Mr. and Mrs. Lemuel Austin Hendrix
It's a time honored tradition on Thanksgiving to enjoy a meal with loved ones and, as we age, traditions with loved ones become all the sweeter as the years pass by like a river.
Yet it's easy to take for granted that a hot meal, with turkey and fixings, will be waiting when we come out of the woods at dinner time on that special day. It's special for a lot of reasons but not the least of which is the easing of the climate from the oppressive summer to the milder fall, the slight changing of leaves in our area and being together with those closest to us.
As a reminder to not take that plate of turkey for granted, I looked back at what some of our ancestors went through during The War Between the States. Especially a November date where Lt. Rumbley of Monroe County found himself seated at history's table where duty and sacrifice were common virtues among that very uncommon generation.
Mr. Heck Rumbley was 78 years old in 1966 when he was interviewed by The Monroe Journal in regards to his father's service in the war. He noted that his father walked to Old Scotland Church and enlisted in service on September 6, 1861, Company H, 17th Alabama Regiment, and marched off to war with the Scotland Company to Evergreen and then to Montgomery.
Lt. Rumbley recounted to his son many stories of the war, some sad, others funny and some illustrate the stark horrors of war such as a story about the Battle of Franklin Tennessee which was fought on November 30, 1864 and resulted in the death of thousands of men on both sides.
"The most horrible story I ever heard him tell was about the desperate Battle of Franklin, where the soldiers became so hungry they cut up a horse that had been dead for days and ate it...and when they dug ditches to set up breastworks, the blood oozed down the ditches where the trenches were made. He said the dead lay stacked in piles."
Lemuel Hendrix of Mexia, Alabama spent several autumn seasons at war. He volunteered in Co. E, 23rd Reg. Ala. Vol. August, 1861. He was a member of the Monroe Rebels organized in Monroe County, armed with double barrel shotguns and bayonets. Embarking on the steamer Hudson, he travelled up the Alabama River to Camden, they encamped there until mustered into service at Montgomery, in October 8, 1861.
Mr. Hendrix participated in many battles and twice fell into enemy hands. First he was taken prisoner at the Siege of Vicksburg, and then, after having been released, returned to his regiment where he fought under Hood at the Battle of Franklin. He also fought at Shiloh, Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. He had a brother, William James, who was killed at his side when shot by a cannon directly in the forehead while firing at the enemy from behind a rail fence. His brother Henry Jacobs was also killed. His brother John was shot in the hip at Vicksburg and was listed as living at Poarch at the end of the war in that he was on a medical furlough.
Mr. Hendrix returned from the war and ran a store in the Monroe County area.
Hendrix and Rumbley were blessed to have many Thanksgiving meals after the war. It is almost certain they reflected on loved ones and friends who did not return from those brutal years as they shared their fireside with the living. These were good men, who did their duty and fought for their families, their homes and their state. As we set down to the Thanksgiving meal with the ones we love and reflect on all we have to be thankful for, give some thought to Lemuel Hendrix and Lt. Rumbley and the journey they made through life in that long ago era.
Available now: The Butler Street Chronicles; Selected histories of the communities surrounding Butler Street and will include information on settlers at Steadham, Pond Fork, Sizemore, Sardine, Butler Street, Hollinger and other communities along this route. Pick up your copy for $15
Vote for and support the Canoe Landmark District referendum on the 2020 ballot. Call for more details.
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.
