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AN  ERRAND  TO  THE  SOUTH. 


ZAXDON  :    PEINTBD  BT  WILLIAM  CLOWES  AND  SONS,  STAMPOKD  OTBEBT 
AND  CHAKING  CEOSS. 


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AN 


ERRAND  TO  THE  SOUTH 


IN  THE 


SUMMER    OF    1862. 


BY  THE 

EEV.  WILLIAM  WTNDHAM  MALET. 


Extracts  from  Farewell  Address  of  George  Wdshingtcn,  President,  to  the 

People  of  the  United  States,  Sept.  11, 1796. 
"  Is  there  a  doubt,  whether  a  common  government  can  embrace  so  large  a 
sphere  ?— Let  experience  solve  it.''— Paragraph  xiv, 

'•  In  contemplating  the  causes  which  may  distnrb  our  Union,  it  occurs  as  a 
matter  of  serious  concern,  that  any  ground  should  have  been  furnished  for 
cliaracterislng  parties  by  geographical  discriminations— Northern  and  Southern 
—Atlantic  and  Western."— Paragraph  xv. 


LONDON: 

RICHARD  BENTLEY,  NEW  BURLINGTON  STREET, 

Pul3li!^J)pr  in  ^rtrtnars  to  ^cr  ^aJeiStg. 

SEBi  k>r 


1863.    T' 


riATC 


Dec  1  6 


t99^ 


'2  -i- 


1>^ 


PREFACE. 


An  English  lady,  married  to  an  influential  planter  in 
South  Carolina,  had  been  bereaved  of  three  of  her 
nearest  and  dearest  relatives  in  England  ;  but  as  no 
letters  could  reach  her,  it  was  determined  that  one 
of  her  family  should  convey  to  her  the  sad  tidings, 
and  comfort  her  in  her  distress.  The  writer  of  these 
memoranda  was  the  one  selected  for  the  errand. 


Though  he  kept  a  diary,  it  was  not  with  a  view  of 
publication  (and  he  here  humbly  apologizes  for  pre- 
suming to  offer  such  desultory  matter  for  that  pur- 
pose) ;  but  several  of  his  friends  being  of  opinion  that 
interesting  information  might  hereby  be  conveyed  to 
English  readers — especially  as  so  few  Enghsh  tra- 
vellers have  visited  the  districts  mentioned — he  ven- 
tures to  throw  himseK  on  the  generosity  of  those  who 
may  honour  his  reminiscences  with  perusal ;  trusting 


vi  Pre/ace. 

that  the  many  imperfections  and,  perhaps,  repetitions 
which  will  occm*  in  a  narrative  made  up  from  a 
source  often  disturbed  by  troubles  and  difficulties, 
and  at  last  re-arranged  amidst  the  many  engage- 
ments which  fall  on  a  clergyman  in  charge  of  a  poor 
and  straggling  parish,  will  meet  with  leniency, 
leading  to  forgiveness. 

W.  Wyndham  Malet, 

Vicar  of  Arddey^  near  Buntingford,  Herts. 


P.S.  —  I  have  to  thank  the  Messrs.  Forsyth 
Brothers,  of  St.  Ann  Street,  Manchester,  for  their 
kind  permission  to  insert  a  copy  of  the  music  for  the 
song  "  Maryland." 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 
IVom  England  to  Washington   .. 

PAGE 
1 

CHAPTER  II. 

Down  South 

..       25 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  Olject  Gained          

..       43 

I 


CHAPTER  IV. 

A  Move  to  the  Sea,  and  First  Visit  to  the  Plantation  . .       78 

CHAPTER  V. 

Off  to  Columbia  and  the  Refuge  Plantation     ..  ..       86 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Back  at  the  Befuge,  and  then  to  the  Wahamah  and  the 

BlocJcaders    ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..      109 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Bach  to  Conwaybord      „         ..  ..  ..  ..     138 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
First  Visit  to  Bichmond — President  Davis     ..  ..     152 


viii  '      Contents, 

CHAPTER  IX. 

PAGE 

Mrs.  Davis  at  Home       ..  ..  ..  ..  ..     170 


CHAPTER  X. 

Mr.  Mason  a  Friend  to  England — Visit  to  BoanoTce 

Biver,  &c.     ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..     179 


CHAPTER  XI. 
Again  to  Winsboro'         ..  ..  ..  ..  ..      198 

CHAPTER  XII. 
Off  to  the  Mountains       ..  ..  .«  ..  ..     213 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Down  to  the  Plains         . .  . .  . .  . .  . .      253 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
Off  to  Bichmond  and  New  Tork  ..  . .  . .     276 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Off  for  New  Yoi^k,  en  route  for  Home  ..  ..      29(3 

APPENDIX. 

My  Maryland      ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..     308 


EBRATA. 

Page  280,  line  3,  for  "  Killokaleeka,"  read  "  Killekenick." 
Page  301,  line  4,  for  "  Galena,"  read  "  Gallena." 


AN  ERRAND  TO  THE  SOUTH 


IN 


THE  SUMMEE  OF  1862. 


CHAPTEK  I. 

From  England  to  Washington. 

Among  the  inconvenient  results  of  the  war  between 
the  Federal  and  Confederate  States  of  America  may 
be  reckoned  the  stoppage  of  the  mails.  Pohtical 
animosities  between  "North"  and  "South "might 
in  many  cases  render  tolerable  the  severance  of 
epistolary  communication  in  the  New  World;  but 
sore  has  the  privation  been  to  thousands  of  kin- 
dred hearts  in  England  and  France  on  one  side 
of  the  Atlantic,  and  the  Southern  States  on  the 
other :  so  that  indeed  the  "  King  of  Hearts  "  might 
justly  have  raised  his  sceptre  against  this  strife  as 
well  as  "  King  Cotton."     Though  the  first  steamer 


2  An  Errand  to  the  South 

between  England  and  America  in  1819  went  to 
Savannah  in  Soutli  Carolina,  yet  New  York  has 
long  monopolized  the  mails  even  to  beyond  the 
precincts  of  the  United  States. 

For  some  months  after  the  war  broke  out,  letters 
from  Europe  could  be  sent  through  the  Consuls  at 
the  various  ports,  transmitted  from  the  Foreign 
Office;  but  by  the  autumn  of  1861  even  this  mode 
of  communication  was  interdicted  on  remonstrance 
from  the  United  States'  Government. 

A  paragraph  had  just  gone  the  round  of  the 
papers  that  Mr.  Secretary  Stanton  had  forbidden 
any  more  foreigners  going  South. 

Many  declared  I  could  not  succeed.  Some  ad- 
vised me  to  run  the  blockade.  In  a  note  to  a 
kind  friend  even  Mr.  Adams  had  said,  "I  fear,  from 
the  increasing  severity  of  the  war,  the  prospect  of 
success  is  not  very  great." 

I  called  on  Mr.  Adams,  and  told  him  the  sad 
history  of  our  bereavements.  At  once  his  heart 
was  moved,  and  he  gave  me  the  following  letter  to 
Mr.  Seward: — 

"  London,  5th  May,  1862. 

"  Dear  Sir, 

"  You  may  remember  that  some  time  since  I 
sent  to  your  care  a  letter  addressed  by  a  Mr. 


in  the  Summer  of  1 862.  3 

to  his  sister  in  South  Carolina  to  apprise  her  of  the 
death  of  a  sister  in  this  country.  Since  then  the 
family  have  experienced  another  bereavement,  and 
they  have  concluded  to  send  one  of  their  number 
personally  to  communicate  this  event  to  her.  The 
Eev.  W.  W.  Malet,  the  bearer  of  this  note,  is  the 
person.  At  their  solicitation  I  have  given  him  this 
note,  as  they  hope  by  means  of  it  that  his  access  to 
the  disaffected  region  may  be  in  a  degree  facihtated. 
"  I  am  very  truly  yours, 
(Signed)  "  C.  F.  Adams. 

«  To  the  Hon.  W.  H.  Seward,  WasMngton." 

Earl  Eussell  was  so  kind  as  to  give  me  a  letter 
to  Lord  Lyons  at  the  request  of  my  brother,  Her 
Majesty's  Minister  at  Frankfort-on-Maine. 

To  these  preparations  was  added  the  family  unit- 
ing in  prayer.  , 

I  afterwards  called  on  Mr.  Mason,  Commissioner 
from  the  Confederate  States,  and  obtained  from  him 
introductions  to  General  Huger  (then  commanding 
at  Norfolk,  Virginia),  and  Mr.  Pickens,  Governor 
of  South  CaroUna. 

On  Saturday,  10th  of  May,  I  went  on  board  the 
K.M.S.  "  Scotia," — her  first  voyage — a  splendid  ship 


4  An  Errand  to  the  South 

of  the  Cunard  line,  412  feet  long,  48  feet  wide,  1000 
horse-power. 

On  the  11th,  by  permission  of  Captain  Judkins,  I 
said  prayers  and  preached  in  the  saloon. 

On  the  19th,  Captain  Judkins  read  the  service ; 
and  I  never  heard  any  one  read  better. 

On  the  saloon  table  on  Sundays  are  placed  a 
beautiful  large  Prayer-book  and  Bible  for  the 
reader;  and  prayer-books  are  laid  down  the  full 
length  for  the  passengers  and  crew.  This  is  the 
good  way  in  aU  these  ships ;  and,  besides,  they  are 
furnished  with  well-selected  hbraries. 

On  the  20th  of  May  the  pilot  came  on  board ; 
and  that  afternoon  my  eyes  fell  for  the  first  time  on 
America. 

Great  were  the  rejoicings  of  the  Northerners  on 
board  on  hearing  of  the  occupation  of  Norfolk  by 
the  Federal  troops,  and  of  the  blowing  up  of  the 
"  Merrimac." 

The  "  Scotia  "  went  up  to  New  York  by  night  on 
the  20th  of  May,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  21st 
we  looked  on  the  noble  Hudson,  the  enormous 
ferry  arks  with  their  "  walking  beams,"  (as  the  top 
engine  movement  is  called),  and  steam  horns,  were 
striding  from  shore  to  shore.  The  landing-place 
is  on  the  Jersey-city  bank  of  the  river,  where  we 


in  the  Summer  of  i  S62.  5 

easily  passed  the  Custom-house.  I  joined  a  fellow- 
passenger  in  a  carriage,  which  was  driven  on  to  the 
floating  platform,  and  a  few  strides  of  the  mighty- 
engine  did  the  mile  across  to  New  York  landing; 
then  came  the  first  sight  of  the  far-famed  Broad- 
way, and  a  drive  along  it  for  about  two  miles 
brought  us  to  the  Clarendon,  a  capital  hotel  kept 
by  Messrs.  Kerner  and  Birch  in  the  Fourth  Avenue 
(Union  Park).  The  people  in  New  York  seemed 
to  be  going  on  as  if  there  was  no  war,  and 
in  conversation  there  was  an  avoidance  of  the 
topic. 

On  the  23rd  of  May  I  started  for  Washington  via 
Amboy,  about  thirty  miles  down  the  river,  two  hours' 
steam;  the  train  left  Amboy  at  4,  and  reached 
Philadelphia,  sixty-three  miles,  at  6.30  ;  single  line, 
five-feet  gauge,  no  fences,  and  at  cross  roads  no  gates, 
only  notice  in  large  letters,  *'  Look  out  for  the  loco- 
motive." Philadelphia,  I  was  told,  has  800,000 
inhabitants.  Stevens'  "  Continental  Hotel "  has  350 
beds,  75  waiters,  25  baths,  and  screw  steam-lift  to 
go  to  upper  stories. 

The  train  left  Philadelphia  at  11  p.m.  I  took  a 
berth  in  a  sleeping-car  containing  sixty  berths,  and 
reached  Washington  on  the  25th  at  6  a.m.  Here  I 
was  received  most  kindly  by  Lord  Lyons.      The 


6  An  Errand  to  the  South 

following  day  I  saw  Mr.  Seward's  Secretary,  (Ms 
son),  who  took  Mr.  Adams'  letter,  and  one  from 
Lord  Lyons.  I  was  to  call  again:  visited  the 
Capitol,  where  both  Senate  and  Congress  were  in 
Session ;  heard  "  Confiscation  Bill "  read  in  Congress, 
but  when  put  to  the  vote  it  was  lost ;  there  was  no 
excitement,  no  speaking  on  it.  Senators  are  chosen 
for  six  years,  and  Congress  men  for  two ;  the  rooms 
are  very  fine  and  spacious,  and  ventilation  perfect ; 
each  member  has  his  desk.  I  observed  none  of 
those  grotesque  attitudes  which  some  writers  have 
attributed  to  these  assemblies ;  and  not  wearing  hats 
in  the  house  is  a  decided  improvement  on  the  usage 
of  our  British  Parliament.  Votes  are  taken  by  a 
clerk  calling  names,  which  is  rather  tedious.  Each 
State  sends  two  Senators,  but  Congress  members 
are  according  to  population ;  Senators  and  Members  of 
Congress  have  salaries  of  600?.  and  500/.  a  year  re- 
spectively, and  travelling  expenses.  I  now  began  to 
hear  the  rumours  of  war:  great  excitement  at 
Willards'  Hotel;  news  that  the  Confederates  had 
beaten  Banks  at  Winchester,  taken  Fort  Eoyal  and 
threatened  Harper's  Ferry;  Government  take  up 
trains  for  troops ;  the  Confederates  might  come  down 
on  the  Potomac  and  take  Washington.  Again  at 
Mr.  Seward's  office  on  the  27th  of  May,  when  I  was 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  7 

informed  my  letters  had  been  sent  to  the  War  Office, 
whence  I  should  receive  an  answer. 

On  the  28th  went  on  steam-boat  to  Mount  Yemon, 
about  sixteen  miles  down  the  Potomac.  It  is  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  river,  in  the  State  of  Virginia, 
county  of  Faiifax :  the  banks  are  beautifully  wooded. 
You  land,  and  at  once  ascend  through  trees,  and 
soon  reach  a  step  in  the  hill ;  here  is  the  sepulchre 
of  Washington.  There  was  a  numerous  party 
of  ladies  and  gentlemen  from  the  boat.  I  ex- 
pected to  see  the  latter  stand  uncovered  there.  I 
felt  a  reverence  for  the  place,  and  took  off  my  hat — 
several  gentlemen  then  did  the  same.  A  cloud  ob- 
scured the  bright  May  sun,  and  a  gentle  shower  fell 
on  our  heads  as  tears  from  heaven  weeping  for  the  mi- 
series which  now  afflict  the  land  for  which  he  fought. 

I  remembered,  that  not  long  before,  the  eldest  son 
of  our  beloved  Queen  had  stood  uncovered  on  the 
same  spot.  The  dust  of  the  great  republican  rests 
in  a  cave  in  the  rocky  bank,  with  a  walled  front  and 
iron  grill  gate,  within  which  are  two  coffin-shaped 
tombs.  On  the  one  to  the  right  is  inscribed 
"Washington,"  and  on  that  to  the  left  "Martha, 
consort  of  Washington,  died  May  21,  1801,  aged 
71  years."  On  Washington's  is  this  inscription: 
"  By  the  permission  of  Lawrence  Lewis,  the  surviving 


8  An  Errand  to  the  South 

Executor  of  G.  Washington,  this  Sarcophagus  was 
presented  by  J.  Struthers  of  Philadelphia,  marble 
mason,  a.d.  1833." 

Over  the  entrance  to  the  vault  is  this  text : — "  I 
am  the  resurrection  and  the  life,  saith  the  Lord :  he 
that  believeth  in  me,  though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall 
he  live ;  and  whosoever  liveth  and  believeth  in  me 
shall  never  die."  St.  John  xi.  25,  26.  He  died  at 
Mount  Yemon,  on  the  14th  Dec.  1799,  aged  67 
years.  By  direction  of  the  president,  John  Adams, 
Major-General  Henry  Lee,  one  of  the  representatives 
from  the  state  of  Virginia,  prepared  and  delivered 
the  funeral  oration  in  the  city  of  Washington  on  the 
26th  of  December.  On  the  28th  of  March,  1800,  it 
was  "  resolved  in  Congress,  that  all  letters  and 
packets  to  and  from  Mrs.  Martha  Washington,  relict 
of  the  late  General  George  Washington,  shall  be 
received  and  conveyed  by  post  free  from  postage 
for  and  during  her  life." 

The  house  is  on  a  beautiful  site.  Here  the  modern 
Cincinnatus  cultivated  his  farm ;  he  had  some  thou- 
sands of  acres  of  land,  extensive  woods,  wild  shooting, 
meadows,  and  arable,  and  a  capital  garden.  By  a 
subscription  from  ladies,  20Q  acres  have  been  pre- 
served round  the  house,  of  which  two  ladies  are  in 
charge  (two  Miss  Traceys),  and  Mr.  Hubbard  is  the 


I 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  9 

careful  steward  of  the  spot  consecrated  to  liberty. 
In  the  hall  is  hung  up  a  large  rusty  key,  with  this 
inscription: — "  Key  of  the  Bastile.  Presented  to 
General  Washington  by  General  Lafayette,  on  the 
destruction  of  that  prison,  1789." 

Washington !  your  home  on  Mount  Yemon  seems 
to  teU  us  of  your  modest  stillness  and  humihty  in 
time  of  peace;  but  history  tells  us,  that  to  obtain 
Hberty  for  your  country,  you  could  imitate  the  action 
of  the  lion  in  time  of  war. 

The  time  came  when  the  child  of  Britain  was  no 
longer  to  be  held  in  leading-strings,  and  you  repre- 
sented the  manhood  which  was  to  be  independent  and 
to  add  lustre  to  the  great  Anglo-Saxo-Norman  race. 
The  Briton  now  coming  to  your  country  is  called  a 
"foreigner;"  but  is  not  that  a  misnomer?  The 
Atlantic  between  us  is  bridged  over  by  steam:  our 
family  names,  our  household  words,  our  language, 
our  religion,  are  all  the  same;  and  though  we  be 
now  two  peoples,  yet  surely  we  should  be  of  one 
mind!  By  the  separation  we  have  each  become 
stronger  in  ourselves,  and  each  the  more  benefiting 
the  other ;  just  as  the  son,  who  when  grown  up  goes 
out  to  distant  parts,  makes  his  fortune,  and  raises 
a  family,  adds  to  the  strength  and  endurance  of 
his   house.     Yes,  there  must  be  a  time  when   the 


10  An  Errand  to  the  South 

very  prosperity  of  a  nation,  increased  by  coloni- 
zation, calls  for  it  to  add  to  the  independencies  of 
the  earth ;  and  cruel  and  impolitic  was  the  British 
Government  to  her  American  son,  by  treating  him 
still  as  a  boy,  and  attempting  to  coerce  him  to  re- 
main dependent  on  the  parent  when  he  was  grown 
up,  and  ready  and  willing  to  shift  for  himself. 

While  on  the  Potomac,  I  cannot  resist  inserting 
some  heart-touching  lines,  with  an  extract  from  the 
"  South  Carolina  Church  Intelligencer,"  which  were 
given  me  for  my  diary : — 

"  The  following  poem  is  so  beautiful,  and  from  all 
we  hear  has  proved  so  acceptable  to  the  readers  of 
the  *  Church  Intelligencer '  generally,  that,  at  the 
request  of  some,  we  have  consented  to  reproduce  it. 
We  first  observed  it  in  the  Charleston  *  Courier,' 
which  gave  it  as  taken  from  a  Western  paper,  the 
original  manuscript  having  been  found  in  the  pocket 
of  a  volunteer,  who  died  in  camp  on  the  Potomac. 
Who  he  was,  or  where  from,  was  not  said.  It  is  but 
fair  to  infer,  however,  from  the  poem  having  found 
its  way  into  print  in  the  West  first,  that  the  writer 
was  from  that  section,  and  was  one  of  the  Federal 
army.  But  be  that  as  it  may,  he  discovers  a  very 
high  degree  of  true  poetic  temperament  and  talent. 
It  is  doubtful  whether  the  English  language  fur- 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  11 

nishes  anything  more  touching,  more  true  to  nature, 
or  a  finer  specimen  of  word-painting.  One  finds 
himself  carried  away  by  the  smooth,  flowing  harmony 
of  the  rhythm,  and  the  truly  poetic  cast  of  the 
thought  and  expression ;  but  especially,  by  the  Hving 
picturesqueness  of  the  scene.  Like  a  true  picture,  it 
becomes  the  more  life-hke  the  oftener  it  is  seen  and 
the  longer  it  is  gazed  upon — the  objects,  at  every 
new  view,  standing  more  fairly  out,  and  growing 
more  distinct  and  impressive,  till  you  at  once  see 
and  deeply  feel  the  whole  fancy  sketch  before  you. 
It  is  in  fact  the  work  of  a  master — a  natural  artist,  in 
the  truest  sense  of  the  words,  whose  name  ought  to 
be  rescued  from  oblivion  and  enrolled  among  those  of 
the  poets  of  his  country. 

"  A  few  very  slight  changes  have  been, introduced, 
I  which,  it  is  believed,  the  writer  would  have  made  if 
he  could  have  given  it  a  more  leisurely  review. — 
Ed." 


ALL  QUIET  ALONG  THE  POTOMAC  TO-NIGHT.' 


All  quiet  along  the  Potomac,"  they  say, 
"  Except  now  and  then  a  stray  picket 
Is  shot,  as  he  walks  on  his  beat  to  and  fro, 
By  a  rifleman  hid  in  the  thicket." 


12  An  Errand  to  the  South 

'Tis  nothing — a  private  or  two,  now  and  then, 
Will  not  count  in  the  news  of  the  battle ; 

Not  an  officer  lost — only  one  of  the  men — 
Moaning  out,  all  alone,  the  death  rattle. 


All  quiet  along  the  Potomac  to-night, 

Where  the  soldiers  lie  peacefully  dreaming, 
As  their  tents  in  the  rays  of  the  clear  autumn  moon. 

Or  the  light  of  the  watch-fires,  are  gleaming. 
A  tremulous  sigh  of  the  gentle  night  wind 

Through  the  forest-leaves  slowly  is  creeping  : 
While  the  stars  up  above,  with  their  glittering  eyes. 

Keep  guard — for  the  army  is  sleeping. 

m. 

There's  only  the  sound  of  the  lone  sentry's  tread, 

As  he  tramps  from  the  rock  to  the  fountain. 
And  thinks  of  the  two  on  the  low  trundle-bed. 

Far  away  in  the  cot  on  the  mountain  ; 
His  musket  falls  slack — his  face,  dark  and  grim. 

Grows  gentle  with  memories  tender, 
As  he  mutters  a  prayer  for  the  children  asleep — 

For  their  mother — may  Heaven  defend  her ! 

IV. 

The  moon  seems  to  shine  as  brightly  as  then, 

That  night  when  the  love  yet  unspoken 
Leaped  up  to  his  lips,  and  when  low  murmured  vows 

Were  pledged,  to  be  ever  unbroken  ; 
Then  drawing  his  sleeve  roughly  over  his  eyes. 

He  dashes  off  tears  that  are  welling. 
And  gathers  his  gun  closely  up  to  its  place. 

As  if  to  keep  do^vn  the  heart-swelling. 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  13 

V. 

lie  passes  the  fountain,  the  blasted  pine  tree, 

The  footsteps  are  lagging  and  weary, 
Yet  onward  he  goes,  through  the  broad  belt  of  light, 

Toward  the  shades  of  a  wood  dark  and  dreary. 
Hark !     Was  it  the  night  wind  that  rustled  the  leaves  ? 

Was't  the  moonlight  so  wondrously  flashing  ? 
It  looked  like  a  rifle — "  Ha ! — Mary,  good-bye  !" 

And  the  life-blood  is  ebbing  and  plashing. 


All  quiet  along  the  Potomac  to-night, 

No  sound  save  the  rush  of  the  river ; 
While  soft  falls  the  dew  on  the  face  of  the  dead — 

The  picket  off  duty  for  ever ! 

On  Ascension-day,  29th  May,  I  went  early,  before 
7  A.M.,  to  the  church  of  the  Epiphany,  when  the 
Churchwarden,  the  venerable  Judge  Higgins,  re- 
quested me  to  celebrate  the  Holy  Communion  for 
the  Kector,  the  Kev.  Dr.  Hall,  who  was  detained 
at  Baltimore  on  the  Church  Convention.  I  adminis- 
tered to  about  250  communicants,  who  received  the 
blessed  Sacrament  with  decent  and  earnest  devotion ; 
and  fragrant  and  beautiftd  were  the  flowers  which 
the  ladies  of  the  congregation  had  arranged  in  pro- 
fusion on  the  altar  and  the  font.  No  puritanical 
asceticism  had  here  curbed  the  zeal  of  those  daugh- 
ters of  the  Church,  emulating  that  which  led  to  the 
outpouring  of  the  odoriferous  ointments  on  the  body 


14  An  Errand  to  the  South 

of  her  Divine  Founder.  The  magnoHas  were  really 
"  grandiflora,"  and  their  perfumes  floated  through 
the  sanctuary.  Alas  !  I  have  heard  that  this  church 
is  now  turned  into  a  hospital  for  sick  and  wounded 
soldiers. 

On  this  day  I  was  honoured  by  an  interview  with 
Mr.  Stanton,  Secretary  of  War.  I  was  ushered  into 
his  open  room,  without  any  announcement,  and  was 
not  aware  that  the  gentleman  who  was  standing  at  a 
high  desk  was  the  far-famed  official  till,  in  reply  to 
my  self-introduction  and  mention  of  my  business,  he 
said,  **  I  cannot  give  you  a  pass,  Mr.  Malet,  to  go 
to  South  Carolina  at  present :  I  will  give  you  one 
when  Charleston  is  taken,  and  that  will  be  very 
soon."  In  answer  to  my  request  that  he  would  be  so 
kind  as  to  inform  me  when  that  event  took  place,  he 
said,  "  You  will  see  it  in  the  papers."  The  office 
was  full  of  gentlemen  apparently  connected  with  the 
military  and  contract  departments,  who  were  crowd- 
ing round  the  desk ;  one  of  them  appeared  particu- 
larly anxious  for  an  answer  to  his  application,  and 
the  Secretary  put  on  a  hat,  as  if  about  to  retire,  when 
the  importunate  apphcant  said,  "  You  have  got  my 
hat."  The  Secretary  said,  "I  wish  I  had  your 
head."  The  reply  was :  ''  I  would  not  change  places 
with  you  though."     I  record  this  merely  to  show  the 


in  the  Summer  of  i  ^62.  1 5 

utter  absence  of  all  formality  in  the  American 
officials.  Mr.  Stanton  is  of  short  stature,  strong 
made,  with  dark  hair  and  beard,  and  of  a  deter- 
mined expression  of  countenance — certainly  a  man 
that  would  not  give  in  if  he  could  help  it :  his  fame 
as  a  lawyer  is  settled  by  his  success  in  saving  Sickles 
from  the  sword  of  justice.  I  found  great  civility  in 
Mr.  Potts,  the  head  clerk ;  who  the  same  day  told 
me  he  thought  Mr.  Stanton  would  give  me  a  pass  to 
go  by  Port  Koyal — but  this  route  had  many  objec- 
tions. The  letters  forwarded  from  Mr.  Seward's 
office  had  been  mislaid. 

After  Divine  service  the  next  day,  the  Kev.  Dr. 
Hall  offered  to  go  with  me  to  Mr.  Stanton,  as  he  was 
a  member  of  his  congregation.  Not  a  day  was  to  be 
lost — the  hot  season  was  at  hand:  I  found  *'the 
benefit  of  clergy."  We  sat  down  all  three  together, 
Mr.  Stanton  smoking  his  cigar.  I  had  obtained  a 
letter  from  Mr.  Seward's  office,  stating  my  letters 
from  Mr.  Adams  and  Lord  Lyons  had  been  forwarded 
to  the  War  Office,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  far- 
sounded  name  of  "Edward  Stanton,  Secretary  of 
War,"  was  signed  to  the  follovmig : — 

"  War  Department,  May  30th,  1862. 
"Mr.  Malet  has  permission   to  go   to  Fortress 


1 6  An  Errand  to  the  South 

Monroe,  Newbern,  or  Port  Eoyal ;  and,  with  consent 
of  the  Commanders  of  the  respective  departments,  to 
pass  through  the  lines." 

President  Lincoln  and  Mr.  Secretary  Seward 
were  both  in  the  next  room,  and  at  my  request  Mr. 
Stanton  introduced  me  to  them. 

A  slight  sketch  of  the  two  men  whose  names  are 
now  so  much  before  the  world  may  here  not  be  mis- 
placed. 

The  President,  who  was  neatly  dressed  in  a  suit 
of  black,  is  full  six  feet  two  inches  in  height,  of 
spare  and  upright  figure;  his  hair  is  black;  his 
eyes  have  a  remarkably  calm  expression;  his  fea- 
tures are  strongly  marked;  his  complexion  dark; 
his  address  and  manner  betokening  perfect  self- 
possession  ;  very  ready  to  enter  into  conversation, 
and  to  set  you  at  once  at  your  ease. 

A  perfect  contrast  is  Mr.  Seward :  a  man  of  small 
stature;  rather  grey,  with  prominent  nose  and 
penetrating  eyes ;  reserved  in  manner.  When  I 
first  saw  him  in  the  corridor  he  wore  a  broad- 
brimmed  Mexican  hat,  and  was  smoking  his  cigar. 

Lord  Lyons  soon  congratulated  me  on  my  success. 

Next  day  I  paid  my  respects  to  the  President  at 
"  the  White  House,"  and  was  most  kindly  received. 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  17 


^P  that  when  employed  as  a  lawyer  to  settle  the  French 
claims  in  Illinois  he  had  met  with  my  name.     We 
pored  together  over  a  comparative  chart  of  rivers, 
which  showed  that  America  had  the  two  largest  rivers 
in  the  world — Mississippi  and  Amazon — the  former 
4400  miles  long!      He  told  me  they  used  hard, 
unbituminous  coal  in  the  United  States  navy,  giving 
great  force  of  fire  without  the  slightest  smoke,  so 
that  the  approach  of  their  men-of-war  is  not  seen 
over  the  horizon  or  in  rivers.     He  lamented  the 
occurrence  of  the  war,  observing,  that  "  if  he  could 
have  foreseen  it,  he  would  not  have  accepted  the 
office  of  President."    After  I  had  sat  in  conver- 
sation with  Mr.  Lincoln  about  twenty  minutes,  Mr. 
Seward  came  in,  when  I  took  my  leave,  both  shak- 
ing me  cordially  by  the  hand — Mr.  Seward   not 
speaking  a  word;   but  with  an  expression  in  his 
hand  and  look,  as  if  he  knew  my  errand  and  wished 
me  success. 

While  I  am  writing  these  mems,  I  read  in  a  letter 
of  the  "Times"  correspondent  from  New  York, 
date  November  15th,  1862,  "  President  Lincoln  is 
pre-eminently  a  merciful  man ;"  and  I  believe  if  it 
were  not  for  the  official  pride  which  all  earthly 
governments  are  liable  to  fall  into,  the  war  would 

c 


1 8  An  Errand  to  the  South 

never  have  been  begun,  and  would  now  be  stop- 
ped. While  dreaming  of  the  rivalries  of  power, 
they  are  too  often  blind  to  the  real  interests  of 
the  people,  whose  weal  they  sacrifice  to  the  glory 
of  a  flag.  So  it  was  with  Lord  North  in  the  last 
century. 

On  the  1st  of  June,  Sunday  after  Ascension,  I 
preached  for  Dr.  Hall  in  the  church  of  the  Epiphany 
on  the  text  over  Washington's  tomb.  Keferring  to 
that  great  man,  his  love,  his  self-denial,  I  could  not 
but  express  sorrow  that  the  country  was  afflicted  by 
war,  alluding  to  the  special  prayer  which  had  just 
been  offered,  viz.,  "  That  God  would  judge  between 
those  engaged  in  the  miserable  strife  by  which  this 
country  is  now  rent  and  torn  asunder."  After 
service.  Judge  Higgins  entered  the  vestry,  and  asked 
me  to  dine;  but  I  took  my  early  dinner  with  the 
worthy  Kector,  who  had  done  me  such  a  good  turn. 

I  was  sm^prised  to  find  at  Washington  that  a 
great  number  of  the  most  respectable  residents  had 
Southern  "  procHvities ;"  but  dangerous  would  have 
been  any  open  expression  of  feeling;  and  escape 
would  have  been  difficult  with  double  mounted  sen- 
tries at  each  comer  of  the  streets. 

Ambulances  loaded  with  wounded  were  coming  into 
W^ashington :  though  the  latitude  is  only  about  that 


in  the  Summer  of  i862.  19 


i 

IH  of  Naples,  the  heat  had  now  become  aknost  tropical. 
IH  "  Stonewall "  Jackson  was  reported  to  have  surprised 
IH  General  Casey  of  the  Northerners,  and  taken  three 
H  batteries  of  six  guns  each.  People  looked  very 
n  anxious.  The  telegram  boards  at  "Willards"' were 
empty.  Eumours  of  dreadful  carnage  near  Kich- 
mond,  which  turned  out  to  be  the  battle  of  "  Seven 
Pines." 

I  dined  at  the  British  Embassy  at  8  p.m.,  and  met 
the  Honourable  Mr.  Sumner,  Senator,  the  great 
abolition  leader — a  gentleman  of  imposing  appear- 
ance, who  has  travelled  much  in  Europe.  He  ap- 
peared in  dehcate  health ;  and  it  is  said  has  "never 
quite  recovered  from  the  blows  given  him  some  years 
ago  in  the  Capitol  by  Mr.  -Brook.  Mr.  Sumner 
seemed  to  feel  much  vexed  at  the  reverse  of  the 
Northern  army ;  but  he  declared  they  had  had  their 
revenge  by  driving  the  Southerners  back  to  their 
lines  by  a  bayonet  charge  of  "a  mile  and  a  half!" 
I  could  not  help  observing,  it  must  have  been  hot 
work  for  the  chargers. 

Even  in  the  midst  of  war  all  things  seemed  to 
favom*  my  sad  but  peaceful  errand.  Lord  Lyons 
said,  *'  I  have  good  news  for  you.  The  '  Kinaldo ' 
is  going  to  New  Orleans,  is  to  touch  at  Charleston, 
and  I  will  introduce  you  to  Captain  Hewett,  who 


20  An  Errand  to  the  South 

will,  I  am  sure,  give  you  a  passage  South ;  and  I 
haye  obtained  from  Mr.  Seward  permission  for  you 
to  land  at  Charleston."    Here  is  the  pass : — 

"Department  of  State, 

WasMngton,  June  1st,  1862. 

**  The  Kev.  W.  Wyndham  Malet,  a  British  subject, 
having  a  pass  from  the  War  Department  to  cross  the 
lines  of  the  United  States,  permission  is  hereby  given 
to  any  British  armed  vessel  to  land  him  in  any  port 
which  said  vessel  may  enter  in  the  intervening 
States,  under  the  direction  of  Her  Majesty's  Minister 
of  this  place. 

(Signed)  "William  H.  Seward." 

I  was  to  have  the  pleasure  of  the  company  of 
Mr.  Drury,  Queen's  Messenger,  as  far  as  Fortress 
Monroe ;  and  on  the  2nd,  at  11  a.m.,  we  left  by  train 
for  Baltimore,  fare  one  and  a  half  dollars ;  called  on 
the  Consul,  Mr.  Bemal,  brother  of  Bernal  Osborne, 
M.P. ;  dined  at  Guy's  Hotel ;  got  papers  at  General 
Dix's  office  from  Major  Ludlow;  and  walked  on 
to  the  United  States  chartered  steam-boat  at  4  p.m. 
Here  I  saw  immense  supplies  of  beef  and  mutton, 
packed  with  layers  of  ice  in  huge  bunks,  for  the  army. 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  2 1 

Tlie  passage  was  free,  only  payment  for  meals. 
Beached  Fortress  Monroe  at  6  a.m.  3rd  June,  180 
miles.  Great  confusion  on  the  pier ;  heaps  of 
cannon-balls  and  shells  landing ;  battles  said  to  be 
raging  at  Eichmond  ;  no  one  knows  whether  Gene- 
ral Jackson  who  had  beaten  Banks  won't  make  a 
dash  at  Washington ;  boat  off  from  the  "  Kinaldo"  ; 
Mr.  PhilHmore,  midshipman,  brings  four  or  five 
jolly  British  tars  on  board  to  take  our  luggage ;  mine 
was  hght  enough,  only  a  hand- valise.  What 
happy  inventions  are  flannel  shirts,  alpaca  suits, 
wide-awake  hats,  and  canvas  shoes !  In  a  few 
minutes  I  saluted  the  quarterrdeck  of  the  gallant 
ship  which  had  received  Messrs.  Mason  and  Shdell 
from  Fort  Warren  in  December  1861 ;  the  order  was 
to  convey  them  to  Halifax,  but  a  continued  gale 
forced  a  change  of  destination.  The  following 
extracts  from  the  log  will  give  an  idea  of  the  opposing 
elements  on  that  occasion : — 

**  27id  Jan.  1862. — Wheel-ropes  and  relieving- 
tackle  carried  away ;  main-topsail  spHt  to  pieces ; 
thick  weather  with  snow;  ice  forming  rapidly  on 
ropes  and  ship ;  at  11  split  fore-trysail  off  Cape 
Sable ;  sounding  every  hour ;  one  cutter  with  all 
her  gear  washed  away  by  sea ;  rope&  frozen  into  one 
mass  of  ice  ;  heavy  cross  sea.       * 


22  An  Errand  to  the  South 

*^Srd. — One  wlialer-boat  washed  away. 
"4iA. — Kopes  and  ship  a  mass  of  ice;  weather 
very  thick,  and  heavy  sea  ;  wind  contrary. 

"  5th. — Hot  water  sent  through  hoses  to  try  and 
thaw  the  ice  from  fore-tacks ;  watch  employed 
breaking  away  ice  from  ropes ;  weather  still  thick 
and  stormy  ;  barometer  falling ;  two  officers  and  eight 
men  frost-bitten ;  the  ropes  in  coils  frozen  into  thick 
blocks  of  ice,  therefore  impossible  to  work  the  ship 
under  sail ;  bore  up  for  Bermuda." 

Whence  they  went  to  St.  Thomas's ;  and  on  the 
14th  January,  Messrs.  Mason  and  Slidell,  with  their 
secretaries,  Messrs.  ^'Farland  and  Eustace,  were 
placed  on  board  the  K.  M.  S.  "  La  Plata,"  for  England. 
The  New  York  papers  stated  that  the  ship  was  lost, 
the  report  was  copied  into  *'  The  Times,"  and  Capt. 
Hewett  read  the  awful  words  as  to  himself,  and  his 
distinguished  guests,  and  all  his  crew,  having  gone 
to  the  bottom. 

My  admiration  and  love  for  this  noble  ship  and  her 
gallant  crew,  will,  I  hope,  excuse  this  digression ;  and 
having  brought  the  Southern  Commissioners  on  the 
tapis,  I  can't  help  indulging  my  admiration  and 
friendship  for  Lord  Lyons  in  recounting  the  able 
manner  in  which  his  Lordship  acted  in  that  diplo- 
matic difficulty,  and  I  hope  he  will  excuse  my  excess 


in  the  Summer  of  I S62.  23 

of  zeal  in  his  behalf,  for  I  know  his  modesty  will  rebel. 
I  got  the  little  history  over  a  cigar — I  can't  say 
where — and  I  believe  it  is  quite  tnie.  Lord  Lyons 
heard  of  the  *' Trent"  and  "San  Jacinto"  affair:  he 
saw  how  wrongly  Captain  Wilkes  had  acted.  Many 
ministers  would  have  insisted  at  once  on  the  de- 
liverance of  Mason  and  Slidell,  and  if  refused,  would 
have  left  the  Legation.  But  he  saw  the  excitement, 
and  resolved  to  let  it  blow  over  while  he  wrote  home 
for  instructions.  Meantime  his  Lordship  did  not 
trouble  any  of  the  state  oflBicials  with  his  presence, 
but  omitted  no  occasion  of  giving  his  opinion  that  the 
seizure  having  taken  place  on  a  neutral  vessel,  and 
in  neutral  waters,  was  contrary  to  the  law  of  nations. 
The  answer  came  insisting  on  deliverance  of  the  pri- 
soners. He  broke  this  to  Mr.  Seward  privately, 
and  Mr.  Seward  to  the  President.  The  Secretary 
said  they  would  be  given  up,  but  they  must  first 
sound  the  pubhc  through  the  papers ;  which  gave  Mr. 
Seward  time  to  make  out  his  plea  against  "right 
of  search,"  which  Lord  Lyons  gently  dissented  from. 
All  through,  Lord  Lyons  acted  like  a  straightforward 
English  gentleman. 

On  the  morning  after  the  battle  of  Bull  Kun,  in 
1861,  Lord  Lyons,  while  riding  out,  met  Mr.  Sew- 
ard, and  said :  "  Good-morning,  Mr.  Seward.    I  sup- 


24  An  Errand  to  the  South 

pose  you  will  now  allow  that  the  Southerners  are 
belligerents" — for  the  Northerners  were  flying  in 
great  numbers  back  to  Washington.  The  battle 
sight-seers  were  sorely  disappointed.  I  heard  this 
story  in  the  South. 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  25 


CHAPTEK  II. 

Down  South. 

The  "Kinaldo"  had  just  come  from  Norfolk,  about 
fiftesn  miles  from  Fort  Monroe.  Strange  to  say, 
the  face  of  her  gallant  commander  appeared  quite 
fe,miliar  to  me !  Could  I  have  seen  it  before  ?  and 
where  ?  Oh  yes,  in  the  Victoria  Cross  Gallery,  in 
Piccadilly. 

The  visit  of  H.  M.  S.  "  Einaldo  "  must  have  been 
an  agreeable  respite  to  Norfolk  society  from  the 
desagremens  of  provost-marshals  and  oaths  of  alle- 
giance, as  the  following  account  will  testify : — 

"On  Thursday,  28th  May,  H.  B.  M.  ship  '  Ki- 
naldo,'  17  guns,  Captain  Hewett,  was  the  scene  of 
a  very  lively  play  and  farce,  given  by  the  officers 
and  crew  (the  former  called  *  The  Golden  Farmer,' 


26  An  Errand  to  the  South 

the  latter  '  The  Toodles ').  It  was  honoured  by  the 
presence  of  the  elite  of  Norfolk.  A  great  number  of 
ladies  graced  the  assembly,  who  seemed  determined 
to  make  everything  go  off  as  agreeably  as  they 
could.  The  stage  was  rigged  on  the  quarterdeck, 
which  was  decorated  to  a  great  extent  with  flags 
and  Norfolk  flowers.  The  whole  went  off  better 
than  the  most  sanguine  could  have  imagined.  After 
the  acting  was  finished,  some  comic  and  nautical 
songs  followed,  which  were  greatly  applauded.  The 
party  then  were  regaled  with  supper,  after  which 
they  enjoyed  a  Httle  dancing,  and  then  dispersed. 
The  weather  was  very  propitious  for  the  occasion ; 
the  only  regret  being  that  the  *  Einaldo '  was  off  to 
sea  next  morning  at  10  a.m.  Next  day,  10.30,  left 
Norfolk  for  Hampton  Koads." 

Two  pretty  yachts  were  here,  the  "  Gipsy  "  and 
"Haze,"  from  New  York,  when  we  left  Fortress 
Monroe  on  the  5th  of  June.  The  screw,  Griffith's 
patent,  weighing  five  tons,  was  hoisted  up  on  deck, 
and  we  set  sail  with  a  fair  wind,  and  we  were  "  off 
for  Charleston."  On  the  6th,  in  lat.  34°  57"  N., 
long.  75^  18"  W.,  opposite  Cape  Hatteras,  the  ship 
was  suddenly  caught  in  a  cyclone,  which  she  rode 
out  in  beautiful  style.  We  were  in  the  Gulf  Stream. 
On  immersion  of  the  thermometer  it  showed  80° 


in  the  Summer  of  1 862.  27 

Fahrenheit.  The  gale  soon  blew  over,  and  we  kept 
on  our  course  with  a  fair  breeze  from  the  north- 
west ;  the  screw  was  raised  on  deck  in  five  minutes, 
and  on  sailed  the  ship, 

"  Speed  in  her  prow  and  terror  in  her  tier." 

At  night  some  inconvenience  was  incurred  on  ac- 
count of  the  Federal  Government  not  having 
restored  the  light-houses,  although  they  had  re- 
covered them  from  the  Confederates  for  more  than 
a  year.  Up  to  a  late  hour  on  Saturday  night  the 
jovial  company  of  the  forecastle  had  some  capital 
singing,  "  Dixie  Land  "  and  "  Off  for  Charleston  " 
being  among  the  songs. 

On  the  8th  we  were  off  Cape  Komain;  and  it 
being  Whit  Sunday,  I  performed  divine  service,  and 
had  the  honour  of  being  recorded  in  the  logbook. 
In  the  afternoon  we  reached  the  blockading  squadron 
off  Charleston,  and  spoke  the  U.  S.  S.  "Augusta;"  the 
next  day  her  commander.  Captain  Parrott,  came  on 
board,  and  having  inspected  my  passports,  gave  me 
permission  to  go  ashore  ;  but  there  was  such  a  high 
sea  running  that,  anchored  as  we  were  eight  miles 
from  the  harbour,  it  was  quite  impossible  for  me 
to  do  so  until  the  morning  of  the  10th,  when  before 
sunrise,  with   Second-Lieutenant  Turton  and  four 


28  An  Erran'd  to  the  South 

men,  I  set  out  in  a  small  open  boat,  having  orders 
to  steer  for  Fort  Sumter.  The  breeze  was  still 
blowing  very  fresh,  and  the  waves  very  high,  and 
with  our  one  sail  set  we  did  the  eight  miles  in  little 
more  than  an  hour.  When  opposite  Fort  Moultrie 
a  shot  from  the  Confederate  battery  passed  just  in 
front  of  the  boat's  bows.  The  officer,  supposing 
that  they  did  not  see  the  British  flag,  bore  a  little 
towards  the  fort  to  show  it,  and  then  stood  on  his 
course.  Not  many  minutes  elapsed,  however,  when 
another  shot,  striking  the  water  in  a  line  with  our 
boat,  rebounded  over  the  mast :  this  looked  more 
serious,  so,  the  sail  being  lowered,  we  rowed  towards 
the  shore,  where  an  officer  met  us,  and  said  that  the 
senior  officer  being  at  Fort  Moultrie,  no  boats  were 
allowed  to  pass  on  to  Fort  Sumter,  hence  the  two 
shots.  After  some  delay,  the  officer  commanding 
the  fort,  having  seen  my  passport  from  Lord  Lyons 
and  letter  from  Mr.  Mason  (the  Confederate  com- 
missioner in  London),  allowed  me  to  go  on  board 
the  passenger-boat  between  Fort  Moultrie  and 
Charleston,  a  distance  of  three  miles.  I  regretted 
much  being  obliged  to  leave  such  kind  friends  and 
agreeable  companions  as  I  had  met  with  on  board 
the  "  Einaldo ;"  and  doubly  was  the  kindness  felt, 
since  it  so  greatly  facilitated  the    object  of  my 


in  the  Summer  of  1 862.  29 

anxious  mission.  Every  step  in  my  errand  seemed 
to  bring  me  in  contact  with  fresh  friends:  for 
immediately  after  landing  at  the  city  pier,  I 
met  the  British  Consul,  Mr.  Bunch,  who  kindly 
invited  me  to  his  house  while  he  proceeded  to  the 
"  Einaldo." 

Charleston  is  built  on  flat  ground :  its  streets  being 
lined  with  trees,  and  many  houses  having  gardens 
attached  to  them,  give  it  a  very  pretty  appearance ; 
but  the  dreadful  fire  which,  in  November,  1861, 
destroyed  one-seventh  part  of  the  city,  has  sadly 
marred  its  beauty. 

The  beautiful  esplanade,  formerly  so  much  fre- 
quented by  the  equipages  of  the  wealthy  inhabitants 
and  visitors,  is  now  quite  deserted,  for  all  the 
families  have  fled  far  away  to  places  of  refuge  in  the 
interior;  and  they  have  good  reason  to-do  so,  for 
the  shots  from  the  Federal  gun-boats,  only  four 
miles  distant,  are  continually  heard  firing  on  the 
Confederate  soldiers  encamped  on  James  Island  for 
the  protection  of  the  city.  To  give  an  idea  of  the 
scarcity  of  the  comforts,  if  not  necessaries  of  life — 
tea  was  more  than  2L  per  lb. ;  cofiee,  salt,  &c.,  at 
the  same  proportionately  exorbitant  prices ;  and  as 
the  extreme  heat  of  summer  was  now  beginning,  the 
total  want  of  ice  was  greatly  felt. 


30  An  Errand  to  the  South 

The  entrance  to  the  harbour  of  Charleston  had 
been  long  opened.  Neptune  had  hurled  the  sunken 
"  stone  ships  "  on  the  shore,  and  had  made  his  high- 
way deeper  than  it  was  before. 

I  insert  here  some  lines  on  Charleston  by  Colonel 
Hayne. 

CHARLESTON. 
By  Paul  H.  Hayne. 


Calmly  beside  her  tropic  strand, 

Au  Empress,  brave  and  loyal, 
I  see  the  watchful  City  stand 

With  as^Dect  sternly  royal. 
She  knows  her  mortal  foe  draws  near. 

Strong  armed  by  subtlest  science. 
Yet  deep,  majestical,  and  clear, 

Rings  out  her  grand  defiance ! 
0 1  glorious  is  thy  noble  face. 

Lit  up  with  proud  emotion, 
And  misurpassed  thy  stately  grace. 

My  warrior  Queen  of  Ocean ! 


First  from  thy  lips  the  summons  came 

Which  roused  our  South  to  action, 
And  with  the  quenchless  force  of  flame 

Consumed  the  demon,  Faction ! 
First,  like  a  rush  of  mighty  wind 

Which  rends  great  waves  asunder. 
Thy  prescient  warning  struck  the  blind. 

And  woke  the  deaf  with  thunder. 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  3 1 

They  saw  as  with  a  prophet's  gaze 

The  awl'ul  doom  before  them, 
And  heard,  with  horror  and  amaze, 

The  tempest  surging  o'er  them  1 

in. 

Wilt  thou,  whose  virgin  banner  rose,  , 

A  morning  star  of  splendour, 
Shrink,  when  the  war- tornado  blows. 

And  yield  in  base  suiTender  ? 
Wilt  thou,  upon  whose  loving  breast 

Our  noblest  Chiefs  are  sleeping. 
Give  up  the  patriot's  place  of  rest. 

To  more  than  Vandal  keeping  ?* 
JSTo  !  while  a  life-pulse  throbs  for  fame, 

Thy  sons  will  gather  round  thee, — 
Welcome  !  the  shot,  the  steel,  the  flame. 

If  Honour's  hand  hath  crowned  thee ! 

IV. 

Then  fold  about  thy  beauteous  form 

The  imperial  robe  thou  wearest. 
And  front  with  regal  port  the  storm, 

Thy  foe  would  dream  thou  fearest ! 


*  Can  any  Charlestonian,  any  Carolinian,  think  of  leaving 
the  graves  of  Calhoun,  of  Turnbull,  of  Hayne,  to  the  tender 
care  of  the  miscreants  who  are  now  straining  every  energy 
to  degrade  us,  without  feeling  a  shudder  of  mingled  rage  and 
disgust  ?  The  presence  of  such  a  foe  is  enough  to  cause  the 
bones  of  our  pure  Statesmen  to  writhe  in"  their  tombs.  My 
countrymen  !  let  us  stand — 
*'  Back  to  back,  in  God's  name,  and  fight  it  out  to  the  last !" 


32  An  Errand  to  the  South 

Should  Faith,  and  Will,  and  Courage  fail 

To  cope  with  brutal  numbers. 
And  thou  must  bow  thee,  mute  and  pale 

Where  the  last  Hero  slumbers, — 
Lift  the  red  torch,  and  light  the  fire 

Amid  those  corpses  gory, 
And  on  thy  self-made  funeral  pyre 

Pass  from  the  world  to  glory  I 

Walking  out  in  the  evening  I  was  introduced  to 
Mr.  Huger,  author  of  an   able  pamphlet  on  the 
"  Eights  of  the  States."     He  asserts  ''  that  the  inde- 
pendence of  South   Carolina  was   established  two 
years  before  it  entered  into  the  Union.     The  power 
at  Washington  was  created  for  the  convenience  of 
the  States,  not  the  States  for  the  power,  in  fact  the 
creature  of  the  States  is  now  rebelling  against  the 
power  which  created  it."     I  also  met  an  influential 
merchant,   who   said   that  "  England  and   France 
should  have  opened  the  blockade  in  October  1861, 
when  it  was  reported  ineffectual  by  the  Consuls,  and 
officers  of  both  navies.     And  then  cotton  would  have 
come  down,  and  the  Confederates  would  have  ob- 
tained materials  for  their  army  and  navy,  and  the 
war  would  soon  have  been  over.     The   Southern 
government  were  moreover  led  to   expect   this,  as 
England   and   France   had   sent  commissioners  to 
them  to  obtain  their  consent  to  the  recent  treaty  of 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  33 

Paris  regarding  blockades.  By  omitting  then  to 
resist  the  blockade  a  golden  opportunity  was  lost ; 
and  it  became  a  question  whether  upon  these  two 
friendly  powers  blame  did  not  rest  for  allowing  such 
a  bloody  and  fruitless  war  to  continue." 

After  Divine  service  in  St.  Michael's  church  on 
the  11th  of  June,  St.  Barnabas'  day,  I  was  astonished 
to  see  the  bells  being  removed  from  the  tower,  and 
on  inquiring  the  cause,  was  told  that  they  were 
about  to  be  sent  to  Columbia  to  be  melted  into 
cannon.  This  shows  what  a  sacrifice  the  people  are 
ready  to  make  when  struggling  for  their  Uberty, 
especially  in  this  case,  when  we  consider  the  inte- 
resting fact  that  these  bells,  during  the  War  of  In- 
dependence, were  taken  by  the  English  to  England, 
and  when  put  up  for  sale  were  bought  by  a  gentle- 
man, who  sent  them  back  to  Charleston  and  restored 
them  to  the  church. 

In  justice  to  the  feelings  of  the  Southerners,  I 
here  lay  before  my  readers  their  Ordiuiince  of 
Secession  done  at  Charleston. 

On  the  20th  day  of  December,  1860,  the  Conven- 
tion of  South  Carolina  formally  dissolved  its  connec- 
tion mth  the  Union  by  an  Ordinance  of  Secession, 
which  was  passed  unanimously. 


34  -An  Errand  to  the  South 

"  The  Ordinance  to  Dissolve  the  Union  between 
THE  State  of  South  Carolina  and  other  States 

UNITED  with  her  UNDER    THE   COMPACT  ENTITLED 

*The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  of 
America.' 

"  We,  the  People  of  the  State  of  South  Carolina,  in 
Convention  assembled,  do  declare  and  ordain,  and 
it  is  hereby  declared  and  ordained  : 

"  That  the  Ordinance  adopted  by  us  in  Convention, 
on  the  twenty-third  day  of  May,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  One  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty-eight, 
whereby  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  of 
America  was  ratified,  and  also,  all  Acts  and  parts  of 
Acts  of  the  General  Assembly  of  this  State,  ratifying 
amendments  of  the  said  Constitution,  are  hereby  re- 
pealed ;  and  that  the  union  now  subsisting  between 
South  Carolina  and  other  States,  under  the  name  of 
*  The  United  States  of  America,'  is  hereby  dis- 
solved. 

"  D.  F.  Jamison, 

"  Del.  from  Barnwell,  and  President  of  Convention." 
Here  follow  170  Signatures. 

I  had  heard  much  of  the  trouble  caused  by  the 
paper  money  which  is  current  in  the  Confederate 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  35 

States,  but  having  fifty  dollars  in  gold  I  was  not 
sorry  to  get  ninety-two  and  a  half  dollars  in  neat  paper 
notes  of  various  value.  On  the  12th  I  took  leave  of 
my  kind  friends,  the  Consul  and  his  family,  and 
started  by  the  N.  E.  railway  for  Florence,  distant 
100  miles.  The  railroads  in  this  country  are  all 
single  lines.  The  cars  are  of  a  great  length,  having 
twenty-five  seats,  each  holding  two  persons,  on  both 
sides  of  a  passage.  The  doors  are  at  the  ends  of 
the  cars,  which  are  left  unlocked,  so  that  by  stepping 
over  the  couplings  you  may  walk  from  one  end  of 
the  train  to  the  other  through  the  diflerent  cars. 
Taking  my  walk  in  this  manner  I  was  agreeably 
surprised  by  meeting  a  South  Carolina  gentleman, 
whose  acqimintance  I  had  made  on  one  of  our 
English  railroads  about  six  years  previously.  With 
true  Southern  hospitahty  he  at  once  invited  me  to 
stay  at  his  summer  residence  on  the  Blue  Kidge 
Mountains  at  Flat  Eock,  but  my  destination  lay 
in  an  opposite  dii*ection,  viz.,  a  small  town  called 
Conwayboro*,  situate  in  the  north-east  comer  of  the 
State,  which  the  lady,  the  object  of  my  journey,  had 
made  her  place  of  refuge. 

Having  taken  some  refreshment  at  Florence,  the 
signal  for  starting  (the  steam-horn),  was  sounded, 
and  at  the  guard's  cry  of  "  All  aboard,"  I  took  my 


36  An  Errand  to  the  South 

seat  on  the  Manchester  and  Wilmington  Eailway. 
To  give  an  idea  of  travelling  expenses,  the  fare  from 
Florence  to  Fair  Bluff,  sixty  miles,  was  two  dollars 
ten  cents  (about  Ss.  dd.) ;  but  there  is  only  one  class 
on  American  railways.  There  are,  however,  especial 
cars  for  ladies,  into  which  their  gentlemen  friends 
are  admitted.  Whatever  their  station  may  be,  every 
one  is  called  a  gentleman  or  lady,  and  the  very 
name,  however  rough  the  exterior,  seems  to  engender 
politeness.  The  negroes  have  cars  for  themselves  at 
reduced  fares;  I  with  other  gentlemen  frequently 
went  and  sat  down  with  them,  and  found  them 
civil  and  amusing.  I  arrived  at  Fair  Bluff  on  the 
Lumber  river,  North  Carolina,  at  about  11  p.m., 
where  I  slept  at  a  farm-house,  there  betig  no  hotel. 
At  7.30  in  the  morning  the  mail  stage  buggy 
was  ready  to  take  me  to  Conwayboro',  South  Caro- 
lina, a  forty  miles'  drive  through  a  country  thickly 
wooded,  and  studded  here  and  there  with  farms.  In 
the  fields  the  women  were  ploughing,  for  their  hus- 
bands had  all  gone  to  the  army :  other  women  were 
anxiously  waiting  for  letters  at  the  various  post- 
offices.  I  had  been  told  in  the  North  that  it  was 
only  the  rich  planters  who  raised  a  cry  for  secession ; 
but  these  women  were  from  small  properties,  where 
no  negroes  were  kept,  and  they  all  agreed  that  their 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  37 

husbands  and  sons  should  never  come  home  till  the 
rights  of  the  South  were  gained,  and  independence 
secured.  I  am  speaking  now  of  women  of  both 
North  and  South  Carolina,  for  my  road  at  first  lay 
through  the  former.  There  was  a  great  deal  of  sick- 
ness among  the  children :  medical  advice  was  diffi- 
cult to  be  obtained,  as  nearly  all  the  doctors  had  gone 
with  the  army,  and  medicine  was  not  procurable  on 
account  of  the  blockade. 

We  changed  horses  once,  at  a  haK-way  fe-rm  held 
by  a  young  widow,  whose  husband  had  died  in  the 
hospital  at  Norfolk.  She  had  one  beautiful  Httle 
fair-haired  child,  who  was  plajring  with  a  negro  of  its 
own  size.  This  imiversal  mingling  of  the  two  races 
when  they  are  young,  accounts  in  some  measure 
for  the  friendly  feehng  between  them  when  grown 
up.  For  this  fiirm  of  seventy-five  acres  the  owner 
had  given  one  dollar  sixty  cents  an  acre.  Several 
of  the  women  said,  when  they  heard  that  I  was  an 
Englishman,  how  they  wished  England  would  help 
them  to  end  the  war !  I  met  persons  who  at  first 
had  been  averse  to  secession ;  but  from  the  manner 
in  which  the  United  States  Government  carried  on 
the  war,  had  quite  changed  their  minds.  They 
said  the  blockade  was  against  women,  and  children, 
and  negroes,  as  it  deprived  them  of  the  necessaries 


38  An  Errand  to  the  South 

of  life :  they  owned  they  had  been  too  dependent  on 
the  North,  from  or  through  which,  every  article  of 
American  and  foreign  manufacture  had  come.  Even 
hay  used  to  be  imported  from  New  York  to  the 
Southern  ports.  A  gentleman  on  the  N.E.  rail  told 
me  he  had  just, /or  the  first  time,  sent  sixteen  tons 
of  hay  to  Charleston.  The  resources  of  the  country, 
he  said,  would  now  be  developed :  already  all  kinds 
of  manufactories  were  springing  up.  The  vast  woods 
supply  the  demands  of  dyers  and  curriers :  hickory 
and  laurel  bark  each  make  yellow ;  maple  and  sweet 
gum,  black;  red  oak,  walnut,  and  gall-berries  dye 
wood  black;  hickory  and  apple  bark  mixed  dye 
brown ;  wild  indigo,  blue ;  dog  fennel,  growing  abun- 
dantly in  the  plantations,  and  wild  myrtle,  which 
is  the  carpet  of  the  woods,  both  beat  oak  bark  for 
tanning  leather ;  ground  nuts  and  cotton  seed  produce 
excellent  oil  for  lubricating  machinery;  j&bres  are 
found  for  making  paper, — that  of  the  delicious 
little  vegetable  called  okra  yields  the  finest  writing- 
paper. 

Men  and  boys  employed  in  manufactories  are 
exempt  from  serving  in  the  army ;  but  the  difficulty 
is  in  keeping  them  from  it.  The  cry  was,  "  Send 
us  out  the  *  Great  Eastern '  loaded  with  mechanics 
and  machinery." 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  39 

Tlie  road-side  gave  signs  that  the  people  in  the  * 
woods  had  not  forgotten  God  and  the  education  of 
children.  Wooden  churches  and  school-rooms  were 
there.  Schoolmasters  are  paid  eighty  dollars  per 
quarter  by  the  State  ;  but  both  ministers  and  masters 
had  joined  the  army,  and  the  preacher  was  seldom 
heard.  The  various  branches  of  Christendom  all 
take  the  title  of  "  Church "  in  this  country.  By 
the  census  of  1850,  the  following  were  the  numbers 
of  the  different  denominations  (whites)  in  the  whole 
United  States : — 

Methodists 4,209,333 

Anabaptists 3,130,788 

Presbyterians 2,040,316 

CongregationaHsts  ....        795,177 
Eoman  Catholics     ....        620,950 
English  Catholics  (called  Pro- 
testant EpiscopaHans)    .    .       615,213 
Unitarians 137,367 

Other  denominations  exist  to  make  up   the  vast 

population  of  23,663,079  whites. 

There  were  3,204,089  negro  slaves,  and  428,661 

free  negroes. 

*    No  one  can  be  more  regular  at  church  than  the 
negroes.    They  are  generally  Anabaptists ;  but  where 


40  An  Errand  to  the  South 

the  English  Church  reaches  them,  they  understand 
its  forms,  and  seem  imbued  with  more  humble  and 
sincere  religion. 

Loud  complaints  sounded  along  my  road,  of  ma- 
rauding "from  the  North.  "  Those  Yankees,"  they 
said,  "  are  acting  like  pirates."  Two  weeks  ago  a 
party  of  them  landed  at  Winniaw  bay,  and  took 
off  65  of  Mr.  Morant's  negroes  at  the  point  of 
the  bayonet.  On  the  Wakamaw  river  they  took 
240  barrels  of  rice,  and  sheep  and  cattle.  At 
another  point  they  entered  Mr.  Trescott's  house  and 
took  away  his  furniture  and  a  very  valuable  library. 
All  these  gentlemen  are  civilians,  not  engaged  in 
the  war  in  any  way;  the  last-named  was  in  the 
United  States'  diplomatic  service,  and  is  the  author 
of  an  able  work  on  international  law.  The  com- 
manding officer  whose  party  took  the  library  sent 
to  Mr.  T.  to  say  that  he  and  his  officers  had  found 
his  library  to  be  a  very  valuable  one,  and  they 
were  men  who  could  appreciate  it;  but  he  heard 
that  all  his  books  and  valuable  furniture  were 
sold  at  New  York. 

I  was  astonished  at  the  patience  with  which  all 
these  injuries  were  taken.  They  counted  them  as 
nothing,  so  they  might  gain  hberty ;  they  declared 
they  had   endured  tyranny  long  enough  from  the 


in  the  Summer  of  I S62.  41 

North — the  tyranny  of  the  majority.  One  gentleman 
showed  me  the  constitution  of  the  thirteen  States 
which  formed  the  original  Union  (strange  that  the 
same  number  should  now  be  that  of  the  seceding 
States !),  by  which  each  State  sent  the  same  number 
of  representatives,  viz.  seven,  to  Congress,  irrespec- 
tive of  population ;  but  afterwards  it  was  altered  to 
one  for  every  35,000 ;  and  now  New  York  sends 
twenty-one  members,  while  South  Carolina  only 
still  sent  seven.  They  said,  '*  Look  at  the  people 
they  call  rebels! — Senators,  Members  of  Congress, 
men  of  highest  education,  of  every  profession,  rich 
and  poor,  whites  and  blacks!" — adding,  "We  do 
not  want  to  subvert  the  authority  of  the  United 
States  Government  over  those  States  who  wish  that 
system  to  continue — we  do  not  want  to  unseat 
Mr.  Lincoln — we  only  want  to  be  let  go  according 
to  our  agreement,  therefore  it  cannot  be  rebellion. 
The  people  of  all  the  States  have  spoken  unani- 
mously by  their  conventions — we  are  no  one's  '  sub- 
jects.' The  people  in  their  sovereign  capacity  have 
decreed  for  a  separate  confederacy  of  the  Southern 
States,  and  opposition  to  that  decree  is  the  true 
rebelHon." 

This  was  the  kind  of  explanation  I  heard  over 
and  over  again.    Men  and  women  of  all  degrees, 


42  An  Errand  to  the  South 

and  even  children,  had  it  all  by  heart.  I  could  not 
help  feeling  I  was  in  an  impregnable  fortress  of 
pubHc  opinion  for  the  Confederacy;  but  I  always 
bid  for  great  allowance  to  be  made  for  the  pangs  it 
must  cost  to  break  the  grand  idea  of  "  the  United 
States/'  and  to  diminish  the  thirty-one  stars  and 
stripes  which  had  so  long  proudly  floated  over  the 
world,  and  astonished  the  quiet  folks  of  the  old 
portion  of  it. 

My  fellow-passenger  on  Mr.  Porter's  mail  buggy, 
in  the  hot  and  weary  two  stages,  was  a  Presbyterian 
minister,  who  had  an  uncle  a  bishop  of  the  Anglo- 
American  church,  and  a  brother  a  private  in  the 
army  near  Eichmond.  I  found  great  respect  was 
everywhere  paid  to  all  ministers  of  rehgion :  the 
railroads  passed  them  on  with  reduced  fares ;  and 
Mr.  Porter  went  so  far  as  to  say  he  took  no  fare  at 
all  from  them,  and  tacitly  offered  to  frank  me. 
Mr.  G-regg,  my  "  reverend "  co-voyager,  did  me 
the  honour  to  offer  me  his  pulpit  on  the  next 
Sunday. 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  43 


CHAPTEK  III. 

The  Object  gained. 

On  Friday  the  13tli  of  June  I  arrived  at  the  place  of 
refuge.  Here  was  an  EngHsh  lady  with  her  little 
maid,  both  from  the  peaceful  vale  of  Taunton, 
"dwelling  among  her  own  people,"  the  sable  de- 
scendants of  Canaan,  as  safely  as  if  in  their  native 
land,  protected  by  county  poHce — yea,  safer;  for 
they  slept  with  their  doors  and  windows  unbolted, 
and  did  not  feel  afraid. 

The  county  is  called  Horry  (after  some  colonial 
governor),  in  the  north-east  comer  of  the  State  of 
South  Carolina,  which  is  500  by  450  miles.  Con- 
wayboro'  is  the  county  town,  having  the  county  court- 
house and  gaol,  with  its  sheriff  and  mayor,  &c. ; 
the  population  about  350.  There  are  two  churches — 


44  A.n  Errand  to  the  South 

one  Presbyterian,  one  Methodist;  tlie  houses  are 
never  more  than  two  stories  high  —  most  of  them 
only  one — all  built  of  wood,  with  brick  chimneys ; 
raised  on  brick  or  wooden  piers  two  feet  or  more 
high.  Every  negro  hut  is  built  in  this  way,  keeping 
the  floors  very  dry,  and  free  from  snakes,  which 
rather  abound  at  Conwayboro' :  from  the  earth  under 
every  house,  saltpetre  is  obtainable.  A  contractor 
told  me  he  found  fifteen  pounds  under  a  negro's 
house  built  ten  years ;  and  a  house  of  that  size — 
say  thirty  feet  square — would  yield  one  pound  and 
a-half  per  annum.  About  three  inches  of  earth  is 
scraped  up,  and  water  percolated  in  casks,  evapora- 
tion developing  the  saltpetre :  by  this  means,  and 
by  sulphur  from  the  north-west  part  of  South 
Carolina,  and  charcoal  which  the  endless  woods 
supply,  the  army  is  provided  with  abundance  of 
gunpowder.  The  houses  are  far  apart,  placed  in 
their  own  gardens  —  like  the  compounds  of  our 
Indian  bungalows — with  their  negro  huts  nearly 
all  surrounded  by  neat  fences.  Thus  Conwayboro', 
though  of  small  population,  is  of  considerable  ex- 
tent, fields  lying  between  some  of  the  houses.  The 
court-house  and  gaol  are  of  brick,  the  former  having 
the  usual  facade  of  Doric  pillars.  Evergreen  oaks 
cast  their  welcome  shade  in  all  directions ;  fig-trees 


in  the  Summer  of  1 862.  45 

and  vines  cool  the  houses;  peach  orchards  yield 
their  dehcious  fruit.  The  treatment  for  these  peach- 
trees  is  very  simple ;  viz.,  baring  the  roots  in  win- 
ter, and  just  before  spring  covering  them  with  a  coat 
of  ashes  and  then  with  earth  :  with  this  they  beat 
any  wall-fruit  I  ever  saw  in  England.  The  gardens 
produce  abundance  of  tomatas,  okras,  egg-plants,  &c. 
Tomatas  in  soup  and  stewed  are  the  standard  dish ; 
and  they  are  also  eaten  as  salads. 

Every  house  was  full;  many  refugees  from  the 
coast  about  George-Town,  fifty  miles  distant,  taving 
obtained  lodgings.  The  house  I  came  to  is  on  a 
bluff,  looking  over  a  "branch"  of  the  Wakamaw 
river :  the  negroes'  huts  formed  quite  a  little  hamlet 
of  itself,  the  number  of  souls  being  forty;  these 
buildings  being  ready,  besides  stabhng,  &c.  for  four 
horses,  and  about  fifty  acres  of  land,  made  it  conve- 
nient for  Mrs.  W 's  purpose,  whose  plantation 

too  was  within  a  drive,  about  forty-two  miles  down 
the  river,  where  350  negroes  used  to  be  employed ; 
but  a  fi'esh  estate  of  800  acres  was  just  bought  about 
300  miles  inland,  to  which  150  were  removed  by 
rail.  Never  did  I  see  a  happier  set  than  these 
negroes.  For  six  months  had  this  lady  been  left 
with  them  alone.  Her  husband's  regiment  had  been 
ordered  to  the  Mississippi,  about  1000  miles  west. 


46  An  'Errands  to  the  South 

In  this  army  the  officers  are  all  elected ;  the  men  of 
each  company  choose  the  lieutenants  and  captains, 
and  the  captains  choose  the  field-officers  from  them- 
selves, the  colonel  appointing  his  adjutant.  This 
gentleman  had  procured  Enfield  rifles  from  England 
for  120  men  of  his  regiment,  the  10th  South  Caro- 
lina, before  the  Queen's  proclamation  came  out,  and 
cloth  for  their  clothing,  but  he  himseK  served  for 
several  months  as  a  private :  he  has  since  refused 
promotion  beyond  captain.  All  his  ambition  is  with 
his  company,  which  is  said  to  be  a  pattern  of  dis- 
cipline and  dash — indeed  the  whole  regiment  com- 
manded by  Lieutenant-Colonel  Manigault  is  General 
Bragg's  "pet  regiment."  The  negro  servants 
watched  for  tidings  from  their  master  by  the  tri- 
weekly mails  as  anxiously  as  their  mistress.  This 
gentleman,  and  some  other  masters,  deemed  it  the 
best  pohcy  to  be  open  with  their  negroes,  and  let 
them  know  the  real  cause  of  the  war ;  and  that  pro- 
bably the  Abolitionists  would  try  and  induce  them  to 

desert.      On  the  30th  December  this  Mr.  W 

appointed  a  special  prayer  and  fast-day  at  his  planta- 
tion church,  and  after  service  addressed  the  negroes, 
previous  to  his  leaving  for  the  House  of  Kepresenta- 
tives,  of  which  he  was  a  member  (elected  for  George 
Town).     Not  only  the  women,  but  the  men  wept : 


I 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  47 

they  said  they  would  never  leave  him — they  loved 
their  *'  massa  and  missis :"  and  not  one  of  them  has 
left.  Lately  two  Southern  gentlemen,  on  their  way 
to  George  Town,  met  one  of  them,  and  pretending  to 
be  Yankees,  to  try  the  man,  asked  him  if  he  would 
go  with  them  to  the  United  States  fleet,  and  be  free. 
He  asked,  how  he  could  leave  his  master  and  mis- 
tress ? — "  No  !  he  would  never  do  that !"  Fifteen 
negroes  were  bringing  up  a  "  flat "  (^.  e.,  a  river 
barge)  load  of  rice  to  Conwayboro' ;  en  route  they 
heard  of  the  approach  of  some  Yankee  gunboats, 
when  they  ran  the  flat  up  a  creek  till  they  were 
clear  away,  and  then  continued  their  course.  They 
declared  they  would  have  swamped  the  flat  and  its 
cargo,  if  the  Yankees  had  discovered  it,  and  would 
themselves  have  taken  to  the  swamps,  where  no 
white  man  could  follow  them:  300  barrels  of^rice 

were  thus  brought  up  and  sold  by  Mrs.  W ,  at 

the  Boro',  for  eleven  and  a-half  dollars  a  barrel  (the 
half-dollar  going  for  commission)  retail  to  the  inha- 
bitants ;  the  usual  price  before  the  war  being  sixteen 
to  eighteen  dollars,  and  from  four  to  six  dollars  a 
cwt. ;  for  this  boon  the  neighbourhood  was  most 
grateful. 

Now  I  hear  the  sounds  peculiar  to  this  region,  the 
land  of  sand,  of  woods,  of  "  branches,"  of  creeks,  and 


4^  An  Errand  to  the  South 

swamps: — the  hollow  bark  of  the  crocodile;  the 
bellowing  of  the  bull-frog,  all  night  long — the 
note  of  summer,  just  as  the  cuckoo's  is  in  England ; 
also,  breaking  the  silence  of  the  night,  the  mournful 
cry  of  the  "whip-poor-will."  I  had  feared,  from 
this  latitude  being  about  that  of  Morocco,  it  would 
be  too  hot  for  singing-birds ;  but,  on  the  contrary, 
the  mocking-bird,  plain  to  eye  but  charming  to 
ear,  sent  forth  its  varied  song  by  night  and  by  day  ; 
the  nightingale's  notes  at  night,  and  the  thrush 
and  the  blackbird's  warble  by  day.  Some  told  me 
they  imitate  caterwauling,  but  I  was  glad  not  to  hear 
that  phase  of  their  song.  It  is  a  plain  bird,  having 
black,  brown,  and  white  feathers,  about  the  size  of 
our  thrush ;  it  is  heard  everywhere  in  North  and 
South  Carolina  and  Virginia,  and  all  through  the 
spring  and  summer.  On  the  19th  June  the  ther- 
mometer at  Conwayboro'  was  80°  at  eleven  a.m.,  and 
76^  at  nine  p.m.  :  during  the  day  a  heavy  thunder- 
'storm  echoed  through  the  forests;  the  wind  here 
blowing  over  lofty  pines,  sounds  like  the  wind  at  sea. 
There  are  seven  negro  cottages  round  the  bun- 
galow.    Mrs.  W gives   out    supplies   of  food 

weekly,  viz.,  corn  flour,  rice  and  bacon,  and  salt ; — 
molasses,  of  which  they  are  very  fond,  is  now  scarcely 
to  be  had ;  but  they  have  a  little,  and  plenty  of  honey 


in  the  Summer  of  1 862^  49 

and  milk,  and  they  are  well  clothed.  In  all  the 
houses  of  negroes  the  boys  and  girls  have  separate 
bed-rooms.  After  dark  the  court-yard  in  front  of 
the  cottages  is  illuminated  with  pine-wood  bonfires, 
which  destroy  the  mosquitoes,  and  the  children  dance 
round  the  blaze ;  never  a  company  of  negroes,  but  some 
one  plays  a  fiddle,  and  often  tambourine  or  banjo  to 
accompany.  Here  the  coachman,  "  Prince,"  is  a  capi- 
tal fiddler ;  his  fiivourite  tunes  are  "  Dixie  Land"  and 
countiy  dances.  Just  before  bed-time  more  solemn 
sounds  are  heard :  the  negro  is  demonstrative  in  his 
religion,  and  loud  and  musical  were  heard  every  even- 
ing the  hymns,  many  of  them  meeting  in  one  of 
the  houses.  Kemarkable  for  correctness  are  their 
songs,  and  both  men  and  women's  voices  mingled  in 
soft  though  far-sounding  harmony.  Some  old  church 
tunes  I  recognised.  Sometimes  they  sent  forth 
regular  "  fugues ;"  then,  after  a  pause,  would  come 
the  prayer,  ofiered  up  by  "  Jemmy,"  or  some  ''  gifted" 
man.  I  could  overhear  some  of  the  words ;  e.  g. 
"  0  Lord,  in  whose  palm  of  his  hand  be  the  waters  of 
the  ocean — who  can  remove  mountains — who  weighs 
the  earth  in  a  balance — who  can  still  the  waves  of  the 
storm — who  can  break  the  pines  of  the  forest— who 
givest  us  a  land  of  rivers  of  waters — 0  Jesus !  who 
died  on  the  cross  for  us — 0  forgive  us  our  sins; 

E 


50  An  Errand  to  the  South 

0  help  us  in  this  time  of  trial  and  need.  Protect  onr 
massa  far  away ;  protect  our  brothers  '  Hector '  and 
'  Caesar '  with  him ;  defend  us  now  we  are  away 
from  home ;  defend  our  friends  and  relatives  at  home, 
&c."  All  the  350  negroes  (except  old  Pemba,  about 
70  years  of  age,  who  had  been  brought  from  Africa, 
when  a  httle  girl)  were  born  on  the  estate :  like 
Abraham's  servants,  "bom  in  his  own  house." 
The  smile  and  voice  of  the  negroes  are  most 
agreeable,  and  their  manners  very  poHte.  The 
names  are  curious :  "  Prince,"  the  capital  coach- 
man, a  regular  Jehu,  not  afraid  of  any  horse, 
drove  me  out;  his  assistant-groom  is  "Agrippa." 
Prince  always  has  a  book  with  him  on  the  box,, 
which  he  reads  directly  he  stops  at  a  visit;  his 
favourite  book  is  "  Pilgrim's  Progress."  Prince  has 
a  son,  "  Napoleon."  Talking  of  names,  there  was 
a  fine  negro  in  the  " Kinaldo,"  called  "Prince  of 
Wales,"  as  black  as  jet ;  this  was  his  name  in  the 
'^  roll-call." 

I  found  the  negroes  were  very  anxious  to  hear 
"  Missus'  broder "  preach.  There  was  no  branch 
of  the  Anglo-American  Church  at  Conwayboro', 
nor  anywhere  mthin  fifty  miles.  My  sister  had 
"done  at  Eome  as  Kome  does,"  i.e.,  attended  the 
Presbyterian  and  Methodist  churches   alternately. 


I 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  5 1 

Two  long  wooden  buildings,  with  green  Venetians 
and  lift  windows  (for  sashes  are  not  seen  here,  the 
window  being  lifted  and  kept  up  with  a  catch), 
having  open  seats,  and  negro  galleries,  and  bell 
cupolas,  represent  the  churches:  their  bells  being 
small  had  not  been  sent  to  be  melted  down;  and 
at  eight  a.m.  on  Sunday,  15th  June,  "  the  Sabbath 
bell "  of  the  Presbyterians  rung  out.  It  had  been 
agreed  that  I  should  accept  Mr.  Gregg's  offer  of 
liis  pulpit — very  conservative  is  the  Anglo-Saxo- 
Norman  race ! — here,  where  the  thermometer  was 
85°  in  the  shade  at  eleven,  the  service  began,  keeping 
the  old  English  hour,  instead  of  the  cool  of  the 
morning.  I  had  brought  my  surplice,  &c.,  from 
England,  and  used  it  on  board  both  ships ;  but  I 
thought  it  would  not  do  here.  The  service  opened 
with  a  hymn,  very  well  sung,  led  by  the  voice  of 
an  elder ;  then  a  prayer  by  the  minister ;  then  he 
read  a  psalm ;  then  again  a  hymn ;  then  the  sermon 
— my  text  being  the  same  which  I  preached  on  at 
Washington.  The  congregation  was  most  attentive* 
It  was  hot  work.  After  the  sermon  ]\Ir.  Gregg 
offered  another  prayer,  and  then  a  hymn  was  sung, 
and  the  service  was  over.  The  prayers  were  very 
impressive  and  suitable  ;  but  no  one  seemed  to  know 
when  to  say  "  Amen ;"  and  for  public  worship,  I  feel 


52  An  Errand  to  the  South 

convinced  that  prayers  with  which  the  congregation 
are  acquainted,  i.  e.,  in  a  set  form,  are  the  most 
edifying  and  most  suitable.  I  saw  in  their  book  of 
hymns  they  had  "  The  Creed,"  *'  The  Lord's  Prayer," 
and  "  The  Ten  Commandments  ;"  but  I  heard  they 
were  seldom  or  never  used.  A  Baptist  minister, 
whom  I  met  afterwards  in  course  of  travel,  said  that, 
after  all,  none  of  their  Churches  had  any  "  system," 
except  the  English  Church ;  and  "  system  "  was  an 
essential,  for  Divine  service  to  be  carried  out  pro- 
perly. 

On  the  17th  of  June  we  drove  to  E.  F.  Graham's, 
at  a  neighbouring  farm.  He  was  hard  at  work, 
shoemaking,  while  his  wife  and  daughters  were 
spinning.  She  showed  us  heaps  of  both  woollen 
and  cotton  cloth,  homespun.  They  used  to  get  their 
"  cards  "  for  thirty-five  cents  a-piece ;  but  now,  owing 
to  the  blockade,  they  are  from  fifteen  to  twenty  dol- 
lars !  He  has  556  acres  of  land,  which,  with  house, 
he  bought,  in  1857,  for  $2000  (400Z.)  ;  has  only 
thirty  in  cultivation.  Keeps  a  few  sheep.  Has  no 
negroes.  His  wife  and  daughters  tilled  the  land  in 
1861,  while  he  was  with  the  army.  Two  sons, 
seventeen  and  eighteen  years  of  age,  are  still  with 
it.  He  was  discharged  from  chronic  dysentery ;  is 
forty-five  years  of  age;   and  hence  exempt  from 


I 


in  the  Summer  of  1^62.  53 

further  service,  even  if  health  admitted.  Keeps 
seventeen  sheep,  and  poultry.  Good  garden  and 
a  range  of  "bee-gums," — called  *'gums"  instead  of 
"hives,"  because  the  hives  are  made  of  sections  of 
gum-tree  hollowed  out.  Every  article  of  clothing 
is  made  at  home.  He  has  pines  in  his  woods,  which 
he  "  hacks  "  for  turpentine.  The  "  hack  "  is  a  steel 
instrument  shaped  Hke  a  "drawing-knife."  The 
bark  is  hacked  in  V  shape  up  to  ten  or  twelve  feet ; 
after  four  weeks'  "  hacking,"  about  one  inch  a- week, 
turpentine  begins  to  run  down  into  the  cavity  or 
"  box  "  cut  in  the  tree,  the  root  of  which  holds  from 
one  to  two  quarts.  One  thousand  of  these  boxes 
full  will  fill  four  barrels,  230  lbs.  weight  each,  in 
four  weeks.  The  price  at  New  York  before  th6  war 
was  four  dollars  a  barrel.  One  man  can  tend  1200 
boxes.  By  this  work  the  woods  are  getting  free  of 
snakes.  The  trees  may  be  tapped  ten  years,  and 
then,  let  alone  for  a  wliile,  will  heal  over,  and  may 
be  tapped  on  the  other  side.  When  barked  all  round, 
if  the  ground  is  wanted  for  cultivation,  fire  and  the 
axe  come  to  work.  Many  fortunes  have  been  made 
by  this  business  both  in  North  and  South  Carolina. 

On  the  19th  of  June  news  came  of  the  battle  of 
"  Secessionville,"  on  James  Island,  near  Charleston. 
Between  4000  and  5000  Federal  troops  marched 


54  -471  Errand  to  the  South 

from  Stonoe  Eiver  before  daylight,  killed  or  took 
tlie  Confederate  pickets,  and  surprised  the  garrison 
of  the  Confederate  advanced  redoubt,  commanded  by- 
Col.  Lamar,  C.S.A.,*  which  was  hardly  completed: 
some  of  the  enemy  even  got  on  to  the  breast-work. 
The  garrison  of  the  redoubt  was  composed  of  400 
South  Carohnians,  who  held  it  against  those  fearful 
odds  for  nearly  four  hours,  when  a  regiment  of 
1000  men  came  up  and  assisted  them  to  drive  the 
Federals  back  to  their  boats,  with  the  loss  of  1100 
men  killed  !  This  victory  saved  Charleston.  The 
regiments  of  the  Federals  were  picked  men ;  one 
was  a  crack  "  Highland  regiment."  They  had  been 
promised  rich  booty  and  licence  in  the  longed-for 
city,  which  was  in  view.  The  whole  besieging 
force  was  withdrawn  by  September;  so  if  I  had 
waited  for  Mr.  Stanton's  time,  as  first  proposed, 
my  erra,nd  would  still  have  been  unexecuted. 

On  the  19th  of  June,  thermometer  76°  at  9  a.m., 
and  80°  at  11.  In  the  evening  we  visited  a  small 
farm.  Mrs.  Anderson,  the  lady  of  the  house,  was 
there  ;  a  fine-looking,  intelligent  woman,  with  four 

*  This  Colonel  Thomas  Lamar  is  one  of  that  family  who 
raised  6000  men  for  the  araiy  of  the  South.  Of  this  family 
there  were  seven  colonels,  three  captains,  and  two  lieutenants 
in  the  Confederate  aniiy  :  one  of  the  colonels  has' been  killed 
in  action. 


in  the  Summer  of  I S62,  55 

children  at  liome — husband  and  eldest  son  (seventeen 
years  old)  with  the  army  in  Mississippi.  She  thinks 
General  Beauregard  was  quite  right  to  retreat  from 
Corinth,  and  so  surprise  the  Yankee  general.  Not  a 
breath  of  complaint  came  from  her.  Their  property 
is  fifty  acres,  of  which  twenty  are  cultivated  by  her- 
self and  eldest  boy  at  home,  fourteen  years  of  age. 

The  people  seem  to  be  very  free  in  their  religion. 
Very  often,  if  you  ask  any  one  to  what  Church  he 
belongs,  the  answer  is,  "  Oh,  I  am  not  bigoted ;  I  go 
anywhere  convenient;  not  joined  any  particular 
Church." 

If  any  chain  of  society  exists  where  all  are  equal,  I 
should  say  the  storekeeper  or  merchants  form  a  con- 
necting link  between  the  planters  and  the  farmers,  the 
planters  being  the  great  proprietors  or  aristocracy. 

On  the  first  Monday  in  the  month  the  people 
come  from  many  miles  round  to  the  market,  called 
here  "  sale's  day."  Horses  are  never  put  in  stables, 
but  a  branch  is  bent  down,  to  the  end  of  which 
the  bridle  is  fastened  by  a  slip  knot. 

I  have  met  a  very  intelligent  man  here,  the 
editor  of  the  "  Conwayboro'  Gazette,"  and  a  lawyer. 
We  had  several  confabs  about  the  Confederacy.  One 
idea  was  started  by  him,  that  logically  no  law  now 
passed  at  Washington  can  be  legal,  for  no  new  law 


56  An  'Errand  to  the  South 

can,  by  the  constitution,  pass  without  a  call  of  the 
whole  house,  viz.,  all  the  states  present  by  repre- 
sentation. Now  thirteen  states  cannot  be  thus 
present,  as,  if  so,  they  would  be  imprisoned ;  there- 
fore no  law  passed  since  the  separation  of  the  South 
can  be  vahd.  If,  however,  the  present  Congress  at 
Washington  say  such  law  is  valid,  it  is  a  vir- 
tual confession  of  the  right  of  the  said  states  to 
secede  from  the  Union ;  it  is  an  admission  that  the 
states  represented  alone  form  the  Union.  The  very 
name  "state"  signifies  right  j9er  se.  The  "states" 
are  not  "  counties,"  or  "  departments :"  a  "  state,"  in 
Union  or  out  of  Union,  is  a  people  with  right  of 
self-government,  at  hberty  to  act  singly  or  in  union, 
as  it  pleases. 

Many  of  the  negroes  here  wear  in  their  caps  a 
small  palmetto-tree  made  of  palmetto  leaf— the 
South  Carolina  symbol  being  a  palmetto-tree.  The 
State  of  South  Carolina  is  divided  into  twenty-eight 
"districts,"  (in  North  Carolina  they  are  called 
"counties").  These  districts  are  as  follow: — 
Pickens,  Greenville,  Spartanburg,  York,  Lancaster, 
Chesterfield,  Marlborough,  Anderson,  Abbeville,  Law- 
rens,  Newberg,  Chester,  Fairfield,  Kershaw,  Dar- 
lington, Marian,  Horry,  Edgefield  Lexington,  Sum- 
ter,   Eichmond,   Orangeburg,   Barnwell,  Williams- 


I 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  57 

burg,  George-Town,  Charleston,  Beaufort,  Colleton. 
Each  has  its  court-house,  judge,  magistrates,  and 
commissioners  of  roads.  The  assizes  are  half-yearly. 
In  the  fall  and  in  the  spring  the  commissioners  call 
out  one  man  out  of  every  twenty  to  repair  the  roads. 
The  negroes  on  plantations  have  easy  work: 
begin  at  sunrise,  breakfast  at  nine,  dinner  at  three ; 
by  which  time  the  task-work  is  usually  finished.  All 
work  is  done  by  task,  looked  over  by  the  driver,  who 
is  a  negro,  and  all  are  under  the  overseer.  Over- 
seers are  white  men,  their  salary  being  about  |2000 
(£400  a  year),  with  good  houses,  and  gardens,  and 

servants:  in  Mr.  W 's  plantation,  having  350 

negroes,  all  were  bom  on  the  estate,  except  one 
family.  All  have  gardens,  pigs,  poultry,  cows.  No 
boys  or  girls  work  till  they  are  fifteen  years  of  age ; 
till  then  they  are  employed  tending  the  infants  while 
the  parents  are  at  work.  On  Saturday  half-tasks 
are  set,  so  that  they  have  more  than  a  half-holiday. 
Here  eveiy  evening  some  of  them  came  into  the  par- 
lour to  read  the  New  Testament  to  Mrs.  W . 

One  of  these,  "  March,"  is  a  driver,  about  forty  years 
of  age ;  he  stammers  much  in  talk,  but  not  at  all  in 
reading.  If  a  negro  marries  a  woman  of  another 
plantation,  she  is  called  a  "  broad  wife ;"  the  children 
stay  with  her. 


58  An  Errand  to  the  South 

It  is  tlie  custom  for  masters  to  arrange  for  man 
and  wife  to  be  together :  the  wife  is  often  bought  on 
purpose  to  be  with  her  husband,  and  vice  versa.  A 
man  who  sells  a  wife  away  from  her  husband,  out  of 
reach,  is  reckoned  inhuman  in  society ;  still  it  is 
done,  and  none  that  I  conversed  with  on  the  subject 
but  agree  that  a  law  should  be  passed  to  prevent  it. 
A  master  at  Wilmington  sold  a  little  child  away 
from  its  mother:  a  subscription  was  immediately 
raised  to  buy  the  mother  from  him  to  put  her  with 
the  child.  He  dared  not  refuse,  and  he  was  so  avoided 
that  he  was  obHged  to  quit  the  place. 

I  here  insert  an  extract  from  a  Charleston  paper, 
complaining  of  the  manner  in  which  the  constitution 
has  been  infringed,  the  condition  of  the  negroes  in- 
jured, and  their  freedom  postponed  : — 

"  The  Declaration  of  Independence  of  the  4th 
July,  1776,  is  that '  These  United  Colonies  are  and 
of  right  ought  to  be  Free  and  Independent  States.' 

"  The  very  word  '  State'  presumes  self-govern- 
ment. A  State  is  a  body  separate  and  entire.  The 
several  States  came  into  Union,  on  throwing  off  the 
British  yoke,  for  each  one's  individual  benefit,  and 
for  the  sake  of  making  a  nation  of  States,  and  so,  as 
soon  as  any  State  ceased  to  derive  that  benefit,  it 
would  have  perfect  right  to   withdraw  from  that 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  59 

Union,  and  either  to  remain  _per  se,  or  to  confederate 
with  those,  whose  interests  might  be  identical.  In 
fact  the  very  origin  of  the  Union  proves  this,  for 
each  joined  it  separately  as  an  *  Independent'  State ; 
(two  expressly  stipulating  the  right  of  separation  at 
pleasure,  but  the  rest  always  held  it  as  part  of  the 
Constitution).  The  States  were  not  made  for  the 
Union,  but  the  Union  for  the  States.  The  South 
was  not  joined  to  the  North  as  in  eternal  wedlock, 
but  only  as  partners  in  company — the  partnership 
dissoluble,  at  any  time,  by  the  will  of  either  one. 
Moreover,  each  State  has  the  seed  of  Independence 
in  itself,  having  its  Governor  or  President,  its  officers 
of  State,  its  Senate  and  Congress,  and  above  ^all  its 
right  to  call  a  State  Convention — also  each  State  has 
its  own  distinct  legal  code,  that  of  South  Carolina 
being  a  copy  of  the  *  Common  Law'  of  England. 

*' Again,  the  Constitution  requires  that  *The 
United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every  State  in  this 
Union  a  Eepubhcan  form  of  Government,  and  shaU 
protect  each  of  them  against  invasion, 
*'  Departures  from  these  provisions — 
"  1st.  The  Executive  has  invaded  the  sovereignty, 
freedom,  and  independence  of  those  States,  which 
claun  to  be  separated  from  the  Union.  See  Article 
2nd. 


6o  An  Errand  to  the  South 

"2iid.  Force  has  been  used  and  attack  made 
against  the  independent  States  of  the  South,  on 
account  of  their  asserting  their  right  of  *  sovereignty/ 
See  Article  3rd. 

"  3rd.  The  Southern  States  have  had  no  vote  in 
Congress;  their  Eepresentatives  have  been  absent 
from  the  House.     See  Article  5th. 

*'  4th.  The  so-caUed  United  States  of  the  North 
engaged  in  war  against  the  Southern  States,  when 
thirteen  out  of  thirty-one  States  did  not  assent  in 
Congress,  though,  according  to  the  Constitution,  war 
cannot  be  declared  unless  two-thirds  assent.  See 
Article  9th. 

*'  5th.  As  thirteen  States  are  not  represented  in 
Congress,  therefore  no  question  as  to  this  war 
against  the  Southern  States  can  have  been  submitted 
to  the  determination  of  the  United  States  in  Con- 
gress assembled,  for  Congress  consists  by  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  whole  of  the  States  in  Union ;  and,  till 
a  new  Constitution  be  agreed  on  by  the  Northern 
States,  there  can  be  no  legal  Congress  of  the  United 
States.  And  these  articles  having  been  broken  by 
the  so-called  United  States  Congress,  and  the  Execu- 
tive, they  have  violated  the  Confederation,  and  de- 
stroyed the  perpetuity  of  the  Union.  Moreover,  they 
have  broken  the  guarantee  of  a  repubhcan  form  of 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  61 


I  Government  to  every  State,  in  resisting  the  will  of 
the  people  of  said  thirteen*  States  to  be  independent 
of  the  Union,  and,  instead  of  protecting  them  from 
invasion,  have .  actually  invaded  them  themselves. 
See  Article  13. 
"Thus  the  so-called  United  States,  through 
their  Congress  and  Executive,  are  in  open  dis- 
obedience to  the  Constitution,  which  constitutes 
rebellion. 

"  It  is  remarkable  too,  that  they  (i.e.  the  so-called 
United  States  and  Executive)  have  been  and  are 
perpetrating  the  very  same  grievances  that  caused 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  in  1776.  Among 
the  grievances  against  the  King  of  England,  causing 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  July  4,  1776,  it  is 
said  that  *  he  combined  with  others'  *  for  cutting  off 
our  trade  with  all  parts  of  the  world.'  '  He  has 
plundered  our  seas,  ravaged  our  coasts,  burnt  our 
towns,  and  destroyed  the  lives  of  our  people.'  '  He 
has  excited  domestic  insurrections  against  us.'  By 
the  Navigation  Acts,  the  Congress   shut  out  the 

I        South  fi'om  carrying  freight  by  any  except  Northern 
^^  vessels,  and,  by  protective  tariffs  taxed  them  heavily 
^H     *  It  is  a  remarkable  coincidence  that  this  number  agrees 
^^Mvith  the  number  of  States  who  at  first  conquered  inde- 
pendence. 


62  Ail  Errand  to  the  South 

for  goods  manufactured  from  our  own  produce,  in 
spite  of  the  great  founder  of  the  Constitution,  who 
said,  *  Harmony  and  a  liberal  intercourse  with  all 
nations  are  recommended  by  policy,  humanity,  and 
interest.  Our  commercial  policy  should  hold  an 
equal  and  impartial  hand;  neither  seeking  nor 
granting  exclusive  favours  or  preferences,  consulting 
the  natural  course  of  things,  diffusing  and  diversify- 
ing by  gentle  means  the  streams  of  commerce,  but 
forcing  nothing.'  (See  Washington's  Farewell  Ad- 
dress, September  17,  1796.) 

"  Again,  by  the  blockade  the  Northern  States  have 
cut  off  the  trade  of  the  South  from  all  parts  of  the 
world  :  not  only  this,  in  spite  of  commercial  treaties 
with  England  and  France,  they  have  shut  out  their 
.commerce  from  numerous  ports,  which  they  still 
claim  to  be  ports  of  the  United  States,  and  so  have 
broken  faith  with,  and  insulted  and  injured,  those 
nations,  and  it  is  only  wonderful  that  they  have  per- 
mitted such  violation  of  their  rights ;  for  it  is  not  as 
though  some  especial  port  besieged  was  interdicted,* 
but  the  whole  sea-board,  for  thousands  of  miles,  is 

*  By  Article  I.,  Section  8,  Par.  1,  of  the  Constitution  of 
the  Confederate  States,  the  principle  of  free  trade  is  esta- 
blished :  "  No  bounties  shall  be  granted  by  the  Treasury ; 
nor  shall  any  duties  or  taxes  on  importations  from  foreign 
nations  be  laid  to  promote  or  foster  any  branch  of  industry.*' 


m  ihe  Summer  of  1862.  63 

blockaded,  and  peaceable  and  fighting  citizens  are 
included  in  the  one  fell  swoop  of  the  rapacious  eagle. 
Truly  may  the  people  of  the  Southern  States  com- 
plain of  the  Northern  oligarchy  as  the  Colonies  did 
of  George  III.     '  It  has  plundered  our  seas,  ravaged 
^^our  coasts,  burnt  our  towns,  and  destroyed  the  lives 
^w>f  our  people.'      Nay,  more,  though  we  might  have 
^Booked  for  progress  in  civilization,   after  nearly  a 
■^■Dentury,  this  new  tyrant  has  insulted  our  women 
^wnd   driven  us  from  our  hearths  and  our  altars. 
Again,  they  may  say,  '  It  has  excited  domestic  in- 
surrection amongst  us,'  for  Congress  allows  intem- 
perate abohtionist    attacks    on    the  institution   of 
slavery,  which  is  part  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
Southern  States.     It  encouraged  moral  incendiaries 
to  stir  up  the  servants  against  their  masters.     It 
passed  a  '  fugitive  slave  law,'*  and  then  upset  its  own 
law ;  and  now  the  Executive  of  the  United  States  has 
consummated  this  evil,  by  allowing  his  myrmidons 
to  entice,  if  not  force,  the  servants  away  from  their 
homes  illegally,  promising  them  freedom  in  many 

*  This  law  is  part  of  tlio  original  Constitution :  "  Article 
IV.,  Section  2,  Par  3. — No  person  held  to  labour  in  one 
State,  escaping  into  another,  shall  in  consequence  of  any  law 
or  regulation  therein  be  discharged  from  such  service  or 
labour,  but  shall  be  delivered  up  on  claim  of  the  party  to 
whom  such  service  or  labour  may  be  due," 


64  An  Errand  to  the  South 

instances,  yet  increasing  their  bondage  and  arming 
them  against  their  masters,  and  it  is  even  stated  that 
hundreds  have  been  sent  to  Cuba  for  sale.  0 !  for 
the  spirit  of  Washington  to  rise  up  and  turn  their 
hearts !  He  looked  to  *  the  talents,  the  rectitude  and 
the  ]^atriotism!  of  the  first  minds  of  the  Senate  and 
Eepresentatives,  as  *the  surest  pledges'  against 
'  local  prejudices,  separate  views  and  party  animosi- 
ties,' which,  he  said,  vrould  *  misdirect  the  compre- 
hensive and  equal  eye,  which  ought  to  watch  over 
this  great  assemblage  of  communities  and  interests.' 
In  these  honourable  quahfications — 'talents,  recti- 
tude and  patriotism,'  he  saw  a  guarantee  that  the 
*  pre-eminence  of  free  government  would  be  exem- 
pUfied,  by  all  the  attributes,  which  can  win  the 
affections  of  its  citizens  and  command  the  respect  of 
the  world.'  He  said :  *  The  propitious  smiles  of 
Heaven  can  never  be  expected  on  a  nation  that  dis- 
regards the  eternal  rules  of  order  and  right.'  His 
prayer  was,  that  since  it  '  had  pleased  the  benign 
Parent  of  the  human  race  to  favour  the  American 
people  with  opportunities  for  dehberating  in  perfect 
tranquillity,  and  dispositions  for  deciding  with  unpa- 
ralleled unanimity  in  a  form  of  G-ovemment  for  the 
security  of  their  Union  and  the  advancement  of  their 
happiness ;  so  His  divine  blessing  might  be  equally 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  65 

conspicuous  in  the  enlarged  views,  the  temperate 
consultations,  and  the  wise  measures,  on  which  the 
success  of  this  Government  must  depend.' — Washing- 
ton's InauguroU  Address,  April  30,  1789. 

"  He  warned  the  people  of  the  United  States  '  in- 
dignantly to  frown  upon  the  first  dawning  of  every 
attempt  to  alienate  any  portion  of  our  country  from 
the  rest,  or  to  enfeeble  the  sacred  ties  which  linked 
together  the  various  parts.*  Yet  the  abolitionists 
were  encouraged  in  alienating  the  affections  of  the 
South. 

"  In  this  remarkable  address  of  Washington  there 
is  an  ominous  doubt  of  the  perpetuity  of  the  Union. 
He  calls  it  an  '  experiment.'  He  says  :  '  Let  expe- 
rience solve  the  doubt,  whether  a  common  govern- 
ment can  embrace  so  large  a  sphere.'  He  contem- 
plates the  causes  which  may  disturb  the  Union. 
*  Designing  men  may  endeavour  to  excite  a  belief, 
from  parties  being  designated  by  geographical  discri- 
minations, such  as  Northern  or  Southern,  that  there 
is  a  real  difference  of  local  interests  and  views.'* 
Now,  who  are  the  designing  men  but  those  Northern 
politicians,  who,  by  violent  or  underhand  *  abohtion' 
speeches  and  by  cruel  tariffs,  protecting  themselves 
and  laying  heavy  burdens  on  the  South,  have  not 

*  Washington's  Farewell  Addi-ess,  September  17, 1796. 

P 


66  An  Errand  to  the  South 

only  excited  tlie  belief,  but  forced  tbe  fact  on  the 
world. 

"  The  law  against  openly  teaching  negroes  to  read 
and  write,  dates  about  fifteen  or  twenty  years  ago, 
and  was  caused  by  the  Northern  abohtionists  circu- 
lating incendiary  papers  among  the  slaves,  and  thus 
putting  back  the  Hght  of  that  improvement  for  the 
negroes  full  fifty  years.  Before  the  designs  of  the 
abolitionists  assumed  such  a  dangerous  form,  Mary- 
land, Virginia,  and  Kentucky,  had  seriously  contem- 
plated gradual  emancipation. 

"  John  Kandolph,  Senator  for  "Virginia,  1825-27, 


*' '  I  am  persuaded  that  the  cause  of  humanity  to 
the  slaves  has  been  put  back  a  century,  certainly  a 
generation,  by  the  unprincipled  conduct  of  ambitious 
men,  availing  themselves  of  a  good  as  well  as  a 
fanatical  spirit  in  the  nation. 

"  *  There  can  be  no  doubt  that,  if  the  agitation  of 
the  slavery  question  had  not  been  commenced  and 
fermented,  by  men,  who  had  no  possible  connection 
with  it,  and  who,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  could 
have  no  other  motive  but  political  ambition  and  a 
spirit  of  aggression;  had  the  subject  been  left,  as 
found,  under  the  compromises  of  the  Constitution 
and  the  laws  of  God  and  conscience,  aided  by  an  en- 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  6y 

lightened  understanding  of  their  true  interests,  to 
work  a  silent  yet  irresistible  influence  on  the  minds  of 
men,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that,  long  ere  this,  mea- 
sures would  have  been  adopted  for  the  final,  the 
gradual  extinguishment  of  slavery  within  our  bor- 
ders.'— BandoljyJis  Life. 

"  Let  the  exposure  of  this  mischievous  system  of 
misrepresentation,  followed  by  designing  men  of  the 
abolitionist  sect,  be  closed  with  the  following  facts : 
The  Kev.  IVIr.  Beecher,  it  is  well  known,  keeps  up  his 
sister's  '  frivolous  imposture'*  of*  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin' 
from  the  pulpit  and  the  platform.  In  a  recent  ser- 
mon, preached  at  New  York,  he  is  reported  to  have 
said :  *  The  new  Government  of  the  Confederate 
States  has  the  development  of  slavery  for  its  avowed 
object,  and  the  encouragement  of  the  slave-trade  as  a 
suppressed  motive.'  Whereas  it  is  provided  by  Sec- 
tion IX.,  Article  1,  of  the  Constitution  of  the  Confe- 
derate States  of  America,  that  *  The  importation  of 
negroes  of  the  African  race,  from  any  foreign  coun- 
tries, other  than  the  slaveholding  States  or  Territo- 
ries of  the  United  States  of  America,  is  hereby  for- 
bidden, and  Congress  is  required  to  pass  such  laws 
as  shall  effectually  prevent  the   same.      Congress 

*  "  I  find  a  number  of  books  of  fabulous  experiments  and 
frivolous  impostures,  for  pleasure  and  strangeness." — Bacon, 


6S  An  Errand  to  the  South 

shall  also  have  power  to  prohibit  the  introduction  of 
slaves  from  any  State  not  a  member  of,  or  territory 
not  belonging  to  this  Confederacy." 

On  Mr.  W.'s  plantation  there  are  nine  women  and 
four  men  superannuated,  all  comfortably  housed  and 
cared  for :  several  of  the  boys  and  men  can  read  and 
write ;  the  girls  when  young  can  get  over  the  rudi- 
ments of  reading,  but  have  a  most  extraordinary  in- 
ability to  proceed;  yet  by  viva-voce  teaching  they 
get  up  their  catechism  very  tolerably,  and  also 
Scripture  history ;  and  many  answered  my  questions 
better  than  our  poor  children  do  in  most  places. 

The  negroes  have  family  names,  but  you  never 
hear  them  used  except  among  themselves,  they  call 
them  "titles;"  e.g.,  Mrs.  W.'s  second  footman  is 
Gabriel,  his  family  name  Knox;  Mary,  the  house- 
maid's title,  is  Green.  Their  weddings  are  kept 
with  good  cheer ;  wedding  cards  are  sent  out  to  all 
their  friends ;  the  master  gives  them  cake,  turkeys, 
hams,  molasses,  coffee,  &c.,  and  they  are  always 
allowed  three  days'  holiday. 

Each  plantation  has  its  hospital,  and  a  good 
woman  nurse,  strong  and  healthy,  instructed  in 
medicine  and  treatment  of  wounds.  The  common 
punishment  on  plantations  is  shutting  up  for  a 
certain  time;  but  generally  it  is  shortened  on  ex- 


in  the  Summer  of  1 862.  69 

pression  of  contrition  ;  whipping  is  only  resorted  to 
for  theft,  and  then  with  clothes  on. 

The  stoppage  of  mails  and  supplies  has  caused 
much  feeling  against  the  North.  People  said,  "  the 
Northerns  say  they  have  many  Unionists  still  in 
the  South.  Why  then  punish  them  ?  Why  not  be 
content  to  guard  the  coast  and  seize  *  contraband 
of  war.'  Suppose  (they  say)  any  Unionists  are  in 
distress,  there  is  no  appeal  by  letter ;  if  any  violence 
done  by  the  Northern  soldiers,  no  redress  ;  all  appeal 
to  Mends,  shut  up ;  is  this  like  a  paternal  Govern- 
ment ?  In  the  North  it  is  said  Union  feeling  in  the 
South  is  smothered  by  politicians :  but  if  epistolary 
communication  be  cut  off,  how  shall  it  be  kept  alive 
at  all  ? — all  Union  feeling  will  be  extinguished."  I 
met  many  who  had  parents,  children,  brothers,  sisters, 
&c.,  in  the  North,  for  whom  they  had  not  heard  for 
more  than  a  year,  and  could  not  hear.  They  called 
it  barbarous,  cruel,  and  foohsh  to  stop  the  mails; 
many  who  were  once  hot  for  the  Union  were  now 
just  as  hot  against  it.  One  lady  was  in  a  dangerous 
illness ;  great  interest  was  made  to  procure  a  pass 
for  her  mother  to  come  to  her;  but  though  her 
mother  had  inteUigence  conveyed  by  the  greatest 
difficulty,  she  was  not  allowed  by  the  Union 
authorities  to  pass  from  North  to  South,  and  the 


70  An  Errand  to  the  South 

daughter  died  from  grief  of  mind  added  to  illness  of 
body. 

On  tlie  22nd  of  June  we  had  the  church  "  in  our 
house ;"  it  was  too  hot  to  go  out,  and  the  borough  is 
near  half  a  mile  distant.  The  tintinnabulum  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  "Church"  sounded;  but  the 
minister  who  lived  twelve  miles  off  did  not  appear, 
and  his  assistant  was  a  private  with  the  army. 

About  sixteen  negroes,  boys  and  girls,  came  into 

the  piazza  to  be  catechized  by  Mr.  W ;    they 

answered  very  well,  and  then  sung  hymns  and  chants. 
The  adults  went  to  the  Methodist  church  at  3  p.m.  : 
they  frequently  have  meetings  of  their  own  for 
worship ;  but  the  service  must  be  opened  by  a  white 
man,  who  stays  with  them,  and  they  say  they  were 
never  disappointed,  always  some  one  in  the  South  to 
help  the  poor  negro  in  the  work  of  his  soul :  one  of 
the  negroes  preached.  They  would  be  very  un- 
happy if  they  passed  a  Sunday  without  Divine 
service.  I  heard  of  an  act  of  the  Confederate 
Government  which  contrasted  favourably  with  the 
conduct  of  the  Federals — viz.,  just  after  the  fall  of 
Fort  Sumter  a  proclamation  was  issued  by  the 
Government,  that  all  who  were  unfavourable  to  the 
Confederate  cause  might  go  North,  and  time  was 
given  for  them  to  arrange  their  affairs,  whereupon  a 


in  tlie  Summer  of  iS62.  71 

great  many  left  the  South  unmolested.  A  visit  to  a 
venerable  old  farmer  gave  me  an  idea  of  the  Southern 
yeomen :  he  was  seventy  years  of  age,  six  feet  high, 
strong  and  healthy;  he  had  four  sons,  three  of 
whom  were  gone  to  the  war.  Early  in  life  this  man 
taking  a  religious  turn  became  preacher  in  the 
Methodist  church;  he  still  preaches  twice  every 
Sunday,  going  four  miles  and  more.  On  my  way 
home  I  visited  another  farm,  whose  owner  was 
rather  too  fond  of  his  whiskey,  which  militated 
against  his  mihtary  propensities;  so  having  joined 
the  army  he  was  soon  obHged  to  quit  it  (no  drunken- 
ness is  allowed  in  the  Southern  army)  :  his  only  two 
sons  fit  to  work  are  in  the  army ;  out  of  the  rest  of 
his  family  two  are  blind.  Some  idea  may  be  formed 
of  the  warlike  propensities  of  the  youths  in  this 
district,  when  it  is  stated  that  the  number  of  voters, 
whose  age  must  be  twenty-one  years,  barely  ex- 
ceeded 800,  and  those  who  volunteered  for  the  army 
were  1200.  I  was  surprised  at  hearing  several  of 
the  farmers  saying  that  "  the  war  would  do  good, 
observing  that,  for  a  long  time,  they  had  been  too 
careless  in  religion,  and  unthankful  for  the  many 
blessings  they  enjoyed.  The  war,. they  thought, 
would  tend  to  correct  these  failings :  moreover,  for  a 
long  time  they  had  no  energy  to  provide  for  their 


72  An  'Errand  to  the  South 

own  wants,  being  dependent  on  the  North  for  every- 
thing in  the  shape  of  manufacturing  goods;  now 
they  would  be  taught  by  necessity  to  exert  them- 
selves, and  develop  the  resources  which  God  had 
given  to  them.  It  would  also  unite  the  various 
religious  sects,  and  bring  them  to  work  together  for 
their  country's  rights." 

On  visiting  a  neighbour  who  had  been  bedridden 
fourteen  years,  I  saw  a  book  entitled  "Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  South,''  printed  1855.  Here  was 
a  religious  secession ;  it  recommended  to  "  all 
Methodists  the  book  called  *  Doctrine  and  Disciphne 
of  the  M.  E.  C.  S.,'  which  contains  the  articles  of 
rehgion  maintained  more  or  less,  in  part  or  whole, 
by  every  Keformed  Church  in  the  world."  On  the 
1st  of  May,  1845,  a  conference  met  at  Louisville, 
Kentucky,  which  declared  by  solemn  resolution  that 
"  The  jurisdiction  hitherto  exercised  by  the  general 
conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in 
the  slave-holding  States  entirely  dissolved  and 
erected  the  annual  conference  into  a  separate  eccle- 
siastical connection,  under  the  style  and  title  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  The  first  gene- 
ral conference  of  which  was  held  at  Petersburg, 
Virginia,  1st  May,  1846.  They  declared  this  was 
occasioned  by  the  long  and  continued  agitation  of 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  73 

the  subject  of  slavery  and  abolition  in  tbe  annual 
conferences,  the  frequent  action  on  that  subject  in 
the  general  conference,  and  especially  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  general  conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  of  1844,  in  the  case  of  the 
"  Kev.  James  0.  Andrew,  D.D.,  one  of  the  bishops, 
having  been  connected  with  slavery  by  marriage." 
The  wife  of  this  afflicted  man  showed  me  her  three 
girls,  and  said,  with  tears  in  her  eyes,  "  See  how  we 
give  up  everything  for  our  liberty.  Here  am  I,  left 
with  my  sick  husband  and  these  three  girls;  we 
have  sent  our  only  son  to  fight  for  the  holy  cause 
hi  away.  The  cruellest  thing  was  stopping  letters 
from  South  to  North  between  friends  and  relations  ; 
the  stoppage  was  all  on  one  side:  the  South  did 
not  wish  it  to  be  so.  Bad  enough  to  bear  pri- 
vations of  things  needful  for  the  body ;  the  actual 
necessaries  of  hfe  not  to  be  had,  or  too  dear  to  be 
got  by  people  of  small  means,  such  as  we  are. 
Butter  $1  a  pound ;  no  ice — no  tea — no  coffee — no 
sugar.     Cottons  used  to  be  5   cents  a  yard,  now 

I  they  are  40  ;  boots  used  to  be  |3  a  pair,  now  30 
to  40  ;  Mrs.  L.  and  daughters  make  their  own  shoes, 
and  make  their  medicines  from  herbs  .in  woods  and 
gardens." 
— 


74  -^^  Errand  to  the  South 

ton  "  came  up  to  Conwayborougli  from  the  plantation. 
We  were  on  the  bank.  Captain  Charlie  and  his 
crew,  in  all  eight,  fine,  strong,  good-natured  fellows, 
jumped  ashore.  All  shook  hands  with  and  made  low 
bows  to  Mrs.  W.,  and  then,  as  a  thing  of  course,  with 
me.  I  asked,  "  Well,  Charlie,  what  would  you  have 
done  if  the  gunboats  had  come  across  you  ?"  Answer : 
"  Sunk  de  flat,  and  cleared  selves  in  de  swamp."  In 
the  evening  the  crew  and  all  met  together  in  one  of 
the  houses,  and  joined  in  thanksgiving  for  safe 
arrival  and  not  being  hindered  by  the  enemy. 

Negro  labourers  have  generally  family  prayers 
and  hymns.  In  this  plantation  they  are  aU  of  the 
Anglican  Church,  and  they  can  give  an  account  of 
their  faith  too ;  but  they  are  ready  to  go  anywhere  to 
hear  preaching  and  to  join  in  prayer  and  psalms. 
This  day  the  thermometer  rose  to  88^ — too  hot  to  be 
pleasant !  A  thunder-storm  at  night  lowered  it  to 
85°  next  day. 

Met  a  gentleman  who  had  left  the  army  from  bad 
health.  He  declared  that  at  the  battle  of  Williams- 
burg the  Hampton  brigade  was  in  a  wood,  and  came 
suddenly  on  a  New  York  regiment,  when  it  was 
halted,  and  the  order  given  to  fix  bayonets,  on 
hearing  the  noise  of  which  the  latter  regiment  ran 
off.      He  served  a  year  on  the  Potomac.      His 


in  the  Summer  of  1S62.  75 

regiment,  the  2nd  S.  C,  covered  the  retreat  to 
Kichmond.  He  tells  me  of  fine  iron  mines  at 
Pendleton,  in  South  Carolina,  of  which  iron  Colonel 
Colt  said  it  was  the  best  for  fire-arms ;  also,  that  at 
Walhalla,  near  the  Alleghanny  Mountains,  the 
Germans  had  set  up  potteries.  Cotton  and  woollen 
manufactories  had  sprung  up  at  Spartanburg,  in  the 
same  region.  The  latitude  is  34:  the  locality  is 
found  to  be  healthy  for  white  people.  About  the 
same  latitude  in  North  Carolina  coal  is  found  seven 
feet  under  the  surface,  the  bed  being  about  ten  feet 
deep,  extending  over  a  space  of  30  by  10  miles,  and 
by  rail  only  two  days  from  Charleston.  This  man's 
father  grew  sugar-cane  on  two  acres  in  South  Caro- 
lina, and  got  six  barrels  of  syrup  and  four  of  sugar. 

In  1860  a  company  was  started  to  get  up  a  steam 
line  between  Charleston  and  England.  Two-thirds 
of  the  shares  were  taken  in  England,  and  one-third 
in  South  Carolina.  This  will  be  resumed  when  the 
war  is  over. 

On  the  26th  of  June,  after  the  "  hot,"  we  have  a 
"  cool  spell ;"  delightful  summer  weather,  thermo- 
meter at  76^  at  9  a.m.,  and  at  9  p.m.  ll"". 

Now  I  see  another  grade.  We  drive  about  six 
miles,  and  visit  Mr.  Anderson's  farm,  which  some 
call  a  "  plantation."    He  has  2,500  acres,  but  only 


'j/^  An  Errand  to  the  South 

100  in  cultivation.  What  a  country  for  grapes! 
Fancy  one  vine  in  his  garden,  five  years  old,  trained 
on  a  trellis,  covering  fifteen  yards  square,  from 
which  he  makes  two  barrels  of  wine  of  forty  gallons 
each.  His  house  is  covered  with  shingles,  made  of 
the  heart  of  the  black  cypress.  He  has  seventeen 
negroes:  he  heard  one  of  his  men  was  married, 
found  out  where  his  wife  was,  and  bought  her  on 
purpose  to  keep  them  together:  he  behoves  that 
one  of  the  first  measures  of  the  Southern  Legislature 
when  peace  is  made,  will  be  to  make  it  illegal  to 
separate  man  and  wife  by  sale,  or  parents  and 
children  till  the  latter  be  grown  up.  He  has  seventy 
sheep ;  all  their  clothes  are  now  of  home  manufac- 
ture. He  grows  sugar-canes,  which  get  up  to  twelve 
feet  high.  He  says  the  farmers  who  keep  no  slaves 
are  more  resolute  in  the  fight  for  liberty  than  the 
slaveholders :  they  feel  that  the  monopolizing  spirit 
of  the  Northerns  has  prevented  the  due  progress  of 
the  Southerns. 

Mr.  L ,  the  bedridden  invahd,  was  anxious  to 

receive  the  holy  communion  ;  it  was  four  years  since 
he  had  been  visited  by  the  Methodist  minister ;  and 
on  the  27th  of  June  I  administered  it  to  him  in  his 
house.  The  people  here  were  quite  ignorant  of  our 
Prayer-book;   when  they  saw  it  they  were  quite 


in  the  Suimner  of  1862.  '/'/ 

taken  with  it.  Many  said  they  wished  my  church 
was  there ;  and  it  certainly  seems  the  branch  of  the 
EngHsh  Church  in  America  called  "  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  "  (a  very  indefinite  denomination,  in 
my  opinion)  has  been  very  unprogressive.  Often 
in  travelling,  when  I  saw  the  various  churches  in 
small  places,  I  asked  if  there  was  an  Episcopal 
church,  and  the  answer  would  be,  "0  no,  they  are 
only  in  the  towns."  The  want  of  system  both  in 
the  ministry  and  services  of  the  other  "chm-ches"  not 
requiring  a  behef  in  Apostolical  succession,  was  very 
evident.  The  order  and  decency  essential  to  the 
Anglo-CathoHc  Church  would  be  hailed,  by  many  in 
those  villages  and  farms,  as  a  great  spiritual  comfort, 
and  from  the  spirit  of  toleration  which  exists,  no 
hostility  would  be  raised.  The  fields  are  white  to 
the  harvest ;  there  is  a  noble  opening  for  the 
ministry  of  the  Church.  Come,  not  in  the  spirit  of 
opposition  but  of  love — on  the  principle  that  those 
who  are  not  against  Christ  are  for  him.  If  the  old 
Church  be  "  Apostolic,"  it  should  surely  go  to  the 
villages  as  well  as  the  towns — it  should  visit  every 
homestead  through  the  forests.  Many  said,  they 
have  their  Bibles,  but  they  felt  a  want  of  something 

I  more,  viz.,  a  form  of  prayer  according  to  the  Bible, 
and  discipline  according  to  that  of  the  Apostles. 


yS  An  Errand  to  the  South 


CHAPTEK  lY. 

A  Move  to  the  Sea,  and  First  Visit  to  the 
Plantation. 

CoNivATBOROUGH  is  waxing  warm ;  and  besides  the 
heat,  if  you  walk  out,  there  are  little  ticks  which 
crawl  upon  your  skin  from  top  to  toe,  and  you  must 
undress  to  get  rid  of  them.  As  for  mosquitoes,  the 
musHn  curtains  keep  them  out  at  night. 

I  determined  on    a    trip    to    the    sea.      Mrs. 

W 's  plantation   rested    on    both    sides  of  the 

Wakamah  river,  which  runs  from  north  to  south 
parallel  with  the  sea,  leaving  a  strip  of  about  three 
miles,  and  then  a  creek  of  the  sea  runs  behind  a  sand 
island,  called  "  Pawley."  Here  about  fifteen  wealthy 
planters  have  selected  portions  of  land,  and  covered 
the  island  with  neat  marine  villas.  I  left  in  the 
buggy  and  pair  at  5  a.m.  ;  at  twenty-six  miles  rested 
half  an  hour,  at  a  farm  of  a  Mr.  Macklin,  who  gave 
good  entertainment  for  man  and  horse,  and  would 
take  no  payment.    In  spite  of  the  blockade  these 


'  in  the  Summer  of  1862.  79 

farmers  have  abundance  of  good  things.  Here  you 
are  in  a  ''  foreign  land,"  and  meet  with  a  regular  old 
English  reception  and  hearty  welcome  :  corn  bread 
— milk —  butter —  honey —  cider —  wine — all  home- 
made ;  orchards  filled  with  peach-trees  and  apples — 
the  fruit  not  yet  ripe.  Mr.  Macklin's  eldest  son  is 
called  "Lafayette."  Talking  of  the  United  States 
blockaders,  Mrs.  M.  said,  "they  could  not  reckon 
them  anything  less  than  pirates ;  they  invaded  un- 
ofiending  citizens  on  the  coasts,  insulted  the  women, 
destroyed  their  property,  and  took  away  their  ser- 
vants and  cattle." 

The  road  was  rough  :  often  when  a  tree  had  fallen 
across  it,  a  detour  had  to  be  made  some  yards  through 
the  forest.  The  woods  were  beautiful  in  all  variety 
of  foHage :  oaks,  cypress,  cedar,  pine,  magnohas, 
azaleas,  &c.  I  passed  ten  fine  plantations  with  their 
negro  villages ;  the  houses  are  built  in  streets,  and 
generally  in  echelons.  The  forty  miles  were  done  in 
seven  hours.  "  Prince  "  never  touched  the  horses 
once  with  the  whip — only  spoke  to  them ;  the  voice 
is  much  used  in  the  management  of  horses  in  the 
South.   Though  the  sun  was  hot,  and  flies  were  nume- 

)iis,  yet  the  horses  went  along  unmolested,  being 
'protected  from  flies  by  the  "  horse  guards,"  which  are 
immense  black  and  yellow  hornets ;  two  or  three  of 


8o  An  Errand  to  the  South 

them  keep  continually  hovering  round  each  horse, 
devouring  the  flies  and  scaring  them  away ;  they  are 
also  constant  attendants  on  cattle,  to  their  great  re- 
lief and  comfort.  Some  miles  of  the  road  were  "deep 
with  sand.  It  was  sad  to  see  thte  plantation  called 
Hagley — its  empty  mansion  heing  kept  by  a  faithful 
negro  and  his  wife.  I  entered  under  a  raised  portico, 
and  walking  on  through  a  passage,  came  to  a  domes- 
tic chapel,  where  daily  morning  and  evening  service 
used  to  be  said  by  the  master.  A  three-miles  drive 
further  brought  us  to  the  hospitable  house'  of  Mr. 
Eosa,  Captain  W 's  catechist — now  acting  over- 
seer. Mandeville  is  shaded  by  a  grove  of  ilexes — the 
tide  coming  to  the  foot  of  the  garden ;  I  felt  at  once 
the  reviving  influence  of  the  sea  air. 

On  St.  Peter's  day,  29th  June,  I  served  in  St. 
Mary's,  Weehawka,  on  the  "Wakamah  river ;  a  pretty 
wooden  church  with  lancet  windows ;  for  coolness, 
the  walls  are  double,  and  thus  made  about  three  feet 
wide.  In  the  tower  there  is  a  capital  clock,  the 
moral  influence  of  which  among  the  negroes  is  said 
to  be  wonderful  and  indescribable.  Mr.  Kosa  is 
appointed  a  "lay  reader."  This  is  an  excellent 
addition  to  the  ministry  of  the  Church ;  and  our 
bishops  would  do  well  to  have  it  in  England.  He 
reads  Prayers  and  Lessons ;  and  if  the  rector  be 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  8I 

absent,  he  reads  a  sermon  of  his  approval.  The 
congregation  (consisting  of  250  negroes,  men, 
women,  and  childi'en)  was  very  attentive.  About 
a  dozen  of  the  men  had  prayer-books,  and  joined 
audibly  in  the  service,  all  saying  the  "Amens" 
much  better  than  many  of  our  congregations  in 
England.  The  **  Selections  "  of  the  psalms  and  the 
hymns  are  a  great  improvement  on  our  Prayer- 
book  ;  many  negroes  who  cannot  read,  know  the 
"  Selections  "  by  heart,  as  also  they  do  many  of  the 
hymns,  in  the  singing  of  which  they  join  heartily 
and  correctly.  After  service  a  great  many  of  them 
came  up  to  the  chancel  steps,  and  shook  hands  with 
me. 

Next  day  I  saw  the  rice  fields  on  the  south  bank 
of  the  Wakamah :  these  fields  are  reclaimed  from 
swamps:  a  high  embankment  ls  made  along  the 
river,  through  which  at  intervals  are  placed  immense 
sluices,  which  are  the  means  of  keeping  the  fields 
flooded  from  seed-time  till  harvest.  On  the  30th  of 
June  the  crops  were  about  half  grown ;  the  harvest 
would  be  in  September,  nearly  half  the  blade  being 
under  water  continually  till  the  ear  ripens.  Out  of 
300  acres  this  year,  owing  to  the  150  negroes  having 
gone  to  the  new  plantation,  more  than  100  were 
doomed  to  destruction.      This  is  executed  by  drown- 

G 


82  An  Errand  to  the  South 

ing  the  crop,  and  then  letting  off  the  water  suddenly, 
which  lays  it  flat  and  dry  for  the  sun  to  kill.  How- 
ever, the  clever  Mr.  Eosa,  who  makes  as  good  an 
overseer  as  he  is  Catechist,  hit  upon  the  idea  of 
cutting  the  half-ripe  rice,  and  making  it  into  hay 
for  the  mules  and  oxen ;  and  I  doubt  not  it  answered 
his  expectations.  In  the  garden  of  the  overseer's 
house  he  raises  two  crops  of  "Irish  potatoes," 
yearly ;  first  in  June,  second  in  October :  they  are 
sown  in  trenches  with  layers  of  straw:  they  are 
called  "  Irish  potatoes  "  because  the  "  sweet  potato  " 
or  yam,  the  staple  vegetable  (vast  fields  being  full  of 
it  everywhere)  has  usurped  the  old  name.  The  gar- 
dens here  produce  delicious  figs,  grapes,  and  melons, 
okra  (what  we  call  quash  in  India),  eg^  plant,  tomata 
— all  in  abundance.  The  negroes  have  all  these  in 
their  gardens  too.  The  woods  produce  whortleberries 
finer  than  any  I  ever  saw  in  Germany  or  England, 
and  carry  their  grateful  shade  down  to  the  sea :  they 
are  mostly  of  second  growth  here,  as  about  200 
years  ago  the  whole  ground  was  taken  up  by  in- 
digo fields.  When  the  original  planters  took  up  land, 
it  was  all  for  indigo,  while  the  swamps  on  the  river 
margins  were  thrown  in  as  worthless  ;  but  now  th^e 
swamps,  as  just  stated,  give  all  the  wealth  of  the 
planters ;  and  indigo  is  left  to  grow  wild  in  the  second- 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  83 

growth  woods.  But  how  beautiful  are  those  woods ! 
The  roads  are  drives  through  groves  abounding  with 
magnohas,  bays,  rhododendra,  and  azaleas:  the 
aromatic  scents  by  night,  when  your  path  is  lit 
up  by  innumerable  fire-flies,  is  dehcious. 

On  the  Ist  July  I  left  the  sea- washed  and  forest- 
shaded  Mandeville,  at  3  a.m.  ;  the  Virginia  steeds, 
Saratoga  and  Equity,  dashing  through  the  scented 
woods  lighted  by  fire-flies  and  stars.  These  light 
buggies,  with  their  slender  wheels,  are  the  traps  to 
fly  through  a  country  in;  when  you  pull  at  the 
horses  they  dash  onwards — when  you  slacken  your 
hold,  they  slacken  their  pace;  and  their  eyes  are 
free  to  gaze  about — h.o  blinkers  to  disfigure  their 
beautiful  heads  ;  their  "  hoofs  that  iron  never  shod," 
uncontracted,  spurn  the  earth  :  for  the  roads  are  all 
sandy  in  these  parts;  there  is  no  "breeching"  to 
hide  their  muscular,  well-turned  quarters :  so  away 
they  go,  with  nothing  but  collars  and  traces  and  a 
tight  girth.  The  whole  afiair  is  the  acme  of  Ught- 
ness  and  strength  combined.  "We  soon  got  over  the 
thirty-six  miles  to  the  Wakamah  ferry.  "  Prince  " 
drove  the  carriage  into  the  boat ;  luckily  I  got  out ; 
the  *'  young  man  "  of  the  ferry  was  gone  to  the  war, 
so  we  only  had  a  negro  woman  to  manage  it.  In 
half  an  hour  we  reached  the  opposite  bank.     Our 


84  An  Errand  to  the  South 

dusky  propeller  held  on  her  pole  at  the  stem,  and  I 

seized  the  iron  ring  at  the  prow ;  "  Prince  "  gave  a 

pull,  and  out  sprung  the  steeds — hut,  alas  !  hack  went 

the  boat,  in  spite  of  my  pull  and  her  push.    Nobly  the 

horses  struggled  up  the  slippery  bank,  their  hind 

feet  in  and  out  of  the  water :  the  bank  was  steep, 

the  water  deep ;  in  a  moment  the  boat  had  slipped 

away,  and  the  carriage  was  in  the  river,  and  poor 

"  Prince  "  in  a  very  uncomfortable  position.    I  kicked 

and  thumped  the  near  horse,  and  urged  them  with 

my  voice,  telling  "  Prince  "  to  let  go  the  reins  ;  and 

just  as  the  horses  made  a  last  desperate  effort  to  escape 

being  dragged  back  into  the  stream  with  the  floating 

buggy,  both  splinter  bars  broke,   and   away  they 

sprang  with  the  pole  and  reins.     I  rushed  to  the 

near  fore-wheel,  which  was  just  disappearing,  and  by 

unexpected  strength  held  it  up  to  the  edge  of  the 

bank.    The  moment  the  horse  broke  loose,  "  Prince  " 

scrambled   over   the    splash-board,    sprung   to   the 

bank,  and  held  the  other  wheel.     The  poor  negro 

woman  stood  aghast ;  the  horses  began  eating  grass. 

We  looked  down  to  the  ferry  head — how  lucky  !    It 

was  conscript-day  at  Conwayboro',  and  three  planters' 

overseers  had  just  arrived,  and  were   getting  into 

another  boat  to  pass  over.     As  soon  as  possible  they 

came  to  the  rescue,  and  by  all  our  united  efforts  we 


I 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  85 

pulled  the  vehicle  on  to  terra  firmxi,  and  with  bits  of 
wood  and  cords,  splinter  bars  were  extemporized,  and 
in  a  few  minutes  we  were  off  again  for  the  Boro'  with 
no  more  damage  than  my  valise,  with  all  its  con- 
tents, my  white  surpHce,  my  books  and  journal, 
stained  with  the  dark-brown  waters  of  the  Waka- 
mah. 

On  returning  to  Conwayboro'  I  hear  the  news  of 
the  Federal  forces  being  driven  from  near  Kichmond 
several  miles  down  the  James  Eiver ;  but  there  are 
no  flags  flying,  no  outward  signs  of  rejoicing — only 
the  people  seem,  individually,  as  if  a  weight  were  re- 
moved from  their  minds,  by  gloom  being  exchanged 
for  smiles. 

A  warm  retreat  is  Conwayboro'.  At  midday,  July 
2nd,  thermometer  86°,  and  little  rehef  at  night ;  yet 
people  seem  to  live  to  a  good  old  age  here.  I  met  a 
lady  to-day,  aged  seventy,  strong  in  mind  and  body ; 
has  a  son  who  has  been  wounded  four  times ;  her 
residence  is  North  Carolina.  A  friend  of  hers,  a 
widow,  had  a  plantation  at  PoUocksville :  part  of 
General  Newbern's  force  went  up  the  river  and  took 
away  by  force  100  of  her  negroes.  She  stated  as  a 
known  fact,  that  four  ship-loads  of  negroes  had  been 
taken  from  Port  Koyal  to  Cuba,  and  sold  to  pay  ex- 
penses of  the  war. 


S6  An  Errand  to  the  South 


CHAPTEK  V. 

Off  to  Columhia  and  the  Refuge  Plantation, 

On  Srd  July  I  started  for  Columbia  and  Winsboro*. 
The  train  from  Wilmington  arrived  at  Fairbluff  at 
12.30  night;  cars  full  of  wounded  men  from  Eich- 
mond,  reached  Kingsville,  100  miles,  at  7  a.m. 
Near  this  place  the  Wateree  Kiver  and  its  tributaries 
and  swamps  are  traversed  by  a  viaduct  raised  on  tim- 
ber tressel-work  for  five  miles.  Kingsville  is  the 
junction  of  the  branches  to  Augusta  and  Columbia ; 
therefore  many  of  the  poor  wounded  soldiers  got 
out.  It  was  sad  to  see  them.  The  station  hotel, 
by  no  means  adequate  to  the  demand  now  put  upon 
it  by  the  war,  did  not  meet  their  wants ;  the  hot 
fries  and  beefsteaks  of  the  American  breakfast  they 
could  not  taste.  I  asked  ''mine  host"  if  there  was 
nothing  else.  "No — only  pay  75  cents,  and  sit 
down."  Several  of  them  said,  "  We  only  want  a 
little  milk  and  water  and  a  biscuit," — which  were 


in  the  Summer  of  1^62.  Sy 

not  to  be  had ;  water  was  indeed  scarce !  They 
covered  the  station,  some  on  stretchers,  some  on 
crutches — no  one  to  attend  to  them.  It  was  twenty 
miles  to  Columbia,  which  we  did  in  the  luggage-car 
of  a  freight  train.  On  4th  July  I  arrived  at  Colum- 
bia, capital  of  South  Carolina,  a  very  pretty  city, 
called  the  "Garden  City."  Every  street  has  an 
avenue  of  trees  and  one  long  street,  a  double  one. 
I  was  provided  with  a  letter  to  the  Governor, 
Mr.  Pickens,  by  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Mason ;  and 
I  lost  no  time  in  making  use  of  it.  Eound 
him  at  his  office,  and,  luckily,  the  general  of 
the  district  mtli  him.  I  reported  the  state  of 
things  at  Kingsville,  and  orders  were  issued  then 
and  there  for  an  assistant  surgeon  to  be  stationed 
there,  and  a  wayside  hospital  erected,  with  all  the 
needments  for  the  sick  and  wounded.  I  avoided 
the  crowded  hotels,  and  put  up  at  Mrs.  McMahon's 
boarding-house.  These  houses  are  to  be  found  in 
every  town,  and  very  nice  they  are,  having  the 
taUe-dliote  system  well  carried  out;  the  draw- 
ing-room, pianoforte,  &c.  Never  was  there  a 
cleaner  house  than  Mrs.  McMahon's;  and  most 
agreeable  society.  She  had  Colonel  Hayne,  aide- 
de-camp  to  the  general,  a  poet  and  a  friend  of  poets ; 
Mrs.  Bartow,  the  widow  of  one  of  the  brave  men 


88  An  Errand  to  the  South 

who  fell  at  the  battle  of  Bull  Kun,  1861 ;  and 
Colonel  Chesnut  (one  of  the  State  Council),  with 
his  lady,  and  several  others.  Our  good  hostess  gave 
us  a  great  treat  in  real  tea  and  coflfee ;  but  her  supply- 
was  nearly  out. 

On  the  5th  of  July,  Governor  Pickens  took  me 
a  drive  round  and  through  the  city.  It  stands  high> 
looking  down  South  on  the  Congeree  Eiver,  which 
runs  from  west  to  east ;  the  Congeree  and  Wateree 
meeting  a  few  miles  off  make  the  Santee.  The 
country  is  pretty,  healthy,  and  undulatiijg ;  they  call 
it  a  "  roUing  "  country.  The  soil  is  good ;  substra- 
tum rocky.  The  gardens  and  fields  are  very  pro- 
ductive.    The  water  is  excellent. 

The  Governor  was  for  three  years  United  States 
Minister  at  St.  Petersbm-g.  He  showed  his  deter- 
mination to  stand  up  for  state  rights  in  the  affair  of 
Fort  Sumter  in  April,  1861.  Of  course  we  talked 
about  that.  In  March,  1861,  it  was  given  out,  and 
confidently  reported  in  the  newspapers,  that  Fort 
Sumter  was  to  be  evacuated  by  the  Federal  forces ; 
but  on  the  8th  of  April,  simultaneously  with  the 
appearance  of  a  Federal  fleet  in  the  offing  of  Charles- 
ton harbour,  an  official  message  was  conveyed  to 
Governor  Pickens  by  Lieutenant  Talbot,  an  autho- 
rized agent  of  Mr.  Lincohi's  government,  announcing 


in  the  Summer  of  1 862.  89 

the  determination  of  Government  to  send  provisions 
to  Fort  Sumter,  "  peaceably  if  they  can,  forcibly  if 
they  must."  The  message  was  telegraphed  by 
General  Beauregard  to  Montgomery,  capital  of  the 
state  of  Alabama,  and  the  instructions  of  the  Govern- 
ment asked.  He  was  answered  by  a  telegram  from 
Mr.  Walker,  the  Secretary  of  War  of  the  Confede- 
rate Government,  instructing  him  to  demand  the 
evacuation  of  the  fort;  and,  if  that  were  re- 
fused, to  proceed  to  reduce  it.  The  demand  was 
refused  by  Major  Anderson,  commandant.  Fort 
Sumter  is  three  and  a  half  miles  from  Charleston, 
at  the  entrance  of  its  harbour.  The  most  intense 
excitement  prevailed  in  the  city.  Seven  guns  were 
fired  from  the  Capitol  Square — the  signal  for  assem- 
bling all  the  reserves  ten  minutes  afterwards. 

On  the  12th  of  April,  at  half-past  four  in  the 
morning,  fire  was  opened  by  the  Confederates  upon 
Fort  Sumter  from  Fort  Moultrie  in  the  north.  Fort 
Gumming  in  the  south,  and  Fort  Pickens  in  the 
west.  Shells  were  thro^vn  into  the  fort  every 
twenty  minutes.  Sumter,  from  its  awful,  wave- 
washed  pentagon,  sixty  feet  high,  twelve  feet  thick, 
built  of  solid  brick  and  concrete,  with  three  tiers  of 
guns,  furiously  responded  all  day  and  all  night: 
shells  crossing]:  in  the  air  flashed  over  the  waters. 


90  An  Errand  to  the  South 

At  seven  next  morning  the  Sumter  barracks  were 
on  fire,  and  the  besieged  were  silent.  General 
Beauregard  ceased  his  fire,  and  chivalrously  sent  a 
boat  with  ofiers  of  assistance  to  quench  the  flames ; 
but,  ere  it  could  reach,  a  flag  of  truce  was  run  up  in 
token  of  unconditional  surrender.  But  the  gene- 
rous Beauregard  returned  Major  Anderson  his 
sword,  and  gave  permission  to  him  and  his  garrison 
to  take  passage  at  their  convenience  for  New  York. 
On  leaving  the  fort,  Anderson's  request  to  be  per- 
mitted to  salute  the  national  flag  with  fifty  guns 
was  granted :  in  the  performance  of  this,  two  cannon 
bm'st,  and  killed  four  of  his  men. 

"  Keen  were  thy  pangs,  but  keener  far  to  feel 
'Twas  thine  own  pinion  wing'd  the  fatal  steel." 

During  the  two  days'  engagement,  as  by  a  miracle, 
not  a  life  had  been  lost,  nor  a  limb  injured.  Was 
the  "  Star-Spangled  Banner,"  the  Moloch,  greedy  of 
a  sacrifice?  Was  this  catastrophe  a  sign,  at  the 
very  outset,  of  a  war  urged  on  by  national  pride 
versus  life  and  liberty  ? 

An  extract,  regarding  Beauregard,  from  a  book 
caUed  the  "  First  Year  of  the  War,"  by  Mr.  K  A. 
Pollard  of  Eichmond,  will  come  well  in  here : — 

"On  the  day  succeeding  the  inauguration  of 
Abraham  Lincoln,  General  P.  G.  Toussant  Beaure- 


in  the  Summer  of  1^62.  91 

gard  was  put  in  command  of  the  Confederate  troops 
besieging  Fort  Sumter.  His  military  record  was 
slight,  but  gave  evidence  of  genius.  He  was  the  son 
of  a  wealthy  and  influential  Louisiana  planter.  He 
had  graduated  at  the  Mihtary  Academy  at  West 
Point,  taking  the  second  honours  in  his  class,  and 
had  served  in  the  Mexican  war  with  distinction, 
being  twice  breveted  for  gallant  and  meritorious 
conduct  in  the  field — the  first  time  as  Captain,  for 
the  battles  of  Contreras  and  Chembusco,  and  again 
as  Major,  for  the  battle  of  Chapultepec.  He  was 
subsequently  placed  by  the  Federal  Government  in 
charge  of  the  construction  of  the  Mint  and  Custom- 
house at  New  Orleans.  He  had  been  ordered  by 
Mr.  Buchanan  to  West  Point  as  Superintendent 
of  the  Military  Academy.  The  appointment  was 
revoked  within  forty-eight  hours,  for  a  spiteful  rea- 
son— the  family  connection  of  the  nominee  with 
Mr.  Slidell  of  Louisiana;  and  Major  Beauregard, 
resigning  his  commission  at  once,  received  higher 
rank  in  the  army  of  the  Southern  Confederacy. 

''Beauregard  is  forty  years  of  age.  He  is  small, 
brown,  thin,  extremely  vigorous,  although  his  fea- 
tures wear  a  dead  expression,  and  his  hair  has 
whitened  prematurely.  Face,  physiognomy,  accent 
— everything  about  hun  is  French.     He  is  quick,  a 


92  An  Errand  to  the  South 

little  abrupt,  but  well  educated,  and  distinguished 
in  his  manners.  He  does  not  care  to  express  the 
manifestation  of  an  ardent  personality  which  knows 
its  worth.  He  is  extremely  impassioned  in  the 
defence  of  the  cause  which  he  serves ;  at  least,  he 
takes  less  pains  to  conceal  his  passion  under  a  calm 
and  cold  exterior  than  do  most  of  his  comrades  in 
the  army.  The  South  found  in  him  a  man  of  an 
uncommon  ardour,  a  ceaseless  activity,  and  an  in- 
domitable power  of  will." 

The  hanging  gardens  and  public  park  of  Colum- 
bia, with  fountains  playing  among  beautiful  shrub- 
beries, slope  down  towards  the  rapid  and  winding 
Congeree.  Every  evening  they  were  crowded  with 
the  promenaders  and  beautiful  children,  enjoying  the 
cool  vesper  breeze.  Many  are  the  gardens  here, 
but  for  elegance  and  beauty,  and  sweetness  of 
flowers,  I  suppose  Colonel  Preston's  is  equal  to  any 
in  the  world.  It  is  a  land  redolent  with  fruit  and 
flowers,  and  milk  and  honey  abound. 

In  the  evening,  at  a  veritable  tea,  I  was  introduced 
to  Mrs.  Pickens,  one  of  the  fairest  of  the  fair 
daughters  of  Louisiana.  Great  was  the  luxury  of 
high-flavoured  tea  from  Eussia,  and  coffee  from 
Mocha,  after  weeks  of  burnt  rye  for  coffee,  and  water 
bewitched  with  short  supply  of  tea ;  and,  while  tra- 


in  the  Summer  of  1 862.  93 

veiling,  only  sassafras,  or  holly  tea  at  the  best.  In 
these  warm  latitudes  the  custom  of  paying  visits  in 
the  evening  is  most  agreeable,  and  this  is  the  thing 
to  do.  Dinner  is  done  from  two  to  four ;  then  I 
daresay  many  a  siesta  is  taken,  to  string  the  bow  for 
the  soiree  quivers  of  conversation. 

Many  were  the  tales  of  war  I  heard,  inter  alia. 

Capt. ,  A.D.C.  to  General ,  a  friend  of  the 

Governor's,  was  rather  a  reckless  cavaHer :  he  said  he 
would  get  a  Bible  the  first  opportunity,  for  he  had 
heard  say  a  Bible  would  stop  a  bullet;  so  after  a 
battle  he  found  one  on  a  dead  Yankee,  and  put  it  in 
his  breast-pocket,  and  in  the  next  battle  a  ball  hit  the 
Bible,  but  did  not  penetrate  to  his  body.  All  the  re- 
ports of  the  complete  victory  of  the  South  over  the 
North,  at  Eichmond,  were  now  confirmed.  The 
telegrams  came  that  evening  that  Hill  and  Long- 
street  were  pursuing  the  enemy  to  Malvern  HiU,  &r 
down  the  James  Eiver.* 

Mrs.  Pickens'  sister  had  just  arrived,  having  tra- 
velled night  and  day  for  six  days,  escaping  with  her 
child  through  General  Butler's  lines :  she  looked 
like  a  bird  escaped  from  the  snare  of  the  fowler. 


*  The  saying  was,  M'Clellan  will  find  tough  work  to  get 
to  Eidimond,  for  he  has  to  cross  a  deep  branch  (Gen.  Branch)  ; 
get  over  two  hills  (two  Gen.  Hills) ;  march  along  a  lea 
(General  Lee)  ;  pass  up  a  long  street  (Gen.  Longstreet),  and 
at  the  end  of  it  jump  over  a  stone  wall  (Jackson.) 


94  -^^  Errand  to  the  South 

Here  I  insert  statements  bearing  on  tliis  man 
Butler,  voted  in  the  Confederate  Congress  to  be 
*' hostis  humani generis" 

The  plain  honest  bearing  of  our  tars  raised  the 
spleen  of  Butler,  for  one  day  when  a  boat  went  ashore 
from  H.  M.  S.  "  Einaldo"  at  New  Orleans,  the  men 
sung  "  The  Bonnie  Blue  Flag"  and  other  Secession 
songs;  whereupon  the  commandant  sent  word  to 
Capt.  Hewett  that  he  did  not  allow  Secession  songs 
to  be  sung  in  New  Orleans  harbour ;  to  which  the 
captain  replied — "  That  a  British  boat  was  part  of  the 
British  soil,  which  was  a  free  country,  and  British 
sailors  might  sing  what  songs  they  liked."  After 
this,  Butler  sent  word  to  the  captain  that  the 
"  Einaldo"  was  not  to  leave  New  Orleans  harbour 
without  his  permission.  To  which  he  replied  that  he 
was  under  the  command  of  the  British  admiral,  by 
whose  instructions  he  had  come  to  New  Orleans, 
which  he  should  leave  whenever  the  Admiral  ordered 
him  to  do  so,  and  if  he  met  with  any  opposition  he 
should  force  his  way. 

The  Southern  papers  applauded  the  spirited 
bearing  of  the  British  officer  in  their  report  of  the 
circumstance. 

It  was  stated  in  the  Kichmond  papers  that  a  lady 
who  was  insulted  by  a  Yankee  officer  in  the  streets 
of  New  Orleans,  shot  him  with  a  revolver.     Three 


in  the  Summer  of  1 862.  95 

or  four  officers  were  together,  and  one  of  them 
stepped  forth  and  said,  **  Madam,  you  are  my  pri- 
soner," handed  her  into  a  vehicle,  and  drove  off  as  if 
to  the  Provost  Marshal.  But  on  the  way  he  directed 
the  driver  to  leave  the  town,  and  going  several  miles 
out,  delivered  her  up  to  the  Confederate  authorities 
within  their  lines. 

I  was  rejoiced  to  hear,  that  of  the  hundreds  of  bells 
which  had  been  sent  to  the  Columbian  depot  from 
churches  and  plantations,  to  be  made  into  cannon, 
not  one  had  been  melted.  "  How  so  ?  "  said  I.  The 
answer  was,  "  We  are  foundering  our  own  cannon 
from  our  own  iron  mines,  and  we  have  taken  a  great 
many  from  the  enemy." 

On  the  6th  July  I  had  the  honour  of  preaching 
in  Trinity  Church  for  the  Eev.  Mr.  Shand,  the  excel- 
lent rector,  at  eleven :  it  was  very  hot.  The  sing- 
ing was,  as  I  have  generally  found  it,  too  showy,  too 
studied,  got  up  by  ladies  and  gentlemen  in  such  style 
that  the  good  intention  of  our  Church  for  congre- 
gational Psalmody  is  impracticable ;  even  the  chants 
are  Americanized.  Eighty  communicants  came  up 
for  the  blessed  Sacrament,  p.m. — Confirmation  was 
celebrated  by  Dr.  Davies,  Bishop  of  South  Carolina, 
quite  blind,  but  most  perfectly  and  impressively  did  he 
go  through  it  with  his  remarkable  clear  voice.     One 


9^  An  Errand  to  the  South 

young  lady  was  baptized  after  tlie  2nd  Lesson,  and 
confirmed  with  the  rest.  An  excellent  sermon  was 
preached  by  a  young  clergyman  named  Lance,  on  the 
text — "  As  thy  day  is  so  shall  thy  strength  be." 
Again,  looking  at  the  venerable  afflicted  bishop,  and 
then  the  crowded  and  devout  congregation,  methought, 
Can  these  be  "  rebels  ?" 

On  the  7th  July,  at  1  a.m.,  ofiP  for  Winsborough 
by  the  Charlotte  railroad  ;  forty  miles  there  at  10'30. 
This  plantation  had  been  purchased,  at  Mrs.  W — 's 
discretion,  as  a  harbour  of  refuge,  in  case  the  negroes 
should  be  attacked  by  the  Yankees  on  the  plantation 
near  the  sea.  I  found  the  overseer's  buggy  ready  to 
take  me  four  miles  to  the  new  plantation  to  see  how 
the  negroes  were  getting  on.  It  consisted  of  856 
acres,  bought  with  crops  standing.  Corn,  240  acres  ; 
potatoes,  140  acres  ;  -wheat,  10  acres ;  cotton,  20 
acres;  sugar-cane,  10  acres;  peas,  10  acres;  oats, 
10  acres ;  the  rest  wood  and  grass :  a  residence, 
houses  for  negroes,  homestead  with  cotton  gin-house, 
eight  head  of  cattle,  twenty  pigs,  and  farm  imple- 
ments, all  for  $20,000,  about  £4400.  I  found  the 
house  pleasantly  sited,  with  a  grove  of  oaks  to  the 
west,  which  shaded  the  negroes'  huts  and  homestead ; 
the  road  to  it  very  rough,  over  granite  rocks,  and 
down  deep   gullies,   across    several    clear  streams. 


in  the  Summer  of  1 862.  97 

Standing  on  the  piazza  the  whole  of  the  estate  is  in 
view:  here  were  156  negroes,  brought  about  250 
miles  from  where  they  were  **  bom  and  raised,"  as 
the  saying  is  here,  having  left  their  cows,  and 
poultry,  and  pigs  behind,  and  deprived  of  many  little 
comforts,  yet  not  a  word  of  murmur.  As  for  work, 
all  their  daily  tasks  were  finished  by  3  p.m.,  and  then 
they  had  the  rest  of  the  day  to  themselves ;  boys 
and  girls  between  fifteen  and  twenty-one  years  of 
age  doing  half-tasks.  As  there  were  not  enough 
huts  for  all,  the  single  men  had  tents,  and  each  man 
his  tent.  The  white  canvas  tents,  pitched  among 
the  trees,  had  a  pretty  effect,  like  a  little  encamp- 
ment. In  a  few  hours  the  object  of  my  journey  (viz., 
to  give  an  account  of  the  estate  and  of  the  welfare  of 
the  negroes  thereon  to  my  sister  at  Conwayboro') 
was  accomplished,  and  amid  cries  of  "  much  buddy"* 
to  massa,  "much  buddy"  to  missus,  much  buddy 
to  the  people  all,  I  bid  farewell  to  the  warm-hearted 
colony  at  ''  The  Ketreat."  On  my  return  to  Wins- 
boro'  Station  I  found  every  car  was  crowded  with 
wounded  officers  and  soldiers  going  home  on  furlough 
from  Kichmond,  and  I  was  obliged  to  put  up  with  a 
stand  in  a  baggage  car.  I  find  in  my  diary,  on 
returning  to  Columbia,  I  wrote  a  reverie  on  the  unity 
*  **  Hu(Uy  "  is,  I  fancy,  derived  from  "  How-do-ye." 

H 


98  An  Errand  to  the  South 

of  Christendom  without  unity  of  denomination,  but  it 
is  too  long  to  insert  here.  I  was  led  into  it  by  seeing 
here  people  in  high  position,  united  in  business  and 
friendship,  attending  various  churches,  and  then 
again  their  families  subdivided  ad  infinitum,  and  no 
controversy  dividing  their  "peace"  or  hindering 
their  "good-will." 

The  Anabaptists,  so  called  from  ava,  thoroughly,  or 
baptizing  by  immersion,  generally  claim  the  negroes 
as  of  their  denomination,  they  having  a  great  inclina- 
tion to  outward  visible  signs,  and  especially  the  for- 
cible one  of  immersion  ;  but  I  heard  of  clergy  of  the 
Anglo-American  Church  not  hesitating  to  carry  out 
this  form,  as  indeed  it  is  ordered  in  our  Liturgy. 

One  of  the  negro  carpenters  on plantation  was 

asked  by  a  Baptist  minister  why  he  joined  the  so- 
called  Episcopal  Church  :  his  answer  was,  "  Why,  sir, 
I  am  a  carpenter,  and  like  to  see  all  things  done  by 
rule,  and  here  I  find  in  the  Episcopal  Church  it  is  so." 
It  is  to  be  remarked,  while  on  this  subject,  that  the 
Koman,  the  Anglican,  and  the  Scotch  modes  of  wor- 
ship are  all  represented  by  the  great  chiefe  of  the 
Confederate  army;  e.g.,  Beauregard  of  the  Koman 
Church,  Lee  of  the  English,  and  Jackson  of  the 
(Scotch)  Presbyterian,  and  all  devout  members  of 
their  several  churches.   It  was  by  the  summons  of  the 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  99 

first-named  general  that  the  church  bells  of  all  deno- 
minations were  martyred  in  will,  though  not  in  deed, 
to  the  cause  of  liberty. 

I  met  several  at  Columbia  who  thought  the 
blockade  was  "  not  only  cruel  and  impolitic  to  the 
South,  showing  the  Northerners  in  their  true  cha- 
racter, reckless  and  cruel — driving  Unionists  to  be 
disunionists — ^but  downright  bullying  to  England 
and  France,  who  they  said  could  break  it  up  in  a 
week  with  no  more  ships  than  they  had  now  on 
their  stations ;  for  the  blockading  squadron  was  only 
composed  of  old  passenger-ships,  with  a  few  guns 
placed  on  them." 

Although  it  is  warmish  here  I  sleep  without 
dropping  the  mosquito  curtains.  A  clergyman  called 
who  was  bound  for  the  mountains,  his  description  of 
which  made  me  long  to  breathe  their  air ;  but  they 
lay  in  a  contrary  direction  to  the  devoirs  of  my 
errand,  and  I  felt  I  had  no  business  there,  httle 
thinking  how  soon  I  was  to  be  obliged  to  visit 
them. 

How  diversified  are  the  notes  of  the  Muse! 
Colonel  Paul  Hayne  gave  me  a  copy  of  his  lines, 
first  on  Morgan,  the  CavaHer  of  the  South,  and 
then  on  Butler,  the  enemy  to  the  human  race. 
I  know  he  will  allow  me  to  reprint  them  for  my 


100  An  Errand  to  the  South 

English  friends ;  so  here  they  are  to  enliven  my  prosy 
dullness : — 

THE  KENTUCKY  PARTISAN. 

BY   PAUL  H.   HAYKE. 


Hath  the  wily  swamp  fox 

Come  again  to  earth  ? 

Hath  the  soul  of  Sumter 

Owned  a  second  birth  ? 

From  the  Western  hill-slopes 

Starts  a  hero-form, 

Stalwart,  like  the  oak-tree, 

Tameless,  like  the  storm  ! 

His,  an  eye  of  lightning  ! 

His,  a  heart  of  steel ! 

Flashing  deadly  vengeance, 

Thrilled  with  fiery  zeal ! 

Hound  him  down,  ye  minions ! 

Seize  him — if  ye  can  ! 
But  woe  worth  the  hireling  knave 
Who  meets  liim,  man  to  man ! 

n. 

Well  done,  gallant  Morgan  ! 
Strike  with  might  and  main, 
'Till  the  fair  fields  redden 
With  a  gory  rain  ; 
Smite  them  by  the  roadside, 
Smite  them  in  the  wood, 
By  the  lonely  valley, 
And  the  purpling  flood : 


in  the  Summer  of  iS62.  loi 

'Neath  the  mystic  starlight, 

'Neath  the  glare  of  day, 

Harass,  sting,  affright  them, 

Scatter  them,  and  slay : 

Beard,  who  durst,  our  chieftain ! 

Bind  him — if  ye  can  ! 
But  woe  worth  the  Hessian  tliief 
Who  meets  him,  man  to  man ! 


m. 

There's  a  lurid  purpose 
Brooding  in  his  breast, 
Bom  of  solemn  passion, 
And  a  deep  unrest : 
For  our  ruined  homesteads. 
And  our  ravaged  land, 
For  our  women  outraged 
By  the  dastard  hand, 
For  our  thousand  sorrows 
And  our  untold  shame, 
For  our  blighted  harvests, 
For  our  towns  aflame  — 
He  has  sworn  (and  recks  not 
Wlio  may  cross  his  path) 
That  the  foe  shall  feel  him 
In  his  torrid  wrath — 
That,  while  will  and  spirit 
Hold  one  spark  of  life. 
Blood  shall  stain  his  broadsword. 
Blood  shall  wet  his  knife.- 
On,  ye  Hessian  horsemen  I 
Crush  him — if  ye  can  !* 
But  woe  worth  your  stanchest  slave 
Who  meets  him,  man  to  man  ! 


102  An  Errand  to  the  South 


IV. 

'Tis  no  time  for  pleasure, 
Doff  the  silken  vest ! 
Up,  my  men,  and  follow 
Marion  of  the  West ! 
Strike  with  him  for  freedom, 
Strike  with  main  and  might, 
'Neath  the  noonday  splendour, 
'Neath  the  gloom  of  night ! 
Strike  by  rock  and  roadside. 
Strike  in  wold  and  wood, 
By  the  shadowy  valley. 
By  the  purpling  flood ! 
On,  where  Morgan's  war-horse 
•     Thunders  in  the  van ! 

God !  who  would  not  gladly  die 

Beside  that  glorious  man  ? 

V. 

Hath  the  wily  swamp  fox 

Come  again  to  earth  ? 

Hath  the  soul  of  Sumter 

Owned  a  second  birth  ? 

From  the  Western  hill-slopes 

Starts  a  hero-form. 

Stalwart,  like  the  oak-tree, 

Eestless,  hke  the  storm ! 

His,  an  eye  of  lightning  ! 

His,  a  heart  of  steel ! 

Flashing  deadly  vengeance, 

Thrilled  with  fiery  zeal ! 

Hound  him  down,  ye  robbers ! 

Slay  him — if  ye  can  ! 
But  woe  worth  the  hireling  knave 
Who  meets  him,  man  to  man ! 


in  the  Summer  of  1 862. 


103 


BUTLER'S  PROCLAMATION. 

BY  PAUL  H.   HAYNE. 

"  It  is  ordered  that,  hereafter,  when  any  female  shall,  by- 
word, gesture,  or  movement,  insult  or  show  contempt  for  any 
oflScer  or  soldier  of  the  United  States,  she  shall  be  regarded 
and  held  liable  to  be  treated  as  a  worrmn  of  the  town  plying 
her  avocation.*^ — Butler^s  Order  at  New  Orleans. 


Ay  !  drop  the  treacherous  mask  ;  throw  by 
The  cloak,  which  veiled  thine  instincts  fell ; 

Stand  forth  thou  base,  incarnate  lie, 
Stami^ed  with  the  signet  brand  of  hell ! 

At  last  we  view  thee  as  thou  art, 

A  trickster  with  a  demon's  heart. 


Off  with  disguise  !  no  quarter  now 
To  rebel  honour !  thou  wouldst  strike 

Hot  blushes  up  the  anguished  brow, 
And  murder  Fame  and  Strength  alike  : 

Beware  !  ten  million  hearts  aflame 

Will  burn  with  hate  thou  canst  not  tame  ! 


We  know  thee  now  !  we  know  thy  race ! 

Thy  dreadful  pui-pose  stands  revealed, 
Naked,  before  the  nation's  face  J — 

Comrades !  let  mercy's  fount  be  scaled. 
While  the  black  banner  courts  the  wind, 
And  cursed  be  he  who  lags  behind ! 


104  ^^  Errand  to  the  South 


IV. 


Oil !  soldiers,  husbands,  brethren,  sires  ! 

Think  that  each  stalwart  blow  ye  give 
Shall  quench  the  rage  of  lustful  fires, 

And  bid  your  glorious  women  live 
Pure  from  a  wrong  whose  tainted  breath 
Were  fouler  than  the  foulest  death. 


V. 


Oh !  soldiers,  lovers.  Christians,  men ! 

Think  that  each  breeze  that  floats  and  dies 
O'er  the  red  field,  from  mount  or  glen, 

Is  burdened  with  a  maiden's  sighs — 
And  each  false  soul  that  turns  to  flee 
Consigns  his  love  to  infamy ! 


VI. 


Think !  and  strike  home ! — the  fabled  might 

Of  Titans  were  a  feeble  power 
To  that  with  which  your  arms  should  smite 

In  the  next  awful  battle-hour ! 
And  deadlier  than  the  bolts  of  Heaven 
Should  flash  your  fury's  fatal  levin ! 

vn. 

No  pity  !  let  your  thirsty  brands 
Drink  their  warm  fill  at  caitiff  vems  ; 

Dip  deep  in  blood  your  wrathful  hands, 
Nor  pause  to  wipe  those  crimson  stains. 

Slay !  slay  !  with  ruthless  sword  and  will — 

The  God  of  vengeance  bids  you  "  kill !" 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  105 

VIII. 

Yea !  but  there's  One  who  shall  not  die 

In  battle  harness !     One  for  whom 
Lurks  in  the  darkness  silently 

Another,  and  a  sterner  doom  : 
A  warrior's  end  should  crown  the  brave — 
For  him,  swift  cord  and  felon  grave ! 

IX. 

As  loathsome  cbarnel  vaix)urs  melt, 

Swept  by  invisible  winds  to  nought, 
So  may  this  fiend  of  lust  and  guilt 

Die  hke  a  nightmare's  hideous  thought ! 
Nought  left  to  mark  the  monster's  name 
Save — immortality  of  shame  ! 

Colonel  Hayne  boasts  of  the  friendship  of  a  Bri- 
tish poet,  who  gave  him- locks  of  the  hair  of  Byron, 
Leigh  Hunt,  Keats,  and  Shelley,  which  he  had 
most  carefully  cherished. 

I  was  taking  a  farewell  evening  pipe  in  the  piazza 
of  Mrs.  McMahon's  house,  listening  to  tales  of  war, 
to  accounts  of  Yankee  violence  and  cruelty,  to  Mr. 
Simmons,  of  his  two  sons  who  fought  in  the  desperate 
fight  at  Secessionville,  and  to  his  explanation  of  Mr. 
Bussell's  report  that  South  Carolina  was  ready  to 
have  a  monarchy.  It  was  in  a  boating  party,  where 
Mr.  Simmons  was  in  company  with  Mr.  Eussell,  when 
the  former  observed,  that,  rather  than  again  submit  to 


io6  An  Errand  to  the  South 

the  tyranny  of  the  North,  they  would  have  a  Prince 
of  England  to  be  their  king.  He  spoke  of  such  a 
measure  as  only  a  "  dernier  ressort,"  or  rather  an  im- 
possible alternative. 

Among  the  passengers  by  train  this  evening  was 
Colonel  Chesnut,  who  had  been  acting  as  aide- 
de-camp  to  General  Lee,  but  was  now  obliged  to 
attend  his  duties  here  as  member  of  the  Executive 
Council.  When  those  five  days'  battle  began, 
President  Davis  was  with  the  General,  to  whom  he 
had  given  command  of  the  Confederate  forces  :  they 
were  advancing  over  the  Chickahominy,  the  shells 
and  balls  falling  thick  among  them,  when  General 
Lee,  addressing  the  President,  said,  "  Sir,  it  is  getting 
too  warm  for  you ;  you  must  not  go  forward,  your 
presence  will  be  needed  elsewhere — I  must  command 
you  to  retire ;"  on  which  the  President  said,  it  was 
his  duty  to  obey. 

On  the  9th  of  July  I  met  an  officer  fresh  from 
Eichmond,  who  stated  that  the  Yankees  had  lost 
30,000  men,  fifty  pieces  of  cannon,  and  12,000  rifles 
in  the  fight  near  Kichmond ;  the  Confederate  loss 
being  8,000  men.  He  heard  a  prisoner  taken  from 
the  Yankees,  an  Irishman,  say,  it  was  not  a  fair 
fight,  as  the  Confederates  did  not  stop  to  fire,  but 
came  on  to  them  with  bayonets. 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  107 

On  the  10th  of  July,  en  route  East,  at  KingsviUe, 
three  long  boxes  on  the  railway  depot  platform,  con- 
taining the  bodies  of  soldiers  from  Eichmond.  A 
poor  mother  was  bending  over  one,  flicking  off  the 
flies :  she  had  gone  450  miles  to  nurse  him  and  dress 
his  wounds,  and  now  had  brought  the  body  of  the 
loved  one  to  lay  it  by  his  father's  at  Camden,  and 
go  on  by  next  train.  How  many  of  these  long  boxes 
I  saw  afterwards  in  my  travels — all-powerful  tradition 
— "gathered  unto  his  people!" — watched  over  by 
some  fond  relative,  in  whom  patience,  resignation, 
and  resolve  had  conquered  mourning !  I  was  glad  to 
find  improvement  already,  in  the  care  of  the 
wounded  at  KingsviUe  junction. 

In  the  tangled  woods  on  the  Wateree  the  mocking- 
bird cheered  the  weary  hours,  as  I  waited  six  hours 
for  the  P.M.  train,  the  morning  train  being  full  of 
soldiers  hastening  back  to  the  army  in  Virginia, 
yelling  with  delight  as  they  entered  and  left  the 
depot,  six  cars  full — 300  men,  at  least,  who  were 
returning  after  recovery  from  wounds  and  sickness. 
Thus  it  seems  an  inexhaustible  well  of  the  chalybeate 
spring  of  war  is  ever  supplying  the  Southern  soul 
thirsting  for  freedom.  The  suffering  and  haggard 
warrior  goes  down  from  Virginia  to  the  distant 
home,  ere  long  to  come  up  again  sound  and  strong, 


io8  An  Errand  to  the  South 

eager  for  the  fight :  as  he  lay  in  his  quiet  homestead, 
and  some  dear  one  daily  read  of  the  horrors  of  the 
coast — the  violations  in  Kentucky — the  rapacious 
cruelties  of  Butler  at  New  Orleans ;  the  tenderness 
of  her  eyes  converted  to  fierce  indignation,  came  as 
fresh  springs  to  his  recovery. 

The  implement,  too,  for  drawing  up  the  full 
buckets  grows  stronger  by  the  work, — the  cars  and 
engines  formerly  made  in  Philadelphia  are  now 
made  in  the  newly-erected  factories  of  the  several 
companies  better  and  stronger;  the  iron  from  the 
mines  of  North  Carolina  is  found  to  be  more  durable 
for  rails  than  the  imported  iron.  Negroes  with- 
drawn from  the  plantations  are  set  to  work ;  among 
them  there  are  excellent  mechanics.  This  rail,  South 
Carohna  and  Columbia,  I  was  told  paid  nine  per 
cent. 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  109 


CHAPTEE  YI. 

Back  at  the  Refuge,  and  then  to  the  Waham^h 
and  the  Bloclcaders. 

When  I  arrived  at  Conwayboro',  185  miles  east  of 
Columbia,  on  the  11th  of  July,  I  found  that  the 
thermometer  in  my  sister's  sitting-room  had  been 
93^  all  yesterday,  but  a  thunder-storm  this  after- 
noon cooled  the  air — mocking-birds  were  sing- 
ing all  day  close  to  the  house.  A  negro  nurse  came 
to-day  with  a  beautiful  child,  son  of  Mr.  Emanuel ; 
its  name  was  "  Plowden  Weston,"  a  name  celebrated 
1         in    South    Carolina    for    true    and    unostentatious 

I  patriotism.  The  Emanuels  were  refugees  from  George 
Town ;  for  which  borough  Mr.  P.  Weston  is  member 
in  the  House  of  Commons  of  the  State,  called  the 
House  of  Kepresentatives.  Two  of  the  young  men 
are  in  his  company  in  the  10th  Kegiment,  South 
Carolina,  fine  handsome  fellows  of  six  feet  each  ;  and 
if  ever  Walter  Scott's  Eebecca  was  personified,  she 


I  lo  An  Errand  to  the  South 

was  invited  to  the  ''circumcision"  of  this  infant 
named  after  him.  How  many  Christians  have  had 
this  mark  of  Jewish  tolerance  ?  hut  this  is  the  land 
of  toleration  and  mingling  of  creeds.  When  I  looked 
on  these  beautiful  forms,  and  heard  of  the  Jews,  of 
whom  there  are  many  in  the  South  in  high  position, 
and  highly  educated  (for  their  colleges  are  excellent, 
even  so  good  that  many  Christian  youths  attend 
them)  ;  when  I  heard  of  their  joining  the  Christians 
in  all  works  of  charity  which  are  now  called  to  life 
in  this  struggle  for  hberty,  I  could  not  but  long 
for  them  to  see  the  truth  of  the  22nd  Psalm,  &c. — 
to  look  to  the  true  Christ,  the  Messiah  on  the  Cross — 
to  give  up  their  hopeless  waiting  for  that  atonement 
which  has  been  perfected ;  and  offered  up  a  prayer 
for  them  to  come  to  the  true  light. 

Some  ladies  and  gentlemen  called,  all  handsome, 
all  cheerful ;  neat  carriage  and  horses.  The  features 
and  figures  of  both  sexes  in  these  parts  of  the  world 
are  remarkable  for  correctness  and  beauty ;  there  is 
often  a  want  of  colour  in  the  cheek,  no  doubt  arising 
from  the  heat  of  these  latitudes,  but  the  eyes  are 
very  brilliant,  and  the  mouths  are  not  slow  to  utter 
the  thoughts  of  the  minds  which  those  eyes  seem  to 
reflect.  The  ladies  are  aware  of  their  influence ;  yet 
without  any  pride  or  affectation,  but  with  perfect 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  1 1 1 

good-breeding,  do  they  accept  the  great  deference, 
almost  homage,  which  is  always  paid  them  by  the 
stroDger  sex  in  the  South.  Perhaps  this  spirit  of 
devotion  has  made  Butler's  insulting  proclamations 
more  irritating,  and  roused  the  ire  with  which,  when 
the  Southern  regiments  charge  bayonets,  amid  their 
yell,  they  shout  out,  ''Butler  and  New  Orleans  /" 

Snowhill  —  nix  a  non  nigendo — was  a  scene  of 
rejoicing  from  my  bringing  a  good  account  of  the 
friends  and  relations  of  the  negroes  from  Winsboro'. 
The  fiddle  and  banjo  sounded  for  the  merry  dance  on 
the  Saturday  half-hohday,  and  bonfires  blazed  at 
night ;  and  on  Sunday  morning,  before  dayHght,  I 
was  awoke  by  the  sound  of  hymns  from  the  negroes' 
court. 

After  I  had  preached  in  the  Presbyterian  church 
I  was  asked  to  preach  in  the  Methodist,  but  was 
prevented  doing  so  by  absence  till  to-day,  the  13th 
of  July.  Two  venerable-looking  yeomen,  elders  of  the 
"  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,"  ofiered  prayers,  and 
I  preached  on  Isaiah  Hii.,  2nd  verse :  "He  hath 
no  form  nor  comeliness;  and  when  we  shall  see 
him,  there  is  no  beauty  that  we  should  desire 
him" — which  I  took  to  foreshow  the  shame  of  the 
cross,  on  which  his  beautiful  form  was  marred  and 
all  his  comeliness  spoilt,  and  even  his  own  disciples 


112  An  Errand  to  the  South 

forsook  him  and  fled  from  him;  for  while  he  was 
young  "  He  grew  in  stature  and  in  favour  with  God 
and  man;"  and  when  he  went  ahout  doing  good, 
and  it  was  said  of  him  "  Blessed  is  the  womh  that 
bare  thee,"  and  multitudes  hung  on  his  words,  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  his  form  was  perfect  and  his 
countenance  beaming  with  love.  One  of  the  Elders 
gave  me  the  hymn-book,  and  I  selected  the  well- 
known  hymns,  "  Lord,  we  come  before  thee  now," 
"  Kock  of  Ages,"  and  "  When  I  survey  the  wondrous 
cross," — from  which  I  showed — that  the  shame  of  the 
cross  was  changed  to  glory  now,  to  all  the  faithful — 
that  we  were  not  ashamed  of  the  cross,  and  to  look 
on  the  crucified  Saviour ;  Christians  used  the  pic- 
tures and  crucifixes  not  as  objects  of  worship,  but 
as  mementos  of  him  who  once  was  despised  and 
rejected — that  St.  Paul's  expression  in  his  Epistle  to 
the  Galatians,  chap.  iii.  ver.  1,  "  before  whose  eyes," 
&c.,  I  took  to  mean  that  the  Apostles  used  pictures 
or  figures  of  Christ  on  the  cross  to  illustrate  their 
teaching,  pictures  being,  as  it  were,  a  bobk  to  the 
unlearned.  I  told  them  that  their  founder,  J.  Wesley, 
never  meant  his  followers  to  leave  the  Church ;  that 
their  having  bishops  and  imposition  of  hands  was  an 
acknowledgment  of  the  apostolic  order,  and  that 
perhaps  ere  long  they  would  see  that  the  laying  on 


in  the  Summer  of  1 862.  1 1 3 

of  hands  is  utterly  meaningless  without  faith  in  the 
apostolic  succession.  I  mentioned  my  having  lately 
seen  a  cross  on  the  gable  of  a  Methodist  church ; 
and  indeed  during  my  short  stay  in  America  I  had 
seen  many  signs  of  agreement  among  various  deno- 
minations of  Christians,  that  are  not  seen  in  the 
Eastern  Continent.  How  singular  that  I  should  be 
asked  to  preach  for  both  Presbyterians  and  Metho- 
dists, when  I  had  been  for  yeara  past  praying  for 
and  ui-ging,  in  sermons  and  pamphlets,  the  unity 
of  Christendom  !  Old  Beatty's  prayer  was  good  and 
reverential :  with  tears  and  trembling  he  alluded  to 
the  war :  he  had  just  lost  a  son,  who  died  of  his 
wounds,  received  at  the  battle  of  Secessionville,  in 
James  Island ;  he  has  three  more  sons  in  the  10th 
S,  C.  Eegiment,  now  in  the  Far  West.  Both  congre- 
gations requested  me  to  preach  again  to  them,  but 
I  was  prevented  doing  so. 

In  the  afternoon  I  met  a  negro  who  had  just  been 
ojfficiating  at  a  negro  funeral.  Henry  Wallace,  a 
negro  class-leader,  preached  in  the  Methodist  church 
in  the  afternoon  :  having  our  family  service  at 
Snowhill,  I  could  not  attend.  One -thing  is  certain, 
that  the  four  milhon  negroes  in  the  Southern  States 
are  all  professing  Christians,  and  all  have  spiritual 
as  well  as  temporal  provision.     Bondservice  has  its 

I 


1 14  An  Errand  to  the  South 

evils ;  but  have  all  the  Missionary  Societies  together, 
in  Africa  and  Asia,  brought  such  a  number  to  the 
knowledge  of  our  Saviour?  This  is  a  question  I 
was  often  asked  in  my  intercourse  with  Southerners ; 
and  even  where  negroes  are  hired  for  town  work — 
e.g.  in  hotels  and  stables — they  arrange  for  attending 
Divine  service  some  time  every  Sunday,  and  the 
masters  never  think  of  refusing  to  let  them  go ;  but 
on  inqumng  of  white  waiters  at  hotels  in  America 
and  London,  I  have  generally  had  for  answer,  "  0 
no,  we  have  no  time  for  that.  Our  work  is  from 
early  morning  till  late  at  night,  Sundays  as  well  as 
other  days." 

The  boat's  crew  from  Hagley  were  again  up  at 
"  The  Eefuge,"  and  in  the  evening  all  met  together, 
and  I  heard  them  singing  a  fine  solemn  hymn, 
several  women's  voices  mingling.  Then  they  sang 
a  kind  of  epic  hymn,  improvised  by  one  of  the  boat- 
men, going  on  for  at  least  ten  minutes.  I  marked 
down  the  following  words  : — 

"  The  Jews  killed  my  Jesus.     (Chorus) — Hallelujah ! 
Upon  the  cross  they  stretched  Him — Hallelujah  ! 
They  laid  Him  in  the  Sepulchre — Hallelujah  ! 
Then  early  in  the  morning — Hallelujah  ! 
Came  Mary  and  Joanna — Hallelujah  ! 
And  asked  for  Master  Jesus — Hallelujah  ! 
Two  angels  were  a-sitting — Hallelujah ! 


in  the  Summer  of  1 862.  1 1 5 

Where  He  had  been  lying — Hallelujah ! 

Jesus  was  a-standing — Hallelujah  ! 

Hard  by  iu  the  garden — Hallelujah ! 

Mary  did  not  know  Him — Hallelujah ! 

And  said,  '  Where  hast  thou  laid  Him  ?' — Hallelujah  ! 

'  Mary,  don't  you  know  me  ?' — Hallelujah  ! 

Then  said  she  *  Rabboni  '—Hallelujah !  " 

The  haJlelujali  is  prolonged  so  as  to  give  the  singer 
time  to  remember  or  improvise  the  next  line. 

The  Voluntary  system  reigns  throughout,  and  will 
not  allow  its  ministers  to  want  for  necessaries  of  life, 
as,  sad  to  say,  is  the  case  in  hundreds  of  instances 
in  the  Church  in  England,  where  the  "livings" 
are  turned  into  "  starvings,"  by  the  robbery  of  the 
tithes,  mildly  termed  "  ahenation,"  and  the  lords  of 
the  soil  take  no  steps  to  make  up  for  the  loss — 
muzzling  the  ox  that  treadeth  out  the  com.  The 
clergy  of  the  Anglo-American  branch  of  the  American 
Church  whom  I  met  receive  from  |1,500  to  $1,800 
per  annum,  besides  residence,  and  glebe  of  five  acres 
or  so,  or  in  a  town  a  house,  rent  $400  ;  if  he  has  a 
family,  the  Elders  pay  him  $200'  per  annum  for 
each  child.  Methodist  and  Presbyterian  ministers 
had  from  $500  to  $1,500  per  annum,  and  allowance 
for  children,  and  funds  for  superannuated  ministers, 
widows,  and  orphans.  In  the  Episcopal  Church 
there  is  such  a  fund  also,  the  clergy  themselves 


1 1 6  An  Errand  to  the  South 

paying  an  insurance  rate,  which  is  very  light,  as  the 
laity  suhscribe  largely  to  the  fund. 

I  met  a  clergyman  who  had  a  negro  man  and  his 
wife,  who  had  ten  children,  and  one  of  them  had 
married,  and  had  four  children,  amounting  to  seven- 
teen. The  attachment  between  master  and  negroes 
was  so  strong  that  he  could  not  bear  to  sell  any  of 
them:  this  is  one  of  the  difficulties  in  "the  insti- 
tution ;"  he  must  feed  and  clothe  them  all !  If  they 
were  set  free  they  would  be  helpless.  Generally  I 
found  great  reluctance  to  sell  the  negroes.  Often  it 
was  observed  to  me,  "  See  what  a  system  we  have 
had  handed  down  to  us,  in  which  many  difficulties 
arise,"  and  this  was  an  instance.  It  was  often 
remarked  to  me,  "  We  would  gladly  have  free 
labourers,  but  the  negroes  are  not  fit  for  it,  they 
are  so  dependent,  hke  children ;  in  fact,  slavery  is  a 
curse  to  the  white,  but  a  blessing  to  the  black  man." 
I  knew  of  an  instance  where,  by  the  will  of  a  pro- 
prietor, 150  slaves  were  obliged  to  be  sold.  The 
inheritor  could  not  bear  to  put  them  in  the  market, 
so  he  looked  out  for  some  friend  to  take  them,  and 
was  after  a  while  successful ;  they  were  sold  for 
much  less  than  he  might  have  got,  to  go  800  miles 
away.  At  the  parting  of  master  and  negroes  there 
was  a  scene  of  sorrow  and  weeping,  and  so  they  went 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  1 17 

on  to  the  steamer  in  the  river ;  but  the  negro  is 
a  light-hearted  creature :  music  and  refreshments 
for  them  were  provided  on  board,  and  their  sighs 
and  tears  were  soon  changed  to  laughter  and 
merriment. 

The  Abolitionists  are  not  always  so  humane  to 
the  negro,  if  it  be  true  what  was  told  me,  viz.,  that 
among  some  property  in  South  Carolina  left  to 
Mr.  Sumner,  the  Senator,  was  a  remarkably  fine, 
intelligent  servant.  Some  friends  wrote  to  him  in 
the  North,  saying,  that  if  sold  by  private  contract  a 
good  place  could  be  insured  for  the  man,  though  the 
price  would  be  less  than  if  put  up  for  competition ; 
the  answer  was,  that  he  was  to  be  sold  for  as  high 
a  price  as  he  could  fetch.  Certainly,  this  was  all 
fair ;  but  what  an  opportunity  was  lost  of  practising 
the  principle !  I  met  a  gentleman  to-day  on  furlough 
from  the  10th  Kegiment  from  Missouri:  he  declared 
that  thousands  of  negroes  in  Missouri  said  they 
would  rather  help  "  massas  "  than  strangers. 

The  heat  of  the  middle  of  July  at  Conwayboro' 
is  no  joke :  thermometer  89°.  One  of  the  George- 
Town  refugees,  Mr.  Porter,  was  going  down  the 
river  in  a  "  four-oar,"  and  kindly  ofiered  to  give  me 
a  passage  to  Hagley.  I  was  up  at  2.30,  but  we  did 
not  start  till  past  four.     The  negro  captain  of  the 


1 1 8  An  Errand  to  the  South 

boat  was  a  jolly  fellow :  lie  blew  a  loud  blast  on  his 
"conch"  to  call  his  men  together:  not  an  easy 
thing  is  it  to  sound  the  conch,  but  when  once 
attained,  it  gives  a  far-resounding  call.  Captain 
Charlie  had  his  wife  on  board  to  give  her  a  trip  to 
their  dearly  beloved  home,  from  which  they  wished 
the  Yankees  far  away. 

The  Wakamaw  is  a  very  winding  river.  There 
was  no  wind  for  sailing :  the  sun  was  extremely  hot, 
and  there  being  no  awning  to  protect  us,  its  effects 
were  felt  severely ;  but  the  negroes  rowed  merrily, 
every  now  and  then  singing  their  boat  songs.  In- 
stead of  reaching  my  destination  at  the  expected 
time,  2  p.m.,  it  was  9  o'clock  and  pitch  dark  when 
I  landed :  the  tide  was  for  some  way  dead  against  us. 
The  sea-side  residence  was  more  than  three  miles 
distant,  which,  on  account  of  the  darkness  through 
the  woods,  the  only  light  being  the  fireflies,  I  did 
not  reach  till  eleven.  On  the  next  day  I  found  the 
cool  sea-breeze  and  bathing  in  the  surf  of  the  Atlantic 
very  refreshing. 

As  I  was  walking  along  the  beach,  I  saw  some 
curious  tracks  in  the  sand,  going  to  the  foot  of  the 
high  sand-banks  by  which  the  beach  is  bounded. 
The  old  negro  who  had  charge  of  the  house  told  me 
that  they  were  turtle  tracks,  and  that  it  must  have 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  1 19 

made  its  nest  there :  after  digging  a  few  inches 
under  the  surface  we  found  a  heap  of  turtle  eggs  in 
a  perfectly  round  hole  about  eight  inches  in  dia- 
meter, each  egg  being  the  size  of  a  small  fives-ball. 
We  took  them  all  out,  and  counted  115.  The  most 
extraordinary  thing  is  that  though  they  will  bear  no 
pressure  of  the  fingers  without  indenture,  yet  none 
are  hurt  by  lying  one  on  the  other.  The  discovery 
delighted  the  negro,  who  said  that  they  were  "  first- 
rate  "  eating,  which,  on  having  some  for  breakfast,  I 
found  to  be  the  case.  They  have  a  delicate  flavour, 
and  must  be  very  nutritious  :  their  coating  is  tough 
instead  of  brittle.  The  usual  time  for  laying  these 
eggs  is  at  the  full  moon,  and  they  are  hatched  by 
the  heat  of  the  sun  operating  on  the  sand.  Turtles 
abound  on  this  coast. 

On  the  20th  July,  I  preached  at  the  plantation 
church,  St.  Mary's,  Weehawka.  Mr.  Kosa,  the 
catechist,  is  a  "  lay  reader  ;"  which  office  enables 
him  to  read  the  greater  part  of  the  service  :  thus  he 
greatly  helps  the  minister.  The  following  prayer 
was  used : — 

"  0  God,  King  of  kings.  Lord  of  lords,  the  Ruler 
of  sovereigns,  who  dost  from  thy  throne  behold  all 
dwellers  upon  the  earth :  behold  with  thy  fiivour  and 
pity  the  people  of  this  State ;  give  unto  them  the 


120  An  Errand  to  the  South 

spirit  of  courage  and  of  holy  fear,  tlie  spirit  of  faith 
and  wisdom;  so  that  all  their  counsels  may  he 
governed  by  thy  word, .  and  be  mider  the  guidance 
of  thy  inspiration.  Give  to  all  their  rulers  grace  to 
execute  justice  with  impartiality,  and  to  maintain  the 
laws  and  rights  of  the  commonwealth.  Give  to  all 
masters  grace  to  keep  order  and  discipline  in  their 
families,  and  to  treat  their  servants  with  mercy,  kind- 
ness, gentleness,  and  discretion ;  knowing  that  thou 
hast  made  of  one  flesh  all  the  nations  of  the  earth. 
Give  to  all  servants  grace  to  obey  their  masters,  and 
please  them  well  in  all  things  ;  knowing  that  in  thus 
doing  they  shall  please  thee  who  art  the  Master  over 
all.  Give  to  our  enemies  grace  to  cease  from  their 
evil  designs  against  us.  Assuage  their  malice,  and 
bring  to  nought  their  wicked  devices.  Give  to  all 
thy  people  here  and  elsewhere,  grace  to  live  in 
amity,  harmony,  and  peace.  But  more  especially  we 
pray  thee  to  give  thy  special  grace  to  this  our  State 
of  South  Carolina ;  that  under  thy  care  she  may  long 
flourish  and  endure,  giving  her  victory  over  all  her 
enemies ;  so  that  truth  and  justice,  religion  and 
piety,  may  be  established  among  us  for  all  genera- 
tions. All  these  things  we  ask  for  in  and  through 
thy  dear  Son  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord." 

The  next  day,  as  I  was  quietly  reading  in  the 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  121 

house,  several  shots  were  fired  from  some  Federal 
gunboats  over  the  end  of  the  island  to  the  mainland. 
Some  of  the  shells  passed  not  far  from  the  house 
where  Mr.  Eosa,  the  overseer  lived :  his  wife  being 
very  much  alarmed,  I  thought  I  would  try^  the  expe- 
riment of  a  flag  of  truce,  and  hoisted  my  white  hand- 
kerchief on  a  fishing-rod.  The  firing  immediately 
ceased,  and  a  boat  put  off  from  one  of  the  gunboats. 
Mr.  Eosa  and  myself  went  down  to  meet  it.  A 
sailor  waded  through  the  surf,  and  said  the  captain 
wished  to  see  me,  and  I  said  I' wished  to  see  the  cap- 
tain ;  so  I  rode  pickaback  on  the  Yankee  sailor  to  the 
boat,  and  in  a  short  time  was  alongside  the  smallest 
of  the  gunboats,  on  board  of  which  I  introduced 
myself  to  Captain  Baxter,  the  officer  in  command  of 
the  United  States  blockading  squadron  off  George- 
Town.  They  were  miserable-looking  specimens  of 
their  navy,  one  being  a  huge  troop-ship  of  four  guns ; 
the  other  a  small  river  tug,  which  had  been  taken 
from  the  Confederates,  having  one  brass  rifled  gun. 
I  explained  to  Captain  Baxter  my  reason  for  hoisting 
the  white  flag ;  told  him  that  I  was  a  British  sub- 
ject, and  wished  to  know  what  he  was  firing  at.  He 
replied,  that  his  orders  were  not  to  molest  private 
individuals  or  property,  but  only  to  destroy  all  the 
gunpowder  and  salt  works  along  the  coasts,  and  that 


122  An  Errand  to  the  South 

he  had  come  there  to  destroy  some  salt-works  which 
he  saw  on  the  mainland.  He  asked  me  who  they 
belonged  to.  I  did  not  know  the  gentleman's  name, 
but  told  him  I  had  heard  they  were  private  pro- 
perty. He  replied  that  he  had  information  that  salt 
was  being  made  there  for  the  Confederate  army.  He 
said  that  he  had  700  negroes  who  had  come  off  to 
him  from  the  shore ;  that  he  had  put  them  on  an 
island  a  few  miles  south,  where  he  had  a  hard  matter 
to  feed  them ;  and  asked  me  if  I  knew  where  he 
could  get  provisions  for  them.  I  said  I  thought 
negroes  were  "  private  property ;"  to  which  he  re- 
plied that  *'  they  came  to  the  ships,  complaining  of 
desertion  and  bad  treatment  on  the  part  of  their 
masters — what  could  he  do  but  receive  them  ? — it 
would  have  been  much  better  for  the  masters  to  have 
remained  on  their  plantations,"  &c.  I  observed,  that 
the  treatment  which  had  been  practised  down  the 
coast  was  not  much  encouragement  for  them  to  do 
that;  if  all  commanders  had  acted  up  to  Captain 
Baxter's  professions  doubtless  it  would  have  been  dif- 
ferent. He  asked  me  also  if  I  was  an  "  Abolitionist ;" 
to  which  I  replied,  "  Certainly  not,  if  abolition  was 
to  be  had  by  force,  or  hastily ;  for  I  had  heard 
enough  of  that  in  Jamaica  and  Hayti."  In  a  short 
time  Lieutenant  Gregory  came  from  the  big  ship, 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  123 

and  joined  in  the  conversation.  I  showed  them  my 
[passport  from  Lord  Lyons,  and  the  passes  from 
Messrs.  Seward  and  Stanton;  after  reading  which 
they  asked  me  several  questions  about  the  person  at 
-whose  house  I  was  staying.  When  I  told  them,  they 
asked  me  what  "  Catechist "  meant.  The  two  senior 
flBcers  then  began  to  consult  about  tendering  the 
th  of  allegiance  to  Mr.  Eosa.  I  heard  them  say 
that  if  he  refused  it  they  would  take  him  prisoner. 
They  asked  me  if  he  was  a  Southerner ;  I  said  I 
supposed  so,  since  he  lived  in  South  Carolina.  They 
also  asked  if  I  thought  he  would  take  the  oath  of 
allegiance.  I  observed  that  it  would  be  very  unfair 
to  force  him  to  it,  placed  as  he  was  as  Catechist 
among  the  negroes.  They  were  quite  ignorant  of 
the  course  of  the  creeks,  and  thought  Pawley's  Island 
was  part  of  the  mainland.     They  asked  me  various 

I  questions  about  the  Chui'ch  of  England,  and  said  they 
found  the  services  of  our  Prayer-book  very  useful, 
and  always  used  it  in  funerals  at  sea.  They  ex- 
pressed surprise  that  I,  as  a  clergyman,  should  come 
out  at  such  a  time  of  war  and  tumults  ;  and  when  I 
explained  the  object  of  my  errand  to  the  South,  they 
professed  entire  ignorance  of  the  stoppage  of  the 
inland  mails.  After  an  hour's  conversation  in  a 
broiling  sun,  I  thought  it  time  to  take  my  departure. 


124  ^^  Errand  to,  the  South 

and  on  making  a  motion  to  leave,  the  captain 
politely  ordered  the  boat  alongside,  and  put  me 
ashore  from  where  I  started.  The  shells  were 
soon  again  bursting  through  the  woods;  and  two 
boats,  containing  about  twenty-four  men,  proceeded 
up  the  creek  which  formed  the  island,  and  landed  at 
the  salt-works.  We  could  distinctly  hear  across  the 
estuary  the  sounds  of  destruction  of  boilers  and 
barrels,  &c.  On  their  return,  an  officer  and  about 
twelve  marines,  all  armed  with  cutlasses  and  rifles, 
debarked  and  marched  up  towards  Mr.  Kosa's 
house.  Fearing  Mrs.  Eosa  would  be  alarmed,  I 
met  them,  and  requested  he  would  keep  his  men  at 
a  distance  if  he  wanted  to  go  up  the  sandhill  to  the 
house.  So  they  remained  on  the  beach,  while  he 
with  a  sergeant  walked  up  to  the  house.  This  officer 
had  asked  me,  when  on  board,  if  there  was  any  fur- 
niture in  the  sea- side  houses ;  and  I  was  ready 
with  a  protest,  on  the  strength  of  Captain  Baxter's 
words.  I  stayed  with  the  men:  they  said  they 
were  thirsty,  and  Mr.  Eosa  and  myself  gave  them 
water.  Having  seen  several  British  sailors  in  the 
blockaders  off  Charleston,  I  asked  if  any  of  them  were 
British;  and  one  of  them  said,  "No,  we  are  all 
Yankees."  They  were  fine-looking  men,  and  well- 
accoutred,  in  blue  uniform.     They  kept  on  asking  if 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  125 

there  were  no  soldiers  near — looking  into  the  bushes. 

5ome  two  months  previous  there  had  been  a  troop  of 
^cavalry  quartered  in  these  houses,  which  doubtless 
they  had  heard  of.  After  a  time,  the  captain's  boat 
pulled  into  the  creek,  and  the  two  boats  immediately 
returned  with  him.     It  seemed  as  if  he  was  not 

itisfied  with  the  work  of  destruction,  as  more  went 
)n  before  him. 

Next  morning  at  eight  o'clock,  when  I  went  to 
Mr.  Eosa's  house  to  breakfast,  I  found  the  captain 
and  his  lieutenant,  supported  by  several  officers 
and  men,  parleying  with  him  on  the  bridge  which 
spanned  a  sand  ditch  leading  to  his  house :  they 
seemed  very  anxious  to  find  out  where  Mr.  Le  Bruce 
and  Mr.  Ward  were,  who,  they  heard,  were  owners 
of  the  salt-works.  The  heutenant  said  they  would 
have  the  former,  dead  or  alive,  as  he  had  supplied 
the  army  with  provisions  (I  heard  afterwards  he  had 
been  in  the  commissariat,  but  was  now  out  of  it). 
They  evidently  thought  he  was  concealed  somewhere 
lear.  A  cart,  with  his  portmanteau,  pistols,  and 
some  money,  had  been  taken  by  the  sailors  the  night 
before:  his  house  was  next  to  Mr.  Kosa's,  but, 
strangely  enough,  they  never  went  to  search  it. 
His  negro  groom,  with  horses,  &c.,  had  come  a 
few  days  before  the  boats  came,  but  he  sent  to  stop 


126  An  Errand  to  the  South 

his  master  coming,  and  return  his  horses  and  bag- 
gage— the  latter  being  seized  as  related ;  for  the 
negro  who  was  driving  the  cart,  hearing  the  cannon- 
balls  crashing  through  the  woods  where  the  road  lay, 
unharnessed  the  mule  and  rode  away  as  hard  as  he 
could,  leaving  the  cart  at  the  salt-works.  The 
groom,  called  Eobert,  complained  to  me  that  all  his 
clothes  were  taken  with  his  master's ;  so  when  I 
found  Captain  Baxter  at  the  house,  I  said,  "  I 
thought  you  did  not  take  private  property,  and  now 
your  men  have  taken  a  private  gentleman's  baggage, 
and  also  a  negro's  kit ; — won't  you  give  it  up  ?" 
"  Oh  no,"  said  he,  "  I  shall  want  it  all  to  help  to  clothe 
the  poor  niggers  I  have  in  South  Island."  While  we 
were  talking,  several  of  the  men  went  round  the 
house  to  the  negroes,  and  tried  to  persuade  them  to 
go  to  the  ship  with  them,  to  be  free,  but  one  and  all 
refused.  The  sailors  wanted  to  force  them ;  but  the 
sub-officer  would  not  allow  it — he  had  heard  what 
Captain  Baxter  said  to  me.  It  was  said  that  the 
sailors  received  some  reward  for  each  negro ;  it 
looked  very  like  it — and  it  was  not  hard  to  guess 
how  the  700  negroes  had  been  collected.  Some 
of  them  had  swum  ashore,  and  stated  that  the 
rest  were  starving,  and  that  boat-loads  had  been 
taken  over  at  night.     On  one  occasion,  a  child  had 


I 


I 


in  the  Summer  of  I S62.  127 

cried,  and  the  officer  being  afraid  that  the  noise 
would  bring  an  attack  from  the  shore,  threw  it  over- 
board, as  the  mother  could  not  silence  it.  As  for 
Kobert,  he  told  them  *'  he  was  just  as  free  as  they 
were ;  he  had  a  good  master,  who  gave  him  every- 
thing he  wanted,  and  he  would  never  leave  him ; 
they  could  not  leave  their  captain,  so  they  were  not 
free."  In  short,  Kobert  is  a  "  right-smart "  fellow. 
I  was  very  glad  that  the  captain  said  nothing  about 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  Mr.  Kosa.  He  told  me  if 
England  interfered,  the  United  States  would  cer- 
tainly declare  war  against  her.  I  said,  *•  How  about 
'  mediation '  in  a  friendly  way  ?"  f  Oh,"  he  said, 
"  there  would  be  no  harm  in  that."  He  accused 
England  of  supplying  arms  to  the  South.  I  said, 
"  England  had  free  trade,  and  her  merchants  would 
take  arms  and  other  things  to  the  market,  wherever 
it  might  be ;  and  that  in  our  war  with  the  Hotten- 
tots, we  found  they  got  muskets  from  Birmingham." 
The  heutenant  said  the  United  States  could  beat 
England  out  and  out ;  but  when  I  asked  him  to  ex- 
plain, he  said  he  meant  they  would  soon  have  fifty 
iron-clads,  and  England  and  France  only  had  thirty- 
seven  !  I  observed,  it  was  not  always  numbers 
that  had  the  best  of  it.  The  lieutenant  said,  Chris- 
tianity and  war  were  opposed  to  each  other.    "  True," 


128  An  Errand  to  the  South 

I  observed ;  "  yet  as  long  as  this  world  lasts  there 
will  be  wars  ;  but  those  who  fought  were  told  to  be 
content  with  their  wages,  and  to  do  violence  to  no 
one ;"  whereupon  Captain  Baxter  gave  me  a  nod.  In 
about  half  an  houi'  they  departed  for  the  salt-works, 
three  boats-full  up  the  creek,  and  Mr.  Eosa  and  I  to 
breakfast.  Before  it  was  over,  crack,  crack !  from  the 
shore;  and  on  running  out,  we  saw  puffs  of  smoke 
from  the  wood,  and  about  two  dozen  Yankees  running 
as  hard  as  they  could.  But  suddenly  they  stopped, 
fired  into  the  wood,  and  then  jumped  into  the  boats 
and  pulled  away  down  the  creek  back  to  the  ships. 
Having  no  spy-glass,  I  could  not  distinguish  ;  but  I 
certainly  saw  some  dark  things  lying  on  the  shore. 
The  firing  from  the  ships  now  became  more  frequent 
(as  if  to  dislodge  the  enemy  from  his  ambush)  ;  and 
at  about  one  o'clock,  under  it,  the  three  boats,  fully 
armed,  returned  to  the  salt-works.  As  far  as  we 
could  see,  it  was  to  take  something  away ;  and  they 
carried  what  we  thought  were  dead  and  wounded 
men  into  the  boats,  unmolested  by  the  enemy:  a 
party  of  men  lined  the  sides  of  the  creek  as  they  re- 
tired, firing  into  the  wood  at  intervals,  and  practis- 
ing at  a  poor  old  mule,  which,  after  several  shots, 
fell.  Directly  after  they  had  reached  the  ships  they 
weighed  anchors,  took  the  little  steam-tug  on  board 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  129 

the  large  troop -ship^  and  steamed  out  to  sea.  Not 
going  south  to  George-Town,  I  guessed  they  went 
out  to  consign  their  dead  to  the  deep.  In  the 
evening  a  heutenant  and  six  of  the  cavaby  came 
across  to  the  island :  they  said  their  whole  force  was 
twelve  men;  that  they  had  wounded  several  Yan- 
kees, and  certainly  killed  three,  and  had  got  an 
officer's  sword,  which  was  left  on  the  shore;  that 
they  had  heen  out  watching  all  night ;  they  did  not 
come  out  of  the  wood  after  firing,  but  went  back 
about  a  mile  to  where  their  horses  were  tied,  to  get 
some  food ;  that  not  one  of  them  was  touched,  though 
the  shells  burst  all  round  them;  that  while  they 
were  refreshing  themselves  the  Yankees  must  have 
come  and  taken  ofi"  the  dead.  They  said  the  enemy 
did  not  destroy  the  boilers  ;  they  were  too  strong  for 
them,  but  they  broke  up  the  pump,  and  emptied 
about  fourteen  bushels  of  salt  into  the  mud — an  act 
for  which  the  wild  Arabs  of  the  desert  would  have 
branded  the  perpetrators  with  barbarism.  The  salt 
was  not  for  the  army ;  and  Mr.  Kosa  had  assured 
the  captain  that  it  was  for  the  sole  use  of  the  negroes 
in  Mr.  Le  Bruce's  plantation — yet  Captain  Baxter 
had  only  acted  under  orders.  Who  were  the  barba-  . 
rians  ?  I  felt  grateful  to  him  for  hstening  to  my 
remonstrances  about  the   oath  of  allegiance  being 

K 


130  An  Errand  to  the  South 

tendered  to  Mr.  Eosa,  and  for  firing  wider  of  the 
house,  after  I  had  requested  him.  We  shook  hands 
at  parting,  and  he  said  he  should  be  glad  to  meet  me 
again,  in  quieter  times.  He  had  been  in  England, 
and  knew  it  well.  Perhaps  that  very  hand  had 
dropped  the  sword  on  the  beach ! 

In  the  evening  all  was  still.  I  had  had  my  bathe 
in  the  surf;  and  six  cavaliers,  with  slouching  hats 
and  Cossack  horses,  under  command  of  Lieutenant 
McDonald,  rode  up  to  Mr.  Eosa.  I  was  introduced. 
They  were  all  men  of  education  and  fortune.  I  have 
already  mentioned  their  report.  Shaking  hands  with 
one  is  an  introduction.  Within  twelve  hours  I  had 
shaken  hands  with  North  and  South !  0  that  they 
would  shake  hands  together,  and  end  this  horrid,  un- 
reasonable war !  Mr.  Eosa  felt  convinced  that  if  he 
could  have  had  an  hour's  confab  with  Captain  Baxter 
he  would  have  convinced  him  of  the  injustice  and 
folly  of  the  cause  of  Unionism  versus  Independence. 

While  I  was  indulging  the  relaxation  of  the  island 
fanned  by  the  breezes  of  the  Atlantic,  and  washed 
by  its  waves,  I  had  the  luxury  of  part  of  Captain 

's  excellent  library;  and  for  hght  reading,  I 

met  with  one  of  Charles  Eeade's  novels,  "Love me 
Little,  Love  me  Long."  His  works  seem  to  be  great 
favourites  in  America. 


in  the  Summer  of  1862. 


131 


On  the  23rd  of  July  I  rode  over  the  sands  to  the 
scene  of  destruction.  Broken  barrels  lay  around; 
bits  of  boilers,  pump,  timbers  cut  in  half,  &c. ;  a 
hole  just  eight  inches  diameter  through  an  overseer's 
house,  so  as  to  fit  a  ventilator  over  the  door  ;  two  or 
three  more  through  the  roof;  trees  splintered  in  all 
directions.  About  300  yards  further  up  the  shore  an 
old  negro  had  kept  on  salt-burning  for  Mr.  Duncan,  a 
planter,  at  the  overseer's  house,  all  the  time,  but  his 
boilers  were  concealed  by  trees.  I  saw  where  a  shot 
had  torn  up  the  ground  about  a  foot  from  the  chim- 
ney of  the  kitchen  where  he  was  sitting.  He  had 
two  caldrons,  each  having  a  large  conch  in  it  to  catch 
the  dirt :  he  made  three  bushels  a  week :  the  water 
was  brought  to  the  boilers  from  the  creek,  instead  of 
having  a  pump.  Here  was  no  want  of  courage. 
Another  servant,  a  mulatto,  had  stayed  in  the  house 
aforenamed  to  see  what  the  Yankees  did,  till  the  shot 
went  through  it,  just  over  where  he  was,  when  he 
went  into  the  rushes  and  hid  himself  all  the  time 
they  were  on  land. 

A  negro  came  over  from  North  Island,  having 
swum  across  to  the  main :  he  told  us  the  Yankees 
gave  them  only  a  pint  of  rough  rice  each  per  day, 
and  no  means  of  pounding  it — so  they  were  obhged 


to  rub  it  between  shingles. 


All  would  have  got 


132  An  Errand  to  the  South 

away  again  to  their  masters  if  possible ;  but  tbey 
are  guarded  by  sentries  all  day,  and  it  was  a  long 
way  to  swim  at  night.  There  were  many  women 
and  children.  He  confinned  the  story  of  the  child 
being  thrown  overboard.  Hundreds  had  been  de- 
coyed away  from  their  homes,  he  said,  by  promises  of 
freedom  and  rewards,  but  they  found  they  were 
''gulled" 

We  have  potatoes  here  as  fine  as  any  I  ever  saw 
in  England,  and  no  disease  among  them;  they 
are  ash-leaved  kidneys.  Mr.  Eosa  is  now  planting 
fresh  seed  to  take  up  in  November.  Before  he  came 
the  people  hereabouts  thought  the  soil  would  not 
grow  "Irish"  potatoes,  and  depended  on  importa- 
tion from  the  North !  The  fruit-trees  and  vegeta- 
bles are  of  the  first  order. 

July  2Mh. — The  thermometer  is  steady  at  about 
80°  for  day  and  78°  for  night,  when  we  sleep  with 
windows  open,  and  always  a  breeze  from  the  sea. 
The  latitude  is  32|°  N.,  longitude  79°  W.,  from 
Greenwich.  Though  our  kindred  in  America  have 
taken  many  of  their  ways  from  the  French,  yet  they 
keep  the  old  Enghsh  measurement  of  the  world, 
counting  from  Greenwich. 

Mr.  Eosa  is  a  clever  overseer  as  well  as  cate- 
chist.     He  saw  a  field  at  Spartanburg,  i.  e.,  in  the 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  133 

north  part  of  the  State,  which  only  yielded  five 
bushels  of  wheat  per  acre;  he  told  the  farmer  to 
drain:  he  did  so,  and  got  forty  bushels  per  acre. 
Another  field  was  "  worn  out,"  and  the  custom  is 
then  to  let  it  lie  waste :  the  only  tillage  had  been 
with  what  they  call  a  "bull's  tongue,"  a  wooden 
plough.  He  said,  "Soil  it,"  i.  e.,  put  a  regular 
plough  in  with  two  mules.  It  was  done,  and  a  crop 
of  thirty  bushels  per  acre  was  produced  the  first  year. 
The  draining  is  done  with  fir  poles,  one  placed  on 
two,  three  feet  under  the  surface. 

Met  a  gentleman  to-day  who  had  given  |600  for 
a  substitute  for  the  draught.  This  same  gentleman 
blamed  the  masters  for  leaving  their  plantations  and 
negroes.  Captain  Baxter  declared  he  did  not  wish 
to  keep  the  negroes;  if  masters  would  take  them 
back  they  might  have  them.  Certainly  the  North- 
erners interfering  with  the  negroes  seems  a  great 
mistake.  By  "the  Constitution"  they  are  private 
property,  and  inviolable ;  but  the  whole  moral  atmo- 
sphere seems  to  have  been  tainted  with  false  ideas 
about  the  negroes.  While  the  Northerners  will  not 
sit  in  the  same  carriage  with  a  firee  coloured  person, 
they  will  violate  the  law  to  break  his  bondage ;  and 
a  State  has  done  this  by  its  own  State  law ! — e.  g. 
Massachusetts  years  ago  made  it  penal  to  dehver  up 


134  -^^  Errand  to  the  South 

a  fugitive  slave,  the  penalty  being  $6000  fine  and 
eight  years  in  prison !  How  can  the  Union  go  on 
with  such  anomaHes?  If  this  war  was  waged  for 
the  sake  of  the  negro,  he,  poor  fellow,  has  had  no 
benefit,  and  never^  will  have  benefit  from  it.  If  he 
gives  himself  up  to  the  Northerners  he  is  half  starved. 
The  Northerners  are  burthened  with  keeping  them, 
and  the  masters  are  at  a  loss  for  their  labour;  so 
that  three  parties  are  injured  and  none  benefited. 

On  the  25th  of  July,  St.  James,  we  had  Divine 
service  in  St.  Mary's  Church,  and  I  baptized  seven 
children,  viz.,  one,  the  catechist's,  and  six  of  the 
negroes'. 

July  26th. — In  my  upper  chamber,  looking  over 
the  Atlantic,  the  negro  boy  Frank,  about  sixteen 
years  of  age,  who  is  appointed  to  wait  on  me  and 
take  care  of  my  horse,  reads  the  alternate  verses  of 
the  Psalms  with  me,  and  the  2nd  Lesson,  daily. 

From  aU  I  hear,  I  have  no  doubt  that  if  the 
South  were  "let  alone,"  as  they  say,  i.  e.,  allowed 
to  have  self-government,  not  only  would  its  vast 
resources  be  developed  for  the  benefit  of  itseK  and 
the  rest  of  mankind,  but  there  would  be  schools  for 
the  negro  children,  marriages  would  be  held  bind- 
ing, and  children  would  not  be  sold  away  from 
parents.     Gladly  would  employers  of  labour  pay 


in  the  Summer  of  i  S62 .  135 

wages  instead  of  hiring  slaves.  Many  are  the  iB»- 
conveniences  to  them  from  this  kind  of  labour  which 
are  not  found  in  the  other.  But  the  negro  must 
first  be  led  to  understand  the  free  position;  and 
I  beheve  the  two  above-named  reforms  are  essential 
to  such  an  understanding,  viz.,  education  and  do- 
mestic ties.  Then,  when  they  are  in  a  condition  to 
feel  they  have  something  more  than  mere  existence 
to  work  for,  they  will  appreciate  free  labour. 

On  the  26th  of  July,  sixth  Sunday  after  Trinity, 
there  was  again  a  fall  congregation,  and  baptism  of 
two  white  children,  whose  father  had  suffered  from 
the  Yankees  taking  his  boat  and  nets,  by  which  he 
earned  his  Hviug. 

Pawley's  Island  is  about  three  miles  long  and  300 
yards  wide :  the  estuary  dividing  it  from  the  main- 
land is  covered  with  marsh  grass,  which  is  good 
fodder  for  cattle.  This  sand-hill  island  is  covered 
with  wild  orange,  dwarf  cedar,  and  holly.  There  are 
no  snakes,  and  it  is  a  most  healthy  spot. 

After  service  I  met  some  negroes  who  had  come 
from  another  plantation.  They  said  they  did 
not  want  to  go  to  the  Yankees,  and  they  wished 
they  would  let  them  alone:  by  the  blockade  they 
made  food  and  clothing  so  scarce  that  their  masters 
could  hardly  provide  for  them.     Salt  had  risen  to 


136  An  Errand  to  the  South 

from  seven  to  ten  dollars  per  bushel  on  the  coast, 
while  before  the  war  it  was  only  half  a  dollar  ;  mo- 
lasses from  twenty  cents  to  four  and  five  dollars  a 
gallon.  They  said  they  were  not  slaves,  but  ser- 
vants ;  that  if  a  negro  became  free  he  must  have  a 
white  man  appointed  by  law  to  be  his  "guardian," 
because  he  did  not  know  how  to  manage  for  himself. 
They  pitied  "  poor  free  negroes,"  as  they  had  not  the 
constant  protection  that  "  servants  "  have.  I  read  to 
them  the  words  of  Genesis  xiv.  14,  proving  that 
Abraham  had  the  same  kind  of  servants ;  and  they 
seemed  quite  pleased. 

I  could  not  administer  the  Holy  Communion  at 
St.  Mary's,  Weehawkah,  as  the  Sacrament  plate  had 
been  taken  away  for  safety.     It  would  have  been 

well  if  all  the  planters  had  done  as  Captain  W 

did,  i.  e.,  openly  explaining  "  the  situation  "  to  the 
negroes,  and  arranging  for  some  known  minister  to 
officiate  among  them.  Seeing  how  on  each  side  of 
his  estate  raids  had  been  committed,  I  felt  as  if  St. 
Mary's,  with  its  regular  Divine  service,  was  a  guar- 
dian angel  to  Hagley,  and  kept  the  intruders  off 
and  the  negroes  true. 

From  what  I  have  seen  and  heard,  I  think  it  is  a 
pity  the  United  States  Government  did  not  intrust 
the  command  on  the  coast  to  naval  men ;  the  mill- 


in  the  Summer  of  I S62.  137 

tary  generals  seem  to  have  been  more  without  mercy 
and  without  esjrrit  de  cor])S,  caught  up  from  some 
other  occupation,  many  of  them  lawyers  or  in  trade 
— no  soldiers. 

IMr.  Kosa  was  baptized  in  the  Dutch  Keformed 
Church,  which  has  no  bishops,  but  presbyters.  In  this 
church  (which  sprung  up  from  reforms  passing  from 
England  to  Holland  in  the  16th  century),  before  ser- 
mon the  preacher  stretches  forth  his  hands  over  the 
congregation,  saying,  "  Grace,  mercy,  and  peace  from 
God  our  Father,  and  from  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  be 
multiplied  unto  you,  my  hearers.  Amen."  He  was 
married  by  an  Anabaptist  minister  (on  account  of 
there  being  no  Episcopalian  one),  who  readily  con- 
sented to  use  the  marriage  service  of  the  Prayer- 
book —  which  service,  by-the-by,  is  considerably 
shorter  than  in  ours,  and  much  improved  by  certain 
sentences  at  the  beginning  being  omitted ;  though  I 
cannot  think  the  omission  of  the  Psalm,  and  of  the 
order  to  proceed  "  from  the  body  of  the  church  "  and 
"  to  kneel  before  the  Lord's  Table,"  for  the  blessing, 
is  an  improvement. 


138  An  Errand  to  the  South 


CHAPTEE  YII. 

Bach  to  Conwayhoro\ 

On  the  80th  of  July  up  at  2.40  ;  breakfast  of  bread, 
stewed  j^eaches,  and  "  claber."  This  claber  is  quite 
a  godsend  in  the  absence  of  tea.  It  is  simply 
"  curds  and  whey :"  a  bowl  of  milk  is  put  by  in  the 
evening,  and  by  atmospheric  operation  becomes  claber 
in  the  morning. 

How  fresh  and  beautiful  it  was  to  dash  along  the 
windiQg,  noiseless  road,  the  day  gradually  breaking 
forth,  the  dewdrops  hanging  on  the  varied  and 
tangled  woods  of  pine,  oaks,  maple,  arbutus,  cedar, 
magnoha,  rhododendron,  cypress,  gum-tree,  and  bay ! 
As  we  passed  near  the  river  we  saw  the  masts  of  a 
Yankee  gun-boat  which  was  at  anchor  opposite  a  plan- 
tation belonging  to  Dr.  McGill.  One  of  his  men  told 
me  five  servants  had  gone  on  board :  he  said  "  they 
were  fools ;  they  would  soon  be  sorry  for  it ;  they 
were  house  servants,"  and,  as  he  said,  "foot  to  foot 


I 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  139 

with  massa,"  who  treated  them  "too  well;"  they 
had  every  thing  they  wanted;  but  they  had  been 
misled  by  his  head  servant,  who  was  a  "  traitor." 

Juhj  31s^. — To-day  at  Conwayboro'  the  sun  rises 
at  5.10  and  sets  at  6.50,  but  in  England  it  rises  at 
4.10  and  sets  at  7.50;  thus  we  have  two  hours 
more  night  to  cool  us  here :  there  is  no  twihght. 

I  read  in  a  newspaper  some  remarks  on  the  boun- 
dary between  the  United  States  and  Canada,  alleg- 
ing that  in  1842  Lord  Ashburton  had  been  outdone 
by  the  Yankee;  for  the  true  boundary,  as  agreed 
on  at  the  peace  between  Britain  and  the  United 
States,  was  the  watershed  from  the  Western  Moun- 
tains to  Mars'  Hill  in  Maine. 

A  chaplain  of  the  Confederate  army  wi'ites  from 
Eichmond  that  the  estimated  loss  of  the  Confederate 
army  duiing  the  five  days'  fight  near  Kichmond  was 
15,000  killed  and  wounded,  that  'of  the  Federals 
20,000.  The  prisoners  taken  by  the  Confederates, 
sick,  wounded,  and  well,  10,000;  cannon,  80; 
muskets  and  rifles,  13,000. 

August  1st. — Thermometer  at  7.30  a.m.  76° ;  rose 
to  80°  at  noon.  Saw  in  a  paper  an  order  from 
Stanton,  authorising  commanders  to  pillage  and 
destroy  private  property.  I  see  the  dry  pine  points 
are  now  being  collected  in  the  woods ;  the  ground 


I40  An  Errand  to  the  South 

is  covered  with  this,  which  is  called  "trash;"  it 
is  used  for  bedding  for  horses  and  cattle,  and  makes 
good  manure. 

August  6th. — Took  tea  at  Mr.  Beatty's.  To  see 
how  hospitably  these  kind  people  entertain,  one  would 
not  suppose  war  was  raging.  How  well  the  negro 
women  bake  and  cook ! 

Mr.  B explained  Stonewall  Jackson's  great 

strategy  to  get  to  Kichmond  and  reinforce  Lee  with 
50,000  men :  he  marched  day  and  night  120  miles. 
Banks,  Sheil,  Fremont,  and  McDowell  had  all 
joined  to  give  him  battle  in  the  Shenandooah  valley. 
He  left  videttes  and  three  or  four  regiments  as  a 
feint,  marched  to  co-operate  with  Lee,  and  got  up 
just  in  time  on  the  25th  of  June.  I  find,  all  praise 
General  McClellan  for  the  way  in  which  he  managed 
his  retreat.  General  Huger,  who  had  under  him 
General  Magruder,  was  ordered  to  intercept  the 
retreat  of  the  Yankees,  and  got  within  sound  of 
them;  but  they  slipt  away  in  the  night,  and  next 
day  Magruder's  division  of  40,000  men  came  on 
their  position,  strengthened  by  fifty  siege  guns  and 
twelve  batteries  of  field  guns  placed  in  shape  of  a 
funnel,  by  the  fire  of  which  his  attacks  were  three 
times  repulsed,  and  time  gained  by  the  enemy  to 
get  off  to  the  James  Eiver.     By  Tuesday,  the  29th 


I 


I 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  141 

of  July,  the  whole  Northern  army  had  retreated 
thhrty  miles,  and  got  mider  cover  of  gun-hoats. 

This  State  of  South  Carolina  has  wonderful  soil : 
to  look  at  its  sand  you  would  think  it  sterile,  but 
now  we  have  dishes  of  deHcious  peaches  and  j&gs; 
the  latitude  is  about  the  same  as  Algiers.  The  soil 
must  be  good,  for,  sHghtly  manured,  it  produces  all 
fruits  and  vegetables :  excellent  apples,  pears,  figs, 
peaches,  greengages,  plums,  grapes,  strawberries, 
potatoes  (sweet  and  Irish),  peas,  beans,  okra,  egg- 
plants, tomata,  rice,  wheat,  oats,  maize,  barley,  rye, 
tea,  cofiee,  flax,  honey  in  abundance. 

Thermometer  rises  now  to  90°.  I  observed,  "  It 
will  be  hot  for  the  soldiers."  An  old  man  replied, 
"  It  is  usual  at  this  time  of  the  year ;  we  are  about 
the  latitude  of  Fez :  our  men  don't  mind  it,  they 
are  used  to  it ;  if  they  were  not  in  the  army  they 
would  be  out  in  the  corn-fields  all  day  at  work ;  a 
fine  hardy  race  they  are !"  And  looking  at  a  boy 
twelve  years  old,  he  continued,  "  All  these  boys  are 
longing  to  be  soldiers:  at  nine  years  old  they  all 
handle  a  gun,  go  into  the  woods  and  shoot  squirrels, 
and  many  of  them  shoot  better  than  their  fathers." 
Then,  as  an  instance  of  courage,  it  was  told  me  a 
femily  at  George-Town  were  roused  up  at  night  by 
a  fire  raging  next-door:  the  grandmother  went  to 


142  An  Errand  to  the  South 

wake  up  a  boy  ten  years  old  (and  a  dear,  clever  little 
fellow  is  Tommy  Morgan),  and  saw  him  kneeling 
down  in  his  bed.  She  asked  him  what  he  was 
doing.  "  Praying,"  said  he,  "  that  God  Almighty 
would  spare  our  house."  The  house  burnt  down 
was  only  separated  by  a  space  of  two  feet,  and  this 
house  was  not  injured ;  the  family  were  Koman 
Catholic,  half  Irish  and  half  French. 

On  the  10th  of  August,  the  8th  Sunday  after 
Trinity,  thermometer  96°  by  day  and  91°  by  night; 
had  Divine  service  in  the  Piazza  at  7  a.m.  and  7  p.m. 
— hot  work ;  at  3,  Mrs.  W 's  class  up  for  cate- 
chism, six  boys  and  five  girls.  Several  of  the  Metho- 
dists and  Presbyterians  came  to  our  service. 

The  negroes  sung  out  the  hymns  more  heartily 
than  the  whites :  there  is  no  reserve  in  the  negro  in 
his  worship.  The  Nonconformists  evidently  like  the 
decency  and  order  of  the  Church  service ;  and  as  I 
have  long  preached  unwritten  sermons,  they  could 
not  say  the  teaching  was  as  that  of  "  the  Scribes.  " 

Sermones  scriptae  would  no  more  do  for  the  black 
labourers  than  they  do  for  the  white.  It  seems 
strange  that,  while  in  France  and  America  members 
of  Parliament  are  allowed  to  read  their  speeches, 
but  not  so  in  England,  the  reverse  is  held  as  to 
pulpit  discourses.      I  do    not    mean  to  advocate 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  143 

extempore,  or  unprejpared,  preaching  as  a  custom ; 
indeed,  I  find  much  more  thought  is  engaged  in 
preparing  sermons  unwritten  than  written.  I  would 
call  them*  spoken,  or  viva  voce  sermons,  instead  of 
written  ones.  The  pulpits  in  these  churches  are 
like  platforms,  in  which  two  or  three  chairs  are 
placed.  A  young  man  was  preaching  once  in  South 
Carolina,  and  a  learned  Anahaptist  minister  was  sitting 
by  him.  When  he  began  his  sermon  with  the  con- 
fession that  he  was  quite  "unprepared,"  "More 
shame  for  you,"  said  the  doctor. 

Then  he  went  on  to  say,  "  As  I  was  coming  along 
the  text  struck  me." 

"Pity  it  had  not  struck  you  down,"  said  the 
doctor. 

In  a  pamphlet  on  Church  Extension,  which  in 
1840  I  dedicated  to  Sir  K.  Inghs,  I  suggested  to 
our  Enghsh  bishops  that  they  should  estabHsh  in 
each  diocese  a  theological  college,  where  candidates 
for  orders  should  be  obliged  to  study  at  least  a  year 
under  the  bishop's  ken,  so  that  he  would  know  the 
character  and  qualities  of  his  men ;  and  that  there, 
practice  should  be  had  in  speaking  sermons,  exem- 
phfying  the  excellent  system  in  that  respect  which 
prevails  in  the  college  at  Geneva.  K  colleges 
be  required  for  the  temporal  army,  surely  they  are 


144  ^^  Errand  to  the  South 

for  the  spiritual,  and  it  is  proved  that  Oxford  and 
Cambridge  do  not  fully  supply  the  need.  As  for 
the  cures  of  souls,  it  would  be  well  to  take  a  hint 
from  the  Church  in  America,  where  every  congrega- 
tion has  a  conmiittee  for  the  church,  something  like 
"  le  conseil  d'^glise "  in  France,  composed  of  pro- 
prietors and  chief  men  all  belonging  to  the  congre- 
gation, who  should  have  the  election  of  the  incumbent 
under  sanction  of  the  bishop ;  thus  putting  an  end 
to  the  iniquitous  traffic  in  livings,  whether  for 
pecuniary  or  pohtical  motives.  It  is  only  wonder 
that  when  Englishmen  have  combined  for  many 
excellent  purposes,  they  have  never  yet  combined  to 
get  rid  of  this  shameful  and  sacrilegious  abuse.  It 
would  be  weU  too  if  our  Church  in  England  would 
take  a  hint  from  her  sister  in  America,  and  make 
good  provision  for  the  clergy  and  their  families: 
surely  our  bishops  might  fairly  bring  this  subject 
before  the  laity. 

I  baptized  the  infant  daughter  of  Captain  W.'s 
builder ;  he  is  called  Eenty,  and  his  wife  Josephine ; 
their  "  title"  is  Tucker.  Of  course,  when  the  negro 
domestic  system,  as  advocated  above,  is  adopted,  these 
"  titles  "  will  all  come  out  and  be  registered.  The 
infant  was  called  Dido.  I  can't  account  for  the  pro- 
pensity for  old  classic  names  among  them ;  is  it  that 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  145 

the  masters  have  been  men  of  education,  and  put 
these  names  into  their  heads  ?  They  have  also  Yenus, 
Juno,  Chloe,  Hector,  Horace,  and  even  Jupiter ! 

August  Vltli. — Thermometer  at  10,  88°;  at  3, 
91°;  at  9,  86°.  The  negroes  delight  in  this:  the 
children  go  to  sleep  under  the  mid-day  sun.  The  fine 
crops  of  corn,  sugar-cane,  and  sweet  potato,  flourish 
under  it  and  the  heavy  dews  at  night.  The 
Charleston  papers  have  the  debates  in  our  Parlia- 
ment of  the  18th  of  July,  on  IVIr.  Lindsay's  motion, 
concerning  the  Confederate  States.  Kegrets  are  ex- 
pressed that  he  did  not  postpone  it  till  full  particulars 
of  the  Federal  defeat  at  Eichmond  were  known,  as 
then  the  power  of  the  South  would,  they  think,  have 
made  such  impression  that  "  Kecognition "  would 
have  followed.  Mr.  Whiteside's  speech  is  greatly 
admired.  To-day  we  drove  to  a  real  farm,  i.e.,  occu- 
pied by  a  tenant  of  a  landlord,  so  that  such  tenure  is 
already  beginning  in  this  new  country. 

August  \Zth. — Thermometer  at  5.30  a.m.,  81°  ;  at 
6  P.M.,  89^°.  The  papers  report  the  heat  as  unusual, 
and  not  remembered  so  great  by  any  living  person. 
Notwithstanding  the  heat  we  take  our  drives  after 
sunset ;  and  whirled  along  in  the  light  "  buggy  "  by 
Saratoga  and  Equity,  who  trot  about  twelve  miles  an 
hour,  we  make  a  breeze  as  we  go  irom  house  to  house 

L 


146  An  Errand  to  the  South 

in  the  borough ;  for  this  is  the  time  of  visiting  here, 
and  the  lady  of  the  house  sets  before  you  a  trayful 
of  peaches,  or  an  immense  water-melon,  green 
without  and  pink  within,  and  a  decanter  of  water 
fresh  from  the  well.  The  papers  state  that  in 
Georgia,  on  the  23rd  of  July,  at  4  p.m.,  a  sword  was 
seen  in  the  heavens,  having  its  hilt  silver- white  and 
blade  red ;  size  to  the  eye  twenty  feet  long,  pointing 
north-east.  It  is  asserted  here  that  last  year,  in  July, 
before  the  battle  of  BuU  Kun,  a  similar  sign  was  seen 
— an  arm  stretched  out  near  the  moon,  holding  a 
sword. 

I  determine  to  go  to  Kichmond  while  the  Senate 
and  Congress  are  in  session.  On  account  of  the  heat 
Mr.  Porter  works  his  mail  stage  "  buggy  "  by  night. 
We  left  the  borough  at  10  p.m.,  the  14th  of  August, 
and  a  weary  night  it  was  in  our  cramped  position ; 
but  the  companionship  of  a  South  Carolinian  country 
squire  (every  one  is  an  esquire  here)  passed  the 
time  away,  by  his  narrating  how  he  hunted  the 
red  deer  in  the  woods  and  swamps  of  the  Wakamaw 
in  the  fall  and  spring  of  the  year;  how  the  wild 
turkeys  were  hunted  (for  they  never  talk  about "  going 
out  shooting  " — it  is  all  hunting),  the  hunter  imitat- 
ing their  call,  and  enticing  them  to  him ;  and  how, 
uow  and  then,  they  come  across  a  bear  in  the  swamps. 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  147 

My  companion's  name  was  Session,  and  he  was  a 
member  of  the  "  State  Convention ;"  an  assembly, 
as  he  explained  to  me,  only  called  out  on  grand 
emergencies,  at  the  call  of  the  House  of  Eepresenta- 
tives,  or  State  Legislature,  who  are  to  judge  of  the 
need  of  "the  sovereign  voice  "  of  the  people  being  heard 
through  this  their  chosen  organ.  By  this  means  each 
State  is  enabled  to  act  in  its  "  sovereign  and  inde- 
pendent character."  It  was  this  Convention  that 
passed  the  Act  of  Secession  from  the  Union  in  April, 
1861,  as  above  stated;  and  this  body,  I  was  in- 
formed, so  far  amended  the  State  Legislature  of 
South  Carolina  as  to  appoint  members  of  Council  to 
assist  the  Governor  of  this  State  on  account  of  the 
great  press  of  business  arising  from  the  war. 

At  10  P.M.,  the  15th  of  August,  the  train  left 
Fair  Bluff,  and  reached  Wilmington  at  2  a.m.  :  the 
cars  being  full  of  soldiers,  there  was  no  seat  to  be 
got.  The  conductor  walks  up  the  centre  passage 
and  takes  the  tickets,  or  you  can  pay  him  without  a 
ticket,  showing  the  perfect  trust  which  is  placed  in 
these  officials. 

An  immense  number  of  passengers  bundled  into 
the  great  steam  ferry-boat  over  Wilmington  Eiver 
(Cape  Fear  Kiver).  There  is  no  delay,  the  cry  is 
"  On  to  Eichmond."    We  break^st  at  Goldsborough, 


148  An  Errand  to  the  South 

North  Carolina,  at  7 ;  capital  clean  hotel,  and  good 
fare  for  seventy-five  cents,  and  delicious  cold  water 
from  a  deep  well.  Beached  Weldon,  North  Carolina, 
at  2 ;  dinner. 

Near  "Weldon  the  steam-horn  sent  forth  tremendous 
blasts.  "  Cows  on  the  line,"  said  the  soldiers  near 
me,  and  on  looking  out  we  saw  three  had  been 
killed ;  the  head  of  one  taken  clean  off.  The  cow- 
scraper  in  front  of  the  engine  is  an  immense  iron 
beak  made  of  open  bars,  projecting  about  nine  feet, 
sloping  down  from  the  top,  running  out  to  a  point, 
and  returning  to  guard  the  engine-wheels  beyond 
the  breadth  of  the  rails.  The  extraordinary  noise 
of  the  horn,  if  it  fail  to  scare  the  beasts,  is  sure  to 
give  notice  to  some  labourers,  who  come  to  pick  up 
the  beef,  or  drive  home  the  "  beeves."  By-the-way, 
you  never  hear  of  cattle  ;  they  are  always  "  beeves." 

The  young  men  in  the  train  had  all  been  wounded 
in  the  Eichmond  battles,  and  were  returning  from 
Alabama.  One  looked  like  a  girl  dressed  up;  so 
young  and  fair,  only  just  seventeen.  He  had  already 
been  raised  from  private  to  lieutenant,  had  been  in  two 
pitched  battles — shot  through  the  arm  and  a  .graze 
in  the  leg ;  would  not  let  his  sister  mend  the  hole  in 
his  coat-sleeve.  His  father  was  with  him,  a  member 
of  Congress. 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  149 

Weldon  is  a  grand  junction  station,  the  rails 
branching  north  to  Kichmond,  south  to  Charleston, 
east  to  Norfolk,  west  to  Ealeigh,  Clarkesville,  &c. ; 
close  to  it  flows  the  beautiful  and  rapid  Eoanolve 
Eiver,  over  which  the  road  runs  on  a  wooden  bridge, 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  long.  For  the  destruction  of 
this  bridge  it  is  said  the  Northerners  have  offered 
|20,000 :  it  is  strictly  guarded  at  each  end,  and  in 
the  middle  where  it  rests  on  an  island.  We  reached 
Petersburg,  Virginia,  at  4.  Every  step  in  Virginia 
betokens  moderation  of  temperature;  the  sand  is 
changed  for  loam  on  rock,  clay  and  gravel,  and  fine 
fields  of  clover  and  larger  cattle  appear.  At  Peters- 
burg, omnibuses  are  ready  to  convey  passengers 
through  the  to^vn  to  the  depot  for  Eichmond.  I 
preferred  entering  Eichmond  by  daylight,  so  put  up 
at  the  "  Bolingbroke,"  a  comfortable  hotel.  Peters- 
burg is  finely  situated  for  factories,  on  the  Eiver  Appo- 
mattock  ;  it  has  20,000  inhabitants  :  several  factories 
in  cotton,  cloth,  and  tebacco  were  at  work.  I  was 
at  the  market  at  daylight :  it  put  me  in  mind  of  a 
French  market ;  and  was  suppHed  with  abundance  of 
meat,  butter,  fowls,  eggs,  vegetables  and  fruit,  and  so 
crowded  with  people  I  could  hardly  get  along ;  and 
both  whites  and  blacks  all  looked  so  cheerful  that 
you  would  not  have  thought  the  enemy  was  at  their 


150  An  Errand  to  the  South 

doors,  for  Norfolk  is  only  eighty  miles  distant,  and 
water  communication.  I  had  seen  a  fine  battery  of 
artillery  pass  through  towards  Sufiblk  the  eyening 
before.  Leaving  Petersburg  at  nine,  the  road  passed 
through  a  fine  fertile  country,  twenty-two  miles  to 
Manchester,  on  the  south  side  of  the  James  Eiver. 
Here  was  a  beautiful  sight  all  at  once!  After  a 
cutting,  you  came  in  view  of  the  James  Kiver,  and 
the  seven-hill  city  of  Eichmond  on  the  other  side. 
Manchester  is  a  small  town  with  some  factories ;  the 
road  leaves  it  on  the  right,  then  the  train  dashes 
on  to  the  long  wooden  bridge.  The  bridges  over  the 
smaller  rivers  are  all  covered  ways,  the  rails  being 
secured  by  wooden  and  iron  braces ;  but  the  long 
tressel-works  over  swamps,  and  the  long  bridges  over 
rivers  like  this  over  the  James  and  that  over  the 
Koanoke,  bear  the  rails  on  the  top,  and  there  being  no 
parapet  and  no  visible  road  under  you,  the  look  down 
the  giddy  height  to  the  river  rushing  below  is  rather 
fearful  at  first.  Here  the  rapids  run  between  im- 
mense grey  granite  rocks ;  and  a  little  way  up  the 
stream  is  a  pretty  wooded  island,  covered  with  tents 
for  acres,  which  tents  are  the  residence  of  thousands 
of  Federal  prisoners  of  war,  and  a  very  pretty  healthy 
spot  it  looked. 

On  the  17th  August  I  put  up  at  Spottswood's,  an 


in  the  Summer  of  i  ^62.  1 5 1 

immense  hotel :  only  one  room  to  be  had  after  wait- 
ing several  hours,  and  that  five  stories  high. 

I  had  letters  of  introduction  to  the  President,  and 
Dr.  Woodbridge,  rector  of  the  Monumental  Church ; 
so  called  because  it  stands  on  the  site  of  a  theatre 
which  was  burnt  some  years  ago,  when  forty  per- 
sons perished  in  the  flames ;  a  monument  to  whose 
memory  stands  in  the  entrance  of  the  church.  The 
Methodist,  Presbyterian,  and  Anabaptist  churches 
here  have  all  towers  or  spires.  Passing  by  one  of 
the  latter  on  Saturday,  I  saw  several  persons  going 
in  and  out,  and  heard  they  had  daily  Divine  service 
there.  On  the  9th  Sunday  after  Trinity  I  assisted 
at  both  morning  and  evening  service  in  the  Monu- 
mental Church.  I  thought  Dr.  Woodbridge  had  a 
martial  air  about  him,  and  found  that  he  was  a 
graduate  from  West  Point,  and  had  been  two  years 
in  the  army,  and  that  he  had  been  solicited  to  take 
a  commission  in  the  Confederate  army  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  war,  but  declined,  sending  his  son,  a  lad 
•  of  seventeen,  instead,  who  is  in  General  Stuart's 
cavalry.  In  the  evening  I  paid  my  respects,  by  ap- 
pointment, to  the  President  of  the  Confederate 
States,  Mr.  Jefferson  Davis.  Governor  Pickens,  in 
his  letter  of  introduction,  had  kindly  mentioned  my 
having  had  a  letter  from  Mr.  Mason,  and  the  object 
of  my  errand  to  the  South. 


152  An  Errand  to  the  South 


CHAPTEK  Yin. 

First  Visit  to  Richmond — President  Davis. 

President  Davis's  house  is  situated  on  the  brink  of 
one  of  the  Eichmond  hills,  looking  to  the  north,  a 
small  stream  running  at  its  foot,  and  the  rail  to  Gor- 
donsville  winding  through  the  valley.  There  are  two 
porticoes  ;  the  entrance  one  to  the  north,  and  the  lawn 
and  garden  one  to  the  south.  The  house  is  granted 
by  the  State.  The  negro  servant  ushered  me  into  a 
lofty  and  cool  dining-room,  and  in  a  few  minutes  in 
walked  his  Excellency;  his  height  about  5  ft.  10  in., 
and  shoulders  broad,  as  they  need  be  to  bear  his 
awful  responsibilities  ;  calm  his  eye,  smooth  his  voice, 
measured  his  words;  his  whole  demeanour  making 
you  feel  at  once  at  home  :  his  dress  of  the  plainest, 
being  a  suit  of  blue  Virginia  manufacture,  a  sort  of 
light  flannel-cloth.  We  sat  down  tete-a-tete,  and 
I  enjoyed  a  cup  of  excellent  tea.  Mrs.  Davis  and 
the  children  were  at  Ealeigh  in  North  Carolina. 


I 


in  the  Summer  of  1 862.  1 5  3 

"  When  M.  Mercier,  the  French  Minister  at  Wash- 
ington, came  to  Kichmond,  he  had  no  interview 
with  Mr.  Davis.  Gratitude  to  Britain  was  felt  by 
the  Confederate  States  for  her  conduct  in  the  Mason 
and  Shdell  affair ;  but  it  would  have  been  more  dig- 
nified, they  thought,  if  the  British  ship  of  war  had 
received  them  at  Fort  Warren,  instead  of  their  being 
sent  down  the  river  to  her  in  a  tug.  The  United 
States  they  considered  dissolved ;  therefore,  the  so- 
called  ambassadors  from  the  United  States  were 
really  not  so,  since  thirteen  States  had  left  the 
Union — and  it  was  remarkable  that  this  was  the 
original  number  of  those  who  entered  it.  This 
accoimts  for  the  United  States'  national  flag  in  the 
navy  and  army  having  only  thirteen  stars  in  it ;  the 
secession  of  these  States  had  broken  up  the  United 
States'  Grovernment,  and  the  remains  of  it  were 
crumbling  to  pieces.  The  United  States  broke 
commercial  treaties  by  the  Morell  and  such  like 
tariffs;  but  the  Confederate  States  kept  faith,  and 
offered  the  principles  of  free  trade  to  all  the  world, 
under  an  established,  a  de  facto  Government.  The 
States  are  independent  sovereignties  of  each  one's 
people  ;  and  every  people  has  the  right  of  regulating 
its  own  existence.  If  any  number  of  States  chose  to 
combine  together  for  their  common  weal,  they  were 


154  -4^  Errand  to  the  South 

free  to  do  so,  and  free  to  separate  whenever  the 
separation  might  be  required  pro  hono  puhlico. 
When  the  colonies  became  so  strong  and  full  grown 
as  to  be  able  to  govern  themselves,  it  was  impolitic 
and  tyrannical  of  Britain  to  endeavour  to  stop  their 
separation  by  force.  With  such  a  Sovereign,  such 
a  Parliament,  such  a  Government  as  England  has 
now,  it  would  never  have  been  attempted ;  but  still 
the  colonies  were  dependencies— the  States  are  in- 
dependencies, and  therefore  have  much  more  right 
of  self-government  the  moment  they  desire  it.  After 
the  Eevolution  it  was  Hke  one  son  come  of  age  and 
enjoying  his  inheritance;  in  course  of  time  other 
sons  spring  up  to  age  and  demand  their  rights.  If 
the  English  Government  understood  the  circum- 
stances, they  could  not  do  otherwise  than  recognize 
the  Southern  Confederacy.  To  call  the  Southern 
States  *  rebels'  was  a  misnomer  and  unjust:  they 
merely  asserted  their  rights;  they  had  no  idea  of 
upsetting  the  Government  which  existed  in  the 
Northern  States — they  did  not  want  to  turn  out 
Mr.  Lincoln.  The  people  of  the  States  are  no  one's 
*  subjects/ — they  are  sovereign  people :  how  can  a 
sovereign  rebel  against  himself  ?  England  by  treaty 
acknowledged  the  States  as  sovereign  States  before 
the  union  took  place,  therefore  it  would  only  be 


in  the  Summer  of  1 862.  155 

consistent  in  her  now  to  recognize  the  confederacy 
of  those  who  had  settled  it  for  themselves  by  their 
unanimous  will.  Canada  would  not  be  invaded  by 
the  North  if  England  were  to  assert  her  rights  of 
commerce,  and  break  the  blockade  (which  was  con- 
trary to  all  commercial  treaties  with  Europe).  The 
South  would  be  a  bar  to  such  invasion ;  but  if  peace 
was  achieved  by  the  Confederate  States  without 
sympathy  from  England,  the  United  States'  army 
would  not  disband  till  it  had  attacked  Canada,  and 
how  then  could  England  expect  the  Confederate 
States  to  help  them  ?  whereas,  if  now  recognized, 
they  would  gain  the  alliance  of  a  nation  already 
proved  too  strong  for  the  United  States,  having 
beaten  them  in  numerous  battles.  The  question  is 
not  one  of  slavery :  the  negroes  are  *  the  peasantry ' 
of  the  Confederate  States ;  let  them  alone ;  let  the 
mischievous  designs  of  Abolitionists  be  stopped  by 
separation ;  then  the  condition  of  the  negro  will  be 
improved.  The  State  of  Maine  is  ready  to  secede, 
and  if  the  South  was  recognized  would  join  Canada. 
This  would  be  retribution  for  falsifying  the  charts 
and  misleading  Lord  Ashburton  in  1846,  in  settling 
the  boundary  Hne.  As  for  Liberia,  it  is  known  that 
the  free  negroes  take  or  buy  negroes  from  the 
interior  of  Africa.     The  *  Confederate  States  '   have 


156  An  Errand  io  the  South 

passed  a  law,  in  Article  I.  Section  ix.  of  the  Con- 
stitution, forbidding  the  importation  of  negroes ;  the 
*  United  States '  never  did  this.  If  the  Anti-Slavery 
Society  of  England  knew  the  condition  of  the  negroes 
in  the  South,  their  principles  would  not  stand  in  the 
way  of  recognition.  No  labourers  in  the  world  are 
so  well  treated.  The  Yankees  have  no  feeling  for 
negroes.  You  never  see  a  negro  beggar  in  the 
South :  if  a  master  has  only  one  half  ration  he  shares 
it  with  his  negro  servant.  Many  think  the  '  institu- 
tion '  a  burden ;  but  it  cannot  be  helped  at  present : 
it  is  handed  down — the  British  mother  bequeathed  it 
— it  can  only  be  abolished  by  course  of  time  and  free 
will,  not  by  force  or  interference." 

A  lady  in  Eichmond  gave  me  her  ideas  on  the 
war.  '*  As  for  the  negroes,"  she  said,  "  their  con- 
dition was  much  improved  of  late,  and  the  bishops 
and  clergy  in  convention  were  exerting  themselves 
to  prevent  the  ties  of  matrimony  being  broken  by 
sale :  public  feeling  was  against  the  separation,  but 
that  was  not  enough — a  law  must  be  passed.  0  do," 
she  said,  "  get  England  to  recognize  us  as  a  nation  ; 
we  want  no  more ;  they  would  only  be  recognizing 
a  fact.  See  how  we  get  on  in  spite  of  the  blockade  ! 
No  tea  or  coffee — no  sugar — no  ice — no  salt — no 
soap;  yet  we  bear  it  all,  and  have  plenty  of  food 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  157 

and  clothing,  and  we  are  content.  We  in  Virginia 
suffer  far  more  than  South  Carolina,  though  she  was 
the  first  to  rise  for  secession.  We  did  not  rise  till 
forced  to  do  so  by  Lincoln,  for  he  called  on  us  to 
give  our  quota  to  make  up  an  army  to  fight  against 
South  Carolina;  and  we  could  not  fight  against 
our  sister  State,  you  know,  so  we  were  forced  into 
the  war." 

Talking  of  soap — washing  at  Kichmond  was  no 
joke ;  the  price  asked  at  Spottswood's  hotel  was 
|4  per  dozen  articles  !  The  spacious  salle  a  mangier 
there  is  fitted  with  dozens  of  tables  laid  for  parties 
of  from  six  to  twelve ;  a  negro  waiter  to  about  every 
four  persons.  My  waiter's  name  was  Albert,  who 
belonged  to  a  storekeeper  in  the  town,  and  lets  him 
out  to  the  hotel  for  $10  a  month.  He  gets  plenty 
of  food  and  clothing  and  comfortable  lodging :  thus 
his  hire  is  25Z.  a  year,  the  keep  would  be  25/.  more 
=  501.  a  year.  A  very  merry  set  of  fellows  are  these 
hotel  waiters ;  if  slavery  is  a  curse,  it  sits  easy  on 
them ;  and  if  you  stick  to  the  same  table  and  make 
friends  with  yoiu-  man,  he  will  take  care  of  you. 

I  insert  the  bill  of  fare ;  and,  in"  contrast,  the  one 
furnished  at  Willards'  hotel,  Washington : — 


EXCHANGE  HOTEL,  RICHMOND. 


BILL    OF    FAKE. 

SOUP. 

Vegetable. 


Ham  and  Turnip  Salad. 
Corned  Beef. 


BOILED. 


Lpg  of  Mutton,  Parsley  Sauce. 
Bouille  Beef. 


Pork  and  Turnips. 


Rib  of  Beef. 
Pork,  Apple  Sauce. 


.ROAST. 


Ham. 


Saddle  of  Mutton. 
Shoat. 


Corned  Beef. 


COLD   DISHES. 


Mutton. 


ENTREES. 
Broiled  Kidneys,  Butter  Sauce. 

Lamb's  Cutlets,  with  Creamed  Potatoes. 
Green  Tongue,  Pickle  Sauce. 

Beef  Heart,  Stuffed  and  Baked. 
Pork  Steak,  Hot  Sauce. 

Ox  Liver,  Royal  Sauce. 

Tripe,  fried  in  Batter. 
Rice  Frittei-s. 


Rice. 

Creamed  Potatoes. 
Butter  Beans. 
Sweet  Potatoes. 


VEGETABLES. 

Irish  Potatoes. 

Peas. 

Turnips. 


Beets. 
Carrots. 


Peach  Pie. 


PASTRY. 

Rice  Pudding. 


Apple  Shapes. 


The  beverage  was  water — no  beer  or  wine  could  be  had  ;  the  coffee  was  made 
from  parched  rye  or  wheat. 


WILLARDS'  HOTEL,  WASHINGTON. 


BILL    OP    PAKE. 
SOUP. 

Clam  Chowder.  Macaroni. 

FISH. 
Boiled  Halibut,  Egg  Sauce.  Baked  Sea-Bass,  stuffed.  Claret  Sauce. 

BOILED. 

of  Mutton,  Caper  Sauce.  Chicken  and  Pork,  Egg  Sauce. 

Roll  ol"  Beef,  with  Onions.  Corned  Beef,  with  Cabbage  fcJprouts. 

Beef  Tongue.         Smoked  Jowl  and  Spinach, 
Ham. 

COLD    DISHES. 

t  Beef.  Spiced  Pressed  Beef.  Ham.  Pressed  Com  Beef. 

Beef  Tongue.  Roast  Mutton.  A  la  Mode  Beef. 

Hog's  Head  Cheese. 
SIDE    DISHES. 
vStewed  Beef,  with  small  Potatoes. 
Lamb  Chops,  Saut6  a  la  Jardiui^i-e. 
Tamn  Duck,  Braised,  with  Olives. 
Calf's  Head,  Madeira  Sauce. 

Fried  Liver,  a  la  Mattre  d'Hotel. 
Haricot  of  Mutton,  a  la  Macedoin. 
Codfish  Cake,  fried  in  Batter. 

Queen  Fritters,  Lemon  flavour. 
Macjironi,  a  la  Italien. 

Broiled  Spring  Chicken,  Cream  Sauce. 
ROAST. 
Beef.  Spring  Lamb,  Mint  Sauce.  Chicken. 


Geo.  Cassard's  Ham,  Champagne  Sauce. 

VEGETABLES. 


Leg  of  Veal,  Stuffed. 


Boiled  Potatoes. 

Rice. 

Asparagus. 

Mashed  Potatoes. 

Beets. 

Hominy. 

r                Fried  Parsnips. 

Onions. 

Cabbage  Sprouts. 

;                               Spinach. 

Leeks. 
RELISHES. 

French  Mustm-d. 

Lettuce. 

Worcestershire  Sauce. 

Olives. 

Pickles. 
PASTRY. 

Horseradish. 

pple  Pies. 

Bird  Nest  Pudding. 

Cream  Pies. 

Plum  Pies. 

French  Kisses. 
DESSERT. 

Madison  Cake. 

emon  Water  Ice. 

English  Walnuts. 

PecaaNuts 

Oranges. 

Apples. 

Filberts. 

Figs. 

Almonds. 

Raisins. 

COFFEE. 


WINE  LIST  (WILLARDS'). 

In  this  department  we  have  employed  every  care  and  exertion  which  long 
experience  and  a  desiie  to  meet  the  taste  of  the  community  can  suggest,  to 
supply  our  table  with  the  purest,  most  rare,  and  distinguished  Wines. 

CHAMPAGNE        Dollars. 


MADEIRA.  Dollars. 

Old  South  Side   2  00 

Oliviera  (very  old) 3  00 

Keserve  (very  choice) i...  3  50 

Gratz  Grape  Juice 4  00 

Howard  (very  delicate)    5  00 

Harriet,  1810  10  00 

SHERRY. 

Romano  (fine  table) 1  50 

Topaz  (pale  and  delicate) 2  00 

VinodePasto 3  00 

Rain  Drop  (thirty  years  old)  ....  4  00 

Hidalgo  Senr(pale,light,&  delicate)5  00 

BURGUNDY. 

From  C.  Marei/  and  Liger,  Belair,  of 

the  finest  vintages  extant. 

Burgundy 2  00 

Chambertin... quarts  3  00 

ClosVougeot 3  00 

HOCK. 

Niersteiner    2  00 

Hockheimer 3  00 

Rudisheimer 3  00 

Also,  from  the  Stock  of  Prince  Metter- 
nich,  Schloss  Johannisburg  Cabinet 
Wines. 

Yellow  Seal 4  00 

Green  Seal  5  00 

Gold  Seal 7  00 

Silver  Seal 10  00 

CLARET. 

These  Wines,  from  the  house  of  Barton 

and  Guestier,  have  been  selected  vnth 

much  care,  and  of  the  best  vintages. 

Superior  Table  Claret... quarts...       75 

„  „  pints  ...       50 

Floirac. .  .quarts    1  00 

,,         pints  75 

St.  Julien... quarts    1  50 

„  pints 75 

PontetCanet... quarts 2  00 

„       „         pints 1  00 

Chateau  Margaux 3  00 

„       Lafitte 3  00 


Green  Seal,  Moet  &  Chandon,  qts.  3  00 

„  „  „         pts.  1  50 

Charles  Heidsick... quarts 2  00 


„   ^        „  pints  ... 

Widow  Cliquot... quarts  ... 

».  »         pints 

Munims  Verzeney... quarts 

„  „  pints... 


Neckar 2  00 

PORT. 

Sanderson's 2  00 

Hunt&Co 2  00 

BRANDY. 

OldQPale 2  00 

„     Alpha 2  50 

Imperial  (thirty-five  years  old)  .  3  50 

Private  Stock  (very  old  and  fine)  5  00 
Martell,    from   Cochran    &    Co., 

Philadelphia,  vintage  1800  ...  5  00 
Old  Pale  Paulding,  vintage  1812, 

(very  fine)  5  00 

Old  London  Dock,  vintage  1 822  .  4  00 

WHITE    WINES   (OF  FRANCE). 

From  the  eminent  house  of  Messrs. 

Barton  and  Guestier. 

Sauterne... quarts 1  50 

„  pints 75 

Haute  Sauterne 2  50 

Chateau  d'Yquem  3  00 

MOSELLE. 

Sparkling  Moselle,  Cabinet  3  00 

„  „  pints 1  50 

„         Muscatel  2  50 

LIQUEURS. 

Curagoa  (Dutch)  Red   2  00 

White 1  00 

Maraschino  (Italian) 1  50 

Kirschwasser 1  50 

Seltzer  Water 38 

PORTER    AND    ALE. 

Younger's  (Scotch)... pints 38 

lale  India. ..pints 38 

Hibbert's  London  Brown  Stout...       38 


An  Errand  to  the  South  in  1 862.  1 6 1 

The  easy  and  gentlemanly  manners  of  the  guests 
at  these  Southern  hotels,  Senators,  M.P.'s,  Govern- 
ment officials,  generals,  officers,  privates,  doctors, 
clergy,  all  together,  at  once  engender  conversation ; 
and  in  this  respect  there  was  a  marked  contrast  to 
the  society  I  met  at  the  hotel  at  Washington.  A 
very  ahle  Senator,  Mr.  Swan,  from  Tennessee,  re- 
marked that  "  All  the  foreign  missionaries  had  not 
made  so  many  Christians  as  *  the  Institution'  had. 
The  trihes  of  Indians  had  melted  away  as  snow 
before  the  sun,  but  those  individual  Indians  who 
were  slave-owners  became  civilized  and  imbibed  self- 
respect  ;  they  felt  no  longer  debased  by  having  none 
below  them ;  and  as  for  the  negro  race,  they  were 
improved  morally,  physically,  and  numerically.  The 
moral  condition  of  man  is  improved  and  exalted  by 
having  something  to  take  care  of ;  he  feels  his  re- 
sponsibility if  it  be  even  a  dog  or  a  horse — how  much 
more  then  if  it  be  a  fellow-creature  dependent  on  him  ! 
The  word  *  slave'  is  unknown  here ;  we  call  them 
'  servants,'  or  treat  them  with  confidence  as  friends. 
Look  at  our  house  servants,  look  at  our  field  servants ; 
we  call  them  *  hands ;'  so  do  your  manufacturers  call 
their  workmen  *  hands,'  but  they  can  turn  them  adrift 
to  shift  for  themselves ;  they  do  not  generally  pro- 
vide for  their  souls  (as  the  ancient  barons  had  their 


1 62  An  Errand  to  the  South 

parish  churclies  built  for  their  serfs,  so  we  provide 
churches  for  our  plantations,  which  are  like  villages)  ; 
they  allow  millions  of  them  to  go  after  the  imagina- 
tion of  their  own  hearts — plenty  of  gin-houses,  but 
too  few  houses  of  God ;  here  every  servant  is  pro- 
vided for,  in  his  religious  wants ;  and  to  prove  how 
it  has  been  handed  down,  they  now  look  for  it  as  a 
thing  of  course  on  every  plantation." 

On  the  20th  August,  walking  along  Broad  Street, 
I  saw  a  brigade  of  artillery  of  36  guns  pass  en  route 
for  Gordonsville ;  a  little  while  after,  eighteen  more 
guns  ;  almost  all  had  six  horses  to  draw  them :  they 
were  chiefly  brass  guns,  and  had  all  been  taken  from 
the  enemy.  Each  battery,  consisting  of  six  guns,  had 
its  battle  flag — a  red  St.  Andrew's  cross  on  a  blue 
ground ;  one  I  saw  borne  on  a  branch  fresh  cut  from 
the  wood.  The  2nd  Re2:iment  of  North  Carolina 
cavalry  also  passed  :  they  halted  in  the  street  while  the 
band  played  some  tunes :  they  must  have  been  full  800 
strong.  Colonel  Baker  looked  for  all  like  one  of  the 
old  Cavaliers,  with  his  slouched  hat  and  feather,  his 
eagle  eye,  jet  black  hair,  and  splendid  moustache.  The 
next  day  four  infantry  regiments  passed  through  to 
the  same  point — the  2nd,  3rd,  7th,  and  8th  South 
Carolinas  ;  all  eager  for  the  fight ;  all  wiry  fellows  ; 
all  gentlemen  or  yeomen  :  each  regiment  had  a  drum 


I 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  163 

which  beat  time  for  the  march.  The  arms  were  good 
and  bright,  but  the  clothes  were  the  worse  for  wear. 
The  battle  flag  was  suggested  by  Mr.  Miles,  M.  C, 
to  General  Beauregard,  as  the  stars  and  bars  were 
not  enough  distinguished  from  the  stars  and  stripes. 
It  is  the  "  Saltire"  in  heraldry,  signifying  "  progress." 
One  regiment,  the  42nd  North  Carolina,  came  in  late 
and  bivouacked  in  the  Capitol  gardens.  Through 
some  mistake  of  the  quartermaster  they  had  no  sup- 
per ;  and  it  rained  in  torrents  all  night.  I  walked 
among  them  as  they  rose  from  their  wet  earthen 
beds :  they  had  no  breakfast ;  but  they  were  patient 
and  in  good  spirits,  and  not  a  murmur  was  heard.  I 
called  at  the  President's  to  mention  this,  and  imme- 
diately he  sent  to  inquire  into  it,  and  by  noon  the 
men  got  some  food.  At  4  p.m.  they  turned  up  a 
thousand  strong  to  dress  parade ;  the  light  company 
was  composed  of  boys  of  sixteen  to  eighteen  years  of 
age,  who  had  sword-bayonets :  there  was  not  a  speck 
of  rust  on  the  arms,  and  I  never  saw  a  steadier 
double  line  of  men — not  uniform  in  dress,  but  uni- 
form in  height — and  going  through  their  platoon 
exercise  with  the  utmost  precision,  as  they  stood  on 
the  fine  gravel  parade  reaching  from  the  Washington 
equestrian  statue  to  the  Governor's  house.  At  Mr. 
Myers'  there  is  a  beautiful  portrait  by  Stewart ;  also 


164  An  Errand  to  the  South 

he  possesses  pictures  of  Sir  Matthew  and  Lady  Hale, 
by  Vandyke.  Met  a  senator — talk  about  slaves. 
He,  hke  the  rest,  had  left  his  wife  and  children  with 
only  negroes  about  them.  This  was  in  Texas, 
hundreds  of  miles  away.  He  had  no  fear  for  them ; 
the  negroes  loved  them.  I  met  one  or  two  Senators 
who  did  not  wish  for  recognition  from  England  till 
the  South  had  fully  achieved  its  independence.  One 
gentleman  observed,  that  capital  and  labour  usually 
conflict ;  but  here,  by  slave  labour,  they  go  hand  in 
hand  :  in  England  the  capitaHst  usually  tries  how 
little  he  could  get  his  labour  done  for,  hence  grind- 
ing down  of  the  labourer;  here  there  never  was 
that  feeling.  He  advised  no  emigrants  to  come  to 
the  South  except  with  capital  or  as  master  workmen 
— i.e.,  not  to  the  south  of  North  Carolina. 

The  Southern  Parliament  is  in  session.  The  Con- 
gress consists  of  110  :  a  majority  must  be  present  to 
form  a  quorum ;  there  was  only  one  over  the  num- 
ber. I  heard  the  names  called  over :  many  from  a 
distance  had  been  detained  owing  to  the  trains  being 
taken  up  for  the  army.  Mr.  Miles,  of  Charleston, 
introduced  me  to  several  members,  and  I  had  the 
entree  daily  to  the  floor  of  the  house.  The  Session 
each  day  was  opened  with  prayer  ;  the  Speaker,  Mr. 
Bocock,    asking    some    minister    to    officiate.      A 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  165 

venerable-looking  "bishop"  of  the  Methodist  persua- 
sion, Dr.  Early,  officiated  to-day,  offering  up  a 
prayer  for  the  occasion.  Congress  sat  in  a  large 
room  on  the  ground-floor  of  the  Capitol,  the  room  of 
the  Virginia  State  Legislative  Assembly ;  everything 
was  conducted  with  the  strictest  decorum.  Mr. 
Foote,  from  Tennessee,  was  the  principal  orator; 
rather  exciting  in  style. 

In  Congress  to-day  I  heard  a  difference  of  opinion 
as  to  the  conscription  in  Texas.  One  representative, 
with  excitement,  spoke  of  the  "  lone  star  "  of  Texas  ; 
but  his  colleague  quietly  observed,  that  the  time  was 
not  come  for  Texas  to  be  alone  ;  she  was  true  to  the 
Confederacy,  and  this  was  her  true  policy. 

2'^rd  August. — General  Huger  (pronounced  Hu- 
g^e),  who  is  now  over  the  Arsenal  at  Eichmond, 
accompanied  me  in  a  ride  over  the  Chickahominy 
valley,  in  a  north-west  direction  from  Eichmond  to 
Mechanicsville,  about  five  miles.  Near  this  the 
famous  five  days'  battle  began  on  the  26th  June.  I 
saw  the  ground  on  which  for  seven  long  winter 
months  the  opposing  armies  had  gazed  on  each  other ; 
the  Confederates  on  the  ridge  of  the  valley  to  the 
south,  guarding  Eichmond ;  the  Federals  on  that  to 
the  north.  The  valley  is  nearly  a  mile  wide.  Muddy 
and  sluggish  was  the  stream  in  August,  winding 


1 66  An  Errand  to  the  South 

through  reedy  meadows  and  swamps  in  two  or  three 
divisions.  Across  this  valley  the  Southern  army 
dashed,  and  stormed  the  Northern  breastworks,  made 
of  pine  poles  laid  horizontally  between  immense 
piles,  the  earth  thrown  from  the  ditch  outside  form- 
ing a  glacis  inside ;  their  breastworks  were  from  six 
to  eight  feet  high ;  they  ran  all  along  the  ridge  for 
miles.  We  had  only  time  to  go  as  far  as  Madison's 
Mill  and  Beaver  Dam  Creek.  The  whole  space  was 
dotted  with  sites  of  encampments ;  thousands  of 
pine  stumps  which  supported  beds  and  tables ;  re- 
mains of  pork-barrels,  bits  of  old  coats,  and  broken 
pieces  of  carriages  ;  here  and  there  a  row  of  soldiers' 
graves.  I  was  assured  that  27,000  rifles  and  muskets 
had  been  taken,  50  cannon  with  all  their  appurtenances, 
uninjm-ed ;  and  ten  more  at  the  battle  of  Seven  Pines, 
some  days  previous ;  besides,  several  cannon  were 
found  buried,  and  earth  heaped  over  them  to  appear 
like  graves,  and  even  bits  of  wood  at  the  head,  with 
some  name  written,  to  prevent  discovery.  The 
Southerners  had  an  easy  dodge  to  detect  this  ruse, 
viz.,  sticking  the  ramrod  into  the  earth  ;  quantities  of 
ammunition,  too,  were  disinterred  from  the  swamps. 

24:th  August. — Fine  and  cool.  Sunday  and  St. 
Bartholomew's-day.  Attended  St.  Paul's  church; 
Kev.  Dr.  Minnegrode  the  rector.    The  President  and 


I 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  167 

his  family  were  among  the  congregation,  which  was 
crowded.  The  building  is  spacious ;  style  Grecian  ; 
pews  so  constructed  as  to  render  kneeling  diificult : 
this  is  a  general  fault  in  the  churches'  here  and  at 
Columbia.  The  singing  here  and  elsewhere  is  so 
elaborate  that  the  congregation  cannot  join  the 
choir.  The  altar,  of  marble,  is  under  the  reading- 
desk,  and  pulpit  over  that,  like  three  altars !  The 
Doctor's  sermon  was  earnest  and  ingenious,  on  103rd 
Psalm,  16th  verse : — "  *  The  place  thereof  shaU  know 
it  no  more.'  The  natural  and  social  world  will  vanish 
away.  So  let  it  be  with  all  pride  and  sin,  and  let  good- 
ness and  righteousness,  enduring  for  ever,  prevail ; 
dwelling  on  the  moral  structures  of  man,  one  after 
the  other  falling  to  the  ground,  and  known  no  more 
but  in  the  pages  of  history."  He  slightly  referred  to 
the  vast  sphere  of  the  United  States  as  only  a  tem- 
porary expedient,  but  to  be  known  "no  more." 
"Other  structures  fitted  to  the  growing  wants  of 
men  in  the  new  world  would  arise,  to  the  glory  of 
God  and  the  weal  of  his  people." 

Dined  to-day  with  a  citizen  who  is  a  civil  engi- 
neer, who  spoke  of  the  vast  resources  of  the  South. 
"  The  talent  would  now  no  longer  be  buried  in  the 
earth."  One  of  the  Northern  papers  had  astonished 
the  quiet  minds  of  the  South  by  a  parody  on  the 


1 68  An  Errand  to  the  South 

40th  of  Isaiah,  in  fayour  of  McClellan  preparing  the 
way  for  Lincoln  to  pass  over  to  the  South  !  In  the 
afternoon  I  gave  a  Divine  service  at  a  miUtary  hos- 
pital, viz.,  Mr.  Kent's  store  in  Main  Street.  My 
text  was  the  last  verse  of  the  16th  chapter  of  St.  Luke. 
There  were  150  beds,  all  of  which  were  occupied  by 
wounded  men ;  many  of  them  had  their  sisters  or 
mothers  attending  them.  The  merchant's  office  was 
turned  into  a  dispensary,  and  a  kitchen  was  close  by. 
The  head  surgeon  was  one  of  the  handsomest  men  I 
ever  saw,  and  extremely  polite.  I  had,  three  days 
before,  arranged  with  the  ladies  as  to  the  service, 
and  got  Prayer-books  for  them.  I  beHeve  aU  were 
Methodists  or  Presbyterians.  There  had  been  no 
public  service  on  any  previous  Sunday.  As  I  said 
before,  the  chaplains  are  soldiers  fighting  in  the 
ranks,  or  officers.  These  men  and  women  had  never 
heard  our  Church  prayers ;  they  said  they  liked  them 
much,  and  many  thanked  me,  and  asked  me  to  come 
again  next  Sunday.  A  few  days  before,I  had  been  at 
Mr.  Norwood's,  of  St.  John's  church,  the  original 
parish  church,  on  the  easternmost  hill  of  Richmond. 
He  told  me  that  while  the  lines  were  near  the  city, 
one  Sunday  morning,  his  clerico-military  friend  Pen- 
dleton walked  into  the  church.  He  called  him  into  the 
vestry,  and  asked  him  to  preach ;  he  made  objections — 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  169 

"  unprepared  " — "  general's  uniform,"  "  spurs,"  &c. ; 
but  "  no  "  was  not  taken  for  an  answer — so  the  rev. 
general  was  obliged  to  hold  forth ;  and,  much  to 
the  gratification  of  the  congregation,  he  preached  a 
stirriug  sermon  on  St.  Luke  xvi.  31 — the  general's 
stars  on  the  collar  showing  above  the  surplice.  I 
told  them  at  the  hospital  I  took  the  same  text  as 
their  gallant  general  did.  In  the  evening  I  went  to 
lihe  negroes'  Baptist  church,  in  Broad  Street,  holding 
about  1500  ;  it  was  full  to  overflowing.  The  sermon 
•was  on  *'  Pray  for  the  peace  of  Jerusalem."  The  style 
was  quite  didactic.  The  preacher  seemed  to  have 
witnessed  the  very  spots  he  described,  and  the  atten- 
tion was  dra-wn  completely.  The  sexes  sat  sepa- 
rately. Not  a  single  person  was  badly  dressed ;  their 
singing  was  wonderful,  and  entirely  congregational. 
Go  tln-ough  the  streets,  and  into  the  negroes'  church 
of  Eichmond,  and  you  will  say,  happy  is  the 
*'  coloured  race." 


I/O  An  Errand  to  the  South 


CHAPTEK  IX. 
Mrs.  Davis  at  Home. 

On  tliis  Sunday  evening  I  dropped  in  at  the  Presi-' 
dent's  with  Mr.  Miles,  M.C.  for  Charleston,  and  had 
the  honour  of  being  introduced  to  Mrs.  Davis,  who, 
by  her  tout  ensemble  and  affabihty,  is  "  the  right  lady 
in  the  right  place."  The  President  thanked  me  for 
my  representations  about  the  supperless  regiment, 
and  for  my  ministration  at  the  hospital ;  and  Mrs. 
Davis  asked  me  to  breakfast  next  morning,  to  consult 
with  their  clergyman,  Dr.  Minnegrode,  about  orga- 
nizing some  system  for  Divine  service  in  the  hospi- 
tals. The  breakfast  hour  came,  and  I  sat  down  with 
the  great  man  of  the  South,  and  next  to  the  Lady 
President ;  and  there  were  two  great  generals,  Pen- 
dleton and  Gustavus  Smith,  both  going  that  day  to 
the  army.  Pendleton  had  a  parish  in  Alabama  (I 
think  it  was),  where  was  a  military  college.    Having 


I 


in  the  Summer  of  1S62,  171 

been  a  graduate  at  West  Point,  he  used  to  give  the 
boys  hints  as  to  elevation  of  the  guns  ;  so  when  the 
war  grew  inevitable,  his  congregation  besought  him 
to  join  the  army.  It  is  said  that  his  practice  at  the 
first  battle  of  Manassas  was  terrific.  The  story  is 
that  he  would  stand  by  a  gun,  which  he  would  him- 
self point,  and  say,  "Now,  boys,  are  you  ready?" — 
"  Yes."  "  May  the  Lord  have  mercy  on  the  mise- 
rable sinners! — Fire!"  Another  rector,  who  was, 
by-the-by,  in  an  infantry  company,  where  before  an 
action  all  the  men  knelt  down,  and  a  prayer  was 
ofiered  up,  told  me  that  he  went  to  Pendleton  after 
the  battle,  and  found  him  lying  down  quite  ex- 
hausted ;  he  had  had  a  point  of  view  which  fell  on 
the  line  of  march  of  the  enemy  as  they  advanced  by 
thousands  to  their  fruitless  attack.  Now  as  for  the 
clergy  taking  up  arms,  when  England  was  threat- 
ened with  invasion  by  France,  many  of  the  English 
clergy  did  so ; — and  these  people  look  on  this  as  an 
invasion  from  a  foreign  foe. 

Here  was  I  sitting  at  a  breakfast-table,  with  cer- 
tainly very  good  fare  upon  it,  in  company  with  the 
ruler  of  ten  millions  of  people,  and  commander-in- 
chief  of  400,000  soldiers — the  President  of  a  Senate 
and  a  Congress — the  chosen  chief  of  thirteen  States, 
each  one  more  extensive  than  England — and  no 


1/2  An  Errand  to  the  Souths 

more  formality  than  at  a  squire's  table  in  England. 
Everything  was  in  order — nothing  extravagant ; 
and  last,  not  least,  Mrs.  Davis  had  good  but  loving 
rule  over  her  fine,  healthy  children,  whom  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  seeing. 

Dr.  Minnegrode,  at  breakfast,  spoke  strongly  and 
ably  in  favour  of  a  national  church  connected  with 
the  Government.  The  Church  in  England  was  too 
much  secularised,  and  so  much  State  interference 
was  bad.  The  Church  should  appoint  her  own 
bishops,  the  State,  as  a  "  nursing  father,"  consenting 
thereto.  The  bishops  should  not  vote  in  secular 
parliaments,  and  Hvings  should  not  be  conferred  for 
poHtical  purposes  or  for  money ;  but  these  abuses 
were  not  essential  for  the  happy  union  of  "  Church 
and  State,"  which  was  the  only  way  to  maintain  a 
religious  system  in  the  world.  This  led  to  mention 
of  the  advantage  of  chaplains  as  part  of  the  corps 
of  every  army  and  navy,  which  was  so  iiisisted  on 
by  General  AVashington. 

The  two  generals  were  off  to  the  army  at  Gor- 
donsville  soon  after  breakfast,  Mrs.  Davis  disap- 
pearing for  a  time  to  order  sandwiches,  &c.,  to  be 
put  up  for  them  on  their  journey.  When  they  were 
off,  we  two  clergymen  sat  talking  with  Mrs.  Davis, 
and  arranging  for  the  Divine  service  in  the  military 


I 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  173 

hospitals ;  and  before  we  left,  the  President  held 
out  two  cigars,  one  for  the  doctor  and  one  for  myself, 
which  we  smoked  in  the  garden  portico.  His  Ex- 
cellency called  me  "doctor":  I  said  I  could  not 
lay  claim  to  such  an  honourable  distinction,  on  which 
he  replied,  "  Oh,  they  must  make  you  a  doctor  on 
your  return  to  England,  after  this  visit  you  have 
paid  us." 

A  brief  memoir  of  the  precedents  of  this  remarkable 
man  may  well  be  enteied  here. 

The  Mexican  war  took  place  in  1846,  on  account 
of  the  annexation  of  Texas. 

Mr.  Jefferson  Davis  was  a  Senator,  and  in  session 
for  Mississippi. 

The  1st  Mississippi  Kegiment  elected  him  Colonel ; 
he  resigned  his  seat. 

In  September,  1846,  he  was  engaged  in  storming 
Monte  Eea,  and  was  one  of  the  Commissioners  ap- 
pointed by  General  Taylor  for  arranging  the  terms 
of  capitulation  of  that  city  and  fortress.  v 

But  he  was  mostly  distinguished  at  the  battle  of 
Buona  Yista,  on  the  23d  February,  1847. 

On  a  charge  of  the  Mexican  cavalry,  the  Illinois 
Regiment  on  one  of  the  flanks  of  the  United  States 
army  broke  and  fell  into  disorder,  and  a  New  York 
Regiment  near  it  rushed  confusedly  behind  some 


1/4  ^^  Errand  to  the  South 

houses.  Colonel  Davis  brought  up  his  Mississip- 
pians  through  thQ  flying  men,  and  forming  his 
regiment  in  the  shape  of  a  V,  stood  firm  within 
rifle  range,  and  opened  fire  on  the  Mexicans,  who 
were  thrown  into  confusion.  He  thus  held  his 
ground  for  a  long  time  unsupported.  Colonel  Davis, 
though  severely  wounded,  remained  in  the  saddle 
during  the  whole  engagement.  Brigadier-General 
Lane,  who  was  present,  said  he  saw  a  shudder  pass 
through  Davis,  which  was  the  only  indication  he 
gave  of  being  wounded ;  he  was  nearly  dying  of 
lock-jaw  in  consequence,  and  suffered  many  years 
from  his  wound,  and  is  still  at  times  severely  affected 
by  it  in  his  health. 

This  account  was  kindly  read  to  me  while  making 
up  my  diary,  by  Colonel  L.  Q.  C.  Lamar,  who  was 
Member  of  Congress  for  Mississippi  at  the  same 
time. 

On  the  25th  August,  furnished  with  an  intro- 
duction from  General  Huger  to  Captain  Lee,  Con- 
federate States  Navy,  commanding  the  fortress  at 
Drury's  Bluff,  Fort  Darling,  about  ten  miles  south 
of  Kichmond,  on  the  James  Eiver,  I  embarked  on 
the  Government  passenger  gun-boat,  on  which  free 
passage  is  given.  Captain  Lee,  who  received  me 
most  courteously,  is  a  fine,  sailor-Hke  looking  man, 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  175 

about  sixty  years  of  age,  and  six  feet  high ;  he  is  a 
brother  of  the  fe-mous  Greneral  Lee,  commanding  the 
Confederate  army  on  the  Potomac.  One  of  his 
officers  accompanied  me  round  the  works :  several 
guns  of  immense  calibre  command  the  James  Eiver. 
When  the  attack  was  made  by  the  "  Monitor  "  and 
"  Gallina,"  in  June,  1862,  there  were  only  two  guns 
in  position.  There  was  an  obstruction  across  the 
river,  composed  of  some  piles  and  a  sunken  steamer, 
the  paddleboxes  of  which  appear  above  water  in  the 
frontispiece.  The  stronger  range  of  piles  across 
the  river  have  been  placed  since  that  attack.  The 
"  Monitor "  was  anchored  close  to  the  left  bank, 
where  a  tree  stretches  over  the  water,  as  will  be 
seen  in  the  sketch;  the  "GaUina"  opposite.  The 
river  at  this  point  is  about  150  yards  wide :  the  sketch 
was  taken  from  the  embrasure  of  a  gun,  about  300 
yards  from  the  pilade.  The  officers  and  men  of  the 
numerous  naval  brigade  quartered  at  this  tremendous 
fortress  were  a  thoroughly  fine  set  of  fellows,  just 
like  our  own  blue-jackets,  all  of  them  wishing  for 
nothing  better  than  a  combined  attack  from  all  the 
Monitprs  and  gunboats  of  the  Federal  navy.  The 
tents  which  are  seen  in  the  sketch  peeping  through 
the  wood  about  a  mile  down  the  river,  show  where 
a  battery  is  held  by  a  detachment  of   the   force 


k 


176  An  Errand  to  the  South 

under  Captain  Lee.  Eiclimond  is  well  protected 
here,  indeed ! 

Not  being  at  first  aware  that  my  hasty  sketch 
(taken  by  the  kind  permission  of  Captain  Lee)  was 
destined  to  figure  as  a  frontispiece  to  the  jom-nal  of 
my  "  Errand  to  the  South  "  (which  it  now  does  at 
Mr.  Bentley's  suggestion),  I  have  added  these  few 
remarks  to  help  my  readers  to  a  clearer  understand- 
ing of  the  localities  therein  represented. 

On  my  return  I  went  over  the  Merrimac  No.  2, 
called  the  "  Eichmond."  Her  iron  plates,  or  rather 
"bars,"  were  on,  and  her  ram  was  being  ironed; 
none  of  her  eight  guns  or  engine  were  on  board. 
She  has  no  sides,  but  "  knuckles  "  is  the  name  given 
to  the  long  iron  line  close  to  the  water  forming  the 
apex  of  the  angle  which  presents  itself  to  the  out- 
siders, and  is  so  sharp  that  no  impression  could  be 
made  on  it ;  while  shot  striking  the  sloping  ribbed 
roof  above,  or  the  sloping  bottom,  would  glance  in- 
nocuous into  the  air  or  the  water.  She  is  172  feet 
and  42  feet  in  beam. 

Talking  of  words,  that  of  Yankee  was  explained 
to  me  as  being  derived  from  the  Indians  in  the 
north  asking  the  first  settlers  who  they  were,  and 
when  they  said  Enghsh,  they  pronounced  it  Yan- 
geesh — hence  Yankee — these  Enghsh  being  totally 


I 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  177 

different  from  the  Southern  settlers,  who  came  out 
afterwards,  and  were  KoyaHsts. 

Talking  of  negroes,  one  of  the  Secretaries  of 
State  told  me  he  had  just  seen  an  officer  lately- 
exchanged,  who,  when  in  the  prisoners'  exchange 
office  at  Baltimore,  heard  a  negro  who  entered  ask 
for  a  pass  to  go  South ;  the  General  who  gave  the 
passes  said  he  could  not  give  it,  he  must  stay ;  and 
he  observed,  "  That  is  the  thousandth  application 
from  these  fellows  I  have  been  obliged  to  refuse." 
Mr.  Myers  told  me  he  knew  of  many  slaves  in 
Virginia  before  the  war  who  had  been  emancipated  and 
gone  North,  but  voluntarily  came  back  to  slavery. 

Saw  to-day  a  lad  of  eighteen,  from  Texas,  who  had 
been  woimded  at  the  battle  of  Malvern  Hill  on  the 
1st  of  July :  leg  taken  off  above  the  knee,  and  was 
nearly  well  already!  If,  as  is  pretty  evident,  the 
finger  of  God  is  with  the  Southern  hosts  in  the 
wonderful  successes  which  they  have  gained  in  so 
many  battles,  surely  it  is  also  seen  in  the  wonderftd 
recovery  of  the  wounded. 

The  Texan  says,  "We  achieved  our  independ- 
ence. Santa  Anna  called  the  Government  of 
Mexico,  under  which  we  were,  *  a  republic,'  but  he 
was  a  dictator ;  so  now  the  Executive  of  the  United 
States  Government  calls  it  a  republican  government, 

N 


178  An  Errand  to  the  South 

but  in  reality  it  is  an  oligarcliy  of  abolitionists,  and 
its  chief  is  a  dictator." 

On  the  27th  of  August,  having  an  introduction  to 
some  Senators,  I  was  allowed  to  go  on  the  floor  of 
the  Senate  House,  which  is  also  in  the  capitol  of 
the  State  Senate  House,  upstairs.  Mr.  Stevens 
was  President,  a  man  of  small,  delicate  figure,  but  of 
gi-eat  mind.  Here  also  business  was  conducted  as 
gravely  as  in  our  House  of  Peers.  The  Kev.  Dr. 
Early,  Methodist  Bishop,  ofiered  up  the  prayer: 
meeting  him  in  the  lobby,  I  introduced  myself  to  him. 
I  observed  I  had  seen  the  Articles  of  the  Church  of 
England  in  the  Book  of  Discipline  of  the  Methodist 
Church ;  he  said,  "  Yes,  but  we  have  cut  out  the  17th." 
He  told  me  of  a  negro  girl  having  chopped  off  the 
hand  of  a  soldier,  who  was  forcing  himself  into  a 
house  where  there  were  only  ladies. 


in  the  Summer  of  I S62.  179 


CHAPTEK  X. 

Mr.  Mason  a  Friend  to  England. —  Visit  to 
BoanoJce  River,  ^e. 

There  are  some  relatives  of  Mr.  Mason  at  Kich- 
mond  with  whom  I  have  become  acquainted ;  they 
inform  me  that  he  is  descended  from  Colonel  G. 
Mason,  who  was  in  the  Koyahst  army  at  the  battle 
of  Worcester,  after  which,  the  cause  being  gone,  he 
emigrated  to  America  and  settled  in  Virginia.  They 
deny  that  Mr.  Mason  ever  wrote  against  England  as 
W£is  alleged  by  some  of  the  English  press. 

I  had  brushed  up  my  diary  so  far  when  I  was 
gratified  by  receiving  the  following  letter  from  Mr. 
Mason's  secretary : — 

February  26,  1863. 

My  dear  Sir, — In  regard  to  Mr.  Mason's  ancestry, 
and  the  circumstances  attending  their  emigration 
to,  and  settlement  in  America — 

His  first  ancestor,  George  Mason,  Esq.,  of  Staf- 
fordshire, England,  was  a  member  of  Parliament  for 
that  county;  and  though   opposed  to   the  pohcy 


1 80  An  Errand  to  the  South 

of  the  Stuarts,  was  warmly  attached  to  the  Crown,  to 
whose  falling  fortunes  he  attached  himself  during 
the  wars  of  the  Protectorate,  and  as  a  colonel  of 
cavalry,  in  the  army  of  Charles  Stuart,  fought 
under  his  banner  at  the  battle  of  Worcester.  After 
that  defeat,  he  emigrated  to  America  in  1651, 
landed  at  Norfolk,  Yirginia,  and  subsequently  esta- 
blished a  plantation  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac 
Eiver,  where  he  was  afterwards  joined  by  his  family  : 
from  this  gentleman  Mr.  Mason  derives  his  descent 
in  a  direct  line ;  his  family  having  always  remained 
in  Virginia. 

In  the  case  of  one  whose  antecedents  are  so 
purely  and  traditionally  English,  these  genealogical 
facts  would  alone  seem  a  sufficient  refutation  of  a 
calumny  as  unjust  as  it  is  unnatural.  But  if  other 
evidence  were  wanting  to  disprove  an  assertion  which 
has  its  origin  only  in  a  distempered  or  prejudiced 
imagination,  I  need  but  recall  to  your  recollection 
one  of  those  rare  acts  of  international  courtesy  so 
pre-eminently  graceful  that  they  must  ever  endure 
as  the  typical  landmarks  of  an  elevated  and  en- 
lightened statesmanship.  I  allude  to  the  restitution 
of  Her  Majesty's  ship  the  "Kesolute"  to  the  British 
Grovemment,  under  circumstances  which  are  yet 
fresh  in  the  recollection  of  all. 


I 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  181 

The  "  Eesolute,"  as  you  are  aware,  while  engaged 
in  a  voyage  of  exploration  of  the  Arctic  Seas,  about 
the  year  1856,  became  imbedded  in  the  ice,  and 
having  been  abandoned  by  her  crew,  remained  thus 
ice-bound  until,  released  by  the  periodical  thaw,  she 
floated  off  several  hundred  miles  to  the  south,  was 
discovered  by  a  New  England  whaler,  boarded,  and 
brought  into  the  harbom*  of  New  London,  Connecticut. 
The  usual  claim  for  salvage  having  been  filed  by  the 
claimants  in  a  Court  of  Admiralty,  she  was  duly 
condemned  under  a  decree  of  that  Court,  the  British 
Government  generously  relinquishing  its  title  to  the 
salvors;  upon  which  a  Senator  from  Connecticut 
offered  a  resolution  in  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States  to  have  an  American  register  granted  her. 
At  this  stage  of  the  proceedings,  Mr.  Mason,  then  a 
Senator  from  Virginia,  came  forward  with  a  counter- 
resolution  that  she  should  be  purchased  by  the  Go- 
vernment of  the  United  States,  and  by  that  Govern- 
ment restored  to  the  British  navy.  The  resolution 
was  unanimously  adopted ;  and  under  an  order  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy  (embraced  in  the  Act)  the  ship 
was  thoroughly  refitted,  placed  under  the  command  of 
Commander  Hartstene,  United  States  navy,  with  a 
full  complement  of  naval  officers  and  men,  and  by 
him  restored  to  her  original  flag  and  ownership. 


1 82  An  Errand  to  the  South 

With  this  striking  incident,  which  in  its  inception 
and  execution  reflects  so  much  honour  upon  all  con- 
nected with  it,  Mr.  Mason's  name  stands  permanently 
identified  in  the  archives  of  the  United  States 
Government — a  fact,  probably,  not  generally  known 
to  the  people  of  this  country. 

In  conclusion,  I  beg  to  advert  to  an  error, 
through  which  a  few  aspiring  negrophilists  in 
Exeter  Hall  and  elsewhere,  taking  advantage  of 
the  popular  prejudice  in  this  country  against  the 
institutions  of  the  South,  have  denounced  Mr. 
Mason  as  "the  infamous  author  of  the  Fugitive 
Slave  Law.''  It  is  thus  sought .  to  fix  upon  the 
honoured  subject  of  this  notice  the  popular  odium 
here,  against  slavery  as  the  originator  of  this  act  of 
Federal  legislation,  under  a  misconception  or  misre- 
presentation of  the  true  circumstances  attending  its 
adoption. 

A  proper  regard  for  truth  and  historic  accuracy 
wiU  excuse,  I  am  sure,  a  brief  reference  to  this  most 
important  and  equitable  measure. 

The  so-called  Fugitive  Slave  Law  was  really 
enacted  during  the  administration  of  Washington  in 
1793,  and  approved  by  him  in  pursuance  of  that 
provision  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
which  it  recites,  and  which  reads  thus : — 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  183 

No  person  held  to  serrice  or  labour  in  one  State 
under  the  laws  thereof,  escaping  into  another,  shall 
in  consequence  of  any  law  or  regulation  therein  be 
discharged  from  such  service  or  labour,  but  shall  be 
delivered  up  on  the  claim  of  the  party  to  whom  such 
service  or  labour  may  be  due." — ^Art.  iv.  Sect.  2, 
Constitution  of  United  States. 

Such  persons  are  placed  upon  identically  the  same 
footing  as  fugitives  from  justice  escaping  beyond 
the  jurisdiction  of  one  State  into  another,  with  whom 
they  are  associated  in  the  same  Article  and  Section. 
In  both  these  cases,  it  is  enjoined  that  the  parties  so 
escaping  shall  be  delivered  up  to  the  State  from 
whence  they  originally  fled,  and  in  the  latter  case 
having  jurisdiction  of  the  crime. 

The  provisions  of  this  Act  having  been  found 
insufficient  to  carry  out  its  requirements,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  lawless  interference  of  organized  bands 
in  the  Northern  States  (encouraged,  in  some  instances, 
by  State  legislation)  to  prevent  its  execution,  the 
Fugitive  Slave  Act  of  1850,  of  which  Mr.  Mason 
was  the  author,  entitled  "An  Act  to  amend  and 
supplementary  to  the  Act  entitled  *  An  Act  respecting 
fugitives  from  justice  and  persons  escaping  from  the 
service  of  their  masters,'  approved  February  the 
twelfth,  One  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety- 


1 84  -4?^  Errand  to  the  South 

three,"  was  passed  by  Congress,  and  is,  as  you  will 
see,  emendatory;  and  was  enacted  with  a  view  to 
the  more  perfect  execution  of  the  law  upon  which 
it  was  founded,  and  the  terms  of  which  it  rehearses. 
I  trust  you  will  excuse,  my  dear  sir,  the  rather 
voluminous  proportions  of  this  communication, 
essential  to  the  correction  of  misrepresentations. 

Awaiting  with  much  interest,  and  anticipating 
much  pleasm'e  from  the  perusal  of  your  forthcoming 
work, 

I  am, 

My  dear  Sir, 

Very  truly  yours, 

J.  E.  Macfarland. 

24,  Upper  Seymour  Street,  Portman  Square. 

I  dined  out  at  Eichmond;  but  here,  as  at  the 
hotel,  there  was  no  v^ine  or  beer.  At  breakfast  and 
tea  (with  no  tea)  there  is  everywhere  a  plentiful  sup- 
ply of  bread  in  all  varieties,  milk  and  eggs,  rice  and 
hominy ;  eggs  are  usually  turned  out  into  tumblers ; 
two  or  three  are  thus  taken  for  breakfast.  The  pas- 
tures of  Virginia  are  rich  in  grass  and  clover,  and 
the  cows  yield  abundance  of  excellent  milk.  The 
flowers  are  numerous  and  odoriferous,  and  the  bees 


r 

■r    eive  abi] 


in  the  Summer  of  1S62,  185 


give  abundance  of  delicious  honey  in  their  gumr-tree 
hives.  It  is  verily  a  rich  land,  "  flowing  with  milk 
and  honey ;"  while  wild  grapes  hang  clustering  in  the 
woods.  Most  days  I  found  a  pleasant  refuge  from 
the  hot  sun  in  the  Hbrary  of  the  Capitol.  There  is  a 
fine  marble  statue  of  Washington,  standing  in  the 
enti-ance  of  the  Capitol,  and  said  to  be  the  most  per- 
fect representation  of  him  ;  beneath  is  the  following 
inscription : — 

'*  The  General  Assembly  of  the  Commonwealth  of 
Virginia  have  caused  this  Statue  to  be  erected  as  a 
monument  of  afiection  and  gratitude  to  George 
Washington,  who,  uniting  to  the  endowments  of  a 
Hero  the  virtues  of  the  Patriot,  and  exerting  both,  in 
establishing  the  Hberties  of  his  Country,  has  rendered 
his  name  dear  to  his  fellow-citizens,  and  given  the 
world  an  immortal  example  of  true  glory.  Done  in 
the  year  of  Christ  One  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
eighty-eight,  and  in  the  year  of  the  Commonwealth 
the  twelfth. 

"  Fait  par  Houdon,  citoyen  Franqais,  1786." 

He  stands  uncovered,  dressed  in  a  general's  uni- 
form, his  right  hand  resting  on  a  stick,  his  left  on  a 
pillar  on  which  hangs  his  sword;  and  a  plough 
stands  on  the  ground  close  behind  him. 


1 86  An  Errand  to  the  South 

Here  is  to  be  seen  the  immense  flag,  36  feet  by 
24  feet,  wbicb  the  ladies  of  Boston  are  said  to  have 
presented  to  General  McClellan,  to  put  on  the  top  of 
the  Capitol,  for  the  stars  and  stripes  to  float  over 
Eichmond.  It  now  hangs  along  the  front  of  the 
library  gallery ;  here  also  is  the  flag  which  floated  over 
General  McClellan's  tent.  I  was  told  that  General 
Lee  found  the  large  flag  packed  up  ready  to  go  on  to 
Eichmond.  There  were  several  other  regimental  flags 
and  guidons — all  these  were  taken  in  one  of  the  five 
days'  battles  which  drove  the  Northern  army  back 
from  Eichmond  ;  but  no  account  of  the  capture  ever 
appeared  in  the  Southern  papers,  in  which  the  ab- 
sence of  vaunting  is  remarkable :  there  were  also 
several  secret  cuirasses  found  on  the  killed,  worn 
under  the  coat,  called  "  steel  vests ;"  some  had  dents 
of  bullets  on  them.  A  feeling  of  contempt  was  raised 
among  the  Southerners  for  an  enemy  wearing  con- 
cealed armour.  In  one  of  these  the  advertisement 
runs  thus : — "  Smith,  Cook,  and  Co.'s  patent  bullet- 
proof vest.  New  Haven,  Conn.  Size  No.  2 ;"  in- 
scribed thus : — "  Taken  from  Captain  Lee  of  New 
Jersey,  prisoner  in  battle  near  WilHamsburg,  5th 
May,  1862." 

I  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  Mr.  YizeteUy,  the 
accomplished  sketcher  for  the  "  Illustrated  London 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  187 

News ;"  he  was  lamenting  over  tlie  loss  of  some 
sketches,  from  the  bearer  having  to  throw  them  with 
other  papers  into  the  Potomac,  to  avoid  seizure  by 
the  enemy. 

On  the  28th  of  August  off  from  Eichmond  at  4  a.m. 
Great  rush  for  seats  by  a  crowd  of  passengers ;  sen- 
tries stationed  to  inspect  passes ;  no  one  allowed  to 
enter  without  tickets ;  but  I  pleaded  precedent,  and 
*' foreigner,"  and  got  into  a  good  seat.  It  was  a 
beautiful  mom,  so  cool  after  rain,  and  birds  singing 
in  the  woods.  I  had  determined  to  stop  at  Weldon, 
to  see  the  Koanoke  Kiver ;  it  is  about  eighty  miles 
due  south,  and  in  North  Carolina.  We  reached  it  at 
10.30.  At  Petersburg  passes  were  vised.  My 
passport  fr'om  Lord  Lyons  was  sufficient.  While 
the  officer  inspected  it  several  gathered  round  to 
see  the  British  pass: 'looking  over  it,  one  man  re- 
marked, "  Oh,  he  is  a  ^subject  F  " — evidently  congratu- 
lating himself  that  he  was  one  of  the  sovereign  people, 
and  *'  subject "  to  no  one.  From  Petersburg  I  got 
seated  next  to  a  young  soldier  with  his  leg  off.  He 
said  he  had  been  very  "  successful,"  as  he  had  never 
been  sick  since  the  beginning  of  the  war,  and  only 
wounded  seven  times ;  but  all'  the  rest  were  flesh 
wounds,  and  he  never  stopped  for  them.  The  rail- 
road timber  bridge  over  the  Koanoke  at  Weldon  is  a 


1 88  An  Errand  to  the  South 

fine  specimen  of  American  engineering.  There  are 
guards  at  each  end,  and  in  the  island  in  the  middle. 
A  reward  of  $20,000  has  been  offered  by  the  Yankees 
for  its  destruction. 

I  felt  quite  knocked  up  by  my  sojourn  at  Kich- 
mond,  which  I  attributed  partly  to  the  five-story 
access  to  my  room,  and  the  water  at  Spottswood's, 
which  was  strong  of  alum.  At  Happer's  hotel  we 
had  broiled  sturgeon  for  breakfast,  which,  served  up 
with  Mr.  Happer's  peculiar  sauce,  was  excellent 
food.  The  dinner  here  began  at  twelve  and  went  on 
till  two.  Two  hungry-looking  soldiers  came  in,  and 
asked  the  waiter  the  price  of  dinner.  "  Seventy-five 
cents  a  head,"  was  the  reply.  Not  having  enough 
cash,  the  poor  fellows  were  leaving  the  room,  when  I 
interceded  for  them  (as  I  was  staying  at  the  hotel). 
How  thankful  they  were!  One  was  a  "Baptist;" 
the  other  said  he  was  of  no  Church,  but  behoved  in 
Christ  the  Son  of  Grod.  The  master  of  the  hotel 
also  said  he  belonged  to  no  Church.  There  must  be 
thousands  of  persons  in  this  unhappy  position :  most 
of  those  I  questioned  professed  to  be  of  no  Churchy 
though  Christians.  Does  not  this  prove  the  need 
of  a  national  Church  ? — and  what  can  we  have  to  be 
effective  and  permanent,  but  the  form  of  "the 
Catholic  and  Apostolic  Church  ?"     That  of  England 


k 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  189 

being  the  one  suited  to  all  of  English  origin ;  but 
alas !  sadly  short  of  the  extension  due  to  her  people. 
I  offered  to  baptize  him,  then  and  there,  in  the  Eoanoke 
Eiver;  but  he  declined,  and  promised  to  obtain 
baptism  when  he  joined  his  regiment ;  adding,  the 
captain  of  his  company  was  the  chaplain,  and  of  the 
Baptist  sect.  His  father,  he  said,  was  a  Methodist 
and  a  preacher!  I  told  him  the  Church  of  our 
nation,  which  had  spread  to  his,  was  the  true 
original  and  Cathohc  Baptist  Church ;  for  it  received 
both  Httle  children  and  adults,  who  were  brought  to 
Christ,  and  administered  baptism  both  by  immersion 
and  sprinkling. 

Here  are  some  Episcopalians;  yet  no  effort  is 
made  to  give  them  Divine  services.  In  my  evening 
stroll  I  called  at  some  houses  inhabited  by  railway 
officials:  all  expressed  themselves  anxious  to  have 
services  on  the  Lord's  day;  so,  after  a  talk  with 
Mr.  Happer  and  Mr.  Eoberts  (a  Confederate  Govern- 
ment agent  stationed  here),  it  was  agreed  that  I 
should  perform  service  in  the  hbrary  of  the  "  Insti- 
tute "  on  the  ensuing  Sunday. 

August  2dth. — Met  a  soldier  named  Allen,  of  the 
20th  Georgia :  "  On  Monday,  30th  June,  in  the  five 
days'  battle,  shot  through  the  chest;  feU  into  a 
*  branch '  (i.e.,  a  brook  leading  to  a  swamp)  ;  water 


1 90  An  Errand  to  the  South 

up  to  the  arms ;  head  on  bank ;  insensible  for  two 
days  ;  then  he  saw  a  little  girl,  six  years  old,  looking 
for  things  on  the  field  of  battle ;  called  to  her  for 
water ;  she  ran  and  filled  his  can.  The  '  branch ' 
being  full  of  dead  bodies,  he  could  not  drink  its 
water.  He  had  a  Bible  in  his  knapsack,  in  which 
were  pretty  markers  of  silk,  which  he  gave  her. 
She  went  and  told  her  father  of  him,  who  took  him. 
to  his  house.  He  is  now  returning  to  his  regiment 
in  Virginia,  quite  well ;  he  is  a  Koman  CathoHc." 
Met  a  boy-soldier  of  sixteen,  from  Tellahassee, 
Florida ;  member  of  no  Church,  Father  a  Methodist 
preacher,  blacksmith,  and  farmer ;  he  ran  away  from 
home  to  join  his  two  brothers  in  the  army.  Met 
another  soldier,  member  of  no  Church  ! 

dOth. — By  an  order  from  Captain  Yenables  I  was 
allowed  to  pass  the  sentries,  and  walk  on  the  wooden 
rail  bridge  stretching  across  the  Koanoke,  more  than 
a  quarter  of  a  mile.  The  rail  is  the  single  line  of  five- 
feet  gauge  ;  every  fifty  yards  or  so,  an  open  barrel  full 
of  water.  After  every  train  a  man  passes  over  to 
extinguish  any  sparks  that  may  fall  from  the  furnace. 
The  yellow  river  rushing  between  huge  rocks  about 
thirty  feet  below ;  the  island  half-way,  with  beautiful 
trees  ;  the  high,  woody  banks  either  side,  especially 
on  the  left  bank,  was  a  sight  worthy  of  view.     Met 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  191 

a  negro  with  a  wheelbarrow  loaded  with  a  sturgeon 
about  five  feet  long,  just  caught  in  a  trap.  The 
sturgeon-trap  is  made  of  piles  driven  into  a  j5:ame  at 
the  bottom  of  the  river :  these  piles,  spreading  out  on 
either  side  against  the  stream,  support  planks  which 
slope  gently  from  about  three  feet  from  the  water  to 
the  bottom  ;  strong  wattle-work  making  a  hedge  on 
each  side  of  the  piles,  about  two  feet  high,  encloses 
the  slope-form  from  top  to  bottom.  The  slope-form  is 
about  ten  feet  wide  on  the  top,  has  a  slope  of  about 
twelve  feet  high  and  dry,  runs  down  between  the 
hedges  with  a  very  gradual  spread  till  some  two  feet 
under  the  torrent,  when  the  spread  becomes  almost  a 
curve,  making  the  entrance  of  the  decoy  at  the 
bottom  about  thirty  feet  wide,  or  perhaps  more. 
The  fish,  drawn  by  the  flow  of  water  and  the  rise 
of  planks,  twist  'and  flounder  in  vain  on  the  planks 
above  the  water,  and  are  soon  exhausted  ;  the  canoe 
is  moved  oft'  from  the  shore  (the  one  I  saw  was  about 
twenty  yards  off  it),  and  the  fish  is  tumbled  into  it. 
Sometimes  six  or  seven  are  caught  in  one  night. 
There  is  so  httle  market  for  them,  that  they  sell  for 
$2  a  side.  Sturgeon  has  no  bones — nothing  but 
gristle  and  flesh. 

On  account  of  some  misunderstanding  with  the 
railway  company  (as  I  heard),  the  drainage  round 


192  An  Errand  to  the  South 

the  hotel  was  very  bad.     The  heat  was  so  great  I 
could  not  sleep  with  the  windows  shut;   and  one 
night  I  was  actually  awoke  mth  putrid  smells,  which 
decidedly  disagreed  with  me,  though  those  who  were 
used  to  them  seemed  none  the  worse.  I  felt  so  unwell 
that  I  would  have  pursued  my  route  on  Saturday, 
but  I  could  not  break  my  faith  as  to  the  Divine 
service,  which  I  had  to  perform  in  a  room  as  hot  as  a 
fiirnace:  the  thermometer  must  have  been  up  to 
100°  at  least.     I  preached  on  St.  John,  chap,  xviii., 
showing  that  all  Christians  ought  to  be  joined  in 
one  body— the  Church,  "  the  body  of  Christ."     Mr. 
Happer's  pretty  daughters  led  the  singing,  especially 
Miss  "  Pocohontas."     They  are  all  members  of  the 
Episcopalian    Church,    i.  e.,    the    Anglo  -  CathoHc 
branch,  and  therefore  had  their  Prayer-books ;  and 
here  I  may  remark  the  American  has  decidedly  im- 
proved on  our  Prayer-book  in  one  respect,  i.  e.,  having 
an   authorized  set   of  hymns  besides  the  metrical 
Psalms,  which  also  are  arranged  much  more  con- 
veniently than  ours  for  song.     When  "  Pocohontas,*' 
the    daughter    of    Powhattan,   was    baptized,    her 
heathen  name  was  changed   to  Eebecca,  but  now 
Christians  receive  the  heathen  name!     The   grati- 
tude with  which  a  full  congregation  received  my 
poor  services  (which  I  tried  to  render  as  church- 


in  the  Summer  of  1^62.  193 

like  as  possible,  wearing  my  surplice  and  covering 
the  lecture-desk  with  cloth)  was  ample  compensa- 
tion for  the  pain  it  caused  me  in  body. 

There  are  no  trains  on  Sunday,  so  I  could  not  get 
on  that  night ;  but  Monday  morning,  1st  of  Septem- 
ber, I  got  into  a  car  at  11,  reached  Goldsboro'  at  3 ; 
a  pretty  place,  with  avenues  of  trees  and  a  good  hotel : 
got  a  capital  dinner  for  one  dollar.  At  Wilmington, 
North  CaroHna,  at  8,  320  miles  from  Kichmond ; 
twenty-five  "depots"  between  Weldon  and  Wil- 
mington ;  crowds  of  people  at  all  the  depots ;  fine 
crops  of  "  corn  "  in  the  fields.  At  the  Weldon  junc- 
tion depot  there  were  hundreds  of  bales  of  cotton, 
and  also  at  most  of  the  depots ;  some  under  sheds, 
some  exposed.  "See,"  observed  a  fellow-traveller, 
"the  United  States  Government  is  blockading  the 
whole  world,  and  stopping  up  the  highway  given 
to  all  nations  by  the  Creator.  He  has  given  this 
supply  of  cotton  for  the  use  of  mankind  beyond  the 
seas,  and  the  United  States'  seK-willed  Executive — 
not  the  jpeoj)Ie  of  the  United  States — deny  it  to 
them.  How  long  will  the  nations  suffer  this  ty- 
ranny?" Very  few  acres  of  land  were  growing 
cotton,  and  people  said  it  was  only  enough  for  seed 
— the  seed-time  being  the  end  of  April. 

At  Weldon  I  had  learnt  the  name  of  the  principal 

0 


194  -^^  Errand  to  the  South 

clergyman  at  Wilmington,  the  Kev.  Dr.  Drane ;  so, 
feeling  too  unwell  to  stand  the  bustle  of  an  hotel,  I 
wrote  to  him  beforehand,  requesting  his  hospitahty, 
and  the  Kev.  the  Kector  of  St.  James  (here  every  in- 
cumbent is  rightly  styled  "Kector")  received  me 
most  kindly.  He  was  a  fine  specimen  of  the  Anglo- 
American  both  in  body  and  mind ;  had  been  rector 
twenty-six  years.  I  found  Dr.  Thomas,  his  son-in-law, 
with  him ;  conversation  never  flagged. '  "  The  people 
in  the  South  are  a  finer  race  than  the  North ;  which, 
in  their  opinion,  arises  from  their  being  of  pure 
English  blood,  not  a  mixed  race,  as  in  the  North. 
There  is  a  feeling  against  kindred  marriages.  As 
to  rehgion  in  New  England,  and  in  all  the  North, 
it  is  for  the  most  part  Puritan,  i.  e.,  not  objective, 
but  subjective ;  not  having  the  Supreme  Being  for 
its  object,  but  placing  His  word  subject  to  their  will 
and  prejudice— hence  no  principle  of  action,  no 
object,  no  love.  It  is  a  known  fact  that  negroes, 
if  freed,  do  not  multiply  as  they  do  in  a  state  of 
so-called  slavery." 

Dr.  Thomas,  M.D.  (in  America  all  medical  prac- 
titioners are  M.D's.,  no  so-called  surgeons),  drove  me 
a  long  round  to  see  the  breastworks  and  batteries 
erected  for  the  defence  of  Wilmington  (so  called 
after  the  Duke  of  Wilmington  in  the  colonial  age) : 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  195 

these  are  well  constructed  and  very  formidable,  and 
so  placed  that  every  access  is  defended.  Wilming- 
ton is  fomided  on  coral  rocks,  which  are  fomid  every- 
where just  below  the  top  soil,  which  is  sandy. 

Again  I  hear  of  the  United  States  blockading  the 
ports  against  England  and  France,  contrary  to  all 
commercial  treaties.  They  say  "in  this  army  every 
man  feels  interested  to  defend  his  country  against  an 
enemy  of  his  family." 

For  beautiful  scenery  and  health  springs,  they 
say,  go  from  Eichmond  to  Charlotteville  (where  is  a 
University),  then  on  to  Staunton,  where  you  get 
into  the  hill  country,  with  many  springs,  e.  g.,  "  sweet 
springs,"  "  all-heahng  springs,"  which  have  wonder- 
ful restorative  effects,  and  where  you  can  live  for 
$1;^  a  day,  bed  and  board. 

Heard  of  double  victory  of  South  over  the  North, 
viz.,  General  Lee  in  Virginia,  and  General  Kirby 
Smith  at  Eichmond,  in  Kentucky. 

In  St.  James's  Church,  Wilmington,  there  is  a 
weekly  offertory,  which  averages  $300  towards 
Bishop's  maintenance ;  $350,  Diocesan  Home  Mis- 
sion ;  $90,  widows  and  orphans  of  clergy ;  $300, 
foreign  mission ;  and  the  rest,  out  of  an  average  of 
$8000  a  year,  for  poor.  The  vestrymen  number 
six.     Here  and  elsewhere  the  vestry  says  to  the 


196  An  Errand  to  the  South 

minister,  "  You  want  change  of  air ;  go  to  the  hills 
for  two  or  three  months ;  we  pay  your  expenses ;" 
and  then  the  lay  reader  performs  the  service 
(some  neighbouring  priest  coming  for  Holy  Com- 
munion) from  the  reading-desk,  reading  sermons 
authorized  by  the  rector.  By  my  kind  friends' 
good  care  I  got  better  at  AVilmington,  but  not  well. 

On  the  4th  up  at  4 ;  at  5  on  board  the  steam 
ferry-boat,  across  the  Cape  Fear  Eiver,  to  the 
depot  for  train  at  6  to  Fair  Bluff,  sixty-three  miles ; 
breakfast  at  Flemington,  near  the  Wakamaw  Lake, 
which  is  seven  miles  long  and  five  broad.  This 
fine  space  of  water  is  the  source  of  the  Wakamaw 
Eiver,  and  is  beautifully  wooded  all  round.  It  is 
the  only  water  worthy  of  the  name  of  lake  in  either 
of  the  Carolinas ;  indeed,  though  there  are  magnifi- 
cent rivers  and  beautiful  mountains  in  the  Southern 
States,  this  seems  to  be  the  only  lake  besides  those 
in  Arkansas,  Louisiana,  and  Florida.  At  Fair  Blufi' 
I  was  kindly  received  by  a  family  who  were  refugees 
from  Wilmington.  On  account  of  the  difficulty  in 
making  salt  it  has  now  risen  to  |14  a  bushel; 
Liverpool  salt,  which  they  reckon  necessary  for 
curing  meat,  is  |75  ;  it  used  to  be  75  cents :  tea  is 
J14 ;  coffee,  Jl  75  cents  per  pound. 

People  had  read  the  speeches  on  Mr.  Lindsay's 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  197 

motion;  and  I  heard  observations  made  on  Lord 
Palmerston's  expression  of  hope  that  at  last  "cha- 
rity would  prevail  in  the  councils  of  the  North  and 
bring  peace."  They  seemed  to  think  this  a  new 
thing  in  civil  war,  and  that  the  best  charity  would 
be  for  England  to  say,  "  Hold,  enough  I"  to  demand 
open  ports,  and  the  cotton  now  wasted  set  free  to 
feed  the  looms  and  support  the  sufi'ering  manufac- 
turers. If  England  and  France  knew  the  unanimity 
of  the  South,  they  said,  it  would  be  done.  They 
asked,  "  Why  don't  they  send  out  commissioners  to 
the  South,  and  get  acquainted  with  the  truth,  which 
the  North  hides  from  them  ?"  They  asked,  "  Why 
do  not  England  and  France  send  out  joint  commis- 
sioners to  inquire  into  the  state  of  our  Government 
and  the  condition  of  our  labourers?  Have  the 
Northern  Government  told  them  that  one  of  our 
first  measures  was  to  pass  a  law  against  importing 
slaves  from  Africa  or  any  foreign  country  ?  No ! 
Go  home,  sir,  and  tell  them  that  it  is  only  the 
unconstitutional  proceedings  of  the  North  that  have 
hindered  us  from  carrying  out  more  measures  for 
bettering  the  condition  of  these  people,  committ^ 
to  om-  charge  by  our  English  ancestors ;  and  assure 
them  that,  as  you  see,  our  principles  are  those  of 
humanity  and  political  freedom."  They  were  North 
Carolinians  who  held  this  language. 


198  An  Ih'rand  to  the  South 


I 


CHAPTEK  XI. 
Again  to  Wmshoro\ 

Sept.  4th. — A  letter  from  Mrs.  W ,  concerning 

the  new  plantation  at  Winsboro',  induced  me  to  con- 
tinue my  com-se  on  the  rail  by  the  midnight  train. 
At  7  in  the  morning  we  arrived  at  Sumterville, 
when  several  ladies  brought  food  and  coffee  for  the 
soldiers  in  the  train,  and  water  and  towels  to  refresh 
their  wounds.  "Florence  Nightingales"  are  not 
wanting  here.  Wherever  we  stopped  for  meals 
there  were  tables  spread  with  clean  white  cloths  and 
the  best  of  food  for  the  soldiers  en  route  to  and  from 
the  armies,  free  of  all  charge.  Nor  were  their  souls 
forgotten.  Agents  of  Christian  Knowledge  Societies 
traversed  the  cars,  distributing  books  and  tracts, 
which  I  never  saw  refused ;  and  many  read  them,  and 
when  the  agent  returned,  many  officers  and  men  gave 
him  contributions — his  printed  notice  stating  the 
object  of  the  Society  and  the  means  of  its  support. 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  199 

On  the  5th  September  I  left  Kingsville  Junction 
Station  for  Columbia  at  8.30,  in  a  freight  train,  which 
was  three  hours  doing  the  twenty-two  miles.  At  one 
incUne  we  actually  retrograded ;  the  rails  were  covered 
with  grass,  driven  by  a  high  wind  from  the  sur- 
rounding prairie.  This  is  called  petticoat  grass ;  it 
breaks  off  into  bits  like  spiders'  legs,  which  creep  up 
your  legs  if  you  walk  in  it,  and  is  exceedingly  unplea- 
sant for  the  softer  sex,  who  avoid  it  as  much  as  pos- 
sible ;  er<70,  petticoat,  from  no  petticoats  going  into 
it — ''  lucus  a  non  lueendo" — lying  on  the  iron  rails, 
it  makes  them  very  slippery. 

The  more  I  see  of  this  people  the  more  convinced 
I  am  of  the  superiority  of  race;  so  calm,  so  polite. 
Men,  women,  and  children  I  see  perfect  in  face  and 
figure,  hke  the  old  Vandyke  pictures  ;  and  I  say  the 
true  Carolina  blood  is  here.  They  are  kind  and 
friendly,  too,  towards  the  negroes,  who  are  respectful 
without  slavish  fear;  indeed,  I  hear  it  often  re- 
marked that  they  are  more  respectful  than  they  were 
before  the  war.  Old  Jack,  the  negro  watchman, 
when  I  visited  at  Fair  Bluff,  said  he  was  quite  con- 
tent ;  he  was  up  all  night,  but  slept  all  day.  As  for 
any  negroes  going  to  the  Yankees,  he  said  it  was  all 
folly ;  they  should  stay  at  home  and  be  quiet,  and 
look  for  home  in  the  life  to  come.     I  was  very  fortu- 


200  An  Errand  to  the  South 

nate,  being  still  unwell,  to  get  a  room  at  Mrs. 
M'Mahon's  boarding-house.  I  left  Columbia  on  the 
6th  Sept.,  at  8  a.m.,  for  Winsboro'  again.  I  met 
with  a  most  hospitable  reception  from  Mr.  Bacot, 
a  refugee  from  Charleston.  Mrs.  B.'s  aunt  was 
the  wife  of  Prince  Murat.  They  drove  me  over  to 
the  Weston  Eetreat,  where  I  was  to  be  entertained 
by  the  overseer.  The  7th,  being  Sunday,  I  gave  the 
people  here  Divine  service  at  8.30  in  a  grove  of  oaks. 
Several  negroes  had  Prayer-books,  and  joined  with 
the  overseer's  family  in  singing  hymns.  I  gave 
evening  service  at  4,  catechised  the  children,  and 
both  boys  and  girls  answered  well,  though  it  was 
three  months  since  they  had  said  their  Catechism  at 
the  plantation.  The  overseer,  not  being  a  member  of 
the  Church,  had  not  taken  up  this  edifying  teaching. 
I  suppose  old  Kowland  Hill's  dying  words  hold  good, 
wherever  the  Apostolic  order  is  let  go — "  The  whole 
thing  is  Antinomian ;"  in  fact,  the  Bible  without  the 
Creed  and  "  sound  doctrine"  will  not  do.  Also  on 
Sunday  I  baptized  Pemba,  daughter  of  Neptune  and 
Poena,  eight  days  old.  I  found  it  was  not  usual  to 
note  the  name  of  the  father  in  the  record  of  negroes' 
baptism,  but  I  insisted  on  doing  so,  much  to  the 
delight  of  both  the  parents.  I  hope  and  trust  that  the 
Bishops  will  see  to  this  being  done  with  the  blacks  as 


in  the  Summer  of  1^62.  201 

well  as  the  "whites :  as  their  souls  are  reckoned  of 
equal  value,  there  is  no  reason  why  in  all  matters  of 
religion  they  should  not  have  equal  privileges.  The 
negroes  are  by  nature  gentle  and  polite,  and  are  quite 
alive  to  these  marks  of  respect  for  humanity.  I  was 
asked  to  do  what  was  to  me  quite  a  new  thing,  but 
not  unfrequent  in  this  country  among  the  negroes, 
i.e.,  to  "funerahse"  three  graves  of  children  who 
had  died  of  whooping-cough  a  short  time  ago,  and  on 
accomit  of  no  minister  being  present,  were  buried 
without  the  regular  service.  The  graves  were  in  a 
grove  of  oaks.  I  was  to  read  the  portion  of  funeral 
service  said  at  the  grave,  which  I  willingly  did, 
(using  the  past  tense,)  and  at  the  special  words  one 
of  the  negroes  threw  earth  and  dust  on  the  graves. 
All  behaved  with  great  reverence,  and  one  old 
*' Joseph"  acted  as  clerk,  with  his  book  in  hand, 
and  all  joined  in  the  Amens.  The  names  of  the 
children  were  *'  Sal,"  "  Frank,"  and  ''  Sanders."  I 
ordered  a  fence  to  be  made  round  a  good  space  in 
the  grove  for  a  cemetery.  I  also  said  the  Visitation 
of  the  Sick  over  a  sick  child. 

On  the  8th  of  September  I  was  in  the  saddle  at 
nine,  and  rode  with  the  overseer  to  Mr.  Hawthorne's 
(the  adjoining  plantation)  ;  the  path  led  along  some 
cotton  and  clover  fields ;  the  cotton  was  just  bui'sting 


202  An  Errand  to  the  South 

forth  jQrom  the  round  pods,  and  was  of  such  height 
on  the  plants  that  I  could  easily  gather  it  from  the 
saddle. 

A  very  pretty  sight  is  a  cotton  field  with  its 
flowers  still  remaining  and  some  of  the  white  ones 
not  yet  turned  red.  The  country  here  is  what  they 
call  "rolling,"  which  means  undulating,  and  is 
covered  with  copses,  and  fields,  and  little  streams 
in  the  valleys :  a  crystal  fountain  close  to  the  house 
supphes  water  to  all,  and  sends  its  rill  down  to 
the  Congeree  Eiver,  which  flows  by  Columbia. 
Mr.  Hawthorne  has  lived  here  twenty  years,  raised 
a  family,  has  three  sons  in  the  army,  and  never 
had  a  doctor  in  the  house.  The  air  is  so  pure  and 
cool  that  white  people  can  work  in  the  fields  all 
the  year  round.  His  family  being  grown  up,  and 
one  living  at  Greenville,  he  wishes  to  go  and  dwell 
with  him,  and  to  sell  this  estate  of  300  acres  for 
|20  an  acre.  His  cotton  and  Saugor-cane  looked 
splendid,  and  he  himself  looks  like  a  British  yeoman. 
On  part  of  his  estate  I  saw  immense  monoliths  of 
grey  granite  full  fifty  feet  long,  all  round  which  the 
soil  was  most  productive.  Saugor-cane  was  growing 
there.  The  little  black  seed  of  this  sugar-cane 
makes  bread,  and  is  excellent  food  for  poultry. 

Mr.  Hawthorne  had  sent  his  cotton  to  Winsboro', 


in  the  Summer  of  iS62,  203 

to  the  Government  cotton  loan,  which  gives  17  cents 
per  lb.  (8JcZ.),  to  be  invested  in  South  Carolina 
bonds,  at  8  per  cent,  interest,  for  twenty  years  ;  he 
had  sent  several  bales  of  400  lbs.  each.  The  same 
interest  is  given  for  money  lent.  He  showed  me 
his  wheat,  which  he  had  threshed  out  in  June ;  he 
grew  from  30  to  40  bushels  the  acre,  weight  60  lbs. 
the  bushel ;  it  is  called  "  Giles  wheat,"  white. 

The  Saugor  sugar-cane  has  only  lately  been 
introduced  from  China ;  it  was  gro^N^ng  eight  to  ten 
feet  high.  He  had  a  peach  orchard ;  his  hogs  were 
fed  on  the  peaches.  He  has  deer,  turkey,  and 
partridge  shooting. 

After  a  ride  of  about  a  mile  and  a  half,  we  visited 
the  mansion  of  the  Hon.  W.  W.  Boyce,  situated  in 
very  pretty  grounds,  and  an  old-fashioned  garden  in 
front.  Miss  Boyce  kindly  gave  evidence  of  the 
singing  powers  of  the  ladies  of  the  South.  Though 
the  sun  was  hot  for  the  ride,  yet  a  fresh  breeze  was 
blowing  all  the  time.  Every  one,  both  black  and 
white,  was  longing  for  recognition  by  England. 
"  Oh,  that  it  may  come,  and  then  peace  will  come !" 
The  ladies  say,  "  In  April  next  year  the  cotton- 
sowing  time  comes — won't  it  come  before  then  ?" 

There  had  been  some  distm-bance  between  the 
overseer  and  the  negroes  at  the  Ketreat.    I  first  took 


204  -4^  Errand  to  the  South 

down  the  overseer's  deposition,  and  then  I  had  a 
gathering  of  the  negroes  under  an  oak-tree,  by  torch- 
light. The  overseer  had  certainly  been  in  fault — 
arising,  as  I  believe,  not  from  any  cruel  feeling 
towards  the  negroes,  but  from  want  of  judgment. 
Having  had  to  deal  as  a  magistrate  for  many  years 
with  the  natives  of  India,  I  was  struck  with  the 
similarity  of  nature  of  the  two  people  as  to  clearness 
of  evidence.  The  customary  use  of  the  possessive 
pronoun  had  been  put  in  practice  in  respect  to  the 
rations,  which  had  been  curtailed,  as  a  punishment ; 
and  several  of  them  had  broken  into  the  storehouse. 
A  young  negress  had  thrown  herself  between  her 
brother  and  the  overseer,  when  she  thought  the 
former  was  going  to  be  punished  unjustly.  The 
pervading  superintendence  of  enlightened  and  hu- 
mane masters  through  the  States  worked  by  negroes 
has  rendered  them  quite  alive  to  a  sense  of  wrong ; 
and  even  when  the  masters  may  be  absent,  this 
feeling  runs  from  one  plantation  to  another :  then 
there  are  always  white  advocates  ready  to  redress 
the  wrongs  of  the  black,  and  to  insist  on  justice ; 
but  I  believe,  generally  speaking,  the  overseers  are 
a  very  respectable,  right-judging,  and  humane  set 
of  men. 

In  this  case,  the  driver,  Anthony,  had  sent  word 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  20^ 

to  his  mistress  what  was  going  on,  in  a  letter  written 
by  himself,  well  written  and  well  expressed.  He 
had  stood  by  the  overseer  from  a  sense  of  duty, 
though  he  saw  he  was  wrong ;  and  in  the  scuffle 
that  ensued  from  that  bright-eyed  and  determined 
yoimg  negro  woman  defending  her  brother  his  watch 
had  been  broken. 

That  evening  a  pretty  little  negro  girl,  six  years 
old,  called  "  Celia,"  daughter  of  Neptune  and  Poona, 
died  of  whooping-cough.  As  I  felt  still  very  unwell, 
and  had  arranged  to  leave  before  sunrise  next  morn- 
ing, I  could  not  bury  her ;  but  they  said  it  would 
suffice  if  I  would  "  funeraHse  "  her  little  body,  which 
I  did  at  eleven  o'clock  at  night.  The  cottage  was 
full  of  friends  comforting  the  parents.  Joseph,  who 
had  acted  for  me  as  clerk  on  Sunday,  was  preaching ; 
and  then  a  hymn  was  sung.  I  waited  till  it  was 
over.  When  I  entered  all  made  way  for  me,  and 
were  very  reverent  in  their  behaviour.  When  I  came 
to  that  part,  "  We  commit  her  body  to  the  ground," 
&c.,  one  of  them  presented  some  earth  and  dust  and 
ashes  to  me,  on  a  board,  meaning  that  I  should  lay 
my  hand  upon  it,  which  I  did,  and  it  was  then  laid 
by  to  be  taken  to  the  grave  and  thrown  on  the  coffin. 
After  I  left,  the  prayers,  hymns,  and  preaching  con- 
tinued till  about  three  o'clock  in  the  morning.    I  was 


2o6  An  Bi'rand  to  the  South 

glad  to  hear  tliat  all  tliat  could  be  done  was  resorted 
to  for  these  poor  children.  A  doctor  had  been  in 
daily  attendance,  and  a  very  superior  man  he  seemed 
to  be ;  and  the  overseer's  wife  and  daughters  had 
been  very  attentive.  I  engaged  the  offices  of  these 
young  ladies  in  the  teaching  of  the  children  for  the 
future,  though  they  were  Methodists,  promising  to 
hear  their  Catechisms  ;  and  I  have  reason  to  believe 
that  all  misunderstanding  between  overseer  and 
people  has  been  set  right  by  the  simple  intervention 
of  a  thii-d  party;  and  henceforth  all  will  go  well, 
till  the  welcome  supervision  of  the  master  is  restored 
to  these  devoted  servants.  When  I  determined  on 
my  intervention,  I  foresaw  difficulties :  firstly,  being 
so  ill  from  dysentery  I  could  hardly  move  ;  secondly, 
I  could  only  be  looked  on  as  an  evanescent  visitor, 
and  perhaps  an  intruder,  and  might  raise  the  anger 
of  the  overseer. 

Misunderstandings  require  third  parties  to  step  in. 
If  the  Powers  of  England  and  France  had  stepped  in 
with  mediation,  through  well-chosen  spokesmen  sent 
to  Washington  and  Eichmond,  after  the  Confederate 
army  had  left  Maryland,  I  verily  beHeve  the  North- 
erners would  have  inwardly  rejoiced,  and  fallen  into 
the  opportunity  to  get  out  of  the  "  mess." 

On  the  plantation  I  found  the  following  children 


I 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  207 

wlio  were  fifteen  years  of  age,  able  to  work  half-time, 
viz.,  Juba,  Sibia,  Harriett.  Seven  men  had  been 
di'afted  to  leave  for  Charleston,  to  work  at  the 
fortifications.  Once  a  week  the  negroes  could  go  to 
Winsboro',  and  were  allowed  to  sell  what  they  could 
save  from  their  allowance  of  corn.  "When  I  left  they 
all  came  around  to  wish  me  good-bye — each  one 
saying  their  messages  of  "  much  buddy  1"  "  heaps 
of  buddy !"  &c.,  to  mistress  and  their  friends. 

I  again  partook  of  the  hospitahty  of  my  refugee 
friends  the  Bacots.  Mr.  Bacot's  family  is  of  French 
origin — the  first  settler  having  come  over  to 
Charleston  at  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes, 
1694,  when  thirty  more  French  famihes  came  over. 
The  families  never  forget  their  origin,  ^nd  keep  up 
their  arms  and  mottoes :  e.gi.,  Mr.  Lance,  whose 
family  had  an  estate  in  Kent,  which  was  lost  in 
Chancery,  emigrated  hither  about  1700 ;  their  crest 
is  a  bull's  head,  and  lance  through  the  neck :  both 
their  families,  as  well  as  all  I  meet,  have  members  in 
the  army,  privates  or  officers. 

In  Mr.  Bacot's  house  I  saw  a  print  of  John  C. 
Calhoun,  with  a  globe  by  his  side  and  the  United 
States  flag  of  stars  and  stripes  trailing  on  the  ground 
— one  hand  resting  on  a  table,  and  holding  a  roll 
thus  inscribed : — 


208  An  Errand  to  the  South 

"  Sovereignty  of  States. 

"  Free  trade. 

"  Strict  construction  of  tlie  Constitution  of  the 
United  States. 

"  Died  1850." 
It   was  remarked  on   as  prophetic  of  the  present 
struggle  of  the  South,  whose  object  is  free  trade  with 
all  the  world,  and  whose  victories  have  lowered  the 
Union  flag. 

The  office  of  Postmaster  at  Charleston  was  perhaps 
the  most  important  of  all,  next  to  that  of  New  York ; 
and  as  these  officials  often  changed  with  the  change 
of  President,  it  is  remarkable  that  Mr.  Bacot's  father 
was  appointed  Postmaster  by  Washington,  and  was 
succeeded  by  the  present  accomplished  and  able 
official,  Mr.  Huger — making  only  two  since  the 
"  Eevolution."  The  South  Carolinians  seem  always 
to  have  resisted  the  abuse  of  official  changes,  which  was 
first  brought  in  by  President  Jackson.  Under  the  sys- 
tem adopted  by  the  Confederate  Government  posses- 
sion of  office  is  to  be  continued  without  reference  to  the 
change  of  President — "  Quamdiu  se  bene  gesserint." 

On  the  9th  of  September  at  Winsboro'.  The  train 
left  at  two,  and  we  were  three  hours  doing  the 
thirty-nine  miles  to  Columbia,  the  level  of  which, 
I  was  assured,  is  300  feet  lower  than  Winsboro'. 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  209 

The  State  Convention  was  in  session,  and  every 
hotel  and  boarding-house  was  full ;  so  I  threw  myself 
on  the  hospitahty  of  the  kind  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Shand — 
who  were  verily  good  Samaritans  to  me.  I  needed 
medical  aid  at  once ;  and  fortunate  I  was  to  find  such 
an  able  practitioner  as  Dr.  Gibbs,  who  had  drank  of 
the  ^sculapian  fountains  of  Paris,  and  Dublin,  and 
Edinburgh.  I  was  utterly  prostrated  by  the  weak- 
ening malady,  which  had  lasted  so  many  days ;  but 
in  three  days,  after  constant  attendance,  the  good 
Doctor  gave  me  over  to  the  cook,  and  took  his  leave 
— refusing  all  remuneration,  as  he  said  they  never 
took  fees  from  ministers  of  religion ! 

On  Sunday,  14th  September,  refreshing  rain  had 
cooled  the  air.  Mr.  Shand's  church,  holding  about 
1200,  was  full,  and  I  was  edified  by  hearing  him 
preach  two  excellent  sermons:  a.m.,  on  "Blessed 
are  they  who  have  not  seen,  yet  believe;"  p.m., 
*'How  can  ye  believe  who  seek  honour  one  of 
another,  and  seek  not  the  honour  that  cometh  of  God 
only  ?"  *'  How  charming  is  Divine  philosophy !" — 
How  charming  to  feel  at  home  even  in  the  utmost 
limits  of  the  earth,  by  means  of  our  greatest  national 
blessing,  our  holy  Catholic  and  Apostolic  Church  of 
England !  The  very  same  holy  words  in  prayer  and 
praise  ofiered  up,  on  the  same  day,  in  all  quarters  of 

p 


/ 


210  An  Errand  to  the  South 

the  globe  !  Standing  up,  like  a  lighthouse  on  a  rock, 
ever  firm  though  the  cyclones  of  various  doctrines 
rage  around,  and  the  cold,  foaming  waves  of  opposi- 
tion and  lukewarmness  dash  against  it ! 

The  font  in  this  church,  dedicated  to  Holy  Trinity, 
was  chiselled  by  the  sculptor  Power,  in  Italy,  from 
the  quarry  of  Michael  Angelo,  and  ofiered  to  the 
church  by  Mrs.  Hampton,  Colonel  Preston's  mother- 
in-law.  It  is  now  many  years  since  Colonel  Preston 
of  Columbia,  whose  gardens  are  of  a  high  order,  saw 
a  figure  modelled  by  a  boy  of  Tennessee,  and  was  so 
struck  with  the  talent  displayed  in  it,  that  he  sent 
for  him,  educated  him,  and  took  him  to  Italy.  This 
was  Power — whose  statue  of  the  '^  Greek  Slave  "  is 
the  admiration  of  the  world.  The  altar,  of  soHd 
white  marble,  was  also  brought  from  Italy. 

On  the  15th  of  September  I  was  allowed  to  sit  in 
the  body  of  the  House  of  Convention  of  South  Caro- 
lina, which  met  at  eleven  o'clock.  I  heard  the 
member  for  Marion  district,  also  Colonel  Chesnut, 
and  Mr.  Middleton,  speak  on  the  conscription  ques- 
tion, all  agreeing  that  the  measure  was  favourably 
received  by  the  people,  and  wilhngly  responded  to. 
I  heard  a  good  speech  from  Judge  English,  on 
obedience  being  true  patriotism;  General  Harlee 
spoke  on  the  coast  defences.    There  are  125  members 


in  the  Summer  0/1862.  211 

in  this  Convention,  which  is  in  fact  the  voice  of  the 
People,  in  its  capacity  of  Sovereign ;  and  if  all  people 
were  endued  with  such  reverence,  sense  of  order,  and 
good  common-sense  as  this  people  in  their  established 
sovereign  body — sitting  without  a  throne  and  without 
a  crown — Justice  might  sheathe  her  sword,  and  lay 
down  her  sceptre.  Here  was  a  body  of  Anglo- 
American  gentlemen,  endued  with  reverence  of  God, 
unanimity  of  purpose,  and  common-sense,  the  chosen 
*'  sovereign  "  of  the  Palmetto  State — having  stability 
without  a  throne,  and  power  without  a  crown. 
News  had  come  that  the  Confederate  forces  were 
threatening  Philadelphia ;  but  there  was  no  excite- 
ment or  boasting  in  consequence.  After  a  few  days, 
the  Convention,  having  accomplished  the  object  for 
which  it  was  called  into  existence  (viz.,  deciding  on 
and  upholding  secession  from  the  Union),  again 
merged  into  its  kindred  milhons.  The  members  sat 
in  the  room  used  by  the  State  Legislature  or  House 
of  Kepresentatives.  I  could  not  resist  a  feehng  of 
national  pride,  thinking  of  this  people,  claiming  to 
be  of  the  genuine  Enghsh  stock,  exemplifying  in  a 
wonderful  manner  some  of  the  finest  features  of  the 
character  of  man  in  self-government.  I  spoke  to 
them  of  conscription,  of  the  new  taxation  even  to 
taxing  a  watch — of  the  double  postage,  &c.,  but  every- 


212  An  Errand  to  the  South 

where  there  was  willing  submission.  It  was  as  the  sub- 
mission to  Joshua :  "  All  that  thou  commandest  us  we 
will  do,  and  whithersoever  thou  sendest  us  we  will  go." 

There  are,  I  heard,  12,000  people  at  Columbia, 
but  no  pohce  are  seen,  and  people  sleep  with  their 
doors  and  windows  unbolted.  There  are  no  beggars. 
I  questioned  many  negroes,  and  all  were  contented 
and  happy.  During  the  whole  of  my  six  months'  stay 
in  the  South  I  never  saw  a  beggar. 

The  High  Street  of  Columbia  is  of  great  length 
and  width,  and  at  the  east  end  of  it  is  the  new 
Capitol,  not  nearly  finished ;  indeed,  not  roofed  in :  it 
is  of  white  marble,  and  will  be  a  very  handsome 
building.  I  was  told  the  architect  is  a  German,  to 
whom  the  State  allows  a  salary  of  4000  dollars  per 
annum  till  it  be  finished,  and  now  the  work  is  stopped 
on  account  of  the  war  (except  the  pohshing  of  some 
beautiful  Tennessee  marble)  he  still  receives  it.  In 
the  court  stands  a  curious  and  clever  piece  of  iron- 
work, in  the  shape  of  a  palmetto-tree,  the  emblem 
of  South  Carolina,  of  natural  size,  and  till  you  touch  it 
you  would  suppose  it  to  be  a  real  tree,  with  its  sprout- 
ing stem  and  long,  fibrous,  pointed  leaves.  Under 
it,  on  an  iron  plate,  are  written  the  words :  "  Colum- 
bia, South  Carohna,  to  her  sons  of  the  Palmetto 
State  who  fell  in  the  war  with  Mexico,  A.  d.  1847." 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  213 


CHAPTER  XIL 

Off  to  the  Mountains. 

On  Tuesday,  the  16th  September,  according  to  the 
advice  of  Dr.  Gibbs,  instead  of  returning  eastward  to 
Conwayboro',  185  miles,  I  took  the  train  to  Green- 
ville, South  Carolina,  160  miles  west,  in  order  to 
ascend  the  mountains  called  the  ''  Blue  Ridge,"  part 
of  the  Alleghany  range :  there  were  crowds  of  peo- 
ple at  the  principal  depots.  The  Greenville  and 
Columbia  railroad  joins  the  Blue  Ridge  railroad  at 
Belton,  and  there  are  two  branches,  one  to  Laurence- 
ville,  one  to  Greenville.  At  one  place,  Williamstown, 
there  are  chalybeate  springs:  many  refugees  from 
Charleston  were  here.  At  one  depot,  a  negro,  with 
whom  I  had  had  some  conversation,  got  out ;  he  had 
on  a  coat  which  much  amused  the  passengers ;  it  was 
of  white  cotton,  and  on  the  back  were,  not  badly 
drawn,  the  Union  eagle  and  stars  and  stripes,  and 
Abraham  Lincoln  flooring  Jefferson  Davis.      This 


214  -4^  Errand  to  the  South 

man  had  been  taken  prisoner  in  the  first  battle  of 
Bull  Kun,  1861,  and  had  escaped  in  the  second  on 
the  30th  August,  1862.  He  said  the  Yankees  told 
him  he  was  free,  but  he  had  been  bound  to  service  for 
his  food  and  clothing :  several  more  were  trying  to  get 
away  from  the  Yankees.  He  was  quite  rejoiced 
when  he  arrived  at  his  station,  and  was  talking  how 
he  would  surprise  massa  when  he  got  home  again. 
We  reached  Greenville  about  -4  p.m.  :  omnibuses  and 
all  kinds  of  vehicles  were  ready  to  take  the  pas- 
sengers into  the  town,  about  a  mile  and  a  half.  On 
the  outside  platform  an  elderly  gentleman  imme- 
diately opened  a  Kichmond  newspaper,  and  read  with 
a  fine  clear  voice  the  latest  news  to  a  crowd  of  people. 
I  was  told  this  was  done  here  every  afternoon,  and  is 
usual  in  many  places.  The  rail  approaching  Green- 
ville runs  through  a  very  pretty  country,  often  over 
or  along  the  Saleuda  Eiver,  with  its  high  wooded 
banks  enclosing  its  winding  stream. 

The  stage  was  to  leave  Greenville  for  Flat  Eock, 
the  mountain  resort,  at  1  a.m.  In  these  journeys  I 
often  experienced  the  advantage  of  subjecting  the 
body  to  the  will,  finding  that  if  I  lay  down  to  sleep, 
determined  to  wake  at  a  particular  time,  I  did  so ; 
thus  avoiding  the  uncertainty  of  being  "  called"  by 
others.     Greenville  is  of  considerable  elevation,  and 


in  the  Summer  of  1 862.  2 1 5 

the  night  air  was  cool.  Our  vehicle  was  something 
between  a  stage-coach  and  diligence :  the  coachman 
drove  fom*-in-hand  in  good  style.  There  was  only 
room  for  two  passengers  outside ;  the  inside  was  fitted 
with  three  seats :  the  middle  one  for  four,  the  two 
others  for  three  each.  Precious  close  packing  it  was, 
ten  inside !  One  of  the  ten  was  an  immense  fat  negro 
woman,  the  washerwoman  of  no  less  a  person  than 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  at  Kichmond,  Mr. 
Memmenger,  whose  family  were  at  Flat  Kock.  It  was 
rather  an  uncomfortable  proof  of  the  greater  freedom 
for  the  negroes  in  the  South  than  in  the  North,  where 
she  would  not  have  been  tolerated.  The  mountain 
ascent  was  awful ;  the  road  of  the  roughest  part  of  it 
was  called  "  The  Corkscrew."  The  coachman  often 
begged  the  passengers  to  walk,  and  so  ease  his  horses 
to  get  up  the  steep  ascents.  I  was  too  weak  to  aid  in 
this  merciful  work.  We  reached  halfway-house  and 
got  breakfast  at  5  o'clock,  and  went  on  with  fresh 
horses,  and  reached  Flat  Kock  about  3  p.m.  on  the 
17th  September ;  a  rather  tedious  forty  miles.  What 
wisdom  there  is  in  the  Persians'  expression  for  climate 
*'  Ab  o  howa,"  "  water  and  air !"  I  drank  of  the  spark- 
ling fountains  from  the  rocks,  I  breathed  the  fresh 
mountain  air,  and  every  mile  I  felt  recovering  healtli 
and  strength.     The  stage  went  roUing  on  to  Hender- 


2i6  An  Errand  to  the  South 

sonville,  the  capital  of  Henderson,  a  county  of  North 
Carolina,  wherein  this  charming  refuge  from  the  hot 
plains  of  the  lowlands  is  situated ;  and  it  was  to  go 
on  to  Ashville,  capital  of  Buncombe  County,  about 
thirty  miles  further  north.  I  had  not  been  long  at 
the  hotel  kept  by  Mr.  Farmer  before  my  kind  friend, 
Mr.  Andrew  Johnstone,  drove  up  with  his  pretty  grey 
horses  and  offered  me  his  hospitahty,  which  I  grate- 
fully accepted.  The  road  was  excellent,  winding 
between  rocks,  wooded  hills,  along  the  sides  of  well- 
drained  meadows,  over  streams,  vdth  villas  in  their 
little  parks  and  grounds  all  the  way  for  four  miles. 
We  met  several  carriages  with  ladies  taking  their 
evening  drive ;  and  on  a  curve  we  pulled  up  to  greet 
a  cavalcade  of  pretty  girls  and  boys  on  beautifal 
horses  and  ponies.  Three  of  the  twelve  were  Mr. 
Johnstone's  two  daughters  and  son,  bright  with  rosy 
cheeks  and  sparkling  eyes ;  two  more  were  daughters 
of  Mr.  Memmenger,  Secretary  of  State,  whose  pretty 
mansion  looked  down  upon  us.  All  looked  kindly 
on  the  poor  invalid  stranger.  The  woods  are  beauti- 
ful :  splendid  oaks,  with  vines  mysteriously  rising 
from  twenty  to  thirty  feet  to  catch  hold  of  the  mighty 
branches,  and  large  clusters  of  grapes  were  hanging 
from  them.  We  drove  some  way  along  a  stream 
which    the    early    white    settlers    called    "Muddy 


in  the  Summer  of  1 862.  2 1 7 

Creek;"  but  my  friend  has  the  taste  to  prefer 
the  ancient  American  name^  Okhleewaha,  which 
means  the  same.  Two  miles  of  road  and  the 
bridge  over  this  stream  are  his  own  making.  He 
had  bought  some  800  acres  from  the  first  settlers 
about  twenty  years  ago,  for  about  one  dollar  an  acre, 
and  the  name  of  his  pretty  gabled  home,  "Beaumont," 
is  worthy  of  the  beauty  of  the  scene  and  of  the  sunny 
spirit  of  harmony,  and  love  which  pervades  his  nume- 
rous, accomplished  family.  The  day  after  my  arrival 
was  Thursday,  the  18th  of  September,  appointed  by 
President  Davis  for  thanksgiving  for  the  simultaneous 
victories  gained  by  General  Lee,  at  Manassas,  in 
Virginia,  and  General  Kirby  Smith,  at  Kichmond,  in 
Kentucky,  on  the  30th  August.  An  excellent  ser- 
mon was  preached  by  the  Eev.  Mr.  Keed,  the  rector 
of  the  church  at  Flat  Eock,  who  politely  allowed 
me  to  have  it,  and  Mrs.  Johnstone  kindly  copied  it ; 
and  here  it  is  for  the  edification  of  those  who  are 
interested  in  this  wonderful  country  and  people, 
sprung  up  as  it  were  by  the  enchanter's  wand  from 
wild  mountains,  forests,  and  swamps :  — 

"  *  The  Lord  hath  done  great  things  for  us,  whereof  we  are 
glad.'— Psalm  cxxvi.  3. 

"  This  Psalm  seems,  from  its  internal  evidence,  to 

have  been  composed  after  the  return  of  the  Jews 


2 1 8  An  Errand  to  the  South 

from  the  Babylonish  captivity.  It  was  consequently 
not  written  by  David,  but  by  some  other  inspired 
author.  It  is  not,  however,  on  that  account,  the  less  a 
part  of  that  Holy  Scripture  which  God  has  caused 
to  be  written  for  our  learning.  It  is  an  inspired 
song  of  praise  for  the  deliverance  vouchsafed  to  the 
people  in  their  rescue  from  the  hand  of  their  ene- 
mies, and  being  allowed  to  return  to  their  own  land 
after  a  seventy  years'  exile.  The  language  in  which, 
by  direction  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  they  expressed 
their  sense  of  the  Divine  mercies  is  not  less  suited  to 
the  occasion  which  calls  us  together  than  to  that  on 
which  the  words  were  originally  uttered.  We  are 
assembled,  by  invitation  of  the  chief  magistrate  of  the 
nation,  to  render  thanks  to  Almighty  God,  for  the 
signal  mercy  granted  us  in  the  recent  success  of  our 
arms.  *  When  the  Lord  turned  again  the  captivity 
of  Zion,  then  were  we  like  them  that  dream  ;  then 
was  our  mouth  fiUed  with  laughter,  and  our  tongue 
with  singing.  The  Lord  hath  done  great  things  for 
us,  whereof  we  are  glad.'  It  will  not  be  necessary  to 
use  any  arguments  to  prove  that  those  things  in  our 
affairs,  which  inspire  us  with  joy,  and  encourage  us 
to  hope  for  a  successful  issue  of  the  struggle  in  which 
we  are  engaged,  are  the  result  of  God's  merciftd 
action  in  our  behalf.     It  is  true  they  have  come  by 


in  the  Summer  0/1862.  219 

the  agency  of  secondary  causes.  But  all  events  in 
this  world  come  in  the  same  way.  Even  in  miracles 
these  causes  probably  work,  though  with  greater 
intensity,  and  in  modes  unknown  to  us.  In  all 
occurrences  not  miraculous  they  are  the  sole  causes 
distinguishable  by  us,  and  yet  none  of  us  doubt  that 
the  course  of  this  world  is  ordered  by  God's 
governance,  and  that  his  secret  influence  is  in  all 
that  is  done,  moulding  every  event  into  the  precise 
form  it  assumes,  and  making  it  take  its  precise  place, 
and  do  its  exact  work,  in  that  great  plan  by  which 
God  is  finally  to  illustrate  his  own  glory,  and  perfect 
the  happiness  of  those  who  obey  him. 

"  With  regard  to  nations,  St.  Paul  tells  us  expressly 
that  he  has  appointed  before  both  the  times  and  the 
bounds  of  their  habitations  :  when  they  shall  be  born, 
when  they  shall  die,  what  part  of  the  earth  shall  be 
assigned  them,  and  what  shall  be  their  career,  has 
all  been  determined  in  the  counsels  of  God,  and  each 
successive  stage  of  their  history  is  simply  a  develop- 
ment of  a  Divine  purpose  and  plan.  With  whatever 
of  human  passion  or  human  vu'tue  it  may  be  con- 
nected, by  whatever  manifest  natural  agencies  it  may 
be  brought  about,  God  is  still  the  efiScient  cause,  and 
the  movements  of  nations  in  their  orbits  is  not  less 
fixed  than  the  movements  of  planets.    In  the  one 


220  An  Errand  to  the  South 

case  the  movement  is  the  result  of  purely  physical 
causes,  with  which  man  can  in  no  way  interfere ;  in 
the  other,  it  is  the  result  of  the  voluntary  action  of 
beings  endowed  with  will  and  choice  :  but  the  mys- 
terious wisdom  of  Grod  rules  equally  in  each.  All 
combine  to  a  common  end ;  and  we  are  under  the 
same  obhgation  to  acknowledge  God,  and  to  praise 
him  in  what  befalls  us  of  good,  when  it  comes 
through  what  we  have  done,  or  what  others  have 
done  in  our  behalf,  as  when  it  comes  through  natural 
agents  only.  Eevelation  teaches  us  to  look  to  one 
source  alone  ;  to  make  everything  a  matter  of  prayer 
and  thanksgiving.  Our  meeting  together  this 
morning  is,  on  our  part,  a  confession  of  this  truth. 
We  say,  by  our  assembling  to  render  thanks,  that  the 
great  things  of  which  we  are  glad  have  been  done 
for  us  by  the  Lord.  We  confess  his  hand,  we  recog- 
nize his  interposition,  we  adore  his  mercy.  Without 
therefore  occupying  your  time  in  enforcing  what  is 
acknowledged  already,  let  us  briefly  review  some  of 
the  circumstances  in  our  past  history,  and  our  present 
position,  which  call  for  peculiar  gratitude  to  G-od, 
and  encourage  us  to  firm  and  cheerful  trust  in  his 
providence  for  the  future. 

"  In  the  enumeration  of  the  mercies  which  call  for 
gratitude,  every  Christian  mind  will  agree  with  me 


in  the  Summer  of  1^62,  22 r 

in  assigning  a  prominent  place  to  the  fact  that,  as  a 
|.  .|)le,  we  have  had  grace  given  us  to  make  that  ac- 
knowledgment of  Divine  providence  of  which  I  have 
spoken.  This  has  been  so  remarkable,  that  it 
deserves  more  than  a  passing  notice.  The  effort  to 
achieve  the  independence  of  the  Southern  States 
began  in  South  Carolina.  There  the  Legislature 
which  called  the  Convention  appointed  a  day  of 
fasting  and  prayer  to  supphcate  the  blessing  of  God 
on  the  dehberations  of  that  body ;  to  acknowledge 
God's  ruling  in  the  affairs  of  men ;  to  ask  from  him 
unity  to  our  people,  and  success  to  our  cause.  Since 
that  time,  the  people  of  the  Confederate  States  have  been 
repeatedly  called  upon  by  the  Government  to  humble 
themselves  before  God,  and  to  implore  his  mercy ;  and 
these  calls  have  been  responded  to  by  the  whole  popu- 
lation with  a  unanimity  and  an  earnestness  which 
showed  a  most  gratifying  sense  of  dependence  on 
his  providence,  and  a  disposition  to  leave  our  cause 
to  his  decision. 

"  After  the  first  battle  of  Manassas,  our  Congress, 
then  in  session,  assembled  immediately  to  return 
thanks  to  God,  and  adjourned  without  proceeding  to 
its  usual  business ;  turning  its  Hall  of  Legislation  into 
a  temple,  and  the  day  into  a  Sabbath,  in  token  of 
its  sense  of  Divine  interposition  in  behalf  of  the 


222  An  Err  mid  to  the  South 

nation.  The  Executive  issued  an  address  to  the 
people  of  the  country,  inviting  them  to  meet  in 
their  churches  and  praise  God  for  his  goodness :  an 
invitation,  I  beheve,  nowhere  disregarded.  Our 
houses  of  worship  were  filled  then,  as  I  trust  they 
are  everywhere  to  day,  with  men  and  women  grate- 
fully acknowledging  the  hand  of  Jehovah,  and 
pouring  out  their  praise  for  his  wonderful  interpo- 
sition. Among  our  military  commanders  the  same 
acknowledgment  of  God  has  been  conspicuous.  So 
far  as  I  am  aware,  no  despatch  has  been  sent  by  any 
general  officer,  announcing  an  important  success,  in 
which  was  not  embodied  a  distinct  recognition  of  the 
hand  of  God.  In  the  recent  victory  in  Kentucky, 
as  after  a  victory  under  another  of  our  pious 
leaders  in  Yirginia,  mihtary  operations  were  sus- 
pended, and  the  army  rested  for  a  day  for  the  express 
purpose  of  giving  an  opportunity  for  formal  worship 
and  thanks  to  God,  to  whose  power  the  victory  was 
ascribed ;  while  the  tone  of  humble  and  fervent  piety 
which  characterises  all  the  despatches  of  our  great 
military  commander,  as  well  as  the  proclamations  and 
messages  of  our  chief  magistrate,  has  been  remarked 
byaU. 

"  Now,  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  we  are  more  reli- 
gious than  other  people,  for  we  have  sins  enough  to 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  223 

make  us  fear  the  just  judgments  of  Almighty  God, 
nor  do  I  mean  to  attribute  everything  in  our  successes 
to  these  public  acknowledgments  of  a  Divine  power 
and  providence.  But  the  fact  is  evident,  that  we,  as 
a  nation,  have  been  moved  to  cast  ourselves  upon  the 
arm  of  Grod ;  to  confess  him  in  good  and  evil,  to  a 
degree  not  probably  witnessed  in  the  history  of  other 
nations,  The  fact  may  be  explained,  perhaps,  by  our 
conscious  weakness,  as  compared  with  our  enemies  ; 
but  the  fact  itself  remains  that,  under  whatever 
impulse,  we  have  been  moved  earnestly  and  repeatedly 
to  seek  God :  and  whatever  may  be  said  of  secondary 
causes,  the  fact  is  also  evident  that  we  have  expe- 
rienced a  remarkable  degree  of  protection  and  suc- 
cess ;  and  while  God's  own  declaration  remains, 
*  Them  that  honour  me  I  vdll  honour,'  and  '  they 
that  despise  me  shall  be  lightly  esteemed,'  a  Christian 
will  not  doubt  that  the  measure  of  prosperity  which 
has  attended  us  has  a  most  important  connection  with 
our  acknowledgment  of  him. 

"  Another  cause  of  gratitude  is  the  fact  that  we  are 
to-day,  after  nearly  a  year  and  a  half  of  war, 
continuing  the  contest,  with  a  good  hope  of 
finally  con\dncing  our  enemies  of  the  impossibihty  of 
subjugation.  If  we  consider  the  circumstances,  we 
shall  not  under-estimate  this  fact — in  the  beginning  of 


224  -4/1  Errand  to  the  South 

the  war  our  enemies  called  out  75,000  men  for  three 
months.    We  take  it  for  granted  they  thought  the 
army  large  enough,  and  the  time  long  enough,  to 
secure  the  object   in    view.      After    the    rout    at 
Manassas,  the  magnitude  of  the   undertaking  had 
greatly  increased  in  their  apprehension,  and  the  army 
was  swelled  from  75,000   to   600,000 :  the   object 
being  to  render  all  resistance  hopeless,  and  to  bring 
the  rebellious  States  into  immediate  and  complete 
subjection;  and  certainly  the  expectation  was   not 
unreasonable.    According  to  recently  published  state- 
ments of  their  Secretary  of  State,  their   available 
population  is  nearly  five  times  greater  than  our  own. 
They  have  access  to  the  markets  of  the  world  for 
supplies,  while  from  the  very  beginning  of  the  war 
we  have  been  almost  cut  off  from  the  sea.     They 
have  manufactories  of  every  description,  while  we 
have  almost  none.      Every  material  necessary  for 
the  vigorous  and  successful  prosecution   of  war   is 
easily  accessible  to  them,  and  almost  inaccessible  to 
us.    Yet,  what  so  far  has  been  the  issue  ?    In  spite  of 
numbers,  in  spite  of  wealth,  in  spite  of  resources,  we 
are  no  nearer  being  conquered  than  at  the  beginning, 
"  Only  four  months  ago,  they  called  out  60,000  ad- 
ditional troops,  for  three  months,  to  insure  the  imme- 
diate conclusion  of  the  war.      This  delusion  has 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  225 

wholly  passed  away,  and  the  Government  has  since 
asked  for  GOO, 000  more  for  an  indefinite  period.  Yet 
God  has  enabled  us  to  arm,  clothe,  and  feed  men 
enough  to  meet  all  these  hosts,  and  at  this  moment 
there  is  no  point  where  they  are  willing  to  meet  us 
in  the  field.  God  has  fought  against  them ;  their 
huge  armies  have  been  wasted  by  disease  and  battle ; 
the  insolent  boastings  of  their  generals  and  their 
people  have  been  rebuked  by  defeat ;  and  by  their  own 
confession  they  have  now  the  whole  war  to  begin 
again.  What  the  future  may  bring  forth  we  cannot 
tell,  but  we  can  at  least  say,  '  Hitherto  hath  the 
Lord  helped  us.'  We  have  met  the  whole  strength 
of  the  enemy,  and  we  are  not  exterminated,  we  are  not 
disarmed,  we  are  not  despondent. 

"  Our  career,  however,  has  not  been  one  of  unfailing 
success.  We  have  had  many  and  serious  disasters. 
But  has  not  God  so  overruled  these  disasters  as  to  make 
us  esteem  them  mercies,  for  which  we  should  give 
thanks  ?  Has  he  not  dealt  with  us  as  he  deals  with 
individuals  when  he  makes  chastening  the  instriunent 
of  blessings,  which  could  have  come  in  no  other  way  ? 

"  Several  very  important  results  have  followed  the 
reverses  we  have  sustained.  One  has  been  a  demon- 
stration to  the  enemy  of  the  extreme  difficulty  of 
conquering  the  country.     Wherever  they  have  taken 

Q 


226  An  Errand  to  the  South 

jDOSsession  they  have  extended  their  authority  so  far 
as  they  extended  their  mihtary  lines,  and  no  farther. 
Everything  without  these  has  remained  in  armed 
hostiUty,  and  everything  within  has  remained  hostile 
in  spirit ;  and  the  question  cannot  but  arise  in  their 
minds,  '  What  will  he  the  cost  of  holding  such  a 
country,  even  if  we  should  succeed  in  overrunning 
it  ?'  In  this  aspect  of  matters  their  successes  have 
been  as  discouraging  as  their  defeats. 

*'  Another  effect  of  our  reverses  has  been  to  exhibit 
the  falsehood  of  the  pretext  under  which  the  war  was 
commenced — that  there  was  a  large  portion  of  the 
population  of  the  Confederate  States  favourable  to  a 
continued  union  with  the  Northern  people !  Every 
State  of  the  Confederacy  has  been  at  some  point  in- 
vaded. The  temper  of  our  whole  people  has  been  fairly 
tried ;  but  the  invaders  have  still  to  seek  for  their 
friends.  None  have  been  found  as  yet.  Everywhere 
they  are  received  with  the  same  bitter  hatred,  every- 
where treated  with  the  same  undisguised  contempt ; 
imtil  the  fact  has  at  last  penetrated  the  unwilling  minds 
of  the  Northern  people  that  the  separation  between 
the  sections  in  feeling  is  total  and  eternal.  All  pre- 
text of  relieving  oppressed  friends  within  our  borders 
is  taken  away,  and  if  the  war  is  to  be  continued, 
it  is  not  under  the  show  of  restoring  union,  but  for 


in  the  Summer  of  I S62.  227 

the  avowed  purpose  of  exterminating  our  whole 
population,  or  reducing  them  to  a  state  of  ignomi- 
nious subjection  to  a  government  and  people  which 
they  abhor.  Whether  a  nation  calling  itself  Christian, 
and  embodying  the  principles  of  civil  liberty  in  its 
written  constitution,  will  wage  such  a  war,  remains 
to  be  seen ;  though  there  is,  unfortunately,  only  the 
smallest  possible  ground  for  any  hope  that  the  contest 
will  terminate,  except  from  the  sheer  physical  inabi- 
lity of  the  enemy  to  continue  it.  The  past  forbids  us 
to  look  for  such  principles  as  religion,  justice,  and 
humanity. 

"  But  the  most  marked  and  beneficial  results  of  the 
enemy's  successes  have  been  on  our  own  people.  It 
has  illustrated  their  unconquerable  spirit.  From  the 
fall  of  Port  Eoyal  in  our  own  State,  in  the  beginning 
of  November  last,  up  to  the  1st  of  June,  was  one 
almost  uninterrupted  series  of  disasters  to  our  arms. 
The  capture  of  New  Orleans,  of  Nashville,  and  Mem- 
phis ;  the  evacuation  of  Norfolk,  Portsmouth,  and 
Fredericksburg ;  the  occupation  of  important  points 
on  our  whole  seaboard;  the  retreat  of  our  armies 
from  Manassas,  Yorktown,  and  Corinth,  followed 
each  other  in  long  and  close  succession.  The  effect 
of  these  reverses  abroad  was  such  that  some  foreign 
journals  spoke  of  the  war  as  already  brought  to  an 


228  An  Errand  to  the  South 

end.  But  what  was  the  effect  upon  our  own  people  ? 
Their  courage  rose  with  every  catastrophe,  until  it 
has  become  evident  to  the  world  that  no  calamity  can 
extort  submission,  and  that  our  people  will  never 
yield  while  a  living  man  remains  to  defend  the  soil 
of  his  country.  A  more  determined  and  heroic 
temper  has  never  been  seen  than  that  displayed  by 
our  people  in  this  contest.  Even  in  the  districts 
overrun,  no  man  has  despaired  of  the  Eepublic.  Sub- 
mission has  been  thought  of  nowhere ;  not  an  energy 
was  relaxed.  The  strength  of  the  Government  was 
put  forth  as  resolutely  and  vigorously  as  if  there  had 
been  nothing  to  dishearten.  The  people  everywhere 
have  continued  to  hope.  They  have  borne  severe 
privations  not  only  without  a  murmur,  but  with  a 
cheerful  alacrity  which  calls  out  the  liveliest  admira- 
tion. We  are  exciting  the  wonder  and  praise  of  the 
world ;  and  this  is  another  thing  for  which  we  have 
to  thank  God,  and  which  should  do  much  to  sustain 
us  under  the  heavy  burdens  of  the  war. 

"  The  nations  of  Europe,  deriving  their  information 
through  Northern  sources,  had  come  to  look  on  us  as 
almost  a  race  of  barbarians.  They  regarded  us  as 
debased  and  weakened  by  our  institutions,  as  well  as 
endangered;  without  education,  without  refinement, 
without    wealth,     without     resources ;     possessing 


in  the  Summer  of  I S62.  229 

scarcely  any  virtue  but  that  of  mere  brute  courage. 
The  last  year  has  wrought  a  marvellous  revolution  in 
their  opinions.  They  have  seen  the  spirit  of  our 
people  rising  with  every  emergency,  a  development  of 
resources  under  circumstances  of  extreme  difficulty, 
sufficient  to  enable  us  to  meet  successfully  the  largest 
armies  ever  brought  into  the  field  in  modem  times, 
and  the  full  power  of  one  of  the  strongest  nations  of 
the  world  lying  immediately  on  our  borders.  They 
have  seen  statesmanship,  moderation,  courage,  mili- 
tary talent  of  the  highest  order — all  the  virtues  which 
characterize  a  people  destined  to  take  a  high  place 
among  nations.  At  this  day  the  sympathies  of  all 
Europe  are  with  us,  and  we  have  already  achieved  a 
reputation  which  will  be  worth  to  us  in  the  future  all 
the  war  has  cost  us.  The  slanders  of  fanatics  have 
been  confuted,  and  we  occupy  to-day  a  proud  position 
before  the  world.  We  have  shown  ourselves  to  be  a 
brave,  determined,  united,  energetic  people ;  capable 
of  any  sacrifices,  of  any  efibrts.  Our  domestic  institu- 
tions have  not  proved  a  source  of  danger  or  weakness. 
We  enjoy  as  complete  domestic  security  as  in  the 
midst  of  profound  peace,  and  the  feilse  prophecies  of 
tliose  who  spoke  after  the  imagination  of  their  hearts, 
where  the  wish  was  father  to  the  thought,  have 
proved  themselves    a    lie.     The    truth    is  at  last 


230  An  Errand  to  the  South 

becoming  known,  and  we  are  about  to  be  vindicated 
before  our  fellow-men  from  some  of  tbe  aspersions 
under  which  we  have  so  long  laboured ;  and  as  we 
have  gained  position,  our  enemies  have  lost  it.  By 
the  madness  of  their  designs,  by  the  growing  ferocity 
with  which  they  attempt  to  execute  them,  by  the 
frightful  mendacity  of  their  Government,  their  gene- 
rals, and  their  pubUc  journals ;  by  their  perpetual 
boastings  and  perpetual  failures,  they  have  rendered 
themselves  in  the  eyes  of  other  nations  one  of  the 
basest  of  kingdoms,  and  have  justified  our  determina- 
tion to  be  separated  from  them. 

"Another  cause  of  gratitude  is,  that  God  has  raised 
up  able  leaders  for  our  armies,  and  has  given  them 
great  successes.  No  braver  soldiers  ever  went  forth 
to  meet  an  enemy  than  those  who  are  now  fighting 
for  us.  Never  was  higher  courage  shown  than  has 
been  shown  by  our  troops  on  the  battle-fields  of  Vir- 
ginia and  the  West.  Never  did  men  endure  hard- 
ships with  more  cheerful  firmness,  accustomed  as 
most  of  them  were  to  comfortable,  if  not  luxurious 
homes :  they  have  borne  hunger,  exposure,  fatigue, 
and  want  of  clothing,  with  such  a  spirit  of  heroism 
as  entitles  them  to  the  everlasting  gratitude  and 
admiration  of  their  countrymen.  But  whatever  may 
be  the  character  of  the  men  of  an  army,  their  virtues 


I 


in  the  Summer  of  1 862.  23 1 

will  be  of  very  little  avail  without  leaders.  Success 
depends  essentially  upon  the  commanders.  Without 
skilful  generals  no  army  will  achieve  victories  :  such 
generals  God  has  mercifully  given  to  us.  Many 
whose  names  are  femiliar,  and  almost  as  dear  as  the 
names  of  our  children,  have  displayed  the  highest 
qualities  as  mihtary  commanders.  The  men  have 
been  raised  up  for  us  as  they  were  wanted  ;  and  that 
honoured  name  which  stands  at  the  head  of  our  armies, 
adorned  with  genius,  modesty,  and  piety,  is  sur- 
rounded by  a  galaxy  of  lesser  names,  which  shine 
with  a  lustre  only  less  brilliant  than  that  of  the 
central  star.  And  the  same  merciful  God  who  has 
qualified  them  for  their  stations  has  given  success  to 
their  plans.  Victory  has  followed  victor}^,  until  these 
last  two  crowning  triumphs,  in  one  day,  have  driven 
the  enemy  from  the  soil  of  one  State,  and  opened 
another  to  our  arms,  preparatory,  as  we  hope,  to 
receiving  it  permanently  into  our  Confederacy.  The 
united  forces  of  the  enemy  have  been  met  and 
defeated  on  the  very  field  where  the  first  battle  of 
the  war  was  fought.  Their  troops  are  now  no  fiirther 
advanced,  after  the  loss  of  a  quarter  of  million  of  men, 
and  the  squandering  of  a  thousand  miUions  of  dollars, 
than  they  were  when  our  subjugation  was  first 
determined  on.  Truly,  my  brethren,  *  God  hath  done 
great  things  for  us,  whereof  we  are  glad.' 


232  An  Errand  to  the  South 

"  We  look  to  the  future  with  hope  ;  we  feel  assured 
that  all  that  skill  and  courage  can  do  will  be  done  ; 
and  if  we  are  finally  overborne,  it  will  be  because 
God  does  not  will  us  to  be  a  nation.  Let  us  heartily 
ascribe  to  him  the  glory  of  what  has  been  accom- 
plished, and  let  us  pray  to  him  for  a  continuance  of 
his  mercies,  and  for  a  speedy  end  of  this  insane  and 
deviHsh  war. 

"  We  do  not  know  what  is  in  the  future.  Neither 
the  power  nor  the  spirit  of  our  persecutors  is  broken. 
They  have  been  defeated  and  disgraced,  but  they 
have  millions  of  men  still  behind,  and  treasure  yet  to 
spend.  If  they  persevere  in  the  war,  they  may  still 
inflict  on  us  terrible  injury  and  sufiering.  We  vdll 
commit  ourselves  to  God  in  prayer.  He  has  broken 
once  the  coil  of  the  serpent  by  which  we  were  to  be 
crushed  to  death.  He  can  break  it  again.  The  pro- 
digious combination  for  our  destruction  will  probably 
be  renewed.  He  can  disappoint  them  again  as  he  has 
disappointed  them  in  the  past.  Again  their  locust 
swarms  can  be  wasted  by  sickness  and  slaughter. 
Again  the  snare  can  be  broken  and  we  can  be  dehvered. 
Our  duty  is  trust,  and  a  spirit  of  prayerful  depend- 
ence and  obedient  acknowledgment  of  God.  What 
he  has  done  already  is  a  token  of  his  favour  and 
goodness.  We  were  never  so  strong  as  now.  If  we 
look  to  God,  if  we  try  to  obey  him,  if  we  put  our 


I 


in  the  Summer  of  i  S62,  233 

whole  trust  in  him,  then  we  may  expect  his  aid  to 
the  end.  He  may  visit  us  with  renewed  disaster, 
but  lie  will  not  give  us  over  to  destruction.  He 
may  tiy  us,  but  he  will  bring  us  forth  as  gold.  Or, 
if  it  should  be  his  pleasure  to  subject  us  to  final 
overthrow,  we  shall  leave  to  the  world  another 
legacy  of  heroic  endurance  that  will  animate  another 
generation  in  the  eternal  contest  of  right  with  power. 
"  But  let  US  pray  against  such  an  issue.  Let  us 
beseech  God,  who  hears  prayer,  to  interpose  his  own 
arm  to  stay  the  shedding  of  blood,  to  put  a  stop  to 
this  horrible  and  useless  carnage,  to  change  the  heart 
of  our  enemies,  and  open  their  ears  to  the  voice  of 
justice  and  humanity.  If  he  wills  it,  not  another 
drop  of  blood  will  flow.  Who  can  tell  whether  your 
prayers  and  mine  may  not  move  him  to  say  to  the 
mad  passions  of  men,  *  Peace,  be  still ! '  " 

My  kind  host  had  a  party  and  three  clergymen 
to  meet  me.  There  was  no  boasting,  no  fault- 
finding against  the  North,  only  firm,  conscious  ex- 
pression of  State  right. 

I  find  here  a  page  of  my  diary  occupied  by 
sketches  of  the  "  Sugar  Loaf  Mountain,"  peeping  up 
from  snowy  clouds — of  the  "Black  Monk,"  with  his 
dark  peak,  rising  from  distant  ranges  of  the  "  Bear- 


234  -4^  Errand  to  the  South 

walla"  and  forest  fringes —intermingled  with  such 
disjointed  words  as  these  —  Sept.  1 9th — Delight- 
ful cool  bedroom,  with  French  window  opening 
on  to  leads  over  drawing-room  bow-window — up 
before  the  sun — splendid  view — cannot  dress  for 
gazing  on  it — nothing  done  all  day  but  staring 
on  the  beautiful  woods  and  hills  on  the  AUe- 
gannie  range  and  Blue  Kidge.  In  the  evening 
a  juvenile  reunion ;  boys  from  the  Ashville  School, 
twenty-five  miles  distant.  A  quadrille  formed 
of  ten  couples ;  capital  dancers  ;  all  girls  and 
boys ;  good-looking  and  good  figures,  and  good 
dancers,  and  manners  easy  and  polite.  Elliott 
Johnstone,  a  boy  of  thirteen,  a  capital  pianist,  assisted 
with  his  sister  Annie  and  his  mother  in  music. 
Nor  is  music  kept  from  its  highest  object ;  at  family 
prayers  every  morning  it  is  dehghtful  to  hear 
them  all  join  in  the  hearty  hymns,  led  by  the  fime, 
manly  tone  of  Paterfamilias,  with  his  long  grey 
beard,  and  then  praying  for  the  eldest  son  far  away 
in  the  army,  and  for  peace  to  be  restored. 

How  can  these  people  be  rebels ! 

On  Sunday,  the  21st  of  September,  the  church 
being  four  miles  ofi",  two  carriages  are  put  in  requi- 
sition ;  one  drawn  by  grey  horses,  the  other  by  fine 
white   mules.     How  charming  it  was  to  be  in  a 


in  the  Summer  of  1862,  235 

cool  church !  and  all  nice  low  opeiji  benches,  except 
one  square  pew,  which  is  excusable,  seeing  it  is 
occupied  by  "an  old  English  gentleman "  who 
could  not  get  over  his  ^et^jseyite  ideas  to  suit  the 
open-seat  movement.  All  the  congregation  seemed 
musical,  for  all  joined  heartily  in  the  pretty  hymns 
of  the  American  Church.  Mr.  Johnstone,  as  one  of 
the  church  committee  (a  great  improvement  by-the- 
by  on  our  vestry  system),  has  the  care  of  the 
churchyard,  which  he  keeps  in  first-rate  order.  A 
new  grave  told  of  the  deadly  war ;  it  was  that  of 
Lieut.-Colonel  St.  Quentin,  a  fine,  gallant  officer, 
aide-de-camp,  killed  at  the  first  battle  of  Manassas  (I 
think)  ;  and  every  Sunday  bouquets  of  fresh  flowers, 
consisting  of  the  national  colours,  red,  white,  and 
hlue,  are  placed  upon  it  by  his  two  bereaved  sisters, 
who  live  in  a  beautiful  cottage  built  by  him. 

On  the  22nd  we  paid  a  visit  to  Mr.  Baring,  who 
came  out  to  Charleston  in  1792.  He  is  ninety 
years  of  age,  hearty,  good  sight  and  hearing ;  walks 
about  his  grounds.  Has  erected  three  houses  on 
the  hills ;  declares  it  is  the  most  healthy  place  on 
the  face  of  the  earth.  Married  second  time,  when 
seventy-five  years  of  age.  Miss  Dent,  by  whom  he 
has  a  son  just  admitted  into  the  British  navy ;  came 
to  the  hills  to  settle  thirty-three  years  ago.     Called 


236  An  Errand  to  the  South 

on  Judge  King,  eighty  years  of  age,  wlio  came  here 
before  Mr.  Baring ;  both  of  them  possess  thousands  of 
acres  up  here.  Mr.  King  has  seen  one  of  the  white 
mountaineers,  a  hundred  years  old,  carry  a  bag  of 
peaches  on  his  back.  The  peaches  here  grow  to 
thirteen  inches  in  circumference.  They  grow  on 
standards  against  the  houses — how  dehcious !  By 
the  entrance  you  see  a  long  pole  with  a  bag  at  the 
end :  just  touch  the  rosy  fruit  with  the  circle,  and  it 
drops  into  the  bag,  and  the  melting  flavour  tells 
your  palate  such  a  tale  as  never  any  peaches  did 
before ;  and  as  for  apples,  they  are  as  superior,  the 
best  tasted  weighing  up  to  one  pound  each :  straw- 
berries and  grapes,  of  great  size  and  delicious  flavour, 
abound  also.  Mr.  King  told  me  the  Blue  Kidge  was 
200  miles  from  east  to  west,  and  100  miles  north  to 
south.  What  a  merciful  provision  of  Nature  for 
man !  quite  accessible  from  Charleston,  about  300 
miles  (260  of  which  are  rail).  It  would  well  repay 
a  trip  from  England.  Fancy  a  line  of  fine  steamers 
from  Southampton,  "off  to  Charleston,"  via  the 
Azores ;  no  icebergs  in  the  way ;  no  "  Newfound- 
land fogs ;"  no  frowning  "  Cape  Kace,"  or  "  Sable 
Island"  breakers — a  charming  steam  and  sail  of 
about  seven  days !  Charleston  to  G-reenviUe  one  day, 
and  then  the  Blue  Kidge,  with  its  wonderful  climate 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  237 

and  beautiful  scenery.  The  whole  vast  plateau  was 
once  in  Bunkum  County,  but  being  found  too  large 
for  the  ends  of  justice,  it  was  divided  into  Henderson 
and  Bunkum.  It  was  when  the  wild  settlers  were 
few  and  far  between  in  Bunkum,  that  one  of  the 
representatives  in  Congress,  being  called  to  order  for 
being  wide  of  his  subject,  rephed,  "  Oh,  sir,  I  was  not 
talking  to  the  House,  I  was  talking  to  Bunkum ;" 
hence  the  proverb !  There  are  tracts  of  unreclaimed 
forest,  beautiful  sites  for  building,  to  be  had  in  all 
directions  for  about  five  dollars  an  acre.  I  saw  a 
small  farm  in  cultivation,  and  bearing  good  crops, 
sold  for  ten  dollars  an  acre. 

Mr.  Baring  told  me  he  would  sell  his  third  place 
if  he  could,  and  build  another  house !  Such  is  the 
nomadic  taste  imbibed  by  a  residence  in  a  land 
where  they  think  no  more  of  going  500  miles  than 
we  do  of  fifty. 

The  materials  for  building  are  everywhere  close 
by — capital  stone,  beautiful  timber,  streams  for 
saw-mills.  In  a  very  short  space  I  saw  three 
powerful  overshot  mills.  Mr.  Baring's  is  of  immense 
power ;  his  furniture,  all  made  on  the  hiUs,  would 
compete  with  Gillow's.  Some  of  his  doors  are  of 
maple,  some  of  oak,  and  book-cases  of  cherry ;  all 
the  produce  of  his  woods  close  by.     He   is   now 


238  An  Errand  to  the  South 

draining  a  fine  slope  for  grass  from  his  residence 
down  to  a  river. 

When  Judge  King  first  came  to  the  hills  several 
Indians  were  here,  hut  they  are  all  now  gone  to  the 
Cherokee  district.  Mr.  Pettigrew,  the  Judge's  son- 
in-law,  one  of  the  first  lawyers  in  Charleston,  is  an 
avowed  Unionist ;  hut  in  the  South,  fireedom  of  opinion 
is  allowed ;  they  seem  perfectly  confident  in  the 
pervading  feeling  for  independence  and  State  rights. 

Mr.  Pettigrew,  though,  is  not  an  Aholitionist ;  he 
thinks  the  possession  of  negroes  hy  whites  has  in- 
duced a  high  feeling  of  honour  among  the  possessors, 
on  account  of  the  responsihility  incurred.  Judge 
King  had  all  the  treasures  of  conversation  peculiar 
to  our  own  great  lawyers.  He  had  heen  in  friend- 
ship with  Sir  J.  Shore  and  Sir  G.  Grrey,  the  British 
Governors  of  Jamaica.  Like  all  the  gentlemen  of 
the  South,  he  spoke  of  the  old  country  as  still  dear  to 
them,  and  as  a  pattern  for  them,  not  in  its  monarchy, 
which  would  not  do  for  America,  but  in  its  order, 
and  its  law,  and  its  commercial  freedom. 

He  lamented  the  war.  I  spoke  of  it  as  a  sad  result 
of  our  fallen  state.  All  countries  had  their  civil 
wars;  this  was  their  first.  England  had  been 
purified  by  civil  war  as  London  by  fire  I  told  him 
my  great-grandfather  had  lost  his  two  eldest  sons 


I 


in  the  Summer  of  1 862.  239 

lighting  for  their  king,  and  he  remembered  the  name 
of  Sir  Thomas  Malet  in  the  record  of  State  trials ;  for 
he  was  a  judge  on  the  bench  at  Maidstone,  and  was 
imprisoned  for  refusing  a  summons  against  a  clergy- 
man who  would  not  give  up  the  Prayer-book  in 
church,  and  on  the  Kestoration  he  judged  the  regicides. 
One  evening  we  ascended  the  peak  called  Tenerifie, 
and  enjoyed  a  splendid  view.  There  are  winding 
paths  cut  through  the  woods  to  many  points  of  view. 
On  the  22nd  of  September  news  came  of  two  Con- 
federate victories  in  Maryland,  viz.,  Jackson's  at 
Harper's  Ferry,  and  Hill's  at  Boonsville. 

It  was  stated  that  when  fording  the  Potomac, 
the  Confederate  soldiers  halted,  Stonewall  Jackson 
uncovered,  offered  up  a  prayer,  and  then  the  soldiers 
went  on  singing 

MY  MARYLAND. 

The  despot's  heel  is  on  thy  shore, 
Maryland  1     My  Maryland ! 

His  touch  is  at  thy  temple  door, 

Maryland  !     My  Maryland ! 

Avenge  the  patriotic  gore 

1'Tiat  fleck 'd  the  streets  of  Baltimore, 

And  be  the  Battle  Queen  of  yore, 
Maryland  !     My  Maryland  ! 

Hark  to  a  wand'ring  son's  appeal, 

Maryland !      My  Maryland  ! 

My  mother  State,  to  thee  I  kneel, 
Maryland  !     My  Maryland ! 


240  An  Errand  to  the  South 

For  life  and  death,  for  woe  and  weal, 
Thy  peerless  chivalry  reveal, 
And  gird  thy  beauteous  limbs  with  steel, 
Maryland !     My  Maryland ! 

Thou  wilt  not  cower  in  th^  dust, 

Maryland !     My  Maryland  ! 
Thy  beaming  sword  shall  never  rust, 

Maryland  !     My  Maryland ! 
Remember  Carroll's  sacred  trust, 
Eemember  Howard's  warlike  thrust, 
And  all  thy  slumberers  with  the  just, 
Maryland  !    My  Maryland ! 

Come !  'tis  the  red  dawn  of  the  day, 
Maryland !     My  Maryland  ! 
Come !  with  thy  panoplied  array, 

Maryland !      My  Maryland ! 
With  Ringgold's  spirit  for  the  fray, 
With  Watson's  blood  at  Montesey, 
With  fearless  Lowe  and  dashing  May, 
Maryland  !     My  Maryland ! 

Come !  for  thy  shield  is  bright  and  strong, 

Maryland  !     My  Maryland  ! 
Come !  for  thy  dalliance  does  thee  wrong, 

Maryland !     My  Maryland  ! 
Come  to  thine  own  heroic  throng, 
That  stalks  with  Liberty  along. 
And  give  a  new  Key  to  thy  song, 
Maryland !     My  Maryland ! 

Dear  Mother !  burst  the  tyrant's  chain, 
Maryland  !     My  Maryland  1 

Virginia  should  not  call  in  vain, 

Maryland  !     My  Maryland  ! 


in  the  Summer  of  1^62.  241 

She  meets  her  sisters  on  the  plain — 
"  Sic  semper,  "*  'tis  the  proud  refrain, 
Tiiat  bafifles  minions  back  amain, 

Maryland  !     My  Maryland ! 
Arise  in  majesty  again, 

Maryland !     My  Maryland  ! 

I  see  the  blush  upon  thy  cheek, 

Maryland !     My  Maryland ! 
But  thou  wast  ever  bravely  meek, 

Maryland !     My  Maryland  ! 
But  lo !  there  surges  forth  a  shriek, 
From  hill  to  hill,  from  creek  to  creek — 
Potomac  calls  to  Chesapeake, 

Maryland !     My  Maryland  ! 

Thou  wilt  not  yield  the  Vandal  toll, 

Maryland  !     My  Maryland  ! 
Thou  wilt  not  crook  to  his  control, 

Maryland !     My  Maryland ! 
Better  the  fire  upon  the  roll. 
Better  the  blade,  the  shot,  the  bowl. 
Than  crucifixion  of  the  soul, 

Maryland !     My  Maryland ! 

I  hear  the  distant  thunder-hum, 

Maryland  !     My  Maryland ! 
The  Old  Line's  bugle,  fife,  and  drum, 

Maryland  !     My  Maryland  ! 
She  is  not  dead,  nor  deaf,  nor  dumb  ; 
Huzza !  she  spurns  the  Northern  scum  ! 
She  breathes— she  burns !  she'll  come  !  she'll  come ! 

Maryland !    My  Maryland  ! 

*  Virginia's  motto,  "  Sic  semper  tyrannis." 

R 


242  An  Errand  to  the  South 

On  the  23rd  of  September  we  dined  at  the  pretty 
residence  of  the  Eev.  Mr.  Drayton,  whose  terrace 
gardens  will  make  his  place  a  little  paradise.  The 
mutton,  the  poultry,  the  vegetables,  and  the  fruit 
were  all  first-rate,  but  the  cellar  had  not  outhved  the 
blockade. 

On  the  24th  I  drove  fourteen  miles  through 
Hendersonville  to  a  beautiful  place  called  "The 
Meadows,"  the  property  of  Mr.  Blake.  The  road 
crossed  several  streams.  He  has  7000  acres  of  forest, 
and  700  acres  of  rich  meadow,  alluvial  soil ;  all  now 
drained,  and  most  productive  in  all  kinds  of  grain 
and  grass ;  sixteen  cows  were  in  milk :  he  had  about 
sixteen  horses  in  his  stable.  He  has  several  teams 
of  mules,  splendid  animals,  about  sixteen  hands  high. 
Justly  are  the  sable  drivers  proud  of  their  teams  of 
six  mules  each.  Mr.  Blake's  entire  donkey  is  valued 
at  200Z. 

On  the  25th  we  dined  at  Mr.  Kobertson's,  about 
two  miles  from  The  Meadows.  He  gave  us  Smyrna 
mutton  and  excellent  old  Madeira.  Mr.  Blake  Hves 
in  baronial  style.  He  has  built  a  very  pretty 
church,  and  entertains  the  clergyman.  His  immense 
tracts  of  mountain  forests  abound  in  red  deer  and 
pheasants;  he  has  his  own  mills  and  tan-yards, 
curriers  and  shoemakers.     I  was  introduced  to  my 


'        in  the  Summer  of  1 2>62.  243 

room  by  my  kind  friend  the  British  Consul,  Mr. 
Bunch,  whose  wife  is  sister  to  Mrs.  Blake,  who  is 
the  fii'st  Unionist  lady  I  met  in  the  South,  she 
having  come  from  Philadelphia.  Mr.  Blake  is  the 
very  beau-ideal  of  an  English  country  gentleman; 
hearty,  hospitable,  full  of  information,  straightforward, 
and  patriotic.  His  eldest  son,  a  fine  young  man, 
was  aide-de-camp  in  several  battles  at  Kichmond. 
He  complained  of  the  maraudings  of  the  Yankees, 
who  had  taken  away  about  300  of  his  brother's 
negroes,  and  robbed  and  destroyed  his  plantation,  his 
brother  all  the  while  being  in  England,  and  taking 
no  part  whatever  in  the  war. 

On  the  26th  September  the  laird  of  the  meadows 
and  mountains,  another  gentleman,  and  myself  were 
on  horseback  from  ten  till  three,  riding  through 
forests  of  oak  and  hickory,  sassafras  and  vines,  and 
open  glades  and  valleys,  and  over  granite  rocks,  on 
a  bright  sunny  day,  mth  a  cool  breeze  blowing,  so 
that  no  heat  was  felt ;  some  places  so  steep  we 
were  obliged  to  lead  our  horses.  I  was  mounted  on 
a  beautiful  brown  mare,  thoroughbred,  from  the 
rich  pastures  of  Kentucky,  and  nearly  suffered  from 
keeping  on  her  by  the  side  of  a  deep  chasm,  for 
one  of  her  hind  feet  slipped  over  the  brink,  when, 
with  wonderful  activity,  she  turned  to  the  chasm, 


244  ^^  Errand  to  the  South 

and  bounded  over  it,  but,  lighting  on  slippery  clay, 
she  came  down,  and  then,  thanks  to  my  light  weight, 
sprang  up  again,  and  all  was  safe.  The  immense 
exertion  caused  her  nostrils  to  expand  and  opened 
every  pore.  A  few  minutes  after,  we  gained  our  object, 
viz.,  a  granite  cairn  in  the  midst  of  a  large  corn- 
field, where  a  fine  North  Carolinian  yeoman,  with 
three  beautiful  girls  and  two  boys,  were  gathering 
fodder  from  the  tall  corn-stalks — for  the  leaves  of 
the  com  are  gathered  some  days  before  the  cobs. 
We  stood  on  the  pinnacle,  and  gazed  in  admiration 
on  the  splendid  mountain  scenery  in  all  directions. 
Below  us,  far  away,  lay  the  comfortable  mansion  in 
the  meadows,  with  its  ilices,  and  gardens,  and 
homestalls,  like  a  village,  and  .pretty  church  spire ; 
immediately  under  us,  snug,  humble  farms,  and 
water-mills,  and  orchards ;  to  the  north,  the  "  Black 
Mountain,"  6,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea ; 
to  the  west,  the  "Sugar  Loaf;"  to  the  south,  Hen- 
dersonville  and  Flat  Kock,  studded  with  dwellings 
sparkling  in  the  sun,  and  the  Pinnacle  Mountain ; 
to  the  east,  Caesar's  Head,  and  the  Shenanooah  Eiver, 
and  French  Broad  Eiver,  and  Mount  Pisgah,  beyond 
which  stretched  the  interminable  Alleghannies,  which 
seemed  to  mingle  with  the  Cumberland  ridge  of 
Tennessee. 


in  the  Summer  of  1 862.  245 

Every  farmer  we  met  had  his  hardy  mountaineer 
sons  with  the  army:  they  had  all  joined  in  a 
gathering  of  about  300  men  in  an  oak-grove  near 
the  church  at  the  first  rush  of  volunteers.  I  saw 
the  remains  of  the  ''  barbecue,"  as  they  called  it — 
meaning,  I  suppose,  an  Arab  feast ;  it  was  given  in 
companies  of  about  fifty ;  the  pines  cut  down  close 
by,  formed  the  benches,  long  ditches  with  stone  slabs 
over  them  made  the  fireplaces,  and  clay  made  the 
ovens  ;  the  laird  gave  his  beeves  and  mutton ;  and 
as  for  potatoes,  I  never  saw  such  as  grow  on  these 
hills ;  and  crystal  streams  gave  the  drink. 

The  Southern  army  was,  indeed,  a  good  deal 
made  up  of  men  raised  by  influential  families — 
e.g.,  6,000  men  (raised  by  one  family,  as  before 
mentioned),  among  whom  were  many  whole  com- 
panies composed  of  the  sons  of  men  of  wealth :  by 
this  means,  and  by  the  readiness  to  meet  taxation 
for  their  independence,  and  all  over  a  vast  country 
rich  in  the  gifts  of  nature,  the  resources  of  the  South 
are  inexhaustible. 

In  ten  days,  from  not  being  able  to  walk  a  hundred 
yards,  I  had  regained  my  health  and  strength,  so 
that  these  five  hours'  riding  and  climbing  gave  me 
no  fatigue.  Such  is  the  effect  of  the  water  and  air 
of  the  Blue  Kidge !    I  was  glad  to  see  our  excellent 


246  An  Errand  to  the  South 

consul,  Mr.  Buncli,  had  mucli  recovered  his  health, 
too,  which  the  anxieties  and  detention  at  Charleston 
had,  no  douht,  impaired. 

The  fare  of  the  hospitable  board  at  The  Mea- 
dows, where  open  house  is  kept,  was  of  the  sub- 
stantial kind,  both  in  meat  and  drink,  as  you 
see  at  a  squire's  table  in  England.  Here  was 
the  first  cheese  1  had  seen — a  regular  "North 
Wiltshire" — here  was  champagne,  AUsopp's  pale 
ale,  &c. 

On  the  27th,  Mr.  Blake  drove  me  back,  via 
Mr.  Molyneux's,  the  British  consul  of  Savannah, 
who  has  a  pretty  house,  garden,  and  model  farm 
near  Hendersonville.  On  Sunday,  28th,  I  was  suf- 
ficiently recovered  to  read  Divine  service  and  preach. 
So  in  the  evening  we  had  our  "  evensong "  under 
a  grove  of  white  pines  which  Mr.  Johnstone  had 
planted  close  to  his  house.  Several  ladies  and 
gentlemen  from  neighbouring  villas  attended,  and  a 
good  many  negroes,  men,  women,  and  children.  I 
managed  to  have  singing  hymns  five  times,  as  this 
is  the  delight  of  the  negroes,  and  I  got  the  negro 
coachman,  Jackson,  to  raise  the  tunes  such  as  they 
all  knew.  It  was  so  cool  that  the  warmth  of  a 
bonfire  which  the  negroes  made  was  most  acceptable. 
They  held  pine  torches  in   their  hands,   and  my 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  247 

lectern  and  faldstool  were  decked  with  the  Confede- 
rate flags.  The  singing  seemed  to  echo  through 
the  grove,  and  hearty  were  the  Amens  from  Chris- 
tians, white  and  hlack.  The  women  and  children 
were  dressed  out  in  their  '*  Sunday  hest,"  far 
smarter  than  our  poor  people  can  dress,  and  the 
interesting  topic  of  the  Gospel  of  the  day,  St.  Matt. 
vi.  28,  on  which  I  preached,  was  evidently  not  lost 
upon  my  congregation.  When  it  was  over,  all  the 
negroes  passed  me,  making  their  hows  and  curtsies, 
and  thanked  me. 

One  evening,  at  8  o'clock,  I  married  two  young 
couples  of  Mr.  J.'s  negroes  in  his  drawing-room. 
The  brides  were  very  cleanly  and  prettily  dressed, 
and  their  heads  were  crowned  with  beautiful  wreaths 
of  flowers  made  by  Miss  Johnstone. 

On  Michaelmas-day  we  celebrated  my  58th  birth- 
day by  ascending  Mount  Pinnacle,  one  of  the  high- 
est points,  which  rise  innumerably  over  this  vast 
plateau,  and  from  each  one  you  look  down  on  fresh 
plains  beyond.  The  expedition  took  us  from  ten 
till  half-past  three ;  the  horses  could  go  to  the  very 
top,  when  we  dismounted  to  step  on  to  the  Pinnacle, 
which  is  a  pile  of  granite,  put  up  like  a  succession 
of  obelisks  as  if  planted  by  giants.  To  reach  the 
small  table  of  the  highest  was  more  than  any  of  our 


248  An  Errand  to  the  South 

heads  could  stand;  but  I  was  assured  that  two 
young  ladies  of  South  Carohna  hfed,  some  years  ago, 
danced  a  polka  on  that  table  !  three  sides  of  which 
were  at  least  300  feet  perpendicular  rock,  and  then 
rugged  foliage  to  a  rich  valley  below. 

Here  indeed,  as  a  friend  of  mine  wrote  of  the 
Indian  Ghats,  "  Nature  has  in  strangest  fancy  flung 
crag  upon  crag."  Mr.  Johnstone,  from  his  broad 
Scottish  chest,  sent  forth  loud  halloos  to  give  the 
echo,  which  was  wonderful,  running  along  the 
mountain  side,  then  over  the  valley  to  the  opposing 
hills.  Splendid  was  the  view  from  all  points  of  the 
compass.  On  the  south,  the  vapoury  lowlands  like 
the  ocean,  Mount  Paris,  near  Greenville;  on  the 
south-west,  Caesar's  Head  and  Balsam  Mountains; 
beyond  the  French  Broad  Kiver  ;  on  the  west, 
Pisgah,  50  miles,  and  the  Paint  Mountains  beyond ; 
on  the  north,  Black  Mountain — 60  miles— Bearwalla, 
and  Ashville  on  the  Shenanooah;  on  the  north- 
west. Mount  Pilate,  in  Yirginia,  120  miles :  extent 
of  plateau,  covered  with  hills,  and  woods,  and  vales, 
and  rivers,  a  vast  couj>  d'oeil  of  30  miles  west  to  east, 
and  60  north  to  south — a  mountain  kingdom !  We 
were  4,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea — the 
plateau  varies  from  2,000  to  2,500.  Here  it  is  con- 
templated to  place  the  capital  city  of  the  Southern 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  249 

Confederacy,  having  its  seat  of  government  within 
100  miles  of  the  capitals  of  six  other  States. 

On  the  30th  of  September  we  dined  in  great 
style  at  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Molyneux's.  Here  was 
everything  you  could  have  at  a  first-rate  English 
table.  Before  dinner  we  walked  through  Mr. 
Molyneux's  beautiful  flower-garden,  where  I  saw,  in 
a  bed  of  red  salvias,  about  twenty  humming-birds, 
who  hide  their  beautiful  forms  in  the^  red  cups, 
whence  they  suck  their  food.  These  little  beauties 
take  their  flight  to  Cuba  in  the  fall.  In  April  they 
leave  Cuba  for  Canada,  taking  these  mountains  in 
their  way,  where  they  rest  some  days  or  weeks  both 
to  and  jfro.  They  seem  too  frail  and  beautiful  for 
this  rough  world.  A  gentleman  one  day,  in  this 
garden,  found  one  caught  in  a  spider's  web,  and  the 
very  act  of  rescuing  it  with  his  fingers  caused  its 
death.  Mr.  Molyneux  has  been  a  very  successful 
merchant  at  Savannah  ;  looks  like  an  English  country 
gentleman ;  has  a  son  in  one  of  our  Dragoon  Kegi- 
ments,  and  several  daughters  in  France,  in  the 
favoured  south  of  which  he  contemplates  residing ; 
so  that  this  pretty  and  productive  mountain  home 
will  be  for  sale  when  the  war  is  over. 

On  the  1st  of  October  we  went  about  twenty  miles 
to  the  "  French  Broad,"  riding  through  fertile  val- 


250  An  Errand  to  the  South 

leys,  ferms  all  the  way,  to  visit  Mr.  McKune  John- 
stone, whose  house  is  also  on  a  capital  site,  and 
whose  farm,  of  some  400  acres,  is  most  productive 
in  grain  and  stock.  Another  brother,  Mr.  Frank 
Johnstone,  lives  about  four  miles  up  the  river ;  he 
counts  his  domain  by  miles,  not  by  acres.  He  is 
one  of  the  handsomest  and  finest-grown  men  I  ever 
saw ;  and  I  heard  his  sons  and  daughters  were  as  fine 
as  he.  He  raised  a  whole  regiment  of  North  Carohna, 
and  some  time  served  with  it;  but  either  from 
wounds  or  illness  he  was  forced  to  take  furlough. 
He  is  going  to  turn  the  river  from  its  windings  by 
a  cut  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  so  as  to  make  it  shoot 
over  an  immense  wheel  for  his  mill.  The  American 
name  for  this  river  is  "Zalika."  I  asked  Mr. 
Johnstone  how  he  did  for  a  market?  "Oh,"  he 
said,  "  the  dealers  come  to  me."  He  sells  his  corn 
at  |li  per  bushel ;  an  acre  yields  from  sixty  to 
eighty  bushels.  I  never  saw  neater  fencing  or 
better  draining  than  at  the  farms  at  "French 
Broad."  It  is  the  garden  of  the  mountains.  A 
beautiful  farm  was  ofiered  to  me  for  |15  an  acre. 

As  we  rode  along  we  saw  them  making  cider  at  all 
the  farms  ;  one  large  press  was  worked  by  a  water- 
mill.  Many  of  them  make  brandy  of  the  apples  and 
peaches.     Midway  on  our  return  we  met  Mr.  John- 


in  the  Summer  of  1 862.  25 1 

stone's  son  and  another  officer,  who  had  ju^t  driven 
up  from  Tennessee  over  the  Blue  Eidge,  going  about 
forty  miles  a  day.  Farewell  "Zalika,"  with  your 
beautiful  mountains,  and  river,  and  fertile  fields ! 
What  a  land  is  yours  for  the  settler  from  England ! 

On  the  23rd  of  October  the  Kev.  Mr.  Eeed's  son, 
a  fine  youth  of  eighteen,  six  feet  high,  dined  with  us. 
He  is  just  come  home  on  furlough,  having  been  in 
twelve  battles  as  a  private.  At  the  last  battle  at 
Manassas  his  blanket  was  in  a  roll  over  his  left  shoul- 
der, across  his  breast,  when  a  Minie  ball  entered 
it  and  stuck  in  the  last  fold.  His  great  friend,  son 
of  the  Kev.  Dr.  Hanckle  of  Charleston,  aged  twenty- 
two,  had  just  been  killed  after  being  in  eighteen 
battles  untouched.     Such  is  the  wheel  of  war ! 

Before  leaving  Beaumont  I  had  the  pleasure  to 
baptize  Sarah,  daughter  of  Cartwright,  the  gardener ; 
he  had  been  gardener  at  Savannah,  which  nearly 
stopped  the  flow  of  his  Yorkshire  blood;  but  up 
here,  working  all  day,  at  all  seasons,  he  is  again  a 
sound  Yorkshireman  and  capital  gardener.  I  also 
baptized  at  the  same  time  three  negro  children, 
Kate,  Caroline,  and  West. 

The  Beaumont  water-wheel  was  now  at  work, 
crushing  saugum-cane,  the  juice  of  which  was  abun- 
dant, and  passed  at  once  into  the  caldi'ons  to  pro- 


252  An  Errand  to  the  South 

duce  molasses  and  sugar.  The  products  of  tlie  farms 
all  over  this  plateau  are  wheat,  com,  oats,  barley, 
saugum-cane,  vetches,  clover,  rye,  grass,  turnips, 
and  mangold  wurzel :  beeves,  sheep,  and  pigs  thrive. 
The  woods  have  red  deer,  rabbits,  and  pheasants : 
the  cock  bird  makes  a  noise  with  his  wings  just  like 
a  drum.     There  are  no  snakes  up  here. 

What  with  the  equable  climate  of  these  regions, 
where  the  thermometer  never  gets  above  80°,  and 
where  in  winter  the  frosts  are  only  just  enough  to 
fill  the  ice-houses,  and  where  the  rains  are  moderate, 
and  bright,  and  sunny  days  prevail — what  with  ever 
varying' views,  truly  applicable  were  the  words — 

"Fair  Nature  *  *  *  * 
Thine  are  the  jojs  that  never  never  sate, 
But  still  remain,  through  all  the  storms  of  fate." 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  253 


CHAPTEE  XIII. 

Down  to  the  Plains. 

On  the  4th  of  October  I  reluctantly  left  these  scenes 
of  health  and  hospitality;  and  never  did  I  expe- 
rience greater  regret  in  decHning  any  invitation  than 
in  that  of  the  kind  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Molyneux  to  stay 
some  days  at  their  highland  home ;  but  the  moment 
I  felt  well  enough  it  was  my  duty  to  be  at  Conway- 
boro'  again, — my  errand  was  to  be  fulfilled. 

Mrs.  W miglit  have  been  here,  enjoying  the 

cool  breezes  and  lovely  scenery ;  but  she  was  true  to 
her  duties — an  English  wife  of  a  patriot  American. 
While  he  Avas  enduring  all  the  hardships  of  war  she 
would  not  flinch  from  her  duties,  and  devotedly 
did  she  perform  them.  Oh,  ye  Noi*therners  !  if  you 
could  behold  how  the  hearts  of  the  negroes  are 
tmned  round  their  protectors  in  the  South,  you 
would  not  think  of  a  servile  war !  but,  the  fact  is, 


254  ^^  Errand  to  the  South 

the  Southerners  went  North,  but  the  Northerners 
never  went  South. 

I  insert  here  a  Southerner's  account  of  the  country- 
near  the  hills. 

"Spartanburg  Court-house  is  one  hundred  miles 
from  Columbia  (the  capital  of  South  Carolina),  in  a 
direction  about  north-west.  Spartanburg  is  the 
terminus  of  the  Spartanburg  and  Union  Kailroad. 
The  general  outHne  of  the  country  is  pleasant  and 
agreeable  to  the  eye;  the  variety  is  peculiarly 
abundant,  and  the  chmate  adapted  to  almost  every 
kind  of  vegetation.  The  peculiar  staple  of  this  sec- 
tion of  the  country  is  corn  (or  Indian  maize),  wheat, 
rye,  Irish  potatoes,  and  cotton.  Many  farms  are  in 
a  high  state  of  cultivation,  and  the  yield  is  bounti- 
ful. The  soil  is  a  red  clay  land,  and  some  farmers 
have  found  it  profitable  to  turn  fields  into  clover  and 
grass  for  pasturage.  The  best  improved  breed  of 
cattle  and  sheep  is  found  in  this  part  of  the  State, 
of  direct  importation  from  England.  There  are  six 
cotton  factories  in  this  district  (it  is  to  be  regretted, 
however,  that  they  are  on  a  small  scale) ;  there  are 
in  the  district  two  rolling-mills,  and  several  furnaces 
for  smelting  iron.  The  quantity  of  iron  ore  in  this 
part  of  the  State  is  considered  inexhaustible,  and  of 
the  best  quality ;  the  Ordnance  Committee,  in  the 


in  the  Summer  of  1^62.  255 

war  of  1776,  reported  that  the  ore  of  Spartanburg 
and  King's  Mountain  was  the  best  for  cannon  that 
could  be  found  in  all  the  States.  There  is  abun- 
dance of  water  privileges  for  driving  machinery  for 
the  most  extensive  operations  (not  vei-y  highly  ap- 
preciated). Labour  is  scarce ;  crops  of  wheat  could 
not  be  harvested  for  want  of  labour.  Before  the 
war  provisions  were  cheap:  com,  45  cents  per 
bushel;  bacon,  9  and  10  cents  per  pound;  wheat, 
75  cents  per  bushel.  Now,  these  prices  are  more 
than  doubled.  In  the  summer  months  the  thermo- 
meter ranges  from  70^  to  95°  at  meridian.  The 
water  is  good  and  the  country  healthy. 

*'  Wofford  College  is  situated  in  the  town.  Lime- 
stone Female  Institute,  a  school  of  high  order,  is 
twenty-three  miles  from  the  town;  schools  of  the 
best  order  are  abundant.  Kehgious  privileges  are 
good,  consisting  of  churches  of  aU  denominations. 

"  Caesar's  Head  and  Table  Kock  are  near  Hen- 
dersonville,  in  North  Carolina,  and  about  forty  miles 
from  Spartanburg ;  these  are  celebrated  peaks  in  the 
Blue  Eidge,  and  places  of  summer  resort.  Near 
here  is  the  French  Broad,  said  to  be  the  most 
delightful  section  of  all  the  Southern  States. 

"  Many  Englishmen  of  great  wealth  are  settled 
near  Henderson,  North  Caroliua — Messrs.  Molyneux, 


256  An  Errand  to  ihe  South 

Baring,  Blake,  and  others:  their  improvements 
and  mode  of  farming,  together  with  their  improved 
breeds  of  stock  of  all  kinds,  are  attracting  much 
attention,  and  quite  instructive  to  our  people. 

"  Lands  can  he  readily  purchased  in  Spartanburg : 
the  prices  for  up,  or  hill  lands,  together  with  the 
improvements,"  range  from  |8  to  |20  per  acre; 
river  bottom  lands  command  |40  to  |100  per 
acre." 

As  we  descended  to  Greenville,  I  got  out  at  a 
shoe  manufactory :  the  shoes  were  cut  out  by  hand, 
but  the  stitching  was  done  by  machinery,  turned  by 
a  water-wheel :  400  pairs  are  made  per  diem,  at  |4 
Br  pair ;  and  very  good  shoes  they  appeared. 

This  time  I  put  up  in  Greenville  at  the  hotel 
kept  by  Mr.Goodlett,  who  had  still  three  sons  in 
the  army :  one  had  died  from  fatigue  and  exposure 
after  burying  the  dead  on  the  battle-field. 

In  the  morning,  being  Sunday,  I  went  betimes  to 
my  brother  clergyman,  Mr.  Arthur,  Eector  of  the 
"  Episcopal "  church  here,  a  very  pretty  edifice,  in 
Gothic  style.  The  Kev.  Dr.  Davis,  Bishop  of  South 
Carolina,  preached  on  the  words,  "  But  we  have 
the  mind  of  Christ." 

We  were  150  communicants  at  Holy  Communion  ; 
and  as  a  receiver  I  was  struck,  just  as  I  was  when 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  257 

a  celebrant,  at  the  superiority,  in  its  beauty  of 
holiness,  in  its  devotion,  and  its  evangelical  and 
apostolical  misaning,  of  the  office  used  in  this  Church 
(following  the  Scottish)  over  that  which  is  in  our 
English  Prayer-book — how  much  more  comforting, 
more  edifying,  to  have  a  direct  invocation  to  the 
Holy  Ghost  !  Was  it  this  which  caused,  as  I 
observed,  a  greater  reverence  among  all,  both  white 
and  black,  in  receiving  the  first  holy  element  in  the 
palm  of  the  right  hand,  with  the  left  crossed  under 
it,  thus  not  only  avoiding  spilling  any  particle 
(which  may  be  done  if  taken  as  a  common  piece  of 
bread),  but,  as  it  were,  testifying  that  here  it  was, 
through  the  palms,  the  cruel  nails  entered  His 
blessed  hands ! 

The  Bishop  was  the  guest  of  the  Eev.  Mr.  Arthur. 
This  gentleman  had  been  engaged  as  a  soldier  in 
the  first  battle  at  Manassas.  He  is  a  friend  of  the 
Eev.  General  Pendleten. 

In  the  afternoon  the  fimeral  of  a  venerable  minister 
of  the  Anabaptists,  Dr.  Johnson,  took  place.  He 
died  in  old  age,  was  a  learned  man,  and  much 
respected.  Mr.  Arthur  attended  his  funeral :  neither 
the  Bishop  nor  any  one  else  seemed  surprised  at 
this — was  it  not  a  fresh  proof  of  ""On  earth  peace, 
good  will  toward  men  ?" 

s 


258  An  Errand  to  the  South 

In  the  evening  I  had  the  honour  of  saying 
prayers  and  reading  the  lessons  in  the  church.  The 
Bishop  confirmed  150  young  persons,  both  white 
and  black ;  and  the  Kev.  Mr.  Howe,  of  Charleston, 
preached  the  sermon,  on  Christ  asleep  in  the  boat 
and  rising  to  still  the  storm.  I  took  the  opportunity 
to  discuss  a  few  ecclesiastical  questions.  Some 
alterations  in  our  Liturgy  I  thought  not  improve- 
ments, viz.,  1st.  The  colons  in  the  Psalms,  which 
were  intended  as  points  for  chanting,  are  omitted ; 
2nd.  The  1st  lessons,  which  bear  reference  to  the 
Gospel  of  the  day,  had  been  changed ;  3rd.  The 
"  Gloria  Patri"  at  the  end  of  each  Psalm  is  omitted, 
and  it  is  only  said  at  the  end :  the  omission,  too,  is 
contrary  to  the  intention  of  the  American  Church 
(see  rubric  at  the  end  of  the  "  Yenite  ")  ;  4th.  The 
shortening  of  the  "  Benedictus,"  and  the  omission  of 
the  ''Magnificat"  and  "Nunc  Dimittis"  in  "Even- 
song" ;  5th.  The  omission  of  the  "  Nicene  Creed"  in 
the  Holy  Communion,  if  either  creed  has  been  said 
before  at  prayers ;  6th.  The  "  Gloria  in  Excelsis  "  at 
the  end  of  the  Psalms,  and  optional  omission  of  it 
in  Holy  Communion.  The  changing  the  last  two 
verses  of  the  "  Yenite "  is  rather  an  improvement. 
None  of  the  alterations  in  the  Liturgy  can  be  said 
to  alter  the  doctrines  of  our  holy  CathoHc  Apostolic 


in  the  Summer  of  1^62,  259 

Chnrcli.  Decided  improvements,  are,  the  shortening 
of  the  lessons  both  for  Sundays  and  daily  prayer ; 
2nd.  The  "  Selections  of  Psalms  "  for  daily  use,  or 
even  for  Sundays;  3rd.  The  appointed  "Hymns 
and  Spiritual  Songs;"  4th.  The  office  of  Harvest 
Thanksgiving  ;  5th.  The  Family  Prayer ;  6th.  The 
prayer  for  persons  going  to  sea — prayer  for  sick 
persons — for  a  sick  child — for  the  afflicted — for 
prisoners  condemned — for  the  convention  of  the 
Church  (but  why  is  the  prayer  for  the  whole  Church 
Catholic  omitted?).  The  corresponding  thanks- 
givings are  also  good.  The  shortening  the  marriage 
service,  and  omission  of  the  first  sentence,  is  a  great 
improvement ;  though  a  psalm  or  hymn  for  such  an 
occasion,  on  procession  from  the  body  of  the  church 
up  the  choir  to  the  altar,  should  have  been  inserted, 
and  the  injunction  about  Holy  Communion  should 
not  have  been  omitted.  Some  verbal  alterations, 
such  as  "who"  for  "which,"  and  "those"  for 
"them,"  in  the  Lord's  Prayer,  are  harmless;  and 
so  is  the  alteration  in  the  "  Te  Deum,"  "  Thou  didst 
humble  thyself  to  be  bom  of  a  pure  virgin."  As 
they  are  not  entrammelled  with  "  Acts  of  Uniformity," 
it  is  surprising  they  have  not  altered -some  objection- 
able phrases  in  the  Bible  translation. 

I  observed  that  one  of  their  first  measures  must 


26o  An  E)^rand  to  the  South 

be,  to  do  away  with  the  idea  that  each  State  was 
only  to  have  one  bishop,  and  to  entitle  their  bishops 
after  the  names  of  their  sees ;  thus  Bishop  Davies 
of  South  CaroHna  would  be  Bishop  of  Camden ; 
Bishop  Atkinson  of  North  Carolina  would  be  Bishop 
of  Wilmington.  The  time  is  come,  owing  to  the 
spread  and  increase  of  population,  when  these  States 
should  each  have  three  bishops  at  least ;  and  bishops 
should  no  longer  be  "  rectors : "  a  bishop  should  be 
the  man  to  work  for  and  see  into  the  peace  and 
spiritual  prosperity  of  every  parish,  and  hamlet,  and 
plantation,  just  as  the  rector  or  parson  has  to  do  so 
for  every  family.  Neither  of  them  has  a  sinecure 
if  he  do  his  duty. 

I  was  glad  to  hear  it  is  the  intention  of  the 
Southern  Convention  to  urge  the  passing  of  a  law 
as  soon  as  possible  for  rendering  the  marriage  and 
family  ties  of  the  negroes  as  binding  as  those  of  the 
white  population.  And  I  would  humbly  recommend 
that  the  members  of  the  so-called  Episcopal  Church 
do  so  arrange  their  accommodation  in  their  churches 
that  kneeling  in  worship  be  more  easy — that  pew- 
rents  be  abolished,  and  so  God's  house  no  longer 
made  "a  house  of  merchandize"  (it  is,  alas!  too 
often  so  in  England),  and  that  the  black  people  be 
more  encouraged  to  come   and  join  in   "the  old 


in  the  Summer  0/1862.  261 

way" — which,  if  restored  to  its  full  beauty  of  holy 
worship,  as  intended  and  long  practised  by  our 
Church  of  England  (and  which  would  have  been 
still  universal  if  the  Puritans  had  not  broken  down 
all  "  the  carved  work  thereof  "),  would  undoubtedly  be 
the  most  acceptable  form  of  worship  to  the  negroes, 
as  it  is  proved  to  be  of  the  white  race. 

The  train  left  Greenville  at  6  a.m.,  and  reached 
Columbia  at  4  p.m.  I  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting 
in  the  train  the  accomplished  Mr.  W.  H.  Trescott. 
I  was  sorry  to  be  obliged  to  decline  taking  to 
England  a  copy  of  his  book  on  International  Law. 
His  opinion  is  that  "  a  blockade  should  only  be  held 
at  besieged  ports ;  but  England  holds  the  doctrine 
of  blockading  a  whole  coast.  England  does  this  on 
account  of  her  great  naval  power,  as,  in  case  of  war, 
it  would  give  her  great  advantage.  It  is  a  cruel 
and  ungenerous  doctrine :  her  island  position  natu- 
rally engenders  naval  prowess,  but  her  religion  and 
her  freedom  ought  to  banish  the  pride  of  '  mistress 
of  the  seas ;'  her  free-trade  system,  to  be  beneficial, 
ought  to  have  banished  such  a  boast,  which  keeps 
up  the  cruel  doctrine.  Her  cruelty  now  recoils  on 
herself :  she  is  obliged  to  confess  the  right  of  this 
coast  blockade,  which  shuts  out  the  supply  of  cotton, 
and  causes  distress  to  her  people.    Alas,  the  curse 


262  An  Errand  to  the  South 

of  *  Statesmen '  who  have  not  charity  in  their  voca- 
bulary !  Oh  for  the  pen  of  Sydney  Smith,  to  chastise 
them  as  he  did  in  1814,  in  '  Peter  Plymley's  Letters,' 
when  the  poor  sick  French  people  were  shut  out 
of  rhubarb  and  jalap !"  Mr.  Trescott  was  travelling 
about  200  miles  to  Columbia,  to  get  blankets,  warm 
clothing,  and  shoes,  from  the  newly-raised  manufac- 
tories there,  for  his  negro  labourers. 

&h  October. — An  evening  at  Columbia,  and  again 
at  the  table  d'hote  of  my  good  hostess  Mrs.  M'Mahon. 
My  friend  Mr.  Shand  had  a  httle  tea  left,  and  with 
him  I  enjoyed  "  the  pipe  of  peace"  in  the  fragrant 
"  Killokaleeka"  tobacco:  this  is  the  mildest  and 
finest-flavoured  production  of  Yirginia,  and  is  sold 
in  solid  lumps,  like  a  very  thick  tile,  of  about  2  lbs. 
each ;  though  it  is  dry,  it  smokes  long ;  the  name  is 
real  American,  meaning  "a  mixture,"  and  a  right 
good  innocent  one  it  is. 

7th  Odoher. — The  weather  has  become  nice  and 
cool  all  day,  and  nights  cold.  Leaving  Columbia 
at  six,  I  had  to  wait  about  seven  hours  at  Kingsville. 
I  never  saw  such  immense  hogs  as  mine  host 
Mr.  Kennedy  has  here.  I  met  several  wounded 
men.  The  wayside  hospital  was  beautifully  kept, 
and  a  very  intelligent  assistant-surgeon  is  here. 
One  man  had  been  wounded  soon  after  the  battle 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  263 

of  Harper's  Ferry,  where  lie  saw  10,000  men  march 
out  and  lay  down  their  arms  and  colours,  and  go  on 
parole,  before  Stonewall  Jackson ;  and  he  said  he 
saw,  in  a  battle  soon  after  that,  several  hundreds  of 
the  same  men  were  taken  prisoners  with  the  parole 
on  them,  and  he  saw  300  of  them  shot  by  order  of 
General  Jackson. 

In  the  train  I  met  Sergeant  Sykes  and  Private 
Elhs,  of  the  3rd  N.  C.  Kegiment,  both  farmers,  one 
of  2,000  acres,  the  other  of  100.  The  regiment 
marched  through  Kichmond  in  August  700  strong, 
and  now  there  were  only  75  fit  for  duty.  In  the 
battle  where  Sykes  was  wounded  he  shot  37  rounds  : 
he  is  a  dead  shot — he  is  certain  to  hit  a  man  every 
shot — they  all  fell.  They  charged  bayonets,  and  the 
Yankees  ran :  this  was  at  "  Sharpsburg "  on  the 
17th  September ;  the  Yankees  caU  it  "  Antietam." 
"  But,"  I  said,  "  was  it  not  a  drawn  battle  ?"  "  So 
they  caU  it,  sir ;  only  we  killed  four  to  one,  and  we 
held  our  ground  till  next  day,  when  we  retreated  to 
the  Potomac,  as  Maryland  was  not  ready  for  us ;  yet 
800  Marylanders  came  to  us  at  Frederick"  These 
men  could  not  get  out  at  Florence,  the  refreshment 
place,  so  I  went  to  the  wayside  hospital,  and  got 
the  attendant  to  bring  them  a  plentiful  supper  for 
nothing. 


264  An  Errand  to  the  Soidh 

On  the  8th  October  I  was  again  en  route  de  sahle, 
with  my  friend  Mr.  Porter,  mail  stage  coachman. 
Well,  Mr.  Porter,  many  passengers  lately  ?  Answer : 
Yes,  sir,  "  right  smart."  It  was  a  warm  day,  yet  a 
greyheaded  man,  aged  60,  walked  from  Fair  Bluff 
to  within  five  miles  of  the  Boro',  carrying  frdl  saddle- 
bags and  a  can ;  he  is  a  farmer  on  the  coast,  a 
regular  tough-looking  EngHshman.  He  said  the 
white  people  do  all  this  sort  of  thing ;  they  never 
get  "  sun-stroke  "  in  the  South,  but  there  is  plenty 
of  it  in  New  York.  In  the  summer  they  take 
bark — the  bark  of  the  willow  or  hickory — to  keep 
off  fever. 

On  arriving  at  Conwayboro'  I  found  the  thermo- 
meter had  sunk  to  76°  by  day.  A  letter  was  re- 
ceived from  Captain  W ,  giving  an  account  of 

the  taking  of  a  fort  from  the  Yankees ;  the  name 
was  Mumfordsville,  in  Kentucky.  He  commanded 
four  companies  of  skirmishers,  who  received  a  long 
and  heavy  fire  of  canister,  but  none  were  hurt ;  the 
place  capitulated,  and  4,500  men  were  paroled,  and 
their  arms  were  on  the  same  day  handed  over  to 
4,500  Kentuckians. 

At  Conwayboro'  I  found  a  letter  for  me  from  the 
negro  driver  at  Winsboro'.    Here  it  is : — 


in  the  Summer  of  1 862.  265 


"  Winsboro',  Sunday,  September  21,  1862. 
"  Dear  Mr.  Mallet, 

"  I  have  not  got  any  directions  from  the  men 
since  you  left,  and  I  thought  I  would  write  and  let 
you  know  a  bout  it.*  I  was  trying  to  find  out,  but 
I  cannot  find  out  anything  a  bout  it.  All  is  well 
since  you  left  heare." 

*'  My  dear  Mistress, 

"  I  take  this  opportunity  of  writting  you  a  few 
lines  to  let  you  know  that  we  are  all  well  at  present, 
and  I  hope  when  this  reaches  you  it  will  find  you 
and  all  the  rest  in  the  enjoyment  of  good  health. 
We  stand  very  much  in  need  of  salt,  as  we  are  out. 
Mr.  Callcutt  says  theire  isent  any  to  be  had.  the 
Meat  which  you  sent  on  to  us  we  have  not  receved 
as  yet.  We  are  very  thankfull  to  you  for  allowing 
us  more  meat  for  our  allowance  when  we  receive  it. 
We  expect  to  commence  picking  cotton  to-morrow, 
if  the  wether  permit.  I  will  be  very  glad  to  heare 
from  you  as  soon  as  you  heare  from  Master.  I 
received  the  8  dollars  from  Mr.  Mallet  which  you 
sent  me,  and  am  very  thankful  to  you  for  it.     We 

*  Keferring  to  some  of  the  negroes  being  charged  with 
helping  themselves  to  bacon. 


266  An  Errand  to  the  South 

are  all  getting  on  very  well  at  present,  but  I  don't 
know  how  longe  it  will  continue  to  be  so,  but  I  trust 
it  will  be  all  the  time.  I  am  very  sorry  that  they 
did  not  make  a  confession  to  Mr.  Mallet  when  he 
was  here,  and  I  cannot  get  any  satisfaction  from 
them  myselfe.  I  hope,  dear  Mistress,  I  hope  to 
heare  from  you  very  soon.  No  more  at  present.  I 
am  your  ever  Mthfdl  servant, 

"  Anthony  Westun." 

Mrs.  W and  myself  went  to  tea  with  Mr. 

Morgan  and  his  family,  refugees  from  George  Town. 
He  is  an  Irishman,  and  a  very  enterprising  merchant 
He  says,  the  South  wants  emigrants  from  Europe 
to  set  up  factories  and  open  mines;  there  is 
abundance  of  iron  in  North  Carolina  and  Tennessee, 
but  the  mines  are  rudely  worked;  scientific  work- 
men are  wanted.  Twenty-eight  miles  north  of 
Charlotte,  in  North  Carolina,  there  are  mines  of 
iron,  copper,  and  lead,  provisions  abundant  and 
climate  good. 

The  11th  October,  being  Saturday,  Mrs.  W 

gives  out  grain,  &c.,  to  the  "  field  hands."  The 
women  carry  by  toting  (z.  e.  on  the  head)  1^  bushel. 
No  doubt,  this  "toting"  accounts  for  their  remark- 
ably upright  figures ;  each  adult  male  and  female 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  267 

had  one  peck  of  clean  rice,  and  half  a  peck  to  each 
child ;  sometimes  cornflour  is  given  instead.  As 
soon  as  a  child  is  born,  the  mother  has  half  a  peck 
a  week  for  it ;  they  can  lay  by  plenty  for  their 
poultry  and  pigs.  Meat  is  given  out  to  the  field 
labourers  three  times  a  week,  in  such  quantities  that 
every  family  may  have  meat  daily;  honey,  sugar, 
and  salt  were  also  given  out. 

This  11th  October  we  have  a  gale  of  wind;  the 
pine  forests  all  around  roar  like  the  sea ;  lightning, 
thunder,  and  rain — what  they  call  here  "  battle  rain." 
It  is  the  day  the  Northern  fleet  departs  from  Hilton 
Head.     Where  is  it  bound  ? — no  one  knows. 

Conwayboro'  has  now  a  pleasant  chmate ;  we  have 
no  daisies  in  the  grass,  but,  just  as  in  June,  we  have 
the  thrush,  the  blackbird,  and  the  nightingale's  song 
in  the  woods,  and  all  from  the  mocking-bird.  Was 
it  to  cheer  the  Saxon  emigrant  in  his  hard-earned 
log  hut  that  Dame  Nature  provided  this  wonderful 
bird?  and  while  our  birds  are  mute  the  mocking- 
bird still  sings,  and  the  Anglo-American  race  sit  in 
their  piazzas  cheered  by  the  varied  song. 

Odoler  12th,  17th  Sunday  after  Trinity.— Heavy 
rain;  several  of  the  Boro'  families  had  agreed  to 
attend  our  house  Divine  Service,  and  among  them 
some  Koman  Catholics ;  but  the  weather  kept  all  at 


268  An  Errand  to  the  South 

home.  The  Holy  Communion  was  administered  to 
the  family;  several  negroes  received  with  great 
devotion.  I  preached  to  them  on  Solomon's  Song, 
viii.  7 :  "  Many  waters  cannot  quench  love,  neither 
can  the  floods  drown  it." 

Dr.  Harrill,  the  medical  man  here,  has  much 
ahihty;  he  considers  that  the  Confederates  driving 
back  the  Federals  from  Kichmond  warrants  recogni- 
tion from  Foreign  Powers.     The  Government  has 

shown  its  stability.     Dr.  H studied  medicine  in 

the  North.     In  1854  he  was  at  Castleton. 

"  Judge  Howe  was  there,  and  a  Mr.  Hall  was  at 
Prospect  Hill,  near  White  Hill.  These  gentlemen 
were  friends  of  the  family  of  Mrs.  Beecher  Stowe, 
who  was  left  badly  ojff.  This  lady  had  travelled  in 
the  South,  where  few  Northerners  ever  go,  except  it 
be  to  settle  there ;  she  had  written  notes  about  the 
slaves.  Judge  Howe  concluded,  as  an  abohtionist 
and  universahst,  to  make  out  a  book,  and  employed 
Hall,  a  clever  hand,  to  write  it.  He  called  it 
*  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,'  a  fiction  on  the  said  notes : 
it  was  agreed  to  bring  it  out  under  Mrs.  Beecher 
Stowe's  name.  Hall  was  to  be  paid  for  writing,  and 
Judge  Howe  was  to  give  Mrs.  Beecher  Stowe  part  of 
the  profits,  which  immensely  exceeded  all  their 
expectations,  and  proved  fortunes  to  them  both.     A 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  269 

conscientious  Methodist  minister  in  the  same  district, 
feeling  that  false  impressions  would  be  made  by  the 
book,  wrote  a  pamphlet  to  counteract  it ;  but  he  was 
threatened  with  dismissal  from  his  congregation, 
and  the  pamphlet  was  quashed. 

"  The  teaching  of  ministers  and  of  Sabbath-school 
scholars  all  through  the  North  was  forced  to  include 
anti-slavery ;  also  setting  forth  the  Southern  States 
as  in  a  miserable  state  of  ignorance,  darkness,  and 
destitution,  all  owing  to  the  *  awful'  and  *  cursed 
institution.'  No  minister  was  reckoned  fit  for  a 
call  to  a  flock  except  he  would  bring  this  into 
public  prayer ;  it  was  also  lugged  into  the  prayer  at 
all  public  rehgious  meetings.  In  these  prayers  they 
were  openly  to  denounce  slavery,  and  pray  that  the 
eyes  of  the  South  might  be  opened  to  see  their  sin 
and  emancipate  their  slaves ;  yet  all  the  while  these 
people  were  totally  ignorant  of  the  condition  of  the 
black  people,  for  the  Northern  people  never  come  to 
travel  in  the  South,  only  to  settle  and  invest,  and 
then  they  become  zealous  pro-slavery  Southerners. 
The  only  travellers  south  are  the  Enghsh,  and  they 
have  been  very  few.  Those  who  have  written  of  the 
South  have  shown  that  the  condition  of  the  slaves  is 
good,  €.(/.,  Mr.  Surtees,  in  the  *  Monthly  Magazine ;' 
Messrs.  Oliphant  and  Fergusson,  in  *  Blackwood ;' 


270  An  Errand  to  the  South 

Mackay,  in  *  The  Western  World ;'  Featherstone- 
haugh,  and  the  Honourable  Miss  Murray." 

October  15th. — We  are  glad  to  have  fires.  Ther- 
mometer 66°  to  68°.  Here  is  the  old  hearth  with 
its  brass-headed  dogs  and  blazing  wood  fire.  The 
negroes  have  all  got  their  supply  of  warm  clothing, 
shoes  and  blankets.  I  baptized  Carietta,  the  infant 
daughter  of  Cm'tis  and  Elvina  Clewis.  These  people 
had  only  been  with  Baptists.  I  read  portions  of  the 
Scriptures  concerning  baptism.  They  were  anxious 
for  their  child  to  be  baptized:  like  many  others 
here,  they  wished  to  become  acquainted  with  the 
Church  of  England,  and  were  well  disposed  to  join 
it  as  a  Scriptural  institution. 

The  uncle,  Sylas  Todd,  is  a  blacksmith  and  farmer ; 
he  is  growing  an  acre  of  rice  on  upland,  dry ;  the 
crop  will  be  full  thirty-five  bushels.  He  considers 
the  rice  grown  on  the  upland  is,  if  carefully  culti- 
vated, fuller  in  grain  than  on  wet  land. 

Though  rice  is  such  a  staple  food  of  this  country, 
and  a  food  so  much  depending  on  its  preparation 
by  "the  cooking  animal,"  it  is  strange  that  the 
more  approved  East  Indian  mode  of  cooking  it  has 
not  superseded  the  insipid  long-boil-mash  opera- 
tion, and  in  the  hopes  of  in  some  measure  im- 
proving on   this,   and  enhancing  the  value  of  one 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  271 

of  the  most  nutritious  of  grain,  I  here  transcribe 
the  recipe : — 

"  Into  a  saucepan  of  two  quarts  of  water,  when 
boiling,  throw  a  table-spoonful  of  salt,  then  throw 
in  one  pint  of  rice  after  it  has  been  well  washed  with 
cold  water ;  let  it  boil  twenty  minutes ;  throw  it  out 
on  to  a  colander,  and  strain  off  the  water;  when 
the  water  is  well  drained  off  put  the  rice  back  into 
the  same  saucepan  dried  by  the  fire,  and  let  it  stand 
near  the  fire  some  minutes,  or  till  required  to  be 
dished  up."  Thus  the  grains  will  appear  separate, 
and  not  mashed  into  a  pudding. 

The  least  bit  of  fresh  butter  mixed  up  with  it  in 
your  plate  makes  it  most  acceptable  to  the  palate 
without  accessories,  and  very  wholesome  and  nourish- 
ing. I  have  seen  how  the  hammals  running 
dak  in  India  work  on  it,  and  in  my  hog-hunting 
expeditions  there,  I  always  "stocked  the  garrison" 
with  rice. 

Cotton  yields  in  South  CaroHna  about  400  lbs. 
picked,  per  acre,  i.  e.,  one  bale,  for  which  Government 
gives  17  cents  per  lb.=|  68  for  an  acre=14Z.  3s.  4(Z. ; 
but  in  Mississippi  cotton  grows  twelve  feet  high,  and 
yields  8000  lbs.  an  acre. 

Dr.  Harrill  informs  me  the  Wakamah  Belt,  i.  e., 
the   space  between  the  river,  which  runs  almost 


272  An  Errand  to  the  South 

parallel  to  the  sea  for  many  miles,  is  sixty  miles 
wide.  There  is  never  any  typhoid  fever :  quinine 
is  needed  against  ague,  or,  as  they  call  it,  "  chill  and 
fever."  They  now  use  barks  of  willow,  &c.  Quinine 
comes  from  Peru;  its  discovery  is  curious..  In  a 
certain  district  the  people  never  had  ague,  and  it 
was  found  they  drank  water  from  cisterns  where  the 
chinchona-trees  grew.  Some  doctor  then  had  the 
leaves  prepared,  and  hence  quinine — a  blessing  to 
the  human  race. 

September  17th. — A  letter  from  Captain  W 

told  us  that  General  Bragg's  army  had  marched  300 
miles  in  seventeen  days  (in  twelve  marching  days), 
from  Harrison's  Landing,  on  the  Tennessee  Eiver,  to 
Bardstone,  in  Kentucky,  thirty  miles  from  Louis- 
ville. 

Through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Molyneux,  I  had 
ascertained  the  sailing  days  of  the  Cunard  steamers, 
and  I  fixed  on  the  5th  of  November,  the  "  Austral- 
asian," reckoning  to  return  to  my  flock  at  Ardeley 
after  six  months'  absence.  From  all  I  saw  around 
me  a  blessing  had  been  on  my  "  Errand .  to  the 
South."  The  lady  who  had  been  cast  down  with 
anxiety  and  sadness  was  now  buoyant  with  hope. 
Her  husband  had  been  chosen  M.P.  for  George 
Town,  which  would  entitle  him  to  furlough.     Yet 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  273 

painful  was    my  leave-taking — the    negroes   were 
much  affected — the  feeling  was  mutual. 

On  the  18th  of  October  mj  comjpagnons  de  voyage 
were  Mr.  Swinnie,  a  shoemaker,  who  had  left  Ireland 
in  1848,  and  was  settled  at  Marion,  and  a  coach- 
builder  of  Charlotte,  who  had  been  on  the  coast  burn- 
ing salt — it  took  300  gallons  of  sea- water  to  make 
one  barrel  of  salt.  Land  about  Charlotte  in  North 
Carolina  is  very  productive ;  their  cows  are  kept  as 
horses  in  stalls.  At  Fair  Bluff  met  Dr.  Frincke, 
who  has  a  plantation  near  Little  Eiver,  South 
Carolina,  in  All  Saints  parish ;  he  agrees  with  me 
that  the  parish  is  too  large.  Here  is  work  for  the 
Church  Convention  of  the  South,  who  has  no  need 
to  wait  for  an  Act  of  Parliament  to  "  lengthen  her 
cords,  strengthen  her  stakes,  and  spread  out  her 
curtains."  Hundreds  of  thousands  are  fighting  for 
their  country;  let  the  Convention  move  "pro 
Ecclesia  Dei."  The  doctrines  and  discipline  of  the 
holy  Apostohc  Church  only  want  to  be  known  among 
these  people.  Hundreds  of  young  men  are  now  at 
home,  and  more  will  come  who  from  their  wounds 
will  be  unfit  for  hard  work,  but  who  could  work  in 
the  ministry  of  the  church,  and  many  a  heart  has 
been  touched  with  rehgious  impulses.  There  are 
stiU  many  plantations  where  the  negroes  go  their 


2/4  -4^  Errand  to  the  South 

own  ways  and  want  guidance ;  there  are  many 
farms  where  the  white  people  want  the  ministry  of 
the  Word. 

On  Sunday,  the  19th  of  October,  the  people  of 
Fair  Bluff  begged  me  to  give  them  a  service  in  their 
Methodist  church ;  just  as  I  was  going  to  which,  I 
met  a  gentleman,  who  told  me  my  brother-in-law 
had  come  from  Kentucky  on  sick  furlough,  and  was 
gone  from  Marion  to  the  Boro',  and  offered  me 
a  seat  in  his  carriage;  but  I  had  promised  the 
service,  and  it  went  on.  I  had  a  full  and  attentive 
congregation,  and  in  the  afternoon  several  ladies 
held  a  Sunday-school  of  white  and  black  children 
mixed  together.  I  determined  to  return  to  Conway- 
boro',  if  only  just  to  say  to  the  aged  parent  in 
England  I  have  now  seen  both  your  daughter  and 
her  husband.  So  for  the  seventh  time  the  weary 
way  was  traversed. 

After  a  hunt  through  the  Boro'  the  gallant  and 

abnegatory  Captain  W ,  of  Bragg's  pet  regiment, 

the  10th  South  Carolina,  turned  up  at  the  refuge 
of  one  of  his  constituents,  the  enterprising  Mr. 
Morgan  of  George  Town,  whose  kind  and  agreeable 
wife  insisted  on  our  celebrating  the  meeting  with  a 
bottle  of  sparkling  champagne.  The  rough  hand- 
ling of  Mars  had  made  sad  inroads  on  my  relative's 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  275 

appearance ;  but  the  great  improvement  in  the  cause 
of  the  South  cheered  his  heart,  which  will  be  the 
best  guarantee  for  restoration  to  health.  Nothing 
could  exceed  the  joy  of  the  negro  servants  at  the 
safe  return  of  their  beloved  Massa. 

Brief  was  my  interview  with  him ;  my  time  was 
to  be  kept.  A  parson  is  not  his  own  master ;  my 
flock  at  Ardeley  could  not  be  forgotten. 


Z'j^  An  Errands  to  the  South 


CHAPTEE  XIV. 

Off  for  Bichmond,  en  route  to  New  York. 

On  my  return  to  Fair  Bluff  I  found  that,  on  account 
of  the  yellow  fever  raging  at  Wilmington,  I  must 
take  the  longer  route  to  Eichmond,  via  Columbia, 
Charlotte,  and  Ealeigh.  From  Columbia  I  proceeded 
by  an  evening  train ;  every  car  was  fdl.  The  ticket 
clerk  only  laughed  at  the  request  of  myself  and 
others  to  put  on  another  car.  So  I  stood  on  the 
platform  and  holloaed  out  as  loud  as  I  could, 
"  Another  car  !"  After  a  bit,  some  gentlemen  joined 
me  in  the  demand,  and  at  last  a  conductor  came  up 
and  said  a  car  would  be  provided ;  but,  quel 
horreur !  when  we  entered  it,  just  at  starting  time, 
we  found  all  the  windows  broken ;  the  darkness  had 
just  come  on,  and  a  sharp  frost  was  setting  in.  I 
never  spent  a  more  uncomfortable  night,  for,  having 
intended  to  return  in  summer,  I  had  only  a  thin 
Scotch  plaid  with  me.     We  reached  Charlotte,  130 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  277 

miles,  fkre  $5,  at  2  a.m.  ;  breakfasted  at  Hartford ; 
passed  by  Salisbury  (whicb  out  of  a  population  of 
4500  bad  sent  2500  to  the  war),  Lexington,  and 
Greensboro',  all  populous  towns,  and  well  situated. 
At  Lexington  I  got  out,  seeing  tbe  ground  covered 
with  pieces  of  wiute  marble.  What  marble  quarries 
might  be  here !  A  rail  is  laying  down  between 
Greensboro'  and  Danville,  North  CaroHna,  which 
will  shorten  the  road  between  Columbia  and  Eich- 
mond  about  100  miles;  it  was  to  be  opened  in 
April,  1863. 

Lexington  is  in  Davidson  comity.  North  Carolina ; 
beautiful  country,  oak  woods  and  clumps,  open  fields, 
glades,  meadows,  and  streams.  Not  fer  from 
Lexington  I  hear  there  are  gold  and  copper  mines. 
Land  here  is  sold  at  $50  per  acre.  We  breakfasted 
at  Franklyn,  benefiting  by  opposition  hotels.  I  got 
a  breakfast  of  coSee  and  bread  for  25  cents;  the 
bread  was  excellent,  and  the  cofiiee  was  the  best  I  had 
tasted,  made  of  parched  wheat. 

Beached  Kaleigh,  capital  of  North  Carolina,  fare 
$9,  175  miles  from  Charlotte,  at  5.30  p.m.,  where 
I  determined  to  sleep :  the  train  to  Weldon,  ninety- 
seven  miles,  was  to  start  at  four  in  the  morning. 
Luckily  there  was  a  roaring  fire  in  the  waiting-room, 
round  which  soldiers  had  gathered;  but  when  two 


2/8  An  Errand  to  the  South 

ladies  came  in  they  all  rose  and  made  way  for  them 
to  come  to  the  fire :  the  train  was  late,  and  we  did 
not  start  till  past  five.  The  road  lay  through  a 
country  like  England — no  forests,  no  monotonous  pine 
woods,  but  coppices,  and  hills,  and  valleys,  and  rivers 
all  the  way,  and  farms  and  villages. 

We  reached  Weldon  at  twelve ;  in  this  journey 
I  was  much  struck  with  the  handsome  appearance  of  a 
soldier.  He  told  me  that  he  had  been  a  saddler  in 
Jamaica,  and  had  served  his  time  in  England ;  that 
when  the  war  broke  out  his  father,  who  was  a  ship 
captain,  told  him  and  his  three  brothers  that  the 
cause  of  the  South  was  a  righteous  one,  so  they  all 
went  over  and  joined  the  Confederate  army;  800 
came  over  from  Jamaica,  and  there  were  thousands 
of  British  subjects  in  the  Southern  army  all  fighting 
for  the  freedom  of  the  South.  He  had  been  invahded 
on  account  of  a  ball  through  his  breast.  His  name  is 
Dean;  he  served  his  apprenticeship  with  Mr. 
Baldwin  of  Walsall;  his  regiment  was  the  18th 
Virginia.  At  the  first  battle  of  Manassas  his  regiment 
lost  360  killed  and  wounded  out  of  1300,  in  which 
regiment  there  were  180  British  subjects.  He  gave 
up  a  business  in  Jamaica  worth  |25  a  day.  He  is 
now  receiving  $10  a  day  for  working  at  the  Govern^ 
ment  saddle  factory,  which  he  now  gives  up  to  go 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  279 

and  fight  again  in  the  cavaky.     The  wound  in  his 
chest  prevents  him  marching,  but  he  can  ride. 

The  sturgeon,  which  abound  in  all  the  large 
rivers,  seem  to  have  been  of  great  service  formerly, 
for  Smith,  in  his  "  History  of  Virginia,"  says,  "  If  it 
had  not  been  for  the  sturgeon  the  revolutionary  army 
would  have  been  starved." 

At  all  the  stations  there  were  vast  quantities  of 
cotton,  most  of  the  bales  being  exposed  to  the  wea- 
ther. 

The  stoves  in  the  cars,  these  frosty  nights,  give 
great  comfort. 

AVe  reached  Petersburg  at  about  4  p.m.  Great 
was  the  scramble  for  vehicles  to  get  through  the 
town.  I  had  just  time  to  go  to  a  tobacconist's  and 
get  some  of  that  tobacco  which  my  good  friend  Mr. 
Shand  had  introduced  me  to.  The  American  (Indian) 
word  "  Killokaleeka  "  is  said  to  mean  really  a  mix- 
ture of  red  shumach  and  red  willow,  which  is  mixed 
with  their  tobacco, — something  like  the  Indian 
"ChiUum"  for  the  hookah.  This  that  I  got  at 
Petersburg  is  the  most  dehcate  and  finest  flavoured 
tobacco  I  ever  smoked.  I  could  only  stow  away  1  lb. 
in  my  bag,  for  which  I  gave  |1.  It  is  a  hrick  in 
shape  and  hrick  in  quality,  and  I  advise  our  tobac- 
conists to  look  it  up.     The  transit  from  Petersburg 


28o  An  Errand  to  the  South 

to  England  is  water  all  the  way,  and  I  hope  it  will 
soon  be  opened ;  and  may  the  pipe  of  peace,  filled 
with  Killokaleeka,  be  smoked  by  the  Anglo-Ameri- 
can brethren  of  Old  England  and  of  North  and  South 
together ! 

As  I  stepped  on  the  platform  of  the  car  for 
Kichmond,  cross  bayonets  stopped  my  progress,  the 
sentry  saying,  "Your  pass,  sir."  As  heretofore,  I 
showed  Lord  Lyons'  passport.  He  said  it  would 
not  do ;  I  must  have  one  from  the  Provost-Marshal. 
"Nonsense!"  said  I,  "it  has  done,  and  it  must  do 
now.  Call  your  officer."  A  crowd  gathered  round. 
Some  seemed  angry  at  the  Lyons'  name.  "  Who  is 
Lord  Lyons  ?  We  don't  know  him ;  he  don't  know  us. 
England  won't  recognize  us,  and  so  she  is  against 
us,"  &c.  The  officer  soon  came,  and  a  very  hand- 
some, gentlemanly  man  stepped  from  the  car  plat- 
form to  that  of  the  station,  and  spoke  to  him,  while 
he  read  the  passport.  "That  will  do,"  said  the 
officer;  and  up  went  the  bayonets.  The  sentries 
seemed  quite  relieved,  and  helped  me  on ;  they  were 
both  gentlemen;  indeed,  the  whole  Southern  army 
are  gentlemen.  One  of  the  chief  anti-Lyonsites 
observed,  •"  If  I  had  been  the  officer  I  would  not 
have  let  you  pass."  "  Lucky  you  were  not,"  said  I ; 
at  which  all  laughed,  and  he  said  no  more.     But 


in  the  Summer  of  1 862.  281 

who  was  my  friend  ?  He  was  a  lover  of  England ; 
asked  me  my  comity;  knew  it  well;  kiiew  Hat- 
field House,  Blenheim,  Chatsworth,  Windsor,  &c., 
Winchester  College,  Oxford,  Cambridge,  &c.  "  Why, 
when  were  you  in  England  ?"  "  Never !  but  we 
have  books,  and  we  read  of  all  these  places;  and 
they  are  dear  to  us  as  the  source  of  our  life-blood." 
We  soon  found  out  each  other's  names.  He  was 
Benjamin  Watkins  Leigh,  of  the  C.S.A.,  Lieut- 
Colonel  of  the  42nd  Virginia  Kegiment :  his  family 
had  emigrated  from  Warwickshire  some  generations 
ago  :  his  father  had  been  Commissioner  from  Yii-ginia 
to  South  Carohna  in  1834  on  the  Nullification  Ques- 
tion. 

"  This,  what  the  Northerners  call  a  '  rebellion,' " 
he  observed,  "is  not  a  revolution:  revolution  is 
changing  of  government;  this  is  restoration  of 
government  from  the  usurpation  and  oppression  of 
the  Executive  and  of  the  majority  of  the  United 
States.  We  speak  of  the  'kmg-dom  of  Great  Britain  ; 
but  this  was  a  system  of  *  United  States,'  i.  e.,  seve- 
rally and  separately  independent,  each  allied  with 
all  the  other  States  for  mutual  defence  and  benefit, 
which  aUiance  might  be  separated  at  any  time,  just 
as  the  alliance  between  England  and  France  may 
be." 


282  An  Errand  to  the  South 

As  for  recognition,  he  put  forth  a  good  simile : — 

"  Two  brothers  are  fighting  in  a  field ;  a  relation 
sees  them — should  he  not  interfere  ?  should  he  not 
unbiassed,  recognize  each  one's  right  ?" 

I  asked  Colonel  Leigh  as  to  General  Lee's  con- 
nection with  Washington,  and  he  kindly  wrote  this 
note : — 

"General  Kobert  E.  Lee,  C.S.A.,  married  the 
only  child  of  George  Washington  Parke  Curtis, 
grandson  of  Mrs.  Washington,  and  adopted  son  of 
General  Washington.  Mr.  Curtis  was  a  descendant 
of  Colonel  Daniel  Parke,  a  Virginian,  aide-de-camp 
to  the  Duke  of  Marlborough  at  the  battle  of  Blen- 
heim." 

I  saw  too  little  of  this  superior  young  man  at 
Eichmond,  where  he  left  Mrs.  Leigh.  The  way  he 
got  his  promotion  was  curious.  He  had  been,  I 
think,  at  Westpoint,  but  had  practised  law  at  San 
Francisco.  At  the  beginning  of  the  war  he  was 
in  an  L:ish  battahon ;  in  a  battle  he  was  brigaded 
with  several  regiments,  all  of  whom  sufiered  much : 
he  was  a  captain,  and,  by  chance  of  war,  at  the  end 
of  the  battle  he  was  senior  officer  in  the  brigade, 
and,  therefore,  in  command.  His  own  battalion  was 
entirely  cut  up  in  killed  and  wounded,  except  a  few 
men :  he  found  himself  at  the  end,  with  the  42nd 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  283 

Virginia,  who,  seeing  he  was  only  attached  to  a  pro- 
visional battalion,  asked  him  to  join  them;  and 
when  he  did  so  the  captains  and  major  gave  way 
for  him  to  take  the  command  of  the  regiment ;  and 
well  will  he  serve  his  country  ! 

I  heard  the  attack  of  the  Confederate  army  on  the 
Federals  compared  to  a  pack  of  hungry  wolves  on  a 
pack  of  sleek,  well-fed  dogs. 

It  seems  as  if  the  doctrine  of  majority  of  numbers 
clashing  with  differing  interests  is  the  fons  et  origo 
mali;  hence  arose,  in  1834,  resistance  of  the  tariflfe, 
set  on  by  the  Northern  majority.  As  laws  are 
equally  made  for  the  few  as  for  the  many,  and  as  a 
State  is  a  State,  whether  great  or  small,  it  would 
have  been  far  better  to  have  kept  the  first  rule  of  all 
states — being  equally  represented. 

During  my  journey,  feeling  very  fiitigued  one  day, 
and  seeing  a  gentleman  had  bought  a  seat  for  half  a 
dollar,  I  thought  I  would  try  my  luck  with  a  negro, 
who  was  comfortably  seated  by  an  officer;  but  he 
declined. 

Being  obliged  to  travel  via  Charlotte,  instead 
of  via  Wilmington,  the  route  was  672  miles  from 
Conwayboro'  to  Kichmond,  instead  of  423.  It  was 
done  in  eighty-two  hours,  twelve  of  which  were 
taken  up  by  stopping  at  KaleigL     The  variety  of 


284  An  Errand  to  the  South 

scene  amply  repaid  the  detour;  the  days  were 
bright,  but  cool,  and  each  night  the  frost  was 
shght. 

I  was  informed  that  the  infantry  pay  in  the  Con- 
federate army  is,  for  a  private,  |12  a  month,  with 
rations,  clothes,  and  shoes ;  sergeant,  |21 ;  there  are 
no  ensigns  ;  lieutenant,  |70  ;  captain,  $120  ;  heut.- 
colonel,  |300  ;  general,  $1000. 

Arriving  in  the  evening  at  Mr.  Myers',  where 
our  excellent  Consul,  Mr.  Cridland,  had  his  office, 
I  was  taken  for  an  Indian.  My  costume  would  cer- 
tainly have  astonished  the  bishop  who  turned  back 
an  unfortunate  candidate  for  ordination  on  account 
of  his  dress ;  and,  as  for  my  beard,  tell  it  at  Danbury 
Palace,  that,  by  not  shaving,  the  clergy  would  scare 
away  many  a  sore  throat,  and  save  60  hours  50  min. 
in  a  year  (reckoning  ten  minutes  a  day  for  shaving). 

In  a  walk  with  Lieut.-Colonel  Leigh,  he  showed  me 
a  house  which  belonged  to  George  lY.'s  coachman. 

This  time  I  put  up  at  the  "Exchange  "  Hotel,  kept 
by  Mr.  BaUard,  where  I  was  much  better  off  both 
for  air,  water,  and  bed,  than  at  Spottswood's.  Mr. 
Ballard  showed  me  the  rooms  occupied  by  His  Eoyal 
Highness  the  Prince  of  Wales  during  his  visit  to 
Kichmond ;  everything  was  as  when  he  was  in  them : 
very  neat  rosewood  furniture  both  in  the  sitting  and 


I 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  285 

bedroom.  Mr.  Ballard's  menage  is  first-rate,  and 
his  hotel,  with  its  passage-bridge  over  Franklyn 
Street,  its  drawing-rooms,  and  fine  dining-rooms,  and 
hall,  all  very  nice ;  but  it  is  sad  to  see  the  marble 
floors  of  the  halls  spattered  over  with  tobacco  jnice, 
and  all  the  steps  and  stairs.  Why  won't  the  South- 
erners be  content  to  blow  the  cloud  without  spitting 
the  ofiensive  juice?  It  is  the  great  blot  of  the 
South.  May  they  wipe  it  out !  At  supper  I  sat 
opposite  a  young  man  with  his  left  hand  shattered ; 
he  was  going  to  join  his  regiment  on  the  morrow. 

A  cavah-y  soldier  told  me  there  were  20,000 
cavalry  in  General  Lee's  army  alone. 

I  asked  another  if  they  had  any  lancers  in  the 
Southern  army  ?  He  said,  "  They  had  at  first,  but 
they  found  they  were  no  use,  as  they  could  never 
get  near  enough  to  the  enemy's  cavalry  to  use 
them." 

A  negro  was  reading  a  paper  with  Mr.  Lincoln's 
proclamation  in  it ;  he  spoke  out,  saying,  "  Why, 
massa,  Mr.  Lincoln  say  negro  people  all  free ;  no 
use  he  tink  to  gull  us  like  dat." 

October  25th. — This  is  now  a  delightful  climate : 
fine  all  day,  and  cooL  Failed  to  meet  the  object  of 
my  search  at  Spottswood's,  viz.,  Mr.  Wood,  the 
"  United  States' "  agent  for  exchange  of  prisoners — 


286  An  Errand  to  the  South 

for  I  found  the  only  plan  was  for  me  to  get  away  by 
the  *'  truce-boat." 

On  the  26th,  before  Sunday  morning  service,  I 
thought  I  might  catch  him ;  and  sure  enough  I  did, 
as  he  was  busy  talking  in  the  hall.  I  had  time  to 
resort  to  my  aid  in  all  difficulties ;  and  my  aspira- 
tions were  fully  answered.  I  caught  his  sharp, 
Northern  eye,  and  introduced  myself,  having  left 
my  card  the  day  before.  He  began  with  objections, 
saying  it  was  impossible  without  a  pass  from  Mr. 
Stanton.  I  showed  him  that  gentleman's  pass  to  go 
South.  "  Yes,  but  that  is  not  to  go  back."  "  Oh," 
I  said,  "I  suppose  they  would  not  force  me  to  be  a 
Southerner;  the  return  is  a  natural  consequence; 
and  of  course  Mr.  Stanton  would  have  specified  it  if 
it  had  not  been  so."  "  Well,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Wood, 
"  if  you  will  get  the  British  Consul's  certificate  that 
you  have  not  aided  and  abetted  in  the  rebellion,  I  will 
get  you  a  passage  in  the  truce-boat  to  Fortress 
Monroe."     Thus  again  all  was  favourable. 

In  the  evening,  at  ten,  I  met  Mr.  Feam,  secre- 
tary to  Mr.  Yancey.  He  thinks  that  as  the  inde- 
pendence of  Texas  was  recognized  versus  Mexico,  so 
ought  that  of  the  South  to  be  versus  the  Northern 
States ;  for  the  United  States  he  considered  at  an  end. 

On  the  26th,  found  Mr.  Wood  at  home,  with  his 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  287 

room  full,  talking  over  old  times,  as  he  said.  It  was 
impossible  to  tell  when  the  prisoners  would  come  in. 
My  papers  were  all  right. 

On  the  27th  I  had  the  pleasure  of  making  the 
acquaintance  of  "the  special  correspondent  of  the 
*  Times,' "  and  of  introducing  him  to  the  President. 
I  felt  extremely  sorry  that  my  stipulations  with  the 
Consul  precluded  the  possibihty  of  my  being  useful 
to  this  gentleman  in  conveyance  of  his  important 
intelligence ;  I  say,  important,  because,  for  the  sake 
of  humanity  and  honesty,  truth  concerning  nations 
ought  to  be  known  as  well  as  concerning  individuals. 
How  can  any  cause  prosper  if  it  be  bolstered  up  by 
hiding  the  truth !  The  feehng  of  the  people  of  the 
South,  and  the  condition  of  the  negroes,  being  known 
in  Europe,  would  give  friendly  governments  a  plea  to 
put  in  "  a  word  in  season,"  and  show  that  no  degrada- 
tion would  ensue  to  the  powerful  Noi-thern  States  by 
giving  up  the  vain  attempt  at  subjugation,  and 
putting  an  end  to  this  cniel  and  bloody  strife.  And 
well  will  the  "  Times  "  deserve  of  its  country,  if  the 
truthful  and  able  letters  from  this  gentleman  tend 
towards  this  happy  end. 

In  reading,  in  the  excellent  library  at  the  Capitol 
one  day,  a  book  which  was  kindly  pointed  out  to  me 
by  the  fine,  gentlemanly  Hbrarian,  Colonel  Mumford, 


288  An  Errand  to  the  South 

viz.,  Beverley's  "History  of  Yirginia,"  I  saw  an 
instance  of  the  value  of  truth.  In  1703  he  went  to 
England :  "A  bookseller  was  publishing  an  account 

of  the  colonies  in  America,  and  asked  Mr.  B 

to  look  over  it :  and  he  found  great  misstatements 
as  to  the  country,  even  to  make  people  beheve  that 
the  servants  in  Virginia  are  made  to  draw  in  carts 
and  ploughs,  as  horses  and  oxen  in  England." 

It  is  a  wonder  America  has  not  been  more  of  a 
wine  country,  but  the  reason  is,  they  are  too  go- 
ahead  ;  the  return  is  not  quick  enough.  J.  Fontaine, 
son  of  a  Huguenot  refugee,  visited  Beverley  in  1715, 
in  Yirginia,  and  he  saw  that  Beverley  cultivated  several 
varieties  of  grapes  in  a  vineyard  of  three  acres,  on 
the  side  of  a  hill,  from  which  he  made  in  the  year 
400  gallons  of  wine. 

The  romance  of  history  is  not  wanting  in  this  new 
world.  Beverley  mentions  how  that,  in  1612, 
"  Capt.  Argill  went  to  Patowmeck  to  buy  com,  and 
met  with  Pocahontas,  the  daughter  of  Powhattan. 
He  detained  her  prisoner,  and  took  her  to  James 
Town.  Powhattan  made  war  against  the  white  people, 
but  in  two  years'  time  Pocahontas  was  married  to  Mr. 
J.  Eolfe,  when,  as  before  stated,  she  was  christened 
Kebecca,  and  then  Powhattan  was  reconciled. 

Queen  Anne  was  petitioned  to  receive  Mrs.  Eolfe 


in  the  Summer  of  1^62.  289 

at  Court,  which  Her  Majesty  agreed  to  do.  Pow- 
hattan  sent  with  her  Uttamaccomac  to  count  the 
people  of  England ;  and  as  he  could  not  write,  he  took  a 
stick  to  notch,  of  which  he  soon  got  tired ;  and  when 
he  returned  he  told  the  chief  that  it  would  be  more 
easy  to  count  the  stars  of  heaven,  or  the  trees,  or  the 
sand  of  the  earth.  The  James  Eiver  was  called  the 
Powhattan. 

On  the  28th  I  found  General  Winder,  the  Quarter- 
master-general— refused  to  give  me  a  pass — no  more 
were  to  be  given,  &c. :  so  I  apphed  to  the  fountain- 
head,  and  as  soon  as  said  'twas  done — no  red  tape 
here.     His  Excellency  turned  to  his  aide-de-camp. 
Colonel  Johnstone,  a  fine  young  man,  the  son  of  the 
gallant  General  Johnstone  who  fell  at  the  victory  of 
Bull  Kun  in  1861,  issued  his  commands,  and  we 
walked  together  to  the  venerable  official,  who  after 
some  time  gave  in,  and  gave  me  a  pass  through  the 
cordon.     That  evening  the  British  Consul  and  myself 
passed  most  agreeably  at  Mr.  and  Mrs.  M'Farland's  ; 
he  is  President  of  the  Farmer's  Bank  at  Eichmond, 
uncle  of  Mr.  M'Farland,  secretary  to   Mr.  Mason. 
Here  we  were  regaled  with  veritable  tea  and  coffee,  and 
among  the  pleasant  party  was  Mr.  Reeves,  ci-devant 
United  States  Minister  at  Paris;   a  most  superior 
man.     Nor  did  the  hospitahty  end  here ;  I  was  to 

u 


290  An  Errand  to  the  South 

breakfast  there  next  morning.  With  such  men,  with 
all  the  land  of  one  heart  and  soul,  how  can  the  rebel 
bubble  keep  up  ?  It  is  an  absurdity,  to  say  the  least 
of  it — surely  too  absurd  to  last  much  longer ! 

To  show  how  plain  is  the  right  of  independence  of 
States,  I  here  transcribe  the  ratification  of  the  Con- 
stitution by  Virginia  in  the  Convention  of  the  17th 
September,  1787  :— 

«<  Virginia  to  wit :  We,  the  delegates  of  the  people  of 
Virginia,  duly  elected  and  met  in  Convention,  having 
fully  discussed  the  proceedings  of  the  Federal  Con- 
vention, and  beiDg  prepared  to  decide  thereon,  do  in 
the  name  and  in  the  behalf  of  the  people  of  Virginia 
declare  and  make  known  that  the  powers  granted 
under  the  Constitution,  being  derived  from  the  people 
of  the  United  States,  may  be  renounced  by  them 
whensoever  the  same  shall  be  perverted  to  their 
injury  or  oppression,  and  that  every  power  not 
granted  thereby  remain  with  them,  at  their  will ;  and 
that  among  other  essential  rights,  hberty  of  con- 
science, and  of  the  press,  cannot  be  cancelled  or 
abridged,  restraiaed  or  modified,  by  any  authority  of 
the  United  States.  .  .  That  therefore  no  rights 
of  any  denomination  can  be  cancelled,  abridged,  re- 
strained, or  modified  by  the  Congress,  by  the  Senate, 
by  the  President,  or  any  department  or  officer  of  the 


in  the  Summer  of  1^62.  291 

United  States,  except  in  those  instances  in  which 
power  is  given  by  the  Constitution  for  those  purposes." 
— Code  of  Virginia,  p.  28. 

This  State  being  called  '*  The  Old  Dominion" 
betokens  her  nationaHty,  and  her  symbol,  which  is 
the  virgin  goddess  of  liberty  trampling  on  the  neck 
of  a  tyrant,  with  the  motto,  "  Sic  semper  tyrannis,' 
shows  jealousy  of  power.  Every  State  having  a 
symbol  may  indeed  be  said  to  signify  the  individual 
allegiance  of  each  to  its  original  rights,  and  there  is 
an  esprit  de  corps  which  attaches  to  the  citizens  of 
each  wherever  they  may  wander  in  the  world. 
Among  the  other  symbols,  I  may  mention,  besides 
those  before  noticed,  the  pehcan  of  Louisiana,  and 
the  masonic  temple  of  Georgia. 

One  day,  with  an  English  friend,  I  was  fortunate  to 
come  across  a  sale  by  auction,  of  negroes.  The  sign  of 
such  an  auction  is  a  red  flag  hung  out  from  the 
house :  there  are  two  of  these  auction-rooms  just 
below  the  '^Exchange"  Hotel.  The  negroes  sit  on 
benches  round  a  large  room.  There  are  side  rooms 
for  the  two  sexes  to  be  examined,  separately,  and 
women  to  wait  on  the  women.  I  questioned  the 
negroes  of  both  sexes  and  all  ages:  there  was  no 
compunction ;  they  answered  freely  all  questions  as 
to  their  capacities.     They  were  all  in  good  health 


292 


An  Errand  to  the  South 


and  well  clad.  Each  in  turn  is  conducted  to  a 
platform  ;  the  men  jumping  on  to  it  as  if  to  show 
their  activity. 

A  woman  and  child  fetched  (albinos)  |1830 
A  very  sturdy  young  woman  .  .  1250 
A  man  about  thirty  .         .         .         1275 

Another  man  .  .  .  •  .  1100 
A  boy  about  fifteen  .         .         .  800 

A  youth  about  eighteen    .         .         .  950 

A  woman  and  child  .         .         .         1580 

There  was  no  rough  handhng  or  speaking,  but  aU 
was  conducted  decently ;  as  for  the  body  examination, 
it  is  only  what  is  done  to  every  recruit  for  our  army. 
I  must  say  I  had  deprecated  sales  of  human  beings 
by  auction,  and  asked  why  the  transfer  could  not  be 
made  by  private  contract ;  but  all  assured  me  that 
the  negroes  did  not  revolt  against  it,  and  the  excite- 
ment rather  pleased  them  than  otherwise;  and  so 
indeed  it  appeared.  Is  there  not  some  affinity  to 
this  mode  in  our  "  Statute  fairs,"  where  farmers 
and  tradesmen  attend  the  place,  and  parents  bring 
their  children  to  be  apprenticed  out  to  new  masters 
and  mistresses  ?  My  friend  thought  there  should  be 
a  line  drawn  against  albinos,  such  as  we  saw,  being 
sold  as  slaves. 

On  the  28th,  met  Mr.  Holt  of  Waterloo,  Virginia, 


in  the  Summer  of  1^62.  293 

a  British  subject,  putting  in  a  claim  for  indemnity 
for  the  destruction  of  his  cloth  factory,  which  was  on 
part  of  the  field  of  battle  of  the  Eappahannock  on  the 
17th  of  July.  He  came  out  from  Yorkshire  twelve 
years  ago ;  estimates  his  loss  at  |45,000.  He  employed 
twenty  to  thirty  young  people  and  children.  He  was 
making  a  clear  profit  of  |20,000  a  year.  The  Yankees 
burnt  his  factory  on  the  plea  that  he  made  cloth  for 
the  Southern  army,  which  was  not  the  case.  He  felt 
no  doubt  of  getting  indemnified  for  his  loss.  He 
declared  there  was  no  such  country  in  the  world  as 
Virginia  for  climate  and  market ;  any  one  coming  to 
settle  there  with  something  to  begin  with,  and  with 
skill  and  industrious  habits,  would  be  sure  to  make  a 
fortune.  There  is  now  great  demand  for  woollen 
goods,  and  will  be  more.  Sheep  thrive  well; 
the  favourite  breed  for  wool  is  a  mixed  one  between 
Merino  and  Cottswold.  If  capitahsts  come  out  they 
should  bring  hands  to  work,  as  labour  is  and  will  be 
scarce.  The  climate  of  Virginia  suits  Europeans. 
Mechanics  work  all  the  summer,  and  many  of  them 
in  winter  get  so  well  off  that  they  can  go  and  hunt 
for  two  or  three  months.  Machinery  also  should  be 
brought  out.  There  is  plenty  of  water-fall  and  wood 
fuel,  and  coal  is  cheap. 

Mr.  Holt  said  the  Southern  soldiers  behaved  like 


294  -4^  Errand  to  the  South 

gentlemen ;  but  I  refrain  from  recording  tlie  many 
tales  I  heard  against  the  Northerners,  for  they  are  a 
mercenary  army,  and  what  can  one  expect?  Is  it 
right,  is  it  the  part  of  a  Government,  to  employ  such 
a  force  against  the  Southern  States  ?  Through  all 
its  fortunes,  the  Southern  army  is  said  to  be  now 
stronger  than  it  was  last  year.  They  have  gained 
immensely  in  provisions  and  munitions  of  war.  In 
Kentucky,  Kirby  Smith  took  waggons  which  extended 
forty  miles,  15,000  horses  and  mules,  8,000  beeves, 
one  million  yards  of  jeans,  boots  and  shoes,  6,000 
barrels  of  pork,  and  200  waggon  loads  of  bacon. 

Mr.  M'Farland  has  a  mountain  residence  called 
Glencoe,  in  Greenbrier  County,  Virginia  ;  the  Yan- 
kees took  it,  took  his  sheep,  cows,  &c. ;  they  offered 
money  to  his  negroes  to  go,  but  they  refused :  the 
Yankees  were  driven  out,  and  when  he  returned 
in  September,  1861,  it  was  like  a  patriarch  returning 
to  his  home — they  embraced  him. 

Mr.  Keeves  is  well  known  to  Lord  Palmerston, 
having  been  Minister  in  Paris  h\  Jackson's  presi- 
dency. He  declares  that  delay  in  recognition  is 
alienating  the  Confederate  States  from  England, 
who  is  understood  to  be  holding  France  back. 

We  were  talking  of  the  generals,  and  I  asked  for 
the  true  version  of  "  Stonewall "  Jackson's  nom-de- 


in  the  Summer  of  1^62,  295 

guerre.  At  the  first  battle  of  Manassas,  General 
Bee's  brigade  had  been  repulsed  ;  so  he  said  to  his 
men,  "  Look  at  General  Jackson :  there  he  stands 
with  his  brigade  like  a  stone  wall :  rally  behind  him  !" 
One  of  the  coolest  generals  is  the  Eight  KeV. 
Bishop  Polk,  who  commands  a  division  of  the  Con- 
federate army  in  Tennessee,  commanded  now  by 
General  Bragg ;  he  is  a  venerable-looking  man,  with 
a  grey  beard — the  soldiers  call  him  "Grannie;" 
and  in  a  charge  he  says,  "  Now,  boys,  follow  your 
Grannie !"  At  Perryville,  at  dusk,  he  suddenly 
found  himself  in  front  of  a  regiment  of  the  enemy 
who  were  still  firing,  when  he  went  up  to  them  as 
if  he  were  their  general,  and  commanded  them  to 
cease  firing,  which  was  instantly  obeyed,  and  he 
rode  on  ;  the  same  evening  he  took  four  stafi"  officers 
prisoners.  He  was  requested  by  his  whole  diocese 
to  join  the  army,  from  his  well-known  mihtary 
knowledge. 


296  An  Errand  to  the  South 


CHAPTEK  XV. 

Off  for  New  York,  en  route  for  Some. 

30th  October. — My  passes  had  been  approved 
of,  but  I  could  not  hear  of  the  prisoners  having 
arrived:  about  150  were  to  reach  Kichmond  from 
long  distances  before  Mr.  Wood  could  take  them  on 
board  at  Aikin's  Landing,  about  fourteen  miles  from 
Kichmond :  that  gentleman  had  promised  to  let  me 
know  when  they  arrived.  I  had  dined  at  two,  as 
usual,  on  Mr.  Ballard's  good  fare,  but  instead  of, 
as  customary,  taking  a  cigar,  I  took  a  stroll  into  Main 
Street,  where  I  met  Mr.  Wood,  evidently  occupied 
about  more  important  afiairs  than  mine.  "Well, 
Mr.  Wood ?"  A.  "If  you  want  to  go  you  must  be 
quick ;  the  prisoners  are  on  the  way,  and  I  am  just 
going  to  the  boat."  This  was  a  close  shave,  thought 
I ;  but  it  was  no  use  talking :  I  had  to  pack  up,  to 
pay  my  bills,  and  get  a  vehicle.  Oh,  the  luxury  of 
Sir  C.  Napier's  solo  valise  doctrine  for  travellers, 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  297 

and  every  man  his  own  porter !  It  was  all  done  in 
an  hour,  and  I  bade  farewell  to  mine  host  Ballard, 
and  the  host  of  warriors  crowding  the  hotels  and 
streets,  and  momited  the  gig,  behind  a  good  nag, 
coachy'd  by  "Sambo."  I  saw  the  mysterious  iron- 
barred  "  Eichmond  "  lying  under  the  road,  in  the 
Powhattan,  crouching  like  a  lion — no  doubt,  her 
gallant  commander,  Evans,  and  her  skilful  engineer, 
Mr.  Meades,  longing  to  let  her  go. 

It  was  a  sharp,  clear,  frosty  evening ;  the  watch- 
fires  of  the  lines  were  blazing :  in  a  deep  defile  we 
heard  a  rumbling ;  this  was  the  slow  roll  of  about 
twenty  omnibuses,  coaches,  &c.,  charged  with  the 
poor  prisoners.  Sambo  could  not  brook  the  delay, 
so  he  dashed  through  the  thickets  and  mud,  making 
a  road  for  himself,  and  we  soon  distanced  the  heavy 
train. 

The  pass  of  the  Quarteimaster-General,  counter- 
signed by  the  Adjutant-General,  was  read  by  the 
sentry  by  the  Hght  of  a  blazing  fire,  and  in  about 
a  mile  after  we  were  at  the  landing  called  Varina. 
Here  again  I  had  to  show  my  pass.  Mr.  Wood  had 
aiwed  en  avant ;  he  kindly  spoke  to  the  major 
commanding  the  escort,  who  directed  me  to  a  saloon. 
I  witnessed  the  calling  of  names  of  the  Southerners 
who  had  come  down  from  the  North.     How  rejoiced 


298  An  Errand  to  the  South 

they  were  to  land  \  but  some  were  so  weak  tliey 
could  hardly  get  on  shore ;  and  then  they  stood  on 
the  shore,  and  when  all  were  collected,  how  they 
yelled  and  cheered  out  the  name  of  Jefferson  Davis, 
marching  along  by  torchhght  and  singing  !  All 
was  done  quietly  and  in  order  as  to  the  other 
prisoners  coming  down  to  the  boat,  on  which  they 
embarked  without  the  slightest  demonstration ;  and 
about  eleven  o'clock  I  was  glad  to  lay  down  on  the 
floor  and  fall  asleep. 

When  I  got  up  and  looked  out,  I  saw  that  the 
homestead  of  Mr.  Aikin  had  been  turned  into  a 
mihtary  post.  Close  by  the  landiug  platform  two 
Southern  sentries,  with  slouched  hats  and  grey 
blankets  (each  with  a  large  U.  S.  stamped .  on  it, 
showing  whence  they  got  their  covering),  crossed 
each  other  to  and  fi:o :  bright,  sharp  bayonets  were 
fixed  on  their  long  Enfield  rifles,  which  had  also 
come  fi:om  the  United  States'  army.  A  large  white 
flag  was  the  only  ensign  floating  from  the  mast — 
no  "  stars  and  stripes"  were  here. 

Soon  after  the  sun  was  up,  the  truce  steamer 
was  loosed  from  her  moorings  on  the  bank  of  the 
James  Eiver,  and  we  were  ofi"  for  Fort  Monroe  and 
Hampton  Koads,  about  130  miles.  Captain  Piatt 
commanded  the  boat,  and  Major  Schenke  had  charge 


in  the  Summer  of  1 862.  299 

of  tlie  released  prisoners.  The  cartel  for  exchange 
of  prisoners  called  it  an  exchange  between  the 
generals  commanding  the  United  States  and  those 
of  the  "  Confederate  States :"  thus  there  was  official 
governmental  recognition  of  the  Southern  Power. 
The  whole  was  conducted  as  if  between  two  belligerent 
powers  of  equal  respectabihty.  Why  then,  I  thought, 
should  not  other  Powers  as  well  as  the  United 
States  recognize  the  Government  of  the  Confederates  ? 

On  we  went  by  Harrison's  Landing,  where  the 
fields  showed  marks  of  long  encampments.  Millions 
of  wild  fowl  covered  the  lagoons  on  the  left  bank  of 
the  river,  whose  course  is  extremely  winding  and 
margin  low  and  swampy  for  some  distance  on  the 
left  bank,  but  higher  on  the  right.  We  passed 
James  Island,  and  saw  a  wonderful  sight  for  America 
— the  ruins  of  a  church !  It  is  said  to  have  been 
built  about  200  years  ago.  The  habitations  are  now 
moved  to  more  healthy  spots. 

I  met  a  very  gentlemanly  man,  a  Captain  Robin- 
son, who  had  been  exchanged.  In  his  conversation, 
I  observed,  he  generously  used  the  term  Confederates 
instead  of  rebels ;  he  was  in  the  5th  Pennsylvania 
Cavalry,  and  resides  at  Pittsburg,  in  Pennsylvania, 
which  he  described  as  a  beautiful  country,  and 
abounding  in  coal. 


300  An  Errand  to  the  South 

Major  Schenke  was  commanding  the  escort,  about 
100  men  of  the  135th  Pennsylvania  Kegiment,  or 
Bucktails :  this  State,  they  said,  had  no  less  than 
172  regiments  !  Captain  Eobinson  bore  witness  to 
the  good  treatment  of  prisoners  by  the  Confede- 
rates. When  he  was  taken  he  was  allowed  to 
choose  to  whom  he  would  give  up  his  horse, 
and  he  gave  it  to  a  gentleman  he  had  been  ac- 
quainted mth.  Some  of  the  soldiers  complained 
that  when  young  sentries  were  put  over  them 
they  jeered  at  them,  but  the  older  soldiers  treated 
them  respectfully,  and  they  all  had  plenty  of 
food.  I  saw  the  surgeon  was  very  busy  about 
one  man  who  was  very  weak :  the  poor  fellow 
seemed  glad  when  I  spoke  to  him  and  when  I 
read  to  him ;  so  I  went  in  from  time  to  time,  using 
our  office  for  the  Visitation  of  the  Sick.  The  space 
was  covered  with  men  sitting  or  lying  on  their 
blankets  and  knapsacks ;  others  who  were  sick  re- 
ceived attention  too.  This  man  Bush  was  *'  ill " 
(which  means  in  America  seriously  sick) ;  he  was 
from  Ohio.  Poor  fellow !  he  was  thinking  of  his  far- 
distant  home,  but  he  could  scarcely  talk:  he  was 
evidently  dying,  and  I  knelt  over  him,  offering  up 
the  prayers  of  our  holy  Church,  when  he  breathed 
his  soul  away.     Some  time  after^  the  major  came  up 


in  the  Summer  of  1862.  301 

and  thanked  me,  in  the  name  of  the  soldiers,  for  my 
ministration. 

We  reached  Hampton  Koads  about  3  p.m.  There 
was  the  little  "  Galena  "  gunboat,  with  dents  in  her 
side,  which  shook  her  so  much  at  the  above- 
mentioned  affair  at  Drury's  Bluff.  There  was  also 
the  formidable  steam-ram  frigate  "  Ironsides,"  com- 
manded by  Captain  Turner ;  a  splendid  ship,  with 
sides  sloping  in,  from  the  water's  edge  to  the 
hammock  nets,  with  no  rigging  on  the  sides ;  round 
stern ;  she  has  a  far  projecting  soHd  ram  prow ; 
the  smooth,  iron-plated  sides  are  pierced  with  eight 
oval  portholes  of  a  side,  from  which  looked  guns  of 
heavy  calibre.  This  ship  looked  like  a  regular  sea- 
going vessel,  and  of  enormous  strength. 

We  waited  about  three  hours  before  the  order 
came  to  land  the  prisoners,  and  no  one  was  allowed 
to  land  before  them ;  but  when  the  time  came,  the 
major  kindly  arranged  everything  for  my  passing 
over  the  quay  to  the  chartered  steamer  for  Baltimore. 
The  soldiers  marched  ashore,  silent  and  indifferent : 
some  of  them  had  told  me  they  would  never  fight  for 
emancipation  of  the  negroes,  but  they  would  for  the 
Constitution. 

My  passage  from  Yarina  had  been  free,  and  so 
was  this  to  be  to  Baltimore.     In  a  few  minutes  we 


302  An  Errand  to  the  South 

were  off  up  tlie  Chesapeake,  in  one  of  those  splendid 
striding  arks  which  walk  over  the  mighty  floods  of 
America.  And  now  comes  the  supper  of  all  the 
varieties — tea,  coffee,  wine,  beer,  &c.  We  reached 
Baltimore  early ;  and  soon  after  8  a.m.  the  train 
started  for  New  York. 

How  different  was  the  scene  in  the  North  to  the 
South !  Here  the  rivers  covered  with  sails  wafting 
rich  stores  of  provisions  to  a  thriving  people;  but 
the  South  shut  out  from  the  rest  of  the  world — no 
sails  on  her  waters,  but  hearts  filled  with  zeal  to 
defend  their  altars  and  their  hearths. 

Beautiful  was  the  Kiver  Susquehana,  which  the 
train  crossed  at  Havre  de  Grace  at  10.30.  The  cars 
run  on  to  the  boats,  of  which  there  are  three  abreast, 
each  carrying  trains  of  any  length,  and  forced  across 
by  steam.  We  reached  Philadelphia  at  1 ;  here 
flags  were  flying  from  the  houses. 

Eoute  from  Kichmond  to  New  York : —    Miles. 
Kichmond  to  Yarina  on  James  Eiver       13 
Yarina  to  Fortress  Monroe     .         .126 
Fortress  Monroe  to  Baltimore  .     120 

Baltimore  to  Philadelphia       .         .100 
Philadelphia  to  New  York      .         .       94 

453 
Thirty-five  hours  from  Yarina  to  New  l^ork. 


in  the  Summer  of  i  S62.  303 

The  country  from  Baltimore  to  Philadelphia  is 
very  beautiful  on  the  left  hand,  which  is  well  wooded 
and  undulating,  and  studded  with  houses,  and  farms, 
and  villages.  On  both  sides  are  rich  pastures,  divided 
by  posts  and  rails.  The  cattle  are  of  a  fine  breed ; 
few  sheep.  Immense  crops  of  corn,  now  being 
gathered  in ;  fine  turnip-fields.  It  was  market-day, 
Saturday,  at  a  place  called  "  Wilmington "  (for 
this  is  one  of  the  American  inconveniences,  the 
same  names  of  places  are  repeated  in  the  various 
States),  and  I  saw  a  very  long  street  lined  each 
side  with  the  covered  carts,  "  four- wheels,"  &c.,  of 
the  farmers ;  there  must  have  been  some  hundreds  of 
them. 

From  Philadelphia  to  Amboy  the  country  is  not 
so  pretty.  To  pass  in  the  steamer  from  Amboy  to 
New  York,  it  took  1  hour  46  min.,  passing  by 
Staten  Island,  sixteen  miles  long.  Perth- Amboy 
is  one  of  the  earhest  settlements.  Again  I  observe 
people  here  don't  talk  of  the  war.  Here,  in  the 
villages,  you  don't  see  the  church  spires  pointing  to 
heaven  as  in  the  South,  but  plenty  of  them  in  the 
towns.  The  people  appear  strong,  and  healthy,  and 
ruddy,  "fat  and  well-liking;"  but  the  fire  of  the 
eye,  the  ready  talk,  the  open  look,  the  freedom  and 
ease  of  manner  of  the  South,  are  wanting.  One  great 


304  -An  Errand  to  the  South 

advantage  is  the  less  spitting  of  tobacco  juice.  One 
man  on  the  steamer  got  a  crowd  round  him  to  listen 
to  his  harangue.  He  said  to  the  soldiers,  if  they  were 
fighting  for  reconstruction  of  the  Union  they  were 
fighting  for  a  phantom.  This  man  was  contractor 
for  Government,  and  praised  the  Government  up 
to  the  skies,  and  declared  McClellan  was  a  Na- 
poleon ! 

On  Sunday,  the  2nd  of  November,  I  attended  the 
Trinity  church,  which  is  the  principal  one  in  New 
York.  Instead  of  a  sermon  the  rector  read  a  long 
letter  from  the  bishops,  passing  judgment  against 
the  rebellion :  it  took  just  half  an  hour,  and  sent  a 
great  many  people  to  sleep.  The  choir  of  this 
church  is  surpHced  and  the  psalms  are  chanted. 
Several  shopkeepers  whom  I  conversed  with  in  New 
York  deprecated  the  continuance  of  the  war ;  said  it 
was  no  use  going  on.  One  young  man  told  me  he 
and  several  more  were  at  the  first  battle  of  Manassas  ; 
but  when  they  found  the  Government  were  fighting 
for  abolition  they  would  fight  no  longer.  A  stationer 
told  me  he  and  many  were  disgusted  with  the 
Government,  for  they  had  just  promoted  Colonel 
Davies  who  shot  General  Nelson — and  so  committed 
a  cold-blooded  murder — to  the  rank  of  general*  He 
showed  me  the  picture  of  the  murder  in  the  New 


in  the  Summer  of  1 862.  305 

York  illustrated  paper :  Davies  shooting  the  General 
on  a  staircase  in  a  hotel  in  Kentucky. 

The  whole  length  of  Broadway  was  strung  \\ith 
flags,  representing  Northern  soldiers  vanquishing 
the  Southerners,  and  offering  large  bounties  on  enlist- 
ment. 

The  marble-fronted  stores,  the  spacious  hotels, 
the  varied  scenes  on  the  Broadway,  make  it  one  of  the 
wonders  of  the  world.  And  such  is  the  supply  that, 
in  a  few  hours,  you  may  rig  yourself  out  either  for 
a  voyage  to  the  polar  regions  or  to  the  sunny  hills 
of  Peru. 

A  November  voyage  across  the  Atlantic  requires 
its  protection,  and  never  did  I  find  such  punctuahty 
and  such  aptness  in  my  demands  for  "  toggery,"  suited 
to  the  deck  of  the  flying  steamer,  from  the 
"  dreadnought "  overcoat  to  the  soft  flannel  shirty 
&c.,  than  I  did  at  the  splendid  store  of  Messrs. 
Brooks  ;  and  never  did  I  don  more  comfortable  boots, 
both  for  dress  and  walking,  than  those  I  procured  at 
Mr.  Brooks',  a  little  lower  down.  And  the  things 
you  order  are  sent  to  the  very  moment  to  your 
hotel.  I  kept  constant  to  the  quiet,  comfortable 
"  Clarendon"  and  my  worthy  hosts,  Messrs.  Kemer 
and  Birch  ;  but  by  way  of  a  wondrous  hotel,  go  and 
look  over  Mr.  Stevens'  "  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel — "  its 

X 


3o6  An  Errand  to  the  South 

steam  screw  ascender,  with  cosy  divans,  to  lift 
you  up  to  your  landing,  its  marble  salle-a-manger, 
its  luxurious  saloons !  This  same  enterprising  gen- 
tleman is  landlord  of  the  same  kind  of  monster 
hotels  at  Boston  and  Philadelphia.  Take  a  drive 
out  along  to  the  end  of  Broadway,  which  is  about 
six  miles  long,  and  then  you  come  upon  the  "  central 
farh  " — though  where  the  primal  and  final  parks  are 
I  could  not  discover.  But  0,  you  free  Americans, 
you  must  come  to  England  to  enjoy  the  freedom  of 
parks !  woe  betide  you,  little  children,  if  you  fly  from 
the  gritty  gravel  of  the  footpath  alongside  of  the 
carriage  drive,  to  gambol  on  the  sward ! 

On  the  5th  of  November  the  Eoyal  Mail  Steamer 
"Australasian,"  Captain  Cook,  dropped  down  the 
Hudson,  between  the  varied  and  varying  beauties  of 
the  autumnal  tints  of  the  gently  rising  wooded 
banks,  and  we  soon  said  good-bye  to  the   land  of 

it  used  to  be  liberty,  but  now,  alas  !  of  bastiles 

and  bayonets. 

On  the  6th,  in  lat.  40°  48',  long.  68°  56',  we  met 
the  "  Scotia,"  with  Lord  Lyons  on  board.  The 
"Australasian"  had  a  full  cargo  of  hops  (freight 
2cZ.  a  lb.),  cheese,  bacon,  &c. 

Some  of  the  Yankee  gentlemen  on  board  be- 
lieved that  the  English  Government  had  paid  for 


in  ilie  Summer  0/1862.  307 

the  "Alabama"  out  of  "the  privy  purse,"  and 
also  for  arms  for  the  South;  but,  said  they,  the 
Nortli  will  pay  you  off  soon!  They  considered 
Butler  just  the  man  for  New  Orleans ! 

Captain  Cook  is  a  capital  sailor,  most  attentive  to 
his  ship,  and  a  gentleman. 

The  cabins  of  the  "  Australasian  "  (a  ship  built 
for  the  Australian  Steam  Company,  which  failed) 
are  more  roomy  than  those  of  the  "  Scotia :"  she  was 
built  in  1857,  by  Mr.  Thompson  of  Glasgow :  she  is 
370  feet  long,  40  beam,  screw  of  600  horse-power, 
30  furnaces,  and  bums  130  tons  of  coal  a  day.  On 
the  11th  we  ran  338  miles.  We  reached  Queens- 
town  on  the  15th  of  November,  nine  and  a  half  days 
from  New  York.  On  the  16th,  Sunday,  we  landed 
at  Liverpool,  and  that  evening  I  found  at  Chester 
several  shipmates  who  had  landed  at  Queenstown, 
expecting  to  be  at  London  the  sooner ;  but  so  it  was 
not  to  be ;  and  we,  who  stuck  to  the  ship,  had  the 
best  of  it,  not  only  in  purse,  but  in  comfort.  On  the 
18th  of  November  I  had  the  pleasure  of  reporting  to 
my  aged  father-in-law  that,  by  God's  blessing,  my 
"  Errand  to  the  South  "  had  not  been  in  vain. 


APPENDIX. 


When  "  Corn  "  is  mentioned  it  means  Indian  Com  or  "  Maize." 
The  grits  of  this  corn  are  commonly  used  as  a  vegetable,  being 
boiled,  and  served  up  in  a  mash,  and  then  called  *'  Hominy ;" 
the  com  meal  is  used  as  the  staple  food  for  bread  in  the  shape 
of  soft  cakes — eaten  cold  or  hot. 


U  AZy  I  A  tit^  {See  p.  2B9.) 


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:^: 


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