Mr. H——s, another of Gen. Winder's detectives, has gone over
to the enemy. He went on a privateering cruise from Wilmington; the vessel he
sailed in captured a brig, and H——s was put in command of the prize, to sail
into a Confederate port. Instead of this, however, H——s sailed away for one of the
West India islands, and gave up his prize to Com. Wilkes, of the United States
Navy.
One or two of the regiments of Gen. Lee's army were in the
city last night. The men were pale and haggard. They have but a quarter of a pound
of meat per day. But meat has been ordered from Atlanta. I hope it is abundant
there.
All the necessaries of life in the city are still going up
higher in price. Butter, $3 per pound; beef, $1; bacon, $1.25; sausage-meat,
$1; and even liver is selling at 50 cents per pound.
By degrees, quite perceptible, we are approaching the
condition of famine. What effect this will produce on the community is to be
seen. The army must be fed or disbanded, or else the city must be abandoned.
How we, “the people,” are to live is a thought of serious concern.
Gen. Lee has recommended that an appeal be made to the
people to bring food to the army, to feed their sons and brothers; but the
Commissary-General opposes it; probably it will not be done. No doubt the army
could be half fed in this way for months. But the “red tape” men are inflexible
and inscrutable. Nevertheless, the commissaries and quartermasters are getting
rich.
SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's
Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 1, p. 260-1
No comments:
Post a Comment