The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1868-01-08
From the New Orleans Sunday Crescent.J
The Last Ration.
BY AN EX-CoNFEDERATE OFFICER.

The Last Ration.
BY AN Ex-CoNFEDERATE OFFICER.
Few hear the immortals of Lees
army speak of the retreat from
Petersburg. to Appomattox Court
house, the scene Of that army's
apothesis, and the reason Of that
silence can be well understood.
Knowing nothing and thinking
little about the condition Of the
army outside Of their. own COM
mands, the great body of the men,
in their reliance upon their great
commander, simply performed the
duties imposed upon them, suffered
the agonies that necessarily fell to
their lot, and met calmly the death
which ended those duties and ag-
onies Of many before the memora-
Eble ninth Of April. -.~
The suffering Of, the rank and
file Of the army. on that occasion
were mencifully ,deadened by a
stupor, if not recklessness, super
induced by the peculiar hardships
to which they were subjected.
The enemy, with his overwhelm-
ing force Of splendidly mounted
and, equipped cavalry, held in ad-
dition the direct route to the point
aimed at by General Lee, retard-
ing his advance, compelling him to
fight while daylight lasted, and to
do his marching by night. The
want Of sleep, and during the last
four days Of the retreat the entire
lack Of provisions, produced in the
men the mental and physical con-
dition I haye mentioned. And al
though after the surrender the
men and officers of the Federal
army wed with each other in their
-nrnoE1 c'ss; rsostz- =
to do everything in their power to
relieve the necessities Of their late
foes, the destruction Of a portion
of their supply train by Generals
Resser and Fitzhugh Lee, and the
detention Of the balance by the
awful condition Of the roads, left
themselves in a critical condition,
and incapable Of affording Lees
army the much needed supplies. =
Great efforts were made, and
successful, to complete, as soon as
possible, the paroling of the men,
in order that they. might be dis
persed from a place where there
was no sustenance Of any descrip-
tion for man or beast. Among
the first commands. ready to leave
were the first and second Louisi-
ana brigades, then commanded by
Colonel Waggaman, and with
them portion Of the Washington
Artillery, Louisiana Guard Bat
terry, and Donaldsonville Artillery,
all hailing from the same State,
and naturally clustering together
when about to return once more
to their dear Southern homes.
The condition of these men was
really deplorable. Starved, worn
out, and many Of them stricken
with fever, they looked with dis
may on the dismal march through
the mud to Burkesville Station,
the nearest point at which they
could expect to find transporta-
tion. Colonel Waggaman and
many of the officers did not believe |
half Of them would beable to per-
form the journey, and, as a dernier
resorte, and also in some measure
to inspire the men with hopes
which he himself believed delusive,
Colonel W. started the brigade
commissary ahead to try and pick
up something for man and beast
on the route which they were
travelling.
The commissary, with no more
hope than the commanding officer,
started off, and after travelling a
few miles over tract which gave
no promise ofsupplies, beingrather
dubious about the road the brigade
would travel, accosted an old,
grayheaded and very ragged ne
-