[W]e proceeded up
the Savannah River, and, on reaching the city, were provided with carriages to
examine it and the environs. Savannah has suffered less from war than
Charleston, and, though stricken, has the appearance of vitality if not of
vigor.
We drove out to
Bonaventura, the former possession of Tatnall, which has been converted into a
cemetery. The place has an indescribable beauty, I may say grandeur, impressing
me beyond any rural place I have visited. Long rows of venerable live oaks, the
splendid and valuable tree of the South, festooned with moss, opened up beautiful
vistas and drives. The place I can never forget.
I called on General
Grover, in company with Admiral Dahlgren, and had half an hour's interesting
conversation on the condition of affairs in Georgia and the South generally.
General Birge of Connecticut called on us at the boat, where we also met Samuel
Cooley of Hartford, an old and familiar acquaintance.
Mrs. Jefferson Davis
was at the Pulaski House. She had accompanied her husband to Fortress Monroe,
and been ordered South when he was committed to the Fortress. The vessel in
which she came had been in sight of ours a considerable portion of the day
before we reached Charleston, and was in that harbor when we arrived there, but
left and arrived here before us.
We took our
departure on the afternoon of Tuesday and passed down Thunderbolt Inlet to
Wassaw Sound, going over the ground where the Weehawken captured the Atlanta.
This Southern coast is a singular network of interior navigable waters
interlacing each other, of which we knew very little before this Civil War. The
naval men seemed to be better informed as regards the coast of Europe than
their own country.
The sun had set when
we reached Savannah River, and it was dark when we left. Most of the company
were importunate to visit Havana, but I thought it not best, and the steamer
therefore turned homeward.
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