YANKEE SCOUT -- FUGITIVE SLAVE !!

In the last “Christmas in Richmond” issue of
YANKEE SCOUT, our heroes George, the
Fugitive Slave and Pvt. Calif Newton Drew,
sub. nom “Sam” the slave, after a late night
playing a Christmas Eve coloreds-only ball, in
some large but unidentified warehouse down on
the Richmond waterfront, had just pushed off from
somewhere along the Richmond docks, quiet on this
Christmas morning, out onto the frigid waters of the
James River, as they make their desperate clandestine
getaway from …
As part of the escape plan, Pvt. Drew is now thoroughly disguised in black-face makeup that was expertly applied
by none other than George the slave himself, who, as an African-American, has an expert’s insight into this sort of
thing, and who – being a barber – also cut Pvt. Drew’s hair “so short you could hardly see it.” [See last issue ! – Ed.]
Now, with this baffling role-reversal, Pvt. Drew looks the spittin’ image of a strong young Ni….Ne….ne… ni … n-n
African-American man, and is a suitable street-companion for George. Thus united in intent, and now largely in
appearance, the two fugitives are stuck together like brothers, and ready to execute their common plan.
As reported Last Issue, before the two men pushed off, Pvt. Drew had had a few days in Richmond, during the
run-up to the Christmas Eve Ball, to “cruise about the city” in his blackface: and he undoubtedly had many fine
adventures as he explored downtown – enjoying the hospitality of the Rebels during this, his surprise Christmas
furlough. It is believed that he also found one or two occasions to express to the citizens of Richmond his
profoundest gratitude for all they had done for him and his Union Army companions during the ongoing Civil War
– which adventures we cannot here recreate … BECAUSE ……..

Horses of Federal troops tied up in the ruins of downtown Richmond, ca. April 3, 1865.
BECAUSE … much, very much, of this waterfront district of Richmond, which Pvt. Drew is exploring incognito,
was later burned to the ground as the Confederate gum’mint evacuated before the advance of General Ulysses
Grant’s Union Army forces.
Indeed, on April 2, 1865, as a final parting favor to Virginia, General Robert E. Lee – in retreat -- set fire to many
of the most significant buildings, office structures and other installations in the heart of downtown Richmond:
including the Navy Yard, Arsenal and mills. Planning for this Evacuation began in the Confederate War
Department in February 1865 – where the buildings to be consumed or spared, were identified. But there not
being any means of controlling the fire once set, a city-wide conflagration ensued. As the rebel forces departed, it
was left to the Mayor and City Fathers of Richmond to offer their urgent surrender to advancing Union troops, and
beg their assistance in quenching the flames … …. which the Union Army then extinguished.

Map Showing Burned Districts of Richmond (1864) [sic]
The New York Times reported on the effects of this scorched-earth policy of General Robt. E. Lee:
At present we cannot do more than enumerate some of the most
prominent buildings destroyed. These include the Bank of Richmond,
Traders' Bank, Bank of the Commonwealth, Bank of Virginia, Farmers'
Bank, all the banking houses, the American Hotel, the Columbian Hotel,
the Enquirer building on Twelfth-street, the Dispatch Office and job
rooms, corner of Thirteenth and Main streets; all that block of buildings
known as Devlin's Block; the Examiner Office, engine and machinery
rooms; the Confederate Post-office Department building; the State Court-
house; a fine old building situated on Capitol-square, at its Franklin-street
entrance; the Mechanics' Institute, vacated by the Confederate States War
Department, and all the buildings on that square up to Eighth-street and
back to Main-street; the confederate arsenal and laboratory, Seventh-street.
All the banks were burned! But not the Tredegar Iron Works. That’s strange.
To find out why, READ ON!!! To learn which among these buildings not
identified by the New York Times reporter, were also being used as
Confederate offices – at least as of October, 1863 -- the reader would do well to
consult the trusty Evans & Co. handbook, The Stranger’s Guide & Official
Directory for the City of Richmond, Vol 1 No. 1 (October, 1863).
WAIT …
That reminds me …..

INDEED …., before focusing too closely on the Richmond Evacuation fire, and our brief excursus into the survival
from the flames, of the Tredegar Iron Works (see below), its opportune to here recall that, as of the third week of
December, 1863, Pvt. Drew was truly astray –himself a “Stranger in Richmond”: and he probably could have used
the benefit of the Evans & Co.’s recently published Stranger’s Guide : for, as an exhaustive directory to the
headquarters of Confederate officials, the Stranger’s Guide could inform Pvt. Drew as to which buildings and
alleyways to avoid, and which doorknobs in Richmond he would be well-advised not to turn!
Of course, if Pvt. Drew had got his hands on a copy of the Stranger’s Guide, ( at 50c Confed’te) he would have
noticed first the conspicuous and annoying lack of map – an evident oversight, referenced in the last issue of
YANKEE SCOUT – Christmas in Richmond. A Guide Book of this sort which does not include at least a sketch
map of city streets, is of little use to the Stranger… and so, the first thing such a Stranger might seek to do, might be
to locate the Confederate Cartographer’s office in Richmond in order to obtain such map to complement the handy
descriptions of the Stranger’s Guide. However, upon turning to the Index in any copy of the Stranger’s Guide –
all of them dated October, 1863 – he would find … that the Cartographer’s office was UNLISTED ! Correct: the
Guide does not identify the office of one of the most gifted cartographers of the 19th
Century, the peerless Jedediah
Hotchkiss:
All other marksmen were as nothing beside Hotchkiss, who was literally the
“fastest-draw” in the Confederate Army, and -- so it is said -- could execute
flawless maps delineating the Virginia and Pennsylvania landscape, even
while mounted on moving horseback. Now that’s a quick-draw artist!
His cartography shows an uncanny grasp of topography – Southern
topography in particular – and marks him as a one-man 19th
C. G.I.S. system
for the Confederates; and it can hardly be doubted that General Jackson
was so successful on his own Northern Virginia territory, in great part
because of the type of geographical home-turf advantage provided by
Hotchkiss. The Library of Congress has put up separate pages for the
invaluable maps in the numerous Hotchkiss collection. See,
http://www.loc.gov/collection/hotchkiss-maps
Hotchkiss was a New Yorker who settled in Virginia to teach, then later took up the Confederate cause. He was
regularly in the field, routinely tasked to make maps for the Generals: indeed ,after General “Stonewall” Jackson
asked Hotchkiss to draw his first battlefield map, a bond developed, and a dependency, that would have Hotchkiss
working so often with Jackson that he has been called Jackson’s “eyes”. On June 30, 1862 he was in Jackson’s H.Q.
at White Oak Swamp, for instance.1
See YANKEE SCOUT -- Battle of White Oak Swamp.
When Hotchkiss was not in the field, his only real established office, was at his home in Staunton, Va., and this fact
probably accounts for the omission of a C.S.A. Cartographer’s office per se, in Richmond. In other words,
Hotchkiss was indeed, a
But he was so close to Stonewall Jackson, that Jackson persuaded him to accept his
old gray cap, when the general bought a new one. That same cap was treasured by
Hotchkiss and his heirs, and eventually donated to the Civil War collection at VMI,
in 1939, where it still is today.
1
Hotchkiss may have had the most detailed journals of any single individual in the Confederate forces. Read
Archie P. McDonald’s excellent edition of these diaries, Make Me a Map of the Valley, (1973).
Jedediah Hotchkiss

When we speak of “peculiar institutions” in the South it is not generally of the Confederate Patent Office to which
we are referring. But in fact, there is nothing much more “peculiar” about the Confederate Government, than its
establishment of a Patent Office – which brought a number of strangers to Richmond. Established by act of the
Provisional Confederate Congress of March 4, 1861, at Montgomery, Alabama, and then removed to Richmond,
the purpose of the Patent Office, was to encourage by commercial patent, the development of the latest scientific
inventions, particularly those in the areas or mining, smelting, ballistics, firearms and weaponry, and other
technologies that might advance the Confederate cause on the field of battle. The Confederacy was, literally, a State
of War, after all.
Per the Stranger’s Guide, we know that the patent office was
located in the south front room of the third floor of the War
Department building (the former Mechanics Institute – with the
observatory ), on 9th
St., opposite Banks Street Other sources
confirm, that throughout the war, the C.P.O. was overseen by
Rufus R. Rhodes of Mississippi – shown at right.
Rhodes was a diligent administrator for the patent office,
producing, originally, a set of rules and regulations to govern the
submissions of Confederate (and other!) inventors, and then
successfully examining and processing scores of new applications
through the office every year. During Rhodes tenure – which
spanned the entire war – the C.P.O. issued a professional annual
report for Pres. Jeff Davis, tabulating submissions and patent grants. Apparently all of these reports have survived.
See the collection at: http://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22Rhodes%2C%20Rufus%20R%22
The bulk of patent applications and grants were naturally for ballistic
devices or improvements of process on fabricating weaponry and
munitions -- but that did not prevent Rhodes from taking a view to
Confederate posterity, when he granted the Confederacy’s unique design
patent to none other than Frederick Folck of “Nuremberg, Bavaria” for
his bust portrait of Gen. Stonewall Jackson – presumably patentable
because the bust was based on Jackson’s death-mask.
Rufus J. Rhodes was from out of town: indeed, he too was a
Yes, he was a stranger … BUT HE WAS NOT THE STRANGEST !!!
That distinction probably fell to his own Patent Office Examiner ….
Com. Rufus R. Rhodes

Of all the queer old birds roosting in Richmond during the Civil war, easily
the strangest was Rufus Rhodes’ own hand-picked Patent Examiner -- the
elusive Americus Featherman, shown at right, in a photo from the late
1870’s. Believed to have been born in Thibodaux, Louisiana, Featherman
later migrated north and had settled in Richmond at least by the early
1850’s, and was employed as an engineer at Tredegar. It is not improbable
that Joseph Reid Anderson used his influence within the War Department,
to secure Featherman his position as “Examiner” in the Patent Office; yet
it is unconfirmed, that he earned the nickname “Duck” Featherman during
service as Confederate Army Brevet-Lieutenant in the short-lived
“Tredegar Battalion”. Apparently all the patents Featherman approved
can be found at the link given on the preceding page.
What no one suspected at the time, was that Featherman was not merely a gifted
engineer, but an auto-didact/polymath who had become an accomplished historian, e.g. of the French Revolution,
who regularly published in the Secessionist literary journal of record, De Bow’s. Featherman was also an outstanding
botanist, who, after the war, became professor at Louisiana State University, and published a comprehensive treatise
on the botany of his home state of Louisiana, Report of Botanical Survey of Southern and Central Louisiana, (1870).
The Internet Archive has a copy here: https://archive.org/details/reportla00feat
Featherman probably belies most stereotypes of the Southern intellectual
who was also an advocate of slavery, and Secessionist. Maybe. And perhaps
while working the Patent Office, but certainly after leaving it - he cultivated a
most subtle and nuanced sociological analysis of American life. Sort of. See
his text, Thoughts and Reflections on Modern Society (London, 1894), which
includes some eye-opening discussions on topics ranging from “Controversy”
to “Manufacturers” and “Clerks.” Featherman seems to have developed a
deep appreciation for (almost) every class and trade of man. Possibly – but
did he remain a bitter racist to the core? YOU Find out !!!
Most remarkable, however, is surely Featherman’s work on the races of
mankind world-wide. By this, we mean of course his multi-volume treatise,
Social History of the Races of Mankind (1881-1892) -- an accomplishment
of breathtaking scope, sweep and daring: revealing an unsurpassed capacity
for digestion and synthesis of hundreds of sources.
The books have to be opened to be appreciated. Sociology by a racist?
The reader is offered this handy tip: it’s best to begin reading this demanding series with the Fifth Division on the
ARMAENEANS (shown here) which was published first, and has an introduction and prefatory material
accordingly. Digital files of Americus “Duck” Featherman’s nearly complete oeuvre [ works --- Ed.] can be found
at: https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22Featherman%2C+A.+(Americus)%2C+1822-%22
Americus “Duck” Featherman

The devastation from the Evacuation fire was widespread. Some fires were ordered set by the C.S.A.
government, but these fires spread. Then, when the city was evacuated, prisoners from the Penitentiary formed a
mob which further looted, ransacked and burned Richmond. They mobs took over the Confederate arsenal --
causing an explosion which blew out all the windows at nearbyTredegar.
HERE, the populace flees downtown Richmond across Mayo’s bridge, to Manchester on the south
side of the James River…. this is the same bridge that Pvt. Drew narrowly avoided taking, when he
slipped a line prisoners being marched to Belle Isle -- see the Last Issue, Stranger in Richmond I.

As can be seen from the map on p. 3, above, Richmond lost much of its historic downtown, and even the Capitol
building itself, designed by Thomas Jefferson, was threatened. Most of the city’s waterfront buildings burned down,
including many structures that had been converted to use by the Confederate Army. As noted by the NY Times,
the confederate arsenal and weapons laboratory were destroyed; while at the extreme western edge of the burn, the
Virginia State Armory was destroyed.
But the critical Tredegar Iron Works was not touched. The roof of the spike factory at Tredegar burned off, and
some windows blew out -- but this was the extent of damage. Last Issue, it was observed that owner Joseph Reid
Anderson had hired armed guards – in fact, his own “Tredegar Battalion” – the company military unit -- to protect
Tredegar from arson. This is true…..
But perhaps the real threat to Tredegar was the C.S.A War Department, where, beginning in February, 1865,
preparations were being taken for a possible evacuation of Richmond. As planning proceeded, Anderson had
appealed to the newly-appointed Secretary of War, to spare the Tredegar. In March, 1865 he wrote suggesting that
“it will not be considered proper, that our forces should destroy” the iron works.
The new Secretary of War after James A Seddon, (who was in office while Drew was visiting Richmond – See,
Stranger’s Guide, p. 6 (Vol. 1 No. 1 (October, 1863)) was none other than John C. Breckinridge, former (splinter)
Southern Democratic candidate for President in the 1860 elections. [See Last Issue – Ed.] It was Breckinridge
who, in the face of conflicting opinions from officials in his War Department, and in response to Anderson’s
appeals, never issued an order to burn2
the Tredegar Iron Works -- the single most significant component of the
Confederate arsenal. On April 2, most of Richmond went up in flames – ranging from the War Department
building itself (in the old Mechanics Institute, etc.) to such militarily insignificant structures as the Shockoe Tobacco
Warehouse. But why was the Tredegar spared? The confederate arsenal was torched, and the laboratory ….
Why would General Lee and the Secretary of War allow this strategically critical facility to fall into Union hands …?
What considerations over-rode his judgement …. A pre-existing alliance? A higher cause? What ideal could unite
these two men, that might supersede their all-out dedication to the cause of Southern independence?
It was Breckinridge who as of about February, 1865, recognized that the Southern Cause was futile, and began
urging Jefferson Davis to surrender; from within the War department, he began making preparations accordingly.
It would be Breckinridge with this determination, who was in a position to advise Anderson at Tredegar, that the
Confederacy was a “magnificent epic” at its end – and thus gave Anderson the time to convert his Confederate scrip
into dollars of French francs, and make his own escape, and go into exile in France.
So what was “strategic” about the Evacuation fire? Apparently nothing – but we will not speculate here, on the
motives of the members of the War Department, for incinerating the rest of downtown Richmond.
2
See Charles Dew, Ironmaker to the Confederacy, (1966) pp. 285-6

In the last issue of YANKEE SCOUT – Christmas in Richmond, the Editor referenced Joseph R. Anderson’s role
at Tredegar Iron Works, in relation to Southern Secession and the conduct of hostilities from the Confederate side.
It was also mentioned that Anderson -- a West Point graduate with a high class rank -- had volunteered his services
in the field to Jeff Davis and Gen. Robt. E Lee. His offer was accepted, though the diarist John B. Jones wrote,
“he does not look like a military genius.”3
He was commissioned as a brigadier-general in September, 1861, and
ordered to duty in North Carolina, and given a coast command, over the District of Cape Fear.
But as the Grand Army of the Potomac under General McClellan made some of its most significant advances
toward the Confederate capitol during the month of April 1862, in the climax of the Peninsular Campaign
(sometimes called the Siege of Richmond – see below) Anderson’s brigade was called up to assist in the defense
of Richmond. Upon his return to Henrico County, Gen. Anderson was assigned to A.P. Hill’s Light Division, and
went into combat during the Seven Days’ Battles for the Confederate capital. Charles Dew writes:
“His brigade saw its first action at Beaver Dam Creek on June 26. In this action and in the fierce fighting
in the swamps at Gaines’ mill the next day, Anderson led his men like a seasoned professional. Three
days later when he took his men into battle again, this time near Frayser’s Farm, Anderson suffered a slight
head wound and was temporarily disabled. His retirement from active service came two weeks later.” 4
Anderson and his brigade were not far away from White Oak Swamp on
June 30th
– but they soon would be…. What had happened to so
intimidate Brig-Gen Anderson …? Did he meet the 6th
Maine Infantry?
General Anderson saw three full days of battle, over the span of five days
active service, calling it quits on June 30, 1862 – after less than a week --
and headed in to hospital to convalesce from a slight head wound. That
was indeed a privileged term of service not shared by many – but his
gallantry on the field made an everlasting impression on his comrades.5
The Yanks had been relentless … Even the great general Stonewall
Jackson had suffered a serious loss to his forces, in the Battle of White
Oak Swamp on June 30, 1862 – but to this day, historians are unaware of
the severity of the casualties suffered by Jackson’s troops there – and
conventions attribute Jackson’s failure to cross the swamp, to his
“nodding” – that is, suffering a lack of personal initiative. The real story
is related only in YANKEE SCOUT – Battle of White Oak Swamp.
Don’t miss it !!
As for General Anderson, he proffered his resignation to Lee two weeks
later on July 14, 1862: “I am grieved to say that circumstances (my duty to
my country) seem to make it imperative for me to leave the field before the war is terminated and return to my
duties at the Tredegar Works.” Lee, commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, thanked Anderson for his
service, and the Secretary of War accepted his resignation.6
Anderson’s real work was in managing the critical output of iron and arms from the Tredegar. The following
September, 1862, he was back in Richmond after less than a year of active duty. He was given a special command
as general over “the Tredegar battalion,” consisting almost entirely of men employed by Tredegar Iron Works: men
whose aspirations and thirst for martial laurels would not otherwise be slaked, but whose skills could not be spared,
or exposed to risks on the battlefield. The Tredegar was that critical to the Confederate cause …..
3
Charles Dew, Ironmaker to the Confederacy, p. 96
4
Ibid, p. 150.
5
See, Kathleen Bruce, Virginia Iron Manufacture in the Slave Era, (1968) pp. 461-62
6
Dew, p. 151

So, to return to our story – indeed, if ever there was a chance to strike at the underside of the Confederate war
machine, perhaps Pvt. Drew had that opportunity in the days leading up to Christmas, 1863: four full days within
which to develop a viable plan, acquire the necessary explosives, plant them secretively - and cripple Tredegar:
bringing the Southern supply chain of arms and munitions to a halt. The ammunition labs on Neilson’s Island just
off the riverbank, would also have made a good target.
This same day -- December 25, 1863 -- was his 18th
birthday, and while he was now fully growed, Drew was still a
young man, and a simple private. Of course he used this time to work with George the slave, to repair their skiff,
and make whatever other preparations necessary, in order to get out of Confederate controlled Richmond. George
had money from his working at dance-halls, that his “Massa” let him keep; and presumably both men had been
paid for providing music at two dances, over the last week. And there would be tips. With this Christmas cash
they could buy what they needed, provided they could find it for sale -- and so make their getaway.
Pvt. Drew wanted only to return to his comrades in the Union Army at Brandy Station. It was Drew who had
remembered – even decades later – training from superior officers in the Volunteer Militia, like Col. Hiram
Burnham, who, he said:
“… Gave me many useful instructions. The 1st
duty of a soldier is obedience – it matters not if it be a
Gen’l or a corporal that gives the order, you may ask for fuller instructions, but never but never argue the
matter, even if you know it to be wrong. Military discipline is the glory of a soldier – to be a good Soldier
a man must be able to grasp commands quickly and to carry them out accurately.” See YANKEE
SCOUT – New Recruit.
Drew’s last instructions before he left Union Army winter quarters at Brandy Station, before being captured Dec.18th
,
undoubtedly were simply to “report back” his findings to “his old acquaintance” General John Sedgwick -- in
command during the Meade’s absence “on holly day” – and thus of course, he still had a standing order to execute
….. and this meant he must return to Union Army headquarters.

Blacked Up
“We had got a skiff from a negro at the lower end of town – pretty
poor but we had worked on it got it tight, had made a couple
paddles. George had got the permit from his owner to fish but he
must have another to go with him. George had cut my hair so
short you couldn’t see it, and done a fine job at black[ing] me up.
We had hard work to get our fishing tackle togeather there was
none for sale. On the forenoon we spent a little time practicing
our music – then we got grub and outfit ready to go fishing.
“We began at 8 o’cl. P.M. to play at a big ware house on the dock
– there was over 200 dancers there, a supper at 1 o’cl. A.M. -
stoped at sunrise, left our instruments in the hall, took a basket of
grub we [had] stowed away at supper time and went to and got
into the skiff, started down the James River to fish for the
Richmond market.”
EDITOR’S NOTE:
The first leg of the fugitives’ voyage from Richmond to the first
Rebel guard post began with a launch from among the Richmond
docks, and was a boater’s ‘straight shot’ from there down to the
Confederate Fort Darling, constructed on Drury’s (now Drewry’s)
Bluff the SW bank of the James River, and serving Richmond as
it’s last line of nautical defense, from an attack brought up the James
River …..
Using the concentric rings on the map as a reference, for the two
fugitives, it was a slow, ice-cold, drift of about 8 miles to reach –

“View of the Attack on Fort Darling by Commander Rogers’s Gun- boat Flotilla,”
from Harper’s Weekly . May 31, 1862
When, in April, 1861, Lincoln ordered blockade of Southern ports, nowhere would the effects become more
pronounced than in Richmond. The James River was the single direct marine access to Richmond, about 78 miles
inland from Newport News and Hampton Roads. So it was especially challenged strategy to make Richmond the
Confederate Seat after the blockade began and this lifeline of resupply to Richmond was cut off. In 1862, the
Confederate effort to break the Union blockade at the mouth of the James River led to one of the most famous
naval battles in the Civil War – the contest between the U.S.S. Monitor and C.S.S. Merrimack – March 8-9, 1862.
The victory of Monitor, closed off the James River to Confederate vessels below Harrison’s Landing (see below, p.
19), ensuring easier re-supply for Union Army forces during the 1862 Peninsular Campaign, but cutting off
Confederate water access and re-supply to Richmond. After the Monitor’s victory, rumor of an impending Union
gunboat attack spread, and martial law was declared in Richmond, sending the city into panic. John Minor Botts
and others were arrested. The Confederate archives were boxed up and shipped to Columbia, S.C. and plans were
made for evacuation. But the Confederacy moved rapidly to obstruct the James River, and throw up defensive
works along its banks – concentrating these along the bend in the James at Drewry’s Bluff. The Union attack of
May 15, 1862 (shown here) was thereby thwarted – and the hastily prepared earthworks later formed the basis of
Fort Darling. Fort Darling held the River until the fall of Petersburg forced the evacuation of Richmond.

“We did not expect any trouble before getting to the fort. There the rebs had obstructions in the river and guards
on each bank and [during the ] nights one had to give the countersign.
By “obstructions in the river,”
Drew is referring to cribs of debris
lined across the river, and ships’
hulks that had been anchored or
sunk in or near the channel to
prevent navigation by Union
vessels, as noted above.
Left: The James River at Fort
Darling, the side-wheels of an
overturned river steamer,
believed to be those of either the
Northhampton, or the Jamestown
steamboats.
Below: A dismasted and
abandoned vessel, moored by its
spar mast to the shoreline
immediately below Fort Darling
(See maps, next two pages).

“We got off all right – had no trouble untill we got down to the Fort ….”

Getting Out
[ P. 135 ] “… but below
it we was called by a
picket on each bank.
“We drew up to the
right bank. George
presented his pass
saying, “We’s going to
the Mouth of the
Appomatox to fish.”
“They asked have you
any whiskey with you,
“My Massa would flog
me if he knew of me
drinking that stuff.”

“After passing a small island [ probably just off
Chapin’s Bluff –preceding page – Ed. ] George said
now we can talk so did as we paddled along.”
MILES TO GO : The two fugitives have now drifted
and paddled themselves downriver from the
Richmond docks to City Point at the mouth of the
Appomatox River, where George had told his massa,
they were going to fish.
City Point on the south bank of the Appomattox at
its confluence with the James River, is approximately
27 river miles below Richmond, and 60 river miles
from the mouth of the James, @ Newport News,
Virginia, or the Navy’s Hampton Roads; or the
Army’s Fortress Monroe.

“Sam” the runaway slave does not mention any overnight stop or camping along the riverbank, so this American
odyssey appears to have taken only a single day. In the middle of winter, December 25, 1863, the James River
would be at flood stage – recall all the flooding in the Rapidan drainage of the Rappahannock, around Mine Run,
VA. (See YANKEE SCOUT -- Winter Quarters – Ed ] and the water moving very fast – and very cold.

“He pointed out Harrison Landing – it did not look much as it did when I last saw it, the dock was stripped and
the land was deserted.”
EDITOR’S NOTE
George and Pvt. Drew are now paddling past James River shoreline familiar to Drew from his service under General
McClellan during the 1862 Peninsular Campaign. The Union Army staging grounds at Harrison’s Landing is just
around the bend and within a few miles down from City Point (now in the City of Hopewell), Virginia.
Below: a detail from Sheppard, Map Showing the Battle Grounds of the Chickahominy … in Connection with the
Siege of Richmond (1862) – showing the “Position of the Federal Army after the retreat”, reinforced against the
advance of Lee, following the Battle of Malvern Hill. The Union Army also staged its retreat from Harrison’s
Landing -- where vessels will pick up the Federal troops who had come within a few short miles of taking Richmond.

“We passed the Chickahominy and landed to bail [our] boat and eat a lunch standing under a tree for protection
form a big shower.”
The Chickahominy River debouches into the James River 27 miles further down from City Point at the Appomattox
mouth -- but it is still 33 more river miles to Newport News….. As the long, open voyage continues, the two men
have pulled their skiff ashore somewhere on the northern bank of the James, below the mouth of the Chickahominy,
to beat the weather, which is no longer favorable to the construction of their slight vessel…
“George said, “They tell me at home that the Lincoln gunboats come up here every day. I wish one would come
now.” The wind had kicked up quite a sea, so we waited, laughing.7
George said, “I wonder what Master’ll do for
a shave this morning.”
“Reconnoissance of the James River by Union Gun Boats,” Harper’s Weekly, June 28, 1862
7
At this point in is course to the Atlantic, the James does indeed open up to become, effectively, an inland sea.

“After it calmed down a little we [went down to] Williamsburg Landing and saw a tug-boat coming up the river,
and we made signals for them to stop. They picked us up. I told the captain who and what I was and how I
wanted to go to Washington as soon as I could. He told me I would have to wait until the next morning.”
To reach Fortress Monroe, is another 33-35 miles down the James River from the Williamsburg Landing over
what would be, in effect, open ocean to a skiff – their flat-bottomed paddle-boat. The trip has been long enough
already, and this wider reach of the James is a fine place for George and “Sam” to get a pick-up and leave their
getaway craft behind.
“George told him his story. The captain hired George to work on the boat. I got washed up – it took a lot of
water and soap to get all the black off.
“George gave me a shave. He shaved all the men on the boat – one of them told him he ought to be a barber.” 8
8
George evidently followed this suggestion, for Pvt. Drew records in his later memoirs, titled “The Next Cruise”,
that he met George in Williamsport, Pennsylvania ca 1871, at which time George was working as a barber.

“We landed at Fortress Monroe – the captain of the boat took me up to the Fort and presented me to the
commander. It was not Gen’l Wool and I forgot the name before morning,9
EDITOR’S NOTE
Drew has probably been presented to General Benjamin Franklin Butler,
a headstrong & controversial figure who was re-appointed to the
command at Fort Monroe on July 28, 1863 – and was still in charge as of
November, 1863. Butler had ordered Union troops into Baltimore in
June of 1861, in a successful bid to quell Secessionist riots that were
troubling the city – a course which earned him a promotion to major-
general. However, this same move had not been pre-approved by the
commanding General Winfield Scott, and Scott, possibly in retaliation,
ordered Butler to the command of Fortress Monroe. At this point, after,
after some two years in the field, he is back at the Army fortress.
To see sparks fly within the Army command, read his tell-all memoir,
Butler’s Book !! https://archive.org/details/autobiographyper0192butl
9
Like many soldiers in the Great War of the Rebellion, Pvt. Drew kept a daily diary, which he later consulted in
preparing his Memoir, from which the YANKEE SCOUT series has been written. Apparently, he made most of
his diary entries during the morning hours, but in this case, overnight he has forgotten the name of the commander
at Fort Monroe.
Gen. Benjamin Butler

“… but I got a new outfit of cloathes and slept the night on the tugboat. It was armed with a rifle cannon
mounted swivel-fashion; lots of Springfield rifles and sabres in racks around the mast and walls, a crew of fourteen
men. The next morning I took boat to Washington …”
Got Out
[ P. 136 ] George and the tug captain went with me to the mailboat and the captain vouched for me to the purser
and offered to pay my passage. The purser was rather fussy asking many questions among the rest, how old I was.
My goodness, I forgot I had spent Christmas in Richmond among the rebels and I was now 18 years.10
I told him
21.
“When I got to Washington I had no trouble in getting transportation to the front, the next morning took a
supply boat to Acquia Creek [Landing] the Army supply base, and got the old regiment on New Year Eve, 1864.
New Years Jan 1st
, 1864
“I went to regimental headquarters with Percival Knowles 1st Lieut of Co. K. to pay my respects to Capt. Theo
Lincoln of Co. F. who had been promoted and was in command of the Reg’t.
“Then I took a walk to the hospital to see Dr. Buck, my he was pleased he almost kiss me, he opened a new box of
cigars and chatted for an hour. Then, taking his hat, he says, “Let’s go over to the band tent,” where he called to
Henry Bowles, “Pay me that $20 here is my boy Drew!” He had made a wager with Boles that I would be back with
the regiment when it moved on the Spring campaign.”
10
Drew’s birthday was December 25, 1845.

“Denbo was on three days’ picket, when he came in and found me we had a real Indian pow-wow, he said if I hadent
got home before the end of the month he was agoing to hunt me up and capture me himself. On the 4th
we got paid
two months pay we are getting $16 per month now.
“Drill six hours per day or more for the new recruits by some
of the old hands; guard mount at 9o’cl A.M. Dress parade at
sunset, three meals with fresh warm bread (butter if you furnish
it yourself) + Coffee [ P. 137 ]
“Target practice for the new members and any of the old that
wants to, there was no pains or trouble spared to make them
come up to our standard. The old members was allowed no
more priviledges than the recruits. [Except perhaps the
“General’s pet” -- that Lucky Drew, just back from a paid … ]

YANKEE SCOUT -- FUGITIVE SLAVE !!

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YANKEE SCOUT -- FUGITIVE SLAVE !!