Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-01-19
THE COUNTRY HOME
BY MRS. w. H. FELTON,
CONSUMPTION IN SOUTHERN CONFED-

! 1862 CONSUMPTION. This conscript act with
drew every non-eXempt citizen between the
ages of eighteen and thirty-hve from state
control and placed him absolutely at the dis
posal of the president during the Civil war
1t heightened the terms of volunteers for
two years should the war continue that
| long. Recruits below eighteen and over
| thirty-fve who would otherwise have been
| exempted by law were to be retained IN
service an extra ninety days after their
| terms expired, home guards.
About the same time laws were passed to
destroy all cotton and tobacco nkely'to come
| into the possession of the Federal army
There was bill passed for guerilla war
| fare forming bands of rangers who were to
receive an authorized share of all captures
! from the enemy.
Just a year had elapsed since Fort Sum-
| ter was fired upon in Charleston h@bor, ana
yet these strenuous laws were put on the
statute books by the Confederate congress
| within a twelvemonth. The was on in
! ferocity. The CONSUMPTION law disappointed
| expectation. When the first law was passed,
the one above noted it was estimated that it
| would yield eight hundred thousand men
within the ages of eighteen and thirty-fVe.
| Vain hope it proved to be. The free popula-
| ton, in 1852, was estimated to be over hVe
Millions making due allowance for the over
| run sections, beyond the authority of the
| Confederate government. The first cOnscrip-
| iton law claimed over $50, 1000 troops. rms
| estimate included the volunteers from Mary
| land and Kentucky and parts of Virginia and
Missouri.
The conscription law of 1858 was extend
ed to forty-fve years. There was great
traffic in substitute hirings along about that
time. Ct knew one able-bodied man to get
a substitute with $1,000
But the adjutant generals office only
showed in 1868 the names of four hundred
thousand men under arms. Secretary of War
Sedden said there never were more than
half two-thirds of them in the ranks. De-
sertions became frequent. Conscripts de-
serted often. Governor J. e. Brown and
Secretary Sedden had long newspaper con-
troyersy on this subject. The governor
believed conscripts should only be used in
their own states. (Health and strength re-
naming, 1 will print the burden of the argu
ment between the two from my scrap books.
1t covered several months, pro and CON-
The great lack in the army was food Had
it not have been for the scanty additions of
provisions and clothing made at home by
relatives, many would have been forced to
desert or perish for necessities in the ranks.
Tennessee and Kentucky became the main
reliance for pork and bacon also corn, to
furnish bread as well as feed for army
horses. After the FederaIs captured Forts
Donelson and Henry there was no regular
supply to be relied upon in those two states
any more.
1t required all the popularity of General
Lee and the exercise of his mental faculties
to feed his Virginia army. Running the
but there was as much cotton lost in such
attempts as was sold abroad for gold.
Great quantities of meat were left to rot
in Nassau and Bermuda. This trading with
cotton called "failure' so far as the
government was concerned. BY the close Of
the year 1864 the policy of continued blum
ders, always increasing, with deprecated cur
rency, the whole system of Confederate de-
Tense was bound to break down by the want
of subsistence without any catastrophe of
arms.
Consumption became exceedingly unpopu-
lar, and when Sherman's army passed over
Georgia conditions were so slack that thou
sands concluded it safer and more salts
factory to drop out of ranks and creep along
at night QyinS behind log in daytme), to
reach their old homes inside the enemy's
lines.
Salt became scarce, and the women helped
to make domestic salt by running water in
hOpperS through the smokehOuse dirt and
draining until salt would be deposited
When iron became scarce an organization
OF women called for a contribution of old
pots and scraps Of iron utensils to build
an armored cruiser. But what be said
of government that advertised for silver,
old jeWelry and such as rings and spoons to
be donated to raise fund to pay for eX-
penses Of the military and civic establish
ments of a big government? Such adyer-
tisements were often in Virginia news
papers. One of my kin sent $500 in gold.
And slaves were advertised for sale in
Georgia newspapers, after Sherman made his
way to Savannah and had passed through
South Carolina. General Wade Hampton
owned 10000 acres and 900 slaves.)
TO prove the unpOpularity of Confederate
consumption methods it is recorded that
when General Grant assumed command of
Federal troops in Virginia on March II,
1854, his available force amounted to 141,-
l66. There were other troops which could
be called in, available resources, to his
army on the Potomac, of 47,751 men,
This force, confronting General Lee. was
we'll fed and well armed General Lee had
less than forty thousand muskets," accord |
ing to reliable Statistics The country AT |
large was ignorant of this fact but Genera |
Lee was in great anxiety He called for |
LonSstreets corps, which had been trying to |
curb General Burnside all winter in East |
tennessee Besides this greatly weakening |
army corps he had to rely upon General A. !
T. Hill and General Ewell. Those three gen |
erals he could rely upon, and did to the
maj end. He issued a call for a dav of |
fasting and prayer for "our stricken coun- |
trys sake in April 1864. About O'Clock. |
May 8, came the battle of The Wilderness !
and LOngstreet reused his sleeping men and /
rushed into the thick of the fight when he |
was shot down by some Confederate soldiers |
OF Mahones command. They mistoOk he'll
ana Generat Jenkins for the enemy Jenkins
was instantly killed. Longstreet was shot
through his throat and the ball passed out /
through his left shoulder. Borne on a !
inter he was conveyed to hospital but was !
an invalid for months. General Tiee An |
corps and Brigadier General Wofford of |
my own county, attacked the FederaIs and
greatly assisted in the defeat of General !
Grant S army and protection to Richmond /