After being quartered at Dumfries and in the
Valley of Virginia, and suffering many petty annoyances,
the officers were brought, in December, 1777, to
Fredericksburg, where they were treated with great
hospitality and kindness. Wiederhold becomes really
pathetic at the idea of parting from his friends there.
The prisoners had been much favored by the ladies
of the neighborhood, who are, says the lieutenant,
“beautiful, courteous, kindly, modest, and withal very
natural and easy.” Sixteen ladies “of the first rank”
organized a surprise party, which visited the captain
in his quarters, and of which he had been discreetly
informed beforehand. He tells us that they came
intending to spend only an hour, but stayed from half-past
three to ten o'clock in the evening. General
Washington's brother, sister, and niece were among
them. The German officers regaled their guests with
tea, coffee, chocolate, claret wine, and cakes; and
entertained them with music, both instrumental and
vocal, in which the ladies sometimes joined. “In
Europe we should not have got much honor by our
music, but here we passed for masters. Sobbe played
the flute, Surgeon Oliva the violin, and I the
guitar. We were so overwhelmed with praise that we
were really ashamed. Their friendship for us was
too great. Some of the American young gentlemen
were jealous.”
All this kindness had its effect upon the captives. At Dumfries, nine months before, Wiederhold had set down in his journal that he would rather have a small farm in Hesse than the greatest plantation in Virginia, and that America was good for people who were es-
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