Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1872-07-27
A Touomse "REMINISCENCES

49,"
A fdtfd ftqaes,s NC publication
~ tho enl,jd,hed " wnq written
last after tIe cloeo NJ ilr Wto Wnr
between tie eeeilnn, ly u t0nnp
Gentleman. 6h0, although residing
North now TO join tbc nnka 81 his
liGdrpd nnd lricnds, when hc saw
that war aud invasion were newt
ablc. lie was himself one Of the
party mentioned in this beautiful
incident, which marked the close or
the struggle, and son of"nc Of the
most prominent Confederate Gcncr-
ais who fell in tho fearful struggle.
Anything relating ton great states
nSu and soldier like John &. Brock.
inridgo is Of general interest, and
with pleasure we lay II before our
readers
IUE CLOSE OF THE REyOLurloN-oNE
DAY WIN JOHN q. BREcKINRlDuE,
We remained the night before at
the house Of well recommended
friend The immediate neighbors
ilockcd in TO see the gucqts, little
dreaming who WAS the principal
one. AS supposed officers OF Lees
army, they were thought worthy OF
attention. | could see, however,
that the older and more thoughtful
Of the people cspecif lily the female
portion, believed it was "somc big
man"-no ordinary General. De-
casionalIy could catch their CLAN.
ces stealing from Breckenridge to II
photograph ofPrcidcnt Davis hang
ing on the parlor wall, rs tito com
pare the likeness. One old lady in
sisted upon my giving u minute de-
scription of the person of each mem
Der ofthe Cabinet, and while | gave
it, her eye was riveted upon Gcncr-
NJ b. all the while. 1t is well to
say that, save the host and his wife,
of the strangers present, none knew
the name of the distinguished guest.
l had known Breckenridge for years
as member Of Congress, and while
he was Vice President oftho United
States, had been in his company Of
ten. but never saw him appear to
the advantage that he did this night.
He was dressed in q magnificent
suit of black broadcloth, present
he had received from Europe just
before the evacuation Of Richmond;
was clean shaved and in q genial
flow of spirits, which captlrated
every one. His son, Cabell Brock
inridgc, one Of the finest looking
and most engaging young men !
ever saw, seconded his father in ell
tertaining.
4 x i & 4 =
1t was Mr., Breckinridge's intcn
ton, l judged, to cross the Ocmnl-
gee river at or about Hawkinsvilie.
When in sight ofthe river our guide
met a sturdy old planter, who, after
some whispering, caused Mr.. /. TO
be called aside. AID ia II fow mo-
mcats VIC were in II ga!lop. The
,mrty consisted OF Mr.. Breckenridge,
lis Adju;ant- General, Lieutenant
Colonel Wilson, the late Major Os
ear Dawson, Cabell Breckenridge,
son ollhc General, and abide camp,
the guido, a prominent citizen, my
self, and Sam. slave of the General
the devoted friend, who accompa-
nied him to exile. OF the party, |
,slonc was paroIed. The guide led
us towards the bank OF the river,
where he expected to find "a bat
teau." This brought us in the midst
of II thicliet. We reached the bank,
but the boat WIS not therel The
guide said he would find it, and bid
MS be patient until bis return. We
unsuddlcd our horses>and resigned
ourselves to leisure. Sam spread
Mr.. Br cLinridgc's blanket under Il
shady tree, and lie rcclined reading
',Bulwer's Decline and Fall of Ath-
ons, work put in his hand by a
lady friend at Sparta, Georgia, as
he passed through that village.
What a subject to be read by man,
10 circumstanced, and at such q
timcl 1t was nearly five hours be-
fore the guido returned, and a few
minutes after the battcau came float
ing down the riverin charge Of two
Young boys who had been fishing
with it. This delay saved the par, |
~ from capture, for, after we had
gained the main read on the other
side, we leaned that a party Of
twenty-five hundred cavalry, en-
route to Tallehassc, Florida, had
been struggling along nearly the
whole day, and that smaller force
was behind, to increase tho garrison
at Hawkinsrillc. Weswept between
the two!
While awaiting the rcturn of the |
guide, the staff and myself occupied |
ourselves in walking up and down
the Ocmulgec, then swollen by re-
cent rains, whose murky and turbu
lent waters seemed, in their spite
full and swift flow, TO bid defiance TO
us, and laugh at our hope Of pas
sage. 1t took some time to cross
The bank on the other side seemed
quite steep, and gould only be reach
ed after much labor Fortunately,
Wilson aud Dawson proved to be
good hands with the paddle, and
the passage was safely made. But
il took many trips. First, the sad
dies, blankets, &C., were taken over,
and then each horse was made to
swim over, aided by one of us in
the boat. Finally, all was across
but Mr.. Breckenridge, and Wilson,
Dawson and myself returned for
him. At the point Of crossing, the
river was fully three hundred yards
wide. We found him standing up
IN the hank, as il awaiting US, but
with his eyes gazing toward the
West and apparently lost in medi-
tation. BY this fine the sun was
.-t. tAl,