Does anyone know when the Yankees came through Cherokee Co? Was it during Streight's raid in Apr/May 1863? The following is from "Stories of Cherokee County and some of the men and boys that served in The War Between The States Sometimes called the Civil War" by Dixie Clifton Miller "George ASHLEY [1890-1982], grandson of William ASHLEY who married Jane SHAW relates that William ASHLEY who served in the War Between the States was wounded in the battle at Chickamauga and died. George ASHLEY said that he recalls his mother, Mrs. Joseph (Ella CHANDLER [1866-1956] ) ASHLEY telling about the Yankees camping at JORDAN's Grist Mill (some may know as NEWBERRY Mill) for two weeks. The Yankees were enroute to Rome in Georgia. Joseph ASHLEY [1857-1911] was eight years old. The Yankees destroyed the grist mill and everything that was left by the Confederate soldiers for their women and children was stolen or destroyed. The Yanks killed a two year old heifer of Jane ASHLEYs and cut the hind legs off and left the rest for the birds to eat. When the Yanks left their camping place, they left one morning about daylight. Some, those on horseback rode close to the road in the woods and those on foot took the road. Jane ASHLEY had cooked bread for her children that morning and had a pitcher of milk on the table when the foot soldiers came by and ate the bread and drank the milk not leaving the children a bite to eat. Jane ASHLEY saw what was going to happen and she got some of the food they had to cook and put it in a box and sat down on the box until they passed through which was dark. But when the next bunch came she wasn't so lucky. They took the pillow cases from the pillows, sifted corn meal from the barrel into the pillow cases. One soldier hung his sword up near a door while he sifted meal. Whit [1858-1928], Jane ASHLEY's little boy, climbed up the door and was reaching for the sword when Jane ASHLEY saw his intentions and ran to grab the sword. When she pulled him away, the lad was sobbing, "I was goin' cut his durn head off." Since the Yankees had destroyed JORDAN's Grist Mill and stolen all the corn Jane ASHLEY had to take a hammer and beat the corn into meal. So scarse was meal that she did not sift it. Wash ASHLEY [George Washington 1857-?] and his sister, Mary Jane (Molly) [1858-1939] children of Aaron ASHLEY had some pet chickens. The Yankees when they came by the Aaron ASHLEY place took a stick which they split in the middle, but didn't split to the end, they pulled the split open, stuck the chickens feet through the slit then released the split closing the chickens feet inside the split place. Wash and Mary Jane cried so and pleaded for their pet chickens that the Yanks told them to show them their pet chickens. Wash did and the Yanks let their chickens go free. They kept the rest. The other Aaron ASHLEY children, Jim [1864-1928], John [1859-?], watched the goings on. [note: I don't think this can be correct as James " Jim" ASHLEY was born at the end of the Civil War and would have been too young to watch what was going on. nkp] Thanks! Nicole Kilgore Pinson