Evening journal., 1914-12-28
New News Of Yesterday
How a Confederate Gene
raj Saw the Truth
BY Holland.

The Rev. John Kershaw. who is
now the rector Of the venerable St
Michael's Church at Charleston. S. c.,
a church around which are associated
many traditions of romantic interest.
is a son Of General Joseph B. Kerr
shaw who was one of the highly dis
tinguished officers of the Confederate
army. Not until he was about sixteen
years of age was he able to take SER
vice under the Confederate flag. He
was sixteen years of age about four or
iiVe months before the close of the
war and, young as he was, he was
then accepted as a soldier He was
assigned TO a position upon the staff
OF his father. and was in that service
during the seige of Richmond, and
was with his father when the retreat
from Richmond began. With his father
he was captured at the battle of
Sailors Creek, on April 6, three days
before Appomattox. He and his father
were brought as prisoners to Gen
Custer, who was I'm command of the
troops that had made the capture. In
fact Gen. Custer caused search to be
made for the son, who in some way
had been separated from his father at
the time both were made prisoners.
and it was Gen. Custer who restored
the son TO the father.
A few ays after Grant and Lee met
at Appomattox Court House village,
Gen. Korshaw and his son we're sent
North for the purpose of holding them
as prisoners Of war at Fort. Warren,
in Boston harbor They parted from
Gen Custer as though the relation
was one of friendship not marred In
any way by military differences.
When the train arrived in Jersey
City, General Kershaw heard a great
shouting. 'and looking from the car
window, he saw a large company OF
excited men and boys. Newsboys were
running hither and thither. and from
one of them General Kershaw bought
a paper and learned that President
Lincoln had been assassinated the
night before at Washington.
The soldiers who had Gen. Kershaw
and his son in charge were convinced
that it was the part of prudence to
take them across New York City as
speedily and as secretly as possible, So
that they might be safely placed in
the through train for Boston. No one
suspected that the two officers placed
aboard the train had recently served
in the Confederate army. At the vari-
GUS stopping places between New
York and Boston, Gen. Kershaw and
his son saw great throngs assembled
at the railway stations and in the
streets. At Bridgeport, at New Haven.
at Hartford. and at Springfield
throngs were gathered, and cOnspicu-
Gus among them were young men Of
military age, but who appeared to be
clerks or in civil life. some of them
mechanics. They were waiting to
learn any additional news about the
assassination.
After the train left Springfield, Gen.
Kershaw said to his son: Il have
been observing very strange thing
from tho car window. / have seen
thousands of young men at the vari-
Gus railroad stations. have seen
smoke rising from the factory CHM
neys. indicating that manufacturing is
i'm progress everywhere. / have seen
busy streets. so far as that has been
possible from the car window. All this
has been a revelation TO me. My sou,
we were often tOld--and most of us
believed the report-that in the North
there was as great exhaustion as that
we are familiar with in the South
For that reason we were persuaded
that the North could not carry on the
war much longer. But what have
seen? have seen young men in great
numbers at the stations and on the
public streets We haven't seen any
thing of that kind in the South.
have seen industry and business in
progress everywhere. l haven't seen
anything to indicate that a great war
has been il. progress. II occurs to me
that we were all mistaken. now
see that this war, so far as the North
was concerned. could have been con-
tinued for years, and I will say to you
that. not from a military point Of view,
but from the point of view of re-
sources, the Confederacy was doomed
at least two years ago"
Copyright, 1914, by +. ]. Edwards.
All rights reserved.)