The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1891-08-27

where there was no railroad and heap
of hiding places, and after the war they
were too poor to get back again, and they
are there yet.
The trouble that now concerns the leg
islature is how to get out of the scrape,
for they have pensioned these widows
s1OO apiece, and it will take half a mil.
lion dollars year to pay it.
Now there are some facts that we do
not have to guess at. For instance we
know that there we're sent from Georgia
to the war
SO regiments of infantry numbering. 900
Is battaions of infantry numbering..."....12,5O 500
II regiments Of cavalry numbering..."..... $50
81 battalionB of cavalry numbering. 200
&C companies of artillery numbering """..". 1890
Making total of.....".......,........... 81, ESQ
These were the original volunteers, and
there we're added to them by recruits,
25.OOo, making total of 117,350. Not
including the home guards.
Now, this is about one.sixth of all the
Confederate army. Georgia showed her
faith by her works.
But what proportion of all the soldiers
still survive is question where guessing
| is in order, but it is record that over 3O,-
900 of them fell or died during the war,
and 4,20O of these died in northern pris-
ons. 1t is probable that 10000 have
since died, and if that be fair guess,
then about one-third of the Confederate
Army still lives. The veterans are pass.
ing away very rapidly now, and We see
before us many old soldiers who will not
attend many more reunions. We have
no pension rolls to tell us from year to
year how many have fallen before the
reaper. 1 believe that pension rolls would
tell us down here, though they do not
seem to show any deaths up north. I
vas talking to DR.. Headen about it yes.
terday, and he said the men who lived on
pensions and the bounty of the govern
ment and had no care or apprehension
about food and clothing, did naturally
live long time. Well, that may account
for their not dying, but how does it &C.
count for the number increasing. They
have now about seven hundred thousand
on the rolls, just about as many as the
Confederacy had soldiers, and their re-
cords say they lost about seven hundred
thousand during the war. Good gracious,
what record. These veterans helped to
do it. They did their full share in
swelling these pensions to Sl60,O00,O0O
for the year 1891. They ought to be
ashamed of themselves for saddling such
a debt upon the country.
But they keep opening the pension
door wider and wider. a man can now
get pension if he can't see rs good or
hear as good or walk as good as he used
to, provided he will swear that he believes
it came about by reason of his service in
the war. The Youths Companion, Of
Boston, told us not long ago about man
applying for pension because he had
recently cut his foot with an az that he
brought home from the army. And
another paper told of soldier who re.
Gently died and had been drawing three
pensions for eleven years. He volunteer
ed as John Tomson, got sick and vas
discharged; got we'll again and hired as
a substitute, and put his name down as
John Thomson, got wounded and dis.
charged, and hired again as substitute
with the name of John Thompson, with
a P. He soon became an invalid and
drew three pensions under three different
names, and they never found it out until
his widow applied and got things mixed
up.
But enough of that. It is all mighty
bad, but the good of it is they have TO
pay more of it than we do, and they are
getting awful tired of it.
Our reunion was Of the survivors of
the Fortieth Georgia, commanded by
Colonel Abda Johnson, and Phillips
Legion, commanded by General William
Phillips. Colonel Johnson is dead, but
General Phillips was present in the flesh,
and looks like he is good for many years
to come. It is said that the Fortieth
Georgia is the only regiment that never
changed its staff officers The legion was
not 80 fortunate. Excepting the general,
the staff vas changed many times. In.
deed, there were six different lieutenant
colonels, four majors and four adjutanls.
I remember that the Eighth Georgia
changed its commander four times, and
that Company a. in the First Georgia
regulars, that went out under Captain 81.
d. D. Twiggs, changed its captain eleven
times during the war. Most of these
changes are marked "k. j. b." killed in
battle, but some are from designations
and some from promotions and some from
transfers. The privates did not change
much. Death was their main chance.
Sometimes the company fought down to
the ragged edge. heard Captain Neel
say yesterday that one company in bis
regiment fought down to one man, and
he had to stack his arms with another
company, for one gun won't stand alone,
This reminded me of Junas-poor faith>
full Jonas-an Israelite, indeed, whom
any town boy could slap around before
the war and he never resented it. But
he joined one Of the Rome companies
and never lost roll call or missed bat
tie or struggled on march. Iremembel
!, that after hard days march C0lone