"Devil Horse"

Have you ever learned that you had a relative or an ancestor named in a book? This is one of mine. His name was Nathaniel Green Rieves, or "Green". He fought in the Civil War. He was permanently crippled by a shot to the hip, but fought from horseback until the end of the war sent him home to sharecrop for the rest of his life. He is mentioned in "Co. Aytch: A Confederate Memoir of the Civil War" by Sam Watkins. He was called "Devil Horse". The book confirms some old family stories, exactly as they were told to me by my grandmother. He was eating with a group of men in camp one time, and a cannon ball bouncing through the group shattered a man's skull, killing him instantly. While other men sat in shock, spattered with blood and tissue, my great-great-grandfather quietly threw a blanket over the body, wrapped it, and took it away for burial. Brave man.

His family was interesting, if nothing else but in names. His father was Thomas Jefferson Rieves. His brother was Elijah Napoleon Bonaparte (or ENB) Rieves. I guess there were hopes for greatness in the family.

What they got was a lifetime of hard work. They lived on the Duck River, which is some absolutely gorgeous Middle Tennessee land- rolling hills, forests, river bottom land, good climate. I can see a bit of inherited stubborn tenacity coming from these hard-working people. I hope my work can be an extension and fulfillment of the aspirations their parents put into their names.