"In south Middle Tennessee and Lincoln County and neighboring North Alabama too there was a war within the war. After the battlefield hostilities ceased, the home front terror continued for half a decade. Too much blood and hatred, too, too much.
"One of our Colored, a new Freedman, was broken out of the county jail and hanged without benefit of his day in court." His eyes flashed. He looked hurt and lost. "The treatment of Elder Wyatt was an outrage, sir. Darnation twice they attacked him in his own home and beat him mighty severely on the second occasion. He was another friend, like Johnson, who was faithful and stayed with the Union." Now his countenance was one of deep sadness.
"Perchance you do know that one out of every 19 white southerners perished during the conflagration that was our great nation's unholy Civil War! Of all white men of military age, 25 percent were killed. As a whole, one of four participants in the war…Colored included…was left incapacitated by the butchery. It behooves you to know such if you are any sort of scholar, sir." His tone changed when he said that. His look was accusatory, implying that I was somehow involved in those awful times. Then his look changed and a hurt appeared in his eyes where anger had been. His tone and spirit changed. "Mr. George Stonebreaker died on April 28, 1865," He said, paused, and looked down toward the shadows before him. He remained silent for several moments before taking up his story again, "Dear Sir, the household was so very different. Cyrus and Mr. George were gone…and so too Rebecca". His mood was now distinctive melancholy.
Then he changed tack: "As I said Johnson was able to recover some of my property and to some of my library was returned by folks who'd found them along the roads, one even in a Nashville Pawn Shop. Johnson sent me enough money to survive and provided a loan to help reestablish my livelihood. I was able to practice law before any other former Confederate in the area due to my early pardon, so for a few years I practiced law. I made few courtroom efforts but dealt with more business related concerns: deeds, estates, wills, and such. When I'd built up a few assets, I applied myself to banking as the area was beginning its tedious recovery. I assisted in establishing the First National Bank in Fayetteville in 1873 and served as its first president."
It was full dark and the damp atmosphere had drawn my attention. My nose and feet were cold and my bottom nearly numb on the park bench. Mr. Jones seemed fired up for more conversation. I shifted my weight, shuffled my feet and rubbed my nose to ready myself for more of his tutorial.