born April 1850, died October 1934
Matt was over 80 years old and suffering from his last illness when this photo was taken. He was well over six feet tall.
Antonio Madison "Matt"
Sheffield
born April 1850, died October 1934
Matt was over 80 years old and suffering from his last illness when this photo was
taken. He was well over six feet tall.
Antonio Madison Sheffield was too young to join the army during the Civil War. He kept wanting to sign up, but his mother would not sign for him. Finally, there was news of a big battle shaping up that was not too far away. Antonio, "Matt" as he was called, took one of the family mules and rode away to take part in the battle. He got there the day after it was over. He was 14 or 15 years old, or possibly younger.
He helped carry the wounded soldiers to the field hospital. He brought water to soldiers who hadn't been moved yet. He put wounded horses and mules out of their misery. There was one wounded man, still on the battlefield, who was in a lot of pain. His wound was such, that he couldn't live, but he might not die for days. He begged Matt to shoot him. Then he begged that a loaded weapon be put near him. Later, Matt heard a shot.
The sounds of wounded men and animals was horrible. The smells from the battlefield were horrible. Matt stayed on for several days cleaning up the battlefield. After that, his mother and grandfather had no trouble persuading him he was too young to join the army.
Matt very seldom spoke of his experience, but once when his granddaughter, Frances Sheffield, kept on begging him to tell her what it was like to live through the Civil War, he lost patience and told her, "This is what the war was like..." and described what has been written above.
He also told her that the dead and dying men on the battlefield all looked alike. You couldn't tell the northerners from the southerners, and they all looked like folks you would like to have called your friends.