Page:War songs and poems of the Southern Confederacy.djvu/17

 THE AUTHOR&#39;S REMINISCENCES OF WAR DAYS STANDING forty years away from the terrible days of the early &#39;^sixties&#34;, we are able to look back now upon those times with cooler blood and calmer judgment. In all the history of the world there has not been a conflict in which there was greater generalship displayed or more courage, and sacrifice and devotion by the men and women at home or the soldiers in the field. Never, while memory lasts, shall I forget a scene which transpired early in April, 1861, as our family sat at breakfast in the farm-house home in Culpepper County, Va. My oldest brother suddenly entered the dining-room and exclaimed, &#34; The war has commenced &#59; Fort Sumter is being bombarded ! &#34; I was too young to understand these words, but saw, upon the faces of my father and mother, an expression which filled my heart with anxiety. Little did I know that our own beloved State was to become the battleground of the great struggle, and that our home should be left desolate, while some of the dearest members of that little circle around the breakfast table must soon be taken away forever. THE COMING OF THE STORM As to the causes of the ^¥ar, there can be but little differ- ence of opinion now. When the Union was formed, it was the determination of our forefathers that while many of the rights which would have been held by us as separate colonies should be given up, yet, there were other rights which must ever be held sacred, and among these, the special privilege of conducting our own affairs according to our own will and pleasure. The doctrine of States&#39; Rights was really the begin- ning of the strife, which commenced years before war was 5