El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-10-06
A GOOD OLD DARKY.
MESSENGER TO THE GOVERNOR
OF SOUTH CAROLINA.
In . Veteran of Three Wars-Does Not
Know His Age-His Experiences a
SoIdier-was a Faithful Slave in Ante
Bellum Days.
columbia Is. c. letter.

columbia Is. c. letter.
William Rose, messenger to the gov
ernor of South Carolina, has a record
that stands alone among the millions
of his race. Now aged and bent, he
is kept in a position of honor and
profit a reward for long years of faith
full service in war and peace. Digni-
fed, but respectful to a degree, this
old fellow, who sits in an arm chair at
the door of the governors Office, re-
ceives a hearty salutation from all who
enter. His name and history are
known to many, while his face is ia
miliar to those who have frequented
the state house al any time during the
last twenty-three years.
veteran of three wars, old Uncle
William wept all last summer when
the company of which he had been the
sole colored member for sixty-five
years marched away to Chickamauga.
He would gladly have gone in any
capacity, but physical infirmities would
not permit
In the great political revolution of
1890 there was but one person the
sweeping tide held sacred, and that was
w
OF the bluest kind, and did not change
his coat. Two years later, when tie
legislature put the knife into salaries,
not one man offered to cut the pay Of
the governors messenger, although it
would have been practicable to have
got the Office filled for half the money
For more than twenty years Rose
has been orderly" in the Richmond
Volunteer Rifle company, one of the
Oldest companies in the state, having
been organized in 1913. He had been
a member OF the company in the capac-
ity of musician since 1884. AS orderly,
he wears non-commissioned officers
stripes, carries a sword and marches in
the file closers-the only negro holding
such position in a white organiza-
ton in the country Rose attends all
company meetings and votes on all
questions. Annually the members
shoot for the Rose medal" presented
the company by the old negro, while
he is proud of walking with heavy
sold-headed cane, suitably engraved,
presented him by the white comrades.
William Rose was slave of a
Charlestonian, who hired out the few
men he owned, and William was al
lowed to choose his own masters. so
that he got the men he liked to hire
him. He does not know how old he is,
and never has mastered the art of
reading, but the first event Of great
Importance to impress him was the
visit OF Lafayette to South Carolina in
1926. William was then. he says, a
young man, between 10 and 20 years Of
age. an apprentice at the carpenters
trade in Columbia. The Light ORA
goons Of this city went to the North |
Carolina state line, where General La
fayette was met and escorted to Co. |
lumbia
All during the stirring times of re- |
construction and afterward when the |
reinS of power were in the hands of |
former slaves Rose never wavered in |
his allegiance to the class he fought |
with in three wars. He won the ha-
tired of negroes in Columbia and his |
life was several times threatened In
the famous Hampton-Chamberlai
campaign of 1876 he was avowed1y a |
Hampton man." and when Governor
Hampton, after the bitter struggle was
over, entered the gubernatorial Office |
he invited Rose to go with him as gov
ernor'S messenger. Each governor
since that time has reappointed Will
liam without hesitation, but last spring
during Governor Ellerbe's illness the
old fellow was in some manner re-
lieved of his post. But he was not
absent long. At the Confederate re-
union in Charleston William was a
prominent figure and there was great
concern at his having been supplanted
in the governors Office. Hundreds of
veterans knew and spoke to him, while
he knew every important parsonage.
on Governor McSweeney's
inauguration strong pressure was
brought to bear for the reappointment