Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1886-07-15
SOUTHERN WAR STORIES.

hls blORlCCs
/ 'ered IN the South by a Cinciana,.an
me fH-cenfederates Telling Tales Of
oreae War-A Budget of Mighty
Good Stories. S
washington Special to Cincinnati (,ommar.
cial Gazette.
turing the JEFF Davis progress across
alabama and Georgia recently, the
private car of Manager Gabbett, was
the scene OF a great deal OF war eossin
ana "reminiscences, and in the genial
party and in gatherings at Montsom.
cry Atlanta and SAVANNAH a great
many good stories of the war, well
worth preserving, were told.
AT one time there were in marty
spinning old war yarns, eight persons
DIX OF them had been in the southern
army, and two in the northern. Ev.
cry man had been wounded There
were two arms and one leg and one
loot missing from what should he tbo
regular quota of limbs for a party of
flght' and there We're plenty of ugly
scars. ~
Colonel Tom Jones, of Montgomery
the Colonel OF the Second Alabama
regiment, which includes the famous
Montgomery Grays and True Blues
eoio OF his experience: IL went into
ehe war with no idea that there
eouio DE any other side OF the cues.
ton. had been reared in the belief
IN seate rights, and the idea that my
state could not go out of the Union r
she pleased was preposterous. The
action OF the North seemed RI mo tba
most monstrous and wicked eyer
known on the face OF the eortb
thought the Yankees a hcrda ~
orutes, ana fought for my State and
people and everything sacred, as the
Romans fought against the Cloths and
Vandals. '''' ''''s.
"In an early enga cement a prisoner
was taken and brought to my tent. /
recognized him at once as a Pennsvl.
vanian who had been at school with
me. SAID to him What do YOU mean
oy coming down here wearing that
uniform He asked in return What.
do you mean by wearing that uniform
and lighting against your Govern.
ment?'
II replied My State went out of the
Union and went with her.
Wen, said he, my State proposes
to stay IN the Union and am STAYING
with her.
The answer was like block to me
and had to acknowledge to myself
that he had replied to me on nv own
ground of state rights. 1t was NV
first idea OF another side of the ones
ton; we are fighting to destroy the
Union, they are fighting to preserve it.
did a great deal of thinking after
that. How strange TO think of the
change and the result of that war we
entered upon for the right to leave
the Union. Now / am citizen of the
Union, an officer of Union militia, and
IN my state constitution is a clause
forever denying to a state the right to
secede.
Another thing occurred that made
a deep impression onme. Two letters
were given me-one found on the body
OF young Union soldier, the other on
a young confederate. They were both
written by their mothers, and were so
near alike in language and sentiment
that it was wonderful. Each told her
boy that he was fighting in just and
holy cause, ard told them to be brave
and true; to give their lives if need be
for their country and called Gods and
a mothers blessing upon them Near
those two brave boys, cold in death,
with those two letters in my hand, /
sat for a long time in deep thought !"
Another gentleman said: al will
tell you an incident that occurred in
our town: Old Judge B. had two sons,
and when the war broke out he made
a speech dedicating them both, along
with himself, to the cause. He was a
fierce secessionist, and when one of the
boys (who was in q military SCHOOL,
| joined the Union army be publicly dis
owned him, and visited father s
curse upon nm. Both boys were
killed. After thewar he brought home
the body OF the son who fell on the
Confederate side, and buried it in the
| family lot. The name of the othtr he
never mentioned or allowed to be
mentioned in his presence.
"a few years ago he disappeared and
returned with the body of the other
son, which had been buried in the
| National Cemetery at Chattanooga,
and buried it beside the brother
Then he put up plain marble monu-
ment over the two graves. Upon 1t
are inscribed the names and ages OF
| the two boys, one killed at Fredericks-
burg, the other killed at Mission Ridge,
and below is the inscription. God
knows which was right.
| "0ne of the oldest incidents you
can imagine took place in our town, |"
said a gentleman from Northern
Georgia.
eve got up sham battle at one OF
the State encampments and divided
by lot into 'Yanks' and 'Johnnieo,
the one dressed in blue and the other
in gray. 1t happened that an old
Union soldier became commander OF
the confederate side and an old Con-
federate soldier commander OF the
Union side. The fact turned the fight
into more than sham; it was roar
ing farce, for when the men saw an old
Union soldier riding up and down and
calling on his men to give the 'Yanks'
hi, and a noted old Confederate Of
ficer cavorting about and shouting to
his Union troop to clean out thecow
ardly Johnnies, all hands got to
laughing so at the absurdity of the
thing that the fight fizzled out, while
the two commanders shook hands
and forgave each other"
ain our town." said an Alabaman,
Eve had a Decoration Day parade
wears ago-one of the first we ever had.
Just before wegot ready to start on the
march, somebody raised the question
that there was a man IN the parade
who had been deserter. The matter
was looked into, and it was found
that one of the ex-Codiedeate vet
Grams in the line had originally
been Yankee SOLDIER, and had de-
serted to the confederate side. When
this became known the men refused to
march with him, and hewas Obliged to
fall out. Our people had no use for a
deserter from either side.
Said Evan Howells: The fact is no
men ever went bravely and devotedly
into any war more ignorant OF the
real situation than we did. Oar peo-