The National tribune., 1909-02-25
your Place

I remained there aboat three days,
As near as / can recollect, at the end
Of which time the rear-guard had come
up. When / got ready to leave / Of
fered to pay my friend, either Confed-
crate money or greenbacks, but he
refused to take payment. and I offered
him a pair of fine new gauntlet gloves,
telling him to give them to one of his
boys when he came home. He took
these and thanked Hle.
Then l went to the field hospital at
Big Shanty. From here the sick and
wounded were all sent back to Chatta-
nooga / soon became convalescent,
and was sent back to Dalton, Ga, to
help garrison that town with the I'd
Mo.
Instead of gaining rapidly in health.
was compelled to report to the doctor
soon after L reached Dalton. He pro-
nounced my trouble enlargement OF
the heart and excused me from duty,
saying that he could do nothing for
me while I was in the army, but that
1 must be as temperate as possible and
let whisky and tobacco alone.
We were quartered in small tents
had to lie on the ground, in fact, and
my officer gave me permission TO draw
my rations and find place to stop in
private house.
called ON a lady by the name OF
Watts, living in the northeast part of
town She was a lady of about 60,
and her two daughters, Betty and Cal
lie, IS and 16 years of age, were the
only members of her family at home.
She had three boys in, the Southern
army. two at the front and one a pris-
ener at Camp Douglas. Chicago.
/ requested permission of her t0
make my bed under the porch. where
n 10 l.,,, tae nj lad y
said: "No. I've got boys in oIi
army. and I'll treat you as I'd like tc
have them treated" / didn't stop tC
argue but went into the house with
her. and she gave me her spare bed
where 1 lay sick for two weeks, anc
my own mother and sisters couldn't
have done more for me than they did
After got up and was strong enough
to go about / went outside the pickel
lines to do a little foraging one day
and came in. / think, on the Knoxville
Pike, that ran by the house. AS / go
near our lines ! heard musket firing
to the south of town, but thought moth
ing of IT, as we had no idea there wa,
any armed force nearer than Sher
mans front; but before I got 10 Mrs
Watts's ! knew by the rapid and con
tinual firing that there was skirmish
ing going on just south of town.
In order that you may understa M
the location of the field, 1 will say tha
the garrison was camped on a ridge
covered with oak timber. somethin-
like a half mile cast of town. AS nea
as I can recollect there We're about 30
of the I'd Mo. and about 10 GONZALES
cents. At the time Wheeler sent i
his flag of truce not a shovelful @
earth had been thrown up for breast
works, and we did not have a siugl
piece of artillery. The first intimatio
we had that there was any Souther
force between us and Sherman wa
when the flag of truce came in froi
Gen. Wheeler. ordering the surrendC
of the garrison. Three times, ! thinl
he sent a demand for the surrender {
the town, but each time the Colon
sent back an answer as defiant as
he had force capable of resisting a
Wheeler's troops. which / learned whi
was a prisoner were about 1000
cavalry and mounted infantry and ]
pieces of artillery.
When 1 went into Mrs. Watts's