. Abraham Lincoln and the battles of the Civil War . ore—days inwhich it was not known whether lovedones might not have been captured orkilled in the last engagement, they camehome foot - sore and broken, draggingthemselves along the cannon-woi*n roadsthey had marched down so bravely fouryears before, and flinging themselves intothe arms of weeping mothers or wives orsisters gathered to receive them, surren-dered for the first time to despair. Even then they had no thought ofwhat the immediate future had in storefor them. The conditions which existedand the period which ensued were utter-ly wi
. Abraham Lincoln and the battles of the Civil War . ore—days inwhich it was not known whether lovedones might not have been captured orkilled in the last engagement, they camehome foot - sore and broken, draggingthemselves along the cannon-woi*n roadsthey had marched down so bravely fouryears before, and flinging themselves intothe arms of weeping mothers or wives orsisters gathered to receive them, surren-dered for the first time to despair. Even then they had no thought ofwhat the immediate future had in storefor them. The conditions which existedand the period which ensued were utter-ly without precedent. The negroes tookprompt advantage of their new freedom,and almost without excei)tion went off,some openly, some by night—those thatwent openly declaring that the wordhad come from Richmond for speaking, they returned homeafter a brief experience of travel and so-joui-n among strangers. For a time there appeared danger ofsome friction under the evil influence ofthat species of visiting adventurer wittily Ii ^l£\ i. ball dresses were fashioned from old lace curtains. Vol. 20 HARPERS NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE. termed, from the smalliiess of his person-al belongings, the carpet-bagger, butgood sense and the good feeling engen-dered by long association between tlieraces prevailed, and the peril passedaway. The soldiers returning from the armyfound ^irginia almost as war-worn asthey were themselves. In many sectionsthe country was swept clean, and the dis-organization of labor and the depletionof teams had prevented the proper prepa-ration of a crop. The horses which thesoldiers had brought home from Appo-mattox were not infrequently the chiefdependence for a new crop, and beforethe huzzas over the returning armies ofthe Union had died away in the North,the soldiers of the other army which hadheld them at ba^^ so long were workingin the fields, trying to build up again thewaste places of their States. There isscarcely a professional
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookidabrah, booksubjectgenerals
