The burning of Hon. Mr. Boteler's residence.
A correspondent of a Northern paper denounces Hunter's barbarity in Virginia; and referring to the burning of Hon. A. R. Boteler's house, publishes the following letter of Miss Boteler:
I suppose you will have heard before this reaches you that our dear, beautiful home is in ashes. Yesterday, just after dinner, Lizzie, her three little children and I, being at home, fifteen Federal soldiers of the First New York cavalry, under Captain Martindale, came with orders from General Hunter to burn everything under roof on the places of A. R. Boteler and Edmund J. Lee.--They came to us first, and in twenty minutes after their arrival it would have been dangerous to enter the house. Of the furniture, we saved two little rocking chairs and three other chairs from the porch. This is literally all. The barn, in which was stored all the hay, just cut; the servant's house and library, with the books, cabinet of minerals, valuable historical papers and documents — all are gone. The meat-house and dairy are still standing, as the wind blew from them. Writing this is harder work than. I thought it would be, after all I have gone through with.
They piled up the furniture, and with camphene, etc, built the fire that has burned deep into our hearts. Netta and I are at aunt Nannie's to-night; Lizzie and children at the Grove. Mrs. Lee has joined her husband, and Fountain Rock and Bedford are both desolated! My heart aches to have such terrible tidings of the dearest spot in all the world to you. I fear I loved it too much, but my greatest grief is for our darling parents. We are young, and bear such changes better, but their life-ties were formed and riveted there. I'll write more in the morning, when fitted for it. How many will be sorry to hear all this! I read Hunter's order myself — had it in my hands and tried to keep it to send papa, but it was taken out of my hands.
Tippe.
This correspondent closes his letter as follows:
The house was not the property of Mr. Boteler, but belonged to Mrs. Boteler, who, like a Spartan mother, has remained through all the dangers of war to protect her property and children. With the exception of the "gallant" Milroy, who deprived her of her servants, she and her daughters have received every courtesy from the generals of the contending armies.
