The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 15, No. 92, June, 1865: A Magazine of Literature, Art, and PoliticsVarious
History
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 15, No. 92, June, 1865: A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics
Various
American periodicals
It would be interesting to follow the troops in their victorious advance
upon Petersburg, their closing in upon Lee, the magnificent tactics of
the pursuit, and the scenes of the surrender; but in this article we
have space only to glance at
SCENES IN RICHMOND.
"My line is broken in three places, and Richmond must be evacuated," was
Lee's despatch to Davis, received by the arch-traitor at eleven and a
half o'clock in St. Paul's Church. He read it with blanched cheeks, and
left the church in haste.
Davis had robbed the banks of Virginia a few days before, seizing the
bullion in the name of the Confederacy; and his first thought was how to
secure the treasure.
He hurried to the executive mansion, passed up the winding stairway to
his business apartment, seated himself at a small table, wrote an order
for the removal of the coin to Danville, and for the evacuation of the
city.
There was no evening service in the churches on that Sunday. Ministers
and congregations were otherwise employed. The Reverend Mr. Hoge, ablest
of the Presbyterian pastors, fiercest advocate of them all for Slavery
as a divine missionary institution, bitterest hater of the North, packed
his carpet-bag and took a long Sabbath-day's journey towards the South.
The Reverend Mr. Duncan, of the Methodist Church, did the same work of
necessity. Lumpkin, who for many years has kept a slave-trader's jail,
also had a work of necessity on hand,--fifty men, women, and children,
who must be saved to the missionary institution for the future
enlightenment of Africa. Although it was the Lord's day, (perhaps he was
comforted by the thought, that, the better the day, the better the
deed,) the coffle-gang was made up in the jail-yard, within pistol-shot
of Davis's parlor-window, within a stone's throw of the Monumental
Church, and a sad and weeping throng, chained two and two, the last
slave-coffle that shall ever tread the streets of Richmond, were hurried
to the Danville Depot. Slavery being the corner-stone of the
Confederacy, it was fitting that this gang, keeping step to the music of
their clanking chains, should accompany Jeff Davis's secretaries,
Benjamin and Trenholm, and the Reverend Messrs. Hoge and Duncan, in
their flight. The whole Rebel Government was on the move, and all
Richmond desired to be. No thoughts of taking Washington now, or of the
flag of the Confederacy flaunting in the breeze over the old Capitol!
Hundreds of officials were at the depot, to get away from the doomed
city. Public documents, the archives of the Confederacy, were hastily
gathered up, tumbled into boxes and barrels, and taken to the trains, or
carried into the streets and set on fire. Coaches, carriages, wagons,
carts, wheelbarrows, everything in the shape of a vehicle was brought
into use. There was a jumble of boxes, chests, trunks, valises,
carpet-bags,--a crowd of excited men sweating as they never sweat
before,--women with dishevelled hair, unmindful of their wardrobes,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account