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THURSDAY. SEPTEMBER 10.L. if THE ALBEMARLE PRESS M it Brown's Eloquent Address Is Reminiscent in Historic Touches Stanly's Part In Civil War Negro Servant of Jeff Davis Hid Confederate Seal Stanly Furnish ed Upwards of a Thousand Men Ivey Ritchie Last to Fall at Appamatox. (Delivered at unveiling of Confederate Monument at Albemarle, X. C, on September 3, lH.','). by K. Lane Brown, Esq., by invitation from the Albe marle Chapter U. D. C.) I feel si.) keenly my inability to do justice to this (ilorii-us occasion that 1 feel what 1 shall attempt to say will . fit the reply ma It by the old deacon to the youmr pre.-u-b.cr: "Wt-1!, broth er Jones, how did you like my sermon yesterday." ur-ke-1 the youn;: preach er. "You see pr.rson." was the re p'y, "I haven't a fair chance at them sermon? of yourn. 1 am an old man a:!l with the rheumati-.-s and have to ft party well back to the stove, then there's old Mrs. Smith an I wid ow Taft ;t. ! 1 ' 1 .M'ss .Lmes and her s'.crs and a'.! t:. 11-t in f 1 (:: of me ".vith th'-T it;o.,-i.s U"ir open Vr t waiienrf do-.vn a:! v.- !n-.' i-t the -trmoii, and wh.i: cot n t me : purtv pour ;.ir-' .. pur'y ioor ttu:r'." If the t:.;-..- r w t. !).! a ivr- SOIl COUld 1! f- : I ! 'Hat Uv V; from Stan';.' ..... :h:r. : ! h:i passed. A ! '. :-. ' --t' !::: ' l to 'he m:v i " ' --.l i of ;:. 1 ,l.-.p : li.- I--.M-. .f !na .v.m t'..'- a i a ;..r --. It s an homo' -,h'. ', a'. . "uM a an,' 1 ,.1-a ! . - i :. a'-ai :t v ith mi : :.''-. r : ,r. ! 1 -.:!.-: ely :.-.: ely C. far thai th.s r r. Hravr As Soldiers. May 1 pats!- o'liii::. !ai and c n-grutu!ut- n.ju. .Mud-Hi, 1're-ideM. ami mendur- i.f ;!u- aa-al t-h-ipt- r I. P. C. for your untiring, unrelri.tiii-.: ami noble ell'orts and ..m-rilii-t-s made for the purpose of M-.-uritu a liuintr memorial, which w e a: e today uuveii inir, in jut an i f:U n-.' eomiceiao' a tion of the o.urtm" and the lrac y of the ('onfe a rati- vi-uraii.' of Stan ly county. No braver silIk r eu-r charue.l a Federal can: mi x.'.l-ir eii- ea- e y at:- ut l-i r n'.y ever rcturne i honie w.th 1 virtues than .I'd the Stanly To you. mv d-a me say that tlii- io and dedicates this mer.t with lovnu;- oil veterans. !el ai chapter unveils beautiful u, mu hands and with hearts hunting with pride and ad miration, yes, with devotion to you. As it is kissed this beautiful Septem ber morning by the glistening sun, these noble women christen it with their love and dedicate it to your imperishable glory. Reminiscent History. So much could be said today that the difficulty 1 have encountered is not something to say, hut to select from a wealth of material that which seems most fitting. Therefore, 1 have decided to become somewhat reminiscent, and at the expense of repeating that which is, perhaps, well known to some, recount a little of the history of Stanly's part in the war, and incidentally refer to some of the then local surroundings. In the beginning of the war Albe marle was a very small country vil lage. The old courthouse stood in the center of what is now the public square. After the war it was moved from this location just across the street to where the Stanly bank now is. Mr. Myers, father of Mrs. Green Dry, was the contractor who moved the courthouse. The old build ing was sold, and bought by Mr. J. S. Elird and converted into a dwelling house on the lot just North of Parker Harris garage. Some of the residents of Albe marle at and during the war were Eben Hearne. Bill and Jim Hearne. Davidson Hearne, Darnel Freeman. Dave Austin, Eli Forrest, John At kins, John A. .Moody, Keanie Howell, James Mellon. Armstead Lilly, John O. Ross, Jim Reilw-r.e. Richard An derson, John Williams, John M. Bivins. and Col. Arnold Parker, who lived just a mile or two west, and others whose names 1 have not been able to obtain, tben Hearne was one of the largest slave owners of the county; Mr. John Russell, who at the time of the war was about ten years old, ami now at fhe county home, tells me that a eompany of Federal soldiers camped for several days on the hill where old Aunt Tempe Russell lived for a long num ber of years, and on which is now the residence of Mr. J. A. Little. Mr. Russell says that the soldiers began to burn his rail fence and when he complained to the captain of the com pany, the captain called the men to gether and said: "Boys, there is 7lenty of wood around here to burn, so leave this fence alone." Mr. J. C. Parker, son of Col. Arnold Parker, tells me that he well remembers when a detachment of Wheeler's calvary camped at the bridge across Long Creek on the Concord road; that it took about all the feed of the com munity for the horses of the com pany. It seems that there was a muster ground in each township of the county, with a general muster ground opposite the old Lilly home stead just about where the two-story residence erected by Ex-Sheriff Smith now stands. Col. Arnold Parker did a lot of drilling at this muster ground and when a man would volunteer as a soldier, a ribbon was tied around his arm by some of the ladies. It is said the first sewing machine was brought to Stanly county by Jack Penning ton, father of Mrs. McCain, about the beginning of the war, and this was used to make uniforms for the sol diers. Old "Aunt" Tempe Russell, to gether wit' other women, cut out the uniforms and John Williams and Tommy Haskell were the tailors who did most of the sewing. At first red braid was used for decoration on the uniforms, but as this proved to be of benefit to the enemy in locating the wearer, this red braid wag discarded. During the war John Williams was postmaster. The postoffice wag in the rear of an old wooden store build 1 intr which stood on the lot where the store of Belk-I'arks is ocated. The rirst mail brought from Salisbury after the war was brought by John ' Russell and George Sides in a two ; horse wagon and was a pretty good load. Before the mail would be de livered to Mr. Russell he was requir ed to give a bond of $ 1(10.00 which was signed by Wm. 11. Russell, Moses and R.ihe Holmes and a Mr. Over man. A commisary was maintained dur:ng the war on the lot where John Ro.-s o'.l store stood and rations were aMofe.i. .lo.-hua Swift, father of M s. Hill Hearne. came to this sec tion daring the war from the eastern part of the tate and brought with ii:.n a !ot of slaves, and locate! on l.ov.i i.'r. ek near the (ienrue Kendall 1 place. While pass-m: through Al-he.-iar'e w'th his company, a Cunfed . rat.- ...!.::. -, i.uxnv unknown, was t'i i h s l o:--e ami v. 1 aei-iili-mal-!y f.i'ie i with its our. cum lie was bar t'.i n the oid '.own ti ly and h: r, ma-iis tim e ta.iav as an un- k!.i.v;s ,.M1. r. II.s grave can be i.imt;:!-.-.!. and 1 th'nx it v..r.M l.e . nt.rcly even ihotl' h iii.g it s..im :at-Ker, lexnel'.sive. tt a.- erected at his grave. President Davis Crossed Yadkin. Win n Richmond was about to be destroyed, Jeff. Davis, with his stall' retreated to Danville and from Dan ville to (ireenslmro and on to North Carolina in company with his wife and ;..nnu daughter, Winnie Davis, and crossed the Yadkin River at or man- Swift Island. Mr. Henry Mdls. grandfather of Am. and Bill Lent., put tile party across the river and I'iesi.ient Davis handed him a dollar. Th's dollar u;is kept by Mr. Mdis for a oug lane but was destroyed when Irs hou.-e was hu-ucd. President Da- - lias clothed in the Confederate gray uniform and any report that he was clothed in the wearing apparel of a woman in order to disguise himself, is a vile slander of the whole cloth. President Davis passed on through North and South Carolina and was captured in Georgia. His identity was disclosed by a negro who met the company in a road and heard some member of same speak to President Davis and call his name. This negro rushed into town and informed the Federal soldiers of what he had heard. Detachments were sent out in search of President Davis, and one squa.l came upon his company about two o'clock in the morning. Upon arriving there they observed three forms moving in the darkness, and upon being halted it was discovered that it was President Davis, his wife and sister. The President wore a ra;nooat and hail a woman's shawl wrapped around his head. Otherwise he was clothed in Confederate gray. Hence, no doubt, arises the slander ous report that Jefferson Davis, the biave and true patriot of a great cause, was disguised in woman's ap- parel for the purpose of preventing .his identity. At the time of his capture. Jefferson Davis had a walk , ing cane, the handle of which was . made of a deer horn, the deer hav ! irg been killed by him, and being a I little excited he dropped this cane and I his old negro se rvant by the name of 1 Jones picked it up and concealed it i under his long coat. Jefferson Davis was carried to Fortress Monroe and ; imprisoned, and while oi the way i there a stop was made one night and ) the President and his old negro ser i vant, who was taken with him, were ) put in the .-ame room at a hotel. This i was done, no doubt, in an attempt to ; humiliate President. Davis. The Pres- ident paced the room most all the night. During the night the officer J in charge came to the room and the ' old negro servant asked permission to 1 give the walking cane to the Presi i dent, which was granted. This inci ; dent was related to me by a friend of j mine living at Salisbury, who talked 1 with this old negro. I might add that i this cane later came into the posses : sion of this old negro and he pre I sented it to the North Carolina His : torical society. The old negro being a native of Raleigh. Gold Coins Put in Nail Kegs Ship ped With Horses. My friend also told me that this old negro, this same servant, related to him that when Richmond was about to fall, President Davis had all the gold coin, which was thirteen million dollars, iut in some nail kegs and placed in a railroad car with some horses and sent to Charleston. This old negro, Jones, was also put in the ear with the apparent purpose of looking after the horses. The horses being put in as a blind. The old ne gro says that the money was safely delivered at Charleston, but after he turned it over to the officers he does not know what became of it except that tradition says that it was buried between Charleston and Columbia but the old negro discounts this part ot tne story. At tne request 01 Pres ident Davis, this old servant placed the great seal of the Southern Con federacy in a water-proof box and buried it in a deep body of water, with the injunction never to reveal its place of concealment. The old ne gro said he kept the faith and the real seal of the Confederacy has never been found Six Stanly Companies. There were six companies organiz ed in Stanly county; the first com pany was organized by Dr. Richard Anderson on May 5, '61. Dr. Ander son was captain of this company and served until April 27, '62, when he resigned after a petition had been filed, asking for his release so that he might return home and practice med icine. This community at that time was practically without a doctor and the services of Dr. Anderson were greatly in demand. This company marched from Albemarle to Salisbury over muddy roads, where it took the train for Raleigh, where it went in camp. Measles broke out in the com pany and most all the time of the captain was consumed in doctoring his men. He is said to have remark ed, '"Boys, where have you been all your lives that you haven't had measles?" Zeb Vance was on the train to Raleigh and kept the com- , pany in good spirits and laughing all night with his yarns. The musical instruments of this company when ' they marched from the then public i square in Albemarle consisted of a flute, one large drum and one small drum. ! Ivey Ritchie Last to Fall at Appa i matox. j James R. DeBerry became captain i of the company after Dr. Anderson 1 was released and later W. It. Hearne I became captain. The last man to fall at Appamatox was a member of j this company. Ivey Ritchie, who was a seargent. ThN company consisted of 117 men from Stanly county and :'; men from other counties, making a total of Inn men. Pardonable pride pormi's me to say that 1 am a grandson of the organizer of this company. Tin second company from Stanly county was Company D. gNth North C ii-o'n-i r.gment. with Wm. J. .Mon-go'iury captain and D. A. Park 1 r 1 r-i lieutenant. This company ua- organised July 'ill, and had I. a men. Tins company participat ed in the tight at Gettysburg and seven of the company came out i f the batt'e, ail wounded. Captain Marvel Ritchie, of Richfield, was one of the seven who came out of the battle of Gettysburg wounded, and one of the 11 to surrender at Appa matox. William J. Montgomery had been promoted and Captain Marvel Ritchie was in command in his place. This soldier. Captain Marvel Ritchie, was one of the tin in the tiSth ri gi ment to cine ba. k across the Po tomac river from Gettysburg. The third company from Stanly county was Company K. 2 -ith North Carolina rcg ineni. John A. Moody was captain and the company was organ i:-.i d September 7, 'i'l and con sist. .1 of l.'el men from Stanly coun ty and 2.i nun from other counties, n.alaiig a total of 1 7a men. Th. fourth company from Stanly was Company C. of the 4-liid regi ment. D. A. Underwood, captain. This company was organized Febru ary 2S, 'li2. Captain Underwood was promoted to major in April, "ii2, and James A. Howell became captain. This company was composed of lol men from Stanly county and seven men from other counties, a total of loM men. The fifth company from Stanly county win Company II. 42nd regi ment with Jackson M. Ilartsell, cap ! tain, and F.li Huneycutt, father of Editor A. C. Huneycutt, was first lieutenant. This company was or ganized May 2.1, '02, and composed of 1S men ''rum Stanly county and seven men lrom other counties, mak ing a total 1 f 1 0f men. Stanly Offic -r Outwits Federal Com mander. i Lieutenant Huneycutt was in ae I tive command of this company most of the time on account of the sick ness of Captain Hartsell. At Bentons ville. X. C, Huneycutt was sent with his company to perform some miii I tary order and soon observed that he was confronted by several hundred 1 Federal troo is, he having not over ! oil. Ho ordered his men to fall down i in a ditch about 15 feet apart, mak ! ing the appe trance o a larger num ; ber than he ad, and waited until the Federal troo is were nearly upon him when he jun ped out of the ditch and ordered the' 1 to surrender or he would turn 1. s guns on them. Think I ing a large Confederate force con 1 fronted him, the Federal commander immediately surrendered and threw down his a. 111s. Seeing that he had ! been captured by such a small tium I ber of Confederates, he remarked, ' "Johnny Ri b., I am a great mind to I kill you and your mea with sticks." Mr. A. I. Eudy, present today, was one of these Confederates. The sixth company from Stanly was Company I. 52nd regiment. John C. MCain, father of ex-Sheriff Mc Cain was captain. This company was organized March 25, '62. Cap tain McCain was killed at Gettysburg about July 1, '63, and James D. Hearne became captain. The com- .J - 1 ni x pany was cunipuseu 01 ii men liom Stanly county and four men from other counties, making a total of 125 men. Stanly Furnished 1,028 Soldiers. Of conscripts, junior reserves and 17 years old boys there were 221 from Stanly county, making the total number of soldiers from Stanly county 1,028; from other counties who inlisted in Stanly county 76, making a total 1,104. This of course does not take into account the men from Stanly who inlisted in com panies from other counties. An ex amination of the record will show that there was quite a number of these men. Lots of them inlisted in companies made up in Cabarrus county especially. There were ten men from Stanly in the Confederate navy. Mute Eloquence of North Carolina Dead. North Carolina was slow to se cede, but once the decision made she went with a mighty force. To read the record made by these gallant men fills every North Carolinian with enviable pride always in the thick of the battle with courage seldom equalled and never excelled; is it any wonder that they wrote with letters more lasting than gold their record which time cannot erase, "First at Bethel, furtherest to the front at Gettysburg and Chickamauga, and last at Appamatox." North Caro linians, Tar Heels, sons and daugh ters of these noble sires, are you proud of this record? There were as many North Carolina soldiers left on the various battle fields as the entire Confederate force at Gettys burg. In the seven days bloody fight around Richmond 650 North Caro linians were killed; 3,279 wounded. Every fifth flag floated over a Con federate bayonet. Every fifth man who dropped a gun was a Tar Heel. "Nearly every fourth wounded man borne oft in a litter, or limped to a wretched hospital in the rear wore a North Carolina uniform." It is said that "Dead men tell no tales" yet the mute eloquence of the dead men from North Carolina who lay upon the fields of the greatest battles of the war is the priceless heritage of a great state. Upon the scenes of the greatest carnage, North Carolinians actually cumbered the ground yet these men who could be led into the very jaws of death when battle was raging were quiet and obedient in camp. They were as gentle as they were brave. These men had in the great struggle, in the dark and trying ; days after the war, a general and ' counsellor who had shown every kind of bravery known to the soldier in cluding the supreme courage to sur render his arms in the field when he saw that further fighting would be a useless sacrifice of lives; a general who had laid down arms totally un imbittered. and set a magnificent ex amnle to his followers in peace as he had in war. The civilized world had watched with admiration his gallant tight and nobility of soul; among manv commanders he was regarded as the greatest military genius of the age; as kind and tender-hearted as r. woman, and yet the very em bodiment of courage; lie loved every soldier and every soldier loved him. On Irs death bed he fought over the great battles of the war. Nearly his last words were, "Tell H'll he must come up." Withal he was a southern Christian gentleman to the manor born. If 1 were to point to any one man in history who embodied all the qualities of greatness and the top of everything good, it would be Rob ert Edward Lee. At the age of 03 he obeyed the last final command his soul fled to the arms of the Groat : God who gave it. Me thinks I see him now with Stonewall Jackson, reaching over the battlements of heaven and beckoning us 011 to a 1 higher and better woild. From whence came th.- Confeder ate sold er of North Carolina? The answer is from "The plow and the desk, the store and the office, the beautiful valley farm and the out stretching plantation, of every age and rank and vocation, and gave their lives, all they had, to this unparel le'ed struggle." "Heroes indeed were j they who fell where Pettigrew died, 1 who crowned Jackson with immortal 1 ity, followed Lee with intelligent ! faith, made Chickamauga run red ! with fraternal blood, rode with Mor gan, shared in the victories of For j rest, died on the picket post, or went i to God from prison bunk or scaffold." 1 With scant rations and scantier clothing, with inferior numbers al ways relative decreasing; homes lost ; to many, fertile lands now a desert 1 waste, wondrous victories bearing no fruit, loved ones homeless and fight 1 ing the wolf from the door; longing to see the fact and receive the fond caress of the dear old mother and 'devoted wife; knowing that the voice of the prattling babe, as he beheld j the return of "papa" would be the i sweetest music in the world; fancy-' j ing that he could see the old fox dog waiting for the voice of his master; : longing for the enchanting chimes of J the old farm bell; thirsty to hear the country parson pray and preach yet they never faltered, they fought, they died. Who were these men? North Carolinians, Tar Heels, heroes all! They fought, they died who were these men, some of them? Stanly county men as true as steel. Have Kept the Faith. The sons of the new south have kept the faith; inheritors of courage, of bravery, of fidelity loving the union now as a great inseperable body recognizing no north, no south, but loving old glory be ing thrilled by the Star Spangled Banrter as these Confederates were thrilled with Dixie rallied to the cause and under the superb leader ship of General Pershing and Wood row Wilson, wrote a new and glitter ing page in the history of the world and rededicated the Stars and Stripes, bathed in their precious blood, to the perpetual maintenance of a sacred heritage. Yes, the posterity of Ran som, of Zeb Vance, of Walter Clark, of Robert E. Lee and all the others, planted the Star Spangled Banner on the Hindenburg line and made the world a safe place in which to live. When the boys who fought in the last war returned home, it was with victory perched upon their fanner; the whole nation met them with out stretched arms; plenty was on all sides; the ravages of war had not touched with slimy hand this beauti ful country; positions were open and waiting for them. Great America welcomed the return of her sons al though she has in my opinion not as yet sufficiently recognized them in a financial way. Rebuilt the South. Not so with the old Confederates. No martial music awaited his return; in place of plenty was poverty; in place of happiness was woe; in place of paying positions was the task of rebuilding a desolate country; fertile fields grown up in briars; homes in ashes; stock killed or stolen; fences gone; freed negroes, scalawags and carpet baggers infesting the land; chaos which beggars description! Yet they did not falter they did not hesitate with the same courage and bravery which they had followed Lee and Jackson, they set to work to re build the south. All was not gone God, the future and manhood re mained. These contain all the pos sibilities of success. Undaunted and unafraid this band of heroes under took their Herculean task fields stained with human blood soon flour ished with golden grain homes re built; farms rehabilitated, schools es- .. 1 stands today the garden spot of the j universe and the envy of the civilized world. Who were they? Southern ers heroes Confederates. Part Played by Women. But I must hasten. I have by your patience trespassed now too long. The record of these soldiers thrills every, true southerner. But what about the part played in this terrible tragedy by the noble women of the Confederacy? To these noble women, I say all Hail! All Hail to this noble band; upon the altar of Dixie you did lay your first born. The recollec tion of the young soldier brought home dead, the recollection of the maiden clothed in her first sorrow the recollection of the old gray head bowed in the last grief is still fresh I to some of you. The mothers of the I south had sent their sons to the front i as the Spartan mother when she de ; livcred the shield to her son with i the command, "Return with it or up lon it." Hail to you, women of the ! Confederacy that bore them and of ! f ered them for sacrifice: In you ; and your descendents is vouchedsafed j the promise to Abraham, "Hence 1 forth all generations shall call you I blessed." I The mere recital of the record of the men and women of the "Storm ; rocked nation that fell" seems ti ; leap, to spring to bound. It leaps like a fountain it thrills like a song I it sings like an angel. To attempt j with words to add luster to this record is as useless as to add per fume to the violet or color to the rose. To you. my dear o!d veterans, let me say as a parting word "you cloth ed yourselves and your posterity with everlasting glory yearning with deep desire to cover your country with freedom, now at last you rest 'full of an ageless fame. PASSENGER TRAIN SCHEDULES Effective September 14, 1924. Leave Norwood daily. 2:45 P. M. for Charlotte and inter mediate points. 9:50 A. M. for Raleigh and inter mediate points. For information, fares etc., apply to W. L. USSERY, Agent, Norwood, N. C. tablished civil government finally restored, and as a result the south We are showing the very newest fall models to you at exactly the same time that they are being intro duced on Fifth Avenue, New York. You'll enjoy wearing any of these smart frocks so attractive to look at and so attractively priced. ' SATURDAY SEPT. 19, BEING THE JEWISH HOLIDAY THE , STORE WILL BE CLOSED. ' Riffs Department Store THE SOUTHERN A buyer as well as a earner of Southern products The industrial resources of the' South are so diversified that the Southern Railway System is fortunately able to purchase a large part of its supplies along its own rails. While we are carrying the products of our shippers to the markets of the country, we are also buying from them for our own use coal, iron, lumber, cross-ties, equipment, rails the thousand and one things that are needed to operate and maintain a railroad system of the magnitude of the Southern. The, Southern is a buyer as well as a carrier of Southern products. SOUTHERN RAILWAY SYSTEM CIRCULATION -Certified Largest in Co. Presents CLOTH FROCKS for Women and. Misses ror College and Business SERVES THE SOUTH $25.00 Made of the famous "Charming" that rich, cloth fabric. In two-piecfi, one piece, cape back or bolero models. Sizes 14 to 42. -3 ML
The Albemarle Press (Albemarle, N.C.)
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Sept. 10, 1925, edition 1
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