house to the tender mercies (?) of soldiers, but she finally joined us in the basement. A few minutes later there was a crash! and down came a deluge of dust and gravel. The usually placid face of our old black mammy, now thoroughly frightened, appeared on the scene. She said a cannon ball had torn a hole in the side of the meat house and broken her wash kettle to pieces. She left the supper on the stove and fled precipitately into the cellar. After that, the only way we could get anything to eat was by sending a guard, who was in the yard, to the kitchen after it. The patter of the bullets on the blinds was anything but soothing. The incessant booming of cannon and the rattle of the guns continued until midnight, then the firing gradually ceased; we, of course, were in ignorance of who was in possession of the place, but all the while hoping and praying that it might be our boys. About one o'clock we thought the town was being reduced to ashes, but it turned out to be the burning of the Odd Fellows Hall on the square. About four o'clock we heard the tramping of feet and the sound of voices. Our hearts jumped into our mouths, and what joy when we learned that our own soldiers were in possession of the town! We first learned it from the men who carried Col. Sam Shannon, who had been wounded, to his sister's house, our next door neighbor. Our men were in possession of the town! We didn't "stand on ceremonies" getting out of the cellar. Our doors were thrown wide open, and in a few minutes a big fire was burning in the parlor. The first man to enter was Gen. Wm. Bate, all bespattered with mud and blackened with powder, but a grand and glorious soldier under it all. I will not attempt to picture the meeting between him and my father, who had been a life-long friend. Next came Gen. Tom Benton Smith, with the impersonation of a chivalric, gallant soldier, wearing under the mud and dirt his recent hard-earned honors. Poor fellow, how short lived were his joys! A cruel sabre cut at Nashville forever dethroned his reason, and he is now in a Tennessee Asylum for the insane. Space fails me to mention the long list of friends who came that day and received our warmest wel I shall mention what a reproof my sisters received from some of their soldier sweethearts. An uncle of ours, who made his home in New York city, during the previous summer had my sisters to visit him, and, of course, they replenished their wardrobes while there. On the morning after the battle they wanted to compliment their soldier friends by "looking their best," so they put on their prettiest dresses. The soldiers were so unaccustomed to seeing stylish new dresses, that they actually doubted their loyalty, .thought they should have on homespum dresses instead of "store clothes." In the afternoon, December 1st, some of us went to the battlefield, to give water and wine to the wounded. All of us carried cups from which to refresh the thirsty. Horrors! what sights that met our girlish eyes! The dead and wounded lined the Columbia pike for the distance of a mile. In Mrs. Sykes' yard, Gen. Hood sat talking with some of his staff officers. I didn't look upon him as a hero, because nothing had been accomplished that could benefit us. As we approached Col. Carter's house, we could scarcely walk without stepping on dead or dying men. We could hear the cries of the wounded, of which Col. Carter's house was full to overflowing. As I entered the front door, I heard a poor fellow giving his sympathetic comrades a dying message for his loved ones at home. We went through the hall, and were shown into a little room where a soft light revealed all that was mortal of the gifted young genius, Theo Carter, who under the pseudonym of "Mint Julep," wrote such delightful letters to the Chattanooga Rebel. Bending over him, begging for just one word of recognition, was his faithful and heartbroken sister. The night before the battle he had taken supper at Mr. Green Neely's (the father of our postmaster), and was in a perfect ecstacy of joy at the thought of seeing his family on the morrow, from whom he had been separated so long. But alas! when the morrow came, that active, brilliant brain had been pierced by one of the enemy's bullets; he was carried home and ministered to by those faithful sisters, and died, I think, without ever having spoken a word. From this sad scene, we passed on to a locust thicket, and men in every conceivable position could be seen, some with their fingers on the triggers, and death struck them so suddenly they didn't move. Past the thicket we saw trenches dug to receive as many as ten bodies. On the left of the pike, around the old gin house, men and horses were lying so thick that we could not walk. Gen. Adam's horse was lying stark and stiff upon the breastworks. Ambulances were being filled with the wounded as fast as possible, and the whole town was turned into a hospital. Instead of saying lessons at school the day after the battle, I watched the wounded men being carried in. Our house was full as could be; from morning until night we made bandages and scraped linen lint with which to dress the wounds, besides making jellies and soups with which to nourish them. The times were not without their romances. Only a short time afterward a handsome young Missouri surgeon, in charge of one of the hospitals, married one of our most prominent young ladies. Another Missourian, who was wounded here, and was so popular with the girls, married also. A young soldier who was an artist, met on the field one of our young ladies, who was also of an artistic turn of mind, and the year following they were married. THE FLAG OF THE FLORIDA BATTERY. Col. W. T. Stockton, of the Florida Brigade, wrote a poem about this flag. It was used by the Marion Light Artillery in the battle of Richmond, Kentucky. The material of which the flag was made, as the writer has happily shown us in his poem, was a magnificent crimson shawl presented by Mrs. J. J. Dickison. The rings by which it was attached to the lance were manufactured from jewelry contributed by the ladies of Orange Lake, Marion Co., Fla.; the ferrule being forged from a superb silver comb contributed by Mrs. Dickison, and worn by the fair donor on her bridal night. GENERAL LEE AND TRAVELLER. REV. ROBT. TUTTLE, CISCO, TEXAS. The occasion of the following lines was a memorable picture at the battle of Spottsylvania Court House, Va., May the 12th, 1864. At one time during the engagement, Gen. Lee stood by the head of "Traveler," his favorite horse. The position was one of danger, being right on the crest of a hill. not far from a one-story building, and near the outer edge of a small grove of trees. The writer was an eye witness, and was deeply impressed with the General's splendid attitude. Behold that horse! A dappled gray! I saw him in the month of May, When wild flowers bloomed about his feet, And sunshine was his mantle meet. The shapely head he held up high, Down from the withers to the tail With limb, and hoof, and pastern small. Rare model for an artist's skill!- For there, with muscles strained and tense, Bucephalus was not more gay A day of battle, truly, then! Dismounted, and quite near his head, What courtliness in him was seen! As there, Horatius-like, he stood. Great Chieftains had preceded him Brave Chief and Charger! Such were they. Immortal Spottsylvania!! "Twas on that sacred hill of thine, Ye artists! paint the signal scene, In all our Southland's sunny zone,— May look upon Lee's noble form As there he stood amid the storn And did our Dixie Boys comman Who fought for rights, and home No need have we for Northern f Living, or dead, above, below; We honor those who wore the g And weave for them our last bo We War's arbitrament accept, And foemen leave in peace to But, when their graves are deck The North must do it, and No Away with sickly sentiment! True Southrons never will repe For "Chartered Rights," they fo And still they know their cause Had I but one, or even grant That I'd ten thousand flowers to I'd put them all on Dixie's grav My Comrades, and our Souther MY SOUTHERN HO To my far away home where the laurel Sing sweet in their Creator's praise, 'Tis the land of the hero, the theme of t There a father doth rest where the soft Henry Clay Fairman, the gift Sunny South, has written a pat verse, "Have you been true Am peared in "Home and Country," editorial in that publication, which poral James Tanner, who, whate faults, has ever been great-hearted says: "It deserves the attention o citizen, whether he be a student o political economies which exist continue--in governments of, by, ar Comrade Fairman was thought Sunny South to suggest the re-ele FEDERATE VETERAN as official orga hood at Houston, and says "We vote SECOND REUNION AT SHILOH. Headquarters Shiloh Battlefield Association, Office of the Secretary, Monticello, Ill., 1895. The second annual reunion of the Shiloh Battlefield Association, and the survivors of that battle, will be held on the battlefield near Pittsburg Landing, Tenn., April 5th and 6th, 1895. This includes both armies, Confederate under Generals A. S. Johnston and G. T. Beauregard and Federal under Generals U. S. Grant and D. C. Buell. The survivors meet this year on the 33rd anniversary of the battle under very gratifying circumstances. Congress has passed the bill to purchase the battlefield for a National Memorial Park, like Gettysburg and Chickamauga, and it is very desirous that each regiment, battery and organization that took part in the battle be well represented to assist in marking the various positions their commands held during the battle of April 6th and 7th, 1862. This would greatly assist the Shiloh Commission in locating the monuments and tablets to be erected on the battlefield Park. Many leading officers, who are survivors, are expected to be present and greet their old comrades, April 5th to 6th. The entire Chickamauga Commission has engaged to be present. Col. Lee reports that the Governors of the 21 states that had troops in the battle have been invited, and many of them will be present with leading generals who survive, from both the North and the South, with thousands of the rank and file. Capt. John Clemm, the famous drummer boy, is to be present. Let the members of each organization prepare a marker, 12 by 20 inches, of some good hard material and have the same painted white and the number of his regiment painted in black letters giving this information: "The Regiment Infantry till Battery, held this position from April 6th, 1862." Col. Lee reports many prominent men who are to be present. Among them are Gen. D. C. Buell, Gen. John A. McClernard, Gen. Lew Wallace, Gen. B. M. Prentiss, Gen. R. J. Oglesby, Gen. Joseph Wheeler, Gen. E. C. Walthal, Gen. William B. Bate, Senator Isham G. Harris, Gen. J. R. Chalmers, Col. William Preston Johnston, Maj. Cable Breckinridge, Col. A. C. Waterhouse, Col. I. P. Rumsey, Col. Cornelius Cadle, the Chickamauga Commission, composed of Gen. J. S. Fullerton, Gen. A. P. Stewart, Gen. H. V. Boynton, Maj. Frank G. Smith, members of Crocker's Iowa Brigade, and the Nebraska Shiloh Association. The indications are that this will be a very large reunion. It is stated that 114,338 men participated in the battle. There were 258 different organizations, representing 21 States of the Union. The Governors of all these States have been invited to be present and participate in this reunion. The reunion exercises will be held at the Old Shiloh Church. Addresses will be delivered by the leading men present. Elsewhere in this VETERAN is given something of the great battle of Shiloh, and of the career of Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston, COL. E. T. LEE. Col. E. T. Lee, of Monticello, Ill., Secretary of the Shiloh Battlefield Association, was the originator of the movement to make the Shiloh battlefield a National Memorial Park. He is a veteran of the Union army, having entered it in July, 1861, and served over four years in the First Illinois Infantry. He was in the battles of Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Shiloh, both days' battle, Corinth, Hatchie River, Vicksburg and Jackson, Miss. He was on the march to the sea, and then through the Carolinas. He entered the service in his 16th year, and was wounded in the right hand and shoulder in that "terrible charge" at the second battle of Jackson, Miss., July 12th, 63, when Pugh's Brigade was almost annihilated. He has made a study of the battle of Shiloh for many years and is familiar with all its details. During the last two years Col. Lee has devoted almost his entire time to the organization of the Shiloh Battlefield Association, and the work of securing from Congress the passage of the bill to purchase it for a National Memorial Park, which has now been accomplished. Col. Lee is a press correspondent and represents a syndicate of newspapers. He is well acquainted with leading men and generals both North and South, and is highly recommended for the position of secretary of the Shiloh Commission. He has procured over 12,000 names of comrades on the rolls of the Association. MR. JAMES WILLIAMS, of Savannah. 1861, which company served in Col. R. H. Brewer's Battalion at Shiloh through the two days' battles. It was re-organized at Spring Creek, Tenn., and commanded by Col. Thomas Claiburne and other officers. It was known as the first Confederate Cavalry. Young Williams was appointed Ordinance Sergeant at Murfreesboro, in 1863, and was afterwards commissioned as such by President Davis at Dalton, Ga., 1864. He served with the gallant Gen. Joseph Wheeler, in rear of the Federal lines, and was in the battles from Chattanooga to Atlanta, and with Gen. Hood in his march to Tennessee. Transferred to Gen. Forrest, January, 1865, and surrendered at Gainesville, Ala., May 11, 1865. Comrade Williams spent his last Confederate dollar, that would go, for a small fishhook. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED HUMOROUS.-W. F. Ball, of McAlester, I. T., to Capt. J. L. Smith, Cleveland, Ohio: "I accept your challenge in the Confederate VETERAN of January, to beat any Johnny Reb for a silver trophy. My weight is 243 pounds. You will please meet me at Houston, Texas, on May 22d, and we will run for the trophy. Don't wait until May 25th, as there will be a sham battle on that date and I know you will outrun me then." Of course Mr. Ball is good-humored in this. Col. R. B. Coleman sends the challenge for him, and states that Ball was a private in Company A, Forty-Third Tennessee Infantry, C. S. A. He says, tell Smith that if he does not draw a pension he will run him ten miles for the trophy, but if he (Smith) draws a pension, Ball will not run with him, as he will not run against a disabled soldier. Comrade Ball thinks Smith is the "yankee" he tried to catch at Bull Run, and Smith beat him about a bayonet length. Ball at that time weighed only 208 pounds. Captain James W. Irwin, of McMinnville, Tenn., appointed by the Secretary of War, Mr. Lamont, United States Agent for the purchase of the battle CAPTAIN JAMES W. IRWIN. field of Shiloh for a National Military Park is a native of Hardin county, and was reared in the vicinity of this historic place. He enlisted in the army in '61, and served in the First Confederate Cavalry Regiment to the close of the war. He is a member of Cheatham Bivouac, Nashville. Captain Irwin was in the battle of Shiloh. His regiment served under Gen. Joe Wheeler after his transfer to cavalry, and afterward was with that gallant command which "participated in nearly one hundred battles and skirmishes." After the battle of Nashville the First Confederate was transferred to Gen. Forrest, and served under him to the end of the war. At the surrender it was in the Division of Gen. William H. Jackson-"Old Red" at Gainesville, Ala., May 11th, 1865. Capt. Irwin is of Revolutionary patriots on both sides. His father came at an early day from Pennsylvania to Tennessee. His mother was Nancy Sevier, born and reared in Green County, East Tenn., a member of that illustrious family. Capt. Irwin is a practical business man, and this selection is wise and safe for the government. Press Agent reports a reception in Florida, by Confederate and Union Veterans Feb. 16, '95, stating: This was Mrs. Grant's 69th birthday, and the reception was made the occasion of celebrating that event. Speaking of the South Mrs. Grant said: "I love the South, for I was raised in a Southern State -Missouri-and I hardly knew which side to go with. But the General went with the North, and I went with him." FORREST'S OLD REGIMENT-Continued. By Capt., now Rev. J. C. Blanton, Nettleton, Miss., who was Acting Major at close of the war: During our retreat to Chattanooga, the old battalion was reformed, Captain McDonald being the senior officer. The battalion was composed of four companies-A, B, C, and D. A was a Memphis company, transferred from infantry called the Bluff City Grays, and commanded by Captain Philip T. Allen. These men were veterans when they came to us, and we found them as brave as the bravest. Company B, McDonald's old company, commanded by Capt. J. G. Barbor; Company C, May's old company, commanded by Capt. J. C. Blanton; and Company D, commanded by Capt. Bill Forrest. This company was a detail from the old regiment as an escort for General Forrest. We now took the name of McDonald's Battalion. We did a great deal of scout duty and much hard fighting around Chattanooga. We participated in the great battles of Chickamauga, fought the vankee cavalry at and above Charleston in East Tennessee, and went with Gen. Joe Wheeler around the yankee army north of the Tennessee river. On this campaign we lost our beloved commander, Major McDonald, who was killed, as was Captain May, in a foolish charge at Farmington, Tenn. McDonald was a Scotchman, and as brave a man as ever bore that honored name. He was a fine officer, having excellent military ability, and was fast gaining the confidence and admiration of his superiors. But alas, alas, at one of those places where superiors failed to have proper information, McDonald, with his battalion, was ordered to make the charge, which was gallantly done, into the very jaws of death, without the remotest chance of success. Jas. T. Wheeler, of Tennessee, who commanded the brigade at the time, told me afterwards that when he transmitted the order to McDonald he turned away weeping, and refused to witness the terrible charge made by McDonald and his brave men. Col. Philip T. Allen was our next commander. After the Wheeler campaign Forrest was ordered to the Mississippi Department, Bragg giving him the old battalion, Morton's battery and his escort, commanded then by Captain Jackson. This little command was placed under Lieut. -Col. Crews, and ordered from Rome, Ga., to Okolona, Miss., at which place we met Forrest, and marched directly to Jackson, Tenn., entering the enemy's lines at Saulsbury, Tenn. Our object was to get recruits and rations, which we did, and more, too. The enemy made sure they would bag Forrest. They swarmed thick and fast around us, and fighting was almost incessant. The old battalion and escort had to protect the long wagon train and unarmed men that we had gathered. Of course Morton's Battery assisted us ably when they could get there, but our movements were so rapid, and sometimes through byways, that it was impossible to have Morton every time we were attacked. Allen fell seriously wounded at Lagrange, in at hand-to-hand fight with a full regiment, outnumbering us more than two to one; but, instead of their getting our wagons, we got theirs. By the |