RICHMOND [VA] WHIG
July – December 1864
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 1, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
The
Grog Shops and the Police—Reform Needed.—Two months have elapsed since the
law passed the last session of the Legislature for the suppression of the sale
of ardent spirits, and not one single case has yet been reported to the courts.
There are thirteen day police officers, four night officers and forty
watchmen on duty in the city, and yet they pretend not to know that liquor is
sold and drank in this city. It is
a well known fact that the Legislature passed the law at the instance of Gen. R.
E. Lee, Gov. Smith, and we have heard of Mayor Mayo, and still the law remains a
perfect dead letter upon the statute book.
The police, whose duty it is to execute this law and report those who
violate it, are well aware that there are now nearly five hundred of these sinks
of iniquity at full blast in this city, who are, daily and hourly dispensing
their poisonous drugs to all comers and goers who are willing to pay their
extortionate charges for the dreadful fluid, thereby demoralizing all persons
who imbibe, and particularly the soldier, thereby causing them to commit all
sorts of crimes and totally unfitting them for their duties in the field.
Every liquor house in this city that sold liquor with or without a
license, is now keeping their grog shop open with a few boxes of tobacco and
bottles at the window and behind the counter, when the bar, being removed to the
back room with a lattice screen up to keep out the public gaze, and very often a
huge buck negro at the front door to keep watch, after the style that the
keepers of the Faro-banks have their sentinels posted.
It is,
nevertheless, very remarkable that a law should have been in force so long, and
is openly violated at least a thousand times a day, and still there is no more
notice taken of it by the authorities than if it had never been passed.
We have thought the day police were efficient in the discharge of their
duties. The chief of the day police
is one of the most energetic and efficient officers the city ever had.
He and many of the day officers do both night and day duty. But candor requires us to say that the night police are
utterly worthless, and merely an incubus and dead expense to the city and no
profit whatever. Many of them are
seen and noticed by the citizens leaving their posts and going into the brothels
and neglecting their duty; hence so many burglaries are committed and the
thieves never detected. There is
some excuse for the day police, for all thirteen of them are required to be at
the Mayor's Court every day, whether they have business or not and to remain
until the court closes, which is generally about half of the day; nearly all the
rest of the day is occupied in distributing tickets to the poor and needy
families of the city, to facilitate them in drawing supplies necessary for their
support; so it will be seen that very little time is left for them to ferret out
offences; and yet the day police make more arrests than the whole night watch
together. Seven of the night police
have already been recently discharged for playing cards "on the
Square." Let the balance of
them be also discharged for dereliction of duty, and let them be put in the
army, and better men put in their places, who know and will fearlessly discharge
their duties. The time for reform
in the police has arrived. The
people and their property require protection from the midnight burglar and
assassin.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 1, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
Mayor's
Court.-- . . . Fourteen white women, among whom were three aged at least fifty,
had been arrested in the establishment over Ruskell's stable, on Wall street, on
the charge of keeping a most disorderly house of ill-fame.
Several persons, living on Franklin street in the neighborhood, testified
that these women all lived there together, and kicked up the very deuce night
and day, drinking whisky, fiddling and dancing, fighting, screaming, yelling,
swearing, using obscene language, indecently exposing their persons and
interfering with persons passing along the street.
The
Mayor required the women to give security for their good behavior, which they
failing to do, he committed them to jail. Three
men, caught in the house when the police descended upon it, were similarly
disposed of.
There
were two or three rows between old women to be adjusted, the difficulties
growing out of the use of a door or window, or some such matter.
Why will not people, especially old women, try to dwell together in
unity? In the name of all that is
reasonable, is there not fighting enough going on in this country among the men
without the old women adding their turmoil to vex the sight of Heaven?
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 1, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
Terrific
Fight Between Two Sisters.—Last evening, about dusk, Bridget and Mary Finnegin,
living in a shanty in Pink Alley, near the New Market, while under the influence
of liquor, got in a little difficulty which is likely to result most seriously
to both parties. It seems that
jealousy, the green-eyed monster, was at the bottom of the affair.
Some words passed between them regarding Dennis O'Rourke, a man whom they
had met at a wake on the previous night, and from words they soon came to blows.
Mary aimed a blow at Bridget with a bottle, which missing its aim, passed
through the window and inflicted a severe scalp wound on an old negro who was
going down the alley. Mary seeing
that she had missed her sister, closed with her, and seizing her by the hair
with one hand, proceeded to gouge her about the eyes and face with the other.
Bridget by this time having gotten hold of a flat-iron, struck Mary a
tremendous blow upon the nose, mashing it as flat as a flounder.
The noise made by the scuffle between the parties attracted the attention
of some of the neighbors, who ran in and separated the infuriated women before
further damage had been done.
A
physician, who was immediately called in, gave it as his opinion that
Bridget's eyes are permanently injured, especially the left; but Mary's
nose, he thinks, will be very soon as good, and perhaps even better, than ever.
This
disgraceful affair must be ascribed to the inordinate use of whisky, together
with the uncontrollable passions of the parties.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 1, 1864, p. 1, c. 2
A New Magazine.
Smith & Barrow's Monthly Magazine, delayed for some weeks in
consequence of the military calls made upon the employees of the office, has
appeared. The exterior is handsome
and tasteful; the letter press of the interior is almost a facsimile of
Blackwood's Magazine. In addition
to a large list of interesting original and selected articles, there are several
pages devoted to Army and Navy Intelligence derived from official sources, which
will be a special and decidedly attractive feature of the Magazine.
We append a list of contents:
An
Opening Address, The Currency, Althea Arnold, a Tale of the South, A Peep
Through the Blockade, The Unreal and its Mysteries, The Genius of Thackeray, A
Plea for Monuments, Attempts at Classic Metres in quantity, "Mrs.
Archie," Marie Antoinette's Necklace, Curiosities of Fashion, An Old Greek
Scene and Adventure, Mysteries of the Seraglio, Army Intelligence.
The price of the Monthly is two dollars per copy.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 1, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
Letter from the
Rev. Dr. Dabney.
From the New York Times.
Hampden Sidney, Va., April 4, 1864.
My
Dear Friend: Your valued letter of
November 9, 1863, reached me after some delay; and every week since the old year
went out, I have been purposing to reply. I
delayed in order to get you some documents which I thought would be interesting;
and having returned from Richmond Saturday with a part of these, I now seat
myself for a pleasant chat with you. . . .
Mrs.
Dabney sends you five specimens of the ladies' wear, manufactured at home by
herself and neighbors. They will
interest the ladies of your family. They
will see that our women—the most obstinate of all rebels—do not intend to be
subjugated by having "nothing to wear."
They are now generally clad in these fabrics at home and at church, and
covered with home made bonnets of braided straw, trimmed with flowers made and
colored at home, and with bands and rosettes made of corn shucks.
Let not the New York ladies, with their luxurious Paris finery, sneer;
they have no idea how nice the corn shuck rosettes are, dyed with native dyes,
any color, embroidered with silk ravelled from old scarfs or stockings, and as
glossy as Lyons satin. They may be assured that in these home manufactures our
Confederate belles look fine enough to win the hearts of our gallant men. . . .
R. L. Dabney.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 2, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
The
Fourth of July.—Next Monday will be the 88th anniversary of
the "Declaration of American Independence."
The Yankees profess to have great regard for this anniversary, and will
doubtless celebrate it in the "usual way" in their cities, towns and
villages, whilst it is thought not improbable that Grant may signalize its
recurrence by some important military enterprise.
With
us the Fourth of July will pass off without special commemoration.
A morning salute from some of the batteries may, perhaps, be fired, and
the Confederate flag may be displayed from public buildings, but our people have
such an aversion to everything with which the Yankee race is identified that
they have no inclination—certainly not at this juncture of affairs—to
celebrate the Fourth of July. They
do, however, most cordially revere and sincerely recognize the great principle
enunciated in the "Declaration" that "all governments derive
their just powers from the consent of the governed."
If any Yankee who favors the prosecution of this war dare assert the same
thing he lies, knowingly and willfully.
The
Yankee bands will play "national airs," and the army glee clubs will
sing the "Star Spangled Banner," but the words of the last two
stanzas, like Macbeth's "Amen," must surely stick in their throats.
Our own warriors could more appropriately use the sentiment of the song,
which, as our readers know, is not a "Yankee song," to prove
which we quote the last stanzas, omitting the chorus:
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
"That the havoc of war, and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country shall leave us no more?
Their blood hath wiped out their foul footstep's pollution—
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave.
Oh, thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their love'd home and the war's desolation;
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heaven rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just,
And this be our motto, "In God is our trust!"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 2, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
The
Watchmen.—The city night watchmen were making a great stir about a paragraph
which appeared in this column yesterday. We
are glad of it, and hope that they may be excited so to deport themselves as to
prove that they are not a nuisance and a dead expense to the city.
But in this we feel that we are hoping against hope.
As at present organized and regulated, if the material were all good,
which it is not, they would be worthless. They
want some keen, live, sensible thief taker at their head, who will keep every
one of them under his eye. They
want that the city shall be destricted [sic] out to them, no watchman ever to be
shifted from his district, and not to go out of it at night, except upon a call
for help from some other watchman, or under circumstances of extreme urgency.
They then want that every watchman shall be held responsible for what
takes place in his ward, or their ward, if it should be found expedient to post
them in couples. They want that
they shall be stopped from the absurd practice of carrying muskets while on
duty; and from the thousand times more absurd practice recently begun, of crying
the hours. If measures had been
specially sought to point the watchmen out to the thieves, no more effectual one
could have been found than these. A
musket can be seen by the glimmer of the moon, or the gas lamps, half a mile,
and by it the night watchman is indicated.
As to the crying of the hours, that tells their whereabouts as well as
if, instead of saying, "One o'clock, all's well," they said "Oh,
thieves, here am I; I am going down Main street, you can operate at your leisure
behind me."
The
wants of the night watch, to make them effective, are all that we have
enumerated. In addition, they want
that at least half of the present force shall be discharged, and more
intelligent men put into their places. Until
these things are done, the Richmond night watch will be a scorn and a hissing.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 2, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
Country
Truck.—The prices of country truck have become so enormous in the past few
days, that some people think a Yankee raid about the city is necessary to bring
the country folks to their senses. Though
country men are aware that two-thirds of the produce they send to this city goes
to supply the sick and wounded of General Lee's army, upon which army the safety
of every cent's worth of property in Virginia depends, still they continue to
heap on the price. They don't seem
to be able to see an inch before their noses.
Their motto is, "Let us get high prices, though Richmond fall."
Let Richmond fall, Mr. Farmer, and the hoofs of Yankee cavalry will crush
into earth every growing thing in your truck patch, and the Yankee soldier will
take his ease under your vine and fig tree.
If such an evil time should ever befall, you will lament in ashes
(sackcloth you may not have) that you did not give your vegetables and
buttermilk to the warriors languishing in the hospitals, that they might have
grown strong and gone out and defended your homestead from the foe.
Let's
see how these good people were giving away the products of their soil yesterday,
both to citizens and the hospitals. Two
men had tomatoes in the Second Market. The
tomatoes were, as an average, about the size of a hen egg.
One man asked $20 a dozen, the other asked the writer of this, who
enquired the price through motives of the most disinterested curiosity, $8 for
nine. Both men sold out the
vegetables being doubtless bought by kind friends who could illy afford the
expense, for the refreshment of husbands, sons or brothers suffering from wounds
received in the late battles. Onions
sold at $1 a piece, and were bought up quickly.
Cymblins and cucumbers from $5 to $8 a dozen.
Buttermilk and water, half and half, $2.50 a quart.
June apples, $5 a quart. Blackberries
and cherries from $2 to $2 50 a quart. Whortleberries,
$3 50 a quart. Beets, four in a bunch, $4 a bunch.
Before
closing this market paragraph, we must mention that a lady, living about twenty
miles from Richmond, on the Danville railroad, sent a negro to the city with a
cartload of vegetables the other day, and, she tells, that he brought back home
nearly a cart full of money.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 2, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"A Charming Woman;" selected pieces; "A. S. S."
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 2, 1864, p. 1, c. 2-3
Summary: Address by Rev. Dr. Jeter
for the education of needy children of Confederate Soldiers
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 4, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Obedience to Orders;" selected pieces; "Post of
Honor;" grand Southern anthem; allegorical tableau; tomorrow "The
Ghost"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 4, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Music
on the Square.—The Armory Band gave two public concerts on the Capital Square
last week. As the performances were
unheralded, the music was enjoyed by a small number of persons, who had repaired
to the square for a promenade or lounge upon the benches.
We are pleased to learn, however, that similar entertainments will be
given every Tuesday and Friday afternoon for the rest of the summer, commencing
at 6 o'clock. We hope that Prof.
Loebman, the leader of the Band, will make judicious selections of pieces for
these open air concerts. Let us have but very little of the merely scientific and
unfamiliar compositions, and more of the popular airs, operatic medley, and
other music that will enliven and gratify the people who will throng the Square
to listen to the performances. We
will publish in this column the programme of each concert, if handed in the day
before. We have not heard whether
the Band has volunteered its services for these concerts or not, but presume
that his Excellency Governor smith has had some say in the matter.
If so, the ladies and invalid soldiers will gratefully appreciate his
consideration, whilst applauding the musicians.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 5, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Ghost of the Mound;" selected pieces; "Which Shall I
Marry?" new comedies in
rehearsal
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 5, 1864, p. 1, c. 2
Greek
Met Greek.—The following is an extract from a private letter written by a lady
in the Trans-Mississippi department to a gentleman in Shubula, Mississippi.
Is another one of the misfortunes, so many of which have occurred in the
Virginia army"
"A
sad misfortune occurred at the battle of Pleasant Hill. A large battery of the enemy's had been playing on our ranks
for some time, committing terrible destruction.
Col. Parsons, who command a brigade of Texans, commenced a movement to
charge and secure this battery. He
succeeded in capturing it after a desperate struggle, and immediately turned it
on the flying foe.—Gen. Churchill, commanding a brigade of Arkansians, about
the same time commenced a charge on the same battery, he thinking that the enemy
still held it. Parsons thinking
Churchill was the enemy attempting to retake the battery, turned the guns upon
him. A desperate fight ensued.
The mistake was not discovered until General Churchill arrived at the
battery and saw the colors. The loss here was heavier than at any other point in the
battle-field."
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 5, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
The Rebel House.
Jim Cook respectfully informs his friends and former patrons that he can
now be found at the "Rebel House," on 15th street, under
the rear of the Exchange Hotel, where he will be happy to serve them with the
best the markets afford. Turtle
Soup will be included in the bill of fare in the course of a week or two. Citizens can obtain ice on application at the "Rebel
House" any hour of the day or night, Sundays included.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 7, 1864, p. 2, c. 1-2
. . . [Newtown, King & Queen County, VA] "Mrs. S. S. Gresham wrote to a
Colonel Pruington, of the 2d Ohio Regiment of Cavalry, asking for a guard to
protect her premises. He replied,
that her husband was Captain of a guerrilla company, and he would afford her no
protection whatever. She again
wrote him, stating that he was mistaken; that her husband was Assistant Post
commissary at Newtown; and sent the note by her son.
The colonel replied that he would receive no communication from Mrs.
Gresham—and a few moments afterwards one of his captains, with a company of
cavalry, came up to the door of her house and said that her husband was a
guerrilla, and he would hang him if caught.
She reiterated to no purpose that he was mistaken—and he replied, as
only a Yankee officer could in addressing a Virginia lady, that she told a
d-----d lie, and that he was sent to destroy everything on the premises.
He obeyed orders and proceeded to do so, carrying off every mouthful of
provisions, clothing, and clothes, towels, &c.
He broke up, or rendered useless, all the farm machinery, tools, &c.
In a few hours the loss perpetrated by this Vandal in uniform upon a
single family amounted to not less than $150,000, besides negroes; and this we
are informed, was the case with many others along the road through which they
passed—the men declaring that they were acting under strict orders.
Will
we treat these demons as prisoners? If
we were a nation of Quakers we could not be more meek and forbearing.
A Heroine of the True Type.
A Miss Williams, of Fredericksburg, who, as the sequel shows, has stamina
and pluck enough to make a dozen heroes—who, amid the shelling and sacking of
the great "old Burg," remained as true as steal [sic] to our cause,
and though in humble circumstances, even while a refugee, living in a cabin,
never let an opportunity pass without giving aid and encouragement to our brave
soldiers.—During Grant's late occupation of Fredericksburg furnished another
illustration of the undying and unconquerable patriotism which animates the
women of the South.
Her
two grown brothers, who joined Burnside and went North when he evacuated the
place in '62, came on with Grant, and of course, visited their family.—This
young lady informed them that she could shake hands with no enemy of her
country, though born of the same mother, and declined all further communication
with them; nor did she waver, as we are informed, in her determination as long
as they remained.
Whenever
our fair countrywomen, on our exposed border, are as true under such trying
circumstances, there is no power on earth that can conquer us.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 7, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
Home
Manufactured Ice.—Capt. Camille Girardey, of Augusta, is manufacturing ice for
the hospitals by means of caloric acid gas and water, under the influence of
steam and atmospheric pressure, in a machine invented by M. Carrie, of France.
The machine is capable of producing one ton per day.
It can also manufacture salt and some chemicals of importance. Capt.
Girardey has secured the patent right for the Confederacy, and intends to be
introduced into all the Southern cities.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 7, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Bad
Place Broken Up.—Mary E. Vanderlip and Sarah Jane Rose, were yesterday brought
before the Mayor on the charge of keeping a disorderly house of ill fame; and,
at the same time, John C. Dawson, J. M. Boykin and R. Holesforth were charged
with being found in the said house.
It
appeared that Vanderlip and Rose lived in a house in "Highland Row,"
on Main street, in Rocketts. The
neighbors, complaining very much of the character of the house, officers Adams
and Bibb visited it on Tuesday evening, when they found the women and men
behaving themselves in a manner calculated to disturb the peace and quiet of the
neighborhood.
Mr.
Adams stated that the man Dawson was a released Penitentiary convict.
Boykin and Holesforth were patients from the Chimborazo Hospital.
The Mayor sent Dawson and the women to jail, and turned the soldiers over
to the Provost Marshal.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 7, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Remedy
for Camp Itch.—For the benefit of our soldiers and many of our citizens who
may be suffering with camp itch, we republish the following recipe, furnished us
some time since by a distinguished physician of this city:
Take—Iodide of Potassium
50 grs.
Lard
2 oz.
Mix
well, and after washing the body thoroughly with warm soap suds, rub the
ointment over the body three times a week.
In seven or eight days the acarus (or insect) will be destroyed,
and the unpleasant effects of the old sulphur ointment will be obviated.
The
treatment is highly recommended.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 7, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
The
Selma Girls.—The junior editor of the Mississippian always did love the girls,
and always will. From the following
we should say the chances are, that unless he is choked off by his friends, he
must inevitably "bust his boots:"
Once
more the streets are drying and the walking is becoming pleasant.
There were hundreds of ladies out yesterday, charming everybody with
their beautiful forms and faces—not to mention the bewitching effect of their
finery. In the tide of beauty which
rolled along there were many a lovely girl, "the brightness of whose cheek
would shame the stars"—beside whose eyes "crystal is muddy,"
and whose form would rival that of the sylphs of days gone by.
We confess to our readers, who, we trust, will say nothing about it, that
we were inspired with a feeling akin to the sentiments expressed by Byron in the
following lines:
I love
the sex, and sometimes would reverse
The tyrant's wish "that mankind only had
One
neck, which he with one fell stroke might pierce;"
My wish is quite as wide, but not so bad,
And
much more tender on the whole than fierce;
It being, (not now, but only while a lad)
That
womankind had but one rosy mouth,
To kiss them all at once, all o'er the South.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 7, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
Nashville
Niggers.—A correspondent of the Chicago Times says:
Nashville
is a great place for negroes, and I must say my experience on Michigan avenue
never led me into such a sea of lilac kids, silks, broadcloths, patent leathers,
watchchains, breastpins, rings, and bracelets, as I encountered upon Summer
street yesterday afternoon. Little
delicate canes, too, with gold heads, were being switched about in the most
approved style; and, as for cravats, one would think the dusky swells had made
them the study of a lifetime. Among
these dark skinned gentlemen and ladies, white men and women have but one
advantage—that of eccentricity—given them by dressing so much poorer
and so far behind the fashion.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 7, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"The Fairy Circle;" charming ballad; "My Cousin
Tom;" selected pieces; "A. S. S."; tomorrow—"My Husband's
Ghost;" soon "Take That Girl Away"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 8, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Aid
the Poor.—Owing to the destruction of the different lines of railway leading
to the city, the regular supply of meal for the poor has failed.
It is proposed to relieve the present necessities of the poor by
subscriptions of money. All benevolent persons desirous of contributing to this
worthy object will at once hand in their subscriptions to Wm. P. Munford, Esq.,
at the office of the James River and Kanawha Company, in the Enquirer Building.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 8, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Old
Women.—We congratulate the community upon the fact, that there is now a
prospect of the city being relieved of its superabundance of old women.
The military authorities have determined to give passports to all the old
women who may wish to go to yankee land. Joy
go with them.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 8, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Simpson & Co.;" charming ballad; "My Cousin
Tom"; singing and dancing; "My Husband's Ghost;"
tomorrow—"Take That Girl Away" and "Pet of the Public"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 9, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Take That Girl Away;" singing and dancing; "Pet of the
Public;" Monday—another entirely new farce; a new play every evening next
week
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 11, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
Cheap
Lemonade.—Take a teaspoon full of tartaric acid and stir it into a bucket of
clear water. Sweeten with brown
sugar, and slice in, by way of helping the imagination, about half a lemon, if
you can get one; otherwise do without. Put
a lump or two of ice into the mixture, and you will have "nice
lemonade" equal to that usually retailed for one dollar per glass.
If you prefer to make "cider" use molasses instead of the
sugar, add a little yeast, and then bottle.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 11, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Take That Girl Away;" beautiful songs; "Married at Any
Price"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 11, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Mrs. E. Braselman
Teacher of
French and English Embroidery,
Will give lessons at the residence of her patrons, and at her own residence,
corner of Duval and Clark streets.
References
and terms made known on application to Miss Rebecca Semon, No. 111 Broad street.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 12, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Dalton
After Evacuation.—Dalton, Ga., was a very pretty little town before the war
and advent of Sherman's victorious army. A
correspondent of the St. Louis Democrat, describing the scene after its
evacuation, writes:
["]
Hearing a tremendous shout in the street, I ran out to see what was up, and
arrived just in time to witness the tobacco charge. When the rebels left they took away everything they could not
destroy. The store doors were all
open, and if there were any iron safes the doors were left open, which we think
is a cute trick, for if there is nothing in them no one will take the trouble to
break them open. In the business
part of the town are some dozen very good stores, which were being hunted for
stray articles, and among other things, some of the soldiers found covered up in
a pile of old rubbish a box of tobacco. That
was enough to start them out to hunt for more.
Some two or three hundred charged upon the next store on the corner.
In they went all in a heap. It
was as dangerous as the charge upon a battery, and some of them came out with
bloody noses and hands. But they
found some tobacco—both chewing and smoking.
There was no selfishness shown, but it was distributed by the plug to any
tobaccoless soldier; but they did not find enough to give every tenth man a
piece. In this store they found
large quantities of peanuts, and on the march that afternoon every one was
eating peanuts. All over the
business part of the town, about the store houses, the shelled corn was in some
places two inches deep. So all that
was necessary to do was to tie your horse to a stake and he was already fed.
I
wandered, in company with a friend, up town, to see what the condition of the
family residences were.—The first place we called at was a beautiful white
cottage house, with a magnificent door yard.
The gate swung by one hinge, and across the threshold lay a fine
Newfoundland dog, with a ball through his head; perhaps he had been the only
faithful guardian of the premises, and died at his post.
Each of us gathered a beautiful boquet [sic], such as the sunny South can
only give. I regretted that we
could not send them to the dear ones at home.
We passed up the front stairs and entered the front rooms firsts.
What a sight! Nice furniture
bottom side up, carpets torn up and scattered about, looking glasses broken,
nice vases in ruin on the floor—everything in confusion baffling description.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 12, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Ice
Cream and "Goodies."—We venture the assertion that more ice cream is
now sold daily in Richmond than at any former period of its history.
We base this opinion on the fact that not only are the regular "ice
cream saloons" thronged by ladies and gentlemen, but that on every street
in the city, at almost every barber shop, cook shop and "eating house"
you will see a sign displayed, "Ice Cream for Sale Here."
Moreover, there are numerous sable peripatetic vendors of congealed
custard, who move their stuff about on hand carts and wheelbarrows. All of these ice cream establishments are liberally
patronized at the rate of $3 to $4 per saucer.
Is it not wonderful that the price of milk is $2 50 to $3 per quart.
Not
only is ice cream extensively consumed in Richmond, but cakes, pies, puddings,
etc., are sold in large quantities every day at the confectioners' and baker's
shops, and at the market houses—chiefly at the latter places, where may be
found any morning a number of negro women dispensing "goodies" to
hungry or sweet tooth'd customers. Some
of the knick knacks are very tempting to the eye, and are no doubt prepared by
ladies experienced in the art of dessert making.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 13, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Take That Girl Away;" singing and dancing; "Marriage
at Any Price"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 13, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Hard
Case.—A poor young woman, employed in one of the Government Departments at the
beggarly salary of $4,500 per annum, went to the Old Market on Monday morning
with the intention of laying out $400 in veal cutlets, tomatoes, and a few small
potatoes for her dinner, when a miscreant of a boy, who hadn't tasted anything
but corn bread for three weeks, picked her pocket of every cent she had, and but
for the fact that a gentlemanly and kind-hearted butcher offered to trust her
for five pounds of meat, she would have been reduced to the awful necessity of
dining, that day, on bacon, eggs and dry bread.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 13, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Army
Scenes.—It is with a strange and thrilling sensation—when an enemy is
immediately in front—that the order for an advance before daybreak is heard in
camp, accompanied, as it always is, with the ominous serving out of three days'
provisions, and sixty rounds of ball cartridge to each man; with the bustle of
packing up the heavy baggage—the noise and hubbub in the camp—the deep and
hollow rolls of the great guns dragging up from the rear—and the congregating
together of the officers in their tents, preparing for the movement; some
speculating upon the results of the coming battle; some smoking cigars and
jesting with death; some musing upon absent friends, ruminating on the past, or
peering into the future; and, perchance, few—a very few thinking
beings—pondering on the final destiny of men, the mystery of death, and the
searchless secret beyond the grave.—John Malcolm.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 13, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
The
Irish in the United States.—There is something very significant in the
cessation of abuse on the part of New York Knownothings towards foreigners.
The latter are welcomed when they arrive, not as competitors for high
wages, but as food for Confederate powder.
"The German and Irish millions," says Emerson, "have a
great deal of guano in their destiny. They
are ferried over the Atlantic and carted over America to ditch and to drudge, to
make corn cheap, and then to lie down prematurely to make a spot of green grass
on the prairie. Just now there is
more terrible truth in that hard saying than when it was written.
The Irishman is the negro of the North, but he is not so well taken care
of because he does not cost so much. It
cannot surely be long before our emigrants discover the nature of the bourne
which they seek.—The Realm (British)
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 14, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
A Soldier Captured.
The Dalton correspondent of the Appeal gets off the following good one:
A
group of idle soldiers was, the other day, standing upon one of the street
corners in Dalton. The lads had
nothing else to do, and were looking out for a victim to one of those uncouth
jests, which the soldier is too apt to pass upon the inoffensive passer by.
At last a figure appeared in the distance, which seemed to combine all
the requisites desirable upon such occasions—simplicity, ill appearance and
age. He was an old man, in an old
overcoat, with padded velvet collar and patched sleeve.
He wore a greasy bell crowned hat, tough brogan shoes, and was mounted
upon a sorry beast. As he reached a
point a little in advance of the party, the ringleader sang out at the top of
his voice—
"Come
out o' that coat! I see you in
there! Mind your legs are wriggling
out! Come out, come out o' that
coat."
The
old man turned fiercely. For a
moment a fit of anger seemed to flash across his face, but he retained his self
possession and rode on as the rest of the group joined in the chorus—
C-o-m-e
out o' that c-o-a-t."
When
he had gotten off some hundred yards or more and the noise had lulled, he slowly
turned his horse's head and rode back. He
had noticed the individual who had started the row, and, approaching the curb
where he stood, said very mildly—
"Young
man, what is your name?"
"Jeems
Jones," was pertly replied.
"And
where are you from, Jeems?"
"Lawrence
county, Tennessee."
"Ah,
indeed! And what was the name of
your father and mother?"
"William
Jones and Sarah Jones."
The
old man heaved a deep sigh.
"Yes,
I thought so," he continued, "for I recognized the family likeness the
moment I laid eyes on you; and little did I think when I last saw your father
and mother, my old friends William and Sarah Jones, to meet a son of their who
would insult an inoffensive old man and a minister of the Gospel here on the
streets of Dalton. Yes, Jeems, I
know both of your parents well. I
was raised with them. I've knelt
down and prayed with them many a time in the blessed time of peace, when you
were a BABY in the cradle. And only
think of what you have done to me. Here
we are, poor exiled Tennesseans, fighting in a strange land to get back to our
own firesides. Some of us are dying
or falling in battle every day. The
green sod is scarce dry of the tears we have shed over some of their graves, and
the air is yet full of the prayers we send up to God on high.
And
yet, you, Jeems Jones, so far forget your good old mother, and her training, and
all, as to stop and insult one, an old man, and a minister of the gospel, while
I am riding along, molesting nobody, but going my round of duty.
I'm grieved; I ain't angry, but I'm mortified."
The
old man saw that he has spoken with effect, and like a prudent orator, took his
departure, commending "Jeems to be more thoughtful in future, and think
oftener of home and home folks."
The
crowd was about to disperse, when the hero of the occasion, who had gotten a
hundred yards off, turned back and approached it a second time:
"Jeems
Jones?"
"Yes,
sir!"
"You
say you are the son of William and Sarah Jones?"
"Yes,
sir."
"Of
Lawrence county, Tennessee?"
"Yes,
sir."
"Well,
where is that collar?"
Jones
opened his eyes.
"What
collar, sir?"
"That
collar of hemp around your hell-fired neck, you damned, lousy, ill-mannered son
of a gun, God blast you!"
It was
Col. Colms, of the cavalry.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 14, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"St. Mary's Eve; or, A Solway Story;" charming ballad; fancy
dance; "The Area Belle; or Kitchen Loves"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 16, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Young Scamp;" singing and dancing; "The Pirate's
Legacy"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 18, 1864, p. 2, c. 5
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"A Cabinet Question;" charming dance; fancy dance; "The
Pirate's Legacy; or, The Wrecker's Fate;" next week—"Our Wife;"
in preparation "The Siege of Vicksburg"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 18, 1864, p. 1, c. 2
The
Cure for Corpulency.—Mr. Banting's Course of Treatment.—The means by which
Mr. Banting managed to reduce his physical proportions may be interesting to
some of our readers. Breakfast—four
or five ounces of beef, mutton, kidneys, boiled fish, bacon, or cold meat of any
kind except pork, a large cup of tea (without milk or sugar) and one ounce of
dry toast. Dinner—five or six
ounces of any fish except salmon, any meat except pork, any vegetables except
potatoes, one ounce of dry toast, fruit out of any pudding, any kind of poultry
or game, and two or three glasses of good claret.
Nightcap, if required, a tumbler of grog, (gin, whisky, or brandy,
without sugar), or a glass or two of claret or sherry.
The quantities of the different articles specified in this liberal diet
roll, Mr. Banting states, must be left to the natural appetite, but for himself
he took at breakfast six ounces of solid and eight of liquid; at dinner, eight
ounces of solid and eight of liquid; at tea, three ounces of solid and six of
liquid; and the nightcap he introduces to show that it is not injurious, whilst
for the encouragement of smokers it may be mentioned that tobacco is allowable.
When Mr. Banting began this treatment in August, 1862, he weighed 202
lbs., and after a year's perseverance in it, in September, 1863, he had lost 46
lb., and reduced his girth 12¼ inches.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 18, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
Maimed Soldiers in Our Streets.
To the Editor of the Whig:
Is
there no remedy for the brutal treatment of our wounded braves?
Time and again has my heart been pained by seeing our wounded soldiers
struggling up the streets from the hospitals to some office to get furloughs to
go home or to draw their scanty pay—some with but one arm, some with one leg;
on crutches, with stumps yet raw; and some with their amputated limbs suspended
by cords from their shoulders—and all of them pale, weak, emaciated, unfit to
take the long walk through the hot sunshine, even if they had their limbs and
the natural use of them. There must
be a remedy for this shameful cruelty, this crying evil, and it ought to be
applied at once. Humanity, the
people at large, and common decency even demand it.
Observer.
[We
respectfully refer "Observer" to the eminent official whose duty it is
to look after such matters. The
back of his head, if we are not misinformed, may be found in his office at the
usual hours.]
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 19, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
What North Carolina Has Done.
Major Dowd, State Quartermaster of North Carolina, has recently published
an official statement showing the result of Governor Vance's scheme, by which
the North Carolina troops have been clothed, and a vast amount, even millions,
made a clear gain to the State.
The
sum of Major Dowd's statements seems to be about this: The State appropriated as capital for conducting these
operations, $2 324 000. With this
the clothing, &c., &c., have been purchased, and the sales have realized
a clear profit to the State of $6 771 478 99; of which £47 248 18s. sterling is
the principal part. That is, £47
248 18s are equal to $236,245, and that in England, is 20 for 1, amounts to $4
724 890 in currency.
A
Tabular Statement from the office of Maj. T. D. Hogg, State Commissary, shows
the success of another of Gov. Vance's provident measures.
He procured the passage of a law authorizing the purchases of provisions
for the soldiers' families, &c. Major
Hogg reports that up to the 1st inst., he had issued and sold to
Hospitals, 28 000 lbs. of bacon, 2,763 lbs. of rice, and 105 bbls of flour, and
41,506 bushels corn. All these articles were purchased at points where they were
plenty and low, and sold to points where they were scarce and high.
Even
these, great as they are, are not all the pleasant results. Some 30 000 pairs of cotton cards have been distributed to
soldiers' families in every county in this State, at $5 a pair, when other
blockade runners were selling them at from $50 to $100 a pair; four machines
have been brought and are about to be put in operation, for making cards; and
many necessary materials have been imported, and sold to manufacturers in the
State at comparatively reasonable prices, at least where those manufacturers
were selling their productions to the State at reasonable prices.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 19, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
From Arkansas.
The Lafayette Journal notices the return of Capt. H[ ]ne to that city, from Arkansas, where he has been for three
months. His description of the
condition of things is gloomy. No
preparations have been made for raising a crop this year, and to all the other
horrors of war absolute famine is to be added.
Crowds of ragged and woe-begone people, whole families, men, women and
children, besiege every steamboat for passage, willing to go in any direction to
escape the desolation and misery of their homes. Many leave their families, cattle and household goods, to be
appropriated by the first comer, anxious only to escape with life.
The country is over-run by predatory bands of guerrillas, who plunder,
rob and kill, burn, sack and ravage, without reference to age, sex or opinions.
From
the deck of the passing steamer the traveller sees blackened timbers, ash heaps,
and smoking ruins, where once stood happy homes. Fences, shade trees, barns and orchards are gone.
Every steamer is fired into from the shore by bands that roam up and down
in quest of plunder. Altogether the picture is most sad and gloomy.
Lawlessness has taken the place of law.
There is little protection of life or property.
Might rules with undisputed sway. Society
is disorganized and lapses into barbarism.
Gangs of slaves wander helpless over the land, while their masters scour
the country on evil deeds intent. Arkansas
never was a very inviting country, if half that has been [fold in paper]
Now it has reached the ultima [fold in paper] misery.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 19, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
Habeas
Corpus of R. D'Orsay Ogden, Manager of the Richmond Theatre.—This
"important" case did not come off before Judge Hallyburton yesterday,
as advertised in the bills. Ogden
was there, but the Government, not being ready to proceed, the case was
continued to a future day, of which the public will be duly notified through the
public press; in the meantime, Ogden is on parole.
His
case, which is of vital interest to the play-going public and domiciled
Englishmen, may be briefly told. He
claims to be an Englishman, temporarily residing in the Southern Confederacy,
and has British papers, issued to him by British Consul Moore, before that
functionary was furnished with his walking papers by President Davis. The Conscript Bureau have decided that even if he is an
Englishman, that, by long residence, he has acquired "a domicil" [sic]
which renders him liable to military service; and the Bureau have accordingly
reported him to the enrolling officer as a conscript, and the enrolling officer
has taken him in custody as such. In
this conjuncture of affairs, Ogden obtains a writ of habeas corpus,
directed to Major T. G. Peyton, setting forth in his petition that he, a British
subject, has been unlawfully arrested and is unlawfully held in custody by the
said Major Peyton.
The
Government could have squelched the writ by the power of the law of Congress
suspending the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in certain cases,
but they preferred that it should be tried on its merits, if it has any.
The
result of the case is a foregone conclusion, as every one of the points that can
be raised by Ogden have been already decided; and there seems to be nothing
surer than that he will be remanded to the custody of the enrolling officer, the
said Major Peyton. This result
would, to judge from certain indications, gratify a great many people; but why,
we can't imagine, unless it is that the majority of the people in this world are
filled with envy whenever they see a fellow getting along well.
Ogden has a good theatre, and, no doubt, lives well, but he seems,
notwithstanding, to be an inoffensive sort of a man.
We never even heard of his injuring any one except Tim Morris, and all
that story was a vile slander.
The
indications we allude to are anonymous letters which are now pouring into the
hands of the officials.—We will not mention the contents of these letters, as
it is our determination to give Ogden a fair show in this matter, and when his habeas
corpus comes up to give it a full and fair report.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 19, 1864, p. 1, c. 2
Gen.
Lee's Personal Property.—The Virginia State Journal (Yankee) says:
The
following are some of the articles belonging to the personal estate of General
Lee, which have been condemned by the United States District Court, and are
advertised to be sold in Alexandria on the 19th instant, by the
United States marshal, viz: Eleven
sofa bottom chairs, four arm red plush seat chairs, one brussels carpet, three
red plush seat sofas, seven large paintings, one extension table, one large
painting of Washington, two paintings of Washington's Generals on battle field,
four book cases, cane bottom chairs, bedsteads, wardrobes, mattresses, stands,
centre tables, bureaus, sideboards, hair, shuck and straw mattresses, candle
sticks, fancy glass cases, oil paintings, engravings, and almost every variety
of ornaments, gilt frames and secretaries, three large boxes of books, stoves,
carpets, &c. The most of these
articles are of the most elegant description, some of them very rare and
valuable.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 19, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
The
Southern Express Company's Telegraph.—The Charlotte Bulletin speaks thus of
the great use of the telegraph lines built by the Southern Express Company, and
of the energy and enterprise displayed by them in projecting and completing new
routes during the war:
["]
Among the many facilities and advantages which have been afforded our Government
and people by the Southern Express Company, there is none deserving more
consideration than their telegraph department, which has been extended since the
fall of 1860 over 500 miles, through the influence and indomitable energy of R.
B. Bullock, Esq., Superintendent of that company.
Commencing
in the summer of 1860, at Columbia, S. C., the line was completed to Charlotte,
N. C. in November of the same year.
The
wire between Columbia and this place is of the best quality of galvanized wire,
and has probably worked, and is continuing to work, better than any line in this
or any other country.
In the
summer of 1862 seeing the absolute necessity of a telegraph over the North
Carolina Railroad, Col. Bullock projected and carried forward, with
unprecedented success, the line which now connects us with Raleigh and
Goldsboro', which, from this point to Greensboro', is of the finest English
galvanized wire, and the balance good iron wire procured in this country.
Since
this has been erected, the progressive spirit of the managers have brought
Danville, Va., and Fayetteville, N. C., in connection with the main line, and
they are now pushing forward their line rapidly to Weldon, N. C., via the
Raleigh and Gaston Railroad—having already reached Ridgeway. All of their offices are supplied with instruments and
material manufactured at the South, and for neatness, cleanliness and beauty of
arrangement, are unequalled by any telegraph offices we have ever visited.
The
Confederate States Government, on several occasions during this war, would have
been without telegraph communications between Richmond and the South, but for
the wisdom, energy and liberality of this company.
The
recent raids in the vicinity of Petersburg made it necessary to use this line as
the only medium of communication, for nearly two weeks between headquarters at
Richmond and the subordinate departments in the South.["]
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 20, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Our Wife;" charming ballad; fancy dance; "Bonny Fish
Wife;" tomorrow—"Leap Year;" shortly "Silver Lining"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 21, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Petersburg Undermined—The Deuce to Pay.
Petersburg, July 10, 1864.
To the Editor of the Whig:
The
editors of the Richmond and Petersburg papers have been making fun of the
declaration of the Northern press that Grant would soon startle the country with
"another brilliant exploit." Do
you suppose that Grant has kept 50,000 men in complete idleness for six weeks,
or fancy that his whole time has been occupied in fortifying himself and
organizing raids? If so, you will
find yourselves vastly mistaken, and that within a very few days.
In
what manner I came into possession of the facts which I am about to narrate is
not material. Suffice it to say,
they are facts, as time will prove. Perhaps
a few hours may bring the dreadful realization.
I tremble to think of it.
Know,
then, our loved Cockade city will soon be, if it is not at this very moment,
thoroughly undermined. Grant, far
from being content to blow up the "rebel fortifications," has
determined to destroy the entire city, as by a tremendous blast from the
infernal regions. In a single
instant, every building in the principal streets of Petersburg will be lifted on
high and scattered to the four winds of Heaven.
You may laugh at this, but it is so.
My informant has seen a diagram of the mines, which, when completed, will
extend the length of Bollingbrook, Bank, Sycamore and Old streets, and perhaps
as far as the old Fair Grounds, on the south of the city.
"This is incredible and impossible on the face of it," you will
say. Very well; you are welcome to
your opinion. But will you be good
enough to tell me what feat ever attempted with the pick and spade the Yankees
have failed to execute; and will you explain to me the meaning of Grant's long
inaction? I tell you, this is no canard—would
that it were—but a plain statement of facts, procured by me from an entirely
reliable source.
"Why
do I not make my statement to General Lee, or print it in the Express?
you will naturally inquire. I
answer frankly, because Gen. Lee would rebuff me, (at least I think so,) and
because the Express refuses positively to admit me to its columns.
Many of your readers will fancy that I have been dreaming, but I can
assure them I am in my waking senses—never more so in my life—and sincerely
desirous, by this timely warning, of averting one of the most awful catastrophes
that ever befel an afflicted people. You
can publish this or not, just as you choose.
Respectfully,
Chas. I. Browne.
[We
"choose to publish" for the sake of making a single remark.
"Chas. I. Browne" has not "been dreaming;" he has
simply been drunk—very drunk.]
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 21, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Leap Year; or, A Play in Defence of Ladies' Rights;" dance;
medley overture; "Little Sentinel;" shortly—"Silver
Lining"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 22, 1864, p. 2, c. 5
The Vegetable People
To the Editor of the Whig:
Things
have come to a pretty pass in this city. How
is a man of moderate means to pay his expenses, when the vegetable people ask
such prices for their truck?—Meat is high, but there is some excuse for that,
meat being very scarce. But for the
vegetable people there is no excuse on earth.
I say it plainly—they ought to be hanged, every man jack of them,
confound them! Onions a dollar
apiece, and other sorts and pods and trash in the same proportion.
It is monstrous, outrageous, abominable, horrible, wrong and
improper.—Why do we submit to it? I pause for a reply.
The
apology made by these vegetable people is, that they "must live."
I don't see it all. Why must
they live; I say why? Can any man
tell me why? Just answer me,
anybody, if you dare. The truth is,
that if these vegetable people must live, everybody else must die, and
that confounded quickly. The
proposition is as plain as anything in Euclid.
I can
do without the plagued truck of the vegetable people—bread and meat is good
enough for me all the year round—but my family say they will get the scurvy if
they don't eat roots and leaves, and grass, and the [illegible]; and they do eat
an awful heap of them. Very well.
I thank my God my family will soon be in the poor house, and then I
reckon their stomachs won't be so mighty weak and particular as they have been.
But,
Mr. Editor, we can't all go to the poor house, that's very clear.
What's to be done? I have been trying to get into the Government so that I can
always have plenty of money. But I
can't get in the Government, and can't afford to set up a bar-room, and so I
suppose I must go to the devil on an empty stomach at that.
I'll have plenty of company, that's one consolation.
But when the vegetable people follow me there in their market carts, with
their little eggs and carrots and huckleberries, I want to emigrate.
I wish, Mr. Editor, you would stir up these vegetable people with a
forty-foot pole and rub it in, and oblige
Housekeeper.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 22, 1864, p. 2, c. 5
Grant's
Undermining Operations.—"Chas. I. Browne" does not stand alone in
the belief that Grant is burrowing under Petersburg. The Petersburg Express who would not allow the use of
its columns to the hapless Browne, seems, however, to make use of the
information given by him. It says:
"Reports
still re[illegible] of Grant's undermining operations, but they create no
uneasiness. His position is not a
favorable one for successful operations of this kind, and he is but wasting time
and labor. He cannot go many feet
below the surface of the ground before he strikes a stratum of marl, and there
he finds water to impede his progress. At
[illegible] points on his lines this may not be so, but here he has rolling
ground to combat."
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 22, 1864, p. 1, c. 2
Fugitive
Papers.—We have in our southern and southwestern exchanges constant evidence
of the extent to which our people have been driven from their homes and forced
to seek refuge at some other point.
The
"Memphis Appeal," now published in Atlanta, has made three moves,
starting from Memphis to a point in Northern Mississippi, from which point it
moved to Jackson, Mississippi; from Jackson it moved to Atlanta, and this may
not be its last move, since Sherman threatens to drive it out of its pleasant
place of refuge.
The
Chattanooga Rebel being driven out when we gave up Tennessee, retired to
Marietta, and finding Sherman lately in too close proximity to that town, has
made another move and is now in Griffin, Ga.
The
Knoxville Register, after visiting sundry places is now in Charlotte, N. C.
Of
course the Mississippi papers are very much fugitives, there being but one
published regularly within the State, we think—the Clarion, published at
Meridian. The Jackson papers are
gone to Selma, Alabama, and elsewhere. Northern
Alabama papers spring up to greet us from unexpected places, still holding on to
their old names.
There
has indeed been a scattering and a dispersion.
The columns of the press have literally become "movable
columns," and work their way from one side of the Confederacy to another in
search of a resting place.—Wilmington Journal.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 22, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—allegorical poem "Sic Semper Tyrannis;" "Silver
Lining;" "The French Spy;" tomorrow—"Pirate Kyd"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 22, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
Age,
which tames all other passions, never subdues the passion for dress in some
females. Gay costume for advanced life is like "flowers wreathed around
decay." Splendid jewelry on
parchment necks is worse than a pun cut upon a tombstone.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 23, 1864, p. 2, c. 5
The
Markets.—The markets were well supplied with meats and vegetables this
morning, and prices ranged even lower than on yesterday. Actually, if things go on in this way, pretty soon newspaper
reporters and other poor white folks will be able to get half enough to eat.
We give some of the prices this morning:
butchers meat from $3 to $4 a pound; potatoes, $3 a quart; onions, $4;
tomatoes, $4; June apples, $1.50.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 23, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Pirate Kyd"—"It will be placed upon the stage in
magnificent style, with New Scenery, Costumes, and Decorations.
The Mechanical Effects will surpass anything ever before attempted, while
the Dramatic Tableaux will be the wonder and admiration of the public.
During the piece, a Terrific Sea Fight, Being a representation of the
celebrated fight between Kyd and His Majesty's ship Ger Falcon." "New
and Beautiful Dance by 24 Ladies of the Ballet;" ballad; charming dance;
"The Little Sentinel;" Monday—"Leap Year"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 23, 1864, p. 1, c. 2
The Anti Silk
Dress Movement—The
Chicago Women in Council.
We yesterday read, for the first time, a detailed account of the
"Ladies' Meeting" held in Chicago, some weeks ago, for the purpose of
considering the new movement relative to wearing no more imported goods.
The reporter says:
["]
The meeting was largely attended, about three hundred ladies being present.
The appearance of many of the ladies showed that up to the present time
the economical movement had not been adopted.
Pretty "loves" of bonnets, trimmed with tasteful or the most
gaudy ribbons, were to be seen in all directions.
Silk dresses rustled all over the hall, while several wore handsome lace
shawls and cloaks, certainly the product of foreign looms.
Mrs.
W. Barry was called to the chair, and Mrs. Sayers requested to act as Secretary.
An
address was read to the meeting; after which resolutions to carry out the object
of the meeting were adopted.
Mrs.
Burnham suggested that gentlemen should be requested to join the ladies in the
movement, as they knew more about politics than ladies.
Mrs.
Livermore inquired whether Mrs. Burnham wished the attendance of gentlemen in
order that they might the address the ladies on the subject of dresses.
Mrs.
Mott said it seemed to her to be very proper to invite gentlemen to be present,
and to include them in the movement as well as the ladies.
There were many [ar]ticles used by ladies in their families about which
they would require to consult the gentlemen.
Besides, if the gentlemen were present, the meetings would be much more
interesting.
A lady
in the body said she observed some gentlemen present (the reporters) and perhaps
they would give their views on the subject.
[Loud laughter]
Mrs.
Livermore suggested that the gentlemen in question were there for another
purpose.
Mrs.
Willard said she understood that there was movement on the part of the gentlemen
being made to do away with the tea and coffee.
[Applause.] It would in her
opinion, be better to let the gentlemen have meetings on their own.
[Applause.] She hoped the
gentlemen would take up the question of wines, liquors and cigars.
[Roars of laughter and loud applause.]
Mrs.
Willard said that they had allowed their fathers, husbands, and brothers to go
to the war, and surely, for the good of the country, it was a small matter to
give up dress and outside adornment. [Applause]
Mrs.
Sayers said that she was requested to state that a society composed of thirty
young gentlemen had been organized. They
had agreed not to take any young lady to church or to any place of amusement,
unless she was dressed in goods of American manufacture.—[Loud and prolonged
applause.]
Mrs.
Willard said that all young ladies should decline to go to such places with
young gentlemen, unless they gave up using tobacco and liquor.
[Applause and laughter.] They
were all aware of the vast amount of corn that was consumed to make whisky.
This corn could all be used for food if there was no whisky made.
Besides labor was scarce at present, and it took a great deal of labor to
manufacture tobacco. If the men gave up the use of tobacco, all this labor could
be saved and the laborers put to work to raise provisions for the army.
[Applause]
Mrs.
Livermore said they were met to discuss the extravagance of dress and she
admitted that in this respect the women were the greatest sinners.
[Applause and laughter.] At
present it was their duty to attend to the resolutions.
They ought not to attack the men in regard to their extravagance, as the
men could attend to that at their own meetings.
She wanted women to do their duty.
Mrs.
Willard thought it would be best for the ladies to retrench first, and then the
gentlemen could follow their good example.
[Applause.]
Mrs.
Hoge said she was happy to observe the interest that was taken in this matter,
as it would greatly gratify the soldiers. Nothing
had so disgusted them while in the field as the extravagance of Northern women.
[Applause.] They had told
her and others when she was down South how the ladies of the South had given
their carpets for blankets and their barege dresses to make blankets for the
rebel soldiers. These Southern
women were even willing to wear nigger cloth.
On the other hand, the Northern women were unwilling to give anything for
the benefit of the soldiers. She
went on to contend that in the present critical condition of the country they
should not throw a single dollar away on extravagance. When the soldiers heard
of this movement it would nerve their arms and they would strike deeper into the
hearts of the rebels. She concluded
by saying that the movement in which they were engaged would be very important
in putting down the rebellion. She
regretted that so few of the extravagant ladies of the city were present, but
they would read the papers. She
believed that the movement would be a terrible rebuke to extravagance and
treason. [Applause.]
Mrs.
Livermore said that while they were doing all this for the soldier, they ought
not to neglect the soldier's families, who were suffering fearfully.
She was annoyed at women running down every day of their lives buying
goods by the five hundred dollars. She
had often felt inclined to tell them to get out, to go to Canada, or to go over
to Jeff Davis. [Roars of laughter
and loud applause.]
Mrs.
Hobert said she had begged often for the soldiers and the soldiers' families,
but after she went down to the army and saw the way the soldiers often got drunk
and gambled away their money she had given up begging for their families.
Mrs.
Livermore said that Mrs. Barry thought Mrs. Hobert was out of order.
They were discussing the dress movement.
Mrs.
Hobert subsided.
Mrs.
Willard repeated her statement that if they did their duty properly the
gentlemen would follow.
Mrs.
Kenyon thought the committee should report at the earliest possible moment.
Mrs.
Frances D. Gage was then introduced, and complimented the ladies on their
loyalty. She referred to the love
they had bestowed on flounces, ribbons and flowers instead of thinking of their
country's peril. No sacrifice was
too great for the women of America to make.
Besides, the present movement would benefit America.
The foreign manufacturer would find he could not sell his goods in his
own country, and to prevent utter ruin he would bring his machinery over here
and manufacture them where he could get a market.
The
meeting then adjourned till next Saturday afternoon, at 3 o'clock.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 26, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Sensible Advice.
The Macon Confederate advises refugees to leave the main line of
railroads and go into the interior as far as possible, where the price of living
is much cheaper, and houses can be more readily obtained.
This is good advice. If followed there would be much less inconvenience
and suffering than there now is. The
cities are already crowded to overflowing, and there is no employment to be had.
In the country there is plenty of room and plenty of land to cultivate.
We say with the Confederate, if you are driven from your homes by the
Yankees, leave the main lines of railway, and go into the interior as far as
possible.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 26, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
D'Orsey
Ogden.—This individual's habeas corpus case was opened before Judge
Hallyburton yesterday. No witnesses
were examined, the facts as stated by the Confederate enrolling officer in his
return to the writ being admitted to be correct by Ogden's counsel.
These facts were that Ogden had come to this country when eight years
old, and had been here ever since, except during a short visit to England; that
he had married here, and once voted for Sheriff in Mobile.
Mr.
Randolph, counsel for Ogden, denied that all this constituted the acquisition of
a "domicile," and argued to show that, even though it did, the
Confederate States had no right, by the laws of nations, to conscribe a
domiciled foreigner who had never renounced his allegiance to his sovereign.
Mr.
Randolph's speech occupied hard up on to three hours. On its conclusion, the case was laid over till Thursday.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 25, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Attractive
Young Woman.—A young woman promenaded our streets yesterday, who, though by no
means fair to look upon never moves about without attracting a crowd.
We allude to Mary E. Walker, the Yankee Assistant Surgeon, who was caught
within our lines last Spring, near Dalton.
At her request she was, on yesterday, allowed to visit Gen. Gardner's
headquarters, to consult him on the possibility of her obtaining a parole and
being allowed to go North. The
General promised to consider her case. This
deluded female would have been sent North long ago but for the fact that since
she has been incarcerated, she has been detected in some illicit correspondence.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 26, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Flying Dutchman; or, The Phantom Ship;" singing and
dancing; "Area Bell;" new novelty in preparation
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 27, 1864, p. 2, c. 6
The
Markets.—It is a vexation of spirit to attend the Richmond markets.
The women one mostly meets there are not pretty; the negro marketmen are
insolent, the hucksters are extortionate, and the butchers are, to a man,
grossly insulting to a small consumer of their stock.
These things are bad enough, but there is a worse vexation at market.
It is to see a troop of greesy [sic], garlicky Italian fruit vendors,
among them some of those who threw down their arms in face of the enemy not long
ago, going through the markets from end to end buying up all the choice fruit to
retail at a profit of one hundred per cent. in their stalls.
By 7 o'clock yesterday morning, these wretches had bought all the good
fruit in both markets. This
practice ought to be broken up, and it could easily to be done if the Mayor
could be prevailed on to turn his attention to it.
It is a violation of a city ordinance.
Let the Mayor charge the policemen stationed at each market to watch
these fellows, and the practice can be broken up in a week.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 27, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Adventures of Terence O'Grady;" singing and dancing;
"Going to the Theatre;" tomorrow—"Red Rover, The Pirate of the
Seas"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 28, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
From Petersburg—All Quiet.
We make a synopsis of the situation article of the Petersburg Express of
yesterday, which remarks that although yesterday was the 42d day of the
pretended siege of Petersburg by Grant, the day passed off without any
excitement or interesting even whatever. It
is the universal testimony of officers and men that there never was a more quiet
day in the trenches. Scarcely a
mortar shell was thrown, and the usual picket firing seemed to have been
abandoned.
Deserters
and others from the enemy's lines, continue to state that the enemy is mining,
but this is a slow, tedious and uncertain business at best, and excites no sort
of uneasiness with those for whose benefits his mining operations are
especially intended. . .
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 28, 1864, p. 2, c. 5
Gone
to the Yankees.—J. Newton Vanlew, for many years a hardware merchant of this
city, has gone to the Yankees, and is said to have been taken by Beast Butler as
a special detective. Vanlew,
notwithstanding an incurable disease, which rendered him unfit for anything, we
should think, being conscribed about the time Grant made his flank movement to
the Southside, one evening rode out in his buggy in the direction of Malvern
Hill, and has not been seen since. If
he displays any brains in his new character of detective, it will be for the
first time in his life.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 29, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
Ogden's
Habeas Corpus.—This case again occupied the attention of Judge Hallyburton
yesterday morning. The case seems
very plain; but counsel for Ogden having made long speeches, it was deemed
proper that the District attorney should make a long speech in reply, and
accordingly he occupied the morning in addressing the court.
Ogden,
at the time manager of the Richmond Theatre for Mrs. Elizabeth Magill, the
proprietress, was on the first of April seized as a conscript, and,
notwithstanding his British protection papers, was, after a proper examination
of his case, declared a conscript both by the Conscript Bureau and the Assistant
Secretary of War. It does not
appear why these authorities did not put him into the army.
At all events, though they did not put him into the army, they kept
bothering him, and declaring that he was a conscript and ought to be in the
army, until, to get rid of them, he sued out a writ of habeas corpus.
On the trial of this habeas corpus no witnesses were examined, but
the papers, affidavits and the like were, by consent of the parties taken as the
evidence in the case.
In his
speech Mr. Aylett reviewed this mass of evidence. The first paper he took up was a note of Ogden's, written to
Colonel Shields at the time of his arrest by the conscript officer on the 1st
of April, declaring that he had been arrested at the instigation of some
unprincipled persons; that he was a British subject, and had never never
done any act to forfeit the protection of his (British) Government.
The next paper taken up by the Attorney, was the affidavit of Mr. Fuller,
a respectable citizen of Mobile, Alabama, to the effect that R. D. Ogden, alias
Richard Westley, did, in the month of August, 1861, vote at an election for
sheriff in the city of Mobile, and, his vote having been challenged, that he,
the said Ogden, alias Westley, swore that he was a citizen of the
State of Alabama, owed no allegiance to, &c., &c., and had been a
resident of Alabama, &c., &c. The
same affiant further stated that he, said Ogden, received money for the vote
then cast.
The
Attorney then took up another affidavit of a citizen of Mobile, stating that the
affiant had seen "R. D. Ogden, alias Dick Westley" in Mobile in
August, 1861. Another affidavit
stated that affiant had known Ogden since 1855, and that never, until the
passage of the conscript act, had he known Ogden to claim that he was an
Englishman.
Affidavits
were read to show that the last affiant, whose name was Throup, was unworthy of
credit; and others were read, showing that Ogden had always claimed to be an
Englishman, even before the passage of the conscript act.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 29, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Detectives
Detecting Detectives.—The detectives are so numerous in Richmond and there is
so little for them to do that they have, for lack of other employment, fallen to
detecting one another, a proceeding in which they should by all means be
encouraged. When a certain kind of
people fall out, a certain other kind of people come by their own.
They are mining and countermining one another like Gens. Lee and Grant;
or more aptly, they are tearing one another like dogs crowded into a dog
catcher's cart. Rich developments
may be expected.
Detective
Loyd has been thrown into Castle Thunder, it is said, for offering detective
Craddock $1,500, not to mention the fact that he, Craddock, had seen Mr.
__________, a prominent officer in the Treasury, go into a faro bank.
This would make a readable case, if they would let the reporters get at
it, but this the authorities, for the credit of the Government, will not do.
There
are several other cases in progress which have not yet come to sufficient
maturity to be mentioned.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 29, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Silver Lining; or, A Lining of the Heart;" charming ballad;
fancy dance; "Dumb Ball;" tomorrow—"Gale Bruzly"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 30, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
From Petersburg.
Passengers from Petersburg yesterday evening again report all
comparatively quiet. A private
letter to one of the editorial corps of the Whig states that the country for
miles around is filled with old men, women and children—refugees from the
city. Every barn, corn-crib, smoke-house and granary has its
occupants, and hundreds and hundreds have borrowed tents from the Post
Quartermaster and Commissary, and occupy the fields and forests.
Many have gone to Richmond, while not a few are in North Carolina.
The worst is, that these people, driven from home and scattered among
strangers, know not when they will return to the comforts of home.
The
shelling of Petersburg is a great outrage.
It accomplishes nothing whatever in a military sense; but Grant cares but
little for that. Anything to
gratify a miserable, contemptible spirit of revenge. Baffled and disappointed by our brave army, he seeks for a
little balm and consolation to his disappointment by warring on women and
children.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, July 30, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Red Rover;" "Little Sentinel;"
Saturday—"The Red Rover;" fancy dance, charming ballad; "Little
Sentinel"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 1, 1864, p. 2, c. 6
All
About a Baby.—A few mornings ago, there was quite an excitement in the Second
Market. The excitement was
occasioned by the appearance of a new article to be disposed of. It was not offered for sale, but tendered as a gift to any
one who would accept it. This new
species of marketery was nothing more nor less than a baby four or five weeks
old. It was borne in the arms of
its mother, who seemed to be not more than fifteen years of age. She was quite handsome, but her worn raiment and anxious look
told but too plainly that she was the unhappy victim of extreme want and
suffering. This novel mode of
disposing of an infant very naturally attracted the attention of the market
people. At first a crowd of boys
assembled around the young mother. The
excitement soon extended to the grown people, and in a little while the whole
mass of buyers and sellers who thronged the market were drawn into it.
The young mother offered her tender off-spring to every lady she met, but
no one seemed willing to accept it. At
length she encountered an old negro woman who announced her readiness to take
it. The child was about being
delivered over to her when three young ladies interposed. They were two sisters,
Misses M***** and their cousin Miss M*****.
These
ladies advised the mother against this summary transfer of her child to an
irresponsible and unknown negro. The
mother thanked the ladies for their kind interest in the child, and solicited
their aid in securing a better disposition of it, stating that she was in such a
necessitous condition that it would surely perish if she kept it.
It required no argument to convince the ladies of the correctness of this
representation. They determined, therefore, to endeavor to find a home for
the innocent little sufferer. Their
first effort was to remove the mother and child from the noisy and restless
crowd that pressed around them. They
accordingly went to a neighboring Orphan Asylum. Entering that institution, and summoning the manager, they
seated themselves and heard the story of the unfortunate mother.
It was sad in the extreme, and could not but move the stoutest heart to
pity. The young ladies petitioned
the Asylum to take the child. But they were told that the rules of the institution
prohibited the reception of any one under two years old, and that the manager
had no authority to disregard the regulation.
This
was a source of great disappointment and embarrassment to the young ladies.
They knew not what further steps to take.
At this point, a lady entered the establishment.
It was Mrs. P********, who lived near by.
She had been attracted by the crowd which had followed to the Asylum, and
which filled the street and hung round the door. When she heard the pitiable
story of the poor mother and child, she proposed to take charge of the infant,
temporarily, until some definite arrangement could be made.
The proposition was joyfully accepted, and the ladies, together with the
mother and child, adjourned to the house of Mrs. P-------.
There the distressed mother repeated her sad story more in detail.
It may be thus briefly stated.
She
and her brother were the only children of a widow in North Carolina.
About a year ago she was sent to Richmond to be placed at school.
She came in company with her brother, who had been home on furlough.
On reaching Richmond, she made the acquaintance of a soldier on detail
duty here. In a few days they were
married. This was against the
advice of her brother, who went on to his command, and has since been killed.
The marriage proved an unhappy one.—Her husband finally went away, as
he said, to the army. His departure
did not seem like a final abandonment of her; but as she heard nothing from him,
she felt herself forsaken. She
supported herself as best she could by sewing.
Having no friends or acquaintances, she found great difficulty in
obtaining work; but, before the birth of her child, she managed to struggle
along and keep soul and body together. Now
that she had a child, she was reduced to utter destitution.
She could not leave her child to hunt for work, and knew no one to whom
she could appeal for aid. The enemy
had got possession of that part of North Carolina where her mother lived, and
she knew not what had become of her. She
was therefore driven to the desperate necessity of asking some one to relieve
her of her child, so that she could renew her daily toil for her own existence.
The only semblance of a home she had was a small room which she had been
fortunate enough to get, for the time being, free of charge.
For this she was thankful—uncomfortable and miserable as it was. She had recently heard that her husband was killed in one of
the battles around Richmond; but, as she had been unable to learn any
particulars as to the time and place of his death, she had some little hope that
it was not true. She gave the
locality of her abode; gave references, and invited inquiry on the part of those
ladies who seemed now to occupy the position of her protectors, as she wished
them to be satisfied that she was practising no deception. The locality which she designated was an ample guaranty for
respectability, and was at the same time indicative of that squalid destitution
which she described. This pitiable
tale was told with an artless simplicity which left no doubt of its truth.
After
consultation, it was decided that Mrs. P. should retain the child for the
present, and that they would all meet at her house the next day at 11 o'clock A.
M. In the mean time the young
ladies would continue their exertions in behalf of the child, with a view of
making permanent provision for it. They
then separated, the mother evincing every possible emotion of mental tenderness
and affection on leaving her child.
Next
morning, at 8 o'clock, the mother appeared at Mrs. P.'s.
She took up her babe, pressed it to her bosom, wept over it; said she had
not slept a wink the night previous on account of her separation from it.—The
young ladies came at 11, according to agreement.
The mother told them of the unhappy night she had passed, and that, from
what she had already experienced, she could not think of such a thing as giving
away her child, but she reiterated her inability to support it at present.
She therefore sought for it some temporary custody, and trusted that, by
the mercy of Providence, she might find herself some day in a condition to take
it back. This exhibition of maternal affection increased the anxiety of the
ladies in behalf of the child. They
renewed the promise that it should be cared for.
The
result of this conference was that the mother was supplied with a small store of
provisions, which were sent to her humble home. She then took her child, the Misses M. promising to call upon
her the next morning at 8 o'clock. The
party then separated.
At the
appointed hour the next morning the young ladies called at the place which had
been designated.—They found there neither mother nor child.
Upon inquiry on the premises, it was ascertained that they went off early
in the morning with a soldier. They
could learn but little about the woman. She
had been there only a short time. But
what little they did learn, so far as it went, was corroborative of the woman's
own story. The young ladies went
away rather puzzled at her mysterious movements that morning.
They went home to await events.
About
9 o'clock that same morning, the mother, with her child, appeared at Mrs.
P----------'s. She was agitated by
mingled emotions of gladness and sorrow. She
stated that early that morning a soldier called for and informed her that her
husband wanted to see her and the lady.
She went and saw him. He
was in jail, and had been there for some months, on a charge of larceny.
He told his wife that he had purposely concealed the fact from her; he
knew of her privations and misery, but was unable to afford her any relief.
It was only when he learned of her purpose to give away her babe that he
resolved to reveal himself. He
begged her to keep it if she possibly could.
He protested his innocence of the crime with which he was charged, but
said he knew not what would be his fate at the trial.—He entreated his wife to
summon all the christian fortitude she could to sustain her under the heavy
weight of adversity which rested upon her, and pray for the return of happier
days for both of them.
The
discovery of the husband opened up a new chapter in this "romance in real
life." But it has not
diminished the interest of the noble and kind-hearted ladies in behalf of the
innocent and helpless child.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 1, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
The
Very Poor.—There are some very poor people in this city. There are cripples and blind people, and widows with
children, and soldiers' wives and families who are very poor indeed, who
endeavor, by some kind of ill-requited labor, to procure the means of
subsistence—which means a baker's loaf a day and a cup of water.
These people are not to be seen
haunting the places where public charities are distributed, or besieging the
doors of benevolent citizens. They
are buried in their obscure hovels, where they strive to support life by labor.
If any would alleviate their sufferings, he must go and seek them.
The itinerant beggars, those who run from the city supply store to the
Christian Association, thence to the visitors of the benevolent society, and
thence all over the city, begging and whining, are not the very poor; many of
them are not poor at all. Many of
them can be seen in the market every morning with fresh meat, corn and tomatoes
in their baskets; many of them keep negroes to wait upon them!
Some of them, alas! are profligates of the worst order, who spend their
nights in vile debauchery and their days in gadding and begging, while the very
poor are at labor. The writer of
this knows what he is talking about. H
knows this city and its inhabitants as well as any other man, not even excepting
the Mayor. He is an old
inhabitant.—He knows all the people who lived here before the war, and he
knows the most of those who have come here since.
He knows, we repeat, what he is talking about.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 2, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Little
Vagabonds.—John Barton, Thomas Dolan, and Monteith Reagan, were before the
Mayor this morning for sleeping in the old market-house.
The boys are noted young thieves who have to be drummed out of the market
daily for picking and stealing. A
watchman stated that at eleven o'clock last night, he had found the three asleep
together in the old market-house; and as they were known thieves, had taken them
in charge. The Mayor telling them he supposed they had taken their
quarters in the market-house that they might be ready for thieving operations in
the morning without loss of time, committed them to jail.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 2, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
Cup and Saucer
Machine and Doll
Baby
Moulds
The subscriber has for sale a machine for the manufacture of cups and
saucers, plates, &c., and Moulds for the casting of doll baby heads.
They are both so entirely simple that any person may learn to work them
in two days. The profit on the
manufacture will be several hundred per cent.
The machine and moulds may be seen at the Fredericksburg House, below the
Second Market. Price low.
Wm. Loose.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 2, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Silver Lining;" charming ballad; "A. S. S."
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 3, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
Ogden's
Case. The speaking in the Ogden have
his carcass case was concluded in Judge Halyburton's court on Monday, Mr.
Lyons winding up with an oration of four hours, in favor of the discharge of the
petitioner. There have been twelve
hours of speaking in this matter—three hours by Mr. Randolph, five by the
district attorney, Mr. Aylett, and four by Mr. Lyons. A cart load of books have been read, from Father [illegible]
to Webster's Dictionary, but it is believed that no references have been given
that were not before as familiar to the learned Judge as household words, so
very repeatedly has his Honor traveled the habeas corpus road since this
cruel war. Still, that the
references were familiar, was no reason why counsel on either side, the case
once begun, should not make them; indeed, according to custom they were bound to
do it—bound to argue the case as if it were bran new and the like had never
been heard of before. Now that the
long speaking is over, the Judge must, of necessity, deliver a long
decision—so long that it cannot be prepared in a day.
He must cover in it all the ground gone over by the lawyers.
He will probably deliver his opinion in the course of a week, and decide,
as far as he is concerned, the fate of the eminent tragedian, Ogden.
We
think it would have been as well for Mr. Ogden to have submitted his case
without all these weary hours of speaking; but he thought otherwise.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 3, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Leap Year!, or, Cousin Demple; charming ballad; "Two Gay
Deceivers; or, Grey and White;" in rehearsal "Sixteen String
Jack," "The Bohemians of Paris"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 4, 1864, p. 1, c. 4-5
Summary: Special Orders no. 180,
Schedule of prices, prices for hire of labor, teams, wagons and drivers
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 4, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
Distribution
of cotton cloth, yarns, &c. I
have on hand a lot of Cotton Domestics, Osnaburgs, Yarns, and Cotton and Woolen
Cards, purchased by the State for distribution to the citizens of Richmond.
Persons
desiring any will call at the store of Martin & Cardoza, No. 12 Cary street.
J. H. Martin,
Com. Agent.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 4, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Summary: New Richmond Theatre:
"The Incognito; or the Jeweler of St. James;" duet;
"Dutchman's Ghost; or It's All Right;"
In rehearsal—"Sixteen String Jack" and other novelties
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 5, 1864, p. 2, c. 5
Expensive
Music.—John Ford was this morning fined $5 by the Mayor, for blowing a horn in
the street. Ford, it seems, is an
ice man, and has been accustomed to indicate his presence in front of his
customer's domicil [sic], by a toot or two on a tin horn.
Officer Chalsley came upon him while in the act of winding the said horn,
on Sunday morning, and reported the matter to his Honor.
The
Council passed the ordinance forbidding the blowing of horns in the streets
because the sound of the instruments broke their much valued morning slumbers.
For our part, we prefer the mellow horn to the noise the ice man will
substitute for it; in fact, one wretch began it this morning about daylight, to
our no small annoyance. We allude to the short, sharp shriek of "ice,"
which runs through a house like a rapier through the—stomach, and chills the
young blood, and old, too, for that matter.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 5, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Corsican Brothers;" ballad; tomorrow—"Sixteen String
Jack;" in rehearsal "Bohemians of Paris"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 6, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Sixteen String Jack;" song and ballad; "A Kiss in the
Dark;" Monday—"The Ghost of the Dismal Swamp;" in
rehearsal—"Bohemians of Paris"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 6, 1864, p. 2, c. 5-6
Summary: Long article on arrest of
slaves arrested at an illegal assembly, despite their owners and the homeowner's
permission, and editor blasts night watchmen for not handling situation
correctly
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 6, 1864, p. 2, c. 6
The
Markets.—Things are getting gradually cheaper in the markets, except water
melons and onions, which will never fall in price until the negroes and the
military recover from their mania for them.
It is astounding to see what lengths gentlemen connected with the
Confederate army will go for the very smallest kind of onions.
Negroes have always been insane on the subject of watermelons.
The cry of "watermelons" in the street runs them quite mad.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 6, 1864, p. 1, c. 2
Newspaper
men in the Fight.—In the fight before Atlanta, on the 22d ult., Capt. Farris,
known for many months past as "Marshall" of the Atlanta and Knoxville Register,
was killed.
Capt.
Matthews, known to the readers of the Appeal as "Harvey," lost
a leg early in the fight.
Capt.
Cluskey, editor of the Memphis Avalanche, now of Gen. Vaughn's staff,
received a dangerous wound in the side.
Virginius
Hutchen, formerly editor of the Kentucky Reporter, passed through the
fight unscathed.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 6, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
Orphan
Asylum for Soldier's Children.—We are informed by Bishop Early, of the M. E.
Church, (South,) that steps are being taken to organize a plan for the
establishment of an Orphan Asylum, under the auspices of the Methodist Church in
Virginia, for the benefit of the children of deceased soldiers; and that as soon
as the arrangements are completed, the members and friends of that denomination
will be called upon to contribute funds for that purpose.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 6, 1864, p. 1, c. 5-6
Official.
Adjutant and Inspector General's Office,}
Richmond, August 1st, 1864.}
Special Orders,}
No. 180.}
1. The
following schedule of prices for articles named therein, and adopted by
commissioners appointed pursuant to law, for the State of Virginia, are
announced for the information of all concerned, and the special attention of
officers and agents of the Government is directed thereto:
Richmond, Va., August 1st, 1864.
Hon. James A. Seddon:
Sir:--We were
informed, early in July that the demand for army supplies was so urgent that
your department felt constrained to disregard our schedule prices then in force,
and offer market rates to the farmers for their wheat, if delivered in
July. This policy was deemed indispensable to insure the EARLY receipt of
supplies. Concurring with the War Department in the paramount importance
of obtaining, at the earliest practicable period, an ample quantity of wheat for
the support of the army, we apprehended so great a disparity existed between our
former rates and the rates then offering in our leading cities, that unless we
advance prices our action might seriously embarrass the Government in their
efforts to obtain immediate supplies.
Under these
circumstances, and owing to the very short crop of wheat, and unprecedented
demand for breadstuffs, together with the depreciation in currency, as well as
to the further fact that the farmers were then securing the oat and hay crops,
we proposed the advanced prices set forth in our July and August schedules.
But now, as
the immediate wants of the army are being provided for, and vigorous efforts are
initiated to reduce the currency and reinstate public credit, we are disposed to
accept the recent manifestations of public opinion in regard to our prices as
the strongest assurance that, in future, adequate supplies can be secured on
very moderate terms.
As the press,
the public, and the farmers in part, have all united in condemning our rates as
too high, we, therefore, DEFER to what seems to be the general desire, and
propose the following prices:
Having
adopted the schedules for May and June last, in accordance with the clearly
manifested wishes of the people, we have thought it advisable and proper to
stimulate the sale and delivery of small grain, &c., now so much needed as
to be indispensable, by advancing the price of wheat, flour, corn, and corn
meal, oats, and hay delivered in the month of August.
Therefore, we
place the price of wheat at $7.50 per bushel, and a corresponding advance of 50
per cent. on all the grades of flour, mill offal, &c., and corn we assess at
$6 per bushel, and corn meal at $6.30 per bushel. Oats and hay per hundred
pounds, unbaled, at $6, and at $7 per hundred pounds, baled, east of the Blue
Ridge, and delivered during the month of August.
Railroad iron
not being included in the Government contracts with the iron manufactories,
should not have been advanced in our last schedule. So we re-adopt our old
valuation for railroad iron, and put the price at $190 per ton.
The foregoing
are to be the prices of wheat, flour, mill offal, corn and corn meal, oats, hay
and railroad iron delivered during the month of August.
In September
we propose to adopt simply the former schedules for May and June, with the
exception of the assessment upon railroad iron, which we wish to continue at
$190 per ton during the month of September.
We also
re-adopt the revision of our February and March schedule, in reference to the
impressment of horses, as published in our July schedule.
We trust that
the people in those counties who have recently, in public meetings, expressed
their views in favor of low prices, will now, since all impediments have been
removed, as patriotically lead out in tendering and selling, both to the
Government and the people, all they can spare, at schedule rates.
Such an
example, voluntarily set before the people, would exert a most salutary
influence. The public may be assured we will interpose no barrier to
thwart either their benevolent intentions or generous contributions in common
cause.
Richmond, Va., May 4th, 1864.
Hon. James A. Seddon:
Sir--In
reviewing the schedules of prices for May and June, we invited the co-operation
and aid of Mr. William B. Harrison, and it is just to add that the schedules
received the unanimous approval of the commissioners.
We
respectfully offer the accompanying schedules A and B, with the understanding
that the prices are to remain for the months of May and June, unless in the
interval it should be deemed necessary to modify them.
The following
prices are to be the maximum rates to be paid for the articles impressed in all
cities and usual places of sale, and when impressed on the farms or elsewhere,
the same prices are to be paid.
Under
existing circumstances, we have deemed it not only just, but most likely to
favor increased production, that producers in future should not be required to
transport their surplus productions when impressed, but that the agents of the
Government should employ or impress the neighborhood or county wagons and teams
to haul all such articles, and so divide the work between the owners of wagons
and teams, as to be least prejudicial to those successfully engaged in
agriculture.
Schedule A.
No.
Articles.
Quality.
Description.
Quantity.
Price
1
Wheat
Prime
White or
red
Per bus. of 60
lbs.
$5.00
2 Flour,
good
Fine
Per bbl. of 196
lbs.
22.00
"
Superfine
"
"
25.00
"
Extra
Superfine
"
"
26.50
"
Family
"
"
28.00
3
Corn
Prime
White or
yellow
Per bus. of 56
lbs.
4.00
4 Unshelled
corn
"
"
" 56
"
3.95
5 Corn
meal
Good
" 50
"
4.20
6
Rye
Prime
" 56
"
3.20
7 Cleaned
oats
"
" 32
"
2.50
8 Wheat
bran
Good
" 17
"
.50
9
Shorts
"
" 22
"
.70
10 Brown
stuff
"
" 28
"
.90
11 Ship
stuff
"
" 37
"
1.40
12
Bacon
"
Hog
round
Per
pound
3.00
13 Pork,
salt
"
"
2.60
14 Pork, fresh fat
and
"
Per pound net wght
2.25
15
Lard
"
"
3.00
16 Horses and
mules First
class
Artillery, &c.,
average
price per
head
500.00
17
Wool
Fair or
merino
Washed
Per
pound
3.00
18
Wool
Fair or
merino
Unwashed
"
2.00
19
Peas
Good
Per
bushel
12.00
20
Beans
"
"
12.00
21
Potatoes
"
Irish
"
5.00
22
Potatoes
"
Sweet
"
8.00
23
Onions
"
"
5.00
24 Dried
Peaches
"
Pealed
"
8.00
25 Dried
Peaches
"
Unpealed
"
4.50
26 Dried
Apples
"
Pealed
"
5.00
27 Hay,
baled
"
Timothy or
clover
Per 100
lbs.
3.90
28 Hay,
baled
"
Orchard or herd
grass
"
3.90
29 Hay, unbaled
"
"
"
3.00
30 Sheaf oats,
baled
"
"
4.40
31 Sheaf oats, unbaled
"
"
3.50
32 Blade fodder,
baled
"
"
3.90
33 Blade fodder, unbaled
"
"
3.00
34 Shucks,
baled
"
"
2.60
35 Shucks, unbaled
"
"
1.70
36 Wheat straw,
baled
"
"
2.20
37 Wheat straw, unbaled
"
"
1.30
38
Pasturage
"
Interior
Per h'd per
month
3.00
39
"
Superior
"
"
"
4.00
40
"
First
rate
"
"
"
5.00
41
"
Good
Near
cities
"
"
5.00
42
"
Superior
"
"
"
6.00
43
"
First
rate
"
"
"
7.00
44
Salt
Good
Per bus. of 50
lbs.
5.00
45
Soap
"
Per
pound
1.00
46
Candles
"
Tallow
"
3.00
47
Vinegar
"
Cider
Per
gallon
2.00
48
Whisky
"
Trade
"
10.00
49
Sugar
"
Brown
Per
pound
8.00
50
Molasses
"
New
Orleans
Per
gallon
25.00
51
Rice
"
Per
pound
.20
52
Coffee
"
Rio
"
8.00
53
Tea
"
Trade
"
7.00
54
Vinegar
"
Manufactured
Per
gallon
.50
55 Pig
iron
"
No. 1
quality
Per
ton
350.00
56
"
"
No. 2
"
"
314.00
57
"
"
No. 3
"
"
278.00
58 Bloom
iron
"
"
716.00
59 Smith's
iron
"
Round plate or
bars
"
1080.00
60 Railroad
iron
"
"
190.00
61
Leather
"
Harness
Per
pound
3.90
62
"
"
Sole
"
3.60
63
"
"
Upper
"
4.20
64 Beef
cattle
"
Gross
weight
Per 100
lbs.
20.00
65
"
Superior
"
"
25.00
66
"
First
rate
"
"
30.00
67 Salt
beef
Good
Net per
lb.
1.50
68
Sheep
Fair
Per
head
30.00
69 A'y wol'n cl'th, 3/4 y'd
Good
10 ozs. per
yard
Per
yard
5.00
70
"
"
"
Pr ra. as to g'r or
less
Width or weight
71
"
"
6-4
"
20 ozs. per
yard
Per
yard
10.00
72
"
"
"
Pro ra. as to g'r or
less
Width or weight
73 Flannels,
3/4
"
6 ozs. per
yard
Per
yard
4.00
74 Cotton shirting
3/4
"
3 [?] 1/2 yards to the
lb.
"
1.11
75 Cotton shirting,
7-8
"
3 3/4
"
"
"
"
1.35
76 Cotton sheeting,
4-4
"
8
"
"
"
"
1.75
77 Cotton oznaburgs
3/4
"
6 ozs. per
yard
"
1.50
78 Cotton oznaburgs,
7-8
"
8
"
"
"
1.98
79 Cotton tent
cloths
"
10 ozs. per
yard
"
2.58
80 On the above enumerated cotton
cloths, pro rata as to greater or less width or wgt.
81 Army
shoes
"
Per
pair
15.00
82 Shoe
thread
"
Per
pound
3.00
83 Wool socks for
men
"
Per
pair
1.25
84 Corn-top fodder, b'ld
"
Per 100
lbs.
2.40
85
"
" unb'ld
"
"
1.50
86 Wheat chaff,
baled
"
"
2.40
87 Wheat chaff, unbaled
"
"
1.50
88 Sorghum
molasses
"
Per
gallon
20.00
89 Pasturage for
sheep
"
Interior
Per
head
.40
90
"
"
Superior
"
"
.50
91
"
" First
rate
"
"
.60
In assessing
the average value of first class artillery and wagon horses and mules at $500,
we designed that the term should be accepted and acted upon according to its
obvious common sense import. In other words, that they should be selected,
and then impressed accordingly as their working qualities and adaptation to army
service, together with their intrinsic value would warrant a judicious purchaser
in considering them as coming within the contemplation of the commissioners when
they assessed the average value of such horses as the Government needed at
$500. But cases might arise, however, when the public exigencies would be
so urgent as to demand that ALL horses at hand should be impressed. Yet,
under ordinary circumstances when family or extra blooded horses, or brood mares
of ADMITTED HIGH VALUE are impressed, we respectfully suggest to the Secretary
of War to have instructions forwarded to the impressing officers to propose and
allow the owners to SUBSTITUTE in their stead, such strong, sound and
serviceable horses or mules as shall be considered and valued by competent and
disinterested parties as first class artillery horses, or first class wagon
mules.
The term
average value per head is in contradistinction to a fixed and uniform price for
each horse or mule. We supposed that in impressing a number of horses or
mules, whether owned by several persons, or one individual, that some might be
estimated at $300, and others at different advanced rates, according to their
worth, up as high as $700, thus making an average value or price for a number
of good, sound and efficient horses or mules, $500 each.
Illustrations
of our views, we will add, that a horse with only one eye sound, might, in all
other respects, be classed as a first class artillery horse, yet the loss of one
eye would justify and considerably curtail his value. So, a horse from 18
to 18 years of age might be deemed in all other particulars as a first class
artillery horse, but, of course, however efficient or able to render good
service for a year or so, yet, his advanced age would justify and materially
impair his value. Any horse, however he may approximate the standard of a
first class artillery horse, must, according to deficiencies, fall below the
maximum price; and as few comparatively come up to the standard, and, therefore,
are entitled to the maximum price, so, of course, in all other instances the
price should be proportionately reduced, as imperfections place them below the
standard of first class, &c.
Schedule B.--Hire of Labor, Teams, Wagons and Drivers.
No.
Labor
Quantity and
Time
Price.
1. Baling long
forage
Per 100
lbs.
$ .90
2. Shelling and bagging corn, sacks
furnished by the
government
do 56
do
.05
3.
Hauling
do cwt per
mile
.08
4. Hauling
grain
do bush
"
.04
5. Hire of two horse team, wagon and
driver, rations furnished by
owner
per
day
10.00
6. Hire of same, rations furnished by
the
Government
do
5.00
7. Hire of four-horse team, wagon and
driver, rations furnished by
owner
do
13.00
8. Hire of same, rations furnished by
the
Government
do
6.50
9. Hire of six horse team, wagon and
driver, rations furnished by
owner
do
16.00
10. Hire of same, rations furnished by
the
Government
do
8.00
11. Hire of laborer, rations furnished
by
owner,
do
2.50
12. Hire of same, rations furnished by
the
Government
do
1.50
13. Hire of same, rations and clothing
furnished by
owner
per
month
50.00
14. Hire of same, rations furnished by
the
Government
do
30.00
15. Hire of teamsters, rations
furnished by the
Government
do
40.00
16. Hire of laborer, clothing and
rations furnished by the
Government
per
year
300.00
18.
do rations only furnished by
Government
do
550.00
19. Hire of ox carts, team and driver,
rations furnished by
owner
per
day
10.00
20. Hire of same, rations furnished by
Government
do
5.00
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 8, 1864, p. 2, c. 5-6
The City.
Shell Explosion at Manchester.
A Careless Negro Causes the Death of Three
White Boys and Four Negroes.
At 2 o'clock the city was startled by an explosion resembling an
incipient earthquake. Although our
evening paper was in process of being worked off, we followed the crowd, and
soon found ourselves at Manchester bridge.
Not having a Provost's pass or the countersign, however, we were brought
to a halt. There we remained, and
gathered from those who came from Manchester, that the noise was occasioned by
the explosion of shells; not in a factory, as was currently rumored. It seems from what we gather from conflicting statements,
that a negro was unloading a wagon filled with shells, and threw one with too
great force to the ground. This
caused the explosion of only two or three more shells.
This
act of negro carelessness results n the killing of four grown negroes and three
white boys. A little negro was also
mortally wounded. They are all so
terribly mangled, that it is next to impossible to identify them.
A
gentleman just from Manchester informs us while writing, that the names of the
white boys are _______ Seward, aged 11; John Stirrwald, 8; and William Massacre,
aged ____ years. They were playing
at the place where the negroes were unloading the shells.
These
shells, we learn, came from the battle-fields around Petersburg, and only an
occasional one was loaded. This caused the negroes to be unduly careless in
handling them.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 8, 1864, p. 2, c. 6
Summary: More on the arrest of the
slaves in unlawful assembly, condemning the behavior of the night watchmen
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 8, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
The
Manchester Tragedy.—We have mentioned elsewhere the accidental explosion of
some old shells in Manchester, by which several persons were killed.—At 2
o'clock, Saturday evening, five negroes were taking out from a wagon, at C.
Bradley's shell foundry in Manchester, a number of shells of various kinds,
which had been brought from Petersburg to be overhauled, cleaned, &c.
It is customary to send shells to the army empty to be loaded in the
trenches, and these were supposed to have been returned empty, which supposition
unfortunately proved incorrect. Two
negroes were in the wagon handing out the shells to two others, who were
throwing them in a pile, and a fifth negro was engaged in arranging them or
moving them aside.—Several little white boys persisted in playing with and
handling the shells, though frequently driven away by Mr. Bradley.
While the process of unloading the wagon was going on, one of the shells
pitched into the pile by one of the negroes exploded, setting off fifteen
others, which were all that were loaded.
The
two negroes in the wagon and the three on the ground were struck and four of
them instantly killed.—The fifth was so dreadfully wounded as to leave no
possibility of his recovery. Two
white boys were killed and another so badly wounded as to die in a few minutes.
The little victims of this shocking accident were:
Wm. Seward, aged 11, son of Jos. E. Seward, a workman in Bradley's
foundry; John Stywald, aged 10, son of Wm. Stywald, foreman at Bradley's
foundry; and Wm. Massaker, son of Wm. Massaker, workman at the Manchester Cotton
Factory. This little fellow alone
of the boys showed any signs of vitality after the accident.
He breathed for a moment after being taken up and then expired.
They as well as the negroes were mangled in a manner too shocking to
particularize or dwell upon. Their
bodies were torn by every conceivable kind of horrible wound.
The negro who still lived when last heard from, has had his left temple
torn off, both arms broken and several dreadful wounds in his body.
The
negroes were all slaves, one belonging to Ro. Moody, another to Mrs. R[ ]per,
and another to Mr. Hudson, of this city. We
did not ascertain the names of the owners of the other two.
Fragments
of shell flew all over the town of Manchester, and a number of houses were
struck. It being at a time of day
when a great number of persons are usually on the streets, going to or returning
from dinner, it is wonderful that the casualties were not still more numerous.
The
report, or rather the reports, for there were three distinct detonations, were
heard in every part of this city, and the general impression at first was that
the Laboratory, Arsenal on [sic?] some of the workshops had blown up.
This
is the second accident from shells that has occurred at this foundry in the past
two months. On the former occasion,
a shell, which was believed to be empty, but which proved to be loaded, was
thrown into the furnace. It, of
course, exploded, happily without killing or wounding any one.
It threw up a great dust, knocked off part of the furnace chimney, and
otherwise injured the foundry.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 8, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"The Ghost of the Dismal Swamp;" songs and ballads;
tomorrow—"that successful equestrian drama, Sixteen String Jack, With all
its Songs, Dances, Horses, Carriages, Tableaux, &c."
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 9, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Sixteen String Walk;" charming ballad; "Little
Sentinel"; tomorrow "Lady of the Lake;" in rehearsal "The
Bohemians of Paris"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 10, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
History a Myth
During the course of the present war, it has been frequently asked by
thinking men whether we would ever have its truthful history written. And by a truthful history is not meant an anthology of all
official reports of battles, or of the copious relations of the innumerable
correspondents who have never been able to describe but their own corner of the
battle field, but we refer to the calm and impartial accounts which the
disinterested chronicler alone can give. An
English Essayist somewhere states that History is attended by two strong angels,
the Angel of Research who reads millions of dusty parchments and pages blotted
with lies, and the Angel of Meditation that must cleanse these lying records
with fire to give them a new life and truth.
The
Muse of History courted by Yankee scribblers, and above all by Yankee Generals,
who pretend not only to fight their own battles, but [illegible] like, to write
them too, seems to have been so wanton and debauched from the baths of morality
that the two angels referred to have been unable to withstand the assault upon
their modesty, and have abandoned their trust of guardianship; most especially
so the angel of Research. In no
case, perhaps, has their terror been greater than in the war bulletin of Judas
Thomas. . .
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 10, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Lady of the Lake;' tomorrow—"The Bohemians of Paris"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 11, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"The Bohemians of Paris;" in rehearsal "East
Lynne"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 11, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
At a
meeting of citizens of Richmond, held at the office of the James River and
Kanawha Company, on the 5th August, 1864, for the purpose of devising
plans for the more effectual relief of our soldier's families and the poor of
the city, the following preamble and resolution were adopted:
Whereas,
the Directory of the Young Men's Christian Association have adopted a resolution
declaring that it is expedient to restrict the work of the Army Committee to the
distribution of such supplies as may be placed at their disposal for the purpose
of promoting the comfort and well-being of our soldiers in the field and in the
hospital, and suggesting the formation of a Relief Committee, composed of
citizens, independent of the Association, for the accomplishment of the great
work of supplying the wants of the families of our absent soldiers and our poor
generally;
"Resolved,
That a Relief Committee, consisting of thirty gentlemen, be organized for the
purpose of cooperating with the Overseers of the Poor, the Union Benevolent
Society, and other benevolent institutions, for the more efficient relief of the
poor of this city."
At a
meeting of the Relief Committee, held on the eighth of August, Colonel Thomas H.
Ellis acting as Chairman, the following officers were elected:
William
P. Munford, President.
H. E.
C. Baskerville, Treasurer.
William
H. Pleasants, Secretary.
James
L. Maury,
}
Dr.
William H. Swathmey,
} Directors.
William
Bell,
}
The
Directory were requested to consider the various subjects proposed for action,
and report to a called meeting of the committee.
The
following gentlemen compose the
Relief Committee:
[list]
A
meeting of the committee will be held at five o'clock this afternoon, at the
office of the James River and Kanawha Company, for the purpose of receiving a
report from the Directory.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 12, 1864, p. 2, c. 5
Ogden's
Case.—Judge Hallyburton, this morning, rendered in the case of R. Dorsey
Ogden, who prayed to be delivered from the conscript officers upon the ground
that he was an undomiciled Englishman.—After reviewing the aspect of the case
presented by Ogden's counsel, the Judge remanded him to the custody of the
enrolling officer, but, on the motion of counsel, consented to suspend judgment
of the court till Saturday morning, to hear an argument upon the single point as
to what extent the case is affected by the treaty of 1794, between the United
States and England.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 12, 1864, p. 2, c. 5
Discharged.—Mrs.
Althe F. Harris, recently arrested in Georgia and brought to this city on the
charge of holding correspondence with officers in the United States Army, has
been discharged after an examination of the case. She returns to her home in
Georgia.—This statement is made at her request.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 12, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
Bloomers Redivivus.
[From the Philadelphia Inquirer.]
One of those curious, nonsensical, eccentric and unavailing conventions
in which "strong minded" women sometimes indulge, has just been held
in New York. The question to be
settled by this convention was in relation to the proper style of dress for
women. An immense majority of
American women have no difficulties in relation to this subject.
They accept the fashions from the milliners, though the latter should
propose style ever so ridiculous. But
among our gentle sisters there are some who undertake to enjoy their own ideas,
and crave to be independent of the Paris fashions. They have, for some reason which metaphysicians have never
explained, a hankering after bifurcated garments, and a disdain of frocks.
They desire to reform female dress; by assimilating it to the male
costume, and the nearer they can bring it to the masculine standard, the greater
their happiness. Women of this character were the principal actors in the late
convention. One lady, who is called
"the Niagara county farmer," is thus described:--"She wore a
nondescript costume, of which but a faint idea can be given by any other medium
than that of actual sight. It might
be supposed to be a sort of bathing dress, lacking, however, the gracefulness
with which that garment adapts itself. The
coat, if that is the proper name of the upper garment, was made of brown stuff,
fitting closely to the waist, from whence the lower part hung down, appearing
something like a gentleman's frock coat with the back in front. Her pantaloons extended to her substantial shoes, which bore
evidence of the truth of the statement that she had traveled over ten acres of
ploughed land this spring, sowing wheat. The
lady appeared to be about forty years old, and was rather thin and square
featured, and her face somewhat browned by outdoor labor and exposure to the
weather. Her hair, which did not
appear to have been carefully combed, was cut squarely off above her
shoulder." This strong minded
and strong fisted woman declared that the cause of the delicate health of a
large proportion of our American ladies is that they did not work hard enough.
Having herself sown ten acres of ground with wheat this year, she knew
whereof she spoke, and she was of opinion that if a woman in ill health could
not find wheat fields to operate upon, it would be better for her to "go
out in the lots and dig up stumps," if she could find nothing else to do.
A
younger lady, dressed in the Bloomer costume, and displaying a white linen shirt
bosom, seconded the views of her agricultural friend.
Another one, a feminine Doctor, declared that, in regard to woman's
dress, "she thought an improvement for the better is needed in some manner.
They are worn too tight around the waist and too long.
If ladies would wear their dresses loosely, they would find their lungs
expanding, as they should, and the ribs widening from the sternum, or
breastbone, outward. They will then
be obliged to let our their dresses about every year, to suit this natural
expansion of the waist."
It
appeared from the discussion, which was entirely on the merits of the shorter or
bloomer dress, that there were three parties present, namely, the radical
reformers, the conservative reformers, and the compromise reformers.
The radical reformers went for the very short skirt and the coat to be
worn on all occasions; the compromise reformers, for the bloomer dress on
certain occasions as a useful and comfortable, but not exactly an ornamental
dress; and the conservative reformers, for such changes for the better as can be
made without making the wearer appear singular, and in opposition to the present
public opinion.
These
matters brought out a great deal of experience, and finally the debate ran into
an inquiry whether ladies who wore the "reform costume" were liable to
be insulted. One lady who had
"a think visage and her hair parted on one side," had worn a favorite
costume for years, and never been insulted but once, and that was late at night,
when she was in the street alone. Another
lady had the happiness to have been married in a bloomer dress, and wore it on
her wedding tour. Some of the
congregation objected, but she persevered, and now she was universally beloved
among the members, all on account of her short skirts and trowsers.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 12, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
Two
Paragraphs about Crinoline.—The case of Levy vs. Bartlett, heard in the
Sheriff's Court, London, a few days ago, was an action to recover £2, value of
a dress, alleged to have been damaged by some paint in defendant's shop.
It appeared that the plaintiff went to the shop of the defendant, a
cheesemonger, and on entering her dress swept against the newly painted
doorpost. A shopman called,
"Mind the paint." Thereupon
she caused herself to be painted upon the other side.—There was no written
notice up that the paint was wet. His Honor censured the defendant, who was bound to keep his
hop so that no harm could come to his customers entering for a lawful purpose.
The plea that the plaintiff's crinoline was exceedingly large was a bad
plea. She might reply she was
entitled to follow the prevailing fashion.
If a tradesman wishes to protect himself particularly, he ought to put up
a notice, "No ladies with large crinolines served in this shop."
Verdict for plaintiff, with costs.
"A
calculation has been made," says the Salut Public of Lyons, "on
the subject of crinolines, which is worthy of attention.
These dresses in fact require three metres more material than the
ordinary ones. As no less than
twenty millions of ladies' dresses are made every year in France, the additional
quantity used is sixty millions of metres, which, taken at the average price of
two francs a metre, makes a sum of one hundred and twenty millions of francs.
In addition, must be mentioned two extra petticoats required for those
ample dresses, and other material for which costs 120 millions more.
The steel cages must also [be] taken into account, and as they cannot be
estimated at less than 15 fr. each, a further sum of 160 millions must be added.
These three sums together make a tribute of 390 millions, or about
one-fifth of the State Budget, paid to a ridiculous and inconvenient
fashion."
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 12, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"The Bohemians of Paris;" in rehearsal "East
Lynne"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 13, 1864, p. 2, c. 5
Large
Mail.—Several bushels, more or less, of letters, newspapers, etc., were
received at the Post office, this morning, in addition to the usual quantity.
These missives come from points in Mississippi, Texas, and Arkansas, with
which postal communication has been cut off for more than a year.
Some of the letters were post marked twelve months ago. They will be ready for delivery this afternoon.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 13, 1864, p. 2, c. 5
Mayor's
Court.--. . . Mr. Wootten moved the court to discharge from jail an unfortunate
creature, who was committed a few days ago for drunkenness, and presented his
Honor the following touching letter from her:
City Jail, Richmond, Aug. 11th, 1864.
Joseph Mayo, Esq:
Your
Honor, I am an unfortunate female, committed by you to the city jail for the
want of security to behave myself. I
have lately been drawn into bad company, which caused me a few days since to
wander from the paths of sobriety, but, Mr. Mayo, there is a cause—the heart
knoweth its own bitterness; and the sorrows of an unprotected female may be
appreciated by a noble heart, if not felt.
I have no friend to go my security to behave, but if you will let me out
of jail this time, I earnestly promise you that I will not again seek to drown
my sorrows in the cup of sweetness which has turned to wormwood and gall.
It is my unfortunate, forlorn and forsaken condition that has brought me
to this, and if you but knew all of my heart-felt anguish and sorrow, as a
humane and noble man, you would forgive me.
If you will let me out, I promise to strive to amend my life.
I have
no friend. Please let me out of
this corrupting place, and I shall pray that God will bless you."
S-----J-----R.
His
Honor seemed favorably disposed in the premises, and will probably discharge the
poor creature; but, for the present, he reserved his decision.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 13, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Macbeth; or, The Thane of Cawdor;" in rehearsal "East
Lynne"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 15, 1864, p. 2, c. 5
Theatrical—Attracted
by the title of the new play, "the Bohemians of Paris," we strolled
into the Temple of Thespis, a night or two ago, to witness its first
representation. Entering the
Theatre about a quarter after eight, we were constrained to listen to two German
waltzes from the Orchestra, the melodies or themes of which were twanged
or tooted over and over to that excess that their saltatory [sic?] strains are
still ringing in our ears. After
this came the grand overture to Lucrezia Borgia.
The mournful music of Donizetti, so enchanting when played skillfully and
in tune, sounded on this occasion like the convulsive wails of a dozen cats,
whose lesser intestines had been torn out to make strings for the remorseless
violins. The members of this
Orchestra must think, with Pope, "all discord harmony not understood!"
but, for ourselves, we'd "rather hear a brazen canstick turn'd, or a dry
wheel grate on its axletree."
Then,
the audience were generously afforded twenty minutes' opportunity to admire and
criticise the magnificent drop-curtain. We
never had a chance to study the old masters, nor do we presume to pass an
opinion upon the merits of this curtain; but, assuredly, we may be allowed to
suggest that the colossal size and breadth of the figures were not copied from
Michael Angelo, nor the startling and vivid coloring from Leonardo.
The naked child in the central foreground, with his exceeding,
preternatural plumpness about the seat of honor, must have been laid, prone on
his stomach, in that conspicuous position, in order that any of the venerable
elders (who are evidently all schoolmasters) may spank him when thereto
inclined.
When
the clock was on the stroke of nine, the curtain rolled slowly up, and the play
began. The scene is laid in Paris,
among the Bohemes, or thieves, of that gay capital.
From
the costumes, the language and manners of the actors, we should say the
representation would have been life like if intended for the Five Points of New
York, or the sailor hells of Liverpool; but whoever dreamed of a Parisian
rgamuffin using, ad nauseam [sic]an habitual term such as "werry
queer," "golly good," &c."
There
was one expression, used by a woman, too, who played a male part, which, how
wretched soever the play and vulgar its language, we cannot but look upon as a
gratuitous interpolation, absolutely atrocious in its impropriety.
The audience showed their ignorance or their disgust by maintaining an
unbroken silence: "I must
go—this is my hour for an assassination," said the Bohemian.
"What! an
assassination?" cried the others, gathering round.
"No, only an assignation."
We do
not know by whom this play was translated—may be by the "admirable"
now resident Manager himself! Did
the player follow the text literatim when he said, "We'll be rich, which
you and me will share the dowry"? or the other, (Mr. Didler,) who "had
went to India;" or the third, who advised his fellow cut-throats "to
robe like he did"?
The
Prompter ought to curb his ambition, and speak lower. Although, under existing circumstances, he is the most
important personage in the theatre, or rather on the stage—for without him
there would be a dead lock on the first scene—still he is not a public
function in the general acceptation; nor should his voice be heard at times all
over the house, equalling the terrific maniac outbursts of the accomplished
Ogden himself.
Those
who, by the pretentious aristocratic apostrophe after the D, would tell the
world that they were named after Lord Byron's Cupidon dechene, and the
husband of Lady Blessington's daughter, should learn that the Count Alfred wrote
his name thus: D'Orsay, and did not
gallicise a cognomer of Hibernian origin without doing it artistically.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 15, 1864, p. 2, c. 5
Louisiana
Guard Artillery.—This well known artillery company, among the first to leave
New Orleans at the outbreak of the war, which has been recruiting in this
vicinity lately, is about again taking the field as Flying Artillery.
To recount the deeds of this company, would be to write out the history
of the war in Virginia, for, from the battles around Richmond to their last
struggle at Kelly's Ford, this gallant company figured conspicuously in every
engagement. As an earnest of the
gallantry and valor of its members, we need only state that in the various
engagements in which the company has taken part, it lost upwards of sixty-one
killed and wounded.
We
understand that, previous to its departure for the scene of action, the company
will be treated with a handsome battle flag.
Mindful
of the glories of the immortal chieftain, under whom it was their proud
privilege to fight—Stonewall Jackson—the Louisiana Guard Artillery will
again shed a new lustre upon the State which they so nobly represent, and gather
new laurels on the dreary battle plain.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 15, 1864, p. 2, c. 5-6
The
Ball at Ashland.—We would announce for the benefit of ladies and gentlemen
desiring to attend the select ball at Ashland next Monday night, that Mr. Perry
has, for their convenience, chartered a special train, which will leave the
Fredericksburg depot at 7 o'clock, and returning, leave Ashland at 2 o'clock
A.M., Tuesday morning. All
arrangements have been made by Mr. Perry to make the ball one of the most
delightful affairs of the season.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 15, 1864, p. 2, c. 6
State
Rice.—Messrs. Spotts, Harvey & Co., 14th street, south of
Carey, as agents for the State of Virginia, are now selling Rice at 50 cents a
pound. Each family is allowed to
purchase 1½ pound for each member thereof.
The rush for the rice is great, but there is no occasion to be in such a
hurry. The stock on hand is 400,000
pounds—enough for all. This will
stock the market, and reduce the price of other kinds of food.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 15, 1864, p. 1, c. 2
Yankee Masons.
The Masonic fraternity have hitherto been of the opinion that the acts of
vandalism practiced by the Yankee soldiers on the various Masonic Lodges of
Mississippi, were not the acts of Masons, but of hired soldiers, incited
by a desire of booty; but they have been mistaken.
During the last visit of the enemy to Port Gibson, they visited the Lodge
room, stole the regalia and jewels, and tore up and destroyed the records and
papers of Washington Lodge No. 3, and Clinton Chapter No. 2.
they also destroyed the charter of said Chapter, issued by the Grand
Chapter of the United States, September 18, 1826, and signed by DeWitt Clinton.
And, as if to add insult to injury, one of the party left on the altar a
card, on which was inscribed, "Thomas Price, W. M. of Peoria Lodge, No. 15,
Peoria, Illinois."
In the
Revolutionary war, when the charger of a Lodge and its record had fallen into
British hands, they were promptly returned by a flag of truce, under guard of
honor. How different the conduct of
W. M. Price, who, by his actions, seems to have gloried in destroying the
records and papers of an Institution devoted to benevolence!
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 15, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
Hustings
Court.—In this court, on Friday, the Grand Jury brought in half a hundred
presentments against different parties for keeping faro banks and for betting at
the same. Those who had believed
the tiger dead will be surprised at this. Those
indicted for exhibiting faro were James Clifford, _____ Spradling, David
Stubblefield, _____ Cheek, John Fergusson, George Freeberger, John Slater, and
Wm. Snellings. Several of the above
are special detectives of the War Department—detectives employed especially to
detect and inform against disbursing officers of the Government, who should
indulge in faro. It may be that in
exhibiting faro they were but pursuing their instructions; taking the readiest
method of detecting the said Government officers.
If this conjecture be correct, the Government will of course stand
between them and the penalty of the State law.
The information upon which the Grand Jury acted, was lodged by detective
Reece, of the Provost Marshall's Department.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 15, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
Ogden's
Case.—In the matter of the habeas corpus of R. D'Orsay Ogden, the Judge
of the C. S. Court on Saturday, heard the counsel for the petitioner on the
point that the treaty of 1794, between England and America, protected domiciled
Englishmen from conscription. It
will be recollected that in suing out the habeas corpus, Ogden alleged
that he was an undomiciled Englishman. The
learned Judge, after a patient hearing of all the facts and all the arguments, pro
and con, decided that Ogden was a domiciled foreigner, if a
foreigner at all, and remanded him to the enrolling officer.
His counsel raised the point of the treaty and domiciled foreigners, and
Saturday was fixed for its consideration.
After
the counsel for Ogden had concluded, Mr. Aylett, district attorney, submitted
the case without remark. The
learned Judge reserved his decision until this morning.
Whatever may be the result of this matter, there can be no gainsaying the
fact that Mr. James Lyons, Ogden's counsel, has fought the battle for him with
all of his well-known great ability and with untiring energy.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 15, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
Cider
and Vinegar.—The eldest inhabitant cannot recall the time when cider was more
plentiful than it is at present. The
"log cabin" and "hard cider" days of 1840 afford no
parallel. At every grocery, pop
shop, and fruit store, the sign "sweet cider for sale here," stares
you in the face. At the market
houses, and all over the city, country carts may be found at all hours of the
day, surrounded by groups of darkeys buying and drinking cider at the rate of 50
to 75 cents per quart. The apple
crop has been very abundant, and the price of vinegar, which is now held at $8
per gallon, should speedily fall to more reasonable figures.—Let the country
people make plenty of nice vinegar from their surplus apples.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 15, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
A City
Scavenger.—In the discharge of his duty, it may become necessary for "ye
local" to take hold of many things he would prefer not to handle; such a
thing heads this paragraph. A
scavenger being much wanted in this city must be our excuse for bringing the
matter before the public. Both the
city scavengers have been put into the military service—one in the field, and
the other in the Reserves. We
suggest to the Mayor that, as there is no getting along comfortably and
healthfully without one of these animals, he use his influence to have the one
in the Reserves detailed for special service.
This one's name is Bob Allen; he lives on the south side of the dock, and
is much given to cockfighting, but is nevertheless a very efficient scavenger.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 15, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
4,000 Lbs. Cotton Yarn,
Cotton Yarns.—
We have in store, a very superior assortment of Cotton Yarns, from No. 8 to 14,
factory number. For sale on
consignment.
Stokes, Williamson & Co.
cor. 15th & Cary st.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 15, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"East Lynne; or, The Elopement;" ballad; "Nature and
Philosophy; or, The Youth That Never Saw a Woman;" in
rehearsal—"Orange Blossoms;" "The Moustache Movement;" and
other novelties
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 16, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
The
Markets.—The markets were, as is usual on Monday, poorly supplied this
morning. The beef was wretched, and
vegetables and fruits scarce and inferior.
Country people sell everything they have on Saturdays, when money is more
abundant with city operatives, that being their pay day.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 17, 1864, p. 2, c. 5-6
Ogden
Sent to Camp Lee.—The habeas corpus case of Richard Plantagenet Dorsey
Ogden, was brought to a conclusion yesterday.
Judge Hallyburton decided that Ogden, as a domiciled foreigner, was not
entitled to exemption from military service under the treaty of 1794 between the
United States and Great Britain, and remanded Ogden to the custody of the
enrolling officer.
Mr.
James Lyons, Ogden's counsel, then moved the court to suspend the execution of
the judgment and admit Ogden to bail until such time as Congress should
establish a Supreme Court, to whom Ogden might appeal for a writ of error.
Mr. Lyons said the Constitution guaranteed every citizen the right of
appeal, and he should not be deprived of this right because Congress had failed
to do its duty and establish a Supreme court as the Constitution directed.
The
learned Judge said no one regretted more than he the failure of Congress to
establish the Supreme court; but Congress had not seen fit to do so.
If counsel's argument were to prevail, the District Courts would now be a
nullity. For himself he had no
doubt as to his authority to remand to custody any party brought before him on a
writ of habeas corpus. He
would remand the petitioner to the custody of the enrolling officer.
A
guard from Camp Lee was in waiting and took Ogden into custody as he left the
court room, and a hack having been procured, the party drove off to Camp Lee.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 17, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
Seasonable
Hints.—The Charleston Mercury calls attention to the following methods
of preserving vegetables for winter use:
Okra.—Take
the pods when tender; cut them into slices or cross cuts half an inch thick;
spread them out on a board, or string them, and hang them up in an airy place to
dry, and in a few days they will be ready to put away in clean paper bags for
winter use. For soups they are as
good as when fresh in summer.
Tomatoes.—Gather
the tomatoes when they are quite ripe, least full of water, and most full of the
tomato principle, that is to say in sunny weather, in July or August.
It is better that they should be small, or only of moderate size.
Scald them in boiling water. Peel
them, and squeeze them slightly. Spread
them on earthen dishes and place the dishes in a brick oven, after taking the
bread out. Let them remain there
until the next morning. Then put
them in bags and hang them in a dry place.
For soup, they may be used without preparation; for stews, soak them in
warm water a few hours beforehand.
Lima
Beans.—Take the green beans, a little younger than they are usually pulled for
boiling in summer, and spread them thinly on the floor of the garret, on an airy
loft. They will dry without further
trouble than turning them over once or twice. When wanted for use soak them in warm water for twelve hours
before cooking.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 17, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"East Lynne; or, The Elopement;" new and charming ballad;
"Orange Blossoms"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 18, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
Peas,
Peas!—If we can't get peace and plenty, we will have a chance, to-day,
at Messrs. Tardy & Williams' auction sale, to obtain plenty of peas, as five
thousand bushels will be offered, without reserve, on Government account.
We are informed that the peas are of good quality, and are only disposed
of by the Commissary Department because there is a superfluity of that article
of food in the Commissary warehouses. We
hope that speculators will not be allowed to purchase any peas.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 18, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
The
Flag Presentation Last Evening.—As already announced the Louisiana Guard
Artillery, on their way to their new field of action, were presented last
evening with a handsome and deftly made battle-flag.
The flag was presented through Prof. Alex. Dimitry, of La., by New
Orleans ladies now residing in our city. The
presentation speech was marked by that fervor and eloquence so characteristic of
Professor Dimitry.—The patriotic allocution exciting the brave boys to whom it
was made, to renewed deeds of valor and daring, was enthusiastically received by
a large throng that had collected around the steps of the City Hall, anxiously
awaiting the expected ceremony. At
the close of Prof. Dimitry's remarks, Sergeant Edwin Marks, who received the
colors, answered in a neat and appropriately worded speech; which was the more
strikingly original than it was stripped of all the cloying common places
ordinarily used on such occasions. It
exhibited the ardent and determined spirit of the soldier, like Sir Gallahad,
----------- to battle for the right
To save from shame or thrall.
At the
conclusion of Sergeant marks' speech, Gov. Letcher made a few patriotic and well
timed remarks, which kept the company and the attending crowd in right good
humor.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 18, 1864, p. 2, c. 5
Off
for Europe.—In consequence of Gov. Brown's recent proclamation, calling out
all foreigners to aid in defending their homes or to leave the State, several of
these aliens have departed from our midst to the land from whence they came.
Among others we notice Mr. Keeble, the well-known manager of Ralston Hall
Theatre. This gentleman left Macon
on Sunday evening last, bound for Wilmington, from which place he will sail for
Europe. We regret that Macon will
lose so excellent an actor as Mr. Keeble, but we agree with the Governor that
every man who enjoys the protection of Georgia should fight for her.
Many of these foreigners have made large fortunes during this war, and
have never been called upon to serve the country from which they have reaped a
plenteous harvest of wealth. Under
their foreign exemption papers, they have enjoyed all the rights and immunities
of bona fide citizens, while they have never been required to assume the
responsibilities of such. We think
it but right and proper that they shall aid in defending their own homes, and
the order for them to leave the State should they be unwilling to do so, is only
right and proper. If they will all
leave the Confederacy, it may be better for the country.—Macon Telegraph.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 18, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"East Lynn; or The Elopement;" "Orange Blossoms;"
tomorrow—"Jessie Brown, or, the Siege of Lucknow"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 19, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Summary: "Jessie Brown; or,
The Relief of Lucknow;" charming ballads; "The Moustache
Movement;" tomorrow—benefit of Miss Ida Vernon
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 19, 1864, p. 1, c. 2
Summary: "The Farmers of
Virginia, and Their Assailants"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 19, 1864, p. 1, c. 2-3
From the Columbia
South Carolinian.
How to Meet Raiders.
About one year ago, a picked detachment of forty men from the 5th
Illinois cavalry, completely armed and mounted for the purpose, left their camp
in the 16th army corps, General Washburne commanding, on a raid.
Their written orders, now in the possession of the writer of this
article, were to go down the Mississippi on a transport from Warrenton, land at
Brainburgh, below Vicksburg, proceed from thence across the country, first to
the Jackson and New Orleans Railroad; thence to the Mobile and Ohio Railroad;
next to the Meridian and Selma Railroad; next to the Mobile and Montgomery
Railroad; and finally, report at Pensacola, from which they were to return by
water to their command on the Mississippi.
The object of the expedition was to destroy all bridges and culverts on
these several lines of communication, then most important to us by reason of the
military movements in progress, and do such an amount of damage as would delay,
if not prevent, the consummation of our plan of campaign.
The
first notification of this comprehensive design of the enemy, was the capture of
an officer eight miles from Brook Haven, Miss., and between eighty and ninety
miles from their starting point. Two
or three miles further on, they encountered a citizen, who, mounting a horse,
dashed through the woods to Brook Haven, and appraised the people there of the
impending danger. The town
contained about twenty houses, and possibly two hundred inhabitants.
Among them were seven or eight Confederate officers under orders from
Gen. Johnston, and among the latter Col. W. S. Lovell, then acting as the
amnesty officer of the army of Tennessee. The
residents had but forty minutes notice before the enemy were in the town.
No resource was left but for the few persons there to take to the woods.
A locomotive and train were standing on the track, which the Federals
destroyed in a trice. Their labor done, the raid swept on.
The people in the woods returned, and
Col. Lovell then set about the work of organizing a party to go in
pursuit. First he wanted horses and
mules. There were but twenty-two in
the town including those belonging to the officers of the post.
Some protested against the impressment of the animals, but a strong hand
was on the reins, and they were obliged to yield.
The next point was to mount volunteers. These
consisted of white-haired men from seventy to boys of fourteen. Six only were soldiers.
Those who had no saddles rode bare back, and those who had no bridles
guided their beasts with rope halters. Six
muskets only were in the party; the rest of the arms were shotguns and fowling
pieces, one of which had no lock, and was fired by striking the cap with a
stone. Of powder there was but a
single pound, strange to say, furnished by a lunatic in the town.
This comparatively insignificant force, hastily improvised, with scarcely
the means of maintaining five minutes combat, was placed under command of Lieut.
Wilson, an energetic officer, and in a few hours started in pursuit.
The little party journeyed in four days eighty-six miles; made a detour
around the enemy, arranged an ambuscade by the side of the road, and awaited
their approach. In due time the
Federals advanced—a scouting detachment of ten men in front, Captain Mann,
commanding the raid among the number. Our
militia poured in a volley.—Four men fell dead, and three or four wounded,
including the Yankee captain. Lieutenant
Wilson instantly sprang into the road and exclaimed to the column in the rear,
"you are surrounded—surrender, or we shall fire into you."
The enemy, taken aback by the sudden summons, threw down their arms and
gave themselves up as prisoners of war. Our
ragamuffins then emerged from their thicket, as motley a crew as was ever
commanded by merry Jack Falstaff—twenty-two old men and boys who had brought
twice their number, armed with sabres, repeating rifles and revolvers, to the
ground. The vexation of the
Federals could scarcely be controlled, and their captain fairly wept at his
humiliating defeat. But they could
now do nothing more than march back to Brook Haven, where they were delivered up
to the proper authorities, and are probably at present enjoying the retirement
of a Georgia prison.
We
recall the above incident for a double purpose, namely, to show what may be done
by a few determined men, actuated by a proper degree of energy; and secondly, to
enforce the necessity of an organization in every district of this State that
shall be as prompt to meet the Yankee invaders as were these brave men of
Mississippi. If twenty-two poorly
armed individuals could defeat and capture twice their number of the enemy, with
only an hour's preparation, what may not be done in our own communities where
there are horses and men in abundance? If
we wait for raiding parties to reach our outskirts before giving battle, we must
expect to be overrun and to see our property destroyed.
It will not do to sit with folded hands and read rumors of an advancing
foe. We must be on the alert, and
prepared to give them the best reception our means will afford.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 19, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
Punch!
Punch!! Punch!!!
Will be issued
On Monday Morning, August 22d, 1864.
But It! Get It Somehow!
It is Full of News!
Instructive, Amusing, Interesting.
And You Will Laugh!
To Be Had From the Newsboys and
Bookstores of the City.
Also,
The Punch Song Book.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 20, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Tired
of His Boarding House.—Asa Hartz, advertises from Johnson's Island, in a
Northern journal, for a substitute to take his place in the military prison
there:
Wanted—A
substitute to stay here in my place. He
must be thirty years old; have a good moral character; all digestive powers, and
not addicted to writing poetry. to
such an one all the advantages of a strict retirement, army rations and
unmitigated watchfulness to prevent them from getting lost are offered for an
indefinite period. Address me at
Block 1, Room 12, Johnson's Island Military Prison, at any time for the next
three years, enclosing half a dozen postage stamps.
Asa Hartz.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 20, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Destitution
Among the Creek Indians.—The Creek Chiefs' letter to the Commissioner of
Indian Affairs dated Fort Gibson, July 16th, contains an eloquent
appeal for help. They say the whole
Cherokee country is a waste, and they can see nothing but starvation before them
during the coming winter. Months
intervene between the arrival of trains, and even now they have but a scanty
subsistence. At least 20,000
Indians are to feed. These Chiefs
represent a large portion of those who were driven by the Rebels to Kansas, but
who did not return their own country in time to raise ample crops.
The Indian Bureau, with its accustomed promptness and humanity, will make
an effort to afford the required relief.—Baltimore Amer.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 20, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Miscegenation
Case.—Some days ago a small negro boy was brought in the Mayor's court as a
runaway, and stated that he belonged to John Page, of Amherst; that his mother
had runaway from John Page twelve months ago, and lived in this city till last
July, when she died. Within the
last few days the boy has confessed that this whole story was a fabrication.
He now says, and the police have ascertained that this statement is true,
that he is the son of a white woman, who has been paying different free negroes
to take care of him from his infancy up to this time.
A negro woman appeared in court yesterday morning and said she had
received the money from the boy's mother, a white woman, to pay his jail fees,
incurred since his arrest. The
Mayor thereupon handed the boy over to the woman.—He is not even a mulatto,
but a regular short haired negro. His
mail progenitor must have been a genuine eboshin [sic?].
His mother is from P[illegible], Massachusetts, where she has several
grown children still residing.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 20, 1864, p. 1, c. 1-2
Summary: "The Farmers and
Their Assailants"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 20, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
New Music.
Those
marked thus * have guitar as well as piano forte accompaniments.
By post free for the price.
Morning
Prayer,
On Guard,
Aura Lee,
Wait Till the War, Love, is Over.
$2
each.
*Mary of Argyle,
*Annie of the Vale,
*Her Bright Smile Haunts Me Still,
*When This Cruel War is Over.
$1.50.
"The Standard Bearer." $2
"A shout, a shout, for victory,
A cheer from the blood red field,
As onward dashed the serried ranks,
The guns their death knell pealed."
"A youthful soldier spurred along,
Before the cannon's mouth,
Bearing aloft, exultingly,
The Banner of the South."
Hunton's Instructions for the Piano Forte, in two parts, $2 50 each, or together
$5
This edition has a beautifully engraved title page, is in the best style of
lithography, and is printed in clear, bold type, on strong white paper.
The usual allowance to the trade, with ten per cent additional when one hundred
copies of any one piece of Music or parts of Hunton are taken.
New French Grammar, Price $3, by post free.
One-third off to the trade, with twenty-five per cent. additional for 100
copies.
This grammar has met with the general approval of the magazines and press of the
Confederacy, and principals and teachers of institutions and schools into which
it has been introduced.
The
above publications may be had at all book and music stores.
Catalogue
on application.
George Dunn & Co.,
Publishers, Richmond, Va.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 20, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"East Lynne;" another new comedietta
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 22, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Mr.
Editor—In a late issue of your valuable paper, mention is made of the lack of
a house of worship in the lower part of the city, accessible to the wanderers on
the highway.
The
Seaman's Bethel, corner of 20th and Cary streets, would seem, for the
present at least, to meet this want most happily; provided there could be
an assurance of regular services there, every Sabbath.
Hundreds of convalescing soldiers, besides the straggling civilians, are,
each Sabbath, to be found congregated upon the corners of the streets, or
roaming listlessly about.—Surely, if some earnest worker would but enter in at
this "open door," untold good might be accomplished, for "the
field is white unto the harvest."
There
has been, for a long time, at the above place, a Mission Sabbath School, under
the direction of the Y. M. C. Association, and at the close of each session, every
Sabbath evening, at 5 o'clock, a social prayer meeting is held.
The soldiers and neighbors sometimes visit it, but the attendance is
usually small. If the fact were
generally known a new interest might be enkindled in the matter.
Invitation has been frequently extended to the public to visit these
gatherings for prayer and praise; and it is now urgently repeated.
Alphabet.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 22, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"East Lynne; or, The Elopement;"charming ballad; "Going
to Ashland on the Excursion Train;" in preparation "Fancheon"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 23, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
Definitions from the Confederate Dictionary.
Benevolence.—Giving half a bushel of green fruit to a hospital, and
having it published in all the newspapers in the country.
Charity.—Refusing
a soldier's wife a barrel of flour, and then falling on your knees to thank God
you are 'not as other men.'
Contract.—A
system of exemption used to relieve Government favorites from military service.
Contractor.—The
person benefitted by the above system. He
is easily told by his cloth coat and square toe boots.
General.—Formerly
this was the title given to the officer commanding an army.
These gentlemen would be of great service to the nation if the Government
would place them in their proper places. A
group of Generals can be found any warm evening by looking on the shady side of
a street.
Felixity.—A
word used by young ladies when sitting by a coat with a star on the collar.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 23, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"East Lynne; or The Elopement;" charming ballad; "Going
to Ashland on the Excursion Train;" in preparation "Fancheon:
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 24, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
A Hot
Place.—In one of the charges by Hardees' corps on the battle of the 22d July,
near Atlanta, the flag of the 54th Georgia was perforated one hundred
and fifteen times, and its staff twice broken by the enemy's shot.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 24, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
Resigned.—We
learn that J. R. Dowell, Esq., the Superintendent of the Southern Telegraph
Company, resigned yesterday.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 24, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Fancheon, the Cricket;" charming ballad;
tomorrow—"East Lynne"; in rehearsal "Leak"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 25, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Fancheon;" ballad; "Betsy Baker;"
Friday—"East Lynne"; in rehearsal "Lea, the Forsaken"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 26, 1864, p. 2, c. 1-2
Bristol, Tenn., Aug. 21st, 1864.
. . . On the 16th instant the following ladies were sent through to
this place from Athens, Sweet Water and New Market:
Mrs. Dr. Alexander and family; Mrs. Dr. Parshall, Athens; Mrs. Dr.
Harrison, Loudon; Mrs. A. Caldwell, Mrs. Dunn, Mrs. Thos. Evans, Mrs. Thos.
Claigue, Sweet Water; Mrs. Thos. Pryor and daughter, New Market.
The
property of these families was all confiscated and sold; buildings immediately
occupied by the common herd from the mountains of Northern Georgia.
They were not suffered to bring anything but a small quantity of
clothing. During the trip from
their homes to our lines they were subject to all manner of abuse and insult.
At Loudon, Mrs. Calbrook (from Sweet Water) whose name I neglected to
mention, objected to the conduct of some of the guard, and thus expressed
herself, when that cowardly puppy who surrendered the United States forces to
General Wheeler without firing a gun—the tyrannical, one-armed Major
Patterson, told her if she spoke again he would send her to the guard house, and
her farm should not be protected. At
Strawberry Plains negroes kept watch over them!
I was
informed by a lady who came from Knoxville but a short time since Loring has
been imprisoned there under charge of being a spy, that a Mrs. Snapp, a Union
lady, was under sentence of death for shooting a negro who was trying to force
her daughter to go to church with him. For
this act she has been sentenced to death, and is now waiting the execution of
the sentence.
A
southern lady, from the Clinch river district, was shot dead by a negro soldier
because she refused to give up to him a small pistol she carried about her
person.
He was
arrested for the murder by citizens irrespective of political tenets, and
hurried before his Colonel, who denounced the citizens for their assumption in
arresting the negro, released him, and told the citizens that the negro had done
his duty! . . .
Bird.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 26, 1864, p. 1, c. 2
Yankee Prisoners in Georgia.
A correspondent of the Atlanta Confederacy, who visited
Andersonville last week, writes:
Andersonville
was an interesting and novel spectacle to me.
The Yankee prisoners within the stockade, about 30,000 in number, when
closely viewed, resemble more in their motions a hive of bees seen through a
glass opening than anything else I can think of. The area of the stockade is being rapidly increased by
General Winder, who is evidently desirous of doing all in his power to make them
comfortable. They have thousands of
little huts and tents variously constructed, which seem to protect them from the
scorching rays of the sun and the inclemency of the weather generally.
Gen. W. informed me that very soon the lumber would be procurable to put
up temporary shanties for their comfort. A
fine but small stream of water runs through the stockade, supplying them with
water for bathing and other purposes. I
saw hundreds of them bathing in this stream at once.
Others not engaged in bathing were walking about among their fellows,
each in the language of the famous ballad of Young Tamerlane, "A mother
naked man." I learn that many
of them have bartered away nearly all their clothing for tobacco.
On the whole their condition, bad as it is, and bad as it deserved to be,
seemed better than could have been expected. In spite, however, of every effort to treat them with
humanity, their mortality is great, averaging about one hundred per day.
About two thousand are in hospital.
Over
36,000 have been received since the establishment of Andersonville as a military
prison.
The
prisoners are said to be very docile, but greatly exasperated at the Royal Ape
for not exchanging them. They were
greatly elated last evening at finding a paragraph in one of our newspapers
stating that a general exchange of prisoners would soon be resumed.
The
defenses of Andersonville are admirably planned by the skillful veteran, Gen.
Winder. Formidable batteries of
artillery bear directly on the prisoners in the event of an emeute; and
strong works with artillery defend the lace against hostilities from without.
A strong force of infantry is there also.
Raiders would find themselves wofully [sic] deceived if they were to
attempt the liberation of the prisoners.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 26, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—Friday noon "East Lynne;" Friday evening "East
Lynne;" ballads; "Going to See Wells;" tomorrow "Leah, the
Forsaken"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 27, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Bad Eggs and Things.--A great many people are unhappy, if they can't get a
beefsteak for dinner—or lament the failure of the vegetables this season.
We pity the helplessness of such poor creatures.
The earth, the air, the waters abound in materials for food.
Almost any thing that you can crack, is good to eat.
Since the refreshing rains, with an ingenious friend of ours, we have
been gathering mushrooms. He is a
person of exceedingly active appetite, and is ever ready to lend us his
experience in the preparation of a breakfast.
With prejudices against what we had vulgarly associated with the agaric
muscarius, or Devil's Snuff-box, and which we ascertained from our friend was a
fungus putting up from decayed vegetables, or decomposing animal matter—we
have found the champignon a most delightful article of food—a rare and notable
delicacy. Care must only be taken
in the selection, the rules for which may be found in Miss Leslie's familiar
Cookery Book. The Agaric
Campestris, or common mushroom, is found out on the commons, in grassy
lanes, in meadows, &c. It is
cooked with milk, butter, and crackers—seasoned with salt and pepper.
Care is to be taken in the distinguishing between the good and the bad,
as we have remarked, as the eating of the Toad stool has the effect of killing
you.
Among
the most difficult articles of food to procure now are bread and salt; that
these are not absolutely necessary, is proved by the fact that the Laplanders
never taste either: they substitute
animal oils and exercise.
Rats
are another well known, but neglected source of commissary supplies.
The Chinese have them in their markets, just as we have hares and
partridges.
Frogs are said to be of excellent flavor—and are numerous, almost any
evening on Main street. An
excellent article, akin to this is fried snails.
They are generally relished in Paris.
Almost any well is full of them (not fried.)
The
young rook is eaten in England, and as we know of no difference between the rook
and the crow, we do not see why young crows may not be eaten, or indeed, in war
times, old crows.
For
consumptive people, snakes are excellent: the
recipe for making viper broth may be found in the pharmacopoeia.
This
month of August is the season for locusts; and numbers may be gathered in any
yard. Locusts and wild honey, it
may be remembered, were the food of a celebrated character, whose example we
recall to our Baptist friends.
In
China, the common earthworm is also served at good dinners. They are, we believe, eaten either cooked or raw.
Birds' nests are also greatly devoured in China—unpromising as they
look to the palate. Hens' nests
would probably answer—though, of course, less delicate.
The head of the ass is also greatly fancied by the Chinese, as well as
cats and dogs, (the latter already known to be numerous here from statistics
already published.)
The
old Romans stuffed their pheasants with assafoetida—but this, we take it, is
hard to get now. In his feasts in
the manner of the Ancients, Dr. Smollet speaks of a very pleasant desert which
was a sort of jelly, composed of a mixture of vinegar, pickle, and honey, boiled
to a proper consistence, and [illegible] called among the ancients the laser
Syriacum, and esteemed so precious as to be sold to the weight of silver
money.
The
article commonly known as "bad egg," is eaten with vividity in cochin
china, but we have an unconquerable aversion to it.
"A
world to the wise is sufficient."—we merely throw out these hints.
Talk about starving the South!—Charlottesville Chronicle.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 27, 1864, p. 1, c. 2
Coming
Down.—The Lagrange (Ga.) Reporter says that, since the removal of the
hospitals from that place quite a fall has taken place in the price of
vegetables, poultry and eggs and butter. Eggs
are selling for $1.25 per dozen, and dull sale at that. chickens have come down to $1.50 and $2 each.
Melons, that awhile back commanded from $3 to $5, now go begging at $1
and $2.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 27, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Leah;" ballads; "Going to See Wells;" several
novelties in preparation
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 27, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Music
on the Square.—The Band of the 30th Virginia Regiment, of Gen.
Corse's Brigade, Pickett's Division, played on Capitol Square, Thursday
afternoon, and elicited the commendation of the very large concourse of citizens
in attendance.
This
is in the main the old Fredericksburg Band, and under the leadership of Mr.
Andrew Bowering, a thoroughly educated musician, retains the excellence which in
former days gave it celebrity. Among
its members, Prof. Charles Kerr has few equals and scarcely a superior in the
South, as a master of music. Mr.
Keyser and others had made a reputation as accomplished musicians before the
war. We hope they will favor us
before long with more of their charming music.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 29, 1864, p. 1, c. 1
Andersonville
A photograph of this place, where between thirty and forty thousand
Yankees are penned up, ought to be made and preserved.
Such a picture was never before seen on earth, and we trust never will be
again. Those who have visited
Andersonville declare that the spectacle surpasses description.
Four
of the prisoners have been permitted to visit Washington for the purpose of
enlightening Lincoln in regard to the sufferings of their fellow prisoners.
Their account, extracted from the Herald, will be found in another
column. If the half of what they
report be true, the people of the North ought to force Lincoln to an exchange of
prisoners without an instant's delay. Else
they are as heartless as Lincoln himself.
The
blame of this appalling misery rests on the Abolition administration, and
partly, too, on the people generally of the North.
It was within the power of the people at any time to have compelled an
exchange, but they lent themselves to the persuasions of Lincoln, who
represented that he had 50,000 Confederate prisoners, and that, as he was about
to deliver a last crushing blow at the rebellion, it would be manifestly
improper to yield to our earnest entreaties for an exchange, on almost any
terms, and defeat all the popular hopes of suppressing the rebellion and
restoring the Union. The case of
the negro soldier was a mere pretence—the real obstacle to an exchange was the
return of so formidable a body of men to the Confederate armies.
This it was which hushed up the hue and cry over the horrors of Belle
Isle, which reverberated in all Yankeeland last spring.
The Northern people, therefore, are not wholly guiltless; but the damning
burthen rests mainly on the Abolitionists and their administration.
All the agonies endured by these prisoners, all the bodily deaths and all
the souls sent untimely to hell, lie at the door of Lincoln and Seward.
Exchanges
are still refused, in spite of fresh concessions on our part—plainly for the
reason that the terms of service of most of the prisoners have expired; they are
useless as soldiers, and they will be sure to vote against the brute who left
them in prison so long. All the
world sees this, and appreciates the causes which constrained the authorities in
Richmond to confine so many men in one enclosure, where a few men could guard
them, and where provisions were abundant and there was little danger of raids.
Indeed, the Confederates need no excuse.
It was simply impossible for them, in view of the scarcity of food, the
raids upon the railroads, and the pressure for men to resist the huge hordes of
the barbarous foe, to have distributed the prisoners in various States and
guarded them with a multitude of men. We
have done the best we could, and all we could; in the eyes of God and man we are
blameless.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 29, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Leah;" ballads; "Rival Pages;" several novelties
in preparation
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 30, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"East Lynne; or, The Elopment;" charming ballads; "The
Captain is Not a Miss"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 30, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Richmond Varieties.
Franklin Street,
Next Door to the Exchange Hotel.
To-Night,
The
Olio Minstrels,
In a
New and Varied Bill.
Fifteen
Star Performers!
R. Jean Buckley,
Charley
White,
Dan Gardner,
Billy Bell,
And a Full Opera Troupe.
In New Songs, Dances, Farces, &c.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 31, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Good
Living.—A gentleman writing to us from Nassau thus describes the cuisine of
his hostess:
When
she does not give us turtle soup she gives us ochra, and when she does not give
us banana fritters she gives us cocoanut pudding.
The fish, which comes twice a day to the table, were, an hour before,
kicking in the beautiful clear sea water. We
have [illegible] plantains to our hominy, and, even if there was nothing else to
be had, I could live contentedly enough on the fruit and finger glasses scented
one day with the fresh leaf of the lime and the next with one of pimento.
Indeed, on the delicious, fragrant sea air, I could manage to exist
almost as a turtle. So you see the
island is what the Chinese call a little heaven, only that by far the greatest
number of the saints are black.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, August 31, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Camille; or, The Fate of a Coquette;" charming ballads;
"Mrs. and Mr. White"; in rehearsal "Aurora Floyd"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 1, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
A
Feminine Panic at Columbia.—there was an alarm of fire at Columbia, S. C., on
Saturday morning last, caused by the ignition of a quantity of oil in the yard
of the establishment of Messrs. Evans & Cogswell.
The South Carolinian states that "while the alarm was at its
height, a scene of an exceedingly entertaining character took place in the
building next door, one of the upper stories of which is occupied by the Ladies'
Note Bureau of the Confederate Treasury. The smoke from the burning oil poured through the windows
into the room in which the gentle clerks of Mr. Jamison were employed,
producing, of course, in those interesting officials, a state of mind bordering
upon distraction. There was,
doubtless, some excuse for their fright, but to those who knew there was really
but little danger, the hubbub which followed must have seemed as good as a
comedy. Some shrieked, some
fainted, some rushed to the windows, and af ew fled, unbonneted, into the
street, where the flash of their "blue affrayed eyes," and the gleam
of their golden hair almost caused another conflagration, though of a somewhat
different kind. Inside of the room,
an eye-witness describes the scene in words borrowed from Tennyson's Princess:
"They to and fro
Fluctuated, as flowers in storm—some red, some pale,
All open-mouthed—
--till
the clamor grew
As of a new world Babel, woman-built
And worse confounded."
On the
whole, it must have been a most charming row, and the gentlemen who witnessed
it, though they did their utmost to compose the nerves of the ladies, were
rather sorry when it was over."
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 1, 1864, p. 2, c. 5
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"East Lynne;" comic song; "The Unfortunate Miss Baily;"
in rehearsal "Aurora Floyd"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 2, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
Confederate
Medicines.—A medical friend informs us, in a brief note, that during a recent
casual visit to the office of Surgeon General Moore, a day or two since, he was
equally surprised and delighted, to find a cabinet filled with choice extracts
and preparations of various medicinal substances, mineral as well as vegetable.
Many of these articles were with difficulty to be procured here before
the war. They are prepared at the C. S. Laboratory, in South Carolina
and for neatness of preparation and general "getting up," will compare
favorably with the best English and French preparations of similar character.
Many
of them, our correspondent says, are of Southern growth, as well as of Southern
manufacture; indeed, exclusively Southern, as they are not found growing North
of the Potomac.
Even
in this can our sunny land claim superiority—rich in all mineral and vegetable
productions, as she is, we will shortly be able to claim a Pharmacopaeia of our
own, and be in this, as in everything else, independent.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 3, 1864, p. 2, c. 6
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Black-Eyed Susan;" comic song; "Artful Dodger"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 3, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Concert.—The
Band of the 30th Virginia Regiment, by permission of Major General
Pickett, will give a Concert to-night at the Exchange Concert hall, for the
purpose of procuring funds to purchase new instruments.
The programme includes vocal and instrumental music on brass and string
instruments.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 5, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
Capitol
Items on the Square.—The music of the band and the dress parades of the
indomitable militia, who, in drill and discipline, are a very little behind
regulars, continue to draw large crowds of ladies and well-dressed officers and
exempts. We are sorry to have to
suggest that the latter should be very particular while promenading, not to spit
tobacco juice upon ladies' dresses. We
heard of one instance, on Friday evening, in which a lady suffered to the extent
of the complete ruin of a fine silk. Now-a-days, such articles of apparel cost a round amount in
Confederate scrip.
A
sharp fellow, who has discovered a way to open the gates of the Square—informs
us, that any two persons of moderate strength, by simply lifting the gates an
inch or two, can unfasten them.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 5, 1864, p. 3, c. 2
Our Sick and
Wounded Soldiers—The
South Carolina Ladies.
During a recent visit to Columbia, S. C., the writer of this paragraph
observed that the ladies of South Carolina were very attentive along the line of
railroad extending from Charlotte, N. C., to Columbia, in supplying the homeward
bound sick and wounded soldiers with enticing edibles, consisting of nice
biscuit, fried chicken, butter milk, fruit, pastry, etc. From the time of leaving Richmond until their arrival within
the limits of south Carolina, the soldiers had to purchase their own fare; if we
may except an abundant supply of boiled potatoes, raw onions, and wheat bread,
(poor diet for the sick,) furnished to them at the railroad depot in Charlotte.
We
should have been gratified had we witnessed any demonstration of hospitality and
consideration towards the returning invalids, in this State, but owing probably
to the4 drain made upon our food resources by the commissary department, and to
the want of organized effort, we saw nothing of the kind in old Virginia.
If the ladies living near the line of the Danville railroad will
"put their heads together" and determine that henceforward the gallant
soldiers who fought and bled in Virginia, and are passing their doors daily
without a morsel to satisfy the cravings of appetite shall be supplied with
"something to eat," we are sure that they will soon share with their
South Carolina sisters those tributes of praise and heartfelt expression of
thanks now so lavishly bestowed upon the latter by the grateful and delighted
recipients of their hospitality.
At
"Smith's" station in South Carolina, we saw the first instance of the
generosity of the noble women of that State.
A number of young ladies, and a matron, whose countenance was radiant
with benevolence and good nature—surpassing in impressive loveliness, we may
say, the youthful Hebes who attended her—passed around and into the
soldiers' car, bearing baskets and trays filled with substantials and
"goodies" of the most tempting description. After supplying the soldiers, they kindly presented to the
other passengers whatever of the surplus they desired. At Chester and Winnsboro, the same liberality was re-enacted
on a larger scale, those places being towns of some magnitude.
We
were told that beyond Columbia, the hospitality and kindness of the ladies
exceeded, if possible, that which we had already witnessed, and in illustration
of the assertion an anecdote was related to the effect that the ladies of
________ prepared a grand collation, one day, in anticipation of the
arrival of a large number of wounded soldiers.
When the train arrived, it so happened that only one soldier was among
the passengers. The ladies pressed
him to the table, which was laden with choice viands and dessert, and invited
him to partake.—The soldier exclaimed, "Ladies, since I have been in
South Carolina, to-day, I have eaten seven dinners, and cannot possibly swallow
anything more." The ladies
nearest to him insisted that he should eat something, and the poor fellow,
finding that excuses were made in vain, broke from the table, darted into the
woods, and has not been heard from since, at that place.
We
were also informed that many of the ladies who are most active in providing
these repasts are refugees from Charleston and the coast. Whether this be so or not, it is certain that the South
Carolina ladies are entitled to great credit for the interest they manifest in
the welfare of our soldiers, and it is equally certain that their generous
hospitality will ever be cherished as a pleasant reminiscence by those who have
enjoyed or witnessed their benefactions.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 5, 1864, p. 3, c. 2
Star
Dramatic Performance at Wilmington.—Several leading members of the Dramatic
profession in the Confederacy having, by accident, met in Wilmington, last week,
determined to evince "their devotion to the country and the cause" by
uniting their talents in a grand histrionic entertainment.
Waiving their respective business interests, they proposed a benefit for
the hospitals and charitable associations in Wilmington, which was announced to
take place last Friday night.—The play selected was "London
Assurance," with the following excellent cast.
Sir
Harcourt Courtly
Walter
Keeble.
Dazzle
Frank M. Bates.
Charles
Courtly
Edm'd R. Dalton.
Dolly
Spanker
H. B. Macarthy
Mark
Meddle
Charles Morton.
Lady
Gay Spanker
Miss Ella Wren.
Grace
Harkaway
Mrs. F. M. Bates.
The
manager of the Wilmington Theatre, (Mr. H. M. Jenkins) announces that Miss Ida
Vernon and Miss Eloise Bridges are engaged, and will appear, ere long, upon his
boards.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 6, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
Rations Issued to the Army.
Camp Near Richmond,}
August 3d, 1864. }
To the Editor of the Whig:
It has been
our lot to have been for some months attached to the military department known
as the "Richmond Defences," during which time we have patiently,
silently, almost uncomplainingly, borne with the miserable food and raiment
issued to us; but there is a point at which patience ceases to be a
virtue. Were the hardships of which we complain the result of stern
necessity, I should not say a word, but, knowing to the contrary, if for a
moment I thought the Government was cognizant of such treatment, I should
consider it a Government disgraced; disgraced in the lack of all those good
qualities, Justice, Truth, Gratitude, and the like, which go to make up whatever
we recognize as noble in an individual or a nation; but I do not believe the
army, while it suffers and is dumb, is far from believing that these hardships,
superadded to the unavoidable deprivations of the soldier, are imposed on them
by the Government they trust in so implicitly, but we look to it to have the
matter thoroughly investigated and set right.
The rations
issued to troops in this department are as follows:
Corn meal, 1
pound per day, almost invariably trashy and musty.
Peas, 1/8th
of a pound per day, full of worms and weavels. [sic]
Bacon, 1/8th
of a pound per day, rancid, and frequently very much tainted.
Salt, 3
pounds for 100 men per day.
Soap--none!!
Take
in conjunction with the above bill of fare—which, when served up, consists of
musty corn bread and a little rancid grease for breakfast, and a little rancid
grease and musty corn bread for dinner—the fact that our monthly pittance of
pay is withheld from us for four, six and eight months at a time, and you will
perceive that we are obliged either to feed ourselves in some mysterious way,
eat food unfit almost for swine, or go hungry, besides remaining filthy from
absolute lack of soap, or money to pay for washing.—Wholesome food and
strict cleanliness are indispensable to the health and efficiency of an army;
the first we cannot get—for the latter we have to trust to our wits; for, Mr.
Editor, our homes are not within the Confederate lines, therefore we cannot
supply ourselves, but are absolutely dependent upon our rations.
Some
days ago one of our men took some meal to a neighboring house to exchange for a
little flour, for the use of a sick comrade.
The lady said she would willingly make the exchange, as she wanted meal,
but her negroes would not eat such as we had. We have frequently had to throw away our entire rations of
peas, from their being full of worms and weevils; yet, in the face of this, the
Government agents, the other day, advertised in the Richmond papers, a large
quantity of peas for sale, guaranteed sound. These were, I presume, bought by traders; for seeing some,
very good, exposed for sale in a store on Main street, and being asked a price
on a par with the enormous rates of all things in Richmond, I inquired of the
storekeeper where he bought them. He
answered, "From the Government."
so it would seem these agents, or whatsoever you might please to term
them, when, by mistake, the get any army supplies, which being sound,
are considered by them too good for soldiers, they sell them to the speculators
and extortioners with a guarantee; but as the private in the army has to
"grin and bear" every fraud and imposition, they throw the rotten
husks to him without apology. Some
may ask, why not have these things condemned?
We have tried that in the case of some rotten meat.
After a tedious process, subscribing to all the "red tape"
forms for which this department is famous, the meat was condemned, and
sent back to the Commissary, who said, "If you don't take that you will
have to do without; for I have nothing better to issue."
In
regard to clothing, although provided in the regulations that it shall be
uniform in quality and style as are the prices, it is just the reverse.
The clothing bureaus are provided with very good and very bad qualities,
and it is impossible for any company commander to obtain from the
quartermasters, who issue these things, any but the most worthless articles, of
all shades and shapes; yet for these, which last but a few weeks, the same
prices are charged as for the very best, so that frequently the yearly stipend
allowed the soldier for clothing has to be overdrawn—the cost of extra issues
being then deducted from his monthly pay. Yet,
in Richmond, you find the Reserve forces, detailed men, quartermasters' clerk,
and the like, dressed in the finest, most serviceable uniforms.
Confederate soldiers are easily satisfied; they have become inured to
privations, and will continue to confront, cheerfully, all hardships which are
necessary. Had it bee possible to
quench their patriotism in any way, Confederate quartermasters and commissaries
would have done it long ago.
Many
singular questions are asked sometimes about these men, many of whom have, from
poverty, suddenly grown rich, but it would, no doubt, offend them to hear those
queries and their answers. We see
much and say very little, but there is one thing we do say, and say it
emphatically, if the short comings in other respects of these servants of the
people are overlooked, they should be compelled somehow to furnish the
army with food fit for men to eat, an such other things it is entitled
to, as "soap"—which cannot well be done without, and a little money
occasionally. A neglect of all
these duties do I charge upon the Quartermasters and Commissaries of the
Richmond Defences, and am fully prepared at any moment to prove the justice of
the charge.
Yours,
"Cannoneer."
[This
matter deserves investigation; and it is the duty of those who issue these
rations to see that our soldiers who have been in the forefront since the
outbreak of the war, should receive better treatment.]
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 6, 1864, p. 2, c. 2-3
Gossiping Letter
from Petersburg.
(Correspondence of the Whig.)
Petersburg, Battery No. 30, }
September 3d, 1864.
}
My
hand is much more familiar with the pick axe and spade than with the pen, and I
certainly can tell you nothing of the latest rumor of the next fight, or
philosophize with much effect upon the situation. Pour moi, I have sufficient confidence in the Homers
who daily sing the exploits of our Archilles; [sic] and I am willing to admit
that you, Mr. Editor, can digest chaotic facts and see clearer through the smoke
of battle from the depths of your sanctum than we who are on the ground.
I now
merely propose to button-hole your readers with a little local gossip about
Petersburg, and to forget for a moment the yellow line stretching in front of us
like a huge serpent, the dusty ground, the unsightly stumps, the belt of
mountainous pines, the withered arbors whose shade was once grateful, but which
now have well nigh had their day. These
objects are so ever present to our surfeited minds that it is difficult to
forget even momentarily the monotonous picture, unrelieved and unredeemed as it
is by a single feature of interest. The
bulk of the army look back, I am inclined to think, with comparative envy upon
the open field, with its rough marches and hardships, and would willingly risk
again the fierce encounter for the pure air of the Valley or a sight of the Blue
Ridge at sunset, hazy with autumnal b[ ]ume.
It was
just twelve months ago [fold in paper] Petersburg with dripping [illegible] the
Petersburg mighty among tobacconists, but still somewhat enlivened with the hum
of business, and living easily upon past accumulated wealth.
Its trade, which has now degenerated into the selling of apples and pies
by decrepit negroes, was then transacted in large warehouses, and the splendid
iron front building, which was to the tobacco worm what the Egyptian temple was
to Isis, still remains almost unscarred, though with little more sign of
animation than the latter. Sycamore
and New Market streets, with their shady sidewalks and elegant dwellings, were
the favored promenade, and, provided you were so fortunate as to have obtained
shoes from the government and clean collars from your confiding washer woman, it
was permitted you to take your airing in lovely company.
The desire of seeing and being seen here gave you an opportunity of
judging of the reputation of the place for beauty, and whether it was that you
saw the same pretty faces at every turn, or whether it was that the town was
fairly entitled to its reputation, you sooner or later acquiesced in the general
decision.
Those
were happy days for us who had just come out of the wilderness.
On Sunday you had your election between six or eight well-conducted and
well-attended churches, where, after listening to the edifying sermon, you were
invited as likely as not, if you understood the savoir-plaire, to dinner
and Mountain Dew. Pour tuer le
temps, there was a reading room and library—not so large as the
Alexandrian, but whose volumes were fully as well thumbed, a lecture once a
week, an occasional concert or exhibition gotten up by soldiers, not to speak of
the celebrated dramatic and terpsichorean performances of Miss Kate Estelle
& Company. In those days, cakes
and pastry, against which temptation no soldier is proof, could be bought with
your month's pay, and as for turnips, pumpkins and such small deer, they were
given away or sold for a bagatelle.
Merely
to get camp out of sight—to clean it from under my nails and wash it from my
skin, I visited, a few days since, the city, which, but a short time ago, was
the habitation of a contented population. There
are still some remaining inhabitants, but the general aspect of the place
reminds you of descriptions of Naples during the summer season, or of some city
which has been visited with the plague. A lady in the streets, I found, was regarded as a curiosity,
and most of the inhabitants seem to have shrunk away and disappeared at the
coming of our army, like the savages before the white man. Cavalry men, with jingling spurs and thirsty spirits,
awaiting the opening of a well-known cafe, like the innocent who attending the
troubling of the waters, and a crowd of military Lazaruses, coatless, shoeless,
and hatless, have taken the place of the long-tailed and stove piped population.
There is a determination, as the doctors say, of all the vitality that is
left, towards this cafe, and the mixologist who figures, or did, behind the
counter, is about the best known face in town.
It is worth looking into this shady and by no means neglected retreat of
Bachus [sic] at least once. (If you
go there twice you are richer than I.)
It is here that the careless jest and the few flashes of merriment, that
soldiering or the warmth of the weather permits, find their vent.
Your ragged friend, who accompanies you, throws off for the time being
his lethargy, and brightens for a brief moment into animation.
But it can't last long. It
is a pity that the costly steam is so short-lived.
But it is somebody else's turn to imbibe nepenthe; the back door is
opening and you must emerge from the spirit perfumed twilight into the garish
day. The old dullness of the place
returns and takes bodily possession of you.
You make a feeble effort to talk with chance friends while lighting your
cigar; but the attempt, you soon discover, is a failure, and you go off in
disgust to wrangle with your washerwoman about a lost shirt or a missing pair of
socks. On your way to camp you are
tempted to lessen the ennui of the distance by a saucer of ice cream
($5), and if you have any shinplasters left, the apple and pie venders will have
marked you for their own. A long
walk under the noonday sun causes you to wonder why you ever undertook such a
journey. But you get back somehow,
and breathlessly congratulate yourself, as you throw yourself on your bed, that
your expedition is un fait accompli.
Just at this moment your corporal has the impudence to tell you that it
is your turn for working at the bottomless pit, which has constituted the misery
of the company for the last month. don't
tell me about murder; if a Yankee shell does'nt [sic] explode in the seat of
this non-commissioned officer's breeches, and relieve me from the necessity of
killing him when the war is over, I shall be inclined henceforth to doubt the
existence of a special Providence.
Here I
am reminded of a story—but no, I won't inflict it this time.
The enemy have commenced throwing over shells at our commissaries and
their wagons, whom they rightly consider fair game, and one of them has just
sanded my paper a la Junot. (It's
astonishing how coldly you take a thing of this kind when you know you are
protected by the breastworks.) I
hope it will not discourage you as to future contingencies, that making of me a
target does not cure me of the cacothes scribendi.
Fishback.
3rd Co. Washington Artillery.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 6, 1864, p. 2, c. 5
Fire.—Last
night, just before eleven o'clock, the torch of the incendiary was applied to an
old tobacco factory on Tobacco Alley, between Governor and 14th
streets. The factory and several
back sheds, a small brick tenement next door, used as a snack house, and the
frame stable of Roper & Murray, with a quantity of forage, were destroyed.
The occupants of a house of ill fame, kept by Fanny Grey, just across the
alley, was, during the conflagration, considered in so much danger that all the
furniture was removed, and the frail inmates decamped in panic, their white
linen flashing on the night like sheet lightning.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 6, 1864, p. 2, c. 5
Youthful
Depravity.—Tom Mull and Chas. Gentry, two white boys, about 14 years old, were
before the Recorder this morning for being drunk and disorderly in the street
last night. They were subjected to
a short temperance and moral lecture and discharged.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 6, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
Mortality
at Andersonville.—From a gentleman lately from Andersonville, and who, from
his acquaintance with the officials there, is in a position to speak knowingly,
we learn that the statement of three hundred Yankees having died one warm day
last month, which has been going the rounds of the press, is incorrect.
The greatest mortality on any one day has never exceeded 127, and though,
in comparison with the statement referred to, this may seem slight loss, a few
words will show that it is in reality almost appalling.
There are now at Andersonville something over 30,000 prisoners, and at
the rate 127 per day, the deaths would amount to 1 in every 237.
Did the same ratio of mortality prevail in New York, computing the
population of that city at 800,000, the deaths there would amount up to 3,336
per day—more than six times the real number.
The greatest mortality among our prisoners in the North occurred at
Alston, Illinois, where, among 7,000, the loss was 27 per day, or 1 in every
111. The difference between the
mortalities North and South is due, however, less to any difference in rations
or treatment, than to that utter prostration of mind and body which overwhelms
the Yankee, but against which the Confederate soldier bears up as bravely as if
facing the bullet and bayonet in the field.—Augusta Constitutionalist.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 6, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Romeo and Juliet"; ballad; "The Boarding House;"
tomorrow—"Aurora Floyd"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 7, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
The
Test of Generalship.—"If you are a great general," said Sylla to
Marius, "come and fight me."—"If you are a great general,"
was the quiet answer, "make me come and fight you."
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 7, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Aurora Floyd;" Friday—a grand performance, several
novelties in preparation
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 7, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
Notes from a Yankee Shell.
The attentive correspondent "J. T. G." forwards to the Columbus
Enquirer a couple of messages, on paper, which the Yankees sent to the
Eufaula Battery in a shell, on the 20th instant.
The powder of the shell had been emptied out and the notes put in, and
then a wooden peg inserted to stop the hold.
The consequence was that the shell, when fired over to our lines, did not
explode, and "the boys" of the Eufaula Battery, having their curiosity
excited, picked up the shell and discovered the wooden peg, which led to the
examination of its contents and the finding of the notes.
They were sent in this way from a battery manned by Pennsylvania
Dutchmen. One was in the Dutch
language, and was sent back to the Yankees with a defiant answer.
It was first, however, translated into English by Sam Stern, of the
Eufaula Battery, as follows:
"You
rascal Rebel! Are you to be free or
slaves? You know not yourself.
Atlanta will be in our hands in a few days, and then it will be death or
utter ruin.
Your obedient servant,
S. M. Miller, Ind. Artillery,
Pennsylvania Vols.
"Your
artillery is not worth a damn. You
know not how to fire. When the war
is over, we will be free again, and then we will drink a glass of lager
together.
"A German,
1st Lieut. 26th Penn. Battery."
The
note was in English, and the original has been sent us. It is torn at one end, and the words on that side are
wanting, but we make it out thus:
"A
present to Mr. Johnny Reb: Will
meet you in Atlanta in about a week's time.
From your friend,
29th Penn. Battery,
Ger. Vol."
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 8, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Finding Fault With Children.
It is at times necessary to censure and punish; but very much may be done
by encouraging them when they do well. Be,
therefore, more careful to express your approbation of good conduct, than your
disapprobation of bad. Nothing can
more discourage a child than a spirit of incessant fault finding on the part of
its parents. And hardly anything
can exert a more injurious influence upon the disposition both of the parent and
child. There are two great motives influencing human actions:
hope and fear. Both of these are at times necessary. But who would not prefer to have her child influenced to good
conduct by the desire of pleasing, than by the fear of offending?
If a mother never expresses her gratification when her children do well,
and is always censuring them when she sees anything amiss, they are discouraged
and unhappy.—They feel that it is useless to try to please. Their disposition
becomes hardened and soured by this ceaseless fretting, and at last, finding
that whether they do well or ill they are equally found fault with, they
relinquish all effort to please, and become heedless of reproaches.
But
let a mother approve of her child's conduct whenever she can.
Let her show that his good behavior makes her sincerely happy.
Let her reward him for his efforts to please by smiles and affection. In this way she will cherish in her child's heart some of the
noblest and most desirable feelings of our nature. She will cultivate in him an amiable disposition and a
cheerful spirit. Your child has
been, during the day, very pleasant and obedient.
Just before putting him to sleep for the night, you take his hand and
say, "My son, you have been a very good boy to-day.
It makes me very happy to see you so kind and obedient.
God loves children who are dutiful to their parents, and he promises to
make them happy." This approbation from his mother is to him a great reward.
And when, with a more than ordinary affectionate tone, you say,
"Good night, my dear son!" he leaves the room with his little heart
full of feeling. And when he closes
his eyes for sleep, he is happy, and resolves that he will always try to do his
duty.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 8, 1864, p. 1, c. 2
Summary: "The Farmers and
Their Assailants"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 8, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Theatre.—The
engagement of Miss Ida Vernon, which terminates at the close of the present
week, has imparted fresh interest to dramatic amusements in this city.
In fact the large audiences which have nightly filled the Theatre, during
the past fortnight, and the presence of many of the oldest, and, in social
position, most respectable play-goers of Richmond, have indicated a kind of
dramatic revival which must have proved as gratifying to Miss Vernon as it has
been profitable to the management.
The
attractions have consisted of good acting and new plays, prominent among which
is "East Lynne, or the Earl's Daughter," a dramatic version of the
English novel of the same name, recently published by Messrs. West &
Johnston. The play invites
criticism, but our present purpose is only to refer briefly to the manner in
which it has been presented. The
leading character, "Lady Isabel Carlyle," was, of course, personated
by Miss Ida Vernon. Her acting
displayed the possession of histrionic talent of a high order. It was artistic without the sacrifice of naturalness, and
delightfully free from the stage mannerism which so frequently mars the efforts
of dramatic aspirants. The
passionate scenes were fearfully lifelike and impressive.
Mr.
Ogden, as "Archibald Carlyle, Esq.," acquitted himself with his usual
success in characters of this class. He
may not have realized the beau ideal of the original, but came near enough to
render his personation effective.
The
other characters were more or less tolerable, according to the critical
disposition of each person in the audience.
Those who were disposed to overlook imperfections were doubtless
satisfied with the performances; those who were on the qui vive for flaws
doubtless discovered not a few, and plumed themselves, perhaps, upon their
discernment.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 8, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Dog
Catchers.—The dog catchers were on a raid yesterday morning and succeeded in
bagging upwards of fifty villainous looking curs and fice.
These animals which, while roaming the streets, are one of the greatest
of nuisances, are turned to good account when caught, by being turned over to
the tanners, who proceed with the least imaginable delay to convert their hides
into Confederate leather.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 8, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Aurora Floyd"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 8, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Just Received.
30 doz. English Regatta Shirts, fast colors.
Also,
15 gross Ivory Buttons, suitable for
ladies' overcoats
Black Worsted Binding, gilt and plated trimming Buttons, &c.
Jno. Partz.
8th, between Broad
and Grace sts.
near the Fredericksburg Depot.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 9, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Summary: "Aurora Floyd;"
singing and dancing; "The Manager takes great pleasure in introducing the
Confederate Minstrel Band to the favors of the Richmond public, who will
conclude the performance with their recherche
programme: Overture, Opening
Chorus, Cora Lee, Darkey's Wedding, The Spell is Broken, Unfortunate Miss
Bailey, Gipsey Davie, Annie of the Vale, Happy Times in Old Virginia;"
Friday—"Camille," singing and dancing, "The Militia"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 9, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
A
Mlle. P________ in Paris, advertises a salve for the production of a slight down
on the lips of ladies, a little moustache, so great is the favor that hair on
the upper lip of women is received with in France.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 9, 1864, p. 1, c. 1-2
Review.
Three Months in the Southern States—April-June, 1863.
By Lieut. Col. Freemantle, Coldstream Guards—pp. 158.
Republished by s. H. Goetzel, Mobile, 1864.
This
book, the writer tells us in the preface, is a transcript from his Diary of
events, day by day, as he traversed the Confederate States from the Rio Grande
to the Potomac; and it has evidently been printed just as each day's occurrences
or thoughts were jotted down at the time, with only the suppression here and
there of figures or details, which he apprehended might injuriously disclose the
defences of the people among whom he had travelled. Col. Freemantle appeared to those who met him, a well-bred,
unassuming English gentleman. We
therefore trust that, on reflection hereafter, he will comprehend he has been
led into a grave error of conduct by his over-free disclosures, in several
instances, of what was said to him in private conversation by officers of high
rank in our service. Recently, we
observed the same breach of decorum on the part of an officer of Engineers of
the British service, who had visited the Headquarters of Gen. Meade, at Culpeper
C. H., and who repeated in the pages of the United Service Magazine, of
London, remarks of his host, General Hunt, and of General Meade, well calculated
to draw down upon them the ill feeling of their civil superiors.
It has
always been a favorite pastime of the British critic to castigate the alleged
want of good faith on the part of American travellers in England touching
private conversations, and their disregard of the plainest precepts of good
breeding in that particular. We
know even of no Yankee who has transgressed in this way as much as Colonel
Freemantle and the British Engineer officer, as could be easily shown by
reference to many passages especially in the Guardsman's Diary; which he has
published, nevertheless, with a manifest desire to give a pleasing picture of
our people, and clearly to serve the cause of the Confederate States in England.
Reading
the book, our Generals may see the necessity for extreme reticence in their
conversation with foreigners, introduced under whatsoever circumstances.
It is to t be observed that he has no conversations to repeat on the part
of General R. E. Lee; and we fancy the accomplished Surgeon, whose powers of
mimickry gave Col. Freemangtle so good an idea of one of our high officers
before they met, will be somewhat more chary of those powers in the presence
even of an officer of her Majesty's Household Troops hereafter.
With
these faults, which call for reprehension, the book under notice furnishes to
the British reader, in a readable form, a mass of information about the state of
affairs in the South, the spirit and resources of our people, including
particularly our two main armies in the field, which is calculated to confirm
the favorable sentiment existing in the British Islands with regard to our worth
as a people, and the successful achievement of our independence.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 9, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
Moonlight Excursion.
The steamer William Allison will make a Moonlight Excursion down James
River on Tuesday next, 18th inst., leaving the wharf at half-past
seven o'clock, returning to the city at 12 o'clock.
The
Armory Band, Professor Loebman, is engaged for the occasion.
Refreshments
will be found on the boat.
Fare
for the trip—gentlemen, $10; gentleman with lady, $10, and $5 for each
additional lady; children under 10 years of age, $2.50
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 10, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"East Lynne;"castinett solo; "Bingen on the
Rhine;" ballad; "Sic Semper Tyrannis" with a grand sword combat
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 10, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
Theatrical.—We
have no space, this evening, for a criticism upon the dignified Aurora Floyd, or
the trusting, big-hearted John Mellish. We
therefore must content ourself with quoting from a sparkling critic, who, on
being asked, after seeing East Lynne, "Have we an actress among us,"
promptly replied, "I'd aver none."
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 10, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
What
it Costs to Live in Macon.—Board at our hotels is $30 per day, which includes
three meals and a room. If a man is
single and wishes to reside here he can obtain day board at private houses from
$140 to $200 per month. If he takes
a furnished room at the house he will be charged $250 to $300 per month,
according to quality. This is aside
from other necessary expenses, clothing, &c. A pair of boots will cost from $150 to $200; a coat from $200
to $700; a vest from $100 to $200; a pair of pants from $150 to $400; a shirt
from $25 to $100; socks $3 to $6; tobacco $4 to $8 per pound; whisky $3 per
drink; cigars 25 to 30c; horse, buggy or carriage drive, from $10 to $20 an
hour. A family can rent a house
here with a small yard, a small garden and a few outhouses for from $1500 to
$3500—according to location and the party owning them.
By close economy, subsistence and clothing for one year can be purchased
at the market for a family, say of five persons, for $5,000. So the whole expense will be about $8,000 during twelve
months.
Single
rooms for gentlemen, without furniture, can be had for from $50 to $75 per
month. The furniture necessary to
put in them will cost: a bedstead
$50 to $150; washstand $50; wardrobe (nails 10c. apiece) $100 to $200.
Chairs, bedclothing, carpets, bureaus, &c., any and all sorts of
prices, but nothing low.
[Macon Confederate.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 10, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Ideas
of Greatness.—It is astonishing what changes come over the mind as we advance
in years as to what constitutes real greatness in man. When a boy, we used to think that a country singing school
teacher or a constable were the greatest men and highest functionaries in the
known world, and we had no higher ambition than to become "jest sich."
When we came to town and learned a little more, we thought surely one of
those pert, starchy counter hoppers was the embodiment of all that's great or
grand. And now, when wisdom has
done its perfect work in us, we've about made up our mind that a man who can
have a locomotive named after him outstrips them all in the race for
immortality.—Sav. Rep.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 12, 1864, p. 1, c. 2
What War Teaches.
In the mouth of one of the noble characters, in the fragment of a Romance
left by Thackeray at his death, we find these striking words which have their
lesson at this time:
"War
teaches obedience and contentment under privation; it fortifies courage; it
tests loyalty; it gives occasion for showing mercifulness of heart; moderation
in victory; endurance and cheerfulness under defeat. The brave who do battle victoriously in their country's cause
leave a legacy of honor to their children."
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 12, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Foundling.—A
male infant, four months old, was left on the steps of St. Joseph's female
orphan asylum on Saturday night. It
was sent to the poor house.—This makes the 4th infant left at the
door of this institution this year.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 12, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Armand;" ballad; "The Militia of '76;"
tomorrow—Pocahontas"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 13, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Romance of a Poor Young Man;" "Pocahontas";
tomorrow—"The Angel of Death"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 14, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
The Yankees in Atlanta.
The Macon Telegraph has information through a gentleman who left Atlanta
several days after its occupation by the Yankees.
He states among other things that two or three days after the enemy
entered, the officers gave a grand ball at the Trout House, and invited many of
the citizens to attend. To their
shame be it said, the invitation was accepted in many instances, and women, we
cannot call them ladies, who were loudest in their protestation to the South,
were "hand in glove" with the Yankees on the night of the ball.
It is represented to have been quite a brilliant affair; plenty of
champaign [sic] was drank in honor of the success achieved by the Federal arms,
and the party ended at a late hour in the morning, after great glorification.
What a
contrast is this with the conduct of the women of other towns we could mention,
where not one of any social pretensions greeted or touched the hand of a Yankee
during a lengthy occupancy.
One of
the first orders issued by the Yankees informed the negroes that they were no
longer slaves, but "free American citizens of African descent."
The Telegraph
says, among the first citizens who took the oath of allegiance to the Federals,
was Mr. J. E. Buchanan, formerly "business manager" of the Intelligencer.
He remained in Atlanta with the Fire Battalion during the investment of
the city.
There
is but little or not business carried on in the city, except by a few traitors
who concealed tobacco for the express purpose of selling it to the enemy should
they enter the town. These
creatures, we learn, are doing a brisk business with the Yankee sutlers.
There
is a Provost Marshal and a guard of one Brigade on duty in the city; all the
other troops are encamped outside of the city.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 14, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"The Angel of Death"; ballads; "Mississippi
Fling;" tomorrow—"The Heart of Midlothian"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 15, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
An Incident of the
War—
Yankee Brutality Illustrated.
We comply with the request of the respected writer, in publishing the
subjoined narrative, sickening though it be to be compelled to believe that
creatures wearing the form of humanity could have acted so brutally as Grant's
followers are here shown to have done to one of their comrades:
Hewlett's Station, Hanover Co., Va.,}
September 12th, 1864.}
Mrs. Jane Beatson, wife of Sergt. Boswell Beatson, Co. E, 49th Reg.
N. Y. S. Vols., box 3562, Buffalo, N. Y.:
Madam—In
compliance with the dying request of your husband, I address you this
communication. I do so through the
'Richmond Whig," with the hope it may find its way to the North, and
be copied by some of your papers, and thus meet your eye—knowing no other way
in which I can hope it will reach you.
I am a
physician, residing within the lines occupied by the Fifth and Sixth corps of
General Grant's army while it occupied the upper district of this
county.—Commanding a company for local defence, I left my home and family to
the magnanimity of, I hoped, an honorable and manly foe.
Operating the while within their lines, my movements were known and
observed by your countrymen, and, though no unfair or improper course was
adopted or pursued, positive orders were issued to your soldiers, who
often attempted to capture me, "not to take me alive, but to shoot me, and
any of my men, when and where they could."
Refusing a guard to my family and property, hordes of Pennsylvania
ruffians, principally of the Thirteenth regiment, poured into my house and
rifled it of every valuable it contained. Not
a morsel of food for man or beast—not an article of clothing for myself or
family—not a piece of bed or table furniture—not a letter or other memento
of departed or absent friends, was left. From
garret to cellar there was desolation and ruin.
Unsatisfied with this, they entered my medical office, destroyed large
quantities of valuable and exceedingly scarce medicines—broke and destroyed in
other ways all my lamps, retorts and chemicals, through which I might prepare
medicines—carried off all my surgical instruments of every kind, not even
leaving my weights and scales. Nor
was this treatment awarded alone to myself.
My neighbors, more or less, suffered in like manner at the hands of your
countrymen. When desolating and
rifling the house of my aged father, he appealed to an officer of high grade to
protect him, when he was denied all assistance, and assured that he was
"suffering what he deserved."
When
these men left my neighborhood, in great haste, on the night of the 26th
of May, in apprehension of an attack from General Lee, I followed on to the
point they crossed the North Anna river, and on the opposite side of which their
rear guard was then stationed. There
I found a poor woman with ten children, most of them young girls, who had been
swept of everything, and for two days had not had a morsel of food.
On the evening of the 28th this poor woman sent for me to
visit a sick man. When I arrived,
she informed me that a Yankee soldier was lying in the brush, some distance from
her house, and though she had been treated so inhumanly by them, she felt sorry
for the poor creature, as he seemed to be suffering excruciating pain, and had
sent for me to visit him. I
repaired to the spot and found him lying on the cold earth, without a blanket or
oil cloth. He informed me that his name, regiment &c., was as above
stated, and gave the following account of himself:
"I
was taken sick two days ago with dysentery.
I could not get a permit to go to the rear or be sent to a hospital.
When my regiment left, yesterday morning, I was too feeble to march, and
in the bustle and haste of the retreat I was left.
As the rear guard passed by, they were shooting indiscriminately into the
brush, and a ball penetrated my leg, where you see this wound.
I called for aid, and some two or three came to me, but only took my
blanket and oil cloth, and left me without protection or support.
Here I lay until Mrs. Carpenter found me, and she has given me a little
something to eat."
Upon
examination, I found both bones of his right leg were fractured below the knee,
in a most shocking manner, while thousands of maggots were revelling in the
ghastly wound. I told him that
nothing but amputation could save him; but I did not have an instrument
left—his friends having carried them all off.
He needed stimulants and food, but none were to be found in the
neighborhood. If soothing
conversation would aid him, I would do that much cheerfully, but farther than
that, I had no ability to assist. With
bitter denunciations of his heartless comrades, he wept over his sad fate,
without one ray of hope to cheer him. In
this situation he lay for seven days, the neighbors dividing their scanty meals
with him.
On the
night of Friday, the 2d of June, there was a terrible storm, followed by a cold,
drenching rain. Mr. Redd, my
neighbor, though his premises had been sacked by your countrymen, moved by
sympathy, prepared a vehicle and carried your husband to his house.
Sending some miles, he procured a box of instruments, and sent for me to
amputate the limb. I left the bedside of a little son who had just breathed his
last, in consequence of the want of medicine and food, of which he had been
deprived by Northern philanthropists and Christians, to perform an
act of humanity towards one of their number. I found your husband nearly exhausted. I told him I feared that he could not survive the operation,
but he wished it to be performed. He
requested me to inform you, should he die, of his fate, and write to his
Colonel, in order that you might receive assistance from your Government.
His statement I wrote down at the time on an old book leaf, all writing
paper having been carried off. The
operation was quickly performed; he bare it well; seemed to suffer but little.
But having no stimulants to sustain his strength he gradually sank, and
saw not another rising sun.—Mr. Redd had him decently buried near the spot his
ungrateful comrades left him, and he now reposes undisturbed amid the
magnanimous sons and daughters of Virginia, whom he came to subjugate and
destroy.
I am, madam, yours, &c.
L. B. Anderson, M. D.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 15, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Mayor's
Court—The prisoners in this Court, this morning, were made up, mostly, of
small white boys and negroes.
John
Tate and Geo. W. Rice, boys twelve and fourteen years of age, were charged with
stealing a jar of pickles from some person unknown. They were arrested, trying to sell the pickles at the
theatre, last night. The Mayor
committed them to jail. . . .
Ed.
Crouse, Mike McDonald and Jas. Childress, small white boys, were charged with
breaking into the commissary car of the ambulance train on the Fredericksburg
Railroad and stealing seven bottles of whisky and a variety of stores.
It appeared from the evidence that the goods had been sold to some
negroes.
The
boys, being very young, were turned over to their parents, and the negroes were
whipped.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 15, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Heart of Midlothian;" ballads; "Betsy Baker"; in
preparation "The Mis-Alliance"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 15, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
New
Commandant.—We learn that Maj. Gee, of Florida, has been appointed to the
Command of the C. S. Prison, in
Salisbury, N. C., vice Col. Gilmer, removed for inability on account of
bad health.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 16, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
The
Yankee Prisoners in Georgia.—The prisoners at Andersonville have sent four of
their number to Washington, to represent to Lincoln the actual state of that
hell on earth to which his love for the nigger has condemned them.
Of the nearly 40,000 Yankee prisoners confined at Andersonville, there
are not exceeding 15,000 whose term of service has not expired.
That is a correct solution of all the points involved in the question of
exchange.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 16, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
Gone
to the Yankees.—Not a day passes that persons do not leave this city for
Yankee land. If they are poor they
are, in five cases out of ten, caught, brought back and thrown into Castle
Thunder; if they have plenty of money they are never molested. Last Saturday, Thomas Knox, a Confederate commissary and
quartermaster, and Geo. W. Butler, late a clerk in the C. S. Treasury, but later
a witness in the last dueling case, left the city by the Fredericksburg train
and are supposed to have gone to Maryland. A man from Fredericksburg says they passed through that town
going north, last Tuesday. These
men are said to have carried off fabulous amounts of every kind of money except
Confederate Treasury notes. That
they were not arrested and brought back, indeed, that they were permitted to
depart the city (for a government detective assures us the authorities were
informed of their meditated departure) is prima facie evidence that they
were well supplied with some kind of currency.
If they carried off much money their departure is to be regretted.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 16, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Evadne"; Saturday—"Pocahontas"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 17, 1864, p. 2, c. 5
Naughty.—The
St. Joseph (Mo.) Herald says the streets of St. Joseph are filled with women
with cigars in their mouths.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 17, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Merchant of Venice;" ballad; "Po-Ca-Hont-Tas;"
Monday—"The Marble Heart"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 17, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
General
Morgan's remains reached the city yesterday morning by the Danville train, and
were escorted from the depot to the Capitol by the State Guard and Fire Brigade.
Their arrival was unexpected, they having been looked for Thursday night.
This disconcerted the programme that had been arranged for the obsequies.
The
remains lay in state in the old Hall of Representatives from 10 A.M. till 1
o'clock P.M. A multitude of
citizens among whom were many ladies, crowded the capital during the period the
body remained in the Hall. The box
containing the coffin and body was completely covered with flowers brought by
ladies and children.
At one
o'clock the remains were conducted to Holywood [sic], where they were deposited
in a vault. The cortege which
followed the body to the ground, consisted of the State guard, the Fire brigade,
some local military companies, the city Council of Richmond and other
authorities, the Kentucky Congressional delegation and citizens.
As the
sad cortege wound through our streets to the sound of mournful music, it
presented a touching contrast with the triumphant procession of the brilliant
cavalry chieftain—through the same streets six months ago. He had then just escaped from a loathsome Yankee prison, and
had returned to wield his puissant sword in the cause of his country.
He was surrounded by throngs of friends and admirers all elated at his
newly acquired freedom. Now he was borne along mournfully and slow, followed in
sorrow by the same friends to the grave.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 19, 1864, p. 2, c. 5
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"The Marble Heart;" ballads; "Which Shall I
Marry"; in rehearsal "Brutus;" "Julius Caesar;" "Adalgitha"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 20, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
A
correspondent of the Mobile Register claims that in the sharpshooting at
Petersburg, our soldiers have the advantage.
We use the English Enfield; the Yankees the United States Springfield
rifle, which certainly is, in comparison, an inferior gun.
The advantage of position enables us to throw mortar shells with
certainty into the works of the enemy, and they must suffer severely from them.
Since
the lamented death of Gen. Saunders, Col. King, of the 10th Alabama,
has been in command of that brigade. It
is on the lines not far from the battery the Yankees blew up on the 30th
of July. Between this brigade and
the Yankees there is a curious "Express" which is kept constantly
running. A large Newfoundland dog,
belonging to the Yankees, has been trained to pass from one side to the other,
and to carry such articles as are for trade.
The Yankees send him over with coffee, handkerchiefs, paper, envelopes
and late Northern papers, and the Confederates return tobacco in exchange for
these articles. The dog seems to be
equally as reliable as the Southern Express Company, and by his cleverness has
furnished many a poor fellow with a much needed cup of coffee.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 20, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"The Willow Copse;" ballads; "Rough Diamond;" in
rehearsal "Julius Caesar" and "Brutus"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 20, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Cotton Yarns—
Cotton yarns.
We are
Agents for the sale of Cotton Yarns for the following Factories in
Virginia and North Carolina—and always have on hand a well assorted
stock, from No. 6 to No. 14:
Matoaca Factory,
Battersea do.
Ettric do.
Leaksville do.
Merchants
and others who desire purchasing Cotton Yarns, can rely on ours being Factory
numbers.
Stokes, Williamson & Co.,
Corner 15th and Cary sts.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 21, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Congress
Hall—A Grand Establishment.—A first class restaurant has just been opened on
Main street, one door east of the telegraph office, by Mr. J. McPherson, well
and favorably known for upwards of fifteen years as caterer and chef
d'cuisine at the American and Exchange Hotels, in Richmond.
The main saloon, on the first floor, has been fitted up in the most
elegant and costly manner. The walls are decorated with handsome French paper,
presenting a variety of picturesque scenery.
A number of tables covered with snow-white cloths are arranged n both
sides of the saloon, and in the rear room are appropriate "fixins" for
all who desire to view the inside of choice glassware.
Beyond
this room is the kitchen, in which all kinds of nice things are cooked to order
upon short notice.—Up stairs are rooms for private dinner or supper parties,
all elegantly fitted up for the purpose. The
establishment is certainly about the most complete and inviting of its kind in
the city, and is to be conducted upon the principle of reasonable charges.
The experience of Mr. McPherson is a guarantee to all patrons that they
will be supplied with the best the markets afford.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 21, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—Victor Hugo's "La Tour de Nesle;" singing and dancing;
"Ireland as it Was;" tomorrow—"Julius Caesar"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 22, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"The Maniac Lover;" "The Renegade's Daughter;"
"Jibbenainosay;" singing and dancing; soon "Julius Caesar;"
in rehearsal "Brutus; or, The Fall of Tarquin" and "Damon and
Pythias"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 23, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Damon and Pythias;" singing and dancing; "Married
Rake;" soon "Julius Caesar;" in rehearsal "Brutus; or, The
Fall of Tarquin"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 23, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
The
Young Men's Christian Association of Richmond, with the aims and objects of
which the public are acquainted desire to enlarge their Library, so as to render
their rooms more attractive and to confer greater advantages upon the young men
of this city; they therefore desire persons who have suitable books for sale or
who would be willing to aid the Association by a donation of books or funds for
this purpose, to communicate with the Committee on the Library, at the Rooms,
corner of Bank and 10th streets, between the hours of 4 and 10
o'clock, P.M., daily.
P. C. Nicholas,
Chairman Library Committee
Young Men's Christian Association.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 24, 1864, p. 2, c. 5
Smoking Tobacco.
Smoking Tobacco.
20000 lbs. "Soldiers Comfort" Smoking Tobacco.
A very superior article. Put
up in cases of 100 lbs. in 1 lb. and ½ lb. papers.
For
sale by
Stokes, Williamson & Co.,
Corner 15th and Cary streets.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 24, 1864, p. 1, c.
6
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Still Waters Run Deep;" singing and dancing;
"Black-Eyed Susan"; Monday—"Brutus"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 26, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Brutus; or, The Fall of Tarquin;" ballad; "Mr. and
Mrs. White;" tomorrow "Julius Caesar"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 27, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"Rag-Picker; or The Mysteries of Paris;" singing and
dancing; "Ogden's Adventure;" tomorrow "Julius Caesar"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 28, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
"Asa
Hartz"—His Children.—Who has not read the pithy articles, both poetic
and prose of "Asa Hartz?" He
has become a general favorite throughout the Confederacy. But unfortunately the Yankees nabbed him about the time of
the destruction of Jackson, Miss., last year, and he is now a prisoner on
Johnson's Island. His wife died
about a week before his capture and left two very interesting children, Lucy,
about ten years, and Johny, about three. We
are indebted to Mr. F. L. Cherry, of Mobile, for the information that they have
been cared for, and are now in this city in charge of their uncle, Mr. James
Woodall, of Montgomery. They will
be conveyed to-day to their aunt's, Mrs. William Stewart, of Russell county,
where they will find a permanent and pleasant home.
We write this hoping that it may reach their father's eyes, and he be
relieved of any anxiety he may naturally feel in regard to them.
[Columbus Times]
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 28, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"French Spy;" ballads; fancy dance; "The Great
Mississippi Fling"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 29, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
The
Theatre.—The audience at the Theatre, on Monday evening, enjoyed a decided
treat in Mr. E. R. Dalton's personation of Brutus, in John Howard Payne's
tragedy of that name. Mr. Dalton's
conception of the character of the pretended idiot, and Roman patriot, was a
fine one, and the large audience present testified its approbation by frequent
applause. Whilst marked by a
subdued tone, Mr. Dalton's rendition was vigorous, and it was the opinion of all
that he "played the Roman fool," passing well.
Miss Estelle as Tullia, also displayed much power.
The equestrian statue of Tarquin was a most excellent delusion,
and reflects much credit on the artist whose work it is.
It
would conduce to the interest of the performances generally, if the artistes
would make themselves perfect in their parts before coming upon the stage.
The efforts of the pains taking actor during a play are frequently marred
by a loose talking, on the part of some of the actors, that passes with some for
an interpretation of the text. If
the artistes would bear this in mind, there would be far more interesting
performances, and we intend this reminder for some who occupy a high position
upon the boards, as well for those of a more humble grade.
En
passant, we may remark, that Messrs. Ogden and Dalton appeared with fine
effect on Saturday evening, in the play of "Still Waters Run
Deep"—Mr. Ogden as Capt. Harry Hawksley, and Mr. Dalton as John
Mildmay. Mr. Ogden has
established his reputation as a strong delineator of the character of Hawksley,
and his rendition on Saturday evening was not at all behind his former efforts.
Mr. Dalton's representation of John Mildmay was, although out of
his peculiar line, all that could be desired.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 29, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
Army
of Tennessee Mail matter.—Postmasters throughout the country, in directing
mail matter to the Army of Tennessee, should carefully avoid the use of the
names of any town, and direct the packages simply "Army of Tennessee."
All other directions produce confusion, and not unfrequently occasion
delay in the delivery of the packages at their proper destination.—"The
Army of Tennessee" is a distinct Post Office, and letters directed to
"Griffin" or "Atlanta," though the persons to whom they may
be directed are in the army, and the regiment and brigade is indicated in the
superscription, do not necessarily go into the office of the "Army of
Tennessee," and consequently do not reach their destination.
Therefore, to avoid all mistakes, address the packages to the "Army
of Tennessee."
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, September 29, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"The Mysterious Stranger; or, The ***** in Paris;" singing
and dancing; "Po ca hon tas"; tomorrow—"Corsican Brothers"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 3, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
A
Female Captain.—We find the following in the local column of the Charlotte N.
C. Times of Friday:
Another
Belle Boyd.—A beautiful, dashing lady, in the uniform of a Captain, passed on
the Northern train towards Richmond yesterday afternoon.
She wore a black belt with a chain attached.
She is said to be from Mississippi, and has participated in several
hard-fought battles, and was promoted on the field for distinguished gallantry. She wore a straw cap, set jauntily on her head, adorned with
a heavy black ostrich feather, and her jacket was adorned with two rows of
miniature gilt buttons. He who
seemed to be her traveling companion appeared about forty years of age, and wore
the uniform of a Major. She had
probably been home on a short furlough, and was on her way back to join her
command. There is some mystery yet
unraveled about this heroine and her strange career, and which will never see
the light till the heart history of a love story is written.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 3, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
Printing
in the Confederacy.—The Columbia (S. C.) Guardian, noticing the
extensive establishment of Messrs. Evans & Cogswell, says: "The war found these gentlemen located in Charleston,
where they had gradually built up the largest printing office—except the
Methodist Publishing House at Nashville—in the Southern States. Since then they have imported from Europe thirty-two printing
presses, with large quantities of printing and binding materials and eighty-four
artists and printers, and now employ in the various branches of their extensive
business seventy-six printing presses, besides about twenty-five ruling and
binding machines. They employ three
hundred and forty-four hands, only eighteen of whom are from the army.
They have recently removed from Charleston to a new brick building, a
part of which is finished, and, when entirely complete, will form a hollow
square, covering exactly two acres of ground, and making one room 40x900 feet. To give some idea of the extent of the work carried on by
this firm, we would mention that in addition to the large quantity of printing
being done for the army, and notes and bonds for the Treasury Department, they
now have in course of printing some twenty books on various subjects, among
which we noticed "A New Dictionary of Military Terms," prepared by
General Thomas Jordan, and illustrated with a large number of fine engravings.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 3, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Romance
of a Poor Young Man.—D'Orsey Ogden and John Hilliard, of the Richmond Theatre,
to escape the "Bore Conscriptors," were making tracks for Northern
parts, _via- Bowling Green, when they were overhauled and captured.
As they were being brought to the city, on the Fredericksburg cars, Ogden
jumped from the cars as gracefully as he ever leaped from the tower in "The
Romance of a Poor Young Man," and on gaining ground, took to the woods,
much to the chagrin of his custodians. He
is now at large in open contempt of the power and dignity of the Confederacy.
Hilliard, being too much of a Falstaff for such exploits, came quietly to
the city and was provided for. It
is said that both were without passes.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 5, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Suspended.—All
the papers in Richmond, were suspended on Thursday, except the Whig, in
order that the employees might take part in the fighting going on below the
city.—Lynchburg Republican.
That
this and other notices to the same effect may not impart a false impression, it
may be well to state that we were enabled to issue the Whig, the day
named, through the labors of persons not capable of military service, and of
whom no such requirement was made. Our
other employees were in the field.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 6, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
R.
D'Orsay Ogden.—A report prevailed quite freely this morning that this escaping
theatrical manager had been recaptured. It
is said that he was espied last evening by a cavalryman while in the
neighborhood of Hamilton's Crossings, when a chase immediately took place, and
so expert was Ogden in pedestrian accomplishments, that two miles were traveled
over before he could be overtaken. He
is expected here in this evening's train.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 6, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
[Correspondence of
the Advertiser and Register.]
Smith's Atrocities in North Mississippi.
Marshall County, Miss., Sept. 14.—Of course you have heard of the
unparalleled atrocities committed by A. J. Smith, in his late march from Memphis
to Oxford, with his mongrel army of 25,000 men.
The half of the unspeakable infamies perpetrated by them has not been
told, and perhaps never will be. I
had intended to give you a compendious statement of so much of their outrages as
had come to my knowledge, but, [illegible] to say, my pen recoils from the
loathsome task. The whole raid, all
along on both sides of their line of march, seems to have been nothing but a
cowardly onslaught upon women and children, unarmed, old and disabled men.
They did not come out to fight our soldiers, but simply to make war upon
women and non-combatants and to turn loose their brutal soldiery—particularly
the negroes and Dutch—upon a defenceless and already halfstarving community.
Is
there no way to make these Memphis Yankee raiders conduct the war on civilized
principles?
Oxford
and Holly Springs were given to the flames "by order" of "old
whisky" Smith himself. Between
Lagrange, Tennessee, and Oxford, Mississippi, a distance of 55 miles, not more
than a half dozen residences are left upon the roadside.
Off this road, to the distance of five or six miles on both sides, the
destruction of private property has been equally sweeping and atrocious.
In carrying out this system of destruction, numberless and nameless acts
of cruelty and assassination were committed.
Ladies of the first respectability were stripped naked, or had their
clothes turned over their heads by these diabolical ruffians, in search for
treasure. Wounded and disabled
soldiers, discharged from our army, were shot down or hung like dogs. Sick men and women, in a dying condition, were flung from
their beds to the floor and thus instantly murdered, on the plea (!) that their
sickness was a pretense, and that arms and money, or other valuables, were
secreted under them! Dwellings were
set on fire, and grey haired old men repeatedly flung into the flames, in the
mere wantonness of diabolism run roaring mad!
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 7, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
From the Christian Observer.
Savage and Fiendish Atrocity.
The following communication to the Attorney General of the District of
East Tennessee, contains an account of the most diabolical and savage acts of
malignant cruelty of which we have seen a record since the commencement of the
present war. Language fails us to
express the abhorrence and detestation which every one, not lost to humanity,
must feel for the vile and cowardly miscreants who, instead of meeting their
victim singly in open day, decoy him from home in the dead hour of night, and
inflict upon him their worse than murderous revenge, simply because he had dared
to preach the gospel.
Bristol, Tenn., Sept. 3d, 1864
To J. G. Wallace, Esq., Attorney of the District of East Tennessee:
Sir—In
compliance with your request, I proceed to make a brief statement of the facts
connected with my being driven from my church, my home and family at New Market,
East Tennessee.
After
bed time, August 3d, 1864, Captain James Crawford, Lieut. Wm. O. Sizemore, of
Hawkins county, and others, (all, perhaps, of the Federal army) entered my house
and searched for "guns, swords, pistols and concealed rebels."
They found none, for none such were there, nor had there been.
Before leaving my house they asked my position in regard to the war.—I
told them that my sympathies were with the South; whereupon, they gave me two
orders, accompanied with much profanity: 1st,
"To go to hell and preach for the devil;" 2d, "Never again to
preach at New Market." I made no answer—I uttered not one offensive word.
My conclusion was, however, that duty forbade me to comply with either
order. I therefore attended to my
ministerial duties as usual, until the morning of August 18th, I met
Lieutenant Sizemore in the street, and he inquired if I had preached since I
received the above orders. I
answered him I had; whereupon, as he turned away, he remarked, "All
right—we'll send you to Knoxville."
I remarked, mildly, "I thought it all right, or I would not have
preached." That night, just
after we had retired to rest, a man in the garb of a Federal soldier came to my
door, and decoyed me off under the pretense of my being called to a neighbor's
house. I dressed and went forth
with this man, and soon met three other soldiers, viz:
Lieutenant Sizemore, Bill Owens and a third man, unknown to me.—The
three conducted me towards the depot. Now,
for the first time, I suspected that I was arrested, and was en route
for Knoxville. They were so bitter
and so disgustingly profane that I asked but one question—"Where do you
wish me to go?" and made one remark expressive of surprise at being thus
snatched from my home at night.
We
passed out of town about a half a mile from my house, when Sizemore, who
superintended the whole affair, asked me, "Are you a rebel?"
I replied to this effect: "I
am a sympathizer with the South; I can't deny it without lying, and I won't
falsify my word."—He replied. "That's
enough—halt." In
obedience to his orders, I drew off my coat.
The other two men did the same. He
then ordered me to draw off my shirt—(had not put on my vest and
cravat). This I declined doing. The
order was repeated with a terrible threat, and a revolver drawn upon me.
I replied, "I can't do it—that is an indignity which I will not
consent to place upon myself." The
order was again repeated, with curses and threats, and the pistol at my breast.
I remarked, "I am unarmed and in your power, but you have mistaken
your man; you can kill me, but you can't make me draw off my own shirt."
By Sizemore's orders, the other two drew off my shirt, and each taking
hold of a hand, they began inflicting, the one upon my naked back, and the other
upon my naked breast, a most severe whipping with hickories prepared for the
occasion. They wore out three sets
of switches or withs, and, during the time, Sizemore, by threats and commands,
increased the severity and rapidity of the blows; and also himself broke off a
limb from a tree near by--; the limb had several prongs, and was longer than his
body, and with this limb in both hands he exerted himself violently until he had
worn it to a mere club. Here I
pleaded with them to desist, but in vain; asked them to shoot me and thus end my
misery, assuring them that I had no fears of death.
But the club still fell heavily and fast upon my bruised, bleeding,
lacerated body. It became
insufferable; I tried to avoid the strokes, when a blow upon the head brought me
to the ground. As I lay there, they
lashed me with fresh switches; and once upon my feet again, was knocked down the
second time by Sizemore—several blows from the fist of one of them having
failed to knock me down. One large
scar over each eye I must wear to the grave, and how many others upon my back,
breast and arms may be scars for life, I know not.
They left me, and with difficulty I put my shirt partly on and got back
to my house; sent for Dr. Blackburn, who washed and bound up my wounds, ordered
the free use of aperients and the frequent bathing of my body in a solution of
muriate of ammonia. He treated my
case in accordance with this prescription until the day I fled from my home.
A day
or two after I was beaten as just described, rumored threats were current on the
streets to the effect that a like fate awaited any man who visited me, or
manifested any sympathy for me in my sufferings. Personal threats were made against Rev. Isaac N. Caldwell and
others, among the best and most quiet and inoffensive men of my congregation.
Again fresh threats are heard—threats of scourging and death in case we
did not fly the country. These
threats were understood to have been made by the same parties who so misused me.
We are now out of the Federal lines, but our families and friends may ere
this have fallen victims to the fiendish rage of such men as Sizemore, Owen
& Co.
Very respectfully,
Geo. E. Eagleton.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 8, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
The
Theatre.—We are glad to perceive that Mr. E. R. Dalton, the favorite young
tragedian and general actor, assumes the management of the Richmond Theatre.
Mr.
Dalton, apart from his sterling artistic powers as a delineator of Shakespearian
characters, has had mature experience as a manager, and this fact gives promise
of a successful administration of affairs in his new sphere.
The
Theatre re-opens to-night, with all the old company in the casts—"Satan
in Paris," and "Pocohontas," being up for performance.
Mr.
Dalton promises to produce novelties at an early day; and we bespeak for him a
favorable reception at the hands of our theatre going public.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 10, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
Day of
Atonement Among the Israelites—(Yom Kipur)—This most solemn fast will
commence tomorrow evening (Sunday) and terminate on the following
evening—during which period the whole Israelitish nation throughout the known
world abstain from partaking any food or nourishment whatsoever.—This solemn
fast is decreed for the pardon of sin to all who are sincere and true in their
repentance; it is also a day for reconciliation and peace-making between man and
his fellow-creature. The day of
atonement among the Israelites is considered the Most Holy-day in the year, it
is "the Sabbath of Sabbaths." Many
who do not observe the various ceremonies of the Jewish Church, venerate this
day with the utmost sanctity. In
the various armies in Europe, as well in our own armies, the Israelites have
been permitted to reverence this day. It is kept in accordance with the following solemn injunction
contained in Holy Writ: "On
the tenth day of the seventh month is the day of atonement; it shall be to you a
day of holy convocation, and ye shall afflict your souls (by fasting).
Ye shall do no work on that same day, for it is a day of atonement on
which you shall be pardoned before the Eternal, your God; it shall be to you a
complete day of rest, and you shall afflict your souls (by fasting).
On the evening of the ninth day you shall begin and keep your resting day
until the next evening." The
ceremonies of the day during the existence of the Holy Temple were peculiarly
grand, solemn and sacred, and so great was the anxiety of the people who crowded
the courts of the Temple to listen with attention to the prayers of the High
Priest, and at the conclusion of every prayer, when the Most Holy name of the
Great God was pronounced by the High Priest, the whole nation fell upon their
faces exclaiming, "Blessed be the name of the glorious kingdom, for ever
and ever," and when the comforting word, "ye are pure," was heard
from the mouth of the High Priest, every heart rejoiced and was happy.
At night the people returned home grateful to the Almighty, who had again
received them into his favor, and pardoned their sins.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 10, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Funeral
of Gen. Gregg.—The funeral of Gen. John Gregg, of Texas, killed while
gallantly leading his troops last Friday, took place at 4 o'clock P.M.,
yesterday. The body, encased in a
metallic coffin and draped in the flag of the Lone Star State, was borne from
the Capitol to Hollywood Cemetery, escorted by his brigade of war-worn veterans,
the State Guard and other troops, many distinguished military officers and a
large concourse of citizens. The
funeral services were performed by the Rev. Dr. Duncan, of the Methodist Church.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 12, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
300 Females Wanted.
Wanted, at the C. S. Laboratory, 300 females.
Pay from $5 to $7 per day. In
addition to these wages certain quantities of wood, bacon, flour and cloth, will
be sold to each female employee at regular intervals, at the cost price.
All
applicants will apply to
W. N. Smith.
Approved
Supt. Laboratory.
W. L.
Broun, Lieut. Col. Comdg.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 14, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Bloody
battles, desperate charges, lists of killed and wounded, and bombardments of
cities, forts and fleets do not constitute all of interest that should go in a
column devoted to war news and war incidents.
Only yesterday we passed through one of the Departments of the Government
upon a matter of business, and noticed a refined daughter of a
Virginian family busily poring over a large ledger, and thus filling the
place of some able-bodied man gone to the field.
We allude to her specially, because, three years ago, when passing
through a hospital in her native city, where there were a large number of sick
and dying, we saw her nursing and ministering to the wants of a poor, sallow,
feeble North Carolinian, who, raising himself up upon his elbow, asked her to
sing him a "hime." With
no excuse or care for what others thought, but thinking only of gratifying the
wish of a sick Confederate soldier, far from home and loved ones, she sang a
plaintive song of Zion, and though he have heard ofttimes better voices and
tunes with more melody, never did music seem sweeter. When she finished, the
soldier, we thought, looked better, and his eyes, brightened by disease, seemed
to say to her, God bless you.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 15, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Fort Worth, Texas, Aug. 2, 1864.
J. C. Armistead, 3d Ky. Cav., Co. A, Camp Douglas, Chicago, Ill., Prisoner:
Husband:
At your request I write through this medium.
Monthly I welcome your letters. Why
do none of mine reach you? Myself
and children well, and amply provided for by my school.
MY HEART IS WITH YOU.
Josephine
Chicago
papers please copy.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 15, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
Feast
of Tabernacles.—Succoth. Last
evening (Friday) being the fifteenth day of the seventh month (Lieri) commences
the feast of Tabernacles. It is
also called "the festival of gathering in the harvest," all the wine,
oil and fruits were formally houses with grateful acknowledgement to Almighty
god for providing for the wants of his people in every season of the
year.—This festival is called "Succoth" because the Israelites came
out of Egypt where they had journeyed forty years in the desert dwelling in
booths or huts during that period. In
commemoration of that event the Israelites have booths erected on their premises
and at their places of worship in which they hold their annual festival, the
booth is of frame work with a covering of evergreens and the interior decorated
with flowers &c. After the
service at Synagogue the congregation repair to the Booth or usually called
Succoth, in which a table is spread with many dainties which they partake of,
then returning thanks to God for his goodness, all in accordance with the
following injunction of Holy writ: "On
the fifteenth day of the seventh month shall be held the feast of the
Tabernacles unto the Lord, &c. &c., and ye shall take you on the first
day the boughs of goodly trees, and branches of palm trees, the boughs of thick
trees, and willows of the brook, and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God,
seven days ye shall dwell in Booths—seven
days, that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell
in Booths when I brought them out
of the land of Egypt, I am the Lord your God."
Services
will be held at the Synagogues on Saturday and Sunday morning, commencing at 9
o'clock.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 17, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
High
and Low.—A pretty sharp retort is that recently made by a young, pretty girl
at Oshkosh, Wis., who attended a ball dressed in short skirt and pants.—She
was the only one present in the mode. The
other ladies were shocked very much! They
regarded her short skirts as immodest; but she quietly remarked if they would
pull up their dresses about their necks as they ought to be, their skirts would
be as short as hers.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 18, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Goats.—Three
persons were fined by the Mayor this morning for permitting their goats to run
about the streets. It seems an
ordinance prohibits the permitting of goats to go at large.
It ought to be revoked. Hundreds
of the children of poor families subsist entirely upon the milk of goats, which
support themselves by browsing about the streets, eating the garbage which would
otherwise rot and infect the air of the city.
The only harm that can be charged against the little animals is that they
pick and steal a little from the hampers of the country people and hucksters at
the markets. l If this ordnance stands in force and is rigorously executed,
there must be a great slaughter of kids and goats, and in the coming winter many
a poor child must go supperless to bed in consequence.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 18, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
For
the Ladies.—For the benefit of our lady readers, we clip the following
paragraphs from a Northern journal before us:
Masking.—A
new style of veiling coming into favor with young ladies, is made of the
fashionable black and white figured lace, with a fine elastic run through the
upper part, which fits to the edge of the bonnet, and a second elastic run
through the lower part of the veil, a short distance from the bottom, which
fastens it under the chin, giving the effect of a street mask, transparent, but
very coquettish.
[From Correspondence of the London Times.]
An announcement in the fashionable journal Le Sport that the
ladies in Vienna have definitely abandoned crinoline in consequence of its
condemnation by the Empress of Austria, has been received with a universal shout
of defiance. The Pays and La
Patrie could not, in the wild paragraphs about English aristocracy, exhibit
more fury than do the journals of fashion at this presumption of a Teutonic
autocrat. Paris, always considered
as the post of fashion, to be placed after a barbaric city in her despotic right
to lead the modes is intolerable. Hitherto
the modistes of the Boulevards have always been consulted before any fashion
could be recognized in a civilized land, nor will they suffer themselves to be
dethroned from a government which they have hitherto held by universal consent.
The threatened rebellion against their power will be met with contempt
and disgust. It is only from Paris
that a bonnet, a plume of feather, can acquire a legitimate recognition. The overthrow of an empire is not to be treated of lightly,
and the Empress of Austria and the ladies of Vienna are placed without the ban
of the world of fashion.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 18, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
The
Richmond Theatre.—Mr. Edmond R. Dalton, who is, beyond question, at the head
of his profession in the South, has assumed the management of the Richmond
Theatre. Combining with eminent
dramatic ability, a cultivated and refined taste, the result of severe study and
an experience of many years upon the boards, we have high hopes that he will
leave no effort untried to elevate the drama and render the Theatre during the
coming winter a resort for the intelligent as well as the gay and frivolous
citizens and visitors of the Confederate Capital. While the female portion of his company is, in point of
talent, all that we could expect in times like these, he labors under the
serious disadvantage of having among the males few that are equal to the
performance of any legitimate part. He
will, therefore, in imitation of the tailor who is compelled to cut "the
garment according to the cloth furnished," have, for the present, we
presume, to select only such light sensational plays as are adapted to their
capacity. This will, until he can
add to his present stock company, prevent him from favoring the public with most
of the standard tragedies, in which he himself, in our judgment, always appears
to most advantage. Competent actors
are now the more difficult to obtain, it should be remembered, even at the most
liberal salaries, because only such as are exempt from military duty escape the
clutches of the ever watchful conscript officers.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 18, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Swamp
Dragons.—Jacob Marigold, Jacob Smith and Levi Eckhardt were on Sunday brought
down in irons from Hardy county where they had been arrested on the charge of
being Swamp Dragons and deserters.—Marigold is the Swamp Dragon, which animal
is a creature of the war. He lives
alone in swamps and wooded fastnesses and lives by robbing and murder.
Smith and Eckhardt were members of the 62d Va. Regiment, and deserted and
joined the Yankees at Newbern, N. C. When
caught in Hardy they had in their pockets furloughs and papers from Old Ben
Butler. They are apt to have a rough time before they get free of the
several charges against them. They
have been lodged in Castle Thunder.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 19, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
Home
Again.—We had the pleasure yesterday of greeting our old friend and
journalistic colaborer, Maj. Geo. McKnight, Assistant Adj't General to Gen.
Loring, who has just returned from Johnson's Island, where he was held a captive
for 14 months, having been captured near Jackson, Miss., in July, 1863.
We were pained to see the ravages wrought on his manly frame by the
wasting confinement of 14 months. His
hair is growing gray under his trials and sufferings; and what was most painful
to us, who had been accustomed to the tones of his rich, mellow voice, as he
narrated the deeds of knight errantry performed by himself and his friend "Klubbs,"
was to learn that he had completely lost that voice, which is now scarcely
audible above a whisper. He has
contracted a bronchial affection, which has brought about a complete loss of
voice.
Though
his voice may now lack its vigor, "Asa Hartz" will make himself heard
in tones clear and distinct enough through the columns of the Southern Press.
He
leaves shortly for a tour South, and we would not be astonished to soon read in
his own inimitable style the many and harrowing secrets of his prison house.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 19, 1864, p. 2, c. 1-2
The Drama.
. . . Since then the drama when properly directed reflects
always the progress which is made in the refinement and elegance of public
taste, it is proper that the custodians of the drama should secure for it the
sympathy and moral support of the refined and cultivated.
The few have always thought for the many, and public support given to the
drama by the intellectual and reflecting will secure the co-operation of the
multitude.
Those
practically and pecuniarily interested in the drama in this city are entitled to
the commendation and support of the community; it has been a pecuniary success;
it might have been a disastrous failure; it has done much good.
Many a young soldier, who has thus been instructed and amused, whose
crude taste has been educated and directed, would probably have spent his
evening, at least, less profitably elsewhere; many of the wounded have, in the
fascination of beautiful sentiment, elevated conception and elaborated thought,
found a temporary balm for their trials; whilst the camp soldier has been lead
momentarily to forget the lonely exposure of the picket and the wearying toils
of the march.
If
then, the Drama is to exist in a community, shall it become, through the
influence of proper support, a pleasant source of intellectual enjoyment and
recreation, or shall it, from a want of such aid, languish and degenerate?
Let
those chiefly interested invite a meeting of all who properly appreciate and
value the Dramatic art, that by a public expression of opinion, sympathy and
support, this art may not deteriorate, but may become an intellectual recreation
and pleasing improvement for the cultivated, the intellectual and refined.
There
are many in the Dramatic corps of this city worthy of support, and in regard to
the others, it may be well to recollect,
"The less they deserve the more—
merit is in your bounty."
Lorgnette.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 19, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Worthy
of Encouragement.—Mrs. John Wooddy, a lady whose husband is in the army, has
recently opened a shoe store on Main street, nearly opposite the St. Charles
Hotel, in order that she may obtain the wherewithal for the support of herself
and children.—Her assortment of ladies' and gentlemen's shoes will always be
complete, and being of the manufacture of Messrs. Harvey, Hellings & Co., of
course the workmanship must be good. She
is worthy of support, and we hope will be liberally patronized.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 20, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Can It
Be So?—We have been informed that both the proprietors of one of the two
leading bakeries in this city have been ordered to report at Camp Lee.—We
refer to Messrs. Hundley & Cance. The
report, we hope, is without foundation; for there are many widows with children
who have been entirely supported by the liberality of the senior member of the
firm, and a large number of others who maintain themselves by obtaining bread
from them at a great discount and retailing the same at the usual price of one
dollar per loaf. In addition to
these facts, there are thousands of refugees occupying single rooms, who have
neither cooking utensils, nor are they able to buy them or hire cooks, but are
dependent entirely upon the bakers for the bread which they eat.
It is simply impossible, in a city crowded as Richmond is, to do without
bakers, and we hesitate not to say that if the establishment we refer to (which
furnishes the whole upper part of the city) is closed, destitution and want will
soon after ensue.—It is to be hoped that the Secretary of War will give this
subject his earliest consideration, and not suffer either of the only two
bakeries that are now in operation to be closed at this particular time.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 21, 1864, p. 2, c. 1-2
A Soldier's Estimate of His Mother's Prayers.
Yesterday, while in search of war items, a friend called our attention to
a young man of fine face and form, clad in a modest cavalry uniform, remarking,
"there is one of the bravest fellows that ever mounted a horse or wielded a
sabre." Two hours had scarcely
elapsed before we found ourself again near a group of which he was one, and,
without eavesdropping with criminal intent, we were the listener to a discussion
in which he was a prominent participant. The subject seemed to be whether, apart
from pride and principle, a man whose life is worth saving would ever face
bullets. He remarked—and no one
could look upon him without discovering, as our friend had said, that he was one
of "the bravest of the brave"—that he never went into a fight and
saw comrades fall around him that it didn't require all his pride and sense of
the duty he owed a bleeding country to sustain him.
And he added: "In battle I always pray that, if I am killed, the
prayers of my good mother for my salvation may be answered."
Every one of his frivolous companions seemed to pay a silent reverence to
the faith of that soldier boy in the efficacy of his mother's intercession in
his behalf.
If all
mothers, like his, would so live as to impress their sons with an abiding
confidence in the truth of the religion they profess, there would be no use of
the works by Archbishops and other learned Prelates on the evidences of
Christianity.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 21, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
The
Markets.—Our markets continue to be well supplied with butcher's meats and all
fall vegetables.—Prices are inconveniently high for poor folks, but this must
be expected so long as the necessaries of life are impressed on their way to
market by Government agents, who are too poison lazy to go through the country
in search of supplies. Half of the troubles of the army and nearly all the
troubles of the people are due to the existence of the pestiferous commissaries.
We ought never to have had any commissaries; if in their stead Government
had depended upon contracts with individuals to supply the troops, there would
always have been plenty, and there would not now be a prospect of a famine.
Contractors would produce and supply the produce to the Government;
commissary is another name for impressment, violence and waste.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 22, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
Fine
Music.—The Charleston Brass Band, led by Prof. Mueller, serenaded Gen. Hagood,
at the South Carolina Soldiers' Home (formerly Exchange Hotel), last night.
The music was surpassingly fine—the symphony and chords rivalling the
tone of an organ, and filling the air with sweetest melody.
The band numbers ten performers, including the bass and kettle drummers.
It left South Carolina at the beginning of the war as a regimental band,
but is now the brigade band of General Hagood's brigade.
We hope that, during their stay in Richmond, they will favor the ladies
of our city with a concert on the Capitol
Square.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 22, 1864, p. 2, c. 5
Wanton
Murder.—Yesterday evening, a child eight years old, named James Duke, was shot
and killed by Wm. Bohannon, a soldier at Seabrook's Hospital.
It seems that Bohannon was sitting in the hospital yard with his musket
beside him. The child climbed on the fence and looked into the hospital yard.
Bohannon fired at the child, the bullet tearing off the top of his skull
and killing him instantly. Bohannon
ran, but was pursued and captured by officer Granger.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 24, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
The
ladies of Vicksburg receive but little clemency from Dana, the present commander
at that place. We understand he has
ten in jail at the present time for committing little acts offensive to his
Highness.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 24, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
R.
D'Orsay Ogden in Limbo.—This famous individual, about whose subsequent arrival
in New York, so much has been said, was brought to this city last night and
committed to Castle Thunder. He was
captured in the county of King George, where he has been staying for some time.
Ogden denies that it was his intention to vamose the Confederacy; but it
will be hard for him to make that story believed by many persons.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 24, 1864, p. 2, c. 6
Inquest.—An
inquest was held on Saturday, on the body of Jas. J. Brooke, the little boy,
eight years old, who was shot by Wm. Bohannon, one of the nurses at Seabrook's
Hospital. We have before given the
facts of the murder. A witness
before the Coroner, testified that the child was not more than five feet from
Bohannon, when the latter shot him. The
jury rendered in their verdict that the child had come to his death by a gunshot
wound, inflicted by Bohannon. The
murderer will be examined before the Mayor this morning.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 25, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
A Fact
to be Considered.—Since the recent order from the Secretary of War, requiring
the absence of so many of our citizens in the military service, thereby
necessitating the closing up of various places of business, it is an established
fact that many of those who have been permitted to keep open, by reason of their
nativity, deformity, or shuffling qualities, have put up their prices to a
degree which entails the greatest suffering among the poorer classes, and should
bring down upon their heads the severest censure.
In no one branch of business is this state of affairs more manifest than
in the hat trade. The most extensive manufacturers of this article in the
Southern Confederacy are Messrs. Moore & Hayward, on Main street, near 14th,
and the style, workmanship, quality and price of their hats have won for them an
enviable reputation, and drawn around them a trade excelled by no other
establishment.—While they were enabled to keep up their operations
uninterruptedly, prices were kept down to reasonable figures, but lately the
most of their workmen have been called away and partial suspension has been the
consequence. Owing to this fact,
those persons referred to above have put up their prices one hundred per cent.,
and hats of Yankee importation (by blockade), which could have been bought then
for $60 and $70, are now held at $150 and $175.
Now, it is as necessary to make covering for the head as for the feet, or
any other part of the body, and it is therefore to be hoped that the Government
will take into serious consideration this fact, and immediately suffer a
reasonable number of workmen in that line of business to return to their
avocation. Messrs. Moore &
Hayward are the pioneers in the manufacture of felt hats at the South; their
prices are more reasonable; they are the largest manufacturers, and the full
operation of their manufactory is essential to the comfort of our visiting
soldiers as well as the community generally.
They should never be compelled to close up their store for a single day.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 25, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Mr.
Ogden.—Mr. R. D'Orsey Ogden, manager of the Richmond Theatre, after a brief
trip to the country, returned to the city last Friday evening.
So devoted had he become that it was found necessary to put him in charge
of a Government officer to secure his return.
It
will be recollected that Mr. Ogden, claiming to be a British subject, was seized
by the enrolling officer last April, but no attempt was made to put him into the
army till August, when he sued out a writ of habeas corpus, and asked
Judge Hallyburton to discharge him from the military authorities upon the ground
that he was an undomiciled Englishman. the
learned Judge, after having all the evidence pro and con, and listening to an
endless amount of speaking, decided that Mr. Ogden was a fit subject for
conscription, and remanded him to the conscription officer.
Still he was not put into the army, but furloughed by the War Department,
and continued to manage the Theatre, and appear nightly on the boards. Finally,
however, his furlough expired, and he was assigned to a regiment, but being
allowed a few days to make his final arrangements, he slipped off one fine
morning in the Fredericksburg train, and for a time disappeared.
In the course of ten days it was announced that he had arrived in New
York; but this was a mistake. Mr.
Ogden went straight to King George and launched himself upon society, and is
said to have quite fascinated all the aristocratic folks of the county. There is no telling how long he would have remained in King
George, living on the fat of the land and far from war's rude alarms, had not
one of Capt. Maccubbin's detectives nosed him out, arrested and brought him back
to Richmond. Immediately on his
arrival he was thrown into Castle Thunder, where he will remain until disposed
of by court martial, or being sent to his command.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 25, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
The
Richmond correspondent of the Mobile Register writes:
"The
'Soldiers' Home' is supposed to be a place of rest, and is kept upon the
principle of a free hotel.—Each State has one at Richmond, where soldiers
passing through register their names, and by an agreement with the Confederate
Government the officer in charge of the house draws rations corresponding to the
number of inmates. These rations
are cooked there. Some of these
places, where the proper attention and care has been given to them, are a very
great convenience and luxury to the soldier who has not been seated at a regular
table for months. Several of these
places are preferable to the Richmond hotels; but I must say that the Alabama
Home is a disgrace to the State. Thousands
of bedbugs and vermin infest the beds, and the general table will not commence
to compare with the living the men have in camp, and God knows that is hard
enough. The poorest and meanest
'extras' have to be bought out of the small pittance of the soldiers.
This is a crying shame. There
is no earthly excuse for it. What
one State can do by energy another can accomplish.—Whether the fault lies at
the door of the State Government or the officer charged with the conduct of
these establishments, I have no means of information.
I am not writing for the purpose of fault-finding, but simply to call
public attention to impositions which hourly and daily the soldiers are made to
suffer, and because I know that public appeals are listened to with much more
attention than private letters. What
I write is from observation, and can be substantiated by hundreds of witnesses.
There is another point connected with this place.
Its location is such that a gentleman who is known in Richmond, or
respects himself, is ashamed to be seen going there.
Nearly every house around it is a den of the lowest and vilest
prostitutes, and it seems to have been selected with an eye to cheapness, and
not convenience or comfort. I know
many officers and men who have nothing in the world but their army pay, who can
ill afford $30 a day at the hotels, who would like to take advantage of this
house, who deny themselves the comforts and necessaries for camp, and spend
their money with the hotels rather than go to this filthy hole."
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 26, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Two
young ladies in Henderson, Ky., recently dressed themselves in male attire, and
rode through the town in regular guerilla style, scaring the timid citizens
dreadfully.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 26, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
William
Bohannon, charged with murdering a boy named James J. Brooks, on Friday
afternoon last, was sent on before the Hustings Court for examination.—His
counsel, A. J. Crane, Esq., expects to prove that the accused is irresponsible
for his actions, on account of mental deficiency.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 26, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
The
Commandant of the S. C. Arsenal, at Fayetteville, N. C., has inaugurated the
system of employing female clerks to do the work of men detailed for the
purpose. Two of the young ladies of
Fayetteville are now engaged as clerks at the arsenal.
We
learn from the Danville Register that a laboratory has been established
at that place by the Ordnance Department, which is daily turning out a large
number of cartridges, and that the work is done mostly by females.
It is
said by the Selma Reporter that industrious boys and girls make from $10 to $15
per day, making cartridges at the Laboratory in that city, and that more
employees are wanted.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 26, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
A
soldier ordered from the Army of Tennessee to join Forrest's command gives,
through the columns of The Appeal, an interesting account of what he saw
and heard on his trip. We have,
however, only room for one paragraph of his letter.
He says:
"Arriving
at the famous city of Montgomery, in a dirty and wearied condition, we felt that
we had arrived at the birthplace of the Confederacy, and that no croakers,
stragglers or men exempt could be found within her walls.
Alas for human hopes! Things
have gone from bad to worse. I
stood upon the streets, and lo! a
sea of human beings pass before me. Where
are they from, and whither are they going?
To the front?—'No,' replied a bright-eyed little fellow, (who will some
day make a general,) 'they are not. That
big fellow you see tending to that store is exempt because he superintends the
Wayside Home; that other one has a contract for hauling wood to government
shops; that one is the Governor's aid; that one driving the fine bay is a
Quartermaster; and that one, &c., &c.,' continued the boy, giving
descriptions of their business as each passed before us, until more than double
the number of our entire company had passed."
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 26, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
D.
Ogden.—By special order, D'Orsey Ogden has been transferred from Castle
Thunder to a hospital, where he can be furnished by his friends with the
delicacies of the season—things he has been used to and can't do without.
It is
said Ogden is to be severely reprimanded by the military authorities for
allowing himself to be caught in King George.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 26, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Macaria!
Macaria!!
Macaria!!
The Great Southern Novel!
The Great Southern Novel!!
The Great Northern Novel!!!!
Already re-published in London and New York.
---------
Twentieth Thousand!!
--------
Macaria;
or,
The Altars of Sacrifice.
---------
By Augusta J. Evans, Authoress of "Beulah."
"We have all to be laid upon an altar; we have, as it
were, to be subjected to the action of fire."
----------
This
magnificent Southern Novel, from the gifted and accomplished mind of Miss Evans,
of Mobile, authoress of "Beulah," and fittingly called "the
Madame De Stael of the South," is now in its second edition, revised and
corrected.
The
following extracts, selected from innumerable others, of similar commendations,
speak appropriately of its superior merits.
[From the London Times.]
"The South surpasses the North not only in chivalry and military genius, but in the high civilization of surpassing literature also. Macaria is the product of a female mind; but masculine, learned and grand, beyond the qualities usually found among literature of that sex. It is at once honorable to the South and hopeful of its future."
[From the New York Daily Times.]
"It cannot be denied that, in Macaria, Miss Evans has more than sustained her splendid powers, as first illustrated in "Beulah;" for the former is far superior in learning, genius, and portraiture to the latter; while, as a story of the war, it casts far in the shade all Northern rivals."
[From DeBow's Review.]
"Miss Evans bids fair to be one of the most shining lights of our
literature. In this, our own
judgment corresponds with that of all our friends—admiration for a noble
production, and one which must place the author on a high niche.
Where there are a thousand merits, it would be invidious to discriminate
in favor of occasional ones. The
literary world will be anxious to hear from Miss Evans often.
She is but at the beginning of her career, and we offer this weak and
hurried tribute to her shrine, and bid her 'God speed.'"
Price
$6
Upon
the receipt of the price, we will forward this book to any address in the
Confederacy, post paid.
Orders,
to receive prompt attention, should be addressed to
West & Johnston,
Publishers and Booksellers,
145 Main street, Richmond.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 27, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
Four
months ago a contract was entered into between the State of Alabama, says the Mail,
on the part of her Quartermaster-General, and the firm of Peter Tait & Co.,
Limerick, Ireland, through Major J. L. Tait, of the British Army, for a large
quantity of military clothing for the Alabama soldiers.
Quartermaster-General Green stipulated that a large portion of the goods
should be furnished, simply cut, with the necessary trimmings, thus affording
employment to the seamstresses and tailors of our home factories.
Some thousands of these uniforms, we are glad to be able to announce,
have safely arrived in the Confederacy, and the residue of the order is hourly
expected. The outfit consists of jackets, pants, shoes and overcoat, all made of
most substantial material—the cloth being exactly the same as that used in the
British Army.
A
thousand of the uniforms have already been made up and are handsome and durable.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 29, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Returned.—We
had the pleasure of a call yesterday from Lieut. Charles D. Kirk, of Morgan's
command, who was captured with that lamented chieftain last year in Ohio, and
has been an inmate of a prison in Cincinnati ever since till last August, when
he managed to escape and make his way to Canada. Lieut. K. is the well known "Le De Kay," whose
spirited and graphic letters to the Louisville Courier, the first year of
the war, were read with so much interest. He
will at once rejoin his command. We
are indebted to Lieut. K. for full English files.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 29, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Metropolitan
Hall.
Open This Night and every Night next Week.
Olio
Minstrels and
Brass Band.
Pioneer Negro Delineators.
Henry Bud, Billy Pell, Billy Lewis, Charley White and R. Jean
Buckley,
Assisted
by
Miss Inez Floyd,
The Charming Baladist, and
Miss Carrie Bentley, the charming Danseuse, and a host of others.
Mammoth bill to-night. For
particulars, see small bills.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 31, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
Sorghum.—We
learn that sorghum molasses is very abundant in North Carolina, but owing to the
scarcity of barrels, only a small proportion of the surplus product is finding
its way to market. At Greensboro'
and vicinity, a purchaser, with empty barrels at command, can almost buy the
stuff on his own terms, by sharing the barrels with sellers.
There are very few, if any coopers in the interior counties of North
Carolina, and no facilities for making barrels.
A few thousand "shooks" sent to the upper counties of North
Carolina, and made into barrels there, might prove a paying investment.
WE ask the attention of Gov. Smith and the "Richmond Supply
Committee" to the abundance of Sorghum in our sister State.
If nothing better can be done, let several car loads of empty barrels to
be sent North Carolina to be filled with syrup, and returned to Richmond, for
the distribution of the contents among the needy women and children of our city.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 31, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
An
Embargo.—The warehouses of the Southern Express Company at Charlotte and
Greensboro' are filled with goods of every description, awaiting transportation
to this city. It is said that the
Quartermaster's Department has monopolized the freight facilities between
Greensboro' and Danville, but, it is not a violent supposition to say, that if
more energy were manifested by the Piedmont Railroad authorities, and more
concert of action between them and the Quartermasters established, with a view
to promote the best interests of the people at home as well as the army, the
embargo referred to would be of short duration. Nothing that can be done to facilitate the transportation of
supplies in this direction, for public or private use, should be left undone.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 31, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Female
Soldiers.—Mary and Mollie Bell, alias Tom Parker and Bob Morgan, were
brought to this city, via Central cars, last night, dressed in soldiers' garbs.
Mollie was interesting and sprightly, and looked every inch a snug little
soldier boy; her cousin, Mary, was rather reserved and gloomy, and did not make
such a favorable impression as the other. They
are from Southwestern Virginia, have been in the service two years, and, it is
said that, during that time they have followed General Early through all his
battles, killing more than a dozen Yankees with their own guns.
Captain Doswell, Assistant Provost Marshal, committed them to Castle
Thunder till such time as other provisions can be made for their welfare.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 31, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Charged
with Being a Spy.—A female named Mary Pitt, hailing from Isle of Wight county,
Va., was committed to the Castle yesterday, upon the charge of being a spy and a
suspicious character. She had upon
her person several Yankee passes.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 31, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
Ghastly Gaiety.
Mr. Cropsey, what a name! is a correspondent of the Philadelphia Inquirer,
in his moments of leisure, which rival the autumnal stillness of nature, thus
discourses on "the humor of the trenches":
["]
The people, whose of them at least who read the papers, know that ever since we
have been in front of Petersburg, there has been one particularly hot place in
the front of the Second Corps, which the humor of the soldiers christened Fort
Hell. The name was so apropos, so
short, and rolled so glibly on the tongue, and the works being unnamed in
general orders, that it grew by slow degrees in universal use, not only among
the soldiers, but in high official circles.
The work now bears in official papers the name of the lamented Sedgwick,
but in the army it is still Fort Hell, and probably will remain so.
This
fort, call it by either name that taste may dictate, is the scene of many of
these ghastly gaieties.—The other day Colonel Brewster, commanding the work,
observed one of the men intently at work on a nondescript missile.
He had run several bullets until he had go tone nearly as long as his
finger, and in this he was laboriously cutting notches along its entire
length.—The curiosity of the Colonel was excited, and he inquired as to the cui
bono. "Ill show you
directly, Colonel," was the reply, and he did so, finishing his work; at
last he loaded his gun in the usual way, and then put his nondescript on top of
it. Pointing his gun Rebelwards he
fired, and his load went whirring and whizzing with very much the noise of a
good sized shell. "There,"
said the soldier, with intense satisfaction, "I've had a little shelling on
my own account, and skeered them fellers over yonder."
And undoubtedly some Rebel had "ducked" when he heard the noise
of that decidedly harmless "shell."
Another
instance of fun I have heard which would never have been thought of by anybody
but a soldier. They have a practice
along our lines of getting up impromptu fire works, after this wise:
a soldier puts in his cartridge, and then a second one, the powder of
which has been wet. The gun is
fired, and the wet powder of the extra cartridge goes flying through the air
very much like a comet with an abbreviated but exceedingly brilliant tail.
Out of this, although the first bullet, or even the second, may carry
death or mutilation across the rebel parapets, our boys extract a prime article
of fun.
The
humor of the trenches just now, however, is provided by the Election
Commissioners. There are shoals of
these patriots in the army just now. Some
few of them are former officers of the army, whom it is impossible to frighten
with any ordinary fire. The
majority, however, are politicians, whose experience of war has been confined to
party strife over offices of trust, honor and emolument. The joke is to lure these gentlemen by various devices into
some such interesting locality as Fort
Sedgwick, and then tell them somewhat exciting stories as to the number, size
and destructiveness of the Rebel missiles that visit that particular spot.
The old soldiers grow facetious in the same ratio that the politician
becomes nervous, and generally manage to keep him in what he believes to be
dangerous quarters, by making him think it is much more dangerous to retire.
In this way the boys get to vote, and have their sport at the same time.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 31, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Summary: Detailed account of the
menagerie in New York City.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, October 31, 1864, p. 1, c. 1-2
Summary: Editorial on the Irish
fighting for the federals.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 1, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Public Rehearsal
The Choir of the Monumental Church, assisted by several amateur friends, respectfully announce that they will give a
Public Rehearsal
of Sacred Music,
for the benefit of the
Female Orphan Asylum,
At the Church on Tuesday Evening, November 1,
Commencing at 8 o'clock.
Tickets of admission, $5, to be obtained at the Music and Book stores and
at the door.
Programmes
will be furnished at the church.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 2, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
Marital
Rights of Slaves.—The Baptist Association of the State of Georgia, at its late
session, adopted the following resolution in relation to the marriage
relationship between slaves:
Resolved,
That it is the firm belief and conviction of this body, that the institution of
marriage was ordained by Almighty God for the benefit of the whole human race,
without respect to color; that it ought to be maintained in its original purity
among all classes of people, and in all countries and in all ages, till the end
of time; and that, consequently, the law of Georgia, in its failure to recognize
and protect this relationship between our slaves, is essentially defective and
ought to be amended.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 2, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Personal.
Richmond, Nov. 1st, 1864.
To My Friends:
I am
all safe and treated right. Lies
have been told about our treatment. Don't
be afraid.
Charles Day.
Co. H, 188th N. Y. Regiment.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 3, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
Major
L. O. Bridewell, Q. M. at Augusta, has sent the soldiers in the West no less
than 35,000 blankets. It will be
seen that the Government has the noble army of Tennessee at heart.
We
understand there is a Government distillery in full blast at Salisbury, and that
it consumes about 300 bushels per day of the precious grain.
It is
estimated that 142,000 soldiers have been converted in the Confederate States
army since the war commenced.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 3, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Summary: 28th annual
report of the Union Benevolent Society
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 3, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
The habeas
corpus case of Joseph Cance, of the firm of Hundley & Cance, bakers, was
elaborately argued by counsel, when the Judge reserved his decision.
Mr. Cance is a foreigner, and claims exemption from military service upon
the ground that he has never required a domicil [sic].
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 5, 1864, p. 1, c. 2-3
Summary: Speech of Stand Watie,
Cherokees, to members of the Cherokee National Committee, and council in General
Council convened
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 7, 1864, p. 1, c. 2
The
City Wood will be ready for delivery to needy Citizens only, on Monday
morning, the 7th instant. No
family will be allowed more than half a cord every fifteen days.
Price per cord, for Oak wood, delivered on the Basin bank, $60.
Office on the Basin bank, near 8th street.
By
order of the Committee of the Council,
W. Gill, C. Eng.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 10, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Fuel.—The
poor of this city are absolutely destitute of fuel. The Council must do something to supply them, and
there is no use in postponing their action.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 11, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Office of C. S. Military Telegraph,}
Richmond, Nov. 10, 1864. }
The
increasing demand for Telegraph Operators, and the necessity for all able bodied
men to be in the field, has induced the Government to open a Telegraph School
for young ladies.
Applications
must be made in the applicants own hand writing accompanied by testimonials of
qualifications, addressed to "Telegraph Box l87, Richmond Post
Office." All whose
applications are favorably considered will be furnished with a circular sent to
their address through the post office, containing all the information relating
to the nature of the employment, compensation, &c.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 12, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
"The Burial of Latane."
This is the title of a historical war painting, now on exhibition at
Minnis's Gallery, on Main street. It
is the production of a young Virginia artist, Mr. W. D. Washington, and is
founded upon one of the most touching incidents of the war.
The story of this beautiful work of art is this:
during Stuart's raid around McClellan's army in June, 1862, Captain
Latane, of Essex county, a member of the 1st Virginia Cavalry, was
killed, and was left by our troops in the lines of the enemy.
The barbarous Yankees refused to allow the burial service to be read
above his body by a clergyman, and this sad duty was performed by a
noble-spirited Southern lady—Mrs. Brockenborough—upon whose farm the dead
soldier's body was left. It is this
scene that the painting delineates.
Above
the new made grave, the ministering angel is reciting the Service for the dead;
at her side is the body of the dead Cavalier, stretched upon a litter, and
covered with his unkiform coat and crimson cloth, and with his sword lying
across his breast; upon the lady's left is a group of other ladies, standing in
pensive attitudes—members of Mrs. Brockenborough's household. Upon the right of the reader, and beyond the body, is a group
of family servants—one of them, a man-servant, leaning upon the spade
wherewith the grave was dug. The
forms of two or three little children fill up the scene.
The grave is dug in an opening of the forest, apparently, for the
back-ground represents a wood heavily foliaged.
This
picture gives promise of high artistic excellence on the part of Mr. Washington,
and is an earnest of the talent—almost as yet undeveloped—that, in the
future, will illustrate our annuals.
We
hear that the painting has been purchased from the artist, and that the
purchasers propose starting on Saturday with it, southward, on an exhibiting
tour. It has been visited by
thousands in Richmond, and it will doubtless afford pleasure to other thousands
elsewhere in the Confederacy.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 12, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
Suspicious
Character.—Miss Mary Jane Bayne, a young woman of fascinating appearance, was
committed to Castle Thunder this morning as a suspicious character.
She claims to be a native of North Carolina, but says that for a year or
so back she has possessed as her paramour a certain Yankee lieutenant, who
sojourned in Knoxville, Tenn.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 14, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Collection
for the Poor.—Collections will be made in all the churches on Wednesday for
the purpose of purchasing fuel for the poor.
There is no doubt that the contributions will be liberal and sufficient
to supply the present needs of the indigent, but that an adequate quantity of
fuel for the poor during the coming winter may be procured, some immediate
action of the City Council is necessary. Every
one possessing property is willing to contribute something towards this laudable
object, and there is no way in which the burden can be made to fall so equally
upon all as by appropriations made by the Council, to be met by taxes.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 14, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Cotton
Batting,
Cotton Batting.
15 Bales Cotton Batting, a very superior article, in store and for sale by
Stores, Williamson & Co.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 15, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
To the Editor of the Whig:
Petersburg Battery, No. 35, Nov. 11, 1864.
It has
been two months since I undertook to throw any light upon our style of living,
and hot days have given place to cold nights in a soldier's thoughts, and to
questions of blankets and firewood. Most
of our artillery companies are all right in the matter of winter quarters, and
have constructed subterranean bombproof habitations, which, in point of comfort
and protection against the elements and the missiles of our enemies, are, as the
phrase is, equalled by few and excelled by none.
Dungeons with fireplaces are not such bad accommodations after all, and I
find it difficult to understand how Gil Blas could have left his underground
retreat with the impatience he did. Some,
still more enterprising, have secured lumber from adjacent houses exposed to
fire and abandoned by their owners, and, everything being considered, this
momentary confusion on their part of meum and tuum ought not to be
scrutinized too closely. It's a sad
thing to see a fine country establishment disappear so completely, as was the
case with the house of very much esteemed gentleman, Mr. Raglan, that hardly a
brickbat remains to tell the tale; but it is also sad to have to freeze to
death; and no doubt our soldiers will, after the war, generously step forward
and fork over the amount of damages.
Meanwhile
the mortars and the sharpshooters keep up their customary exchange of civilities
in both senses of the worked, for they not only gasconade at each other, loud
enough for half the line to hear, but are none the less busy with their guns at
the same time. The mortars are
looked upon as a good joke. l I have never yet heard of any one's being injured
by their means, except in the care of inexperienced commissaries or ambulances
trying, when in no danger, to get out of their way.
But the running is now in the other direction.
The Government gives a certain price for old iron, and no sooner is a
bomb heard to be coming than there is a general rush by interested parties, and
these will no doubt blame me for publishing information which ought to keep the
enemy from wasting so much powder.
As for
the minnie balls which we hear constantly hissing and whining overhead, perhaps
because they can't get in our breastworks, they are regarded with a little more
respect. Sixteen balls have passed
through one tent I could mention. It
was not long since that one took me in the heel, though I was less vulnerable
than Achilles, who, if I remember rightly, got a furlough on his.
The bullet holes around our hoses are the first thing we look for in the
morning, in the same way that a victim who is troubled by a vampire searched for
the fatal puncture which tells him that his deadly foe is still near.
All night long you hear the constant fusillade, generally sluggish, but
occasionally freshening up into an animated fire.
To a man who is roused up suddenly at night, and can't immediately
remember why men should kill each other, and listens to the pickets yelling and
blazing away like so many infuriated devils, it seems like a queer business. 'Tis
hard for the ear to get used to—this constant, unceasing, never-ending fire,
and though there are undoubtedly the best of reasons on our part for keeping it
up, the mind has to hunt up the why and the wherefore each time.
To say
there is more excitement than usual in the Yankee lines, owing to election
returns; but what is the correct news, amid so many contradictory reports, is
more than I can say.
Fishback.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 15, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
Postage
Stamps.—It is stated that the contractor for printing postage stamps has given
up his contract and that until stamps can be procured, some of the postmasters
in the interior towns will mark envelopes "paid" for all who wish to
save the trouble of paying for each letter as handed into the office. Envelopes
by the dozen or hundred can thus be marked and answer the purpose of stamps.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 15, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Eccentric.—Last
night, Lieutenant Charles W. Miller, 90th New York, a deserter,
confined in Castle Thunder, cut through a board partition and got into the
female ward of the prison. The
commander of the prison, finding the Lieutenant was this sort of a man, had him
put in solitary confinement.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 15, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
City
Council.-- . . .A petition was received from the clerks of the markets, asking
an increase of compensation, as the sum now paid them barely met the expenses of
hiring, feeding and clothing the negroes who swept out, whitewashed and attended
generally to the market houses.—Discussion sprung up on this question, which
was finally disposed of by referring the matter to the Committee on the Markets.
By
request, Mr. Wm. P. Munford, President of the Citizen Relief Committee,
addressed the Council on the necessity of some measures being taken to furnish
the poor of the city with fuel. It
appeared, from Mr. Munford's statements, that since May last the city had not
been called upon to do anything for the families of its soldiers, the whole duty
having devolved upon the Army Committee of the Young Men's Christian Association
and the Citizen Relief committee, who, since that time, h ad distributed funds
and supplies contributed by benevolent persons, most of whom, it must be said,
resided beyond the city, and many of them beyond the Confederacy.
General Lee's army had, in ten days, contributed rations estimated at
over $100,000. Many supplies had been received from Nassau, and a gentleman
in London had contributed $13,000 in money.
Mr. Munford then explained to the Council the system upon which the
Relief Committee distributed funds and supplies, showing that it was highly
efficient and unquestionably superior to any hitherto practised [sic].
There were two gentlemen on the Relief Committee and one lady of the
Union Benevolent Society, who co-operated together for every district of the
city. These three acted as
visitors, issued tickets for rations, gas, coal, &c.
The committee had throughout the summer, about $6,000.
Just now, they were out of funds. Most
of the money hitherto given to the Society by citizens of Richmond had been
given by a few wealthy men, who subscribed whenever applied to. Other wealthy men had never given a cent, and would not give
anything unless it was extracted from them by taxation.
Mr. Munford then stated that a great number of the poor of the city were
refugees from various parts of the Confederacy, and that members of Congress
were agitating the subject of doing something to relieve the city of Richmond of
the burden of supporting them entirely.
Mr.
Hill offered a resolution, which was adopted, appropriating ten thousand dollars
for the use of the city poor, the money to be subject to the order of the
President of the Citizen Relief Committee.
Mr.
Hill also offered a resolution appropriating $1000 to the Union Benevolent
Society, which was also adopted.
After
the transaction of some other business of little interest, the Council
adjourned.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 16, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Summary: New Richmond
Theatre—"The Hunchback;" favorite dance; "The Eton Boy;"
in rehearsal "Dreams of Delusion" and "Meg Merrilys; or, The
Gipsey's Prophecy" with the comedy of "A Husband at Sight"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 18, 1864, p. 1, c. 2
Gambling in Richmond.
The Richmond correspondent of the Augusta Constitutionalist says:
The
admirers and devotees of the Bengal in Richmond are not left to mourn the
absence of that insatiate animal. The
royal beast still dwells in our midst—a little more retired, possibly—a
little further in the depths of the jungle—but still accessible to the chosen
few who have faithfully followed his fortunes even in his days of disgrace.
No longer, as of old, may be seen the garish number over the door of his
residence, provoking the gaze of the loiterer, after hours, on Main street.
The blue and gold and crimson of those once infallible barometers mean
nothing now. The windows are dusty
with decay; the softened light no longer falls with mellow effect upon the
upturned face of the solicitous gazer; the stairway that led to the mysterious
door is carpetless now; the tinkling bell, and the African slave that the bell
was wont to evoke, are some time wanting in the picture; and the unsophisticated
stranger is prone to fall into the error that the last Legislature has succeeded
fully in its effort to suppress gambling. But
go under the guidance of one of the faithful, and you will be admitted, in a
mysterious sort of way, under mysterious circumstances, and through dimly
lighted passages, into the presence of the Tiger. You will not find him, as of old though, enshrined in the
panoply of luxury, and with a great store of viands at his festivals.
'Hard times' have evidently told upon him.
You will discover him, most probably, seated upon his tripod, with his
tail sedately curled up under him, and gazing with hungry, penurous eyes at the
"chips" that are spread before him.
Here and there—in the more flourishing lairs—is a modest collation
spread for "a few friends"—a collation that is to a supper what the
froth is to the champagne, or the mist is to the rain, or a dollar of our
currency is to a "yellow boy." When
you have partaken of this penitential repast, you ascend into the audience
chamber, and purchase your "checks"—sometimes whites (which stand
for five)—generally, however, blues and reds, which are understood to be
proxies for twenty fives and fifties, and hazard them—and lose them—in the
old way.
I
cannot help thinking, sometimes, that if, peradventure, that wonderful
institution of Washington life, Beau Hickman, were to witness the decadence of
the exhilarating sport of tiger fighting, and the desuetude into which that once
noble animal has fallen here, he would give in his "checks," declare
himself "bursted," take to his bed, and making his last
"call" on his numerous friends and acquaintances, ask that the
"coppers" be placed upon his eyes, and so "peg out" in pure
disgust. Hereafter, perhaps the
"tiger" and the "eagle bird" may entice the unwary with all
their pristine glory; but at present, although still extant, they must content
themselves with an ignoble security.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 19, 1864, p. 1, c. 1
Camp 9th Virginia Cavalry,}
Nov. 14th, 1864.}
To the Editor of the Whig:
In
your issue of the 12th instant, you notice in complimentary terms a
painting of the "'Burial of Captain Latane," killed in an engagement
with the enemy, in June, 1862. You
represent him as an officer of the 1st instead of the 9th
Virginia Cavalry, which error this is intended to correct.
Captain Latane was commandant of Company F, 9th Va. Cavalry.
W. C.,
Private Co. F.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 21, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
A
Grand Ball—
Will
be given at the New Market Hall, on this Monday Evening, November 21st,
1864.
Managers:
C. Allen,
Thos. Carr,
And
S. Herman.
The Management takes pleasure to state that they have spared no pains or
expense to make this the most sociable ball of the season.
Prof.
Tresmer's Cotillon Band has been engaged for the occasion.
Refreshments
will be furnished at city prices.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 21, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Will Be Ready
On
Monday, November 28,
Miss Braddon's Last and Best Novel,
"John Marchmont's Legacy,"
By the Author of
"Lady Audley's Secret," "Aurora Floyd," &c., &c.
As the edition of this work is necessarily small, orders from individuals and the trade should be sent forward immediately.
Price, Five Dollars,
For which sum it will be sent free by mail to any part of
the Confederate States.
West & Johnston,
Publishers, 145 Main street.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 22, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
Distinguished
Visit.—"Uncle Billy Allen" was in Selma yesterday.
He is just now returning from Virginia, where he has been to visit his
children. Uncle Billy is very old
and decrepit, being one hundred and three years of age; and his gray hairs,
venerable countenance, together with the memories that cluster around him of the
trials and tribulations of the war with Great Britain, enlist the sympathies of
all good hearted people. He was
General Jackson's body servant, and was present with that great man at the
battle of New Orleans of which he speaks a good deal.
He speaks the Indian language fluently, and was Jackson's interpreter,
and recollects well the death of the British General Packenham.
The old man has become somewhat childish, and, being almost blind, walks
with two sticks.—He was on his way to Salem, Miss., where he resides.
[Mississippian]
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 22, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
A wife
in Minnesota enlisted with her husband in 1861, fought with him in eighteen
battles, was wounded thrice, and has now left the service, as her husband has
been killed.
A mode
of making paths or roads of gas tar and sand has been devised.
The path is first graded and covered with an inch or two of sand, then
the tar is put on, and finally a covering of sand or gravel. When the compound
has hardened, it is said to be very firm, and durable.
The
St. Joseph, Mo., papers say that the streets of that town are filled with women
with segars in their mouths.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 23, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Where
There's a Will There's a Way.—The Augusta Chronicle states that a young
lady who resides in a village about forty miles from Atlanta, resolved a few
days since to visit that place on visit. Knowing
that she would not be permitted to enter the city, as a white girl, she
determined to enter it disguised as a mulatto.
Accordingly she stained her face and hands with a preparation made from
the green bark of the walnut. This
gave her skin a rich olive color. She
then frizzled her hair and started. The pickets permitted her to pass, supposing
that she either belonged in the city or was a runaway from below.
While in Atlanta she heard some officers remark that a large number of
troops would leave soon. They said
that they supposed Sherman's route would be to Macon first and Augusta next.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 23, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
Death
of John H. Linebaugh.—The Montgomery Mail learns that John H. Linebaugh,
a distinguished scholar and writer, of Alabama, was recently drowned in the
Alabama river while attempting to leap from a steamer to the shore.
The vessel upon which he was a passenger ran into the bank and the
passengers becoming alarmed, a number attempted to reach the shore, among them
Mr. Linebaugh, who was the only one drowned.
Mr. L,
at the time of his death, was employed by the "Mutual Press
Association" of Richmond as agent and reporter with the army of Gen. Hood.
He leaves a wife and interesting family of children, besides a large
circle of warm and admiring friends to mourn his loss.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 23, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
A Good
Move.—The Mississippi Baptist State convention, which met at Crawfordsville
recently, purchased the Lauderdale Springs, with a view of making it a home for
the education and maintenance of destitute widows and orphans.
It is a noble move in the right direction.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 23, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
Wanted—
Two Good Fifers.
Address
Adjutant 45th N. C. Infantry,
Richmond,
Va.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 23, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Summary: Advertisement for Egyptian
corn seed
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 25, 1864, p. 1, c. 2
Christmas Dinner for the Soldiers.
To the Editor of the Whig:
I was
very glad to see your suggestion in last Friday's Whig in reference to
sending supplies to our noble soldiers, so that they might have a good Christmas
dinner. I feel sure that it will
meet with a hearty response from every one who feels as he should towards our
brave and self sacrificing army, and that we will resolve, if necessary, to do
without our usual Christmas dinner, and send to those who are much more
deserving of the good things of our land than those who are at home.
In our
county, the matter has been talked over, and we have resolved to send enough for
the brigade to which the most of our friends are attached.
I hope you will again call the attention of the people to the subject,
and in doing so, you need not confine yourself to an appeal for turkeys and
chickens. You must remember that
before Christmas comes "Hog killing time," and that chines, spareribs
and sausages form a very good lining for the stomach.
And then again, there is the sorghum syrup, which we must send, so that
after our boys have eaten of turkey, chine and "chicken fixings," they
may finish the repast with a good old-fashioned molasses pudding.
Very few are the comforts which our army are permitted to enjoy.
Surely the home folks will not deny them this one.
One at Home.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 25, 1864, p. 1, c. 2
Education
of Soldiers' Children.—The Provisional committee, located in this city, which
has in charge the education of the children of deceased and disabled soldiers,
at a recent meeting determined to appoint subcommittees at Petersburg, Danville,
Farmville, Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Staunton, and other prominent points,
whose duty it shall be to look out the children and enter them at school.
Rev.
J. L. Burrows and Rev. A. E. Dickinson were appointed to prepare a circular
setting forth the claims of the work.
The
committee have already entered at school several hundred children, and have in
pledges and cash about $30,000.
Persons
in and around this city, who know of the children of any of our fallen heroes
who desire the patronage of the committee, would do well to report their cases
to Rev. A. E. Dickinson, Corresponding Secretary.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 25, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Judge
Lyons' Court.—Only one case was tried in this court yesterday—namely, that
of Wm. Bohannon, the young man who, on the 25th ult., shot with a
musket and killed, at Seabrook's hospital, in this city, James S. Brooks, a
little boy 8 years old. The jury
acquitted the prisoner upon the ground that he was at the time of the commission
of the horrid deed, and still is, insane. Prisoner was committed to jail and ordered to be sent to the
lunatic asylum at Staunton.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 26, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
The African Opera.
The New York Herald devotes over a column to "negro
minstrelsy and burned cork." The
programmes, the music, the performers, salaries, etc., are each the subject of a
descriptive paragraph. A great deal
which everybody knows is said, but some of the statements are curious, if not
interesting.
Most
of the really charming melody in negro minstrelsy, says the Herald, was
contributed by the late Stephen C. Foster, who possessed a talent for this
species of composition which has never been equaled.—The prevailing sentiment
of the songs now used is that of filial affection. "Who'll care for Mother Now?" and "Mother,
I've Come Home to Die" are examples of this tendency.
The
men who blacken their faces and appear nightly before the public as negroes, are
composed chiefly of mechanics out of situations, clerks, music teachers who
cannot get any scholars, and young men (to folly inclined) who have good voices,
but little else.
Old
"gags" are kept on for years, and standard jokes are repeated, on an
average, once in three weeks.—The "end men" cherish their special
gags with the fondest care, and are very indignant if any one else should use
them.
The
salaries of the negro minstrels range from $20 to $30 per week, (in greenbacks.)
A "wench dancer" gets only from $18 to $25.
The latter are young men from fifteen to twenty-five years of age, and
are generally fond of fine clothes. They
wish to appear as "fast youths."
They sport seven or eight hundred dollar diamond pins, and wear the most
showy and elaborate clothes that fashion will permit.
They seem imbued with the love of finery, which is so well known a
characteristic of the African race which they mimic.
The
best singers among the minstrels in New York and Brooklyn are engaged on Sundays
in the various choirs. Two-thirds
of the minstrels cannot read at sight the most ordinary music.
Cork
is indispensable to negro minstrelsy. It
is provided in the shape of a pulverized powder, usually prepared expressly for
the purpose. A thin past is mixed
in one hand, and then both hands are rubbed together. Afterwards, the face and neck are washed with the black
mixture. It acts as a preservative
of the complexion! Most of the
minstrels abominate cork, and apply it night after night with increased
loathing.
There
are probably over five hundred men constantly engaged in the minstrel profession
in the United States. Their
besetting sin is intemperance, though, of course, there are many of them who are
quite free from this habit, and are in private life real gentlemen.
Whatever may be the attractions elsewhere, there is always a large crowd
of noisy and delighted patrons to attend and enjoy the negro minstrel
performances.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 26, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Gay
Times Ahead.—There are said to be at least 100 weddings in high life, to come
off in the city between now and Christmas.
As the marriage fee ranges from $200 to $500, a very handsome sum will be
distributed among the clergy. War
does not, as it should not, abate marrying or giving in marriage.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 26, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Richmond Soup Association.
A society has been formed for the purpose of aiding in the support and
relief of the poor of Richmond and its suburbs, by furnishing them with the
daily supply of wholesome and nutritious soup on such terms as will bring it
within the reach of all.
The
Soup Home is located in the basement of the Metropolitan Hall, on Franklin
street, between 18th and 14th, and will be opened for
distribution on next Thursday, the 1st of December.
The hour of distribution will be announced in the daily papers.
The
soup will be given out by the quart, upon the presentation of a ticket, the
price of which shall at no time be more than a quarter of a dollar, and will be
announced every month in the advertisement of the Association.
The
tickets will be obtained and paid for at the office of the Treasurer of the
Association, Mr. W. D. Gibson, Cary street, between 12th and 18th.
The distribution will be under the control of the ladies of the Union
Benevolent Society, who alone are authorized either to purchase tickets of the
Treasurer, or to issue orders upon him for the sale of tickets.
The Treasurer will give notice in the papers at which hours of the day
the office will be open for the sale of tickets.
It is
deemed unnecessary to comment on the importance of this new enterprise; its
propriety and usefulness must be apparent to all. The Soup House is expected in
a short time to become self supporting. But
as heavy expenses are necessarily incurred in the first instance, contributions
are respectfully solicited. Contributions
in money can be sent either to the President or to the Treasurer.
Contributions
in kind, such as wood and vegetables, which are especially requested, should be
consigned to the care of the Supply Agent.
The Soup House is under the control of the Executive Committee of the
Association, consisting of nine directors, assisted by the ladies of the Union
Benevolent Society, who will visit the different districts of the town and
distribute the tickets.
President—Rev.
D. Minnegerode.
Secretary—W.
F. Gray.
Treasurer—Wm.
D. Gibson.
Supply
Agent—Mark Downey.
Superintendent—Wm.
Irving.
--------
Richmond Soup Association.—The ladies of the Union Benevolent Society,
co-operating with the above Association, are respectfully notified that Tickets
can be obtained at the counting-house of Mr. Wm. D. Gibson, Treasurer, Cary
street, between 12th and 18th streets, between the hours
of ten and twelve o'clock, A. M.
Early
attention to this is requested, as the Soup House will open next Thursday, the 1st
of December.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 28, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
A Characteristic Incident.
A gentleman who was in the train from this city to Petersburg, a very
cold morning not long ago, tells us his attention was attracted by the efforts
of a young soldier, with his arm in a sling, to get his overcoat on.
His teeth as well as his sound hand were brought into use to effect the
object; but, in the midst of his efforts, an officer rose from his seat,
advanced to him, and very carefully and tenderly assisted him, drawing the coat
gently over his wounded arm and buttoning it up comfortably; then with a few
kind and pleasant words returning to his seat.
Now,
the officer in question was not clad in gorgeous uniform, with a brilliant
wreath upon the collar and a multitude of gilt lines upon the sleeves,
resembling the famous labyrinth of Crete, but he was clad in "a simple suit
of gray," distinguished from the garb of a civilian only by the three stars
which every Confederate Colonel in the service by the regulations is entitled to
wear. And yet he was no other than
our Chief General, Robert E. Lee, who is not braver and greater than he is good
and modest. On General Grant's
recent return from New Jersey to the Army of the Potomac and James, by the
detention of the train he was forced to stop in Philadelphia. Being recognized by a soldier, he was so crowded by the
gaping multitude every [sic] ready in Northern latitudes to lionize every
military hero of the hour, be he McClellan, Hooker, Burnside, Pope or Grant,
that he was forced to take refuge in the Mayor's office.
Well,
General Lee comes to Richmond, visits the War Department and the President,
attends divine worship at St. Paul's almost every week, and though our people
love him as our fathers did George Washington—yet he is never subjected to any
annoyance, save a look from each passer-by which silently says, may God protect
and bless you.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 28, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Conscription of Physicians.
To the Editor of the Whig:
It is
proposed to conscribe the whole medical profession, of military age.
As a body of men, they would make very poor soldiers; and their name now
is not, as formerly, "legion." Nor
is it now, as formerly, a paying occupation.
Few physicians now get as much for their fees as will pay for their
medicines, board, clothing and horse feed; and yet, from habit or necessity,
they are still trudging along the old path.
The men now in practice, all of whom by law are over thirty years of age
(for old men are not fond of, nor physically able to perform, country practice),
have, by contact and association with their patrons, become warmly and mutually
attached to each other. There is
not now, or is there likely to be, any more practising physicians in the country
than the actual wants of the people require.
The
heads of all the young and growing families, who need the most medical
attendance, are already sent to the front; and if they are informed that their
wives or children or fathers, mothers and sisters, are sick, and can get no
kind, attentive and skilful physician, they will have reason to exclaim, 'Is
there no balm in Gilead, is there no physician there?" It would go further to induce men to desert than any other
cause. Under such circumstances
most men would risk their lives to see the loved ones at home.—It is clear
that, so far as the country generally is concerned, the present medical status
cannot be improved, in either a military or medical sense, by further
legislation.
Senex.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 29, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Metropolitan Hall.
Grand Instrumental
Concert.
The Eutaw Brass Band,
Of 25th Regiment South Carolina Volunteers, Hagood's Brigade, Hoke's Division, at the request of many ladies and gentlemen of Richmond, will give a Concert at Metropolitan Hall on
Thursday Night, 1st
December.
Programme.
1. Overture to Norma.
Belini.
2.
Herbstblumen Waltze.
Labitzky
3.
Casta Diva, from the Opera of Norma
Belini.
4.
Allee, Schottisch
Labitzky
5.
Duett, from Lucretia Borgia
Donizetti.
6.
Eclipse Polka
Chas. D'Albert
7.
Overture to Nabucco
Verdi.
8.
Elbe Klange Waltze
Petrack
9.
Miserere Scene rom Il Trovatore
Verdi.
10.
Camilla Schotisch
Strauss
11.
Sounds from Home
Gung'l
12.
Pe[]vig[ ] Gallop
Hensel
Tickets
$5—to be had at the bookstore and music stores, and at the Hall during the
day. The doors will be opened at 7
o'clock. Concert to commence at
quarter to 8 o'clock.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 29, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
State
Relief to Indigent Refugees.—By an act of Assembly, passed Oct. 31st,
1863, and amended Feb. 24th, 1864, it was made the duty of the
Hustings Court of this city to order the Sergeant to make a list of all indigent
soldiers and sailors enlisted from Richmond in the Confederate or State service,
who have been or may be disabled or honorably discharged, and of their families,
and of the families of those who may be now in the service, with the view of
securing for them from the public treasury an amount sufficient for their
maintenance.
The 3d
section of the act of 1863, as subsequently amended, makes it the duty of the
Hustings Court to cause a similar
enrolment of soldiers and sailors whose families have been driven from their
homes in Virginia, and to make provision for their support.
The accounts for the support of such refugee soldiers and sailors and
their families are to be forwarded to the Auditor of Public Accounts, who will
pay them by warrants in the usual form.
The
act provides penalties for the neglect or refusal of the court or sergeant to
perform the duties required of them, and requires that the act shall be given in
charge to the Grand Jury of the Circuit Court.
We
have referred to this act as if it applied only to this city.
Its provisions are applicable to every county and corporation in the
Commonwealth, and we have heard of its execution at Petersburg.
In Richmond it has been overlooked!
We hope the Hustings Court, at the next term, will consider the subject
which we have thus brought to its attention, and, failing to do so, that the
refugees and others interested will send in a petition to the Court.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 29, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Education
of Children of Deceased and Disabled Soldiers.—At a late meeting of the
Provisional Committee of the Baptist General Association of Va., the following
report was presented and adopted as the plan in accordance with which the
enterprise will be prosecuted:
"The
Committee appointed to draft a plan of operations for the Committee for
educating the children of deceased and disabled soldiers, respectfully present
the following:
I.
The patronage of the Committee shall be limited to the education of the
children of deceased and disabled soldiers, and to soldiers who have been
disabled in the Confederate service.
II.
That the amount paid for tuition shall in each case be decided by the
sub-committees and by special agreement.
III.
No money shall be paid by the Treasurer except on order of the Committee,
signed by its chairman.
IV.
That sub-committees shall be selected at suitable points to assist in
disbursing the funds of the Committee for the purposes and in the manner
prescribed by it. The
sub-committees shall have power to draw from the Treasury the amount
appropriated for their use, and shall be required to render semi-annually a full
statement of the manner of its appropriation. In the selection of the pupils and teachers all sectarial
peculiarities shall be disregarded.
We
recommend that, for the present, sub-committees be appointed at the following
places: Richmond, Petersburg,
Danville, Clarksville, Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Farmville, Staunton, Louisa
C. H., Sparta, Stevensville, Culpeper C. H., Liberty, Rollins' Institute, Henry
C. H. and Marion—and that other committees be appointed from time to time as
circumstances may require.
V.
The patronage of the Committee being limited by the terms of the
appointment to the classes named in article No. I, it would, nevertheless,
earnestly recommend that the sub-committees so appeal to the benevolent public
as to obtain special contributions for supplying the children with
clothes when necessary, to enable them to attend schools, and also to aid in the
education of the children of indigent soldiers now in the Confederate service.
W. F. Broaddus,
A. E. Dickinson,
Committee."
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 29, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Hospital
Rats.—It having been communicated to Major Carrington that a number of
patients of Camp Winder Hospital daily spent a great part of their time in the
old field, near the Reservoir, gambling, the Major, on yesterday, sent out
detectives Fitchett and Woodward to look after the parties.
The detectives caught and arrested fourteen men gambling in the old
field, some having sweat cloths, chuck-a-luck cloths, and faro cloths spread
upon the sward, and the others betting at them.
Considerable amounts of money were staked.
The parties were taken into custody and brought into the city, and by the
Provost Marshal were sent to the Castle Thunder Hospital.—Their names are;
[list, all but one from NC]
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 30, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
Accidents
with Firearms.—Last Friday evening while a little white boy named Fink, living
in Screamersville, was carelessly handling a gun, it exploded, the load taking
effect in the head of a small negro, ten years of age.
The negro, though not dead, is considered in a bad way.
Yesterday,
about four o'clock, a very similar accident occurred on Madison street, near
Broad. Two boys, John Krouse, aged
fourteen, and his younger brother were skuffling [sic] for the possession of a
loaded shot gun, when the hammer came in contact with a fence, causing the gun
to be discharged. It was loaded
with bird shot, and the whole load took effect in the head of a negro child,
eight years old, who chanced to be running by.
Though the scalp of the child's head is torn away to the bone, it is
thought it will recover. This case
was brought to the notice of the Mayor this morning, who ordered the shot gun
with which the accident occurred to be brought to him.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, November 30, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
New
Publications.—We have received from the enterprising publishing house of West
& Johnston, 145 Main street, a copy of "John Marchmont's
Legacy"—a novel—by Miss M. E. Braddon, author of "Aurora
Floyd," "Lady Audley's Secret," and other popular works of
fiction. The other works of this
popular author have been received with so much favor by the public that we can
predict a highly successful career for this one.
The
same publishers have placed in our hands "The Judge Advocate's Vade
Mecum"—apparently a very valuable work.
It embraces a general view of military law and the practice before courts
martial of the army and navy, with an epitome of the law of evidence as
applicable to military and naval trials. By
C. H. Lee.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 1, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Soup
for the Poor.—The Richmond Soup Association will make their first distribution
of soup to the poor to-morrow morning. If
the soup is good and clean, and the poor can be convinced of the latter
fact, the soup house will prove a good institution. At present there is a rooted prejudice in the minds of the
poor against the coming soup, and of this prejudice they must be disabused
before they invest their money in the fluid, or semi-fluid, as the case may be.
They have taken up the idea that the soup is to be concocted out of offal
and without regard to cleanliness. While
we do not believe this, many of the persons who are to get the benefit of the
soup house do, and they must be convinced, perhaps by occular [sic]
demonstration, of its untruth.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 1, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Soup
for the Poor.—At noon to-day the first distribution of soup to the city poor
will take place at Metropolitan Hall, on Franklin street, just below 18th
street. The soup, which will be
sold to the poor at 25 cents a quart, is to be made of fresh beef from the
Confederate meat house, and it will be neatly and carefully prepared.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 2, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
"The
Olio Minstrels."—This popular corps of Ethiopian minstrels are performing
nightly to crowded audiences at the "Varieties," on Franklin street,
next door to the Exchange Hotel. With
the acquisition which the troupe has recently received in the persons of the
inimitable Jim Wells and the renowned Tim Morris, it is now one of the most
meritorious corps in the city, and has by far the largest crowds of any other
establishments. Go see them and
enjoy yourself.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 2, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Soup
for the Poor.—The first soup distribution took place at Metropolitan Hall this
morning. The arrangements of the
association are perfect, and the soup turned out delicious.
The same article sold by them for 25 cents a quart could not be made by
an individual for less than five dollars.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 2, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Richmond
Soup Association.—The Directors of the Richmond Soup Association give notice
that its Soup House is now open for daily distribution (Sunday excepted), in the
basement of the Metropolitan Hall, beginning at 12 o'clock M.
The
soup is distributed upon the presentation of a ticket, which must be obtained
through the Ladies of the Union Benevolent Society.
Gentlemen who are desirous of relieving the poor by the purchase of
tickets, are requested to comply with this rule, which is deemed absolutely
necessary for the good and systematic administration of the Soup House.
Any
prejudices which are said to exist in some minds against the enterprise, will
soon give way before its practical usefulness.
Such is the character of the soup furnished, made with the greatest care,
of the best materials, and without regard to expense, and such the neatness and
cleanliness of the establishment as is hoped cannot fail to gain for it the
appreciation and approval of all.
The
Superintendent will take pleasure in showing the premises and arrangements to
visitors.
The
price of the soup for the month is fixed at the rate of four tickets (quart
tickets) for one dollar.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 3, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
The
Concert of the Eutaw Band.—The concert given by the Eutaw Brass Band, Prof.
Mueller, at Metropolitan Hall, Thursday night, was a decided success.
The audience was appreciative and fashionable, though evidently there
were a few present who would have been better satisfied with a "raree
show" or "nigger minstrelsy."
The band played splendidly.—At times the volume of sound was rather too
heavy for the acoustic properties of the Hall; but, in the main, every air was
rendered with admirable skill and pleasing effect.
The "Casta Diva" elicited especial admiration, and the
"Sounds from Home," by Gung'l, was loudly applauded.
After completing the programme, the band played, by request, "The
Anvil Chorus," with a degree of expression and artistic accuracy throughout
which was really delightful.
We are
gratified at the success of this entertainment, as the performers are
comparative strangers in our midst, and identified, since the beginning of the
war, with a portion of that invincible army which now interposes between our
city and the enemy. An enthusiastic
connoisseur, who was present at the concert, remarked in the hearing of
the writer, "This is the best band you have ever heard in Richmond!"—We will take pleasure in announcing another
concert by the Eutaws.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 3, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Snuff Snuff
40 1/8 Kegs Best Snuff.—
For sale by
Stokes Williamson & Co.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 5, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
Summary: Letter condemning the
removal of sick and wounded Confederate officers from the Alms House Hospital,
to make way for Cadet Corps.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 5, 1864, p. 2, c. 6
Mayor's
Court.—There were the usual medley of small cases before this court to-day.
Sarah
Smith, a young white woman from North Carolina, and addicted to snuff, was
charged with being found asleep in the New Market house last night, and having
nowhere to stay. Sarah stated that
she had come here with her husband, who had gone to his regiment, leaving her
without the means of getting home. The
Mayor told her to take her seat; that he would try to get her transportation to
North Carolina. . . .
James
R. Hicks, fishmonger, was charged with beating L. J. Pepper.
The Pepper thus untimely beaten was a gentleman of the Jewish people.
It
appeared that Pepper, being in the Old Market this morning on the lookout for
fish, Hicks, without provocation, kicked him down.
The
Mayor said he would fine Hicks $50 and require him to give security in $300 to
keep the peace.
Hicks
said the city being poor, it afforded him pleasure to pay the money.
Thereupon,
the Mayor fined him $10 for contempt, and told him he ought to be sent on to the
Grand Jury for striking so old a man.
Hicks,
having paid the Confederate money, and given the security, returned to the
Market House.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 5, 1864, p. 2, c. 5
To Manufacturers.—
150
sheets 30 by 4, No. 30 Card Clothing.
200
" Top Fist [?]
"
"
300
Steel Reeds.
For sale by
Slaughter & Co.,
159 Main street.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 5, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
City
Council—Va. Military Institute—Clothing for Richmond Troops.—A meeting of
the City Council was held at 12 o'clock M. Saturday. The following communication was received and read:
Richmond, Nov. 24, 1864.
Gentlemen:--I
have the honor to request your consent to the occupation of the Alms House of
this city by the Virginia Military Institute, which, of the buildings that can
be procured, is the only one that is adapted to its accommodation.
It is believed that arrangements will be completed in the month of May
next for re-opening the Institute on its proper site; but it is all important,
in the meantime, that the Cadets should be kept together and the exercises
continued. There would be little or
no danger of fire, or other injury to the building, since a strict military
police belongs to the government of the institution, and may be relied upon.
It may be assumed, indeed, that the presence of the Institute within our
city limits would add to our security.
Begging
to commend the application to your favorable consideration,
I am,
very respectfully,
Your
ob't serv't,
Wm. H. Macfarland,
Pres't B of V.
To the Common council of the city of Richmond.
Mr.
Glazebrook from the Committee on the Alms House, offered the following, which
was adopted:
["]
Resolved, That the communication of Mr. Macfarland be received and referred to
the Committee on the Alms House, with authority to rent the Alms House upon such
terms and conditions as may be agreed upon between the committee and the
Superintendent of the Military Institute.["]
A
petition was received from Captain R. C. Nicholas, Company F, 59th
Virginia Regiment, asking the Council to do something towards clothing the men
of his company, and furnishing them with blankets and shoes.
On
motion of Mr. Walker, who stated that, from personal observation, he was
convinced that the city must do much towards supplying its troops with clothing
this winter, the petition was referred to a
Special Committee, who were authorized to inquire and report relative to
furnishing with clothing the troops in the army from the city of Richmond.
On the
further motion of Mr. Walker, the same committee, who had this matter in charge
last winter, were re-appointed. This
committee, of which Mr. Scott was Chairman and Mr. Epps, Messenger of the
Council, clerk, performed their duties in a thorough and efficient manner, and
gave universal satisfaction both to the soldiers and the Council.
After
the transaction of some other business of an unimportant character, the Council
adjourned.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 6, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
The
New York Herald says that there are thirty thousand Southern refugees in
that city and Brooklyn. Of these
only 500 had, at the last accounts, registered in obedience to Gen. Dix's order.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 6, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Christmas Juvenile Books
In Press:
Will be published Christmas week:
I.
Mother Goose's Melodies.
II.
Alladin; or, The Wonderful Lamp.
III.
Blue Beard.
IV.
Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper,
V.
Jack the Giant Killer.
VI.
Little Red Riding Hood.
VII.
Beauty and the Beast.
Each of these little books will be beautifully illustrated with
lithographic drawings, made by one of the best artists in the country.
Orders
[illegible]
Address
[illegible]
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 6, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Juvenile
Christmas Books.—Mr. George L. Bidgood advertises the publication, for
Christmas gifts, of several standard Juvenile Books for the amusement of the
little ones. Among these are "Aladin,
or the Wonderful Lamp," "Mother Goose's Melodies," and other
works of the same nature which have been read by children for years.
A
feature of these publications is to be a series of beautiful lithographic
illustrations, executed in the highest style of art. Mr. Shephard is the artist, and the lithographic work will be
done by Mr. Ludwig.
Doubtless
these books will have a rapid sale, and as the edition is to be limited, orders
should be sent to Mr. Bidgood at as early a day as possible.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 6, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Attention!
To the curious and charitable—This appeal is in behalf of an elderly
lady, who has been deprived of home and its comforts by Yankee barbarity.
She is a highly cultivated, Christian woman, and to her varied
acquirements adds a knowledge of Heraldry.
Her purpose is to give a description of the Coat of Arms, and in some
instances a pencil sketch. Her
researches will import valuable information for the family record.
For more definite information, address, enclosing a stamp,
"Antiquary,"
Curdsville, Buckingham Co.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 6, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
To Mr. Hy C. Hardie or Samuel G. Baptist, New York City:
My
brother, Lieut. Jas. A. Riddick, Co. H, 53d Va Infantry, is a prisoner of war at
block 10, Johnson's Island, Ohio.—He is greatly in want of provisions—he
begs for "a barrel of Flour and fifty pounds fat Bacon."
Please supply his wants, and the kindness will be reciprocated.
Communicate
with me through this medium, also write by flag of truce.
Insert reply several times, at intervals of three or four days.
Daily "News" and "Herald" please copy and insert
reply, for which Mr. H. or B. will pay.
Miss Mary E. Riddick
Lawrenceville,
Brunswick Co., Va.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 7, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
A
letter in the Constitutionalist, from Milledgeville, gives some account
of the outrages perpetrated by the Yankees in that city. An indiscriminate plunder of houses was inaugurated.
Gold watches, silver plate, clothing—anything and everything that could
tempt cupidity was stolen. In their
lust for gold they frequently maltreated persons of both sexes, thinking to
extort by torture. Cows, chickens
and horses were slaughtered most wantonly.
The magazine was blown up. The
State House was much defaced; carpets and desks were hacked to pieces, and books
strewn broadcast. Out of the
carpets they made horse blankets.
["]The
most dreadful thing was their violence to the ladies. At least six or seven suffered the last extremity.
One young girl became crazed in consequence, and has been sent to the
Asylum. Other ladies were stripped
of their garments, and, in such a plight, compelled to lay the piano, and, in
the event of a refusal, switched unmercifully.
Let Georgians remember these things in the day of battle! ["] . . .
["]We
have from several reliable sources accounts of the violation of respectable
females at different points by these brutes.
A young lady of ______ was stripped naked, her clothing being torn
violently off, because of information given by her maid that she had concealed
jewelry about her person. One lady,
the wife of a Confederate officer, was left a maniac. But we sicken at the rehearsal of such atrocities, and we
only put them on record to heighten, if possible the indignation of our
soldiers, and unite our people in obtaining our independence.["]
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 7, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
Prices
in Danville.—The _Register of the 5th instant says:
The
market was well supplied with the vegetables of the season through the past
week. The butchers have failed
lately to furnish regular supplies of fresh meats, but a considerable quantity
of fresh beef has been brought in by persons from the country.
They were asking $2.25 to 2.75 per pound for it, by the wholesale.
Turkeys
have been bringing $15 to $25 apiece, the average size being $20.
Chickens five to six dollars. Butter
usually sold at $10 per pound, though some persons hold it at $12.
Eggs five and six dollars per dozen.
Potatoes $15 to $20 per bushel.
Chesnuts
[sic] have become an article of traffic, and retail readily at $3 per quart.
Cabbages
bring 50 cts. and $1, according to size and quantity.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 7, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
A New
Affliction.—A Washington telegram says:
Gen.
Egan is still in this city. Since
the fever of his wound left him he has been in a condition of great nervous
prostitution.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 7, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Physicians'
Charges.—The physicians of this city have held a meeting and decided to charge
for their professional services one-half of the rates prior to the war, payable
in gold, or its equivalent in Confederate money, payable in gold, or its
equivalent in Confederate money at the time of payment.
This "sacrifice" is made in consequence of the fact that
"they are exempt from military service for the accommodation of the
public." It is not very
certain, however, that the physicians have made any "sacrifice" in
this change of their terms. Learned financiers have asserted and undertaken to
demonstrate that the intrinsic value of gold in the Confederate States has doubled
since the commencement of the war, or, in other words, that a gold dollar will
buy as much now as it required two gold dollars to pay for before the war.
At all events, we venture to assert that nine tenths of the patients of
our physicians would not only be delighted with one-half of their former income
paid in gold, but would be content to receive one-fifth in that precious metal.
If
gold is to be recognized as the only standard of value by which to measure the
depreciation of Confederate treasury notes, the practice should be general.
If the doctors are to be paid in gold or its equivalent, let this be the
prevailing mode of adjusting accounts among all professions and trades.
They physicians have set the example, and it will probably have its
influence ere long.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 7, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
To Whom It May Concern.
The failure of our employees to do their work recently, with skill, in
the city of New York, makes it necessary for the BROTHERHOOD to meet and concert
measures for a more decisive execution of the great retaliatory duty they have
taken upon themselves at this juncture. Our
own homes have been destroyed in violation of all the rules of war, and we must
make our ruthless enemy feel the weight of our justly aroused vengeance in the
very CENTRES of his resources and wealth. We
can do it—do it effectually.
You
are therefore ordered to meet in this City, by Delegates from our several
Associations in Virginia, North and South Carolina, at eight o'clock, on the
evening of the 15th instant, for business.
By order of the
Great Brother.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 7, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Army
Bands.—The division commanders in General Lee's army would confer a favor upon
the ladies of Richmond, and the convalescent soldiers, by granting permission,
during the continuance of this fine weather, to regimental bands to visit the
city occasionally, to perform in the afternoon on the Capitol Square.—We have
heard numbers express a desire to hear the splendid music of Hagood's and
Colquitt's brigade bands. Let them
come, General.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 7, 1864, p. 1, c. 2
Cowhiding.—Public
cowhiding of private offenders is becoming more frequent than agreeable.
No less than three have taken place within a week.
The latest occurred at 6 o'clock yesterday morning, on Broad street,
corner of 6th street. A
gentleman from Bacon Quarter Branch cowhided a Broad street merchant for some
offence offered the daughter of the former.
During the collision a basket of eggs, belonging to the Broad street
merchant, was smashed without redemption.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 8, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
The
Refugees from Atlanta Yearning for Home.—Among no class of refugees whom we
have met since the war, says the Augusta Register do we find the same
excessive longing for home as we find among the citizens of Atlanta.
Old men and women, girls and children, are all longing to return to the
desolated scenes to which their local attachments cling.
Even as the Jews long for Jerusalem so they yearn for their homes.
They are willing to go back to the charred and blackened walls of
Atlanta, and live during the winter in tents, for the sake of being among the
dear old scenes of home.
There
are the scenes that are dear to them as the apple of their eye; the hearthstones
where the family circle communed, the sanctuaries where they worshiped, the old
familiar streets once thronged with familiar faces, all, all are dear to them
still and their anxiety, is now on tiptoe to go back to those scenes, even
though their [illegible] are in ruins, their sanctuaries demolished, and the
streets strewn with the ruins of their homes.
It is
home to them. All other lands are
as strange places to them, and they feel as strangers among those with whom they
are sojourning. They long for
home—home, the dearest spot of earth to them.
We
hope the day is near when their wishes may be gratified. But ah! it will
be a sad pleasure after all. The
sweet return will be mingled with much bitter when they see the work of the
desolator.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 8, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
A
gentleman who reached Augusta Saturday night reports that the scene of
devastation in that city is too awful to contemplate.
All the hotels and the stores from Wesley Chapel, on Peachtree street, to
Roark's corner, on White Hall street, has been destroyed.
The City Hall and the churches around it are not destroyed.
Soon
after the Yankees left it the country people in its vicinity rushed in and
carried off everything they could get hold of.
Houses were broken open and gutted.
There
are about fifty or sixty negroes and about 600 whites in what is left of the
gate city.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 9, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
The
government Shoe shop at Montgomery, Ala., now turns out 250 pairs of shoes per
day, and it is intended in a short time to put the number to 300 pair per day.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 9, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Theatre.—This
place of amusement is now without an ostensible manager, Mr. Dalton having
withdrawn from the establishment to return to Europe. In the meantime, ex-manager Ogden is kept in the prison
hospital, on 20th street. For
aught we know to the contrary, he rests well; "malice" has done its
worst; and in his prison he finds temporary relief from the scourges of satire
and ridicule. The efforts to make a
soldier of Ogden have only resulted in supplanting an experienced director of
dramatic amusements. Ogden has been
more worried and badgered than any tragedian we ever heard of, from the days of
Roselus to the present time. Is he
the victim of persecution or bad luck? It
is evident that all the playgoers are not prejudiced against him, for we have
heard numerous expressions of regret that he was not allowed by the military
authorities to resume his position at the Theatre. Some have doubts, however, whether his reappearance on our
boards would be acceptable to the public. Be
this as it may, we cannot see that any possible good to the cause or the country
will result in the longer detention of Ogden in prison, and since he is unfit
for the army, he should be allowed to go his way.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 10, 1864, p. 2, c. 5
The
Concert at Monumental church.—A grand sacred concert, the second of a series
which, we understand, will be given throughout the season, will be given this
evening at the Monumental Church, commencing at 8 o'clock.
The
first musical talent of the city has been enlisted to make of this entertainment
a perfect success. The object, we
believe, is one of benevolence, and as such, has claims on the sympathies of the
public. We do not know what is the
programme selected for the occasion, but judging of the first concert given at
the Monumental Church some weeks since, we think that it will leave nothing to
be desired on the score of variety and taste.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 10, 1864, p. 1, c. 1
Southern Men in New York
It gives us a great deal of pleasure to observe that the Yankees are
about to make their country too hot to hold the Southern refugees, who have
resorted to it in the hour of their country's distress, to get themselves out of
the reach of danger. In the city of
New York especially—the main resort of these renegades, on this continent at
least—General Dix, scarcely inferior as a thief-taker and inquisitor to Ba[
]er himself, is giving them an immense deal of trouble.
He has put the detective police upon them, and they are following them up
as a black-snake follows up a rat, from one hole to another.
The late attempt to set fire to the hotels of the city—with which, we
suppose, these poor creatures, who have not the spirit to set fire to a lone
cabin on a prairie, a hundred miles from human habitation, had about as much to
do as they had with the last eruption of Mount
Vesuvius—is the pretext for this extraordinary rigor.
We wish General Dix the most thorough success.
Let him not be choice in making his arrests, but cut green and ripe.
He has a right to presume, prima facie, that every man of them is
guilty of something bad; for the presumption of guilt is always strong
against a fellow who is found in an enemy's country in the midst of such a war
as this. We hope the General will
put the law upon them with all its weight.
If there be none to suit their several cases, he may make one to suit
each, and just such an one as he pleases. If
he can make anything by the transaction—and few Yankees will undertake a job
that does not pay—we shall hear of his success with great pleasure.
We shall be delighted to hear that these renegades have not been able to
save their money by playing traitors to their country, and deserting her in the
hour of her distress. So, fire
away, General. You can hardly go
wrong in this matter, and you have the hearty sympathy of the whole Confederacy.
It is
a fatal delusion for any man to suppose that when his country is engaged in a
war for existence, he can remain neutral with impunity. We care not what may be the circumstances under which that
country first entered into war—whether she were right or whether a severe
wrong in doing so—the moment the foot of the enemy presses her sod—the
moment the blood of her children begins to flow—from that moment neutrality
becomes treason, and the neutral man is a traitor in his heart, how careful so
ever he be to abstain from the commission of the overt act. As long as war is imminent, not actually raging, so long has
the citizen the right to warn, to deprecate, to remonstrate.
But the sound of the first cannon takes away all such right.
The relations of parties are from that moment completely changed, and he
who is not for his country is against it. "My
country" was the famous toast of Decatur—"My country, may she always
be in the right; but my country right or wrong." That is the true doctrine, and those who think otherwise, and
act according to their sentiments, will find themselves wofully [sic] deceived.
It is a fatal mistake to suppose that indifference to the cause of one's
country can ever be forgiven. Look
at the tories of the old Revolution, even at those who did no more than
sympathise with the public enemy and rejoice at his success.
To a man, they went down to the grave in a cloud, shunned by their
fellow-citizens as though they had the plague about them.
And such will be the fate of all such as in this war have taken part with
the enemies of their country. Let
none such hope to avoid it.
The
case is no better of those renegades who escaped from service in the army by
flying to the enemy's country, or escaping through the blockade to Europe.
There they hope to enjoy themselves, while here at home every man, woman
and child is suffering privations from the war, and our brave soldiers are
encountering unheard of toils and braving unheard of dangers.
All such will be noted, and noted only to be despised.
We wish every State in the Confederacy will pass laws to confiscate every
atom of property they possess, and to forbid their ever returning as citizens.
By abandoning their country in the hour of peril, they forfeit all claim
they could ever have had to her protection.
Let them stay among those they prefer to their own countrymen, where they
might be of some service by staying at home.
We hope the Yankees will pass laws to confiscate the property of every
man capable of acting as a soldier who hails from the South, and who is now
resident in any of the Yankee States.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 10, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Shell
Explosion—At nine o'clock yesterday morning, while some old shells were being
handled by the workmen at the nitre laboratory, on 17th street, one
of them exploded, killing one negro and wounding three others badly.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 10, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
The
New Ordinance Concerning the Police.—the Council, on Thursday, passed what
they call a new ordinance concerning the police.
It provides that the Mayor shall be the head of the police; that the
police force of the city shall consist of a "Chief of Police," 12 day
officers, 3 night officers and forty night watchmen; that "the Chief of
Police shall be the executive officer of police, and, under the supervision
and control of the Mayor, shall have authority over both the day and night
police;" the Chief of Police shall set the watch every night, and attend at
the Old Market house when they come in every morning; "the Chief of Police,
under control of the Mayor," shall assign the day police to
different wards of the city, &c., &c.; where slaves have been arrested
for minor offences, the Chief of Police may act upon their case at the Old
market early every morning; the Mayor is allowed a clerk with the pay and powers
of a day police office; the office of Captain of the Night Watch is abolished.
The
above is a summary of the new ordinance. It
is not worth the paper it was written on. It
is nothing but a reenactment of the old ordinance, with a repeal of the section
establishing the elective office of Captain of the Night Watch—and this, be it
known, was done especially to prevent the people from re-electing to the
Captaincy of the Night Watch James B. Pleasants, who was turned out by the
Council for playing a game of cards on the Capitol Square during the great
Sheridan scare last Summer.
We say
it is the old ordinance. There is
much mention of a chief of police, but it is everywhere specified that he is to
do and act in every case "under the supervision and control of the
Mayor." The Mayor is to be, as
he has been al along, to all intents and purposes, himself, "Chief of
Police," and as long as this is the case, the night police, (who are the
important police after all, the majority of serious crimes being committed under
cover of the night) will be inefficient and worthless.
The Mayor, (we speak not of Joseph Mayo, Esq., but of the civil officer)
as he is not required and does not look after and supervise the police should
have nothing to do with them. There
should be a chief of police whose duty it should be to watch, control and direct
the police, with power to discharge them at will, and only accountable for his
actions to the City Council. The
Mayor's duties should begin and end in his court-room, except that in his
capacity of, justice of the peace, he is always a conservator of the peace.
Before
we conclude we will say a word on the subject of the proposed action of the
Council in the matter of the appointment of the Chief of Police under their new
ordinance. Under such an ordinance,
it makes very little difference whom they appoint; he is to be a mere dummy; but
we will, as a matter of news, mention the idea they have in their heads.
It is that the new Chief of Police should be a man hitherto unconnected
with the police in any way; that he should be some civilian, if possible, who
knows nothing in the world about police—the more ignorant, we presume, the
better. If they succeed in getting
this man and the new ordinance is set in motion under his auspices, it requires
no Solomon to predict how small will be the beneficial results to the city.
Under present circumstances, the only prospect we see is that the police
management of the city will become so intolerably bad as to lead to its entire
abolishment.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 12, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Mayor's
Court.—The Mayor resumed his seat this morning, and disposed of the following
cases:
The
first entry on the docket was that of ten or a dozen females and a half dozen
males, arrested last night at Magnolia Hall, on 10th street, between
Main and Cary, while engaged in fiddling, dancing, drinking whisky, &c.
The character of this Hall being very bad, at which place disorderly
balls are given about two or three times a week, the police, in accordance with
instructions, pounced upon them while they were in the midst of terpsichorean
exercises. Officers Seal, Chalkley
and Granger, who made the arrests, testified that the entertainments at Magnolia
Hall were of the most disreputable character, and Mary Ryan, the reputed
manager, has frequently been before His Honor for keeping an ill-governed house
on Main street, near 19th, where stolen goods in any quantity have
been found. W. McCue, Austin
Conley, Wm. Appleyard, also arrested at this ball, were recognized by the police
as of doubtful status, one or more of whom have been before the courts on
charges of receiving stolen property, and other vices.
Capt. Wyatt, of New Orleans, being called upon as to the character of
Miss Ryan, spoke of her in the most exalted terms, and expressed his conviction
that, if she had been given to balls, it was for the sole purpose of making
bread to live on. Security was
required for the good behavior of the accused.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 12, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
New Invention in Warfare.
There is now on exhibition in the rotunda of the capitol of Alabama, what
we would pronounce to be a very destructive breech loading battery of small
arms, the invention of Mr. John H. Foreman, formerly of Holly Springs, Miss.,
but now of company D, State Artillery, at Mobile.
We agree with the Mail that as one of the most dangerous arms ever
brought to bear against cavalry attacks, it is probably without a competitor,
and will undoubtedly be brought into general use as soon as its peculiar merits
shall have become generally known. It has already been warmly endorsed by Gen. N. B. Forrest,
the greatest cavalry leader in the Confederate States service, and is strongly
recommended by Gen. Dabney H. Maury, commandant of the district of the Gulf at
Mobile, by whose order the battery has been severely tested by the board of
survey at that point, and by them fully approved and passed.
This
destructive arm is composed of fifteen 30 inch barrels, calibre 57 (the same as
the Enfield rifle), and at their base are screwed into a solid piece of
metal.—Near the muzzle, these barrels are passed through another piece of
iron, in such a manner that when fired the balls spread themselves over one
hundred and twenty feet at five hundred yards from the point of discharge.
It is loaded at the breech by a rapid movement, enabling the gunner to
discharge his piece six times a minute. Simple
in construction, it is not likely to get out of order, and can be cleaned
instantaneously whenever it is needed. Triplicate
breech-loaders accompany each battery.
The
gun-carriage can be drawn by a single horse, and with but two men in charge of
the battery, a whole squadron of raiders could be made to bite the dust, and in
the meantime the battery could be moved elsewhere the moment its presence was
perceived by the enemy.
The
ingenious inventor of this destructive weapon, who is not only a refugee from
home, but now a soldier in active service, deserves well of his country, and we
hope will meet with such encouragement as his deserts demand.
He has been at quite a heavy expense in getting up his gun, say not less
than twenty thousand dollars, every dollar of which he has taken from his own
pocket; but we have every confidence that the merits of his invention will
ultimately reimburse him.—Memphis Appeal.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 12, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Sacred
Concert.—The Concert at Monumental church came off on Friday evening last, as
per advertisement, although the weather was very unpropitious for the occasion;
still there was quite a respectable attendance of lovers of sacred music, though
it was not as large as the occasion of the concert or the merit of the
performance justified and the disposition of the public would have ensured, had
the weather not been so unfavorable. The
appreciation of good music by those who were present was manifest from their
[illegible]
The
singing was executed in admirable style, and the organ accompaniment was finely
adapted to the vocal performance. Much
credit is due the entire choir for the manner in which the several different
pieces were executed, exhibiting as it did, much perseverance and cultivation in
arriving at that point of correct execution so gracefully and so artistically
shown on the occasion. The various
pieces were selected with good taste, and the arrangements displayed good
judgment and a commendable [illegible] position to please.
The singers were amateurs, and kindly gave their services for the benefit
of the needy. Let us hope they may
consent to repeat the concert, not only to accomplish more effectually the
object for which it was originated, but likewise to enable very many lovers of
good sacred music to hear it, who would have attended had the weather not been
so inclement.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 12, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
The "Anzeiger."
It will be seen from an advertisement in today's paper that Captain
Gustavus A. Wallace, formerly of the "Wise Legion," has become
proprietor of the German daily paper published in this city.
He proposes to enlarge the paper and to infuse additional interest into
its columns. Mr. Hassell, the
founder of the journal, will be the associate editor.
In promotion of this enterprise, Captain Wallace will soon visit the
Southern cities for the purpose of extending the circulation of the "Anziger."
We wish him great success in his undertaking.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 12, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Relief
of Refugees.—The December term of the Hustings Court commences today.
We again ask the attention of the Court to the acts of Assembly, requiring
them to make provision for the relief of indigent refugee families residing in
the city. The Legislature has made an appropriation for the support of
this unfortunate class of our population, and it is hard that they should be
deprived of it by the failure of the Hustings Court to award the certificates
required by law.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 13, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
A New
Fairy Drama.—The Management of the New Richmond Theatre have in preparation a
beautiful spectacular drama, entitled "Crimson Roses," the scenes and
incidents of which occur in the fair land of Germany. The original story is one of the most charming in the German
mythology, and if the play is to be rendered with anything like the taste in
which the chronicler presents it, the public, and especially the little people,
may count upon one of the most delectable treats of their lives.
The story contains many striking melodramatic situations and a
combination of magical surprises as wonderful as they are beautiful.—The
dramatist has added, we learn, several new features to the work, not the least
important of which will give full scope to the vis comica of the comedian
of the establishment. It is expected in the course of two or three weeks.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 14, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
City
Council.—The monthly meeting of the Council was held at 4 P.M., last evening.
. .
Mr.
Glazebrook, from the Committee on City Alms House, reported that said Alms house
had been rented by the committee to the Virginia Military Institute, at the rate
of $15,000 per annum from this date, the property to be returned in as good
condition in all respects as it is at present, natural wear and tear excepted.
Mr.
Scott, from the Committee to whom was referred the matter of clothing the
Richmond troops in the field, reported that the troops could only be clothed by
the city purchasing the cloth and having the clothes manufactured which would
require cash.
Mr.
Walker said the troops were sadly in need of overcoats. He hoped some measures would be taken to have them
manufactured.
Mr.
Scott said the committee had no data from which to judge how many Richmond
troops were in the field. It would
not do, moreover, to shut their eyes to the fact that the city had no money.
Mr.
Walker said the troops were without greatcoats, and were freezing, and insisted
that they should be supplied, no matter what the cost. No tax-payer would object to pay his share rather than the
soldiers should be without coats such weather as this.
The
committee was continued in existence and directed to prosecute the business for
which they were created. . . .
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 14, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Mayor's
Court.—The business of this court this morning amounted to nothing. . .
Several parties were fined for their sons violating city ordinance by throwing
snow balls in the streets.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 14, 1864, p. 1, c. 1
Summary: Editorial on "The
Military Administration of the Trans-Mississippi Department"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 14, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Grand
Vocal and Instrumental Concert,
by the
Post Band,
(Formerly Smith's)
Assisted by a Full Orchestra and the Following
Acknowledged Talent:
Madame Ruhl,
Messrs. Kessnich,
Rosenberger,
Schneider,
Ritierhause,
Reinhard,
Smith,
&c
To be given on Friday Evening, December 14th, at the
Exchange Hall,
Corner of Franklin and Fourteenth streets
_____
Programme.
Part I
1. Overture—Jubel
Full Band
2. Flute Solo—Kerner
Rosenberger
3. Cavatina—"Ernani, fly
with me"
Madame Ruhl
5. Sounds from Home (as performed
by Jung'l)
Ressnich
6. The Last of the Narragansett
(Waltz, by Jung'l)
Full Orchestra
Part II
1. Overture—Tampa
Full Orchestra
2. Clarinetto Solo—Cari Maria van
Weber
Schneider
3. Casta Diva—Norma
Madame Ruhl
4. Quartette—Die Kapelle (as
performed by the
celebrated
Distin Family
Ritierhause
5. Basso solo
Schneider
6. Wedding March—Midsummer Night
(Mendelssohn)
Full Brass Band
_____
Admission $10.
Doors
open at 7 o'clock. commence at 8
o'clock precisely.
Tickets
to be had at the principal book and music stores.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 14, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
The
Directresses of the Female Orphan Asylum intend providing a Supper at the
Asylum, corner of Leigh and Seventh streets, on Friday, 16th inst.; the proceeds of which will be
appropriated to the support of the orphans of that institution.
Donations thankfully received and a liberal patronage solicited.
A. M. Bolton,
Secretary.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 15, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
From Yesterday's
Evening Edition.
Proposed Alteration in the Confederate Flag.
We have been shown the design of the proposed change in the Confederate
Flag, a subject brought up yesterday in the Senate by a resolution, which was
referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs.
The remodeled flag, as proposed in the resolution, will present this
feature distinctive from the present design:
the outer half of the field being changed to a red bar extending across
the width. We understand that the
army is almost universally in favor of this charge, and many of the highest
naval authorities have expressed their warm approval of the design mentioned
above.—This design is proposed by an officer in the army, and approved by
General Lee as adding distinctness and character to the flag, but was modestly
referred by him to the "naval gentlemen," as best qualified to judge
of such matters.
We
have read letters from several naval officers—to whom the plan has been
submitted—and they express their entire approbation of the proposed amendment.
Among those who have thus expressed favorable opinions we may mention
Commodore Forrest, Captain S. S. Lee, in charge of the Department of Orders and
Details, Captain W. H. Parker, commanding School-ship Patrick Henry and
commandant of Naval Academy, Captain Murray Mason, in charge of the Richmond
Naval Rendezvous, and Colonel A. R. Boteler, Chairman of Committee on Flag and
Seal in the last Congress which adopted the present flag.
The
view taken by these gentlemen is that the flag as at present designed partakes
too much of the character of a "flag of truce" when drooping.
The new design will relieve it of this objectionable feature, and will,
we doubt not, be adopted.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 16, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
The Report of the
Board of Directresses
of the Female Humane Association of
the City of Richmond.
A mere report of the transactions of the year just ended would be
incomplete without calling the special attention of the Association to the times
of great trial through which we have just passed—a year of anxious care and
constant struggle for the bare necessaries of life—an exercise of faith and
patience long to be remembered. The
prospect of the commencement of the year was gloomy in the extreme.
The
treasurer's report of funds fell far short of the actual necessities.
Prudence and a proper precaution seemed to indicate, if not an entire
suspension of this charitable work, a less extensive field of operation.—And
at a meeting of the Board of Directresses, it was determined to fill no more
vacancies except in cases of extreme destitution.
Homes were provided for some of the elder girls, thereby reducing the
number at one time to forty.
The
thought of closing the Institution could not be considered for a moment by those
most interested in the welfare of these poor helpless children, and a petition
was presented to the Common Council of the city, who had previously given $1,000
for a further appropriation. The
Secretary of the Board was called upon to say what amount would meet the
necessity.—Three thousand dollars was stated as probably sufficient to meet
the present demands, with the understanding that, if more were required it would
be granted at some future time. This
amount, $3,000, was soon expended, and, upon application to a member of the
Council, the Secretary was informed that the condition of the city finances
would not justify a further appropriation at that time to this object.
The
children's fare was reduced, at this time, to bread and water—from actual
necessity. In this emergency a
God of Providence, working by human means, moved the hearts of a portion
of Col. Nelson's battalion, and they appropriated one day's rations to the
inmates of this Institution.—bacon, flour, rice and meal.
This supply exhausted, again the hearts of a few children, in no way
connected with this association, held a fair, or more properly a supper, for the
benefit of this Institution, the result was, the reception, through the hands of
Mrs. Sam'l Baily, Jr., of $550. The
success of this effort encouraged others to attempt the like, and a supper was
provided by Miss Taliaferro and Miss Parker, the proceeds of which, together
with donations, amounted to $2,942.50.
Again,
another source of income, the result of individual effort, was an Oratorio held
at the Monumental Church, by the choir connected with that church—resulted in
the receipt of $4,485.
These
are some of the efforts which, through God's blessing, have kept these children
within these walls and continued to you this work of charity.
Nor can we stop here. This
work must be carried on by constant effort.
This institution cannot be kept up as formerly, by the annual collection
of a few dollars, doled out from door to door, often by unwilling hearts, and
the payment of $4 subscription by members of the Association; but the object
must be kept before the public by suppers, concerts, or any plan which the
Association may think best to secure results such as this report presents.
God works by means, and blesses the efforts of the faithful far beyond
their expectations or deserts; and with the effort let your prayers ascend, that
"the liberal heart may devise liberal things" towards these children,
fostered by your bounty, and that, with the temporal blessings, God will not
withhold the gift of His Spirit, which is promised alike to the child of poverty
and affluence.
Before
closing this report, the Secretary would state that vacancies occurring now are
being filled with the children of deceased soldiers, or children of soldiers
whose mothers have died, worn out by the toil and care of providing for a family
left upon her hands by this relentless war.
The
expense for the year have been $25,000.
The
average number of inmates, 60.
All of
which is respectfully submitted by
A. M. Bolton,
Secretary of the Board of Directors.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 16, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Mayor's
Court.--. . . Jerry Dangerfield, a Petersburg free negro, and Ophelia Emory, a
white woman, were charged with associating together. Emory was a young woman of not more than twenty, and it would
have been difficult to find a prettier face; but her beauty was marred by her
shabby dress and the inextricably toweled condition of her head.
Officer Granger stated that, being informed that she and Dangerfield were
living on terms of improper intimacy, he went to Dangerfield's house in Rocketts,
last night, and there found the parties in a room together.
The woman Emory was one of the most disorderly characters in Rocketts—a
locality, it may be remarked, not noted for an exalted standard of morality.
The
Mayor ordered the negro to be whipped and committed.
The women was required to give security for her good behavior.
She evinced very little interest in the proceedings, and did not trouble
herself to procure security.
Clara
Coleman and Pinkey Clay were charged with being drunk and disorderly, and
walking arm in arm in the street with a negro man. They were two young women from t[illegible] end of Main
street. Miss Clay was not more than
16 years of age. It appeared that
the women, who had been to the theatre, got so drunk on the way home that Bill,
Miss Coleman's servant, found it necessary to take them in tow.
While towing them down Broad street, each of them having hold of one of
his arms, Officer Davis came upon the party and took them into custody.
The
Mayor required them to give security for their good behavior.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 16, 1864, p. 2, c. 5
Contracts will be given at the Richmond Arsenal for the following stores or for
a part thereof. Proposals, stating
terms, &c., are invited:
50000 sets infantry accoutrements, including cartridge box, cartridge box belt,
waist belt, cap pouch and bayonet scabbard.
25000 knapsacks
50000haversacks
8,000 gun slings
10000 carbine slings
5000 sabre belts
7000 gun wipers
5000 ball screws
10000 cavalry saddles
80000 bridles and halters
20000 saddle blankets
15000 curry combs
15000 horse brushes
300000 lbs. horse shoes
50000 lbs. horse shoe nails
15000 pairs spurs
1000 gallons alcohol
2000 do
linseed oil
1000 do
machine oil
100000 feet seasoned pine
200000 do
poplar
55000 do
walnut
100000 yards duck
30000 do
oznaburgs
55,000 feet seasoned maple
25000
do
ash
5000 lbs. yellow ochre.
The
articles are to be equal in every respect to specimens seen at the Arsenal.
Contractors will be requested to give bond and security for the faithful
performance of the contract, and for deliveries within the time specified.
All
sufficiencies will be supplied at the expense of the Contractors.
W. L. Broun,
Lt. Col. comd'g.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 17, 1864, p. 2, c. 4-5
The
Soup House.—We are glad to say that this institution, brought into existence
for the benefit of the poor of the city, continues to flourish.
But its usefulness is not confined to the amount of subsistence it
furnishes. It has disclosed the
gratifying fact that the amount of suffering for want of food in the city is not
near as great as had been believed. Women
who have spent their time on the street begging, representing themselves and
children in a starving condition, have been detected as imposters by the fact of
their turning up their noses at the soup dispensed at the soup house.
That no one suffering from hunger would slight clean, nutritious soup, is
a self-evident proposition. The
soup house is therefore a valuable assistant to the benevolent, as furnishing a
list of deserving beggars. If a
party refuses soup, does not patronize the soup house, he or she cannot be so
badly off as to require assistance—at least, hundreds in the city are worse
off.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 17, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Splendid
Spurs.—We saw, yesterday, one of a pair of splendid silver spurs, made by Mr.
F. L. Barre, of this city. The
shanks of the spur, from the curves to the ends, are made in the form of a
cannon with trunnions, and the heel piece represents a miniature mortar,
enveloped in the Confederate flag—the rowel being pivoted in a ball at the m[
]h of the mortar.—The whole design is artistic, and the execution
really creditable to Mr. L. Barre. The
spurs have been made to order for Gen. Rosser's staff as a present for their
distinguished leader, of whom it may be said that "like a belted knight of
old, he has truly won his spurs."
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 17, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Distribution of Salt for Richmond City.
We are now prepared to deliver Salt, ten pounds per head at 20 cents per
pound. Applicants will bring with
them the usual affidavit, as to the number in the family and bags must be
furnished of sufficient size to contain their quota.
Spotts & Harvey.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 19, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
Advantages
of Wedlock.—None but a married man has a home in his old age.
None has friends, then, but he; none but he knows and feels the solace of
the domestic hearth; none but he lives and freshens in his green old age, amid
the affections of his children.—There is no tear shed over the old bachelor;
there is no ready hand and kind heart to cheer him in his loneliness and
bereavement; there is none in whose eyes he can see himself reflected, and from
whose lips he can receive the unfailing assurances of care and love.
He may be courted for his money; he may eat and drink and revel; and he
may sicken and die in a hotel or garret, with plenty of attendants about him;
like so many cormorants waiting for their prey; but he will never know the
comforts of the domestic fire side. Marriage
has in it less of beauty, but more of safety, than the single life; it hath no
more ease, but less danger; it is more merry and more sa[ ]; it is fuller of
sorrows and fuller of joy; it lies under more burdens, but is supported by all
the strength of love and charity, and those burdens are delightful.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 20, 1864, p. 2, c. 2-3
Ladies
Ages.—Some waggish Richmond correspondent of the Augusta Constitutionalist
says:
Quite
a stir was created in some of the Government Bureaus, a day or two ago, by a
peremptory order which came from a high military authority, ordering that the
ages of all clerks in those bureaus be immediately taken down and registered.
The majority of the "clerks" affected by the order being
ladies—of certain and uncertain ages—the amount of confusion that ensued
baffles description. Secrets that
had been sedulously kept for years and years became common events under the
inexorable figures of the registration, and ladies who had preserved an easy
dignity whenever questioned upon the subject of their ages, in familiar
discourse, became pale at the inexorable "military necessity" that
required that their years should be "known of man."
Of course the order was never intended to include ladies being directed
at "able bodied males" only; but the opportunity was too excellent to
be lost, and the officer in charge could not resist the temptation to explore
the hidden mysteries of female vanity, and the result is, that in the files of
the ________ office are securely laid away among the "State papers,"
the ages of the lady clerks of the Bureau aforesaid—terms of years varying, I
understand, between two decades and three score and ten.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 20, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
Mayor's
Court—His Honor, the Mayor, had the following cases before him this morning
for examination: . . .
Three
boys, Thomas Powers, Pat Hord, and Jasper Winter, were charged with the passing
on the Petersburg railroad with intention of stealing iron.
The Mayor reviewed the case, the mothers of the respective boys being
drawn up before him, and administered a moral lecture to the parents, in which
he remarked that the normal condition of a boy or girl, at its birth, is that of
a lady or gentleman, and that the child's future depends upon the manner in
which the parents rear it. It appearing, from the evidence of officer Morris, that the
moral standard of Thomas' education had not been of the most exalted character,
his Honor, while regretting that there was no fitting place to which such
juvenile offenders could be sent, though proper to dismiss the boys, with a
severe reprimand to their mothers, and an injunction to Thomas' mother to take
him home and thrash him.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 20, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
[For the Whig]
To the Surgeons and Stewards of Hospitals in the City.
Permit a suggestion in regard to an article of food very common in one
part of the State, comparatively unknown here, which will be a great luxury to
our poor fellows confined in hospitals, conducive to their health as an
anti-scorbutic, and cheaper far than sorghum or molasses of any kind. I refer to apple butter.
All soldiers from the South remember with pleasure their introduction to
it in the Valley and in Maryland. As
the holidays are close at hand, and you, Mr. Editor, have suggested the
propriety of giving the soldiers a Christmas dinner, which I hope will be
universally acted on, what single article is there, for the price—two and a
half to three dollars per lb.—which will be such a luxury to them? It is only about one third the price of butter.
It will be found at M. Blair's, Tyler and Son, R. R. Roberts, N. Bare,
and perhaps at other houses.
A Wounded Soldier.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 21, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Concert
at Metropolitan Hall.—Mr. F. N. Crouch, the well known author of
"Kathleen Mavourneen," formerly of Washington City, but now a soldier
in the Confederate army, gives a concert at Metropolitan Hall, this evening, in
which he will be assisted by miss Blanche Middleton and an amateur.
Of Mr.
Crouch himself we need hardly speak, as he is widely known in Virginia.
As a musician, a composer and a singer, he enjoys high reputation.
And whilst it has been some time since he has appeared in public, we can
assert, from very recent experience, that his fine and sympathetic voice has
lost nothing of its pleasantness and accuracy during his exposure in camp.
Although he has recently been quite an adept in throwing up
fortifications, hewing trees and storming redoubts, he has forgotten none of the
gentler arts of the Muses, and he will not disappoint the expectations of his
most ardent admirers.
The
programme offered for this evening's entertainment is a varied and well selected
one, and its composition is perhaps the best we have seen since the war.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 21, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Soldiers'
Christmas Dinner.—Captain Walker, of the Examiner, received $115
yesterday afternoon, and Mr. Binford, of this office, sundry turkeys for the
soldiers' Christmas dinner. The
time is short, and we hope that our citizens will come forward and subscribe
liberally. North Carolina is
showing a commendable zeal in providing for the proposed dinner.—Virginia
ought not to be behind her.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 21, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Blankets.—
2-4 and 10-4 Bed Blankets,
Heavy Army and Negro Blankets,
for sale by
Kent, Paine & Co.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 21, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Summary: Just Published.
Marginalia, or Gleanings from An Army Note Book, by "Personne,"
embracing over four hundred anecdotes, for sale at the bookstores.
F. G. DeFontaine & Co., Columbia, S. C.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 22, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
The
following stanza on the marriage of Reuben Wise with Matilda Cheevis, is
exceedingly well told and witty:
At length she seized the proffered prize,
(Oh, happy one, believe us)
For matrimony made her Wise—
Before she was Miss Cheevis.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 22, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
The
Southern Express.—The promptness with which this company has re-established
its business connections with Atlanta is but a single instance of the energy and
enterprise characteristic of the officers of the Southern Express.
They are throughout, as far as we have met them, gentlemen of untiring
industry, prompt and reliable in the transaction of all business committed to
their charge, and courteous to all who come in contact with them, while the
company which they represent holds itself responsible for all losses which may
occur in the transmission of packages, and is ever ready to discharge every
obligation without quibbling or controversy.—Rebel.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 22, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Manager
Ogden.—It is stated that Mr. Ogden, late Manager of the Richmond Theatre, will
be sent to the Salisbury prison. His
friends do not seem to have exerted much influence in his behalf.
At all events, they have been unable to convince the military authorities
that no possible benefit to the Confederacy can result from the longer
imprisonment of Mr. Ogden, or that he could be of some service as directeur of
dramatic amusements in the metropolis, which, in the opinion of social
philosophers, it is expedient to foster rather than suppress.
Well, "the times are out of joint," and the theories of
philosophy are not entitled to more respect than other schemes and projects.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 22, 1864, p. 2, c. 4
Metropolitan Hall.
Grand Vocal and Instrumental Concert
by the
Nineteenth Georgia Band,
Assisted by
Madame Ruhl,
Messrs. H. Schneider,
J. Kessnick, and
C. L. Siegel.
-------
Programme.
Part First.
1. March—Tancredi Rossini
Full Band.
2. Ballad --------
Mr. C. Keemadel
3. Piano Solo—Grand Polka de
Concert
Wallace
Mr. George W. Chase.
4. Carzine—Seride la V[ ]ps (Trouvatore) Verdi
Madame Ruhl.
5. Flute Solo—Variations sur an Air Tyrollen Boehme
Mr. C. L. Siegel
6. Comic Song
Mr. R. H. Nash.
-------
Part Second.
1. Potpourri Favourite Airs
Full Band.
2. Duett Solo—Stan Cheisa—Suprano and Tenor Verdi
Madame Ruhl and Mr. C. Keemadel
3. Violin Solo—1st Concerto De Berriot
Mr. J. Kesnick.
4. Ballad—Brightest Eyes Stigelli
Madame Ruhl
5. Comic Song (in character)
Mr. R. H. Nash.
6. Les Clochett a Polka Latizky
Full Band.
Doors open at 7. Concert
commence at 8 o'clock.
Tickets $5—to be had at the Book and Music Stores.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 22, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
The Soldiers'
Christmas Dinner—Contributions
Flowing In.
Yesterday, contributions came in for the Soldiers' Christmas dinner with
an earnestness that did our very heart good.
The members of the House of Delegates and Senate of Virginia, with
characteristic liberality, donated $40 each for the proposed object.—The
Confederate House of Representatives followed suit—Mr. E. M. Bruce, of Ky.,
opening the ball with a subscription of five hundred dollars, and others
followed with amounts the minimum of which was $50.—The grave fathers of the
Confederate Senate were equally liberal. Private
citizens emulated [illegible] cheerfulness with which [illegible[ these,
however, had [illegible] send private boxes to the army, but [illegible] ter
them from adding a postscript to their good works.
The subscriptions collected yesterday will not fall short of fourteen
thousand dollars. Let the work
continue to-day and Richmond will
enjoy the proud satisfaction of having given a large number of the Army of
Virginia, now standing as a living wall between her and the enemy what would
pollute her streets with their vile tread—a bountiful Christmas repast.
The Yankee papers of the 19th are literally freighted with
accounts of the preparations making in Yankee land for feasting their hirelings
around Petersburg, on [illegible] next. Thank
heaven, our brave boys will also dine that day upon "the fat of the
land."
Mr.
Trenholm, Secretary of the Treasury, subscribed $2,000.
The
following note, dated "Southern Express Company, Richmond, Dec. 21,
1864," addressed to the Editor of the Whig, was received by us
yesterday afternoon:
"You
will please inform the relatives and friends of the soldiers of General Lee's
army, who are located near Chester, Dunlop's Crossing or Petersburg, that this
Company will carry all presents for their Christmas dinner free of charge.
"Goods
must be properly put up and secured for transportation, and delivered at the
Express Office before four o'clock on the afternoon of December 24.
H. A. Hamilton,
Agent."
A
meeting of citizens of Richmond was held at Kent, Paine & Co's, last
night—Mr. John Enders was called to the Chair, and Wm. B. Isaacs appointed
Secretary. The object of the
meeting was to devise means to give the soldiers a Christmas dinner.
Mr.
Apperson thought that there were various reasons why the dinner proposed should
be postponed until the 1st of January.
A
number of gentlemen present stated why they concurred with him.
The
vote being taken, the motion prevailed, and the dinner was consequently
deferred.
It was
confidently asserted that $200,000 can be raised in a few days for the
contemplated object. . . .
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 22, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
To the People of Virginia.
As a slight token of gratitude to the Army of Gen. Lee, the citizens
propose to give them a New Year's Dinner.
Contributions in money or in provisions (cooked or uncooked) should be
sent, by the 29th instant, to John J. Wilson, Esq., Richmond, and a
competent Committee will superintend the appropriation and distribution thereof.
Sam'l J. Harrison,
Thos. W. Mc[ ]ance,
Wm. B. Isaacs,
R. F. Walker,
Wm. G. Paine,
W. L. Gilman,
J. A. Hobson,
Committee of Citizens.
Papers throughout the State please copy till day.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 23, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
New
Music.—We have received from the enterprising publishers, Messrs. J. W. Davies
& Sons, on Main Street, Richmond, copies of new music recently issued by
them, and for sale at their establishment, viz:
"You
Can Never Win Us Back," a song written by a lady of Kentucky, arranged for
the piano-forte by J. E. Smith, and dedicated to Mosby and his men."
"The
Dying Soldier, or the Moon Rose O'er the Battle Plain," composed for the
piano-forte by ----------.
"There's
Music in the Air," composed for the piano-forte by G. F. Root.
All of
this music was lithographed by E. [illegible], in the most artistic manner and
cannot be surpassed anywhere in elegance of execution.
We have not had an opportunity to sound the merits of the music,
but every one knows that the first mentioned song has become universally
popular, and we are persuaded that the other two are worthy of the attention of
pianists.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 23, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Castle
Thunder Items.-- . . . A "swamp dragon" named Dennis Rexrode was, on
yesterday, brought down from Staunton and put into the Castle.
A
"swamp dragon" is a fellow who, having deserted from the Confederate
or Yankee army, or both, as is often the case, lives in the woods and subsists
by rapine.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 23, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Summary: Advertisement for New
Year's Dinner for Gen. Lee's Army
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 24, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Christmas.—To-morrow
will be "Christmas Day," and we doubt not, from all the external
evidences, that it will be generally observed in the olden way as far as
circumstances will allow. There
will be a good dinner on every table, where sorrow and poverty do not conspire
to prevent festivity. There will be
plenty of egg-nog and apple toddy on the tables and sideboards of those who can
afford it. Eating and drinking,
according to the old custom, constitute the chief enjoyments of the day, for
"Christmas comes but once a year," and the general impulse is to
celebrate its recurrence by indulgences which are avoided at all other seasons.
There
is another source of enjoyment, however, on Christmas day, which we commend to
our readers, who are blessed with worldly goods.
It is to dispense their bounties, to-day, to those whose hearts will be
gladdened by their generosity—to those who, perchance, driven from home and
friends, by the ruthless foe, are deprived of many comforts which they have
hitherto enjoyed. We know that this
suggestion will be unneeded by hundreds of benevolent ladies and gentlemen who
have already "remembered the poor," but we prescribe it as a recipe
for real enjoyment—the consciousness of having contributed to another's
pleasures—which will go very far towards compensating for any deficiencies of
the Christmas feast which the blockade of our ports may have caused.
As
Christmas occurs on Sunday, there will be three holidays.
The printers of this city, some of them, and, perhaps, many other
persons, will observe this day for their merry-meetings and greetings.
To-morrow, the 25th, will be the day for family re-unions at
the dinner table, and Monday will be the hey-day for all who do not observe this
day. We wish one and all who
wholesome pleasures pursue, "A Merry Christmas."
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 26, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
From yesterday's
Evening Edition.
Christmas
Time, in its revolution, has brought us another Christmas day; and, like
its three immediate predecessors, it comes to us in the raiment of gloom and
sadness, shorn of that attendant gaiety of other years, which made it a blessed
and hallowed time, fraught with merriment and rejoicings.
In how many halls on this Christmas day will the wassail bowl be untasted,
and from around how many boards will some loved one be absent, in our bleeding
country.
To
few, very few, if any, will this recurrence of the once Merry Christmas bring
joy or mirth. To many, many, alas,
it will be the reminder of afflictions and sorrows, which are more keenly felt
on such a day as this—as it contrasts the present gloom and sadness with the
joys and pleasures of the past. In
this hour of our trials and sufferings, however, the bereavement of the country
is too general to suppose that there will be any ostentatious revelry and
merry-making. The festival, we
apprehend, will be one "more honored in the breach than in the
observance," for there are but few in this suffering land of ours who have
not paid tribute to the war fiend, and who are not mourning the death of some
near and dear one, or pining whilst they watch for the return of the captive,
who is moaning his life away in a Yankee prison. How many, again, are there, on this day, who pass among us as
strangers in a strange land, who, driven from the roof tree which had protected
them and theirs for generations, are watching and waiting for the day which will
see them back at the homes where they first learned to love and hope.
But
yet, those whose hearts are sadder on this day, those whose afflictions will be
made keener at the recollections of joys that they have lost, those who will
find in its recurrence wherewith to feed the anguish and bitterness of their
life of exile, all will derive some consolations from the religious character of
the day, which is the birth day of Him whose benison was "Peace on
earth;" and amid the tribulations and gloom which surround us, let it be
the hope and prayer of all that, ere another Christmas revolves in the cycle of
the year, Peace shall have spread its white wings over the land.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 26, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
The Soldiers' New Year's Dinner.
The Petersburg Express says the people of Petersburg and Southside
Virginia are as much indebted to the Army of Northern Virginia for the
preservation of their homes as those of Richmond, and must not be behind their
fellow citizens of the north side in this good work.
We have in our midst many citizens who are quite able to contribute $500
each, and scores who can give $100, and not miss the amount.
Our country friends in portions of Dinwiddie, all of Nottaway, Amelia,
Brunswick and Mecklenburg, can send roasting pigs, chickens, ducks, turkeys and
geese, but if none of the foregoing are available, send beef, hams, vegetables,
or anything else which will contribute to the gratification of the gallant
soldiers for whose benefit the dinner is intended. Petersburg and the counties contiguous must be liberally
represented at this great dinner.
The
agent of the Southern Express Company at Richmond
agrees to carry all presents for the New Year's dinner free of charge; and,
without consulting him, we take the liberty of pledging Major Haynesworth, of
the Petersburg agency, for the performance of the same patriotic duty.
We
would suggest that all contributions of edibles or money be sent to the care of
Major D. B. Bridgford, Provost Marshal for the Army of Northern Virginia,
Headquarters at Petersburg.
Soldiers' Dinner.
Collected by the Committee on Main street (in two hours,) between 11th
and 14th streets, $5,2990. The
committees in other parts of the city were meeting with equal success.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 26, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
Summary: Reprint of Clement Moore's
"Santa Claus' Visit", or "'Twas the night before Christmas"
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 28, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
Correspondence.
Mrs. E. Magill:
Madam—Your
note of this morning, addressed to John F. Regnault, Esq., tendering the
Richmond Theatre on Wednesday night for a benefit to the soldiers' dinner on New
Year's Day, has been placed by him in the hands of the committee of citizens
having charge of the arrangements connected therewith.
The
Committee beg to accept your generous proposition, and to return you, in behalf
our gallant defenders, our sincere thanks.
You
may rely on our best exertions to aid the management in procuring a large and
brilliant audience worthy of the occasion.
Very respectfully,
Your most ob't servants,
Sam'l J. Harrison,
Thos. W. Mc[]ance,
Wm. B. Isaacs,
R. F. Walker,
Wm. G. Gillman,
J. A. Hobson,
Jno. Enders,
Jas. L. Apperson,
Andrew Johnston,
John F. Regnault,
Committee.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 28, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
Correspondence.
Miss Vernon:
You
are no doubt aware, through notices in the daily papers, that the citizens of
Virginia contemplate giving a Dinner on New Year's Day to the gallant soldiers
of General Lee's army, and we beg that you will lend your distinguished counsel
and valuable aid on Wednesday evening next at the Richmond Theatre, which has
been kindly tendered to the committee for the object.
We
feel sure that you will participate with us with genuine pleasure, and we need
not add now much gratification your acquiescence will afford the community at
large. Please name your own piece.
We remain, Miss Vernon,
Very respectfully,
Your most obedient servants,
S. J. Harrison,
Thos W. McCance,
John Endees,
E. F. Walker,
John F. Regnault,
J. A. Hobson,
Wm. B. Isaacs,
J. L. Apperson,
Andrew Johnston,
W. S. Gilman,
Committee.
To
Miss Ida Vernon.
-------
Richmond, Dec. 27, 1864.
Gentleman: You have only
requested me to do what gives my heart joy, and cheerfully I say yes; and
may our noble troops (God bless them!) feel as much real pleasure in partaking
of this New Year's meal as it gives me to contribute towards it.
You
wish me to select the play for the evening's entertainment. I name "East Lynne," and trust it meets your
approbation. I have not entirely
recovered from my late severe illness, but feel God in his goodness will give me
strength to act in such a cause.
Yours, respectfully,
Ida Vernon.
To Messrs. S. J. Harrison,
John Enders,
R. F. Walker and others, Committee.
-------
Tickets may be had at the Theatre or from any member of the Committee.
Secured seats can be had of the Treasurer of the Theatre at the Bookstore
of Messrs. West and Johnston, Main street, from 10 o'clock A. M. to 4 P.M.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 29, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
Theatre—The
Soldiers' Benefit.—Miss Ida Vernon has consented to appear at the Theatre
to-night in her favorite character of Lady Isabel, in "East
Lynne."—The tone and spirit of her note to the committee should shame the
most niggardly person in the city to the purchase of a ticket, and inspire the
more liberal with a purpose to buy as many as their purses will allow, knowing,
as they do, that the entire receipts will be added to the fund for the
"Soldiers' Dinner." Let
the cheerful alacrity which Miss Vernon has manifested in her response to the
call upon her be emulated by the citizens and sojourners in their purchase of
tickets, and the proceeds of this night's entertainment will be worthy of the
occasion.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 29, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
The Soldiers' Dinner.
We may safely assure the numerous contributors to the "Soldiers'
Dinner," and all who take an interest in the welfare of the patriot army,
that the undertaking to furnish our brave defenders with a slight token of
popular regard, in the shape of a "New Year's Dinner," bids fair to be
eminently successful. But to make
assurance doubly sure, let no one who purposes to co9ntribute money or
provisions abstain from doing so to-day, or even to-morrow.
Enough may be as good as a feast, but let us rather have a surplus of
good things than the slightest deficiency.
The
Committee of Arrangements were fortunate in securing the assistance of Mr.
Thompson Tyler. From his long
experience in the management of hotels, he is well qualified to superintend the
culinary department of the work to be performed. At the request of the Committee, he cheerfully undertook the
task of having the poultry and meats properly dressed and cooked.
Mr. Ballard tendered the use of the unoccupied kitchen of the
"Ballard House;" and fuel having been procured from the city gas
works, Mr. Tyler, with a corps of cooks and assistants, proceeded, with coat off
and sleeves rolled up, to the performance of the duties he had assumed.
The
poultry and meats contributed and purchased were sent to the Ballard kitchen,
and for two days and nights the spacious ranges and ovens have been used to
their full capacity. The cooking
will, of course, be continued until every fowl, every ham, and every round of
beef, or whatever else may be received, is made ready for the feast. It is believed there will be plenty for all.
Turkeys, ducks, etc., by the hundred have already been secured, and there
will be roast and boiled beef, roast mutton, bacon, hams and other substantials
in liberal quantity. We are,
therefore, most hopeful that the "Dinner" will be a success, in spite
of numerous difficulties, but nevertheless, let every one who has not
contributed do so at once.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 30, 1864, p. 1, c. 2
The Sacking of Atlanta.
A correspondent of the Augusta Chronicle and Sentinel, under date
of 18th inst., gives an interesting account of the manner in which
Atlanta was sacked by the Confederates. He
says that, previous to their departure, the Yankees sent out written invitations
to the people living in the counties surrounding it to come in and get ashes at
cheap rates in any quantity.
The
people, however, did not accept the invitation at that time. But soon after the Yankees left, the country people flocked
by scores from all parts of the country, some coming over one hundred miles.
Every description of vehicle, drawn by mules, horses, stallions, jacks,
jennies, oxen, bullocks, etc., could be seen upon the streets.
The scene beggars description.
Iron,
salt, bacon, flour, sugar, coffee, hides, and everything else left by the
Yankees, were unceremoniously deposited in wagons and carts and carried off.
But
our country cousins did not stop at that. They
entered the dwelling houses of those absent and gutted them of all their
furniture. One lady who left her
house for a few hours to attend to pressing business, was astonished to find on
her return, all of her furniture and wearing apparel gone.
Fully
one hundred and fifty pianos were carried off by the hoosiers, many of whom were
unused to any "concord of sweet sounds" save that produced by a
jewsharp or fiddle. One of them, an
illiterate backwoodsman, who resided in a humble hut, ten by twelve, was seen
carrying out a magnificent piano in a small cart drawn by a two-year-old
bullock.
A
venerable dame was observed trying to haul into her cart a fine piano, by means
of a rope attached to the legs. When
asked what she was doing, she replied that she had found a "mity nice table
in thar, and was trying to get it in her keart."
One
mane alone carried off over $50,000 worth of dry hides. Steps have been taken to secure all the articles carried off,
as well as the offenders. Already
much property has been recovered.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 30, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Dreadful.—A
Prisoner from Chattanooga describes the condition of those families that left
Georgia and sought Yankee protection as terrible. Many women and children have died from cold—four or five
thousand of them being huddled together in Chattanooga, with no wood and little
to eat. There is nothing but
lamentation and vain regrets from morning till night.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 30, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Theatre.—The
benefit for the "Soldiers' Dinner Fund" at the Theatre, Wednesday
night, was as successful as could have been expected in view of the inclement
weather. The proceeds will amount
to about $9,000. Mrs. McGill, with
her characteristic liberality, having refused to deduct any portion of the
receipts to meet the ordinary expenses.
Miss
Vernon played Lady Isabel with her usual spirit and effect, and Mrs.
DeBar personated Mrs. Corny as if she were the individual herself, but
the residue of the cast was but indifferently sustained. Mr. Talbot essayed Carlyle for the first time, and was
conscious that he had ventured beyond his depth, but did the best he could.
Captain Charles, as Levison, was suggestive of that well drawn
character. Mr. Brown deserves
credit for his efforts to render the performance successful.
He was so zealous that he undertook two or three characters, one of which
(Dill) Mr. Wells was expected to render; but as it had heretofore been
assigned to a supernumerary named Banker, who had quite the Theatre, and,
inasmuch, as Mr. Wells was not cast in the after piece, a question of stage
etiquette arose, and so Mr. Wells did not appear.
We believe that the audience generally were as well satisfied as they
expected to be.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 30, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Cock
Fight.—The first fight of a main of cocks being advertised to come off at 11
o'clock yesterday morning at the cock pit on 17th street, near
Seabrook's hospital, at the appointed time several hundred lovers of the gaff
assembled to witness the sport. The
main of seven cocks was to be fought between Duke on the one side and Gilmour on
the other, both celebrated cockers, the first fight to take place yesterday and
the other to-day. A goodly crowd of
spectators having assembled, notwithstanding that the gate fee was five dollars,
and all things being in readiness, the hostile cocks were gaffed and pitted.
Mr. Duke entered an Irish gray, Mr. Gilmour a Dusty Miller, and at it
they went. The fight had lasted about fifteen minutes when the Dusty
Miller had his throat cut by a dexterous thrust of his antagonist's gaff, and
fell strangled in his own gore.
A
Shakebag was then fought between Duke's Irish Gray and another large fowl
belonging to Mr. Gilmour. This
contest was of the most spirited description, and the betting was very brisk,
Gilmour's bird being for a long time the favorite.
It was, however, at length won by Duke at the expiration of an hour.
Several
hack fights concluded the day's entertainment.
The
company assembled on this occasion was of the most select description, embracing
many scion of the aristocracy and a number of Government
officers.—Refreshments, consisting of an unlimited supply of apple brandy, was
disposed at a living price.
Great
sport is expected to-day, and a large crowd will no doubt attend.
The fights will begin at eleven o'clock.
RICHMOND [VA] WHIG, December 31, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
New Music. Price $2 each.
Postage
free for the price—one-half off to the trade.
I've
no Mother Now
Murmur
of the Shells
Dear
Mother, I've Come Home to Die
Alabama
Bessie
Bell Waltz
Spring
Time Polka
Mocking
Bird Quick Step
Palmetto
Schottische
Carnival
of Venice Quick Step
Musical
Souvenir, suitable as a Christmas or New Year's present.
Engraving
Descriptions
on Watches, Rings, Jewelry, &c., in the best style and on the shortest
notice.
George Dunn & Co.,
Corner 14th and Main.