When the commanding officers of the Confederate army surrendered and
stacked arms the rank and file expected that the terms of the cartel
promulgated and agreed upon would be carried out to the letter. The men
laid down their arms in good faith, feeling as General R. E. Lee
remarked in his farewell address to them, that under present unequal
condition it would only be a waste of precious lives to continue the
struggle. The following were the terms of the agreement entered into
between General Grant and General Lee: The officers and men to return to
their homes and remain there until exchanged and not to be disturbed by
the United States authorities so long as they observe their paroles and
the laws in force in their respective states.
But the fellows who directed the ship of state and who were invisible on
the firing line became invincible, when the South lay prostrated. The
first order was from Secretary Staunton, for the arrest of our
commanding officers. This order, however, was resented by General Grant
as contrary to the cartel and should not be executed. This caused a
rupture between the two and the order was finally rescinded. The next
step was to disperse all State authority and appoint a military
Governor. General Wilson acted in that capacity in Georgia. The same
year, 1865, negroes were proclaimed free and military garrisons
established in every town, city or village throughout the South. Under
the superintendence of those militaries the Freedmen's Bureau was
established, forcing negroes to migrate from one place to another, thus
breaking up the good relationship still existing between Masters and
servants. The bureau was seemingly gotten up for the protection of the
blacks, as if they needed any protection, they to whom we owed so much
for their good behavior during the time when every available man able to
bear arms was at the front, leaving their families in charge of the
negroes. The gratitude of our people was or ought to have been
sufficient guarantee in that line. Such harmonious condition did not
suit the powers that be, there was venom in their heart for revenge, and
punitive measures were concocted. Never were captives bound tighter than
the people of the South. Is it a wonder that the men of the South became
desperate and used desperate remedies to oust more desperate diseases?
The carpet baggers made their exit. The negroes' mind had been
prejudiced under the auspices of those vultures. They were forced into
societies, one of which was the Rising Sun. Some called it The Rising
Sons. God only knows what ultimate result they expected to obtain. Drums
and fifes were heard in every direction at night times. The woods were
full of rumors that the negroes are rising. Men in towns made ready for
emergencies, every one on his own hook; no organization for defense, in
case harsher measures should be needed. When the author of this sketch
took up the idea of a reunion of his comrades and inserted a call in the
county's weekly, calling on the members of Howell's Battery for a social
reunion, their wives and children, when other veterans suggested why not
make it a reunion for all the veterans of the County. I was only too
glad for the suggestion and changed the call to include all veterans of
the county, and on the day specified there was the greatest reunion
Washington County ever had. It was estimated that eight thousand people
participated. There were over one hundred carcasses besides thousands of
baskets filled to overflow with eatables and delicacies. The object of
the meeting was stated to form an artillery company as a nucleus or
rallying head and to meet organization with organization not as a
measure of aggression but as a protection. The author was elected
Captain. Under his supervision he built an armory and eventually the
State furnished him with two pieces of artillery. The day he received
the guns he had a salute fired. The boys in the rural districts had not
forgotten the sound of artillery and the town was filled with
enthusiasm. Some of the negro leaders called on me to know what all that
means, I told them it was to teach their misguided people that we can
play at the same game and if they don't stop beating their drums and
blowing fifes in the night time when honest people are at rest I would
shell the woods. This admonition had a splendid effect and the people of
Washington have lived in peace ever since. The author resigned his
commission in the year 1881, when Honorable Alex Stephens was Governor
of Georgia. And Washington County has the honor of having inaugurated
the first reunion of Confederate veterans. The citizens of Washington
County and Howell's Battery presented the author with a gold headed
ebony cane, beautifully carved, as a memorial and their regard for him
as a citizen and a soldier. Being taken by surprise I had to submit to
the caning.
The South passed seemingly through the chamber of horrors of the Spanish
Inquisition and punishments administered by degrees. First robbing the
owners of their slaves, of their justly acquired property, after they,
(the North), received from the Southern farmer its full equivalent in U.
S. money. Second, in the promulgation of the Civil Rights Bill, in
April, 1866. Third, in forcing the Southern people to accept the 14th
and 15th amendment to the Federal Constitution, not as a war measure, as
Abraham Lincoln claimed, when issuing his proclamation to free the
negroes, but as political measures to perpetuate themselves in power.
Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, South Carolina and North Carolina
refused to accept those conditions and in consequence were not admitted
into the Union until 1868, although paying enormous taxes without
representation, and finally had to submit in self defence. Virginia,
Texas and Mississippi held out until 1870 before they succumbed to the
thumb screw.