Confederate Veteran

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SHERMAN'S LOVE (?) FOR THE SOUTH. F. O. HAWLEY, INCHARLOTTE (N. C.) NEWS.

My attention is given to an article by Maj. David F. Boyd in the September CONFEDERATE VETERAN under the heading, "Gen. W. T. Sherman: His Early Life in the South, and His Relations with Southern Men." Major Boyd commences this article by saying of Sherman: "He loved the South and was highly esteemed in the South. Only his boyhood was spent North in his native State, Ohio." "His wide circle of friends were mainly among officers and Southern people." "Actions speak louder than words," but Sherman's love for the South was proved by both actions and words.

I will give a few examples of his interest in the people of the South. Although written before, as we are "keeping history straight" they may be repeated. I was in Johnston's army in front of Sherman in his march through Georgia. We evacuated Savannah on the night Sherman and his forces marched in, going out before his army. We crossed the river on pontoon bridges, and in falling back I saw houses burning in his trail, leavirg mothers and children and the aged and infirm homeless. This evidences his "love for the South."

It has been truly said: "Since Alva's atrocious cruelty to the noncombatant population of the Low Countries in the sixteenth century, the history of war records no incident of such barbarous cruelty as that which Sherman's order to vacate Atlanta designed to perpetrate." The city had been surrendered with the promise that noncombatants and private property should be respected, but what cared Sherman for a promise! He issued an order directing all civilians in Atlanta, male or female, to leave the city within five days from the date of the order. When the civil authorities appealed to Sherman to either revoke or modify his inhuman order, he replied: "I give full credit to your statements of the distress that will be occasioned by it, and yet I shall not revoke my orders, because they are not designed to meet the humanities of the case." The women and children were expelled from their homes at the appointed time, and before they were passed within our lines complaint was made that they had been robbed of what articles of value they were permitted to take with them by the officers and men sent to guard them.

Another proof of Sherman's "love for the South ( ?)." Was there ever more disregard both of the common dictates of humanity and of the established rules of war than was shown 
by the Federals in the burning of Columbia? The Mayor surrendered the city, claiming for its citizens the protection which is always accorded noncombatants by the laws of civilized war, but the homes of the defenseless citizens were plundered of everything of value and the city burned.

Not to escape the odium heaped upon him for this atrocity, but to create prejudice against South Carolina's most distinguished Confederate, Sherman laid the blame on General Hampton, claiming that Hampton had ordered the cotton stored in the city burned to prevent its falling into the hands of the enemy. General Hampton proved this accusation to be false, Sherman admitting it.

Still another proof of his "love for the South." In a letter written by Lieut. Thomas J. Myers in camp near Camden, S. C., February 26, 1865, to his wife he stated (this letter was found in the streets of Columbia, S. C., immediately after the army of Sherman had left the ruined and plundered city) :

My Dear Wife: I have no time for particulars, have had a glorious time in this State. Unrestricted license to burn and plunder was the order of the day. The chivalry have been stripped of most of their valuables. Gold watches, silver pitchers, cups, spoons, forks, etc., are as common in camp as blackberries. The terms of plunder are as follows: The valuables procured are estimated by companies. Each company is required to exhibit results of its operations at any given place: one fifth and first choice falls to the share of the commander in chief and staff, one fifth to the field officers of the regiments, and two fifths to the company. Subordinate officers and privates keep back everything that they can carry about their persons, such as rings, earrings, breastpins, etc., of which, if I ever get home, I have about a quart. I am not joking. I have at least a quart of jewelry for you and all the girls, and some No. 1 diamond rings and pins among them. General Sherman has silver and gold enough to start a bank. His share in gold watches and chains alone in Columbia was $275. We took gold and silver enough from the d n Rebels to have redeemed their infernal currency twice over. I wish all the jewelry this army has could be carried to the old Bay State, it would deck her out in glorious style. Tell Sallie that I am saving a pearl bracelet and earrings for her. Lambert got the necklace and breastpin of the same set. I am trying to trade him out of them. These were taken from the Misses Jamison, daughters of the President of the South Carolina Secession Convention. We found these on our trip through Georgia.
The author of this letter was a lieutenant in Sherman's army, and it was addressed to his wife at Boston, Mass.

(The substance of the Myers letter has been given before, but "to keep history straight" some things must be told over and over. Besides, there are many new readers who did not see the former publication. Like John Brown, the wicked but able Sherman is approved by people who "know not what they do." EDITOR VETERAN.)

BILL ELLICK

HOW HE RAN FROM A TURKEY.

BY JAMES W, ELLIS, OZAN, ARK.

William Alexander was a soldier in Company E, 4th Arkansas Infantry, and as brave and true a fighter as ever marched with the gray. Nearly every soldier had a nickname given by his comrades, and William's was "Bill Ellick."

On a certain march in North Arkansas Bill ran short of meat, and, not knowing when the commissary would issue again, he hit upon a plan to capture a fine turkey. Seeing a lot of gobblers in a yard near the public road, Bill took a fishing line and hook, and, baiting it, walked in among the turkeys. Slyly dropping the halted hook near a fine old "strutter," he watched until the turkey grabbed it. Now, the other end of the line was attached to Bill's belt, so when he pretended to be scared and started on a run, the turkey commenced flopping his wings and took after Bill, who, yelling "Shoo! shoo!" at the top of his voice, ran off down the road, the old turkey gobbler following him, hitting the ground only in high places.

Bill ran into camp, followed by the turkey, and, amid the laughter of the officers and men, he turned upon his feathered pursuer and decapitated him. The officers were so amused that they said nothing to Bill. It is needless to say that the captain helped Bill dispose of the roasted gobbler.

THE CAPTURE OF PRESIDENT DAVIS.

BY CASPER KNOBEL, PHILADELPHIA, PA.

(The following paper was prepared by Casper Knobel, who was the first man to reach Mr. Davis's tent when his camp was captured by the Union cavalry. Mr. Knobel, who now lives at 1228 South Fourth Street, Philadelphia, Pa., was born in Switzerland in a village up in the Alps, and from a boy was an expert horseman. His two brothers came with him to America, but since the war they have never met. Of the pursuit and capture of President Davis he writes:)

On May 7, 1865, with a detachment of the 4th Michigan Cavalry, we left Macon, Ga., about 8 P.M. with four hundred and nineteen men and ten officers. We rode all night, and by 8 A.M. of May 8 we had covered thirty six miles. We halted and rested until about 1 P.M., when we started again, and marched fifteen miles farther, making a total of fifty one miles in twenty four hours. We encamped for the night about three or four miles below Hawkinsville. It must have been about four o'clock on the morning of the 9th when we broke camp and moved to Abbeville, where our officer in charge was informed that a train of ten or twelve wagons and two ambulances had crossed the Ocmulgee River at Brown's Ferry, about one and a half miles above, at twelve o'clock on the previous night. At Abbeville we saw Lieutenant Colonel Harden, of the 1st Wisconsin Cavalry, who informed our men that he with a force of seventy five men was following on the track of Jefferson Davis, and that his men were from two to three hours in advance, 

About 1 A.M. on May 10 we passed a Confederate, and, representing to him that we were the rear guard left to hold back the Yankees, inquired the direction of the train. He said that a party had encamped about dark the previous evening over a mile from the Abbeville road. To avoid being led astray, however, our officers decided to split up our party. George Pinke and I and twelve others were in the band detailed to continue on the road we had been following, while other parties composed of fourteen men each were directed to go to the right and left of the road and in other directions. Our party had traversed but a short distance when we discovered a dying camp fire. This indicated that we must be close to the camp of the Davis party. George Pinke and I were picked out of the fourteen men of our party to make an inspection as quickly and quietly as possible. We rode along as directed, and soon made out in the darkness the tents of the Davis party. The first person we discovered was a sleeping colored man, who had evidently been left to guard the small camp. As soon as we made out the tents more clearly we made a charge, and, even if I say so, it was a good charge for two men to make. The hardships and hunger we had gone through made us willing to meet a sure death. Once alongside of the colored man, we. discharged our pieces in the air as a signal to our waiting comrades, who then made one of the finest dashes I have ever witnessed. Being a young man and a good horseman, it was an easy task for me.

I dismounted and George Pinke held my mule, which I had received only a few days before, as my horse was wounded in the leg. I then tore open the flap of the first tent, which proved to be the one occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Davis and family. I reached in and took from the tent pole a satchel and handed it to George Pinke. We found in it later shirts, collars, baby garments, etc. By this time our party was all together and making a search of the camp. The surprise was so complete that the Confederates were unable to make the slightest defense or even to grasp their weapons, which were lying by their sides.

At this moment a new scene opened, destined in its mournful results to cloud the otherwise perfect success of our expedition. We had held possession of the camp but a few moments, and not long enough to ascertain the extent of our capture, when sharp firing began between the dismounted force under Lieutenant Purinton and what was supposed at the time to be the Confederate force guarding the train. The firing was about one hundred or two hundred rods in the rear of the camp and across a narrow swamp. Different Union parties were firing at each other. The trouble was caused by our men giving the three shot signal, so as to let the others know that we had captured the camp. The firing was between men of the 4th and 1st Wisconsin Cavalry. Two men were killed and three or four wounded.

When the fighting commenced, George Pinke was detailed to go out, while I was left on guard with others. It was just at this time that Mrs. Davis came out of the tent and threw a shawl over her husband's shoulders, and out of this incident grew the cruel story that the Confederate President tried to escape in women's clothing. Mr. Davis had on a gray suit, soft hat, and the shawl I have mentioned, and nothing else. I don't think Mrs. Davis had any idea of aiding her husband's escape when she threw the shawl around him. It was simply a thoughtful effort to protect him from the raw morning air.

This capture happened in a very thick woods. Just then up rode Corporal Munger, who dashed across the road to us. Being at the back of Mr. Davis, I heard him yell, "Halt!" He had his gun pointed at the figure with the shawl and said: "Are you Jeff Davis?" "You have no right to ask me the question," was the reply. "Answer quick, or I will shoot," said Munger, and I knew him well enough to know that the next instant he would have fired had not Mrs. Davis thrown her arms around her husband's neck. Then Jefferson Davis admitted his identity, saying, "Harm not the women and children," which, of course, we did not intend to do anyway.

Col. D. B. Pritchard gave the prisoners time to get breakfast. Here Mrs. Davis addressed me with some questions about what we were going to do with her husband. I told her I did not know, but that I was very hungry, so she went to her cook, and then her daughter brought me some corncakes, This in itself was a good reward for a hungry soldier.

After breakfast we started for Abbeville, arriving about sundown on May 10. On the afternoon of the 11th, when we were several miles below Hawkinsville, we met the rest of a brigade coming out of Macon, and from them we received the first intelligence of the President's proclamation offering a reward of $100,000

On arriving at Macon Mr. Davis was escorted to Washington, D. C. Our regiment remained at Macon until the 21st, when we started for home, feeling that the capture of Jefferson Davis has indeed finished the war. About twelve months before this we were in the Kilpatrick raid and made its bloody charge. About June 17 we reached Nashville, Tenn., where we were paid off and mustered out of service. The reward of $100,000 was divided in this way:

General Wilson, commanding United States cavalry.... $3,000

Lieutenant Colonel Pritchard, of the 4th Michigan..... 3,000

Colonel Harden, 1st Michigan........................ 3,000

Capt. J. H. Yoeman, 1st Ohio......................... 3,000

Horseshoer George Pinke, 4th Michigan Cavalry....... 333

Private Casper Knobel, 4th Michigan Cavalry.......... 293

The remainder, I believe, was divided among the four hundred and nineteen men. But compare Comrade Pinke's and my own reward out of $100,000. I hold a gold medal for this act. I also carry a shot wounded leg received while on duty.

ON PICKET IN FRONT OF SUFFOLK, VA.

BY M. J. CLARK, MOBILE, ALA.

While our army was around Suffolk, Va., two companies, A and F, of the 11th Mississippi Infantry Regiment, were placed on picket (outpost) in trenches in sight of Suffolk and the Federal forces. I was a member of Company F. Early in the day one of our boys called "Yank!" and, receiving a prompt answer, acquiesced in the request that there be no firing on the line during the day. One of the boys of Company A, Jerry Gage, who soon after fell in battle, proposed to exchange papers, holding one up in his hands. Mr. Yank said all right and started toward our line with one in his hand. Jerry Gage went to meet him, and another friend and another, and so on until our whole picket force had left the pits. There was a lake, or something of the kind, about halfway between us, and when we got there, and the other Yanks who had left their pits, we found a Yank with a skiff, who invited us to go over to their camp, which was in sight. We accepted the invitation, and he put us all across.

By this time a big crowd of Yanks were around us, some proposing to make peace, some swapping buttons and the other things, and the proposition was made to some of the boys to go up town and have a game of poker. We were having * big time until a Yankee officer came rushing down, very much excited, and yelled out: "What does all this mean?" He said the like was never heard of, and if the crowd did not disperse immediately, the batteries would be opened on it. He refused to allow the skiff to cross the lake, and I thought we were going up sure, but another officer, standing near us, remarked: "Boys, don't pay any attention to that d fool. They know better than to fire into their own men. We will see that none of you are harmed and arc put back safe on your side of the lake."
So we all shook hands, with a good by and good luck, and were put safely across. Not a gun was fired during the whole day. We went back into our pits, and after dark were called in. and marched the whole night, evacuating that area.

I have given this as I remember the circumstances, and if any comrades who were with me then are now living, or if any of those on the other side see this, I would be glad to hear from them.

VETERANS OF WM. WATTS CAMP AT ROANOKE.

At the celebration of the one hundred and fourth anniversary of the birth of Gen. R. E. Lee the Daughters of the Confederacy made guests of the veterans, and other "boys" came from a distance to participate in it. The veterans assembled at the City Hall and marched to Sheen's place, directed by Commander J. B. Elliott, with W. E. Elliott carrying the banner of the Camp, while Adjutant Crute played "Dixie" on his violin, accompanied by his daughter, Miss Florence Crute.

Commander Elliott introduced Major Graves, of Vinton, who reviewed the life and character of Lee in the tribute that had been paid him by the London Standard and General Scott's assertion that Lee was the best soldier he had seen on the field. Major Graves spoke of the splendor of General Lee's character, which shone out as conspicuously in defeat as in victory. Bitterness, he said, was never a part of General Lee's nature, and his serene cheerfulness, his calm dignity, and his majestic nobility were conspicuous traits.

The spotless record, the exalted Christian character, and the chivalrous dignity of General Lee's life won for him the respect of the North, and especially the soldiers. In order that he might set a proper example for others, he availed himself of the conditions of President Johnson's proclamation and applied for amnesty through General Grant, who cordially indorsed it, but Johnson never condescended to notice it, and Lee died "a prisoner of war on parole." He quoted General Lee's words to Gen. Wade Hampton, of South Carolina, in June, 1869, alluding to the part he took in the war: "I could have pursued no other course without dishonor, and if it were all to go over again, I should act in precisely the same way,"

Major Graves's remarks were frequently applauded. Professor Gale read a poem that he wrote after a visit to the tomb of Lee. He also sang a song that was pleasing.

Hon. Henry S. Trout, James A. Fishburne, Esq., and E. H. Stewart and Major Cutchin made brief and stirring addresses, and C. R. Williams spoke briefly for the Sons of Veterans.

SOLDIERS' MONUMENT, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY.

W. A. Coursen writes from Marietta, Ga.:

I was greatly interested in the article on 'What a War Incident Taught a Federal,' appearing in the January VETERAN, which concludes as follows: I feel that we are on the eve of a new era, when there is to be great harmony between the Federal and Confederate. I cannot stay to be a living witness to the correctness of this prophecy, but I feel within me that it is to be so So do I feel the same 'within me,' and have felt so for many, many years, and in order to promote and encourage this very feeling, and also as a tribute to the splendid and unsurpassed battle courage shown by both the gray and the blue on so many bloody fields, I have been making an effort for the past two years to erect on the college campus at Princeton a soldiers' monument, a rather rough description of which can be found in the inclosed circular letter. The prevailing and almost universal opinion is decidedly in favor of this monument, and I am anxious for as many as possible of the old' veterans of both sides to read the letter and give their opinions freely concerning it.

The letter follows: 'There has been in my mind for many years the idea of erecting on our beautiful Princeton campus a soldiers' monument in honor of our college mates who fell or the field of battle during the great Civil War. Many such there were in both the Northern and Southern armies, and for this reason, it seems to me, the monument should be dual in character. It should also be a very fine one and reflect credit upon the donors, likewise the ancient university and the great subject for which it stands. The kind we would wish should cost fifty or sixty thousand dollars. My idea would be to have a rounded grassy mound placed on some commanding site of the campus, upon this mound a granite pedestal with circular steps approaching the base, and upon the granite pedestal two figures in bronze representing a Federal and a Confederate soldier standing face to face. Of course the names of the honored dead and the battlefields upon which they fell should appear on bronze tablets about the base. This letter is written with the hope that it will meet the sympathetic approval and strike a responsive chord in the heart of some wealthy friend or graduate of the university who will subscribe a substantial sum as a nucleus) and the rest of us (alumni and undergraduates) could make up the balance.' 
EASTERN BRIGADE, MISSOURI DIVISION, U. C. V.

J. William Towson, Brigadier General commanding the Eastern Brigade, Missouri Division, U. C. V., since his reelection at the fourteenth annual State reunion held at Marshall, Mo., in September, 1910, is diligent for the success of his command. His home is at Shelbina, Mo. Lieut. Col. William M. Farrell, of Paris, Mo., is his Adjutant General and Chief of Staff. The Eastern Brigade is composed of twenty one Camps, and they constitute the First and Second Regiments of Missouri United Confederate Veterans.

In General Order No. 2 the Commander calls attention to the Reunion to be held at Little Rock, Ark., May 16 18, and states: "The Missouri soldier fought and campaigned in Arkansas, and a trip there will awaken memories that have smoldered for years, and he will renew friendships with comrades who stood with him on bloody fields. * * * Let us now at this early day prepare for it, and let no excuse keep us away. Every year lessens our numbers, till ere long the last of that splendid army that defended the Southland will seek shelter in 'that low tent whose curtains never outward swing.' * * * For particulars in these matters, address the State Commander, Seymore Stewart, 317 Security Building, St. Louis, Mo." General Towson announces his staff as follows:

Adjt. Gen. and Chief of Staff, Lt. Col. W. M. Farrell, Paris.

Ass't. Adjt. Gen., Maj. R. H. Edmonds, Mexico.

Inspector Gen., Lt. Col. Richard Martin, Fulton.

Asst. Inspector Gen., Maj. J. H. McClintic, Monroe City.

Judge Advocate Gen., Lt. Col. Samuel J. Harrison, Hannibal.

Ass't. Advocate Gen., Maj. Marcus Bernheimer, St. Louis.

Quartermaster Gen., Lt. Col. Wm. B. Jennings, Moberly.

Asst. Q. M. Gen., Maj. R. L. McCullough, Bunceville.

Commissary Gen., Lt. Col. Joseph K. Finks, Jefferson City.

Asst. Commissary Gen., Maj. W. Barksdale, Salem.

Chief of Artillery, Lt. Col. Samuel Gordon, St. Louis.

Asst. Chief of Artillery, Maj. Joseph Adams, Bowling Green.

Chief of Ordnance, Lt. Col. J. W. Brownell, West Plains.

Asst. Chief of Ordnance, Maj. Charles W. Hanger, Paris.

Surgeon Gen., Lt. Col. R. C. Atkinson, St. Louis.

Asst. Surgeon Gen., Maj. W. W. Ellis, Concord.

Paymaster Gen., Lt. Col. A. W. Moise, St. Louis.

Asst. Paymaster Gen., Maj. Henry Digges, New Madrid.

Chief Signal Corps, Lt. Col. Wesley T. Smiser, Granville.

Asst. Chief Signal Corps, Maj. Thomas Warren, St. Louis.

Chaplain Gen., Dr. E. McNair, Monroe City.

Chief Engineer, Lt. Col. William M. Miller, St. Louis.

Asst. Chief Engineer, Maj. John M.McGee, Paris.

Chief Information Bureau, Lt. Col. J. P. Woodside, Alton.

TRIBUTE TO CONFEDERATE VETERANS. FROM CENTENNIAL ADDRESS OF GEN. E. P. ALEXANDER

ON ALUMNI DAY AT WEST POINT.

(Of the many orations delivered on the occasion by such able men as President Roosevelt, Gen. Horace Porter, Hon. Elihu Root, Secretary of War, and others, that of General Alexander, chief of artillery of Longstreet's Corps at Gettysburg, was in many ways the most brilliant and patriotic.)

Once more the light of Jackson's sword 
Far flashes through the gloom, 
There Hampton rides and there once more 
The toss of Stuart's plume. 

O life goes back through years to day 
And we are men once more, 
And that old hill is Arlington, 
And there the alien shore! 

And over yonder on the heights 
The hostile camp fires quiver, 
And sullenly 'twixt us and them 
Flows by Potomac's river.

The Confederate veteran! With these words does there not arise in every mind the thought of a meteoric army which over forty years ago sprang into existence, as it would seem, out of space and nothingness, and after a career of four years, unsustained by treasury or arsenal, but unsurpassed for brilliant fighting and lavish outpour of blood, vanished from earth as utterly as if it had been a phantom of imagination? It had followed as a banner a starry crossborn in the fire and smoke of its battle line, which had flown over its charging columns on many fields and under many leaders whose names proud history will forever cherish, and then in a night it also had taken its flight from earth, to be seen no more of. men. A Federal historian wrote of this army: "Who can forget it that once looked upon it? That array of tattered uniforms and bright muskets that body of incomparable infantry, the Army of Northern Virginia which for four years carried the revolt on its bayonets, opposing a constant front to the mighty concentrations of power brought against it, which, receiving terrible blows, did not fail to give the like, and which, vital in all its parts, died only with its annihilation." * * *

And now a generation has passed away. The smoke of civil conflict has vanished forever from the sky, and the whole country, under the new conditions evolved in its four years' struggle, finds itself united in developing its vast resources in successful rivalry with the greatest nations of the earth. * * *

As for their bearing upon my story, let me speak briefly of two matters of history. Mr. Charles Francis Adams in a recent address has pointed out that it is due to General Lee that at Appomattox in April, 1865, a surrender of the Confederate army was made instead of the struggle being prolonged into a guerrilla war, such as has been recently seen in South Africa. This action does indeed place Lee upon an exalted plane. And it fortunately happened that his rival actor in this great drama was General Grant, a brother graduate of the Military Academy. Our Alma Mater may cherish the record of that day when two of her sons, having each written his name so high in the annals of war, now united to turn the nation into the paths of peace. For General Grant, who has been proudly called by his victorious army "Unconditional Surrender" Grant, now seemed only to seek excuses to spare the Confederates every possible mortification and to save them from individual losses, even at the expense of his own government. His example was immediately followed by every man in his army down to the humblest teamster. Time fails me to describe the friendliness, courtesy, and generosity with which the whole victorious army seemed filled. The news of the surrender and of its liberal terms was received everywhere with similar feelings of generous conciliation. In proof, it is only necessary to refer to the early negotiations between Sherman and Johnston. * * *

O the pity of it that this spirit of peace and good will could not have been permitted to spread over the whole country and influence the breasts alike of both victors and vanquished. By the fatuous act of an assassin in a moment this fair vision was shattered, and in its place, and without fault upon her part, there was invoked against the prostrate South a whirlwind of rage and resentment. Indeed, it is due to the restraint put upon the political leaders of the North by Grant that the death of Lincoln did not mark for the South the beginning of greater woes than those of the. war itself.

There resulted many years of bitterness and estrangement between the sections, retarding the growth of national spirit and yielding but slowly, even to the great daily object lesson of the development of our country. But at last in the fullness of time the stars in their courses have taken up the work. As in 1865 one wicked hand retarded our unification by the murder of Lincoln, so in 1898 another assassin, equally wicked and equally stupid, by the blowing up of the Maine has given us a common cause and made us at last and indeed a nation in the front rank of the world's work of civilization with its greatest problems committed to our care.

We have set the world record Tor devotion to a cause. We have given to our children proud memories and to history new names, to be a theme and an inspiration for unborn generations. The heroes of future wars will emulate our Lees and Jacksons. We have taught the armies of the world the casualties to be endured in battle, and the qualities of heart and soul developed both in our women and men in the stress and strain of our poverty and in the furnace of our affliction have made a worthier race, and have already borne rich reward in the building up of our country. But, above and beyond all, the firm bonds which to day hold together this great nation could never have been wrought by debates in Congress. Human evolution has not yet progressed so far. Such bonds must be forged, welded, and proved in the heat of battle and must be cemented in blood. Peace Congresses and arbitrations have never yet given birth to a nation, and this one had to be born in nature's way.

So much for the attitude of the South and the steps through which it has been reached. But bear with me yet a little, for I cannot leave the thoughts and memories evoked by my theme without some reference to a few among the great figures who moved amid those scenes, lest my story should seem to you as one of Hamlet with Hamlet left out:

And Love, where death has set its seal, Nor age can chill, nor rival steal, Nor falsehood disavow.

Shall I name to you at once the Confederate hero who deserves the highest pedestal, who bore the greatest privations, and contributed most freely of his blood to win every victory and resist every defeat? I name the private soldier. Practically without pay and on half rations he enlisted for life or death and served out his contract. He did not look the fighting man he was. He was lean, sunburned, and bearded, often barefoot and ragged. He had neither training nor discipline,except what he acquired in the field. He had only antiquated and inferior arms until he captured better ones in battle. He had not even military ambition, but he had one incentive which was lacking to his opponents brave and loyal as they were. Meeting him on the march, one might recognize in his eyes a certain far away look. He was fighting for his home. From the time of Greece to that of South Africa all history attests the stimulus of the thought of "home" to the soldier fighting for it. And if some young military scientist among your bright boys can formulate an equation to express the battle power of an army, I am sure he will find the thought of "home" to be the factor in it with highest exponent. So there was nothing anomalous about the fighting of our army. We fought for our homes under men that we loved and trusted. This brought out the best in private and general.

Upon our President, Jefferson Davis, there fell from the necessity of his prominent position not only defeat but obloquy and woes too many to enumerate. History, however, will do him justice as having been most worthy to represent us, whether as a man, a statesman, or a soldier. And as any compromise of the issue at stake would have only carried with it the seeds of another war, the nation is to be congratulated that to his high courage and devotion to his cause no compromise was possible. And how now shall I speak to you of the great Lee, whom it was an education to know, never elated and never depressed, but always calm and audacious in reliance upon himself and his troops, who in their turn relied upon him and loved him unto death, of stern and grave Stonewall Jackson, trusting only in the God of battles and in the righteousness of his cause, but winning by the fierce courage his personality inspired, of Joseph E. Johnston, master of strategy in the great game of war, whose brain was "reason's self incased in bone," of Beauregard, who won Bull Run by his personal tenacity and with such science and skill defended Sumter and Petersburg, of Longstreet, whom Lee called his "old war horse," doing heavy work on every field, from Bull Run to Appomattox, of A. P. Hill, whose name was last on the lips of Lee upon his deathbed, and of Jackson when he "crossed over the river to rest in the shade of the trees," of genial, dashing Stuart, always ready for any venture and sanguine of success, who took up the battle left unfinished by Jackson's fall and carried it to its brilliant end, of gifted Hampton, our Chevalier Bayard, with his saber scarred face, who served his State as effectively in peace as he had done in war, and "always bore without abuse the grand old name of gentleman," of Hood, with his one leg and crippled arm, under whom the Texans loved to fight, of good old Ewell, also with his one leg and bald head and lustrous woodcock eye, who believed fighting to be the sole business of a soldier, of Early, whose unreconciled spirit is perhaps still raiding up and down the valley, and of a thousand others whose forms and faces throng upon my memory, and whose names history has inscribed upon her roll of honor?

And so, did time permit, lessons could be learned and stirring events be depicted from the memories of innumerable other scenes. But I prefer to leave the picture as it stands. We didn't go into our cause, we were born into it. We fought it out to its remotest end and suffered to the very utmost its dying aches and pains. But they were rich in compensations and have proved to be only the birth pangs of a new nation, in whose career we are proud to own and to bear a part.

And to our Alma Mater, who taught us not the skill to unravel conflicting political creeds not

That acumen to divide 
A hair 'twixt South and Southwest side

but rather to illustrate by our lives manly courage and loyalty to convictions, we commend the record of

The old Confederate Veteran, we know him as he stands 
And listens for the thunder of the far off battle lands. 
He bears the crash of musketry, the smoke rolls like a sea, 
For he tramped the fields with Stonewal'l, and he climbed the heights with Lee. 

The old Confederate Veteran, his life is in the past, 
And the war cloud, like a mantle, round his rugged form is cast. 
He hears the bugle calling o'er the far and mystic sea, 
For he tramped the fields with Stonewall, and he climbed the heights with Lee.

Burrows Brothers Company, of Cleveland, Ohio (publishers of Avery's "History of the United States and Its People," fifteen volumes), issued the address for free distribution THE SOUTHERN CROSS.

BY A. T. HANNA.

Travelers who journey to the tropics tell of the wondrous beauty of the Southern Cross, which night after night blazes its radiant way across the gloom of darkening skies. In no other part of God's universe can this splendid cruciform of stars be found save in far away Southern lands, where the waves of warm seas wash shores prodigal in tropical birds, fruits, and flowers. There is but one Southern Cross in all the great firmament. There are myriads of other stars and constellations that in silent majesty tell the story of the ages and keep time to God's own footsteps as the ages roll by, but the Southern Cross stands in wondrous isolation as the only picture the Creator ever painted on all the blue heavens of that sacrifice once offered on Calvary's hill.

As the stars of that cross, which are reflected in the waters of Southern seas, stand out alone among the marvelous creations of a mighty master hand, so stands that little cross above all other treasures in the hearts of loyal Southerners. It is small, it is made only of bronze, no jewels glitter on it, yet it tells to all the world that the man who wears it upon his breast has been a hero in the deadliest conflict of modern times. In the mad rush of trade, in the clamor for place and power a glimpse of the small bronze cross over the heart of a man shuts out for a fleeting moment visions of the market places of earth and commercial tongues, while memory brings across the soul recollections of deeds of valor and endurance such as have never been surpassed.

The modest bronze emblem is often seen on the threadbare garments over hearts worn and weary with the struggle with fate, yet above the cross look out tired eyes in whose depths linger the light of conflict and a love for home, for principle, and for the traditions of the past, this cross tells of a dauntless heroism to an admiring world. As there is but one Southern Cross in the broad expanse of God's great firmament, so there is but one cross of honor in all this wide world like unto the sacred little cross which a Confederate veteran wears so proudly above his faithful heart. In the years to come it will be the most priceless treasure of the children and grandchildren and great grandchildren of the splendid heroes who wore the gray in the stormy days that came to a bitter close on the field of Appomattox.

CIVILIZATION OF NEGROES IN THE SOUTH.

L. R. BURRESS, BROWNSVILLE, TEX., IN AN OPEN LETTER TO REV. N. DWIGHT HILLIS, D.D., PASTOR PLYMOUTH CHURCH, BROOKLYN.

I have read with interest your sermons on "The Heroic Age of American History." As they are devoted to a question of the past, it should be without bias or sectional prejudice.

Slavery is now a part of American history which began in twelve of the American colonies, which subsequently formed the American Union of States. As a recognized institution of the government it was carried into the Southern States as they were admitted to the Union. The importation of Africans as slaves was prohibited by law in 1808. The African, coming from a barbarous state and from a tropical climate, could not meet the demands for skilled labor in the factories of the Northern States, neither could he endure the severe cold of the Northern winter. For these reasons it was both merciful and "business" to sell him to the Southern planter, where the climate was more favorable and skilled labor not so important. In the South the climate, civilization, and other influences ameliorated the African's condition, and that of almost the entire race of slaves, which numbered into the millions before their emancipation. It should be noted that their evangelization was the most fruitful missionary work of any modern Christian endeavor. The thoughtful and considerate negro of to day realizes his indebtedness to the institution of African slavery for advantages which he would not have received had he remained in his semibarbarism waiting in his native jungles for the delayed missionary.

Permit me to refer to a native African owned as a slave by my father. He left Africa when a youth, and brought a knowledge of affairs which existed in his native country. He would take me on his knee and recite for my entertainment the customs of his people in their native land. He became a very devout and consecrated Christian, and was withal a man of more than average intelligence for one of his race. I often heard him express thanks to his Heavenly Father for the institution of African slavery, for on account of it he had learned of the true God and of his Son Jesus Christ. "But for it I would have been left in the darkness of superstition and heathenism."
Philanthropy and beneficence characterized the great majority of Southern slave owners. Besides, there was too much money invested in a slave to allow abuse that disabled him from labor. His health and strength were looked after as a matter of profit. Likewise were food, raiment, and shelter provided.

As to the spiritual consideration, it was common for master and servant to worship together in one audience. On many plantations the servants were assembled for religious service, and often on Sunday morning a Sunday school was held for their special instruction. It was through these that the colored "parson" got his knowledge of the Bible, of which they were wont to say: "I blieves it from kivver to kivver, and follows my Lawd down into de ribber."

Indeed, the Christian master was interested in the physical and spiritual welfare of his slaves, as was the Roman centurion who besought Jesus to heal his servant. Concerning the faith of this Roman slave owner the Saviour exclaimed: "I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel." Could not such faith have been exercised by an American slave owner? That unkindness, and by some masters cruelty, was inflicted none deny, but such was the exception and not the rule. In every clime and in every institution may be found

One whose brute feeling ne'er aspires 
Beyond his own mere brute desires.

Commendation is due the officers of Massachusetts and Boston for returning the fugitive slave, Anthony Burns, referred to by you. By so doing they honored the Constitution, the compact between the States. The decision in the Dred Scott case verified the return as constitutional. Every State and Federal officer had taken oath to obey, to support, and to defend the Constitutions of their respective States and of the United States. The same oath taken obligation rested on every white man by virtue of his citizenship. Another notable precedent for returning a fugitive slave is given by Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, who recognized both law and expediency in returning the fugitive slave, Onesimus, to his master, Philemon, who himself was a Christian and a slave owner. Paul was a great example as a Christian patriot.

Let the historian justly consider the men and causes that brought on the Civil War. The Southern States entered the Union as slave States, so cannot be charged as having held slaves without the consent of the Union. This union was entered into by the States "for better for worse," as the combined strength was needed to oppose the mother country. The South sought to maintain the Constitution and the rights of the States to police State rights. The North interfered with State affairs which existed in the formation of the Union. The South contended for the Constitution, the North for the Union. Slavery being the issue, malignancy was freely indulged in by both sides. It was not American to endure passively. Then followed Southern secession against Northern rebellion. The Constitution was lost, the Union was saved. Millions of lives were directly and indirectly sacrificed, billions of dollars expended, and the results are not yet recorded. The war was not justifiable. If the nation had heeded the teachings of Southern statesmen prior to the sixties, without war slavery would eventually have been abolished, the emancipated slaves colonized, and the Union preserved without the shedding of blood. The leaven of emancipation had found place in Southern minds, and would have quietly leavened the whole lump, had not abnormal ferment been injected, which precipitated resentment. Not to resent would be to consent that contumelies were deserving. The South was beaten but not broken. If the South had foreseen defeat, she might have exclaimed as did Demosthenes, "I say, if the event had been manifest to the whole world beforehand, not even then ought Athens to have forsaken this course, if Athens had any regard for her glory or for her past or for the ages to come."
The past is irrevocable, the future is improvable.

This was the home cry and hope of the returned Southern soldiers. New lines must be run. With no precedent or experience as a compass to guide, never did people survey more wisely the unexplored regions of both social and civil embarrassments than the people of the South. The scars of war remained, and the sore places, often bruised, would bleed afresh, but in their zeal they looked not to present comfort, but to future welfare. Thus they showed that

Noble souls, through dust and heat, 
Rise from disaster and defeat, 
The stronger.The South gave to history heroes that class with the heroic of any age. The world sings their praises and destiny takes care of their honor. The South has sworn allegiance to the new Union and to the amended Constitution, and will prove as loyal as in the days of Washington, Jackson, and Taylor, and as heroic as when led by Lee. The South has no apologies to offer for her course, however much she deplores any cruelty or injustice by either section. Let the reunited nation say, Peace to the past, cooperation for the present, "one and inseparable now and forever."

In the funeral oration of the great Webster in memory of Mr. Calhoun, believing that the same mutual confidence and respect exist in the minds of both Northern and Southern men, he said: "He (Calhoun) had the indispensable basis of all high character an unspotted integrity and unimpeachable honor. There was nothing groveling or low or meanly selfish that came rear the head or heart of Mr. Calhoun. Whether his political opinions were right or wrong, they will descend to posterity under the sanction of a great name. He is now a historical character. We shall indulge in it as a grateful recollection that we have lived in his age, that we have been his contemporaries, that we have seen him, heard him, known him. We shall delight to speak of him to those who are rising up to fill our places. And when, one after another, we shall go to our graves, we shall carry with us a deep sense of his honor and integrity, the purity of his private life and exalted patriotism."

It is a deplorable fact that after more than forty years of civil liberty by the Africans in America so many of them are untrustworthy. In former days the planter without fear intrusted his wife and daughters to "Uncle Tom" and his sable sons. "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was a fort of protection for the family. Mr. Tom's sons are terrors to the AngloSaxon woman. She once could visit her neighbors without fear, but not now. The Southern people are censured because of mobs. Mobs should be discouraged in all righteousness everywhere. The mobocrats do not all reside in the South, and it is safe to say that mobbing will usually follow the 'nameless crime." There is an innate law in all consciences against "forceful abduction." It is the duty of all civilization to educate and restrain against such unnamable crimes without condoning the crime or criminal.

Would it not be just for you in this series of sermons to state the examples of cruelty to slaves as exceptions and by no means the rule? "Uncle Tom's Cabin" missed the benefits of African slavery, for the slaves were being lifted from barbarism to civilization and Christianity. The crimes committed in the name of slavery were far less than the ills that befall strikers and other laborers.

The sword of the South is her plowshare and pruning hook now. Let the stars that represent the Southern States on the flag shine in their true light.

(Dr. Burress enlisted in the 19th Mississippi early in the war, and served with it for two years in Virginia. He was commissioned a lieutenant in the Provisional Army, C. S. A., and reported at Enterprise, Miss., where he served ten months. He was then commissioned to raise a company of boys for General Forrest. He served with his boy company to the end of the war, surrendering at Columbus, Miss. When commissioned as captain of his company of boys he was twenty years old. His boys averaged from fifteen to seventeen years, and he says: "As brave as the bravest and worthy of a better captain." ED. VETERAN.)

FIRST OF VALLEY CAMPAIGN BY GENERAL EARLY.

BY J. G. BRADWELL, 31ST GA. REGT., BRANTLEY, ALA.

The great battle of Cold Harbor, June 3, 1864, had been fought and the enemy in our front was comparatively quiet for a few days, but a new danger had arisen and demanded immediate attention. General Hunter, with a large army, was advancing from the west on Lynchburg, and Grant had sent a heavy force of cavalry to tear up the railroad and unite forces with Hunter. If their plans had been successful, the Federals would have been in position to attack Richmond in the rear, while Lee was holding Grant in check on the east. Accordingly on June 10 Gordon's and Rhodes's Divisions of Ewell's Corps were ordered to the rear. We rested in camp on the 11th and 12th, and about two or three o'clock on the morning of the 13th we started on the march to meet Hunter. Our cavalry, under Gen. Wade Hampon, had moved on ahead, and found the Federal cavalry at Trevilians Station busily engaged in destroying the railroad. A battle ensued immediately, in which the Confederates, were outnumbered. But General Hampton was equal to the occasion. That night and the day following he outmaneuvered the enemy and completely routed them, capturing a large part of their force and almost all their equipment. We marched hard all the 13th, not knowing our destination, following the line of railroad all the time. When we passed through the battlefield, we saw dead horses scattered everywhere for a great distance and other evidences of a hard fight. This was one of the greatest cavalry battles of the war. It certainly was well executed, and showed that General Hampton was a skillful officer. Our soldiers said they would have to revise their opinion of the cavalry and give them credit for being good fighters.
Three days' hard marching brought us to Charlottesville, where there were six trains waiting to take us to Lynchburg. Gordon's Division was placed on these and sent forward with great speed, as Hunter was near there, and it was being defended by only a few Virginia State Militia. We arrived late in the afternoon and marched through the town to meet the enemy, who had stopped and fortified an excellent position half a mile or more beyond the suburbs. We passed a small group of old men on the edge of the town who were digging intrenchments, and some of our men called to them, saying: "Quit throwing up them breastworks here in the town, and go with us and help drive them Yankees away." The old citizens of the place rejoiced to see us when we came, and said we had come just in time.

Had Hunter been more energetic, he could have marched into Lynchburg with little or no opposition, but he halted to fortify. In our hurry we had left our artillery and army trains, and had nothing but our small arms and ammunition, and as it was now nearly sundown, and General Rhodes's division had not arrived, General Early decided to throw up earthworks and wait until all his force could come up. By eight o'clock the next morning Rhodes and the artillery had arrived. Our lines were extended to the right, the field pieces were mounted, and we were now ready to try conclusions with General Hunter. Skirmishers were thrown out, and lively fighting took place between the lines by the pickets, with an occasional artillery duel.

On the 17th we expected to attack the enemy and drive them out of their works, but they had abandoned their intrenchments during the night and were retreating toward the mountains. We started immediately in pursuit without our horses and wagons. All the regimental officers had to foot it the same as the private soldiers. Our small force of cavalry kept in touch with the enemy, and destroyed or captured their wagons, while we hurried along after them. When darkness came, we could look far ahead and see thousands of camp fires of the enemy, but it was then too late to make an attack. So we went into camp likewise, expecting to attack them early the next day, but they moved early also. Thus it went on for several days, until Hunter and his army finally escaped through the mountains of West Virginia, minus his wagon trains and baggage. Our cavalry captured some of his artillery, and he spiked some of his guns and left them in the road. Hunter's men used the torch freely and took everything they wanted from the people.

On the march we found sitting by the roadside a Federal soldier who had been badly stung by bees. His face was so much swollen that his eyes were closed. No one mistreated him, but the language of the soldiers passing by was anything but complimentary.

When General Early saw that General Hunter could not be overtaken, he reluctantly turned back and marched his army over the same route to the Valley Pike and awaited the arrival of the army trains. These came soon, and, the soldiers being somewhat rested, he made a demonstration against Washington, D. C., which was a long way off, but there were no very serious obstacles in the way, and by so doing he hoped to relieve the pressure on General Lee at Richmond and Petersburg.

We now set out on our long march in the heat of summer, but the soldiers preferred this kind of duty to that of facing Grant's army in breastworks and sleeping with gun in hand at night. We marched to Lexington by way of the Natural Bridge, then to Staunton, where we rested half a day, and drew shoes and clothing, then on down the valley to. the Potomac, which we crossed after capturing Martinsburg and the Federal army supplies collected there. At Lexington we filed through the cemetery where our old commander, Gen. Stonewall Jackson, was buried. There was a pole fixed in the ground at the head of his grave from which a Confederate flag floated in the breeze. Hunter's men, who had occupied the town before crossing the mountains to take Lynchburg, had cut a large part of the pole away with pocketknives to send home as souvenirs. We marched around the grave with our hats off and arms reversed. Some of our officers and men who had never been known to flinch in battle were seen to shed tears.

The town was crowded with pretty girls who had come from all the surrounding country to see the army pass through and speak a word to the soldier boys. Every house on the main street was packed, and every girl was waving a handkerchief when the head of our column entered the town. The brave Col. E. M. Atkinson, of the 26th Georgia Regiment, was in command of our brigade that day, and, riding in advance, he could see the applause given the brigade ahead. Turning in his saddle, he said: "Boys, be quiet until you see me lift my cap, then raise the Rebel yell and give these girls a cheer." When opposite the main part of the town, he gave the signal, and every man brought a shout like that we raised at the Wilderness. As far as we could see the people were laughing and waving their handkerchiefs at us.

FIGHTING AT HATCHIE BRIDGE. J. W. Hardin, of Terrell, Tex., states that W. R. Stites, of Siloam Springs, Ark., commits error in his article in the October VETERAN and writes: "The legion (Whitfield's) was left there to hold the bridge, and they did it. After the defeat at Corinth we went about halfway to the bridge that evening, and early the next morning continued the march. Orders came, 'Quick time!' and soon 'Double quick!' Company A, of the 6th Texas, was in front, and we kept the same gait. Crossing the Hatchie bridge, we filed right. I think about half of the regiment formed, when the Yankees charged us. We fell back under a heavy fire of artillery and small arms, forming on the ridge, where we stayed for several hours, then fell back across a field and formed along the fence row, and lay there until the retreat was ordered. He mentions that General Price rode along the line, which I well remember. He was within twenty feet of me when a ball burned the back of my neck, the fragments wounding my captain and a lieutenant. We had tough times for the next forty eight hours. I think the member of the legion referred to was one of those who swam the river. It was a fine body of men. I have talked with several men who were there, and they saw that we crossed the bridge. I belonged to Company A, of the 6th Texas Cavalry, Ross's Brigade, but was dismounted."

FIGHT AT REAMS STATION.

Col. J. E. Larkin, of the 5th New Hampshire Regiment, wrote a letter from Everett, Mass., on December 5, 1910, to Lieut. Gen. Nelson A. Miles which is not complimentary to his superior officer. He wrote:

My dear old comrade of years long gone when we marched, fought, camped, sang our army songs, played games, etc. In those days I enjoyed your comradeship, was pleased at your rapid promotion, and when you were promoted to the command of the army, I felt in it a personal pride, for it reflected honor on the volunteer service. Had I then known you were capable of unjustly claiming an honor such as is reported in General Walker's history of the 2d Corps in regard to the battle of Reams Station, which I read for the first time fortythree years after the close of the war, my belief in your integrity would have been shattered. I am impressed with the belief that you dictated that report of placing yourself at the head of two hundred men of the 61st New York Infantry, striking the enemy in flank, and by fierce fighting capturing a portion of the works, recapturing a battery, and driving the enemy back into the railroad cut. General Walker, being a prisoner at the time, could not have been a witness. Capt W, E. Kyle, belonging to General Heth's division, writes me from Fayetteville, N. C., February 21, 1910: 1 captured Gen. Francis A. Walker in your front line of works between five and six o'clock.' He also certified that there was no fighting on that field after the Union troops were driven out of their works. John E. Brown, of Lee, S. C., who was in the battle, certifies to the same. The facts arc that the victorious Confederates did not pass over the railroad cut on the left of the 1st Brigade. Some fifteen or twenty daring Confederates, seeing the deserted guns of the 12th New York Battery, rushed to take them off, and were around one gun when the force that I had rallied ran back and then disappeared. There was no firing on either side. Thus the mole hill was made a mountain by your report of a fierce fight.

Your champion, Riddell, in a letter to the Washington Tribune October 20, 1910, quotes reports made by men who were not eyewitnesses, and most of them not even on the field, and reports therefore from hearsay. He failed to quote Colonel Lynch, who commanded the regiments, in dispute. Colonel Lynch says: 'For a few minutes McKnight's 12th New York guns were in the hands of the enemy, but several colors being halted, men were rallied around them without organization, and by a prompt advance recaptured three of the. guns and nearly all of the rifle pits previously occupied by this brigade.
These guns were hauled off the field by volunteers from the 5th New Hampshire, 81st Pennsylvania, and 61st New York.' Nothing is said in Lynch's report about General Miles in this connection. If your claim was true, certainly the commander of the brigade would have recognized it. 

I quote from a letter written me by Capt. George S. Gove, of Boone, Iowa, August 21, 1907: 'Maj. J. E. Larkin, your surprise at the statement in "Walker's History of the 2d Corps" about General Miles leading in person two hundred men of the 61st New York was no greater than mine when I read it some years ago. It is not true! You were the only field officer I saw anywhere after the first rout of our men. Your small force was the only one I saw facing the Rebels, and I fully believe the credit of saving those ,guns belongs to you and the men, mostly 5th New Hampshire that you had rallied.' Captain Gove was senior officer who helped haul off the guns and turned them over to the provost guard.

At the reunion of the 5th New Hampshire Regiment held last August resolutions were passed indorsing my claim of rallying a small force and recapturing three guns and a portion of the line of works. In Riddell's letter he passes upon these resolutions as immaterial to the controversy, but credits me with leading back 'a small band of stampeded men along the abandoned breastworks and remaining there under safe and close cover while their comrades of the first brigade were fighting a quarter of a mile in front and holding the enemy back and protecting the guns and the retreating troops from further danger.' Why does he not specify two hundred men of the 61st New York? Those men with whom you claim to have performed such a prodigious feat of valor and to have turned the tide of that battle, and all this performed with the fearful ( ?) loss of one man killed, one wounded, and sixteen missing during the entire day were from the 61st New York Regiment, according to official report. But it was not the fault of, the brave 61st that their losses were no greater, for they were placed at the extreme right of the brigade farthest removed from the enemy's fire. 

I pray you do not insult those brave men who gave us such a thrashing that day with such chaff. The tide of that battle was an ebb tide, a grand rush to the rear.

General, this is the last appeal I shall make to you for justice. I do not wish to, think any brave and honorable man will filch an honor, however small. You may deceive others, yourself you cannot deceive. If you can be at peace with yourself in, this matter, you are welcome to all the happiness it brings you. If during your command of the brigade or division you ever gave the 5th New Hampshire credit for anything, I do not know it. Yet in my opinion when a true history of the war is written the old fighting 5th New Hampshire will have at least an honorable mention. 

I. assure you, General, this controversy has caused me much unhappiness, and I sometimes regret that my attention was ever called to that report. I have no personal ambition to gratify, but those few brave men who rallied around their colors and saved those guns should not be forgotten. I cannot allow your claim to go down in history uncontradicted."

COLONEL LARKIN'S LETTER TO NATIONAL TRIBUNE.

Riddell outdoes the General, for the latter does not claim that he drove the enemy beyond the railroad cut, while Riddell says one quarter of a mile beyond the guns, and that would mean far beyond the cut. He reiterates the same falsehood as his chief. The veterans of that gallant old 61st New York (for whom I have nothing but admiration) must feel humiliated, knowing that one of their number has lent himself to bolster up the falsehood even of their former commander.

Will any old soldier believe such a story that two hundred men of the 61st New York, if they were led by such a fighter as General Miles, drove a brigade of Confederates such a distance, recapturing earthworks and a battery by such fierce fighting as he claims, turning the tide of a battle when we had received such a whipping with the loss of one man killed, one wounded and sixteen missing, according to the official report, in the 61st New York during the day's battle, and it was one of the largest regiments in the brigade that day? We may call our opponents Secesh, Rebs, Johnnies, Butternuts, or any other names we please, but no self respecting Union soldier will have the audacity to call them cowards. If General Miles and his man Friday tell the truth, they were cowards.

In sending the foregoing to the VETERAN Colonel Larkin states: "I am not seeking honor or notoriety in this controversy. I believe the truth should be told in history, let it cut where it may. Lieutenant General Miles is not too big a man to be called down when he falsifies. To make such a falsehood against a brave and honorable foe is disgraceful. I am surprised that the CONFEDERATE VETERAN does not condemn him. There are many of your boys now living who were in that battle and can testify to the truth." 

MONUMENTS TO WOMEN OF THE CONFEDERACY.

BY COL. J. E. LARKIN, EVERETT, MASS.

I notice that the Southern people are erecting monuments to women. If monuments are to be erected to the memory of the men who fought, why not to the women, mothers of the men who fought?

The wife who girds her husband's sword 
'Mid little ones who weep and wonder 
Now bravely speaks the cheering words. 
What though her heart be rent asunder, 
Doomed nightly in her dreams to hear 
The bolts of death around him rattle, 
Hath shed as sacred blood as e'er 
Was poured upon the field of battle?

An illustration of the courage, devotion, and loyalty to the Southern cause by at least one woman during those dark days of war is vividly impressed on my mind.

On the march of the regiment to which I belonged to Washington, D. C., after Gettysburg, when we were to return to New Hampshire to recruit our depleted ranks, we bivouacked near a large brick house in Warrenton, Va. In the morning, in company with two officers, we asked the lady of the house to give us a breakfast of fried hominy and bacon in exchange for sugar and coffee, which she was much pleased to do, for coffee and sugar had been strangers in her home for some time. If we had been Confederate soldiers, we could not have been more kindly treated, yet she was the embodiment of courage, devotion, and loyalty to the Southern cause. "You see, gentlemen, the dire extremities to which we are reduced. We are willing to suffer greater privations if need be. You can never conquer or subdue spirits like ours." This was her attitude. There was every evidence of former wealth and luxury. Slaves were gone, of which they had possessed a large number. Her husband was a surgeon in the Confederate army. She was a beautiful and refined lady, and I regret that I cannot recall her name. I hope she is still living. We gave her a good supply of sugar and coffee and many thanks for her kindness, and left her, feeling proud that we belonged to a country producing such noble women.

MEMBERS OF MARK CAMP, FAIRFAX, VA.

At a meeting of the committee appointed by Marr Camp, Confederate Veterans, on March 21, 1911, to draft resolutions respecting the death of comrades who have died since the last meeting of the Camp the following resolutions were adopted:

Since the last meeting of our Camp death has removed from us Comrade E. C. Cottrell, of the 4th Maryland Artillery (October 30, 1910), Lieut. Albert Wrenn, of Mosby's command (November 6, 1910), Comrade Lewis H. Robey, Company G, 8th Virginia Infantry (January 2, 1911), First Lieut. Commander Peter Howard, orderly sergeant Company D, 17th Virginia Infantry (March 8, 1911). 

We mourn the loss of our comrades, but we feel an abiding hope and confidence that we shall meet them again in the land where there shall be no parting and where their loyalty to their country and their duty will be rewarded beyond any earthly reward. They were each and all brave defenders of the Confederate cause, and have left an example of courage and fidelity which will be an inspiration to the coming generations. They were a part of the great Army of Northern Virginia, whose achievements through remotest time will challenge the admiration of the world.

That a copy of these resolutions be spread on the minutes of the Camp and be forwarded to the families of each of the deceased and published in the Fairfax Herald and VETERAN. ROBERT WILEY, Commander, "

J. N. BALLARD, Adjutant."

J. P. HALL.

J. P. Hall was born in Maury County, Tenn., May 4, 18441 and died at Town Creek, Ala., January 26, 1911.

In his young manhood J. P. Hall became a soldier of the Confederacy, becoming a member in 1862 of Company C, 9th Tennessee Regiment, Forrest's Cavalry. The record of Forrest's men is indelibly written in the memory of men and the annals of war, and to say that Comrade Hall was one of them is sufficient record as a soldier.

After the conflict was over, he engaged in mercantile pursuits at Town Creek, Ala., in which he continued through life with commendable success. He made many friends who miss him from the familiar walks of life. His fellow members of Camp Fred A. Ashford, U. C. V., passed resolutions expressing the esteem in which he was held and their loss in his going.

FELIX SHERLY JOHNSON.

Felix S. Johnson was a son of Aaron M. and Rebecca Sherly Johnson, who went from Indiana to Texas in 1840 and settled in Jasper County. There Felix was born in December of that year. After the father's death, the family removed to a farm near San Augustine, where Felix spent his young manhood. He went into business with his elder brother in 1859, which partnership continued until 1880, the brother then going to New Mexico. Felix remained in Texas with the family of his brother George, and after the latter's death continued to assist in the management of the farm and in rearing the children. He never married, but gave his life and service to his kindred and friends. His death occurred in November, 1910, at the home near Geneva, in Sabine County.

Felix Johnson entered the Confederate service at the first call to arms, and at the battle of Mansfield, July 8, 1864, he received a serious wound, which resulted in the loss of his right leg. Two brothers survive him.

CAPT. FRANK A. LUMSDEN.

Died on New Year's day, 1911, at his home, in Mobile, Ala., Capt. Frank A. Lumsden, aged sixty five years. He was the son of Alex and Lucy (Tunstall) Lumsden and grandnephew of Frank Asbury Lumsden, who, in conjunction with Frank A. Lumsden, founded and established the well known and able newspaper, the Picayune, of New Orleans.

Of an intensely patriotic and ardent Southern temperament, young Lumsden responded to the first call to arms, joining the cavalry service of his native State, and he gallantly did his duty in the same until disabled by a shot through the lungs in the battle of Blakely, Ala. He held membership in the United Confederate Veterans, and was a Knight of Pythias. Such was his loyalty to the Confederate cause that he refused a lucrative position from the United States government, preferring independence and impecuniosity to the public criticism. He engaged in many enterprises of interest and benefit in Mobile.

Captain Lumsden married the only daughter of General Van Dorn, whose three children, two daughters and a son, Tunstall, the only heirs, survive, as does his devoted and lovely wife. A devoted friend pays him this worthy tribute: "Lumsden was a man of decided opinions and actions, but as tender of heart as the gentlest woman." Peace to his ashes.

Confederate Veteran May 1911

BURGESS HENRY SCOTT.

A sad loss to his family, his city, and his country occurred in the death of Burgess H. Scott, of Paducah, Ky. He was prominent in business affairs of his generation until his health failed, a few years ago.

Burgess Scott was born at Eddyville, Ky., September 28, 1843. He was the son of William Henry Scott and Mary Greenfield Scott, the latter of Madisonville, Ky. At the beginning of the Civil War he joined the Confederate army, and served to the end. He was slightly wounded in the leg. He enlisted in the service from Hopkinsville, Ky., in Forrest's old regiment in the early part of the war, and was with that regiment in all of its rounds until he was transferred in the fall of 1862 to the 2d Kentucky Cavalry. He remained with this regiment until the close of the war.

His brother in law, W. R. Bringhurst, of Clarksville, Tenn., writes of him: "We served under Forrest from the fall of 1862 until after the battle of Chickamauga, when the 2d Kentucky Regiment was transferred to Wheeler, and we were with that commander until the close of the war. Immediately after the surrender of Lee, Dibrell's Division was ordered to Greensboro, N. C., as a special escort to President Davis who was still with the Confederate Cabinet and Treasury and acted in this capacity from Greensboro to Washington, Ga. There Mr. Davis left the main body of the escort with only a few men, and was captured a few days afterwards. Johnston had surrendered. The war was then over, and after paying the men $26 each in coin, President Davis left the main command with only a small escort, and was captured a few days afterwards. The command proceeded homeward in a body, but upon reaching Chattanooga their horses and side arms were taken from them (in violation of their paroles). However, after vigorous protests from the officers in the command, their property was restored to them.

M. Bringhurst adds: "I would like to be equal to the task of writing a history of both the personal and soldier life of Burgess Scott that he deserves. I was intimately associated with him during the war and up to the time of his death, and always found him to be a man fearless in the discharge of duty, of strict integrity, and just to all men." (The intimacy of these two men was fraternal each married the other's sister.)At the close of the war Mr, Scott went to Alabama, and after engaging in the cotton business for several years went to Clarksville, Tenn. There he met and was later married to Miss Julia Bringhurst in 1873. From Clarksville they removed to Dyersburg, Tenn. About twenty years ago, however, they moved to Paducah, where they afterwards lived.

He and E. W. Smith founded the Smith & Scott Tobacco Company at Paducah, and he was president of the company until his health gave way. He was founder of the Mechanics' and Farmers' Bank of Paducah, and was President of the Hardy Buggy Company. He was one of the prime movers in building the present Broadway Methodist edifice, and was chairman of the board of stewards for about fifteen years, resigning only when his health failed. He held official Conference relations, even as a delegate to the General Conference.

He was a member of the Plain City Lodge of Masons and of the James T. Walbert Camp, U. C. V.

He was a gentleman of the old school, chivalrous, with an old time courtesy, ever sympathetic and generous.

Surviving him are his wife (Mrs. Julia Scott), two daughters (Julia Scott and Mary Scott), and three sons (Robert and Edward, of Paducah, and William H. Scott, editor and publisher of the Third District Review). Mr. Scott is also survived by a sister (Mrs. W. R. Bringhurst, of Clarksville), and a brother (Mr. Walter Scott, of Montgomery, Ala.).

The funeral services were conducted in the Broadway Methodist Church by the pastor, Rev. G. T. Sullivan, The honorary pallbearers were of the Walbert Camp, U. C. V.

WILSON BAIRD.

Wilson Baird, born in Simpson County, Ky., in January, 1838, was the eldest son of Benjamin and Eliza Wilson Baird. His grandfather, Robert Wilson, served under Jackson in the War of 1812.

Wilson Baird received a good education, and was ever a lover of books. In August, 1861, he enlisted in Company C, 18th Tennessee Infantry, and served with that regiment until after the fall of Fort Donelson, where he was captured and held in prison for about seven months. After being exchanged, he was transferred to Company G, 9th Kentucky Regiment, of Breckinridge's Kentucky Brigade, and took part in all of its marches and engagements until the close of the war. He participated in the battles of Stone's River, Chickamauga, Resaca, Kennesaw Mountain, Atlanta, Jonesboro, and many other lesser engagements. He was severely wounded at Chickamauga and slightly wounded at Kennesaw Mountain. He was again taken prisoner at Jonesboro, remaining at Camp Douglas until paroled. After returning to his old Kentucky home, he engaged in farming for several years with much success. He was for four years Tax Assessor of Simpson County, and later was deputy sheriff for four years.

In September, 1867, Comrade Baird was married to Miss Polly Ann Swearingen, and the union was blessed by four sons and two daughters, but only the youngest son, King Baird, now survives. Wilson Baird was a man to make friends, and he was a devoted Church member. He died December 28, 1910, respected and loved by all who knew him.

Several pages of Last Roll had to be withheld after being made ready for the press. This is regretted.

JUDGE JOHN M. TAYLOR.

Judge John M. Taylor was born at Lexington, Tenn., May 18, 1838, son of Jesse Taylor, a Virginian, and Mary (May) Taylor, of North Carolina parentage.

Jesse Taylor was a soldier of the War of 1812, serving in the battle of New Orleans under General Jackson. All three of his sons were Confederate soldiers. One of them, Capt. Jesse Taylor, commanded the heavy artillery at Fort Henry during the bombardment in February, 1862, and he surrendered there. C. C. Taylor served with General Forrest, and all surrendered at the close of the war.

John M. Taylor was educated at Lexington Academy and Union University, Murfreesboro, and in 1860 was graduated in the law department of Cumberland University at Lebanon.

In 1861 he participated in the organization of Company K, 27th Tennessee Regiment Infantry, was elected first lieutenant, and later was made captain. In the battle of Shiloh Col. C. H. Williams, Maj. S. T. Love, and Sergeant Major Wilkinson were kilted, and Lieutenant Colonel Brown wounded. Two captains, S. A. Sayle and I. G. Hearn, were killed, and a number of men killed and wounded. Captain Taylor's company losing heavily. The regiment sustained severe losses again in the battle of Perryville while capturing a battery. Sixteen were killed and ninety six wounded and missing out of two hundred and ten engaged.

In his report of the battle Lieut. Col. W. Frierson mentioned Captain Taylor among the company commanders who "exhibited more than ordinary coolness and daring, and it was feared that he was mortally wounded." He received four wounds, two of them severe, both thighs being shot through and the bone of the right broken, crippling him for life. He was left on the field as dead, but was taken prisoner and sent to Harrodsburg, Ky., and afterwards to Lexington, being kept in jail with other prisoners of war at the latter place. He was afterwards in the military prisons at Cincinnati, Camp Chase, and Baltimore.
After being exchanged at City Point, Va., on crutches, he was assigned to post duty at Rome, Ga. He was promoted to major, and later was commandant of the post at Gadsden, Ala. In command of troops there he captured some Federal soldiers. At the beginning of the Atlanta Campaign he rejoined his regiment at Dalton, and was on active duty until the close of the war, participating in the battles of Franklin and Nashville and at the close as acting lieutenant colonel.

In 1899 he was appointed by Gen. John B. Gordon Brigadier General commanding Second Brigade, Tennessee Division, United Confederate Veterans, and was reelected at each succeeding Reunion.

He also took a leading part in the organization of Confederate Veterans, and was president of his home association and of the State Association of Bivouacs, and was from the beginning one of the trustees of the Tennessee Confederate Soldiers' Home.

Subsequently he began a successful career at his home in Lexington and was chosen Mayor, In 1869 he was elected a delegate to the State Convention which framed the Constitution of 1870, and is still in force. In August, 1870, he was elected District Attorney General, and held this office eight years. He was a delegate to the National Democratic Convention of 1880, a member of the Tennessee Legislature of 1881, and in 1882 was elected to the United States Congress, serving two terms with credit. In 1892 he was a Democratic presidential elector for the State at large, and canvassed the State, in 1895 he was appointed judge of the criminal court of the eleventh judicial circuit by Governor Turney, to which he was reelected in 1896 for a term of six years, in 1902 he was elected a judge of the Court of Chancery Appeals of the State, serving eight years, and he was elected in 1910 to membership in the Court of Civil Appeals.

Judge Taylor was a steward in the M. E. Church, South, for a number of years, and was for twelve years superintendent of the Sunday school, holding both positions at the time of his death. He was a Mason (a Knight Templar) an Odd Fellow, Knight of Honor, an A. O. U. W., and Knight of Pythias. In each State election his majority exceeded 45,000.

Just before the close of the war Judge Taylor was married to Miss Amanda J. McHaney, a splendid, beautiful Southern woman, and three children survive a son and two daughters. He was author of the bill in the Constitutional Convention of 1870 that no school established under or aided under the Constitution "shall allow white and negro children to be received as scholars together in the same school.."

WILLIAM TUCKER.

William Tucker was born April 29, 1839, in Canal Dover, Ohio. In 1857 he removed to Arkansas, from which State he enlisted in the Confederate army in 1862 as a member of Hart's Battery, under General Churchill. He was captured at Arkansas Post in January, 1863, and imprisoned at Camp Butler, III. He was converted in this year, and in 1867 was ordained a minister in the Baptist Church, in which he stood high as a preacher of the gospel. He held a prominent place in his community as a high type of Christian gentleman, and none was more respected. To the cause for which he had fought he was ever loyal.

Miss VIRGINIA C. CLAY.

It seems fitting to record in the Last Roll the name of Miss Virginia Clementine Clay, of Huntsville, Ala. She was not born until 1862, but by inheritance and association she had lived a life as devoted to Dixie as any comrade who fought in the battles. She was for a long while editor of the Huntsville Democrat, and its columns were ever loyal to the cause of the Southern people. Her two sisters, Susanna and Eloide, and the two brothers, William Lewis and J. Winters Clay, will ever cherish the memory of this noble member of the family. Francis Tappey wrote for the Democrat a senitmental and beautiful sketch of Miss Virginia.

ISAAC E. HIRSH.

Isaac E. Hirsh was born in Germany in 1836. He came to the United States when fifteen years old, lived in Buffalo, N. Y., about five years, then went to Sidon, Miss., in 1857, and from there enlisted in the Confederate army. On April 6, 1861, he was mustered into the Black Hawk

Rifles, known as Company G, 22d Mississippi Infantry. This regiment was in reserve at Columbus, Ky., while the battle of Belmont, Mo., was fought just across the river, it was with Gen. A. S. Johnston at Bowling Green, Ky., and was one of the first to receive the enemy's fire at Shiloh. This first volley totally disabled the colonel and major, and killed or mortally wounded the lieutenant colonel and five captains, also a number of other officers and men. Company G was the rear guard on the retreat to Corinth and again on the evacuation of Corinth, was under fire of warships and gunboats at Vicksburg in the summer of 1862, and fought at Baton Rouge, La., August 5, 1862 (the colonel was killed there), had a brisk skirmish with the enemy at Van Buren, Tenn., in September, and on October 3 it opened the battle of Corinth on the extreme right. In this battle Comrade Hirsh received in the left breast a bullet which was never extracted. He fought at Coffeeville, Miss., and participated in the campaigns of Deer Creek and Fort Pemberton. He was in the battle of Baker's Creek, Miss., and came out with Loring and fought at Jackson, Miss. At New Hope his regiment was on the extreme left of the line when he was struck by a fragment of the first shell that came over, having his leg fractured and disabling him for field duty. While in the hospital at Forsyth, Ga., he was detailed as acting assistant surgeon by Dr. John Patterson, of Murfreesboro, and assisted Dr. Daniel DuPre, of Nashville. He went with the hospital to Columbus, Miss., during the campaign in Tennessee and back again to Forsyth.

After Johnston's surrender, Comrade Hirsh started for home, and got his parole at Selma, Ala., May 10. He married in 1869, and a few years later had to leave the South on account of the climate. He lived a few years in Chicago, then moved to Iowa, where he found the Yank who fired the first shell on the extreme Federal right at New Hope, Ga., which had disabled him. In 1880 he removed to New York City, where he was a member of the Confederate Veteran Camp. He went to New Hampshire in 1903, making his home at Westmoreland Depot. His death occurred there on February 22, 1911. He had aged Very rapidly after the death of his wife, in 1906. Two sons and two daughters survive. One of his sons writes: "Father was a good soldier, a good Mason (Treasurer of Kismet Shrine, Brooklyn, 1894 1903), a good philosopher, a good farmer, and a good father." What better could be said of any man?

JAMES T. HOUSTON.

James T. Houston, a native of McNairy County, Tenn., died at Corinth, Miss., on the 23d of November, 1910, aged sixtyeight. At the beginning of the war he enlisted in the 13th Tennessee Regiment, commanded by Col. John V. Wright. He was with the regiment at Belmont and Shiloh, and was afterwards transferred to cavalry and served under Gen. John H. Morgan until his death. He was with him in his raid into Ohio. He served the latter part of the war under Forrest as a member of the 19th Tennessee, Bell's Brigade, was at Brice's Crossroads, Harrisburg, Sulphur Trestle, Pulaski, and Johnsonville, was with Hood on his march to Nashville, and surrendered at Gainesville, Ala.

Comrade Houston was a member of one of the oldest families of the State, and leaves many relatives in Tennessee, one of whom is Judge M. H. Meeks, of Nashville. No one was more loyal than James Houston to the cause he loved.

CHARLES L. RIDLEY.

(A beautiful tribute by one who knew and loved him.) Taps have sounded for the noble, lovable, chivalrous spirit of Charles Lewis Ridley. He has answered the last roll call, and by this call to heaven the world has lost a good man one who was loyal to his friends, upright in his principles, devoted to his family, indulgent, yet just, always cheerful and cheering, helpful, and useful. He heard God's call, and passed away at his home, Ridley Place, Nashville, Tenn. on March 24, 1911 His was a beautiful falling asleep conscious until the last, surrounded by those he loved best on earth, and smiling gack at them as the gates of God's paradise shut him in from mortal view.

His was a truly home loving heart, shown in tenderness for wife, children, and grandchildren. He lived close to nature, he loved his trees and grass and vines. The birds and squirrels on his lawn he always cared for and fed, and the faithful servant Anna, who had ministered to him and his for many years, was always remembered.

The funeral services at the residence were very impressive. Exquisite floral tributes gave evidence of the high esteem in which he was held. There were prayers and Scripture reading by Dr. J. H. McNeilly, his lifelong friend and minister. "Just as I Am" and "Crossing the Bar" were sung by Mrs. Graham Hall, and the farewell of the Bivouac, with its "Rest, Soldier, rest," as they placed the Confederate flag among the lilies that covered him was very impressive. The song of a mocking bird was a fitting tribute to the occasion as he sang out of doors in the sunshine so bright, so golden.

The Bivouac, the honorary and active pallbearers, relatives, and friends followed his remains to the Union Railway Station, whence they were taken to Murfreesboro for interment. In Murfreesboro friends of his boyhood were pallbearers. The funeral sermon was preached by Dr. McNeilly, and prayers were said by Dr. J. Addison Smith, pastor of the Presbyterian Church. He was then laid to rest in Greenwood Cemetery with the many loved ones who had gone before.

Charles L. Ridley was born in Murfreesboro in 1847, the youngest of five sons of Chancellor Bromfield Lewis Ridley. The four older boys, Jerome, Lucas, George, and Bromfield, enlisted early in the Confederate army. The family then moved from Murfreesboro to their country home, Fairmont, near Old Jefferson, where Mrs. Ridley lived with her daughter and young son, Charles, with faithful servants, until the stately home was burned by the Federals. Fairmont was located by the historic Stone's River, and during the battle there was seen from the gallery a severe engagement between the contending forces of Bragg and Rosecrans. Mrs. William Blackmore, who was Bettie Ridley, wrote of this in 1867: "The flash, smoke, and deafening noise of the artillery, the click of small arms, deploying troops in an open field, the shouts and curses of the infuriated soldiers created a memorable scene. At last the bloody struggle ended. Bragg withdrew, and we were surrounded by a desperate but victorious foe. My father left home for safety, taking with him my youngest sister, thirteen years of age. My five brothers and husband were with their respective commands, leaving my mother, grandmother, and me alone with no protection," Fairmont was burned shortly after this engagement at dead of night. The family were saved by being awakened by the dog. Carlo.

Young Charles had urged his mother to let him join his brothers, but he was too young to enlist. One day he rode up the Jefferson Pike to see a friend who, he heard, had been arrested, and he was also arrested under charge of being a bushwhacker. He was carried to Murfreesboro, tried, convicted, and sentenced to be hanged. He was confined in the Murfreesboro courthouse with a lot of Confederates, but that night Forrest liberated all the prisoners there confined. In the crisis of this reversing of prisoners Charles gave his little gray mule to a Federal (who had said to him, "You will dangle at a rope's end to morrow morning") on his honor that he would go to Fairmont and tell his mother that he had joined Forrest's men. This the Federal did as he passed through Jefferson on his way to La Vergne.

Lieutenant Ridley thus joined the army, but was not regularly enlisted until the latter part of the war. Gen. Ben Hill made him one of his aids, and he was highly esteemed by General Hill, who often complimented him for his daring service in carrying orders on the battlefield. He surrendered in 1865 with Gen. Ben Hill at Chattanooga.

Charles L. Ridley was married in 1871 to Miss Hettie B. Fitzpatrick, of Lauderdale County, near Ripley, Tenn., a beautiful and charming woman, who survives him with their three children, Mrs. Robert W. Nichol, Charles Lewis Ridley, Jr., of Nashville, and Bromfield Lewis Ridley, of Birmingham.

CAPT. F. F. TIDWELL.

On Monday, February 20, 1911, at his home at Burns, Tenn., Capt. F. F. Tidwell died, aged seventy years, eight months. Funeral services were held at the Christian church at Burns by Elder I. B. Bradley, assisted by Rev. A. J, Luther. He was buried in Union Cemetery, Dickson, Tenn. The burial service was conducted by the local Lodge of F. and A. M.

COL. JOSEPH DILLARD WILSON.

Joseph D. Wilson, who was born in Pittsylvania County, Va., near Danville, May 20, 1824, was the fifth of twelve children born to Greenberry and Frances Holderby Wilson, who were married in Virginia in 1798. His grandfather, Jesse Wilson, a Marylander, was in the Revolutionary War.

In his early manhood the family removed to West Tennessee, where he engaged in the manufacture of tobacco and in the mercantile business until the breaking out of the Civil War. He enlisted as a private in Captain Weldon's company of the 46th Tennessee Infantry, under the command of Col. John M. dark. He was in the garrison of Island No. 10 during the bombardment, and after the abandonment of New Madrid surrendered with the forces under General McCall April 8, 1862. He was held as a prisoner at Johnson's Island and Camp Chase, Ohio, until exchanged at Vickgburg in August. The regiment was then reorganized at Jackson, Miss., and he was elected major. In this rank he was attached to S. B. Maxey's brigade at Port Hudson, under fire of Farragut's fleet, and was with Gen. J. E. Johnston in his Mississippi campaign against Grant, including the siege of Jackson. Subsequently he was on duty at Mobile under the brigade command of General Quarles until just after the battle of Chickamauga, when they joined Bragg's army at Missionary Ridge.

After spending the winter at Dalton, Quarles's Brigade was sent back to Mobile, but was recalled in time to participate in the Atlanta campaign, and won special distinction at New Hope Church, on Kennesaw Mountain, and in the battles around Atlanta.

Major Wilson was promoted to lieutenant colonel, and was in command of his regiment at Atlanta until the battle of Ezra Church, July 28, 1864, when he was shot through the body near the enemy's works and taken prisoner. The "Official Records of the War of the Rebellion" contains an official document of General Quarles to the effect that Colonel Wilson was killed, stating: "Among the killed of Quarles's Brigade was Col. John R. White, of the 53d Tennessee. Major Richardson, who succeeded to the command, was mortally wounded, and the gallant Col. Joseph D. Wilson was desperately wounded and by the brigade commander reported killed. They fell in front of their regiments, leading them on the enemy's works. Truer and more earnest patriots never lived, and the purity of their private characters gracefully softened the ruder qualities of the soldier."
Colonel Wilson lay in the Federal prison at Marietta for a short time, and was then removed to Johnson's Island, where he remained a prisoner until July 26, 1865.

In 1868 Colonel Wilson was married to Miss Annie E. Cox, daughter of Rev. Asa Cox, a Baptist minister and Confederate soldier, at Paris, Tenn. He made his home at Buchanan, near Paris, where he engaged in the tobacco, cotton, and mercantile business. He sold out here in 1884 and removed to Winchester, Tenn., where he engaged in mercantile business, from which he retired in 1892.

Eight children were born to Colonel Wilson and his wife four sons and four daughters all of whom survive except a son and a daughter. He was an extensive observer and reader, especially after his retirement from business. He was a man of deep and positive convictions, but never gave offense to those who differed with him in their opinions. His manners and habits were of the simplest and most modest character. As a devoted and faithful member of the Church, he was sustained by an unfaltering faith. His death occurred on February 21, 1911.

J. WEAKLEY CUNNINGHAM.

The death of J. W. Cunningham occurred on November 14. 1910, at the old homestead, near Rogersville, Ala., where he had lived the greater part of his life. He joined the 57th Alabama Infantry in the spring of 1862, and served to the close of the war, surrendering with Johnston's army in North Carolina. He and John Smith, a neighbor, were the only survivors to represent the 57th Alabama at the surrender. He had been offered the adjutancy of an Alabama regiment by Colonel Cunningham, but preferred to remain as the sergeant major of his regiment.

A cousin who knew and loved him thus writes: "We were reared under the same roof from early childhood, and never did an unkind word fall from his lips. He was the soul of honor and was respected by all who knew him. He died in full faith of the justice of the cause for which he gave three years of his life and under the banner where he had been for many years a faithful Nazarene."

DR. J. R. CULBERTSON.

Dr. J. R. Culbertson, Commander of Camp Richard Robertson, U. C. V., at Gray Court, died on December 15, 1910. He entered the Confederate army in September, 1864, becoming a member of Company C, 3d South Carolina Battalion, Kershaw's Brigade. At the close of the war he studied medicine, and was successful in its practice, which he continued up to a few months before his death. He was a true and loyal friend, and those in need or distress found in him sympathy and help. He was noted for his good and charitable deeds in relieving the suffering of those to whom he ministered, and he was a devout member of the Church. His devoted wife and many relatives and friends survive him.

Confederate Veteran May 1911

MAJ. E. O. WOLF.

Maj. E. O. Wolf, of Izard County, Ark., died at his old home, near Myrom, on October 20, 1910, at the age of eightythree years. He was known and loved by all who knew him. His home had been in that community since the war. He served as a soldier in the Mexican War, and was also a major in the Confederate army. Readers of the VETERAN will remember Major Wolf's story of his experiences which appeared on page 380 of the VETERAN for August, 1910. He was the major of Ford's Cavalry Battalion, and was captured on one of Price's raids. Major Wolf had a remarkable career during the war. (See page 380 of VETERAN for 1910.) He was under sentence of death, and the correspondence of himself and wife is in "War Records," Part 1., Volumes XXXIV. and XLI., Part II., Volumes VI. and VII.

Major Wolf leaves a wife and seven children. For nearly half a century he had been a faithful Church member.

DAISY O'BANNON CANNON.

After tedious days and nights of grief, Daisy O'Bannon Cannon (Mrs, Thomas L. Cannon) has passed over the river and rests in the shade on the other side.

She died March 14, 1911) at six o'clock, having been in a hospital since last August. There had scarcely been a day since that time that there was any hope of her recovery, but by God's good will she has been spared this long to her loved ones. She was a loving wife, a devoted child, and a loyal Daughter of the Confederacy. (The foregoing was sent by Mrs. A. E. Morgan, St. Louis.)

MAJ. ROBERT RANDOLPH HUTCHINSON.

Robert Randolph Hutchinson was born in Petersburg, Va., August 28, 1837, the son of Rev. E. Carter Hutchinson and Lucy Burwell Randolph. He was educated at the University of Virginia, and then went to the University of Berlin, Germany. He was admitted to the bar in St. Louis, Mo., but the war broke out about that time, and he became one of the Mis souri Minute Men, the first organization of Southern sympathizers in Missouri, which came into existence in 1860. He aided in raising a company of the 2d Infantry Regiment of the Missouri State Guards, which went into camp at Lindell's Grove on May 3, 1861. This camp became known as Camp Jackson, and Major Hutchinson was serving as first lieutenant of a company at the time the camp was captured. He soon afterwards went to Memphis, Tenn., where he enlisted in the 1st Missouri Infantry Regiment. Commissioned a lieutenant at the beginning of his military career, he was soon made adjutant of his regiment, then promoted to major and assistant adjutant general of Bowen's Brigade, and later of the division. He was in active service in the field thereafter throughout the war, participating in most of the engagements fought in Mississippi up to the time of the capture of Vicksburg. After the surrender at Vicksburg, he was adjutant general of paroled prisoners at Demopolis, Ala., until returned to the Confederate service through an exchange of prisoners.

In the fall of 1863 he joined the Army of Northern Virginia as assistant adjutant general of the division commanded by Gen. Robert E. Rodes, which constituted a part of Stonewall Jackson's corps. He was promoted to the rank of major, and subsequently to that of lieutenant colonel, serving continuously in the field and participating in all the battles of the campaign, from the Wilderness to Richmond, until captured at the battle of Cedar Creek, in Virginia, in the fall of 1864. He was held prisoner at Fort Delaware until June, 1865, when he was released on parole and went to St. Louis. Under the restrictive provisions of the Drake Constitution, then in force in Missouri, those who had borne arms against the Union or who had sympathized with, aided, or encouraged the Southern Confederacy were debarred from engaging in any profession. This disability turned Major Hutchinson temporarily away from the law, his chosen profession, and he entered the banking business, from which he retired as President of the Mechanics National Bank of St. Louis, Mo., in 1906,

Major Hutchinson married Miss Mary Mitchell, daughter of Col. D. D. Mitchell, in 1865, three days after his release from prison. Their engagement had existed during the four years he was in the war, a period of total separation excepting a visit made in 1865 by Miss Mitchell to Fort Delaware by special permission of President Lincoln There were eight children of this union, all of whom are living. Major Hutchinson died November 21,1910.

(The "War Records" give a singular experience of Major Hutchinson's. On March 9, 1865, B. Gratz Brown, United States Senator from Missouri, wrote Colonel Hoffman, commissary general of prisoners, that Major Hutchinson was on General Ramseur's staff when the general was wounded and captured. General Ramseur dying soon after this, Major Hutchinson was paroled to take charge of his body and convey it to Richmond. Upon reaching General Grant's lines the parole was disregarded, and he was ordered back to Washington and put into the Old Capitol Prison, General Hoffman replied to Senator Brown that Lieutenant General Grant had the right to recall the parole to Major Hutchinson, so he was undoubtedly held until the war ended. EDITOR VETERAN.)

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Last date updated 04/10/2006

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