The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-01-03
HE FOUGHT WITH JOE.
Rev. John II. Ash, Ex-War Lieuten-
ant of the Georgia Hussars in

Rev. John II. Ash, Ex-War Lieuten-
ant of the Georgia Hussars in
Town.
Rev. John H. Ash. of Oliver, a former
Savannahian, whose family has been
identified with Savannah for over a
hundred years. spent a day here with
his old friends this week. Though a
minister of the Gospel for a quarter
of a century, the reverend gentleman
was once dashing cavalryman, and a
lieutenant of the Georgia Hussars,
Fifth Georgia Cavalry, in the sixties.
Rev. Mr.. Ash is the possessor of
valuable history of his regiment in
the form of set of diaries. They are
little books made by his mother, and
as he filled one with the records of
those days of hardships and danger,
he mailed i to his dear one at home,
who preserved them, and when the
war was over returned them to her
| soldier son.
When Gen. Joe Wheeler and his
famous cavalry corps crossed the Chat
tahoochee river to avoid Sherman's
thanking columns, Mr.. Ash, then first
I
men, were left to protect the rear, and
it was supposed were captured by the
enemy. They succeeded, however, in
! crossing the river and escaping but in
swimming it Sergeant Ash lost one
of his diaries. 1t was replaced soon
after, however. by another in which its
contents was rewritten from memory.
The set of books, which will fill a large
box, is therefore complete, and con-
tainS a lively story of the Georgia
Hussars and the Fifth Georgia Cavalry
from its enlistment TO the surrender
Among the incidents recorded in
Mr.. Ash's books is the purchase of
eggs at 81 a piece, and the granting
of leave of absence to Lieutenant
Wakelee, who is still an active bust
ness man of Savannah, to get married.
Mr. Ash, in speaking of the days
gone by, said that Wheeler's cavalry
! is much more popular now than it was in
war times. Joe Wheeler's rise as a
national hero has brought the old fight
ing corps to the front. 1t was not
| always so popular with the people. for
the reason that the old farmers of
Lower Georgia would persist in re-
memberlng Wheeler's men as vigorous
foragers and forget that they
were equally as vigorous in fight
ing their battles. In the last days
| OF the war caValryman and his horse
| had hard time of it, It was forage
| or starve. The commissariat was a
delusion and the wagon train a snare.
and the trooper who didn't want to
starve himself and his steed had to
forage on his friends when he could
| not get supplies from the enemy. The
| result was hard times of the hardest
KIND for the farmers, as between what
the Yanks stole or destroyed, and the
Rebs had to have, there was not much
| lert Tor them. Moreover, Wheeler's
| cavalry was blamed for everything
that was done, whether they did il or
| not The glory that came to Gen.
Wheeler in late years, however, shed
its light upon his old cavalry corps. and
every member has basked in its glow
ing colors. The old ragged Confederate
whom dire necessity caused to take
from their needy friends, are now for
given heroes. Wheelers men were as
good fighters as they were foragers.
but 1t seems to have taken another
war to bring out the facts in their
| proper light.
Mr.. Ash may present his valuable
library of little diaries to the Georgia
Hussars, or, possibly, to the Historical
Society.