Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1888-10-18
CHAPTER yIiL.
THAT NfaHr Ar rlcnMnNn.

IT WIS tic - - Cs4N Oh fHDEHttfNs 'lcl3.
The army had Wintcred close 10 Winchester,
and the campaign was about to cpen with
grand review before General sheridan Il
was a splendid sisht, that yoa would go
many u pile 70 see in these piping times of
peacaI but there were no on-lookors, the
blinds of neighboring houses were all
draWa down, and not q curious face pccped
furtively out, nor came a soul frola WIN
chester to witness the gallant doings.
Think of Il. fourteen thousaad cavalry
endless lines Of infantry, and City batter
les Ct artillery, all il thcir best, with the
spring sun shining on their ranks.
1t was q long ride FOR Sheridan chat day
to pass before the extended ranks. On
starting hc was accompanied by his STAFF,
brave in fuhshcd Uniforms, bat by de-
grccs, as horse after horse saccumbed to
fatigue, there was nothing left q the gay
cavacada but tho General hillaof en- his
tireless black charger, And the most sim
gular part Of it all was, that when tho long
ride was over, every soldier in iinc was
ready to swear that ShcrlGan's eyes looked
straight into his with especially approving
glance.
Two days aftorward, ut four o'clock in
the morning, This splendid host set forth
to fulfill its destiny. They captured Staun-
ton, passed Waynesboro, aud marched
along the muddy roads to Charlottesville.
Little did Harry think, when he vent a
soldering, that high academic honors would
be conferred upon him; that il feet, he
would be appointed temporary ccnservatpr
of the third greatest university of this
country, but 80 it was. AS tho Union
troops approached the city cagor dcpGta-
tons of burghcr3 and college authorities
came forward 70 pray tho clemcncy Of the
invaders, and to Winthrcp'6 guardian care
was con1ded tho protection az those classic
halls which have made Virginia illuStri3us
rs homo of learning. Dat am afraid
these registering troopers enjoyed tho good
fare the rich city provided great deal
more than the honor accrulag from their
protectorate Of college dons.
Then they struck the james river and de-
stroyed every lock and mill they came to,
reaching Hanover junction, where they
had brush with Plckett's division, which
Harry Winthrop declares to this day was
the best in the Confederate army, and final
ly joined Grant ct Petersburg.
Meanwhile Lees position was becoming
utterly desperate, for every day Grants
grip upon him was Tightening with tho
cruelty of an avenging Nemesis, and the
only hope left to him was to steal away and
join Johnston.
On the 1st day of April Sheridan, with
nine thousand sabers aud heavy columns Of
infantry, drove his force like wedge be-
hind the Confederate position at Five Forks,
twelve miles southwest Of Petersburg; and,
assailed in front and rear, the garrison
was overwhelmed, and five thousand men
were taken prisoners.
The next morning at four O'Clock the
oil Ia 1srbg oil
front, and the Confederate line Of intreneh-
ments was broken and thousands Of prison
ers were captured.
Oh, that sad, sad Sunday at Richmond
The churches We're fun of people pitifully
praying for Divine interference to avert
the calamity they trcmblcd to think was
beyond the power Of human aid Even as
Jefferson Davis sat in his pew, the bitter
tidings were brought him, and men read in
his paliid face the beginning Of the end Of
their heroic struggle. From lips to lips
were passed the fatal words Richmond
must fall Then the streets yero filed
with men, women and children, rushing in
wild lamentation they knew not whittier,
while even in that supreme hour OF misery
the figures Of busy plundercrs might be
seen doing their unholy work regardless
Of the suffering around them. In vain tho
city fathers tore from the warehouses the
whisky barrels and poured their contents
into tue cutters, men wer9 found oven III
that dread hour reeling like demons through
the streets, and when night came and Gen
Grad Ewall fired the great tobacco houses,
and the flames leapal with uncomfortable
fury from street to street, tho crisis Of
Indebtedness was reached by tho terror
stricken Inhabitants
rtsaf trrfaA s..Bt
were evacuated, and Lee, having done all
that man could DO passed With the wreck
Of that splendid array with which he had
struck the Union forces SO many crushing
blow out into tho open country, with there
lentless Sheridan hanging on his ilanks
In all history whore is there parallel Of
the heroic suilerings Of Lees fugitive host?
Beset on all sides by relentless foe, ragged
and spiritbro driven by the pangs OF
hunger to cat the young shoots Of trees, with
the CHATTER Of the pursuing cavalry in their
ears ii for a moment they fingered for rest,
they wandered on III grim despair, And
when the last supreme moment was come
and tho long ranks Of the Union army
brlstled in their front, they rallied to their
gallant leaders order to form for the
charge.
But Grants letter TO Lee, demanding sur
render and Offering terms of generous
treatment, aycrted what would haVe been
one Of the bloodicst tragedies OF the war
the slaughter of men who, sight or wrong,
had fought like heroes
SO, on the 9th day Of April, 1865, tbs
Army of Virginia laid down its arms, and
the men who had periled so much for sen
tinant, were no longer Confederate soldiers,
but simply citizens, and Noethcrner aud
Southerner fraternized and conversed in
words Of sympathy and respect
"Why, surely this is Walter Fro
bisham Y Harry cried, grasping the hand 81
pale, cmaciated young fellow, who stood