Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1916-05-22
"Uncle" Iv's Reply.

lSJQ lnSC CAME W uduo CuuQdy
morning. I don't get my mail on
Sunday and the post mistress at
Harlem did not know who Uncle
Iv Morgan was, so she did not know
what to do with it, but it happened
that a young man from South Caro-
lima who knew me was in the post
office Saturday evening when the
letter came to Harlem and be told
the post mistress he knew who it
was for and sent it to me the next
day.
Now I will give you little Of
the conversation that took place
when the young man gave the letter
to my wife. She broke it open and
found it was from an old soldier
and then said Cousin Iv (that is
what my wife calls me) would not
take anything for this letter for he
is jdst foolish about his old COM
rades and Hugh I am not ashamed
to admit it, and one of my sons at
whose home my wife was said,
Mama this letter is from the old
Scout you have heard papa talk
about so much" Yes I have often
told my children about you being
a scout and that you were most of
your time across the line getting
information for Gen. Hampton.
Did it 90 me good to get the let
ter? Gould you have seen the heaV-
ing of my chest and the tears 10 my
eyes the question would have been
answered and my mind took fiji ight
back 10 those days Ethat tried mems
very souls and though we did not
gain what we fought for. [ do not
regret and never will regret that we
fought. But though the southern
army was overpowered mot whip
ped) her deeds of valor went to all
the civilized world and they made
record of bravery and endurance
and bull dog courage that will go
down in history without fear of any
equals.
And not only during the war did
the southern men show to the VOID
of what kind of material they were
made but after the war and up
to 1876 where had there ever been
people who had to undergo what
the southern soldier did. But thank
our old general was still alive and
his men still loved him and when be
as leader said we will come again
into our own, his old soldiers raised
the song, rock Wade Hampton in
big arm chair.
But--old Chamberlain and
Wade Hampton went to the big
arm chair and Chamberlain back to
his home in the north and South
Carolina was free one more time,
and to-day very few of the south
ern states had her on any line and
the sons and grandsons and daugh-
tiers and granddaughters are to-day
lust as true as were their fathers
and grandfathers. God bless them.
l don't know how many times l
have read your letter. 1t is lying
now right by me while l write this
and l seem to see you now as used
to see you and the black horse you
rode for quite a while and there
comes vividly to my mind the first
of August 1868 when you, Gus
Glover and myself were paying our
compliments to the Yankees just
across the railroad trying to take
Harts battery and how hot our rifle
barrels got and how we three got
hemmed in that corner by regi-
ment of Yankees and how we slung
carbines and came out emptying
our pistols into the Yankees as we
broke through and I can see it
seems Richard O'Hara who rode
the old big bobtailed bay horse the
lead of the team of gun No. l and
how when he drove up to take the
gun away the Yankees had hold of
the wheels and the artillerymen
fighting them off with ramrods and
sponge staffs and after O'Hara had
gone possibly $50 yards he deliber-
ately stopped, pulled off his cap and
yelled back to the Yankees and told
them they were rot worth FIVE cents
shinele block.
And on another occasion when
the Yankees rcssed the Rappahan-
mock in considerable force, and
COL. P. M. B. Young of Cobb's le-
oion was in command and the ola