Diary of a Southern Refugee during the War

June 1863-July 1864

163 June1863–July1864 June 1 [1863]—L. and B.1 went up to Mr. Marye’s near fredericksburg today , to visit their brother’s grave. They took flowers with which to adorn it. it is a sweet, though sad office, to plant flowers on a Christian’s grave. They saw my sister, who is there, nursing their wounded son.2 news from Vicksburg cheering. 5th—our household circle has been broken to-day, by Mrs. S[tuart] and her daughterB[ella]leavingitforSouthCarolina.Wearegrievedtogivethemup. 6th—We have been interested lately by a visit to this village of our old friend, Mrs. t.3 of Rappahannock County. She gives most graphic descriptions of her sojourn of seven weeks among the yankees last summer. Sixty thousand surrounded her house, under command of general Siegel.4 on one occasion, he and his staff rode up and announced that they would take tea with her. entirely alone, that elegant old lady retained her composure, and with unruffled countenance rang her bell; when the servant appeared, she said to him, “Jim, tea for fourteen.” She quietly retained her seat, conversing with them with dignified politeness, and submitting as best she could to the general’s very free manner of walking about her beautiful establishment, pronouncing it “baronial,” and regretting, in her presence, that he had not known of its elegancies and comforts in time, that he might have brought on Mrs. Siegel, and have made it his head-quarters. tea being announced, Mrs. t[hornton], before proceeding to the dining-room, requested the servant to call a soldier in, who had been guarding her house for weeks, and who had sought occasion to do her many kindnesses. When the man entered , the general demurred: “no, no, madam, he will not go to table with 164 Diary of a Southern Refugee during the War us.” Mrs. t[hornton] replied, “general, i must beg that you will allow this gentleman to come to my table, for he has been a friend to me when i have sadly wanted one.” The general objected no farther; the man took tea with the master. after tea, the general proposed music, asking Mrs. t[hornton] if she had ever played; she replied that “such was still her habit.” The piano being opened, she said if she sang at all she must sing the songs of her own land, and then, with her uncommonly fine voice, she sang “The Bonnie Blue flag,” “Dixie,” and other Southern songs, with great spirit. They listened with apparent pleasure. one of the staff then suggested that the general was a musician. upon her vacating the seat he took it, and played in grand style; with so much beauty and accuracy, she added, with a twinkle in her eye, that i strongly suspected him of having been a music-master. Since that time she has heard that he was once master of that beautiful art in Mobile. Well, he was at least a more innocent man then than now. almost every woman of the South, or at least of Virginia, will have her tale to tell when this “cruel war is over.”5 The life of too many will be, alas! as a “tale that is told;” its interest, its charm, even its hope, as far as this world is concerned, having passed away.6 Their crown of rejoicing will be in the public weal, which their loved and lost have fought, bled, and died to establish; but their own hearts will be withered, their hearths deserted. Mrs. g.D.,7 of fredericksburg, has been giving some amusing incidents of her sudden departure from her home. She had determined to remain, but when, on the night of the bombardment, a shell burst very near her house, her husband aroused her to say that she must go. They had no means of conveyance, and her two children were both under three years of age, and but one servant (the others having gone to the yankees), a girl twelve years old. it so happened that they had access to three straw carriages, used by her own children and those of her neighbours. They quickly determined to put a child in each of two carriages, and to bundle up as many clothes as would fill the third. The father drew the carriage containing one child, the mother the other child, and the little girl drew the bundle of clothes. They thus set out, to go they knew not whither, only to...