Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 242, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 October 1913 — AROUND THE CAMP FIRE [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

AROUND THE CAMP FIRE

SOUNDED END OF CIVIL WAR Two Veterans, Living at Maryville! Mo., Blew Shrill Notes That Marked Close of Hostilities. The twQ buglers, whos.e shrill notes marked the close of the Civil war—one for the Union forces and the other for the Confederates—live in Maryville and for years have been good friends, with many a “fightlng-them-over” chat. The bugle that sounded that last charge for the Union forces at Appomattox, hangs in the office of Nathaniel Sisson, the man who sounded it to signal that last charge that was to be stopped suddenly by the appearance of the flag of truce was; a soiled towel atop a hickory pole. The bugle that gave forth the notes that marked the close of hostilities for the other side was cast aside by H. P. Childress, the man who for four years had blown it, and in a dozen bloody battles, through the retreat from Gettysburg and on to Richmond, Five Forks and Appomattox, as being a good riddance. For when that last call was sounded Mr. Childress, who had shared with his comrades for two years the belief that the next battle would be the last, decided that his work was done and “lit right out” for home, not even waiting for his parole. Nor did he stop until he got back to Lynchburg. Strange to relate, Mr. Childress’s call was not sounded for nearly two hours after the surrender of Lee to Grant, and in the meantime his command, Lomax’s cavalry under the command of General Penn, had been skirmishing away with the federate out several miles from Appomattox courthouse, in blissful ignorance that the war was over. Their first intimatlon/df the surrender came when a Union officer rode out with a white flag and advanced to General Penn with the news. Mr. Childress was standing near by and heard the officer say: “General Lee has surrendered to General Grant and you are ordered to hold your lines in their present positions.” Then General Fenn ordered Bugler Childress to ride along the skirmish lines with orders to the colonels to cease firing, and, when he returned, he was ordered to blow “assembly,” which was the call for the skirmishers to fall back to their regiments. This done, Mr. Childress wheeled his horse and started. t back to find the pike to He had been a soldier for four long, .years and was weary with war. He bad qoqnded bugle calls at Second Bull Run, Winchester, Fort Royal, Clear Creek, Fisher’s Hill, Mount Jackson, Fort Republic, Harper’s Ferry, Gettysburg, Brandy Station, Mine Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Wilderness, Spottsylvania Courthouse, Cold Harbor* Petersburg, Richmond, Five Forks and this last assembly at Appomattox; And during all these four years he never had fired a shot So young Childress went home, disregarding the terms of war and other technicalities. On his solitary journey he ran into General Rosser’s command. “Hasn’t General Rosser surrendered?" he inquired. “Hell, no!” was the answer, “and doesn’t li> tend to.” It was several weeks after that Mr. Childress, now a civilian and busy with civilian pursuits, heard that he ought to go down to Fredericksburg and get his parole. He went in company with a number of neighbor boys and procured the paper which he guarded jealously for years and which finally was blown away in a cyclone that demolished the Childress home, near Maryville, in 1883. It was different with Mr. Sisson, but perhaps that is natural; considering who won. He stayed it out and marched with Custer down Pennsylvania avenue in Washington city in the grand review.

Mr. Steson was the brigade bugler in Custer’s division* and gave the signal for the charge, the regimental buglers catching it up and passing It on. Across the field charged the Union cavalry, with General Custer at the head. And while all this was going on the flag of truce fluttered from the Confederate lines. Aides spurted their horses forward and overtook the fiery Custer to tell him of the truce. He ordered a halt and proceeded to General Gordon’s headquarters. While he was there a Confederate squad dashed out and opened fire. The Union soldiers thought that maybe Custer had been decoyed into the hands of the enemy and that the charge had been ordered as soon as he was safely trapped. But General Gordon soon stopped the firing, sending his orders by a Union officer after he had looked in vain for one of his own aides.