The Tupelo journal. (Tupelo, Miss.) 1876-1924, 1903-08-28
ARP rs REMINISCENT,
Sage Of Barlow Tells Of Sad Incl.
dent of the War.
Hurried Midnight Retreat with the
Enemy Close at Their Heels
Lost Everything But
Cow.

= Cow.
| Midnight-dark midnight The
heavens had been illuminated with
bursting shells and sky rockets ever
since nightfall, and 1t kept our side Of
the river in alarm. but Gen. French
i was over there with 1000 troops
fresh from Texas, and these, with ole
Joe Johnston's forces at Resaca, could
whip Sherman all to pieces. Every
now and then we sent a messenger
over to Gen. French to know II all
was safe. Would old Joe certainly
fight at Resaca. or would he fire and
fall back?
More and more terrific the bombs
kept bursting and nearer and nearer
and nearer they came, closer to the
roofs of our houses. Another mes
senger was sent to Gen. French.
but he assured us it was all right.
But about midnight the general
sent message that Sherman had
crossed the river and would burn
Rome and the bridges in half an
hour and the troops had orders to
move up the railroad Then came the
tug of war. The artillery had already
reached the crossing and were loading
the cars, with everything in a jam.
The highway of Broad street, from
one bridge to the other, was crowded,
and not soldier could find elbow
room. But still they moved We
had loaded our rockaway with bag
gage and my lovely wife and numer-
GUS children. l walked along outside
in silence to keep off intruders until
We found ourselves right in the thick
OF the soldiers. Some were yelling,
some were whooping, some were ours
ing. and pretty soon therew a crash
and a bang and the doors of the
stores flew open and the soldiers
rushed in. Just then my old friend
Meyerhart yelled out: ooh, mine to-
bacco!" Col. Cameron was des-
perate and rode into the store be-
| hind them and whaled them over the
heads with his sword and ordered
them all out, but it made them all
mad to think they couldn't take the
tobacco the enemy would plumber in
few minutes. They cursed and
raved furiously, but it made no
difference with the colonel. To-
bacco wasn't all. They loaded
down with tobacco and then be-
gan on caps and bonnets and sugar
and coffee.
After we had all crossed the bridge
1t was a funny cavalcade. Long lines of
troops marching up the long cemetery
hill. arrayed with women's garments
-bonnets and shawls and-but
the procession didn't turn out of the
big road. 1t turned up into the ceme-
terry and began their vandalism there.
They got hammers and broke up the
iron railing and tumbled down the
tombstones and monuments and then
knocked the soldiers headstones to
pieces. all except one, and that
was. the handsome one of Lieut..
Bayard Hand, of the United States
navy. They let that go untouched,
because he was United States Of
ficer. All the rest were broken to
pieces and tumbled down the hill. My
father and son and brothers suffered
the same fate. 1t was shameful.
From the top OF that hill they
burnt the bridge and fired their shells
across the town and destroyed every
thing that would burn. Then they
followed us for six miles to Silver
creek, where We We're going to stop
for coffee, for we were expected to
take breakfast and rest. But camp
followers pursued us and told us the
Yankees were close behind and for us
to get up and hitch up and get away
from there; so we hurried the
harness on and struck a trot for
Euharlee creek, and as we crossed the
bridge it wabbled like snake Then
we journeyed up long rocky hill
and that night camped near an old
house and sent up there to borrow a
skillet to fry some meat and the old
man said he was washing his feet in
1t, but as soon as he got through he
would send it down.
Next camp was in the suburbs of
Atlanta, and next morning we found
that two of our servants had departed
to Rome and we lost them for good.
One of them came back. The other
went to Chattanooga. Tie other came
back to us last week and said l was
just as good looking as when got
married, and she flattered up my wife
SO that she loaded her down with
fancy scraps and calico and told her
to come back, and she said she Shore
ly would" She went on down to
JonesborO, where the children
camped, and from there we went
down to Alabama to dodge the thick
of the fight and save our cotton and
COW peas. But it didn't save the
cotton and my wife and children got
away from there and she escaped by
a roundabout way to Covington and
run over lot of soldiers and from
there to the plantation and took
refuge at my wife's old river home
and took rest where her father
lived.
Our next move was homeward,
where we found darkness and desola-
tion-not bed or bedstead or mat
tress or bureau or chair or cooking
vessel-nothing but the naked floor.
No lard or meat or sugar or coffee;