Hide Article Text (OCR)
--7r Feed‘ The First’ and Last Shot, A The Story of the Great War 2 Between the States. + By Virge Moose, * A Private in Company C, 52nd Georgia Regiment, A Boy Reb, + A tale of all the battles he was + ” in and of his prison life. SHPTHPERECHEDS The above is the title page of a story which has a unique history. The story of the story is only equal led by the story Itself. The author is a plain old soldier of the sixties who was reared In Lumpkin county and went out with the first company that was ever mustered In Northeast Georgia north of the county of Clarke. He was born near the site of Auarla—In those days Nuckolaville —the town which disappeared, the town which In the forties had three thousand population and two panks and two newspapers, on one of which newspapers was used the printing press which was used in the office of the first paper ever printed on Geor gia soil. These Inccidental details are Interesting but they are not to the point. Virge Moose, boved last year to Gainesville. His wife is an invalid and he had not much of this world’s goods. He got a little place to live and in the front yard bullet a little store and put a sign up which reads: “Eatin' doin'a and some soap. It at tracted attention and he had a good trade. In his spare time he wrote with a pencil the story which ia the heart of this article. He gave the manuscript to Capt. C. A. Lily, who was well known In Athens, for his persoal and criticism. Capt. Lilly soon after he received the manuscript left Georgia and went to New York, where he had offices, and then to Bal timore. In the last named city he was taken il and died. Mr. Moose then began to look about for his man uscript. The children of Capt. Lilly knew nothing about It; the effects of Capt. Lillye were serrched in vain; no one with whom Capt. Lilly had been associated in the last few months of his life remembered to have seen the manuscript written by the mountain soldier, Mr. Moose had written In his straightforward, graphic, original style a number of war articles for the Constitution and the Sunny South and had been paid for them a rea sonable remuneration. He remem bered his cherished manuscript, “The First and Last Fight, and in his straightened circumstances he be lieved that he might be able to sell the “copy” to some publisher. He gave the work of discovering, if possi ble, the last manuscript to three law yers In Galneaville in succession. They wrote letters, made Inquiries, sent out tracers, advertised in the papera. But they did not find the manuscript. A representative of the Banner has found the long lost book and has i pew in his desk in the office of the newspaper on Lumpkin street In the city of Athens. He has made ar rangements with the author on con dition of discovering the manuscript to be allowed to publish In whole or In excerpts the unique, unusual story. Perhaps the Banner will some time in the near future contain some of the most Interesting chapters of this story with a story. It is not the work of a polished writer—it doesn't pre tend to be. It 's written from the viewpoint, a very unique viewpoint, by the way, of a mountain soldier-boy who had never been away from home till his country called him. These writings are a very part of his life. He cherished them above gold. They were worked out laboriously by the cabin fire-light in many and many a night of thought after a day of hard work. On the anniversary of the birth of the Chifain, Lee, whose standard hoe followed through the thickest of the fray, the Banner man In today enabled to send to Mr. Morse the good news that his precious man uscript has been found and so intact —await his instructions. Howt was found—that is another story, as Mark Twain sa:
Newspaper Details
Athens Weekly Banner
Athens, Georgia, US
Fri, Jan 21, 1910
Page 7
Full Page
Clipped by
Darrell C.
