I will soon be 85 years old and my father was a Civil War veteran. He had a large farm near Sedalia, Missouri, and owned many slaves. He organized a troop or company of 100 men, joined General Price and fought at Wilson Creek and Pea Ridge. Then he was sent to Texas to help guard the border during the rest of the War. He brought 50 head of fat cattle into the Army when he joined up. He fought for his beloved Southland, and his brother fought with the Northern Army.
During the War they were called to the bedside of a dying sister, and during this visit my uncle tried to capture my father. He failed to succeed, but my father never forgave him. The little Ozark town where we’re from has lovely old dwellings which the Northern Army used for one whole winter as a hospital.
My father held no grudge for the Yankees as so many Southern people did, but not so my mother. She could never forget the deprivation and hardships she had suffered.
Not far from here is an old saltpeter mine. In the Civil War days, they came for miles to get saltpeter to make ammunition.
W. W. Ramey
Yellville, Arkansas
Back in 1955 a call went out from the editors of the then CAPPER’S WEEKLY asking for readers to send in articles on true pioneers. Hundreds of letters came pouring in from early settlers and their children, many now in their 80s and 90s, and from grandchildren of settlers, all with tales to tell. So many articles were received that a decision was made to create a book, and in 1956, the first My Folks title – My Folks Came in a Covered Wagon – hit the shelves. Nine other books have since been published in the My Folks series, all filled to the brim with true tales from CAPPER’s readers, and we are proud to make those stories available to our growing online community.
