1864 Sunnyside continued-7

1864 Sunnyside continued-7

On November 15, 1864, William T. Sherman and his forces left behind a blazing trail of destruction as they departed the city of Atlanta, Georgia on their way to the Atlantic coast at Savannah. Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard led the right wing of Sherman's 60-mile wide column. On November 21st, Union cavalry captured a train full of military supplies near Griswoldville, setting fire to factories and homes in their wake. Fragments of Union soldiers began to raid and pillage homesteads in the area including Robert Paul's Plantation in Marion.

On that Monday afternoon of November 21, Robert and his employees had completed feeding the livestock when they heard the supper bell. Robert happily said, “Alright, everyone! Time to go and have something to eat! Let’s head to the table and break bread.” The workers, along with their families, could then be seen going to the community house to enjoy their supper.

As Robert made his way to the back porch of his home, he washed-up to get ready for Bessie's supper. The fragrance of a freshly smoked ham and the sight of fried okra, purple hull peas, fresh biscuits and an apple pie for dessert instantly filled the room as he walked in. His children soon followed, and in no time all of them had taken their seats at the table. It was all set for a delicious meal!

Robert tapped his tea glass gently to get his children's attention. He motioned for their heads to be bowed and he began to say grace, but was then distracted by the commotion outside in the yard. With a kindly tone, he asked Bessie and the children to wait here while he went to check out what was going on.

Robert had gone out of the house, and Bessie realized that she had forgotten to grab the pickled eggs from the cellar for their supper - which Robert loves. However, upon stepping outside, Robert was taken aback by the invasion of Union soldiers on their plantation. The soldiers were mercilessly slaughtering the livestock and had even lit the barn on fire! Just as he took this all in, Robert spotted a soldier throwing a torch at the window of their house. In a split second, he was dashing back to the house to make sure Bessie and their children were safe.

Robert rushed into the house, calling for his children to gather around him. When everyone was assembled, he asked if anyone had seen Bessie. The kids shook their heads no, looking a bit afraid; they had noticed the flames spreading through the house. In a calm, reassuring voice, Robert instructed them to stay close and follow him out.

Robert and his little one were walking carefully across the yard, attempting to stay clear of the Union Soldiers. He walked them to a place where he felt they would be safe, the south smokehouse, which was largely made of stone. He put them in, telling them to be very quiet and still, before turning back, intent on locating Bessie. By this point, the labourers had congregated around the well, but to no avail - their efforts to douse the fire were in vain; it had almost consumed the whole house. Fortunately, the north side was still untouched, and this was where the cellar was located.

As Robert approached the cellar door he heard Bessie screaming for help. He opened the door to find a cloud of smoke that had trapped Bessie inside, the stairs were damaged and there was no way for her to escape. Without a second thought, Robert sacrificed his own safety by using his belt as a rope. He laid down across the door frame and held one end as Bessie grabbed the other end and he pulled her to safety. Once she was clear of the cellar, his belt fell back down in the cellar. There was no time to grab his belt, he had to get Bessie and himself to safety as quickly as possible.

Robert and Bessie carefully navigated their way through the yard, trying to keep out of sight of the soldiers; then ducked behind a water trough for a while. During their brief stay Robert couldn't help but think of his belt. He felt a little guilty of his selfishness at this moment, due to the fact that it was a treasured family heirloom, and the buckle was crafted from pure silver and embossed with Robert's initials overlapping each other. But a crack of a rifle shot quickly brought Robert back to reality. He glanced at Bessie and exclaimed, "This is our opportunity to get to the smokehouse!"

Robert and Bessie arrived safely at the smokehouse, where they found all of the children present and well, aside from Margaret who was missing. Robert felt a huge lump form in his throat as he spoke up and asked aloud, "Where is Margaret?" Mindy remarked that Margaret had left earlier, as she had gone to warn Sallie at Sunnyside. Though they had begged her to stay, they could not convince her. At that moment, Robert was overwhelmed with emotion and slumped into a seat. Watching this unfold, the other girls began to cry.