The dollar weekly bulletin. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1862-1864, 1862-12-25
The Condition of Fredericksburg.


The Condition of Frcdericksburs.
The special correspondent of the New
York Tribune writes from Fredericksburg to
that paper as follows:
I have spent the days in this city. I
have several times described what FEEDER
icksburg aoas; what Fredericksburg is you
have also learned by telegraph in advance
of the mail. The city has not only been in
part burned, but ruined hey ond almost hope
of recovery. Ali who passed through the
village of Sharpsburg two days after the
battle of Antietam, thought it would be al
most impossible to make a town look more
desolate and forsaken; but the appearance
of Sharpsburg compared with that OF
Fredericksburg, is comedy and pleasant -
After the severe cannoEading of yesterday,
it seems to have been generally understood
that the city would have been given up to
pillage upon the occupation of our troops.
The leading citizens have long been known
as the most bitter and malignant rebels in
the State, and to have had much to do N
carrying Virginia out of the Union, in spite
of an honest and overwhelming vote to the
contrary. The ladies of Fredericksburg,
especially, were spiteful and yenomous TO
such a degree that one almost forgot to rec
ognize them as women.
After uttering the most bitter invectives
against the people of Fredericksburg. this
charitable correspondent goes on to say:
To day these fine mansions are not stan
ding. A heap of smolderiDg embers is all
that remains of them. Others, less osten-
tatious in their style of architecture, are
rGdled and torn with shot and shell; the
furniture broken and defaced; the bedding
ripped and stripped. taken into the streets
and troddeu under foot; elegant china ware
and cutlery, choice libraries of books. rare
works of art are all heaped together in the
streets, and are rambled for as trophies
The old mansion of Douglas Gordon-per-
haps wealtbiest citizen in the Valley is now
used as the headquarters of General How
ard, but before he occupied it every room
had been torn with shot, and then all the
elegant furniture ard works of art broken
and smashed by the soldiers, who burst into
the house, after having driven the rebel
sharp shooters from behind il. When l en-
tered it, early this morning, before its occu-
patton by General Howard, found the SOL
diers of his fine division diver:ipg them
selves with the rich dresses found in the
wardrobes; some had on bonnets of the fash
ion of last year. and were surveying them
selves before mirrors which. an hour or two
afterwards, were pitched out of the window
and smashed to pieces upon the pavement;
others had elegant scarfs bound around their
heads 10 the form Of turbans, and shawls
around their waists after the fashion of the
Turks. What saw in this mansion was re-
had not destroyed.
1t is but the truth to say that the wealthy
citizens of Fredericksburg possessed some
thing moro than wealth, and Of much great
or value-culture. l doubt there is viii
lage in few England that possesses more
choice private libraries than did Fredericks-
burg the day before the bombardment-
GU can see that the old orthodox religious
element enteres into nearly every one of them
Said soldier to me to-day, rakiag among
magnificent private library. half covered
with mud in the streets. "How intensely re-
lisious these id rebels are" Not ONLY
solid works upon religion and philosophy
are found among the libraries, but books in
nearly all the modern languages which
looked as if they had been well read and
appreciated.
We destroyed by fro yesterday nearly
two whole squares Of buildings, chiefly used
for business purposes. together with the
fine residences of G. Mcdowell, DR.. Smith,
J. Ii. Kelly, A. S. Colt. VIM. Slaughter, and
many other smaller dwellings. Every store,
L think, without an exception. was pillaged
of every valuable article. A fine drug store,
which would not have looked badly on
Broadway, was literally one mass of bro
ken glass and jars.
The British Consul was arrested last
night upon suspicion of being a rebel spy,
but was in short time released. This
morning, at the request of General Howard,
he was again arrested, it being now posi-
lively known that he has secured and ed
tertained armed rebels in his house, and
then aided them in their escape.