Newspaper Page Text
jURCH 22, 1902
'THE SUNNY SOUTH
FIFTH T>AGE
5/* Whistling
•School
Choir at Berean Sunday
a Southern Novelty
at Sunbury, and so also was Archibald
Bulloch, the grandfather of President
Roosevelt. Richard Howley, Nathaniel
Bronson, governors; John Elliott, Alfred
Ivison, A. O. Bacon and Alfred H. Col
quitt, United States senators; John E.
Ward, minister to china, members of con
gress without number. F. R. Golding, the
inventor of the sewing machine, and au-
Ihor of the “Young Marooners,” Profes
sors John and Joseph LeCont, Rev. Pat
rick H. Mell, Colonel C. C. Jones. Geor
gia's greatest historian, all sprang from
this community.
But what of Sunbury today?
"The garden with the harbor gone.
And feone the orchard green;
A shadowed chimney stands alone.
Possessor of the scene.”
In spelling the county Brvan "Brient"
there lived in Sunbury only five families.
Today, 1902, one old chimney, the remains
of an old fort and a large live oak in an
old scrubby cedar field, are all that re
main to mark the spot of the once lovely,
beaut'ful, cultured, prosperous, chival
rous, historic Sunbury. Sic transit gloria
mundi.
In spelling the county Bry “Bryent"
and Sunbury “Sunburry,” Casey takes
rank as a speller with Governor Mat
thews and when he says “Frederieka on
the island of St. Simons is the first town
that wiis built in Georgia,” Ills inform,i- j
tion is as incorrect as his spelling. Sa
vannah was the first town in Georgia, |
then Ebenezer, and Frederieka and An- I
gusta. Frederieka at one time was the
favorite residence of General Oglethorpe,
and around the old place are many hal
lowed associations. It was established .n
1736. The first houses were made of clap
boards, thatched with palmetto leaves,
which were found in great quantity all
over the island. Very soon, however,
some twenty nr more brick houses were
begun. The brick were imported from
Europe. Among the remains of t'he old
town at this date some of these brick are
still found in good condition.
The principal streets were laid off 75
feet wide, each named after some officer
in General Oglethorpe’s regiment. “Along
whose sides were planted orange trees,
giving the town a pleasantly green and
shady appearance.”
At one time the army of the state of
Georgia was stationed here, and from
its patronage Frederieka grew to be quite
a town. With its beautiful white houses,
well built and shaded by large oak trees,
it was said to be the most beautiful town
in Georgia, but after the war with Great
Britain in 1812 it ceased to be a town
ef any importance, and is only remem
bered as a place of historical events. At
this time there are only two families to be
found within its area.
About fifteen years ago there lived a
family with whom I once dined. At the
table w’as another gentleman and wife. I
never saw two couples more congenial
and pleasant to each other, calling each
other “Tom" and “Bill” and "Sallie” and
“Bettie.” To my surprise. I found that
each had married the other’s divorced
wife. There they often visited, dined and
had picnics together, as if there had
never been any marital troubles.
Colonel John Mosby Trying^ to Suppress
Bloody Western Range War
One of the unique institutions in Augus
ts Ga„ which has attracted more than
ic,.*.I attention is the whistling chorus in
Berean Baptist Sunday school, which
h ■ - been in successful operation now for
more than two months, and F. T. Look-
h.-rt, the superintendent of the school,
more than delighted with the experi-
nt. There are now thirty-seven whis-
p s in the chorus, and it is intended to
ro.ise the number to sixty. The school
a large one, having 375 members, and
v is equipped with only a small cabinet
'•gan. It is in the factory district of
tii»- city and had neither the means with
which to employ an orchestra nor the
available talent for one.
Some time ago Allen A. Jamison, who
was general secretary of the Young
Men’s Christian Association in this city,
and who is now at the head of the boys’
department in the Nashville Young Men’s
The whistling choir at Augusta, Ga.
Christian Association, suggested to Mr.
Lockhart the whistling chorus. About
the first of this year Mr. Lockhart got
his whistling chorus well organized, and
It has been growing in popularity ami
numbers ever since. The boys are seated
in rows up at the front, facing the gen
eral audience, and, with the organ, their
whistling furnishes the accompaniment
lor the singing. The school has been j
visited by a dozen local superintendents |
of other schools, and every one has j
come away well pleased with the whis
tling chorus.
Superintendent Lockhart says it has re- 1
suited t ot only in furnishing better music j
enough to govern their own actions.
The large \jpys in the whistling chorus
are now' not only interested in the
work they do for the music of the
school but they have voluntari’y organ
ized themselves into a Bible class and
called upon the pastor of the church to
act as their teacher.
One might suppose that there would
have been an element of levity and laugh
ter in the first work of this whistling
chorus, but Superintendent Lockhart says
that this has not been the case at all.
Before the chorus began its work he
Impressed upon them the fact that it
was as much a part of the service of
had in the school be- j the Sunday school as any other, and
that ?’t should be entered upon with all
earnestness and decorum. The boys have
entered upon the work in proper spirit,
and discharge their duty in a highly cred
itable manner.
than he had
fore, lint it has also solved the “big boy”
problem which is present in every school
—how to keep the larger boys interested
in the Sunday school and prevent their
wandering off as soon as they get big
Ancient Atlas Tells Quaint Tales of Larly
Life in the South
By Dr R J Massey
Written for CAe Sunny South
ASEY’S AMERICAN POCK
ET ATLAS,” published in
Philadelphia in 1796, gives
some very interesting in
formation. and to the
read, r of today tells some
things rather curious.
Take, for instance, the
sketch which he gives of
the state of Georgia. This
in all probability is the
very first epitome ever pub
lished of the resources of
our Empire State. Com
pand with -the last book Just out, pub
lished by Commissioner Stevens, of the
agricultural department of the state of
Georgia, its teachings are ouaint indeed,
and, unless the reader first learns the
subject of his text, few Georgians would
recognize the fact that Casey meant
“Georgia” when he wrote that “the part
of the state which had been laid #7T into
counties is divided into two districts, up
per and lower, and these two districts
are subdivided into tw’enty counties.”
Here are the counties he gives: “Brient,”
Burke, Camden, Chatham, Columbia, El
bert, Franklin, Glynn, “Green,” Han
cock, Liberty, McIntosh. Montgomery,
Oglethorpe, Richmond, Screven, Washing
ton, Warren and Wilkes. Total number
of inhabitants in the state, 82,548, of
whom 29,263 are slaves.
This was fully fifty years before At
lanta was thought of. This is the more
Interesting when Atlanta, with all her
suburbs, claims a population of near
150,000, almost twice as much as the whole j
state of Georgia claimed in 1790.
Casey again gives some unique infor
mation when he tells us that of the chief
towns: “The late seat of government |
in this state was Augusta. It is situated I
oji the southwest bank of the Savannah |
river, which is here about 500 yards wide.
Savannah, the former capital of Georgia,
The town
of a par-
ho mounted the steps of the court house,
pulled his rope from his pocket and in a
loud volte called out: “Neighbors, this
rope is to hang Musgrove, who sold the
people’s land for a bribe.” Dr. White,
in his statistics, says: "The lashings of
the surge upon the shore, when the ocean
is driven by the most furious storms,
was not louder than the noise of the
people excited into tumult by Jinnings’
words and the sight of the elevated rope.
No human power could have saved Mns-
grove if Jinnings’ neighbor had not given
him n dice to make his escape.”
The capital was then removed to Mil-
ledgeville in 1S04. Some of the brick now
in the couil house at Louisville were
taken from the old capitol, and even the
old citizens of the town look at them
and in their connection speak of the
“Yazoo” fraud. To show the honesty ef
the workmen of those days, those brick
are considerably over one hundred years
old, whereas brick of the present i| te
sometimes show signs of decay even
though they are less than twenty years
in use
Casey again says: “Sunburry is a small
seaport town 40 miles southeast of Sa
vannah and has a safe and very conve
nient harbor." Sunbury has not had its
name on a Georgia map for the last forty
years. There are some very interesting
I incidents, however, connected v.-qu g-, ,
j old town of Sunbury, and it might be
| well to mention a few. It was settled in
1754. -Here is a description:
“Heaven sure has kept this spot of earth
uncursed
To show how ail thing
first."
were created at
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stands on a high sandy bluff,
is regularly built in the form
allelogram.”
It will lit* remembered that Savannah
was the capital of Georgia from the time
of its settlement by General Oglethorpe
till the year 1786, when it was removed
to Augusta. Then, as the people began
to press more to the .interior and up
the Savannah river, Augusta was its cap
ital until 1795. So it will be seen that
just before the issuing of the atlas, “the
town of Louisville, which, as the future
seat of government in this state, has
been laid out and built on the banks of
the Ogeechee river, about 75 miles from
its mouth.”
One of the first governors to preside
over t-lie destinies of Georgia at Louis
ville was Governor George IV. Matthews.
Governor Matthews was a very remark
able man. as brave as a lion, and vet
very kind and very gentle when necessary
to be so. He descended from a prominent
Virginia family, but, long before his
education was completed, he joined the
continental army and was a most excel
lent officer and a trusted friend of Gen
eral Washington. Having spent his lat
ter years of service In the infant colony
of Georgia, he was so impressed with
ils climate and the fertility of its soil
that as soon as peace was declared he
removed to Georgia. He soon became
very prominent in politics and was elect
ed governor. Whilst a brave man and
a good officer, he was a bad speller. He
always pronounced the letter “1” in the
words “would” and “could.” and was
very fond of reading out aloud.
Tie commenced “congress" with a “K."
the word “cough” he spelled “korf:” he
“capped (he climax," however, in spell
ing the word “coffee.” In this word he
never had a letter in it right. He put it
up this way: “Kaughpliy.” and he put it
In a “sak.”
Governor Matthews W’as excusable for
his want of education from the fact that
he sp°:it the mast of the years which
he should have been going to school in
the continental army. During his admin
istration there was perpetrated upon the
stat** of Georgia a grand scheme known
as the “Yazoo" fraud, which means that
by the free use of money tne legislature
was induced to sell to a company of cr|d-
t a lists a large body of land embracing
the greater part of the present state of
Mississippi, then a part of Georgia, fog a
very small price—property worth millions
for only $30(1,000. At the meeting of the
next legislature the best men throughout
all of Georgia became so aroused that
they had this nefarious act rescinded and
all papers and documents connected with
it ordered burned. A day was set apart
for this burning and at the appointed
time, in front of the capitol building, the
books and papers were piled together,
when a tall, commanding stranger rode
up on horseback, dismounted, pulled out
his sun glass, got a fccus upon the pa-
pers and. as the saying goes, “called
down fire from heaven and burned iip
every paper.” He stood and watr|ed
intently till the last vestige of corruption
was gone. He was a very old man.
Without further ado, or another word,
he mounted his horse, galloped away
without making himself known to any
one. Whence ho came, or where he went,
or who ne was, has rever b^en known
even to this day. This was done during
the year of 1796. the date of Caseys
American P< ekot Atlas.
During the year 179;! there was built by
a very prominent man of whom it is said
that he owned more negroes in South
Carolina than any man
Did Not in the Unted States, a
Know bridge across the Savan-
Numbarof nah river at Augusta.
His Own This rich man and eapi-
Slaves talist was the prime fac
tor in the Yazoo fraud,
and his connection witn the fraud bein
so notorious
J7P6 washed
known from that day to this as th
“Yazoo” freshet. Apropos of the number
of slaves be owned. it is said that he
often met them and neither master nor
slave recognized each other.
There was connected v ith this fraud a
member of the legislature from Ogle-
thorp? county by the name of Musgrove.
The following incident shows how liis
neighbors felt toward him on account ] when it passed from the stage of exist-
of his connection with this matter. On j ence - One of its last teachers was that
the morning of the first general meeting grand and great old octogenarian of At-
of the people of Oglethorpe county after ! lanta, Rev. S. G. Hlllyer, who passed
the passage of this act a quiet, but de
termined farmer, before going to town
that morning, put a rope in his pocket.
Miles Jinnings was his name. On his
way h? met some friends. They asked
him what he was going to do with his
rope. He says: “I am going to hang
Musgrove.” When they got to the town
On a beautiful white bluff magnificent
live oaks in full grown stature and sol
emn mien crown the high ground, even
to the very vi?rge where the tide kisses
the shore. Cedars all festooned with
vines hang over the waters: the magnolia
grandiflora. the gem of the forest, excites
rn every hand the admiration of the vis
itor. Sweet scented myrtle, tall pines,
odoriferous hay, fragrant sassafras and
green meadow carpets lend their charm
to the spot, whose primal beauty encoun
ters no change at the hand of man. Res
onant with the songs of birds, whose
plumage vies with the bright colors of
the native flowers which gladden the
eye and give odors to the ambient air
cool breezes temper the heat, whilst fish
abound in water of sufficient depth to
anchor the largest ship ”
Is it any wonder, then, that Sunbury
with such surroundings, scon became the
center of trade, wealth and commerce,
the habitat of culture and refinement.
At one time Sunbury was not only the
rival of Savannah, but for a short time
really did more trade and had more ves
sels to arrive at her wharves in a given
time than her older sister. Savannah
At one time it was the only town in
the state of Georgia whose school was
kept up by an appropriation from the
- , _ state, of Georgia. They
Uiwly Town always sent to New Eng-
'**•*• ,a n<J for the most ef-
Relent teachers whom
Public they could get to serve
Schools them. Dr. Holmes, the
father of Oliver "Wendell
Holmes, was one of the first to come to
serve them. He was very much beloved,
and after serving them six or eight years
went north. Then came Dr William
Me Whir, an intimate friend of General
Washington, and at that time deserved
the reputation of being the best linguist
south of Harvard and Yale. H e was a
privileged guest at the white house It
is said that he is the only man that
ever dared to joke or take a personal iib-
ertj with General Washington. On one
occasion Dr. McWhir dined with General
Washington. When "Washington asked
the blessing himself, his wife gently re-
IV r It ten for ff/>e Vunn'- South
OLONEL JOHN MOSBY,
the famous confederate
cavalry leader, who is now
a special agent of the gov-
ment in charge of the
United States lands, has
become a prominent and
spectacular figure in the
hitter fight for the range
that is bung waged by con- j
dieting interests in the cat- :
tie and sheep country of ■
the west. Colonel Mosby’s !
special duty is to clear the ;
government land of private fences—work !
that requires courage of high order, for |
the annual sacrifice of lives in the west’s
grfeat range tight is estimated at five
hundred victims and death by assassina
tion is the common lot of those who dare
oppose one faction or another.
Colonel Mosby, whose headquarters are
at Sterling, Colo., tile center of a great
cattle country, declares that some of the
cattle kings have fenced in and appro
priated to their own use tracts of land
larger than many German principalities.
In defiance of the law they have seized
upon government land, fenced it in, for
bidden settlers to touch it. and have made
themselves wealthy from this illegal use
of Uncle Sam’s property. Near Sterling
one big cattle company built a fence
which inclosed nearly 25.000 acres. It did
not complet ely inclose the land, but ex
tended from the Union Pacific to the
Burlington railroad fences, thus forming
a vast triangle. In this space thousands
of head of cattle were kept, only a a few
cowboys being required to look aft^r
the immense herd. When Colonel Mosby
ordered the company to take down the
fence the objection was raised that there
had been no violation of the law because
only one side of the triangle had been
closed. Despite th? fact that the illegal
fencing law has been practically a dead
letter for twenty years. Colonel Mosby
is insistent in enforcing it, and he has
stirred np the cattle owners from the
Rio Grande to the Canadian line.
The authorities at Washington are
standing by him in his work, however,
in view of the steady encroachments of
cattle interests on public land in the
last few years. It is estimated that in
the Alliance, Nebr., district alone there
are 6.146,200 acres of government land
fenced in. This land is worth nearly ten
million dollars, and on it the cattlemen
have nearly 400.000 head of cattle.
Few persons appreciate the strenuous
fight that is being made for the posses
sion of the range in the western coun
try. The recent arrest of
Cattle Tom Horn, noted scout
Concerns and Indian fighter, serv-
Sub idiz- ed to bring the subject
ir*(f sharply before the public
derers mind. however. Horn,
who fought Indians un
der Crook and Miles, and who had charge
of the pack trains of the American !
forces in Cuba, is now in jail at Che
yenne. charged with the murder of Wil
lie Nickel], son of a scttl’r who had in
curred the enmity of some big Wyoming
cattle interests. Incidentally. Horn is al
leged to have made a confession, in the
hearing of a d >puty marshal and a ste
nographer. in which he is said to have
boasted that he had killed other settlers
and that a certain cattle company paid
him so much a head for every foe who
was removed from the range.
Horn’s trial will he bitterly contested,
and it lias aroused intense interest in
the west, for on the outcome is thought
to depend the fat? of the range in Wyom
ing and other big cattle states. Wheth
er or not the cattle companies hire as
sassins. as Horn’s confession would in
dicate, it is certain that there have been
many mysterious disappearances of set
tlers in tlie cattle country in recent years,
and murders are of common occurrence.
Whole flocks of sheep have been destroy
ed, ranch houses have been burned, and
Colonel John Mosbv. famous cavalry
leader
other handiwork of the foudist has been
everywhere in evidence.
One of these mysteries of the range
which may never b? solved is the disap
pearance of Joseph Hartzell, of Park
county, Colorado. Hartzell claimed
homestead rights on certain grazing land
and threats were made against him. He
refused to b? frightened out of the coun
try, and several months ago ho disap
peared. No trace of him has over been
found, though rewards have been offered.
H? was wealthy and his affairs w’ere in
such shape that flight is not to lie
thought of in connection with his disap
pearance. A few months ago in north
western Colorado, Matt Rush, a ranch
man who had settled in a fine grazing
country, was killed while ho was eating
supper in his cabin. Somebody had crept !
up to th? building and fired through a |
crack in the logs. Rush's partner, James j
Dart, was shot dead when he stepped out
of the cabin.
In Wyoming the killing of the Nickell •
boy was preceded by the murder of two j in
ranchmen in th ■ Iron mountain district. ; ?»
j history for several years—and bloody hi#
tory at that. The cattle men complain
that a flock of sheep will ruin a grazing
country by trampling the ground so that
the grass will not grow again. They
have fought th? sheep men in the courts
and have been beaten, and now the fa
vorite method of warfare is to get a
company of cowboys and make a raid
I on a lone sheep herder who may be tend,
| ing several thousand sheep. The herder,
i when he sees a company of masked m?n
I ride into his flock, shooting the animals
i right and left, knows that if lie attempts
j to interfere his life will he the forfeit,
ill - can do nothing but stand by and see
| hundreds of his sheep killed or maimed,
j and finally takes the remnant of his flock
| and hurries to another and safer part
of the country, while the cattlemen en-
j joy possession of th>? range until some
I other herder ventures on the forbidden
! ground.
j This vendetta of the range seems to
i grow more bitter as the area of grazing
j land is cut down. Each n;w homestead
means so much less profit
Vendetta in the pockets of the cat-
Constantly tie owner, and in conse-
Growi ence a feud is de-
M ore dared that makes a Cor-
Bitter sican affair of honor seem
tarn? in comparison.
The cattlemen, of course, are not wita-
[ out justice on their side. They suffer in
numerable depredations. Cattle “rus
tlers” abound, and in several states there
are well organized hands of cattle thieves
that undoubtedly have confederat s
I among small ranchers. One of the most
successful and most determined of these
j gangs is known as the Mesa Hawks, op-
i crating in Arizona and New Mexico,
j This gang operates with the utmost bold-
j ness, stampeding cattle in broad daylight.
| The gang has several hiding places in
i Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado,
j where the authorities are calmly defied.
I Against such gangs the cattl; owners
! are justified In falling back on armed
protection, and in fact valuable assistance
has been given the authorities in running
down fhese desperate criminals.
It is the war over the government land,
however, that is arousing the entire west
To protest on account of its annual sacri
fice of human life. Recent developments
which have tended to show that assassi
nation is becoming a trade in the cattle
country have stirred the authorities and
have shown that the range tight is grow
er too red to be much longer flaunted
fore the eyes of the people. Colonel
These men were shot down in cold blood, I Mosby's determined stand against the
"Grub Pile"—C'Jboboys answering the call to dinner
one of them being murdered as he en
tered his cattle corral. The Nickell boy
was shot not far from his father’s cabin.
The elder Nickell had been repeatedly
warned to leave the country on account
of trouble with cattle owners. His fences
had been cut and lie threatened to re
taliate by poisoning all the cattle that
strayed on his ranch. This is thought to
have led to the assassination of his son.
The war of the cattle and sheep in
terests of the west has been a matter of
fencing in of ptAilic lands will do much to
simplify matters if the example of the
famous confederate leader is followed by
other United States officials. The next
step will be to bring peace between the
three conflicting interests of th? range
country—the cattle owners, the sheep
men. and the small ranchers. Until some
sort of a truce is brought about
yearly record of violent deaths on
range will more than equal the mortality
of the American army in the Philip
pines.
Some Church War
News of Old Vir
ginia.
‘By Henry ‘Bums Geer
Written for CAc'Sunny South
N the earlier days, even
¥ me re so than now, the-
church of England went
with the state. In an of
ficial sense it went not
into New England—the
land of the Puritans—for
the brave spirits that set--
tied that part of our coun
try were, as ail the world,
knows. “Non - Conform
ists.” Buri with the com
ing of the cavaliers into
the more southern regions
—to Virginia—came the Church of Eng
land and its powerful Influence. There
state and church w’ere united, and the
duties of the church vestrymen were most-
varied.
The writer’s maternal ancestors wera
Virginians, and to him there is no history,
more interesting than the history of that
grand old state. And. aside from the
general histories of the country, there
is no single book that throws more light
on the early settlements in Virginia than
that little inassuming volume known as
“The History of Bristol Parish,” by the
Rev’. Philip Slaughter.
Bristol parish was instituted about the
year 1642, and for a hundred years or
more there was no other denomination,
or church, than the Church of England
in that region, or in all Virginia as for
that matter, if we are to believe the rec-
<>7ds of history, the most authentic avail
able.
The Rev. Mr. Slaughter, who was a
minister of the Episcopal church, says
in his little book: “If one wants to get at
the bottom facts of the history of Vir
ginia, we are persuaded that there is no
better way to do so than by means of
the old church records. A court house,
a church, a prison, a pillory, stocks ai:d
sometimes a ducking stool were the ear
liest institutiens lit our new settlements;
though happily the last three soon fell
into disuse. The ministers and vestries
were nearest to the people, coming into
contact with them at every step from
1 irth to burial. All the people of a par
ish were under the care of its pastor,
and they were all reauired by civil law
to ha/e their children baptized and the
dates of their births and baptisms re
corded in the register and reported to the
secretary’s office, and so of marriages and
burials.”
In this way was the family genealogy
preserved for generation after generation;
hence the great value of the church rec
ords in tracing one's
Church genealogy hack to the
Records very earliest times in
Invaluable "Old Virginny," provtil-
for ing. of course, that the
Genealogy th; ends of family history
• and tradition lead back
to that source.
Many of the church records were,
doubtless, destroyed during the revolu
tionary war; and many also during the
| great civil strife, for Virginia had more
j than her just share of each conflict, but
j many rich treasurts in this line are still
j intact in the church archives—treasures
I that would well repay the historian or
the genealogist to bring to light.
| The vestrjmen h id charge of all work
! of charity, and they were also the < -n-
| sors of morality in their respective eom-
j munit ts and imposed fines on those who
j transgressed the iaws of the church and
I the civil laws, where the latter were the
outgrowth of the church influence. The
vestrymen also rant a record of the
rumb'r of tobacco plants growing each
season on the plantation of each planter
parishioner, and. further, kept up the
j marks on the trees that outlined each
] mart's possessions in the way of land.
! Petersburg was named for one Peter
Jones, a vestrymen, and was origmally
called “Peters Point.” Colonel Byrd, in
1723, noted in hi.i journal as follows:
“When we got home we laid the founda
tions of two great cities, one ;it Schoccx
to bo called Richmond, and the other at
I he point of Appomattox river, to ho
called Petersburg."
In 1759 the leading citizens of the parish
became greatly concerned about the
many orphan and otherwise unfortunate,
but free white children who were de
prived of educational facilities, and be
ing desirous that they should be educated,
they—
“Resolved to recommend earnestly in
their several parisnes that they should
join in a petition to the general assembly
to procure an act to enable the said
parishes to erect a free school for th?
education of the free children of said
parishes."
As early es 1765 the rumblings of th?
coming revolution were heard and dissen
sions in the church between the people
began, and the church revenues became
unsettled. The people scented the ap-
the j proaching storm and the lines between
the | patriot-s and tories began to take form.
Gory Battle Bentonville Was One of tHe
Last of tHe Civil War
i that when the freshet of i minded him there was a minister present
away his bridge, it has been I ; . lnd wh >’ not ask him to invoke the bless
ing. Washington playfully remarked: “I
am aware of it. but I want Dr. McWhir
to know that we ourselves feel thankful
for heaven’s blessings.” This is one of
the few jokes that Washington was ever
known to perpetrate. It alwavs pleased
Dr. McWhir to relate this anecdote to his
friends.
This school kept up until about 1833,
from existence about four years ago. I
was proud to call him my teacher and
patron. I sat under his teachings dur
ing the years 1846 and 1847. I loved him
and revered him as a father.
Burton Gwinnett and Lyman Hall, two
of the signers of the Declaration of Inde
pendence fiom Georgia, were educated
By L T Rightsell
Written for Che Sunny South
T the harrelet of Averysboro,
32 miles south of Raleigh,
the two armies that had in
years past contended in the
west again came in contact
after a separation of many
months. It was the 16th of
March, 1S65, only a few
days before Appomattox.
Sherman had closed his
march %< the sea at Savan
nah on the preceding 21st
of December, and shortly
afterwards started north
to join Grant around Richmond, moving
by way of Columbia, S. C., and thence to
‘ Fayetteville. N. C.. and on in the direc
tion of Goldsboro, N. C. At Averysboro
he came in contact wiffi General Hardee,
who was moving to join General John
ston in his closing campaign in the civil
war. His command was entrenched along
the Raleign road and engaged and were
repulsed by Sherman s left wing.
The scene of this battle was about 6
miles west of the new and thriving town
of Dunn, on the Cape Fear river. Short
ly after its occurrence, the ladies of the
Cape Fear section, in which are many
families of noble ancestry, formed an or
ganization which is still in existence, and
whose object was the proper interment of
♦ he confederates who fell in this section.
A monument, around which repose the
bones of these heroes, was erected on the
scene of the conflict by this organization.
Sherman moved on in a northeast direc
tion the day after the battle and on reach
ing the village of Bentonsville, 25 miles
from Avervsboro and 20 miles from Golds
boro, on the 19th was again attacked on
his left by Tohnston, who had advanced
from Smithfield, the county seat of John
ston county, a few miles east of Raleigh.
In Johnston's command were Bragg, Wade
Hampton. Hardee, Hoke and others, all
their troops being from western and
southwestern states. from Tennessee,
Georgia, Missouri and Texas. From Geor
gia was Colquitt’s brigade of Hoke’s di
vision. The two armies which had met in
many a hard fought batiTe in the west
had finally come together again.
The battle began on the farm of John
Harper and reached to the village of Ben
tonville, a distance of about 4 miles, the
country being broken with pine woods and tree stood in Us original place for several
numerous ravines. Tt raged all day of the.
19th with a deafening sound of artillery
and small arms. One who was in the vi
cinity of the fighting says that he could
easily follow the course of the fighting
by the sounds, could hear not only the
arms, but the sound of voices and could
distinguish the confederate and federal
charges. The result was a drawn battle.
March 2lTTTi was taken up in skirmishing,
and on the 21st Johnston fell back toward
Smithfield, General Terry having came up
from Kinston with reinforcements for
Sherman.
Both armies lost heavily. The federal
loss was 1,600 killed and wounded; the loss
of the confederates was 2.6S0 killed,
wounded and missing.
Thirty or forty wounded confederates
were left at the village of Bentonville,
and all except one died. The federals
made 'their field hospital at the home of
John Harper, a large, two-story frame
building, still standing, and during the
battle many of their wounded were oared
for in the house and outlying buildings.
Mr. Harper and his wife supplied them
with all the comforts they wci-e able to
provide. Just before the army moved to
ward Goldsboro, they removed their own
wounded and placed in the care of the
Harper family fifty-four wounded confed
erate prisoners.
A man named Arthur Lee, still lining
at Newton Grove, was impressed into
service as an assistant. Of these confed-
arate soldiers, all of whom
were from western and
southern states, many
died, but several ulti
mately recovered. The
last inmate of this hospi
tal was Lieut**ant Larri-
more, of Mobile. Ala., who was thought
at first noT to be seriously wounded, but
died after three months of suffering. At
first reticent and disinclined to 'talk, he
changed as his condition became serious
and the end approached, and became com
municative concerning home and its ties.
When he died he left a photograph of his
sweetheart in the possession of the fam
ily.
A curious incident of the battle was the
killing of seven artillery horses within
50 yards of the Harper home. These ani
mals all lay In one heap, and two others
lay near the heap. Eight Cannon balls
passed through the shefll of a pine tree
in the yard, making separate holes. This
Pathetic
Death
In a
Field
Hospital
years, and was finally (Mt down and re
moved to the court house yard at Smith-
field, where it may s'till be seen.
About a decade ago, a military organ
ization called the Goldsboro Rifles, of
Goldsboro, N. C-, decided to erect a mon
ument on the field of Bentonville. A small
plot of land was deeded by John Harper
and the monument was erected upon this,
a short distance from the house and near
the old Harper burial ground. It stands
in a slightly elevated position immediate
ly by the roadside on the road leading
from Fayetteville to Goldsboro, and also
near the Clinton and Smithfield road. The
bodies of all those who died in the hos
pital were taken up and reinterred here,
and their names are inscribed on the
stone, these names having been taken
down and preserved by Arthur Lee. The
names of John Harper and his wife, An
nie Harper, are also inscribed on the
monument. John Harper was a man of
more than ordinary force of character,
who was about sixty-seven years old at
the time of the battle, and lived till
1892, passing away at the age of 94 years
and 4 months. His wife died more recent
ly, also at a very advanced age. Mr. Har
per’s father, who died in 1840, is buried
on the same farm. He was a revolution
ary soldier, of Virginia, who was present
at the bat'tle of Yorktown, under the
command of Lafayette, and saw Cornwal
lis hand his sword to Washington when
he surrendered.
The facts of this communication were
obtained from Dr. M. W. Harper, a resi
dent of Dunn, N. C. He is the son of
John Harper, mentioned above, and was
in the confederate service over three
years. He is yet in the prime of life and
full of reminiscences of the dark but
'[hriliing days of the civil war.
FREE.
Stuart’s Gin and Buchu
To all who suffer, or to the friends of
those who sutler with Kidney, .Liver,
Heart, Bladder or Blood diseases.
A SAMPLE
Bottle of 8tuart’s Gin and Buchu, the
great Southern Kidney and Liver med
icine, will be sent absolutely free of
cost. Mention The Bunny South. Ad
dress
STUART DRUG MFC. CO.,
33 and 34 Wall Street, Atlanta, Ga.
Many former loyal parishioners refused
| to support a church allied with the Brlt-
i ish government.
In 1773 the people were given the op-
j tion to pay their pastor either in money
I or in tobacco at 18 shillings per hundred
i weight, because of “the calamitous state
of the country."
The general assembly in 1776 passed an
I act repealing all laws of parliament re-
I quiring conformity to the Episcopal
church and exempting dissenters from
contributing to its support. This measure
was advocated by Jefferson, who had been
j a vestryman.
| Patrick Henry strongly supported a hill
) < hat was passed by’the general assembly
i in 1784. providing for teachers of the.
I Christian religion. He introduced the
! bill that was passed for the incorporation
rf the Episcopal church. It repealed all
former laws for the government of the
church, but at the same time it secured
to the several or manv Episcopal
churches in Virginia the lands, church
edifices and ether property formerly held
by the established Church of England.
......
Some seventy-eight v?ars later came
the great strife and struggle between
brothers. The records of the church were
neglected and the region of Bristol parish
became a hattl? field over and over again.
Mr. Slaughter says:
“A battle field, over which grand
armies were marching and counter
marching, leaving desolation and tears
and blood in their track.
The surface of the earth
was bristling with forts
and cut up with sepul
chres. The chime of the
church bells was drowned
by the beating of drums
and the bursting bombs."
Early in 1865 an order was issued by
the military authorities requiring all pas
tors of churches in Petersburg to use the
same prayer for the president of the
United States as before the war. And
that all pastors officiating should take
the oath of allegiance. This order is said
to have originated from Secretary Stan
ton rather than President Lincoln, but
the church authorities deemed it wise to
acquiesce rather than subject their prop
erty to the provost marshals and th9
army chaplains of the federal govern
ment.
And then came the glorious peace that
settled like a gentle and refreshing dew
all over the land and the sunshine of
forgiveness and fraternal feeling that has
outlasted a generation: while church and
state and section and section have har
monized under a beneficent government -
the gift of a merciful God given us as a
heritage from our f. thers and fathers’
fathers. Who bore the brunt of the battle
In the heat and turmoil of the earlier
days when our government was yet de
void of fullness and much wa* experi
mental.
Virginia
Was
Vast
Cemetery