Newspaper Page Text
10
THE GRAY AND THE BLUE
I earnestly invite the assistance of the surviving
chaplains and soldiers of both armies to furnish
The Golden Age with incidents and other informa
tion through which the people of our country may
learn that the religious life of the men who offered
up themselves in battle was not neglected. The
subject, by its very nature, is exhaustible. Within
a year the story can be told. Soldiers who were
witnesses are passing away. I beg that this call
for assistance may be heeded in the spirit in which
it is given.
Clement A. Evans.
The War Travels of a Testament.
Mr. Editor:—
I see you invite incidents which happened during
the war. At Westbrook, Massachusetts, there was
a company of one hundred men; they were in the
Thirteenth regiment, and the ladies of Westboro
gave to each man a small Testament, and at the
Second Battle of Manassas, Stephen Warren lost
his on the battlefield, and I happened to get it. His
name, regiment and post office was on the fly leaf.
It was a small Testament so I carried it in my side
pocket. We went into Maryland, stopped two days
at Frederick City, went from there to Harper’s
Ferry. After its surrender we crossed the Poto
mac and went up to Shepard’s Town, recrossed the
river and was in the battle of Antietom. After the
days battle we recrossed the river and stopped at
Martinsburg, from there I went to Winchester, and
thence to Stanton. At Stanton I got a sick fur
lough and went home to Alabama, byway of Rich
mond, Knoxville, Dalton and Atlanta, to West
Point, Ga. Remained at home about forty days,
joined the command again above Fredericksburg,
going byway of Augusta, Raleigh and Richmond.
I was in the battle at Salem Church, 3d of May,
1863.
After that we went on that Tennessee campaign,
wading the rivers and on to Hagerstown, Cham
bergs and on to Gettysburg. At Gettysburg I was
captured. Was taken to Baltimore and was at
Fort McHenry two days, went from there to Fort
Delaware, and from there to Johnson’s Island, and
frpm there I wrote Warren that I had his Testa
ment, and that if he wanted it I would send it to
him. My letter reached him at Frederick City,
Maryland. And it was there that I sent him the
Testament. My letters giving the travels of the
Testament were published in the Westboro paper,
and I brought them home with me, but I have lost
them, so I have given the travels again from mem
ory. T. B. FARGASON,
Lieut. 14th Ala. Regiment.
P. S.—Warren sent me a small Bible for the
Testament. T. B. F.
War News—Past and Present.
There is, perhaps, no single instance of the prog
ress made in giving to the world information both
accurate and full, than in contrasting the methods
of circulating war news in the sixties and w r ar news
today.
Now we are kept in almost hourly touch with the
most minute happenings in the Far East—the con
test between Japan and Russia was known in every
detail and because of the wonderful photographs
published in many papers, we of today are familiar
with every phase of a great conflict raging thous
ands of miles away.
These facts were also true of our own Spanish-
American war and long before personal communi
cations could possibly he made to the friends at
home of the “bo vs in blue,” the enterprising press
had chronicled the events to the world at large—
rivalling even the mythical “Puck” in its ability
to “put a girdle round the earth in forty minutes.”
But such conditions did not always exist. No lon-
IN PRAYER AND SONG
By General Clement A. Evans
The Golden Age for April 12, 1906.
ger ago than during the contest between the North
and the South, -war news came in slowfly and in
most meager and inaccurate fashion. Recently
there has come into possession of the writer an
old bundle of “war bulletins” published in New
Orleans, La., during the Civil War. These bulle
tins consist of flimsy strips of paper, printed in the
form of newspaper “proof” and selling on the
streets of New Orleans at 25 cents a piece. But
who would not have paid double that sum, even of
the scarce U. S. currency, for any intimation of
how the tide of war was turning or of how it fared
with the beloved husbands, sons and brothers at
the front during “those times that tried men’s
souls?”
The reproductions here given are accurate copies
of the original war bulletins themselves, and can
not fail to prove of interest to the general public.
extra Übe Bath? Belta, extra
Tuesday, March 11, 1862—8 P. M.
THE WAR IN ARKANSAS.
—o—
Day’s Fighting and Terrible Havoc.
—o—
Dorn, Price and McCulloch Engage the
Enemy.
—o—
McCulloch, Mclntosh and Slack are
Killed..
—o—
Wounded.
—o—
Forces in the Rear of the Federal
Army, and Driving it Before Them.
—o—
Sanguine of Success.
—o—
OF THE DECEASED GENERALS AT
FORT SMITH.
—o—
Smith, March 9.—Our troops under General
Van Dorn and General Price engaged the enemy 3
days, the sth, 6th and 7th, at Pet Ridge, Benton
County, Ark., near the Missouri line. Our loss was
heavy, including Generals McCulloch and Mclntosh,
who were killed on the 7th. Gen. Slack was mor
tally wounded, Price wounded in the arm, Col. Mc-
Rae killed and Col. Sims is wounded in the arm.
Our forces are in the rear of the Federals, driving
them southward, and are sanguine of success.
We are looking for further news every hour. The
bodies of McCulloch and Mclntosh have been
brought here for interment.
S. T. D.
True Heroism.
Whether it is sympathy we seek or merely self
indulgence, a luxury hard to deny ourselves is that
of exploiting our troubles, our griefs and griev
ances. It is such a comfort to talk, the strength to
refrain must be truly heroic; at least so it appears
in the light of daily experience; and so appears
the practice of one we would accord the laurel and
the palm. She was a woman who had sorrows and
heavy burdens to bear, but was noted for her cheer
ful spirits, and who said this in explanation:
“You know I have had no money. I had nothing
to give but myself; and so I made the resolution
that I would never sadden anyone else with my
troubles. I have laughed and told jokes when I
could have wept. I have always smiled in the face
of every misfortune. I have tried never to let any
one go from my presence without a happy word, or
a bright thought to carry with them. And happiness
makes happiness. I myself am happier than I would
have been had I sa* ' ln ’vn and bemoaned my fate.”
Resurrection Symphony.
Pale grow the twinkling stars; myst’ry broods upon
the earth;
The moon is low—the night travels to give the day
its birth.
Then comes the light of morning—the dark at last
is done.
From behind a mountain peeps the scintil
lating sun,
To spread a golden glory o’er all things great and
small;
And “Love ye one another,” each object seems
to call.
A touch of many colors, all bound around with
green,
And pearls of purest white playing hide and seek
between,
While above us is the brightest and the bluest
sky
With the clouds coquetting, as they pass each
other by.
Upward springs a little breeze that sighs, then
laughs and sings,
For on its gentle bosom a blessed hope it
brings.
Gaily trill the pretty birds in rich cadenza strain;
Their thrilling notes of joy swell in anthems of re
frain.
A concord of sweet music—the throbbing pulse of
life—-
Piping insects, creeping things—with noise the air
is rife.
Atoms, indeed, are these, but included in His plan
For all He created proves the brotherhood of man.
The earth’s atune with voices, and all the pretty
flow ’rs
Smile and bow obeisance to the holiest of hours—
And here’s the snowy lily; let’s lay it at His feet,
The place of all most fitting where saint and sinner
meet.
A symphony in color, all poetry, it glows,
And there, you have the morning on which the 'Sa
vior rose.
—Margaret Smith Graham.
She Did Him a Kindness.
In the winter of 1864, an old Quaker lady visited
Lincoln at the White House, and took the long
suffering giant’s down-stretched hand. She had to
rise on tiptoe, and as she did it her sweet voice ut
tered some words difficult to catch. It is not possi
ble to give the words of either exactly, but this is
their purport:
“Yes, friend Abraham, thee need not think thee
stands alone. We are all praying for thee. The
hearts of all the people are behind thee, and thee
cannot fail. The Lord has appointed thee, the Lord
will sustain thee, and the people love thee. Take
comfort, friend Abraham. God is with thee. The
people are behind thee.”
The effect of the words were easy to see. As
when the lights suddenly blaze behind a cathedral
window, so the radiance illuminated those rugged
features and poured from the wonderful eyes. The
giant form straightened. The mouth became beau
tiful in its sweetness, as it said to her: “You have
given a cup of cold water to a very thirsty and
grateful man. Ilou have done me a great kindness.”
This spring will probably see the foundation laid
for a new campanile at Venice to take the place of
the on e that collapsed. The brick and stone of the
old campanile is to be used in the construction of
the new, but a strong steel skeleton will make it
possible to make it less heavy, although its interior
will be an exact copy of the collapsed one. Many
advise to call in an American engineer, experienced
in steel construction to take charge of the work,
but for patriotic and sentimental reasons the peo
ple of Venice are opposed to this.