>>I trust his word over any of the revisionist historians of today.<<
As well you should, and very few people today can say that. We are so far past the War between the States that revisionism by the conquerors rules - it always does. The victors write the history. There are a few books left with the truth in them about Lincoln’s war on civilians, but not many. God bless you, and be sure to document your great-grandfather’s recollections. Pass them on to your descendants.
Thank-you, and I will. I have been mocked online before when I tell what he said because it doesn’t allow for the narrative that all Southerners were demons, but I keep telling it. Most of my family live to be pretty old and I spent a lot of summers with my grand-parents in Chattanooga and my great-grandfather until he passed away in 1965. Chattanooga, and the surrounding area, is rich in Southern heritage. So many kids today don’t spend time with their grand-parents and they are missing so much. That is how history should be told. It comes naturally to my family I guess to tell stories from the past. My ancestors are Scottish/Cherokee. :-)