. . .Horace Greeley or William Lloyd Garrison dared visit the South for fear of actual violence. Then came the secession of South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida. Georgia felt in honor bound to follow. Then came the inauguration of President Lincoln and the firing on Fort Sumter.

The proclamation of Mr. Lincoln calling for volunteers to overrun the South consolidated the people of Georgia, and as one man we offered our services in defense of our homes. The excitement was intense. I know my father, if he had been alive, would have opposed secession. Although she greatly disapproved of war and secession my mother did not put a veto on her three sons going. On the night that Georgia seceded all the houses in Milledgeville were illumined except ours.

All my strongest feelings were aroused. I felt called to defend my country. In May, 1861, I joined a company from my home town, called after my father's old company, the "Baldwin Volunteers." I entere. . . Read More