r^ ,0- '^^. t '^..^^ .^'^> V .-0 ■ ". 'o ,0o ■Vo'^ V * , '-^ ^ ' « ' ^ " .A^ . K 0- S.^'' '^^' \^^^ 1 ^^ v'"^ t V .c°; -« 'o- v^:^ G^^' ^Q^^. '■^ti;^ '/^ AV > %<<^' .0"- \ <^^' ^ 'V^^ "^ ^ ^ x\^' ^^ \^' -^ \ ^. . 0-. •^cf- %'^i « o. ^ .-.v /L - S\ ? ^ .^r %■ N -^ 4^ '^^ ^x^ ♦.V,^^/.,-' '^- ^ " . ^c^ 4. -7^1 .%^ ^^ ^ it <• ^ ■^ G^ , :<^ ■^oc ^^ t-. ^ T'lr^'Tr' j^'" <4- Il \ \ THREE" MONTHS l/^ IN THE SOUTHERN STATES: APRIL-JUNE, 1863. BT LIEUT.-COL. FEEMANTLE, COLDSTREAM GUARDS. NEW YOEK: PUBLISHED BY JOHN BRADBURN (successor to m. doolady,) 49 WALKEE-STEEET. 1864. ♦/T). 'OSs ?,<,>^ ©/3, ^^^^Q, PREFACE. At the outbreak of the American war, in common with many of my countrymen, I felt very indifferent as to which side might win ; but if I had any bias, my sympathies were rather in favor of the E^orth, on account of the dislike which an Englishman natu- rally feels at the idea of slavery. But soon a senti- ment of great admiration for the gallantry and de- termination of the Southerners, together with the unhappy contrast afforded by the foolish bullying conduct of the JSTortherners, caused a complete revul- sion in my feelings, and I- was unable to repress a strong wish to go to America and see something of this wonderful struggle. Having successfully accomplished my design, I returned to England, and found amongst all my friends an extreme desire to know the truth of what was going on in the South ; for, in consequence of the blockade, the truth can with difficulty be arrived at, as intelligence coming mainly tln'ough l^orthern sources is not believed ; and, in fact, nowhere is the 6 PEEFACE. ignorance of wliat is passing in the South more pro- found than it is in the iN'orthern States. In consequence of a desire often expressed, I now publish the Diary which I endeavored, as well as I could, to keep up day by day during my travels throughout the Confederate States. I have not attempted to conceal any of the pecu- liarities or defects of the Southern people. Many persons will doubtless highly disapprove of some of their customs and habits in the wilder portion of the country; but I think no generous man, whatever may be his political opinions, can do otherwise than admire the courage, energy, and patriotism of the whole population, and the skill of its leaders, in this struggle against great odds. And I am also of opinion that many will agree with me in thinking that a people in which all ranks and both sexes dis- play a unanimity and a heroism which can never have been surpassed in the history of the world, is destined, sooner or later, to become a great and in- dependent nation. THREE MONTHS m THE SOUTHERN STATES. APRIL, MAT, JUNE, 1863. 2d March, 1863. — I left England in tlie royal mail steamer Atrato, and arrived at St.- Thomas on the im. 22d March. — Anchored at Havana at 6.15 a. m., where I fell in with my old friend, H. M.'s frigate Immortalite. Captain Hancock not only volun- teered to take me as his guest to Matamoros, but also to take a Texan merchant, whose acquaintance I had made in the Atrato. This gentleman's name is McCarthy. He is of Irish birth — an excellent fel- low, and a good companion; and when he under- stood my wish to see the " South," he had most good- naturedly volunteered to pilot me over part of the Texan deserts. I owe much to Captain Hancock's kindness. 8. THE EIO GEAOTDE. 23e? March.— Left Havana in H. M. S. Immor- talite, at 11 a. m. Knocked off steam when ontside the harbor. 1^^ April. — ^Anchored at 8.30 p. m., three miles from the month of the Eio Grande, or Kio Bravo del !Norte, which is, I believe, its more correct name, in the midst of abont seventy merchant vessels. 2d April. — The Texan and I left the Immortalite, in her cutter, at 10 a. m., and crossed the bar in fine \ style. The cutter was steered by Mr. Johnston, the master, and having a fair wind, we passed in like a flash of lightning, and landed at the miserable village of Bagdad, on the Mexican bank of the Bio Grande. The bar was luckily in capital order — 3^ feet of water, and smooth. It is often impassable for ten or twelve days together: the depth of water varying from 2 to 5 feet. It is very dangerous, from the heavy surf and under-current ; sharks also abound. Boats are frequently capsized in crossing it, and the Orlan- do lost a man on it about a month ago. Seventy vessels are constantly at anchor outside the bar ; their cotton cargoes being brought to them, with very great delays, by two small steamers from Bagdad. These steamers di-aw only 3 feet of water, and realize an enormous profit. Bagdad consists of a few miserable wooden shan- C0NrEDiLr.AiE cmcEES. y ties, wliicli have sprung into existence since tlie war began. For an immense distance endless bales of cotton are to be seen. Immediately we landed, McCarthy was greeted by liis brother merchants. He introduced me to Mr. Ituria, a Mexican, who promised to take me in his buggy to Brownsville, on the Texan bank of the river opposite Matamoros. McCarthy was to follow in the evening to Matamoros. The Eio Grande is very tortuous and shallow ; the distance by river to Matamoros is sixty-five miles, and it is navigated by steamers, which sometimes perform the trip in twelve hours, but more often take twenty-four, so constantly do they get aground. The distance from Bagdad to Matamoros by land is thirty-five miles; on the Texan side to Browns- ville, twenty-six miles. I crossed the river from Bagdad with Mr. Ituria, at 11 o'clock ; and as I had no pass, I was taken before half-a-dozen Confederate officers, who were seated round a fire contemplating a tin of potatoes. These officers belonged to Duff's cavalry (Duff being my Texan's partner). Their dress consisted simply of flannel shirts, very ancient trousers, jack-boots with enormous spurs, and black felt hats, ornamented with the " lone star of Texas." They looked rough and dirty, but were extremely civil to me. The captain was rather a boaster, and kept on 1* 10 LYNCH LAW. remarking, "We've given 'em li — 11 on the Missis- sippi, li — 11 on the Sabine" (pronounced Sabeen), " and li — 11 in various other places." He explained to me that he couldn't cross the river to see McCarthy, as he with some of his men had made a raid over there three weeks ago, and carried away some " renegadoes," one of whom, named Mon- gomer J, they had left on the road to Brownsville ; by the smiles of the other officers, I could easily guess that something very disagreeable must have happen- ed to Mongomery. He introduced me to a skipper who had just run his schooner, laden with cotton, from Galveston, and who was much elated in conse- quence. The cotton had cost 6 cents a poimd in Galveston, and is worth 36 here. Mr. Ituria and I left for Brownsville at noon. A buggy is a light gig on four high wheels. The road is a natural one — the country quite flat, and much covered with mosquite-trees, very like pep- per-trees. Every person we met carried a six-shooter, although it is very seldom necessary to use them. After we had proceeded about nine miles we met General Bee, who commands the troops at Browns- ville. He was travelling to Boca del Bio in an am- bulance,* with his quartermaster-general. Major Eus- * An ambulance is a light wagon, and generally has two springs behind, and one transverse one in front. The seats can be so ar- ranged that two or even three persons may lie at full length. LYNCH LAW. 11 sell. I gave him my letter of introduction to General Magruder, and told him who I was. He thereupon descended from his ambulance, and regaled me with beef and beer in the open. He is brother to the General Bee who was killed at Ma- nassas. We talked politics and frateruized very ami- cably for more than an hour. He said the Mongom- ery affair was against his sanction and he was sorry for it. He said that Davis, another renegado, would also have been put to death, had it not been for the intercession of his wife. General Bee had restored Davis to the Mexicans. Half an hour after parting company with General Bee, we came to the spot where Mongomery had been left; and sure enough, about two himdred yards ta the left of the road, we found him. He had been slightly buried, but his head and arms were above the ground, his arms tied together, the rope still round his neck, but part of it still dangling from quite a small mosquite-tree. Dogs or wolves had probably scraped the earth from the body, and there was no flesh on the bones. I obtained this my first experience of Lynch law within three hours of land- ing in America. I understand that this Mongomery was a man of very bad character, and that, confiding in the neutral- ity of the Mexican soil, he was in the habit of calling the Confederates all sorts of insulting epithets from 12 , duff's cavalry. the Bagdad bank of the river ; and a party of his " renegadoes" had also crossed over and killed some unarmed cotton teamsters, which had ronsed the fury of the Confederates. About three miles beyond this we came to Colonel Duff's encampment. He is a fine looking, handsome Scotchman, and received me with much hospitality. His regiment consisted of newly raised volunteers — a very fine body of young men, who were drilling in squads. They were dressed in every variety of cos- tume, many of them without coats, but all wore the high black felt hat. ^Notwithstanding the peculiarity of their attire, there was nothing ridiculous or con- temptible in the appearance of these men, who all looked thoroughly like "business." Colonel Duff told me that many of the privates owned vast tracts of country, with above a hundred slaves, and were extremely well off. They were all most civil to me. Their horses were rather raw-boned animals, but hardy and fast. The saddles they used were nearly like the Mexican. Colonel Duff confessed that the Mongomery affair was wrong, but he added that his boys " mecmt wellP We reached Brownsville at 5.30 p. m., and Mr. Ituria kindly insisted on my sleeping at his house, instead of going to the crowded hotel. Zd April (Good Friday). — At 8 a. m. I got a mill- MATAMOEOS AND BROWNSVILLE. 13 tary pass to cross the Rio Grande into Mexico, whicL. I presented to the sentry, who then allowed me to cross in the ferry-boat. Carriages are not permitted to run on Good Friday in Mexico, so I had a hot dusty walk of more than a mile into Matamoros. Mr. Zorn, the acting British Consul, and Mr. Behnsen, his partner, invited me to live at the Con- sulate during my stay at Matamoros, and I accepted their offer with much gratitude. I was introduced to Mr. Colville, a Manchester man ; to Mr. Maloney, one of the principal merchants ; to Mr. Bennet, an Englishman, one of the owners of the Peterhoff, who seemed rather elated than other- wise when he heard of the capture of his vessel, as he said the case was such a gross one that our gov- ernment would be obliged to take it up. I was also presented to the gobernador, rather a rough. After dining with Mr. Zorn I walked back to the Eio Grande, which I was allowed to cross on present- ing Mr. Colville's pass to the Mexican soldiers, and I slept at Mr. Ituria's again. Brownsville is a straggling town of about 3,000 inhabitants ; most of its houses are wooden ones, and its streets are long, broad, and straight. There are about 4,000 troops under General Bee in its imme- diate vicinity. Its prosperity was much injured when Matamoros was declared a free port. 14 MATAMOEOS. After crossing the Eio Grande, a wide dusty road, about a mile in length, leads to Matamoros, which is a Mexican city of about 9,000 inhabitants. Its houses are not much better than those at Brownsville, and they bear many marks of the numerous revolutions which are continually taking place there. Even the British Consulate is riddled with the bullets fired in 1861-2. The Mexicans look very much like their Indian forefathers, their faces being extremely dark, and their hair black and straight. They wear hats with the most enormous brims, and delight in covering their jackets and leather breeches with embroidery. Some of the women are rather good-looking, but they plaster their heads with grease, and paint their faces too much. Their dress is rather like the Anda- lusian. When I went to the cathedral, I found it crammed with kneehng women; an e^gj of our Saviour was being taken down from the cross and put into a golden coffin, the priest haranguing all the time about His sufferings, and all the women howl- ing most dismally as if they were being beaten. Matamoros is now infested with numbers of Jews, whose industry spoils the trade of the established merchants, to the great rage of the latter. It suffers much from drouglit, and there had been no rain to speak of for eleven mouths. I am told that it is a common thing in Mexico for MATAMOROS. 15 the diligence to arrive at its destination witL. tlie blinds down. This is a sure sign that the travellers, both male and female, have been stripped bj robbers nearly to the skin. A certain quantity of clothing is then, as a matter of course, thrown in at the window, to enable them to descend. Mr. Behnsen and Mr. Maloney told me they had seen this happen several times; and Mr. Oetling declared that he himself, with three ladies, arrived at the city of Mexico in this predicament. 4:th Ajpril (Saturday). — I crossed the river at 9 A. M., and got a carriage at the Mexican side to take my baggage and myself to the Consulate at Matamo- ros. The driver ill-treated his half-starved animals most cruelly. The Mexicans are even worse than the Spaniards in this respect. I called on Mr. Oetling, the Prussian Consul, who is one of the richest and most prosperous merchants in Matamoros, and a very nice fellow. After dinner we went to a fandango, or open-air fete. About 1500 people were gambling, and dan- cing bad imitations of European dances. hth April (Sunday). — ^Mr. Zorn, or Don Pablo as he is called here. Her Majesty's acting Yice-Consul, is a quaint and most good-natured little man — a Prussian by birth. He io overwhelmed by the sud- 16 MATAMOEOS. den importance lie lias acquired from his office, and by the amount of work (for which he gets no pay) entailed by it, — the office of British Consul haying been a comparative sinecure before the war. Mr. Behnsen is head of the firm. The principal place of business is at San Luis Potosi, a considerable city in the interior of Mexico. All these foreign merchants complain bitterly of the persecutions and extortion they have to endure from the Government, which are, doubtless, most annoying ; Jbut neverthe- less they appear to fatten on the Mexican soil. I crossed to Brownsville to see General Bee, but he had not returned from Boca del Kio. I dined with Mr. Oetling. We were about four- teen at dinner, principally Germans, a very merry party. Mr. Oetling is supposed to have made a mil- lion of dollars for his firm, by bold cotton specula- tions, since the war. We all went to the theatre afterwards. The piece was an attack upon the French and upon Southern institutions. Qth April (Monday). — Mr. Behnsen and Mr. Col- ville left for Bagdad this morning, in a very swell ambulance drawn by four gay mules. At noon I crossed to Brownsville, and visited Cap- tain Lynch, a quartermaster, who broke open a great box, and presented me with a Confederate felt hat to BEOWNSVTLLE. 17 travel in. He then took me to tlie garrison, and in- troduced me to Colonel Buchel of the 3d Texas regi- ment, who is bj birth a German, but had served in the French army ; and he prepared cocktails in the most scientific manner. I returned to Matamoros at 2.30 p. M. Captain Hancock and Mr. Anderson (the pajTnas- ter) arrived from Bagdad in a most miserable vehicle, at 4 p. M. They were a mass of dust, and had been seven hours on the road, after having been very nearly capsized on the bar. There was a great firing of guns and squibs in the afternoon, in consequence of the news of a total de- feat of the French at Puebla, with a loss of 8,000 prisoners and 70 pieces of cannon. Don Pablo, who had innocently hoisted his British flag in honor of Captain Hancock, was accused by his brother merchants of making a demonstration against the French. After dinner we called on Mr. Maloney, whose house is gorgeously furnished, and who has a pretty wife. ^tJi April (Tuesday). — ^Mr. Maloney sent us his carriage to conduct Captain Hancock, Mr. Anderson, and myself to Brownsville. We first called on Colonels Luckett and Buchel ; the former is a handsome man, a doctor by profes- 18 BROWNSVILLE. sion, well informed and agreeable, but most bitter against the Yankees. We sat for an hour and a half talking with these officers and drinking endless cocktails, wbicli were rather good, and required ^Ye or six different liquids to make them. We then adjourned to General Bee's, with whom we had another long talk, and with whom we dis- cussed more cocktails. At the General's we were introduced to a well- dressed good-looking Englishman, Mr. , who, however, announced to us that he had abjured his nationality until Great Britain rendered justice to the South.* Two years since, this individual had his house burnt down ; and a few days ago, happen- ing to hear that one of the incendiaries was on the Mexican bank of the river, boasting of the exploit, he rowed himself across, shot his man, and then rowed back. I was told afterwards that, notwithstanding the sentiments he had given out before us, Mr. is a stanch Britisher, always ready to produce his six- shooter at a moment's notice, at any insult to the Queen or to England. We were afterwards presented to , rather a sinister-looking party, with long yellow hair down to * It seems lie lias been dreadfully " riled" by tlie late Peterhoff affair. A FANDANGO. 19 his shoulders. This is the man who is supposed to have hanged Mongomery. We were treated by all the officers with the great- est consideration, and conducted to the place ol embarkation with much ceremony. Colonel Luckett c'eclared I should not leave Brownsville until General Magruder arrives. He is expected every day. Mr. Maloney afterwards told us that these officers, having given up every thing for their country, were many of them in great poverty. He doubted whether had a second pair of boots in the world ; but he added that, to do honor to British officers, they would scour Brownsville for the materials for cock- tails. At 3 p. M. we dined with Mr. Maloney, who is one of the principal and most enterprising British mer- chants at Matamoros, and enjoyed his hospitahty till 9.30. His wine was good, and he made us drink a good deal of it. Mr. Oetling was there, and his stories of highway robberies, and of his journeys en cJiemise^ were most amusing. At 10 p. M. Mr. Oetling conducted us to the grand fandango given in honor of the reported victory over the French. A Mexican fandango resembles a French ducasse, with the additional excitement of gambling. It com- mences at 9.30, and continues till daylight. The scene is lit up by numerous paper lanterns of various colors. 20 A FAXDANGO. A number of benches are placed so as to foim a large quare, in the centre of wliich the dancing goes on, the men and women gravely smoking all the time. Outside the benches is the promenade bounded b j the gambling-tables and drinliing-booths. On this occasion there must have been thirty or forty gambling-tables, some of the smaller ones presided over by old women, and others by small boys. Monte is the favorite game, and the smallest silver coin can be staked, or a handful of doubloons. Most of these tables were patronized by crowds of all classes intent on gambling, with grave, serious faces under their enormous hats. They never moved a muscle, whether they won or lost. Although the number of people at these fandangos is very great, yet the whole affair is conducted with an order and regularity not to be equalled in an as- sembly of a much higher class in Europe. If there ever is a row, it is invariably caused by Texans from Brownsville. These turbulent spirits are at once seized and cooled in the calaboose. Hh April (Wednesday). — ^Poor Don Pablo was " taken ill" at breakfast, and was obliged to go to bed. We were all much distressed at his illness, which was brought on by over-anxiety connected with his official duties ; and the way he is bothered by THIRD TEXAS rNTANTET. 21 English and " Bine-nose" * skippers is enough to try any one. ^ Mr. Behngen and Mr. Colville returned from Bag- dad this afternoon, much disgusted with the attrac- tions of that city. General Bee's orderly was assaulted in Matamoros yesterday by a renegado with a six-shooter. This circumstance prevented the General from coming to Matamoros as he had intended. At 5 p. M. Captain Hancock and I crossed over to Brownsville, and were conducted in a very smart ambulance to General Bee's quarters, and after- wards to see a dress parade of the 3d Texas in- fantry. Lieutenant-colonel Buchel is the vjorTcing man of the corps, as he is a professional soldier. The men were well clothed, though great variety existed in their uniforms. Some companies wore blue, some gray, some had French Jce^pis, others wide-awakes and Mexican hats. They were a fine body of men, and really drilled uncommonly well. They went through a sort of guard-mounting parade in a most creditable manner. About a hundred out of a thousand were conscripts.f * Nova-Scotian. f During all my travels in the South I never saw a regiment so well clothed or so well drilled as this one, which has never been I in action, or been exposed to much hardship. 22 BALL AT MATAMOEOS. After the parade, we adjoiumed to Colonel Lnckett's to drink prosperity to the od regiment. ^ "We afterwards had a very agreeable dinner with General Bee; Colonels Luckett and Buchel dined also. The latter is a regular soldier of fortune. He served in the French and Turkish armies, as also in the Carlist and the Mexican wars, and I was told he had been a principal in many affairs of honor ; but he is a quiet and unassuming little man, and although a sincere Southerner, is not nearly so violent against the Yankees as Luckett. At 10 p. M. Captain Hancock and myself went to a ball given by the authorities of the " Heroica y invicta ciudad de Matamoroi'' (as they choose to call it), in honor of the French defeat. General Bee and Colonel Luckett also went to this fete, the invitation being the first civility they had received since the violation of the Mexican soil in the Davis-Mon- gomery affair. They were dressed in plain clothes, and carried pistols concealed in case of accidents. - We all di'ove together from Brownsville to the Consulate, and entered the ball-room en masse. The outside of the municipal hall was lit up with some splendor, and it was graced by a big placard, on which was ^vritten the • amiable sentiment, '^ Ifuera Napoleon — mva MejicoP^ Semi-success- ful squibs and crackers were let off at intervals. In the square also was a triumphal arch, with an in- BEOWKSVILLE, 23 scription to tlie effect tliat "the effete nations of Europe might tremble." I made great friends with the gobernador and administrador, who endeavored to entice me into dancing, but I excused myself by saying that Europeans were unable to dance in the graceful Mexican fashion. Captain Hancock was much horrified when this greasy-faced gobernador (who keeps a small shop) stated his intention of visiting the Immortalite with six of his friends, and sleeping on board for a night or two. The dances were a sort of slow valse, and between the dances the girls were planted up against the wall, and not allowed to be spoken to by any one. They were mostly a plain-headed, badly-painted lot, and ridiculously dressed. Qth April (Thursday). — Captain Hancock and Mr. Anderson left for Bagdad in Mr. Behnsen's carriage at noon. I crossed over to Brownsville at 11.30, and dined with Colonels Luckett, Buchel, and Duff, at about one o'clock. As we were all colonels, and as every one called the other colonel tout court^ it was diflfi- cult to make out which was meant. They were obliged to confess that Brownsville was about the rowdiest town of Texas, which was the most lawless State in the Confederacy; but they declared they had never seen an inoffensive man subjected to insult 24: duff's eegiment. or annoyance, althongli tlie shooting-down and stringing-np systems are mucli in vogue, being al- most a necessity in a tliinly-popnlated State, much frequented by desperadoes driven away from more civilized countries. Colonel Luckett gave me a letter to General Yan Dorn, whom they consider the heau ideal of a cav- alry soldier. They said from time immemorial the Yankees had been despised by the Southerners, as a race inferior to themselves in courage and in honor- able sentiments. At 3 p. M. Colonel Buchel and I rode to Colonel Dujff's camp, distant about thirteen miles. I was given a Mexican saddle, in which one is forced to sit almost in a standing position. The stirrups are very long, and right underneath you, which throws back the feet. Duff's regiment is called the Partisan Rangers. Although a fine lot of men, they don't look well at a foot parade, on account of the small amount of drill they have undergone, and the extreme disorder of their clothing. They are armed with carbines and six-shooters. I saw some men come in from a scouting expedi- tion against the Indians, 300 miles off. They told me they were usually in the habit of scalping an In- dian when they caught him, and that they never spared one, as they were such an untamable and fe- duff's cavalry. 25 rocious race. Another habit which the j have learned from the Indians is, to squat on their heels in a most peculiar manner. It has an absurd and extraordi- nary effect to see a quantity of them so squatting in a row or in a circle. The regiment had been employed in quelling a counter-revolution of Unionists in Texas. Nothing could exceed the rancor with which they spoke of these renegadoes, as they called them, who were principally Germans. When I suggested to some of the Texans that they might as well bury the body of Mongomery a little better, they did not at all agree with me, but said it ought not to have been buried at all, but left hang- ing as a warning to other evil-doers. With regard to the contentment of their slaves, Colonel Duff pointed out a good number they had with them, who had only to cross the river for free- dom if they wished it. Colonel Buchel and I slept in Colonel Duff's tent, and at night we were serenaded. The officers and men really sang uncommonly well, and they finished with " God save the Queen !" Colonel Duff comes from Perth. He was one of the leading characters in the secession of Texas ; and he said his brother was a banker in Dunkeld. V^th April (Friday). — We roused up at daylight, 3 20 A UOTONIST. and soon afterwards Colonel Duff paraded some of liis best men, to show off tlie Texan liorsemansMp, of whicli they are very proud. I saw tliem lasso cattle, and catch them by the tail at full gallop, and throw them by slewing them around. This is called tail- ing. They pick small objects off the ground when at full tilt, and, in their peculiar fashion, are beauti- ful riders ; but they confessed to me they could not ride in an English saddle, and Colonel Duff told me that they could not jump a fence at all. They were all extremely anxious to hear what I thought of the performance, and their thorough good opinion of themselves was most amusing. At 9 o'clock Colonel Buchel and I rode back to Brownsville ; but as we lost our way twice, and were enveloped in clouds of dust, it was not a very satis- factory ride. Poor Captain Hancock must be lux- uriating at- Bagdad ; for with this wind the bar must be impassable to the boldest mariner. In the evening, a Mr. , a Texan Unionist, or renegade, gave us his sentiments at the Consulate, and drank a deal of brandy. He finished, however, by the toast, " Them as wants to fight, let 'em fight — I don't." 11th April (Satm-day).— Mr. , the Unionist, came to me this morning, and said, in a contrite manner, " I hope, Kernel, that in the fames of brandy BROTVlirSVILLE. ZT I didn't say any thing offensive last nigM." I assured him that he hadn't. I have now hecome compara- tively accustomed and reconciled to the necessity of shaking hands and di'inking brandy with every one.* The ambulance returned from Bagdad to-day. Captain Hancock had managed to cross the bar in Mr. Oetling's steamer or lighter, but was very nearly capsized. I went to a grand supper, given by Mr. Oetling in honor of Mr. Hill's departure for the city of Mexico. This, it appears, is the custom of the country. 12^A Ajoril (Sunday). — I took an affectionate leave of Don Pablo, Behnsen, Oetling & Co., all of whom were in rather weak health on account of last night's supper. The excellent Maloney insisted on providing me with preserved meats and brandy for my arduous journey through Texas. I feel extremely grateful for the kindness of all these gentlemen, who rendered my stay in Matamoros very agreeable. The hotel would have been intolerable. I crossed to Brownsville at 3 p. m., where I was hospitably received by my friend Ituria, who con- fesses to having made a deal of money lately by cot- ton sj)eculations. I attended evening parade, and * This necessity does not exist except in Texas. 28 MAJOE LEON SMITH. saw General Bee, Colonels Lnckett, Bucliel,'Dnff, and . The latter (who hanged Mongomerj) im- proves on acquaintance. General Bee took me for a drive in his ambulance, and introduced me to Major Leon Smith, who cap- tured the Harriet Lane. The latter pressed me most vehemently to wait until General Magruder's arrival, and he promised, if I did so, that I should be sent to San Antonio in a first-rate ambulance. Major Leon Smith is a seafaring man by profession, and was put by General Magruder in command of one of the small steamers which captured the Harriet Lane at Galveston, the crews of the steamers being composed of Texan cavahy soldiers. He told me that the re- sistance offered after boarding was feeble; and he declared that, had not the remainder of the Yankee vessels escaped unfairly under flag of truce, they would likewise have been taken. After the Harriet Lane had been captured, she was fired into by the other ships ; and Major Smith told me that, his blood being up, he sent the ex-master of the Harriet Lane to Commodore Kenshaw, with a message that, unless the fii'ing was stopped, he would massacR-EB the captured crew. After hearing this. Commodore Eenshaw blew up his ship, with himself in her, after havuig given an order to the remainder, sauve qui peut. STAET FOR SAN ANTONIO. 29 ISth April (Monday). — I breakfasted witli General Eee, and took leave of all my Brownsville friends. McCarthy is to give me four times the value of my gold in Confederate notes.* We left Brownsville for San Antonio at 11 a. m. Our vehicle was a roomy, but rather overloaded, four- wheel carriage, with a canvas roof, and four mules. Besides McCarthy, there was a third passenger, in the shape of a young merchant of the Hebrew per- suasion. Two horses were to join us, to help us through the deep sand. The country, on leaving Brownsville, is quite flat, the road, a natural one, sandy and very dusty, and there are many small trees, principally mosquites. After we had proceeded seven miles, we halted to water the mules. At 2 p. M. a new character appeared upon the scene, in the shape of an elderly, rough-faced, dirty-looking man, who rode up, mounted on a sorry nag. To my surprise he was addressed by M'Carthy with the title of " Judge," and asked what he had done with our other horse. The Judge replied that it had already broken down, and had been left behind. M'Carthy informs me that this worthy really is a magistrate or sort of judge in his own district ; but he * The value of Confederate paper has since decreased. At Charleston I was offered six to one for my gold, and at Eichmond eight to one. 80 THE "judge" and ME. SAHGENT. now appears in the capacity of assistant mule-driver, and is to make liimself generally nseful. I could not lielp feeling immensely amused at this specimen of a Texan judge. We started again about 3 p. m., and soon em-erged from the mosquite bushes into an open prame eight miles long, quite desolate, and producing nothing but a sort of rush; after which we entered a chaparral, or thick covert of mosquite-trees and high prickly-pears. These border the track, and are cov- ered with bits of cotton torn from the endless trains of cotton wagons. "We met several of these wagons. Generally there were ten oxen or six mules to a wagon carrying ten bales, but in deep sand, more animals are necessary. They journey very slowly towards Brownsville, frbm places in the interior of Texas at least five hundred miles distant. "Want of water and other causes make the drivers and animals undergo much hardship. The Judge rides on in front of us on his " Rosi- nante," to encourage the mules. His back view re- minds one in a ludicrous manner of the pictures of Dr. Syntax. Mr. Sargent, our portly driver, cheers his animals by the continual repetition of the sentence, " Get up, now, you great long-eared G — d d — d son of a ." At 5 p. M. we reached a well, with a farm or ranch close to it. Here we halted for the night. A cottoia. +rain was encamped close to us, and a lugubrious JOUENET THEOUGH TEXAS. 31 half-naked teamster informed ns that three of his oxen had been stolen last night. In order to make a fire, we were forced to enter the chaparral for wood, and in doing so, we ran many prickles into our legs, which caused us great annoy- ance afterwards, as they fester, if not immediately pnlled out. The water at this well was very salt, and made very indifferent coffee. McCarthy called it the " meanest halting-place we shall have." At 8 p. II. McCarthy spread a bullock-rug on the fc'and near the carriage, on which we should have slept very comfortably, had it not been for the prickles, the activity of many fieas, and the incursions of wild hogs. Mr. Sargent and the Judge, with much pres- ence of mind, had encamped seventy yards off, and left to us the duty of driving away these hogs. I was twice awoke by one of these unclean animals breathing in my face. We did about twenty-one miles to-day. lUh April (Tuesday). — ^When we roused up at 4 A. M. we found our clothes saturated with the heavy dew; also that, notwithstanding our exertions, the hogs had devoured the greatest part of our pet kid, our only fresh meat. After feeding our mules upon the Indian corn we had brought with us, and drinking a little more salt- 33 JOURNEY THEOUGH TEXAS. water coffee, the Judge "hitclied in," and we got under way at 5.30 a. m. The country just the same as yesterday — a dead level of sand, mosquite-trees, and prickly-pears. At 7.30 A. M. we reached " Leatham's ranch," and watered our mules. As the water was tolerable, we refilled our water-barrels. I also washed my face, during which operation Mr. Sargent expressed great astonishment, not unmingled with contempt. At Leatham's we met a wealthy Texan speculator and contractor, called Major or Judge Hart. I find that our Judge is also an M. P., and that, in his capacity as a member of the Texan legislature, he is entitled to be styled the Honorable . At 9 A. M. we halted in the middle of a prairie, on which there was a little grass for the mules, and we prepared to eat. In the midst of om^ cooking, two deer came up quite close to us, and could easily have been killed with rifles. "We saw quantities of rat-ranches, which are big sort of mole-hills, composed of cow-dung, sticks, and earth, built by the rats. Mr. Sargent, our conductor, is a very rough cus- tomer — a fat, middle-aged man, who never opens his mouth without an oath, strictly American in its char- acter. He and the Judge are always snarling at one another, and both are much addicted to liquor. We live principally on bacon and coffee, but as the JOUENEl ^jLiivOLGn TEXAS. 33 water and the bacon are botli very salt, this is very- inconvenient. We have, however, got some claret, and plenty of brandy. During the mid-day halts, Mr. Sargent is in the habit of cooling himself by removing his trousers (or pants), and, having gorged himself, he lies down and issues his edicts to the Judge as to the treatment of the mules. At 2.30 the M. P. hitched in again, and at 2.45 we reached a salt-water arm of the sea called the " Aroyo del Colorado," about eighty yards broad, which we crossed in a ferry-boat. Half an hour later we " struck water" again, which, being superior to Lea= tham's, we filled up. "We are continually passing cotton trains going to Brownsville, also government wagons with stores for the interior. ISTear every well is a small farm or ranch, a miserable little wooden edifice surrounded by a little cultivation. The natives all speak Span- ish, and wear the Mexican dress. McCarthy is very proud of his knowledge of the country, in spite of which he is often out in his cal- culations. The different tracks are so similar to one another, they are easily mistaken. At 4.45 p. M. we halted at a much better place than yesterday. We are obliged to halt where a little grass can be found for our mules. Soon after we had unpacked for the night, six 3* 34 GENEEAL MAGEUDEE. Texan Eangers, of " "Wood's" regiment, rode up to ns. Tliey were very picturesque fellows ; tall, thin, and ragged, but quite gentlemanlike in their manners. We are always to sleep in the open until we arrive at San Antonio, and I find my Turkish lantern most useful at night/^ 16t/i April (Wednesday). — I slept wxU last night in spite of the ticks and fleas, and we started at 5.30 p. M. After passing a dead rattlesnake eight feet long, we reached water at 7 a. m. At 9 A. M. we espied the cavalcade of General Magruder passing us by a parallel track about half a ixdle distant. McCarthy and I jumped out of the carriage, and I ran across the prairie to cut him off, which I just succeeded in doing by borrowing the spare horse of the last man in the train. I galloped up to the front, and found the General riding with a lady who was introduced to me as Mrs. , an undeniably pretty woman, wife to an officer on Magruder's staff, and she is naturally the object of intense attention to all the good-looking officers who accompany the General through this desert. General Magruder, who commands in Texas, is a fine soldierlike man, of about fifty-five, with broad ^- A lantern for a candle, made of wliite linen and wire, wliicli collapses when not in use. Tliey are always used in the streets of Constantinople. The Texans admired it immensely. GENERAL MAGEUDEE. 35 shoulders, a florid complexion, and bright eyes. He wears his whiskers and mustaches in the English fashion, and he was dressed in the Confederate gray uniform. He was kind enough to beg that I would tm^n back and accompany him in his torn' through Texas. He had heard of my arrival, and was fully determined I should do this. He asked after several officers of my regiment whom he had known when he was on the Canadian frontier. He is a Yirginian, a great talker, and has always been a great ally of English officers. He insisted that McCarthy and I should turn and dine with him, promising to provide us with horses to catch up Mr. Sargent. After we had agreed to do this, I had a long and agreeable conversation with the General, who spoke of the Puritans with intense disgust, and of the first importation of them as " that pestiferous crew of the Mayflower f but he is by no means rancorous against individual Yankees. He sjpoke very favorably of M'Clellan, whom he knew to be a gentleman, clever, and personally brave, though he might lack moral courage to face responsibility. Magruder had com- manded the Confederate troops at Yorktown which opposed M'Clellan's advance. He told me the differ- ent dodges he had resorted to, to blind and deceive the latter as to his (Magruder's) strength ; and he spoke of the intense relief and amusement with 36 GENERAL MAGRUDEE. wMch he had at length seen M'Clellan with his mag- nificent army begin to break gromid before miserable earthworks, defended only by 8,000 men. Hooker was in his regiment, and was " essentially a mean man and a liar." Of Lee and Longstreet he spoke in terms of the highest admiration. Magruder was an artilleryman, and has been a good deal in Europe; and having been much sta- tioned on the Canadian frontier, he became acquaint- ed with many British officers, particularly those in the Tth Hussars and Guards. He had gained much credit from his recent suc- cesses at Galveston and Sabine Pass, in which he had the temerity to attack heavily-armed vessels of war with wretched river steamers manned by Texan cav- alrymen. His principal reason for visiting Brownsville was to settle about the cotton trade. He had issued an edict that half the value of cotton exported must be imported in goods for the benefit of the country (gov- ernment stores). The President had condemned this order as illegal and despotic. The officers on Magruder's Staff are a very good- looking, gentlemanlike set of men. Their names are — ^Major Pendleton, Major "Wray, Captain De Ponte, Captain Alston, Captain Turner, Lieutenant- Colonel M'JSTeil, Captain Dwyer, Dr. Benien, Lieu- tenant Stanard, Lieutenant Yancy, and Major Ma- GENEEAL MACEUDEE. 37 gruder. The latter is neplieW to the General, and is a particularly good-looking young fellow. They all live with their chief on an extremely agreeable foot- ing, and form a very pleasant society. At dinner I was put in the post of honor, which is always fonght for -with mnch acrimony — viz., the right of Mrs. . After dinner we had numerous songs. Both the General and his nephew sang ; so also did Cap- tain Alston, whose corpulent frame, however, was too much for the feeble camp-stool, which caused his sudden disappearance in the midst of a song with a loud crash. Captain Dwyer played the j&ddle very well, and an aged and slightly elevated militia gen- eral brewed the punch and made .several " elegant" speeches. The latter was a rough-faced old hero, and gloried in the name of M^Guffin. On these festive occasions General Magruder wears a red woollen cap, and fills the president's chair with great aptitude. It was 11.30 before I could tear myself away from this agreeable party ; but at length I effected my exit amidst a profusion of kind expressions, and laden with heaps of letters of introduction. IQth April (Thursday). — ^Now our troubles com- menced. Seated in Mexican saddles, and mounted on raw-boned mustangs, whose energy had been a good deal impaired by a month's steady travelling on bad food, McCarthy and I left the hospitable mess- 38 JOTJElSrET THEOTJGH TEXAS. tent abont midniglit, and started in searcli of Mr. Sargent and his yeliicle. We were under the gui- dance of two Texan Rangers. About daylight we hove in sight of " Los Animos," a desolate farm-house, in the neighborhood of which Mr. Sargent was supposed to be encamped ; but no- where could we find any traces of him. "We had now reached the confines of a di'eary re- gion, sixty miles in extent, called " The Sands," in comparison with which the prairie and chaparral were luxurious. The sand being deep and the wind high, we could not trace the carriage ; but we soon acquired a cer- tainty that our perfidious Jehu had decamped, leav- ing us behind. "We floundered about in the sand, cursing our bad luck, cursing Mr. Sargent, and even the good Magru- der, as the indirect cause of our wretchedness. Our situation, indeed, was sufficiently deplorable. We were without food or water in the midst of a desert : so were our horses, which were nearly done up. Our bones ached from the Mexican saddles ; and, to com- plete our misery, the two Rangers began to tm^n res- tive and talk of returning with the horses. At this, the clhnax of our misfortunes, I luckily hit upon a Mexican, who gave us intelligence of our carriage ; and with renewed spirits, but very groggy horses, we gave chase. JOUENEY THEOUGH TEXAS. 39 But never dTd Mr. Sargent's mules walk at such a pace ; and it was 9 a. m. before we overtook them. My animal had heen twice on his head, and McCar- thy was green in the face with fatigue and rage. Mr. Sargent received us with the greatest affability , and we were sensible enough not to quarrel with him, although McCarthy had made many allusions as to the advisability of shooting him. We had been nine and a half hours in the saddle, and were a good deal exhausted. Om- sulky Texan guides were appeased with bacon, coffee, and $5 in coin. We halted till 2 p. m., and then renewed our strug- gle through the deep sandy wilderness ; but though the services of the Judge's horse were put into requi- sition, we couldn't progress faster than two miles an hour. Mule driving is an art of itself, and Mr. Sargent is justly considered &> professor at it. He is always yelling — generally imprecations of a serio-comic character. He rarely flogs his mules ; but when one of them rouses his indignation by extraor- dinary laziness, he roars out, " Come here. Judge, with a big club, and give him h — 11." While the animal is receiving such discipline as comes up to the Judge's idea of the infernal regions, Mr. Sargent generally remarks, " I wish you was Uncle Abe, I'd make you move, you G — d d — i son of a ." His idea of 4:0 JOURNEY THEOIJGH TEXAS. perfect happiness seems to be to have 'Messrs. Lincohi and Seward in the shafts. Mnles travel much better when other mules are in front of them ; and another dodge to which Mr. Sargent continnailj resorts is, to beat the top of the carriage and kick the foot-board, which makes a noise, and gratifies the mnles qnite as much as licking them. Mr. Sargent accounts for his humanity by saying, " It's the worst plan in the world licking niggers or mules, because the more you licks 'em, the more they wants it." We reached or " struck" water at 5.30 p. m. ; but, in spite of its good reputation, it was so salt as to be scarcely drinkable. A number of cotton wagons, and three carriages belonging to Mr. Ward, were also en- camped with us. We have only made sixteen miles to-day. Vlth April (Friday). — Having spent last night in a Mexican saddle, our bullock-rug in the sand ap- peared to me a most luxurious bed. We hitched in at 5 a. m., and struck water at 9 A. M., which, though muddy in appearance, was not so bad to drmk. I walked ahead with the Judge, who, when sober, is a well-informed and sensible man. Mr. Sargent and I are great friends, and, rough as he is, we get on capitally together. A Mr. Ward, with three vehicles — a rival of Mr. JOUENET THEOrGH TEXAS. 41 I i Sargent's — is travelling in our company. He drove his bnggy against a tree and knocked its top off, to the intense deliglit of the latter. We breakfasted under difficulties. The wind be- ing high, it drove up the sand in clouds and spoiled our food. Our travelling companion, Mr. , is a poor little weakly Israelite, but very inoffensive, although he speaks with a^ horrible Yankee twang, which Mr. Sargent and the Judge are singularly free from. We went on again at 2 p. m. I had a long talk with a big mulatto slave woman, who was driving one of Ward's wagons. She told me she had been raised in Tennessee, and that three years ago she had been taken from her mistress for a bad debt, to their mutual sorrow. " Both," she said, " cried bitterly at parting." She doesn't like San Antonio at all, " too much hanging and mm^dering for me," she said. She had seen a man hanged in the middle of the day, just in front of her door. Mr. Sargent bought two chickens and some eggs at a ranch, but one of the chickens got up a tree, and was caught and eaten by the Ward faction. Our camp to-night looks very pretty by the light of the fires. ISth Api'il (Saturday). — ^At daylight we discov- ered, to our horror, that three^of our mules were ab- 4:2 JOTJEI^ET TKBOUGH TEXAS. sent ; but after an honr's searcli they were bronglit back in trinmpli by the Judge. This delayed our start till 6.30 A. m. I walked ahead again with the Judge, who ex- plained to me that he was a " senator," or member of the Upper House of Texas — "just like yom* House of Lords," he said. He gets $5 a day whilst sitting, and is elected for four years.* We struck water at 8.30 a. m., and bought a lamb for a dollar. "We also bought some beef, which in this country is dried in strips by the sun, after being cut off the bullock, and it keeps good for any length of time. To cook it the strips are thrown for a few minutes on hot embers. One of our mules was kicked last night. Mr. Sar- gent rubbed the wound with brandy, which did it much good. Soon after leaving this well, Mr. Sargent dis- covered that, by following the track of Mr. "Ward's wagons, he had lost the way. He swore dreadfully, and solaced himself with so much gin, that when we arrived at Sulphur Creek at 12.30, both he and the Judge were, by their own confession, quite tight. We halted, ate some salt meat, and bathed in this creek, which is about forty yards broad and three feet deep. * I was afterwards told tliat the Judge's term of service had expired. El Paso was his district. JOUEKEY THEOUGH TEXAS. 43 Mr. Sargent's extreme " tightness" caused liim to fall asleep on the box when -we started again, but the more seasoned Judge drove the mnles. The signs of getting out of the sands now began to be apparent ; and at 5 p. m. we were able to halt at a very decent place with grass, but no water. "We suffered here for want of water, our stock being very nearly expended. Mr. Sargent, who was now comparatively sober, killed the sheep most scientifically at 5.30 p. m. ; and at 6.30 we were actually devouring it, and fomid it very good. Mr. Sargent cooked it by the simple process of stewing junks of it in a frying-pan, but we had only just enough water to do this. 19th April (Sunday). — ^At 1 A. m. this morning our slumbers on the bullock-rug were disturbed by a sud- den and most violent thunder-storm. McCarthy and I had only just time to rush into the carriage, and hustle our traps underneath it, when the rain began to descend in torrents. We got inside with the little Jew (who was much alarmed by the thunder); whilst Mr. Sargent and the Judge crept underneath. The rain lasted two hours; and at daylight we were able to refresh ourselves by drinking the water from the puddles, and effect a start. Eut fate seemed adverse to our progress. "No 44 JOUENEY THEOTJGH TEXAS. sooner had we escaped from the sand than we fell into the mud, which was still worse. We toiled on till 11.30 A. m., at which hour we reached " King's Banch^'^ which for several days I had heard spoken of as a sort of Elysium, marking as it does the termination of the sands, and the com- mencement of comparative civilization. "We halted in front of the house, and after cook- ing ' and eating, I walked up to the " ranch," which is a comfortable, well-furnished wooden build- ing. Mr. and Mrs. King had gone to Brownsville ; but we were received by Mrs. Bee, the wife of the Brownsville general, who had heard I was on the road. She is a nice lively little woman, a red-hot South- erner, glorying in the facts that she has no ITorthern relations or friends, and that she is a member of the Church of England. Mr. King first came to Texas as a steamboat cap- tain, but now owns an immense tract of country, with 16,000 head of cattle, situated, however, in a wild and almost uninhabited district. King's Ranch is distant from Brownsville only 125 miles, and we have been six days in reaching it. After drying our clothes and om^ food after the rain of last night, we started again at 2.30 p. m. We now entered a boundless and most fertile JOUBNET THEOUGH TEXAS. 45 prairie, upon which, as far as the eye could reach, cattle were feeding. BuUs and cows, horses and mares, came to stare at us as we passed. They all seemed sleek and in good condition, yet they get nothing but what they can pick up on the prairie. I saw a man on horseback kill a rabbit with his re- volver. I also saw a scorpion for the first time. We halted at 5.30 p. m., and had to make our fire principally of cow-dung, as wood is very scarce on this prame. We gave up the Judge's horse at King's Ranch. The lawgiver now rides on the box with Mr. Sar- gent. 20^A A^ril (Monday). — I slept well last night in spite of the numerous prairie-wolves which surround- ed us, making a most dismal noise. The Jew was ill again, but both Mr. Sargent and the Judge were very kind to him; so also was McCarthy, who declared that a person incapable of protecting himself, and sickly, such as this little Jew, is always sure of kind treatment and compassion, even from the wildest Texans. We started at 5 a. m., and had to get through some dreadful mud — Mr. Sargent in an awful bad humor, and using terrific language. ^ We were much delayed by this unfortunate rain, 46 .TOTJENEY THROUGH TEXAS. wliicli had converted a good road into a quagmire. We detected a rattlesnake crawling along this morn- ing, but there are not nearly so many of them in this country as there used to be. "We halted at 9 A. m., and, to make a fire for cook- ing, we set a rat-ranch alight, which answered very well ; but one big rat, annoyed by our proceedings, emerged hastily from his den, and very nearly jump- ed into the frjdng-pan. Two Texan Bangers, belonging to Taylor's regi- ment, rode up to us whilst we were at breakfast. These Rangers all wear the most enormous spurs I ever saw. "We resumed our journey at 12.30, and reached a creek* called " Agua Dulce" at 2 p. m. McCarthy and I got out before crossing, to forage at some huts close by. We got two dozen eggs and some lard ; but, on returning to the road, we found that Mr. Sargent had pursued his usual plan of leaving us in the lurch. I luckily was able to get hold of a Mexican boy, and rode across the creek en crGunpe. McCarthy dis- mounted a negro, and so got over. We halted at 5 r. m. After dark McCarthy crossed the prairie to visit * All streams or rivers are called creeks, and pronounced " criks." JOURNEY THEOUGH TEXAS. 47 some friends who were encamped half a mile distant. He lost his way in returning, and wandered about for several hours. The Judge, with great presence of mind, kept the fire up, and he found us at last. The heat firom nine to two is pretty severe ; but in Texas there is generally a cool sea-breeze, which makes it bearable. 21st April (Tuesday). — We started at 5 a. m., and reached a hamlet called " Casa Blanca" at 6. TVe procured a kid, some Indian corn, and two fowls in this neighborhood. We had now quitted the fiat country, and entered an undulating or " rolling" coimtry, full of live oaks of very respectable size, and we had also got out of the mud. Mr. Sargent and the Judge got drunk again about 8 A. M., which, however, had a beneficial effect upon the speed. "We descended the hills at a terrific pace — or, as Mr. Sargent expressed it, " Going like h — II Orbeating tan lavTcP We " nooned it" at a small creek ; and after un- hitching, Mr. Sargent and the Judge had a row with one another, after which Mr. Sargent killed and cooked the goat, using my knife for these operations. With all his faults he certainly is a capital butcher, cook, and mule-driver. He takes great care of his animals, and is careful to inform us that the increased 48 JOTJENET THEOUGH TEXAS. pace we have been going at is not attributable to gin. Ho was very complimentary to me, because I acted as a^ sistant cook and bntcber. Ili\ Ward's party passed ns about 1 p. m. The front wheels of his buggy having now smashed, it is hitched in rear of one of the wagons. We made a pretty good afternoon's drive through a wood of post oaks, where we saw another rattle- snake, which we tried to shoot. We halted at Spring creek at 6.30 p. m. ; water rather brackish, and no grass for the mules. The Judge gave us some of his experiences as a filibuster. He declares that a well-cooked polecat is as good to eat as a pig, and that stewed rattlesnake is not so bad as might be supposed. The Texans call the Mexicans "greasers," the latter retort by the name " gringo." We are now living luxuriously upon eggs and goat's flesh; and I think we have made about thirty- two miles to-day. ^2d April (Wednesday). — We got under weigh at 5 A. M., the mules looking rather mean for want of grass. At 8 A. M. we reached the Nueces river, the banks of which are very steep, and are bordered with a beautiful belt of live-oak trees, covered with mustang grapes. JOURNEY THEOUGH TEXAS. 49 On the other side of the iNueces is " Oakville," a miserable settlement, consisting of abont twenty wooden huts. We bought some butter there, and caught up Ward's wagons. The women at Oakviile were most anxious to buy snuff. It appears that the Texan females are in the habit of dipping snuff — which means, putting it into their mouths instead of their noses. They rub it against their teeth w^th a blunted stick. We reached grass about 10 a.m., and "nooned it," the weather being very trying — very sultry, without ' sun or wind. We hitched in at 1.15 — ^Ward's wagons in our front, and a Frenchman's four-horse team in our rear. At 4 p. m. we reached the " Weedy," a creek which, to our sorrow, was perfectly dry. We drove on till Y p. M., and halted at some good grass. There being a report of water in the neighborhood, Mr. Sar- gent, the Judge, Ward, and the Frenchman, started to explore ; and when, at length, they did discover a wretched little mud-hole, it appears that a desperate conflict for the water ensued, for the Judge returned to *is a mass of mud, and presenting a very crestfallen appearance. Shortly after, Mr. Sargent appeared, in such a bad humor that he declined to cook, to eat, to drink, or do any thing but swear vehemently. Deprived by this contretemjos of our goat's flesh, we had recourse to an old ham and very stale bread. 50 JOUENET THEOUGH TEXAS. We met many cotton trains and government wag- ons to-day, and I think we liaye progressed about tliirty-fonr miles. ^Zd April (Tlim-sday). — The wily Mr. Sargent di'ove the animals down to the mud-hole in the middle of last night, and so stole a march upon Ward. Our goat's flesh having spoiled, had to be thrown away this morning. We started at 5.30 A. m., and reached "Eocky" at Y.30; but before this two of Ward's horses had '^ caved in,^^ which completely restored our driver's good humor. Eocky consists of two huts in the midst of a stony country ; and about a mile beyond it we reached a pond, watered our mules, and filled our barrels. The water was very muddy to look at, but not bad to drink. The mules were lazy to-day ; and Mr. Sargent was forced to fill his bucket with stones, and pelt the leaders occasionally. At 8 A. M. we reached an open, undulating prairie, and halted at 10.30. Mr. Sargent and I killed gud cooked the two chickens. He has done me the honor to call me a " right good companion for the road." He also told me that at one time he kept an hotel at El Paso — a sort of talf-way house on the overland route to California — JOUENEY THEOUGH TEXAS. 61 and was rapidly making his fortune when the war totally ruined him. This accounts for his animosity to "Uncle Abe."* We hitched in again at 3 p. m., and after pushing through some deepish sand, we halted for the night only twenty-four miles from San Antonio. ISTo corn or water, but plenty of grass; our food, also, was now entirely expended. Mr. Ward struggled up at 8.15, making a desperate effort to keep up with us, and this rivahy between Sargent and him was of great service. This was our last night of camping out, and I felt almost sorry for it, for I have enjoyed the journey in spite of the hardships. The country through which I have passed would be most fertile and productive (at least the last 150 miles), were it not for the great irregularity of the seasons. Sometimes there is hardly any rain for two and three years together. 24^7i April (Friday). — We made a start at 4.15 a.m., and with the assistance of McCarthy, we managed to lose our way ; but at 6.15 a loud cheer from the box, of " Hoorraw for h — ^11 ! who's afraid of fire ?" pro- * General Longstreet remembered both Sargent and the Judge perfectly, and he was much amused by my experiences with these worthies. General Longstreet had been quartered on the Texan frontiers a long time when he was in the old army. — August, 1863. 52 BAJ^ ANTONIO. claimed that Mr. Sargent had come in sight of Grey's ranch. After buying some eggs and Indian corn there, we crossed the deep bed of the river San Antonio. Its banks are very steep and picturesque. "We halted immediately beyond, to allow the mnles to feed for an honr. A woman was murdered at a ranch close by some time ago, and five bad characters were put to death at San Antonio by the vigilance committee on suspicion. "We crossed the Selado river at 11, and nooned it in its neighborhood. Mr. Sargent and the Judge finished the gin ; and the former, being rather drunk, entertained us with a detailed description of his treatment of a refractory negro girl, which, by his own account, must have been very severe. McCarthy was much disgusted at the story.* After bathing in the Selado, Mr. Sargent, being determined to beat Ward, pushed on for San Anto- nio ; and we drew up before Monger's hotel at 3 p.m., our mules dead beat — our driver having fulfilled his promise of " making his long-eared horses howl." * However liappy and well off tlie slaves may be as a general rule, yet there must be many instances (like tbat of Mr. Sargent) of ill-treatment and cruelty. Mr. Sargent is a Nortberner by birtb, and is without any of the kind feeling which is nearly always felt by Southerners for negroes. — July, 1863. sAi^r AKToino. 53 Later in the day I walked throiigli the streets with McCarthy to his store, which is a very large building, but now desolate, every thing having been sold off. He was of course greeted by his numerous friends, and among others I saw a negro come up to him, shake hands, and welcome him back. I was introduced to Colonel Duff's brother, who is also a very good-looking man; but he has not thrown off his British nationality and become a " citi- zen." The distance from Brownsville to San Antonio is 330 miles, and we have been 11 days and 4 hours en route. 2Dth Ajpril (Saturday). — San Antonio is prettily situated on both banks of the river of the same name. It should contain about 10,000 inhabitants, and is the largest place in Texas, except Galveston. The houses are well built of stone, and they are generally only one or two stories high. All have verandas in front. Before the- war San Antonio was very prosperous, and rapidly increasing in size; but trade is now almost at a complete stand-still. All the male pop- ulation under forty are in the military service, and many necessary articles are at famine prices. Coffee costs $7 a pound. Menger's hotel is a large and imposing edifice, but 54: SAK AISTONIO. its proprietor (a civil German) was on tlie point of shutting it np for the present. During the morning I visited Colonel Bankhead, a tall, gentlemanlilve Yirginian, who was commanding officer of the troops here. He told me a great deal about the Texan history, the Jesuit missions, and the Louisiana purchase, &c. ; and he alarmed me by doubting whether I should be able to cross the Mis- sissipjDi if Banks had taken Alexandria. I also made the acquaintance of Major Minter, another Yirginian, who told me he had served in the 2d cavalry in the old United States army. The fol- lowing officers in the Confederate army were in the same regiment — viz., General A. S. Johnson (killed at Shiloh), General Lee, General Yan Dorn, General Hardee, General Kirby Smith, and General Hood.^ By the advice of McCarthy, I sent my portmanteau and some of my heavy things to be sold by auction, as I could not possibly carry them with me. I took my place by the stage for Alleyton (Hous- ton) : it cost $40 ; in old tunes it was $13. I dined with McCarthy and young Duff at 3 p. m. The latter would not hear of my paying my share of the expenses of the journey from Brownsville. Mrs. McCarthy was thrown into a great state of agitation and delight by receiving a letter from her mother, * Also tlie Federal Generals Thomas and Stoneman. SAN ANTOmO. 55 who is in Yankeedom. Texas is so cut off that she only hears once in many months. Colonel and Mrs. Bankhead called for me in their ambulance at 5 p. m., and they drove me to see the source of the San Antonio, which is the most beauti- ful clear spring I ever saw. We also saw the exten- sive foundations for a tannery now being built by the Confederate government. The country is very pretty, and is irrigated in an ingenious manner by ditches cut from the river in all directions. It is thus in a great degi*ee rendered in- dependent of rain. At San Antonio spring we were entertained by a Major Young, a queer little naval officer, — why a major I couldn't discover. Mrs. Bankhead is a violent Southerner. She was twice ordered out of Memphis by the Federals on account of her husband's principles; but she says that she was treated with courtesy and kindness by the -Federal General Sherman, who carried out the orders of his government with regret. ll^one of the Southern people with whom I have spoken entertain any hopes of a speedy termination of the war. They say it must last all Lincoln's presi- dency, and perhaps a good deal longer. In the neighborhood of San Antonio, one-third of the population is German, and many of them were at iirst by no means loyal to the Confederate cause. 56 SAN ANTONIO. They objected mucli to the conscription, and some even resisted by force of arms ; but these were soon settled by DniFs regiment, and it is said they are nov/ reconciled to the new regime. My portmanteau, with what was in it — for I gave away part of my things — sold for $323. Its value in Enojland couldn't have been more than £8 or £9. The portmanteau itself, which was an old one, fetched $51 ; a very old pair of butcher boots, $32 ; five shirts, $42 ; an old overcoat, $25. r "^UTh A^ril (Sunday).— At 11.30 a. m., McCarthy drove me in his buggy to see the San Pedro spring, which is inferior in beauty to the San Antonio spring. A troop of Texan cavalry was bivouacked there. We afterwards drove to the ''missions''^ of San Jose and San Juan, six and nine miles from the town. These were fortified convents for the conversion of the Indians, and were built by the Jesuits about one hundred and seventy years ago. They are now ruins, and the architecture is of the heavy Castilian style, elaborately ornamented. These missions are very interesting, and there are two more of them, which I did not see. In the afternoon I saw many negroes and negresses parading about in their Sunday clothes — silks and crinolines — ^much smarter than their mistresses. At 5 p. M. I dined with Colonel Bankhead, who SAlf AliTTOIsriO. 67 gave an entertainment, whicli in these hard times must have cost a mint of money. About fourteen of the principal officers were invited ; one of them was Captain Mason (cousin to the London commis sioner), who had served under Stonewall Jackson iii Virginia. He said that officer was by no mean? popular at first. I spent a very agreeable evening, and heard many anecdotes of the war. One of tho officers sang the abolition song, " John Brown," to- gether with its parody, " I'm bound to be a soldier in the army of the South," a Confederate marching song, and another parody, which is a Yankee marching song, ""We'll hang Jeff Davis on a sour-apple tree." Whenever I have dined with Confederate officers, they have nearly always proposed the Queen's health, and never failed to pass the highest eulogiums upon her majesty. 2T^A Ajpril (Monday). — Colonel Bankhead has given me letters of introduction to General Bragg, to General Leonidas Polk, and several others. At 2 p. M. I called on Mrs. Bankhead to say good- by. She told me that her husband had two brothers in the ITorthern service — one in the army and the other in the navy. The two army brothers were both in the battles of Shiloh and Perryville, on opposite sides. The naval Bankhead commanded the Moni- tor when she sank. 8* 68 SAN ANTomo. introduced me to a German militia general in a beer-lionse this afternoon. These two had a slight dispute, as the latter spoke strongly in disap- proval of " secTet or night lynching.''^ The recent escapade of Captain Penaloso seems to have been much condemned in San Antonio. This individual (formerly a butcher) hanged one of his sol- diers a short time ago, on his own responsibility, for desertion and stealing a musket. This event came off at 12 o'clock noon, in the principal plaza of the city. The tree has been cut down, to show the feel- ings of the citizens. There can be no doubt that the enforcement of the conscription has, as a general rule, been extremely easy throughout the Confederacy (except among the Germans) ; but I hear of many persons evading it, by getting into some sort of government employment — such as contractors, agents, or teamsters to the Rio Grande. To my extreme regret, I took leave of my friend McCarthy this evening, whose hospitality and kindness I shall never forget. I left San Antonio by stage for AUeyton at 9 p. m. The stage was an old coach, into the interior of which nine persons were crammed on three transverse seats, besides many others on the roof. I was placed on the centre seat, which was extremely narrow, and I had nothing but a strap to support my back. An enormously fat German was my vis-d-vis, and a long- JOURNEY TO HOUSTON — A TEXAN STAGE. 69 legged Confederate officer was in my rear. Onr first team consisted of four mules; we afterwards got horses. My fellow-travellers were all either military men, or connected with the government. Only jvoe out of nine chewed tobacco during the night; bpt they aimed at the windows with great accuracy, and didn't splasJi me. The amount of sleep I got, however, was naturally very trifling. ^^th A^Til (Tuesday). — ^We crossed the river Gua- dalupe at 5 A. M., and got a change of horses. We got a very fair breakfast at Seguin, at 7 A. m., which was beginning to be a well-to-do little place when the war dried it up. It commenced to rain at Seguin, which made the road very woolly, and an- noyed the outsiders a good deal. The conversation turned a good deal upon military subjects, and all agreed that the system of election of officers had proved to be a great mistake. Ac- cording to their own accounts, discipline must have been extremely lax at first, but was now improving. They were most anxious to hear what was thought of their cause in Europe; and none of them seemed aware of the great sympathy which their gallantry and determination had gained for them in England in spite of slavery. "We dined at a little wooden ham- let called Belmont, and changed horses again there. 60 JOURNEY TO HOUSTON. The country tliroiigli whicli we had been travelling was a good deal cultivated, and there were numerous farms. I saw cotton-fields for the first time. We amused ourselves by taking shots with our re- volvers at the enormous jack-rabbits which came to stare at the coach. In the afternoon tobacco-chewing became univer- sal, and the spitting was sometimes a little wild. It was the custom for the outsiders to sit round the top of the carriage, with their legs dangling over (like mutes on a hearse returning from a funeral). This practice rendered it dangerous to put one's head out of the window, for fear of a back kick from the heels, or of a shower of tobacco-juice from the mouths of the Southern chivalry on the roof In spite of their peculiar habits of hanging, shooting, &c., which seemed to be natural to people living in a wild and thinly-populated country, there was much to like in my fellow-travellers. They all had a sort of hon- hommie honesty and straightforwardness, a natural comtesy and extreme good-nature, which was very agreeable. Although they were all very anxious to talk to a European — who, in these blockaded times, is a rara avis — yet their inquisitiveness was never, ofiensive or disagreeable. Any doubts as to my personal safety, which may have been roused by my early insight into Lynch law, were soon completely set at rest ; for I soon per- JOUENET TO HOUSTON. 61 ceived that if any one were to annoy me the re- mainder would stand by me as a point of honor. We supped at a little town called Gonzales at 6.30. We left it at 8 p. m. in another coach with six horses—big, strong animals. The roads being all natural ones, were much in- jured by the rains. We were all rather disgusted by the bad news we heard at Gonzales of the continued advance of Banks, and of the probable fall of Alexandria. The squeezing was really quite awful, but I did not suffer so much as the fat or long-legged ones. They all bore their trials in the most jovial good- humored manner. My fat vis-d-vis (in despair) changed places with me, my two bench-fellows being rather thinner than his, and I benefited much by the change into a back seat. 29tk April (Wednesday). — Exhausted as I was, I managed to sleep wonderfully well last night. We breakfasted at a place called Hallettsville at 7 a. m., and changed carriages again. Here we took in four more Confederate soldiers as outsiders, and we were now eighteen in all. No- where but in this country would such a thing be permitted. Owing to the great top-weight, the coach swayed 62 JOUEITEY TO HOTTSTON. about like a ship in a heavy sea, and the escapes of a capsize were almost miraculous. It is said that at the end of a Texan journey the question asked is not, "Have you been upset?" but, "How many tunes have you been upset ?" The value of the negroes w^orking in the fields was constantly appraised by my fellow-travellers ; and it appeared that, in Texas, an able-bodied male fetched $2500, whilst a well-sldHei^ seamstress was worth 13500. Two of my co^npa^ions served through the late severe campaign m New Mexico, but they con- sidered forty -eight hours in a closely-packed stage Bj great©! hardship than any of their military ex- };.erie2iees. We passed many cotton-fields and beautiful Indian 3orn, but much of the latter had been damaged by ihe hail. I was told that one-third of the land formerly de- voted to cotton is still sown with that article, the re- mainder being corn, &c.* We also passed through some very pretty country, full of fine post-oak and cotton trees, and we met many Mexican cotton-teams — some of the wagons with fourteen oxen or twelve mules, which were be- ing cruelly ill-treated by their drivers. ♦ It is only in Texas tliat so mucli cotton is still grown. JOIJENEY TO nOUSTOK. 63 We crossed several rivers with steep and difficult banks, and dined at a farm-house at 2.30 p. m. I have already discovered that, directly the bell rings, it is necessary to rush at one's food and bolt it as quickly as possible, without any ceremony or de- lay, otherwise it all disappears, so rapacious and so voracious are the natives at their meals whilst travel- ling. Dinner, on such occasions, in no case lasts more than seven minutes. "We reached Columbus at 6 p. m., and got rid of half our passengers there. These Texan towns gen- erally consist of one large plaza, with a well-built court-house on one side and an hotel opposite, the other two sides being filled up with wooden stores. All their budding prosperity has been completely checked by the war; but every one anticipates a great immigration into Texas after the peace. We crossed the Colorado river, and reached Alley- ton, our destination, at 7 p. m. This little wooden village has sprung into existence during the last three years, owing to its being the present terminus to the railroad. It was crammed full of travellers and cotton speculators ; but, as an especial favor, the fat German and I were given a bed between us. I threw myself on the bed with my clothes on (hien entendu), and was fast asleep in five minutes. In the same room there were tliree other beds, each with two o cupants. 64 ALLEYTON. The distance from San Antonio to Alley ton is 140 miles — time, forty-six hours. SOth April (Thursday). — I have to-day acquired my fii'st experience of Texan railroads. In this country, where every white man is as good as another (by theory), and every white female is by courtesy a lady, there is only one class. The train from AUeyton consisted of two long cars, each hold- ing about fifty persons. Their interior is like the aisle of a church, twelve seats on either side, each for two persons. The seats are comfortably stuffed, and seemed luxurious after the stage. Before starting, the engine gives two preliminary snorts, which, with a yell from the official of " all aboard,''^ warn the passengers to hold on ; for they are closely followed by a tremendous jerk, which sets the cars in motion. Every passenger is allowed to use his own discre- tion about breaking his arm, neck, or leg, without interference by the railway officials. People are continually jumping on and off whilst the train is in motion, and larking from one car to the other. There is no sort of fence or other obstacle to prevent " humans" or cattle from getting on the line. We left Alley ton at 8 a. m., and got a miserable meal at Richmond at 12.30. At this little town I was introduced to a seedy-looking man, in rusty black JOUEITEY TO HOUSTON-. 65 clothes and a broken-down " stove-pipe" hat. This was Judge Stockdale, who will probably be the next governor of Texas. He is an agreeable man, and his conversation is far superior to his clothing. The ri- val candidate is General Chambers (I think), who has become very popular by the following sentence in his manifesto : — " I am of opinion that married soldiers should be given the opportunity of embracing their families at least once a year, their places in the ranks being taken by unmarried men. The popula- tion must not be allowed to suffer." Kichmond is on the Brazos river, which is crossed in a peculiar manner. A steep inclined plane leads to a low, rickety, trestle bridge, and a similar inclined plane is cut in the opposite bank. The engine cracks on all steam, and gets sufficient iinpetus in going down the first incline to shoot across the bridge and up the second incline. But even in Texas this method of crossing a«river is considered rather unsafe. After crossing the river in this manner, the rail traverses some very fertile land, part of which forms the estate of the late Colonel Terry. There are more than two hundred negroes on the plantation. Some of the fields were planted with cotton and Indian com mixed, three rows of the former between two of the latter. I saw also fields of cotton and sugar mixed. "We changed carriages at Harrisburg, and I com- pleted my journey to Houston on a cotton truck. 6Q HOUSTON. The country near Houston is very pretty, and is studded witli white wooden villas, which are raised off the ground on blocks like haystacks. I reached Houston at 4.30 p. m., and drove to the Fannin House hotel. Houston is a much better place than I expected. The main street can boast of many well-built brick and iron houses. It was very full, as it now contained all the refugees from the deserted town of Galveston. After an extremely mild supper, I was introduced to Lieutenant Lee, a wounded hero, who lost his leg at Shiloh ; also to Colonel Pyron, a distinguished of- ficer, who commands the regiment named after him. The fat German, Mr. Lee, and myself, went to the theatre afterwards. As a great favor, my British prejudices were re- spected, and I was allowed a bed to myself; but the four other beds in the room had two occupants each. A captain, whose acquaintance I had made in the cars, slept in the next bed to me. Directly after we had got into bed a negro came in, who, squatting down between our beds, began to clean our boots. The Southerner pointed at the slave, and thus held forth : — "Well, Kernel, I reckon you've got servants in your country, but not of that color. ITow, sir, this is a real genume African. He's as happy as the day's long ; and if he was on a sugar plantation he'd be dancing half the night ; but if you was to collect HOIJSTOIT. 67 a thousand of tliem together, and fire one bomb in amongst them, they'd all run like h — 11." The negro grinned, and seemed quite flattered. 1st May (Friday). — I called on General Scurry, and found him suffering from severe ophthalmia. When I presented General Magruder's letter, he in- sisted that I should come and live with him so long as I remained here. He also telegraphed to Galves- ton for a steamer to take me there and back. "We dined at 4 p. m. : the party consisted of Colonel and Judge Terrill (a clever and agreeable man). Colo- nel Pyron, Captain Wharton, quartermaster-general, Major Watkins (a handsome fellow, and hero of the Sabine Pass affair), and Colonel Cook, commanding the artillery at Galveston (late of the U. S. navy, who enjoys the reputation of being a zealous Methodist preacher and a daring officer). The latter told me he could hardly understand how I could be an English- man, as I pronounced my h's all right. General Scurry himself is very amusing, and is an admirable mimic. His numerous anecdotes of the war were very interesting. In peace times he is a lawyer. He was a volunteer major in the Mexican war, and dis- tinguished himself very much in the late campaigns in IS'ew Mexico and Arizona, and at the recapture of Galveston. After dinner, the Queen's health was jproposed ; and 68 GENERAL SAM HOUSTON. the party expressed tlie greatest admiration for Her Majesty, and respect for the British Constitution. They all said that universal suffrage did not produce such deplorable results in the South as in the North ; because the population in the South is so very scat- tered, and the whites being the superior race, they form a sort of aristocracy. They all wanted me to put off going to Galveston till Monday, in order that some ladies might go ; but I was inexorable, as it must now be my object to cross the Mississippi without delay. All these offi- cers despised sabres, and considered double-barrelled shot-guns and revolvers the best arms for cavalry. 2^ May (Saturday). — As the steamer had not ar- rived in the morning, I left by railroad for Galveston. General Scurry insisted upon sending his servant to wait upon me, in order that I might become ac- quainted with " an aristocratic negro." " John" was a very smart fellow, and at first sight nearly as white as myself. In the cars I was introduced to General Samuel Houston, the founder of Texan independence. He told me he was born in Yirginia seventy years ago, that he was United States senator at thirty, and gov- ernor of Tennessee at thirty-six. He emigrated into Texas in 1832 ; headed the revolt of Texas, and de- feated the Mexicans at San Jacinto in 1836. He CAPTAIN CHUBB. 69 then became President of the Kepublic of Texas, which he annexed to the United States in 1845. As Governor of the State in 1860, he had opposed the secession moyement, and was deposed. Though evi- dently a remarkable and clever man, he is extremely egotistical and vain, and much disappointed at hav- ing to subside from his former grandeur. The town of Houston is named after him. In appearance he is a tall, handsome old man, much given to chewing tobacco, and blowing his nose with his fingers.* I was also introduced to another " character," Cap- tain Chubb, who told me he was a Yankee by birth, and served as coxswain to the United States ship Java in 1827. He was afterwards imprisoned at Boston on suspicion of being engaged in the slave trade ; but he escaped. At the beginning of this war he was captured by the Yankees, when he was in command of the Confederate States steamer Royal Yacht, and taken to ]tTew York in chains, where he was con- demned to be hung as a pirate ; but he was even- tually exchanged. I was afterwards told that the slave-trading escapade of which he was accused con- sisted in his haying hired a colored crew at Boston, and then coolly selling them at Galveston. At 1 p. M., we arrived at Virginia Point, a tete-de- pont at the extremity of the mainland. Here Bates's * He is reported to have died in August, 1863. 70 GALVESTON. battalion was encamped — called also tlie " swamp angels," on account of the marshy nature of their quarters, and of their predatory and irregular habits. The railroad then traverses a shallow lagoon (called Galveston Bay) on a trestle-bridge two miles long ; this leads to another tete-de-pont on Galveston island, and in a few mimutes the city is reached. In the train I had received the following message by telegraph from Colonel Debray, who commands at Galveston : " Will Col. Fremantle sleep to-night at the house of a blockaded rebel ?" I answered : — " Delighted ;" and was received at the terminus by Captain Foster of the Staff, who conducted me in an ambulance to headquarters, which were at the house of the Roman Catholic bishop. I was received there by Colonel Debray and two very gentlemanlike French priests. "We sat down to dinner at 2 p.m., but were soon interrupted by an indignant drayman, who came to complain of a military outrage. It appeared that immediately after I had left the cars, a semi-drunken Texan of Pyron's regiment had desired this drayman to stop, and upon the latter declining to do so, the Texan fired five shots at him from his " six-shooter," and the last shot killed the drayman's horse. Cap- tain Foster (who is a Louisianian, and very sarcastic about Texas) said that the regiment would probably hang the soldier for being such a disgraceful had shot. GALVESTOI^. Yl After dinner Colonel Debray took me into the ob- servatory, wbicb commands a good view of the city, bay, and gulf. Galveston is situated near the eastern end of an island thirty miles long by three and a half wide. Its houses are well built ; its streets are long, straight, and shaded with trees ; but the city was now desolate, blockaded, and under military law. Most of the houses were empty, and bore many marks of the ill- directed fire of the Federal ships during the night of the 1st of January last. The whole of Galveston Bay is very shallow, except a narrow channel of about a hmidred yards immedi- ately in front of the now deserted wharves. The en- trance to this channel is at the -northeastern extremity of the island, and is defended by the new works which are now in progress there. It is also blocked up with piles, torpedoes, and other obstacles. The blockaders were plainly visible about four miles from land; they consisted of three gunboats and an ugly paddle steamer, also two supply ves- sels. The wreck of the Confederate cotton-steamer !N"ep- tune (destroyed in her attack on the Harriet Lane), was close off one of the wharves. That of the West- field (blown up by the Yankee Commodore), was off Pelican Island. In the night of the 1st January, General Magruder T2 GALVESTON. suddonly entered Galveston, placed his field-pieces along the line of wharves, and unexpectedly opened fire in the dark upon the Yankee war vessels at a range of about one hundred yards ; but so heavy (though badly directed) was the reply from the ships, that the field-pieces had to be withdrawn. The attack by Colonel Cook upon a Massachusetts regiment forti- fied at the end of a wharf, also failed, and the Con- federates thought themselves " badly whipped." But after daylight the fortunate surrender of the Harriet Lane to the cotton-boat Bayou City, and the extra- ordinary conduct of Commodore Eenshaw, converted a Confederate disaster into the recapture of Galveston. General Magruder certainly deserves immense credit for his boldness in attacking a heavily armed naval squadron with a few field-pieces and two river steam- ers protected with cotton bales and manned with Texan cavalry soldiers. I rode with Colonel Debray to examine Forts Scurry, Magruder, Bankhead, and Point. These works have been ingeniously designed by Colonel Sulokowski (formerly in the Austrian army), and they were being very well constructed by one hun- dred and fifty whites and six hundred blacks under that officer's superintendence, the blacks being lent by the neighboring planters. Although the blockaders can easily approach to within three miles of the works, and although one GALVESTOIT. Y3 shell will always " stampede" tlie negroes, yet they have not thrown any for a long time.* Colonel Debray is a broad-shouldered Frenchman, and is a very good fellow. He told me that he emi- grated to America in 1848 ; he raised a company in 1861, in which he was only a private ; he was next appointed aid-de-camp to the governor of Texas, with the rank of brigadier-general ; he then descend- ed to a major of infantry, afterwards rose to a lien- tenant-colonel of cavalry, and is now colonel. Captain Foster is properly on Magrnder's Staff, and is very good company. His property at I^ew Orleans had been destroyed by the Yankees. In the evening we went to a dance given by Colo- nel Manly, which was great fan. I danced an Amer- ican cotillion with Mrs. Manly ; it was very violent exercise, and not the least like any thing I had seen before. A gentleman stands by shouting out the dif- ' ferent figures to be performed, and every one obeys his orders with much gravity and energy. Colonel Manly is a very gentlemanlike Carolinian ; the ladies were pretty, and^ considering the blockade, they * Sucli a stampede did occur wlien the blockaders tlirew two or three shells. All the negroes ran, showing every sign of great dis- may, and two of them, in their terror, ran into the sea, and were unfortunately drowned. It is now, however, too late, for the ships to try this experiment, as some heavy guns are in position. A description of the different works is of course omitted here. 74 GALVESTON — PYRON's EEGBIENT. were very well dressed. Six deserters from Banks' army arrived here to-daj. Banks seems to be ad- vancing steadily, and overcoming tlie oj^position offered by the liandful of Confederates in the Teclie coimtry. Banks himself is much despised as a soldier, and is always called by the Confederates Mr. Commissary Banks, on acconnt of the efficient manner in which he performed the dnties of that office for " Stonewall" j Jackson in Virginia. The officer who is supposed I Teally to command the advancing Federals, is "Weit- zel ; and he is acknowledged by all here to be an able man, a good soldier, and well acquainted with the country in which he is manoeuvring. Zd May (Sunday). — I paid a long visit this morn- ing to Mr. Lynn the British Consul, who told me that he had great difficulty in communicating with \ the outer world, and had seen no British man-of-war since the Immortalite. At 1.30 1 sawPyron's regiment embark for Mblitt's Bluff to meet Banks. This corps is now dismounted cavalry, and the procession was a droll one. First came eight or ten instruments braying discordantly then an enormous Confederate flag, followed by about four hundred men moving by fours — dressed in every variety of *costume, and armed with every variety of weapon ; about sixty had Enfield rifles ; the remain- W HOUSTOiq". 75 der carried sliot-guns (fowling-pieces), carbines, or long rifles of a peculiar and antiquated niannfacture. N'one had swords or' bayonets — all bad six-sbooters and bowie-knives. The men were a fine, determined- looking lot ; and I saw among tbem a short stout boy of* fourteen, who had served through the Arizona campaign. I saw many of the soldiers take off their hats to the French priests, v/ho seemed much respect- ed in Galveston. This regiment is considered down here to be a very good one, and its colonel is spoken of as one of the bravest officers in the army. The regiment was to be harangued by Old Houston be- fore it embarked.^ In getting into the cars to return to Houston, I was nearly forced to step over the dead body of the horse shot by the soldier yesterday, and which the authorities had not thought necessary to remove. I got back to General Scurry's house at Houston at 4.30 p. M. The general took me out for a drive in his ambulance, and I saw innumerable negroes and negresses parading about the streets in the most out- rageously grand costumes — silks, satins, crinolines, hats with feathers, lace mantles, &c., forming an ab- t sm'd contrast to the simple di'esses of their mistresses. * At tlie outbreak of the war it was found very difScult to raise infantry in Texas, as no Texan walks a yard if he can help it. Many mounted regiments were therefore organized, and after- wards dismounted. 76 JOUEl^ET TO SHEIEVEPOET. Many were driving about in tlieir master's carriages, or riding on horses wliicli are often lent to them on Sunday afternoons ; all seemed intensely happy and satisfied with themselves. told me that old Sam Houston lived for several years amongst the Cherokee Indians, who used to call him " the "Raven" or the " Big Drunk." * He married an Indian squaw when he was with them. Colonel Ives, aid-de-camp to the President, has just arrived from Richmond, and he seems a very well-informed and agreeable man. I have settled to take the route to Shrieveport to- morrow, as it seems doubtful whether Alexandria will or will not fall. 4:t/i May (Monday). — General Scurry's servant ^ " John" had been most attentive since he had been told off to me. I made him a present of my evening i clothes, which gratified him immensely ; and I shook hands with him at parting, which seems to be quite the custom. The Southern gentlemen are certainly ^ able to treat their slaves with extraordinary famil- 1 iarity and kindness. John told me that the General ' would let him buy his freedom whenever he chose, i He is a barber by trade, and was earning much*- 1 money when he insisted on rejoining his master and iij going to the wars. J 1 JOTJENEY TO SHEIEVEPOET. 'TT I left Houston by train for Navasoto at 10 A. m. A Paptain Andrews accompanied me tlins far : lie was ^oing with a troop of cavalry to impress one-fourth >f the negroes on the plantations for the Government |7orks at Galveston, the ]3lanters having been back- (^^ard in coming forward with their darkies. \ Arrived at jN^avasoto (70 miles) at 4 p. m., where I ,ook a stage for Shrieveport (250 miles). I started tt 4.30 p. M., after having had a little dispute with a Aan for a corner seat, and beating him. J It was the same sort of vehicle as the San Antonio ine — eight people inside. During the night there jras a thimderstorm. 6th May (Tuesday). — ^We breakfasted at Hunts- lille at 5.30 a. m. The Federal officers captured in he Harriet Lane are confined in the penitentiary here, and are not treated as prisoners of war. This eems to be the system now with regard to offi- ers since the enlistment of negroes by the ISTorth- ijrners. My fellow-travellers were mostly elderly planters legislators, and there was one judge from Louis- [a,na. One of them produced a pair of boots which ad cost him $100 ; another showed me a common [ide-awake hat which had cost him $40. In Hous- pn, I myself saw an English regulation infantry ^ord exposed for sale for $225 (£45). 78 JOUENET TO SHPwIEVEPOET. As tlie military element did not predominate, my companions nnited in speaking witli horror of the depredations committed in this part of the country by their own troops on a line of march. We passed through a well-wooded coimtry — pines and post-oaks — the road bad: crossed the river Trinity sit 12 noon, and dined at the honse of a dis- repntable-looking individual, called a Campbeliite minister, at 4.30 p. m. The food consisted almost in- variably of bacon, corn bread, and buttermilk: a meal costing a dollar. Arrived at Crockett at 9.30 p. m., where we halted for a few hours. K filthy "bed was given to the Lou- isianian Judge and myself. The Judge, following my example, took to it boots and all, remarking, as he did so, to the attendant negro, that " they were a d d sight cleaner than the bed." Eefore reaching Crockett, we passed through the encampment of Phillipps's regiment of Texas Ean- gers, and we underwent much chaff. They were en roide to resist Banks. Qtth If ay (Wednesday). — TVe left all the passengers at Crockett except the Louisianian Judge,«a Govern- ment agent, and the ex-boatswain of the Harriet Lane, which vessel had been manned by the Confederates after her capture ; but she had since been dismantled, 'lid her crew were being marched to Shrieveport to JOIJENEY TO SimiEVEPOET. Y9 man the iron-clad Missoiirij wliicli ^ -u^as being built there. The food we get on the road is sufficient, and good enough to support life ; it consists of pork or bacon, bread made with Indian corn, and a peculiar mixture called Confederate coffee, made of rje, meal, Indian corn, or sweet potatoes. The loss of coffee alSiicts the Confederates even more than the loss of spirits ; and they exercise their ingenuity in devising substitutes, which are not generally very successful. The same sort of country as yesterday, viz. — ^large forests of pines and post-oaks, and occasional Indian- corn fields, the trees having been killed by cutting a I circle near the roots. At 3 p. m., v/e took in four more passengers. One of them was a Major , brother-in-law to , who hanged Mongomery at Brownsville. He spoke of the exploit of his relative with some pride. He told me that his three brothers had lost an arm" apiece in the war. We arrived at Eusk at 6.30 p. m., and spent a few hours there ; but notwithstanding the boasted splen- dor of the beds at the Cherokee Hotel, and although by Major 's influence I got one to myself, yet I did not consider its aspect sufficiently inviting to induce me to remove my clothes. ^th May (Thursday). — ^We started again at 1.30 A. M., in a smaller coach, but luckily with reduced 80 JOUENEY TO SSKlEVEPOltT. numbers, — viz., the Louisianian Judge (who is also a legislator), a Mississippi planter, the boatswain, the government agent, and a Captain Williams, of the Texas Rangers. Before the day broke we reached a bridge over a stream called Mud Creek, which was in such a dilap- idated condition that all hands had to get out and cover over the biggest holes with planks. The government agent informed us that he still held a commission as adjutant-general to . The latter, it appears, is a cross between a guerilla and a horse thief, and, even by his adjutant-general's ac- count, he seems to be an equal adept at both pro- fessions. The accounts of his forays in Arkansas were highly amusing, but rather strongly seasoned for a legitimate soldier. The Judge was a very gentlemanlike nice old man. Both he and the adjutant-general were much knocked up by the journey ; but I revived the former with the last of the Immortalite rum. The latter was in very weak health, and doesn't expect to live long; but he ardently hoped to destroy a few more " blue- bellies"* before he " goes under." The Mississippi planter had abandoned his estate near Yicksburg, and withdrawn with the remnant of his slaves into Texas. The Judge also had lost all his * The Union soldiers are called " bluebellies" on account of their blue uniforms. These often call the Confederates " graybacks." JOUENEY 10 olIlJEVEPOET. 81 property in 'New Orleans. In fact, every other man one meets lias been more or less ruined since the war, but all speak of their losses with the greatest equa- nimity. Captain Williams was a tall, cadaverous back- woodsman, who had lost hiB health in the war. He spoke of the Federal General Rosecrans with great respect, and he passed the following high encomium upon the ISTorthwestern troops, under Bosecrans' command — " They're reglar great big h — Usnorters, the same breed as ourselves. They don't want no running after, — ^they don't. They ain't no Dutch cavalry — * you bet ! " To my surprise all the party were willing to agree that, a few years ago, most educated men in the South regarded slavery as a misfortune and not justi- fiable, though necessary under the circumstances. But the meddling, coercive conduct of the detested and despised abolitionists had caused the bonds to be drawn much tighter. My fellow-travellers of all classes are much given to talk to me about their " peculiar institution," and they are most anxious that I should see as much of it as possible, in order that I may be convinced that it is not so bad as has been represented, and that they are not all " Legrees," although they do not attempt * German dragoons, mucli despised by the Texans on account of their style of riding. 4* 82 JOUENET TO SHEIEVEPOET. to deny that tliere are many instances of cruelty. But tliey say a man who is known to illtreat his ne- groes is hated by all the rest of the community. They declare that Yankees make the worst masters when they settle in the South ; and all seem to be perfectly aware that slavery, which they did not in- vent, but which they inherited from us (English), is and always will be the great bar to the sympathy of the civilized world. I have heard these words nsed over and over again. All the villages through which we passed were de- serted except by women and very old men; their aspect was most melancholy. The country is sandy, and the land not fertile, but the timber is fine. We met several planters on the road, who with their families and negroes were taking refuge in Texas, after having abandoned their plantations in Lonisiana on the approach of Eanks. One of them had as many as sixty slaves with him of all ages and sizes. At 7 p. iJ. we received an unwelcome addition to our party, in the shape of three huge, long-legged, unwashed, odoriferous Texan soldiers, and we passed a wretched night in consequence. The Texans are certainly not prone to take offence where they see none is intended ; for when this irruption took place, I couldn't help remarking to the Judge, with regard to the most obnoxious man who was occupying the centre seat to our mutual discomfort, — " I say. Judge, SHEIEVEPOST GENEEAL KIEBT SMITH. 83 this gentleman has got the longest legs I ever saw." " Has he ?" replied the Judge ; " and he has got the d — dest, longest, hardest back I ever felt." The Texan was highly amnsed by these remarks npon his personal appearance, and apologized for his peculiar- ities. Crossed the Sabine river at 11.30 p. m. %tJi May (Friday). — "We reached Marshall at 3 A. m., and got four hours' sleep there. "We then got into a railroad for sixteen miles, after which we were cram- med into another stage. Crossed the frontier into Louisiana at 11 A. m. I have therefore been nearly a month getting through the single State of Texas. Eeached Shrieveport at 3 p. M. ; and, after washing for the first time in ^yq days, I called on Gen. Kirby Smith, who commands the whole country on tMs side of the Mississippi. He is a Floridian by birth, was educated at West Point, and served in the United States cavalry. He is only thirty-eight years old ; and he owes his rapid rise to a lieutenant-general to the fortunate fact of his having fallen, just at the very nick of time, upon the Yankee fiank at the first battle of Manassas.* He is a remarkably active man, and of very agreeable manners; he wears big spectacles and a black beard. * CaHed by the Yankees "BuU Run." 84: SHEIEVEPORT. His wife is an extremely pretty woman, from Bal- timore, but she had cut lier hair quite short like a man's. In the evening she proposed that we should go down to the river and fish for cray-fish. We did so, and were most successful, the General displaying much energy on the occasion. He told me that M'Clellan might probably have destroyed the Southern army with the greatest ease during the first winter, and without running much risk to himself, as the Southerners were so much over-elated by their easy triumph at Manassas, and their army had dwindled away. I was introduced to Governor Moore, of Louisiana, to the Lieutenant-governor Hyams, and also to the exiled Governor of Missouri, Eeynolds. Governor Moore told me he had been on the Red River since 1824, from which date until 1840 it had been very unhealthy. He thinks that Dickens must have intended Shrieveport by " Eden."* Governor Eeynolds, of Missouri, told me he found himself in the unfortunate condition of a potentate exiled from his dominions ; but he showed me an ad- dress which he had issued to his Missourians, prom- ising to be with them at the head of an army to de- liver them from their oppressors. * I believe tliis is a mistake of Governor Moore. I liave always understood Cairo was Eden. JOURNEY TimOUGH LOUISIANA. 86 Shrieveport is rather a decent-looking place on the Bed Eiver. It contains about 3,000 inhabitants, and is at present the seat of the Loiiisianian Legislature vice Baton Eouge. But only twenty-eight members of the Lower House had arrived as yet, and business could not be commenced with less than fifty. The river now is broad and rapid, and it is naviga- ted by large steamers ; its banks are low and very fertile, but reputed to be very unhealthy. General Kirby Smith advised me to go to Munroe, and try to cross the Mississippi from thence ; he was so uncertain as to Alexandria that he was afraid to send a steamer so far. I heard much talk at his house about the late Fed- eral raid into the Mississippi,* which seems to be a copy of John Morgan's operations, except that the Federal raid was made in a thinly populated country, bereft of its male inhabitants. 9th May (Saturday). — Started again by stage for Munroe at 4.30 a. m. My companions were, the Mississippi planter, a mad dentist from ISTew Orleans (called, by courtesy, doctor), an old man from Mat- agorda, buying slaves cheap in Louisiana, a wounded officer, and a wounded soldier. The soldier was a very intelligent young Missourian, * Grierson's raid. 86 JOTJKXEY THROUGH LOUISIANA. wlio told me (as others liave) that, at tlie commence- ment of these troubles, both he and his family were strong Unionists. But the Lincolnites, by using co- ercion, had forced them to take one side or the other - — and there are now no more bitter Secessionists than these people. This soldier (Mr. Douglas) was on his way to rejoin Bragg's army. A Confederate soldier when wounded is not given his discharge, but is em- ployed at such work as he is competent to perform. Mr. Douglas was quite lame ; but will be employed at mounted duties or at writing. We passed several large and fertile plantations. The negro quarters formed little villages, and seemed comfortable : some of them held 150 or 200 hands. "We afterwards drove through some beautiful pine forests, and were ferried across a beautiful shallow lake full of cypresses, but not the least like European cypress-trees. We met a nmnber more planters driving their fam- ilies, their slaves, and farniture, towards Texas — ^in fact, every thing that they could save from the ruin that had befallen them on the approach of the Fed- eral troops. At 5 p. M. we reached a charming little town, called Mindon, where I met an English mechanic who de- plored to me that he had been such a fool as to natu- ralize himself, as he was in hourly dread of the con- scription. walkee's division. 87 I have at length become quite callous to many of the horrors of stage travelling. I no longer shrink at every random shower of tobacco-juice ; nor dd I shud- der when good-naturedly, offered a quid. I eat vo- raciously of the bacon that is provided for my suste- nance, and I am invariably treated by my fellow- travellers of all grades with the greatest consideration and kindness. Sometimes a man remarks that it is rather " mean" of England not to recognize the South ; but I can always shut him up by saying, that a nation which deserves its independence should fight and earn it for itself — a sentiment which is invariably agreed to by all. 10th May (Sunday). — I spent a very rough night in consequence of the badness of the road, the jolting of the carriage, and having to occupy a centre seat. In the morning we received news from eveiy one we met of the fall of Alexandria. The road to-day was alive with negroes, who are being "run" into Texas out of Banks' way. We must have met hundreds of them, and many families of planters, who were much to be pitied, especially the ladies. On approaching Munroe, we passed through the camp of Walker's division (8,000 strong), which was on its march from Arkansas to meet Banks. The division had embark od in steamers, and had already 88 MUNROE. started down the " Wacliita" towards the Eed Eiver, when the news arrived of the fall of Alexandria, and of the presence of Federal gunboats in or near the "Wachita itself. This caused the precipitate return and disembarkation of Walker's division. The men ^iwere well armed with rifles and bayonets, but they were dressed in ragged civilian clothes. The old Matagorda man recognized his son in one of these regiments — a perfect boy. Munroe is on the " Wachita" (pronounced Wash- taw), which is a very pretty and wide stream. After crossing it we arrived at the hotel after dark. Universal confusion reigned there ; it was full of officers and soldiers of Walker's division, and no per- son would take the slightest notice of us. In desperation I called on General Ilebert, who commanded the post. I told him who I was, and gave him a letter of introduction, which I had fortu- nately brought from Kirby Smith. I stated my hard case, and besought an asylum for the night, which he immediately accorded me in his own house. The difficulty of crossing the Mississippi appeared to increase the nearer I got to it, and General ITebert told me that it was very doubtful whether I could cross at all at this point. The Yankee gunboats, which had forced their way past Yicksburg and Port Hudson, were roaming about the Mississippi and Red Hiver, and some of them were reported at the entrance GENERAL HESEBT. 89 of the "Wachita itself, a small fort at Harrisonburg being the only impediment to tlieir appearance in front of Munroe. On another side, tbe enemy's forces were close to Delhi, only forty miles distant. There were forty or fifty Yankee deserters here from the army besieging Yicksbnrg. These Yankee deserters, on being asked their reasons for deserting, generally reply, — " Our government has broken faith with us. We enlisted to fight for the Union, and not to liberate the G — d d — d niggers." Yicksburg is distant from this place about eighty miles. The news of General Lee's victory at Chancellors- ville had just arrived here. Every one received it very coolly, and seemed to take it quite as a matter of course ; but the wound of Stonewall Jackson was universally deplored. 11th May (Monday). — General Hebert is a good- looking Creole.* He was a West-Pointer, and served in the old army, but afterwards became a wealthy sugar-planter. He used to hold Magruder's position as commander-in-chief in Texas, but he has now been shelved at Munroe, where he expects to be taken prisoner any day; and, from the present gloomy * The descendants of the French colonists in Louisiana are called Creoles ; most of them talk French, and I have often met Lonisi- i anian regiments talking that language. 90 PASSAGE DOWK THE WACHITA. aspect of affairs about here, it seems extremely prob- able tbat he will not be disappointed in his expecta- tions. He is extremely down upon England for not recognizing the South/'^ He gave me a passage down the river in a steamer, which was to try to take provisions to Harrisonbnrg ; but, at the same time, he informed me that she might very probably be captnred by a Yankee gunboat. At 1 p. M. I embarked for Harrisonburg, which is distant from Mmn-oe by water 150 miles, and by land 75 miles. It is fortified, and offers what was con- sidered a weak obstruction to the passage of the gun- boats up the river to Munroe. The steamer was one of the curious American river boats, which rise to a tremendous height out of the water, like great wooden castles. She vras steered from a box at the very top of all, and this particular one was propelled by one wheel at her stern. The river is quite beautiful ; it is from 200 to SOO yards broad, very deep and tortuous, and the large trees grow right down to the very edge of the water. Our captain at starting expressed in very plain * Greneral Hcbert is tlie only man of education I met in tlie whole of my travels wlio spoke disagreeably about England in tliis respect. IMost people say tliey tliink we are quite rigbt to keep out of it as long as we can ; but others tliink our government is foolisli to miss such a splendid chance of " smashing the Yankees," with whom we must have a row sooner or later. PASSAGE DOWN THE WACHITA. 91 ti terms Ms extreme disgust at the expedition, and said i lie fuUj expected to run against a gunboat at any j turn of the river. > Soon after leaving Munroe, we passed a large plan- i tation. The negro quarters were larger than a great \ many Texan to vvnis, and they held three hundred hands. | After we had proceeded about half an hour, we i were stopped by a mounted orderly (called a courier), j who from the bank roared out the pleasing informa- ; tion, "They're a-fighting at Harrisonburg." The I captain on hearing this turned quite green in the face, and remarked that he'd be " dogged" if he liked run- , ning into the jaws of a lion, and he proposed to turn ] back ; but he was jeered at by my fellow-travellers, ] who were all either officers or soldiers, wishing to- j cross the Mississipjpi to rejoin their regiments in the • different Confederate armies. I One pleasant fellow, more warlike than the rest, i suggested that as we had some Enfields on board, we ! should make " a little bit of a fight," or at least : " make one butt at a gunboat." I was relieved to \ find that these insane proposals were not received j with any enthusiasm by the majority. The plantations, as vre went further down the | river, looked very prosperous ; but signs of prepara- j tions for immediate skedaddling were visible in most j of them, and I fear they are all destined to be soon ; desolate and destroyed. * 92 PASSAGE DOWN THE WACHITA. We came to a courier picket every sixteen miles. At one of tliem we got the information, " Gunboats drove back," at which there was great rejoicing, and the captain, recovering his spirits, became qnite jocose, and vohmteered to give me letters of introduction to a " particular friend of his about here, called Mr. Far- ragut ;" but the next news, " Still a-fightin'," caused us to tie ourselves to a tree at 8 p. m., off a little vil- lage called Columbia, which is half-way between Munroe and Harrisonburg. "We then lit a large fire, round which all the pas- sengers squatted on their heels in Texan fashion, each man whittling a piece of wood, and discussing the merits of the different Yankee prisons at New Orleans or Chicago. One of them, seeing me, called out, " I reckon. Kernel, if the Yankees catch you with us, they'll say you're in d — d bad company ;" which sally caused universal hilarity. 12tJi May (Tuesday). — Shortly after daylight three negroes arrived from Harrisonburg, and they describ- ed the fight as still going on. They said they were "dreadful skeered;" and one of them told me he would " rather be a slave to his master all his life, than a white man and a soldier." During the morning some of the officers and sol- diers left the boat, and determined to cut across coun- try to Harrisonburg, but I would not abandon the PASSAGE DOWK THE WACHITA. 9 scanty remains of my baggage until I was forced t do so. During the morning twelve more negroes arrive" from Harrisonburg. It appears that three hundred c them, the property of neighboring planters, had bee] engaged working on the fortifications, but they al with one accord bolted when the first shell v/as firec Their only idea and hope at present seemed to be t get back to their masters. All spoke of the Yankee with great detestation, and expressed wishes to hav nothing to do with such " bad people." Our captain coolly employed them in tearing dow the fences, and carrying the wood away on board th steamer for firewood. "We did nothing but this all day long, the captai being afraid to go on, and unwilling to return. I: the evening a new alarm seized him — ^viz., that th Federal cavalry had cut off the Confederate line c couriers. During the night we remained in the sam position as last night, head up stream, and ready t be ofi' at a moment's notice."^ i ISth May (Wednesday). — There was a row on boar last night ; one of the officers having been too attei * One of the passengers on board this steamer was Captai Barney, of the Confederate States Navy, who has since, I b lieve, succeeded Captain Maffit in the command of the Fl rida. ' ' 94 HAKEISOIS^BUEG. tive to a lady, had to skedaddle suddenly into tlie woods, in order to escape the fury of her protector, and he has not thought it advisable to reappear. My trusty companion for several days, the poor young Missourian, was taken ill to-day, and told me he had a " Tiglit smart little fever on him." I doctored him with some of the physic which Mr. Maloney had given me, and he got better in the evening. We had pickets out in the woods last night. ' Two of my fellow-travellers on that duty fell in with a negro, and pretending they were Yankees, asked him to join them. He consented, and even volunteered to steal his master's horses ; and he then received a tremendous thrashing, administered by the two sol- diers with their ramrods. At 9 p. M., to the surprise of all, the captain sud- denly made up his mind to descend the river at all hazards, thinking, I suppose, that any thing was better than the uncertainty of the last twenty-four hours. The further we went, the more beautiful was the scenery. At 4 p. M. we were assured by a citizen on the bank that the gunboats really had retreated ; and at 5.30 our doubts were set at rest, to our great satisfaction, by descrying the Confederate flag flying from Fort Beauregard, high above the little town of Harrison- burg. After w^e had landed, I presented my letter of introduction from General Hebert to Colonel Logan, HAEEISONBUEG. 95 j who commands tlie fort. He introduced me to a i German officer, tlie engineer. ' Tliej gave me an account of the attack and repulse of the four Federal gunboats under Commodore "Woodford, and supposed to have been the Pittsburg i ( ronclad), the General Price, the Ari25ona, and an- ; other. ' Fort Beauregard is a much more formidable look- ing work than I expected to see, and its strength had evidently been much underrated at Munroe. A hill 190 feet high, which rises just in rear of j Harrisonburg, has been scarped and fortified. It is i situated at an angle of the river, and faces a long i "reach" of two miles. ■ The gunboats, after demanding an unconditional - surrender, v/hich was treated with great contempt by : Colonel Logan, opened fire at 2 p. si. on Sunday, and \ kept it up till 6.30, throwing about one hundred and j fifty 9 and 11 inch shell. The gunboats reopened , again for about an hour on Monday afternoon, when they finally withdrew, the Arizona being crippled. ; The fort fired altogether about forty-five 32-pound I shot (smooth bore). The range was about a mile. i The garrison thought that they had loosened sev- I eral of the Pittsburg's iron-plates. They felt confi- ! dent they could have sunk the wooden vessels if they ^ had attempted to force the passage ; and they were | naturally much elated with their success, which cer- 96 ' HAERISONBUBG. tainlj had not been anticipated on board mj steamer or at Munroe. I Iiad not time to visit tbe interior of the fort, but I saw the effect of the shell upon the outside. Those which fell in the sand did not burst. Only three men were wounded in the garrison. They told me the deck of the Pittsburg was furnished with a para- pet of cotton-bales for riflemen. The river at Harrisonburg is about 160 yards broad, and very deep, with a moderate current. The town, being between the vessels and the fort, had, of course, suffered considerably during the bombardment. When the works are complete they will be much more formidable. To our great joy Colonel Logan decided that our vessel should proceed at once to Trinity, which is fif- teen miles nearer J^atchez (on the Mississippi) than Harrisonburg. "We arrived there at 8 p. m., and found that the gunboats had only just left, after hav- ing destroyed all the molasses and rum they could find, and carried away a few negroes. Six of us pigged in one very small room, paying a dollar each for this luxury to an old woman, who was most inhospitable, and told us " she didn't want to see no soldiers, as the Yanks would come back and burn her house for harboring rebels." I am always taken for a Confederate officer, partly from being in their company, and partly on account of my clothes. JOURNEY THEOUGH THE SWAMPS. 97 wliicli happen to be a gray shooting-suit, almost the same color as most of the soldiers' coats. lUh May (Thursday). — The officers and soldiers, about thirty in number, who came down the Wachita in my company, determined to proceed to Natchez to-day, and a very hard day's work we had of it. As the Louisianian bank of the Mississippi is com- pletely overflowed at this time of year, and the river itself is infested with the enemy's gunboats, which have run past Yicksburg and Port Hudson, the pas- sage can only be made by a tedious journey in small boats through the swamps and bayous. Our party left Trinity at 6 a. m. in one big yawl and three skiffs. In my skiff were eight persons, be- sides a negro oarsman named " Tucker." We had to take it in turns to row with this worthy, and I soon discovered to my cost the inconvenience of sitting in close proximity with a perspiring darkie. This negro was a very powerful man, very vain and susceptible of flattery. I won his heart by asking him if he wasn't worth 6,000 dollars. We kept him up to the mark throughout the journey by plying him with compliments upon his strength and skill. One offi- cer declared to him that he should try to marry his mistress (a widow) on purpose to own him. After beating up for about eight miles against one of three streams which unite at, and give its name to, 98 JOTJENEY THEOUGH THE SWAMPS. Trinity, we turned off to tlie riglit, and got into a large dense swamp. The thicket was so tangled and impenetrable that we experienced the greatest diffi- culty in forcing om' way throngh it ; we were often obliged to get into the water up to our middles and shove, whilst most of the party walked along an em- bankment. After two hours and a half of this sort of work we had to carry our boats bodily over the embankment into a bayou called Log Bayou, on account of the nu- merous floating logs which had to be encountered. We then crossed a large and .beautiful lake, which led us into another dismal swamp, quite as tangled as the former one. Here we lost our way, and got aground several times ; but at length, after great exertions, we forced ourselves through it, and reached Lake Con- cordia, a fine piece of water, several miles in extent, and we were landed at dusk on the plantation of a Mr. Davis. These bayous and swamps abound with alligators and snakes of the most venomous descrip- tion. I saw many of the latter swimming about ex- posed to a heavy fire of six-shooters ; but the alliga- tors were frightened away by the leading boat. The yawl and one of the skiffs beat us, and their passengers reached JSTatchez about 9 p. m., but the other skiff, which could not boast of a Tucker, was lost in the swamp, and passed the night there in a wretched plight. JOTJENET THEOUGH THE SWAMPS. 99 The weather was most disagreeable, either a burn- ing sTin or a downpour of rain. The distance we did in the skiff was about twenty- eight miles, which took us eleven hours to perforin. On landmg we hired at Mr. Davis's a small cart for Mr. Douglas (the wounded Missourian) and our baggage, and we had to finish the day by a trudge of three miles through deep mud, until, at length, we reached a place called Yidalia, which is on the Lou- isianian bank of the Mississippi, just opposite J^atchez. At Yidalia I got the immense luxury of a pretty good bed, all to myself^ which enabled me to take off my clothes and boots for the first time in ten days. The landlord told us that three of the enemy's gun- boats had passed during the day ; and as he said their crews were often in the habit of landing at Yidalia, he cautioned the military to be ready to bolt into the woods at any time during the night. There were two conscripts on board my skiff to- day, one an Irishman and the other a Pole. They confessed to me privately their extreme dislike of the military profession ; but at the same time they ac- knowledged the enthusiasm of the masses for the war. \^ih May (Friday). — I nearly slept round the clock after yesterday's exertions. Mr. Douglas and I crossed the father of rivers and landed on the Mis- sissippi bank at 9 a. m. i 100 NATCHEZ. ]^atcliez is a pretty little town, and ouglit to con- tain about 6,000 inhabitants. It is bnilt on the top of a Iiigb bluff overlooking the Mississippi river, which is about three quarters of a mile broad at this point. When I reached Natchez I hired a carriage, and, with a letter of introduction which I had brought from San Antonio, I drove to the house of Mr. Hal- ler l!Tutt, distant from the town about two miles. The scenery about ISTatchez is extremely pretty, and the ground is hilly, with plenty of fine trees. Mr. l^utt's place reminded me very much of an Eng- lish gentleman's country seat, except that the house itself is rather like a pagoda, but it is beautifully fur- nished. Mr. ITutt was extremely civil, and was most anx- ious that I should remain at ITatchez for a few days ; but now that I was thoroughly wound up for trav- elling, I determined to push on to Yicksburg, as all the late news seemed to shov7 that some great op- erations must take place there before long. I had fondly imagined that after reaching !N'atchez my difficulties would have been over; but I very soon discovered that this was a delusive hope. I found that l^atchez was full of the most gloomy rumors. Another Yankee raid seemed to have been made into the interior of Mississippi, more railroad is reported to be destroyed, and great doubts were expressed whether I should be able to get into Yicksburg at all. NATCHEZ. 101 However, as I found some other people as deter- mined to proceed as myself, we hired a carriage for $100 to drive to Brookhaven, whicli is tlie nearest point on the railroad, and is distant from J^atcliez Q6 miles. My companions were a fat Government contractor from Texas, the wounded Missourian Mr. Dojiglas, and an ugly woman, wife to a soldier in Yicksburg. We left ISTatchez at 12 noon, and were driven by a negro named l!Telson ; the carriage and the three horses belong to him, and he drives it for his own profit ; but he is, nevertheless a slave, and pays his owner $4J a-week to be allowed to work on his own ac- count. He was quite as vain as and even more amusing than Tucker. He said he " didn't want to see no Yanks, nor to be no freer than he is ;" and he thought the war had already lasted four or ^ve years. Every traveller we met on the road was eagerly asked the questions, " Are the Yanks in Brookhaven ? Is the railroad open ?" At first we received satisfac- tory replies ; but at 6 p. m. we met an officer driving towards ^Natchez at a great pace ; he gave us the alarming intelligence that Jackson was going to be evacuated. Now, as Jackson is the capital city of this State, a great railroad junction, and on the high- road to every civilized place from this, our feelings may be imagined, but we did not believe it possible. On the other hand we were told that General Joseph 102 NATCHEZ TO BEOOKHAVEN. Johnston had arrived and assumed the command in Mississippi. lie a]3pears to be an officer in whom eyerj one places unbounded confidence. We slept at a farm-house. All the males were ab- sent at the war, and it is impossible to exaggerate the unfortunate condition of the women left behind in th§se farm-houses ; they have scarcely any clothes, and nothing but the coarsest bacon to eat, and are in miserable uncertainty as to the fate of their relations, whom they can hardly ever communicate with. Their slaves, however, generally remain true to them. Our hostess, though she was reduced to the great- est distress, was well-mannered, and exceedingly well educated ; very far superior to a woman of her station in England. IQth May (Saturday). — ^We started a little before daylight, our team looking so very mean that we ex- pressed doubts as to their lasting — to Mr. ITelson's great indignation. We breakfasted at another little farm-house on some unusually tough bacon, and coffee made of sweet potatoes. The natives, under all their misery, were red-hot in favor of fighting for their independ- ence to the last, and I constantly hear the words, " This is the most unjust war ever waged upon a people by mortal man." At 11 A. M. we met a great crowd of negroes, who geieeson's eatd. 103 had been run into tlie swamps to be out of tbe way of the Yankees, and tbej were now returning to Louisiana. At 2 p. M. a wounded soldier gave us the deplor- able information that tbe enemy really was on tbe railroad between Jackson and Brookhaven, and that Jackson itself was in liis bands. This news stag- gered us all, and ^Nelson became alarmed for the safety of bis wretcbed animals ; but we all deter- mined to go on at all hazards, and see what turned ap. We halted for dinner at a farm-house, in which ivere seven virgins, seated all of a row. They were aU good-looking, but shy and bashful to a degree I Liever before witnessed. All the young women in this country seem to be either uncommonly free-spoken, or else extremely shy. The further we went, the more certain became the news of the fall of Jackson. We passed the night in the veranda of an old farmer. He told us that Grierson's Yankee raid had captured him about three weeks ago. He thought the Yankees were about 1,500 strong ; they took all good horses, leaving their worn-out ones behind. They destroyed railroad, government property, and arms, and paroled all men, both old and young, but they committed no barbarities. In this manner they traversed all the State of Mississippi without meet- ing any resistance. They were fine-looking men from the IlTorthwestern States. 104 BEOOKHAVEK". Vlth May (Sunday). — We started again at 4.30 A. M., and met five wounded men, who liad been cap- tured and paroled by Banks, in Louisiana ; tliey con- firmed every thing about tbe fall of Jackson, wbich made me consider myself particularly unfortunate, and destined apparently to be always intercepted by the [N^ortliern troops, wliicli had happened to be at Alexandria, at Harrisonburg, and now again at Jackson. At 8 a. m. we reached the little town of Brookhaven, which was full of travellers, principally Confederate soldiers, anxious^fco rejoin then- regiments. Maxey's brigade left this place by road last night to join General Johnston, who is supposed to be con- centrating his forces at a place called Canton, not far from Jackson. I called on Captain Matthews, the officer who com- manded at Brookhaven, and after introducing myself to him, he promised to assist me, by every means in his power, to join General Johnston. I then went to a Methodist chapel ; a good many soldiers were there, and a great number of women. At noon, just as I had begun to get in very low spirits about the prospects of getting on, a locomotive arrived from a station called Haslehurst, and brought us the astonishing report that the Yankees had sud- denly abandoned Jackson, after destroying all the government, and a good deal of private, property. This news caused our prospects to look brighter. BEOOKHAVEN TO JACKSON. 105 l^th May (Monday). — On getting up this morn- ing, every thing appeared very uncertain, and a thousand contradictory reports and rumors were fly- ing about. At 8 o'clock I called on Captain Matthews, and told him my earnest desire to get on towards John- ston's army at all risks. He kindly introduced me to the conductor of a locomotive, who offered to take me to within a few miles of Jackson, if he was not cut off by the enemy, which seemed extremely j)rob- able. At 9 a. m. I seated myself, in company with about twenty soldiers, on the engine, and we started towards Jackson. On reaching Crystal Springs, half-way to Jackson, we found General Loring's division crossing the rail- road and marching east. It had been defeated, with the loss of most of its artillery, three days before, and was now cut off from General Pemberton. At 5 p. M. the conductor stopped the engine, and put us out at a spot distant nine miles from Jackson ; and as I could procure no shelter, food, or convey- ance there, I found myself in a terrible fix. At this juncture a French boy rode up on horse- back, and volunteered to carry my saddle-bags as far as Jackson, if I could walk and carry the remainder. Gladly accepting this unexpected offer, I started with him to walk up the railroad, as he assured me the Yankees really had gone ; and during the jom-ney, 5* 106 BEOOKHAVEN TO JACKSON. he gave me a description of their conduct during the short time they had occupied the city. On arriving within three miles of Jackson, I found the railroad destroyed by the enemy, who after pull- ing up the track, had made piles of the sleepers, and then put the rails in layers on the top of these heaps ; they had then set fire to the slee]3ers, which had caused the rails to bend when red-hot ; the wooden bridges had also been set on fire, and were still smoking. When within a mile and a half of Jackson, I met tour men, who stopped and questioned me very sus- piciously, but they at length allowed me to proceed, saying that these " were curious times." After another mile I reached a mild trench, which %vas dignified by the npme of the fortifications of Jackson. A small fight had taken place there four -lays previous, when General Johnston had evacuated the city. "When I got inside this trench I came to the spot on ^hich a large body of the Yankees had recently been encamped ; they had set fire to a great quantity of stores and arms, which they had been unable to carry away with them, and which were still burning, and were partially destroyed. I observed also great num- bers of pikes and pikeheads amongst the debris. At the entrance to the town the French boy took me to the house of his relatives, and handed me my AERESTED AS A SPY. 107 ' saddlebags. These Frencli people told me tliey had ; been much ill-treated, notwithstanding their French i nationality. They showed me their broken furni- j ture, and they assured me that they had been robbed ; of every thing of any value. I then shouldered my i saddlebags, and walked through the smoking and | desolate streets towards the Bowmont House hotel. ; I had not proceeded far before a man with long gray hair and an enormous revolver rode up to me, ' and offered to carry my saddlebags. He then asked j me who I was ; and after I told him, he thought a few moments, and then said, " Well, sir, you must excuse me, but if you are a British officer, I. can't make out what on earth you are doing at Jackson just now." I ^ could not but confess that this was rather a natural idea, and that my presence in this burning town ) must have seemed rather odd, more especially as I • was obliged to acknowledge that I was there entirely of my own free will, and for my own amusement. | Mr. Smythe, for so this individual was named, then told me, that if I was really the person I represented myself, I should be well treated by all ; but that if I , could not prove myself to be an English officer, an \ event would happen which it was not difficult to ' foresee, and the idea caused a disagreeable sensation | about the throat. ; ; Mr. Smythe then gave me to understand that I , must remain a prisoner for the present. He con- 108 DR. RrSSELL. ducted me to a room in the Bowmont House liotel, and I found myself speedily surrounded by a group of eager and excited citizens, who had been sum- moned by Smythe to conduct my examination. At first they were inclined to be disagreeable. They examined my clothes, and argued as to whether they were of English manufacture. Some, who had been in London, asked me questions about the streets of the metropolis, and about my regiment. One re- marked that I was " mighty young for a lootenanir colonelP When I suggested that they should treat me with proper respect until I was proved to be a spy, they replied that their city had been brutally pillaged by the Yankees, and that there were many suspicious characters about. Every thing now looked very threatening, and it became evident to me that nothing would relieve the minds of these men so much as a hanging match. I looked in vain for some one to take my part, and I could not even get any person to examine my papers. At this critical juncture a new character appeared on the scene in the shape of a big heavy man who said to me, " My name is Dr. Eussell ; I'm an Irish- man, and I hate the British Government and the English nation ; but if you are really an officer in the Coldstream Guards there is nothing I won't do for you ; you shall come to my house and I will protect you." DE. RUSSELL. 109 I immediately showed Dr. Russell my passport and letters of introduction to General Johnston and other Confederate officers; he pronounced them genuine, promised to stand by me, and wanted to take me away with him at once. But observing that the countenances of Smythe and his colleagues did not by any means express sat- isfaction at this arrangement, I announced my de- termination to stay where I was until I was released by the military authorities, with whom I demanded an immediate audience. A very handsome cavalry officer called Captain Yerger, shortly afterwards arrived, who released me at once — asked me to his mother's house, and prom- ised that I should join a brigade which was to matTch for General Johnston's camp on the following morning. All the citizens seemed to be satisfied by the result of my interview with Captain Yerger, and most of them insisted on shaking hands and " liquoring up," in horrible whiskey. Smythe, however, was an ex- ception to this rule. He evidently thought he had effiscted a grand capture, and was not at all satisfied at the tm*n of affairs. I believe to his dying day he will think I am a spy ; but it was explained to me that his house had been burnt down by the Yankees two days before, which had made him unusually venomous. They told me that Dr. Russell had saved his prop- 110 PILLAGE OF JACKSON. ertj from pillage in the following manner : — He had seated himself in his veranda, with a loaded double- barrelled gnn on his knees, and when the pillagers approached, he addressed them in the following man- ner : " JSTo man can die more than once, and I shall never be more ready to die than I am now : there is nothing to prevent your going into this house, ex- cept that I shall kill the first two of you who move with this gun. 'Now then, gentlemen, walk in." This speech is said to have saved Dr. Russell from further annoyance, and his property from the ruin which overtook his neighbors. Jackson, the capital of the State of Mississippi, is a place of great importance. Four railroads meet here, and have been destroyed in each direction for a dis- tance of from three to 'Q.Ye miles. All the numerous factories have been burnt down by the enemy, who were of course justified in doing so ; but during the short space of thirty-six hours, in which General Grant occupied the city, his troops had wantonly pillaged aearly all the private houses. They had gutted all the stores, and destroyed what they could not carry away. All this must have been done under the very eyes of General Grant, whose name was in the book of the Bowmont House hotel. I saw the ruins of the Homan Catholic chm^ch, the priest's house, and the principal hotel, which were still smoking, together with many other buildings SITUATION OF AFFAIRS m MISSISSIPPI. Ill which could in no way be identified with the Con- federate Government. The whole town was a mis- erable wreck, and presented a deplorable aspect. I^othing conld exceed the intense hatred and fury with which its excited citizens speak of the outrages they have undergone — of their desire for a bloody revenge, and of their hope that the Black Flag might be raised.* I had previously heard the Jacksonians spoken of as not being particularly zealous in the war. Heaven knows General Grant had now converted them into good and earnest rebels. At 8 p. M. I called at Captain Yerger's house, and found him with General Gist and another officer lying flat on their stomachs poring over a map. Captain Yerger then introduced me to the ladies of his family, who were extremely pretty, very amiable, and highly patriotic. The house is charming, and, being outside the town, it had by good luck escaped destruction and pillage. After supper, the ladies played and sang, and I ended an eventful day in a very agreeable manner. General Gist promised that I should ac- company his brigade to-morrow on its march towards General Johnston, and Mrs. Yerger insisted that I should pass the night at her house. * Since this date, the unfortunate city of Jackson Las been again subjected to pillage by tlie Federals after the capture of Vicksburg. 112 JACKSON. In this part of tlie country tlie prospects of the Confederacy appeared to be very gloomy. General Joseph Johnston, who commands the whole Western Department, only arrived from Tennessee last Wed- nesday, and on the following day he found himself obliged to abandon Jackson to an overwhelming l^orthern army, after making a short fight to enable his baggage to escape. General Pemberton, who had hitherto held the chief command, is abused by all. He was beaten on Saturday at Baker's Creek, where he lost the greater part of his artillery. He had retired into Yicksburg, and was now completely shut up there by the victo- rious Grant. General Maxey's brigade, about 5,000 strong, was near Brookhaven, and was marching east when I was there. General Loring's force, cut off from Pember- ton, was near Crystal Springs. General Johnston, with about 6,000 men, was supposed to be near Can- ton. General Gist's troops, about 5,500 strong, were close by, having arrived from South Carolina and Georgia, just too late to defend Jackson. The enemy, under General Grant, in vastly supe- rior force, was pressing Yicksburg very hard, and had now completely invested that fortress. The great object of the Confederates must, of course, be to unite their scattered forces under so able a gen- eral as Johnston, and then relieve Yicksburg. GENEEAL GISt's TEOOPS. 113 19th Mci/y (Tuesday).— The landlord of the Bow- mont House gave a breakfast at 7 a. m. to General Gist and his Staff,^to which I also*»was invited. Shortly afterwards I was given a seat in a curious little vehicle belonging to Lieutenant Martino, a Spaniard, in the Confederate army. This vehicle caused considerable merriment amongst the soldiers, who called it a chicken-wagon. We left Jackson with the leading troops about 8 A. M., amidst a great waving of handkerchiefs and showers of flowers, thrown by the few remaining ladies who were still left in that dilapidated place. The corps under General Gist consisted of three weak brigades, the leading one composed of Georgians and South Carolinians ; the next were Texans, under General Ector ; and the last were Arkansians, under General M'Kair. General Gist had twelve good- looking Napoleon guns with him (twelve-pounders). The horses were fine animals, and were in wonderful good condition, considering that they had been ten days on the railroad coming from South Carolina. The troops were roughly but efficiently clothed ; their boots were in good order, and all were armed with Enfield rifles. The weather was very hot, and we were halted to bivouac for the night, at a spot about seventeen miles from Jackson, on the road towards Yicksburg. The straggling of the Georgians was on the grand- 114 MAECH WITH GENEEAL GIST. est scale conceivable ; the men fell out bj dozens, and seemed to suit their own convenience in tliat respect, without interfereiice on the part df the officers. But I was told that these regiments had never done any marching before, having hitherto been quartered in forts and transported by railroad. The country is much covered with woods, and is sandy, with very little water. I did not consider that the troops were marched judiciously ; they were halted too long at a time, and not often enough. The baggage was carried on country carts pressed into the service. We bivouacked in the woods near a very pretty house, belonging to a planter called Colonel Robinson. These immense woods make admirable bivouacs. General State Rights Gist is a South Carolinian, only thirty-two years of age, and although not edu- cated as a soldier, he seems easily to have adapted himself to the military profession. He looks a deter- mined man, and he takes responsibility very coolly. In the early part of the day he was very doubtful as to the exact whereabouts of General Johnston ; but about noon a courier arrived, from whom he received important and satisfactory information, otherwise General Gist had made up his mind for some " nasty work" before the junction could be effected. He told me that the present expedition was rather inconve- nient to him, as he had only been married three days MAECH WITH GENEEAL GIST. 115 before lie left Charleston. He lent me a magnificent rug, and I slept very comfortably in tbe open air for the first time since I was in Texas. 20^A May (Wednesday). — ^At 3 a. m. we were awoke by a great bombardment going on at Yicks- bm*g, wbicb lasted about three hours.* The assembly was beaten at T a. m. by an old nig- ger, performing on a cracked drum, and its sound was haijed by the soldiers with loud yells. General Gist, his Stafi*, and I, breakfasted with Mr. Eobinson, whose house is charming, and beautifully famished, and h^ not been visited by the Yankees. We had a crazy old planter, named , with us, who insisted upon accompanying the column, mount- ed on a miserable animal which had been left him by the enemy as not being worth carrying away. The small remains of this poor old man's sense had been shattered by the Yankees a few days ago ; they clean- ed him completely out, taking his horses, mules, cows, and pigs, and stealing his clothes and any thing they wanted, destroying what they could not carry away. But what " riled" him most was that he had been visited by a Federal oflicer, disguised in the Confed- erate uniform. Poor old , fall of rebel zeal, had, on being invited to do so, mounted en croujpe behind * I afterwards learnt that this bombardment preceded one of the unsuccessful assaults. 116 MAUCH WITH GENERAL GIST. this officer, and unbosomed himself to him ; his fmy and rage may be imagined at finding himself shortly afterwards in the very midst of the Federal camp ; bnt the Yankee General M'Pherson ordered him to be released ; and it appears that the reason of his be- ing kidnapped, was to extract from him a large quan- tity of gold, which he was supposed to have hidden somewhere. This Mr. (or Major-) took a great fancy to me, and insisted on picking some of the silk of Indian corn, which he requested I would present to Queen Yictoria to show her how far advanced the crops were in Mississippi. It was almost painful to hear the manner in which this poor old man gloated over the bodies of the dead Yankees at Jackson, and of his intense desire to see more of them put to death. The column reached the village or town of Living- ston at 11 A. M., where I was introduced to a militia general and his pretty daughter ; the latter had been married two days before to a wounded Confederate officer, but the happy couple were just on the point of starting for the Yazoo river, as they were afraid of being disturbed in their felicity by the Yankees. ' I now heard every one speaking of the fall of Yicks- burg as very possible, and its jeopardy was laid at the door of General Pemberton, for whom no language * Nearly every man in this part of tlie country has a military title. GENEEAL JOSEPH JOHNSTOIT. 117 could be too strong. He was freely called a coward and a traitor. He has the misfortune to be a l^orth- emer by birth, which was against him in the opinion of all here. General Gist and I cantered on in front of the column, and reached General Johnston's bivouac at 6 p. M. General Johnston received me with much kindness, when I presented my letters of introduction, and stated my object in visiting the Confederate armies. In appearance. General Joseph E. Johnston (com- monly called Joe Johnston) is rather below the middle height, spare, soldierlike, and well set up ; his features are good, and he has lately taken to wear a grayish beard. He is a Yirginian by birth, and appears to be about fifty-seven years old. He talks in a calm, de- liberate, and confident manner; to me he was ex- tremely affable, but he certainly possesses the power of keeping people at a distance when he chooses, and his officers evidently stand in great awe of him. He lives very plainly, and at present his only cooking- utensils consisted of an old coffee-pot and frying- pan — ^both very inferior articles. There was only one fork (one prong deficient) between himself and Staff, and this was handed to me ceremoniously as the " guest." He has undoubtedly acquired the entire confidence of all the officers and soldiers under him. Many of 118 AT GEKEEAL JOHNSTON S CAMP. the officers told me tliey did not consider him inferior as a general to Lee or any one else. He told me that Yicksbnrg was certainly in a crit- ical situation, and was now closely invested by Grant. He said that he (Johnston) had 11,000 men with him (which includes Gist's), hardly any cavalry, and only sixteen pieces of cannon ; but if he could get ade- quate reinforcements, he stated his intention •of en- deavoring to relieve Yicksburg. I also made the acquaintance of the Georgian Gen- eral "Walker, a fierce and very warlike fire-eater, who was fmious at having been obliged to evacuate Jack- son after having only destroyed four hundred Yan- kees. He told me, "I know I couldn't hold the place, but I did want to kill a few more of the rascals." At 9 p. M I returned with General Gist to his camp, as my baggage was there. On the road we were met by several natives, who complained that soldiers were quartering themselves upon them and eating every thing. The bivouacs are extremely pretty at night, the dense woods being lit up by innumerable camp-fires. ^Ist May (Thursday). — I rejoined General John- ston at 9 A. M., and was received into his mess. Ma- jor Eustis and Lieutenant Washington, officers of his Staff, are thorough gentlemen, and did all in their AT GE2TERAL JOHNSTON's CAMP. 119 * power to make me comfortable. The first is a Lou- isianian of wealtli (formerly) ; his negro always speaks French. He is brother to the secretary of Mr. Sli- dell in Paris, and has learnt to become an excellent Staff officer. I was presented to Captain Henderson, who com- manded a corps of about fifty " scouts." These are employed on the hazardous duty of hanging about the enemy's camps, collecting information, and com- municating with Pemberton in Yicksburg. They are .a fine-looking lot of men, wild, and very pictur- esque in appearance. At 12 noon a Yankee military surgeon came to camp. He had been left behind by Grant to look after the Yankees wounded at Jackson, and he was now anxious to rejoin his general by flag of truce, but General Johnston very prudently, refused to allow this, and desired that he should be sent to the North via Richmond. By a very sensible arrangement, both sides have agreed to treat doctors as non-com- batants, and not to make prisoners of war of them. The chief surgeon in Johnston's army is a very clever and amusing Kentuckian, named Dr. Yandell. He told me he had been educated in England, and might have had a large practice there. My friend " Major" very kindly took me to dine with a neighboring planter, named Harrold, at j whose house I met General Gregg, a Texan, who, 120 AT GENEEAL JOHNSTON S CAMP. with Ms brigade, fought the Yankees at Eaymond a few days ago. After dinner, I asked Mr. Harrold to take me over the quarters of his slaves, which he did immediately. Tho huts were comfortable and very clean ; the ne- groes seemed fond of their master, but he told me they were suffering dreadfully from the effects of the war — ^he had so much difficulty in providing them with clothes and shoes. I saw an old woman in one of the huts, who had been suffering from an incurable disease for thirteen years, and was utterly useless. She was evidently well cared for, and was treated with affection and care. At all events, she must have benefited largely by the " peculiar institution." I have often told these planters that I thought the word " slave" was the most repulsive part of the in- stitution, and I have always observed they invariably shirk using it themselves. They speak of their ser- vant, their boy, or their negroes, but never of their slaves. They address a negro as boy or girl, or uncle or aunty. In the evening I asked General Johnston what pros- pect he thought there was of early operations, and he told me that at present he was too weak to do any good, and he was unable to give me any definite idea as to when he might be strong enough to attack Grant. I therefore made up my mind to be off in a day or two, unless something turned up, as I could not AT GENERAL JOHNSTON 's CAMP. 121 ■4 afford to wait for events, I have still so mucli to see. General Johnston is a very well-read man, and agreeable to converse witli. He told me that he con- sidered Marlborongh a greater general than Welling- ton. All Americans have an intense adrnkation for ^Napoleon ; they seldom scruple to express their re- gret that he was beaten at "Waterloo. Remarking upon the extreme prevalence of military titles. General Johnston said, " Yon must be aston- ished to find how fond all Americans are of titles, though they are republicans ; and as they can't get any other sort, they all take military ones." Whilst seated round the camp fire in the evening, one of the officers remarked to me, " I can assure you, colonel, that nine men out of ten in the South would sooner become subjects of Queen Victoria than return to the Union." " I^ine men out ten !" said General Johnston — " ninety-nine out of a hundred ; I consider that few people in the world can be more fortunate in their government than the British colo- nies of J^orth America." But the effect of these com- pliments was rather spoilt when some one else said they would prefer to serve under the Emperor of the French or the Emperor of Japan to returning to the dominion of Uncle Abe ; and it was still more dam- aged when another officer alluded in an undertone to the infernal regions as a more agreeable alterna- tive than reunion with the Yankees. 6 122 AT GENEEAL JOHNSTON S CAMP. 226? 3fay (Friday). — The bombardment at Yicks- bm*g was very heavy and continuous this morning. I had a long conversation with General Johnston, who told me that the principal evils which a Confed- erate general had to contend against consisted in the difficulty of making combinations, owing to uncer- tainty about the time which the troops would take to march a certain distance, on account of their strag- gling propensities. But from what I have seen and heard as yet, it appears to me that the Confederates possess certain great qualities as soldiers, such as individual bravery and natural aptitude in the use of firearms, strong, determined patriotism, and boundless confidence in their favorite generals, and in themselves. They are sober of necessity, as there is literally no liquor to be got. They have sufficient good sense to know that a certain amount of discipline is absolutely necessary ; and I believe that instances of insubordination are extremely rare. They possess the great advantage of being led by men of talent and education as soldiers who thoroughly understand the people they have to lead, as well as those they have to beat. These gen- erals, such as Lee, Johnston, Beauregard, or Long- street, they would follow anywhere, and obey im- plicitly. But, on the other hand, many of their offi- cers, looking forward to future political advancement, owing to their present military rank, will not punish AT GEKEEAL JOHNSTOIt's CAMP. 123 tlieir men, or are afraid of making tliemselves obnox- ious by enforcing rigid discipline. The men are con- stantly in the habit of throwing away their knap- sacks and blankets on a long march, if not carried for them, and though actuated by the strongest and purest patriotism, can often not be got to consider their obligations as soldiers. In the early part of the war they were often, when victorious, nearly as dis- organized as the beaten, and many would coolly walk off home, under the impression that they had per- formed their share. But they are becoming better in these respects as the war goes on.* All this would account for the trifling benefits derived by the Confederates from their numerous victories. General Johnston told me that Grant had dis- played more vigor than he had expected, by crossing the river below Yicksburg, seizing Jackson by vastly superior force, and, after cutting off communications, investing the fortress thoroughly, so as to take it if possible before a sufficient force could be got to re- lieve it. His army is estimated at 75,000 men, and General Johnston has very little opinion of the de- * After having lived witli the veterans of Bragg and Lee, I was ahle to form a still higher estimate of Confederate soldiers. Their obedience and forbearance in success, their discipline under disas- ter, their patience under suffering, imder hardships, or when wounded, and their boundless devotion to their country under all circumstances, are beyond all praise. 124: AT GENEEAL JOHNSTON's HEADQUAHTEES. fences of Yicksburg on the land side. He said tlie garrison consisted of about 20,000 men. News lias been received that tlie Yankees were get- ting up the Yazoo river ; and tbis morning General "Walker's division left at 6 A. m. for Yazoo city. The General witb bis staff and myself rode into Canton, six miles, and lodged in the bouse of a planter wbo owned 700 slaves. Dr. Yandell is a wonderful mimic, and amused us mucb by taking off tbe marriage ceremony, as per- formed by General Polk in Tennessee — General Mor- gan of Kentucky notoriety being tbe bridegroom.* One of Henderson's scouts caused mucb bilarity amongst tbe General's Staff tbis afternoon. He bad brougbt in a Yankee prisoner, and apologized to General Jobnston for doing so, saying, " I found bim in a negro quarter, and he surrendered so qidck^ I couldnH kill himr Tbere can be no doubt tbat tbe conduct of tbe Federals in captured cities tends to create a strong indisposition on tbe part of tbe Con- federates to take prisoners, particularly amongst tbese wild Mississippians. General Jobnston told me tbis evening tbat alto- gether be bad been wounded ten times. He was tbe senior officer of tbe old army wbo joined tbe Confeder- * When I was introduced to General Polk in Tennessee I re- cognized him at once by Dr. Yandell's imitation, which was most wonderfully accurate. jACKsoiT. 125: ates, and lie commanded the Yirginian army until lie was severely woimded at the battle of " Seven Pines."* 2Sd Mm/ (Saturday). — General Johnston, Major Eustis, and myself, left Canton at 6 A. m. on a loco- motive for Jackson. On the way we talked a good deal about " Stone- wall" Jackson. General Johnston said that although this extraordinary man did not possess any great qualifications as a strategist, and was perhaps unfit for the independent command of a large army ; yet he was gifted with wonderful courage and determi- nation, and a perfect faith in Providence that he was destined to destroy his enemy. He was much in- debted to General Ewell in the Yalley campaigns. Stonewall Jackson was also most fortunate in com- manding the flower of the Yirginian troops, and in being opposed to the most incapable Federal com- manders, such as Fremont and Banks. Before we had proceeded twelve miles we were forced to stop and collect wood from the roadside to feed our engine, and the General worked with so much energy as to cause his " Seven Pines" wound to give him pain. We were put out at a spot where the raiboad was destroyed, at about four miles from Jackson. A car- * Called " Fair Oaks" by the Yankees. 126 JACKSON. riage ought to have been in waiting for ns, but by some mistake it bad not arrived, so we bad to foot it. I was obliged to cany my beavy saddlebags. Major Eustis very kindly took my knapsack, and tbe Gen- eral 'Carried tbe cloaks. In tbis order we reached Jackson, mnch exliansted, at 9.30 A. m. General Loring came and reported himself soon after. He is a stout man with one ann. His divi- sion had arrived at Jackson from Crystal Springs about 6,000 strong ; Evans's brigade, about 3,000, had also arrived from Charleston ; and Maxey's bri- gade was in the act of marching into Jackson. I cal- culate, therefore, that General Johnston must now have nearly 25,000 men between Jackson and the Yazoo. I took an affectionate farewell of liim and his offi- cers, and he returned to Canton at 3 p. m. I shall be much surprised if he is not heard of before long. That portion of his troops which I saw, though they had been beaten and forced to retreat, were in excel- lent spirits, full of confidence, and clamoring to be led against only double their numbers. I renewed my acquaintance with Dr. Kussell, for whose timely protection I shall always feel myself much indebted. I also sent my love tp Smythe by several different people. At 3.30 p. M. I left Jackson in a Government am- bulance, in company with Captain Brown of General Johnston's Staff, who was extremely useful to me. I JACKSOI^ TO MOBILE. 127 liad taken tlie precaution of furnishing myself witli a pass from Colonel Ewell, tlie adjutant-general, wliicli I afterwards discovered was absolutely necessary, as I was asked for it continually, and on tlie railroad every person's passport was rigidly examined. We drove to tlie nearest point at wliicli tlie railroad was in working order, a distance of nearly five miles.^ "We tlien got into tlie cars at 6 p. m. for Meridian. This piece of railroad was in a most dangerous state, and enjoys the reputation of being the very worst of all the bad railroads in the South. It was completely worn out, and could not be repaired. Accidents are of almost daily occurrence, and a nasty one had hap- pened the day before. After we had proceeded ^ve miles, our engine ran off the track, which caused a stoppage of three hours. All male passengers had to get out to push along the cars. 24:t/i May (Sunday). — "We reached Meridian at 7.30 A. M., with soimd limbs, and only five hours late. "We left for Mobile at 9 a. m., and arrived there at 7. 1 5 p. M. This part of the line was in very good order. "We were delayed a short time, owing to a " diffi- culty^^ which had occurred in the np-train. The dif ficulty was this. The engineer had shot a passenger, and then unhitched his engine, cut the telegraph, and bolted up the line, leaving his train planted on a sin- 128 A "difficulty." gle track. He had allowed our train to pass by slmnting liimself, until we liad done so without any suspicion. The news of this occurrence caused really hardly any excitement amongst my fellow-travellers ; but I heard one man remark, that " it was mighty mean to leave a train to be run into like that." We avoided this catastrophe by siagular good fortune.* * I cut this out of a Mobile paper two days after : — " Attempt to Commit Murder, — We learn that while the up- train oil the Mobile and Ohio Railroad was near Beaver Meadow, one of the employees, named Thomas Fitzgerald, went into one of the passenger cars and shot Lieutenant H. A. Knowles with a pis- tol, the ball entering his left shoulder, going out at the back of his neck, making a very dangerous wound. Fitzgerald then uncoup- led the locomotive from the train and started off. When a few miles above Beaver Meadows he stopped and cut the telegraph wires, and then proceeded up the road. When near Lauderdale station he came in collision with the down-train, smashing the en- gine, and doing considerable damage to several of the cars.f It is thought he there took to the woods ; at any rate he has made good his escape so far, as nothing of him has yet been heard. The shooting, as we are informed, was that of revenge. It will be re- membered that a few months ago Knowles and a brother of Thomas Fitzgerald, named Jack, had a rencounter at Enterprise about a lady, and during which Knowles killed Jack Fitzgerald ; afterwards it is stated that Thomas threatened to revenge the death of his brother ; so on Sunday morning Knowles was on the train, as stated, going up to Enterprise to stand his trial. Thomas learning that he was on the train, hunted him up and shot him. Knowles, we learn, is now lying in a very critical condition." t This is a mistake. MOLILE* 129 The universal practice of carrying arms in the South is undoubtedly the cause of occasional loss of life, and is much to be regretted ; but, on the other hand, this custom renders altercations and quarrels of very rare occurrence, for people are naturally careful what they say when a bullet may be the probable reply. By the intercession of Captain Brown, I was al- lowed to travel in the ladies' car. It was cleaner and more convenient, barring the squalling of the numer- ous children, who were terrified into good behavior by threats from their negro nurses of being given to the Yankees. I put up at the principal hotel at Mobile — viz., the " Battlehouse." The living appeared to be very good by comparison, and cost $8 a-day. In consequence of the fabulous value of boots, they must not be left outside the door of one's room, from danger of annex- ation by a needy and unscrupulous warrior. 26th May (Monday). — I was disappointed in the aspect of Mobile. It is a regular rectangular Ameri- can city, built on a sandy flat, and covering a deal of ground for its population, which is about 25,000. I called on General Maury, for whom I brought a letter of introduction from General Johnston. He is a very gentlemanlike and intelligent but diminutive Yirginian, and had only just assumed the command at Mobile. 6* 130 MOBILE. He was very civil, and took me in a steamer to see the sea defences. "We were accompanied by General Ledbetter the engineer, and we were six hours visit- ing the forts. Mobile is situated at the head of a bay thirty miles long. The blockading squadron, eight to ten in num- ber, is stationed outside the bay, the entrance to which is defended by Forts Morgan and Gaines ; but as the channel between these two forts is a mile wide, they might probably be passed. "Within two miles of the city, however, the bay becomes very shallow, and the ship channel is both dangerous and tortuous. It is, moreover, obstructed by double rows of pine piles, and all sorts of ingenious torpedoes, besides being commanded by carefully constructed forts, armed with heavy guns, and built either on islands or on piles. Their names are Fort Pinto, Fort Spanish Kiver, Apalache, and Blakeley.* The garrisons of these forts complained of their being unhealthy, and I did not doubt the assertion. Before landing, we boarded two iron-clad floating- batteries. The Confederate fleet at Mobile is consid- erable, and reflects great credit upon the energy of the Mobilians, as it has been constructed since the com- mencement of the war. Dm'ing the trip, I overheard * A description of either its sea or land defences is necessarily omitted. MOBILE. 131 General Maury soliloquizing over a Yankee flag, and saying, " Well, I never should have believed that I could have lived to see the day in which I should de- test that old flag." He is cousin to Lieutenant Mau- ry, who has distinguished himself so much by his writings, on physical geography especially. The family seems to be a very mihtary one. His brother is captain of the Confederate steamer Georgia. After landing, I partook of a hasty dinner with General Maury and Major Cummins. I was then mounted on the General's horse, and was sent to gal- lop round the land defences with Brigadier-general Slaughter and his Staff. By great good fortune this was the evening of General Slaughter's weekly in- spection, and all the redoubts were manned by their respective garrisons, consisting half of soldiers and half of armed citizens who had been exempted from the conscription either by their age or nationality, or had purchased substitutes. One of the forts was de- fended by a burly British guard, commanded by a venerable Captain Wheeler.* After visiting the fortifications, I had supper at General Slaughter's house, and met there some of the refugees from "New Orleans — these are now being hud- dled neck and crop out of that city for refusing to take the oath of allegiance to the United States. Great * Its members were British subjects exempted from the conscrip- tion, but they had volunteered to fight in defence of the city. 132 MOBILE. numbers of women and children are arriving at Mo- bile every day ; tbej are in a destitute condition, and tbey add to the universal feeling of exasperation. The propriety of raising the black flag, and giving no quarter, was again freely discussed at General Slaugh- ter's, and was evidently the popular idea. I heard many anecdotes of the late " Stonewall Jackson," who was General Slaughter's comrade in the artillery of the old army. It appears that previous to the war he was almost a monomaniac about his health. When he left the XJ. S. service he was under the impression that one of his legs was getting shorter than the other; and afterwards his idea was that he only perspired on one side, and that it was necessary to keep the arm and leg of the other side in constant motion in order to preserve the circulation ; but it seems that imme- diately) the war broke out he never made any further allusion to his health. General Slaughter declared that on the night after the terrific repulse of Burn- side's army at Fredericksburg, Stonewall Jackson had made the following suggestion : — " I am of opinion that we ought to attack the enemy at once ; and in order to avoid the confusion and mistakes so common in a night attack, I recommend that we should all strip ourselves perfectly naked.""^ Blockade-running goes on very regularly at Mobile ; the steamers nearly * I always forgot to ask General Lee whether this story was a true one. JOURNEY THROUGH ALABAMA. 133 always succeed, but the schooners are generally cap- tu*d. To-morrow I sh*all start for the Tennessean army, commanded by General Braxton Bragg. ^Uh J[f^y (Tuesday).— When I took Colonel Swell's pass to the provost-marshal's office this morning to be countersigned, that official hesitated about stamping it, but luckily a man in his office came to my rescue, and volunteered to say that, although he didn't know me himself, he had heard me spoken of by others as " a very respectable gentleman." I was only just in time to catch the twelve o'clock steamer for the Montgomery railroad. I overheard two negroes on board discussing affairs in general ; they were deplor- ing the war, and expressing their hatred of the Yan- kees for bringing " sufferment on us as well as our masters." Both of them had evidently a great aver- sion to being " run off," as they called it. One of them wore his master's sword, of which he was very proud, and he strutted about in a most amusing and consequential manner. I got into the railroad cars at 2.30 p. m. ; the pace i^^as not at all bad, had we not stopped so often and for such a long time for wood and water. I sat opposite to a wounded soldier, who told me he was an Englishman from Chelsea. He said he was returning to his regiment, although his wound in the neck often gave hun great pain. The spirit with which wounded 134 MOBILE TO CHATTANOOGA. men retm^n to the front, even althongli their wounds are imperfectly healed, is worthy of all praise, and shows the indomitable determination of the Southern people. In the same car there were several quite young boys of fifteen or sixteen who were badly wounded, and one or two were minus arms and legs, of which deficiencies they were evidently very vain. The country through which we passed was a dense pine forest, sandy soil, and quite desolate, very unin- viting to an invading army. "We travelled all night. ^7thMay (Wednesday). — Arrived at Montgomery, the capital of Alabama, at daylight, and left it by another railroad at 6.30 A. m. All State capitals appear to resemble one another, and look like bits cut off from great cities. One or two streets have a good deal of pretension about them ; and the inevitable " Capitol," with its dome, forms the principal feature. A sentry stands at the door of each railway car, who examines the papers of every passenger with great strictness, and even after that inspection the same ceremony is performed by an ofiicer of the provost-marshal's department, who accompanies every train.* The officers and soldiers on this duty are very civil and com'teous, and after * This rigid inspection is necessary to arrest spies, and prevent straggling and absence without leave. MOBILE TO CHATTAKOOGA. 135 getting over their astonishment at finding that I am a British officer, they do all they can to make me comfortable. They ask all sorts of curious questions about the British army, and often express a strong wish to see one of our regiments fight. They can hardly believe that the Coldstream is really dressed in scarlet. To-day they entered gravely into discus- sion amongst themselves, as to whether British troops would have taken the position at Fredericksburg. The arguments on both sides were very amusing, and ' opinion* was pretty evenly divided. We met three I trains crammed full of soldiers for Johnston's army. ! They belonged to Breckenridge's division of Bragg's I army, and all seemed in the highest spirits, cheering I and yelling like demons. In the cars to-day I fell in 1 with the Federal doctor who was refused leave to pass I through General Johnston's lines ;' he was now en route for Richmond. He was in full Yankee uniform, but was treated with civility by all the Confederate soldiers. I had a long talk with him ; he seemed a sensible man, and did not attempt to deny the uni- versal enthusiasm and determination of the South- erners. He told me that General Grant had been very nearly killed at the taking of Jackson. He thought the war would probably terminate by a blow-up in the IS'orth.* * Notwithstanding the exc.speration with which every South- 136 MOBILE TO CHATTANOOGA. I had to change cars at "West Point and at Atlanta. At the latter place I was crammed into a desperately crowded train for Chattanooga. This country, Geor- gia, is much more inhabited and cultivated than Ala- bama. I travelled again all night. 28^A May (Thursday). — I arrived at Chattanooga (Tennessee) at 4.30 a. m., and fell in with Captain Brown again ; his negro recognized me, and imme- diately rushed up to shake hands. After breakfasting at Chattanooga, I started again at 7.30, by train, for Shelby ville. General Bragg's headquarters. This train was crammed to repletion with soldiers rejoining their regiments, so I was con- strained to sit in the aisle on the floor of one of the cars. I thought myself lucky even then, for so great was the number of military, that all " citizens^'' were ordered out to make way for the soldiers ; but my gray shooting-jacket and youthful appearance saved me from the imputation of being a " citizen." Two hours later, the passport officer, seeing who I was, procured me a similar situation in the ladies' car, where I was a little better off. After leaving Chatta- nooga the railroad winds alongside of the Tennessee erner speaks of a Yankee, and all tlie talk about black flag and no quarter, yet I never saw a Federal prisoner ill treated or insulted in any way, although I have travelled hundreds of miles in their company. WAETRACE, 137 river, the banks of wMch are high, and beautifully covered with trees — the river itself is wide, and very pretty ; but fi-om my position in the tobacco-juice I was unable to do justice to the scenery. I saw stock- ades at intervals all along the railroad, which were constructed by the Federals, who occupied all this country last year. On arriving at Wartrace at 4 p. m., I determined to remain there, and ask for hospitality from General Hardee, as I saw no prospect of reaching Shelbyville in decent time. Leaving my baggage with the pro- vost-marshal at "Wartrace, I walked on to General Hardee's headquarters, which were distant about two miles from the railroad. They were situated in a beautiful country, green, undulating, full of magnif- icent trees, principally beeches, and the scenery was by far the finest I had seen in America as yet. When I arrived, I found that General Hardee was in company with General Polk and Bishop Elliott of Georgia, and also with Mr. Yallandigham. The lat- ter (called the Apostle of Liberty) is a good-looking man, apparently not much over forty, and had been turned out of the North three days before. Eose- j crans had wished to hand him over to Bragg by flag of truce ; but as the latter declined to receive him in that manner, he was, as General Hardee expressed it, " dumjped dowrnJ'^ in the neutral ground between the lines, and left there. He then received hospitality 138 GENEEAL HARDEE. from tlie Confederates in tlie capacity of a destitute stranger. They do not in any way receive liim offi- cially, and it does not suit tlie policy of either party to be identified with one another. He is now living at a private house in Shelbyville, and had come over for the day, with General Polk, on a visit to Hardee. He told the generals, that if Grant was severely beaten in Mississippi by Johnston, he did not think the war could be continued on its present great scale. When I presented my letters of introduction. Gen- eral Hardee received me with the unvarying kind- ness and hospitality which I had experienced from all other Confederate officers. He is a fine, soldierlike man, broad-shouldered and tall. He looks rather like a French officer, and is a Georgian by birth. He bears the reputation of being a thoroughly good soldier, and he is the author of the drill-book still in use by both armies. Until quite lately, he was com- manding officer of the military college at West Point. He distinguished himself at the battles of Corinth and Murfreesborough, and now commands the 2d corps d^armee of Bragg's army. He is a widower, and has the character of being a great admirer of the fair sex. During the Kentucky campaign last year, he was in the habit of availing himself of the privi- lege of his rank and years, and insisted upon kissing the wives and daughters' of all the Kentuckian farm- ers. And although he is supposed to have converted GENERAL POLK. 139 many of tlie ladies to tlie Soiitliern canse, yet in many instances their male relatives remained either neutral or undecided. On one occasion General Hardee had conferred the " accolade" upon a very pretty Kentnck- ian, to their mutual satisfaction, when, to his intense disgust, the proprietor produced two very ugly old females, saying, " ]^ow, then, general, if you kiss any you must kiss them all round," which the discomfited general was forced to do, to the great amusement of his officers, who often allude to this contretemps. Another rebuff which he received, and about which he is often chaffed by General Polk, was when an old lady told him he ought really to " leave off fighting I at Ms ageP " Indeed, madam," replied Hardee, " and how old do you take me for ?" " Why, about the same age as myself — seventy-five." The chagrin of the stalwart and gallant general, at having twenty years added to his age, may be imagined. Lieutenant-general Leonidas Polk, Bishop of Louisiana, who commands the other corps Warmee^ is a good-looking, gentlemanlike man, with all the manners and affability of a " grand seigneur." He is fifty-seven years of age — tall, upright, and looks j much more the soldier than the clergyman. He is very rich ; and I am told he owns seven hundred negroes. He is much beloved by the soldiers on ac- count of his great personal courage and agreeable manners. I had already heard no end of anecdotes 140 BISHOP ELLIOTT OF GEORGIA. of him told me by my travelling companions, who always alluded to him with affection and admiration. In his clerical capacity I had always heard him spoken of with the greatest respect. When I was introduced to him he immediately invited me to come and stay at his headquarters at Shelbyville. He told me that he was educated at West Point, and was at that institution with the President, the two Johnstons, Lee, Magruder, &c., and that, after serv- ing a short time in the artillery, he had entered the church. • Bishop Elliott, of Georgia, is a nice old man ol venerable appearance and very courteous manners. He is here at the request of General Polk, for the purpose of confirming some officers and soldiers. He speaks English exactly like an English gentleman, and so, in fact, does General Polk, and all the well- bred Southerners, much more so than the ladies, whose American accent can always be detected. General Polk and Mr. Yallandigham retm-ned to Shelbyville in an ambulance at 6.30 p. m. General Hardee's headquarters were on the estate of Mrs. , a very hospitable lady. The two daughters of the General were staying with her, and ' also a Mrs. , who is a very pretty woman. These ladies are more violent against the Yankees than it is possible for a European to conceive ; they beat their male relations hollow in their denunciations and hopes AT GENERAL HAEDEE's HEADQUARTERS. 141 of vengeance. It was quite depressing to hear their inniimerable stories of Yankee brutality, and I was much relieved when, at a later period of the evening, they subsided into music. After Bishop Elliott had read prayers, I slept in the same room with General Hardee. ' 29^A May (Friday). — I took a walk before break- , fast with Dr. Quintard, a zealous Episcopal chaplain, who began life as a surgeon, which enables him to I attend to the bodily as well as the spiritual wants of I the Tennessean regiment to which he is chaplain. • The enemy is about fifteen miles distant, and all the i tops of the intervening hills are occupied as signal I stations, which communicate his movements by flags ( in the daytime, and by beacons at night. A signal corps has been organized for this service. The sys- Item is most ingenious, and answers admirably. We "j all breakfasted at Mrs. 's. The ladies were more excited even than yesterday in their diatribes against the Yankees. They insisted on cutting the accom- panying paragraph out of to-day's newspaper, which they declared was a very fair exposition of the average treatment they received from the enemy.* They re- * " Losses of William F. Ricks. — The Yankees did not treat us very badly as they returned from pursuing our men beyond Leighton (at least no more than we expected) ; they broke down our smokehouse door and took seven hams, went into the kitchen 142 SPIRIT OF SOTJTHEEN WOMEN. proved Mrs. for having given assistance to tlie wounded Yankees at Wartrace last year ; and a sis- ter of Mrs. 's, wlio is a very strong-minded lady, gave me a most amusing description of an interview and helped themselves to cooking utensils, tin ware, &c. ; searclied the house, but took nothing. As they passed up the second time we were very much annoyed by them, but not seriously injured ; they took the only two mules we had, a cart, our milch cows, and more meat. It was on their return from this trip that our losses were so grievous. They drove their wagons up in our yard and loaded them with the last of our meat, all of our sugar, coffee, molasses, flour, meal, and potatoes. I went to a heut.-colonel who seemed very busy giving orders, and asked him what he ex- pected me to do ; they had left me no provisions at all, and I had a large family, and my husband was away from home. His reply was short and pointed — 'Starve, and be d — d, madam.' They then proceeded to the carriage-house, took a fine new buggy that we had never used, the cushions and harness rf our carriage, then cut the carriage up and left it. They then sent about sixty of the slyest, smoothest-fingered rogues I have ever seen in the Federal army (all the rogues I ever did see were in that army), into the house to search for whiskey and money, while the officers remained in the back-yard trying to hire the servants to tell them where we had money hid. Their search proving fruitless, they loaded them- selves with our clothing, bed-clothing, &c. ; broke my dishes ; stole my knives and forks ; refused the keys and broke open my trunks, closets, and other doors. Then came the worst of all— the burn- ers, or, as they call themselves, the 'Destroying Angels.' They burned our gin-house and press, with 125 bales of cotton, seven cribs containing 600 bolls of corn, our logs, stables, and six stacks of fodder, a wagon, and four negro cabins, our lumber-room, fine spinning-machine and 500 dollars' worth of thread, axes, hoes, AT GENERAL HAEDEe's HEADQTTAETEES. 143 she had had at Huntsville with the astronomer Mitchell, in his capacity of a Yankee general. It has often heen remarked to me that, when this war is over, the independence of the conntr j will be due, in a great measure, to the women ; for they declare that scytlie-blades, and all otlier plantation implements. Then they came with their torches to burn our house, the last remaining building they had left besides the negro quarter. That was too much ; all my pride, and the resolutions that I had made (and un- til now kept up) to treat them with cool contempt, and never, let the worst come, humble myself to the thievish cutthroats, forsook me at the awful thought of my home in ruins ; I must do some- thing, and that quickly ; — hardened, thieving villains, as I knew them to be, I would make one effort for the sake of my home. I looked over the crowd, as they huddled together to give orders about the burning, for one face that showed a trace of feeling, or an eye that beamed with a spark of humanity, but, finding none, I approached the nearest group, and pointing to the children (my sister's), I said, ' You will not burn the house, will you ? you drove those little ones from one home and took possession of it, and this is the only sheltering place they have.' * You may thank your God, madam,' said one of the ruflBans, * that we have left you and your d — d brats with heads to be sheltered.' Just then an officer galloped uj) — pretended to be very much astonished and terribly beset about the conduct of his men — cursed a good deal, and told a batch of falsehoods about not having given orders to burn any thing but corn — made divers threats that were forgotten in utter- ance, and ordered liis ' Angels' to fall into line, — thereby winding up the troubles of the darkest day I have ever seen. Mrs. Ricks. " Losses before this last raid : six mules, five horses, one wagon (four-horse), fifty- two negroes." 14A AT GENEEAL POLk's HEADQUAETERS. had the women been desponding they conld never have gone through with it ; but, on the contrary, the women have invariably set an example to the men of patience, devotion, and determination. Naturally proud, and with an innate contempt for the Yankees, the Southern women have been rendered furious and de.iperate by the proceedings of Butler, Milroy, Turchin, &c. They are all prepared to undergo any hardships and misfortunes rather than submit to the rule of such people ; and they use every argument which woman can employ to infuse the same spirit into their male relations. At noon I took leave for the present of General Hardee, and drove over in his ambulance to Shelby- ville, eight miles, in company with Bishop Elliott and Dr. Quintard. The road was abominable, and it was pouring with rain. On arriving at General Polk's, he invited me to take up my quarters with him dur- ing my stay with Bragg's army, which o£Per I ac- cepted with gratitude. After dinner General Polk told me that he hoped his brethren in England did not very much condemn his present line of conduct. He explained to me the reasons which had induced him temporarily to forsake the cassock and return to his old profession. He stated the extreme reluctance he had felt in taking this step ; and he said that so soon as the war was over, he should return to his episcopal avocations, in the same way as a man, find- GENEEAL BEAXTON EEAGG. 145 ing Ills lioiise on fire, would use every means in his power to extingnisli tlie fames, and would then re- sume his ordinary pursuits. He commanded the Confederate forces at the battle of Perryville and Belmont, as well as his present corps d'^arnnee at the battles of Shiloh (Corinth) and Murfreesborough. At 6.30 p. M., I called on General Bragg, the Com- mander-in-chief. This officer is in appearance the least prepossessing of the Confederate generals. He is very thin ; he stoops, and has a sickly, cadaverous, haggard appearance, rather plain features, bushy black eyebrows w^hich unite in a tuft on the top of his nose, and a stubby iron-gray beard : but his eyes are bright and piercing. He has the reputation of being a rigid disciplinarian, and of shooting freely for insubordination. I understand he is rather un- popular on this account, and also by reason of his oc- casional acerbity of manner. He was extremely civil to me, and gave me permission to visit the outposts, or any part of his army. He also promised to help me towards joining Morgan in Kentucky, and he ex- pressed his regret that a boil on his hand would pre- vent him from accompanjdng me to the outposts. He told me that Kosecrans' position extended about forty miles, Murfreesborough (twenty-five miles dis- tant) being his headquarters. The Confederate cav- alry inclosed him in a semicircle extending over a hundred miles of country. He told me that West 146 GENEEAL VAN DOEN's DEATH. Tennessee, occupied by the Federals, was devoted to the Confederate cause, whilst East Tennessee, now in possession of the Confederates, contained nnmbers of people of Unionist proclivities. This very place, Shelbyville, had been described to me by others as a " Union hole." After my interview with General Bragg, I took a ride along the Mnrfreesborongh road with Colonel [Richmond, A. D. C. to General Polk. Abont two miles from Shelbyville, we passed some lines made to defend the position. The trench itself was a very mild affair, but the higher ground could be occupied by artillery in such a manner as to make the road impassable. The thick woods were being cut down in front of the lines for a distance of eight hundred yards to give range. During our ride I met Major-general Cheetham, a stout, rather rough-looking man, but with the repu- tation of " a great fighter." It is said that he does all the necessary swearing in the 1st corjps d^armee, which General Polk's clerical character incapacitates him from performing. Colonel Pichmond gave me the particulars of General Yan Dorn's death, which occurred about forty miles from this. His loss does not seem to be much regretted, as it appears he was always ready to neglect his military duties for an as- signation. In the South it is not considered neces- sary to put yourself on an equality with a man in such AT GENEEAL POLk's HEADQIJAETEES. 147 a case as Yan Dorn's by calling iiim out. His life belongs to tbe aggrieved liiisband, and "shooting down" is universally esteemed tlie correct thing, ev&fL if it takes place after a lapse of time, as in tlie affair between General Yan Dorn and Dr. Peters. jN'ews arrived this evening of the capture of Helena by the Confederates, and of the hanging of a negro regiment with forty Yankee officers. Every one ex- pressed sorrow for the blacks, bnt applauded the de- struction of their officers.* I slept in General Polk's tent, he occupying a room in the house adjoining. Before going to bed, General Polk told me an affecting story of a poor widow in humble circumstances, whose three sons had fallen in battle one after the other, until she had only one left, a boy of sixteen. So distressing was her case that General Polk went himself to comfort her. She looked steadily at him, and replied to his condolences by the sentence, " As soon as I can get a few things together, General, you shall have Harry too." The tears came into General Polk's eyes as he related this episode, which he ended by saying, " How can you subdue such a nation as tJiis /" ZOth May (Saturday). — It rained hard all last night, but General Polk's tent proved itself a good one. We * Tliis afterwards turned out to be untrue. 148 COLONEL ST. LEGEE GRENFELL. have prayers both, morniug and evening, by Dr. Quin- tard, together with singing, in which General Polk j^ins with much zeal. Colonel Gale, who is son-in- law and volnnteer aid-de-camp to General Polk, has placed his negro Aaron and a mare at mj disposal during mj stay. General Polk explained to me, from a plan, the battle of Murfreesborongh. He claimed that the Confederates had only 30,000 troops, including Breck- enridge's division, which was not engaged on the first day. He put the Confederate loss at 10,000 men, and that of the Yankees at 19,000. "With regard to the battle of Shiloh,* he said that Beauregard's order to retire was most unfortunate, as the gunboats were doing no real harm, and if they (the Confederates) had held on, nothing could have saved the Federals from capture or destruction. The misfortune of Al- bert Johnston's death, together with the fact of Beau- regard's illness and his not being present at that par- ticular spot, were the causes of this battle not being a more complete victory. Ever since I landed in America, I had heard of the exploits of an Englishman called Colonel St. Leger Grenfell, who is now Inspector-general of Cavalry to Bragg's army. This afternoon I made his acquaint- ance, and I consider him one of the most extraordinary * Called Pittsburg Landing and Corinth. COLONEL ST. LEGEE GEEICFELL. 149 characters I ever met. Altliougli lie is a meraber of a well-known Englisli family, lie seems to liave devoted his whole life to the exciting career of a soldier of fortune. He told me that in early life he had served three years in a French lancer regiment, and had risen from a private to be a sous-lieutenant. He after- wards became a sort of consular agent at Tangier, under old Mr. Drummond Hay. Having acquired a perfect knowledge of Arabic, he entered the service of Abd-el-Kader, and under that renowned chief he fought the French for four years and a half. At an- other time of his life he fitted out a yacht, and carried on a private war with the Hiff pirates. He was bri- gade-major in the Turkish contingent during the Crimean war, and had some employment in the In- dian mutiny. He has also been engaged in war in Buenos Ayres and the South American republics. At an early period of the present troubles he ran the blockade and joined the Confederates. He was ad- jutant-general and right-hand man to the celebrated John Morgan for eight months. Even in this army, which abounds with foolhardy and desperate charac- ters, he has acquired the admiration of all ranks by his reckless daring and gallantry in the field. Both Generals Polk and Bragg spoke to me of him as a most excellent and useful officer, besides being a man who never lost an opportunity of trying to throw his life away. He is just the sort of a man to succeed in 150 AT GENEEAL POLK's HEADQUAETEES. this army, and among the soldiers his fame for bra- very has outweighed his iinpopnlarity as a rigid dis- ciplinarian. He is the terror of all absentees, strag- glers, and deserters, and of all commanding officers who are unable to produce for his inspection the num- ber of horses they have been drawing forage for. He looks about forty-five, but in reality he is fifty-six. He is rather tall, thin, very wiry and active, with a jovial English expression of countenance; but his eyes have a wild, roving look, which is common amono;st the Arabs. When he came to me he was dressed in an English staff blue coat, and he had a red cavalry forage-cap, which latter. General Polk told me, he always wore in action, so making him- self more conspicuous. He talked to me much about John Morgan, whose marriage he had tried to avert, and of which he spoke with much sorrow. He de- clared that Morgan was enervated by matrimony, and would never be the same man as he was. He said that in one of the celebrated telegraph tappings in Kentucky, Morgan, the operator, and himself, were seated for twelve hours on a clay-bank dming a violent storm, but the interest was so intense, that the time passed like three hours.*^ * This was tlie occasion wlien they telegraphed such a quan- tity of nonsense to the Yankee general, receiving valuable infor- mation in return, and such necessary stores by train as Morgan ■^'^.s in need of. AT GENERAL POLK'S HEADQUARTEES. 151 General Polk's son, a young artillery lieutenant, told me tliis evening tliat " Stonewall Jackson" was a professor at the military scliool at Lexington, in which he was a cadet. " Old Jack" was considered a persevering but rather dull master, and was often made a butt of by cheeky cadets, whose great ambi- tion it was to irritate him, but, however insolent they were, he never took the slightest notice of their im- pertinence at the time, although he always had them punished for it afterwards. At the outbreak of the war, he was called uipon by the cadets to make a speech, and these were his words : " Soldiers make short speeches : lye slow to draw the sword m civil strife, lyut when you draw it, throw away the seah- hoA^dP Young Polk says that the enthusiasm crea- ted by this speech of old Jack's was beyond de- scription. Z\st May (Sunday). — The Bishop of Georgia preached to-day to a very large congregation in the Presbyterian chm'ch. He is a most eloquent preach- er ; and he afterwards confirmed about twenty peo- ple, — amongst others. Colonel Gale (over forty years old), and young Polk. After church, I called again on General Bragg, who talked to me a long time about the battle of Murfreesborough (in which he commanded). He said that he retained possession of the ground he had won for three days and a half, and 152 WAETSAOS. only retired on account of tlie exhaustion of his troops, and after carrying off over 6,000 prisoners, mucli can- non, and other trophies. He allowed that Rosecrans had displayed much firmness, and was " the only man in the YanJcee army who was not l)adly heatenP He showed me, on a plan, the exact position of the two armies, and also the field of operations of the re- nowned guerillas, Morgan and Forrest. Colonel Grenfell called again, and I arranged to visit the outposts with him on Tuesday. He spoke to me in high terms of Bragg, Polk, Hardee, and Cleburne ; but he described some of the others as " political" generals, and others as good fighters, but illiterate and somewhat addicted to liquor. He de- plored the effects of politics upon military affairs as very injurious in the Confederate army, though not so bad as it is in the !N"orthern. ' At 2 p. M. I travelled in the cars to Wartrace, in company with General Bragg and the Bishop of Geor- gia. We were put into a baggage-car, and the Gen- eral and the Bishop were the only persons provided with seats. Although the distance from Shelbyville to Wartrace is only eight miles, we were one hour and ten minutes in effecting the trajet, in such a miserable and dangerous state were the rails. On arriving at Wartrace we were entertained by Major- general Cleburne. This officer gave me his history. He is the son of a doctor at or near Ballincolig. At MAJ0R-GE2TEEAL CLEBUENE. 153 the age of seventeen lie ran away from home, and enlisted in her Majesty's 41st regiment of foot, in which he served three years as private and corporal. He then bought his discharge, and emigrated to Ar- kjinsas, where he studied law, and, eschewing poli- tics, he got a good practice as a lawyer. At the out- break of the war he was elected captain of his com- pany, then colonel of his regiment, and has since, by his distinguished services in all the Western cam- paigns, been appointed to the command of a division (10,000 men) — the highest military rank which has been attained by a foreigner in the Confederate ser- vice. He told me that he ascribed his advancement mainly to the useful lessons which he had learnt in the ranks of the British army, and ho pointed with a a laugh to his general's white facings, which he said his 41st experience enabled him to keep cleaner than any other ConTederate general.* He is now thirty- five years of age ; but, his hair having turned gray, he looks older. Generals Bragg and Hardee both spoke to me of him in terms of the highest praise, and said that he had risen entirely by his own personal merit. At 5 p. M. I was present at a great open-air preach- * Tlie 41st regiment wears wliite facing's ; so do tlie Generals in tlie Confederate army. M. de Polignac has recently been ap- pointed a brigadier : lie and Cleburne are tlie only two generals amongst tbe Confederates wlio are foreigners. 154 BISHOP ELLIOTT. ing at General Wood's camp. Bishop Elliott preaclied most admirably to a congregation composed of nearly 3,000 soldiers, wlio listened to liim with the most profound attention. Generals Bragg, Polk, Hardee, Withers, Cleburne, and endless brigadiers, were^ also present. It is impossible to exaggerate the respect paid by all ranks of this army to Bishop Elliott ; and although most of the officers are Episcopalians, the majority of the soldiers are Methodists, Baptists, &c. Bishop Elliott afterwards explained to me that the reason most of the people had become dissenters was because there had been no bishops in America during the " British dominion ;" and all the clergy having been appointed from England, had almost without exception stuck by the King m the Eevolution, and had had their livings forfeited. I dined and slept at General Hardee's, but spent the evening at Mrs. 's, where I Tieard renewed philippics directed by the ladies against the Yankees. I find that it is a great mistake to suppose that the Press is gagged in the South, as I constantly see the most violent attacks upon the President — upon the different generals and their measures. To-day I heard the officers complaining bitterly of the " Chattanooga Rebel," for publishing an account of Breckenridge's departure from this army to reinforce Johnston in Mississippi, and thus giving early intelligence to the enemy. REVIEW OF GENERAL LIDDELl's BRIGADE. 155 1st June (Monday). — ^We all went to a review of General Liddell's brigade at BellbucHe, a distance of six miles. There were three carriages full of ladies, and I rode an excellent horse, the gift of General John Morgan to General Hardee; The weather and the scenery were delightful. General Hardee asked me particularly whether Mr. Mason had been kindly received in England. I replied that I thought he had, by private individuals. I have often found the Southerners rather touchy on this point. General LiddelFs brigade was composed of Arkan- sas troops — ^Q, very weak regiments which had suf- fered severely in the different battles, and they can- not be easily recruited on account of the blockade of the Mississippi. The men were good-sized, healthy, and well clothed, but without any attempt at uni- formity in color or cut ; but nearly all were dressed either in gray or brown coats and felt hats. I was told that even if a regiment was clothed in proper uniform by the Government, it would become parti- colored again in a week, as the soldiers preferred wearing the coarse home-spun jackets and trousers made by their mothers and sisters at home. The Generals very wisely allow them to please themselves in this respect, and insist only upon their arms and accoutrements being kept in proper order. Most of the officers were dressed in uniform which is neat and serviceable — viz., a bluish-gray frock-coat of a 156 REVIEW OF GENEEAL LIDDELl's BRIGADE. color similar to Austrian yagers. The infantry wear blue facings, tlie artillery red, the doctors black, the staff white, and the cavalry yellow ; so it is impossi- ble to mistake the branch of the service to which an officer belongs — ^nor is it possible to mistake his rank. A second lieutenant, first lieutenant, and captain, wear respectively one, two, and three bars on the collar. A major, lieutenant-colonel, and colonel, wear one, two, and three stars on the collar. Before the marching past of the brigade, many of the soldiers had taken off their coats and marched past the general in their shirt-sleeves, on account of the warmth. Most of them were armed with Enfield rifies captured from the enemy. Many, however, had lost or thrown away their bayonets, which they don't appear to value properly, as they assert that they have never met any Yankees who would wait for that weapon. I expressed a desire to see them form square, but it appeared they were " not drilled to such a manoeuvre" (except square two deep). They said the country did not admit of cavalry charges, even if the Yankee cavalry had stomach to attempt it. Each regiment carried a " battle-flag," blue, with a white border, on which were inscribed the names "Belmont," " Shiloh," " Perryville," " Eichmond, Ky.," and " Murfreesborough." They diilled tolerably well, and an advance in line was remarkably good ; but General Liddell had invented several dodges of feEVIEW OF GENEEAL LIDDELl's BEIGADE. 157 his own, for which he was reproved by General Har- dee. The review being over, the troops were ha- rangued by Bishop Elliott in an excellent address, partly religions, partly patriotic. He was followed by a Congress man of vnlgar appearance, named Hanley, from Arkansas, who delivered himself of a long and uninteresting political oration, and ended by announcing himself as a candidate for re-election. This speech seemed to me (and to others) particularly ill-timed, out of place, and ridiculous, addressed as it was to soldiers in front of the enemy. But this was one of the results of universal suffrage. The soldiers afterwards wanted General Hardee to say something, but he declined. I imagine that the dis- cipline in this army is the strictest in the Confed- eracy, and that the men are much better marchers than those I saw in Mississippi. A soldier was shot in "Wartrace this afternoon. "We heard the volley just as we left in the cars for Shelby ville. His crime was desertion to the enemy ; and as the prisoner's brigade was at TuUahoma (twenty miles off), he was executed without cere- mony by the provost-guard. Spies are hung every now and then ; but General Bragg told me it was almost impossible for either side to stop the practice. Bishop Elliott, Dr. Quintard, and myself got back to General Polk's quarters at 5 p. m., where I was in- troduced to a Colonel Styles, who was formerly 158 RIDE TO THE FROKT. United States minister at Vienna. In the evening I made the acquaintance of General Wheeler, Yan Dorn's successor in the command of the cavalry of this army, which is over 24,000 strong. He is a very little man, only twenty-six years of age, and was dressed in a coat much too big for him. He made his reputation by protecting the retreat of the army through Kentucky last year. He was a graduate of West Point, and seems a remarkably zealous officer, besides being very modest and unassuming in hig manners. General Polk told me that, notwithstand- ing the departm^e of Breckenridge, this army is now much stronger than it was at the time of the battle of Murfreesborough. I think that probably 45,000 infantry and artillery could be brought together im- mediately for a battle. ^d June (Tuesday). — Colonel Grenfell and I rode to the outposts, starting on the rode to Murfrees- borough at 6 A. M. It rained hard nearly all day. He explained to me the method of fighting adopted by the Western cavalry, which he said was admirably adapted for this country; but he denied that they could, under any circumstances, stand a fan* charge ../ regular cavalry in the open. Their system is to dismount and leave their horses in some secm'e place. One man is placed in charge of his own and thi*ee other horses, wliilst the remainder act as infantry EIDE TO THE FEOlTr. 150 skirmisliers in tlie dense woods and broken country, making a tremendous row, and deceiving the enemy as to tlieir numbers, and as to their character as in- fantry or cavalry. In this manner Morgan, assisted by two small guns, called bull-dogs, attacked the Yankees with success in towns, forts, stockades, and steamboats ; and by the same system, Wheeler and Wharton kept a large pursuing army in check for twenty-seven days, retreating and fighting every day, and deluding the enem.y with the idea that they were being resisted by a strong force composed of all three branches of the service. Colonel Grenfell told me that the only way in which an officer could acquire influence over the Confederate soldiers was by his personal conduct under fire. They hold a man in great esteem who in action sets them an example of contempt for danger ; but they think nothing of an officer who is not in the habit of leading them ; in fact such a man could not possibly retain his position. Colonel Gren- fell's expression was, " every atom of authority has to be purchased by a drop of your blood." He told me he was in desperate hot water with the civil authorities of the State, who accuse him of illegally impressing and appropriating horses, and also of con- niving at the escape of a negro from his lawful owner, and he said that the military authorities were afraid or unable to give him proper protection. 160 RIDE TO THE FRONT. For tlie first nine miles onr road was quite straight and Hilly, -witli a tliick wood on either side. We then reached a pass in the hills called Gny's Gap, which, from the position of the hills, is very strong, and conld be held by a small force. The range of hills extends as far as Wartrace, bnt I miderstand the po- sition conld be tnrned on the left. Abont two miles beyond Gny's Gap were the headquarters of General Martin, the officer who commands the brigade of cavalry stationed in the neighborhood. General Martin showed me the letter sent by the Yankees a few days ago by flag of truce with Mr. Yailandigham. This letter was curiously worded, and ended, as far as I can remember, with this expression : " Mr. Yai- landigham is therefore handed over to the respectful attention of the Confederate authorities." General Martin told me that skirmishing and bushwhacking went on nearly every day, and that ten days ago the enemy's cavalry, by a bold dash, had captured a field- piece close to his own cpiarters. It was, however, retaken, and its captors were killed. One of General Martin's Staff officers conducted us to the bivouac of Colonel Webb (three mxiles further along the road), who commanded the regiment on outpost duty there — 51st Alabama Cavalry. This Colonel Webb was a lawyer by profession, and seem- ed a capital fellow ; and he insisted on riding with us to the videttes in spite of the rain, and he also de- RIDE TO THE FEONT. 161 sired his regiment to turn out for ns by the time we returned. The extreme outposts were about two miles beyond Colonel Webb's post, and about sixteen miles from Shelbyville. The neutral ground extend- ed for about three miles. We rode along it as far as it was safe to do so, and just came within sight of the Yankee videttes. The Confederate videttes were at an interval of from 300 to 400 yards of each other. Colonel Webb's regiment was in charge of two miles of the front ; and, in a similar manner, the chain of videttes was extended by other corps right and left for more than eighty miles. Scouts are continually sent forward by both sides to collect information. Eival scouts and pickets invariably fire on one an- other whenever they meet ; and Colonel Webb good- naturedly offered, if I was particularly anxious to see their customs and habits, to send forward a few men and have a little fight. I thanked him much for his kind ofier, but begged he wouldn't trouble himself so far on my account. Tie showed me the house where Yallandigham had been "dumped down" between the outposts when they refused to receive him by flag of truce. The woods on both sides of the road showed many signs of the conflicts which are of daily occurrence. Most of the houses by the roadside had been destroy- ed ; but one plucky old lady had steadfastly refused to turn out, although her house was constantly an ob- 162 GENERAL BEAGG BAPTIZED.' ject of contention, and showed many marks of bnllets and shell. Ninety-seven men were employed every day in Colonel Webb's regiment to patrol the front. Tlie remainder of the 51st Alabama were mounted and drawn np to receive Colonel Grenfell on our re- turn from tlie ontposts. They were uniformly armed with long rifles and revolvers, but without sabres, and they were a fine body of young men. Their horses were in much better condition than might have been expected, considering the scanty food and hard duty they had had to put up with for the last five months, without shelter of any kind, except the trees. Colo- nel Grenfell told me they were a very fair specimen of the immense number of cavalry with Eragg's army. I got back to Shelby ville at 4.30 p. m., just in time to be present at an interesting ceremony peculiar to America. This was a baptism at the Episcopal Church. The ceremony was performed in an im- pressive manner by Bishop Elliott, and the person baptized w^as no less than the commander-in-chief of the army. The bishop took the general's hand in his own (the latter kneeling in front of the font), and said, " Braxton, if thou hast not already been bap- tized, I baptize thee," &c. Immediately afterwards he confirmed General Bragg, who then shook hands with General Polk, the ofiicers of their respective Staffs, and myself, who were the only spectators. The soldiers on sentry at General Polk's quarters AT GEKEEAL POLk's HEADQUAETEES. 163 this afternoon were deficient botli of slioes and stock- ings. These were the first barefooted soldiers I had as yet seen in the Confederacy. I had intended to have left Shelhyville to-morrow with Bishop Elliott ; but as I was informed that a reconnoissance in force was arranged for to-morroYf, I accepted General Polk's kind ofier of further hospi- tality for a couple of days more. Four of Polk's brigades v/ith artillery move to the front to-morrow, and General Hardee is also to push forward from Wartrace. The object of this movement is to ascer- taui the enemy's strength at Murfreesborough, as ru- mor asserts that Eosecrans is strengthening Grant in Mississippi, which General Bragg is not disposed to allow with impunity. The weather is now almost chilly. Sd June ("Wednesday). — Bishop Elliott left for Savannah at 6 A. m., in a downpom^ of rain, which continued nearly all day. Grenfell came to see me this morning in a towering rage. He had been arrested in his bed by the civil power on a charge of horse-stealing, and conniving at the escape of a negro from his master. General Bragg himself had stood bail for him, but Grenfell was naturally furious at the indignity. But, even according to his own account, he seems to have acted indiscreetly in the affair of the negro, and he will have to appear before 164 COLONEL geen:^ell's aerest. the civil court next October. General Polk and his officers were all much vexed at the occurrence, vrhich, however, is an extraordinary and convincing proof that the military had not superseded the civil power in the Southern States ; for here was an important officer arrested, in spite of the commander-in-chief, when in the execution of his office before the enemy. By standing bail. General Bragg gave a most positive proof that he exonerated Grenfell from any mal- practices.* * I cut this out of a Charleston paper some days after I had parted from Colonel Grenfell : Colonel GrenfeU was only obeying General Bragg's orders in depriving the soldier of his horse, and temporarily of his money : — "Colonel St. Leger Grenfell. — The Western army corre- spondent of the ' Mobile Register' writes as follows : — The famous Colonel St. Leger GrenfeU, who served with Morgan last summer, and since that time has been Assistant Inspector-general of Gen- eral Bragg, was arrested a few days since by the civil authorities. The sheriff and his officers called upon the bold Englishman before he had arisen in the morning, and after the latter had performed his toilet duties he buckled on his belt and trusty pistols. The officer of the law remonstrated, and the Englisher damned, and a struggle of half an hour ensued, in which the stout Britisher made a powerful resistance, but, by overpowering force, was at last placed hors de coiiibat and disarmed, f The charges were, that he retained in his possession the slave of a Confederate citizen, and refused to deliver him or her up ; that meeting a soldier coming t This is all nonsense— the myrmidons of the law took very good care to pounce upon Colonel Grenfell when he was in bed and asleep. GENERAL folk's ADVENTTJEE. 165 In the evening, after dark, General Polk drew mj attention to the manner in wMcli the signal beacons were worked. One light v/as stationary on the gronnd, whilst another was moved backwards and forwards over it. They gave ns intelligence that General Hardee had pushed the enemy to within five miles of Murfreesborono^h, after hea^^ skirmish- ing all day. I got out of General Polk the story of his cele- brated adventure with the Indiana (l!Torthem) regiment, which resulted in the almost total destruc- tion of that corps. I had often during my travels heard officers and soldiers talking of this extraor- dinary feat of the "Bishop's." The modest yet graphic manner in which General Polk related this wonderful instance of coolness and bravery was ex- to the army leading a liorse, lie accused him. of being a deserter, dismounted Mm, took his horses and equipments and mone^/, stating that deserters were not worthy to have either horses or money, and sent the owner thereof off where he would not be heard of again. The result of the affair was, that Colonel Gren- fell, whether guilty or not guilty, delivered up the negro, horses, and money to the civil authorities. If the charges against him are proven true, then there is no doubt that the course of General Bragg will be to dismiss him from his Staff; but if, on the con- trary, malicious slanders are defaming this ally, he is Hercules enough and brave enough to punish them. His bravery and gallantry were conspicuous throughout the Kentucky campaign, and it is hoped that this late tarnish on his fame will be removed ; or if it be not, that he will." 166 GENERAL POLk's ADVENTUEE. tremely interesting, and I now repeat it, as nearly as I can, in his own words. " "Well, sir, it was at the battle of Perryyille, late in the evening — in fact, it was almost dark when Lid- deli's brigade came into action. Shortly after its ar- rival I observed a body of men, whom I believed to be Confederates, standmg at an angle to this brigade, and firing obliqnely at the newly arrived troops. I said, ' Dear me, this is very sad, and mnst be stopped ;' so I turned round, but conld find none of my yonng men, who were absent on difierent messages ; so I determined to ride myself and settle the matter. Having cantered up to the colonel of the regiment which was firing, I asked him in angry tones what he meant by shooting his own friends, and I desired him to cease doing so at once. He answered with sur- prise, ' I don't thinli there can be any mistake about it; I am sure they are the enemy." 'Enemy!' I said; 'why, I have only just left them myself. Cease fii'ing, su' ; what is your name, sir V ' My name is ColGnel , of the Indiana j and jpray^ sir^ who are you f " Then for the first time I saw, to my astonishment, that he was a Yankee, and that I was in rear of a regi- ment of Yankees. Well, I saw that there was no hope but to brazen it out ; my dark blouse and the increasing obscurity befriended me, so I approached quite close to him and shook my fist in his face, say- GENEEAL POLk's ADVENTURE. 167 ing, ' I'll soon show you wlio I am, sir ; cease firing, sir, at once.' I tlien turned my horse and cantered slow- ly down tlie line, shouting in an authoritative manner to the Yankees to cease firing ; at the same time I experienced a disagreeable sensation, like screwing up my back, and calculating how many bullets would be between my shoulders every moment. I was afraid to increase my pace until I got to a small copse, when I put the spurs in and galloped back to my men. I immediately went up to the nearest colonel, and said to him, ' Colonel, I have reconnoitred those fellows pretty closely — and I find there is no mistake who they are ; you may get up and go at them.' And I assure you, sir, that the slaughter of that Indiana regi- ment was the greatest I have ever seen in the war."* It is evident to me that a certain degree of jealous feeling exists between the Tennesseean and Virginian armies. This one claims to have had harder fighting than the Virginian army, and to have been opposed to the best troops and best generals of the ^N'orth. The Southerners generally appear to estimate highest the northwestern Federal troops, which com pose in a great degree the armies of Grant and Rose- crans ; they come from the States of Ohio, Iowa, In- diana, &e. The Irish Federals are also respected for * If tiiese lines sliould ever meet the eyes of General Polk, I hope he will forgive me if I have made any error in recording his adventure. 168 A WESTEEUT SKIEI^nSH. their fighting qualities ; whilst the genuine Yankees and Germans (Dutch) are not much esteemed. I Iiave been agreeably disappointed in the climate of Tennessee, which appears quite temperate to what I had expected. Wh June (Thursday). — Colonel Eichmond rode with me to the outposts, in order to be present at the reconnoissance which was being conducted under the command of General Cheetham. Yf e reached the field of operations at 2 p. m., and found that Martin's cavalry (dismounted) had advanced upon the enemy about three miles, and, after some brisk skirmishing, had driven in his outposts. The enemy showed about 2,000 infantry, strongly posted, his guns commanding the turnpike-road. The Confederate infantry w^as concealed in the woods, about a mile in rear of the dismounted cavalry. This being the position of affairs, Colonel Rich- mond and I rode along the road so far as it was safe to do so. We then dismounted, and sneaked on in the wood alongside the road until we got to within 800 yards of the Yankees, whom we then reconnoitred leisurely with our glasses. We could only count about seventy infantry soldiers, with one field-piece in the wood at an angle of the road, and we saw several staff officers galloping about with orders. "Whilst we were thus engaged, some heavy firing and A WESTERN SKIRMISH. 169 loud cheering suddenly commenced in tlie woods on onr left ; so, fearing to be ontilanked, we remounted and rode back to an open space, about 600 yards to the rear, where we found General Martin giving or- ders for the withdrawal of the cavalry horses in the front, and the retreat of the skirmishers. It was very curious to see three hnndred horses suddenly emerge from the wood just in front of us, where they had been hidden — one man to every four horses, riding one and leading the other three, which were tied together by the heads. In this order I saw them cross a cotton-field at a smart trot, and take up a more secure position ; two or three men cantered about in the rear, flanking up the led horses. They were shortly afterwards followed by- the men of the regiment, retreating in skirmishing order under Colonel Webb, and they lined a fence parallel to us. The same thing went on on our right. As the firing on our left still continued, my friends were in great hopes that the Yankees might be in- •veigled on to follow the retreating skirmishers until they fell in with the two infantry brigades, which were lying in ambush for them ; and it was arranged, in that case, that some mounted Confederates should then get in their rear, and so capture a good number ; but this simple and ingenious device was frustrated by the sulkiness of the enemy, who now stubbornly refused to advance any further. 170 A WESTEEN SKIRMISH. The way in wliicli the horses were managed was very pretty, and seemed to answer admirably for this sort of skirmishing. They were never far from the men, who could mount and be off to another part of the field with rapidity, or retire to take np another position, or act as cavalry as the case might require. Both the superior officers and the men behaved with the most complete coolness ; and, whilst we were waiting in hopes of a Yankee advance, I heard the soldiers remarking that they " didn't like being done out of their good boots" — one of the principal ob- jects in killing a Yankee being apparently to get hold of his valuable boots. A tremendous row went on in the woods during this bushwhacking, and the trees got knocked about in all directions by shell; but I imagine that the actual slaughter in these skirmishes is very small, un- less they get fairly at one another in the open culti- vated spaces between the woods. I did not see or hear of anybody being killed to-day, although there were a few wounded and some horses killed. Colonel Richmond and Colonel "Webb were much disappoint- ed that the inactivity of the enemy prevented my seeing the skirmish assume larger proportions, and General Cheetham said to me, " We should be very happy to see you, Colonel, when we are in our regu- lar way of doing business." After waiting in vain until 5 p. m., and seeing no A WESTEEIT BKIEMISH. 171 signs of any thing more taking place, Colonel Bicli- mond and I cantered back to Slielbyville. We were accompanied by a detachment of General Polk's body-guard, wliicli was composed of young men of good position in 'New Orleans. Most of them spoke in the French language, and nearly all had slaves in the field with them, although they ranked only as private soldiers, and had to perform the onerous du- ties of orderlies (or couriers, as they are called). On our way back we heard heavy firing on our left, from the direction in which General "Withers was conduct- ing his share of the reconnoissance with two other infantry brigades. After dark, General Polk got a message from Cheetham, to say that the enemy had after all ad- vanced in heavy force about 6.15 p. m., and obliged him to retire to Guy's Gap. "We also heard that General Cleburne, who had advanced from "Wartrace, had had his horse shot under him. The object of the reconnoissance seemed, therefore, to have been at- tained, for apparently the enemy was still in strong force at Murfreesborough, and manifested no inten- tion of yielding it without a struggle. I took leave of General Polk before I turned in. His kindness and hospitality have exceeded any thing I could have expected. I shall always feel grateful to him on this account, and I shall never think of liim without admiration for his character as a sincere 172 SHELBYYILLE TO AUGUSTA. patriot, a gallant soldier, and a perfect gentleman. His aids-de-camp, Colonels Eichmond and Yeatman, are also excellent types of the higher class of South- erner. Highly educated, wealthy, and prosperous before the war, they have abandoned all for their country. They, and all other Southern gentlemen of the same rank, are proud of their descent from Englishmen. They glory in speaking English as we do, and that their manners and feelings resemble those of the upper classes in the old country. 'No Staff officers could perform their duties with more zeal and efficiency than these gentlemen, although they were not educated as soldiers. 6th June (Friday). — I left Shelbyville at 6 A. m., after having been shaken hands with affectionately by " Aaron," and arrived at Chattanooga at 4 p. m. As I was thus far under the protection of Lieutenant Bonnelson, of General Polk's Staff, I made this jour- ney under more agreeable auspices than the last time. The scenery was really quite beautiful. East Tennessee is said to contain many people who are more favorable to the North than to the South, and its inhabitants are now being conscripted by the Confederates ; but they sometimes object to this oper- ation, and, taking to the hills and woods, commence bushwhacking there. I left Chattanooga for Atlanta at 4.30 p. m. The A FEMALE SOLDIEE. 1Y3 train was ranch crowded with wonnded and sick sol- diers returning on leave to their homes. A goodish- looking woman was pointed out to me in the cars as having served as a private soldier in the battles of Perryville and Mnrfreesborongh. Several men in my car had served with her in a Louisianian regi- ment, and they said she had been turned out a short time since for her bad and immoral conduct. They told me that her sex was notorious to all the regi- ment, but no notice had been taken of it so long as she conducted herself properly. They also said that she was not the only representative of the female sex in the ranks. When I saw her she wore a soldier's hat and coat, but had resumed her petticoats. 6^A e/i^^^ (Saturday). — Arrived at Atlanta at 3 A. m., and took three hours' sleep at the Trouthouse hotel. After breakfasting, I started again for Augusta at 7 A. M. (174 miles) ; but the train had not proceeded ten miles before it was brought up by an obstruction, in the shape of a broken-down freight train, one of whose cars was completely smashed. This delayed us for about an hour, but we made up for it after- wards, and arrived at Augusta at 5.15 p. m. The country through Georgia is undulating, well cultivated, and moderately covered With trees ; and this part of the Confederacy has as yet suffered but b'ttle from the war. At some of the stations provi- 174 AUGUSTA. sions for the soldiers were brouglit into tlie cars by ladies, and distributed gratis. "WTien I refused on the ground of not being a soldier, these ladies looked at me with great suspicion, mingled with contempt, and as their looks evidently expressed the words, " Then why are you not a soldier ?" I was obliged to explain to them who I was, and show them General Bragg's pass, which astonished them not a little. I was told that Georgia was the only State in which soldiers were still so liberally treated — they have be- come so very common everywhere else. On reaching Augusta, I put up at the Planters'-house hotel, which seemed very luxurious to me after so many hours of the cars. But the Augusta climate is evidently much hotter than Tennessee. 1th June (Sunday). — ^Augusta is a city of 20,000 inhabitants ; but its streets being extremely wide, and its houses low, it covers a vast space. ~Eo place that I have seen ia the Southern States shows so little traces of the war, and it formed a delightful contrast to the war-worn, poverty-stricken, dried-up towns I had lately visited. I went to the Episcopal chm'ch, and might almost have fancied myself in England : the ceremonies were exactly the same, and the church was full of well-dressed people. At 2 p. M. I dined at the house of Mr. Carmichael, son-in-law to Bishop Elliott, who told me there were COLONEL EAINS. 175 2,000 volunteers in Augusta, regularly drilled and prepared to resist raids. These men were exempted from the conscription, either on account of their age, nationality, or other cause — or had purchased substi- tutes. At 3 p. M. Mr. Carmichael sent me in his buggy to call on Colonel Rains, the superintendent of the Government works here. My principal object in stopping at Augusta was to visit the powder manu- factory and arsenal; but, to my disappointment, I discovered that the present wants of the State did not render it necessary to keep these establishments open on Sundays. ^ I had a long and most interesting conversation with Colonel Rains, who is a very clever, highly- educated, and agreeable officer. He was brought up at West Point, and after a short service in the United States army, he became Professor of Chemistry at the Military College. He was afterwards much en- gaged in the manufacture of machinery in the l^orth- ern States. At the commencement of this war, with his usual perspicacity. President Davis selected Colonel Rains as the most competent person to build and to work the Government factories at Augusta, giving him c(wte Vlanche to act as he thought best ; and the result has proved the wisdom of the Presi- dent's choice. Colonel Rains told me that at the beginning of the troubles, scarcely a gi'ain of gun- powder was manufactured in the whole of the South- 176 AUGUSTA POWDER-MILLS. ern States. ' The Augusta powder-mills and arsenal were then commenced, and no less than Y,000 lbs. of powder are now made every day in the powder manufactory. The cost to the Government of mak- ing the powder is only fonr cents a pound. The saltpetre (nine-tenths of which runs the blockade from England) cost formerly seventy-five cents, but has latterly been more expensive. In the construc- tion of the powder-mills. Colonel Rains told me he had been much indebted to a pamphlet by Major Bradley of "Waltham Abbey. At the cannon foundry ,,one [N^apoleon 12-pounder is tm-ned out every two days ; but it is hoped very soon that one of these guns may be finished daily. The guns are made of a metal recently invented by the Austrians, and recommended to the Confederate Government by Mr. Mason. They are tested by a charge of ten pounds of powder, and by loading them to the muzzle with bolts. Two hundred excellent mechanics are exempted from the conscription, to be employed at the mills. The wonderful speed with which these works have been constructed, their great success, and their immense national value, are con- vincing proofs of the determined energy of the Southern character, now that it has been roused ; and also of the zeal and skill of Colonel Eains. He told me that Augusta had been selected as a site for these works on account of its remoteness from the probable GENERAL EIPLEY. 177 seats of war, of its central position, and of its great facilities of transport; for this city can boast of a navigable river and a canal, besides being situated on a central railroad. Colonel Kains said, tliat altliongh. tbe Southerners had certainly been hard up for gun- powder at the early part of the war, they were still harder up for percussion caps. An immense number (I forget how many) of these are now made daily in the Government factory at Atlanta. I left Augusta at 7 p. m. by train for Charleston. My car was much crowded with Yankee prisoners. ^th June (Monday). — I arrived at Charleston at 5 A. M., and drove at once in an omnibus to the Charles- ', ton hotel. At nine o'clock I called at General Beau- regard's office, but, to my disappointment, I found that he was absent on a tour of inspection in Florida. He is, however, expected to return in two or three days. I then called on General Ripley, who commands the garrison and forts of Charleston. He is a jovial character, very fond of the good things of this life ; but it is said that he never allows this propensity to I interfere with his military duties, in the performance of which he displa^^s both zeal and talent. He has the reputation of being an excellent artillery officer, and although by birth a E'ortherner, he is a red-hot and indefatigable rebel. I believe he wrote a book about the Mexican war, and after leaving the old 8* 178 CHAELESTON. army, lie was a good deal in England, connected with the small-arms factory at Enfield, and other enter- prises of the same sort. ISTearly all the credit of the efficiency of the Charleston fortifications is due to him. And notwithstanding his ISTorthern birth and occasional rollicking habits, he is generally popular. I then called on Mr. Robertson, a merchant, for whom I had brought a letter of introduction from England. This old gentleman took me a diive in his buggy at 6 p. m. It appears that at this time of year the country outside the city is quite pestilential, for when we reached the open, Mr. Robertson pointed to a detached house and said, "ISTow, I am as fond of money as any Jew, yet I wouldn't sleep in that house for one night if you gave it to me for doing so." I had intended to have visited Mr. Blake, an Eng- lish gentleman for whom I had a letter, on his Com- bahee plantation, but Mr. Robertson implored me to abandon this idea. Mr. Robertson was full of the disasters which had resulted from a recent Yankee raid of the Combahee river. It appears that a vast amount of property had been destroyed and slaves carried off. This morning I saw a poor old planter in Mr. Robertson's office, who had been suddenly and totally ruined by this raid. ' The raiders consisted principally of Northern armed negroes, and as they met with no Southern whites to resist them, they were able to efl"ect their depredations with total impunity. CnAELESTON". 179 It seems that a good deal of the land about Charles- ton belongs either to Blakes or Heywards. Mr. Blake lost thirty negroes in the last raid, but he has lost since the beginning of the war about 150. Mr. Robertson afterwards took me to see Mrs. , who is Mr. Walter Blake's daughter. To me, who had roughed it for ten weeks to such an extent, Charleston appeared most comfortable and luxmious. But its inhabitants must, to say the least, be suffer- ing great inconvenience. The lighting and paving of the city had gone to the bad completely. Most of the shops were shut up. Those that were open con- tained but very few goods, and those were at famine prices. I tried to buy a black scarf, but I couldn't jBLrid such an article in all Charleston. An immense amount of speculation in blockade- running was going on, and a great deal of business is evidently done in buying and selling negroes, for the papers are full of advertisements of slave auctions. That portion of the city destroyed by the great fire presents the appearance of a vast wilderness in the very centre of the town, no attempt having been made towards rebuilding it ; this desert space looks like the Pompeian ruins, and extends, Mr. Robertson says, ft)r a mile in length by half a mile in width. iN'early all the distance between the Mills House hotel and Charleston hotel is in this desolate state. The fire began quite by accident, but the violent wind which 180 FOET STJMTEE. suddenly arose rendered all attempts to stop the flames abortive. The deserted state of the wharves is melan- choly — the huge placards announcing lines of steam- ers to ISTew York, 'New Orleans, and to difierent parts of the world, still remain, and give one an idea of what a busy scene they used to be. The people, • however, all seem happy, contented, and determined. Both the great hotels are crowded ; and well dressed, handsome ladies are plentiful ; the fare is good, and the charge at the Charleston hotel is eight dollars a day. 9th Jime (Tuesday). — A Captain Feilden came to call upon me at 9 a. m. He is an Englishman, and formerly served in the 42d Highlanders. He is now m the Confederate army, and is on the staff of Gen- eral Beauregard's army. I remember his brother quite well at Sandhurst. Captain Feilden accom- panied me to General Bipley's office, and at 12 o'clock the latter officer took us in his boat to inspect Fort Sumter. Our party consisted of an invalid General Davis, a Congressman named ]^utt. Captain Feilden, the general, and myself. "We reached Fort Sumter after a pull of abont three-quarters of an hour.* This now celebrated fort is a pentagonal work built of red brick. It has two tiers of casemates, besides a heavy * As Fort Sumter must be in a very different state now to what it was when I saw it, I think there can be no harm in describing the fort as it then stood. — Nov., 1863. FOET SUMTEE. 181 barbette battery. Its walls are twelve feet thick at the piers, and six feet thick at the embrasures. It rises sheer out of the water, and is apparently situated in the centre of the bay, but on its side towards James Island the water is extremely shallow. It mounts sixty-eight guns, of a motley but efficient description. Ten-inch columbiads predominate, and are perhaps the most useful. They weigh 14,000 lb. (125 cwt.), throw a solid shot weighing 128 lb., and are made to traverse with the greatest ease by means of Yates's system of cogwheels. There are also eight-inch co- lumbiads, rifled forty-two pounders, and Brook guns to throw flat-headed projectiles (General Kipley told me that these Brook guns, about which so much is said, differ but little from the Blakely cannon) ; also there are Parrot guns and Dahlgrens ; in fact, a gen- eral assortment of every species of ordnance except "Whitworths and Armstrongs. But the best gun in the fort is a fine new eleven-inch gun, which had just been fished up from the wreck of the Keokuk ; the sister gun from the same wreck is at . The gar- rison consists of 350 enlisted soldiers under Colonel Ehett. They are called Confederate States regulars, and certainly they saluted in a more soldier-like way than the ordinary volunteers. A great proportion of them are foreigners. Fort Sumter now shows but little signs of the bat- tering it underwent from the ironclads eight weeks 182 FOET SmiTEE. ago. The two faces exposed to fire have been patched up so that large pieces of masonry have a newer ap- pearance than the mass of the building. The guns have been removed from the casemates on the eastern face, and the lower tier of casemates has been filled up with earth to give extra strength, and prevent the balls from coming right through into the interior of the work, which happened at the last attack. There is consequently a deep hole in the parade inside Fort Sumter, from which the earth had been taken to fill up these casemates. The angles of Sumter are being strengthened outside by stone buttresses. Some of the cheeks of the upper embrasures have been faced with blocks of u'on thi*ee feet long, eight inches thick, and twelve inches wide. I saw the effect of a heavy shot on one of these blocks which had been knocked right away, and had fallen in two pieces on the rocks below, but it had certainly saved the embrasure from further injury that time. I saw some solid fifteen-inch shot which had been fired by the enemy : they weigh 425 lb. I was told that several fifteen-inch shell had stuck in the walls and burst there, tearing away great flakes of masonry, and making holes two feet deep at the extreme. "None of the ironclads would approach aearer than nine hundred yards, and the Keokuk, which was the only one that came thus close, got out of order in -Qye minutes, and was completely disabled in a quarter of an hour. She sank on the following CHAELESTOK HAEBOE. 183 morning. Solid ten-inch shot and seven-inch flat- heads were used upon her. Ripley said he would give a great deal for some more eleven-inch guns, but he can't get them except by such chances as the Keokuk. The fight only lasted two hours and twenty-five minutes. Fort Sumter bore nearly the v/hole weight of the attack, assisted in a slight degree by Moultrie. Only one man was killed, which was caused by the fall of the flagstaff. The Confederates were unable to believe until some time afterwards the real amount of the damage they had inflicted ; nor did they dis- cover until next day that the affair was a serious at- tack, and not a reconnoissance. General Eipley spoke with the greatest confidence of being able to repulse any other attack of the same sort. Colonel Rhett, the commandant, entertained us with luncheon in one of the casemates. He is a handsome and agree- able man, besides being a zealous officer. He told me that one of the most efficient of his subordinates was Captain Mitchell, son to the so-called Irish patriot, who is editor of one of the Richmond newspapers. From the summit of Fort Sumter a good general view is obtained of the harbor, and of the fortifications commanding .the approach to Charleston. Castle Pinckney and Fort Sumter are two old masonry works built on islands — Pinckney being much closer to the city than Sumter. Between them is Fort Rip- ley, which mounts heavy guns. Moultrieville, 184 BLOCKADE KUNNIIsra with its niimerous forts, called Battery Bee, Fort Moultrie, Fort Beauregard, &c., is on Sullivan's Island, one mile distant from Fort Sumter. Tliere are excellent arrangements of , and other con- trivances, to foul the screw of a vessel between Sum- ter and Moultrie. On the other side of Fort Sumter is Fort Johnson, on James Island, Fort Cummins Point, and Fort Wagner, on Morris Island. In fact, both sides of the harbor for several miles appear to . bristle with forts mounting heavy guns. The bar, beyond which we counted thirteen block- aders, is nine miles from the city. Sumter is three and a half miles from the city. Two or three thou- sand Yankees are now supposed to be on Folly Island, which is next beyond Morris Island, and in a day or two they are to be shelled from the Confederate bat- teries on Morris Island. The new Confederate flag, which bears a strong resemblance to the British white ensign, was flying from most of the forts. ^ In returning we passed several blockade-runners, amongst others the steamer Kate, with the new double screw. These vessels are painted the same color as the water ; as many as three or four often go in and out with impunity during one night ; but they never attempt it excej)t in cloudy weather. They are very seldom captured, and charge an enormous price for passengers and freight. It is doubtful whether the traffic of the private blockade-runners doesn't do more CHAELESTOK. 185 harm tlian good to the country by depreciating its currency, and they are generally looked upon as regu- lar gambling speculations. I have met many persons who are of opinion that the trade ought to be stopped, except for government stores and articles necessary; for the public welfare. J After we had landed. Captain Fielden took me on board one of the new ironclads which are being built, and which are supposed to be a great improvement upon the Chicora and Palmetto State ; these are al- ready afloat, and did ^od service last February by issuhig suddenly forth, and driving away the whole blockading squadron for one day. Last night these two active little vessels were out to look after some blockaders which were supposed to have ventured inside the bar. At 5 p. M. I dined with General and Mrs. Eipley. The dinner was a very sumptuous one, for a " block- ade" dinner, as General Ripley called it. The other guests were Gen. Jordan, Chief of the Staff to Beau- regard; Gen. Davis, Mr. J^utt, and Col. Ehett, of Fort Sumter. The latter told me that if the ironclads had come any closer than they did, he should have dosed them with flat-headed bolts out of the smooth- bore guns, which, he thinks, could travel accurately enough for 500 or 600 yards. Mrs. H asked me to an evening party, but the extreme badness of my clothes compelled me to decline the invitation. 186 MOEEIS ISLAJTD. 10th June (Wednesday). — I dined with Mr. and Mrs. II this afternoon, and after dinner they drove me to the Battery, which is the popular promenade. A great many well-dressed people and a few carriages were there, but the H s say it is nothing to what it was. Most of the horses and carriages have been sent ont of Charleston since the last attack. Mrs. H told me all the ladies began to move out of Charleston on the morning after the repnlse of the Monitors, the impression being that the serious attack was about to begin. I talked to her about the smart costumes of the negro women on Sundays ; she said the only difference between them and their mistresses is, that a mulatto woman is not allowed to wear a veil. 11th June (Thursday). — General Eipley took me in his boat to Morris Island. We passed Fort Sumter on our left, and got aground for five minutes in its immediate neighborhood; then bearing off towards the right, we passed Fort Cummins Point, and (after entering a narrow creek) Fort Wagner on our left. The latter is a powerful, well-constructed field-work, mounting nine heavy guns, and it completely cuts across Moms Island at the end nearest to Fort Sumter. General Ripley pointed at Fort Wagner with some pride. We landed near the house of the colonel who com- MOEEis isla:nd. 187 manded the troops in Morris Island,* and borrowed his horses to ride to the further extremity of the island. "We passed the wreck of the Keokuk, whose turret was just visible above the water, at a distance from the shore of about 1500 yards. On this beach I also inspected the remains of the so-called " Yankee Devil," a curious construction, which on the day of the attack had been pushed into the harbor by one of the Monitors. This vessel, with her appendage, happened to be the first to receive the fire of Fort Sumter, and after a quarter of an hour Monitor and Devil got foul of one another, when both came to grief, and the latter floated harmlessly ashore. It seems to have been composed of double twenty-inch beams, forming a sort of platform or stage fifty feet long by twenty broad, from which depended chains with gra^Dpling irons to rake up hostile torpedoes. The machine was also provided with a gigantic tor- pedo of its own, which was to blow up piles or other obstacles. Morris Island is a miserable, low, sandy desert, and at its further extremity there is a range of low sand- * This must have been about the spot from whence Fort Sumter was afterwards bombarded. I cannot help thinking that the Con- federates made a great mistake in not fortifying the further end of Morris Island and keeping a larger garrison there, for when the Federals landed, they met with no fortification until they reached Fort Wagner. 188 l-HE ETJBY. hills, which form admirable natural parapets. About ten guns and mortars were placed behind them, and two companies of regular artillery were stationed at this point under the command of Captain Mitchell (the " patriot's" son), to whom I was introduced. He seemed a quiet, unassuming man, and was spoken oi by General Ripley as an excellent officer. He told me he expected to be able to open fire in a day or two upon the Yankees in Folly Island and Little Folly; and he expressed a hope that a few shell might drive them out from Little Folly, which is only distant 600 yards from his guns. The enemy's large batteries are on Folly Island, 3400 yards off, but within range of Captain Mitchell's rifled artillery, one of which was a twelve-pounder Whitworth. A blockade-runner, named the Ruby, deceived by some lights on Folly Island, ran ashore at one o'clock this morning in the narrow inlet between Morris Island and Little Folly. The Yankees immediately opened fire on her, and her crew, despairing of get- ting her off, set her on fire — a foolish measure, as she was right under Captain Mitchell's guns — and when- ever a group of Yankees approached the wreck, a shell was placed in their midst, which effectually checked their curiosity. The Ruby was therefore burning in peace. Her crew had escaped, all except one man, who was drowned in trying to save a val- uable trunk. CHAELESTON. 189 After having conversed some time with Captain Mitchell and his brother oiScers, we took leave of them ; and General Riple j, pursuing his tour of in- spection, took me up some of the numerous creeks which intersect the low marshy land of James Island. In one of these I saw the shattered remains of the sham Keokuk, which was a wooden imitation of its equally short-lived original, and had been used as a floating target by the different forts. In passing Fort Sumter, I observed that the eastern face, from which the guns (except those en 'barbette) had been removed, was being further strengthened by a facing of twelve feet of sand, supported by logs of wood. There can be no doubt that Sumter could be destroyed, if a vessel could be found impervious enough to lie pretty close in and batter it for ^^ hours ; but with its heavy armament and plunging fire, this catastrophe was not deemed probable. Gen- eral Ripley told me that, in his opinion, the proper manner to attack Charleston, was to land on Morris Island, take Forts Wagner and Cummings Point, and then turn their guns on Fort Sumter. He does not think much of the 15-inch guns. The enemy does not dare use more than 35 lb. of powder to propel 425 lb. of iron ; the velocity consequently is very tri- fling. He knows and admires the British 68-pounder, weighing 95 cwt., but he does not think it heavy enough effectually to destroy iron-clads. He consid- 190 CAPTAIN TUCKER OF THE CHICOEA. ers the ll-inch gun, tlirowing a shot of 170 lb., as the most efficient for that purpose. In returning from Morris Island, we passed two steamers, which had successfully run the blockade last night, besides the luckless Euby, which had also passed the blockading squadron before she came to grief. The names of the other two are the Anaconda and Racoon, both fine-looking ves- sels. I dined at Mr. Eobertson's, at the corner of Eut- ledge-street, and met Captain Tucker of the navy there. He is a very good fellow, and a perfect gen- tleman. He commands the Chicora gunboat, and it was he who, with his own and another gunboat (Pal- metto State), crossed the bar last February, and raised the blockade for a few hours. He told me that several Yankee blockaders surrendered, but could not be taken possession of, and the others bolted at such a pace as to render pursuit hopeless, for these little gunboats are very slow. They made the attack at daylight, and though much fired at were never struck. They seem to have taken the Yankees by surprise, and to have created great alarm ; but at that time the blockading squadron consisted entirely of improvised men-of-war. Since this exploit, the fi-igate Ironsides, and the sloop of war Powhatan, have been added to its strength. It poured with rain during the evening, and we CHAELESTON — A SLAVE AUCTION. 191 had a violent tlumderstorm. General Beauregard returned to Charleston this afternoon. VUlh June (Friday). — I called at an exchange office this morning, and asked the value of gold ; they of- fered me six to one for it. I went to a slave auction at 11 ; but they had been so quick about it that the whole affair was over before I arrived, although I was only ten minutes late. The negroes — about fifteen men, three women, and three children — ^were seated on benches, looking perfectly contented and indiffer- ent. I saw the buyers opening the mouths and show- ing the teeth of their new pmxhases to tlieir friends in a very business-hke manner. This was certainly not a very agreeable spectacle to an Englishman, and I know that many Southerners participate in the same feeling ; for I have often been told by people that they, had never seen a negro sold by auction, and never wished to do so. It is impossible to men- tion names in connection with such a subject, but I am perfectly aware that many influential men in the South feel humiliated and annoyed with several of the incidents connected with slavery ; and I think that if the Confederate States were left alone, the system would be much modified and amended, al- though complete emancipation cannot be expected ; for the Southerners believe it to be as impracticable to cultivate cotton on a large scale in the South, 192 THE CHICOHA. without forced black labor, as the British have found it to produce sugar in Jamaica ; and they declare that the example the English have set them of sudden emancipation in that island is by no means encour- aging. They say that that magnificent colony, form- erly so wealthy and prosperous, is now nearly value- less — the land going out of cultivation — the Whites ruined — the Blacks idle, slothful, and supposed to be in a great measure relapsing into their primitive barbarism. At twelve o'clock I called by appointment on Cap- tain Tucker, on board the Chicora.* The accommo- dation below is good, considering the natm'e and peculiar shape of the vessel ; but in hot weather the quarters are very close and unhealthy, for which rea- son she is moored alongside a wharf, on which her crew live. Captain Tucker expressed great confi- dence in his vessel during calm weather, and when not exposed to a plunging fii-e. He said he should not hesitate to attack even the present blockading squadron, if it were not for certain reasons which he explained to me. Captain Tucker expects great results from certain newly-invented submarine inventions, which he thinks are sure to succeed. He told me that, in the April attack, these two gunboats were placed in the rear * I liave omitted a description of this littlfe gimboat, as slie is Btill doing good service in Charleston liarbor. — ^November, 1863. GEKEE^U. BEAUEEGAED, 193 of Fort Sumter, and if, as was anticipated, tlie Mon- itors had managed to force their way past Sumter, tliej would have been received from different direc- tions hj the powerful battery Bee on Sullivan's Island, by this island. Forts Pinckney and Bipley, by the two gunboats, and by Fort Johnson on James Island — a nest of hornets from which perhaps they would never have returned. At 1 p. M. I called on General Beauregard, who is a man of middle height, about forty-seven years of age. He would be very youthful in appearance were it not for the color of his hau*, which is much grayer than his earlier photographs represent. Some per- sons account for the sudden manner in which his hair turned gray by allusions to his cares and anxieties during the last two years ; but the real and less ro- mantic reason is to be found in the rigidity of the Yankee blockade, which interrupts the arrival of articles of toilet. He has a long straight nose, handsome brown eyes, and a dark mustache without whiskers, and his manners are extremely polite. He is a ISTew Orleans Creole, and French is his native language. He was extremely civil to me, and arranged that I should see some of the land fortifications to-morrow. He spoke to me of the inevitable necessity, sooner oi later, of a war between the Northern States and Great Britain; and he remarked that, if England 9* 194: GEITEEAL BEAUEEGAED. would join tlie Soiitli at once, the Southern armies, relieved of the present blockade and enormous Yan- kee pressure, Vv^ould be able to march right into the ISTorthern States, and, by occupying their principal cities, would give the Yankees so much employment that they would be unable to spare many men for Canada. He acknowledged that in Mississippi, Gen- eral Grant had displayed uncommon vigor, and met with considerable success, considering that he was a man of no great military capacity. He said that Johnston Was certainly acting slowly and with much caution ; but then he had not the veteran troops of Eragg or Lee. He told me that he (Eeauregard) had organized both the Yirginian and Tennessean armies. Both are composed of the same materials, both have seen much service, though, on the whole, the fii^st had been the most severely tried. He said that in the Confederate organization a brigade is composed of four regiments, a division ought to number 10,000 men, and a cot])s cVarmee 40,000. But I know that neither Polk nor Hardee have got any thing like that number.* At 5.30 p. M. the firing on Morris Island became distinctly audible. Captain Mitchell had evidently commenced his operations against Little Folly. While I was walking on the battery this evening, a * A division does nearly always number 10,000 men, but tlien tliere are generally only two or three divisions in a corps d'armee. ME. IM^TEES OF THE STIMTEE. 195 gentleman came up to me and recalled himself to my recollection as Mr. Meyers of the Sumter, whom I had known at Gibraltar a year ago. This was one of the two persons who were arrested at Tangier by the . acting United States consul in such an outrageous manner. He told me that he had been kept in irons during his whole voyage, in the merchant vessel, to the United States ; and, in spite of the total illegality of his capture on neutral ground, he was imprisoned for four months in Fort Warren, and not released until regularly exchanged as a prisoner of war. Mr. Meyers was now most anxious to rejoin Captain Semmes, or some other rover. I understand that when the attack took place in April, the garrison of Fort Sumter received the Moni- tors with great courtesy as they steamed up. The three flagstaffs were dressed with flags, the band from the top of the fort played the national airs, and a salute of twenty-one guns was fired, after which the en- tertainment provided was of a more solid description. IZth Jime (Saturday). — Colonel Eice, aid-de-camp to General Beauregard, rode with me to " Secession- ville" this mornins;. I was mounted on the horse which the General rode at Manassas and Shiloh. We reached James Island by crossing the long wooden bridge which spans the river Ashley. The land of James Island is low and marshy, and is both by re- 196 SECESSIONVrLLE. pute and in appearance most nnliealthy. Three years ago no white men would have dreamed of occupying it at this time of year ; but now that the necessity has arisen, the troops, curiously enough, do not ap- pear to suffer. " Secessionville," the most advanced and most im- portant of the James Island fortifications, is distant by road eight miles from Charleston bridge, with which it is connected by a chain of forts. It was sur- prised by the enemy just a year ago (June, 1862), and was the scene of a desperate conflict, which resulted in the repulse of the Federals with a loss of nearly 800 men. The Confederates lost 150 men on this occa- sion, which as yet has been the only serious loss of ' life at Charleston during the war. Colonel Lamar, who commanded the garrison with great gallantry, was one of the few victims to yellow fever last year. The Yankees attacked the fort three times with much bravery and determination, and actually reached the superior slope of the parapet before they were driven back. They were withiu an ace of being successful ; and although they deserved great credit for theu' be- havior on that occasion, yet it is understood that the officer who organized the attack has either been dis- missed the service or otherwise punished. Lieutenant-colonel Brown, the commandant, who showed me over the fort and bomb-proofs, is quite young, full of zeal, and most anxious to be attacked ; CHAELESTON. 197 lie has artillerymen to man tMs and the neigh- boring works, and two regiments of infantry are also encamped within a short distance. At the time of the attack on Charleston last April, there were 30,000 men to defend it ; since that time 20,000 had been sent into Mississippi to reinforce Johnston. I imagine that, as the fortifications are so very extensive, the Charleston garrison ought to con- sist of at least 30,000 men. 14:th June (Sunday). — I went to chnrch at St. Michael's, which is one of the oldest churches in America, and is supposed to have been built a hu?i- dred and fifty years ago. The Charlestonians are very proud of it, and I saw several monuments of the time of the British dominion. This morning I made the acquaintance of a Mr. Sennec, an officer in the Confederate States navy, who, with his wife and daughter, were about to face the terrors and dangers of running the blockade, Mr. Sennec having got an appointment in Europe. The ladies told me they had already made one start, but after reaching the bar, the night was not considered propitious, so they had returned. Mr. Sennec is thinking of going to Wilmington, and running from thence, as it is more secure than Charleston. I dined at Mr. Eobertson's this evening, and met a very agreeable party there — viz., two young ladies, 198 CHAELESTON". who were extremely pretty, General Beauregard, Cap- tain Tucker of the Chicora, and Major Norris, the chief of the secret intelligence bureau at Richmond. I had a Ions; conversation with General Beaure- gard, who said he considered the question of iron- clads versus forts as settled, especially when the fire from the latter is plunging. If the other Monitors had approached as close as the Keokuk, they would probably have shared her fate. He thought that both flat-headed rifled 7-inch bolts and- solid 10-inch balls penetrated the ironclads when within 1,200 yards. He agreed with General Bipley that the 15- in^h gun is rather a failure ; it is so unwieldy that it can only be fired very slowly, and the velocity of the ball is so small that it is very diflicult to strike a moving object. He told me that Fort Sumter was to be covered by degrees with the long green moss which in this country hangs down from the trees : he thinks that when this is pressed it will deaden the effect of the shot without being inflammable ; and he also said that, even if the walls of Fort Sumter were battered down, the barbette battery would still re- main, supported on the piers. The Federal frigate Ironsides took up her position, during the attack, over 3,000 lb. of powder, which was prevented from exploding owing to some misfortune connected with the communicating wire. General Beauregard and Captain Tucker both seemed to ex- CHAELESTON. 199 pect great tMngs from a newly invented and extra- diabolical torpedo-ram. After dinner, Major IN'orris showed ns a copy of a ITew York illustrated l^ewspaper of tlie same cliarac- ter as onr " Punch." In it the President Davis and General Beanregard were depicted shoeless and in rags, contemplating a pair of boots, which the latter suggested had better be eaten. This caricature ex- cited considerable amusement, especially when its merits were discussed after Mr. Pobertson's excellent dinner. General Beauregard told me he had been educated in the North, and used to have many friends there, but that now he would sooner submit to the Emperor of China than return to the Union. Mr. Walter Blake arrived soon after dinner ; he had come up from his plantation on the Combahee river on purpose to see me. He described the results of the late Yankee raid up that river : forty armed negroes and a few whites in a miserable steamer were able to destroy and burn an incalculable amount of property, and carry off hundreds of negroes. Mr. Blake got off very cheap, having only lost twenty- four this time, but he only saved the remainder by his own personal exertions and determination. He had now sent all his young males two hundred miles into the interior for greater safety. He seemed to have a very rough time of it, living all alone in that pestilential climate. A neighboring planter, Mi-. 200 EIVEE-GEOPEES. LovTndes, had lost 290 negroes, and a Mr. Kirldand was totally ruined. At 7 p. M. Mr. Blake and I called at tlie office of General Eipley, to wliom Mr. Blake, notwithstanding that he is an Englishnxan of nearly sixty years of age, had served as aid-de-camp during some of the former operations against Charleston. General Ripley told us that shelling was still going on vigorously between Morris and Folly Islands, the Yankees being assisted every now and then by one or more of their gunboats. The General explained to us that these light-draft armed vessels — river-grocers^ as he called them — were indefatigable at pushing up the numerous creeks, burn- ing and devastating every thing. He said that when he became acquainted with the habits of one of these " critturs," he arranged an ambuscade for her, and with the assistance of " his fancy Irishman" (Captain Mitchell), he captured her. This was the case with the steamer Stono, a short time since, which, hav- ing been caught in this manner by the army, was lost by the navy shortly afterwards off Sullivan's Island. !N'ews has just been received that Commodore Poote is to succeed Dupont in the command of the blockading squadron. Most of these officers appeared to rejoice in this change, as they say Foote is younger, and likely to show more sport than the venerable Dupont. M'CAETHY. 201 16th June (Monday). — I called on General Beaure- gard to say good-by. Before parting, he told me that his official orders, both from the Government and from the Town-Conncil, were, that he was to allow Charleston to be laid in ashes sooner than sur- render it ; the Confederates being nnanimons in their determination that, whatever happened, the capital of Sonth Carolina should never have to snbmit to the fate of IN^ew Orleans. But General Beauregard did not at all anticipate that such an alternative was im- minent. In answer to my thanks for his kindness and courtesy, he said that the more Europeans that came to the South, the more the Southernei's were pleased, as seeing was the only way to remove many prejudices. He declared every thing here was open and above board, and I really believe this is the case. Most certainly the civil law is not overruled by the military, except in cases of the strongest emergency. The press is allowed the most unlimited freedom, and even license. Whenever excesses take place, and the law is violated, this is caused by the violence of the people themselves, who take the law into their own hands. General Beauregard sent his love to Sir James Fergusson, who had visited him during the early part of the war ; so also did General Jordan, Chief of the Staff. Before taking my departure from the hotel, I was much gratified by meeting McCarthy, who had just 9* 202 WILMINGTON BLOCKADE-EUNNTSra returned from Eichmond. He had had tlie good fortune to cross the Mississippi a little later than me, and he had encountered comparatively few obstacles. I left Charleston by rail at 2 p. m., in company with Mr. Sennec, his wife, and daughter ; and Major ISTor- ris, who was extremely kind and useful to me. I de- clined travelling in the ladies' car, although offered that privilege — the advantage of a small amount of extra cleanliness being outweighed by the screaming of the children, and the constant liability of being turned out of one's place for a female. Major Norris told me many amusing anecdotes connected with the secret intelligence department, and of the numerous ingenious methods for com- municating with the Southern partisans on the other side of the Potom-ac. We reached Florence at 9 p. m., where we were de- tained for some time owing to a break-down of an- otlier train. We then fought our way into some desperately crowded cars, and continued om- journey throughout the night. IQtli June (Tuesday). — Arrived at Wilmington at 5 A. M., and crossed the river there in a steamer. This river was quite full of blockade runners. I counted eight large steamers, all handsome leaden-colored vessels, which ply their trade with the greatest regu- larity. Half these ships were engaged in carrying MR. VALLAm)IGHAM. 203 goods on Government account ; and I was told tliat the quantity of boots, clotliing, saltpetre, lead, and tin, which they bring into the country, is very great. I cannot suppose that in ordinary times there would be any thing like such a trade as this, at a little place like Wilmington, which shows the absurdity of call- ing the blockade an efficient one. This blockade running is an extraordinary instance of British energy and enterprise. When I was at Charleston, I asked Mr. Bobertson whether any French vessels had run the blockade. In rej^ly he told me it was a very peculiar fact that " one of the partners of Fraser & Co. being a Frenchman, was extremely anxious to engage a French vessel in the trade. Expense was no object ; the ship and the cargo were forthcoming ; nothing was wanted but a French captain and a French crew (to make the ship legally French) ; but although any amount of money was offered as an inducement, they were not to be found, and this obstacle was insurmomitable." Not the slightest difficulty is experienced at Liverpool in officering and manning any number of ships for this purpose. Major Korris went to call upon Mr. Yallandigham, whom he had escorted to Wilmington as a sort of semi-prisoner some days ago. Mr. Yallandigham was in bed. He told Major l^orris that he intended to run the blockade this evening for Bermuda, from 204 WILMINGTON TO EICHMOND. whence lie should find his way to tlie Clifton Hotel, Canada, where he intended to publish a newspaper, and agitate Ohio across the frontier. Major l^orris found him much elated by the news of his having been nominated for the governorship of Ohio ; and he declared if he was duly elected, his State could dictate peace. In travelling through the country to Wilmington, these two used to converse much on politics; and Major IlTorris once said to him, " 'Now, from what you have seen and heard in your journey through the South, you must know that a reconstruction of the old Union, under any circumstances, is utterly im- possible." Yallandigham had replied, "Well, all I can say is, I hope, and at all events I know, that my scheme of a suspension of hostilities is the only one which has any prospect of ultimate success."^' At Wilmington I took leave with regret of Mr. Sennec and his family, who were also to run the blockade this evening. Miss Sennec is much too pretty to risk a collision with a fragment of a shell ; but here no one seems to think any thing of the risk of passing through the Yankee fleet, as the " runners," though often fired at, are very seldom hit or captured, * I have often heard Soutlierners speak of tliis proposal of Val- landigliam's as most insidious and dangerous ; but tlie opinion now is that things have gone too far to permit reunion under any cir- cumstances. 1 WILMINGTON TO EICHMOND. 205 and their captains are becoming more and more knowing every day. I was obliged to go to the pro- vost-marslial's office to get Beauregard's pass renewed there, as E'orth Carolina is out of his district : in do- ing so I very nearly missed the train. I left "Wilmington at 7 A. m. The weather was very hot and oppressive, and the cars dreadfully crowded all day. The luxuries of Charleston had also spoiled me for the " road," as I could no longer appreciate at their proper value the "hog and hominy" meals which I had been so thankful for in Texas; but I found Major ISTorris a very agreeable and instructive companion. We changed cars again at "Weldon, where I had a terrific fight for a seat, but I succeeded ; for experience had made me very quick at this sort of business. I always carry my saddle- bags and knapsack with me into the car. 17th June (Wednesday). — We reached Petersburgh at 3 A. M., and had to get out and traverse this town in carts, after which we had to lie down in the road until some other cars were opened. We left Peters- burgh at 5 A. M. and arrived at Pichmond at Y A. m., having taken forty-one hours coming from Charles- ton. The railroad between Petersburgh and Pichmond is protected by extensive field-works, and the woods have been cut down to give range. An irruption of 206 EICHMOND. the enemy in this direction has evidently been con- templated; and we met a brigade of infantry half- way between Petersburgh and Eichmond on its way to garrison the latter place, as the Yankees are re- ported to be menacing in that neighborhood. The scenery near Richmond is very pretty, and rather English-looking. The view of the James River from the railway bridge is quite beautiful, though the water is rather low at present. The weather was extremely hot and oppressive, and, for the first time since I left Havana, I really suffered from the heat. At 10 A. M., I called on General Cooper, Adjutant- general to the Confederate forces, and senior general in the army. He is brother-in-law to Mr. Mason, the Southern Commissioner in London. I then called upon Mr. Benjamin, the Secretary of State, who made an appointment with me to meet him at his house at 7 p. M. The public offices are handsome stone build- ings, and seem to be well arranged for business. I found at least as much difficulty in gaining access to the great men as there would be in European coun- tries ; but when once admitted, I was treated with the greatest courtesy. The anterooms were crowded with people patiently waiting for an audience. The streets of Richmond are named and numbered in a most puzzling manner, and the greater part of the houses are not numbered at all. It is the most hUly MR. BENJAMIN. 207 city I have ever seen in America, and its population is unnaturally swollen since tlie commencement of the war. The fact of there being abundance of ice appeared to me an immense luxury, as I had never seen any before in the South ; but it seems that the winters are quite severe in l!Torthern Virginia. I was sorry to hear in the highest quarters the gloomiest forebodings with regard to the fate of Yicksburg. This fortress is in fact given up^ and all now despair of General Johnston's being able to effect any thing towards its relief. I kept my appointment with Mr. Benjamin at 7 o'clock. He is a stout dapper little man, evidently of Hebrew extraction, and of undoubted talent. He is a Louisianian, and was senator for that State in the old United States Congress, and I believe he is ac- counted a very clever lawyer and a brilliant orator. He told me that he had filled the onerous post of Sec- retary of War during the first seven months of the Secession, and I can easily believe that he found it no sinecure. "We conversed for a long time about the origin of Secession, which he indignantly denied was brought about, as the Yankees assert, by the interest- ed machinations of individuals. He declared that, for the last ten years, the Southern statesmen had openly stated in Congress what would take place ; but the Northerners never would believe they were in earnest, and had often replied by the taunt, " The South was 208 ME. BENJAMIN. SO bound to, and dependent on the Nortli, that sTie couldnH 1)6 Mcked out of the TJnionP He said that the Southern armies had always been immensely outnumbered in all their battles, and that until recently General Lee could never muster more than 60,000 effective men. He confessed that the Southern forces consisted altogether of about 350,000 to 400,000 men ; and when I asked him where they all were, he replied that, on account of the enormous tract of country to be defended, and the immense ad- vantages the enemy possessed by his facilities for sea and river transportation, the South was obliged to keep large bodies of men unemployed, and at great distances from each other, awaiting the sudden inva- sions or raids to which they were continually exposed. Besides which, the ITorthern troops, which numbered (he supposed) 600,000 men, having had as yet but little defensive warfare, could all be employed for ag- gressive pm*poses. He asserted that England had still, and always had had it in her power to terminate the war by recog- nition, and by making a commercial treaty with the South ; and he denied that the Yankees really would dare to go to war with Great Britain for doing so, however much they might swagger about it : he said that recognition would not increase the Yankee hatred of England, for this, whether just or unjust, was al- ready as intense as it could possibly be. I then al- ME. BENJAMm. 209 luded to tlie supposed ease with whicli they could overrun Canada, and to the temptation which its unprotected towns must offer to the large numbers of Irish and German mercenaries in the ]^orthern armies. He answered, " They probably could not do that so easily as some people suppose, and they know per- fectly well that you could deprive them of California (a far more serious loss) with much greater ease." This consideration, together with the certainty of an entire blockade of their ports, the total destruction of their trade, and an invasion on a large scale by the South- ern troops, in reality prevents the possibility of their declaring war upon England at the present time, any more than they did at the period of their great na- tional hmniliation in the Mason-Slidell affair. Mr. Benjamin told me that his property had lately been confiscated in I^Tew Orleans, and that his two sisters had been turned, neck and crop, into the streets there, with only one trunk, which they had been forced to carry themselves. Every one was afraid to give them shelter, except an Englishwoman, who protected them until they could get out of the city. Talking of the just admiration which the English newspapers accorded to Stonewall Jacl^on, he ex- pressed, however, his astonishment that they should have praised so highly his strategic skill in out- manoeuvring Pope at Manassas, and Hooker at Chan- cellorsville, totally ignoring that in both cases the 210 ME, BENJAMIN. movements were planned and ordered by General Lee, for whom (Mr. Benjamin said) Jackson had the most " childlike reverence." Mr. Benjamin complained of Mr. Eiissell of the " Times" for holding him up to fame as a " gambler" — a story which he understood Mr. Enssell had learnt from Mr. Charles Sumner at Washington. But even supposing that this was really the case, Mr. Benjamin was of opinion tl^t such a revelation of his private life was in extremely bad taste, after Mr. Eussell had partaken of his (Mr. Benjamin's) hospitality at Mont- gomery. He said the Confederates were more amused than annoyed at the term " rebel," which was so constantly applied to them ; but he only T\dshed mildly to re- mark, that in order to be a " rebel," a person must rebel against some one who has a right to govern him ; and he thought it would be very difficult to discover such a right as existing in the ITorthern over the Southern States. In order to prepare a treaty of peace, he said, " It would only be necessary to write on a blank sheet of paper the words 'self-government.'' Let the Yan- kees accord that, and they might fill up the jDaper in any manner they chose. "We don't want any State that doesn't want us ; but we only wish that each State should decide fairly upon its own destmy. All we are struggling for is to be let alone." TflE PRESIDEKT. 211 At 8 P. M. Mr. Benjamin walked witli me to tlie President's dwelling, which, is a private honse at tlie other end of the town. I had tea there, and nncom- monly good tea, too — the first I had tasted in the Confederacy. Mrs. Davis was unfortunately unwell and unable to see me. Mr. Jefferson Davis struck me as looking older than I expected. He is only fifty-six, but his face is emaciated, and much wrinkled. He is nearly six feet high, but is extremely thin, and stoops a little. His features are good, especially his eye, which is very bright, and full of life and humor. I was after- wards told he had lost the sight of his left eye from a recent illness. He wore a linen coat and gray trousers, and he loolied what he evidently is, a well- bred gentleman, l^othing can exceed the charm of his manner, which is sunple, easy, and most fascinat- ing. He conversed with me for a long time, and agreed with Benjamin that the Yankees did not really intend to go to war with England if she recognized the South; and he said that, when the inevitable smash came — and that separation was an accomplished fact — the State of Maine would prob- ably try to join Canada, as most of the intelligent people in that State have a horror of being " under the tliumh of Massachusetts P He added, that Maine was inhabited by a hardy, thrifty, seafaring popula- tion, with different ideas to the people in the other 212 THE PEESIDENT. ISTew England States. Wlien I spoke to Mm of tlie wretched scenes I had witnessed in his own State (Mississippi), and of the miserable, ahnost desperate, situation in which I had found so many unfortunate women, who had been left behind by their male re- lations; and when I alluded in admiration to the quiet, calm, uncomplaining manner in which they bore their sufferings and their grief, he said, with much feeling, that he always considered silent desjoair the most pamful description of misery to witness, in the same way that he thought miote insanity was the most awfal form of madness. He spoke to me of Grenfell, who, he said, seemed to be serving the Confederacy in a disinterested and loyal manner. He had heard much of his gallantry and good services, and he was very sorry when I told him of Grenfell's quarrel with the civil power. He confirmed the truth of my remark, that a Con- federate general is either considered an Admirable Crichton by the soldiers, or else abused as every thing bad ; and he added, the misfortune was, that it is absolutely necessary, in order to insure success, that a general must obtain and preserve this popu- larity and influence with his men, who were, how- ever, generally very willing to accord their confidence to any officer deserving of it. With regard to the black-flag-and-no-quarter agita- tion, he said people would talk a great deal, and even THE PRESIDENT. 213 go into action determined to give no quarter ; "but," lie added, " I have yet to hear of Confederate soldiers putting men to death who have thrown down their arms and held up their hands." He told me that Lord Russell confessed that the impartial carrying out of the neutrality laws had pressed hard upon the South ; and Mr. Da^as asserted that the pressure might have been equalized, and yet retained its impartiality, if Great Britain, instead of closing her ports, had opened them to the prizes of both parties ; but I answered that perhaps this might be over-doing it a little on the other side. When I took my leave about 9 o'clock, the Presi- dent asked me to call upon him again. I don't think it is possible for any one to have an interview with him without going away most favorably impressed by I his agreeable, unassuming manners, and by the charm of his conversation. While walking home, Mr. Ben- jamin told me that Mr. Davis's military instincts still predominate, and that his eager wish was to have joined the army instead of being elected President. During my travels, many people have remarked to me that Jefferson Davis seems in a peculiar manner adapted for his office. His military education at West Point rendered him intimately acquainted with the higher officers of the army ; and his post of Secretary of War under the old government brought officers of all raiiks under his immediate personal knowledge 214 EECAPTUEE OF WINCHESTEE. and supervision. 'No man could liave formed a more accurate estimate of their respective merits. This is one of the reasons which gave the Confederates such an immense start in the way of generals ; for having formed his opinion with regard to appointing an officer, Mr. Davis is always most determined to carry out his intention in spite of every obstacle. His services in the Mexican war gave him the prestige of a brave man and a good soldier. His services as a statesman pointed him out as the only man who, by his unflinching determination and administrative talent, was able to control the popular will. People speak of any misfortune happening to him as an ir- reparable evil too dreadfal to contemplate. Before we reached the Spottswood Hotel, we met , to whom Mr. Benjamin introduced me. They discussed the great topic of the day — ^viz., the recap- ture of Winchester by General Ewell, the news ot which had just arrived, and they both expressed their regret that General Milroy shoidd have escaped. It appears that this Yankee commander, for his alleged crimes, had been put hors de la loi by the Confeder- ates in the same manner as General Butler. said to me, "We hope he may not be taken alive; but if he is, we will not shrink from the responsibility of putting him to death." 18^A Jvm>e (Thursday). — At 10 a. m., I called by EICHMOND. appointment on Mr. Sedden, tlie Secretary at War. His anteroom was crowded with applicants for an interview, and I liad no slight difficulty in getting in. Mr. Sedden is a cadaverous but clever-looking man ; lie received me with great kindness, and immediately furnished me with letters of introduction for Generals Lee and Longstreet. My friend Major ISTorris then took me to the Presi- dent's office and introduced me to the aids-de-camp of the President — viz., Colonels "Wood, Lee, and Johns- ton. The two latter are sons to General Lee and General Albert Sidney Johnston, who was killed at Shiloh. Major ISTorris then took me to the capitol, and in- troduced me to Mr. Thompson the librarian, and to Mr. Meyers, who is nov/ supposed to look after Brit- ish interests since the abrupt departure of Mr. Moore, the consul. I was told that Mr. Moore had always been considered a good friend to the Southern cause, and had got into the mess which caused his removal entirely by his want of tact and discretion. There is a fine view from the top of the capitol ; the librarian told me that last year the fighting before Richmond could easily be seen from thence, and that many ladies used to go up for that purpose. Every one said, that notwithstanding the imminence of the danger, the population of Kichmond continued their daily avoca- tions, and that no alarm was felt as to the result. 216 EICHMONB. Tlie interior of the capitoi is decorated with numer- ous flags ca]3tured from the enemy. They are very gorgeous, all silk and gold, and form a great contrast to the little bunting battle-flags of the Confederates. Among them I saw two colors which had belonged to the same regiment, the 37tli 'New York (I think). These were captured in different battles ; and on the last that was taken there is actually inscribed as a victory the word Fair-oaks^ which was the engage- ment in which the regiment had lost its first color. Mr. Butler King, a member of Congress, whose ac- quaintance I had made in the Spottswood Hotel, took me to spend the evening at Mrs. S 's, a charming widow, for whom I had brought a letter from her only son, aid-de-camp to General Magruder, in Texas. Mrs. S is clever and agreeable. She is a highly patriotic Southerner ; but she told me that she had stuck fast to the Union until Lincoln's proclamation calhng out Y5,000 men to coerce the South, which converted her and such a number of others into strong Secessionists. I spent a very pleasant even- ing with Mrs. S , who had been much in Eng- land, and had made a large acquaintance there. Mr. Butler King is a Georgian gentleman, also very agreeable and well informed. It is surprising to hear the extraordinary equanimity with which he and hundreds of fellow-sufferers talk of their entire ruin and the total destruction of their property. I know drewey's bluff 217 many persons in England suppose that Great Britain has now made enemies both of the ISTorth and South ; bnt I do not believe this is the case with respect to the South, whatever certain Kichmond papers may say. The South looks to England for every thing when this war is over ; — she wants our merchants to buy her cotton, she wants our ships to carry it ; — she is willing that England should supply her with all the necessaries which she formerly received from the !N"orth. It is common to hear people declare they would rather pay twice the price for English goods than trade any more with Yankeedom. 19th June (Friday). — I embarked at 10 a. m. on board a small steamer to visit Drewry's Bluff on the James Biver, the scene of the repulse of the iron- clads Monitor and Galena, The stream exactly op- posite Kichmond is very shallow and rocky, but it becomes navigable about a mile below the city. Drewry's Bluff is about eight miles distant, and, before reaching it, we had to pass through two bridges^ — one of boats, and the other a wooden bridge. I w^as shown over the fortifications by Cap- tain Chatard, Confederate States navy, who was in command during the absence of Captain Lee. A flotilla of Confederate gunboats was lying just above the obstructions, and nearly opposite to the bluff. Amongst them was the Yorktown, alias Patrick 10 218 EICHMOND. Henry, which, under the command of my friend Captain Tucker, figured in the memorable Merrimac attack. There was also an ironclad called the Eich- mond, and two or three smaller craft. Beyond Drewry's Bluff, on the opposite side of the river, is Chaffin's Bluff, which mounts heavy guns, and forms the extreme right of the Riclmiond defences on that side of the river. At the time of the attack by the two Federal iron- | clads, assisted by several wooden gunboats, there were only three guns mounted on Drewry's Bluff, which is from 80 to 90 feet high. These had been hastily removed from the Yorktown, and dragged up there by Captain Tucker on the previous day. They || were either smooth-bore 32-pounders or 8-inch guns, I forget which. During the contest the Monitor, notwithstanding her recent exploits with the Merri- mac, kept herself out of much danger, partly con- cealed behind the bend of the river ; but her consort, the ironclad Galena, approached boldly to^ within 500 yards of the bluff. The wooden gunboats re- mained a considerable distance down the river. After the fight had lasted about four hours the Galena withdrew much crippled, and has never, I believe, been known to fame since. The result of the con- test goes to confirm the opinion expressed to me by General Beauregard — ^viz., that ironclads can- not resist the plunging fire of forts, even though RICHMOND. 219 that latter can only boast of the old smooth-bore guns. A Captain Mamy took me on board the Hichmond . ironclad, in which vessel I saw a 7-inch treble-banded Brook gun, weighing, they told me, 21,000 lbs., and ca|)able of standing a charge of 25 lbs. of powder. Amongst my fellow-passengers fi'om Eichmond I had observed a very Hibernian-looking prisoner in charge of one soldier. Captain Maury informed me th at this individual was being taken to Chaffin's Bluff, where he is to be shot at 12 noon to-morrow for desertion. Major !N'orris and I bathed in James River at 1 p. m. from a rocky and very pretty island in the centre of the stream. I spent another very agreeable evening at Mrs. S 's, and met General Randolph, Mr. Butler King, and Mr. Conrad there ; also Colonel Johnston, aid-de-camp to the President, who told me that they had been forced, in order to stop Burnside's executions in Kentucky, to select two Federal captains, and put them under orders for death. General Randolph looks in weak health. He had for some time filled the post of Secretary of War ; but it is supposed that he and the President did not quite hit it off together. Mr. Conrad as well as Mr. King is a member of Con- gress, and he explained to me that, at the beginning of the war, each State was most desirous of being ]3ut (without the slightest necessity) under military law, 220 EN EOTJTE FOE LEE's AEMY. wliicli they tliouglit was quite the correct remedy for all evil ; but so sick did they soon become of this regime that at the last session Congress had refused the President the power of piitting any place imder mihtary law, which is just as absurd in the other direction. I hear every one complaining dreadfully of General Johnston's inactivity in Mississippi, and all now de- spair of saving Yicksburg. They deplore its loss, more on account of the effects its conquest may have in prolonging the war, than for any other reason. ]^o one seems to fear that its possession, together with Port Hudson, will really enable the Yankees to navigate the Mississippi ; nor do they fear that the latter will be able to j)i'event communication with the trans-Mississippi country. Many of the Eichmond papers seem to me scarcely more respectable than the iN'ew York ones. Party spirit runs high. Liberty of the press is carried to its fullest extent. ^OtJi June (Saturday). — ^Armed with letters of in- troduction from the Secretary at "War for Generals Lee and Longstreet, I left Eichmond at 6 a. m., to join the Yirginian army. I was accompanied by a sergeant of the Signal Corps, sent by my kind friend Major E'orris, for the pm^pose of assisting me in get- ting on. We took the tram as far as Culpepper, and CULPEPPEE. 221 arrived there at 5.30 p. m., after having changed cars at Gordonsville, near which place I observed an enormous pile of excellent rifles rotting in the open air. These had been captured at Chancellorsville ; bnt the Confederates have already such a super- abundant stock of rifles that apparently they can afibrd to let them spoil. The weather was quite cool after the rain of last night. The country through which we passed had been in the enemy's hands last year, and was evacuated by them after the battles before Eichmond; but at that time it was not their custom to burn, destroy, and devastate — every thing looked green and beautiful, and did not in the least give one the idea of a hot country. In his late daring raid, the Federal General Stone- man crossed this railroad, and destroyed a small por- tion of it, burned a few buildings, and penetrated to within three miles of Eichmond; but he and l^is men were in such a hurry that they had not time tp do much serious harm. Culpepper was, until five days ago, the head- quarters of Generals Lee and Longstreet ; but since Ewell's recapture of Winchester, the whole army had advanced with rapidity, and it was my object to catch it up as quickly as possible. On arriving at Culpepper, my sergeant handed me over to another myrmidon of Major Norris, with orders from that of- ficer to supply me with a horse, and take me himself 222 STATE OF InOETHEEN VIEGINIA. to join Mr. Lawlej, wlio had passed tlirougli for the same purpose as myself three days before. Sergeant Norris, my new chaperon, is consin to Ma,ior ISTorris, and is a capital fellow. Before the war he was a gentleman of good means in Maryland, and was accustomed to a life of luxury ; he now lives the life of a private soldier with perfect contentment, and is utterly indifferent to civilization and comfort. Al- though he was unwell when I arrived, and it was pouring with rain, he proposed that we should start at once — 6 p. m. I agreed, and we did so. Our horses had both sore backs, were both unfed, except on grass, and mine was deficient of a shoe. They nevertheless travelled well, and we reached a hamlet called "Woodville, fifteen miles distant, at 9.30. We had great difficulty in procuring shelter; but at length we overcame the inhospitality of a native, who gave us a feed of corn for our horses, and a blanket on the floor for ourselves. 21st June (Sunday). — ^We got the horse shod with some delay, and after refreshing the animals with corn and ourselves with bacon, we effected a start at 8.15 A. M. "We experienced considerable difficulty in carrying wcj small saddle-bags and knapsack, on account of the state of our horses' backs. Mine was not very bad, but that of l^orris was in a horrid state, "^^e had not travelled more than a few miles when THE sb:enaot)oah valley. ^ 223 • tlie latter animal cast a shoe, which, took us an hour to replace at a village called Sperryville. The coun- try is really magnificent, but as it has supported two large armies for two years, it is now completely cleaned out. It is almost uncultivated, and no ani- mals are grazing where there used to be hundreds. All fences have been destroyed, and numberless farms burnt, the chimneys alone left standing. It is difficult to depict and impossible to exaggerate the sufferings which this part of Virginia has undergone. But the ravages of war have not been able to destroy the beauties of nature — the verdure is charming, the trees magnificent, the country undulating, and the Blue Ridge mountains form the background. Being Sunday, we met about thirty negroes going to church, wonderfully smartly dressed, some (both male and female) riding on horseback, and others in wagons ; but Mr. ll^orris informs me that two years ago we should have numbered them by hundreds. We soon began to catch up the sick and broken-down men of the army, but not in great numbers ; most of them were well shod, though I saw two without shoes. After crossing a gap in the Blue Eidge range, we reached Front Royal at 5 p. m., and we were now in the well-known Shenandoah Yalley — the scene of Jackson's celebrated campaigns. Front Royal is a pretty little place, and was the theatre of one of the 224 EIDE THROUGH VIEGINIA. • earliest figlits in the war, wliich was commenced by a Maryland regiment of Confederates, wlio, as Mr. JSTorris observed, "jmnped on to" a Federal regiment from the same State, and " whipped it badly." Since that tune the village has changed hands continually, and was visited by the Federals only a few days pre- vious to Ewell's rapid advance ten days ago. After immense trouble we procured a feed of corn for the horses, and, to Mr. ISTorris's astonishment, I was impudent enough to get food for ourselves by appealing to the kind feelings of two good-looking female citizens of Front Eoyal, who, during our sup- per, entertained us by stories of the manner they annoyed the Northern soldiers by disagreeable allu- sions to " Stonewall" Jackson. We started again at 6.30, and crossed two branches of the Shenandoah river, a broad and rapid stream. Both the railway and carriage bridges having been destroyed, we had to ford it ; and as the water was deep, we were only just able to accomplish the pas- sage. The soldiers, of whom there were a number with us, took off their trousers, and held their rifles and ammunition above thek heads. Soon afterwards our horses became very leg-weary ; for although the weather had been cool, the roads were muddy and hard upon them.-s At 8.30 we came up with Pen- der's division encamped on the sides of Kills, illu- minated with innumerable camp-fires, which looked PENDEU'b DIVISIOl^-. 225 very picturesque. After passing tlirougli about two miles of bivouacs, we begged for shelter in tlie hay- loft of a Mr. Mason: we tui'ned our horses into a field, and found our hayloft most luxurious after forty-sis miles' ride at a foot's pace. Stonewall Jackson is considered a regular demigod in this country. 22t^ June (Monday).— We started without food or corn at 6.30 A. m., and soon became entangled with Pender's division on its line of march, which delayed us a good deal. My poor brute of a horse also took this opportunity of throwing two more shoes, which we found it impossible to replace, all the blacksmiths' shops having been pressed by the troops. The soldiers of this division are a remarkably fine body of men, and look quite seasoned and ready for any work. Their clothing is serviceable, so also are their boots ; but there is the usual utter absence of uniformity as to color and shape of their garments I and hats: gray of all shades, and brown clothing, with felt hats, predominate. The Confederate troops are now entirely armed with excellent rifles, mostly Enfields. "When they first turned out they were in the habit of wearing numerous revolvers and bowie- knives. General Lee is said to have mildly remark- ed : " Grentlemen, I think you will find an Enfield j rifle, a bayonet, and sixty romids of ammunition, as 10* 226 fender's division. muclL as yon can conveniently carry in the way of arms." Tliey laughed, and thonght they knew bet- ter ; but the six-shooters and bowie-knives gradually disappeared ; and now none are to be seen among the infantry. The artillery horses are in poor condition, and only get 3 lb. of corn* a-day. The artillery is of all kinds — Parrots, ISTapoleons, rifled and smooth bores, all shapes and sizes ; most of them bear the letters U. S., showing that they have changed masters. The colors of the regiments differ from the blue battle-flags I saw with Bragg's army. They are gen- erally red, with a blue St. Andi-ew's Cross showing the stars. This pattern is said to have been invented by General Joseph Johnston, as not so liable to be mistaken for the Yankee flas;. The new Confederate flag has evidently been adopted from this battle-flag, as it is called. Most of the colors in this division bear the names Manassas, Fredericksburg, Seven Pines, Hai'per's Ferry, Chancellorsville, &c. I saw no stragglers dm-ing the time I was with Pender's division; but although the Virginian army certainly does get over a deal of ground, yet they move at a slow dragging pace, and are evidently not good marchers naturally. As Mr. Norris observed to me, " Before this war we were a lazy set of devils ; * Indian corn. GEKEEAL LEe's IIEADQUAETERS. 227 our niggers worked for us, and none of us ever dreamt of walking, though we all rode a great deal." We reached Berr jville (eleven miles) at 9 a. m. The headquarters of General Lee were a few hundred yards beyond this place. Just before getting there, I saw a general officer of handsome appearance, who must, I knew from description, be the Commander-in- chief; but as he was evidently engaged I did not join him, although I gave my letter of introduction to one of his Staff. Shortly afterwards, I presented myself to Mr. Lawley, with whom I became immediately great friends."^ He introduced me to General Chilton, the Adjutant-general of the army, to Colonel Cole, the Quartermaster-general, to Major Taylor, Captain Yenables, and other officers of General Lee's Staff; and he suggested, as the headquarters were so busy and crowded, that he and I should ride to "Winches- ter at once, and afterwards ask for hospitahty from the less busy Staff of General Longstreet. I was also introduced to Captain Schreibert, of the Prussian army, who is a guest sometimes of General Lee and sometimes of General Stuart of the cavalry. He had been present at one of the late severe cavalry skir- mishes, which have been of constant occurrence since the sudden advance of this army. This advance has * Tlie Honorable F. Lawley, author of the admirable letters from tlie Soutbern States, wbich appeared in the "Times" news- paper. 228 WINCHESTEE. been so admirably timed as to allow of the capture of Wincbester, witb its Yankee garrison and stores, and at tbe same time of tbe seizm-e of tbe gaps of tlie Blue Ridge range. All tbe officers were speaking witb regret of tbe severe wound received in tbis sku*- misb by Major Yon Eorke, anotber Prussian, but now in tbe Confederate States service, and aid-de- camp to Jeb Stuart. After eating some breakfast, Lawley and I rode ten miles into "Wincbester. My borse, mmus bis fore- sboes, sbowed signs of great fatigue, but we struggled into Wincbester at 5 p. m., wbere I was fortunate enougb to procure sboes for tbe borse, and, by Law- ley's introduction, admirable quarters for botb of us at tbe bouse of tbe bospitable Mrs. ^\ , witb wbom be bad lodged seven montbs before, and wbo was cbarmed to see bim. Her two nieces, wbo are as agreeable as tbey are good-looking, gave us a miserable pictm-e of tbe tbree captivities tbey bave experienced under tbe Federal commanders, Banks, Sbields, and Milroy. Tbe unfortunate town of Wincbester seems to bave been made a regular sbuttlecock of by tbe contending armies. Stonewall Jackson rescued it once, and last Sunday week bis successor. General Ewell, drove out Milroy. Tbe name of Milroy is always associated witb tbat of Butler, and bis rule in Wincbester seems to bave been somewbat similar to tbat of bis illustrious rival in ITew Orleans. Sbould eitber of tbese two in- WINCHESTEE. 229 dividiials fall alive into the hands of the Confederates, I imagine that Jeff Davis himself would be unable to save their lives, even if he were disposed to do so. Before leavmg Richmond, I heard every one ex- pressing regret that Milroy should have escaped, as the recapture of Winchester seemed to be incomplete without him. More than 4,000 of his men were taken in the two forts which overlook the town, and which were carried by lassault by a Louisianian brigade with trifling loss. The joy of the unfortunate inhabitants may easily be conceived at this sudden and unexpect- ed relief from their last captivity, which had lasted six months. During the whole of this time they could not legally buy an article of provisions without taking the oath of allegiance, which they magnanimously refused to do. They were unable to hear a word of theu^ male relations or friends, who were all in the Southern army ; they were shut up in their houses after 8 p. m., and sometimes deprived of light ; part of our kind entertainer's house was forcibly occupied by a vulgar, ignorant, and low-born Federal officer, ci-devant driver of a street car ; and they were con- stantly subjected to the most humiliating insults, on pretence of searching the house for arms, documents, &c. To my surprise, however, these ladies spoke of the enemy with less violence and rancor than almost any other ladies I had met with during my travels through the whole Southern Confederacy. "When I 230 ME. mason's house. told them so, they reiDlied that they who had seen many men shot down in the streets before their own eyes knew what they were talking ahont, which other and more excited Southern women did not. Ewell's division is in front and across the Poto- mac ; and before I left headquarters this morning, I saw Longstreet's corps beginning to follow in the same direction. 2Sd June (Tuesday). — Lawley and I went to inspect the site of Mr. Mason's (the Southern Commissioner in London) once pretty house — a melancholy scene. It had been charmingly situated near the outskii-ts of the town, and by all accounts must have been a de- lightful little place. When Lawley saw it seven months ago, it was then only a ruin ; but since that time JSTorthern vengeance (as du'ected by General Milroy) has satiated itself by destroying almost the very foundations of the house of this arch-traitor, as they call him. Literally not one stone remains stand- ing upon another ; and the debris seems to have been carted away, for there is now a big hole where the principal part of the house stood. Troops have evi- dently been encamped upon the ground, which was strewed with fragments of Yankee clothing, accou- trements, &c. I understand that "Winchester used to be a most agreeable little town, and its society extremely pleas- WIKCHESTEE. 231 ant. Many of its houses are now destroyed or con- verted into hospitals; the rest look miserable and dilapidated. Its female inhabitants (for the able- bodied males are all absent in the army) are familiar with' the bloody realities of war. As many as 5,000 wonnded have been accommodated here at one time. All the ladies are accustomed to the bursting of shells and the sight of fighting, and all are turned into hos- pital nurses or cooks. From the utter impossibility of procuring corn, I was forced to take the horses out grazing a mile be- yond the town for four hours in the morning and two in the afternoon. As one mustn't lose sight of them for a moment, this occupied me all d^y, while Lawley wrote in the house. In the evening we went to visit two wounded officers in Mrs. ^^^ 's house, a major and a captain in the Louisianian brigade which stormed the forts last Sunday week. I am afraid the captain will die. Both are shot through the body, but are cheery. They served under Stonewall Jackson until his death, and they venerate his name, though they both agree that he has got an efficient successor in Ewell, his former companion in arms ; and they con- firmed a great deal of what General Johnston had told me as to Jackson having been so much indebted to Ewell for several of his victories. They gave us an animated account of the spirits and feeling of the army. At no period of the war, they say, have the 232 "ieish" southeeners, men been so well eqiiipj)ed, so well clothed, so eager for a fight, or so confident of success — a very difier- ent state of afiiiirs from that which characterized the Maryland invasion of last year, when half of the army were barefooted stragglers, and many of the re- mainder unwilling and reluctant to cross the Potomac. Miss told me to-day that dancing and horse- racing are forbidden by the Episcopal Church m this part of Virginia. '^UJi June (Wednesday). — Lawley being in weak health, we determined to spend another day with our kind friends in Winchester. I took the horses out again for six hours to graze, and made acquaintance with two Irishmen, who gave me some cut grass and salt for the horses. One of these men had served and had been wounded in the Southern a^rmy. I remark- ed to him that he must have killed lots of his own countrymen ; to which he replied, " Oh yes, but faix they must all take it as it comes." I have always observed that Southern Irishmen make excellent "Rebs," and have no sort of scruple in killing as many of their JSTorthern brethren as they possi- bly can. I saw to-day many new Yankee graves, which the deaths among the captives are constantly increasing. Wooden head-posts are put at each grave, on which is wi'itten, " An Unknown Soldier, U. S. A. Died of EDDE TO THE POTOMAC. 233 wounds received upon the field of battle, June 21, 22, or 23, 1863." A sentry stopped me to-day as I was going out of town, and when I showed hini my pass from General Cliilton, he replied with great firmness, but with per- fect courtesy, " I'm extremely sorry, sir ; but if you were the Secretary of War, or Jeff Davis himself, you couldn't pass without a passport from the Provost- marshal." '^'^tliJune (Thm-sday). — "We took leave of Mrs. and her hospitable family, and started at 10 a. m. to overtake Generals Lee and Longstreet, who were supposed to be crossing the Potomac at Williamsport. Before we had got more than a few miles on our way, we began to meet horses and oxen, the first fruits of Ewell's advance into Pennsylvania. The weather was cool and showery, and all went swimmingly for the first fourteen miles, when we caught up M'Laws's division, which belongs to Longstreet's corps. As my horse about this time began to show signs of fatigue, and as Lawley's pickaxed most alarmingly, we turned them into some clover to graze, whilst we watched two brigades pass along the road. They were commanded, I think, by Semmes and Barksdale,* and » ■"" Barksdale was killed, and Semmes mortally wounded, at the battle of Gettysburg, 234 EIDE TO THE POTOMAC. were composed of Georgians, Mississi|)pians, and South Carolinians. They marched very well, and there was no attempt at straggling ; quite a different state of things from Johnston's men in Mississippi. All were well shod and efficiently clothed. In rear of each regiment were from twenty to thirty negro slaves, and a certain number of unarmed men carry- ing stretchers and wearing in their hats the red badges of the ambulance corps ; — this is an excellent institution, for it prevents unwounded men falling out on pretence of taking wounded to the rear. The knapsacks of the men still bear the names of the Massachusetts, Vermont, ISTew Jersey, or other regi- ments to which they originally belonged. There were about twenty wagons to each brigade, most of which were marked U. S., and each of these brigades was about 2,800 strong. There are four brigades in M'Laws's division. All the men seem in the highest spirits, and were cheering and yelling most vociferously. "We reached Martinsburg (twenty-two miles) at 6 p. M., by which time my horse nearly broke down, and I was forced to get off and walk. Martinsburg and this part of Yirginia are supposed to be more Unionist than Southern ; however, many of the women went through the form of cheering M'Laws's division as it passed. I dare say they would perform the same ceremony in honor of the Yankees to-morrow. RIDE TO THE POTOMAC. 235 Three miles beyond Martinsburg we were forced bj tbe state of onr liorses to insist upon receiving the unwilling hospitality of a very surly native, who was evidently Unionist in his proclivities. We were ob- liged to turn our horses into a field to graze during the night. This was most dangerous, for the Con- federate soldier, in spite of his many vu-tues, is, as a i-ule, the most incorrigible horse-stealer in the world. 26^A June (Friday).— I got up a little before day- light, and, notwithstanding the drenching rain, I secured our horses, which, to my intense relief, were present. But my horse showed a back rapidly getting worse, and both looked " mean" to a degree. Lav/- ley being ill, he declined starting in the rain, and our host became more and more surly when we stated our intention of remaining with him. However, the sight of real gold instead of Confederate paper, or even greenbacks, soothed him wonderfully, and he furnished us with some breakfast. All this time M'Laws's division was passing the door ; but so strict was the discipline, that the only man who loafed in was immediately pounced upon and carried away captive. At 2 p. m., the weather having become a little clearer, we made a start, but under very un- promising circumstances. Lawley was so ill that he could hardly ride ; his horse was most unsafe, and had cast a shoe ; — ^my animal was in such a miserable 236 HAGEESTOWN. state that I had not the inhumamty to ride him ;— • but, bj the assistance of his tail, I managed to strug- gle through the deep mud and wet. We soon became entangled with M^Laws's division, and reached the Potomac, a distance of nine miles and a half, at 5 p. m. ; the river is both wide and deep, and in fording it (for which purpose I was obliged to mount) we couldn't keep our legs out of the water. The little town of Williamsport is on the opposite bank of the river, and we were now in Mary- land. We had the mortification to learn that Gen- erals Lee and Longstreet had quitted Williamsport this morning at 11 o'clock, and were therefore | obliged to toil on to Hagerstown, six miles fmlher. This latter place is evidently by no means rebel in its sentiments, for all the houses were shut up, and many apparently abandoned. The few natives that were about stared at the troops with sulky indif- ference. After passing through Hagerstown, we could ob- tain no certain information of the whereabouts of the two generals, nor could we get any willing hosj)ital- ity from any one ; but at 9 p. m., our horses being quite exhausted, we forced ourselves into the house of a Dutchman, who became a little more civil at the sight of gold, although the assiu-ance that we were English travellers, and not rebels, had produced no effect. I had walked to-day, in mud and rain, seven- LIEUTENANT-GENEEAL LONGSTEEET. 237 teen miles, and I dared not take qff m.y solitary pair of boots, because I knew I should never get them on again. 27th June (Saturday). — Lawley was so ill this morning that he couldn't possibly ride. I therefore mounted his horse a little before daybreak, and started in search of the generals. After riding eight miles, I came up with General Longstreet, at 6.30 A. M., and was only just in time, as he was on the point of moving. Both he and his Staff were most kind, when I introduced myself and stated my diffi- culties. He arranged that an ambulance should fetch Lawley, and he immediately invited me to join his mess during the campaign. He told me (which I did not know) that we were now in Pennsylvania, the enemy's country — ^Maryland being only ten miles broad at this point. He declared that bushwhackers exist in the woods, who shoot unsuspecting stragglers, and it would therefore be unsafe that Lawley and I should travel alone. General Longstreet is an Ala- bamian — a thickset, determined-looking man, forty- three years of age. He was an infantry Major in j the old army, and now commands the 1st corjps cPa/p- mee. He is never far from General Lee, who relies very much upon his judgment. By the soldiers he is invariably spoken of as "the best fighter in the whole army." Whilst speaking of entering upon 238 "eebels" enter pennsylvakia. tlie enemy's soil, lie said to me, tliat altliougli it might be fair, in jnst retaliation, to a^jply the torch^ yet that doing so would demoralize the army and rnin its now excellent discipline. Private property is to be therefore rigidly protected. At 7 A. M. I returned with an orderly (or courier, as they are called) to the farm-honse in which I had left Lawley; and after seeing all arranged satisfac- torily about the ambulance, I rode slowly on to rejoin General Longstreet, near Chambersburg, which is a Pennsylvanian town, distant twenty-two miles from Hagerstown. I was with M'Laws's division, and observed that the moment they entered Pennsylvania, the troops opened the fences and enlarged the road about twenty yards on each side, which enabled the wagons and themselves to proceed together. This is the only damage I saw done by the Confederates. This part of Pennsylvania is very flourishing, highly cultivated, and, in comparison with the Southern States, thickly peopled. But all the cattle and horses having been seized by Ewell, farm-labor had now come to a complete standstill. In passing through Greencastle we found all the houses and windows shut up, the natives in theu^ Sun- day clothes standing at their doors regarding the troops in a very unfriendly manner. I saw no strag- gling into the houses, nor were any of the inhabitants disturbed or annoyed by the soldiers. Sentries were CHAM.BEESBTJEG nOOD's TEXAIsTS. 239 placed at tlie doors of many of the best houses, to prevent any officer or soldier from getting in on any pretence. I entered Chambershiirg at 6 p. m. This is a town of some size and importance. All its honses were shnt up ; but the natives were in the streets, or at the upper windows, looking in a scowling and bewildered manner at the Confederate troops, who were march- ing gayly past to the tune of Dixie's Land. The women (many of whom were pretty and well dressed) were particularly sour and disagreeable in their re- marks. I heard one of them say, " Look at Pharaoh's army going to the Hed Sea." Others were pointing and laughing at Hood's ragged Jacks, who were passing at the time. This division, well known for its fighting qualities, is composed of Texans, Ala- bamians, and Arkansians, and they certainly are a queer lot to look at. They carry less than any other troops ; many of them have only got an old piece of carpet or rug as baggage ; many have discarded their shoes in the mud ; all are ragged and dirty, but full of good-humor and confidence in themselves and in their general. Hood. They answered the nmnerous taunts of the Chambersburg ladies with cheers and laughter. One female had seen fit to adorn her ample bosom with a huge Yankee flag, and she stood at the door of her house, her countenance expressing the greatest contempt for the barefooted Eebs ; several 240 GENERAL LONGSTEEEt's STAFF. comi:)anies passed lier without taking any notice ; but at length a Texan gravely remarked, " Take care, madam, for Hood's boys are great at storming breast- works when the Yankee colors is on them." After thi;5 speech the patriotic lady beat a precipitate retreat. Sentries were placed at the doors of all the princi- pal houses, and the town was cleared of all but the military passing through or on duty. Some of the troops marched straight through the town, and biv- ouacked on the Carlisle road. Others turned off to the right, and occupied the Gettysburg tm^npike. I found Generals Lee and Longstreet encamj)ed on the latter road, three-quarters of a mile from the town. General Longstreet and his Staff at once received me into their mess, and I was introduced to Major Fairfax, Major Latrobe, and Captain Rogers of his personal Staff; also to Major Moses, the Chief Com- missary, whose tent I am to share. He is the most jovial, amusing, clever son of Israel I ever had the good fortune to meet. The other officers of Long- street's Headquarter Staff are Colonel Sorrell, Lieu- tenant-colonel Manning (ordnance officer). Major Walton, Captain Goree, and Major Clark, all excel- lent good fellows, and most hospitable.* * Having lived at tlie headquarters of all the principal Confed- erate Generals, I am able to affirm that the relation between their Staffs and themselves, and the way the duty is carried on, is very AT GENEEAL LONGSTREEt's HEADQUAETEES. 241 Lawley is to live with three doctors on the Head- quarter Staff: their names are Ciillen, Barksdale, and Manry; they form a jolly trio, and live much more luxm-ionsly than their generals. Major Moses tells me that his orders are to open the stores in Chamhersburg by force, and seize all that is wanted for the army in a regular and official manner, giving in return its value in Confederate money on a receipt. The storekeepers have doubt- less sent away their most valuable goods on tlie ap- proach of the Confederate army. Much also has been already seized by Ewell, who passed through nearly a week ago. But Moses was much- elated at having already discovered a large supply of excellent felt hats, hidden away in a cellar, which he "an- nexed" at once. I was told this evening the numbers which have crossed the Potomac, and also the number of pieces of artillery. There is a large train of ammunition ; for if the army advances any deeper into the enemy's country, General Lee cannot expect to keep his com- munications open to the rear ; and as the Staff offi- cers say, " In every battle we fight we must capture similar to wliat it is in the British army. All the Generals- Johnston, Eragg, Polii, Hardee, Longstreet, and Lee — are thorough soldiers, and their Staffs are composed of gentlemen of position and education, who have now been trained into excellent and i zealous Staff officers. 11 24:2 MAJOE-GENERAL HOOD. as mucli ammunition as we use." Tids necessity, however, does not seem to disturb them, as it has hitherto been their regular style of doing business. E"\^ell, after the capture of Winchester, had ad- vanced rapidly into Pennsylvania, and has already sent back great quantities of horses, mules, wagons, beeves, and other necessaries ; he is now at or beyond Carlisle, laying the country under contribution, and making Pennsylvania support the war, instead of poor, used-up, and worn-out Yirginia. The corps of Generals A. P. Hill and Longstreet are now near this place, all full of confidence and in high spirits. 28^A June (Sunday). — 'B.o officer or soldier under the rank of a general is allowed into Chambersbm^g without a special order from General Lee, which he is very chary of giving ; and I hear of officers of rank being refused this pass. Moses proceeded into town at 11 a. m., with an official requisition for three days' rations for the whole army in this neighborhood. These rations he is to seize by force, if not voluntarily supplied. I was introduced to General Hood this momino- ; he is a tall, thin, wiry-looking man, with a grave face and a light-colored beard, thirty-three years old, and is accounted one of the best and most promising offi- cers in the army. By his Texan and Alabamian troops he is adored; he formerly commanded the THE "rebels ' IN CHAMBEESBTJEG. 243 Texan brigade, but bas now been promoted to the command of a division. His troops are accused of being a wild set, and difficidt to manage ; and it is the great object of the chiefs to check their innate plunderii]g propensities by every means in theii' power. I went into Chambersburg at noon, and found Lawley ensconced in the Franklin Hotel. Both he and I had much difficulty in getting into that estab- lishment — the doors being locked, and only opened with the greatest caution. Lawley had had a most painful journey in the ambulance yesterday, and was much exhausted, l^o one in the hotel would take the slightest notice of him, and all scowled at me in a most disagreeable manner. Half-a-dozen Pennsyl- vanian viragos surrounded and assailed me with their united tongues to a deafening degree. JSTor would they believe me when I told them I was an English spectator and a non-combatant : they said I must be either a Kebel or a Yankee — ^by which expression I learned for the first time that the term Yankee is as much used as a reproach in Pennsylvania as in the South. The sight of gold, which I exchanged for their greenbacks, brought about a change, and by de- grees they became quite affable. They seemed very io-norant, adS. confused Texans with Mexicans. After leaving Lawley pretty comfortable, I walked about the town and witnessed the pressing operations 244 MAJOR MOSES Am) THE LADIES. of Moses and liis myi-midons. ISTeitlier tlie Mayor 1101* the corporation were to be fonnd anywliere, nor were tlie l-ievs of the principal stores forthcoming mitil Moses began to apply the axe. The citizens were lolling about the streets in a listless mannerj and showing no great signs of discontent. They had left to their women the task of resisting the commis- saries — a duty which they were fully competent to perform. 'No soldiers but those on duty were visible in the streets. In the evening I called again to see Lawley, and found in his room an Austrian officer, in 'the full uni- form of the Hungarian hussars. He had got a year's leave of absence, and has jus.t succeeded in crossing the Potomac, though not without much trouble and difficulty. "When he stated his intention of wearing his uniform, I explained to him the invariable custom of the Confederate soldiers, of never allowing the smallest peculiarity of dress or appearance to pass v/ithout a torrent of jokes, which, however good- humored, ended in becoming rather monotonous. I returned to camp at 6 p. m. Major Moses did not get back till very late, much depressed at the ill- success of his mission. He had searched all day most indefatigably, and had endured much contumely from the Union ladies, who called him " a thievish little rebel scoundrel," and other opprobrious epithets. But this did not annoy him so much as the manner GOOD BEHAVIOR OF THE COKTEDEEATES. 24:5 in which every tiling he wanted had been sent away or hidden in private houses, which he was not allow- ed by General Lee's order to search. He had only managed to secure a quantity of molasses, sugar, and whiskey. Poor Moses was thoroughly exhausted ; but he endured the chaff of his brother officers with much good-humor, and they made him continually repeat the different names he had been called. lie said that at first the women refused his Confederate " trash" with great scorn, but they ended in being very particular about the odd cents. 29^/i June (Monday). — We are still at Chambers- burg. Lee has issued a remarkably good order on non-retaliation, which is generally well received; but I have heard of complaints from fire-eaters, who want vengeance for their wrongs ; and when one considers the numbers of officers and soldiers with this army who have been totally ruined by the devastations of ]^orthern troops, one cannot be much surprised at this feeling. I went into Chambersburg again, and witnessed the singular good behavior of the troops towards the citizens. I heard soldiers saying to one another, that they did not like being in a town in which they were very naturally detested. To any one who has seen as I have the ravages of the ^Northern troops in Southern towns, this forbearance seems most com- 246 AT GENEEAL LONGSTBEEt's HEADQTJAETEES. mendable and surprising. Yet these Pennsylvanian Dutcli* don't seem the least thankful, and really ap- pear to be unaware that their own troops have been for two years treating Southern towns with ten times more harshness. They are the most iinpatriotiG people I ever saw, and openly state that they don'fc care which side wins, provided they are left alone. They abuse Lincoln tremendously. Of course, in such a large army as this there must be many instances of bad characters, who are always ready to plunder and pillage whenever they can do so without being caught : the stragglers, also, who remain behind when the army has left, will doubtless do much haiTii. It is impossible to prevent this ; but every thing that can be done is done to protect pri- vate property and non-combatants, and I can say, from my own observation, with wonderful success. I hear instances, however, in which soldiers, meeting well-dressed citizens, have made a " long arm" and changed hats, much to the disgust of the latter, who are still more annoyed when an exchange of boots is also proposed : their superfine broadcloth is never in any danger. General Longstreet is generally a particularly taci- turn man ; but this evening he and I had a long talk about Texas, where he had been quartered a long time. * This part of Pennsylvania is much peopled with the descend- ants of Germans, who speak an unintelligible language. MAJOE-GENERAL PICKETT. 247 He remembered many people whom I liad met quite well, and was much, amused by the description of my travels through that country. I complimented him upon the manner in which the Confederate sentries do their duty, and said that they y/ere quite as strict as, and ten times more polite than, regular soldiers. He replied, laugliing, that a sentry, after refusing you leave to enter a camp, might very likely, if prop- erly asked, show you another way in, by which you might avoid meeting a sentry at all. I saw General Pendleton and General Pickett to- day. Pendleton is Chief of Artillery to the army, and was a ^V\^st-Pointer ; but in more peaceable times he fills the post of Episcopal clergyman in Lexington, Virginia. Unlike General Polk, he unites the mili- tary and clerical professions together, and continues to preach whenever he gets a chance. On these oc- casions he wears a surplice over his uniform. General Pickett commands one of the divisions in Longstreet's corps.* He wears his hair in long ring- lets, and is altogether rather a desperate looking character. He is the officer who, as Captain Pickett of the IT. S. army, figured in the difficulty between the British and United States in the San Juan Island affair, under General Harney, four or ^ve years ago. * M'Laws, Hood, and Pickett, are the tliree divisional com- manders or major-generals in Longstreet's co7^ps d'armee. 24:8 GEIS'ERAL KOBEET E. LEE. 30th June (Tuesday). — Tliis morning, before marcli- ing irom Chambersburg, General Longstreet intro- duced me to the Commander-in-cliief. General Lee is, almost without exception, tne handsomest man of his age I ever saw. He is iiftj-six years old, tall, broad-shouldered, very well made, well set up — a thorough soldier in appearance; and his manners are most courteous and full of dignity. He is a per- fect gentleman in every respect. I imagine no man has so few enemies, or is so universally esteemed. Throughout the South, all agree in pronouncing him to be as near perfection as a man can be. He has none of the small vices, such as smoking, drinking, chewing, or swearing, and his bitterest enemy never accused him of any of the greater ones. He gener- ally wears a well-worn long gray jacket, a high black felt hat, and blue trousers tucked into his Wellington boots. I never saw him carry arms ;* and the only mark of his military rank are the three stars on his collar. He rides a handsome horse, which is extreme- ly well groomed. He himself is very neat in his dress and person, and in the most arduous marches he always looks smart and clean.f * I never saw either Lee or Longstreet carry arms. A. P. Hill generally wears a sword. 1 1 observed tliis during tlie tliree days' fighting at Gettysburg, and in the retreat afterwards, when every one else looked, and was, extremely dirty. In tlie old army lie was always considered one of its best officers ; and at tlie outbreak of these trou- bles, lie was Lieutenant-colonel of tlie 2d cavalry. He was a neb man, but bis fine estate was one of tbe first to fall into tbe enemy's bands. I believe be bas never slept in a bouse since be bas commanded tbe Virgin- ian army, and be invariably declines all ofiers of lios- pitality, for fear tbe person offering it may afterwards get into trouble for baving sheltered tbe Rebel Gen- eral. Tbe relations between bim and Longstreet are quite touching — they are almost always together. Longstreet's corps complain of this sometimes, as they say that they seldom get a chance of detached ser- vice, which falls to the lot of Ewell. It is impossible to please Longstreet more than by praising Lee. I believe these two Generals to be as little ambitious and as thoroughly unselfish as any men in tbe world. Both long for a successful termination of the war, in order that they may retire into obscurity. Stonewall Jackson (until his death tbe thu'd in command of their army) was just such another simple-minded ser- vant of bis country. It is understood that General Lee is a religious man, though not so demonstrative in that respect as Jackson; and, unlike his late brother in arms, be is a member of tbe Church of England. His only faults, so far as I can learn, arise from bis excessive amiability. Some Texan soldiers were sent this morning into 11* 250 MOVE TOWAEDS GETTYSBUEG. Cliambersbiirg to destroy a nnmber of barrels of ex- cellent wiiiskey, wliicli could not be carried away. This was a pretty good trial for tbeir discipline, and tbey did think it rather hard lines that the only time they had been allowed into the enemy's town was for the purpose of destroying their beloved whiskey. However, they did their duty like good soldiers. "We marched six miles on the road towards Gettys- burg, and encamped at a village called (I think) Greenwood. I rode Lawley's old horse, he and the Austrian using the doctor's ambulance. In the even- ing General Longstreet told me that he had just re- ceived intelligence that Hooker had been disrated, and that Meade was appointed in his place. Of course he knew both of them in the old army, and he says that Meade is an honorable and respectable man, though not, perhaps, so bold as Hooker. I had a long talk with many officers about the ap- proaching battle, which evidently cannot now be de- layed long, and will take place on this road instead of in the direction of Harrisburg, as we had supposed. Ewell, who has laid York as well as Carlisle under contribu-tion, has been ordered to reunite. Every one, of course, speaks with confidence. I remarked that it would be a good thing for them if on this occa- sion they had cavalry to follow up the broken in- fantry in the event of their succeeding in beating them. But to my surprise they all spoke of their stuaet's cavalsy. 251 cavalry as not efficient for tliat purpose. In fact, Stuart's men, tliough. excellent at making raids, cap- turing wagons and stores, and cutting off communi- cations, seem to have no idea of charging infantry under any circumstances. Unlike the cavalry with Bragg's army, they wear swords, but seem to have little idea of using them — they hanker after their car- bines and revolvers. They constantly ride with their swords between their left leg and the saddle, which has a very fiinny appearance ; but their horses are generally good, and they ride well. The infantry and artillery of this army don't seem to respect the cavalry very much, and often jeer at them. I was forced to abandon my horse here, as he was now lame in three legs, besides having a very sore back. 1st Jkdy (Wednesday). — ^We did not leave our camp till noon, as nearly all General Hill's corps had to pass our quarters on its march towards Gettysburg. One division of E well's also had to join in a little beyond Greenwood, and Longstreet's corps had to bring up the rear. During the morning I made the acquaintance of Colonel "Walton, who used to com- mand the well-known Washington Artillery, but he is now chief of artillery to Longstreet's corps Warmee. He is a big man, ci-devant auctioneer in E"ew Or- leans, and I understand he pines to return to his hammer. 252 THE STONEWALL BEIGADE. Soon after starting we got into a pass in tlie South Mountain, a continuation, I believe, of tlie Blue Ridge range, which is broken by the Potomac at Harper's Ferry. The scenery through the pass is very fine. The first troops, alongside of whom we rode, belonged to Johnson's division of Ewell's corps. Among them I saw, for the first time, the celebrated " Stonewall" Brigade, formerly commanded by Jack- son. In appearance the men difier little from other Confederate soldiers, except, perhaps, that the brigade contains more elderly men and fewer boys. All (ex- cept, I think, one regiment) are Yirginians. As they have nearly always been on detached duty, few of them knew General Longstreet, except by reputation. I^umbers of them asked me whether the General in front was Longstreet ; and when I answered in the affirmative, many would run on a hundred yards in order to take a good look at hhn. This I take to be an immense compliment from any soldier on a long march. At 2 p. M. firing became distinctly audible in our front, but although it increased as we progressed, it did not seem to be very heavy. A spy who was with us insisted upon there being " a pretty tidy bunch of Uue-lelUes in or near Gettys- burg," and he declared that he was in their society three days ago. After passing Johnson's division, we came up to a BATTLE OF GETTYSBTJEG FIEST DAY. 253 Florida brigade, wliich is now in Hill's corps ; bnt as it had formerly served under Longstreet, tlie men knew him. well. Some of them (after the General had passed) called out to their comrades, '* Look out for work now, boys, for here's the old bnll-dog' again." ' At 3 p. M. we began to meet wounded men coming to the rear, and the number of these soon increased most rapidly, some hobbling alone, others on stretch- ers carried by the ambulance corps, and others in the ambulance wagons. Many of the latter were stripped nearly naked, and displayed very bad wounds. This spectacle, so revolting to a person unaccustomed to such sights, produced no impression whatever upon the advancing troops, who certainly go under fii*e with the most perfect nonchalance. They show no enthusiasm or excitement, but the most complete in- difference. This is the effect of two years' almost uninterrupted fighting. We now began to meet Yankee prisoners coming to the rear in considerable numbers. Many of them were wounded, but they seemed already to be on ex- cellent terms with their captors, with whom they had commenced swapping canteens, tobacco, &c. Among them was a Pennsylvanian Colonel, a miserable ob- ject from a wound in his face. In answer to a ques- tion, I heard one of them remark, with a laugh, "We're pretty nigh whipped already." We next 254 BATTLE OF GETTYSBUEG — ^FIEST DAY. came to a Confederate soldier carrying a Yankee color, belonging, I tMnk, to a Pennsylvania regiment, which lie told lis he had just captured. At 4.30 p. M. we came in sight of Gettysburg, and joined General Lee and General Hill, who were on the top of one of the ridges which form the peculiar feature of the country round Gettysburg. We could see the enemy retreating up one of the opposite ridges, pursued by the Confederates with loud yells. The position into which the enemy had been driven was evidently a strong one. His right appeared to rest on a cemetery, on the top of a high ridge to the right of Gettysburg, as we looked at it. General Hill now came up and told me he had been very unwell all day, and in fact he looks very delicate. He said he had had two of his divisions engaged, and had driven the enemy four miles into his present position, capturing a great many prison- ers, some cannon, and some colors. He said, how- ever, that the Yankees had fought with a determi- nation unusual to them. He pointed out a railway cutting, in which they had made a good stand ; also, a field in the centre of which he had seen a man plant the regimental color, round which the regiment had fought for some time with much obstinacy, and when at last it was obliged to retreat, the color- bearer retired last of all, turning round every now and then t9 shake his fist at the advancing rebels. I RESULT OF THE FLBST DAy's FIGHTINa. 255 General Hill said lie felt quite sorrj when lie saw this gallant Yankee meet liis doom. General Ewell liad come up at 3.30, on the enemy's right (with part of his corps), and completed his dis- comfiture. General Eejnolds, one of the best Yan- kee generals, was reported killed. Whilst we were talking, a message arrived from General Ewell, re- questing Hill to press the enemy in the front, whilst he performed the same operation on his right. The pressm'e was accordingly applied in a mild degree, but the enemy were too strongly posted, and it was too late in the evening for a regular attack. The town of Gettysburg was now occupied by Ewell, and was full of Yankee dead and wounded. I climbed up a tree in the most commanding place I could find, and could form a pretty good general idea of the enemy's position, although the tops of the ridges being covered with pine-woods, it was very difficult to see any thing of the troops concealed in them. The firing ceased about dark, at which time I rode back with General Longstreet and his Staff to his headquarters at Cashtown, a little village eight miles from Gettysburg. At that time troops were pouring along the road, and were being marched towards the position they are to occupy to-morrow. In the fight to-day nearly 6,000 prisoners had been taken, and 10 guns. About 20,000 men must have been on the field on the Confederate side. The 256 BATTLE OF aETTYSBUEG SECOND DAY. enemy had two corjps d^armee engaged. All tlie prisoners belong, I tliink, to tlie 1st and lltli corps. This day's work is called a " brisk little scurry," and all anticipate a " big battle" to-morrow. I observed that tlie artillerymen in charge of the horses dig themselves little holes like graves, thi'ow- ing np the earth at the upper end. They ensconce themselves in these holes when nnder fire. At snj)per this evening. General Longstreet spoke of the enemy's position as being " very formidable." He also said that they would doubtless intrench themselves strongly during the night.* The Staff ofiicers spoke of the battle as a certainty, and the universal feeling in the army was one of profound contempt for an enemy whom they have beaten so constantly, and under so many disadvantages. 26? July (Thursday). — ^We all got up at 3.30 a. m., and breakfasted a little before daylight. Lawley in- sisted on riding, notwithstanding his illness. Captain and I were in a dilemma for horses ; but I was accommodated by Major Clark (of this Staff), whilst the stout Austrian was mounted by Major Walton. The Austrian, in spite of the early hour, had shaved * I have tlie best reason for supposing that the fight came off prematurely, and that neither Lee nor Longstreet intended that it should have begun that day. I also think that their plans were deranged by the events of the first. DISPOSITION OF THE TROOPS. 257 his clieeks and cired his mustaches as beautifully as if he was on parade at Vienna. Colonel Sorrell, the Austrian, and I arrived at 5 A. M. at the same commanding position we were on yesterday, and I climbed np a tree in company with Captain Schi-eibert of the Prussian army. Just be- low us were seated Generals Lee, Hill, Longstreet, and Hood, in consultation — the two latter assisting their deliberations by the truly American custom of whittling sticks. General Heth was also present; he was wounded in the head yesterday, and although not allowed to command his brigade, he insists upon coming to the field. At 7 A. M. I rode over part of the ground with Gen- eral Longstreet, and saw him disposing of M'Laws's division for to-day's fight. The enemy occupied a series of high ridges, the tops of which were covered with trees, bnt the intervening valleys between their ridges and ours were mostly open, and partly nnder cultivation. The cemetery was on their right, and their left appeared to rest npon a high rocky hill. The enemy's forces, which were now supposed to comprise nearly the whole Potomac army, were con- centrated into a space apparently not more than a couple of miles in length. The Confederates inclosed them in a sort of semicircle, and the extreme extent of our position must have been from five to six miles at least. Ewell was on our left ; his headquarters in 258 BATTLE OF GETTTSBTJEG SECOND DAY. a cliiircli (with a high cupola) at Gettysburg ; Hill in the centre ; and Longstreet on the right, Our ridges were also covered with pine-woods at the tops, and generally on the rear slopes. The artillery of both sides confronted each other at the edges of these belts of trees, the troops being completely hidden. The enemy was evidently intrenched, but the Southerners had not broken ground at all. A dead silence reigned till 4.45 p. m., and no one would have im- agined that such masses of men and such a powerful artillery were about to commence the work of de- struction at that hour. Only two divisions of Longstreet were present to- day — ^viz., M'Laws's and Hood's — Pickett being still in the rear. As the whole morning was evidently to be occupied in disposing the troops for the attack, I rode to the extreme right with Colonel Manning and Major Walton, where we ate quantities of cherries, and got a feed of corn for our horses. We also bathed in a small stream, but not without some trep- idation on my part, for we were almost beyond the lines, and were exposed to the enemy's cavalry. At 1 p. M. I met a quantity of Yankee prisoners who had been picked up straggling. They told me they belonged to Sickles's corps (3d, I think), and had arrived from Emmetsburg during the night. About this time skirmishing began along part of the line, but not heavily. GENERAL LEE. 259 At 2 P. M. General Longstreet advised me, if I wished to have a good view of tlie battle, to return to my tree of yesterday. I did so, and remained there with Lawley and Captain Schreibert during the rest of the afternoon. But until 4.45 p. m. all was profoundly still, and we began to doubt whether a fight was coming off to-day at all. At that tune, however, Longstreet suddenly commenced a heavy cannonade on the right. Ewell immediately took it up on the left. The enemy replied with at least equal 'fury, and in a few moments the firing along the whole line was as heavy as it is possible to con- ceive. A dense smoke arose for six miles ; there was little wind to drive it away, and the air seemed full of shells — each of which appeared to have a different style of going, and to make a different noise from the others. The ordnance on both sides is of a very varied description. Every now and then a caisson would blow up — if a Federal one, a Confederate yell would immediately follow. The Southern troops, when charging, or to express their delight, always yell in a manner peculiar to themselves. The Yan- kee cheer is much more like ours ; but the Confed- erate officers declare that the rebel yell has a partic- ular merit, and always produces a salutary and useful effect upon their adversaries. A corps is sometimes spoken of as a "good yelling regiment." So soon as the firing began, General Lee joined 260 BATTLE OF GETTTSBTJEG — SECOND DAT. Hill just below our tree, and lie remained there nearly all the time, looking through his field-glass — • sometimes talldns: to Hill and sometimes to Colonel o Long of his Staff. But generally he sat quite alone on the stump of a tree. What I remarked especially was, tliat during the whole time the firing continued, he only sent one message, and only received one re- port. It is evidently his system to arrange the plan thoroughly with the three corps commanders, and then leave to them the duty of modifying and carry- ing it out to the best of their abilities. When the cannonade was at its height, a Confeder- ate band of music, between the cemetery and our- selves, began to play polkas and waltzes, which sounded very curious, accompanied by the hissing and bursting of the shells. At 5.45 all became comparatively quiet on our left and in the cemetery ; but volleys of musketry on the right told us that Longstreet's infantry were advan- cing, and the onv/ard progress of the smoke showed that he was progressing favorably; but about 6.30 there seemed to be a check, and even a slight retro- grade movement. Soon after 7, General Lee got a report by signal from Longstreet to say " we m^e doing weliy A little before dark the firing dropped oft" in every direction, and soon ceased altogether. We then received intelligence that Longstreet had carried every thing before him for some tune, capturing sev- BATTLE OF GETTTSBrRG — SECOND DAY. 261 eral batteries, and driving the enemy from his posi- tions; bnt when Hill's Florida brigade and some other troops gave way, he was forced to abandon a small portion of the ground he had won, together with all the captui-ed guns, except three. His troops, however, bivouacked during the night on ground occupied by the enemy this morning. Every one deplores that Longstreet will expose himself in such a reckless manner. To-day he led a Georgian regiment in a charge against a battery, hat in hand, and in front of everybody. General Barks- dale was killed and Semmes mortally wounded ; but the most serious loss was that of General Hood, who was badly wounded in the arm early in the day. I heard that his Texans are in despair. Lawley and I rode back to the General's camp, which had been moved to within a mile of the scene of action. Long- street, however, with most of his Staff, bivouacked on the field. Major Fairfax arrived at about 10 p. m. in a very bad humor. He had under his charge about 1,000 to 1,500 Yankee prisoners who had been taken to-day ; among them a general, whom I heard one of his men accusing of having been " so G — d d — d drunk that he had turned his guns upon his own men." But, on the other hand, the accuser was such a thundering blackguard, and proposed taking such a variety of oaths in order to escape from the U. S. army, that he 262 THE FIELD OF BATTLE. is not worthy of much credit. A large train of horses and mules, &c., arrived to-day, sent in by General Stuart, and captured, it is understood, by his cavalry, which had penetrated to within 6 miles of Washington. Sd July (Friday). — At 6 A. m. I rode to the field with Colonel Manning, and went over that portion of the ground which, after a fierce contest, had been won from the enemy yesterday evening. The dead were being buried, but great numbers were still lying about; also many mortally wounded, for whom nothing could be done. Amongst the latter were a number of Yankees dressed in bad imitations of the Zouave costmne. They opened their glazed eyes as I rode past in a painfully imploring manner, "We joined Generals Lee and Longstreet's Staff: they were reconnoitring and making preparations for renewing the attack. As we formed a pretty large party, we often drew upon ourselves the attention of the hostile sharpshooters, and were two or three times favored with a shell. One of these shells set a brick building on fire which was situated between the lines. This building was filled with wounded, principally Yankees, who, I am afraid, must have perished miser- ably in the flames. Colonel Sorrell had been slightly wounded yesterday, but still did duty. Major Wal- ton's horse was killed, but there were no other casu- alties amongst my particular friends. , BATTLE OF GETTTSBUEG THIED DAY. 263 The plan of yesterday's attack seems to have been very simple — first a heavy cannonade all along the line, follov/ed by an advance of Longstreet's two divisions and part of Hill's corps. In consequence of the ene- my's having been driven back some distance, Long- street's corps (part of it) was in a much more forward situation than yesterday. But the range of heights to be gained was still most formidable, and evidently strongly intrenched. The distance between the Confederate guns and the Yankee position — i. e., between the woods crown- ing the opposite ridges — was at least a mile — quite open, gently undulating, and exposed to artillery the whole distance. This was the ground which had to be crossed in to-day's attack. Pickett's division, which had just come up, was to bear the brunt in Longstreet's attack, together with Heth and Petti- grew in Hill's corps. Pickett's division was a weak one (under 5,000), owing to the absence of two bri- gades. At noon all Longstreet's dispositions were made ; his troops for attack were deployed into line, and lying down in the woods ; his batteries were ready to open. The general then dismounted and went to sleep for a short time. The Austrian officer and I now rode off to get, if possible, into some commanding position from whence we could see the whole thing without being exposed to the tremendous fire which was about 264 BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG ^THIRD DAY. - to commence. After riding about for half an hour without being able to discover so desirable a situa- tion; we determined to make for the cupola, near Get- tysburg, Ewell's headquarters. Just before we I'each- ed the entrance to the town, the cannonade opened with a f oiy which surpassed even that of yesterday. Soon after passing through the toll-gate at the entrance of Gettysburg, we found that we had got into a heavy cross-fire ; shells both Federal and Con- federate passing over our heads with great frequency. At length two shrapnel shells burst quite close to us, and a ball from one of them hit the officer who was f conducting us. We then turned round and changed our views with regard to the cupola — the fire of one side being bad enough, but preferable to tha,t of both sides. A small boy of twelve years was riding with ns at the time : this urchin took a diabolical interest in the bursting of the shells, and screamed with de- light when he saw them take effect. I never saw this boy again, or found out who he was. The road at Gettysburg was lined with Yankee dead, and as they had been killed on the 1st, the poor fellows had already begun to be very offensive. "We then returned to the hill I was on yesterday. But finding that, to see the actual fighting, it was absolutely necessary to go into the thick of the thing, I determined to make my way to General Longstreet. It was then about 2.30. After passing General Lee THE REPULSE. 265 and his Staff, I rode on through the woods in the direction in which I had left Longstreet. I soon be- gan to meet many wonnded men returning from the front ; many of them asked in piteous tones the way to a doctor or an ambulance. The further I got, the greater became the number of the wounded. At last I came to a perfect stream of them flocking through the woods in numbers as great as the crowd in Ox- ford-street in the middle of the day. Some were walking alone on crutches composed of two rifles, others were supported by men less badly wounded than themselves, and others were carried on stretch- ers by the ambulance, corps ; but in no case did I see a sound man helping the wounded to the rear, unless he carried the red badge of the ambulance corps. They were still under a heavy fire ; the shells were continually bringing down great limbs of trees, and carrying further destruction amongst this melancholy procession. I saw all this in much less time than it takes to write it, and although astonished to meet such vast numbers of wounded, I had not seen enough to give me any idea of the real extent of the mischief. "When I got close up to General Longstreet, I saw one of his regiments advancing through the v/oods in good order ; so, thinking I was just in time to see the attack, I remarked to the General that " / loouldnt ha/ve missed this for any thingP Longstreet was seated at the top of a snake fence at the edge of the 13 266 THE EEPULSE. wood, and looking perfectly calm and imperturbed. He replied, laughing, " The devil you wouldnH! I would lihe to ham missed it mry much ; we've air tached and 'been rejpulsed: loolc there /" - For tlie first time I tlien liad a view of the open space between the two positions, and saw it covered with Confederates slowly and sulkily returning tow- ards us in small broken parties, under a heavy fire of artillery. But the fire where we were was not so bad as fm-ther to the rear ; for although the air seemed alive with shell, yet the greater number burst be- hind us. I The General told me that Pickett's division had succeeded in carrying the enemy's position and cap- turing his guns, but after remaining there twenty minutes, it had been forced to retire, on the retreat of Heth and Pettigrew on its left. !N"o person could have been more calm or self-possessed than General Longstreet under these trying circumstances, aggra- vated as they now were by the movements of the enemy, who began to show a strong disposition to advance. I could now thoroughly appreciate the term bulldog, which I had heard applied to him by the soldiers. Difficulties seem to make no other im- pression upon him than to make him a little more savage. Major "Walton was the only officer with hun when I came up — all the rest had been put into the charge. GENEEAL LEE AETER THE EEPULSE. 26Y In a few minutes Major Latrobe arrived on foot, car- rying his saddle, having just had his horse killed. Colonel Sorrell was also in the same predicament, and Captain Gofee's horse was wounded in the mouth. The General was making the best arrangements in his power to resist the threatened advance, by ad van cing some artillery, rallying the stragglers, &c. I re- member seemg a General (Pettigrew, I think it was)* come up to him, and report that " he was unable to bring his men up again." Longstreet turned upon him and replied with some sarcasm : " Very well y never mind^ iJien^ General; just let them remain where they are : the enemy's going to advance^ and will s^are you the trouhle^ He asked for something to drink : I gave him some rum out of my silver flask, which I begged he vf ould keep in remembrance of the occasion ; he smiled, and, i to my great satisfaction, accepted the memorial. He then went off to give some orders to M^Laws's division. Soon afterwards I joined General Lee, who had in the mean while come to that part of tlie field on be- coming aware of the disaster. If Longstreet's con- duct was admirable, that of General Lee was perfectly sublime. He was engaged in rallying and in encouT- aging the broken troops, and was riding about a little in front of the wood, quite alone — the whole of his * This oflacer was afterwards killed at the passage of the Poto- mac. V 268 AFTEB THE REPTJLSE. Staff being engaged in a similar manner further to tlie rdar. His face, which is always placid and cheer- ful, did not show signs of the slightest disappointment, care, or annoyance ; and he was addressing to every soldier he met a few words of encouragement, such as, " All this will come right in the end : we'll talk it over afterwards ; but, in the mean time, all good men must rally. We want all good and true men just now," &c. He spoke to all the wounded men that passed him, and the slightly wounded he ex- horted " to bind up their hurts and take up a mus- ket" in this emergency. Yery few failed to answer his appeal, and I saw many badly wounded men take off their hats and cheer him. He said to me, " This has been a sad day for us, Colonel — a sad day ; but Vv^e can't expect always to gain victories." He w^as 1 1 also kind enough to advise me to get into some more sheltered position, as the shells were bursting round us with considerable frequency. ■ ^Notwithstanding the misfortune which had so sud- denly befallen him. General Lee seemed to observe every thing, however trivial. "When a mounted offi- cer began licking his horse for shying at the bm'sting of a shell, he called out, " Don't whip him. Captain ; don't whip him. I've got just such another foohsh horse myself, and whipping does no good." I happened to see a man lying flat on his face in a small ditch, and I remarked that I didn't think he AFTER THE EEPULSE. 269 seemed dead ; this drew General Lee's attention to the man, who commenced groaning dismally. Find- ing appeals to his patriotism of no avail, General Lee had him ignominiously set on his legs by some neighboring gnnners. I saw General Willcox (an officer who wears a short round jacket and a battered straw hat) come np to him, and explain, almost crying, the state of his brigade. General Lee immediately shook hands with him and said cheerfully, " ]^ever mind. General, cill this has teen my faiolt — it is I that have lost this £ght, and you must help me out of it in the best w^ay you can." In this manner I saw General Lee en- courage and reanimate his somewhat dispirited troops, and magnanimously take upon his own shoulders the whole weight of the repulse. It was impossible to look at him or to listen to him without feeling the strongest admiration, and I never saw any man fail him except the mian in the ditch. It is difficult to exaggerate the critical state of af- fairs as they appeared about this time. If the enemy or their general had shown any enterprise, there is no saying what might have happened. General Lee and his officers were evidently fully impressed with a sense of the situation ; yet there was much less noise, fuss, or confusion of orders than at an ordinary iield- day; the men, as they were rallied in the w^ood, were brought up in detachments, and lay do^\Ti 270 GALLANT AETILLEET^IEN. quietly and coolly in the positions assigned to tliem. We lieard that Generals Garnett and Armistead were killed, and General Kemper mortally wounded ; also, tliat Pickett's division had only one field-officer unhm't. IN^early all this slaughter took place in an open space about one mile square, and within one hour. At 6 p. M. we heard a lono' and continuous Yankee cheer, which we at first imagined was an indication of an advance ; but it turned out to be their recep- tion of a general officer, whom we saw riding down the line, followed by about thirty horsemen. Soon afterwards I rode to the extreme front, where there were four pieces of rifled cannon almost without any infantry support. To the non-withdrawal of these guns is to be attributed the otherwise surprising in- activity of the enemy. I was immediately surround- ed by a sergeant and about half-a-dozen gunners, who seemed in excellent spirits and full of confidence, in spite of their exposed situation. The sergeant ex- pressed his ardent hope that the Yankees might have spirit enough to advance and receive the dose he had in readiness for them. They spoke in admiration of the advance of Pickett's division, and of the man- ner in which Pickett himself had led it. When they observed General Lee they said, ""We've not lost confidence in the old man : this day's work won't MAJOR MOSES. 271 do him no harm. ' Uncle Robert' will get ns into Washington yet ; you bet he will !" &c. Whilst we were talking, the enemy's skirmishers began to ad- vance slowly, and several ominous sounds in quick succession told us that we were attracting their at- tention, and that it was necessary to break up the conclave. I therefore turned round and took leave of these cheery and plucky gunners. At 7 p. M., General Lee received a report that John- son's division of Ewell's corps had been successful on the left, and had gained important advantages there. Firing entirely ceased in our front about this time ; but we nov/ heard some brisk musketry on our right, which I afterwards learned proceeded from Hood's Texans, who had managed to surround some enter- prising Yankee cavalry, and were slaughtering them v/ith great satisfaction. Only eighteen out of four hundred are said to have escaped. At 7.30, all idea of a Yankee attack being over, I rode back to Moses's tent, and found that worthy commissary in very low spirits, all sorts of exagger- ated rumors having reached him. On my way I met a great many wounded men, most anxious to inquire after Longstreet, who was reported killed ; when I assured them he was quite well, they seemed to for- get their own pain in the evident pleasure they felt in the safety of their chief, l^o words that I can use v/ill adequately express the extraordinary patience 272 MAJOR MOSES EOBBED. and fortitnde with wliicli the wounded Confederates bore their sufferings. I got something to eat with the doctors at 10 p. m., the first for fifteen honrs. I gave np my horse to-day to his owner, as from death and exhaustion the Staff are almost without horses. * 4:th Jidy (Satui'day). — I was awoke at daylight by Moses complaining that his valuable trunk, contain- ing much public money, had been stolen from our tent whilst we slept. After a search it was found in a wood hard by, broken open and minus the money. Dr. Barksdale had been robbed in the same manner exactly. This is evidently the work of those rascally stragglers, who shirk going under fire, plunder the natives, and will hereafter sv/agger as the heroes of Gettysbui'g. Lawley, the Austrian, and I, vv^alked up to the front about eight o'clock, and on our way we met General Longstrect, who was in a high state of amusement and good humor. A fl.ag of truce had just come over from the enemy, and its bearer an- nounced among other things that " General Long- street was wounded, and a prisoner, but would be taken care of." General Longstreet sent back word that he v.^as extremely grateful, but that, being nei- ther wounded nor a prisoner, he was quite able to Jt\.iX^ x>~^.^s^_t <»i>~^'iO» 273 take care of himself. The iron endurance of General Longstreet is most extraordinary: he seems to re- quire neither food nor sleep. Most of his Staff now fall fast asleep directly they get off their horses, they are so exhausted from the last three days' work. Whilst Lawley went to headquarters on business, I sat down and had a long talk with General Pendle- ton (the parson), chief of artillery. He told me the exact number of guns in action yesterday. Ho said that the universal opinion is in favor of the 12- pounder l^apoleon guns as the best and simplest sort of ordnance for field purposes."^^' l^early all the ar- tillery with this army has either been captured from the enemy or cast from old 6-pounders taken at the early part of the war. At 10 A. M. Lawley returned from headquarters, bringing the news that the army is to commence moving in the direction of Virginia this evSiiiig. This step is imperative from want of ammunition. But it was hoped that the enemy might attack during the day, especially as this is the 4th of July, and it was calculated that there was still ammunition for one day's fighting. The ordnance train had already commenced moving back towards Cashtown, and * The Napoleon 12-pounder3 are smooth-bore brass guns, with chambers, very light, and with long range. They were invented or recommended by Louis Napoleon years ago. A large number axe being cast at Augusta and elsewhere. 12* 274 PEEPAEATIONS FOR THE EETEEAT. Ewell's immense train of plunder liad been proceed- ing towards Hagerstown by tlie Fairfield road ever since an early liour tliis morning. Johnson's division bad evacuated during the nigbt the position it bad gained yesterday. It appears that for a time it was actually in possession of the ceme- tery, but bad been forced to retire from thence from want of support by Pender's division, which had been retarded by that officer's wound. The whole of our left was therefore thrown back considerably. At 1 p. M. the rain began to descend in torrents, and we took refuge in the hovel of an ignorant Penn- sylvanian boor. The cottage was full of soldiers, none of whom had the slightest idea of the contem- plated retreat, and all were talking of "Washington and Baltimore with the greatest confidence. At 2 p. M. we walked to General Longstreet's camp, whicn had been removed to a place three miles distant, on the Fairfield road. General Longstreet talked to me for a long time about the battle. He said the mistake they had made was in not concentrating the army more, and making the attack yesterday with 30,000 men instead of 15,000. The advance had been in three lines, and the troops of Hill's corps who gave way were young soldiers, who had never been under fire before. He thought the enemy would have attacked had the guns been withdrawn. Had they done so at that particular moment immediately THE EETREAT. 275 after the repulse, it would have been awkward ; but in that case he had given orders for the advance of Hood's division and M'Laws's on the right. I think, after all, that General Meade was right not to advance — ^his men would never have stood the tre- mendous fire of artillery they would have been exposed to. Rather over 7,000 Yankees were captured dur- ing the three days ; 3,500 took the parole ; the re- mainder were now being marched to Richmond, es- corted by the remains of Pickett's division. It is impossible to avoid seeing that the cause of this check to the Confederates lies in the utter contempt felt for the enemy by all ranks. "Wagons, horses, mules, and cattle captured in Pennsylvania, the solid advantages of this campaign, have been passing slowly along this road (Fairfield) all day : those taken by Ewell are particularly admir- ed. So interminable was this train that it soon became evident that we should not be able to start till late at night. As soon as it became dark we all lay round a big fire, and I heard reports coming in from the difterent generals that the enemy was retir- ing, and had been doing so all day long. M^Laws reported nothing in his front but cavalry videttes. But this, of course, could make no diflerence to Gen- eral Lee's plan : ammunition he must have — ^he had failed to capture it from the enemy (according to 276 THE EETEEAT. precedent) ; and as Ms communications with Virginia were intercepted, lie was compelled to fall back to- wards Yv^incliester, and draw his supplies from thence. General Milroj had kindly left an ample stock at that town when he made his precipitate exit some weeks ago. The army was also incumbered with an enormous wagon-train, the spoils of Pennsylvania, which it is highly desirable to get safely over the Potomac. Shortly after 9 p. m. the rain began to descend in torrents. Lawley and I luckily got into the doctors' covered buggy, and began to get slowly under way a little after midnight. ^tli July (Sunday). — The night was very bad — thunder and lightning, torrents of rain — the road knee-deep in mud and water, and often blocked up with wagons " come to grief." I pitied the wi'etched plight of the unfortunate soldiers who were to follow us. Our progress was natm-ally very slow indeed, and we took eight hours to go as many miles. At 8 A. M. we halted a little beyond the village of Fairfield, near the entrance to a mountain-pass. ITo sooner had we done so, and lit a fire, than an alarm was spread that Yankee cavalry were upon us. Sev- eral shots flew over om* heads, but w^e never could discover from whence they came. ]N"ews also arrived of the capture of the whole of Swell's beautiful LIEUTENANT-GENEEAL EWELL. 277 wagons."^ These reports created a regular stampede amongst tlie wagoners, and Longstreet's drivers started off as fast as tliey conld go. Om- medical trio, however, firmly declined to budge, and came to this wise conclusion, partly iirged by the pangs of hunger, and partly from the consideration that, if the Yankee cavalry did come, the crowded state of the road in our rear would prevent our escape. Soon afterwards, some Confederate cavalry were pushed to the front, who cleared the pass after a slight skirmish. At noon. Generals Lee and Longstreet arrived, and halted close to us. Soon afterwards Ewell came up. This is the first time I ever saw him. He is rather a remarkable-looking old soldier, with a bald head, a prominent nose, and rather a haggard, sickly face : having so lately lost his leg above the knee, he is still a complete cripple, and falls off his horse occasionally. Directly he dismounts he has to be put on crutches. He was Stonewall Jackson's coadjutor during the celebrated Yalley campaigns, and he used to be a great swearer — in fact, he is said to have been the only person who was unable to restrain that propen- sity before Jackson ; but since his late (rather roman- tic) marriage, he has (to use the American expression) '^ joined the CJiuTcliP When I saw him he was in a great state of disgust in consequence of the supposed * It afterwards turned out tliat all escaped but tliirty-eiglit. 278 ^ THE EETEEAT. loss of his wagons, and refused to be comforted by General Lee. I joined Longstreet again, and, monnted on Law- ley's venerable liorse, started at 3 p. m. to ride tbrougb tlie pass. At 4 p. m. we stopped at a place where tlie roads fork, one leading to Emmetsbiirg, and the other to Hagerstown. Major Moses and I entered a farm-house, in which we found several women, two wounded Yankees, and one dead one, the result of this morning's skirmish. One of the sufferers was frightfully wounded in the head ; the other was hit in the knee : the latter told me he was an Irishman, and had served in the Bengal Europeans during the Indian Mutiny. He now belonged to a Michigan cavalry regiment, and had already imbibed American ideas of Ireland's wrongs, and all that sort of trash. He told me that his officers were very bad, and that the idea in the army was that M'Clellan had assumed the chief command. The women in this house were great Abolitionists. When Major Fairfax rode up, he inquired of one of them whether the corpse was that of a Confederate or Yankee (the body was in the veranda, covered with a white sheet). The woman made a gesture with her foot, and replied, " If it was a rebel, do you think it would be here long?" Fairfax then said, "Is it a woman who speaks in such a manner of a dead body which can do no one any harm ?" She thereupon THE EETEEAT. ^ 279 colored up, and said slie wasn't in earnest. At 6 o'clock we rode on again (by the Ilagerstown road), and came up with General Longstreet at 7.30. The road was full of soldiers marching in a particu- larly lively manner — the wet and mud seemed to have produced no effect whatever on their spirits, which were as boisterous as ever. They had got hold of colored prints of Mr. Lincoln, which they were pass- ing about from company to company with many remarks upon the personal beauty of Uncle Abe. The same old chaff was going on of " Come out of that hat — I know you're in it — I sees your legs a- dangling down," &c. Y*^hen we halted for the night, skirmishing was going on in front and rear — Stuart in front and Ewell in rear. Our bivouac being near a large tavern. General Longstreet had ordered some supper there for himself and his Staff; but wh^n we went to devour it, we discovered General M'Laws and his officers rapidly finishing it. We, however, soon got more, the Pennsylvanian proprietors being particularly anxious to prox3itiate the General, in hopes that he would spare their live stock, which had been condemned to death by the ruthless Moses. During supper, women came rushing in at inter- vals, saying — " Oh, good heavens, now they're killing our fat hogs. Which is the General? which is the Great Officer ? Our milch cows are now going." To all which expressions Longstreet replied, shaking his 280 *- THE EETEEAT. head in a melaiiclioly manner — " Yes, madam, it's very sad — Yerj sad ; and this sort of thing has been going on in Virginia more than two years — very sad." We all slept in the open, and the heavy rain produced no effect npon onr slumbers. I understand it is impossible to cross the lines by flag of truce. I therefore find myself in a dilemma about the expiration of my leave. 6th July (Monday). — Several horses were stolen last night, mine nearly so. It is necessary to be very careful, in order to prevent this misfortune. We started at 6.30, but got on very slowly, so blocked up was the road with wagons, some of which had been captured and burnt by the enemy yesterday. It now turned out that all Swell's wagons escaped except thirty-eight, although, at one time, they had been all in the enemy's hands. At 8.30 v/e halted for a couple of hours, and Gen- erals Lee, Longstreet, Hill, and Willcox, had a con- sultation. I spoke to about my difficulties with regard to getting home, and the necessity of doing so, owing to the approaching expiration of my leave. He told me that the army had no intention at present of retreating for good, and advised me to stop with them and see w^hat turned up. He also said that some of the enemy's dispatches had been intercej^ted, in which the following words occur : — " The noble a ^^/^T> nvxTr,^T:,-r. » r GOOD KIGGEE." 281 but unfortunate army of the Potomac has again been obliged to retreat before superior numbers." I par- ticularly observed tlie marching to-day of the 21st Mississippi, which was uncommonly good. This regiment all wear short round jackets, a most un- usual circumstance, for they are generally unpopular in the South. At 12 o'clock we halted again, and all set to work to eat cherries, which was the only food we got be- tween 5 A. M. and 11 p. m. I saw a most laughable spectacle this afternoon — viz., a negro dressed in fall Yankee uniform, with a rifle at full cock, leading along a barefooted white man, with whom he had evidently changed clothes. General Longstreet stopx^ed the pair, and asked the black man what it meant. He replied, " The two soldiers in charge of this here Yank have got drunk, so for fear he should escape I have took care of him, and brought him through that little town." The consequential manner of the negro, and the supreme contempt with which he spoke to his prisoner, were most amusing. This little episode of a Southern slave leading a white Yankee soldier through a Northern village, alone and of his own accord, would not have been gratif)dng to an abolitionist. ISTor vv^ould the sympathizers both in England and in the North feel encouraged if they could hear the language of detestation and contempt with which the numerous 282 AN ALAEM. negroes witli the Soutliern armies speak of their liberators.* I saw General Hood in his carriage ; he looked rather bad, and has been suffering a good deal ; the doctors seem to doubt whether they will be able to save his arm. I also saw General Hampton, of the cavalrj, who has been shot in the hip, and has two sabre-cuts on the head, but he was in very good spirits. A short time before we reached Hagerstown there was some firing in front, together with an alarm that the Yankee cavalry was upon us. The ambulances w^ere sent back ; but some of the wounded jumped out, and, producing the rifles which they had not parted with, they prepared to fight. After a good deal of desultory skirmishing, we seated ourselves ujDon a hill overlooking Hagerstown, and saw the * From wliat I have seen of the Southern negroes, I am of opinion that the Confederates could, if they chose, convert a great number into soldiers ; and from the affection which midoubtedly exists as a general rule between the slaves and their masters, I think that they would prove more eflBcient than black troops under any other circumstances. But I do not imagine that such an ex- periment will be tried, except as a very last resort, partly on account of the great value of the negroes, and partly because the Southerners consider it im]3roper to introduce such an element on a large scale into civilized warfare. Any person who has seen negro features convulsed with rage, may form a slight estimate of what the result would be of arming a vast number of blacks, rousing their passions, and then allowing them free scope. A STAMPEDE. 283 enemy's cavaliy driven through the town pnrsned by yelling Confederates. A good many Yankee prison- ers now passed ns; one of them who was smoking a cigar, was a lieutenant of cavalry, dressed very smart- ly, and his hair brushed with the greatest care ; he formed rather a contrast to his ragged escort, and to ourselves, who had not washed or shaved for ever so long. About 7 p. M. we rode through Ilagerstown, in the streets of which were several dead horses and a few dead men. After proceeding about a mile beyon^ the town we halted, and General Longstreet sent four cavalrymen up a lane, with directions to report every thing they saw. We then dismounted and lay down. About ten minutes later (being nearly dark) we heard a sudden rush — a panic — and then a regular stampede commenced, in the midst of which I descried our four cavalry heroes crossing a field as fast as they could gallop. All was now complete confusion ; — ofiicers mounting their horses, and pursuing those which had got loose, and soldiers climbing over fences for protec- tion against the supposed advancing Yankees. In the middle of the din I heard an artillery ofiicer shout- ing to his " cannoneers" to stand by him, and plant the guns in a proper position for enfilading the lane. I also distinguished Longstreet walking about, hus- tled by the excited crowd, and remarking, in angry tones, which could scarcely be heard, and to which 284: CAVALRY SKlRMISHIKa. 110 attention was paid, " ITow, you don't know what it is — you don't know what it is." Whilst the row and confusion were at their height, the object of all this alarm at length emerged from the dark lane, in the shape of a domestic four-Y>dieel carriage, with a harmless load of females. The stampede had, how- ever, spread, increased in the rear, and caused much harm and delay. Cavalry skirmishing went on until quite dark, a determined attack having been made by the enemy, who did his best to prevent the trains from crossing the Potomac at AYilliamsport. It resulted in the suc- cess of the Confederates ; but every impartial man confesses that these cavalry fights are miserable affairs. ISTeither party has any idea of serious charging wdth the sabre. They approach one another with consid- erable boldness, until they get to within about forty yards, and then, at the very moment when a dash is necessary, and the sword alone should be used, they hesitate, halt, and commence a desultory fire with carbines and revolvers. An Englishman, named Winthrop, a captain in the Confederate army, and formerly an officer in II. M.'s 22d regiment, althongh not in the cavalry himself, seized the colors of one of the regiments, and rode straight at the Yankees in the most gallant manner, shouting to tlie men to follow him. He continued to distinguish himself by leading charges until his horse was unfortunately HAGERSTOWN. 285 killed. I heard liis conduct on tliis occasion liiglily spoken of hj all. Stuart's cavalrj can hardly be called cavalry in the European sense of the word ; but, on the other hand, the country in which they are accustomed to operate is not adapted for cavalry. was forced at last to give up wearing even his Austrian forage-cap ; for the last two days soldiers on the line of march had been visiting his ambulance in great numbers, under the impression (encouraged by the driver) that he was a Yankee general. The idea now was that the army would remain some days in or near its present position until the arrival of the ammunition from "Winchester. 7tk July (Tuesday). — Lawley, the Austrian, and I drove into Ilagerstown this morning, and General Longstreet moved into a new position on the Wil- liam sport road, which he was to occupy for the present. We got an excellent room in the Washing- ton Hotel on producing greenbacks. Public opinion in Hagerstown seems to be pretty evenly divided between l^ortlr and South, and probably accommo- dates itself to circumstances. For instance, yester- day the women waved their handkerchiefs when the Yankee cavalry were driven through the town, and to-day they went through the same compliment in honor of 3,500 Yankee (Gettysburg) prisoners whom I saw march through en route for Eichmond. I over- 9! S86 JEB STUAET. heard the conversation of some Confederate soldiers about these prisoners. One remarked, with respect to the ZonaveSj of whom there were a few — " Those red- breeched fellows look as if thej conld fight, but they don't, though ; no, not so w^ell as the blue-bellies." Lawley introduced me to General Stuart in the streets of Hagerstown to-day. He is commonly called Jeb Stuart, on account of his initials ; he is a good- looking, jovial character, exactly like his photographs He has certainly accomplished wonders, and done ex- cellent service in his peculiar style of warfare. Hfe is a good and gallant soldier, though he sometimes incurs ridicule by his harmless affectation and pecu- liarities. The other day he rode through a Yirginian town, his horse covered with garlands of roses. He also departs considerably from the severe simplicity of dress adopted by other Confederate generals ; but no one can deny that he is the right man in the right place. On a campaign, he seems to roam over the country according to his own discretion, and always gives a good account of himself, turning up at the right moment ; and hitherto he has never got him- self into any serious trouble. I rode to General Longstreet's camp, which is about two miles in the direction of Williamsport, and con- sulted him about my difficulties with regard to my leave. He was most good-natured about it, and ad- vised me under the circumstances to drive in the direc TAKE LEAVE OF LONGSTEEET. 287 lion of Hancock ; and in the event of bdng ill-treated on tlie way, to insist npon being taken before tlie nearest U. S. officer of the liigliest rank, who would probably protect me. I determined to take his advice at once ; so I took leave of him and of his officers. Longstreet is generally a very taciturn and undemon- strative man, but he was quite affectionate in his fare- well. His last words were a hearty hope for the speedy termination of the war. All his officers were equally kind in their expressions on my taking leave, though the last sentence uttered by Latrobe was not entirely reassuring — viz., "You may take your oath he'll be caught for a spy." I then rode to General Lee's camp, and asked him for a pass to get through his lines. We had a long talk together, and he told me of the raid made by the enemy, for the express purpose of arresting his badly wounded son (a Confederate Brigadier-general), who was lying in the house of a relation in Virginia. They insisted upon carrying him off in a litter, though he had never been out of bed, and had quite recently been shot through the thigh. This seizure was evidently made for purposes of retaliation. His life has since been threatened, in the event of the South retaliating for Burnside's alleged military mur- ders in Kentucky. But few officers, however, speak of the ISTortherners with so much moderation as Gen- eral Lee ; his extreme amiability seems to prevent 288 PREPARATION TO LEAVE. liis speaklng^strongly against any one. I really felt quite sorry vrhen I said good-by to so many gentle- men from whom I liad received so mucli disinterested kindness. I am now about to leave the Southern States, after travel ling quite alone throughout their entire length and breadth, including Texas and the trans-Missis- sippi country, for nearly three months and a half, durhig which time I have been thrown amongst all classes of the population — the higlieat and lowest, and the most lawless. Although many were very sore about the conduct of England, I never received an imcivil word from anybody, but, on the contrary, I have been treated by all with more than kindness.* I have never met a man who was not anxious for a termination of the war ; and I have never met a man, woman, or child who contemplated its termination as possible w^ithout an entire separation from the oiow detested Yankee. I have never been asked for alms or a gratuity by any man or woman, black or white. Every one knew who I was, and all spoke to me with the greatest confidence. I have rarely heard any person complain of the almost total ruin ■" The only occasion on -vrliicli I was roiTgMj handled was when I had the misfortune to enter the city of Jackson, Mississippi, just as the Federals evacuated it. I do not complain of that affair, which, under the circumstances, was not to be wondered at. |i PKEPARATIOK TO LEAVE. 289 wliicli Iiad befallen so many. All are prepared to undergo still greater sacrifices, — they contemplate and prepare to receive greater reverses wliicli it is impossible to avert. Tliey look to a successful termi- nation of tlie war as certain, although few are san- guine enough to fix a speedy date for it, and nearly all bargain for its lasting at least all Lincoln's ]3resi- dency. Although I have always been with the Con- federates in the time of their misfortunes, yet I never heard any person use a desponding word as to the result of the struggle. Tfhen I was in Texas and Louisiana, Banks seemed to be carrying every thing before him, Grant was doing the same in Mississippi, and I certainly did not bring luck to my friends at Gettysburg. I have lived in bivouacs with all the Southern armies, which are as distinct from one an- other as the British is from the Austrian, and I have never once seen an instance of insubordination. When I got back to Hagerstown, I endeavored to make arrangements for a horse and buggy to drive through the lines. With immense difiiculty I secured the services of a Mr. , to take me to Hancock, and as much further as I chose to go, for a dollar a mile (greenbacks). I engaged also to j)ay him the value of his horse and buggy, in case they should be confiscated by either side. He was evidently ex- tremely alarmed, and I was obliged to keep liim up to the mark by assurances that his horse would in- 13 290 I CEOSS THE LINES. evitably be seized by tbe Confederates, unless pro- tected bj General Lee's pass in my possession. %th July (Wednesday). — My conductor told me be couldn't go to-day on account of a funeral, but be promised faithfully to start to-morrow. Every one was full of forebodings as to my probable fate wben I fell into Yankee clutches. In deference to their advice I took off my gray shooting-jacket, in which they said I was sure to be taken for a rebel, and I put on a black coat ; but I scouted all well-meant advice as to endeavoring to disguise myself as ad "American citizen," or to conceal the exact truty in any way. I was aware that a great deal depend- ed upon falling into the hands of a gentleman, and I did not believe these were so rare in the IN'orthern.] army as the Confederates led me to suppose. ^th July (Thursday). — 1 left Hagerstown at 8 a.m., in my conductor's good buggy, after saying farewell to Lawley, the Austrian, and the numerous Confed- erate officers who came to see me off, and wish me good-luck. We passed the Confederate advanced post at about two miles from Hagerstown, and were allowed to pass on the production of General Lee's authority. I was now fairly launched beyond the Confederate lines for the first time since I had been in Anaerica. Immediately afterwards we began to '^^ TAKEK FOE A SPY A SECOND TIME. 291 be asked all sorts of inquisitive questions about the rebels, which I left to my driver to answer. It be- came perfectly evident that this narrow strip of Mary- land is entirely Unionist. At about 12 o'clock we reached the top of a high hill, and halted to bait our horse at an inn called Fairview. v,!N"o sooner had we descended from the buggy than about twenty rampageous Unionists ap- peared, who told us they had come up to get a good view of the big fight in which the G — d d — d rebels were to be all captured, or drowned in the Potomac. My appearance evidently did not please them from the very first. With alarm I observed them talking to one another, and pointing at me. At length a particularly truculent-looking individual, with an en- ormous mustache, approached mo, and, fixing his eyes long and steadfastly upon my trousers, he remark- ed, in the surliest possible tones, " TJiem hreeches is a d — d had colorP This he said in allusion, not to their dirty state, but to the fact of their being gray, the rebel color. I replied to this very disagreeable assertion in as conciliating a way as I possibly could ; and in answer to his question as to who I was, I said that I was an English traveller. He then said that his wife was an English lady from Preston. I next expressed my pride of being a countryman of his wife's. He then told me in tones that admitted of no contradiction, that Preston was just forty-five 292 TAKEN FOR A SPY A SECOND TIME. • miles east of London; and lie afterwards launched into torrents of invectives against the rebels, who had Titn him out of Virginia ; and he stated his intention of killing them in great numbers to gratify his taste. "With some difficulty I prevailed upon him and his rabid brethren to drink, which paciiled them slight- ly for a time ; but when the horse was brought out to be harnessed, it became evident I was not to be allowed to proceed without a row. I therefore ad- dressed the crowd, and asked them quietly who among them v/ished to detain me ; and I told them at the same time, that I would not answer any ques- tions put by those who were not persons in authority, but that I should be most happy to explain myself to any officer of the United States army. At length they allowed me to proceed, on the understanding that my buggy-driver should hand me over to Gen- eral Kelly, at Hancock. The driver was provided with a letter for the general, in which I afterwards discovered that I was denounced as a spy, and "handed over to the General to he dealt with as jus- tide to OUT cause demandsP "We were then allowed to start, the driver being threatened with condign vengeance if he let me escape. After we had proceeded about six miles we fell in with some Yankee cavalry, by whom we were im- mediately captured, and the responsibility of my custody was thus removed from my conductor's THE NOETHEEN SOLDIEES. 293 slioulders. A cavalry soldier was put in charge of us, and we passed through the numerous Yankee out- posts under the title of ''Prisoner 8,'^'^ The hills near Hancock were white with Yankee tents, and there w^ere, I believe, from 8,000 to 10,000 Federals there. I did not think much of the appear- ance of the ]tTorthern troops ; they are certainly dressed in proper uniform, but their clothes are bad- ly fitted, and they are often round-shouldered, dirty, and slovenly in appearance ; in fact, bad imitations of soldiers. Now, the Confederate has no ambition to imitate the regular soldier at all ; he looks the genuine rebel ; but in spite of his bare feet, his ragged clothes, his old rug, and tooth-brush stuck like a rose in his button-hole,* he has a sort of devil-may-care, reckless, self-confident look, which isdecidedh^ taking. At 5 P.M. we drove up in front of the door of Gen- eral Kelly's quarters, and to my immense relief I soon discovered that he was a gentleman. I then explained to him the whole truth, concealing nothing. I said I was a British officer on leave of absence, travelling for my own instruction ; that I had been all the wa}'' to Mexico, and entered the Soutliern States by the Rio Grande, for the express purpose of not breaking any legally established blockade. I told him I had visited all the Southern armies in Missis- * Tliis tootli-brush in the button-liole is a very common custom, and lias a most quaint effect. 294 GENEEAL KELLY. sippi, Tennessee, Charleston, and Yirginia, and seen the late campaign as General Longstreet's guest, but had in no way entered the Confederate service. I also gave him mj word that I had not got in my pos- session any letters, either public or private, from any person in the South to any person anywhere else. I showed him my British passport and General Lee's pass as a British officer ; and I explained that my only object in coming JSTorth was to return to Eng- land in time for the expiration of my leave ; and I ended by expressing a hope that he would make my detention as short as possible. After considering a short time, he said that he would certainly allow me to go on, but that he could not allow my driver to go back. I felt immensely relieved at the decision, but the countenance of my com J) anion lengthened considerably. It was, how- ever, settled that he should take me on to Cumber- land, and General Kelly good-naturedly promised to do what he could for him on his return. General Kelly then asked me in an off-hand manner whether all General Lee's army was at Hagerstown ; but I replied, laughing, " You of course understand. General, that, having got that pass from General Lee, I am bound by every principle of honor not to give you any information which can be of advantage to you." He laughed and promised not to ask me any more questions of that sort. He then sent his aid- m GEKEEAL KELLY. 295 de-camp witli me to the provost-marshal, who immedi- atelj gave me a pass for Cumberland. On my return to the General's, I discovered the perfidious driver (that zealous Southerner a few hours previous) hard at work communicating to General Kelly all he knew, and a great deal more besides; but, from what I heard, I don't think his information was very valuable. I was treated by General Kelly and all his ofiicers with the greatest good-nature and courtesy, although I had certainly come among them under circumstances suspicious, to say the least. I felt quite sorry that they should be opposed to my Southern friends, and I regretted still more that they should be obliged to serve with or under a Eutler, a Milroy, or even a Hooker. I took leave of them at six o'clock ; and I can truly say that the only Federal officers I have ever come in contact with were gentlemen. We had got four miles beyond Hancock, when the tire of one of our wheels came off, and we had to stop for a night at a farm-house. I had supper with the farmer and his laborers, who had just come in from the fields, and the supper was much superior to that which can be procured at the first hotel at Richmond. All were violent Unionists, and perfectly under the impression that the rebels were totally demoralized, and about to lay down their arms. Of course I held my tongue, and gave no one reason to suppose that I had ever been in rebeldom. 296 STAGE-TEAVELLING IN THE NOETH. lOtJi July (Friday). — The drive from Hancock to Cumberland is a very mountainous forty-four miles — total distance from Hagerstown, sixty-six miles. We met Avith no further adventure on the road, although the people were verj^ inquisitive, but I never opened ray moutli. One woman in particular, who kept a toll-bar, thrust her ugly old head out of an upper window, and yelled out, " Air they a-fixin' for another battle out there ?'' jerking her head in the direction of Hagerstown. The driver replied that, although the bunch of rebels there was pretty big, yet he could not answer for their fixing arrangements, which he after- wards explained to me meant digging fortifications. We arrived at Cumberland at 7 p. m. This is a great coal place, and a few weeks ago it was touched up by " Imboden," who burnt a lot of coal barges, which has rendered the people rabid against tlie Rebs. I started by stage for Johnstown at 8.30 p. m. nth Jvly (Saturday). — I hope I may never for my sins be again condemned to travel for thirty hours in an American stage on a used-up plank-road. We changed carriages at Somerset. All my fellow-trav- ellers were of course violent Unionists, and invaria- bly spoke of my late friends as Rebels or Rebs. They had all got into their heads that their Potomac army, not having been thoroughly' thrashed, as it always has been hitherto, had achieved a tremendous PENNSTLv.iJ>[iA^^ inLITIA. 297 victory ; and that its new cliief, General Meade, who in reality was driven into a strong position, which lie had sense enongli to stick to, is a wonderful strategist. Theydll hope that the remnants of Lee's army will not be allowed to escape over the Potomac ; whereas, when I left the army two days ago, no man in it had a thought of escaping over the Potomac, and certainly General Meade was not in a position to attempt to prevent the passage, if crossing had be- come necessary. I reached Johnstown on the Pennsylvania Pailway at 6 P.M., and found that town in a great state of ex- citement in consequence of the review of two militia companies, who were receiving garlands from the fair ladies of Johnstown in gratitude for their daring con- duct in turning out to resist Lee's invasion. Most of the men seemed to be respectable mechanics, not at all adapted for an early interview with the rebels. The garlands supplied were as big and apparently as substantial as a ship's life-buoys, and the recipients looked particularly helpless after they had got them. Heaven help those Pennsylvanian braves if a score of Hood's Texans had caught sight of them ! Left Johnstown by train at 7.30 p. m., and by pay- ing half a dollar, I secured a berth in a sleeping-car — a most admirable and ingenious Yankee notion. l^th July (Sunday). — The Pittsburg and Phila* 13* 298 NEW YORK. delphia Railway is, I believe, accounted one of the best in America, which did not prevent my spending eight hours last night off the line ; but, being asleep at the time, I was unaware of the circumstance. In- stead of arriving at Philadelphia at 6 a. m., we did not get there till 3 p. m. Passed Harrisburg at 9 a.m. It was full of Yankee soldiers, and has evidently not recovered from the excitement consequent upon the late invasion, one effect of which has been to prevent the cutting of the crops by the calling out of the militia. At Philadelphia I saw a train containing one hun- dred and fifty Confederate prisoners, who were being stared at by a large number of the heau monde of Philadelphia. I mingled with the crowd which was chaffing them. Most of the people were good-natured, but I heard one suggestion to the effect that they should be taken to the river, " and every mother's son of them drowned there." I arrived at JSTew York at 10 p. m., and drove to the Fifth Avenue Hotel. IZth July (Monday). — The luxury and comfort of E"ew York and Philadelphia strike one as extra- ordinary after having lately come from Charleston and. Richmond. The greenbacks seem to be nearly as good as gold. The streets are as full as possible of well-dressed people, and are crowded with able-bodied NEW YOEK. 299 civilians capable of bearing arms, who have evidently no intention of doing so. Thej apparently dorCtfeel the wa/r at all here ; and until there is a grand smash with their money, or some other catastrophe to make them feel it, I can easily imagine that they will not be anxious to make peace. I walked the whole distance of Broadway to the Consul's house, and nothing could exceed the apparent prosperity ; the street was covered with banners and placards inviting people to enlist in various high- sounding regiments. Bounties of $550 were offered, and huge pictures hung across the street, on which numbers of ragged Graybacks^ terror depicted on their features, were being pursued by the Federals. On returning to the Fifth Avenue, I found all the shopkeepers beginning to close their stores, and I per- ceived by degrees that there was great alarm about the resistance to the draft which was going on this morning. On reaching the hotel I perceived a whole block of buildings on fire close by : engines were pres- ent, but were not allowed to play by the crowd. In the hotel itself, universal consternation prevailed, and an attack by the mob had been threatened. I walked about in the neighborhood, and saw a company of soldiers on the march, who were being jeered at and * The Nortlierners call the Southerners " Graybacks," just as the latter call the former " Bluebellies," on account of the color of their dress. 300 EIOTS AT NEW YORK. hooted bj small bojs, and I saw a negro pursued hj the crowd take refuge with the miiitarj ; he was fol- lowed bj loud cries of " Down with the b j nigger ! Kill all niggers 1" &c. I^ever having been in 'New York before, and being totally ignorant of the state of feeling with regard to negroes, I inquired of a by- stander what the negroes had done that they should want to kill them ? He replied civilly enough—" Oh sir, they hate them here ; they are the innocent cause of all these troubles." Shortly afterwards, I saw a troop of citizen cavalry come up ; the troopers were very gorgeously attired, but evidently experienced so much difficulty in sitting their horses, that they were more likely to excite laughter than any other emotion. 14:th July (Tuesday). — At breakfast this morning two Irish waiters, seeing I was a Britisher, came up to me one after another, and whispered at intervals in hoarse Hibernian accents — "It's disgraceful, sir. I've been drafted, sir. I'm a Briton. I love my Country. I love the Union Jack, sir." I suggested an interview with Mr. Archibald, but neither of them seemed to care about going to the Counsel just yet. These rascals have probably been hard at v/ork for years, voting as free and enlightened American citi- zens, and abusing England to their hearts' content. I heard every one talking of the total demoralization of the Kebels as a certain fact, and all seemed to anti- POPULAR DELUSION. 301 cipate their approaching destruction. All this sounded very absurd to me, who had left Lee's army four days previously as full of fight as ever — much stronger in numbers, and ten times more efficient in every mili- tary point of view, than it was when it crossed the Potomac to invade Maryland a year ago. In its own opinion, Lee's army has not lost any of its prestige at the battle of Gettysburg, in which it most gallantly stormed strong intrenchments defended by the whole army of the Potomac, which never ventured outside its works, or approached in force within half a mile of the Confederate artillery. The result of the battle of Gettysburg, together with the fall of Vicksburg and Port Hudson, seems to have turned everybody's head completely, and has deluded them with the idea of the speedy and complete sub- jugation of the South. I was filled with astonishment to hear the people speaking in this confident manner, when one of their most prosperous States had been so recently laid under contribution as far as Harris- burg ; and Washington, their capital itself, having just been saved by a fortunate turn of luck. Four- fifths of the Pennsylvanian spoil had safely crossed the Potomac before I left Hagerstown. The consternation in the streets seemed to be on the increase ; fires were going on in all directions, and the streets were being patrolled by large bodies of police followed by special constables, the latter S02 THE RIOTS. bearing truncheons, but not looking very happy. I heard a British captain making a deposition be- fore the Consul, to the effect that the mob had got on board his vessel, and cruelly beaten his colored crew. As no British man-of-war was present, the French Admiral was appealed to, who at once requested that all British ships with colored crews might be an- chored under the guns of his frigate. The reports of outrages, hangings, and murder, were now most alarming, the terror and anxiety were universal. All shops were shut : all carriages and omnibuses had ceased running. "No colored man or woman was visible or safe in the streets, or even in his own dwelling. Telegraphs were cut, and railroad tracks torn up. The draft was suspended, and the mob evidently had the upper hand. The people who can't pay $300 naturally hate be- ing forced to fight in order to liberate the very race who they are most anxious should be slaves. It is their direct interest not only that all slaves should remain slaves, but that the free ITorthern negroes who comj^ete with them for labor should be sent to the South also. 15th July (Wednesday). — ^The hotel this morning was occupied by military, or rather by creatures in uniform. One of the sentries stopped me ; and on my remonstrating to his officer, the latter blew up DEPAKTURE. 303 the sentry, and said, '' You are only to stop persons in military dress — don't you know what military dress is ?" " ISTo," responded this efficient sentry — and I left the pair discussing the definition of a soldier. I had the greatest difficulty in getting a conveyance down to the water. I saw a stone barricade in the distance, and heard firing going on — and I was not at all sorry to find myself on board the China. POSTSCRIPT. During my voyage home in the China, I had an opportunity of discussing with many intelligent !Northern gentlemen all that I had seen in my South- ern travels. We did so in a very amicable spirit, and I think they rendered justice to my wish to, ex- plain to them without exaggeration the state of feeling amongst their enemies. Although these l^ortherners belonged to quite the upper classes, and were not likely to be led blindly by the absurd nonsense of the sensation press at l^ew York, yet their ignorance of the state of the case in the Sonth was very great. The recent. successes had given them the impres- sion that the last card of the South was played. Charleston was about to fall ; Mobile, Savannah, and Wihnington would quickly follow ; Lee's army they thought, was a disheartened, disorganized mob ; Bragg's army in a still worse condition, fleeing be- fore Rosecrans, who would carry every thing before him. They felt confident that the fall of the Missis- 306 POSTSCEIPT. sippian fortresses would prevent communication from one bank to the other, and that the great river would soon be open to peaceful commerce. All these illusions have since been dispelled, but they probably still cling to the idea of the great ex- haustion of the Southern jpersonnel. But this difficulty of recruiting the Southern armies is not so great as is generally supposed. As I have already stated, no Confederate soldier is given his discharge from the army, however badly he may be wounded ; but he is employed at such labor in the public •service as he may be cajDable of performing, and his place in the ranks is taken by a sound man hitherto exempted. The slightly wounded are cured as quickly as possible, and are sent back at once to their regiments. 37ie women take care of this. The number actually killed, or who die of their wounds, are the only total losses to the State, and these form but a small proportion of the enormous butcher's bills which seem at first so very appalling. I myself remember, with General Polk's corps, a ' fine-looking man who had had both his hands blown ofi" at the wrists by unskilful artillery-practice in one of the early battles. A currycomb and brush were fitted into his stumps, and he was engaged in groom- ing artillery -horses with considerable skill. This man was called an hostler ; and, as the war drags on, the number of these handless hostlers will increase. Bj' POSTSCEIPT. 807 degrees the clerks at tlie offices, the orderlies, the railway and post-office officials, and the stage-drivers, will be composed of maimed and mutilated soldiers. The number of exempted persons all over the South is still very large, and they can easily be exchanged for worn veterans. Besides this fund to draw upon, a calculation is made of the number of boys who arrive each year at the fighting age. These are all " panting for the rifle," but have been latterly wise- ly forbidden the ranks until they are fit to undergo the hardships of a military life. By these means, it is the opinion of the Confederates that they can keep their armies recruited up to their present strength for several years ; and, if the worst comes to the worst, they can always fall back upon their negroes as the last resort ; but I do not think they contem- plate such a necessity as likely to arise for a consid- erable time. With respect to the supply of arms, cannon, pow- der, and military stores, the Confederates are under no alarm whatever. Augusta furnishes more than sufficient gunpowder ; Atlanta, copper caps, &c. The Tredegar works at Richmond, and other foun- dries, cast more cannon than is wanted; and the Federal generals have always hitherto proved them- selves the most indefatigable purveyors of artillery to the Confederate Government, for even in those actions which they claim as drawn battles or as vie- 308 POSTSCRIPT. tories, such as Corinth, Murfreesborongh, and Gettys- burg, they have never failed to make over cannon to the Southerners without exacting any in return. My D^orthern friends on board the China spoke much and earnestly about the determination of the IN'orth to crush out the Rebellion at any sacrifice. But they did not show any disposition io fight them- selves in this cause, although many of tliem would have made most eligible recruits ; and if they had been Southerners, their female relations would have made them enter the army whether their inclinations led them that way or not. I do not mention this difference of spirit by way of making any odious comparisons between I^orth and South in this respect, because I feel sure that these !Northern gentlemen would emulate the example of their enemy if they could foresee any danger of a Soutliern Butler exercising his infamous sway over Philadelphia, or of a Confederate Milroy ruling with intolerable despotism in Boston, by withholding the necessaries of life from helpless women w^ith one hand, whilst tendering them with the other a hated and absurd oath of allegiance to a detested Government. But the mass of res]3ectable J^Tortherners, though the}^ may be willing to pay, do not very naturally feel themselves called upon to give their blood in a war of aggression, ambition, and conquest. For this war is essentially a war of conquest. If ever a nation POSTSCRIPT. 309 did wage such a war, the ISTorth is now engaged, with a determination worthy of a more hopeful cause, in endeavoring to conquer the South ; but the more I think of all that I have seen in the Confederate States of the devotion of the whole population, the more I feel inclined to say w^ith General Polk — "How can you subjugate such a people as this?" and even supposing that their extermination were a feasible plan, as some J^ortherners have suggested, I never can believe that in the nineteenth century the civilized world will be condemned to "v/itness the de- struction of such a gallant race. THE END. " $27 ^»^ -^o. „ '5 Ok V- ^ \\^' V t o > .'- z .^ ■■■* ^oo # ,0 0^ V ^ '- ■%4 A^ '^oo^ 18,. '?'; ^ ^ rP^ .^ '>'. ■< ^'■ ^ ^ '^^. ^ -.. o "* ' ■e^ c'^"^ ""'^ r \^ , 1 fl '^- ^ , >. .\. * -1 « » '\ .^•^'' ' V I « ,-Jy^ xO^. 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