. Four years of fighting : a volume of personal observation with the army and navy, from the first battle of Bull Run to the fall of Richmond . plation. It was past midnight when the Mayor learned that Ewellhad issued orders for firing the government buildings and thetobacco warehouses. He sent a deputation of prominent citi-zens to remonstrate. They were referred to Major Melton, whowas to apply the torch. It is a cowardly pretext on the part of the citizens, trumpedup to save their property for the Yankees, said he. The committee endeavored to dissuade him from the act. I shall execute my or
. Four years of fighting : a volume of personal observation with the army and navy, from the first battle of Bull Run to the fall of Richmond . plation. It was past midnight when the Mayor learned that Ewellhad issued orders for firing the government buildings and thetobacco warehouses. He sent a deputation of prominent citi-zens to remonstrate. They were referred to Major Melton, whowas to apply the torch. It is a cowardly pretext on the part of the citizens, trumpedup to save their property for the Yankees, said he. The committee endeavored to dissuade him from the act. I shall execute my orders, said he. They went to General Ewell, who with an oath informedthem that the torch would be applied at daylight. Brecken-ridge was there, who said that it would be a disgrace to theConfederate government to endanger the destruction of theentire city. He was Secretary of War, and could have coun-termanded the order. Will not history hold him accountable? To prevent the United States from obtaining possession of afew thousand hogsheads of tobacco, a thousand houses weredestroyed by fire, the heart of the city burnt out, — all of the. 1865.] RICHMOND. 505 business portion, all the banks and insurance-offices, half ofthe newspapers, with mills, depots, bridges, founderies, work-shops, dwellings, churches, — thirty squares in all, swept cleanby the devouring flames. It was the final work of the Confed-erate government. Inauguratedin heat and passion, carriedon by hate and prejudice, its end was but in keeping with itscareer, — the total disregard of the rights of person and prop-erty. In the outskirts of the city, on the Mechanicsville road, wasthe almshouse, rilled with the lame, the blind, the halt, poor,sick, bed-ridden creatures. Ten rods distant was a magazinecontaining fifteen or twenty kegs of powder, which might havebeen rolled into the creek near at hand, and was of little valueto a victorious army with full supplies of ammunition ; but theorder of Jeff Davis to
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860, booksubjectunitedstateshistoryc
