The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1903-08-20
BILL ARP.


Midnight-dark midnight. The heaV-
ems had been illumined with bursting
shells and sky rockets ever since night
fall, and it kept our side Of the river in
alarm, but General French was over
there with 1000 troops, fresh from
| Texas, and these, with old Joe john
ston's forces at Resaca, could whip
| Sherman all to pieces. Every now and
then we sent a messenger over to Gen.
eral French to know II all wa safe.
| Would old Joe certainly fight at Resa-
ca, OF 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 messen-
ger was sent to General French, but he
| assured us it was all right. But about
midnight the general sent a 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 n
bridge to the other, was crowded, and
not a soldier could find elbow room.
But still they moved. We had loaded
our rockaway with baggage and my
lovely wife and numerous children.I
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 %whopping,
some were cursing, and pretty soon
there was a crash and a bang and the
doors of the stores flew open and SOL
d:ers rushed in. Just then my old frien.
Meyerhart yelled out: "Oh mine tobac-
co.." But Colonel Cameron was desper-
ate and rode into the store behind 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 a few minutes. They
cursed and raved %furiously, but 1t made
70 difference with the colonel. Tobae-
co wasn't all. They loaded down with
tobacco and then began on caps and
bonnets and sugar and coffee.
After we mad all crossed the bridge
It was a funny cavalcade. Long lines OF
troops marching up the long cemetery
hill, arrayed with women's garments
on-bonnets and shawls and-But the
procession didn't turn out Of the big
road. 1t turned up into the cemetery
and began their vandalism there. They
got hammers and broke up the iron
railing and tumbled down the tomb
stones and monuments and then kick
ed the soldiers head stones to pieces,
all except one, and that was the hand
SOM one of Lieutenant Bayard Hand,
OF the, United States navy. They let
that go untouched, because he was a
United States officer. All the rest were
broken to pieces and tumbled down the
hill. My father and son and brothers
suffered the same fate. 1t was shame
full!
From the top Of that hill they burnt
the bridge and fired their shells across
the town and destroyed everything that
would burn. Then they followed US for
6 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 n
told us the yankees were close behind
and for US to get up and hitch up n
get away from there. So We hurried the
harness on and struck a trot for Eu-
harlee creek, and as We crossed the
bridge it wabbled like a snake. Then
We %journeyed up a 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 At
Iania and next morning we found that
two of our servants had departed to
Rome and we lost them for goo0, OH
of them came back. The other went to
Chattanooga. The other came back to
us last week and said / was just as
good looking as when I 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 "shorely 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 Il cotton
and COW peas. But 1t didn't a v the
cotton and my wife and children got
away from there and she escaped by a
round about way to Covington and run
over a lot Of soldiers and from there to
the plantation and took refuge at my
yife's old river home and took a rest
where her father lived.
Our next move was homeWwaro,
where we found darkness and desola-
tion-not a bed or bedstead or mattress
or bureau or chair or cooking vessel
nothing but the naked floor. No lard or