Goldsboro semi-weekly argus., 1909-04-28
GoIDsBoRo N c., WEDNESDAY EVENING.

where they packed bales OF cotton in
long sacks suspended from gin floor
above the mill sheets below, the lint
cotton being packed in these long
bags with iron crowbars in the hands
of stout negro man. Such was the
crude way of packing bales of cotton
before the screw press was invented.
The Rangers, having driven the
Federals back, returned, and after
wrapping their dead comrade in his
own army blankets, buried him upon
the slope of the hill under large
postoak tree, near the branch where
he was killed. With the assistance of
an old Fort darkey, Durdin Fort, they
built high pen of pine poles around
his grave and after presenting the old
darkey with Whites army saddle, re-
quested him and my father to see that
nothing disturbed the lonely grave,
they all bid a sad farewell to the hal
lowed spot, and resumed their march
at the head of Johnson's army to
Greensboro, N. c., where General
Johnson surrendered his army to
General Sherman.
Oftentimes while walking over the
old homestead ! would wander by the
Rangers lonely grave beneath the
whispering pines and wonder if the
loved ones in far-off Texas would ever
learn the fate of the dear soldier boy
missed at the family fireside. But
fate soon solved the problem, as there
came in the neighborhood two Texas
soldiers on their way home down in
Texas from Appomattox driving a
double team to buggy. Hearing of
these Texas soldiers. I drove over to
Nahunta depot and met them. I found
one of them to be a Colonel Hooks,
who came by the Hooks neighborhood
to visit some of his fathers relatives,
his father having years before emil
grated to Texas. l informed Colonel
Hooks of the death and burial of
Ranger White upon the old homestead
He said he knew White and his fami-
ly, as they were near neighbors in
Texas. The Colonel said he would in
form the White family upon his ar
rival at home
Shortly afterward, while my father,
brother and l were sitting on the front
piazza of our home enjoying the pleas
ant breeze from the west, we saw
drive up to the front gate two men in
buggy followed by a hearse and
driver.
The old Irish veteran, Mike Wood,
so we'll known in Goldsboro and sur
rounding country, was one of the oc-
eupants of the buggy, and introduced
us all to Mr.. White. of Texas. brother
of the dead Ranger, who said his ia
ther had sent him all the way from
Texas to exhume the body and carry
it to the Confederate cemetery at
ing conveyed to them the sad news of
his death and the place of his burial.
All of us proceeded to the grave,
after taking along with us the old
faithful darkey, Durdin Fort, who had
assisted in the burial of the Ranger
When the body was exhumed, and af-
ter unfolding the army blankets from
around it, his brother said he could
swear to those two family finger rings
upon his brothers fingers, one was
gold and the other silver. These rings
reminded me of the gold rings tha
were placed upon brother and my fin
gers when we joined the Confederate
service, so that in event of death W.
could be recognized by those fami1.
rings. Young White placed thos
rings in his pocket to show his par
ents that they were the same ring
that were placed upon his dead broth
er's fingers when he left home to joi
the Eighth Rangers.
After placing the body in a beauti
full casket they carried it to Goldsbort
N. c., and re-buried it in lot apal
. from but under the shadow of tn
beautiful Confederate monumeI
erected by the Goldsboro Rifles to tn
o 800 Confederate heroes who bivoua
4 beneath it.
n Young White had white marbl
slab erected at the head of his brotl
6 er's grave with the appropriate il
r scription: Jared K. White, Co. B, 81
: Texas Cavalry. Born Dec. 8th, 184
: in Austin Co., Texas. Killed in Sc
i vice of the Confederacy Mar. got
n 1861
20 Having built a substantial iron raj
Il ing around the grave before he LEI
h he informed me that his father r
" quested that our family should lot
a. rafter his hero sons grave, and tn
r. as soon as he arrived home his faith
n and the whole family would move
g Brazil, South America, as he wou
never again live under the flag th
Of his dear boy died fighting.
ld l have never heard from the VIII
o. family since young Whites return
le Texas.
he I was reading in the "Confeder;
re Veteran" about an old comrade, Jol
ch lof Texas, who was in the Confeder
navy with me at Charleston, S. C.
de wrote him to send me a Texas Fl
he This was promptly sent by expr
The and / presented it to the president
Nl1,@, D,,Hu Chonfor Don ohtorc n