The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-11-24

/
1ful floral tributes we've sent~-oEe es-
pecially so, d cross of lilies from the
! Concord Chapter of the Daughters of
| the COnfederacy The REV. Mr.. Fair,
| of the Independent Scotch Church, of
| savannah, Ga, came TO pertorE the
| last service when her body was laid
| by that of General Ramseur in the
Lincolnton cemetery.
WOMEN IN THEIR HOMES DUR
ING THE CONFEDERATE WAR,
Ii 1.-The bravest battles are fought in
the human heart" truly our women
| fought nobly when war swept over our
| own dear Southland.
| We would not have our husbands,
sons, or sWeethearts to stay at home,
when our countrys welfare called
them to the tented field.
| The words of Jefferson Davis as he
stood on the platform of his car a.
| Wilson, N. c., in 1862 found an echo
| in all our hearts. Looking around on
| the large assembly of women, who
were there to greet him, he drew him
self up, and in stirring tones eXclaim-
ed: Were l in your place, ladies,
| would rather lean upon the empty coat
| sleeve of a brave soldier than upon
the strong arm of a man who did not
| hearken 10 his country's call" That
was the spirit that inspired our
women, but o the sad partings! many
Of them the last.
A large, burly soldier was waiting
for his train, and his little grief
stricken wife was waiting by his side.
| When the hour of parting came, he
caught her to his bosom, raising her
| Off the ground, and said with tears
| rolling down his cheeks: "Oh! Mary.
MARY! would to God l could take
| you clear into my heart"
We waited patiently and toiled faith
fully in our homes with hearts full OF
prayer for loved ones at the front,
who were lacking for every comfort
and in peril of their lives.
The mail facilities were so imperfect
| that often We could not hear from the
seat of war for weeks, and sonnet mes
| We first heard of a loved one having
| fallen, by seeing his name among the
tlist of dead in the newspapers. L saw
| a mother read that her only son was
| killed. and fall to the ground stricken
with sorrow. L saw, too, the agony of
a young wife as she read that she and
her four little boys were left indeed
lGesolate.
Our brave soldiers not only fell
pierced by the enemies bullets, but
disease, often brought on by exposure
and privation, swept off thousands.
know a beautiful woman, who heard
of her husbands death from smallpox,
and all she could ever learn was that
he was buried in a trench with thirty
others, who had died of the same
loathsome disease.
Our whole land was oVershadoWed
with grief, but there was no yielding
III our sorrowing women. When visit
ing Richmond the summer of 1862, [
met Mrs. Beauregard who was there
with her young son whose foot had
been amputated.a She told me chat it
was necessary to apply to General Bat
Ter for q pass to leave New Orleans.
He asked her if the pass should be
made out for friend or ali enemy of
the United States--"I replied, she
said IAN enemy of the United States
and / shall keep that pass and hand it
down rs an heirloom in my family"
We learned to card, spin and weave
cloth, in order that men, women and
little children might be comfortably
clothed. Tender fingers plated straw
for hats, and knitting was a pastime.
Carpets were taken from our floors,
and sent to our suffering soldiers TO
use as blankets. Our linen sheets and
tablecloths were torn up for bandages,
and scraped for lint. | was one of a
party of ladies who tackled comforts"
all day Sunday because we had an OPP
portunity to send them to the front,
where they were so sorely needed.
Wheat rye, and potatoes were used as
IL substitute for coffee. and sorghum
was mostly used 70 sweeten this drink.
Many women, IS the invading hosts
advanced, fled from Their homes and
became refugees.
We were brave amid prfvations but
there was great mourning in the land
when it became the policy of the
North. to weaken us, by refusing to
change prisoners.
l could talk on and on, but since
you have limited me, / will close by
giving some extracts from a letter
sent me sewed in the lining of the cC3t
OF SEX soldier. 1t was written from
Johnson's Island, September 80, 1864:
There are hundreds here whose
death warrant will be sealed by the
present winter. Our diet sustains life
ard no more Nobody ever prctends
to get enough to eat. The fact that
to catch rats to eat them occupies
much of the time of many of the Off
GERS tells the whole story With poor
fuel the suffering is intense. The fact
that last winter every metal promi-
IEence such as nails, was covered with
frost for weeks, in my room, only Il
by 20 feet, will give you some idea of
the intensity OF the cold; and some Of
the rooms are 40 feet long, unplaster-
ca, and contain only one stove. You
cannot conceive how happy we would
be to join our regiments once moro
once mere to share the glorious perils
of our comrades ir march, biVouac.
or battle. Death is slowly reaping
here, though no shout Of battle. nc
roar of artillery, no tramp of rushing
hosts heralds the end of the soul
Here it is that men grow old be-
fore their time--care gnaWinG ever.
ever at the heart, slowly, seaselessly,
remorselessly."
V. l.. PENDLETON.
THRILLING EXPERIENCES