Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 33.djvu/294

 290 Southern Historical Society Papers.

Among- these I recall Rev. Wm. Brown, D. D., a Presbyterian, Rev. J. L. Burrows, D. D., a baptist minister, and it is worthy of record that this man of God was with the wounded of the Twelfth Alabama on the night of the 3ist of May, 1862, at Seven Pines, and during the entire night he was busy ministering to the dead and dying, seeing- that the wounded were placed in 'ambulances and carried to the Richmond hospitals. I can recall his passing by our regiment and near my company on the first of June of that year, following an ambulance which contained the wounded body of my friend and messmate, Mack Flournoy, ofOpelika, one of my ser- geants. In the rear of the ambulance walked Flourney's slave and cook, Mark, a negro well-known to every man in the regiment, and universally liked. As poor Mark passed by Company F with his head bowed, he looked over to the members of the company and burst into tears, and in tender tones called out, "I have lost my best friend, Marse Mack is in the ambulance and I don't believe he will ever get well." He was right in his prophecy, for M. A. Flour- noy, my intelligent, gallant friend, died a week later.

Rev. L. Rosser, D. D., of Winchester, also preached to us more than once, and showed himself to be a great orator.

Rev. Dr. W. C. Powell, now of the North Carolina Conference, made frequent visits to the Twelfth Alabama, and gave us good sermons.

We were seldom able to attend divine service in churches, and usually lay upon the ground, in groups, near the minister, while he delivered his discourse to us. The meetings of our brigade Chris- tian Association, as well as the one of the Twelfth Alabama, were usually well attended. The only requirements of the latter were that we should not indulge in drinking intoxicating liquors nor in profanity, and some of the wickedest men in the camp joined it, and I am glad to report, refrained from the use of profanity afterwards. Among these were two prominent officers, whose names I will not give.

While in camp, near the Rappahannock river, Chaplain Moore induced several of the officers to deliver Sunday night lectures, and I remember well a very fine one given by Captain John J. Nichol- son, of Company I. Captain Nicholson was a gallant officer, a graduate of St. John's College, Md., and a teacher at Spring Hill College, Mobile. He was the bravest man in battle, to be a brag- gart, that I ever saw. He never flinched from danger, and mor.e