The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1897-08-26

| 1uncS WcrC growing .uuFQcr cVeTy
day, and economies becoming more
ligd. My mother sent General Leo q
bowl of soup one day, and in his mos
sage Of thanks ho told her that ssncver
was dish more timely had three gem
erals to dine with me TO-. day, and only
baked beans to set before them."
We lived surrounded by tho sights
and sounds of war, and we children
drilled as soldiers and made miniature
Notifications. Every day tho end was
drawing nearer, though at tho last it
came suddenly, and found .ls quite un-
prepared. Had we forcsccn, much
could hive been saved but no one
thought OF personal danger, or Of our
being forced to leave tho house. A iar
of silver and family miniatures was
buried in n wood-sllcd, and box of
china and glass was concealed beneath
the roof of the porch, because it was
thought possible that these things
might attract the attention OF "ranlcrs."
After tho battle, when stragglcrs,
searching for hidden treasure, sounded
every foot of land around our house
and outbuildingss, the jar escaped,
owing to General Custer having used
tho shed for stable.
On that memorable I'd of April, Mr..
Turnbull came down about sunrise with
tho intelligence that "Gencral Lee had
gone to tho front, and there would be
heavy fighting" Later my father
walked over to headquarters, and while
there General a. p. Hill rode up and
engaged in earnest conversation with
General Lee. Then he rode off, and
in less than an hour we hcald he had
been killed. There has always seemed
u peculiar pathos about IIill's death,
he had bravcd SO many dangers sue
ccssfully, only to fall victim at the
close. My father had never seen the
General in his full uniform before, but
that day he was fully equipped, with
sash and sword. They shook hands,
and father asked
"Gcncral, do you think the reinforce
i. mcnts will be here from Richmond in
time to restore the lines ?''
o "No, SIR"
"Thcn you will have TO give us up %
eyes, sir" and he added "Givc
j. my kind regards to Mrs. N. and the lit
\ tic girls"
;, There was. strange atmosphere
about that Sunday. The usual Sabbat h
routine was obscrvcd-the table laid
I for the dinner we were not destined to
cat, and we little ones looked on with
interest as the cook placed the plump
> fowl OH the dairy shelf ready for cook
ing when the proper time arrived. But
1 beneath the surface calm a quivcl ing
, dread was concealed The inner forti-
lications were only about half q mile
from our house, and as morning adj
vanccd tho firing grew louder and near
: er, and it became apparent that we
would probably need some safe place
, of retreat. After a hasty discussion,
l the potato-ccllar was prepared and
! stored with food and other ncccssarics,
; we children toiling up and down the
L steep stairway with our especial treas
1 urcs, the most precious of all being a
c basket of kittens.
c But VIC were interrupted by several
l Confederate officers, who rodo up and
: told my mother we must leave the
c house at once. When she objected
n saying she would rather ieman while
+ the roof was left standing, they replied
+ that the children must go anyway, and
that there was not a moment to lose.
. "Takc those childIen," they ordered
} the nurse, and she obcyed in such haste
that she let us go bonnctlcss. A few
minutes before, my father had sent my
younger brother with: wagon and
horses 10 cross the river into Chester
field. 1c was arrested, and for scv-
cral days we we've uncertain as to his
fate, ani he thought we had been kill
cd. But we were guarded by the shield
' of Providence that day, else had VIC
been "killcd twenty timcs," for in
!, crossing the open field We were targets
for friends and foes.
1t all seemed like a wild dream, the
, bursting shells and whizzing bullets.
, One shell fell at my sisters feet, and
did not burst. Mother had followed
us first, with q housckccncr's instinct
| soizirg her kcy-baskct, j" her cxt itc.
mcnt not realizing that Iii a few hours
, nothing would rem;>in-ncither locks
nor anything to be locked. We reach
cd the pontoon bridge just as it was be-
ing taken up, and were the last persons
who were allowed to cross, one of the
soldiers carrying me over in his arms.
lie is still living, and sent me mes
sage some time since that he distinctly
recalled the occasion. The day was
spent in the deserted soldiers camp in
Chesterfield, and at sunset we rccruss-
ed the river on Campbell's bridge, and
spent the night with friends in Peters
burg. War develops nerve and en-
dulance. Not a child dreamed of COM
planning, though our shoes had been
cut tO pieces in the scramble through |
bricrs and over stones, and our feet |
were covered with blood and bruises |
On Monday morning we started home
and were just in sight of our house
when The flames bun from the Turn
bull house. My father FASTENED on in
advance, and found several Federal |
officers standing on our porch in the
act Of leaving. lie appealed to the one
who seemed in command, asking him
to protect the house, saying that we