Lincoln, the unknown

26In the latter part of March, 1865, something very significanthappened in Richmond, Virginia. Mrs. Jefferson Davis,wife of the President of the Confederacy, disposed of her carriagehorses, placed her personal effects on sale at a dry-goodsstore, packed up the remainder of her belongings, and headedfarther south. . . . Something was about to happen.Grant had been besieging the Confederate capital now fornine months. Lee's troops were ragged and hungry. Money wasscarce, and they were rarely paid; and when they were, it waswith the paper script of the Confederacy, which was almostworthless now. It took three dollars of it to buy a cup of coffee,five dollars to buy a stick of firewood, and a thousand dollarswas demanded for a barrel of flour.Secession was a lost cause. And so was slavery. Lee knew it.And his men knew it. A hundred thousand of them had alreadydeserted. Whole regiments were packing up now and walkingout together. Those that remained were turning to religion forsolace and hope. Prayer-meetings were being held in almostevery tent; men were shouting and weeping and seeing visions,and entire regiments were kneeling before going into battle.But notwithstanding all this piety, Richmond was tottering toitsfall.On Sunday, April 2, Lee's army set fire to the cotton andtobacco warehouses in the town, burned the arsenal, destroyedthe half-finished ships at the wharves, and fled from the city at193