The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1903-01-21

anu la!lnlul SOlUltrS VINO cOdlu De de-
pended upon to do their flil measure
OF duty on all sorts O. occI-;cuS, in all
sort, of emergencies, bu, uicyc was
one among US, Thpua, Jp,r,on, whose
sincere devotion to~..,y. 2uring brave
~ and skilllu'n,-~ in he use Il his
weapons seemed b, %cntit!c him 10 snc-
cial constellation. lie VS. large and
portly, luddy. Ii ~h;icar,c,l, mjpyial and
endowed wi,h remarkable capacity
for promoting mirth, ricc.:uincs> and
merrinicnr among those with whom he
mingled and he enjoyed the sincere
friendship and esteem Of a very large
proportion Of hi: ac1unin.ancrs. lie
had made quite a reputation, in his
native nc!ghborllood, near Joncsboro,
Ga, rs an expert marks.man, by his
aptitude at hitting the bulls eye, ut
shooting matches and his readiness in
bringing down game. lie had been TO
Kansas rs a member cI the southern
delegation that went out to oppose the
John Brown faction in that mcmora-
bic struggle for party supremacy that
characterized the early history Of that
territory, and he was sometimes called
"Kansas Tom Johnson to distin-
guish him from other Tom .Johnsons
IN the same ncighborhood. When our
civil war broke out Tom enlisted in
u company, ut Jouesboro, Ga, and
while VIC were drilling and making
otter preparations for our departure
n the war, Tom became involved in q
,pnte Owe some trivial matter and
was violently assaulted by three stall
wart ruifians, who made u desperate
effort to punish him for his indiscrc-
ton in differing with them in opinion.
BY means Of dcxtcrious and we'll aim
ed blows, with his formidable fist,
Tom very readily rcpulscd them and
inflicted the greater part of the pun
ishment upon them. Notwithstanding
his victory Tom Immediately left our
company and joined another that was
being formed in the ncighboring town
OF Fayetteville, but owing to the fact
thRt the Joncsboro and Fayetteville
companies both joined the Tenth
Georgia regiment, we still kept Tom
johnson with US. After entering into
actual service Toms fearlessncss and
skill won for him great fame and his
services were in almost constant de-
mand for difficult and dangerous un-
dertakings, and his natural love of
adventure found abundant gratiica-
zion in the performance of duties from
which others, less vcnturcsome than
himself, would have instinotivcly
shrunk. His faith in the ultimate
triumph of our cause was steadfast
and unwavering and he would never
under any circumstances admit the
possibility Of our defeat.
While on the retreat from the pen.
Ursula to Richmond, as we were pass
ing through an old field, somebody
discovered the form Of a Yankee SOL
der In tho top of g distant tree, ap-
parently watching the movements Of
u army and Tom Johnson attention
was called to him. Tom thought he
could kill him, but others contendcd
that he was entirely too far off to be
In auy danger from even Tome gum.
After rarlcying for a few minutes,
Tom observed that it was a question
that admitted Of proof and stopping
on the roadside, he said: "Now, you
just watch and see how he behaves
when [ Shoot" and adjusting his gun
sights to the longest possible range,
he raised his gun to his shoulder, took
aim, fired and the Yankee dropped
from the tree. OF course it was i'm
possible for us to obtain any particu-
lars Of the mans injuries, but there
was 40 doubt that he had fallen from
the tree. At the battle Of Sharps-
burg, Maryland, Tom was severely
wounded by a ball that entered his
body in front just below the breast
bone, passed almost centrally through
his body, among the vital organs and
came out near the spinal column. He
was carried home in October, 1862,
and remained with his family about
two months, when although still suf-
eox:o~ oo~.:lo.o1l- 49,, L.: 1.-l
he returned to his command against
the earn st rcmonstrances Of his fami-
~, friends and physicians, and re-
ported for duty. About this time he
was armed with q new, imported
Whitworth rifle, which was probably
che most perfect and up-to-date gun
in exin;ence at that time, and assigned
to special duty as a sharpshooter, and