The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1901-03-06

IA rope halter, anu for a saddle he had
folded blankets. Co!onei Tidwc:l had
= keen sense Of lumor, and made so
many witty remarks about his ludi
crous appearance and his mule, even
before starting, that he kept his fcl
low prisoners and their captors in
almost continual laughter.
When about ready to march, Cen
eral McCook' s aid told me to mount a
mule. l told him it would kill me.
He insisted. ! appealed to the gen
cral. After few questions he order
ed his surgeon whose name was
Green, as | remember it, to examine
me. The surgeon took the bandage
off my wound, felt of my pulse and
said that it would cndangcr my life to
ride with the prisoners. General Nc
Cook gave me parole and badc me
goodby.
| think it is in lnds TO say that
there we're more lead mules in the
borders Of Faycttc County on the
night Of July %, 1864 than were ever
seen within the same space anywhere.
When McCook's troopers got within
five miles of Faycttsvillc that morn
ing before daylight, they came across
the camps Of quartcrmastcrs, head
quarters, baggage trains, etc They
quickly set fire to the wagons, baggage
and stores and to avoid the noise.
killed the mules and horses with their
sabrcs, at least 1000, some reports
say that 1000 Of these innocent useful
animals were put to death that morn
ing; certainly the number was greatly
increased by those killed during the
battle that day. feel that the sur
gcon was exactly right in saying that
it would cndangcr my life to travel
with the prisoners. Outside my weak
condition, there was imincnt deadly
peril to all McCool's prisoners and
troopers for the next few days. Col
oncl Tidwcll said that the Yankees
put him and his white mule and about
lOO other prisoners up as targets, and
both armies shot ut them ti,c better
part of two days and nights, and that
while he knew that his little white
mule had no pride of ancestry, or hope
from posterity, he felt sure that it
had charmed life. 1t had only
escaped the tragedy of the sabres,
but had saved him and most of the
other prisoners from biting the dust
during the battles that ragged 80 fierce
ly all day and night from Bear Creek
and Lovejoy on the cast clear across
the county, to the bloody groupis Of
Shake Rag and Rear Over on the west.
Most of McCook command was killed
or captured and all the prisoners he
had captured were released.
When General McCook's command
marched away toward Lovcjoy that
July morning, they made splendid
appearance, and Notwithstanding so
few of them got away, they had no
cause to be ashamed of their work.
They inflicted vast amount of dam
age on the Confederacy. The shaking
up they had given me did me good.
AS the last one passed out of sight
over the hills toward Glass Mill, l
felt better than l had since being
wounded
A few days after this 1 was SO much
improved that l felt almost ell.
One evening on my way from Colonel
Tidwcll's to Mr. g. f. Bennctt's 8 |
had passed by the court house across
the square and was about opposite the
old academy when rapid muskct firing,
shouting and running horses heraldcd
new dangers. l looked back and saw
five or six Co1federatcs pursued by 10
or 90 Yankees, all coming as fast as
their horses could run. Only two
Confederatcs took the road was on,
but they were two too many. AS they
passed me at breakncck speed they
told me to run. 1 obcycd, but the
Yankees saw me as l jumped over tho
fence into the corn patch. The corn
higher than my head and concealed
me pretty well, but it seemed to me
that at the rate the bullets we're com
ing they would soon cut the corn all
down. decided to make break for
the thick woods just back of tho corn
patch near the cemetery, and was
none too soon, for just as I was
mounting the fence next to the woods
all the Yankees in sight shot at me
and saw about half dozen trying to
head me off from the woods; but got
into the woods and ran back of the