Bridgeton pioneer., 1917-07-05


a hard struggle to decide on which side
they would fight. The regular army
was full of such cases. In one instance
a young officer who felt that his duty
lay In one direction, while his sympa-
thies lay in the other, became tempo
rarily insane.
The bulk of these persons who were
in doubt were southern born men who
had been educated at West Point or
Annapolis. Cases like that Of Harry
Sheffield. a southern man with nothing
that could be interpreted as an obliga-
tion either way. were more rare. But
Harry had an additional reason for
fighting against his own people, In his
sweetheart. He felt that his duty
called upon him to fight with the north,
but he must not only fight against his
own people, but his doing so would
separate him from the southern girl he
loved.
Harry Sheffields state, Tennessee,
was divided. East Tennessee was all
fer the Union, while middle and west
Tennessee sympathiZed with the Con-
federacy. The Sheffield plantation was
in middle Tennessee, not far from
Nashville. When the struggle between
the north and the south came Harry
walked the floor all one night strug-
Cling with himself to do what he con-
sidered his duty. His heart was for
the south, but he believed that his duty
lay with the north. When morning
came without submitting himself to en-,
dure a goodby with those he loved he
started for east Tennessee and enlisted
in a federal regiment organizing at
Knoxville.
One morning in the spring Of 1865
Major Sheffield, having been mustered
out of the United States service, mount
ed his horse in Nashville and took
road leading southwark. Reaching a
rise in the ground, he shaded his eyes
with his hand and peered down upon
the place where he had been born and
raised.
The homestead was there, but it
was a sorry looking structure. The
row of negro huts were still standing,
and here and there a negro was seen
moving about in the general ruins.
By the proclamation of emancipation
issued during the war they were all
free, but evidently some of them clung
to their old home. The owner had
been killed commanding regiment of
Confederate troops during the war, and
Harry Sheffield was now the owner Of
what was left of a fine estate. His
mother had gone north to her people,
taking with her the younger children.
"Thank heaven" muttered Sheffield,
my interests are in no better cOndi-
tion than those of my neighbors."
Riding on, he pulled up between two
posts that had supported the gate to
the plantation and surveyed the scene
at closer view. An old negro came
tottering toward him.
Hello, Benz said Sheffield.
The man looked at him scrutininz,
ingly, then exclaimed:
"Fo' de Lawd. it's Mars Harryv'
The major asked what had become
Of Colonel Archibald and was told that
he had been one of the first to sue
cumb to the storm that had swept
over the south. His oldest son had
died of camp fever His wife and
Alma and the children had gone south
to Louisiana to her people, who lived
there.
81 suppose, Ben said Sheffield, "the
Archibald plantation is in as bad shape
as this, isn't it?"
"Wo'se, Mars Harry, wo'se. Yo' see.
dere was fghtin' over dar. and de
plantation house war riddled."
Sheffield cast his eyes about him,
taking in the forlorn appearance of
his once happy home. then turned his
horses head and started toward the
Archibald plantation.
When he reached it he saw woman
on the veranda giving instructions to
some negroes who were carrying bag
gage into the house. 1t was Alma, who
with her mother had returned to their
ruined home. Harry rode up to the
veranda. dismounted and stood face to
face with the girl he had left without
even goodby four years before. She
looked at him for some time without a
word, then, influenced by what had oc-
Cured since their last meeting, put
her hands to her face and wept.
Tears had checked reproaches. Shelf
field moved toward her, put his arms
about her, and her head sank upon his
breast
This scene was typical Of thousands
Of others. The struggle was over, and
the system that had caused it, a sys-
TEN that no person living had been re-
sponsible for, had died violent death.
Sheffield resolved that his first task
should be to bind up the wounds of
this stricken family before he attended
to his own affairs. A college chum
wrote him offering pecuniary assist
ance, which he accepted for himself
and used for the necessities of the
Archibald family. AS soon as he could
get workmen he sent them to patch up
the holes left nv cannon halls In tho