Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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WAR ST '.die President ot' the ( bu: "Our WoaiOD in the War" The Charleston News and Courier ~aas requested that "Our Women in the War" who had any experience would write accounts for publication. As I had some cxpcrionoo at that -time I respond to the request. When the war between tho North and tho South had been proclaimed, companies were formed all over the South and men went to battle fjr liberty, which they thought dearer than life. Many of the woaicn of the South jad been reared in wealth ami luxury, without the knowledge of hardship jut when those near and dear to them <vero exposed to tho dangers of war, they did not pine in idleness, but bound themselves together to aid in the cause, with the zeal and heroism that characterizes true women. Wo can not dwell upon tho acts of a few ?- vhen all did so well. / "My home, at the time of tho war, .vas iu Cokesbury, S. C. As that town had never been raided or inva ded by Union soldiers, I was spared rifae insults, privation and cruolties > tlsat many of the women of the South vyere subjected to when Sherman's army passed through South Carolina, devastating everything in its way. At j??? timo tho oitirons of Cokos . bury were greatly excited and alarmed when news reaohed tho town that ^Taaken *eo?dierB wore on thoir way -.here, ae thero was no one in tho place then but a few old mon, women ..and children ant" servants. "The Mrvanw woro told to gut the wagons Crod haul all provisions 10 a place of safety or everything would fall into the hands of the Yankeo sol diers and then thero would bo nothing For them to eat, as we had no money with which to buy more. They began their work ot onoe sad soon ovory r ihing^was beyond tho roaoh of the enemy, while the women busied them selves in secreting the valuables. Then wo quietly awaited the com ing, knowing not what tho result -would be. At last night oamo on and still we watched for what wo dreaded. There was no one in my house exoept rmyself, four little <;hild*en and tho nurse. All was solitude and wo were startled ot even the dropping of an acorn, with no hope of human aid un 3css there was a Mason among those expected. My husband having taken the precaution, before ho loft for tho 'war, to havo me given the Masonio degree, telling me if I was over in distress and made the Bign of distress, if there was a Mason present, he would be bound to pro*oot me. The trying moment oamo, footsteps were beard upon tho front piazza und a rap - on the door. ' I ear. never forgot tho expression on th<ffaces of the chil dren and nurse or my own feelings, nut to the door we vent. When the door was opened a cry of <joy aame from all, as there was Mr. Landon /Cannon and another young man that /bad come to tell me that I could re ' tire without fear aB there would be no Yankees there, they having been un ?fblo to cross tho river at the ferry they expeoted and were forced to oross .higher up, which would oause them to ' go through a different part of the ^country. /At tho beginning of the war I had s ' *?no pair of houses and a oarriage, ? whioh'-Gen. Stewart learned of in . some way, and sent an order from Virginia '<?r them. This order was granted'at< onee. When I saw-them: - driven away, knowing that I could: "havo them no more, it wbb without v regret, as I felt 1 was aiding in the oaub'o for whioh bravo men wero fighting. -iHarly in tho Teat struggle for lib erty, the ladies of ?bkeebury, as they -' did everywhere else, formed thocjelv esricto societies that they might more readily aid io their work for the sol diers. Work.was being constantly done by day and by night. vYo used ' ts?low candles until tallow was ex hausted, then we used a oord dipped ?n melted beeswax, wound around a motile, pith one end exterding up, -whore it was lighted, as it burned down it .vas unooiled for further use. Io our work we cut, sowed, knit, spun j?nd dye 3; and made oloth whioh was vguiokly turned into garments of every description and sent to tho army. - As >1 was the. wife of a surgeon in the ;ermy, I knew bow important it was to f'have lint, oo boys and girls were put , i?to work. Old pieces of lineo "* e >ranon converted into lint.. We o .;-aot engaged, in this Kind of work . -etfonc, we superintended the indus tries, directed the servants and kept .things together as best we could. Too much praise oaonot be given . to/ho faithful servants, Who were so ?. humble, industrious^ obedient and \ kiad, who labored for us so wjlliogly iifor four long years. I When ' sick/ convalescent, and DRIES. I 1 i Confederacy at Cokes r.y Edition News and Courier. (slightly wounded soldiers were return ing to their homes there were a num ber of iadics appointed to carry dinner to them at the railroad station, about a mile from town. The comfort and relief wo were able to givo those suf fering soldiers, caused us to look for ward to tho time with much interest. On ono occasion when I was furnish ing dinner to thorn I went into the coach with a woll filled plate, when a long thin hand was extended towards mo, saying: "(iivo me thai, lady," whioh I did and he ate as if ho had had nothing for days. About the time ho had finished with his plate I entered tho coaoh with another, which he asked me for. Before I could re spond, one sitting near said: "I think it best to be careful, that man is just recovering from typhoid fever." L then declined to give him the plate, he insisted so feelingly that I told him I would put it in a package for him, if ho would promise me he would not eat it for Homo time. "No, lady, I want it on that beauti ful plate just as you have fixed it." < I said, "I would hato to loso my plato and break my sot." Ho said, "I will send it back by tho conduc tor.'' I said, "Very well," novor expect ing to hoar of it again. The noxt morning 1 went to the station to ask tho oonduotor how the soldier got ou. He handod mo my china plate, saying he told mo to toll you he bad improvod ever sinoo ho got something to oat. When l'rediddot Davis, his Cabinet anl oscort, were retreating through South Carolina they spenc a portion of tho day and a night in Cokosbury. They wors entertained at the homo of my mothor-iu-law, Mrs. M. A. Gary. The escort waH under tho oommand of Gen. M, W. Gary. A large r?ception was given them that night. Tho floral offerings, whioh wore presented, were beautiful roses from my garden. I reoall with pleasure, an interesting conversation I had with President Davis during the evening. Tho party onjoyod a comfurttble night but at an early hour in'thu morning they were hurriedly arouaod by a courier, bringing a message, in forming President Davis that Yankee soldiers wore in pursuit of him. They went from Cokesbury to Abbeville, where the last Cabinet meeting was hold and tho soldiers disbanded. fllrs. Davis joined the President and they, with a few others, went into Georgia, whero ho was soon captured. The surrender of Gen. R. E. Lee came and tho gloom that overcasts any great defeat overcast the entiro South. The cause for whioh bravo men fought had been surrendered, but their hearts, their energy, their cour age, and their integrity they still re tained. Their course and its results are before the world, let the world deoide whether it be to approve or to disapprove. < We honored the Confederate sol diers. We honor them now. We honor the memory of those "who have passed over the river." We ereet monuments to their valor. We will continue to ereot them, until thore is not a plaoe in the South that has not he*- Confederate monument. Mrs. M. C. Gary. Abbeville, 8. 0.. Njv. 21$, 1904. The Boy Sohllers. When my father, Col. A. D. Good win, commanding this brigade of six teen-year-old boys, wrote my mother and myself wo could go-down and vis it him in camp, our hearts greatly re joiced and mine at least wa? in a state of excited expectation, f?r I was at that time but a small lassie. We left Columbia in the early morn ing,'arriving at Adam's Ban in the afternoon, to find a'warm welcome awaiting ub, bat vory empty quarters. Indeed, we stood aghast at the slim prospect of beds for the night, bat patting wits to work, papa .devised what I considered the jolliest and most originsl of oeuohes. His body servant was instructed to bring in two logs of six feet length. These were placed about four feet from the wall of the cabin and a quantity of dry fragrant pine straw heaped between; this, with a half doion blanketa fur nished us a resting pla?a for that night, my excitement too great to per mit of Boon Sleeping, bowbeit aomfort i able enough for youthful limbs, though I think my mother gladly wel comed the two feather beds that ware sont us the next day by tho offioer in command of the pose, General Robert son, I remsmbor how we took stock of oar hodeekeeping arrangements, find ing bat a meagre supply of necessities, much less luxuri?s,, but We were too bappy to be together to mind any- ! t thing, in fact to me it was a veritable \ picnic. j i We had carried with us 1113- littic ! \ maid and after her duli<\s of general \ maid of all work, the work consisting | * of a making of the premature bed* and ; 1 sweeping the floors, hIic was allowed j to follow ub around, as the habit was, ] so my strolls thtough tho sighing piue ; forests were token with the small no- , gro girl close on my footsteps. j Our larder was sufficiently abundaut , but lacked variety, which was supplied { by this same attentive gantleman iu frequent gifts of game. The way in which it happened that my father was serving on the coast at that time wai this: Having been in capacitated for nine or ten months from a sevoro wound in his anolo, re ceived while ongagod in ono of the seven days' battles around Richmond, while yet on crutches ho sought to re join his regiment, but was ordered homo as unfit for service. Still thirsting for tho fray, he re paired to tho coant with theso youth ful recruits who were soon incorpora ted with others of the same kind and Col. Goodwin given the command of the brigade. And what boys thoy were, the dear, brave laddies, whom papa said showed tho gift of veterans under tho hottest firo from tho enemy's- gunboats on the river. Neither did thoy flinoh on long marches, weighted down with double their share of baggago for they had no othor means of transportation. How thrv stood it was wonderful, for many of them, with their delioate physique, looked scaroc-y more than ohildren. j We drove through tho oamp tho day after our arrival. Tho stately pines spread interminably around. On either side of tho road were rude shacks of 1 pine boughs, the only shelter of tho boys from the wintry cold that was then fully upon them. There they wore, gathered avound fires of green wood, giving out rnnoh more smoke than flume, all of them inadequately olothed, some ovon bare of shoes. Ah, it was a pitiful eight, and yot there wab no hint of backing down in these patr.otio young soals. The reason of *\ie\r having no trans portation services was a mont unfor tunate accident that ooourred a few [ weeks before ve left Columbia. ! My fathor had come thero for the purpjBO of securing meanB of trace portation for his troops and had just succeeded in getting 18 mules from tho Government, which were housed in a stable just opposite my grand father's residence on Gorvaiw street. They wore to be sent the next day when at midnight an alarm of firo itod * brilliant illumination aroused us in j gron fright, and behold the stable was blazing. Before help arrived it was too far gone to bo saved. At tempts were made to reBoue the ani mals, but only a very few escaped. A score of fineriding horses belonging to private parties wero also lost. It was a terrible sight which I havo never forgotten. That was why our' boys had to shoulder all their belongings. An amusing inoident of the camp at Adam's Run is worth relating. The poor little * fellows, uoaoous tomod to tho exigencies of warfare, juat from the protecting cars of loving hearts and homes, found ablutions ; difficult and exceedingly disagreeable ; under existing oiroumetanoes, espec ially with green pine smoke to contend - with and several times they appeared on parade with'hands and faces so darkened by this saue smoke- as to ' leave- the individual scarcely reoog oisable. The adjutant was therefore obliged to issue an order that no member , of the brigade should appear on parade unless hands and faces wore first ' washed en penalty of being given ex tra duty. We remained a week at Adam's Run, the day* passing by uneventful ly, when the news came one day tntY Sherman was drawing vor y ^ near, and fearing wo might bo eat off from horse, I ; papa hurried us off, the nest days he also weeiviss esrdera tc sssreh. ^ ^ $j|. At dawn we started in theesirisgo, coo or tod by say young uncle. As- wo left the ran we passed the marching brigade and ray last glimpse of those: boys, was cf young faoos set '. and steadiest, withal so pale and boyish; a sigh', indeed to make a mother** heart aehu with raingled sorrow and pride. Driving rapidly we veaohed Sum morvillo safely, spent tho night with, hospitable friends and then bonrdiDg the ears next morning arrived at homo Juat in time, as the railroad was torn up the Beat morning by Sherman's advance guard. ., Elisabeth-Goodwin Legare. ?- 'iff ' . The Opflilrjfl fit?. ... ' .. ' One morning in August, 1863, long before day,; early as day day conies at thftt tise of the year, we ware starsied sud terrified oat of sleep by * barling, hissing, crashing sound, worse than thunder at its wobt, and tho terriblo truth forced itself upen ua?-th ey are bombarding oar eity.. I thought first that a meteor, had buret over us, for that first shell pasfr cd above our house and exploded on tho next block. A ho**, with a flag of , ruce was sent to the fleet, to know } ?beiher the city was to be destroyed viih itH women and children. "We vill give you two days to remove your vomen and children," was tho reply; 'on Monday Charleston will bo bom barded in earnest." Oh, what a time of stress and storm! [''orty-eight hours for helpless womon ?nd children to find rcfugo among Grangers, to leave their homes alone, For husbands and fathors were either away In oamp, or in service at home, aud oould not leave. To take anything but a little cloth ing was out of tho question. First, the railroads had enough to do to take the pcopJo, besides they knew not where they would find shelter for themselves. My mother deoided to i join some friends who were going to refugee in Orangeburg. Never can I forgot that night at the South Carolina Railroad Depot. Tho socoe must have borne a airaugo re r.omblanoe to one which had been enacted nearly two hundred years be fore, when our Huguenot forefathers left their homos to seek shelter in a foreign land ?savo for this differ ence?that then, tho husbands and fathers had their families in care. The night of car flight was bot and sultry, wc were so huddled together as to make it literally stifling. Thon the leavo-taking. I saw strong men pale with grief strain weeping wives, and ohildren to their hearts, and fairly totter from tho oars in agony, not knowing what their fate might be, or if that farewell be not their last in this world. At midnight, or perhaps later, we arrived in Orangeburg, and a m>. irn ful weary band of people left tho de pot, to wander about in the darkness, seeking shelter. From door to door tl) y heard repeated "no room," "no room," till finally about a mile up the town, at a plaoe whioh was called "Hotel,"' wo were allowed to enter. Seats or beds were out cf the question, so into cue room ~o crowded, aud sat until daylight, ?nding only such sup port as we oould get from leaning against eaoh other. As soon as we oould see to walk around, we went into the yard and finding a well of water performed such ablutions as we oould, without the luxury of basins and toweh, then we wore told we might have breakfast.. A sorry breakfadt table indeed, at whioh tho refugees gathered, looking more dead than alive; even the fun loving girls and boys quailed at the sight. But we were hungry and glad to get anything, so I helped my* self to a waffle, and as I eut it? horrors I a large roach was snugly em bedded therein. At that moment, directly oppoaito, I saw a poor, worn out refugee mother fall over, with a wild shriek, into a fartntiog fit; all of whioh frightened me to such a degree, that I sprang up and rushed from the room as fast as my feet could oarry me. Later, my mother succeeded in ob taining an attio room in which she and her six ohildren lived, until the townspeople, recovering a little from the shook of having their village so inundated by strangers, began opening and realise honsesand rooms to them;, and afterwards we beoame more oom fortablo. Although we lived for months in that attio we were no - ?if?j happy. Three other f amiliea ooou?", 3 the three remaining rooms, we :?er4 all from Charleston, sharing the same adversities, youog people in each room, the greift old hall waa bar gen eral meeting plaoe. To this day when any of that crowd meet toge'^^t, we revive the memoriea and laugh over the fun and frolio we had in our "high life under the. eaves;"' for youth cannot always bo Bad, even though grim war has the land in its olutehas. Each of those attic rooms was a comp> Oars was "Sans Souoi/' another was "Camp Weloorao," and so on but all of them were open to us. And so wo lived up there in a little world of our own. But oh,. the hun gar ais? the hardships in those days. We h?d G??jfaa?raia money, but that waa decreasing in value daily. Had we had specie we could have obtained 00.10forts; but few of tho refugees bad any, and wo had lo bo contented with our two meals a day, the quality of whioh has made the strong generation of today. For. breakfast there was yellow hom iny, sorghum, and cornbreadsmixtd with salt and water; dinner was tho same, with the addition of Sow peas boiled without meat, and perhaps aWest potatoes; with the exception of cool, delicious spring * Water. Supper waa an known luxury. One can imagine that wo atroug, young, grow ing boy s and girls wore al way a hun gry. Occasion ally, by chanae, mother would ob'ta?a a little lard, ; which would be hoarded for an extra treat, when forthwith we would invite com pany to spond the night, frankly ia ?oroi?Dg ihem that by so doing tboy would be conferring a great favor, for w^iitt?d'Vgei' "aaorieu?ofcV in oar corn-bread. x \ At times, failing to get provisions in the village, it would be/ necessary to forage around the country. There was a good man, Mr. ?hrens, living noar us, who was always ready i to root hia boras and bug?y to., the Mr-' refugees at a Dominai rate, no doubt as ! a kindness. He it wan, who, in 18G5, served hot coffee to my mother and her children during Sherman's raid, when they stood at dead of night with tho ground frozen under them, in front of their burning homo, without a shelter, and with little coveriog. Usually, two housekeepers went together on these foraging expedi tions; but as mother frequently re turned home ill, I was sent as her substitute, when her stook of provis ions was low. That was a daring thing to do, and te this day I know not on what ground she based her opinion either of my driving or of my knowledge of the country roads. Be ing oity-bred I had no experience with | eithtr, and it vas the simplest thing in the wo;id to lose myself almost j within sight of home. Still, it was always a frolic to mo, although it Wfcfl the rule and not the exception^ my venture came to grief. But I was j never diaoouraged by such trifles as being lost in the woods; or having the horses run our buggy against a tree and break a part of our harness?not to speak of the frequent lack of suo esss, especially when there were only women around. If there were men present they were of course, old, for a young man had to give a very good excuse for being at home during the war, or he was scorned by the girls and did nob have a smooth time. But the old men! bless them they oan never refuse a girl anything. They would bustle arouad and pack into our bug gy a generous supply of potatoes and lard, with perhaps a little wheat, flour and meal. Then wo were euro to have a feast the next day; for, while we were compelled to bo careful with our stores, I must say we were never self ish, and a friend or two were always invited to share our good things. As time wore on our privations in creased, but in spite of everything we had good times too The soldiers oame home oa furlough or sick leave, and we felt it our duty to make their stay a happy one. There were dances, card parties, theatricals, oonoerts? every girl had a sweetheart, engage ments were made, too often to be broken by death?when farewells, were said, too often it was forever. These parties were but oold-water gather ings, or as they were called "Starva tion Partiey." Onoe, however, we really did have a feast. Two officers desired to give a supper to some friends, requested mother to take charge, and have it in her apartments?we had been promo ted to the dignity of a dining room then. Wo were wild with delight when told that we could be present) but to our sorrow must not dare to ask >r cofree. Well, well! there was to be coffeet That was in '64, and we had not tasted coffee for three years. It was so fragrant, so delicious but there was not enough for the girls, and we were dismayed. At table I Bat by a most dignified matron <who had a tempting: cup of coffee at her plate on her left. To this day I am sorry for what I did; for I would not have miss ed the expression of that lady's face as she turned and raised her oupto ; find it empty. The ene look she gave me, fur bub uircu buy nothing, was j too-much for me. I was simply con vulsed. She never fergave ni cf. Wo should have had a oodak in ' those days to preserve our appearaooe, i for our costumes were just -such as wo .could improvise out of the mate rial ct hand. Dress goods, were far beyond ug, five and ten dollars & yard for very plain opes,, cotton one and two dollars a spool, and everything in proportion1. Oui' shoes had long be fore been replaced by those of canvas, which we would . polish blaak. with soot paste. Our stockings, as well as those for*the soldiers, we knit out of factory yarn,.which we oould buy with Confederate money. Oar skirts were of brown homespun, our dresses of black and white domestic check; hats we plaited pas of Palmetto, ribbons had long b?e? an' unknown luxury, so wo would'bribe some little darky to steal a f?? bsght feather* fxoa "Mauasa'aV poaltry. Sometimes wo would find among .the glory of past days eoraps of black silk. These we patiently ravelled, and when span with cotton made a pretty silky grey thread, from which we knitted gloves/ One day a poor icfugeo girl, finding that she had out grown her dress, ieast covetous eyes upon tho stole of our old pastor. She oould not withstand temptation..y$?k f more temerity than honesty, she jap? ! pe ared at church the next Sabbath with a fins! black finished ; to h^?r dre?> while bar dear naioister from that day to the end of the war eouduoted ibe servicesminus -his stole. So th? days passed. Rosa Glonn Witte.. ? Love lives on hope, therefore ' fow cases of hopeless insanity oan be attributed to it. ? A wise gkl learns to cook?then proceeds to marry so well that she' doesn't have^ to ^ork aUt. / ' ! /'-r^.K?vJ^^lla;: man that his. ' bay. . looks like his mother if he owes ion money. ? When a girl gets engaged , abc ^a'?i^'i^tipff; Jottors breaking ii J .off, v?jks. to cryoyev h???* /?quid be I if it really happened.- j 1? 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