Project Gutenberg's Life in Dixie during the War, by Mary A. H. Gay This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: Life in Dixie during the War 1861-1862-1863-1864-1865 Author: Mary A. H. Gay Release Date: December 4, 2012 [EBook #41548] Language: English Character set encoding: UTF-8 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIFE IN DIXIE DURING THE WAR *** Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive.) LIFE IN DIXIE DURING THE WAR. 1861-1862-1863-1864-1865. MARY A. H. GAY. THE THIRD EDITION. (ENLARGED.) ATLANTA, GA: CHARLES P. BYRD. 1897. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1897, By Mary A. H. Gay, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. CONTENTS. PAGE. Introductory Remarks 9 Chapter I. — The Magnolia Cadets 17 Chapter II. — The War Record of DeKalb County 22 Chapter III. — Labors of Love—Musical—Decatur 36 Chapter IV. — Labors of Love—Knitting and Sewing, and Writing Letters to “Our Soldiers” 42 Chapter V. — The Third Maryland Artillery—Some Old Songs 48 Chapter VI. — A Daring and Unique Chase—The Capture and Re-capture of the Railroad Engine, “The General” 52 Chapter VII. — Coming Home from Camp Chase—The Faithful Servant’s Gift —A Glimpse of Confederate Braves 58 Chapter VIII. — Some Social Features—Morgan’s Men Rendezvous at Decatur —Waddell’s Artillery—Visits from the Texans—Surgeon Haynie and His Song 72 Chapter IX. — Thomie’s Second Home Coming—He Leaves for the Front— His Christian Labors in Camp—He Describes the Battle of New Hope Church—The Great Revival in Johnston’s Army 77 Chapter X. — A Visit to Dalton—The Fidelity of an Oldtime Slave 94 Chapter XI. — A Perilous Trust 104 Chapter XII. — A Scene in an Atlanta Confederate Hospital 108 Chapter XIII. — Concealing Confederate Clothing—Valuables Carried to Atlanta —Toby Taken Ill 113 Chapter XIV. — The Advance Guard of the Yankee Army—I am Ordered Out —A Noble Federal 124 Chapter XV. — The Battle of the 22d of July, 1864—The Death of Toby 135 Chapter XVI. — Everett’s Desertion 146 Chapter XVII. — A Visit to Confederate Lines—A Narrow Escape—My Return —The Fall of Atlanta 156 Chapter XVIII. — The Ten Days’ Armistice—Going Out with the Confederate Clothes—Scenes at Atlanta, and at Lovejoy’s Station—The Visit to Granbury’s Brigade—The Last Interview with Thomie 168 Chapter XIX. — The Return Home—From Jonesboro via Augusta—Scenes and Incidents by the Way—The Lonely Journey from Stone Mountain to Decatur 193 Chapter XX. — On the Verge of Starvation—A Worn-out Army Horse is Found —Uncle Mack Makes a Wagon—I Make a Unique Trip— Starvation is Warded Off—Dangers and Scenes by the Way 207 Chapter XXI. — A Second Trip for Supplies—Gathering “Fodder” from a Cane- brake, as a Preliminary—The Lonely Journey—Changing Yankee’s Name—I Meet the Federal Raiders 226 Chapter XXII. — News from the Absent Brother—He Marches into Tennessee with Hood—Extracts from His Letters written on the Way— Two Ears of Parched Corn—The Night Burial of a Soldier 243 Chapter XXIII. — An Incident of the War—Related to the Writer by Hon. Roger Q. Mills, of Texas 251 Chapter XXIV. — Picking up Minie Balls Around Atlanta—Exchanging Them for Bread 255 Chapter XXV. — The Decatur Women’s Struggle for Bread—Sweet Singing in Hard Places—Pleasant Visitors—I Make a Trip to Alabama— The News of My Brother’s Death 260 Chapter XXVI. — My Mother’s Death—Rev. John S. Wilson Performs the Funeral Service 274 Chapter XXVII. — A Reminiscence 281 Chapter XXVIII. — How the Decatur Women Kept Up the Sabbath School 289 [Pg 3] [Pg 4] Chapter XXIX. — Postal Affairs—The Postmaster, Hiram J. Williams—A Life that was a Reality, but Reads like a Romance 298 Chapter XXX. — The Tragic Death of Sallie Durham—A Sketch of the Durham Family 302 Chapter XXXI. — The Death of Melville Clark 310 Chapter XXXII. — The Morton Family—Incidents Thrilling and Affecting 313 Chapter XXXIII. — Hon. Joseph E. Brown’s Pikes and Guns 319 Chapter XXXIV. — The Pursuit and Capture of the Andrew’s Raiders 325 Confederate Love Song 349 Conclusion 351 Appendix 354 INTRODUCTION. I am asked to write a few words of introduction to these reminiscences of a lady who, in the pleasant afternoon of a life devoted to deeds of mercy and charity, turns fondly and sympathetically to the past. But there is nothing to be said. What word of mine could add to the interest that inheres in this unpretentious record of a troubled and bloody period? The chronicle speaks for itself, especially to those who remember something of those wonderful days of war. It has the charm and the distinction of absolute verity, a quality for which we may look in vain in more elaborate and ambitious publications. Here indeed, is one of the sources from which history must get its supplies, and it is informed with a simplicity which history can never hope to attain. We have here reproduced in these records, with a faithfulness that is amazing, the spirit of those dark days that are no more. Tragedy shakes hands with what seems to be trivial, and the commonplaces of every-day life seem to move forward with the gray battalions that went forth to war. It is a gentle, a faithful and a tender hand that guides the pen—a soul nerved to sacrifice that tells the tale. For the rest, let the records speak for themselves. Joel Chandler Harris. PREFACE. By way of preface to “Life in Dixie During the War,” I scarcely know what to say. I have long felt that it was the duty of the South to bequeath to posterity the traditions of that period; for if we do it not ourselves they will be swallowed up in oblivion. Entertaining this opinion, I have essayed the task of an individual effort, and hope that others may follow my example. No woman who has seen what I have seen, and felt what I have felt, would be apt to write with less asperity; and yet, now that we have come back to the United States, and mean to stay in it, let the provocation to depart be what it may, I would not put into practice an iota of the war-time feeling. In thus expressing myself, I am sure I represent every Christian in my own beautiful Southland. There was one for whom these sketches would have had a special interest. An inspiring motive for writing them was that they would be read by my nephew, Thomas H. Stokes, of Atlanta, the only child of the brother so often mentioned. But, ere he had had more than a glimpse of them, he was called away by an Inscrutable Providence, in his pure and beautiful young manhood, as we trust to a Land of Peace more in keeping with his noble, true, and tender heart, than earth with its sin and strife. “Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God.” Mary A. H. Gay. Decatur, Georgia. [Pg 5] [Pg 6] [Pg 7] [Pg 8] INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. THE TOCSIN OF WAR. The tocsin of war has resounded from Mason and Dixon’s line to the Gulf of Mexico, from the snow-crested billows of the Atlantic to the tranquil waves of the Pacific. War! War! War! is the battle cry of a people, who, long suffering and patient, but now, goaded to desperation and thoroughly exasperated, are determined, at all hazards, to protect the rights for which their forefathers fought, bled and died; and which their own Thomas Jefferson embodied in an instrument of writing which, for beauty of diction and wisdom of thought, will go sounding down the corridors of time, so long as time itself shall last— unequaled, unparalleled; and which was adopted without a dissenting voice by the ablest convocation of men ever assembled in national councils as their declaration of human rights and liberties. Thus, under auspices favorable to the happy and speedy development of a new and glorious country, commenced the government of the freest and happiest people on earth, under the administration of George Washington—an administration which caught the eye of the world and called forth its admiration; and which the most censorious never had the temerity to attack; an administration which secured for the country the alluring title, “The land of the free and the home of the brave.” And its fame went abroad in story and in song, and every nation on earth sought its blessings and advantages, and it grew to be a mighty country. Coeval with the settlement of this beautiful continent by the white man, there came, or rather, there was brought, a race of people which needed the fostering care as well as the strong arm of slavery to kindle the latent spark of intellectual fire which had smoldered for centuries, in, as President Cleveland would say, “innocuous desuetude.” This race of people came not as pioneers in the building up of this great nation, but as a menial race, sold into bondage by their own kith and kin, and not to be endowed with elective franchise nor representation in its councils. It was held in bondage alike in Massachusetts and in South Carolina. Under the auspices of slavery, it became a powerful factor in the building up of the staple industries of the country—the Southern portion of it directly, the Northern portion indirectly, and it received in return more than any other people in bondage has ever received—as a usual thing, good wholesome food, comfortable homes and raiment, and tender treatment in sickness. When they failed to receive these benefits, their masters were improvident and careless alike of the comfort of their own wives and children, and they, too, showed hard usage and neglect. This is not said by way of apology for any treatment received at the hands of Southern slaveholders by this vassal race. I repeat that no people held in bondage ever received so many benefits. Slavery, as all other institutions, had its evils, and those evils were far greater to the slaveholder than to the slaves. Climatic and other considerations rendered the system of slavery unprofitable in the Northern States of this great and growing republic, and the men at the helm of their respective governments agitated the subject of emancipation. Having given themselves time to bring the greater number of their slaves South and sell them, they nominally freed the others by legislative enactment; and by this great and magnanimous action, there were so few left that to this day, as attested by Northern tourists, a “darkey,” or a “colored person,” is an object of curiosity and great interest. The country, North and South, was too prosperous. The agitators could stand it no longer. Discord and strife took the place of harmony and peace in the halls of congress, and in the senate chamber of the United States. Men who could in no other way acquire prominence, became conspicuous as champions of an “oppressed and down trodden race,” and were swift to slander the white people of the South. Our slaves were taught that murder, rapine, arson, and every species of wickedness known in the catalogue of crime which, in any way, could weaken, yea, destroy the South, was service most acceptable. The country was in the clutches of an organized mob, determined to precipitate it into the jaws of dissolution. By way of confirming this statement the following resolutions are reproduced. These resolutions were adopted by a large and representative body of men at Worcester, Massachusetts, soon after Fremont’s defeat in 1856, and long before Governor Gist of South Carolina, and other Southern leaders, began to take measures for a peaceable separation, rather than to be forcibly expelled: “Resolved, That the meeting of a state disunion convention, attended by men of various parties and affinities, gives occasion for a new statement of principles and a new platform of action. [Pg 8] [Pg 9] [Pg 10] [Pg 11] [Pg 12] “Resolved, That the conflict between this principle of liberty and this fact of slavery has been the whole history of the nation for fifty years, while the only result of this conflict has thus far been to strengthen both parties, and prepare the way of a yet more desperate struggle. “Resolved, That in this emergency we can expect little or nothing from the South itself, because it, too, is sinking deeper into barbarism every year. Nor from a supreme court which is always ready to invent new securities for slaveholders. Nor from a president elected almost solely by Southern votes. Nor from a senate which is permanently controlled by the slave power. Nor from a house of representatives which, in spite of our agitation, will be more proslavery than the present one, though the present one has at length granted all which slavery asked. Nor from political action as now conducted. For the Republican leaders and press freely admitted, in public and private, that the election of Fremont was, politically speaking, the last hope of freedom, and even could the North cast a united vote in 1860, the South has before it four years of annexation previous to that time. “Resolved, That the fundamental difference between mere political agitation and the action we propose is this, it requires the acquiescence of the slave power, and the other only its opposite. “Resolved, That the necessity for disunion is written in the whole existing character and condition of the two sections of the country—in social organizations, education, habits and laws—in the dangers of our white citizens of Kansas and of our colored ones in Boston, in the wounds of Charles Sumner and the laurels of his assailant— and no government on earth was ever strong enough to hold together such opposing forces. “Resolved, That this movement does not seek merely disunion, but the more perfect union of the free States by the expulsion of the slave States from the confederation in which they have ever been an element of discord, danger and disgrace. “Resolved, That it is not probable that the ultimate severance of the union will be an action of deliberation or discussion, but that a long period of deliberation and discussion must precede it, and this we meet to begin. “Resolved, That henceforward, instead of regarding it as an objection to any system of policy that will lead to the separation of the States, we will proclaim that to be the highest of all recommendations and the grateful proof of statesmanship; and we will support politically and otherwise, such men and measures as appear to tend most to this result. “Resolved, That by the repeated confession of Northern and Southern statesmen, the existence of the union is the chief guarantee of slavery, and that the despots of the whole world and the slaves of the whole world have everything to hope from its destruction and the rise of a free Northern republic. “Resolved, That the sooner the separation takes place the more peaceable it will be; but that peace or war is a mere secondary consideration in view of our present perils. Slavery must be conquered; peaceably if we can, forcibly if we must.” To keep before the people of the United States, North and South, the hostility of the then controling spirit of the North towards the South, the above resolutions cannot be repeated too often. Nor were they an isolated example of party fanaticism. The stock and staple of the entire republican press was slander of the Southern people; and like noxious weeds it well nigh rooted out all that was elevating to man, and ennobling to woman. The pulpit became a rostrum from which bitter invective of the South flowed in Niagaran torrents; and the beautiful fields of Poesy were made to yield an abundant crop of briar and bramble and deadly Upas. The burden of every song, of every prayer, of every sermon, was the “poor down-trodden slave” of the South. What wonder that seed thus constantly and malignantly sown sprang up and bore a crop of discontent which nothing short of “separation” from the enemy could appease. We, too, felt that under the existing circumstances peace or war was a mere secondary consideration in view of our perils in the union, and took measures to withdraw from a sectional union of States that had ceased to respect State sovereignty outside of its own borders. The insults and taunts and the encroachments of fifty years had welded the people of the South into a compact party organization, animated for all substantial purposes by one sentiment and one glorious principle of patriotism, and never was there a movement in the annals of nations that had a more unanimous support. And when the tocsin of war resounded from one end of the country to the other, and reverberated over hills and through valleys, the sons and sires in the beautiful Sunny South, from the high born and cultured gentleman in whose veins flowed the blue blood of the cavalier, to the humblest tiller of the soil and the shepherd on the mountain sides, buckled on the paraphernalia of warfare and reported for duty. To arms! To arms! was the patriotic appeal of a people who had no other redress; and I repeat with emphasis that never a people responded with more chivalrous alacrity or more earnestness of purpose. I was too well versed in the politics of the country, too familiar with the underground workings of the enemy, to hesitate. I, too, enlisted in the struggle, and in the glorious efforts to establish “home rule and domestic felicity,” not literally in the ranks of the soldier, but in the great army of women who were willing to toil and to suffer, and to die, if need be, for the cause of the South. I had but one brother, a darling young half brother, Thomas J. Stokes, who had gone to Texas to practice his [Pg 13] [Pg 14] [Pg 15] chosen profession. With all the intensity of my ardent nature I loved this brother, and would have died that he might live; and yet with all the perils involved, it was with a thrill of pride that I read his long letter breathing, pulsing, with the patriotism illustrated by our ancestry in the revolutionary struggle for American Independence. And now this noble brother and myself, though widely separated, enlisted in aid of the same great cause; the perpetuity of constitutional rights. He to serve on the battle-field, and I to care for the sick and wounded soldiers, or to labor in any capacity that would give greatest encouragement to our cause. Life in Dixie During the War. CHAPTER I. THE MAGNOLIA CADETS. Notwithstanding the restful signification of “Alabama,” the State bearing that name had passed the ordinance of secession, and mingled her voice with those of other States which had previously taken steps in that direction. Then followed a call for a convention, having in view the election of a President of a new Republic to take its place among the nations of the earth, and to be known throughout the world as the Southern Confederacy. As an intensely interested spectator I was at that convention; and will remember, to my dying day, that grand spectacle. Yea, that was a grand and solemn occasion—that of issuing a mandate “Let there be another nation, and to all intents and purposes there was another nation.” In the course of human events it requires centuries to evolve such moral courage and sublimity of thought and action; and the proceedings of that day will stand out in bold relief as the acme of patriotic greatness. Ah! that scene at the capitol of the State of Alabama, when Jefferson Davis, the chosen leader of the Southern people, took the oath of office and pledged undying fidelity to the best interests of his own sunny land. On that momentous occasion not a word was uttered denunciatory of the States we were seeking to leave in their fancied superiority, and the great concourse of people there assembled was too familiar with the history of the times to require recapitulation of the causes of the alienation which led by rapid ascent to the summit of discontent, and determination to no longer submit to the domination of an enemy. That scene being enacted as a preliminary, a call was made for Alabama’s quota of volunteers to defend the principles enunciated and the interests involved. The Magnolia Cadets, under the leadership of Captain N. H. R. Dawson, of Selma, were among the first to respond. I accompanied my cousins of Alabama to see this company of noble, handsome young men mustered into the military service of their country. It was a beautiful sight! Wealthy, cultured young gentlemen voluntarily turning their backs upon the luxuries and endearments of affluent homes, and accepting in lieu the privations and hardships of warfare; thereby illustrating to the world that the conflict of arms consequent upon the secession was not to be “a rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight.” I saw them as they stood in line to receive the elegant silken banner, bearing the stars and bars of a new nation, made and presented to them by Miss Ella Todd and her sister, Mrs. Dr. White, of Lexington, Kentucky, who were introduced to the audience by Captain Dawson as the sisters of Mrs. Abraham Lincoln, the wife of the president of the United States. I was thus made aware that Mrs. Lincoln and her illustrious husband were Southerners. I have since been in the small, mud-chinked log cabin in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, in which he was born, and in which his infancy and little boyhood were domiciled. Mrs. White had married an Alabamian, and as his wife became a citizen of his State. Her sister, Miss Todd, was visiting her at the enactment of the scene described, and under like circumstances, also became a citizen of Alabama. She married the valiant gentleman who introduced her to the public on that memorable occasion. I have sought and obtained from Mrs. Mary Dawson Jordan, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, a daughter of Captain Jordan, a complete record of the names of the officers and members of this patriotic company of Alabama’s noble sons—native and adopted—which I subjoin as an item of history that will be read with interest by all who revere the memory of the Lost Cause and its noble defenders. Muster Roll of the “Magnolia Cadets.” [Pg 16] [Pg 17] [Pg 18] [Pg 19] N. H. R. Dawson, Captain. (Enrolled for active service at Selma, Ala., on the 26th day of April, 1861. Mustered into service on the 7th day of May, 1861, at Lynchburg, Va.) Commanded by Col. Ben Alston of the Fourth Alabama Regiment of Volunteers. 1. N. H. R. Dawson, Captain. 1. Shortbridge, Jr., Geo. D., 1st Lieutenant. 2. McCraw, S. Newton, 2nd Lieutenant. 3. Wilson, John R. 3rd Lieutenant. 1. Waddell, Ed. R., 1st Sergeant. 2. Price, Alfred C., 2nd Sergeant. 3. Daniel, Lucian A., 3rd Sergeant. 4. Goldsby, Boykin, 4th Sergeant. 1. Bell, Bush W., 1st Corporal. 2. Garrett, Robert E., 2nd Corporal. 3. Brown, James G., 3rd Corporal. 4. Cohen, Lewis, 4th Corporal. 1. Melton, George F., Musician. 2. Marshall, Jacob, Musician. Privates. 1. Adkins, Agrippa 2. Adams, William S. 3. Avery, William C. 4. Byrd, William G. 5. Beattie, Thomas K. 6. Briggs, Charles H. 7. Bohannon, Robert B. 8. Baker, Eli W. 9. Bradley, Hugh C. 10. Cook, Thomas M. 11. Cook, James W. 12. Cook, Benson. 13. Caughtry, Joseph R. 14. Cole, George W. 15. Cleveland, George W. 16. Clevaland, Pulaski. 17. Cunningham, Frank M. 18. Coursey, William W. 19. Daniel, John R. 20. Densler, John E. 21. Donegay, James G. 22. Friday, Hilliard J. 23. Friday, James L. 24. Friday, John C. 25. Ford, Joseph H. 26. Grice, Henry F. 27. Haden, James G. 28. Harrill, Thornton R. 29. Hannon, Wm. H., Sr. 30. Hannon, Wm. H., Jr. 31. Hooks, William A. 32. Hodge, William L. 33. Jones, William. 34. Jordan, James M. 35. Jackson, Felix W. 36. King, William R. 37. Kennedy, Arch. 38. Kennedy, George D. 39. Lamson, Frank R. 40. Lane, William B. 41. Lowry, Uriah. 42. Lowry, William A. 43. Littleton, Thomas B. [Pg 20] [Pg 21] 44. Luske, John M. 45. Lamar, John H. 46. Mather, Thomas S. 47. Martin, James B. 48. May, Syd M. 49. May, William V. 50. Melton, Thomas J. 51. Miller, Stephen J. 52. Mimms, George A. 53. Moody, William R. 54. Mosely, Andrew B. 55. McNeal, George S. 56. McKerning, John W. 57. Overton, John B. 58. Overton, Thomas W. 59. O’Neal, William. 60. Paisley, Hugh S. 61. Pryor, John W. 62. Pryor, Robert O. 63. Peeples, Frank W. 64. Raiford, William C. 65. Reinhardt, George L. 66. Robbins, John L. 67. Rucker, Lindsay. 68. Rucker, Henry. 69. Shiner, David H. 70. Stokes, William C. 71. Stone, John W. 72. Stewett, Mayor D. 73. Turner, Daniel M. 74. Thomas, Lewis. 75. Tarver, Ben J. 76. Taylor, William E. 77. Terry, Thomas B. 78. Thompson, John S. 79. Thompson, William E. 80. Ursory, Edward G. 81. Vaughn, Turner P. 82. Wrenn, Theodore J. 83. Whallon, Daniel. Copied from the original Muster Roll of the Magnolia Cadets, owned by Henry R. Dawson, son of N. H. R. Dawson. CHAPTER II. THE WAR RECORD OF DEKALB COUNTY. DeKalb county, Georgia, of which Decatur is the county site, was among the first to enroll troops for Confederate service. The first volunteers from Decatur were James L. George, Hardy Randall, L. J. Winn and Beattie Wilson, who went with the Atlanta Greys the last of May, 1861. The first company from DeKalb county was that of Captain John W. Fowler. It was called the DeKalb Light Infantry, and was mustered into service in Atlanta, as part of the 7th Georgia Volunteers, and left for Virginia on the 1st of June, 1861. Those going from DeKalb county in this company were: First Lieutenant, John J. Powell; Second Lieutenant, John M. Hawkins; Third Lieutenant, James L. Wilson; First Sergeant, M. L. Brown; Second Sergeant, D. C. Morgan; Third Sergeant, D. E. Jackson; Fourth Sergeant, John W. Fowler, jr.; Corporals—H. H. Norman, R. F. Davis, C. W. L. Powell; Privates—W. W. Bradbury (afterwards captain), E. M. Chamberlain, W. W. Morgan, W. L. Herron, P. H. Pate, C. E. McCulloch, James W. McCulloch, L. C. Powell, H. G. Woodall, J. S. Woodall, A. W. Mashburn, V. A. Wilson, W. J. Mason, J. V. Austin, W. M. Austin, John Eads, [Pg 22] [Pg 23] E. A. Davis, Dr. A. S. Mason, John W. Norman, E. L. Morton, Henry Gentry, W. M. Cochran, J. B. Cochran, James Hunter (promoted captain), W. W. Brimm, William Carroll, C. W. McAllister, J. O. McAllister, and many others from the county, making it a full company. The second company from DeKalb was the Stephens Rifles, captain, L. J. Glenn. They went into Cobb’s Legion about August, 1861. Dr. Liddell, Frank Herron, Norman Adams, John McCulloch, John J. McKoy, and some others, went from Decatur in this company. The third company was the Murphey Guards, captain, John Y. Flowers. They came from the upper part of the county, near Doraville. This company was named in memory of Hon. Charles Murphey, of DeKalb county, a prominent lawyer and member of Congress, but then recently deceased. The company had been uniformed by the people of the county, a large share being contributed by Mr. and Mrs. Milton A. Candler, and Mr. and Mrs. Ezekiel Mason. Mrs. Candler, whose maiden name was Eliza Murphey, the only child of Charles Murphey, gave the banner, upon which was inscribed, “The God of Jacob is with us.” The Fourth Company was The Bartow Avengers, Captain William Wright, from the lower part of the county about South River. The Fifth Company, Captain Rankin, was from Stone Mountain. These three last mentioned companies went into the 38th Georgia Regiment, in September, 1861, and belonged to the Virginia Army. The Sixth Company, Captain E. L. Morton’s, entered service the last of August, 1861, in the 36th Georgia Regiment, and was with the Western Army under Johnston. The Seventh Company, the Fowler Guards, Captain Clay, went into the 42nd Georgia Regiment in the early part of 1862, and was also in the Western Army. There were several companies, mostly composed of DeKalb County men, that were made up and went from the camp of instruction near Decatur. Moses L. Brown was Captain of one, and L. D. Belisle of another. Besides the companies already named, all of which went into the infantry, there were many soldiers from DeKalb that went into the Cavalry and Artillery service of the regular army. In the year 1863, when Georgia was threatened by Rosecrans coming into the State on its northern border, special troops were raised for its defence. Major General Howell Cobb commanded the division; General Henry R. Jackson one of the brigades. In Jackson’s Brigade, in the 10th Georgia Regiment State Guards (Col. John J. Glenn and Lieutenant-Colonel J. N. Glenn), we find Company A of Cavalry troops. Of this company Milton A. Candler had command. These troops served through 1863 and 1864. In April, 1863, Paul P. Winn, now a Presbyterian minister, then a mere youth, went into the army in the 45th Georgia Regiment, commanded by Col. Thomas J. Simmons. Other Decatur boys went into the service from other sections where the war found them located. Among these were Dr. James J. Winn, who enlisted at Clayton, Alabama, with the Barker Greys, and was in the battle of Bull Run. After a year or two he received a surgeon’s commission, being the youngest surgeon in the army. John C. Kirkpatrick, just eighteen, went into the service from Augusta with the Oglethorpe Infantry. With him were his cousin, William Dabney (now a Presbyterian minister in Virginia), and his friend, Frank Stone. This was in 1862, and John remained in the service until the close of the war, having been in severe battles (for he was in Cleburne’s Division), including that of Jonesboro. In this engagement were other Decatur boys in other commands. Mr. John B. Swanton, but seventeen years old, was in that battle, and says that by his side stood, when mortally wounded, Franklin Williams, the brother of Mr. Hiram J. Williams. Says Mr. Swanton: “He was so near me I could have touched him with my hand.” Three sons of Mrs. Martha Morgan, and cousins of DeWitt Morgan, were all in the service, Henry, Daniel, and Joseph Morgan. Jesse Chewning and Samuel Mann were in the 64th Georgia. Josiah J. Willard, the only son of Mr. Levi Willard, while a sprightly, active youth, was near-sighted. He had a position in the commissary department at Camp Randolph, near Decatur, and went with it to Macon, July 11th, 1864, and remained there until the place surrendered after the fall of Richmond. He, also, is mentioned in other sketches. There were also several companies of old men and boys who went into the State service when the last call for troops was made by the Confederate government. Before the DeKalb soldiers go to meet the fortunes of war, let us recall some incidents that preceded their departure. On the northern side of the court-house square there stood a large building, the residence of Mr. Ezekiel Mason. Here, day after day, a band of devoted women met to make the uniforms for the DeKalb Light Infantry. These uniforms had been cut by a tailor, but they were to be made by women’s hands. Among the leading and directing spirits in this work were Mrs. Jonathan B. Wilson, Mrs. Jane Morgan, Mrs. Ezekiel Mason, Mrs. Levi Willard, Miss Anna Davis, Mrs. James McCulloch, and Miss Lou Fowler. The most of this sewing was done by hand. To the DeKalb Light Infantry, the day before its departure, a beautiful silken banner was given. The ladies of the village furnished the material. The address of presentation was made by Miss Mollie G. Brown. In September, of that same year, my sister was invited to present a banner to Captain William Wright’s Company. Her modest little address was responded to in behalf of the company by Rev. Mr. Mashburn, of the Methodist Church. In March, [Pg 23] [Pg 24] [Pg 25] [Pg 26] 1862, there was another banner presented from the piazza of “the Mason Corner”—this time to the Fowler Guards, by Miss Georgia Hoyle. This banner was made by the fair hands of Miss Anna E. Davis. By this time the spirit of independence of the outside world had begun to show itself in the Southern-made grey jeans of the soldiers, and in the homespun dress of Miss Hoyle. This banner, so skillfully made by Miss Anna Davis, had a circle of white stars upon a field of blue, and the usual bars of red and white—two broad red bars with a white one between. The banner of this pattern was known as the “stars and bars,” and was the first kind used by the Confederate States. In May, 1863, the Confederate Congress adopted a National Flag, which had a crimson field with white stars in a blue-grounded diagonal cross, the remainder of the flag being white. But, when falling limp around the staff, and only the white showing, it could easily be mistaken for a flag of truce; therefore in March, 1865, the final change was made by putting a red bar across the end of the flag. But what of the fate of these gallant young men, going forth so full of hope and courage, with tender and loving farewells lingering in their hearts? Soon, ah! so soon, some of them fell upon the crimson fields of Virginia. James L. George (“Jimmie,” as his friends lovingly called him) was killed in the first battle of Manassas. “Billy” Morgan died soon after the battle, and was buried with military honors in a private cemetery near Manassas. Two years after, his brother, De Witt Morgan, worn out in the siege of Vicksburg, was buried on an island in Mobile Bay. At the second battle of Manassas, James W. McCulloch and James L. Davis were both killed. Later on W. J. Mason, William Carroll, John M. Eads, H. H. Norman, Billy Wilson, and Norman Adams, were numbered among the slain. Among the wounded were Henry Gentry, Mose Brown, John McCulloch, W. W. Brimm, Dave Chandler, Riley Lawhorn, and Bill Herring. A volume could easily be written concerning the bravery and the sufferings of the DeKalb county troops; but I must forbear. Concerning Warren Morton, of the 36th Georgia Regiment, who went into the service at the age of fifteen, and suffered so severely, I will refer my readers to a sketch in the latter part of this book. Of William M. Durham, so young, so gallant, who enlisted in Company K., 42nd Georgia Regiment, much of interest will be found in another chapter. Among the Decatur members of Cobb’s Legion was Mr. John J. McKoy, who went out in the Stephens Rifles when not more than nineteen years old. He was in the battle of Yorktown, Seven Pines, and in the Seven Days Fight around Richmond. Owing to illness, and to business arising from the attainment of his majority, he came home in 1863, and, hiring a substitute when the conscript law was passed, went to work at the Passport Office in Atlanta. In this same year he was married to Miss Laura Williams of Decatur. Having raised Company A., for the 64th Georgia Regiment, Mr. McKoy was with it when it was sent to Florida, and was in the battle of Olustee or Ocean Pond, in February 1864, where General Alfred H. Colquitt won the title of “The Hero of Olustee.” Mr. McKoy remembers to have seen on that eventful day, Col. George W. Scott, then of Florida, but now of Decatur. At the battle of Olustee, Col. Scott was in command of a regiment of Cavalry. The banner of the regiment is now in possession of his daughter, Mrs. Thomas Cooper. The 64th Georgia was then sent to Virginia in General Wright’s brigade. A few days after “The Mine Explosion,” or undermining of the Confederate works, an engagement occurred at Deep Bottom. Here, General Girardy, of Augusta, was killed, and several hundred of the Confederates were captured, among the number being Mr. McKoy. This was in July, 1864. He was sent to Fort Delaware, where he remained in prison until the close of the war. Here he spent a whole winter without a fire, and was subject to all that Fort Delaware meant. To escape the horrors of that prison, many of the two thousand officers there confined, took the oath not to fight against the United States. But Mr. McKoy and thirty-four others remained in prison, firm and loyal, even after the surrender, believing and hoping, up to July, 1865, that the war would be carried on west of the Mississippi river. The soldiers who went to Virginia knew from their own experience the scenes of Manassas, Malvern Hill, Fort Harrison, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg and the Wilderness. Yet some of them were left to be surrendered by Lee at Appomatox Court House. The companies which were in the Western Army were in the leading battles of that Division, and were equally brave and abiding in their devotion to the cause. For many of the foregoing facts concerning the troops from DeKalb, I am greatly indebted to Mr. Robert F. Davis, who went with DeKalb’s first company, and who, after braving the perils of the war, came off unscathed. He still lives near Decatur, and is an elder in the Presbyterian Church. I greatly regret my inability, even if I had the space, to give the names of all the soldiers who went from DeKalb, and to tell of their deeds of bravery and endurance. It has not been intentional that many are wholly omitted. It has been my privilege to see but one muster-roll of our county troops—that of Company K, 38th Georgia Regiment, kindly furnished by Mr. F. L. Hudgins, of Clarkston, a brave soldier who was in command of the Company when Lee surrendered. This muster-roll shows that out of the 118 names, forty-six were killed (or died), and seventeen were wounded; that its first Captain, William Wright, resigned, and that three other Captains by promotion were all killed, i. e., Gustin E. Goodwin, George W. Stubbs and R. H. Fletcher. Indeed, in nearly every instance, promotion in this Company meant death upon the battle field. And can we wonder that both the commissioned and the noncommissioned fell, when some of the principal battles in which they were engaged bore such names as [Pg 27] [Pg 28] [Pg 29] [Pg 30] Cold Harbor, Malvern Hill, Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Winchester, Gettysburg, The Wilderness, Spottsylvania Courthouse, Mechanicsville, Fisher’s Hill, Cedar Creek, Louise Courthouse and High Bridge? In memory of the dead, for the sake of the living and for the descendants of all mentioned therein, I copy the muster-roll of this company: Company K., 38th Georgia Regiment: Captain William Wright—resigned July, 1862. 1st Lieutenant Julius J. Gober—Died July 26th, 1862. 2nd Lieutenant Gustin E. Goodwin—Promoted captain; killed August 28th, 1862. 3rd Lieutenant George W. Stubbs—Promoted captain; killed July 24th, 1864. 1st Sergeant John S. Johnston—Killed June 27th, 1862. 2nd Sergeant W. R. Henry—Promoted to 1st Lieutenant; lost a leg December 13th, 1862. 3rd Sergeant J. A. Maddox—Killed at Wilderness, May 5th, 1864. 4th Sergeant F. L. Hudgins—Promoted 1st Sergeant; wounded at Malvern Hill; shot through the body at Gettysburg. 5th Sergeant E. H. C. Morris—Promoted 3rd Lieutenant; killed at Second Manassas, August, 1862. 1st Corporal F. M. Gassaway—Killed at Second Manassas, August, 1862. 2nd Corporal J. M. Walker—Died in camp. 3rd Corporal W. A. Ward—Died in camp. 4th Corporal James L. Anderson—Wounded at Manassas and Spottsylvania court house. John H. Akers—Killed at Second Manassas, 1862. A. W. Allman—Killed at Cedar Creek, October 19th, 1864. John Adams—Died in camp. Enos Adams— Isaac W. Awtry— W. A. Awtry— H. V. Bayne—Disabled by gunshot wound. Still living. Allen Brown— Lewis Brown— Killis Brown— William M. Brooks— H. M. Burdett— J. S. Burdett— John S. Boyd— James E. Ball—Killed at Gettysburg, July, 1863. W. H. Brisendine— L. R. Bailey—Transferred to Cobb’s Legion. John E. J. Collier— James Collier—Died at Charlottesville, Va., 1862. Z. J. Cowan— J. J. Cowan— G. G. Cook— [Pg 31] [Pg 32] James E. Chandler—Killed at Sharpsburg, Md., September 17th, 1862. W. B. Chandler—Died in camp, May 31st, 1863. John W. Chandler—Killed at Second Manassas, August, 1862. W. A. Childress—A physician in Atlanta. J. H. Childers— J. M. Dowis—Killed at Coal Harbor, June 27th, 1862. W. H. Ellis— John Eunis— R. H. Fletcher—Promoted Captain; killed in 1865. A. M. Gentry—Died at Savannah in 1862. W. F. Goodwin—Promoted 3rd Lieutenant; killed at Gettysburg in 1863. C. H. Goodwin—Killed at Coal Harbor. Joseph Grogan— J. H. Grogan— J. D. Grogan—Killed at Sharpsburg, Maryland, September 17th, 1862. Gideon Grogan—Killed at Sharpsburg, Maryland, September 17th, 1862. James H. Gasaway—Disabled by gunshot. William Gasaway—Disabled by gunshot. John Gasaway—Discharged. W. L. Goss— F. L. Guess—Transferred to the 9th Georgia Artillery Battalion. H. L. Head— J. L. Henry—Killed at Coal Harbor, June 27th, 1862. W. B. Heldebrand—Died recently. H. H. Hornbuckle—Killed at Coal Harbor, June 27th, 1862. Joshua Hammond—Killed at Sharpsburg, September 17th, 1862. R. F. Jones—Killed at Coal Harbor. J. W. Jones—Disabled by gunshot. C. S. Jones—Killed in Richmond. R. D. F. Jones—Disabled by gunshot. J. M. Jones— J. H. Jones—Disabled by gunshot. James Jones— John F. Kelley— John H. Kelley— James Kelley— W. J. Little—Disabled by gunshot. George Lee—Died in camp. A. J. Lee—Discharged. Wiley Manghon— J. R. Mitchell—Killed December 13th, 1862, at Fredericksburg. [Pg 33] W. G. Mitchell—Disabled by gunshot. E. J. Mitchell— W. R. Maguire—Disabled by gunshot. W. A. Morgan— B. S. McClain—Died in camp. John W. Nash—Killed December 13th, 1862, at Fredericksburg. David N. Fair—Killed at Coal Harbor, June 27th, 1862. W. B. Owen— J. J. Pruett—Discharged. John W. Phillips—Killed at Coal Harbor, June 27th, 1862. John B. Thompson— Will Thompson— W. M. Richardson—Disabled at Second Manassas. J. S. Richardson—Killed at Coal Harbor, June 27th, 1862. D. D. Richardson—Died at Hanover Junction, 1862. A. W. Stowers— W. A. Smith— J. M. Summey—Shot through at Coal Harbor. S. J. Summey—Killed at Winchester, Va., June 13th, 1863. James Toney—Musician. C. W. Toney—Musician. M. J. Tweedle—Wounded at Winchester, Va., September 19th, 1864. S. J. Thomas— R. L. Vaughn—Died at Savannah, Ga. J. S. Vaughn—Wounded eight times at Coal Harbor. W. T. Vaughn—Had both hands blown off. J. C. Wiggins—Promoted Second Lieutenant; killed in June, 1864. J. M. Wiggins— R. W. Wiggins—Killed at Petersburg, Va., March 27th, 1865. E. W. Wiggins—Killed at Sharpsburg, Maryland, September 17th, 1862. G. W. Wiggins— M. O. Wiggins—Disabled at Cedar Creek, October 19th, 1864. G. W. Wade—Musician. E. D. Wade— F. M. Wade— B. L. Wilson—Killed at Marie’s Heights, May 4th, 1863. W. A. Wright— W. R. Wood— Amos Wheeler—Killed at Spottsylvania, May 12th, 1864. J. H. Wilson—Killed at Gettysburg, July 1st, 1863. Jordan Wilson—Killed at Coal Harbor, June 27th, 1862. [Pg 34] [Pg 35] CHAPTER III. LABORS OF LOVE. Musical—Decatur. To a woman who lives and moves and has her being in the past, an invocation to time to “turn backward in its flight,” would seem superfluous. The scenes of other years being ever present, it would also seem that time, as a loving father, would linger fondly around her with panaceas for decay, mental and physical; that her heart would never grow old, and her person never lose the attractions of youth; but, in the economy of Him who doeth all things well, such is not the decree regarding aught that is mortal. And when the ravages incident to one’s career have destroyed personal charm, and divested the mind of sparkling gem, the soul yearns for the protection of childhood and the companionship of youth. Scenes of the past, though dyed with “the blood of martyrs,” are ever passing in kaleidoscopic beauty before the mind’s eye, and tones too sweet for mortal ear are ever thrilling the heart with strange, sweet, expectant pleasure. This train of reflection, only far more elaborate, seizes for its guiding star, on this occasion, a scene which at the time of its enactment was indelibly impressed upon my mind, and left living, glowing tints, illuming my pathway through subsequent life; a scene in which lovely girlhood, arrayed in pure white robes, lent a helping hand in the important work of supplying our soldiers with comforts, all the more appreciated because of the source from which emanating. With closed eyes, I see it now and listen to its enchanting melody. To render it more realistic than could be done by any description of mine, I subjoin a copy of the “Programme,” the original of which I have preserved: GRAND MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT! RELIEF FUND FOR OUR SOLDIERS, THURSDAY, MAY 15, 1862, AT THE COURTHOUSE. By the ladies of Decatur, Georgia, assisted by William H. Barnes, Colonel Thomas F. Lowe, Professor Hanlon, W. A. Haynes, R. O. Haynes, Dr. Geutebruck and Dr. Warmouth, of Atlanta. PROGRAMME. Part I. 1. Opening Chorus—Company. 2. Piano Duet—“March from Norma”—Miss Georgia Hoyle and Miss Missouri Stokes. 3. Solo—“Roy Neil”—Mrs. Robert Alston. 4. Quartette—Atlanta Amateurs. 5. “Tell Me, Ye Winged Winds”—Company. 6. “Our Way Across the Sea”—Miss G. Hoyle and Professor Hanlon. 7. March—Piano Duet—Miss Laura Williams and Miss Fredonia Hoyle. 8. Solo—Professor Hanlon. 9. Comic Song—W. H. Barnes. 10. Violin Solo—Colonel Thomas F. Lowe. 11. Solo—Dr. Warmouth. 12. “When Night Comes O’er the Plain”—Miss M. Stokes and Professor Hanlon. 13. “The Mother’s Farewell”—Mrs. Maggie Benedict. [Pg 36] [Pg 37] [Pg 38] Part II. 1. Chorus—“Away to the Prairie”—Company. 2. Piano Solo—Miss G. Hoyle. 3. Song—Atlanta Amateurs. 4. Coquette Polka—Misses Hoyle and Stokes. 5. Chorus—“Let us Live with a Hope”—Company. 6. “Mountain Bugle”—Miss M. Stokes and Company. 7. “Mazurka des Traineaux”—Piano Duet—Misses Hoyle and Stokes. 8. Shiloh Retreat—Violin—Colonel Thomas F. Lowe. Concluding with the Battle Song: “Cheer, Boys, Cheer”—W. H. Barnes. Tickets, 50c. Children and Servants, half price. Doors open 7:30 o’clock. Commence at 8:15 o’clock. Atlanta Intelligencer Power Print. Musical—Atlanta. The citizens of Decatur were always invited to entertainments, social, literary, and musical, in Atlanta, that had in view the interest, pleasure or comfort of our soldiers; therefore the invitation accompanying the following programme received ready response: TWELFTH MUSICAL SOIREE —of the— ATLANTA AMATEURS, Monday evening, June 24, 1861, For the Benefit of ATLANTA VOLUNTEERS, Captain Woddail, and the CONFEDERATE CONTINENTALS, Captain Seago, Who Are Going to Defend Our Land. Let all attend and pay a parting tribute to our brave soldiers. PROGRAMME. Part I. 1. We Come Again—(Original)—Company. 2. Dreams—(A Reverie)—Miss J. E. Whitney. 3. Violin Solo—(Hash)—Colonel Thomas F. Lowe. 4. “Not for Gold or Precious Stones”—Miss R. J. Hale. 5. Yankee Doodle—According to W. A. Haynes. 6. Dixie Variations—Mrs. W. T. Farrar. 7. “Two Merry Alpine Maids”—Misses M. F. and J. E. Whitney. 8. “When I Saw Sweet Nellie Home”—Misses Sasseen and Judson. [Pg 39] [Pg 40]