.MTcwMA.Mjc0Mg

This item is currently being transcribed by a volunteer. We look forward to making the full-text of the document available soon.

                                         Williamsburg April 15th/63

Dearest Cousin,

           I have just rec yr letter 

of March 6th & thank you for your kindness in wishing for me to come to you, but it would have made you all wretched to have had so unhappy a person as I have been in your house, & I cannot think of requiting such love & kindness as has been extended to me by you all, by adding gloom to yr household.

            I could leave home with perfect

safety, as the Library & everything else in the house would be better taken care of by Mrs. Sherwell & Annie, than by my self, in as much as they are more energetic than I am, & have no notion of leaving. Mrs. Sherwell says, she would not have missed seeing all that we have seen

(page 1)

                       2

for anything that could be offered her. We have on this peninsula seen war in all its phases. Two advancing armies, & two retreating armies almost as large as any the world ever saw. McClellan's army was estimated at one hundred & ninety thousand, & only ninety thousand ever re- turned, the other hundred thousand "sleep" between here & Richmond. Their own pa- pers say this! When they retreated we talked to numbers of them, who used to stop under a huge apple tree covered with apples, which grows in our garden & the boughs hung in the street, they would ask us for them, & then tell us of the battles be- tween here & Richmond.

                You must be anxious to know of the

conflict going on at this present time. I wrote you 2 days since, an account of the shelling of the town, we have been shelled twice in eleven days. They are not skir- mishing in the streets today. The enemy are just at the end of [Woodpecker?] Street, & came

(Page 2)

                         3

in town this morning 250 of Infantry but seeing our cavalry at the College they made a precipitate retreat, 2 of the Yankee Cavalry came as far as Cou- sin Sarah's house, & asked the servant there, if the ladies had all left town, & I believe there will not be a dozen people after a while, as everybody is glad to get in the Southern lines once more. Col Durfey's family have been staying with us for several days, as their yard (Col Bassett's place) is the skir- mishing ground & rifle balls are [per- forating?] the house a dozen times a day. You can't imagine how interesting it is, to witness the skirmishing. We have not had a great battle in town yet, but it is said Gen. Wise is anxious to draw the enemy above the College, & have a battle there.

            I wrote to you while the shelling

was at its height, & I am sure you will never as long as you live, have another

(Page 3)

                              4

letter, written under such circumstances. Num- bers & numbers of our poor people are camping out in the woods, fearful of the rifle balls, which are flying about in the streets, & of another shelling, which may be inflicted on us at any moment. Mrs. Sherwell & Annie & myself have never left the "old house" although almost everybody from this end of the town have taken refuge in the Asylum. I do not be- live there are half a dozen houses in town, all gone to the enemy, but I think Oliver's sentiments on the subject are correct that "nobody cares anything for him at Old Point & it is no use for him to go." The enemy sent a flag of truce up yesterday they say, to move a lady to Yorktown, but we think they had some concealed motive perhaps to acquire information as to our forces.

 The S. Carolina Cavalry are in battle array

in front of our house, watching for the ene- my & as they cannot get to their rations from up town they are in want of food, & Mrs. Sherwell & myself

  (Page 4)

                            5

are busy cooking for them. They say they hate to take food from the poor Wmsburg people, because they don't know how we are supplied with food & it does seem strange that we should have enough.

            It seems so strange to be able to write

what you please, as the Federal people were obliged to keep up such a very strict system of espionage, knowing that we had no sympathy with them, & in all Secession there is not a more loyal place than this persecuted old city. I have no occasion to complain of bad treatment, for they have never annoyed me in the least, & even when they search our homes, they are perfectly polite. The morning of Good Friday we had a whole com- pany of Infantry, from New York City, to search the house for rebels, arms & contraband goods; They supposed some of the rebels had remained from the raid the previous week. I think the Capt must have been one of the New York detectives.

(Page 5)

He conducted the search in such a th[o]rough & scientific manner. One of our keys was tied with a blue ribbon, & a Federal soldier said, "I did not think your sol- diers would let you have anything blue." Their papers call our people Gray backs & butternuts, you know the Georgia brown uniform is the color of the nut called the butternut, but it does seem so strange not to see that perpetual blue uniform, which has greeted our eyes the first thing in the morn, & the last at night for nearly a year.

             The garden is like fairy land, about 50

fruit trees in bloom, & hundreds of birds blue, red, & yellow, & robins & blackbirds in flocks; no one to disturb them, all the grass having been taken from the boys a bout town by the enemy & where our people fled their homes in the street flocks of bird come to eat the corn which is left.

              Col. Mumford came to see his family

for 2 hours today, but Mrs. M was so

(written upside down at top of page)

It is such a strange state of things here gentle men make all the biscuits sweep out the house & do all the work servants used to do

          (Page 6)

much afraid the enemy might come in at any moment, that she was anxious for him to hurry off.

          Only one shell struck the "old house",

& that did not injure it all. I was in the Library when it struck, just under the window sill, a fragment of shell. I have never felt the first sensation of fear, since the enemy came in, the 6th of May, until the present moment, & felt that if I was killed either by a musket ball when they were fighting just at our door, or by a shell, I should rejoin all I loved, there is joy ineffable in the thought.

             The saddest night I have witnessed was

the procession of men carrying cots to Fort McGruder, when our people were attacking it, but we had none wounded though the shelling was going on vigorous- ly before they started, while they were going, & after they came back. They went & came through Mr. Bucktrout's field, so you see the engagement will be long re- membered by us, as it seemed to me this

(Written upside down at top of page) Whenever you wish to write to me direct yr letters first to me & then put them in an envelope directed to Miss Eliza Warren care of Col Tabb Wise's [Legion?] James City Co

(Page 7)

spot where we are, was where most of their shells fell. The troops were sitting at our gate along the fence to escape the shelling (you know you are safer if sitting down) & Lieut Walker from King & Queen came in the porch, told us a very sad piece of intelligence which I trust is not true, that [?] Father was dead, I liked & respected him so much & should be truly sorry to think he was dead. None of you or Lizzie H even mention [?] or M. C. when you write. Liz begs me to come to her. I wrote to you & her 3 days since.

         The enemy unfortunately expected our people

& reinforced with Infantry, for many nights before our people came in the enemy would not let us have a light at night for fear it should be a signal to our people, who had guerrillas surrounding the town, & any time you waken in the night, for 10 or 14 days past you could hear the sharp sound of the rifles. Just as Mrs. Sherwell, Annie & myself would get to reading & sewing at night, we would hear the clanking of swords & tap at the window, & the Yankee soldiers saying

(written upside down at top of page) Winnie's Father & Mother are well & all her Friends[?] & they send love

(Page 8)

"Shut your light out," which we would most obediently & submissively do, & as soon as they were out of sight, light the lamp again. Mrs. Sher- well is exceeding literary & intelligent, & sits up half the night reading, & she & Annie say, they never like to leave the Library. Mrs. S. has lived in ten different states & has a vast fund of experience. She has lived in Norfolk, Brooklyn, New York, Phila, Nash vill, Baltimore, [?], & Missouri. She was brought up by Mrs. Kemp, Mr. [Leroy?] An- derson's sister & educated by Mr. A.

             Every noise I hear I look out to see if

the enemy are approaching, as our people are just at the end of our [bit?] expecting them. They say they have rec reinforce- ments within the last few hours, & our people are also expecting reinforcements. Now don't we live in exciting times.

              You can't imagine how we feel when

our people leave us after a raid, we always hope they have come to stay & when we see them leaving us we feel like the "Captive Knight in the [?] Tower" You

(Page 9)

"They have gone! They have all passed by! They in whose wars I had borne my part, They that I loved with a Brother's heart, They have left me here to die!" Sound again, clarion! Clarion pour my blast Sound for the captive's dream of hope is past.

           This may all seem to you absurd, but

I can't express my feelings better than by the above quotation for we have done so much for the army in the S. Con- federacy, you don't know how much we have suffered in their cause & how many privations we have endured for them for our house was filled with provisions enough to last for years, & it was all used in [six?] months but you know we could not let 8 hospitals be near us & not help to keep the poor creatures alive. The even- ing of the battle of Fort Magruder, I had a barrel of flour baked & that was not enough, to keep the poor hungry soldiers who came to our door cold and chilling rain wet wounded bleeding & famish -

(Written upside down at top of page) Gladstone made the speech I refer to, as far back as October & mention was made of the fleet for the "Emperor of China" in [?] a Feb. no. of the Herald

(page 10)

                     11

ing from the battlefield. You cannot know my feelings when the next morning all, about a hundred who had slept at our house the night before as sunrise bade us good bye, & told me to make haste & efface every trace of Confederate Soldiers having been there for the enemy would be in half an hour, & they did come, but so far from tearing the house to pieces as I had thought they would they were very polite & agreeable & some very elegant officers amongst them not withstanding our prejudice to them, I have seen some in their army, who were ex- ceeding agreeable.

         It is so strange not to be a prisoner, you

know we have not been allowed to go out of the confines of the town for nearly a year. I suppose you know that in England private individuals are building a fleet for the Southern Confederacy. I read in the New York Herald 50 vessels are to come over soon. The Queen won't let her people build ships for a people at war & they say they are for the Chinese & call Jeff Davis the

(page 11)

Emperor of China. Gladstone member of Parliament made a speech at New Castle upon Tyne in which he says, we have heard of the nation Jeff Davis has crea- ted & we have seen the navy {Now?] this [looks?] as if he had just been to the docks & seen the ships for us. All this in a northern paper & in slanting letters to give it more point, but you know [Bennet?] speaks two words for the South & one for the north. I say, the Southern Confederacy is like what [Heathen?] mythology says of Minerva, who sprang into being full grown & completely armed.

    The only news we even hear from [Secessia?]

is from the northern papers taking extracts from the Southern papers. I have not [heard - crossed out?] seen but 2 R papers for a year.

    I have heard that our people are heavily

reinforced uptown & that Gov Wise has taken the Asylum under his charge. Mrs. Goodman wife to one of the officers at the asylum says that they refused their rations two weeks & gave them to the poor patients who were suffering for food.

(Written upside down on top of page) Every thing like food I have sent to those at the Asylum who were most sick & helpless but what can one person do in such a case. All the servants almost have left them.

(Page 12)