Thus all things were in confusion. The currency was nothing but
paper--it was a melancholy farce to call it money. The Confederate note
was popularly regarded as worth little more than the paper upon which
it was printed. Fathers of families went to market and paid hundreds of
dollars for the few pounds of meat which their households required each
day. Officers were forced to pay one thousand dollars for their boots.
Old saddle-bags were cut up, and the hides of dead horses carried off,
to manufacture into shoes. Uniform coats were no longer procurable--the
government had to supply them gratis, even to field officers. Lee
subsisted, like his soldiers, on a little grease and corn bread.
Officers travelling on duty, carried in their saddle-pockets bits of
bacon and stale bread, for the country could not supply them. In the
homes of the land once overflowing with plenty, it was a question each
day where food could be procured. The government had impressed every
particle, except just sufficient to keep the inmates alive. What the
commissaries had left, the "Yankee cavalry" took. A lady of Goochland
said to a Federal officer, "General, I can understand why you destroy
railroads and bridges, but why do you burn mills, and the houses over
women and children?" The officer bowed, and replied, "Madam, your
soldiers are so brave that we can't beat you; and we are trying to
_starve you_!"
The interior of these homes of the country was a touching spectacle.
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