I rejoined Dr. Crawford and he sent me out again. I took the train to
Greenville, Alabama, and walked about eight miles to Col. Bowens', who
was an uncle of Mrs. John George. Mrs. George was a niece of Mrs.
Braswell, where I boarded. She came to spend many days with her Aunt
while I was with the family; her home was only about three miles
distant. She married Mr. George and moved to Butler County, Alabama. Mr.
Bowen, her uncle, furnished me with a horse and I rode out to see them.
Butler county is a sort of an out of the way place, and that country had
not been overrun with soldiers, and provisions were plentiful. When I
hollowed at the gate she recognized me at once and was overjoyed; she
took me around the neck and kissed me. George ran out saying, "Mollie!
Mollie! What are you doing." She said, "Never mind that is home folks."
Poor woman, she was so overcome to see someone from home that she
actually cried for joy. They were a happy family. I gave them all the
news about their people, as I had just come from there. I stated my
business and both of them set in the following day to assist me in my
duty. Butler county, where they lived was a very hilly country, but
tolerably thickly settled, and provisions came in by the quantities. I,
with the assistance of my host and hostess, filled a single box of eggs
six by three feet long and three feet high. We stood every one on its
end with alternate layers of bran and sawdust and carried them over a
very rough road to Greenville, together with a great many chickens and
shipped them to the hospital, and we only lost three dozen eggs by
breakage. One morning we heard the report that the enemy, in great
force, was approaching. People were leaving the city. With the exception
of a small garrison there was no defense. Dr. Crawford had to abandon
the city, removed all that were in condition to get away, but there were
about a half a dozen men who were too sick to be removed. The enemy came
into the city soon after we left. Dr. Crawford remarked to me that
evening, "Herman, I am going to send you back to take charge of the
hospital and those poor fellows that I could not get away." I demurred,
saying that I did not care to be taken prisoner. He said, "Listen; In
all civilized warfare the medical department is exempt from
molestation." I said, "From the way this war is waged it is not
altogether civilized, but I am under your orders; I'll do what you want
me to do." He said, "I'll take it as a great favor; I can't abandon
those poor fellows, some one has to take care of them and administer to
their wants." He said he did not know where he would locate but wherever
he went I must come back to him. I was then about nine miles from
Montgomery. It was late in the evening, and I took it afoot back. When
passing through Macon on my way to Montgomery, I passed a night with my
cousin, Mrs. Wurzbourg, whose husband was exempt from military duty on
account of physical infirmity. My jacket which I wore was threadbare,
and even (holy). He presented me with one of his blue flannel sack
coats. I had previously been able, through Dr. Crawford, to get enough
cloth for a pair of pants and vest. It was blockade goods which the
Government had purchased, and it was of a coarse textile, and of a light
blue cast, and thus I was fairly decently clothed. In those days the
Confederate grey was very much lacking, and men, as well as women, had
to wear anything, of any color they could get hold of. So after leaving
Dr. Crawford, to return to the hospital at Montgomery, I stopped over at
a cottage. The proprietor had a watch repair and jewelry shop in
Montgomery, who owned a small plantation about six miles from the city.
He had left the city for lack of business, and now lived at his country
home. He was an Englishman, his wife was French. This book being written
entirely from memory, after a lapse of about a half a century, I can't
remember the names of those people, but they were very kind and
hospitable. After supper we repaired to their little parlor. The house
was well kept, and proved that the mistress of the same knew how to
manage a home and make it comfortable. There was a piano, and I asked
the lady, (talking French to her), if she would kindly play a little. So
she asked me if I could sing some French songs; I said a few. She at
once repaired to the instrument, and asked me what will you have. I of
course called for the Marseillaise, which she performed to perfection.
So she asked me to sing; I started the melody of
Adieu Patrie
France Cherie
Ou Chaque jour
Coulait si pure
Mon helvretie
Douce et jolie
Pays d'Amour
O ciel d azure
Adieu, Adieu!
Having finished that stanza I noticed she had quit playing and was
crying; so I remarked, "Madam, had I known that my singing would have
had such an effect I surely would not have sung." By way of explanation
she remarked that her first husband was a composer and that the song I
sang was his first effort and he received a prize on it. Oh those were
happy days she said! Her husband talked very kindly to her and the
general conversation turned on France and of days gone by. She had lived
in Paris and knew many business houses that I knew and I passed a most
pleasant night. The following morning I sat down to a substantial
country breakfast. We had hardly finished when the negro servant ran in,
saying, "Master the Yankees are coming. They are here." Looking up the
road, sure enough, a few hundred yards beyond where the road turned,
they were in view. I at once, on the first impulse, jumped into a
closet. Hardly was I in, closing the door, when I thought of this being
the first place they would examine. I opened the door, and not knowing
where to go I went into the back yard, between the house and the smoke
house. Hardly had I done so when a dozen or more Yankees left their
column entered the house very boisterously. Being dressed somewhat like
they were, in blue, lacking but the brass buttons, I entered the back
door, unconcernedly, mixing among them without being detected or
noticed. Some of the men had placed their guns in the corner of the
room; when of a sudden my hostess run in by the back door, crying, "My
God! They are taking all of my meat." I don't know what impelled me but
I seized a gun from the corner, ran out of the back door, brought my
weapon from a trail to a support, and ordered the two men to throw back
the hams each of them had in their grasp, one of which acted at my
command, and the other said, What in the h----l you got to do with it.
Before I could reply his comrade said to him, "Throw it down, don't you
see he is a safe guard;" he threw down the hams. I took the cue from
what the Yankee said, although it was the first time I had heard of a
safe-guard. The door of the dwelling wide open, those in the house saw
me walk the post back and forth, made their exit and left the house, and
as long as I was guarding, no more Yankees tarried on the premises; they
came, looked about and left the premises as soon as they saw me standing
guard, until the whole column had passed. My host came to me saying,
Well, they are all gone, thank God, I said no, the rear guard has not
passed. The dwelling house was constructed close to the ground, leaving
only about a foot space in front while the rear end was about two and a
half feet from the ground. I took my gun and crawled under the house.
Presently there came what I thought to be about a regiment, and several
stragglers. Finally I came from under the house. I gave my hostess the
gun I'd taken, telling her, If I do not call for it it shall be yours.
My host took my hands, shook them heartily, saying, "You are a hero;" I
laughed, saying, Well, I saved your bacon; Good bye; I am much obliged
to you for your kind hospitality, and if it had not been for those
fellows we would have had a good time. I started on my philanthropic
errand, not knowing if I would find the sick men dead or alive. I had
gone but a few hundred yards when I met a Federal soldier marching
hastily to catch up. He said, Are they far ahead; I said, No, about five
hundred yards or a quarter of a mile. You are going the wrong way, said
he. I answered, I am not going far, I lost something. Further on I met
two more, who like the first, took me for a Federal. One said, Comrade
you are going the wrong way. I said, I am not going far. How far behind
are we? I said, Not far, a few hundred yards. And so within about one
and a half mile I met a dozen stragglers, walking to catch up, all
comparatively asking the same questions, and to which I replied alike.
When about four hundred yards in front of me, and about alike in the
rear of the last straggler I saw four horsemen, riding abreast, holding
their carbines by the barrel and resting the butt on their thighs. I
recognized them as Confederates. I walked up to them, asking, What
troops do you belong to? Harvey's Scouts of Forrests' Cavalry, was their
reply. Are there any others behind? Yes. How far? The rear of the
enemy's column is about two miles ahead of you, said I, and there are
about a dozen stragglers, some with guns, and some have none; they are
separated several hundred yards apart, some single and some in pairs; if
you spur up you can catch the whole gang; I'll tell those men ahead of
me to hurry up. Where is Capt. Harvey? You'll find him in the Exchange
Hotel, in town. They at once put spurs to their horses and galloped on,
and I followed my course towards the city. I met the reinforcements some
little distance ahead of me, and reported what I had seen and told their
advance scouts. They all went at full speed, and later, I saw the whole
gang of stragglers brought in. I asked Capt. Harvey what had become of
the inmates at the hospital. He said he did not know for he had just
arrived that morning. I went to the hospital, found things in rather bad
shape and the inmates gone. After careful investigation I heard that the
Ladies Relief Association had taken care of the sick and that they were
well provided for.