The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1915-05-20
MARCH FIFTY YEARS AGO.
Events of the Great Struggle, as Con-
fict was Nearing End.

The ides of March, a. D., 1865,
marked the closing Of the fourth year
of bitter war between the two sections
of the United States, the North and
the South, the federal and the Con-
| federate governments. In both Sec
tions from millions of souls, in cities
| and hamlets. halls and huts, in
churches and homes, in that dark
hour of dearth and death, assembled
prayer in petition for the blessing Of
the dawn Of peace-prayer, though,
in which was incorporated petition
for victory, respectively. The men
of the armies of Blue and Grey,
"tenting on the old camp ground
sang around their camp fires of
many are the hearts longing tonight
for the war to cease" The dawn of
peace was then very near. At that
period the awful drama was nearing
its close, when the war would
cease" but many of the actors then
upon the gore-drenched stage never
hailed the dawn or rejoiced with
those rejoicing when the war did
cease. There were a few more acts
of dire sequence and scenes of earn
age before the final fall of the cur
tain.
In Virginia, the mere wreck of the
proud army which, under Lee and
Jackson, during the years Of bloody
strife had dealt the federal army so
many crushing blows, was surround
ed by the mighty hosts of Grant and
Sheridan like a, wounded lion at bay,
facing defantly his advancing foes
and Jackson was not there. The rem
nants Of command of the once splen-
did Army of the West, reinforced by
several small bodies Of troops from
our coastal region, again under their
old commander, Joseph E. Johnston,
again faced Sherman's much more
powerful and hitherto often met
army in North Carolina. Johnston
had collected a force of about $4,000
men, against which were opposed
three armies from South
Carolina, Terry's from Wilmington
and Schofeld's from Kingston, North
Carolina, numbering about 10000
well fed, we'll equipped troops-with
Johnston were not Clebourne and
i Walker.
Lee, with $4,000 half-starved, poor
ly equipped men, was striving to de-
fend near Petersburg thirty miles Of
Entertainments. Grant pressed against
Lee with 125,000 well equipped
troops and was as rapidly as possible
! concentrating all of the available
federal forces in the South for an
other and final "On to Richmond"
Lees only hope of continuing the
struggle now so vastly unequal lay
in abandoning Petersburg and Rich
mond, the long-sought and most ofteh>>
fought for, and uniting his army with
Johnston's in North Carolina-and
then? Johnston was preparing to
resist and impair in every manner
possible Sherman's advance through
North Carolina to join Grant. john
ston's lean commands in dingy gray
were anxious and eager to face again
under command of Johnston the
hosts Of Sherman, as they had done
often in Tennessee and Georgia.
This eager, animating spirit ap-
peared to me, to spring more direct
ly from a passionate desire for re-
venge than from hope Of ultimate
success or thirst for future glory in
victory won There were no racial
prejudices and. hatred as between
the bearded Slav Cossack and the he'll
meted Teuton; or as between Briton
and Turk. The real issue was be-
tween Americans, natives Of the soil,
acouaintances, schoolmates and Of
ten kindred, in many instances close
and occasionally of consanguinity OF
the same degree as between Cain and
Abel. But there was burning de-
sire on the part of the few remain
ing men of the army of the west to
wreak on Sherman's army vengeance
in blood for wrongs deep and dam
nable. The opportunity soon came.
On the 18th of March Johnston
threw his compacted remnants OF
commands in Sherman's front at
Averysboro and, metaphorically, COM
manded- Halt" Sherman ordered
forward" and then things began to
happen"
AS animating as our thirst for re-
venge was the enemy's pride OF a
year of successes. Flushed with vic
tory he came proudly, gloriously on.
as if naught could check his progress
| or would dare attempt to stay his ad-