A real historical treasure

I love history. No apologies. What happened hundreds of years ago on the ground beneath my feet has always intrigued me. I love the area around Newberry because it is full of well-known history and some little-known historic surprises. That’s one of the great things about the Palmetto Trail. It introduces you to some real historical treasures. The Newberry Passage of the trail has its fair share of stories, and I’d like to share one with you.

One historical treasure, Newberry’s own Marie Boozer, someone who would go on to attain near legendary status — or notoriety, depending on how you look at it. Marie was reputed to have gorgeous wheat-colored hair, rosy cheeks, large lustrous hazel eyes, and was always impeccably attired. General William T. Sherman described Boozer as “beautiful” in his memoirs. Socialite Mary Chestnut, who kept a diary during the Civil War, wrote that Boozer was, “a beauty-that none can deny.” Chestnut also wrote, “Boozer…is always on exhibition.” Even General John S. Preston, of the elite Columbia family, described Boozer as, “the most beautiful piece of flesh and blood [he] had ever beheld.”

But all was not as rosy as it seemed within the Boozer household.

Mary Boozer was the daughter of Amelia Boozer, a beautiful woman in her own right, who had been widowed three times and estranged from her fourth husband by the time she was 31 years old. Mary, who called herself “Marie” is generally reported to be the daughter of Amelia’s second husband, Peter Burton, but was adopted by Amelia’s third husband, David Boozer. (Confused yet?) Amelia’s fourth husband Jacob Feaster apparently avoided the fate of her previous husbands, as she merely abandoned him when she left the state. He might have been the lucky one! Aside from the multiple husbands, Amelia was also an ardent Union sympathizer, which made her a pariah among the Southern citizenry.

Marie moved to Columbia with her mother and sister as a teen and was there during Sherman’s occupation. Her mother had high aspirations for her daughter and pushed her in front of everyone who was anyone, obviously hoping to help Marie climb the social ladder as high as she could. Amelia determined her best chance for that lay with the Union Army, so Marie and her mother were one of around fifty families that left Columbia with the Federal army when they marched northward after destroying the city. They rode near the front of the civilian column in a stylish black carriage.

Here is where it gets interesting. As the stories go, Marie was one of the infamous ladies that accompanied General Kilpatrick during Sherman’s 1865 march through the Carolinas. Kilpatrick developed a reputation as a lady’s man after his wife died in 1863, and some sources reported that several young women accompanied him on his North Carolina campaign. Kilpatrick was often noted riding with his feet dangling outside a buggy and his head resting on the lap of a woman. His companions are variously described as stranded schoolteachers, females dressed in men’s clothing (whom troops called Charley and Frank), and other disreputable characters. One persistent story, disputed as a legend by some historians, places Marie Boozer and her mother among this group

The confusion stems from conflicting reports about where Marie actually was during Sherman’s march. Sadly, these conflicting reports don’t let us say for certain whether she was present during one of the more humorous (for Southerners) and humiliating (for Northerners) stories of this campaign. For the first time since Atlanta, Confederate forces were beginning to converge in large enough numbers to contest Sherman’s progress. A combined cavalry force from General Wade Hampton, General Matthew Butler and General Joseph Wheeler learned that Kilpatrick was camped nearby at Monroe’s Crossroads, located inside the boundaries of what is now Ft. Bragg. Able to sneak right up to the campsite due to the laxness of the Union sentries, the Confederate cavalry charged at dawn. Hearing the noise, Kilpatrick hopped from a featherbed in the house and ran outside in his floppy nightshirt. Southern horsemen were racing into camp, slashing and firing as they came.

“It was the most formidable cavalry charge I ever saw,” Kilpatrick was to later write in his memoirs, and Kilpatrick had seen many a daring cavalry charge in those war years. Fearing for his life, Kilpatrick jumped on a nearby horse and escaped in his underwear, leading to the name “Shirttail Skedaddle.” The interesting twist here is that Kilpatrick reportedly had female company in the house, and that company was purportedly none other than Newberry’s dear Marie. Whether it was her or not (and there is mounting evidence that it probably was not) her reputation was such that folks were willing to believe it was her. Whatever the truth, the fact is that Sherman grew tired of her being such a huge distraction to his troops and ordered her to leave. Marie left the company of the Army at Fayetteville, N.C., and boarded a small steamer ship going north. After she left the Yankee army, Marie began the next chapter of a remarkable and romantic life. She wound up marrying a rich Northern businessman whom she quickly divorced. She then traveled to Europe and wed a French nobleman, becoming Countess de Pourtalès-Gorgier. She settled down in Europe and died in Italy in either 1908 or 1909. Thus ended the amazing life of Marie Boozer, a woman who is the center of multiple legends, scandals, and affairs. And she got her start right here in little ole’ Newberry.

As always, for more information about the Palmetto Trail, feel free to contact me at [email protected]. Happy hiking!