Porch on an old hunting camp in Monroe County where many a hunt began
Throughout the South various subcultures impacted the years leading up to the war in a variety of ways. While the society of the time was influenced by many different factors, the effect of hunting on the Southern mindset and its effect on the war are often overlooked.
From the time the first settler crossed the Blue Ridge with a Kentucky Rifle in hand the South would forever be under the spell of the hunt. Early hunters took part in the deer trade, sold pelts, or trapped beavers for income. Just as important was the meat provided for the family dinner table.
By the time of the War Between the States hunting in the South had developed into an art form. A social order developed which was especially well defined regarding fox hunting. Aristocratic planters and politicians took part in elaborate fox hunts which were as much a social event as the sporting aspect attached to the hunt itself. It has been said Conecuh County Alabama had a yearly deer hunt which was a social event for the entire area.
The average farmer or settler would participate in nighttime coon hunts which were conducted under a tree lined canopy illuminated by a star lit sky or a full moon. Often these late night hunts would be accompanied by the occasional sip of whiskey or moonshine dispensed from a mason jar in order to ward off the night's cold. In more modern times, stories exist of some local men hunting the wet weather ponds around Canoe, Alabama for coons and possums in the late 1960s and 70s well equipped with shot gun and a bottle of spirits.
Perhaps the greatest influence hunting had on the war was on the famous rebel yell. Veterans described it as a sort of fox hunt yip. Others described it as a high pitch banshee squall that might have been used on a late night hunt. Regardless of the exact tone or pitch of the sound, the rebel yell struck fear in the hearts of the Yankee soldiers that faced it down on a thousand battlefields.
One Confederate veteran was asked to give a sample of the rebel yell to a United Daughters of the Confederacy gathering after the war to which he replied, "I can't do it with a stomach full of food and a mouth full of false teeth." The assertion being that the rebel yell was forever framed by the youth of the soldier and the desperation he faced.
After the war Confederate veterans returned to their farms and communities tucked away along the river banks and the tree lined ridges of the South. Many returned to their old past time of hunting. In their older age, many of these veterans would tell stories of long ago events on distant battlefields as a captivated audience of young faces listened in awe. Many of these stories were told by a fire as the men prepared for the next day's hunt.
Such stories most likely were told in places like Burnt Corn, Alabama at the Dixie Fox Hunting Club. The club was located on the site of the old Lowery plantation. The camp's exact age is unknown but Alabama and national fox hunting tournaments were held there as late as the 1970s. Today along the quite county road leading north from Burnt Corn the old camp stands idle, its old bunk beds covered in layers of dust which are decades thick.
Even though old camps like the one at Burnt Corn have become relics of a distant past the Southern tradition of hunting has transcended the years and continues to our present day world.
Shadows and Dust Volume III: Legacies is available for purchase in the amount of $30.00+$5.00 shipping and handling to PO Box 579 Atmore, AL 36502 or visit Lulu Publishing.com; Amazon.com, Barnes and Nobles.com OR at the Monroe County Heritage Museum in Monroeville, Alabama or by calling 251 294 0293.
The William Carney Camp, Sons of Confederate Veterans is proud to announce it will hold a clean-up of Bowman Cemetery at Wawbeek on Saturday March 23, 2019 from 8am-1pm. Confederate veteran A.M. Lowery Sr., is buried at the cemetery and the area marks the site of historic Evansville, Alabama.
