Remembering An Old Soldier, Erath County, Texas *********************************************************** Submitted by: William E. Porter Date: 2005 Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm *********************************************************** Photograph located at http://www.usgwarchives.net/tx/erath/military/civilwar/csa/csa.htm More information at http://www.usgwarchives.net/tx/erath/military/civilwar/csa/porter1.htm MONUMENT DEDICATION DECEMBER 19, 2004 ~ 2:30 PM. Remembering an old soldier By Joyce Whitis Contributing Writer In the past few months I have been privileged to connect with the families of two old soldiers, Raymond Maxwell who served in WWII, and Charles Hampton a soldier in the War Between the States. Both soldiers lived in Stephenville and both are buried here yet they lived and fought in very different wars some 80 years apart. There are many facets in the stories of these two soldiers to intrigue the mind and being granted a small part in their proper memorials makes me very proud. This newspaper has published stories concerning Raymond Maxwell, gunner on a Flying Fortress that was shot down in November 1942 and only recently had his remains returned to Stephenville for burial. That service took place yesterday at East End Cemetery in the Field of Honor reserved for soldiers. It was an emotional experience. The memorial for Charles Hampton, Co. H 35th Alabama Infantry and Co. F. 5th Alabama Cavalry, will be next Sunday, Dec. 1 9, at 2:30 p.m. in Ramsey Cemetery on the Lingleville Highway, three miles from Stephenville. Charles died in 1909 but it is only after the perseverance of his great-grandson and others that his final resting place is now marked with a headstone. On Sunday he will be given a service fitting for an old soldier. This is an opportunity to honor a soldier who fought for his country. I am always proud to honor our soldiers. My heroes are the soldiers who put their lives on the line for the rest of us. They are the defense that surrounds us always and keeps us safe. My hero is that soldier from Texas with the 4th Infantry division who poked his head into a hole on a farm near Tikrit, Iraq. He could have been met with a hail of AK-47 bullets. Instead, he found the grizzled and dirty former dictator, Saddam Hussein. There could never be enough gratitude shown for all our soldiers in all our wars. Yet, because the South lost the war, those veterans are sometimes ignored. Those gallant men fought to defend their country and are deserving of our honor and respect. Charles Hampton, veteran of the bloodiest war this nation ever experienced, enlisted March 11,1862, at Moulton, Alabama. On Jan. 28, he was a patient at the Confederate hospital at Enterprise, Alabama with “swamp fever.” After the fall of Vicksburg, Charles joined the 5th Alabama Cavalry and fought under the command of General Nathan Bedford Forrest. He was captured in 1864 by General W. T. Sherman’s army and taken to Union military prison Camp Douglas, Illinois. He was discharged June 17, 1865, several weeks after the war was over. He was on his own to find his way home, sick and without any money or food, he began to walk from Illinois eventually arriving home in Alabama. Finding his home and land in ruins, he came to Texas and settled on a farm between Stephenville and Lingleville where he died in 1909. Until just this month, his grave was marked with a rock. On Sunday his white headstone will be revealed, there will be a flag presentation, firing of rifles and cannon and speeches. You all come. ••• STEPHENVILLE EMPIRE - TRIBUNE NEWSPAPER