The Portland daily press., 1886-09-25
WITHIN the REBEL LINES.
Interesting Observations of an Eng
Iish officer of Southern Synnpa-
tnies.


Interesting Observations of an Eng
lish officer of Southern Synpa-
thies.
San Francisco Call.
Among the books relating to the late war
of the rebellion, one of the most interesting
is 'sThree Months in the Southern States
1t is becoming extremely rare, and there are
probably but few copies extant. The one
|. before us bears the imprint of S. H. GoetZel,
Mobile, 1864. 1t could hardly be styled an
Edition de luxe" The paper is by nc
means aristocratic; about one remove in
daily to our kitchen doors around steaks anC
chops. The binding is rather more preten-
tious and acknowledging nothing more OF
less than wall paper of an intricate but old
fashioned pattern In the latter days of the
Confederacy leather was scarce and dear,
so, that like solid men at the North who hap
pened to be drafted, they were obliged to
find substitute. These wallpaper editions
are now much sought after by collectors OF
curious books, and, in consequence, will
soon be out of the market The author of
the little volume in question is Lieutenant
Colonel Fremantle, of the Codstream Guards
the crack regiment of the United Kingdom
| Obtaining leave of absence early in 1863, he
| sailed for Havana, and was taken from
| thence in man-0f-war to MatamoraS, on the
Rio Grande, opposite Brownsville, Texas
From this point he made his way through
the length and breadth of the Southern Con
| federacy. He visited all the armies, the
| leading cities, and took occasion to interview
| the principal men south of Mason and Dix
| on's line. AS the guest of Lee ana Long
street he witnessed the battle of Gettysburg
| after which he made his way to London via
| New York. He has thrown his racy nara
| tive into the form of diary, although there
is internal evidence of the fact that some
portions, at least, were written up after his
return.
The account of the condition of affairs at
Richmond is of absorbing interest So are
the personal sketches and the interviews
with leading men, particularly those with
Benjamin and Jefferson Davis. Both OF
| them put the Southern case to him with won
derful shrewdness. Benjamin he describes
as "a stout, dapper little man of Hebrew ex
traction and undoubted talent" His plar
for recognition by England of the Southern
| CoDfederacy was ingenious enough. He
| told Col. Fremantle that the civil war was
| anything but a rebellion, for in order to be q
has right to govern: And what right has
New York to govern Virginia? His sugges-
ton was that England should at once seize
California, which was unprotected, and an
mex it to British Columbia, and then block
AIDE every Northern port. This bait thrown
out to excite English cupidity was not the
orhy hint of the kind.
Col Fremantle called on jefferson Davis,
who seems to have made great impression
on him. Nothing can exceed" he says,
1.-The charm of his manner which is simple,
easy and most fascinating" Mr.. Davis
| secs" Mr. Benjamin and ''goes him one bet
| ter" He solemnly assures the Colonel that
| if England intervenes instantly Maine will
| join Canada, as the more intelligent people
| of that State have horror of being under
the thumb of Massachusetts" This aston
| lshing bit OF news, warranted to be gospe
| truth, would have excited inextlnguishable
laughter among the people of the old Pine
tree State. After visiting the Capitol ant
\ inspecting the flags captured from the Fed
eral troops, which were very gorgeous-al
| silk and gold,' our tourist obtains letters tt
| Lee and LongStreet and starts for the front
In passing through the Shenandoah Vale,
he made but few entries in his diary. On
of them is to this effect: ''Stonewall Jack
see-sae,aas be regular demigod in this
mac. The Whole army is heading f6ifs "ft eeffff
SylVanla. He soon catches up with the
marching column and admires the appear
ance of the men-their reckless, -hant
manner manner and nonchalance, their perfect conf
without half trying. This picture is no
| oyerdrawn, for it is well known that at M
| period of the war were the Southern troop
SO well fed, clothed and equipped and Sc
| eager for a fight. as they were on the marcel
to Gettysburg.
Col. Fremantle oyertakes Longstreet
whom he describes as thick-set, deter.
mlned-looking, taciturn man, presents his
letters. and is at once invited to the mess
table of the staff and made at home in every
way. At Chambersburg Longstreet present:
the traveller to Gen. Lee. He describes hin
| as, without exception, the handSomest mar
| he had ever seen. He was dressed in long
| gray jacket, blue trousers, tucked-in riding
| boots and a black felt hat three stars on his
collar denoted his rank. He was splendidly
| mounted; his manner was courteous and full
of dignity. At this point an amusing Incl
dent occurred. Hoods Texans were to plum
der the town. Lee refused to permit this
o9t detailed them to destroy some barrels OF
whiskey which had been seized for the use OF
the army, but it did not prove to be conyen-
lent to carry them away, Think" says
Fremantle, what those poor Texans must
have suffered in being obliged to destroy
their beloved Whiskey.'
Now comes the most interesting chapter
In the book by all odds: the battle of Gettys-
burg, as it appeared to a man up tree, fol
the Colonel roasted in the top of tall pine
on Seminary Ridge, and had good view of
the conflict. He was with Longstreet's corps
on the LIST Of July. The troops were then
hurrylng along the Chambersburg road. Re-
yerDeratlng among the hills-which are the
walls OF the pass through the South Noun
talns-came the boom of distant artillery.
reynolds ana Buferd had struck A. T. HilPs
corps, which was in advance. As the after
noon wore on long procession of wounded
In ambulances and on stretchers, began to
pass by on the way to the rear. Some of
these sufferers were frightfully mangled, but
so accustomed had the marching column be-
come to the horrors of war that they scarcely
took any notice as they passed. They showed
neither excitement nor enthusiasm, but the
most complete indifference. Fighting had
become an every day business with them.
About four o'clock he comes in sight of
Gettysburg. The boys in blue at the mo-
ment were falling back through the town.
ana taking position on Cemetery Ridge. The
description of the field and of the position of
the opposing forces is wonderfully graphic.
the second day, we find the Colonel on his
perch in the top of the tree. A few feet
away, sometimes conversing with A. p. Hill
but generally sitting on stump and alone,
is General Lee. He is watching, with his
feld-glass, the progress of the fight. During
message 1t is clear" says the Colonel,
that Lee arranges his plan of battle very
fully and completely at the outset, and leaves
the details to his able lieutenants."
The next morning Fremantle rides with
Longstreet over the field, and gives vivid
description of the terrible scene. The dead
were still unburied and hundreds of dying
men turned their glazed eyes toward the par
nonade opened on the third day the Colonel
finds his tree in the path of the flying mis-
siles. He rode into town, but even there the
air is alive with Shells which burst around
MIN. a little boy who is riding with him
takes diabolical pleasure in this exhibition
OF fireworks, and screams with delight every
time bomb explodes ''This urchin was
only twelve years DID, said the writer; 81
never found out who he was" The Colonel
returns to his pine tree resolved to take the
chances. Pickett, in the meantime, had
made his famous charge, and had been re-
pulsed. The wounded are already returning
through the woods, some hobbling on crutch-
es improVised from two rifles, others are car
ried on stretchers. The procession grows
larger. AT last there is perfect stream of
them "like the crowd in Oxford street dur
ing the middle of the day." He finds Long
street sitting on a fence overlooking the
field He explains what has happened, and
rides off to rally the men and give orders.
Fremantle is very enthusiastic, and Justly
so. over General Lees conduct at this very
serious Juncture, and is very positive in his
opinion, that if the Federal General had fol-
lowed up his success instantly, his army
would have been in terrible position, so far
from home and with so little ammunition
left.
After the battle Longstreet tells him two
facts-that the action had been
brought on prematurely, by the advance and
attack Of Buford and Reynolds. This disar-
ranged Lees plans, and forced a general bat
lie at once. And again that fatal mistake
had been made in not making the final
charge, with twice the number of men: this
,ould have been done by contracting the