The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1903-06-25
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
: "HOMESIDE OF WARTIMES,' in 10 Letters.
Marching Armies and Parole Soldiers, Letter No. 13
Written by ''Virgil,' for The Brandon News.
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have feeling Of relief, and yet fee
sad in parting from you. We have
had, / hope, profitable exercise il
writing and reading these letters. Tt
live in the past is the old mans
pleasure, but to live in the future il
the young mans hope, but let us
live, where and when we may, we
must $50 number our days as to apply
our hearts to wisdom.
Nowsto our subject. There is moth
ing, ordinarily, more grand and inter
esting than to see we'll disciplined
army in uniform and glitte1ing arms.
When drilling or marching they pre-
sent the awful aspect of war, and war
means bloodshed, death and broken
hearts. History is made up, much,
of the warfare of the nations OF the
earth. The first blood shed we know
OF was that of good Abel he was
assassinated by his brother.
So it has been all through the ages.
Sectional strife and feverish ambition
have made this earth vast cemetery !;
mother earth today is setting, Weep
ing, with her dead children in her
bosom, and now, while I am writing
this letter, the low mutterings of
strife and discomfort is being heard in
distant lands. The history of all the
mighty empires and Kingdoms of the
past are written in blood, even our
civilization is the child of contention
and fraternal strife, and was handed
down to us amid1 the smoky vicissi-
tudes of war. Babylon, Nineveh and
Baalbak and the mighty Pyramids of
Egypt if they could speak, would tell
us of ancient glory and military skill,
while the great heroes and rulers like
thh PtolermyandPharoah of Egypt, and
the Caesar Of Rome, Hanabal, and Ma
poleOn, have made the earth quake
with their marshaling armies, but
now all are silent in the grave, and
the monster death holds universal do
main over the sleeping dead. The four
grand monarchies of Scripture have
passed away to give place to other
more modern. The Babylonian, the
Medo- Persian, the Greek and Roman
in quick succession, have passed be-
fore the worlds eyes in panoramic
view. The mind cannot grasp the
number of the tramping armies OF
earth, we can only view them in sec.
tions. We soc one great conqueror
as he stands on an elevated place look
ing down upon one million of brave
men in arms ready for the word oi
command which would put them in
motion to shed blood, and as he viewed
his mighty host, he wept On being
asked why he wept, he replies that in
less than so years all this great host
would be in the grave and eternity.
SO it was, and so it is. Today the
vast armies which fought in the
rebellion, or civil war between the
states, are most of them gone te
that far country from which nc
traveller ever returns,' and ere long
not veteran will be left
to show the wa1marks of the LOST
cause. Where are the powerful armies
of Virginia, Pennsylvania, Kentucky,
Missouri, Georgia and our own dear
old state? Gone, gone, forever gone
from earthly scenes and mortal coil.
Now about ''parole soldiers,'' as
far as this writer is concerned he can
only tell Of the downfall of Vicksburg
and the outcome of the surrender OF
that s'Iebel stronghold. The great
object Of the army under Grant was
the opening up of the Mississippi
river, and capturing the fortified river
posts of Vicksburg and Port Hudson.
EARLY in 1868, Grant moved his
army to the west side of the Missis-
sippi, and took position at Milliken'
Bend, few miles north of Vicksburg.
A great deal of time was spent in Feb
ruary and March in trying to take
Vicksburg, at least the Yankees rur
their transports pass the Vicksbure
batteries, while the main army passed
down the river and cross Oh the trans.
port at Grand Gulf, and came up the
river and attacked Vicksburg from The
rear, or east. The siege lasted siz
weeks, and when Pemberton found
that he was not to receive reinforce-
ments from Gen. J. e. Johnston, he
capitulated July the 4th, 1868 with
27,O0O prisoners, the prisoners were
paroled and sent east, and sswoe un,
to- the country through which they
passed! Think of q, 900 hungry sol
diers turned loose on helpless coun
| try. The locust Of Egypt was not {
circumstance to them; they swepl
| everything before them. The home
where this scribe saw them pass Gate
was literally stripped. We gave then
to eat everything We could rake ant