Year: 1866

Interesting Letter from Mrs Davis -Ad-


ventures Of the Family from Incarcera-


ton of Mr.. Davis up to Date.


The following letter will be read with inter-
est, as giving a most graphic view of what the
prisoners S wife and family had to endure from
his quitting them on board the Clyde, III
Hampton Roads, down to the day of its date !;
certain parts rejecting upon individuals by
name [ have taken the liberty to strike out, but
the remainder of the letter is as written:


MILL VIEW, NEAR AUGUSTA, GA,


October 10, 1865.


Colonel John j. Croreu, Chief Medical Officer,


Fortress Monroe, Va:


My DEAR COLoNEL.-Th you remain
irrevocably dumb, | am sure you hear me- and
in addressing you | feel as if writing to one OF
my oldest and most reliable friends Every let
ter from my husband comes freighted with
good wishes for you, and thanks for all your
kindness to him In his hours of anguish and
solitude. Can you doubt that my prayers for
you, and appreciation of your goodness, have
been even greater than his, for could do moth
ing but pray? Mr.. Davis sent me carte de vis-
ate of your dear Anna, whose sweet face my ba-
by knows and has been taught to kiss as her
father s friend. The baby sends her little fan
and few white flowers, made in Augusta. L
hope she may like them. Mr.. Davis writes me
that she has gone to the Moravian school, near
Easton, where, | trust, our niece may have the
pleasure of seeing her.


| am rendered very anxious by the obstinacy
OF the erysipelas with my suffering husband
lie complalns-in answer to entreatles Tor an
account of his condition without concealment-
of loss Of sleep. | dread paralysis for him,
hoy txy CTR
without relief If you can, dear Doctor Cra-
ven, do entreat, and perhaps you may prevail
upon, the authorities to let him sleep without
light. He is too feeble to escape, and could
not bear light in his room when in strong
health. The sequel Of these attacks has always
been an attack of amaurosis, and in one Of
them he lost his eye. 1t first came On with an
attack of acute neuralgia, but it is useless for
me to begin to tell you OF his constitution. You
must have seen pretty well it's peculiarities, in
the long and kind watches you have kept with
him.


l had hoped to relieve his mind by full let
ter OF personal narrative but that letter he has


When he was taken from me on the ship,
the provost guard and some women detectives
came on board, and after the women searched
our persons, the men searched our baggage.


Either they or the soldiers standing around
took everything they fancied, and some things
so large that [ did not see how their conduct
could escape the eye Of the guard, and Of the
officer who superintended the search. They
then told my servants that they could 60 ashore,
if they did not desire to 60 to Savannah. The
husband OF my negro nurse forced her to go,
and the white girl left from an unwillingness to
be exposed to Southern climate. | Ientreated
to be permitted to debark at Charleston, as my
sister, Miss Howell, still continued to be i'll,
and | feared to return on the ship with a
drunken purser, who had previously required
Colonel Pritchard s authority to keep him in
ORDER and going back, Mrs. Clay, my sister
and myself, would be the only women on the
ship but this was refused. Acting as my own
chambermaid and nurse, and the nurse also of
my sister and Mrs Clay, who were both i'll, We
started for Savannah. We had fearful gale,
in which the upper decks once Or twice dipped
water, and no one could walk; but as [ felt as
wretched as could be, did not fear future
state.


God protected US from the fury Of the eIe-
ments; but the soldiers now began to open and
rob our trunks again. The crew, however, gave
us some protection, and one Of the officers in
the engine-room gave up his cabin and locked
everything we had left up in it. The lieuten-
ant Of the 18th Maine, MIR. Grant, though a
plain man, had the heart Of gentleman, and
took care Of us with the greatest assiduity.-
Some Of the soldiers and crew helped me to
nurse, and saved me many an hour Of wakeful
ness and fatigue. My little daughter Maggie
was quite like an old woman; she took her SIS
ter early every morning-for the nights were so
rough l could not sleep, because it was neces-
sary to hold the infant to avoid bruising it
and with the assistance Of our faithful servant
Robert, who held her still while she held her
sister, she nursed her long enough for me to
rest. Little JEFF and did the house keeping :;
it was a fair division of the labor, and not un-
pleasant, as it displayed the good hearts Of my
children.


At the harbor of Charleston the sick began
to improve. We procured ice and milk, and
the days rest, which the ship at anchor gave
them, improved them much.


Arrived at Savannah, we trudged up to the
hotel quite in emigrant fashion Margaret with
the baby and Robert with the baggage [, with
Billy and jeff and Maggie in quite an old fash
ioned manner, keeping all straight and acting
as parcel carrier, fOr We could not procure any
carriage and must walk until we reached the
Pulaski House, where, after day and night,
we procured comfortable rooms The inn
keeper was kind man, and felt for my unfor-
tunate condition. He therefore did everything
in his power to make us comfortable. Afunny
incident happened the day [ arrived there.
A black waiter, upon answering my bell, and
being told to call my man-servant Robert, re-
piled very impertinently that 'if he should see
Robert he would give the order, but did not
expect to see him. When Robert heard it,
he waited till all the black servants had as
sembled at dinner, and then remarked that he
should hate to believe there was colored man
so low as to insult a distressed woman, but if
so, though a peaceable man, he should whip
the first who did SO. The guilty man began to
excuse himself, whereupon Robert said-.Oh,
enough for that or anything else" From that
time all the greatest assiduity could do was done
tor me, tirst from esprit de corps, and then from
kind feeling.


The people of Savannah treated me with the
greatest tenderness. Had [ been sister long
absent and just returned to their home, could
have received no more tender welcome Houses
were thrown open to me, anything and every
! thing was mine. My children had not much
more than a change of clothing after all the
D1r rt1nS Uhn bod a. III l. L