Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1910-06-29
YANKEE HOME.
E ditor ofThe Advertiser Visit
ed National Soldiers Home
at johnson City Ten
nessee.


1t may be Of ~interestso some 0.
The Advertisers readers TO know
something in detail Of the Nationa
Soldiers Home that the write
visited while on the recent press
trip. There are ninIe hoIts through
out the country maintaIlled by tn
national government the sur
yivors who fought urssIer Gran
during the Civil wal. ahe Home
which we visited is located on the
outskirts of Johnson gE Tenn,
town of about 10000 POPULATION.
1t is an ideal institution Of It'll
kind. But why should not be
when the government BAY expended
about ten millions ofsdoilars within
the past four years eqslpping it.
The Home is located near the cen
tire of a tract of 400 .asTesymueh OF
which is laid out viii beautiful
walks and drives. Outn front OF
the main buildings, whiphsare very
massive and imposing appear
ance, is an artificial lag (which is
teeming with fish and which
swan glide PEACEFULLY,
seemingly conscious oftheir beauty
and importance. To Gle rear of
these buildings is the deer park,
where several deer and a5herd of elk
can be seen.
Near this park wasthed dairy and
cattle barn which. contained about
a hundred of the finest Jersey cows
that we have ever seen.
While some Of the national
homes have as many 800 and
5000 old soldiers, there are only
about 1900 in the Mountain Branch
Home. These are comnpsed Of al
most every nationality about IS
being negroes. The bred men
have separate sleeping Iarters and
are assigned to oneiend the large
room The 8risasked one
of the Blue Coats-they are all
required to wear Regulation
blue coats at the Honf there
we're not great nunlbsF fforeign.
ers in the NortherS curing
the war and his Tepl During
rebenianEthere oas
mixture. RepresentafTs sSery
nation fought withsus. IShaYe seen,
whole companies whose captain.
had to give his. commands IN
French, some in German and others
in Italian" We did not like the
use of the word Rebellion" but
'gritted our teeth" and said moth
This same old Yankee, original
y from New York, took great
pride in being able to say that he
vas with Sherman in his march
through Georgia, volunteering the
that the South could have
held out longer had it not been for
Sherman. Had he not been an old
nan the writer might have lost his
,emper while talking with the old
1t would not do, however,
or some of Edgefeld's old "Rebs"
o meet such a dyed-in-the-wool
iouth hater, either on government
property or off of it.
While strolling leisurely about
he place, we talked with several
# the inmates and our impression
s that many of them were stragglers
md buns who never saw any actual
ervice, and they are noR not only
Imported in grand style at these
Homes but receive a pension be-
ides. We were informed that num-
,ers of the inmates of the Home
ave bank accounts in johnson
Jity. Think of how many old Con-
ederate veterans exc out a hsad-to-
Mouth existence while these Union
oldiers have all of their wants pro-
ided for and are given several hun
red dollars a year in cash besides.
Among the inmates of this splen-
idly equipped Home are some young
nen who were in the Spanish-Ameri-
an war. One remarked to a member
+ our party that he was simply
here to have an easy time but did
ot care anything for those "d-n
Yankees"
To loyal Southerners, sons of
hose who wore the gray, there is
omething uncanny about the place,
n indescribable something in the
tmosphere that makes them un-
comfortable. The writer was charm
d with the splendid buildings, spa
ious well kept grounds, beautiful
overs and shrubbery but apart
rom this we can not say that we
our brief visit to the Noun
ain Branch Home.
A rode ND to a farm