The detachment seems to be making itself at home at Taylor's. Our headquarters are in the parlor. Our host's heart is warm for “the glorious cause of the South.” Has two sons, officers in the rebel army, and in consequence we conclude that we will live here for some days.
* I believe this entry was misdated as April 10 in the published version of the diary. April 10, 1864 fell on a Sunday, while April 19, 1864 falls on Tuesday. Also this entry as published comes after Monday, April 18 and Wednesday, April 20.
Nothing new this
morning; reported all quiet all along the Tennessee. “Now Lieutenant A——, we
will have some music this morning,” says Captain Ring as he moves from the
room. Will she refuse a Yankee officer, wonder the remaining occupants of the
parlor. Hark! we hear footsteps; she is coming. She is now seated at the piano;
she plays sweetly, but oh! the language, the sentiment; rebellion deep,
defiant, loud, echoes from her soul. Her heart dwells fondly upon the “Bonnie
South," but the gallant Union soldiers blame her not. Though her heart is
with a cause which aims at the foundation of human freedom, she has had encouragement,
has been made to believe that the land of her birth is engaged in a righteous
cause. The democracy of the North have given that encouragement. We will look
among the old files of papers that lie here. What do we find! A number of
Cincinnati Enquirers of old and new dates containing the speeches of Ohio's
exiled traitor. These speeches have been eagerly read by the southern people,
and upon their factious' and treasonable sentiments they predict their hopes of
Southern independence. Oh! modern democracy, what have you done, and what are
you doing? You have strengthened the South in their wicked aims to subvert
liberty and thereby shut the gates of mercy upon mankind.
Up to this date nothing of interest occurs; nothing but a dull monotony seems to reign in camp. The weather is warm; nature clothed in its heavenly beauty; the feathery tribe chattering songs of praise to their creator.
We look out upon these fields and are made to ask ourselves
the question: “Why the tramp of warriors here?” Something seems to answer, "Because
wicked men were lured by an ambition to ride to power upon the crimson tide of
blood.”
* I believe this entry was misdated as April 15 in the published version of the diary. This entry was published between Wednesday, April 20 and April 26.
We move camp to-day to Williams plantation. Says our commander: “We will exhibit a sociableness and divide our visits while sojourning in the neighborhood.
BOSTON, Nov. 24.
My Dear Brother John Brown: I am an old man. I have for more than thirty years opposed Slavery in all its forms; though never with violence! I deeply sympathize with you in your present position, and commend you to that Jesus who preached, what Isaiah proclaimed, seven hundred years before his advent. God forbid that I should censure you for acting "deliverance to the captive," when it has the sanction of this "double inspiration." My brother, I respect and love you beyond expression. I have now a letter from my brother, now, I trust, in heaven. It was written in prison at Baltimore, by one whose life was sacrificed to Slavery's demand.
It tells me what I believe is true, that during the last few years of his life, he gave liberty to more than four hundred slaves. I have taken slaveholders to his monument in Mount Auburn, where the enduring marble tells that Charles Turner Torrey, in the early meridian of his life, was a martyr to Freedom. If you can find it possible to write me the smallest line, that I may place at its side, to bequeath to my children as a most valued legacy, you cannot tell how much I should value it. They are all Christians in the highest sense of that word; their abhorrence of Slavery is unquestioned. I have known you and your sons, and have had the pleasure of taking your honest hand in mine.
That I may be under no obligation to Virginia, I enclose a ten cent stamp to pay for the paper you may use.
Ilion, New York, November 24.
Dear Brother in Christ: How I would like to spend this night with you in your cell, and converse for a season on the joys that await you beyond this world of sin and sorrow. I have tried to spend this day in prayer and thanksgiving to Almighty God for the many blessings received at His hand the past year, but in spite of all my efforts in this direction, it has been a sorrowful day to my soul, as my mind has dwelt almost constantly on your death scene. I cannot be joyful; I mourn not so much for you, (for, like the hero of Tarsus, you seem ready to be offered,) but I mourn for my country. I spent the past winter in the South, spending four months in nine of the slave States; and more than once I had to press my lips and clinch my fists, to keep back the feelings of my soul. I saw Slavery in all its phases, and many a night I have wet my pillow with my tears, as I called to mind the sufferings of the poor slave. I had hard work to control my feelings, but did so, and cannot think but it was the best course. Among the slaveholders I found some of the noblest men I ever met with kind, obliging, hospitable, pious, and to all appearances without a fault; so I returned to my home to hate the sin and not the men. I made the acquaintance of Gov. Wise, and found that it was not Wise that killed Cilley; it was not Wise that fought for Slavery at the South; it was his education — for a nobler heart never filled the breast of man; and had he been favored with a birthplace on the shores of Lake Champlain, and a home among the Adirondack mountains, he might have been your general in this conflict, and lying wounded by your side to night.* Would to God these brethren could read our hearts. O, could they see how we love them; how we desire their present and future happiness; what a change would at once take place in their feelings towards us. Did Gov. Wise know Christ as did Paul when soundly converted, there would not be power enough in all the military force of Virginia to hang John Brown. But enough of this.
I have never believed that Virginia, for her own honor, would hang you; but she may, (my heart is too full, my tears flow too fast to write,) if she does, such a funeral as the sun never saw before, will follow.
Keep up good courage; a few more rising and setting suns, and the struggle will be over; and the thrice welcome words will reach your ears, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you."
I have been a resident of Washington County for thirty-eight years; left Fort Edward, New York, May, 1858, and am sure I have met you, but cannot tell where; but if faithful to the grace already given, I am sure I shall meet you again, and I know where. Praise the Lord, on that blissful shore, where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are forever at rest. You will not be permitted, like Moses, to return after forty years to engage afresh in the struggle for freedom: but God will raise up others, in his own good time, to carry forward the work.
Farewell, till we meet in Heaven; for, when we reach the landing place,—
“In the realms of endless light,*What miserable cant! "Pious" trafficars in God's children; "pious" robbers of God's poor; "pious" brokers in the souls for whom Jesus died! "Kind, obliging, hospitable!" No doubt of it! To compel men and women to work without reward, is so kind; to barter for base gold the offspring of slave mothers, is so obliging; to rob a race of every social, civil, political, matrimonial, paternal, filial right, is so hospitable an act, that it is not surprising that the class who practise it should be “to all appearance without a fault!" And Wise, the assassin of Cilley, the representative murderer of John Brown, the laudator of the Slave Pens, the acknowledged head and champion of the vilest Commonwealth that the sun looks down on, of course, he deserves the eulogy bestowed on him, when the writer says, that a “nobler heart never filled the breast of man." There are no murderers, there are no assassins, there are no base, nor cowardly, nor wicked men, if the philosophy of the writer be correct. It was not Judas, then, but Judas's education?
Ellenville, New York, Nov. 25.
Dear Brother: We are personally strangers, but we cherish for God and Humanity the same love and trust. Permit me, then, a brother in bonds with the bound, to extend to you my Christian sympathy and prayer in this hour of your trial. Be assured, my dear brother, that the heart of the nation is with you; that whatever the difference in the mode of our operation, our purpose, "to break every fetter," is the same. I am grateful that God and your own heart sustain you in your journey “Home.” You and I do "worship the same God," the God of righteousness and justice, who weigheth motives; and though acts are defeated, will not fail to reward good intentions. I trust there is upon your mind no doubt of your acceptance with God through the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ. The little I have read of your confident avowal of the Divine Mercy towards you, cheer me with the hope that though men kill the body, God will nourish the spirit the man- under His own pavilion of light forever.
I trust you will esteem it no reproach that wicked men plot against you, and put you to death on the gibbet. The gibbet, and the cross, and the fagot, have often been honored by men of whom the world was not worthy. Had you been successful, men would have called you a hero; but because defeated — I forbear the rest. My heart sickens at the thought that conscience, and divine trust, and self-sacrificing benevolence must lie in a cell and await a cruel death. But we now build monuments for those whom others murdered, and God shall yet build yours, not perhaps in bronze or marble shaft, but in a nation of free and happy men, who shall rise up and call you the Moses of their Redemption. You need not fear that your family will suffer want; God and the good will succor them. And now, my dear brother, will you not indulge me with at least a short reply. I shall cherish it long, and gather inspiration from its sight for other conflicts in behalf of religion and liberty. I too have a family of children, and I desire that they should live for the oppressed; and, if such is God's will, die fighting their battles. I will surely swear them at God's altar to eternal hatred of American and every other Slavery. I shall pray fervently every day until you depart, that God may be with you and comfort you. . . .
New York, November 25.
My Dear Friend: I rejoice in the strength and courage vouchsafed to you in your present emergency. Our good Father is on your side, and this fact places you in the majority. Good men, every where, will ever revere your name. Unselfish integrity has made that name immortal. God bless you!
NEW YORK, November 26, 1859
Dear Sir: Will you favor me with your autograph, which I will highly prize as the best memento of one who is about to sacrifice his life in a great and noble cause. Pardon my intrusion upon your last moments for that which may seem to you of little moment or consequence; but I assure you that it will be ever retained by me with that respect which is due the name of a man who makes so great a sacrifice. May He who is no respecter of persons, guide and sustain you in these the last moments of your existence, and safely lead you to that home which awaits you, is the humble prayer of your obedient servant,
E. T.
SOURCE: James Redpath, Editor, Echoes of Harper’s Ferry, p. 408-9
New York, Thursday, November 24.
My Dear Friend: The writer of this letter to you may be personally unknown, but is a deep sympathizer, in connection with thousands of others, whose hearts are engaged in prayer for you and your fellow prisoners, who are now under sentence of death in the prison of Virginia, for entertaining the principles of Freedom and Liberty to the captive in bonds, as though in bonds with him. Your cause is a good one. Bear up, brave warrior! under the approaching trial and the day that you will be called upon to seal the truth with your blood! These are the days that try men's souls, and are like the days of old in which the martyrs fought, bled, and died. No doubt but on the day of execution, millions of prayers will be offered up to the God of Heaven and earth in your behalf, from Christian hearts, who feel with you and for you; and of this you may have the fullest assurance in the hour of trial.
SOURCE: James Redpath, Editor, Echoes of Harper’s Ferry, p. 409
Philadelphia, November 29.
Dear Sir: Feeling a true, and I trust, a sincere sympathy for your being under bonds, and with desire your punishment may be commuted to imprisonment, and that thereby your life may be spared, I have implored his Excellency Gov. W ise in your behalf several times, and I trust it may be done. My dear old man, I have no doubt you have acted agreeably to what you considered a duty; but sound sense and the law of the land, show evidently you acted wrong, and have been guilty of a great folly in judgment, and I trust those who may have the power will think so, that it was an error of judgment and not of principle; and that they may be influenced by a principle of mercy, instilled by Him who is the author of all good, to show you and those who are with you mercy, and thereby allay, in a great measure, the hostile feelings in the North, that your execution will produce. If you have to suffer this severe penalty, you will be for. ever immortalized as a true martyr of Liberty, and be the cause without doubt of laying a foundation stone of the Liberty party of the North, South, East, and West, that will not rest until the fabric of the Institution of Slavery shall be shaken unto its foundations. But it must be done constitutionally, and not by violence, that would produce a greater evil than the one you attempted to eradicate, producing bloodshed and revolution, and all its horrors; and it would be trampling upon the rights of your fellow-citizens, as you did. It is a work of time. God in his own time will bring it about; fear not. I sincerely trust your life may be spared. If not, trust in the loving power of God Almighty, and He will sustain you and give you a seat among the righteous martyrs who have gone before you. Your family, no doubt, will be well taken care of, and may the Lord in His Infinite Mercy be with you in life or death, is my most earnest prayer. You are generally believed to be an honest and upright man, but a very deluded one on the subject of Slavery; and it being a delusion of judgment and not of principles, I pray you may have mercy extended to you and your associates.
SOURCE: James Redpath, Editor, Echoes of Harper’s Ferry, p. 409-10
Eagleswood, Nov. 28, 1859.
To John Brown.
My Dear and Venerated Sir: Ever since my dear wife and son's visit of sympathy to you, and your excellent wife's short sojourn with us, I have felt a strong desire to write to you some words of cheering and strengthening sympathy. But I could say nothing, of this kind, that is not better said in the two hymns I here send you, which have been blessings to me, and many others, in times of trial.
With the most earnest wish and prayer that God may be with you to the last, and that in surrendering your life as an offering in behalf of the oppressed, you may also be enabled to feel, towards all who have misunderstood you, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do," and "incline the hearts of this people to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before God," as the only course of true safety, and solid national prosperity and peace,
April 16.
Up to three days ago, good old John Quincy was getting on nicely, but lockjaw came upon him and today he was buried. He never murmured at his fate, but his religious conversation made everybody about him cheerful. I very much regretted the impossibility of having him under my immediate care.
Our men keep remarkably well out here, this kind of life exactly suits them.
April 17.
Last night our Colonel forgot the importance of his present position and visited the wreck of the George Washington. He saw how the remaining gun was situated, and gratified his love of adventure without being fired upon. It is a shame that no gunboat had yet been sent to protect the men who might have taken off those guns. The rumor comes to us from town tonight that the troops are ordered back to Charleston and that reinforcements are to meet them there from the North. We shall be left here on picket a while longer, and for this last I am thankful. General Hunter has been consulted about the picket shooting, and writes to General Saxton to "give them back as good as they send."
SOURCE: Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Volume 43, October, 1909—June, 1910: February 1910. p. 389
April 19.
Yesterday the rebels at the Ferry made arrangements for Col. Higginson to meet General [W. S.] Walker this morning under a flag of truce. The request was that the Colonel in command here should send over a boat to bring the General across. But the Colonel concluded to go over to them at the hour appointed. I would have gone with him but for my lameness, a wrench to the knee from the Quartermaster's poor horse falling upon it. The Colonel was met by the General's staff with an official letter, but when informed what regiment he represented, they replied that their orders were to hold no official Communication with officers of such regiments. The Colonel learned that General Walker is the W. S. Walker of the regular army, who was under my care in Worcester in the autumn of 1852, and who subsequently in 1856, at the head of a company of dragoons, was sent by Gov. Geary to meet the Colonel on the plains of Kansas while he was at the head of an armed emigrant train. The meeting then was one of mutual surprise, and instead of arrests being made and the train stopped, they went together to the Governor, and the affair took a less stringent turn than had threatened. Yesterday the Colonel took especial pains to send him word that his old acquaintance, T. W. H. would have been happy to send his compliments, had he been treated with due respect, and that his old medical friend, Dr. R. was also here.
In the absence of the Chaplain today, Thomas Long of Co. G held the divine service. His prayers were so deep and simple and touching that we all found our sight somewhat dimmed by tears. In the course of his sermon he said; "If each one of us was praying men, it appears to me that we could fight as well with prayers as with bullets, for the Lord has said that if we have faith, even as a grain of mustard seed cut into four parts, you could say unto that sycamore tree, arise, and it will come up."
April 21.
I have today conversed with the extraordinary colored man, Peter Burns, who brought off one hundred and thirty-two persons with him from the main land, and who has, for a long time, been employed by General Hunter and. by General Saxton for a scout. He is a dark mulatto with face and form resembling John Brown. To hear his quaint expressions and Cromwellian talk is worth a journey from New England here. Too sleepy to repeat any of them to-night.
SOURCE: Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Volume 43, October, 1909—June, 1910: February 1910. p. 390
April 25.
This style of warfare which leads one in charming ways while serving the soldiers is for the moment more attractive even than shot and shell. Yet I feel a longing for the battle-fields that lie between me and my home. Nothing less terrible can decide for freedom, and the sooner we are on the bloody field the sooner will come the day of jubilee. Heaven only knows how much more time and how much more human life is to be squandered by incompetent, egotistic officers in high places. When I think of the gradual melting away of the best army the world has ever seen, simply because slavery has poisoned the religious earnestness of those in power, I find it hard to shake off the conviction that retributive justice will yet grind this proud nation to dust. . . .
April 27.
Two or three months ago I wrote you of a fearful monomania among our line officers, called "Muster and Pay Rolls." The fighting in Florida cured them of the disease, but recently the old enemy has shown himself in another form. One can scarcely stir without seeing anxious faces and hearing the anxious inquiry in stifled notes; "Has he come? When will he come?" "Oh he will come and he will be loaded with greenbacks, we shall again be fed and clothed." I regret to say that this form of the disease extends to the field and staff, and while I fancy myself beyond the reach of the epidemic, I do sometimes see floating ghosts of greenbacks which promise much in the future. This evening it had been thundering a long time, before I discovered it was not cannonading, so completely have the elements become demoralized by the war.
Dr. Minor found an enormous alligator in a cypress swamp, this morning, and I joined him for a skirmish through the woods to find the old fellow. We penetrated to the centre of a low cypress growth and then found ourselves in the most impressive sanctuary I ever saw. A circular, open space of about 300 feet in diameter, in the centre of which were two stagnant pools of about twenty feet in diameter. There was not a stump nor a knee in this open space, but all around were the tall, solemn cypresses, completely draped in the long, gray moss. The ground was made dry and soft, like wool, by a kind of moss. The great reptile had gone into one of the pools and roiled the water so we could not see him, but with a pole, I succeeded in making him strike with his tail. We had no opportunity to use our Ballards [rifles], and galloped home through the woods with resolves to try again another day. Within a couple of months that swamp will hold enough malarious poison in it to protect the occupants from human intrusion.
After Mr. Bennett and his assistants had finished paying the men today we took a ride over to Barnwell's. The "Barnwell oak" measures 126 feet in the broadest diameter in the spread of its branches, at least such was my pacing. This is not only the largest live oak but the broadest spread of branches I have ever seen. They start from the body very near the ground.
April 30.
Tomorrow I am to be blessed by taking into my employment, York Brown. The old man has been nurse in the hospital during the last two months, but he prefers to avail himself of General Saxton's voluntary offer and take his discharge papers. He has been all his life a "gentleman's waiter" and "knows how to take keer of a hoss." Think of my having this religious old white-headed man, whom I reverence, constantly near me. . . .
Today, Dr. Minor, the Chaplain and I went up to the pools in the cypress swamp, but the great reptile drew his head under as we approached. The Chaplain was so religiously impressed by the sanctuary that he declared it would be sacrilegious for us to shoot the alligator; that God would never again permit us to be thrilled by the beauty of natural scenery. We knew it before and thanked the Chaplain for his sermon, and hereafter shall try to practice forbearance. It will be safer, however, for us to leave our Ballards at home.
Colonel Montgomery's regiment is nearly full, mostly drafted men from these islands. They are stationed at Pigeon Point, nearer Beaufort.
SOURCE: Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Volume 43, October, 1909—June, 1910: February 1910. p. 391
