The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-08-01
VETERANS EXPERIENCES
AFTER APP0nATT0I
HE FOUGHT UNDER MALONE.
Tells OF Farewell Of Hattie General
Saw seventeen Yenkec Soldiers
Forced to Tote Negro Pickaninnies,
Creating Much Merriment.

Statesboro, Ca, r. F. d. No. /.
/ July 3, 1919
TO the Editor:
| Having Just attended the great re-
union at Richmond, Va, where had
a verv enjoyab BILE time. indeed, except.
ing the very unpleasant weather,
have been thinking of writing you OF
to some other paper of several INCL
dents OF the lasa war as perhaps N.
same may be Of interest 10 some Of
your readers.
with my fsti.et the late w. +.
whitaker, / enlisted in thu Co ltsl-
crate Army early In. the wa. in Com
pany f of the Taird Ge1-gia Resi
men. of Infantry. which was include
in wrights Brigade My father fell
AT the Battle of the Crater, near
Petersburg, and eleven other MEM
hers of our company were killed at
the same time and seven wounded.
surrendered with General Lee at APP
pomattox on April 2, 1855, and heard
General Lees farewell address, and
can never forget how his voice quiv-
cred with emotion In telling US good
bye. I was standing near him and
could hear every word distinctly which
he uttered. and the old boys were
deeply moved by his tender fare
we'll
Two hours later General william
Malone. under whom i had also
fought. called his division together
and made a farewell talk, and his
voice was so choked with emotion two
or three times. that he had to pause
before going on with his memorable
! words of parting. | heard while In
Richmond that they were talking
about getting up money to build a
monument 10 General Mahone's men,
DRY In or near Petersburg. l want
to say that while ] am a farmer in
moderate circumstances. I would be
| very glad for the committee, IL any
/ of them see this to write to me, and
| will send few dollars with a great
! deal of pleasure to help out in this
worthy object.
| left Appomattox on Thursday,
April 10, and walked nearly all the
/ way 10 my home. except once in a
while another comrade who was with
/ me. and l, would get ride Of four
or five miles on some section on the
railroad that had not been torn up
by the enemy. I reached home in
/ three weeks, or somewhere about the
/ 9Th or 7th OF May.
/ Sweet Music for Hungry Man.
| on the day that General Lee sur
I rendered at Appomattox. I was nine
! teen years, one month and two days
old. As before stated, left Apo
/ mattox Thursday morning. April 49,
and on the next day / stopped at a
/ large country home surrounded h.
magnificent red oak trees about sew y
] teen or eighteen miles from Danvilie.
l do not know whether II was In Hall
! fax County or Pittsylvania. but there
was a number of old soldiers return
! ing homeward like myself IN the front
/ yard. who informed me that the good
/ women in the house were cooking
/ some rations for them. and as / was
I nearly half-star rived and felt like ]
/ could not wait any longer TO get
something to eat, slipped around
back of the house and went into the
kitchen where two nice looking young
ladies. apparently eighteen or twenty
/ years of age were cooking large pones
! Of cornbresd and thick fat slices OF
middling meat, the frying odor OF the
meat being especially pleasant to my
/ nostrils They turned around and
! looked at me in surprise, asked my
name. where I lived. the name OF nv
father and mother and other cues.
tons of that sort, and kept telling
them that l was 30 hungry didn'l
know what TO do. Finally one OF
| them whose name was IAxxie, said &c
her sister, this boy looks like he IL
so hungry and weak. that I am goins
to let him sit down on this pile OF
wood and have slice of this meat
and one OF the first pones OF corn
bread that Is cooked This was mighty
sweet music to my ears. and In two
or three minutes time she placed
In my hands one of the cakes of