The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1915-08-19
PERIOD OF RECONSTRUCTION.
Written by Mrs. W. VI. Li%htsey, Fair
fax Chapter.-I;ead at Conference.

things have never seemed so dark,
and our Southern people have never
been so humiliated as during the ter
rible days of reconstruction.
The year 1865 was dark year
the very darkest in the annals OF our
beloved State In February Sher-
mans army, marching northward
from Savannah, burned many of our
towns, our churches and other public
buildings. They utterly destroyed
all supplies they could not consume.
from the pig in the pen. the chickens
in the yard, to the mich COWS in the
lot.
In April the Southern armies sur
rendered and our soldiers came strag-
Cling home. many of them on foot.
Here l would mention two of Barn
well county's noble soldiers, Col.
Laurens Youmans and his brother,
Albert, who walked that long weary
journey OF over 500 miles from Ap.
pomattox. They passed many loose
horses and mules on their way but
did not take possession of them as
many did, for having gone through
the war with clean hands, they want
ed to keep them clean.
Can you imagine how our soldiers
must have felt to come home and
find, many of them, their farms de-
stroyed, cattle gone, homes devas-
tated, and, in many instances, lands
confscated? One lady who survives
that time said to me few days ago:
II am glad for you that you were not
here to know of the destruction, grief,
anxiety, chaos, unrest, and in many
cases the almost starvation and des-
pair of those days"
The first act of reconstruction was
to divide South Carolina into mill
tary districts, each of which was
ruled by a military governor. The
garrisons were at first white troops
entirely, but soon came the use OF
negro soldiers, which was reckless
in the extreme. These negro soldiers
were arrogant, frequently imperti-
nent and sometimes insulting. 1t
was then that the negro had the
white man in his power, for on the
slightest grievances white man was
reported to a military authority. One
of Hampton county's veterans told
us personally of being arrested and
taken before courtmartial for reprov-
ing negro plow hand.
Social conditions at this time were
unbearable. A favorite expression of
the negroes at the time of their .po-
litical supremacy was this: DE bot
tom rails on the top now, and we's
gwine to keep it dar.'
Such social earthquake has never
occurred in the history Of any peo-
pie. The opening of the year found
the negroes in slavery, not only con-
tented but perfectly happy-loyal to
their masters and with no thought of
the future. In a few months they
were free, and were made citizens or
the country, and they thought they
were superior to their late masters.
many of whom had been disfran-
chised
Designing leaders instilled into the
minds of the negroes that they were
as good as the whites, that they
should be allowed to sit in the white
mans parlor, and to marry among
the whites. Thus the seed was sown,
and today we can scarcely pick up a
newspaper that does not contain an
account of the lynching or burning of
some negro brute; we are reaping
the harvest. Yes, the black brute.
fear of whom hangs like dark cloud
over our Southland, is a direct pro-
duct of the teachings and practices
of the days of reconstruction.
And our State government at this
time-what can We say of it. There
was no organized State government.
no central civil authority. no militia
to which the people might look for
protection of life and property. The
legislature and all public Offices we're
taken possession of by Yankees. seal
lawags and negroes. Politically
things grew worse and worse, more
and more corrupt, and our legisla-
ture was derisively written of as the
"ringed, streaked and striped. be-
ing composed of carpet-baggers. seal
awags and negroes. a photograph
of the reconstruction Legislature of
South Carolina shows 63 members,
so of whom were negroes or mulat-
toes. OF these % could read and
write and Al make their mark.
During this period, known as carpet
bag government, South Cardinals