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W AR SI
I'lit' ?ljootiiiy ol'ie) nine
Soldier, by FV
To tin.- Kditor of tin; Siiio?iiy New?
mention made al.oul the thoittine
af-JW. Miller, u Conf. dl rat?- s Ui i.
by federal troop'1, i'i r?*iali?t ton,
which appeared on Saturday, Aj til ?2,
lias brou.u'l) t to my mi ml m >-t vividly
the - id incident, Laving been a draw
.ui: ! lots t" decide who should be
3I1 o:. Ii wa.* generally understood by
ill of us who were prisoners at the
time under Sherman, that it was
Lhrougl (Jen. Sherman's order that
:t was done, and as a rcvcogc for the
alleged killing by one of Hampton's
savalry of a L'ederal prisoner. As
prisoner* w? were, of course, kept in
Ignorance of what really did transpire
io cause or bring about this retaliation
and I cannot, therefore, assert posi
tively that such was the real cause
ihat led to the retaliation, but that
ihc retaliation did take pLce and that
the noble and brave Jas. Miller was
ihot to death to satisfy the revenge of
i.relentless foe are facta that can bo
proven without a doubt by the few of
vis that are still living and who were
participants in that fatal drawiog,
and in what was perhaps the lirst and
ihe ?ast shameful incident of the kind
during the struggle for Southern in
dependence, and that there might
lave been a repetition of such a cow
ardly and shameful act there is no
doubt, had it not been, as wo wero in
>?med, that Gen. Hampton notified
Sherman that for every Confederate
"rivate shot by him, Sherman, he,
Hampton, would cause to be shot for
iuie two federal officers. Whether
or not this was the cause of stopping
it I can't say, at any rate there was
30 more retaliation with us. Al
though wo were continually threatened
jrith it.
It was in the month of February.
18G.">, and it was oold, bitter oold,
*>eing the severest winter experienced
in years. About 100 of us were pris
sts, a few Georgians and Tennessee
?.n?, the balance South Gaiolinians.
3omo were captured on the way back
lo their commands, while others were
3till at home on sick or wounded fur
lough and unable io make good their
ascape. Boys of 1"> and 16, who had
responded to the last call of their
country, were among tho prisoners.
Old men too were ruthlessly taken
from their homes and made to share
the exposure, starvation, and cruelties
of ihose long weary marches. We
wero prisoners captured by Gen.
Uiair's corps, Capt. Burns and Lieut.
McKec having charge of us, and I
jiust say that of all tho brutes und
tyrantB that could be in human f.orm
lhat man Bums was surely one to ex
aell them all. There was no sym
pathy in his heart for any of us and
any order that ho could give that
would tend to increase our wants and
suffering seemed to be his delight to
inflict. Of Lieut. McKee we all
ihought well, for while ho was power
less to make us comfortablo or to
alleviate our wants and sufferings, ho
^pever did anything to increase them,
and had always a kind word, he was a
Western man and a true typo of a gen
tleman.
Major Waterhouse, too, of the 17th
corps of artillery, had always words
of cheer for us aud often visited the
"bull pen after our fatigue of all day
marohing, and condemned the cruel
ties to which wo wero subjected. He
was a fine specimen of a man and was
lig hearted. Our marches wero on an
average of 25 miles a day, and under
ihc most trying circumstances, as I
have stated. The woa'cher was bitter
cold and most of ur, half olad and
shoeless, and in this condition we
-sere forced, like oattle, through
swamps, over corduroy roads and new
toads, cut oui by the pioneer corps,
jhixiering with oold, the blood run
ning* from our fnet, half starved, sick
and Weakened by disease, run away by
vermin. Daily we trudged along, only
lojie down at night with little fire,
no., covering to protect us from the
rain and sleet, with the pangs of hun
ger gnawing at our very existence.
Oar rations were scant, and consisted
oj a little meal and about 3 hardtaoks
per day, occasionally a small bit of
salt meat. We only ate twioe a day,
breakfa&t and supper, there being no
lalt for dinner. Breakfast was very
hurriedly gotten, and half cooked, in
irbafce/ten utensil we were fortunate
d?fongn to possess. To add to our
misery the guards were of the most
ruel oharaoter and it was a common
occurrence for them to use their bayo
nets, inflicting slight, but paioful
wounds upon the persons of many who
from sheer exhaustion were unable to
keep up. Many foil by the wayside,
never to rise again. Oae old man, I
remember, by the name of Wolfe,
from Orangcburg County, was among
the number. Ho wa3 dragged from
I k?fo line in a dying conditioo, and
I /eft by the roadside. Many were shot
an the dead line. Jack Stribbling^
DRIliS.
?\I il 1er.:? ( Jon federate
uIi I was among ihc number that drew |
! .?.-. night, i> >'>r * i 1 ?w. in :i il?-li
rio'i* condition, brought about i<y
starvation and sickness, wandered
too hear the dead lino aid wa i shot.
Of the destruutiou of property that
marknl ShctUian's march through
South Carolina, bo much had been al
ready written ili;it 1 will say but little
more Plantations, with their tine
dwellings, hums, mills and fencing,
wen; ali laid in a.sllCH, even orchards
were destroyed, the very heavens
along the route being illuminated for
miles and miles nightly, nothing but
1 the chimneys being left standing as
monuments ia memory of his revenge
ful acts. It was a scene thit beggars
description; horses, mules, cattle and
j hogs, the whole country was left a
I wilderness us compl?te as his numer
ous pillagers, vaodalsaud incendiaries
could make it. Every day brought its
miseries and sufferings during those
; long and continuous march?s until wc
reached Newborn, on the coast of
North Carolina, where we remained, a
few days, quartered in the jail yard.
We were then divided into two batch
es and sent on transports, some to
Point Lookout, Md., and others to
Fortress Monroe, to be subjected to
further sufferings.
Your Lancaster correspondent gives
the execution of the victim as having
taken place near Lynch's River, and
so it might have been, but according
to my recollection it took place after
crossing the ('ape Fear River, and not
far from Fayctteville, N. C, but forty
j years is u 1-mg time tu accurately state
from memory the date of the month,
and exact spot. No uotes were kept
by any as far as I know under such
trying circumstances, and if there
was there certainly has been no publi
cation of it that I've seen or heard of,
and I am only sorry that I did uot
make a noto of the circumstances
years back while my memory was still
fresh and perfect in the recollection
of the outrage.
There were about twenty of us
selected to go through this retaliation
ordeal, and it appeared that it was in
tentionally ordered that those select
ed should bo South Carolinians, as
follows, viz: James Miller, Chester
field County; Samuel Wood, Barn well
County; Jarnos B. Patrick, Charles
ton; Butler Phelphs, Orangeburg
County; George Hnzelhurst, Charles
ton; Jack Stribling, Edgefield County;
Charles Scanlon, Charleston; Tom
O'Bannau, Barnwell County; Godfrey
Magwood, Charleston; Bascoui Cor
borno,-; and T think Dr. Stew
art, of Beaufort. The others, South
Carolinians, I cannot remember. Out
of the number poor Miller was the vic
tim upon whom vengeance was wreak
ed.
The following are those that sur
vived, reached home, lived some years
and have since died, except Jack
Stribling, who was killed on the dead
line as before mentioned,- viz: Samuel
Wood, Tom O'Bannon, Godfrey Mag
wood, Bascom Corborue. Those still
living arc: Butler Phclps, James B.
Patrick, Charles Scanlon, George
Hazelhurst, Dr. Stewart. I can't say
whether living or not.
Notable among the prisoners be
sides Dr. Stewart were: Dr. Albert
Tabor, brother oF the editor of the old
Charleston Mercury, and Major
Manning, son of Ex-Governor Man
ning. The two last named wero
brought in some time after the retali
ation, if I remomber rightly. Their
stay with us, however, was short;
their ranks of oflicc, we suppose,
obtaining for them better consider
ation.
There had been a steady, cold and
drizzling rain all day and we wore
thinking of the many long miles to
tramp before night would come to
givo us rest, when suddenly a halt
was ordered. (I think between the
hours of 2 and 3.) The place seleoted
for the bull pen and oamp was an oak
ridge to the left of a publie road. At
tho foot of the ridge and winding
along the edge of a bay or swamp was
a settlement road which joined the
publio road. We had not settled down
good, trying to rest our weary bones
on the oold and wet ground, congratu
lating ourselves on the unusually short
march of the day, when an officer,
(rank of lieutenant, his name we oould
never learn,) appeared and from a
paper in his hand commenced oalling
out the names of those he had record
ed, about twenty altogether. ?s eaoh
one answered to his name he was or
dered in line, md ^oder a strong guard
we were all then marched out to the
settlement ro?d and down it for a dis
tance of about twO hundred yards.
At this point there was in waiting a
fquad of about twelve, (infantry,) in
command of a sergeant. At the com
mand given one of the squad, with
hat in hand, cohered with a red hand
kerchief, took a position in front of
u?. We were theu ordered one after
the other to draw from tili- hut a slip
I I paper, nil blanks except one, which
hud some mark, which when drawn,
would d?termine the one to be shut.
A each one drew hi- .-l.j. of paper it
was handed to this sergeant, who
looked at it and then ordered you
hack in line. About adoz.ua or so
hud drawn when it came Miller's turn.
He drew and handed it to the .-er
gca t, but he p ;?<r fellow was not or
dered in line, us had beeu our good
fortune, but was detained and put in
charge of this Fqiiad. Wc weie then
ordert d about face and with sad heart,
we left pour Miller as we marched back
to the buil pen.
[i was t 1m-ri sleeting heavily and we
were trying to build such fires as we
could to keep from freezing to death,
when a volley rung out on the air and i
which told too well the fate of poor
Miller. He had be^n shot, yes, mur
dered. Miller was a Que specimen of
a man, standing perhaps six feet in
his stockings, of line physique, with
regular features, and woru a black
beard. He was the senior of the ma
jority of us, being, I should judge,
between UO and .'?."> years of age. I
never knew positively, but it was
said that he had a wife and chil
dren.
In conclusion, let me say that as it
has fallen to my lot out of the few of
us that are left to write this, perhaps
the saddest episode of the Civil war,
I have done so truthfully and to the
best of my memory; and, too, that it
may be handed down to our children,
and our children's children, that they
may kuow of the sacrifice mado in vin
dication of our right and honor and
in defence of our beautiful and be
loved Southland. But the span of
forty years has wrought many changes
to the world; we have shown that we
are as brave and good in peace as we
we wore stubborn and unconquerable
in war, our wrongs oao never be for
gotten, but are forgiven, the bitter
ness of feeling has about died out,
and iu tho luugU4ge of the eloquen t
Terrell, of Georgia, we are a regener
ated, reunited, an indissoluble peoplo,
and under one flag are striving togeth
er for the common good of all, and
for the advanoemont of this great and
grand Republic.
B. Frank Ford,
I Company D, 2nd, S. C. liegt, S. T.
i No. G'J, Bay street, Charleston, S. C.
May 10th, 11M)5.
aiutuc io Forrest Unveiled at Mem
phis.
Memphis. Tenn., May 1G.?To the
accompaniment of martial music and
in the presence of thousands of citi
zens and visitors]the equestrian bronze
statue of Lieut. Gen. Nathan B. For
rest was unveiled this afternoon in
the park that bears the Confederate
general's name. The statue is the
work of sculptor Neihaus. It was
cast in Paris.
Little Miss Bradley, a great grand
daughter of the dead hero, pulled the
silken cord which exposed to view tho
handsome monument. The munici
pil otlicers declared a half holiday for
the occasion and the city was crowded
with visitors. In the parade whioh
preceded the unveiling were: Capt.
Wm. M. Forrest, son of Gen. For
rest. With Capt. Forrest was his
family and iu other earriages rode
Coi. D. C. Kelly, of Nashville, sur
viving member of Gen. Forrest's old
staff, who* surrendered with him at
Gainesville, Ala., and several of For
rest's old escort.
The ceremonies at Forrest park be
gan with an invocation by the lit.
llev. Thomas F. Gailor, Protestant
Episcopal bishop of Tennessee Gen.
S. T. Carnes then made a brief speech
giving a history of the monument,
lie wa9 followed by Gen. George W.
Gordon, who delivered the dedica
tory address. Gen. Gordon said in
part:
'.'We have not assembled here today
to glorify war. We are not here to
exalt the direful art and sanguinary
science of human carnage, but to sa
lute and aooentuate the name, and to
commemorate in language, in bronze
and io marble, the masterful prowess
and martial genius of Tennessee's, if
not America's, greatest, moat original
and dazzling soldier?Lieut. Gen.
Nathan Bedford Forrest. We declare
this durable testimonial, so imposing,
so impressive and so expressive of the
oharaoter and career of (he man to be
the imperishable proclamation of our
veneration for his memory, oar grati
tude for his services and sacrifices
and our admiration for his valor and
genius.
"His natural endowments both phys
ical and mental were extraordinary.
He began his military career at the
age of 4(>, the same ago at whioh
Caesar began his conquest of the na
tion, sad like the great Roman, he
never lost a battle. He was one of
the world's few commanders who
could personally engage in the combat
and at the same time direet the action
of his men. Ho accomplished more
with the resources at his command
than any commandor developed by
tho war?at tho same time displaying
more personal prowess than any; and
thereby establishing a greater olaim
than any to be called "tho American
Mars."
Mayor J. J. Williams accepted tho
statue ou behalf of the oity of Mem
phis. $
tien. Fitzhugii Lee.
The leading journals in the North
and lia st art; piling some handsome
tributes tu the memory of the late
? Ii. L'itzhugh Lee. and it really does '
us good tu lead them. As a sample
of many of the editorials we have]
r<-a<J. we clip the following from the j
I'ittsburg (I'd. I Dispatch:
TIic news of the death of General
[ 'itzhugh Lee carries with it a sense
of deep regret. f11a position wan
such that his sudden removal from
the scene of his useful activities can
only be regarded as closing the career
of a notable man.
Believing (irmly in the cause of the
South, he left the American army to
cast his fortunes with those of Vir
ginia. During the long and desperate
struggle he made for himself a posi
tion among the officers of the Cou- j
federacy, and when his usefulness as J
a soldier wai done he retired until
such time as the results of the v?ar ;
could be determined. Then with all
the fervor of his nature ho began the
preaching of that doctrine which
stirred anew throughout the South a
feeling of patriotism. He taught the
young men the gospel of one flag and
one nation and seconded by the efforts
of Gordon and Wheeler and others,
did a very great deal to heal the
wounds of the conflict.
His State honored him as its Chief
Executive and President McKinley
sent him to Havana as Consul Gen
eral. During those trying days pre
ceding the actual break with Spain he
exerted every effort to prevent the
rupture, but when war became inevi
table he offered his services to up
hold the flag against which he had
once fought. Following the war he
occupied a distinguished position in
Cuba, and when finally retired it was
with honor as a brigadier general of
the United States Army.
His place in history will be well
understood. Careful in the formation
of his views, he was true to his con
victions until such time as he could
be convinced that he was wrong. He
was a splendid type of the progressive
American.
The Record of Emotione.
We cannot always charge it to old
age wLen wo tiud our foreheads are
crossed with & distressing network of
tiny lines. It is not always age that
makes those disagreeable rows across
our foreheads and around the eyes.
There arc some grandmothers whose
faces have hardly a wrinkle and some
granddaughters whose brows are as
seamed as they might be at sixty.
Time is not responsible for these exist
ing little lines. A good many of them
may be charged up against worry. If
I one gets in the way of fretting over
everything that has gone wroug and
everything one thinks likoly to go
wrong, the record upon one's face will
bo a mark which is hard to erase and
is far uglier than the lines the happy
years bring.?Philadelphia Inquirer.
? Some men prefer to do their hay
making by gaslight.
A Columbia ''(terrien of Kdeu."
The following account of the transi- ]
tioo of the Ogden party "fr:mi para
dise to a railroad wreck" is from the
pen of Mr. J. K. Chamberlain, the
btatl correspondent cf the New York
Mail, who was on the wrecked train.
His ' story" appeared in the Mail un
der a Richmond, Ya., date liue, and
is in part, as follows:
"The educational pilgrims from the
North stepped from paradise at Colum
bia into quite the other thing at
Greenville. At the capital of South
Caroliua there is a college for girls,
presided over by Miss MoCliotock,
which is located in a garden that
comes nearer to being the Garden of
Eden than any other place I have ever
seen. It is called the 'old l'rc-6ton
place.' It is a sumptuous old South
ern estate, in the heart of Colombia,
that for about a century belonged to
the Prestnns and the Hamptons, two
wealthy South Caroliana families
whoso lives were interwoven by mar
riage. They planted ferns of beauty
there wbioh were to ripen into per
fection only after they, the Prestons
and the Hamptons, had vanished from
the place and from the life of the city
and State.
"Some one of those old aristocrats
knew trees and shrubs. Not only did
he know what beautiful exotics would
grow in his garden, but he must have
imaged the forms they would take in
their maturity and the aesthetic rela
tion they would bear to one another.
"Here in a triangular group stands
a wonderful eodar of Lebanon, whose
outline against the sunset glow was
the summit of all things majestic and
graceful;'a tall white pine that looks
as if it might have grown on Maine
hills; and a ginkho tree of China fan
tastic, delicately pinnacled.
"All about grow lovely magnolias of
the South, sweet-olive trees, and a
soore of other beautiful species; among
them wind paths in bewildering mazes,
bordered with roses of every tint,
hanging in the perfect fullness of lus
cious bloom. At one point is a beau
tiful old fountain, surrounded by a
glistening pool. Tbe fountain is
haunted. Once a nun of unhappy life,
was buried on this spot, and in the
moonlight she rises in the vhito gur
ment of her novitiate and broods over
the water.
"Among these romantic walks, -in
this garden of enchantment, the edu
cational visitors wandered until the
luxurious summer night fell. It seems
as if they were not really awake, but
were in tLJ midst of some dream of
Xanadu.
"In the line of contrasts, I think
few of us will ever enoounter anything
more striking than that jump from
the paradise beneath the cedar of Le
banon at Columbia to the bloody bend
at Greenville.
Bucked The Twine Trust.
In his article in the May World's '
Work on the Kansas oil tight, Isaac i
Marcosson tells the significant story
of how the State bucked the Twine
TruBt. Kansas raises incie wheat than
:tny other State in the Union and the
farmers have to buy millions of pounds
of twin1.- to biud the sheaves every
year. In ISM these farmers were pay
ing the twine trust an average of 18
cents a pound for twine-. The price
of wheat was low, they were not mak
ing any money. The farmers peti
tioned the Legislature for relief, and
the sum of $150,000 was appropriated
for the State twine factory. The Con
stitution of Kansas forbids the State
to enter any privato business; bo the
twine factory, to evade the law, was
established to give employment to con
victs. The ?uperiuiendency of the fac
tory was left to the warden and the
board of directors of the penitentiary.
The convicts were taught to make wine.
The next year the Kansas farmers
were buying twine for 9 1-2 oents a
pound. Every implement store or
crossroads general store in the State
was made an agenoy. The dealer
bought the twine for 9 cento and made
the half-cent for selling it. The Kan
sas farmer bought twine for three and
four oents a pound less than his neigh- !
bor across the line in Nebraska. The
factory soon began to earn money.
Now it has a surplus of $65,000, it has
paid back the original appropriation
of $150,000 to the State; and it owns
a well-equipped plant. The factory
does not make enough to supply all
tho farmers in the State, but it has
suooeeded in bringing down the price
of twine everywhere in Kansas to a
reasonable figure.
Cotton Bags Displacing Jute.
Charleston, May 12.?The idea of a
more general utilization of cotton bags
instead of jute is spreading, as was 1
evidenced this morning in the receipt
by the Royal Bag and Yarn faotory
of a large order from the Orange Rice
Mill oompany of Orange, Texas, for
bags, ihc mill having determined to
use cotton instead of jute bags. The
correspondence of President G. A.
Wagener shows that there is a general
intereet in the subject and as a result
of the agitation, there will be a greater !
demand for the Southern staple. A
number of very largo orders have re
cently been received by the Charles
ton mill and there seems to be a gene
ral appreciation of the benefit and ad
vantages of ootton bagging ove> jute
through this seotion. As a result of
the increase:! demand for ootton bag
ging, tho mill is putting in additional
machinery and creoting more .houses
for its operatives.
Kentucky Hospitaity.
A representative in Washington
tells this Btory to illustrate ''the
strenuous life" as it exists in certain
parts of Kentucky, says Harpers Week
ly.
A well-to-do farmer once invited an
acquaintance from a neighboring town
to dine with him. The recipient of
this courtesy was a man well known
in that region for his general cranki
ness and his propensity to use his gun
at the least evidence of what he con
sidered an affront. The fermer, well
aware of the toachineBs of his guest,
with whom, for business reasons, ho
desired to remain on good ternis, al
ways kept a wary eye on his visitor.
One afternoon the teaty individual,
in conversation with his host, remark
ed: "I can't account fov the queer
feelings and impulses that eomo over
me at times. Do you know, the first
time I took dinner here I had as much
as I could do to master the impulse,
when ono of your sons, made a oertain
remark, to whip out my gun and let
go.
"Oh, don't you worry about that,"
said the farmer. "I know all about
your little failing in that line. My
son Jake was standin' in the hallway
just back of you with a shotgun. You
did well to change your mind. At
the first motion toward your hip pock
et my son Jake had instructions to
blow daylight through you!"
His First Live One.
"During one of my. trips through
Europe,' * says Charles Haw troy, "I
found myself in a small village with
no razors. They had been packed in
my handbag, whioh I left at the hotel
where I had stayed the day before.
There was no barbershop in the plaoe
and I was in a quandary as to how I
might get shaved. The inn-keeper
told me that there was a man in the
village who occasionally shaved peo
ple, and I determined to risk a cut or
two and send for him. The amateur
barerb arrived and after a little hesita
tion he said to me:
"Willyou please, sir, lie down flat
on your back while I shave you, sir?'
"Thinking that it was probably the
custom of the country, I stretched out
comfortably on my baok and nearly
went to sleep while the fellow shaved
me, Fo light was hie touch. When he
had tiuished I said:
" 'I am ourious to kucw why you
asked me to lie down to be shaved?'
" 'Because, sir,' was his ingenuous
reply, 'I.nsver before shaved a live
man.'
"I may add that I sent for no moro
amateur barbers to shave me during
my trip."?Cleveland Plain Dealer.
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