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replied that it was not late. Some time afterward I repeated the suggestion. He responded, "Yes, in a few minutes.” After another interval I said if we remained much longer we would have trouble, as I had not the countersign. He replied that he had it. I called at his headquarters the next afternoon, and was told that he had gone down to Governor Swain's on some matter of business. It was the old, old story. A feathered arrow from the ancient bow had pierced the heart the modern bullet had failed to reach. After the war he came back and they were married, and reconstruction in its best form was begun in North Carolina.

War teaches us to value peace. Peace is the dream of the philanthropist. We all sympathize with the aim of The Hague Court of Arbitration; but, after all, war is not the greatest calamity that can befall a nation. In the frailties of human nature there are some diseases that nothing else will cure. The nations which have reached the highest plane of development have been the most warlike.

Civilization and even Christianity have followed in the pathway of armies.

In all animated nature the spirit of war is universal, and the survival of the strongest rather than the fittest is the rule. The average man will fight, and there is a limit to provocation beyond which if he doesn't fight women despise him, and the best men lose faith in him. So it is with nations.

The lion and the unicorn rampant and the eagle with outstretched pinions are the cherished emblems of progressive civilization.

For centuries China has remained as unmoved as a frozen sea, until she was shaken by an upheaval a few years ago. Now she is getting unwieldy proportions into the column of modern progress, and even permitting the introduction of modern thought.

The ingenious energy we displayed during the Civil War has been contagious, and the overturning of the old methods among the nations is America's contribution to the world's

advancement. It is said that we are a restless people, but unrest is the secret of advancement.

A stagnant pool loses its vitality and becomes offensive. The water of Lake Michigan washes the city of Chicago, but becomes cleansed in its journey through the canal. The angry torrents that dash through the rapids into Lake Ontario are purer than when they left Lake Erie. Even so, our beloved country, with all her remaining faults, is grander, better and purer than she was in the sixties, because in her efforts at purification she passed through her crimson Niagara.

On April 29th, General Kilpatrick came to Chapel Hill from Durham's Station and reviewed the brigade for the last time. On May 3rd. we bid farewell to Chapel Hill and marched twelve miles to Hillsboro.

The confederate cavalry had been paroled but were permitted to retain their horses and side arms. They marched by our side on their way home, enemies no longer, but chatting with us as friends. The Boys in Gray were somewhat downcast and dispirited, but no gibes were uttered by the Boys in Blue. They had met on many a hard fought battle field, and had acquired that affectionate respect which brave men have for each other.

On May 4th, the brigade continued its march from Hillsboro to Company Shops, a railroad town, and camped for the night in a strip of woods nearby. Two of the boys of the Tenth O. V. Cavalry, in clearing away a brush heap for their tent, found fresh dirt, and by digging uncovered some small boxes filled with gold coins. They became excited and called a few of the Ninth and Tenth boys that were camped nearby

to show what they had found. It was quietly agreed among them to fill their pockets and wait till morning to determine what to do. But the word got out and the gold rapidly disappeared.

In the morning there was an excitement in the town. The railroad had extensive shops and bank located there. The bank officials, hearing that the Yankees were coming, had taken the unwise precaution to box the gold and hide it under a brush heap and the boys, forgetting that the war was over, still claimed. the privilege of foragers.

The bank officials became alarmed and called on General Kilpatrick and explained the situation, saying that $80,000 in gold was deposited in the boxes which men had found. The general at once issued an order to return the money, but after an apparent diligent search only $30,000 was recovered. The general stormed publicly, the men smiled privately, and the march continued.

But the undiscovered $50,000 became troublesome wealth to the boys who had it. Although gold at that time stood at a premium of more than twice the value. of greenbacks, many of the boys were willing to trade for greenbacks, as they could be more easily hid. Others deserted and broke for home. This they found was a mistake for they were marked on the rolls as deserters, and pay due them was with-held and their claim for pensions sadly interfered with.

CHAPTER 25.

Service in North Carolina After the Close of the War.

We reached Greensboro that evening May 5th and took possession of two hundred confederate cannon which we found parked there. I went into camp, put out guards as usual, while raising the flag over my tent, a fine looking officer dressed in a confederate captain's uniform came up and introduced himself as Captain Kearny, late of General Beauregard's staff, and asked if I was Colonel Hamilton. I answered, "Yes". Then he said, "The guard that you were kind enough to send to our house said you were from Zanesville, Ohio." I told him I was. He said, "Our family was originally from Zanesville. I am a nephew of Captain Kearny and am now at my aunt's Mrs. Colonel Wilkes, who was a daughter of Mrs. Van Buren of Zanesville, and I have been sent to invite you to dine with us. I told him that I knew both the Kearny and the Van Buren families and would take pleasure in accepting her kind invitation; and after putting matters in order, I joined him in a walk of about one square and a half and was introduced to Major and Mrs. Wilkes, and to the captain's sister, Miss Mary Kearny.

Major Wilkes was the son of Commodore Wilkes of our old navy. He had been an engineer on the construction of the B. & O. railroad at Zanesville, where he met and married Miss Van Buren. The entire connection were Virginians and had identified themselves with the southern cause, although they had all gone to school in Zanesville.

Miss Mary was a very bright, black-eyed girl of about twenty-five, who did the entertaining in the absence of the others. She was a fine talker and an enthusiastic Southerner, and of course the subject of war was uppermost with her. She seemed to be quite curious about my opinion of things.

"What do you think of General Lee?" she began. "I have a very high opinion of him; he is a refined gentleman and a highly educated and superior military officer."

"What is your opinion of Stonewall Jackson?" she asked.

"I consider him a military genius-a modern Cromwell, with the power of holding the unbounded confidence of his men." I replied.

Miss Mary was somewhat surprised and nonplussed, but continued by asking,

"What do you think of General Joe Johnston?"

I replied, "I know a little more about him, as I was with Sherman who opposed him. As a military strategist and a gentleman I think he could be classed with the other two."

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