The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1865-03-09
rsttl interesting Letter from Columbia.

friend, to make the following eAlr'cts
written by lady residing in Columbia, and which
contains graphicsand truthful account Of tho ede-
plorable condition of affairs onoe beautiful
city. The description here given cannot fail toins
terest and awaken the sSnipathics of people,
Nithfhe homeless population now hoyering around
The, he,smouldering asles Of our fair capital
RUINS: OF COLUMBIA, sFeb. @, 1850.
DearTyiead You and your in tersstss have been; |;
scorched by the enemy, butour beautiful town and I
its homeless people have been truly paEched and
.wilfhered Only the. shell of eayirons Us shere:;
and q centre Of cinders and ashes. -
Last "Wednesday Beauregard returned from
Charleston. He thought if Hardcess corps, then
.at ,Kingsville, and Cheatham's Division towards
Augusta, could get here, we glit.resist
rails. Johnston and Hampton were also here; md |
ready to do or die. On Thursday, at dawn, the
Yankees, then over in Lexingto and insight Of
town,-commenced shelling The women andsl
children oil scampercd towards the Charlotte De-
DOT, that being remote. \ X wheeler's cav
airy begged for provision and clothes this being
denied, :they battered down doors and,tcok what
stores were thrown open for the poor. 1t was not
generally known, until the negroes, with usual
rapucity, took off barrels of rice, -four, bacon &c.
The stores at the Depot were also opened; but
none knew of powder there, .ani in the midst Of
progging. there was q terrific explosion, which ct
drove scores into eternity, principally negroes.
At daybreak, Mayor Goodwin went. over with the
white flag, for the Yankees had been kept out all
night, only by burning the bridges over aluda.
and Consaree Rivers. We heard, then, their long
roll and for miles along the bank of the river their
muskets and field pieces cleaned with death. =. E
> Beauregard went off, .at 8 o'clock, on the Char.
lotte Road AT IL o'clock they had fixed their
pontoons and crossed. Three Union flags were
boisted-onc over the Market Hail. and Uncover
Janncy and Nickerson's Hotels Half au'hour
afterwards came yells and shouts, and Yankee
Doodle music. Many spcculattlrs-focls-had re- re-
served yliskey, and itwas found by hogshcads IN
abundance. Had it been emptisd into the cutters,
the result might not have been soSfatalfto our
i doomed city, From midday till sunset the troops
some 10000 in number, were marched up and
4 down our streets They-sow its beauty yand enyied
j Sits quiet. During the entire day houses were en-
4 tered and watches and money demanded; and at
sunset, the torches Of these civilized sayagcs lit
: the town.
First the gas-works end four squares, of its VI
cinity Then Main street, from Cotton Town te
the New. State House. with one entire fow.west Of
Main street and thrcc.rows of streets east-alf ore
{ in nsmouldering embers. WashiIlgt church
= 81
Mr. Pringlc's.church, the Treasury buildings, eve
rys Bank, itRssCourt House, Jail, Arsenal, State
House, and every store, oil, all gone. The womc1
begged that they might be helped to remove thei
furniture, and the answer wis, 70 Rebel, glct j
burn.n The town reminds rae ofsthe ruins o
Palmyra and Baalbcc.
r soy the Yankees resisted the entreaties o
: mothers. They even threw Eom the heads Q
servants, trunks and boxes which we're being car
ried for their owners. They also entered house
on Main street, before tho fire reached them, ant
+ ordered the women and children out that the.
might have no Witnesses of tlir robhcries. Eve
~ inGsJzo 81 asas+ demand most of them de
into sel1ss somc sixty nc
!, gro nfsar a6uscfl aris villsGe1 tho ne
groes, and told them they were thecursed cause:
7 tho war. All Of them talked of the glorious
!, Union- they were determined.to restore it to it
: Original size.
4 While the fire prevailed, they went promiscuous
( ly into houses and kitchens-took provisions ans
clothes, asking no leave Of either white or &ack
\ Their General, en- leaving offered some suit to dis
tribute among sufferers, and gave 100 muskots fol
the protection of the town; Of these, 10 were
spiked or out of order. That was humanity, in
keeping with their general conduct.
4 They werehere from Friday till Monday noon. II
: seemed like threeweeks. NTheyahot down pigeons,
raced after pigs andscalves, and helped themselves
l toallthe nice wagons and bugGies in town. ]
sorry spectacle does the town present, with some
allsOO families homeless and without provision,
campcd at the Asylum and Pork, and about the
Streets; amid the ruins. =,
When the last regiment went Of. many families
who had their intcrests North, mono left here,
went with ther, as ifto lengthen their triumphal
march. 80
It was said Sherman had four corps along but
about orless than 10000 were in the Streets
Their, wagon trains were in splendid keeping, and
they had burned Stolen all they wanted from
every plantation WITHIN raiding distance of their
march. While here they worked one griss mill
night and day, and they were busy all the while at
the. .forges, mending wagons and making hooks to
tear up the railroad. q <,
What w agony attende that age of misery
The time then sped slower than have eyer;known.
was alone with feeble grand father ); but God
was good, and Daniel was preserved in the
midst lions Had sone previously snbscribcdsto
Reconstruction, this. .hideous brutality must have
crushed the thought May our present sorrows
only teach us to trust In God, who in His own
good time cawsaye US from such bitter foes:
Relieve the Suffarssg..