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| Joined: | Wed Jan 24th, 2007 |
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Berry and Blackwood Benson, two brothers, served with the Confederacy from Fort Sumter to Appomattox, starting when they were 18 and 16 years of age, respectively. That is, if you don't count the times one or the other was convalescing or imprisoned in Yankee prison camps –or the very few, short leaves each took.
When they realized that Lee was going to surrender at Appomattox, they slipped away to join Joe Johnston. When they found “Fighting Joe” (hmmm, I thought his specialty was the strategic retreat, for which I have great respect, so this is in no way a derogatory comment) on the brink of surrender, they turned around and went home without ever surrendering their rifles. Berry's "never surrendered” old Enfield in on display somewhere - I don't have my copy of Berry Benson's Civil War Book: Memoirs of a Confederate Scout and Sharpshooter with me right now, but probably somewhere in Augusta.
Perhaps the dispirited soldier in the painting was, previously, one such spirited soldier himself, whom simply never surrendered his rifle.....
Last edited on Thu Mar 22nd, 2007 08:06 pm by JoanieReb