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Confederate Veteran
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OMER R. WEAVER CAMP, NO. 354, U. D. C.
BY J. KELLOGG, LITTLE ROCK.
Survivors of, our veterans who participated in the battle of Oak Hill and friends meet on each 10th of August, the anniversary of that noted battle, and enjoy a watermelon feast, prepared for the occasion, on the Capitol grounds of Arkansas. In 1893 the suggestion was made at the gathering to organize a Camp of U. C. V. The suggestion was at once approved, and as a result Omer R. Weaver Camp, No. 354, was organized August 15, and named in honor of Lieutenant Weaver, of Woodruff's Battery, who lost his life there.
The Camp had fifty charter members, and others were added from time to time, until it numbered more than two hundred and fifty. The membership embraces many prominent State, county, and city officials and business men, among whom were Gov. T. J. Churchill, Gov. James P. Eagle, Gov. Dan W. Jones, Chief Justice Sterling R. Cockrill, Associate Justice B. B. Battle, Senator James K. Jones, Mayor John G. Fletcher, Gen. B. W, Green (now Adjutant General of the Arkansas National Guard), Charles F. Penzel (President Exchange National Bank), Dan G. Fones (President of the Ger man National Bank), Maj. William E. Woodruff (State Treasurer), and many other prominent business and professional men of Little Rock. Many have passed out of this life.
Our constitution provides that only those are entitled to membership in its ranks who can furnish "satisfactory proof of honorable service in the army or navy of the Confederate States and honorable discharge or parole therefrom." These records will continue to be scrutinized, and any sailing under false colors will be exposed. Men who were true to the Confederacy are true now to our general government. Some tendered their services during the Spanish American War, and would tender them now if the country needed them. This Camp since its organization has been represented in our State and General Reunion, and takes a prominent part in their proceedings. Judge George L. Basham is the present Commander and Col. George Thornburgh Adjutant of the Camp, and it will have a sponsor, maids of honor, matron of honor, chaperon, and they will have assistants.
REETING FROM THE U. D. C.
BY MRS. VIRGINIA FAULKNER M'SHERRY, PRESIDENT GENERAL.
In this brief message I desire particularly to call your attention to the coming Reunion of the United Confederate Veterans at Little Rock May 16 18, and I trust many will be present. It is not necessary to remind you, I am sure, that as the years go on the line is fast thinning, for I know too well your fidelity and devotion to these honored men. However, it is fitting at this time, dear Daughters, that with renewed zeal we pledge our love to those heroes of imperishable fame and assure them of our continued cooperation in all their endeavors and our loyalty and affection always.
208 Confederate Veteran May 1911
SOUTHERN COMMERCIAL CONGRESS.
DRAMATIC SCENE IN THE ATLANTA CONVENTION.
When President Taft wielded the gavel during the Atlanta Congress and called the session to order, a concealed band electrified the audience with the strains of "Dixie," and then slowly up through the center aisle of the auditorium came ten business men of Alabama, carrying with them the flag of their State, As their feet touched the steps of the platform the band ceased playing, and in silence they stood before Lieut. Gov. W. D. Seed. That flag was then placed in a socket back of two hundred distinguished men on the platform, and its folds fully extended. The same method was followed with the flags of Arkansas, Florida, Georgia (received by Governor Brown), Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi (received by Governor Noel), North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina (received by Governor Blease), Tennessee, Texas, Virginia (received by Dr. Denny), and West Virginia.
A more dramatic moment has not occurred in the history of the South. For twenty five minutes the hearts and souls of men and women were tense with patriotism and with sentiment. Hundreds were weeping and shouting. The President of the United States himself was deeply affected. Scarcely a dry eye could have been found among the thousand who were watching the scene.
The escorts of the flags were not insignificant men nor accidentally chosen. For instance, Maryland was led by ex Gov. Edwin Warfield and Bernard N. Baker, men of immense business influence and of national reputation. Col. S. W. Fordyce, who has built ten thousand miles of railroads through the Southwestern States, carried the flag of Arkansas. A tottering Federal veteran carried the flag of West Virginia. The moment that the last flag was placed in its socket and the folds extended the strains of "The Star Spangled Banner" were heard softly at first, but increasing to a "burst of harmony," while from the rafters of the auditorium, where it had been concealed, an enormous United States flag unfolded and fluttered down, extending as a background of the flags of the South for more than forty feet. Then a screen was lifted and across its face appeared the words, "E Pluribus Unum."
The emblematic feature was continued in the two orations which were then delivered. The popular Senator Gordon of Mississippi, serene in his seventy seven years, arose and gave a message "From Yesterday to To Day." He begged his countrymen to be strong in a union of purpose in meeting all the future national problems. Then, strong in the possession of youth, Dr. Clarence J. Owens, Commander in Chief of the United Sons of Confederate Veterans, delivered an oration whose main idea was that it was a message "from to day to to morrow." He pleaded with the young men of the South to be proud of their ancestry, and feel humiliated if they did not themselves make an equally distinguished ancestry for their sons and for their sons' sons. His tones rang out through the auditorium and were a summons to the purest patriotism, displaying itself along the lines of a nation's future needs and development.
The Atlanta Constitution rightly states that the deeds of the Southern Commercial Congress have truly renationalized the South, and set millions of minds right, through the influence of the nation's papers, regarding the rehabilitation of the South, its prospects and its approaching national influence.
Space is too limited to tell of all that was done in the three days or of all that was intended. Suffice it to say that the difficult labors of the Southern Commercial Congress, in the two years and a half of its existence, brought their great reward in March, 1911, for in a day we righted many wrong impressions as to the South, and the veil was lifted from the second fifty years of progress upon the South's new union.
(The foregoing is from G. Grosvenor Dawe, Managing Director of the Southern Commercial Congress. The Congress could have done no more fitting thing than to appoint the capable and efficient officials in the U. S. C. V., Clarence J. Owens, Commander in Chief, and his Adjutant General, Nathan Bedford Forrest, to responsible positions in the Congress. EDITOR
VETERAN.)
Dr. S. C. Mitchell, President of the University of South Carolina, said: "I have attended many conventions in my life, but I never attended one that, based upon material things, was more full of a tremendous moral purpose. Those men are using the great resource facts of the South to stir us all up to an understanding of the invincible position the South can be brought to occupy in national history when once more, as in the case of the early history of the South, our men are nerved up to take their share in national development.
Mrs. Josie Frazee Cappleman, of Little Rock, poet laureate of the Trans Mississippi Department and also matron for the sponsors and maids of honor of the same department, will read a poem on the morning of the opening of the convention. Gen. James F. Smith, Commander Arkansas Division, writes: "It is one of the finest contributions ever made poetically to our inspiring history, and will, I am sure, create a profound impression and take its place beside 'The Conquered Banner' and other Confederate classics."
HISTORICAL WORK IN MISSISSIPPI.
REPORT OF MRS. S. E. F. ROSE, STATE HISTORIAN U. D. C., WEST POINT., Miss.
The Mississippi Division, U. D. C., is ever proud of its record in the ranks of the great organization of which it forms a part, and especially proud of the work that it is accomplishing along historical lines. The Chapters are showing their interest in historical study, and throughout the Division there has been a wonderful awakening in matters pertaining to the collection and preservation of correct historical data. The historical work is thoroughly systematized, which is always necessary for the success of any undertaking, and is divided into two departments the Prize Essay Contest and the Banner Contest. The former is open to the three highest grades of the public schools (white) of Mississippi, and a beautiful gold medal is awarded at the annual convention to the writer of the best essay on a subject pertaining to Southern history.
This year the subject selected by the Historian of the Mississippi Division is "Sam Davis, the Boy Hero of the Confederacy." No more inspiring subject could have been selected, and the boys and girls of Mississippi have been inspired by the contemplation of this grand character, and have been taught lessons of bravery, patriotism, lofty courage, and devotion to principles,
The Banner Contest was introduced by the Historian during her first term of office, as she believed that by creating a pleasant rivalry among the Chapters much good would be accomplished. Success was at once assured, and to the Chapter of the Division submitting the best historical report is awarded a handsome satin banner at the convention.
All interest centers in Historical Evening, which is made a special feature of the annual conventions. On this occasion the medal and banner are presented, the year's work reviewed, and a historical program rendered that is inspiring, uplifting, and stirs the soul with a love arid pride in the grand and glorious history of our South the fairest country given by the Creator to man.
(Mrs. Rose is a native of Pulaski, Tenn., where Sam Davis gave to the world this exhibition of sublime courage and heroism. This historic town was also the mother of the Ku Klux Klan, the great organization that delivered the South from a bondage worse than death. Mrs. Rose was Miss Laura Martin, a granddaughter of Mr. Thomas Martin, who, at his own expense, equipped a company for the Confederacy. She was a niece of Mrs. Ophelia Martin Spofford, of Pulaski, who was a loyal friend to the VETERAN through life.
EDITOR.)
The booklet on the Ku Klux Klan now being advertised in the VETERAN was prepared by Mrs. Rose as a historical paper, and the Mississippi Division had it published and sells it for the benefit of a fund which is to be used in erecting a monument at the Confederate Soldiers' Home of Mississippi (Beauvoir) to the memory of Confederate veterans.
COL. T. B. ROY.
BY COL. W. D. PICKETT, LEXINGTON, KY.
Referring to the notice in the February VETERAN of the recent death of Col. Thomas Benton Roy in Berlin, Germany, I desire to express my high appreciation of the many fine characteristics of the soldier and the man possessed by my old associate and comrade, opinions formed by an association on the same staff for three long years during the height of that bloody conflict of 1861 65. Colonel Roy entered the Confederate service as a private in one of the Virginia regiments. During 1861 he was transferred to a clerkship in the office of Col. Thomas Jordan, then the assistant adjutant general for the staff of General Beauregard. Colonel Jordan was an officer of considerable literary attainments, and also at that time he stood preeminent in his knowledge and experience of the principles and details of the adjutant general's department. He found in Private Roy an apt scholar who soon became very proficient in the many details of that department.After the battle of Shiloh and the concentration of all the troops of the West at Corinth, Miss., General Hardee, realizing that he needed a larger staff, on the recommendation of Colonel Jordan, caused Private Roy to be appointed a captain in the adjutant general's department and assigned him to duty. Captain Roy soon justified the recommendations of Colonel Jordan, and by his knowledge of details and strict attention to duty soon won the confidence of his chief.
From that date he served continuously on the staff of Lieutenant General Hardee until the final collapse of the Confederate cause by the surrender of the army of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston at Greensboro, N. C., on April 26, 1865.
During those three years of arduous service he shared all the fortunes and vicissitudes of Hardee's distinguished corps, participating in the battles of Perryville, Murfreesboro, Missionary Ridge, all the battles of the Atlanta Campaign, including Peach Tree Creek, the 22d of July, and the two days' fight at Jonesboro, which resulted in the fall of Atlanta. He, myself, and a good many members of the old staff were transferred with Lieutenant General Hardee to his new command at Charleston and Savannah. In a few months came the end at Greensboro, N. C.
Captain Roy by his proficiency in the details of the adjutant general's department soon earned and received promotion, until in the end he was paroled as a colonel in his department.
As far as my information extends, by the death of Colonel Roy I am left the sole surviving member of Lieutenant Hardee's old staff. Capt. George B. Pickett, of the engineers (afterwards major of engineers), was assigned to duty with Hardee's Corps by Major General Gilmer, the chief of engineers of the army, just previous to the beginning of the campaign of 1864, and served with that corps the entire campaign, including the advance of the Army of Tennessee, under General Hood, to Franklin and Nashville, Tenn. He still survives in California at the age of eighty five years.
Col. W. W. Kirkland, of a North Carolina regiment, served on the staff in the Kentucky Campaign of 1862, including the battles of Perryville and Murfreesboro, but in the early part of 1863 he was promoted and given command of a North Carolina brigade in the Army of Northern Virginia. He was alive within a year past. I hope he still survives.
I met General Hardee and Colonel Roy for the last time in New Orleans in the spring or winter of 1866, when there was a general reunion of Confederate soldiers planned by the citizens of New Orleans.
The veterans of that struggle are rapidly passing away. In the near future there will be none to recall its hardships and memories except their sons and daughters.
The Veterans of Fulton County, Ga., are now happily provided with quarters in the Atlanta Courthouse, and when the new building is erected, there will evidently be a place for the six Camps, of which loyal Georgians will be proud.
In many cities and towns of the South quarters in public buildings are given for permanent Confederate quarters.
MRS. CORNELIA BRANCH STONE.
BY MRS. JAMES BRITTON GANTT, JEFFERSON CITY, MO.
A wise counselor of clear judgment, indefatigable energy, remarkable administrative ability, readiness of speech, tact, high literary attainments, a thorough parliamentarian, loyal to duty, a gracious and charming personality these are the characteristics which make Mrs. Cornelia Branch Stone one of the most admired and influential women of her time. She has been and is an active worker in every organization which stands for right, the good of the people, and the uplift of mankind.
She was born in Nacogdoches, Republic of Texas, in February, 1840. Her father, Edward Thomas Branch, a native of Chesterfield County, Va., went to Texas in the fall of 1835. He enlisted in the Army of Texas, under Gen. Sam Houston, and participated in the battle of San Jacinto, which victory decided the independence of Texas from the Republic of Mexico. He was a member of the first and second sessions of the Congress of the Republic of Texas, was district and supreme judge of that republic, and was a member of the first legislature that Texas had. He married Anne Wharton Cleveland, a woman of rare culture and information.
At fifteen years of age Cornelia Branch was married to Henry Clay Stone, a Virginian by Birth. After his death, in 1887, Mrs. Stone devoted her time to the education of her only son, and when he had graduated in medicine, she took up active work in the organizations in which she had membership. Her first official position was that of President of the Texas Division, U. D, C., in which she served two years, honored and loved by her Division. She would have been unanimously elected for a third term had she not positively declined the honor.
Upon her retirement the Texas Division presented her with a handsome jeweled badge in the form of a Confederate battle flag as a token of their esteem and appreciation. While Mrs. Stone was President the Texas Division increased twenty six Chapters in two years. She served two years as President General of the United Daughters of the Confederacy and two years as President of the Texas Woman's Press Association. She was First Vice President of the Texas Federation of Women's Clubs, during which time she was chairman of a committee to secure an amendment to the poll tax law of the State of Texas the better to enforce the poll tax, onefourth of which is paid to the school fund of Texas. This amendment was carried, increasing the school fund by many thousands of dollars. As chairman for two years of the Committee on Education in the Texas Federation of Women's Clubs she contributed many papers on educational interests, secured scholarships in several colleges of Texas, and recommended in her reports the provision of a fund by the clubs for the maintenance of the beneficiaries of these scholarships when unable to pay board and lodging. She has held offices of trust in the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, and as First Vice President has served as acting President at conventions. She also served several years as Corresponding Secretary of the Society of Colonial Dames of America in Texas. "By their fruits ye shall know them."
She is an enthusiastic Colonial Dame, a patriotic member of the D. A. R., a Daughter of the Republic of Texas, and, best of all, an honored, efficient, and loyal Daughter of the Confederacy. It is in this organization that she shines brightest and stands preeminent among all the women of her State and the Southland. She loves the cause represented by the Daughters of the Confederacy, and as President General of that great organization for two years gave to it her best efforts of brain and pen, winning for herself the undying love and admiration of all who came in touch with her.
Mrs. Stone is one of the bright and brainy women of the Southland. Her executive ability, together with her marvelous capacity for work, made her administration of U. D. C. affairs stand apart as one to be remenibered in the history of its organization. Any one reading her decisions and rulings while presiding over this body can but realize that she is a most capable woman.
During her two years' term as President General of the U. D. C. she kept in touch through correspondence with all her Daughters and heads of departments, writing every letter with her own hand. In 1900 she was chairman of the Committee on Revision of the Constitution at the convention which met at Montgomery, Ala. She is chairman of the Committee on Design for the monument at Arlington which the Daughters of the Confederacy are planning to erect, and is a most valued and enthusiastic worker for this object.
While she was serving as President General affliction laid a heavy hand upon her and took from,her her only son. Dr. Harry B. Stone, a brilliant and most promising young physician, on whom she had lavished all the love and affection of a mother, bereft of husband, whose son was the pride and joy of hef life. But this did not embitter her. Softened and sweetened by sorrow, she took up her work with renewed zeal,
making it a part of herself, and it was the wonder of all who knew her how she could accomplish so much and do it so excellently. When her term of office expired, she was known and loved by each and every one of her sixty thousand Daughters. As a token of their appreciation of her sterling worth, she was presented with many beautiful and valuable badges, all telling how much she was esteemed and honored by the Daughters. Texas is not more proud of her than is every Southern State. We all claim her and recognize her ability. She is an example of what a bright, brainy Southern woman can do. We all love and appreciate her. This small tribute to her worth is paid by one who knows her and her work.
GEN. DANIEL H. REYNOLDS.
Daniel H. Reynolds, of Virginia and Maryland parentage, was born near Centerburg, Ohio, on December 14, 1832. He attended school at the Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio. He went from that State to Louisa County, Iowa, in 1854, and thence to Somerville, Tenn., in 1857. He taught school in Ohio, read law in Iowa, and with Hon. John W. Harris in Somerville, and was admitted to the bar in 1858. He went to Arkansas in May of that year, and afterwards located at Lake Village, where he has since resided.
In May, 1861, as captain of the Chicot Rangers, he was ordered to Little Rock and thence to Fort Smith, Ark., and in June, 1861, he was mustered into the military service of the Confederate States with Company A of the 1st Arkansas Cavalry. The regiment served in Missouri and Arkansas until April, 1862, when it was transferred to the Army of Tennessee. It was sent to East Tennessee, and from there into Kentucky under Gen. E. Kirby Smith.
Daniel Reynolds was mustered in as captain on June 14, 1861, was elected major April 14, 1862, was elected lieutenant colonel May 1, 1862, was appointed colonel on November 17, 1863, to take rank from September 20, 1863, and was appointed brigadier general on March 12, 1864, to take rank from March 5, 1864, and assigned to command the brigade (McNair's) which included his regiment. It was thereafter known as Reynolds's Arkansas Brigade, and was composed of the 1st and 2d Arkansas Cavalry (mounted riflemen), dismounted, the 4th, 25th, and 31st Regiments of Arkansas Infantry, the 4th Arkansas Battalion of Infantry, and the 39th Regiment of North Carolina Infantry, which was subsequently on May 25, 1864, exchanged for the 9th Regiment of Arkansas Infantry, and thus it remained until the close of the war. Other commands were at times temporarily attached to or acting with the brigade, but not a part of it.
General Reynolds was engaged in the following battles: Oak Hills, Mo. (Wilson's Creek), August 10, 1861, Elkhorn, Ark. (Pea Ridge), March 7 and 8, 1862, Farmington, Miss., May 9. 1862, Richmond, Ky., August 30, 1862, Jackson, Miss., July 10 16, 1863, Chickamauga, Ga., September 19 and 20, 1863, Resaca, Ga., May 13 15, 1864, New Hope Church, Ga., May 29 to June 3, 1864, Kennesaw Mountain, Ga., June 17 to July 3, 1864, Moore's Hill, Ga., July 19, 1864, Peach Tree Creek, Ga., July 20, 1864, at and "ear Atlanta, Ga., July 21 to September 2, 1864, Ezra Church, near Atlanta, July 28, 1864, Lovejoy Station, Gaä August 20, 1864, Jonesboro, Ga., August 31, 1864, Moon Station, Ga., October 3, 1864, Franklin, Tenn., November 30, 1864, Nashville, Tenn., December 15 and 16, 1864, Sugar Creek, Tenn., December 26, 1864, Bentonville, N. C., March 19, 1865.
Besides the above named engagements, he was in many skirmishes. His regiment was at Murfreesboro, Tenn., while he was on leave in Arkansas. The 1st and 2d Regiments of his brigade were at Dug Gap, Ga., on May 8, 1864, and repulsed the attack of the enemy. He was slightly wounded at Franklin, but remained on duty. At Bentonville he lost his left leg. A cannon ball passing in his horse's right breast and out under his rider's left leg, shattered the limb badly, rendering amputation above the knee necessary.
During the Kentucky Campaign in 1862 as lieutenant colonel he was in command of his regiment (the colonel being absent because of sickness), and as a compliment to the regiment for its gallantry at Richmond it was selected as the first to enter Lexington.
At Chickamauga on the evening of September 20 the brigade won a noted victory. His command formed the rear guard of the army in its retreat from Kentucky in 1862 and from Atlanta on September 2, 1864.
At Nashville on December 16, 1864, his brigade was taken from the line to try to keep the Federal right from extending around the Confederate left.
After the army crossed Duck River, retreating out of Tennessee, in December, 1864, Reynolds's Brigade served under General Walthall as a rear guard of infantry.
General Reynolds was elected to the Arkansas State Senate from the Counties of Ashley, Chicot, and Drew in 1866, and served until the legislature was disbanded by military order in 1867 under the Reconstruction Act of Congress, since which time he has not sought or held official position.
CRESCENT REGIMENT OF NEW ORLEANS, ONE OF THE FINEST.
D. J. Hyneman writes from Corinth, Miss.: "A short time before the battle of Shiloh the New Orleans Crescent Regiment Joined Beauregard's army at Corinth. It was one of the finest regiments I saw during the war. It was cut up at Shiloh, and I lost sight of it after that. Will some one kindly give a sketch of the regiment after the battle of Shiloh?"
PAT CLEBURNE'S EARLY CAREER.
BY W. F. RANDLE, HELENA, ARK.
Some time during the year 1852 there came to Helena, Ark., a young son of Erin just entering manhood. He was tall, slender, smooth faced, and reserved in manner. He rarely began a conversation, yet when once engaged ill it he was very entertaining. He bore a letter of introduction to the drug firm of Grant & Nash, proprietors of the leading drug firm in Helena. John Shirley, a brother in law to Grant and Nash, was captain of the Kate Frisbee, a passenger steamer packet plying the Mississippi River from Memphis to the mouth of White River, This young Irishman was a passenger on the Frisbee from Memphis. His general deportment interested Captain Shirley, and he learned that the young man had been in the drug business in Cincinnati, and was on the lookout for a good point, hence the letter of introduction of "Mr. Patrick R. Cleburne," referred to above.
Dr. Grant, senior member of the firm, told me that Cleburne presented Captain Shirley's letter to him the day that he landed. A thirty minutes' talk with Cleburne quickly satisfied him that he was possessed of peculiar capabilities, and promptly on seeing his partner, Dr. Nash, "Pat" was employed as drug clerk. He was soon convinced of Cleburne's capabilities, and association soon ripened into a strong friendship that never ceased. Dr. Grant questioned Pat as to his plans for the future, and found that his great desire was to become a lawyer. But the obstacle in his way was lack of ready money. Dr. Grant proposed to advance the required amount and let him reimburse him later. To this unsolicited kindness he demurred, not willing to incur the risk. But the Doctor finally prevailed on him to accept the offer, and he began the study of law under Judge Thomas B. Hanley, the leading attorney there. He graduated in two and a half years and formed a partnership in the practice of law with Thomas C. Hindman, then a member of Congress, under the firm name of Hindman & Cleburne. They were successful, and in a year Cleburne had reimbursed Dr. Grant fully. In 1858 Hindman and Cleburne dissolved partnership. Cleburne at this time was very popular with business men and socially.
In February, 1861, Cleburne displayed considerable military genius as a member of a band of several hundred Confederates who, armed with shotguns, rifles, and pistols, marched on horseback to Little Rock and captured the arsenal. The mutterings of war were heard, and thousands were volunteering.
In April, 1861 Cleburne organized at Helena and in Phillips County the "Yell Rifles," a magnificent infantry company, and he was unanimously chosen captain. Between April 15 and 20, 1861, Capt. Pat Cleburne and his company boarded a steamer at Helena for Bradley's Landing, above Memphis, Tenn. Later they moved down the Mississippi to what was later Fort Pillow. The Yell Rifles were officered as follows: Captain, Pat R. Cleburne, Lieutenants, Edward H. Cowley, Lucius E. Polk, and J. H. Kinzey.
NINE BROTHERS IN THE ARMY.
Jacob Wright, of Edgefield County, S. C., had nine sons, all of them Confederate soldiers.
His eldest son, Thomas C. Wright, enlisted in an artillery company from Eufanla, Ala., and was killed at Cedar Mountain, Ga. It is unknown how many battles he was in.
Joseph H. Wright enlisted in the 7th South Carolina Regiment, Company G, from Edgefield County, and was engaged an eight battles. He was, slightly wounded at Harper's Ferry, but the next day went into the battle of Sharpsburg, Md., where he was killed.
J. Wesley Wright, from the same county, enlisted in Company G, 7th South Carolina Regiment He served in five battles and was wounded in the right leg at Malvern Hill, Va., June 30, 1862. He was killed in the battle of the Wilderness, May 6,1864.
J. Russell Wright, of Company G, 7th South Carolina Regiment, was in thirteen battles. He was wounded in the right leg during the seven days' fight at Richmond, Vaä on the 29th of June, 1863, and was seriously wounded again in the right hip in the battle of the Wilderness, May 6, 1864.
J. Fletcher Wright enlisted in Company A, 22d Regiment. He was engaged in many battles, was in the mine explosion in front of Petersburg, and seriously wounded in the head in the battle there, September, 1864. He recovered, went back and was from that time marching day and night from Petersburg to Appomattox where Lee surrendered. He still carries a ball in the back of his head. Doctors located it with the X Ray several years ago.
William H. Wright was in the Litter Corps from January, 1864, to the end of the war, but was not hurt.
Ira B. Wright, of Wilcox's Division, Alabama Tropos, came out unhurt.
A. C. Wright of Company A, 22nd Regiment, was in several battles around Petersburg, Va., and was wounded in the right leg on the night of June 17, 1864, while charging the breastworks of the enemy in front of Petersburg. He recovered and returned to duty in January, 1865, at Petersburg. He was on the march from Petersburg and at Appomattox when Lee surrendered.
Robert S. Wright, the ninth and mother's baby boy, enlisted with the sixteen year old boys and came out unhurt.
All are still living except the three killed in battle and only one draws a pension. Thomas C. Wright, John H. Wright and J. Wesley Wright were all killed under the flag, and in a winding sheet of a nation's love, they were laid to rest in their gory beds, no monuments but the hills, God's sentinels to the plains, no flowers but the stars in their silver sockets, the touch me nots of the angels, no tears but the showers from the skies, no prayers but the singing of the winds through the pines. But. with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven their souls went to the great beyond.
ARLINGTON CONFEDERATE MONUMENT. TREASURER'S REPORT FOR MONTH ENDING MARCH 31. 1911.
Receipts.
Mrs. Clementine Boles, Director for Arkansas, $58.73 Contributed by Memorial Chapter, No. 48, U. D. C., Little Rock, Ark., $3, G. K. Cracraft Chapter, No. 1164, U. D. C., Eudora, Ark., $5, Seven Generals Chapter, No. 227, U. D. C., Helena, Ark., $1, D. C. Govan Chapter, No. 781, U. D. C., Marianna, Ark., $3, Sidney Johnston Chapter, No. 135, U. D. C., Batesville. Ark., $4.45, Varina Jefferson Davis Chapter, No. 252, U D. C., Fort Smith, Ark., $5, Memorial Chapter, No. 48, U. D. C., Little Rock, Ark., $26.18, Robert A. Donville, $4.10, Miss Nellie Wilson, Fort Smith, Ark., $5. Miss Salome Townsend, Director for Arizona, $6. Mrs. W. N. Perry, Director for California, $100. Contributed by California Division, U. D. C.
Stonewall Jackson Chapter, No. 20, U. D. C., Washington, D. C., $34.58.
Robert E. Lee Chapter, No. 644, U. D. C., Washington, D. C., $28.
Mrs. Drury C. Ludlow, Washington, D. C., $5.60. Mr,. Rose E. Wulcare, Washington, D. C., $5.50. Mrs. John W. Tench, Director for Florida., $15. Contributed by Emma Jackson Chapter, No. 224, U. D. C., Tallahassee, Fla., $10, Sibert and Louise Miller for Winnie Davis Chapter, Children of the Confederacy, Jacksonville, Fla., $5.
Mrs. J. B. Gantt, Director for Missouri, $30. Contributed by R. E. Lee Chapter, No. 245, U. D. C., Kansas City, Mo., $25, Jefferson Davis Chapter, Children of the Confederacy, Kansas City, Mo., $5.
Mrs. I. W. Faison, Director for North Carolina, seals, $166.36.
Mrs. Thomas W. Keitt, Director for South Carolina, $126.54. Contributed by Chester Chapter, No. 232, U. D. C., Chester, S. C., $7.25, John Bratton Chapter, No. 929, U. D. C. Winnsboro, S. C., $4, Florence Thornell Chapter, No. 246, U. D. C., Fort Mill, S. C., $6.20, Black Oak Chapter, No. 734, U. D. C., Pinopolis, S. C., $5, Graded Schools, Orangeburg, S. C., $7.901 Mount Zion School, Winnsboro, S. C., $4.35 , Pinopolis School, $1.05, girls of Misses Sass' School, Charleston, S. C., $12.60, Ferguson School, $2, Oak Ridge School, 75 cents, Ann White Chapter, No. 123, U. D. C., Rock Hill, S. C., $12.50, Winthrop College Chapter, No. 292, U. D. C., Rock Hill, S. C., $2.50, Drayton Rutherford Chapter, No. 152, U. D. C., Newberry, S. C., $4.27, William Lester Chapter, No. 1042, U. D. C., Prosperity, S. C., $6.35, John K. Melver Chapter, No. 92, U. D. C., Darlington, S. C., $3.25, Edgefield Chapter, No. 1018, U. D. Cä Edgefield, S. C., $5, Newberry Graded School, $7.86, Zion High School, $1.45, Long Cone School, $1, Waycross School, 75 cents, McBeth School, 66 cents, Trinity School, 50 cents, Williamsburg Chapter, No. 1065, U. D. C., Kingstree, S. C., $8.50, Ellison Capers Chapter, No. 70, U. D. C., Florence, S. C., $10, Wade Hampton Chapter, No. 1248, U. D, C., Varnville, S. C., $5, Sam Davis Chapter, Children of the Confederacy, $1, Harmony School, $3.25, Trenton Graded School, $1.60.
Mrs. Thomas Bocock, Director for Virginia, $71.35 Contributed by J. E. B. Stuart Chapter, No. 156, U. D. C., Staunton, Va., $6.35, Essex Chapter No. 239, U. D. C., Tappahannock, Va., $5, Lee Jackson Chapter, $10, Mrs. H. T. McCormick, Chicago, Ill., $50.
Mrs. Walter C. Pollock, Director for West Virginia, $202.17. Contributed by Lewisburg Chapter, No. 236, U D. C., Lewisburg, Vaä $10, Chapters not named, $192.17. Balance on hand from last report, $20,780.31.
First payment to Sir Moses Ezekiel, sculptor of monument, as per contract, $2,000. Balance on hand April 1, 1911, $19,630.14. WALLACE STREATEB,, Treasurer.
THE SHILOH MONUMENT.
REPORT OF MRS. ROY W. McKINNEY, TREASURER, FROM
MARCH I TO APRIL 12, 1911.
Mrs. L. C. Hall, Dardanelle, Ark. (personal) ........$10 00
Mrs. T. J, Latham, Memphis, Tenn. (personal)....... 10 00
Andrew Barry Moore Chapter, Marion, Ala.......... 2 00
Memorial Chapter, Little Rock, Ark................. 10 00
Margaret Davis Hayes Chapter, DeWitt, Ark......... 10 00
David O. Dodd Chapter, Pine Bluff, Ark..:......... 5 00
Margaret Rose Chapter C. of Cä Little Rock, Ark.... 5 00
New Orleans Chapter, New Orleans, La............. 5 00
Winnie Davis Chapter, Helena, Mont................ 10 00
Marion Chapter, Marion, S. C....................... 5 00
Cheraw Chapter, Cheraw, S. C....................... 3 00
John Bratton Chapter, Winnsboro, S. C.............. 5 00
Wade Hampton Chapter, Columbia, S. C.............. 10 00
Secessionville Chapter, James Island, S. C........... 5 00
Ridge Spring Chapter, Ridge Spring, S. C........... 1 00
Batesburg Chapter, Batesburg, S. C.................. 5 00
C. M. Goodlett Chapter, Clarksville, Tenn......10 00
Dixie Chapter, Petersburg, Tenn.................... 2 50
Roane County Chapter, Rockwood, Tenn............. 5 00
Hope Maury Chapter, Norfolk, Va.................. 5 00
Mrs. Julia Beck (through Shiloh Chapter), Savannah, Tenn. ..2 00
Cash (name of donor not given) . . . ...........................4 00
Total ...... .........................................................................$129 50
Less expenses. .....................................................................82 15
Total in hands of Treasurer)......................................... $8,908.21
The officers of the committee chosen by the United Daughters of the Confederacy are: Mrs. Alexander B. White, Director General, Paris, Tenn., Mrs. L. C. Hall, Secretary, Dardanelle, Ark., Mrs. Roy W. McKinney, Treasurer, Pa.ducah, Ky. Mrs. McKinney is also State Director of the Kentucky Division.
INQUIRIES ABOUT VETERANS.
BY O. H. P. WRIGHT, 1812 LAMAR AVENUE, SELMA, ALA.
The following letter was written by Jonathan Rose, a Confederate soldier from Missouri near Springfield, I think to my mother, Mrs. M. A. Hamner, who was then living near McKinley, Ala. Previous to being wounded Mr. Rose received a furlough and spent the time at the house of my stepfather, Mr, George M. Hamner. At that time he could not go home, the Federal lines intervening. Of course as soon as this letter was received and he was able to leave the hospital he was again our welcome guest. When his arm healed, he left to rejoin his regiment. After the lapse of so many years, his company and regiment are forgotten. He gave us the Minnie ball that had been extracted from his arm. If he is still living, he may again possess it. Mr. Rose afterwards sent a gutta percha pin with a silver crescent on it, such as the soldiers often made. If he sees this, he may remember many pleasant nutting trips to the woods. The letter was from Marion, Ala., October 25, 1864:
Mrs. Hamner Esteemed Friend: I am at last numbered with the unfortunate ones of this memorable campaign. After
passing through most of its dangers, I received a wound in the arm near Dalton, Ga. My wound is severe, though not dangerous. The bone is slightly fractured. I am doing well now, though have had gangrene severely. This is a good hospital. The wounded are well treated here. I will get a furlough as soon as I am able to take it. Address Marion Hospital, Ward A, care Dr. Holman.
Your friend,
JONATHAN ROSE."
Other soldiers were also taken care of by us at different times. One was young Thomas Barker, who died after a lingering illness, though we did all we could for him. He was quite sick when he came, but persistently refused to let us write any letters to his relatives or even to give their names. I think he was from Tennessee. He was tall, and had beautiful white teeth and black hair.
We have in our possession a small Bible picked up on a battlefield by a Confederate soldier in which is the following inscription:
Presented to Harrison Patton Reid on April 27, 1849, by his affectionate mother. May it be a light to his feet and a lamp to his path! and may he so live that at last he be gathered among the saints in heaven!
ELIZABETH A. REID.
This Bible in the subsequent battle of Gettysburg doubtless saved the life of George W. Thomas, Company D, 4th Alabama Regiment, who had picked it up. It was in his haversack when a ball passed through, taking off a part of this Bible, and thus failed to penetrate his body.
YANK INQUIRES FOR JOHNNIES. Z. T. Francis writes from New Martinsville, W. Va.: "I was with Sherman's army in his march to Atlanta, a private in Company F, 15th Ohio Infantry, and was detailed near Kingston, Ga., to 'pick 'up' Confederate stragglers. I was sent into the second story of a log barn and found two Confederates, lying asleep on corn fodder. One was large and the other small. When awakened they gave up their guns. They had a canteen of apple jack, and gave me a drink. They belonged, I think, to a Georgia regiment. We took them on to camp and gave them a good dinner. I would be glad to hear from them. The small man was a good joker, and took his capture lightly, while the larger man had but little to say."
MACON, GA., WANTS THE REUNION. SOMETHING OF THE PLANS FOR CAPTURING IT FOR 1912.
By making preliminary arrangements on the most elaborate scale for the United Confederate Veterans fifteen months in advance the Macon (Ga.) Chamber of Commerce has demonstrated its purpose to capture, if possible, the Reunion for 1912. And it is claimed that if they capture the Reunion the venerable veterans will be given the time of their lives.
They claim that the State of Georgia furnished more than its quota of soldiers to the Confederate cause, and that the State was second only to Virginia in the number of important battles fought in it. Macon, therefore, has a double claim upon the Confederate warriors of the sixties.
Naturally one of the first questions that will be asked by the veterans will be: "Has Macon sufficient hotel facilities to take care of such a great throng?" Of course Georgia's hospitality is too well known for this question to be given consideration. Every man of the South who has ever experienced real Georgia hospitality knows that if the veterans come they will be well taken care of. Macon has two large hotels, both of which are being rebuilt with improved and increased capacities. The Macon Chamber of Commerce has completed the preliminary work for the erection of a $500,000 fireproof hotel, and this will be completed and ready for occupancy by May, 1912. Besides, Macon has many smaller hotels, innumerable boarding houses, and were it necessary sleeping cars could be parked in the convenient and spacious railroad yards for increased accommodation. In addition, hundreds of private homes in the city would be thrown open if necessary.
Macon is situated exactly in the center of Georgia, and Georgia is exactly in the center of the group of States which composed the Confederacy, Tennessee and Kentucky are but a few hours' ride from the heart of Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia are grouped but a short distance to the east, Florida is directly at the south, while Alabama, Mississippi, and the great States in the land of the setting sun are off to the west. Certainly no place could be better located from a geographical standpoint than this queen city of the great empire State of the South.
For railroad facilities Macon is without a superior in the Southland. Fifteen main line trunk systems reach the city, and on these systems there are no less than seventy five regular passenger trains daily. The railroad stations are close to the principal hotels and City Auditorium, and transportation facilities would be surpassed by none.
Macon's fight for the 1912 Reunion was in reality started in May, 1910, when the veterans met in Mobile. A delegation from the busiest and the prettiest city in Georgia went there and invited the veterans to meet in Macon in 1911. It was not expected, however, that the invitatioAlthough it was generally understood that Macon was to be favored in 1912, Secretary Hyman in January of this year started the work of publicity and advertising. More than seven thousand personally dictated and signed letters were sent to veterans all over the South asking for suggestions and for help. Hundreds of replies have given assurances from every section of the South that Macon will be selected. These letters were followed up with circulars of advertising matter, so that in all more than thirty thousand pieces of mail were sent out to the veterans from the Chamber of Commerce office during the months of January, February, and March. Yet Secretary Hyman declares that his campaign of advertising has just started, and that by the time that the veterans gather in Little Rock in May no other town will appear on the map. He has had wide experience as a commercial secretary during the past twenty years, and has been prominently identified with several of the largest conventions and reunions. He was awarded two pennants of the business men of Nashville for his work in decorating the city and planning the entertainment for their two Reunions, in 1897 and 1904.
Macon workers will go to Little Rock two hundred strong to capture the 1912 Reunion, A special train of Pullman sleepers to be known as the "Macon 1912 Special" will leave Macon in time to reach Little Rock the first day of the Reunion, and they mean business. The official route for the Macon 1912 Special will be from Macon to Birmingham via the Central of Georgia, from Birmingham to Memphis via the Frisco route, and from Memphis to Little Rock via the Rock Island.
Handsome quarters have been secured by Mr. Hyman for the Macon delegation at the Marion Hotel for the Veterans and at the new Capital Hotel for the Sons of Veterans.
215 Confederate Veteran May 1911
THE U. S. C. V. ORGANIZATION.
Commander in Chief, Clarence Julian Owens, Washington. Adjutant General, Nathan Bedford Forrest, Memphis. Inspector General, Gordon S. Levy, New Orleans. Quartermaster General, Edwin A. Taylor, Memphis. Commissary General, W. McDonald Lee, Irvington. Judge Advocate General, Hal L. Norwood, Little Rock. Surgeon General, Dr. Floyd Stewart, St. Louis. Chaplain General, Dr. Mathew Brewster, Mobile. Historian General, Dr. Thomas M. Owen, Montgomery.
BRIGADE COMMANDERS.
Alabama Division: First, C. R. Bricken, Luveme, Second, P. W. Hodges, Greenville, Third, William E. Fort, Birmingham : Fourth, J. H. Wallace, Jr., Huntsville, Fifth, Dr. R. F. McConnell, Attalla.
Arkansas Division: First, E. T. Stanley, Augusta, Second, C. L. Moore, Jr., Helena, Third, D. A. Bradham, Warren, Fourth, G. W. Hays, Camden, Fifth, J. J. Doyne, Conway, Sixth, Paul McKennon, Clarksville, Seventh, T. P. Winchester, Fort Smith.
Louisiana Division: First, Henry E. Estorge, Opelousas, Second, Hugh Waddell, Baton Rouge, Third, W. R. Hirsh, Shreveport, Fourth, G. W. Newman, St. Francisville, Fifth, C. N. Frost, Franklin.
Mississippi Division: First, Charles H. Drake, Durant, Second, J. W. Collier, Vicksburg, Third, Alexander Currie, Hattiesburg, Fourth, George M. Foote, Gulfport.
South Carolina Division: First, D. A. Spivey, Conway, Second, A. M. Brailsford, Mullins, Third, T. Frank Watkins, Anderson.
Tennessee Division: First, J. Ben Fuqua, McEwen, Second, Thomas B. Carrol, Jackson.
West Virginia Division: First, G. Nelson Wilson, Elkins, Second, C. L. Miller, Bellepoint.
Virginia Division: First, J. Griff Edwards, Portsmouth, Second, W. Mercer Hartman, Roanoke.
MEDICAL OFFICERS ARMY AND NAVY, C. S. A.
President: Edwin D. Newton, M.D., Atlanta, Ga. Vice Presidents: W. F. Beard, M.D., Shelbyville, Ky., John W. Sharp, M.D., Grenada, Miss., L. D. Jackson, M.D., Birmingham, Ala., N. C. Reeves, M.D., Longstreet, La. Secretary and Treasurer: A. A. Lyon, M.D., Nashville, Tenn. Chairman of the Committee on Arrangements: Frank Vinsonhaler, M. D. (113 Capitol Avenue), Little Rock, Ark. The Secretary, Dr. Lyon, in a circular letter states: "Dr. Newton enjoys the unique distinction of being the only surviving officer attached to the medical staff of Gen. R. E. Lee's headquarters. * * *
Our place of meeting will be the chapel of, the First Presbyterian Church, centrally located and easily accessible by the display from the front of a yellow flag, the hospital insignia of the Confederate army.
As is well known, the chief object of our association, in addition to the social features, is to gather together as far as possible the medico surgical history of the war in order to repair, in some measure at least, the disastrous loss of the official records in the surgeon general's office, swept away by fire when Richmond fell into the hands of the Federal army. Hence contributions in the form of essays or reports of cases, personal experiences, or any other facts of interest bearing upon the medicine and surgery of the Confederate army are sought.
The conditions of membership are as follows: All members of the medical profession who served as surgeon, assistant surgeon, acting assistant surgeon, contract physician, hospital steward, or chaplain during the War between the States shall be eligible to membership as regular members, all Confederate veterans who are regular doctors of medicine are eligible to membership as associate members, and all sons of Confederate veterans who are regular doctors of medicine shall be eligible to membership as junior members. They all have the same rights and privileges on the floor of the association, and differ only in name to indicate the several classes forming our association. The membership fee is one dollar, and the annual dues are one dollar, payable at some subsequent meeting.
FAITHFUL "UNCLE BILLY" ASHBY.
A well known Confederate of Norfolk, William Ashby, has answered his last call. He was quite old, near fourscore, and entirely alone, being supplied with a home by a Mrs. Wicks.
Comrade Ashby was a sailor in the United States navy when the South went to war for her constitutional rights, but he soon enlisted for the Confederacy. He served both in the Confederate States navy and army from the beginning to the end. He served in Company A, 61st Virginia Infantry. It is said his captain, John R. Ludlow, and Colonel Groner paid him high tribute for his "volunteer sacrifices" and of his remarkable courage in battle.
The Norfolk Ledger Dispatch gave a Hobsonian account of Billy Ashby and others in the capture of the United States steamship Underwriter, under John Taylor Wood. They boarded, captured, and burned the vessel, going in small boats to attack the Underwriter, which was anchored between the Federal forts, which daring mission has been thus described: "Once on the deck, the fight was fast and bloody. Cutlasses and pistols were the weapons of the Confederates, each selecting a man of the Federal crew and rushing for him. The odds were against the attacking party, and some of them had to struggle with three opponents. But neither side flinched in the hand to hand, life and death struggle which raged in every part of the vessel, and in which many sickening tragedies occurred, The Federals were driven back inch by inch, and forced finally pellmell down into the ward room and steerage and even into the coal bunkers, they finally surrendering, after which the Confederates retired under a heavy fire from the forts and batteries on the shore. Six of their men were killed and twenty two wounded. One of the divisions of the attacking party was led by Capt. B. P. Loyall, of Norfolk, 'Uncle Billy' being under the command of Colonel Wood."
The Ledger Dispatch concludes its notice: "Wearing his Confederate uniform, the shrunken form of this over brave sailor and soldier of the South lay to day in a casket at the funeral apartments of H. C. Smith, 179 Bank Street, where the obsequies occurred, Rev. R. Finley Gayle, of the Methodist Church, officiating. Members of Pickett Buchanan Camp, Confederate Veterans, of which he was a member, were in attendance to do honor to his memory, and his remains were laid to rest in Elmwood Cemetery, Floral tributes were sent by Pickett Buchanan Camp and the Ledger Dispatch."CONTRIBUTORS SHOULD BE ACCURATE.
Contributors to the VETERAN should be very careful in giving their reminiscences to know that their statements are accurate, and should verify them by reference to records wherever possible. Publications in the VETERAN are largely for the benefit of historians of the future, and errors should be vigilantly corrected, hence the importance of accuracy in original articles. The Editor has many contributions to consider, and he cannot therefore always be as alert to detect errors as comrades who have specific facts in mind. A case in point is the article by Mr. T. B. Anderson, of Gallatin, Tenn., who gave in the February VETERAN "A Boy's Impressions at Shiloh," in which he states that his regiment, the 28th Tennessee, under Breckinridge, left Corinth for Shiloh on the night of April 6, marched all night, and on the next day received the surrender of Prentiss's Brigade. It is well known that Prentiss surrendered on the first day at Shiloh at four o'clock in the afternoon, and that was the 6th of April. The Confederates were victorious on that day, but lost on the next, after Grant had been reenforced by Buell's troops.
John W. Woodward, of Shelbyville, Tenn., calls attention to this error, and thinks Mr. Anderson is in error as to the time his command left Corinth. Mr. Woodward served in the 23d Tennessee Regiment, Cleburne's Brigade. The regiment was first under Col. Mat Martin, but it was commanded at Shiloh by Lieut. Col. Jim Neil. He states in regard to the march from Corinth: "We left Corinth Friday night, opened battle Sunday morning early, and drove them all day. Prentiss surrendered to us there on Sunday afternoon late, and marched at the head of his command through my company to the rear. Mr. Anderson's regiment was one of the reserves under Breckinridge, and may have left Corinth later, but certainly before the night of April 6."
The VETERAN may have been at fault in printing April 6 for the 5th, which was evidently the time. Many contributors are not so careful to be accurate as importance demands,
FORT STEADMAN "SO NEAR AND YET SO FAR"
BY R. D. FUNKHOUSER, MAURERTOWN, VA.
I have before me a graphic account of the affair under the above caption in the Richmond Times Dispatch of May 26, 1909, by Maj. Robert W. Hunter, of Winchester, Va., a staff officer of Gen. J. B. Gordon. The writer gives Gen. R. E. Lee's reason for making the attack and the cause of failure as the result. (I wish the article could be reproduced here in connection with my experience in that sortie. That was one of the most daring and brilliant exploits of the war, and compares well with Cedar Creek in conception and audacity. Comrade H. J. Miller, of Danville, Vaä was orderly sergeant of Company G, of my regiment, which company was commanded by his gallant brother, St. Charles F. Miller, and both were in the fight and also captured.
I commanded Company D, 49th Virginia Regiment, Pegram's Brigade, Walker's Division, Gordon's Corps, A. N. V. My company had received fifty recruits in October, 1864, and Company G, under Capt. William D. Moffett, received about the same number, and he, being the ranking officer, was in command of the regiment. I acted as lieutenant colonel, as that officer, Lieut. Col. C. B. Christian, was a prisoner of war.
On March 25, 1865, we occupied the trenches between Petersburg and Fort Steadman, which was one of the strongest redoubts in General Grant's line, and was also protected by two lines of chevaux de frise with sentinels posted to prevent a night surprise. We were aroused from our slumbers in our bombproofs about 2 A.M. and directed to prepare to assault Fort Steadman at once. Capt. Joseph Anderson, in command of the brigade sharpshooters, led the advance and with axmen cut a passage through the lines of chevaux de frise, and was killed by a sentinel. We charged through the gap in two ranks with fixed bayonets and filed to the right, fronted into line of battle, and rushed into the fort without a moment's hesitation, and, as some of the Northern papers aptly said, General Lee caught Grant napping, for all the garrison were asleep in their bombproofs. We sent them to the rear, while we prepared to assault their second line of works. We thought we had won a great victory, but after daylight the enemy's guns from Fort Haskell and the commanding hills made our captured fort untenable, and we became badly demoralized, so that it was with the greatest difficulty that the generals got the men in line to charge the second line of works. Captain Moffett was missing, either by getting lost in the first charge in the dark or was sent back with the prisoners I never knew. Either reason was good, however, for he was a very brave officer, and was at the final surrender at Appomattox. I therefore assumed command of the regiment, and in my first attempt to lead it, having to jump a ditch, only three men followed me. I was knocked down by the concussion of a shell, and that brave trio started to carry me back, supposing my wound to be mortal, as I was gasping for breath, but when another shell burst near by, they let me fall, which caused my breath to come back all right. So I jumped up and followed them behind a bombproof.
Soon afterwards we tried it again, and two thousand five hundred of us charged with the Rebel yell at double quick. The enemy's infantry held their fire until at short range, when they gave us a parting volley and left their works, of which we took possession. In moving to the left to give our men on the right room to come in we had to pass a gateway which was truly a gap of death, for it was filled up with dead men. so that we had to crawl over them.
We were now behind a hill which obstructed our view of Fort Steadman and the first line of works, nor could we see to our left, but we soon saw the enemy flanking to our right, and we knew that was a move to get into their first line of works to cut us off, which they could not have done if the reenforcements from the mouth of the James River had arrived in time to take possession of them. They were delayed by the cars breaking down en route.
As soon as we saw this movement of the enemy Col. J. G. Kasey, of the 58th Virginia Regiment, commanding the brigade, sent Capt. R. N. Wilson back to notify General Gordon in the fort of our peril, requesting his permission to fall back. Seeing that we had no time to spare, I suggested that we fall back anyhow, but the colonel said we were ordered to take this line and hold it at all hazards until we were reenforced or ordered to fall back. No orders ever came to us, and finally I said: "Colonel, our men on the right are throwing down their arms and surrendering. Do you care if I order my regiment to fall back?" His answer was: "It is too late." I jumped out of the ditch and said: "Men of the 49th Regiment, you can stay here or try to get out. I am going." It meant running the gauntlet under terrific shelling four hundred yards or more. My own brave lieutenant, A. Updyke, started to follow me, but a shell burst so near as to partially paralyze him, and he crawled into a ditch and remained there until hostilities ceased for that day. I was running up an old sunken road when a Federal captain came down the bank before me, demanding my surrender. Just then Lieut. W. H. Wilson, of the 31st Virginia Regiment, and another man came to my relief, and we took the captain prisoner and compelled him to double quick with us until we reached the first line of works. As this was occupied by the enemy, we were glad to surrender and fall down in the ditch to avoid being killed by our own shells.
As soon as the shelling ceased a courteous captain, with a guard, took the three of us back to General Crawford's headquarters, a mile or more, where we joined our comrades, all rounded up by guards and at a halt. There were nineteen
hundred men and one hundred and twelve officers of all grades, from lieutenants to colonels. Among the latter was Col. F. W. McMaster, of the 17th South Carolina Regiment, a typical soldier and Southern gentleman and a distinguished lawyer. A Lieutenant Cook, of General Crawford's staff, treated me and three of my friends to the contents of his canteen. We went by railroad that night to City Point, where we had a good lunch, and the next day we were shipped for Fort Delaware. I reached home June 20, 1865.
MARYLANDERS FOUGHT AT CHICKAMAUGA.
BALTIMORE SUN FEBRUARY 26, 1911,
Maryland Confederate veterans, especially those survivors of the 3d Maryland Battery, will be interested in knowing that the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Park Commission has placed two cannon to mark the position of the battery on the Crest road, Missionary Ridge, November 25, 1863. The cannon are Napoleons similar to those used by the battery in the battle, and with them is a bronze tablet with the following inscription:
THIRD MARYLAND ARTILLERY.
November 25, 1863. 11 A.M.
Four 12 pounder Napoleons.
Capt. W. W. Carnes's Artillery Battalion.
Stevenson's Division, Hardee's Corps.
Capt. John B. Rowan, commanding. Lieutenants: William L. Ritter, Thomas D. Giles, James W. Doncaster.
This battery, with its battalion, moved from its position west of Chattanooga Creek at 2:30 A.M., and after several changes came into position on the summit of the ridge near this point about 9:30 A.M. and opened fire at intervals on the flank of the enemy, assaulting Tunnel Hill with marked effect, causing him to seek shelter behind the intervening swell of the ridge and aiding materially in his final repulse and defeat of his purpose to carry the ridge at that point. After dark the battery withdrew with its battalion and division to Chickamauga Station. No casualties reported.
The 3d Maryland Battery was the only command from this State that served in the Western Confederate army, all the others being with the Army of Northern Virginia. It was organized at Ashland, Va., in the fall of 1861 by Capt. Henry B. Latrobe, son of John H. B. Latrobe, of Baltimore, and brother of the late Gen. Ferdinand C. Latrobe. Among its officers were Fred C. Claiborne, a cousin of Captain Latrobe and afterwards commander of the battery, John B. Rowan, of Elkton, and William L. Ritter, of Carroll County. Captain Claiborne succeeded to the command of the battery, and was killed at Vicksburg. Its next commander. Captain Rowan, was killed at Nashville. He was succeeded by Captain Ritter.
Captain Ritter is now a well known accountant of Baltimore and lives on North Carrollton Avenue. His threescore and more years rest very lightly on his shoulders, and few of his chance acquaintances would believe that the soft voiced man, so neat and careful in his dress and so polished in his manner, was the same Ritter who was known as one of the hardest fighters in the West.
THE CONFEDERATE VETERAN HIS SONG.
BY M. BLANCHE KNOWLTON.
Sometimes a band plays "Dixie" down by the ole Park store,
An' you oughter see us ole Confeds a hustlin' once more
Out of his gate comes Cap'n Brown, he's plum' fergot his cane,
His crippled leg ain't hurtin' nowù he's a gray clad boy again,
He loudly yells to Sergeant Smith, who sets dozin' in his door,
Fer he's been prayin' hard ter hear ole "Dixie" played once more,
He beckons wild ter Corporal Ross ter make him hurry long,
An' soon the crowd knows they air playin' that gran' ole song.
There ain't so many of us. but we kin make the welkin ring.
Some yells out, "Hooray! Hooray!" an' some begin ter sing,
The Cap'n hits some so hard they feel they've had a beatin',
The Majah slaps his hands jest like it is camp meetin',
Ole Private Jones, he sets right down on anything that's nigh,
An' you had better turn your head or you'll see him cry,
Fer that is what he allus does when in fancy he kin see
The sufferin's of the vanquished hosts that follered Gen'l Lee.
The Cuhnul, he throws his high hat away up in the air,
An' uses ever' bit of breath that he has got to spare,
An' little one arm Haineyùwell, he cuts some capers too
He was as brave a "Reb" as ever faced a line o' blue.
Away down South in Dixie,
the music bursts out gran'
Ef you kin keep from hollerin' you ain't but half a man
Hooray! Hooray
ter life us ole vets thrills once more
We clean ferget we ain't in line, but old, time worn, an' hoar.
The long years fall from us, we stan', gray clad, in battle array.
We've answered to our country's call, eager fer the fray.
Forward, march
the ole command is soundin' from out the vanished years,
The distant voices of our leaders air a ringin' in our ears.
In Dixie land I'll take my stand
that's jest what we done
We took it an' we belt it, tell the world's applause we won.
But at last "might conquered right," just as the poets say,
We lowered our flags of stars and bars an' folded them away.
An' when the music ceases we all stan' aroun' or set
An' fight our battles over ole unreconstructed Rebels yet
Private Jones, he tells us how they clum the mountain walls,
An' how at bloody Gettysburg he stopped some whizzin' balls,
How cannons busted roun' 'em! We heard the bullets whine,
An' lookin' in his face now, you'd know he didn't min'
When Pickett ordered him acrost the field the Ridge to take,
But what happened to him then still makes his ole form ache.
Then we listen ter the Cap'n, with lightnin' flashin' from his eyes,
Tell all about the Wilderness an' how a Southern soldier dies.
His blood made the streams run red 'neath the pine trees tall
That shielded many a Yankee from his foeman's deadly ball.
Now big Corporal Ross speaks up (he was a Morgan man,
The very best an' fightin'est o' that immortal clan).
He tells about a midnight raid 'twould make you hold your breath
An' how they'd rush without fear into the jaws o' death.
The Cuhnul, me, an' Hainey each some daring charge recall,
Provin' that the defenders of the South were gallant heroes, all.
An' when the sun is settin', an' each has had his say,
We bare our heads, an' all shake hands an' slowly turn away,
A hopin' an' a hopin' an' a hopin' as we sadly creep along,
That afore our days is ended we'll hear earth's grandest song.
O Dixie, how I love you! An' folks may say I'm deprave,
But when "taps" fer me has sounded, I want you played beside
my grave.
THE CONFEDERATE FLAG IN VERMONT IN 1861.
BY GRACE O. GIDDINGS, ENOSBURG FALLS, VT.
In the beginning of the War between the States there was much contention in the North, owing to division of opinion, some favoring the North, others the South. Many who sympathized with the South cautiously concealed their sentiments.
Among those who openly expressed their convictions that the South had a righteous cause was Horton Hall, a respected and influential resident of Enosburg Falls, Vt, noted for his generosity and genial disposition. He was well informed on topics of the day, and did not hesitate to explain to neighbors and friends the position of the Confederacy. To the consternation of the people, he unfurled a large Confederate flag over the road in front of his house. No Yankee could enter the town on South Main Street without passing under the waving banner of the South. Although sullen looks and threatening countenances greeted the flag, it waved on in defiance of the citizens' displeasure. Imagine the situation a Confederate flag waving over the heads of loyal Vermonters! The news spread throughout Mississippi Valley, and great excitement prevailed.
The wily Yankees saw the necessity of playing some of their tricks, which they could use adroitly. Forthwith a scheme was devised to detain Mr. Hall at the post office with some startling war news. While he was there a boy cut the rope which held the Southern banner, and a horseman, seizing the rope, galloped furiously through Main Street, with the flag trailing in the road. Cheers and shouts rent the air, while men and boys pursued the fleeing horsemen. Hearing the disturbance, Mr. Hall looked out in time to see his banner rudely dragged through the street. It was impossible to recover the flag, for it disappeared in a cloud of dust, and was never seen again. Free speech had been tolerated, but raising a Confederate flag in Yankeedom was unendurable.
When adversity overtook Mr. Hall soon after, he disposed of his property in the village and retired to a farm, a few miles distant, where he passed the remainder of his life amid peaceful surroundings. His daughter, Mrs. Arvilla Cross, who made the flag, died at an advanced age in this town last year.
Not many persons who were present when the Confederate flag was raised now remain, but the few survivors distinctly remember the thrilling events of that day.
PRISON LIFE ON HART'S ISLAND.
BY H. C. MURPHY, THOMASON, TENN.
I was captured while on picket line near Edisto River, Orangeburg C. H., S. C., on February 12, 1865. D. C. Pardue, S. A. Thomas, and I tried to make our escape by hiding in the water from 10 A.M. until 4 P.M. The Yanks were all about us during the day, and as they began to build camp fires, we thought they were going to camp there. I told the boys I could not stand it any longer, as I was almost frozen, so we got out of the water and surrendered, when we found several
of our regiment prisoners. If we had stayed a little longer in the water, we would have escaped, for marching orders were given them soon after we gave up. We were marched all night in our frozen clothes.
They kept us with Sherman's army, stopping at Columbia, S. C. We were there when they burned the city, and we witnessed some of the hardest things I ever saw. Women and children were driven out of their homes and then everything was burned. They were not allowed to save anything, and these women and children followed the army for something to eat as far as we could see. When we reached the coast at Newbern, S. C., the Federals emptied their knapsacks of jewelry and silverware and women's clothing, and shipped them to their homes.
At Newbern they put us on a ship and sent us to Hart's Island, about eighteen miles above New York City, where we arrived on the 12th of April, 1865. I was very sick when we landed. Captain Horn, who had charge of the prisoners, told me while we waited at the entrance that the war was over, that Lee had surrendered, and if I would take the oath, he would take me home with him and care for me until I got well, that if I went into the prison I would have to become acclimated and would not likely come out alive. I did not believe that Lee had surrendered, but I thanked him and told him that I had fought the thing through and would not go home until I could do so honorably. About that time the gates were thrown open and we marched through. I did come very near dying.
A few days after that Lincoln was assassinated. There was talk of retaliating on us, and I thought we would all be shot, but Providence watched over us. We were not allowed to collect in groups, and the guards had orders to shoot if they found as many as three talking together. Our rations were very short. There were sutler's stores in the prison where we could buy buttons, tobacco, and coffee if we had the money, but when we bought anything, they would hardly ever give the right change back. When I became able to be about, I bought some buttons and tools and went to making rings. I was just finishing up the first one, and while waiting my turn at the well the guard saw it and asked what I would take for it, I told him he could have it, and he thanked me and told me to be at the well at two o'clock. Of course I was on hand at the time, and he handed me the fattest old haversack of pickled pork and loaf bread. He said he was not eating what they drew and for me to come every day at that time, so I fared fine from then on. I told the boys I had "bought a Yankee." I would like to know what became of him. Few of the boys fared so well. Comrade Will M. Long, of Nashville, can tell about it, for it was he who kidnapped, killed, and ate the colonel's fat dog, which shows how hungry we were. The weather was cold, and we were not allowed to have any fire except in the cook room one for every hundred men and no one was allowed in there except the cooks. I left prison on the 14th of June, 1865.
I would like to hear from some of the boys who were prisoners with me. D. C. Perdue, of Ashland City, is the only one living near me who was there.
Frank Hope, of Company F, 4th Missouri Cavalry, Burbridge's Regiment, desires to meet any of "the boys" of this command, also Capt. Amos Hulitt, of Company G, same regiment, at Little Rock in May. Write him at Rogers, Ark., Route No. 4. Why not meet at the VETERAN'S headquarters at noon on May 17?
Confederate Veteran May 1911
INQUIRIES FOR, BY, AND ABOUT VETERANS.
Information is requested of Jacob Leander Park, who belonged to Company A, 41st Alabama Regiment, Gracie's Brigade. His widow desires to hear from any of his comrades who can tell about him. Address his daughter, Mrs. W. A. Harp, Haynes, Ark.
D. M. Armstrong, of Roanoke, Va., desires to hear from Henderson Reed, who was first lieutenant in Chapman's Battery, and enlisted from Monroe County, W. Va. He was captured either at Winchester September 19, 1864, or at Cedar Creek October 19, 1864. Comrade Armstrong has been informed that Lieutenant Reed is somewhere in Missouri.
N. O. Smith, of Troup, Tex., who was in General Forrest's wagon train) desires to hear from some of the comrades who were paroled with him at Gainesville, Ala., of whom he mentions Tom Kelly, wagon master, and Comrades Evans, Lynch, and Jack Sadler, a veterinarian, all of whom at that time lived in Memphis, also Will Parker, of Pikesville, Miss. He seeks testimony as to his record in order to secure a pension.
James H. Polk, of Fort Worth, Tex., seeks information of the war service of John Edgar Harding, who enlisted in an Arkansas regiment at Osceola. His brothers, Drs. Thomas and Monroe Harding and Mr. W. P. Harding, well known in Tennessee, are all dead. His son, B. M. Harding, who was left an orphan and far removed from his father's family, would appreciate any information of the father's war record, which can be sent to him at Fort Worth or to his friend, Captain Polk.
INQUIRY ABOUT HUGH McGUIRE. Hugh T. Gallagher writes from 189 Exchange Street, Bangor, Maine: "In October, 1862, Hugh McGuire enlisted in a Confederate company that was recruited in Nashville, Tenn., under Capt. William Sweeney. MeGuire was killed in the battle of Murfreesboro. He once lived in Bangor, and has living there at present a sister, a very old lady, as well as nephews and nieces. It was not known until recently that he was in the Confederate army. These relatives desire to know if he had any family. Information will be appreciated."
LIST OF CONFEDERATE OFFICERS WANTED. It is desired by the VETERAN to have a list of surviving Confederate officers from captain to major general. It would be very helpful to have the name, rank, command, and post office address of each. Will the officers who patronize the VETERAN kindly write what they can on a postal? This favor would cost but one cent and need not occupy five minutes of time. It often is very desirable to procure information which such officers would gladly furnish and request would be made of them if this suggestion be complied with.
CONFEDERATE OFFICERS CAPTURED A VESSEL AND ESCAPED. H. C. Sharp, who was second sergeant of Company D, 68th North Carolina Regiment, now of Harrelisville, N. C., inquires concerning a batch of Confederate officers. He writes as follows: "Some time in the autumn of 1862 about fifty or sixty Confederate officers who had been captured seized the transport steamer Maple Leaf, on which they were prisoners, near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, steamed southward a short distance, and landed on the northeastern coast of North Carolina on the Currituck Beach. Soon after landing, in order to facilitate their escape through the country, partially occupied by the enemy, they divided into two squads, one passing through the country south of the Albemarle Sound, and the others went on the northern side. As soon as the latter had crossed the Chanan (?) River they were safe from recapture. The friendly citizens fed the twenty five or thirty officers and furnished them vehicles for their journey. The writer recollects only Lieutenant Semmes, of the artillery service, a son of Admiral Semmes, of the Alabama. The fate of those who passed south of the sound is not known."
F. E. Culver, who writes from his "Happy Far Away Home" at Ingleside, Ill., is trying to locate the brave soldier who stuck to his place and defiantly waved his little battle flag in the faces of the 44th New York Zouaves as they charged his regiment at Malvern Hill. The flag was taken from him, as he would not retreat with his comrades. It was a Confederate battle flag, and on it was inscribed "Seven Pines." Some of the VETERAN readers may remember the incident.
To C. M. MILES, OF THE BLACK HORSE CAVALRY. Lloyd U. Dick, Treasurer of Westmoreland County, Pa., writes from Greensburg, Pa., to Mrs, General Pickett: "I overheard an old Union soldier in my office tell one of his comrades on February 27 that in the first battle of Bull Run he picked up a pocket knife with this inscription on the side: 'C. M. Miles, Co. M, Black Horse Cavalry.' I was pleased with your lecture lately in Greensburg."
(Mr. Dick would convey information to Comrade Miles or a representative. ED.)
Ben McCulloch Camp, U. C. V., has recently been organized at Idabel,Okla., with twenty eight charter members. W. S. Ray, who served as Commander of John H. Morgan Camp at DeQueen, Ark., for ten years, was elected Commander of the new Camp, and C. J. Stewart, Adjutant. The membership is composed of men who went out from eight States and the Indian Territory.
Mrs. J. Harvey Hill, 618 North El Paso Street, El Paso, Tex., is chairman of a committee appointed by the Texas Division, U. D. C., to ascertain the whereabouts of Texas Confederate battle flags, which they seek to have returned to their State for safe keeping in the Museum at Austin. Any information concerning them will be appreciated.
CONFEDERATE OFFICERS CAPTURED AT BOWLING GREEN, KY. Three Confederate colonels and one sergeant major were captured near Bowling Green, Ky., by some videttes. They were given permission by Dr. J. S. Parker, provost marshal (now of Paragould, Ark.), to stay all night at the hotel unguarded. Next morning after reporting they were paroled. Dr. Parker would be pleased to hear from any of them if yet living, or of their fate. While he does not know their names, he feels that they may have told their names to some who may see this.
EARLY TRIBUTE TO CONFEDERATE DEAD AT LIBERTY, Miss. David C. Bramlette, Jr., writes from Woodville, Miss.: "I read with a great deal of interest the notice in the March VETERAN of the Confederate monument at Liberty, Amite County, Miss., and note your request for data about monuments erected previous to 1875. As early as November 18, 1866, my mother, Miss Olivia J. Ratcliffe, then a girl eighteen years old, presented to the Amite County Historical and Monumental Association a stone to be used for the corner stone in the monument. Col. Richard Stewart gave the stone to the association, and on the occasion of its presentation my mother made a stirring address, the original copy of which I still have in my possession."
OFFICER AND PRIVATE IN BATTLE CONTRASTED.
BY MAJ. R. H. DUDLEY, 21ST TENNESSEE CAVALRY.
You have frequently asked me to write briefly on the respective responsibilities of a private and officer, as I was both during the Civil War.
In the first place, the private did not have and therefore did not feel the responsibility that rests individually upon the commander of a regiment or a higher command. The private, while patriotic, was taught and even commanded, if he seemed reckless, by his officer to protect himself as well as possible in battle. All of us remember the familiar command, "Lie down!" and we did not have to be commanded to get behind trees, stumps, rocks, or anything that would afford protection when under fire, we were expected by our officers to do this, and it was considered no disgrace nor evidence of cowardice.
I never believed the private had proper credit for his bravery and that the officers were given more than they deserved. I belonged first to Loring's Division in West Virginia and then to Cheatham's Division of the Western Army, and I venture the assertion that there were in each of these divisions one thousand privates that were as brave and chivalrous as either Loring or Cheatham, who were as brave and patriotic as any officer in the Confederate army. You very often hear the remark that General Cleburne or Stonewall Jackson or other generals performed great deeds of valor, the credit all going to them, when they could have accomplished nothing without the aid and cooperation of the brave men under them.
A private had nothing to do in battle but to obey orders and protect himself as best he could, while it was very different with the commanding officer. If he possessed the character and attributes that an officer should have, his sense of responsibility and anxiety was so great while in battle that he never thought of his own safety. At least that was my experience when in command of my company or my regiment.
A commanding officer, especially of a cavalry regiment, had a multitude of important matters to think of while under fire. He was expected to avoid getting his regiment cut to pieces needlessly, he was obliged to be on the lookout for his flanks, or enfilading fire, and he had to see that his officers and men were all in place and doing their duty. Often he was away from the main command and had no one to receive orders from, and had to be his own general.
I was under General Forrest the last year of the war, knew him often to send a regimental commander so far away from the main army that it was impracticable to receive orders from headquarters when he met the enemy.
Major Dudley's reference recalls a humorous saying. "Lie Down" was supplemented in Cheatham's Division by adding the name "Rockie." A wag, John England, of the same company as the Editor, was tall and awkward. By some unaccountable way his nickname "Rockie" was changed to "Rocksie," and the expression, "Lie down, Rocksie," got to be a humorous phrase. Often upon going to quarters from dress parade "Lie down, Rocksie," would be heard from regiment to regiment. They got to using it in swaying fashion and by note. One regiment took it up, then another, and another, so the expression was familiar to thousands. Survivors who never knew England will doubtless recall it. Evidently "we uns" and "you uns" started with him in a perfectly natural way. While in prison and starving Rocksie was in a hard fight, and his champions asked: "Why didn't you kill him?" The reply was prompt: "He said stop!"
EXTRACTS FROM LETTER BY LIEUT. E. P. MILLER.
(A treasured relic from times that tried men's souls.)
IN CAMP NEAR LEESBURG, December 9, 1861.
Dear Sister Carrie: It is only sixteen days until Christmas will be here again, but under what different circumstances will we spend it to what we have been accustomed to
I send you my diary of notes on camp life. I wish to preserve them for future reference.
Charlie McKinney, who was wounded in the battle of the 21st of October, will go home on furlough,
I have a pair of Yankee shoes and a coat. But for these shoes I would be barefooted.
It is nearly two weeks since we received a letter from home. Brother Owen is holding prayer meeting to night in Company I in a tent not more than twenty yards from where I am writing in my own tent, and our boys are having a regular Virginia break down dance right at the back of me. So between the prayer meeting and the dance I fear you will not get a very well connected letter. I shall have to stop now and call the roll, as the drum has beat for that purpose.
I have just called the roll and am writing in the lieutenant's tent, as we are not allowed to have a light in our tents after "taps," which is given half an hour after roll call. "Taps" consists of three distinct blows on a drum, when all lights have to be put out and strict silence observed.
Gen. N. G. Evans bade us adieu to day. General Griffith, of Mississippi, takes command of our brigade, and General Hill, of North Carolina, takes command of this division. I fear we will never get under as good a general as Evans again. The old fellow presented us with abattle flag to day and with tears in his eyes made us a speech. He goes to his native State, South Carolina. The good wishes of the whole brigade go with him. Both officers and privates liked General Evans. We have tried him on the battlefield, and we know that he will do.
At twelve o'clock Colonel Hunton came up with the 8th Virginia. General Evans ordered him to march to our assistance. Colonel H. remarked that he did not like to go in there, not knowing the strength of the enemy. "I command you, sir," said the General, "to take your regiment to the support of that gallant command. It has been fighting this whole force all day."
I never heard muskets roar so before. I never felt like we were going to whip them until I heard the Mississippi muskets open with a crash. Such had never before saluted my ears. We threw up our hats and shouted when we heard the roar, for we knew that the Yankees would never stand before such a fire as that. In a few minutes we heard a tremendous cheering down on the field. We almost held our breaths, not knowing which side was cheering, but we were not kept long in suspense, for soon here came some thirty or forty men with powder blackened faces, dragging after them two pieces of captured artillery. Hats and caps were thrown high in the air, while cheer after cheer went up from that blood stained battlefield, until the very skies seemed to reecho the shouts of victory.
But darkness was now gathering around, there came a pause, the firing ceased, and a deathlike silence reigned. Then a kind of mournful wailing sound went up from the wounded. We were soon ordered away.
(Comrade Miller was orderly sergeant at the time of writing the above, but was later commissioned lieutenant. He was killed in battle at Fredericksburg, December 11,
1863.)
Confederate Veteran May 1911
ABOUT ALL THE MEN IN HOOD'S TEXAS BRIGADE.
BY J. B. POLLEY, FLORESVILLE, TEX.
In the last December VETERAN appeared a brief and incomplete historical sketch of Hood's Texas Brigade. It followed the address made by Gen. W. R. Hamby on the occasion of the unveiling at Austin, Tex., of a monument to the dead of that brigade, and is apparently a compilation of facts respecting the three Texas regiments of the brigade, prepared not by General Hamby, but by another person. In the last February VETERAN Mr. A. J. Cone, of Gainesville, Fla., complains that the writer of the "Sketch" does an injustice to a deserving body of soldiers by his failure "to mention the 18th Georgia Regiment, which, with the 1st, 4th, and 5th Texas Regiments, composed Hood's Texas Brigade."
There is not a word, line, or sentence in the "Historic Sketch" which denies the right of the 18th Georgia to share in the fame won by Hood's Texas Brigade, but when Comrade Cone asserts, as he has done, that "the 18th Georgia Regiment, with the 1st, 4th, and 5th Texas Regiments, composed Hood's Texas Brigade," he not only ignores but impliedly denies credit to two other regiments which, as constituent parts of the brigade, helped it win its battles. That he should have failed to mention that ever gallant South Carolina command, Hampton's Legion, is remarkable when it is remembered that the legion as a part of the brigade participated in every battle in which the 18th Georgia fought prior to its transfer to Cobb's Brigade, and at Second Manassas and Sharpsburg went into battle side by side with the 18th Georgia. As for the 3d Arkansas, which took the place in the brigade of the Georgia regiment, it is probable that Mr. Cone does not know that it served with us from December, 1852, until the close of the war. During the winter of 1863 64 Hampton's Legion was mounted, and thereafter served as cavalry.
The truth is, neither Comrade Cone nor the writer of the "Sketch" has sinned beyond the ready pardon of his comrades. The one, jealous of the good name and fame of one of the bravest regiments in the Confederate service and a trifle oversensitive, kicked before he was spurred, and in his haste to make the kick effective lost sight of the record, the other, his mind full of the incidents occurring at the unveiling at the Texas capital of a monument to the dead of a command in which Texas regiments always outnumbered those of other States, had no room in it just then to bestow praise upon associate commands equally valiant and deserving. And because of the obvious lack of intent on the part of either to wrong those not specifically mentioned, neither deserves censure.
Between the Texas and the other regiments in Hood's Texas Brigade no unworthy jealousy existed. There was rivalry, of course, but it was good natured and fair minded, and no member of the 1st, 4th, or 15th Texas but was proud of the gallantry and achievements and the honors won by his Georgia, South Carolina, and Arkansas comrades. That the same spirit of true camaraderie beats in our bosoms to day is established by a record lately made. When at Navasota, Tex., on June 27, 1907, Hood's Texas Brigade Association met in reunion and selected the writer as brigade historian. The resolution introduced and adopted required of him to "give to the world a fair and impartial history of Hood's Texas Brigade from first to last, said history to be historical and biographical, and to include the 1st, 4th, and 5th Texas, the 18th Georgia, and 3d Arkansas Regiments, and Hampton's Legion," At the same reunion and on the same day the first step was taken toward the building of a monument to the memory of the noble dead of the brigade by a resolution unanimously adopted having that purpose in view and providing for the appointment of a committee to consist of one surviving member of each of the regiments that at any time served in the brigade.
The history was written, and published by the Neale Publishing Company, of New York and Washington. It was issued from the press in March, 1910, and is now on sale by the publishers. The author of it and the many friends who have written to him in commendation of his work believe it to be the fair and impartial history demanded of him by his old comrades. Certainly he labored long and hard, and spared no pains to make it fair and impartial and as correct as, after the lapse of so many years, it could be made. As for the monument, it was longer in the building than was the history in the writing, but it was finally completed in September of last year, and was unveiled on October 27 last. Inscribed on one side of the main shaft appear in plain lettering the names of the different commands which at one time or another served in Hood's Texas Brigade, the fourth in the list being the 18th Georgia.
The account of the reunion in October and of the unveiling ceremonies published in the December VETERAN is far from complete. To have told all that was said and done would have required two issues of that publication. Naturally it was in the main a Texas affair, and in the desire of the people present to do honor to their own flesh and blood to the boys who went to the war from Texas woodlands and prairies more was said and thought of the 1st, 4th, and 5th Texas than of their comrade commands in the brigade. Yet no survivor of those comrade commands who was there has any cause to fear that his own regiment was forgotten, and that any part of the glory won by the old brigade to which it was entitled was not cheerfully and heartily accorded to it. While the distinguished gentlemen who delivered the principal addresses of the occasion spoke only of Hood's Texas Brigade as a body, their hearers bore in mind the 18th Georgia, Hampton's Legion, and the 3d Arkansas, and accorded to them their just meed of the tribute paid to the brigade. What better evidence of our love and admiration for the commands associated with us, what more sincere acknowledgment of our indebtedness to them is needed than what was said in his memorial address by Comrade W. E. Barry, of the 4th Texas? Speaking of the whole brigade, he said: "It is with a trembling hand that I sweep the silent chords of memory and again see in the splendor of their young manhood so many of our comrades who gave their young lives for that heroic cause so dear to us all. No truer or purer patriots ever gave themselves for a nobler cause. No braver men ever went forth to battle for the right and breasted the storm of leaden hail than our own dear, loved comrades. Study the pages of ancient and modern history, and you will not find recorded there any deeds that will surpass the resistless charges of Hood's Texas Brigade at Gaines's Mill, Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, the rock ribbed heights of Gettysburg, and the blood stained field of Chickamauga. * * * Let me pause a moment to tell you who made and helped to make the glorious history of Hood's Texas Brigade. The 1st Texas, the 4th Texas, the 5th Texas, the 18th Georgia lovingly called the 3d Texas Hampton's Legion, and that splendid regiment the 3d Arkansas bore a conspicuous part in all the battles in which we were engaged, and are entitled to share in the renown we won on so many bloody fields. What a long roll of our dead sleep upon those illustrious fields! Texas, Georgia, South Carolina, and Arkansas'
sons sleep side by side in unmarked graves. Can we forget those dead heroes, those champions of a glorious cause? Can we forget the weary marches in winter's storm and summer's sun, the pangs of hunger, the ghastly wounds, the weakened bodies, the tottering steps of the men who with dauntless souls faced the storm of battle and sank to rise no more? Our brave comrades sleep well in unmarked graves. God knows where they rest, and Glory stands sentinel over the bivouac of the dead."HERE'S YOUR MULE
BY WALLACE WOOD, OF HARVEY'S SCOUTS, NEW ORLEANS, LA.
After coming out of Tennessee the cavalry under General Jackson was encamped at Tupelo and Verona, while we (Harvey's Scouts) were sent out to look after some Federal troops who had come out of Memphis and were making their way down through Pontotoc County, Miss. We intercepted them some twenty miles or more from Verona, and in the encounter my horse was killed, and I was ordered to go back to our camp at Verona. While walking on the way I met a very nice looking mule ridden by an old family negro servant, I ordered him to dismount. He obeyed, but was scared for fear I intended to kill him. He begged most piteously for his life, and I told him it was his mule and not his life that I wanted. I gave him my name and command, also told him where he could get the mule in Verona. He hurried home with the news that one of Forrest's cavalrymen had taken his mule, and that his life was saved only by tearful pleadings. The mule happened to be owned by an officer on Forrest's staff, who was immediately notified of his great loss, and at once the whole machinery of Forrest's Cavalry was put in motion to catch the vandal who had the audacity to steal ( ?) a mule from the stalls of the great cavalry leader.
Capt. Sam Henderson, who was around Forrest's headquarters at Meridian at this time, was detailed to capture me By a singular coincidence I was at headquarters, having a transportation pass to Corinth, Miss., approved by General Forrest, and to get a furlough, but I was not recognized as the party wanted. Going back to Tupelo on the train was Capt. Sam Henderson. That gentleman always appeared in a new officer's dress suit, with white gauntlets, and in his usual suave and at the same time highly impressive and bombastic manner he was telling all about the war and how near Henderson's Scouts came to catching Grant before he caught Vicksburg. Finally he discovered me, still unknown to him, tucked away in a corner asleep. We reached Tupelo about 10 :30 P.M., after a weary ride. As we alighted from the train he requested me to show him where Captain Harvey was camped. When we reached the tent, he dotted his hat with a grand bow, at the same time giving a sweeping salute with his highly befeathered hat, remarking: "My dear Captain Harvey, how is your most excellent health? I owe you an apology for coming so late at night, but I am up here on a most unpleasant duty, and when you hear the details you will appreciate the delicacy of my position. It seems that one of your men, Wallace Wood, has stolen a mule from Lieutenant Colonel , of Forrest's staff, and I volunteered to come up and see you and to save you some annoyance. So if you will have the young man arrested and keep him under guard, you will oblige your old friend."
I was standing by listening, and do not know which was the most surprised. However, Captain Harvey was equal to the occasion. He invited Captain Henderson to take a seat, and then sent for me. As we passed out of the tent Captain Harvey said to me: "What the devil does this mean? Don't you know that General Forrest has issued an order threatening most dire punishment to any soldier who 'presses' a horse or mule?" That was what we called it in those days. After I explained, Captain Harvey said to me: "Get away from here on the first train, and keep out of the way,"
I have forgotten how he fixed it up with Captain Henderson, but I had many a laugh with Captain Henderson after the war about this trip and his waterhaul.
This raid of the Federals was of such importance that General Forrest with his staff came up the Memphis and Ohio Railroad and disembarked from the train at Verona and started out to meet the raiders. When I met General Forrest going out to where I came from, I reported the facts to him as to the enemy. He wanted to know where I got the mule I was riding, and I told him that I borrowed him from a farmer to ride to the railroad. My lieutenant colonel failed to recognize his favorite mule when I was on him, but afterwards recovered him at Verona. This is a true tale of my "pressing" a mule during the war.
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