his house and robbed; the building was fired while his
wife, aged and infirm, was still in it. Upon his return, it was with the
utmost difficulty she was saved. Escape by the street was impossible, and
they were compelled to flee to a little garden in the rear of the house,
where they sat for hours, surrounded by fire. The rebel Gilmore forbade a
lady to remove her trunks from her house, and upon her telling him to his
face what she thought of his conduct, he drew his pistol and declared "he
would blow out her brains if she did not take that back." Many such
instances, and worse, might be recorded. There were, indeed, some among
them who acted humanely, refusing to do the work assigned them, but they
were exceptions.

"As soon as the town was thoroughly fired at all points, the rebels fell
back. On their way out they burned the residence of the County
Superintendent of Public Schools, because, as they told his family, 'he
had taught negroes.' Two hours after their departure, General Averill
entered the town, and we were once more inside the Union lines.

"Such is the story of the burning of Chambersburg. These outlines,
however, form a poor picture of the reality. The blackened ruins of this
once beautiful town must first be seen before the calamity can be
understood, and not then, for it is only by looking at it in detail, by
understanding the peculiar sadness there is in each separate loss, and
seeing the strange diversity of sorrow there is in this common woe, that
one can realize the full extent of the ruin. Eleven squares of blackened
ruins and over three millions of dollars in property consumed is the
outward estimate of the loss. But who can write the history of two
thousand people suddenly made homeless, dashed from affluence to poverty,
torn violently from the sacred associations of the past, and driven forth
houseless wanderers among strangers?

"The question is often asked, 'Who is responsible for this calamity?' Many
coldly and unhesitatingly lay it upon the citizens themselves; but surely
it is not necessary to argue that a few hundred citizens could not have
resisted successfully three thousand veteran soldiers with six pieces of
artillery. Many, too, have blamed General Couch, and false representations
have gone forth that the citizens were greatly incensed against him. The
writer of this letter has had peculiar opportunities of knowing the true
state of the case, and would ask attention to the following