National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1885-11-07
A WAR WASTED COUNTRY.
THE FORMER HOME OF PROSPERITY
AND HOSPITALITY.
A Graphic But Grlovous Picture of
spotsylvania 60 Tho Social and Bust
ness Ruin of Grand Old Section of
Virginia.

traveller from some fertile and prosper
ous section of our country this fragment of
the "Old Dominion" must present sad
spectacle. Once the center of pride, of
wealth, and chivalry, IL Is now a scene OF
desoation Mansions which held between
their frescoed walls the elite of beauty aud
fashion now molder ito decay. Broad
acres of tobacco and corn are now grown
with pines. Ditch fences, built when fields
Of grain stretched away on either side,
hurled deep In the forest; lonely apple
trees, where grand old orchards stood, and
caDins that once sheltered the slave from
the storms OF winter, looming up drearily
from negl ected fields.
Three decades have worked many changes.
All around and everywhere are the rayagcs
Of war and time. Only few fading me-
mentoes recall the past, and these point TO
new order OF being. Beyond It's genial
skies, its breeZes tempered by the southern
sun, its bright green hill and dale, there Is
little TO claim our admiration, but much
which demands sympathy and charity.
a soil already sterile, but made less fruitful
by periodic and long continued droughts; II
community already poor, but poorer from
hopeless resignation TO its condition; a
large negro population, degraded by non
Observance OF hygienic and moarl laws; n
school system limited and defective,
and state OF society inoxplicablc
without reference 10 the past to-
getber form subject grave enough to
excite pity when wonder and philosophy
are exhausted. A Bentham would specti-
late upon the moral causes and propose a
remedy. Only miracle can change physi-
cal properties of soil, or instill new energy
into people disheartened by the cruel en-
vironments of nature. In ante-bellum DAYS
~ o1uyapu tyhiot,
defects. Men grew rich upon the increase
ofsoil and slave together, Up and a-feld
before the dawn of day, driven to SUPER
human efforts by the whip, and only ceas-
ing when evenings twilight was gone, the
slave forced from the reluctant earth a
bounteous harvest. Now serf labor has dis
appeared, and SO also has the prosperity
which IL created.
This, We are told, gives colors to the
"rebel'' plea Of necessity and mitlgates tho
enormity OF his offense. Slavery was his
God. Its overthrow means Unbelievable
ruin OF pride, of caste, and of power. Civil
war added fame to "Spot's Woodland
Within Its borders three great battles
were fought-Fredericksb Spotsylvania
Court House, and the Wilderness. Here
Grant and Lee discovered each Others
genius and grew weary Of stratagem. Here
the "bluen and the "gray'' astonished the
world with feats Of valor, and there min
gled their bones in the dust. But fame is
not a co-essential of fortune and
material resources are rarely increased
by. Understanding battle names. Spot
sylvania gained no more than her
sister counties from interneclne strife.
Fire and sword were followed By deyasta-
ton and ruin. Starvation fingered around
hearthstones which had been the abiding
place OF luxury and plenty. Under the
silent stars came the afflicted one, the
widow and orphan praying for help, which
never came. Possessed of bare lands, with
out buildings, stock, harness, or even the
nccessaries of life, the wretched inhabitants
were compelled, like pioneers, to start
anew. Houses were built Of rough .hewn
logs plastered with mud; harness made of
bark withcs, and vehicles rldiculously
fashioned from the remnants of the OK cart
and family carriage. Years elapsed before
the simplest luxuries became possible, and
to-day their condition is but slightly i'm.
proved.
One Of the social problems of this Sec
ton is the negro. Nowhere are his peculiar
characteristics so strongly revealed as in
the old slave counties OF Virginia. Pre-
vailing ignorance and restricted familiar
ity with the white citizen have developed
two singular notions. One is that the formal
ities OF marriage are unnecessary; the other
is hostile indifference to public opinion
Merely living together, and reasoning that
the old slave owner deemed 1t legal and
just to unite their progcnitors many con-
clude that this relation Is sufficient.
Stunned and neglected by his white neigh
Dor, prejudice has intensified into a spirit
Of half dislike, particularly noticeable in
the rising generation.
Separate churches, separate schools, sep
arafe opinions upon politics, separate ideas
of virtue, and his isolation from the social
and moral influence of the dominant race is
almost complete. An instance of opinion
Is that concerning the elective franchise.
The right to vote is regarded as property
benefit, to be exercised or disposed of In the
option of the holder. Hence negro votes
are often the subject of purchase and
sale. This gross violation OF principle is
met with an excuse of poverty, or IL Is
urged that negro votes fail through
dishonest count, or else the argu-
ment is advanced that the negro
derives no :, real advantage from either
Legislation o politics, and therefore the sale
OF his ballot is the requirement Of its only
available worth. The venality Is to be
much deprecated, but in other respects the
negro inclines to good order, and when en-
ployed makes fair workman at minimum
hire. Among the white residents sentl-
ment prevails on the subject Of labor, which
Is alike injurious to race and creed-Labor
is dishonorable. "No gentleman or gentle
woman ever labors" is common maxim.
To soil the hand with honest toll is to de-
scend to the level OF negros and low whites.
II is the evil genius Of the "Mother state"
II puts industry on a par with crime and
offers premium to idleness. II creates the
famous "casten distinctions and labels an
honest toiler "low.n 1t distinguishes be-
tween low whites and high whites; between
the worthy plebeian and the "F. +. VS."
between the high-born gentleman OF the
blood and commoners. War failed TO obllt-
crate these landmarks of pride. They still
indicate boundary lines over which no ig-
noble foot may pass Antipathios arising
from their violation are as hateful as the
mutual intrusions OF Brahmin aud Parlah
in the Indian polity. No slow whiten may
aspire to the hand OF blue-blooded south
ern lady, even though educational ana pc
cuDiary advantages lie with the former. He
needs n lineage OF rank and power.
Another influence affecting society Is a
general antagonism to all northerners. Out
OF 100 families who settled here soon after
The war only thirteen remain. The others
long since journeyed back to northern
homes, where political enmity and social
ostracism are not the rule. Opposition to
the "Yankeen rarely went beyond social
exclusion. AT first 1t verged upon the ex-
tremes OF violence, and cases are known
where reputed bravery alone saved northern
men from the assasslns bullet. A speaker,
greatly admired for his originality and
spirit, after animadvertlng upon the north
and its "mud sills," ended In glowing
tribute OF praise to God that his farms
had been fortified with Yankee blood.
Such preiudices initiate against the public
veal. Here II caused immediate disaster.
Northern thrift was needed TO restore In
some measure the prosperity of former
times. A new and energetic element was
required to fill mighty void. 1t came, was
rejected and retired. Property values de-
prcciated, enterprise waned, wealth de-
creased, and to-day Spotsylvania is one Of
the poorest counties in Virginia, Thus has
an old, aristocratic, and prosperous center
fallen away from its high rank and place;
ITS ancient records blurred nv the reyolu.