Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1889-10-28

found a home here. Certainly there
are enough of them in the two cities.
Alexandria seems to be about as in
war times. A little depot on the
west side of the town, a large plat of
dirty, cheap buildings on the out
skirts greet the eye as we start on
the Orange and Alexandria route
south. The line of the railroad up
across the turnpike and along the
little creek is the same as when the
armies went up and down the route
as they advanced and returned from
the Centerville and Manassas coun-
try. There are only a few buildings,
and those small and poor, before
reaching Manassas. At Fairfax sta
ton we found the depot standing op-
posite where the old army storehouse
stood. There are few buildings
here, and on the hill west is a com
Portable store, a house or two, and
farther off Catholic church. The
depot is connected with a Virginia
grocery and both are dirty as Virgin
ia mud. tobacco filth and common
house dirt and refuse can make them.
There were few lazy, dirty-looking
citizens loafing about. They were
pleased to receive a visit from some
of the Yankees of the North and were
very talkative and obliging. We Wis
tied the exact spot where the 10th
Regt. was encamped. 1t appears to
have been cleared up after the war,
cultivated for time and then turned
out to grow up to scrub pines and
oaks. The old r. r. station which
was known as Union Mills has gone
down and only a shattered old build
ing shows where it once was. A new
and better station is made mile
north, known as Clifton. We went
out to Bull Bun bridge and found it
a solid structure. The hills appear
to have receded some in the last
26 years and there are bushes and
trees to hide the old familiar sights,
but it all seemed about as when we
left it to take our rapid march into
Maryland and Pennsylvania in June,
1868. We found here the old Penn
sylvanian, whose property was raid
ed over during war times by both
armies. He lost his property at that
time, but he begun again and appears
to be well to do to-day. He was ia
miliar with the scenes of the war and
could tell to-day when the most i'm
portant events occurred.
We went up on to the ridges west
of the Mills and fixed some of the
places where the regiments had their
camping grounds during the spring
while picketing and guarding the
railroad. Our Pennsylvania friend
took his team and carried us to Cen
terville, Fairfax Court House, and
thence to Fairfax Station. The day
was beautiful and the trip much
more pleasant one than had been
some of our tramps over the same
grounds on foot years ago. Center
Vile has not overcome the ruin of the
war. 1t is out hamlet. The old
stone church, few dwelling houses,
a store and rum saloon make about
all there is of it. We saw what q
rum saloon is in its natural and un-
molested state. A miserable hole,
dirty with a hundred kinds of filth :;
the keeper poor, blear-eyed wretch.
We were glad, however, to learn that
the efforts of the temperance people
in Fairfax county, under the working
of the Good Templars, have made
liquor drinking and liquor selling so
unpopular and Improbable that many
of the saloons were closing up. We
got on to the 'Billy Malone side of
politics and found that he was looked
upon by that side of thinking as the
Moses who is to lead the people into
the Canaan land. Fences have been
built in place of those destroyed by
the armies, bushes and trees have
changed the aspect somewhat, but the
general appearance of the country is
the same as it was 25 years ago. The
Warrington turnpike, running thro'
Centerville Fairfax Court House, etc. :,
has been allowed to run down so that
it is not as good as it was when Gen.
Mcdowell first sent his artillery car
riages over it. Fairfax Court House
the name of little village which
is the county seat of Fairfax county
is not unlike in size the village of
Bloomington, though not as thrifty
and well kept. A few good houses,
the court house, ETC., and a few
stores is what there is of it. We
went to the house where the some
what celebrated Miss Ford is said to
have toyed with Gen. Stoughton,
while she was plotting his betrayal
into Moseby's hands. We well re-
member this profane, drinking and
vile, though smart brigadier, who was
cutting a great swagger with the Yer
mont I'd brigade, and have an indis-
tinct remembrance that no tears were
shed when he was hustled off toward
Richmond by the guerrilla-troopers,
a prisoner. At Fairfax we fell in
with several citizens who were more
than anxious to talk. They express
ed desire to have their county again
invaded by the Yankees-this time