Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1888-03-04
REBEL LETTERS.
CAPTURING The UNDERGROUND MAIL TO
UINEE.
How the War Department. Learned Secrets IN the
Days of H-"Jan; You Make Hy Boy a
Cap,2,n?'-A Commission the
Owaar Never CO..

Washington. A soldier in such a position
had facilities second only to those Of the
officer in command for obtaining inside IL.
formation as to the workings Of the ire
meudOus war machinery then being put in
motion. When Sumpter was fired upon
there was a general stampede from the
Maryland side of the Potomac southwark
especially Of the men who sympathized
with the rebellion, some to join the Con
Generate forces, others to be in an atmOs-
phere c]ongenial to their sentiments.
The idea was everywhere prevalent that
the South had on her hands nothing more
serious than a monster picnic; that IN q
few days the war would be over, the
Confederacy would be recognized, and the
Maryland troops would come marching
home again, with palms in their hands and
big laurel wreaths on their chiyalriC
br0ws. Fired with patriotic impulse the
male population of Baltimore fastened
away,by~ thousands; and, as a consequence,
families and friends innumerable were sep
I arated, the women almost invariably re-
naming behind.
The scout letter carrier was the most per
~sistent; indeed, lew people attempted to
cross the lines who did not bear, concealed
in artful ways about the person, liberal
! instat,ments of letters to and from the
South. The professional underground
mail carrier charged roUndly for his ser
vices from 81 cents to 81 a letter. lie
couldn't guarantee q delivery, and, of
course, everything went at the owners
risk. The women were the most
dangerous and the most successful. The
notorious Belle Boyd who tiguredso prom
%ineutly in the early part OF the war, was
IN adept and a leader in the business OF
conducting the underground mail service,
and no man, and certainly no woman, did
the cause OF the C~OntedcrGcy better service
rs scout aud spy on the upper Potomac
than she.
Rut the sharp.eyed Yankee picket men,
stationed one within speaking distance OF
another along the frontier OF the Csnted-
eracy, soon learned their business so well
that precious few travellers Of either high
or low degree ever made the through trip
between Baltimore and lichmond. Hardly
a dav passed that one or more of these pos
tai AGENTS were not marched to division or
army corps headquarters and stripped OF
the burden OF iniOrmtli)n, always more or
less hostile and dangerous. From these
letters information was gathered about
Southern sympathilers in and a5oul'hA.i'-
more and Washington that enabled the
Government to put It's heavy hand on them
when they least expected 1t.
The mass Of captured mail matter was
enormous. At each instalment came IN to
the War Department 1t was opened and
carefully read and such information rs was
likely to prove useful for war purposes was
copied BIZ clerks and sent to the Secretary
OF War. Nearly all Of the letters that
came to headquarters were from women III
Baltimore to male relatives or friends IN
Virginia.
This Is the story Of q bundle of time
worn and travel-staiuCd Letters Low IN the
possession of q Globe man. The penman-
ship and composition indicate that many
OK the writers were OF the upper
classes. cultured and 10 doubt wealthy.
| Many of them breath sentiments OF loitlest
friendship and devotion, cOuched IN cholc-
est English. Anon they fairly hiss
with contempt for the Lincoln gov
eminent" and the Northern vaudals'
some of these missiyes, faithfully indlted
and started by the underground route, but
ordained never 10 reach their destination
have been selected at random "a showing
the feelings oil the Southern men aud Wo-
men nj q time when hostility to the gov
eminent was nj white heat, and "Aen
grim.visaged war had sounded his dread
alarm in the ears Ola startled nation.
To begin with, however, comes an orig
inal commission creating q son OF General
Dravlou lieutenant and ald-de-camp, IL Is
issued by the war department OF the I'h-
r.Err3ry. and bears the Clear-cut signature
of Judah T.. Benjamin as secretary OF war.
The document il a common double letter
sheet. the blank form being a very poor
specimen of the Job printers art:
"CONFEDERATESTA oFAMEElCA
'"vAE DEPARTMENT.
'RIcHuoNp, oct. {, 1851.
"SIR-YOu are hereby informed that the
President has appointed you
FIRST LIEUTENANT, A. ID. C.,
I'm the Provisional Army in the service OF
/ ,ha Confederate States. IOu are requested
IN signify your acceptance or nou-lccept-
auce of said appointment. Should you
accent. you will sign before a magistrate
fine oath of Office herewith and forward the
same. with your letter OF acceptance, TO
| tbis drplrtment. Report tor duty to Cen
cral dayton.
"TrnIHP. BESJANIS, Sec'y OF War.
.. - . I "a h~RutRn AIDA de-
Camp.
"Geul. Ripley
Then comes letter from some one who
knew the need Of caution. The letter Is
| neither addressed, dated nor signed, and
was evidently to be delivered in person by
the carrier.
IN my last. written last week, | meE-
| toned having received yours OF Nov " al"
that / had sent to q certain lady a certain
sum of money. have seen a letter OF yours
( ainra 70 81 ". G." in which you mention
/ her and request him to call on me, giving
NV name in foil and the number on my
I residence. ;
Now must beg you ard all friends rel
! thpr TO write out names IN iuI ana resi-
deuca. Il is dangerous III the tAirg'ae'
Write references, hut never names. IL j,
| The cause of Il great deal Of %tTou''c, ana
| causes suspicion to attach for namss to the
/ ~r,vtita who so constantly seize ana l"lri
| cent correspondence. Letter IN large nun
hers are thrown into the first postciice the
carrier comes to, and a country postmaster
knows very well that letters IN
such numbers cannot come from
the thinly- Inhabited neighOorhooa.
Ue at C suspects, anu
in ~onsequcuce the mail is sent to thHs
Mace Of all others where the writers would
least of all like their correspondence to 90.
Ycu cannot imagine how impTudent some
Of those in your section OF country are IN
the matter OF writing and the difficulties
| in ~orsequenc that their friends here nave
becnme involved in. Mrs.-will NOT SUI
fer. be assured, for want Of friends anu as
sistauce. | have not heard from her YET
in reply 10 my last, but am every dAy e&-
~,sc,;rg O. letter 2
Please write to Mrs, Hey and irI' ntI
that the party who borrowed Gn'huNn 8
rifle IS ali right and will ere long have tue
-H