Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1863-02-19

war let them print side by side with the ABOVE
mentioned letters, the freque Mt narratives
Confederate prisoners touching their treatmen
in such dens as Fort Delaware and their ct
ssmpts to extort daily labor from them as If the.
we're csuvicts. How vile and eKee.a5le ma
don the Northern States contain" remarkel
President Davis on a recent occasion, 4 though
shat I could estimate, but it remained for thi
war to teach me to what depths Of meannes
and infaniy it was possible for people aud lts
/ government TO descend" Far be it from me &
Influence By any word of mine the bitterness {
the evaporation which divides into two sec
tens nation which SO lately seemed hsrmo
Nous unit, but which is now sundered by {
chssm deeper aud wider than the Atlantic
A scene which occurred this morning, similar
to many which I have witnessed in camp
teaches me whether She Boston Puritan or The
slayeholding oligarch is the true5t friend ofthai
African race of which Exeter Hall knows sc
little. and over which it whimpers SO much. A
fsvorite black boy attached to Gen. Stusrt's ser.
vice though not belonging TO him, was separated
from the General during the Maryland cam
paign, and, together with two OF the Generals
horses entrusted to his care was in imminent
danger Of bsing captured by the Yankees The
! boy hid himself for several days in the woods,
sallying forth at night to get food for his horses,
until at last ne had an opportunity Of consigaing
4 them into safe keeping De himself, not with
out much difficulty, at last contTived TO rejoin
4 General JacksoRs corps, which lay nearest TO
! the the Maryland shore. This morning, as Gen.
] ssS.onewali'' jackson and his men advanced
/ from their old quarters to join the already
! large army under General Lee, General
/ Stuart's boy regained MS masters headquar-
/ ters. and such g scene occurred as battles de-
/ seription. Gen. Stuart himself was absent, but
| all the officers of his staff, with whom "Bob"
! is fsvorite, shook him warmly by the hand,
heard the narrative of his adventures over a
| buadred times, and, in fact, gave him a recep-
ton which may fairly be called an ovation
The boy was so oveTj0yed to get back that be
wellnieh shed tears III W many English SER
wants, isolated from their masters under such
circumstances, with detection or punishment in
case they sbseonded manifestly impossible, and
in possession of two valuable horses, would have
faced danger and difficulty for weeks, in order
to be faithful to their tsust7 In fact, nothing
has so much astonished me since came into
the Confederacy as she relations of affection and
attachment which bind together master and
slave. The subject is too vast to be approached
in a letter written, not without much difficulty,
il camp.
But to return to Fredericksburg town so
long harassed by the presence of two opposing
armies, fixed between the hawk and the buz-
zard, gives pitisble evidence of its suffsrings.
Not more than five per cent of the houses are
still inhabited and the terr0r-strieken look Of
those whom poverty or Illness, or languid hope
fIllness that they will be unmolested, still
tethsrs to their ancient domiciles, shoot psng
to the heart Of The observer. An old and feeble
woman, living on the river bank, Immediately
under the threatening muzzlss of the Federal
cannon which crown the Falmouth nights, in
answer to my question whether she had not
stirred at all from her home, said, g For three
weeks past have breathed under this roof;
living cannot call it." The sights which have
been frequensly visible these last few weeks
have been heartrending Old men and women,
too poor to take the railroad for Richmond, have
been incessautly tramping out of the town with
nothing but few ragged blankets or coyerlets, |
and have betaken themselves to the pine woods |
with feeble prospect Of being able to keep body |
and soul together IN country bare as though |
swept by locusts, and occupied By armies nearly |
AS large IS the tabled hosts Of Xsrxes. During l
the FIRST few DAYS of the Federal occupation Of
Falmouth some Federal officer had the inhuman-
itv to order the railroad cars which st that TINS
ran into the edge of the town of Fredericks- |
burg, to be sheled. Tire cars were heavily |
laden with fugitive women and children whom |
the Federal General Patrick had ordered to
leave the town, aud whom one of his subordi- |
nate officers fired upon as they complied with |
General Pasrick's command. The consequent |
terror may be imagined 01e woman tainted |
as q shell burst close to her, and in the absence
of any restorsiives or persons to apply them, !
never rsgained consciousness, but expired where
she lay. Il is true that some apology for this
barbarity was rendered subsequently, the Fede-
rails but is there any act which a Federal OIL
Ger could commit of which the atrocity would
be sufficient to draw down real actual pun
ishmens upon bis head ieadier-General
jenkins, Of South Carolins, one of the most
polished and gentemsnlike officers ia the
Confederate service, and withs one of the
most rssolute fighters in the field, told me
thst such was the Indignation aroused in the
men of his bri yade at tie sigkt Of the homeless
destitute sufferers, driven By civilized and Chris
tan generals out Of their homes to starge in the
woods Of Virginia IN November, that they re-
corded VOWS Of vengeance against such sn IN
human foe which VIII shortly bear bitter fruit.
It is idle to say that there is the least necessity,
the least justification, for burning down houses
and destroying villages and towns, and making
private individuals experience the horrors OF
war, in the fashion which the Federals have
never ceased to follow since they hrst entered
Virgins. Is there any precedent for shelling
unfortifisd towns, chiefly occupied by old men,
women and children to be found in European
warfare during the last half century The
truth incontesdbly is that it is the device of
bsflad and incapable fee powerless to triumph
over desperate men with arms IN their hands,
and terrible only against n0n-combatants and
women and children.
-Tbe appointment of Gen. Joe johnson to the
command in Kentucky and Tennessee is 3
bright augury compared to what the prospects
were If Gen. Bragg had remained IN supreme
command Gen Bragg was regarded so favor
ably az a discplnsTian, and had reduced bis
large army to what is considered upon this con
ouhs Of haf fry1rIo oh
disappointment was experienced at the unques-
tionsble fasco which his recent campaign in
Kentucky has proved to be. 1t must not be i'm
aeined that Gen. Bragg had the worst of the
fighting; but by delays, by fsiling TO advance,
aud eventually falling back into a wrong dis
trict.. he has virtually abandoned Kentucky to
the Fsderais, at least for this winter. There IS
a growing feeling in the OoniedeTacy indicating
thas Kentucky should be encouraged to lie in
the bed which shs had made for herself, and
should continue member OF that Federation
which the other slave States, almost without
exception, have long ago repudietsd forever.
There is great scope for the exercise Of ell
Gea Johuston's energies and abilities. pn-
ouestionably, the sDlest general whom the Fed
erals poasess-Gen. Ro5ecrsnz-iS there In COM
mand. Il is my belief that The wind viii be
fslxen cut of tha sails Of the Kentucky and other
Western eampsigns By the great battle which
it is understood that Gen. Halleek and the
Washington Cabinet are forcing Gen. burnside
70 II shf in Virginia But if thst battle is de-
llayed, or never fought or indeeisiye in its re-
snits, or gained by tbs Federals, Gen. Johnston
will have a great field before him. The general
conf fence repossd in him by those who know
him best, confirms the very favorable impress
sion of his abilities, which no stranger, who has
an opportunity Of freely conyeEsing with him,
can fail to form.
As 1 conclude the general atmosphere Of tbs
! camps about me vibrates with the antieipstions
ef an Immediately impending fight. It viii
4 probably be my d1ty within a very few days te
chronicle battle which viii be the life or death
struggle, not Of the Confederacy, but Of the
j FEDERAL government But such is the uneer
tainty whether communications ennsnatng IRON
She Southern States, and destined for England
! win ever reach their destination, that have 1t
tle hops that aither this letter, or, tas sntici
pate,) its more important successor, VIII evei
meet the eye of the English public.
EeThe Winchester Rnllefia of the i2sh says
Something not accornted for seems to havt
/ retarded Roseeranz's s progress since we last com