Grant Captured No'th Ca'linian Interviewed by Grant at Cold Harbor

[lelliott19]

"How did I get h'yah? Well, when a man has half a dozen o' them thah reckless and des'prit dragoons o' yourn lammin' him along the road on a tight run and wallopin' him with the flats o' thah sabahs, he dont have no trouble gittin h'yah."

TALKATIVE PRISONER - This is hilarious! Must read!
......All this time, Gen. Grant was exceedingly anxious to obtain information from prisoners as to just what force Lee had in front, and the captured men were interrogated as to the commands to which they belonged, etc. and encouraged to reveal whatever they might know and be disposed to tell of the movements. Several of these prisoners were brought directly to Gen Grant and Gen Porter tells of one of them, a tall, slim, shock-headed, comical-looking man with a very lively tongue. This prisoner, of course, did not know that he was in the presence of Gen Grant and rattled off his answers with reckless abandon.

"What command do you belong to?" asked the General (Grant)

"I'm in Early's Corps and I belong to the No'th Ca'lina regiment, suh." was the reply.

"Oh, you're from North Carolina," remarked the General.

"Yes," said the prisoner," and a good deal fahthah from it jes now than I'd like to be. God knows."

"Well, where were you taken and how did you get here?"

"How did I get h'yah? Well, when a man has half a dozen o' them thah reckless and des'prit dragoons o' yourn lammin' him along the road on a tight run and wallopin' him with the flats o' thah sabahs, he dont have no trouble gittin h'yah."

"Is your whole corps in our front and when did it arrive?"inquired the General.

"Well now, jes let me tell you about that," said the prisoner,"an let me begin right from the sta't. I'm not goin' to fool you, cause I'm fast losin' intrest in this fight. I was a peaceful man and didn't want to hurt nobody, when a conscript offisah down thah in the old Tar State come around and told me I'd have to git in the ranks and go to fightin' fo' my rights. I tried to have him p'int em out fo me. I told him I'd as lief have em all, but I wasn't strenuous about it. Then he begun to put on more airs than a buckin' hoss at a County Fair, and told me to come right along ----that the country wanted me. Well I had noticed that our folks was losin' a good many battles; that you'all was too much for 'em; and I got to flatterin' myself that perhaps it was only right fo' me to go and jine our army jes to kind o even things up. But matters has been goin' pretty rough with us ever since and I'm gettin' to feel peacfuller and peacfuller every day. They're feedin' us half the time on crumbs, and thah's one boy in my company that's got so thin you have to throw a tent-fly over him to get up a respectable shadow. Then, they have a way of campin' us alongside o creeks not much biggah than a slate pencil, and you have to be powerful quick about gittin' what watah you want, or some thirsty cow'll come along and drink up the whole stream. I thought from all the fuss she had made at the stah't, that South Car'line was goin' to fight the whole war thru herself, and make it a picnic for the rest of us; but when thah's real trouble she has to get the old Tar State to do the solid work."
The National Tribune., July 07, 1910, page 1.​

 

[Stony]

Very nice. Thanks for sharing that story.

 

[lelliott19]

"Are there any men from South Carolina in your brigade?" was the next question. The answer came with a serio-comic expression of countenance. "Yas, a few -- in the band."

The General suppressed the laugh with which he was struggling, and feeling that any effort to get any real useful information from the North Carolinian would be a slow process, disappeared into his tent to attend to some correspondence, and left the prisoner to be further interviewed by the staff.

"I tell you, gentlemen," went on the Confederate," thah's lots o' cobwebs in my throat, and I could talk to you-all a heap bettah if I only had a dish o' liquor. Thah's nothin' braces a man up like talkin' a little o' the tanglefoot."

Thereupon a canteen and cup were brought, and after the man had poured out about four fingers of commissary whiskey and tossed it off as if it were water, he looked considerably invigorated......

"How did you happen to be picked up?" was now asked.

"Well you see, suh," he replied,"our Cap'n Jimmy Skipwo'th marched me out on the picket line. Cap'n Jimmy's one o' them thah slack-twisted, loose-belted, toggle-j'inted kind o' fellers that sends you straight out to the front, and if you dont get killed right off, why, he gets all out o' patience, and thinks you want to live fo'evah. You can't get away because he's always keepin tab on you. When he marched us out today I says to him: 'Cap'n Jimmy, thah don't 'pear to be enough of the boys a-comin' along with us. Now I tell you, when we go to monkeyin' with them Yanks we ought to have plenty o company; we dont want to feel lonesome.' Well we got thah, and went to diggin a ditch, so we could flop down in it and protect our heads, and could use afterward for buryin you-all in ef we could get hold o' you. Well jes then you opened lively, and come at us a-whoopin' and a-careerin' like sin; and ez fo' me, I took a header fo' the ditch. The boys saw somethin drop, and I didn't make any effo't to pick it up ag'in till the misunderstandin' was ovah. The fust thing I knowed aftah that you lighted onto me, yanked me out o' the hole, and then turned me ovah to some o you' dragoons; and Lo'd how they did run me into your lines. And so h'yah I am.

After the Provost-Marshal's people had been told to take the prisoner to the rear and treat him well, the man, before moving on, said, "Gentlemen, I would like mighty well to see that thah new-fangled weepon o' yourn that shoots like it was a whole platoon. They tell me you can load it up on Sunday and fiah it all the rest o' the week."

He had derived this notion from the Spencer carbine, the new magazine gun which fired seven shots in rapid succession. After this exhibition of his talent for dialog, he was marched off to join the other prisoners.
The National tribune., July 07, 1910, page 3. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82016187/1910-07-07/ed-1/seq-3/

 

[Ole Miss]

It is nice to read about a man who does not have an accent and speaks real English!
Regards
David

 

[lelliott19]

Bumping for @Rebelsoul @leftyhunter @jgoodguy @TnFed @major bill and @CSA Today who were discussing interrogation of prisoners.

"....Well I had noticed that our folks was losin' a good many battles; that you'all was too much for 'em; and I got to flatterin' myself that perhaps it was only right fo' me to go and jine our army jes to kind o even things up. But matters has been goin' pretty rough with us ever since and I'm gettin' to feel peacfuller and peacfuller every day. They're feedin' us half the time on crumbs, and thah's one boy in my company that's got so thin you have to throw a tent-fly over him to get up a respectable shadow...."

And this one from part II.
"....Cap'n Jimmy's one o' them thah slack-twisted, loose-belted, toggle-j'inted kind o' fellers that sends you straight out to the front, and if you dont get killed right off, why, he gets all out o' patience, and thinks you want to live fo'evah."

 

[leftyhunter]

View attachment 179801
"How did I get h'yah? Well, when a man has half a dozen o' them thah reckless and des'prit dragoons o' yourn lammin' him along the road on a tight run and wallopin' him with the flats o' thah sabahs, he dont have no trouble gittin h'yah."

TALKATIVE PRISONER - This is hilarious! Must read!
......All this time, Gen. Grant was exceedingly anxious to obtain information from prisoners as to just what force Lee had in front, and the captured men were interrogated as to the commands to which they belonged, etc. and encouraged to reveal whatever they might know and be disposed to tell of the movements. Several of these prisoners were brought directly to Gen Grant and Gen Porter tells of one of them, a tall, slim, shock-headed, comical-looking man with a very lively tongue. This prisoner, of course, did not know that he was in the presence of Gen Grant and rattled off his answers with reckless abandon.

​

"What command do you belong to?" asked the General (Grant)​

​

"I'm in Early's Corps and I belong to the No'th Ca'lina regiment, suh." was the reply.​

​

"Oh, you're from North Carolina," remarked the General.​

​

"Yes," said the prisoner," and a good deal fahthah from it jes now than I'd like to be. God knows."​

​

"Well, where were you taken and how did you get here?"​

​

"How did I get h'yah? Well, when a man has half a dozen o' them thah reckless and des'prit dragoons o' yourn lammin' him along the road on a tight run and wallopin' him with the flats o' thah sabahs, he dont have no trouble gittin h'yah."​

​

"Is your whole corps in our front and when did it arrive?"inquired the General.​

​

"Well now, jes let me tell you about that," said the prisoner,"an let me begin right from the sta't. I'm not goin' to fool you, cause I'm fast losin' intrest in this fight. I was a peaceful man and didn't want to hurt nobody, when a conscript offisah down thah in the old Tar State come around and told me I'd have to git in the ranks and go to fightin' fo' my rights. I tried to have him p'int em out fo me. I told him I'd as lief have em all, but I wasn't strenuous about it. Then he begun to put on more airs than a buckin' hoss at a County Fair, and told me to come right along ----that the country wanted me. Well I had noticed that our folks was losin' a good many battles; that you'all was too much for 'em; and I got to flatterin' myself that perhaps it was only right fo' me to go and jine our army jes to kind o even things up. But matters has been goin' pretty rough with us ever since and I'm gettin' to feel peacfuller and peacfuller every day. They're feedin' us half the time on crumbs, and thah's one boy in my company that's got so thin you have to throw a tent-fly over him to get up a respectable shadow. Then, they have a way of campin' us alongside o creeks not much biggah than a slate pencil, and you have to be powerful quick about gittin' what watah you want, or some thirsty cow'll come along and drink up the whole stream. I thought from all the fuss she had made at the stah't, that South Car'line was goin' to fight the whole war thru herself, and make it a picnic for the rest of us; but when thah's real trouble she has to get the old Tar State to do the solid work."​

The National Tribune., July 07, 1910, page 1.​

This a great thread that I missed when it first came out. @CSA Today will absolutely love this thread because it's about a Confederate soldier from his state. This thread pretty much answers @Rebelsoul ' s questions.
Leftyhunter

 

[nc native]

I've read this account before and I still get a chuckle out of it. I've got a couple of good friends
like this, if you ask them a question, they will wear your ears out and still not tell you what you
want to know.

 

[lelliott19]

This a great thread that I missed when it first came out. @CSA Today will absolutely love this thread because it's about a Confederate soldier from his state. This thread pretty much answers @Rebelsoul ' s questions.
Leftyhunter

I bet @nc native @Eleanor Rose @Southern Unionist @Capt. Glasgow @W. Richardson and @Seduzal will like it too. Theyre all from NC. I had forgot all about this thread until I saw yall's conversation in the other thread. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[leftyhunter]

I bet @nc native @Eleanor Rose @Southern Unionist @Capt. Glasgow @W. Richardson and @Seduzal will like it too. Theyre all from NC. I had forgot all about this thread until I saw yall's conversation in the other thread. Thanks for the reminder.

Your post basically answers @Rebelsoul question. As I pointed out in my first post on @Rebelsoul thread if a prisoner never really wanted to be in an army in the first place and resented how he was treated then heck yeah for a good meal and some booze he will sing like a canary.
Leftyhunter

 

[leftyhunter]

Your post basically answers @Rebelsoul question. As I pointed out in my first post on @Rebelsoul thread if a prisoner never really wanted to be in an army in the first place and resented how he was treated then heck yeah for a good meal and some booze he will sing like a canary.
Leftyhunter

You forgot our good friend @jgoodguy !
Leftyhunter

 

[TnFed]

I've read this account before and I still get a chuckle out of it. I've got a couple of good friends
like this, if you ask them a question, they will wear your ears out and still not tell you what you
want to know.

Sounds like my better half. Ask her the time and she tells you how to build a watch.lol.

 

[Stone in the wall]

Seems I remember something about maybe Lee sending out men to be captured and give false information on troops,and gun numbers ect. Can anybody shed more light on this?

 

[lelliott19]

Bumping to go along with @A. Roy 's southern accents thread.

 

[eeric]

I believe all of this first appeared in Horace Porters book, Campaigning With Grant

 

[JOHN42768]

One very interesting character for sure

 

[BronxYankee]

I can't imagine how hard it was for the General to hold back laughter while interrogating the North Carolinian Soldier.

 

[Stone in the wall]

Bumping to go along with @A. Roy 's southern accents thread.

That just seems to get funnier every time I read that.

 

[NDR5thNY]

View attachment 179801
"How did I get h'yah? Well, when a man has half a dozen o' them thah reckless and des'prit dragoons o' yourn lammin' him along the road on a tight run and wallopin' him with the flats o' thah sabahs, he dont have no trouble gittin h'yah."

TALKATIVE PRISONER - This is hilarious! Must read!
......All this time, Gen. Grant was exceedingly anxious to obtain information from prisoners as to just what force Lee had in front, and the captured men were interrogated as to the commands to which they belonged, etc. and encouraged to reveal whatever they might know and be disposed to tell of the movements. Several of these prisoners were brought directly to Gen Grant and Gen Porter tells of one of them, a tall, slim, shock-headed, comical-looking man with a very lively tongue. This prisoner, of course, did not know that he was in the presence of Gen Grant and rattled off his answers with reckless abandon.

"What command do you belong to?" asked the General (Grant)

"I'm in Early's Corps and I belong to the No'th Ca'lina regiment, suh." was the reply.

"Oh, you're from North Carolina," remarked the General.

"Yes," said the prisoner," and a good deal fahthah from it jes now than I'd like to be. God knows."

"Well, where were you taken and how did you get here?"

"How did I get h'yah? Well, when a man has half a dozen o' them thah reckless and des'prit dragoons o' yourn lammin' him along the road on a tight run and wallopin' him with the flats o' thah sabahs, he dont have no trouble gittin h'yah."

"Is your whole corps in our front and when did it arrive?"inquired the General.

"Well now, jes let me tell you about that," said the prisoner,"an let me begin right from the sta't. I'm not goin' to fool you, cause I'm fast losin' intrest in this fight. I was a peaceful man and didn't want to hurt nobody, when a conscript offisah down thah in the old Tar State come around and told me I'd have to git in the ranks and go to fightin' fo' my rights. I tried to have him p'int em out fo me. I told him I'd as lief have em all, but I wasn't strenuous about it. Then he begun to put on more airs than a buckin' hoss at a County Fair, and told me to come right along ----that the country wanted me. Well I had noticed that our folks was losin' a good many battles; that you'all was too much for 'em; and I got to flatterin' myself that perhaps it was only right fo' me to go and jine our army jes to kind o even things up. But matters has been goin' pretty rough with us ever since and I'm gettin' to feel peacfuller and peacfuller every day. They're feedin' us half the time on crumbs, and thah's one boy in my company that's got so thin you have to throw a tent-fly over him to get up a respectable shadow. Then, they have a way of campin' us alongside o creeks not much biggah than a slate pencil, and you have to be powerful quick about gittin' what watah you want, or some thirsty cow'll come along and drink up the whole stream. I thought from all the fuss she had made at the stah't, that South Car'line was goin' to fight the whole war thru herself, and make it a picnic for the rest of us; but when thah's real trouble she has to get the old Tar State to do the solid work."
The National Tribune., July 07, 1910, page 1.​

It is nice to read such rich verbiage. It makes me homesick and long for the good ole days!