less than a month after it ap
peared there was an announcement with reference
to the College, which I reproduce : —
" On this day sen'night, being the 5th of November, the
president, masters, and scholars of William and Mary
coUege went, according to their annual custom, in a body,
to the Governor's, to present his honour with two copies of
Latin verses, in obedience to their charter, as a grateful
acknowledgment for two valuable tracts of land given the
said coUege by their late K. William and Q. Mary. Mr.
President deUvered the verses to his honor, and two of the
young gentlemen spoke them. It is further observed that
there were upwards of 60 scholars present — a much greater
number than has been any year before since the foundation
of the coUege."
Here is another announceraent, a few years
later, bearing date " Sept. 21, 1739" : —
" This evening wUl be performed, at the Theatre, by the
young gentlemen of the coUege, The Tragedy of Cato ;
and on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday next, wiU be
acted the foUowing comedies, by the gentlemen and ladies
of this country, viz. : The Busy Body, The Recruiting
Officer, and The Beaux Stratagem."
Some of the announcements in the Virginia
Gazette are very quaint and amusing, although
the grammar is not of the best. The same year

142 WILLIAMSBURG.
occurs a business advertisement, which reads as
follows : —
"Edward Morris, Breeches- Maker and Glover, from
London, is set up in his business, near the coUege, in WU-
hamsburg, where he makes and sells the best buckskin
breeches, either of the common tanned color, black, or
other cloth colors, after the EngUsh manner. Also buck
skin gloves, with high tops. Any persons that have occa
sion to make use of him, in any of the above particulars,
may depend upon kind usage, and at very reasonable
rates." The announceraent of births, deaths, and mar
riages were invariably done in verse. Here is a
marriage notice from the Gazette of 1776 : —
" On Sunday last, Mr. Beverly Dixon to Miss Polly
Saunders, a very agreeable young lady.
" Hymen, thy brightest torch prepare.
Gild with Ught the nuptial bower.
With garlands crown this lovely pair.
On them thy choicest blessings shower.
Cupids lightly sport and play,
Hymen crowns the happy day ;
Sprightly graces, too, descend.
And the beauteous bride attend.
Here no sordid interest binds.
But pure innocence and love
Combined unite their spotless minds.
And seal their vows above."
No doubt such flattering rhymes and metrical
adulations must have been extremely agreeable
to the parties concerned.
In the Square just fronting the College — ^wher^:

STATUE OF LORD BOTETOURT. 143
the Episcopal clergy of Virginia are educated —
is a finely-executed statue of Lord Botetourt, one
of the Colonial Governors. Although greatly
mutilated, and the right arm being entirely gone,
it presents a specimen of artistic skill and work
manship. The figure is attired in the court-dress
of that period, and has a short sword appended to
the side. This monument was erected in 1774,
by the Assembly of Virginia, at the expense of
the Colony, and was removed frora the old Capitol
to its present position. At each side of the pe
destal is a suitable inscription ; but I have simply
copied that in front, which I now subjoin : —
to the rt. honourable
NOEBORNE BERKELEY
BARON DE BOTETOURT
HIS majesty's
LATE LIEUT. AND GOVERNOR GENERAL OF THE
COLONY AND DOMINION OF

VIRGINIA.

Richard Haywai^ Scnlpt.
London ; UDCCLXXll.

Another object of interest is the " Old Maga
zine," which occupies a portion of the capacious
Square. It was built a century and a quarter ago,
and is memorable as the buUding from which Lord
Dunmore, the last British Governor, removed the

144 WILLIAMSBURG.
powder belonging to the Colony on board the
¦" Magdalen " ship of war — an act which threw
Virginia into a ferment, and occasioned the for
mation of the first armed force in opposition to
Royal authority. This building is of stone, and
in a tolerably good state of preservation. In form
it Is oval, with a slanting roof, which gives to It
a conical shape.
Fronting Palace Green are two brick structures,
the remains of Lord Dunraore's official residence,
one of which did duty as an office, and the other
as a guard-house. In Colonial tiraes. The Interven
ing space was once occupied by the main building,
which was seventy-four feet long and sixty-eight
feet wide — doubtless an Iraposing edifice In Its day.
Here Lord Dunraore was surrounded by the pomp
and pageantry of Vice-Royal state. The grounds
around the Palace then comprised nearly three
hundred acres, and numerous lindens had been
Iraported from Scotland to increase the charm of
the aspect. Two of these trees still remain, and
are regarded with a degree of reverence by the
inhabitants. They certainly are very luxurious and
beautiful; so I was not astonished that they should
have become objects of attraction. Soon after the
surrender of Cornwallis, and while in the occu
pancy of French troops, the Palace was acciden
tally destroyed by fire. The adjoining offices.

THE " OLD CAPITOL." 145
however, escaped the fury of the conflagration.
These buildings have been converted into exceed
ingly pretty cottages — in one of which I took
supper." Only a few scattered bricks of the " Old Capi
tol " still remain — a building which was consumed
by fire in 1832 — the first edifice erected In the
city having been destroyed in a like manner some
years before. Here it was that Patrick Henry
made his debut in the House of Burgesses, when,
attired In coarse apparel, with the air of an obscure
and unpolished rustic, he arose and astonished, by*
the rugged power and grandeur of his eloquence,,
those who could boast of the learning of the
schools and the polish of refined life. Here like
wise occurred that touching Incident in the history
of Washington, who, upon being complimented by
the Speaker, rose to express his acknowledgments,
when he blushed, stammered, and trembled ; but
whose painful trepidation was relieved by the
Speaker, who observed : —
" Sit down, Mr. Washington ; your modesty is
equal to your valour; and that surpasses the power
of any language I possess."
The old " Raleigh Tavern," over the portico of
which stood for many years the bust of Sir Walter
Raleigh, and where important committees of the
Legislature used to meet, was consumed shortly
VOL. II. I*

146 WILLIAMSBURG.
before my arrival in the town. In the Virginia
Gazette of October 5, 1768, appears the following
account of a " genteel " dinner given therein : —
" Yesterday, Peyton Randolph, Esq., our worthy re
presentative, gave a genteel dinner at the Raleigh Tavern
to the electors of this city, after which many loyal and pa
triotic toasts were drank, and the afternoon spent with
cheerfulness and decorum."
This Peyton Randolph was an emineht lawyer,
and the first President of the American Congress.
He filled the office of King's Attorney of the
Colony for many years.
The hotel in which Colonel Talcott and myself
put up was an old, mouldy, dingy-looking wooden
building, fronting the Square. How it held toge
ther was to me a wonder. The walls looked as
though they had not been papered or white-washed
since the premises were erected. The accom
modation was precisely in keeping with the ex
terior and Interior of the establishment. In the
room in which we slept were four beds — one at
each corner — fiiUy occupied. These were of straw,
and eraitted anything but an agreeable odour. In
fact, everything had the sarae frouzy smeU. Du
ring the night I got out of bed and opened the
window, for I felt an oppressive sense of partial
suffi3cation. So soon as daylight appeared I rose
and dressed, although I had scarcely accommoda-

HOTEL ACCOMMODATION, 147
tion for an ablution. Indeed, the sleeping apart
ment contained no convenience whatever, not even
to the simple article of soap ; and but one towel
was reserved for four guests. Having completed
my toilet — which was arranged in a very iraperfect
manner — I walked down-stairs, and as there was
no reception-room, sallied forth into the streets,
and prolonged my raorning-walk until breakfast-
hour had arrived.
The refectory was a long, narrow, dirty, ill-
ventilated apartment on the basement-floor, the
ceiling of which was covered over with flies, so
thickly congregated, as to render every portion of
it imperceptible. To this was hinged on a num
ber of square pieces of tiraber, about two yards
apart, to which a cord was attached. Upon be
ing puUed — a negro having been specially reserved
for the purpose — the boards were made to sway
gently to and fro — a process which served to dis
perse the flies that hovered in thick clusters around
the breakfast-table — tempted, doubtless, by the
luscious fat ham, melting butter, and steaming
com-cake spread thereupon. After partaking of
a cup of bad coffee — in which I am confident there
was not a particle of the genuine berry — I was
glad to make a hasty retreat. Notwithstanding
this utter absence of accommodation, I was
-charged nearly as much as at the palatial "Ballard
l2

148 WILLIAMSBURG.
House," Richmond, orthe " Fifth- Avenue Hotel,"
New York,
In a short time our carriage was prepared, when
I accorapanied Colonel Talcott and Captain Rives,
the engineer of the Williarasburg defences, on a
tour of inspection. These works, which are scat
tered around a considerable area of country, I
shall now briefly describe : —
That portion of Virginia farailiarly known as
the Peninsula, lies between the Jaraes and York
Rivers, and rests on the Chesapeake Bay. At Its
extreraity is situated the celebrated Fortress
Monroe, commanding the mouth of the James,
but now, unfortunately for the Confederates, in
the possession of the Federal Government. This
fortress, serving as a, point d'appui for their troops,
has frequently suggested the idea of the North
inarching upon Richraond.
At an early period of the war strong defences
were comraenced at Yorktown, and on the oppo
site shore, with the view of preventing the
enemy's fleet from ascending York River. These
works were, at the time of my visit, so
near completion, that any aftack on them by
land or by water would most probably end in
disastrous defeat to the assailants. Numerous
batteries had also been erected on the James
River — one of which being of such a formidable

SYSTEM OF DEFENCES, 149
character as to effectually obstruct the passage of
the strongest ship of war.
The only problem, therefore, remaining to be
solved was, the selection of a naturally strong line
of defence across the Peninsula, to be rendered
doubly formidable by art. The first Une erected
lies between College and Queen's Creeks — the
former a tributary to the James, and the latter to
the York River. These defences consist of a fort,
having strong flanking redoubts, lying between
impassable marshes, on the right and left — further
strengthened by several large ponds artificially
formed and vigorously prosecuted.
As a further precautionary measure— should the
enemy succeed in carrying the defences of James
River below Williamsburg — formidable earth
works were constructed on the shore beyond
Jamestown Island, to a point several railes distant,
designated the Utopia Bottoras. Here, at the
narrowest part of the Peninsula, a second line of
defence was In process of erection, about two
miles distant from the first, extending to the mouth
of King's Creek — a distance of five miles, of which
three miles are rendered irapassable by the
natural obstruction of deep water and ralry
marches. Most of these works are well suppUed with guns
,«f various calibres, ranging from 32 to 12-pounder6,

15Q YORKTOWN.
mounted on barbette carriages. These defenoea
were constructed by Captain Rives, who received
his professional education in a French mUitary
academy, and who is considered one of the
best engineers in the South, although but a very
young man. Captain Rives is the son of M. C,
Rives, ex-minister to France, but at present a
member of the Virginia Congress.
When we had visited aU the fortifications in the
neighbourhood — at some of which hundreds of
negroes were working aud singing away right
raerrily — the engineer took leave of us, leaving
Colonel Talcott and myself to prosecute our
journey to Yorktown — where we arrived after
a couple of hours' drive.
Yorktown is situated at the north-east corner
of the peninsula forraed by Chesapeake Bay and
the York and Jaraes Rivers, and Is but twenty-
four miles distant from Fortress Monroe — which
occupies the south-east corner of the same penin
sula — the stronghold of the Northern army. This
town was established by law in 1705 ; and,
although very circurascrlbed, was once a place of
considerable coraraerce. It contains exactly
thirty-six dwellings, in addition to a church — all
of which are decayed — and, before the war broke
out, possessed dimply a population of ninety-
eight white and ninety coloured inhabitant^

THE NELSON MONUMENTS. 151
although in 1 790, when the first Census was taken,
its residents numbered three thousand.
The scenery is fine. The river, fully a mile
wide, stretches far away, until it merges into the
Chesapeake — an object of beauty when its ripples
sparkle in the sun, or when its broad bosom Is
tinged with the glorious hues of an autumnal
sunset. On its banks stand the hoary ruins of a
church. Silence reigns within its walls, and the
ashes of many iUustrious dead repose at its base ;
while the waves, dashing and splashing around,
sing mournful dirges, as it were, by their
sepulchres. The walls of this old church are
composed of stone marl, which is said to be soft
when taken out of its native bed, but to become
hardened by tirae and exposure, until It acquires
the firmness, solidity, and durability of granite.
In the churchyard I observed a nuraber of
monuments and grave-stones, the raost prominent
of which Is the torab of Governor Nelson, and
those of that illustrious family. Some of the
tomb-stones are sculptured with great artistic
skUl and elegance, especially a quadrangular
monument, four feet high and three feet wide,
— the work of a "Mr, Saunders, Cannoji Street,
London," Upon one end are represented the
faces of two angels, one of whom is eraerging
from a cloud, upon which is written, " All glory

152 YORKTOWN,
be to God!" The other figure below, with trum
pet In Its mouth. Is heralding the above inscription.
At the other end are also two angels : one in
the act of receiving a crown from the Saviour,
who Is hidden behind the clouds. This monument
is to the memory of Governor Nelson's grand
father. He eraigrated frora Penrith, in Cumber
land, which county had becorae transferred by
Henry III. to the Crown of Scotland, and, upon
failure of male heirs, reverted as a base fee to this
country, from which circumstance he was desig
nated "Scotch Tora." Over the Nelson armorial
bearings Is the following Inscription : —
" Hie jacet, spe certa resurgendi in Christi,
Thomas Nelson, generosus, FUius Hugonis
et Sari.-c Nelson de Penrith, in Comitatu
Cumbrise, natus 20mo die Februarii Anno
Domini 1677, vitse bene gestse finem implevit
7mo die Octobris 1745, setatis suse 68."
The house of General Nelson, the Governor of
Virginia before the Revolution, is still standing,
but has been converted Into an hospital. It is a
large brick structure, two stories high, and directly
fronts the river, on the main street of the town.
During the siege of York, this building was bom
barded by the American army, and the marks of
cannon shot are' distinctly perceptible on a portion
of its walls. Governor Nelson, then in Washing
ton's army, had command of the first battery

TOMB OF THE HON. WILLIAM NELSON. 153
which opened fire upon the town. He pointed
the first gun against his own dwelling, supposing
it to be occupied by some of the British officers,
and offered a reward of five guineas for every
bomb-shell that should be fired into it.
The estate of Yorktown remains in the Nelson
family. It Is now in the possession of Mr, Bryant,
who married Mrs. Nelson, the widow of the Gene
ral's grandson. The next heir is their son, WiUiam
Nelson, now fourteen years old. There is no stone
to mark the resting-place of Governor Nelson, who
died in January, 1789, at the age of fifty years.
The monument to Governor Nelson's father is
replete with carved workmanship, below which is
the inscription : —
" Here lies the body of the Hon. William Nelson, late President of
His Majesty's Council in this Dominion, in whom the love of man
and the love of God so restrained and enforced each other,
and so invigorated the mental powers in general, as not
only to defend him from the vices and folUes of his
age and country ; but also to render it a matter
of diificult decision in what part of laudable
conduct he most exceUed ; whether in
the tender and endearing accom
plishments of domestic life, or
in the more arduous duties of a
wider circuit ; whether as a neighbour.
gentleman, or a magistrate ; whether in
the graces of hospitaUty, charity, or piety
Eeader, if you feel the spirit of that exalted
ardour which aspires to the felicity of conscious virtue,
animated by those stimulating and divine admonitions,
perform the task and expect the destination of the righte
ous man. Obit 19 of Nov. Anno Domini 1772. iEtatis 61."

154 YORKTOWN.
About a mUe below Yorktown, on the river
bank, is the Moore House — in tolerably good pre
servation — meraorable as the dweUing where the
Articles of Capitulation were signed by Lord
CornwaUis. The place of surrender is half-a-mUe
beyond the eastern Uraits of the town, on the
south side of the road to Harapton. Here I
noticed an obelisk six feet in height, disfigured by
signatures deeply scratched in the marble, which
bears the following inscription : —
"Erected Oct. 19, 1860,
BY THB
Officees and Volunteer Companies
OF THE
Virginia Militia
OF
Gloucester Cotjntt,
TO
MARK THE SPOT
OF
Cornwallis's Surrender,
Oct. 19, 1781."
The head-quarters of' Cornwallis was a brick
house, belonging to Secretary Nelson, only the
ruins of which are now visible in the spacious and
continuous redoubt constructed by the British at
the eastern extreraity of the town. Sixty yards
frora these ruins, on the slope of, a hUl at the
lower end of the redoubt, is a cave which his
Lordship had excavated. It was hung with green

THE FORTIFICATIONS. 155
baize, and was used solely for holding councUs of
war. Two miles distant frora the town, in what is
termed Temple Farm, I observed a number of
old chimneys, clearly indicating the site of an
ancient settlement, A quarter of a mile frora
the York River, on the margin of a forest, are
the vestiges of an ancient temple. A few yards
apart, and surrounding it, is a tolerably thick wall,
possibly once intended as a defence against sudden
attacks from the Indian tribes. Within the
enclosure are several defaced and dUapidated
monuments. One only is legible — a flat slab
adorned with heraldic insignia.
The fortifications of Yorktown, although hastily
constructed, are of a formidable character, if well
defended. The town Is protected from assault on
its western, and along a portion of Its southern
front, by an Impassable morass. A stream called
Wormley's Creek, flowing into York River east
of the town, and a mile or two below it, renders
the approach of artillery on that side difficult, if
not impossible. The Confederates, however, have
not relied exclusively upon these natural defences,
but have erected a double line of strong earth
works around the town, upon which are mounted
a number of heavy guns.
It is a remarkable circumstance, that a portion

156 YORKTOWN.
of these lines comprise the identical works
thrown up by CornwaUis ; who seems to have sur
veyed the ground thoroughly, and to have
entrenched hiraself with consuraraate skill. While
engaged in digging a magazine, the soldiers
eraployed in the operation alighted upon one of
his Lordship's, containing a dozen loaded shells of
a large size. Although having been buried
eighty years, so excellent was the powder that It
exploded upon being dried.
These elaborate works were planned by efficient
engineers, and none of the usual devices for
strengthening military positions were overlooked.
The country around had been cleared of trees,
in order to give full range to the guns mounted
on the fortifications, and to remove all cover for
the enemy. Roads were constructed, marshes
flooded, distances accurately measured, and ranges
tested, so that the troops were prepared at any
inoment for an attack.
In addition to these land defences, a heavy
water battery had been built, which, together
with that at Gloucester Point — to be duly
described — not only render it impossible for a fleet
to enter, but also materially assist in the defence
of the town, by enfilading the exterior portion of
the lines.
i Yorktown, however, is but a smaU portion of

GENERAL MAGRUDER, 1 57
the system of military works erected for the de
fence of the Peninsula, An enemy advancing
upon it, for the purpose of attacking Richmond,
would encounter a succession of fortified lines,
stretching across from one river to the other, each
requiring time and labour, in addition to a large
force and a heavy siege-train, to succeed In
silencing or capturing. Should the Confederate
troops but defend these lines with anything like
the courage they have heretofore displayed, It
would be impossible to advance up the Peninsula
without a force far greater than the North can
spare for that purpose.
The spirit which Induced them to burn the
town of Hampton — one of their most beautiful
villages — rather than permit the enemy to occupy
it, will, in all probability, lead them to defend their
positions with desperate courage, and render the
Peninsula memorable In the annals of war.
I called at head-quarters upon General Magru
der, to present an introduction, as well as exhibit
my credentials from the War-Office, but found
that he had moved forward, beyond Hampton,
with some ten or fifteen thousand troops, whora
he drew up in line of battle so soon as he had got
within sight of the enemy. Although both armies-
were only one mile and a-half apart, the Federal
Commander preferred declining the challenge to
risking an encounter. Subsequently, I fell in

158

YORKTOWN.

with General Magruder, who has been in com
mand of the array of the Peninsula since the 6th
of last May* He Is of middle age, tall of stature,
and inclined to corpulency. His bearing and
manners indicate the soldier. He served in the
Mexican war, in which he distinguished himself ;
and his military skill and talents are considered
of a high order — a circumstance that has caused
him to be entrusted with the important defence
of the Peninsula. No general could be more popu
lar, estiraated, or indeed beloved by his commaud.
A number of encampraents — sorae of them
entrenched — were spread around the town ; and,
although there was a good deal of sickness, the
troops appeared in high spirits. There was no
scarcity of provisions ; and the commissariat
arrangements were excellent. Annexed is the
list of rations daily served out : —
Description of Eations.
Pork or bacon, ....
Beef (on alternate days).
Bread or flour, ....
Beans or peas, to 100 rations.

Rice,

ditto (o

Coffee,

ditto, ,

Sugar,

ditto, .

Vinegar,

ditto, .

Salt,

ditto, .

Spermaceti,

ditto, .

Soap,

ditto, .

Whisky (each man).

Pickles ditto,

,

Quantity.
. fib.
. li lb.

. 18

oz.

. 8
), 10

qts.
lbs.

. 6

lbs.

. 12

lbs.

4 qts.
. 2 qts.
. li lbs.
. 4 lbs.

. 1 gill.
. quant, suff.

INSCRIPTION ON A TENT, 159
Special requisitions were sometimes made, and
extra rations issued to the sick, in the form of
dried fruit, molasses, tea, etc, A market was
held in each camp every morning (of which the
Provost-Marshal had charge) for the sale of vege
tables; and the Colonel of each regiment fixed
the price of every article, in order to guard against
extortion, aUowing a fair profit to the venders.
By this means the men were enabled to live as
well as their officers.
In the neighbourhood of the town, upon a
healthy elevation, were encamped the 1st Regi
ment of North Carolina, coramanded by Colonel
Hill, On one of the tents was very neatly era-
broidered the following verses, in the form of a
heart: —
"LIBERTY.
" Women's hands have wrought for thee ;
Women's prayers for thee ascend ;
Women's weal and Liberty
On thy brave arms depend.
" Without a fear we put our trust —
First in Heaven, then in Thee.
Our cause is good, our quarrel just ;
We, must — we shall be free.
"S. S. "N.B.
" of B.
" St. James's Church,
Va."
Having obtained the necessary " pass," to avoid

1 60 HAMPTON.
being interrupted by the picket-guards, I set out
for Hampton, a distance of eighteen mUes. This
once beautiful vUlage presented a dreary sight,
being one mass of ruins. It had just been burnt
by order of General Magruder, and the smoke
still curled up In spiral wreaths from the con
sumed embers of many an edifice.
The late village of Hampton is beautifully
situated on an arra of the sea, setting in from the
adjacent roadstead, which bears Its name, and was
celebrated for Its salubrity, and the facilities which
it afforded for good living. According to the last
Census returns, it contained a population of nearly
two thousand. Several of the residences had been
built of brick, at a heavy cost, and belonged to
opulent farmers and well-to-do tradesmen. This
is the second time Hampton has been destroyed.
No spot in Virginia is Invested with more
thrilling romance and historic interest than
Hampton and its Iraraedlate vicinity. It was
visited, in 1607, by Captain John Smith — then an
Indian town called Kecaughtan. Here Smith and
his party were regaled with corn cakes, and ex
changed for them trinkets and beads. The
locality was settled from Jamestown in 1610, and
was incorporated a century afterwards as the
town of " Ye Shire of Elizabeth City."
The Episcopal church, an ancient pUe constructed

"marble marks of the DEAD," 161
of Imported brick, was the oldest building in the
vUlage, and from its isolated position escaped the
late conflagration. It is the second oldest church
in the State, and is surrounded by a ceraetery
filled with countless " marble marks of the
dead." Scattered through it I noticed at intervals
stones with armorial quarterlngs, designating the
resting-places of erainent individuals. Some of
these are very old, dating, in several instances,
back into the seventeenth century. Here repose
the earthly remains of many a Cavalier and
gentleman, whose naraes are stUl borne by nuraer
ous families In the Southern States,
Annexed are a few of the inscriptions on these
black marble tablets : —
" Here lies the body of John Neville,
Esq., Vice-Admiral of His Majesty's fleet
and commander-in-chiefe of ye squadron
cruising in ye West Indies, who dyed on
board ye Cambridge, ye 17 day of August,
1697, in the ninth yeare of the reign of
King WiUiam ye third, aged 57 years."
" In hopes of a blessed resurrection, here
lies ye body of Thomas Curie, gent., who
•was born Nov. 24, 1641, in ye parish of
Saint Michael, in Lewis, in ye county of
Surry, in England, and dyed May 30,
1700. ' " ' Vnien a few years are come then shall I go away
whence I shall not return '—Job, 16 ch. 22 v."
VOL, II. M

162 HAMPTON.
" Here lyeth ye body of ye Reverend
Mr. Andrew Thompson, who was bom at
Stonebive, in Scotland, and was minister
of this parish 7 yeares, and departed this
hfe ye 11 Sep. 1719, in ye 46 yeare of his
age, leaving ye character of a sober and
religious man."
In the lower part of the Peninsula, and In this
very county, the Federal army perpetrated the
direst abominations. They wantonly destroyed
family relics, such as pictures, bibles, etc. ; and
not content with these acts of Vandalism,
carried off several Confederate soldiers' wives,
took them into camp, and finally subjected
them to the grossest Indignities. General Ma
gruder made a representation to General Butler
on the subject of the violation of the women —
strongly denouncing the outrages committed by
his troops, and asserting that if the women were
not delivered over to hira within twenty-four
hours after the receipt of his dispatch, he would be
corapeUed to hang all the prisoners he had in his
hands. This threat produced the desired effect.
During my excursion around HamptOn I feU In
with several of the late residents, who, although
they suffered great losses by the destruction of
their property, nevertheless appeared cheerful
under the circumstances. An aged gentleman
observed : —

FORTIFICATIONS AT GLOUCESTER POINT, 163
"I would prefer to lose every dollar I pos
sess rather than allow the eneray to gain the
least advantage. If General Magruder did not
order the firing of the town, I should have con
sumed my premises with my own hands,"
Having grown weary of viewing the smoulder
ing ruins of a once pretty, picturesque, and
flourishing village, I retraced my steps to York-
town, Early the following morning I visited Captain
Peyton, who was in charge of the powerful water-
battery. His command consisted of seventy
artillerists, including officers — a force, be remarked,
scarcely sufficient to work the guns effectually, in
case of an attack. After having gone over the
defences a second tirae, the Captain ordered his
private boat to be got ready, when, in company
with Colonel Talcott, we crossed over to Glouces
ter Point, three quarters of a mile distant. Here
I was Introduced to Captain Jefferson Page, late
of the United States' Navy, who had comraand of
the redan batteries at this place. Although
having but just arisen frora a sick bed, he chape
roned my friend and myself over the extensive
fortifications ; of which I present a brief account.
These elaborate and almost impregnable de
fences were commenced during the previous April,
under the superintendence of Mr. Clark, C.E, In
M 2

164 GLOUCESTER POINT,
the latter part of May, Captain Procter Smith, of
the Virginia Engineers, took charge of the works,
assisted by Lieutenant Dickinson, of the Engineer
Corps. Since that time they had progressed
rapidly, and on the occasion of my visit were
nearly completed.
The water-battery is erected on a sand point,
which projects into the river so far, that , the
stream is little over half-a-mile wide In that
particular place. Nature, as it were, seems to
bave intended this spot for defensive operations;
as It is the only locality on the river where an
effective battery could be built.
The battery is of circular form, having a redan
towards the land. Its armaraent consists of
fourteen guns, comprising 9-inch, 32-pounders,
and 42-pounders ; several of them being sixty-one
hundred weight — all of which occupy embra
sures, with the exception of one that is mounted
en barbette. These guns sweep the shore above
and below, and would offer considerable resistance
to a force atterapting to cross from the river.
The vrettment is entirely composed of sod ; while
the magazines, by a raost ingenious contrivance
of Captain Page, are thoroughly protected from
the fire of heavy guns. The exterior of the
battery Is well protected from the effects of tides,
«,nd everything has been done to render it com
plete and efficient.

LAND DEFENCES. 165
Thfi land defences are truly formidable. The
line of entrenchments extends from the river bank
below the battery to the bank above it, exceeding
twelve hundred yards in development, with a
ditch twenty feet wide, and a parapet seven feet
high. Guns are in position at every available
point along the line; while the woods in the
vicinity had been eut down, thereby affording an
ample range for the fire of heavy artillery.
Traverses likewise were erected to prevent enfilade
and reverse fire from the enemy's shipping in the
river. It would require a very large force to
make a successful attack upon tbis place. The
engineer in charge regards the land and river
defences as very strong. Great risk would doubt
less attend any atterapt on the part of the
Federalists to steam up York River, exposed to
the double fire of the Gloucester Point and York-
town batteries. The artillerists and other troops
were in excellent spirits, and seeraed anxious for
the Union forces to raake an attack.
As but very imperfect arrangeraents had been
made for the sick at Yorktown — which possessed
but one smaU hospital — the planters of Gloucester
county received' over two hundred invalid soldiers
into their houses. Some establishments accom
modated ten, and others five patients. When
convalescent, their hospitable hosts used to have

166 VILLAGE OF GLOUCESTER.
them taken out daily in their private carriages.
The Court-House of the county was converted into
an hospitable, which contained about forty beds.
Gloucester itself is but a small decayed village,
containing only a few scattered dweUings. Du
ring the siege of York it was one of the outposts
of Lord Cornwallis, and the scene of some minor
military operations. A portion of the redoubts
erected at that time still remain. Its early
settlers were from Gloucestershire, In this country,
who not only transferred the names of places, but
those of rivers also. Hence the Severn, and
similar river and other local denorainations.
I reached Yorktown just in time to witness the
arrival of a regiment of New Orleans Zouaves —
all Frenchmen —commanded by Colonel Coppin.
Their soldier-like appearance, and the elegance of
their uniforms, attracted much attention, being
decidedly the finest equipped regiraent in the
Confederate array, and far superior to the Brooklyn
Zouaves. While at Yorktown I was kindly entertained
by Captain Magruder, nephew to the General,
and by Major Randolph, of the artillery, who
commanded at the battle of Great Bethel, and
was encamped here with his battalion.
The morning Colonel Talcott and myself started
from the Peninsula for Jamestown was extremely

A GENUINE BRILLIANT. 167
wet, and we had no better conveyance than a
barouche. The thermometer had fallen from 92°
to 69° in the course of a few hours, causing a dis
agreeably perceptible change In the temperature.
I wrapt myself in a cloak belonging to General
Magruder, which was kindly furnished to me by
one of his " aides," and proceeded on my journey,
which was rendered disagreeable by flooded roads
and other obstructions. After a ride of five
weary hours over " corduroy roads," through
dense forests and dreary plantations, meeting
only with picket-guards and possums — the latter
frolicking amid the thick foliage of the tall pines
— I reached Jamestown late in the evening, en
veloped in mud, and perfectly saturated with
rain. However, through the hospitable efforts
of Captain Jones and his officers, I was rendered
comparatively comfortable, together with my
similarly situated f eUow-traveUer, Colonel Talcott.
Next day I took the steamer for Richmond.
On board this river boat was a slave, who acted
In the capacity of steward. While he was in the
act of drawing water from a cask, my attention was
attracted by a glittering ring on the little finger
of his right hand, guarded by another of plain
gold, I looked closely at it, and found that it
bore the marks of a genuine brilliant, so I ob
served to the " darky" —

168 RETURN FROM GLOUCESTER,
"Boy, where did you pick up that ring?"
" No pick up 'tall, massa — bought It rite out."
"Ridiculous ! what do you know about rings?
Why, surely you have been taken in !"
" Tak' in, yah, yah!" (extending his mouth from
ear to ear), " No, no, massa, not dat — 'spects dis
'ere ral' di'mon' — can swur to dat ! "
"I perceived it was a pretty good ring, so I
I thought you found it. Now, tell me how much
did It cost?"
" Cos' hunder'-an'-twenty-five gold'n doUar —
das wot' cos' — 'spects wurt dat too !"
I Involuntarily smiled at this intelligence, and
considered what false ideas were entertained by
the people of England respecting the institution
of slavery " down South,"

169

CHAPTER VI,
CONFEDERATE VICTORIES IN MISSOURI.
Contest at Oak Hill— Retreat of the Federal Troops —
General M'Culloch's Proclamation — Proclamation of
Governor Jackson — Propositions to General Lyon —
Calling out of the Militia — Storming of Lexington —
Demanding a Surrender — A Truce — Renewing of the
Siege— Xovel Appliance of Warfare — Hoisting the
White Flag — The Capitulation — "Almost Bloodless
Victory " — General Price's Offical Report — A Scape-goat.
An important engageraent took place at Oak HIU,
eight railes south-east of Springfield, Missouri, on
Saturday, August 10th, In that action — nearly
as sanguinary and disastrous to the Federalists
as the Manassas contest — General Lyon lost his
life ; and the scattered and reraaining forces of
the enemy were, after six hours' hard fighting,
ignominiously driven from the field, pursued as

1 70 VICTORIES IN MISSOURI.
far as Springfield, and finally compeUed to fall
back upon Rolla.
In that engagement the FederaUsts had the
double advantage of position and experience.
Many of thera belonged to the regular army of
the United States. General Lyon brought into
the field over 9,000 well-armed and well-disciplined
men, having an abundant supply of ammunition
and powerful batteries, coraraanded by General
Slegel and Captain Totten; the forraer being a
man of some military reputation. The force of
General M'CuUoch, on the other hand, although
nearly equal In number, was inferior in other re
spects. Flint-lock muskets and shot-guns had to
do duty for the more improved modern rifle,
while the men had only twenty-five rounds of
cartridge each; and yet, after a prolonged and
desperate struggle, wherein the Unionists fought
with unusual bravery, they were forced to succumb
to their superior antagonists, leaving 800 kUled and
1,000 wounded on the field. Three hundred pri
soners, six pieces of artillery, and several hundred
stand of small arms, together with the enemy's
colours, were taken as trophies. The Confederate
loss was likewise very severe, araounting to 265
killed and 800 wounded. So far the Confederate
cause has advanced its claira to independence and
European recognition.

RETREAT OF FEDERAL TROOPS. 171
The sanguinary contest at Oak HIU has in
vested Vfith interest and iraportance the localities
of Springfield and Rolla — small towns, possessing
otherwise so very little worthy of note, that the
latter is even omitted from ordinary raaps. Spring
field — distant sorae two hundred and thirty miles
from St. Louis — is considerably the larger of the
two, being the capital of Greene county, and
wiU shortly be one of the principal stations of
the South-western branch of the Pacific Railroad,
Its position Is elevated, and, like most American
places of a similar character, possesses a court
house, two newspapers, and a bank. Its popula
tion Is estimated at 1,000,
RoUa, on the other hand, is the capital of Phelps
county, which fourteen years ago was formed
of portions of the adjacent counties of Pulaski
and Crawford. It lies equi-distant (that is, one
hundred and thirteen miles) between Springfield
and St. Louis, in a direct line between these two
points. The South-western branch of the Pacific
Railroad has its terminus here. The battle com
menced on Davis Creek, in Greene's Prairie, about
eight or nine miles south-west of Springfield.
When the Federal troops made their retreat,
they retraced their steps to Springfield, nine
miles; and from Springfield to RoUa, one hundred
and thirteen miles ; so that they had traversed a

172 VICTORIES IN MISSOURI. •
distance of one hundred and twenty -two miles
frora the scene of action.
This defeat of the Federal army In Missouri
has been productive of important advantages to the
Confederacy. In a strategic and military point
of view, that portion of territory, frOm its geo
graphical position, becarae positively necessary to
the Secessionists ; and if fortune favoured their
arras, and they could persist — as no doubt they
will — In holding their own against the North,
would ultimately have to be taken by conquest,
if but with the view to self-preservation. Popular
opinion In Missouri, however, has for a long tirae
been favourable to the Secession movement ; but
no demonstration could safely be made, owing to
the absence of arms and the presence of Northern
troops. General M'CuUoch's victory has relieved
its citizens from the hostile military despotism to
which it was subjected ; while its occupancy by
General Pillow, with a large force, at the solici
tation of Governor Jackson, enables the Missou
rians to breathe and act freely.
The Confederate Congress, upon the urgent
application of the Governor, received Missouri
into the Confederacy, and appropriated one million
of doUars towards raising and equipping an armed
force of 400,000 men in that extensive State,
By-and-bye, when the popular voice and vote are

m'CULLOCH's PROCLAMATION, 1 73
appealed to, it will declare in favour of Secession.
It is but just to the Confederate Governraent to
remark, that, with reference to Missouri, a strict
regard for political principle and State Rights has
been scrupulously observed. This Governraent
abstained from making an armed entrance into
Missouri until authoritatively convinced that the
State, through the will of Its people, and the acts
of its constitutional officers, was no longer a part
of the United States, and was only prevented
from making a demonstration, in forra and in fact,
to such eff'ect, by military coercion, and the con
sequent repression of public effort. Then it was
that General M'CuUoch penetrated Missouri frora
the south-west, and General Pillow frora the south
east, the result of whose corabined action has been
so successful.
The proclamation of General M'CuUoch is suf
ficiently indicative of the teraper and spirit which
aniraate the Government of the Southern States
and Its sen eral officers, and exhibits a marked
contrast" to the intolerance and injustice too fre
quently displayed on the other side,
" I do not come among you," observes General
M'CuUoch, " to make war upon any of your people,
whether Union or otherwise. The Union people
wiU be all protected in their rights and property. .
, . . The prisoners of the Union party who

1 74 VICTORIES IN MISSOURI.
have been arrested by the army wiU be released and
aUowed to return to their friends, Missouri must
be allowed to choose her own destiny. No oaths
binding upon your consciences will be administered^
Almost the entire territory of Missouri may now
be considered as in a state of revolt. The pseudo-
Governor Gamble — whora the Confederates desig
nate by the epithet of "Bogus" — called for an army
of 42,000 Missourians, as the Unionist party were
unable to cope with the existing condition of
things without the aid of a large mUitary force.
But this army could not be raised ; the prevailing
sentiment of the people being decidedly in favour
of Secession. General Pillow blockaded the Missis
sippi above Cairo, and also caused a battery to be
erected at Commerce, Massachusets, some ten
miles below Cape Girardeau. This battery com
pletely commands the river, and effectually cuts
off all coramunication with Cairo and Bird's
Point, One day the steamer, " Hannibal City,"
a large Keokuk packet, was fired into. Nearly
1,000 Union troops, destined for Bird's Point,
were on board, and taken prisoners, when the
vessel was finally sunk.
The course pursued by the Federal Govern
ment with reference to Missouri has been of a
very aggressive character, as will be perceived
from Governor Jackson's proclamation, wherein

GOV. Jackson's PROCLAMATION. 175
he explains the relative position of that State and
the Washington Admimstration :— ^
" Jefferson City. June 12, 1861.
" To the People of Missouri.
" A series of unprovoked and unparalleled out
rages have been inflicted on the peace and dignity
of this Commonwealth, and upon the rights and
liberties of its people, by wicked and unprincipled
men, professing to act under the authority of the
UnitedStates' Government ; the solemn enactments
of your Legislature have been nullified ; your vo
lunteer soldiers have been taken prisoners ; your
commerce with your sister States has been sus
pended ; your trade with your own fellow-citizens
has been and Is subjected to increasing control of
an armed soldiery; peaceful citizens have been
imprisoned without warrant or law; unofiPending
and defenceless raen, woraen, and children have
been ruthlessly shot down and murdered, and
other unbearable indignities have been heaped
upon your State and yourselves. To all these
outrages and Indignities you have submitted with
patriotic forbearance, which has only encouraged
the perpetrators of these grievous wrongs to
attempt still bolder and more daring usurpations,
" It has been my earnest endeavour, under all
these embarrassing circumstances, to maintain the

176 ' VICTORIES IN MISSOURI.
peace of the State, and avert, if possible, from
our borders the desolating effects of ciyll war.
With that object in view, I authorized Major-
General Price, several weeks ago, to arrange with
General Harney, commanding the Federal troops
In this State, the terms of an agreement by which
the peace of the State might be preserved. They
came, on the 21st of May, to an understanding,
which was made public. The State authorities
have laboured faithfully to carry out the terms of
that agreement. The Federal Governraent, on
the other hand, not only raanifested Its strong
disapprobation of it by the Instant disralssal of
that distinguished officer, who, on its part, entered
Into It, but it at once began and has uninter
ruptedly carried out a system of hostile operation,
in utter conterapt of that agreeraent, and In reck
less disregard of its own pledged faith. The acts
have latterly portended revolution and civil war
so unmlstakeably, that I resolved to raake one
further effort to avert these dangers from you.
" I, therefore, solicited an interview with
Brigadier-General Lyon, coraraanding the Fe
deral army in Missouri. It was granted on the
llth instant, and, waving aU questions of personal
and official dignity, I went to St. Louis, accom
panied by Major-General Price, We had an.
interview on the llth instant wfith General Lyon

PROPOSITION TO GENERAL LYON, 177
and Colonel F, P. Blair, jun,, at which I sub
mitted to them these propositions : — That I
would disband the State Guard and break up its
organization ; that I would disarm all the com
panies which had' been ordered out by the State ;
that I would pledge myself not to attempt to
organize the militia under the military bUl ; that
no arms or munitions of war should be brouscht
into the State ; that I would protect all citizens
equaUy in all their rights, regardless of their
jiolltical opinions; that 1 would repress all In
surrectionary movements within the State ; that
I would repel aU - attempts made to invade it,
from whatever quarter, and by whomsoever
made, and that I would thus maintain a strict
neutrality in the present unhappy contest, and
preserve the peace of the State ; and I further
proposed that I would, if necessary, invoke the
assistance of the United States' troops to carry
out these pledges. All this I proposed to do, upon
condition that the Federal Governraent would
undertake to disarra the Horae Guard, which
it has illegally organized and armed throughout
the State, and pledge itself not to occupy with its
troops any locaUties in the State not occupied
by them at this time. Nothing but the most
earnest desire to avert the horrors of civil war
from pur beloved State could have tempted me to
VOL, II. N

178 VICTORIES IS MISSOURI.
propose these humiliating terms. They were re
jected by the Federal officers. They demanded
not only the disorganization and disarming of the
State Militia, and the nullification of the military
bill; but they refused to disarra their own Home
Guard, and Insisted that the Federal Government
should enjoy the unrestricted right to move and
station its troops throughout the State, whenever
and wherever that might, in the opinion of Its
officers, be necessary, etiher for the protection of
loyal subjects of the Federal Government, or for
repelling invasion ; and they plainly announced
tbat it was the intention of the Adrainistration to
take military occupation, under these pretexts, of
the whole State, and reduce it, as avowed by
General Lyon hiraself, to the exact condition of
Maryland. " The acceptance by me of those degrading
terras would not only have sullied the honour of
Missouri, but would have aroused the indigna
tion of every brave citizen, and precipitated the
very conflict which It has been ray aira to prevent.
We refused to accede to them, and the conference
was broken up,
" FeUow-citizens, all our efforts towards conces
sion have failed. We can hope nothing from the
justice or moderation of the agents of the Federal
.Government in this State, They are energeticaUy

CALLING OUT THE MILITIA. 179
hastening the execution of their bloody and re
volutionary schemes for the inauguration of civil
war in your midst, for the military occupation of
your State by so many bands of lawless Invaders ;
for the overthrow of your State Government, and
for the subversion of those liberties which the
Government has always sought to protect ; and
they intend to exert their whole power to subju
gate you, if possible, to the military despotism
which has usurped the powers of the Federal
Government, " Now, therefore I, C. F. Jackson, Governor of
the State of Missouri, do. In view of the foregoing
facts, and by virtue of the power vested In me by
the Constitution and laws of this Coraraonwealth,
issue this my proclamation, calling the militia of
this State, to the nuraber of 50,000, into active
service of the State, for the purpose of repelling
such invasion, and for the protection of the lives,
liberties, and property of the citizens of this State ;
and I earnestly exhort all good citizens of Mis
souri to rally to the flag of their State, for the
protection of their endangered horaes and fire
sides, and for the defence of their most sacred
rights and dearest liberties.
" In issuing this proclaraation, I hold it to be my
most solemn duty to remind you, that Missouri is
StiU one of the United States, that the Executive
n2

180 VICTORIES IN MISSOURI.
department of the State Government does not
arrogate to itself the power to disturb that rela
tion. . That power has been wisely vested in the
Convention, which will, at the proper time, ex
press your sovereign will ; and that, meanwhile,
it is your duty to obey all constitutional require
ments of the Federal Government. But It is
equally my duty to advise you, that your first
allegiance is due to your own State, and that you
are under no obligation whatever to obey the un
constitutional edicts of the mUitary despotism
which has introduced itself at Washington, nor
submit to the infaraous and degrading sway of
Its wicked minions In this State. No brave-
hearted Missourian will obey the one or submit to
the other. Rise, then, and drive out ignomini
ously the invaders who have dared to desecrate
the soil which your labours have made fruitful,
and which is consecrated by your homes.
" Claiborne F. Jackson."
The proclamation of General Jackson is im
portant, for many reasons. Among others, It is
lUustrative of the forbearance and temperate
spirit of the Southerners, and shows that it is
only when all the rights of Stateship and citizen
ship are denied them, and the Constitution itself
.violated — when, in fact, they are goaded on to

STORMING OF LEXINGTON. 181
the last degree of human endurance — that they
are forced to rebel, or else submissively lay dowu
their necks to be trodden upon by the ruthless
foot of despotism. It would really seem as if the
war party in the North were bent upon uprooting
" the universal peace," and resolving the ancient
Republic into desperate anarchy and hopeless
chaos !
" Let heav'n kiss earth ! Now let not nature's hand
Keep the wild flood confin'd ! let order die !
And let this world no longer be a stage.
To feed contention in a lingering act ;
But let one spirit of the first-born Cain
Reign in all bosoms, that each heart being set
On bloody courses, the rude scene may end,
And darkness be the burier of the dead ! "
The victory at Springfield was no sooner won
than the Southern arms covered themselves with
glory at Lexington,
The Union forces, under Colonel MuUigan, con
sisting of nearly 4,000 men, had for some time
previous occupied the town of Lexington, around
which they had erected defences. On the night
ofthe llth September the attack was initiated
by an advance party of Confederate troops, who
appeared in front of the Federal entrench
ments, when a sharp action took place. Four,
cannons were planted, so as to command the dif
ferent points, including the entire semi-circle of

182 VICTORIES IN MISSOURI.
the Federal position, and a galling fire was kept
up in addition to an Incessant discharge of mus
ketry. The Confederates rendered themselves
almost Invisible, being concealed in the adjacent
corn-fields and woods ; so the attacked party had
no other means of doing execution among them,
than by firing in the neighbourhood of the
localities designated by the cannon smoke, and
now and again taking aira at the sharp-shooters
who had ventured out of ambush.
The next day there was a suspension of hos
tilities, as the Confederate troops had fallen
back to await further reinforcements before they
recommenced the assault upon Lexington with
earnestness and determination to drive out the
enemy. The first attack was simply a ruse to try
the eneray's strength, preparatory to further
action ; and they kept partially out of view. In
order to prevent their weakness from being dis
covered, and thereby guard against a sortie being
made upon thera. Colonel Mulligan took advan
tage of the opportunity to strengthen his fortifi
cations, and to forage for horse feed. Several
houses that the Confederate sharp-shooters occu
pied on the day of the engageraent were burned,
and eighty acres of corn were levelled to the
ground, in order to deprive thera of their shel
tering places. About three weeks' provisions

DEMANDING A SURRENDER, 183
were stored within the fort. After the first day's
engagement the entire force left the tents and
protected themselves within the trenches. Skir
mishing, however, constantly took place between
the outposts.
On the morning of Wednesday the I7th, the
Confederates, under General Price, opened fire
from aU their batteries, and kept pouring in a
shower of iron hail the entire day upon the
enemy's entrenchments ; while the practice of the
sharp-shooters was exceUent, as has been acknow
ledged by the enemy himself. Some time after
the siege had commenced, with a praiseworthy
humanity General Price sent a flag of truce to
Colonel Mulligan, demanding a surrender, and
informing him, that as the force he commanded
was so superior as to render It useless for him to
contend, he had no desire to fight for the sake of
shedding blood. He proposed, moreover, to allow
the Federal forces to march out of the town under
arms, taking their property and baggage with
them. All that General Price required was the
position ; and, this yielded. General MuUIgan was
free to go with his comraand wherever he pleased.
Half-way between the lines both Generals met,
attended by their respective Staff"-officers. Gene
ral MuUigan was obstinate, and would not accept
the Uberal proposition made to him. They sepai-

184 VICTORIES IN MISSOURI.
rated, however, in a seeraingly friendly manner,
and with rautual expressions of regret that the
fortunes of war had made their interests so anta
gonistic and deadly.
During the afternoon of the 18th a hand-tOr
hand conflict took place, which was but of short
duration, when the Confederate troops attacked
and carried a portion of the works. Advanc
ing in a strong and steady line up a slope,
after slight opposition they caused the Mont
gomery Guards to break from their entrench
ments and retire In disorder before their approach.
A murderous volley was then poured into the
dispersed ranks, inflicting the heaviest loss that
had been experienced since the opening of the
siege. Colonel Mulligan endeavoured to rally his
men for a charge, but few of them responded to
his call.
Hot shot and shell kept pouring into the town,
one ball having fired the College building, in
-which the Federal provisions had been collected.
Nevertheless, the troops succeeded in saving the
stores and extinguishing the conflagration. From
eight o'clock until midnight was occupied by
both beUigerents in burying their dead. When
the truce had expired, the cannonade opened
again with additional vigour on the Confederate
side, which the enemy did not reply to untU the

RENEWING OF THE SIEGE, 185
morning. Sq soon as daybreak had revealed locali
ties sufficiently to afford correct aim, the cannon
ading becarae more furious stiU, The firing on
both sides was continuous and furious, and nothing
could be heard save the heavy boom of artillery
and the sharp clank of musketry.
The ingenuity of the Southerners was con
spicuously manifested by the Invention of a mov
ing breast-work of cotton bales, which received
the Federal shot harmlessly, and completely pro
tected the troops from Injury. The effect created
by this novel appliance of warfare may be esti
mated by the following account furnished by the
Correspondent of a Northern journal : —
"At this juncture our men discovered, with no
little disraay, an engine of war, which was being
brought to bear upon thera, threatening the very
consequences which they dreaded raost — a safe
approach for the eneray, and an ultimate charge
in force over the entrenchments. The rebels pre
sented a strong breast-work of hemp-bales, which
appeared like a moving barrier, impenetrable to
bullets or cannon shot, and swarming with men
in the rear. It was about twenty rods in length,
and the height of two bales bf hemp. The bales
were placed with the ends facing our fortifica
tions, affording a thickness of about six feet.
This immense breast-work commenced moving

186 VICTORIES IN MISSOURI.
forward, not by detachments or singly, but in one
vast body, unbroken and steady, as though it slid
along the ground at Its own volition. It advanced
steadily over the smooth surface, parting to pass
trees, and closing up again, as Impenetrable as a
rock. Behind It were hundreds of raen pushing
and urging with levers, while others held the
bales steadily to their places, and others still,
whose numbers were alraost indefinite, firing be
tween the crevices and over the top at our
soldiers, " Our men looked at the moving monster In
astonishment. It lay like a large serpent, wind
ing over the hills and hollows, apparently motion
less, yet moving broadside on, to envelop and
destroy them in its vast folds. In vain the
cannon were turned upon it. The heavy bales
absorbed the shot harmlessly, or quietly resumed
the positions from which they were displaced,
seemingly raoving without hands, but in reality
controlled by strong arms, which were unseen.
In vain the musket bullets rained upon it in un
remitting showers. The thousands that it con
cealed were safe frora such puny assaults, and
slowly gliding along, they waited with eagerness
the time when their position should warrant them
in bursting through its walls and storraing up to
the intrenchments. Our brave soldiers could only

HOISTING THE WHITE FLAG. 187
watch it with keen anxiety, and wait for the fear
ful result,"
After having been desperately attacked upon
various sides, and finding it useless to resist, about
four o'clock on the afternoon of Wednesday,
Major Becker, who commanded the Home Guards,
crawled out to an advanced breast-work, and ran
up a white flag.
The Horae Guards deserted their trenches at
the order of Major Becker, and rushed into the
inner fortification, where they again raised the
white fiag, and kept it flying. Immediately upon
this the Confederates ceased firing, and the garri
son was thrown into the greatest confusion. Word
was passed around that a surrender had been
made, and the men left their entrenchments in
disorder to ascertain the truth. Consternation
reigned in all directions — Colonel Mulligan, it Is
said, being on the opposite side, and nobody pre
sent to assume control. Word was sent to him,
and he ordered the flag down; but the Captains,
who by this time reaUzed their true position, and
saw nothing but death or surrender before them,
implored him to save the raen.
Meanwhile the hemp breast-works had moved
up under cover of the general confusion, until
they had got within a few yards of the Federal
entrenchments. The Confederate forces advanced,

188 -VICTORIES IN MISSOURI.
and everything indicated that the moment had
arrived when the crowning assault was- to he
attempted. In this eraergency Colonel MuUIgan
ordered his raen to lay down their arms, and an
officer was despatched to General Price with a
flag of truce ; when that Comraander, accompa
nied by General Raines and Governor Jackson,
entered the entrenchments and demanded an un
conditional surrender.
The capitulation entailed the surrender of all
arras and equipraents, but the 'prisoners were
allowed to keep private property. The victors
took possession of the fortification, and the enemy's
soldiers were held under guard until, upon pro
mising not to serve against the Confederate army,
they were released on parole. All the commis
sioned officers were retained as prisoners. They
were treated in the kindest manner, and provided
with quarters at Lexington, with the luxury of
a champagne supper on the first evening. The
men were sent across the river, attended by
officers who provided food in advance for them,
and attended to their wants so far as It could be
done in the hurry and confusion of marching.
General Price winds up a very elaborate report
of what he designates an " alraost bloodless vic
tory," by observing : —
" Our entire loss In this series of engagements

GENERAL price's OFFICIAL REPORT, 189
amounts to 25 kiUed and 72 wounded. The
enemy's loss was much greater. The visible
fruits of this almost bloodless victory are great.
About 3,500 prisoners, araong whom are Colonels
MuUigan, MarshaU, Peabody, and Whitigrover,
Major Van Horn, and 118 other commissioned
oflacers, five pieces of artillery, and two mortars,
over 33,000 stand of infantry arms, a large
number of sabres, about 750 horses, many sets of
cavalry equipments, waggons, teams, ammunition,
more than 100,000 dollars worth of commissary
stores, and a large amount of other property. In
addition to all this, I obtained the restoration of
the Great Seal of the State and the public
records, which had been stolen frora their proper
custodian, and about 900,000 dollars in money, of
which the bank at this place had been robbed, and
which I have caused to be returned to It."
General Price, had he not been exceedingly
humane, could have prosecuted his attack more
vigorously ; but having succeeded In surrounding
the fort and cutting off" the supply of water frora
the enemy, he left thirst to effect its work, and
thus saved the unnecessary destruction of huraan
Ufe. On Major-General Freraont has been thrown
the entire onus of th« Missouri defeats. With
such confidence was he regarded, that upon re-

190 VICTORIES IN MISSOURI.
ceiving his commission it was considered he
would have dealt a Titanic blow upon Secession
in Missouri, and driven the so-called "rebels"
from that State. He was to do for the West
what General M'CleUan Is expected, and has
proraised, to effect on the Potoraac.
He Inaugurated the reign of his " little brief
authority " by issuing a proclamation, wherein his
well-known abolitionist tendencies appeared para
mount ; but which despotic and unconstitutional
act had the effect of converting many of his
staunchest supporters into the bitterest of foes ;
while the slaves, to whom he offered raanumisslon^
preferred bondage under their trusted and trusty
masters to liberty under the enemy.
In addition to this, Colonel Blair, one of his own
officers, collected and detailed a number of specific
charges, with reference to the disorganization and
mal-adralnistration of the army under Fremont's
command, and laid thera before the President and
the War Departraent — a circumstance which in
duced the General to place him under arrest, until
his unconditional discharge from custody was de
raanded at Washington, It was averred that
Freraont's inaction, caused by idle plans of "grand
expeditions " into other States, aflPorded the Con
federates an opportunity of rallying their scattered
forces, and receiving vast accessions to their on-

A SCAPE-GOAT, 191
ginal numbers, untU they became almost masters
of Missouri; and that in consequence of his ne
glect to send forward reinforcements, the Unionists
were driven from Springfield, with the loss of one
of their best Generals ; and that the garrison at
Lexington was forced to capitulate.
The defeat of the Federal arms in Missouri
created such embarrassment and disappointraent,
that the Northerners were but too glad to have a
scape-goat, in the person of General Fremont,
upon whom to lay the blame. It was only a repe
tition of what had been done after the rout at
Manassas. Still, It raust be confessed, that that
officer had neither military education nor experi
ence; and those who appointed hira to an Important
post of command must have been thoroughly ac
quainted with the character of his qualifications;
consequently on thera should properly rest the
burden of responsibility.
That the gravamen of the charges alleged against
General Fremont could not be disputed Is clear
from the subsequent act of the War Office au
thorities, in imraediately depriving him of his
commission, preparatory to further proceedings.
Commenting upon his premature and startling pro
clamation, the New York Herald observes :—
" But it is not only in point of generalship, but
in a political capacity, that he has shown his want

192 VICTORIES IN MISSOURI,
of sagacity. His unauthorized proclamation-
applauded to the third heaven by all the aboUtion
organs and deraagogues in the country — was most
unstatesraan-like, and calculated to do Irreparable
mischief. But for the prorapt and decided action
of the President countermanding the main point
in It, Kentucky would have been lost to the Union ;
and it is notorious that it has turned nearly all the
Union men In Missouri Into rebels ; and we have
good Republican authority for the fact, that since it
was issued, a body of Union Home Guards threw
down their arms, saying, ' They would not fight for
abolition.' Well knowing the effect it is producing
in the South, the rebel Chieftains are industriously
circulating it, while they carefully suppress the
President's modification. There are, or at least
were, numerous friends ofthe Union In the South
ern States, but few or no abolitionists. Upon
that issue the population of the South are a unit;
and the war, if conducted upon the principles
of the proclamation, would endure for twenty
years." Several of the abolition journals, howev.er, have
warmly defended Fremont and his anti-slavery
policy ; one of which winds up a violent article by
remarking, that —
" When any Commander of a military district,
East or West, begins active operations, the people

GAGGING THE PRESS, 193
will support him in every measure which he thinks
fit to adopt against the eneray — and the more
energetic, the more effective these measures, the
more telling the blow — the more loudly will it
applaud. Rebels at the South, and their secret
abettors at the North, may rely upon it that the
masses will tolerate no playing at war; and that,
if it becomes necessary to extinguish slavery, in
order to put down this most wicked and wanton
rebellion, it will be swept frora the board as effec
tually as the guns of the ' Monticello ' swept the
Virginia Militia frora the Hatteras bank."
Six successive victories of an iraportant cha
racter having so far been achieved by the Southern
arms since the comraenceraent of hostilities, ought,
one would imagine, to Induce the Washington
Cabinet seriously to refiect upon the folly — the
sheer, unmitigated folly — of further prosecuting
this suicidal contest, which can never end In the
suppression of " rebellion," or the conquest of the
Secession States. Nor would the taking of Rich
mond, even admitting such to be feasible, greatly
advance the object the North has in view. So
desperate, deadly, and deep is the abhorrence
entertained for the enemy In the South, that
every city, town, and vUlage. throughout the
eleven States of the Confederacy would be burnt
to the ground before they would be suffered to fall
VOL. II. O

194 VICTORIES IN MISSOURI.
into Northern hands. Nay, the very crops would
be consumed, and that fertile portion of America
turned into a barren wilderness, afiTordlng neither
food nor shelter for man or beast. Shrewd and
thoughtful raen in the Northern States already
begin to coraprehend the dire consequences of
this unhappy struggle for political ascendancy,
and hesitate not to give public utterance to their
feelings. Some journals In New York, Baltimore,
and other places, strongly inveighed against the
war poUcy of President Lincoln ; so, acting in the
manner and copying the exaraple of a Bourbon
despot, he had those obnoxious newspapers given
in charge to Provost-Marshals, who officIaUy
suppressed thera for propagating principles and
expressing sentiments repugnant to the Govern
ment. Meanwhile every precaution is taken to
prevent the circulation of all hostile organs.
There Is no security now for Northern citizens,
no matter what may be their position, or even
sex, should they unfortunately be suspected of
antagonism to the Rulers at Washington, We are
told that desperate diseases require desperate
remedies. If the course of treatment the body
politic is now undergoing In the Federal States
be indicative of its diseased condition, then does
it appear desperate indeed.

195

CHAPTER VII.
NON-SUB.TUGATION OF THE SOUTH — THE
BLOCKADE.
A " Short and Decisive" Contest — ^Strength of Confederate
Army — Percentage of Population in the Field — Perils of
Invasion — Federal Finances — -A Doleful Cry in Congress
— Specie in Southern Banks — Pressure on the Govern
ment — A Poem for the Times— The Blockade — Pro
position of the French Government — Inefiectiveness of
the Blockade — Recognition of the Confederacy — Destruc
tion of Charleston Harbour.
The Northern attempt to conquer the South is a
labour equally as futile as that of Sisyphus, while
it is more exhaustive — and, from its very nature,
must put a termination to itself. It is not only
mere folly, but little short of sheer insanity, to
think of over-running seven hundred and fifty
thousand square miles of territory, and subju
gating the nine million five hundred thousand
02

196 NON-SUBJUGATION OF THE SOUTH.
people who now compose the eleven States of the
Confederacy. The Impression originaUy conveyed by raost of
the Northern journals, and even by the Federal
Governraent itself, was, that disaffection In the
South assuraed entirely a local character, being
s^Imply confined to a comparatively small region
of territory, and an insignificant minority of the
people ; so that to crush It Instantaneously and
effectually was no difficult task. An army was
accordingly raised, and, although it has been
daily augraented, and for several months in the
field, yet how to conquer the " rebellious South "
is a Gordian knot as difficult to untie as ever.
In order to subjugate a people who but uphold
the Constitutional doctrine of State Rights, and
to effect this object speedily, an additional army
was required of 400,000 men !
"It Is now recommended," observes Mr. Lin
coln, In his Message to Congress, " that you give
the legal means for making this contest a short
and decisive one ; that you place at the control of
the Government for the work four hundred thou
sand men and four hundred million doUars!"
But, perhaps, it had not struck the Northern
President how long it would take, under the most
favourable conditions, to raise, drill, equip, and
prepare for active service, such an immense force?

A " SHORT AND DECISIVE" CONTEST. 197
I greatly doubt whether England or France, with
all their resources, could realize such an object
even in twelve months. Surely, then. It seemed
Uttle short of absurd to endeavour to raise an
army of such magnitude, with the view of making
the contest " a short and decisive one."
The Federal Government has undoubtedly got
far more onerous work on Its hands than it
anticipated at the comraenceraent of this quarrel.
It has been averred, that had the Lincoln Cabinet
been aware of the extent to which disaffection
obtained In the Southern States — of the feeling
of antagonisra by which its authority was disre
garded — and of the armed opposition that would
be evoked against it — a different policy would
assuredly have been adopted. I do not see how
this war, even if long and sanguinary, can effect
the result which the Northern Government de
sires. The subjugation of the South cannot pos
sibly be accompUshed, even supposing that an ad
ditional 400,000 men be brought into the field.
Each of the eleven Seceded States would, if for
cibly regained, need an army of occupation to re
tain it in the "Union ; and by what means are the
military and monetary resources of the North to
realize such results? At present Kentucky Is
held back from Secession by the presence of nu
merous troops from Indiana and Illinois, and

198 NON-SUBJUGATION OF THE SOUTH,
General Sherman has frankly adraitted he would
need an army of 200,000 men to ensure that
State remaining in tbe Union.
To subjugate such an extensive territory as
that of the Seceded States is, I believe, the pro-
grararae of General M'CleUan ; but it needs no
military strategist to perceive the Herculean cha
racter of the attempt. Southern people say
such a scheme can never be accomplished, and
laugh at the idea outright. They believe that
they have sufficient men now in the field to " whip
the Yankees," whom they regard as cowards and
hired mercenaries, never able to stand steel, but
who take to their heels whenever a close combat is
impending. Numerous stories were in circulation
"down South" respecting the Northern Zouaves,
who, at the battle of Great Bethel, bounded through
the woods like deer when trying to escape from
Southern bayonets. The military prestige of the
North is very low In public estiraation,
"Northern soldiers never fought our battles,"
said one gentleman to me. " During the War of
Independence they rendered the South no aid,
but, maintaining State Right privUeges, refused
to cross their own boundary Unes, Even at
Mexico, Northern men did little efficient service.
The South always had to bear the brunt of battle."
But the battle-ground, If this unhappy war

STRENGTH OF CONFEDERATE ARMY. 199
continues. Is likely to be far more extended.
There are other important States — such as Mary
land—only "biding their time" in order to de
clare for Secession; whUe that of Missouri,
although peninsulated between Kansas, Iowa, and
Illinois, with her great river outlet near Cairo
in the hands of the Federal Governraent, will ne
cessitate an immense permanent force to suppress
" rebelUon " even in a portion of that State ;
although whether such can be done effectually is
considered doubtful. From the Northern Presi
dent's remarks with reference to those States
which have adopted the principle of armed neu
trality, it is plain that he does not regard them as
friendly to his Government. Nor, perhaps, are
they. The so-called Neutral States were appa
rently forced into their singular position by geo
graphical approximation to the North, and the
want of sufficient arms for self-defence.
The resources of the South in men, war muni
tions, and the means of subsistence, have not
been generally comprehended in Europe. The
Southern army at this moraent coraprises 500,000
tolerably well-disciplined soldiers, in addition to
500,000 volunteers under drill, in initiation of the
Confederate States. And here it may not be
inopportune to insert the scale of payment in the
Southern army : —

200

NON-SUBJUGATION OF THE SOUTp.

Rank.
Privates and Corporals
Serjeants .
Second Lieutenants
First Lieutenants
Captains
MajorsLieutenant-Colonels Colonels
Brigadier- Generals
Generals-Commanding (in field)

Dollars per Month.
11
20 80 90
130 150170195210810

This scale of payment does not include forage
for horses. Besides which, a comraitation is
allowed of 75 cents per day, when rations cannot
be supplied by the Commissariat Department.
Officers draw no rations, and consequently have
to maintain theraselves.
But the South needs no victories to ensure her
final success. M'CleUan, young, enthusiastic,
and bent upon victory as he seeras, although he
may surround the country " with a cordon of fire,"
yet will thereby be far from attaining his ulti
mate aim. So soon as his army penetrates the
Southern States, no conflicts will be needed to
effect their destruction. Swamps, pine barrens,
bad roads, malaria, fever, and ennui, will kill more
than the most desperate, prolonged and rer
peated engagements. The Comraander-in-Chief
has lately been laid up in Washington, although
surrounded with every comfort, and so has the

PERILS OF INVASION. 201
next General In command. Much sickness likewise
prevaUs amongst the army occupying the dis
trict of Colurabia. Let but this army and these
General Officers penetrate into the South, and
eiidure the fatigue and privations to which, they
would necessarily be exposed, and few will
return to tell the story of their perilous exploit
and fruitless project.
The relative position of both belligerents is
obvious, should the Federal array succeed in
penetrating the Southern States. The South
would be In the midst of her resources, while
the North would be distant from hers. The
South would have more at stake, and natu
rally would fight more determinedly, for it would
be a struggle for her hearths and altars. History
abounds with examples of smaller armies van
quishing mightier ones. The victories at Trebia,
Thrasymenus, and CannaB, were gained by Han
nibal over far superior and better disciplined
forces. The Teutones and the CImbri, although
rude Germanic tribes, little accompUshed in the
art of war, defied for thirteen years all the power
of Rome, and slaughtered In succession the well-
appointed armies sent to subdue them. Wash
ington, again, never won a victory, but neverthe
less succeeded in enabling the comparatively
weak Colonies of America to throw off the autho-

202 NON-SUBJUGATION OF THE SOUTH.
rity of Great Britain. The British army was
constantly harassed, and the country completed
the work of its subsequent defeat.
Judging by these examples, the South stands In
little danger of subjugation. That the South is
more capable of sustaining the war there can be no
question, owing to the nature and productiveness of
her resources. While the Seceded States have fully
five per cent, of their population in the field, pro
duction, so far frora being diminished, is larger
than usual. Last year Louisiana produced, at the
lowest estimate, 600,000 bales of cotton and
500,000 hogsheads of sugar, besides corn enough
for two years' consumption. This State has
27,000 men under arms out of a white population
of 310,000.
In New Orleans there are at least 10,000
men fuUy equipped and ready for service, in
companies and battalions, out of a population
of 175,000 — 10,000 raore of whora have volun
teered into Loulslanlan regiments. One New
Orleans company alone represents 4,000,000 dol
lars. Indeed, a very large proportion of the
Southern array Is self-sustaining, and does not draw
pay frora the Government, The other States of
the Confederacy are equally productive, and have
a proportionate number of their white population
in the field. Free Ohio, on the other hand, with

FEDERAL FINANCES. 203
its white population of 3,000,000, can only raise
30,000 volunteers, and of this circumstance its
Governor makes a boast! Clearly, Northerners
do .not relish fighting ; and hence their reluctance
to enUst, or even to enter the field when their
" time is up," although they may hear the boom of
the enemy's guns and their much-vaunted Union
is in jeopardy ! They expect foreigners to fight
their battles, and yet loathe and despise the hire
lings who lend themselves out to murder for
eleven doUars per month !
Shrewd observers now begin to take a mone
tary view of the war, and contrast Southern with
Federal resources. That the finances of the latter
are at an extreraely low ebb is publicly known.
The State Treasury Is depleted, and Mr. Comp
troUer Denison sedulously but fruitlessly endea
voured to raise a loan of one million and a half of
doUars, although upon what security has only just
transpired. Now, with reference to the expenses
of the aggressive war waged by the Federal
Government, it was avowed in Congress that it
cannot be carried on at a less cost than 2,000,000
dollars per diem, equal to 400,000Z. ; while
100,000,000 dollars were expended from the 22nd
December 1861, to the 13th January 1862. The
United States' Treasury has been forced to sus
pend specie payment, while the banks have done

204 NON-SUBJUGATION OF THE SOUTH,
the same, and resolved not to take up the third
fifty ralUIons of the Federal Loan,
The Government revenue cannot exceed at
this time 30,000,000 dollars; its previous loan,
which was only partially taken up, did not average
more than 83 per cent., not because there is really
any deficiency of capital, for there Is said to exist
a large amount In the North seeking secure In
vestment. The present financial embarrassment
can therefore only be attributed to want of confi
dence In "the Powers that be." It must be obvious,
therefore, tbat the war of subjugation, which
the Federal Government has so inconsiderately
undertaken, cannot be carried on but at ruinous
expense ; and If persisted In, the debt of the
Federal States will becorae so enorraous that
bankruptcy or repudiation must inevitably ensue.
Capitalists, proverbially sharp-sighted, already
perceive this ; and hence their reluctance to lend
raoney, unless upon terras which no private
individual would think of accepting. But these
very capitalists must soon find their means
immensely reduced. Commerce has compara
tively ceased ; manufactures cannot be carried on
without a supply of the raw material, which, so
far as cotton Is concerned, wUl be whoUy cut off;
rents, frora which the largest incomes have been
derived In the principal Northern cities, have

A DOLEFUL CRY, 203
either entirely ceased, or been vastly diminished ;
while direct taxation, at all times odious In
Araerica, has, as a last shift, been resorted to by
the Northern Confederacy,
On the present financial war-crisis, Mr. Dawes
recently comraented In the Federal Congress,
when he uttered the following doleful cry : —
" It ^costs two millions of dollars every day to
support the army in the field. A hundred miUions
of doUars have thus been expended since we met
on the 22nd day of December, and all that time
the army has been in repose. What the expendi
ture will increase to when that great day shall
arrive, when our eyes shall be gladdened with a
sight of the army In motion, I do not know.
Another hundred millions will go with the hun
dreds more I have enumerated. Another hundred
millions may be added to these before the 4th of
March, What it may cost to put down the
rebellion I care very little, provided, always, that
it be put down effectually. But, faith without
works is dead, and 1 ara free to confess that
my faith soraetiraes fails me — I mean my faith in
men, not my faith in the cause. The Treasury
notes issued in the face of these immense outlays,
without a revenue from Custora-houses, frora land
sales, from any source whatever, is beginning to
pall in the market. Already have they began to

206 NON-SUBJUGATION OF THE SOUTH.
sell at six per cent, discount at the tables of the
money changers ; at the very time, too, that we
here exhibit the single spectacle of fraud, and of
a struggle with the Coraraittee of Ways and
Means itself, in an endeavour to lift up and sus
tain the Government of tbe country. Already
the sutler — that curse of the camp — is following
the paymaster, as the shark follows the ship, buy
ing up for four dollars every five dollars of the
wages of the soldiers paid to them In Treasury
notes. I have no desire to hasten the movements
of the army, or to criticise the conduct of Its
leaders, but In view of the stupendous draughts
upon the Treasury, I must say that I long for the
day of striking the blow which will bring this
rebellion to an end. Sixty days longer of this
state of things will bring about a result one way
or another, . It is impossible that the Treasury of
the United States can raeet, and continue to
meet, this state of things sixty days longer, and
an Ignominious peace raust be submitted to, unless
we see to it that the credit of the country is
sustained, and sustained, too, by the conviction
going forth from this Hall to the people of the
country, that we will treat as traitors not only
those who are bold and manly enough to meet us
face to face in the field of strife, but all those who

SPECIE IN SOUTHERN BANKS. 207
clandestinely and stealthily suck the lifeblood
from us in this mighty struggle."
A ruraour has gained currency that the Govern
ment was_ about to reduce the pay of the array,
upon which a New York journal reraarked, that
if any measure were attempted "to reduce the
sum frora thirteen to ten dollars a month, there
are 200,000 armed men close to the Capitol who
may take the law In their own hands,"
Although the South has also had recourse to a
paper-currency, it was an act induced more by
expediency than necessity. In the vaults of the
Confederate States' Banks there are twenty-five
millions in specie ; and these banks have sus
pended in accordance with the policy of the Go
vemment, there being no trade with foreign
nations, owing to the blockade. The Treasury
notes are based on direct taxation ; and as the
people have confidence In the Government, float
at highest credit, and are received as legal tender
and deposit by bankers.
The present war is wasting away, with a pro
digal hand, the wealth and credit of the North.
With an array in the field of 600,000 men, which
cannot be maintained efficiently for less than
120,000,000Z, per annura, how is it possible for
the Government to escape bankruptcy, when their
receipts do not exceed 30,000,000 dollars per

208 NON-SUBJUGATION OP THE SOUTH.
annum ? What is the object of the War ? Appa
rently the subjugation of the South. But such a
consuramation is utterly Impossible, so long as the
South offers resistance, which it will do to the
last man on Its soil. How much better, then, for
the belligerents in this fierce struggle to come
to a speedy understanding, than to deluge the
country with blood ere this object be attained.
With the South the case is widely different.
Its soil, climate, and productions afford all the
materials without which the North cannot prosper.
Statistics show that out of 316,220,610 doUars of
exports of domestic Industry, nearly 250,000,000
dollars are furnished by those States known as
Slave States. It must be borne In mind, also, that
notwithstanding the large numbers of men now
in the field, agricultural pursuits are not In the
least Interrupted,
In the North, on the other hand, agriculture is
carried on upon small farms by the labour of the
proprietors themselves, and very few assistants.
Every man is equally liable to be called upon to
perform military service. The consequence of
abstracting labour of this sort from the soil Is
plainly apparent, and must at length tell fearfuUy
upon the population.
Since Its organization the Northern army has
realized little advantage, while the South is now

PRESSURE ON THE GOVERNMENT. 209
infinitely better prepared for resistance than she
was six months ago. Upon the occupation of
Richmond ceasing to haunt the minds of the Fe
deral Commander-in-Chief and the public, other
schemes were attempted. The Hatteras, Ship
Island, Port Royal, Cairo, and Burnside expedi
tions have been fitted out, but few results have
been realized, after the immense outlay conse
quent upon these experiments. Great disaster
has attended one expedition ; and so far they have
only achieved the conquest of a few sand-hills
on the banks of North Carolina, Charleston, and
Savannah. What the Burnside expedition is to
accomplish we are all anxiously awaiting to learn,*
I was Informed upon reliable authority that the
recent vigorous eflForts put forth by the Federal
Govemment have been owing to the pressure
laid on by the bankers of New York, who refused
to advance money If something was not done to
keep up the public confidence (fast waning) In the
Administration, This accounts for military
changes and " naval expeditions." But the coun
try is only hoodwinked after aU. Even the occu
pation of Beaufort, although a great feat, is,
perhaps, more of a disaster than a conquest.
Plainly, the subjugation of the South is a phy-
* By the latest advices we have intelligence of the loss of
three of the vessels which composed this fleet.
VOL. II. P

210 NON-SUBJUGATION OF THE SOUTH.
sical impossibility, even had the Federal Govem
ment four times its present resources in men and
money. The only chance of the Union being
restored rests with the South itself; and If It
does not acquiesce, not even a war of fifty years
could bring about such an event.
But granting, for the sake of argument, that the
Union should be restored by force of arms — of
which result, however, I do not see the remotest
probability — what would be the value Of a fede
ration held together against the will of millions
of people? Could such an alliance exist un
broken for any considerable time ? What power
could coerce the Southerners into commercial and
political relations with the North ? We are told
tbat " a house divided against itself cannot
stand ; " and the Araerican Republic is not going
practically to ignore the wisdom and expe
rience of mankind. Under such circumstances
the Union would be a bugbear, a mere poli
tical ignis fatuus! On this point the language
of Washington is authoritative. He remarks : —
" There must be reciprocity, or no Union. Which
of the two is preferable will not become a ques
tion In the mind of any true patriot." Oould the
able American statesman have had a foreboding
of the events of 1861, when, in 1787, he penned
these pregnant words ?

A POEM FOR THE TIMES. 211
On the subject of coercing the South into the
Union, a Richraond friend of mine composed and
presented me with some lines, which, as they are
illustrative of Southern feeling and sentiment, I
now present to the reader : —
A POEM FOR THE TIMES.
Who talks of Coercion ? Who dares to deny
A resolute people their right to be free ?
Let him blot out for ever one star from the sky.
Or curb with his fetter one wave of the sea.
Who prates of Coercion ? Can love be restor'd
To bosoms where only resentment may dwell ?
Can peace upon earth be proclaimed by the sword.
Or good- win among men be established by shell?
Shame ! shame ! that the statesman, the trickster forsooth.
Should have for a crisis no other resource.
Beneath the fair day-spring of Light and of Truth,
Than the old hrutum fulimn of Tyranny — Force.
From the holes where Fraud, Falsehood, and Hate slink
away.
From the crypt in which Error lies buried in chains —
This foul apparition stalks forth to the day.
And would ravage the land which his presence profanes.
Could you conquer us. Men of the North ; could you bring
Desolation and death on our homes as a flood —
Can you hope the pure hly, Afl'ection, will spring
From ashes all reeking and sodden with blood ?
Could you brand us as villeins and serfs, know ye not
What fierce, sullen hatred lurks under the .scar ?
How loyal to Hapsburg is Venice, I wot,
How dearly the Pole loves his Father, the Czar !
p2

212 NONr-SUBJUGATION OF THE SOUTH.
But 'twere well to remember this land of the sun
Is a nutrix leonu^m, and suckles a race
Strong-armed, lion-hearted, and banded as one.
Who brook not oppression, and know not disgrace.
And well may the schemers in office beware
The swift retribution that waits upon crime.
When the lion, Resistance, shall leap from his lair.
With a fury that renders his vengeance sublime !
Once, men of the North, we were brothers, and still,
Though brothers no more, we would gladly be friends ;
Nor join in a conflict accurst, that must fill
With ruin the country on which it descends.
But, if smitten with blindness and mad with the rage
The gods give to all whom they wish to destroy.
You would act a new Hhad to darken the age
With horrors beyond what is told us of Troy —
If, deaf as the adder itself to the cries,
When Wisdom, Humanity, Justice implore,
You would have our proud Eagle to feed on the eyes ¦
Of those who have taught him so grandly to soar —
If there be to your mahce no limit imposed,
And you purpose hereafter to rule with the rod
The men upon whom you already have closed
Our goodly domain and the temples of God —
To the breeze, then, your banner dishonoured unfold.
And at once let the tocsin be sounded afar ;
We greet you, as greeted Swiss Charles the Bold,
• With a farewell to peace, and a welcome to war !
For the courage that clings to our soU, ever bright.
Shall catch inspirations from turf and from tide ;
Our sons unappalled shall go forth to the fight,
With the snule of the fair, the pure kiss of the bride ;

THE BLOCKADE. 213'
And the bugte its echoes shall send thro' the past.
In the trenches of Yorktown, to waken the slain ;
While the sods of King's Mountain shall heave at the blast.
And give up its heroes to glory again.
THE BLOCKADE.
Writers on public law^ have concurred in hold
ing, that there are four ways in which a State
may cease to exist in its political capacity.
1st, If all the members of it are destroyed by
earthquake, inundation, or the sword. 2dly, If the
members of it are enslaved by superior strength.
3rdly, If its members are so dispersed or divided
that they can neither be directed by a common
understanding, nor act jointly with a coramon
force for the purpose of civil union,. 4thly, Ifit
is subjected as a province to another State. Now,
the United States, as that Republic was known in
1860, is not directed by a common understanding,
or acting jointly with a comraon force ; and the
purpose of civU union has failed de facto.
The English Governraent has resolved to act
with the strictest neutrality. The view on this
subject may be gathered from the following ex
tract from a London journal : —
" Nothing that we have said will be understood
to indicate the slightest departure from the abso
lute neutrality which our own Government has
determined to maintain, and is stiU resolute in.

214 THE BLOCKADE.
observing. It is, indeed, by the strictest obe
dience to that principle that the maximum of
responsibilty is thrown upon the Federal autho
rities. Every belligerent, it has been held, has a
right to blockade the ports of its eneray, and also
any vessels captured In enforcing it raay be taken
to the ports of the conqueror, and there adjudged
according to law. In accordance with this view,
it is adraitted that the Federal States have a
right to raaintain the blockade of the Southern
ports, and that any vessels which they capture
may be taken to the North, brought before the
duly appointed tribunals, and there adjudged
prize or not prize upon the evidence. Should
satisfactory proofs be laid before the judges that
the blockade had been ineffective, the tribunal
would be bound to discharge the vessel, and a
claim of indemnity would lie against the captors.
We may have some mistrust as to the Inde
pendence of the courts in the Northern States,
since we see that a judge has been placed under
military guard, in order to prevent him from
taking his seat on the bench, and proceeding in
a case of habeas corpus ; but, on the other hand,
the necessity for thus putting a restraint upon
the judicial functionary, the proceedings in his
court, and the demeanour of the whole bar, show
that the judiciary has not lost either its inde-

PROPOSITION OF FRENCH GOVEKNMENT, 215
pendence, its clear insight, or its reverence for
law, even in the Northern States, Officially,
therefore, we may look to the constituted autho
rities in that quarter to determine upon the
validity of the blockade which has been declared
against the Southern ports."
The French Governraent has on two occasions
invited the British Governraent to consider the
propriety of breaking the blockade, unless proof
can be shown that it has been rendered effective.
Our Government, however, has persevered thus
far In maintaining its position of strict neutrality.
There is another view of the subject, which is
allowed to possess much interest. It is entirely
novel, and arises frora the peculiar circumstances of
the belligerents, coupled with a state of navigation
not previously witnessed in the world. In order
to appreciate the force of this new question, it
should be borne in mind that the Confederate
States and the people of the United Kingdom
are, at present, debarred from exercising a trade
that would reciprocally produce the greatest
profit. It has been calculated that the produce
of the Confederate States very considerably
exceeds fifty millipns in value. I am inclined
to think that, with a direct trade, the value of
these products would speedily be increased, if
not doubled. It has also been calculated that

216 THE BLOCKADE.
the export trade of Great Britain alone, for the
Confederate States, would, or might, amount to
sorae forty millions sterling, that trade obviously
being susceptible of an increase quite propor
tionate to the Increase of the Southem States,
And here it is' important to observe, that the
increase which is likely to take place would, in all
probability, affect Great Britain more favourably
than any other European country for some years
to come. This highly valuable' trade is at pre
sent barred by the operation of the blockade.
But, as the same journal frora which I previously
quoted justly observes : —
" Recently the atterapt itself has broken down,
and it is the curious condition of the Atlantic
Itself which presents the question in so novel and
interesting a shape. There Is no dispute between
any European country and the States south of the
Potomac ; but there has hitherto been an exten
sive commerce between them, though much of it
was effected by the triangular process. The value
of that trade Is considerable — it may be repre
sented by scores of millions sterling ; and there
is nothing to prevent the revival of that com
merce, save and except this so-called blockade.
If the merchant ships of France, England, Rus
sia, or any Power, were to set out for Charleston,
Mobile, or New Orleans, they would be serving

INEFFECTIVENESS OF THE BLOCKADE. 217
the interests of the communities to which they
belong, and the only qualification to the perfect
legality of their traffic lies in that same blockade.
Now, there is practical reason for supposing it to
be so IneflPectlve as to be Uterally illegal. We
believe that if the squadrons of commerce were
to sail in any considerable numbers for the
Southern ports, they could not be denied either
entry or an egress ; and if so, technically the
blockade must be regarded as non-existent. Yet
there can be little doubt that war-ships holding
coraraission frora the Government at Washington,
cruising in the Atlantic, would chase any vessels
which they might suspect of an intention to
make for a Southern port, and would probably
attack and capture. We have already supposed
the ineffectiveness of the blockade to be a proven
fact; and, in that case, there cannot be the
slightest doubt that any armed attack upon the
merchant ships of a foreign Power, on any pre
tence whatsoever, would be an act of lawless
aggression. Without a previous declaration of
war against the State to which the vessel be-
longed, it would be an act coming very close to
piracy; and any European Government whose
ships should be thus assailed, would not simply
be entitled to defend its subjects from wanton
injury, but would be bound so to do."

218 THE BLOCKADE.
It is quite unnecessary to point out the effect
which would be produced, should the Southern
States take possession of Washington, The Pre
sident would then become a sort of peripatetic
authority, and the blockade would cease to have
any proper warrant.
An impression obtains in Paris that the British
Government is restrained from acting as other
wise It would, by fear of a certain class of political
declaimers. It is not desirable to allude to this
point very directly ; but there is no doubt, that
if Liverpool and Manchester, and the towns Inte
rested in coraraerce and raanufactures, were to
take steps for trying the efficiency of the blockade
experiraentally, they could compel our Govem
ment to defend them against any illegal attack,
under the pretext of enforcing the blockade.
The blockade of the " insurrectionary States,"
as they are terraed. Is, for the most part, a paper
blockade, and consequently ineffective and illegal.
To effectually blockade the whole Southern sea
board. Is more than the North can possibly
accomplish. Her navy Is exceedingly circum
scribed, and, if I ara to believe the testimony of
the Captain of one of the blockading squadrons,
almost perfectly useless.
" Sir," said this officer to me, when off Fortress
Monroe, " I have frequently seen vessels running

RECOGNITION OF THE CONFEDERACY, 219
in and out of the harbour, where the few ships
that formed the squadron under my command
were stationed ; but I could do nothing, the ships
being so old, heavy, and unwieldy. Once I tried
to give chase, but in vain I The vessel was mUes
away before I could turn my ship's head I"
It is weU that this fact should be generaUy
known, so as to inspire confidence in private en
terprize, and urge our Government, in conjunc
tion with that of France, to a decided course of
action, upon which the happiness of so many
miUIons depends.
Every addition to the direct communication
between the Confederate States and Europe —
particularly Great Britain and France — helps to
strengthen the interests favourable to a recogni
tion of the Southern States, and to accelerate
that step, I quite concur with Mr, Beresford
Hope, in believing that the recognition of the
Southern Confederacy by England and France
would very speedily cause the North to cry,
" Hold ! Hold ! Enough !" and thus put an end
to the present hostilities. England has exhibited
i the utmost forbearance, notwithstanding many
infractions 'of international law and positive acts
of hostility on the part of the United States'
Government and its officials. As the subject of
the American blockade is now before the atten-

220 THE BLOCKADE.
tion of Parliaraent, it Is to be hoped that, if the
blockade is proved to be ineffective, and conse
quently illegal, England will no longer continue,
from motives of courtesy, to respect it.
The savage and wanton excesses perpetrated
by the Northem Govemment, in destroying the
beautiful harbour of Charleston by sinking a
stone fleet — thereby inflicting an injury upon
the present and future generations, as well as de-
forralng the works of Nature — is a crirae against
which civilized Europe indignantly declaims. Our
own Government has remonstrated, but in vain,
against such a barbarous course of procedure;
and there is reason to believe that other harbours
on the Southern seaboard have been rendered
innavigable by a like process. This alone is suf
ficient evidence of an illegal blockade ; when, in
lieu of an effective squadron, harbours are ob
structed and artificial bars created, which can
with difficulty be removed. If, according to
Vattel — the eminent writer on international law
— " those who tear up vines and cut down fruit
trees are looked upon as savage barbarians," how
are we to regard the wicked and vindictive acts
of the Federal Govemment, in permanently
marring the beauteous and bounteous work of
Heaven ?

221

CHAPTER VIII.
FROM RICHMOND TO WASHINGTON, BY
" FLAG OF TRUCE."
Norfolk — ^The Dismal Swamp— A Legend— General Huger
—Gosport Navy Yard— Old Point Comfort— The Rip-
Raps — General Wool — Fortress Monroe — City of Balti
more — Arrests — City of Washington — Fast-day Sermon
—"The Profanest Nation in the World"— " Fast-day
Looseness" — Anathemas on the South — Army Contract
System — Swindling of Union Patriots — " The Almighty
Dollar" — Skirmish near Lewinsville — Insubordination in
Camp — "Bar-room Braves" — Madame Tochman — A
Truckling Press.
Fearing, frora the complications that were daily
arising, lest I should not be enabled to leave the
South did I protract my sojourn, I determined
npon making an effort to get North by fiag of truce,
and thus avoid the difficulty, uncertainty, delay,
and expense of travelling the same circuitous route
I had previously taken. Accordingly, I waited
on the Hon. Mr. Benjamin, Secretary-at-War pro

222 FROM RICHMOND TO WASHINGTON.
«em., informed him of my intentions, and received
a " pass " to visit Norfolk, of which the foUowing
is a copy : —
" Confederate States of America, War Department,
Richmond, Sept. 19, 1861.
"Mr. S. Phillips Day has permission to visit Norfolk,
Va., upon his honour as a man, that he will not commu
nicate in writing or verbally, for publication, any fact
ascertained by him. " J. B. Jokes, for Secretary of War."
Upon receiving this document, I took ex
ception to the terms In which the " pass " was
couched, and remarked, both to Mr, Jones and the
ex-Secretary-at-War, that I could not hold it on
such conditions as the text Implied, I was assured,
however, that I was not to consider myself bound
by it ; and that although it was deemed desirable
to place restrictions upon the correspondents of
the Southern press, and others, full liberty was
accorded to the representatives of foreign journals,
in whose discretion the authorities had full con
fidence. Although this was th^ only instance In
which I had received a " pass," in the shape of a
printed form, and placing the holder under any
obligation, I thankfully accepted it, as weU as the
explanations by which It was attended.
Early on Friday morning, (September 20,) I
took tbe "car" at Richmond and proceeded to Nor-

THE DISMAL SWAMP. 223
folk, a distance of one hundred and sixty mUes,
As this city is likely to becorae an object of in
terest, it wiU not be irrelevant to give sorae de
scription of the interesting locality, Norfolk
was originally formed in 1691, from Lower Nor
folk, which was subsequently changed to the narae
of Nasemond. Its length frora north to south is
thirty-two miles, and its raean width is seventeen
miles. The Portsmouth and Roanoake RaUway,
which extends a distance of nearly eighty miles,
commences at Portsraouth, In this county, and
terminates at Weldon, on the Roanoake River.
The Dismal Swarap Canal, twenty-two miles long,
connects Chesapeake Bay with Albemarle Sound,
North Carolina. It extends twenty miles through
the Great Dismal Swamp, and has been a work
of vast difficulty and labour.
The Swarap called " Dismal " occupies a portion
of Virginia and North Carolina, and extends
thirty miles from north to south, and about twelve
miles in au easterly and westerly direction. Five
navigable rivers and a few creeks rise in It ; their
sources being hidden in the Swarap, so that no
traces of them are visible. This circumstance
has given rise to the supposition that these
streams are supplied by subterraneous fountains.
On its eastem skirt tbe Dismal Swamp is over
grown with reeds at least ten feet high, and inter-

224 FROM RICHMOND TO WASHINGTON.
laced everywhere with thorny, baraboo briers,
which render it impassable. Here and there
might be observed a cypress and a white cedar.
In a southerly direction there is an extensive
tract covered with reeds, which, from being con
stantly green and waving in the wind. Is termed
the " green sea." In some parts the Swamp has
the appearance of a magnificent avenue. The
cypress, juniper, oak, and pine trees are of enor
raous size ; while below is a thick entangled un
dergrowth of reeds, woodbine, grape-vines, mosses,
and creepers/shooting and twisting spirallyaround,
so interlaced and complicated as to have the
effect of obscuring the sun. The Swamp was
once a favourite hunting-ground of the Indians,
and still abounds in deer, wild turkeys, and wild
cats, besides venomous serpents and beasts of
prey. In the Interior of the Dismal Swamp there is a
body of water called " Lake Druraraond," after
the discoverer, who, as the traditional story goes,
having wandered hither with a few corapanions in
pursuit of garae, was drowned in the lake. A
superstition connected with this lake has been
made the subject of the foUowing poetical effusion,
by Thomas Moore, who visited this part of Vir
ginia in 1804 : —

A LEGEND. 225

THE LAKE OF THE DISMAL SWAMP.

WRITTEN AT NORFOLK, IN VIRGINIA.
They tell of a young man who lost his mind upon the death of a girl he
loved \ and who, suddenly disappearing from his friends, was never afterwards
heard of. As he firequeutly said in his raving that the girl was not dead, but
gone to the Dismal Swamp, it is supposed that he had wandered into that
dreary wilderness, and had died of hunger, or been lost in some of its dread
ful morasses. — Anon.
"La Pofeie a ses monstres comme la nature." — D^AUmbert.

" They made her a grave, too cold and damp
For a soul so warm and true ;
And she's gone to the lake of the Dismal Swamp,
Where, all night long, by a firefly lamp.
She paddles her white canoe.
" And her firefly lamp I soon shall see.
And her paddle I soon shall hear ;
Long and loving our life shall be,
And ru hide the maid in a cypress tree.
When the footstep of Death is near ! "
Away to the Dismal Swamp he speeds —
His path was rugged and sore,
Through tangled juniper, beds of reeds.
Through many a fen, where thft serpent feeds.
And man never trod before !
And when on the earth he sunk to sleep.
If slumber his eyelids knew,
He lay where the deadly vine doth weep
Its venomous tear, and nightly steep
The flesh with blistering dew !
VOL. II. Q

226 FROM EICHMOND TO WASHINGTON.
And near him the she- wolf stirr'd the brake.
And the copper-snake breath'd in his ear.
Till he, starting, cried, from his dream awake,
" Oh ! when shall I see the dusky lake,
And the white canoe of my dear ? "
He saw the lake, and a meteor bright
Quick over its surface play'd —
" Welcome ! " he said ; " my dear one's light,"
And the dim shore echoed for many a night,
The name of the death-cold maid !
TiU he hoUowed a boat of the birchen bark.
Which carried him off from shore ;
Far he foUow'd the meteor spark,
The wind was high and the clouds were dark.
And the boat returned no more.
But oft from the Indian hunter's camp.
This lover and maid so true,
Are seen at the hour of midnight damp.
To cross the lake by a firefly lamp,
And paddle their white canoe !
Norfolk is situated just eight railes above Hamp
ton Eoads, on the north bank of Elizabeth River,
and near the junction of its southern and eastern
branches. In the fourth year of the reign of
Queen Anne it was first established by law, at
which period It possessed a considerable popu
lation, as Its geographical position rendered it par
ticularly favourable for trade. Norfolk was formed
into a borough in 1736, by Royal charter from
George II. Ten years afterwards the inhabitants

NORFOLK HARBOUR. 227
evinced their Royalist " proclivities " by institut
ing public rejoicings upon the defeat of the Pre
tender at the battle of CuUoden. At one time
this town monopolized nearly all the British West
India trade, by which large returns were made.
Since then commerce signally declined until the
completion of the canal, when it revived a little.
The town itself is very irregularly laid out, on al
most a dead level, although the streets are wide, and
adorned with some excellent brick and stone build
ings. There is, however, a melancholy air about
the place,and everything wears a forlorn and
dejected appearance.
Norfolk is also remarkable as the scene of sorae
important military events during the Revolution.
The British fleet, to which Lord Dunmore had
fled at the outbreak of hostilities, made Norfolk
Harbour its principal rendezvous. On the left
bank of the Elizabeth River, and immediately
opposite Norfolk, is a smaU town called Ports
mouth, the seat of justice for the county. It is
distant from Norfolk three-quarters of a mile, to
which a constant comraunication is kept up by
ferry. Like most of the towns of Eastern Vir
ginia, many of its early settlers consisted of Scotch
and Irish, nearly aU of whom were engaged in
mercantUe pursuits. The harbour is excellent. In
which vessels ofthe largest tonnage can ride with
q2

228 FROM EICHMOND TO WASHINGTON.
safety, and even approach its wharves. A little
below the town is the Naval Hospital, a capacious
and handsome structure, built of brick and stuc
coed. Right In front of this building I observed
a number of tents, which had a very imposing
appearance, and gave additional picturesqueness
to the view.
Shortly after my arrival In Norfolk, I visited
General Hug^r — who is In command there — and
presented a letter of introduction which I had
received from the late Secretary-at-War, Mr.
Walker. I was most politely greeted, and in
formed that every facility should be afforded to
me, and that, as a flag of truce would be sent off
next day to convey sorae Northern prisoners
(surgeons taken at the battle of Manassas) to the
other side, I should be allowed the privilege of
crossing to Fortress Monroe by It. I was strictly
cautioned not to mention the circumstance, and
should I be interrogated by anyone as to when a
flag of truce would be going, to affect ignorance
of the fact. This secrecy was evidently enjoined'
in order to prevent the General from being pes
tered by applications which he could not, and ,
would not, entertain, both as a matter of policy
and duty. My sojourn was so short that I had
not time to visit the various camps scattered
outside the city. I was inforraed, however, that

GOSPORT NAVY YARD. 229
nearly 30,000 troops were stationed In the vicinity,
and that they were amply supplied with every
necessary. The health of the raen, too, was in a
good condition — far better than either at York-
town or Manassas.
After breakfast on the following morning I
crossed the ferry and proceeded to the Gos
port Navy Yard — situated directly on the south
ern extremity of Portsmouth, half a mile from
the central part of the town — now in possession
of the Confederate Government. When the Fe
deralists evacuated this place on the 20th of
AprU, they simply destroyed the frontage of the
buUding, leaving the ponderous machinery and
the greater portion of the effects uninjured. Th^
utmost activity prevailed In every department,
from the casting and boring of huge Dahlgren
guns, to the preparation of small shot. In se
veral portions of the yard I noticed numerous
pieces of ordnance, and Immense piles of shot and
shell; while the tiraber stowed away appeared
to me sufficient to construct an entire fleet.
The United States' frigate "Merrimac," which
the FederaUsts sunk, along with some other
vessels, had not only been raised but converted
into a floating battery, iron-cased, and capable of
carrying ten guns of heavy calibre. I do not
know whether great things are expected by this

230 FROM RICHMOND TO WASHINGTON.
transformation, but simply think that the "Mer
rimac " has been raised and reconstructed just as
an experiment. Some, however, were of opinion
that she would prove very formidable when called
into requisition.
Two other sunken frigates, the "Plymouth"
and " German Town," had also been raised, and
money has been appropriated to raise the " Colum
bus " and " Delaware," the latter being a 70-gun
ship. The lower deck of the brig " Dolphin," and
a portion ofthe "Columbia" and "Pennsylvania" —
frigates, which had be6n burnt by the Federalists —
were partially visible as the tide was receding.
These vessels being greatly damaged, no efforts
will at present be made to recover them. Possibly,
by-and-bye the hulks wiU be removed, as they
necessarily obstruct the navigation of the Eliza
beth River. After looking well round the Navy
Yard, I proceeded on board the frigate " United
States," famous as the ship that captured the
" Macedonian " during the war with England.
Although very old, the vessel looked in capital
trim. For a long time she has remained here
perfectly useless, and all her guns had been
removed. Doubtless it was considered that her
services would never again be needed ; so, Uke a
proud empress divested of her crown, she has been
Buffered to repose on the waters in soUtary gran-

VISIT TO GENEEAL HUGER. 231
deur, an object of curiosity — mayhap of interest
—to the idle sight-seer. That this ship of war is
destined to play some active part in the drama
now being enacted in America is more than
probable. At the time of my visit she was fitting
out for service, had fourteen guns on board, and
a goodly nuraber of officers and men, I believe
seventy in all. The " United States " can carry
forty-five guns, and there was a possibiUty that,
when properly equipped and efficiently manned,
she would leave her moorings.
I took luncheon on board with Lieutenant
Morgan, the officer in command, who had the
kindness to have me conveyed in his private boat
to Norfolk. Upon landing, I at once called at
General Hugfer's head-quarters, and found that he
had already dispatched one of his " aides " to the
hotel where I stayed, to inform me that the
Governraent steamer was ready, and that I was
to embark without delay. At my request, how
ever, the General had the politeness to order the
detention of the boat until I could get on board,
which occupied nearly an hour. For this act of
courtesy I feel particularly indebted, as otherwise
I should have been put to very serious incon
venience, and possibly might have had to tarry
in Norfolk for raany days before a similar opportu
nity would have presented itself. In .my hurry I

232 FEOM RICHMOND TO WASHINGTON.
neglected to obtain the necessary "pass," which
the General kindly sent after me. It runs as
follows : —
" Head-quarters General Commanding Forces in Norfolk
Harbour, Norfolk, Va., Sept. 21, 1861.
"Permission is hereby granted to Mr. Phillips Day, a
citizen of England, to pass with flag of truce of date.
" By order of the General Commanding,
"Lieut. Jas. F. Milligan,
Signal Officer.''
So soon as I had embarked the little steamer
put off, and proceeded down the river. On board
were some five or six Northern physicians, who
had been taken prisoners at the battle of Manassas,
and who. In consequence of the huraanity they
had exhibited to the wounded soldiers at Rich
mond, were suffered to revisit their respective
homes, on the generous recoraraendatlonof General
Beauregard, upon pledging themselves not again to
assurae any hostile position during the continuance
of the present war. I fear, however, that the
good faith of some of these parties cannot be
depended upon — not simply because I have met
with them attired in uniforra at Washington, but
from the observations which I have heard drop
from their lips. Possibly they do not regard the
pledge extorted from thera as binding upon their
consciences.

OLD POINT COMFORT. 233
When within sight of the Federal fleet, near
Old Point Comfort, a large white flag was hoisted
at the bow of the boat, and in a few minutes
I observed a steamer approach, attended by a
small cutter filled with saUors. When we got
within hailing distance, the Federal officer in
command, upon ascertaining that the officer who
had charge of our flag of truce had dispatches for
the General and prisoners, etc., on board, ordered
our boat alongside. The utmost civUity, combined
with due mUitary dignity, was observed by the
Commandants of both sections. So, tbe dispatches
having been delivered, and the living freight
transferred on board the " Young American," we
steamed away for Old Point Comfort, where I
arrived in a short tirae.
This place is exactly two and a-half railes from
Hampton, and about twelve miles in a direct line
from Norfolk. It is a promontory, In latitude 70°,
and, with the opposing point, Willoughby, forms
the mouth of the James River. The early Yir-
ginian colonists, during their exploratory voyage
in 1607, gave this locality the title of " Point
¦Comfort," on account of the good channel and
safe anchorage it afforded. The prefix "Old"
was subsequently adopted, to distinguish it from
New Point Comfort. Here Count de Grasse
threw up some fortifications not long before the

234 FEOM EICHMOND TO WASHINGTON.
surrender at York. On the Virginia side of the
harbour is erected Fortress Monroe, one of the
largest single forts in the world, being nearly two
miles in circumference.
Directly opposite, at the distance of less than
two thousand yards, is the famous Rip Raps, so
called frora the shoal water, which, under the
action of the sea and the reaction caused by the
bar, occasions an unreraitting ripple. The Rip
Raps is formed upon an island made by casting
in rocks in a depth of twenty- feet of water until,
by gradual accumulation, it emerged above the
tides. On this mass of stone was originally built
Fort Calhoun, a most reraarkable structure,
evincing much engineering skill. The founda
tion, however, gave way, the huge waUs tumbled
down, and now the fort appears not unlike an
unsightly mountain of rocks piled In marked
disorder. The place looks dreary and desolate
in the extreme, and can afford little comfort to
the garrison who now occupy it. Fifteen rifled
cannon are mounted here, which, with the guns
of Fortress Monroe, effectually command the
roads; for it would be impossible for a hostile ship
to pass without becoming a wreck or a conflagra
tion before she had wound her way through the
bondings of the channel.
So soon as the " Young American" touched at

GENEEAL WOOL. 235
the Fortress, the Provost-Marshal took charge of
the prisoners and others, and had them conveyed
on board a Government steamer, for Baltimore,
which was lying adjacent. The officer in com
mand of the flag of truce suffered me to enter the
Fortress, and accompanied me to General Wool's
head- quarters, to whom I had a letter of intro
duction. I was first received by one of the
General's Staff, who was dressed to perfection In
civilian's costume — not at all unlike a class of
individuals yclept " Young sweUs," who may be
seen displaying their proportions and fine clothes
before dinner in the neighbourhood of Pall-mall
or St. James's-street — and who was highly, in
deed offensively, redolent of perfume! As the
General was at dinner, we were asked to step
downstairs and have some wine, which we thank
fully declined. After the lapse of a few rainutes.
General Wool made his appearance and invited
us Into his private room. He is a tall, handsome,
and rather prepossessing old man, somewhat gar
rulous, but withal discreet. For his age his
activity is considerable, but still it is full time
that he should be engaged in pursuits more
homogeneous with his declining powers of mind
and body. He appeared to feel deeply the ter
rible calamity that had befaUen his country, and
alleged that he had foreseen it all months before.

236 FEOM EICHMOND TO WASHINGTON.
" Sir," he observed to rae, " as early as Decem
ber last I wrote to Mr. Secretary Chkse, pro
posing certain raeasures for his adoption, in order
to meet, and If possible avert, the terrible state of
things that we now witness. I told him that if
civU war should ensue. It would calL forth the
worst, foulest, and fiercest passions of human
nature on both sides. I wrote to him on this
subject once, twice, thrice, but no practical notice
was taken of my coraraunicatlon ; and now, sir,
the dire evUs that I had predicted have been
realized. Sir, you raight mention that."
Finally, I took my leave of General Wool, who
treated me with the utmost urbanity and consi
deration, and who placed no obstruction in my
way, not even suffering me to be subjected to
any personal examination — an infliction for which
I was fully prepared.
I had merely tirae to walk hurriedly through
the Fort, which mounts a number of heavy guns.
Apparently it was not very strongly garrisoned,
as a numerous army Is perhaps not deemed neces
sary for its protection. The officers' quarters
occupy several sraall but neat buildings within
the area, where there is a capacious level parade-
ground, ornaraented by clumps of live-oak, this
being the raost northern part of the States where
that tree is found, A number of dUapidated

FOETEESS MONEOE. 237
wooden outbuildings, formerly occupied by civi
lians, are now turned into various milltaiy offices.
There is a tiny hotel adjacent, the old extensive
house of this description having been changed into
a bureau of some kind. Previous to the breaking
out of hostUitles, this spot used to be much fre
quented during the suramer raonths for the pur
pose of bathing, as well as for the other attractions
it offered. At present, however, no civilian is
suffered tx) approach the place, except under very
urgent circurastances, and with fuU authority from
the General in command.
I hastened on board the " Louisiana," of Balti
more, a passenger boat, now in the employ of the
Federal Governraent, and which was bound for
that city. Among the "notices to passengers"
fraraed and exhibited in the saloon was one to
the following effect : —
"Gentlemen must not put their feet on the
chairs, nor go into their berths with their boots
on." The "Young American" had just steamed away
in the direction of Sewell's Point, in order to try
the range of a Dahlgren, which she carried in her
bow, by pitching sheU into the Confederate battery
at that place. Two shots were fired, and I dis
tinctly heard the reports; but the Captain informed
me afterwards that the balls simply performed

238 FEOM EICHMOND TO WASHINGTON.
some ricochet movements on the water, and did
not go nigh the shore ! When the " Louisiana "
had taken in a quantity of military stores she put
off for her destination. As we passed the fleet In
the Hampton Roads — which consisted of three
steam frigates and five ships of war — the hands
of the " Roanoake," about 700 in number, manned
the rigging, even up to the very pennants, struck
up " Dixie's Land," on fife and drum, and gave
several hearty cheers in token of respect for their
old Captain (Nicholson), who was on board our
boat, and who had been deprived of his command,
with a number of other senior officers, including
Comraodore Stringham. The sight was a very
iraposing one, and almost brought tears into the
old sailor's eyes. Captain Nicholson appeared
deeply affected at the manner in which his past
services had been rewarded, and at the indignity
he suffered by having his coraraission cancelled,
and a junior officer, who had seen no service,
placed over hira,
" Sir," he observed, " I should not be surprised
if a mutiny occurred on board my ship to-night.
If the men were near New York, I am sure that
twenty of them would not stay on board. Sir, I
have sown, and others will reap the fruits of my
labours. This removal of distinguished and able
Coraraanders, to make room for young inexperl-

BALTIMOEE. 239
enced men, is the result of corruption and parti-
zanship, and undue influence at head - quarters.
Give it to them, sir I — give it to them !"
One of the crew of the "Roanoake" was so
attached to his Captain, that he deserted from the
ship, and stowed himself away on board our boat.
On the following Monday, Commodore Stringham
was to be supplanted in his command of the
United States' squadron.
Next morning I arrived in Baltiraore — "the
city of monuments " — which Prince Napoleon,
with good reason, compares to a beleaguered town
— where I remained untU the ensuing day, I was
scarcely prepared for the condition in which I
found political and military matters in that place.
No one felt secure. Bankers, Senators, Congress
men, merabers of the Board of Police, citizens of
the first position, had been arrested without any
cause being assigned for such Illegal acts. General
Dix — who has comraand of the city — ruled with
a high hand, and endeavoured to suppress popu
lar opinion by brute force, forgetting that —
" He who would force the soul, tilts with a straw
Against a giant cased in adamant.''
Cannon had been placed on Federal HiU, cora
manding several leading streets. A new military
police had been organized, a strict systera of
espionnage established, peaceable citizens' houses

240 FEOM EICHMOND TO WASHINGTON.
forcibly entered, arras found therein seized, and
everything possible done to suppress the Secession
sentiment. Nevertheless, nine-tenths of the po
pulation sympathize with the South ; so, if all the
avowed enemies of the Union now in Baltimore
are to be deprived of their liberties, additional
prisons or fortresses will first have to be buUt for
their incarceration. No Government ever em
ployed a more outrageous railitary despotism, or so
contemptible a "spy system" — and in the boasted
land of liberty, under the protecting aegis of the
outspread Eagle, and the "Star-spangled Banner!"
The following Is a list of the leading persons
who were arrested In Baltimore, and consigned
to Fort M'Henry, preparatory to their being
removed to Fort Lafayette : —
Hon. Geo. Wm. Brown, Mayor of Baltimore.
Hon. Henry May, Member of Congress.
S. Teackle Wallis,
Henry M. Warfield,
Ross Winans,
Dr. J. Hanson Thomas, \ City Delegates to
Charles H. Pitts, / the Legislature.
T. Parkins Scott,
Lawrence Sangston,
Wm. G. Harrison,
Dr. A. A. Lynch, -,
L.G. Quinlan, I County Delegates to
Eobert M. Denison, J '''^ Legislature.
F. Key Howard, Editor and Proprietor of the
" Daily Exchange.-"
Thomas W. HaU, jun.. Editor of the " South."

PEISONEES IN FOET LAFAYETTE. 241
The privations endured by the prisoners in Fort
Lafayette are very great. They are crowded to
gether in dingy and dank apartments ; the only
light there is glimmering through port-holes filled
with 32-pounders. Iron bedsteads are packed
between the guns, whereupon the prisoners stretch
on loose straw. There are no tables or seats, nor
indeed is there room for such luxuries. In these
wretched casements, without fire, or the means of
introducing warrath, the prisoners are stove up ;
while the strictest discipline is enforced by the
German guards who are placed over thera. The
water supply is not only bad, but unfit for use.
Those who can afford it are compelled to pay a
dollar per day for putrid pork, and other stale and
unwholesome edibles, which are supplied by the
warder's wife. Those who are unable to com
ply with this regulation receive soldier's rations.
Occasionally the prisoners are suffered to take
exercise in the quadrangle of the Fort, attended
by a guard. They are compelled to rise at six In
the morning, and retire to bed at nine, p.m. ; while
the very lights they are afforded have to be pur
chased at a high price. Upon their arrival, they
are searched, and deprived of whatever money
they may happen to have in their possession, with
out so much as receiving an acknowledgment for
the same. Although they are not positively for-
VOL. IL K

242 FEOM EICHMOND TO WASHINGTON.
bidden to communicate with their friends, still
they are placed under considerable restraint, as
the annexed official instructions, which are posted
on the walls, will demonstrate : —
" Department of State, Washington.
" Letters will be forwarded for the prisoners to the Heads
of Departments of the General Government at Washington,
and also to the General-in-Chief, when written in respectful
language. In those letters, the prisoners, if disposed, can
describe their quarters, subsistence, etc. ; they may, if they
deem fit, make a statement of their case, in respectful
language, to the persons thus addressed. AU other letters
should be confined to famUy or domestic affairs, any wants
for himseK, or any instructions he may wish to communicate
with regard to his private affairs at home, or familiar letters
with relatives or friends. Letters containing invidious re
flections on the Government or its agents, either civU or
mUitary, wiU not be forwarded, but wiU be returned to the
writers. It must be understood that the pubUcation of any
letters maUed or forwarded for the prisoners in any news
paper, no matter what the contents, wiU be taken for
granted that it is done to create UI feeling towards the
General Government, and can be of no service to the
writer. It is desired that in aU private letters forwarded
by the prisoners, the foUowing note wiU be added, in a post
script, or otherwise, by the writer : —
" ' P.S. — It is my express desire that the contents of this
letter, or any part of it, wUl not be placed in such a situa
tion as to be published in any newspaper.'
" Gentlemen with funds wiU pay their own postage ;
those without funds, their letters wiU be paid at Fort
HamUton.
" W. H. Sewakd."
Such prisoners as are fortunate enough to ob-

CITY OP WASHINGTON. 243
tain their release are (if American subjects), re
quired as a condition to take the oath of allegiance
to the Federal Government, of which the follow
ing is a copy : —
" I do swear that I will support, protect and
defend the Constitution and Governraent of the
United States against all eneraies, whether do
mestic or foreign, and that I will bear true faith,
allegiance, and loyalty to the same, any ordinance,
resolution, or law of any State Convention or
Legislature to the contrary notwithstanding.
And further, that I do this with a full deterraina
tion, pledge, and purpose, without any mental re
servation or evasion whatsoever."
On Monday, September 23rd, I arrived in
Washington, and candidly confess that I was
much disappointed with the Federal capital. It
is not only a city of " magnificent distances," but
of intolerable smells ; and only for the excitement
produced by the soldiers and troops passing to
and fro would be the dullest of aU dull places.
There are few elements of social progress or ad
vanced civilization to be found here. With the
exception of the unfinished Capitol, the Treasury,
Post-office, and the Department of the Interior,
there is very little to arrest the eye or interest
the mind of the stranger. The streets are Ul-
paved, the footpaths — principally of brick — are in
e2

244 FEOM RICHMOND TO WASHINGTON.
bad condition, so that bne cannot walk with com
fort or safety., especially at night, when the im-
perfectly Uluminated streets only serve to make
the darkness visible. Puddles and gutters meet
the gaze in every direction, tainting the atmos
phere, and assailing, by their pestiferous odours,
the nostrils of the passers-by. A little to the
north of the Executive mansion, on a space of
about ten acres of ground, not less than one
hundred dead horses were strewed about, in every
stage of decomposition. The Washingtonian s
have always been more or less averse to amuse
ments, except, indeed, that tea-parties and scandal
can be classed under such a category. There are
two small daily and one weekly newspapers here,
but they are conducted in a very slovenly man
ner, displaying little or no ability, and having a
most contemptible appearance.
Thursday, the 26th September, was the day
set apart by proclaraation of the President for
" prayer, fasting, and hurailiation." So far, how
ever, as appearances told, the day had all the
attractions of a fite. Frora raorn until night the
streets were thronged with well-dressed people,
who came out In holiday garb, and who seemed
anything but irapressed or weighed down by a
sense of contrition for their personal or national
misdeeds. Omnibuses and -carriages were in con-

PAST-DAY SERMON. 245
Stant requisition, while blUIard-rooms and h6tel-
bars were crowded with a succession of visitors,
and evidently did a profitable trade. Every house
I passed emitted savoury exhalations, which, to a
dyspeptic, would have a very appetizing, and to a
hungry person, a most provoking effect; from
which I inferred that fasting, at all events, formed
no part of Thursday's proceedings.
In the morning I attended service at the Pres
byterian Church, of which the Rev. Dr. Gurley
is pastor, and heard a very appropriate, and I
should say, bold discourse, preached in presence of
Mr. Lincoln, near whom I sat. As I had an in
troduction to the Doctor, after service was ended
I requested the favour of his MS., which was
readily complied with. I extracted a few passages
from the same, which I now introduce. The
Doctor took his text frora Isaiah I. 2 : " Hear, O
heavens, and give ear, O earth : for the Lord
hath spoken : I have nourished and brought up
children, and they have rebeUed against me."
The foUowing is the exordium : —
" As a nation we are on a deep and dangerous
sea of troubles. The waves thereof are very
angry and fearful. They rise and roll like moun
tains, and threaten to destroy us. The bravest
hearts are anxious for the Issue. Some are hope
ful that we shaU outride the storm, and others are

246 FROM RICHMOND TO WASHINGTON.
whispering their fears that we shall go down in
utter wreck and ruin, carrying with us the dearest
hopes of liberty and of the world. Who shaU de
termine the Issue ? Whose prerogative is it to
prolong and increase the tempest till we are over
whelmed, or so to control and to calm it that we
may be saved ? It is not the prerogative of man
to do this. State legislation cannot do it ; the
National Congress cannot do it ; the President and
his advisers cannot do it. There is only One Being
in the universe that can do it. That Being is God.
He only can say to the stormy ocean upon which
we are tossing, ' Hitherto shalt thou come, but no
further ; and here shall thy proud waves be
stayed.' This we are now beginning to see and
to feel. Yes, I trust, we are beginning to feel
that our help — the help we need in this most
perilous and eventful crisis — ' cometh from the
Lord, who made heaven and earth.' If He turns
to us again, and causes His face to shine, we shaU
be saved ; but if He continues to frown, and to
leave us to ourselves, we shall be ruined, and that
without remedy."
The following passage affords an iUustration of
that " boasting " for which Americans are so re
markable : —
" More than seventy years have elapsed since
the solemn, I may say reUgious inauguration of

AMERICAN BOASTING. 247
our first President, and we cannot doubt that in
all these years the God of Washington has been
with us, and his prayer that God would consecrate
to the liberties and happiness of the people of the
United States a government instituted by them
selves, has been clearly and gloriously answered.
Surely our Uberties and our happiness have been
glorious in His sight, ' He hath not dealt so with
any nation, and as for his judgments, we have not
known them,' What wonders has He done for
us — wonders that have attracted the gaze and
commanded the admiration of the world ! How
has He enlarged our territory, increased our pop
ulation, and multiplied our resources ! What
influence of knowledge, of virtue, of grace and
salvation He has shed upon our land I To what
a sublime and commanding elevation has He
raised us among the nations of the earth I How
various and how enriching are the blessings we
have enjoyed at home ! How high and unrivalled
is the respect we have secured abroad ! What a
happy people we have been I What a mighty
people we have become ! In less than a hundred
years we have grown so as to stand side by side
on terms of equality with the mightiest empires of
the world! There is nothing like it in aU his
tory. There is no other nation — the world has
never seen a nation — whose life and progress and

248 FROM RICHMOND TO WASHINGTON.
prosperity were equally radiant with the goodness
of God ! "
The preacher, however, changed his topic, and
proceeded to enumerate and dilate upon the
national sins of the Araerican people, viz.. Sabbath
desecration, profanity, winking at the crime of
murder, slander, pride, boasting, and self-confi
dence. With regard to the first he observed
that— " The Government, many of our State Legisla
tures, our National Legislature again and again,
our people of every class and rank, have trampled
recklessly and often upon the sanctity of God's
holy day. Indeed the amount of Sabbath dese
cration, open and high-handed, that has marked
the history of this country from the beginning,
has been perilous — Heaven-provoking beyond the
power of language to describe."
Then with reference to blasphemy he re
marked : —
" Wherever we go — In the circles of pleasure,
in the miarts of business, and in the thoroughfares
of commerce — we are sure to hear the language of
profanity. Some exceedingly well-informed peo
ple, who have sojourned in foreign countries, are
wont to express the opinion that we are the
profanest nation In the world ; and from all I can
learn I fear it is true. A chaplain to one of our

"PEOPANEST NATION IN THE WORLD." 249
regiments recently told me that he never had
anything like an adequate conception of the pro
fanity of our people till he became connected
with our volunteer army ; and that the oaths he
heard in camp from day to day, despite of his
earnest remonstrances against them, were con
stantly oppressing his heart with blended sadness
and terror,"
Then alluding to evil-speaking, lying, and slan
dering, the Doctor proceeded : —
" We have spoken falsely and slanderously of
one another. Especially has this been the case
in times of high political excitement. How often,
how notoriously, in such times, has the secular
press been made the vehicle of lying and defama
tion, for the sole and simple purpose of defeating
one political candidate and securing the election
of another ? The frauds, falsehoods, perjuries, and
corruptions that have stained the history of
politics and of political parties and struggles In
this country for years together, are crimes of
surpassing turpitude. Mightily, mightily, have
they cried to Heaven for vengeance, — and ven
geance has come at last ! "
Finally, regarding the civil war now raging in
America as palpable evidence of the Divine anger,
he observed : —
" Believe me, God has a controversy with us.

250 FROM EICHMOND TO WASHINGTON.
It Is evident enough that our sins have kindled
his anger at last into a fierce and devouring flame.
What means it that eleven States of our Confede
racy are violently sundering the Federal bond?
What means it that one part of the country is in
battle array against the other? What means It
that very brethren are in deadly conflict ? What
means the flow of blood among the mountains of
Western Virginia and upon the fertile plains of
Missouri I What mean those hostile and power
ful armies now standing face to face on the banks
of the Potomac, and near the very home and
grave of Washington ? What raeans the gloom
that has corae over all faces, the sadness that
pervades aU hearts, and the concern that is felt
by our wisest and purest patriots about the events
and destinies of the future ? Politicians may say
it raeans this or it means that ; they may blame
this party or that party, this measure or that
measure, this section or that section, this man or
that man. Whether they are right or wrong is
now a question of but little practical moment.
We must not pause to consider it, for we know,
my brethren, that this great trouble that has
come upon us has a more deep and awful signifi
cancy." On the whole. Dr. Grurley's discourse was
seasoned with temperance and prudence. He

" FAST-DAY LOOSENESS." 251
surveyed the war from a Providential stand-point ;
and fuUy aware of the corruption of those In high
places, assumed a grave responsibility in speaking
with eloquent freedom of the alarming aspect that
political affairs had assumed. Not a single irrita
ting word on the subject of the " domestic institu
tion" of the South escaped his lips. In this
respect he offered a pleasing contrast to his reve
rend brethren in Boston, New York, and other
places, who made use of that solemn occasion for
arousing the foulest passions of human nature,
and creating deeper enmity than what had already
existed between both sections of the late Union,
I append a few comments from Northern journals
on what has been jocularly termed the " fast-day
looseness of the pulpit." > The Baltimore Sun
remarks : —
" To what extent the pulpit as well as the press
is accountable for the wild fanaticism on the sub
ject of slavery which has agitated the Northern
mind, our readers have some idea ; but by way of
intensifying the subject, the New York Tribune
collates a number of extracts from 'fast-day
sermons ' preached in Boston and New York, by
quite a number of the * clergy,' whose wont it is
to delectate their hearers with declamation on
this theme. From Boston we have specimens of
Johnson, Eddy, Clarke, Miner, Stone, Alger,

252 FEOM EICHMOND TO W^ASHINGTON.
Webb, Manning, EUis and Lovering ; and from
New York the dainties are selected from BeUows,
Tyng, Vinton, Hoane and Cheever. These
worthies, all Reverends and Doctors of Divinity,
seem to delight In exhibiting the wonderful skiU
with which they can diverge to the remotest
point frora the precepts of Christianity, hoping,
doubtless, to shine as distinguished lights in
Heaven at last. But conceding the possibUity
of such a thing, Christianity and Heaven can be
very little understood and appreciated outside
of their particular churches. Happily these
'Divines' do not have the divinity exclusively
in their own hands."
Inveighing against the pulpit clangour in Bos
ton, the Courier of that city remarks : —
"Emancipation was the idea running through
a variety of the sermons. Quite a number of
the sermonizers declared, or else intimated, that
we could not have the blessing of Heaven upon
the national arms, unless we fought to put away
slavery. Upon the sarae theory it is unaccount
able how the thirteen colonies, with slavery in
every one of them, achieved their independence,
and how we have grown to be such a raighty and
prosperous nation, under a Constitution recog
nizing slavery and guarding the clairas of the
slave-holder, where slavery exists. And it is sin^

ANATHEMAS ON THE SOUTH. 253
gular that it should escape the attention of such
men, that we continued growing more powerful
and prosperous as a people, until the agitation of
slavery, which they now urge, and which the
Government and the main body of the people de
precate, became a disturbing cause of all our
troubles," The Boston Post follows in the wake of its con
temporary, and severely denounces the style and
manner of discourse propounded on the same
national occasion, frora the pulpits of the " Arae
rican Athens." It observes : —
" A few pulpits rang out, as usual, with par
tisan and now disloyal anatheraas on the South,
on slaveholders and slavery. Such fanatic incan
tations to the Baal of Exeter Hall, Instead of ex
citing a devotional turn, raaddened hearers up to
the hissing point. Good God! what are these
clerical partisans made of? Is there not enough
horror on the land ? Must it also drink the cup
of servile war ? Must they prattle for ever about
things of country, which they do not under
stand, like so many children ? Do they reject on
what an Abolition war would be? Could they
comprehend at least the situation of such States
as Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, and Missouri —
the momentous consequences that are in the
stake at issue ? How can they keep up the par-

254 PEOM RICHMOND TO WASHINGTON.
tisanship that wars on the Constitutional rights
of the righteous loyal men of these States, and
justify It by an appeal to the higher law ? Does
not patriotism In those States rise to the sublime?
How can these partisans invoke fire and sword on
their horaes ? What a perversion of duty ! When
State Legislature upon State Legislature, Con
gress, the Cabinet and the President, are giving
the most solemn assurances that the war is not to
subvert the social institutions of the slave-holding
States, it is astonishing that even fanaticism can
be so rabid as to inflame the public by urging
old worn-out party appeals. God inform, cor
rect, and convert these party men ! They know
not what they do, no raore than did Saul when
he stoned the prophets."
It is a sad truth, that the fratricidal war in
America has been a source of congratulation to
the Abolitionist party, a few of whom did all
their official Influence could effect to accelerate a
crisis In the position of affairs. The party-leaders
in this movement seem utterly regardless of con
sequences, provided their darling object be
attained. Hence they could not forego their
cherished antagonism to the South and her Insti
tutions, even on a day set apart for national
humUiation, and in the midst of a cIvU war !
The declension in disinterested patriotism and

ARMY CONTEACT SYSTEM. 255
pubUc moraUty of the people of the United
States, especially since 1830, when the "spoUs"
system of rewards and punishraents was intro
duced into the adrainistration of the Govern
ment, has been in inverse ratio to their material
progress and prosperity. Acting upon the prin
ciple, that " to the victors belong the spoils" of
office, a system of party favouritism and family
nepotism has marked the career of the different
Administrations, getting more and more bold and
audacious, until it has culminated in the most
shameless venality under the present Executive
and his Cabinet, and their Congressional coad
jutors and advisers. Heads of Departraents and
Bureaus, as well as Senators and Representatives,
have not hesitated to use the power and influence
of office, not only to reward favourites, but to
provide for the various needy members of their
families and households, utterly regardless of
their fitness for public office or station. They
have been known even to confer upon tbeir own
kindred offices as low as messengerships, because
by nature and education these parties were obvi
ously disqualified for more elevated positions. ,
It is, however, in the array contract system that
the most scandalous abuses prevail. For example,
should an outsider of a political opponent of the
Administration apply for a contract, such as the

256 FROM RICHMOND TO WASHINGTON.
supply of a certain number of horses or mules, he
is Invariably informed that " none are wanted for
the present," while probably in a few days some
political wire-puller gets the job at an advanced
figure per head, and then sells for a consideration,
which nets him quite a fortune upon the trans
action. I have heard of oue instance where a
Deraocratic politician sent in a proposal to furnish
horses to the Government. As usual in such
cases, he was duly informed that " none were
then required." A day or two afterwards one ot
his neighbours, who " was sound on the goose"
(as they say there), obtained a contract to supply
3,000 horses, at a stipulated sum. On these
horses he had a profit of ll. per head, by which,
without risking a cent, he netted the handsome
return of 3,000Z. ! I have heard horse contractors
chuckle over their good fortune, when they little
suspected that " a chlel" was among them " taking
notes." They boasted that whUe the Govern
ment allowed them 120 doUars for each animal^.
they bought the sarae for 60 or 70 dollars, some
times for a less sum — thereby clearing a prodi
gious profit!
This unfortunate sta'te of things has been recently
exposed by Mr. Dawes — one of the Committee'
of Investigation — in the House of Congress, during
the Debate on the Goverament Con tracts. The very

SWINDLING OF UNION PATRIOTS. 257
first contract entered into, for the supply of 2,200
head of cattle, was entrusted to a stipendiary, who
in former times made his living by buying the
certificates of members for books at a discount, and
then charging the full araount. This man sublet
his contract for the cattle to another, who knew
nothing of the price of beef, so that without any
trouble he realized some 32,000 doUars upon the
transaction — about 26,000 dollars In excess of the
fair market price. So plentiful were these con
tracts, that people went about with their pockets
full of them, making presents to the ministers of
their parishes, and thereby healing old political
sores, and wiping out past political or personal
differences. " High public functionaries," said Mr. Dawes,
" have graced the love-feasts which were got up
to celebrate these political reconcUIations thus
brought about, while the hatchet of political ani
mosity was burled In the grave of political con
fidence, and the national credit crucified araong
malefactors." But this is but a fractional portion of the
swindling which Union patriots carried on, and
high official patriots connived at. Cavalry horses
have been contracted for and supplied at one hun
dred and twenty doUars each, which, upon ex
amination, were sworn not to be worth twenty
VOL. II. S

258 FROM RICHMOND TO WASHINGTON.
dollars. In the case of a Louisville regiraent alone,
four hundred and fifty horses were condemned
out of a thousand purchased for the troops, as un
sound and unfit for service : the loss to the Govern
raent on this transaction is estimated at 58,200 dol
lars, In addition to 1 ,000 dollars for cost of transporta
tion. So soon as the horses were found to be use
less, they were either sent back to Elmira or left
to perish of hunger on the highways. In Wash
ington troops of thera used to be tied to trees and
left to die in this manner, until the civic authorities
had to call for a legislative measure to protect the
capital against a plague. An ex-Governor of one
State offered the ex-Judge of another State a bribe
of 6,000 dollars to get him permission to raise a
Cavalry regiment; and, to quote the words of Mr.
Dawes in Congress, "When the ex- Judge brought
back the coraraission, the ex-Governor takes it to
his room at the h6tel, while another plunderer sitsat
the key-hole watching like a mastiff, whUe he In
side counts up 40,000 dollars profit on the horses,
and calculates 20,000 dollars more upon the ac
coutrements and other details of furnishing these
regiments," The list of frauds and fraudulent
contractors Is too extensive to enter upon in de
tail. I have, however, brought forward examples
sufficient to exhibit the low moral and patriotic
condition of Northern poUticians, whose adherence

" THE ALMIGHTY DOLLAR." 259
to the Union signifies devotion to self-interest.
I strongly suspect that it is the love of the
"almighty dollar" which gives gist and maUgnity
to the civil war now raging between the North and
the South. The forraer cannot think for a moment
of giving up the rich and profitable business con
sequent upon a monopoly of the trade with the
latter. The manner in which the Northern troops ad
vance into the South — burning, devastating, and
destroying everything that Ues in their path — is a
conclusive proof that they entertain little love for
the Southern people, and that it Is their money
and staples they covet, and not their fellowship as
coequal partners in a coraraon Government, The
existing war is therefore to be regarded more as a
war of commerce than of principle — as the smaU
est concession on the part of tbe North, either du
ring the late or the extra Sessions of Congress,
would have secured peace, and eventually that
Union so much talked and vaunted of bythe North.
South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia,
might have resisted the efforts to effect a cora-
promise; but the conservative Influence of the
border Slave States would have neutraUzed aU
efforts on the part of the forraer to create a South
ern Confederacy, and eventuaUy have brought
these States into the Union.
S2

260 FROM RICHMOND TO WASHINGTON.
Notwithstanding the accounts to the contrary,
it was generally understood — by the President
and Cabinet at least — that the Potomac was block
aded from the Virginia shore, in consequence of
which the Administration had determined to lay
down a double track of railway between Wash
ington city and Annapolis, a distance of about forty
miles, A nuraber of Confederate batteries, not
heretofore known, had likewise been discovered
at various points from Accoquan, twenty miles
below Washington, to the raouth of the Potomac
river. These batteries are all on the Virginia
shore ; but the chief defences are at Accoquan,
Freestone Point, Aquia Creek, and' Matthias's
Point. An opinion prevailed in some quarters
that the Federal war vessels then in the Potomac
were totally inefficient In either reslstlngorsllencing
these batteries. One day, as the " Pawnee," a
well-known Governraent gun-boat, headed an ad
vance of the river fleet down the Potomac, a Con
federate battery opened upon her, and with such
effect as to compel her, with the other vessels,
to return to Washington, some of them being so seri
ously damaged as to necessitate Iramediate repair.
The second ball fired from the battery completely
passed through the "Pawnee," and struck the
Maryland shore, a distance of three miles, thereby
showing complete comraand of the Potoraac.

SKIRMISH NEAR LEWINSVILLE. 261
While resident in Washington, the Federal
troops, 5,000 strong, with a reserve of 10,000 sta
tioned at or near Chain Bridge, about five railes
west of the city, made a reconnaisance of the
country in the neighbourhood of Lewinsville — five
or six miles distant frora the bridge. On their
return they were attacked by the Confederate
troops, nurabering about 4,000 men. The attack
lasted three-quarters of an hour, when the former
were driven back, with considerable loss in killed
and wounded, amounting, it was stated, to 300 or
400, and six pieces of artillery. Of this serious
skirraish no account was given in the Federal news
papers, since the publication of such occurrences
is considered by the Governraent contraband of
war — in corroboration of which, I can refer to no
higher authority than General Scott hiraself, who
has prohibited any raoveraents of the array from
being made public, and Interdicted newspaper cor
respondents from communicating such disastrous
intelligence, lest it may damp the courage of the
troops, which is not of the most invincible de
scription. < M'CleUan was very energetic — one day review
ing large bodies of troops, and the next recon
noitring the enemy's positions frora a balloon,
which is kept near Munson's Hill for his especial
use. Constant movements of the array occurred

262 FEOM EICHMOND TO WASHINGTON.
during the still hours of night, and the public
mind was excited to a high degree of expectancy,
and, indeed, anxiety. If the truth may be told, lest
the next prominent engagement should terminate
in another Bull Run affair, and the "Grand Army
of the North " again prove Itself merely a mili
tary rabble, after the mUUons of dollars laid
out upon its equipment, and the expense conse
quent upon bringing it a second time into the
field !¦
The volunteers, although not subjected to very
rigorous discipline, yet 111 brook the restraints of
military life. It is not uncommon for desperate
affrays to occur In and out of camp, A few days
after my arrival a private, naraed Moran, belong
ing to a Pennsylvania regiment, shot his Ma-jor,
For some act of Insubordination the officer had
him tied to the rear of a waggon, while the regi
ment was on the road, Moran got loose, how
ever, and, upon the Major riding up to him, coolly
observed : —
" You see I'm loose ! "
" It wIU not take very long to tie you again,"
rejoined the Major, getting off his horse at the
same time.
While In the act of alighting, Moran seized a
loaded musket out of the waggon, and shot his
officer through the lungs. The culprit, I believe.

INSUBORDINATION IN CAMP, 263
was sentenced, by Court-martial, to be hanged.
Since this occurrence, a private In the same regi
ment, named Martin, cousin of Moran, shot two
officers out of revenge, one being very badly
wounded. Although whiskey is strictly prohibited from
being brought Into the encampraents by the Gene-
ra}s In coramand, nevertheless it is smuggled In
somehow. When it is not procured in barrels, the
men bring it in their canteens, and the guards are
not particular In examining them. Constant rows
and perpetual drunkenness are the inevitable re
sults, A serious and tragic affray took place at
Darnestown, Maryland, where the 5th Connec
ticut Regiment was encamped, A nuraber of sol
diers got Intoxicated, a row took place, resort
was had to arms, one person was killed, several
wounded, and a number of cattle and horses
shot. These are far from being unusual occur
rences. Indeed, the materiel of which the Northern army
for the most part is composed is of such a character
as to render it unamenable to discipline. There
Is very little respect, so far as I have seen or heard,
paid to superior authorities, rauch less to officers of
low degree. Sometimes the men, upon being di
rected to perform some irksome duty, address their
officers in a rude and vulgar manner, such as —

264 FROM EICHMOND TO WASHINGTON.
" You G — d  foreigner, who are you ?"
" Can you put me through my facings ?" etc.
I shall relate an occurrence that came under
my own cognizance. In one of the Washington
cavalry encampments a soldier had taken some hay
from a truss, as I afterwards learned, for the use
of his Colonel's horse, when he was accosted by a
Lieutenant, upon which the following dialogue and
dramatic action took place :^
Lieutenant — " Who ordered you to take that
hay?" Private remained silent, but turned round con
temptuously. Lieutenant — "I say, sir, who ordered you to
take that hay? I comraand you to inform rae !"
Private — " I pray, sir, don't get so excited ;
don't take my nose off — it's the only ornament I've
got on my face !"
Lieutenant — " Do you know who I am ?"
Private — "No, nor don't care either, I don't
care If you were Lord G — ofthe Highlands!"
Lieutenant — "I give you to understand, sir,
that I am the first Lieutenant in this corapany. If
you offer to go to that bale again and take any
raore hay I'll put a ball through you !"
Private — " Well, sir, I shall see if you're a man
of your word" — at the sarae time drawing a re
volver from his belt ; when, approaching the bale.

MEASURES TO PROMOTE DISCIPLINE. 265
he took a handful of hay therefrom, keeping his
eye upon the officer meanwhile. He then ex
claimed : —
" D  you, are you man enough to fire ? If
you are, do so ! Take your distance ; and If you
don't like that, I'll cross swords with you. I'll
give you your choice ! "
The officer, however, neither shot his subordinate
nor accepted the challenge ; and the men around,
who heard the conversation, gave .three hearty
cheers for their comrade.
Stringent measures are adopted in order to
promote discipline in the army. Neither privates
nor even officers are suffered to leave their camps
without first having obtained "passes" frora their
superiors in coraraand. Sentries are posted day
and night in various thoroughfares of the city, for
the purpose of examining tbe papers of each officer
and soldier with whom they come in contact, while
an officer's guard continually parade the streets for
the same object, as well as to pick up drunken
men. Should an officer or private not have a
"pass" he is at once removed to the nearest
guard-house. Notwithstanding the legal provi
sions made to prevent drunkenness araongst the
soldiers who corae into Washington, yet they
manage to procure drink somehow, and I con
stantly met with them lying helpless on doorsteps

266 PROM RICHMOND TO WASHINGTON.
and 'on the pavements, sometimes even in the
gutters ! This is the raore astonishing, as, by an
act of Congress, In force since the 5th of April
last, no bar-keeper In the district of Columbia Is
allowed, under the penalty of twenty-five dollars,
or Imprisonment for thirty days, to serve spi
rituous drink to " any soldier or volunteer, or any
one wearing the uniform of such soldier or volun
teer." The following Is the text of the enactment re
ferred to, which I copied Into my note-book : —
" Be it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the United States of America
in Congress assembled : —
" That it shall not be lawful for any person in
the district of Colurabia to sell, give, or adminis
ter to any soldier or volunteer in the service of
the United States, or any person wearing the
uniform of such soldier or volunteer, any spi
rituous liquor or Intoxicating drink ; and any
person offending against the provisions of this act
shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanour, and
upon conviction thereof before a magistrate, or
court having criminal jurisdiction, shall be pun
ished by a fine of twenty-five dollars, or impri
sonment for ten days, " Approved, August 5, 1861."
One restaurant-keeper inforraed me that he

"bAR-EOOM BRAVES." 267
was fined before he knew of the existence or the
nature of this restriction ; and that he had to pay
the fine in gold — notes having been refused by
the magistrate before whom he was summoned.
Officers, however, are not restricted frora
frequenting bar-rooras, although, perhap."!, it
might have been as weU had they also been in
cluded in the provisions of the act of Congress,
for I ara certain that their character for sobriety
is not irreproachable, I have seen a Colonel in a
leading hotel so inebriated, and making himself
so ridiculous at the supper- table, as to afford
ample merriment to the negroes in attendance.
That matters are stiU worse in New York, I judge
from the foUowing feuilleton in the New York
Herald of October r2th, headed "Bar -roora
Braves " : —
" While so many of our loyal citizens are en
gaged in the service of their country on the fron
tier of the rebel states, and hundreds of thou
sands of Uves are voluntarily exposed to the vi
cissitudes of war, for the sake of preserving the
integrity of the Union, it is pitiable to behold the
conduct of many of their uniform caricaturists
who remain at home, Epauletted individuals,
affecting the rank of Colonels, Majors, Captains,
Lieutenants of the Federal Army, are to be found
day and night, week in and week out, in the bar-

268 FEOM EICHMOND TO WASHINGTON.
rooras and places of public resort of this city,
with no apparent occupation but loafing, swearing,
and drinking, and who cast bad odour upon the
honourable profession they represent by their
equivocal deraeanour and practices. Some action
ought to be taken on this subject. Those who
belong to the forces of the United States ought
to be raore actively engaged than in idling and
boasting, or else be forbidden to flaunt the buttons
and stripes out of which they are endeavouring
to mj^ke social capital."
When I reflect npon the class and condition of
raany raen who contrive to " raise a regiment,"
and therefore get the coraraand, I ara not at all
surprised to find thera frequenting bar-rooms, and
even flaunting about with notorious courtezans at
mid-day in the streets of Washington, displaying
alike their uniform and their unblushing impro
priety. The officers of the Provost-Marshal were ac
tively employed In arresting persons suspected of
Secession " proclivities," During my sojourn in
Washington several ladies were placed under
arrest, some of whora were incarcerated in their own
houses. Among the rest was Madame Tochman,
a Polish lady of high birth, and the wife of Ge
neral Tochman, who raised the Polish Brigade in
New Orleans, This lady complained to me of

MADAME TOCHMAN, 269
the gross indignities she had received while a pri
soner in her own house. Two men guarded the
room in the upper part of her dwelling where
in she was iraprisoned ; and she had great
difficulty in getting thera to remain outside the
door of her chamber, which was not permitted to
be closed day or. night. Here she was shut up
and closely watched during a fortnight, while a
sentinel or two were placed at the street-door.
Her house was ransacked and her correspondence
and papers seized. After having repeatedly remon
strated by letter with the military authorities, she
was released ; but no apology was offered to her
for the hostile and ignominious treatment to which
she had been subjected.
The Washington journals, of course, endea
voured to gloze over the outrages perpetrated
upon innocent women, having the fear of the
Provost- Marshal before their eyes. Accordingly,
after Madame Tochman's release from custody,
the National Republican, of September 25th, came
out with the following announcement : —
" Release of Madame Tochman. — This lady
was released from confinement as a political
prisoner on Monday last. In a brief Interview
yesterday, she assured us, that although her hus
band was a Brigadier-General in the rebel array,
she had no sympathy with the cause of Secession,

270 from EICHMOND TO WASHINGTON.
and did not desire to see it triumph. She further
more stated that she did not blame the Govern
ment for arresting her; that it was natural she
should be suspected, and right that she should be
arrested ; but now, being satisfied of her loyalty,
she had been honourably discharged. The follow
ing paragraph, frora the New York Express she
fully endorses : —
" ' It is due to Mrs. Tochraan to say, that she
is, and ever has been, decidedly Union; that
nothing has been done, and no line penned by
her, favourable to Secession, and that she has con
stantly deprecated her husband's heresy, and his
being in the Secession cause. As a loyal, loving
wife, however, she did say that she wanted to
get to Richmond to see her husband, and General
Scott appreciating her, gave her a pass to accom
pUsh it.' "
This pass had been taken from her previous to
her arrest, and, consequently, she was restrained
frora going South.
In another column of the same joumal, under
the head, " Treatraent of Female Prisoners at
Washington," the editor observes, in reply to
charges brought against the military officials —
" Madame Tochman, who called upon us yes
terday to announce her release, speaks in the
highest terms of the treatment she received at

A TEUCKLING PEESS. 271
the hands of the Government officials, and it
cannot be that the other lady prisoners, who
were treated with equal respect and courtesy,
authorized the fabulous statements of our corres
pondent," All I can say is, that the representations raade
by Madarae Tochman to myself entirely negative
the above statements. She had been deprived of
her liberty without any allegation being offered
as to the nature of her presumed offence, and
during her incarceration was Indignantly treated,
and very inefficiently and improperly supplied
with the means of subsistence, I have therefore
reason to suspect that her feUow-sufferers received
no better attention.
The first Intelligence Madame Tochraan had
received of her husband during several months,
was frora a newspaper — the Baltimore Clipper —
forwarded to her anonymously. The paragraph
conveying the inforraation, and reproduced from
the Louisville Journal, was to the following
effect : —
"Major Tochman, the 'Polish exUe,' is raising
troops to serve under Jeff, Davis, Major Toch
man, ' the PoUsh exUe,' is a humbug— and always
was. He used to try hard to get his articles pub
lished in the Louisville Joumal, but he was too
great an ass."

272 FEOM EICHMOND TO WASHINGTON,
Opposite this notice — a very fair specimen, by
the way, of "Yankee" journalisra — on the margin
of the paper, was written. In red Ink, some ' very
Insulting remarks, which I transcribe : —
" Poor widow ! Princess In Clouds ! there your
swindler of husband not dead yet — don't cry,
Consolable wife go now and spy what Is going
here, it would make a crown for your mock royal
head ! . , , wife of apostate ! renegade !
atheist ! neophite ! perjurer ! — poor woman after
aU!" While In Washington I passed a few hours at
the residence of an ex-MInister of the United
States. During the evening one of his daughters
sang the annexed parody on " Dixie's Land,"
which she accompanied on a guitar : —
" The Yankees think it very hard
They should be ' whipped' by Beauregard.
Look away, look away.
Look away to Dixie land !
" In ' double quick' they left BuU Run,
And in ' double quick' 'proach'd Washington !
Look away, look away.
Look away to Dixie land !
" We need not fear their armies and navies.
When we're led on by Jefferson Davis.
Look away, look away.
Look away to Dixie land !
Oh ! I wish I was in Dixie,
Away, away, etc."

273

CHAPTER IX.
VISIT TO munson's HILL — FROM WASHINGTON
TO NEW YORK,
General Scott — A Confederate Kuse — A Supposed
Enemy — Federal Vandalism — Conduct in Camp — An
Unwelcome Visitor — My Arrest— Office of the Provost-
Marshal — " Secession ProcUvities " — American Passports
— "Dry- Goods Brigadiers" — PhUadelphia— The Mint —
Complaints of Contractors — Coming Events — "Dis
honoured and Disgraced" — Threat to England — New
Tork — ^Treatment of Negroes North and South.
Shoetly after my arrival in Washington, I went
over to Munson's Hill, then occupied by the
Federal troops, the Confederates having evacuated
the same, as they merely intended to occupy It
temporarily for a strategic purpose. Previously,
however, I called upon General Scott, to whom I
presented an introduction, when I received a
" pass " couched in the following manner : —
VOL. II, T

274 VISIT TO munson's hill,
" Head-quarters of the Army, Washington,
" 1st October, 1861.
" Mr. PhiUips Day wUl be permitted to pass the United
States Unes to visit camps on the Va. side of the Potomac,
and is commended to the courtesy of the troops.
" Winfield Scott.
" By command, " E. D. Townsend,
" Assistant Adjutant-General."
I crossed the Potomac by way of the Viaduct
Bridge, situated between the Long and Chain
Bridges, upon which sentries were posted at
either side to prevent unauthorized persons from
passing or re-passing. Near the river, on the
Virginia shore, I noticed three blockhouses, about
thirty feet high and twelve feet square, designed
for defences. They are formed of huge logs,
and the roofs are iron-sheeted. The ascent to
each is by means of a step-ladder, placed at a
short distance frora the erection, while a door
forms a kind of bridge which communicates with
the top of the ladder, and can be drawn up at
pleasure like a portcullis. These blockhouses are
loop-holed at every side, forming two tiers several
feet apart. Trap-doors on the first floor conduct
to the lower or ground floor, where infantry can
also be protected and use their rifles with effect.

A CONFEDEEATE RUSE. 275
These blockhouses are built without a single nail
or iron-spike — the numerous thick logs being dove
tailed into each other. The Indians were the
first to employ this mode of defence,
Half-a-mUe distant were a few encampments,
and a comfortable cottage occupied as head-quar
ters by General Porter, the Provost-Marshal, who
coraraands the array here. I called upon the
General, but he had gone on to the advanced
position early that morning. I had, however,
a short conversation with one of his Staff, an
Irishman, by the way, and one of the ardent kind,
who observed : —
" I came out here to light up the blaze of civil
war!" The image was doubtless poetical ; but that he
had done much to increase the conflagration I
had and still have my doubts. I ascertained that
more than three-fourths of the army of the Poto
mac Is composed of Irish and German mercena
ries ; in fact, I only met with one American
soldier for the two days I stayed in that quarter.
Several extensive batteries, well mounted with
heavy guns, were scattered about, and the neigh
bouring woods were cut down to forra an
abatis. I journeyed on a distance of three mUes, when
I arrived at Munson's HUl, a considerable eleva-
T 2

276 VISIT TO munson's hill,
tion, frora which, on a clear day, a picturesqiie
and distinct view can be obtained of Washington
and the surrounding country. On the suramit of
the hill was a circular rifle pit erected by the
Confederates, and near to it the stump of a tree
which Beauregard had pointed on a mound In
the direction of Washington, in order to convey
the irapression that he had fortified the place —
which of course he was too rauch of an engineer
to attempt. In the rifle pit I found Captain
Maguire, " bearded like a pard," and a number of
his men — the 37th Irish Rifles. I accompanied the
Captain to the neighbouring school-house, the
head-quarters of Colonel Burke, to whom I was
introduced. He was lying upon straw near to a
drunken soldier — the butcher of the regiment —
whose garrulity could with difficulty be re
strained. "Arrah, thin, hould your tongue, now," said
the (Uolonel to him, " or I'll make you ! "
But the admonition and the threat were alike
unheeded. The fellow would break out with some
ridiculous observation now and again, and paid no
raore attention to his Colonel than he would to one
of his comrades. Colonel Burke is only twenty-
nine years old, has been Commanding Officer in
the New York State Militia, appears to be a
dashing soldier, and is much liked by his com-

A SUPPOSED ENEMY. 277
mand. The regiment had orders to "advance
Eind take the hill," late on the previous Saturday
-night. They did so, but found no opposition, as
the Confederates had quietly evacuated it a few
hours earlier. The, only mishap occurred to
the Federal troops, in consequence of their usual
blundering. The advance of General Sraith on Falls Church,
from the Chain Bridge, was accompanied by a
series of disasters. Having passed Vanderner-
kln's and Vanderberg's houses on their way to
the former place, and when about half-a-mUe frora
it, by sorae unaccountable circurastance. Colonel
Owen's Irish regiment, (of Philadelphia,) in the
darkness of the night, mistaking for " rebels "
Captain Mott's battery, which was in the advance —
sustained by Colonel Baker's California regiment,
Baxter's Philadelphia Zouaves, and Colonel Freed
man's cavalry — fired a full voUey into the troops
last mentioned, kiUIng and wounding a large
number. The California regiment, not knowing
from whom the firing came, returned It with
marked effect. The horses attached to Mott's
Battery becarae unraanageable, and the tongues
of the caissons were broken, owing to the narrow
ness of the road. Lieutenant , Bryant, having
coramand of the first section, ordered the guns to
be loaded with grape and canister, and soon had

278 VISIT TO munson's hill,
thera In range to rake the supposed enemy, when
word was sent to hira that he was in the company
of friends. All was excitement, and a long time
elapsed before the actual condition of affairs was
ascertained, and confidence re-established. Many
confused stories prevaUed as to the parties on whom
the blame should rest, but General Smith Imme
diately ordered Colonel Owen's regiment back to
camp. The Inscriptions on the wall of the school-house
are really amusing, as both belligerent armies had
occupied it successively; the Confederates from
the 2l8t July to the 28th September, and the
Federalists since that period. In one place was
written —
"The Stars and Stripes — long may they wave
over the land of the free and the home of the
brave !"
Underneath this Inscription was —
" The Gardes Lafayette from Mobile, the terror
of the Yankees, and their tyrant, Abe Lincoln !"
Again, those whom it raay concern were informed
that " the Irish blood-hounds can find a tiger for
them In the 3d Louisiana Lafayette Volunteers !"
while upon another side of the waU was chalked in
large letters, " BULL RUN YANKEE RACE
COURSE ! " On the portals of the school-house

FEDERAL VANDALISM. 279
I observed on one side — " The skin of Jeff. Davis
will be turned into parchment, and the history
of the Union written thereon !" — " G — damn a
Yankee !" — and on the other, " Southern dogs I"
Upon the Northern troops taking possession of
Munson's HiU and the neighbourhood, they ex
hibited the raost atrocious Vandalism. I visited
several dwellings, which had been torn or burnt
down, 'or else seriously dilapidated. In other
houses the paper was torn from off the walls, and
the windows and window-frames destroyed. Some
elegant dwellings had been entirely demolished,
the furniture carried away or broken, and the
feathers and horse-hair of the beds, chairs, and
sofas, scattered about the roads. In one locality
over twenty houses were thus rifled and razed to
the ground ; and I was informed by a gentleman
in the neighbourhood, that these dweUings be
longed to Union men, and were respected by the
Southern army. In sorae buildings not utterly
laid waste, guards were placed to prevent further
deraolitlon. Property to the value of forty
thousand dollars was thus wantonly destroyed.
In consequence of the numerous outrages on
private property in the neighbourhood of Munson's
HIU, the Comraander-in-Chief issued the foUowing
" military order " to the troops : —

280 VISIT to munson's hill,
" Head-quarters, Army of the Potomac,
Washington, October 1"; 1861.
" General Orders, No. 19,
" The attention of the General Commanding has
recently been directed to depredations of an atro
cious character that have been committed upon
the persons and property of citizens in Virginia,
by the troops under his comraand. The property
of inoffensive people has been lawlessly and
violently taken from them, their houses broken
open, and, in sorae instances, burnt to the ground.
"The General is perfectly aware of the fact,
that these outrages are perpetrated by a few bad
raen, and do not receive the sanction of the mass
of the array. He feels confident, therefore, that
all officers and soldiers, who have the interest of
the service at heart, will cordially unite their ef
forts with his, in endeavouring to suppress prac
tices which disgrace the narae of a soldier.
" The General Coraraanding directs, that in
future all persons connected with this array, who
are detected in depredating upon the property of
citizens, shall be arrested and brought to trial;
and he assures all concerned, that criraes of such
enormity will admit of no remission of the death-
penalty which the military law attaches to offences
of this nature.
"When depredations are committed on pro-

DISEEGAED OP " MILITAEY OEDERS." 281
perty in charge of a guard, the Commander, as
well as the other members of the guard, will be
held responsible for the same as principals, and
punished accordingly.
" By coramand of Major-General M'Clellan.
" S. Williams,
" Assistant Adjutant-General.
" Official. Richard B, Irvin, Aide-de-Camp."
Notwithstanding this exceedingly stringent order,
and the suramary punishment thereby threatened
to be inflicted on the vile perpetrators of such
diabolical misdeeds, the troops were not withheld
from acts of Vandalism, that disgrace civilized
warfare. I heard complaints made at General
Scott's head-quarters the very next day after the
proclamation was issued, of similar acts having
been perpetrated during the previous night.
The regiments were under half an hour's notice
to march. Some earthworks had been thrown up
in the neighbourhood, upon which guns were
mounted to comraand the main road.' I slept In
Mr. Munson's house, in the corner of a roora oc
cupied by Colonel Burke, who was out on picket
duty during the night, and in an apartraent with
Colonel Terry, (5th Michigan Regiment,) who slept
so soundly, and snored so loudly, that I much doubt
whether he would have been aroused from his

282 visit to munson's hill.
slumbers had the walls been battered down by the
enemy's guns. I was necessitated to lie upon
the floor between blankets. As the windows were
aU broken, pieces of wood had been nailed to the
lower portion of the frame-work to keep out the
night air and dew.
Next morning I had n6t convenience for an
ablution, which to me was more of a privation
than absence of food. The fact is, that the wells
had run dry, and scarcely any water could be
procured. The officers suffered considerable pri
vations, as they could not purchase necessaries, so
that the men had to share their rations with them.
I had some difficulty in procuring breakfast, but
at length received invitations from the Com
mandants of two regiments to take my morning's
meal in their quarters. An engagement had
been daily expected, so that no tents were
put up, and the raen had to contrive the best
shelter they could.
I cannot speak favourably as to the discipline
of the troops. During ray short sojourn at Mun
son's HIU they evinced repeated insubordination.
At night when the picket guards were about
moving to the outposts, they carae to the Colonel
and demanded a further supply of rations and
whiskey. Upon their request being declined,
they coolly informed their Commanding Officer

conduct in camp. 283
that they should have the sarae, and that they
" would not go without." On another occasion,
when orders arrived to have some hundreds of
the men drafted off into parties, in order to cut
down the neighbouring trees, so as to comraand a
view of the adjacent roads, many of the soldiers
positively refused coiripliance, while most of them
began to grumble, and appeared exceedingly un
willing to undertake the task.
In fact, the troops acted as though they were
released from all manner of restraint. They ad
dressed their officers — with whom they appeared
on an equal footing, and on terms of the closest
intimacy — in the most off-hand way, in which re
spect for their position was entirely ignored.
Their language in camp, too, was very bad ; nor
did the presence of their superiors curb them in
the slightest degree. One rough-looking soldier
addressed another thus : —
" You damned black-legged feUow, shut up ! "
Then, in almost the same breath, turning towards
a corarade, observed: — "Lend us your prayer-
book, Jack ! " — the " prayer-book " in question sig
nifying a pack of playing-cards !
While standing next the rifle-pit thrown up by
the Confederates, in company with an officer,
takino- a viewof Washington— which city stretched

284 VISIT TO munson's hill.
out like a panorama before us — a private came up
and addressed his Captain thus : —
" I say, MIsther Maguire — "
"You should not dare address rae as Mister
Maguire," said that officer, interrupting him. "You
should know your duty better. Mind, now, that
you don't call rae Mister ever again ! "
" But, Capt'in, shure thin, 'tis your blessed self
that knows I haven't been long In the sarvice. I
haven't been used to soldieren', or that kind o'
thing; and I'm but a mighty raw recruit, and"
(laughing comically) "'pon my own sowl, you know
that better nor meself ! "
" Raw recruit or not, sir," rejoined the Captain
indignantly, "you should know how to rispict
your officers. Now, Teddy," (winding up In a
milder tone,) " be sure and don't you spalce to me
in that sort of a way again, or 'twill be the worse
for you — that I tell you, once for all ! "
I know not what raight have been the effect of
this particular admonition, but this I do know —
that for the troops to becorae instructed In the
proprieties of life, would take a longer time, and
be a raore forraidable task, than the process of
drUlIng them into soldiers, although in either case
it strikes rae they would not make very apt scho
lars. The insubordination of which I speak is
doubtless In part attributable to the status and

AN UNWELCOME VISITOR. 285
bearing of the officers themselves. As it is, their
command only confirm the proverb, " Tel mditre,
tel valet."
Upton Hill, the head - quarters of General
M'Dowell, is one mUe distant higher up the Po
tomac. Here portions of the 25th New York, 2 ] st,
24th, and 30th Regiments, were encamped. In
the course of the day I returned to Washington,
by way of the " Long Bridge," visiting some en
campraents and fortifications that lay In my route.
I noticed, also, several houses, together with the
Union MiUs, gutted or destroyed. Young Mr.
BaUey Informed me that his family (among whom
are sorae ladies) kept possession of their residence
near Bailey's Cross-roads — but, for security, had
to occupy an underground apartraent. The wall
at the rear of the house was dotted over with
bullet-marks. The morning after my return from Munson's
HIU, and before I was out of bed, I had a visit of
an unexpected and unpleasant nature frora Cap
tain Dennis, of whose person and occupation I
was previously in blissful ignorance. When the
servant had announced the strange visitor (who
I was informed had called several tiraes during
the previous day), thinking at first he was an
acquaintance I had known In London, and that
his business was iraportant, I directed that he

286 RETURN TO WASHINGTON.
should be shown up stairs. In a few moments a
tall, stout, unprepossessing looking man, bearded
and moustached, and dressed in the garb of a
civilian, entered my chamber, at the same time
observing, " I am Captain Dennis."
I politely requested him to be seated, mean
while wondering what could be the purport of his
early and uncereraonious visit. He took a chair
near to my bed, when I opened the conversation
by remarking : —
" Sir, will you have the goodness to inform me
what is your pleasure ?"
" I am corae," he replied, " frora General Porter,
the Provost-Marshal, with orders to obtain the
' pass' which you received the other day from
General Scott."
"A very strange demand," I rejoined, with
some surprise. " Pray, have you any written au
thority to the effect you state ?"
" No, I have not," he answered, " but I am the
officer who acts for the Provost-Marshal. I fre
quently perform the same duty, and get passes
given up to me without hesitation on the part of
the holders."
" Sir," I continued, " this seems a strange piece
of business, and I am sorry to inform you that I

MY AEEEST. 287
do not feel justified in yielding up the document
in so summary a raanner."
"I have instructions, sir, to obtain it," he
curtly replied.
" Captain Dennis," I gravely rejoined, " you
are a perfect stranger to me — a spy from the
Confederate camp, for all I know to the contrary.
I should consider It very iraproper to hand you a
paper of such importance, upon your simple and
unsupported testimony. But I'll tell you what I
will do. During the course of the raorning I
shall call at General Scott's office, and should he
desire it, will readily return the 'pass' I obtained
frora hira. This, I think, is the most desirable
course to pursue."
" That will not do," Captain Dennis drily said.
" Well, then," I answered warmly, " I ara de
terrained not to give up the document, even had
you an order from the Provost-Marshal. Sir, I
have had an introduction to the Comraander-in-
Chief, from whom I obtained the document, and
I do not conceive I should be acting respectfully
towards General Scott were I to return the pass
upon the application of an Inferior officer."
" Then you persevere in your determination ?"
" Most certainly I do," was the retort.
" In that case, sir," he observed, with the air
of a man having authority, "I am commanded to

288 RETURN TO WASHINGTON.
take you before the Provost-Marshal immediately."
" To let you see that I offer no opposition to
the military authorities," I remarked, " I shaU
not object to go with you ; so, if you wiU be good
enough to take a seat in the parlour, I shall get
ready as soon as possible. '
In less than half an hour I rejoined Captain
Dennis below stairs, in whose custody I of course
considered myself as a political prisoner pro tem.
We left the house, and had only gone a few yards'
distant when we encountered a carriage.
" This carriage," observed the Captain, " be
longs to the office; step in, and I shall drive you
there." So, having seated myself, he turned the handle
of the door, and took up a position outside with
some other official. The drive was rather a long
one, made doubtlessly more so by the feeling of
insecurity which suddenly came over me. Then
began an examination of conscience — not as to
what commandments of the Decalogue I had
broken, but as to whether I had violated any of
the military edicts of the Federal States ! My
conscience accused me of no wilful dereliction;
nevertheless, I did not feel exactly comfortable,
for I had heard of Lafayette, and other prisons
nearer hand, and of even English subjects having
been Incarcerated therein, merely on suspicion

OFFICE OF THE PROVOST-MARSHAL. 289
— which reflections did not serve to remove my
anxiety, the reader may be assured.
At length the carriage drove up to a large
bleak-looking house, situated at the corner of
Seventeenth-street, when Captain Dennis alighted,
and I followed him into a little back office in the
buUding, which seemed to possess a considerable
share of prison gloom. Outside the hall door
stood a long file of men, two deep, extending into
the street. All eyes were turned upon me whilst
passing in, and their owners evidently considered
that the authorities had caught a Tartar! " Sit
down here for a few moments," said Captain
Dennis to me ; so I took a chair in the centre of
the apartment. Meanwhile my custodian seated
himself by a table next the door, and having
taken a sheet of folio paper, commenced writing
upon It. Two clerks were occupied in the same
apartment. Sorae eight or ten rainutes elapsed,
and yet my custodian continued writing. My
feeling of security grew less and less. In fact, 1
thought I was fairly trapped, and that demanding
the " pass" was only a ruse to get me to the Pro
vost-Marshal's office, where perhaps some formal
charge was being made out against rae.
Not brooking ray position, and being anxious
to hasten the climax, I rose from the chair I
occupied, and proceeded to the spot where Dennis
VOL. IL U

290 RETURN TO WASHINGTON.
was engaged. I glanced hastily upon the docu
ment he had before him, and distinctly read my
name in full running along the first line. This
confirmed me the more in the apprehensions I had
formed; so in order to see what ulterior designs
might possibly lurk underneath the deraand of
the " pass," I quietly took the document out of
my pocket, and indignantly flung it down on the
table, observing, " I shall let General Scott know
of this." I then walked out without any opposi
tion, to my great relief; got into a conveyance,
and drove to the British Embassy, where I con
ferred with the Hon. E. Monson, Lord Lyons'
private secretary. Under the circumstances, I
considered the most dignified course for me to
pursue was to quit Washington and take passage
for England, although a few friends were greatly
averse to ray acting in so impetuous a manner.
Since my return to England, I find that the
Special Correspondent of the Times alludes to
this circumstance in his published correspondence,
observing : —
" I hope I am not doing the gentleman in
question any injustice in saying, I fear he was
conscious of having done something which could
not be justified by a strict neutrality ; and I cer
tainly heard before 1 saw hira, from an English
gentleman stopping at the same hotel, that he

THE NEW YORK HERALD. 291
made himself conspicuous by the boldness with
which he spoke in favour of Secession."
In justice to myself, I must affirra that the
allegation is inaccurate, I held little conversa
tion, at table or elsewhere, with actual strangers.
Once, indeed, at supper, politics happened to be
discussed between two parties who were mutually
acquainted, the " EngUsh gentleman" alluded to
having taken a leading and decidedly Southern
part. Only four persons were present.! I simply
raised a few objections, for the purpose of ascer
taining what arguments could be adduced in
favour of Northern policy. Neither was I the
least conscious of having done aught irregular, or
in any way abused the privUege accorded to me
by General Scott.
The chief cause of the undignified and scurvy
treatment I received, is more properly attri
butable to a statement respecting my political
partiaUties, in the New York Herald, of Sep
teraber 27th. After the announceraent, in prorai
nent type, " The Correspondent of the London
Herald, and his Secession Proclivities," etc. etc,
that journal makes the foUowing comments : —
" Mr. S. PhUlips Day, the correspondent of the
London Herald, also came down with the pri
soners, and was a fellow-passenger with our cor
respondent from Fortress Monroe to Baltimore.
U2

292 RETURN TO WASHINGTON.
Mr. Day has travelled through a great portion of
the Southern States, particularly in the scenes of
the immediate hostilities, and Is well prepared to
judge of the relative prospects of success of the
opposing armies, aU of which will be made known
to our transatlantic friends In advance of our
readers. Mr. Day travelled without any seeming
difficulty, and was the bearer of Important official
dispatches from the British Consul at Norfolk,
and Mr. Bunch, at Charleston, to Lord Lyons,
under which he claimed protection. Our cor
respondent remarked that — with all due respect
to the gentlemanly deportment of our namesake
of the Herald — he is rather inclined to think
that his ' secesh ' proclivities are of rather tpo
strong a character to be permitted all the cour
tesies or libertie.s that he is now enjoying. He sees
no consistency In allowing such parties to over
look our whole grounds and fortifications, and
traveUing aU over the South, to return here to
accept our civUities, and, like Russell, turn round
and abuse us. If our correspondent had his way,
he says, with all due deference to these gentle
men's social qualities, he would put them under a
surveillance entirely different frora that they are
now receiving. Like Mr. Muir, friend of the
Charleston British Consul, he fears they might,

"secession PROCLIVITIES." 293
by some outside influence, be induced to convey
altogether too rauch inforraation.
"Mr. Day arrived In Baltimore on Thursday
morning with our correspondent, and was allowed
to go wherever he pleased, while all others on
board the steamer from Old Point were either
guarded or watched by the Provost-Marshals.
Not that our correspondent would attribute to
Mr. Day anything suspicious or otherwise, for
the gentleman professed the utmost respect for
our Northern associations, and frankness for the
kindness and attention he had received from us."
It wiU at once be perceived from the tenour of
the above, that the insinuations and assertions
contained therein were calculated to prejudice
me in the minds of the military and State officials
of Washington.
From sorae cause or another — but I apprehend
in consequence of its having been affirraed that I
possessed " Secession proclivities " — ray presence
in Washington was manifestly objectionable to
the military authorities. In taking away the
" pass" I received to visit the camps on the Vir
ginia side of the Potomac, they, of course, so far
as they could, tied my hands and interfered with
my duties and the privUeges generally accorded
to the foreign correspondents of respectable
papers. I considered such treatment not only

294 RETURN TO WASHINGTON.
in the light of a personal Insult, but also as de
rogatory to the important journal and the English
interests I represented. Hence my decision to
stay no longer In a country where the liberty of
the press Is virtually ignored, and free thought
and free opinion, and the publication of facts, are
regarded as hostile to the interests of a natipn
which has vaunted so long and so loudly of its
free institutions ! The American Republic now
truly illustrates
" How nations sink, by darUng schemes oppressed.
When vengeance listens to the fool's request 1 "
Having understood that, although an English
subject, I could not leave the American States
without having my passport vised by the autho
rities, I lost no tirae In calling at the State Office,
which occupies part of an iraposing raarble build
ing, stUl unfinished, at the top of Pennsylvania
Avenue. I was detained but a few minutes,
when ray passport was handed to me, with the
following addition in writing : —
" It is expected that the bearer wiU not enter any insur
rectionary State.
" Department of State, Washington, Oot. 5, 1861.
" William H. Sewakd, Secretary of State."
I thought, upon perusing the above, that it was
a singular kind of countersign to receive when

AMERICAN PASSPORTS. 295
about to quit America. I said nothing, however,
but quietly folded the document, and wished the
party who handed It to rae a " good raorning,"
And here, en passant, it will not be inadvertent
'to make a few observations on the subject of
passports, I know, for a fact, that numerous parties,
foreigners as weU as American citizens, are sub
jected to the trouble and expense of procuring
passports ; and yet such persons are not subse
quently demanded to exhibit them, A swarm of
" passport agents," as they caU themselves, have
sprung up at New York and other places, who
are doing a thriving business by practising upon
the ignorance and creduUty of traveUers, The
charge is four dollars for each passport they pro
cure, which merely costs them a few cents post
age for the application, as such papers are issued
gratuitously by the authorities. I met with a
sharp New Englander who had discovered the
" dodge," and having resolved not to be " done,"
wrote to Washington for a passport, and obtained
the same by return of post. Perhaps the hint
would be suggestive to English travellers in the
Northern States. Indeed, to such an extent has
this extortionate practice been carried that the
authorities found it necessary to issue the following
notice : —

296 RETURN TO WASHINGTON.
" Department of State, Washington,
October 3, 1861.
"It having been represented to this Department that
agents who are employed by individuals to procure pass
ports are in the habit of exacting a fee from those for whom
the passports are requested, alleging as a reason therefor
that a fee is charged by the Department, notice is hereby
given, that no fee has ever been charged by this Department
for a passport ; that such a charge is expressly prohibited
by the act of Congress of the 18th of July, 1856, in regard
to aU passports except those issued by the agents of the
United States in a foreign country, and in the latter case
the fee is Umited to the sum of one doUar.''
During my sojourn in the Federal capital I saw
quite sufficient of the Northern army to enable
me to form a pretty correct opinion of its charac
ter and efficiency. I raust candidly confess that
it presents a striking contrast to that of the
South, which appears to me immeasurably supe
rior in every respect. The forraer Is principally
composed of hirelings, many of them the scum of
large cities, who enter the array in order to live,
and not to die glorious deaths on the battle-field.
They possess little enthuslasra, and still less
patriotism ; and are often ignorant of what they
are fighting for, apart from the pay of eleven
dollars per month. For the most part the officers
are self-raade Commanders, often utterly ignorant
of their duties, and incapable of directing an army
in the field ; "dry goods Brigadiers and nisi prius

" DRY-GOODS BRIGADIERS." 297
Colonels," whose ambition is as extensive as their
acquaintance with military science is limited.
Truly the Federal army wofully lacks men
qualified to command.
I must, however, do General M'CleUan the
justice to observe, that since he has been appointed
Commander-in-Chief an improvement has been
perceptible. The array — so far as the officers are
concerned — has undergone a partial weeding. A
Board has been Instituted to exaraine into the
qualifications of those in coramand of regiments,
and wholesale clearances have been effected. In
the Report of the Military Commission may be
observed in numerous cases, opposite the objec
tionable names, " struck from roll," " discharged
dishonourably," etc., etc. Nevertheless, still the
difficulty remains — how the Northern array Is to
be efficiently officered. I presurae that. In most
cases, men have been, and will continue to be,
promoted from the ranks,
A few days after the battle of Manassas I said
to some prisoners of war —
" How is it that you ran away so shamefully
during the late engagement?"
The reply was, " Sir, we did not want to run ;
'twas our officers ran first, and showed us the
way. We only foUowed their example."
I subsequently heard a private of marines, who

298 RETURN TO WASHINGTON.
had lost two fingers in the action of the 21st of
July, observe aloud in a railway car —
" Our regiment was led into action at Bull
Run by a sergeant and a corporal. We had not
seen our Major. As we were about to retreat he,
however, made his appearance, and came up to us
and said, ' Don't run away, boys — surrender first.'
His command replied,
" ' You may surrender if you Uke, but we
won't.' " ' Then go to hell !' was the rejoinder, upon
which he put spurs to his horse and drove off
rapidly, and we saw no more of hira."
To my own knowledge, three officers armed
with revolvers and swords were taken prisoners
at Bull Run by an unarmed " aide" of General
Wheat's, by simply commanding them to "sur
render," The " aide" was Major Atkins, formerly
an officer iu the British service,
I have observed several of the newly-formed
regiments of cavalry, as they appeared at General
M'Clellan's reviews, and I raust say that I never
saw worse in my life. So far from being able to
ride, Iwas informed that many of them do not know
even how to saddle their horses I Thirty British
cavalry could, without difficulty, cut their way
through a regiment of them. Then, as for the
infantry — which embraces the lame, the halt, and

PHILADELPHIA. 299
the blind — In marching through the streets, they
looked so fearfully dispirited and dejected, that
one would almost fancy they were foUowing a
funeral. But how are old and middle-aged men.
worn out by years of previous labour for their
daily bread, to possess the spirit and energy
necessary for a soldier's life ? — or how are weak
and deUcate striplings, on whose shoulders a
musket sits as heavily as the world on the back
of Atlas, to be metamorphosed into fighting
men? PhUadelphia is an interesting and beautiful city,
and contains a number of handsome public edifices .
and stores, the fronts of which are of white marble.
Not quite two centuries ago, the site was a wilder
ness, and a favourite hunting-ground of the In
dians. The population has increased from 285,000
in 1840, to 700,000 in 1860. The style of the
houses, which are buUt to the height of three sto
ries, is mostly uniform. The locaUty is salubrious ;
the streets are well laid out, being wide and airy,
and intersecting each other at right angles. The
city extends twenty miles from its northern to
its southern boundary, and eight miles in an east
erly and westerly direction — altogether erabracing
an area of one hundred and twenty-five square
mUes. It is situated in a plain, on the east side
of which is the River Delaware. A few reUcs of

300 WASHINGTON TO NEW YORK.
Colonial tiraes still remain to attract the eye and
excite the interest of the traveller — viz., the
State House, in the hall of which are hung a col
lection of national portraits ; the Penn Cottage,
and the Slate-Roof House, which WUIiam Penn
once occupied, and in which John Penn, " the
American," was born. Franklin's residence is
still standing, in Market Street. The reraains of,
the remarkable individual who once occupied it
repose in the churchyard of Christ Church, over
which is erected a simple raarble slab.
While In Philadelphia, I was presented to the
Master of the United States' Mint, who had rae
conducted over the building. This national estab
lishment is located in Chestnut Street. In 1792
the act of Congress for the establishraent and
regulation of a Mint was passed; and In 1829
additional provisions were made for the enlarge
ment of its operations. The same year t^ie
corner-stone of the present building was laid. Its
frontage Is one hundred and twenty-two feet in
extent, divided into a portico of sixty-two feet
long, and two wings of thirty feet each. The
structure Is of the Ionic order, taken from a Gre
cian temple at Athens, The portico is supported
by six elegant pillars, twenty-five feet high, and
three feet in diameter. The edifice is of brick,
faced with marble ashlar. The interior arrange-

THE UNITED STATES' MINT. 301
ments are not very extensive, but the machinery
is of a superior character. The mechanical con
trivances used in the milling and stamping are
improvements upon the French model. Great
activity prevailed, and two-and-a-half dollar gold
pieces, and silver money, were being turned out
very rapidly, Up-stairs is a numismatic rauseum,
containing a very rare but not extensive collection,
from the " widow's mite " up to the largest modern
gold coinage.
After having passed the Southern lines, I took
for granted that I was done with the " rebels,"
and that I had come amongst a people unaniraous
in their attachment to the Union, and in the con
fidence with which they regarded the Governraent,
Judo^e of ray surprise, therefore, when I fell in
with scores of Secessionists and Unionists opposed
to the Adrainistration, not alone in Washington,
but In PhUadelphia and New York, The parties
to whom I aUude are men of the first standing,
sorae of them being members of Congress, Of
course, they are obUged to be very chary in
giving expression to their sentiments, having the
fear of Lincoln before their eyes ; but there
are times and seasons when they feel theraselves
reUeved from aU restraint, and utter their thoughts
freely and InteUIgently upon political and social
topics. Disaffection in the North is much more

302 WASHINGTON TO NEW YORK.
rife than is generally supposed, or than the Go
vernraent would wish to acknowledge. It increases
every day, and many who refrain from avowing
their predilections, only cherish thera the more
fervently In their hearts.
At the commencement of hostilities It was gene
rally supposed in the North that nothing was
easier than to crush out "rebellion," siraply because
it was erroneously iraagined that the South would
not, or could not, raise an army of any magnitude
to oppose the forces of the Federal Government,
Indeed, when Lincoln Issued his first proclamation
for 70,000 men for three months' service, it was
thought that such a step would have awed the
insurrectionary States into subjection, and that the
"rebellion" would have been extinguished withoiit
the firing of a shot. But the Southerners, impressed
with the justness, and even sacredness of their
cause, were not thus easily coerced. Every man
fled to arras — ^not to maintain the institution of
slavery, but to protect their hearths and homes
from being polluted by the footsteps of the in
vader. They conceived that they were privileged
to interpret the Constitution as well as their ene
mies, and to maintain the right of self-government.
The opposition thus offered by the South, and its
determination to hold Its own, together with the
repeated victories it has achieved over Its Northern

A CONTRAST. 303
antagonist, have given rise to a deep feeling of
insecurity in some quarters — so that merchants,
traders, as weU as religionists and philanthropists,
begin to mourn over the evils that afflict the
nation, and even denounce in no measured terms
the political cUque who inaugurated an unnecessary
war. One circumstance strikes me very forcibly.
Down South I found the utmost enthusiasm pre
vaUing amongst the people. Every man was
anxious to take up arms, and the youth of many
Southern families who had been .in Europe tra
velled at great expense and personal risk to their
various States, in order to defend their soil. The
leading families of the country had occasionally
aU their sons even in the ranks, and deemed the
same an honour. In the Northern States the
people are more anxious to let foreigners do the
fighting business than to undertake it themselves,
while several households are journeying to Europe,
in order to be away from the scene of commotion.
There is not the sarae spirit or patriotism in the
North, although there is no lack of bluster ; and
I am confident that the battle-field possesses
fewer attractions for the youth of the country than
those offered by the numerous and well-thronged
bUliard-rooms of Washington, PhUadelphia, and
New York, These will prove disagreeable state
ments to some, but they are nevertheless true.

304 WASHINGTON TO NEW YORK.
They throw sorae light upon the BuU Run rout,
which it Is not clear to me wUl not again be re
peated, if a better materiel than the Northern
army now possesses is not obtained from amongst
its own people, and a more martial and higher
spirit infused into it,
Frora the efforts put forward to obtain recruits,
both at Washington and New York, It did not
appear as if there was much willingness on the
part of the public to enlist, Sorae recruiting
offices had Iraraense flags attached to cords and
suspended In the centre of the streets, with the
names of the regiments emblazoned thereupon.
Placards in German and others in English were
posted about the thoroughfares and upon the
lamp-posts, offering tempting bounties and other
advantages to whatever patriotic individuals
would be willing to come forward to save the
Union for fourteen dollars a month ! Of the
general character of the " wants," however, the
following notice may be taken as an example : —
" NEW YORK MOUNTED RIFLES.

80 RECRUITS WANTED !
FOR THE NEW YORK MOUNTED RIFLES.
UNIFORMS, HORSES, AND EQUIPMENTS FURNISHED
IMMEDIATELY. ,
Pay, 14 doUars a month.
Recruiting Office ****** COL. DiCKLE."

COMPLAINTS OF CONTRACTORS. 305
However extensive the system of plunder
carried on by contractors in the North, it
would appear as if araid the reckless outflow frora
the Treasury — which has finally drained it of
specie, and necessitated a resort to paper money
— some trusting but speculating Individuals have
been mulcted of their claims. In the New York
Herald of September 22nd, I observed the follow
ing communication : —
"WHO PAYS FOR BEDS AND BEDDING?
'^ To the Editor of the Herald. '
"Is there no redress? Is there no responsibility?
If so, where are the unfortunate hundreds In this
city to look who have supplied the different regi
ments with the first necessaries to assist in raising
them during the first great exciteraent, such as
beds and bed covers? They look in vain to
Quarterraasters of regiments. Quartermaster of
State, Quartermaster of United States, and are
turned away, saying, ' We have no authority to
pay such biUs,' The Union Defence Committee,
while their funds held out, paid all such bills, and
acknowledged them just. Is there not justice to
be obtained anywhere now !
" A Resident of over Forty Years.
"New York, Sept. 20, 1861."
Surely this communication tells its own tale.
VOL. II. ^

306 WASHINGTON TO NEW YORK.
With such extravagant prodigality as has come
to Ught on the one hand, and such obvious fraud
on the other, military affairs must have been fear
fully managed Indeed.
But what is to be the upshot of this civil com
motion ? Each belligerent party seems at present
determined, at all hazards and at any cost, to
carry on the conflict — the North until the insur
rectionary States are subjugated, and the South
until it is — let alone. It altogether rests with the
Northern Executive and his Cabinet whether this
civil war is to be of short or of long duration ;
that is, provided foreign Governments do not
interfere In adjusting the quarrel. Should Eng
land and France, however, continue to maintain a
neutral position — which is very doubtful, owing
to the complications that are daily arising — It
will be I altogether a question of dollars and cents
with Mr. Lincoln and his Republican advisers.
So long as the sinews of war in the forra of raoney
can be squeezed out of the pockets of the people
by taxation, and capitalists be cajoled into lend
ing millions of dollars, without any provision
being made either for the repayment of the
principal or interest, will this iniquitous crusade
be carried on. My opinion Is, that Northern
resources will fail in the end, and that Lincoln
and his Cabinet wUl have to yield ; and I believe

COMING EVENTS. 307
this view of the case is shared in by at least some
intelligent Unionists in Washington and elsewhere.
The Federal Government is confessedly at an ex
pense of 2,000,000 doUars a day — with a floating
debt of 100,000,000 doUars — in maintaining a large
army ; but the loss accruing to the country can
scarcely be coraputed, when the abstraction of
huraan labour is taken into account. Here are
nearly the entire working population of a country
constantly consuraing but producing nothing, while
the habits they are now contracting will obviously
tend to disqualify thera for the steady, laborious
duties of their previous avocations. Besides,
when the war terrainates, all the rowdyism,
ruffianism, as well as the surplus labour of the free
States, will be suddenly thrown into the large
cities, proving more dangerous to the Union than
even the foe against whom it had previously but
unsuccessfully contended.
With a paralysed trade, and no Poor Law to
avert starvation, how are hundreds of thousands
of labourers and their famUIes to be fed ? Is it
to be expected that unemployed and hungry men,
hitherto reckless and dissipated, will aU at once
display the virtue of Stoics? If It be necessary
even now, whUe under miUtary discipline, for the
Coramander-in-Chief to issue " orders of the day "
to the army, rendering it a death penalty for
X2

308 WASHINGTON TO NEW YOEK.
soldiers to be convicted of destroying property,
how must it be when these men are free from
mUitary restraint? And if the terrible penalty
thus instituted be not capable of restraining the
evil passions of the army, what force, when it is
disbanded, can raake those who compose it amen
able to the laws and regardful of the rights of
property ? These are evils looming in the distance,
which but few have the sagacity to perceive.
The New York Herald, indeed, has calculated
upon such an emergency ; and with the view of
terrifying European Governments — more espe
cially England — into a state of quiescence in
American affairs, has the daring boldness to
observe : —
" After the Wae. — At the conclusion of this
war we shall have In the field over three hundred
thousand veteran soldiers; and our navy will
comprise over five hundred ships of war, and we
shall have a naval brigade of about fifty thousand
men. Let European Governments be careful,
then, how they treat us during the continuance of
this war, for when we have settled our domestic
troubles the slightest word of insult or provoca
tion raay let loose upon Canada or Cuba this
terrible force, and sweep the last vestige of
monarchal rule from this continent."
This view, however, is not an isolated one, but

" dishonoueed and disgeaced." 309
is shared in by a large and growing party of
Northern politicians, of whom the, Herald may be
regarded as the mouth-piece. Nor are such prin
ciples and purposes and anticipations hidden under
a bushel, but are set on a hill, so that all civUized
nations may be cognizant of their existence. At
the Congressional Session at Washington, on the
13th of January, Mr. Lovejoy, the Republican
representative of Illinois, volunteered to be their
exponent. When opposing the bill for an appro
priation to the "London World's Fair," he in
dulged in language so antagonistic to this country,
that It is worth re-producing. If only to know how
deeply and enduringly heUish hate can rankle in
huraan breasts: —
Mr. Lovejoy. — " I think it is enough for us,
in all conscience, to have been humbugged, and
dishonoured, and disgraced by the British nation,
without now appropriating 35,000 dollars for the
purpose of an American Exhibition there.
" Mr. KeUogg inquired if It had been through
the action of the British Government, or of our
own Govemment, that we have been thus dis
honoured and disgraced ?
Mr. Lovejoy.—" I understand how it was done.
That disgrace was all that the nation could bear.
We marched up to it sweating great drops of
blood. We came to it as Christ went to the

310 WASHINGTON TO NEW YOEK.
cross, saying, ' If it be possible, let this cup pass
from us;' and yet we are required to say that
we did it cheerfully — that we did It gladly — and
that we now appropriate thankfully 35,000 dollars
to fit out Coraraissioners to appear at the Court
of St. Jaraes's. Inasmuch as we have submitted
to that disgrace, as we have submitted to be thus
dishonoured by Great Britain, I think the least
we can do Is to acknowledge it, and to stay at
home, till the tirae coraes when we can whip that
nation. Then I will be willing to go and appear
at their World's Exhibition. Every time I think
of that surrender, the words come instinctively
to me which .^neas used, when requested by
Queen Dido to rehe.arse the sufferings which had
befallen the Trojans during the siege and capture
of Troy — ' Oh, Queen, you require rae to renew
the intolerable grief of that siege by reacting it ! '
Every time the Trent affair comes up, every time
that an allusion is made to It, every time that I
have to think of it, that expression of the tor
tured and agonized Trojan exile coraes to ray lips
— I am made to renew the horrors which I suf
fered when the news of the surrender of Mason
and SUdell reached us. I acknowledge it, I lite-
rally wept tears of vexation. I hate It, and I
hate the British Governraent. I here now pub
Ucly avow and record that hate, and declare that

THEE AT TO ENGLAND, 311
it shall be unextinguishable. I raean to cherish
it while I live, and to bequeath it to my children
when I die ; and if I ara alive when war with
England comes, and if I can carry a musket in
that war, I will carry it. I have three sons, and
I mean to charge thera, and do now charge thera,
that if they shall have at that time reached
the years of manhood and strength, they shall
enter into that war. I believe that there was no
need for that surrender, and I believe that the
nation would rather have gone to war with Great
Britain, than have suffered the disgrace of being
insulted, and being thus unavenged, I have not
reached the subliraatlon of Christianity — that ex
altation of Christianity, which allows me to be
insulted, abused, and dishonoured, I can bear
all that as a Christian, but to say that I do it
cheerfully Is raore than I can bring myself to. I
trust in God that the tirae is not far distant
when we shall have suppressed this rebeUion, and
be prepared to avenge and wipe out this insult
that we have received. We will then stir up Ire
land; we wIU appeal to the Chartists of England;
we wiU go to the old French habitans of Canada;
we wUl join hands with France and Russia to
take away the Eastern possessions of that proud
empire, and wUl take away the crown from that

312 WASHINGTON TO NEW YOEK.
Government before we cease, I trust in God
that time will come,"
In no other State Assembly in the civilized
world would such intemperate language be ut
tered or tolerated. It is not only a violation of
courtesy, delicacy, and good manners, but is tinc
tured with profanity, if not rank blasphemy ! —
one allusion. In particular, being excessively
painful to a Christian ear ! The honourable re
presentative of Illinois is a worthy type of the
Republican party — without moderation, and in
capable of self-controul, whose rabid political
principles, and sectional partizanship have over
thrown the Union; and in the sheer rage of
bitter disappointment at the shattered condition
of their Idol and the abortiveness of their schemes,
would fain still further gratify their malignity and
lust of conquest.
Disguise it as they may, there is a lingering,
hankering, permeating feeling of hostUity in the
North against this country. And when sorae in
terested parties deny the fact, and would feign
make us believe that we are regarded wdth a
modified degree of fraternal relationship, I am in
clined to entertain for their sentiments much the
sarae opinion that Falstaft'did of honour : — " What
Is honour? A word. What is in that word
honour ? Air. What is that honour ? A trim

NEW YORK. 313
reckoning! Who hath It? He who died o' Wed
nesday. Doth he feel it? No. Doth he hear
it? No. It is insensible, then? Yea, to the
dead. But it will not live with the living — there
fore, ru none of it. Honour is a mere scutcheon,
and so ends my catechism."
Complaints respecting the prostration of trade
met my ears in Washington, Philadelphia, and
New York. StiU the people of the last two
cities seemed as bent upon amusement as ever.
The theatres were nightly filled, and only the
gaUeries empty, where the tag-rag-and-bob-tall of
the various purlieus were wont to congregate be
fore they were compelled from necessity to become
soldiers. New York wore a gloomy aspect
enough, and the once gay locality of the Fifth-
Avenue looked as sombre as the grave. "This
Store to Let" I observed on every hand; and
only for the forbearance of the landlords, who de
manded no rent, the sarae sign would have been
multiplied a hundredfold. The leading hotels
were almost erapty, and people were hoping
against hope. Their spirits, however, were kept
up by the promise of " better tiraes," which, so
far as I can opine, are unfortunately a long way
off, and loom very darkly in the future. Like
drowning men catching at straws, defeated poli
ticians and ruined traders were trusting to General

314 WASHINGTON TO NEW YORK,
M'CleUan and his corps d'armee, to old gun-boats
and " secret expeditions," of the destinations of
which everybody seeraed to be aware.
The arrest of Englishmen continued, Mr.
Archibald, the British Consul at New York, in
formed me of a case peculiarly atrocious in Its
nature. It appears that Mr. Forwood, jun.,
partner in the well-known firm of Messrs.
Harrison and Forwood, of Liverpool, was sud
denly accosted in that city by a stranger, as he
was about to enter a cabriolet, who requested to
be allowed to ride part of the way with hira. Mr.
Forwood consented, not imagining that he was in
the uncereraonious hands of a detective or spy.
Judge of his surprise, therefore, when he found
the vehicle In which he rode stop outside the
Metropolitan Police Office, where he was conveyed,
without any charge being alleged against him.
Here he was detained for several hours, bis per
son rudely searched, and his papers rifled. Just
as he was about to lie down he was released, with
out, so far as I can learn, the least apology being
offered for his Illegal arrest and detention. The
British Consul inforraed rae that both Lord
Lyons and himself had considerable trouble in
procuring liberty for several English subjects sent
by the Federal authorities to Fort Lafayette. I
only fear that Her Majesty's Representative has

TREATMENT OF NEGROES NORTH. 315
been too quiescent under the circumstances.
Surely such gross outrages upon British subjects,
who have not violated the laws of the United
States, should not be suffered to pass quietly
over; and I rejoice to find that the subject has
been brought by the Earl of Carnarvon before the
notice of the Upper House. Mr. Forwood, and
others similarly and even worse situated, have no
redress. Surely It is full time that Earl Russell
should forward definite instructions to Lord
Lyons upon this matter. If stringent measures
be not adopted, and stern representations madeto
the Federal Government, cases of a like nature
wiU multiply rather than diminish.
I was strongly Irapressed with one startling
anoraaly painfuUy and constantly observable in
the Northem States, viz., tbat notwithstanding
the phUanthropic regard alleged to be entertained
for the negro in that portion of America, he Is In
finitely worse and more indignantly used than in
the South. The black man Is loathed in the
North, and treated rauch after the sarae manner
as the ancient Jews were accustomed to treat
people affected with leprosy. No white servant
would reraain or take service In a h6tel where a
negro was employed ; nor Is the dark-skinned
object of contempt permitted to occupy a seat in
an ordinary omnibus. Even the lowest class of

316 WASHINGTON TO NEW YORK.
day labourers detest the "n%ar," and but re
luctantly carry a hod or lift a. shovel with such a
" mate". In the theatres, and even the churches,
the "nigger" is a taboed object, and invariably
gets the uppermost place — next the celling —
where neither his presence nor his essence can
offend the eye nor assail the nose of the privi
leged race.
While entering a church in New York, I ob
served an ill-attired negro come in such close
contact with a gentleman as to touch the elbow
of his coat, when the party grew indignant at the
insult, and addressed the poor shrinking negro
thus —
" You infarnal black nigger — I guess as how
you had better not do that kind of thing again,
but take yourself off In a pretty, particularly,
considerable damned hurry I "
Down South the slaves, so far as my experience
serves, are treated with the utmost humanity and
kindness. They receive the sarae degree of con
sideration that we extend to our domestics at
horae; but greater faraiUarity is used towards,
and far raore confidence reposed in them, than
social etiquette would perrait us to bestow in the
old country on our servants and dependants.
Old black servants are invariably addressed as
" Uncle," and the negroes even continue to caU

TREATMENT OP NEGEOES SOUTH. 317
their young mistresses, after they get married, by
the famlUar cognomens of Miss Addie, Miss
Maggie, or the like. The most elegant, popular,
and accomplished lady in Richmond assured me
that her old negro housekeeper ruled her; and
that whatever directions she raay give would not
be obeyed if such did not raeet the views of the
coloured domestic's notions of expediency.
When sick the negroes are carefully attended
to by the family physician ; and I have known
the grand-daughter of a President to administer,
under such circurastances, medicine with her own
hand ; and, whUe all her faraily took up their
periodical sojourn in another locality, to reraain
on an unhealthy plantation, in order to fulfil the
gracious offices of charity. When aged and In
firm, the negroes are maintained, while they are
exerapted from labour. The law makes obligatory
duties which the master's conscience and humanity
are generaUy but too ready to dictate.
The negro children are initiated In the doc
trines of the Christian religion so soon as they
reach the years of understanding. One Sunday
afternoon I sat next a distinguished young lady
in an Episcop'al Church at Richmond, whde she
was Instructing a class of this description. Such
a circumstance is alone Indicative of the feeling
with which the African race is regarded in the
South.

318 WASHINGTON TO NEW YOEK.
Nor does the negro groan under the weight of
his chains. I never met with human beings so
perfectly happy and contented ; or so thoroughly
unacquainted with the carking cares and anxieties
of life. Freedom ! it is but a name to them.
What do beings of that class care for freedom,
which would only have the effect of destroying
their present happiness, by bringing their labour
into corapetitlon with that of the white man ? I
have raet with a planter who offered some of his
negroes their liberty and means of support for
six months, but the generous offer was declined.
One day Colonel Le Mat, of New Orleans,
Prince Polignac, and myself, were conversing out
side the Spotswood House, at Richraond, on the
subject of slavery. During the conversation a
slave of the Colonel's passed by, a good-looking
young raan, and the smartest and most intelligent
negro I have seen.
" Corae here, Thomas," said the Colonel.
" Yes, Master,"
" Now, Thoraas, I want you to tell these gen
tlemen if you would like to be free."
" I'm free enough, master ! "
" Have you not everything you require — ^good
food, lodging, clothes, and pocket-money ? "
"Yes, master, plenty of food, lodging, good
clothes, but I've now only half-dollar in money,"

England's duty. 319
This acknowledgment caused a general laugh ;
but the sharpness of the negro was immediately
and substantially rewarded by his master.
As to what part England should take in the
American quarrel, there are divers opinions.
Some imagine that Northern insolence, and the
haughty tone and temper she has assumed towards
this country, coupled with the imprisonraent of
British subjects, form a casus belli In themselves.
The general impression is, even among the Bri
tish Consuls in America, that the United States'
Government would not be so patient If England
was the aggressor. But a great and powerful
nation like Great Britain can afford to be patient.
There is a dignity In her forbearance, created by a
proud consciousness of power. Still patience has
its limits ; and I am IncUned to beUeve that the
British Lion is shaking himself in his lair, just
preparing for action. In case of receiving a little
more provocation. The recent Indignity offered
to the British flag on the high seas may have
StiU further aroused his sensitiveness. Still, I
think this country should not appeal to arms so
long as it was consistent with its honour to re
frain ' At the same time, there is no denying
that that honour has been tampered with, and
touched in sensitive places.

320

CHAPTER X,

"home eeturning,"

Under Weigh— View of Fort Lafayette— A Storm— Feel
ing at Sea — Off Cowes — "Young America" — Arrival
at Southampton.
At eleven o'clock, A.m., on Saturday, October 12,
I bade adieu to the bustling, rustling city of New
York, and erabarked on board the stearaship " Ful
ton," for England. For fully an hour afterwards
all was exciteraent and coramotion on board;
everybody seeraed in everybody's way, and an in
cessant scene of pushing and rushing was carried
on, of which, looking after the baggage — that the
porters had thrown anywhere — and securing state
rooms, formed a conspicuous part. When the
preliminary arrangements were got over, there fol
lowed the incidents of embracing and leave-taking

VIEW OP fort LAFAYETTE. 321
betwepn the passengers and their friends, which
were uninterruptedly kept up untU the signal-beU was
rung, and the vessel was on the point of leaving
the wharf. These demonstrations of friendship
and affection produced in me a painful feeling of
solitariness, such as I had not previously experi
enced. I truly felt alone in the world ; but I en
deavoured to solace myself by the thoughts of
home and the friends I should shortly meet again.
After all, one has good reason to bless Heaven for
the possession of those deep human sympathies
and ties, which console the traveller in his weary
wanderings; and for that wondrous mental or
ganization, which can instantly annihilate the
greatest distances, and people with greeting friends,
warm hearts, and merry faces, the dreariest soli
tudes. Our gaUant ship was speedily under weigh,
and steaming leisurely down the beautiful bay of
New York. A few guns were fired, by, way of
salute, the sound of which reverberated on the
opposite shore. The morning was clear and cheer
ing, and the water assumed the placidity of a lake
—circumstances which were generaUy regarded as
indicative of a fine passage across the Atlantic.
As we passed Fort Lafayette-a dismal circular
stone edifice, surrounded by water-all my fellow-
^oya^eurs rushed on deck to view the modern
VOL. II.

322 " HOME EETURNING."
Bastille, of which national institution some of
them appeared to be excessively proud.
Nearly fifty passengers were on board, mostly
Northerners — some of whom designed making a
tour through Europe with their families, untU the
war was over. With two exceptions, they were
all exceedingly cold and reserved in their manners;
and these disagreeable traits did not serve to in
crease the comfort or pleasure of the voyage.
At Cape Race a boat, belonging to the Asso
ciated Press of New York, came alongside, and
some newspapers were exchanged, and the latest
inteUigence conveyed to the anxious groups of
listeners. For four days the sea was as smooth as glass
— scarcely a ripple being perceptible on the water,
so that the passengers could eat, drink, smoke, and
walk the deck, with the greatest comfort and
composure. The weather, also, was wonderfully
fine for the season of the year ; and even the
banks of Newfoundland were divested of their
usual veil of dense fog. But, as
" AU that's bright must fade —
The brightest, stiU the fleetest 1 "—
SO we did not enjoy exetnption from rain and storm
much longer. On the fifth day the wind freshened,
the sea began to look angry, and the ship would
now and again give an uneasy roll, which had the

A STORM. 323
effect of upsetting a few of the passengers, who
considered they had got their " sea legs " securely
under them. The usual arrangements made by
tbe stewards to keep the dishes and plates on the
dining- tables, by fastening thereon long sUps of wood,
attached by pieces of broad web, gave rather an
unpleasant foreboding of a coming storm, and. In
some in.stances, seemed to induce preraonitory
symptoms of sea-sickness. And truly the storm
did come on apace. In three or four hours the
sea had risen to an alarming height, and the wind
blew with such violence, as to tear into shreds the
reefed top-sails — so that the yards to which they
had been fixed had to be lowered. The vessel
rolled exce.-*sively, and laboured heavily — now and
again receiving the slap of a sea, which seemed to
make every timber in her creak and shiver. I
confess I entered my state-room with some feeling
of trepidation ; and after I had succeeded in en
sconcing myself In my berth, held on as weU as I
could, although the task was not easy of accom
pUshment. All that lingering night I could not
rest, owing to the ceaseless roUing ofthe ship and
the furious beating of the waves against her sides.
I thou<.htof the agile but fragile piece of mechan
ism thrt was StruggUng so bravely with the stormy
element, and of the human ingenuity which ren
dered a tinj vessel able to contend successfully
T 2

324 " HOME RETURNING."
against the awful and combined powers of Nature.
Meanwhile, I realized the feelings which Moore
so aptly and admirably expressed under a similar
influence : —
" Oh ! there's a holy calm profound.
In awe like this, that ne'er was given
To pleasure's thriU ;
'Tis as a solemn voice from heaven.
And the soul, Ustening to the sound.
Lies mute and stUl.
" 'Tis true, it talks of danger nigh.
Of slumb'ring with the dead to-morrow.
In the cold deep.
Where pleasure's throb, or tears of sorrow.
No more shaU wake the heart or eye.
But aU must sleep.''
For fuUy four days we encountered rough,
"dirty," and squaUy weather, which did not in
any wise appear confirmatory of a theory recently
put forward respecting the laws that regulate
storras. The raonotony on board ship was per
fectly distressing — only sky and water, water and
sky continually in view, until they paUed upon the
vision. Once or twice a ship appeared in sight,
but so indistinctly as to look more like a phantom
than a reaUty, Sometimes the dolphins and
porpoises — the horrid creatures! — would disport
themselves in the waves ; and once a huge whale
made its appearance, and sent up a column of water

FEELING AT SEA. 325
close to the vessel's bulwarks. When weary of
pacing up and down the deck, or lounging in the
smoking-room, I endeavoured to read; but by
the time I had perused a few pages of a book my
ideas becarae so confused that I was corapeUed
hopelessly to relinquish such a mode of " kiUing
time." Several of the passengers were 111, and
those who were enabled to go about became so
engrossed vrith their own thoughts as to be both
incommunicable and unsociable. The only real
relief to this irritating ennui was the announce
ment of dinner — an agreeable event, which caused
a couple of hours to glide imperceptibly away.
It is but just to observe, that this repast was most
liberally and exceUently served up. Indeed, all
the arrangements on board the "Fulton" were
admirable. The last thousand miles seemed the longest
part of the voyage. Hours had the power to ex
tend themselves into days, and minutes becarae
prolonged into hours. Oh ! that weary, woful
time ! How my heart throbbed with expectancy
upon returning to home and friends !— from the
fearful scenes of war to the cheerful region of
peace 1
When about three days' journey from England,
the weather became comparatively mild, and the
spirits of my fellow-voyageurs improved also.

326 " HOME RETURNING,"
Speculating upon the " run" of the ship became
a favourite pastime — tickets were issued contain
ing numbers varying from two hundred to two
hundred and seventy : and these were put up to
auction, and disposed of to the highest bidder.
Tickets originally purchased for half a dollar
would perhaps produce five or six doUars next
morning before the Captain made his calculations.
In this way a few individuals realized consider
able sums of money. Besides, whoever had the
number corresponding with the "run" of the
vessel would receive all that was in the " pool,"
which amounted to half a dollar upon each ticket.
On the morning of Thursday, October 24th,
we sighted the Devonshire coast. Shortly
afterwards a pilot came on board, and the British
flag was hoisted. The view of land had a very
inspiriting effect on all the passengers; but on
me — the only EngUshraan on board — the sight
was little short of enchanting, A few of the
" young Araericans," with their characteristic,
unblushing impertinence, oould not refrain from
giving expression to that deep and undisguised
enmity they cherish towards England, by what
they doubtlessly considered " smart" remarks
upon this country. Even the Royal Lady who
dignifies the Throne of Great Britain they had

ARRIVAL IN SOUTHAMPTON. 327
not the gallantry, nor even the delicacy, to let
escape their invidious reflections.
At length the "Fulton" arrived off Cowes,
when two or three passengers, including myself,
got into a small boat, which conveyed us to
Southampton — the steamer, meanwhile, proceed-
ingontoHamburgjherEuropean destination. Iwas
of course delighted to touch British soil once more ;
and I never before felt so proud of belonging to a
country which takes the first rank among the
nations of the world.

THE END.

Jl. BOBH, PIUSTEK,

GLOUCESTElt STUEET, EEGENT'S PARK.

3 9002

¦ "A I : . ¦ ¦ ' a^ " . "i.