Wilbur, Julia A. Letter to Amy Kirby Post.

Title

Wilbur, Julia A. Letter to Amy Kirby Post.

Creator

Wilbur, Julia A

Contributor

Post, Amy Kirby, 1802-1889

Date

1862-11-05

Description

Handwritten letter from Julia A Wilbur to Amy Kirby Post, November 5, 1862. Wilbur writes extensively of the terrible conditions of slaves in Virginia freed and taken care of by the Union army.

Is Part Of

Isaac and Amy Post Family Papers

Rights

The organization that has made the Item available believes that the Item is in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States, but a determination was not made as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. The Item may not be in the Public Domain under the laws of other countries. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information. http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/

Identifier

1374

Location

Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester

Transcription

(Page 1)

                                 Alexandria Va. Nov. 1^st, 1862
       My Dear Friend
                                 I have not for a moment forgotten what
thee said to me in the store a few days before I left home,
that if I came here & found ^the Contrabands^ needing every thing that thou
would make an effort to send me something for them.
I have been waiting to know precisely where I wd. stop before writing
thee, but today hearing Mrs. Post of Rochester very kindly
inquired after, I hasten to send thee a line.   I came to
Alex. yesterday from Washington bringing my trunks with me
intending to make this my base of operations. I have not
suited myself with a boarding place yet, but today when
I called on the Commissaries for the Contrabands I found one of
them to be Mr. Pierce of Rochester who formerly kept the National.
He boards at the Scott House kept by Mr. & Mrs. Kimball & he
thought I could get board there. I went & Mrs. K. inquired for
Susan Humphrey who had boarded with her I think in Chicago
& also for Mrs. Post with whom she felt acquainted through Mrs. H.
I think it will be a desirable place to board & if I can get a lady to take
a room with me I may go there. It is a large, fine house, but people
here wish to make the most of every room, for there are no empty
houses here now, some other time I will explain this. Now if some
of the good folks of N.Y. wd. send another lady ^here^ I wd. like it very much &
there would be plenty for her to do. – If the folks in Rochester knew the state
of ^things^ in Alex. they wd. make an effort I am very sure to help them. I tell thee
a little of what I’ve seen today. In the old slave pen there are several women
in one small room (a brick floor I discovered through the dirt) with one window were

(Page 2)

20 women & children many of them sick, a little fire wh they were huddling
around. [A?] not all get to it at once, they were wrapped in their old rags, the weather
has changed & they feel the cold very much now. They are furnished with a very
little wood & there are now many sick children that will die for the
want of fire. I wish thee w[oul]d. come & see for thyself. There were other
scenes quite as wretched as this, - I have been to another wretched
old place, the stairs & floor hardly safe to tread on, the place where windows
have been all boarded up. There were two rooms above & one below. In one
of these upper rooms were 2 or 3 women & 13 little children, 2 or 3 sick
one of them badly burnt, a little fire, some of these are orphans, for instance
one woman had brought away 3 of her own & 3 of her sister’s who was dead.
The mothers of the rest were out oat work. In another room was an one woman
& 7 children, the mother of some of these was away to work. They say the Union
ladies pay them, 75 & 50 for washing, but the secesh women wont pay them
but two or three [levies?], sometimes after they have worked for them some time. They
won’t pay them anything, say they have not done it well. One well spoken wo-
man said, “her master was Jerry Moden. I reckon you’ve heerd [sic] of him,
he was a Congress man in Washington. He said fore he would see one of his
niggers free he would put em all in a barn & burn em up, & if they went to
the Yankees they wd [starve?] them in 3 days.   When the master heard the Yankees
were could ^coming^ they tried to get off the Children & young men & women. It was in the
night, they had loaded some of them into wagons. This woman started with her
3 children, only partly dressed, one in her arms, the others 3 or 4 yrs. old, went
6 miles through the woods that night. Anything rather than be taken [S?]
The woman that brought away 6, said she fell down twice with one in her arms &
hurt its back, & it died after she got here. When she came here some of
them rode part way but some of them were “walked very fast” all the
way, some of them died from fatigue & exposure, some took colds that they

(Page 3)

have not got over yet. – They say the Union soldiers were good to them &
told them to come along, & when they work for them they get their pay.
Some of the men here say they have worked 3 mo[nths] for the govt. & have had no pay
yet. They all have just such rations as the soldier. Every thing is good, they all
say they have enough that is good to eat. More & better than they had been used to.
In the lower room in this house was an old woman washing for several ^children^ who had been
left with her by their mothers to take care of for the day. She wanted most of anything
some planks to make a bedstead. Nothing in the room that looked like a bed or bed-
ding. She had a bag or two of old clothes. She lies on the floor at night, & she says
her bones ache so in the morning, the floor is damp, & if she can only have
something to keep her off the floor it is all she wants. When I told her what
I had come here for, & was going to stay here, “Oh!” said she, “ I hope you will live
forever! The Lord bless you! the Lord bless You! & an old man there broke
forth into raptures. My friend, do you know that it seems to me that
the Lord has sent me here? I have never undertaken any thing before
when it has seemed so very plain that the Lord has directed my steps
& will continue to do so.     I went to the [Commissary?] & told him of this old
woman. He said there were several such places, & if he cd. get a load of boards
he should take them around. He had ordered wood, but it did not come.
I went again this P.M. & took this old woman a pair of stockings. I wish you could
has been ^her^. It seems wrong to me that I have left anything at home
or that I have laid up anything to keep. Oh, such a state of things as
exists in Alex. It seems that ^there is^ nobody to manage things. Today 200 or
300 sick soldiers were sent here from Fairfax Seminary. When they got
here nobody cd. tell them where to go or what to do. They drove to a place used
as a hospital near the P. Office. For 4 hrs. some of ^them^ lay there in those ambu-
lances in the cold. Some went into the building & on to the [steps?]. Mr. Gladwin
found them. He got some tea for them. Officers riding about all the time that

(Page 4)

care no more for the comforts of the soldiers than they can for the beasts.
Mr. Gladwin went to one & tried to get some brandy or wine for them, he had
it but would not let it go. He went to the Provost Marshal to get a bottle of
confiscated whisky, & gave them a spoon full apiece. Since then some
have been sent to the convalescent camp, others are suffering here tonight,
& these are some of the men who have gone forth so nobly to fight the
battles of our country. _ It makes me sick of my country, sick of
mankind. I hate the sight of shoulder straps & white gloves.
Mr. Gladwin is a Baptist minister, he has been here some time I dont know who
supports him. He receives supplies from various places for soldiers & for contra-
bands. He has started 2 or 3 schools in W. & 2 or 3 here. He is very active & I think
done a great deal of good. He has done a great deal for the sick, they have had no
physician. Yesterday Dr. Riply of Rochester was appointed physician for the contra-
bands, - Mr. Gladwin would like to be Superintendent, he is [acquainted?] in
Rochester. I wish thou would ask Frederick Douglass if he knows anything about
him. There are others that want the place of Super^nt& party spirit shows
itself in this as in every thing else. He boards where I am & also a Rev. Mr. [Warwi'k?]
sent by the Bap. Publication Soc. to visit & distribute tracts among soldiers & contra-
bands. – Their things are sent by Adam’s Express. I was told in W.
to have boxes sent by Harndnen’s Express & I expect some from Cayuga. Co.
Do send something, bedding, clothing, shoes stockings, very poor ones even
will be acceptable – It appears to me we have no right to any luxuries while
such a state of things exists. I am willing to live with just enough to keep
me strong & in good health. - - I can not get board for less than $5 a week.
I wish thee cd. see what I get for that. – If it is not too much trouble I wish thee
would show this to Mrs. Barnes. It will save me some writing, & I do not get much
time to write, & I am going to write for contributions to various places in N.Y. I shall
write to Mr. B. in a few days, - Direct boxes to Julia A. Wilbur
[Text on right side[
                                                                     No. 69 St. Asaph Street, South
                                                                      Alexandria Va
[Text on left side]
The Express Co. will leave a box at
the [door?]. You can prepay charges if you choose, &
let me know it by letter if you do so.
With great respect. In haste
Truly thy friend                       Julia A. Wilbur

(Page 5)

[Separate, small sheet of paper]

Can’t thee help me by writing to some of thy friends in
Philadelphia, New York or on Long Island to send supplies
for the contrabands here. I wd. be delighted to receive & distribute them.
I have a letter of introduction to the Mayor of Alex. from Jas. S. Hallowell
of Washington. Is he a relative of William Hallowell? I have met with the best

(Page 6)

kind of people in Washington, so kind, so interested in my success. I have
not lost all faith in mankind. Whatever I may do hereafter. When a man
like Mr. Van [Santword?] says “Miss Wilbur, it seems to me that God has sent you here just
at this time.” I wish Anna Barnes. It is very encouraging. I wish Anna Barnes cd
be here & work with me, or Mrs. Coleman. My hand is numb & lame, & I know my
writing looks bad. I can hardly read it myself. Please excuse.

Tags

Civil War; Freed Slaves; Personal

Collection

D.93 Isaac and Amy Post Family Papers

Citation

Wilbur, Julia A, “Wilbur, Julia A. Letter to Amy Kirby Post.,” RBSCP Exhibits, accessed November 22, 2024, https://rbscpexhibits.lib.rochester.edu/items/show/3661.

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