The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1889-12-04
MR.. PEABoDY's STORY.


full:
MR.. PEABoDY's STORY.
Old soldiers will readily recall that
during the month of March, 1865, there
was begun forward march of all the
Union armies and forces on the yet bold
and defiant Confederacy. The silent
man, Gen. Grant, now of holy memory
was Tightening the grip around doomed
Richmond. Gen. Sherman, in many ele-
ments the most brilliant general Of our
armies, was pushing his way northward
after the "grand march to the sea" !"
Victorious "Pap" Thomas, now with
those who nobly died, with Kentucky,
Tennessee and Northern Georgia all his,
subsequent to the annihilation of Hoods
army at Nashville, and other combina-
tions made for general pushing Of
things at the front. With all this, our
soldiers, brave and grim, thrilled with
feeling and consciousness that four long
years, of terrible REQ war was nearing an
end, and that peace was near in the
future.
On the twenty-second day of March,
1865, the cavalry corps Of the Military
Division of the Mississippi, commanded
by Major General Wilson, numbering
some l2, 500 men, broke camp at and
around .Gravelly Springs, Ala, near the
Tennesse line, and crossing the Tennes-
see river, struck out southwark for Sci
ma, Ala. situated on the north bank of
the Alabama river.
After several days Of rapid marches
and heavy skirmishes down through the
Monticello, Birmingham and Black War
rior river sections, on the second
day of april, 1865, our forces reached
Selma, which was being defended by
Gen. Forrest and force of experienced
Confederates. Col. R. H. G. Minty, of
the Fourth Michigan Cavalry, of which
I was member, was in command of the
Second Division, under orders of Gen.
Wilson. Col. Minty dismounted his
whole division, consisting of the Fourth
| Michigan Cavalry, Seventh Pennsylva-
MIA Cavalry and Fourth Ohio Cavalry
iu one brigade, aud Wilder's or Bliller's
splendid brigade of mounted infantry,
and forming them in line charged the
earthworks, and short but terrible bat
tie eDsued. A hail of leaden bullets
poured over the foftifcation from the
seven-shooters, Spencer carbines and
rifles, with which our division was
armed, and soon Selma, with all its
foundries, rolling mills, armaments, sup
plies, and very extensive arsenal, and
400 prisoners was ours.
! Among the prisoners captured here
was Samuel Xennard, now one of our
foremost citizens and the president of
the great Exposition. Sam" was then
dashing ''rebel'' artillery lieutenant,
and foremost among Selma's defenders.
Whenever we meet here in St. Louis we
recall the scenes of those days, and
with US the Blue and the Gray frster.
nize, and a:e glad the war is over and
its red pillows calmed in peace.
On the ninth of April we left Selma
and pushed straight east for Montgom-
cry, Ala, some four days march from
Selma. Montgomery was evacuated by
the Confederate forces withouta a battle.
Here we were in possession of the first
capital of the Confederacy, in which
Mr.. Davis was iDaugurated, and from
which went out a defiance to the United
States. But between that day and the
day of its capture, oh! how sick was
cur whole country of war, carriage and
death. Very many beautiful, well
dressed women lined the sidewalks in
Montgomery, and cheered and sympa-
thized with our prisoners of war, many
of whom were paroled here. Four more
days march eastward, and with another
brilliant fight Columbus, Ca, was ours.
Old Gen. Cobb commanded the enemy
here, AID with his forces not captured
by us he retrested towards Macon, Ca,
four days. march distant eastward.
On the twentieth day of April we
reached Macon, and after short parley
the Confederate army under Gen. Cobb
surrendered to the "Yanks." All of
this four weeks We had no news from
our other armies, and knew nothing of
the momentous events happening else
where. Remember, this was on the
twentieth of April. and on this day We
first learned that Richmond was, on the
night of the second, evacuated; that
Gen. Lee and his army had on the ninth
surrendered to Grant and Sheridan, and
the Grand Army of the Potomac, which
helped to make them great, and oh! so
sad and sorrowful to hear, that Abra-
ham Lincoln, our noble President, had
been foully assassinated on the four.
teenth of April, and just when the sun
light OF peace had begun to lift the
clouds from over our sorely distracted
country.
Our cavalry corps went into camp in
and around Macon, and in the early part
of May it was learned that Jefferson
Davis, President of the Confederate
States, was fleeing for Texas TO join Gen.
Kirby Smith, there to try and re-estab-
iisn the Confederacy. Orders were at
Dnce issued by Gen. Wilson for his cap
ture. The First Wisconsin Cavalry was
ordered out on the north or east bank of
the Ocmulgee river, and Col. Minty or
dered out his old regiment, the Fourth
Michigan Cavalry, down the south or
west side of the same river, with instruc-
tons to intercept and capture Mr.. Davis
and the party with him. At AbbeVille,
seventy miles south of Macon, it was
learned that Dayis's fleeing party had
here crossed the ferry over the Ocmul-
gee, and were moving southwark toward
Irwinsville, Ca, thirty miles below and
one hundred miles south of Macon.
Lieutenant General Pritcha-d, in COM
mand of the Fourth Michigan Cavalry,
marched the regiment rapidly down the
river road. and after thirty-mile ride,
reached Irwinsville late in the night, and
learned that he had gotten in advance of
the Davis party. Early on the morning
of the tenth of May nc charged into the
camp of the Fleeing CoDfederacy," and