The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1902-10-19
NV Memory Of the War.

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My Memory Of the War.
The portion of Mississippi IN which l
lived was singuIarly free from Federaa
raids or battles while forty-four miles
away In Pontoloe County every incn Oh
ground was fought over and devastated.
one army followed fast on the heels OF
another, till hunger and privations were
the portion of all. My own experience OF
the war was so uneventful that II seems
almost an dmpertinence to give It here.
the only excuse being that our chapter
wishes each member to contribute per-
sonal "reminiscences, that our descendants
may have the history Of the whole Soutn
rather than that of any special or ex-
citing event.
NV first recollection of a changed order
of things was on a cold bright morning
In December, was skipping along by the
side of my grown sister, happy In tine
thought of Christmas ahead when we met
a dignified old gentleman. Judge Wal
lace, who stopped to speak 70 my sister
She asked the news and he answered In
such emphatic disappearing tones: Miss
Sallie, South Carolina has seeded; she
should be taken, whipped like spoft
child and nut back into the Union that
1t was many years before l could look
on South Carolina other than as q naugn-
ty child deserving punishment. The Sc
cession OF Mississippi made less impress
sion on me for 1 can recall nothing about
1t. What did impress me, however, was
the drilling of the troops. The county
court house was beautiful BRICK ouaio-
ing with long colonnades on the four
sides supported by huge columns and
standing in a square of great forest
trees, Our cottage was just across the
| street and when court was not in session
| | spent much of my time playing In the
| beautiful court yard. This sport was in
terrupted by the continuous drilling going
on in the square and l hung on our gate
| watching the maneuvres of the troops.
remember how my heart beat and how
| l laughed when the order came double
quick time, march,, and the soldiers mt
orally bumped themselves. l thought
| no cowardly Yanks could stand against
| such a gallant onrusn.
The first company to leave for Virginia
was the Van Dorm Reserves. the flower
of our young 1.-The pride of the town.
Scarcely a young lady but had a lover in
| this gallant company and the general
| feeling was let but the Van Dorns engage
| the enemy and The war will be over
How eagerly they waited for news! Bat
tie after battle and no mention of our
| brave boys. 1t must have been months
strange to say before they engaged In
battle, while their friends at home strug-
gled with relief that they were still spar
ed and shame that the war could go on
without them. Their first battle was
quickly followed by another and another
until they were decimated and there was
| no longer a company of the flower of
our town. They were cut to pieces and
the few left absorbed into other COM
panies.
| remember the thrill when the ac-
count was read aloud of the battle where
General Bee lost his life and the weep
ing over the words of the gallant hero,
Send for my brave Van Dorns." He it
was who at the battle Of Manassas as
he rallied his men shouted There's
Jackson standing like a stone wall"
From that time" says Draper, ''the
name ne received in a baptism of fire
displaced that he had received in a bap-
tism of water, and he was known as
Stonewall jackson"
1 have no consecutive memory Of events.
The young men drilling in the court yard
were followed by older and older men
and little boys drilled there too. 1t SEEM
ed sport when my little brother had strips
of red flannel sewed down his white
trouser legs TO drill with the boys, but
very sad earnest few years later he
too, marched away TO real battles be
came back in So, a veteran Of eighteen.
My mother died before that trying time
and l went to live with my sister in a
quieter part of the town. The only SOL
diers l saw then were real ones who
passed by the school house, when, dis
cipline forgotten, we rushed out to give
them what flowers or lunch we had and
hear their hearty God bless you little
maids" When flowers were to be had
We regularly took them to school on the
chance of bestowing them on the SOL
diers. Education was sadly neglected.
No new books were to be had and 1 am
still ignorant of that part of arithmetic
which follows the double rule of three,
for it was torn out of my book.
One Friday afternoon l went with my
schoolmate cousins TO their country home
AT breakfast Saturday one Of the SER
wants announced The soldiers are going
by the big gate" How we flew bonn IT.
less ove- the open prairie to the big gate
half a mile away, to get there before the
procession passed by. The young ladies
followed more slowly but not less Gag
erly. A lane, deep in prairie mud,
stretched for three long miles without a
turn and seated on the gate posts we
watched the dear, ragged graycoats
march by, tin we were as tired as they
looked. To US they seemed thousands.
They were the only large body of SOL
diery / saw during the war, and 1 have
no recollection whose command 1t was
Some of the officers seemed acquainted
with the young ladies and the men had
many merry jest for the three white
children and their following of little dar-
kies.
At this country home all sorts of in
dustrdes went on, really pretty cloth was
woven and worn by the members of the
family, and the negroes entirely clothed
from hand made cloth. Those were the
days of balmoral, bright striped wooden
underskirt. In the loom were three grown
balmorals and three shorter ones, only
one uncompleted, an abbreviated affair
intended for my Christmas present. The
weaver assured us 1t would be finished
next day. That night a half dozen rag
ged Confederates came along and the
house of fourteen rooms being already
overcrowded with soldiers and visitors,
the soldiers were put in the loom house
to sleep. When called to breakfast next
morning they were missing, and so were