Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1861-12-12
Poor Old Virginia !

Foor Ola virginia
The Presbytery newspaper of Cincinnati
has long letter, understood to be from tn,
Rev. Robert L. Stanton, ID. d., Of Chill
liccthe, who ba. been visiting the camps ipth,
vicinity of Washington. We make a few th,
, extracts
THE REIGN OF DEsoLATIoN THROUGH TIL
COUNTRY
The clearing out of the Virginia forests $,
extensively, gives a'moro vivid view of tn,
\ t,,nissrsals desolation which .preyails- Th,
country Is broken and undnlating, and a.
the hills are now bare, the eye, from the
hiSnest OF them, has range Of twenty
or thirty miles. The Virginians have had
their forests leveled at Government ex
pense, but that was just what they did not
want. lt was however a military necessity
travelling over the country, You meet every.
where the blightng results Of secession. and
observe the track of war. The fences are
gone-burnt up; no crops are growing the
houses are deserted, some of them riddled
and shattered, Others burned churches are
shut up, or used as hospitals or store. houses
Tor the army roads pass through the fields
IN every direction, from camp to camp and
from the most elevated points little else can
be seen than forts, tents armed hosts of
men drilling, deserted habitations and a
generally desolate and ruined country. This
Is true OF the whole region with little excep-
t,or from the highest Of our posts above
the Chain Bridge, to the lowest below Alex
andria--a distance Of some twelve miles BY
the course OF the river, and extending as far
into the interior as our lines reach-some
ten or twelve miles. One must travel over
the region to have an adequate conception
OF wnat war can do for country which en-
joys military occupation, even in its most
peaceful aspect. You are never out of sight
OF forts, camps, and armed thousands, nor
scarcely ever out of hearing Of the music of
the bands, or the rattle ofthe musketry, or
the thunder OF the cannon. Business is
brisk; men are at work on every hand, and
wagons and carts line the roads for miles :;
but 1t is not the business of husbandry, but
the horrid business of war. Ii this is a fair
specimen. land it is probably more Or less so
all over the state one would suppose Vir-
ginla had had quite enough of secession.
THE SEMINARY AND ITS NEIGIIBoRHooD.
Leaving Fort Lyon and passing half a mile
back OF Alexandria, you reach Suffers Hill,
on which stands Fort Ellsworth. This com
mands the approach to Alexandria from the
west by turnpike. A mile further on
stands the Virginia Theological (EpiscopaD
ISeminary; on acolnmanding eIninence. The
main building is a beautiful brick, Gothic
structure, fanked by the chapel and dwell
,,ngs tor the professors. The grounds EN-
brace several acres. well inclosed, Tor they
,Gere,) shaded by the original forest trees.
Ihls, too, has yielded to the demands of the
ha Al 4
vast camp. Cavalry, artillery, and infantry
occupy the grounds. The halls are deserted
by the sons of the prophets, and in place of
the professors and students, officers are
quartered in all the buildings. Here arc the
headquarters Of General Franklin and staff
Passing through the main halls, observed
on the doors the labels indicating the quar-
tiers of the various military functionaries,
and upon the usual Seminary bulletin board
were posted numerous military ORDERS
These things indicate how completely war
has taken possessiolRf everything. and how
entire is the Suspension of everything but
what Is connected with the war. Owing to
the sacred purposes of these premises, less de-
probation has been committed than upoa 9th.
er places, though there has been great pro-
vocation. was told that, on the retreat
from Bull Kun, volleys were fired upon our
soldiers by the students from the windows
OF the Seminary. The premises are now
strictly guarded, and the buildings seem un-
injured. All about the buildings, in the
yard, soldiers were drilling. An "order"
posted up, from the General in command,
enjoined all to respect the premises as ''sa-
cred, and to use their influence in helping
to restore the library, a portion of which had
been carried Off
AN EXTENDED VIEW, BEAUTIFUL AND SAD.
Ascending to the dome of the Seminary
building, and the whole country presents a
scene grand and beautiful. and yet painful to
behold. Alexandria lay at our feet; Wash.
ington was in full view-its spires glisteninp
in a warm, meridian, autumnal sun the
Potomac, from the capital down below Alex
andrla, was as placid as a lake without rip
pie; the foliage Immediately about the Sem
mary, and toward Alexandria, and wherever
trees were standing, was untouched by se-
we're trosts, and yet had put on its variega-
ted hues, while numerous bands were dis
coursing sweet music" and the steel of ten
thousand men on parade was flashing in the
sunlight, and the white tents stretched away
FOR miles, as far as the eye could reach, in
clusters, as camp after camp was espied and
to crown all, eight or ten forts, with their
heavy armament, were distinctly seen, some
Of which were so near that we could look
right down into them. Ali this was highly
beautiful and picturesque, and under other
circumstances would have thrilled the be-
holder with peculiar delight; but when the
thought pressed upon you that this military
array in the midst ofsuch pleasing scenes Of
nature, was to put down the most wicked
rebellion the world ever knew, the heart wa
made sick, and the beauty Of the scene al
most faded from the sight.