Civil War Soldier Andrew McTavish

[GreenKnight]

I dont know my Regiment or anything or when I was born. Mostly I remember feelings.

From dreams and flashes spanning most of my life, this is what I remember.

My name then was Andrew McTavish. I was born and raised in South West Virginia south of Roanoke. I lived on a farm on the edge of some woods. A stream ran by the house and there was a water wheel. I get the feeling the people that raised me were not my parents.

I joined up at 17, the reasons for the war were not important to me. I wanted to impress the ladies by being a soldier. Specially one lady named Elizabeth. It distressed me greatly that I could not write her after I left . I was illiterate.

But I was nobody's soldier anyway. I was overweight and nearsighted (I am still nearsighted in this life and have had corrective lenses since age 11) There were some soldiers from Georgia who teased me because of my age, weight and because I "could not grow whiskers" They were cruel in their teasing.

On my first battle at Cedar Mountain, I didnt get to fire a shot. I got so scared that I tried to run away but got confused and ran into a cornfield were the battle was taking place. I did not run away from the battle but Into the battle! There was a Big gated house beyond the cornfields.

There was a guy (in the cornfield) from my company. I think his name was Jacob. He was trying to run away too. He said something and I laughed. I was laughing when the Union man shot me in the back just above the waist. The Union man was very tall possibly an officer and had a fancy hat.

I saw myself on the ground and "Jacob" was running. The Union man was shooting but Jacob got away.

I went home after that but everyone was gone from the farm. I sat on a rock for a long time watching the waterwheel. It no longer moved and I was sad. Some black children came to the stream to get water. They were laughing and playing and I was sad that I had not lived my life.

One of the little black girls looked right at me and I tried to talk to her but she got scared and ran away. I dont know what happened after that.

 

[GreenKnight]

Photos


In my life as Civil War soldier Andrew McTavish I remember living in a little house at the edge of the woods in Virginia. The house had a water wheel. The family I lived with were not my parents. Their name was different from mine. That's all I knew.


Last Sunday, I helped a friend repair his elderly mother in law's clothes dryer. I did not know the lady previously and so had not of course ever visited her. We were in her laundry room fixing the dryer. I turned around to pick up a tool when I saw a calendar on her wall half hidden by some detergent boxes. It was a calendar called "American Spaces" turned to the current month of November. It was a picture of a house at the edge of some woods with a waterwheel.


I have to admit my eyes were moist. My heart was beating like a drum. I looked at the bottom right corner of the picture and it read "Mabry's Mill, Virginia".


The lady allowed me to take the calendar. I have it here now and it still gives me goosebumps.

 

[GreenKnight]

Physical resemblance


From what I can remember I have always been dark haired and dark eyed. Always. But that is only what I remember there is much I just don't remember.


As Andrew McTavish, Civil War soldier, I was well over 6 feet tall and heavy. As the English man who lived and died in the early part of the 20th century I was about maybe 5'5 or 5'6 and very slim. ( This time I am 5'10.) I did catch a glimpse of the Englishman in a dream once as he walked past a glass window. He had the same look in his eyes I see on the mirror every morning when I am shaving.