The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-09-01
LEES SURRENDER.
RECEPTION OF THE NEWS BY A
CONFEDERATE DIVISION.
The Fateful Dispatch Received by
General Echols-OfRcers aud
Men Discussing the
Situation.

We had reached Christiansburg late il
the evening on the 18th of April, say
General Duke, in the Southern Bu0uac
The command had halted for the night
and the troops were about to 60 int
camp, but the column was still closing
up, and the larger part of it was on tht
road. I remember that General Echol.
and I were dismounted and standing
upon the turnpike surrounded by tht
soldiers. We were. talking about some
ordinary matter to which had called his
attention. Just then Lieutenant Clay
galloped up and asked where he could
find the General General Echols indi
Gated his presence, and Clay approached
and silently handed him dispatch.
General Echols opened and read it. ]
instantly perceived that it contained mo-
mentous and disastrous news. His face
became intensely flushed, and then grew
deathly pale. He quietly requested mt
to follow him out Of the throng. die
so, aud when we were few PAGES away
he read me the dispatch, which was from
General LomaX, and in these words
General Lee surrendered this morning
at or nelr Appomattox Court House.
am trying with my own division and the
remnants of Fitz Lees and Rosser's divi
sions to arrange to make a junction with
you"
Although prepared to hear of disaster,
had not expected anything so dreadful
as this, and the announcement almost
stunned me. I can never forget the feel
ing of utter dismay and despair with
which I heard it, orthe impression itpro
duced upon the troops when the infor
nation reached them.
Gen. Echols had not intended to i'm.
mediately divulge it. After brief con.
ference we agreed that the news should
be concealed, if possible, from the mn
until the next day, and communicated
that night only to the brigade and regi-
mental commanders. We hoped that
some plan might be devised which would
enable US to hold the troops together un
til we could learn what policy would be
pursued by Mr.. Davis, and whether it
would be our duty to endeavor to joir
Gen. Johnston. But to conceal such q
fact when even one man was aware Of il
was impossible. Before We had con-
cluded our brief conversation, we knew
from the hum and stir in the anxious,
dark-browcd crowds nearest us, the rest
less oscillation of the long column as the
whisper few along it, the excitement
which soon grew almost to tumult, that
the terrible tidings had gotten abroad.
That night no man slept. Strangely as
the declaration may now sound, there was
not one of the six or seven thousand then
gathered at Christiansburg who had en-
tertained the slightest thought that such
an event could happen, and doubtless
that feeling pervadcd the ranks of the
Confederacy.
We knew that Richmond had fallen.
We knew that the heroic army which
had 80 long drfen led Richmond was In
retreat. We knew that it would be
nomadic, that its operations could no
longer be conducted upon the methods
which support regular warfare, and that
e:erything e necessary to maintain its eff
cheney was lost. We could hazard no
on;ecturc Us to what would be done };
yet, that the army of Northern Virginia
with Lee at its head would ever sur
render had never entered our minds.
Therefore, the indescribable consterna-
tion and iamazement which spread like q
confagration through the ranks when
the thing was told, can scarcely be i'm
agined by one who has not had similar
experience.
TO all who read this--save tho:e who
shared the sentiment-it may seem in
credible that the Southern people and
soldiery can have really felt the blow so
keen,y. will ask such skeptics to i'm
agine the impression that would be pro-
duced upon them by the conviction that
this country had been suddenly subju-
gated by some foreign power, and it was
about to be overrun and perma.
nently occupied by its armies and
governed by its agents. The South
expected in defeat to be reduced to
lust such condition. General Lee
and his army had been so identified in
our minds with the Confederate cause
that to lose them was like taking the
heart from the body.
Buring all that night officers and men
were congregated in groups and crowds
discussing the news, and it was curious
to observe how the training and dlscl-
pline of veteran soldiers were manifested
even amid al this deep feeling and ex-
citement. There was not one act OF vlo-
lence, not harsh or insulting word
spoken; the officers were treated with
the same respect which they had previ.
ously received, and although many of
the infantry who lived in that part of
Virginia went off that night without
leave and returned to their homes, none
who remained were insubordinate or
failed to obey orders with alacrity.
Great fires, larger and more numerous
than ordinary camp-fres, were lighted
and kept burning. Every group had its
orators, who, succeeding each other,
sroke continuously. The men rushed
from one crowd to another, hundreds
sometimes collecting about peculiarly
fervid speaker. Every conceivable sus-
eestion was offered. Some advocated a
guerrilla warfare; some propos d march
ing to the trans s-Mississippi, and thence
to Mexico. The moro practical and rea-
sonable, of course proposed that an effort
to Join General Johnston should immedl-
dately be made. Many, doubtless,
thought of surrender, but I do not re-
member to have heard it mentioned.
A "Game' Flavor.
The flesh of animals used for food is