| Confederacy |
| My friend Joseph Matheson sent me these pictures. Joey would be pleased if I were to switch my allegiance from the Yankee to the Rebel. Sorry Joey. I am not that easily converted. Your pictures are so impressive though that I think they deserve a home of their own. |
The Guns of October I feel the gnawing in my guts, The horse's snort their fear! The smell of death is in the air The man in black is near. We pay homage to our colors We send love to our wives Our guns are silent for a moment In tribute to the gift,our lives The orders are now given! Too late to turn the tide We, who before salute you Are ready,for that fateful ride The smoke fills our nostrils. As we move in to the fray Bits of bodies showered amongst us Lord! Can we ever forget this day The list grows long as shadows fall And messmates fail to show It is time to count our blessings To be ready to be on the go Say a prayer to the almighty And get ready for some more Cause The guns of October Will come beating on your Door Written by John Murphy |
| By Dawns early Light |
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From the "State Newspaper, Columbia, SC, May 18, 1881. A Man with a Charmed Life: A man stopped at the Commercial Hotel, Newcomerstown, on Sunday who has made the journey from Little Falls, N.Y., on foot. He is on his road to the Drayton Soldier's Home, and his history is indeed remarkable and should place him in the class as one of the battle scarred heroes of the republic. His life is more like a dime novel romance than real history. He enlisted in the United States regular army in 1843, when only 15 years, and after having serving in the war with Mexico, re-enlisted in 1848, 1853 and 1858. He participated in the Battle of Bull Run (July, 1861) and other severe engagements in 1861-62-63, and was taken prisoner by the Rebels at Vicksburg on June 24, 1863. He served over five months in the Salisbury prison (North Carolina), and several months in other Rebel prison pens. At Andersonville (Infamous Prison in Georgia) he was shot in the mouth by the notorious keeper of the pen (Wurtz)(Wurtz was so bad he was hung by the US after the war) and carries the bullet in his head at this time. In 1865 he escaped from the rebels under Kirby Smith, near Brownsville, Texas, and swam the Rio Grande under fire from his persuers, receiving a severe wound in his right hand, which tore off three fingers and the thumb. On reaching the opposite shore he was captured by the "Greasers", a band of Indians and local half breeds who know nothing but murder, rape and plunder, and he was a prisoner with them until last September. during all the fifteen years he was a captive he suffered untold hardships, and his repeated attempts to escape were rewarded with his body litterly peppered with bullets. In his attempts to escape he was shot fourteen times, and now carries in his body two four once silver balls, four lead balls and one copper ball. The latter he received while attempting to escape on the 16th of last September. On that day the band of Indians having him in charge were captured by the Mexicans and all condemned to death. He appealed to Consul General Foster for protection as a United States Citizen, and just as the Mexicans were adjusting the rope around his neck Consul Foster's orders for his release reached him and he was spared. He was sent to New York on a United States Steamer and as he has no relatives living at Littlefalls he started for this state on foot. He showed this reporter a four once silver ball that Dr. Mott, of New York, extracted from one of his wounds. Th wound made by the copper ball which he received last September is in his left breast, and the flesh and skin, as well as his nails, have become copper colored. The shootings from the wound are colored green with the verdigris contained in the fluids, and the physician told him that the acid fluids of the body would gradually convert the ball into verdigris and it would thus be expelled from the system, although the wound would never heal. Cleveland Ledger, April 21, 1881. |
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| Joey |
| John Murphy |
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