The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1897-08-24

thought possible that these things
might attract the attention of .sral,lcrs."
After the battle, when stragglers,
searching for hidden treasure, sounded
every foot of land around our house
and outbuildinyss, the jar escaped,
owing to General Custer having used
the shed for a stable.
On that memorable I'd of april, Mr..
Turnbull anne down about sunrise with
the intelligence that "Gcncral Lee had
gone to the front, and there would be
heavy lighting" Later my father
walked over to headquarters, aud 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 head he had
been killed. There has always seemed
Il peculiar pathos about HIPS death,
he had bravcd so many dangers sue
cessfully, only to fall a victim a 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
General, do you think the reinforce
itINltc VIII w IlSlS lIOlti ltlSllllIo1lu III
time to restore the lines ?"
"No, sir"
"Thcn you will have TO give us up 2"
eyes, sir" and he added "Giyc
my kind regards to Mrs. n. and the lit
tic girls
There was q. strange atmosphere
about that Sunday. The usual Sabbath
routine was obscrvcd-thc table laid
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
beneath the surface calm a %quivcling
dread was concealed. The inner forti-
from our house, and as morning ad-
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,
the po%tato-ccllar was prepared and
stored with food and other necessarics,
we children toiling up and down the
steep stairway with Il especial treas
urcs, the most precious Of all being a
basket of kittens.
But We were interrupted by several
Confederate officers, who rode up and
told my mother we must leave the
house at once. When she objected,
saying she would rather remain while
the roof was left standing, they replied
that the children must go anyway, and
that there was o a moment to lose.
"Takc those chiidtcn," 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 n wagon and
horses 10 cross the river into Chester
field. He vas arrested, and for sew
crtl days we we've uncertain rs TO his
fate, and he thought we had been kill
ed. But we were guarded by the shield
of Providence that day, else had we
been "killcd twenty timcs,n 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 a housckccpcr's instinct
sCiziEg her kcy-baskct, in her excite.
mcnt not realizing hat in a few hours
nothing would remain-ncither locks
nor anything to be locked. We reach
ed 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 sem me a mes
sage some time since that he distinctly
recalled the occasion. The day was
spent in the deserted soldiers camp in
Chesterfield, ard at sunset we rccrnss-
cd the river on Campbcll's bridge, and
spent the night with friends in Peters
burg. War develops nerve and en-
durancc. Not a child dreamed of COM
planning, though our shoes had been
cut 10 pieces in the scramble through
bricrs and ovcr 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 bust 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. He appealed to the one
who seemed in command, asking HIM
to protect the house, saying that we
had been driven away by the battle
the day before and had no other shell
ter. "Ccrtainly, sir" was the reply,
"your house shall not be burned while
we are here; but we have to leave at
once, and the Lord only knows what
will become of you then" We always
found the Federal officers extremely
courteous, and, in some instances,
kindness itself; the outragcs and pillag-
ing were the work of the Struggling
soldiers and camp-followcrs. A few
days later n of these stragglcrs was
discovered in the act of firing the
house, anil was driven off by a Federal
officer, who most opportuncly rode up
just in time.
We found dcsolation utter and COM.
plctc within and without. Cannon
had been planted at the parlor win
dows and ncal the door were new-madc
graves, where the dead had been hast
lily buried. The house had been used
fora hospital, and the floors were slip
perry with blood and grease. Not a
vestigc of cloth remained, or. rather,
only unusablc morsels and fragments
were left. Everything movable had
been carried off, and the heavy furni.
turc broken. We pulled open a bu-
reau-drawcr, and there lay our beloved
| Gtttnnn ,,.tI Il.. "