The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1886-09-10
"RECOLLEcTIONs
or THE
M c ISSICK RANGERS.
-O:oC-
ny MEMBER.
No. 3.
ny A MEMBER,

"S'""o vi rrauCe, one OF Doth, would tax
part In our behalf and, as a consequence, tn
war would be over in q few months. The Ma
son and Slidcll affair gave room for this i'm
preston But the morale of our army was bu
little changed. Men who had made the cou rs,
OF the war study were not u be fed on such
fafy. Some, however, began to put or
long faces and speculate on the horrors of war
and the impossibility of our ever sooompiish-
ing a.. thing. News that Fort Donaldson had
falien reached us, and this was O sweet morsel
1or these malcontents. We began to feel that
the Federal Government, with its inexbaustib,o
source of supplies, was drawing it, coil around
us. 'rumoling, while prevalent, was very un-
popular with the average soldier; we felt it our
duty to fight and not foster adversity Most
OF our troops were enlisted for II months. an Il
this fact gave great reason for doubt amonc
the dscontents In n few months the time of
certain commands would expire, and as thew
left the icld the work would of course he
heavier for those remaining and consequently
We would never have an army sufficient to cope
with that of the enemy.
The reasoning was better than the pluck
The "conscript plan" had not been conceived
II
the hrst paper to suggest the propriety of "con-
scription." The greatest blundcr ever made
by the Confederate Congress was the passage of
that Act 1t threw discomfort into the army
even among the intelligent volunteers. The
volunteer soldier felt that his country distrust
ed his loyalty to its flag. 1t was a blow from
which the Confederacy never recovered. II
did not put an additional available man in the
army, hut, on the contrary, kept men who
might have done something out. There was
nearly as many men commissioned and detailed
10 execute the "conscript Law as General
johnson had before Atlanta, in 1861. No
equal number of men in the Federal army done
such effective service for the Union rs thew
did.
Your readers may think that am off the
subject, but rs these impressions were made
upon my mind at the time, think they are
part and parcel of the "Rccollectons. Many
true and brave men went into our army after
The passnsI a IN: ''conscr!rt Act,
good service too, but they would have gone
just as readily without "conscript law as
with il. Many who made good farm hands
made poor soldiers. We needed both. The VOL
sense of honor in the eyes Of his countrymcn
but was doing n service under compulson. 1t
would have been better had the Confederate
Congress proposed an unconditional surrender
of our army than to have passed that act. Our
noble women were the first to feel its sting. 1t
tore the son from the arms Of his mother, and
the husband from the fond embraces of his
wife The poor invalid run the gauntlet of the
"mcdical examining board only to be ushered
into the army AMI to premature grave. 1t
produced spirit "f disgust that pcrmcateI a II
classes Of society, that found its antidotc at
Appomattox G. H.. Va. To prove our logic, we
will say that not battle fought exclusively
with volunteers was lost to the Confedcracy
The "conscript law" alone is responsible for
the coinage of the expression, erich mans war
ald poor man. fight
Financially, us well rs socially and morally
our army was made up Of all classes of men.
Bill Blackwell was great talkcr, and men
who knew nothing of his standing in the COM
munity in which he lived, would pay great at
tention to him. lie was one of the men with
whom everything went wrong: The rations
were unfit To eat neither plentiful Dor Of the
right kind the clothing furnished by The Con
Tolerate Government was indecent and shoddy
In talking with men who knew nothing of him
this was his text. One day | came across hin
with crowd of Capt. rnylors men aroun'
him, listening to his grievances. | heard hin
sly: al had the best dinner at Goshen Hill the
day We left Union that have had since lef
home about that time he saw me and he con
tinucd the scntcuce-y',, anda long time b,forc
Had n hombshcll have hursted in their mids
they would not have been moro astonishcd
They were completely sold out Ills mex
work was to get out of the army, and he wen
to work TO fool the doctors, which he has sine
told me that he did, by splitting brick dut. IL
kept q brick bat in his tent from which h
would take piece, put it in his mouth, cougl
and spit until he was pronounced ian incura
BILE case of consumption lie was sent home
lie claims he played the same game with DR.
Aleck White. But Dr. W. found him out aftc
while. lie thought that as Fill had been s
alroit in carrying out his plans he deserved I
be left of. Bill never returned to us, cxccI
he came to us at Dispatch Station, Va, in Sep
1862, and stayed n day OF two. OF his subs'
qucnt military history il is not our business I
write.
During the early part of the Spring the fe,
erals must have had 5000 troops OIL Edisi
Island and at least 800 drums Edingsvi
was their headquarters. From White Point "
could sec the Federal flag. Gunboats lay i
the inlet. Sometimes one, and sometimes ha
dozen could be seen at one sight. The>
would come up to the Point and shell our pic
cts. Sometimes they would run UP to King