The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-04-14

ing of Gen. t. r. r. Cobb by one of his
own soldiers, to which l referred in
recent letter, has called out many denials
of it's truth, only one soldier-who does
not give his name-indorses the statement
that Gen. Cobb did refuse to let his men
fill canteens with water he must have
thought was impure or had been tam
pered with by the enemy. However, they
were soon after given a chance to NIL
them at a pure spring. That writer says
he never heard any soldier threaten TO
shoot the General. One strange thing, to
me, is the fact that no two writers agree
as to where and how Gen. Cobb was Kill
ed, one saying it was by bullet wound
in the knee. But Mr.. John Axtell, of
Fleming, Ga, who was a soldier in the
First New York Cavalry, and for more
than a quarter of a century reader of
the Morning News, gives me the follow
ing narrative, and while many OF Its
features are peculiar, I presume he is
reliable man:
II saw in your letter to the Sunday
Morning News of April 4, statement re-
gardng the death of Gen. T. r. r.
Cobb of Georgia, and / think l can set
you right as to that sad event. In the
fall of 1869 / drove a span of horses and
| carriage from Delaware county, New
York, to Fleming, Ga. On my way
stopped over Sunday at Fredericksburg
with a Mr. Mcdonald, who had recently
purchased the plantation of Mr.. Jonn
| Washington, across the river from that
| city. During the day Mr.. John Wash
| ington Ga grand nephew and then the
| nearest living relative of Gen. George
Washington, and Mr.. Mcdonald and my
| self went over to the city and visited the
| battlefield. At the hotel l was introduced
| to the Mayor and several gentlemen or
| the city, and when they learned that my
destination was Georgia they held short
| private 'confab' Then one of them went
| somewhere and brought back cane cut
! from the limb of a tree. 1t was rather
| crooked and ill-shapen, but had been
marked up the best it could be, and fine
" mounted. There was scar on one
side of it and from the scar it was paint
ed in carmine to represent blood dripping
| down the side. II looked very natural as
resembling a wound. Above the scar
| was this inscription:
1.-The Same Bullet That Wounded Me,
Killed Gen. Z. r. r. Cobb Of Georgia
"They wished me to bring the cane TO
! Georgia and present 1t to the Legislature,
| or to the Governor, as a memorial from
| the citizens of Fredericksburg. / told
| them I could not well do 1t as / was a
| stranger. and an old Union soldier whose
residence would be in South Georgia, far
from Atlanta. They then took me to the
tree under which Gen. COBB was wounded
and I saw the stub of the limb from which
the cane was cut. 1 suppose the cane
was sent later on to Georgia, but never
heard more about It. Certainly Gen.
Cobb was not killed, as some writer's say,
nv a shell, as two or three of the soldiers
who saw him die and knew all about 1t,
showed me where he sat when hit, ex-
planning the event In all its details. so
that 1 might tell his friends Just how
he was killed. AS l never met any OF
those friends here in Georgia, have said
nothing about the matter to them
Under the head of Memorial Day" In
the Morning News Of last Tuesday, sa-
,,.,nnah correspondent, IS. ID. b." says:
Memorial Day is the south's great In
Memoriarn. Sidney Herbert is always
making mistakes, Decoration Day Is
etrlctIy Yankee. / have never heard any
one North or East, call II anything else.
But we Southern people love ana revere
our Memorial Day-Ahi NO. 'Decofatoh
otould never, never do-the SCUM KNOW.
what her memories are our sacred
Memorial Day" As IL usual WIN me
IN these letters. ! snah not NOTICE 80 .
evident sectional ana unchart'ple hg.I.
~ this writer, because ! am sure thal
~ Intelligent and patFiotle feaefi ot ~.
Morning Newa viii indofre ~ but inne'
admit. inst. % ( en- ..hi"stH nlnH'ns -"
/ $500. 70 fhis 81 u. ~. -nfl fln ~ Ills
,.er.ou Boz the world 20 undertake
W 1000 easy task ~ settling ne
t.t., t.,fofs fne public I Hm always Bi4e
- \. connected by intsiiseni people -