Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1865-05-13
For tho "Sunbury American y
Letter from Richmond, Va.
CAN'T NEAR RIcHMoNp, V,

| burg, Va we have taken up our line of march b,
| way of Appomatox Court House, at Burksville, to
Richmond, at which point we were ordered to repor
4 on the 2lth ult. We expected TO remain at Lynch
burg in connection with Division Of the 2ith corps
but suppose, owing principally to a want oil sup
| plies were ordered buck on the 10th. Lee surren
dered at Appomattox Court House, - miles tins side
! of Lynchburg, but IL will be remembered that por
| tions of his Cavalry under Rosser and Fiz Hugh
escaped. They fell back towards the Shenandoah
Valley and in their fight made themselves infamou:
If, indeed, their cup of infamy was not already
illed-by burning all the bridges on the route. Th.
des roy cd our railroad communication and seriously
impaired the wagon road, between Lynchburg and
Richmond
1t may be an incident of interest TO state TO your
readers, that the first battle OF Bull Run, and the
battle of Abpomatox Court House were both fought
on land owned by the same man. Mclean One but
tie was the first general engagement with the army
of Northern Virginia, the other ended IN its surren
der.
Since our arrival at Richmond. have been ;hro'
the principal part of the nest of treason" 1t has
been pretty well chastsed by the torch of its
own inccndiaries The principal business portion OF
the city is Of charred ruins II will require
years to rebuild it, How signay the punishment OF
treason has followed in the wake of the war! The
general destruction, in every county OF every state,
in the entire South, will stand as grim memoir oi
treason for years to come
The city Is Very dirty, and looks cherries. There
are many pretty line residence, but II difference of
style is a marked fenture that would make one think
he in foreign land. The residences OF Lee and
Davis are moderately fine structures though they
show marks Of age and have careless appearance
about them Capitol square contains on OF the finest
bronze equestrian tstatue of Washington, in the
country. 1t Is life-siEc and really magnificent 1T
stands upon n marble pedestal Benca,bh are bronze
statues of Patrick Henry. Masoh aud eferson, life
size A tier of marble steps lead up to the Washing
ton statue. The capitol building, situated in the
centre Of the square, shows sgns of decay and hard
usage AS stated in Richmond paper, before our
nrcu inn n the city tho gtalrXHyS
filled with filth and peanut shells The steps were
covered With sheet zinc but 1t Is now wore oil
and turned up in different shapes. very line mar
bic statue of Washington stands in the area OF the
Capitol, which remains unnjured This statue was
made in Paris by Uoudeu, under the direction OF
Mr. Jefferson, by order Of the virginia Assembly,
few years after the close of the American revOuu ton
One hand holds cane, and the left rests upon the
fasces with which united the sword and the plough
share and over it martial cloak. The eastern and
western doors of the capitol are clothed iu the hab
inIens of moruniug and upon the Top II Large aner-
Flag is floating in Tho breeze. Libby prison and
and Castle Thunder, are ordinary buildings in size
aud appearance. The first story of Libby Is white
washed outside. They are bosh brick buildings
The inmates are sick and wounded rebels just re-
trbuton for the treatment we have received there
Richmond l. situated OH very hiy site, and
mi ght be called the city of seven hills Business Is
opening with northern prices anu northern means.
plate OF pretty good soup can bs bad for 20 cents,
and other things in proportion, In good restaurants
Everybody wants green DHCks. NCuTIy every ohe
has something to sell, in order to get money. The
streets full OF pcdars, hueksers, and aucIIOneers
A woman offered Confederate scrip day or two
ago Tor pu, chased articles. no. sir j. said she, Il
would not pick it up out of the dirt )"
A goodly number of northern men arc already
finding their way TO the city. who never listened to
the cry of ION to Richmond =, until the danger was
over They have come probably out OF curiosity and
for purposes of speculation.
The business OF Richmond previous to the evacua-
tion was mostly in the hands OF foreigners, who
escaped the conscrption of the south Many of them
were Jews, and they made the most Of their orpor-
tunity. They made princely fortunes in Confcde-
rate money but smart enough TO invest in real
estate. was told OF one jew who had bought seven
plantations in Hanover county, Va, during he pro
gress Of the war. There is quite number OF ireo
negroes in the city. These were all forced 10 work
on the Rebel Notifications.
The fortf cations and trenches which environ this
stronghold have been the skillful work of YEATS
They are the projections of pcason, but elaborate
structures of engineering skill The enemy's ,rks
the north side of the james, Il properly garrison
Ell would hardly nave been successfully assaulted.
The trenches are often stated, nineteen feet deep
and perhaps twelve iuct wide. They dug in II
zig-zng line with IMMENSE ;ortS AID trLve!scs all
along the line Of b, east work rncst WORKS will
stand as monuments 81 treason tor ceuIUlir-
lou could hardly ra,lh ao he pan Ui sOIiow and
general outburs "t indi Ina;I"n ats3 the suliicrs
just after rtjciciHg p'rr thc glsi@H cIp'paEu,
when heard vi The assassination and death ut our
but soldier knows, how well he was appreciated
in the army. The country mourns the loss of no
bic patriot, the South its best friend and the army
an honest and generous cOmnander-in-chet. Z
loved him for his great qualities OF head and heart
Ills unimp eachabe honesty, his pure and and dis
Interested patriotism, his remarkable consistency,
his steady purpose to save thc country, and, aboNe
ALL his devotion TO the welfare of the private soldier
these are tho qualities which Won our admiration.
l.ermonumcnts be erected to his memory in every
city. no tribute will be lasting "a grateful memory
which runneth not to the contrary" Gratitude
will build monument to the name Of ABRAHAM
LINCOLN in the breast of man that will live while
easeless ages roll for fireworks of virtue die
"We resign him to thee, oh Illinois :. mighty
cOnqueror-not thine any more, but the nations
not ours but the world Is"
There is lcstiny that shapes our ends, rough
hew them how we will - and through the life and
growth Of this nation there has been Providence
guiding us to our world mission. We can see Pro
yidcnce in the martyred death of ABRAHAM LIN
coin A cord i'll the nation heart has been touch
ed that would otherwise remained silent We have
been led to more fully recognize an Over r-Ruln;
God in our affairs gr sa civil war. popular cleo
ton in the midst OlinerIal carnage md dssention,
seemed TO fully test the vigor of our institutions
Rel uhlic butt remained for the ,s'ns hand to
make the last test of the government of the people,
and show to the world how wise are the provisions
of our constitution. 1t was perhaps Mr.. Lincoln !
fault that he too merciiu and, III the duty Ofre-
construction would have been too lencnt 10 dcfan,
treason. His death has aroused stern Justice and
now treason will be punished as one of the greatest
crimes known in the catalogue Of crime. Presiden,
Lincoln lived to fulfil his mission TO grateful peO
pie it seems to have been intended that the mpor
tant duty of reconstruction should be ntrusted L
Andrew Johnson who will make treason II monster
forever infamous and its aders ndabetters the
of all time. Let traitors meet the stern demands o.
Justice is the demand of every soldier The former
feeling of mercy we had, is now strongly tempered
with cry of Hang the leaders of the rebellion Lei
them hang so high that all the world may gaze upon
them with scorn and contempt"
Truely yours, &c,