By Thursday morning, 9 July 1863, the heavy rainshowers which had muddied the Potomac and veiled theskies over Alexandria, Virginia, for much of the week hadcleared, the better to illuminate a poignant scene at thePrince Street wharf. There, 120 Alexandrians, men,women and children, waited to board a steamer, whiletearful relatives and friends looked on. The projected tripwas not of their choosing and they had had little time toprepare. They were, according to the federal govern-ment, “disloyal persons” who had refused to sign an oathof allegiance, and although they were only blocks fromtheir just vacated homes, already they presented thefamiliar image of exhausted and dispirited refugees.

The best way to tell their story is to let their contem-poraries, friend and foe, tell it.

In July 1863, Alexandria had been occupied by feder-al troops for more than two years. The 1860 U.S. Censusreported the city population at 12,652. According to thePhiladelphia Inquirer, by August of 1863 “Not one thirdof the original inhabitants remain”2 and many of thosewho did chafed under the occupation with undisguiseddisgust. A description of the prevailing animus was givenby a British newsman, Edward Dicey, who visitedAlexandria in the spring of 1862.

Closely connected as the little town is withWashington, it was bitterly ‘secesh’; and the citizens ofAlexandria showed their dislike of the Federal army ofoccupation by every means in their power. The women,as may be supposed, displayed their animosity mostoutspokenly. Unless they were foully belied, they usedto take pleasure in insulting the private soldiers withepithets which will not bear repetition.3

“Rebels,” of course, was the usual term for the

Confederates. However, as early as 1861, by which time11 slave states had seceded, Union soldiers and theirsympathizers commonly referred to them as “secesh,”short for “secessionist.” The word was used dismissive-ly as a noun or adjective.

Another member of Dicey’s touring group, a celebrat-ed novelist, noted the seething resentment in Alexandriabut considered it with greater empathy than the reporter.Nathaniel Hawthorne’s article on his visit behind Unionlines was published in the July 1862 issue of the Atlantic

“This Long Agony”1

A Test of Civilian Loyalties in an Occupied Cityby Diane Riker

SCENE IS ALEXANDRIA, VAOFFICER -- “Sissy, will you give me that flag.”GIRL -- “Oh, no! “But I can tell you where you can get plenty.”OFFICER -- “Where -- where?”GIRL -- “Why at Bull Run!”

Young girls taunt a Union officer in a contemporary image ofinsubordination in Alexandria.

Editor Linda Greenberg Spring #2 2011

1

Monthly under the pseudonym “A Peaceable Man.”

I tried to imagine how very disagreeable the pres-ence of a Southern army would be in a sober town ofMassachusetts; and the thought considerably lessenedmy wonder at the cold and shy regards that are castupon our troops, the gloom, the sullen demeanor, thedeclared or scarcely hidden sympathy with rebellion,which are so frequent here.4

The first move in the drama that was to unfold at thePrince Street wharf was made by Brig. Gen. John PottsSlough, the 34-year-old military governor of Alexandriasince August of the previous year. (His residence still

stands at 209 South Saint Asaph Street, Alexandria,although his office next door is gone. See page 7 for aphoto of his home.) He had arrived in the city, he said,when “life and property were at the mercy of the mad-dened throng - a condition of things perhaps never in thehistory of this country to be found in any other city.”5

His first step had been to restore order among his ownmen by shutting down every establishment dispensingliquor. Then, exasperated by the hostility of the nativepopulation, Slough, a man of “imperious temper,”6

determined to bring stability to a city in rebellion. Residents came to suspect that whenever Southern

troops or their partisans scored a success, the militarygovernor exacted local retribution.7 Arrests were madeand suspects sent across the Potomac to the Old CapitolPrison in the District until they pledged an “Oath ofAllegiance” to the Federal Government or signed a“parole of honor,” agreeing not to aid the Confederatecause. The parole, as we shall see, did not buy one muchtime or trust.

On 9 March 1863, Confederate Capt. John SingletonMosby had slipped through the Union lines at the Fairfax

Courthouse and captured Gen. Edwin Stoughton and 100of his men. In June as Confederate troops were reportedclosing in on Alexandria, Slough reacted by compiling alist of citizens suspected of aiding the rebels. This timehe determined to rid the city of them, and sent theirnames up the line to Army headquarters in the capital.

HeadquarHeadquarters Departers Department of Wtment of Washington,ashington,WWashington, June 22, 1863 – 1ashington, June 22, 1863 – 11.15 a.m.1.15 a.m.

General SLOUGH, Military Governor of Alexandria:Your suggestions with regard to the disposal of the

disloyal people of Alexandria have been forwarded tothe War Department, approved.

As soon as approved there, the orders will be issued.The man Smith8should be retained, and sent south withthem.

By command of Major-General Heintzelman:J. H. TAYLOR,Chief of Staff, Assistant Adjutant-General.9

____________________

Maj. General Samuel P. Heintzelman, a native ofPennsylvania and graduate of West Point, was in com-mand of the defense of Washington. In November 1861he had led the Union troops who sacked the church atPohick, where George Washington had worshiped, cart-ing away or destroying its precious artifacts. But to putin place Slough’s plan for the Alexandrians, he wantedapproval from the Secretary of War.

WWar Deparar Department, tment, Adjutant General’Adjutant General’s Offices OfficeWWashington, D. C., June 27, 1863.ashington, D. C., June 27, 1863.

Maj. Gen. S. P. HEINTZELMAN,

Commanding Department of Washington:

Sir: referring to the communication of Brigadier-General Slough respecting the disposition of disloyalresidents of Alexandria, the Secretary of War directsthat you cause the persons named in the list presentedby Brigadier-General Slough (adding to this list anyothers of the same character who may have been omit-ted) to be sent by boat to Old Point Comfort to be turnedover to Major-General Dix10 for delivery at City Point,the individuals sent having the privilege of taking theirfamilies with them, with a reasonable amount of bag-gage. In carrying out these instructions be pleased tofurnish General Dix with a list of the persons and theirfamilies.

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant-General.11

Brig. Gen. John P. Slough's hand grips his sword. Althoughconventionally posed, the general, in fact, was not to be trifledwith. (Library of Congress)

2

City Point, Virginia, at the confluence of the Jamesand Appomattox Rivers had become a supply depot forthe Union. It was just 20 miles from the southern capitalat Richmond, where the refugees could find other dis-placed Alexandrians.

Heintzelman then passed the order to Lieut. Col. HenryHoratio Wells, Provost Marshal at Alexandria. Wells wasa member of the Michigan Infantry, who would laterserve as governor of Virginia under Reconstruction. Inaddition to supervising the city’s military police andcourts, Wells and his staff had the weekly duty of issuingpasses to go in and out of the city, and every MondayKing Street outside his office was thronged with lines ofapplicants.

Following is the notice Wells had delivered to the peo-ple on the disloyal list on Tuesday June 30 andWednesday, July 1:

HeadquarHeadquarters Prters Provost-Marshal-Generalovost-Marshal-GeneralDefenses South of the PotomacDefenses South of the PotomacAlexandria, VAlexandria, Va., June 29, 1863a., June 29, 1863

In pursuance of an order of the War Department, youare hereby notified to appear at this office forthwith andmake satisfactory proof of your loyalty to theGovernment of the United States of America, and fail-ing to make such proof within forty-eight hours afterreceiving this notice you will be sent outside of ourlines. Persons so removed will be sent by boat to CityPoint. Heads of families will be allowed to take their

families with them, together with a reasonable amountof personal baggage, not exceeding 100 pounds,including the trunk or package, to each grown person,and the necessary wearing apparel of the childrenaccompanying them. They will not be allowed to takeany supplies, stores, or medicines, nor any letters, cor-respondence, or writings of any kind whatever.All such persons to whom this notice is sent will

without further order deliver their baggage at the dock,foot of Prince street, at 9 o’clock Monday morning, July6, 1863, with a complete inventory of the same. Allsuch baggage will be examined, and if contraband arti-cles are found, the entire baggage of the personattempting to take such articles out will be confiscated,and no goods will be allowed to pass unless so deliv-ered, examined, inventoried, and approved. They willalso at or before that time send to this office a list of themembers of their families who are to accompanythem, with the full name and age of each person.The parties, and the members of their families accom-

panying them,will report at the foot of Prince street, onTuesday morning, July 7, at 9 o’clock. No person willbe allowed to go on board excepting those so to be sentSouth.

By order.H.H. WELLS Lieut. Col. and Prov. Mar. Gen. Defenses South of Potomac(Copy of the above served upon all disloyal persons in Alexandria and vicinity.) 12

_________________________

General S. P. Heintzelman was photographed standing next to a porch post at the convalescent camp near Four MileRun. The people with the general wear the fashion of the day and, with them in mind, we can visualize the crowd onthe wharf at Prince Street. (Library of Congress)

3

On 1 July, the Alexandria Gazette reported that the“serving of notices upon citizens, under the recent orderfor sending persons south, commenced yesterday, andwas continued today. A very large number were noti-fied.”

Certainly, there was precedent for the expulsion of dis-sidents. On 4 January 1863, Maj.-Gen. Hurlburt, com-manding the District of Tennessee, had ordered that forevery attempted sabotage of the railroads, he would sendSouth ten families known to be rebel sympathizers, start-ing with the wealthiest.13

An order for dealing with disloyal citizens in a civilwar was included in The Instructions for the Governmentof the Armies of the United States in the Field, preparedby Francis Lieber and authorized by President Lincoln on24 April 1863: “…if he (the commander) deems it appro-priate, or if his government demands of him that everycitizen shall by an oath of allegiance, or by some othermanifest act, declare his fidelity to the legitimate govern-ment, he may expel, transfer, imprison, or fine the revolt-ed citizens who refuse to pledge themselves anew as cit-

izens obedient to the law and loyal to the government.”14

Although this writer was unable to find Slough’s orig-inal list with military papers held in our NationalArchives, an early copy of the Alexandria roll, with thesubsequent actions of those named, is in the Prince Streetmuseum of the Mary Custis Lee, 17th Virginia RegimentChapter 7, United Daughters of the Confederacy. In all,it lists 243 names of individuals and families.

Even as those notified sold or stored their possessionswith neighbors and hustled to cram the family clothinginto trunks, rumors of relief were spreading throughtown. “The general impression…at the time of puttingthe paper to press,” wrote the Gazette editor on theevening of 3 July, “upon information said to have beenreceived from Washington, today, was, that the order hadbeen either revoked, suspended, or modified.”

Had Lincoln’s iron-willed Secretary of War Edwin M.Stanton had second thoughts about the military’s strategyin this case? It would seem so from the following com-munication, summoning the Provost Marshal toWashington.

___________________

WWashington, D.C., July 3, 1863,ashington, D.C., July 3, 1863,

Lieutenant-Colonel WELLS, Provost-Marshal, Alexandria, Va.:

Please report yourself to this Department onMonday at 11 a.m. with the list of disloyal persons pro-posed to be sent from Alexandria, suspending anyaction on the matter until further orders.

EDWIN M. STANTON,Secretary of War.15

______________________________________

By Thursday, that small glimmer of hope was extin-guished. Following whatever the weekend and Wellsbrought to his attention, Stanton evidently endorsedSlough’s plan. Immediately after his meeting with the

Lieut. Col. Henry Horatio Wells (1823-1900), Provost Marshalof Alexandria, later became famous for his command of thetroops who tracked John Wilkes Booth to a tobacco barn. Wellswas promoted to Brigadier General.

The dock at Prince Street is in the center of this section of the “Bird’s Eye View of Alexandria” by Charles Magnus ofNew York, printed in 1863, the year of the ordered exodus. The dock extended farther inland than any of its neighbors.(Library of Virginia)

4

Secretary, the Provost Marshal posted the following inThe Gazette.

_______________________________

HEADQUARTERS PROV. MARSHAL GENERALDEFENCES SOUTH OF THE POTOMAC.

Alexandria, July 6th 1863.Those persons who by orders heretofore issued at

these headquarters are to be sent to City Point, willdeliver their baggage at the foot of Prince Street at 9o’clock A. M., Wednesday, July 8th 1863, and willsend to this office before that time an inventory of theirpersonal baggage, as also a statement of the amount andkind of money which they desire to take with them.There will be no restrictions as to money except that itmust belong to the person taking the same, and not to betransported for other persons, and no gold or silver willbe allowed to be taken. The parties leaving will reporton board at 9 o’clock, July 9, 1863.

H. H. WELLS,LT. Col. and Provost Marshal General,Defences South of the Potomac

_______________________

Although he was not personally involved, Alexandriabusiness clerk and occasional poet Henry Whittington(ca. 1812-1884) was following the unfolding events inhis diary with mounting rage. Whittington was an

uncompromising Secessionist.

Monday, July 6 The dayopens with a tremendous rain,the rain having commencedduring the night. The papers oftoday bring no additional newsfrom Meade and Lee’s armies,but what they lose in news theymake up in braggadocia. Thisbeing the time appointed for ourcitizens who were ordered to gosouth, to report with theirBaggage at the wharf, numberswere there, although the rainfell in torrents, and finding noperson to receive them, theyapplied at the Provost’s officewhere they were informed, thatthe order is merely deferredto the subsequent day. We aretold that this cruelty to our citi-zens was devised and set inmotion by the Union men ofAlexandria,16 aided by Gen.Slough and his ProvostMarshal, Lieut. Col.Wells….(Diary of HenryWhittington)

On that Monday evening, Alexandria’s newspaper tookup the story. The editor was withholding one piece ofpersonal information, which he would soon reveal.

The past week has been one of painful excitement, inthis place, in consequence of the order for the deporta-tion of persons to the South, as many of the citizens,mostly old residents, including several ladies, hadreceived notices to that effect. It is said that severalhundred of these notices to individuals had been sentout. And the suspense and anxiety were increased bythe contradictory rumors and reports that prevailed....The military authorities, it is said, will give furthernotice of what has ultimately been determined upon.

P. S. – Since the above was in type an order has beenissued by the Provost Marshal, directing those personsnotified, that they will be sent to City Point, to delivertheir baggage at the Prince street dock on Wednesdaymorning and themselves report on board the boat onThursday morning at 9 o’clock. Inventories of allthings taken are to be sent to the office of the ProvostMarshal previous to Thursday morning. No gold or sil-ver will be allowed to be taken, but there is no restric-tion as to the amount of other descriptions of money.(Alexandria Gazette 6 July, 1863)

And then the incensed Whittington returned to his diarywith evident frustration.

The office of the Provost Marshal, on the north side of King Street (later 525), housed police head-quarters and the court. It was here that the exiled Alexandrians came on a morning of torrentialrain to learn their fate. (The sign on the flag pole advertised Dick Parker's Music Hall "open everynight," which would seem to date the photo before Gen. Slough's arrival.) (Matthew Brady photo-graph, National Archives)

5

The cloudy weather still continues, with lightshowers occasionally falling, the northern papers stillare jubilant over the reported successes of Meade’sArmy over Lee, but these accounts so far distort thetruth, as to render them perfectly unreliable to intelli-gent & thinking men. The order banishing several hun-dred of our citizens from our midst, it now appears is tobe strictly enforced, and they are notified to be at thewharf at 8 o’clock on Thursday morning, 9th inst., fromwhence they will be transported to City Point. Thisorder we regard as one of the greatest acts of tyrannyever perpetrated in our midst as numbers who are thusto be exiled from their homes are among the most quietand amiable members of our community – some beinginfirm, aged & crippled. Can it be possible that suchvillainy shall be long unwhipped (?) of justice, or that ajust God can long tolerate the infamous acts of such apeople? Time will show. (Diary of HenryWhittington,Tuesday, 7 July 1863)

That evening, the Gazette reported that additionalnotices had been sent to many of those named on the listinforming them that by taking an oath of allegiance “orgiving other satisfactory security” they could remain inAlexandria. Not all had received this second notice, thewriter commented. (Alexandria Gazette 7 July, 1863)

There followed a torment of emotions and decisions.Faced with the choice of losing their homes, possessionsand livelihood or capitulating, by Wednesday ninety-eight Alexandrians had taken the oath of allegiance andfifty-nine had signed the “parole of honor.”17

On Wednesday the city endured another spate of show-ers and skies had not cleared by evening whenWhittington again took up his pen.

We have had one of the heaviest rains of the seasontoday and indications for more. According to Com.Porter, adjutant to Secretary Wells, Vicksburg surren-dered on the 4th of July but notwithstanding this high

authority we cannot believe it, as thelast accounts we had from this pointleft the northern army further fromthe scene of attack than former-ly…We believe that this order exil-ing a portion of our citizens is to becarried out, as their Baggage is nowbeing received on board the boatwhich is to convey them to CityPoint. (Diary of Henry Whittington 8July 1863)

The side-wheel steamboat Sylvan Shore, built in New York State in 1856, waited at the Prince Street wharf for its unhappy pas-sengers. Until the war, it had been ferrying as many as 1000 commuters and shoppers daily on the Harlem and East Riversto and from lower Manhattan. (New York Times, 18 Dec. 1857 and Harry Johnson and Frederick S. Lightfoot, Maritime New Yorkin 19th Century Photographs. Toronto 1980)

Union troops drilling in front ofAlexandria’s City Hall. Note the clocktower referenced by Henry Whittington onpage 8. (Frank Leslie’s Illustrated News-paper. Oct. 5, 1861, p. 331.)

6

Edgar Snowden Jr. had succeeded his father as editor ofthe Alexandria Gazette, established by his grandfather,Samuel Snowden. The Snowdens had run afoul of thegovernment prior to 1863. When the newspaper (tem-porarily renamed “The Local News”) ran an editorial on10 February 1862 calling the arrest of Rev. Kensey J.Stewart of St. Paul’s Church for refusing to pray forPresident Lincoln “outrageous,”18 their offices were seton fire. The paper, in new quarters, did not resume pub-lication for a year.

Also that February, Edgar Snowden Jr. had been one oftwenty-one members of the Volunteer Relief Associationarrested for “furnishing aid to the insurgents by contribu-tions to support the families of those absent serving in therebel army.”19 The group was detained in the MilitaryPrison in Washington. They refused to swear an oath ofallegiance to the Federal Government but were releasedin late March after signing a “written parole of honor.”Their pardons would prove short-lived.

Now Edgar Snowden told his readers that he wasamong those on the government’s list. The editor, hiswife and three children were preparing to leave the city.

To the Subscribers to the Gazette:

Having been ordered, along with many other of my fel-low citizens, by military authority to leave the place ofmy nativity and my home, my connection with theGazette will be severed, temporarily at least. I can do

no less than return to those who have heretofore gener-ously supported me in my labors, my heartful thanksand assure them of my constant gratitude. My lot andthat of my father’s has been peculiarly hard. He had lostsince the commencement of the present troubles theearnings of a life time, and I, all of my labor since man-hood. In his future efforts to support himself and hisfamily, I cannot doubt, that, even under the mostadverse circumstances he will be sustained, by whose inwhose midst he was born and has lived – whilst I mustseek for my support among those with whom my lotmay be cast.

EDGAR SNOWDEN, jr. (The Alexandria Gazette, 8 July, 1863)

Even the printer’s type seemed to falter under the press-man’s hand:

The steamer Sylvan Shore is the boat designated toconvey to City Point the persons ordered to go Southfrom this place. She lies at the foot of Prince street. Aquantity of baggage was received on board to-day, andreceipted for. Several persons orignally (sic) notified toleave have been since paroled. The number to gotomorrow we cannt (sic) yet accurately ascertain.(Alexandria Gazette, 8 July, 1863)

In early July, the Union celebrated victories atVicksburg and Gettysburg and tensions eased in the portcity. Despite what some would later say, there is no indi-

The home of military governor General J. P. Slough at 209 South St. Asaph Street, on the left, and the home ofGazette editor Edgar Snowden, Jr., on the right, at 619 S. Lee Street. Both look today much as they did during theCivil War. (Photographs by Robert Neubauer)

7

cation in the military correspondence that the wholeevent was a stunt to intimidate the citizenry, with nointention of its ever being carried out. But, for whateverreason, the order to evacuate was abruptly rescinded.

_____________________________________

Alexandria, July 9, 1863Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War:

Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receiptof your telegraphic order countermanding former orderupon subject of sending disloyal persons fromAlexandria.

Respectfully, JNO. P. SLOUGH,Brigadier-General20

__________________________

Henry Whittington described the disposition of the cit-izens at the Prince Street wharf. Whether he was, in fact,an eyewitness is unknown. He appears to be the only onereporting that the passengers had actually been taken onboard.

The weather is again fair and bids fair to be againwarm. This long agony in regard to sending the peopleto the south is at length over, but not until many of ourcitizens had had their hearts lacerated by the thoughts ofseparation from all they hold most dear on earth, and themanner in which their feelings were sported with, wasas cruel as the order banishing them from their homes. It appears now that it was never intended to carry thisorder into execution, but in order to make men take theoath of allegiance, they provided a boat, ordered thebaggage of the nonconformists to be placed on board,and even allowed them to embark ere they announcedthat the boat would not proceed.

And, on a rather evocative note, Whittington ended thepage:

Yesterday afternoon (8 July 1863), the weightattached to the Town Clock, fell with a crushing effectthrough several floors, but did no other damage. This isthe second time this has occurred in this year. (Diary ofHenry Whittington, 9 July 1863)

We know for certain that Snowden was there and thefollowing is his paper’s account of that dreaded morning.

On yesterday morning ... a large crowd assembledon Prince street to take leave of their friends and rela-tives, and there were many sad farewells, many sceneswhich would have touched any heart. Suddenly, how-ever, and in the midst of this, a rumor ran through thecrowd, that the order, by direction of the WarDepartment, had been revoked or withdrawn, and,directly afterwards, the intelligence to that effect wasofficially announced. – In a few minutes, the baggage of

those who had been notified, was removed from theboat and delivered to its owners, those who were pre-pared to leave returned to their homes, and the crowddispersed. Alexandria Gazette, 10 July 1863)

At Jones Point, a little group of excited children led bya woman in her early twenties, had waited to wavefarewell to the steamer. The young woman was IsabelEmerson who lived on upper Duke Street next to theUnion stockade built to protect the railroad. This is howshe described that day:

An order has been issued for all Southern men to takethe oath of allegiance to the United States or they wouldbe sent by steamer outside the lines. Hurried prepara-tions were made to get the old men who were left readyfor the journey. I took some little children with me, andwent down to Jones’ Point to see the boat go by. I metseveral on the way, accompanied by their wives, look-ing sad at the thought of leaving their homes and fami-lies. We waited on the Point for hours but in vain, asno boat passed. For some unaccountable reason, theorder had been rescinded.21

News from the battlefields was as troubling for theConfederates as it was triumphant for the Union. Andone Confederate in particular was consumed by the mem-ory of those dejected families and their helpless friends atthe Prince Street dock.

Friday July 10 the weather is warm though we cannot

call it unseasonable. Probably since Alexandria hasbeen settled, there never has been witnessed a scenesimilar to the scene which occurred yesterday when thecitizens who had been notified to leave their homes ortake the oath of allegiance to the United States, as alarge number of those who had been ordered away weremen of families and a considerable portion of these hadnot the means to carry their families with them, yet

8

Anne Frobel lived here, in the home her father built, duringthe Civil War. Her father was the music teacher for MarthaWashington’s two children. (Mt. Vernon Library)

sooner than take an oath to a government they despisedthey resolved to accept banishment in preference, andthis heroism upon the part of such men should be suffi-cient to convince the Lincolnites of the utter folly of anattempt to subjugate the south. The news from Lee’sArmy indicates another battle on the north side of thePotomac or Lee shall leave that soil. (Diary of Henry Whittington, 10 July 1863)

Two and one half miles southwest of City Hall, in whatmust have seemed at the time open country, anotherdiarist, Anne S. Frobel, 47, lived with her younger sisterElizabeth. The sisters, both unmarried, had inheritedWilton Hall from their father and remained therethroughout the war. Their brothers, Bushrod Washingtonand David, served in the Confederate Army. Althoughvery independent, the sisters welcomed the help of theirfew neighbors and the few black servants -- they hadinherited 19 slaves -- who stayed with them. They madesome money by boarding Federal officers and their visi-tors, a necessity that was often distasteful to them. AnneFrobel’s diary records the news.

The poor unfortunates went to work to dispose oftheir effects as best they could, not being allowed totake any thing with them. They packed and stowedaway in other people’s houses as much as they could,many sold off every thing they could getting little ornothing for it... an order came revoking the edict, theyare not to be sent at this time, but not by any means say-ing it was done away with altogether. And now, thesepoor creatures, after having disposed of their goods andchattels, with not a house, or home to lay their headsinto, are as badly off, or worse than if they had been sentaway. ” (Civil War Diary of Anne S. Frobel) 22

But from a Northern woman who had recently left thecity, the threatened exodus produced an entirely differentreaction. Julia Wilbur was a Quaker who had come toAlexandria from the north to minister to the newly freedblacks. She was appalled by their living conditions (her6 June 1863 Diary entry noted that even the UnionGeneral’s servant had come to her for clothes. “Workedfor Gen S. more than a mo. & comes here to begclothes!”) The following entries are excerpts from herjournal.

Sat. June 27 Never saw Duke St. so lively, hundreds ofmen at work on stockades. Rebs said to be 7 mi. fromhere.June 29 Mon. Rebs are very near here…Gen. Sloughsays rebels can’t come into this city…Lee is shellingHarrisburg. Secesh to take oath or leave by nextTuesday for Dixie…200 negroes taken by 2nd Cav. lastnight 2 mi. from here, too bad. Hooker is surrounded byGen Meade.

Wed. July 1… secesh are to leave on Monday. 1000white and col’d men sent from Alex to Baltimore towork. Fighting expected now. July 2 Gen. Meade has beaten the rebs at Gettysburg.Things look encouraging. Effort being made to Revokeorder for sending secesh off.

Wilbur left Alexandria for New York on Sat. 4 Julyand, delayed by heavy fog off Sandy Hook, arrived atWall St. Tuesday morning 7 July.)

Vicksburg has surrendered! Sure, no mistake and here I am alone in N.Y!

She spent the next 12 days traveling and did not receivenews from Alexandria until Sunday, 19 July.

Read that order to send secesh from Alex was countermanded. Too bad. (Diary of Julia Wilbur) 23

One of the more puzzling pieces in this whole episodeis the following letter. Is it dated incorrectly? Was theSecretary seeking a final list of those who never took theoath? Or was the government considering a second actfor the Prince Street drama?

Alexandria, July 12, 1863.Alexandria, July 12, 1863.

Hon. E. M. SHon. E. M. Stanton, Secrtanton, Secretaretary of Wy of War:ar:

Sir: I have completed the list of disloyal persons to besent out of Alexandria, Va., and send this notification, asordered by you yesterday. (This order has not beenfound)24

Respectfully, H. H. WELLS,Lieutenant-Colonel and

Provost-Marshal-General.25

9

Diane Riker is a writer/researcher for theAlexandria Archaeology Museum and aformer member of the AlexandriaArchaeological Commission. Her otherarticles for the Chronicle have exploredthe city’s name, its early lighting and itsearliest surviving waterfront warehouse.She is a member of the Friends ofArchaeology, the Alexandria HistoricalSociety and the Alexandria Association.The writer and her husband, Robert J.Riker, moved to this city seven years agoand live within a few blocks of the foot ofPrince Street where this story takes place.

Endnotes1 Henry Whittington, Diary entry for 8 July 1863. Manuscript.Alexandria Library local history/special collections.2 Excerpt from the Philadelphia Inquirer in the Alexandria Gazette,10 August 1863.3 Edward Dicey, Six Months in the Federal States. (London, 1863),in T. Michael Miller, ed. Pen Portrait of Alexandria, Virginia, 1739-1900. Bowie Md.: Heritage Books, 1987, p. 219.4 Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “About War Matters. By a PeaceableMan,” Atlantic Monthly, vol. 10, no. 57, July 1862, pp. 43-61.5 William B. Hurd, Alexandria, Virginia 1861-65. (Fort Ward,Alexandria, 1970), p. 26. 6 William F. Smith and T. Michael Miller. A Seaport Saga: Portraitof Old Alexandria, Virginia. (Virginia Beach, 2001), p. 89. 7 George G. Kundahl, Alexandria Goes to War: BeyondRobert E. Lee. (Knoxville, 2004), p. 252. 8 In the absence of General Slough’s letter and list, which this writerwas unable to find among the military records preserved in theNational Archives, it is impossible to know just who this Smithmight have been. There were two Smiths among those taking theoath: Thomas Smith, occupation unknown, and W. Smith, a shipmaster.9 U.S. War Department, The War of the Rebellion: a Compilation

of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. (70vols.; Washington, D.C. 1880-1901), Series 1, vol. 27 (Part III), p.260.10 Gen. John Adams Dix commanded the New York Infantry,Seventh Regiment. 11 The War of the Rebellion. Series 2, vol. 6, p.54.12 Ibid. p. 60-61.13 Frank Moore, ed., The Rebellion Record: A Diary of AmericanEvents. (6 vols.; New York, 1863), vol 6, p. 31.14 General Orders No. 100: The Lieber Code: Instructions for theGovernment of the Armies of the United States in the Field. SectionX, Article 156. (New Haven, Yale Law School).15 The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, vol. 6, p. 76.16 Whittington had been keeping a sharp eye on his fellow residentssince the war’s beginning. “Some Loyal (!) citizens are showingtheir sympathies for Lincoln and his acts, and a few who but a shorttime ago publicly declared that their fate was with Virginia have somodified their views as to be willing to accept an office, and to takethe obnoxious oath prepared by this infamously corrupt administra-tion, and I record in this connection with great regret the name ofW.D.M…once esteemed by me as a gentleman above reproach.R.B…, Son C.S.H…L. McK… T.F.C…, T.V…, & T.E…are freelyspoken of as being supporters of the tyrannic crew who now control the old ship of State.” Whittington Diary, 30 May 1961. 17 List of persons ordered by Military Authority to leave Alexandriafor Richmond on the 9th of July 1863. Manuscript in the Museum ofthe Mary Custis Lee, 17th Virginia Regiment Chapter 7, UnitedDaughters of the Confederacy, Alexandria.18 The Local News, 10 February 1862, Alexandria, cited in JamesBarber, Alexandria in the Civil War. (Lynchburg, 1988), p. 28.19 Besides Snowden, those arrested on 26 February 1862 includedW. M. Brown, E. S. Hough, John W. Burke, John A. Field, WesleyAvery, J.E. McGraw, W. H. Marbury, Stephen A. Green, W. HMcKnight, A. J. Fleming, Wm. Arthur Taylor, J. B. Dangerfield,John L. Smith, W. Cogan, James A. English, Henry Peel, H. C. Field,James Green, W. W. Harper, Hierome O. Claughton. The War of

the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 2, pp. 277-278. 20 The War of the Rebellion. Series 2, vol. 6, p. 96.21 Isabel Emerson did not publish her “Personal Memoirs of theCivil War” until 1924, when they appeared in the AlexandriaGazette almost daily from March 24 through April 7. By then shewas in her eighties, twice widowed, and her name was IsabelEmerson Otis Price. Her memory of that 1863 day when the boatwith its cargo of “disloyals” never passed Jones Point was groupedwith her 1864 diary entries. This was not unusual when journalswere often written on unbound pages and whether it was Mrs. Price’serror or the publisher’s is not known.22 Anne E. Frobel, The Civil War Diary of Anne S. Frobel of WiltonHill in Virginia. Mary H. and Dallas M. Lancaster, eds.(Birmingham, 1986), pp. 203-204.23 Julia Wilbur, Julia Wilbur Diaries 1844-1894, unpublished man-uscript. Alexandria Library local history/special collections,Microfilm 00562. 24 From footnote provided in the following source.25 The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, vol. 6, p. 109.

10

The mission of the Alexandria Historical Society is to promote an active interest in American his-tory and particularly in the history of Alexandria and Virginia. The society is organized exclusive-ly for educational purposes.

For information about the society’s lectures and awards presentation and for past issues of The Alexandria Chronicle please visit the society’s web site: www.alexandriahistorical.org.

The Chronicle is published through the support of the J. Patten Abshire Memorial Fund

OfOfficers of the Society ficers of the Society (2011-2014)

President: Bill DickinsonVice President: Peggy Gross

Secretary: Ted PulliamTreasurer: Jackie Cohan

Board MembersBoard Members

Debbie Ackerman (2010-2013)Lisa Adamo (2010-2013)Amy Bertsch (2010-2013)

David Cavanaugh (2011-2014)Audrey Davis (2011-2014)

Tal Day (2010-2013)Linda Greenberg (2010-2013)

Adrienne T. Washington (2011-2014)Karen Wilkins (2010-2012)

Immediate Past President Audrey DavisDirectors Emeritus Anne Paul

and Mary Ruth Coleman

PLUSAlexandria Archaeological Commission

Representative Katy CannadyThe Alexandria Chronicle Editor Linda Greenberg

Website Statistics Lisa AdamoNewsletter Amy Bertsch

HARC Representative Tal Day

11

Major General Samuel P. Heintzelman commanded theNorthern Department responsible for the defense ofWashington. (Library of Congress, Division of Prints andPhotographs)

Brigadier General John Potts Slough, the militarygovernor of Alexandria, lived at 209 So. St. AsaphStreet. Upon arriving he restored order by shuttingevery establishment dispensing liquor. (Library ofCongress)

The Civil War began on April 12, 1861 and lasted four years. The war affected all states and particularly Virginia and Alexandria.Alexandria was occupied by Northern troops from May 24, 1861 until April 9, 1865. In 1861 over half of the city’s citizens, siding with theSouthern cause, left. Those who remained in the city were ruled by a military governor and lived surrounded by Union soldiers. In thisissue of the Chronicle Diane Riker tells the story of a Union plan to deport Alexandrians who were considered “disloyal persons” in the sum-mer of 1863.