The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1903-01-08


lections of the period subsequent to
the great Civil War known as the
reconstruction days, and in the pre-
paration of such a paper think
short account of the situation
prior to that time and the conditions
that led to that eventful epoch
would be necessary as a context
for paper of this kind.
1t is not the purpose of this paper
to enter into an elaborate discussion
of the causes of that great war, nor
to 90 into details of the battles
fought during its progress; for these
are questions that all readers Of
history are already familiar with
even to the intelligent school child.
rem of this day and time, but only
to give concise and succinct de-
scription of the personnel of the con-
testants on either side and the per-
sonal experience of one who passed
through that awful ordeal, and
though only boy at the time,
have vivid recollection of the
terrible suspense of mothers, wives,
sisters and fathers of the men in
the field after a battle had been
fought to hear the issue and learn
who the dead and wounded are.
History gives an account of the
result of battles and their prohsfbaie:
effect on future geDerattrionns and
the very sudden Changes they often
produce on the/maps Of countries,
but no historian can paint word
PieIInarreerVivid enough to describe
anguish of a mothers heart who has
been bereft of her darling boy. or
the wife with the babe in her arms
who has just received the sad intel
ligence that the husband and father
of her child is numbered with the
dead. These are sorrows that can
only be imagined by those who
have never had similar expe-
rienceS.
In many respects the Civil War
was one of the greatest in the
worlds history, and while the COM
battants were all called Americans,
yet, in appearance, disposition, Gus
toms and sentiment were as dis
similar as it is possible to conceive
OF two armies being.
1t was contest between Puritan
and Cavalier.
The Union army was composed
of the posterity of the Pilgrim OF
Plymoth Rock, the Dutch of New
Amsterdam, or New York, and
Pennsylvania; the quote furnished
by the North Western States was
product of fifty years rapid emigra-
ton from all Europe and formed a
conglomeration of bipeds without
any distinct breed, type or family
characteristics. The Southern was
composed of the posterity of the
English Cavalier, French Hugenots,
a generous admixture of Scoth and
Irish with small percentage OF
German. Emigration to the South
has never been profuse and hence
the posterity of those first settlers
had married and inter-married for
two hundred years, and had, by the
breaking out of the war established
an almost distant type ofpeople of
the purest American blood known.
AS have minated, the Southern
soldiers were easily distinguish
able. They spoke the same lang
uage, with very few exceptions,
their family traits and character
iStics were the same and were the
product of the greatest fighters in
the worlds history from time i'm
memorial, and It's not strange that
these Southern "Spatans' fought
against such fearful odds for four
long weary years.
In this recounting of valorous
deeds, the heroism of the Greek at
Marathon and Thermopoele, the
legions of Julius Cesar at Phar-
salia, the "Old Guard" at Water
loo are always mentioned as among
the most valient deeds of bravery
recorded in the annals of desperate
courage; but as history unfoIds it.
self along the corridors of time there
were deeds of desperate daring per-
formed in our Civil War that had
not been before, and will never be
eclipsed by men who have gone
out to fight the battles of their
country. The Terrorism of the
Greeks at Marathon was not more
pronounced than that of 1.-THE Sixth
Mississippi the "Bloody Sixth" at
Shiloh led by Robert aLowerv, Pat
Henry, aud others whose names
are household words among us.
And neither did the desperate
bravery of the "Old Guard" at
Waterloo led by Marshall New ex-