The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1907-07-12
BIG STIR IN CON-
FEDERATECIRCLES
...,s VETERANS AND pAUeE-
".s oF THE cokFEDERAcY
W.T. INVESTIGATE
CHARGES AGAINST
MAS. LATHAM.
ry,., To Give Authority Fs'
gs Circular Against The
Memphis Lady.

.,A.k. Confederate and social cir.
hemphis, as well as In other
80. of tennessee and Kentucky,
800 climax Tuesday when
ss,aA Law Chapter. U. D. G.,
.oOtsd drastic resolutions denounc-
:, AZ false charges made against
Irs T J. Latham, Of Memphis. and
I.m.ndlng the name of the person or
us-so., responsible for the reports
NON which a letter written by Gen.
tyler OF Hickman, KY, was
based.
Committee Of Veterans.
Investigation OF the charges is being
n.da nv A committee Of seven Confed-
nro,s veterans, of which Mr.. Dabney
N Scales is chairman. The meeting
- the Sarah Law chapter Tuesday
vas a part Of the investigation.
Members OF the Sarah Law chapter
vsra exceedingly reticent about the
matter Tuesday, and very little about
rho proceedings could be obtained.
At the reunion of the Forrest
cavalry veterans in Memphis last
wear Gen. H. A. Tyler, according TO
common report, is said to have pub
,icly protested against the prominence
~ Mrs. Latham in Confederate work,
declaring she had not favored the Con-
Tolerate cause during the war between
tho states and that she had not been
escorted to the Canada boundary line
by Northern soldiers, as she is sup
posed to have claimed.
These. too were carefully kept from
the general public. The next step ia
the controversy was the distribution OF
the dodgers at the state meeting OF
the L. D. C. at Columbia, Tenn. Ell
forts at the time, 1t is declared, were
made BY friends of Mrs. Latham to
secure and destroy all the circulars,
but these failed. 80 u
Copy Of Circular.
The circular is in the form OF a
letter to Mrs. Collier and reads as
follows
Hickman, KY, May II, 1907.
To Mrs. w. A. Collier, Memphis,
Tenn:
Several months ago | expressed to
you my Indignation at seeing Mrs. t.
J Latham thrust forward as the rep
resentative of the Daughters OF The
Confederacy on all public occasions,
telling you that | knew that she was
not worthy of being member, much
less an honored one. stating that she
was a Union woman during the war,
and that there was not one word OF
truth in the published statement that
she had been banished to Canada Dy
Gen Paine and sent there under
guard OF negro soldiers. You MADE
this statement of mine the basis OF
confidential inquiry through Gen.
Marcus j. Wright, custodian or the
military records at Washington, as
to what the records might show on
the subject. Gen. Wright proved 10
be warm partisan of Mrs. Latham,
and communicated the contents OF
said letter to her, but withheld the
name of the author, and took her staVe-
ments as to the matter in controversy
and proceeded to issue her vindica-
ton Since then Mrs. Latham mas
been pouring out the Walls OF ner
wrath upon several ladies whom sne
suspected Of being the author, ana
threatening to have them expelled at
your convention at Columbia, Tenn,
on the 18th inst. | myself have been
the recipient of numerous communlca-
tons both from her and her husband,
thirty typewriter pages
of legal cap paper copiously interlined
with pen and ink. feel that 1t Is due
YOU that I give you fully the facts
and | will at the same time make this
by way of an open letter in reply 10
the numerous communications that
have received from Mr.. and MIS-
Latham. only one (the first of which,
replied to.
was with Gen. Forrest In all ms
operations in West Tennessee ana
West Kentucky during the year 1864
During the months of January ana
February, 1865, l was in command OF
he district comprising all OF the coun'
lies west OF the Tennessee river IN
Kentucky and the border counties Oh
and made my headquar'
.ers most of the time at Dresden. For
The first two years after the war was
a frequent visitor at Dresden. and wen
acquainted with most Of Its citizens
Mr.. and Mrs. j. 7. Latham
In fact. have known them well since
1860 1t was the common report tnat