The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1859-01-20
HORRORS OF CIVIL WAR.
i TALE U- \ SPANISH s,i.rli:E.

Nh"n t.. var o! 1855 in Spain CON-
mcnccl war Il DO; =; school. but heard
SO mu"!! all ot Don Carlos. aul the ,lum-
hrrS Of men cm';,;ir:, in his army, that
resolved to become II soldier. BEGAN 10
prepare for secretly clipping from home, and
J"in!n" his army, apprc!icn'!imr decided "l,-
position from my parents. 1t required
much ''"!i!rra'inn, and many arrangements
an's efforts, 10 lay ,'l;,ns and execute tacn,,
to ""t'in supply Of arms, and to make
all the other preparations necessary To SC
cure the success OF my project. There
were few places in the house where |
thought could place anything that wu;..d
not be Liable to observation, bu. there WAS
| the suhtrrrI;ican chamber in the Garden
Would n", that be good place for my
| arsenal! AS none OF the other members
, of the family had visited Il for inn:. time,
ut the i'rrio'l of the war, it occurred to ne
that might there safely deposit my arms
| an'l ammunition. Bat was soon relieved
fr":l asl anxiety anI care on that subject,
hy my fathers inquiry whether would
like /" be a su!,i;cr Of Don Carlos.
J"yfully expressed my readiness, and
ut daylight, Il few mornings after, WAS Oh
my way. equipped i'll II full au;l new suit of
Uniform, aud We'll armed with shi,il,u
weapons, whcl. gIistcnel, when tho sun
rose, like polished steel. The hiI:.rity with
| which walked across fields. and auon,.
| trees, | can never forget. WIS full of hope
an! expectation, and lancicd myself already
c"nIuerer Oh battle fields, which my inn.
agination painted before me.
y few months found me SO changed in
coLdlilon and appearance, and especially in
feelings and character, that scarcely father
could have recognized me. Indeed, how,
since other changes have bees rassr,!
| through, it is difficult for ne 70 realize that
my own aspect could haze ever been SO
savage my habits SO wild, my feelings So
unSoverncd, ana my principles ci action So
inhumar. ~ civil war produces the mos,
horrible state OF things that can exist in su-
cicty. The circumstances diMei materially
from those arising from Il contest between
the people Of different countries. Encl,:ics
can then distinguish, each other, l,y some
external and obvious mark but, in n civil
war, suspicion takes the place Of knowlcde.
-sons, brothers, and bosom fiienl Is are
often ranged on opposite sides, sometime,
meet in the field, and even seek and spill
each others blood. 1t was ,;,i;e sufficient,
to brutalizo ard infuriata me, to be CONSTANT
ly engaged, day after day, and night after
night, in unceasing and deadly warfare with
my own countrymen, for weeks and months
together.
We were at first prosperous, and well re-
ccivcd by the people, both in the country
and in the towns; bit our enemies after
wards gained so much strength that we
were compelled 10 retreat to the most soil
tary and inaccessible parts of the 'yrrnccs,
and there We underwent tolls and pliy"tion>
almost too severe for human nature TO en-
dure. \ few incidents which occurred TO
us may afford some idea of our condition.
We one day entered a village, where we
had formerly been treated with great kind
hess and hospitality, and assu,ed, over and
over again, that we had the whole popnla-
tion for our friends. In the mi,I,t Of re-
past which had been prepared for lis, while
confiding too much in our host even to
keep q sentry, the house WAS bcsct by a
party of our enemies, who fred upon
us through the windows, and then rushed
i'll at the doors, sword in hand. l was un
hurt. and, springing for the first passage |
could find, lcaped from Il height TO the
ground, and escaped, by what appeared to
me pure miracle My companions never
saw afterwards, and only learned by an in,
direct channel, that scarcely amy one cs.
capped except myself. How got back to
the mountains cannot cxact v.tcl; bat
when ndmyscf again among the woods
and wilds, and knew that 1 had nothing
near INC more savage than wolves, lay
down in peace and quietncss, and slept for
hours without disturbance.
On another occasion we repaired to a
large farmhouse, which VIC had discovered
from distance, being extremely pressed
by hunger. AS we had some acquaintance
with tho inhabitants-that is, ono Of our
party ASSURED us that they were friends of
Don Carlos-wc accepted the food which
they prepared for us with many thanks,
and partook Of it with extraordinary avid
ity. l presume must have been provi-
dentially prevented from eating some por-
ton Of the food which proved so deadly to
most Of my companions. I rose from sleep
a, 4