The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-02-03

OF Davis and his cabinet, be had issued an
order in regard to the safe keeping Of GER
tain articles belonging to the department.
Ever since the day on which this letter was
written the archives of the posooifice depart
ment that still remained in Richmond had
been in strong wooden cases, ready for i'm
mediate shipment. The extremely threatens
ing condition OF affairs around the capital
city had practically paralyzed the postal
service, and, as in all other de- artments Of
the government. the employees were only
waiting with apprehension the end Of the
struggle between Lee and Grant.
On that April Sunday the railroad
switches at Richmond were filed with box
cars ready at the disposal Of the govern
ment, aud the last meeting OF the confeder-
ate cabinet at Richmond had hardly closed
when the orders from heads of departments
caused the seizure OF almost every available
wagon in the city for the work of removing
TO the railway station the archives of the
various departments. The loading of the
heavy cases of books and papers on these
wagons and their movement to ward the
railway station was the first notice to most
OF the people of Richmond that the
city was to be evacuated by the
confederate government. The order
from Reagan was for wagon trans
portaton for about two carloads of property
Of this department and two cars TO be set
apart for their reception and transmission.
These things were to be in charge of II. st.
George Offutt and the other chiefs of bu-
reaus. On the same afternoon Gen. Reagan
wrote an order on a half sheet of blue paper,
and in writing that shows now under what
excitement the missive was prepared, di-
rected to all quartermasters or other gov
eminent officers or agents, stating this
authority he had vested IN the chiefs Of the
postal bureaus for the transmission south
ward from Richmond OF the important
documents and other property of the depart
ment.
Before sunset the records Of the war,
state and various bureaus of the postofiice
department were passing out out of Rich
mond on the Danvills rood. They were
bound for Chester. a town of some size
which still was garrlsoned by Confederate
soldiers, III the northern part Of South Car
olina. The long flight south from Rich
moDd OF the government employees in charge
OF the many carloads Of the effects of the
administrative department was made with
all possible speed as far rs Salisbury, n. &.
Here raiders sfrom the union forces had set
fire to railroad bridge across the river,
and the train came to a stop Col. Otfutt,
speaking OF the exciting experiences of this
eventful trip, describes an incident at this
point that well illustrates the state Of
terrible confusion into which the affairs
of the government at this time had
fallen. The destruction Of the river bridge
had caused a vast accumulation of military
stores at the station south of Salisbury be-
fore the trains containing the government
archives arrived. On the station aud freight
house platforms were huge piles of boxes
containing ammunition that hal been hastily
unloaded from the cars which were needed
TO return for other supplies that were IN
danger of capture. 1t was necessary to IN
load the department records also, and Col.
ORutt had left the cars and was advancing
toward the platform to arrange for this
work. With him was 8. Y. McNair,
now resident Of Tennessee, who was then a
clerk in the .confederats postoffice depart
ment.
All day long the refugees from Lees fast
diminishing army had been passing through
Salisbury on their way to their homes. the
soldiers were animated with the spirit of in
dividual proprietorship in all that belonged
to the army, aud the property at tbs rail-
road station had suffered accordingly. The
cases of ammunition had been broken open
in search for rifle powder. Not finding
what they wanted, or finding more of it
than they could carry away. the refugees
had loft the broken cases open and thu con-
tents Of many of them were scattered about
the platform. Fixed ammunition and car
tridges and artillery powder we're thus ex-
posed az the department train drew up near
tu6 SOls OiLubb udu udIuIy OD-
served this state OF alarming chaos when bis
eye was attracted to a rickety old engine
coming down the track toward the station,
scattering live Goals from its leakY fire-box
as it jounced over the poorly kept rails.
THAT engine is going to cause a terrible
explosion said Col. Offutt, land L am go~
ing to get out of the way.n The two men
ran as fast as their legs would carry them
McNair dropped behind a heavy wagon
Col OnutH eyok 70 o,,o,,r,b in, tbo
rear of the wall of an old warehouse to be
safe from being buried under the masonry
should the explosion that be was so sure of
blow it down. The two men had hardly
taken these precautions to save themselves
when there was terrific roar and the air
was full of flying fragments OF the old en-
CINE, the woodwork Of the station and the
cases of ammunition that had stood on its
platform. The first explosion was followed
by others and the people OF Salisbury and
the union soldiers in the Salisbury prison
pen thought bombardment Of the town
had begun.
In spite OF the disturbed condition OF
affairs at this late date, the archives finally
were got away from Salisbury, ferried
across theriver, and carried by train on
the Danville road to Charlotte. They
arrived there, however, only to find Davis
and his cabinet gone, aud the archives were
destruction Of books and documents of the
war and state departments. but the post
office archives were carefully stored in
cellar under the village postoffice. On the
9th Col. Offutt received n dispatch from
Reagan, dated at the Catawba river. The
extreme scarcity Of paper in the south at
this time is shown by the fact that this dis
patch is written on both sides Of two tiny
scraps that might almost have been
cut from the margin of a newspaper.
The telegram was an order to "come on
by way of Chester and Newbury to Cokes-
bury, where you will meet me-" Before
any steps could be taken to obey this order,
the last of the great confederate armies had
surrendered and United States officer had
visited Chester and paroled all the people OF
the town and taken charge of the official
records of the confederacy, including the
postoffice department archives. Incident
ally there is one item of interest in this dis
patch that records fact not mentioned in
the histories Of the confederate government.
It is the statement that John h. Reagan for
a brief period was secretary of the treasury
in jefferson DAVIS cabinet. 1t was, how
ever, at Uime when nearly oil that re-
manned of the confederacy was the little
group of hopeless men who were seeking
safety in flight with Jefferson Davis. AT
the Catawba river, fireman, the secretary
of the treasury since Davis cabinet was
appointed at Montgomery, complained or
such illness that he was carried across the
river In an ambulance. He then resigned
from the cabinet, left the Davis party and
returned to his home IN Charleston. Reagan
was appointed to take his place, and he re-