Daily national Republican., 1863-03-31
Interesting Letter,
OF THE COUNTRY.
ENERAL.,MILRoY,s POLIoY.
HE GALLANT CEN ELLIOT ASSTGN NED
TO MILROY'S COMMAND.
Reconnaissance TOWARDS RoMNEY.
No Rebels West Of the Shenandoah.
ADVANCE OF TROOPS TO BERRYvILLE.
tFrom our winchester Correspondent ]
WINCHESTER, IN THE VALLEY, Va.

"hICu SotH, loOos
Wewere Ave hours, on Thursday last, making |
the journey over the pike from Martinsburg to
this place-a distance of twenty-five miles. |
You may judge by that, in what condition the
road was. Friday was a fine, bright, sunny
day. The roads began TO dry early, and at
night were in tolerable good condition for
moving troops. The roads dry up quicker
here than they do lower down in Virginia; and
between this and the Blue Ridge they are re-
ported to be in comparatively. good condition
It commenced raining early Yesterday morning,
and up to noon fell in perfect torrent, making
the mud ankle deep again. At sunset the
weather was clear. This was followed by a
heavy fog. About midnight 1t commenced
blowing, and soon increased into heavy gale
from the Northwest, which continues, inter-
spersed with squalls OF snow. At 10 O'Clock 1t
is cold enough for January, and the peaks of
the Blue Ridge In the distance are white with
snow. But the roads are drying finely, and by
night much Of the mud created by the rain of
yesterday will have disappeared. Such is the
caprice of Virginia weather.
One cannot travel over the road from Mar
tinsburg to this place, and witness the scenes
of desolatlon which everywhere abound, with
out feelings Of sorrow. These scenes have been
described before; but II would require the pen
of Bulwer or a Balrae to picture the scene Of
desolation in its true colors. Scarcely fence
remains to mark the boundaries of property
The heavy hoof of war has trampled the face
of nature into badness. Churches are turned
into stables for our cavalry; Dlvines have packed
up their sermons and gone down into the land
Of Davis, and there is no gospel for the few who
remain at home, and have need enough for 1t.
Zone school-house was torn down and used for
fuel by our soldiers; of another there is moth
ing left but the dumb, dead walls. The peda-
gogue, out Of business, has gone to seek his
yictuals elsewhere. stately.looking mansions,
windowless, doorless, and deserted, their lawns
despoiled Of their shade trees, hedges broken
down, and gardens destroyed, stand here and
there along the road. Their owners and occu-
pants were wealthy aud affluent before the war
had numerous slaves, and happy families, who
enjoyed all the comforts their golden harvests
could bring.
These men gaye.up all, followed the beck of
the demagogues, went in pursuit of political
phantom, and are now, with their families,
homeless and suffering for the commoncst ne!'
cessarlcs of life. Some of them, 1t is well
known, are living on the charity of friends In
the South. Tall, gaunt stacks of chimneys
stand here and there along the road, grim and
terrible monuments of the avenging hand of
} war. You need no interpreter TO tell You that
they mark the spots where pleasant homes
once stood and all was happiness within. But
you are curious to know who applied the torch
that did Its quick work of destruction. Ask
the first careworn and unhappy farmer you
E meet, and lie will tell you" Blenker's men,"
The iron wheel of war once turned, and the
foreigner we had made soldier did not wait
to be told that his conduct in n civil war should
differ from that he had been accustomed to
pursue in a war between foreign nations. In
u foes country all were foes 10 him; the work
) of wantOnness the work Of war. | cannot, in.
deed, think it is much to the credit of some of
our officers that they permitted the troops under
their commands to inhct worse destruction on
the property of good Union men than that of
outspokCn rebels.
Thcrels great scarcity Of the commonest ne.
Cessarltes of life in this vicinity, and unless the
Government do something to assist the people
, in making their lands productive, there must
! be great suffering. And If we intend to hold
the place, now is the time to act. Gen. Milroy
is active and earnest in carrying out the policy
of the Government, but he cannot discharge
the duties of philanthropist and soldier at once.
He holds a firm rein over the secessonistB, and
, is ever kind to those who display a returning
sense of their obligations to the Union. He
, finds the ladies worse to deal with than the
men. They are more refractory than their
crlnoline, prattllng their love of secession and
! hate of the North with more nlmbleness of
tongue than good sense. Some of our officers
are inclined to forget themselves, and show
0 these refractory damsels too many attentions.
0 The better way would be to hang a bell to the
0 tongues of these syrens, let them gabbe as
a much as they please, and treat 1t as sheer non
. sense. Perhaps If we were to let them have
: the latest fashions in dress and millinery 1t
would do something to shorten the length and
y depth of their bitterness.
o MilrOy has a quiet way Of relieving the Sc
0 cesh farmers in the surrounding country of their
negroes, which they do not like. II Is indeed
q touching them in the tenderest places and as
o their conscience and their pocket seem lnsepe-
0 raDle of course the general is declared tyrant
Q unworthy of their respect, But he is popular
= with his troops, who have unbounded conf
. dence in his courage and patriotism. The Gin
o tellgent contraband" came into camp on Sun
day and reported that the rebel cavalry and
. infantry were falling back from their old posi-
!, tions near Romncy and Woodstock towards
: staunton. Col. Schickfuss, with the First New
< York cavalry (Gen. Milroy's pet regimenD
= were ordered on a reconnaissance, with two
: DAYS rations. Aner securing the country
. around for thirty miles and asCertaluing that
- what the "contrabAnd" had stated was true,
I, they returned to camp on Thursday afternoon.
It..is pretty certain that the rebels are with