The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1922-03-09

Of the many horrors of that awful
night.
1T seems but as yesterday, but it
was Just 81 years ago that the fol-
lowing incident happened in my life
and indelibly impressed itself on my
memory:
ION the night of February II,
1865, the children had been put to
bed as usual and were soon asleep,
but by 10 o'clock mother awakened
US and we dressed as if it were morn
ing. We went on the front piazza of
our house on Laurel street, next to
Sumter, and saw great fires, houses
burning all around us. Tying towel
around the outside of our "brown
aprons mother stuck in this belt
knives, spoons, hair brushes, towels,
and then tied by strings to the same
belt coffee pots, cups, tin pans and
such articles that were small and
light. and these with what we stood
in was all we saved. We had to leave
our home some time early in the
night for the middle of the street
just in front of the large house on
the corner of Sumter and Marion,
where we spent the night. Sparks
were dropping all over US, and we
had to be frequently sprinkling our
selves with water to keep from catch
ing fire. Just as we left our home it
was set on fire by the Yankee sold
iers. My mother saw them do it.
"The next morning my mother and
grandmother succeeded in getting
from DR.. Howe the lower room on the
northwest corner of the theological
seminary building. There we lived,
rather existed, for several weeks;
there were 16 souls all told including
our two negro servants. In the street
that night there were four genera
tions of our family, my great-grand-
mother being over 80 years of age.
"A few days after we had moved
in the seminary building my baby
sister, only a few months old, was
taken sick. Grandmother and mother
went to headquarters" the building
formerly occupied by Chicora college
for Women on Blanding street, to see
a doctor, whom they were sure they
could find there. They were met at
the head of the steps by an officer.
There was large United States flag
draped from the large columns.
Standing under this flag the doctor,
in full uniform, came out. The re-
ception my mother got was a volley
of oaths and curses, After a supposed
examination of the baby the doctor
went into his Office and returned in
a few minutes with a bottle of medi-
cine and said that half a teaspoonful
would cure the baby. Thanking the
doctor, mother went to the room and
got a teaspoon. Grandmother opened
the vial, and being an elderly woman
and having considerable experience in
nursing, she examined the contents
of the vial and found it to be lauda-
"a W.
not given, and today that baby is a
matronly lady with large family liv-
ing in Hendersonville, N. c.
'sIt might be interesting to know
that we came near starving, for food
was scarce, and when we did get any
thing to cook we had no wood to
kindle fire, for all wood had been
burned. This was in February, cold
and windy, but we had sunshine. The
seminary grounds was camp crowd
ed with tents and soldiers, and their
horses tethered there. In feeding they
would drop corn from their mouths,
and we children would pick up the
grains, wash them, mash them be-
tween stones, and boil this into a
mush and eat. The soldiers were
kind to us children, oftentims giving
US some of their food as We played
around at feed time"