davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-04-11

My Dear Sir: For many years
have been trying to locate Lit. Col. ].
w. Atkinson, whose name is on q
"ICieId Glass" that has hung in my din
ing room for nearly forty years. This
glass was handed me by the officer who
inscribed his name on it on the night
of April 9Th, 1865, at Sailors Creek,
Va"
The writer was Colonel commanding
the Second New York Cavalry and
with his regiment guarded several
hundred Confederate prisoners that
night. The Colonel Atkinson, / am
seeking, was a 1t. Col. of the Nine
teenth Virginia Battalion as | remcm-
Der his telling me at the time, and if
my memory serves me rightly, was one
of several officers with whom l shared
coffee and hard tack that night.
If you are the officer that gave me
the glass l shall be most happy to re-
turn It to you. I recently learned of
your address through the kindness of
General Custis Lee.
lin about 1883 / made an effort to
locate you through General J. r. Cor
DON whom ] met at Gettysburg. Await
ing your reply, l am most respectfully.
NJ. B. BIRDSEYE.
To this letter / have replied, asking
Col, Birdseye to send me my glass by
express. At same time l took the
liberty of refreshing his memory about
the circumstances of his having my
property in his possession and to as
sure him that | was not "one of sew
eral officers with whom he shared Cof-
fee and hard tack that night
| should have been indisposed to ac-
cept his hospitality or any other favor
from him. j. W. A.
The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-04-11

mother and also carry wood and wa
ter. So l did not get to go to school.
| had to learn what / did at home at
night. | would take a, piece of lead
and melt it and run it in a reed and
make a pencil of it to write with on
such brown paper as l could get. My
married sister and myself would walk
nine mile to Charlotte for sewing
which was done on soldiers clothes and
carry them home and then carry them
back. In strawberry time we would
stoop in the sun all day and pick ber
ries and cap them and carry them
to Charlotte for sc per quart.
IT looked hard, so very hard, and
my poor brave brothers fighting all
the time for the rich mans negroes
and we at home shaving and starving
through it ALL Then such few of the
poor ones now get pensions. My Older
brother is seventy-four and he has
never had a pension until this year,
and then got only $14.O0. 1t seems
shame to me that North Carolina
should pay such little to a man who
has been through so much for her.
What l have written is every word
of it the truth. My spelling may
have to be corrected. as / did not have
time to get an education. / had to
work while my brothers fought.
worked and shaved so hard as a little
girl that i broke my constitution down
and have never had any health since.
And l still have to work so hard.
have never known what it was to have
as much as $1,000 in all my life. If
the rich women could only know what
& hard time we poor women have who
have to almost get out of the cradle
to go to work and to work until the
grave opened for us, am sure that
they would have more feeling for us
and that our lot would not be quite SO
hard.
When l look back upon the dark
time of the war / can see only one
bright spot. That was when the home
spun dress for which l had worked
so hard to card and to spin and to
weave and to dye and to make, was
finished, and / in it on Sunday morn
ing at Church. Then I felt so proud
and so happy. But as / said 1 wanted
to tell the exact truth and / must add
hat those Sunday morning biscuits
also made me very very happy. They
came SO seldom and were so good.
My family name was Benfield.
MRS. MARY MCCONNELL,
Webbs, Lincoln County, N C.
The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-04-11

I reioined, my tongue Ct any rate is
not prisoner and | shall not hesitate
10 denounce this robbery" as the terms
of surrender expressly provided that
the private property of all the prison
ers should be respected and not dis
then demanded Hand me that
strap to which the glass had been at
tached," and which was still across my
shoulders / said, Il will not" He be-
ing on horseback and l marching by
his side. then reached over and ems
leavored to seize the strap, and detach
it.
I said to him, Take your hands
away and do not touch me, / will not
submit to your putting your hands on
my shoulder. You have your soldiers
around you and / have not the power
to resist this further robbery" / then
quietly unclasped the strap and handed
it to him.
In doing this ] demanded What is
your name sir?" He said 81 am Col
M. B. Birdseye, of Ouandago county,
New York State" | took a pencil from
my pocket and wrote his name and ad-
dress on a memorandum book, saying
to him in close of our controversy, Il
have a very tenacious memory, / al
ways remember my friends, and l do
not forget my enemies. / propose to
IGliGIilD6G yOuy Sll' Ills IIlGiIlOl oil
dunn I carried in my pocket for more
TINA ten years. 1 have never seen this
man since the events related, nor heard
directly from him, until the receipt of
the letter attached hereto. Some years
after the close Of the war 1 was travel
ing on a Pullman car, and there sat
near me a gentleman of pleasing APP
pearance, with whom 1 engaged in
conversation. He was evidently Ger
man. He told me he had served in
the Northern Army as Adjutant of
Clusters Division of Sheridan's corps.
In the course of conversation l told
him of my experience with Col
Birdseye of that command. IIe de-
nounced the man as a scoundrel, and
said he knew him we'll and intcded, if
he ever met him, to express his opinion
Of the transaction.
1 will remark here that the ColOneIs
example was promptly followed by the
rank and file of his regiment for that
night every man of my two battaliOns
was robbed Of mis- watch and other
personal property.
Whether it was his conscience which
moved him or the accommodation of
the former adjutant of Clusters Divi-
sion, | know not. but on March the
goth, ulto. / received the letter at
tached hereto:
Fayetteville, n. Y, Mar. 81, 1905.
Colonel j. w. Atkinson, Wilmington,
The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-04-11

front Of these four regiments as Skin
mishers.
He thinks Jackson was first fired
upon by a portion of the Thirty
Seventh North Carolina on the right,
and afterwards by the troops ON the
left of the road.
In an address delivered several years
ago before the Society of the Army Of
North Virginia, he so stated; but
seeing Dr. McGuire's report after
wards, and thinking he ought to
know changed it. The General says
he had the highest admiration for
your father as soldier. and believed
that had he lived he would have been
a corps commander.
Yours very truly.
Fl. NJ REED,
Secretary.
When Dr. Hunter McGuire's atten-
ton was called to the above. he said:
General Lee makes two mistakes
in his letter. First, in saying that
Jackson was shot by men i'm Penders
brigade, and second. that / made this
statement in my account of the
'Wounding and Death of Jackson ]
did not say so.
Rhodes division was in front thai
evening at Charlottesville and after
driving the enemy for several miles.
became so disordered and mixed up
with the second line (Colston's or
rather Jacksons old division) that
General Jackson ordered Rodes to the
rear to reform his men. At the same
time he directed Hill whose division
was in the rear and in column. 10
march to the front and form in line in
front of the position occupied by
Rodes. While this change was being
made Jackson, with several of his
staff rode out towards the enemY's
| lines to reconnoitre.
"He went SO far forward that he ran
into some Federal pickets. who fired
at his party. He then turned and
rode rapidly towards his own lines:
| by this time the change that he had
ordered was completed, and Hills di-
vision was in front The men of Hill s
division did not know that Jackson
and his party were between them and
| the Federals. They supposed that
There was nothing between their lines
and that of the enemy, and when they
heard a number of horsemen coming
at a gallop up the hard turnpike road.
they naturally supposed it a charge of
cavalry, and fired. At this time Jack
| son was shot.
1T was not men of Pender's bril-
gade, but of another brigade in that
division, commanded by as noble .
gentleman and as gallant soldier as
any in the Confederacy. and made UP
of men who on that as upon every
other field in which they were en-
gagged, always displayed conspicuous
courage.
This was Lanes brigade. but no
good can come of saying So"
The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-04-11

At times he appears almost the man
of courage, of purpose, of determine
ton: and then after every effort comes
the reaction. Spent by his own evil
dence of strength frightened by the
exercise of his will, he turns to the
doctors of superstition, the men whose
trade is omens, and he falls a prey to
their malign influence. For man
who seeks his inspiration delivered
through the lips of the dead who per-
nits himself to be the tool of miracle
work ers, who seeks portents in the i'm
palpable things of the air instead of
reading the signs of the times in the
faces and the hearts of men and wo-
men who surround him, can one have
anything else but contempt?
And yet one must be just, and one
must recognize that no matter what
he does he is surely marked for the
hand of the ASA ssin. If he cannot
escape from the thrall of the Pobiedo-
nosteffs and the reactionary grand
ducal ring, he will be destroyed by the
bomb as was his grandfather; If he
Yields to the benevolent dictates of his
own heart or the fear of the vengeance
Of his long-suffering subjects he Will
Perish under the dagger of some men,
Der of his encourage, as other MEM
bers of his Inflated family have. lie
can never close his ears to the sound
Of the beating of the wings of death.
He can never shut out from his vision
the spectre that turks just beyond the
reach of his outstretched hand. From
haunting fear there is no escape. De-
spise him one may properly and yet
one cannot fail to have for him pity.
The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-04-11
APP0MATTOX AND ROBERTS CAVALRY.

Roberts cavalry brigade, composed
of the 4th and 18th N. c. Cavalry regi-
ments, we're up to the 28th of March,
1855, on duty on General Lees right,
not far from Dinwiddie Court House.
1 do not know the strength of the 4th
Regiment, but the 7th had present for
duty at that time about 315 men and
officers
When the retreat from Petersburg
began, Roberts brigade became the
rear guard on one of the roads, used
by General Lees army, in it's west
ward march, and was constantly en-
gagged in fighting and skirmishing
with the enemy over every mile to
AppomattOx.
The fearful hardship, and the awful
fatigue endured by the men in that
command from March 28th to April
9th, 1865, can never be forgotten by
those of us who underwent that terri
bic strain on human nature.
The constant fighting and want OF
rest, sleep and food-caused many OF
our best men to drop from actual phys
ical inability to keep up and they were
captured. Our losses in killed and
wounded were very heavy and when
we reached Appomattox on the morn
ing of the 9th, the 7th Regiment had
present for duty less than so men out
of a total of about 315 two weeks be-
fore.
About ten o'clock y. m. the Sth of
April we went into camp about one
mile east of the court house, and at
o'clock a. m. the 9th we mounted
and marched through the village and
were placed in line of battle on the
The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-04-11
A STORY or PATHOs.
n North Carolina Working WOman's
Experience in the War.

Seeing that it was wished that the
sisters and wives of the Confederate
soldiers give an account of the way
they had to live in time of the war l
write the following: My mother was
a widow with four boys and three
girls. The Oldest girl was married. /
had three brothers that enlisted at the
first of the war, and also my brother
in-law. They served through the war,
and my younger brother ran away and
went in a short time and was there
till the end He was wounded, but
thank God they all got back. Our
house was burned the first year of the
war and everything that we had. My
mother was a weaver. She had to
make our living by the loom. ] was
only eleven years old, and one sister
was younger. We had our wood to
chop in the woods and carry it on our
backs My married sister and myself
would carry a half bushel of corn
apiece to the mill on our back and the
mill was three mile from home. Later
on in the war and the times got real
ly hard. We had to pay 500 for a
bushel of wheat and tote it to the min
to get biscuit for Sunday morning.
Our coffee was parched meal. OH
how good those Sunday morning
breakfasts were, with biscuits and
parched meal coffee swetened with
sorghum, better than anything I ever
get now.
1 had to card and spin four cuts of
yarn a day and fill the mills for my
The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-04-11
The Gar.
tBy A. Maurice Low in the April-June
Forum.)

BY A. Maurice Low in the April-June
FOrum.)
There is no more unhappy wretch il;
all this wide world than Nicholas IL,
Car and "Autocrat of all the Rus
sias," as he grandiloquently calls him
self There is no man for whom one
must entertain more profound pity
or more profound contempt. Were
Nicholas a Nero or a Charles H., his
unrestrained passion or his love
of pleasure would command a certain
respect, if not exactly admiration.
Nicholas is neither; he more nearly
resembles that king of France con-
temptuously nick-named lie debon-
naire, who, full of good intentions, was
of a nature too vacillating to be able
TO carry his good intentions into eff
feet, and whose complaint nature fin
ally brought him misery and to his
empire dissolution. Nicholas is a
ruler who means WELL who takes life
seriously, who would like to see his
people contented and prosperous, but
who accomplishes nothing because he
has no stability and no strength of
character. He is a man without
mental compass; there is no polariza-
ton in his mind; there is nothing to
hold him on a set course. He swings
from point to point, like ship with
rudder gone, at the mercy of every
passing slant of wind or ripping wave.
The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-04-11
Battle Flag of The 3Srd.
(Favetteville Observer. )

NFdyGJIGNllC ODoC1NCisJ
Dear Major Hale:-Give me space
in your valuable paper to jot down {
few war notes.
Forty years ago today at nine O'CLOCK
the writer escaped from Fort Gregg
at Petersburg, with the colors of the
regiment which you remember We'll
l will never,forget, as | was leaving
the fort the whole or the Federal line
of soldiers fired at me and my col.
ors.
The officer in command of the Fed
erals ordered his men not to fire or
the color bearer.
You still remembered how our mer
cheercd as ! entered the Confederate
lines with our battle flag, yourself
among the number.
This fort was occupied by detach
ment of the Washington artillery from
New Orleans, having four guns, every
gunner in the fort being among The
killed. Total number killed in the
fort was about three hundred.
L surrendered those colors on the 9tl
The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-04-11
A CASE OF CONSCIENCE.
I'm Interesting Incident of the War
With as Equally Interesting Sequel
Wilmington Disnatch.l


In the Spring of 1855 a battle was
fought at Sailors Creek, Va, between
Sheridans Cavalry, supported by
Wright's corps of artillery, and Gen
eral EWelrs corps of the Confederate
Army.
General Ewell, being largely out
numbered, after a gallant fight, surren-
Tered his entire corps. / commanded
wo batallions of artillery attached to
EwelPS corps, and these thus became
prisoners of war. We were placed
Inder guard of the Second New York
cavalry. In marching from the battle
ield, as prisoners under guard, Colonel
8idseye, commanding, observed a
handsome Field Glass" suspended by
Y leather strap across my shoulders,
Ind asked me to let him look at the
glass; | at once, without hesitation de-
ached it fromthe strap and handed it
o him. He admired it so much and
Kept it so long that | became uneasy
Ind said to him politely, IF you have
inished looking at my glass will you
)blige me by returning it, He replied,
I do not intend to return it," | in
fignantly answered, rs it possible that
he great United States government
has a man of the high rank of Colonel
Who is capable of committing highway
'obbery Pile said. you shall not
speak to me in that way" To which
The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-04-11
F|GHT|NGTOTHEEND.
Capt. A. D. McGiII Writes
of Last Day of the
War.

On Saturday night, April the Sth,
1865, after many wearisome marches
and continuous fighting since leaving
the trenches at Petersburg, Crimes
Division went into camp about tive
miles from Appomattox. About sunset
and before hating for the night, we
heard the thunder of artillery in our
front. The sound of artillery was fa-
miliar to our ears. We heard it un-
ceasingly on the left of our line of
march and as necessarily in our rear,
hut to hear the sound of guns in our
front. plainly indicated that we were
being surrounded, and that We should
soon be called upon to crown a glorl-
our career by a glorious death.
We were informed, however, that
we might sleep that night-Wh1ch was
welcome news to men who had scarce
Nv closed their eyes in sleep for eight
or nine days and nights.
We did not take long to prepare sup
per, for we had nothing to prepare. A
few of the boys mad a handful of corn,
which they parched and ate; but by
far the greater number lay down on
the bare ground weary and supperleSs,
but faithful and brave.
1 was fortunate in having tea cup
full of corn meal and about an inch
square of fat meat, which / had car
ried through all the toilsome marches
and dreadful scenes of that retreat
without an opportunity of cooking it.
In camp that night, [ could not find
in our brigade a. frying-pan, oven,
spider or any other kind of cooking
utensil; so l thought for a while that
I should be constrained to carry my
handful of meal and my square inch
of fat bacon for a while longer. But
at last [ found long handled shovel,
in which l made UP my dough and
baked a little cake of bread about the
size of a biscuit, though not nearly
The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-04-11

scenes at Apprenticeship boys of
'65-are rapidly crossing over the river
to rest, we trust, under the shade of
the trees. Very soon the last of that
splendid army shall have passed from
earth to join their comrades on the
eternal shore.
A. d. McGILL.
Fayetteville, n. c., April 8, 1906.
The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-04-11

ton reign supreme over the spot
where a proud and gallant young ma
ton died.
Z. ]. HOLT.
April 10th, 1905.
The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-04-11
w. d. ZEN DER.
Article From Richmond News.

Glasgow, va, sept. ", 1887.
My Dear Sir:-General Lee directs
me to say that he has not with him
the date upon which he based the
statement that General Jackson was
killed by a portion of General Pender's
Brigade, but is almost certain that he
took it from an account of the
''Wounding and Death of Jackson" by
Dr. Hunter Mcclure. his chief sur
geon, who amputated his arm, etc.
The General says he is satisfied. how
ever, it is a mistake, and that it was
Lanes Brigade. Lane had five North
Carolina regimerts-the Seventh and
Thirty-Seventh North Carolina on the
right side of the road. the Eighteenth
and Twenty-eighth on the left, and
the Twenty-Third North Carolina in
The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-04-11
GENERAL STONEWALL
JACKSON'S DEATH.
Not Fired Upon by Pender's Men
General Pender's Son Makes a
Correction in the Interest
of Historical Truth.
Norfolk Va, I.andmark. !

h-NOI1CIh.e ctsy
Norfolk, Va, April An Mr.. Thos. E.
Watson's recent book. Bethany"
page 361, he makes the statement
that General Pender's Brigade was
the one that probably fired the fatal
volley" that killed General Jackson.
This statement was first made by
Fitzhugh Lee in his biography of
General Robert E. Lee. Both of these
statements are entirely incorrect. as
will be seen by the following articles
which appeared in the Richmond
News, of October IL, 1894. All other
historians had up to this time re-
manned silent on this most deplorable
incident. having tender feeling for
those who were so unfortunate, and
DR.. Mcclure we'll says mo good could
come of saying so.' Yet it remained
for Fitzhugh Lee to break this silence.
and in doing SO make a statement in
correct, and one that any Would-be
historian should have investigated be-
fore doing so.
The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-04-11

of April at Appomattox court house
Va. between Hancocks corps of Fed
eral soldiers. AS the government at
Washington is returning those old bat
tie flags / would like sto get possession
of mine if possible.
am writing this to substantiate
what has been said of n. G. troops,
First at Bethel and last at Appomat-
tox."
Fort Gregg was named after the
lamented General Gregg, who was
killed at the battle of Fredericksburg
in 1858. General Gregg was from
South Carolina.
The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-04-11
Announcement.

hereby announce myself as q can
didate for Alderman from the First
Division of the First Ward. do this
solely in the interest of good govern
ment and not in the interest of any
man clique or corporation. II elected
will do all I can to promote good
government.
q. T. JOHNSON.
The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-04-11
IOuTs Truly,

1.-THE order given by the command
>er of the troops who had overrun Bat
terry Gregg, not to fire on the escaping
color bearer, was Don't fire any more
at that boy-he is too brave to be
killed in this y.''-Obs.l
The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-04-11
TAINTED
Columbus, Ohio, May 10, 1904.

(OluuADuSy OAlOS May 10, 1903.
Some four years ago was suffering
from impure blood and a general run,
down condition of the system. / had no
appetite, was losing flesh, and had an all.
gone tired feeling that made me nisera-
BILE. began the use of S. S. S., and
after taking seven or eight bottles my Skin
was cleared of all eruptions and took on
r1ddy, healthy glow that assured me that
my blood had been restored to its nor.
NAL, healthy condition. My appetite was
restored, as | could eat anything put be.
fore me, and as regained my appetite
Increased in weight, and that ''tired feel
ing" which worried me so much disap.
peared, and was once again my old self.
I heartily recommend S. S. S. as the
best blood purifier and tonic made, and
strongly advise its use to al1those in need
of such medicine. VICTOR STUBBINs.
Cor. Barthman and Washington AYES.
The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-04-11
Wheeling, w. ", Nav %. foo.

Wheeling, w. ", May IS, 1903.
My system was run down and my Joints
ached and panied me considerably. Ihad
used S. S. S. before and knew what il
was, so purchased bottle of it and have
taken several bottles and the aches and
pains are gone, my blood has been cleas.
ed and my general health built up. 1 can
testify to it as blood purifier and tonic.
1888 Market st. JOHN c. STEIN.
The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-04-11

49, ~ hAANs
If you have any
symptoms of dis
! ordered blood
write us and our
physicians will
advise 20 u free.
Our book on
blood and skin
diseases sent free
.mpauY, Atlanta, Ga.