A picture of the desolated states; and the work of restoration. 1865-1868

Front matter

PUBLIC LIBRARY, Fairfield, Iowa

973.7 T75 Trowbridge

13-300

Preface

In the summer of 1865, and in the following winter, I made two visits to the South, spending four months in eight of the principal States which had lately been in rebellion. I saw the most noted battle-fields of the war. I made acquaintance with officers and soldiers of both sides. I followed in the track of the destroying armies. I travelled by railroad, by steamboat, by stage-coach, and by private conveyance ; meeting and conversing with all sorts of people, from high State officials to " low-down " whites and negroes ; endeavoring, at all times and in all places, to receive correct impressions of the country, of its inhabitants, of the great contest of arms just closed, and of the still greater contest of principles not yet terminated.

This book is the result. It is a record of actual observations and conversations, free from fictitious coloring. Such stories as were told me of the war and its depredations would have been spoiled by embellishment ; 'pictures of existing conditions, to be valuable, must be faithful ; and what is now most desirable, is not hypothesis or declamation, but the light of plain facts upon the momentous question of the hour, which must be settled, not according to any political or sectional bias, but upon broad grounds of Truth and Eternal Right.

I have accordingly made my narrative as ample and as literally faithful as the limits of these pages, and of my own opportunities, would allow. Whenever practicable, I have

IV

PREFACE.

stepped aside and let the people I met speak for themselves. Notes taken on the spot, and under all sorts of circumstances, — on horseback, in jolting wagons, by the firelight of a farm-house, or nej^opkcamp,gometimes in the dark, or in the rain, — have enable'd md^o flo this in many cases with absolute fidelity. Conversations which could not be reported in this way, were written out as soon as possible after they took place, and while yet fresh in my memory. Idiomatic peculiarities, which are often so expressive of character, I have reproduced without exaggeration. To intelligent and candid men it was my habit to state frankly my intention to publish an account of my journey, and then, with their permission, to jot down such views and facts as they saw fit to impart. Sometimes I was requested not to report certain statements of an important nature, made in the glow of conversation ; these, not without regret, I have suppressed : and I trust that in no instance have I violated a confidence that was reposed in me.

I may add that the conversations recorded are generally of a representative character, being selected from among hundreds of such ; and that if I have given seemingly undue prominence to any subject, it has been because I found it an absorbing and universal topic of discussion.

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CHAPTER I. — The Start

Harrisburg. —First Indications of War. — Reminiscences of Lee^s Invasion. — On to Gettysburg. — The Town and its Inhabitants. — The Hero of Gettysburg. .Page 17

CHAPTER II. — The Field op Gettysburg

Cemetery Hill. - Pivot of the Battle and of the War. - -drip's Hill. — Rock Creek. -Cemetery at Sunset. -John Burns. - The Peach Orchard. -Devil's Den and Little Round Top. — Round Top. - Meade's Head-Quarters. — Woman s Heroism and Humanity. — A Soldier and his Benefactor. — Harvest of Bullets. . . .20

CHAPTER IH. — A Reminiscence of Chambersburg. Quiet Country. — Ruins of Chambersburg. — Burning of the Town. — Flight of the Inhabitants. — Escape of the Raiders. — Death of Three Rebels. — Homeless Inhabitants. — State Appropriation for their Relief. — No Loss without Gam 34

CHAPTER IV. — South Mountain

Hagerstown.— Valley of the Antietam. — Boonsboro'. — The Rebels in Maryland.

— View of the Mountain. — The Ascent. — Scene of General Reno's Death. — Rebels buried in a Well. — A Mountaineer's Story. — View of Catoctin Valley. — Strong Rebel Position. — Patriot Graves. — Antietam Valley at Sunset 40

CHAPTER V. — The Field of Antietam

Rebel Line of Retreat. — Keedysville. — Brick Church Hospital. — Porter and his Reserves. — Banks of the Antietam. — Scenes at the Straw-Stacks. — Unfortunate Farmers. — Hospital Cemetery. — The Corn Field. — The Old Ploughman. — A Lesson for Vanitv. — A Soldier's Name. — The Dunker Church. — Sharpsburg.

— Shelter from the Rain. — Southern Pronunciation. — Burnside's Bridge. — Ancient and Modern Heroes. — Antietam National Cemetery. — The Battle 44

CHAPTER VI. — Down the River to Harper's Ferry. Search for a Vehicle. — " Mr. Bennerhalls." — Mr. Benner without the " halls.'' — Leaving Sharpsburg. — Mountain Scenerv. — Capt. Speaker's Narrative. — Surrender of Harper's Ferrv. — Escape of Twenty-two Hundred Cavalry. — Capture of Rebel Wagon Train. — Morning in Greencastle. — Arrival at the Ferry 57

CHAPTER VII.— Around Harper's Ferry

River and Mountain Scenery. — Maryland Heights. — John Brown's Engine-House.

— Reminiscence of John Brown. — Political Inconsistency. — Negro from Shenandoah Valley. — Folly of Secession 64

CHAPTER VIII. — A Trip to Charlestown

Railroad Passengers. — A Desolated Country. — Farmers and Land. — A Dilapidated Town. — Meeting an Acquaintance. — Boarding-House Fare. — People and the Government Policy. — Charlestown Jail and Court-House. — John Brown's Trial. — "His Soul Marching On." — A One-armed Confederate. — John Brown's Gallows.

— Scene from the Scaffold. — The Church and its Uses 69 vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER IX. — A Scene at the White House. "Washington. — A Crowd of Pardon-Seekers. — President's Reception 75

CHAPTER X. — Bull Run

From Alexandria to Manassas. — Manassas Junction. — "Overpowered," but not Whipped. — Ambulance Wagon. — The Driver and the Roads. — Scene of the First Bull Run. — Soldiers' Monument. — Luncheon in the Woods. — Scene of the Second Bull Run. — The Monument. — Groverton. — The two Battles and their Lessons. — The Stone House. — Miscegenated Cider. — Virginia Negroes 81

CHAPTER XI. — Visit to Mount Vernon

Down the Potomac. — Landing at Mt. Vernon. — A Throng of Pilgrims. — Tomb of Washington. — Character of Washington. — Mansion and Out-houses. — Girl at the Wash-tub. — Washington's Well. — Shade-Trees. — Within the Mansion. — Relics. _The Portico. — Washington's Love of Home. — Thunder-storm 91

CHAPTER XII. — " State Pride."

Acquia Creek. — Railroad and Stage-Coaches. — View of Fredericksburg. — Crossing the Rappannock. — Ruins of the Town — " A Son of Virginia." — " State Pride " and " Self-Conceit." — Virginia and South Carolina. — Back in the Union. — Down at the Hotel. — Another Name for State Pride 100

CHAPTER XIII. — The Field of Fredericksburg

The Situation. — The Stone Wall of History. — A Rebel Eye-witness. — Stripping the Dead. — Strange Breastworks. — Fidelity of a Dog. — Gen. Lee's " Humanity." _ Private Cemetery. — The Marye House. — Negro who did n't see the Fight. — Southern Consistency. — Dissolution of the Rebel Army. — The Buried Dead. — House of Washington's Mother. — Mary Washington's Monument. — The Lacy House. — Scene from the Windows. — Storming of Fredericksburg 106

CHAPTER XIV. — To Chancellorsville

♦Lijah and his Buggy. — A Three-Dollar Horse. — Trade in Soldiers' Clothing. — Small Farmers. — Right Ignorant but Right Sharp. — Sedgwick's Retreat. — Farms and Crops. — Views of Emancipation..— Poor Whites and Niggers. — The Man that killed Harrow. — Along the Plank-Road. — Tales of the Old Times. — Chancellorsville Farm. — What was under the Weeds. — Bones for the Bone-Factory.— Chancellorsville Burying-Ground. — Death of Stonewall Jackson 114

CHAPTER XV. — The Wilderness

Days of Anxiety. — Inflexible Spirit of the People. — Locust Grove. — The Wilderness Church. — Relics of the Battle. — Skeletons above Ground. — Wilderness Cemetery. — A Summer Shower. — The Wounded in the Fire. — The Rainbow..l23

CHAPTER XVI. — Spottsylvania Court -House

Elijah " Cut." — Richard " H." Hicks. — Poor Whites and the War. — Dead Men's Clothes.— A "Heavy Coon Dog." — Traces of the Battle. —View of the Court- House. _ Grant's Breastworks. — County Clerk. — Whites and Blacks in the County. — Ignorance of the Lower Classes. — The Negro "Fated" 129

CHAPTER XVII. — The Field op Spottsylvania. The Tavern-Keeper's Relics. — A Union Officer's Opinions. — The Landlord's Cornfield. — Rebel and Yankee Troops. — Scene of the Decisive Conflict. — Graves of Spottsylvania.— Women " Chincapinnin."— Leaves from a Soldier's Testament..l37

CHAPTER XVIII.— "On to Richmond."

A Bubble Vanished. — Desolate Scenery. — Virginia and Massachusetts. — Ashton. — Suburbs. — Northern Men in Richmond. — Appearance of the City 143

CHAPTER XIX. — The Burnt District

Ruins of Richmond. — Why the Rebels burnt the City. — Panic of the Inhabitants. —

TABLE OF CONTENTS. - vii

(Win of the Fire. - Conflicting Opinions. — Fire of December, 1811. - Rebuilding. - Negroes at Work. - Colored Laborer. - Hasty Reconstruction 147

CHAPTER XX. — Libby, Castle Thundek, and Belle Isle. Libby Prison. -Castle Thunder. - James River.- Man Chester Bridge. - Negroes with Bundles - Old Negro's Story. - Belle Island. -Talk with a Boatman. - Hatred of the Confederacy! - Skiff to Brown's Island. - Father and Daughter. .153