Newspaper Page Text
“THE LOST CM
A Few Chapters of Unwritten
History in This Section,
WRITINGS OF A HERO IN GRAY.
From Dalton. Ringgold, Chicamauga
and Atlanta He Chronicles
Important Events.
its
Much lias been said, told and
written about the late unpleasant
ness and the various leaders thereof
on both sides, who have them
selves done a great deal of talking
and writing since that memorable
conflict closed. And after all,
history fails to record much below
the rank of some kind of general,
for reasons best known to histori
ans and writers in general.
One reason for this is, we think,
because below the rank of general
or colonel, at least, an officer loses
his personality to a large extent.
It is lost in the general summing
up of companies and regiments.
And then, too,'it would take too
much space for the historian to in
dividualize every officer from gen
eral down to tenth corporal, or
even privates, if you please, and it
is remarkable how many officers of
rank have sprung up since the
war.
But it is not our intention to
raise any issues with men who are,
perhaps, smarter than ourself—any
way smart enough to write their
little histories and historical
sketches and place them upon the
market whether partial or impar
tial.
The rank and file of the men
who did the hard work in the
trenches, on the picket line and in
the forefront of battle, are almost
entirely lost to the historian’s
mind. They are summed up as a
whole as so many men, the same
as so many mules, so many guns,
or so mauy or much of any other
army paraphernalia.
Now and then some especially
brave deed of some private is re
corded in history but it is the ex
ception rather than the rule.
A few privates have bobbed up
like jumping-jacks at various times
siuce the w ar, and have had a say
as to the rights of privates to be rec
ognized; but like that same jump-
ing-jack the lid has been closed on
them and they, along with their
writings, have disappeared from
the sight of the public at large,
and live only in the memory of
their comrades.
What we have to say is not
from personal experience. In fact
we came into existence some few
years after the conflict closed, and
-had the result been different might
never have been.
Our object in thus appearing
before the readers of this paper is
several fold. We live in a section
of country that has gone down
into history- as the scene of some
of the most stirring events that
history has ever been called upon
to record, and that once shook and
trembled beneath the tread of
thousands of men and the thunder
of hundreds of guns.
It is our purpose simply to give
a few incidents as related by an
actor in that great drama. The
incidents are more or less local,
and because we desire to know
more about them and their
tor we are induced to write this.
The incidents related are ex
tracts from letters written during
the last years of the war while the
Confederate army was making its
last stand in the South, to one who
is very dear- to us on account of
filial relations, and whom the wri
ter addresses as a very “dear
friend.” It is with all due respeet
for the dead that we give this to
the public, although the use of
names may cause us some trouble,
use these names simply to
duality to what we have 1
* say and to get better acquainted
jj with some one who can give us
some information in regard to the
parties mentioned.
We do not wish to renew old
wounds or stir up any strife or
contention, or controversy o
dead issues and difference of con
stitutional exegesis that gave rise
to the warring factions in the six
ties, as these questions were long
ago settled at the point of the bay
onet, or rather the point where
Lee’s soldiers buckled their belts.
So much by way of introduc
tion and we hope the introduction
has not overbalanced the main
body of our story.
It was in the years gone by
when the dark clouds of war had
risen and cast their gloom and
shadow over our fair Southland,
and the youth and flower of the
southern states had flocked to the
standard of the new born nation
our story begins, and it is about
one of these southern youths it
has to do.
John Shane is a young man
of whose home and life we know
nothing prior to August 7, 1863.
From a letter written from the
Confederate camp near Shelby ville,
Tennessee, to a friend at W— in
the same state, we learn that he
had been wounded in some en
gagement previous to that date,
and while recovering from said
wounds had been the guest, of one
Mr. M a resident of W .
(From other sources we learn that
Mr. Shane was at this time a lieu
tenant in Company B, Fourth Ten
nessee Regiment, C. S. A., James *
A. McMurray Colonel ; Maney’s
Brigade.)
In this letter, dated as above-
mentioned, he states that they had
had a “ brush ” with the enemy a
few days previous near Murfrees
boro with no particular damage
done. He evidently does not re
fer to the battle of Stone River,
for the records show that serious
damage was done there and that
the Confederate army was started
on its tour south. But we will not
go into dates and statistics to
prove thus and so, but should we
awaken and stimulate a desire in
either old or young to search out
these historical facts we shall feel
that our labor has not been in vain.
Our hero next comes to our no
tice at Cherokee Springs, GTa.,
near Ringgold. He had been at
tacked with fever while crossing
the Cumberland mountains on the
retreat from Middle Tennessee,
and after being discharged from
the hospital at Chattanooga was
regaining his strength at the above-
named place. He also states that
his regiment was at Chattanooga
much depressed in spirits owing
to the abandonment of Middle
Tennessee. What painful memo
ries this statement will bring to
the minds of our readers we know
not. Not only the abandonment
of that section by the Confederate
army, but the abandonment of
homes, property and kindred, not
only by the soldiery, but by a large
number of peaceful non-combat
ants as well. Among the latter
was Mr. M , of W , and
our hero’s friend. They were
forced to refugee south because of
Mr. M-—-’s allegiance to the
southern cause, and was now living
at different points along the Wes
tern & Atlantic railroad. "
From regimental headquarters
at Chattanooga, August 19, 1863,
narra- Q ur hero is complaining somewhat
of the dull monotony of camp life,
that living was somewhat hard,
and rather wishes that active op
erations would commence, but lis
ten—
Missionary Ridge, 2 miles
above Chattanooga,
October 7, 1863.
Dear Friend :—Yours of Sep
tember 6th at hand last night pre
cisely one month after it was writ
ten.
The monotony of which I com
plained in my last has long since
been broken, and I have had vari
ety in the way of sleepless marches,
nights lodging on the ground
without a blanket, floundering in
the dust and hard fighting for
three days. Variety in earnest, is
it not ?
regiment entered the fight
on Saturday the 19th September
at Chicamauga, after double-quick
ing for two miles through the dust
at 2 o’clock, and fought the enemy
tor two mortal hours without mov
ing or stopping to take breath.
The fight was desperate in the
extreme, and our losses terrible to
contemplate. The colonel fell
mortally wounded and has since
died. The lieutenant-colonel and
major both fell in rapid succession
dangerously w o u n d e d, while
twelve as gallant spirits as ever
did battle lay dead around me.
My horse fell pierced with two
bullets.
The regiments on our right and
left gave way while we were con
tending with five times our number,
when there was no alternative but
to fall back, which the men did
stubbornly and defiantly. The en
emy was within thirty paces of us
when the command was given to
fall back. The Yankees shouted
to us to halt, when one of our dare
devils halted, faced , about and
coolly requested them to “go to
h—1,” (Mr. Shane made apologies
to his correspondent for using this
expression, and for us to leave it
out would destroy some of the
spirit of our story.) which request
I doubt not a gdbdly number of
them have complied with ere this.
* * _ Our regiment made two.
desperate charges and lost heavily.
Our losses during the entire battle
was largely oVer half the men we
entered it with.—I passed through
the fl^ht unharmed save one mus
ket ball in the leg which only
lamed me a little.—I, of course,
lost my horse, saddle and blanket,
now have all outdoors for a bed
and cover with my overcoat, am
wearing ragged pants and present
a shabby appearance generally.
We have given this letter almost
verbatim for the reason that our
story now becomes local.
We now lose sight of our hero
for awhile, but on December 16,
1863, from near Dalton he says
lam inmost excellent health.
* * * My regiment was from
the £5tb to the 27th of Novem
ber, both inclusive, standing on
picket, fighting, marching and re
treating with not more than two
hours sleep at any one time.
We packed our wounded from
the battlefield of Cat Creek to
Ringgold, a distance of nine miles,
on the shoulders of the men, wad
ing streams waist deep, and all
this in the night time. I walked
all the way from Missionary Ridge
to this place, my horse having
been sent to the rear. * *
I have succeeded in getting plenty
of clothes for the winter. (Mr
Shane has been transferred from
Cheatham’s to Watkin’s Division,
Maney’s Brigade during the period
intervening between the two last
letters.)
We will now have to go to his
tory for information in regard to
the movements of the army. We
know that Missionary Ridge had
been lost, Cat Creek had been
fought and Ringgold had probably
had her little entertainment, and
the> Confederate army was falling
back and slowly retreating south,
but on January 26, 1864, Mr.
Shane writes:
I was promoted to Assistant
Adjutant and Inspector General
and transferred to Maj-Gen. Ste
venson’s Division on December 31,
1863. The army is at a standstill
—nothing doing except paper
work which is interminable.
March 27, ’64.
* * This is Sunday but we
do not know the difference, unless
it be a little more quiet than other
It is one of the loveliest
days of the year. All nature seems'
to wear a smile, and nature’s own
songsters are reveling in perfect
eestacy over this grand gala day.
* I leave tomorrow
Marietta. * * * By the way
I like to have forgotten to tell you
of my last battle, which you know
occurred on the 23d of last month.
It was not much of a battle after
all. Still I once more listened to
the music of minnie balls and the
grand old peal of the artillery. It
is glorious music (when you don’t
ge ( t too close). It is called the
battle of Stony Face, (Rocky
Face) I believe. . The army today
is in better condition than I ever
saw it before, and you may look
for some desperate fighting soon
if the Feds will only accommodate
us by coming this way. (Subse
quent events show that the gentle
man’s statement proved true and
that the •« Feds” were very warna
and enthusiastic in their efforts to
be accommodating.)
In answer to inquiries as to
worship in the army, Mr. Shane
states in a letter under date of
April 20, 1864, that they did. but
that Sunday was a very busy day
with him, as he had to look after
the condition of the troops and
their quarters. He also stated
that all was quiet then but indica
tions were .manifest that active op
eration would begin soon, and that
his division would move to the
front line in a day or two.
On the Front Line, Right
Hood’s Corps, Right of the
Army, June 22, 1864.
I write in great haste. The en
emy’s missiles are falling around
me as I write. I have thus far
escaped unharmed though have
been continuously engaged since
the 7 th of May. * * * (He
in the ‘latter part of this letter
speaks of the affair at Resaca. - )
I must close as I am just or
dered on duly. He states that the
way for mail was still open south
ward.
Monday Morning June 27,1864.
* * * I am yet safe. (Our
hero is writing on the pommel of
his saddle.) * * * Our divis
ion suffered terribly on the 22nd
inst. We have to mourn the loss
of many gallant Tennesseeans, anc.
among the number are Cols. Cook,
of Williamson county, and Walk
er of Giles county. It was a des
perate charge. We took two lines
but could not accomplish impossi
bilities
• One solid shot cut off the tip enc
of my horse’s lip, cut off the lower
end of my saddle wallets and nev
er touched me. * * * Terri
ble cannonading all along the
lines. It is sublime, but at the
same time perfectly terrific, in fact
it is becoming almost deafening.
A general engagement seems to
be I cannot write more now,
must go into the fight.
Here we lose sight of our hero
for a time. The circumstances at
tendant upon the shifting of the
army probably prevented his writ
ing. He may have written and
his letters were lost. In either
case the letters are not in our pos
session. History both living and
written has recorded the stirring
events that followed in the wake
of those thht transpired that June
morning in ’64. Our hero’s iden
tity is lost for a while until the
calamitous 22d of July.
Atlanta, Ga., August 25, ’64.
Since the death .of my dear
friend, Lieut. John Shane, I have
felt authorized to read all letters
coming to him. * * * In the
battle of the 22nd of July he was
wounded through the thigh and
hips. At the time he was leading
the Fourth Tennessee C. S. Re]
ment (his old regiment) in a
charge. His wound was at first re
garded as mortal. He suffered
very much and to relieve his pain
his leg was amputated. He died
four days afterward. In him I
have lost a true friend, society a
noble gentleman and the country
a gallant soldier. All who knew
him mourn his loss. * * *
H. M. Compton,
Chief Surgeon, Stevenson’s Di
vision.
Another near friend ana com
rade of our hero writes from J ones-
boro, Ga., under date of Septem
ber 17, 1864, and says :
The Adjutant was a particular
friend of mine. We have lived
and messed together ever since the
war began, and I am glad to say
that I ever found in him an honest,
upright, high-toned gentleman and
the noblest specimen of a soldier I
ever met.
He was always cheerful and al
ways :oremost in the fight and it
may be a source of consolation to
his friends to know that he fell in
the front rank gallantly urging his
men to the charge.
He was mortally wounded but
lived for two days. I was with
him a few hours before his death
and he seemed to dread the future
as little as any man I ever saw.
While dying he rose from his pil
low, and looking about him re
marked:' “Is it possible that this
is death? If so, it is the most
pleasant feeling 1 ever experi
enced.” These were his last
words. He died a few minutes
afterward. His ideas of religion,
he said, were different from most
people’s but he could not discuss
them. In him we have lost the
bravest soldier of the army. B.
Now, dear reader, we have come
to' the end of our story, to the
closing scene of a brave man’s life
and to the scene where the star of
the destiny of the new-born nation
began to wane to finally set for
ever. And as we look out on
these eternal hills and view the
mute evidences of the strife of the
sixties, it is with a feeling of rev
erence for the dead, and wonder
at the fact that so many went
through that trying ordeal un
harmed.
We trust that what we have
given out will prove interesting
reading, although not gotten up
in a very poetic or novelistic man
ner, for we are a very ordinary,
plain sort of personage, and give
the incidents related as they come
to us after a lapse of over thirty
years.
So awaiting the result of this
attempt to “ write,” we bid our
readers adieu, hoping this may
catch the eye of some one who
will kindly give us any informa
tion they may possess in regard to
our hero or the incidents herein
related. Ed M. King.
Dalton, Ga., April 14, 1897.
MOTHEi
Friend
There Oe!
?f° rdS0 $
and about which "such tendS“™8l
holy recollections cluster J
of “ Mother ” she who watet* 3 !
over our helpless infancy andS
ed our first tottering sten v i
Sls^et wXd EXPeCtant i
Mother’s E?Srf
Mo^ XpeCt ^
Mother isena.
bled to look {o r
, , „ . ward without
dread, suffering or gloomy f 0re 4
bodings, to the hour when s h #
experiences the joy of Motherhood
Its use insures safety to the li v *
of both Mother and Child, andsh*
is found stronger after than before
confinement—in short, it
Childbirth natural and easy,”
so many have said. Don’t be
persuaded to use anything but
MOTHEILSFRIEi
“My wife suffered more in ten mi n
utes with either of her other two chit
dren than she did altogether with her
last, having previously used four hot-
ties of ‘Mother’s Friend.’ It is s
blessing to any one expecting to be.
come a MOTHER ” says a customer
Henderson Dale, Carmi, Illinois
Of Druggists at $1.00, or sent by mailt
of price. Write for book containing testimonial,
and valuable information for all Mothers. fr«
J receipt
imoniaij
i Mothers, free,
The Bradfleld Regulator Co., Atlanta, Ga.
Iron Mountain Route.
All trains via the Iron -Mountain
Route are running through from
St. Louis to Memphis, Hot Springs
and all Texas points without delav.
4t
» Are You Going?
The attention of all parties thinking of
taking a trip to the West is especially
called to the famous Memphis and
Charleston railroad as being by far the
best route.
If you desire to get the fastest time,
and avoid layovers, which are always a
source of much worry, waste of time and
money, you should call upon or write to
J. L. Smith, Pass. Agent, Dalton Ga.,
who will interest himself in your trip
and sell you tickets via the M. & C.
SHORT LINE.
The coaches on this line are in first
class condition and close connections are
made at Memphis with the trains for the
West.
For rates, time tables and tickets da
the recognized route to the West, theM.
& C., call on or write to,
J. L. Smith, Dalton, Ga.
C. A . DeSaussub, G. P. A.,
Memphis, Tenn.
Concord, Ky., has two female
paper hangers, who are doing a
big business.
New Haven Chinese lauudry
owners have organized and fixed
a scale of prices.
The
Year
E^ound
RAILWAY.
CONDENSED SCHEDULE.
In effect November 15,1896.
Stations.
Lv Chattanooga.' ...
Ar Dalton
Ar Rome
Ar Atlanta
Lv Atlanta..
Ar Macon
Ar Jesup..*
Ar Everett
Ar Jacksonville..
Lv Jesup
Ar Jacksonville.......
Lv Everett..-
Ar Brunswick...
No 8
No 10
*\o 1*
12 !0am
8.1.0am
tilopm
2.02am
U 25am
7.3i pm
3.25am
10.35am
835pm
6.55 am
1.15pm
10.55pm
7.20am
4 00pm
11.10pm
10.2 am
7.00pm
l.iuzm
5.37pm
630pm
9.12pm
6.07am
6 43am
9.00am
8.23pm
333am
11.50pm
1230pm
640pm
7 00am
7.30pm
8.90afli
Na 8 Pullman Sleeping Car Chattanooga ®
Atlanta. This car Is open to receive passen -
gera at 10.00 p m. .
Na 10 Pullman Union Sleeping Car Cmclft-
natl to Atlanta. Na 14 is Solid Vestibule tr*m
earrylng Pullman Sleeping Car Chattanooga w
Jacksonville without change- ___
Na 1
lEoopm
4.3! p®
5.43pm
7.10pm
7.30pm
4 23a O
7.30aO
7.15am
STATIONS.
No. 13
No. 7
Lv Atlanta
Ar Rome
Ar Dalton
4 45am
7 00am
8.05am
9.25am
9.45am
4.40pm
7.55pm
7.50am
!0.35am
1143am
100pm
Ar Chattanooga
Lv Chattanooga.
Ar Lexington
Ar Louisville
Ar Cincinnati.
7.10pm
Sonic Medicines" belong , to one
season and sonie to another.
Dr. King’s Royal Germeteur
IS IN SEASON ALL THE
YEAR ROUND.
IIS Tf+£ SPRING
It purifies the blood, removes languor
and depression, invigorates and exhil
arates the whole system.
IN SUMMER
It overcomes the relaxation and debility
caused by hot weather, and corrects
bowel troubles that are so prevalent
then. Besides, it makes the most de
lightful and refreshing drink.
IN TH*E FH-LL,
When malaria “rides on every passing
breeze,” it is the great preventive and
the unfailing cure of troubles resulting
from that cause.
v : IN WE WINTER
It is still needed for curing Colds, Grip,
Catarrh, Rheumatism, and the ills that
belong to cold seasons. -
Na 13 is Solid Vestibule train Atlanta ;oCin
cinnati with Pullman Sleeping car. Alsoru
man Sleeping car Atlanta 10 Chattanoog
This oar is open in Atlanta to receive P» ss *“ .
gers at 10:00 p.m. , „ r . r !
Na 9 Carries Pullman Union Sleeping c •
Atlanta to Cincinnati, and Pullman Sleep
STATIONS.
Lv
Ar Knoxville
Ar Morristown.........
Ar Hot Springs.
Ar Asheville _
Ar Salisbury.
Ar Greensboro
Ar Raleigh
Ar Norfolk.....
Ar Washington .....
Ar New York
No. 12
/... .
4. 15am
8 00am
9.39am
11 30am
12 55pm
6 40pm
9 52pm
7. lO^m
555pm
a 30pm
10.45pm
12 27am
143am
a 00am
8 50am
ji 45am
3.20pm
alupm
6.20am
12.43pm
No. 12 Pullman Sleeping car Chattanooga 00
Knoxville, Knoxville to'Asheville. HotSp
to New York and Salisbury to Richmond,
riving Richmond 6.00 a. m. . T „ r » 0 iu
No. 16 Is solid train Chattanooga to N® w
with Pullman Sleeping Car Chatt.moog
Raleigh without change. Close conne
nade at Norfolk witn steamers for
more. New York and Boston. Pullman
mg Car Salisbury to New York via Washing^
■' ' " NoJ>.
8 45am
l i«po
232pm
&05pm
7 45a®
,20pm
BTATIONS.
f.v Chattanooga
Ar Knoxville ......
Ar Morristown.........
Ar Bristol ... .... ..
Ar Washington ........
Ar New York ...... ....
No. 6 carries Pullman Sleeping Car
Na 16
5 55pm
9 3opm
12 02am
5 40am
II 25 Dm
6.25am
ga to Washington and Chattanoog* t0 ‘
. writ without change.
Na 16 carries Pullman Sleeping Car CW.
loocra tn gnnTvilia ana v.A.irilln to i> rl _—
•too,
'or'
It does these things, not in a feeble and
uncertain way, but with assured and
triumphant power.
Keep it In the H-orne at fell Tinies.
2^7Sold by Druggists, new package,
large bottle, 108 doses, One Dollar.
Manufactured only by
Tf+E rt*TI % /¥NWGf+^MIG/¥i > CO.
/Atlanta, Ga.
Write for 48-page hook, mailed free.
STATIONS.
Lv Rome
Ar Anniston
.Ar Birmingham
Ar Selma.... .'
Ar Meridian
Ar New Orleans
.... ....
***"***
Ar Jackson
Ar Vicksburg
Ar Shreveport
tNoT'I*
tNo. 15|§Na 9
2.10pm) 4.50pm
640pm 7.11pm
7.10pm‘ 7.25pm
Lv Rome....ar
Ar Gadsden.ar
Ar Attaila...lv
1615am
6 0 -am
a 30am
No_jS.
,0 45a®
l2 45pm
10. iop»
5.18pm
9 20pffl
ft30»m
11:5a®
7.20pm
iaiSLm
745*®
7.3t»®
w. H. GREEN, Gea Supt Washington, u
J. M. CULP, Traf. Mgr. Washington, D C
W- A. TURK. O. P. A Washington. B
a A. BXNBCOTSJt. a a ?. a ClurttaBCCS*****
.