The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1865-04-05
W edresday Morning, April 5, 1865.
The" white Trash Of the South"

Captain Nichols, now with Sherman's ar
my, furnishes the New Yoik Evening Post
with very full and graphic account of the
campaign In the Carolinas. =
In his notes, written when twenty miles out
from Pocotaligo, he gives this account of a
conversation with good specimen of the
poor whites of the South: te
Agriculturally speaking, this is a miserable
country We are passing through. We have
gained some forage and provisions, but OF
IIiVlal importance compaled to the amount
we could use. The Inhabitants were rich land
owners, with all the pride, ignorance and ar
rogance OF feudal barors; tae balance a few
poor whites. the former have all run away,
ana / met family OF the latter occupy
ing the house OF the escaped magnaLe
Il came near writing conyict). The head OF
This poor family, which consisted of himself,
a weak looking creature with pale lace, pale
eyes aud pale beard; his vile, a Womal OF
thirty, bowed crooked and yellow, with child
in her arms, dirty boy OF three years old,
and frightened young girl OF thirteen, the
daughter Of the man by u Iormer marriage.
1nis man entered into a long conversation
upon the subject OF the war. He seemed to
understand but little OF its merits, but that
the success of the rebels was certain tolfix
more securely the bondage OF his own class to
the arstocrals, and that our victories were TO
result in freedom TO the slaves the black ones J
which he said, 81 think would lie a derned
shame; but L don't pretend to understand
these questions; don't know much anyhow
4 remark to which mentally gave my direct
assent. He coEtinued: 10
The poor whites are not allowed to live
here in South Carolina; the rich folks alias
charges US with selling things to the nigger,
so they wont let us own land, but drives us
about from place to place. / never owned
foot of land all my life, and was born and
raisedi in this State. 1t was only little while
ago tney caught a man sellin' to the nigs, SO
they tarred and ieathered him, and put him
into Georgia across Sisters Ferry. They
hate the sight Of us poor whites"
"And yei," said l, ''you are the class that
are now furnishing the rank and file OF their
armies. How absurd is that fact"
The man answered with vacant, listless
stare, and remarked, lit mought be So"
In reference to the demeanor of the South
Carolinians, in the presence OF their present
peril, the same writer says:
These people have one cry in common, now
that they feel the bitterness of the war. They
pray God that it may cease upon any terms,
any thing, any time, but give them peace
They say with the most emphatic uuanimiSy,
that they never for moment thought the war
would come iato South Carolina. o, no, her
sacred loil was forever to be free from the
touch OF the hated, despised Yankee.
But here we are; and where our footsteps
pass, fire. ashes and desolation follow in the
path When hear Their cries Tor help, their
walls of pain, and gaze upon their faces
pale with fear, 1 feel as 1 have never felt be-
fore how supremely selfish, how shameless
and cowardly has been the action of this Sta'e
from the first moment of rebellion up to this
time. When arging and dragging her sister
States into this hell of treason, she little
dreamed that, encircled and protected by 9TH
er States, by the mountains and tie sea, her
coil would be travered by Union armies or
ever become the theatre OF war. But, we are
on her soil, and she meets with the fate she
more than deserves.