Chapter XIII
This war is tet ragin with as much Violence as ever; boath
sides are preparing for the worst; Gen. Grant Com.in
Chief, I guess they will give the Rebs a hard Jab
this spring; no doubt but they will try to Over power theI
Rebels with there large forces; but the rebels will be aware of all this; it My
Opinion that the Rebels will act altogeather on the
Defensive, this will require a less number of men; The Russians in 1812 acted
on the defensive and wasted Napolians Grand army to
nothing; and if Grant cant smash down the Rebels early in the Campane, the Rebels may carry on the war a long time. I
guess they will have to leave
Snow fell yesterday an inch or two, and it
is very disagreeble wether. In 1814
I remember well, it was called the hard longe
winter, it frose from 1813 to
There apears to
be a great excitment through tae whote
country Dick and me went t o Cumberland April
4 to buy a few medicines, and I
compelled to go to the ?Provost? marchal;
the ?permit? buisness is alto geather
a militra afair after much
ado we found him, he was quite persequiting Yankee, „
he told me it was there Object to do all the harm the possable
could to Virginia;“ what to destroy all,
burn our houeses Barns etc. "Oh no, we dont
wish to hurt the women and children 'but the men are all Seccesh
or Rebels and ought to be extermenated," well I says, the women and Children
must perish, if the men are all killed
off; and if a woman gets sick or a Child, and I am wanting of a a particular kind of a medicine, and I have not got it, musr the perish
because the recide in Virginia? this
choaked the Yankee, and he said he could not ,sent to
let me have the drugs till he and seen his captain, we then had to wait two
hours and at last he came, and with much
quizing he consented.
Nowit is not very Surprising that these black
abolitionist should be so bitter ageanst Virginians;
when I could point out, not a few, in this our Neighbrood,
as bitter Abolitions or worse than this Yankee. One man and prays once or twice
a day, says Grace every time he eats, and a man of good property, told me that
"we cant conquer the Rebels with fighting, and the only chance now left is
to Burn and destroy every thing before them" this I thought was harsh
language out of a professing Christain; I wonder were
he found Scripture in the new Testament for to justify him with such action but
I have noticed ever since I was 10 or 12 years old; more Barbarous Cruelty,
with members of that Methodist Church, than in any other Church, or even among
Non proffessors, thus from a Child I have never liked
them; there are many Exceptions I dont wish to condem all; these kind of Abolitionst
I have mentioned before, the care nothing for the Negro, its the envy they have
to the Negro Master. It apears that boath Sides are preparing for a dredful
conflict, and there is every apearance a troublesom Spring and Summer. I
have heard that there is a considerable force of Rebs
going westward, and yesterday Cannons was heard in a westerly direction. The
Copperhead and the Abolition party and Soldiers in some of Northern and Western
sates, nave been coming to blows; one Case particularly in a county town
Charlestown, Cole County; in which there were 8 or 10 of the Abolitionst killed and woulded
and two or three of the Copperheads, how the thing will be settled I cant see;
if the U.S. are determined to prosecute;
there will be some hanging, or imprisonment would it not be advisable
for Mr.Lincoln to wink at it, and Call it a Drunken
Scrape.
We have had a very long winter, and very cold at times lot with very
snow till the 29th March; and on the fourth of April Dick and I went to
Cumberland, we went with 18 inches of snow and come back with still more snow,
for it snowed all the way as fast as it could come down; and with the Old and
new snow at this place was 3 feet on the of the 5th, and now to day is about 5
inches and still snowing a little from the W. it began from the E.
I was
to see a Child B. Hulls yesterday; he was very bad, and to all appearances with
this p revaling cold that is raging in these parts
but he was aflict with worms as much as anything
else, he to day is a little better; John
Dixons boy very poorly, and I think in the condition
as Hulls boy. I then went to Cathrean Ward; She has
been in a Strange State for some time; and I have suspected her liver, being in
a bad condition a little, but still the head remained bad; I think nothing but
a ?Mercurlar treatment can be of any real servis to her. I left some 20 pills of Mass (Blue Mass) to
take 3 pills a day for 3 or 4 days, I want to see ner
on Saturday 30th --- Where was a man come to Rob George Dull, but George
Dull not quite as big a fool who came to rob him; there was a good many
Conjectures who or what he was; it was thought at one time he was one of the
Yew York Caverly; but after taking him up two or
three times, it is fully belived to be a Tom Harrison of Nathan. it makes little
difference, who or what he is, he is gone;
the way all such like, ought to go.
It is said ,
all the Troops are from
There has been some fighting, is reported, about Bunkers Hill, and it is Said the Rebels had the
advantage; how true I cant say. On the Night betwix
the 4th and 5th instant; a Squad of
Rebels passed through here, towards
Piedmont and it is said they did Considerable damage there; Burt the Machun
house and took Considerable plunder;
they were back by One o'clock next day;
they went throught Elk Garden, and some of the
Yankees followed after them, and I have
since heard the Rebels have made there final excape
to the Land of Dixey they had when they passed
here, 22 horses, and the captured 12
more on the farm of J. T. Pierce; it is
said he Pierce was with them; Since
then there has been a great deal of Fire in this Neighbrood, and it is thought by many, that the fire has
been the act of some scoundrel; and
yesterday 8th heard that John Thomas was arrested at his Uncel
William Thomas on N. Creek; it appears
that he J. Thomas fell in with two Rebels that were making there way to the
South, and not being acquainted with the Country they offered J. Thomas three
dollars to conduct them to George Dyes;
after he had left them at Dyes he fell in with a Yankee in disguise of a
Rebel, and after pumping all he could
out of Thomas, he the Yankee, made heast to some
other Yankees, and there the captured boath the Rebels, and then captured J. Thomas while yet in
bed at his Uncels;
he was taken to N. C. Station on Saturday morning, and I guess he will
have some trouble before he gets clear of the Yankees; there is but little pity for him, it will cure him of his conceat
he has of himself; but I pity his mother
and famaly; he
has been peddling and trading with and among the Yankees, buying old government horses etc., and I think he has made but little, besides neglecting his home, and farm; and that is neglected bad enought. I have often adviced
him to mind his business,
and not to meddle with eather party. Now this is an Example that others my profit
by wat the present and the future; and it was my advice to the Neighbrood at the beginning, vis. to go and join the
party he thought propper, or if he choose to join neather to stay at home,
and not to interfare with neather
party; and few took my advice.
Through the last month; and it is thought
the Federal party has not gained much,
if not come to a heavy loss; it apeared that more desperate the war gets, the more folley is commited on boath sides; and particularly with the Federal
Government; Mr. Lincoln does not stand
at the Constitution in may respects;
perhaps he is justifiable in times of Rebelion, but I have often thought if he had stuck to
the Constitution, it would have been
better for the Federal Party. Now there
are Strange transactions goin on betwix
been loud Clanering in this our U.S. and now all is as Silantas the grave:
here we see the French Emporor Establishing a
Monarchal Government, and no one says Rams-horn What can be the cause? is A. Lincoln afraid
to speak for fraid the French may declar
war ageanst him?
or has he Recognised
all that
I have not heard from J.
Thomas: perhaps the famaly
have; for Jane
[possibly his daughter Eliza Jane] went day before yesterday to her Uncil Geo. Dulls, to see if he could bet to see him. I am thinking the famaly
are wishing to keep us from knowing anything of the circumstances; when we look at the
thing seriously; it shows that J. Thomas
is a low mean wretch, that would stoop
to do any mean act for a little money.
To have heard J. Thomas talk of his loyalty, we would never suppose,
that he would never have betrayed his Union cause or his country for three paltrey dollars;
But John Randolph said, the American peopel would sell Brimstone to the Devil for
money." For my part, I know, and see as
much of J. Thomas as I wish to know; if
I was as stout a Republican as A. Lincoln himself; I should never think anything of J. Thomas anymore; he is a nothing, but an anything for
money. If I had been guilty of such meaness I would, if I ever got home agean
stay on my farm and never show my face to public-world agean
Very wet wether,
has been raining this three days past, and still raining this morning; the wind in the #E. or S. E. ----- I have
not heard from J. Thomas this two days; last I heard from him, Mr. D. Dull
went to take him some cloting, and I guess to interseeed for his release;
but I guess they the Yankees will ?Loath? there
Grip on him. They have been wishing to
make an example on some one or two, and they have laid a Black-faced trap
for some unthinking person; and Johney too this black-faced bait of $3.00; -- These Yankees will try hard to make an
Example of him, if nothing else, but to Enhance these merrits; and to let there Masters see, they do
something for the holy cause of Emancipation, and Equalty. These Yankees and very much like the Yellow
Jacket wasp, you may pass one of there
nests some times for weeks; but just ram
a stick into there next, and then for weeks to come; neather
man nor beast can pass them without getting Stung, by these Wasps; Just so with these Yankees, for Since the Rebels Raid on Piedmount; they are
watching every road and Cross road where there is no Ocasion
to watch and in a few days they become as careless as ever; I have been thinking of late that these
Yankees are a lazy selfish set of rouges and they serve for; is Greenbacks and an Idle lazy life; I have heard that the Rebs
made a rush upon the Yankees at Greenland and Captured a good many of the
Yankees; how true this is, I cant say
but I guess its all a Rumer, with no foundation.
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We stayed here about two hours after
this and as the Tide was now riseing, we soon got our
Anchor up, and soon we "Wore of Shore," and give them three Cheers. We never heard what damage we did them; but we thought we
got off just in time, for we thought we
could see them that they had got a Cannon or two just as we sailed away. We now bore off to the N.E. and soon fell in
with our Convoy in search of us, we
landed that night at a little town on the Shelt not
far from Anterp,
the other two ships had god there long before us, and had landed all there men etc., and there
were orders to make all heast to march towards Brusels the other part of the Irish Regiment 750 was
already on there way to Brusels that morning
early; but it was 10 o'clock before we
could land, and about one or two o'clock
we started off, and traveled about 10 miles, to a place were was a fort on the
bank of a Canal, here we fell in with
our Irish Regiment. There were some 20
or 30 houses at this place, and by the
conduct of moust of the inhabitants we found that we
were not welcom in that part of Belgium; the comander of
this fort told us, that he expected the peopel would fire on us in the night, but he the Commander, had two guns loaded and
pointed to when a group of them had collected, so that he would have no aiming
to do; and true enough his conjecturs were right;
for about one o'clock the fiered on our men,
but they had nothing but shot-guns, and they did us no harm; but as quick as they fired, the two guns
from the fort went off, and next morning they examnied
the ground where the fired at, and there was considrable
blood; but we thought they had carryed off there killeed or
wounded, We left early next morning June
16th Friday, we left our Regiment, as they traveled slow with there bagabe etc., and about 3 o'clock we heard a heavey Cannon firing towards Burrssels
or in a westerly direction; then another
firing more to the right, and we saw men on horseback, going and coming; but we could get no news from any of them, as they all spoke French or a kind of
French; but we soon fell in with a line
of ?Piquets? English, who informed us there had been
some hard fighting some 8 or 10 miles off;
but with what results they could not inform us; but we found the people hear were
quite defrant [different] to what they were where we stoped last night for they brought us bread and butter and
cheese milk and wine out of there houses, and treated us very kindly; the ?piquets? told
use we had better go no farther than the next Tavern we come to this Tarvern about 6 o'clock;
the house was about 20 or 30 yards from the road; and what astonished us, was the sigen of ?Rob Roy?, we called out at the gate, and what
astonished us still more, was a big Red-headed Scotch man came we asked him if
we could stay all night; he swore he
would not have us in the house, for we were English; and that Buonepart
had given the English a damn good beating this afternoon. We found there was no rest for us there, and
as we could see a village about a mile further, we concluded to go there; so we
left there with no good-by to the Scotch man;
but we had not gone more than 200 yards, when we came to a rising
hill, the first we had seen since we left
England; here we met 5 soldiers I supose they were Officers by there dress, and each one had
a servant riding with them; they saw
in a moment we were English; and we told
them we were in want of lodgings; they asked
why we did not stay at the "Rob Roy" we told them what had passed
with the red-headed Scotchman and us;
one of them a Stought good looking man got
hold of the Bridle of our horses, and Swore we must turn back, to the Rob Roy,
the ballance of them concured
with this Bully of a man; so we
I must stop with my history for a
while. The report of the Greenland Raid
as before mentioned turned out a lie, as
I thought it to be, but I saw a paper of
Friday 13 inst. giving a dredful accout
of some hard fighting on the Potomac, or on the way to Richmond; and from all facts there never was more
desperate fighting in the world; and as
far as I could see, there was but little gained on eather
side; yet from the Yankees account, they
had gained a compleat victory, and was braging heavely; and that they had no doubt of being in Richmond in
a few days, but these Yankees love to
brad, and I have knowen there Brads all Fudge; See the size of Charleston yesterday I heard
that Lee had inflicted a heavy loss on Grant;
but it is thought that the man who told me, is a little adicted to lieing, yet he
pretends to be a very Loyal Lincolnists; but from there owen
statement acording to my judgment, the Yankees came
off the worsted; I guess by to day there
are more particulars from the fighters.
Never was such an Unnatrual Fanatical war; to
see men so dessperate, who 4 or 5 years ago called
one another Breatheren; and now see them in such
deadly bloody Strife; it looks to me, that the Federal Government was widening
the Breach betwix the two partys,
and not trying to Cement the quarrel at all: I begin to think, that Mr. Lincoln
or his government are bent on nothing less than extermanation
of the white man of the South; what a Bloody Idea for Breatheren
to have