Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1862-04-04
From Winchester.


this place. the scene of the late battle, in
the Marlboro, Mass, Journal. 1t is an
extract from a letter from Massachusetts,
soldier to his father:
WINCHESTER, Va, March l6, 1862.
Gen. Banks headquarters are here.
He issued his proclamation yesterday to
the citizens and soldiers, and it is posted
about in different parts of the town. 1t
is very severe on the soldiers that are not
up to their duty. He tells the citizens
to 20 on with their usual business and
that they shall be protected. There are
about $4,000 soldiers and citizens in and
about the vicinity of the town now. and
| have not seen the first drunken one yet.
Sentor Mason's residence is in this place.
| went up to see it yesterday. It's a pleas
ant looking place, and stands back from
the street The 9TH Conn. Regt. s officers
airs quartered in it, and they, with other
soldiers, have taken everything they can
Law their hands on as relics, &c. Some Of
bis negroes were living in it, but they have
left it to give way to the officers There is
a medical college in the town. | went
into it the other day, and there was the
most horrid sight that | ever did see. In
the third story lay negro boy on dis
secting table, with his head cut off arms
cut off at the elbow legs cut off at the
knees, and his belly ripped open length
ways. He was about fourteen years of
age. The day before we came into town,
this boy was in the streets and was very
jubilant to think that the Union troops
were so near the town. A rebel soldier
seeing him in such extaries about it, shot
him dead on the spot. His body was
then taken to this college and given to
the doctors and students. They had the
body cut up, as | have mentioned, when
they had to take out with the rebel devils
(for | believe part of them to be such,
Judging from stories that the people here
tell of them). for they committed all sorts
of depredations on Union people, and the
negroes especially. A negro hardly dared
to speak to one of them They took any
thing and everything they wanted with
out paying for it, as they didn't pretend
to keep any guard over their soldiers.
There are more negroes here than ex-
pected to see and many of them arc near
ly white; and as general thing under
stand the cause and nature of the war as
we'll as the whites, if not better. In this
college is the skeleton of John Browns
SON who was shot at Harper's Ferry. 1t
was standing in one corner of the room
in good preservation, nothing being gone
but the flesh. In the cellar there were
great many skeletons, skulls &c. Our
soldiers cleared the building out of almost
everything that was of any value, as they
left their instruments, charts, books, and
all behind. There is State lunatic hos
pital in the town. and there is large
number of fine looking residence of the
aristocratic blood, niger owners, &C.; and
in this town you will find poor white peo-
pie - the poorest and most miserable
and Ignorant that ever saw. Some of the
soldiers say that the residents of North
Street, in Boston, are christians in COM
parison with them. A great many of the
people here call themselves peace men.
and do not favor either side, but if you
get into conversation with them it will not
do to mention the niger question, for If
you do their temper is up, and you will
be inclined to believe that they arc strong
secesh. The negro question has been agi,
tated so much, the last three years. that
they have got so that they fairly hate the
sight of one. The trouble is, the people
at the North and the people at the South
do not understand one another. The North
ern people are posted and understand the
matter The mass of the southern people
are ignorant, only knowing what is told
them by the knowing ones. They are moi
a reading people. was talking with 9
man last Friday that was in Gen. Jack
sons army week ago, but escaped Will,