Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-10-17
BOY DURING WARTIME !.
CROWS REMINISCENT
10 Recalls Incidents Of Home Life
When Men We're Fight
ing at Front.
INCIDENTS TRAGIC AND AMUSING


Time Was Found for Old-Fashioned
Dances, and People Tried to For.
get Their Miseries in joys OF Quad
rifle.
In the summer OF 1860. the writer
IN company with gentleman of our
LOOK trip to many of the summer
resorts In the mountains. including
Greenbrier White Sulphur and other
springs. Arriving at the Hot Springs
NO found many Southern guests,
among them Senator Yancey. of Mis-
sissippi. tho stronxes. kind Of Demo.
crat. and the proprietor of tho springs;
An ardent Unionist or Republican. do
not remember which. but they were on
opposite sides. and the discussions
%axed hot The nominations had
been made for the presidential Office
by four parties. as follows: Rreck-
enridSe and Lane. Southern Demo-
crafts; Douglass and johnson. Cniohists;
Beil and Everett. Wing. and Lincoln
and Hamlin. Republican. The talk OF
t'nS warmer every day, and WAC
predicted IL Lincoln should be elected
mo election came off time, and
The Republicans. owing to a split
Democratic ticket. elected their man
During that campaign the writer saw
bape!s. depicting the different parties.
This was in n paper published at Pc
tereburS. Va. and gotten up by Seth
Cobb. OF Drcwryville. Va. who after the
war went West and gained some favor
as journalist. The illustration
showed four game cocks. all heelcd
The Douglass cock was standing on the
WhiS chicken and Growing cock a
doodlc-doo. I've got the best of you.
and can whip the Lincoln cock and
~
fne.
The winter passed and spring opened
with war, talk still stronger until
South Carolina aeceded and proceeded
to capture Fort Sumpter. and that was
tho beginning. Companies OF voIun-
teers begun TO spring up In every sec
tion. and there was In our own County
OF Brunswick organized four compa Mics
at once--the Brunswick GuardrN the
Grsys. the Ebene1er Grays and the
Blues. All were of'cered by competent
men, They were drilled In camp for
short while. and then hurried To tho
front The nower Of tho South went
nj this nrst call and enlisted for the
war. The old men and boys were left
TO look after home and family
The battle which history has made
familiar ] will not attempt to write
OF. but the home life for the next four
Years. and some ludicrous things oc-
N instance. l have been Informed
TINT when II was rumored in Peters
birS that the Yankee gunboat PaNuea
vas comns TO City Point. many II
the citizens. armed with shotguns. pi6-
tolls and bowie knives. went down 70
meet the Pawnee and prevent landing
OF troops They also took along two
old cannon with which they celebrated
the glorious Fourth OF July. These
were loaded on nat car and carried
down, The Pawnee failed 10 come. and
IL was then discovered that there was
no ammunition for the cannon.
In tho years lss3-s4 raids by Sheri-
dan and Wilson were frequent but
there was nothing OF such brutality or
ssvaEery as shown In tho war OF to-day
I MAYER heard OF thu least bad treat.
rlcnt TO any lady or child during tho
war in our section. The raiders would
take tho good horses and leave their
poor cnch. but further ! illaglns never
heard OF. And will give a case In
point in substantiation:
~ that time the writer "A boy Of
twelve, Was STAYING with widow. 4
cousin. and raiding party camrnd
not far on After dark a Yankee sol.
der came to the house. and begun TO
question the servants 49, 10 where the
loGy had hidden her silverwarG. In
the meantime. Il captain b. the name Of
John Elltcott, came upon the sccne.
ne was NIcSseu as Imagined me
knights OF old--a black velvet suit
with gold chavrons on his coat. denot-
inG his rank. with "a wide brim SLOUGH
hat turned UP at the side. md an
immense black ostrich plume. He sim
ply gathered that soldier by the back
OF tho neck and Kicked him down q
hight OF steps into the road and then
came back. introduced himself TO the
lady. apoloSizinS for the way In which
he had acted. got on his horse and LETT.
I have often wondered II no went
through tho war safely He was q sen-
uemGn OF the hrst-grade, thought
There were also deode OF heroism
with US that have neror seen any
record Of One. In particular. I rstnem.
Der. ] think II was In 90. that . party
Of tventy.s!x Yankee oAvslryuaen bad
broken through the Confederate lines
and wore on their way through our
county. near Farmville. to burn the
high bridge on tho Norfolk and Vert
ern. BY worry daring ind dover vuse
Captain George D. White. at homo
wounded In the foot. with -twelv. OLD
men, armed with double-oAFreied EunA
captured them. and carried them to
-Belheld now ENporia) and cant them
10 Libby Prison.
Some amusing things took place
slong about then in the bnckwoods AZ
that time solo leather was worry scaroo
and nearly all the negroes wore wear
Ing wooden bottom shoes. and tho white
boys In some instances. On this occa.
sion the whole neighborhood were In
v!ted to n, party IN our vicinity. and
nearly all rodo horseback When the
dance was swinging full aud tho stem
torian voice OF tho fiddler was calling
those dear OLD figures OF balance all-
and all promenade" an old follow pohed
his head 81 the door and called the host
by name. and Informed him In a tone
good for half q milo that sorrs ono
had cut of one OF his SADDLE skirts. tt
not both. There was much hurryink
out. and every man went for his horse.
and yau might hear them In every d.
ree;ion sxclaiminG. Hes got mino.
too" Some one wanting sole leather
had actually cut off every saddler skirt
on tho grounds, and rs did not ride
OH saddle it was amusing to me.
The parties In the off-corners OF
every county at that time were called
hnska parties, from the fact that corn
meal bran was scattered over the
floor about inch dam and o.