Busy every moment
of time packing up, that our furniture may be safely put away in case of a
sudden removal. The parlor furniture has been rolled into the Laboratory, and
covered, to keep it from injury; the books are packed up; the pictures put away
with care; house linen locked up, and all other things made as secure as
possible. We do not hope to remove many things, but to prevent their ruin. We
are constantly told that a large army would do great injury if quartered near
us; therefore we want to put things out of the reach of the soldiers, for I
have no idea that officers would allow them to break locks, or that they would
allow our furniture to be interfered with. We have a most unsettled feeling — with
carpets up, curtains down, and the rooms without furniture; but a constant
excitement, and expectation of we know not what, supplants all other feelings.
Nothing but nature is pleasant, and that is so beautiful! The first roses of
the season are just appearing, and the peonies are splendid; but the horrors of
war, with which we are so seriously threatened, prevent the enjoyment of any
thing. I feel so much for the Southerners of Maryland; I am afraid they
are doomed to persecution, but it does seem so absurd in Maryland and Kentucky
to talk of armed neutrality in the present state of the country! Let States,
like individuals, be independent — be something or nothing. I believe that the
very best people of both States are with us, but are held back by stern
necessity. Oh that they could burst the bonds that bind them, and speak and act
like freemen! The Lord reigneth; to Him only can we turn, and humbly pray that
He may see fit to say to the troubled waves, “Peace, be still!” We sit at our
windows, and see the bosom of our own Potomac covered with the sails of vessels
employed by the enemies of our peace. I often wish myself far away, that I, at
least, might not see these things. The newspapers are filled with the boastings
of the North, and yet I cannot feel alarmed. My woman's heart does not quail,
even though they come, as they so loudly threaten, as an avalanche to overwhelm
us. Such is my abiding faith in the justice of our cause, that I have no shadow
of doubt of our success.
SOURCE: Judith W. McGuire, Diary of a Southern
Refugee, During the War, p. 14-5
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