The National tribune., 1906-02-15
STONE RIVER.
A Southern Woman's Memories Of the
Battle.

STONE RIVER.
A Southern woman's Memories Of the
Battle.
Mrs. NJ. +. Robinson, of New Deca-
tur, Ala. recently read a paper before
the Gen. A. r. Stewart Chapter of the
Daughters of the Confederacy. which
had much of interest i'm it, Among 9TH
err things she said:
1.-THE first morning of the Stone River
battle firing was heard about daylight.
As we We're seated at our breakfast table
q soldier in gray rode up to the door
and called to my father, who was a
physician that he was wanted at the
hospital. where the wounded soldiers
were being carried as rapidly as posi-
BILE. My father went at once. telling
US the women of the family to be in
readiness to go II we should be sent for
as nurses. We set things in order, and
in few hours were called to go to the
hospital Soule College. where all MUIR
freesborO girls had been educated, had
been turned into a military hospital,
and the large assemb1y hall that had
once known only young, bright faces
and girlish laughter was now filled with
wounded and dying men and the sounds
heard were groans and curses. They
had been placed on pallets on the floor,
that being the best that could be done
for them In IL hurry. Every woman
that could leave home at all was there
doing what she could for our own SOL
diers. details Of nurses being sent in
by Uncle Sam for the Union wounded,
Jared badly in that rebellious city.
I'm all the population there was only
one family of any prominence that SYM
pathized in any degree with the Union.
For some unaccountable reason the FL
liotts, who had lived there always,
TT, a.
staunch Republicans to this day. and /
distinctly remember Miss Jennie Elliott
on her knees beside a wounded Yankee.
trying to prevail on him to take some
milk.
The fight continued for some days,
and churches and halls and every avail
able house was an improvised hospital.
Those We're days of terror and dread, of
carnage and bloodshed, and prayers and
death The whole town was q hospital.
the people all mOurners and the place
one vast cemetery. To-day there lie
buried in the National Cemetery at that
place 1000 Federal dead, an everlasting
manship of the Johnny reb.
so many things impressed my young
mind then that shall never forget. One
poor fellow l remember SO distinctly
had one side of his face torn off, and
was suffering SO intensely and begging
Dor of my mothers was waiting on him
especially and trying to have him
moved TO her house, when he was seized
with commissions and died in a few
moments. This lady was the mother
OF Will Allen Dromgoole, of literary
fame.
Il had two girl friends who were
waiting on the wounded, and each had
one to whom she was paying especial
attention. One had his right arm taken
off and was delirious and raving. She
was bathing his face and using every
means to soothe and comfort him. She
finally had him moved to her fathers
house. Here he convalesced. She fed
him for long time with her own hand,
and looked after him generally until
he was able to leave for home. If I
were writing a romance l would say
they married and lived happily ever
afterward, but these are stern facts.
from that time to the present he never
forgot his kind nurse and did many
kindnesses for her.
THE other friend (the girls were
sisters) had her charge moved TO her
fathers home, too, and cared for him
most faithfully for months until he was
able TO return to the army. After all
that neither did they marry each other,
but to-day she is the wife of G. III. Bask-
EFT, editor of the Nashville Banner
"One incident Of that fight came a
little nearer to me In personal way
than any other. My only brother was
Colonel commanding the I'd Tenn. Inf,
to the end. One day while my father
was busy in the hospital a courier came
to him In haste and said: Doctor, /
am afraid Col. Robinson is hurt; his
horse has just come running into town
with the saddle and bride on My
fa hat 1fnn ~
and hurried out to the field, expecting
to find his son shot to death: but when
he arrived he found him safe and he
explained that one of his men fell mor3-
tally shot, and he jumped off his horse
to give his comrade some help and hfs1
horse gallopcd into town Of his own
accord.
"Oh, those days Of anguish and de-
spair, Of suspense and anxiety, Of sup
plication and prayer! Bear I'm mind
that the Murfreesboro men were In that
fight, and cannon and every volley OF
musketry that was fired, thinking my
husband or my son or my brother may
have been slain with that report.
There can be no conception OF the
utter desolation, the entire destruction
Of everything that could be destroyed
for miles and miles Of that beautiful
country. There was not one single
house Of any description left standing.
of those large farms; fields that few
days before were filled with harvests
Of wheat and corn were nothing but so
much mud and water There was not
living thing to be seen on the face of
the earth except the people. and how
they continued to live. move and have
their being I cannot tell myself. and /
was there all the time, too.
"In this connection / should like to
tell of little visit / made a wounded
Confederate few weeks after the bat
tie. Capt Tom Fowler, OF my brothers
regiment, and with whom I had al
ways been more or less associated, was
badly wounded in that battle and car
ried out I'm the Smyrna neighbOrhOod
10 miles from the city. After a short
time crowd OF girls and boys decided
to make him visit. We were told that
he was carried to the home Of Mr..
Davis where his leg had been ampu-
tated Horses and buggies were hard
TO get, but we managed to get up enough
to carry three couples out. We found
Capt. Fowler very comfortably situated
in an Office building In the yard, very
jolly and so glad to see US. We spent
the day, and were Hospitality enter
tanned at the dinner hour. This Mr..
and Mrs. Davis were the father and
mother of noble Sam Davis who went
down to death rather than dishonor.
shall always feel proud and honored