The independent. [volume] (Elizabeth City, N.C.) 1908-1936, 1919-09-12

People who complain of the
high cost of living today and the
continual difficulty of making both
ends meet, should derive some
consolation from the period of
high prices during and just after
the Civil War,swhen, according
to Uncle Charles" Macdonald,
veteran hack driver and horse
doctor Of Elizabeth City, -four
was selling for $40 to $50 per bar
rel, corn SO per barrel, coffee,
which was artieular1y scarce,
ewing to shut ting Oft of the
East indies trade. selling round]
ST per pound, with most people
using sweet potatoes, beans, meal
or wheat parched as coffee sub
stitute. Meat was 81 a pound,
while shoes and clothing sold at
phenomenal prices. a good pair OF
boots bringing $50 to $500 in
Confederate money. and horses,
which were in great demand tor
the Southern army. selling readily
for $500 to $500.
"Unc1e Charles" told a representative
of this newspaper about those real hard
times. the other day. incidentally he
tells a graphic and highly interesting
story of the bombardment of Elizabeth
| CITY by Federal gunboats in February,
1862. He says that, three days after
the Battle of Roanoke Island, twelve of
the ships came up the Pasquotank river
TO CAPTURE the city. Their progress was
| interrupted by Confederate fort which
had been hastily erected on Cobb's Point
q few miles below Elizabeth City. with
an armament of a few twelve pound guns.
| AS these began to fire upon the gunboats.
the latter were turned slightly from their
course and single broadside was hfeo
into the fort. which was defended prln-
cipally by Colonel Wright's Georgia reg
+ iment. With the first volley everybody
few, as Uncle Charles puts it, and many
of the soldiers were drowned in the
Warrenton swamp, back of the Flora
, farm.
After the fort had been thus quickl!
reduced. the Federals continued to Biz
abeth City. and a general bombardmen
of the town followed. Everybody left IL
hurry, and an effort was made by tn
Soufherners to burn the town, which wa
not entirely successful, for the Federal
came ashore and put out the hame
! wherever they could. Among the oulid
ines burned were the county court house
y the Lee House, an oldtime hostelr!
which was located where the Souther
Hotel now stands; the Ten-Pln Ale
House, which was on the opposite COZ
:, ner where A. L. Aydlett now lives, an
e tho old Mason House. another well-kno"
Il hotel in those days
r tt seems that the Federals did not WIS
d to destroy Elizabeth City, but that I'd
n adjective of their bombardment was
d llaroa mansion on Road street on Whs
= ;s now the Major Gregory property
1t ,h;ob the Confederate officers were qual
o tered. The house was riddled with Du
ID let's and burned to the ground III u
n course of the day.
le An organization of Union sympathlze
t. o.11ed RuffaIoes came into existence
e. So,,nd Neck in lower Pasquotank ear
in 1862. and similar bands were orga
ized at Shiloh and Old Trap In Cana
= county about the same time. Tne "a
o,o+ank- band was under the leadersn
i. of Thad Cox who was fired upon a
q, titled by loyal Southerners at the Iru
en- Bridges .near Weeksville in 1865. Fe
I'd Burges. a big, clustering, brawny' seVe
st. foot specimen of turbulent manno'
ur was the leader of the Camden coul
es RuFaloes. He and his band OF unie
m lists terrorized the entire section DUR
nd those troublesome times. Bands OF 10
! southerners termed Gueriilas ike"