The Tupelo journal. (Tupelo, Miss.) 1876-1924, 1906-08-03
TUpELo MISSISSIPPI FRIDAY AUGUST 1906.
pEN.pICTURES OF The OLDEN TIME
eY COL w 1. CLAYTON.

surrender our FORCES, and re-
ceived 'Parol, " as we then call.
ed it., and was given authority te
issue like papers to the men, anG
all of Inge's regiment who were
with the command at that time
had a parol from me. I saw one
of them not long ago. I remem
Der very we'll when we went te
the Federal post to surrender
and receive our papers, the yam
kee commander did not know
how to write them. He was
very willing we should surrender
but he did not understand how
to frame the writing. Colonel
Broyles, of the seth Ala. Caval-
ry, said, 'Give me the pen and
paper and will write it." He
was a man about forty. as |
would Judge, and a lawyer, and
taking in his hand the cartel
which Sherman and Johnston
had entered into, and it was on
" a short while till the Colonel
had written a paper satisfactory
to the Federal officer, and which
all the commanders of regiments
copied and used. After | had
given my men their parols, |
told them | of course had no fur
ther authority over them, but
that if they wished to remain
together, and would conduct
themselves like good, law abiding
citizens, and pay for what they
should get for themselves and
their horses, | would see that
they were provided for till they
got home. The thought came
to me that it might be necessary
at some stage Of the route to
impress something to eat or for
forage for our horses, and
thought it would be better to
have a. kind of head for that pur
pose. This the men all agreed
to. We had as much "domes
tic'' as we could carry on our
horses, which the people would
be glad to receive for rations and
forage in addition to our twenty
five dollars in silver. We got
along very well till about the
third night, when we were re-
fused forage for our horses.
The gentleman had ample, but
refused to let us have it on any
terms. We offered him domes-
tic or silver, as he might choose.
He was an Alabama mountain
eer, and did not wish to accom-
modate a Southern soldier. We
used all the arguments we could
bring forward to no avail. 1t
was then dark, and a long dis
tance to the next house, and our
horses were tagged out. | had
told the men if they would act
right and pay for all they got, /
would see that they were provl-
ded for. After the gentleman
had refused us anything on any
terms, | told him we would be
compelled, as much as we regret
ted it, to take enough of his
corn to feed our stock, and that
the money-silver money-Was
ready to pay for it. No, he
would receive nothing, and be-
sides that he would have us all
in Jail before morning. But we
had no idea of going to prison,
but took his corn and went in
to camp. It was not very long
until the gentleMan cooled down
and came around and got his
pay.
/ remember very distinctly
that the nearer | got to my home
the fewer of us remained togather
as every fellow branched off at
the proper place for his home
until | was left alone. | was RI
ding an ambulance mule. my
horse-the gallant old clay hav-
ing died at a place called the
Devils half acre" in Georgia.
I made over sixty miles the last
day, and came in the back way,
and at O'Clock on the 18th day
of May. | placed my feet upon
the door step Of the little cabin
in my fathers yard where my
wife and little girl were staying
during my absence; and although
| had not been at home for over
i year, so soon as my foot struck
the entrance my wife called
my name, but the little girl, al
most two years old knew me not.
What a sad and desolating thing
is war that it keeps the young
children from knowing their par
ents! When | landed at home |
was very much ncnplussed to
know what to follow. Had no
cotton planted and the corn was
about laid by, and a wife and
child to support and only twenty
five dollars on hand. Very
soon however the little cotton
still in the country began to move
toward the market, and having
one good mule and my father
furnishing one and wagon
concluded to follow wagonine
for time until the courts should