The war was over. The last charge had been sounded; the last shot had been fired. For four years the men of the South had fought bravely for their causes, had struggled and suffered and died at Bull run, at Manassas, and at Gettysburg. Now their cause and their beloved Southland was crushed, and they must return to their farms and homes and try to pick up the broken thread of life. In ones and threes and larger groups, the tired and grimy men straggled homeward from Durham, from Appomatox, from northern prisons. Some came by train and some walked. They were listless and dejected and beaten, but they were not, nor would they ever be conquered. They had fought well and had abeen beaten honorably. Now they came home to work and strive to play vital roles in the growth and development of their country. They brought strange and wonderful stories of war with them; stories that would enliven the long evenings for many years to come. Many names and many places were told about--JACKSON and STUART, Cemetery Ridge, and the Wilderness, and Shiloh--and among these remakable epics was that of Lucian MURRAY. At the outbreak of the war, Lucian MURRAY was a young man living in Alamance County. In 1862, he enlisted in the first North Carolina Troops. During the war, few men were in more battles and had more combat experience than he. He fought at Richmond; at Manassas; at South Mountain; at Charlottesburg; in the Vally of Virginia; at Chancellorsville, where he was wounded twice; in the Battle of the Wilderness; at Gettysburg; at Fredericksburg, where he again was wounded; at Mine Run; and at Appomattox. The young hero was captured twice but managed both thimes to escape. He was first taken by the "Yankees" while on a sharp shooting expedition with a hundred other men near Lettletown,Virginia. As the Northern troops were leading their prisoners away, MURRAY suddenly stepped out of ranks behind a white oak. Here he waited, watching for his chance to run. As he raised his arms to throw off his knapsack, the guards saw him and ordered him to surrender. Instead, he dropped his equipment and ran for his life. "I always believed I flew," he later told friends. "My toes just lightly hit the ground. The bullets whizzed about me. Every one that burnt me, I ran a little faster. I ran to the Rapidan River leaving Strawsburg to the right. I was making for the mountains on the other side . . . "It was dark now. Plunging into the river which was up a foot or two, I waded across. Grasping a bush on the opposite bank to pull up by, I pulled it up by the roots, causing me to fall backwards into the water. As I fell, I heard a Yankee speak . . . "' Do you hear that damned muskrat?' "I fluttered the water just like a muskrat. Changing my mind about landing, I waded down the river two miles, crossed and went up the mountain to its very top. Looking towards the south, I saw the white tents of an army . . . I knew them to be the enemy. "As I was looking out for a place to lie down, I ran upon three men asleep. They awork in panic and, throwing up their hands, surrendered. "'What command do you belong to?' I asked. "' To RIPLEY's brigade,' they answered . . . "How glad I was to see THEM! "I tramped about the mountain for six days before I got back to my outfit. I lived well--begging my living--and was treated well . . . When I finally rejoined by command at Gordonsville, I found that I had been ut on the dead list, reported as killed at Middletown. I soon corrected that. "(STOCKARD, Sallie. History of Alamance, Raleigh, 1900) MURRAY was captured again near the end of the war, and finding that his Union guard was unfamiliar with the territory they were in, the young Confederate led him into a nest of Confederate troops, where the captor in turn was captured. At the surrender at Appomattox,MURRAY shook hands with his commanding officer and told him goodbye. "I shall not surrender," he said. "I'm going home. I've been captured twice and got loose and I won't surrender now!" Nearby stood General Robert E. LEE. He overheard MURRAY's declaration. "Young man," he said, "you'll be taken and sent back!" "I'll risk that, sir," said MURRAY. "I'm going to walk home!" And he did. ==== NCORANGE Mailing List ==== Larry Noah - lrnoah@bigfoot.com - Listowner - NCORANGE mailing list Orange Co, NC USGenWeb site is at http://www.rootsweb.com/~ncorange USGenWeb Orange Co, NC Archives site is at http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/nc/orangnc.htm