Delaware State journal and statesman., 1862-01-07
LETTER. FROM Fonrm Ess MONROE
Correspondence Of the Jonrnal aud Statesman
LETTER No. 20

u CAMP llAMILraS, Fortress Monroe Va I
. Sunday night, December 2a, 1861.
i FRlEND EoKRL;
An afternoon among th
contrabands, and the phases Of life com
mon to that class this is our text
" In company with trio of strangers
9 who invited us to be their guide in
I, ramble, we started of at noon one da
IS last week; arriving at Hampton Greek
g we filed to tine left with the view of visit
e ing all the houses huts, habitations an,
). novels occupied by the negro population
q The job was Il big one, but we engaged il
n it spirtedly, for we had resolved ourselve
into committee Of the whole TO insttut
inquiries as to the condition of the contra
I band race, to see if Uncle Sam was dol
i his duty by them, and if they we"
+ premely happy. approprla-
g All STYLES Of dwellin President, the
g ted ; the mas.liier the outhouse of the
/ barn nGn and the lowly tenament through
), zach every wind whistles, all served as
negro quarters. There were large colo
nies wherever roof could be found for
a shelter In one house at least II dozen
families lived, and in one room fifteen per-
sons ate and slept
What an odd jumble of furniture was
apparent in every room A fine cherry
cradle by the side of an eXtemporized bunk
of rough boards ragged bed clothes and
good feather pillows and holsters large
bureau highly ornamented in close contact
with rickety old stool Il beautiful writ
ing desk near a common pine table I;
tubs buckets and pals over the floors !;
dresses everywhere, hung up on the bed
posts, around the walls, thrown on the
beds; quilts with as many colors as
Joseph's coat in some rooms, Il clock
with no hands stood on the mantel, once
the index of the hour for fashionable
dinner to the inmates Of the house walnut
and mahogany work were closely mingled
with the coarsest kind of furniture, the
former left by the families when they fed
and the common articles brought in by the
new occupants.
In one Of the habitatiOnS we met gar
rulous old mulatto woman who thanked
God and the Union people for the liberty
which she and her brethren and sisters
We're enjoying; there was a vein of re-
ligious feeling running through the ma
jority of them. They talked religious,
and SO did Bob, one of our companions,
he joined readily in all their talk and
agreed with them in everything.
Exploring Tyler's house, we heard sing
ing in the basement Harry having an ear
for music, proposed We should join the
concert; descending the steps we found
ourselves in large apartment filed with
negro boys and girls, all under the tuition
Of three black men who were sitting in the
corner; all were singing when we entered;
seats We're brought for us; here was IL
singing school in full blast the leader
stood up, waving his hand with an air of
Julien, leading off, and the children follow
ing him, and il was concord of sounds,
everything was in unison, there was not IL
false note to mar the effect We listened
with some little emotion to their "we're
going home :" they sang another hymn at
our request, with an equal amount of
pleasure to our attentive selves. An init
nation having been given that some re.
marks from our party would be welcome,
Bob, finding that none Of us were disposed
to do the oratorcal, determined TO branch
of himself, and accordingly commenced :
" Yes, my young brethten and sisters.
we're all going home, and shall arrive
there soon continue in the way yon have
started sing those good psalms YOU
have got as far as the Fortress, let the
Bible be your Fortress; read it carefully
If You know how to read pray too You
are now out of bondage, but your present
state is but an earnest of the freedom of that
condition which you will enjoy hereafter
| like to seeyou thus engaged it is u good
work, may you prosper in it, The old
patriarch in the corner looked pleased,
and the upturned mahogany faces showed
that all were greatly edited Bob remark
ed after he emerged from the basement,
that he could have succeeded in getting
up shout among them by few more Of
his affecting and sanctimonious remarks.
In answer to our inquiries, one of the
teachers informed us, that the majority of
his large class could read "smal pieces. -
That he taught school there every after
noon, and that he was now preparing the
children for concert to be given on
New Years night Having volunteered
the important information to us, that he
wished to set table on that occasion, and
that funds were lacking, all assisted the
old gentleman to such degree that his
eyes sparkled with delight, as he beheld
the coins.
Whilst in the school, we could but no.
tice ONE little mulatto girl about ten years
Of age, with face full of expression
Her eyes were black, and her features
regular and her hair showed the least ad-
mixture. We saw Others in the class
almost as white as she was After we
left the building, our only themes for some
time were the wonderful voices, and the
extraordinary brightness of the mulatto
children
Continuing our reconnaissance we fol-
lowed the shore in its windings, and came
to a cluster of houses, in the door of one
OF which white woman stood In ord-
fnary times this would have been nothing
remarkable, but under the then existing
circumstances it was an appartion.
Ugly women look quite handsome down
here
Whilst in that neighborhood, we look
ed over on the opposite shore and saw
two men. Harry concluded they We're
rebels, and wanted the picket TO fire at
them, He sat down on log and watch.
ed them some time, and finally left fully
impressed with the conviction that he had
seen some secessionists.
In some of those houses we saw mu-
lattoes that the closest observer mipht