Man Born in 1846 Talks About the 1860s and Fighting in the Civil War - Enhanced Audio

[Music]

i was born on the 17th day

of january 1846

i go back as far

as way along the early 50s

my first recollection

of public living and especially

political living as i call it was when i

learned as a boy of nine or ten that my

home was in in the state of virginia

i didn't know about states before that

time

then

time passed pretty rapidly because i was

attending high school

and i remember distinctly

the occasion when the

john brown

the poor man

sought freedom for the slaves

then came up the great struggle

when the republican party

had become a

power in the land

in 1860

mr lincoln was elected as you know

and i remember

that there was a good deal of excitement

in my

section now

i was attending school as i said

and when in the

spring

spring of 61

when uh news came

that war was actually declared in fact

it had been coming when south carolina

as we heard seceded from the union

well

wonder now what mr lincoln will do

when he is

seated on the presidential chair

well there was a variety

of feeling about it even among our 75

100 young men boys

at school

but right at once and what was declared

about half of our pupils young men over

18

quid school

joined companies

of the infantry cavalry

and in their homes and surrounding

counties and in that vicinity

i want to go too

but my father said now son

you're too young i was just 15.

yes let's pass

and

if the war continues long enough you may

have an opportunity

well so i arrested

and the war began and i heard about it

and i heard that william battle of

williamsburg some of my classmates fell

in the battle there well i grieved about

that because they were boys that i've

been brought up with they were a little

older than i

but

i felt sorry that they were killed

then in 62

although general lee

had still a pretty good army

he began to need

more men

naturally although the big battles uh

the largest letters had not come yet

but my neighbors around there some of

them who were over 45 kinsmen of mine

some of them

began to

just get up to get up a company of

cavalry

and i a boy

of

16 and a half years old

joined the cavalry company which

afterwards was attached and

counted with others

among the 24th virginia cavalry

now for a long time then from over 62 on

until

64.

red battles had been fought in there we

heard the battle of gettysburg

and finally our core our camp company

was taken away from the black water

border

guarding this that section of the

country from the infraction incursions

of federal soldiers who might cross the

blackwater river and show on and come

over into confederate territory

we were taken in the spring of 64 our

regiment was

uh in the neighborhood of petersburg

and while

we were camp just north of petersburg

general grant began his invasion of that

part of virginia we heard about it and i

remember very distinctly one morning

we heard that general lee had crossed

james up north and was coming down the

ten pike road to in the direction of

petersburg just near us

and

the next morning

happening to look how i was on guard

across the james river there we saw long

lines of blue

at the infantry of the

the army in the united states flags on

the other side of the james coming down

to the beyond the mouth of the

appomattox river that flows into the

genes

in order to cross on the pontoon bridges

and thus begin the invasion of

that part of virginia

and in the city of petersburg

thus

i was not with that part of the army my

regiment was

moved up north of virginia out of

richmond i mean

north of richmond and thus we guided

that city for several months while

general lee and general grant were

struggling

there near petersburg

while that was going on there were some

skirmishes

and one well small battle i was in i was

not in any of the large larger battles

probably fortunately maybe unfortunately

well general uh

daryl you will commanded the

the donald lee's corps

near richmond

and i remember we were called up one day

and took the davidtown road

and some mile or two i don't know we

never counted distances of time in those

days

we turned off from the road main road

and went down a road through wood

afterwards came to an opening and

there was a line

of blue boys and with some artillery

and we charged them

and that's where i was struck the first

and only time in my leg which led me up

uh two months

i sent home on furlough

now i want to bring in one or two little

points there

that might be sort of interesting some

we were around richmond my regiment was

all the time then

on doing little of nothing

although that war was still going on

and after a while a saturday evening

the first day of april

1865.

we were ordered

and by the way in the meantime

about half of my regiment had lost their

horses

the confederate soldiers own their own

horses and when they lost the horse it

was difficult at that stage to secure a

substitute

anyhow i lost mine i've forgotten just

now how

i don't don't lift i don't believe it's

in battle however at that time

now orders came for a dismounted part or

d-mounted i might say

other arrangement to fall in line and

march

we stopped on the way

and spent the night

at a saturday night the next day was a

beautiful day sunday

we didn't know what was going on we were

we were within a mile of richmond

and there was a turmoil there

and that day

as you all know

that day

the

president davis was attending his usual

services at his church

in saint paul's church

right in the midst of the sermon

this door front door opened

and a courier

rushed in

and read it went up to president davis

had it in the paper

he opened it and it was a dispatch from

general lee saying mr president

i am so heavily oppressed

by the enemy that i'm compelled to

abandon petersburg

mr davis rose

and left

and this the public the

congregation broke up and in a few

minutes almost

it was

pandemonium then in richmond

we marched out of richmond

early the next morning

on the third

and started in a southeasterly direction

i really know which way uh which way now

where we were going but afterwards it

showed that we were attempting on the

general u.s command

to

come in contact with general lee

somewhere down uh southwest of

petersburg

well the federals under general sheridan

overtook us

our command of about three thousand

at intermedia

at emilia county virginia

and after fighting several hours

why general europe surrendered us and

thus i became a captain

i went

to prison along with this command

and

we landed in point lookout maryland down

here

now

comes up the question

of what we southern soldiers fought for

my friends as a boy

of 16 and a half years old

i didn't think about any of abolition of

slavery

my mind wasn't developed enough to take

in what the politicians had in mind

and hence

there was no trouble as to the freedom

of the slaves

the south

did not fight

for

the preservation or extension of slavery

now fairness was a great curse on this

country that we had slavery and i thank

god that i did not bring up my boys

and girls

under a system of slavery only which i

was brought under

what did you boys fight for then

here's what

that many people do not know

that as a young man that way i couldn't

understand it fully but i look back now

and see my

part in it

and so what we struggle for and that was

for states rights

our state's rights

and as that many of you knew immediately

after the war

their rights to the various states well

especially in the south were very much

curtailed if i use that word

and since then i have noticed

you let things come up

that

encroach on the ordinary states rights

which we have preserved

and we find

that the north

the boys that wore the blue with us in

preservation of the state's rights

you