Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1867-05-17
Correspondence of the Journal of Commerce.
Studies i'm the Shenandoah Valley.
WINCHESTER, Va, April 30,

Harper's Ferry to this place little has been
done, except by the kindly hand of Nature,
to repair the ravages of war. Piles OF
brick, apparently lying just where they fell,
mark the sites of the Armory and work
shops at the Ferry. On the hill above the
churches. From the valley you can see
through their burned-out windows to the
blue sky beyond-a weird and picturesque
effect. There are curious things here,
which are sure to be pointed out to you.-
One is the profile of Washington which a
powerful imagination describes among the
angular rocks, near the top of the Mary
land heights. [ looked anXiously for it,
and to oblige my cicerone, confessed that
thought saw it. Another standing object
of interest is the ricketty old engine house,
the point d'appui of John Browns raid. AT
the Ferry, and at Charlestown, some miles
up the valley, where he was executed, you
hear quite as much of John Brown as OF
Sheridan. Time has softened his memory,
and the people speak of him more kindly
than of some of the later raiders. There is
not much at Harper's Ferry now to tempt
a traveller to stay, unless he has leisure fol
d "trip to the frowning heights across the
Potomac, and the Shenandoah, and back
of the town. The game Of long taw played
between the batteries on Maryland and
Loudon heights must have been noisy and
exciting. The chill of the April wind, like
the echoing rattle of the cars, seems to be
multiplied hundred fold in these gorges.
In summer, when the sombre crags are
covered with foliage [ should like to climb
! them f.: but now let me button up my over
coat and catch the train for Winchester.
AS we ascend the valley and reach the
| open country, we get into warmer air.
no Nd in full II \.
| tie wheat is up three or four inches the
| trees Except the sycamore) are in leaf
But through this mask Of greenery and
flowers we see always the unhealed gashes
of war. The stone mills which once dotted
this beautiful valley are burned down, and
the people have not the heart to rebuild
them. Nothing fits more gracefully into q
landscape than a mill, with its great wheel
in slow motion. The foam and sparkle Of
the waters, and the sleepy hum Of the burr
stones are delightful to the senses. But q
mill in ruins is the saddest Of objects, be
cause it is a type of war in its most ferO-
ciOus aspect. Forts, stOckades, or tempo
rary earthworks, the contour of which is
still undisturbed, are 70 be seen at promi-
nent points on both sides of the railroad.
For miles the fences are all destroyed, the
rails having been removed and burned by
one army or the other, as the tide of vic
tory and defeat oscillated up and down the
valley. Even the stone walls are part
down, the upper row Of boulders having
been knocked off, it is said, by cavalry
charging over them though that story
smachs of the incredible. From Opequon
Greek to Winchester, where one of the
most obstinate and decisive battles of the
war was fought, there is a clean strip of
country as far as the eye can see, north and
south. It looks like the rolling unfenced
prairie of Illinois. Waterloo or Sadowa
might have been fought here. It is the
traditional battle field of which we have
often read, comprising within it's limits
some small orchards and few lonely farm
houses, and traversed by three or four
roads, which we're the general lines of adj
vance and retreat for both sides. The roofs
and spires of Winchester in the far back
ground fill up the picture. For a dis
lance of six miles from the Opequon to
this quaint old town, the battle Of the
10Th of September, 1854, ragged with fuc
tuating fortunes from daylight until dark.
It was fair stand up, give-and-take fight,
worthy of veterans Of the 9th Corps on one
side and of Jackson's old force on the
other, and ended, as the whole world
knows, in ,one of the most complete and
important victories achieved by the Federal
troops in that year. For deeds Of personal
daring, especially on the part Of the con-
tending cavalry, led by such gallant fellows
as Torbert, Averill and Custer on one side,
and Eitz Lee and LomaX on the other, this
battle is unmatched III our annals. But [
do not propose to light it over again for
your readers, though, if space permitted, /
could tell some things about the battle
which would be new and possibly interest,"
ing. Sheridan's report of the affair, L be-
iieve, has never been published.
This natural battlefield is for the most
parts covered with grass. There arc occa-
sional patches Of wheat, which is uncom-
ground were shown me which have been
rented by Northern soldiers atH low figure,
and promise goodly crops. There Is no
better and surer wheat ground i'll the world
than this in the Shenandoah Valley, from
twenty to forty bushels an acre being com
mon yield. But at present the people lack
the money, and what is of more Importance,
the confidence IN the future disposition Of or
qoUey'nnaent, necessary to carry on any en-
terprise successfully. Of this more further
on. The only signs of vitality, OF rather
of ife-in-death that [ discovered in this
magnificent battle-tract, were going on at
the Union cemetery, Just outside Of Via
chester. Here the burial corps were rein
the terrible battles Of the Valley. Tall
white boards at present mark their resting
places, soon to be replaced by iron head
pieces dipped in zinc, and practically indie
structible.
Winchester is especially interesting to
the Northern tourist, because it is one of
the oldest and was one of the most aristo
cratic towns in Virginia. Nowhere else,
not even at Richmond, did the proud blood
of the genuine Virginia stock assert itself
more loftily. When the war broke out all
the wealth, fashion and intellect of Win
chester sided with the South. Twenty
of her young men were killed at the first
battle of Bull Run, and nearly every other
battle in the State made mourning in her
homes. She was at once the shield and the
target of the contending forces in all the
great struggles for the possession of the
valley. SEVENTY. TX times Winchester W. s
taken and retaken. In the morning the
rebels and in the evening the federals
would be in tranquil possession. While
gray cavaliers were galloping at one end of
the long street which runs through the
town, horsemen in blue would be scamper