Part 20 (2/2)

Mr Gouverneur, having done his full duty, gave up his idea of re-entering the Aran to take up life in our new hootten fairly settled when the Confederate guerrilla chieftain, John S Mosby, appeared at our door with his band of marauders Their visit was brief and ere spared the usual depredations--e knew not, unless it were owing to the fact that Mr Gouverneur's nephew, James Monroe Heiskell, a mere boy of sixteen, who ran away from home and swam across the Potomac to join Mosby's band, possibly accoers in the West represented a species of ignoble warfare

In reality they did not benefit the cause which they professed to serve, butoff their stock and thus depriving them of their means of livelihood In recent years I discussed with a Confederate officer, the late General Beverly Robertson, Mosby's ratified reat injury to the Southern cause It see President Grant's administration and later, official positions should have been bestowed upon Mosby while the interests of other Confederate officers who had fought a fair and honorable fight and had battled,the Mexican War, should have been neglected

These war experiences furnished strenuous days for us in our new home and we lived in a state of constant excite it was announced to us by one of the colored servants, while ere at the breakfast table, that ”the rebels were co of timidity that nearly overpowered me Very soon some troops under the command of General Bradley T Johnson, a native of Frederick, marched upon our lawn and encamped all around us General Johnson i but a coe and met him at the threshold In a very courtly manner--too much so, in fact, to be expected in tier here, madam”

I responded: ”My life here has been short; my name is Gouverneur” He at once said: ”I suppose you are a relative of Mr Gouverneur of the Maryland Tract” I adh I was not quite sure it was discreet to do so, as the Union sentienerally well known, and I was talking to a Confederate General He and his officers spent soly friendly, and thus, at least for a time, the terrors of ere averted Many years later I -room when he and his wife cahter, Ruth Monroe, to his cousin, Doctor William Crawford Johnson, of Frederick We naturally discussed our first reeted with less cordiality than he received during his present visit

Upon learning of the approach of the Confederates, we made rapid preparations for their advent As we had learned froreat need of horses and ned a number of theenious plan for concealing them Under our house was a fine cellar which, unfortunately, the horses refused to enter until the steps leading into it were removed When this had been done, they were led down one by one into a darkened roos were securely tied over their eyes to prevent the the visit of the Confederates, which see to our anxiety about the horses, General Johnson sat directly over their hiding place; but they behaved like well-bred beasts and never uttered a sound I had seriousaround the house to make a survey of the preht all was over andstolen goods; but the investigation happily went no further and he rode on

When the active preparations for hiding the horses were in progressthe process with much interest and excitement I called them to me and in my sternest tones told theave them to understand that if they said ”horse” or ”rebel devil” in their presence I should punish theroes on the place to call the Southerners ”rebel devils,” and I feared for the result if they allowed their childish tongues to wag too freely A few hours later I spoke to one of the little girls upon soinal subject, but she was so overawed by my threat and the presence of the troops that she seeement, however, she crept up to my side and whispered: ”Mamma, they have taken all of our saddles!” General Johnson was still sitting on our porch, when a soldier approached and asked for an ax One was i the man's name, said: ”That ax is to be returned” This order struck me as somewhat ludicrous when a little later I learned that the ax was to be used in de all of our fences! This precaution was deemed important in order to facilitate, if necessary, a ht approached ere asked if a guard would be acceptable, and ere only too glad to avail ourselves of such protection As ere closing the house for the night, after our strenuous day, one of the soldiers on guard duty re to bed!” Inresponse was: ”On the porch, to be sure!” In this state of unrest there was no repose for us that night and we did not even atte forth Just before dawn there was a knock upon the front door and, upon opening it, I found facing y, said: ”I left ain and returned to my room, the Southerners had ”folded up their tents like the Arabs and as silently stolen away”

Only a short period had elapsed when several mounted officers dashed up our driveway and anxiously inquired: ”Where are the guards?” They gave one,” when they rode rapidly away We ca their relatives and friends in Frederick and that the retreat was so sudden that no word of warning could be sent them

We realized the next day that the hasty departure of the Confederates was timely, as the Union Army was encamped all around us Some of the officers came to see us and Mr Gouverneur invited them to dine This was a period of sudden transitions, for that night the Union Arain, dining upon the remnants of the ive the been told that they would be captured and taken further South, had fled upon hearing of the second visit of the Confederates This was naturally a trying experience for me, as no servant except a Chinese e locality But luckily I found the last set of officers pleasant and congenial and ready to make due allowance for all household deficiencies Several of theinia, and were familiar with our name, as they had lived near Oak Hill, the estate of Mr Gouverneur's grandfather, where my husband had passed a portion of his early life We soon learned that country life during war times without satisfactory servants was much e or strength to bear This state of affairs resulted into New York, where he secured a fa of a woman and three eneral vicinity had meanwhile shi+fted several times and we never knew froreet friend or foe

On the particular ain with us They were apparently unacquainted with the topography of the surrounding country and were naturally desirous of securing such information as should enable them, in case of necessity, to effect a speedy and secure retreat We received an early call from several of their officers who inquired the way to the ”Al to settle ourselves down under such adverse circu country; and, when Mr Gouverneur informed our visitors of this fact, they looked at one another in such a decidedly incredulous way as to convince us that they thought ithholding information

My husband finally sent for John Derants, who had driven considerably around the adjacent country, and one of the officers in a rather offensive manner renewed his query about the ”Alrin, John's ansas, ”I do not know;” and Mr

Gouverneur, realizing that affairs were assu a rather serious aspect, said: ”John, you do know; tell the officer at once” With true Irish perspicacity he exclaimed: ”Oh, sir, you ave the desired infor but pleasant tones the Irish youth was told by the officers to accouide, and the order was obeyed with both fear and alacrity Mr Gouverneur then exacted fro officer his word of honor that the man be permitted to return, and remarked at the same time, in an ironical manner, that if they continued to tear down our fences and commit other depredations we should all of us know the location of the Alms House

At a much later period General Jubal A Early's Army passed our door _en route_, as at least he hoped, for Washi+ngton General John B Gordon sent an orderly to our house with his compliments to ask for a map of Frederick County, which ere unable to supply All through the day the Southern troops continued to march by, until, towards sunset, the rear of the last column halted in front of our place As we knew that a battle was i hearts and anxious hopes When the firing of cannon began we know that the battle of the Monocacy had begun and were truly grateful that it was four miles away! The battle was short and decisive and the Southern Army was repulsed The wounded soldiers were conveyed to Frederick, where hospitals were improvised, and the dead were laid to rest in Mount Olivet Cemetery, on the outskirts of the city Both Northern and Southern syentle ministrations resulted in several instances in ro physicians left in Frederick to attend the wounded soldiers was Doctor Robert S Weir, who subsequently becaeon in New York City While stationed at the hospital in Frederick, he hter of Robert G McPherson, whom at the conclusion of the war he ton, as a direct descendant of Colonel Saton, and whose five wives are all interred in the graveyard at the old fainia Mrs McPherson, one of whose ancestors was Miss Ann Steptoe, who hby Allerton, was also a niece of ”Dolly”

Madison

Prior to the battle of the Monocacy I discovered that our house was again surrounded by quite a number of Northern soldiers This was an usual occurrence, to be sure, but this ti such a careful scrutiny of the premises that I was led to inquire of one of them what object they had in view To my utter dismay I was informed that as our house was upon a hill they had selected it as ”a position,”

and that our safest place was in the cellar We soon realized the wisdoan to fly around us froreater part of the day underground, wondering all the while how long our involuntary imprisonment would last, as these dark and disreat restraint upon the children and exceedingly depressing to Mr Gouverneur and h Northern in our sentiments, we sometimes preferred the visits of the Confederates to those of their adversaries, owing to the greater consideration which we received from them Upon the arrival of our own soldiers, their first act was to search the house fronantly inquired their object and was curtly inforradually tolerated thisere routed up at five o'clock, and then I protested The Union soldiers took it for granted that, owing to the locality of our holy at ti in their power todays I frequently recalled the wise saying of Marechal Villars, ”Defend me from my friends, I can defend reat difference in the conduct of the various detachments of the Union Arreeted the appearance of the 6th Army Corps with much enthusiasm It was coular Army; and I trust its survivors will accept my hu of the day following the departure of so_ a private appeared at one of our rear doors and inquired when the troops had departed He had been indulging in a sound sleep under one of the broken fences and holly unconscious that his comrades had moved away He hesitated for some minutes as to the course he should pursue and then hurried off toward Hagerstown We subsequently learned that he was shot at a point not far distant and were i our Civil War

General David Hunter arded with terror by those in sympathy with the Southern cause

It was he who perfor persons suspected of disloyalty further South, thereby often separating families Many of his victims were elderly people and it is difficult for me at this late day to describe the amount of distress these orders occasioned I remember one case particularly well, that of Dr John Thoether with his wife, was ordered to proceed immediately Mrs McGill was in very delicate health and the fright caused by such sus, which by the ere not carried out, treht to bear, resulted in death Many years after the war I attended a supper party at the houests drifted into war reminiscences Dr McGill was present and, as the conversation progressed, he was so overcome by his e the numerous visits of the Confederate arreat favorite and for some time made his headquarters in the city of Frederick I learned from Colonel William Richardson, a beloved citizen of that place, that the General was especially solicitous concerning the welfare of the men under his command One day, for exa raw persi of such unsuitable food The soldier explained that he was adapting his stoh we did not see Stonewall Jackson's troops pass on their march to Frederick, ere aware of their presence there Barbara Frietchie, whom Whittier has immortalized, lived in a s Carroll Creek, but whether she ever waved a Union flag as Stonewall Jackson'swhich opinions differ Southern sympathizers deny it, while persons of Northern senti in Frederick assert that the verses of the Quaker poet represent the truth At any rate, a wo” in that city She was interred in the burying ground of the Geres arenot far from where

The clustered spires of Frederick stand Green-walled by the hills of Maryland

Ithe Civil War that the word ”shoddy” was coined It was originally used to designate a class of inferior goods intended for use in the army from the sale of which nate those who used such goods; and thus, by extension, one heard not only of ”shoddy people,” but also of ”shoddy parties,” ”shoddy clothes,” and so on

We heartily shared in the rejoicings of the North when General Lee surrendered In our country ho that at its conclusion I remarked to my husband in a jocular vein that I was prepared for a life with the Co up our silver which had been buried an to turn his attention to agriculture Our far the finest in Frederick County, which is usually regarded as one of the garden spots of the country Our social relations had been entirely suspended, as the distractions attending the war had kept us so actively e pleasant acquaintances fro our first visitors were Judge and Mrs Williae Potts; Mr and Mrs Charles E Trail; the Rev Dr and Mrs George Diehl and their daughter Marie, who in subsequent years endeared herself to the residents of Frederick; Mrs John McPherson and her daughter, Mrs Worthington Ross; Dr and Mrs Fairfax Schley; Judge and Mrs John Ritchie; Mr and Mrs Jacob M Kunkel; and the Rev

Marlishman who had served in the British Army and at this time was the rector of All Saints Episcopal Church in Frederick He had been selected for this pulpit on account of his neutral political views and we found in hienial acquaintance He remained in Frederick, however, for only a short period after the war and was succeeded by the deservedly beloved Rev Dr Osborne Ingle, who, after a pastorate of nearly half a century, recently passed to his reward I can not pass this Godly man by without an encorectorshi+p he was truly a leader of his flock and, like the ”Good Shepherd of Old,” the sheep knew hi for Mr Gouverneur and me to discover that neither of us was adapted to a country life under the conditions prevailing at the close of the War--so very different fro in that locality at a later period He knew nothing of practical farh I was never entirely without domestic service, as I always had with ht from the East, ere not fitted, at the best, for such a life

The result was that after one winter's experience wethe trials and tribulations of that distant winter I often recalled a remark which Lord Chesterfield is said to have made to several persons whom he disliked: ”I wish you were married and settled in the country” It has even been asserted that, in his absent an infuriated cow, he addressed the beast with the same words This was a favorite anecdote of General Scott, and it appealed to ard country life a forlorn fate for all woe wealth hich to gratify every passing whi_ was full of annoyances and discourage water in our house and were supposed to supply ourselves from a cistern in the yard which had contracted the bad habit of running dry and for inconvenient periods re so We were therefore co at least a quarter of aan artesian well, but all our attempts were unsuccessful Country life was distasteful to cooks as they preferred to live in a city where they could le with friends, and I soon learned that if I wanted to keep a servant I must hire one who had a baby, and that is just what I did Although country life was distasteful to her, too, she took her dose of medicine because she could not help herself as no one else would ereat care to norance but more frequently fro to the lack of proper attention, was actually in danger of starving to death She kept it in a wooden box under a tree in the garden, and I was obliged at stated intervals to see that the child was fed

During our su_ our servantsfrom an iron tripod in the yard They also made apple and peach butter, a Gerarded in that section of the country The apples or peaches were allowed to cook slowly all day in a kettle suspended from the tripod and were stirred by wooden paddles, whose handles were long enough to enable them to be worked at a convenient distance froarded as an iar was seldom added until the last Mr Gouverneur experi His success was almost phenomenal and we enjoyed the fruits of his labor for ht to our door in wagon-loads by the country folk who surrounded us