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 ALBERT THEODORE GOODLOE, 
 First Lt. Co. D, Thirty-fifth Alabama Volunteers, C. S. A., 1863. 
 
Some Rebel Relics 
 
 FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 
 
 BY ALBERT THEODORE GOODLOE, 
 
 First Lieutenant Company D, Thirty -fifth' Regiment Alabama 
 Volunteer Infantry^ C. S. A, 
 
 MEMBER OF JOHN L. McEWEN BIVOUAC NO. 4, 
 Franklin, Tenn. 
 
 Printed for the Author. w ^ / ^/ 
 
 Publishing House of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. 
 Barbee & Smith, Agents, Nashville, Tenn. 
 1893. 
 
Entered, according to Act of Congi-ess, in the year 1893, 
 
 By Albert Theodore Goodloe, 
 
 In the OflSce of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
 
 Euos 
 
 .'^w? 
 
DEDICATION. 
 
 To my beloved wife, the brave, wise^ and good womayi to whom I 
 ivas ivedded November 29, 1855, who, though grieved immeasurably 
 at my departure from her for the war, and having to endure the se- 
 verest trials of her life in my absence, never undertook in any way to 
 hold or call me back from our country^ s defense, but gave her consent, 
 rather, for me to be a soldier, while she faithfully and constantly did 
 what she could to protect our children, our home, and our financial 
 interests until the war was over; 
 
 And to my comrades in arms, who, having fought heroically for the 
 principles of right, still maintain their convictions and the spirit of 
 manhood which characterized them as Confederate soldiers, these 
 ^^ Rebel Relics " are especially and most affectionately dedicated. 
 
 A. T. GOODLOE. 
 
INTRODUCTORY STATEMENTS. 
 
 Nothing was farther from my mind throughout 
 my boyhood and early manhood days than the 
 thought of going to battle, my very dreams of war 
 being oppressive and frightful; and there is no prob- 
 ability that any occasion other than the one that did 
 occur could ever have induced me to volunteer for 
 military service. To Abraham Lincoln, who inaugu- 
 rated and perpetuated the bloody era of our country, 
 as Confederates all believed, is due the credit of my 
 becoming a soldier. His original call for seventy- 
 five thousand troops to subdue "the rebellion," so 
 called, not only transformed me from a Unionist into 
 a Secessionist, but also engendered within me the 
 warrior spirit. I was never as brave as I wished to 
 be, but I fought him with what of courage and vehe- 
 mence I could command, because he placed before 
 me the alternative, as I understood him, of becoming 
 his bond-servant, or of defying his self-constituted 
 authority at the point of the bayonet. 
 
 That I did rebel against such authority as Mr. 
 Lincoln assumed, and defy his armies on the field 
 without reference to cost, I not only do not regret, 
 but consider that occasion was thus furnished me for 
 
 (5) 
 
b REBEL RELICS. 
 
 great personal gratification. I regard, indeed, this 
 act of mine as not only altogether justifiable in every 
 sense, but as constituting the most momentous and 
 loftiest movement of my life or that is possible to 
 any man. To have been a Confederate soldier in the 
 true sense is to have done the sublimest thing that 
 could have been done. The children of Confederate 
 soldiers rise up and call them blessed, as will also 
 the generations which are, in succession, to follow. 
 
 Having kept a diary, though in brief form, during 
 my term of military service, I have, ever since the 
 war, felt under obligations to my family and com- 
 rades in arms to put to record in readable form the 
 incidents and events therein briefly noted, and to 
 present the several aspects, etc., of army life as they 
 came under the observation and within the experi- 
 ence of a Rebel soldier. To do this work effectually 
 and to exhibit these relics which I present in their 
 true light to those who may view them, 1 must needs 
 put on again, as it were, the Confederate gray and 
 pass through the scenes, in my mind, which in reality 
 I heretofore did; and I must employ the dialect also, 
 to which we were accustomed in time of war. It is 
 hardly possible, indeed, for me to do otherwise; as my 
 army diary, the record of a Rebel's hand while in the 
 fight, furnishes the material, in the main, which I 
 would now reduce to order. If I write at all of these 
 matters, I must use such language as to do exact jus- 
 
IJ^TKODUCTOKY STATEMENTS. 7 
 
 tice as nearly as possible to the real spirit and gen- 
 ius of tlie Kebel soldiery and bring fully and fairly 
 to view the things of which I write. 
 
 As to the propriety of such a production as this at 
 this remote period from the war, it will be considered 
 by some that such a publication is a mistake, as be- 
 ing calculated to arouse afresh the animosities of 
 other days. This need not be the case, and is not 
 likely to be among fair-minded and intelligent peo- 
 ple, even on the otlier side of the Ohio River; but, be 
 that as it may, must v/e fail, for fear of offending su- 
 persensitive saints, to show to our offspring and to 
 the world at large what we undertook and what the 
 significance of the undertaking was in all its bear- 
 ings; and thus allow all who so desire to see through 
 our eyes what came before our vision in our efforts 
 to establish our national independence. 
 
 I do not undertake to state the origin and develop- 
 ments of campaigns, and I simply allude to, without 
 attempting to describe, the battles in which the com- 
 mand to which I belonged was engaged, not to speak 
 of what other commands did on the field. While in 
 the battle my observations were confined mainly to 
 my individual company and the enemy in our imme- 
 diate front; so that I could not, if I would, tell, of my 
 own knowledge, what transpired on other parts of the 
 field. My desire is rather to speak of the minor af- 
 fairs of the war, as some would probably call them, 
 
8 SOME KEBEL RELICS. 
 
 and to make conspicuous, the Eebel soldier of the 
 ranks; noting also, to be sure, such impressions and 
 sentiments as he experienced and such facts as came 
 within the range of his observation. 
 
 As to method in presenting these relics to the pub- 
 lic, the reader must ascertain for himself, if he can, 
 what the arrangement is. I simply tell things as I 
 come to them and in the familiar way that I would 
 talk of the war in the home circle conversation. This 
 much, however, may be said as to the matter of ar- 
 rangement: Having first spoken of various aspects, 
 incidents, etc., of the war, as seen from my stand- 
 point, and given expression to some views of mine, 
 which I consider proper and pertinent, I finally en- 
 ter into a somewhat elaborate statement of the reli- 
 gious exercises and movements in our army, wherein 
 many soldiers took part, and from which we derived 
 unspeakable benefit. With an account of the Chris- 
 tian labors and the work of divine grace among us, I 
 close these "Rebel Relics." 
 
SOME REBEL RELICS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 BEFORE the "fall of Donelson," Feb- 
 ruary 16, 1862, I, with most others in 
 the South, did not believe it needful for men 
 having families to enlist in the Confederate 
 army, except those who, having some milita- 
 ry knowledge, were capable of commanding, 
 the general impression among us being that 
 Lincoln's Yankee invaders could be driven 
 back without them; and so, being a man of 
 family, I did not determine to enlist nntil 
 that occurrence took place. That disaster 
 convinced me that every man in the South 
 who could possibly do so ought to join the 
 army as an effective fighting soldier, and I 
 at once began to make arrangements to en- 
 list for the war, let that be long or short. 
 
 My home at that time was in Wilson 
 County, Tennessee, thirteen miles from 
 
 (9) 
 
10 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 IN'ashville, on the Cumberland Eiver, where 
 I supposed it would not be safe to leave my 
 family; but thinking they would be forever 
 out of reach of the Yankees in Franklin 
 (now Colbert) County, JSTorth Alabama, I 
 took them to the home of my uncle, J. Cal- 
 vin Goodloe, living in that county. 
 
 Upon reaching my Uncle Calvin's I 
 learned that a regiment of volunteer infantry 
 was being organized at La Grange, and 1 en- 
 listed in that as soon as I could get my 
 business affairs arranged, which Avas not 
 long after. It was the Thirty-fifth Alabama 
 Regiment, and I became identified with 
 Company D, known also as Mollie Walton 
 Guards, as a private. Some months after- 
 ward I was made fifth sergeant, and on 
 September 24, 1862, 1 was elected third lieu- 
 tenant. Shortly after this I was promoted 
 to second lieutenant, and on December 10, 
 1862, I became first lieutenant, which po- 
 sition I held to the close of the war. I had 
 never met but very few members of the regi- 
 ment before I joined it, but I did not feel that 
 I had cast my lot among strangers, for the 
 
PKOM THE SEAT OF WAR. 11 
 
 spirit of devotion to our Southland bound 
 us together as comrades in a holy cause. I 
 was then a class leader in the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, South, my ministry not 
 haviug begun until 1868. 
 
 Col. J. "W. Robertson had command of 
 the regiment, not yet entirely filled out, 
 and it was being drilled from day to day, 
 preparatory to active service. It was not 
 contemplated that it would leave La Grange 
 until its organization was completed and it 
 was equipped for service; but before this 
 was done it was learned that the Yankees, 
 already threatening that section of coun- 
 try, had found out our location and condi- 
 tion, and were developing plans for our cap- 
 ture, which made it necessary for us to seek 
 safer quarters as promptly as possible. 
 
 Very hurriedly we left La Grange late 
 Monday evening, April 14, 1862, without 
 equipage of any kind, except that there 
 were a few old guns and cartridges in Com- 
 pany B. We took the Russellville road, 
 and marched till 9 o'clock at night, when 
 we reached Spring Creek and went into 
 
12 SOME KEBEL RELICS 
 
 camp. Here quite a serious accident oc- 
 curred to young Spivey, one of the sol- 
 diers. His gun was accidently discharged, 
 and wounded his arm so badly that Dr. San- 
 ders had to amputate it. The next day we 
 went on to Cedar Creek, our second encamp- 
 ment for the night. 
 
 Having a horse (Mike) with me, which I 
 had expected to send back to Uncle Calvin's 
 from La Grange, but which Col. Robertson 
 preferred me not to do just then, he being 
 needed for scouting purposes, I was direct- 
 ed to ride a mile or two in the rear of the 
 regiment, so as to give the alarm if pursuing 
 Yankees were seen, which was to be done 
 by making Mike outrun them to the regi- 
 ment, which, doubtless, he would have been 
 fully capable of doing under the circum- 
 stances. 
 
 Late in the night at Cedar Creek two 
 members of the regiment who were not at 
 La Grange when w^e started overtook us 
 and brought information that the Yan- 
 kee cavalry were in pursuit of us, and were 
 then at IS^ewburg, a few miles beyond Rus- 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 13 
 
 sollville. Four others who could be mounted 
 and myself were hurried off at once (2 
 o'clock A.M., April 16), to find them if we 
 could, and to report promptly the actual 
 state of affairs to Col. Robertson. One of 
 this scouting part}' was Rev. Robert A. 
 Wilson, chaplain of the regiment, and a 
 member of the Tennessee Conference, Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church, South. The others 
 besides myself were Felton, Isaac L. Pride, 
 and Russell. I regret that I have not at 
 hand the given names of Felton, who acted 
 as ca]Dtain, and Russell. Back to Russell- 
 ville we went speedily, where one of the 
 party was left to make observations, and 
 then on to Newburg and beyond, but no 
 Yankees could be found. While this milita- 
 ry performance was being enacted with vig- 
 or and relish the regiment was marching to 
 Burlerson, across Big Bear Creek, which 
 was considered a place of security, and 
 which place it reached the same day. 
 Here Col. Robertson decided to hold the 
 regiment until he could get instructions from 
 army headquarters as to the command we w ere 
 
14 SOME KEBEL RELICS 
 
 to report to* unless -those everlasting Yan- 
 kees should threaten us again; which indeed 
 they proceeded to do, according to report, 
 quite soon. 
 
 Saturday, April 19, a very rainy day, a 
 rumor reached Col. Robertson that the Yan- 
 kees had scented us again, and were march- 
 ing in pursuit of us by way of Frankfort, and 
 Brother Wilson and I were dispatched to that 
 place to ascertain the facts in the case, while 
 the regiment was put in motion for Corinth, 
 Miss., the seat of war in the Mississippi De- 
 partment. We then entered upon a novel 
 experience as a Methodist preacher and class 
 leader. We were to act upon the principle 
 that " all things are fair in war," so far as 
 deceiving the enemy was concerned. Our ride 
 to Frankfort was interesting indeed. We 
 were instructed to spread the report through 
 the citizens along our route, that the Yan- 
 kees might get it, that the regiment was 
 well armed and heavily reenforced, and that 
 the combined force was in motion to clean 
 out North Alabama of Yankees; and with 
 great care we fulfilled our mission. There 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAK. 15 
 
 was intense excitement everywhere we went, 
 everybody expecting the Yankees to pounce 
 upon them at any moment. We would alhxy 
 their fears with deceptive statements about 
 the strength and movements of our com- 
 mand, and they would spread the "good 
 news " like wildfire. Under pretense of 
 wanting water, we would call at houses in 
 order to get a favorable opportunity to deliv- 
 er our message of joy to the inmates. I 
 could not but feel sorry for them as we rode 
 off, as I thought how effectually we had de- 
 luded them. We arrived at Frankfort early 
 in the afternoon, and found a large crowd in 
 the courtyard looking down the Tuscumbia 
 road, expecting to see the approaching Yan- 
 kee column every minute. Seeing us as we 
 rode on the square from the opposite direc- 
 tion, and not knowing who we were, they 
 instantly faced about, and exclaimed, taking 
 us for Yankees : " Yonder they come from an- 
 other direction! " Recognizing Judge Trim- 
 ble on the street, a former acquaintance of 
 mine, I made myself known to him, and got 
 such information from him as we needed. I 
 
16 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 also loaded him well with the glad tidings 
 that we had ample facilities for swabbing 
 the ground with every Yankee in that region. 
 This delighted him ver}^ much, and as he 
 knew" me to be perfectly reliable, he repro- 
 duced my statements with confidence to oth- 
 ers. I have wondered what he thought of me 
 for taking so much pains to tell what was 
 not so, supposing that he afterward learned 
 that our regiment, neither reenforced nor 
 armed, w^as at that time hurrying to Corinth 
 with all possible speed. We had now gone 
 as far as and done all that we were instructed 
 to do, and from here we turned back to over- 
 take our command. Whether we were in- 
 strumental in diverting the Yankees from 
 their supposed pursuit of the regiment or 
 not we never knew, but we heard no more 
 of their hanging about us, and we marched 
 on to Corinth without molestation, reaching 
 there Wednesday, April 23, 1862. 
 
 As we rode along, fulfilling the mission 
 upon which we were sent. Brother Wilson 
 and I talked it over from the standpoint 
 of the moral law, and settled the question 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 17 
 
 that it was right to prevent the capture of 
 our men if possible by deceiving the enemy 
 as far as we could, though it be done through 
 the medium of other parties; and especially 
 as we were acting under instructions from a 
 superior officer in time of war. From that 
 time on I never had any hesitancy in deceiv- 
 ing and misleading Yankee soldiers when an 
 opportunity afforded to do so. 
 
 On this scout, so to speak, I became inti- 
 mately acquainted with our chaplain, and 
 formed an attachment for him which will go 
 on into eternity. He was a true man of 
 God, and did all that he could while with us 
 to promote the spiritual interests of the sol- 
 diers. He had the spirit of consecration to 
 the Master's service, and preached for us and 
 mingled among us as a devout and sincere 
 man of God. Of him and his work other men- 
 tion will be made hereafter. 
 
 The day before our regiment reach Cor- 
 inth we were at Jacinto, Miss., where we 
 had camped the night before, and there elect- 
 ed our field officers, it being thought best 
 that we report to army headquarters as an 
 
18 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 organized command^ rather than as several 
 companies being led by a nominal colonel, 
 thongh recognized by all as our colonel. 
 We elected as colonel J. W. Robertson; 
 lieutenant colonel, Ed Goodwin; major, 
 Hunt, whose given name I cannot recall. 
 They were professors in La Grange College, 
 I understood, and had much to do in having 
 the regiment made up. Plunt soon trans- 
 ferred to the Virginia army; Robertson aft- 
 er awhile went into another department of 
 service; and later on Goodwin died. As 
 these parted from us others took their places, 
 and we had Ives as colonel; Ashford, lieu- 
 tenant colonel; and Dickson, major. 
 
 Up to April 25, 1862, it was my purpose 
 to become identified w^ith Company I, to help 
 fill it out, but then it was thought that there 
 was no probability of it being filled out, and 
 so it was, for the time at least, disbanded, and 
 I went at once over to Company D, hereto- 
 fore mentioned. This was my company for 
 the war, the name of which is ever melodi- 
 ous to my ear. It was made up mostly in 
 Limestone County, Ala., and was taken out 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 19 
 
 by Dr. W. T. Sanders, who, however, did 
 not remain with it long, preferring the snr- 
 gical department. 
 
 We reached Corinth at a time when the 
 army seemed to be nndergoing reoi-ganiza- 
 tion under Gen. Bragg, and there was much 
 appearance of confusion. We were first bro- 
 ken up as a regiment, and the companies di- 
 vided out among other regiments, which dis- 
 tressed US very much, and caused universal 
 regret that we did not report to some other 
 commander rather than Gen. Bragg. If talk- 
 ing about people makes their ears burn, we 
 surely set his on fire. There is no telling 
 how many ^'blessings" he got, nor in what 
 shapes. But April 30, 1862, came, and it was 
 definitely determined that we, having been 
 gathered together again April 26, and as- 
 signed temporarily to Gardner's Brigade, be 
 permanently attached to Preston's Brigade, 
 of Breckinridge's Division. Then w^e had 
 no further fault to find with Bragg. We 
 were with splendid soldiers, and we were 
 highly pleased with our generals. We had 
 no choice as to commands, however, only 
 
20 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 wishing to maintain. our organization as a 
 regiment. 
 
 We were with Preston and Breckinridge, 
 as brigade and division commanders, until 
 after the battle of Baton Rouge, August 5, 
 1862. 'Not long after that Rust and Lovell, 
 brigadier and major generals were in com- 
 mand in their stead, and were with us at the 
 battle of Corinth, October 3, 4, 1862. Sub- 
 sequent to that a short time Gen. Buford 
 was our brigade commander, and Gen. Lo- 
 ring our division commander; but Buford 
 after awhile transferred to the cavalry serv- 
 ice, and Col. Scott, of the Twelfth Louisiana 
 Regiment of our brigade, being the ranking 
 colonel, succeeded him. We were longest 
 and best known as Buford's Brigade, and 
 even after Scott's promotion it was difficult 
 for our brigade to change its name. An 
 army dispensation for a lodge of Masons was 
 procured, and this was named " Buford 
 Lodge;" our Christian Association also was 
 named the " Christian Association of Bu- 
 ford's Brigade; " and these names were never 
 changed. It is worth while to say, however, 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 21 
 
 that after Hood's campaign into Middle Ten- 
 nessee, in which the magnificent army turned 
 over to him by President Davis was ahnost 
 destroyed, we conkl hardly be said to be in 
 command of any particular officer. What 
 was left of the army was in scattered and 
 shattered fraguients; and tliese, being thrown 
 together in different shapes from time to 
 time, were nnder the ranking officers at 
 hand. Well, the fragments were tnrnedover 
 to Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, from whom the 
 original army had been taken, just before 
 the final battle of Bentonville, and we began 
 to assume some form and comeliness, but 
 then the war was virtually at an end. 
 
 We were satisfied in the main with our 
 commanding generals of all ranks, though 
 we did not think Pemberton, the ranking of- 
 ficer at the battle of Baker's Creek, and 
 Hood competent to be department command- 
 ers, and I have several notes in my diary of 
 dissatisfaction with Gen. Scott. To be sure 
 he was our brigade commander during the 
 severe campaigns in Georgia and Tennessee, 
 under Johnston first and then Hood, but we 
 
22 SOME KEBEL RELICS 
 
 could not feel that liQ was such an officer as 
 we were entitled to on such campaigns as 
 those. His connection with an incident with 
 which I also was connected, and of which I 
 will here make mention, was certainly not 
 creditable to him as a comrade in arms with 
 those in his command, not to speak of any 
 other estimate which conld legitimately be 
 put upon his conduct not favorable to him. 
 While Hood was on the eve of giving up At- 
 lanta, I was commanding onr picket line on 
 the left, Companies C and G of our regiment 
 being at that time under my more immediate 
 command, owing to a recent consolidation 
 of companies. On a ridge beyond our picket 
 line, and separated from us by a narrow val- 
 ley or bottom, the Yankee column was mov- 
 ing southward to flank Hood on the left. 
 The dark cloud of calamity was fast thicken- 
 ing about us, and eventful scenes were trans- 
 piring W'hich w^ere surpassingly momentous. 
 Angust 20, 186i, I sent forward from our 
 picket line tW'O "boj^s" of my immediate 
 command, Rufus Hafley and Milton Gray, to 
 watch the movements of the Yankees and 
 
FROM THE SEAT OP WAR. 23 
 
 note the size of their column. They were 
 gone but a short while until they came back 
 with a mounted Yankee officer, James 
 Coughlan, tirst lieutenant, and aid-de-camp 
 to Gen. Cox. They had just managed to 
 secrete themselves from the enemy, and suf- 
 ficiently near to them to make careful obser- 
 vations, when Coughlan — a Kentucky Yan- 
 kee, by the way — rode past them to try and 
 get a vieAV of our position. At the opportune 
 moment Hafley and Gray rose up from their 
 hiding place, then in his immediate rear, and, 
 with their guns pointing at him, marched 
 him quickly to where I was. He had the ap- 
 pearance of having been w^ell raised by Chris- 
 tian parents, but was the lonesomest-looking 
 Yankee I ever saw. He thought of his moth- 
 er at once, who I understood him to say was 
 a widow, and who would be in great grief 
 when she heard of his being lost from his 
 command, thinking that he had been killed. 
 He said that if he could only get a message 
 to his command, and through it to his moth- 
 er, that he was only a prisoner, and not slain, 
 it would be great satisfaction to him. In this 
 
24 SOME REBEL KELIOS 
 
 we gratified him at once, my Rebel boys agree- 
 ing to go in speaking distance of his com- 
 mand, and tell them of his whereabouts. This 
 mission they performed as neatly as they did 
 his capture, and him we sent to the reai*, dis- 
 arming him of course. 
 
 Coughlan's equipment consisted in part of 
 a pair of field glasses and a sword. His cap- 
 tors were more than pleased for me to have 
 the sword, which was surrendered to me, and 
 they wished to keep the glasses. Upon hear- 
 ing of this capture, and that we had these ar- 
 ticles in possession, Gen. Scott set to work 
 to get possession of them — the glasses for 
 himself, and the sword for his adjutant 
 general. He ordered that the}^ be delivered 
 to his ordnance officer for valuation, that he 
 might take them at the price put upon them, 
 taking advantage of a supposed military law 
 that what is captured in battle belongs to the 
 government, and if disposed of must be done 
 so through government appraisers. By this 
 device he possessed himself of the glasses, 
 which he carried away with him after the 
 battle of Franklin. These he got from the 
 
FKOM THE SEAT OF WAR. 25 
 
 boys who took them, bat I refused to send 
 up the sword to the ordnance department. 
 
 This note appears in my diary Tuesday, 
 Sei)tember 13, 1861: "I received to-day a 
 written * special order' from Gen. Scott to 
 deliver to his ordnance officer, the bearer of 
 the special order, the sword surrendered to 
 me by Yankee Lieut. Coughlan, A. D. C, 
 etc., August 20, for the purpose of having it 
 valued, and with the intention, on his part, of 
 getting it for his adjutant general. This 
 order I positively refuse to obey until I am 
 assured by the bearer of it that I myself will 
 be allowed to take it at valuation; and then, 
 declining to deliver it to him, I take it up 
 myself. The Board of Appraisers value it, 
 and I agree to pay the valuation, when Ord- 
 nance Officer Boring (for this is his name), 
 being posted by Scott, from all appearances, 
 gets it in his hand, and refuses to give it 
 back to me. This is more than I can stand. 
 My wrath gets the better of me, and I turn 
 upon him such a volume of abuse that he is 
 glad to let me take the sword to secure my 
 departure from his presence." I had no fur- 
 
26 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 ther trouble about the sword, except that I 
 felt the need of repenting before the Lord, 
 which I did, for having given the rein to my 
 temper on this occasion. 
 
 The only chance to recover the glasses was 
 through the war department at Richmond. 
 To this I made my complaint and appeal in 
 due form, and confidently believe I would 
 have succeeded after so long a time, had not 
 our military affairs been thrown into inextri- 
 cable confusion so soon after that. 
 
 This is one of the relics of the war which 
 I record with much hesitancy, from the fact 
 that I love every Rebel, so called, who took up 
 arms against the invasion of our Southland, 
 and dislike to say anything to injure the 
 character of any of them; and yet these in- 
 cidents give an insight into some of the as- 
 pects of army life which ought to be brought 
 to view. 
 
 As to Gens. Pemberton and Hood, made 
 mention of as not being so popular w^ith us 
 as other officers of their rank, their names 
 and exploits have long since gone into the 
 history of the "lost cause." They threw 
 
FKOM THE SEAT OF WAR. 27 
 
 away two splendid armies; and their blun- 
 ders were of such a nature as seemed to re- 
 sult from recklessness rather than reason. 
 The army which Pemberton took into the 
 Vicksburg deadfall, where Loring refused to 
 carry his division, was not a large one, but 
 no braver troops ever went to battle. The 
 army which Hood broke to pieces was the 
 flower of the Confederacy when it was taken 
 from Joseph E. Johnston and given to him. 
 These two generals, Pemberton and Hood, 
 Ave were accustomed to call, while under 
 them, '^Jeff Davis's pets," but possibly Ave 
 did both them and Davis an injustice in so 
 doing. 
 
CHAPTEE II. 
 
 THERE was no mistaking the temper of 
 the Confederate army at Corinth when 
 the Thirty-fifth Alabama Regiment reached 
 there, April 23, 1862. The great battle of 
 Shiloh had bnt recently been fought, where so 
 many of their gallant comrades had fallen, but 
 the survivors here encamped were as brave 
 and defiant as they ever were, and as ready for 
 battle as though they had never known its 
 horrors. Besides various minor engagements, 
 the fight at Farmington Friday, May 9, gave 
 the enemy to understand that they were con- 
 fronted by foemen whose valor was only in- 
 tensified by their reverses. At Farmington 
 the invaders were utterly outdone and rout- 
 ed, throwing aAvay knapsacks and other ac- 
 couterments as they sought to escape from 
 the yelling Rebels. 
 
 On this battle ground, after the fight was 
 
 over, Dr. I. F. Delouy, a very particular 
 
 C28) 
 
SOME REBEL RELICS. 21) 
 
 friend of mine and member of our regiment, 
 picked up and gave to me a very nice pock- 
 et Bible. An inscription on it showed that 
 it belonged to a Yankee soldier from Illinois 
 named Scott, and that it vv^as given to him by 
 his mother. It was excellently bound in red 
 leather, and as it was of more convenient 
 size for carrying in my pocket, I made use 
 of it mainly instead of mine. I read it 
 through several times, and often wished that 
 I had some way of conveying it to the own- 
 er. When the war was over, I addressed a 
 letter to him to the post office given in the 
 book, receiving no reply e About twenty-two 
 years afterward my oldest son, to whom I 
 had given the Bible, learned by correspond- 
 ence with the postmaster in Illinois that he 
 was at Lone Oak, Tex., and sent it to him. 
 He wrote letters to my son and myself, ex- 
 pressing his great satisfaction at its return; 
 and I am sure that we were fully as glad that 
 he had received it. He was one of Scho- 
 field's soldiers. 
 
 It seemed that a general engagement was 
 imminent the whole time we were at Cor- 
 
30 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 intb, but up to the time that the army left 
 there. May 29, 1862, no great battle was 
 fought. We vvei'e several times in line of 
 battle for a general onset, and there was 
 much skirmishing first and last; but the 
 Farmington fight, which was not an exten- 
 sive one, was the largest battle that took 
 place during our stay there. We believed 
 then, and I believe now, that had the Yan- 
 kees been as ready of mind for a fight as we 
 were, we would have joined battle any day; 
 but they still stood in terror of Rebels, not- 
 withstanding the important advantages they 
 had recently gained over ns. They knew 
 also that it took two or three of their sol- 
 diers to whip one of ours, and that then it 
 was uncertain on a fair, open field. This is 
 not mere boasting, for on several occasions 
 they were routed with less than half their 
 numbers when the field was open, and never 
 did they drive a Confederate army with 
 fewer men than were in it. How could they 
 fight as the Confederates did, wdien the high- 
 est motives that prompted them in the main 
 were of a mercenary and spiteful sort; when 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 31 
 
 the Confederates were standing for their in- 
 alienable rights of property, country, and 
 home? The love of country may have moved 
 some of them to take up arms against us, 
 but who does not know that had this been 
 the only incentive allowed in the formation 
 of a Yankee army to enlist for our subjuga- 
 tion, scarcely a corporal's guard, so to speak, 
 could have been drummed up, and that there 
 would have been no further dream of war? 
 AVe are not to cultivate bitterness of feeling, 
 nor indeed to allow it, toward the inveterate 
 foes of the Southern people, but the facts are 
 not so much as in the field of controversy, 
 that the typical Yankee soldier meant to 
 despoil us of our possessions, to wrench from 
 us our rights of every kind, and to merciless- 
 ly degrade us to the utmost possibility with- 
 in his power. 
 
 The spirit which impelled the typical 
 Yankee soldier southward for our subjuga- 
 tion is the sauie which has dominated one of 
 the great political parties of the country 
 ever since our surrender. These virulent foes 
 of ours have never been satisfied that they 
 
32 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 only robbed ns of our estates winch we held 
 under the laws of tlie government from 
 which they would have us not depart, and 
 destroyed our nationality; they w^ant us to 
 kiss the hand that smote us, and to follow in 
 their wake in all things — political, educa- 
 tional, religious, and what not. They would 
 have us to have no convictions nor con- 
 sciences of our own, but to be in abject serv- 
 itude to the dictates of theirs. They hate 
 us since the war because, though overcome 
 by their armies, vastly outnumbering ours, 
 we act the part of freemen having the rights 
 of citizenship. And but for the noble De- 
 mocracy of the iS^orth our people would be 
 hectored over perpetually by Republican 
 satraps of the most venomous and vindictive 
 kind, until their rule could no longer be tol- 
 erated, and another deluge of blood would 
 come upon our Southland. All honor to the 
 noble ISTorthmen who have ever given us the 
 right hand of fellowship since we laid down 
 our arms and have constantly withstood the 
 flood tide of hate that would overwhelm us! 
 Whatever may be the questions at issue 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAll. 33 
 
 fimong the political parties of the day (T 
 write January 29, 1892), the one which 
 overshadows all the rest is: Shall the people 
 of the South be as free as those of the 
 I^orth? Democracy says they shall; Ke- 
 publicanism says they shall not. There is 
 no cry that can rally the cohorts of Kepubli- 
 canism like that of " Crush out the Southern 
 traitors! " A lying epithet; but all the bet- 
 ter suited, for that reason, to their purposes. 
 We may not write of the war from our 
 standpoint, nor tell of the heroism of our 
 fallen braves, as we decorate their graves, 
 without incurring the wrath of our never 
 wearying pursuers, and being stigmatized as 
 Rebel villains of whom the government 
 should rid itse\[ instant er. With the I^orth- 
 ern Democrat, however, we may stand by 
 our convictions and our war record and still 
 be loyal citizens. He may not applaud all 
 our utterances, and may indeed dispute some 
 of them, but he does appreciate the spirit of 
 manhood that moves us to honor the cause 
 for which we fought and the comrades who 
 
 fell by our sides. He cares not that we love 
 3 
 
34 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 the fallen Confederacy, because he knows 
 that in good faith we laid down our ai-ms, 
 and that we are as true to a reunited coun- 
 try as though we had never seceded. He 
 knows that we have no thought of reestab- 
 lishing the Confederacy, and that we could 
 not if w^e w^ould. 
 
 I am not trying to convey the idea, as will 
 be readily perceived, that the Democratic 
 party, as a political organization, is immacu- 
 late; nor do I mean to speak in any sense 
 from the standpoint of a political partisan. 
 As to politics, I was a Whig until that par- 
 ty ceased to exist, and am now^ M^J per- 
 suaded in my own mind that the Democracy 
 of to-day, as well as that of other days, has 
 many sins to atone for. But in the time of 
 imminent need and peril it became our only 
 bulwark of security against the wrathful on- 
 slaught of our would-be destroyers; and so 
 as one w ho could not but see that the humil- 
 iation or destruction of himself, his offspring, 
 and his countrymen was determined upon by 
 our Republican adversaries, I turn with 
 grateful heart to our timely deliverer, the 
 
FKOM THE SEAT OF WAK. 35 
 
 IN^ationiil Democracy, regarding it in this 
 one liglit, without respect to what consti- 
 tutes its platform of principles in other par- 
 ticulars. 
 
 As the ruling idea of Republicanism is to 
 "put black heels on the necks of Southern 
 whites," so the ruling idea of Democracy is 
 to protect us against so dire a calamity; so 
 that, as a matter of self-preservation and ne- 
 cessity, we take refuge in the ranks of 
 Democracy, the principle being the same 
 that actuated us in other days, in withstand- 
 ing, in arms, the aggressive destroyers 
 whom Lincoln sent South to blot us from 
 the face of the earth. 
 
 And it is not enough for our enemies of 
 to-day that a political party should be 
 formed and perpetuated, on the basis of ha- 
 tred and abuse of the South, but religionists 
 also beyond the Ohio and Potomac Kivers 
 must incorporate such Satanic principles into 
 their creeds. The jN'orthern Methodist 
 Church especially has made itself notorious 
 through its spokesmen for its bitter denun- 
 ciations of Southern white citizens and 
 
36 SOME BEBEL EELICS 
 
 Southern institutions; and their wicked rant 
 is about as profuse and devilish this first 
 month of January, 1892, as it was when they 
 were trying to destroy Southern Methodism 
 during and at the close of the war. From 
 week to week their Church papers regale 
 their readers with impious maledictions 
 against the South, hurled at us for our deg- 
 radation and destruction, an enduring illus- 
 tration of the venom of the typical Yankee 
 toward us. The soldiers of Lincoln not hav- 
 ing accomplished our extermination by dis- 
 arming us, these jN^orthern religionists of the 
 Wesleyan type would have us devoured by 
 some other method if possible. 
 
 These same delectable Methodists of the 
 Yankee persuasion, their bishops and other 
 preachers in the lead, in connection with the 
 Lincoln administration, arranged to appro- 
 priate to themselves during the war the 
 churches of ours upon which they could lay 
 their thieving hands. At their instance, 
 the Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, Lincoln's 
 Secretary of AYar, issued the following 
 order, November 30, 1863, addressed to his 
 
FIIOM THE SEAT OF WAR. 37 
 
 army commanders, and known as the " Stan- 
 ton- Ames order; " 
 
 You are hereby directed to place at the disposal of 
 Bishop Ames all houses of worship belonging to the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in which a loyal 
 minister, who has been appointed by a loyal bishop 
 of said Church, does not ofBciate. 
 
 In keeping with this order, Maj. Gen. 
 Banks, with headquarters at l^ew Orleans, 
 and commanding the "' Department of the 
 Gulf," issued the following " Special Order, 
 ]N'o. 15," January 18, 1864: 
 
 In accordance with instructions contained in a let- 
 ter from the Secretary of War, under date of Novem- 
 ber 30, 1863, all houses of worship within this de- 
 partment, belonging to the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, South, in which a loyal minister, who has 
 been appointed by a loyal bishop of the said Church 
 does not officiate, are hereby placed at the disposal of 
 Kev. Bishop Ames. Commanding officers at the va- 
 rious points where such houses of worship may be 
 located are directed to extend to the ministers that 
 may be appointed by Bishop Ames to conduct divine 
 service in said houses of worship all the aid, counte- 
 nance, and support practicable in the execution of 
 their mission. Officers of the Quartermasters' De- 
 partments are' authorized and directed to furnish 
 
38 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 Bisliop Ames and his clerk with transportation and 
 subsistence, when it can be done without prejudice 
 to the service; and all officers will afford them cour- 
 tesy, assistance, and protection. 
 
 Says Bishop McTyeire, of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, South, in his ^'History of 
 Methodism: " '^After the Federal forces had 
 occupied large sections of Southern territory. 
 Bishop Ames, with preachers of the Metho- 
 dist Episcopal Church (]N"orth), followed the 
 victorious army with an order procured from 
 Secretary of War Stanton, and took forcible 
 possession of Southern Methodist pulpits, 
 even to the exclusion of ministers appointed 
 by the Church authorities and desired by the 
 congregation. These violent pastors held 
 on after the war ceased, and had to be oust- 
 ed ungracefully and reluctantly. The intru- 
 der placed in Carondelet Street Church by 
 Bishop Ames's order was got out barely in 
 time for the meeting of the General Confer- 
 ence at I^ew Orleans," in which church the 
 Conference was held in April, 1866. 
 
 By legal compulsion alone could we induce 
 these clerical intruders and Church thieves 
 
rUOM THE SEAT OF WAll. 39 
 
 to vacate our pulpits and let go their hold on 
 our property. 
 
 Such things are sickening to contemplate, 
 and I turn away from the mention of them 
 to the more agreeable pastime of recording 
 for the present some army features and 
 events, as brought to view, in part, while we 
 were at Corinth. The messing arrangements 
 among soldiers is truly an interesting spec- 
 tacle — the breaking up of the companies into 
 squads for cooking and eating purposes. 
 The mess need not consist of any particular 
 number of soldiers, and the principles of se- 
 lection upon which it was formed were large- 
 ly under the control of existing circum- 
 stances. Sometimes it was much larger than 
 at others, as when, from sickness, some mem- 
 bers were at the hospital, or some had died, 
 or some were on furlough, etc. Congenial- 
 ity had much to do with the formation of a 
 mess, in a general way, but the making of 
 arrangements for securing a cook, and the 
 necessities of the situation in regard to tents 
 when there were any, oar location, the num- 
 ber of absentees, etc., were controlling fac- 
 
40 SOME REBEL KELICS 
 
 tors in their formation. We would organize, 
 after a sort, by having one of number as a 
 kind of leader to draw rations, superintend 
 the cooking, etc.; that is to say, when Ave 
 were in a condition to inaugurate a form 
 and had a cook for the mess. On active 
 campaigns, and as the army became depleted 
 by sickness and death and the various cas- 
 ualties of war, we simply dropped together 
 in messes, few or many, as the exigencies 
 of our surroundings indicated; and oftener 
 cooking our own rations than having a hired 
 cook to do so. 
 
 Sometimes we were supplied with cooking 
 utensils, and sometimes we w^ere not. For 
 a long time, in some of the stages of the 
 war, we baked our bread on an old broken 
 piece of flat iron that we had picked up 
 among the rubbish of a town near our en- 
 campment, and cooked our meat (beef) by 
 holding it to the fire on a stick or ramrod; 
 and not unfrequently we were put to the ne- 
 cessity of baking our bread in the ashes. 
 We usually had some kind of tin, good or 
 indiflPerent, to make up the dough in, but we 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 41 
 
 sometimes had to use hickory bark peeled off 
 in large pieces for that purpose, and would 
 right often cut out a tray in the top of a log. 
 
 Among our cooking utensils mention must 
 be made of the frying pans that we made by 
 bursting open Yankee canteens, which we 
 would hold over the fire by slipping the edge 
 of the half canteen into the split end of a 
 stick, which served as a handle. These can- 
 teens were made of two concavo-convex tin 
 plates, fastened together around their edges, 
 and which could easily be blown open by 
 putting a little powder in them and igniting 
 it. We wo.uld only thus destroy the can- 
 teen as such when it began to leak, for we 
 needed all the canteens we could get for car- 
 rying water, and then we would use the side 
 that did not leak for a frying pan. This 
 utensil was especially adapted for making 
 cush in out of our bread when it was too old 
 to be good eating otherwise; and our cush 
 was so palatable at times that we would de- 
 clare that we were going to live on cush al- 
 together when we got home from the war. 
 
 My first messmates after reaching Corinth 
 
42 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 were Dr. Isaac F. Delgney, Eichard Coleman, 
 Peter Beasley, Charles O. Shephard, and 
 Thomas Jones. I was taken sick on the eve 
 of leaving Corinth, and when I rejoined the 
 command at Tupelo shortly afterward, June 
 10, I made this note in my diary: "I am 
 quite saddened to find that all of my mess- 
 mates have gone off sick to the hospital, and 
 I have to fall in with others of my friends." 
 Jones, not being able for duty, was dis- 
 charged at Corinth. Ed Fletcher and per- 
 haps some one else had been added to our 
 mess before leaving there. At Tupelo W. 
 G. Whitfield and W. P. Cockrill became my 
 permanent messmates, other friends being 
 in with us a great deal of the time. But we 
 three ate and slept together many days and 
 nights. The last named, my brother-in-law, 
 and yet a boy, came to the regiment Avhile 
 in camp at Tupelo, Wednesday, June 18, 
 1862, and that day was sworn into the serv- 
 ice and joined my company. 
 
 As to the washing of clothes, which may 
 as well be mentioned in this connection, we 
 were often put to considerable straits for 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF AVAP.. 43 
 
 lack of suitable vessels, but usually tliere 
 were negroes enough along with us as cooks 
 to do the washing at some citizen's house or 
 borrow vessels and wash in carnp Avhen Ave 
 had none of our own. When there was no 
 other chance, we would take our soiled clothes 
 to the creek and get out what dirt we could 
 with cold water. I made one effort of this 
 kind, but the garment looked w^orse soiled 
 after it Avas w^ashed than it did before, and I 
 never repeated the undertaking. With the 
 best facilities for washing that we had in 
 camp and on the march, it was simply im- 
 possible for us to have clean clothes as of- 
 ten as needful, and we wore soiled garments 
 a great deal. Remembering that we spread 
 our pallets (blankets) at night on the ground, 
 that we lay down on the ground to rest when 
 on the march, that w^e often fought lying 
 on the ground, that we marched in mud and 
 dust, that we worked on fortifications and dug 
 rifle pits, etc., the w^onder is that we could 
 keep our clothing at all clean. 
 
 Owing to recent rains there w^ere many lit- 
 tle wet weather branches, affording us a good 
 
44 SOME KE13EL llELICS 
 
 supply of water when our regiment first 
 reached Corintli; and Vhen the little streams 
 ceased to run, the ground was still saturated 
 with water, so that we could dig little holes 
 anywhere and have springs, as w^e called 
 them. After awhile, however, the ground 
 began to dry out, and water became very 
 scarce and very bad. There was much sick- 
 ness before we left there, many soldiers hav- 
 ing to be sent off to the hospitals. We grew 
 weary of the place, and it was without any 
 regret on the part of any of us that we re- 
 ceived orders to leave there, taking our de- 
 parture May 29, 1862. 
 
 "We knew not then that we would return 
 in the fall to take part in the battle of Cor- 
 inth October 3, 4. On the second day of that 
 battle the Thirty-fifth Alabama Regiment was 
 formed on the identical ground upon which it 
 was encamped before leaving there in May. 
 AYhen the army was put in motion for the 
 second day's engagement, an impression came 
 upon me (a mere apprehension perhaps) that 
 I would fall that day in battle, and I thought 
 of wife and my two little boys, one of them 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 45 
 
 having been born soon after m}^ enlistment 
 and the death of our little Loulie, and deliv- 
 ered to Brother Wilson, our chaplain, a mes- 
 sage for her. I knew that a cloud of gloom 
 would rest upon her if I were slain, but I 
 knew that I could somewhat comfort her 
 and my older boy, who could then under- 
 stand such things, with a message from the 
 field ere I fell, the substance of which was 
 that I was perfectly ready to meet my God 
 in peace, and that I expected that she and 
 the children would join me in the better 
 world. I was not slain, but Brother Wilson, 
 who had never seen my family, kept the mes- 
 sage in mind until he had an opportunity of 
 delivering it. "While I was pastor of the 
 Antioch Circuit, Tennessee Conference, in 
 1875, he greatly surprised me one summer 
 day by walking into the parsonage. He was 
 a most welcome visitor in our household. 
 Having introduced him to my wife, I asked 
 him to be seated. "I have a messaofe for 
 you, Sister Goodloe, which I will first deliv- 
 er," said he, " and then I will sit down." In 
 a most feeling manner he spoke of the inter- 
 
46 ^SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 view be and I had on the eve of battle, and 
 delivered the message-wbich I bad given him 
 for wife in the event I were slain. Of course 
 we wiped the tears from our eyes then. 
 
 It was never my misfortune during the 
 war to be an inmate of a hospital, a place for 
 which I bad a decided horror, but I wouhl 
 have been sent off to one with many other 
 sick soldiers the day before Corinth was 
 evacuated in May if Dr. Sanders, surgeon of 
 the regiment, bad not forgotten that I was 
 sick. I was lying sick in my tent, and knew 
 nothing of what order bad been given in ref- 
 erence to the sick until they were all gone 
 and until the tents were being struck for re- 
 moval and the wagons were being bitched 
 up. The command also bad received orders 
 to fall in and march to the front. For a mo- 
 ment a sense of solitude came over me, which 
 was painful indeed. Applying to Col. Kobert- 
 sou, I got permission to get in the surgeon's 
 wagon, which, with the rest of the wagon 
 train, w^as going to the rear, and which 
 moved southward on the Kossuth road as the 
 mand went northward to the front, the Yan- 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 47 
 
 kees being in that direction, and not far off. 
 Dr. Sanders, seeing that I was too sick to 
 travel in this way, advised me to stop in at a 
 house on the road and take the best care of 
 myself that I could. Five miles from Cor- 
 inth, and just across Tuscumbia Creek, I 
 came to a house which had an attractive ap- 
 pearance, and asked of the owner permission 
 to stop with him. He did not hesitate to 
 take me in, but let me know that he Avas pre- 
 paring to take his family farther south. 
 Upon forming the acquaintance of the fami- 
 ly I found that I was among the near rela- 
 tives of my wife, and as generous-hearted 
 people as it is possible to be. Capt. Allen, 
 of the Confederate service, whose com- 
 mand was captured at Donelson, was my 
 host, and he was also my w^ife's first cousin 
 by marriage, his wife being the daughter of 
 William Rose, who lived near Pulaski, Tenn. 
 Mrs. Allen's younger sister Avas staying with 
 her, and Avas the Avife of Col. Fields, of Ma- 
 ney's old regiment. The family completed 
 arrangements May 30 to moA^e to Col. Buch- 
 anan's, in some Avay related to them, living 
 
48 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 fourteen miles above Aberdeen, and they took 
 me along with them,* making me perfectly 
 comfortable on the trip and carefully looking 
 after my every want. At Col. Buchanan's 
 the same generous hospitality was shown me 
 that I had received at the hands of the noble 
 family who had bi'ought me there. My im- 
 jDrovement was steady, and in a few days I 
 reported to my command. In my heart I 
 praised God for the kind j^rovidence which 
 gave me into the care of those who so readi- 
 ly and so heartily ministered to me, and in- 
 voked the benedictions of heaven upon them 
 all; which also I inscribed in my diary. 
 
 What would have been the result if I had 
 been placed in an ambulance at Corinth and 
 sent oif to the hospital, then situated at Oko- 
 lona, cannot be known, but many Avho did go 
 there never recovered, because the attention 
 could not be shown them that was necessary 
 in their cases. There was perhaps no inten- 
 tional neglect of sick soldiers in the hospi- 
 tals, but there was at times a measure of cul- 
 pable carelessness, and there were more 
 patients in some of the hospitals than the 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 49 
 
 medical attendants could well look after. 
 This was the only case of sickness with me 
 during the war that took me from my com- 
 mand, except a brief attack of hemorrhoids 
 while on the Big Black, when I stopped with 
 Col. Love, near Canton, whose wife was the 
 daughter of my uncle, Rev. David S. Goodloe. 
 Here, of course, I was as one of the family, 
 and had every needful attention shown me. 
 I felt that I was taking bilious fever, which 
 Avas my disease at Corinth, when we were in 
 the act of leaving Port Hudson, and had 
 much fever while on the march, but I deter- 
 mined to keep on foot as long as I could, 
 and did so until I was well. Twice I had se- 
 vere attacks of the army flux, as it was called, 
 but refused to stop, and cured myself while 
 doing duty. I had about as much horror of 
 a hospital as I had of a Yankee prison, and 
 Avas determined to keep out of them both if 
 possible; and I never had the bad luck to be 
 in either one. Many a noble Confederate 
 soldier went to the grave from both these in- 
 stitutions who would not have died had he 
 
 been elsewhere. 
 4 
 
50 SOME KEBEL RELICS 
 
 An amusing incident occurred with a sick 
 soldier of my company who was sent to the 
 hospital at Okolona. He believed that he 
 was sent there to be cured, but the first 
 sight which greeted his eyes upon reaching 
 there was a room seemingly full of coffins, 
 and a number of workmen busily engaged in 
 making more. At once he w^as overcome 
 with the impression that greater ^Dreparations 
 were being made to bury soldiers than to 
 cure them, and summoning all the strength 
 that remained in him, he walked away from 
 the hospital instead of into it when taken 
 out of the ambulance. He found a private 
 family not far from town who cared for him 
 in their home until he recovered. It was 
 with him like it is with some people on a 
 lofty elevation, that feel possessed of a kind 
 of suicidal mania to jump off; upon seeing 
 those coffins he felt impelled to die and be 
 buried in one of them, and it frightened him 
 away from the place. 
 
 But why were those coffins in sight of the 
 sick and wounded soldiers who were carried 
 to the hospital? This suggests the state- 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 51 
 
 ment of the humiliating fact that not all 
 those who had the oversight of soldiers need- 
 ing medical attention were in sympathy with 
 them, and willing to take the pains that were 
 necessary for their comfort and cure. Just 
 think of exhibiting a coffin factory to a pa- 
 tient upon his entering the hospital ! Though 
 strictly in the fighting department, I had 
 much to do with the sick first and last, being 
 myself a graduate in medicine, and was en- 
 abled to see with my own eyes that those in 
 authority were often extremely careless of 
 their Avell-being in any sense. In several in- 
 stances I have had to withstand very decid- 
 edly and defiantly those who were over me 
 in rank, because of their injustice, as I saw 
 it, to the sick, in not allowing them such 
 privileges as w^ere needful for their improve- 
 ment, and in having them under suspicion as 
 pretending to be sick to get off duty. With 
 some officers, unworthy of course of the po- 
 sition which they held, a sick soldier w^as 
 about on a par with a sick hog. I had per- 
 sonal knowledge, and noted it in my diary 
 at the time, of a colonel attending the sur- 
 
52 SOME BEBEL RELICS 
 
 geon's call of his regiment as a detective, to 
 find out who were the '' play-outs/' and to 
 see that the surgeon w^as not too liberal in 
 excusing men from duty, as though he was 
 competent for such a self-imposed task as 
 this. His heartlessness and presumption 
 w^ere made apparent, and he brought upon 
 himself the contempt of those who had 
 knowledge of his conduct. 
 
 But the w^ell-being of sick soldiers was not 
 always disregarded by those whose business 
 it was to look after them, and often they were 
 taken in hand and tenderly cared for by those 
 wdio were not connected with the army. 
 There is no telling the number of good wom- 
 en, not to speak of men not in the service, 
 who came into our camps and hospitals, and 
 carried to their homes sick and wounded sol- 
 diers, giving them the best possible attention 
 until their recovery or death. And I must 
 believe that as a rule Confederate officers 
 were ready to do all that they could, and 
 W' ith hearts of sympathy, for the good of the 
 disabled of their commands from sickness or 
 wounds. But in the holiest cause unworthy 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 53 
 
 men sometimes wear the insignia of anthority, 
 and often to its great hurt. It may as well 
 be stated also that it was not altogether un- 
 common for some in the ranks to feign sick- 
 ness in order to get off fatigue duty or keep 
 out of battle. Patriotism did not move all 
 in any position to meet all the demands of 
 duty. Neither is the Church of God com- 
 posed altogether of loyal members. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 TO trace the course of that part of the 
 Confederate army with which the Thirty- 
 fifth Ahibama Eegiment was connected aft- 
 er the evacuation of Corinth, May 29, 1862, so 
 as to bring its journeyings and encampments 
 as clearly to view as possible in their consecu- 
 tive order, it must necessarily be done in as 
 fcAV words as possible. Much must be left 
 unsaid, therefore, for the time being, connect- 
 ed with those movements, army life, etc., to 
 be tokl hereafter, in part at least. To follow 
 up this army is to get a somewhat intelligent 
 idea of the spirit with which the Confederate 
 soldier was possessed when he took up arms 
 against Lincoln's invaders; for who in the 
 world does not know that Lincoln brought on 
 the war between the States? 
 
 From Cornith, after its evacuation the date 
 above given, the army was marched back to 
 Tupelo, Miss., wdiere it remained until Thurs- 
 day, June 19, From Tupelo it marched 
 
 (54) 
 
SOME llEBEL RELICS. 55 
 
 across to Abbeville, on the Mississippi Cen- 
 tral railway, where it took the train, June 26, 
 for Yicksburg, via Jackson, reaching there 
 the night of June 28. Sunday, July 27, 
 the Thirty-fifth Alabama Regiment, as part 
 of the force ordered to Baton Eouge, left 
 on the train for that place, going by way 
 of Jackson, and quitting the railroad at 
 Tangipahoa. Returning from Baton Eouge 
 after the battle there, August 5, the troops 
 marched back to the railroad at Tangi- 
 pahoa, and there took the train for Jack- 
 son August 28, where they arrived at 8 
 o'clock that evening. The command left 
 Jackson by rail Thursday, September 11, 
 under orders to report to Gen. Yillipigue at 
 Holly Springs, or beyond there, if he has 
 gone farther, nntil Gen. Breckenridge shall 
 arrive, and it goes on to Davis's Mills, a short 
 distance from the Tennessee state line below 
 La Grange, Tenn. Here we remained until 
 September 27, except that we chased the 
 Yankees pretty much all day September 21, 
 running them into their fortifications at Bol- 
 ivar, and returning to camp the next even- 
 
56 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 iiig. The rascals had gone out on a foraging 
 expeditionj stealing what they could from cit- 
 izens, and we were trying to intercept them 
 before they got back into their holes. Leav- 
 ing Davis's Mills Saturday, September 27, the 
 command marched toward Eipley, and pass- 
 ing there we went on and on until we struck 
 the enemy in their outer works at Cornith, 
 October 3. After the engagement of the next 
 day a second retreat from Cornith was begun 
 in the evening, and the Confederate forces 
 w^ere marched back to Holly Springs, thence 
 to the mouth of Tippah, where we remained 
 until November 30. From the mouth of Tip- 
 pah we began a hurried retreat Sunday even- 
 ing, ]^ovember 30, at 8 o'clock, and continued 
 this movement until we reached Grenada, the 
 Sunday following, having been several times 
 hindered by the pursuing Yankees, whose 
 pursuit we must pause to check. January 31, 
 1863, we went on the train from Grenada to 
 Jackson, where w^e remained until February 
 11, when we began our march to Edwards' 
 Depot, on or near Big Black River, and about 
 fifteen miles west of Yicksburg. From here 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 57 
 
 we started on the train, February 23, for Port 
 Hudson, via Jackson, reaching Osyka the 
 ne.xt evening, where we quit the train and 
 marched on to Port Hudson. We arrived at 
 Port Hudson March 3, and left there April 
 5; and marching back to Osyka, w^e went 
 from there on the train to Jackson, April 10. 
 April 14 we took the train at Jackson for 
 Tullahoma, Tenn., and reached Chattanooga 
 April 18 at 6 o'clock in the evening, where 
 the order was countermanded, and we were 
 started the next day back to Jackson. 
 Upon reaching Meridian, Miss., the night 
 of April 23, we heard that the Yankees were 
 making demonstrations of some kind in this 
 region, and we remained here a few days to 
 see after them. In the meanwhile a por- 
 tion of the command, the Thirty-fifth 
 Alabama Regiment fii-st, was sent down on 
 the train to Enterprise to head off Grierson's 
 Yankee raiders, and returned to Meridian. 
 From here the command resumed its return 
 trip to Jackson May 3, and reached there 
 the next day. May 5 we went out on the 
 train to Edwards' Depot. Much marching 
 
58 SOME KEBEL KELICS 
 
 was clone, and in many directions, with many 
 Btops also, in the Big Black region, so to 
 speak, until the command was engaged in the 
 battle of Baker's Creek, May 16, 1863. 
 Late that evening, Gen. Loring, our division 
 commander, declining to put his command 
 in a trap at Vicksburg with the rest of Pem- 
 berton's army, took us in a southeast direc- 
 tion, and around by Crystal Springs, to pre- 
 vent being captured, up to Jackson, to report 
 to Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, who was said 
 to be near Canton with two divisions of the 
 Tennessee army. We went up to Canton on 
 the train May 31, and June 5 the entire com- 
 mand, then under Gen. Johnston, started on 
 foot toward Vicksburg, in the hope, it is 
 understood, of making a way of escape for 
 Pemberton's army, now shut in there by 
 Grant's Yankees. Again tliere was much 
 marching and camping and maneuvering in 
 the Big Black and adjacent regions, until 
 Vicksburg fell, and our army retired to 
 Jackson. Here there w^as almost constant 
 fighting, on one part or another of the line, 
 from July 9 to July 16. At 11 o'clock 
 
FROM THE SEAT OP WAK. 51) 
 
 the night of July 16 we were waked up, 
 those who were asleep, in a whisper, and 
 began a noiseless eastward march along the 
 line of the Southern railroad. Very soon, 
 however, we began to make long stops, halt- 
 ing mainly at Forest Station, Newton, and 
 Morton. From Morton, where there were so 
 many flies that we called it '' Camp Fly," we 
 started back on foot to Canton at sundown, 
 September 3, making a most disagreeable 
 night march through rain and mud and 
 Egyptian darkness, and reached there Oc- 
 tober 2. AVe went on the train to Grena- 
 da October 16 to check a Yankee raid, and 
 returned to Canton the next day. The day 
 following we marched down on Big Black 
 to check another raid, and remained over one 
 night, when we again returned to our camp 
 at Canton. February 5, 1864, we left Can- 
 ton, and after making a zigzag southward 
 and eastward confusing march for a few 
 days, Ave went forward to Demopolis, Ala., 
 not without interruptions now and then by 
 the detestable Yankees, and reached there 
 February 18. From here, March 4, the 
 
60 SOME KEBEL RELICS 
 
 Twenty-seventh unci Thirty-fifth Alabama 
 Regiments, having received orders to go to 
 I^^orth Ahibama for recruiting purposes, 
 took up tlie line of march for the Ten- 
 nessee liiver valley in that section of the 
 state, their route being through Tuscaloosa 
 and other towns along that way. From 
 JN'orth Alabama these regiments were or- 
 dered to Dalton, Ga., to meet again the army 
 which they left at Demopolis, except some 
 that were there mounted, and to become in- 
 corporated into the Army of Tennessee under 
 Gen. Joseph E. Johnston. The Sherman- 
 Johnston war here set in, and the Confed- 
 erates fought and backed, and backed and 
 fought, until Atlanta was lost. Then, having 
 camped awhile at Palmetto Station, and hav- 
 ing been reviewed by President Davis, they 
 began their march for Tennessee under Hood 
 September 29, 1864. Crossing the Tennessee 
 Piver at Florence, Ala., after long marches 
 and several minor engagements with Yankee 
 garrisons, they went on to the slaughter at 
 Franklin and at JSTashville. Out of Tennes- 
 see retreated the fragments of as grand an 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAIl. Gl 
 
 army as was ever marshaled on any field of 
 battle, and marching across one corner of 
 North Alabama, they went on to West 
 Point, Miss. Remaining there but a few days, 
 they took the train for Mobile February 1, 
 18G5, reaching there the next morning. The 
 day following they went on a boat to Tensas 
 Depot, where they took the train for Mont- 
 gomery, and from there onward, until they 
 reached Midway, Ga., near Milledgeville, 
 February 7, where the railroad gave out. 
 Here they began their march at 2 o'clock 
 the afternoon of February 11 for Mayfield, 
 where they again took the train, February 14, 
 for Graniteville, S. C, by way of Augusta. 
 Leaving there February 16, they passed 
 through JSTewberry, and having gone a day's 
 march beyond this place they return to it and 
 there took the train to Pomara. From there 
 they marched through Union C. H., and on to 
 Chesterville, where they again took the train, 
 and passing through Charlotte, Salisbury, 
 Greensboro, Raleigh, and Goldsboro, they 
 reached Kinston, on Neuse River, at noon, 
 March 9. Here they quit the train with the 
 
62 SOME KEBEL RELICS 
 
 utmost promptness and marcliGcl forward 
 four miles to the front,* where they took their 
 position on the line with the army already 
 there, to engage at once, and until after 
 nio;-ht, in a heavy skirmish with the Yankees. 
 The next day an assault was made on the 
 enemy's works without carrying them by the 
 Tennessee troops, with considerable suffer- 
 ing on our part, for the purpose, we were told, 
 of diverting their attention from Hoke's Di- 
 vision, which was in danger of being cap- 
 tured by them. It seemed that Gen. Hoke 
 had undertaken to make a flank movement 
 on the enemy, which was about to issue in 
 the loss of his division. March 10 the army 
 retired from the front after dark to one mile 
 above Kinston, and the next morning it was on 
 the march regularly, and fell back through 
 Goldsboro and on to Smith field. Saturday, 
 March 18, leaving Smithfield, they took a 
 southeast course, and after marching about fif- 
 teen miles, went into camp near Bentonville; 
 and the next day, having gone about two 
 miles forward, they encountered the enemy, 
 and the battle of Bentonville was fought, in 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 63 
 
 which the Confederates were eminently vic- 
 torious. After this battle, and on the night 
 of March 21, our army fell back a short dis- 
 tance toward Smithfield, and the next day 
 began a leisurely retreat in the same direc- 
 tion. Back and back it slowly moved, tak- 
 ing time along the route to rest, consolidate, 
 etc., until Greensboro was reached, where it 
 w^as surrendered to Sherman April 26, 1865. 
 A few days before the army reached 
 Greensboro I procured a transfer to the 
 Trans-Mississippi Department, and started 
 there from Hillsboro; so that I was not sur- 
 rendered with the others of the command 
 with which I had heretofore been connected. 
 I reached Meridian, Miss., May 9, where I 
 first learned positively of our overthrow^, and 
 so determined to turn my face toward home. 
 Yankee officers were there giving paroles, but 
 I went on to ]!!^orth Alabama, and on May 20 
 I rode from Uncle Robert A. Goodloe's down 
 to East Port, on the Tennessee River, and 
 just across the line from Alabama into Mis- 
 sissippi, and there got my parole. In mak- 
 ing application for axlmission into the John 
 
64 SOME KEBEL RELICS 
 
 L. McEwen Bivouac, ^o. 4, at Franklin, 
 Tenn., in 1890, 1 stated that I was paroled at 
 Meridian, remembering at the time that the 
 Yankees were there giving paroles when I 
 reached there May 9, and forgetting that I 
 had gone to East Port to procnre one. May 
 25, 1865, 1 reached my home in Wilson Coun- 
 ty, Tennessee, my family having returned 
 there after finding that it was as safe to do 
 so as it was to remain in ISTorth Alabama. 
 
 My route to Meridian, where I expected 
 to find out the best place to cross the Mis- 
 sissippi River, was out of ]N"orth Carolina into 
 South Carolina, and on to Augusta, Qa. 
 From there I went to Atlanta, and then aci'oss 
 Alabama in as direct a line as I could go for 
 safety, and with an eye to as much railroad 
 traveling as possible. Much track was torn 
 up in places by Yankee raiders, and many 
 bridges were burned, but I got a good deal 
 of riding on disconnected pieces of road here 
 and there, sometimes on a hand car and 
 sometimes on the train ; I had, however, 315 
 miles of walking to do. From Meridian I 
 went up on the train to Luhatten Station, 
 
FKOM THE SEAT OF WAR. G5 
 
 near Rev. Simon Sykes's plantation, wlierc 
 I had a horse, which I rode home, crossing- 
 the Tennessee River at Florence and taking 
 the most direct route from there. 
 
 That portion of the army surrendered at 
 Greensboro, which had been in the Georgia 
 and Tennessee campaigns, first under John- 
 ston, and then under Hood, was an exceed- 
 ingly diminutive fragment of that once su- 
 perb army which had been, while under 
 Johnston in Georgia, the terror and admira- 
 tion of Yankee Gen. Sherman, who, though 
 gradually pushing it back toward Atlanta 
 by a much larger army, saw but too plainly 
 for his own comfort and that of his govern- 
 ment that his forces were being constantly 
 worsted, and that it was only a question of 
 time wdien Johnston with his gallant Confed- 
 erates would hnrl him hnrriedly back over 
 the road of his invasion, or demolish him al- 
 together. In the consolidation which was 
 made a short time before the surrender it 
 was shown that there were not men enough 
 left in some regiments to make a full com- 
 pany, or indeed half a company in some in- 
 5 
 
G6 ^'^^OME IlEIiEL KELICS 
 
 stances; and there were companies in which 
 scarcely a '^corporal's gnard" was left, and 
 some had entirely vanished. Of my own 
 company there remained but two or three 
 men besides myself, and indeed part of the 
 time in that last JSTorth Carolina campaign I 
 was entirely alone. When the army was con- 
 solidated there was quite a number of officers 
 left without commands, and being myself 
 of that number, I thought to transfer to the 
 Trans-Mississippi Department, in the hope 
 that the Western army, by being strength- 
 ened, could withstand the invaders until 
 our prospects for freedom would brighten. 
 Indeed, I had an idea then that instead of 
 surrendering the army in North Carolina, it 
 should have been carried westward, if possi- 
 ble; and if not possible, that it should have 
 been disbanded with orders for each soldier 
 to make his w^ay as best he could to one of 
 the Western armies. But " Uncle Joe " 
 (Gen. Johnston) said surrender, and of 
 course that was the right thing to do under 
 the circumstances as they then were. Any 
 army begins to lessen in the very nature of 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAll, G7 
 
 things from the time almost of its enlist- 
 ment, unless it is constantly recrnited, owing 
 to the unavoidable casualties, from many 
 causes, incident to warfare; but when one 
 has to pass through what ours did under 
 Hood the decrease in numbers cannot but be 
 rapid and immense. 
 
 There would, however, have been more 
 men with our army after Hood brought it out 
 of Tennessee had it not been for its speedy 
 removal by raih'oad from ISTorth Mississippi, 
 where it paused awhile, over the long route 
 it had then to take to reach Eastern ^orth 
 Carolina, making it next to impossible for 
 the soldiers that were behind to overtake it 
 soon, the interruptions to transportation be- 
 ing very great in those days. It was un- 
 avoidable that many were left behind, and 
 they were as true men as those that went for- 
 ward. Besides those that were wounded, 
 many were compelled by sickness to drop 
 out of line for the time being, having suffered 
 great exposure in severe weather while in 
 Tennessee; Aveariness from unusually hard 
 service on the field and on the march had ex- 
 
68 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 hausted the strength of some, so that they 
 were compelled to pause and rest wherever 
 they could; barefooted and ragged were not 
 a few of onr best warriors in the winter 
 winds and snows, and they must go out of line 
 to hunt up clothing and shoes, which the quar- 
 termasters had not to give them; and finally, 
 there were those whose spirits were just then 
 broken in a measure by the conspicuously 
 reckless and suicidal policy of Gen. Hood, in 
 whom they had lost all confidence, in his 
 methods of conducting campaigns and wag- 
 ing battle, who determined to call a halt un- 
 til a change in the conduct of army affairs 
 should take place of such a nature as to en- 
 courage again their hope, however faint, of 
 success. True men, all of them, I repeat, 
 and worthy to the last of the gray that they 
 wore. 
 
 It was indeed the ruin of the Army of Ten- 
 nessee Vvhen President Davis put Gen. Hood 
 in command of it as the successor, and after 
 the removal without cause, of Gen. Joseph 
 E. Johnston, the best of all the Confederate 
 generals in our estimation. A gloom came 
 
FlIOM THE SEAT OF WAll. GO 
 
 over US when that change of commanders 
 was made, which foretokened the ruin that 
 was to follow. At sundown, July 18, 1804, 
 while on the line in front of Atlanta, we re- 
 ceived Johnston's farewell note and the an- 
 nouncement that Hood was his successor, and 
 we were like those who had lost their father. 
 ''Boys, we are orphans now," was the lam- 
 entation that was upon the lips of us all, 
 as we collected in groups around our camp 
 fires that night to talk of the misfortune 
 that had befallen us. Our admiration for 
 Hood w^as without bounds while in the po- 
 sitions he had formerly occupied, but it was 
 impossible for us to hold him in the honor 
 which may have been his due when he suf- 
 fered himself to be made a seeming party to 
 the injustice done his predecessor by Presi- 
 dent Davis, and to be placed in a position, at 
 a most critical moment, which Johnston was 
 the only officer in the army capable of filling. 
 We were in the midst of one of the most 
 magnificent campaigns ever conducted by 
 any general, the fruits of which we were in 
 the act of grasping, when the strange and de- 
 
70 "^^-^OME KEBEL RELICS 
 
 pressing ticUng's reached ns that the master 
 spirit who so grandly and effectively con- 
 ducted it must be removed, and his place 
 be filled by one who, though a good man, 
 could not possibly compass intelligently the 
 situation in all its details and merits at such 
 a junctare as then existed. 'Not only did we 
 feel like orphans then, but it took much ef- 
 fort to shake loose from the despondency 
 which crowded itself upon us in regard to 
 the final outcome of our struggle for inde- 
 pendence. Hood's long battle order issued 
 upon his taking command, in which he 
 aimed to stir us up to unusual exhibitions of 
 courage, and to impress us (so it seemed) 
 that he was the man for the occasion, did not 
 improve our feelings, nor inspii-e us with 
 hope for the success of his method of war- 
 fare therein indicated. All fell into line, 
 however, at his command, and engaged with 
 all their might, in all the departments of dut}^, 
 in the campaign which he conducted until 
 its terrible miscarriage at Franklin and 
 Nashville. 
 
 Those who are acquainted with army af- 
 
PlIOM THE SEAT OF WAR. 71 
 
 fairs in the clays of the Confederacy know 
 perfectly well that the army as it was under 
 Johnston, prior to his being superseded by 
 Hood, was in the most buoyant of spirits, 
 happy, hopeful, and confident of ultimate 
 success; and the troops heartily believed 
 that they could whip Sherman's Yankees in 
 an open field fight. They were falling back 
 by degrees, but they knew that that meant 
 disaster to Sherman sooner or later, and they 
 were whipping him in detail, by corps and 
 divisions, every time they joined battle with 
 him. Instead of our men becoming weary 
 of the campaign, they were more and more 
 interested in it, and an improvement was 
 going on in the army all the time. Soldiers 
 who were absent on account of wounds, sick- 
 ness, or other cause were hurrying to the 
 front as soon as they were able to do so, thus 
 keeping our ranks well filled up and in- 
 creasing in numbers. 
 
 Johnston was restored to command just 
 before the battle of Bentonville, but he had 
 then only a few fragments of his old army, and 
 it was too late for him to build it up to any 
 
72 SOME REBEL KELICS 
 
 formidable proportions. The troops that re- 
 mained were rejoiced beyond measure at his 
 return to them, and had the good fortune, un- 
 der his leadei'ship, to give Sherman's Yan- 
 kees, whom they had whipped so often in 
 Georgia, one more effectual beating, over in 
 North Carolina, before the curtain fell. 
 Had not the end been so near at hand, John- 
 ston would have built up another formidable 
 army before a great while. But the end had 
 come, alas! alas! 
 
 I kept my parole while it served me pro- 
 tection from the victorious and vicious 
 Yankees, and then I burned it to pre- 
 vent my posterity from having this evidence 
 that I had surrendered to the invaders of our 
 Southland. Indeed, I would not have sur- 
 rendered if I had been without a finnily, and 
 if I had been able to have reached some 
 other country. Any government on earth 
 was preferable v>^ith me to Yankee rule then. 
 Quite a number of Confederates did go to 
 other countries rather than surrender; and 
 although most of them, I suppose, returned 
 sooner or later, there were some w^ho re- 
 
FJIOM THE SEAT OF WAK. 73 
 
 main eel permanently abroad. The sense of 
 humiliation and disgust that was exj)erienced 
 by the surrendered Confederates cannot be 
 uttered. The thought of laying down our 
 arms, which had enabled us so long to bid 
 defiance to the despicable iuvaders, with the 
 prospect of hereafter having to submit to 
 their dictation in all governmental affiiirs, 
 was oppressive in the extreme. 
 
 Though passing through such experiences 
 as these as he gave up an undertaking which 
 was dearer to him than life, the Confederate 
 soldier, nevertheless, maintained unflagging- 
 ly to the last his self-respect and pride of 
 character. His nobility was never surren- 
 dered. Although overcome and disappoint- 
 ed and gloomy, his convictions and man- 
 hood remained. This infuriated, and still 
 does, the great mass of our enemies, whose 
 business it was, and is, to stamp out of us 
 every vestige of freedom. Though still in 
 pursuit of us Avith their hellish anathemas, 
 the true ex-Confederate, with majestic bear- 
 ing, goes steadily forward in the persistent 
 maintenance of his unsullied manhood. 
 
74: SOME KEBEL KELICS 
 
 As touching' our feelings when the neces- 
 sity of surrender was* made known to us, the 
 following composition of a Missouri sol- 
 dier, which was given me by Miss Mary 
 Cherry just after the war, gives expression, 
 in its allusions to the Yankees and our con- 
 dition, to the sentiments that obtained in all 
 our breasts: 
 
 A Missourian's Feelings before the Surrender. 
 
 Who cau portray the deep disgust 
 
 Missourians feel on being told 
 To trail their banner in the dust, 
 
 Lay down their arms, and be paroled. 
 
 Yield to the Yankees ! O the thought 
 
 Thrills madly through my 'wildered brain ! 
 
 Give up the cause for which we've fought, 
 And humbly be base slaves again. 
 
 March backward through this land of flowers. 
 All dotted o'er with bloody graves, 
 
 Again to seek our Western bowers, 
 And tell our mothers we are slaves. 
 
 Thank God, my father does not live 
 
 To witness thus his son's return: 
 'T would cause his proud old heart to grieve, 
 
 His aged cheeks with shame to burn. 
 
FKOM THE SEAT OE WAK. 75 
 
 He sleeps within his native state, 
 
 Where Stonewall Jackson wrote his name, 
 
 Where Kobert Lee succumbed to fate, 
 But kept his honor and his fame. 
 
 My mother's locks with grief are gray, 
 And mine are too with toil and strife; 
 
 I go to smooth as best I may 
 
 Her pathway down the hill of life. 
 
 I know she'll cheer me all she can. 
 
 And say now all regrets are vain. 
 But can I smile while Dixie's land 
 
 Groans 'neath the despot's iron chain? 
 
 Dear land of sunshine and of flowers, 
 
 We yet would gladly die for thee, 
 If this last bloody act of ours 
 
 Could make thy noble people free. 
 
 .We to our trust have e'er been true. 
 
 We've fought on every battlefield, 
 We've done what brave men ever do, 
 
 And now, perforce, we can but yield. 
 
 To-morrow's sun that lights the world 
 And gilds old ocean's rolling waves 
 
 Will beam onYankee flags unfurled 
 Above surrendered Southern braves. 
 
 In this dark hour, when hope's last ray 
 Has sunk 'neath sorrow's gloomy wave, 
 
^ 
 
 76 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 Come, comrades, let us kneel and pray 
 Beside our nation's honored grave. 
 
 We'll weep as the survivors weep 
 
 Of a wrecked bark that's homeward bound, 
 
 Who feel 'tis wrong that they don't sleep 
 In the same grave their bark has found. 
 
 'Tis hard to leave this land of flowers, 
 
 For which we've fought for these long years. 
 
 How dark appear life's coming hours. 
 
 When hearts and hopes are drowned in tears! 
 
 I now must yield to Yankee laws. 
 
 Yet this shall be my life's proiid boast: 
 
 I gave my best years to the cause 
 That I love yet, although 'tis lost. 
 
 But was it not best for lis and our poster- 
 ity that we failed in the permanent establish- 
 ment of our Confederacy? If the Lord 
 willed it thus, it was best, but the divine 
 ordering is not always comprehended by our 
 dull understanding. We buried all hope of a 
 Confederacy when we ceased to fight for it, 
 knowing full well that our opportunity for 
 its establishment was forever lost, but we 
 did not believe that we had bettered our con- 
 dition when we turned over our guns to the 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAll. 77 
 
 Lincoln government; and what has trans- 
 pired since that gloomy day to induce us to 
 undergo a change of mind on that subject? 
 As to the effect that slavery would ulti- 
 mately have had in weakening the Southern 
 Confederacy need not enter into our con- 
 templations, inasmuch as ours was a land of 
 statesmen, as well as of soldiers, fidly capa- 
 ble, in the course of time, of solving that 
 question, perhaps by the gradual emancipa- 
 tion of the slaves by the government, and 
 paying their owners for them. But we ac- 
 cept the situation, and are willing that by- 
 gones shall be bygones, if only the Radicals 
 of the l!^orth will let it be thus. 
 
CHAPTEE lY. 
 
 WE conlidently believed that the death of 
 Gen. Albert Sydney Johnston on the 
 field of Shiloh was one of the few potent fac- 
 tors in the loss of our independenee as a na- 
 tion, but we regarded the removal of Gen. 
 Joseph E. Johnston from the command of 
 the department and army of Tennessee, and 
 the appointment of Hood as his successor, as 
 the prime cause of our overthrow. We were 
 sure that if he had been left in command 
 Abe Lincoln would have soon called off his 
 war dogs. And it was understood among 
 the soldiers that President Davis was re- 
 sponsible for his removal. We also believed 
 that he knew perfectly well, and sanctioned, 
 the campaign upon which Hood entered Avhen 
 he came into command upon Johnston's re- 
 moval. He came to our army after the re- 
 moval of Johnston, and reviewed it in con- 
 nection with Hood as we were about to begin 
 
 our march toward Tennessee. We easily 
 
 (78) 
 
SOME KEIiEL KP:Lrcs. 79 
 
 presumed that he was there at that particular 
 time to assist in phmning and otherwise ar- 
 ranging for that campaign; and he got no 
 praise from the soldiers that I heard for be- 
 ing with us on that occasion for such a pur- 
 pose. Ilis presence inspired no enthusiasm 
 in the army, speaking from my standpoint, 
 and what cheers greeted him as he galloped 
 along the road on the side of which, and 
 fronting it, w^e stood, were mainly from res- 
 pect to him as the head of our government. 
 As he passed along many soldiers called out 
 to him: " Take away Hood, and give us back 
 Johnston! " 
 
 Mr. Davis may have been greatly W' rouged 
 by many of the soldiers, but there was a 
 wide-spread impression among them in those 
 days that he was not the man for the place 
 he occupied in the stormy yeai's of our na- 
 tional existence; and, holding him respon- 
 sible for the removal of Johnston in front of 
 Atlanta, they held him responsible for our 
 downfall; since we believed that the ruin of 
 our army under Hood destroyed our possiblity 
 of freedom. He was, we may say, unani- 
 
^% 
 
 80 ^OME REBEL RELICS 
 
 mously elected President by the Southern 
 people of our Confederate States of America; 
 and at the time of the election all confided 
 in him implicitly as a competent leader in 
 the great emergency which was upon us; but 
 it developed to the satisfaction of a great 
 many, long before the war ended, that we had 
 not found the man to head so gigantic and 
 hazardous an enterprise as the one we were 
 then engaged in. We regarded him as a 
 great man in statesmanship and courage, and 
 remembered that he had given to our armies 
 some of the finest military chieftains that the 
 world ever knew; but his war policy we re- 
 garded as mistaken, and we were made to 
 believe that at times his prejudices rather 
 than his judgment controlled him in the re- 
 moval and appointment of army officers. 
 There were a number of officers who w^ere 
 pretty generally denominated '^Davis's 
 pets," and some whom, it was understood, 
 he had a personal dislike for. His love for 
 and devotion to the Southern Confederacy 
 was never called in question by any one, and 
 his readiness to put forth his mightiest ener- 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 81 
 
 gies for its support could not be doubted in 
 any quarter. 
 
 Davis could not endure the thought of a 
 Confederate army, however small, retiring 
 before a Yankee army, however large. He 
 believed that a handful of Kebels ought to 
 whip a field full of Yankees whenever a 
 chance to fight was offered. Surrender and 
 retreat were not words to be found in his 
 vocabukiry, and it never occurred to him 
 until he w^as captured that the Southern Con- 
 federacy would not endure. That he believed 
 that something would occur, even in the very 
 last moments, to save us from the fall which 
 was then so manifestly imminent to a great 
 many was evidenced by his ow^n statements. 
 His retreat from Richmond, the capital of our 
 Confederacy; the surrender of Lee; and the 
 certainty of Johnston's early capitulation 
 did not destroy his hope of the final triumph 
 of the Confederate arms. I saw him April 
 17, 1865, as he and his family were crossing 
 the long bridge over the Yadkin River, 
 North Carolina. I was lying down resting 
 
 by the side of the railroad near the west end 
 6 
 
82 ^^^ SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 of the bridge as he came walking on the 
 bridge, his horse being led by a private sol- 
 dier. It was a railroad bridge which had 
 been floored for carrying over horses and 
 wagons; the horses being loosed from the 
 wagons and led over, and the wagons being 
 pulled and pushed over by men. Mr. Davis 
 stopped and received his horse from the sol- 
 dier who had led him over in a few feet of 
 where I was lying. After thanking the sol- 
 dier for his kindness in a most hearty and 
 gentlemanly manner, and seeming almost to 
 apologize to him for trying to make his es- 
 cape from the Yankees, he said: "I expect to 
 be retracing my steps when you see me 
 again, and it will not be long nntil I do so." 
 Mr. Davis then went on to Charlotte, and 
 made a speech to some of the citizens of that 
 town, in which he said that we could hold out 
 five more years against the Yankees. That 
 was April 19, 1865. I did not hear the 
 speech, but I was in Charlotte when it was 
 made, and I received my information from 
 perfectly reliable parties who did hear it. I 
 think it was only a hasty speech of a few 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAII. 83 
 
 words made to a rather small company that 
 gathered around him as he rode into town. 
 The gentleman at whose house I had stopped 
 to have my rations cooked was present, and 
 he came back home greatly pleased that onr 
 resources were so much more abundant than 
 he had supposed until he heard what Mr. 
 Davis said. 
 
 Hopeful to the last, it would seem, was 
 our chieftain of the permanency of our gov- 
 ernment, and yet hoping without hope in 
 these expiring moments of its existence. 
 But these statements of his have a strange 
 sound taken in connection with the fact that 
 he had but a few days before their utterance 
 authorized Gen. Johnston to make what 
 terms he could for the termination of the 
 war, they having had a meeting at Greens- 
 boro, where I saw Mr. Davis April 15 riding 
 along the street in company with Gen. 
 Breckenridge. While as President of our 
 Confederacy and commander in chief of our 
 armies he was in the best possible position 
 to know our real condition, which he indeed 
 recognized as hopeless, yet he seemed to be 
 
84 SOME KEBEL RELICS 
 
 possessed of a kind of desperation of hope in 
 the face of inevitable i'uin. 
 
 For a long time before the Avar ended Mr. 
 Davis had gotten the credit, though unjust- 
 ly it may be, among the soldiers for sending 
 abroad messages of hope to encourage them 
 to endurance and courage when there was no 
 sufficient ground always for such messages. 
 ^']!^ews from Kichmond," which was under- 
 stood to be news from the President, w^as 
 continually coming into camp to the effect 
 that our disabilities of one sort and another 
 were about to be removed, and our speedy 
 triumph accomplished. As our troubles ac- 
 cumulated and our condition became moi*e 
 embarrassing these blessed tidings came 
 more frequently to us, freighted with hope 
 and cheer to those who believed them. For 
 awhile they were very inspiring to us all, but 
 as disappointment after disappointment came 
 to us on account of not witnessing their reali- 
 zation they became decidedly monotonous and 
 a subject of jest and ridicule. They most 
 frequently had reference to the interposition 
 in one way or another of foreign powers in 
 
FKOM THE SEAT OF AVAR. 85 
 
 oiu- behalf, a great fleet of Confederate gun- 
 boats on the high seas, the breaking of tlie 
 blockade of our ports, an uprising of South- 
 ern sympathizers in the ]N"orth, etc. JNIr. 
 Davis having gotten the credit among iis, 
 which seemed to be pretty general, of giving 
 these items of news to the army, it w^as con- 
 jectured that he had acquii-ed the habit of 
 seeing and speaking only of the hopeful in- 
 dications that presented themselves to his 
 mind, and that this is the explanation of his 
 final utterances of hope. 
 
 It is not intended to convey the idea that 
 Mr. Davis, the soul of honor and of undispu- 
 ted integrity, was a fabricator of rumors for 
 helping forward the patriotism and chivalry 
 of the army, but only to give, as army relics, 
 such facts and impressions as came to us 
 Avho w^ere at the front. Mr. Davis may have 
 had nothing to do w^itli sending out these 
 helpful reports to the soldiers, but many 
 thought he did, and spoke freely of it. " I 
 can fight the Yankees just as well, and a lit- 
 tle better, without so much rallying in the 
 way of flattering prospects which never ma- 
 
86 "^>o 
 
 ME REBEL KELICS 
 
 terialize, than with it," was a sentiment 
 which often found e:s,pression. It is to be 
 taken for granted that those reports that re- 
 hited to our recognition by foreign powers, 
 as well also as that of the blockade being 
 broken, etc., were well founded, as our gov- 
 ernment was carrying on, all the while, ne- 
 gotiations with other governments, and the 
 indications frequently were that so and so 
 would come to pass which did not; but it 
 was a great mistake to trumpet abroad what 
 had not matured, and what, therefore, ought 
 to have been kept strictly secret by the au- 
 thorities of our government until the results 
 desired had come to pass. Whatever may 
 have been the real state of the case in regard 
 to these matters, it was a great pity that the 
 soldiers, if in error, were not made acquaint- 
 ed with the facts, if there was any way that 
 it could be done. 
 
 Just here I will insert a report which, as 
 chairman of the Historical Committee, I 
 made to the John L. McEwen Bivouac, ISTo. 
 4, Franklin, Tenn., in 1891, and which was 
 headed " Speeches and Soldiers: " 
 
FllOM THE SEAT OF WAR. 87 
 
 April 25, 1863, Gen. Loring's division 
 Avas at Meridian, Miss., where it had paused 
 a little on the return trip from Chattanooga, 
 Tenn., to Jackson, Miss., Big Black, etc. 
 We had recently been to Port Hudson, La., 
 and were ordered from there to Tullahoma, 
 Tenn.; but on reaching Chattanooga we re- 
 ceived orders to return to Mississippi. About 
 9 o'clock A.M. of the above date we received 
 information that Grierson's Yankee cavalry 
 Avere approaching Enterprise, on the Mo- 
 bile and Ohio railroad, a short distance below 
 Meridian, where there were government 
 stores, railroad shops, etc. At once the Thir- 
 ty-fifth Alabama Regiment was commanded 
 to load guns and board the train for Enter- 
 prise, expecting possibly to be attacked on 
 the route, but hoping to get there before Gri- 
 erson did. We beat him there, and, leaping 
 instantly from the train, we double-quicked 
 down a dirt road to a bridge near the town, 
 which Grierson was also briskly approaching, 
 but which we reached first. Col. Goodwin 
 then commanded our regiment, and placed it 
 in a good position to do much hurt to the Yan- 
 
88 SOME HEBEL IlELICS 
 
 kee raiders; but Gricrson played off a ras- 
 cally trick on him, and so made his escape. 
 Grierson did not know we were there until 
 we were just ready to 'Mjag" him; and, see- 
 ing his imminent peril, threw up his white 
 handkerchief as a flag of truce and asked for 
 a parley with our colonel. The trick was 
 but too palpable, and ought not to have been 
 submitted to by Col. Goodwin; but the par- 
 ley was allowed, and while it was going on, 
 Grierson took in the situation more fully, 
 and slipped his men out of the trap into 
 Avhich most of them had come. The trick- 
 ster put on a bold face and demanded the sur- 
 render of the place; to which Col. Goodwin 
 replied, asking two hours for consideration 
 and the removal of women and children. 
 Grierson was only too well pleased to accom- 
 modate our colonel, and use those two hours 
 for the furtherance of his own safety. The 
 Twelfth Louisiana and Seventh Kentucky 
 liegiments were expected on the next train 
 to reenforce our regiment, but when they ar- 
 rived the Yankee horsemen, who could gal- 
 lop heroically (!) through an unprotected 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR, 89 
 
 country, and call it a "great raid," had put 
 themselves out of our reach. 
 
 Having thus lost the opportunity to " bag 
 our game," an army expression frequently 
 used, we were put in chase after it, only to 
 wear us down with fatigue and sore feet, for 
 the Yankees were mounted and we were on 
 foot; albeit they were pretending to make a 
 stand every now and then, which we were ex- 
 ceedingly anxious for them to do. We 
 slept on our guns that night, not knowing 
 but that we might need them before day; and 
 all through the next day and until midnight 
 following we were receiving information that 
 Grierson was still hanging around, bent on 
 capturing Enterprise, wdiich made it neces- 
 sary for us to be in motion and on the look- 
 out all the time. It was indeed a very tire- 
 some expedition in which we were engaged, 
 and not until the uight of April 28 did we 
 quiet down and retire to our pallets for an 
 undisturbed sleep. But just as the command 
 were all soundly asleep, we were suddenly 
 called up and ordered to "fall in." B}^ thus 
 being aroused at night and put in readiness 
 
90 SOME KEBEL PtELICS 
 
 for marching, we had no other thought than 
 that the enemy were near at hand, and in a 
 moment w^e were in line; but to our utter 
 amazement and displeasure our colonel in- 
 formed us that we were called np to hear a 
 speech from Gen. Keuben Davis, a near 
 kinsman of the President, who was at the 
 hotel in Enterprise. 
 
 Col. Goodwin was a brave, good soldier, 
 but his tastes were more literary than milita- 
 ry. He was a polished gentleman and high- 
 ly educated, and had made considerable char- 
 acter as a writer. lie expected a rare treat 
 in hearing the speech of Gen. Davis, and 
 supposed that we would thank him for afford- 
 ing us the opportunity of hearing so distin- 
 guished a speaker. 
 
 Before leaving camp for the hotel where 
 Davis was, which was not more than half a 
 mile. Col. Goodvvin posted ns in all the 
 points of good manners on such occasions, 
 when and how we should call for Davis, 
 etc. He admonished us very carefully that 
 everything must be done decently and in or- 
 der, so that Reuben, of the house of Davis, 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 91 
 
 would not only recognize us as soldiers, but 
 as gentlemen also. He let us know what or- 
 ders he would give and what would be our 
 position on the open space in front of the 
 hotel, indicating also the maneuvers through 
 which we would be carried before the final 
 *'IIalt!" Upon halting he would give the 
 command "Order arms!" whereupon he 
 would call out immediately, " Davis! Davis! " 
 and we were to take np the call at once, 
 "Davis! Davis! Davis!" with a full chorus 
 of voices. 
 
 All went well with the Colonel until our 
 time came to call for Davis. Some of us did 
 as we were instructed, but others began to 
 yell: "Come out of there, Reuben; I know 
 you are in there! " " Get through as qnick 
 as you can," said others; "we are all 
 mighty sleepy." This seemed to annoy our 
 colonel, but Davis appeared on one of the 
 hotel balconies, and made his speech, which 
 was maiuly made np of compliments to us 
 and good news from Richmond. This "good 
 news from Richmond " business in regard to 
 our recognition by foreign powers, breaking 
 
92 SOME REBEL llELICS 
 
 the blockade^ etc., bad become quite monoto- 
 nous to the soldiers, and excited but little in- 
 terest among them; and when Davis touched 
 on those things a voice from the regiment 
 cried out: " Tell us something new, General.^' 
 He tald us, if I remember right, that France 
 had certainly espoused our cause, and that a 
 large fleet of French gunboats was nearing 
 our shores to open every port of ours and 
 demolish Yankee vessels. '^ Those are aw- 
 ful slow boats, General; they have been on 
 the way here ever since the war began, to my 
 certain knowledge," shouted a voice from the 
 regiment. It seemed evident that Col. Good- 
 win and Gen. Davis became weary of the 
 performance; the speech soon came to an 
 end, and we were marched back to our camp 
 to do what sleeping we could till morning, 
 to our unspeakable relief. 
 
 While near Demopolis, Ala., March 3, 
 1864, our (Buford's) brigade was marched 
 out into an old field to hear a speech of wel- 
 come from Gov. Watts, of Alabama, into 
 whose state we had just come. We were 
 formally introduced to him bv Gen. Buford 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAK. 93 
 
 as he was ready to begin his speech. " How- 
 dy, Governor; how are all your folks? " was 
 the greeting which a number of voices gave 
 him. It was indeed an eloquent speech that 
 he gave us, and well suited to the occasion. 
 He poured forth great torrents of eloquence, 
 heroism and chivalry, as he tiptoed in his 
 stirrups, for he spoke on horseback; having, 
 however, at first extended to us a beautiful 
 welcome into his state. The more he spoke, 
 the braver he seemed to become; and it was 
 only too phiin that his speech was moving 
 himself more than his audience. In order 
 to incite us to transcendent feats of despera- 
 tion on the field of battle, he spoke of an in- 
 cident which occurred in another depart- 
 ment of the Confederate army. A daring 
 and dashing color bearer was shot down 
 in a furious charge; but the flag was in- 
 stantly caught up by another soldier and 
 waved in defiance of the Yankees, when 
 he too received a death shot; then another 
 and another and another did the same thing 
 and met the same fate in quick succession, 
 until there was no telling how many color 
 
94 ^^OME KEBEL RELICS 
 
 bearers there were who fell thus in that 
 charge, the heroism gf whom the Governor 
 would have us emulate. " What a set of 
 fools those fellows were! " rang- out from the 
 mouths of several listening privates. And 
 " We don't believe in putting our heads in 
 Yankee cannons for the fun of having them 
 shot out." This, at least, made it appear 
 that the Governor's speech, though having 
 much merit, was not the thing needed just 
 then. These men whom he addressed, in- 
 ured to hardships and dangers, had no ear 
 for the civilian's bugle note. They were 
 then performing a long march, having just 
 w^alked from Canton, Miss., and were Aveary 
 and foot-sore, and they felt that rest was a 
 better nervine than a speech, though it be 
 from a Governor. Had the enemy been 
 near at hand and a battle imminent, a word or 
 two from their commander might have been 
 appreciated; but no amount of eloquence on 
 general principles from one not in arms him- 
 self did them any good. They felt that they 
 were already better patriots in the most im- 
 portant sense than those, unarmed, wdio 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAK. 95 
 
 would fire their patriotism, endurance, and 
 courage. Be it said, however, that Gov. 
 Watts made a very fine impression upon the 
 brigade, and possibly he did not hear the un- 
 appreciative voices that spoke out during the 
 delivery of his speech; still there was a prev- 
 alent idea that rest was preferable to listen- 
 ing to a speech, and that it was out of 
 taste for the speaker to undertake to stir up 
 the bravery of men whose courage had al- 
 ready been abundantly tested. 
 
 At the opening of the war there was much 
 and necessary speech making, but when men 
 had fully learned war by hard experience, 
 about the only speaking necessary were the 
 orders from the officers in command to go 
 forward in whatever was necessary in the 
 defeat of the enemy. And even at the be- 
 ginning of hostilities, though there were 
 many soul- inspiring and patriotic appeals in 
 the way of orations to bestir men into action 
 against the invading foe, there Avere many 
 harangues which w^ere too enthusiastic, if 
 possible, and calculated to make us believe 
 that war was but a pleasant pastime, a kind 
 
96 SOME iiebp:l relics 
 
 of holiday recreation, when carried on with 
 the Yankees. JSTnmbQrs of men, nnder the 
 sndden impulse of daring- inspired by these 
 speeches of fiery and flighty zealots, and be- 
 lieving that it was a mere " breakfast spell " 
 to crush out our Yankee hatei'S, rushed hur- 
 riedly to the front, only to realize that our war 
 was not only not a merry holiday frolic, but a 
 most serious and terrific encounter, involv- 
 ing hardness of service and untold suffering 
 and slaughter, who, being overwhelmed 
 presently with consternation, they had not 
 the heart to endure. 'Not having bad a 
 proper conception of what war was before 
 engaging in it, there were many who were 
 driven away by its horrors. The speech 
 makers of the effervescent kind had told 
 them that hunting Yankees was better fun 
 than hunting squirrels, and they suddenly 
 found, to their uncontrollable dismay, that 
 they themselves were being hunted to the 
 death. 
 
 I recall a speech that I heard at McAVhir- 
 tersville, six miles from iS'ashville on the 
 Lebanon pike, in 1861, while the " Hermit- 
 
FIIOM THE SEAT OF WAU. 97 
 
 age Guards," a company of the Twentieth 
 Tennessee Kegiment, was being formed, in 
 which we were told that the whites of the 
 Yankees' eyes woukl be fine targets for Ten- 
 nessee marksmen, and that tlieir squirrel 
 rifles were as good army guns as they need- 
 ed. It was at a time that the state govern- 
 ment was calling upon the citizens to furnish 
 such guns as they had that could be used for 
 army purposes, we having gone to war with- 
 out anything like a supply of guns. I had 
 already furnished a large-bore Sharp's rifle 
 and a double-barrel shot gun, which were 
 capable of doing good service in good hands, 
 but on hearing of the fun there would be in 
 drawing a bead on the Avhites of Yankees' 
 eyes, and having a long, small-bore rifle, for- 
 merly the property of my father, and which 
 he had had made for hunting squirrels with, 
 I carried that into ISTashville at the earliest 
 opportunity and turned it over to the govern- 
 ment as an army gun, although I prized it 
 very much as a kind of heirloom. Of course 
 I threw away my rifle, it being altogether 
 
 unsuited for the battlefield. 
 
 7 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 OURS being an infantry company, our 
 movements, when not on foot, were by 
 such means of transportation as the govern- 
 ment would furnish for special emergencies; 
 and with the exception of a small amount 
 of steamboat travel, we were transported on 
 railroads, the approximate extent of which 
 has already been indicated. The govern- 
 ment would charter for the time being the 
 trains and boats that we would travel on. 
 Our boat travel was almost altogether be- 
 tween Selma and Montgomery, on the Ala- 
 bama River; going first up the river from 
 Selma to Montgomery, April 16 and 17, 1863, 
 on the steamer " Le Grande," and then down 
 the river from Montgomery to Selma, April 
 21 and 22, on the steamer '' St. Charles." 
 This was on our trip from Jackson to Chat- 
 tanooga, and we returned over the same 
 route. Only the lower decks of the boats were 
 
 chartered for the soldiers, and they, as at all 
 
 (98) 
 
SOME REBEL RELICS. 99 
 
 other times, carried with them their own ra- 
 tions drawn from the army commissaries. 
 Only the officers were allowed to take pas- 
 sage in the cabin, and they had to pay the 
 steamboat clerk as other passengers do. 
 Lnckily, and for a rarity, I had the money 
 to take cabin passage, which comprehended 
 such luxuries as soldiers w^ere not wont to 
 enjoy: sitting on a chair, eating at a table, 
 and lying on a berth. The noncommis- 
 sioned officers and privates, called the " men," 
 were commanded to stay on the lower deck, 
 but they soon gave no heed to the order, and 
 made themselves free and easy in all parts of 
 the boat, and those who had the money to 
 pay for meals would do so, and sit witli the 
 regular passengers at the dinner table. The 
 officers and men were too intimately associ- 
 ated in the hardships of army life, and too 
 much identified in their feelings, for an order 
 like this to have permanent force, which, in- 
 deed, meant no more than that the govern- 
 ment had only contracted for our transpor- 
 tation on deck. 
 
 These two steamboat rides on the Alabama 
 
100 SOME KEBEL RELICS 
 
 River were quite refreshing to most of us, 
 although the men were too much crowded 
 for lying down comfortably; altogether, 
 however, it was a merry recreation that they 
 enjoyed, owing largely to the mode of travel 
 varying from what they had been accustomed 
 to, and but for the night time spent on the 
 river the rides would have been exceedingly 
 exhilarating. 
 
 On the same "round trip," so to speak, 
 between Jackson and Chattanooga, we were 
 transported from McDowell's Station to De- 
 mopolis, on the Tombigbee River, and re- 
 turned from the latter to the former place on 
 the steamer " Marengo; " but that was only a 
 ferrying arrangement of four miles distance. 
 Also, on our final trip, when we were going 
 from Mississippi to I^orth Carolina, we were 
 taken in a steamer across Mobile Bay and 
 up Tensas Bayou to Tensas Station to take 
 the train. 
 
 The traveling of soldiers on railroad trains 
 was in some respects better than the marches 
 we had to make, but in others it was not, and 
 in no sense was it a luxury only insomuch 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF AVAIL 101 
 
 as it afforded temporary relief to our feet, 
 and an opportunity for seeing the towns and 
 people along the route. It was impossible 
 to find on any of the roads sufficient trans- 
 portation in passenger coaches for a com- 
 mand of any considerable size, and so we 
 were put to the necessity of taking box and 
 open cars, and it was even then needful that 
 as many of us get on them as they could pos- 
 sibly hold, loading the tops of the box cars 
 as well as their inside. We generally had 
 but little sitting room on the floors of the 
 carS; and never, that I recall, could we all lie 
 down at once. As to seats being furnished, 
 that w^as out of the question. If many sol- 
 diers were to be transported at one time, a 
 number of long trains were loaded, and start- 
 ed off in quick succession, one after another, 
 just far enough apart to avoid running into 
 each other. Frequently in making curves 
 in an open country the tortuous movements 
 of the whole line of trains, as seen from any 
 one of the cars, presented a most picturesque 
 appearance, as they wended their way in 
 many directions thickly packed with soldiers 
 
102 SOME llEBEL RELICS 
 
 without and within on the box cars, inter- 
 mingled with flats on. which almost all the 
 standing room was occupied. The trains 
 were generally in sight of each other whether 
 the road was straight or crooked, except 
 where timber obstructed the view, and their 
 movements were always interesting to look 
 upon. 
 
 By whatever mode of travel our armies 
 moved we were always cheered by the citi- 
 zens as we passed by residences or throngh 
 towns, but when traveling on the railroads, 
 we were enabled, our movements being rapid, 
 to see more people and houses and towns, 
 than we otherwise could, and we were there- 
 fore more frequently greeted with the ap- 
 plause of citizens than could be the case 
 when we were marching through the coun- 
 try. The enthusiasm of Southern women for 
 the glorious cause for which we fought was 
 made conspicuously manifest as we passed 
 along, by their bright smiles, the waving of 
 their handkerchiefs, and throwing flowers 
 into our midst, and not unfrequently would 
 they have ready and hand out to us articles 
 
FKOM THE SEAT OF WAlt. 103 
 
 of clothing and other comforts. 'No such 
 women ever lived as those of our Southern 
 Confederacy; and there was nothing left un- 
 done by them, in their sphere, to help for- 
 ward our hoped for freedom from the despot- 
 ism which threatened us. On the part of 
 the soldiers applause answered applause with 
 the waving of hats on our part and such 
 ringing yells as only a Confederate soldier 
 was capable of. Those indeed were glad oc- 
 casions; and every cheer we received, espe- 
 cially from the women, put new purpose into 
 our being to drive back the invading hordes 
 if possible. 
 
 Many accidents, necessarily, it might be 
 said, occurred with these soldiers' trains; 
 but it was sometimes the case, as we then 
 believed, that trains were intentionally dis- 
 abled or wrecked by parties running them, 
 or in some other way connected with them, 
 who were in sympathy with the enemy; Still 
 it was only occasionally that there was loss 
 of life by railroad accidents. On the long 
 trip from West Point, Miss., to Kinston, 
 N. C, we several times seemed barely to es- 
 
I04 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 cape much destruction of life, but we got 
 through without being overtaken by any 
 such calamity. Possibly the engineers and 
 other train men were all true men, but we 
 felt it necessary a time or two to keep very 
 close watch on some of them. It was as 
 much in order then to wreck a train of sol- 
 diers, and thus destroy their lives, as it was 
 to kill them in battle, and we knew not but 
 that some Yankee emissary might be at hand 
 ready to deal out wholesale destruction to us 
 in that way, if possible, by bribing trainmen 
 or by any other method that he could. Yan- 
 kee hate, Yankee ingenuity, and Yankee 
 money were ever lavish in the accomplish- 
 ment of our ruin, and there were masked 
 traitors among us in various places, who were 
 the cheap tools of our venomous foes to com- 
 pass our overthrow by clandestine and dia- 
 bolical means. To these the wrecking of a 
 train of Southern soldiers would be a veri- 
 table luxury, if only they could escape de- 
 tection. These "home-made Yankees," as 
 they were generally called, abounded in 
 some places more than in others, and there 
 
FROM THE SEAT OP WAR. 105 
 
 was a contempt for them on the part of the 
 Southern patriot wliicli transcended that 
 which was felt for the most odious of puri- 
 tanical '' Down Easters." A typical ]N'ew 
 England Yankee was the supreme object of 
 Southern detestation until the ^'home-made 
 Yankee " came into being, and made himself 
 worthy of our intenser odium by his capaci- 
 ty for lower forms of mischief among us 
 than even the abolition intruder from the 
 delectable land of wooden nutmegs. Had 
 an ensrineer of one of our soldiers' trains 
 been of this complexion it would certainly 
 have been wrecked had not the fear of detec- 
 tion deterred him from the adventure. 
 
 " Forward, march ! " After the order 
 "Fall in!" this was the command oftenest 
 received, and on foot was our normal method 
 of locomotion. This involved weariness ex- 
 treme, and sore feet and corns without limit 
 or stint. It had not impressed me until I 
 was in the service that I would experience 
 excessive weariness. Seeing companies of 
 soldiers on the march before my enlistment, 
 and before they had learned much of the 
 
106 ^^OME REBEL RELICS 
 
 drudgery of that part of warfare, they all 
 seemed to step togetjier as one man; and, 
 without thinking particulai-ly of the matter, 
 the idea was in my mind that such was the 
 mutual support which they rendered one 
 another that no individual soldier would be- 
 come much tired. But weariness of every 
 grade, even to the utter breakdown of ex- 
 haustion, was the individual experience of al- 
 most every soldier among us at some time or 
 other. I marvel to this day that as many kept 
 on their feet as did, as the vivid recollection 
 of so many hard marches by day and by 
 night comes to mind. 
 
 As in all other particulars of army life, 
 there was a great deal of difference among 
 soldiers in regard to marching, so that after 
 we had been on a march a few days some 
 would straggle, while others would maintain 
 their places steadily in the ranks; some would 
 yield to weariness with much readiness, while 
 others would with much determination resist 
 it; some would continue to keep their guns 
 in proper position, while others would carry 
 them with such looseness as to inconvenience 
 
FllOM THE SEAT OF WAll. 107 
 
 or strike those nearest them; some would 
 give attention to their feet and keep them 
 in good condition as long as possible, while 
 others would neglect them from the start 
 and soon have them smarting with sores — 
 these, and other differences there were among 
 infantry soldiers as they went trudging along 
 on an extended march. Ordinarily we would 
 march an hour and rest fifteen minutes, and 
 when the command '' Rest ! " was given many 
 would drop down on the ground instantly to 
 get the full benefit of the rest time allowed 
 us; some would remain on their feet most 
 of the time, propping themselves with their 
 guns or not as they were inclined; and some 
 would go on a short ^^ foraging" expedition 
 if there were any houses in sight. There 
 were expert " foragers " (provision hunters) 
 in our regiment, and possibly in every other 
 regiment in the army — soldiers who could 
 always find willing-hearted citizens to re- 
 plenish their haversacks with something- 
 good to cat. 
 
 The money-making faculty belongs to 
 some men in a preeminent sense, so that it is 
 
108 ^lOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 said of them that they coukl make money if 
 they were placed on ^ rock without any ap- 
 parent facilities for doing so, and this same 
 trait conspicuously characterized a number 
 of our soldiers daring the war. They would 
 manage to get hold of something to trade on 
 or sell to the other soldiers. Some of them 
 would hunt up whisky, with which they 
 would fill their canteens, and sell it to those 
 of their comrades who drank; some would 
 find materials to make pies of, which they 
 would get a good price for from their hungry 
 comrades; and in a number of other ways 
 money w^as made by those who had the fac- 
 ulty for so doing. 
 
 I sometimes bought pies from the pie 
 makers, who w^ould carry them through the 
 command on boards, crying out as they 
 passed along, ^' Come up and draw your 
 pies! " But I am not prepared to praise those 
 pies to this day. Some of them were tolerably 
 good if I ate them w^hen I was very hungry, 
 but generally they were tough and tasteless 
 in the extreme. '^ Fruit pies " they were 
 generally called, and usually they did have a 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 109 
 
 limited supply of dried fruit of some kind, or 
 sweet potatoes, or pumpkin, unmixed with 
 sugar, however, between the folds of unshort- 
 ened pastry which constituted the top and 
 bottom crusts of the pies. Sometimes the 
 pie was called ^ pone; and the following re- 
 ceipt for making i\ jjotato j^one was made out 
 by a soldier and given to a young lady in 
 North Alabama during the war: 
 
 " One haversack full of flour, Avorked up 
 with water alone into a stiff dough; one pot 
 full of potatoes boiled about half done, and 
 mashed up skin and all ; roll out the dough 
 in different pieces about the size of a tin 
 plate, and put a wad of the potato on each 
 piece, which is then to be folded over the 
 potato. Bake with all possible speed, burn- 
 ing the bottoms of the pones considerably, 
 and barely drying the upper crusts. Let 
 them get cold before eating. These are ele- 
 gant, and sell readily in camp for fifty cents 
 apiece." 
 
 On the march I made it an invariable rule 
 to take all the rest that I could, and care for 
 my feet in the best way possible to me; and 
 
110 ^ROME REBEL RELICS 
 
 but for this established purpose and undevia- 
 ting habit of mine iU would have been im- 
 possible for me to have kept in my place as I 
 did, which was almost constantly. A few 
 times when the exhaustion of weariness was 
 about to overwhelm me some horseman 
 would be at hand and allow me the use of 
 his horse until my strength returned. The 
 surgeon and chaplain had horses, and with 
 these officers I was always intimate, from the 
 fact that I frequently assisted the former 
 with the sick when we were in camp, and la- 
 bored constantly with the latter in the reli- 
 gious meetings. They would readily accom- 
 modate me at any time and in any way that 
 they could, but I preferred not to embar- 
 rass them by asking favors of them which 
 they could not grant to all, and so I would 
 stay on my feet as long as strength remained 
 to me to do so, and even then would not ask 
 to ride, but only do so after a horse was 
 earnestly tendered me. It was a very short 
 distance — say two or three miles — that I 
 rode either of the exceedingly few times that 
 I enjoyed this luxury, having been able, by 
 
FKOM THE SEAT OF WAR. Ill 
 
 carefulness of my strength and feet, and in 
 the good providence of God, to hold on my 
 way with a constancy which seemed indeed 
 to be beyond my powers of endurance. As 
 soon as my feet gave me the slighest hint 
 that a sore w^as going to be rubbed on them, 
 I would begin to grease them with mutton 
 tallow, always having them as free from dirt 
 as it was possible for an infantry soldier on 
 the march to do. The mutton tallow I found 
 to be an admirable remedy when sores were 
 threatened or after they were rubbed, and 
 I managed to keep a small tin box of it with 
 me all the time, which was furnished me from 
 time to time by accommodating housekeepers 
 on our line of march or adjacent to our camp. 
 I w^ould nse it very liberally, both greasing 
 thoroughly the inflamed places on my feet, 
 and putting a thick coating of the suet on 
 the inside of my socks where they touched 
 the sores. This was done over and over 
 again on some of our prolonged marches, and 
 saved me from falling out by the way. 
 Corns were formed on the bottoms of my 
 feet which remain to this day, but I managed 
 
112 ^^OME REBEL RELICS 
 
 to keep them softened on the march, so that 
 tliey did not hurt nor Jiinder me to amount 
 to much. There were many soldiers who 
 had the flesh of their feet in places scoured 
 oft' to the bone by their coarse, hard shoes, 
 and yet onward they marched day after day 
 to find the enemy, or to accomplish some im- 
 portant campaign for their defeat in some 
 other Avay. 
 
 It was with much difficulty that all the 
 men could, even when perfectly able to 
 march, be made to keep well up in their re- 
 spective and proper places, and hence the 
 command "Close up!" was heard with mo- 
 notonous frequency. It was not always 
 strictly necessary nor required that the men 
 march in compact column, but there were 
 many times that it was all important. Very 
 often the enemy were near at hand, and an 
 engagement w^as momentarily imminent, as 
 Avhen we were pursuing them or they us, 
 when to have marched disorderly would have 
 exposed our army to defeat. On such occa- 
 sions our position in the march must be such 
 that we can form instantly into line of battle. 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 113 
 
 and by every man being in his proper place 
 this conkl be clone with all ease. If there 
 was no enemy threatening us, and especial- 
 ly if the roads were bad, we were only re- 
 quired to observe approximately our proper 
 relations to each other. There were some 
 soldiers, however, who never seemed, under 
 any circumstances, to recognize the impor- 
 tance of the command being Avell closed up, 
 with all the men in their proper places; and 
 it was on account of these that the order to 
 close up was so often given. Well, there 
 were also those who were forgetful, and those 
 wdio were constitutionally careless, who also 
 made the order necessary. Some knew noth- 
 ing of drilling and marching, and, like some 
 people are about music, it seemed that they 
 could never learn. They thought war meant 
 simply fighting with all of one's might, 
 and' that the other requirements laid upon 
 them, of keeping step, marching in order, 
 and the various forms of drilling, were su- 
 perfluous appendages. As one of the lieu- 
 tenants, whose business it was to see that the 
 men marched orderly, it sometimes became 
 
114: SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 an exceedingly unpleasant duty to perform. 
 Men with whom I wae intimately associated 
 when not on duty would seem to forget that 
 they were on duty when on the march, and 
 stepping out of ranks, would essay a familiar 
 conversation with me as we marched along, 
 and at a time when I was under orders to 
 keep every man in his place. To promptly 
 require such a one to get back to his place 
 was very trying to my feelings, and likely to 
 hurt his, but had to be done. A presumptu- 
 ous private was always an annoyance when 
 the company officers were under special or- 
 ders to see that the men conformed strictly 
 to the requirements contained therein. In 
 order to keep one of the men of my company, 
 who was inclined to have his own way, in his 
 place, one day when we were marching in 
 close proximity to the enemy, I had, after re- 
 minding him several times of his duty, to 
 threaten him with arrest. This irritated him 
 very much, and he blurted out : " You can 
 command me now, but I will see you after 
 the war is over." And, sure enough, he did 
 see me after the war, and there never was 
 
PROM THE SEAT OF WAll. 115 
 
 one friend more delighted to sec another than 
 he was to see me. His remark gave me no 
 offense, and he was soon ashamed of it; and 
 especially was it impossible for him to carry 
 over any spitcfiilness to the close of the war 
 toward an officer who, he knew, was but dis- 
 charging his duty in keeping him in place. 
 
 The ^' forced marches," of which w^e had 
 not a few^, were exceedingly hard on us, as 
 we had to walk more briskly than usual, and 
 had fewer and shorter resting spells. Often, 
 also, we would have heavy night marches to 
 perform, and we had the bad luck frequent- 
 ly to have to be in motion when the nights 
 were dark and rainy. Hardly half the men 
 generally could be carried through these 
 forced and night marches without more or 
 less straggling, not to say an utter break- 
 down on the part of* many. Wearied with 
 w^alking, and from the loss of sleep, and yet 
 being hurried along at a quick step, exhaus- 
 tion would impel them to drop out of ranks 
 and rest. The hurried night march that we 
 had in our return from Mouth of Tippah 
 throua'h rain and mud, and wadin.sr swollen 
 
"^ 
 
 116 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 streams of various sizes, followed by a rapid 
 march throughout the next day, will be re- 
 membered by the soldiers of our command 
 as one of those special break down marches. 
 There were a number of others of a similar 
 character, but this was the severest w^e had 
 had up to that time. "We were kept on our 
 feet so much on such occasions that we fre- 
 quently went to sleep standing up, and some- 
 times when we were in motion. At night 
 the head of the column would sometimes be 
 hindered by the wagons or something else, 
 and make our movements very slow for the 
 time being, and yet we would be required to 
 keep on our feet, and move forward whenev- 
 ei* it could be done. Those were the times 
 that weariness was most oppressive to me, 
 and I counted it a luxury beyond estimate 
 to lie down but for a moment in the mud. 
 
 Carrying luggage on the march was one 
 of our troubles, there being certain things 
 which it was needful for every soldier to 
 have at hand all the time. The wagon trains 
 went along with the commands to haul our 
 camp equipage, such as tents, when we had 
 
FKOM THE SEAT OF WAR. 117 
 
 any, cooking utensils, axes, etc., but the sol- 
 diers, except the commissioned officers, were 
 required to carry their gnus aud cartridge 
 boxes, and usually their knapsacks of cloth- 
 ing, when they had any. "We all carried our 
 rations in our haversacks, and canteens for 
 water. Our bedding — blankets and oil 
 cloths — when we had any, might be thrown 
 in the wagons, though it was usual for those 
 w^ho had oil cloths to carry them for protec- 
 tion when it rained, aud some of the soldiers 
 who had no oil cloths would carry their 
 blankets for this purpose instead of putting 
 them in the wagons. In the early part of the 
 war we had more baggage of one sort and 
 another than we had afterward, and would 
 try to carry more, but as the war advanced 
 we had less and were less inclined to make 
 pack horses of ourselves. Our plunder was 
 lessened by throwing away some things, by 
 losses on the marches, and by the general 
 w-ear and tear of things. Long before the 
 war ended we would do without all that w^e 
 possibly could, aud make our burdens as 
 light as possible; and to this day I have an 
 
118 "^^^SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 abboiTeiice of surplus luggage, often prefer- 
 ring, even in the winter, to take the risk of 
 
 • 
 bad weather to being burdened with an over- 
 coat, and will put off as long as possible car- 
 rying one on my " rounds " from home at the 
 approach of winter. A few of the soldiers 
 preferred to have nothing except what cloth- 
 ing they then had on, and took the chances 
 of getting more when this wore out, and 
 when we stopped to camp at night they 
 would either nod around the camp fires or 
 crowd themselves under the blankets of 
 others. 
 
 Much depended on the care we took of 
 ourselves at all times, but especially on the 
 marches, as to our health, as well as to our 
 maintaining our strength — fortifying our- 
 selves against fatigue. After the weariness 
 of a day's march many would cast themselves 
 full length on the ground, wet or dry, for 
 rest, and would often make themselves sick 
 thereby. The oil cloth (rubber blanket) was 
 very important, not only as a protection 
 against the rain when we were marching, 
 but by putting it under us at night it pro- 
 
FKOM THE SEAT OF WAK. 119 
 
 tectcd US against the moisture of the ground, 
 which was a prolific cause of sickness. Our 
 mess, in making our pallet, when without a 
 tent, w^oiild have an oil cloth or two next to 
 the ground, on which we would spread our 
 blankets, the top spread also being an oil 
 cloth. It was a rare thing that I ever lay on 
 the ground if it was at all damp without my 
 oil cloth under me if I had one, though there 
 were times, on some of the hard marches, 
 that I was without one, and so had to drop 
 down on the naked ground for rest. 
 
 I do not recall that the government fur- 
 nished us oil cloths to any extent, but we had 
 to supply ourselves with them as we did with 
 guns, in a large measure, by capturing them 
 from the Yankees. They were taken in va- 
 rious ways from the enemy: sometimes by 
 capturing their quartermaster stores, some- 
 times by gathering them up after the Yan- 
 kees were routed and had thrown them away 
 on the battlefield, and quite a number were 
 taken from prisoners and off dead Yankees. 
 I never took but one off a dead Yankee, and 
 that one did me no good, althougli it seemed 
 
120 '^^jOME KEBEL RELICS. 
 
 to be a neAV and excellent one. It was at the 
 battle of Peach Tree Creek, after we had 
 driven the enemy frofii before ns, and were 
 passing over their dead. In my w^ay was one 
 of them who had on him an oil cloth, which 
 was rolled np lengthways and fastened on his 
 body with the belt of his cartridge box after 
 it was passed over his shoulder and across 
 his chest before and behind. Quickly stoop- 
 ing down and cutting the belt, I jerked the 
 oil cloth loose from the dead man, and w^ent 
 on, not taking time to examine it until the 
 battle was over, when I found that a Rebel's 
 bullet had gone through the roll, making 
 many holes in the cloth, wiien spread out, be- 
 fore it did its deadly work. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 BUILDING camp fires when on the march 
 we stopped for the night was a stirring 
 procedure, especially if the weather was cold 
 or rainy; and indeed we had to have fires for 
 cooking purposes, however pleasant the 
 weather might be. If there w^ere fences near, 
 and no other w^ood at hand, rails became our 
 fuel; and there w^as generally a rush for 
 for them, that those nearest the encampment 
 might be gathered up first to prevent carry- 
 ing them a greater distance. And if w^e 
 stopped where we could get wood otherwise, 
 that which could be easiest got was hurried- 
 ly procured first, canning our fuel always at 
 such times on our shoulders. It w^as ever with 
 great regret to us all that w^e were put to the 
 necessity of burning fence rails at times, 
 thus destroying the property of our own 
 friends; but we often camped without tents, 
 even in very bad, cold weather, when to have 
 done without fires would have produced 
 
 (121) 
 
122 ^^^3IE KEBEL RELICS 
 
 much sufFering and sickness, and rails were 
 our only chance to have fires. 
 
 We were hindered much in getting wood 
 by not having a sufficient supply of good 
 axes. The government undertook to furnish 
 all that were needed, and had them hauled 
 in the wagons for our use, but they were 
 used by so many that w^ere not careful with 
 them that the supply was reduced very rap- 
 idly by losses and being damaged in one way 
 or another, and those that we managed to 
 keep for use became so dull as to be almost 
 uselrcss except for splitting purposes, and 
 were too few in number to meet the demand. 
 ATe had no grindstones among our army 
 stores, and so the only chance to sharpen 
 our axes when they became dull w^as to go 
 to the house of some citizen who could ac- 
 commodate us. Those of us w^ho could buy 
 began to supply ourselves with axes when- 
 ever we could, and get the wagoners to take 
 care of them for us when we were not regu- 
 larly in camp. Buying an ax was often a 
 right difficult thing to do, partly because of 
 their scarcity after the war had gone on 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 123 
 
 some time, and partly because they sometimes 
 cost more than we were able to pay for them. 
 I noted in my diary that on February 2, 
 18G3, ^vhile we were in camp near Jackson, 
 Miss., I w^ent into that town to buy an ax. 
 The price was fl5, and that being more 
 money than I had, I did not, of course, pur- 
 chase it. On my way back to camp I bought 
 one that had been in use a good while from 
 an old negro man for $6. The price of axes 
 went far beyond what it was then before the 
 final catastrophe of 1865. Everything be- 
 came more and more costly as the war Vvcnt 
 on, until nothing scarcely that a private sol- 
 dier wanted besides what the government 
 furnished could be bought by him, his wages 
 being about the only thing that continued 
 low. I remember to have received a pair of 
 " Yankee boots," as we called them, Febru- 
 ary 15, 1863, which were procured through 
 the lines for me by Uncle Calvin Goodloc, 
 and brought to me by Joe Thompson, a mem- 
 ber of our regiment, who had been at home 
 on furlough. I noted in my diary that they 
 came in the nick of time, and that such boots 
 
124 sTHie rebel kelics 
 
 were selling within our lines for $65, What 
 they were worth after^yard I cannot recall. 
 At the Gate City Hotel, in Atlanta, a cup of 
 coffee without sugar came to be worth $5, a 
 bed for one night $15, and full meals $20 
 each. 
 
 When we started on a march it was seldom 
 that we knew where we were going; or rath- 
 er the object of the movement was not usu- 
 ally made known to us — the company officers 
 and the privates. In how much the com- 
 manding general communicated his designs 
 to the field officers I took not the pains to 
 inquire. It was our business to obey orders, 
 to march, to camp, to do fatigue duty, to 
 fight, or what not, as we were ordered by 
 those in whose commands we were, and it 
 was not worth our Avhile to concern ourselves 
 or be inquisitive as to what the meaning of 
 our movements Avas; still we interested our- 
 selves very much to find out all that we 
 could as to where we were going when we 
 were put on the march, and the significance 
 of all our movements. Being free men in 
 the highest sense, and fighting for our own 
 
FKOM THE SEAT OF WAK. 125 
 
 iiidepeiidence, it was impossible that we be 
 not concerned to know all that might possi- 
 bly be found out about every campaign with 
 which we were connected, and yet we knew 
 full w^ell that for the generals to have com- 
 municated their plans to us would have 
 been almost equivalent to have told them 
 to the enemy; for there were many who 
 would have been so free to speak of these 
 matters that some Yankee emissary or spy, 
 near at hand, would have soon learned all 
 that we knew. 
 
 It was wonderful that the spirit of subor- 
 dination to army authorities pervaded our 
 soldiery to the extent that it did, for the 
 freest people in the world in the days of the 
 " Old South " were the citizens of our South- 
 land, the material which constituted our vol- 
 unteer armies. Insubordination cropped out 
 now and then on some hard march wiiich 
 seemed to have no important end, or in doing 
 some heavy work which was not needful, or 
 w^hen having to fight under disadvantages 
 which might be obviated; but taking the war 
 throughout, we were too intent on beating 
 
126 SoStE HP^BEL RELICS 
 
 the Yankees back to allow such things to 
 hinder us in our purpose, to gain, if possible, 
 our independence. The conduct of the cam- 
 paigns and their results determined, in our 
 minds, the competency or incompetency of 
 those who directed them, and we were more 
 or less encouraged or discouraged thereby, 
 but the one common sentiment of bitter ha- 
 tred for the ever encroaching foe dominated 
 us all and determined our minds to resist 
 them under whatever circumstances we 
 might be placed. 
 
 Camp life, when we were encamped for 
 any length of time, was sometimes somewhat 
 monotonous, but there were almost always 
 duties of one kind and another to be per- 
 formed, which, though not particularly at- 
 tractive, were valuable to us for exercise and 
 to prevent tediousness. The inevitable drill 
 had to be gone through with every day that 
 the weather would permit, and this was kept 
 up to the very close of the war. Time and 
 again w^e were carried through the various 
 evolutions of military tactics, and frequently 
 drilled in the manual of arms, with a sham 
 
PROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 127 
 
 battle fought now and then. There were 
 also fatigue duties that were required to be 
 done, such as cleaning off the encampment, 
 digging sinks, handling army stores, fortify- 
 ing, etc. These were done by reliefs, some 
 men working awhile and then others taking 
 their places w^hile they rested. Guards must 
 also be on duty day and night, and especial- 
 ly at night, and there must be details of men 
 from day to day for that purpose. 
 
 After the various camp duties had all been 
 duly attended to, there was still a good deal 
 of time left to us to be employed in such way 
 as we might like, provided we violated no 
 military order; and herein the differences of 
 temperaments, etc., among the soldiers were 
 seen, as in all other conditions in which they 
 were placed. Some enjoyed one kind of rec- 
 reation and some another, while there were 
 some wdio cared not to do anything but loll 
 idly about the encampment. Gaming of dif- 
 ferent kinds, and sometimes gambling with 
 cards and chuckerluck boxes, was resorted to 
 by a good many; there was, how^ever, but 
 little gambling carried on in the Thirty-fifth 
 
128 ">H^ 
 
 ME REBEL RELICS 
 
 Alabama Regiment that I ever knew of. 
 Many there were who, caring for their reli- 
 gious interests and the spiritual well-being 
 of their comrades, gave much attention to 
 meetings for those purposes. Of the reli- 
 gious work in the army I propose to speak 
 specially and separately after awhile. For 
 myself I found my recreation in the interim 
 of military duties mainly in religious labors, 
 reading, and writing to the loved ones at 
 home, and other relations. I always kept a 
 long letter on hand to my wife, when I had 
 time to write one, so that I could send it 
 whenever a possible opportunity for doing so 
 presented itself. I loved the game of chess 
 very much, which I had learned when a stu- 
 dent in Virginia at B. F. Minor's prepara- 
 tory school to the University of Virginia, 
 and while at Grenada, Miss., a part of the 
 winter of 1862-63, our chaplain (Rev. Rob- 
 ert A. Wilson) and I played it a good deal. 
 We both, however, came simultaneously to 
 the conclusion one night while we were play- 
 ing, that, though there was possibly no harm 
 in the game itself, still we were consuming 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAll. 129 
 
 time that could be better employed, and so 
 we gave it up altogether. To be sure the 
 social intercourse among the soldiers, aside 
 from any other form of recreation, was a very 
 agreeable manner of spending our time. 
 Members of different messes would visit 
 each other in an informal way, and we would 
 often cluster about in camp, as we fell in 
 with each other by accident or otherwise, 
 and talk over the affairs of the day. 
 
 Ours was not a hired soldiery in the re- 
 motest sense, as the Yankee army was in 
 a large measure, but it was a citizen sol- 
 diery, made up of the very best type of citi- 
 zenship and accustomed to the best phases 
 of social life, so that our mingling together 
 in the camp was the intercourse of intelligent 
 and cultured manhood, altogether capable of 
 the highest appreciation of those things 
 which affected the interests of the army, the 
 people, and the country at large. Many in- 
 deed were the pleasant moments in which we 
 dwelt together in this way, and which both 
 served to draw us nearer together and to 
 
 counteract the longings for home, which 
 9 
 
130 ^^OME REBEL RELICS 
 
 mig'ht otherwise oppress lis. There was no 
 scarcity of subjects, for conversation, of 
 course, as the whole country, so to speak, 
 was in arms, and there was no movement in 
 any department of the Confederate or Yan- 
 kee armies but that was of interest to us. 
 Til rough the secular papers — the Ifemj^Jiis 
 Apj)eal particularly, whose printing presses 
 went from place to place in the South for 
 safety from the Yankees — we kept w^ell up 
 with what was transpiring in every direction, 
 and with the rumors, I may also say, which 
 were ever floating in the air only to vanish 
 into nothing. The multitude and variety of 
 these flying rumors, called " grapevine dis- 
 patches," cannot be numbered. As a rule 
 they were in our favor, though now and then 
 they were not. The fact is, our soldiers and 
 citizens w^ere intensely hopeful of success al- 
 most throughout the entire war, and w^e were 
 ever ready to enlarge upon whatever pleas- 
 ant tidings for a long while that came to our 
 ears, and at once stamp out as false whatever 
 had a discouraging aspect. 
 
 Our camp employment consisted, in a 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 131 
 
 measure, also in supplementing our army ra- 
 tions by supplies purchased from citizens in 
 the country surrounding our encampment, 
 even at remote distances from it, and in 
 reaping all the benefit that we could from 
 our culinary department. We could gener- 
 ally get permission, a few at a time, to " go 
 foraging," as we called our visits to the 
 country for purchasing such things — vege- 
 tables, fowls, etc. — as the government could 
 not supply us with to any extent, or we 
 could send our cooks, always negroes, at any 
 time that we pleased. A great many messes 
 — most of them, I judge — preferred to do their 
 own cooking, mainly I suppose because of 
 the expense of hiring cooks. At Canton, 
 Miss., the winter of 1863-61, where we were 
 longer in camp than at any other place, our 
 mess had a negro cook wiio did our foraging. 
 His name was Sam, and he was the property 
 of Scip Cross, one of the soldiers, from 
 whom we hired him. He was a good cook, 
 and as a forager he was eminently success- 
 ful; albeit, he was more attentive to the 
 wants of the mess and of himself than he was 
 
132 ^^ME HEBEL HELICS 
 
 to the interests of the citizens whose prem- 
 ises he visited. He reported one day that he 
 had found a flock of geese which he could 
 get at the low price of thirty cents apiece if 
 we were willing to eat them. Of course we 
 wanted them, and furnished him the money 
 from day to day to get one until the flock, I 
 presume, was consumed, or until the supply, 
 at least, was exhausted. We ate them with 
 very great relish, and they w^ere so fat that 
 we tried up lard from them, of a delightful 
 quality at that, to shorten oiu^ corn bread and 
 biscuit. Sam, who was always good-natured, 
 was unusually merry while the goose busi- 
 ness Avas going on; and I could notice a jol- 
 ly twinkle of his eyes, now and then, as he 
 would cut them around at one of my mess- 
 mates — Pike Cockrill, my brother-in-law. 
 He had communicated his secret to Pike, 
 and bound him over to keep it strictly from 
 me until the geese Avere all gone, and we had 
 left Canton, fearing that I, who was at the 
 head of the mess, would make matters un- 
 pleasant for him. The fact was that he was 
 taking the geese on the sly, and selling them 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 133 
 
 to the mess at peace prices. He did not call 
 that stealing, however, for he claimed that if 
 he did not get them some one else would; 
 moreover, he dechired that he tried to bny 
 the geese, but that the owner put a higher 
 price on them than he tliought ought to be 
 asked. 
 
 The army negro, as we had him among us, 
 I will here say, gave every evidence of being 
 pleased with the life that he then lived. We 
 only kept him as a servant, in which capaci- 
 ty he was well satisfied to abide; and he 
 performed the duties that we put upon him 
 with a decided relish. Of course he was al- 
 ways in the rear when a fight was on hand, 
 and his big mouth would smile to its utmost 
 capacity whenever we whipped the Yankees. 
 On the march he usually w^ent along Avith the 
 wagon trains, and always rendered important 
 service if any of the wagoners were disabled 
 or otherwise obstructed in their movements. 
 
 When upon going into camp in cold w^eath- 
 er it was understood that we would remain 
 some length of time, many of the messes 
 would set to work at once to improve their 
 
134 ^^iklME KEBEL IlELICS 
 
 quarters, though there were others who 
 seemed indifferent to comforts of any kind, 
 and were content with such accommodations 
 as the government furnished. The field offi- 
 cers Avere usually supplied with wall tents, 
 in which they could use cots and stools, and 
 walk about in with little inconvenience, but 
 the companies had the "A" tents when they 
 had tents of any kind, except that in a few 
 cases and for a short while there were round 
 conical tents. The *^A" tent was nothing 
 more than the roof of a tent stretched over a 
 pole and pinned to the ground, the only 
 standing room in it being under the pole. 
 One end was closed, and at the other end 
 the door of the tent, and by building a fire 
 just outside the open end, and pinning back 
 the lower corners of the door, so to speak, it 
 was made very comfortable within as we lay 
 on our ground pallets. In order to make 
 such tents more roomy and high enough to 
 stand up in without inconvenience, we Avould 
 sometimes build pens of poles several feet 
 high, and then stretching the tents above 
 them as roofs. The cracks in these pens we 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAK. 135 
 
 would climb with mud or stop with moss or 
 straw. We would also build small stick- 
 aiid-mud chimneys to these structures, which 
 served for warming and cooking purposes, a 
 much better arrangement, especially in bad 
 weather, than having to warm and cook by 
 fires without the tent. We constructed our 
 bunks above ground with forks and poles or 
 slabs, upon which we would place straw or 
 moss to spread our blankets on, and arranged 
 such seats as best we could. Having thus 
 improved our temporary abiding places, we 
 were ready to engage in housekeeping with 
 a merry relish. Many thought it worth their 
 while to take this much pains to make them- 
 selves comfortable without the assurance 
 that they would get the benefit of their im- 
 provement longer than a week, it really be- 
 ing a pleasant pastime to them to do such 
 work. 
 
 We remained longer in winter quarters 
 near Canton, Miss., the winter of 1863-64 
 than at any other place, and there many of 
 us built cabins out and out, using split logs 
 for the walls, there being a great many small 
 
136 ""^^OME REBEL llELICS 
 
 straight red oak trees at hand, and covering 
 
 them with boards which we also made from 
 
 • 
 timber that v/as convenient to the encamp- 
 ment. To these cabins we bnilt pretty good 
 chimneys of the stick-and-mud kind, and in 
 them we arranged onr sleeping bunks, one 
 above the other like the berths in steamboats. 
 There was a great deal of long moss on the 
 trees in that section, and this we used for 
 stopping the cracks in our cabins and spread- 
 ing on our rude bunks to make them as soft 
 as possible. Such was the kind of cabin that 
 the mess to which I then belonged built and 
 occupied. There were others that were sim- 
 ilarly or better constructed, but some of the 
 soldiers made themselves only very indiffer- 
 ent shanties, while others remained in the 
 tents Avhich they had; the encampment 
 therefore presented a strikingly variegated 
 aspect, and w^as really an interesting scene 
 to look upon, albeit we were not sufficient- 
 ly poetical in those days to give attention to 
 scenery. 
 
 When not on duty we were kept quite 
 close in our quarters by severely cold or 
 
FROM THE SKAT OF WAR. 137 
 
 rainy weather, and then it was that we en- 
 joyed in an especial manner the improve- 
 ments tliat we had made, those of us who had 
 taken the pains to make any. I call to mind 
 how those of us who used tobacco relished 
 our pipes when thus confined to our camp 
 tenements by inclement Aveather. I have 
 long been opposed to the use of the " weed" 
 in any way, but in those days I esteemed 
 such indulgence next to a necessity, and an 
 inexpressible delight. January 20, 1863, 
 while in camp at Grenada, Miss., I wrote in 
 my diary, expecting thereafter to make it 
 more fall : " Here I must insert an essay w hen 
 I have leisure on the luxury of the pipe in 
 camp in cold weather." This was while we 
 were having some very cold, disagreeable 
 weather. We had a great deal of rain while 
 in camp on Big Black in February, 1863, 
 and in my diary of the 13th of that month 
 occurs this utterance: '^ O the luxury of a 
 pipe in camp! AYould that the Muses would 
 inspire me to write a poetical essay on that 
 subject! " It is too late for such a perform- 
 ance as that now, were I ever so poetical, which 
 
138 ^>>OME IlEBEL RELICS 
 
 I am not, there being no poetry to me in the 
 pipe in these times of^ peace. Several of us 
 had joined in a smoke together that day, and 
 at the conclusion of it resolutions were passed 
 requesting whoever could to write of the 
 value of the pipe under such circumstances, 
 but none of us felt competent to do the sub- 
 ject justice. 
 
 My recollection is that most of the soldiers 
 with whom I was throAvn from time to time 
 both chewed and smoked tobacco as a con- 
 stant habit, whether in camp or on the 
 march, but one of them, not of our immediate 
 command, whom I met in ^North Alabama in 
 the winter of 1864, gave me this hint on the 
 tobacco habit, which I here record as a Reb- 
 el relic : 
 
 Tobacco is a noxious weed. 
 
 Davy Crockett sowed the seed. 
 
 It robs your pocket and soils your clothes, 
 
 And makes a chimney of your nose. 
 
 We always undertook, when in camp for 
 any length of time, to get up the best meals 
 that we could, but when kept in our homely 
 abodes by bad w^eather we took special pains 
 
FllOM THE SEAT OF WAK. 139 
 
 to prepare something very nice to eat, if we 
 had been so fortunate as ta get in any good 
 "forage." We occasionally had sugar; and 
 would make sweet cakes, pies, etc., when we 
 had the other articles necessary for making 
 such things. These we ate in the midst of 
 comments and merriment, and would some- 
 times send a portion to the field officers. I 
 recall an unusually bad day at Jackson, 
 Miss., February 4., 1863, and a pleasant inci- 
 dent in connection with it. That day it com- 
 menced sleeting just after breakfast, which 
 was soon followed by a pouring rain, which 
 lasted till bedtime. Our mess, at the head 
 of which then was Lieut. Martin, was occu- 
 pying a pole pen with a tent cloth stretched 
 over it, into the side of which we had made 
 a fireplace. We had the good luck to have 
 in store some dried peaches, and H. E. Kel- 
 logg, a member of our mess, tried his skill in 
 making peach pies, which indeed were very 
 fine. We selected the nicest-looking one of 
 the pies and sent it around to Col. Goodwin, 
 then commanding our regiment. On a slip 
 of paper accompanying the pie was written: 
 
140 ^^bME REBEL RELICS 
 
 "Compliments of Lieut. Martin and mess." 
 A Avritten reply came back from Col. Good- 
 win in these words: "Lieut. Martin and 
 mess will please accept a soldier's gratitude." 
 
 Our encampment on Big Black wasgreat- 
 ]j saddened the morning of February 18, 
 1863, by a shocking accident which occurred. 
 Some men in Company C cut down a tree in 
 a street of the camp while it was raining, and 
 most of the men were in their tents. Fear- 
 ing when it began to fjill that it w^ould strike 
 one of the tents, they hallooed to the men in 
 it to run out; and one of them (Hamilton, of 
 the same company) jumped into the street 
 just in time for the tree to strike him and 
 kill him. He was mashed to death into the 
 soft ground by the large limbs of the tree in 
 a most horrid manner. 
 
 There were a number of accidents that oc- 
 curred, from first to last, on the march and 
 in camp, resulting in the death or maim- 
 ing of soldiers; and in all such cases we were 
 more shocked than when our comrades fell 
 in battle. When on the battlefield we were 
 in the midst of carnage, and so were prepared 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 141 
 
 for whatever might befall any with whom we 
 fought; but when off the field we were not 
 expecting sudden calamities to overtake 
 them to the destruction of life or loss of 
 limb. 
 
CHAPTEE yil. 
 
 DURING much of the war — most of it, I 
 suppose — we had the ahiiost constant 
 companionship of the army ox and the army 
 louse, upon both of which I prepared reports 
 for the John L McEwen Bivouac, in 1891, 
 and these reports I shall here incorporate 
 into these '' Rebel Relics," that war may be 
 seen also in the light which they present. 
 
 The Army Ox. 
 It was not necessary to be a herdsman nor 
 a butcher nor a commissary, during the war 
 in which we Avere engaged for freedom from 
 Yankee rule, to learn that oxen and Confed- 
 erate soldiers were closely identified with 
 each other, and that but for the abiding 
 presence of the oxen the Confederate in 
 arms would have often fared much worse 
 than he did. Every soldier knew that. The 
 oxen are therefore worthy of our most affec- 
 tionate remembrance; nor do we think that 
 
 (142) 
 
SOME REBEL KELICS. 143 
 
 WG belittle the functions of the Historical 
 Committee, nor the dignity of the Bivouac, 
 by reporting on the army ox. Whatever, 
 indeed, was connected with the expedition 
 of ours to rid our Southland of Yankee in- 
 vaders is of perpetual interest, we take it. 
 Unfortunately for ns, be it said, the Yankee 
 soldier came to stay; but fortunately for us, 
 the army ox also came to stay. 
 
 There were seasons, especially in the ear- 
 lier period of the struggle, when richer diet 
 than the typical army ox, and more abun- 
 dant, w^as provided; but it, like other sub- 
 lunary things, soon passed away. JN'or need 
 w^e to have repined, as so many did, because 
 of this revolution of rations, for, after all, we 
 were gainers in health and strength and en- 
 durance by the change. It might have been 
 a physiological necessity that Moses kept his 
 Israelites from swine and put them on beef 
 ad infinitum; and so Jeff Davis might have 
 reasoned that his Confederates could wiiip 
 more Yankees and do more running with 
 beef rations than they could on hog flesh. 
 Nay, it was dire necessity which drove lis to 
 
144 ^^t)ME nEBEL RELICS 
 
 fall back on beef rations, just as necessity, 
 alias Yankees, compelled ns to fall back 
 from position to position until we fell a prey 
 to Lincoln's hired legions. 
 
 "Come up and draw your beef!" Thus 
 yelled the fifth sergeant from day to day, and 
 to this day the delectable sound still rings in 
 our ears, though more than a quarter of a 
 century has passed since we last heard it. 
 " Come up and draw your beef ! " It mat- 
 tered not how much or how little, how^ good 
 or how^ bad, how it was as to quality or 
 quantity, it was nevertheless draw^n, and 
 some mirth-provoking response was alwaj^s 
 made by some soldier to the call of the com- 
 pany commissary. Indeed, if there ever was 
 a condition of things that existed in our 
 army, how^ever straitened it might have been, 
 when there was not some soldier ready with 
 a humorous remark, my memory is at fault. 
 In the dreariest of bivouacs, under the sorest 
 of privations, on the hardest of marches, and 
 even in the lulls of battle, the ludicrous 
 would pop out of some one, not necessarily 
 a wag, and often to the unspeakable relief 
 
FliOM THE SEAT OF WAK. 145 
 
 of his comrades who were enduring next to 
 intolerable tension. Blessings upon the head 
 of the old Keb who could give us something 
 to laugh at when our agonies would have al- 
 most overcome us without it! Call him a 
 wag, if you will, but he was an army bene- 
 factor for all that, and will always be re- 
 membered most lovingly by his old compan- 
 ions in suffering and peril. Blessings upon 
 him! 
 
 But did I say we always drew the beef, 
 whether it was good or whether it was bad? 
 ^ot always. Once at least the beef was 
 blue and slimy and sticky, not affording the 
 slightest hint that there was even marrow^ in 
 the bones of the ox that furnished it, not to 
 speak of kidney fat. We were near Ed- 
 wards Depot, in Mississippi, about fifteen 
 miles east of Vicksburg, and it was Febru- 
 ary 14, 1863, W'hen we went back this one 
 time on beef, not blaming the ox, however, for 
 what the butcher and chief commissary did. 
 Insubordination is no part of a good soldier, 
 but here our contracted abdomens drove us 
 
 to it, in a measure. It proved to be the 
 10 
 
146 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 proper course for us, for the beef immediate- 
 ly improved to the exient that it was possi- 
 ble for us to eat it. And, after all, how 
 could we much blame the butcher and the 
 commissary? We were doing a good deal 
 of campaigning at that time, with but little 
 to feed our cattle on, so that every day found 
 them weaker and poorer. Some could stand 
 marching and starving better than others, 
 and so they must be kept on foot as long as 
 possible. But what was to be done with 
 those which, from weariness and hunger, 
 could go no farther? Why, eat them, of 
 course. And it was said, and the saying 
 obtained general credence, that as w^e stopped 
 to camp after a day's march, a fence rail was 
 laid across the road in front of the beeves, 
 and that those were slaughtered for our next 
 day's rations that could not step over the rail. 
 Be it remembered that in those halcyon 
 days we generally prepared our beef for eat- 
 ing by jerking it; and being thus prepared, 
 the difference was not so marked between 
 good and bad beef as it would have been if 
 prepared some other way. The jei'king 
 
FKOM THE SEAT OF WAR. 117 
 
 process may have been interesting to most 
 of us when we first had to resort to it, but it 
 became decidedly monotonous to us before 
 we were through with it. It was done by 
 holding the meat to the fire, having first 
 ^^ strung" it on a ramrod or stick, and turn- 
 ing it around from time to time until it was 
 toasted through, more or less. The ration 
 of beef for the day we cut into three pieces 
 before we jerked it, to answer for our three 
 meals, and that with three small corn "dodg- 
 ers " made the ration in full for the day. It 
 could have all been easily eaten at one sit- 
 ting without any sense of heaviness on the 
 stomach, but it was for the entire day, and 
 so we went through three motions to con- 
 sume it. Some, however, would cook and 
 eat their day's ration at one time, and then 
 make the best shift they could the remainder 
 of the day for something else to eat. To be 
 sure it was not always beef and corn dodg- 
 ers, as above remarked, but such was our 
 diet much of the time, and especially when 
 we were in motion; and it was oftener that 
 we fared much worse than this than that we 
 
148 gfoME KEBEL RELICS 
 
 fared better. Some of the soldiers were 
 wont to say that they never wanted to see 
 another ox after the war ended, but " more 
 beef and better beef" was what others longed 
 for when they should come to command the 
 situation. To the latter class I belonged, 
 and so remain to this day. Give me heef. 
 
 Passing over into Georgia, a " bull meet- 
 ing " comes to mind that was held in our en- 
 campment at sundown September 27, 1864, 
 the day after President Davis reviewed the 
 army, while we were lying a few miles from 
 Palmetto Station, just before entering upon 
 Hood's famous " Tennessee Campaign." Here 
 w^e w^ere shut in by a chain of sentinels to pre- 
 vent us from " foraging," and our rations were 
 so slight as to furnish no check to our hun- 
 ger. xV fine herd of beeves had been collect- 
 ed, we understood, but it was presumed that 
 Hood was saving them for the long march 
 that was before us. The cattle, it is known, 
 were traveled along with the army from day 
 to day, when it was in motion. It was re- 
 ally a very distressing condition of things, 
 as we were more and more hunger-bitten 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 149 
 
 each succeeding day, and by degrees the 
 spirit of mutiny crept in among the men. 
 They made comphunts to the proper author- 
 ities, but to no purpose, until finally notices 
 of a " bull meeting " were stuck on the trees 
 throughout the encampment, to be held at 
 sundown, the place of gathering to be des- 
 ignated by " bellowing." At the appointed 
 time bellowing began near division head- 
 quarters, and grew louder and louder as the 
 crowd increased. When the bellowing 
 ceased, the crowd having congregated, 
 speaking began on the subject of short ra- 
 tions when it was possible for the army to 
 be better provisioned. Among the speakers 
 
 was S P , a lawyer in my company, 
 
 six feet five inches high. This speaker and 
 the occasion were well suited. He loved to 
 eat, and we accused him of never having had 
 a good filling since his enlistment in the 
 army. Abdominally he was not large " in 
 the girth," but he w^as unusually long. That 
 evening he was exceedingly hungrj^ ]N"o 
 platform had been erected for the speakers, 
 and this particular speaker was lifted up on 
 
150 ^^OME llEBEL KELICS 
 
 the limb of a tree by several soldiers when 
 he was called on to speak. He certainly 
 " loomed." At the close of the meeting no- 
 tice was given that unless larger rations 
 were furnished by the commissary right 
 away, the men Avould provide themselves 
 with beef from the army pens. The beef, 
 pins cornfield peas, came through the prop- 
 er channel, and the day following S 
 
 P , being full (peas will swell), enter- 
 tained the encampment, division headquar- 
 ters and all, with a magnificent speech, aglow 
 with patriotism, subordination, chivalry, etc. 
 While the flesh of the ox was a success 
 (let us admit) as army diet, his hide, un- 
 tanned, at least, was a failure as foot cover- 
 ing, called at the time '^ moccasins." This 
 w^as tested while on the march northward 
 through Georgia on our way to Tennessee. 
 The night of October 11, 1864, we camped 
 some twelve miles northeast of Rome. Just 
 after we had eaten our supper and jerked 
 our beef for the next day, orders came for 
 all the shoe makers to report at army head- 
 quarters. The presumption was that they 
 
FliOM THE SEAT OF WAK. 151 
 
 would be sent to the rear to make shoes for 
 the soldiers, many of whom were barefooted 
 and many poorly shod; and never before 
 was it known that the shoe maker's trade 
 was so largely represented in the army. 
 And those that were not shoe makers that 
 night seemed to regret that they had not 
 learned the trade. "Anything for a change " 
 was the idea Avhich sometimes pervaded the 
 ranks; and so shoe making just then was 
 thought to be much better than marching, 
 with those who professed to be qualified for 
 such work. But late in the night came the 
 shoe makers back to their respective com- 
 panies in droves, disgusted with themselves 
 and with Gen. Hood and with ox hides. In- 
 stead of going to the rear to make shoes out 
 of leather, as the order was very naturally 
 interpreted to mean, they were required to 
 make rawhide moccasins that night in camp, 
 and I'eport back to their commands for duty 
 at daybreak the next morning. The return- 
 ing ones vowed, when they learned the real 
 meaning of the order, that they knew noth- 
 ing about making moccasins, and further- 
 
152 "^^H^ME llEBEL RELICS 
 
 more that they had never before heard of 
 such things. That we enjoyed their dis- 
 comfiture when they returned from their 
 shoe-making expedition need not be stated. 
 But some of the shoe makers — how many 
 I could never learn — toughed it out and 
 made moccasins of the hides of the beeves 
 that were sUiughtered that day. They were 
 made with the flesh sides out and the hair 
 next to tlie bare feet of the soldiers who 
 wore them. Before being put on the feet 
 they looked like hideous pouches of some 
 kind, but no man coidd have conjectured for 
 what purjDose they were made. However, 
 there was much bragging on them the next 
 day by those to whom they had been issued. 
 But the next ni^ht and dav foUowing it 
 rained, rained, rained, and ahis for the moc- 
 casins and the men who wore them! Just 
 such shapes as tliose moccasins assumed, 
 and such positions as they occupied on the 
 feet, as the men went trudging along through 
 the mud and w^ater, can never be told; nor 
 can any imagination, how^ever refined, justly 
 depict them. The pioneer corps were ahead 
 
FKOM THE SEAT OF WAT.. 153 
 
 of US putting poles and mils across the nu- 
 merous little branches that the rain had 
 made, for us to walk over on; and whenever 
 a moccasin-footed soldier w^ould step on one 
 of these poles or rails into the branch the 
 moccasin would instantly conduct him. Lu- 
 dicrous remarks and ludicrous scenes with- 
 out number characterized that day's march, 
 which were as cordial to us in our weariness, 
 and long before night the moccasins and 
 their wearers forever parted company. It is 
 due to the army ox, however, to say that it 
 was a great injustice to him to work up his 
 untanned hide in this way; and that if prop- 
 er measures had been taken with it in ad- 
 vance the soldiers could have been well and 
 comfortably shod, and the reputation of the 
 army ox would not have suffered among 
 those to whose support and cheer he so 
 faithfully and constantly contributed. But 
 more reflection, indeed, was cast upon Hood 
 than upon the ox for the moccasin under- 
 taking and the moccasin failure. 
 
 Precious with the Confederate soldier is 
 the memory of the armij ox. 
 
151 ^Ome kejl5p:l kelics 
 
 The Army Louse. 
 The army louse, or grayback, was an army 
 appendage of which honorable mention need 
 not particularly be made, as in the case of 
 the Confederate ox, but which fidelity to 
 the facts of army life demands that record, 
 at least, be made. Where he came from 
 when the war broke out, and where he went 
 when it closed, is not in the scope of this 
 committeeman's knowledge. The grayback 
 was never here until Lincoln's soldiers 
 came, and the easy presumption is that they 
 brought him along with them, and turned 
 him loose on us. But why they carried him 
 back with them after the war was over is a 
 puzzle, since the pests generally which they 
 brought with them remained. Did not the 
 Yankees bring the chicken cholera, and the 
 hog cholera, and women-in-breeches, and 
 various other pests and phigues? and are 
 they nbt all still here? And yet when the 
 Yankees marched back home the graybacks 
 did likewise. But the solution of problems 
 is not one of the functions of an historical 
 committee, which has only to gather and re- 
 
YROM TIIK SEAT OF WAll. 155 
 
 cord facts. The fact, then, is that there 
 were no gray backs in the Southern Confed- 
 eracy until the tramp of Yankee soldiery 
 was heard in our land; and that is about all 
 that Ave know about their origin. May we 
 never see their like again! 
 
 For size, the army louse was a success, he 
 being, among the rest of the tribe to which 
 he is supposed to belong, when he had 
 reached his majority, as the elephant is to 
 the quadrujyedal beasts of a majestic sort 
 among which he roams in the jungles of Af- 
 rica. As to locomotion he seemed not to be 
 brisk, but moved from place to place with 
 leisurely dignity, always, however, coming 
 to time in locating himself in such quarters 
 as suited his comfort and convenience. He 
 was a quiet, easy bloodsucker, and so took 
 up his lodging Avhere his business would be 
 convenient to him. Unlike the flea and the 
 seed tick and the chigoe, he did not mean to 
 worry you when his suction pump for blood 
 was put in operation; and really he would 
 sometimes be nearly through wnth the per- 
 formance before you knew he had begun, 
 
156 S^IE KEBEL IIELICS 
 
 and then you would only experience a slight 
 local warmth and itching sensation, making it 
 a veritable luxury to scratch. Any soldier 
 would at any time have traded off a flea or 
 a chigoe for a grayback. I can vividly re- 
 call an occasion when our command, in stop- 
 ping to rest where there were very many 
 rotten logs, were liberally supplied with 
 chigoes from the logs, upon which they seat- 
 ed themselves; and there was a universal de- 
 sire to trade off* chigoes for graybacks, some 
 of the soldiers off'ering as many as ten chig- 
 oes for one grayback, if the other party 
 w^ould catch the chigoes. 
 
 My first palpable personal experience with 
 the grayback w^as Monday morning, April 
 27, 1863. From what I then perceived, it 
 was obvious that they were old settlers in 
 my clothing; but they had made their set- 
 tlement, and carried on their incursions so 
 adroitly and tenderly as to make me suspect 
 that the itching sensation I had been experi- 
 encing from time to time was but the effect 
 of a slight "humor in the blood," or only 
 the product of weariness and dirt. I had 
 
FJIOM THE SEAT OF WAIl. 157 
 
 slept in fi covered bridge near Enterprise, 
 Miss., the night before with a number of our 
 regiment, to protect us against rain, and all 
 night I was troubled with unusual heat of 
 the surface at large, and an inordinate pro- 
 pensity to scratch. Before breakfast I went 
 u}) the river a short distance above the 
 bridge for a bath, and to cool off my fever- 
 ish skin. Having made the necessary prep- 
 arations to go into the river, it occurred to 
 me to examine the inside of my under gar- 
 ments, and upon turning them inside out I 
 found them literally specked with graybacks. 
 To the inevitable I most reluctantly sur- 
 rendered; and from that day to this I have 
 held that no soldier is to be accredited with 
 perfect fidelity to all his duties who did not 
 have the companionship, in liberal measure, 
 of the grayback. 
 
 The habitation, by preference, of the gray- 
 back, was the inner seams of the garments 
 next the skin, whether they were drawers or 
 pants, shirts or jackets; for sometimes the 
 veteran of the stars and bars could afford no 
 undergarments, his only wearing apparel be- 
 
^ 
 
 158 SOME KEBEL IlELICS 
 
 iiig breeches and jacket, wearing- them there- 
 fore, of course, next .to his skin. To be 
 sure the grayback would not stay in the 
 seams all the time; for he must needs live 
 by foraging, and so would travel about over 
 the body and limbs of the one who carried 
 him, in quest of a tender place in the skin 
 into which to introduce his suction pump. 
 He often had the honorable title of " Body 
 Guard " bestowed upon him, so vigilant was 
 he in his attentions to the person of the soldier, 
 over which he quietly and watchfully glided. 
 Capturing graybacks, when one was so 
 cruel as to do so, was a careful and system- 
 atic procedure. This was the only meth- 
 od by which the soldier could get rid of 
 them to any extent, for boiling water is no 
 exterminator of them, as many witnesses 
 who have tried it most emphatically declare. 
 It is said of the flea that "when you put 
 your finger on him he is not there," but of 
 the grayback it may be said that when you 
 put your finger on him he is there; so that 
 capturing them was an easy undertaking, 
 not to say an interesting pastime rather than 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF AVAR. Uj\f 
 
 Otherwise. When embarking seriously in 
 an expedition against graybacks the soldier 
 would take his seat on a log some distance 
 from camp, and proceed about as follows: 
 First he removes his jacket and carefully in- 
 spects it within and without, and then hangs 
 it on a bush in the sun. This sunning proc- 
 ess is to allure any gray back from his hiding 
 place, by its genial warmth, that may have 
 been ovei-looked. The shoes are then taken 
 off and thoroughly jarred, with the open side 
 downward, and put to one side. The socks 
 are removed, one at a time, slowly and cau- 
 tiously, with the eyes intently fixed on every 
 interstice within and without; they are then 
 well shaken, and hung in the sun, wrong side 
 out. !N^ext the pants are slipped oft' easily, 
 and the outside carefully examined; then, by 
 degrees, the inside of each leg is turned out, 
 until the pants, as a whole, are turned, Avhile 
 with increasing eagerness the wearer exam- 
 ines every seam and wrinkle. This garment 
 is also hung in the sun, inside out. ^ow for 
 the shirt. A like inspection and sunning is 
 undergone with that, while the soldier is no 
 
160 ^OME KEBEL RELICS 
 
 less watchful, but much more busy than he 
 had heretofore beeu. .It was a kind of skir- 
 mish before this, but now the battle is joined, 
 so far as the soldier is concerned, with death- 
 dealing vigor, and scores of graybacks are 
 slain, together with those in embryo, for 
 within the shirt many nits are found. Last- 
 ly the drawers come off as the pants did, and 
 are likewise inspected and hung in the sun. 
 The removal of these is done with greater 
 care and closer inspection, if possible, than 
 was the case heretofore with the other gar- 
 ment, and the graybacks and nits that are 
 popped between the nails of the thumbs need 
 not be guessed at. A corporeal inspection 
 is then undergone, a bunch of pennja-oyal is 
 rubbed on the surface, if any is at hand, and 
 the soldier puts on his clothes again. He 
 dresses slowly, carefully reinspecting each 
 garment before putting it on; and then goes, 
 whistling " Dixie," back to camp. 
 
 Just when the gray back got into the Con- 
 federate camp the army statisticians have 
 not shown, but an exploit similar to the one 
 just described, though not so elaborate, was 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. IGl 
 
 not eiuicted in my sight until the opening of 
 the siunnier 01*18(52. 
 
 As to the general contour of the grayback, 
 tlie number ol' his legs, the mechanism of the 
 proboscis which he employed as a suction 
 pump, the dimensions of his posterior de- 
 partment, and the capacity of his blood res- 
 ervoir my memory does not serve me suffi- 
 ciently to state, more than to say what has 
 already been said: that the grayback was, 
 as a louse, an undisputed success. 
 
 And now it is due the author of this report 
 to say that he is not writing for the mere 
 amusement of the Bivouac, but to put on 
 I'ecord, in as pleasant a way as he can, wdiat 
 is necessary to a full statement and under- 
 standing of army life, and to show, in part, 
 through what humiliation w^e had to pass in 
 contending for our inalienable rights. To 
 do full duty in the ranks, especially in the 
 infantry, it was simply impossible for us to 
 be altogether free from dirt and vermin, with 
 the best of pains that w^e could take. To be 
 sure there w^ere some soldiers who w^ere not 
 
 as careful of cleanliness, in person and cloth- 
 11 
 
162 SOME REBEL llELICS. 
 
 ing, as they might have been; and yet, when 
 we consider that there were thousands, after 
 awhile, wdio were without a change of gar- 
 ments, and remember that we constantly 
 marched through dust and mud, or were 
 transported in dirty cars, and slept almost 
 constantly on the ground, the utter futility 
 of their undertaking to be free from dirt and 
 vermin, in any effectual sense, is but too ob- 
 vious. With all the washing that could be 
 done (and we were frequently where we could 
 scarcely get a sufficient supply of drinking 
 water) and all the care that could otherwise 
 be taken of garments and person, there was 
 the barest possibility oftentimes of an ap- 
 proach to cleanliness. As to those who were 
 not as careful as they might have been in such 
 matters, it can nevertheless be said of them 
 that they were often foremost in the fight, 
 and ready for all kinds of fatigue duty. 
 Some soldiers seemed to give themselves over 
 to a don't-care manner of life in these and 
 other matters, and were only careful to do 
 what they could to beat the Yankees. Hon- 
 ored be their memories! 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE chief significance of war is the whole- 
 sale slanghter of man by man, as army 
 is arrayed against army, w^ith weapons of de- 
 struction in hand and in use against each 
 other with the utmost vigor on the field of 
 battle; and here it is that all army move- 
 ments and stratcgems of commanders, in the 
 main, converge. An enemy is sometimes de- 
 feated without a battle being fought, by 
 adroit stratagem, one army getting such ad- 
 vantage of another as to render it powerless 
 for resistance; but the rule is to fight, and to 
 do so with all fui-y, that the slain may be as 
 multitudinous as possible. The greater the 
 number that fall in battle on one side the 
 more gratifying it is to the other. It cer- 
 tainly was so with us during the war in which 
 we were engaged, and it is not yet an unpleas- 
 ant recollection that we killed in battle more 
 Yankees by far than the aggregate of our 
 armies amounted to, besides wounding a 
 
 (163) 
 
164 SbME llEBEL EELTCS 
 
 great many more; so that it takes millions 
 on top of millions of clpllars annnally of gov- 
 ernment money to pension those that onr 
 bullets struck, but did not kill. 
 
 The first of this month of April, 1892, in 
 which I now write, " there were 827,207 
 names on the pension roll. It is estimated 
 that by January 1, 1893, there will be 1,000,- 
 000 pensioners drawing substance from the 
 tax payers. In the last fiscal year the pay- 
 ment of pensions required $118,500,000, and 
 it is estimated that it will require to pension 
 those whose applications are now pending, 
 and whose claims will probably be allowed 
 within a period of three years, the sum of 
 $162,700,000 more, which added to the pres- 
 ent annual expenditure gives a grand total 
 of $281,000,000. In the pension budget now 
 hung up in the Senate an appropriation of 
 $147,000,000, nearly one-third of the entire 
 expenses of maintaining the government, has 
 been recommended. 
 
 " Great Britain paid for pensions in 1891 
 about $27,000,000; France paid $29,000,000; 
 Germany pays $13,000,000 annually; Aus- 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAII. 1G5 
 
 trill, 112,000,000; and Russia, $18,000,000. It 
 thus appears that the amount paid l^y the 
 United States hi^t year for pensions is nearly 
 150,000,000 in excess of the total paid for 
 pensions by all the countries enumerated 
 above." 
 
 AVhenever a battle was fought the nuQi- 
 ber of the slain was the first information 
 sought; and if a great many had fallen on 
 either side, the tidings thrilled the other side 
 with delight all over the land, both in the 
 army and among the citizens. Possibly we 
 loved to hear of Yankees being killed in 
 great numbers more than we ought to have 
 done, but they took great pains to incur our 
 hate and compel us to rejoice in their de- 
 struction. We were interested, to be sui-e, 
 in the numbers of wounded and prisoners, 
 but the best results to us of a battle was 
 when the greatest number of Yankees " bit 
 the dust," as we were wont to speak. The 
 Yankees were the same way toward us, of 
 course, their vindictive hate for Southerners 
 inciting them to kill as many of us as they 
 could; nor did they confine their murderous 
 
166 ^^l^iME llEBEL KELICS 
 
 operations to the battlefield, but many help- 
 less citizens were pei'secutecl and imprisoned 
 and killed by them and their conscienceless 
 emissaries. AYhat martyrdom of Southern 
 citizens was suffered at the hands of our in- 
 veterate haters who wore the blue can never 
 be told. War against the South with them 
 meant war against unarmed men and help- 
 less women as well as against our armed sol- 
 diery. They hated us all and our institutions 
 with a perfect hatred. 
 
 Going into battle was always to me a try- 
 ing ordeal, nor can I say that I liked it any 
 better after it was fully joined. There is no 
 scene through which man is called to pass 
 that is comparable to those which character- 
 ize the field of battle. It exhibits the might- 
 iest possible tumult of rage among men, a 
 very pandemonium on earth. The close and 
 constant thunderous outbursts of artillery, 
 and explosions of shells thrown from it into 
 the ranks of men, the interminable flash and 
 rattle of musketry, and the whistling, whiz- 
 zing tones of the missiles of death which issue 
 momentarily from it; the long, loud yells of 
 
FKOM TIIK SKAT OF WAH. 167 
 
 irate men striving' Avitli their best manhood 
 for the mastery, and nerving each other to 
 the ntmost feats of valor; opposing lines of 
 soldiery rnshing recklessly against each other 
 nntil the earth seems to moan and shudder 
 under their feet; the constantly toppling to 
 the ground of the slain and wounded men — 
 this much and more attaches to the surging 
 billows of discordant men as they come to- 
 gether in the battle's front. The yell raised 
 by our men as they advanced against the 
 Yankees was, and is, known as the " Rebel 
 yell," and was as loud and prolonged as the 
 '' sound of many waters." I^o such noise of 
 human voices was ever heard on earth before. 
 It was the voice of hope and valor combined, 
 and was a perpetual inspiration to our lines 
 while the conflict raged, helping us in the 
 achievement of many, many victories. No 
 such sound could emanate from the throats 
 of the Yankees, who fought not as freemen, 
 but as hirelings. 
 
 While such scenes as these were bein^: en- 
 acted in the front by those who bore the 
 brunt of the battle, close behind were the in- 
 
168 "*>itt3IE KEBEI. KELICS 
 
 firmary corps, with litters in hand and gath- 
 ering up and bearing off to the field hospital 
 in the rear the wounded as they fell, that the 
 surgeons might give them such immediate 
 and sufficient attention as was possible under 
 the circumstances. And there, of all other 
 places belonging to warfare, is where battle 
 horrors reach their climax, the touches of 
 sympathy for the suffering are most keenly 
 felt, and the bitterest of hate is contracted 
 for those who thus disabled our comrades. 
 
 And here I will pause to say that it was 
 most difficult oftentimes to tell how a wound 
 Avould result, and to tell of an incident that 
 occurred in connection with a wounded sol- 
 dier when we were in line in front of Atlanta. 
 
 As soon as the field hospital Avas estab- 
 lished and the litter bearers began bringing 
 in the Avounded, the surgeons would give the 
 first attention to those in most danger of dy- 
 ing, if they had any hope of saving them, and 
 those considered as not being dangerously 
 w^ounded would be attended to last. Of 
 course Avhere there were more wounded than 
 the surgeons could look after carefully and 
 
FROM TIIK SKAT OF WAR. 1G9 
 
 promptly, some were left unserved until it 
 was too late to do them any good, who might 
 have been saved from dying if attended 
 to at once. It came to be a notable fact 
 that a very slight wound, remote from any 
 vital organ, often proved fatal, and that a 
 most severe wound, which seemed to make 
 recovery impossible, would get well. In 
 every conceivable way, I might say, were 
 men wounded by shot and shell from the en- 
 emy; and many died of their wounds who 
 it seemed ought to have recovered, while 
 many recovered wdiose wounds seemed inev- 
 itably fatal. 
 
 Of the incident to which I alluded I will 
 now speak. July 22, 1864, the day that Har- 
 dee's corps whipped the Yankee's in the aft- 
 ernoon on our right, our division was in the 
 trenches in front of Atlanta, and so constant- 
 ly under fire from the enemy, who, however, 
 were not disposed to move against us, that 
 we were in danger of being shot if we ex- 
 posed ourselves but for a moment. Yan- 
 kee shells were also passing over our heads 
 into Atlanta, though frequently they would 
 
170 ^^iPME REBEL KELICS 
 
 burst above us, sending many of their frag- 
 ments down among us. Just over a bare hill 
 to our rear were some burgeons and a portion 
 of our infirmary corps, with arrangements pro- 
 vided to care for and protect any that might 
 be wounded on the main line. Lieut. James 
 II., of the Thirty-fifth Alabama Regiment, at 
 that time, as I now recall, a supernumerary 
 officer, on account of the consolidation of 
 the remnant of his company with another, 
 was that day with those beyond the hill, ly- 
 ing on the ground not far from our surgeon's 
 quarters. Sometime in the forenoon a mes- 
 senger came hurriedly from him to me, bear- 
 ing the information that lie Avas mortally 
 wounded and in a dying condition, and the 
 request that I go instantly to him and pray 
 for him. The request was promptly complied 
 with, though the danger was very great of be- 
 ing struck by a shot from the enemy's guns in 
 passing to and fro over the untimbered hill. 
 I took with me Lieut. B. M. Faris, my ever 
 faithful coworker in the religious meetings 
 in our command, and who felt the same in- 
 terest in Lieut. H. then that I did. "While 
 
FllOM TIIK SKAT OF WAK. 171 
 
 lying clown a bombshell had burst above him, 
 and sent one of its large rugged fragments 
 down through his right side just under his 
 ribs, opening a great gash into the cavity, 
 and severely wounding his liver. The sur- 
 geon, having examined the wound, had told 
 him that he could do nothing for him, and 
 that he could live but a short while. He 
 felt that he was not prepared for death 
 and the judgment, and w^anted to make such 
 preparation as he could, with oiu' assistance, 
 the few moments that he had to live. He 
 was in great distress of mind and anguish of 
 soul, as he contemplated and spoke of his 
 lost spiritual condition. He declared that 
 he could easily bear his wound and the 
 thought of going so soon into eternity if he 
 was onl}^ at peace with God. He expressed 
 great fears that, having sinned so long, his 
 case was now as hopeless in a religious 
 sense as it was certain that he would soon be 
 dead; and he reproached himself bitterly for 
 not having given his heart and life to God 
 before he came to the extremity he was then 
 in. With regrets and grief he was absolute- 
 
172 ^>l«iiME llEBEL KELICS 
 
 ly overwhelmed, and was fast yielding to de- 
 spair. The gloominess in his case exceeded 
 any experience of the kind that ever came 
 under my observation. By prayer and song 
 and counsel Faris and I eagerly and tearful- 
 ly did all that we could to help him to Jesus 
 the short while that we could remain with 
 him. AYe knew not at what moment the en- 
 emy would advance upon our lines, an event 
 that was hourly and hopefully looked for, 
 and so Ave must return to our regiment as 
 quickly as we could. A pause thus in the 
 midst of " war's alarms" to encourage a dy- 
 ing comrade to trust for salvation in the 
 compassionate Saviour of fallen humanity, 
 who would not that any should perish, but 
 that all should come unto him and live, was 
 to Faris and me most touching and profit- 
 able, and we rejoiced in the opportunity that 
 we had to do him all the good that w^e could. 
 We had often talked with and prayed for 
 mourners in our religious meetings in camp, 
 but we were never before so situated that we 
 could render such assistance to one supposed 
 to be in a dying condition. We thought we 
 
FKOM THE SEAT OF WAK. 173 
 
 saw some indication of hope come to him be- 
 fore we left him. As we were in the act of 
 returning to the front the thought occurred 
 to me to make a close examination of his 
 wound, and I did so. My impression was 
 that it would kill him very soon, but that 
 there was a possibility of his recovery if he 
 could get the attention that he needed, and I 
 candidly told him what I thought of his case. 
 ''O no," said he, ^' I cannot get well under 
 any circumstances with this great hole in my 
 side, but if the good Lord will but spare my 
 life now he shall have every moment of my 
 service hereafter." Such was the pledge he 
 made voluntarily to God as he in almost ut- 
 ter hopelessness confronted eternity. 
 
 After we left him he w^as quietly borne 
 away to the hospital, and to the unutterable 
 astonishment of most of those who saw his 
 wound, in course of time recovered. Did he 
 give his heart and life then to God, in keep- 
 ing with the vow that he made in the day of 
 his calamity? I have never seen him since 
 the day that he was wounded, but I have oft- 
 ten heard from others since his recovery, and 
 
174 ^^lOME KEBEL RELICS 
 
 since tlie war ended, that his vow was for- 
 gotten when the danger period passed. Alas! 
 how often is it thus that man forgets the 
 pledges that he makes to God when death is 
 imminent, after there is no longer any spe- 
 cial fear of dying! 
 
 Returning to the battle scenes and expe- 
 riences, I have mentioned that going into 
 battle was always a fearful thing to me, and 
 that it was none the less so wdiile it contin- 
 ued to rage. Life was always dear to me, 
 while about death — physical death — there 
 ever hung a cloud of gloom. My peace was 
 made with God before the war was begun, 
 and was maintained throughout it, and hope, 
 even in the day of battle, was ever to me as 
 " an anchor of the soul, both sure and stead- 
 fast, and which entered into that within the 
 vail," but the shock of battle and the immi- 
 nent peril in which it involved me brought 
 to my mind apprehensions of being slain and 
 the thought of separation from my family 
 wdiich were altogether uncomfortable. What- 
 ever might have been the case with any oth- 
 ers, it is a fact in mine that the sternest 
 
FKOM THE SEAT OF WAR. 175 
 
 demands of duty impelled me to take up 
 arms against Lincoln's invaders. I fought 
 from principle, and subjected myself to all 
 the dangers of warfare rather than be a will- 
 ing bond servant of the bloodthirsty and law- 
 less tyrant that we believed Abraham Lin- 
 coln to be. Such was the prompting, no 
 doubt, of the great body of soldiers who 
 fought on the side of the South, bnt in the 
 hour of battle they went forward with a va- 
 riety of impulses and emotions. There w^ere 
 some with whom the sense of danger was so 
 oppressive that they had to be literally 
 pushed along as we advanced upon the ene- 
 my, being overcome by a dread of death, 
 which to them was very humiliating; patriots 
 they were, nevertheless, and often fought 
 like tigers when the battle was fully joined. 
 There were those who moved steadily on- 
 ward from the opening to the close of the 
 engagement, who, though fully recognizing 
 their danger almost every moment, were held 
 in their places by a sense of self-respect, 
 preferring rather to die on the front line than 
 dishonor themselves by evading duty of so 
 
176 '•^^ME REBEL RELICS 
 
 important a kind — the highest duty of the 
 soldier. Some despised Yankees with such a 
 perfect hatred, and had'such a relish for shoot- 
 ing them, that they seemed to regard the bat- 
 tlefield as but a grand opportunity for slaugh- 
 tering them, seeming actually to forget that 
 they themselves were also being shot at. 
 Some were constitutionally intrepid, and had 
 every appearance of being strangers to fear, 
 however furious and bloody the battle miglit 
 rage about them. The spirit of patriotism 
 and principle possessed others, and support- 
 ed them throughout all the phases of the field 
 of carnage. It soon came to be a notable 
 fact that the fighting men at home, common- 
 ly known as " bullies," made the poorest 
 show of courage on the battlefield, and that 
 those who shrank from personal combat at 
 home fought most heroically amidst the 
 storm of bullets in war. 
 
 There were those among us, not a great 
 many, whose valor w\as chiefly instigated by 
 a desire for promotion, and who often rushed 
 heedlessly and recklessly into danger in or- 
 der to attract attention and come into repute 
 
rr.oM THE rkat of wak. 177 
 
 as being extraordinarily courageous. To 
 what extent their ambitious longings were 
 gratified 1 have no means of knowing, but 
 there is reason to believe that some who were 
 thus actuated to ex[)ose their lives unneces- 
 sarily who would not have been killed if 
 they had not undertaken to outdo their com- 
 rades in the mere exhibitions of gallantly, 
 and placed themselves in exposed positions 
 when there was no need for them to have 
 done so. A lieutenant in the Thirty-fifth 
 Alabama Regiment had this morbid longing 
 for promotion, and was wont to say that he 
 intended to secure promotion for gallantry 
 on the field or be slain in the undertaking. 
 He was indeed a gallant young officer, and 
 thoroughly imbued with the spirit of patriot- 
 ism and chivalry, but he would throw him- 
 self forward, and out of his proper place in 
 the line, as though to urge on his men, when 
 no such demonstration was in demand, and 
 finally fell in the battle of Franklin, without 
 having reached the high goal of his ambition. 
 Surel}^ battle is horrible to contemplate, 
 
 and the wonder is that men in any consider- 
 12 
 
178 ^^^OME REBEL RELICS 
 
 able numbers can become nerved for such 
 raging conflict and remorseless butchery. 
 With all the patriotism, ambition, courage, 
 or what not, that men may possess, it is 
 doubtless a fact that most of them shudder 
 from apprehensions of being slain as they 
 move forward into this terrible arena of car- 
 nage. Some commanders bethought them- 
 selves of what might be called the universal 
 dread of the horrors of the battlefield, and 
 took advantage of it in throwing their col- 
 umns Avith the utmost precipitancy and fury 
 against the enemy. Such was unquestiona- 
 bly the policy of Gen. N. B. Forrest, our most 
 renowned and most successful cavalry chief- 
 tain, whenever he struck the Yankees. JN'ot 
 long after the close of the war, while he was 
 having built a portion of the eastern section 
 of the Memphis and Little Rock railroad, I 
 traveled with him on a Memphis and St. 
 Francis Kiver steamboat from Memphis to 
 Madison, a few miles from where his con- 
 struction camp was, and had a number of in- 
 teresting conversations with him about his 
 modes of warfare. I asked him, among va- 
 
FllOM THE SEAT OF AVAIL 179 
 
 rioiis other questions, how it was that he had 
 such uniform success in beating the Yan- 
 kees, notwithstanding he fought continually 
 against such great odds. He said he con- 
 sidered that men, as a rule, regarded with 
 horror and consternation the field of battle, 
 and that his aim was at the first onset to 
 make it appear as shocking to the enemy as 
 he possibly could, by throwing his entire 
 force against them at once in the fiercest and 
 most warlike manner possible. He would 
 thus overawe and demoralize the Yankees at 
 the very start, and then by a constant repe- 
 tition of blows, with unabated fury, to pre- 
 vent them from recovering from their con- 
 sternation, he would soon have them within 
 his power — ^Ivilling, capturing, and driving 
 them with but little difficulty. 
 
 Many of our soldiers were not Christians, 
 but there were the fewest number of them, 
 if any, who were w illing to give any exhibi- 
 tions of wickedness during the fight, or to 
 have with them any evidences of dissipation. 
 If they had whisky in their canteens, it would 
 be poured out or left in the rear; and if they 
 
'>b 
 
 180 sbME KEBEL RELICS 
 
 had cards in their pockets, they wonkl be 
 thrown awaj^ They .may not have often 
 read the Bibles their mothers and fathers and 
 sisters gave them when they enlisted in the 
 army, but when an engagement was immi- 
 nent these blessed books were slipped into 
 the breast pockets of their jackets, often re- 
 placing decks of cards, which they carried 
 on the march and played with in camp. If 
 they shonkl be slain in the fight, it was their 
 preference to have God's word in their keep- 
 ing when they fell, rather than that they 
 should be found dead witli cards in their pos- 
 session. And quite often did the Bible be- 
 come a life preserver to the soldier that had 
 it in his pocket; the bullet striking that, and 
 being arrested or glancing off, which would 
 otherwise have buried itself in his body. 
 
 It was exceedingly seldom that the com- 
 mand to which I belonged fought behind 
 breastworks, but we built miles and miles of 
 them in the expectation of being attacked by 
 the Yankees in them, and it was remarka- 
 ble with what facility some of our soldiers 
 could do this kind of work. We would dig 
 
FKOM THE SEAT OF WAIi. 181 
 
 long trenches to get into, throwing the dirt 
 on the side next the enemy, using also rails 
 and other timber against which to mound the 
 dirt when it was so that we could. These 
 were often exceedingly important for protec- 
 tection against the shots of the enemy, 
 though the battle be not fully joined, and 
 had to be made very hurriedly; and it was 
 then particuLarly that the competency of 
 some of our men for such work was dis- 
 played. These were not noted for timidity 
 in battle particularly, but they were some- 
 what famous for finding and making hiding 
 places from bullets. I see before me a tall, 
 athletic man of my company who belonged 
 to tliis class carrying a cart load of rails on 
 his shoulders and back to make a quick pro- 
 tection against Yankee bullets. The dig- 
 ging we did with spades and shovels fur- 
 nished by the government, and with these 
 our specially safety - seeking men could 
 '^ bury " themselves out of reacli of immedi- 
 ate danger with astonishing rapidity. Other 
 soldiers there were who seemed to have no 
 talent or energy or care for the woi-k of 
 
182 ^*i^031E ilEBEL llELICS 
 
 fortifying, and would only go at it like some 
 citizens work roads, because they were or- 
 dered to do so. 
 
 After all our trench digging and fortifying 
 otherwise, we had mainl}^ to do our fighting 
 on the open field, or assault the Yankees in 
 their fortifications. Had they been as ready 
 to move against us as w^e were to advance 
 upon them, our hastily constructed breast- 
 works would not have deterred them to the 
 extent that they did, with their outnumber- 
 ing forces, from bringing on the attack. It 
 Avas nothing to their credit that they were 
 constantly shying around us in our slight 
 earthworks; nor that they were four years in 
 doing, with their vast armies and resources, 
 what they set about to do with one stroke. 
 There is certainly no room for boasting to 
 the enemies of the South for what they 
 achieved, with their 3,000,000 of men to our 
 600,000. 
 
 The poisoning of some of our soldiers by 
 Grant's doctors or druggists may as well be 
 mentioned in this connection. lie captured 
 Jackson, Miss., in May, 1863, and some of 
 
FKOM THE SEAT OF AV All. 183 
 
 the druggists there procured a lot of quiuine 
 for us from his medical department before he 
 left, which was in a very short while after the 
 capture. When we got back to Jackson 
 after he left there we procured for the sick of 
 our command some of the quinine, which 
 was heavily mixed with morphine. This 
 note of May 23, 1863, w hile we were at Jack- 
 son, was made at the time in my diary : " Hec. 
 Thompson, of our regiment, and several other 
 men in our brigade are poisoned by taking 
 quinine which was left in the drug stores 
 here by the Yankees, and which contains a 
 large amount of morphine. Two have al- 
 ready died, and Hec. looks like he cannot 
 possibly live. It is horrible to think that any 
 human beings will adopt such a mode of war- 
 fare. That, combined with the purposes of 
 our enemies, otherw^ise made manifest, con- 
 stitutes them the most barbarous and wick- 
 ed people on the face of the earth." It was 
 understood that arsenic Avas also found in 
 some of the quinine which others of our sur- 
 geons got hold of. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE line and extent of the movements of 
 that portion of the Confederate army with 
 which the Thirty-fifth AUibama Regiment 
 was connected have ah'eady been hurriedly 
 indicated, without pausing at each of the sev- 
 eral stages of our various campaigns to note 
 everything that transpired in connection with 
 our movements. A number of relics of our 
 war experience, observation, etc., have been 
 gathered up here and there as we went along, 
 that seemed worthy of preservation. I now 
 wish to drop back on our track again, and 
 gather up others that I have purposely left 
 till this time. 
 
 After the evacuation of Corinth, May 29, 
 1862, the first important stage that we 
 reached, so far as we knew, was Vicksburg. 
 Here the command remained from the time 
 of its arrival, the night of June 28, until July 
 27. The place selected for our encampment 
 
 was two miles back from Vicksburg, in a 
 
 (184) 
 
SOME IlKliEL KELICS. 185 
 
 beautiful cove, covered over with a dense 
 carpeting of Bermuda grass, upon which we 
 loved to loll and sleep whenever we were in 
 camp. Col. liobertson, then commanding 
 our regiment, had his tent stretched under 
 an enormous cotton wood tree, which, when 
 the sun was in a certain position, would 
 shade almost our entire encampment. The 
 boughs were very large and long, and some 
 of them, we were told, served as a gallows 
 upon which a number of John A. Murrell's 
 murdering and thieving gang were hung in 
 other days. 
 
 Vicksburg was then being bombarded ever 
 and anon by the Yankee gunboats on the 
 Mississippi River, and our business was to 
 picket the river above and below the city, 
 but principally above. Our encampment was 
 out of reach of their shells, but most of our 
 time we were on the river, and in easy range 
 of them. "We had heavy batteries planted at 
 Yicksburg, and sometimes our picket post 
 was between them and the enemy's gunboats 
 the huge shells from both w^ays passing over 
 us, and sometimes bursting above us. The 
 
186 "^^i^ySlE REBEL RELICS 
 
 falling to the ground of the fragments of 
 these exploded shells made a most hideous 
 noise as they rushed down through the at- 
 mosphere and beat their way into the ground 
 about us. Whenever the Yankees would de- 
 tect our whereabouts they would be sure to 
 treat us to a shelling. This we had to en- 
 dure without any chance, with our small 
 arms, to return the compliment, or else to 
 take another position unknown to them. It 
 is a most uncomfortable experience, that of 
 enduring a cannonading without any chance 
 to move against the battery; and this was 
 what was meant by being at Vicksburg 
 vdien we were there, so far as military opera- 
 tions were concerned. 
 
 It was also a place of flux and mosquitoes. 
 A great many of our soldiers had the flux, 
 which was generally very severe, and a con- 
 siderable number of them died with it. 
 "When on picket, the mosquitoes were as in- 
 tolerable as it is possible for them to be. 
 "We could not have fires in the daytime to 
 smoke them off, lest the enemy would see the 
 smoke, and thus learn our position, nor at 
 
FKOM THE SEAT OF WAR. 187 
 
 night lest they would see the light; and so, 
 having located ns, begin to shell us. A few 
 got pieces of mosquito bar to put over their 
 faces and hands, but there w^as but little of 
 that material to be found. We could fight 
 them off in a measure when we were awake 
 and on duty, but when we were off duty, and 
 an opportunity afforded us to sleep, then it 
 w as that they became our diligent and invet- 
 erate tormentors. They were not so bad 
 back at camp, and there we could smoke 
 them off with our fires, but the greater por- 
 tion of the time we were out on picket. 
 
 Our gunboat ^^Arkansas " came out of the 
 Yazoo River, where it had been constructed, 
 into the Mississippi, and down through the 
 enemy's fleet to Vicksburg, Tuesday, July 
 15. The Yankee commodore, knowing that 
 it was coming, put his boats in position to 
 sink or capture it, as he supposed; but he 
 was sorry enough before the job was over 
 with that he had engaged in any such under- 
 taking, for two of his boats, we learned, were 
 sunk in the conflict and others badly disabled 
 by the ^^Arkansas," while the rest of the fleet 
 
188 ^iftME KEBEL BELICS 
 
 sought safety in flight. We were not in a 
 position to see the conflict, though it was no 
 great distance from us, but the sound of this 
 naval battle of one Confederate against many 
 (about twenty, we heard) Yankee boats was 
 exceedingly interesting to listen to, the thun- 
 der of the heavy guns exceeding any artil- 
 lery firing that we had heard up to that time; 
 and as soon as we learned the result of the 
 engagement we persuaded ourselves that the 
 cannonading was musical in a most charming 
 sense. 
 
 The "Arkansas" suffered but little, and 
 landed for slight repairs at our picket post. 
 It was a strange-looking water monster, appar- 
 ently made out of railroad iron, and most of 
 it beneath the edge of the water. While ly- 
 ing here, the second day after its arrival, the 
 Yankee fleet began a fierce bombardment of 
 it and us, which lasted some time; until, in- 
 deed, the "Arkansas " got up steam and start- 
 ed up the river, when the Yankees immediate- 
 ly ceased firing and hurried away with their 
 fleet to safer waters. It was an amusing 
 scene to look upon, it having been enacted 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 189 
 
 in full view of us. Those Yankees were not 
 yet ready for another encounter with the "Ar- 
 kansas." And they were very skittish and 
 watchful of their safety the rest of the time 
 that we were there. 
 
 A very serious accident occurred in the 
 regiment while on picket July 23. A Yan- 
 kee bombshell had fallen, without bursting, 
 near Company G, the fuse having gone out. 
 It was a very large mortar shell. Several of 
 the men of that company got hold of it, and 
 undertook to empty it, which they thought 
 they did. Strangely enough, to be sure, they 
 then put fire into the shell, which produced 
 an explosion, by which one of the men was 
 killed and several others wounded. 
 
 July 24, w^e move our camp to " four-mile 
 bridge," south of Vicksburg, on the AYarren- 
 ton road. Here we were in a beautiful grass 
 meadow, but were without our tents, and ex- 
 posed to the heaviest dews I ever saw. We 
 only remained here a short while, however. A 
 sick camp was temporarily established here, 
 and put in my charge for the time being. 
 About 12 o'clock, July 20, two ladies in a ba- 
 
190 ^^o 
 
 ME REBEL RELICS 
 
 rouche drove up near the encampment with 
 some provisions for tjie sick. Attached to 
 the large basket containing the provisions 
 was a card npon which was inscribed the 
 name of " Miss Mollie DeFrance." It de- 
 volved upon me to meet the ladies, take the 
 basket in hand, and thank Miss DeFrance 
 for it. It seemed to me that it had been an 
 age since I had been in the company of ladies, 
 and it really embarrassed me no little to un- 
 dertake to express to them our gratitude for 
 their thonghtfiil generosity. A nicer pre- 
 pared and more ample supply of delicacies I 
 have never seen in one basket, and they came 
 at the most appropriate time possible. They 
 Avere divided out Avith much care among the 
 sick soldiers, and refreshed both their bodies 
 and spirits very much. As I remember, Miss 
 DeFrance furnished the provisions, and had 
 the other young lady, wiiose name I cannot 
 recall, to come along with her as company. 
 Both were quite intelligent and modest, and 
 thoroughly Southern in sentiment. The for- 
 mer I mention in my diary as the " curly- 
 haired Rebel," her hair being arranged in 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 191 
 
 very tasty ringlets. That was July 26, 1862. 
 We cannot but hope that only good fortune 
 has befiillen this fair benefactress of those 
 sick soldiers, and her companion, all these 
 years since then. 
 
 Breckenridge's Division, to which the Thir- 
 ty-fifth Alabama Regiment still belonged, was 
 sent from Yicksburg to Baton Rouge to 
 whip some Yankees at that place, which it 
 did very effectually August 5. The full 
 purpose of that movement and what was 
 gained by that victory were only conjec- 
 tural to those of no higher rank than I was. 
 By very hard fighting in this battle the Thir- 
 ty-fifth Alabama saved the gallant Third and 
 Seventh Kentucky Regiments from being 
 flanked by the enemy, and ever after there 
 was a specially strong attachment between 
 our regiment and the Kentuckians of our 
 brigade. But all the regiments of our brigade 
 were strongly attached to each other, and 
 there was perfect mutual confidence among 
 them whenever they moved together in line 
 of battle against the enemy. 
 
 Other movements and events than those 
 
192 ^"^I^^ME HET5EL RELICS 
 
 heretofore mentioned need not be noted from 
 hei'e on until after the battle of Corinth, Oc- 
 tober 3, 4. The evening of the hist day of 
 the fight, our brigade, Gen. Rust command- 
 ing, dropped back eight miles and camped 
 for the night. The next day, Sunday, Octo- 
 ber 5, and until late at night, we were har- 
 assed by the Yanlvces, Avho seemed bent on 
 cutting off our retreat or capturing our wagon 
 trains. It was the first hurried retreat that 
 we had yet been subjected to, and a day of ex- 
 cessive weariness to us. It was at times a 
 kind of running fight, but the Yankees ac- 
 complished nothing that they undertook. 
 Gen, Price, in front, gave them a setback at 
 Tuscumbia Creek, Avhere they were trying 
 to intercept us, and also at Ilatchie Kiver, 
 farther on. We hurried forward to reenforce 
 him at both these places, but the Yankees re- 
 tired before we could reach him. Gen. Bo wen 
 Avas in the rear on the march, and succeeded 
 in ambushing the pursuing Yankees and cut- 
 ting them badly to pieces. The probability 
 is that they intended heading us off at one 
 of the bridges across the above-named 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 193 
 
 streams, and then crush us with their main 
 army, which, having been hirgely reenforced 
 two days (or nights rather) previous, was 
 then very much larger than ours, and follow- 
 ing close upon our heels. Our commanders 
 were determined not to risk a general en- 
 gagement if they could avoid it, but managed 
 to do the Yankees uo little hurt before the 
 day was over and they had called off their 
 war dogs. There were, however, various re- 
 ports Monday and Tuesday of the approach- 
 es of the enemy, and as we neared Kipley, a 
 town on our route, we formed in line of battle 
 for a fight, but no " blue coats " were to be 
 seen. Our retreat continued to be rapid un- 
 til AYednesday, and we at last concluded that 
 Van Dorn was managing things badly. In my 
 diary of Tuesday I said: " AYe are of the opin- 
 ion that Van Dorn is running us very unnec- 
 essarily, and that if even the Yankees are 
 trying to overtake us, which we doubt, we 
 can whip them." Wednesday we made a 
 pushing march of over twenty miles, and 
 camped on the Holly Springs road within 
 
 eighteen miles of that place. This day w'e 
 13 
 
194 "^^OME REBEL KELICS 
 
 were almost destitute of rations, and our pro- 
 vision wagons did not come up at night, so 
 that we were indeed * in a very bad fix for 
 sometliing to eat. It was the time of the year 
 for sweet potatoes, and Col. Robertson sent 
 out a detail of men to procure some of them 
 from the citizens. We got in a good supply, 
 and having roasted and eaten them, we lay 
 down on our pallets for the night with full 
 stomachs, the first time we had had a filling 
 of anything for several days. AVe had a hab- 
 it of giving names to our camping places gen- 
 erally, and having remained here and eaten 
 potatoes until 4 o'clock the next evening, we 
 called this place " Camp Potato." 
 
 Friday we went into Holly Springs through 
 mud and i*ain, arriving there a short while be- 
 fore dark, and taking quarters in the arsenal, 
 where a number of large fires had already 
 been built for us to w^arm and dry by, for it 
 WHS a very cold rain Avhich had fallen upon 
 us. Upon the builders of those fires Ave 
 showered many blessings. 
 
 Our retreat from the " Mouth of Tippah," 
 Miss., was an occasion which impressed it- 
 
FllOM THE SKAT OF WAll. 195 
 
 self very forcibl}^ upon us, as one of special 
 weariness and clisagreeableness. A battle 
 was thought to be imminent several days be- 
 fore we left there, owing to certain demon- 
 strations of the enemy and the instructions 
 that Ave received from time to time from our 
 commanders. AVe left there Sunday, ]N^o- 
 vember 30, 1862, at 8 o'clock at night. 
 Just before leaving we were ordered to build 
 up our camp lires, making them larger than 
 usual. The object of this was to deceive the 
 enemy as to our plans, making them believe, 
 "if so be," that we had no thought of retir- 
 ing from our position. "We were not sus- 
 pecting any such movement, but rather that 
 preparations for a fight were being made, and 
 were amazed wdien Col. Goodwin told the 
 company officers to be very careful to keep 
 the men in ranks; that we were on a retreat. 
 We wondered wdiy this was, and concluded 
 that the enemy were in much greater force 
 than we w^ere, or that w^e had been outgen- 
 eraled by them, the latter opinion being the 
 prevailing one among the soldiers. 
 
 "We had gone but a short distance from 
 
196 "^NlOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 camp when it commenced raining in torrents, 
 and continued to do so far into the night. 
 The moon was nearly full, and made light 
 enough through the clouds to enable us to 
 see the general outline of the command and 
 the route over which we marched, but we 
 could not see the bad places in the road, 
 which, it seemed to us, were legion. We 
 were constantly stepping into holes, wagon 
 ruts perhaps, and stumbling against one an- 
 other, or falling down in the mud and water. 
 Early in the night we had to wade a deep, 
 muddy creek, which had been much swollen 
 by the heavy rain, and which really present- 
 ed a very frightful appearance. The moon 
 went down just before day, and not till then 
 did our night march end. We then built up 
 fence rail fires, there being no other chance 
 for fire, and took a short nap on the w^et 
 ground, which was a very sweet rest to us. 
 As to keeping the men in ranks on such a 
 march as that, it was altogether out of the 
 question. They could not but fall out, and 
 pick their own way to get along with any 
 degree of facility. 
 
FIJOM THE SEAT OF WAII. 197 
 
 After our brief rest we resumed our march 
 and went nine miles below Oxford ou the 
 Coffeeville road. In my diary I say: " Last 
 night and to-day is the severest march we 
 have ever had." I say furthermore: " .^ow 
 I know that rest is sweet." The general sal- 
 utation of the men to each other next day 
 was: "How many times did you fall down 
 last night? " The frequency with w^hich they 
 fell, and the manner in which they staggered 
 along and tumbled down through the night 
 Avas a source of merry conversation and jest- 
 ing among the men, which supported us no 
 little on our march during the day. 
 
 Onward we went, without particular hurry, 
 halting more or less each day and camping 
 every night, until we reached Grenada Sun- 
 day, December 7. We formed into line of bat- 
 tle several times on the route, with the expec- 
 tation of engaging the enemy; and we were 
 required to keep our men in ranks from day 
 to day, so that we could be ready for battle 
 in a moment at any time. On December 3 
 Gen. Lovell notified our immediate command 
 that w^e might be ordered some distance back 
 
198 '••^aOME KEBEL IIELICS 
 
 to check the advance of the Yankees, which 
 did not become necessary, however, and that 
 day Gen. Price beat tliem back in the vicin- 
 ity of CofFeeville, captnring six pieces of 
 their artillery. We went regularly into camp 
 near Grenada December 8, 1862, and remained 
 there till January 31, 1863, when we went to 
 Jackson, from wdiich place we started on our 
 fall campaign September 11, 1862. 
 
 We went from Tangipahoa to Jackson 
 August 28, and on the next day I noted in 
 my diary: "Arrangments are being made 
 while at this place to clothe and pay the sol- 
 diers, preliminary, as is believed, to a gen- 
 eral northern movement." Such was the im- 
 pression that got out among the soldiers, and 
 when we left there September 11 we went 
 northward, but our operations did not extend 
 beyond ]N"orthern Mississippi, except that one 
 day we chased the Yankees to Bolivar, Tenn., 
 and at Grenada we rounded up. 
 
 As has heretofore been stated, we w^ere at 
 Port Hudson, La., from March 3 to April 5, 
 1863. This place, on the Mississippi Kiver, 
 Avas strongly fortified, and commanded the 
 
FKOM THE SEAT OF WAII. 199 
 
 mouth of Red lliver, out of which our sup- 
 plies were hirgcly brought. As our batteries 
 at Yicksbui'g- were keeping the enemy's gun- 
 boats above there, so w^ere our batteries at 
 this phace keeping them below here, so that 
 we had control of the river between these 
 two points, thought to be of considerable ad- 
 vantage to us. The Yankees w^ere anxious 
 to command the whole liver, all of which they 
 had except this portion of it, and there was 
 reason to believe that they were arranging 
 to move in force against Port Hudson when 
 we were ordered there to reenforce the troops 
 already there. Yankee Gen. Banks Avas 
 collecting a large land force at Baton Rouge, 
 below here, to cooperate with the naval force, 
 wdiich was being constantly strengthened, 
 and our business w^as to withstand the land 
 force when it came. 
 
 As we approached Amite River, February 
 27, on our w^ay to Port Hudson, the tedium 
 of the march was much relieved by a Avading 
 frolic that Ave had across a broad slough, 
 much sw^ollen by the heavy rains of the day 
 before, just before reaching the river bridge. 
 
200 ^^tOME KEBEL RELICS 
 
 The water was too deep for the wagons to 
 pass through without coming high up in their 
 beds; and the men were ordered to take out 
 of the wagons, and carry over on their 
 shoulders, such things as would be damaged 
 by getting wet. Back and forth they yell- 
 ingly went from bank to bank of the slough, 
 until the wagons w^ere sufficiently unloaded 
 to pass over; a number of men, however, 
 thoughtlessly carrying over first their pots 
 and ovens, which were really needed in the 
 wagon beds to keep them from floating, and 
 which of course would not be damaged by 
 water, iustcad of their bedding, clothing, etc. 
 This performance of theirs caused much 
 merriment among their w^ading comrades, 
 and so made the labor less tiresome to them. 
 Then came the fun of getting the wagons 
 over, which were then for the first time being 
 pulled by oxen; and fun it was, as soldiers 
 went on either side of them to keep their 
 heads in the right direction, and of the wag- 
 ons to keep the beds from floating off*, pro- 
 pelling the unwilling teams forward into the 
 deep water, which they must needs swim in 
 
FKOM THE SEAT OF WAK. 201 
 
 part, until they had crossed them to the other 
 bank. Such ^^ gee-haws" and " \\ o-comes " 
 never rang out on that atmosphere befoi-e, 
 and no alternative was left to those oxen but 
 to go forward, however incomprehensible to 
 them may have been the commands of the 
 numerous and boisterous teamsters. The 
 oxen may not have enjoyed this procedure, 
 but the men did; and onward we took our 
 march with more elastic step because of its 
 occurrence. 
 
 During our stay at Port Hudson the Yan- 
 kees made their biggest effort to capture it 
 Saturday night, March 14, the bombardment 
 from their navy beginning about 11 o'clock. 
 The Third Kentucky and Thirty-fifth Ala- 
 bama Regiments Avere formed in line of 
 battle, one to support the other alternately 
 as necessity required, some distance in front 
 of the fortifications, to hold in check and 
 harass the approaching land force under 
 Gen. Banks until the time came for us to fall 
 back to our places in the trenches. The 
 cooperative plans of the Yankees did not 
 work well for several reasons, one of which 
 
202 ^>HrtME KEBEL KELICS 
 
 was that Banks did not come to time to ac- 
 complish his part of the joint undertaking. 
 
 I say in my diary of that day: "The en- 
 emy's land force are said to be close at hand, 
 and it is thought that there will certainly be 
 a general fight to-morrow." Possibly Banks 
 was waiting for daylight to come, and until 
 the fleet did Avhat it was to do, but failed in 
 the undertaking. To the Confederates the 
 occasion was a most interesting and memo- 
 rable one, though the enemy's shot and shell 
 fell thickly about us for some time. It was 
 the purpose of the Yankee Commodore to 
 overcome our batteries with those on his 
 boats, so that he could pass a portion of his 
 fleet by them and above Port Hudson, so as 
 to gain an important advantage of us. With 
 this undertaking accomplished, he could co- 
 operate beautifully with Banks when the day 
 broke. 
 
 It was the heaviest artillery thunder that 
 we ever heard, transcending by far the naval 
 engagement between the "Arkansas " and the 
 Yankee fleet above Vicksburg. Being as 
 much exposed to it as we were made it de- 
 
FlIOM THE SEAT OF WAU. 203 
 
 cidedly terrific, though our adnriratioii of its 
 grandeur raised us above the fear of danger. 
 We could track the shells by their burning 
 tapers, and the atmosphere was crowded with 
 them, going to and fro, and flying high and 
 low. A glare of light would accompany ev- 
 ery shell explosion, many of which often oc- 
 curred at the same time, and in every con- 
 ceivable position these explosions occurred. 
 Frequently the shell would not explode until 
 it had sunk itself deep down in the soft, sandy 
 earth; then out of the ground would come its 
 boom and blaze, as though it had been shot 
 from below. In attempting to pass our bat- 
 teries one of their boats was captured and 
 one Avas set on fire. The latter floated back 
 down the river, aff'ording us a degree of de- 
 lightful entertainment, until day began to 
 dawn, which cannot be told. It had on it a 
 magazine and many piles of shells, and of 
 course the men on it forsook it as soon as 
 they could. The light of the fire was plainly 
 seen as the current carried the burning boat 
 leisurely downstream, and when it reached 
 one of the piles of shells the light and thun- 
 
204: "^^NiLOME llEBEL liELICS 
 
 der of the combined explosions would excite 
 
 our unmeasured admiration. The length of 
 
 • 
 time between these explosions was exactly 
 
 enough to keep up and enhance more and more 
 our interest in the charming pyrotechnic pro- 
 cedure. It effectually cleared the river of all 
 other Yankee boats, which, under a full head 
 of steam, sought safety in precipitate flight. 
 The whole performance looked as though 
 the Yankees had gotten up an entertainment 
 for us of the most pleasing character, and 
 were doing their utmost to make it as much 
 so as possible. Finally, the fire reached the 
 magazine on the boat, and produced an ex- 
 plosion which made the ground tremble where 
 we were, and gave us almost the light of noon- 
 day just as day was on the eve of breaking. 
 Then the curtain dropped, and that charming 
 nocturnal naval entertainment came to a close. 
 What became of Yankee Doodle Banks, 
 with his cooperating land force? In my di- 
 ary of Tuesday following this record is made: 
 " Gen. Rust, commanding our brigade, sent 
 for his regimental commanders to-day to go 
 with him down on the Baton Rouge road, over 
 
FROM tup: seat of WAIl. 205 
 
 wliich Biinks came and went, and they went 
 within eleven miles of that place. Col. Good- 
 win, of our regiment, says the Yankees had a 
 real Bull Kun stampede. They thought their 
 burning boat, as it floated down stream, was 
 our fleet in pursuit of theirs. They also 
 heard that Stonewall Jackson was at Tangi- 
 pahoa with sixty thousand troops, with w hich 
 to reenforce us. The whole Yankee army 
 had started up here w ith everything needful 
 for a big fight. Consternation took hold of 
 them, and they made a most precipitate re- 
 treat back to Baton Rouge, destroying many 
 ambulances and wagons in- their haste lest 
 they fiiU into our hands, as they feared, and 
 tearing up the bridges behind them to retard 
 our supposed pursuit of them. The road w^as 
 strewn with numberless fragments of broken 
 army vehicles of various sorts and sizes, to- 
 gether with many knapsacks, blankets, and 
 guns that had been thrown down to facilitate 
 speed. Such was the farce being enacted 
 by Banks wdiile we were wondering wdiy he 
 was so slow to press upon our lines with his 
 devouring host. 
 
206 '^^fcSOME KEBEL RELICS 
 
 Madam Kumor, the only female who went 
 along with our army, came to our camp 
 March 25, as was her daily wont, and in- 
 formed us that Abe Lincoln, the King of 
 ^ortherndom, having become disgusted with 
 the feebleness of Banks and his army as war- 
 riors, had signified his intention to remove 
 the entire Yankee force from Baton Rouge, 
 and replace it by 15,000 Yankee women, 
 with which to take Port Hudson. Mrs. Eu- 
 mor did not tell us who would lead these 
 feminine warriors, of masculine persuasions, 
 against us, but the presumption w^as that 
 Old Abe purposed commanding them in per- 
 son, for the gratification that he would expe- 
 rience in making Banks feel as diminutive as 
 possible for not being able to do with a large 
 army of men what he could do with a com- 
 paratively small army of women. 
 
 There were plenty of female hyenas in hu- 
 man form north of the Ohio River in those 
 days, whose hatred for the South Avas more 
 than Satanic, if possible, and doubtless Lin- 
 coln could have gathered together his 15,000 
 of them in a moment or two after notice was 
 
FllOM THE SEAT OF WAK. 207 
 
 given that he wanted them for military serv- 
 ice in Louisiana. Tliat they would also 
 have exploded the Confederate garrison at 
 Port Hudson, in one way or another, we 
 stood not in doubt at the time. 
 
 The evening after the bombardment, as we 
 started out to camp, which was then in a 
 magnolia forest, there began to fall a tre- 
 mendous rain, which soon came down upon 
 us like a waterspout, and presently the 
 " heavenly artillery " began all about us in 
 such rapid and terrific volleys '^ as to put to 
 shame " as I say in my diary, " the bombard- 
 ment of last night." The wind was very 
 strong also, breaking to pieces the magnolia 
 trees in every direction and blowing one 
 down now and then, causing us to feel that 
 we were in a very insecure position, though 
 out of range of Yankee bullets. We gener- 
 ally looked for a ^'thunder storm" after a 
 heavy battle, especially when there Avas 
 much artillery firing, but this was the most 
 complete success in that line that we had at 
 any time. 
 
 Quite a number of Yankee deserters came 
 
208 '■^^ME REBEL RELICS 
 
 into our lines at Port Hudson during our 
 stay there, and gave as their excuse for 
 leaving their army that they would not sa- 
 lute negro officers. They said they loved 
 the Union as well as ever, but that they did 
 not enlist in the interest of negroes. They 
 were out and out against negro equality, and 
 much more so against negro supremacy. 
 There were doubtless many such soldiers in 
 the ]S"orthern army, so far as their feelings 
 toward the negroes were concerned, and who, 
 thougli they w^ould not desert, regretted that 
 they had ever enlisted. 
 
 The Yankee authorities expected to 
 strengthen their armies very greatly by arm- 
 ing our negroes against us; but, although 
 they enlisted a large number into their serv- 
 ice, they proved to be very poor fighters, and 
 became a source of weakness rather than of 
 strength. The wiiole negro population would 
 have been armed and turned loose upon the 
 unarmed citizens and women of the Southern 
 Confederacy, if the negroes had been w illing 
 to rise up against them, and the Yankees 
 could have had an opportunity of supplying 
 
FIIOM THE SEAT OF WAR. 209 
 
 them with arms. Such was the disposition 
 of our enemies toward our Southland, as was 
 made evident in too many ways to leave a 
 doubt of it in the mind of any intelligent 
 Southerner; and it was doubtless expected 
 by them that Lincoln's emancipation procla- 
 mation would be the occasion of a general 
 negro insurrection, and the wholesale butch- 
 ery of unprotected Southern whites. 
 
 While at Port Hudson our sugar rations 
 Vvere nnusually large, we being in, or adja- 
 cent to, a sugar-producing region. AYe had 
 more, indeed, than we could well use for eat- 
 ing purposes. To get as much benefit of it 
 as we could, having made so-called coffee 
 out of one thing and another for a long time, we 
 finally made coffee out of sugar. It was ex- 
 tremely seldom that genuine coffee was seen 
 in the South anywhere at that time, and the 
 housekeepers in every direction had fallen 
 upon vai'ious expedients to furnish themselves 
 with coftee substitutes, which went by the 
 name of coffee. Parched rye, ground and 
 boiled, came into more general use than any 
 
 other substitute. Parched wheat was also 
 14 
 
210 ""^^OME REBEL RELICS. 
 
 used a good deal, and had a much more 
 pleasant odor than the rye '^ coffee " had. 
 Sweet potato " coffee " came into use after 
 the others did, and became quite popular. 
 They were cat up into little pieces about the 
 size of a grain of corn and dried in the snn. 
 These pieces were then parched and ground, 
 and otherwise prepared as coffee is. This 
 was a very pleasant beverage, and had rath- 
 er more the appearance of good coffee than 
 the others did. In the army we made our 
 coffee out of parched meal mainly. At Port 
 Hudson we tried parched sugar, wdiich was 
 the best of all substitutes that I had ever 
 seen; the color and odor and flavor resem- 
 bling coffee in a surprising manner. Of 
 course we dropped this substitute when we 
 left the sugar region. 
 
CHAPTEE X. 
 
 WE did not know what was contemplated 
 b}^ our chief commanders when we 
 were marched away from Port Hudson April 
 5, 1863; but the next time we felt the Yan- 
 kees on the field was at the battle of Ba- 
 ker's Creek, Miss., the 16th of the next 
 month. When we did not have positive in- 
 formation as to where we were going, and 
 the object of our movement, when we were 
 ordered away from a place we would do a 
 great deal of conjecturing on the subject, 
 and dig up, one way and another, a good 
 many facts npon which to base our conclu- 
 sions. Sometimes we would hit upon the 
 plans of the generals, and sometimes we 
 wonld miss them, but we would be sure to 
 develop a campaign of some sort in our minds, 
 and I think we oftener hit than missed, as I 
 now recall, what was aimed at by our com- 
 manders. We also had a way of passing 
 
 judgment npon, to ns, unsatisfactory mov^e- 
 
 (211) 
 
212 ^>>OME REBEL KELICS 
 
 ments, and crediting ourselves right often 
 with better generalship than those under 
 whose orders we w^ere acting. And to this 
 day I am clearly of the belief that there were 
 privates not a few in our array who could 
 have done better as leaders than some who, 
 at times, were in the lead; albeit, as a rule, 
 our officers were the best that the world ever 
 produced. 
 
 After we had entered upon the march from 
 Port Hudson we soon learned that we were 
 going as far, at least, as Jackson, Miss., 
 but we attached no particular importance 
 to that fact, as that place w^as gener- 
 ally on our way to somewhere else; the 
 important question with us was, "Where will 
 we go when we get to Jackson? Somehow, 
 I cannot now remember, the impression got 
 into our minds that we were on our w^ay to 
 Tennessee; and sure enough that w^as where 
 W'C were going. As has been heretofore 
 stated, we were ordered back when wg 
 reached Chattanooga, and were soon at Jack- 
 son and in the Big Black region again. 
 
 The battle of Baker's Creek was fought 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF AYAli. 213 
 
 very soon after the first visit of the Yankees 
 to Jackson. Grant had managed to get his 
 army on the east side of the Mississippi Kiv- 
 er below Vicksburg, and made his way to 
 Jackson with but little difficulty, only being 
 slightly hindered by a comparatively very 
 small force, nnder Gen. Bowen, at one point 
 on his march. It seemed that Gen. Pember- 
 ton, then in command of that department, 
 could not divine what Grant's designs were, 
 and so did not undertake to intercept him on 
 his way to Jackson. 
 
 I presume that Grant had then no particular 
 lar use for Jackson, only for the enhancement 
 of his own greatness, the liallelujali effect it 
 would certainly produce in the military and 
 civil domains of Abe Lincolu, and the possi- 
 bly depressing impression it would make 
 upon our armies and the people of the South 
 generally. In some ears it would sound like 
 a very big thing for a Yankee army to occu- 
 py the capital of the great secession state of 
 Mississippi, and home of the President of the 
 Southern Confederacy. " The backbone of 
 the rebellion is now broken," would be the 
 
214 ''^^pME REBEL RELICS 
 
 ringing proclamation that would be made 
 throughout the whole extent of Lincolndom, 
 and the recruiting of 'the Northern armies 
 would set in afresh, that the spoils might not 
 all be gathered up before the}^, the new re- 
 cruits, could get a grab at our possessions. 
 
 Having marched into Jackson, Grant then 
 set his face toward Vicksburg, and at Ba- 
 ker's Creek we disputed his way as best we 
 could w4th an insufficient force of three di- 
 visions under Pemberton; the division com- 
 manders being Stephenson, Bowen, and Lo- 
 ring. After a pretty much all day fight, of 
 greater or less severity, and more or less gen- 
 eral from time to time, we were ordered late 
 in the evening to fall back in the direction of 
 Vicksburg. 
 
 Among those who fell that day was Adju- 
 tant George Hubbard, of our regiment, a 
 very particular friend of mine. He was shot 
 through the head and borne by the litter 
 bearers from the field just as we were about 
 to change our position for the last time be- 
 fore retiring. They continued to bear him 
 along, dividing themselves into two reliefs, 
 
FliOM THE SEAT OF AVAR. 215 
 
 in the hope of getting* his remains where 
 they conkl he shipped to his family in North 
 Alabama; but soon night came on as the re- 
 treating march continued, with the enemy 
 pressing close upon us; and the litter bearers, 
 becoming too much fatigued to carry their 
 precious burden farther, hiid the lifeless form 
 of Georg-e Hubbard in a hole which the torn- 
 np roots of a fallen tree had made, just as he 
 had fallen in battle, and pulled the dirt over 
 him with their bauds and knives and sticks. 
 This I learned from John Hudgins, one of 
 the litter bearers and a member of my com- 
 pany. Did ever a soldier have a more hon- 
 orable burial? 
 
 It was understood among* us just before 
 the battle was begun that Gen. Joseph E. 
 Johnston had arrived at Canton with two di- 
 visions of the Army of Tennessee, and that 
 he had sent a courier through the previous 
 night to Pemberton with instructions not 
 to make a fight with Grant with his inade- 
 quate force, and to join armies as quickly as 
 possible with him at Canton. It was also 
 understood that the division commanders, and 
 
216 ^^J^l I I llEBEL KJiLIOS 
 
 especially Gen. Loring, urged Gen. Pember- 
 ton to give heed to Gen. Johnston's instrnc- 
 tions, but that Peniberton '' took the bit be- 
 tween his teeth," and determined to make 
 the fight upon his own judgment and at all 
 hazards. To have drawn off his army just 
 then from Grant's front, in keepiug with 
 Johnston's plans, Avould have been to have 
 given away Vicksburg, to be sure; but fol- 
 lowing his own counsels, he gave away on 
 the 4th of July followiug both Vicksburg 
 and his army, Loring's Division excepted. 
 
 Loring, having determined not to regard 
 Pemberton's order to fall back to Big Black 
 bridge and Vicksburg, determined when the 
 Baker's Creek fight was over to take his di- 
 vision to Jackson, if possible, and report to 
 Johnston, who was not far above there and 
 near Canton. We had been on our feet 
 pretty much all day, and had made a very 
 rapid movement for some distance from right 
 to left on the line bnt a sliort while before the 
 day was lost, and so were very weary when 
 night came on ; but, for all that, we l^egun 
 onr march to Jackson as night came on, and 
 
FllOM THE SEAT OF WAK. 217 
 
 continued in motion until nearly G o'clock 
 the next evening, resting only a moment or 
 two at a time, w ith unusually long intervals 
 between the rests. It was very severe on us 
 — being thirty-six consecutive hours on our 
 feet — but the movement was necessary for 
 our safety. The enemy harassed us for a 
 time, and tried to head us off, but failed to do 
 us any hurt. On such a march as this was 
 there were always many stragglers, as we 
 called them — men who dropped out of the 
 ranks to rest, and so fell behind the moving 
 column. In one instance the Yankee cav- 
 alry rushed upon our rear, doubtless to throw 
 the column into confusion that they might 
 overcome us, but our stragglers threw them- 
 selves into line of battle and beat them at 
 their own game, killing several and taking a 
 number of iM'isoners. Loring said he had the 
 best stragglers in the world, and that he 
 wanted no better rear guard than they were. 
 After the first day of our march Ave had no 
 further trouble with the Yankees. 
 
 When starting on this retreat we were 
 taken across fields and through the woods in 
 
218 ""^^ME IIEBEL llELICS 
 
 a southeastern direction, aiming for Cr3^stal 
 Springs, below Jackson, taking this circuit- 
 ous route because there Avas no direct Avay 
 open to us. AYe carried our artillery as far 
 as we could; but when darkness had fully 
 come on, and we were marching through 
 roadless woods, it had to be left. The wag- 
 ons were with the rest of Pemberton's army, 
 and were soon shut up in Vicksburg, to be- 
 come the property of Grant before long. 
 To be without our wagons was to be with- 
 out our supplies of every sort, except 
 what we ourselves carried; but in our case at 
 this time we were unusually destitute, having 
 thrown pretty much all of our luggage in the 
 wagons in anticipation of the fight, many of 
 the men putting their coats and jackets in 
 the wagons also. Besides the guns and car- 
 tridge boxes, with only the cartridges that 
 were left over after the fight, the men had 
 nothing but their haversacks, which con- 
 tained but a small remnant of their rations 
 for the day of the fight, and their canteens. 
 In a very little while every crumbof our pro- 
 visions was consumed, and there was no 
 
FKOM TJIK SEAT OF WAU. 219 
 
 chance to supply ourselves with anything 
 from the surrounding- country until the 
 danger line of our march had been passed; 
 and after that it required much time for the 
 commissary to hunt up supplies of food and 
 issue it out in rations. We necessarily did 
 long foisting, but the men were not demoral- 
 ized in any sense; for they had all confidence 
 in the leadership of Gen. Loring, to whom 
 they were also very strongly attached. 
 
 When we began to gather in supplies we 
 were put to some trouble about cooking 
 them, especially the bread, as our cooking 
 utensils, such as they were, were in our wag- 
 ons. In making our meal into dough, with 
 w^ater and salt, our mess used hickory bark 
 as a tray, but some of the men used their 
 hats. Of course we either had to make " ash 
 cakes," or spread the dough on a piece of 
 bark, or plank when it could be got, and 
 hold it to the fire until it w^as baked. 
 
 We reached Jackson shortly after noon 
 May 20, and marched on through to our 
 camp, five miles above there on the Canton 
 road. As we marched along the street, 
 
220 '"^'^^ME 1IE13EL KELICS 
 
 buckets of water were brought us by the cit- 
 izeus, who also handed us large quantities of 
 the best quality of chewing tobacco. 
 
 The Yankees, ever faithful to their spite- 
 ful and unscrupulous methods of warfare, had 
 destroyed much property by fire and other- 
 wise, and insulted the citizens of Jackson 
 without stint. The Jacksonians never loved 
 Kebel soldiers so well before, as they did aft- 
 er they had had some experience with blue- 
 coated Yankees. 
 
 From the time that Loring's Division re- 
 ported to Johnston after the battle of Baker's 
 Creek until the fall of Vicksburg it was un- 
 derstood among the rank and file of our com- 
 mand, as has already been indicated, that our 
 movements in the Big Black region had ref- 
 erence to the release, if possible, of Gen. 
 Pemberton from the web which Grant was 
 gradually weaving about hiui in the Vicks- 
 burg trap. Quickly following the surrender 
 of Pemberton were the battles and skirmish- 
 es at Jackson, and then the quiet retreat of 
 our army along the line of the Southern rail- 
 road as far as Morton. In winter quarters 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAll. 221 
 
 at Canton next, and from there to Demopolis, 
 Ala., from which point the Twenty-seventh 
 and Thirty-fifth Akibama Regiments were 
 sent to ^N^orth Alabama on a recrniting expe- 
 dition before becoming incorporated into the 
 Army of Tennessee, under Gen. Johnston, in 
 Georgia. These two regiments were raised 
 in the section of the State to which they were 
 ordered, and gathered np qnite a number of 
 recruits before leaving there for Georgia. 
 
 During the time that we w^ere on this re- 
 cruiting expedition in IS^orth Alabama there 
 occurred a military incident, in which we 
 were " party of the first part," and some Yan- 
 kees " party of the second part," and which 
 was exceedingly pleasing to us, though alto- 
 gether uncomfortable to them. "We got in- 
 formation, while in the vicinity of Tuscum- 
 bia, that some Yankees were camping on Mr. 
 Jack Peters's premises, north of the Ten- 
 nessee River, and not a great way from the 
 river, though I forget the exact distance, and 
 Cols. Jackson and Ives determined to bag 
 them, if they could, with the portions of their 
 regiments that were then in camp. Jackson 
 
222 ^^H)ME REBEL RELICS 
 
 commanded the Twenty-seventh and Ives 
 the Thirty-fifth Regiment, and the former 
 was senior colonel. The evening of April 
 12, 1864, we marched to Tuscumbia Landing, 
 opposite an island in the river, and at sun- 
 down we began crossing in two ferryboats, 
 one of which was small and indifferent, over 
 to the island. The boats then had to go 
 around to the other side of the island, and 
 take us to the north bank of the river, and it 
 took them till midnight to do so. They were 
 so long in going around that we feared some 
 accident had befallen them, and that our ex- 
 pedition would explode in its incipiency; in- 
 deed, having seen some rockets go up from 
 w^here we supposed the Yankee pickets were, 
 w^e became afraid that our movement was 
 known to them, and that they Avere signaling 
 their main force to cut us off. Finally, how^- 
 ever, we w^ere over the river, and after climb- 
 ing np a high, steep, rugged bluff bank, we 
 went as quietly as Ave could across the open 
 fields to wdiere Mr. Peters lived, and in whose 
 barn lot the Yankees were camped. A short 
 distance from where they were, w^e formed in 
 
FKOM THE SEAT OF WvVll. 22^5 
 
 line of battle, and rushed upon them, captur- 
 ing them with the utmost ease, only two or 
 three guns being fired, occasioned by the 
 Yankee sentinel shooting off his gun. They 
 were on their pallets in the lot, except some 
 that were in the barn and in the family resi- 
 dence, and their horses were haltered in the 
 fence corners, stables, etc. It was but the 
 w^ork of a moment, and we had the whole 
 '' lay out " bulked together, and under guard. 
 It was Company G, of the Ninth Ohio Cavalry, 
 and known as the "White Horse Company," 
 all the men being mounted on wdiite or gray 
 horses. It w^as a decidedly healthy-looking 
 lot of Yankees and horses. There were also 
 some very good beef cattle and mules along. 
 It was nearly day Avhen we made this cap- 
 ture, and it w^as very important for our safe- 
 ty that w^e get to the south side of the river 
 again as soon as possible. This we did with- 
 out molestation from the enemy from any oth- 
 er quarter, carrying with us a good supply 
 of Yankees, horses, mules, cattle, guns, sa- 
 bers, saddles, etc. I relieved the bugler of 
 his bugle, which is still kept in the family as 
 
224: -^-^^OME REBEL RELICS 
 
 an army relic. A fine sword and belt and 
 pair of spurs I also took, but have since 
 lost. 
 
 It seemed that in our hurry to get back 
 across the river Ave were about to go away 
 without the captain, when Col. Ives learned 
 that he and one or tw^o other officers were 
 quartered in the family residence. Taking a 
 small guard with him, Col. Ives, lantern in 
 hand, rushed into the room where they were, 
 finding them still asleep, notwithstanding 
 what had just transpired in the barn lot. He 
 aroused them from their slumbers and 
 dreams of conquest and Itebcl scalps to the 
 wakeful consciousness of the fact that they 
 were in the gentle grasp of chivalrous South- 
 rons. The captain made the Masonic sign of 
 distress, thinking that his life was in imme- 
 diate peril. Col. Ives answered him that he 
 was in no danger of personal violence, but 
 that his presence was needed instanter with- 
 in the Rebel lines. 
 
 "While in North Alabama, quite a number 
 of us who were members of the Buford 
 Lodge of Masons, for which a special army 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAK. 225 
 
 dispensation had been granted, took the 
 Ciiapter and several side degrees at Court- 
 hxnd, where the Chapter was of which Mr. 
 Baker was High Priest. We regarded this 
 as a rare opportunity of advancing in Mason- 
 ry, and Mr. Baker, a very thorough Mason, in 
 assisting us in our preparation for the sever- 
 al degrees, which had to be taken in unusual- 
 ly quick succession, as we were not long in 
 Courtland. Besides taking the Chapter de- 
 grees myself, I also took the following side 
 degrees, conferred by Mr. Baker: Monitor, 
 Kniglit of Constantine and Holy Virgin. 
 These last were taken April 19. The Chap- 
 ter degrees — Mark Master, Past Master, Most 
 Excellent Master, and Royal Arch— were ta- 
 ken April 21 and 22. 
 
 "We enjoyed our army Masonry very much, 
 and frequently had meetings of our Lodge. 
 Capt. Martin was our Worshipful Master, and 
 could conduct the work of the Lodge as well 
 as any one I ever saw. We could always 
 get the use of a Masonic Hall when we were 
 camped near where one was, and the local 
 
 members took special delight in meeting 
 15 
 
226 ^*"^^OME REBEL RELICS 
 
 with us; the war, however, had scattered 
 most of the Lodge memhers. 
 
 It was a very frequent occurrence with 
 wounded sokliers on both sides, who were 
 Masons, to give the signal of distress, and 
 doubtless it often secured help when it could 
 not have been otherwise obtained. Yankees 
 and Rebels were on common ground when 
 they met as Masons. Of the Yankees, we 
 learned that a great many of them joined the 
 JMasons upon their enlistment in the army, 
 for the protection and attention it might af- 
 ford them when taken prisoners by us, or 
 when left wounded on the battlefield after 
 their line had been driven back. If there 
 were Southern soldiers who were thus moved 
 to become Masons, it never came to my 
 knowledge. 
 
 Before leaving ]N"orth Alabama for Geor- 
 gia a short leave of absence Avas granted to 
 these regiments to visit their homes, which 
 Avere near at hand, and procure a much-need- 
 ed supply of clothing, shoes, etc. This 
 would have been done when we first reached 
 there but for the threatening: attitude of the 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 227 
 
 Yankees beyond the Tennessee lliver from 
 us, which made it necessary for us to keep 
 together, and be ready for whatever move- 
 ment might become necessar}', to fight or to 
 retire. It looked indeed for awhile as if we 
 were going to have a considerable interview 
 with the Yankees, and Col. Jackson received 
 orders from military headquarters to gather 
 up and take command of all the soldiers in 
 ]S"orth Alabama for that purpose, but we had 
 no collision with them, except that we rescued 
 the '' White Horse Cavalry " at Peters's barn 
 from the arms of Morpheus into our own em- 
 brace. They hindered us, however, in the 
 ready accomplishment of our purposes of re- 
 cruiting and furnishing the regiments; so 
 that when we reached Georgia active hostil- 
 ities had already set in there, and our main 
 army had fallen back from Dalton. 
 
 To the military events that transpired in 
 our command after our incorporation into 
 the Army of Tennessee I have already briefly 
 alluded. On the Kennesaw line, June 20, 
 1864, the Twenty-seventh, Thirty-fifth, and 
 Forty-ninth Alabama Regiments wxre con- 
 
228 '"^Nii)ME REBEL RELICS 
 
 solidatecl into one, on account of the losses 
 
 that had been sustained in each of these, and 
 
 • 
 I was assigned to duty in Companies C and 
 
 G, consolidated, of the Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 
 AVhatever fell to these noble men, in their 
 turn to do, on the field or elsewhere, they did 
 with all promptness and zest; and they were 
 always looked to by the commanding gener- 
 als to bring up their part of the line with as 
 much confidence as they did to any other 
 troops; nor were these expectations ever dis- 
 appointed. 
 
 Our northward movement through Geor- 
 gia and into N^orth Alabama after the evacu- 
 ation of Atlanta was characterized by a num- 
 ber of interesting incidents, a few of which 
 I will name. 
 
 There were quite a number of Yankee 
 garrisons captured by our troops, and among 
 them the one at Dalton, composed mostly of 
 negro soldiers, about one thousand in num- 
 ber, who had been recently armed and reen- 
 forced by the Yankees. Of course they 
 were commanded by white officers. These 
 negroes declared with great earnestness and 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 229 
 
 feeling when captured tliat the Yankees 
 forced them into service, and when onr troops 
 charged them in their fortifications they of- 
 fered no resistance whatever. They were 
 but too glad to surrender to Southern sol- 
 diers, and thus be relieved of Yankee domi- 
 nation, of which they had already had too 
 much. They turned their guns over to us as 
 quickly as they could, eagerly calling our 
 attention to the fact that they were perfect- 
 ly clean inside, as evidence that they had not 
 been fired off. And indeed there was the 
 complete absence of the smut of burnt pow- 
 der in their new and beautiful Springfield 
 rifles. Only one negro's gun had been fired 
 ofi', which was accidental and did no harm. 
 
 In what we supposed was a feint on Deca- 
 tur, Ala., October 2G-28, our regiment suf- 
 fered a great deal. As we approached this 
 place, which was strongly fortified, our reg- 
 iment was the advance guard of the army, and 
 Companies B and D the advance guard of 
 the regiment. These two companies Avaded 
 Flint River early on the morning of October 
 26, after we had had a dark, rainy, muddy 
 
230 "^^iOME REBEL KELICS 
 
 before-day march, and stood picket beyond it 
 until the pontoons could be put down for the 
 balance of the troops to pass over, and then 
 we were thrown forward to skirmish with 
 the Yankees. They were cavalry and they 
 soon came to view, but scarcely offered us 
 any resistance. By a little strategem we 
 drew them into an ambush which we had 
 formed, and would have effectually ruined 
 them had not about half our guns failed to 
 fire from having been rained on so much after 
 they were loaded. As it was, a number of 
 saddles were emptied, and the coat tails of 
 the Yankess not shot spread straight out be- 
 hind them, as they beat about the hastiest 
 retreat that I had ever witnessed. The scene 
 was actually ludicrous, and we could not but 
 yell them on with hearty bursts of laughter, 
 albeit we felt disappointed that w^e had not 
 brought down the last one of them. 
 
 At this juncture our entire regiment was 
 formed into a skirmish line for the brigade, 
 and approaching very close to the fortifica- 
 tions around Decatur, we w^ere ordered to lie 
 down and await further orders. A battery 
 
FllOM THE SEAT OE WAll. 231 
 
 of our field artillery was planted in our im- 
 mediate rear, and a duel engaged in with the 
 Yankee heavy guns until niglit set in, there 
 being no little sprinkling of musketry in the 
 meanwhile. Our position was an exceedingly 
 exposed one, and we suffered the loss, in 
 killed and wounded, of some of our best men. 
 In my diary I make special mention of ^^ Will- 
 iam Pettus, of my company, as brave a boy 
 as ever fought for freedom," who had his leg 
 fractured by a musket ball; and of "poor 
 Marion Harlan, a Christian man and gallant 
 soldier of Company C," who was instantly 
 killed while in a recumbent position by a 
 solid cannon shot entering his shoulder and 
 passing lengthwise through his body. 
 
 Other casualties occurred at other times 
 and in other commands, though not generally 
 of a very serious nature for war times, until 
 we drew off from Decatur, October 29, and 
 went to Tuscumbia to make arrangements for 
 crossing the Tennessee River. 
 
CHAPTteE XI. 
 
 OF the religious aspects of army life in 
 our command I wish now to speak, 
 having thought best to put this matter apart 
 from other features of the war, of whatever 
 character, whether strictly military or other- 
 wise, and bring it as connectedly to view as 
 possible. To do this in the most available 
 way it is needful that I drop in again with 
 the army at many places already made famil- 
 iar to the reader of these relics, and link on 
 to those events heretofore made known in 
 connection with its movements the others of 
 which I would now speak, of a religious na- 
 ture. 
 
 But can there be religion in the army — a 
 pure form of Christianity among those whose 
 hearts throb with the utmost aversion for 
 their fellows, and whose hands are red with 
 human gore? Do not the scriptures of re- 
 vealed truth give evidence in the negative? 
 
 In such questions as these there may be in- 
 
 (232) 
 
SOME REBEL RELICS. 233 
 
 volved a problem, hard of solution to the 
 entire satisfaction of many good people, but, 
 speaking from the standpoint of a Southern 
 soldier and professed follower of Christ, I 
 can say with perfect sincerity that it did not 
 hinder a conscious experience of grace in my 
 case, nor obstruct me in the performance of 
 religious duties, for me to abhor that spirit of 
 Yankeedom that impelled vast multitudes of 
 armed men, plunderers and murderers, to in- 
 vade the sacred precincts of our home land, 
 and to strike down every one of them that I 
 could in personal combat. 
 
 We fought strictly in self-defense, and 
 could not but despise and destroy a foe to the 
 extent that we were capable of, wdio would 
 leave their homes to come upon us with all 
 their might, to break us down in every w^ay 
 that they could — in person and in property, 
 in State and Church — when we had done 
 nothing to provoke even their displeasure to- 
 ward us, never having wronged them in any 
 w^ay whatever. My language in reference to 
 them is not employed for purposes of harsh- 
 ness, but simply to express, in the integrity 
 
231 '•^^OME KEBEL KELICS 
 
 of my heart and plainness of speech, my 
 abiding and profound convictions of the 
 meaningof tlie Yankee'invasion of the South, 
 based upon evidence undeniable and of lim- 
 itless extent. It is idle twaddle to speak of 
 our secession as being justifiable cause for 
 declaration of war against us and the atroci- 
 ties which w^ere perpetrated upon us for our 
 ruin, Avhen they themselves made secession 
 on our part a necessity. Who does not know 
 that the soldiery who fought us cared noth- 
 ing as to whether or not we withdrew from 
 the JN^orthern states and established a gov- 
 ernment of our own? It is but too plain 
 that motives of a spiteful, mercenary, and 
 murderous nature moved those who had long 
 been our defamers to enlist in an aggressive 
 warfare against us. 
 
 What other attitude could we assume to- 
 ward such a foe as this than the one that we 
 did? And could we not serve God, and at 
 the same time fiercely and violently with- 
 stand the causeless and vindictive invasion 
 to which we were subjected? From the 
 standpoint of those who precipitated and 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 235 
 
 perpetuated with such remorseless vehemeuce 
 the fratricidal war, in which we of the South 
 were compelled to engage, let them auswer 
 for themselves whether or not a genuine form 
 of scriptural godliness is compatible with 
 warfare. Among Southern soldiers there 
 Avas religion, pure and undefiled, and a great 
 deal of it. The manifestations of it were 
 abundant in all parts of our army, as per- 
 fectly competent witnesses attest, and in my 
 own heart the love of God was realized and 
 enjoyed in very great measure. There came 
 to our soldiery seasons of refreshing from 
 the presence of the Lord on many occasions 
 which Avere inexpressibly glorious, and the 
 work of grace moved on while the war 
 lasted. 
 
 All the soldiers of our command were not 
 Christians, to be sure, and some there were 
 Avho had backslidden after they joined the 
 army, but there were many who were de- 
 vout followers of Christ. Among those who 
 were Christians were those who came into 
 the army as such and those who professed 
 religion during the progress of the w^ar. To 
 
236 ''^^OME REBEL RELICS 
 
 me it was always a matter of surprise that a 
 soldier, of all other men, could be satisfied to 
 live in sin; and it was passing strange that 
 one would throw away his religion in the 
 midst of the dangers of warfare. There was 
 nothing in the soldier life to suggest to me 
 the benefit or propriety of being a sinner, 
 but everything to suggest the importance of 
 being a Christian; and as to there being any 
 temptations to pursue a sinful life, it seemed 
 to me that there was as nearly no place for 
 such things in our surroundings as could 
 possibly be the case almost anywhere. 
 " Death was staring us in the face " all the 
 time, a perpetual reminder of the final judg- 
 ment in the presence of God; and we were 
 away from the unholy allurements of society 
 life. There were some drinking and gambling 
 at times among some soldiers, but these were 
 not in such form nor to such extent ^as to 
 carry with them the attractive force of a 
 temptation. Few and uninviting were the 
 forms of sin in the army; while, on the other 
 hand, the incentives to piety were abundant, 
 and the methods of grace Avere alluring. 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAIl. 237 
 
 "VYhcii the companies composing the Thirty- 
 fifth xVlabama Regiment went into the camp of 
 instrnction at La Grange they at once select- 
 ed Rev. Robert A. Wilson, a member of the 
 Tennessee Conference, Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, South, as their chaplain, and he 
 promptly embarked in religious work among 
 them, such as belonged to the duties of his 
 position; so that it may be said that religion 
 and warfare took an even start in this com- 
 mand. The same fact may doubtless be 
 stated with reference to most of the other 
 regiments constituting the Confederate arm}'. 
 And that religion kept pace with the military 
 movements of many commands may also be 
 truthfully said. 
 
 Brother Wilson remained with us as chap- 
 lain until March 10, 1863, when, owing to 
 feeble health, he left us to engage in post and 
 hospital duties. He was in the best sense a 
 faithful servant of God, and did all that Avas 
 possible under the various circumstances that 
 surrounded us to advance the spiritual inter- 
 ests of the soldiers of our command. He 
 was much loved, and in the full confidence 
 
238 '^^^SOME KEBEL llELICS 
 
 of those whom he served in the Lord. He 
 never failed to have daily religious services 
 among us when it could be done, which he 
 conducted himself, or had others to do; 
 preaching as often as opportunity allowed 
 and having prayer meeting services on otlier 
 occasions. He was also the chief instrument 
 in founding a Christian Association and de- 
 veloping plans for its perpetuation while the 
 war lasted, looking to cooperative work on 
 the part of Christians of all denominations, 
 and furnishing an asylum for all who were or 
 desired to become the followers of Christ. 
 It was the uppermost thought in my mind 
 when joining the regiment to call a meeting, 
 at the earliest opportunity, of all the Chris- 
 tians in it, and to propose the organization 
 of such an association; and was proceeding 
 to do so when I learned that Brother Wilson, 
 with Avhom T just then became acquainted, 
 had the matter already under advisement, in 
 connection with others to whom he had pre- 
 sented it. 
 
 To all intents and purposes, so to speak, we 
 had a Christian Association of cooperative 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 239 
 
 functions from the time that we entered full}^ 
 into the Confederate service, but it was not un- 
 til November 27, 1862, that the " Christian As- 
 sociation of the Thirty-fifth Ahibama Regi- 
 ment" w^as formally organized, with Consti- 
 tution and By-laws. This was done while 
 we were in camp at " Mouth of Tippah," 
 Mississippi, and the officers elected were: 
 President, B. M. Faris; Yice-presidents, J. 
 
 E. ]^unn, A. T. Goodloe, Mealer, and 
 
 Garrett; Recording Secretary, R. A. 
 
 Wilson; Assistant Recording Secretary, A. 
 
 F. Evans; Corresponding Secretary, Capt. 
 Taylor. The Constitution and roll of the 
 members fell into the hands of the enemy at 
 Vicksburg after the battle of Baker's Creek. 
 The members consisted of those who were 
 professed Christians and those who were 
 earnestly striving to become such. Regular 
 meetings of tlie Association every Thursday 
 night; prayer meeting every night, and 
 preaching every Sunday — such was the ar- 
 rangement agreed upon in regard to our 
 stated meetings and religious services. In 
 the matter of our religious meetings, strictly 
 
240 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 speaking, we had already been holding them 
 after this manner in the main, but it was 
 thought best that the Association, in its or- 
 ganic capacity, assume the responsibility of, 
 at least, fixing the time for our several reli- 
 gions gatherings. As to special revival serv- 
 ices, we simply engaged in them whenever 
 and wherever we could, and in connection 
 with whomsoever they might be begun or 
 conducted. In our regular prayer meetings 
 we w^ould go from company to company, hav- 
 ing them in one company one night, and 
 in another company the next night, and so 
 on until w^e met with all the companies of 
 the regiment. Sometimes, however, our fa- 
 cilities would be better for holding them at 
 some particular place, say near the center of 
 the regiment, and we would meet there from 
 night to night. Congregations assembled 
 for preaching wherever the best arrange- 
 ments conld be made to accommodate the 
 greatest number of men, and sometimes we 
 could get the nse of a church near which 
 w^e chanced to stop. In the camp, on the 
 march, and along the lines of fortifications 
 
FIIOM THE SEAT OF WAK. 241 
 
 we continued throughout all our campaigns 
 to hold our religious services of one kind or 
 another. 
 
 In prearranging for the organization of the 
 Christian Association, Brother Wilson and I, 
 after having talked the matter over in all its 
 phases and bearings, determined to introduce 
 the subject at the prayer meeting in Com- 
 pany G Tuesday night, JN'ovembcr 25, 1862; 
 and this he did. Between ourselves we 
 prayerfully considered the subject of who 
 ought to be the President of it, and agreed 
 that we would put the name of B. M. Faris 
 in nomination for that position, who was at 
 that time orderly sergeant of Company B, 
 but subsequently one of its lieutenants. 
 Paris was a Presbyterian, while most of us 
 who were forward in religions work were 
 Methodists, but it was our conscientious be- 
 lief that some other than a Methodist should 
 be at the head of the Association; and, be- 
 sides, we had all confidence in Faris meeting 
 fully the obligations of the position. Only 
 the Lord knew what Brother Wilson and I 
 
 were doing in this matter, wherein we were 
 16 
 
242 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 planning for bis glory; and I am sure that 
 we were guided by tbe divine counsel. The 
 proposition to inaugurate a Christian Asso- 
 ciation was favorably received by all present 
 and a committee appointed to draft resolu- 
 tions, a Constitution, etc., and report at our 
 meeting the Thursday night following. The 
 work of the committee was approved unani- 
 mously on the night that they made their re- 
 port, and the organization of the Association 
 was effected in full. The committee consist- 
 ed of E. A. Wilson, A. T. Goodloe, J. W. 
 
 West, B. M. Faris, A. F. Evans, Mea- 
 
 ler, and Garrett. 
 
 We were, according to the Constitution, 
 to elect officers every three months, and at 
 every election Faris was made his ow^i suc- 
 cessor, and so continued to be President of 
 the Association while the war lasted. Hav- 
 ing sustained this relation to it during its en- 
 tire existence, and being in every way w^or- 
 thy of the important and responsible position, 
 it is but right that his name have special 
 mention here. He died in Searcy, Ark., 
 September 9, 1888, and the first notice that 
 
PROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 243 
 
 I saw of his death was embraced in the fol- 
 lowing editoi-ial note in the Christian Ohser- 
 vei' of September 19, 1888: 
 
 " Kev. B. M.Fauis. 
 *'After going to press last week we re- 
 ceived tidings of the death of this trne- 
 hearted servant of God. His death is one of 
 the dispensations of Providence that are 
 liard to nnderstand. He was in the prime of 
 life, endowed with a rare degree of spiritual- 
 ity, together with a vigor of mind and a 
 clearness of perception that are not often 
 combined. He gave promise of great use- 
 fulness in the Master's work on earth. 
 Admitted to the ministry in 1874, he la- 
 bored in Tennessee, serving the Churches at 
 Humboldt and at Somerville effectively for 
 ten or twelve years. He took charge of the 
 Avork in South Frankfort, Ky., only about a 
 year ago, but yielded to the repeated urgency 
 of the people of Searcy, Ark., to the effect 
 that he %vas needed there, and went to that 
 place last spring. It is only a short time 
 after his removal that we are called to mourn 
 his death." 
 
244 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 Upon seeing this notice I at once prepared 
 and had published in tlie Cliristian Observer 
 and Cliristian Advocate the following com- 
 munication : 
 
 "Kev. Bluford M. Faris— His Army 
 Life. 
 
 "My acquaintance with Faris, as I was 
 wont to call him, began at the organization 
 of the Thirty-fifth Regiment, Alabama Vol- 
 unteer Infixntry. Myself a stranger at that 
 time to most of the regiment, I at once 
 sought out the chaplain, Rev. R. A. Wilson, 
 and through him was made acquainted with 
 Sergeant Faris, of Company B. Many very 
 excellent Christian heroes were among those 
 gallant warriors, but Fliris had special gifts 
 and graces which fitted him for more en- 
 larged usefulness perhaps than others of his 
 comrades. 
 
 ^'A Christian Association was soon formed 
 in our regiment, and as by common consent 
 Faris w^as regarded as best suited for Presi- 
 dent, and so was without opposition placed 
 in that position. Afterward, when Gen. 
 ^Abe ' Euford was our brigade commander. 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 24:5 
 
 we organized ' The First Christian Associa- 
 tion of Buford's Brigade, C. S. A.,' into 
 which onr regimental association was merged. 
 In the meanwhile Faris had become so gen- 
 erally and favorably known that he was with 
 one voice made President of the brigade As- 
 sociation. In this position we Avas contin- 
 ued until the close of the war, ever faithfully 
 and efficiently performing his official duties. 
 All along he conducted a number of Bible 
 classes also, with great benefit to himself 
 and to his classes. 
 
 "He was a young man when he enlisted 
 in the army ' for the war,' and just beginning 
 his preparation for the minisby in the Pres- 
 byterian Church. He was strikingly modest, 
 humble, and unobtrusive, being altogether 
 unconscious of his own eminent worth. He 
 was well balanced, steady and constant in 
 his religious character and life, full of zeal 
 and the Holy Ghost. He abounded in good 
 works, and had his heart set on maintaining 
 divine worship among the soldiers, and win- 
 ning his unconverted comrades to Christ. 
 For a long time we were without a chaplain, 
 
24z6 SOME llEBEL IlELICS 
 
 and very often without a preacher of any 
 kind; but day after diiy, when the situation 
 of the army would allow it, he would have us 
 assemble for religious services, whether in 
 camp or in the trenches. It was an everyday 
 business. He never failed in his high pur- 
 poses, nor evaded any responsibility whatev- 
 er. An everyday Christian for everyday work, 
 and for the long pull the world over — such a 
 Christian was my noble friend and yokefel- 
 low in the Lord and comrade in arms for 
 our country's cause. He a Presbyterian and 
 I a Methodist, both laymen then, we met at 
 the cross of our common Master, and only 
 knew each other as brethren in Christ Jesus. 
 Our hearts were blended together in fraternal 
 love, tender and enduring, which death itself 
 cannot sever. Faris, we will love on through- 
 out eternity! 
 
 "Among his many gifts, of which T am in- 
 adequate to do justice, God endowed him 
 with an extraordinary voice, characterized 
 for fullness and mellowness, and his articu- 
 lation w^as superb. In exhortation, in prayer, 
 and in song he was without a peer among 
 
FROM THE SEAT OE WAll. 2^7 
 
 US, as it seemed to me, and yet as artless as 
 a child. When he ' raised the tune,' which 
 we generally had him to do, all could easily 
 join in; and though the singing was neces- 
 sarily loud, as it came forth from assemblies 
 of soldiers accustomed to the battle " yell," 
 one could readily recognize at a distance his 
 sonorous and articulate voice as he carried 
 us onward and upward in the precious serv- 
 ice of song and adoration to our God. 
 
 " His rank in the army Avas first orderly 
 sergeant, and afterward lieutenant. On ev- 
 ery march and in ever}' battle engaged in by 
 his command I think he was on hand. In the 
 military sense as in the religious, he endured 
 hardness as a good soldier, and with remark- 
 able cheerfulness. On the field of battle he 
 was calm, collected, and dauntless. He 
 fought to beat our country's foes, and had 
 the faculty of imparting to others his reso- 
 lute and persistent daring. His comrades 
 Avere made better and braver by his presence 
 amonof them, and no name was honored in all 
 the army more than that of Bluford M. 
 Faris." 
 
248 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 In contemplating the establishment of a 
 Christian Association in our command, those 
 who were the prime movers in inaugurating 
 the enterprise had in mind the two prominent 
 ideas of cooperative work by Christians of 
 various denominations, and of furnishing an 
 asylum, so to speak, for all who were or de- 
 sired to become the followers of Christ. A 
 number of Churches were represented among 
 our soldiery, and it was worth our while to 
 put ourselves in such relations to each other 
 as that we would have a common understand- 
 ing in regard to religious work, and be in a 
 situation to pull together in such work. Be- 
 ing away also from the restraints of Church- 
 membership, it might be possil)le that some 
 would break loose from their religious moor- 
 ing and drift away into sin, the danger of 
 which we believed might be obviated by hav- 
 ing a kind of army Church into whose mem- 
 bership the members of all Churches could 
 come. Furthermore, and not of least impor- 
 tance, was the consideration which related to 
 those Avho might become earnest inquirers 
 after truth — that they might be afforded help 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAIl. 2^9 
 
 in an effective way, and a companionship of 
 kindred spirits into which they could enter 
 with the utmost profit to their souls. 
 
 Our preaching and social religious services 
 were always seasons of grace and refreshing 
 to us from the beginning of our military ca- 
 reer, and great good was doubtless accom- 
 plished by them, but it was not until we were 
 near Davis's Mills, Miss., in September, 1862, 
 that there was a distinctly marked revival 
 meeting. This was not very extensive, how- 
 ever, but exceedingly precious and joyous to 
 many souls. It began simultaneously in the 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama and Seventh Kentucky 
 Regiments, Sunday, September 14, Brother 
 Wilson preaching that morning in the Sev- 
 enth Kentucky, and that night in our regi- 
 ment. Unusual solemnity pervaded the con- 
 gregations at both the services, which made 
 it perfectly obvious that proti-acted and 
 special efforts should be at once engaged in 
 for the conversion of sinners. Fortunately, 
 there was a church close by Avhich we were 
 allowed the use of, and in that we assembled 
 for preaching and other religious services 
 
250 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 from day to day until the following Saturday 
 night, when we were 'called away from the 
 church to prepare rations for the next day, 
 looking to a movement against the enemy 
 that day. Brother Wilson did most of the 
 preaching, and it was in the power and dem- 
 onstration of the Spirit. A number of sin- 
 ners were converted, precisely how many I 
 do not know, and there was a bountiful spirit 
 of rejoicing among the Christians in attend- 
 ance. "Preaching again to-night," I say in 
 my diary of September 18, "and a happy 
 time we had. O how my soul was filled 
 with the fullness of joy ! Thank God for the 
 outpouring of his Spirit." It was high tide 
 with us all through the meeting, but that 
 was an especially good day with us, which 
 we liad begun by an experience and prayer 
 meeting at the church. 
 
 At the Mouth of Tippah, where we organ- 
 ized our Christian Association, there was a 
 decided religious influence manifest at a 
 number of our meetings, though no special 
 revival services were held. It was uniform- 
 ly our custom, however, to make very direct 
 
FltOM THE SEAT OF WAR. 251 
 
 appeals to the imconvertcd members of our 
 congregations to turn away from sin at once 
 and serve God, and they were constantly re- 
 minded in the exhortations that were made 
 to them that they were in imminent peril of 
 their lives every day. Those of us who con- 
 ducted the social religious services from time 
 to time lost no opportunity nor occasion of 
 warning our sinful comrades of the dangers 
 that constantly threatened them, and of pre- 
 senting the blessed Saviour to them as 
 their only refuge and security. And I am 
 sure that during our stay at " Camp Mouth 
 of Tippah " there were many who were so 
 impressed with the importance of becoming 
 Christians that they did in reality begin re- 
 ligious lives; there were, indeed, unmistaka- 
 ble tokens that such was the case. 
 
CHAPTEK XII. 
 
 DUEI^N'G the time that we were at Grena- 
 da, the winter of 1862-63, we had many 
 religious privileges, except for awhile when 
 the weather was very severe, which we en- 
 joyed very much. The Association meet- 
 ings were delightful, and the membership in- 
 creased considerably, the accessions being 
 both those who were professed Christians 
 and those who were earnest inquirers after 
 truth, the two classes who were invited to 
 join. It was a rule of the Association, from 
 its organization, to make a call for members 
 at every meeting, and our hearts were con- 
 stantly made to rejoice at seeing our beloved 
 comi'ades in arms, professors and seekers of 
 religion, identifying themselves with us in 
 a work of so much importance to our own 
 spiritual w^elfare, and of snch value in behalf 
 of others. We had no form of reception of 
 members, only invited them to come forward 
 
 and have their names entered upon the reg- 
 
 (252) 
 
SOME REBEL KELICS. 253 
 
 ister, but their reception in this simple man- 
 ner was always impressive and often exceed- 
 ingly touching. 
 
 By appointment of the Christian Associ- 
 ation we observed while here Friday, De- 
 cember 19, as a day of fasting and prayer 
 ^' for the prosperity of the cause of Christ in 
 our Confederacy and the establishment of 
 our independence;" and an exceedingly in- 
 teresting occasion it was to us. In all our 
 meetings, from first to last, we were careful 
 not to omit praying for our Confederacy, 
 that the Lord would own us as his people, 
 and for the success of our arms in the day of 
 battle; and very earnest w^ere the petitions 
 that we offered at the throne of grace for 
 these blessings to be granted to us, but it 
 was deemed but right that a day be set apart 
 from time to time as one of fasting and 
 prayer in which to make special pleadings 
 with God to dwell in our midst and save us 
 from defeat by our foes. On occasions like 
 those we entered with all heartiness into the 
 service, and the praying was of the most 
 earnest and fervent nature. The destruc- 
 
254 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 tion of the enemy was not asked at any time, 
 but that all their plans might come to 
 naught, and they be put to the necessity of 
 calling off their dogs of war and letting us 
 alone. 
 
 In our capacity as a Christian Association 
 we set apart and observed a number of days, 
 at different intervals, for fasting and prayer 
 for the spread of Christ's kingdom in our 
 armies, and for our independence as a gov- 
 ernment; and we were very careful to ob- 
 serve all thanksgiving and fast days appoint- 
 ed by President Davis. 
 
 Besides the regular preaching in camp by 
 our chaplain while at Grenada, we had the 
 opportunity of attending services frequently 
 at the Methodist Church and hearing a num- 
 ber of very able sermons. Rev. E. M. Mar- 
 vin, D.D., subsequently a bishop in the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, South, preached 
 several times, and so forcibly and touchingly 
 did he present the message of salvation to 
 those who could hear him (the church would 
 not hold all that were anxious to hear him) 
 that many turned from the paths of sin to 
 
PROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 255 
 
 those of righteousness. After preaching by 
 him Sunday night, December 28, 1 say in my 
 diary: "Brother Marvin preached a very 
 touching sermon to-night to a packed house. 
 There is deep interest on the subject of re- 
 ligion among the soldiers. Many men will 
 return to their homes better than when they 
 left them." Dr. Kavanaugh, Eev. F. E. 
 Pitts, and several other ministers, also 
 preached for us, and effectively. 
 
 Sunday, January 11, the sacrament of the 
 Lord's Supper was administered in the 
 church, and it was a season of unusual joy 
 and comfort to our souls; tears flowed down 
 the cheeks of many warriors, and they felt 
 that they were much nearer heaven than 
 when they first believed. 
 
 February 19, 1863, while camping near Ed- 
 wards's Depot, Mississippi, the election of of- 
 ficers of the Christian Association " for the 
 ensuing quarter" took place, with the fol- 
 lowing result: President, B. M. Faris; First 
 Vice President, A. T. Goodloe; Second Vice 
 President, Lieut. Stewart; Third Vice Presi- 
 dent, Lieut. Evans; Fourth Vice President, 
 
256 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 Lieut. Beckham; Recording Secretary, R. A. 
 Wilson; Assistant Ret3ordijig Secretary, H. 
 E. Kellogg; Corresponding Secretary, Capt. 
 Taylor; Librarian, Lieut. Patton. 
 
 1 did not note in every instance, it seems 
 from my diary, the quarterly election of of- 
 ficers of our Christian Association; how- 
 ever, we were often prevented by the exi- 
 gencies of military service from attending to 
 this matter at the designated time, and so it 
 was deferred, it may be^ one or two quarters. 
 
 At Port Hudson, March 18, 1863, Brother 
 Wilson Avas elected an honorary member of 
 the Christian Association, he having left us 
 for post and hospital duty a few days before 
 that time. At this place there was a consid- 
 erable increase in the membership of the As- 
 sociation, and more than ordinary solemnity 
 characterized the congregations at our reli- 
 gious meetings. The work of grace went 
 steadily forward here, as it had been doing 
 indeed all along before this, but a more deci- 
 ded and manifest impetus was given it than 
 was usual at our ordinary stated services, and 
 more distinct evidences of the presence of 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 257 
 
 the Holy Spirit in our midst were clearly to 
 be seen. March 29 I say in my diary : " I 
 believe a revival has already commenced in 
 our midst, and I praise God for it." 
 
 The resignation of our beloved chaplain 
 while here greatly grieved those of us who 
 were trying to uphold the banner of Christ 
 in our command, and caused us much uneasi- 
 ness in regard to the leadership and manage- 
 ment of Christian work thereafter. He had 
 while with us been our chief counselor and 
 prop, and we saw not how we could move 
 forward without his valuable suggestions and 
 help in other ways. "We had indeed leaned 
 upon him more than we were conscious of 
 having done until he left us; which he did 
 with great reluctance, and only because his 
 condition of health required him to do so. 
 We tearfully asked one another what must 
 be done, and determined that at the meeting 
 of the Association March 25 volunteers be 
 called for ^Ho take the lead in conducting 
 our prayer meetings and such other religious 
 services as it is competent for laymen to 
 
 hold." The call having been made, the fol- 
 17 
 
258 SOME KEBEI. RELICS 
 
 lowing volunteers reported for such duties : B. 
 
 M. Faris, A. T. Gooctloe, Taylor, A. F. 
 
 Evans, J. W. West, I. L. Pride, Beck- 
 ham, and Weatherford. This " Social 
 
 Band," as it was named by President Faris 
 when calling for volunteers for the work in- 
 dicated, w^as soon strengthened by others 
 joining it. It was to us all a very great un- 
 dertaking' to embark as leaders in relio'ious 
 services and movements among our comrades, 
 but there were some who found it particu- 
 larly embarrassing to do so. 
 
 Those of us who first volunteered met to- 
 gether by agreement in a secluded spot in 
 the woods Sunday morning, March 29, for 
 prayer and consultation that we might be 
 qualified in all needful measure for the work 
 we had undertaken, and to make such ar- 
 rangements as we could for special revival 
 services in the regiment. In great earnest- 
 ness and humility and faith we implored wis- 
 dom from on high to be imparted to us in 
 this our time of imminent need, and that we 
 might have the baptism of the Holy Spirit 
 upon us, and the sweet tokens of the divine 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAK. 259 
 
 pleasure were with us while we thus prayed 
 together. We felt that the ties of brotherhood 
 bound us closer together than ever before, 
 though there was no lack of love among us 
 theretofore, and we declared our readiuess, the 
 one to the other, to enter upon such Chris- 
 tian labors with renewed zeal as seemed best 
 for the spiritual well-being of our comrades 
 and the glory of God. Our communion with 
 one another and with God was inexpressibly 
 precious, and the experiences into which we 
 entered were of the most comforting and joy- 
 ous nature. To our God, to each other, and 
 to our command we bound ourselves in a 
 covenant wdiich was never broken, to go for- 
 w^ard and continue in the work which, rely- 
 ing upon God, we had nndertaken. What 
 the fruits of this meeting were cannot be 
 known nntil we reach the inheritance of the 
 saints on high, where, I feel sure, every 
 member of that " Social Band " will go. So 
 mote it be! 
 
 There was another meeting April 2, not of 
 the " Social Band,"' but still more touching, 
 in which I was called upon to take part, and 
 
260 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 which is worthy to be placed on record in 
 this connection. Just 'before dinner on this 
 day Capt. Taylor sent word to me that he 
 wanted to see me at his tent. I immediately 
 went, and found him prostrated in an agony 
 of grief, caused by having just learned of the 
 death of his chikl — his only child. With 
 tears and sobbings he made known tome the 
 sorrowful fact, and let me know that he had 
 sent for me to pray with him and give him 
 what comfort I could in his great sorrow. 
 We sought the quiet of the Avoods not far 
 from camp, where we remained about two 
 hours. My heart w^as overrun with sympa- 
 thy for him, and the more so as two children 
 of my own were in the grave; and I pleaded 
 for the presence of the Comforter with him 
 with all the eagerness and faith that I was 
 capable of. Many of the precious promises 
 of the Bible also came to miud, and these 
 were readily grasped by him ns a sure sup- 
 port. Before the meeting closed his grief 
 was turned to gladness, and we returned to 
 camp abounding in the love of God, and more 
 than ever consecrated to his service. 
 
FP.OM THE SEAT OF WAR. 2G1 
 
 After returning from a meeting of the 
 Christian Association the night of March 25, 
 I found tlie negro cooks, teamsters, etc., of 
 our regiment engaged in a prayer meeting in 
 the rear of tlie tent occupied by my mess, 
 which was very interesting to me. I went 
 quietly into tlie tent, not letting them know 
 that I had returned, and lay down. I could 
 easily hear all that they said, and was very 
 much impressed with the earnestness and 
 sincerity of their devotions. They not only 
 prayed for the religious prosperity of com- 
 mand, but also for the success of our arms 
 in the day of battle. They were in slavery, 
 but they preferred not the domination of the 
 enemy in our Southland. 
 
 During our stay at Port Hudson (March 
 3 to April 4, 1863) we had much religious 
 enjoyment, albeit we suffered no little anx- 
 iety for the success of the work in which we 
 were engaged for the Master Avithout the 
 presence and help of a chaplain, and there 
 was unquestionably a distinct advance along 
 the line of personal consecration to the serv- 
 ice of God, and a considerable enlargement 
 
262 st)ME KEI3EL RELICS 
 
 of the borders of Zion. As laymen in the 
 Church we went away from Port Hudson more 
 determined than ever to keep the banner of 
 Christ unfurled in the army while the war 
 lasted, and to carry forward such enterprises 
 as would best promote the religious interests 
 of our fellow-soldiers in our country's cause. 
 Our prayer meetings and Christian Asso- 
 ciation meetings became more and more 
 pleasant and profitable to us, but it is not 
 needful that I speak of them in detail, my 
 purpose being to speak somewhat fully of the 
 occasions of extraordinary religious interest, 
 special revival meetings, etc., in wdiich mem- 
 bers of our command took part. Forest Sta- 
 tion, Miss., was the next place in order where 
 we engaged in a revival series of services, 
 resulting in the end in the conversion of a 
 great many soldiers, and bringing unusual 
 joy to the hearts of all the Christians. After 
 the evacuation of Jackson it will be remem- 
 bered that we fell back to several points on 
 the Southern railroad, Forest Station among 
 the rest. "We reached this place July 29, 
 1863, and left there August 11. 
 
FROM THE SEAT OE AVAIL 2G3 
 
 Very early after our arrival there arraiig'e- 
 ments were made for brigade preaching, 
 tiiere beiD<2: at that time several visitine: 
 preachers along with the army, who, I sup- 
 pose, fell back from their homes as we re- 
 tired. A place convenient to the brigade 
 was selected, and, it being in the woods, the 
 undergrowth was cut away. A good many 
 seats were made with logs and poles, but 
 many of the men sat on the ground, there 
 not being sufficient sitting room for all who 
 attended the services. Elevated scaffolds 
 were built at a number of places around that 
 occupied by the congregation, upon which 
 to build fires for light. The scaffolds were 
 constructed with forks and poles, and a thick 
 layer of dirt placed upon them to protect 
 them against the fires. Immediately in front 
 of the preacher were poles resting in low 
 forks, at which penitents were invited to 
 kneel. We had preaching at this place 
 morning and night, mostly by Eev. Mr. 
 Cooper, of the Cumberland Presbyterian 
 Church, whom I had never seen before. He 
 drew us all to him at once, and secured the 
 
264 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 hearty and active cooperation of the Chris- 
 tians of the commanci. The order of the 
 services, as announced from the stand, was: 
 '' Prayer meeting at 8 o'clock a.m., preaching 
 at 9 o'clock, and preaching at night." 
 
 It is utterly impossible to -express our ap- 
 preciation of such services as these, which 
 were conducted after the manner of revival 
 services where the "' mourner's bench " is 
 recognized. There were many earnest mourn- 
 ers and many glad conversions, and Chris- 
 tians Avere made happy in the Lord. Tlie 
 preaching, the exhorting, the praying, the 
 singing — these were all done with the utmost 
 fervor and directness, and accomplished, by 
 the blessing of God, large and gracious re- 
 sults. 
 
 Much wickedness had been observed in 
 portions of our army, especially in the way 
 of gambling, for some time previous to this 
 meeting, which caused much sadness to those 
 who w^ere working for Christ, but after this 
 I, at least, saw but slight displays of wick- 
 edness of any kind. 
 
 We went from Forest Station to ]N'ewton, 
 
rilOM THE SEAT OF WAK. 265 
 
 at which place we arrived August 12, and 
 w^ent into camp two miles beyond. Here we 
 remained until August 29. The revival went 
 with us, and continued throughout our stay 
 here, increasing from day to day in volume 
 and interest; it was indeed a tremendous re- 
 vival in all the characteristics of an extensive 
 and genuine work of grace. A great many 
 sinners were converted, and the Christians 
 were constantl}^ happy in the love of God. 
 Field and company officers and privates 
 worked and prayed together, or kneeled as 
 penitents together, at our rude altar place. 
 There were many " altar workers," and they 
 were ready at every service, when not kept 
 away by military duties, which was at times 
 the case, to instruct and encourage the 
 mourners, and to pray for their conversion. 
 
 It is beautiful to see people seeking re- 
 ligion under any circumstances, but when 
 we looked upon our soldier comrades coming 
 to Christ we were drawn toward them with 
 cords of resistless tenderness. There were 
 Church members at our meetings who, at 
 home, had been opposed to altar exercises, 
 
266 SOME KEBEL RELICS 
 
 but they broke over all their prejudices, and 
 became exceedingly effective altar workers. 
 One of them who had witnessed the conver- 
 sion of a number of penitents to whom he 
 had talked at one of our night services said 
 to me as we walked back to camp after the 
 benediction: ^' Goodloe, I am afraid I have 
 done wrong to-night, having worked in the 
 altar as I did, contrary to the teachings that 
 I have received in the Church to which I 
 belong. Well, I am sorry if I did wrong, 
 which in my heart I cannot feel that I did;^ 
 but Vvhen I saw those soldier boys begging 
 for mercy at the hands of God, I could not but 
 give them such help as I was capable of; for 
 I knew them, that they were brave and hon- 
 est men. After all that I have heard against 
 the mourners' bench, I must confess that 
 there are no reasonable objections that I can 
 urge against altar exercises." And he worked 
 on with increasing avidity and effectiveness 
 and with much joy to his own soul. 
 
 Ever since my connection Avith the Metho- 
 dist Episcopal Church, South, I had been 
 very fond of the '^ mourners' bench" exer- 
 
FKOM THE SEAT OF WAR. 2(37 
 
 cises, and of course did what I could to 
 help the mourning soldiers to Christ; and I 
 praise God that I have often been permitted 
 to see those with whom I have labored and 
 prayed accept him in faith and love. During 
 our army meetings some of my most delight- 
 ful religious experiences w^ere caused by see- 
 ing those profess religion in whom, in the 
 name of the Lord, I had taken special inter- 
 est. In my diary of August 26 I made a note 
 of the conversion of William Myers wdiile 
 lying in my lap. It w^as at the night service, 
 and the altar place was filled with mourners, 
 Myers among the rest. I was going from 
 one to another on my knees, instructing and 
 encouraging them. When I came to Myers 
 he turned from the altar pole and leaned npon 
 me, and I sat down on the ground so that I 
 could more easily support him. His agony 
 was intense, but brief, and presently he w^as 
 happily converted. Concerning his final ef- 
 forts and conversion I say in my diary: "O 
 how beautiful it is to see the dead struggle 
 into life!" 
 
 During our meeting here at Newton we 
 
268 SOME KEBEL KELICS 
 
 had the sacrament of the Lord's Supper ad- 
 ministered to us at o\n^ preaching place in 
 the woods where our meeting was being hekl, 
 Sunday, August 16, after preaching by 
 Brother Jones, the Methodist pastor former- 
 ly at Canton. It was another one of those 
 occasions of which it is impossible to speak 
 so as to do justice to it; it was lovely be- 
 yond description. I simply say in my diary: 
 " The scene was solemn and sublime." 
 
 Our arrangements for preaching here were 
 about the same that they w^ere at Forest Sta- 
 tion, though perhaps a little more elaborate, 
 and we selected a densely shaded place on 
 a creek some distance from camp. Where 
 the mourners knelt by the altar poles we 
 kept the ground well covered with green 
 twigs cut from the limbs of bushes and trees 
 to protect them from the ground as much as 
 possible. These were made the more neces- 
 sary on account of several rains that fell dur- 
 ing the meeting, and they were renewed 
 from time to time as necessity required. 
 
 We provided ourselves Avith a blowing 
 horn here at the beginning of our meeting, 
 
FKOM THE SEAT OF WAK. 2G9 
 
 and appointed one of the soldiers to blow it 
 as the signal for preaching, and found it a 
 great convenience. My brother-in-law and 
 messmate, W. Pike Cockrill, soon found a 
 smaller and better-shaped horn which he fin- 
 ished np very nicely, inscribing upon it also 
 the name of our Christian Association, and 
 gave' it to ns. This we kept with great care, 
 and nsed it to blow for all religious services, 
 indicating thereby the time and place of 
 the meeting. Its note soon became familiar 
 throughout our entire encampment, and the 
 object for which it was blown understood. 
 It was not only nsed in connection with our 
 stated services, but was also employed to 
 call together congregations for worship when 
 no previous announcement had been made, 
 as when a preacher would come unexpected- 
 ly into camp and wouki consent to preach 
 for us, or when we wanted a called meeting 
 of the Christian Association, or a special 
 prayer meeting, etc. The sound of the horn 
 w^as the invitation to come together for wor- 
 ship at once, and at the place wdiere the horn 
 sounded. AYe put it in the keeping of Faris, 
 
270 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 as President of our Association, and he gen- 
 erally had Pike Cockrill to blow it, which he 
 did admirably. When the w^ar closed Paris 
 took this sacred war relic home with him, 
 but, having left it with some one when he 
 went to Virginia to complete his theological 
 studies, it became misplaced, and he never 
 could find it again. Long after the war end- 
 ed he wanted to put it into my hands for 
 some special reasons, but, to his surprise, it 
 was not where he thought it was. I adver- 
 tised for it several years ago, but have never 
 been able to recover it. I still hope to find 
 it. The finisher of it was my wife's brother, 
 and with these fingers of mine with which I 
 now write I closed his eyes in death at Cul- 
 leoka, Tenn., INIarch 8, 1884. 
 
 The ministers that helped in our K'ewton 
 meetings were Brothers Cooper, Poss, Jones, 
 and Grifiin, of Mississippi; Mclnnis, of N^ew 
 Orleans; and McCutchon, chaplain of the 
 Seventh Kentucky Pegiment. All of them 
 preached the pure gospel with soul-stirring 
 earnestness, and did the listening soldiers in- 
 calculable good, though Brothers Poss and 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 271 
 
 Cooper, both Cumberland Presbyterians, 
 preached oftenest. Brother Jones was with 
 US August 14:-18, and preached a number of 
 times and exceedingly acceptably while 
 with us. So well pleased was our regiment 
 with him that, by a unanimous vote of the 
 Christian Association after he left, and after 
 consultation with Col. Goodwin, he Avas invit- 
 ed to become our chaplain. He took the mat- 
 ter under prayerful consideration, and was 
 anxious to comply with our request, but he 
 was under such obligations elsewhere that 
 he could not serve us. 
 
 With Brother McCutchon we had for 
 some time been well acquainted, and he was 
 dearly loved in our regiment, which he visit- 
 ed right often. The Seventh Kentucky Reg- 
 iment was fortunate in having him for their 
 chaplain, as he was in every way suited for 
 the position. lie adjusted himself to army 
 life as easily as did any private soldier, and 
 had a heart full of love for those whom he 
 served in the gospel. A true man and min- 
 ister he Wcis in every sense; and his preach- 
 ing and advices were always much apprecia- 
 
272 SOME REBEL RELICS. 
 
 tecl and very profitable. He was a member of 
 the Memphis Conferenc'e, Methodist Episco- 
 pal Church, South. 
 
 It Avas not thought best by the preachers 
 conducting these meetings to ofier an oppor- 
 tunity for Church membership to those who 
 were converted, but they were advised to 
 send their names to their home Churches for 
 membership there, and to engage at once in 
 Christian labors in the army. We had many 
 accessions to our Christian Association, as 
 one of the results of the meetings, and of 
 tliose who were not members of our regi- 
 ment as well as those who were; for we 
 opened the doors of it to all soldiers who 
 wished to join it, and could meet the condi- 
 tions of membership. 
 
CHAPTEE XIIL 
 
 FROM N^ewton we went to Morton, where 
 we remained until September 30, camping 
 about two miles southwest of this phice. 
 The visiting preachers who had been so val- 
 uable to us in our religious meetings did not 
 come with us here, but the revival services 
 were continued by Brother McCutchon, the 
 only chaplain then in our brigade. There 
 were two or three licensed preachers, with 
 limited experience, among the soldiers, who 
 rendered him what assistance they could, and 
 the lay workers cooperated freely with him. 
 The brigade preaching continued most of the 
 time that we were at Morton, and the services 
 held were all the more advantageous to us 
 because, in the absence of the ministerial 
 help that we had had, we were put to the ne- 
 cessity of leaning more entirely upon the 
 Lord. Brother McCutchon was a noble 
 
 leader, and did splendid work for the Master, 
 
 18 (273) 
 
274 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 but, after awhile, being' overcome by weari- 
 ness, he was put to the necessity of closing 
 the series of meetings, which were begun at 
 Forest Station nearly two months before. 
 
 When this meeting (which we called bri- 
 gade preaching) closed religious services of 
 one kind and another were held daily in the 
 several regiments of the brigade, thus keep- 
 ing aglow the revival fires which had been 
 kindled so gloriously in our midst. At these 
 regimental meetings, which were sometimes 
 preaching services, though generally prayer 
 and experience meetings, similar methods 
 were employed in conducting them as had 
 characterized our brigade services, and a 
 goodly number of soldiers were converted. 
 
 Altogether, at the bi'igade and regimental 
 services, there were many precious souls 
 brought from nature's darkness into the mar- 
 velous light and liberty of God's people dur- 
 ing our stay at Morton, besides the great 
 comfort and encouragement that was afford- 
 ed the Christian workers. There were also 
 many mourners who, though not making an 
 open profession of religion, gave evidence of 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAK. 275 
 
 having entered upon ne^yness of life in Christ 
 Jesus. 
 
 While here at Morton we received a good 
 supply of Bibles, Testaments, hymn books, 
 and tracts, which had heretofore been or- 
 dered. The need of these we had felt very 
 keenly for some time in carrying forward our 
 religious undertakings, but they could not 
 have reached us at a time that they would 
 have been more appreciated, or that the sol- 
 diers would have been in a better frame of 
 mind to have been profited by them. They 
 came to a multitude of new" converts to the 
 religion of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to 
 many more who were earnest inquirers aft- 
 er the truth, not to speak of the Christian 
 workers who stood in need of an abundant 
 supply of such utensils in performing their 
 labors. To be sure, there were many of us 
 who were never without our pocket Bibles, 
 but there w^ere many others who had none, 
 having lost theirs or worn them out, if they 
 brought them from their homes; but we stood 
 in need of other religious literature besides 
 the Bible, and especially did we have an ur- 
 
276 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 gent need for a good supply of hymn books. 
 What a mighty chorus of voices there was 
 raised in songs of praises to our God by the 
 soldiers when the hymn books w^ere given 
 out in the congregations! 
 
 Canton was our next stopping place, and 
 here we spent most of the winter of 1863-64. 
 To this place the revival went with us, and 
 there abode, having its developments not only 
 in the conversion of many other precious 
 souls to Christ, and much reformation other- 
 wise, but in establishing many new converts 
 and older Christians in the fixed habits of la- 
 borers in the vineyard of the Lord. Our 
 camp w^hile in the vicinity of Canton was 
 two and one-half miles southeast of that 
 place, near a creek, and on very good ground. 
 
 At our daily prayer meetings here we 
 made it a rule to call for mourners, laymen 
 though we were, as we were about to close, 
 and it was almost invariably the case that 
 some came forward. With these we en- 
 gaged in special prayer for a short while, and 
 every now and then some of them were con- 
 verted. 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 277 
 
 On October 9 several visiting preachers 
 came into camp, among them Brothers Cooper 
 and Harrington; and that night the former 
 preached, and we began another series of re- 
 vival services. We had ah-eady prepared lis 
 a brigade preaching place, with larger ac- 
 commodations than those we had theretofore 
 had, and built over it for shade a large bush 
 arbor. All were ready to charge again the 
 '^ citadels of sin" under the leadership of 
 these excellent ministerial brethren, and the 
 first service was an onward movement. 
 
 Brother Harrington preached the next 
 morning, and Brother Cooper the next night. 
 That was Saturday, and we had arranged for 
 Brother Harrington to preach again Sunday 
 morning, and Brother Cooper Sunday night. 
 On Sunday morning, to our surprise. Elder 
 Burns, upon invitation of Gen. Buford, came 
 to preach to us, and we were a little afraid 
 that some unpleasantness might grow out of 
 the unexpected clashing of appointments; 
 but Brother Burns, upon seeing that we had 
 the meeting in hand and had made other ar- 
 rangements, consented readily to our man- 
 
278 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 agement of the meeting, and we arranged for 
 him to preach that afternoon and several 
 times afterward. There was nothing wrong 
 in Gen. Bnford's wanting his friend to preach 
 to his brigade, but we smiled at the thought, 
 and passed around a few pleasantries, that 
 our brave commander should presume to make 
 the appointment of a preacher to conduct re- 
 ligious services, which we of the '^rank and 
 file " had taken in hand. AYe knew, hoAvev- 
 er, that he intended no disrespect to us by 
 making the appointment, and we found his 
 friend to be a very pleasant Christian gentle- 
 man. 
 
 The meeting went on joyfully and prosper- 
 ously, mourners constantly crowding the al- 
 tar place, and souls being converted from 
 time to time. The altar workers were now 
 like trained veterans, and left nothing un- 
 done which they could accomplish to set for- 
 w^ard the s]3iritual interests of those who were 
 crying to God for mercy, ^ot only so, but 
 they urged those who were not seeking relig- 
 ion to begin at once to do so. In the midst of 
 our meeting, while the visiting brethren were 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAK. 279 
 
 with us, we were interrupted by having to go 
 up to Grenada to turn back a Yankee raid, 
 and also to go out in the direction of Living- 
 ston for the same purpose; but these expedi- 
 tions did not cool off the revival fervor at all, 
 and so we went on with our meetings as soon 
 as we returned to camp. We had much to 
 do, to be sure, besides attending religious 
 meetings; but these things we did, and left 
 not the others undone. 
 
 After Brothers Cooper and Harrington left 
 others came to preach for us at times, though 
 the services were more frequently altogether 
 in the hands of laymen, some of Avhom exhib- 
 ited no little preaching ability. Brother Cof- 
 fey came to the brigade about the 1st of 
 I^ovember to act as Chaplain of the Twenty- 
 seventh Alabama Regiment, and a most ex- 
 cellent and faithful minister he was. Broth- 
 er McCutchon, our " old stand-by," was al- 
 ways in labors abundant, but he preferred 
 that we use the visiting preachers as much as 
 possible while their services were available, 
 thus husbanding his strength and resources 
 for occasions when no other help was at hand. 
 
280 sTt:]NfE REBEL HELICS 
 
 On and on, from day to day, we went with 
 our meetings nntil onr .departure from Can- 
 ton. They were always well attended, and 
 although some of them were more interesting 
 than others, they were all seasons of refresh- 
 ing to us. When we had no preacher with 
 ns we conducted the service in the regular 
 order of public worship generally, the leader 
 reading a portion of Scripture and giving 
 such explanation of it as he could, which an- 
 swered in the place of a sermon, unless it 
 was strictly a praj^er meeting that we were 
 holding. All along, also, w^e were very care- 
 ful to remember and observe our Christian 
 Association meetings, which blessed work 
 grew among us constantly in interest and 
 profit. 
 
 At the request of the pastor, I suppose. 
 Brother McCutchon held a meeting at the 
 Methodist Church in Canton, November 15- 
 27, which w^as participated in largely by the 
 soldiers, though by many citizens also. Serv- 
 ices were only held at night, and we 
 arranged our meeting in camp during that 
 time so that we could attend at both places. 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAK. 281 
 
 It was an excellent meeting in every partic- 
 ular, and there were quite a number of con- 
 versions. During the meeting, Sunday, 
 ]N"Gvember 22, the sacrament of the Lord's 
 Supper was administered at the morning 
 service, after preaching by Brother Wheat, 
 an army missionary. It is impossible to 
 convey any idea of our appreciation of the 
 blessed privilege of thus commemorating the 
 sufferings and death of our precious Saviour 
 in the army. Thank God for the opportu- 
 nities that were afforded us for so doing! 
 
 "While at Canton it got to be quite com- 
 mon for soldiers recently converted to be re- 
 ceived by different preachers into the several 
 Churches which they represented, those re- 
 ceiving baptism to whom it had not previ- 
 ously been administered. A large number 
 connected themselves thus with Churches, 
 and their names were sent home, whenever 
 it could be done, to be entered on the 
 Church registers there. 
 
 Faris and I formed several Bible classes 
 while we were here, which we continued to 
 conduct to the close of the war. We had no 
 
282 SOME REBEL llELICS 
 
 commentaries nor other Scripture helps, but 
 we made a very close study of chapter by 
 chapter and verse by verse in an earnest, 
 prayerful manner, and Ave felt that, by the 
 help of the Holy Spirit, we learned much of 
 the "Word of God. "VVe became more and 
 more endeared to it as we engaged thus in 
 the stndy of it, and experienced daily that it 
 was indeed a lamp to our feet and light to 
 our path while passing through the severe 
 ordeals of fratricidal warfare. 
 
 AVe also enlarged our supply of religions 
 literature while here: books, papers, tracts, 
 etc., all of which was '' greedily devoured " 
 by the soldiers at large. We had no fears of 
 religious publications not being read, our 
 only apprehension being that the demand 
 could not be supplied. The harvest which 
 came from this sowing is only known to 
 God, but was abundant, I am sure. 
 
 As the winter began to come on, and the 
 weather became nn certain, we found that we 
 mnst stop our brigade meetings or build a 
 church to hold them in. The latter we did. 
 It was a somewhat rude structure, built of 
 
FllOM THE SEAT OF WAR. 283 
 
 split logs and boards, and having a ground 
 floor covered with straw, but it was suffi- 
 ciently comfortable to answer our purposes, 
 and was unquestionably a potent means of 
 grace to us. I doubt if Solomon loved the 
 house that he built at Jerusalem more than 
 we loved the one that we built at Canton, 
 nor do I suppose that the Lord honored the 
 former with his presence more certainly than 
 he did the latter. From that army house, as 
 also from many other rude fixtures for meet- 
 ing purposes, many souls started to heaven, 
 a sufficient token of the divine pleasure rest- 
 ing upon such preparation as we could make 
 to carry forward the ark of the Lord among 
 soldiers engaged in active warfare. 
 
 Before leaving Canton our Christian As- 
 sociation underwent a change of name and 
 reorganization. It had already virtually be- 
 come a brigade association, others than those 
 of our regiment having joined it, and so it 
 w^as named The First Christimi Association 
 of BuforcVs Brigade. It w^as called " first " 
 because no other brigade association had be- 
 fore this been formed, and it w^as thought 
 
284 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 that others might be he]*eafter. A new Con- 
 stitution was framed, and .under it the reor- 
 £:anization was efiected and officers elected 
 January 6, 1864. 
 
 It had been our custom for some time not 
 only to offer an opportunity for those to join 
 the Association who wished to become mem- 
 bers of it, at the close of our regular meet- 
 ings, but also to call for volunteers to lead 
 in such religious exercises as we conducted 
 in the absence of a preacher, and these fea- 
 tures became permanently attached to our 
 brigade organization. I have preserved a 
 copy of the Constitution framed at Canton, 
 together with the names of many of the mem- 
 bers and those who volunteered to lead in our 
 religious meetings. These I will here put to 
 record. 
 Constitution oe the First Christian 
 Association of Buford's Brigade. 
 
 preamble. 
 "Whereas the undersigned, professed fol- 
 lowers of Christ and earnest inquirers after 
 the truth, cut off as we are from such 
 Church associations as are afforded for the 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 285 
 
 comfort and support of the more peaceful 
 dwellers at home, realizing the want of some 
 organization to assist us in the worship of 
 God, that we may be established in his most 
 holy faith, rooted and grounded in his love, 
 and grow in the grace of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ; and for the purpose of developing 
 and giving higher tone to the moral and re- 
 ligious sentiments of those with whom the 
 fortunes of war associate us, do hereby adopt 
 the following Constitution: 
 
 ARTICLE I. 
 
 Section 1, The name of the association 
 shall be Tlie First Christian Association of 
 BuforcVs Brigade, 
 
 Sec. 2. The stated meetings of this Asso- 
 ciation shall be held every Wednesday night 
 when practicable, and at such other times as 
 the President shall deem necessary to call it 
 together, all such meetings to be opened with 
 reading the Scriptures, singing, and prayer. 
 
 Sec. 3. The officers of this Association 
 shall consist of one President, four Yice Pres- 
 idents, one Recording Secretary, one Assist- 
 
286 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 ant Kecording Secretary, one Corresponding 
 Secretary, and one Librarian, to be elected 
 every three months, and holding their posi- 
 tions until their successors shall be elected. 
 
 Sec. 4, The mode of electing officers shall 
 be by ballot, and no person shall be declared 
 elected unless he receive a majority of all 
 the votes cast. 
 
 Sec. 5. It shall be the duty of the Presi- 
 dent to preside at all meetings of the Asso- 
 ciation, appoint committees, and select suit- 
 able persons to conduct the religious exer- 
 cises of the Association. 
 
 Sec. 6. It shall be the duty of the Yice 
 Presidents to give the President such aid as 
 he may require in the discharge of his du- 
 ties, and to preside in his absence. 
 
 Sec. 7. It shall be the duty of the Record- 
 ing Secretary to keep a faithful record of 
 the Constitution and By-Laws of this Asso- 
 ciation in a book furnished him for that 
 purpose, and he shall record therein also the 
 minutes of each meeting after they shall 
 have been adopted by the Association. 
 
 Sec. 8. At each meeting the Recording 
 
PROM THE SEAT OF WAK. 287 
 
 Secretary shall read the minutes of the last 
 preceding meeting, and the Constitution and 
 By-laws shall be read to the members once 
 every month. 
 
 Sec, 9, It shall be the duty of the Assistant 
 Recording Secretary to assist the Recording 
 Secretary in the discharge of his duties. 
 
 Sec. 10. It shall be the duty of the Corre- 
 sponding Secretary to conduct the corre- 
 spondence of the Association, and preserve 
 files of the same. 
 
 Sec. IL It shall be the duty of the Libra- 
 rian to keep all books and archives of the 
 Association. 
 
 Sec, 12. It shall be the duty of the Presi- 
 dent and Vice Presidents at the close of 
 their terms of office to submit a joint writ- 
 ten report of the progress and true condition 
 of the Association, and make such recom- 
 mendations for its welfare as they may deem 
 proper, which report, if adopted, shall be pre- 
 served in the archives of the Association for 
 future reference. 
 
 ARTICLE II. 
 
 Section 1. N'o person shall be a suitable 
 
288 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 candidate for admission into the Association 
 unless he be a professed follower of Christ 
 or an earnest inquirer after the truth, to be 
 evinced by a pious walk and godly conver- 
 sation. 
 
 Sec. 2, To preserve harmony and good feel- 
 ing, the discussion of, or giving prominence 
 to, what are known as controversial subjects 
 in conducting any of the exercises of the 
 Association shall be carefully avoided. 
 
 ARTICLE III. 
 
 Section 1, "When a member of the Associ- 
 ation shall have been guilty of drunkenness, 
 profane swearing, or other sin, or is wander- 
 ing from the path of duty, it shall be the duty 
 of the President to visit such member and 
 duly admonish him of his fault, and, by kind 
 entreaty, endeavor to persuade him to repent 
 of his evil conduct and retrace his steps. 
 
 Sec, 2, If an erring member has been vis- 
 ited, admonished, and entreated in a proper 
 manner, and he manifests no signs of repent- 
 ance, but persists in his sinful course, it shall 
 be the duty of the President to bring the 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 
 
 289 
 
 case before the Association for trial, which, 
 after investigation, may acquit, reprimand, 
 suspend, or expel, as the case may demand. 
 
 Sec, 3. In the trial of a member the Presi- 
 dent shall preside as judge in the case, and 
 decide points of law and evidence, and see 
 justice done to both the parties in the trial. 
 
 Sec. 4. The President shall appoint a suit- 
 able member to present the evidence and con- 
 duct the case on the part of the Association 
 when it has a member before it for trial. 
 
 Sec, 5, After all the evidence for and 
 against the accused member is introduced, 
 and discussion is closed, a verdict shall be 
 rendered by all the members of the Associa- 
 tion present at the time, and a two-thirds 
 vote shall be required for conviction. 
 
 Professors of Eeligion. 
 
 Name. 
 
 Fails, B. M . . . . 
 Goodloe, A. T. . 
 Lemay, W 
 
 Alclridge, W. H. 
 Pettus, T. J.... 
 Sandlin, J. W. . 
 AVilliams,J. B.. 
 Lewis, W. N . . . 
 
 19 
 
 Rank. 
 
 Co. 
 
 Second Lt. 
 
 B 
 
 First Lt. . . 
 
 D 
 
 Sergeant. . 
 
 H 
 
 Second Lt. 
 
 C 
 
 Corporal . . 
 
 D 
 
 Corporal . . 
 
 C 
 
 Sergeant. . 
 
 i^^ 
 
 Second Lt. 
 
 G 
 
 Regiment. 
 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Tliirty-fif th Alabama. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Thirty -fifth Alabama. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 
290 
 
 SOME llEBEL RELICS 
 
 Name. 
 
 McElea, J. A . . . 
 Hudgins, J. W . . 
 Stewart, S. D . . . 
 
 Patton, J. B 
 
 Moran, J. W 
 
 Mfirtin, J. N 
 
 O'Bryant, W. J. 
 
 Price, J. H 
 
 Nix, B 
 
 Craig, W. ...... 
 
 Penick, J 
 
 AVhitfield, W. G. 
 
 Myers, W 
 
 Eawlmff, J. W.. 
 
 Stout, W. E 
 
 Cameron, R. N . . 
 
 Stanley, E. J 
 
 Peebles, T. ^Y. . . 
 Harman, J. W . . 
 
 King,G.W 
 
 Hargrove, W. T. 
 Roberts, M.Z... 
 
 Williams, J 
 
 McElea, W. H.. 
 Hawks, W. J. . . . 
 Ethridge, K B.. 
 Morris, W. W... 
 Meadows, R. B . . 
 
 Finch, B.E 
 
 Trimble, L. A... 
 Terry, H. M.... 
 Harrison, J. F. . . 
 
 Still, V.B 
 
 McHenry, T. D. 
 
 Sims, J. M 
 
 Piterline,AV.L... 
 Hawruck, J. M. . 
 Johnson, J, F . . . 
 
 Rank. • 
 
 Co. 
 
 T 
 
 Private . . . 
 
 Private . . . 
 
 D 
 
 First Lt . . 
 
 B 
 
 First Lt . . 
 
 I 
 
 Private . . . 
 
 C 
 
 Captain.. . 
 Private . . . 
 
 I 
 
 Corporal. . 
 Private. . . 
 
 A 
 
 c 
 
 Sergeant. . 
 Private. . . 
 
 c 
 
 H 
 
 Sergeant. . 
 
 D 
 
 Private. . . 
 
 H 
 
 Private. . . 
 
 B 
 
 Private. . - 
 
 K 
 
 Private. . . 
 
 B 
 
 Private. . . 
 
 H 
 
 Sergeant . 
 
 B 
 
 Corporal. . 
 Private. . . 
 
 B 
 A 
 
 Sergeant. . 
 Sergeant . . 
 Private. . . 
 
 G 
 D 
 A 
 
 Private. . . 
 
 A 
 
 Private. . . 
 
 F 
 
 Private. . . 
 
 D 
 
 Private. . . 
 
 F 
 
 Private. . . 
 
 G 
 
 Private. . . 
 
 B 
 
 Corporal . 
 Private. . . 
 
 G 
 G 
 
 Private. . . 
 
 G 
 
 Private. . . 
 
 
 Private. . . 
 
 G 
 
 Private. . . 
 
 K 
 
 Private. . . 
 
 B 
 
 Private. . . 
 
 
 Private. . . 
 
 G 
 
 Regiment. 
 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Ninth Arkansas. 
 Ninth Arkansas. 
 Ninth Arkansas. 
 Thirty- fifth Alabama. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Ninth Arkansas. 
 Ninth Arkansas. 
 Ninth Arkansas. 
 Third Kentucky. 
 Ninth Arkansas. 
 Ninth Arkansas. 
 Third Kentucky. 
 Ninth Arkansas. 
 Ninth Arkansas. 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAK. 
 
 291 
 
 Name. 
 
 Hargrove, W. S. 
 
 Pierce, J. M 
 
 West, J. W 
 
 McClellaud,J.M. 
 Laiikford, W . . . 
 
 Stiiisoii, D 
 
 Monroe, S 
 
 Roclielle, J 
 
 Carlock,T.W. .. 
 Baker, Billy .... 
 Phifer,W. L.... 
 Mahon, P. B.... 
 Jones, E. E. P . . 
 
 Nabers, J. H 
 
 Pettus, W. D.... 
 Ponder, J. \V.... 
 
 Lyle, Thos 
 
 Stacy, B. F 
 
 Asbell,A. S 
 
 Smith, E 
 
 Bynum, . . . 
 
 Beal, W. J 
 
 Black, A. D 
 
 Barns, G.AV 
 
 Brown, N. J 
 
 McCone, W. J. . . 
 
 Clark, A. F 
 
 Hall, L. E 
 
 Davidson, J. H . . 
 
 Brinley, . . . 
 
 Ehea, W. J 
 
 Kenny, H. J. . . . 
 Millsaps, E. W.. 
 Hightower, W. A. 
 
 Mitchell, W 
 
 Pennington, E. H. 
 
 Bratton, J 
 
 Black, A. D 
 
 Rank. 
 
 Co 
 
 Private . . . 
 Sergeant . 
 Captain. . . 
 Sergeant . 
 Private . . . 
 Private . . . 
 Private . . . 
 Private . . . 
 First Lt . . 
 Sgt. Major 
 Captain. . . 
 Private . . . 
 Private . . . 
 Private . . . 
 Private . . . 
 Sergeant . 
 Second Lt. 
 Private . . . 
 Private . . . 
 Private . . . 
 First Lt . . 
 Private . . . 
 Private . . . 
 Private . . . 
 Private . . . 
 Private . . . 
 Private . . . 
 Private . . . 
 Private . . . 
 
 Lieut 
 
 Private . . . 
 Private . . . 
 Captain. . . 
 Private . . . 
 Private . . . 
 Private . . . 
 I Private . . . 
 |Lieut 
 
 Regiment. 
 
 G Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 
 C Ninth Arkansas. 
 
 G Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 
 Seventh Kentucky. 
 
 Seventh Kentucky. 
 
 Ninth Arkansas. 
 
 Third Kentucky. 
 G Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 H Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 B Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 G Ninth Arkansas. 
 
 Seventh Kentucky. 
 D Ninth Arkansas. 
 G Ninth Arkansas. 
 D Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 C Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 K Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 
 Seventh Kentucky. 
 
 Seventh Kentucky. 
 
 Fifty-sixth Alabama. 
 
 Third Kentucky. 
 . . iThird Kentucky. 
 D Ninth Arkansas. 
 
 Ninth Arkansas. 
 
 Ninth Arkansas. 
 G Ninth Arkansas. 
 F Ninth Arkansas. 
 
 Fifty-fourth Alabama. 
 
 Fifty-fourth Alabama. 
 
 Fifty-fourth Alabama. 
 C Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 E Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 A Ninth Arkansas. 
 
 Fifty-fourth Alabama. 
 
 Fifty-fifth Alabama. 
 
 Fifty-fifth Alabama. 
 
 G 
 
 Ninth Arkansas. 
 Ninth Arkansas. 
 
292 
 
 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 Name. 
 
 Oclom, E. M. . . . 
 Howard, J. W.. 
 
 Black, J. O 
 
 Kelly, S 
 
 Kice, B. C 
 
 Scriber, E. S... 
 
 Smith, D 
 
 Gilmore, J. B . . 
 
 Fite, J. G 
 
 Olds, W 
 
 Nuun, J. E 
 
 Hammack, J . . . 
 Parker, E. F... 
 Harper, E. H . . . 
 Askew, M. W. . 
 Kellogg, H. E . . 
 Baskin, S. C . . . 
 Tnrrentine, J. J 
 Bennett, W. M. 
 Hutton, J. T . . . 
 Wheeler, E . . . . 
 Fallen, H. C... 
 
 Evans, A. F 
 
 Scott, AV. A.... 
 Crouse, W. D... 
 
 Howard, . . 
 
 Bennard, J. S. . 
 Higgins, W. H. 
 Beckham, W. M 
 Livino'ston, 
 
 Rank. Co. 
 
 Private . . . 
 Private . . . 
 Private . . . 
 Private . . . 
 Private . . . 
 Private . . . 
 Private . . . 
 Private . . . 
 Sergeant. . 
 Private . . . 
 Fifth S'g't. 
 Corporal . 
 Private . . . 
 Private . . . 
 Private . . . 
 Third Lt.. 
 Corporal . 
 First Lt . . 
 Private . . . 
 Private . . . 
 Corporal . 
 First Lt . . 
 First Lt . . 
 Private . . . 
 Private . . . 
 Private . . . 
 Private . . . 
 Private . . . 
 Second Lt. 
 
 G 
 
 Regiment. 
 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Ninth Arkansas. 
 Fifty-fourth Alabama . 
 Fifty-fourth Alabama. 
 Ninth Arkansas. 
 Ninth Arkansas. 
 Fifty-fifth Alabama. 
 Fifty-fourth Alabama. 
 Ninth Arkansas. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Ninth Arkansas. 
 Ninth Arkansas. 
 Ninth Arkansas. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Ninth Arkansas. 
 Fifty-fourth Alabama. 
 Ninth Arkansas. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Ninth Arkansas. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Fifty-fourth Alabama. 
 Fifty-fourth Alabama. 
 Ninth Arkansas. 
 Fifty-fourth Alabama. 
 Fifty-fourth Alabama. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 Fifty-fourth Alabama. 
 
 Seekers of ! 
 
 EIeligion. 
 
 Wright, P. W... 
 
 Sergeant . 
 
 I 
 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama 
 
 Crutcher, A. B.. 
 
 Second Lt. 
 
 D 
 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 
 Brown, J. E 
 
 Private . . . 
 
 B 
 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 
 Hayney, AV. I... 
 
 Corporal . 
 
 H 
 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 
 Colbert, G. G... 
 
 Private . . . 
 
 G 
 
 Ninth Arkansas. 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF AVAll. 
 
 293 
 
 Name. 
 
 Rank. 
 
 Co. 
 
 Regiinent. 
 
 Cooper, S. D. . . . 
 
 Private . . . 
 
 Third Kentucky. 
 
 Martin, J.L 
 
 Private . . . 
 
 D 
 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 
 Meadows, T. H. . 
 
 Private . . . 
 
 G 
 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 
 Posey, J. M 
 
 Private . . . 
 
 A 
 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 
 CargiU, E. A. . . . 
 
 Private . . . 
 
 
 Third Kentucky. 
 
 Beavers, W. C . . 
 
 Private . . . 
 
 
 Twenty-seventh Ala. 
 
 Befford, J. P . . . . 
 
 Private . . . 
 
 . 
 
 Fifty-fourth Alabama. 
 
 Jones, W 
 
 Private . . . 
 
 G 
 
 Ninth Arkansas. 
 
 Moss, J. C 
 
 Private . . . 
 
 A 
 
 Ninth Arkansas. 
 
 Yount, D. C... 
 
 Private . . . 
 
 K 
 
 Ninth Arkansas. 
 
 Morris, Z.T 
 
 Private . . . 
 
 
 Ninth Arkansas. 
 
 Haws, J.N 
 
 Private . . . 
 
 
 Fifty-fourth Alabama. 
 
 Chapman, L. P . . 
 
 Private . . . 
 
 
 Twenty-seventh Ala. 
 
 Bates, D. B 
 
 Private . . . 
 
 
 Ninth Arkansas. 
 
 AVilburu, E. M.. 
 
 Private . . . 
 
 
 Fifty-fifth Alabama. 
 
 Wills J 
 
 Private . . . 
 Private. . . 
 
 
 Ninth Arkansas. 
 
 Flynn, J. F 
 
 Robertson, N. T. 
 
 Fifty -fourth Alabama. 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 
 Private. . . 
 
 D 
 
 Friend, D. B.... 
 
 Private. . . 
 
 B 
 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 
 Mosely, A. W... 
 
 Private. . . 
 
 B 
 
 Thirty-fifth Alabama. 
 
 The officers elected at the time of the re- 
 organization were: President, B. M. Faris; 
 First Yice President, R. W. Millsaps; Sec- 
 ond Vice President, J. AY. West; Third Yice 
 President, A. F. Evans; Fourth Vice Presi- 
 dent, J. E. INunn; Recording Secretary, W. 
 L. Phifer; Assistant Recording Secretary, 
 H. E. Kellogg; Corresponding Secretary, A. 
 T. Goodloe; Librarian, W. G. Whitfield. 
 
 The following is a list of those wdio volun- 
 
294 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 leered, while at Canton, to conduct divine 
 worship at our various religious meetings in 
 the absence of a minister of the gospel: B. 
 
 M. Faris, A. T. Goodloe, A. F. Clark, 
 
 Livingston, J. M. Pearce, E. M. Odom, J. W. 
 West, J. E. Nunn, H. M. Terry, :i^. B. Eth- 
 ridge, R. F. Parker, J. F. Harrison, L. E. 
 Hall, J. I^. Sandlin, J. Hammock, L. A. 
 Terry, S. Skelley, W. Myers, W. W. Morris, 
 A. F. Evans, J. H. Davidson, W. G. Whit- 
 field, W. T. Hargrove. 
 
 My two Bible Classes, organized in our 
 regiment, were: 
 
 Bible Class JVo. L — James L. Martin, Wil- 
 liam D. Pettus, A. B. Crutcher, H. E. Kellogg, 
 J. JSr. Martin, John A. Hurn, Samuel P. Lewis, 
 William G. Whitfield, W. Pike Cockrill, M. 
 K. McCarty, T. J. IS^ale, W. J. Thomason, B. 
 Patterson, D. M. Allen, H. H. Thompson, 
 Abe H. Huddleston, B. F. Camper, J. M. 
 Winfrey, B. F. Wilmore, F. Y. Johnson, 
 Samuel G. Peete, Stephen Giles, W. M. Kin- 
 ney, E. M. Odom, J. E. JSTunn, Y. P. IS'ew- 
 man, Robert E. Wiggins. 
 
 Bible Class JSTo, 2.— J. M. Gray, R. C. 
 
FKOM TilE SEAT OF WAU. 295 
 
 Hafley, R. B. Meadows, J. J. AVilliams, D. 
 K. Barksdale, J. S. Starkey, W. J. Ponder, 
 J. D. Mitchell, W. II. Foote, W. V. Al- 
 dridgc, M. AY. Askew, M. S. Darnel, J. W. 
 West, J. W. Sandlin, J. W. Leniay, W. 
 Myers. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE roll of members of the Christian As- 
 sociation which I preserved is the one 
 that was made ont at Canton when the regi- 
 mental Avas merged into the brigade Associa- 
 tion, and does not embrace the names of for- 
 mer members, except snch as were present 
 Avhen the change was made. Many of the 
 old members wei*e not with the regiment 
 then, some having fallen in battle, or been 
 disabled by wonnds and sickness, for dnty; 
 while there were those who were off on a fur- 
 longh, and others Avho had transferred to 
 other commands. Xor is the list of volun- 
 teers to lead in our religious meetings a com- 
 plete one, so far as relates to some who had 
 previous to the reorganization been active 
 workers, but were not present then to have 
 their names reentered. How many members 
 there were in our Association from first to 
 
 last, and how many engaged to conduct wor- 
 (296) 
 
SOME llEKEL llELICS. 297 
 
 ship, cannot with certainty be stated; l)ut the 
 lists, especially the roll of members, which I 
 have given could be much lengthened if we 
 could gather up the names of those who were 
 our comrades in the work and worship of 
 Christ. 
 
 We were never troubled with denomina- 
 tionalism to any serious extent at any time, 
 in connection with our religious work, but a 
 preacher was with us a short while at Can- 
 ton who, many of us feared, would give us 
 trouble in this direction, as he exhibited a 
 decided disposition to magnify the peculiar 
 dogmas of his Church. There were no divis- 
 ions created among us, however. Some- 
 times in social conversation we would speak 
 of the lines of demarcation between the 
 Churches, but never in a spirit of contro- 
 versy. It was generally done to gain informa- 
 tion, or for some other innocent purpose. In 
 connection with this matter a pleasant inci- 
 dent occurred in my hut at Canton. Evans, 
 Faris, AVhitfield, and I were in conversation. 
 Evans was a Cumberhxnd Presbyterian; Far- 
 is, a Presbyterian; Whitfield, a Baptist; and 
 
298 SOME KEBEL KELICS 
 
 I, a Methodist. Evans, apologetically, intro- 
 duced the subject of falling from grace, for 
 the purpose of ascertaining what scripture 
 and argument supported each one of us in 
 the positions Avhich we held. Of course w^e 
 made him speak first; and he told us why he 
 believed apostasy impossible. Whitfield spoke 
 next, and expressed himself about as Evans 
 did. Paris, always modest, insisted that he 
 be the last speaker, and so it was now my 
 time to give a reason for my faith in regard 
 to this dogma; but, instead of doing so, I 
 moved that we use all diligence to make our 
 calling and election sure, that we labor in the 
 vineyard of the Lord with ever increasing 
 earnestness, and that we make no effort to 
 lose our religion in order to test the possibil- 
 ity of such a thing. Faris seconded the mo- 
 ton with a gusto, and it was unanimously 
 carried in the same style. 
 
 Although the visiting preachers who came 
 at times into camp did us much good, w^e felt 
 constantly the need of a chaplain to abide in 
 our midst, take the general oversight, at 
 least of our meetings, and perform various 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 299 
 
 pastoral functions among the soldiers. "We 
 were constantly on the lookout for some one 
 suited to the position, but could never get a 
 successor to our dear Brother Wilson. ]N^o- 
 vember 14, 1863, I wrote to the Southern 
 Christian Advocate on this subject in part, 
 and as a relic of those days, I will here give 
 the communication in full. 
 
 "From Gen^. Buford's Brigade. 
 
 ''Mr, Editor: I have not been as prompt 
 as I ought to have been in returning thanks 
 for the several packages of Advocates that I 
 have lately received for distribution in this 
 brigade. It is a fact loug since demonstra- 
 ted that religious newspapers are read with 
 more avidity by soldiers than any other form 
 or character of reading matter, though in 
 this brigade at present, there is an almost 
 universal thirst for religious reading in what- 
 ever form it can be obtained. We have pro- 
 cured a small library for our Christian Asso- 
 ciation, and the books are anxiously sought 
 and read by both saint and sinner. 
 
 "A revival of religion commenced in this 
 
300 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 brigade the early part of August, and by the 
 grace of God it still continues with increas- 
 ing interest. After a protracted meeting of 
 several weeks, the visiting preachers all left, 
 having remained as long as they could with 
 us. Being filled with the love of God, and 
 feeling deep anxiety for the success of his 
 cause among our fellow-sokliers, a few of us 
 began a prayer meeting, which we held every 
 night b}^ the light of pine torches placed on 
 scaffolds. In a short while the prayer meet- 
 ing became a brigade institution. ]N^ow, 
 Avhenever we move the first thing that is at- 
 tended to when we stop is to " fix up a meet- 
 ing place," and it would do your heart good 
 to see the number of volunteers we have for 
 this kind of work. Here w^e have a capa- 
 cious arbor and seats enough under it to ac- 
 commodate the large congregations that as- 
 semble almost every night. !Now and then 
 a minister of the gospel comes along and 
 preaches to us, and they invariably express 
 their gratification at having such large and 
 attentive audiences. I wish I were able to 
 inform you of the number of conversions 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 301 
 
 that have taken place. The more noticeable 
 feature connected with this revival is the 
 great moral revolution that has taken place 
 in our brigade, there being no gambling 
 scenes now witnessed, such as were once 
 seen in some places. There are two chap- 
 lains in the brigade (composed now of nine 
 regiments), and it has so happened here that 
 the two regiments to which they belong are 
 camped so far off from our meeting place 
 that the men cannot conveniently attend the 
 brigade meetings; and the chaplains, feeling 
 that they owe their first duties to their re- 
 spective regiments, do not come often to 
 preach to us; but Brother McCutchon, of 
 the Seventh Kentucky Regiment, comes 
 over as often as he can get off from his men 
 without causing them to grumble at him. 
 lie is the most faithful laborer I have ever 
 seen in the army, and it is, to a great extent, 
 due to his labors that the reformation has 
 taken place in our brigade. He has the con- 
 fidence and esteem of every man, and when- 
 ever it is announced that ' Brother Mc' is 
 going to preach to us the ' boys ' come 
 
302 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 flocking to hear him. O for a few more 
 such men in this department! 
 
 " We have been trying to get a chaplain 
 for onr regiment (Thirty-fifth Alabama), but 
 can find no man qualified for the position 
 who will accept it. We want a man of deep 
 piety, hard sense, not easily off*ended, that 
 can sleep on the ground, and eat blue beef 
 and corn bread. 
 
 "I am convinced that the ministers of our 
 Church are not all doing their whole duty in 
 this war. Claiming to be peculiarly identi- 
 fied with the South, no Southern Methodist 
 preacher ought to shrink from any hardship 
 and privation in our war for Southern inde- 
 pendence. The laAV allows preachers the 
 privilege of performing clerical duties 
 wherever their inclinations may lead them, 
 and I am sorry to say that the inclinations 
 of some are leading them to places of ease 
 and comfort. The harvest here is ripe and 
 abundant, but the laborers are few. A few 
 faithful laborers could enter the w^ork and 
 have scores of souls for their hire. I must 
 not neglect to mention the names of Broth- 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAK. 303 
 
 ers Koss, Cooper, Jones, Davis, and McClel- 
 land, who labored with great effect at the 
 commencement of this remarkable revival; 
 also Brothers Mclnnis, Griffin, Burns, Har- 
 rington, Ward, Coffey, and Lee, who have 
 paid ns passing visits, and pointed sinners to 
 the ' Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin 
 of the w^orld. ' " 
 
 I wrote wiiat were then my convictions 
 in regard to more of our preachers entering 
 the army as chaplains, though I possibly did 
 not have u\ mind the fact that many of them 
 were in the fighting department, and that 
 the home folks stood in greater need of their 
 services, perhaps, than we did. The publi- 
 cation of this communication was the occa- 
 sion of many letters of inquiry from the 
 preachers being written to me, but the way 
 seemed not to be open to any of them to fill 
 the vacancy in our regiment. 
 
 Our first stopping place after we left 
 Canton was Demopolis, Ala., where w^e 
 were in camp a short while in February, 
 1864. Here our daily religious services were 
 altogether delightful, though there were no 
 
304: SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 special revival efforts put forth, albeit the 
 revival fires were still' burning brightly in 
 our hearts and in our midst. At the meeting 
 of the Christian Association here I had the 
 pleasure of reading communications to us 
 from Bishop Paine and Kev. Thomas O. 
 Summers, D.D., of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, South, commending us for our la- 
 bors in Christ Jesus, and encouraging us to 
 still abound therein. These letters were as 
 cordial to our souls, and with a rising vote 
 we unanimously and heartily thanked the 
 authors for writing them. 
 
 'Near Newburg, jN'orth Alabama, the 
 Twenty-seventh and Thirty-fifth Alabama 
 Regiments camped April 1-10, 186i, and 
 here we had some very precious meetings in 
 a church close by. Brothers F. S. Petway 
 and J. D. Barbee preached several times 
 here for us acceptably and effectively, be- 
 sides other religious services that we held in 
 the church. The work of grace moved on, 
 though there are no conversions at this place 
 noted in my diary. 
 
 These two regiments were at Courtland 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. 305 
 
 April 16-27, and here Ave had daily services 
 in the churcli, having the ministrations of 
 Kevs. Joseph White and Felix K. Hill, of 
 tlie Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and 
 Coffey, of the Cumberland Presbyterian 
 Church. The meeting was characterized by 
 great religious fervor and revival power. 
 Many penitents were at the altar of prayer, 
 and nearly twenty souls were converted. 
 The tide of rejoicing ran high, and our re- 
 ligious gladness was unrestrained. In the 
 midst of the meeting, April 27, we received 
 marching orders, and left at noon. I say in 
 my diary : " We part with the good people 
 of Courtland with many tears." 
 
 While our army was on the '' Kennesaw 
 line " in Georgia in the summer of 1864, 
 though in the trenches pretty much all the 
 time, we managed to find frequent opportu- 
 nities for assembling for divine worship, 
 though generally the enemy, from a distance, 
 would be firing at us with their long-range 
 cannons and rifles. We would hear the 
 noise of their passing shot and shell, but 
 none of them ever fell among us while we 
 
 20 
 
306 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 were engaged in worship. They were gen- 
 erally prayer meetings that we had while 
 here, though occasionally a minister would 
 drop in with us and preach for us. Rev. 
 Robert A. "Wilson, our old chaplain, sur- 
 prised and delighted us with a visit July 1, 
 2, and preached to large and attentive au- 
 diences both those days. He would have 
 remained longer had not orders reached us, 
 the last evening he was with us, to be ready 
 to move at a moment's notice. His pres- 
 ence gladdened all our hearts, and he ex- 
 pressed great joy at seeing the religious in- 
 terest, which he had formerly done so much 
 to promote, still being actively maintained 
 in our command. 
 
 After leaving Kennesaw we made a brief 
 stand north of the Chattahoochee River, and 
 then crossed over this stream to a strong po- 
 sition " in front of Atlanta." Before settling 
 down in this position we lingered for awhile 
 above it, there seeming to be an imminent 
 probability of an open field engagement with 
 the enemy. During this interval, so to 
 speak, our regiment was close to the Forty- 
 
FROM THE SEAT OP WAR. 307 
 
 ninth Alabama, in which a meeting was con- 
 ducted by a preacher named Ilullet, of the 
 Baptist Church, I think. All who could 
 from our regiment attended these services, 
 which were characterized by convicting and 
 converting grace. There were quite a num- 
 ber of conversions and accessions to the 
 Church; and although these men got religion 
 under fire, so to speak, they nevertheless 
 gave sure evidence that it w as the '^ old time 
 religion " that they had. 
 
 It w^ill be remembered that we w^ere in 
 those days in the midst of as active military 
 operations as Gen. Sherman with his 100,000 
 invaders could make them, as onward he 
 constantly came, bending all his energies 
 and using his mightiest efforts to overwhelm 
 our gallant, resisting force of less than half 
 the number of men. It was incessant war- 
 fare in its most violent and gigantic forms 
 iu which we were then engaged, but the 
 worship of God was maintained in one form 
 or another with unabating constancy and 
 zeal. As I look, at this remote day from 
 those trying and bloody times, into my diary 
 
308 SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 my heart is greatly touched with the notes 
 that I then made, and I feel like praising 
 God in loftiest strains for the blessed privi- 
 leges he then afforded us of honoring his 
 name and laboring for the salvation of our 
 fellow-soldiers, and for the limitless bene- 
 dictions which were bestowed upon us from 
 on high. While persistently confronting 
 the foes of our country, we with none the 
 less determination withstood, by divine 
 grace, the encroachment of the adversary of 
 souls. In this connection I will here give 
 a few personal items from my army diary: 
 
 Sunday, July 17, was " clear and pleas- 
 ant." "In the morning I met and heard 
 my Bible class, after which I attended 
 preaching in the Forty-ninth Alabama Reg- 
 iment by Brother Ilullet. In the afternoon 
 we had a good prayer meeting in our regi- 
 ment conducted by Lieut. Evans. At night 
 I went to preaching again in the Forty- 
 ninth Alabama Regiment, and witnessed the 
 reception of several men into the Church. 
 The Lord is greatly blessing us." 
 
 "July 20. Generally clear. This morn- 
 
FllOM THE SEAT OF WAK. 309 
 
 ing I met my Bible class as usual, and liad 
 a good time studying the Scriptures. At 12 
 o'clock we are called to ' attention/ move 
 some distance to the right, and then go for- 
 ward into battle — the battle of Peach Tree 
 Creek." 
 
 " July 28. Clear and warm. We have 
 been prevented by heavy fatigue and picket 
 duty for several days from attending to re- 
 ligious services in the regiment. I heard 
 my Bible class this morning, which was an 
 interesting and profitable occasion to us all. 
 At noon we move to the left where a battle 
 was begun, to support the front line of at- 
 tack, and are subjected to heavy fire, losing 
 several of our men. We remain on the field 
 till midnight, bringing ofP the wounded 
 from betw^een our lines and those of the en- 
 emy, and then move back to a new position 
 on the left." 
 
 Had I fallen in either one of these battles, 
 I would have gone from the delightful study 
 of God's most precious word with my dear 
 comrades in arms into his immediate and 
 blissful presence on high; and it is joyful 
 
310 SOME KEBEL KELIOS 
 
 to my soul to-day to contemplate the fact 
 that I was thus engaged on the eve of battle, 
 albeit I knew not that the deadly strife 
 would the same day set in as the sun began 
 to lean westward. "Be ye therefore ready 
 also; for the Son of man cometh at an hour 
 when ye think not." 
 
 Several new positions were taken the last 
 days of July and early in August to defeat, 
 as far as possible, Sherman's flanking move- 
 ments, but each day we had preaching and 
 prayer meeting and Bible studies. August 
 10-17 the revival fires burned exceedingly 
 brightly; large numbers of penitents sought 
 religion at our rude altars of prayer, most of 
 whom were converted, and Christians ex- 
 ulted in the Lord with ever freshening joys. 
 Speaking of myself, I say in my diary of 
 August 16: "My soul is greatly blessed." 
 In this series of services we had the minis- 
 trations of Revs. Coffey, Cooper, Frazier, 
 Davis, S. M. Cherry, Given, and King. 
 
 After Hood evacuated Atlanta and began 
 his self-destructive Tennessee campaign, no 
 opportunities were afforded for revival meet- 
 
FROM THE SEAT OF WAK. 311 
 
 iiigs until the few fragments that were left 
 of his army were in North Carolina, though 
 the prayer meetings were held from time to 
 time as our situation would allow. In the 
 latter part of March, 1865, there was a de- 
 cided, though not very general revival meet- 
 ing in camp. Quite a number of mourners 
 were at the altar, and there were several 
 conversions. This is the last revival that 
 I noted in my diary, and the last one with 
 which I was connected. Then the surren- 
 der was virtually at hand. 
 
 Verily there is such a thing as religion 
 among soldiers who go to war in defense of 
 such principles as those for which we 
 fought ! 
 
 I close the record of these relics at 10 
 o'clock, Friday morning. May 6, 1892, hav- 
 ing gathered them together during the leis- 
 ure moments that I have had the last three 
 and a half months, and those principles which 
 moved me to take up arms in their defense 
 over thirty years ago, are as dear to me to- 
 day as they were then; the men, also, with 
 whom I withstood Lincoln's invading col- 
 
312 SOME KBBEL RELICS 
 
 niniis have my boundless love and admira- 
 tion, except such as have made, since then, 
 shipwreck of their principles, and gone into 
 the camp of Southern haters. The cause for 
 which we contended was lost, which we all 
 candidly confess, but never for one moment 
 since our final defeat have I felt the slightest 
 inclination to change my views on the issues 
 which culminated in the war; and, for the 
 sake of my old comrades, I would never let 
 it be known if I were really to honestly un- 
 dergo a change of mind with reference to 
 these matters. 
 
 Concerning the war, my only regret is that 
 I was not a more valiant and laborious sol- 
 dier than I was, and that I had not the priv- 
 ilege of being with my regiment in every 
 battle that they helped to fight. I was gen- 
 erally with my men in these scenes of blood 
 and carnage, but was detained in Yicksburg 
 in charge of a sick camp when they went to 
 Baton Rouge, and was made Adjutant of the 
 Posts at Cherokee and Barton, under Col. 
 Mc Alexander, by Gen. Hood as he was about 
 to cross the Tennessee River on his way to 
 
FKOM THE SEAT OF WAR. 313 
 
 !N"ashville. These two expeditions, in the 
 providence of God, I missed, though I had 
 no thought that such would be the case un- 
 til, on their very eve, orders came to me from 
 headquarters detaining me for these unex- 
 pected duties. The soldier whom, of all oth- 
 ers, I most highly regard and honor, is the 
 one who, with gun in hand, answered at ev- 
 ery roll call of his company, marched on ev- 
 ery march, did fatigue duty at every turn, 
 and fought in every battle. Well done, good 
 and faithful soldier! 
 
 There lives not to-day an ex-Confederate 
 soldier, whatever may now be his manner of 
 life, that has not my most respectful regards 
 and affection if he but still maintains his 
 devotion to the freedom for which he bared 
 his breast to Yankee bullets during the dark 
 days of 1861-1865. If there are any who 
 are now leading immoral or unrighteous 
 lives, or who are engaged in degrading pur- 
 suits, I am nevertheless interested in them 
 for what tho}^ have done and for the South- 
 ernism that abides in their hearts; and I hold 
 myself ever in readiness now, as I did when 
 
314: SOME REBEL RELICS 
 
 we marched, bivouacked, and fought together 
 under the banners of ouf short-lived, but glo- 
 rious Confederacy, to pray for them and lend 
 them a helping hand to Christ and lives of 
 piety. 
 
 Finallv, let it ever be borne in mind that 
 the secession of the Southern States was, on 
 their part, made a necessity by the threaten- 
 ing attitude toward them of the dominant 
 party of the I^orth, and that we were in no 
 sense responsible for the war being begun. 
 Abraham Lincoln, the chosen leader of the 
 South-hating Abolition party, and acciden- 
 tally made President by a minority of the vo- 
 ters of the United States, advertised his bel- 
 ligerent longings in his inaugural address. 
 Soon afterward he exhibited his bloodthirsty 
 propensity by arranging to reenforce Fort 
 Sumter, and then, failing in this undertaking, 
 calling for seventy-five thousand men to in- 
 vade and subjugate the South. Thus did he, 
 by his own overt act of violence, bring on the 
 war; and at a time, too, when, through Mr. 
 Seward, his Secretary of State, he was giving 
 assurance to Justice Campbell that Fort 
 
 ^ KD-94L 
 
FllOM THE SEAT OF WAK. 315 
 
 Sumter would not only not be reenforced, 
 but that it would be evacuated at a very early 
 day — right away. 
 
 Peace Commissioners from the South, and 
 conservative patriots from IN^orth and South 
 were urging upon him a pacific policy, but 
 their counsels were as naught to him, so bent 
 was he upon crushing by force of arms the 
 people of the South who regarded his elec- 
 tion as a menace to their constitutional liber- 
 ties. 
 
 As to the question of state sovereignty, 
 suppose that we were mistaken in our views 
 of it, which is by no means admitted, was it 
 worth all the desolation and suffering and 
 carnage that were involved in the war which 
 he precipitated to establish a different the- 
 ory? 
 
 The End. 
 
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