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46 - My Story of the Civil War and the Under-Ground Railroad by Marvin Benjamin Butler · My Story of the Civil War and the Under-Ground Railroad

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  Speaker 1: Chapter forty five of My Story of the Civil War
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  Speaker 1: and the Underground Railroad by Marvin Benjamin Butler. This LibriVox
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  Speaker 1: recording is in the public domain. Starting for Home, chapter
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  Speaker 1: forty five, two of our boys carried me down the
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  Speaker 1: broad stairway out of the Spence Hospital into God's sunshine
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  Speaker 1: and lifted me carefully into the ambulance, and the team
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  Speaker 1: started for the station. How the light dazzled my eyes
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  Speaker 1: and with what zest I filled my lungs with a
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  Speaker 1: fresh morning breeze to one who had been shut in
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  Speaker 1: for months and seen and experienced the suffering I had,
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  Speaker 1: and then to be welcome back into such a beautiful,
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  Speaker 1: worldly may morning like this was enough to fill the
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  Speaker 1: heart to overflowing with joy and thanksgiving. I wanted to
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  Speaker 1: sing praise God, from whom all blessings flow, but my
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  Speaker 1: voice was too weak, and I could hum the tune
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  Speaker 1: and mentally supply the words we can appropriate to ourselves,
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  Speaker 1: all us lovely in nature, to the full extent of
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  Speaker 1: our capacity. And yet we have not diminished the supply.
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  Speaker 1: The supply is prodigal. There's enough for all. A millionaire
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  Speaker 1: may plant and cultivate a garden of choice, flowers and
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  Speaker 1: trees of tropical splendor, and still the beggar may get
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  Speaker 1: richer enjoyment from it than he who planted. Our train
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  Speaker 1: moved out from the station and slowly across the river bridge,
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  Speaker 1: and then in a few minutes reached the battlefield. We
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  Speaker 1: had more or less risk to run from guerrillas and
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  Speaker 1: rebel cavalry until we would reach Louisville. Every few days
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  Speaker 1: since the battle we would get reports of the tearing
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  Speaker 1: up of track and the capture of trains. So, of course,
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  Speaker 1: in my condition, I had many apprehensions for the safety
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  Speaker 1: of our train. We had hardly gone more than a
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  Speaker 1: mile after crossing the river when the train stopped suddenly,
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  Speaker 1: and the passengers began to look out of the windows,
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  Speaker 1: and someone cried out, cavalry coming. I wilted down in
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  Speaker 1: my seat as though I had been shot. All in
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  Speaker 1: the car seemed much excited. Princess looked out over the
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  Speaker 1: cotton fields and then spoke, don't get excited, Marion. They
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  Speaker 1: wear the blue. This restored me at once, but showed
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  Speaker 1: me plainly how weak and helpless I was. They were
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  Speaker 1: a body of scouts, and after conferring with the conductor
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  Speaker 1: a few minutes the train moved on there, Princess, I said,
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  Speaker 1: on the left is the cotton field, and farther in
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  Speaker 1: that direction than you can see, the fighting commenced very
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  Speaker 1: early on the thirty first our line. Then you see
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  Speaker 1: stood at a right angle with this road. Up on
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  Speaker 1: that little elevation was Rosenkrant's headquarters. On the right is
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  Speaker 1: the lower Ford, and across the stream from that is
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  Speaker 1: where Breckenridge met his waterloo. And were there on the
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  Speaker 1: left at the pike is where we recaptured our baggage train.
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  Speaker 1: Did you notice any stench as we came across the field? Oh? Yes,
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  Speaker 1: quite strong. And when I went down the first of
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  Speaker 1: March it was too thick to breathe. In fact, when
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  Speaker 1: the wind was from this direction, I could detect the
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  Speaker 1: same there at the hospital. For a month my ride
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  Speaker 1: was doing me good. The day was mild and pleasant,
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  Speaker 1: the scenery beautiful, although the country was sadly devastated by
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  Speaker 1: the war. The trees were out in full leaf, the
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  Speaker 1: fields green, and the little patches of grain and clover
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  Speaker 1: were waving in the wind. Here is Laverne, almost totally
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  Speaker 1: destroyed by fire. When we marched through, I said, and
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  Speaker 1: you will notice from this on to n Dshville the
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  Speaker 1: terrible effects of the war. Fences, buildings in forests have
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  Speaker 1: all been destroyed. A deserved retribution, said Prentice. But the
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  Speaker 1: poor fellows who suffer most, are least responsible. As we
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  Speaker 1: approached Nashville, the forts and fortifications attracted our attention. From
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  Speaker 1: Capitol Hill, the siege guns commanded every street, and any
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  Speaker 1: army that would try to enter the city would be
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  Speaker 1: badly cut to pieces. An ambulance at the depot conveyed
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  Speaker 1: us to the Sewanna house. Prinice thought it wise to
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  Speaker 1: go no farther with me the first day, and so
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  Speaker 1: secured a room with fire and two beds. Two colored
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  Speaker 1: waiters carried me up a flight of stairs to the
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  Speaker 1: second floor or where I lay down on a soft bed,
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  Speaker 1: A little tired, but better for my ride. A good
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  Speaker 1: night's rest and a good breakfast of hot milk and
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  Speaker 1: toast fitted me for another day's ride. As we approached
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  Speaker 1: Bowling Green, I said the Prentice. When we reach the depot,
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  Speaker 1: look to the northeast and see the house and grounds
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  Speaker 1: where the colored woman lived that came to our house
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  Speaker 1: with Florence. If you remember her description, you will identify
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  Speaker 1: it at once. The train soon pulled in and Prentiss
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  Speaker 1: pointed out the place. Then, as we passed Bell's tavern,
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  Speaker 1: I pointed out the road from the right where Bragg
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  Speaker 1: came in ahead of Buell, and a cave city where
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  Speaker 1: we skirmished for two days in line of battle, while
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  Speaker 1: went on and captured Wilder at Mumpridgeville. And here, I said,
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  Speaker 1: is where I found Jack Lawrence or John W. Lamont,
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  Speaker 1: Florence's brother and Aunt Rose's son. We passed over the
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  Speaker 1: new bridge built by the Engineer Corps of pine trees,
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  Speaker 1: soon after it was burned by Bragg. We reached Louisville
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  Speaker 1: about four pm. All the passengers left the car. Princess
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  Speaker 1: went to find a bus, as he expected to take
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  Speaker 1: me to a hotel. I was waiting and resting easily
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  Speaker 1: when a man came in and kneeled down in front
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  Speaker 1: of me and said, get on. The movement was so
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  Speaker 1: funny that I began to laugh, And at that time
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  Speaker 1: when I began to laugh, I couldn't stop, so I
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  Speaker 1: kept on saying get on, and looked around. Found me
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  Speaker 1: so funny that I laughed all the harder. I finally
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  Speaker 1: managed to sober down enough to say, wait, what do
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  Speaker 1: you want of me? I want you to get on
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  Speaker 1: my back and I'll take you to the Christian Commission rooms. Well,
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  Speaker 1: I said, my brother has gone after a bus to
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  Speaker 1: take me to a hotel. Well get on, I'll bus
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  Speaker 1: you and then i'll hunt him up. Then he helped
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  Speaker 1: me on my feet, and I leaned forward on his back,
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  Speaker 1: wrapped my arms around his neck, and he his around
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  Speaker 1: my legs. Took me down the steps and started down
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  Speaker 1: broad Street on a dog trot. This trotting a man
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  Speaker 1: down Broadway was too much for me, and I commenced
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  Speaker 1: to laugh again. Who whoa say? I said, what's the murtter? Now?
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  Speaker 1: Don't you know you're liable to arrest for carrying a
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  Speaker 1: skeleton along the streets? Not words got life enough to kick.
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  Speaker 1: That started me laughing again, and I didn't stop till
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  Speaker 1: they sat me down in a nice large room on
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  Speaker 1: a clean soft cot. Prentiss saw him trotting off with me,
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  Speaker 1: so he went to the car, got our baggage, and
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  Speaker 1: came to the room. The experience was new and rich
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  Speaker 1: for me, and the hearty laugh was more potent than
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  Speaker 1: blue mass pills. The room was full of sick that
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  Speaker 1: were on their way home from the front, all lying
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  Speaker 1: on clean, nice cots with cotton sheets and soft, downy pillows,
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  Speaker 1: and plenty of lady nurses and men attendants, so that
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  Speaker 1: none were neglected. It was a Christian commission, indeed, for
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  Speaker 1: all seemed to be doing the will of the Master,
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  Speaker 1: how different from the front, where only the bare necessities
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  Speaker 1: could be gotten for well soldiers. We remained at this
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  Speaker 1: home overnight and till nine a m. The next day,
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  Speaker 1: when Princess got a bus and took me to the paymasters,
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  Speaker 1: where I settled and drew my pay, and from here
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  Speaker 1: we drove to the gulf House near the ferry. I
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  Speaker 1: was carried in and placed on an easy couch and
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  Speaker 1: covered over with a light blanket, and soon dropped into
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  Speaker 1: a delicious sleep. End of Chapter forty five.