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THE SUNNY SOUTH, ATLANTA, QEOKQIA, OCTOBER'14 189S
11
Imr^K, «rmy, “toin»c, lie repor-
WKle'^JT” PM-iWe *°f
iS” M ‘ 'n°er,'»nd"i Velieved
various forces
.«n»W e< ^ e U At Hyattatown, he
miles from Potomac.
w KL ,till twe 1 ™ ,“proceededto Barnes-
!il^ tlcbp Sed by Duffee’s cavalry
S^rrS.a/dtue friendly cur-
n *»* d 0 * ; Lieer leant concealment
column had not
“b^ft^many searching parties
Si* 10 Sts^had been liberally dis-
command from the stores
Chamhsrsburjf, and when
c»P^ ic imeup with Pleasanton s
Start ^poolesnlle, that officer was
col^ n 7 deceived by the blue uniforms
«® pie ££rate column Profiting by
olto C Z*ov, Stuart suddenly charged
Pleasanton and forced
^rTheroadso essential to his sue-
jiljofrom tbc river.
bis attack upon Pleasan-
, F ° Sveients led that officer to b e -
toll,h fl „*rt , s objective point was the ford
liereStuin ^ ontb o{ the Manoccoy.
KSItoe location, Pelham, the “Gal-
I^PJham ” opened with stirring en-
1^ 2 j^’easantou and confirmed his
1^,7smarts intentions.
rth« wm a ruse to gain time, as he
I 1 a the head of bis column under W.
IjFfLseoptbe river, while Pelhams two
H .'held us advanced position. Stuart’s
Cnhiective points was Whites Ford and
Ik ureit concern was to know the possi-
St es of forcing a crossing. .
" a«the advance came in sight of the
T jt found the eminence commanding
Rproach, bristling with federal bayo-
Imm Kooney Lee promptly reported this
\ttwol affairs to Stuart, and asked for
Liiittnce. Stuart replied that he was
occupied in holding Pleasanton in
Uckaud continuing the deception, and
Lee must depend, upon nis own re-
(lources.
Now that Stnart was fully located,
svery effort was being strained to capture
or destroy biin. Del ay therefore was dan
ger personified. Having made his dispo
rt lor attack, Lse concluded to try the
effects of a little bravado. He called up a
inland determined trooper, directed him
jo display hi# handherchief from his
itbre, ride up to the federal
poiitien and inform its commander,
G«n. Stuart was in his immediate
toot with bis whole command and de
nuded his surrender, giving him but fif-
jmd minutes for a reply. At the expira
tion of the limit, no reply being made, Lee
opened upon the federal position with his
one gun and ordered his advance to at
tack. No response came from the hill,
and poshing his troops forward, he found
the enemy had abandoned their strong po-
lition and were in full but orderly retreat.
Hii object was possession of tne ford and
its commanding eminence, and no desire
to provoke a conflict with the retiring fed
eral. He quickly seized the crest and
planted his one gun, too happy at the suc
cess of his little game of bluff, to molest
the retiring federals.
Pelham maintained his position, shell*
ing Pleasanton until all bnt the rear
gsard had passed down to the river.
Stuart had at once dispatched Butler to
retire and meet him at the ford, and in ex
pectation that this would he accom
plished, withdrew, Pelham gradually from
one position to another, keeping Pleasan-
ton at bay until the bluff at the ford was
reached.
Four couriers had been dispatched to
Butler directing him to withdraw as rap
idly as the safety of his command would
permit, yet when Stuart reached the ford,
Butler had not yet arrived. Stuart was
greatly perplexed, fearing Butler had fat
ten into one of tne many traps caused by
troops concentrating upon him. Turning
Blackford of his staff, he said:
Blackford, we are going to lose our
rear guard 1 I have sent four couriers to
Butier and he is not here yet and the en-
rapidly closing in npon us.”
.^etme try, General,” said Blackford.
All right, and if we don’t meet again,
good-bye,old fellow,”ifeelingly responded
ben Stuart.
Ignorant of how affairs were progressing
eiiewhere, Butler had disposed his com
mand to resist the attack of the troops
pressing upon him, when Blackford dash-
U P* exclaiming: “Withdraw at a gal-
P or you will certainly be cut off 1”
lu*..,’' cooU y replied the gallant Caro
oi '. * dont think I can bring off thit
Dace'” horses can’t move at tha'
Jthe gun and save your menl’
. w « will see what can he done,’
aimly replied Butler, and to the surprise
the men the weary horses re-
^ to w hip and spur and dashed
»i D k e road. As the command round-
a , ecd ‘ u the road, it uncovered Pleas-
von s battery, which promptly opened
v™. u P°u them, in addition to which it
foil , un the gauntlet of the fire of the
n>v7 a l. m * antr y> now rapidly closing in
„7. j them. Ten minutes later and he
th ‘ a . Q ot possibly have cut his way
a?, i !? ', uow » rapid dash at the ford,
-■ ' v 8 last man was safely on the Vir-
»n / °* the Potomac. Government
nnuJ ai ro . ad property to the value of a
a m ^hon dollars, 2S6 prisoners,
l i sick and wounded, part otherwise,
0i P tu red and parolled. About 1,200
a P ari< °* the prizes of this
6 8ucce8s of this expedition is
v the most wonderful on record. It
1-.. through McClellan’s line without
mi!.. lu '* hours it had marched eighty
broke through McClellan’s
tinn af ter he had made the best dispoai-
hrm, P ii!! 8lble . t0 c . a Pture or destroy it, and
its rich captures, and all this
i® hed with the loss of one man
from and two, who straggled away
ui the command, captured.
iu all the circumstances, point to
118 parallel in history, reader ?
u te f the Mine Run fiasco, Gen. Lee de-
M.?^ e<i J up0a an a K8 re88 more upon
e , ?' nd *°nght to reach his rear by
of his right dank.
u7^ a ft waa directed to sharply assail
th^r 6 8 re “ in ° fd « r to retard his retreat,
lin» 86 Might secure his rear or seize his
UB9 of comman ication. As Lee marched
by a circuitous route, his road was much
the longer, and tberefore it was necessary
to detain Meade until he had secured the
position desired.
Meade had retired north of the Rappa
hannock, where he suddenly faced about
and marched buck towardCnlpepper, with
the 2nd, 5th and 6th Corps and Buford’s
division of cavalry, intending to deliver
battle if he encountered Lee. Rosser’s
51st Virginia cavalry was all that inter
posed between the Rappahannock and
Culpeper C. H. So well did Rosser dis
pose his small command that it was near
ly dark when he reached the wooded
heights north of Cnlpepper Courthouse.
Here Pierce Young joined him with his
brigade and five pieces of artillery. Dis
mounting every available man, he formed
line of battle and greeted the enemy with
so steady and severe a fire he declined to
advance further that night.
Upon this line Young and Rosser built
extensive camp fires. Fortunately Young
also had his regimental hand with him,
which he moved from point to point along
his line, and by his music exaggerated the
estimate of his real force and completely
deceived the enemy.
Before morning Meade fonnd out Lee
was threatening nis rear, and the Orange
and Alexandria R. R , his line of commu
nication, and hastily withdraw to the
north bank of the Rappahannock. Never
theless it was a night of intense anxiety
to Yoang and Rosser. Day dawn was one
of corresponding relief.
12th October, 1863 found Lee concen
trating at Warrenton, Stuart protecting
the night flank, moved toward Catlett’s
Station. Lomax proceeded as far as Au
burn , where he learned the enemy occu
pied Warrenton Junction in force; there
fore halted to await the arrival of the
other brigades and where Stuart joined
uim about 4 p. m.
About three miles from Auburn the road
debouches from the woods into the exten
sive open country through which the
Orange and Alexandria R R. passes. As
stuart approached the open country he
found it occupied by large bodies of the
enemy, his trains and artillery moving
steadily northward.
After watching this movement for some
time Stuart dispatched Maj. Venable to
Gen. Lee, to carry this information and
advise a speedy attack upon tne enemy’s
moving column.
Arriving at Anhurn he fonnd that point
occupied by the enemy and Venable had
to make a wide detour to avoid them and
gain Lee’s headquarters, having first sent
word back to Stuart of the condition of
affairs in his rear.
The 2nd and 3rd corps of Meade’s army
enclosed Stuart front and rear, a recon-
noisance developed the fact that he had
been canght between large columns of the
enemy. Concealment was impossible as
in reconnoitering, he had come in collision
with each of these corps, front and rear,
and from each position his troops had
been skirmishing with the enemy.
Thus with two brigades it looked like
Stuart had been trapped at last, and he
who had so often successfully ran the
gaantlet, was canght at last.
He did not despair; quickly withdraw
ing lrom the rear and ordering his skir
mishers to cease firing rear and front, he
formed his command in close column to
await developments.
Night gently dropped her curtain over
these horsemen thus ensc msed between
the friendly hills. One hour more of day
light would have betrayed and forced de
struction or surrender.
The troopers stood to horse to check any
noise from their animals, bat ever end
anon some weary, hungry mule in the
wagon or artillery teams would fill the air
witn discordant brays.
So close were the marching columns of
the enemy, the orders of officers could
readily be heard. So passed the night in
intense anxiety. With dawn Stnart knew
detection was certain. As light broke, he
discovered that a strong body of troops
had stacked arms and built camp fires to
prepare breakfast. Now he pushed his
seven guns forward and opened an intense
tire, which drove off the nearest troops in
confusion; but soon they rallied, and
forming line, attacked. These he repulsed
with his dismounted men and rapid artil
lery fire.
Then began an attack from the other
column. Massing his guns and wagons,
he prepared for a dash nnder cover of a
charge by the First North Carolina. This
command moved out handsomely, and de
veloping the enemy, overrode his skirm
ishers, but were broken and repulsed
when it struck the line of battle. But it
led to an opening through which Stnart
pushed the wagons and guns and extri
cated the balance of his command.
Following Meade northward, Stnart
with Hampton’s division met Kilpatrick
with ample infantry supports at Broadrun
and engaged him in front. Fitz Lee with
his division was feeling for Kilpatrick’s
rear, and advised Stuart to withdraw to
wards Warrenton so as to draw Kilpat
rick from Broad Run. The scheme suc
ceeded. hut Kilpatrick left Custer
to hold his rear at Broad Run
while he pressed Hampton in his front.
At the sound of Fitz Lee’s guns, Hamp
ton suddenly wheeled and bore down
upon Kilpatrick with Gordon’s brigade on
the pike, and Young and Rosser in either
flank, Custer, up to this time, had made a
splendid resistance and held|to his position
at Broad Ran; hut as Kilpatrick’s broken
and demoralized troops rushed upon him,
his command gave way. Kilpatrick in
this instance had been trapped. Custer
was a hard fighter even in a retreat, and
he saved his guns. Stuart captured 250
prisoners and eight wagons and ambulan
ces. This engagement, virtually a trap,
into which Stuart led Kilpatrick and
which resulted in his utter rout has been
known by the Confederate troops as the
“Buckland Races.”
Stuart never attributed his success to
his own powers, hut like Jackson to the
overuling providence of the Great Com
mander, the God of Battles. His suc
cess was truly phenominal. Endurance
dash and nerve were characteristics of the
great raider. His many escapes produoed
the belief, like Macbeth, he “Dore a charm
ed life which must not yield to one of wo
man born.” .... ..
In the zenth of his fame, gallantly ob
structing Sheridan's powerful corps of
horse, he fell defending the gates or the
capital. He gave up his life, but it saved
the city from capture pillage ana sack.
I Pert.
THE SIAMESE TWINS.
BILL NYE SAYS THEY WERE VERY
NEAR TO EACH OTHER.
Though Differing Somewhat In Their Ideas
and Habits, They Were Nevertheless
Quite Inseparable—The Story of Their
Life Touchingly Told.
[Copyright, 1893, by Edgar W. Nye.j
Mount Airy, N. C., Sept. 26.
This town is a post village of Surry
county, this state, and has cotton facto
ries, flour mills, shoe factories for man
and beast, tobacco factories for the same
purpose, wool carding machines, mineral
springs, newspapers, etc., but its princi
pal hit was made as the home of the Si
amese twins.
Settling here before the late war, these
atrangt men, so different in character,
yet so constantly thrown into each oth-
OLD NEIGHBORS OF THE TWINS,
er’s society by a circumstance which they
could not prevent, and which was about
7-fr inches in length, lived until the win
ter of 1875-6 under the American name
of Bunker. Here they were married,
here their children were bom, and here
they died.
Recently I have had the pleasure of
reading an instructive article on these
gentlemen prepared by M. A. Dufour
for a French journal, and with the items
of interest offered me by the old neigh
bors of Chang and Eng besides I venture
to write a letter on these much talked of
people from Siam.
M. Dufour goes on to state that “las
d’exhiber leur ‘trait-d’nnion’ devant les
enrieux des deux mondes, ils avient ac
quis une jolie ferine, a Mount Airy dans
le comte de Surrey (Caroline du Nord)
peti d’armees avant la guerre de seces
sion, et passedaient quelques esclaves.”
Caroline du Nord is good. I shall have
that put on my cards hereafter. Trans
lated, M. Dufonr’s happy expression im
plies that, “tired of displaying their
natal hyphen to the gaping crowds of
both worlds, they had purchased a pret
ty farm at Mount Airy, Surrey county,
N. C., a few years before the war of se
cession. They owned a few slaves.”
On this last question there is a differ
ence between authorities. M. Dufour,
who was thoroughly familiar with his
subject, states positively that they were
not antagonistic regarding the great
question of the right to maintain and
extend slavery—in other words, that the
war did not separate Chang and Eng.
Yet I was told by a man who claimed
to know them well that Chang owned
one slave, while Eng did not, and did not
favor the unholy traffic. Chang believed
that, slavery being a good thing, one could
not have too much of it, also that states
had the right to regulate it as they would
the liquor traffic, while Eng believed
that it was a national question and final
ly refused to help catch and return
Chang’s nigger for him.
My informant said that this led to in
ternecine strife between the two, and
that when they were on their way home
from the lodge, where Eng, not being a
member, had reluctantly gone to see
Chang take the thirty-second degree,
they had an open rupture almost, after
which Chang enlisted in the Confederate
army and Eng in the northern army.
Later, however, both deserted, noticing
how awkward it would be in case one
shonld suddenly decide to die for mother,
home and country, while the other fa
vored longevity.
This same man told me that when
Nancy Bunker was born her father in
sisted that her Uncle Chang should run
for the doctor.
Eng and Chang mean, in the Siamese
tongue, with which I am perfectly fa
miliar, “right” and “left.” They were
born at Bangesen, Siam, April 15, 1811,
almost simultaneously.
They had a Chinese father, and their
mother was one-half Chinese, the other
half being Siamese.
In putting on their dress suits they left
out the lower stud of the shirt in order
to give room' for the strange coffee col
ored coupler which joined the two at the
base of the sternum.
The sternum is the breast bone.
These two twins were brought to the
United States at the age of 18 and were
on exhibition up to the time they set
tled down at Mount Airy.
They appeared jointly.
Those who saw them say that Chang
and Eng did much by their public ap
pearances to elevate an^ refine those who
saw them.
Still Chang was intemperate, accord
ing to Dr. Jacobi, and many a time Eng
who was quiet and sober, had to go on
in Chang’s place as an understudy.
Eng was a Baptist, and on the day he
united with the church and was im
mersed Chang insisted on accompanying
him in a beastly state of intoxication.
These were the best known twins in
history, living to the age of 64, or nearly
so. The Two Headed Nightingale is ye
living at the age of 42, but is still single
—that is, unmarried. I do not know
how I would propose to the Two Headed
Nightingale. I might be acceptable to
one of her reasoning faculties, while the
other might be more sensitive to horri
ble sights and refuse.
Chang had some literary ambition,
while Eng did not. Chang’s love for
rum was a pretty good sign that he was
a genius. Night after night he would
pull Eng out of bed while sound asleep
and jerk him around in the dark, jotting
down memoranda of thoughts he had
during the night. Chang had invented
what he called the author’s friend. It
consisted of an illuminated wall at one
end of the room made of a mixture
which lighted it up so that he could pre
serve a thought which had made its ap
pearance during the night.
He also invented the Edinburgh joke
gimlet and used it successfully while in
Scotland.
They were more irritated against each
other after the war than before, for
Chang lost his nigger and bitterly re
proached Eng for being at the bottom
of it. On top of all this, Eng tried to
reconstruct Chang.
Chang married some time before the
idea occurred to Eng, and though he en
tered fully into the spirit which prompt
ed Chang to wed he often felt ill at ease
and out of place sitting up late of nights
during the courting and taking cold
looking at the moon and pretending to
be asleep.
Therefore he soon turned his attention
toward marriage, and accompanied by
his brother one evening made a proposal
to Chang’s sister-in-law. She rejected
him, claiming that, according to her no
tions, relatives ought not to be too thick.
Nevertheless it was Chang’s wife, who
felt that she had bitten off more than she
could masticate, who induced her sister
at last, while under the influence of wine
jelly, to accept Eng, and for some time
the four occupied the same house, ate at
the same table and drank from the same
canteen. But jealousy arose, and as h,
result each husband built a separate
house. Chang would go over and visit
Eng for a week, and then Eng would
come over and spend a week with Chang
They were passionately fond of horse
back riding and baseball, Chang playing
in the Surry team and Eng in the Mount
Airy Sockless nine. This was told me
by the man who claimed that Chang was
married quietly, while Eng took his wife
on a tour of European travel.
As farmers they had some trouble in
certain kinds of work, but M. Dufour
says that they often hoed in the field,
using the “outside” arms to take hold of
the hoe. They also enjoyed chopping
wood, using the ax in the same manner.
By a signal, consisting of a grunt, which
seems to be necessary to the chopper
anyway, the two struck simultaneously,
the ax helve being grasped by the right
hand of one and the left of the other, the
hand nearest the ax being permitted to
slip on the handle at the right moment,
just as in ordinary chopping.
The children and grandchildren of
Chang and Eng are scattered pretty well
over the country. The brothers married
two Misses Yates, and Nancy Bunker,
the eldest child, had some educational
advantages. She traveled in Europe
with her father and uncle and acted as
their secretary.
M. Dufour claims that the two broth
ers did not unite with the Baptist church,
but that the widows and children did.
Perhaps this is correct, for I am gradu
ally losing faith in the man who said the
brothers were immersed while Chang
had a Siamese jag on.
Dr. Jacobi states that “the connection
of the Siamese twins took place in their
epigastric regions between the navel,
which was common to both, and the en-
siform processes, which were bent out
in a forward direction and met very
closely, held together by a ligamentous
apparatus. The coupling itself was 8
inches in circumference and 2i in diam-
ter. It contained a connection between
the two livers and was composed par
tially of liver tissue.”
The band was very curious from an
anatomical standpoint, as the skin at
the median line was mutually sensitive,
and inside ther* was a combination of
the peritoneum, so that after death a
hand introduced into the abdomen of
Chang entered two pouches reaching into
Eng, and the reverse produced almost a
similar result as to Chang.
Separation during life was therefore
impossible.
One evening in the winter of 1875-6
Chang went to bed feeling indisposed,
and Eng, who was of a sociable turn of
mind, joined him. After conversing for
some time about their prospects, and
finally getting somewhat acrimonious
regarding their management, they at last
compromised, agreeing that Chang
should go nnder one management and
Eng under another.
Then they dropped off to sleep. In the
night a wild cry from Eng pierced the
darkness, and when the family came
AT THE GRAVE OF THE TWINS.
Eng was found almost delirious with
the discovery that he was linked to the
dead body of his brother. He lived for
an hour only, the fright and horror of
his situation precipitating his death.
No cases are recorded of successful
separation in cases similar to this, though
it has been several times attempted.
Considerable ft-ouble was made by the
two sons, who came home from the west
and heard on their arrival that the doc
tors had secured the bodies and gone
away to get them photographed; also to
see what made the “wheels go round.”
They gratified their morbid curiosity
and then brought back the bodies, with
thanks. The brothers were displeased
about it, and so expressed themselves.
Some people are perhaps morbidly sensi
tive about having their parents dissected
that way.
A friend of mine named Quill Patter
son says that his old doctor has Quill’s
father’s stomach in alcohol, and though
Quill has offered him over and over again
four times what the organ is worth from
mercantile standpoint, hoping to ob
tain it and bury it with the old gentle
man, the doctor claims that Quill can’t
positively identify it, and so just because
Mr. Patterson, before his father’s death,
did not fix in his memory the features
of the old gentleman’s stomach so that
he could recognize it anywhere he is
now denied it by a man who has no real
claim on it.
The Siamese twins were carefully ex
amined by Drs. Pancoast and Agnew of
Philadelphia, after which they were pho
tographed, and no one to look at them
could have believed that they had been
so recently and thoroughly explored.
The sons replevined their fathers, but
not in time to prevent the exploration.
Two modest marble monuments mark
the graves of these two strange men.
It was first suggested that one large
stone should be erected, but this was
given up. The motto at the top was to
have been:
Here is a letter from a Florida lady
who bought one of our sewing
machines. The letter tells the tale.
The story is a simple one. She wanted
a good machine and wanted it direct
from the factory, as she did not care
to have to pay the profits of several
middle men. She ordered one of our
machines which we send out with the
guarantee that they are as good in
every respect as a $50 machine. She
bought the machine with this under
standing and could have returned it to
us and have received her money back.
Instead of doing that she wrote us the
following letter which will give you
an idea of bow well we have succeeded
in pleasing her.
Madison, Fla.
Editor StrxsT South,
Atlanta. Ga.
The machine I purchased from yon some time
ago, arrived In good condition, having been
well packed, and is certainly a beauty. In ap
pearance it is beyond the expectations I bad
formed from reading your advertisement. The
reason I did not acknowledge the receipt of it
sooner was because I wished to thoroughly test
the machine first. This I have done, and find it
to be the most complete and satisfactory ma
chine we have ever tried. It is all you claim
for it, and even more, being unusually light
running, and nearly noiseless.
Respectfully
Mat) ik Peek.