Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1919-10-07
MRsFEITONS TALKS
CONDUCTED BY
MRsWH.FELTCN
General stone.nan's Raid and Capture

General Stone3uan'S ESa1d ana GapIur9
Nobody knows the forgetfulness of
age better than myself, but when
Stoneman made his very celebrated
raid below Atlanta in July, 1854, l
had the forethought to write down
the occurrences of that awful time
and they were also printed in
Macon newspaper the week after the
raid was. over and General Stoneman
surrendered to General Alfred Iver-
son, beyond Clinton, in Jones coun-
ty, Georgia.
We lived on an old plantation east
from Macon. We had refugeed to
the place earlier in the year 1864,
and after General Joe Johnston re-
tired from Cassviue, in Cherokee
county, Georgia, during May, 1864,
we had no other shelter until August,
1865, for ourselves and consider
able number of slaves.
On Friday we were informed by
grapevine, otherwise rumor, that
General Stoneman with a large force
of cavalry was advancing on Ma
con, and it was said he aimed to go
on to Andersonville from Macon if
he succeeded in capturing Macon.
L lie ASW SpCIpClS Sc14u MINING
his line of march, but we sent a
colored woman over to Macon to
get our mail, a distance of four
miles, in direct line, in the after
noon of that day.
She generally made a considerable
stay in the city but she surprised US
by an early return and she had evil
IDENTIFY been in great hurry. She
said a Confederate soldier overlook
her as she was walking inside the
Central railroad bridge (the city's
bridge having been burned early in
war;, and he told her to hurry as the
Yanks were coming at a terrible
pace and they might get to her
house before dark. She was almost
speechless because of her fatigue
and the July heat of the weather.
We had some visiting friends in
the house and we all pooh-poohed the
story, told her to sit down and fan
herself until supper time because
somebody had made up a fool story
to scare her" She quietly replied.
"He is scared to death himself for
his horse was in a lather of sweat
and he was in no better fix himself.
Nevertheless we ate supper in quiet
and went to bed with the big window
shutters wide open because the night
was so close and sultry, and we had
no window glass. When daylight
came the air was torrid and my
husband rose early and took a seat
on the front door steps as usual
to see the farm hands get about
their daily labors. I had also slept
poorly and my two little boys had
been restless all night.
The colored woman who MIXED
the COWS and her ten-year-old boy,
who always went with her to rope
the calves, passed along with the
big milk pail towards the COW pen
just over the hill. I was putting
on my shoes and stockings when l
heard the boy running back and
screaming to my husband. Yankees
over there, thousands of EN-"
In a few minutes the face of the
earth was blue with cavalrymen, all
mounted, canteens rafting and now
riding frantically towards the city
They demanded that DR.. FELTON,
should go with them to show the
nearest way. Somehow he evaded
them and we knew we were in for
something that might be death for
good many before the day was
over Squad after squad came along
and we were surrounded. Every
house on the place was entered and
the more leisurely amused themselves
by killing my chickens and stripping
the beautiful peach orchard with
the fruit ripening, and the cornfields
full of young roasting ears for their
The cook kitchen was crowded
all day. They made the colored
woman cook hot biscuit, chicken and
corn all day long. We could hear
the cannon over toward Macon all
the forenoon. The small arms, also
like crackers on the Fourth of July.
We dared not leave the dwelling.
The little boys were in panic of
fright when the soldiers concluded
to shoot all over the place, for
the fun of it, [ suppose.
This went on until about p. m.
There were fresh squads coming
and going, some of them drunk on
the peach brandy they found in
peoples cellars. They took off our
fine saddle horse, a gray Kentuc''-'
mare, leaving her colt behind.
had ridden her to Macon to get tire
mail a few days before. AS the
sun declined the gang seemed TO
decrease. After dark there were
hundreds of camp fires in the bot
tom lands, but when daylight of
Sunday came no foe was in sight.
The smoke from the camp fires
could still be seen. The growing
corn was trampled down and my
chicken yard was bare of fowls, but
we we're afraid to go out of doors
after dark, and accordingly sat up
1--WE older ones), until break Of
6iy. Some neighbors, afraid to stay
at home. flocked to us. We made
pallets for all the children and
talked in whispers. Not a CLEAN
of light was allowed in the house.
We had firear."s handy, but we