Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

MtaaaaalaMBMi ■ as Lewis F. Butler Dur- - ing The Civil War —- ' »i i. His Life Written by Him on March 4th 1915, at the Age of 72 Years. I j pined a Company by the name of “Rough and Ready,” of ficered by Capt. King, Lieut. Dan iel MdGill, Lieut. Barrineau and Lieut. Sanders, being all of our commissioned officers, a 11 from 'Decatur cpunty. We were mustered in at Chattu- hoocliee, Fla., in October 1801 and went to Appalnchicola in State Service and stayed there doing State Service until about March 1862 when we evacuated the place. We placed the old siege artillery . on board the boats and brought them up the river to Ricales Bluff, and all state troops being out of service I came home and stayed two weeks and then went to Sa vannah, Ga., and joined Company F. 50th Georgia Regiment with the following officers: Capt. Duncan .Curry, 1st Lieutenant W. 0. Flem ing, 2nd Lieutenant William Pow ell, 3rd Lieutenant a man by the name of Dekle. all from Decatur county, Georgia. We did service around. Savannah until the lhst of July 1802, when we were ordered to Virginia. After we got to Vir ginia, we were attached to General Lee’s army, but were in Gen. Long- street’s Corps and wont right on to Bull Run 'and Manassas. We were getting into business then, fighting almost every day, wading the riv ers and climbing the mountains. We chased the enemy on and crossed the Potomac, and in Mary land we had a severe battle at Boomsburg. , In this battle we lost several good men. We came back on this side of the river and rested; then we were taken to Fredricks burg, Va., and had skirmishes around there all winter, and when spring came we got busy and had a severe battle at Chancellorsville; of course, ns wo all know, we gained this victory, but the victory was a sad one, for w» lost one of our greatest generafs. This wns the place where Gen. Stonewall Jackson was killed, and this indeed was a sad blow to our cause. This was on Saturday night, and on Sunday, we captured a whole field full bf Yankees, and there our gal lant generals said to us that it was no time to rest as the enemy had crossed the river at Fredricksburg, and were coming up in our rear, so we were hurried right back to meet them. There we had a hard fight and I can say that it was a tough one, but we boys put them to flight and captured.and killed lots of them, and dear reader, I can say that I received a wound that after noon, but did not injure me. Boys, that was on ji Sunday af ternoon; think of that! I \Vns not more than nineteen or twenty years old. The fight that after noon was at Salem Church; wo went on in pursuit of the enemy, fighting more or less every day, right on to Gettysburg, Pa., and there we had it on the third day of July. I can say that we drove the enemy back into the cliffs of the mountains, and held the battlefield until we buried our dead. I lost a loving brother there, together with many other good soldiers; we also lost our much beloved Col. Kerce. We buried him there with others in a peach orchard;'dug holes with our bayonets and tin plates, wrap ped them in blankets and laid them away. Too bad to think of, never theless true. We retreated after burying our dead on the battle field. J will assure you boys that we were busy but .we retreated in good order back on this side of the Potomac river, and we had several small fights every few days. If I re member correctly we were, togeth er with all of Longstreet’s Corps, sent fo North Georgia, but our Brigade beingfthe last one sent, we did not get into thfe fight at Chick- amauga, Ga., but we were there to QBADY COUNTY PROGRESS, CAIRO, GEOKG^ pursue the enemy to Chattaaooga, Tenn. We built breastworks around there and did other dutios for sometime; then we wore moved up to Knoxville, Tenn. There we did lots of picket duty, and alter awhile our boys let the enemy break through our lines at Mission ary Ridge, and the cuemy wus coming up in our rear und our brigude was massed, and at the break of day we made a desperate charge on the fort but we did not succeed in capturing it, so we had to make our way through the mountains. It was getting cold then and some of our boys were barefooted. Finally we got around to Morristown and Russolvillo in east Tennessee, and on our march we lived on two ears of corn and a little fresh pork or beef. That was all the rations we had each day. Pretty tough boys, but true. We wintered around Morristown. At the charge at Knoxville, our Capt. H. S. Reeves was wounded in the right arm; our Orderly, Sargt. J.ll. Maxwell also received a painful wound in his left eye, caused from a fragment of their hand grenade which the enemy threw at us while wo were near the fort; also a number of .others were wounded and killed. I had a close call, a ball cut through the top of my hat. I felt it singe the hair on my head. I will now go back to Morristown this being the winter of 1863 and early spring of 1804. I received a furlough for thirty days, as I had not been home before; so when I got back I met our command in Lynchburg, Va., on their way to Gordonsville, Va., but there was one of our neighbor men left in Lynchburg very sick and later died there. H i s name was Joseph Rawls; so sad, but true. We were in camp around Gordonsville for awhile, then we started on our way fighting and marching, and in May 1804 we had our fight in the wild erness, and sure enough we drove the enemy back through the wild erness, which was a tight fight. We boys were men then and built us a log breastwork, but did not stay there long. The next attack was at Spotsyl- vanin, and there I assure was bad fighting—lots killed on both sides. We were in such close quarters that we could not eat for the smell of tho dead. The enemy fell back and the next attack was at Cold Harbor. Now boys, there we had it. The line was broken on our right and two companies of our Regiment was ordered up there, so our Company wont, which was commanded by the First Lieut. J. W. Maxwell; our Orderly Sar gent was at his post—this was J. R. Maxwell. His brother, William Maxwell, D. L. Maxwell, Harper Robinson and a number of others were captured there. I just did escape by not getting into the little breastworks, the Colonel P. A. McLoshon being right at me and said, "fall back my lads.” The enemy was then in twenty feot of us and everything shooting, so we fell back about thirty or forty yards, and pretty soon we were reinforced by a South Carolina Battalion, and we had the workB back in thirty minutes, but they had carried off our men and boys. So bad on us to lose our officers and men, all my mess-mates and relatives. That was late in the afternoon, so wo held our line all day, and the next day under a tight skirmish, and just before light next morning we tore down our little rail breast works; no one was allowed to speak above a whisper and we slipped out. Our men came in that night and built another breastwork on the other side of the branch in the rear of our old stand so as to get them out of the thick woods. So about sun-up they charged, and I tell you boys, our men stayed some yanks on our side. They charged our line on the right with drunk negroes, but you bet that we drove thim back. _ This was the last day of May or the first day of June 1804. ' Bad times boys, but I as sure you it is true. We stayed around there in our breastworks for a few.days, and the neit attack was at Petersburg the enemy had taken our breast works whon wo got there, but I guess we boys stopped them. We had a hard fight but held them > in check und built our breastworks. I helped to build the works that wero blown up. We kept up a skirmish day'and night and lived right in our breastworks. I think we stayed there two or three weeks fighting day and night. Too bad boys, but true. Wo were relieved of that place by some of our troops and allowed to rest a few days. Then our Division, which was Gen. Kershaw’s Division was ord ered to go to the ShenaHdoah Val ley. There we got in a hard bat tle near Harper’s Ferry and lost some good men. One of our Com pany I remember seeing him fall; his name was Isaac Brunson and a good man. We retreated then to a town by the name of Strnugh- burgen. We surprised the yanks one morning before it was light and took their breastworks and lots of prisoners. Then we went right on their next works which was not over four or five hundred yards. The sun was up by then and we had it tight, but we charged them out of their works and boys, we had them flying. They hud everything good to eat; or I should have said things good to a soldier boy. They had sugar, coffee, tur keys, chickens and other things; also n suttler’s tent with the good things for the soldiers, but we did not have much time, but I will say that I got my haversack full of sugar and coffee. Times were so hot we did not have time to stop. We drove the enemy back near Winchester, and gained a complete victory that day, but late in the afternoon the enemy were reinforc ed and we had to “hot heel” it back after having had such a vic tory. We lost lots of good men. We retreated, but we killed lots of yanks, but also, they killed lots of our men. We lost our Third Lieut enant and the Second Lieutenant was wounded in the face; his name was Malcolm Lodge, and the one that was Wiled was Charlie O’Brien Our Second Sargant, John King and a number of others were killed. We then retreated'back to a town by the name of Morrisville, all in the Shanandoah Valley of Virginia. We skirmished on down to Rich mond or east of Richmond .down on the James river, where we spent the winter of 1804, doing hard picket duty. Right here to let you know how weak our lines had become, I will say that when we formed a line of battle on the breastworks, we had only one man every five steps. On the next spring our lines were broken over at Petersburg and the fighting was on. We were ordered to fall back, so we did and gave old Richmond up. We wont to a place near High Ridge where the enemy had our corps cut off. We fought in a hol low square, and boys we did them all we could. We fought three lines of Infantry, all close enough to see them plain. Wo were doing our best but the lines were broken and the enemy were all around us, so we were obliged to give up and surrender. We were not whipped, but over powered. It is said that they cap tured twenty thousand of us on the 6th day of April 1805 and we were carried to different prisons. I with many others was spilt to Point Lookout, Maryland,’ and we were guarded by negroes. We stayed there until the latter part of June. I took the Oath of Allcigiance on the 24th day of June 1865, and was sent to Savannah, Ga., on a ship. We walked from Savarinah to the Altamaha river. From there we were taken to Thomasville, Ga., on the ears and we footed it home together. J. W. Maxwell, D. L. Maxwell, D. L. Bryant, Gus Bish op and myself were all together, and got home on the 7th day of July 1865, all proud to get back to the old home. In conclusion will say that I have been a citizen of Gadsden county, Fla., for the last forty-five years, but now reside in Cairo, Ga. The above is all true Old Com rades of the Confederate Arms! LEWIS F. BUTLER. This being my 72nd birthday. Good Looks are.Easy with Magnolia Balm. Look as good as your city cousins. No matter If you do Tan or Freckle Magnolia Balm will surely clear your skin instantly. Heals Sunburn, too. Just put a little on your face and rub it off again before dry. Simple and sure to please. Try a bottle to-day and begin the improvement at once. White, Pink and Rose-Red Colors. 75 cents at Druggists or by mail direct. SAMPLE FREE. LYON MFC. CO.. 40 So. Bth St., Brooklyn, N.Y. CASTORIA For Infants and Children In Use For Over 30 Years Always bears Signature of Low Excursion Fares via Atlantic Coast Line “The Standard Railroad of the* South” T0 Brunswick, Jacksonville, St. Augustine, St. Petersburg and Tampa JULY NINETEENTH Tickets sold to Brunswick, Jacksonville and St. Augustine limited to reach original starting point, returning not later than midnight July 24th. Tickets sold to Tampa and St. Pctrsburg limited to midnight July 25th, 1010. For fanes and schedule and father information call on, H. W. LAWSON, Agent, Cairo, Ga. 1916 Service at Less Than 1880 Rates Georgia Railroads Pay More Than Half Their Gross Revenue to the People in Labor, Wages and Taxes . It is absolutely imperative that the freight rates within the State of Geor gia be revised at the hearing on August 17th so that they may be applied to intrastate commerce in a way which will not discriminate against interstate commerce. This is a requirement not only of the Interstate Commerce Commission, but in the Shreveport Case relative to tiie Texas rates, was required by the Su preme Court of the United States. The proposed Georgia revision contemplates an increase in some existing rates, but it also brings about a reduction in other rates. Should the revision increase the revenue of the railroads it would not be unreasonable for the Georgia Railroad Commission to grant it and so permit the Railroads of Georgia to maintain the present high standard of service and to improve and extend their facilities. The Railroads have already shown that they are operating on rates sub stantially lower than those promulgated in 1880; that the average price of 25 necessary articles in daily use has increased more than 77 per cent since 1914; i e increased cost has not been offset by increase revenue or increased-^ efficiency, in spite of every effort known to human ingenuity in connection with the economical operation of railroads. The railroads now present ACTUAL FACTS AND FIGURES relating to the steady increase in labor, wages and taxes. The increased labor cost to 25 representative railroads of the South, includ ing the principal railroads of Georgia, for 1914 over .1901 was as follows: Including General Officers, $40,650,841.64, or 33.92 per cent. Excluding General Officers $40,573,672.06, or 34.53 per cent. And the increase has been equally as great up to June 3oth, 1916. iThe 25 Railroads paid out for -labor in > $ 60,055,407.12 1915 ...... 145,470,K42.29 Th Ra ilroads paid1 142 PER CENT more for labor in 1915 than in 1901. t ‘ fo ? al ? r out of each dollar received by the Railroads in 1901 was .39 46-100 cents; the amount increased in 1915 to .46 34-100 cents. 1 Qni 1 oT? - aXeS Pa ‘^ b ! the Rai,roads increased 178 per cent from thing Uke thhame S’ 15 ' Va ‘ Ue ° f ra “ r0ad flas not bee “ The railroads paid for taxes in \l°.\ . . .... $ 5,09,8,328.66 1915 ; . 14,224,942.38 In 1901 the amount of taxes to each one dollar of revenue was 03 35-100 * to^oi 53-100 cents m ° Unt ° f laXCS t0 each 01ie dollar of revenue had increased \ In 1901 the Railroads paid .42 81-100 cents out of every one -liar of reve- ' nue for labor and taxes. In 1915 the amount had increased to .50 37-100 cents or more than half of the total gross revenue for (hose two items albne. Amount paid for labor and taxes in * ' 1901 . „•>-. . . . . .... ... M v ... r ,. $ 65,153,735.78 1915 ’ >’ • ; • • • • v .. v .- . 159,695,584.67 In other words, the Railroads returned to tho • . ALONE more than half of the gross revenue of the Railroads WagC8 an ^ taxe * j- tha ,880 more to say at a later date. . 0 1 in cc l ul Pment, of which we shall have The above figures relating to labor and taxes are actual They are evidence that the Railroads are of substantial value’to the ^ , m paying towards the maintenance of the Government and in , Stat ?. of Geor S ,a ment to thousands of Georgia citizens. This docs not taWin* PPb “ g lucra hve employ- dered to traveler and shipper, and the creation of wealtVthrcurh V he Service ren ‘ would be, without railroad facilities, remote and unprofitableteStS? develo P ment of what The railroads of Georgia are just as much interested in j , and the prosperity of the people as J are the people themselves^k dev downent of the State railroads and the interests of the people are identical? ' heCaU,e lhe Crests of the It is not and will not be the policy of the Railroad. n propose any system of rates which would unjustly dfc^rim* < ? ?orgla . to the Georgia producer, in favor of producers located a ?? ln8t ' the state. Should this principle appear to be violated bv° mt * w j6*out construction of our n-»i»inn .... W. atea by any technical , construction of our petition, we give assurance that ‘ A hnical - P°“» no r,. wdl wo attempt to adopt in actual practL Pa rlance with the same. we > “W r *te at va* Towth and . and will Railroads are THE RAILROADS OF GEORGIA