USA > Virginia > Virginia before and during the war > Part 7
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Buford's command was employed the balance of the year in the valley and the southwestern parts of the State in repelling raids and annoying the enemy. It accompanied Lee, under the command of Stuar , into. Pennsylvania, and was present at the battle of Gettysburg. After Lee's retreat, it was sent into Sonth: western Virginia, where it was successful, in company with Mos- by's command, in repelling the raids of Toland and Averill.
In the autumn of 1863, the cause of the Confederacy began
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to be very gloomy, and there was great despondency in Virginia, but the spirit of the people was not broken, and they were un- shaken in their resolve of defense to the last.
On a pleasant October afternoon of this year, in the yard of the Libby prison, there were sitting conversing, three persons, Doctor Jones, the head surgeon of the prison, Miss Lydia Nelson, a visiting nurse, and Captain Edwards, of Indiana, a prisoner. The captain was pale and haggard, showing traces of recent ill- ness and marks of mental suffering on his countenance. He was quite bitter in his remarks against his government for refusing to exchange prisoners. Miss Nelson had been a particular friend of his during her stay in Indiana, and had come to visit him in prison.
The doctor rer arked, "Captain, from the expression of your opinion on this subject and on the conduct of the war, I marvel that you ever joined the Union army in an attack on us."
The captain replied, "However much I dislike the Republi- can party .and the conduct of the war, I think that if I were still free, I would continue in the army until all opposition to the government should cease. But I despair of gaining my freedom until the end of the war, and God only knows when that will be, and for this I blame my government. You asked me why I joined the army ; I will tell you. I deemed the continued union of all the States as vital, necessary to the very existence of our government, and that all other questions were subordinate to this. If we were once to allow one or any number of States to secede, it would be the end of the United States. Human nature is such that, if this was allowed, other States would soon find cause for dissatisfaction and secession, and this continent would soon be occupied by a multitude of weak and warring powers, and general anarchy would ensue. I do not hold that the gov- ernment has the right to destroy a State or to interfere with its autonomy, but I do hold that it has the right to compel it to ful- fill its Federal obligations. The Union was made to be perpetual, and only one government has been acknowledged by foreign
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powers, since the formation of the present constitution. We would be derelict to our duty if we were to be the first to acknowledge a separate power in what was once a part of ourselves. The old Confederacy was styled a perpetual union, and the design of our present constitution was to form a more perfect union, hence it is evident that the design of its framers was that the union should be indisolluble. It is true that, if the Southern States and peo- ple had been greatly aggrieved and were fighting for liberty, I would not have opposed them, believing, as I do, that the liberty of a people is paramount to every other consideration. But you may say, some of the Northern States broke their obligations to the constitution in preventing the rendition of fugitive slaves. True, but the Federal government had proved itself equal to the occasion, in promptly passing the fugitive slave law, thus com- pelling the States to fulfill their constitutional obligations I much lament the election of Lincoln, but this was not a sufficient cause for secession, as it was caused by a division among the States rights men, and the Republicans were a minority in Con- gress before the withdrawal of the Southern members, who, by their action, put it out of the power of their friends in the North to help them As to the territorial question, this was virtually settled years ago, as there was no Territory left where it was pos- sible to introduce slavery. Look at the map and see."
The doctor replied, "Much of what you have said is true, and I was opposed to secession, at the time it was effected, as a matter of policy ; but I still think it was an unrighteous thing in your government to wage war upon us. But the wicked often. succeed in this world, and I now think there is no hope of our gaining our independence. I think you will soon regain your liberty, by the ending of the war, and I hope there are many men in the North, I ke you, who will so use their influence that we be not entirely ruined. My views are very peculiar, as I have regarded our political situation as a philosopher and not as a pol- itician. I hold that there was sufficient cause for a separation of the States, if the seceding States had been sufficiently powerful
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to make it probable that they could achieve their independence. I was always of opinion that if war should result from our at- tempt at separation. the South would be surely subjugated. I believe that wars are hardly ever justifiable. Desiring a separation our members should have remained in Congress and labored for years, if necessary, to obtain a peaceful separation. The reason why I always thought that we could not succeed by war was that 1 the odds against us, nearly four to one, was too great. Again, the negro population amongst us is an element of weakness, and not of strength. There are very few instances in history of a part of a country desiring a separation being able to maintain it- self without foreign aid. Our ancestors would have been surely subjugated by Great Britian, if they had not been aided by France and Spain. There is very little probability of the Southern States obtaining foreign aid, as we have not the sympathies of any European nation, all of them being opposed to slavery. In this I think they are wrong, believing as I do that the proper position of the African, when he lives in large numbers among white people, is one of subordination. . But other people do not think so, and we cannot afford to brave the prejudices of the world. In addition to these advantages , possessed by your sec- tion over ours, the prestige of being the older government and thus enabled to borrow money largely, with the possession of a navy, which we have not, and all the large manufactories, gives you such a preponderance that our cause is hopeless. When all is over you will praise your statesmen as very wise, in triumph- ing over our folly, and your generals as very able, and your sol- diers as very brave, in triumphing over our weakness. You will probably not emulate the good taste of the Romans who allowed no man to triumph over victories won in a civil war. I will now give you some reasons why a separation, if attainable, would be desirable, and why the war, on your part. is an unrighteous one. I do not believe that a peaceful separation would have been at- tended with those direful results some persons imagine. Belgium and Holland, two small contiguous countries, were united under
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one government, a liberal one for Europe. They were so situated that their interests seemed identical. But the two people differed in manners, customs and religion. They separated peaceably, and since then both have prospered, more so probably than if they had remained in an unwilling union. Is it not probable that, if we had separated peaceably, both sections would have prospered? What can be gained by war to compensate for the million of lives lost, of the young and brave, the miseries of the prison, the desolation of homes, the bringing of poverty to hun- dreds of thousands and the increase of vice and crime, the conse- quence of all wars. ,Although the people of both sections were ardently attached to the union, from habit and tradition, the at- tachment was to the name, or, I may say, abstraction, and not to each other. I may truthfully say that the people of the two sec- tions disliked each other more than they disliked any foreign people. In manners, customs and modes of thought they differed widely. The largest Christian sects had divided. A united South, aided by a Northern minority, had hitherto been able to measur- ably protect Southern interests. This gave great offense to the Northern majority, and they averred that the government was . run by the dictation of a pro-slavery oligarchy, when the South- ern people only demanded their constitutional rights. It does not matter whether their demands were in the abstract right or not, they were certainly constitutional, written in the bond that united the States. What you have said as to the danger of per- mitting a State to withdraw at will is doubtless true, but the case is different, when we consider that the States wishing to withdraw are numerous, occupy a large extent of territory, and differ widely from you in political opinions. To coerce a people so situated is opposed to American ideas derived from our revolu- tionary fathers. As to the right of secession, can any sane man conversant with our history believe that the constitution of the United States would have ever been adopted by even nine States, if that instrument had expressly denied the right of a State to secede? If, before its adoption, Virginians had been assured and
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had believed that any attempt on her part to withdraw from a union she had voluntarily entered would be speedily followed by a devastating war upon her, not one of hier citizens would have voted to enter the Union. Indeed Virginia and New York, in their act of acceptance, expressly retained this right. That. the war against us is unrighteous 1 hold, because no war is justifiable for a nation, except in defense of its safety or honor, neither of which was threatened by us. The war was commenced before the secession of Virginia, ever proverbial for hier honor, who would neither have attacked you nor permitted an attack through her territory without due notice. She had submitted the question of union or secession to a vote of her people. That this vote was fairly taken is beyond question .. Before the result was announced or even completed, your armies were poured into her territory ; you have attacked a people who wished to live on friendly terms with you ; you have killed our people who resisted you, burned our dwellings, ravaged our fields and openly violated your own constitution. If we were wrong in seceding, the acts of your government since that event, go far towards justifying our course. Calling us revolutionists, you are revolutionists yourselves ; witness the erection of West Virginia into a State without shadow of constitutional authority. Your President, from the day of his inauguration, has assumed dictational powers, commencing a war and disregarding the writ of habeas corpus without the authority of Congress."
The captain replied, "You do not mean to say that the Pres- ident should have sat still and permitted secession to be consum- mated and possibly Washington taken before Congress could come together ?"
The doctor replied, "Scarcely any circumstances can justify a public official in violating his oath of office. In this case there was no danger of the Confederates invading the adhering States, and the President's illegal acts hastened, if they did not cause, as I believe they did, the secession of Virginia. North Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas. Mr. Lincoln, though personally an
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amiable and honest man, and though he succeeded in crushing us, can never go down in history. as a great and incorruptible man like Washington, Hambden and many worthies of England and America, because he has not taken the constitution of his country for his guide and has sactioned outrages rarely paralleled in civilized war. For many of his acts he has only the tyrant's plea, supposed necessity. He more resembles Cæsar, Bonaparte, Cromwell, and I may say, Danton and Robespierre, the one re- markable for his kindness of Heart, the other for incorruptible integrity, yet under the influence of fanaticism committing deeds that filled the world with horror. I think it highly probable that Lincoln will be considered by the next generation one of the greatest and best of men, inasmuch as his policy will be success -. ful,-but such will not be the verdict of posterity. He is person- ally amiable, and is professed of great mental capacity ; but under the false idea that the end justifies the means, he has disregarded his oath of office, and violated the constitution. He does not pause to inquire whether or not the ends proposed, the abolition of slavery and the preservation of the union, are worth the price of their attainment, the slaughter and ruin of millions and the overthrow of the constitution of his country. For these reason I class him with fanatics. If Lincoln receive the veneration of the American people, it does not follow that he is entitled to it, when we remember that Cæsar was worshipped as a God by the Ro- mans, and Bonaparte was long the idol of the French."
"Well, doctor, I, at least, will never be able to make war on you again," replied the captain, "but I still think we had the plea of defending the existence of our government and the na- tional honor, but I must confess that if I had been a citizen of Virginia I would probably have acted as you have done. We are all the creatures of circumstances, and, however we may boast ot our judgment, we are greatly influenced by the opinions of those with whom we come in contact. I feel no bitterness against the Southern people, and hope to see the war soon ended with the least possible injury to them. From what I read of the progress
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of events I believe it is now decided that we shall have no sepa- ration, and I think both sides should divest themselves of passion and try to have as kindly feelings as possible to each other, and, when the war is over, co-operate for the good of the whole coun- try." On this the doctor gave him his hand and the conversa- sion closed.
CHAPTER XIX.
In the autumn of 1863, John Preston accompanied a portion of Mosby's command, in which he was a captain, in a raid into West Virginia. He had become dissipated, and, having no money but the Confederate notes he was debarred from indulgences that had become second nature to him. Believing that West Virginia, in which lay all his father's property. was hopelessly lost to the State and the Confederacy, he was meditating desertion of his cause. As they approached his father's residence they came upon a scene of desolation. Fences were down, and the cattle that were left were wandering at will with none to guard theni. He found that all the young men were absent in one or the other of the armies, or were bushwhacking, and only a few old men left to till the soil with the help of the women.
His father's mansion was occupied by an old couple left in charge. From them he ascertained that the family had moved to Abingdon, his father having obtained a considerable amount of money from a mortgage on his lands. Discipline was now be- coming loose in the Confederate armies, and Preston readily ob- tained a permit to visit his family only about fifty miles distant. Abingdon is the oldest town in Southwestern Virginia, and is pleasantly situated in a valley surrounded by mountains, some in siglıt being among the highest in the Apalachian chain. It is near the Tennessee line and at no great distance from North Car- olina, West Virginia and Kentucky. From the summit of some of the highest peaks portions of all these States are at the same time visible. Much of the land of Washington, the county in
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which the town is situated, is fertile and high priced. Herc many families from the cotton States used to spend their sum- mers, the climate being pleasant and healthful. Many of the res- idents were persons of wealth and leisure, belonging to families of distinction, Johnstons, Floyds, Triggs and Prestons, who were themselves related to many noted people in the Carolinas, East- ern Virginia and Kentucky. The society was intelligent and re- fined, the people paying great attention to the education of their children, there being near. Emory and Henry Colleges for males, and the Martha Washington Female College, also in the town schools of high grade.
The people were nearly all loyal to the State. The negroes, though few as compared with the numbers in Eastern Virginia, were more numerous than in any other county west of the Alle- ghanies. This place as yet had been nearly exempt from the in- cursions of the enemy, and was not suffering as many other parts of the State. There was plenty of grain and hay and an abund- ance of cattle. The people had the wool from their own sheep, and cotton could yet be procured so there was no want of cloth- ing, as the women wove the cloth at home. Sorghum and the sugar maple supplied them with sweetening. No coffee could be obtained, except at enormous cost, which was a great depriva- tion, mountaineers everywhere being inveterate coffee drinkers. Many of these people were yet sanguine in the hope of gaining their independence, and Preston was welcomed with open arms.
His mother and sisters were delighted to see him, and proud of his career as a soldier, which, so far as the public knew, was honorable, his vices being ouly known to officers near him. His father was morose and dissatisfied, abusing all parties, Davis, Lincoln, and especially the government of West Virginia. He remained in the town about two weeks in a round of gaiety and festivity, for people will dance and amuse themselves, however . gloomy the prospect before them. Before his departure he took all the money he could persuade his mother to give him. He procured a suit of citizens clothes, and coming to a dense forest
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deposited his Confederate uniform in a hollow tree and turned his face to the North. After traveling many days, mostly through forests and in rough mountain paths, and frequently having to swim rivers, and spend his nights in the huts of the mountaineers, he arrived at Wheeling and offered his services to. the authorities. He was gladly received, as many prominent peo- ple knew of his father and his large possessions, and was ten- dered the commission of captain to raise a company of partisan rangers. In this he was successful, soon having under his com- mand more than a hundred men West Virginians, Pennsylvan- ians and Kentuckians. We shall meet with him again before the end of this story.
CHAPTER XX.
At the close of the campaigns of 1863, it seemed that the Confederacy could survive but a few months, but the events of the spring and early summer of 1864 gave some hopes to its friends. Never had her soldiers fought more bravely nor con- tended so successfully against overwhelming odds. In Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi the enemy had been driven back, and the Confederates had assumed the aggressive in Arkansas, and even in Missouri, and Lee was making the most splendid defen- sive campaign known in history. But the heroism of an army fighting absolutely without pay and in dire need of food and clothing could not long resist four times their number, abundant- ly supplied with every necessity. Yet these successes gave hopes to the otherwise despondent, and some who had despaired of in- dependence had some hopes of Mcclellan's election to the Presi- dency, and hoped that by prolonging the contest, until he should take liis seat, more favorable terms could be obtained for the South than could be hoped for from the administration in power.
At this time many counties of Virginia, in the Southern Piedmont region, had escaped the presence of an enemy, among them the county in which Judge Buford had resided. James
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Campbell and his countymen had not suffered for the necessaries of life. He had continued to raise large crops on Judge Buford's lands, a large portion going annually to feed the army. He and his wife led as peaceful a life as though there had been no war He had occasionally been in active service, when called on in an emergency, but had been mostly employed by the State as an agent in collecting supplies for the army, and was seldom long from home. His wife was busy with her domestic life, the care of her children and her Sunday-school, and was more contented and happy than it would seem possible under the circumstances. Lizzie made her home with them. She saw but little company. Her reading and music were great sources of pleasure to her, and the news constantly received from the army of course giving a coloring most favorable to the Confederacy, gave sufficient ex- citement and topics for conversation to relieve the dullness of her sequestered life. She was hopeful of the success of the Southern cause. Her anxiety about Willie was mingled with pride at his brilliant career.
When Hunter, Crook and Averill made their incursions go- ing as far as Lynchburg, this family was nearer to hostile forces than they had ever been before. The negroes, who, up to this time, had been very quiet, heard of their approach, and began to be much excited. About the time of the repulse of the these commanders, one morning, Sam was missing, and with him a very fine young horse belonging to Major Buford, intended by him for his own use in the cavalry. He had gone to join the Yankees. After riding all night, about nine o'clock in the morn- ing, he came into the main road leading from Lynchburg to Ten- nessee, and in a short time encountered a body of about fifty horsemen whom he recognized as belonging to the Federal army from their uniforms. Riding up to them, he seemed much as" tonished at seeing their leader, exclaiming, "Dis you, Mars John? what you doin' wid de Yankees?"
This officer replied, ' who in the h -- are you, and what are you doing riding that fine animal?"
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Sam replied, "Lor' don't you know Sanı, dat you used to see at your uncle, Judge Buford's?"
"O, yes," he replied, "I know you now, but what are you doing here?"
"I has come to jine de Yankees and git my freedom ; I heard dey was gwine to set all de niggers free," said Sam.
"And so we are," said Preston, for it was he, "but you get down and give me that horse. Here, Smith, take my horse and give this nigger yours, he is about the poorest hack we have. Now, Sam," he added, "mount and we will carry you to the land of freedom. By the way, have you seen anything lately of my good cousin Willie?"
"No sah," said Sam, "he aint been 'bout here for some time, and I don't want to see him, and I spec you so too, he is mighty fightin' man, and alwas gits de best of it."
Preston, who was familiar with all this country, on the re- pulse of Averill to whose command he had been attached, had straggled away, and now contemplated a profitable little raid on his own account. He knew that the Southern Piedmont region and Western North Carolina had not suffered from invasion and contained a great deal of valuable property that could be easily carried away. Besides he calculated to receive a large ransom from persons to keep him from burning their houses. Much of this section lay west and south of and at a considerable distance from any railroad. He thought he might safely raid those sec- tions by traveling rapidly through the counties of Patrick, Henry and Franklin, and from thence go into North Carolina. From thence he supposed it would be easy to escape into East Tennes- see, as he could procure guides through the mountain passes from among the inhabitants, many of whom were staunch union men. He stopped at Buford's tavern and- pressed in a bountiful dinner for his men and food for his horses. He was recognized by the old man, and was berated by him in no measured terms for his course of conduct, and was told that it was a matter of grief and shame to him that any one connected to him by ties of
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blood should so act. On being asked by some of the party, if he had seen any of the rebel soldiers lately, the old gentleman re- plied, "do you think I would tell you if I had? I would be shot in my tracks before I would give you any information."
They had been gone but a few hours and some of his neigh- bors, standing in front of his gate with Captain Buford, saw in the northwest, a body of cavalry slowly winding their way down the mountain. On his attention being called to them, he re- marked, "The Lord deliver us from any more Yankees." On a nearer approch they were recognized as Confederates, and when the head of the column arrived, Captain Buford, on meeting their leader, exclaimed, "as I live, it is Willie. I never was so glad to see a man in my life. Why that rascally cousin of yours, John Preston, with his company, has just left. I think he is making a raid on his old friends, and, as he has one of your father's negroes with him, I think he intends visiting your house."
On this, Major Buford was very anxious to pursue, but the old man said, "Not yet. You and your men and horses are tired. The rascals have nearly cleaned me out, but I will hustle around and get you something to eat."
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