Confederate Veterans at Pettus
Beeville Weekly Picayune, 17 June 1915The little town of Pettus in Bee county was formed some 29 years ago upon the completion of the S.A.&A.P. Ry., and since then has done many generous and noble things, but never in its life has it exceeded the affair of last Thursday when it welcomed the Karnes County Camp of U. C. V., together with all old veterans of the war of '61?'65 in reach and call of her bugle of invitation. The weather was ideal and by ten o'clock the generous hearted people of the community were on hand with baskets and boxes of good things to eat in addition to the four beeves and eight goats already barbecued, but when two thousand visitors showed up, about 11 o'clock, the committee began to get a little nervous about having enough to feed the throng, but on a second call for baskets all nervousness was allayed. "And they did all eat, and were filled' and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full."
In all this vast throng only thirty?five veterans could be found, but they were the center of attraction and every one present from the youngest child to the oldest inhabitant looked upon them as the heroes of the occasion and did honor to their valor and heroism,. Although the mists of time are blotting and blurring their mortal visions and enfeebling their steps, yet when the band played a martial strain their eyes brightened, their hearts thrilled, their steps became firmer and their voices caught the echo of youth once more and the old familiar yell filled the air.
Beeville's splendid band furnished the martial music of the day and the MOSES String Band of Monteola made manv a young heart beat with a rhythmic throb and carried the minds of many an old person present back to the nights when with his sweetheart in his arms he kept step to the same tunes m the long, long ago.
The good women of Pettus, Kenedy and Karnes City had not waited for the day to come before preparing a beautiful, large battle flag to be presented to the veterans on this occasion. In a most touching and eloquent speech the Rev. A. Y. OLDS, Chaplain of Karnes County Camp of U. C. V., in behalf of the ladies, presented the assembled veterans the flag, and Captain L. C. TOBIN, the courtly commander of the Camp, accepted the same in a neat speech, after which the veterans standing at attention, Comrade W, W. SANSON gave the regular military salute as gracefully as he could have done it in the sixties, and they answered with the yell.
During the afternoon addresses were made to the veterans by C. I. SWAN of Normanna and Rev. A, Y. OLDS of Karnes City. The crowd was entertained during the day by baseball games between Mineral and Karnes City teams, in which Mineral won, and between Pettus and Kenedy, in which Pettus was victor.
It was your correspondent's pleasure to talk with most of the old veterans present and especially with one in his 89th year. and he was forcibly impressed with the broadness of mind and the liberalness of the charity in the hearts of those who had gone through the bitter struggles of the sixties.
Perhaps to H. DAHL. as much as to any other person, was the success of the day due, for it was through him that the invitation was extended to the Camp to meet at Pettus and when Mr. DAHL puts his brain, brawn and pocket book all at work an a thing there is always something doing, and we noticed that his sons and son?in?law were "right there with the goods" to deliver. He was great enough to insist to your correspondent that the greater part of the credit for the success of the day should be given to the RAYs, ROBERTS. COURTNEYs, McKINNEYs, COUPLANDs, PORTERs, PORTISes and a dozen other families whose names he mentioned. He remarked: "You know I have the best lot of neighbors in the world, anyway." Tears tilled the eyes of the old veterans as they expressed their gratitude for the pleasures of the day.
There being no regular place of registration, your correspondent interviewed the following veterans present (there were two who left early in the day and he did not get their names):
Captain L. C, TOBIN. Karnes City, Co. A., 2nd South Carolina Artillery; Commander of Karnes County Camp of U. C. V. No. 1307.
H. DAHL. Pettus. 7th Texas Cavalry, Company A.
W. W. SANSON, Kenedy, Texas, 19th Texas Infantry, Col WATERHOUSE commanding. (Color Bearer for his Camp)
A. . BUTLER,. Caesar, Texas, Company K,, 2nd Texas Regiment, Cal, PYREN commanding.
T. J. LIVERGOOD, Kenedy, Andrew DAILY's Cavalry, unattached.
J. C. HANSON, Kenedy, Company I., 3rd Mississippi Regiment, Army of Tennessee. (Served under Joe JOHNSON)
S. S. BATES, Pettus, Company K,, 1st Georgia Regiment, Col. FANNIN, Reserved Corps under Gen. HARDIE.
Michael FOX, Pettus, 1st Texas Cavalry, Col. BUCHELL.
Bob CUSTER, Karnes City, Company G., 16th Alabama, Col. WARD.
A. J. PRITCHARD, Karnes City, Pratt's Artillery, Texas (Served with MARMADUKE's Division of PRICE's army in Missouri).
Nick LORENS, Cestohowa, Texas, BENAVIDES' Regiment
A. J. WILSON, Yoakum, Texas, Company A., Col. SHOALWATERS' Regiment.
V. YBARBO, Karnes City, TERRELL's 34th Texas Cavalry. (Served mostly in Louisiana)
T. D. PRATHER, Kenedy, Company E., Capt. DAVIS. 53rd Alabama, Colonel HARNAN. (Served with Joseph E. JOHNSON and Joe WHEELER, both of whom he reveres. "Never heard either of them use a rough word.")
W. J. RUTLEDGE, Kenedy, Company C., 21st Texas Regiment, Col. HOPP.
C. W. RANDOLPH, Gillette, Karnes county, Texas, 23rd Texas, Col. HOPP, Lieutenant; Col. SPALES, Major F. J. MALONE of Bee county.
John BURNS, Kenedy, Mississippi, Naval Reserves. (Remembers that the first work they did was to go to Europe to get something to fight with.)
L. MASSENGALE, Mineral, Texas. (We did not get his Regiment and Company.)
W. T. ROBERTS, Pettus, Captain SANDERS' Company, Col. SWEET's Regiment, 15th Texas.
B. B. BURGESS, Normanna, Texas, Company G., Second Louisiana Cavalry, Captain MORAN, (Served with Gen. Tom GREEN.)
J. D. JONES, Kenedy, Company H., 26th Virginia Cavalry, Col. J. B. LADY.
D. F. COUCH, Kenedy, 1st Arkansas Cavalry, Colonel CHURCHILL. (Was wounded at Chicamaugo. Can tell some thrilling experiences.)
L. B. JONES, Kenedy, 17th Alabama Regiment, Colonel MURPHY.
Jim NICHOLS, Kenedy. (Served mostly on the Rio Grande. Served under Col. FORD, who was one of the three men who escaped from the Fannin massacre, in the thirties. FORD slipped away during the time the Mexicans were holding council and they never caught him.)
E. J. SMITH, Beeville, Texas. (Served with MAXEY's Rangers.)
W. C. SMITH, Kames City. (Served with TERRY's Texas Rangers.)
H. A. SNOWDEN, Runge, Company I., 2nd Alabama Infantry; Colonel MASSIE
J. A. INGRAM, Kenedy, Company K., 26th North Carolina, Col. Zebulan VANCE, afterwards Gov. VANCE, (Was personally acquainted with VANCE and knows he was a fine man.)
J. N. SLIGAR, Normanna, Company C., 5th Tennessee Cavalry, ASHLEY's Division. (Served with Albert Sidney JOHNSTON.)
J. W. DICKERSON, Caesar, Texas, 40th Mississippi Infantry, Company A.
W. B. ROBERTS, Normanna, 23rd Cavalry, Col. HOPP, Lieutenant and Col. SPALES, Major F. J. MALONE of Bee County. ("Was as fine a man as ever lived.")
L. D. ATKINS, Cadiz, Company K., Captain KINNEY, 21st Texas Cavalry, Col. CARTER. PARSON's Brigade, PRICE's Division. (Fought mostly in Missouri).
J. W. ROBINSON, Normanna, Company K., Captain KINNEY, 21st Texas Cavalry, Col. PARKS, PARSON's Brigade, PRICE's Division. (Fought mostly in Missouri. Was a messmate of L. D. ATKINS.)