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Whitting H. Magee
Another veteran and Christian
gentleman sleeps the last long sleep till God shall cause the
last reveille to be sounded when we veterans and comrades of the
civil war will form company and be mustered into the new and
more blessed life of the Christian soldier. No, No I don't think
it will be in these time worn and scarred bodies, that have
served us so long in this life, but in a new and glorified body
in the image of our God.
Comrade Magee, a veteran of the
Civil War, after a protracted and painful illness, on the night
of June 11, 1915, at 12 O'clock am being 81 years, four months
and nine days old, crossed the river. The evil that separates
this life for probation from the higher and better life was
rended [sic] and his humble but loyal and upright spirit was
permitted to pass into the higher and better life.
He leavers to mourn his loss a
wife, three daughters, one sister, two brothers and a host of
relatives and friends. He has been my friend and neighbor for
nearly twenty-five years. We have lived in less than a mile of
each other without even a cross fence between us, without a
ripple of murmur. Comrade Magee was not possesses of an
abundance of this world's goods, but he was hard worker and
lived well and was hospitable and liberal entertainer and lived
to the Scriptural injunction, "Owe no man."
He was thrice married. He has
told me who was the wife of his young and strong manhood, but I
don't remember; but the result of this union was one son who was
killed in the service of the I.C.R.R. [Illinois Central
Railroad] and two daughters who with other loved ones stood by
with their great love and cheered and supported him in his last
battle.
Just as the deep an ominous
rumblings of the strife between the North and South began to be
indistinctly heard, his gentle spirited wife and mother was
called by God and the humble home was left desolate without a
mother or wife. But his sisters were loyal and helped him to
comfortably provide for their pledges of love. And the ominous
rumblings became more and more distinctly audible and this
Southland of ours began to realize of a truth, that the
fanaticism of the North was at our throat and sinister designs
and this was too much for the best and purist Anglo-Saxon blood
of the world and the young manhood of the South heard the call
of our Southland to arms and the response was almost unanimous
and instantaneous. Comrade Magee was one of the Spartan band
that answered this call. I do not recall the command he served
with, but he was with Joseph Johnston in the Georgia campaign,
was in the Peachtree street fight in front of Atlanta and was
severally and dangerously wounded in this fight, but his ardor
was not dampened. As soon as his wound was sufficiently healed
he was in with his command on the skirmish line doing yeoman
service.
Whitting Magee was one of that
strong populous Magee families that settled in Lawrence, Simpson
and Covington counties and did so much in giving cast and
prominence of the peculiar characteristics of the people of
those counties - frugality, hospitality and loyalty.
Comrade Magee was born in
Lawrence County on Silver Creek. He was one of the seventeen
children - thirteen boys and four girls. And listen, ten of
these brothers at the same time were in the army fighting the
higherling [sic] hordes of the North for a principle that the
whole nation now admits - State rights.
Comrade Magee was a life-long
member of the Baptist church, loyal and consistent. After the
war was over Comrade Magee married Mrs. Poll, mother of Mrs.
Barney Slay. His last and surviving wife was Miss Fannie Howell,
sister of Mr. Solon and Pink Howell and Mrs. Fogg of Crystal
Springs.
Comrade Magee was possessed of a
large per centage [sic]of Christian graces if not all. He was
born February 2, 1934 and died June 11, 1915.
Bye by, Friend and Comrade, will
miss you, but not for long.
J.B. Enochs |
