The Newtown bee., 1907-12-20
Our Southern
 Letter. E. L. JOHNSON, Writes Interestingly Of His Recent Visit to the Southland.
petershurp October 23. 1907.

Petersburg, October B, 1907.
 One unfamiliar with the country in and around Richmond, Va., would hard- ly expect to find within radius of twenty-five miles so large and wide awake business city as is the rapidly growing one of Petersburg, whose busi- ness strides since the close of the Civil War have been so heroic and so won- defully productive of what may be called marvellous results. No city in all the southland was so besieged by the armies of the Union, the siege last ing for full ten months, during which time no less than ten battles were fought outside the breastworks, to say nothing of sharp engagements almost daily, drawing the lines tighter and tighter until only one way of escape remained for Gen Lees army and that, over single narrow bridge across the Appomattox river by which he with drew his veterans under the cover of the night of April 2, 1865, having in the morning of that day telegraphed to Jefferson Davis, president of the Con- federacy, this message, My lines are broken in three places, Richmond must be evacuated this evening"" The message found MT Davis in his pew at St Paul's church at Il a. m, where it was handed to him. It is recorded in history, that, "amid an awful hush, he immediately went quietly, soberly out never to return as President of the Confectionery. No word was spoken ; but the whole assemblage felt that the missive he had 80 hastily received Dor e words of doom. Before 10 p. m. of that memorable Sunday, Jefferson Davis had left the city, for the evacuation of Petersburg meant the evacuation of Richmond, the breaking of the back bone of the rebellion, and the subse quent surrender of Gen Lee and his brave army. Petersburg is rich in me mentoes of the war. Days might be spent by the historian in, and about Petersburg. Our stop was too short to take it all in. It is claimed that sixty miles of entrenchments girded the city in triple lines, traces of which are in many places distinctly visible. Buildings are still to be seen about the city that bear marks made by ex- ploding shells, in some cases balls and and bullets imbedded in the walls. Blandford cemetery, that is within the city limits, many headstones were shattered by exploding shells that fell within its area, some of which have not yet been replaced.
 One of the most famous battle fields of the Civil War called the battle of the Crater, lies in front of Peters, burg, where the veterans of Gen Lee,, repeatedly repulsed the attacks of the Federal troops, whose every maneuver met with uniform defeat. One point in particular seemed to be, of all others the most, obstinate to overcome. A for tifcation on the crest of a high knoll had been built in the form of an invert- ed V, having its angle toward the en- emy and only a short distance from the Union lines. As a last attempt for its destruction, Lieutenant Colonel of Burnsdes corps proposed to mine the fort, which was done. It was daring undertaking. A tunnel was dug direct ly under the Congfederate works five hundred and eleven feet long with two side galleries thirty-seven and thirty eioht fact earh and nioht thousand