Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1861-08-19
FROM WESTERN VIRGINIA

The following extracts from private letter,
written by a lady in Western Virginia 10
friend in this city, show us how the civil war
is felt there. The troops at Ceredo are proba-
bly, home guards or volunteer companies OF
Virginians, and the secessionists against whom
they marched are some rowing band of traitor
Gus and thieving rascals, scarcely as decent as
Indians. They consist of the besotted scoun-
drels, the base and outcast villains of that re-
gion, directed and used by the secession lead
ers Here are the extracts =
"CEREDo, Aug A, l86l.-It is the Sabbath,
and the soldiers have just marched out to
church to hear war sermon; but l must add
that cen Sunday shines no Sabbath day to
me- l have been cooking for the camp for
over week. They have not yet got their
camp regulated so that they can have all the
cooking done there, and you know they can
not get things to fix with as easily as they
could at Worcester. So / have provisions
brought to the house for cooking. They have
no telling what folks will do in these times, but
think there are better times coming, though
may not live to see ii. / have baked my
bread, and meanwhile the soldiers have return
ed from church. have just sent them por-
ton of it, II
AUGUST lit is Sabbath again, and the
past week has been eventful. There have
been alarms almost every day, for the seces
sionists are making sad havoc up above us.
On Wednesday several men came down from
Buffalo Shoals, with reports that the rebels
were taking every man they could get A
Mr.. B. ran away from them. When he came
in he said they had taken his brother and
son, and were in pursuit of him. 1t is not
safe to go to the fields to work at any distance
from the house. M. has been obliged to leave
his farm, and all his corn is destroyed; also,
his Irish and sweet potatoes melons, squashes,
buckwheat, &c. All is gone, and we have
nothing TO depend on but the mercy of
Providence. But have no time for sermon
seeing that fighting is the order of the day.
have said that news came from the Shoals
OF rebel depredations. Our camp sent up
about eighty men to assist the people. They
stayed there until Saturday, waiting for rein.
iorcements to be sent, so that they could 90
on and take them at the court house where
they had retreated, but for some reason the
reiniorcements were not sent; so. on Satur.
day, the men came back They had not been
back two hours when another messenger came
saying that the rebels were upon them again.
ana, although the men were weary and foot
sore with marching, they went again. two INN.
dred OF them this time. l expect thew will
make an attack on the rebels before thew ra.
turn. 1t is said there are five hundred seces-
slonlsts at the court house. The odds are
against us, but we hope to be able to send re.
Inducements with some cannon.
One man left his farm and CINE in here FIR
protection, last week, with his family. He
has three or four hunafed acres of land bnt
ne was Obliged tt9-ieave it with the crops, as a
bounty has 4sen offered for his head, he hay
ing . pen very strong union man. A little
10y not far from here, seeing some men com.
ing toward him, hurrahed for Lincoln. The
men proving to be secessionists told him that
if he did that again they would beat his brains
out. The boy nothing daunted, hurrahed
again. 1t was his last, for one OF the seces.
sionists took a stone and smashed his head
A woman of my acquaintance went into a
union mans field, and pulled up all his beans
because her husband was obliged to take the
oath to support the union and the constitution
or be sent TO Columbus. So they act. The Sc.
cessionists, are like Indians, lying in ambush,
getting behind trees and logs, and firing upon
you before you know they are there"