FOREWORD
Elisha
Kane Sanders, a cattleman, sat tall in the saddle as he rode about the
countryside where he lived. He was
known far and wide, and friends waved as he passed by, often inviting him for a
cold drink of water and a visit.
He
was my grandfather, and in my memory of him, I see a tall man with a bushy
white moustache, wearing a white cattlemanÕs hat. Chances are he wasnÕt as tall in my memory because everyone
looks tall to a very small seven-year-old girl. I remember that his hands shook with Palsy – or
ParkinsonÕs – as he reached down in his pocket for a small coin to give
me along with a pat on the head when he came for a visit. I was so sad when he passed on, and I
was told that IÕd never see him again.
He
was one of the good guys. People
told me so then and years later whenever his name came up, for everyone who
lived in the area for any length of time knew the story of his father and
mother both dying during the Civil War, leaving him an orphan.
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As I learn more
about the Civil War, I believe it was the most devastating and painful time in
the history of our country. It is
a blot on our past that should never have happened. It was fought for a noble cause, but there should have been
a better way of solving the slavery issue. It is said that more than 600,000 soldiers died, and 200,000
civilians due to sickness, hunger, and various causes. It left the country much poorer in
health, wealth, and spirit; and
although it took many years, the people managed to claw their way out of the
rubble to become a better nation in the long run.