Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-01-14

huge and frowning. Negroes were every
where and went about their work with
an air of Importance born of their new
found freedom. These were the contra
bands" for whom Gen. Butler had recent
ly invented that sobriquet.
We pitched our tents amid the charred
AMI blackened ruins of what had been
the beautiful and arstocratic village OF
Hampton The first thing | noticed
about the ruins unaccustomed as was 70
southern architecture was the absence
OF eel airs The only building left stand
ing of al! the village was the massive
old Episcopal Church l-ere Washington
had worshiped.' and its broad aisles had
echoed to the footsteps Of armed men
during the revolution. In the church
yard the tombs had been broken open.
Many tombstones were broken and over
thrown. and at the corner of the church
d big hole showed that some one with
greater desire for possessing curiosites
than reverence for ancient landmarks
had been digging for the corner stone
and its buried mementoes.
Along the shore which looks toward
Fort Monroe were landed artillery, bag
gage wagons. pontoon trains and boats,
and the level land back of this was
crowded with the tents Of the soldiers.
Here and there were groups frying hard
tack and bacon. Near at hand was the
arrepressibie army mule. hitched to and
eating out of pontoon boats: those which
had eaten their ratons of grain and hay
were trying their teeth, with promise or
success. in eating the boats. An army
mule was hungrier than soldier, and
would eat anything. especially pontoon
boat or rubber blanket.
The scene was a ouSy one. The red
cap. white leggins and baggy trousers
Of the Zeraves mingled with the blue
uniforms and dark trimmings of the
regular infantrymen, the short Jackets
and yellow trimmings of the cavalry,
the red stripes of the artillery, and the
dark blue with orange trimmings OF the
engineers, together with the ragged,
many-colored costumes of the black la
borers and teamsters, all busy at some
thing.
One morning we broke camp and went
marching up the Peninsula. The roads
were very poor and dddy with recent
rains, and were crowded with the in
describabe material of the vast army
which was slowly creeping through the
mud over the fiat, wooded country. 1t
was bright day in April, 1867 perfect
Virginia day; the grass was green De-
meath our feet the buds of the trees
were just unrollins into caves under the
warming sun or spring, and In the woods
at first orderly. bat under the unaccus-
toned burden of heavy equipments and
knapsacks and the warmth o. the wealth
er. the men struggled along the roads,
minglng with the baggage. wagons, am
bula noes and pontoon trains, in seeming
confusion
< x
During our second days march it rain
ed and the muddy roads. cut up and
knea3ed. as IL were. by the teams pre-
ceding us left them in state of semi
liquid filth hardly possible TO describe or
Imagine. When We arrived at Big Bethel
the rain was coming down in sheets. A
Gozen houses OF very ordinary character.
scattered over an area of third of a
mile, constituted what was called the
village. Just outside and west OF the
town was insignificant building from
which the place takes its name. II did
net seem large enough or of sufficient con-
sequence to give name to hamlet a
small as Big Bethel. Before our arrival
IL had evidently been occupied as off,