Before the battle of Resaca Dr. Crawford was ordered to move his
hospital further into the interior, so he located at Vineville, a suburb
of Macon. He pitched his buildings in front of Mr. Burrell Jordan's
premises and sent me again on a foraging expedition. I came again home
to Washington County, expecting to make headquarters at the home of Mr.
Benjamin G. Smith, where I was always welcome. Mr. Smith however, at
that time seemed to be very much disturbed and not in his usual pleasant
and cheerful mood. I asked him the cause of his troubles; he handed me a
slip of paper just received from Lieut. Stone, recruiting agent at
Sandersville, to be sure and report without fail at Sandersville on the
following Thursday to be mustered into service. Mr. Smith was a widower;
his wife had died a couple of years previous, leaving him an only
daughter about four years old. Mr. Smith was the owner of about one
hundred slaves and a very large plantation. He remarked to me, Hermann,
I do not mind going to the front, but what is to become of my dear
little Jenny among all those negroes; this is more than I can stand. Mr.
Smith was a great benefactor to the indigent widows and orphans, and
soldiers' families. He contributed unstintedly to the wants of those at
home whose male persons were at the front fighting the battles of their
country; in fact he ran his whole plantation in their interest, making
thousands of provisions which he distributed among them as they stood in
need and without remuneration. This was the period of the war when
everybody able to bear arms was called to the front, and the saying was,
"The Government is robbing the cradle and the grave." Sherman was
advancing; Johnston was falling back; the people were clamorous for a
test fight, General Johnston could not see the advantage of the same and
still kept retreating. The battle of Kennesaw mountain was hotly
contested, with severe punishment to the enemy but Johnston withdrew and
thus fell back to the gates of Atlanta. Referring again to Mr. Smith, I
told him I thought I had a solution to his troubles. I said, Carry your
little girl to Mrs. Francis, your sister; she will take care of her.
This is only Tuesday, we will run up to Macon tonight, and I will plead
your cause before Governor Brown, who had established his headquarters
there. I think it worth a trial anyway, you can't lose anything by it
anyhow. This was about 3 o'clock p. m. He at once gave orders to his
cook to boil a ham and make biscuits and that night about midnight we
took the train to Macon, Ga. We took breakfast at my cousin's and
repaired to the Governor's headquarters. I saw the Governor in front of
a table, examining some papers. I said, This is Governor Brown? He said
Yes, what will you have? I introduced myself, stating that I was a
member of Howell's Battery, and that on account of disabilities was
relieved from duty and assigned by Dr. Crawford as foraging agent. I
related the condition of Mr. Smith and his surroundings, saying, That
man is worth as much at home as a regiment at the front. The Governor at
once wrote on a sheet of paper, handing it to Mr. Smith, said, Hand this
to the enrolling officer. It was an exemption from military duty. We
took our leave, thanking the Governor. Mr. Smith was so overcome with
the fact that I had never seen such emotion displayed by a man; tears
ran down his cheeks; his thoughts concentrated on his "Sis" as he called
his little daughter Jenny.
Mr. Smith lived to a ripe old age. He was of a very benevolent
disposition. He was a religious man but not a fanatic, quick answering
and very charitable. Many now prosperous and substantial citizens owe
their start in life to his munificence. He was as gentle as a woman but
as firm as a rock in his convictions. In his death Washington County has
sustained an irreparable loss and the State a true and loyal citizen.