The following comes from an article published in Tippah County's Southern Sentinel on September 6, 1894:
The Death of Carry Ray (as told by W.M. Horton, an eye witness): "Two old men, Billy Holly and John Barnett accompanied by W. M. Horton, then a boy, had started through the Federal line with a wagon containing about 400 pounds of lint cotton. Their destination was Bethel, Tenn. The cotton was loose but trampled in the wagon bed and covered with a coverlet. On the road they met Captain [Sol] Street [of the Confederate Army] returning from a raid to Pocahontas [Tenn.] with five Federal prisoners. Street stopped the wagon and ascertaining its contents promptly struck a match and set it on fire. This he had orders to do from the Confederate govt. The owners of the cotton turned the bed off on the ground and emptied it of its flaming contents to prevent the wagon from being burned up and then returned home. Street's men proceeded on their way, with the Federal prisoners in front. As they approached the residence of an old gentleman named Carry Ray the latter caught sight of the prisoners and, thinking a Federal raid was coming, dashed out at the back door of his house and fled. Mr. Ray was dressed in blue jeans, was himself mistaken for a Federal soldier and fired upon and mortally wounded by a member of Street's company. Exactly who fired the unfortunate shot seems to be in doubt, some claiming it was Rolla White and others that it was another member of the company. Mr. Ray lingered in agony for two days and died. He was a brother of Ambrose Ray a noted Baptist preacher and grandfather of L.T. Ray, now dead, who married Miss Linnie Lowery [Lowrey] of Blue Mountain."
The Death of Carry Ray (as told by W.M. Horton, an eye witness): "Two old men, Billy Holly and John Barnett accompanied by W. M. Horton, then a boy, had started through the Federal line with a wagon containing about 400 pounds of lint cotton. Their destination was Bethel, Tenn. The cotton was loose but trampled in the wagon bed and covered with a coverlet. On the road they met Captain [Sol] Street [of the Confederate Army] returning from a raid to Pocahontas [Tenn.] with five Federal prisoners. Street stopped the wagon and ascertaining its contents promptly struck a match and set it on fire. This he had orders to do from the Confederate govt. The owners of the cotton turned the bed off on the ground and emptied it of its flaming contents to prevent the wagon from being burned up and then returned home. Street's men proceeded on their way, with the Federal prisoners in front. As they approached the residence of an old gentleman named Carry Ray the latter caught sight of the prisoners and, thinking a Federal raid was coming, dashed out at the back door of his house and fled. Mr. Ray was dressed in blue jeans, was himself mistaken for a Federal soldier and fired upon and mortally wounded by a member of Street's company. Exactly who fired the unfortunate shot seems to be in doubt, some claiming it was Rolla White and others that it was another member of the company. Mr. Ray lingered in agony for two days and died. He was a brother of Ambrose Ray a noted Baptist preacher and grandfather of L.T. Ray, now dead, who married Miss Linnie Lowery [Lowrey] of Blue Mountain."
The following comes from an article published in Tippah County's Southern Sentinel on September 6, 1894:
The Death of Carry Ray (as told by W.M. Horton, an eye witness): "Two old men, Billy Holly and John Barnett accompanied by W. M. Horton, then a boy, had started through the Federal line with a wagon containing about 400 pounds of lint cotton. Their destination was Bethel, Tenn. The cotton was loose but trampled in the wagon bed and covered with a coverlet. On the road they met Captain [Sol] Street [of the Confederate Army] returning from a raid to Pocahontas [Tenn.] with five Federal prisoners. Street stopped the wagon and ascertaining its contents promptly struck a match and set it on fire. This he had orders to do from the Confederate govt. The owners of the cotton turned the bed off on the ground and emptied it of its flaming contents to prevent the wagon from being burned up and then returned home. Street's men proceeded on their way, with the Federal prisoners in front. As they approached the residence of an old gentleman named Carry Ray the latter caught sight of the prisoners and, thinking a Federal raid was coming, dashed out at the back door of his house and fled. Mr. Ray was dressed in blue jeans, was himself mistaken for a Federal soldier and fired upon and mortally wounded by a member of Street's company. Exactly who fired the unfortunate shot seems to be in doubt, some claiming it was Rolla White and others that it was another member of the company. Mr. Ray lingered in agony for two days and died. He was a brother of Ambrose Ray a noted Baptist preacher and grandfather of L.T. Ray, now dead, who married Miss Linnie Lowery [Lowrey] of Blue Mountain."
The Death of Carry Ray (as told by W.M. Horton, an eye witness): "Two old men, Billy Holly and John Barnett accompanied by W. M. Horton, then a boy, had started through the Federal line with a wagon containing about 400 pounds of lint cotton. Their destination was Bethel, Tenn. The cotton was loose but trampled in the wagon bed and covered with a coverlet. On the road they met Captain [Sol] Street [of the Confederate Army] returning from a raid to Pocahontas [Tenn.] with five Federal prisoners. Street stopped the wagon and ascertaining its contents promptly struck a match and set it on fire. This he had orders to do from the Confederate govt. The owners of the cotton turned the bed off on the ground and emptied it of its flaming contents to prevent the wagon from being burned up and then returned home. Street's men proceeded on their way, with the Federal prisoners in front. As they approached the residence of an old gentleman named Carry Ray the latter caught sight of the prisoners and, thinking a Federal raid was coming, dashed out at the back door of his house and fled. Mr. Ray was dressed in blue jeans, was himself mistaken for a Federal soldier and fired upon and mortally wounded by a member of Street's company. Exactly who fired the unfortunate shot seems to be in doubt, some claiming it was Rolla White and others that it was another member of the company. Mr. Ray lingered in agony for two days and died. He was a brother of Ambrose Ray a noted Baptist preacher and grandfather of L.T. Ray, now dead, who married Miss Linnie Lowery [Lowrey] of Blue Mountain."
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