The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, January 21, 1919, Page THREE, Image 3
HOW GEN. LEE ACQUIRED
HIS WAR HORSE "TRAVELLEF
Ex-Governor Hejrward Gives Inte
esting Account of Famous Char
er's History as Told to Him I
Man Who Raised "Traveler" ai
and Sold Him to Lee.
At the request of the Sunday Nev
and Courier. Ex-Gov. D. C. Heywai
consented ,to give for publication c
r*TJ/0-.+ it T.oo'e Kir+ViHav an a
UC11. XVVVbi *-? AJW u ?
count of a singular coincidence whic
occurred two years ago and whic
throws new light on the history <
Traveller, the famous horse whic
Gen. Lee rode throughout his can
j| paign in Virginia.
The facts concerning Traveller
history which are here given ha\
never been published before. Go1
ernor Heyward is confident of the:
accuracy, but, as will be seen, the
are not based on his own persons
e knowledge, but were given to hii
by the Virginian.
"About two years ago," said Goi
ernor Heyward yesterday, "while vi:
iting the little town of Lewisbur*
the county seat of Greenbrier counts
I happened to be in a store one morr
ing when I was introduced to Cap
James W. Johnston, an^elderly ger
tleman who was a farmer in Greer
brier county. He inquired where
ir was from and on being told that
came from South Carolina, he r<
irked that he had once visited th;
I state. I asked him when he ha
been in South Carolina and he r<
f plied that it was during the war. I
answer to another question, he state
^ that he had been in the neighborhoo
of Yemassee, McPhersonville 'an
? Coosawhatchie.
, "Some strange reason, * his mer
tion of the name of Coosawhatchi
led me to remark that it was at Coc
sawhatchie that Gen. Lee bought Tre
. veller and more in a spirit of fu
than for any other purpose I; sough
to make much of the fact that th
great soldier had come to my stat
to buy his horse. The old gentlemar
K however, said at once that I was mij
taken and on my asking him how h
knew that I was wrong, he replie
that he himself had raised Travelle
[in Greenbrier county, which was the
I a part of Virginia, and that he ha
L delivered the horse to Lee at Coosa
[ whatchie. "I delivered him to hii
I - there," he said, "but, I raised hii
IM here." *
j| "Being much interested, I aske
?* 1 him to give me all the facts in regar
to the horse and how and wher
v Gen. Lee had obtained him. This h
very kindly proceeded to do. I hav
every reason to believe that his ac
count is absolutely correct sine
Capt Johnston is a highly reputabl
? citizen of Greenbrier county an
since he is known by everyone ther
as the mah who raised Traveller.
"Cant. Johnston told me that a
?X-? f
the time Gen. Lee first saw the hors
he (Johnston) was a private in th
60th Virginian infantry and was i
' camp in Fayette county. Being fa
miliar with the country he was detail
ed to recruit horses for the arm
and, having much riding to do in th
performance of this duty, he wrot
home to his father on his farm nea
Blue Sulphur Springs and asked hii
to send him a gray colt named Jeffa
colt which had been given to hii
I hv his father. It was at the cam
j "Oth Virginia, Johnston's regimen
f'was also ordered to South 'Carolina
I Johnston going with it and I thinl
rJ Capt. Broun* Knowing that thej
g.l would see Gen. Lee in South Caro
' Hna, Broun suggested to Johnstor
hJ -hat he take the horse to Soutl
Carolina with him so that he couk
j turn it over to the general. Com
' nany B. Johnston's company, left th
vs *
l.tr.in at Coosawhatchie and it hap
pened that Lee was standing nea
i the railroad tracks as the horse wa
c.
taken out of the car. Knowing botl
' Broun and Johnston and recogniz
' ing the horse at once. Gen. Lee said
i 'Boys, I see you have brought m
I my colt.' Johnston stated that Gen
| Lee then paid him $175 for th
horse. He used him constantly
l thereafter throughout the war, chang
e ing his name from Jeff to Traveller.
T" "Capt. Johnston gave me the fol
ir lowing facts about Traveller whicl
may be of interest. His sire was th
^son of an imported Arabian horse
311 which was noted sire of horses ii
I Grpenhrier countv. His dam was
r- dark iron-gray mare bought by John
3- ston's father, Adrew D. Johnston
?. from t farmer of Greenbrier countj
;iamed Sam Richmond. Richmon<
l- had obtained the mare from a Metho
t. dist minister, whose name Johnstoi
i- did not recall, bui who had brough
i- her from Kentucky. From ti.is mar
I the elder Johnston had Raised sever
I al colts but Jeff (or Traveller a
he was afterwards to be known) wa
it the' bast of them all. He was graj
d in color with dark mane and tail
stood fifteen and a half hands higl
n and was well built and compact. H
d showed up better in action than a
d rest, moving with his head and tai
d well up. He had excellent gaits fo
the uses for which Gen. Lee desiret
him?a fast walk, a trot and a can
e ter>
"Gen.^iee rode the. horse from th
i- time he bought him throughout th
n: war and had him at Appomattox
it When he went to Washington and
e Lee University to assume his duties
e as president, he rode into Lexington
i, alone on Traveller, and during his
5- term as president of the institution
e he was often seen riding the famous
d charger about the neighboring roads
r in the afternoons. Traveller outliv
n ed Gen. Lee by a year or two, I thinl
d Capt. Johnston stated that he had
i- seen the horse several times during
n the war after Gen. Lee had bough
til the animal, and that after the war
j he saw the horse once?in a parade
d: at Richmond in which one of Gen.
dj Lee's daughters rofo,Traveller. Trav
e eller died, I thinB^itrf, lockjaw. He
e' was given a decentt^urial in Lexinge'ton
and some three-jpt^rs ago ThomJ
as F. Ryan gave a sum of money for
e the purpose of exhuming his skele
e i ton ^o that it could be preserved
d The skeleton is now either at Wash
e ington and Lee University or in th
Battle Abbey at Richmond, I do no
,t recall which."
e1
1 A 1 IPTIAV CATC Ar limDir C T/W
'* is Fayette county that Lee first sai
? colt, which ?m then four yeai
old. Lee was rery much struck wit
him ana wanted to ouy mm, du
Johnston informed the general tha
he had already promised to sell th
} horse to Capt. Jos. Broun, the quai
termaster of the regiment, that
price of $175 had been agreed upo
, and that he was to deliver the hors
to Capt. Broun as soon as he (Johr
ston) had finished his task of secui
ing horses for the army. Feelin
flattered, however, that the con
manding general of the army had ac
mired the horse so much that h
wanted to buy him for use durin
the war, Johnston went to Cap
'* Broun and told him of Lee's desiri
and suggested that if he was not di?
posed to insist upon having th
horse, he would permit Johnston t
sell him to Lee. This Broun grac
* ously consented to do, * waiving a
claim that he might have had to th
horse.
"Very shortly after this howeve:
v aid before the horse could be turne
er to Gen. Lee, the general was oi
dered to the coast of South Carolin
U take charge of the military open
' tions there. Not long after this th
>
0 nwilVll VI TTVAIV J1\/V1>
n
| ! Clemson College, Jan. 17.?Th
i livestock division of. the Extensioi
V;
I Service makes the following sugges
0
I tions to farmers concerning the Auc
| tion Sale of Public Animals at the
ri
I "Remnant Depot, Camp Sevier, Green
nj ville, Jan. 21, 9:30 a. m.
| 1. The sale will include: 150
Dj horses, 950 to 1200 pounds; 350
horses. 1200 to 1600 pounds; 457
j mules, 900 to 1400 pounds. Cash or
jJ certified check will be required fo
] purchasing.
j 2. Contrary to certain rumors tha
I individual farmers cannot buy on
# j or two animals if that is all he wants
I animals may be purchased singly, in
i pairs, teams, or car lots. All hav
! equal chance.
I 3. These animals have been look
I-1
I ?d over by County Agent Chapman
and W. J. Sheely of the Livestock
g
i Extension work, -who report some
j j good material and advise that farm|
ers should not lose this good oppor0
| iunity to get work stock at prices
g
j :ower than the general market price.
4. Mr. Sheely expects to be on
and at the sale and will gladly ad!
vise with farmers wishing to pur
| chase.
:o _ _
. j 5. Further information may b
I had from Messrs. Chapman an<
j "^heely or Capt. 0. L. Overmger. A
R. D. 310, Camp Sevier, Greenville.
r
' BHHnniHBBHHBQnSHBHBi
r- Engraved Cards and Invitaions?
a The Press and Banner Co
i
s I* TyT>7tr?
| ; , Before God
I V Responsible
X
/ I VHE whitening bones of millions
I of massacred men, women and
- -\. ^ children are strewing the plains
of Asia Minor from the Black Sea to
the Persian Gulf.
V
f *
; In a single day's travel, an American
/ relief worker saw the mutilated corpses
of more than five thousand outraged
I J women, piled by the roadside.
i $
i , Thousands of living babies have been
hurled into the rushing tides of the
1 ' ^1-" nn/4 Z\fVtAr riTTAfe
C/UpnTcllCS, LUG JLlglJLD CU1U UUivx mwigi
' T . ' < - * x $
i 1 From the town of Harpoot eighteen
j ! &:> thousand persons were deported, mostly
| j women and girls. Deported?driven for
endless miles over mountains, plains,
j! f'4 deserts in bitter cold and parching heat
Their mounted guards, ex-convicts, j
j j i , criminals, ruffians of the lowest order, jj
j ! i;*-*5? 1
At the end of sixty-fou^ days the j
;! r ;,i survivors, one hundred and eighty-five
" '**? out of the eighteen thousand, staggered
into a town hundreds of miles from
whpre they started. Covered only with
: ; rags they were shuddering skeletons,
half dead of their suffering, half blind
if with starvation.
nf nfViprs snmfi died of orivation
" - vyi UAV WWAAWAWy ' - ?
and hardship, some starved to death,
some were eaten by wild beasts. God
4 alone knows how the rest came to an end
? . jc' . < '
" at the hands of worse than wild beasts.
\ _ The story of Harpoot is the story of
For the [honor of America we cannc
j ' have passed through unnameable hells
past. But before God we are responi
ible for the rebuilding of these rac<
r
1 '
j . r????
Every dollar subscribed
goes to the Relief
Work
All expenses are pri- ^xftlERICAJ
vately met _
All funds are cabled IF
I through the Depart- . .
I ment of State - (Formerly /
11 All funds are distribS
I uted through U. S.
II . Consuls or American
i 11 Agencies
Our Government is prevented
from giving aid
The Red Cross is not
organized for Relief
Work in these sections
I
i
ySiV^^yi- r^-v-.v;- :-v?^>'^fyyV^^>-:-^r^>^*i?,?^^j?!52^f^^^-<#asVf i
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i^cu^muLa .*. * '**' " V * ' '.'ii>?, '* *< tW".'. ? *' ;v*. / . ' I .:
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?We are 7
??S ? ,i
! for their Future ,
J? ? J? 4-Via Mpof T7ocf ^Tn I ' '
nunareus ui.iuwu^ui mo ?>m?i ? - wretched
groups,the survivors are strag- 1
gling in from the deserts. Armenians, I Syrians,
Greeks, Jews, bringing disease,
famine, woe as they come. v. > r
There are four million of these ref- t
ugees. They have not even a crust of
bread unless we provide it and four
hundred thousand of them are orphaned s
children, little more than babies, helpless,
resourceless, hungry. Seventeen
cents a day, five dollars a month, sixty ^
1 dollars a year will keep the breath of
me in one ui uiu&q ^ihcioiul^u ww*vwi
/ ;
If this were the end of the story, y
i appeal would be useless. Turko-Ger$
man fiendishness would make aid I
I almost unavailing.
i '
[l But these oppressed peoples have been v
d freed from Turkish rule, through the
a victory of the Allies and America.
? I J
n They need only our help for a little v. i
% time to re-establish themselves as self- I
ff\ < /
% supporting nations.
I ' ? ?
i It will take thirty million dollars to care j ^.
lilfor their immediate heeds in food and 'K?
f | clothing, and buy tools, farm implements,
W seeds, live stock to put them on a self- 9
h supporting basis within the year.
v./J.This
is the work we have to do-^
? to raise that thirty million dollars? ^
t and to raise it now before the surr
vivors perish. f
. J *
>t let their misery go unheeded. They 11 j,
of suffering. We [cannot blot out their II
sible for their future?we are respons- II ^
ss. .This is our work. Are yoa ready? II f
M COMMITTEE FOR RELIEF II
i THE NEAR EAST I
k ? - "? A?Rj;?n I
UUCriCdU yoillllllLLCC muivuiau'M/ii?M *%yi?v?/
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