The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-06-10


scenes upon these fields Facing the west.
and almost erased in parts, Is carved the
following I'm Memory of the Patriots Who
Fell at Groveton, Aug. p, % and 80. 1852.
Living at the Dogan house. which has
been partially rebuilt since the war, are
Mrs. M. E. Dogan, her three daughters.
and her father, Amos Benson. an ex-Con-
federate soldier. BY the house stands the
old barn, patched here and there, where in
the battle Of 1862. the shells tore great holes
through its sides.
GARDEN BORDER OF RELICS.
In front of the house are two little flower
gardens, and around these, rusty and cor
roded with age. are borders constructed of
numerous cannon projectiles which have
been plowed up in the fields. Among these
odd decorations are shell cases of various
bores and shapes. among which long shrap-
mel cases which have failed to explode, are
prominent. Dozens of round shot and
spherical shells from Misunderstanding pieces
line the garden walk and form a mute IL
lustration of the iron hail which swept
across these hills
Hardly day passes but what we are
reminded OF the war;" said Farmer Ben
son. '1t was about three days ago, reck-
on, when 1 was using the crosscut saw
with one of my men on a big log. The saw
hit something hard and we had to split the
WOOL Inside we IOunQ the piece OF an eA-
ploded shell case. The tree had grown over
1T and there were no marks on the out
side
All through this peaceful countryside the
spirit of the South still reigns supreme.
Far from being a spirit of retaliation for a
lost cause, 1T consists of a quiet love and
veneration for things that are gone. The
country people of Virginia, living on the
land where armies have swept back and
forth destroying their homes, revere every
foot of soil on which they fought, and
never tire telling the tales Of war.
Two years ago." said an old soldier of
the ''other side" living near Bull Run,
the Grand Army of the Republic vets
came out yere visit Twas bot fo'
o'clock in the afternoon when they came.
They were marchin'. ] yere a bugle call
come afoatin' over the hills by Henry's,
and. sir, it made my blood Jingle powerful
hard"
This same old soldier went on to tell
with great delight how he had escorted the
Grand Army of Republic vets" over the
field And they'd say" he exclaimed,
yere's whar We made that dev'lish charge
and drove em back; and then I'd say, and
thar's the road whar we drove you back.
Mebbe you'd like TO walk along ii to the
Run, for the las time you went that thar
way you didn't have much time to see the
scenery / reckon And they'd say: No. l
guess We'll go up to the top of the HILL
thaf's whar we sent you rebs SIXTEEN
Then show EN- where We captured ten Of
their guns, and they'd say, Twas right
yonder whar came powerful near endin'
the fight. But says I, wizard all you
people go to-? Our regiment left the field
in good order they'd say
Between this field and the scene of Get
tysburgs three bloody days there is vast
difference. The latter struggle. vastly bene-
ficial to the Union, is marked by the Get
tysburg National Park. where costly monu-
ments rise everywhere on cultivated
ground. And yet, Bull Rum" with its
rough stone shafts. is of greater fascina-
ton TO many veterans. for here occurred
the first great struggle in those stirring
days of war.