Columbia phoenix. (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1865, April 08, 1865, Image 3
Isle^ping negro woman, when iiiYankees Ihre?
their loi en.-s into her heJ. Iron* which she wai
marrow ly extricated with life. '<
I Of the recklessness Jf these soldiers, espe?
cially whee' sharpened by cupidity, an instance
Lis given -whore they ihriisl meir bayonets fnto
[a bed, where they fancied money tobe hidden,
j between two sleeping children-beiug, it is
'admitted, somewhat careful not. to strike
through the bodies ot the children.
V The treatment of the neg- oes in their hou es
was, in the larger proportion of cases, quite as
brutal as tfjat which was shown to the waites.
They were ribbed in ' like manner, frequently
- stripped of svery article ot, clothing aud pro
visions, and where the wigwam was nut de?
stroyed, it was effectually gutted. Few negroes,
having a good hat, good pair of shoes, good
. overcoat, but were incontinently epnved ot'
them, and-rougbiy handled when they remon?
strated. These acts, wc believe, were mostly
ascribed to Westera men. They were repeat
?jaediy heirdlo say? "We are Western men, and
Iftap't waut ysur d-d black taces among us."
i"When, addressing the negro, they frequently
charged him with being the cause ol'-the war.
. ls Sjieakiug to tue whites on this subject, espe
cially lo pouih Carolinians, the ?cause was
ascribed to them. In more than one tus'ance,
we were^slu: "We are goi g to burn this d-d
town. We've begun, and we'll go throa.h.
This thing began here, and ws'il stack the houses
.and burn the town.'*'
* XXXIII.
A difierent reis was assigned to, or self
assumed by, the Eastern men. T ey hob a
'nobbed with the negro; waifed with him, and
smoked and joked with him. Filled his ears
wi'.h all sorta of blarney; lured him, not only
with hopes of freedom, but all mauuer ol
L?ense. They hovered about the premises of
the citizens, seeking .all occasion to converse
with the negroes, They would elude the
guards, slip into tue kitchens, if the gales were
"bpen, or cliBBb over the rear? fences, and ppur
their "BU btle^oisou into the senses of all ?ho
jp Would listen. i\v doubt they succeeded in be
\ 'guning many, since uotniug is mote easy than'
. to scuuc , ? lth promues i of prosperity, ease
and u?i -lenee, th? laboring classes of auy peo?
ple, white or black. To teach them that t.icy
ar? badly governed and s littering wrong, is thc
favorite metuod of deinagogueisui in an coun?
tries, and is mut ?oil 01 m??leuce winch will
Siways prevail wnh a people at once vaia,
. sensual and ignorant. But, aa ur as we have
beeu ubi? to see and leai i), a largo proportion
of the ' negroes .were carried away forcibly.
When the Oeguner fa..cu to seduce, lie resorted
to violence. , The Yankees, lu several cteeo
which have boca reported lo a?, pursued iue
SiaVes Wita thc len a?, ty of OlOoU-ilouticU; ft'eio
at their eioows wueii tfcey weat fur tb. aud
bunted them up, at ail hours, on the premises
of tbe.owuer. Very tioquc.it ure the luslautfiw
whsre the ntgro, thus nouy pursued,' besought
J protection of bu master or LU is tr ess, sometimes
L
voluntarily seeking ti hiding jjlace a ?ont; the
.swamps ul the river; at Other Hums, li nd mg il
under the bed of the owner; and hot leaving
these places of refuge till long after the enemy
had departed. For fully? a month after tiley
had gone, til? negroes, singly orin squads, were
daily making their way back to Columbia, hav?
ing escaped from the Yankees by dint of great
perseverance and cunning, generally in wretch
ed plight., half-starved an.I With little clothing.
They represented the difficulties in the way of
their escape, to be very great, the Yankees
placing them fina.ly under guards at night,
and thal they could only succeed in night at the j
peril.of lite or limb. Many of these were.ne-1
groes of Columbia, but the larger proportion
Seeined to bail from Barnwell, '?'hey all
auught passpor s to return to their owners and
pnauiatious.
a ' XXXiV.
We should cot overlook thc ravage and de-1
struelion which marked the progress'ol thc j
enemy iu the immediate precincts of the city,
though beyond its corporate boundaries. With?
in a few miles of Columbi, fruin two to five
miles, it was gi rd I d b> beautiful country seals,
such as those of the Hampton family-Mill?
wood-a place famous of yore for its charm
and elegance of eociety, its frank hospitality
and the lavish bounty of its successive hosts,
l'lie destruction of tins family seat of opulence,
and grace, aud hoeuilaltiy, will occasiou sen
satlou in European countries, n? leis than
iu our owu, among tliooe who have eu
joyed >ls grateful privileges, as guests, in bel
ter days, This was destroyed by a gaug 01
bauiiiiii, sent forth to forage-joragiug, in
Gem Sherman's dictionary, being ident.cal with
burglary and arson.. The beautiful couuiry
seals ot Mr. Secretary Tren ho lui. of i>r Jobu
Wallace, Mrs. Thoa. Starke, Col. T.-ornas Tay?
lor, Capt. J. U. Adams, Mr. a I?. Pelham,
Mill Creek, as well as homestead-and many
snore-all shared the fate of Millwood-au
were robbed and ruined, then given to the
flames, sad from these places were carried off
ail h?rses, mules, cattle and begs, stock of every
sort, and tba provisions not "carried off, were
destroyed, lu many eases, wnere mules and
ho rees were not choice, they were sboi down;
and where the maraude?* abandoned their o wn
beasts, in finding better, they almost invariably
Siaw those whiou they left. , But tim was tue
common history. On all the farms and planta?
tions, and along tba road sides every wuere, far
many a mile, horses, mules and cattle, strew Hie
lace ot the country. Young colts, however
une the stock, had thc.r turo au cut. Tim
same demonic spirit^ prompted tue dcstrucliou
o? every vehicle wuioii the plunderers could not,
eui ry u?vay. Our inioruiuut t?ds us that iu
oue pile ne counted toity slain mules on the
panae ot tau csaiuda,
XXX V.
But lhere were omer barbarities of more
neinous character,-reported of their proceed
ings m the more isolated farm settlements and
colin'..i y ramses. Horrid narratives ot? rape
HI? given winch we dareaiiol. attempt to indi?
vidualize. Individuals SUspoe.ted ul' having
concealed large suin? of money, were huag up
repeatedly, until, almost ia th? agonies of
ii death and to escape the. tor torr, tl Ay confessed
where tneVleposit had been made. A family
of the hame ot For, of Lexington, were treated
with especial cruelty. The head ot the family
was hung up thrice by th? neck lill ueariy
dead, when he yielded *9,0<)l) in s eeie to the
robbers:" Mr. Meetze, of the same district, is
rei iori jd to have been robbed in like mau uer
and by the same proc?s?; aud one poor ldiol**
a crazy creature, mistaken for another party1,
Was subjected, till nearly dead, to the same
treatment. This mo.ie of torture, from what
we can learn, was irequeul'ly resorted lo. Other
parties Were whipped; others oulfeted ur knock?
ed ujgjwu, aud, indeed, every term ot orutaiity
seems to have been Ait in practice, wheueWr
cupidity was sharpened tutu ra^* -y denial or
disappointment, liut We sicltcu al the farther
recital ol tliese cruelties and hoiror ! ilia soul
tums away With loathing li ?ni tUeir conteiu
platiou. The heart bleeds, the miud, m de?
spair, cries td*the great Master of uutioifs, with
pica aud prayer asking it there be no vengeance
in the stores, of heaven-uo bery boils
to alight upon the heads of tiles!fiends set true,
and annihilate tuena with thc sn?rpest lind
swiftest of dooms-?uch as justice aud mercy
and all tue virtues must sanction with clapping
of bauds, eVea m the sacred abodes ot eternity.
.Jan it oe tn at these reckless heinous, inoc&iug*
equally God and uuuiauiiy, shall pursue with
impunity tuen' diabolical progreso. Uo they
not march io reiriouitou! . Arc Uley UOL cursed
with such nnpedimeuta, us will laka courage
om. of their souls and strength out of their
nm tili Thc spoils tn?y have borne away from
ten thousand desolated uotnes, must weigh
equally upon their shoulders, tuoir couscieucos
aud courage. Knobers are rarely brave men,
aud whatever ungut have existed ia Virtue of
. theitSjcause, is loi felt by the prpeesav* which>
tney have taken jonis maiutaiuaucet Eu coun?
tered by a determined enemy, stung by tho
sense ot loss aud oU?eriug, liitciia.fied oy the
stlugs of such a record ol violated homes, as
is nero written, they will surely quail before our
?ons. We IOOK yet to bw?oiu lue r?tribution,
in its most terrible aspects, dogging their heels
aud tearing at their turua.?. lue judgment
ol bud ou crimes of the foulest-tue reveuge of
man, tor deeds too terrible for humanity lo
contemplate-these, wUl arm our people, fignt*
mg pro am ti /oem, with a power walch tney
Wni lac?is v?iu-with avv-iigeauce whichsitad
jxacii mern what they deserve, however little
tney muy be prcpui'ed to euoure.
3?a.3^*?e?^? Sarterj S
THE subscriber will exehange HIDES and
SALT for SOLE LEATHER and CORN,
ea fsvorabls terms. JOHN H. HEISE. ,
April I ?*