Incidents and Adventures in the Life of Rev

A West Point, Arkansas, soldier recalls

The Civil War in 1864

By WILLIAM MADISON “BUCK” SCOTT

Written in 1928 at Marshall, Texas

I

, William Madison Scott, was born in Jackson, Missouri, May 4, 1845. My parents later moved to Vicksburg, Mississippi, then to Yalobusha County, then to Tallahatchie County, remaining there until 1858 when they moved to [West Point] Arkansas.
The War Between the States broke out in 1861. The fall of 1864 I joined McCoy’s Company A. I was appointed conscript officer to make up another company and when we had four companies they formed a regiment and Colonel McCray was put in command. This command was under Forrest's Division and we got all our supplies from Forrest's Division at Walnut crossing below Memphis, Tennessee.
The first battle we were engaged in was about three miles above Batesville, Arkansas. Here Colonel McCray was killed in the first charge made. I was dispatch messenger for Colonel McCray, and after his death I did not go back to company A. A bunch of us started for home. The Northern Army had us surrounded; that was when Price's Army surrendered at Little Rock, Arkansas. After they had surrendered, and were turned loose, they all started for Missouri, each one looking out for himself. I was with a bunch of boys when we were captured within about two miles of West Point, Arkansas. They carried us to "Nigger Hill" landing on White River, put us on a boat taking us to Devalls Bluff. We were then put in a stockade and next day tried, court martialed and sentenced to be shot for bushwhacking. We were told that we would have to ride on our coffins to the place where we were to be shot – fine thoughts. The night before this performance was to be pulled off, most of the bunch were on their knees praying; I was studying and scheming how to either get away or to get revenge on some of them.
There was a gang of Yankees confined in the room adjoining who had been imprisoned for some meanness and we could talk to each other through the big cracks in the partition. One of the Yanks told me he was sorry I had to die. I told him all I hated was I had some money buried and my people would never get it. He said he was to get out soon and if I would tell him where the money was buried he would give part of it to my folks. Now was my time for revenge, as I knew he was lying as to what he would do, even though I should trust him, but told him when all was quiet to come to the big crack. I was prepared, I got my hand full of cayenne pepper and when he came to the wall and put his eye to the crack, and said he was ready for my story, I threw the pepper in his eyes. He began to scream and the Yankee guard came running up to know what was the trouble; he told him one of them Damn Johnny Rebs threw pepper in his eyes. The guard said "good enough". I was told next morning that I had put his eyesight on the bad forever that he might never see again.
Next day instead of riding on our coffins to be shot, we were transferred to Little Rock, Arkansas for final trial. We were tried and sent to the penitentiary in Little Rock, which was made a military prison that day. Brother Joe was captured later and sent north. Brother Jim and I remained in prison at Little Rock until the surrender. While in this prison I learned to eat rats, as they only gave us one hardtack a day two weeks. Lots of our men starved to death in prison and some froze to death. It was while there that I had the smallpox and my brother Jim saw my name on a box and asked permission to bury me. He buried a man by the name of Pete Scott, and wrote the folks at home that I had died and he buried me. When I got able to get to the window, I saw him and he could not believe that it was me he saw as he was sure he had buried me. We had to stay in prison six months or until the surrender. Then we took the oath of allegiance and started home for good. Jim and I had to walk about 50 miles or more.
The following incidents occurred while I was in Company A before we were mustered into the regular Army.

SOME OF MY EXPERIENCES WHILE IN COMPANY A:

Our small company was in about three miles of Des Arc [spelled Desark in the original]. We were going there to call some of the Yanks out to have a little skirmish with them. We stopped at a house to get something to eat, someone going past saw us and went on to Des Arc and reported where we were, and first thing we knew, here came the Yankees without any warning at all, and we sure had to scatter. My horse would not jump the fence. I got off and made him jump and he ran off, and left me. By this time the Yanks were coming in the gate close to me. I emptied my gun at them as they came, wounding one man and killed his horse. They were shooting at me all the time. I fell from the fence on my back and played dead. They all came up and every one claimed he had killed me as it was almost dark they could not tell much about it. They took the wounded Yank back to Des Arc and as they passed, they told the women they had killed a damn Rebel and if they did not want the hogs to eat me they had better get me first. When the women came down to get me I had crawled between two logs under a brush heap. When the girls came I thought it was the Yankees returned to get me and I would not come out until one of the girls came close to me. I left my guns between the logs and they stayed there until after the war was over and a man found them. I went to the house and ate my supper then started out afoot after my company as I knew where they were going. I found them about 10 miles from there on an island. Not one of them would come over or back after me, even my own brother refused to come, as they thought the Yankees had me and were using me for a decoy to get them over on my side. I got lost trying to find the crossing and by morning found myself in three miles of Des Arc again. At daybreak I heard a chicken crowing, and went in the direction from which the crow came and found a house, but when got up to it there was a man whipping his wife out in the yard. I walked up and would have killed the man but the woman wouldn't let me. She got between us. I then told him if he would go and show me the way to the crossing I would not hurt him, so he went with me to show the way. Shortly after we left the Yanks came back and the woman told them which way I had gone. I heard them coming and told the man to go back and I took to the woods, went about two or three miles and saw an old log house and there was four horses eating out of a trough. I slipped to the house and there were four "buttermilk hunters” [Yanks] eating at the table. I wanted to go in and try to kill all of them but the woman would not let me, and told me to hide until they left and then come back, which I did. After eating breakfast I started out again for the crossing afoot. When I got there I tried to go across on a log but could not make it, had to come back. I went up to a house close by and stayed till after dinner. I hid out in the grass thinking our own boys would come back that way. The Yanks had gotten in behind our boys, I heard later, and killed one of them as he stopped to get a drink of water.
When my company got to the house the woman told them that I was somewhere about so they left the horse for me and they went on and swam the bayou. I went up to the house and got the horse. I could hear and see the Yanks coming. I made for the bayou, got across just as the Yanks came up on the other side. They hollered when they saw me on the other side and asked me if I was the man they had killed, and I told them I was, they said if I would swim back across to them they would give me all the whiskey I wanted, and would not harm me. I told them no, I was afraid of them. They then told me if I would promise not to hurt one of them, they would send a man over and bring me a canteen of whiskey. I promised and a man came over and brought the whiskey and talked awhile, gave me the canteen and said "Goodbye" and swam back to his comrades and I went on. I came to the camp of my comrades that afternoon. Of course they all wanted a drink of my whiskey. I told them no, they were cowards and would not come across to my aid when I begged them to. I finally gave some of them a drink, but there was not enough to go around to all.

A STORY ABOUT DOC RAYBURN, MY FIRST LIEUTENANT:

We were camped about four miles from Devalls Bluff. Doc's girl lived about three miles on the other side of the town, she was very pretty and her folks were well off. She was invited to all the balls in the town. The Yankees were stationed in the town. She told Doc she was invited to a big ball. He told her to ask if she could bring a girl friend with her. The captain said it would be all right, they would be glad to have her. Doc goes to his girl's house dressed like another girl. The captain and colonel came out and Doc went with the captain and the girl with the colonel. They danced together nearly all night. When they got back home, Doc pulled his handgun and said, "My name is Doc Rayburn." The colonel and captain surrendered and came on to camp with Doc, laughing and talking, ate breakfast and spent part of the day with us, pulled off their uniforms, gave them to some of the boys, gave up their good horses, bridles and saddle, dressed in citizens clothes, took the worst horses we had and said they going back home never to fight again.

This joke and the next one I am going to relate, happened before we formed our regiment. We were just jumping about keeping the Yankees inside their lines. Another joke played on the Yankees: On White River below Batesville, we heard the Yankees were coming up the river in a transport boat, so we made a dummy cannon out an old elm log, put bands and wheels on it. When the boat came up we ordered them to surrender and come ashore or we would sink the boat. They landed, surrendered, marched off and stacked their arms. We got what we wanted off the boat and sank it, turned the men loose, told them to go home and we left for other parts.
Some historians tell us that Doc Rayburn died of tuberculosis. This is true, but it was while a prisoner in the Federal prison that this disease was contracted. When surrender came, Rayburn and his men were in a mountainous country, almost inaccessible and they would not come down. The Yankees sent word if they would come down and surrender, take oath of allegiance, they would be allowed to go home. Rayburn, taking them at their word, brought his men down and surrendered. All were allowed to go except Rayburn. He was thrown into prison and kept almost a year with no pretense of trial. When he became so emaciated from long confinement that he could not get about, they put him on the train and sent him to Devalls Bluff. I happened to be at the station when the train came in and I took him in my arms and placed him in a carriage and he was taken to the home of his sweetheart where he shortly passed away in the flower of his manhood, just another victim of the atrocious prisons of the North.

A STORY WHEN I FIRST JOINED McCOY'S COMPANY:

The first horse that I started out on was nearsighted, and I had a no horn saddle. We heard of some guerrillas up above Searcy in the mountains, so we started our journey.
Two miles this side of Searcy we ran upon the Yanks. They were in line and fired on us, and we fired back. Then we made our break to get away. I lost my hat and my saddle, but did not lose my gun. My horse ran out from under the saddle. We got about a mile down through the woods, and saw a man going ahead of us bent over on his horse. We fired down upon him, and kept going. One of our boys on the right saw him as he passed by them, and the horse fell, and both man and horse were dead. They didn't stop to take anything off him but kept going.
We were all making for White Oak Bottom, and an old white oak log, which was our meeting place. There was none of us missing. As we came along an old woman came out and gave me a hat. It was an old derby hat that had fell down, and was yellow. The next night Jim and I went home to get me a hat. We had this old hat with us, put it in the middle of the floor, and Jim played the fiddle and we danced around it like it was a scalp.
After that, the Yanks found out our stopping place by guerrillas. One dark night they knew where we were and were planning to catch us. The spy made a plan to catch us. In the night we heard something like cowbells coming toward us. We suspicioned that it was the Yanks. We got up and built fires and got on the side opposite from the side on which the Yanks were coming. As they rode up to the fires and thought they had us, we fired on them, and there was some scattering. We wounded one man, and he went to our home. They took him and dressed his wound and we went another way.

* * *

The following story is about some Negroes in West Point. They were blacksmiths. The Yankees would slip into West Point to find by them where we were located. We found out that they were giving us away, so we took them down to the river. There was a big log running out in the river, and we made them walk out on it. That was the last of them; they sank with bullets in them. After that we went in above Searcy in the mountains. We found three or four guerrillas up there. We came upon one just after he had robbed a woman. Jim Thompson was the fastest man in our company so he caught up with him and shot him, killing him. He brought the horse back to the company. He had a new saddle and bridle and the horse was a young one. As I had the poorest horse in the company, Captain McCoy gave the horse to me. The horse that I had been riding followed us home. This was the horse that they captured at Des Arc.
I have written a lot about bushwhacking. I will explain what is meant by bushwhacking. Our company was divided. McCoy -- had part of the company on one side of the Yankees' location, and Rayburn, a first lieutenant, had the other part. We were watching to keep the "buttermilk hunters” out of the county. We were on one side of the town and McCoy was on the other. Rayburn said, "Let's have a little skirmish with the Yanks today." We went toward West Point to have the skirmish. He put us all along the side of the road about 20 steps apart. When we were all placed they sent Jim down the line to see that we were all in the right place and were the right distance from the road. Jim was the last man on the road, to fire the first gun. Rayburn went up and began firing at the picket. Finally all the Yanks came down the road following Rayburn, with their sabers rattling. Rayburn kept shooting and staying ahead of them. When the last man came to Jim, he fired, and then we all fired down on them. Every sixth man held the horses in rear of us. When we fired, the Yanks were on the ground, some hit and some thrown off. Some of the horses were hit. We broke and ran for our horses and got away. They returned to the town and were reinforced and came back after us, spread out all through the woods. We went around behind them and shot into them again.
A funny thing happened at this time: Jim came down the line. He told that I was standing behind a little hickory tree about the size of my leg waiting for the Yankees. After we fired at the Yanks, got away, and got together again, the boys all teased me about it.