The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1898-12-15
IN 4 BELEAGURED CITY.
LIFE IN PETERsBURGH, VA, DURING
GRANTS EEMORABLE SIEGE.

" HILE Yorktown was invested, 20
lumbia burned and Fredericksburg
bombarded. the residents of Peters
burg were expected to 90 on with the
daily routine Of business with balls
and shells dropping down on their
house tops. When Grant first made
a dash for the city and was halted
mile and a half away, there was a
greet panic among the people and
thousands Of them fed 10 Richmond.
But many returned after short ab
seEce. Richmond was overcrowded.
prices were enormous, and want of
money obliged many to return and
face the greater dangers.
Every street and square IN Peters
burg was exposed to the fire Of Grant 5
artillery from the first, and, as he
continued to push his lines, a portion
Of tie town was subjected to a cross
fire. The Federal commander made
no formal demand for the surrender
Of the city. and therefore gave no
warning for the removal of non
colnbatants Had he done so, however,
it would have made 10 great differ
encp. Some few families had rela-
tiyes further south, and a very few
h8d enough wealth to warrant them
in desertiug their homes, but the
great majority reasoned that they
would suffer more by leaving the
doomed city than by remaining and
taking the chances. Thus it came
about that women and children en-
dured ana experienced the same
hardships and dangers as the soldiers
quartered in the town.
The only outlets were TO the south.
Batteries thnndered to the north and
west, and the country to the east was
being continually fought for Grant
kept reaching out that terrible long
arm Of his after new positions, and
Lee kept extending his lines to check
mate, and during the last months dur
ing the siege Of Petersburg the Pc
tersburg IL Richmond railroad was
really the only safe outlet. How safe
this was may be Judged by the fact
that It's trains were under fire when
running in or out of Petersburg, and
at different times locomotives and
cars were knocked to pieces by Fed
eral shells.
After the first alarm and tie return
of the fugitiyes, the idea was, 10 effect
an air Of unConCeTn and fee sorry that
General Grant shOnid waste 50 much
ammunition for nothing, Stores were
opened, business went ahead and the
schools tiOurished. and when two Of
the unterritied met, conversation ran
about as follows:
Hello, Been bit yet?"
No! Have you?'
No, but the house next door had
chimney knocked or last night"
~ ell, | guess there's no danger"
"Oh, no, no Of course not Of
course not, | merely peutioned The
incident to show you how reckless
Grant is with his emmumtion. Good
morning"
One day after the Federal guns had
got the range. a solid shot tipped
pathway through the shingles on q
school house. and it was then decided
to give the pupils holiday and let
the teachers find other employment.
Soon after this the citizens of Peters
burg had reason 10 dodge by daylight
and sleep on the ragged edge at night.
| did not find one single citizen who
could not remember and recount some
!ndicrous incident connected with the
long months in which every day Wit
messed the advent Of Shot and shell.
Standing almost 10 the center Of the
city is a rick house which was struck
eight times IN two weeks, and ctti-
zen who has a stall at the market Vi
yidiy remembers the first ball which
came sailing over. lie was q vOuug
Wan. holding a government cierksiip
in Richmond. ana was in love with a
girl whose parents owned a house.
The mother regarded him with favor,
but the father, was d colonel and sta
toned near the crater, had given him
the cold shoulder. One night the
clerk went in to Petersburg to see the
fair maiden. Her father was away,
her mother good nature3, and every
thing was lovely for a time. They
were holding each others hands aud
speaking of wood5iued cottage and
SO forth when zzzzzzz came q cast
iron ball from one Of Grants guns
and knocked Of a gable Of the mouse.
That's pop, and nell bounce you
shouted the girl as she heard the
crash, and the CLERK threw up a win
dow, leaped into the alley and ran for
life
On another occasion a bedroom in
the same house was occupied by 4
Baptist preacher, who had seen plenty
of war and WAS then on a furiough.
4 thunderstorm came on ~ the night,
and during the midst OF it Grant :
guns threw a dozen balls into the
town. One Of ripped off six feet Of
cornice over the preachers bed, and
he sprang Mp, rushed out into the hall,
and there met ore OF the servants aud
shouted;
Get water-struck by lightning
the house is on fire"
''Oh. no, il isn't, replied the woman:
its only one ob dem canyon balls
from de Union army"
rs that a a H." drawled the preach
er with sigh of relief, and back he
went to finish his nap.
Walking the streets by day or in
his bed at night no citizen could shake
off the fact that the city was under
the Federal guns, and that the next
missile might claim him as its victim
Men affected a bravado which they
were far from feeling. As the days
passed and Grant extended his lines
aud mouuFed heaHer guns, many
houses We're entirely deserted. and
certain streets were almost constantly
under fire,
1t is remembered by a dozen resi-
dents that one afternoon "a ~g the
investment a nesro's horse a. cart
were stalled on the street run
ming up from the depot The
/ horse tugged and strained to no pur
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