The Van Buren press., 1873-09-16
"Reminiscences of 1861.

| Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated Presiden
of the United States. Mr.. lincoln was tn
first President elected upon purely scctiona
issue. aud by minority of the popular vote
In tlis election we had u practical illustra
tlon OF the unfair working Of the electora
system. as regulated by our Constitution. Oi
this same 4th March, the Arkansas Conven
| iion met TO deliberate upon the course to b
pursued by our State.
The delegates from Crawford were TN
Hon. jesse Turner and Gen. Hugh +. Thoma
son. both chosen upon the direct issue o
union or secession as union delegates.
| On this saac day, the corner stone of
magnificent Brick Warehouse, belonging t'
our tawnsman George +. White, was laid, TN
Rev. WIN. Birnet, an Episcopal minister, Of
liciating. In this corner stone was placed 8
tin box. containing some odd coins, fe"
pieces OF American coin, some letters IRON
prominent gentlemen Of eur city aud two
FROM young ladies, some extracts from papers
of the day. among the rest several obituary
notices OF Phineas II. White, father OF George
f.. White, copy Of the 35th Parallel, news
paper DuDllsHtu W oIt N''N' ~
our old friend. Gen'l. A. G. Mayors, who has
gone to his rest copies Of other newspapers,
among the rest copy ofthe Fan Buren, Press
lef March Ist, 1861.
" In December 1862, Gen1. Blunt made his
famous, or Infamous. raid in our town and
this splendid warehouse was burned, per-
haps rs n beacon light to show future genera
tion, the high state Of civilization manifested
by the Federal army under the valiant Gem
eral.
A few days ago. Mr.. White had the box ta-
ken mp, it having escaped the search OF these
aforesaid civilized soldiers We had the pleas
ure, by invitation of Mr.. W., to look over the
contents There are letters addressed to pos
tcrty by Miss Ellen Phinney. formerly well
known among us, and one from Mrs General
Bowen, then Miss Maggie Thruston. Letters
from DR.. Henry Pernot, J. NJ Tibbetts, WIN.
Birnet, Capt. H. Little, who was killed during
the war, a. j. Ward, NJ. 4. Mulhering, John
T. Humphrey, DIR. Thruston, VIM. Whitfield
and John u. Ogden. These letters arc full OF
interest to US who knew all the parties so
well. and their contents vividly recalls the
feelings which existed In the early part OF
1851. The war cloud was then looming up in
the northern horizon. Seven States had Sc
ceded and Provisional government had
been organized and held its sessions at Mont
gomcry. The hearts Of our people were tor
tured with anxiety for the future destiny of
our country. To the wise, war was known
to be inevitable, and all its attendant horrors
were before us. None could foresee the re-
suit. The highly sanguine and imaginative
looked forward with pride to the firm estab-
lishmcnt Of Southern Confederacy. The
less sanguinc and more matter of fact citizen,
saw in the future naught but tho blackened
wreck OF States n smoulderng pile OF once
magnificent fabric; country torn by intes-
tine struggles, and a free Constitution lost In
the din Of !ratcrnal strife. The war cloud has
passed, leaving desolation in its track. The
storm OF passion Is rapidly subsiding, but can
we say the spirit Of our old institutions arc
left intact' Would to God the fcrvent wishes
Of the patriotic men, who deposited letters In
that little tin box had been answered Over
twelve years have passed since 1t was depos-
tied in its little niche and how full Of events,
important to us and the cause Of free govern
ment, have these years been. Most of those
who formed the little party at tho +" Corner" ="
are spared and many arc still ameng us. May
they long live and the same patriotic spirit,
brsathed In their letters, prompt them to aid
In gathering the scattered fragments and
building up our free institutions to the stand
ard marked out by the trainers Of our Consti-
tuition. And we sincerely hope the future
may have brighter hours In store for us, and
the day may yet come when our friend White
foundation Of the one swept away by the fiery
flood Of war.