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WASHINGTON MONUMENT. 
 
"/(l! 
 
 ^xo^.J^-^ 
 
 \A 
 
 A STORY FOR BOYS, 
 
 AND 
 
 A GUIDE TO PERSONS VISITING THE CITY, 
 
 DESIEING TO SEE THE 
 
 PRINCIPAL POINTS OF INTEREST, 
 
 WITH 
 
 AN INDEX 
 
 SHOWING THE 
 OF 
 
 EACH POINT MENTIONED. 
 (ILLUSTRATED.) 
 
 
 ■ RICHMOND, VA.: 
 
 McCAKTHY & ELLYSON. 
 
 1870. 
 

 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, by 
 
 c. McCarthy, 
 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, 
 D.C. 
 
INDEX 
 
 ^t)o&Jit'S gofnte of interest jKcntioncU, Jriitf) tfjeir CHiact 
 iLocatton. 
 
 Armory Bridge, at foot of Flftli Street. 
 
 Gamble's Ilill, south end of Fourth Street. 
 
 Tredegar Iron Works, on Canal, between it 
 and the River, just above the Armory. 
 
 Belle Isle, James River, about three quarters 
 of a mile above the city, accessible only from the 
 south side, but visible from the Canal bank. 
 
 National Cemetery, Williamsburg Road, three 
 miles southeast of Richmond. 
 
 Pump House, or Water Works, on J. R. & K. 
 Canal, one mile from the city. 
 
 Richmond College, western terminus of Broad 
 Street. 
 
 Alms House, north end of Third Street. 
 
 Shockoe Hill Cemetry, north end of Third 
 Street. 
 
 Davis Mansion, corner of Leigh and Twelfth 
 Streets. 
 
 Mechanicsville, head of Turnpike which enters 
 
IV INDEX. 
 
 the city at the intersection of Nineteenth and 
 Venable Streets. 
 
 Richmond Female Institute, Tenth between 
 Marshall and Clay Streets. 
 
 Washinirton INIonument, Capitol Square. 
 
 Capitol Square, entrances Ninth and Grace 
 and Capitol and Tenth Streets. 
 
 Broad Street Methodist Church, corner Tenth 
 and Broad Streets. 
 
 First Presbyterian Church, corner Tenth and 
 Capitol Streets. 
 
 Clay's, (Henry) Statue, Capitol Square. 
 
 St. Paul's Episcopal Church, corner Ninth and 
 Grace Streets. 
 
 State Capitol, Capitol Square. 
 
 Governor's Mansion, Capitol Square. 
 
 Church Hill, east end of Broad Street. 
 
 Monumental Church (Episcopal), Broad, be- 
 tween Twelfth and Thirteenth Streets. 
 
 St. John's Church (Episcopal), Church-hill, 
 corner Broad and Twenty-fourth Streets. 
 
 Libby's Hill, extreme south end of Twenty- 
 Ninth Street, and east end Main. 
 
 Chimborazo, extreme east end of Broad Street, 
 overlookino- Ptocketts. 
 
 Oakwood Cemetery, Blakey's Mill Road, one 
 mile from the city. ^ 
 
II^DEX. V 
 
 Drewry's Bluff, James River below Richmond 
 eight miles. 
 
 Libby Prison, corner Twentieth and Gary 
 Streets. 
 
 Castle Thunder, Gary between Eighteenth and 
 Nineteenth Streets. 
 
 Old Stone House, Main between Nineteenth 
 and Twentieth Streets. 
 
 Mayo's Bridge, foot of Fourteenth Street, 
 crossing the James River. 
 
 Manchester, south side of James River, op- 
 posite Richmond, Virginia. 
 
 Gotton and Woollen Mills, south end Mayo's 
 Bridge, Manchester. 
 
 Gallego Mills, south end of Twelfth Street, 
 foot of Ganal Basin. 
 
 Haxalls' Mills, River Bank, continuation of 
 Twelfth Street, south end. 
 
 Ruins of Warwick and Barksdale's Mill, the 
 largest flour mill of the world. Twelfth Street, 
 one square beyond Gary, south. 
 
 Danville Railroad Bridge and Depot, south 
 end of Virginia, or Thirteenth Street. 
 
 Rocketts, extreme eastern portion of the city, 
 near the river. 
 
 Mayo's Warehouse, Fourteenth Street and 
 River Bank. 
 
VI INDEX. 
 
 Ballard House, Fourteenth and Franklin 
 Streets. 
 
 Flower Garden, west end of Grace Street. 
 
 General Lee's Residence, Franklin between 
 Seventh and Ei,i;;hth Streets. 
 
 Ruins of United Presbyterian Chyrch, corner 
 Franklin and Eighth Streets. 
 
 Spotswood Hotel, corner Eighth and Main 
 Streets. 
 
 Ruins of the Confederate War Department, 
 Ninth between Main and Franklin Streets. 
 
 Post ofi&ce, Main between Tenth and Eleventh 
 Streets. 
 
 Custom House, Main between Tenth and 
 Eleventh Streets. 
 
 President Davis' office, Main between Tenth 
 and Eleventh Streets. 
 
 Confederate Treasury, Main between Tenth 
 and Eleventh Streets. 
 
 Confederate Congress, Capitol Building. 
 
 Old Market House, corner Main and Seven- 
 teenth Streets. 
 
 The Reservoir, western terminus City Railway, 
 near Hollywood Cemetery. 
 
 Camp Lee, old Fair Grounds, west end of 
 Broad Street, (continuation one mile from city.) 
 
 Theatre, corner Broad and Seventh Streets. 
 
 Richmond Medical College, corner College 
 
INDEX. Vll 
 
 (which Is an extension north of Fourteenth,) and 
 Marshall Streets. 
 
 Old African Church, corner Broad and Four- 
 teenth or College Streets. 
 
 First Baptist Church, corner Twelfth and 
 Broad Streets. 
 
 Marshall's Residence, corner Marshall and 
 Ninth Streets. 
 
 Bushrod Washins^ton's Law Office, Ninth 
 Street, in rear of St. Paul's Church, between 
 Grace and Franklin Streets. 
 
 Petersburg Railroad Bridge, foot of Eighth 
 Street, crossing the James River. 
 
 Ruins of Paper Mill, Eighth Street and River. 
 
 Tunnel Gamble's Hill, on Byrd Street from 
 Fourth to Second. 
 
 Penitentiary (State Prison) south end of First 
 Street, visible from Gamble's Hill. 
 
 Each of the first five chapters of this book laya 
 out a walk. A stranger following the course 
 laid out will see all the most interesting points 
 in the city, and in passing from one point to 
 another will necessarily pass through the most 
 beautiful portions of it. 
 
 The Map of the City shows the direction of the 
 streets to be, those numbered North and South, 
 those named East and West. 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOi^D. 
 
 L 
 
 NCLE FRED, do you remem- 
 ber your promise, to commence 
 soon our walks about Rich- 
 mond ?" 
 
 " They shall commence this after- 
 noon. We dine at two o'clock ; sup- 
 pose we start immediately after din- 
 ner?" 
 
 " Where shall we go, uncle ?" 
 "I think a good route would be 
 up the canal to Ritchie's Bridge, 
 cross there, and returning, pass 
 through Hollywood Cemetry," says 
 Uncle Fred. 
 
 9 
 
10 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 "I will be ready," says Frank, 
 and away he went to hunt up 
 several articles which he was fond 
 of carrying with him when walking. 
 
 The canal which Mr. Stevens 
 proposed to follow in his walk, 
 was the James River and Kanawha 
 Canal, which follows the course of 
 the James River. 
 
 The route was a desirable one 
 for two reasons : first, it was good, 
 because he intended to take a series 
 of walks, which would show his 
 nephew the whole city, and so 
 commencing on the northern and 
 western side he could move around 
 to the other extremity. The time 
 having arrived, Frank bounded into 
 the sitting-room, armed with a large 
 glass, which he intended to use 
 
WALKS ABOUT ElCHMOND. 11 
 
 when he reached the high ground 
 beyond the city limits. 
 
 "Come on, uncle, I am ready; 
 and besides, it's three o'clock. How 
 far will we have to walk ?" 
 
 " About five miles ; get your hat 
 and let's be oflP." 
 
 Passing down through some of 
 the most beautiful streets in the 
 city, they soon reached the old 
 bridge which crosses the canal at 
 State Armory. Passing over, they 
 were on the towpath, along which 
 the horses travel when towing the 
 boats. This path is on the side 
 of the canal nearest the river. 
 
 From it you have beautiful views 
 of the scenery along the river and 
 beyond. The hills are, many of 
 them, surmounted by fortifications, 
 
12 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 built during the war to protect the 
 roads on tlie south side. 
 
 As soon as the bridge was crossed, 
 Frank commenced to question his 
 uncle about the buildings around 
 about him. 
 
 " Uncle, what old ruins are those 
 just before us?" 
 
 "The ruins of the old State 
 Armory. It was built about the 
 year 1800. Before the war the 
 arms and ammunition of the State 
 were stored here. Here were the 
 quarters of the State Guard. When 
 the war commenced, the Confederate 
 Government took possession of the 
 buildings and machinery, and used 
 them during the war. When the 
 city was evacuated in 1866, the 
 place was burned by order of the 
 military authorities. 
 
WALKS ABOUT EICHMOND. 13 
 
 "When I was a boy, the older 
 boys in the city had a soldier com- 
 pany, all uniformed and equipped, 
 and the captain of the State Guard 
 drilled them here in the Armory 
 yard. I was very anxious to be one 
 of that company, but was too 
 small." 
 
 They now moved on up the 
 towpath. Soon there appeared off 
 to the right on a high hill, a beauti- 
 ful castle. Frank admired it very 
 much, and asked how old it was. 
 
 *^It is not an old building," his 
 uncle replied. " It is called Pratt's 
 Cottage, and is built on Gamble's 
 Hill — so called because the ground 
 was once owned by a Colonel Gam- 
 ble." 
 
 Presently they heard a great 
 noise, and the air smelt of smoke. 
 2 
 
14 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 " What is all that noise, uncle ? 
 and where does all this smoke come 
 from ?" 
 
 " Why we are near the Tredegar 
 Iron Works, where locomotives, 
 railroad iron, and other things 
 in that line are made. During 
 the war this was a place of great 
 importance. Here we made most 
 of the heavy guns for fortifications, 
 and war vessels. Here church bells, 
 probably, and other things which 
 are useful in peace, were melted 
 to be made into field pieces. 
 
 "I sincerely hope, Frank, that 
 there will be no more use for guns 
 in this country. Peace is better 
 than war; plenty is better than 
 want; and the music of church 
 bells sweeter than the booming of 
 cannon. 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 15 
 
 "Would you like to go m and 
 look around? I suppose we can 
 get permission." 
 
 " Oh ! very much." 
 
 Mr. Stevens stopped at the office, 
 and got permission to go all through 
 the works. 
 
 They passed into the rolling mill, 
 where the hands were busily hand- 
 ling the white hot iron. 
 
 The puddlers were stripped to 
 the waist, and when the door of 
 a furnace opened, the glare of the 
 molten metal made them look like 
 demons. These puddlers would haul 
 out large balls of blazing metal, 
 and pass it to others. These would 
 throw it between the rollers, and 
 soon the mass would be the desired 
 length and size. 
 
 These long bars of iron, as they 
 
16 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 passed through the rollers and back 
 again, looked like huge serpents. 
 It was a beautiful sight to see 
 the saw at work. 
 
 When a bar of iron was to be 
 cut, it was thrown against a cir- 
 cular saw, and the brilliant sparks 
 flew in every direction. Frank 
 thought it beat fireworks, and 
 was delighted; but confessed that 
 he felt very uneasy. 
 
 The whirling and buzzing of the 
 large wheels, and the rapid move- 
 ments of the iron, was to him 
 rather unpleasant. He was relieved 
 when his uncle called him to move 
 on. 
 
 Older persons than Frank have 
 been made to feel uncomfortable 
 in this interesting place. 
 
 Just beyond the iron works the 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 17 
 
 canal bank is considerably higher 
 than the river, and the view of 
 the " Falls " is very good. Here, 
 too, the fortifications commenced, 
 and Frank had a chance to use 
 his glass. 
 
 " What old place is that on the 
 other side of the river which makes 
 such a smoke?" says Frank. 
 
 " That is the Old Dominion Nail 
 Works. It is not on the other side, 
 but on an island — the famous 
 " Belle Isle," where prisoners were 
 confined during the war. The 
 place being surrounded by water, 
 made it very difficult to escape, 
 and it did not require so many 
 men to guard them here. 
 
 " Do you see that flat portion 
 of the ishand at the lower end ?" 
 
 '' Yes, sir," 
 
 2^ I 
 
18 ^ALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 " There prisoners were camped. 
 On the hill overlooking this camp, 
 "vvere two pieces of artillery, which, 
 in case the prisoners had made an 
 attempt to overpower the guard, 
 might have been fired into the 
 camp. Tliese guns were never 
 used, however, except to fire volleys 
 over some men who were drowned 
 in their attempts to escape. The 
 bodies were in the river, and it 
 was supposed that firing the guns 
 would cause them to rise to the 
 surface, so that they might be 
 taken ashore and buried. 
 
 " There was a small space en- 
 closed for burial purposes, and many 
 prisoners were buried in it. After 
 the war they were removed by the 
 Government, and buried in the 
 National Cemetery." 
 
WALKS ABOUT EICHMOND. 19 
 
 They now resumed their walk, 
 and as they advanced, the bank 
 rose higher and higher, until the 
 river was far below, on the left, 
 while the opposite bank of the 
 canal was gradually rising into 
 bluffs. 
 
 "Well," says Frank, "there is 
 a curious house ! Why did any 
 body ever build a house in such 
 a place? 
 
 " See what a beautiful garden, 
 too ! And there is a swing, and 
 a fountain ! Why, there is water 
 all around the house. The river 
 on one side, and a large pool this 
 Bide !" 
 
 " That is the Pump House, Frank, 
 where water is taken from the river, 
 and forced by large pumps, aAvay 
 up on the hills near the city." 
 
20 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 Uncle Fred now led the way 
 down a long stairs, and into the 
 pump house. Frank was delighted 
 with what he saw. The ponderous 
 machinery worked away as smoothly 
 as though it had no work to do, but 
 "^was only moving for the fun of it. 
 And yet it was pushing and driving 
 hundreds of gallons of water every 
 moment the distance of a mile." 
 
 Every thing about the place was 
 so neat and clean, and there were 
 so many cards hung up asking peo- 
 ple to be very particular, that Frank 
 used every mat he passed vigor- 
 ously. 
 
 " There it is kept in a large pool, 
 called the reservoir. Iron pipes 
 extend from the reservoir to all 
 parts of the city, and convey water 
 to every house." 
 
WALKS ABOUT KICIIMOND. 21 
 
 In the upper rooms, above the 
 floor on which were the pumps, there 
 were many curiosities, mineral, ani- 
 mal, and vegetable, neatly arranged 
 and labelled. 
 
 Among other things, a large shell, 
 not of a fish, but of iron, and loaded 
 with powder, which was accidentally 
 fired through the building, when the 
 inspectors were trying cannon on the 
 river bank. 
 
 Uncle Fred found he would not 
 have time to go up to the bridge, so 
 be concluded to go under the canal, 
 through the tunnel, built for the 
 water pipes to pass, and spend the 
 remaining hour or two in Hollywood 
 Cemetery. 
 
 Frank was anxious to know how 
 the tunnel was ever made. lie 
 thought it strange the water above 
 
22 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 did not break tlirougli and drown 
 the workmen. 
 
 '' Why," said Uncle Fred, " they 
 built a bridge across the tunnel, and 
 let the water in the canal pass right 
 along as usual." 
 
 " Well," said Frank, " I have heard 
 of a bridge over water, but I never 
 heard of water going over a bridge 
 before 1" 
 
 The tunnel opens into the most 
 interesting portion of the cemetery. 
 Within a few steps is the grave of 
 President Monroe. 
 
 From the biow of the hill here, 
 the landscape embraces woods, rivers, 
 hills, and plains. 
 
 The bridges which connect Rich- 
 mond and Mancester stretch across 
 the river at considerable elevation, 
 and the trains as they pass seem to 
 
WALKS ABOUT EICHMOND. 23 
 
 *^feel their way" over the «prrow 
 path Laid for them. 
 
 " What a beautiful place, imcle ! 
 It would not seem so sad to be buried 
 here, where all is bright and beau- 
 tiful. How different from those 
 gloomy old burial phaces which we 
 are accustomed to." 
 
 Frank, having gazed to his heart's 
 content, turned and followed his 
 uncle to Monroe's tomb. He was 
 very much disappointed to find it 
 very poorly marked. Instead of a 
 good monument of granite, a very 
 old iron contrivance covers his grave. 
 
 Here Mr. Stevens gave Frank a 
 short account of the life and death 
 of Monroe, and then walked on. 
 
 On the way to the " Soldiers' Sec- 
 tion," which is at the opposite side 
 of the cemetery, they stopped at the 
 
24 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 grave of General Stuart, w-lio com- 
 manded the cavalry corps of the 
 army of Northern Virginia. He was 
 wounded in battle only a few miles 
 from Richmond. He lived but a 
 short time after reaching the city. 
 
 The road through the cemetery 
 is splendidly shaded by the immense 
 oaks, which are the natural growth. 
 
 Soon they arrived at the great 
 Bpot in Hollywood. Rising in the 
 midst of the graves of the thousands 
 who sleep in the " Soldiers' Section," 
 is an immense granite hill, pyramid 
 in shape, erected by the Ladies' Hol- 
 lywood Memorial Association. 
 
 Each grave has a stake at the 
 head, on which is a number referr- 
 ing to the register, which gives the 
 name of the tenant. 
 
 Most of the soldiers buried here 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 25 
 
 died in the hospitals in and around 
 the city, either from wounds received 
 in battle, or disease. 
 
 In this section are buried men 
 from every State in the South, so 
 that it is not only dear to Virginia, 
 but has a hold on the hearts of the 
 people of all the States, and will be 
 a bond of affection between them for 
 all ages to come. 
 
 In May of each year the ladies of 
 Richmond, by thousands, come here 
 and strew the ground with flowers. 
 
 Uncle Fred translated the inscrip- 
 tions on the monument for Frank's 
 benefit, and told him the names of 
 some of his comrades buried in Hol- 
 lywood. 
 
 Mr. Stevens would have lingered 
 here, but remembering he had a boy 
 along, who was not fond of standing 
 
 3* 
 
26 WALKS ABOUT EICHMOND. 
 
 still, started homeward. Passing out 
 at the gate nearest the city, they 
 were soon at home, with a good 
 appetite, waiting for supper. 
 
 Frank enjoyed the walk intensely. 
 He saw so many things to interest 
 him. He made good use of his glass 
 while near the river, and felt amply 
 repaid for the trouble of carrying it. 
 A promise from his uncle that the 
 next walk should be soon, completed 
 his satisfaction. 
 
 After tea, Frank gave his time 
 and attention to the amusement of 
 his little cousin, who, too young for 
 so long a walk, had been at home 
 all the afternoon. 
 
 Having been raised in the coun- 
 try, he could tell her a great many 
 things to please and instruct her. 
 
 He felt very grateful to his uncle 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 27 
 
 for his kindness, and tried in every 
 possible way to make himself agree- 
 able. 
 
 Of course he succeeded. No boy 
 who really tries to please^ is apt to 
 fail. 
 
28 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 II. 
 
 11 R. STEVENS' family consisted 
 ||] of himself, wife, and daughter. 
 ■^^He was not a wealthy man, 
 but one who remembered his 
 boyhood, appreciated the wants and 
 feelings of boys, and was always 
 ready to afford them innocent amuse- 
 ment. 
 
 He was liberal with his means and 
 time, when either would add to the 
 pleasure of young people. In the 
 spring and fall he frequently spent 
 whole days walking about the city 
 and its environs. For company, he 
 usually took some boy old enough 
 to stand the fatigue, and to appre- 
 ciate the luxury. 
 
WALKS ABOUT EICHMOND. 29 
 
 Frank's visits were a great plea- 
 sure to him, and saved him the 
 trouble of hunting up a companion 
 for his walks. 
 
 About a week after the walk we 
 read of in the last chapter, Uncle 
 Fred awoke Frank early one morn- 
 ing, and proposed a walk before 
 breakfast. 
 
 Frank made a hasty toilet, and in 
 ten minutes was ready to start. 
 
 Passing through a cross-street^ 
 they struck " Broad Street," and fol- 
 lowing the Fredericksburg Eailroad, 
 soon arrived at the grounds of Rich- 
 mond College, a large brick building. 
 The college was incorporated by act 
 of legislature in 1832. Returning 
 to the point where the railroad di- 
 verges from the road to the college. 
 Uncle Fred took a road to the left, 
 
30 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 and, passing beyond the city limits, 
 got into the " Meadow-Bridge" road. 
 About a mile from the city, the road 
 was heavily fortified during the war, 
 and the works are now in almost 
 perfect order, with the exception of 
 magazines ; but, of course, have no 
 armament. Taking the parapet for 
 a path, they walked several miles, 
 occasionally getting fine views of the 
 city. 
 
 " Uncle, were these fortifications 
 ever used ?'* 
 
 '' No. I remember seeing troops 
 camped here when a raiding party 
 was expected, but the guns were 
 never used. This is a portion of 
 what was called the ^ inner line' of 
 works. There were three lines 
 around Eichmond. The third line 
 sometimes came into use, but the 
 
T7ALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 31 
 
 intermediate and inner were seldom 
 used." 
 
 ^' What steeples are those we see 
 rising above all the buildings in the 
 city ?" 
 
 " They are the steeples of St. 
 Paul's Episcopal, First Presbyterian, 
 Broad Street Methodist, and the 
 German Lutheran churches. That 
 sharp, light spire you will see when 
 we visit the Capitol Square this 
 afternoon ; St. Paul's church is near 
 there. Returning home, we will go 
 by the Almshouse and Cemetery." 
 
 A few minutes more brought them 
 in sight of the almshouse, which is 
 situated on a high point at the city 
 limits. The road, as it nears the 
 city, rises abruptly, and is quite rug- 
 ged, but soon the hill was mounted, 
 and Frank stood before a fine, 
 
32 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 roomy building, surrounded by large 
 grounds. 
 
 " This is the almshouse," said 
 Uncle Fred ; " and a comfortable 
 looking place it is." 
 
 *' Can any one who is poor get a 
 home and food here, uncle ?" 
 
 " Yes, if residents of the city, and 
 unable to work, by making applica- 
 tion to the proper authorities they 
 are given food and clothing and a 
 bed. In olden times, before Chris- 
 tianity had enlightened the world, 
 the poor were forced to beg from 
 passers-by the food necessary to 
 sustain life. Now, in all civilized 
 lands, the poor are cared for, and 
 provided with homes." 
 
 Just in front of the almshouse is 
 the entrance to the Shockoe-Hill 
 Cemetery, which, though not so ex- 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 33 
 
 tensive as Hollywood, is a sweet, 
 quiet place, abounding in evergreens 
 and flowers. 
 
 They then walked leisurely 
 through the cemetery, and then 
 home. 
 
 After breakflist, Mr. Stevens went 
 down town to business, leaving Frank 
 at home to amuse himself until the 
 afternoon, when he proposed to re- 
 sume his walk. 
 
 After dinner, Uncle Fred started 
 out again, and went directly to the 
 " Davis Mansion," which is situated 
 on the brow of a hill, overlooking a 
 valley, beyond which rise immense 
 hills, which, during the war, were 
 covered with hospital buildings. 
 
 The house was purchased by the 
 city of Richmond for Mr. Davis, 
 when Richmond became the capital 
 
34 WALKS ABOUT KICHMOND. 
 
 of the Confederate States. He oc- 
 cupied it up to the time the city was 
 evacuated. 
 
 When the Federal army entered 
 the city, in 1865, the commanding 
 general made it his headquarters, 
 and for five years it was occupied by 
 the military authorities. 
 
 It was then restored to the city. 
 
 " So that is the ' Davis Mansion T 
 said Frank, as he stood on the brow 
 of the hill. 
 
 " Yes. For several years Mr. Da- 
 vis might be seen every morning 
 walking quietly from this house to 
 his office. His little boys, no doubt, 
 have romped together on this hill 
 many a day. What a good view of 
 the river we have from this point ? 
 When the great battles around Rich- 
 mond were fought, Jackson com- 
 
WALKS ABOUT KICHMOND. 35 
 
 menced the attack near Meclianics- 
 ville, and, as night approached, the 
 bursting shells were plainly visible 
 from this hill. The road to Median- 
 icsville passes along the ridge of 
 those hills beyond the valley." 
 
 " Is this valley a part of the city, 
 uncle ?" 
 
 " Oh, yes, a very interesting part, 
 too, to the boys. For probably thirty 
 years, the boys of ' Butchertown,' as 
 this place is called, and the ' Hill 
 Cats,' as the ^ Butcher Cats ' call the 
 boys who live up here, have had a 
 war on hand, and nearly every day 
 a rock battle occurs, in which rocks 
 fly thick and fast. Sometimes the 
 Butcher Cats carry the hill, and 
 sometimes the Hill Cats carry the 
 war into Butchertown, and drive its 
 defenders out. The police have tried 
 
^6 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 in vain to stop these rock battles. 
 At least once a week they must have 
 a fight. Away to the right, you can 
 see the river for a mile or two. On 
 those hills beyond the valley, there 
 was an immense hospital during the 
 war. The buildings have all been 
 destroyed." 
 
 " Can you show me the school 
 which cousin attends ?" 
 
 "Yes; it is only a few squares 
 from here. There is the tower in 
 sight. The Eichmond Female Insti- 
 tute is a large building, two squares 
 from the Davis Mansion." 
 
 Frank was interested in it only 
 because his cousin went to school 
 there. 
 
 While standing in front of it, he 
 discovered a small portion of the 
 Washington Monument in view, and. 
 
"WALKS ABOUT KICHMOND. 37 
 
 in his anxiety to see the monument, 
 forgot the institute altogether, and 
 would hardly wait to hear its his- 
 tory. 
 
 The building was converted into 
 a hospital during the war, and was 
 crowded with wounded and sick sol- 
 diers. 
 
 Walking on, a few steps brought 
 them to the Capitol Square. 
 
 "Those churches you passed a 
 moment ago, Frank, are two whose 
 steeples you saw when out on the 
 fortifications. Here we are, now look 
 at the monument to your heart's con- 
 tent." 
 
 " How splendid, uncle ! Oh, how 
 splendid ! Please tell me all about 
 it, uncle ?" 
 
 " The ceremony of laying the cor- 
 
38 WALKS ABOUT EICHMOND. 
 
 ner-stone took place on the 2 2d of 
 February, 1850. 
 
 "General Zacbary Taylor was 
 present, and many other great men 
 besides. 
 
 " The contract stipulated that the 
 equestrian group, in bronze, should 
 be fifteen English feet from the 
 upper surface of the platform to the 
 top of the chapeau, and that the 
 pedestrian statues should be ten 
 English feet in height. Two shields, 
 representing the coat-of-arms of Vir- 
 ginia, were included in the contract. 
 [These shields are stored in the 
 basement of the Capitol.] 
 
 " It is hardly necessary to tell 
 you anything about Washington. 
 Every boy, of your age, in the coun- 
 try, is familiar with his history. The 
 Btatue speaks for itself. It is cer- 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 39 
 
 tainlj the grandest work of the kind 
 in this country. 
 
 " Now, let us walk around and 
 see those statues which surround 
 the column. 
 
 " Listen, while I read : 
 
 " ' Thomas Jefferson, of Albe- 
 marle County, Virginia, was first a 
 member of the Legislature, then 
 member of Congress, and author of 
 the Declaration of Lidependence. 
 Resigning his seat in Congress, he 
 was again elected to the Legislature. 
 In June, 1779, he was elected Gov- 
 ernor of Virginia. In June, 1783, 
 he was again elected to Congress. 
 In 1797, he was elected Vice-Presi- 
 dent, and in 1800, President.' He 
 died July 4th, 1826. 
 
 '' I think, Frank, I will read you, 
 
40 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 from this little book, a short account 
 of each of the others. 
 
 " ' Next to Jefferson, is George 
 Mason, born in 1726, in Stafford 
 County, Virginia. 
 
 " ' He was the author of the first 
 constitution for a free common- 
 wealth. 
 
 " ' He was also author of the 
 "Virginia Bill of Rights." 
 
 " ' His complexion was swarthy, 
 his face grave, with a radiant dark 
 eye, his raven hair sprinkled with 
 gray ; his aspect rather foreign ; 
 nearly six feet in stature ; of a large, 
 athletic frame, and active step. Plis 
 presence was commanding, his bear- 
 ing lofty. He was a systematic and 
 prosperous planter, and devoted his 
 leisure to study. 
 
 '' ' This eminent Virginian died at 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICmiOND. 41 
 
 his seat, ^' Giuiston Hall," in the au- 
 tumn of 1792.'" 
 
 '' Now for Patrick Henry," says 
 Frank ; " 1 tliink he must have been 
 a speaker." 
 
 ^' Yes, a very powerful speaker. 
 His first success was as a lawyer, in 
 a test suit at Hanover Court-house. 
 
 " At the conclusion of his speech 
 on that occasion, he was carried from 
 the court-house in triumph, on the 
 shoulders of his admirers. 
 
 " ' He was born May 29th, 1736, 
 
 in Hanover County, Virginia. In 
 
 1765, he was elected a member of 
 
 the House of Burgesses, where he 
 
 introduced his celebrated resolutions 
 
 against the " Stamp Act," which were 
 
 adopted by a majority after a stormy 
 
 debate.' It was in the midst of this 
 
 debate, that Henry exclaimed : " Ca3- 
 4* 
 
42 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 sar had his Brutus, Charles the First 
 his Cromwell, and George the Third 
 — (Treason ! Treason ! cried the 
 Speaker) — Treason ! resounded from 
 every part of the . house. Henry 
 finished the sentence — " may profit 
 by the example." 
 
 " ^ In 1774, he was sent as a dele- 
 gate from Virginia to the First Colo- 
 nial Congress. In 1775, he was a 
 member of the Convention which 
 met in St. John's Church, and pro- 
 posed that the *^ Colony be put in a 
 state of defence." He closed his 
 speech, in reply to those who op- 
 posed his resolution, with the im- 
 mortal sentence : " I know not what 
 course others may take, but, as for 
 me, give me Liberty^ or give me 
 Death I " 
 
 " ' Soon after the seizure of the 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 43 
 
 gunpowder, at Williamsburg, by Lord 
 Dunmore, in April, 1775, Henry 
 summoned the Hanover volunteers, 
 and, marching towards the (then) 
 capital, compelled Dunmore's agent 
 to pay the value of the powder. In 
 June, Dunmore fled from Williams- 
 burg, and, in July, a provisional gov- 
 ernment was organized at Richmond. 
 Henry was elected colonel of the first 
 regiment, and commander of all the 
 forces4o be enrolled. 
 
 *^ ^ In 177G, he w^as elected the 
 first Governor of the Common- 
 wealth, and filled the office until 
 1779, when he was ineligible under 
 the Constitution. He served in the 
 Legislature until tlie end of the war, 
 when he was again elected Governor, 
 and served until 1786, when he re- 
 signed. In 1788, he v/as a member 
 
44 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 of the Convention which ratified the 
 Federal Constitution. He opposed 
 its ratification. In 1794, Henry re- 
 tired from the bar. In the following 
 year, Washington appointed him 
 Secretary of State, but he declined 
 the appointment, as he did that of 
 envoy to France, offered him by Mr. 
 Adams, and that of Governor, ten- 
 dered in 1796. He died in Char- 
 lotte County, on the 6th of June, 
 1799.'" 
 
 " Now, about Lewis, uncle ; who 
 was he ? How strong and bold he 
 looks ! " 
 
 " ' Andrew Lewis was born in the 
 province of Ulster, Ireland. He was 
 brought to Virginia by his father, 
 who settled in Augusta County. He 
 fought Indians for the British until 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 45 
 
 the Colonies took up arms, whea he 
 commenced on the British. 
 
 "^Washington had so high an 
 opinion of the bravery and military 
 skill of General Lewis, that, at the 
 commencement of the Revolutionary 
 War, he recommended him to Con- 
 gress as one of the major-generals of 
 the American army. It is also said 
 that, when Washington was commis- 
 sioned as commander-in-chief, he ex- 
 pressed the wish that the appoint- 
 ment had been given to General 
 Lewis. At his solicitation, Lewis 
 accepted the commission of brigadier- 
 general, and was soon after ordered 
 to the command of the Virginia 
 troops stationed near Williamsburg. 
 On the 9th of July, 1776, he ex- 
 pelled Lord Dunmore from his re- 
 treat on Gwynn's Island. General 
 
46 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 Lewis resigned his command, in 
 1780, to return home, being ill with 
 a fever contracted in tlie low coun- 
 try. He died on his way, in Bed- 
 ford County, about forty miles from 
 his own house on the Roanoke, la- 
 mented by all acquainted with his 
 meritorious services and superior 
 qualities. 
 
 " ^ General Lewis was upwards of 
 six feet in stature, and of uncommon 
 activity and strength. His counte- 
 nance was stern, his deportment re- 
 served, and his presence command- 
 iuG:. Clad in his frin£!;ed huntino: 
 shirt, and carrying his long rifle, 
 Lewis was an accurate type of a 
 race of men, who, in the obstinate 
 struggle of the Revolution, bore the 
 " heat and burden of the day." 
 When he was a commissioner on 
 
WALKS ABOUT EICHMOND. 47 
 
 behalf of Virginia, at the treaty of 
 Fort Stanwix, in New York, in 1768, 
 the Governor of that colony remarked 
 of him, that ^' the earth seemed to 
 tremble under him as he walked.' " 
 
 " What a solemn looking old man 
 this next one is ! " says Frank ; 
 who is he ? " 
 
 '' ' John Marshall was born in Fau- 
 quier County, Virginia, September 
 24th, 1755. He commenced to study 
 law when eighteen years of age, but 
 soon the war for Independence com- 
 menced, and he joined a volunteer 
 company, of which he was made a 
 lieutenant. 
 
 " ' In May, 1777, he was promoted 
 to a captaincy in the Continental 
 service. 
 
 " ' He was in the battles of Bran- 
 dy wine, and Monmouth, and shared 
 
48 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 the hardships and sufferings of the 
 troops at Valley Forge. 
 
 " ^In the winter of 1779, he was 
 sent to Virginia to take charge of 
 the new levies proposed to be raised 
 by 'authority of the Legislature. In 
 the summer of 1780, he was licensed 
 to practice law, but returned to the 
 army, and continued in service until 
 the termination of Arnold's invasion. 
 He then resigned his commission. 
 
 "^n 1782, he was elected to the 
 Legislature from Fauquier County. 
 In 1787, he represented Henrico 
 County in the Legislature, and took 
 a conspicuous part in the political 
 debates of that period. He was a 
 member of the Convention which 
 ratified the Federal Constitution, 
 and was one of the ablest defenders 
 of that instrument. He afterwards 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 49 
 
 served in the General Assembly, for 
 several sessions, as delegate from the 
 city of Richmond. 
 
 '' ^ In 1800, he was appointed Sec- 
 retary of State by President Adams. 
 On the 31st January, 1801, he was 
 appointed Chief Justice of the Su- 
 preme Court of the United States. 
 The Senate unanimously confirmed 
 the appointment, and thus com- 
 menced that long and illustrious ju- 
 dicial career, wliich has made the 
 name of John Marshall so widely 
 honored. In 1829, he was a mem- 
 ber of the convention to revise the 
 State Constitution, and, during the 
 session, delivered a speech, regarded 
 as an unrivalled specimen of lucid 
 and conclusive reasoning. He held 
 the office of Chief Justice until the 
 
 5 
 
50 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 close of his life. He died at Phila- 
 delphia on the 6th of July, 1835.' " 
 
 ** Now, uncle, who was Nelson?" 
 
 " ' Thomas Nelson was born at 
 York, Virginia, on the 26th of De- 
 cember, 1738. 
 
 " 'In 1774, he was a member of 
 the House of Burgesses. In 1775-6, 
 he was a member of the Continental 
 Conorress, and sis^ned the Declaration 
 of Independence. In 1777, he re- 
 signed his seat in Congress, and re- 
 turned to Virginia. 
 
 " ' He was then made commander- 
 in-chief of the forces of Virginia. 
 
 " ' At one time he went security 
 for the State for as much as he was 
 worth. By this, and other patriotic 
 acts, he suffered heavy losses. 
 
 " ' In 1781, when the storm of war 
 burst upon Virginia, General Nelson 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 51 
 
 was actively employed in effecting 
 plans to oppose the enemy, and, suc- 
 ceeding Mr. Jefferson as Governor, 
 he united in himself the two offices 
 of governor and commander of the 
 military forces. By great efforts, 
 Governor Nelson kept his forces to- 
 gether until the surrender of Corn- 
 wallis. To do this, he exerted his 
 personal influence, his official au- 
 thority, and his private fortune, to 
 the utmost extent. After the sur- 
 render at York town, General Wash- 
 ington, in his report, made an ac- 
 knowledgment of the valuable ser- 
 vices of Governor Nelson, and the 
 militia under his command, during 
 the siege, in securing that important 
 result. 
 
 '' ' In a month after that event, 
 Governor Nelson was compelled, by 
 
52 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 impaired health, to retire again to 
 private life. He never again entered 
 public life. His time was passed in 
 retirement at his plantations in 
 Hanover, and at York. His health 
 gradually declining, he died in Hano- 
 ver, January 4th, 1789.'" 
 
 After a look at the allegorical 
 figures which represent Independ- 
 ence, Bill of Eights, Revolution, Co- 
 lonial Times, Justice, and Finance, 
 Uncle Fred led the way to " CUiy's 
 Statue." 
 
 As they turned to go, Frank saw 
 St Paul's Church, the beautiful spire 
 of which he had seen when away 
 out of tlie city, on the fortifications. 
 
 '' Now, Frank, you see the ' Mill 
 Boy of the Slashes.' What a beau- 
 tiful work this is ! 
 
 "^ Henry Clay died on the 29th of 
 
i,!iiu, mi u 
 liiiiii 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 53 
 
 June, 1852, aged seventy-five years. 
 He was for thirty years prominent 
 and greatly influential in all impor- 
 tant movements in the country. 
 
 " ' He was one of the most effec- 
 tive speakers this country ever pro- 
 duced. 
 
 '' ' He was a tall, slender man, 
 with a fine voice, remarkable ease 
 and power of expression, high ambi- 
 tion, full of hope, and dauntless. 
 
 '' ' He was born in Hanover 
 County, Virginia, and, as he, when 
 a boy, frequently rode to mill, car- 
 rying the corn to be ground, got the 
 name of " Mill Boy.' " 
 
 " Now, Frank, we must go into the 
 Capitol and see what we can there." 
 
 Entering, the first thing which 
 meets the eye is the famous statue 
 of Washington, by Jean Antoine 
 
 5* 
 
54 "WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 Houdon, a French sculptor. It was 
 made and erected, by order of the 
 Virginia Assembly, under the direc- 
 tion of Jefferson. 
 
 Frank read the inscription, by 
 James Madison, as follows : 
 
 "GEORGE WASHINGTON. 
 
 " The General Assembly of the Com- 
 monwealth of Virginia have caused this 
 statue to be erected as a monument of 
 affection and gratitude to George 
 Washington, who, uniting to the en- 
 dowments of the hero, the virtues of 
 the patriot, and exerting both in estab- 
 lishing the liberties of his country, has 
 rendered his name dear to his feUow- 
 citizens, and given the world an immor- 
 tal example of true glory. Done in the 
 year of Christ, one thousand seven hun- 
 dred and eighty-eight, and in the year 
 of the Commonwealth, the twelfth." 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 55 
 
 Near the statue is a marble bust 
 of Lafayette, placed there by order 
 of tlie Legislature. Here, too, is 
 an old stove which deserves notice. 
 
 It was cast by a man named Buz- 
 aglo, who was very proud of his 
 work. When it was shipped from 
 London he wrote to Lord Bottetourt 
 under date, August 15th, 1770: 
 ^' Tlie elegance of workmanship does 
 honor to Great Britain. It excels 
 in grandeur anything ever seen of 
 the kind, and is a master-piece not 
 to be equalled in all Europe. It 
 has met with general applause, 
 and could not be sufficiently ad- 
 mired." 
 
 This stove served the State in 
 Legislative Halls for sixty years, 
 warmed the Rotunda of the Capitol 
 about forty years more, and is now 
 
56 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 laid away as useless. It can be 
 seen for visitors who inquire for it. 
 
 After walking through the State 
 Library, leisurely, examining some 
 curiosities there, Frank and his uncle 
 went on top the building, and had a 
 splendid view of the whole city. 
 Before leaving the building they 
 went in the Hall of the House of 
 Delegates, where, on the 27th of 
 April, 1870, over fifty people were 
 killed and hundreds wounded. The 
 room immediately over the Hall was 
 used for the sessions of the Court 
 of Appeals of Virginia. 
 
 Mr. Stevens read from a pamphlet, 
 which he had with him, the follow- 
 ing account of the catastrophe : — 
 
 " The room of the Court of Appeals was 
 the scene of this horrible occurrence. On 
 the 16th of March last a new City Council, 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 57. 
 
 appointed by Governor Walker, in per- 
 suance of the provisions of an act of the 
 General Assembly, known as the 'enabling 
 act,' elected Mr. H. K. Ellyson Mayor of 
 Kichmond. The constitutionality of the 
 said act was contested by the incumbent 
 of the Mayorality, Mr. George Gaboon, 
 and ultimately the question was brought 
 before the Supreme Gourt of Appeals. The 
 arguments of counsel had been heard, and 
 the Court, as usual, reserved its decision. 
 Wednesday, as was generally known, the 
 opinion of the Gourt would be pronounced, 
 and an immense concourse of anxious spec- 
 tators and listeners had gathered to ascer- 
 tain the result. Members of the Legisla- 
 ture, visitors to the city from all parts of 
 our country, members of the bar, repre- 
 sentatives of both police forces of the city, 
 members of the press, and representatives 
 of all classes and conditions of life, were 
 assembled. v, 
 
 "The bells had just tolled the hour of 
 eleven, and death-like silence reigned, as 
 Mr. Starke, the clerk, entered and placed 
 
58 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 his books on the table. Judges Joynes and 
 Anderson were in their seats. Mr. Starke, 
 leaning over the railing, was talking with 
 them, while the rest of the Judges were in 
 the conference room, not quite prepared to 
 enter on their day's duties. The counsel 
 for Mayor Ellyson, ]\Iessrs. Neeson and 
 Meredith, had taken their seats, and were 
 ready to proceed to business. Ex-Governor 
 Wells and L. H. Chandler, Esq., were also 
 in their places, and the reporters of the 
 Enquirer, Dispatch, Whig, and State Journal 
 were at the desks set apart for their use and 
 accommodation. The moments were spent 
 in pleasant conversation by the spectators 
 present. Various were the speculations as 
 to the final result, when, all at once, a 
 panel piece of ceiling fell, and then the 
 girder gave way with an awful crash, and 
 .precipitated the spectators who were in the 
 gallery of the court-room to the main floor, 
 and the additional weight in one single 
 moment's time crushing the court-room 
 through. The mass of human beings who 
 were in attendance were sent, mingled with 
 
WALKS ABOUT EICIIMOXD. 59 
 
 the bricks, mortar, splinters, beams, iron 
 bars, desks, and chairs, to the floor of the 
 House of Delegates, and in a second more, 
 fifty-seven souls were launched into eternity. 
 
 "The whole atmosphere was thick with 
 a dense cloud of dust from the plastering, 
 and the human beings sent up a groan 
 which will ring forever in the ears upon 
 which it fell. In a moment, a few survi- 
 vors clinging to the windows and fragments 
 of hanging timber, and the bare and torn 
 walls, were all that remained to mark the 
 place where, only a moment before, there 
 was a scene of life, vigor and hope. 
 
 "The scene which ensued cannot be de- 
 scribed. Many of Richmond's most valued 
 citizens perished. At least three hundred 
 persons were killed or wounded. Every 
 effort was made to rescue those buried 
 beneath the ruins, and many owe their 
 lives to the noble efforts of those who went 
 promptly to the rescue. 
 
 " The bells of the city continued to toll 
 throughout the day. The whole commu- 
 nity was plunged into the deepest sorrow. 
 
60 WALKS ABOUT KICHMOND. 
 
 All places of business were closed, the 
 emblems of mourning were everywhere ; 
 and the citizens for several days gave them- 
 selves up to the sad duty of burying the 
 dead, nursing the wounded, and comforting 
 the mourners." 
 
 The Governors residence, near 
 the Capitol was then visited, and, it 
 being quite late in the evening, Uncle 
 Fred concluded they had seen enough 
 for one afternoon, and started home. 
 
 " I have not had time, Frank, to 
 tell you as much as I would about 
 these men and things," said Uncle 
 Fred; ^' but when you go home 
 you can read more about them." 
 
 Soon two weary walkers were at 
 home and at rest. 
 
"WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 61 
 
 III. 
 
 t^^HE next leisure time Mr, Stevens 
 had he took Frank and visited 
 . that portion of the city called 
 Church Hill — so called because 
 at one time the only church in the 
 city was situated there. 
 
 On the way he stopped in front 
 of a curiously built church on Broad 
 Street, called the '' Monumental 
 Church." The building is octagonal 
 in shape, and is built on the former 
 site of the Kichmond Theatre, which 
 was destroyed by fire in 1811. The 
 church derives its name from the 
 monument to the victims of the 
 
 fire, which stands in the front por- 
 6 
 
62 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 tico. On it are inscribed the names 
 of some who perished. The Gover- 
 nor, and many highly respectable 
 citizens, were among those who lost 
 their lives. Frank went in and 
 read the names on the monument. 
 
 "Are these people buried here, 
 uncle ?" 
 
 " Their remains, or the remains 
 of some of them, are gathered under 
 this monument. You will find a 
 very interesting account of the fire, 
 and the awful scenes connected with 
 it, in 'Howe's Historical Collections.' 
 The fire occurred on the night of 
 the 26th of December, 1811." 
 
 Coming out into the street again, 
 Frank asked his uncle if he intended 
 ^^ to go up that long hill." 
 
 " Oh, 3^es. Do you see that little 
 white steeple rising among the trees ? 
 
"WALKS ABOUT EICHMOND. 63 
 
 it is a modern addition to the old 
 St. John's Church. I shall go 
 directly to that church, and show 
 you some curiosities in the grave- 
 yard which surrounds it." 
 
 ^^ Uncle, is that the church in which 
 Patrick Henry made his great 
 speech, and said, ' Give me Liberty, 
 or give me Death ?' " 
 
 " That is the very house. In 
 1799 the Virginia Convention met 
 in the church, and among the great 
 men who assembled there then, were 
 Madison, Marshall, Monroe, Mason, 
 and Kandolph." 
 
 Walking slowly up the hill, talk- 
 ing as they walked, they soon entered 
 the enclosure. Mr. Stevens, thou2:h 
 he had often before been there, 
 walked about, from place to place, 
 trying to decipher tlie names and 
 
64 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 dates on the old tombstones. The 
 place was full of interest to him, 
 but Frank confessed he would as 
 soon move on as stay. 
 
 "This place looks so old and 
 death-like, uncle ; let's go on some- 
 where else," he said. 
 
 "Don't hurry, Frank; these old 
 inscriptions are very queer, some 
 of them, and I am surprised at the 
 great age to which some of those 
 buried here attained." 
 
 Mr. Stevens would have stopped 
 longer, but yielded to Frank, and 
 started in the direction of Libby's 
 Hill, which overlooks the river, and 
 from which may be had a fine view 
 of the city and the country on the 
 south side of the James. 
 
 Arrived on the hill, Frank saw 
 the city laid out before him like 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 65 
 
 a picture. And then he could see 
 for miles down the river — see all 
 Manchester, the wharves, and the 
 bridges. He was delighted with the 
 view. 
 
 '' During the war/* says Uucle 
 Fred, " when battles were going on 
 down the river, hundreds of ladies 
 and children would gather here and 
 anxiously listen to the booming of 
 the huge guns of the fortifications 
 and gunboats. Sometimes the in- 
 terest would be so great that busi- 
 ness would be suspended, and all 
 the talk be about the firing. On 
 that hill beyond us, lower down the 
 river, was an immense hospital, 
 called ' Chimborazo.' Thousands of 
 sick and wounded died there. Many, 
 
 too, recovered and returned to their 
 6* 
 
66 WALKS ABOUT EICHMOND. 
 
 commands, while others went home 
 cripples for life." 
 
 '' Well, uncle, did those men have 
 medicine, and good food, while they 
 were sick ? " 
 
 '^ No ; not always ; the Govern- 
 ment could not get sufficient quanti- 
 ties to supply all the hospitals. 
 
 " The citizens visited the hospitals 
 constantly, and cheerfully gave all 
 their delicacies to the suffering sol- 
 diers. Many poor fellows died from 
 want and neglect, but many others, 
 away from home and friends, were 
 nursed as tenderly by Kichmond 
 ladies as if they had been their own 
 sons. 
 
 '' I was in this hospital, one day, 
 looking for a friend of mine, who 
 was wounded, and said to be here, 
 and, as I passed along through the 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 67 
 
 long rows of beds, I heard some 
 one call feebly, ' Fred ! ' I turned 
 quickly, and there lay your father, 
 terribly wounded. He had been 
 brought to Richmond in that condi- 
 tion, and, though he had begged to 
 be allowed to go to my house, was 
 refused, and carried to the hospital. 
 
 *' Fortunately, my leave of absence 
 had not expired, and, by begging 
 hard and long, I got permission to 
 move him to my house. I had the 
 satisfaction of seeing him begin to 
 improve before I returned to my 
 regiment. He w^ould, probably, never 
 have recovered, but for this fortunate 
 move. 
 
 " If we had time, I w^ould carry 
 you out to Oak wood Cemetery, where 
 many a soldier sleeps his last sleep. 
 The place is more than a mile from 
 
68 WALKS ABOUT EICHMOND. 
 
 here, though, and we won't have tnne 
 to go there. 
 
 " Now, we will run down this 
 hill, and take the shortest route to 
 the wharves." 
 
 In a few minutes Mr. Stevens and 
 Frank stood on the wharves, talking. 
 
 " Here, at the beginning of the 
 war," says Uncle Fred, " were two 
 iine steamers, which the Government 
 seized, and soon converted into gun- 
 boats. They were finally sunk in 
 the river, near Drewry's Bluff, to 
 serve as obstructions to prevent the 
 gunboats from passing up the river. 
 Their skeletons may be seen there 
 
 now." 
 
 Walking leisurely up the wharves, 
 they soon came to the depot of the 
 York River Railroad. 
 
 " This road, Frank, runs through 
 
WALKS ABOUT EICHMOND. 69 
 
 the battlefield of * Seven Pines.' 
 The Federal army mounted a gun 
 right on the track, some eight or 
 nine miles below the city, and, to 
 fight it, the Confederate officers 
 built an ironclad car, on which was 
 mounted an immense gun, manned 
 by six powerful men. 
 
 '^ A locomotive was placed behind 
 the car, and shoved it in range of 
 the gun mounted on the track. As 
 soon as the men could see each 
 other, the firing commenced, and 
 continued till one or the other party 
 was disabled." 
 
 Just above the depot stands an 
 old dingy tobacco factory, which, 
 though humble in appearance, is an 
 object of interest. 
 
 As Mr. Stevens neared it, he gave 
 Frank its history. 
 
70 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 ^^That old building," said he, "is 
 "the ^Libby Prison.' During the 
 war it was crowded with prisoners, 
 and guarded day and night. The 
 prisoners were necessarily crowded, 
 and, like every body else in the 
 Confederacy, lacked some of the 
 comforts of life. Theij were often 
 fed, however, when the ragged troops 
 of the South were suffering the pangs 
 of hunger continually. 
 
 " Some of the prisoners managed 
 to be happy even in this place, and 
 would sing merrily from hour to 
 hour. 
 
 "Just above the Libby, on the 
 opposite side of the street, stands 
 the famous * Castle Thunder.' 
 
 "It is similar in appearance to 
 the Libby, and served in the same 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 71 
 
 capacity before the war. Both were, 
 and are now, tobacco factories." 
 
 Leaving the Libby, Mr. Stevens 
 next went to the Old Stone House, 
 which is on Main Street, one block 
 from the Libby. It is the oldest 
 dwelling in the city, and has twice 
 seen it invaded and burned. 
 
 Its massive walls, of irregular 
 granite blocks, seem good for another 
 century. 
 
 " Uncle," says Frank, " do you 
 mean to stop to see this old house ?" 
 
 *' Why, certainly, Frank, it is the 
 great antiquity 'of the city. When 
 President Monroe, whose tomb you 
 saw in Hollywood, was a young 
 man attending school in Richmond, 
 he boarded with the lady who lived 
 in this house. 
 
 "A Mr. Ege lived here during the 
 
72 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 Kevolutionary War, and, at different 
 times, Washington, Jefferson, Lafay- 
 ette, Madison, and Patrick Henry, 
 were sheltered under his roof." 
 
 The walk up Main Street to 
 Fourteenth was very interesting to 
 Frank, who was seeing the city for 
 the first time. 
 
 Eeturning down Fourteenth, Mr. 
 Stevens went across Mayos Bridge 
 to Manchester. 
 
 When told by his uncle that the 
 bridge on which he crossed had 
 more than once been washed away, 
 Frank was slow to believe it. He 
 could not realize that the river could 
 ever be so swollen as to reach the 
 top of the stone piers. 
 
 The immense cotton and woollen 
 mills in Manchester were quite a 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 73 
 
 sight, and interested Frank very 
 much. 
 
 After looking through them, Mr. 
 Stevens took Frank out on a hill 
 near-by, from Avhich they had 
 another fine view of the city. 
 
 As they crossed the bridge, on 
 their way back to Richmond, Mr. 
 Stevens gave Frank the following 
 account of it : 
 
 "The original bridge was built 
 soon after Richmond became the 
 capital of Virginia. It was washed 
 away by a freshet, many years ago, 
 but was rebuilt with some improve- 
 ments. 
 
 " When Richmond was evacuated, 
 in 1865, the bridge was burned, to 
 delay the Federal army in its pursuit 
 of the retreating columns of General 
 Lee, The Federal troops, finding 
 7 
 
74 WALKS ABOUT EICHMOND. 
 
 the bridge destroyed, threw a pon- 
 toon, or bridge of boats, across the 
 river here, and so crossed. 
 
 "After General Lee's surrender, 
 the United States Government 
 engineers built the present bridge 
 on the old site. As soon as the 
 tolls had remunerated the Gover- 
 ment, the bridge was turned over to 
 the owners of the old structure." 
 
 "Uncle, do you think the rivex 
 will ever wash it away again ?" 
 
 " I hope not, Frank, but we can't 
 tell. I have several times seen the 
 water nearly up to the floor we 
 are walking on, and it may some 
 day reach it." 
 
 " What large building is that 
 rising above all around it ?" 
 
 "It is the Gallego Mill, one of 
 the largest in the world. Before 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 75 
 
 the great fire in 1865, Richmond 
 could boast the largest flour mill 
 in the world. 
 
 " This mill is built on the site 
 of an old mill which was burnt 
 when the city was evacuated. We 
 will go and take a look at the 
 mills." 
 
 Turning to the left, when the 
 bridge was crossed, they walked 
 up a canal bank to HaxalFs Mills, 
 situated immediately on the river. 
 Going in, they were politely received 
 by the superintendent of the manu- 
 facturing department, who took 
 them all through the mill. He 
 said the mills were making from 
 a thousand to twelve and sixteen 
 hundred barrels of flour every day, 
 and if worked to their full capacity, 
 could make two thousand barrels. 
 
76 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 A short distance from the mills 
 are the ruins of the great mill of 
 the city and prohahly of the world. 
 
 Frank was astonished at the thick- 
 ness of the walls, portions of which 
 are standing, and the large space 
 enclosed by them. Just beyond 
 these ruins stands the mill which 
 had attracted Frank's attention as 
 he crossed the bridge. 
 
 "Tills building," said Mr. Stevens, 
 '* was connected with the one be- 
 yond, and the two made Warwick 
 & Barksdale's Mill. When worked 
 to their full capacity, they could 
 make from two thousand to twenty- 
 five hundred barrels of Hour a day, 
 and that the best in the world. 
 When returning home at the close 
 of the war, as I walked down the 
 towpath of the canal, these old 
 
WALKS ABOUT EICHMOND. 77 
 
 ruins were the first thing I recop^- 
 nized, and at once satisfied me 
 of the rumors I heard on the way. 
 I soon saw that nearly all the lower 
 part of the city was destroyed. 
 These walls, towering up amongst 
 the ruins, served as land marks, 
 and enabled me to determine how 
 much of the city had been burned." 
 
 ^' Well, uncle, I am tired, I would 
 advise any one going to walk with 
 yoit to ride. Suppose we go home." 
 
 ''Very well; I suppose we have 
 seen enough for one day. If we 
 had time I should like to show 
 you the machinery of the Gallego 
 Mill. Some other time though, you 
 might come down here alone, and 
 look around." 
 7* 
 
78 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 IV. 
 
 I 
 
 ^T WAS probably ten days after 
 the last walk, that Frank, after 
 an ao;reeable visit to some friends 
 in the neighborhood, had seated 
 himself for a pleasant time with 
 a new book. Night was approach- 
 ing, the house was still, and he 
 promised himself a quiet hour. 
 
 He was scarcely seated when in 
 came his uncle, talking as he came, 
 about the "freshet." 
 
 Said he, " The river is rising 
 rapidly, and telegrams from Lynch- 
 burg warn us to remove all pro- 
 perty, liable to injury, which may 
 be stored near the river. One man 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 79 
 
 even goes so far as to say the Dan- 
 ville Railroad Briclire is in dan2;er. 
 Lyiicliburg is already suiTering from 
 the ' flood/ as they call it, and the 
 bridge across the river there is 
 already SAvept away." 
 
 " Well," said Mrs. Stevens, who 
 had entered while her husband was 
 speaking, " I hope the danger is 
 exaggerated, but the merchants 
 should prepare fur the worst." 
 
 " Oh, I suppose the people at 
 Lynchburg are excited," replied 
 Mr. Stevens, " and being themselves 
 flooded, think we will be too. I 
 have no fears." So the flood was 
 soon forgotten, and the evening 
 pnssed as pleasantly as though the 
 *^ James" was behavinor as usual. 
 No sleep was lost in that household, 
 though there was trouble coming. 
 
80 WALKS ABOUT EICIIMOND. 
 
 In the morning Mr. Stevens went 
 down town, as usual, expecting to 
 hear that the " flood " had subsided. 
 He was doomed to disappointment. 
 His place of business he found in 
 the greatest confusion. Porters and 
 hired hands were busily hoisting 
 goods from the cellar to the upper 
 stories; his bookkeeper was hur- 
 riedly moving the books and papers 
 from the safe, and everything be- 
 tokened the greatest haste. Look- 
 ing down into the cellar, Mr. Stevens 
 soon discovered the cause of excite- 
 ment. The water had nearly filled 
 the cellar, and was still rising 
 rapidly. He at once went to work, 
 and no one worked harder than 
 he for the next two hours. By 
 the time he had moved all his 
 g6ods to the second story, the water 
 
"VTALKS ABOUT EICIIMOND. 81 
 
 was several inclies deep in the main 
 floor, and he found himself wading. 
 
 Leaving the store in charge of 
 his clerks, Mr. Stevens hurried 
 home to tell the news and get dry 
 garments. 
 
 Mrs. Stevens, having finished her 
 morning work, was about to com- 
 mence sewing, when, very much to 
 her surprise, Mr. Stevens entered 
 the room' with his clothes soiled 
 and wet, huge bundles of papers 
 under his arm, and looking alto- 
 gether not so neat as she was accus- 
 tomed to see him. He soon gave 
 satisfactory reasons for his odd 
 appearance. 
 
 " The river has overflowed its 
 banks," said he ; " my store is 
 flooded, and it seems probable that 
 we are to have the greatest freshet 
 
82 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 Richmond has ever known. Crowds 
 are hurrying doAvn to the river 
 banks, and many predict that Mayo's 
 Bridge will be swept away before 
 night." 
 
 ''' Uncle, are you going down town 
 again ?" said Frank ; " I want to see 
 the flood." 
 
 " Yes ; immediately. Get your 
 hat and go with me." 
 
 The water commenced to rise the 
 day before. All through the night 
 it continued to rise in the harbor, 
 at the rate of not less than a foot 
 and a half an hour, and those who 
 went to bed flattering themselves 
 that in the morning all would be 
 right, were doomed to a sad disap- 
 pointment. When morning came, 
 bright and cloudless though it was, 
 the river was swollen to dimensions 
 
"WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 83 
 
 calculated to fill with dismay the 
 hearts of all who dwelt or did busi- 
 ness on low lands. The islands in 
 the river were overrun with a rapid 
 current; the vessels in the dock 
 had risen to the level of the wharves ; 
 the bridges over the James were 
 trembling beneath the blows of the 
 drift-w^ood and the beating of the 
 waves against their tough timbers ; 
 and the report was tliat the water 
 ^vas slowly finding its w^ay into the 
 streets in the lower part of the city. 
 Tliere was a little lake on Gary 
 Street, and the people of Eocketts 
 found the river literally at their 
 doors. Still there were those wdio 
 said the fresh had reached its high- 
 est, and that Richmond was not in 
 danger. 
 
 When the first swell came, three 
 
84 WALKS ABOUT RICIL^EOND. 
 
 men, who evidently had not read 
 the warning in the morning papers, 
 were fishing in the river at a point 
 just opposite Ilaxall's Mills. One 
 was on a trap fixing it, the others in 
 a boat. The boat was carried away 
 by the sudden rush of waters, and 
 the fisherman on the trap was left 
 high and dry, but with a prospect 
 of soon being set afloat in a very 
 dangerous current. Plis comrades 
 in tlie boat strove to go to his assis- 
 tance, but their efforts were ineffec- 
 tual, and, presently, deeming delay 
 perilous, he doffed his clothes and 
 committed himself to the water. 
 Being an expert swimmer, he man- 
 aged to dodge the rocks, and got 
 into smoother water, when he was 
 drawn out alive, but almost ex- 
 hausted. 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 85 
 
 The drirt-wood brought down was 
 mostly dead, but late in the evening 
 some good framing timber was no- 
 ticed afloat. As long as the charac- 
 ter of the floating stuff could be 
 discerned, there were no traces of 
 the destruction of valuable property 
 reported to have taken place up 
 towards Lynchburg, and this, taken 
 in connection with the generally- 
 accepted statement of the rate at 
 which the current was travelling, 
 led to the belief that the water 
 which wrought such serious damage 
 had not yet reached Richmond. 
 
 During the whole afternoon might 
 be seen parties on either bank of the 
 river preparing for the flood by 
 removing everything liable to be set 
 afloat. Many teams were engaged 
 until a very late hour in getting out 
 
86 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 the tobacco from Mayo's warehouse, 
 and placing it at points deemed 
 safer. It seemed hardly probable, 
 however, that the water would rise 
 high enough to move the tobacco 
 there stored, as to do so it would 
 have to be several feet higher than 
 it has been raised by any fresh 
 within the memory of persons now 
 living. 
 
 The consternation in Rocketts as 
 the water began to lap over the 
 wharves there afforded an exciting 
 spectacle. People removed their 
 valuables from exposed places, and, 
 generally, made their beds for the 
 night about as high up stairs as 
 they could well get. Boats were 
 held in readiness to convey them to 
 town in the morning should the 
 street be submerged. 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 87 
 
 Should the present freshet equal 
 that of May, 1770, it is likely that 
 all the bridges will be swept away, 
 and many millions of property be 
 destroyed in and out of the city. 
 There is a monument at Turkey 
 Island, said to be one of the oldest 
 in Virginia, which records the devas- 
 tations of the great flood. Turkey 
 Island is now a part of the main- 
 land, but before 1770 it was an 
 island. The river, in its rage, lifted 
 it beyond its bed, and plastered it 
 on the adjacent shore. In the Vir- 
 ginia Gazette of that date, there is 
 an interesting account from the pen 
 of a witness who lived in Richmond. 
 Then, indeed, the rains had uninter- 
 ruptedly descended for twelve days 
 and twelve nights. 
 
 Fortunately, some had heeded the 
 
88 WALKS ABOUT EICHMOND. 
 
 kind! j-meant warnings received from 
 the sufferers on the upper James, 
 and made preparations for the flood. 
 A good deal of the tobacco had been 
 gotten out of Mayo's warehouse 
 during the night, but there were 
 still hundreds of hogsheads there, 
 and some consignees did not seem at 
 all alarmed. A few lumber mer- 
 chants had taken precautions, one or 
 two foundry men had cleared their 
 floors, and many people in Rocketts 
 were ready to move. As reports 
 were received of " still rising," or 
 ^' no fall," many more began to get 
 ready for an overflow, and, at about 
 10 o'clock, the whole of the lower 
 part of the city was in a state of 
 excitement. The water had now 
 risen nearly up to the eaves of the 
 steamboat sheds at Rocketts, and 
 
WALKS ABOUT KICHMOND. 89 
 
 Gillie's Creek had overflown its 
 banks. Up town, also, matters 
 looked serious. From Gary Street 
 the water passed over to Main, filling 
 Seventeenth Street as it came along, 
 and, almost without a moment's 
 warning, the butchers and hucksters 
 at the Old Market found their feet 
 getting wet. The merchants and 
 shop-keepers tried to get their stocks 
 out of the way of the flood, but, 
 although they worked manfully, and 
 were assisted, they were only par- 
 tially successful. 
 
 Driven from their stalls at the 
 market-house, the butchers made a 
 very orderly retreat to higher ground, 
 and soon the scene of their opera- 
 tions was transferred from Seven- 
 teenth Street to Eighteenth, and 
 
 both sides of Main, between Eight- 
 s' 
 
90 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 eenth and Nineteenth, while the 
 vendors of vegetables sandwiched 
 themselves between butchers wher- 
 ever they found an opening. It was 
 rather curious to see sweet potatoes 
 and cabbages displayed before an 
 undertaker's door, and roasts, soup- 
 pieces, and steaks, adorning the outer 
 walls of a dry-goods house. 
 
 Meantime the water was still 
 rising on Main Street, and ladies 
 travelling from one hill to the other, 
 were under the necessity of standing 
 up on the benches to keep from 
 getting wet. At 12 o'clock the cars 
 could no longer go across, the water 
 being deep enough to swim a horse. 
 The cars on either side of the stream, 
 however, continued to run to the 
 waters edge during the whole day. 
 
 When Frank and his uncle arrived 
 
WALKS ABOUT EICHMOND. 91 
 
 at Mayo's Bridge, the river was filled 
 with drifting stuff. There came along 
 logs, mill timber, hay-stacks, trunks, 
 barrels, boxes, pieces of fencing, 
 chairs, tables, benches, gates, wagon- 
 bodies, harness, pumpkins and water- 
 melons, agricultural implements, 
 bouixhs of trees, and two or three 
 whole roofs of houses. On one of 
 the latter, a poor half-drowned rat 
 was scampering about wildly, much 
 to the delight of the spectators. 
 Luckily, most of the debris follow- 
 ing the track of the swiftest part of 
 the current was carried right under 
 the bridge, but other pieces were 
 driven against the abutments with 
 terrible force, and as at the same 
 time the water rose rapidly, it was 
 evident at about noon that the bridge 
 must go. At quarter-past 12 o'clock 
 
92 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 the part over Manchester Creek 
 parted company with the rest, and 
 it was followed in a few minutes by 
 all that part of the bridge, two or 
 three hundred yards in length, on 
 the south side of the island. 
 
 The precautions taken by the 
 police authorities were so effective, 
 that, notwithstanding the great anx- 
 iety of the crowd to expose them- 
 selves to the danger of being washed 
 away, nobody was on any part of 
 the bridge when it floated off. 
 
 All eyes were now turned toward 
 the Danville bridge, and it hardly 
 seemed possible that it could long 
 withstand the rising current. The 
 tide crept up to the very floor of the 
 massive structure, and the drift-wood 
 was fiercely hurled against it with- 
 out intermission for hours, but the 
 
WALKS ABOUT PJCHMOND. 93 
 
 bridge remained unshaken to the 
 very last. 
 
 The Petersburg KaHroad bridge 
 was never thought to be in danger. 
 Trains ran over it when the water 
 was doing its worst, and the passen- 
 gers, knowing its condition, felt as 
 safe as on dry land. 
 
 The bridge gone, the next pLace 
 of interest was Rocketts. The river, 
 rising above the wharves, spread 
 itself over whole blocks, and an idea 
 of the height of the fresh may be ob- 
 tained from the statement that only 
 the peaks of the roof of the steam- 
 boat sheds were visible. The James 
 River Steamboat Company's sheds 
 were swept away quite early in the 
 action, and, after bumping against 
 several houses, and knocking down 
 a street lamp, departed in pieces. 
 
94 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 The people in dwelling-houses, vainly 
 hoping that the flood would soon 
 subside, were driven from floor to 
 floor, until, finally, they and their 
 furniture had to be taken out of the 
 garret windows, and carried away in 
 boats to the houses of hospitable 
 neighbors. 
 
 Desiring to go to Eocketts, and 
 not caring to go by water, the short- 
 est route was by way of Oak wood 
 Cemetery, Blakey's Mill, and Wick- 
 ersville. 
 
 As the river rose, the back-water 
 gradually made its way up Shocko 
 Creek, until it obtained a consider- 
 able height above the keystone of 
 the diflerent arches spanning the 
 stream at the street crossin2:s. The 
 bridge in the rear of the Lancasterian 
 School-house was carried away, and 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 95 
 
 the houses on both sides of the creek, 
 as far up as the foot of President 
 Hill, consisting mostly of small 
 framed dwellings, were inundated. 
 Some of their inhabitants moved to 
 the upper stories, but the greater 
 number, with all their worldly goods, 
 abandoned their homes and struck 
 for a higher position. 
 
 After a wearisome walk around 
 the flooded district, Mr. Stevens 
 and Frank went home hungry and 
 worn out. Mr. Stevens, knowing he 
 had done all he could to save his 
 goods, gave himself no further trou- 
 ble about business, and spent the 
 remainder of the day at home, 
 recounting the many interesting 
 incidents of the flood. 
 
 The water was at its height at 
 ten o'clock on Saturday night. There 
 
96 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 was no perceptible rise after that 
 hour, and at about midnight there 
 were many evidences of a fall. It 
 continued *to decline during the 
 night, and at ten o'clock in the 
 morning had fallen four feet. At 
 noon the water was about as high 
 as it was at the same time on Satur- 
 day. Thereafter the fall was very 
 rapid, and last night vehicles could 
 pass without any difficulty, and 
 pedestrians could wade anywhere 
 on the parts of Main and Franklin 
 Streets that had been flooded. The 
 river was not entirely confined to 
 its limits, and was indeed higher 
 than it is in an ordinary fresh. 
 
 The highest point reached by the 
 water was twenty-four feet and one- 
 eighth of an inch above high tide 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 97 
 
 at Eocketts, by actual measure- 
 ment. 
 
 Frank sat up till late in the 
 night, hoping to hear of the falling 
 of the water, but no such news 
 came, and he had to sleep without 
 it. The next morning, which was 
 Sundaj^, his uncle, who had been 
 down town very early, and returned, 
 gave him the good news that the 
 water had subsided, and the worst 
 was over. 
 
98 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 V. 
 
 ^R. STEVENS being an enthu- 
 siastic Sunday-school teacher, 
 ^ the Sunday breakfast was ear- 
 lier than usualj in order that 
 he might be in his place in the 
 school at the appointed time for 
 opening. 
 
 This morning Frank accompanied 
 him, and took a seat in his class 
 during the session of the school. 
 Virginia also went with them, and 
 took her place on the side of the 
 school room devoted to the female 
 scholars. 
 
 At the close of the school all 
 went up into the church to preach- 
 
WALKS ABOUT EICHMOND. 99 
 
 ing. The large congregation, the 
 fine music of the organ, and the 
 beauty of the audience room were 
 all novel and pleasant to Frank. 
 
 After a good sermon, the congre- 
 gation dispersed to their homes, 
 to discuss the sermon, and enjoy 
 the rest of the Sabbath. In the 
 afternoon, Mr. Stevens went out 
 to visit a sick friend. Frank and 
 Virginia walked out to one of the 
 flower gardens at the upper end 
 of the street on which they lived. 
 
 There they saw in full bloom 
 sweet clematis, jessamine, dahlias, 
 and other beautiful flowers in almost 
 endless variety. 
 
 When they reached home after 
 their walk tea was ready and wait- 
 ing. 
 
 After tea, Mr. and Mrs. Stevens, 
 
100 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 Frank, and his cousin all went 
 to church again, and so the day 
 closed. 
 
 During the week following, Mr. 
 Stevens was very busy cleaning 
 away the mud deposited in his store 
 by the flood, and rearranging his 
 scattered books and papers. So 
 he had no time to give to Frank's 
 amusement or instruction. 
 
 Mrs. Stevens, however, took him 
 in charge, and soon procured lor 
 him a guide, willing and capable 
 enough to show him around the 
 city. Ned Carter was almost proud 
 of his responsibility, as one bright 
 morning he started out with Frank 
 for a ramble about the streets. 
 
 " Where shall we go first, Ned?" 
 
 " Oh, anywhere ; suppose we go 
 down and take a look at the house 
 
WALKS ABOUT EICHMOND. 101 
 
 whicli was General Lee's residence 
 during the war ?" 
 
 *'That is one place I certainly 
 want to see," replied Frank, and 
 off they started. 
 
 In a few minutes they stood 
 at a corner near the house. 
 
 " There is the house, Frank." 
 
 "Which one?" 
 
 " That one in the centre of the 
 block which is separated from those 
 on each side." 
 
 " Well, Ned, why are there no 
 houses here at this corner ?" 
 
 *^ There was a church on this 
 corner, which was burnt at the 
 time of the evacuation, and the 
 lot has not been built up yet. It 
 was the only church burnt at that 
 time." 
 
 9* 
 
102 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 "What is that large building 
 down on the corner of Main Street?" 
 
 "It is the Spotswood Hotel. 
 When Jefferson Davis was brought 
 to Eichniond to be tried before the 
 United States Court he was fur- 
 nished rooms in that hotel. 
 
 " Would you like to see the ruins 
 of the Confederate War Department 
 offices ? they are not fiir from here." 
 
 "Yes, I want to see everything 
 which has any connection with the 
 history of the war." Ned soon had 
 Frank looking at a large lot filled 
 with bricks and rubbish. 
 
 "Here," said he, "stood the ^Me- 
 chanics' Institute' building, which, 
 during the war, served as offices 
 for the War Department. In this 
 building, too, the Virginia Conven- 
 tion met to discuss the propriety 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 103 
 
 of seceding from the Union. I 
 can remember hearing some of the 
 speeches which were made at the 
 time. 
 
 "Now we will go down to the 
 Post Office." 
 
 "Where is it, Ned?" 
 
 " Just a square from here ; come 
 on." 
 
 "In this building," said Ned, 
 when they arrived at the Custom 
 House or Post Offiice, " President 
 Davis had his office during the war. 
 The lower story was occupied by 
 the Confederate Treasury Depart- 
 ment, and from this place huge 
 bundles and boxes of treasury notes 
 were shipped to the army to pay 
 the soldiers, and to the officers 
 of the Government in other cities." 
 
104 WALKS ABOUT KICHMOND. 
 
 "Was this building put up by 
 the Confederate Government?" 
 
 " Oh, no ; the United States Gov- 
 ernment built it before the war 
 for a Custom House and Post 
 Office." 
 
 Ned next led the way to the 
 old market house on Main Street. 
 
 " I brought you here," says Ned, 
 " to show you how high the water 
 was during the freshet; you see 
 the mark is higher than you can 
 reach. The people of Kichmond 
 have been buying their marketing 
 on this spot for more than eighty 
 years. I have read in a book we 
 have at home, that eighty years 
 ago there was only a wooden shed 
 here, and all this part of Main 
 Street was a green pasture." 
 
 The boys now decided to take 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 105 
 
 the next horse-car, and ride out to 
 the " Reservoir." Ned stopped the 
 car, they jumped in, and, in fifteen 
 minutes, alighted at the terminus 
 of the road, and within a stone's 
 throw of the entrance to the en- 
 closure of the Reservoir. 
 
 Ned hammered away at the gate 
 with his fists until the watchman 
 opened it, and enquired his busi- 
 ness. 
 
 "I have a friend here," said he, 
 "who has never seen the Reservoir; 
 and if you would let us in, and show 
 us what is to be seen, we would be 
 very much obliged to you." 
 
 "Well, I reckon I must let you 
 in, though we don't often allow boys 
 to come in; they are so mischiev- 
 
 ous. 
 
 The watchman very kindly ex- 
 
106 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 plained everything of interest to the 
 boys, and, when they left, invited 
 them to come again when they felt 
 disposed. 
 
 From the Eeservoir Ned took 
 Frank to " Camp Lee," where sol- 
 diers were drilled and equipped 
 before going into active service. 
 
 '' Were all the soldiers of the Con- 
 federate army drilled here, Ned?" 
 asked Frank. 
 
 " No, indeed. When the war first 
 commenced, thousands volunteered, 
 and, being very anxious to be good 
 soldiers, soon learned enough to 
 make themselves reliable in the 
 field. But there were some who 
 only went into the army when 
 forced to go. 
 
 ' These were called ^ Conscripts,' 
 and were sent here to be drilled and 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 107 
 
 kept safely until they could be sent 
 to the field." 
 
 It was now near dinner time, so 
 the boys commenced their journey 
 homeward, only stopping on their 
 way to peep into the theatre. 
 
 *' Have you ever seen a play, 
 Ned r asked Frank. 
 
 " No. Father says the theatre is 
 no place for boys, and he would 
 never let me go to see a play." 
 
 * Don't you want to see one very 
 much r 
 
 " No, not much. Father knows 
 best about such things. I have 
 made up my mind never to go to 
 the theatre." 
 
 Thus talking, the boys soon 
 reached Mr. Stevens' house, where 
 they parted, after making an ap- 
 
108 WALKS ABOUT EICHMOND. 
 
 pointment to continue their walk in 
 the afternoon. 
 
 As the boys dined about the same 
 hour, they were soon together again, 
 and on their way to the Medical 
 College. 
 
 Ned Carter had a cousin who was 
 a student at the college, and had 
 told Ned he would show him the 
 museum and the dissecting room, 
 any time he felt disposed to see 
 them. 
 
 When the boys arrived at the 
 college, Ned enquired for Mr. Hood, 
 his cousin, who soon appeared, wel- 
 comed them, and immediately took 
 them up to the dissecting room 
 
 In the room were several long, 
 narrow tables, surrounded by small 
 gutters, to carry off the blood or other 
 fluids which might flow from the 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 109 
 
 ^* subjects," as Mr. Hood called them. 
 On three of the tables, bodies, partly 
 nude, were lying awaiting the plea- 
 sure of the students. 
 
 Immediately on entering the room, 
 Frank noticed a strange odor which 
 pervaded the atmosphere, and hardly 
 dared draw a full breath. At first 
 he felt afraid and uneasy, but soon 
 several students entered the room, 
 and their lively conversation and 
 easy manners somewhat reassured 
 him. 
 
 " Why, Hood," says one, " when 
 did these subjects arrive ?" 
 
 " Last night ; they seem to be all 
 right. Are you going to work now ?" 
 
 *' Yes. Hand me my apron, will 
 you, please ?" 
 
 This gentleman, having fastened 
 his apron securely, uncovered one 
 
 10 
 
110 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 of the bodies, fixed an open book 
 before him, using the head of his 
 subject to lean it against, and, to 
 Frank's utter astonishment, com- 
 menced slowly to open -the arm of 
 the body. In a few minutes other 
 students arrived, with books under 
 their arms, and, after robing them- 
 selves in their gowns, as the first 
 had done, attacked the other bodies. 
 There sat the students, all busily 
 encjaofed, either with knife in hand 
 or referring from time to time to 
 their books, enlivening their studies 
 with pleasant, and even witty con- 
 versation. Ahnost unconsciously 
 Ned and Frank were becoming 
 interested in what was at first so 
 revolting, and, as the work pro- 
 gressed, they watched every move- 
 ment with keen interest. They 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. Ill 
 
 came out wiser than they went in, 
 having seen, for the first time, some 
 marvellous beauties. 
 
 Frank, while he appreciated the 
 beauty of the mechanism of the 
 body, and the importance of a 
 thorough knowledge of its construc- 
 tion to those intending to become 
 physicians, felt more than anything 
 else that he had seen one more 
 proof of the littleness of man, and 
 the certainty of death. 
 
 He left the dissecting room in a 
 thoughtful, serious mood. 
 
 Mr„ Hood next carried the boys 
 through the museum, and showed 
 them many beautiful and wonderful 
 things, pointing out, as opportunity 
 offered, the vital and more import- 
 ant organs of the body. 
 
 Among other things, Frank saw, 
 
112 T\\\LKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 for the first time, a human skeleton, 
 the parts of which were fastened in 
 the proper places, so that it stood 
 upright, and seemed almost able to 
 walk. He also looked into a little 
 closet full of bones, w^iich Mr. Hood 
 said were laid away in order that 
 the students, when they became 
 graduates, might each have, for 
 study, a human skeleton. 
 
 Having seen all the interesting 
 and instructive articles in the mu- 
 seum, and other rooms of the college, 
 bidding Mr.^ Hood farewell, the boys 
 continued their walk. 
 
 " What old brick house is that on 
 the corner, Ned T 
 
 " We call that the First African 
 Baptist Church. Years ago, the 
 white people worshipped there, but 
 when the new church was built, a 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 113 
 
 square higher up the street, this 
 old one was given to the colored 
 people. 
 
 " It is probably the largest church 
 of the kind in this country, in num- 
 bers. 
 
 " I have heard that it has about 
 two thousand members, who, of 
 course, are all negroes. 
 
 " The pastor of the church is a 
 colored man who was raised in 
 Richmond." 
 
 As they went up Broad Street, 
 they stopped a short ^hile at the 
 Monumental Church, a history of 
 which Frank had already heard 
 from Mr. Stevens. 
 
 " What church is this ?" . asked 
 Frank, as they reached the top of 
 the hill. 
 
 ''The First Baptist," answered 
 
 10* 
 
114 TTALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 Ned, "which wrs built by the 
 people who used to worship in the 
 old church we saw just now, and 
 which the colored people now use. 
 
 "Just before us, j^ou see, are two 
 more churches, one on either side of 
 the street • ' Methodist/ and ' Pres- 
 byterian.' 
 
 " Around the corner here is a 
 ' Disciples' ' church. You remember 
 St. Paul's and St. Peter's are only a 
 short distance ahead, so we have 
 churches of six different denomina- 
 tions, all within a few steps of the 
 Washington Monument." 
 
 As they passed up Broad Street, 
 Ned pointed out an old house in 
 which Chief Justice Marshall once 
 lived. Frank remembered having 
 seen Marshall's statue on the monu- 
 ment, and was very much interested 
 
WALKS ABOUT EICHMOND. 115 
 
 in looking at the home of the great 
 Judge. 
 
 " The street next to this, on which 
 that house stands," said Ned, " was 
 named ' Marshall/ in honor of the 
 Judge. 
 
 " Let's go this way, Frank, and 
 see St. Paul's Church as we go. You 
 know President Davis used to attend 
 service there regularly during the 
 winter, and, besides, it is the hand- 
 somest church in the city." 
 
 " Ned, what little house is that 
 behind St. Paul's Church, which 
 looks something like a miniature of 
 it?" 
 
 "Why, a man mends umbrellas 
 there, now, but it was built by 
 Bushrod Washington, a nephew of 
 George Washington, for a law office. 
 Bushrod Washinsfton was an eminent 
 
116 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 lawyer, and was one of the justices 
 of the Supreme Court. 
 
 " Suppose we now go to see the 
 Petersburg Bridge ?" 
 
 "Very well," says Frank; "lead 
 the way." 
 
 Soon the boys stood at the end 
 of the bridge, admiring the scenery 
 of the river and islands, and talking 
 furiously. 
 
 " When was this bridge built, 
 Ned?" 
 
 " Since the war. The old bridge 
 was burnt when the city was evacu- 
 ated. 
 
 *' Down on that island there was 
 a large cartridge manufactory, in 
 which a large number of females 
 were employed by the Government. 
 
 ''One day, during the war, the 
 powder, which one of the hands had 
 
WALKS ABOUT EICHMOND. 117 
 
 piled up before him on his work- 
 bench, ignited, and a terrible explo- 
 sion followed. 
 
 " Several persons were killed, and 
 a number of the girls and women 
 were horribly burned." 
 
 " What old walls are these ?" 
 
 " They are the walls of the old 
 Franklin Paper Mill." 
 
 " Where does this curved branch 
 of the railroad lead to ?" 
 
 '* That is the ' Connection Koad/ 
 which connects the Richmond and 
 Petersburg with the Fredericksburg 
 Railroad. It passes through a tun- 
 nel under Gamble's Hill. Would 
 you like to go and see the tunnel, 
 and take a view from the hill ? 
 Come on. 
 
 " Those large buildings below us, 
 near the river, are tobacco factories. 
 
118 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 If you get a chance, you had better 
 go in one, and see the process of 
 manufiicturing tobacco." 
 
 They crossed the bridge over the 
 canal at the Armory, and soon 
 mounted the hill, from which they 
 had quite an extensive view. The 
 Capitol, the Monument, and the 
 church spires rose up above every- 
 thing in the city. The lower part 
 of the city, and the wharves lined 
 with vessels, the bridges, and the 
 falls of the river, all lay out before 
 them, visible at a distance. Here, 
 too, they had a good view of Man- 
 chester, with its large mills. 
 
 " There," said Ned, " is the Peni- 
 tentiary, where criminals from all 
 parts of the State are confined. It 
 is called, in fun, the ' White House.' " 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 119 
 
 "Are there any prisoners there, 
 now r 
 
 " Oh, yes ; so many, that the place 
 is thought to be too small. I suppose 
 there are five or six hundred prison- 
 ers there." 
 
 Next the boys went to the tunnel 
 under the hill, and, by permission 
 of the watchman, wallced through it, 
 much to Frank's delight. 
 
 They then went up to the Peni- 
 tentiary, and, fortunately, found a 
 party of ladies and gentlemen wait- 
 ing to be shown through the Institu- 
 tion, who, noticing their desire to 
 see, asked the superintendent to 
 allow the boys to accompany them. 
 He readily consented, and, under 
 the guidance of one of the guards, 
 the party went into the inner en- 
 closure. 
 
120 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 Some of the prisoners were draw- 
 ing water from the well and carrying 
 it to the cells, others splitting and 
 sawing wood, while many sat about 
 reading, and otherwise amusing 
 themselves. 
 
 In the workshops all were hard 
 at work. In one shop they were 
 making wagons, carts, wheelbarrows, 
 brooms, etc., and in another shoes. 
 Many men go to the Penitentiary, 
 having no knowledge of a trade by 
 which to make a living, and come 
 away good mechanics, able and will- 
 ing to earn, instead of stealing their 
 bread. 
 
 Frank sincerely pitied the poor 
 prisoners, and would gladly have 
 spoken some word of sympathy 
 as he passed them, but he felt, 
 somewhat, the novelty of his first 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 121 
 
 prison visit, and could not raise 
 the courage necessary to open a 
 conversation with one of them. 
 
 The guard who accompanied the 
 party explained the apparent free- 
 dom of the prisoners. Said he, 
 " We find it better to employ the 
 men than to keep them closely 
 confined. If they are shut up they 
 become melancholy and hardened, 
 and do not improve at all. But 
 if given proper employment for 
 mind and body they keep cheerful 
 and healthy, learn how pleasant 
 labor is, and commence here in 
 the prison the life of honest labor 
 for which they are sent here to 
 prepare." 
 
 By the time they had completed 
 the rounds it was growing dark, 
 and Ned thought best to start 
 11 
 
122 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 home, so, having thanked the guard 
 for his kindness, and said good 
 evening to the gentlemen and Ladies, 
 they turned their faces homeward. 
 
 Frank, having gotten permission 
 from his aunt to do so, spent the 
 evening with his friend. 
 
 After tea they spent several hours 
 very pleasantly together, talking 
 over what they had seen during 
 the day, and making plans for other 
 excursions. 
 
 The next morning, immediately 
 after breakfast, Frank hurried home 
 and gave his aunt a full, and quite 
 an interesting account of his tramp 
 with Ned. 
 
WALKS ABOUT TxICHMOND. 123 
 
 VI. 
 
 CTOBER had come. The fall- 
 ing leaves were preaching decay 
 and death. 
 
 The weather was still plea- 
 sant, but at night the air was chilly, 
 and made it pleasant and cozy 
 indoors. As Frank was soon to 
 leave for home, Mr. Stevens and 
 his fiimily were gathered in the 
 sitting-room to enjoy, as it were, 
 a farewell talk with him. 
 
 Frank opened the conversation 
 with " Uncle, how much of Rich- 
 mond was burned at the time of 
 the evacuation ?" 
 
 " Nearly all that portion of the 
 
124 WALKS ABOUT EICHMOND. 
 
 city in which the wholesale and 
 principal retail stores were located. 
 On Main Street the fire extended 
 from Eighth to Fourteenth Streets. 
 On Gary Street from Ninth to Fif- 
 teenth Street. Between Carey Street 
 and the river nearly everything was 
 burned, from Fifteenth Street up to 
 Seventh. Besides many buildings 
 away up near the Armory, and 
 several blocks on Franklin and 
 Bank Streets near the Capitol 
 Square." 
 
 '* Well, uncle, how did the fire 
 commence ? Was it intended ?" 
 
 " No, the Government buildings 
 containing provisions and clothing, 
 the tobacco warehouses, and the 
 laboratories for the manufacture 
 of ammunition were fired to prevent 
 their contents from falling into the 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 125 
 
 hands of the Federal Army, and 
 from these the fire extended to 
 other buildings, and, continuing 
 to spread, became unmanageable. 
 
 " No one, probably, intended to 
 burn the city, though some wished 
 to do so. 
 
 *^ Those who were in the city 
 say the explosion of shells and 
 other ammunition in the labora- 
 tories was constant and terrific." 
 
 " What stopped the fire, uncle ?" 
 
 ^^When the troops marched into 
 
 the city, and saw that it was in 
 
 danger of being destroyed, they 
 
 at once went to work, assisted by 
 
 the negroes and citizens, to subdue 
 
 the flames. The exertions of the 
 
 soldiers and citizens, and probably 
 
 a fortunate change in the direction 
 
 of the wind, kept the fire in bounds, 
 11* 
 
126 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 and saved the greater portion of the 
 city." 
 
 " Was Richmond ever burned 
 before, uncle?" 
 
 " Yes, a long, long time ago. In 
 the year 1781 the traitor Arnold 
 attacked the town and burned the 
 public, and some private, buildings." 
 
 " Was there no one to oppose the 
 British troops ?" 
 
 " Only about two hundred militia. 
 The force of Arnold numbered eight 
 hundred or one thousand men. 
 
 " Before the enemy arrived at the 
 town, several citizens waited on 
 Governor Jefferson, and tendered 
 an offer from Arnold to spare the 
 town provided he was allowed to 
 bring his vessels to the wharf and 
 carry away all the tobacco stored 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 127 
 
 there. This offer the Governor in- 
 dignantly refused. 
 
 " Of course when the large British 
 force advanced, there was but one 
 course to be pursued. The militia 
 withdrew from the town and left 
 it in the hands of the invader. 
 
 " The lady who lived in the old 
 Stone House, which you have had 
 pointed out to you, saw the British 
 troops gallop down the hill. One 
 of the British officers quartered in 
 her house." 
 
 " Is Kichmond a very old place, 
 uncle ?" 
 
 " Not so old as some other towns, 
 but old enough. In the year 1609, 
 a man named West was sent from 
 Jamestown up to the Falls to pro- 
 cure food and found only acorns. 
 
 " In 1644 the Assembly of Yir- 
 
128 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 ginia ordered a fort to be built 
 at the falls of the James Kiver, 
 and called it ' fForte Charles.' " 
 
 " Richmond was made a town by 
 law, in May, 1742, during the reign 
 of George III. In May, 1779, an 
 Act was passed, removing the Capi- 
 tal from Williamsburg to Richmond. 
 At the time this change was made, 
 Richmond was scarcely worthy of 
 the name of city. Paulding describes 
 the inhabitants as ' a race of most 
 ancient and respectable planters, 
 having estates in the country, who 
 chose it for their residence for the 
 sake of social enjoyment. They 
 formed a society now seldom to be 
 met with in any of our cities. A 
 society of people not exclusively 
 monopolized by money-making pur- 
 suits, but of liberal education, liberal 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 129 
 
 habits of thinking and acting, and 
 possessing both leisure and inclina- 
 tion to cultivate those feelings, and 
 pursue those objects which exalt our 
 nature rather than increase our for- 
 tune.' Richmond became a city in 
 1782." 
 
 "Uncle, why did any one ever 
 settle in Manchester, when Rich- 
 mond was so much the prettiest 
 pUice?" 
 
 " Probably the water power at- 
 tracted those who wished to build 
 mills, the mills attracted the mer- 
 chants, and so the town grew. Most 
 ot the large merchants resided and 
 did business in Manchester. At one 
 time it was thought that Manchester 
 would rival Richmond. Patrick 
 Henry saved Richmond. When the 
 engineers reported that the best 
 
130 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 route for the canal was on the south 
 side of the river, and that it would 
 enter Manchester, the wealthy mer- 
 chants there became alarmed, lest 
 such an improvement should attract 
 too many merchants, divide the 
 trade, and so lessen their profits. 
 
 " They accordingly employed Pa- 
 trick Henry to oppose the south 
 side route, and advocate the north 
 side as the best route, and Richmond 
 as the best terminus. 
 
 *' Patrick Henry succeeded, the 
 canal was built on the Richmond 
 side, and from that time Manchester 
 grew less important as compared 
 with Richmond. 
 
 " Many Manchester merchants 
 moved to Richmond to be near and 
 enjoy the benefits which all expected 
 from the canal." n 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 " Why did they expect so much 
 from the canal ?" 
 
 " There were no railroads, you 
 know, up to that time, and the only 
 method of transportation was by 
 wagons. 
 
 " The country people brought their 
 produce to market in immense 
 wagons, drawn by six and sometimes 
 more horses, ornamented with strings 
 of jingling bells. There were seve- 
 ral vacant lots about the city on 
 which these people camped, cooking 
 the provisions they brought with 
 them, and sleeping under their wagon 
 covers. Now, they send their pro- 
 duce by the freight train, bring 
 themselves in the elegant coaches 
 of the ^ Mail,' and stop at the fine 
 hotels." 
 
 Mr. Stevens had just finished 
 
132 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 speaking when a neighbor stepped 
 into the room, greeted them, and 
 asked if they had heard the sad 
 news. 
 
 " Sad news," said Mr. Stevens ; 
 " what has happened ?" 
 
 "Yes, sad indeed. I have just 
 read on the bulletin board that 
 General Lee is dead !" 
 
 At this announcement all were 
 silent. 
 
 Presently Mr. Stevens asked if 
 there were any particulars. 
 
 '^ Only a brief telegram. I will 
 read it as I copied it from the bulle- 
 tin board: 
 
 " ' Lexington, Oct. 12th, 10 A.M. 
 , ^'Editors of the Dispatch : 
 
 " * General Lee died this morning at half- 
 past nine o'clock. He began to grow worse 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 133 
 
 on Monday, and continued to sink, until lie 
 breathed his last this morning. 
 
 " ' He died, as he lived, calmly and qui- 
 etly, and in the full assurance of faith in the 
 Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 " ' The places of business are all closed, 
 the bells are tolling, and the whole commu- 
 nity thrown into the deepest grief.' " 
 
 "Words could not express the sor- 
 row of Mr. Stevens. He now began 
 to realize that his dear chieftam was 
 no more. 
 
 Unfit for further conversation, he 
 retired to his room. 
 
 Frank, too, was deeply moved, 
 and, after vainly trying to rid him- 
 self of the oppression he felt, went 
 to his room and gave himself up to 
 sleep. 
 
 Mrs. Stevens and her daughter 
 having seen their neighbor to the 
 
 12 
 
134 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 door, followed his example, and soon 
 the house was in darkness. 
 
 Mr. Stevens was up early in the 
 morning, waiting the coming of the 
 carrier, who had scarcely dropped 
 the paper, when Mr. Stevens seized 
 it. 
 
 He soon read enough to convince 
 him that the sad news of the evening 
 before was all too true. 
 
 After the usual morning devo- 
 tions, all the family being gathered 
 about him, he read from the Dls- 
 jpatcli, as follows: 
 
 " Robert Edward Lee was born at Strrtt- 
 ford, January 19th, 1807. 
 
 " His family has been distinguished in 
 Virginia for two hundred years. Two of 
 his grand-uncles. were signers of the Decla- 
 ration of Independence. His father was 
 the famous * Light Horse Harry ' of revolu- 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 135 
 
 tionary fame, who served in the Federal 
 Congress, and as Governor of Virginia. 
 Kobert E. Lee was of the issue of a second 
 marriage, the second son of Henry Lee and 
 his wife Anne, daugliter of Charles Carter, 
 of Shirley. As, however, he borrows no 
 greatness from his ancestry, but was him- 
 self the ' greatest of a great line,' we shall 
 say no more as to his family. 
 
 " Eobert E. Lee entered West Point Aca- 
 demy in 1825, and graduated at the end of 
 the usual term without having had a demerit 
 mark. In 1829, he was appointed brevet 
 second lieutenant, and assigned to the corps 
 of topographical engineers. He served for 
 several years in this corps. In 1832, he was 
 married to Miss Custis, the daughter of 
 George Washington Parke Custis, the 
 adopted son of General Washington. In 
 1836, he was rn^ade first lieutenant, and in 
 1838, captain. During the Mexican war he 
 was on the staff, first of General Wool and 
 then General Scott, as chief engineer. At 
 the battle of Cerro Gordo, April 18, 1847, 
 he was bre vetted major for gallantry. At 
 
136 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 Chapiiltepec he was wounded, September 
 13, 1847, and was bre vetted lieutenant- 
 colonel. 
 
 " General Scott repeatedly spoke of him 
 in his despatches as remarkable for his 
 gallantry. Colonel Lee was next appointed 
 a member of the Board of Engineers. In 
 1852, he became superintendent of West 
 Point Academy. In 1855, he was assigned 
 to service in a cavalry regiment, which took 
 him to the West. In 1859, he was sent to 
 Harper's Ferry to put down the John Brown 
 raid. March 16, 1861, he was made colonel 
 of cavalry in the United States army. His 
 resignation of his office in that army was 
 dated April 20, 1861. 
 
 "Early in 1861, the Convention of Vir- 
 ginia selected General Lee as commander- 
 in-chief of the forces of this State, her for- 
 tunes not having at the time been formally 
 united with those of her Southern sisters. 
 When the State joined the Confederacy he 
 became a Confederate officer. After the 
 defeat of General Garnett by McClellan, 
 and his subsequent death. General Lee was 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICmMOND. 137 
 
 sent to Northwest Virginia. He was re- 
 called by Mr. Davis, and, on account of his 
 great skill as an engineer, he was sent to 
 examine the defences on the Atlantic coast. 
 In May, 1862, McClellan marched up the 
 peninsula of Virginia, and the battle of 
 Seven Pines, in which General Joseph E. 
 Johnston was wounded, having been fought 
 a few miles below Richmond, General Lee 
 was put in command of the Confederate 
 forces. 
 
 "Soon followed the great battles before 
 Richmond, from Mechanicsville to Malveru 
 Hill, in which General Lee's name became 
 famous the world over. From this time forth 
 the hopes of the people of the South were 
 centred in General Lee. The whole army was 
 placed in his hands. He it was that ordered 
 all its movements, and was entitled to the 
 credit for the strategy employed. He or- 
 dered the movements which resulted in the 
 famous battles of the following August ; 
 Cedar Mountain, Second Manassas, &c. On 
 the 3d of September, his army crossed the 
 Potomac, and on the 17th was fought the 
 12* 
 
138 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 grand battle of Sharpsburg. General Lee 
 always claimed this as a victory. 
 
 "On the 13th of December, 1862, oc- 
 curred the battle of Fredericksburg, one of 
 the most complete successes of the war. In 
 1863, May 2d, the battle of the Wilderness 
 was fought. The success here, too, was com- 
 plete, but Jackson fell. Here, too. General 
 Lee showed the greatness of his heart in 
 that celebrated letter to the dying chieftain, 
 in which he said that for his country's sake 
 he could wish it had been himself instead 
 of Jackson that had been wounded. On the 
 4th of May, the battle was renewed, and re- 
 sulted in the defeat of the Federal army, 
 and its retreat. This was called the battle 
 of Chancellorsville. 
 
 " General Lee again marched Northwards. 
 He went into Pennsylvania with his little 
 army, and there, on the 2d and 3d of July 
 1863, fought the bloody battles which, though 
 rather drawn battles than victories for 
 either side, much more seriously damaged 
 that army whose losses could not be re- 
 paired. 
 
"WALKS ABOUT KICIIMOND. 139 
 
 "And, as his nobility of soul was shown 
 at the ' Wilderness,' in the hour of victory, 
 in assigning to Stonewall Jackson the credit 
 for success, so here it was equally shown, in 
 taking upon himself the blame for his want 
 of success at Gettysburg. 
 
 In May, 1864, occurred the battles of the 
 Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court-house, &c., 
 &c. General Grant was constantly repulsed, 
 but as constantly renewed his flank move- 
 ment, until he lauded upon the banks of the 
 James. There were many battles, of more 
 or less importance, during 1864, and the 
 beginning of 1865. April 2d, 1865, occurred 
 the evacuation of Richmond, and began the 
 retreat of General Lee's army from Peters- 
 burg. April 9, he surrendered a skeleton 
 of an army to overwhelming numbers. And 
 thus ended his military career. 
 
 "On the 28th of September, 1865, Gene- 
 ral Lee was made President of Washington 
 College. His name and fame soon made 
 that a popular institution. He continued 
 to hold the position' until his death. 
 
 " And now what shall we say of this peer- 
 
140 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 less man? Language fails us. Of liim, as 
 truly as of that other illustrious one whom 
 he so much resembled, might it be said : 
 * He was first in war, first in peace, and first 
 in the hearts of his countrymen.' He was- 
 a true hero. There was nothing common 
 about him. As noble in soul as he was per- 
 fect in physique, he was one of those grand 
 characters in which all the elements com- 
 bine * to give the world assurance of a 
 
 The 13th of October, 1870, was a 
 day of mourning in Richmond, and 
 the busiest streets were almost 
 deserted. 
 
 After ten o'clock in the morning 
 nearly all the stores on Main, Broad, 
 and Gary Streets were closed, and 
 upon the doors appeared badges of 
 mourning, accompanied usually by 
 the simple inscription: "Closed in 
 consequence of the death of General 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 141 
 
 Eobert E. Lee." A photograph of 
 the departed hero draped in crape 
 frequently accompanied the card, 
 and in many windows were to be 
 seen faithful portraits handsomely 
 framed and hung with black. Many 
 private residences also were draped 
 with mourning emblems, intertwined 
 with wreaths of laurel and cypress. 
 The public offices of the State 
 Government were closed all day, 
 and the bells at the Capitol Square 
 bell house, and the police stations, 
 were tolled from sunrise until sunset. 
 The United States and Virginia flags 
 on the Capitol were displayed at 
 half-mast, and the same token of 
 grief was made by the shipping in 
 the harbor. The whole community 
 was prostrate beneath the dispensa- 
 
142 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 tion of Providence, so painful, but so 
 hard to realize. 
 
 During the day Frank and his 
 uncle walked from place to place, 
 hoping to hear that General Lee's 
 remains would be brought to Rich- 
 mond for interment. 
 
 They soon learned that it had 
 been determined to deposit the 
 remains in a vault under the chapel 
 at Washington College. Returning 
 home, they spent the remainder of 
 the day poring over the papers, 
 which were crowded with eulogies 
 of the fallen hero. 
 
 Mr. Stevens selected and read 
 from the papers before him such 
 articles as he thought most appro- 
 priate. Again referring to the col- 
 umns of tlie Dispatch, he read as 
 follows : 
 
WALKS ABOUT KICHMOND. 143 
 
 "Your correspondent lias taken especial 
 pains to obtain from his physicians (Drs. 
 Barton and Madison) a full and accurate 
 statement of General Lee's illness and death. 
 The remote and real cause was the long 
 continuance of depressing influences incident 
 to the crushing responsibilities which were 
 upon hira during the last year of the war, 
 the disastrous termination of the struggle 
 for the cause he so dearly loved, and the 
 afflictions of his native South since the sur- 
 render. 
 
 "As he saw his little army gradually 
 melt away before the countless hosts opposed 
 to them, and compelled to yield at last to 
 overwhelming numbers and resources ; as 
 he witnessed the sufferings of his * poor 
 boys/ as he was accustomed to call them, 
 and thought of the condition of their fami- 
 lies and of the South ; as his mails have 
 been every day since flooded with most 
 piteous letters from maimed soldiers or from 
 the widows and orphans of the noble men 
 who followed him, he has borne a calm ex- 
 terior, and struggled for the good of his 
 
144 WALKS ABOUT EICHMOND. 
 
 State and the South with a heroism surpass- 
 ing any which he ever displayed on the field 
 of battle. But the very fibres of his great 
 heart have been gradually wearing away 
 until they have at last broken and the vital 
 spark has fled. Both of his eminent physi- 
 cians concur in the opinion that General Lee 
 has died rather from moral than physical 
 causes ; that his physical development was 
 well nigh perfect, and that there was no 
 merely physical reason why he might not 
 have lived for years to come. The imme- 
 diate cause ot his death was, in the opinion 
 of his physicians, * mental and physical 
 fatigue, inducing venous congestion of the 
 brain, which, however, never proceeded as 
 far as apoplexy or paralysis, but gradually 
 caused cerebral exhaustion and death.' 
 
 " On Wednesday, September 28th, he was 
 more than usually busy. After attending 
 chapel service, as he always did, he spent 
 the whole morning attending to various 
 matters connected with the interests of the 
 college. At four o'clock P.M., he went to 
 a meeting of the vestry of his church, over 
 
WALKS ABOUT EICHMOND. 145 
 
 ^hicli he presided. Matters of great im- 
 portance to the interests of the church were 
 under consideration, and the meeting was 
 protracted for three hours. Returning home 
 just in time for tea, he was sitting at the 
 table with his family, when he was suddenly 
 attacked, and became apparently speechless 
 and incapable of motion. The next morn- 
 ing he rallied, and, as there were no decisive 
 indications of paralysis or apoplexy, it was 
 hoped that the attack would prove nothing 
 more serious than a temporary nervous pros- 
 tration. All of the indications seemed fa- 
 vorable to his recovery until last Monday. 
 He spoke but little, and that only in answer 
 to questions concerning his physical condi- 
 tion. But this showed that he had recov- 
 ered the power of speech. His intellect 
 seemed entirely clear, and he gave most un- 
 mistakable evidences that, while he lay for 
 the most part in a stupor, he was, when 
 aroused, entirely conscious. He seemed so 
 much better on Saturday, that Dr. Madison 
 playfully said to him ; 'General, you must 
 make haste and get up from this bed. 
 13 
 
146 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 " Traveller " is getting lazv, and you must 
 make haste and give him the exercise he 
 needs.' The General fixed his eyes steadily 
 upon him and shook his head very emphati- 
 cally, as if to indicate that he did not expect 
 to ride ' Traveller ' again. 
 
 " On Monday he became suddenly worse, 
 and despite the best efforts of as fine medi- 
 cal skill as the country affords, and the 
 fervent prayers of anxious hearts, he 
 gradually sunk until yesterday morning 
 at half-past nine o'clock, when he breathed 
 his last. 
 
 " The nature of his illness was such that 
 there was no opportunity for protracted 
 conversation with him, and he uttered no 
 word which can be seized on for sensational 
 reports of his last hours. He was stricken 
 at the post of duty. He fell with the har- 
 ness on, and his calm, quiet death is a fit 
 termination of his noble life. We need no 
 * last words ' of Robert E. Lee. His deeds 
 belong to history, while his life of devoted, 
 unostentatious piety, and his firm and living 
 trust in Jesus as his personal Kedeemer, 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 147 
 
 give unmistakable evidence that he now 
 wears a crown of fadeless glory, and has 
 indeed entered upon that 'Rest that re- 
 nt aiueth for the people of God.' " 
 
 " Another correspondent states, 
 that 
 
 " ' During the early part of his sickness 
 he slept much and spoke but little. He 
 was rational when awake, and always 
 recognized those who approached him. 
 At times his mind seemed for a little while 
 to wander, and on several occasions reverted 
 to the army. He once ordered his tent 
 to be struck, and at another time desired 
 that ' Hill should be sent for.' " 
 
 *^ Here is a good article from the 
 Norfolk Yirginian. I will read it : 
 
 " ' Virginia has been enriched with the 
 graves of heroes, but there is one now 
 open which is wider, and deeper, and more 
 
148 IVALKS ABOUT RICHMOND, 
 
 mournful to look down in than any of them 
 all. 
 
 " * The last of the Cavaliers is dead ! 
 and the announcement of the death of 
 Robert E. Lee will be hailed by two hemis- 
 pheres with emotions of unaffected sorrow ; 
 but nowhere will his loss be mourned 
 with such profound grief as in this State, 
 whose history he has adorned with its most 
 epic passages. 
 
 " ' Descended from a knightly race, whose 
 names shine out like stars in English 
 history from the Norman invasion and 
 the Crusades down, wdth his ancestral ban- 
 ners hanging in St. George's Chapel in 
 Windsor Castle, and possessed of noble 
 traditions, he was a peerless gentleman and 
 a splendid soldier. 
 
 " ' As the grand central figure in the 
 late war, he displayed a fertility of genius 
 and a steadiness of courage which made 
 him the solitary column that so long upheld 
 the tottering fortunes of the Confederacy. 
 
 " ' It was not, however, in the splendor 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 149 
 
 of his military acliievements that he won 
 his place in the popular heart. 
 
 " ' The old world and the new applauded 
 his splendid operations at the head of his 
 ragged veterans; but it was reserved for 
 him to present the sublime spectacle of 
 vanquishing defeat. Herein it was that his 
 colossal greatness was first made thoroughly 
 manifest to the world, and, grand as were 
 his performances upon the field of battle, a 
 just conception of his character pronounces 
 him more entirely great in misfortune than 
 in success. 
 
 " ' His virtues in their noble completeness 
 and Christian perfection were only known 
 in all their afiluence, when sheathing his 
 sword he retired to the cloisters of Wash- 
 ington College, and devoted himself to the 
 service of his State in a novel and arduous 
 profession. 
 
 " ' Then it was that we understood fully his 
 rare unselfishness, his knightly modesty, 
 his unaffected patriotism, his Christian for- 
 titude and sublime patience, " never weary 
 of well-doing;" then it was, oh, couutry- 
 13* 
 
150 WALKS ABOUT EICHMOND. 
 
 men ! that our devotion to the Great Cap- 
 tain deepened into a tender love and un- 
 speakable homage for the great man. And 
 now that he has gone "beyond the river" 
 to join his favorite lieutenant, we are sore 
 at heart and rebel against the dispensation 
 of the Almighty. But we must school our- 
 selves to bear the affliction, and remember 
 that he has gone where he will enter into 
 the joys of his Lord, leaving us a fame 
 which irradiates the whole land with its 
 supernal glories, which will shine on, and 
 on, and on, till the heavens are rolled up 
 ]ike a scroll, and the Historic Muse writes 
 Finis at the end of time with a pen of fire.' " 
 
 The next day, there being no 
 business to attend to, and no dis- 
 position to attend to any, Mr. Ste- 
 vens staid at home, and, gathering 
 his family around him, continued 
 to read to them the many deeply 
 interesting articles suggested by 
 the death of Lee. 
 
WALKS ABOUT EICHMOND. 151 
 
 Said he: "There are articles in 
 tliis paper taken from the Northern 
 papers, which are very gratifying. 
 I had feared that some of the papers 
 of the North would even dare to 
 speak evil of Lee. 
 
 " As I cannot read all, however, 
 I will only read what has been 
 written by those who knew him 
 best. 
 
 '^General Breckenridge, speaking 
 to the people of Louisiana, Kentucky, 
 said : 
 
 " ' I can convey no better idea of the im- 
 pression he made upon me than to say that 
 he inspired me with an ardent love for his 
 person, and a profound veneration for his 
 character. O, my friends, it was so mas- 
 sive, noble, and grand in its proportions, 
 that the most heroic might be proud to bear 
 it ; yet so gentle and tender that a woman 
 might claim and adopt it for her own.' 
 
152 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 '' General Preston, on the same 
 occasion, on closing his address, said : 
 
 " ' When I last saw him tlie raven hair 
 had turned white. In a small village 
 church his reverent head was bowed in 
 prayer. The humblest step was that of 
 Robert E. Lee, as he entered the portals of 
 the temple erected to God. In broken re- 
 sponse he answered to the services of the 
 Church. Noble, sincere, and humble in his 
 religion, he showed forth his true character 
 in laying aside his sword to educate the 
 youth of his country. Never did he appear 
 more noble than at that time. He is now 
 gone, and rests in peace, and has crossed 
 that mysterious stream that Stonewall Jack- 
 son saw with inspired eyes when he asked 
 that he might be permitted to take his 
 troops across the river, and forever rest be- 
 neath the shadow of the trees.' 
 
 " I find it very difficult," said Mr. 
 Stevens, "to discriminate. There 
 
WALKS ABOUT KICHMOND. 153 
 
 are so many beautiful articles I wish 
 to read. 
 
 " However, I will read some short 
 extracts, that we may enjoy them 
 together, and read more fully when 
 I have leisure. Please remember, 
 my daughter, to be very careful with 
 all these papers, and preserve them 
 for me. 
 
 " Here is an extract from a speech 
 made by one of General Lee's former 
 staJQf: 
 
 " ' We recall him as he appeared in the 
 hour of victory, grand, imposing, awe-inspir- 
 ing, yet self-forgetful, and humble. We re- 
 call the great scenes of his triumph, when 
 we hailed him victor on many a bloody 
 field, and when, above the pseans of victory, 
 we listened with reverence to his voice as 
 he ascribed " all glory to the Lord of Hosts, 
 from whom all glories are." We remember 
 that grand magnanimity that never stooped 
 
154 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 to pluck those meaner things that grow 
 nearest the earth 'upon the tree of victory, 
 but which, with eyes turned to the stars, 
 and hands raised towards heaven, gathered 
 the golden fruits of mercy, pity, and holy 
 charity, that ripen on its topmost boughs 
 beneath the approving smile of the great 
 God of battles. 
 
 " ' We remember the sublime self-abnega- 
 tion of Chancellorsville, when, in the midst 
 of his victorious legions, who, with the light 
 of battle yet on their faces, hailed him con- 
 queror, he thought only of his great lieu- 
 tenant lying wounded on the field, and 
 transferred to him all the honor of that 
 illustrious day. 
 
 " ' I will be pardoned, I am sure, for refer- 
 ring to an incident which affords to my mind 
 a- most striking illustration of one of the 
 grandest features of his character. 
 
 " ' On the morning of May 3d, 1863, as 
 many of you will remember, the final as- 
 sault was made upon the Federal lines at 
 Chancellorsville. 
 
 " ' General Lee accompanied the troops 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 155 
 
 in person, and, as they emerged from the 
 fierce combat they had waged in " the depths 
 of that tangled wilderness," driving the su- 
 perior forces of the enemy before them across 
 the open ground, he rode into their midst. 
 The scene is one that can never be effaced 
 from the minds of those who witnessed it. 
 The troops were pressing forward w^ith all 
 the ardor and enthusiasm of combat. The 
 white smoke of musketry fringed the front 
 of the line of battle, while the artillery on 
 the hills in the rear of the infantry shook 
 the earth with its thunder, and filled the 
 air with the wild shrieks of the shells that 
 plunged into the masses of the retreating 
 foe. To add greater horror and sublimity 
 to the scene, the Chancel lorsville House, and 
 the woods surrounding it, were wrapped in 
 flames. In the midst of this awful scene, 
 General Lee, mounted upon that horse which 
 we all remember so well, rode to the front 
 of his advancing battalions. His presence 
 was the signal for one of those uncontroll- 
 able outbursts of enthusiasm which none 
 can appreciate who have not witnessed them. 
 
156 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 "'The fierce soldiers, with their faces 
 blackened with the smoke of battle, the 
 wounded crawling with feeble limbs from 
 the fury of the devouring flames, ail seemed 
 possessed with a common impulse. One 
 long, unbroken cheer, in which the feeble 
 cry of those who lay helpless on the 
 earth blended with the strong voices of 
 those who still fought, rose high above the 
 roar of battle, and hailed the presence of 
 the victorious chief He sat in the full re- 
 alization of all that soldiers dream of — tri- 
 umph ; and as I looked upon him in the 
 complete fruition of the success which his 
 genius, courage, and confidence in his army 
 had won, I thought that it must have been 
 from some such scene that men in ancient 
 days ascended to the dignity of the gods. 
 
 " * There is one other incident to w^hich I 
 beg permission to refer, that I may perfect 
 the picture. On the 3d day of July, 1863, 
 the last assault of the Confederate troops 
 upon the heights of Gettysburg failed, and 
 again General Lee was among his baffled 
 and shattreed battalions as they sullenly 
 14 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 157 
 
 retired from their brave attempt. The his- 
 tory of that battle is yet to be written, and 
 the responsibility for the result is yet to be 
 fixed. But there, with the painful con- 
 sciousness that his plans had been frustrated 
 by others, and that defeat and humiliation 
 had overtaken his army, in the presence of 
 his troops he openly assumed the entire re- 
 sponsibility of the campaign and of the last 
 battle. One word from him would have 
 relieved him. of this responsibility, but that 
 word he refused to utter, until it could be 
 spoken without fear of doing the least injus- 
 tice. 
 
 " ' Thus, my fellow-soldiers, I have pre- 
 sented to you our great commander in the 
 supreme moments of triumph and defeat. 
 I cannot more strongly illustrate his char- 
 acter. Has it been surpassed in history? 
 Is there another instance of such self-abne- 
 gation among men ? The man rose high 
 above victory in the one instance, and, 
 harder still, the man rose superior to dis- 
 aster in the other. It was such incidents 
 as these that gave General Lee the abso- 
 
158 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 lute and undoubting confidence and affec- 
 tion of his soldiers. 
 
 " ' His first care was for the wounded of 
 both armies, and he was among the fore- 
 most at the burning mansion, where some 
 of them lay. But, at that moment, when 
 the transports of his victorious troops were 
 drowning the roar of battle with acclama- 
 tions, a note was brought to him from Gene- 
 ral Jackson. It was brought to General 
 Lee as he sat on his horse near the Chan- 
 cellorsville House, and, unable to open it 
 with his gauntleted hand, he passed it to 
 me, with directions to read it to him. The 
 note made no mention of the wound that 
 General Jackson had received, but con- 
 gratulated General Lee upon the great 
 victory. 
 
 " ' I shall never forget the look of pain 
 and anguish that passed over his face as he 
 listened. With a voice broken with emo- 
 tion, he bade me say to General Jackson 
 that the victory was his, and that the con- 
 gratulations were due to him. I know not 
 how others may regard this incident, but, 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 159 
 
 for myself, as I gave expression to the 
 thoughts of his exalted mind, I forgot the 
 genius that won the day, in my reverence 
 for the generosity that refused its glory.' " 
 
 ^'General Gordon, speaking of 
 General Lee at Appomattox, says : 
 
 "'Can lever forget? No, never can I 
 forget the words which fell from his lips as 
 I rode beside him amidst the defeated, de- 
 jected, and weeping soldiery, when, turning 
 to me, he said : " I could wish that I was 
 numbered among the fallen in the last 
 battle.' " 
 
 ^'General Wade Hampton, in a 
 speech delivered at Columbia, S. C, 
 said : 
 
 " ' Now that he is fallen, I may mention 
 what I have never spoken of before, to show 
 you not only what were the feelings that 
 actuated him in the duty to which his be- 
 loved countrymen called him, but what 
 noble sentiments inspired him, when he 
 
160 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 Baw the cause for which he had been fight- 
 ing so long about to perish. Just before 
 the surrender, after a night devoted to the 
 most arduous duties, as one of his staff 
 came in to see him in the morning, he 
 found him worn and weary and disheart- 
 ened, aud the General said to him : " How 
 easily I could get rid of this and be at rest. 
 I have only to ride along the line, and all 
 will be over. But," said he — and there 
 spoke the true Christian patriot — " it is our 
 duty to live, for what will become of the 
 women and children of the South if we are 
 not here to protect them.' " 
 
 On the morning of the IGth, Mr. 
 Stevens read to his family the fol- 
 lowing account of the funeral at 
 Lexington, Ya. : 
 
 "This is a bright and beautiful day, in 
 sad contrast to the feelings of our stricken 
 people, but fit emblem of the eternal sun- 
 light in which the pure spirit of our noble 
 chieftain now basks. 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 161 
 
 " At early dawn delegations from Staun- 
 ton and the surrounding country began to 
 arrive, and, up to twelve o'clock, the people 
 continued to pour in, until there was, de- 
 spite the fact that the washing away of the 
 bridges cut off many of the people who 
 would most gladly have been here, the 
 largest crowd ever assembled in Lexington. 
 All classes came to do honor to our beloved 
 and lost hero. His old soldiers, who fol- 
 lowed him so clieerfully in the darkest 
 hours of the Confederate struggle ; the pro- 
 fessors of the college, who he ever treated 
 with such marked consideration ; the stu- 
 dents, to whom he was in every sense a 
 loving father and an unexampled guide; 
 the Faculty and corps of cadets of the Vir- 
 ginia Military Institute, in whose welfare 
 and success he ever manifested so lively an 
 interest; the sovereign representatives of 
 his native, loved Virginia ; the citizens of 
 the town and country whom he honored 
 with his last days; in fact, every class, 
 young 'and old, rich and poor, white and 
 black, turned out to do him honor, for he 
 14* 
 
162 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 "was the friend of all. "With a punctuality 
 ■which would have been pleasant to the great 
 hero if living, the following was observed as 
 the order of the procession : 
 
 " Music. 
 
 "Escort of Honor, consisting of Officers 
 
 "and Soldiers of the Confederate 
 
 " Army. 
 
 " Chaplain and other Clergy. 
 
 " Hearse and Pall-Bearers. 
 
 " General Lee's Horse. 
 
 " The Attending Physicians. 
 
 " Trustees and Faculty of Washington 
 
 " College. 
 
 " Dignitaries of the State of Virginia. 
 
 " Visitors and Faculty of Virginia Military 
 
 "Institute. 
 
 " Other Representative Bodies and 
 
 " Distinguished Visitors. 
 " Alumni of Washington College. 
 
 " Citizens. 
 " Cadets Virginia Military Institute. 
 "Students Washington College as Guard 
 " of Honor. 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 163 
 
 " At ten o'clock precisel)^ the procession 
 was formed on the college grounds, in front 
 of the President's house, and moved down 
 Washington Street, up Jefferson Street to 
 the Franklin Hall, thence to Main Street, 
 where it was joined in front of the hotel by 
 the representatives of the State of Virginia 
 and other representative bodies in their 
 order, and by the organized body of the 
 citizens in front of the court-house. 
 
 " The procession then moved by the road 
 to the Virginia Military Institute, where it 
 was joined by the visitors. Faculty, and 
 cadets of the Virginia Military Institute, in 
 their respective places. The procession was 
 closed by the students of Washington Col- 
 lege as a guard of honor, and then moved 
 up through the Institute and college grounds 
 to the chapel. 
 
 " The procession was halted in front of 
 the chapel, when the cadets of the Institute 
 and the students of Washington College 
 were marched through the college chapel 
 past the remains, and were afterwards drawn 
 up in two bodies on the south side of the 
 
164 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 chapel. The remainder of the procession 
 then proceeded into the chapel, and were 
 seated under the direction of the marshals. 
 The gallery and side blocks were reserved 
 for ladies. 
 
 "As the procession moved off to a sol- 
 emn dirge by the Institute band, the bells 
 of the town began to toll, and the Institute 
 battery fired minute guns, which were kept 
 up during the whole exercises. 
 
 "In front of the National Hotel the 
 procession was joined by the committee of 
 the Legislature, consisting of Colonel W. H. 
 Taylor, Colonel E. D. Pendleton, W. L. 
 Riddick, Major Kelley, George Walker, S. 
 S. Turner, H. Bowen, T. O. Jackson, and 
 Marshall Hanger. 
 
 "General B. T. Johnston was in com- 
 mand of the soldier guard of honor, aided 
 by colonel J. K. Edmundson, Colonel R. L. 
 Maury, and Major J. B. Dorman. Captain 
 J. J. White, Professor in the College, was 
 chief marshal. 
 
 "It was remarked that the different 
 classes who joined in the procession mingled 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 165 
 
 into each other, and that among the Boards 
 of the College and the Institute, the Facul- 
 ties, the students and cadets, the Legislative 
 committee, the delegations, and even the 
 clergy, were many who might with equal 
 propriety have joined the soldier guard of 
 honor, for they, too, had followed the stan- 
 dard of Lee in the days that tried men's 
 Bouls. 
 
 " Along the streets the buildings were all 
 appropriately draped, and crowds gathered 
 on the corners and in the balconies to see 
 the procession pass. Not a flag floated 
 above the procession, and nothing was seen 
 that looked like an attempt at display. The 
 old soldiers wore their ordinary citizen's 
 dress, with a simple black ribbon in the 
 lappel of their coats, and •' Traveller," led 
 by two old soldiers, who had the simple 
 trappings of mourning. 
 
 "The Virginia Military Listitute was 
 very beautifully draped, and from its turrets 
 hung at half-mast, and draped in mourning, 
 the flags of all the States of the late South- 
 ern Confederacy. 
 
166 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 "The family, appropriately joined by 
 Drs. Barton and Madison, the attending 
 physicians, and Colonels W. H. Taylor and 
 C. S. Venable, members of General Lee's 
 staff during the war, occupied seats imme- 
 diately in front of the pulpit, and the clergy, 
 of whom a number were present, Faculty of 
 the College, and Faculty of the Institute, 
 had places on the platform. 
 
 "The coffin was literally covered with 
 flowers and evergreens, while the front of 
 the drapery thrown over it was decorated 
 with crosses of evergreen and immortelles. 
 
 " Kev. Dr. Pendleton, the long intimate 
 personal friend of General Lee, his chief of 
 artillery during the war, and his pastor the 
 past five years, read the beautiful burial 
 services of the Episcopal Church. No ser- 
 mon was preached, and nothing said besides 
 the simple service, in accordance with the 
 known wishes of General Lee. 
 
 "After the funeral services were con- 
 cluded in the chapel, the body was removed 
 to the vault prepared for its recej^tion, and 
 the concluding services read by the chaplain 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 167 
 
 from the bank on the southern side of the 
 chapel, in front of the vault. 
 
 " There was sung in the chapel the 1 24th 
 hymn of the Episcopal collection ; and, 
 after the coffin was lowered into the vault, 
 the congregation sang with fine efiect the 
 grand old hymn : 
 
 * How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord.' 
 
 " The vault is constructed of brick, lined 
 with cement. The top just reaches the floor 
 of the library, and will be double-capped 
 with white marble, on which is the simple 
 inscription : 
 
 "ROBERT EDWARD LEE, 
 
 " BORN JANUARY 19tH, 1807. 
 "died OCTOBER 12th, 1870. 
 
 "After the funeral the soldiers were 
 marched to the court-house, and there 
 unanimously adopted the following resolu- 
 tions : 
 
 "Resolvedj by the officers and soldiers of 
 the former Confederate army, now assembled. 
 
1G8 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 That we have followed the body of our be- 
 loved General to the tomb witS inexpressible 
 sorrow ; the last sad rites are over, and, as 
 we venerated and loved him in life, we ar- 
 dently desire to guard his sacred dust. 
 Here, at the home of his adoption, in the 
 edifice reared by himself, and dedicated to 
 the service and worship of his God, may 
 his remains be permitted to sleep until the 
 awakening which shall clothe them in robes 
 of immortality. 
 
 "Resolved, That, with the utmost defer- 
 ence for their feelings and wishes, we ask 
 leave to present to Mrs. Lee and her family 
 this expression of our anxious desire that, 
 to us and his neighbors and friends, and the 
 authorities of his college, may be granted 
 the favor and honor of preserving and 
 watching his sepulchre. 
 
 "Resolved, That the secretary of the meet- 
 ing communicate copies of these and our 
 former resolutions to Mrs. Lee. 
 
 " And thus have ended the funeral ob- 
 sequies of the foremost man in all the 
 earth." 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 169 
 
 During the day Frank was busy 
 preparing for his departure the next 
 morning. He had suffered, in com- 
 mon with all, the grief of the past 
 few days, but felt that he had en- 
 joj^ed a great privilege in having 
 been in Richmond, at a time when 
 so many interesting and important 
 events were occurring. 
 
 In the evening all gathered once 
 more for the talk which was before 
 so suddenly interrupted. 
 
 ''Uncle," said Frank, "will you 
 please read this little poem which I 
 cut from a paper to-day ? You read 
 se well, I want you to read it for us 
 all. It is by Rev. A. J. Ryan." 
 
 "With pleasure," said Mr. Ste- 
 vens, and read : 
 
 '' Forth from its scabbard, pure and bright 
 Flashed the sword of Lee ; 
 15 
 
170 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 Far in the front of the deadly fight, 
 High o'er the brave in the cause of right, 
 Its stainless sheen, like a beacon light, 
 Led us to victory. 
 
 " Out of its scabbard, vrhere full long 
 
 It slumbered peacefully — 
 Roused from its rest by the battle song, 
 Shielding the feeble, smiting the strong. 
 Guarding the right, avenging the wrong — 
 
 Gleamed the sword of Lee ! 
 
 " Forth from its scabbard, high in air. 
 
 Beneath Virginia's sky — 
 And they who saw it gleaming there 
 And knew who bore it, knelt to swear 
 That where that sword led, they would dare 
 
 To follow and to die. 
 
 "Out of its scabbard, never hand 
 Waved sword from stain as free. 
 Nor purer sword led braver band, 
 Nor braver bled for a brighter land. 
 Nor brighter land had a cause as grand. 
 Nor cause a chief like Lee !" 
 
 " I intend/' said Frank, " to attach 
 that little poem to a photograph of 
 Lee, which I purchased to-day, and 
 
WALKS ABOUT EICHMOND. 171 
 
 the two will be very precious to 
 
 me." 
 
 " Now," said Mrs. Stevens, " oblige 
 me by reading this extract from the 
 London Standard, that the children 
 may know something of how the 
 people in the Old World speak of 
 Lee." 
 
 Mr. Stevens read : 
 
 "The announcement that General R. E. 
 Lee has been struck down by paralysis, and 
 not expected to recover, will be received, 
 even at this crisis, with universal interest, 
 and will everywhere excite a sympathy and 
 regret which testify to the deep impression 
 made on the world at large by his character 
 and achievements. Few are the generals 
 who have earned, since history began, a 
 greater military reputation ; still fewer are 
 the men of similar eminence, civil or mili- 
 tary, whose personal qualities would bear 
 comparison with his. The bitterest enemies 
 of his country hardly dared to whisper a 
 
172 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 word against the character of her most dis- 
 tinguished general, while neutrals regarded 
 him with an admiration for his deeds and 
 a respect for his lofty and unselfish nature 
 which almost grew into veneration, and his 
 own countrymen learned to look up to him 
 with as much confidence and esteem as they 
 ever felt for Washington, and with an affec- 
 tion which the cold demeanor and austere 
 temper of Washington could never inspire. 
 The death of such a man, even at a moment 
 so exciting as the present, when all thoughts 
 are absorbed by a nearer and present con- 
 flict, would be felt as a misfortune by all 
 who still retain any recollection of the in- 
 terest with which they followed the Virgi- 
 nian campaigns, and by thousands who have 
 almost forgotten the names of Fredericks- 
 burgh, and Chancellors ville, the Wilderness, 
 and Spotsylvania. Truer greatness, a loftier 
 nature, a spirit more unselfish, a character 
 purer, more chivalrous, the world has rarely, 
 if ever, known. Of stainless life, and deep 
 religious feeling, yet free from all taint of 
 cant and fanaticism, and as dear and con- 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 173 
 
 genial to the Cavalier Stuart as the Puritan 
 Stonewall Jackson ; unambitious, but ready 
 to sacrifice all at the call of duty ; devoted 
 to his cause, yet never moved by his feel- 
 ings beyond the line prescribed by his judg- 
 ment ; never provoked by just resentment 
 to punish wanton cruelty by reprisals which 
 would have given a character of needless 
 savagery to the war — both North and South 
 owe a deep debt of gratitude to him, and 
 the time will come when both will be 
 equally proud of him. And well they may, 
 for his character and his life afford a com- 
 plete answer to the reproaches commonly 
 cast on money-grubbing, mechanical Ame- 
 rica. A country which has given birth to 
 men like him, and those who followed him, 
 may look the chivalry of Europe in the 
 face without shame ; for the fatherlands of 
 Sidney and of Bayard never produced a 
 nobler soldier, gentleman, and Christian, 
 than General Kobert E. Lee." 
 
 "Well, Frank, you leave us in 
 
 15* 
 
174 WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 
 
 the morning. Have you enjoyed 
 your walks about Richmond ?" 
 
 "Oil, very much, uncle; and I 
 will never forget your kindness, in 
 taking so much trouble to interest 
 me." 
 
 "You have walked about a beau- 
 tiful city," said Mr. Stevens. " Try 
 to live so that you may some time 
 walk the streets of that city ' which 
 hath foundations whose builder and 
 maker is God ; where there shall be 
 no more death, neither sorrow, nor 
 crying, neither shall there be any 
 more pain ; where there shall be no 
 need of the sun, neither of the 
 moon, to shine in it : for the glory 
 of God shall lighten it, and the 
 Lamb is the light thereof " 
 
 After further conversation, read- 
 ing the scriptures, and engaging in 
 
WALKS ABOUT RICHMOND. 175 
 
 a short prayer, the family retired 
 to rest; and, the next morning 
 early, Frank, loaded with messages 
 of love to his parents, took the train 
 which was to bear him home, and 
 soon Richmond was forgotten in 
 thoughts of the pleasures which 
 awaited him on his arrival there. 
 
 THE END. 
 
EDGAR'S STRUGGLE. 
 
 A STOHY OP TEMPTATION. 
 
 Teaching the importance of obedience to 
 
 parents, and the danger of yielding to temp- 
 tation. 
 
 108 pp., 18mo, cloth. Price 45 cents. 
 
 Illustrated with two beautiful cuts. 
 
 RED AND BLUE 
 
 SUNDAY-SCHOOL TICKETS, 
 
 On stiff board. 
 
 With a verse of Scripture on each. 
 
 Price 75 cents per thousand. 
 
 CARDS CONTAINING 
 
 THE LORD'S PRAYER, 
 
 TEN COMMANDIVIENTS, &c., 
 
 For Sunday-school use. 
 
 Price $1.50 per hundred. 
 Sent by mail, post-paid, on receipt of re- 
 tail price. Liberal discount to the trade. 
 Address 
 
 C. McCAKTHY, Publisher, 
 
 ElCHMOND, Va. 
 
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