The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1891-07-10

iron slabs, one of which contains these

iron slabs, one of which contains these
lines:
"The muffied drums sad roll has beat
Tho soldiers last tattoo;
No more on life's parade shall meet
The brave and fallen few"
The other slab contains this legend:
Known 1929. Unknown 236l." All
were union soldiers, except four wo-
men, who lie buried under some beau
tiful eVergreens on the outside line of
graves. These herOines lost their lives
by disease while attending tho wounded
War Department has refused % put
head sLon, y over their graves.
Beautiful AS this cemetery is by day
light, it has a solemnly weird look by
night. The dark 81 cen grass and ever
green's cOntraSted with the innumer-
lated to make tho visitor, if she is SUI
perstitiOus, think of specters and
ghosts.
One of the boats on the river has a
mate, a large powerful man, whom
neither threats nor entreaties can in
tremblingly rel.tes how one dark
night, he saw several soldiers, in full
uniform, come aboard the boat and dis
appear over the bow. He also strongly
spirit soldiers drill on the brink of the
bluff, and to have heard the hollow,
solemn NO cos of the officers giving
commands.
Mr.. John Dady, of the Fourteenth
Illinois Infantry, was one of our party /;
naturally enough, the first thing he
wanted TO see was his own old camp
ing ground, which he found without
much trouble, for almost all the old
camps are very easily found. There, in
front of his OLD quarters, is the old cot
ton-field where they drilled and met on
dress parade. Still plainly to be seen
was their company well, now still two
feet deer. PlaInlyi visible are the Gil
cles of their SibIey tents, with here and
there a tent-pin remaining. We read =
ly found the camps of LO5an's, Prem
tiss' and Sherman's divisions, but the
decayed debris of the army has about
all been carried off by the relic hunters.
The field where Grant reviewed the
now in cultivation and owned by Mr..
Walker, we believes; not far from this
plantation stands the stump of the tree
under which General Albert Sidney
Johnson died, Some one has planted
an evergreen there to mark the spot,
Near the site of the old Shiloh
Church, we were shown one of the most
remarkable landmarks of this historic
field. 1t is the grave OF Confederate
Major whom his comrades buried I'M
der beautiful Oak-tree, then about
eighteen inches in diameter. A round
place was cut smooth on the face of the
tree, and engraved was the inscription,
f'r. Ii. Monroe, e.. S. A., killed April 9th
1862" The tree has since then grown
in thickness fully six inches, and the
bark has swelled out and healed so as
to leave only an aperture of DO 1t sevt n
inches IN diameter, through which the
inscription is plainly visible.
Immense amounts of lead and iron
have been gathered on the field. In
1888, one merchant shipped over 5000
pounds of old bullets, and the farmers,
thereahouts, put in great deal OF time
gathering lead in those days. One day,
shortly before our arrival, some chill
dren found an unexploded shell which
they threw into "A pile of burning brush.
While away at dinner, the shell eX-
pIOded, after being buried twenty-nine
years. In our search for relics, we
avoided anything looking like an unox-
plOded shell as we would the pest;
The large trees that were so badly
Scared by shot and shell, still bear the
marks very plainly, but the small sap
lings were all killed and new growth
appeared instead. We brought back
some fine pieces of lakewood, each con-
tanning a mimic ball, bHt they are so
deeply Undecided in the trees they are
hard to get out.
The road cut into the bluff by RuelI's
forces on Sunday night, is still in good
shape, although never used, Even the
IndentatiOns made by the steamers in
landing can he seen in the tough clay
bank. Near the top of the hill, on the
Buell. road, stand Il number of splendid
beach trees, cut all over with the names
of soldiers. We plainly read the follow
ing: go. +. Smith, Company D., Twenty
fourth Missouri Infantry, 1862; A. j..
Plummer, Il. DOnahOe, w. L. Dean,
Sixth Louisiana, 1861"
The old Shiloh Church was torn down
sev eral years ago, and a neat frame
I,.I,, h.afl ffc NIL 10
to say that relic hunters have carried off
every vestige of the old one. The new
church is owned by the Southern NJ.
K. Church. but, to keep matters even,
the old (nOrthern) methOdists have
erected q church within a half-mile of
the former. We quaffed long, strong
draugLt from the old Shiloh s )ring, and
sitting on a stump noar its brink, we
tried to discern in the ground the
various deeply beaten paths that once
hear the footballs of the soldiers COM
ing for W iter; but the p tbs ar | ObliteIr
ated, and the only sound which greeted
our ears was the creaking of an ap-
preaching cottOn-wagOn on its way to
the landing. ShilOh!-name instinct
with so many tears, with so much
me urningl Our visit there will be for
gotten never, for those stFOlls seemed
veIitable strolls through the world of
memory.
Bro. Patty filled his appointment as
usual Sunday morning, and, at night
we ad very interesting song service {.
The ice cream supper in the yard
the n ethodist Church Friday night, fer
the b, nefit of our parsonage, was SOM
thing of a success, SIS being made clear
of all expenses. Columbia and Gull
leoka can be pitted against any two
places in the union-One for dances, the
other for church entertainments. Our
young men threaten to make strike,
but our pastor, backed by some of the
ladies, say he is going to have "festi
Val' every week or two, to prevent the
boys from growing miserlY,
DIR. Hughes and little Burke Wilkes
have been quite sick.
Mrs. Bette Hewlett has about res
covered from her recent attack of ILL
ness.
Mrs. Williamson and Misses Maggie
Howlet and LOutie Tonlinson have re-
turned from the Ladies Missionary
Conference at Lebanon. They report a
charming time.
Misses Della and Bessie Erwin, who
have been visiting Mrs. DIR. Smiser,
have returned to Nashville.
Miss Della Calvert, of Campbellsville,
Tom PEBBLES, Of GAINESVILLE, and Sim
Wall, of Franklin, are our visitors at
this time.
other matters could be written about,
but we refrain from saying more now.
We wish to thank "Athene," Mt.
Peasants fair corr respondent, for kind
ly remembrances of "Verna," and to
our friend HRarhara," we exclaim, no,
indeed, you mustn't think You can get
off so easily!. You must, at leastI
"divide tinieF with me, though prefeT
handing over the TABOR to you for good.
find ltno task to send in items weekly,
but lind 1t pleasanter when sent by
some other pen than mine own ia
hint to the wise Is sufficient"
Kindest greetings tn our Herald |
friendsl Ever and cordially yours, |
VEaNA YfkLtEnS.