The National tribune., 1889-05-23
TWO OF A KIND.
How Two Mabrys Met in Andersonrille PrIsol

EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: Your corre-
| spondent Comrade A. W. Edwards, of Fargo
| OAK, gives in a recent number of your paper
very interesting account of the Ist Ala. Cav
and its members. Among the many names
mentioned I looked in vain for one, my old
/ friend, James Patrick Mabry He was the
/ only one of the regiment that ever met, and
| if the rest were of the same stanch character,
| it must have been body of picked men.
! He was captured, believe, on the march of
! Sherman's army southward to Atlanta, and
taken to Andersonville Prison, Ga. 1t was in
! that terrible place that l met him, and knew
| him intimately during the Winter Of 1865.
! He was a native of East Tennessee, a royal
! good fellow, full of pluck and endurance and
| thoroughly imbued with Union principles
Even in that terrible stockade, where disease
! reigued unobstructed and where the strongest
! felt that death was only question of time. he
was stout hearted, cool and unfinching, as if
! he knew how TO battle the approaches of the
| grim harvester who gathered his sheaves OH
every side.
! He was one of the few Southern men who
! had the ready wit and inventive talent which
! we universally ascribe to the Yankee. He was
tall, we'll built, and about 80 years old To
! what company he belonged | do not remember,
| bat certainly some of his comrades must recol-
lect him; more particularly those from the
! South.
! To while away the idleness of prison life and
| from the horns of cattle, obtained by ways
| with which prisoners were familiar from out
| side of the stockade. OF fine tooth combs or
coarse or the combination trap, he always had
a stock of all sorts of his own manufacture;
and he had no competition.
His tools were primitive consisting mainly
| of thin laded case-Lnife notched like saw,
/ pocket-knife, with pieces of wood, between
which he fastened the plate of horn while he
laboriously sawed out the teeth by hand. He
| first cut the horns into oblong strips with his
! pocket-knfe applied heat to each piece until
it uncurled and became straight and flat, and
then placing it i'll the wooden clamps, he used
the case knife saw TO make the teeth working
with patience and persistency which secured
I him praise from the crowd of ragged comrades
who looked on, for want of other means of
amusement.
The combs when complete would bring 25
cents each greenback or 81 Confed, and they
were disposed of generally to the rebel guards
| by process similar to that by which he pro-
cured his horns. 1t was reported that Mabry's
trade was under special protection of the Con-
| federate authorities because, as one rebel was
heard to admit, fine-tooth combs were a
Reedcessity to people in the South" Mabry
could make about four combs a week when he
could get horns promptly, and this number
never overstocked the market.
! have often pondeTed over little incident
/ which occurred in Andersonville Prison during
the Winter of 1SG4,'5. Mabry and l were
walking about the prison, talking, as usual
| about exchange, of which plentiful rumors had
| just come in by grapevine telegraph, when I
pronounced his name so distinctly that the
guard perched 90 feet above us on the stock
ade, heard me- He called out, Hello Yank J;
is your name Mabry2"
/ We were both surprised for the guards were
| forbidden to speak to US or we to them, under
the rules promulgated by Capt. Wirz, but Mabry
said:
Yes, Johnny, my name is Mabry; 1st Ala.
Cav, U1aiop," the last word emphasized, for
! there was Confederate 1st Ala, with which
| he had not the least desire to be associated
My name is Mabry, too; Pm in the Sd Ga.
militia here. It's odd VIC both have the same
name What might your first name be?"
My first name is James, said the prisoner.
III be hanged if my first name isn't James,
| too" said the guard.
rs it possible" said my friend, "your
name is James Mabry? Have you any middle
! name?"
Eyes, / have, and proud Of it, too. Ny full
name is James Patrick Mabry," said the guard.
Good gracious +" said the prisoner, that's
my name to a dot: James Patrick Mabry. We
are different men, that's certain but we must
! be some kin. reckon"
. was named James Patrick for my grand
! father, who lived in East Tennessee" said the
guard.
And I was named for my grandfather,
l James Patrick, who lived and died in East Ten
! hesSee."
| TO me, an amazed listener, this was a pecu-
liar incident and full of lively interest. l
| looked at the stalwart Alabama cavalryman :;
/ tall, road-shouldered and light haired and
/ then at the Sd militaman, about as tall, but
| lanker OF darker complexion, with black hair
| but could see no resemblance. Yet each was
named after mutual grandfather. One was
/ thnH in aH lI Ia
ragged with constant wear in prison life; the
| other IN strong and new suit of homemade cot
/ ton cloth, tinged butternut color, and deeked
| with wooden buttons. No likeness there One
was soldier of the United States the other
| one OF the Georgia militia, which Gov. Brown
had SO much contention about to keep from
| Confederate control
| More striking than all else one was a pris-
oner OF war III the hands of enemies subject to
all the abuse and privationS Of such condi-
| ton, while the other. with musket in hand,
was guarding the prison and assisting to exc
| cute the stern DEGREES of military power upon
| its helpless inmates. There was no resem blance
IN their personal appearance, clothing or stu
alton; in fact, marked contrast throughout.
Yet their names were Identical and they were
| OF the same ancestry.
During these engrossing reflections of mine
their conversation had been continued. They
| had traced each others lineage by mutual ques-
| tlOu duu answer, ana IOunu lnaG tney were, IN
| fact, first cousins. The details of unces aunts
cousins and kin of various degrees, with occa-
sional EXPLANATIONS of astonishment or corrob-
Grafton, spun out their conversation to great
length and in minuteness not now remem-
! bercd
But there were two Mabrys-one on guard,
the other in the prison-pen; one Union, the
other Confederate-each with the same name,
and they were cousins.
How many more interviews they had I can
not say, but my belief is that my Mabry laid
the foundation for obtaining a more regular
supply of horns and better market for his
combs and devoted himself with greater in
| dustry than ever to their manufacture.
He lived to be discharged from the prison in
| March, 1865, and if any reader of THE Ma
TIoNAL TRIBUNE can give me his present ad-
| dress, it would be a great favor to NEIL. B.
TURRILL, Co. K, I'D Ohio, Cincinnati, o.
Actions Speak Louder Than Words