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47 - 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 six of My Story of the Civil War
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  Speaker 1: and the Underground Railroad by Marvin Benjamin Butler. This liverbox
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  Speaker 1: recording is in the public domain. The Gault House, Chapter
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  Speaker 1: forty six. I had slept perhaps an hour or so
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  Speaker 1: when I was awakened by a rather confidential conversation carried
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  Speaker 1: on by two young ladies, schoolmates, sitting close together and
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  Speaker 1: talking low. One lived in Danville and one in Nashville.
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  Speaker 1: The first remark that I heard distinctly was this, I
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  Speaker 1: know Mary. I ought not to say it, but to you,
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  Speaker 1: I must speak freely. I am I'm completely discouraged, and
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  Speaker 1: my heart is sick. Our leaders and generals have been
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  Speaker 1: claiming victories every battle. Now just count up. Fort Henry
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  Speaker 1: surrendered the key to the Tennessee. Fort Dowson, the Gibraltar
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  Speaker 1: of the Confederacy, at twelve o'clock midday, a victory for us.
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  Speaker 1: At six o'clock am on the next day, a surrender Shiloh,
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  Speaker 1: an overwhelming victory the first day, the enemy driven into
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  Speaker 1: the river, the second day a most disastrous defeat for us.
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  Speaker 1: Our army driven and torn to pieces. Retreat to Corinth
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  Speaker 1: Perryville a victory. But are dead and wounded left in
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  Speaker 1: the hands of the enemy, and the Grand Army of
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  Speaker 1: the South make it great retreat. President Davis addressed our
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  Speaker 1: army at Murphysboro and told them that they must hold
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  Speaker 1: that point at all hazards, and then the war should
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  Speaker 1: be pushed into the enemy's country. The North was already
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  Speaker 1: so divided that a rebellion was imminent, and that our
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  Speaker 1: friends were already organized to help us. But notice the
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  Speaker 1: Union army defeated the first day and crushed the second day.
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  Speaker 1: Nothing done. The first day's victory was not followed up.
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  Speaker 1: The third day Breckinridge led into a trap, and two
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  Speaker 1: thousand of our brave boys torn to pieces with artillery,
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  Speaker 1: and the whole army panic stricken men and officers fly
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  Speaker 1: from the field. Oh Mary, I don't understand it. I
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  Speaker 1: am sick and discouraging, and I fear now that God
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  Speaker 1: is against us. And if that be so, our cosmus fail, stop,
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  Speaker 1: bail stop. I can't bear to hear you talk. So
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  Speaker 1: you do seem to make a strong case. And I'll
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  Speaker 1: admit that it sometimes looks dark to me. But you know,
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  Speaker 1: Father commands a brigade in Bragg's army and has a
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  Speaker 1: good chance to know. He says, as our president says,
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  Speaker 1: the North is all divided, that our secret society, the Knights,
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  Speaker 1: is organized in almost every township, and that there is
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  Speaker 1: a large influential party opposed to the prosecution of the war.
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  Speaker 1: This party is controlling Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. He says.
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  Speaker 1: They are now being armed and will rise up and
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  Speaker 1: strike a blow or make tyrants tremble. Well, Mary, they
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  Speaker 1: must rise and strike pretty soon, or we're done. But
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  Speaker 1: I have no confidence in that party of kickers in
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  Speaker 1: the North. They are a small minority, and they are
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  Speaker 1: made up of cowards. They embraced our cause and gave
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  Speaker 1: the South encouragement, but are too cowardly to shed their
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  Speaker 1: blood for us or a drop for their own government.
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  Speaker 1: If our independence depends on them, our case falls to
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  Speaker 1: the ground. Don't you remember, Mary, how our leaders told
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  Speaker 1: us that one regiment of Southern soldiers would whip ten
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  Speaker 1: regiments of Yanks. This was a falsehood, pure and simple.
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  Speaker 1: I can't see but that they are just as brave
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  Speaker 1: and can endure more. Why, Belle, I can't let you talk,
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  Speaker 1: so you almost provoke me. Such chalk gives encouragement to
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  Speaker 1: the enemy and then me, but a friend. My heart
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  Speaker 1: is breaking for our poor boys engaged in this hopeless
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  Speaker 1: contest for what our leaders claim is for principle or
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  Speaker 1: sacred rights. I fear it's all a myth, all wrong,
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  Speaker 1: and God will overthrow us. But I have unburdened my
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  Speaker 1: heart to you as I would to no other. And
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  Speaker 1: now I must quit talking and thinking if I can,
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  Speaker 1: or I shall go crazy. The conversation abated for a minute.
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  Speaker 1: I threw off the light blanket partially that covered me
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  Speaker 1: and raised up on my elbow. Ladies, I said, I
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  Speaker 1: am sorry that I have been even an innocent listener
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  Speaker 1: to your conversation, but I am not an intruder. I
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  Speaker 1: was here before you and drop to sleep, but I
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  Speaker 1: know it was not intended for my ears. But we
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  Speaker 1: are not enemies. Though I have resigned from the Union Army,
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  Speaker 1: you see what a skeleton I am. I am one
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  Speaker 1: of the victims of this slave holder's rebellion. But I
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  Speaker 1: am not an enemy more of your friend than any
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  Speaker 1: cowardly sneak up north who will not shed a drop
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  Speaker 1: of blood for their government or for your confederacy. And
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  Speaker 1: you would scorn them as you would any coward their
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  Speaker 1: encouragement amounts to nothing only to prolong your hopeless struggle.
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  Speaker 1: They are only a small minority of the millions of
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  Speaker 1: loyal men who will lay down their lives to save
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  Speaker 1: our government. I was at Fort Henry Donaldson, Perryville, and
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  Speaker 1: Stone River, and I wish to say to you that
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  Speaker 1: whoever says your boys are not brave speaks without knowledge.
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  Speaker 1: They are brave. But the soldiers of the Union Army
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  Speaker 1: are their equals in bravery and their superiors in endurance.
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  Speaker 1: As you have noticed one of you remark that she
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  Speaker 1: was afraid God was against your cause. He is. The
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  Speaker 1: whole nation is being sorely chastised and punished for the introduction, protection,
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  Speaker 1: and toleration of slavery. The system comes down from the
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  Speaker 1: barbarous ages, and under our Christian civilization, it must go
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  Speaker 1: down all persons who inaugurated this unholy war to perpetuate slavery,
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  Speaker 1: to build up a slaveholder's aristocracy. In this government dedicated
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  Speaker 1: to freedom, we'll meet with signal defeat and disaster. I
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  Speaker 1: tell you honestly, God will not let this high crime
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  Speaker 1: longer exist.
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  Speaker 2: The rank and file of your army are not responsible.
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  Speaker 2: They are more to be pitied than blamed. You speak blamely,
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  Speaker 2: said Mary. You talk lack an abolitionist. Yes, I know,
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  Speaker 2: but I don't mean to be unkind. Had you walked
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  Speaker 2: over the battlefield of Murphysborough after the battle as I did,
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  Speaker 2: and counted your own brave boys that laid down their
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  Speaker 2: lives to satisfy the greed of the slave power, you
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  Speaker 2: would be an abolitionist as I am. They were mostly
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  Speaker 2: from the laboring class. What interest had they in slavery?
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  Speaker 1: It was their enemy. I was in the line that
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  Speaker 1: received Breckinridge's charge on our left and saw the two
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  Speaker 1: thousand that were torn and mangled with shell and grape
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  Speaker 1: and canister. What interest had they in a slaveholder's aristocracy?
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  Speaker 1: Not one in the one hundred of all that were
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  Speaker 1: killed on that field ever owned a slave. Oh but
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  Speaker 1: said Mary, our chivalry all went into our army, pardoned me.
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  Speaker 1: But I have seen your chivalry and their rank and file,
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  Speaker 1: And when you count up your population, you will find
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  Speaker 1: that the rank and file of your army are not
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  Speaker 1: of your chivalry. Your ratio of chivalry to your population
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  Speaker 1: is not one to one hundred that you recognize as
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  Speaker 1: chivalry to belong to your chivalry, one must own slaves
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  Speaker 1: and not work at common labor? Is not that true? Why? Yes,
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  Speaker 1: we must draw the line somewhere we make a distinction,
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  Speaker 1: said Mary. But I see you don't understand conditions in
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  Speaker 1: the South, and it's hardly profitable to extend. Well, I
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  Speaker 1: guess you're right, But we can agree on one thing. Please,
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  Speaker 1: What is that? Said Bell, that slavery and the slaveholder's
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  Speaker 1: rebellion is either right or wrong? Yes, said that seems
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  Speaker 1: to be a very simple proposition. Well, I said, under
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  Speaker 1: our Christian civilization, nothing stands unless it's built on the truth.
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  Speaker 1: If slavery is right, your rebellion will succeed. But if
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  Speaker 1: wrong and God is against it, as one of you
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  Speaker 1: fear already, your slaveholder's aristocracy will be a bubble, Your
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  Speaker 1: slaves will be free, your armies melt away, your fair
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  Speaker 1: domain impoverished, and as sure as God rules, this will
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  Speaker 1: be the ultimatum. Are you not vindictive? Would you not
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  Speaker 1: destroy us if you could? Asked Mary? No, my friend,
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  Speaker 1: While I speak the truth as I honestly see it, sincerely,
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  Speaker 1: as I believe you are both sincere, I would rejoice
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  Speaker 1: if you can be saved from destroying yourselves on the
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  Speaker 1: part of our government. This is not a war for conquest.
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  Speaker 1: It is not waged on our part to destroy, but
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  Speaker 1: to save, and to save you and the government your
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  Speaker 1: fathers shed their best blood to create. May I ask
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  Speaker 1: you one or two questions, and will you answer them
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  Speaker 1: honestly as you believe asked bell, I will answer honestly
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  Speaker 1: if I am able to answer it all. Please ask
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  Speaker 1: your questions freely. Is not the North nearly exhausted as
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  Speaker 1: to men and money to go on along with the war?
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  Speaker 1: To the first question, let me say we now have
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  Speaker 1: in the service nearly one million, eight hundred thousand men,
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  Speaker 1: and a million more will be put in during the
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  Speaker 1: next year if necessary, and if a further necessity exists,
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  Speaker 1: three or four million more will be raised. Understand I
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  Speaker 1: mean if necessary, not to subjugate and destroy, but to
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  Speaker 1: save the whole country. Now, as to the second, if
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  Speaker 1: you can get hold of the right authority, you will
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  Speaker 1: find that government bonds go up in price with every
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  Speaker 1: victory we gain. They are worth much more today than
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  Speaker 1: any time since the bull Run disaster. And one more word,
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  Speaker 1: your people should place no confidence in the Peace Party
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  Speaker 1: of the North. Now I have tried to answer all
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  Speaker 1: your questquestions, and hope you will believe me sincere as
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  Speaker 1: I do you. Belle dropped her head on her hand
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  Speaker 1: and was much affected. You may fail in judgment and knowledge,
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  Speaker 1: she said, but I cannot doubt your sincerity. But if
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  Speaker 1: what you say is true, God pity us. Shall we
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  Speaker 1: change your subject if you please, I said. Then they
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  Speaker 1: drew their chairs up closer and inquired what hospital I
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  Speaker 1: was in and how long I had been sick, and
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  Speaker 1: what care I had Spence Hospital Murphy's Burrow, where I
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  Speaker 1: lay four months. My care was as good as could
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  Speaker 1: be had at the front where so many were wounded
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  Speaker 1: and sick, and transportation short well, said Mary, how you
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  Speaker 1: must suffered. You are the poorest mortal I ever saw.
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  Speaker 1: I feel sorry for you if you are a yank,
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  Speaker 1: and I saw by her voice and the expression of
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  Speaker 1: her face that there was no deception. I thank you
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  Speaker 1: both for your kindness and sympathy, and let me say
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  Speaker 1: that I would rather be captured by either of you
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  Speaker 1: than any Johnny's I have yet seen. Oh what a compliment,
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  Speaker 1: said Mary, Yes, said Belle. We are kind hearted and
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  Speaker 1: would use you well while you are sick, but as
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  Speaker 1: soon as you get well, we put out both your
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  Speaker 1: eyes so you couldn't in this again. No need of that,
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  Speaker 1: miss Bell. Your eyes would dazzle mine so that I
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  Speaker 1: could see nothing else but you. And the girls both
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  Speaker 1: laughed heartily, and Belle replied, I never received such a compliment,
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  Speaker 1: not even from our chivalry. An oldish gentlemen came then
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  Speaker 1: and asked if they were ready. As they both bade
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  Speaker 1: me goodbye, Bell said, be a good boy, yank, and
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  Speaker 1: don't enlist again. End of chapter forty six.