enterprise. When I was at Charleston, I asked Mr Robertson whether any
French vessels had run the blockade. In reply he told me it was a very
peculiar fact that "one of the partners of Fraser & Co. being a
Frenchman, was extremely anxious to engage a French vessel in the trade.
Expense was no object; the ship and the cargo were forthcoming; nothing
was wanted but a French captain and a French crew (to make the ship
legally French); but although any amount of money was offered as an
inducement, they were not to be found, and this obstacle was
insurmountable." Not the slightest difficulty is experienced at
Liverpool in officering and manning any number of ships for this
purpose.
Major Norris went to call upon Mr Vallandigham, whom he had escorted to
Wilmington as a sort of semi-prisoner some days ago. Mr Vallandigham was
in bed. He told Major Norris that he intended to run the blockade this
evening for Bermuda, from whence he should find his way to the Clifton
Hotel, Canada, where he intended to publish a newspaper, and agitate
Ohio across the frontier. Major Norris found him much elated by the news
of his having been nominated for the governorship of Ohio; and he
declared if he was duly elected, his State could dictate peace.
In travelling through the country to Wilmington, these two used to
converse much on politics; and Major Norris once said to him, "Now, from
what you have seen and heard in your journey through the South, you must
know that a reconstruction of the old union, under any circumstances, is
utterly impossible." Vallandigham had replied, "Well, all I can say is,
_I hope_, and at all events I know, that my scheme of a suspension of
hostilities is the only one which has any prospect of ultimate
success."[50]
At Wilmington I took leave with regret of Mr Sennec and his family, who
were also to run the blockade this evening. Miss Sennec is much too
pretty to risk a collision with a fragment of a shell; but here no one
seems to think anything of the risk of passing through the Yankee fleet,
as the "runners," though often fired at, are very seldom hit or
captured, and their captains are becoming more and more knowing every
day. I was obliged to go to the provost-marshal's office to get
Beauregard's pass renewed there, as North Carolina is out of his
district: in doing so I very nearly missed the train.
I left Wilmington at 7 A.M. The weather was very hot and oppressive, and
the cars dreadfully crowded all day. The luxuries of Charleston had also
spoiled me for the "road," as I could no longer appreciate at their
proper value the "hog and hominy" meals which I had been so thankful for
in Texas; but I found Major Norris a very agreeable and instructive
companion. We changed cars again at Weldon, where I had a terrific fight
for a seat, but I succeeded; for experience had made me very quick at
this sort of business. I always carry my saddlebags and knapsack with
me into the car.
[50] I have often heard Southerners speak of this proposal of
Vallandigham's as _most insidious_ and dangerous; but the opinion now is
that things have gone too far to permit reunion under any circumstances.
* * * * *
_17th June_ (Wednesday).--We reached Petersburgh at 3 A.M., and had to
get out and traverse this town in carts, after which we had to lie down
in the road until some other cars were opened. We left Petersburgh at 5
A.M. and arrived at Richmond at 7 A.M., having taken forty-one hours
coming from Charleston. The railroad between Petersburgh and Richmond is
protected by extensive field-works, and the woods have been cut down to
give range. An irruption of the enemy in this direction has evidently
been contemplated; and we met a brigade of infantry half-way between
Petersburgh and Richmond on its way to garrison the latter place, as the
Yankees are reported to be menacing in that neighbourhood.
The scenery near Richmond is very pretty, and rather English-looking.
The view of the James River from the railway bridge is quite beautiful,
though the water is rather low at present. The weather was extremely hot
and oppressive, and, for the first time since I left Havana, I really
suffered from the heat.
At 10 A.M. I called on General Cooper, Adjutant-General to the
Confederate forces, and senior general in the army. He is brother-in-law
to Mr Mason, the Southern Commissioner in London. I then called upon Mr
Benjamin, the Secretary of State, who made an appointment with me to
meet him at his house at 7 P.M. The public offices are handsome stone
buildings, and seemed to be well arranged for business. I found at least
as much difficulty in gaining access to the great men as there would be
in European countries; but when once admitted, I was treated with the
greatest courtesy. The anterooms were crowded with people patiently
waiting for an audience.
The streets of Richmond are named and numbered in a most puzzling
manner, and the greater part of the houses are not numbered at all. It
is the most hilly city I have seen in America, and its population is
unnaturally swollen since the commencement of the war. The fact of there
being abundance of ice appeared to me an immense luxury, as I had never
seen any before in the South; but it seems that the winters are quite
severe in Northern Virginia.
I was sorry to hear in the highest quarters the gloomiest forebodings
with regard to the fate of Vicksburg. This fortress is in fact _given
up_, and all now despair of General Johnston's being able to effect
anything towards its relief.
I kept my appointment with Mr Benjamin at 7 o'clock. He is a stout
dapper little man, evidently of Hebrew extraction, and of undoubted
talent. He is a Louisianian, and was senator for that state in the old
United States Congress, and I believe he is accounted a very clever
lawyer and a brilliant orator. He told me that he had filled the onerous
post of Secretary of War during the first seven months of the Secession,
and I can easily believe that he found it no sinecure. We conversed for
a long time about the origin of secession, which he indignantly denied
was brought about, as the Yankees assert, by the interested machinations
of individuals. He declared that, for the last ten years, the Southern
statesmen had openly stated in Congress what would take place; but the
Northerners never would believe they were in earnest, and had often
replied by the taunt, "The South was so bound to, and dependent on, the
North, that _she couldn't be kicked out of the Union_."
He said that the Southern armies had always been immensely outnumbered
in all their battles, and that until recently General Lee could never
muster more than 60,000 effective men. He confessed that the Southern
forces consisted altogether of about 350,000 to 400,000 men; and when I
asked him where they all were, he replied that, on account of the
enormous tract of country to be defended, and the immense advantages the
enemy possessed by his facilities for sea and river transportation the
South was obliged to keep large bodies of men unemployed, and at great
distances from each other, awaiting the sudden invasions or raids to
which they were continually exposed. Besides which, the Northern troops,
which numbered (he supposed) 600,000 men, having had as yet but little
defensive warfare, could all be employed for aggressive purposes.
He asserted that England has still, and always had had it, in her power
to terminate the war by recognition, and by making a commercial treaty
with the South; and he denied that the Yankees really would dare to go
to war with Great Britain for doing so, however much they might swagger
about it: he said that recognition would not increase the Yankee hatred
of England, for this, whether just or unjust, was already as intense as
it could possibly be. I then alluded to the supposed ease with which
they could overrun Canada, and to the temptation which its unprotected
towns must offer to the large numbers of Irish and German mercenaries in
the Northern armies. He answered, "They probably could not do that so
easily as some people suppose, and they know perfectly well that you
could deprive them of California (a far more serious loss) with much
greater ease." This consideration, together with the certainty of an
entire blockade of their ports, the total destruction of their trade,
and an invasion on a large scale by the Southern troops, in reality
prevents the possibility of their declaring war upon England at the
present time, any more than they did at the period of their great
national humiliation in the Mason-Slidell affair.
Mr Benjamin told me that his property had lately been confiscated in
New Orleans, and that his two sisters had been turned, neck and crop,
into the streets there, with only one trunk, which they had been forced
to carry themselves. Every one was afraid to give them shelter, except
an Englishwoman, who protected them until they could be got out of the
city.
Talking of the just admiration which the English newspapers accorded to
Stonewall Jackson, he expressed, however, his astonishment that they
should have praised so highly his strategic skill in outmanoeuvring
Pope at Manassas, and Hooker at Chancellorsville, totally ignoring that
in both cases the movements were planned and ordered by General Lee, for
whom (Mr Benjamin said) Jackson had the most "childlike reverence."
Mr Benjamin complained of Mr Russell of the 'Times' for holding him up
to fame as a "gambler"--a story which he understood Mr Russell had
learnt from Mr Charles Sumner at Washington. But even supposing that
this was really the case, Mr Benjamin was of opinion that such a
revelation of his private life was in extremely bad taste, after Mr
Russell had partaken of his (Mr Benjamin's) hospitality at Mongomery.
He said the Confederates were more amused than annoyed at the term
"rebel," which was so constantly applied to them; but he only wished
mildly to remark, that in order to be a "rebel," a person must rebel
against some one who has a right to govern him; and he thought it would
be very difficult to discover such a right as existing in the Northern
over the Southern States.
In order to prepare a treaty of peace, he said, "It would only
be necessary to write on a blank sheet of paper the words
'_self-government_.' Let the Yankees accord that, and they might fill up
the paper in any manner they chose. We don't want any State that doesn't
want us; but we only wish that each State should decide fairly upon its
own destiny. All we are struggling for is to be let alone."
At 8 P.M. Mr Benjamin walked with me to the President's dwelling, which
is a private house at the other end of the town. I had tea there, and
uncommonly good tea too--the first I had tasted in the Confederacy. Mrs
Davis was unfortunately unwell and unable to see me.
Mr Jefferson Davis struck me as looking older than I expected. He is
only fifty-six, but his face is emaciated, and much wrinkled. He is
nearly six feet high, but is extremely thin, and stoops a little. His
features are good, especially his eye, which is very bright, and full of
life and humour. I was afterwards told he had lost the sight of his left
eye from a recent illness. He wore a linen coat and grey trousers, and
he looked what he evidently is, a well-bred gentleman. Nothing can
exceed the charm of his manner, which is simple, easy, and most
fascinating. He conversed with me for a long time, and agreed with
Benjamin that the Yankees did not really intend to go to war with
England if she recognised the South; and he said that, when the
inevitable smash came--and that separation was an accomplished fact--the
State of Maine would probably try to join Canada, as most of the
intelligent people in that state have a horror of being "_under the
thumb of Massachusetts_." He added, that Maine was inhabited by a hardy,
thrifty, seafaring population, with different ideas to the people in the
other New England states.
When I spoke to him of the wretched scenes I had witnessed in his own
State (Mississippi), and of the miserable, almost desperate, situation
in which I had found so many unfortunate women, who had been left behind
by their male relations; and when I alluded in admiration to the quiet,
calm, uncomplaining manner in which they bore their sufferings and their
grief, he said, with much feeling, that he always considered _silent
despair_ the most painful description of misery to witness, in the same
way that he thought _mute insanity_ was the most awful form of madness.
He spoke to me of Grenfell, who, he said, seemed to be serving the
Confederacy in a disinterested and loyal manner. He had heard much of
his gallantry and good services, and he was very sorry when I told him
of Grenfell's quarrel with the civil power.
He confirmed the truth of my remark, that a Confederate general is
either considered an Admirable Crichton by the soldiers, or else abused
as everything bad; and he added, the misfortune was, that it is
absolutely necessary, in order to insure success, that a general must
obtain and preserve this popularity and influence with his men, who
were, however, generally very willing to accord their confidence to any
officer deserving of it.
With regard to the black-flag-and-no-quarter agitation, he said people
would talk a great deal, and even go into action determined to give no
quarter; "but," he added, "I have yet to hear of Confederate soldiers
putting men to death who have thrown down their arms and held up their
hands."
He told me that Lord Russell confessed that the impartial carrying out
of the neutrality laws had pressed hard upon the South; and Mr Davis
asserted that the pressure might have been equalised, and yet retained
its impartiality, if Great Britain, instead of closing her ports, had
opened them to the prizes of both parties; but I answered that perhaps
this might be over-doing it a little on the other side.
When I took my leave about 9 o'clock, the President asked me to call
upon him again. I don't think it is possible for any one to have an
interview with him without going away most favourably impressed by his
agreeable, unassuming manners, and by the charm of his conversation.
Whilst walking home, Mr Benjamin told me that Mr Davis's military
instincts still predominate, and that his eager wish was to have joined
the army instead of being elected President.
During my travels, many people have remarked to me that Jefferson Davis
seems in a peculiar manner adapted for his office. His military
education at West Point rendered him intimately acquainted with the
higher officers of the army; and his post of Secretary of War under the
old Government brought officers of all ranks under his immediate
personal knowledge and supervision. No man could have formed a more
accurate estimate of their respective merits. This is one of the reasons
which gave the Confederates such an immense start in the way of
generals; for having formed his opinion with regard to appointing an
officer, Mr Davis is always most determined to carry out his intention
in spite of every obstacle. His services in the Mexican war gave him the
prestige of a brave man and a good soldier. His services as a statesman
pointed him out as the only man who, by his unflinching determination
and administrative talent, was able to control the popular will. People
speak of any misfortune happening to him as an irreparable evil too
dreadful to contemplate.
Before we reached the Spottswood Hotel, we met ----, to whom Mr Benjamin
introduced me. They discussed the great topic of the day--viz., the
recapture of Winchester by General Ewell, the news of which had just
arrived, and they both expressed their regret that General Milroy should
have escaped. It appears that this Yankee commander, for his alleged
crimes, had been put _hors de la loi_ by the Confederates in the same
manner as General Butler. ---- said to me, "We hope he may not be taken
alive; but if he is, we will not shrink from the responsibility of
putting him to death."
* * * * *
_18th June_ (Thursday).--At 10 A.M. I called by appointment on Mr
Sedden, the Secretary at War. His anteroom was crowded with applicants
for an interview, and I had no slight difficulty in getting in. Mr
Sedden is a cadaverous but clever-looking man; he received me with great
kindness, and immediately furnished me with letters of introduction for
Generals Lee and Longstreet.
My friend Major Norris then took me to the President's office and
introduced me to the aides-de-camp of the President--viz., Colonels
Wood, Lee, and Johnston. The two latter are sons to General Lee and
General Albert Sidney Johnston, who was killed at Shiloh.
Major Norris then took me to the capitol, and introduced me to Mr
Thompson the librarian, and to Mr Meyers, who is now supposed to look
after British interests since the abrupt departure of Mr Moore, the
Consul. I was told that Mr Moore had always been considered a good
friend to the Southern cause, and had got into the mess which caused his
removal entirely by his want of tact and discretion. There is a fine
view from the top of the capitol; the librarian told me that last year
the fighting before Richmond could easily be seen from thence, and that
many ladies used to go up for that purpose. Every one said, that
notwithstanding the imminence of the danger, the population of Richmond
continued their daily avocations, and that no alarm was felt as to the
result.
The interior of the capitol is decorated with numerous flags captured
from the enemy. They are very gorgeous, all silk and gold, and form a
great contrast to the little bunting battle flags of the Confederates.
Amongst them I saw two colours which had belonged to the same regiment,
the 37th New York (I think). These were captured in different battles;
and on the last that was taken there is actually inscribed as a victory
the word _Fairoaks_, which was the engagement in which the regiment had
lost its first colour.
Mr Butler King, a member of Congress, whose acquaintance I had made in
the Spottswood Hotel, took me to spend the evening at Mrs S----'s, a
charming widow, for whom I had brought a letter from her only son,
aide-de-camp to General Magruder, in Texas.
Mrs S---- is clever and agreeable. She is a highly patriotic Southerner;
but she told me that she had stuck fast to the Union until Lincoln's
proclamation calling out 75,000 men to coerce the South, which converted
her and such a number of others into strong Secessionists. I spent a
very pleasant evening with Mrs S----, who had been much in England, and
had made a large acquaintance there.
Mr Butler King is a Georgian gentleman, also very agreeable and well
informed. It is surprising to hear the extraordinary equanimity with
which he and hundreds of fellow-sufferers talk of their entire ruin and
the total destruction of their property. I know many persons in England
suppose that Great Britain has now made enemies both of the North and
South; but I do not believe this is the case with respect to the South,
whatever certain Richmond papers may say. The South looks to England for
everything when this war is over;--she wants our merchants to buy her
cotton, she wants our ships to carry it;--she is willing that England
should supply her with all the necessaries which she formerly received
from the North. It is common to hear people declare they would rather
pay twice the price for English goods than trade any more with
Yankeedom.
* * * * *
_19th June_ (Friday).--I embarked at 10 A.M. on board a small steamer
to visit Drewry's Bluff on the James River, the scene of the repulse of
the ironclads Monitor and Galena. The stream exactly opposite Richmond
is very shallow and rocky, but it becomes navigable about a mile below
the city. Drewry's Bluff is about eight miles distant, and, before
reaching it, we had to pass through two bridges--one of boats, and the
other a wooden bridge. I was shown over the fortifications by Captain
Chatard, Confederate States navy, who was in command during the absence
of Captain Lee. A flotilla of Confederate gunboats was lying just above
the obstructions, and nearly opposite to the bluff. Amongst them was the
Yorktown, _alias_ Patrick Henry, which, under the command of my friend
Captain Tucker, figured in the memorable Merrimac attack. There was also
an ironclad called the Richmond, and two or three smaller craft. Beyond
Drewry's Bluff, on the opposite side of the river, is Chaffin's Bluff,
which mounts ---- heavy guns, and forms the extreme right of the
Richmond defences on that side of the river.
At the time of the attack by the two Federal ironclads, assisted by
several wooden gunboats, there were only three guns mounted on Drewry's
Bluff, which is from 80 to 90 feet high. These had been hastily removed
from the Yorktown, and dragged up there by Captain Tucker on the
previous day. They were either smooth-bore 32-pounders or 8-inch guns, I
forget which. During the contest the Monitor, notwithstanding her recent
exploits with the Merrimac, kept herself out of much danger, partly
concealed behind the bend of the river; but her consort, the ironclad
Galena, approached boldly to within 500 yards of the bluff. The wooden
gunboats remained a considerable distance down the river. After the
fight had lasted about four hours the Galena withdrew much crippled, and
has never, I believe, been known to fame since. The result of the
contest goes to confirm the opinion expressed to me by General
Beauregard--viz., that ironclads cannot resist the plunging fire of
forts, even though that latter can only boast of the old smooth-bore
guns.
A Captain Maury took me on board the Richmond ironclad, in which vessel
I saw a 7-inch treble-banded Brook gun, weighing, they told me, 21,000
lb., and capable of standing a charge of 25 lb. of powder. Amongst my
fellow-passengers from Richmond I had observed a very Hibernian-looking
prisoner in charge of one soldier. Captain Maury informed me that this
individual was being taken to Chaffin's Bluff, where he is to be shot at
12 noon to-morrow for desertion.
Major Norris and I bathed in James river at 7 P.M. from a rocky and very
pretty island in the centre of the stream.
I spent another very agreeable evening at Mrs S----'s, and met General
Randolph, Mr Butler King, and Mr Conrad there; also Colonel Johnston,
aide-de-camp to the President, who told me that they had been forced, in
order to stop Burnside's executions in Kentucky, to select two Federal
captains, and put them under orders for death. General Randolph looks in
weak health. He had for some time filled the post of Secretary of War;
but it is supposed that he and the President did not quite hit it off
together. Mr Conrad as well as Mr King is a member of Congress, and he
explained to me that, at the beginning of the war, each State was most
desirous of being put (without the slightest necessity) under military
law, which they thought was quite the correct remedy for all evil; but
so sick did they soon become of this _regime_ that at the last session
Congress had refused the President the power of putting any place under
military law, which is just as absurd in the other direction.
I hear every one complaining dreadfully of General Johnston's inactivity
in Mississippi, and all now despair of saving Vicksburg. They deplore
its loss, more on account of the effect its conquest may have in
prolonging the war, than for any other reason. No one seems to fear that
its possession, together with Port Hudson, will really enable the
Yankees to navigate the Mississippi; nor do they fear that the latter
will be able to prevent communication with the trans-Mississippi
country.
Many of the Richmond papers seem to me scarcely more respectable than
the New York ones. Party spirit runs high. Liberty of the press is
carried to its fullest extent.
* * * * *