Nesbitt Memorial Library Journal, Volume 9, Number 2, May 1999 Page: 105

Reminiscences of the Old Brigade

sion waxed hot, and Coopwood got mad and
left the council. The men during this council
lounged about seemingly indifferent as to the
course the leaders concluded to adopt.
But the Confederate soldier [was] no fool,
and while he would obey orders, yet he some-
times prepared when those orders ended to act
for himself, and here the following incidents
will show that he was preparing to act a little
for himself:
Strolling down to Pyron's camp to
"conversate" a little with the boys, I found poor
Trimble and others strapping their grub to their
saddles. I asked the cause, and they replied that
there was talk of going down to Pulvedeer mak-
ing a fight and then surrender; that they would
go down, fight as long as Gen. Sibley said fight,
but the moment he said surrender, they were
going with Coopwood into the mountains and
make their way to Texas.
I had the best mule in the army-had started
to see my sweatheart, and could not think of
going to heaven without taking one more look
at her mild blue eyes and sweet face [text cor-
rupted] told them I was with them to [text cor-
rupted] That sweetheart was a big [text cor-
rupted] me in those days, and she was [text
corrupted] of it too. The boys loved [text cor-
rupted] hearts too, but not like I loved [text
corrupted] for the same reason that Alex [text
corrupted] told his daddy that his [text cor-
rupted] Alex, was much smarter than he was at
the same age. Alex with his son met his daddy
on the streets of San Antonio one day, and the
old man, looking at his little grandson, said:
"Alex, that child is a heap smarter than you
was at his age." To which Alex replied, "That's
so, father; but then I never had any such daddy
as that boy has." They didn't love their sweet-
hearts like I loved mine because they didn't
have any such sweetheart as I had. There never
was another such.
Our men seeing the situation were willing

to endure any suffering, undergo any fatigue
that human endurance could stand, for the ben-
efit of their country. Hence we waited with pa-
tience to hear the result of the council.
We had now what was supposed to be
enough bread and coffee to sustain life seven
days. The council over we were ordered to pre-
pare our rations, destroy our wagons, take our
guns and ammunition, if nothing else, and
tramp.
Those too sick to travel were left with a
hospitel flag flying over them. They had come
on this far to save being made prisoners, and
now they had to be made prisoners at last. The
parting between us as we bade them goodbye
was both affecting and affectionate, for neither
ever expected to see the other again. With a
simple "God bless you," we disappeared in the
darkness to wander for days in the mountains.
As I shall give Noel's account of this por-
tion of our suffering, Petticolas diary, and three
privates account, and perhaps an account by
Capt. Coopwood in which the brigade is fol-
lowed step by step, I will not myself go in a
detailed account of our wanderings for the next
eleven days, in which seven days of scant half
rations were made to sustain life eleven days.
Mountains scaled and canyons crossed that a
wheel had never rolled over before, and none
ever will again. All these things are minutely
detailed by others.
April 19, 1888
[newspaper missing]
April 26, 1888
Chapter XXIII
Noel's Account of the
Retreat from Albuquerque
[omitted]

105