Daily union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1865-1866, 1866-06-28
LETTER FROM MRS. DAVIS.


Fortress Monroe, Vd:-My Dear Colonel
Though YOU remain irrevocably dumb, l
am sure YOU hear me; and in addressing
you | feel as if writing to one of my oldest
and most reliable friends. Every letter
from my husband comes freighted with good
wishes for YOU, and thanks for all your
kindness to him in his hours of anguish and
solitude Can YOU doubt that my prayers
for you, and appreciation of your goodness,
have been even greater than his, for | could
do nothing but pray? Mr.. DAVIS sent me a
carte de visite of your dear ANNA, whose sweet
face my baby knows and has been taught to
kiss as her fathers friend. The baby sends
her a little fan and few white flowers,
made in Augusta. l hope she may like
them. Mr.. DAVIS writes me that she has
gone to the Moravian school, near Easton,
where, trust our niece may have the pleas
ure of seeing her.
| am rendered very anxious by The obsti-
macy of the erysipelas with my suffering hus-
treaties for an account of his condition with
out concealment-of loss Of sleep. dread
paralysis for him, his nerves have been so
highly strung for years without relief If
you can, dear Doctor CRAVEN, do entreat,
and perhaps you may prevail, upon the au-
thorities to let him sleep without light.
lie is too feeble to escape, and could not
bear light in his room when in strong
health. The sequel of these attacks has al
ways been an attack of amauTosis, and in
one of them he lost his eye. 1t first came on
with an attack of acute neuralgia; but it is
useless for me to begin to tell you of his
constitution. You must have seen pretty
well its peculiarities, in the long and kind
watch you have kept with him.
L had hoped to relieve his mind by full
letter Ofpersonal narrative, but that letter
he has not received.
When he was taken from me on the ship,
the provost guard and some women detec-
tives came on board, and after the women
searched our persons the men searched our
baggage.
Either they or the soldiers standing around
took everything they fancied, and some
things 50 large that did not see how their
conduct could escape the eye of the guard,
and of the officers who superintendent the
the search. They then told my servants
that they could go ashore, if they did not
desire to 60 to Savannah. The husband OF
my negro nurse forced her to go, and the
white girl left from an unwillingness to be
exposed to a Southern climate. | entreateG
to be permitted to debark at Charleston, as
my sister Miss HOWELL, still continued TO be
i'll, and l feared to return on the ship with a
drunken purser, who had previously requir-
ed Col. PRITCHARD's authority to keep him
in order and going back, Mrs. CLAY, my
sister, and myself, would be the only women
on the ship; but this was refused. Acting
aI,o i 81,
nurse also of my sister and Mrs. CLAY, who
were both i'll, we started for Savannah. We
had fearful gale, in which the upper decks
once or twice dipped water, and no one
could walk; but as l felt as wretched as
could be, l did not fear a future state
God protected us from the fury of the ele-
ments but the soldiers now began to open
and rob our trunks again. The crew, how
ever, gave us some protection, and one of the
officers in the engine-room gave up his cabin
and locked up everything We had left i'll it.
The Lieutenant of the 18th Maine, Mr..
GRANT, though a plain man, had the heart
of gentleman, and took care ofus with the
greatest assiduity. Some of the soldiers and
crew helped me to nurse, and saved me many
an hour of wakeGllness and fatigue. My
little daughter, MAGGIE, was quite like an
old women she took her sister early every
morning-for the nights were so rough
could not sleep because it was necessarg to
hold the infant to avoid bruising it-and
with the assistance of our faithful servant
ROBERT, who held her still while she held
her sister, she nursed her long enough for
me to rest. Little JEFF. and ! did the
housekeeping it was fair division of the
labor, and not unpleasant, and it displayed
the good hearts of my children.
At the harbOr of Charleston the sick be-
gan to improve. We procured ice and milk,
and the days rest, which the ship at anchor
gave them, improved them much.
Arrived at Savannah, we trudged up to
the hotel quite in emigrant fashion; MAR
GARET with the baby and ROBERT with the
baggage, |, with BILLY and JEFF and MAG
GLE, in quite an old fashioned manner, keep
ing all straight and acting as parcel carrier,
for we could not procure any carriage and
must walk until we reached the Pulaski
House, where, after a day and night; we pro-
cured comfortable rooms. The inkeeper was
a kind man, and felt for my unfortunate
condition He, therefore, did everything N
his power to make us comfortable. A funny
incident happened the day | arrived here,
and being told to call my man-servant ROB-
ERT, replied very impertinently that "if he
should see ROBERT he would give the order,
but did not expect TO see him" When Rob-
ERT heard it, he waited till all the black SER
wants had assembled at dinner, and then re-
marked that be should hate to believe there
was a colored man so low as to insult dis
tressed woman hut if so, though peace
able HaH, he should whip the first who did
so. The guilty man began to excuse him
self. whereupon RoBERT said; "Oh, it was
you, was it? Well, you do look mean
enough for that or anything else" From
that time all the greatest assiduity could do
was done for me, first from esprit de corps,
and then from kind feelings.
The people of Savannah treated me with
the greatest tenderness. Had l been sis
ter long absent, and just returned to their
home, | could have received no more tender
welcome. Houses were thrown open to me;
anything and everything was mine. Ny
children had not much more than a change
of clothing after all the parties who had us
in charge had done tightening our baggage,
so they gave the baby dresses, and the other
little ones enough to change until | could
buy or make more.
Unfortunately for me. General -,
who, | hear, was mot 10 the manor born,
was in command of the district at the time.
| asked permission to see him, and as | was
so unwell that | could not speak above my
breath from a cold, and suffered from fever
censtantly-the result of exposure on the
ship-I wrote to beg that ne would come and
see me, for his aid had told me the night
before that could not be permitted to leave
Savannah, and having been robbed of nearly
all my means, l could not afford to stay at
the hotel; and besides, as soon as | reached
the hotel, detectives were placed TO watch
both me and my visitors, so | did not feel at
liberty, thus accom- panied, to go TO private
houses.
General -'s aid, whose animus was
probably irreproachable, but whose orthog-
raphv was very bad, was directed to tell me
that, except under very extraordinary cir
cumstances, he did not go out of his office,
and "all such" (which | afterwards found to
mean myself) "as desired to see him would
call at his office" To which | answered
that thought my illness and my circum-
stanced constituted an extraordinary case;
but that | was sorry 10 have asked anything
which he "felt called upon so CURLY to re-
fuse" and requested to be informed what
hour would please him on the following day,
and woulddo myself the honor to call upon
him. Whereupon the same unfortunate
well-mCaning, ill-spelling young gentleman
wrote TO me that "all such As desired might
draw nigh from nine until three"
went, accompanied by Gen. MERCER, OF
Co,,onob Naad I sav that Gap --