Mary Susan Ratliff Ledbetter Letter
Contributed by Gary Peacock

Background: My name is Gary Peacock, and I am a descendant of two notable early Lee County residents: John Stoval Ratliff and Leonidas C. Ledbetter. Leonidas actually married one of the Ratliff daughters, Mary Susan, in 1859 when the area was still part of Itawamba. After the Civil War, Mary Susan wrote a letter to the Tupelo Journal [date unknown, but probably in the late 1800s or early1900s] telling a bit about her family's experience during the War. A copy of that letter was passed down to me.

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Reminiscence [stet] of War Life

Mr. Editor I have read several pieces in the Tupelo Journal of different ones telling their experiences during the war, So I have decided I would give you a little history of my life. During the War my husband and I refuged over in Ala. We staid about a year, So in Dec. we decided to come back on a visit to Verona, Miss. We were living about 9 miles of Selma, So on Dec. 23rd, 1864 we boarded the train at Selma. When we went in the train was crowded so we took a seat near the door, as we could not get one near the heater. We had a nice basket of lunch my mother in Law had prepared for us. My husband, instead of putting the basket in front of us, he put it behind us. We had two children so after a while he took the oldest child and sent up close to the heater, staid until about dinner time. So he came back to get something to eat, so low and behold there was nothing to eat. There were several of our soldier on the train and some were sitting right behind me. So he found only the ham bone and one piece of bread. We had nothing to eat. Well, we traveled all day and until 10 o’clock that night. we got in to West Point went right up to the Hotel. The lady said she could not take us in. I was suffering with a sever [stet] sick headache. My husband asked her if she could take his wife and two children, he could make out any way. She said then I could sleep with her and her 5 year old little girl and she only weighed over 2 hundred pounds so we all had to sleep in that one bed, but I was worn out and was thankful to fall down any where. Before we retired we asked the lady if she could give us a little something to eat. She said she did not have a bite cooked. We had an early breakfast had no dinner and no supper, and me with a young baby, just two months old, So you can guess I was pretty hungry by breakfast time. We had to come on a freight train from West Point to Okolona, but just before day light that morning some one rapped on the ladies door, she asked who it was. they told her there had been a wreck on the Pasenger train that morning and that several on the train were wounded pretty bad and they wanted to bring them in there, she told them she had no room for them. So as soon as we got out breakfast we went on out to the train and got into the Cabouse. Oh, I never witness such a sight in my life, there were about 25 or 30 wounded, some with their arms broken some with their faces bruised up some shoulder dislocated. In the wreck the stove got turned over, One young lady got her dress nearly burned off of her some men got holes burned in their pants. But the funniest part, I have not told yet, it was not so funny to the young man when it happened, I know. there was a jug of molasses got broken and the molasses run into this young mand’s boots, he was the worst looking sight I ever saw. They wore boots in those days. That is not the style now. There was 2 or 3 young ladies and this young married couple they had been off on a visit, and was returning home, these young people were real jolly, teasing one another. We arrived in Okolona just before dark, said all night. We had come on a hand car from Okolona to Verona we had to come slow, a bridge had washed away. Mr. Jim Coby was the conductor on the hand car, There were several brake men on it. when we got to here the bridge was washed away, Several of the men had to cross a log and over to catch the car, when the other men on the other side would send it with such a force that the car would start up and these men would be there to catch it. Of course we all had to walk this log. We arrived in Verona a little after sundown, we went right up to the Hotel. Pa was keeping hotel there. The next day was Xmas day, Ma had a splendid dinner, we always said Pa and Ma in them good old times, but it is Papa and Mamma now. Well, that very night, the Yankeys came into Verona, they soon came rushing into the dining room, hunting something to eat. The Captain was with them. My oldest sister asked the Captain to make them stand back and she would put the Vituals on the table, so they all could get some. Well, they were not satisfied at that. Others broke the smokehouse door open and went in and helped themselves. Pas just had killed hogs a few day before. Ma had a very large old Turkey dish, she had it full of sausage meat, they were not satisfied, taking the sausage, they throwed the dish down and broke it all to pieces. Well they went for the hams, shoulders and middling, after they had been there a while some one knocked at the back door, Ma went to the door. It was an honest Irish man, he ways to Ma, here good lady, is a ham and middling I have brought to you, he says hide it somewhere. Ma says I don’t know where to hide it, they will come and get it. he says I will hide it for ou, so he put it under the bed. Now, don’t you know I will never forget that Irish man, I would divide the last bite with him for he kept us from starving for several days until we could get more. They not only got our provision but got our clothes also, left me the dress I had on and one more. My husband went back to Ala and he bought me 3 calico dresses gave a hundred dollars a piece for them, that sounds might big don’t it. It was Confederate money. I have several hundred dollars in Confederate money now, I could write more but I reckon I had better quit.

- Mrs. L.C. Ledbetter

I copied this from my Mamma’s own hand writing, the copy she kept when she sent it to the paper, long years ago. - Nettie Chapman