Preface
The purpose of this narrative is to hand down to my children, and to present to my friends, an intimate, personal account of a life which has not been without interesting episodes, and which has been lived during the most eventful period that this Nation will, in all probability, ever know.
Though a large portion of my story will deal with incidents which occurred during the great sectional strife of the sixties, it is not intended as a history of that great calamity, but is meant, simply, to be an account of incidents with which the writer was personally associated.
The Great Strife which so nearly disrupted our country is over. For many years we of the South have been dwelling amicably with those of the North—this is as it should be. We are, united, the greatest country on the face of God’s footstool. And to both the North and the South belongs the credit.
The mistakes of certain Northern fanatics, which were not, I believe, dictated by general Northern sentiment, have long been rectified. The Government at Washington today is, I know, truly representative of the entire country. The tragic blunders which were evident in the South during what has been called the “Reconstruction Period” would not be possible today. The country has become a unit.
In perfect love and friendship for all the good people of the United States, irrespective of location, and with no sectional feeling other than an abiding love for my South, I write this story. I hope it may be found to be not without interest.
H. W. GRABER.