Franklin County: "The Great Invasion of 1863; or, General Lee in Pennsylvania," by Jacob Hoke, 1887

Summary: Excerpts from this 613-page book by a long-time Chambersburg resident provide first-hand glimpses of Lincoln's famous address at Gettysburg and a detailed description of the burning of Chambersburg by Confederate forces. Hoke looks closely into the causes behind Chambersburg's destruction, reprinting letters from soldiers involved in the action and concluding that the incident was the fault of brutal Confederate bushwackers in the Shenandoah Valley who set off a vicious cycle of destruction and retaliation.

[Excerpt from pages xxix-xxxi]

INTRODUCTION.

No battle field on earth is so well preserved and marked as is that of Gettysburg. Little and Big Round Top, East Cemetery Hill and Ridge Culp's and Wolff Hill, Seminary and Oak Ridge, have become immortal, and will endure while time itself lasts. The lines of the two great armies, the positions occupied by the various corps, divisions, brigades, and regiments, and the places where heroic deeds were performed and where distinguished men fell, are being marked by tablets and monuments of enduring marble and granite. In this commendable work, it affords us pleasure to state, Confederates as well as Federals are engaged. The stone fences and huge boulders, used as defenses, and many of the breast-works thrown up at the time, also remain, and will be preserved as long as time and the elements of nature will permit. The various states whose troops participated in the memorable battle which occurred there, as well as brigades, regiments, and companies, are vying with each other, not only to mark for future ages where gallant men fought and where patriots died, but to make as beautiful as possible the entire field where the life of our great Government was assured. It is eminently proper, then, that every fact of historic value connected with the great episode which culminated upon that field should not only be preserved but placed upon record in its proper connection. This the survivors of the period of those stirring events owe to the generations who are yet to come.

The author of this work has attempted to discharge, in a measure, the duty indicated in the foregoing. His qualifications for the task he has (end of page xxix) undertaken may be stated thus: he resided in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, during the entire period of the War of the Rebellion, and for a score of years previous and ever since; he not only witnessed all the armed hosts, Federal and Confederate, which passed through that place, but had access to their camps and hospitals; he preserved important papers, and kept an account of events with the dates of their occurrence; he visited the field of battle and noted facts and incidents; he has corresponded with others, both Federals and Confederates, competent to impart important information; and he has made it a point to read and preserve everything relating to the subject, which has come under his notice. The material thus carefully gathered he has compared, classified, and placed upon record in the following pages. He has been especially careful to be exact in the facts stated, and in the dates given. Errors may have crept into this record, but every precaution has been taken to secure entire accuracy. If he has not succeeded in giving the public such a history of the subject as its importance demands, he has at least rescued from oblivion much valuable historical matter, which, without this humble effort, would have been forever lost.

It will be seen in the perusal of this work that the published statements of both Federal and Confederate writers, relating to the invasion of Pennsylvania and the battle of Gettysburg, have been used. This has been done that the fullest and fairest history of the whole may be secured, for both sides are equally entitled to a hearing. Besides this, events which transpired within the Confederate lines, and which Confederates only could detail, are of equal importance in an impartial and reliable history with those which occurred within the Federal lines, and which Federals only could narrate. For the reasons thus stated, as well as to preserve in a permanent form some of the many excellent and interesting articles, written for the newspapers and magazines, by eye-witnesses and participants, I have drawn largely upon this class of writers.

In matters of dispute, or where differences of opinion have prevailed, I have endeavored to be impartial; and in every case, where it was at all possible, both sides have been accorded a hearing.

The writer has not only sought to be impartial, but also unpartisan. (end of page xxx). He could not, however, conceal the fact that he wrote from the standpoint of a Unionist, and that his sympathies were, and ever must be, with those who stood for the maintenance of the Government. For those who arrayed themselves upon the opposite side, he has but feelings of kindness. The time has come for all ill feeling to be entirely laid aside and forgotten. In this spirit this history has been written; and its author disclaims any other reason for the task he has undertaken, than to place upon record a fair and truthful account of events in which both the late contestants have an equal interest. If, then, in the following pages, any injustice has been done, or if a feeling or expression inconsistent with an impartial history, intended for the whole country, and for all time to come, has found place, the reader will kindly attribute it to inadvertence rather than to any disposition to perpetuate the bitterness and estrangement of the past.

J. HOKE.

(Excerpt from page 443)

The battle of Gettysburg, as is universally conceded, was the turning point in the great war of the rebellion, for from it the ultimate failure of the cause for which the South fought was assured. And as that battle was the culmination, the crisis of the war, so the last great effort of the Confederate chieftain, when he hurled fifteen thousand of his choicest troops against the Federal line, was the culmination, the supreme crisis of that battle. The rebellion at that point reached its high-water mark, and from that period it gradually receded. That charge, then, was the supreme crisis in our country's history, and the turning point in its destiny. It failed, and with its failure the fact was demonstrated that a government founded upon oppression and wrong, could not succeed in the light of the civilization and Christianity of this age. The Republic was saved, redeemed, baptized, and consecrated anew to the coming ages.

(Excerpt from pages 520-535)

GETTYSBURG, THE NATION'S SHRINE.

"On Fame's eternal camping ground
Their silent tents are spread,
And Glory guards, with solemn round,
The bivouac of the dead."

As soon as the result of the series of engagements between the Federal and Confederate armies at Gettysburg was known throughout the country, people from all sections flocked to that place. In traversing the field of conflict the evidences of the tremendous struggle were visible in all directions. Disabled cannon, abandoned and captured arms, broken down fences, trampled and ruined fields of grass and grain, pools of blood, dead and wounded men, and the bloated and offensive carcasses of horses, were some of the visible results. The hearts of patriots were saddened and their feelings shocked to see the remains of the brave men who had yielded up their lives that the Nation might live, because of the necessary haste with which they were interred, in many instances but partially covered with earth. These partly covered bodies were scattered for miles over ground that would soon be cultivated. The graves which were marked were only temporarily so, and the marks would soon decay or be obliterated, and all traces of the sacred (end of page 520) dust be entirely lost. Humanity shuddered at the sight, and patriotism revolted at such desecration. The idea then was suggested of purchasing a suitable piece of ground upon some elevated place, and gathering these men from all parts of the field and decently interring them side by side. Mr. David Wills, a citizen of Gettysburg, submitted a proposition to effect the purpose to his Excellency, Governor Andrew G. Curtin, in a letter dated July 24th, 1863; and the governor, with the promptness and zeal for the cause of the Union, and the welfare and comfort of the soldiers, which he had always shown, approved of the design, and appointed Mr. Wills as agent to carry out the project. Mr. Wills at once opened correspondence with the governors of other states, which had soldiers dead upon the field, and they all with great promptness responded and seconded the plan. About seventeen acres of ground on Cemetery Hill, at the apex of the triangular line of battle of the Union army, was purchased and the title made to the State of Pennsylvania. No more beautiful or appropriate place for the gallant heroes who died upon that field, could be found than the one selected. It is high and prominent. It was the center of the Federal position. Upon it were planted the batteries which thundered forth death and destruction to the foe; and it was there that the awful fire of Lee's one hundred and twenty guns was concentrated during that fearful two hours' artillery duel, which preceded Pickett's great, but wild and disastrous charge. Lots in this cemetery were gratuitously given to each State having dead on the field. It was arranged that the expenses for the removal and re-interment of the dead, the laying out, orna[end of page 521]menting, and enclosing of the grounds, erecting a lodge for the keeper, and constructing a suitable monument, should be borne by the several States, and assessed in proportion to their population, as indicated by their representation in Congress.

The Soldiers' National Cemetery is enclosed by a well built stone wall, surmounted with heavy dressed capping stones. This wall extends along the south, west, and north sides of the grounds. The division fence between it and the local cemetery of the town is of iron. The lodge for the residence of the keeper is a beautiful structure, and the front fence and gate-way are of ornamental iron work. The grounds have been graded, and are adorned with many beautiful trees, shrubbery, and flowers. The burial-place proper is semi-circular in form. In the center of this semi-circle stands the National Monument. The grounds from this center slope off gradually in every direction. They are laid out in lots, each State proportioned in size to the number of its dead. Each of these lots is divided into sections, with a space of four feet for a walk between the sections. There are also spaces set apart for the Regulars, as also for those whose identity could not be distinguished. Many of those who fell in the first day's engagement are among the latter; they lay either unburied and exposed to the sun and rain, until the Monday following the battle, or were but slightly covered. The outer division of the section is lettered "A," and so on in alphabetical order. As the observer stands in the center of the semi-circle, facing the circumference, the burials are commenced at the right hand of the section in each lot, and the graves are num- (end of page 523) regularly. A register is kept of the number, name, regiment, and company of the occupant of each grave. Two feet of space is allowed to each, and they are laid with their heads toward the center of the semi-circle. At the head of the graves there is a stone wall, built up from the bottom as a foundation for the head-stones, which are placed along the whole length of each section; and on which, opposite each grave, is engraved the name, regiment, and the company of the deceased. These headstones are all alike in size, the design being wholly adapted to a symmetrical order, and one which combines simplicity and durability. The remains of the soldiers were taken up and re-interred with great care. Every precaution was (end of page 524) taken to identify the unmarked graves, and also to prevent the marked graves from losing their identity by the defacement of the original temporary boards, on which the names were written or cut by their comrades in arms. The graves being all numbered, the numbers are registered in a record-book, with the name, company, and regiment. This register will ever designate the graves and preserve the identity of the occupants. The coffins and head-stones were furnished by the Government, and the cemetery is kept in order by persons appointed and paid by the same. A careful account was also taken and kept of each article found in the pockets, or about the person of the deceased.

Not all, however, who fell at this place in the sacred cause of Freedom were interred here. Many were taken away by their friends and buried among their own kindred; and many others who were wounded and taken to their homes, or to distant hospitals, and died there, were laid away to rest where they died. Among the killed who were removed was the brave, the lamented Reynolds. His body was borne to his native city, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where, amidst his own kindred, he sleeps. A beautiful monument, however, has been erected by his comrades, in the National Cemetery, near the entrance, a view of which is shown in our illustration.

But of all the gallant heroes who fell at Gettysburg, wherever they rest, it may truthfully be said:

"They fell devoted, but undying;
Their very names the gale seems sighing;
The rivers murmur of their name;
The woods are peopled with their fame;
The silent tombstone, cold and gray, (end of page 525)
Claims kindred with their hallowed clay;
Their spirits wrap the dusky mountains;
Their memory sparkles over the fountains;
The meanest rill, the mightiest river,
Rolls mingling with their fame forever."

The Soldiers' National Monument, standing in this semicircle, is one of the most beautiful works of art upon the continent. The whole rendering of the design is intended to be purely historical, telling its own story, with such simplicity that any discerning mind will readily comprehend its meaning and purpose.

The superstructure is sixty feet high, and consists of a massive granite pedestal, twenty-five feet square at the base, crowned by a colossal statue, representing the GENIUS OF LIBERTY. Standing upon a three quarter globe, she raises with her right hand the victor's wreath of laurel, while with her left she gathers up the folds of our national flag under which the victory has been won.

Projecting from the angles of the pedestal are four buttresses, supporting an equal number of allegorical statues representing, respectively, WAR, HISTORY, PEACE, and PLENTY.

WAR is personified by a statue of the American soldier, who, resting from the conflict, relates to HISTORY the story of the battle which this monument is intended to commemorate.

HISTORY, in listening attitude, records with stylus and tablet the achievements of the field, and the names of the honored dead.

PEACE is symbolized by a statue of the American mechanic, characterized by appropriate accessories.

PLENTY is represented by a female figure, with a sheaf (end of page 526) of wheat and fruits of the earth, typifying peace and abundance as the soldier's crowning triumph.

Upon the panels of the main die between the statues are appropriate inscriptions, one of which is the concluding part of President LINCOLN'S address upon the occasion of the dedication of this cemetery, as follows:

"It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to the cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that the dead shall not have died in vain; that the nation shall, under God, have a new birth of freedom, and that the government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

The main die of the pedestal is octagonal in form, panelled upon each face. The cornice and plinth above are also octagonal, and are heavily molded. Upon this plinth rests an octagonal molded base, bearing upon its face, in high relief, the National arms.

The upper die and cap are circular in form, the die being encircled by stars equal in number with the States whose sons contributed their lives as the price of the victory won at Gettysburg.

The ground thus purchased and set apart for the burial of those who fell at Gettysburg in defense of the Government, was, on November 19th, 1863, solemnly dedicated to this sacred purpose. There were present, beside a vast concourse of people from all parts of the country, the President of the United States, several members of his cabinet, the ministers of France and Italy, the governors of several States, representatives of the army and navy, (end of page 528) members of Congress, and many other distinguished persons. A stand or platform was erected for the speakers and invited guests. This stand stood just where the National Monument now stands. The exercises were opened by music by Birgfield's band, after which followed an eloquent and impressive prayer by Rev. Thomas H. Stockton, D.D., from which I make the following extracts:

"By this Altar of Sacrifice; on this Field of Deliverance; on this Mount of Salvation; within the fiery and bloody line of the 'Munitions of Rocks,' looking back to the dark days of fear and trembling, and to the rapture of relief that came after, we multiply our thanksgivings, and confess our obligations to renew and perfect our personal and social consecration to Thy service and glory.

"Oh, had it not been for God! For lo! our enemies, they came unresisted, multitudinous, mighty, flushed with victory, and sure of success. They exulted on our mountains; they revelled in our valleys; they feasted, they rested; they slept, they awakened; they grew stronger, prouder, bolder, every day; they spread abroad, they concentrated here; they looked beyond this horizon to the stores of wealth, to the haunts of pleasure, and to the seats of power in our capital and chief cities. They proposed to cast a chain of slavery around the form of Freedom, binding life and death together forever. Their premature triumph was the mockery of God and man. One more victory, and all was theirs! But behind these hills was heard the feeble march of a smaller, but pursuing host. Onward they hurried, day and night, for God and their country. Foot-sore, way-worn, hungry, thirsty, faint, - but not in heart, - they came to dare all, to bear all, and to do all (end of page 529) that is possible to heroes. And Thou didst sustain them! At first they met the blast on the plain, and bent before it like the trees in a storm. But then, led by Thy hand to these hills, they took their stand upon the rocks and remained as firm and immovable as they. In vain were they assaulted. All art, all violence, all desperation, failed to dislodge them. Baffled, bruised, broken, their enemies recoiled, retired, and disappeared. Glory to God for this rescue! But oh, the slain! In the freshness and fulness of their young and manly life, with such sweet memories of father and mother, brother and sister, wife and children, maiden and friends, they died for us. From the coasts beneath the eastern sky, from the shores of northern lakes and rivers, from the flowers of the western prairies, and from the homes of the midway and border, they came here to die for us and for mankind. Alas, how little we can do for them! We come with the humility of prayer, with the pathetic eloquence of venerable wisdom, with the tender beauty of poetry, with the plaintive harmony of music, with the honest tribute of our Chief Magistrate, and with all this honorable attendance; but our best hope is in thy blessing, O Lord, our God! O Father, bless us! Bless the bereaved, whether present or absent; bless our sick and wounded soldiers and sailors; bless all our rulers and people; bless our army and navy; bless the efforts for the suppression of the rebellion; and bless all the associations of this day and place and scene forever. As the trees are not dead, though their foliage is gone, so our heroes are not dead, though their forms are fallen. In their proper personality they are all with Thee. And the spirit of their example is here. It fills the air; it fills our hearts. (end of page 530) And, long as time shall last, it will hover in the skies and rest on the landscape; and the pilgrims of our own land, and from all lands, will thrill with its inspiration, and increase and confirm their devotion to liberty, religion, and God."

At the conclusion of this prayer, the Marine Band of Washington rendered excellent and appropriate music, after which Hon. Edward Everett delivered an able and elaborate address. Following this address a choir sang the hymn composed specially for the occasion by B.B. French, Esq., some verses of which are given at the close of this chapter. The President of the United States, the honored and revered LINCOLN, then, amidst the tremendous applause of the assembled multitude, arose and slowly advanced to the front of the platform and delivered his celebrated dedicatory address, which was as follows:

"Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle field of that war. We are met to dedicate a portion of it as a final resting place of those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But in a larger sense we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated (end of page 531) it far above our power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work that they have thus so nobly carried on. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to the cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion - that we highly resolve that the dead shall not have died in vain; that the nation shall, under God, have a new birth of freedom, and that the government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

The words of the president were uttered in slow and measured tones, and although not heard by the large majority of the people present, the most profound silence was observed daring their delivery. When he uttered the closing sentences, which have become immortal, hiasizing each with a significant nod and jerk of his head, - "," - it occurred to the writer, who stood within a few feet of him, that those words were destined to an imperishable immortality.

After the president's dedicatory address, a solemn dirge was sung, after which the benediction was pronounced by Rev. H.L. Baugher, D.D.

The admiration of the people for President LINCOLN exceeded that ever bestowed upon any other person within my knowledge. It was evidently not so much for him personally, as . He was recognized as the personification of the cause which was enshrined in every (end of page 532) patriot's heart, and for which the armies of the Union were contending. To love the Union was to love Abraham Lincoln. To hate and defame him was the acknowledged evidence of disloyalty. The honored head of the Nation, the humble and unpretending man from Illinois, standing upon the ground where one of the greatest battles of modern times occurred, and in which the existence and destiny of the Government were in part decided, modestly received the willing homage of the assembled thousands. The Man - the President - the Government - the yet undecided peril to which it was exposed - the ground we were on - the sleeping thousands all about us, whose blood had been poured out upon that soil that the Nation might live, all conspired to make the occasion one never to be forgotten.

During the twenty-three years that have elapsed since this ground was dedicated to the sacred purpose of the interment of these honored dead, many improvements have been made. Additional grounds have been purchased; avenues along the lines held by the Federals have been laid out; tablets have been erected to mark the places where corps, divisions, brigades, and regiments stood, and monuments where distinguished men fell. States whose troops fought in this battle are appropriating money for additional improvements, and in the years to come the field of Gettysburg will increase in beauty and interest, and will be visited by untold thousands.

Such was the origin of this final resting place for the remains of the heroic men who fell upon the field of Gettysburg. Who can estimate the importance to the race of their valor and heroism? They have fallen, but victory (end of page 533) is ours - theirs enrollment upon the scroll of undying fame. They did not fight in vain. Not for themselves, but for their children, for the race, for humanity, for righteousness, for God, they gave themselves a willing sacrifice. Their remains deserve the highest honor that a grateful people can bestow. Their deeds will live in history long after their bodies have mouldered into dust; and the place where they lie will be honored, protected, and preserved as a sad, but sacred, memento of their heroic conduct. And, as was intimated in Dr. Stockton's impressive prayer, the place where this great battle was fought, the ground where the dust of the slain reposes, has become the Nation's shrine, and pilgrims from our own land, and from all lands, will ever continue to visit it to catch a new inspiration of freedom, and increase and confirm their devotion to Liberty, to Religion, and to God.

In the Soldiers' National Cemetery at Gettysburg there are interred the bodies of three thousand five hundred and fifty-five Union soldiers. They were from the following states: Maine, one hundred and four; New Hampshire, forty-eight; Vermont, sixty-one; Massachusetts, one hundred and fifty-nine; Rhode Island, twelve; Connecticut, twenty-two; New York, eight hundred and sixty-six; New Jersey, seventy-eight; Pennsylvania, five hundred and twenty-six; Delaware, fifteen; Maryland, twenty-two; West Virginia, eleven; Ohio, one hundred and thirty-one; Indiana, eighty; Illinois, six; Michigan, one hundred and seventy-one; Wisconsin, seventy-three; Minnesota, fifty-two; United States Regulars, one hundred and thirty-eight; Unknown, nine hundred and seventy-nine. These fallen patriots having come together from the East, North, and (end of page 534) West, and stood side by side under one flag, inspired by one spirit, and fought for one cause, it is but right and proper that they should not be divided in death, but rest in the ground hallowed by their valor and made sacred by their blood. For them there is no more separation from home and loved ones at their country's call, no more weary marches, no more digging of trenches, no more charging into yawning chasms of death, no more painful wounds and sleepless nights, and long and weary days in hospitals. All these are forever ended. On this Altar of Sacrifice, this Mount of Salvation, this Field of Deliverance, and surrounded by these Munitions of Rocks, let them rest until the Archangel's clarion shall sound with a louder blast than that which summoned them to this field of heroic deeds.

"'Tis holy ground -
This spot, where, in their graves,
Are placed our country's braves,
Who fell in freedom's holy cause,
Fighting for liberties and laws:
Let tears abound.

"Here where they fell,
Oft shall the widow's tears be shed;
Oft shall fond parents mourn their dead;
The orphan here shall kneel and weep,
And maidens where their lovers sleep,
Their woes to tell.

"Here let them rest:
And summer's heat and winter's cold
Shall glow and freeze above their mould -
A thousand years shall pass away -
A nation still shall mourn their clay,
Which now is blest."

(Excerpt from pages 580-600)

THE BURNING OF CHAMBERSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

In the campaign of the spring of 1864, General Hunter succeeded General Sigel in the Shenandoah Valley, and by the orders of General Grant, advanced upon Lynchburg, Virginia, with the view of destroying the enemy's resources at that place. On the 5th of June he met the enemy at Piedmont and defeated him. Forming a junction on the 8th, with Crook and Averell at Staunton, he moved directly on Lynchburg by way of Lexington, reaching the latter place on June l0th. Up to this time Hunter had been very successful, and the destruction of the enemy's supplies and manufactories had been very great. To meet this movement General Lee sent General Early with his corps, a part of which reached Lynchburg in advance of Hunter. After some skirmishing on the 17th and 18th, General Hunter, owing to a want of ammunition, declined to give battle, and found himself under the necessity of retiring from the place, and abandoning the chief object of his expedition. This want of ammunition, and consequent inability to meet the force sent against him, compelled him to choose as the route of his return the way of the Gauley and Kanawha rivers, thence up the Ohio River, and returning to Harper's Ferry by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. This movement uncovered the valley, and Early, after some show of pursuit upon the route Hunter had taken, fell back to the valley and rapidly advanced toward the Potomac. Crossing this river on Thursday, July 7th, he turned hastily toward the National Capital, defeating the Federal force under General Lewis Wallace at the Monocacy River, on Saturday, July 9th. On Tuesday, the 12th, the advance of his army came up in front of the defenses of Washington, but finding them too strong to be carried, and fearing that the gathering forces might cut his communications, Early, in the morning of the 13th, fell back, recrossing the river at Edwards' Ferry, and passing through Snicker's Gap with an immense train of plunder, which he had gathered by the way, encamped about Martinsburg. The Federal force under General Hunter, having arrived from the west, crossed the river and engaged Early, and were finally compelled to recross and take position from Hancock, Maryland, to Harper's Ferry, the main body being at the latter place. Each army had cavalry stationed upon its flanks. The brigade of General John A. McCausland was placed upon Early's left; the command of General Averell was upon the Federal right and confronting McCausland. This was substantially (end of page 580) the situation up to Thursday, July 28th. It is needless to say that the proximity of the Confederates, and their bold and aggressive movements, caused intense excitement and alarm all along the Southern border of the tier of counties immediately threatened.

On Thursday, July 28th, General Early directed General McCausland to take his own brigade of mounted infantry and the cavalry brigade of General Bradley T. Johnson, the two numbering about two thousand nine hundred men, and proceed to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and after capturing it, levy a tribute upon it of one hundred thousand dollars in gold, or five hundred thousand dollars in United States currency, and in default of the payment of either to burn the town. On this same day these two brigades were assembled at or near Hammond's Mill, in Berkeley County, West Virginia. During the ensuing night the Federal pickets on the north side of the Potomac were captured, and in the early morning of Friday, 29th, the command crossed at Cherry Run and McCoy's fords, and with but little opposition advanced by way of Clearspring and Mercersburg upon Chambersburg. The first knowledge the citizens of the latter place had of the approach of the enemy was at about half past twelve o'clock of this day, when a scene of indiscribable [sic] confusion at once took place. The contents of the bank, stores, shops, and many private houses were hurriedly removed and secreted, - an experience which the people of that place, and other towns along the southern border, had often undergone.

About ten o'clock at night the Confederate force came up to the high hills two miles west of town. At this place they remained during the night, kept back probably by the firing of a single gun, which, with a few men - all the soldiers then at this place - had been sent to retard the approach of the enemy.

Chambersburg at this time was the head-quarters of the military district of the Susquehanna, and although General Couch, its commander, had organized regiment after regiment specially to guard the southern border, they were, as soon as organized, ordered to Washington to meet the danger threatening that place. His inability, then, to meet this emergency may be seen in the fact that during the time Early was raiding Maryland and threatening the Capital, his whole available force in the department did not exceed three hundred men, and at this time he had but one hundred and thirty-five under his command, of whom but about forty, including himself and staff, were in the town. It will thus be seen that while the people of the southern border had a military department, well and ably officered, they were without troops, and that too at one of the most threatening periods of the war. (end of page 581)

At an early hour in the morning - Saturday, July 30th - General McCausland placed about two thousand of his command in line upon a hill near the western suburb of the town, and about one mile from its center. Six pieces of artillery were also placed in position, and three shells were fired into the place without any notice to the citizens. The remaining nine hundred of his force were sent into the town, and the Court House bell was rung as a signal for the citizens to assemble to hear his requisition. No response being made, a guard under Major Harry Gilmore, of Baltimore, was sent around, who captured some six or eight of our leading men and conducted them to the front of the Court House. Captain Fitzhugh, McCausland's chief of staff, then read to them General Early's requisition, demanding the immediate payment of one hundred thousand dollars in gold, or five hundred thousand dollars in United States currency, and in default of payment ordering the destruction of the town. This order stated that this requisition and threatened burning were in retaliation for acts of destruction committed by General Hunter in the Valley of Virginia, and specially naming some half dozen dwellings which he had burned. The money demanded was not, and could not be paid, for the reason that there was nothing like the amount demanded remaining in the town. Besides the citizens did not feel like contributing to aid in the overthrow of their government. While these negotiations were going on the work of plunder had already been commenced. Stores, shops,. and other places of business were broken into and robbed of whatever of their contents yet remained unremoved or unsecreted. In some cases saloons were opened and liquor obtained and some of the soldiers became intoxicated. Citizens, too, along the streets were relieved of hats, caps, boots, shoes, watches, etc.

As soon as General McCausland saw that the money demanded would not be furnished he gave the order to commence the work of destruction. Detachments were sent to different parts of the town. Houses were opened, furniture was broken and piled upon heaps in rooms and fired. In some cases fire was kindled in closets, bureaus, and other depositories of clothing. Many of the Confederate soldiers entered into this work with evident delight, and to the entreaties and tears of the aged, the infirm, of women and children, they turned a deaf ear. Others, to their credit be it said, entirely disapproved of the work, and only entered upon it because compelled to do so. In some instances, in response to the cries and entreaties of the afflicted inmates of houses entered, the unwilling soldiers would say: "I must obey my orders and fire your house; you can do what you please when I leave." In some cases, after fire had been kindled, others would come in and assist in extinguishing it. Some sections of the town were entirely saved because (end of page 582) the officers sent there refused to execute their barbarous orders, and in a few cases officers and soldiers worked with citizens at the fire engine to extinguish the flames. Cases were numerous in which valuable articles were taken from those who were dragging them from their burning homes, or through streets and alleys, up upon the horses by their riders and safely deposited upon the outskirts of the town. Others again were robbed of valuable articles which they were trying to carry away. The writer, while running with his family through flame and smoke, was pursued and stopped by a Confederate cavalryman and ordered to hand over a satchel. When assured that it contained neither money nor valuables, but a few pieces of clothing, the man desisted and rode away. No sooner did this one leave us than another rode up and entreated one of the ladies of our company to mount his horse and ride away, declaring that he would never use him again in the Confederate service.

The scenes enacted in the streets during the earlier part of the burning were distressing indeed. People were running wildly about in search of children and friends. The occupants of houses were dragging from their threatened or burning homes valuable articles, such as sewing machines, articles of furniture, etc. Others with their arms full of clothing, bedding, carpets, books, pictures, etc., were running hither and thither seeking places of safety. In some cases these persons were compelled to sit down and pull off their boots and hand them over to some cavalryman.

In a town the size of Chambersburg there were necessarily many aged, infirm, and sick persons, as well as some dead bodies of friends awaiting burial. The infirm had to be assisted to places of safety; the sick removed; and corpses temporarily buried in gardens. In several instances Confederate soldiers assisted in these humane acts. In a few cases houses isolated from others were spared and guards placed about them, because one or more of the inmates were too ill to be removed; and others still were spared by paying a ransom. Had the destruction occurred in winter, or at night, or during a storm, the destruction of life, with other imaginable horrors, would have been fearful. But it was in the morning and during a perfect calm. And yet at one time a fearful cyclone, or funnel-shaped column, which originated in the public square, where the converging flames seemed to have suddenly given birth and shape to this terrible apparition, moved with a hissing and roaring noise eastward along the line of Market Street, carrying far up into the heavens innumerable flakes of fire, ignited shingles and bits of boards. In its course it passed over the ground surrounding a residence which was not burned, and in which clothing, bedding, furniture, etc., had been deposited. As this whirling, hissing, and sucking cone touched these articles, it instantly drew (end of page 583) some of the lighter ones up into the air. Pillows, feather-beds, bed quilts, and other articles were carried up and fell at considerable distances. A little girl of probably four years of age was caught by the monster and lifted six or eight feet from the ground.

The conflagration at its height was a scene of surpassing grandeur and terror. As building after building was fired, or caught from others, column after column of smoke rose black, straight, and single; first one, then another, and another. Each of these then, like huge serpents, writhed and twisted into a thousand fantastic shapes, until all finally blended and commingled, and formed one vast and livid column of smoke and flame which rose perpendicularly to the sky, and then spread out into a huge crown of sackcloth. It was heaven's shield mercifully drawn over the scene to shelter from the blazing sun the homeless and unsheltered ones that had fled to the fields and cemeteries around the town, where they in silence and sadness sat and looked upon the destruction of their homes and the accumulations of a life-time. Add to all this the roaring and crackling of the flames, the sound of falling walls, the distressing cries of burning animals, as horses, cattle, and swine, and a picture of the terrible is seen which no one who witnessed it would ever desire to have repeated.

General McCausland crossed the Potomac at Cherry Run and McCoy's fords, thus turning the right flank of General Averell, who had been placed nearly opposite him to watch him. As a demonstration in his favor, and to prevent Averell from intercepting him, the divisions of Rodes and Ramsuer and the cavalry brigade of Vaughan also crossed the river at Williamsport - Vaughan pressing on as far as Hagerstown, Maryland. Averell, thus threatened upon both flanks, was under the necessity of looking after his own safety, and accordingly fell back into Pennsylvania, reaching Greencastle, eleven miles south of Chambersburg, about sundown, where he went into bivouac. Learning of his presence there, General Couch, who yet remained at Chambersburg, sent him three successive dispatches peremptorily ordering him on to the latter place. These dispatches were taken by couriers to the camp, but Averell could not be found. For some reason which has never been satisfactorily explained, he had changed the place of his own rest without the knowledge of his staff and when Couch's orders were taken to the camp no one knew where the General was.* [See footnote at bottom of document] At length about four o'clock in the morning he was found and the (end of page 584) dispatches placed in his hands, but it was then too late. General Couch, unable to communicate with him, and having no other force to rely upon, had left the town. Averell at once put his command in motion, but still fearing an attack by Vaughan's command, which had pressed him the day before, (end of page 585) and to avoid being caught between it and the force under McCausland, he proceeded in an easterly direction until he reached Greenwood, eight miles from Chambersburg, when he turned westward and proceeded to the latter place. The Confederates, apprised by their scouts of his approach, left the (end of page 586) burning town about eleven o'clock and passed rapidly westward and crossed the North Mountain into Fulton County and thence down the valley and recrossed the Potomac at Hancock, pursued by Averell. Had General Averell informed his staff of his removal, Couch's dispatches would have reached him in time, and the terrible disaster of Chambersburg would have been averted. It certainly seems strange that a commander of Averell's sagacity should, under the threatening circumstances, have committed so grave an oversight.

The work of destruction was commenced about eight o'clock in the morning, and by eleven o'clock the enemy had all gone, but so thorough had been their work that the major part of Chambersburg - its chief wealth and business, its capital and elegance - were laid in ruins. Ten squares of buildings were burned and two thousand human beings were made homeless, and many of them penniless. From this disaster the majority never recovered, but lived the remainder of their days in poverty. Reduced from affluence to poverty, many were dependent upon the charity of the few whose homes escaped the invaders' torch, as well as upon the provision made by the military authorities to meet their immediate wants.

When the fire had subsided and the enemy had gone, the people who had taken refuge in the cemeteries and fields around the town, returned to view the remains of their ruined homes. Sad indeed were their feelings when they stood by the scene of desolation, recognizing here and there among the ruins some articles which reminded them of the past, as broken and warped stoves, cooking utensils, etc. But when night came on, and a place of shelter had to be sought, then only did they realize their sad condition. Such buildings as had escaped the common destruction were opened and were crowded to their utmost capacity. Some made their way on foot to the country, or to neighboring towns, and some removed to distant places, never again to reside in Chambersburg. Chambersburg was founded A.D. 1764, and was burned A.D. 1864.

The following is the aggregate of the buildings burned: Residences and places of business, 266; barns and stables, 98; out-buildings of various kinds, (end of page 587) 173; total buildings burned, 537. Two commissions, composed of competent and disinterested persons, appointed by the governor of the State, and authorized by acts of the legislature, came to the town and adjudicated the losses of the citizens by the fire. The claims adjudicated by these commissions were carefully scrutinized. Each claimant was examined separately and under oath, evidence besides his own being required. The claims thus adjudicated were as follows: Real estate, $713,294.34; personal property, $915,137.24: total, $1,628,431.58. Immediately after the fire the legislature of

[image, with the following caption: AFTER THE FIRE. This view, copied from a photograph taken shortly after the fire, shows the ruins of the north-east corner of the public square. The column on the left marks the ruins of the writer's dwelling and store, and the ruins to the right are those of the Court House. Between these two buildings stood Franklin Hall. These three buildings were not in line in front, but the hall was about thirty feet behind the writer's building, and the Court House about seventy-five feet behind the hall. The walls of the hall had entirely fallen except the column on the extreme right, which marks its south-west corner. Had these walls not fallen the ruins of the Court House could not have been seen in this picture.]

the State was convened in special session, and after visiting the town and ascertaining the destitution of the people, the sum of one hundred thousand dollars was appropriated to meet the immediate wants of the needy. This (end of page 588) sum was divided, not pro-rata to the amount of losses sustained, but according to the necessities of each. Subsequently an appropriation of five hundred thousand dollars, followed a year or two later by another of three hundred thousand, was made. These appropriations were divided pro-rata, and, as will be seen from the figures given, paid about one half the losses by the fire. Certificates were given for the remainder, certifying to the amount, but not binding the State to pay it until the United States indemnifies the State.

Three causes have been assigned for the destruction of Chambersburg. One of these is that it was in revenge for the innocent hospitality the town gave to John Brown and his misguided followers when planning their mad raid upon Harper's Ferry. A second is, that it was in retaliation for alleged acts of burning and destruction committed by Federal troops in the South, and specially in the Shenandoah Valley, by orders of General Hunter during the raid referred to in the opening of this article. A third opinion regards it as a barbarous, wanton, and unjustifiable act. The true cause will appear in the following statements. The first is a letter written by General Early, who gave the order, in response to one addressed to him by the writer:

YELLOW SULPHUR SPRINGS, September 4th, 1884.

J. HOKE, ESQ:

- Having been from home since the 5th of August, your letter of the 6th of that month did not reach me until a very few days ago, when it was forwarded to me from Lynchburg with a number of others.

As you desire my statement in regard to the burning of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, under my order in July, 1864, I send you a copy of my "Memoirs of the Last Year of the War," in which you will find, on pages 60 to 70, my account of that affair. All I have to add, is that on my march from Lynchburg in pursuit of General Hunter, and down the valley on the expedition against Washington, I had seen the evidences of the destruction wantonly committed by his troops under his orders, including the burning of a number of private houses without provocation, among them being the family residence, at Lexington, of ex-Governor Letcher; also the Virginia Military Institute at the same place, and a part of the town of Newtown, in Frederick County; and in addition there had been a wholesale destruction of private property, including even wearing apparel of ladies, and bed clothing; the beds in many cases being cut to pieces and the feathers scattered to the winds. In addition, there had been the destruction of several towns in the South by Federal troops, among them being the town of Darien, Georgia, in the year 1863. When, therefore, on my return from the expedition threatening Washington, I found that Hunter, who had reached the lower valley on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, after his flight to the Kanawha Valley, had been engaged in his accustomed work and had burned the valuable residences of several citizens of Jefferson County, I (end of page 589) determined to demand compensation therefor from some town in Pennsylvania, and in the event of failure to comply with my demand to retaliate by burning said town. The town of Chambersburg was selected because it was the only one of any consequence accessible to my troops, and . The houses mentioned with their contents, all of which were destroyed, were fully worth at least $100,000 in gold, and I required $500,000 in United States currency in the alternative, for the reason that said currency was rapidly depreciating, being then nearly three to one in gold, and I determined to secure the full equivalent of $100,000 in gold. I will add that according to the laws of retaliation in war, I would have been justified in burning Chambersburg without giving the town a chance of redemption.

Compare the expedition of Hunter into Virginia in June, 1864, the campaign of Sherman in Georgia and South Carolina, of Banks in the trans-Mississippi, and Sheridan in the valley of Virginia, with General Lee in Pennsylvania, leaving out of consideration Beast Butler's performances in New Orleans, and then say whether the denunciations of those who applaud the destroyer of Atlanta, Georgia, and Columbia, South Carolina, and him who boasted that, besides burning the town of Dayton, he had so desolated the valley as that a crow flying over it would have to carry its rations, should have any terror for me.

Respectfully,

J.A. EARLY.

Accompanying the foregoing letter was a pamphlet of one hundred and thirty-six pages, entitled "A Memoir of the Last Year of the War for Independence in the Confederate States of America, containing an account of the operations of his commands in the years 1864 and 1865, by Lieutenant-General Jubal A. Early, of the Provisional Army of the Confederate States." In a foot-note on page 70, General Early, speaking of the destruction of Chambersburg, says: "For this act I, alone, am responsible, as the officers engaged in it were simply executing my orders, and had no discretion left them." As General Early, then, assumes the entire responsibility in this matter, and claims as his justification the wanton destruction of property by General Hunter in the Shenandoah Valley, it is but fair to give him a further hearing, as well as to introduce other testimony to the allegations he makes. I therefore quote from his pamphlet as follows:

"The scenes on Hunter's route from Lynchburg had been truly heart-rending. Houses had been burned, and helpless women and children left without shelter. The country had been stripped of provisions, and many families left without a morsel to eat. Furniture and bedding had been cut to pieces, and old men and women and children robbed of all the clothing they had except that on their backs. Ladies trunks had been rifled and their dresses torn to pieces in mere wantonness. * * We had renewed evidence of the outrages committed by Hunter's orders in burning and plundering private houses. We saw the ruins of a number of houses to which the torch had (end of page 590) been applied by his orders. At Lexington he had burned the Military Institute, with all its scientific apparatus; and Washington College had been plundered and the statue of Washington stolen. The residence of ex-Governor Letcher at that place had been burned by his orders, and but a few minutes given Mrs. Letcher and her family to leave the house." (Page 48.)

Again General Early, on page 50, says:

"On this day (July 2d) we passed through Newtown where several houses, including that of a Methodist minister, had been burned by Hunter's orders, because a part of Mosby's command had attacked a train of supplies for Sigel's force at this place. The original order was to burn the whole town, but the officer sent to execute it had revolted at the cruel mandate of his superior, and another had been sent who had but partially executed it, after having forced the people to take the oath of allegiance to the United States to save their houses. Mosby's battalion, though called 'guerillas' by the enemy, was a regular organization in the Confederate army, and was merely serving on detached duty under General Lee's orders. The attack on the train was an act of legitimate warfare, and the order to burn Newtown, and the burning of the houses mentioned, were most wanton, cruel, unjustifiable, and cowardly."

One more quotation from this pamphlet is as follows:

"On the 26th (July) we moved to Martinsburg, the cavalry going to the Potomac. The 27th and 28th were employed in destroying the railroad, it having been repaired since we passed over it at the beginning of the month. While at Martinsburg it was ascertained, beyond all doubt, that Hunter had been again indulging in his favorite mode of warfare, and that, after his return to the valley, while we were near Washington, among other outrages, the residences of Mr. Andrew Hunter, a member of the Virginia Senate, Mr. Alexander R. Boteler, an ex-member of the Confederate Congress, and Edmund I. Lee, with their contents, had been burned by his orders, only time enough being given for the ladies to get out of the houses. * * I now came to the conclusion that we had stood this mode of warfare long enough, and that it was time to open the eyes of the people of the North to its enormity by an example in the way of retaliation. I did not select the cases mentioned as having more merit or greater claims for retaliation than others, but because they had occurred within the limits of the country covered by my command, and were brought more immediately to my attention.

"The town of Chambersburg, in Pennsylvania, was selected as the one on which retaliation should be made, and McCausland was ordered to proceed with his brigade and that of Johnson's and a battery of artillery to that place, and demand of the municipal authorities the sum of $100,000 in gold (end of page 591) or $500,000 in United States currency, as a compensation for the destruction of the houses named and their contents; and, in default of payment, to lay the town in ashes, in retaliation for the burning of these houses and others in Virginia, as well as for the towns which had been burned in other Southern States. A written demand to that effect was sent to the municipal authorities, and they were informed what would be the result of a failure to comply with it. I desired to give the people of Chambersburg an opportunity of saving their town by making compensation for part of the injury done, and hoped that the payment of such a sum would have the desired effect, and open the eyes of the people of the North to the necessity of urging upon their government the adoption of a different policy."

As General Early bases his retaliatory policy upon certain specific acts of alleged vandalism upon the part of General Hunter, it is important that the fullest information upon those facts that can be obtained should be considered here. I will therefore introduce some extracts from an article written by General J.D. Imboden, for the Philadelphia , and republished in Annals of the War (pages 169-183), entitled "Fire, Sword, and the Halter." This article by General Imboden is lengthy and enters into details, covering the precise cases referred to by Early, as well as many others, to which the latter but incidentally refers. General Imboden says:

"Up to his occupation of Staunton, where his army was so much strengthened by Crook and Averell, as to relieve his mind of all apprehension of disaster, the conduct of General Hunter had been soldierly, striking his blows only at armed men. But at Staunton he commenced burning private property, and, as will be seen further on, the passion for house burning grew upon him, and a new system of warfare was inaugurated that a few weeks afterward culminated in the retaliatory burning of Chambersburg. * *

"From Brownsburg General Hunter proceeded to Lexington, encountering only such delay as McCausland could effect with a single brigade of cavalry. At Lexington he enlarged upon the operations begun at Staunton. On his way, and in the surrounding country, he burnt mills, furnaces, store-houses, granaries, and all farming utensils he could find, beside a great amount of fencing, and a large quantity of grain. In the town he burnt the Virginia Military Institute, and all the professor's houses except the superintendent's (General Smith), where he had his head-quarters, and found a portion of the family too sick to be removed. He had the combustibles collected to burn Washington College, the recipient of the benefactions of the Father of his Country by his will; but yielding to the appeals of the trustees and citizens, spared the building, but destroyed the philosophical and chemical apparatus, libraries, and furniture. He burned the mills and some private (end of page 592) stores in the lower part of the town. Captain Towns, an officer in General Hunter's army, took supper with the family of Governor John Letcher. Mrs. Letcher having heard threats that her house would be burned, spoke of it to Captain Towns, who said it could not be possible, and remarked that he would go at once to head-quarters and let her know. He went, returned in a half hour, and told her that he was directed by General Hunter to assure her that the house would not be destroyed, and she might, therefore, rest easy. After this, she dismissed her fears, not believing it possible that a man occupying Hunter's position would be guilty of wilful and deliberate falsehood to a lady. It, however, turned out otherwise, for the next morning, at half past eight o'clock, his assistant provost-marshal, accompanied by a portion of his guard, rode up to the door, and Captain Berry dismounted, rang the door bell, called for Mrs. Letcher, and informed her that General Hunter had ordered him to burn her house. She replied: 'There must be some mistake,' and requested to see the order. He said it was verbal. She asked if its execution could not be delayed till she could see General Hunter? He replied: `The order is peremptory, and you have five minutes to leave the house.' Mrs. Letcher then asked if she could be allowed to remove her mother's, her sister's, her own, and her children's clothing. This request being refused, she left the house. In a very short time they poured camphene on the parlor floor and ignited it with a match. In the meantime Miss Lizzie Letcher was trying to remove some articles of clothing from the other end of the house, and Berry, finding these in her arms, set fire to them. The wardrobe and bureaus were then fired, and soon the house was enveloped in flames. Governor Letcher's mother, then seventy-eight years old, lived on the adjoining lot. They fired her stable, within forty feet of the dwelling, evidently to burn it, too; but owing to the active exertions of Captain Towns, who made his men carry water, the house was saved. While Hunter was in Lexington, Captain Matthew White, residing near town, was arrested, taken about two miles, and, without trial, was shot, on the allegation that he was a bush-whacker. During the first year of the war he commanded the Rockbridge Cavalry, and was a young gentleman of generous impulses and good character. The total destruction of private property in Rockbridge County, by Hunter, was estimated and published in the local papers at the time as over $2,000,000. The burning of the Institute was a public calamity, as it was an educational establishment of great value.

"From Lexington he proceeded to Buchanan, in Botetourt County, and camped on the magnificent estate of Colonel John T. Anderson, an elder brother of General Joseph R. Anderson, of the Tredegar Iron Works, at Richmond. Colonel Anderson's estate, on the banks of the Upper James, and his (end of page 593) mansion, were baronial in character. The house crowned a high, wooded hill, was very large, and furnished in a style to dispense that lavish hospitality which was the pride of so many of the old-time Virginians. It was a seat of luxury and refinement, and in all respects a place to make the owner contented with his lot in this world. Colonel Anderson was old - his head as white as snow - and his wife but a few years his junior. He was in no office, and too old to fight - hence he was living on his fine estate strictly the life of a private gentleman. He had often, in years gone by, filled prominent representative positions from his county. There was no military or public object on God's earth to be gained by ruining such a man. Yet Hunter, after destroying all that he could on the plantation when he left it, ordered the grand old mansion, with all its contents, to be laid in ashes." * * * *

General Imboden, then, details the burning of several fine mansions in the Lower Valley, referred to also by General Early. He says:

"I shall conclude this already long narrative by citing a few more instances of Hunter's incendiarism in the Lower Valley. It seems that, smarting under the miserable failure of his grand raid on I,ynchburg, where, during a march of over two hundred miles, the largest force he encountered was under Jones, at Piedmont, and he routed that, thus leaving the way open to Lynchburg within three days, destroy the stores there and go out through West Virginia unmolested, he had failed to do any thing but inflict injury on private citizens, and he came back to the Potomac more implacable than when he left it a month before. His first victim was the Hon. Andrew Hunter, of Charlestown, Jefferson County, his own first cousin, and named after the General's father. Mr. Hunter was a lawyer of great eminence, and a man of deservedly large influence in his county and the state. His home, eight miles from Harper's Ferry, in the suburbs of Charlestown, was the most costly and elegant in the place, and his family as refined and cultivated as any in the state. His offense, is General Hunter's eyes, was that he had gone politically with his state, and was in full sympathy with the Confederate cause. The general sent a squadron of cavalry out from Harper's Ferry, took Mr. Hunter prisoner, and held him a month in the common guard house of his soldiers, without alleging any offense against him not common to nearly all the people of Virginia, and finally discharged him without trial or explanation, after heaping these indignities upon him. Mr. Hunter was an old man, and suffered severely from confinement and exposure. While he was thus a prisoner, General Hunter ordered his elegant mansion to be burned to the ground, with all its contents, not even permitting Mrs. Hunter and her daughter to save their clothes and family pictures from the flames; and, to add to the desolation, camped his cavalry within the inclosure of the beautiful (end of page 594) grounds, of several acres, surrounding the residence, till the horses had destroyed them.

"General Hunter's next exploit was at Shepherdstown, in the same county, where, on the 19th of July, 1864, he caused to be burned the residence of Hon. A.R. Boteler, 'Fountain Rock.' Mrs. Boteler was a cousin of General Hunter. This homestead was an old colonial house endeared to the family by a thousand tender memories, and contained a splendid library, many pictures, and an invaluable collection of rare and precious manuscripts, illustrating the early history of that part of Virginia, that Colonel Boteler had collected by years of toil. The only members of the family who were there at the time were Colonel Boteler's eldest and widowed daughter, Mrs. Shepherd, who was an invalid, her three children, the eldest five years old and the youngest eighteen months, and Miss Helen Boteler. Colonel Boteler and his son were in the army, and Mrs. Boteler in Baltimore. The ladies and children were at dinner when informed by the servants that a body of cavalry had turned in at the gate, from the turnpike, and were coming up to the house."

General Imboden then proceeds to detail the manner of the burning of this house by order of General Hunter, and follows this description with another detailing the burning of the residence of Mr. Edmund I. Lee, in the same locality. He then concludes as follows:

"If the people of Chambersburg will carefully read this record of wanton destruction of private property, this 'o'er true tale' of cruel wrong inflicted on the helpless, they will understand why, when goaded to madness, remuneration was demanded at their hands by General Early, and upon its refusal retaliation was inflicted on the nearest community that could be reached, and it was their misfortune to be that community. Contrast Lee in Pennsylvania, in 1863, and Hunter in Virginia, in 1864, and judge them both as history will."

I follow these accounts by Generals Early and Imboden with an extract from a letter from F.C. Slingluff, Esq., a leading member of the bar of the city of Baltimore, and a gentleman of unimpeachable veracity. Mr. Slingluff was a member of the First Maryland (Confederate) Cavalry, General Bradley T. Johnson's brigade. He participated in the valley campaign, and was an eye-witness of what he relates. He was also present, as a private, in the destruction of Chambersburg. Mr. Slingluff says:

" * * Now you would like to know if the men whom I have described (the men who assisted in burning Chambersburg, many of whom are now among the leading merchants, lawyers, doctors, and farmers of Baltimore and other parts of Maryland,) justified the burning of your town, in their individual capacity, irrespective of the orders from head-quarters, under (end of page 595) which they acted. I must say to you frankly that they did, and I never heard one dissenting voice. And why did we justify so hard a measure? Simply because we had long come to the conclusion that it was time for us to burn something in the enemy's country. For the campaign of the preceding year, when our whole army had passed through your richest section of country, where the peaceful homes and fruitful fields only made the contrast with what we had left the more significant, many a man, whose home was in ruins, chafed under the orders from General Lee, which forbade him to touch them, but the orders were obeyed and we left the homes and fields as we found them, the ordinary wear and tear of an army of occupation alone excepted. We had so often before our eyes the reverse of this wherever your army swept through Virginia, that we were thoroughly convinced of the justice of a stern retaliation.

"It is no pleasure to me to have to recall the scenes of those days, nor do I do so in any spirit of vindictiveness, but I simply tell the truth in justification of an act which you and others may suppose was without justification. We had followed Kilpatrick (I think it was) in his raid through Madison, Greene, and other counties, and had seen the cattle shot, or ham-strung in the barn-yards, the agricultural implements burned, the feather-beds and clothing of the women and children cut in shreds in mere wantonness, farm-house after farm-house stripped of every particle of provisions, private carriages cut and broken up, and women in tears lamenting all this. I do not write here anything that I did not see myself. We had seen a thousand ruined homes in Clark, Jefferson, and Frederick counties, - barns and houses burned and private property destroyed, - but we had no knowledge that this was done by 'official orders.' At last when the official order came openly from General Hunter, and the burning was done there under his orders, and when our orders of retaliation came, they met with the approbation, as I have said, of every man who crossed the Potomac to execute them. Of course we had nothing personal against your pretty little town. It just so happened that it was the nearest and most accessible place of importance for us to get to. It was the unfortunate victim of circumstances. Had it been further off and some other town nearer, that other town would have gone, and Chambersburg would have been saved."

These three persons whose statements have been given, while speaking of the general disregard of private property in the South, concur in the allegation of General Hunter's wholesale destructive propensities, and two of them specifically refer to the destruction of the properties of Andrew Hunter, A.R. Boteler, E.I. Lee, ex-Governor Letcher, J.T. Anderson, and the Virginia Military Institute. These six properties were specifically named by (end of page 596) General Early in his order to McCausland, and upon these he based his retributive demand, upon Chambersburg. The responsibility, then, for the destruction of Chambersburg, it will be seen, rests upon General Hunter. Justice to him, and to the people of the South, as well as the truth of history, demands a fair, candid, and impartial consideration of the case.

The fact of the destruction of the six properties named, as well as many others by General Hunter, in his valley campaign, has not been denied. Federal soldiers, who saw these ruins, have freely admitted them. But while these facts are conceded, General Hunter claims that he had sufficient ground for his severity in the following considerations: In no part of the South, perhaps, was the hostility to the Union so bitter and malignant as in the valley of Virginia. With but few exceptions the entire male population, capable of bearing arms, were either in the Confederate army, or the secret emissaries of such as were thus engaged. The entire valley was infested with guerillas and bush-whackers who, during the day, assumed to be farmers and tradesmen, and at night carried on the nefarious work of waylaying straggling Federal soldiers and unprotected trains. Familiar with every foot of ground in the valley, as well as with the mountain fastnesses, they stole upon their victims, and then, under the cover of the night, fled to places of safety. And as one of the evidences of the facts stated, the following account of an act of barbarity, committed by this class of men, is cited. It was published in one of the papers of Martinsburg, West Virginia, July 23, 1864, under the caption of "A Fiendish Act." "Six Union soldiers were found strapped to a fence in the vicinity of Charlestown, having their throats cut from ear to ear. The fiendish act is supposed to have been the work of resident Confederates, who are farmers and tradesmen during the day and guerillas at night. Virginia swarms with men of this class, who have, ever since the commencement of the war, pursued a course of this kind, and who have committed deeds so fiendish in their character as to put to blush the darkest and bloodiest deeds of our Indian savages. It is said that General Hunter is as mad as -- about this barbarous deed, and has arrested some sixty residents of the neighborhood in which these unfortunate men were found, and are now held in order, if possible, to ferret out the guilty parties and bring them to justice."

Compare the date of the foregoing barbarous act with the arrest and imprisonment of Mr. Andrew Hunter, and the destruction of the properties referred to in that neighborhood, and the cause which led General Hunter to adopt so severe a retributive policy will be seen. In justification of the destruction of the property of ex-Governor Letcher, it is said, whether truly or falsely I can not say, that the form of a hand-bill was found in a printing (end of page 597) establishment in Lexington, bearing Letcher's name, and urging the bushwhacking of Federal soldiers; and, further, that his house was occupied by concealed sharpshooters, who fired upon some of General Hunter's men. What the particular provocation was, which led to the destruction of the other properties named, has not been stated.The three gentlemen from whom I have quoted - Early, Imboden, and Slingluff, - refer to the humane manner in which General Lee conducted his campaign in Pennsylvania in 1863, and claim that no wanton destruction of private property was made. This is freely admitted. With the exception of the railroad buildings in Chambersburg, and one or two buildings on the field of Gettysburg, no houses or barns were destroyed. Private property was taken for the use of the army, but, except in a few cases by stragglers, the regulations of siezure [sic] laid down by General Lee in general orders No. 72, and issued specially for the Pennsylvania campaign, were strictly observed. But while the comparative good conduct of the Confederates in Pennsylvania is admitted, it must also be remembered that there was no bushwhacking of them, nor depredations committed upon their trains. Suppose General Lee had found a number of his men massacred by citizens as were the six Federal soldiers near Charlestown, Virginia, and the houses of the people used for concealed sharp-shooters, and his trains waylaid and robbed, would he not have adopted a different policy, and would not the laws of civilized warfare and the sentiment of the world have justified him in so doing? That a retributive policy would have been adopted, and severe retaliation visited upon the people, is clear from a paragraph in General Order, No. 49, issued by Lieutenant-General Ewell while in Chambersburg: "Citizens of the country through which the army may pass, who are not in the military service, are admonished to abstain from all acts of hostility, ." The contrast, then, is not between the conduct of General Lee in Pennsylvania, and his treatment of the people there, and that of General Hunter in the Valley of Virginia and his treatment of the people in that locality, but between the conduct of the people of Pennsylvania, and their treatment of the Confederate army, and that of the people of the valley and their treatment of the Federals.

The policy of the commanders of the Federal armies operating in the Shenandoah Valley had been humane and lenient, notwithstanding the evils complained of, but when General Hunter succeeded to the command in that place, he adopted a different policy. From the time he assumed command in that department he gave evidence that he had decided convictions as to how to deal with such inveterate haters of the Union. He was convinced that the mild and lenient course pursued by his predecessors had only em- (end of page 598) boldened them in their unwarranted methods, and he determined to adopt a retaliatory policy. Guerrillas and bushwhackers, whose depredations had heretofore gone unpunished, were now notified that their claim to be in the regular Confederate service, under which they claimed exemption from the summary punishment inflicted upon irregular and unorganized soldiers, would no longer avail them. He accordingly issued and circulated the following circular:

HEAD-QUARTERS OF WEST VIRGINIA, - IN THE FIELD.
Valley of the Shenandoah, May 24th, 1864.

- Your name has been reported to me with evidence that you are one of the leading secessionist sympathizers in the valley, and that you countenance and abet the bush-whackers and guerillas who infest the woods and mountains of this region, swooping out on the roads to plunder and outrage loyal residents, falling upon them and firing into defenseless wagon-trains and assassinating soldiers of this command, who may chance to be placed in exposed positions. These practices are not recognized by the laws of war of any civilized nation, nor are the persons engaged therein entitled to any other treatment than that done by the universal code of justice to pirates, murderers, and other outlaws.

But from the difficulties of the country, the secret aid and information given to these bush-whackers by persons of your class, and the more important occupation of the troops under my command, it is impossible to chase, arrest, and punish these marauders as they deserve. Without the countenance and help given to them by the Confederate residents of the valley, they could not support themselves for a week. You are spies upon our movements, abusing the clemency which has protected your persons and property, while loyal citizens of the United States, residing within the Confederate lines, are invariably plundered of all they may possess, imprisoned, and in some cases put to death. It is from you and your families and neighbors, that these bandits receive food, clothing, ammunition and information, and it is from their secret hiding-places in your houses, barns and woods, that they issue on their missions of pillage and murder.

You are therefore hereby notified, that for every train fired upon, or soldier of the Union wounded or assassinated by bush-whackers in any neighborhood within the reach of my command, the houses and other property of every secession sympathizer residing within a circuit of five miles from the place of the outrage, shall be destroyed by fire, and that for all public property jayhawked or destroyed by these marauders, an assessment of five times the valve of such property will be made upon the secession sympathizers residing within the circuit of ten miles around the point at which the offense was committed. The payment of this assessment will be enforced by the troops of this department, who will sieze [sic] and hold in close military custody the persons assessed, until such payment shall have been made. This provision will also be applied to make good from the secessionists in the neighborhood five times the amount of any loss suffered by loyal citizens of the United States, from the action of the bush-whackers whom you may encourage.

If you desire to avoid the consequences herein set forth, you will notify your (end of page 599) guerilla and bush-whacking friends to withdraw from that portion of the valley within my lines, and to join, if they desire to fight for the rebellion, the regular forces of the secession army in my front or elsewhere. You will have none but yourselves to blame for the consequences that will certainly ensue if these evils are permitted to continue. This circular is not sent to you for the reason that you have been singled out as peculiarly obnoxious, but because you are believed to furnish the readiest means of communication with the prominent secession sympathizers of your neighborhood. It will be for their benefit that you communicate to them the tenor of this circular.

D. HUNTER,

In his invasion of Pennsylvania, General Lee fully appropriated to the use of his army the resources of our people, conveying away with him all he had transportation for. All was, however, taken under special instructions and by specified officers, and either paid for in such money as he had, or vouchers given. In the valley campaigns, Hunter and Sheridan did what Lee did in Pennsylvania, except paying for what they took, and in addition destroyed, what they could not consume or carry away. This was done as a war measure to deplete the resources of the enemy. The Valley of Virginia had been the great store house from which supplies had been drawn for the army about Richmond, and it was deemed necessary to destroy these resources. Consequently all the grain, provender, and cattle that could not be used were destroyed, and barns, granaries, mills, and factories burned. It was an extreme measure allowable under the circumstances. The policy, however, inaugurated by Hunter, as indicated in the foregoing circular, was still a sterner resort, and could never be justified unless the provocations were actually such as he states. If citizens - persons not regularly in the Confederate service, and wearing the Confederate uniform - committed depredations upon his trains and brutally waylaid and murdered his soldiers, he was justified in resorting to the extreme measure of retaliating upon the citizens and their property, and he was as clearly within the rules of civilized warfare in so doing as was Lee in his more humane policy in Pennsylvania. The fault lies with the people who first violated the rules of war by depredations upon the soldiers. The severe punishment which followed was but the sequel of their own actions. Chambersburg, then, was burned, not so much because of General Hunter's retaliatory policy in the Valley of Virginia, but because of the barbarous violations of the laws of war by the citizens of the last named place.

War is a game at which the two contending parties can play, and any retaliatory or cruel policy inaugurated by the one is invariably followed by a similar policy by the other. It need not seem strange, then, that the first opportunity the Confederates had of retaliating upon their enemies, they improved. They could scarcely have been expected to do otherwise.

* [Footnote, pages 584-587]

In so important a matter as this, in which a general officer of such well known vigilance and efficiency as General Averell, is charged with indiscretion, or negligence, resulting so disastrously as in this case, I have sought for the most positive information, and append here extracts from letters from two reliable persons whose means of information will not be questioned. The first is from Thomas R. Bard, Esq., an at- [end of page 584] torney at the bar of Hueneme, Ventura County, California. Mr. Bard was formerly a citizen of Chambersburg, but at the time of the war was in the forwarding and commission business, at Hagerstown, Maryland, and also the agent at that place of the Cumberland Valley Railroad Company, charged with the duty of superintending the transportation of troops and supplies. Mr. Bard, after detailing his departure from Hagerstown upon the approach of the Confederates in the evening of Friday, July 29th, and his attendance upon the telegraph office at Greencastle, and the passage through that place of Averell's forces, says:

"General Averell left three 'orderlies' at the telegraph office to convey to him all messages that might be received for him, and encamped his troops in a grove distant about one and a half miles north-east of Greencastle, and only nine and a half miles from Chambersburg. Late in the evening General Couch, commanding the Department of the Susquehanna, with head-quarters at Chambersburg, sent a message to General Averell, which was promptly handed to one of the orderlies, who quickly mounted his horse and rode off in the direction of General Averell's camp. Mr. B. Gilmore, the telegraph operator at Chambersburg, kept us informed constantly of all that was transpiring at that place, and of the movements of the Confederate force. It is quite probable that I was informed by one of the operators as to the contents of the message from General Couch. At any rate, at the time, I understood that General Couch informed General Averell that the Confederate forces were at or had passed through Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, and were moving toward Chambersburg; and, that being without adequate forces to check the movement, he inquired whether Averell could be depended on for assistance. Later in the night two other messages were received from General Couch for General Averell, and were promptly delivered to the orderlies. The last of these messages was received probably about three o'clock in the morning of July 30th. These messages reported the rapid approach of the Confederates, and expressed great anxiety to learn if General Averell intended to render assistance for the defense of Chambersburg.

"There had been no reply from General Averell, and learning that General Couch had made preparations for leaving Chambersburg, and that in all probability the communications with that place would soon be interrupted, I mounted a horse and hurriedly rode out to find General Averell. On the road, about half way to the camp, I met the orderlies riding leisurely toward Greencastle. In reply to my inquiry if they had delivered their messages, they said that General Averell could not be found, and that they did not know what to do with the messages. Hastily informing them of the importance of the dispatches, I took them in my own hands, and telling them to follow me, I spurred my horse and was soon at the grove. There was no sentry or guard to halt me. All was quiet. There was not a sound save the champing of the feeding horses; there were no lights or fires except the embers where the men had prepared their evening meal. I dashed into the middle of the encampment, and there found a solitary man to answer my inquiry, 'Where is General Averell?' He could not tell me. An officer of a West Virginia regiment then appeared and said it would be difficult to find General Averell, but offered to aid me in the search. While he prepared to mount his horse, the booming of a cannon was heard in the direction of Chambersburg. The (end of page 585) officer expressed surprise and asked, 'What can that be?' I told him it supplemented the messages which I brought, and indicated that McCausland had arrived at Chambersburg. We rode hastily through the grove and soon found General Averell asleep by the side of a fence. On being awakened, he raised upon his elbow and heard the information I had brought. I had handed him the telegrams, but as there was no light I told him what they contained, and informed him that they had been delivered to his orderlies hours before. He made no reply, and, as I thought, was about to turn over and go to sleep. Minutes seemed hours to me, and growing impatient I said to him, 'General Averell, if you wish me to convey any answer to General Couch, I beg you to let me have it quickly, for it is barely possible that I can get back before telegraphic communications will be cut off.' Without rising to put his troops in motion, or without the slightest manifestation of interest in the condition of General Couch, or of the peril to which the loyal people of Chambersburg were exposed, he merely said, 'Tell Couch I will be there in the morning.' It was then, I think, about four o'clock, A.M. Returning to Greencastle, I found that already the Chambersburg office was closed, having first reported that General Couch had all his military forces and supplies on the cars, and that the Confederate advance was about to enter the town."

The other account is from H.R. Fetterhoff, M.D, of Baltimore, Maryland, but at the time of the war telegraph operator at Greencastle, Pennsylvania. Dr. Fetterhof says:

"At the time these events transpired I was telegraph operator at Greencastle, and had the means of knowing what was going on generally. In the evening of Friday, July 29th, 1864, about eight o'clock, General Averell's command passed through Greencastle on their way from Hagerstown toward Chambersburg, and bivouacked for the night a short distance north of the town along the road leading to Chambersburg. If my memory serves me right General Averell reported his arrival to General Couch at Chambersburg. At least I so reported it to Mr. Gilmore, telegraph operator at Chambersburg. The General sent three or four orderlies to my office and informed me of his whereabouts. Mr. D.C. Aughinbaugh, operator at Hagerstown, Mr. T.R. Bard, and I think several other persons from that place, were at the office in the evening and at intervals during the night. The scouts reported that the Confederates had built camp-fires in the neighborhood of State Line, four miles south of Greencastle, and it was supposed that they had encamped there for the night. About midnight, or perhaps a little later, Mr. Gilmore informed me that the telegraph lines west of Chambersburg on the Pittsburg turnpike had been cut, showing that the enemy after building the camp-fires at the State Line as a blind had moved in the direction of Upton and Bridgeport on General Averell's left flank. I immediately informed General Averell of this fact, when he sent me a message thanking me for the information, and requesting me to keep him posted in regard to any information I might obtain. About one o'clock A.M. July 30th, General Couch sent an order to General Averell directing him to 'Move on to Chambersburg at once.' I immediately sent this message with an orderly, but never heard from him again. In about a half hour General Couch repeated the message in the same words, and I sent another orderly with the message, but still no answer. The same order was repeated about every half (end of page 586) hour until my orderlies were all gone and I had no one to carry the last message, when Mr. Bard came to my office and volunteered to deliver it. After searching for General Averell and finding him he delivered the message. I then learned that when I had sent General Averell the information that the Confederates were in his rear, or on his flank, he moved his head-quarters from the rear of his line, where it had been, up into the line without informing the orderlies or any one else, consequently no one knew where to find him, and the messages had not been delivered and only reached him near four o'clock A.M. when Mr. Bard delivered them. The Confederates entered Chambersburg about this time, and Mr. Gilmore bade me 'good-bye' and left the office."

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Bibliographic Information: Source copy consulted: Jacob Hoke, The Great Invasion of 1863; or, General Lee in Pennsylvania (Dayton, Ohio: W.J. Shuey, 1887)