Glimpses of the Past: Heritage of the Old South

By Dr. Anne R. Murray Ed.D.

Glimpses of the Past; Heritage
of the Old South is an
historical novel about the
Old South during the Civil
War. Few historical novels
have presented the Old South
in such a heartfelt manner with
brutalities of the war.

The author brings tragedy,
devastation and conflict to
life in the characters. Families
struggled to survive then. The
war was significant to both the
North and the South. The thresholds
of the war are felt strongly even today.

The significant part of the main
character was that he overcame
the past to move forward in his life.
Reminiscences of the past were less
painful to him as he began to
understand his purpose in life.

Read how a determined young man
survived the Civil War days. Explore
the depths of how determination and
stamina helped him. Discover his
secret of lifes accomplishments. Learn
how he escaped the darkness within to
grow beyond glimpses of the past.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Dec 9, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524654016

Dr. Anne R. Murray Ed.D.

Dr. Anne R. Murray has written for several years. She has explored different avenues of writing: freelance, poetry and creative. Her dedication to writing has produced ten books so far. Dr. Murray earned a doctorate in education and taught public high school until she earned a well-deserved retirement.

Book preview

PROLOGUE

The cannons fired as the troops marched into battle. With it, the old glory of North and South battled it out for a cause. Fires shot out on April 12-13, 1861, as Fort Sumter in South Carolina was attacked by Confederate troops. The fort was demolished, forcing the Union soldiers to evacuate. There would be many, many more battles before the war was declared ended.

Out of the 34 states, at the time, at least 23 states were involved in the war, including the eleven southern states that had sought secession from the Union. Seven southern states had already joined the secession of the Union with President Lincoln’s election in November 1860-South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas. Four more states-Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas and North Carolina, had joined the fight by May 1861. The Confederate capital was moved to Richmond then.

Maryland, Delaware, Missouri and Kentucky were slave states that were opposed to both secession and coercing the South. They were known as the border states, buffing the northern and southern states. They were later joined by West Virginia, which separated from Virginia and became a new state in 1863.⁴

Historians, politicians and public figures believed that slavery was the underlying factor in the Civil War. Both North and South argued over the issue of slavery as the root cause of the war. Memory of the war in the white South capitalized on the Lost Cause,⁵ shaping regional identity and race relations for generations. The Reconstruction period (1863-1877) overlapped and followed the war, with restoring national unity, strengthening the national government and guaranteeing civil rights to the freed slaves.

In April 1861, Lincoln announced the Union blockade of all Southern ports; commercial ships could not get insurance and regular traffic ended. In doing so, cotton exports died as a result. Less than 10 percent of the South’s cotton could be exported afterwards. The blockade shut down the ten Confederate seaports with railheads that moved almost all of the cotton, especially New Orleans, Mobile and Charleston. By June 1861, warships were stationed off the principal Southern ports, and a year later nearly 300 ships were in service.

A war which should have lasted a few months lasted four years instead. It was known as one of the bloodiest wars in U.S. history. According to data records at the time, 1,030,000 casualties were reported, including about 620,000 soldier deaths-two-thirds by disease and 50,000 civilians. Some historians believed the soldier deaths were approximately 750,000 to 850,000. The Civil War accounted for more American deaths than in all other U.S. wars combined.

As far as the Union soldiers, 110,070 were killed in action (67,000) or died of wounds (43,000). About 199,790 died of disease (75 percent due to the war and the remainder occurred in civilian life). About 24,866 died in Confederate prison camps, while 9,058 were killed by accidents or drowning. About 15,741 other unknown deaths, totaled 359,528 dead. In addition, there were 4,523 deaths in the Navy (2,112 in battle) and 460 in the Marines (148 in battle).

On the Confederacy, 74,524 were killed and died of wounds and 59,292 died of disease. Confederate estimates of battle losses where no records exist would bring the Confederate death toll to 94,000 killed and deaths of wounds. Another data put the Confederate non-combat deaths at 166,000, using the official estimate of Union deaths from disease and accidents and a comparison of Union and Confederate enlistment records, for a total of 260,000 deaths. This excludes the 30,000 deaths of Confederate troops in prison, which would raise the minimum number of deaths to 290,000.

One of the crushing blows towards the end of the war was the fall of Atlanta on September 2, 1864. Sherman made his way down from Chattanooga to Atlanta, defeating Confederate Generals Joseph E. Johnston and John Bell Hood along the way. With the fall of Atlanta, it guaranteed the reelection of Abraham Lincoln as president.⁶

Atlanta was taken suddenly by Sherman’s army. Sherman destroyed the base of supplies on the railroad and in the city. His March to the Sea wasted about 20 percent of farms in Georgia as he reached the Atlantic Ocean at Savannah, Georgia in December 1864. His army was followed by thousands of freed slaves; there were no major battles along the march. Freed slaves were allowed to fight for the Union too. The bonuses for white men entering were greater than the black men, however. Sherman turned north through South Carolina and North Carolina to approach the Confederate Virginia lines from the south, increasing its pressure on Lee’s army.

General Lee’s army was thinned by desertion and casualties, and much smaller than General Grant’s. One last attempt to break the Union hold on Petersburg failed at the Battle of Five Forks on April 1, 1865. The Union now controlled the entire perimeter surrounding the Richmond-Petersburg area, completely cutting it off from the Confederacy. Realizing that the capital was now lost, Lee evacuated his army. The capital fell to the Union XXV Corps, comprised of black troops. The remaining Confederate units fled west after a defeat at Sayler’s Creek.⁷

Lee did not intend to surrender initially, but planned to regroup at the village of Appomattox Court House. Supplies were waiting and Lee planned to continue on with the war. Grant chased Lee and got in front of his troops. When Lee’s army reached Appomattox Court House, they were surrounded by Union troops. After an initial battle with Grant, Lee surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia on April 9, 1865, at the McLean House.

On April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth, a Southern sympathizer. Lincoln died early the next morning and Andrew Johnson became President of the United States. In the meantime, Confederate forces across the South surrendered as news of Lee’s surrender reached them. On April 26, 1865, General Joseph E. Johnston surrendered nearly 90,000 men of the Army of Tennessee to Major General William T. Sherman at the Bennett Place near Durham, North Carolina. Being the largest surrender of Confederate forces, it brought the war to an end. President Johnson declared an official end to the war on May 9, 1865. With the capture of Confederate President Jefferson Davis the following day, Kirby Smith surrendered his troops in the Trans-Mississippi Department on June 2. On June 23, Cherokee leader Stand Watie became the last Confederate General to surrender his forces.⁸

The causes of the war, the reasons for its outcome, and even the name of the war are still questioned. The North and West grew rich while the once-rich South became poor for a century. The power of the slave owners and rich Southerners ended with the war. There was contempt among the states as the South stood together in the postwar Reconstruction to rebuild the South.

Some historians have debated if the Confederacy could have won the war. Most scholars agree that Confederacy victory was at least possible. The North’s advantage in population and resources made Northern victory likely, but not guaranteed. It has been argued that if the Confederacy had fought using nonconventional tactics, they would have more easily been able to hold out long enough to exhaust the Union.

Many scholars argue that the Union held an advantage over the Confederacy in industrial strength and population. Confederate actions only delayed defeat. If there had been a lot more Southern victories, the North would have fought harder. The South seemed to never have a chance to win the war.

A minority view among historians is that the Confederacy lost because people did not will hard enough and long enough to win. The cause of the war was economics, the industrial North versus the agricultural South.

The North and South both fought the best they could, defending their country. Both sides had reasons for their involvement in the war. The North believed in the emancipation of slavery while the South believed in the Southern society and slavery. So the question still remains. Was the extinction and abolishment of slavery the root cause or was the bloodshed and destruction worth the cause?

CHAPTER ONE

The war had ended...

Walking down the road, he straddled his steps, while pacing up and down. The road before him was a long one, dusty with debris and dust that gathered in piles along the way. He was a long way from home. His home was in New Orleans, Louisiana. He had seen much devastation during the Civil War. Now the war was over and he was headed home. He had missed his wife and young son for well over a year now. How he longed to hug his lovely Sarah and hold his son. He had no idea what he would find when he reached home. His family could be gone and his home destroyed by General Grant’s army.

Benjamin was originally born in Northern Virginia on October 19, 1842. Born in an old log cabin, there were no conveniences of hospital maternity wards. Most people were born at home, unless extremely wealthy. Benjamin was born at 6 p.m. His father was at his wife’s side. A mid-wife assisted the delivery as the family doctor was out on another call at the time. Benjamin came into the world a squealer, according to his father, and eyes wide opened. He wanted his presence known to all. He was a healthy bouncing boy with very healthy lungs.

His family was split on sides fought during the war. There was already a bitter dispute and conflict on family tides. His two older brothers and youngest uncle lived in West Virginia. His brothers fought in the Union. He joined his other two brothers and fought in the Confederacy. Benjamin was the sixth child of ten born in his family. He had three sisters and five brothers living-William was the oldest, Amelia, Samuel, Carl, Evelyn, Benjamin, Thomas, Betty and Lucas, whom they called Luke. His youngest brother, Luther, died at six months of age.

His mother, Hannah, died in childbirth when Luther was born on January 6, 1851. She had miscarried several babies in-between the oldest and Luther. Benjamin’s father, Jacob, had a hard time caring for a young baby. He relied on Amelia, who was 14 years old at the time, to care for Luther. In the summer of 1851, Luther fell ill. William, nearly 16, rode on horseback to town to fetch the town doctor, Dr. Frederick Smith. It was quicker than the horse carriage. The doctor came by horse buggy. In those days, there was no emergency or urgent care services provided.

The doctor looked at the young baby in his cradle. He took his temperature. He was burning up with fever and constantly crying. Amelia was getting wet rags to place on his forehead. She gently rubbed his forehead in hopes of cooling him down. After a few minutes, the doctor looked up at Jacob. They walked outside as Amelia stayed with Luther.

Is it bad, doctor? Jacob asked.

It doesn’t look good. He’s soaking wet from fever, Dr. Smith answered.

Is it that high? Jacob asked.

Pretty high. It registered at 103.6 just now, the doctor answered.

What is it? Jacob asked.

Colic. It is common among children his age. I have seen children be perfectly fine one day and be mighty sick in fever the next day. I have a bottle of medicine. Give him one dropper full every 4 to 6 hours until you see him improve. Keep the cold wet rags on him, especially on his forehead, to reduce his fever as well, the doctor said.

Then what? Jacob asked, scratching his head.

We will see how he does. He should be better in a few days. If not, than send the boy again to fetch me, Dr. Smith said.

Okay, doc. Thank you, Jacob said.

Amelia and her father spent nights placing cold rags on little Luther to lower his fever. Luther seemed to be progressing within a short time. By the end of the week, he was sitting up and giggling with his siblings. He would clap his hands together as his brothers and sisters would sing happy songs to him. After nearly two weeks, he seemed to be much better. Then one night Amelia went to his cradle to check on him. He was feverish and shivering all through his body. Luther had trouble breathing and his face was a bluish tint. William went to town to fetch the doctor again to the cabin. Luther was unresponsive and seemed like he was in a deep sleep. The doctor stayed with him overnight. By 6 a.m., the doctor pronounced him dead.

As he brought the small bundle covered by a thin blanket, Amelia stood there speechless. Her father stood there with tears in his eyes. All the siblings looked at each other, not saying a word. If his mother had been alive, Luther would still be here, Benjamin thought to himself. She knew how to care for sick babies. She had nine healthy children to prove it.

The following morning, the family buried little Luther next to his mother, Hannah’s gravesite. The tiny casket was covered with dirt and the family was silent as the preacher spoke. There was a big turn out for Luther’s funeral. Several families with children at varied ages attended. Given the size of the town, it was a good portion of the town’s population that stood by the small gravesite that day.

Jacob was motionless as he watched his tiny son’s body being lowered in the ground. He was not a churchgoer, but appreciated that many church members were there. After some words spoken by the preacher, it was over. Benjamin stood there beside his siblings, tears screaming down his cheeks. He remembered his baby brother’s giggles and goo-goos as he smiled. Benjamin would hold him in his lap and play patty-cake with him. Luther loved it and would giggle out loud. Now, Luther was gone. Only the memory of his sweet smiles and his happy laughs remained. He was a happy baby for all it was worth. Benjamin knew his father did the best he could in being a single father now, in raising ten (now nine) children alone and bringing food to the table.

Children grew up fast then. Everyone had a role in the family, except the two youngest children. The two older children were taken out of school to work on the farm, while Samuel, Carl, Evelyn, Benjamin and Thomas attended school during the day. When one family member was too ill to work, another would intervene in his/her place. William helped his father with the farmland, bailing hay and planting crops, while Amelia helped with the housework and cooking. Amelia also helped take care of the younger siblings. Such a big responsibility put on a young girl still. Evelyn (age 10) helped her with cleaning and sweeping. Samuel (12) did some chores around the farm. He could milk the cows in the barn and feed the animals, horses and pigs. He also swept the stables in the barn. Carl (11) did odd chores, bringing water from the well and buckets of milk to the house. Carl and Benjamin (9) ran errands to the grocery store, getting supplies as needed. Thomas (7) gathered the eggs from the chickens in their coups. Betty (5) and Luke (3) were still too little to work.

Benjamin looked down the path of dirt as he shifted from side to side. He was battling with a war injury in his knee. It was hard to walk as he looked down on the ground. He didn’t know how long it would be when he couldn’t go anymore. He didn’t think his leg could take much more. He had to stop and rest somewhere, but where? There was nothing but a dismal open field that seemed to continue for miles. There was no one in sight and no place to stop and rest awhile. He had been on the road for at least a month, heading homeward to his native land.

It seemed like an eternity, when Benjamin spotted a big oak tree nearby. It was untouched by gunfire and the brutalities of war. Benjamin sat down in a shaded place under the tree. Just then, he heard the sound of a wagon coming toward his direction. He looked up to see a wagon coming his way on the road. In it were six people-two men, two women and two children. They wore tethered clothing and the children were barefooted. But they weren’t in a hurry. They were traveling along the road in a slow, easy pace. They were freed slaves. The war had ended and with it, the freedom of all slavery. It was the spring of 1865. The Civil War officially ended on May 9. The South had been defeated by the North. General Lee had surrendered as Union troops had surrounded Confederate divisions.

Benjamin knew one thing. He was tired of fighting. He wanted to get home. He missed his family. It seemed like ages since he last saw his wife and child. He had lost sight of time on the way home. His brothers and uncle Robert in West Virginia should be celebrating their victory by now, as well as the whole family. He sat against the tree trunk and started to dream. The heat of the midday sun was to his back, however, his mind started to shift. He couldn’t stay awake as he had come a long way. His mind began to wonder. Before long, he was going back in time, reminisces of how he got to this stage in his life. His head was getting heavy as his eyelids closed. He laid his head against the tree.

Several wagons full of freed slaves rode by in sequence as Benjamin laid his head against the old tree. He was in another world, not conscious to anything in sight. The grass was green with a cool drift of wind softly settling among the homeland. It was early June and it seemed as summer had already arrived. The flowers were growing in the field below the old oak tree with daylilies. The grass was high, almost to waist level. This reminded Benjamin of his younger days as he periodically played in the fields. He ventured into the open fields beyond the old homestead. Sometimes, Carl and Thomas would join him. They would catch butterflies in the spring and put in clear glass jars with an opening on the top for air. A small river flowed gently by the open field, with a subtle flowing of water as if drifting towards its destination, a wider channel of water.

As Benjamin drifted off to sleep, he thought he heard loud noises in the background.

His mind was wondering. The war was over with. Why was he remembering things about the war that he quickly wanted to forget? The Union had won and with it, the abolishment of slavery. It was estimated that there were now 3.5 million slaves that existed in the country. The South’s succession meant the destruction of wealth for the South. Slavery was over with and with it, a whole new change in the South. The economy would be severely crippled as the Union had destroyed literally everything in its path. The Union soldiers had taken over and stolen food, supplies and valuables from homeowners in the Southern states. Plantations were either burned or destroyed by Union soldiers marching through the country. Nothing much was left of the beautiful mansions that existed before the Civil War.

Slowly, Benjamin was in a deep sleep. He had traveled for what seemed like miles that day. He was tired and hungry. He had a very little supply of food left and his left knee was bothering him. He tried to straighten it out on the ground. Still, where the bullet had barely missed him as he fought in battle, the knee was aching. The knee would need medical attention when he got home. He could still walk on it, but each step seemed painful now.

The day of recognition came in May when General Lee had surrendered the Confederacy. The abolition of slavery was made that day and the Confederate soldiers humbly went home to their families and homes. Benjamin had to travel by foot most of the way home. Sometimes, he could hitch a ride on a passing wagon going by. He needed to stop and rest awhile. Sometimes, he traveled at night because it was cooler. The nights and days seem to coincide with each other. He couldn’t tell the time of day anymore. His mind was still full of war reminisces and glimpses of the past.

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CHAPTER TWO

As Benjamin dreamed...

The time was back in September 1859. Benjamin was a young man approaching 17 next month. He had heard of war starting between the states. So far, that was only rumored. His father, brothers and sisters had moved to Louisiana five summers before in June 1854. William and Samuel had stayed in Northern Virginia with their uncle Robert, Jacob’s youngest brother. Jacob had relocated and married his second wife in 1855, a much younger woman named Ruby. The couple had a young daughter, called Lauren (Laurie).

Benjamin had not seen his older brothers since then. During the war, he married a lovely girl from the area and conceived a son shortly afterwards. His son was a young infant when he signed up for the Confederate army regimen. Carl had already signed up and Thomas followed him. Carl and Benjamin seem to be the closest, although he talked to Samuel frequently growing up. Luke, the youngest son was still a young boy. He was only eleven at the time. Jacob refused for Luke to sign up for the Confederate army ever, even as a teenager.

Benjamin’s younger siblings were back in school and did chores at home after their schooling. The two youngest siblings, Betty and Luke, were old enough to work at home now. Jacob ran the farm, with his second wife at hand. She took care of the household chores and the baby. She managed the household with the help of the older siblings.

By then, Amelia had married her childhood sweetheart, Charles Schmidt, at 18 years of age. Charles was from a German lineage. Amelia had one baby and another one on the way. She and her husband lived in Baton Rouge, 80 miles outside town. Evelyn had a boyfriend, Henry Carson, but was not so eager to wed so soon. Henry was from a Scottish clan (Macpherson).

Evelyn stayed in school to 15 years of age. She was an advanced student. She was interested in science and math, unlike well-bred Southern girls of her age. Evelyn was the liberal of the family. She believed in equal opportunities and rights for women. She would be the first one to start voting rights for women if she could. She was working as an assistant for the teacher in town. She hoped to get her teaching certificate to teach school. She also enjoyed reading, writing and English grammar.

Evelyn had thought about becoming a nurse when she left school, but due to her father’s meager earnings, she doubted that she would ever enter college. She had saved a little bit of money over time as she had an allowance for doing chores around the house. She even wanted to work part-time to raise some money, but that was soon put to rest by her father. Southern girls simply didn’t work. They were reared to be housewives, mothers and to stay at home with the children.

To Evelyn, the dream of studying medicine seemed to fade over time. Henry was patient. After all, they had known each other for five years. He was interested in Evelyn. It was apparent to everyone. Evelyn just wasn’t sure of settling down just yet.

Jacob did not own any slaves, but had one older woman he borrowed from a neighboring plantation. Her name was Mattie. She was like a grandmother, who helped Ruby with the housework and attended to the baby. She helped the children in the household with chores. She cooked and cleaned as well. Every spring she would go back to her owner, but she helped out as long as she was needed there.

Benjamin first met Sarah when he was milking the cow one day in the barn. Millie was a family cow who had just calved that fall. Back then, children usually attended school until puberty. Benjamin was 12 years old when he finally realized he wasn’t made for full-time studying. He finished the year up and fell into helping his father and brothers with the farm. Farming was done with oxen and a mule-driven device used to plow the earth with. Jacob and his sons planted carrots, cabbage, corn, Irish potatoes, wheat and barley for the most part. He also had a field full of cotton. Jacob owned several acres which seemed to stretch for miles, according to Benjamin.

Benjamin was just finishing milking the cow, when suddenly he was startled. Someone had come into the barn and was looking around. When she ran her eyes around the barn, she became focused on one of the stalls in the barn. To the right inside the barn were two stalls used for milking the cow and the other where young pigs were stored in wintertime. All together, Jacob owned one cow, two oxen, one mule, chicken and pigs. He also owned a pair of horses, who drove the wagon for supplies. There was a hen pen for laying eggs and one rooster. There was a pig pen outside the barn that displayed at least a half-dozen adult pigs, plus three or four hogs. They would slaughter a hog once in a while and store in the cooler to keep its meat fresh. They slaughtered chicken too for meat. Benjamin hated to do it as he always had to clean them up for dinnertime.

The horses, mule and oxen were stored in the barn during winter months as well. Alongside the barn, was a small corral where the horses were free to roam in warm weather.

It wasn’t rich living, but it was comfortable, Benjamin thought to himself. He had the world at his hands and could find time to explore his surroundings around him. Benjamin was surprised when in walks a young girl who was surprised to see Benjamin sitting there. Benjamin looked up as to see who had appeared in the barn. The girl had on a plaid dress with ruffles at the arms. She looked out of place in the country. She was more a city gal Benjamin suspected. She looked to be around 15 or 16 years old. She had long brown hair that went to her midback with blue eyes and a fair complexion.

Benjamin felt a lump in his throat as he watched the girl slowing approach him.

Anybody there? the young girl asked.

Hello, Benjamin answered. He quickly turned around to her.

I am one of your neighbors. I was trying to find who owned this farm, she answered.

That would be my father. He is out in the pasture right now, Benjamin said.

Oh, hello, I hate to trouble you, but if you could please lend us some milk. One of our next-door neighbors said you might have some milk in storage, being as you have a cow. Our cow just died and we have no other milk in storage. I’m sure my father will gladly pay you back as soon as we get another cow, she replied.

No need for that. Millie is in heavy supply right now. Her calf was born just three months ago. We should have plenty to go around, Benjamin said.

Oh good, I’m sorry to be so much trouble. I didn’t know who lived here. We just moved in about five months ago, the girl replied.

We have been here about five years. My mother died several years ago and my father moved us here. He has since married again, Benjamin responded.

Oh, so sorry about your mother. That must be hard on you, she replied.

It has been a good while since then. I miss her everyday, but life goes on. My name is Benjamin by the way, he replied.

You can call me Sarah. Addison is my last name, she answered.

Nice to meet you, Sarah, he said. Let me get you a jar for the milk. Benjamin went to the corner and reached for a glass jar. He could use it to put extra milk into. How much milk do you need?

"Oh, I guess enough for a family of five: my parents,