The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-04-21

or those persons who arc Interested
III 'nc var between the states md
IN" reunions OF tho Southern s,,ryt-
scEs OF that memorable strurp,a
d"nntlcsP VIII be Interested IN re,1.
ing somo OF the facts connected with
the first Confederate rcuutor. whites
Was ever held
On the fourth day OF IuIv ,ss,
nose Souther soldiers who had Go,nn
n,a,nmr tne war alive and VINO were
rI,'Si,iptrs OF the SiStieth North Carolina
tNtSlhlent, were entertnIned ut I'm
'''',S o. general and Mrs j. NJ Ray,
"o,, Ti.moth, the home of this aged
."upie' nenr Ashcvillc. y. e. Tho fort
,nat thls was the first catherine or
Ioiii ed"ratc soldiers is Eencrallv AZ
4fIptca m TINS section OF the South
/ ;HtnouEh II is said that thore Is s,,n,
!ttt" dispute IN regard to tho est
uate Of the first reunion, in that vir
Etnlh ana New Orleans cluiul that they
vrer mem. However, the Confederate
veterans gathered for tho first tins
~ TINS state ut Ramoth: that is a
, 49, when goes without saying, and
,"auy or those who took part In tho
! hsver-to- be forgotten reunion nnnr
Nshcrillc still are confident that thnI.
tended the very first one which was
result OF an idea conceived ~ Mrs
10y, whose husband was the com
,''''N' u bHe SlStletn North Carolina
,NsBiilent she discussed the matter
~ length with the general and thev
"eelded to invite all OF the soldiers
I nh" Fought under and with General
! .nrtnE 10 ne their guests on July g. 1889
me Invitation was accepted Nv h, ,
nMcen tnirty aud forty OF the soldiers.
! WI" visited Ramoth on the day Of the
,euli2n ana spent the entire day In
| recalling past experiences and battles
oi mo war In which they took part.
inc day was an ideal one. the sky
stE.st a..,.
70 encourage Mrs Ray in this great
undertaking, The homo Is situated I'm
ne mountains OF Western North Car
F., niina. and on the da,- OF the rer,niop
The high PEAKS in Tennessee w.rn
clearly visible Tho summer dav WAS
sioiious for such an occn sion and the
Veterans who attended the gatharln,
iGit their homes early in order that
theY might spend the day as the guest
81 inc man under whom they had
iousht Tor four yenrs during n con-
vest which has aided in making his
Tory. Music was rendered throughout
| tho occasion and Dixie" was MAYED
a. number OF times.
~ noon bountlful feast was
spread before the veterans by Mrs
| KAY and they remained at the home
or their former general until late in
w. M, evening. when in the light of n
some OF those who We're present tina
| reunion was the first and last on
Garth; to others 1t was the beginning
Tolerate soldiers. who since that time
nave attended many reunions OF their
comrades. There are still n large
! number OF those who were present at
General Rays In 1889 who reside in
| this portion of the State. although
quite number of them have Joined
their fellow warriors beyond.
General aud Mrs. Ray are well
known in this city. He is seventy
! three years Of age and she is five
years his junior. lilo is enjoying good
health and bears his ago we'll For
| tho past three years she has been
unable TO leave her room. having been
| confined with an illness which she
! has borne patiently Tier history is an
| interesting one.
| She IS the daughter OF the late Col
onel Caldwell, of Paris Tenn, and was
| married in the early aixtlca During
| the time of tho war she was q great
| help IN heipless families III the Inoun-
famous section Of this State, who were
UNPROTECTED and who were at tho
mercy OF bands of dcser;ers and ruff
fans. Mrs. Ray mtnistered to them
aud in many cases provided them with
| food Tie home OF General Ray dur
Ing tho war was the scene of many
hungry men. who We're tired and
wounded, being fed by the wife or
the man who was on the Battlefield
leading a regiment.
ASkcyiilc, \. @. "