r stores in person. The journey
undertaken early in May, 1864, was not unattended with danger; for,
though General Sherman had commenced his great march toward Atlanta,
Forrest, Morgan and Wheeler were exerting themselves to cut his
communications and break up his connection with his base. Along some
portions of the route the guerrillas swarmed, and more than once the
cars were delayed by reports of trouble ahead. The courageous ladies,
however, pushed forward and received from the generals in command the
most hearty welcome, and all the facilities they required for their
mission. They found that the suffering of the loyal refugees had not
been exaggerated; that in many cases their misery was beyond
description, and that from hunger, cold, nakedness, the want of suitable
shelter, and the prevalence of malignant typhoid fever, measles, scarlet
fever and the other diseases which usually prevail among the wretched
and starving poor, very many had died, and others could not long
survive. They distributed their stores freely yet judiciously, arranged
to aid a home and farm for Refugees and Orphans which had been
established near Nashville, and to render future assistance to those in
need at Knoxville, Chattanooga, &c., and returned to Philadelphia. Mrs.
Hallowell visited them again in the autumn, and continued her labors for
them till after the close of the war. The Home for Refugees and Orphans
near Nashville, formed a part of the battle ground in the siege and
battles of Nashville in December, 1864, and was completely ruined for
the time. Some new buildings of a temporary character were subsequently
erected, but the close of the war soon rendered its further occupation
unnecessary.
Mrs. Hallowell's earnest and continued labors for the refugees drew
forth from the loyal men and women of East Tennessee letters full of
gratitude and expressive of the great benefits she had conferred on
them. Colonel N. G. Taylor, representative in Congress from East
Tennessee, and one of the most eloquent speakers and writers in the
West, among others, addressed her an interesting and touching letter of
thanks for what she had done for his persecuted and tried constituents,
from which we quote a single paragraph.
"Accept, my dear madam, for yourself and those associated with you, the
warmest thanks of their representative, for the noble efforts you have
been and are making for the relief of my poor, afflicted, starving
people. Most of the
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