The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1898-11-12

SIhl SIoiuAuS upOH the ueiSHIS dDONo
magnificent view of river, hills and
town. The mother was a strict dis
ciplinarian, requiring absolute obedi-
ence from her children, and, as is we'll
known, her great son, who adored her,
said in after years: "All that l am l
owe to my mother"
When the revolution broke out Mrs.
Washington was induced to move into
the town. Her quaint little house
stands on the corner of Charles and
Lewis streets, with a hospitable porch,
two large low rooms on either side of
the hall, and a gay little garden at the
back, where the sun shines today on
the same kinds of old fashioned flow
ers which Mary Washington tended.
Her life in Fredericksburg was quiet
and simple, but it's impress still re-
mains. Daily she drove in her little
two-wheeled chaise across the river to
her farm, which she continued to SUI
perintend for many years. Her kind
ness and charity to the poor were
boundless. To the last she preserved
her independence of character. Her
daughter, Mrs. Lewis, begged her to
move to her house, that she might
watch more closely over her mothers
declining years, but she said: "My
wants are few in this life, and l feel
perfectly competent to take care of
myself"
A street and some houses now divide
her little garden from the grounds of
Kenmore, the house which Col. Field
ing Lewis built for his bride, that ma
jestic woman" Betty Washington, in
l749. 1t is a noble mansion of yellow
brick, with a handsome logia on one
side and four great chimneys. Beau
tiful old trees shade the lawn, and the
two long o W of daffodils make such
an artistic color effect that we are fain
to cry with the old poet:
Fair daffodils, we weep to see
You fade away so soon."
The W~ashingtons, the Lewises, the
Gordons and many others of their kind
have lived and died, been happy and
sorrowed within it's rooms. 1t is said
that the very intricate design over the
mantel in the banquet hall was made
by Washington himself, an Illustration
OF some AeSOpS tables.
The visitor to Fredericksburg is
shown two rooms in different houses
where Mary Washington died. The
very corner of the room, in her own
house, is pointed out where her bed
stood at the time of her death; while
at Kenmore one is told that at last,
yielding to the entreaties of Mrs. Lewis,
tha old 1ndU nnupd IN tho 1it+1o frN~+
on the second floor of her daugh-
ter's house for the closing weeks of her
life and here breathed her last.
The Fredericksburg hills rise steep
ly from the river on either side and
are crowned by large and attractive
houses. At Chatham, the Lee family
kept open house in the old days. In
1862 Burnside made it his headquarters
and from this elevated position he
could look across to Lees strongly in
trenched lines on Marye's Heights. For
weeks the two armies glowered at each
other over the poor little town and the
rushing river. Small wonder that the
negroes declare today that on any
bright night a troop of headless caval-
ry may be seen galloping around the
old house. If grim specters are ever
allowed to haunt the scenes of their
earthly sufferings and death surely
the battlefields of Fredericksburg could
furnish many such a ghostly caval-
cade.
For miles the lines of the two forces
extended and shot and shell passed
over the devoted town. But Lee could
not be persuaded to shell Chatham, and
to this sentiment many northern Off
GERS probably owed their lives.
The village of Falmouth. which
climbs up the cliffs almost to the gates
of Chatham, is singularly picturesque.
The houses are very old and have the
effect of being built on to their own
chimneys, which are enormous and
stand outside the walls. In the old
days there were fine places with ter
raced gardens in Falmouth, but it's
glory has now departed. The Marye's
house of Brompton, with it's red brick
walls and white colonnade, is a con-
spicuous object on the opposite side of
the town. 1t rises abruptly over the
scene of one of the most awful tragedies
of the war-the sunken road. where
1000 northern soldiers were sacrificed
to Burnside's mad attempt to storm
Lees impregnable position from below.
After crossing the river these brave
men marched toward the heights. I'M
conscious of the very existence of this
deep lane, shut in by high stone walls,
where confederate soldiers were lying
in wait for them. They were caught
in a trap and slaughtered, and even
after all these years the sight of this
Balaklava stirs the very soul too tru-
ly.
A green hill rises high above this
spot where, beneath the shadow of the
flag for which they died, lie many fed
eral soldiers. A great peace rests
upon this national cemetery, far above
the hustle of the town, amid trees,
flowers and bird notes. The marks of
shot and shell from which 200 guns
poured for ten successive hours into
the brave little town may never be en-
tirely effaced. From many buildings
the cannon balls have not been dis
lodged.
But the visitor from the north re-
ceives only courtesy, kindness and good
will from the Fredericksburg people,
and it is only necessary to spend a
few hours in this quaint and charming
town to be convinced that hatred and
bitterness have long since passed away
49, 49, IL