The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1865-03-30
RAHAGES or THE ENEMY I
SOUTH CAROLINA.

The Fairfield South Carolina) Courier
gives long account Of the excuses COM
mitted by the enemy in the town Of
Winnsboro', from which we extract the
following:
"Our once beautiful town presents
now q most pitiful sight. Residences
and stores that once lifted their. proud
heads to Heaven are now numbered
among the things that were. Charred
ruins now meet the gaze, where once the
busy feet of man passed in the daily
pursuits Of life. And all this is done by
people calling themselves. men. They
have belied their title, not being even tit
for an association among the brutes they
have slain, whose carcasSes meet the eye
on our public roads.
1.-THE store belonging to, and occupied
by, Mr.. D. Lauderdale was the first to-
receive the torch. The building, being
old, soon ignitod, and the flames spread
| rapidly from house to house, extending
| north to the store formerly occupied by
Mr.. Leventritt, and south to. and inclu-
ding, the store of Mr.. A. d. billiard;
thence, crossing to the residence of that
esteemed lady, Mrs. c. Ladd, burning
on her right and left on the left, up to
the building of j. D. Aiken, Esq.,-one
| of the lower floors of which is known as
the Bank of Fairfield; and on the right,
to, and including, the Odd Fellows
Hall. The flames ragged with terrific fury,
bidding fair to destroy every house in
our town. This occurred on Tuesday,
February 81.
"On Wednesday morning huge
smoke in the northwestern part of our
town called our attention to the fact that
the work of burning had not yet ceased.
Fire was set to the cotton in the rear of
John II. Cathcart's residence and store,
and communicated thence to the build
ings in its front and rear, and DR.. Boyl-
ston's residence on the left, sweeping all
before it.
"It would be here proper to state that
this last fire was set by the Seventeenth
corps, commanded by General Francis
P. Blair, in its passage through the
town. This corps, as we were informed
by troops attached to the other corps,
was the most fiendish; and that if they
had got into our town first, every house
would have been committed to the
flames.
"There was some cotton burnt in the
neighborhood of Mount Zion Institute
that part of the town, the extreme east,
however, being fortunate enough to es-
cape from the hellish work of the YAM
KEGS in burning houses. -.. |
There were about thirty buildings
burned, including dwellings and stores.
The Yankees did not seem to care
whether building was occupied or not,
but picked out houses where, in their |
burning, they would communicate the |
flames to other premises. Every par
ticle of property burned belonged to
private individuals No public property
was destroyed"
The Yankees also set fire to, and de.
stroyed, the Episcopal Church, situated |
in the northwestern portion of the town;
and while it was. burning they took the
organ, played upon it, and sang bias
phemous songs. Many of the citizens
were plundered; wedding rings and
mementoes of deceased husbands or pa
rents were stolen as ruthlessly as gold
coin would have been. Watches and
jewelry were cut from the persons Of
ladies, and, in some instances, their
shoes removed on the pretcnce of search
ing for rings.
After comment upon these outrages,
the writer gives sketch of the devas-
tation occasioned on the route taken by
the enemy, some portion of which we
copy:
"Leaving our town, the enemy took
their line of march on the State road.
leading to Blackstock's, South Carolina.
On the route, their road can be easily
distinguished by tall chimneys, standing
solitary and alone, and blackened en-
bers, as it were, laying at their feet
Every fine residence, all corn cribs,
smoke-houses, cotton-gins-all that could
give comfort to manLwere committed to
the flames; dead animals-horses, mules. |.
COWS, calves and hogs-slain by the
enemy, are scattered along the road to
Blackstock's. Il
"In one place we counted fourteen fine
mich COWS, with their young, lying in
the space of . halfacre field, having been
shot. To show with what brutality they
even treated dumb creatures, we dis
covered two calves hung with telegraph
wire, and left in that position to die of
utter starvation. Others again had wire
wound around the leg and