Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1902-08-28

down I would get permission from my
captain. and I'm "A or IS hours I would
have made the exchange and was back
10 my command. My first mount was a
fine sorrel mare. well bred and well suit
ed for the cavalry service, except at times.
when she became unmanagable, taking
these. periodical spells and persisting In
going just I'm the opposite direction from
which I wanted 10 go, and you can well
understand that that was not pleasant
experience with cavalryman, especially
when I'm close proximity TO the enemy. /
was having some trouble with her on one
occasion when under fire. General Mum
ford passed me I'm a gallop, and. check
ing up his horse. said: BE quiet with
her. corporal: treat her kindly. and she
viii 60" 1 soon traded her of. had pur-
chased her Of Mr.. James B. Newman OF
Barboursville. Orange county va. lie
was a wealthy planter and raised great
many fine blooded horses, and. think,
furnished TO General 'Jeb' Stuart that
beautiful stallion. 'Skylark." that was
lost on the Chambersburg raid. His negro
man got drunk. laid down and went to
sleep. when some one stole the morse L
spent the night at Mr.. Newman's with MS
son. Barbour, on the night OF the patue
OF Slaughter's Mountain. Culpepper coun-
~ Va. and witnessed from the top Of
the veranda Of house the pyrotechnic dis
play Of bursting shells from Stonewall
Jackson's cannon, as Pope was rapidly
driven back from his onward march 70
Richmond. IL was in the spring OF 1865
that Fitz Lees brigade was camped on
the Wallack place near Cuipepper court
house Virginia. Our camp was in beau-
tiful piece OF woods with clear streams on
either side. When left camp for nome 1
found that the horse 1 intended TO ride
lack was not in n condition TO be rlooen,
and hence my father suggested that l
7 Cntn
one 1 thought would suit me best. Inc
NEXT morning 1 started back for camp,
when on arriving in the neighborhood OF
Madison courthouse, and while ridins
Quietly along the road a Wild turkey
fuu1ped from the fence down into the
main road and stopped. was In ABOUT %
yards Of him. / quickly refined IN my
horse. pulled my carbine from the boot
on the SADDLE, pushed in cartridge. rals-
ed Il to my shoulder and fired. HAD II
been an eruption Of Mt. Pelee this morse
could not have been more frightened. lie
wheeled with me and tried to run, Dut
I soon checked him up and rode BACK 70
where the turkey was lying In the rOao
with a bullet hole through his head. In
ottemnting 70 dismount from my horse
nv foot caught under the leather covering
Of the big cavalry stirup. At that instant
the turkey Topped his wings In its dying
throes. frightening my horse ana causing
him TO wheel suddenly with me- In the
next instant he would have dragged me
to death, but. fortunately, kept my holu
on the reins and my hand In MS NAME
and with a mighty effort sprang into the
saddle again. saving myself from a norIl-
HE death. Was that not a CLOSE callF
Ngv relation. DR.. Alfred Taliaferro, lived
about a mile distant from our camp near
Culpepper courthouse. 1 took my 'turkey
10 Mrs Taliaferro. who had II sWeeuy
cooked and daintily served, and with corn
bread she sent IL 10 camp on the next
day. that being Thanksgiving day. You
can imagine how we enjoyed IL, with that
keen appetite that belongs TO soldier.
In nv company were two Mexican war
veterans, Captain w. Morgan Strother and
George l. Rivercomb, the latter enistlns
in 1851. and was I'm a short time honoraoly
discharged. on account OF wounds receiv-
ed in battle and afterwards enlisted I'M
der the banner of Colonel John S. Nose
lev. and was made corporal Of company Il,
IN that famous battalion. The Carpenter
family were very numerous In Madison
county, and we had at one time as mem
bers Of the company as many as ten OF
twelve. They made good soldiers, the ma
iority of them being killed or wounded
during the war. That reminds me that
one OF the most daring Of the boys pre-
fered 10 Join Mosby and his dashing
rangers His name was T. A. Carpenter,
OF company F. In a fight on November
1854, near wildwood. Va, between Mos
Sy's command and the Fourteenth Penn
sylvanfa cavalry, he was captured and on
his way back TO camp with his captors
they met the adjutant of the First West
Virginia cavalry (FederaD, who said: rs
that one OF Mosby's men?" The Pennsyl-
vanian said that IL was: You must not
take any OF them prisoners of war" said
the adjutnnt and drawing HIS revolver
shot the prisoner dead. A cold blooded
murderi A tale was told some time ago
by Judge Pennypacl1er. of Philadelphia, in
which he stated that in 1854 Sheridan, I'M
der orders. burned every barn from the
valley above Staunton, Va, TO a certain
point below Winchester; a band of angry
rebels followed this raid watching for a
chance 20 pick up any stragglers. Among
others who fell into their hands was lit
tie Pennsylvania Dutchman who quietly
turned 10 his captors and inquired:
''Vat you fellows going to do NIT me?"
The reply came short and sharp:
Hang YOU" "Veel," he said meekly.
vatever is de rule" His good natured re-
ply threw the Confederates into a roar of
laughter and saved his life. 1 witnessed,
as I have already stated In a previous
letter TO The Journal, the execution OF
several Federals for barn burning I'm the
valley during the fall OF 1854. Our young
people must not be taught to disregard
facts concerning the civil war as they
are brought out by her own people.
do not wish to bring before the public the
narrowing scenes of the war for the pur-
pose OF stirring up strife OF hard feel
ings between the two sections. All we
desire is justice and fair play. These are
historical facts and unless our people are
taught these truths II is natural to sup
pose that they can not know what sac
rifice was made by the great mass OF
southern people during the gigantic strug-
gle of the sixties. A great many leaders
on the Confederate. side were Christian
gentlemen. intelligent and steadfast in
their faith; this country has not produced
greater men. They were not traitors, as
has boen declared of President Davis by
the head OF the great government; why
Roosevelt should stoop so low as to defame
the character Of such a pure man, can
not understand. We take the following
from the last months number OF the Con-
federate Veteran. A Miss Sue Allen,
school teacher. OF Louisville, KY, tried
to make a little Miss Laura Gait sing.
Marching Through Georgia." but the lit
tie girl, true to her southern teachings
and instincts not only refused to sing. but
put her fingers into her ears and would
not listen to the song. She states that her
teacher refused to listen 10 the essays
IN which she gave the Confederates credit
for bravery on land and sea. No country
can engage IN war without having out
for the worst element of the human race
s.g I'll