Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-12-10
hrs AND BAY0NETs.
scenes, Amusing Anecdotes, and
|,eresting Incidents Of the
Late War.
aatties Buzzins Bullets Bright
gayonets, and Buggy
Beds


Beds
,,eys OF Lees Surrender.
:, interesting event OF the late
Esneral Lees surrender, which ia
+, described in the following par
p,,mpiled from recent issue of the
|, Birorac:
4 reached Christiansburg late in
p .%ne of the 10th of April. The
+ i had halted for the night, and the
.-e about to go into camp, but the
"a "a, still closing up, and the larger
W. Vas vet on the road. l remember
'a-sl Echols and Iwere dismounted
inc upon the turnpike, surrounded
,llIers. We were talking about
mary matter to which I had called
ton. Just then Lieutenant CLAY
M and asked where he could find
nl. General Echols indicated his
and Clay approached and silently
nm dispatch. General Echols
nd read it. 1 instantly perceived
ortaiued momentous and disas-
rs. His face became intensely
and then grew deadly pale. He
eauested me to follow him out
rong. did so, and when We were
,es away he read me the dispatch,
s from General Lomax, and in
rls: General Lee surrendered,
ing, Mt CT near Appomattox Court
am trying, with my own division
,mnants of Fitz Lees and Rosser's
to arrange to make a junction
81 prepared to hear of disaster, 1
xpected anything SO dreadful as
the announcement almost stun
can never forget the feeling of
may and despair with which l
or the impression it produced
, troops when the information
hem.
Echols had not intended to i'm
divulge it. After a brief confer
greed that the news should be con-
possible, from the men until the
and communicated that night
lie brigade and regimental com
We hoped that some plan might
1 which would enable us to hold
IS together until we could learn
icy would be pursued by Mr..
ID whether it would be our duty
or to join General Johnston. But
such a fact when even one man
9 OF it was impossible. Before
included our brief conversation.
from the hum and in the anxious,
we'd crowds near us, the restless
l Of the long column as the whis-
long, the excitement which soon
lost to tumult, that the terrible
l gotten abroad. That night no
t. Strangely as the declaration
sound, there was not one of the
even thousand then gathered ut
sOurg who had entertained the
that such an event could
md doubtless that feeling pervad-
MS of the Confederacy.
'wthat Richmond had fallen. We
the heroic army which had so
'nded Richmond was in retreat.
that it would be nomadic; that its
could no longer be conducted
methods which support regular
nd that everything necessary to
is efficiency was lost. We could
conjecture as to what would be
that the Army Of Northern Viz
Lee ut its head, would ever sur
never entered our minds, There
indescribable CONSERVATION and
which spread like conhagra-
5h the ranks when the thing was
'arcely be imagined by one who
d II similar experience.
: years the people of tho Southern
lived under a separate govern
heir own, and had looked upon
Us constituting a distinct nation
] fact that those four years had
of struggle, danger, and sacri-
ne more intensified their aspira-
POLITICAL separation and independ-
existence.
first may have been with the
he population mere prejudice, as
claimed, or at best but an ideal
The freedom which, in its widest
ans the right of the people of
reign community to control with
ference or restriction their own
I'd grown into an ardent wish for
,nance of the Confederacy and a
to their Southern land which was
Previous attachment to their
!, all the ideas and traditions thy
reared to believe aud cherish, all
ibutes to make up what is wise
, as well as what, in excess, may
in patriotism, was connected III
Dis with the contest in which they
ged and the effort they were max
y We're almost ready to believe
ture hope and life itself depended
eSS.
Who read this-save those who
sentiment-it may seem incredi-
|e Southern people and soldiery
really felt the blow SO keenly. 1
such skeptics to imagine the i'm
that would be produced upon
he conviction that this country,
suddenly subiugated by some
'wer, and was about to be over
permanently occupied by its
d governed by It's agents. The
pected in defeat to be reduced to
a condition. General Lee and
had been SO identified in our
n the Confederate cause that to
! was like taking the heart from
all that night officers and men
gresated in groups and crowds
the news, and it was curious to
ow the training and discipline of
'ldiers We're manifested even amid
leep feeling and wild excitement.
$ not one act of violence, not a
insulting word spoken; the officers
ed with the same respect they had
received. aud although many OF
.ry who lived in that part of Vir-
of that night without leave and
to their homes, none WHO re-
We're insubordinate, or failed. to