The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1862-10-18

before court marital, the only evidence Of hos
tility to the Confepsracy produced against him,
was . letter purporting to have been addressed
by him to an officer in the Confederate service.
This letter was an arrant forgery. was denounced
as such by Mr.. Bolts; and by his alleged cores
pendent. and was rejected as such BY the court.
Again-not long after the publication of Win.
ders edict forbidding the sale of liquor except
ing oy an apothecary, and upon regular medic
al prescription-four of the most respectable
druggists in Richmond were arrested at their
places OF bushes, marched of to "Castle God
win" and there for three or four days locked up
on the charge of selling liquor upon forged pre-.
scriptions. The charge was brought against
them by Capt Alexander, of Baltimore, now one
OF Gen. Wiader's Asst Marshals, but formerly
second officer of Richard Thomas Zarvonia, alias
the French lady" in the capture Of the steamer
ST. Nicholas. 1t appeared on examination that
the prescriptions in question had been forged by
Capt. Alexander himself, for the express purpose
OF enabling him to seize and confscate the ''po.
table stock" of the apothecaries aforesaid!
lessed--Gen. Winder, in published order, TAX
ing great credit to himself for his "leniency" in
the matter, but the only indemnity they received
Tor their unjust suffering was the disappearance
OF all their liquors, which we're never seen or
heard Of more.
With such ideas as to the administration of
martial law, nothing could be more natural than
TOR Gen. Winder to invent the "Union Party" be
could not discover. Of the people arrested by
his order, in consequence of the ''treasonable
handwriting" two or three we're natives of sub
stance and standing, who, after comparatively
brief detention, were released; but the majority
were citizens of Northern or European birth,
and of these, not few-having neither power
full friends nor fortune-were locked up for
months, and transferred upon the threatening
approach Of Gen. Mcclellan, to the prisons at
Salisbury, in North Carolina, where it is very
their lives away in loathsome and hopeless
captivity.
THE CoNscRlPT1oN.
The conscript act being passed not long after
the proclamation Of martial law, a season of
military terrorism fairly set in upon Richmond.
A system of passports was established, guards
patrolled the city streets and the roads for q
circuit Of ten miles, houses were searched for
"stragglers and shakers" This state of things
was intermittent There were sometimes
lapses of two or three weeks, during which peo-
pie went and came very much as they pleased,
and arrests we're few and far between. But
from the first of March to the 18th of August, a
despotism, tempered only by newspapers and
corruption, practically reigned in Richmond
All ideas Of law in matters social as in matters
economical, were thrown into confusion. The
depreciation of the currency was attempted to
be counteracted by stringent orders fixing the
prices at which certain articles of prime neces-
sity should be Sold Desperate attempts were
made to force all foreign residents into the
ranks of the army, and the Consuls of England
and France, who are supposed, I believe, at the
North, to have been enjoying kind of diplo-
matte otiam cum digntate, in full communion
with the Confederate rulers, in point of fact led
the life of dog in an orchard over the way
from boys boarding school. They were bait
ed by the press. and worried by the authorities
and tormented by their feliow.subjects demand
ing protection Virginia, by her Legislature,
undertook to DIVE all foreigners within her
borders into choosing between the sacrifice of
their property and interests, or the remuneration
of their allegiance. Secret denunciation made
the lives of the poor and friendless burden to
them. A foreign friend of mine, one day in May,
saw certain Judge Caskie, notorious "sece-
der" stop provost guard in the street, and
pointing TO two decent looking men who were
passing on the other side, request tie soldiers
to "carry these fellows to Major Brown with
Judge Kaskie's compliments, and beg him to
have them locked up."' 'I'll see him about them
in day or two," added the Judge, walking off
The men were seized, marched off, and, no
doubt, incarcerated. Whether the "Judge" ever
thought of them again, or Major Brown ever
took the trouble to remind him of the matter, I
consider extremely predetermined.
POSSIBLE RETREAT OF THE REBEL GOVERNMENT.
Attic time of the destruction of the Merrmac,
it was generally understood that the Confederate
Government had resolved to abandon Richmond,
on military grounds, and remove to the South.
The wives aud families of many leading men
were then sent into the interior, to Danville, to
Farmsville, and to Raleigh. Many manufactures
of Importance were transferred to upper Georgia
and South Carolina. The specie of the banks
was carried away. Huge piles of boxes were
seen about the doors of the departmental Offices
OF State, marked fer Columbia, S. G. and for
Raleigh, n. G. The most important machinery
{ Of the ordnance was sent to Atlanta, in Georgia.
Shops were empted of their contents.
The vehement circumstances of the extreme
. secessionists of Richmond, and the tardy move
, ments of the national ornaments to arrest the
, hegira OF the Government and the successful
defense Of Fort Darling, chased away the popu-
lar panic But Richmond never fully recoveaed
its good looxs. Before came away in August
it had passed through several spasms of recurring
alarm, each slighter than its predecessor, but in
the matter of defiant confidence it had gradually
settled back to its original estate. The diver.
sion of business from the streets and the con-
version of many shops snd warehouses into hos
pitals, had, however, saddened the aspect of the
public thoroughfares. Of positive distress and
suffering dc not think there was great DEAL
Money was abundant in proportion to its depre
citation. and the Government kept the popula-
laton, on the whole, very fully occupied in at
tending to the wants of the war! Of absolute
necessares there was no real lack of comforts
and Injuries the supply was deficient. But un.
less Tennessee and Western Virginia shall be
; thoroughly mastered by the National arms,
see no good reason to believe that the Confsd
crates can be starved out OF their capital. A.
they have secured their line of retreat into cen
tral North Carolina, it is not impossible thai
rShey may think it best TO evacuate Richmond or
fstrategc grounds whenever We make a formida
hIa and sustained n. strafi hat dire,