Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1895-05-21
SWORD OF STRETGHT. HEROIC INCIDENT OF THE WAR RE-
 CALLED BY A RECENT DEATH.

and by Him Presented to General John 0. .BrecLinridge-Its Subsequent History.
 The death of Major Charles l.. Mar tin occurred at Huntsville, Ala, only 8 few days ago in the old family mansion. On the wall inside that house there hangs relic of the war that tells an eloquent story of the past and speaks of the gallantry of the dead. It is the sword of Streight
 A veteran of the Army of Tennessee, reading of the death of Major Martin, tells this story of his career and of the sword of Streight !"
 In the early days of 1861, when the pride and chiyahy of the south rushed to arms, young Martin was among the first to gird on his armor and march with the ever memorable Fourth Ala bama regiment, under command of it's colonel, Egbert Jones, to the seat of war in Virginia.
 After the first battle of Manassas he was stricken with typhoid fever and sent home upon sick furlough.
 After the fall of Forts Henry and Donelson the Confederate armies on duty i'll Kentucky and Tennessee fell back on the line of the Memphis and Charleston railroad, preparatory to making a stand at Corinth The division which was commanded by General John C. Breck- inridge passed south to Huntsville, Ala. where he made temporary sojourn of several days duration.
 By invitation, the general made the residence of young Martins father his headquarters, and it was during this visit he became acquainted with the boy soldier and formed an attachment for him which ripened into warm friend ship. The general insisted upon young Martin attaching himself to his personal staff. His first staff duty was on the field of Shiloh, and subsequently, he was i'll each and every one of those fierce en- agreements in which that renowned son of Kentucky participated.
 T remember with perfect clearness hearing General Breckinridge remark, on the night after the terrible carnage of Friday evening at Murfreesboro, in speaking of incidents of the engagement:
 The young man standing yonder is the most fearless man I ever saw, and he pointed to young Martin.
 "When the Federal Colonel Streight made his memorable and disastrous raid into northwest Georgia and met the fa- nous Confederate General Bedford For rest, who at that time had with him only handful of wornout men and exhaust ed horses, he was outgeneraled, and by a well planned and executed ruse de guerre made to surrender his immense army to Forrest This was one of the most brilliant exploits that took place during the entire war, and it made the name of Forrest doubly famous.
 'On the occasion of the surrender Colonel Streight presented to General Forrest his magnificent cavalry saber, which Forrest afterward presented to General Breckinridge. This sword was worn by General Breckinridge from the time when it was presented by Forrest during the entire campaign toward At. lanta until he was relieved of duty as corps commander and called to Rich mond to assume the portfolio of war.
 When the time came for his depar- ture, he summoned his staff around him, and after few pleasant words of cheer ful advice he bade them an affeetionate farewell. Turning to young Martin, he said: Charles, my son, 1 place this sword i'll your keeping. I know you will never dishonor it. With this he clasped the belt around the young soldier 8 waist. That sword was the one which Streight surrendered to Forrest, that Forrest presented to Breckinridge, and that Breckinridge intrusted to the man who he felt assured would never dis honor it.
 Transferred to the staff of General (now Senator) w. B. Bate, young Mar tin flashed that bright blade on more than one bloody field before he was shot through the knee joint in front of Jones' boro.
 The scene was now closing, the Con- federacy, outnumbered and exhausted, was nearing an end, and that was the last field on which the sword of Streight' was ever drawn The gallant boy to whom his chief had intrusted it had been carried to a field hospital, and after the war was over he was carried to his home at Huntsville, cripple up- on crutches, but he still had with him the sword of Streight' He had been true to the charge of his chief--he had | never dishonored it. Louisville Cou- rier-Journal