The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-07-07
SERMON BY REV. MIR. BURNES
Continued from Tenth Page)

toi Ol tiiC SoiiICdSldCyj WllI US COlllSl- stone a slave, and resting upon the @ flesh and blood of millions of men, wo- men and children, suffered accordingly. Lieutenant-General Ewell, before re- treating, gave orders to apply the torch to the government buildings, and a con- flagration ensued in which it was esti-
 mated no less than a thousand build ings were destroyed. Meantime a car go of fifty slaves were sent south-the last slave gang in this country And then the people became wild, order was thrown to the winds, self preservation ruled, there was wild running to and fro, goods were packed, everywhere was anxiety, confusion, yelling. shrieSing fl terror. AS the day wore on stores were broken into; flour, bacon, clothing, dry goods, jewelry, hats and shoes were dis posed of without any regard to former ownership. Barrels of whiskey were emptied into the street and soldiers, with the scum of the city, flung them selves on the ground and drank their fill of it as it flowed down the gutters, And then very saturnalia of crime prevailed. Fortunately the Union troops entered the city speedily followed by General Weitzel with the division of colored troops. And while they marched with the step of veterans they too sang the champion song, John Brown. Then they stacked arms, laid down their knapsacks and leaped to the work of extinguishing the flames and thus saving the rest of the city. There was no planning in all this. It hap pened so; a happening of righteous jI160 fa,, the fires kindled by wanton soldiery formed the statement that free labor and forgiveness of injuries should be the future hope of the south. On that day the president riding in the streets of Richmond heard the "God bless yous' shouted by thousands of grateful children of toll, and Lincoln in reply lifted his hat and slavery and caste by that act flung down were ignored. Men despised him for it, but he only did what God ordained from all eternity he should do, and so had gone before him. and led him, to do the most magnificent work of Christian centuries,
 But now let us regard the retreat and the pursuit The purpose of Lee was to reach Burksville. which was fifty-eight miles from Richmond and fifty-two miles from Petersburg, the converging linesof troops from the two places met at Amelia Court House on the Danville road, at about tbirty-eight miles from Richmond. Here he expected to meet abundant supplies for his hungry troops, after which he would push on to Burksville Junction, from which place there would be an open way to Danville But the end of the rebellion had come. Some of the officers and many of the men knew it. General Ewell felt that the time of the evacuation of Richmond the authorities should have made over lures for peace. That was the last time there would be any chance to make terms. The terms would have been un- conditional surrender. That was the kind of a man Grant was. But they did not know enough. Didn't MT. Davis say that the reverses were only temporary? Be sure he knew nothing of the future, but then who did? General Lee found no stores awaiting his hungry army when they reached Amelia Court House When the loaded trains had reached that place they met an order to send the cars on to Richmond. The cars were intended for the removal of the property of the gasping Confederate government It was fearful disappointment to the gallant men who were risking all they had for forlorn cause to find the great est care of the authorities at Richmond to relate to personal and public proper ty of non-combatants at the capital But the cars were sent on without being unloaded and the rations which would have enabled that army to have escaped were burned at Richmond by the orders of their own General Ewell. There was but one thing to do. Food must be ob- tained even at the cost of time, which never before had been so precious. Lee therefore intrenched his army there and sent out foraging parties in every direction. But the country was poor the food difficult to obtain. Perhaps the people were not quite so ready to con- tribute as in brighter days, and there are ways that are dark in which food may be made scarce if the disposition is that way. Then many of the men got tired of the thing and plainly seeing the nearness of the end, kept on their way until they got home. Others went a trifle too far and Sheridan's men were getting ubiquitous. All together the food obtained was far inadequate to the demand and valuable time had been lost.
 Meanwhile the Union corps had been unleashed and were pressing eagerly to the hunt. Struggling stopped. There were no loungers nor Coffee Coolers" Every man wanted to be near the front. Sheridan, with his cavalry, had the right of way and the roads were cleared for them Next came the Fifth corps. General Meade was at the head of the Second and Sixth corps. General Ord, with the Army of the James and the colored troops, took another route All were pressing toward the South Side railroad to cut off the retreat from Danville or Lynchburg, and force a battle in the open country. By the a. m. of the 9th of April Lee finding he was shut off from reaching Danvile with out making wide detour, began send ing off part of his wagon train and some of his artillery. General Sheri- dan at the same time was there. Wish ing to find out whether the enemy were making any movement, he sent a brig ade of cavalry about five miles to the north of where the body of his troops were. A train of one hundred and eighty wagons and five pieces of artil- e II i.