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The Shotwell Papers 249
were captains, lieutenants, sergeants, clerks, and camp-followers
of the recently abandoned Yankee army. Thou-sands
of them were foreigners, or worthless characters,
who would have been thrown out of employment but for
this opportunity. Such men naturally were ripe for such
work as was wanted of them; and were sure to do their
utmost to prevent the continuance of peace and good
feeling among the Southerners, as any such tranquility
must tend to shorten their own term of easy living on
high salary.
In other instances the Agents were Northern "Mis-sionary"
" preachers' '—so-called,—full of hatred of the
South, and greedily watchful for every excuse for
assaulting some of the "Rebel Aristocracy" on the plea
of defending the Freedmen's interests.
As may be supposed, it proved an unhappy day for
the Southern town or village—the date of the arrival of
the pompous Understrapper, with his squad of Yankee
soldiers, and his big sign board announcing his Head
Quarters at the "Agency For the Freedmen's Bureau."
With lightning rapidity the news ran through the ad-jacent
region that any darkey who preferred idleness to
work could come in town, and "draw rations" from "de
Burore." In a week's time many plantations were de-serted,
and there was no longer need for a sign at the
Agency; the swarms of lazy, vulgar negroes nocking
around the doorway, lounging on the side-walk (driving
white ladies into the gutter), or fighting at the nearest
grog-shop, betokened that the agent—'
' De Capt 'n.
'
'—was
in town, and at work encouraging the credulous Blacks
in anger against the Whites. If the town were large, a
company of Federal soldiers camped near; though a
single Yankee in uniform would have sufficed to arrest
ten thousand citizens; and in hundreds of instances to
my own knowledge, the Agent simply sent word by some
passing darkey
—
"Tell So and So to come to town—I
want him"—and the person, no matter what his stand-ing
would mount his conveyance, and ride 10, 20, 40 miles
to "report," and "stand examination" for some frivol-
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| Title | Page 265 |
| Full Text | The Shotwell Papers 249 were captains, lieutenants, sergeants, clerks, and camp-followers of the recently abandoned Yankee army. Thou-sands of them were foreigners, or worthless characters, who would have been thrown out of employment but for this opportunity. Such men naturally were ripe for such work as was wanted of them; and were sure to do their utmost to prevent the continuance of peace and good feeling among the Southerners, as any such tranquility must tend to shorten their own term of easy living on high salary. In other instances the Agents were Northern "Mis-sionary" " preachers' '—so-called,—full of hatred of the South, and greedily watchful for every excuse for assaulting some of the "Rebel Aristocracy" on the plea of defending the Freedmen's interests. As may be supposed, it proved an unhappy day for the Southern town or village—the date of the arrival of the pompous Understrapper, with his squad of Yankee soldiers, and his big sign board announcing his Head Quarters at the "Agency For the Freedmen's Bureau." With lightning rapidity the news ran through the ad-jacent region that any darkey who preferred idleness to work could come in town, and "draw rations" from "de Burore." In a week's time many plantations were de-serted, and there was no longer need for a sign at the Agency; the swarms of lazy, vulgar negroes nocking around the doorway, lounging on the side-walk (driving white ladies into the gutter), or fighting at the nearest grog-shop, betokened that the agent—' ' De Capt 'n. ' '—was in town, and at work encouraging the credulous Blacks in anger against the Whites. If the town were large, a company of Federal soldiers camped near; though a single Yankee in uniform would have sufficed to arrest ten thousand citizens; and in hundreds of instances to my own knowledge, the Agent simply sent word by some passing darkey — "Tell So and So to come to town—I want him"—and the person, no matter what his stand-ing would mount his conveyance, and ride 10, 20, 40 miles to "report," and "stand examination" for some frivol- |
