March 29, Refugees Retreat. Union, Monroe County, West Virginia

Submitted by S. B. Jennings

Dear Aunt Lou,

I imagine I see you looking over the heading of this letter saying what does it all mean?  I will explain it to you.  We have left Kanawha Valley and have come to Dixie.  Now, you say, how did you get there?  Have patience:  here goes the grand history, the explanation of that memorable event.

October 26^th, 1862

About 9 o’clock this morning, we were very much surprised by seeing the door open suddenly and more so by seeing Pa step into the room with, “Well, we’ll retreat this time sure, no sham, pack up, get over Cotton-hill tonight if possible.

Exclamations of surprise followed.  What, so soon:  tonight:  impossible; indeed; oh we can’t get packed up so soon, oh we can’t!  Pa’s emphatic:, “Yes, you must,” followed.  “I have ridden 17 miles in three hours this morning.”  So eyes flew open, mouths shut, boxed were got up, curtains, clothes, books were got down and packed up, rising set, meat put to cooking—hungry soldiers to be fed; all hands went to work; everything seemed as if done by magic;  it was so quick.

The setting sun began to light up the western sky, and the soldiers began to pitch for the coming night.  We now got supper and a hungrier set than we never sat down to a supper before.

Major Hold of the 60^th, and other soldiers came in to get their supper.  We gave it to them and Major H sat down by the fire while the others departed.  Then our wagon arrived and we had to get supper for the wagoner.  As Major H was ill he laid down on the lounge for a nap.  We then had the dishes to wash and prepare everything to get an early start next day.  Then we went to bed between 11 and 12 o’clock and a sleepier set never tumbled into bed; we slept soundly rest assured.

October 29^th

We were awakened next morning by the reveille at 4 o’clock and had breakfast in less than half an hour; the Major started off after his breakfast to his Regt.  And we went to work.  We was afraid we would not get started in time, but we packed industriously and after arguing the question of burning the furniture excepting 2 bedsteads and the melodian; then after bidding our neighbors goodbye, we started on in splendid spirits for it was a truly splendid day.  We got along very well.  Josy  ,Harry, and Ada and myself was in the wagon.  Ma, Pa, and May rode on the horses;  Frank shouldered his musket and forward marched.  We had to pass two regiments. of soldiers (infantry) and 1 company of artillery.  It did look queer, the canon pointing directly toward us as we came up the road.  We stopt at Mr. Jim Riggs that night.  They live in the house where we used to go to get vegetables when you were at the Galla, George Darington’s house.  Susan has two fine boys, Stephen and little Josy.  John Riggs came over after May and I to take tea with Lisa, and we returned a 8 o’clock to Susan like good girls and went to bed.

October 30.

Next morning, October 30, business kept Pa till 12 o’clock before we got started.  May and I walked down to the river;  Pa and Frank rode.  Ma and the little ones were in the wagon.  When we got across the river, we changed our positions.  Pa and I rode Bonnie and May rode Bettie; these are two of Pa’s horses, the other one Jenny was out here in pasture.  Ma stayed in the wagon.  We cored Gauley in the ferry boat, the bridge having been destroyed.  And we went on till we began to ascend Tomkins Hill, then Pa got off.  The saddle that was on Bonnie was a pack saddle and I got into it.  ‘Twas my first lesson in the art of riding in a pack-saddle, but nevertheless I got along very well. 

Ma and the little ones got out of the wagon.  Harry got on behind me; May took Ada on her lap.  The rest walked.  In that manner we traveled until 4 o”clock.  We slept for lundh.  It was so romantic.  It was the very spring where we stopt to get a drink as we returned from our visit to the Hawksnest, you remember it.

We did not go far before our wagon stalled, but we got out at last and stayed all night at Mr. Magraws, the only house between Tompkins and Scotts.  Scotts house has been burned.

October 31

We started early next morning, and we came near (being) stalled before we had gone 200 yards from the house.  The bridges ahead all been burnt.  We traveled on in high spirits, all except Pa.  He appeared so down in the mouth about something.  What could it be?  He was continually expecting something would happen to delay us and wishing we were past Wilderness Road, which comes in a few miles from Lewisburg, but he did not tell why.  Ma and I were riding and we went ahead of the rest and stopped to see the Hawks nest.  Oh, Aunt Lou, it was so changed.  There was not a green thing to be seen.  The stump of the cedar was there, but all the limbs were broken off.  We kept on.  Nothing new happened.  We got to the Widow Jones house that night.  Sometime after we had retired we were aroused by a dreadful commotion outside.  What could it be?  Gen. Jenkins Brigade were in our rear but as it was near midnight what happened belongs to the next day.

November 1

We woke up next morning and oh the enemy were in our rear advancing rapidly.  Oh, it was exciting.  Never before were we so completely excited and afraid.  However, one battle was fought when we started the sun had just begun to rise.  Pa exchanged the horse for th mule, that is he put him in harness in place of the mule that persisted in pullin backward.  Mules are contrary things you know.  At 6 o’clock, Lunds battalion passed us us, cavalry battalion.  Between 7 and 8 o’clock we stpt at the foot of the big Sewell mountain to get our supper after which we started on again and it was between 11 and 12 o’clock when we stopt.  As I had been riding in the wagon all evening, I got very tired of it  so I intended to walk a while and got out of the wagon with that intion, but Pa let me ride behind him and I truly enjoyed it.  We were on top of little Sewell when I got out of the wagan and about 10 o’clock the moon shone very brightly and as we were descending into the Valley it was a pleasant ride indeed.  We stopt 3 miles from Meadow Bluff near 12 o’clock at Mr. Nichols.

November 2^nd

We got a splendid breakfast next morning and started between 7 and 8 o’clock and passed Meadow Bluff and saw the fortifications.  We went on till about 3 o’clock when we stopt to get our dinner.  While we were getting our dinner our wagoner came in and told us than an officer had told him that the cavalry would pass us that evening wo we started on in post haste, but we had not gone far when Pa met one of General Jenkin’s men who told him that the men had camped at Meadow Bluff.  But we thought we would not stop this side of Lewisburg so we kept on.  It began to rain about 1 o’clock.  May was on Bettie, Frank and I on the mules.  The rest were in the wagon so us three were out in the rain.  We went to Lewisburg and put up at the Lewisburg Hotel.

November 3^rd

We started early next morning.  Nothing happened till we got to Greenbriar River.  The citizens had all burnt out along the road (or rather had all been burnt out) and we had to put up with a camp breakfast we could find nobody to buy it of, because none us but Pa were soldiers so we let Pa get it.  It was right good consisting of bacon and bread and cheese and coffee, exchanging coffee for mule to put into our coffee.  We had a very nice breakfast camp style.  ‘Twas on the bank of the Greenbriar River and  we got milk of an old Irish woman.  We then met a friend of Pa’s, Mr. Wetzel who was just returning from Vicksburg, who gave Ma, May and I an apple apiece, a great big one.  After that I got on the mule and Frank on Bettie.  Frank had to keep Bettie agoing and to act in the capacity of old Burchell as the mule would not go but preferred standin gstill or taking one step every three minutes.  We went on about 20 miles when Union, which we had decided on to be our future Dixie home began to appear.  First the Church spires and then the homes began to be seen;  Mr. Caperton’s home was the first one we passed as we came into Union.  We stopt in Union till we could get a house.

November 4

Ma and Pa went out to hunt a house.  They went to Mr. Greens, a friend that Pa had made when he was out here before they at last found a house that they thought would suit, but Mr. Clark who owned the house was not at home; he had gone to the Valley to get salt.

November 5th

Nothing of importance happened.

November 6^th

Pa saw Mr. Clark and we moved out to our new home.  It is a very pretty place.  It is situated on the top of a little hill.  There is 8 rooms in the house and a porch extending across the front of the house both upstairs and down.   It is surrounded on the South, North, and West by an orchard containing apple, quince, and peach trees.  The house yard and the garden contain a great many plun trees and just before the front door there is a large Balm of Gillliad tree.  Over the porch there is trained a little white rose bush and a jasamin and in the yard there are shrubs and the road passes the East side of the house.  This is a description of the house. The garden don’t need much description.  There are a great many currant and rasberry bushes in the garden.

Now for a description of the country;  It is a regular grazing country pasture in the state of Virginia overflowing with milek and honey, that is if the good soldiers had not pressed the bees into service it would be.  But there is still plenty of milk; grapes (?) abound and wild strawberrys, blackberrys, dewberrys, huckleberries and gooseberrys in the greatest abundance and wild flowers surpass anything you ever saw in this state.  They are of the most gorgeous colors.  Aunt Lou, it you come out here you can have (?) for perfumery and as you love berrys and specially strawberrys you had better come the first opportunity that presents itself, and you will be heartily welcomed.  There is  (?) River goes through the mountain to the right of us at a place called the Narrows.  We live just 5 miles from the Sweet, 27 miles from the While, 20 miles from the Blue Sulphur and 18 miles from the Grey Sulphur springs and 25 miles from the celebrated mountain lake situated on top of the highest mountain in Ohio vicinity.  The lake is over 800 feet deep, 3 quarters of a mile long, 300 ftte wide.  This country abounts in great mounds and caves which are quite numerous.  These caves are very rich in niter which is now being got for the Couthern Confederacy of America.  We have named our house the Refugees Retreat.  Now you know what the heading of this letter means.

Now for the general appearance:  Pa is at home on furlow.  Ma is trimming his new uniform.  The Col. brought the stars for it from Richmond. They are very pretty.  Pa enjoys good health but is very much changed and is sunburnt a good deal (a sunburnt hero) and has a heavy beard and mustache.  Ma has not changed much and is enjoying good health.  May has changed very much.  Since she had the fever her hair is very short and curly.  She has changed in her looks.  I don’t know how but she doesn’t look at all like she use to.  Frank has changed very much.  He is near as large as Pa.  His moustache is just perceptible and he talks strong of joining the army but  we can’t spare him this year.  He is in good health.  Josy has grown a great deal and changed very much and is well and hearty.  Harry has changed somewhat and is healthy.  And Ada, sweet darling pet, is very near as tall as Harry.  She has dimpled face, neck, hands, and arms.  She is a regular little Brown girls.  She has the prettiest brown eyes.  She can talk and she can sing everything she ever heard.  And now comes myself.  I am two inches taller than Ma and one lower than May.  I am very healthy.  Now you see we are all well.  Ma says she wants you to come out here as soon as possible for she wants to see you.  Don’t forget to remember the 18^th of next May for it will be little Ada’s third birthday.

When you some out to see us you must bring lots of fruit cans to be put up.  Tell (?) Scott that I would like to see her and to come out with you.  We have heard of old Mrs. Riggs death sence we came here.  And I have got to write before the (?) as Pa said before our house is on the (?) and as we look to the right straight south we see the Allegheny Mountains.  There is a hill between here and the mountains (?) but it does not hide a (?)  A quarter of the way to the west we see the Shenandoah Valley which ends in the mountains of the Alleghenies.  In the East vast meadows and at last we see the mountains in that direction, and to the north we see the meadows and a vast forest and the hills on the other side of town.  So you see the mountains all around us.  The Allegheny Mountains are 8 miles from here.  We have got a new cow named Sally.  Luck is dead.  Sally has the prettiest little calf.    (?) a pretty rooster.

Garden put in and intends to put lots in.  We have had bad weather.  Lots of snow survives on the ground no ‘tis in the last of March.  Tell Willie that she thought Paint Creek paradise, but it sinks into utter insignificance beside this grand and glorious Dixie.  Tell uNcle Matt that I send him all the love his ungrateful little Rebel can spare.  I’ve got lots to spare.  Give my love to Cora and Belle.  I would like to have you answer this little short note which I must close.  All send love to you.  Rebel Officer’s Daughter to loyal Aunt Lou from her rebel niece.

June 19^th, 1863

Lorena Sophia Brown (Morrill) to Lurinda Dunham Powell in Cincinnati.

Note:  The last folded page was extremely hard to read in Photostat we it had been in the original where it was badly faded.  I got almost all of it correctly transcribed, I feel assured.

Transcribed August 25-26, 1963, by Dorothea Morrill.  (Dorothea is the granddaughter of Lorena Brown Morrill being the daughter of her eldest son by her first marriage, Clarence Burton.