-iii-i- ll I p
CAPTURE, SACK and DESTRUCTION
a.? * OF THE
Oiiry of OC?1?XXX3LTG?1?
XVI. . .
?Within f,he dwellings, th" scene? were of
"more har^hisnrl tragical character, rarefy soft
fct.ed by env ludicrous n<e/>!-:-i*. Tliere. ns it
tf. . ,' itid by the pricey of tb? apart
f ku//', will; 1 nt. few eyes to witness, tbe robbers
vf'cte ru. brutal, inore unscrupulous, less
heedful < : decencv. reserve or humanity. The
* pistol t . vbrf bosom or tbe*bead of woman,"the
patient motlier*;the trembling daughter, WHS
tbe ordinary introduction to the demands of
tbe robbers. "Your tr?>!d., silver, whteh,
Jewels.' " Tliey !;irc no titee, allowed no pause
or hesitation. ft- was in- vaiu that the woman
offered her keys, eftpvocceded to op'-n drawer,
or \vi?Bdrol?j.' <r'Cabinet, or trunk. It was
dashed lo pi^'s by axe or gun butt, with tho
cry, "Ww haw a shorter way than thai!" It
was in vaia ?"hut,she pleaded to ?pare her fur?
niture, taral she would gi^g' np all ils contents.
?She prayed to wretches utterly-, heartless in
humanity, and hardened to everv crinre and
against avery human fjeljng. * Ali the precious
things of a faintly, such as the heart loves to
pore on.in quiet hobie when a?otie with me?
mory-th? detva, miniature, the photograph,
the portrait-these were dashed to pieces,
crushed under foot, and the more the trembler
ploadedr for tbo object so precious, the more
violent tba rage which destroyed it. Nothing
.was sacred in their eyes"save the ?old and
silver which they bore away. Hior were th?se
acts those of common soldiers. Commissioned
officers, <: " rank 60 high as that of a colon. 1,
were frequently among the most active in spo?
liation, and not always the most tender ot
considerate in the manner ajid acting of. theil
crimps. "Arni with fiendish malignity, refining
upon hate and laalice, the pldWJorers, affcc?
glutting themselves wjth spoil, would utter tin
foulest speeches in their ears, coupled witt
oaths as condiment, dealing in what they as
sumed, besides, *o be bitter sarcasms upon theil
cause and country. ;
."And what do you think of the Yankee;
?no*?" was a frequent question? "Do yon not
fear us nowt" "What do you think of se*es
?eion?'\?te., ?c. "We mean to wipe you out
"We'll burn the very stones of South Carolina.'
Even General Howard, who is said to havi
beer/ ?nee a piouii person, is reported' to Lavt
made this- rep uv 60 a citizen who had expostu
lated with him on the monstrous crime o
which his army had been ?guilty: "It is onh
?what the- country deserves. It "is her fit punish
ment-, aud.if this does not quiet rebellion, ant
we have to ra turn, we ir ill do this work tho
roughly. Wi will jot leave woman or child.'
This was tho very spirit of the savag
Puritan, reviving all the brutalities of the tim.
of .Cromwell and bia sinister, psalm-sin gi nj
hypocrites. The Mormonism into which Ncr
*
o
F.ngland ?has passed, from Puritanism, has
chanced none of the essential characteristics of
the race.
Almost universally, the worsen of Columbia
behaved themselves nobly under the insults ot
the ruffians. They preserved that patient,
calm demeanor, that simple, almost masculine,
firmness, which So becomes humanity, in the
hour of trial, when nothing oan be opposed to
;he tempest hut thc virtue of inflexible en?
durance. They rarely replied to these insults;
j but looking coldly into the faces of the assail?
ants, heard them in silence sud with unblcnch
ing cheeks. When forced to answer, they did
so in monosyllables only, or in brief, stern
lumruaj/e, avowed their confidence in the cause
of their c:>?intrv, the principles ?md rigbts foi
Wlihsh.thc-ir brothers and sons fought, and theil
fnHh in the ultimate favor and protection o:
, Ci"d. One or two of main- of these dialogues
if they mav tie called such, where ono of th?
parties eau i-rge his speech with all th?
agencies of power $or its enforcement, an<
with all his Instruments of terror in eight
while the oilier stands exposed to the-wors
terrors which maddened passions, insolent ii
the consciousness of strength-ma}- suffice as:
sample of many:
" "Well, what do you think of the Yankee
nowif"
."Do you expect a favorable opinion?"
"l?o! d-ii itl But you fear us, and that
euough."
"Ao-we do net fear you."
"What! not yet?" .
"Not yeti"
"But you shall fear us." 1
"Never!"
"We'll make yen."
"Yo* may raflicL we can endure; but fear
P'iv?r!? A ny tb i na; but that"
"We'll make you fear us!'', clapping ? r
volver to the lady's head.
lier eye never faltered. i!er cheek nev
changad ita color. rici- lips were firmly coi
pr*esscd. Her arras folded ?>n her boSdm. Tl
ey?.- of the assassin glared iuto her own.<|; SJ
met the encounter without flivching, and 1
lowered the implement of murder, with ?
oath: *'D-u ii! Yon have pluck enough foi
whole reginieiii!r'
The Vpluck" of our women was especially
Isubject af acknowledgment with these-wretch'
They could admire a miali ty with which . th
had not toni to sympathize-or 'rather t
paramount passion in their souls fer greed a
plunder kept in subjection all other qualiti
without absolutely extinguishing them fr?
their minds and thoughts. To inspire terror
the weak^strangc to say, seemed to these cr
tures a rort of heroism. To extort fear a
awe appeared to their monstrous vanity a t
bute more grateful than any other, and
curious conflict was sometimes carjied on
their minds betreu their vanity and cupidi
Occasionally they gave with ?ne hand, wi
they robbed with ?Bother. Sa varal <wrri<
? li_*... _ <
I instances of this nature took Vlai'?. one ?f
i whieb must snAce. JV certain Yankee officer
happened to hear thntftm oki acquaintance of
I his, ?whom he had knccrn intim?t el}' at West
I Point and Louisiana, \fps residing in Columbia,
ide vent to see hun avter tb? fire, and aseer
taiaed tho* his losses bad been very beary,
exceeding two hundred thousand dollars. The
parties had not separated fer sn hour, when a
messenger came from the Yankee, bringing a
box, which contained $100.000 in Confederate
notes. This tba Yanks? begged his Southern
friend to accept, ss helping,.to make up hie ?
losses. Thc latter declined the ffit, not being
altogether satisfied in conscience that hs couta
heal his own hurts of fortune by the use of
stolen' money. In many esses, Confederate
money hy the handfull was bestowed by tb?
officers and . soldiei s upon parti ea from whore
they had robbed tba last partieras of clothing
and even Gen. Sherman could give to j?rtie?
whom he krrew, th? flour and bacon which he
hr.d stolen from t housands of starving widowi
and srphans. So, he left with the people ol
Columbia s hundred old worthless muskets for
th*ir protection, while emptying their arsenals!
fi a chaise collection of beautiful Enfield
rifles. And so the starring citizens of Celare
Iiis owe to him a few hundred starving cattle,
of which he had robbed the starving potpie of
Beaufort, Barnwell, Orangeburg and Lexin??
ton-cattle left without food, and fe? whiel
food csuld not be found, and dying pf exhaus?
tion at the rate of fifteen, to.twenty head per
diem. And what a monftrous mockery of
benevolence is the ostentatious, oontributios
from navy and army, in Charleston, for the
relief of thoa? people whom their armies har?
so wantonly sud method?cally brought to mid.
They first eut our throats, then send us an ad?
hesive plaster. The cunning of this ostenta?
tious charity, in whick they uss stolen pro?
perty and money, is, L possible, to persuade the
Iworld that the incendiarism which destroys ?ll
in its path i t unpremeditated and purely acci?
dental. But to return.
XVII.
In this connection and this section, in which
we need to devote so much of our space to the
cruel and brutal treatment of eur women, w?
think it proper to include a communication
from the venerable Dr. Sill, one of the most
esteemed and well known citizens of Columbia
lt is from his own pen, and'the facts occurrec
tinder his own eyes. "We give this ss one of. a
thousand lik<? cases, witnessed by a thousand
eyes, and taking place at Lhe same time it
every quarter of the city, almost from the hom
of the enemy's arrival to that of his departure
II? writes as follows: *
"On Thursday, the day before the evaeustioi
of the city by the Confederate forces, I invite'
a very poor Frtncli lady, (Madame Pelletier,
with her child, refugees fiom Charleston, t
take ahelter in my house, where thev might, a
' least, hS7e inch protection as I could give b*i
j shelter and food for hereelf and child. She wi