Wake County, NC - Bicentennial File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Barbara Kawamoto Reprinted with permission of the News & Observer and cannot be reproduced without permission. Sherman’s Conquest The News and Observer December 29, 1991 Raleigh 200 Bicentennial Special/Civil War Reconstruction By Catherine Ann Devereux Edmonston "Journal of a ‘Secesh’ Lady" The Diary of Catherine Ann Devereux Edmonston 1860-1866 Catherine Ann Devereux Edmonston (1823-1875) was North Carolina’s Mary Chestnut, a diarist of strong feeling and literary skill. During the Civil War, she chronicled with a tart pen the political developments, family disputes (not all of her relatives were as strongly pro-secession as she was), her own emotional ups and downs, and her husband’s attempts to raise a cavalry brigade. She was born into Halifax County aristocracy. One of six daughters of planter Thomas Devereux, she was raised on Conneconara, her father’s plantation on the Roanoke River. The girls were all schooled in the liberal arts by private tutors. In 1846, Catherine married Patrick Edmonston, the son of a Charleston trader who had business with her father. After a brief stay in Charleston, they moved to North Carolina to accept Devereux’s offer of a plantation of their own, Looking Glass, adjoining Conneconara. During the war, Catherine often traveled to Raleigh, where her brother, John Devereux, the chief quartermaster of North Carolina, had a summer home, Will’s Forest. Mrs. Edmonston also visited George and Margaret Cameron Mordecai at the Cameron mansion. The war ended with Union Gen. Logan’s troops camped at Will’s Forest and, worse, Gens. Logan, Grant and Sherman clinking Mrs. Devereux’s glasses. These excerpts are Mrs. Edmonston’s account of news from Raleigh as Sherman’s army approached. March 24, 1865 Came my Aunt, Mrs. Polk, with my cousins to make us a visit. The anxiety we all suffer prevents our full enjoyment of each other’s society, yet it seems to bind us closer together. The arrival of the mail, however, has thrown us into the deepest dejection. Rumour after rumour of the most conflicting character reaches us. "Raleigh is to be evacuated," says one. "Johnston is falling back on Hillsboro," says another. Sherman ditto on Fayetteville. A heavy raid in the direction of Wilson. Grant moving on Stoney Crk. "Weldon heavily threatened" -- & so on. My aunt has determined if the next mail does not bring news of the evacuation of Raleigh to leave & return to her children in Asheville fearing that if she delays she will be unable to reach them. March 25, 1865 Came rumours of another victory, but we fear to rejoice. What is more substantial is the fact that Johnston still remains at Smithfield & the idea of an evacuation of Raleigh seems, from the reports & conduct of those who ought to know, to be abandoned. We hear that Sherman has lost heavily. We have had three engagements with him, in all of which we have been successful. He is reported falling back both to Fayetteville & Goldsboro now held (thanks to Bragg) by Schofield, but which is true, we have not the means of knowing. We hear sad accounts of the suffering in Fayetteville. Sherman’s robbers stripped the town of every thing in the way of food & the inhabitants are literally living on parched corn. God help them. Brother writes from Raleigh, "We are very busy evacuating, indeed are nearly through. Present appearances indicate that Sherman is going to move up the Weldon road & I would advise you strongly to prepare for him." March 26, 1865 Sunday. Just at home from father’s where Mr E & I went to bid my Aunt goodbye. I have had such a rapid gallop that my hand is scarce steady enough to write, but I must add a line to say that it is the State Government only which is evacuating Raleigh. The archives, State military stores, etc., are all as a matter of precaution being sent west. April 13, 1865 News that Hardee is evacuating Raleigh & pressing west. God help Margaret & her helpless girls. April 16, 1865 How can I write it? How to find words to tell what has befallen us? Gen. Lee has surrendered! Surrendered the remnant of his noble Army to an overwhelming horde of mercenary Yankee knaves & foreigners. . . . Noble old man, we almost forget our own loss in sympathy with you. He has been neither out maneuvered or out generaled but crushed, crushed by mere brute force, force he could no more resist than he could the fall of an avalanche! We but love him the more for his misfortunes. Where Gen Johnston now is, or the President, none know. We hear, however, that they have gone south, leaving Hardee in command. April 17, 1865 Pray God we compromise not ourselves in our ignorance, Mr M tells us that the death of Lincoln & wounding of Seward is again reaffirmed, but not one word of the errant tailor. Dr Langdon assures us that he knows A P Hill was killed whilst gallantly fighting his way out of Petersburg but that all the Lees are safe. Sad to say Gens Picket Bushrod Johnson, and R Anderson were relieved from command a few days before the Surrender, for having been absent from their commands during the fight on the day previous (previous to their relief I mean). In fact they were all drunk! What a sorrowful thing that men who had won their reputation at the edge of the sword should in a moment of weakness peril it by a gratification of an appetite. I give this on Dr Langdon’s authority. April 27, 1865 Yesterday came Capt Langdon back from Warren County, Johnston’s capitulation, which sad to say is too true, having put an end to his efforts to join him. Johnston’s surrender is true, & the long heads amongst us say that we should be thankful for the terms he has secured. Good God! I cannot write! April 28, 1865 The deed was committed by Booth & Booth alone. He made his preparations deliberately & secretly, by barring the door which led from the box to the passage, the proscenium I believe it is called, & taking off the lock of the box and having bored a gimlet hole in the door, watched his opportunity & about the middle of the play entered the box noiselessly & shot Mr Lincoln in the back of the head! Mrs L, Miss Clara Harris & Maj Rathbun being in the box with him, Maj Rathbun instantly seized him & called for help, but Booth stabbing him & shaking him off, jumped to the front of the box & leaped to the stage & shouting "Freedom" made good his escape! Sherman was most grandiloquent & boastful, not only of what he had done but of what he could & would do! It sickens me to think of his manner, so as humiliation is not a pleasant vale to dwell in I will pass it over. He expressed a hope of being soon able to take his army home (God grant it), that is, should his Government accede to the terms he had offered Johnston. Failing that he intended "to gobble" (such was his elegant expression) "Johnston up," & from the style of his conversation it seemed as tho the whole Confederacy would be but a bonne touch to his Lordship! . . . It needs no seer to divine his object in his cruel & murderous act. It is to disable and cripple us so much the more & to make us dependent upon the North for our very existence. Would that the women & children who will be starved & die by his cruelty could haunt every moment sleeping or waking of his future life. He runs ten trains per day between Morehead City & Raleigh & sends out numbers of forage parties daily, three hundred wagons in a party, who forage the country for 50 miles to find food for his army. Dr H saw brother’s grounds, his grove, his yard, and whole premises one camp ground for Yankee soldiers - tents as far as the eye could reach. God help his helpless family! Sherman has 200,000 men in & around Raleigh & for 10 miles around the country seems one vast camp. He saw, too, numbers of Negroes, men, women, & children, dressed in their master’s & mistress’s clothes hurrying from all quarters into Raleigh as to a carnival. Guion’s Hotel had been assigned them as Quarters & was packed to overflowing with them. Andy Johnson has been quietly inaugurated President & made a speech, & such a speech, maudlin drunk. He said amongst other things that "Treason was a crime to be punished, not forgiven," & wound up with the announcement that his "heart was too full" (of Whisky?) to say more - the vulgar-old sinner! May 8, 1865 Howard’s corps has gone north, but 130,000 men are still encamped in and around Raleigh. The suffering of some of the people in the country has been terrible, robbed of everything & driven out without a shelter to their heads. Mrs Hinton (Jane Miller), without a moment’s warning was surrounded by a gang of thieves who tore off her doors & windows & reduced her house to ruin to build themselves quarters, robbed her of everything & forced her to seek shelter in the town. She had to walk for three miles through their camp with her children, & lost every thing she had in the world. Have just read a letter from my niece Nannie which does one’s heart good so intensely bitter is it. Such hate as it expresses one does not often read of, but unfortunately for me I am beginning to feel it. She says that at Guion’s, the Negro headquarters, they have nightly balls & that the Yankee Officers dance with the Negro women! ============================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. The electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. ==============================================================