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diff --git a/15829.txt b/15829.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8b10985 --- /dev/null +++ b/15829.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11228 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Memories, by Fannie A. (Mrs.) Beers + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Memories + A Record of Personal Experience and Adventure During Four Years of War + +Author: Fannie A. (Mrs.) Beers + +Release Date: May 15, 2005 [EBook #15829] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEMORIES *** + + + + +Produced by Suzanne Shell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + +[Illustration: (FROM A PHOTOGRAPH BY WASHBURNE.) +MNEMOSYNE +(The Goddess of Memory.)] + + + +MEMORIES. + +A RECORD OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND +ADVENTURE DURING FOUR YEARS OF WAR. + + + +By + +MRS. FANNIE A. BEERS. + + + +Press of J.B. Lippincott Company, +Philadelphia. +1888. + +Copyright, 1888, by Fannie A. Beers. + + + +TO + +"THE BOYS WHO WORE THE GRAY," + +WHETHER THE LOFTY OR THE LOWLY; EQUALLY TO THE SURVIVING HEROES WHO +STAND BEFORE THE WORLD IN THE LIGHT OF A GLORY NEVER SURPASSED, AND +TO THE MARTYRS WHOSE PATRIOT BLOOD AND SACRED GRAVES HAVE FOREVER +SANCTIFIED THE LAND THEY LOVED, + +THESE "MEMORIES" + +ARE RESPECTFULLY AND LOVINGLY DEDICATED. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +For several years my friends among Confederate soldiers have been +urging me to "write up" and publish what I know of the war. By +personal solicitation and by letter this subject has been brought +before me and placed in the light of a duty which I owe to posterity. +Taking this view of it, I willingly comply, glad that I am permitted +to stand among the many "witnesses" who shall establish "the truth," +proud to write myself as one who faithfully served the defenders of +the Cause which had and has my heart's devotion. I have tried to give +a faithful record of my experiences, to "nothing extenuate nor aught +set down in malice," and I have told the truth, but not always the +whole truth. A few of these "Memories" were originally written for the +_Southern Bivouac_, and are here republished because my book would +have been incomplete without them. + +I am very inexperienced in the business of making books, but relying +with confidence upon the leniency of my friends, and feeling sure that +I have no enemy who will savagely rejoice that I have written a book, +I make the venture. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +Introductory + + +PART I. + +CHAPTER I. +Alpha + +CHAPTER II. +Alabama + +CHAPTER III. +Buckner Hospital, Gainesville, Alabama + +CHAPTER IV. +Ringgold + +CHAPTER V. +Newnan, Georgia + +CHAPTER VI. +Omega + +CHAPTER VII. +Confederate Women + +CHAPTER VIII. +An Incident of the Battle of the Wilderness + +CHAPTER IX. +Fenner's Louisiana Battery + +CHAPTER X. +"Bob Wheat" + + +PART II. +FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. + +CHAPTER I. +Nelly + +CHAPTER II. +Brave Boys + +CHAPTER III. +The Young Color-Bearer + +CHAPTER IV. +Bravery honored by a Foe + +CHAPTER V. +Sally's Ride + +CHAPTER VI. +High Price for Needles and Thread + +CHAPTER VII. +Bunny + +CHAPTER VIII. +Beauregard + + +PART III. +AFTER TWENTY YEARS. + +CHAPTER I. +"My Boys" + +CHAPTER II. +The Confederate Reunion at Dallas + +CHAPTER III. +Camp Nichols + +CHAPTER IV. +The March of Time + +CHAPTER V. +A Woman's Record + + + + +INTRODUCTORY. + + +Among those who early espoused the Southern Cause, few, perhaps, were +more in earnest than my husband and myself. Our patriotism was at the +very outset put to a crucial test. The duties of a soldier and a +civilian became incompatible. Being in ill health, it was thought best +that I should go to my mother at the North for awhile. My husband, +after preliminary service with the "Minute Men" and the State troops, +as a member of Company A, Crescent Rifles, was, with this company, +regularly mustered into the Confederate service in April, 1861, and +left for Pensacola, Florida, where the Crescent Rifles, with the +Louisiana Guards, Orleans Cadets, Shreveport Guards, Terrebonne +Rifles, and Grivot Guards, were organized into the Dreux Battalion. It +was then supposed that "the affair" would be "settled in ninety days." + +From my house of refuge I watched eagerly the course of events, until +at last all mail facilities were cut off, and I was left to endure the +horrors of suspense as well as the irritating consciousness that, +although sojourning in the home of my childhood, I was an alien, an +acknowledged "Rebel," and as such an object of suspicion and dislike +to all save my immediate family. Even these, with the exception of my +precious mother, were bitterly opposed to the South and Secession. +From mother I received unceasing care, thorough sympathy, surpassing +love. During this troubled time a little babe was born to me,--a tiny +babe,--who only just opened its dark eyes upon the troubled face of +its mother to close them forever. + +The guns of Sumter, reverberating throughout the North, "stirred a +fever in the blood of age" and youth alike. Fanatics raved more wildly +than ever, while those who had hitherto been lukewarm hastened to +swell the cry of horror and fury which everywhere arose at this +"insult to our flag." This feeling found vent in acts of oppression, +met by prompt and determined resistance, and thus was inaugurated the +fratricidal strife which was for four years to desolate the land. + +Rumors of an engagement in Virginia intensified my suspense until it +seemed unbearable. One day I received a kindly warning from an old +friend concerning a small Confederate flag which had been sent to me +by my husband. It was a tiny silken affair, which I kept in my +prayer-book. This harmless possession was magnified by the people of +the town into an immense rebel banner, which would eventually float +over my mother's house. I had still a few friends whose temperate +counsel had hitherto protected me. The note referred to warned me that +while I retained possession of the flag I might at any time expect the +presence of a mob. I would not have destroyed my treasure for worlds, +and how to conceal it became a subject of constant thought. The +discovery one day of a jar of "perpetual paste" in mother's secretary +suggested an idea which was at once carried out. Applying this +strongly adhesive mixture to one side of the flag, I pasted it upon +the naked flesh just over my heart. One morning the mail brought +certain news of a Confederate victory at Big Bethel. This so +exasperated the people that on their way from the post-office an +excited crowd halted under my window, crying out, "Where's that rebel +woman?" "Let's have that flag," "Show your colors," etc. Carried away +by intense excitement, I threw open the blinds, and, waving the +newspaper above my head, shouted, "Hurrah! Hurrah for Big Bethel! +Hurrah for the brave rebels!" A perfect howl of rage arose from below, +and greater evil might have befallen but for the timely appearance of +the venerable village doctor, who now rode hastily in among the +excited men, and, standing up in his buggy, cried out, "Friends, she +is but a frail, defenceless woman. Be thankful if your morning's work +be not her death." Slowly and sullenly the crowd dispersed, while the +good doctor hastily ascended to my chamber. I lay with fevered cheeks +and burning eyes among the pillows where my mother had placed me. The +terrible excitement under which I labored forbade all blame or any +allusion to my act of imprudence. I was soothed and tenderly cared for +until, under the influence of a sedative, I fell asleep. + +Early next morning the doctor appeared at my bedside. Meantime a +change had come over me. I seemed to have lost the nervous +excitability of a girl and to have become a woman, full of courage and +hope. Dr. ---- regarded me steadily for a moment; then,--"Ah! better +this morning? That's my brave girl." Meeting his gaze fully, I +replied, "I shall try henceforth to be brave, as befits the wife of a +soldier." A frown appeared upon the doctor's brow. Tenderly placing +his hand upon my head, he said, "My child, I fear your courage will +soon be put to the test. Your own imprudence has greatly incensed the +town people. Danger menaces you, and through you, your mother. +Fortunately, the friends of your childhood still desire to protect +you; but your only safety lies in giving up the rebel flag which it is +said you possess. Give it to me, Fannie, and I will destroy it before +their eyes, and thus avert the threatened danger." I only smiled, as I +replied: "Dr. ----, since the rebel flag has existed, I have cherished +it in my heart of hearts. You may search the house over; you will find +no flag but the one I have here," placing my hand on my heart. The +good man had known me from childhood, and he could not doubt me. He +questioned no further, but took his leave, promising to use his +influence with the incensed villagers. They, however, were not so +easily convinced. They had been wrought up to a state of frenzied +patriotism, and declared they would search the house where the +obnoxious flag was supposed to be. Dire threats of vengeance were +heard on every side. At last a committee was appointed to wait upon +"_the traitress_" and again demand the surrender of the flag. It was +composed of gentlemen who, though thorough and uncompromising "Union +men," were yet well known to me, and were anxious, if possible, to +shield me. They were admitted to the room, where I calmly awaited +them. I reiterated the assertion made to the doctor, so calmly, and +with such apparent truth, that they were staggered. But they had come +to perform a duty, and they meant to succeed. They convinced me that +the danger to myself and to the house of my mother was real and +imminent, but I only repeated my assertions, though my heart throbbed +painfully as I saw the anxiety and trouble in mother's face. Suddenly +I remembered that I had in my possession a paper which, just before +all mail communication had ceased between the North and South, had +been sent to me for the purpose of protection. It was simply a +certificate of my husband's membership and good standing in a Masonic +lodge, and had a seal affixed. As I called for the portfolio, all eyes +brightened with expectation of seeing at last the "rebel flag." +Drawing forth from its envelope the fateful document, I said, "I was +told to use this only in dire extremity; it seems to me that such a +time is at hand. If there be any virtue in Masonry, let it now protect +me and the roof which is at present my only shelter!" + +Thus speaking, I handed the paper to one whom I knew to be a prominent +Mason. The certificate was duly examined and, after a short +conference, returned. "We will do our best," said the spokesman of the +party, and all withdrew. The day passed without further trouble, and +as I sank to sleep that night there came to me a feeling of safety and +protection, which was indeed comforting. + +Weeks passed, during which I slowly but surely gathered the strength +and health necessary to carry out the resolution lately formed, to +join my husband, and, if might be, to labor for the cause so loved. +The unceasing ministrations of my mother strengthened alike soul and +body, but as I read in that dear face a love and devotion which could +never fail, my heart felt many a bitter pang at the thought of the +parting that must be. + +One evening, having found the courage necessary to tell mother of my +plans and hopes, to my surprise the noble woman heard me calmly. "I +had expected this," she said. "It is right--you must, go; but, oh! not +now--not soon," and in uncontrollable agitation she left the room. +Two days later the subject was resumed. Ways and means were discussed. +The mother's face grew paler as that of her child brightened and +glowed with returning health and hope. She pleaded to keep my little +boy, but fearing lest his young heart might receive, among the enemies +of Southern liberty, impressions which could not be effaced, I decided +that he must not be left. + +Upon the eve of the battle of Manassas we started on our hazardous +journey. The utmost secrecy had been observed. No baggage could be +allowed. My thoughtful mother converted quite a large sum into gold, +which, stitched into a broad belt, was sewed around my waist. One +bright morning mother and I, with my boy, seated ourselves in the +carriage as if for our usual drive. There was no leave-taking, no +appearance of anything unusual. Once on the road, we were rapidly +driven to a railroad depot in a distant town; there I took the train, +while my poor mother returned homeward alone. + + +Arrived in Baltimore, we found ourselves among those whose hearts were +filled with ardent love of "the Cause," and bitter hatred for the +soldiers who had, in spite of their heroic resistance, so lately +passed through the streets of the city on their way to subjugate the +South. "The rebel" was enthusiastically received. All were ready to +assist her, but at this juncture it seemed impossible to pass the +Federal lines. + +The great battle of Manassas had been decided. The wildest excitement +prevailed. Flying soldiers were everywhere. Almost every hour the +sound of fife and drum was heard, as shattered regiments and decimated +battalions marched through the streets. Although all expression of +feeling, among the citizens, was sternly repressed, the mask of sullen +indifference was known to be _but_ a mask. Hearts beneath were +bounding with pride and joy and hope. Almost without exception, houses +were closed and devoid of all appearance of life. Yet behind those +closely-shut blinds women embraced each other with tempestuous joy, or +paced the floor in uncontrollable agitation, or knelt in earnest +prayer, mingling thanksgivings with agonized petitions for those whose +fate was yet unknown. Mothers, sisters, wives, strove, with trembling +lips, to comfort each other, bidding the voice of patriotism be heard +above the "tempest of the heart." In the midst of all this excitement +my interests were never lost sight of. Secret meetings were held, and +various plans discussed. At last, one day a note was received inviting +me to spend a social evening at the house of "one of the faithful." A +casual observer would have discovered nothing more than a few lines of +invitation, still the paper bore a private mark which made my heart +beat with hope. + +Arrived at the house indicated, where seemed to be only an ordinary +gathering of friends, I found it difficult to appear at ease, and +watched eagerly for developments. Not a sign or a word was given, +however, until after supper, when the ladies repaired (as usual) to +the dressing-room up-stairs to rearrange their toilets. Instead of +entering with the rest, the hostess, by a slight pressure of the hand, +indicated to me that I was desired to pass on and up a second flight +of stairs. + +We did so unnoticed, and soon entered a small room in the third story, +where were found waiting a few friends, among them a captain and clerk +of a steamboat which was expected to leave in three days for Newport +News with United States troops to reinforce Colonel Phelps at that +point. Here appeared to be a chance, but a hazardous one, since the +officers of the boat must not evince any interest in their passenger, +and could afford no assistance or protection among the rough soldiers +who would crowd every available foot of room. They must appear as good +Union men, engaged in transporting troops to assist in quelling "the +rebellion." In case of any rough treatment of the "rebel woman," they +could only appeal to the officers in charge of the troops, and the +result of such an appeal, in the present state of feeling, would be +doubtful. The boat was not a passenger steamer, and had only two or +three small staterooms, occupied by its officers. These might be +required by the military commanders. Instantly, and unhesitatingly, I +decided to make the trial. We ladies then descended to the parlor, +while one by one our friends were conveyed out of the house. + +A new difficulty at once arose; a friend had applied to General Scott +for a pass--unsuccessfully. The precious hours were passing, and +failure seemed imminent. This difficulty was increased by the fact +that I had undertaken the charge of Jemmy Little, a boy of ten, who, +having lingered too long at school in Baltimore, had been cut off from +his family in Norfolk, and being desperately unhappy, had implored to +be included in the plans formed for me. He was to pass as my brother, +and, having once promised, I could not disappoint him, especially as +his waking hours were spent by my side, his hand often nestling into +my own, his large wistful eyes questioning my face, as if dreading to +find there some evidence of hesitation or change of purpose. + +One day passed. At evening, as I was anxiously pacing my room, my +hostess hurriedly entered, exclaiming, in agitation, "Your brother +awaits you in the drawing-room. I _could_ not welcome him. I _will +not_ see him. Only for your sake would I allow a Federal soldier to +cross my threshold; but he is your brother; go to him." + +Trembling with excitement, I descended to the parlor, where I found my +brother,--a mere boy yet,--wearing the uniform of a Federal officer. + +"Sister!" "Charles!" each cried, and no further greeting passed +between us. The boy stood with folded arms, looking proudly, yet +tenderly, at me, his only sister, all the brave ardor of a soldier who +believes in the cause he serves revealed in his handsome young face. I +sank into a chair and covered my face, that I might shut out the sight +which so pained me. The interview that followed was long. Finding that +my brother not only approved the determination to join my husband, but +was able and willing to assist in obtaining the necessary pass, I told +him of my wish to have it in possession by the next day, and received +his promise to send it, if possible. He was going to "the front," and +overcome by the thought that I might never see him again, I threw my +arms around his neck, while tears fell fast upon the blue uniform, and +so, with a last embrace, we parted. + +The pass, embracing "Mrs. Beers, _brother_, and child," was +forthcoming next day, and the same afternoon I, with my boys, set +forth unattended for the boat. No sign of recognition passed between +the captain and ourselves as we were conducted to the upper deck, and +seated under the awning. Soon the sound of drum and fife announced the +approach of the troops. A regiment of blue-coated soldiers appeared on +the wharf, and directly they marched on board. Witnessing their +embarkation, I could not repress a feeling of extreme uneasiness, +which increased as officers and men appeared on every side. They were +so many: I was the only woman on the boat. Sitting motionless, with +veil closely drawn, holding my boy on my lap, while poor Jemmy nestled +close to my side (valiant in feeling, but of boyish appearance, and +looking even smaller beside the tall soldiers), I hoped to pass +unobserved, but soon after the boat left the wharf found myself +subjected to rude stares and ruder remarks, and at last was forced to +seek the clerk to beg that I might find shelter in one of the little +state-rooms. All were taken by the officers, who seemed utterly +indifferent to the forlorn condition of "Madam Reb." At last the clerk +(after a short consultation with one kindly-looking officer, who, +however, seemed half ashamed of the kindness of heart which contrasted +so finely with the rudeness of his comrades) led the way to a room +below,--small, and close, _but a shelter_. Here he placed us, having +locked us in to prevent intrusion. The boys soon fell asleep, but I +passed the night in listening to the ceaseless noises outside. + +Morning found the boat at Fortress Monroe, whence, after a short +delay, she proceeded to Newport News. + +Under pretence of guarding well the "female rebel," the good clerk +escorted us to the officers' quarters. Here my pass was examined +closely; many questions were asked and answered. Still, the result +seemed doubtful; means of transportation were wanting. The colonel in +command was inclined to be suspicious and sternly unsympathetic. While +standing tremblingly before those whose adverse decision would, I +knew, crush all my hopes, one of the officers espied around my neck a +slender black chain, and demanded to know what it held. Instantly hope +returned: I drew from my bosom a small case enclosing the Masonic +document before mentioned. As at my mother's house, it was examined +and returned without comment. An hour later, however, a plentiful +repast was set before us, after which a covered ambulance appeared, in +which was placed for my comfort the only arm-chair the camp contained. +Soon, attended by an officer and a guard of Federal soldiers, our +little party entered upon the last stage of our journey to the +Confederate lines. + +The route lay amid scenes of desolation sadder than anything I had +ever dreamed of. Fields, which a few short weeks before had given +promise of a rich harvest, were laid waste. Here and there tiny +columns of smoke arose from the smouldering ruins of once happy homes. +The heat and dust were almost insufferable, but as the sun declined a +cool breeze sprang up, and later a flood of moonlight clothed the +landscape with a mystical beauty. It shone coldly on the few deserted +homes which the hand of the destroyer had spared, and to me it seemed +that its silvery rays were like the pale fingers of a mourner who +places white wreaths upon the grave of love. In the soft wind I heard +only moans and sighs. + +The children slept soundly in the straw at the bottom of the +ambulance, and soon the steady, monotonous tramp of the guard lulled +me also to rest. We approached the Confederate lines just at sunrise. +A flag of truce was unfurled, and at once answered by an officer on +picket-duty. A short parley ensued. At a word of command the Federal +guard fell back and were replaced by Confederates. A moment later, I, +with my charges, descended, to be greeted with enthusiasm, tempered +with the most chivalrous respect, by the "boys in gray," who proved to +be members of the battalion to which my husband was attached, and who +at once relieved my fears by assurances of his safety. It was a +supreme moment, such as comes seldom in a lifetime, and yet a time for +stern self-repression. + +The emotions of a heart at rest, after trials so sore, were too sacred +to find expression. + +I gazed around me in silent ecstasy. It seemed to me that the sun had +never shone so brightly, or on a scene so lovely. Noting the manly +faces and noble bearing of those who wore the gray, I felt that the +purple and ermine of kings could not have clothed them half so +magnificently. And, oh I how delicious and appetizing seemed "the +rations," which, though simple, were served under those green trees +with the earnest, genuine hospitality which is so well described by +the term "Southern." + +The camp being several miles distant, nothing remained but to wait +patiently for some means of transportation. It was near sunset when +the loud singing of a negro driver was heard. Soon he appeared upon a +novel conveyance,--a rough, unplaned board or two on wheels and drawn +by a single ox. Unpromising as this "_turnout_" appeared, we were +informed that it was a "Godsend," so we joyfully mounted the cart, a +soldier being detailed to accompany us. My little son was made +supremely happy by being invited to sit upon the lap of the driver, +whose characteristic songs beguiled the way through the shadowy woods. +Within a few miles of camp the challenge of a sentry was heard; half +an hour later we found ourselves among the tents of the Dreux +Battalion. + +My husband was "on guard," perhaps thinking sadly of his absent wife +and boy, certainly never dreaming they were so near. As the ambulance +drove into camp it was at once surrounded by soldiers, both officers +and privates. As soon as my name was known, some one who evidently +appreciated the situation rushed off in hot haste to notify and +relieve the soldier most interested. Meantime a dozen hands clasped +mine in kindly greeting. To whom they belonged I could not tell, for +the dense shade shut out the moonlight, and seen by the light of the +camp-fires, disguised as each one was in the rough garb of a soldier, +my quondam city friends wore quite unrecognizable. + +I will leave to the imagination of the reader the happy meeting +between long-parted ones and the many caresses showered upon our +child. + +I had expected nothing better than to spend the night in the ambulance +or under a tent, and would have taken great pride in "camping out," +but the chivalrous officers in command would not hear of such a plan. +Their quarters (two rooms in a little log house) were instantly +vacated, and I had scarcely descended from the vehicle when a negro +man appeared, to bring a message. "De Major's compliments, mistis, and +_de room am ready_." I could not have been bidden to a luxurious +apartment with more ceremony. + +The next morning the shrill sound of the fife and the drum beating the +"reveille" aroused us, and we were up with the sun. + +The scene was entrancing; to me particularly so, for the white tents +gleaming among the trees reminded me that I was among _Southern +soldiers_. As they strode to and fro with martial air, fully armed and +equipped to answer roll-call, or bent over the camp-fires preparing +breakfast, it seemed to me that no such splendid soldiers were ever +before seen. Several invitations to breakfast were received; that of +the officers' mess, having been first, was accepted. + +Major ---- came in person to escort his guests to a lovely spot near +the cabin, where, under a large shady oak, upon a table of rough +boards covered with a nice white cloth, a delicious meal was set, +consisting of broiled chickens, omelet, fragrant coffee, buttermilk, +corn bread, and batter-cakes. A likely young negro boy attended at +table, industriously flourishing a green branch to keep away the +flies, and seemingly delighted to show off his company manners. + +After breakfast I sat long upon the little gallery of the log cabin +entertaining soldier visitors and enjoying the situation with all my +heart. I soon discovered, however, an air of sadness and restraint +which was unaccountable until my husband told me of the death of the +gallant Dreux, the first martyr of the war. Ah! then I knew. Struggle +as they might, their brave hearts were wrung with anguish, for their +gallant leader had succumbed to the only conqueror he ever knew. The +impassioned oratory that had never failed to fire the hearts of men +was hushed forever. The ardent patriotism ever prompting to deeds of +daring was now only a memory. The brilliant intellect and +administrative ability so early recognized, so highly valued, were +lost to the Confederacy. + +I no longer wondered that manly brows were clouded, or that the eyes +of soldiers moistened, as, even amidst pleasant conversation, a sudden +remembrance of their loss overcame them. For them the memory of that +death-scene was fresh. The echo of his last brave words had not yet +died away: "_Steady, boys_, steady," as if he would have said, "Let +not my fate appall; _still_ do your duty." + +Before the sun was high the ambulance reappeared to convey our party +as far as Williamsburg, where young Little was to remain until he +could hear from his father; I and my boy were to go on to Richmond. My +husband was granted a furlough of two days that he might escort his +family as far as Williamsburg. As may be imagined, the ride was most +delightful. Although often oppressed by thoughts of the parting hour +so rapidly approaching, we were at times charmed into forgetfulness, +and keen enjoyment of the beautiful scenery and the incidents of the +journey. I now, for the first time, began to use from my little store +of gold and silver, and it proved the "open sesame" to much enjoyment. +Watermelons and other fruit, roasting ears, buttermilk, etc., were +purchased without stint, also a chicken. At noon the little party +camped in a grove by the roadside, where my soldier-husband proudly +showed off his new attainments in the way of cooking. The dinner was +pronounced "just splendid" by the appreciative guests. Our boy having +gorged himself, fell asleep upon the grass; the negro driver was sent +off to buy a few dainties to send back to friends in camp, and the two +so lately reunited--so soon to part--enjoyed for the first time an +uninterrupted talk relating to the adventures that each had met with +since our parting in New Orleans. I unfolded my plans for the future, +receiving the full permission and sympathy of my husband. + +Soon after the journey was resumed two horsemen appeared on the road +coming from the direction of Williamsburg. I was quite unprepared to +recognize a Confederate officer of high rank in either of the riders +who now approached, as neither were very handsomely uniformed. + +The one who most attracted my attention appeared of middle age, was +rather stout, of florid complexion, and (as I thought) looked very +cross. He wore a sort of fancy jacket or roundabout, profusely trimmed +with gold lace. + +"There is General Magruder!" exclaimed my husband, and, as the +officers came near, saluted. Bringing the ambulance to a halt with an +imperious gesture, the general sharply questioned him as to his +absence from camp, his name, command, destination, length of time he +expected to be absent, etc. I was then introduced, and began to +express my pleasure at the meeting, etc. The grim visage of the +general did not relax. My pleasant talk was cut short by another +question, this time, of importance. I then found myself subjected to a +series of questions so searching that all I had seen or heard while +passing through the enemy's lines was imparted to General Magruder +before I quite realized the situation. + +What woman, denied the pleasure of talking, would not have felt and +expressed, as did my discomfited self, great indignation in view of a +deprivation so severe. But upon being reminded of the heavy +responsibility resting upon the mind and heart of the patriot who +could not withdraw his attention from the great and all-absorbing +interests committed to his guidance long enough to think of, much less +to practise, the amenities of life, I felt ashamed of my hasty anger, +and remembered only that I had been permitted to see and converse with +the hero of the battle of Bethel, the first Confederate victory of the +war. + +At Williamsburg, under the roof of the queer, old-fashioned, but +comfortable inn, excellent accommodations were found, and here the +soldier partook heartily of the "square meals" which he knew were his +last for many a day. + +A few hours of happiness was all that could be accorded to us. A +battle seemed imminent. My husband must return to his post. I, with my +little boy, proceeded to Richmond, where unbounded kindness and +hospitality awaited me. + +Here began the realization of the dream which had haunted me while yet +compelled to linger among the foes of the South. Joining at once the +noble army of women who untiringly ministered to the sick and wounded, +I entered upon the performance of a vow to devote myself to this work +if only the opportunity were accorded me. + + + + +MEMORIES. + +PART I. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +ALPHA. + +_Richmond in 1861-62._ + + +Who that witnessed and shared the wild excitement which, upon the days +immediately following the victory at Manassas, throbbed and pulsated +throughout the crowded capital of the Southern Confederacy can ever +forget? + +Men were beside themselves with joy and pride,--drunk with glory. + +By night the city blazed with illuminations, even the most humble home +setting up its beacon-light,--a sure guide to where loyal, devoted +hearts were throbbing with patriotism. + +In the general rejoicing the heavy price of victory was for a time +unheeded. But Richmond had sent forth to battle her best beloved, and, +alas! many were the "unreturning braves." + +The dazzling light fell upon many dwellings only to reveal the utter +darkness that reigned without and within. No need to ask why. All knew +that in each darkened home stricken hearts filled with an agony of +desolation struggled in vain to remember that they were mothers and +wives of heroes, but could not yet lift their eyes from the ghastly +wounds--the bloody graves of their dead. + +Ah! the lovely, joyous, hopeful, patriotic days of that summer of +1861. The Confederate gray was then a thing of beauty,--the outer garb +of true and loyal souls. Every man who wore it became ennobled in the +eyes of every woman. These boys in gray were strangers to none. Their +uniform was a passport to every heart and every home. Broad Street was +thronged with them all day long. + +Officers of all grades rode hither and thither, or congregated on the +steps of the hotels. Squads of soldiers promenaded, gayly chatting +with acquaintances whom they chanced to meet. Occasionally the sound +of drum and fife or the fuller music of a brass band would herald the +appearance of a company or regiment, perhaps just arrived from some +distant State, eager to reach the front. On more retired streets, at +their homes, humble or luxurious, sweet young girls welcomed with +kindly words and sunny smiles officers and private soldiers, extending +equal courtesy to both. The elegant mansions on Clay Street and +elsewhere were never without soldier guests. Impromptu meals were +served whenever needed. In elegant dining-rooms stately servants +supplied the wants of soldiers. No one asked who they were, whence +they came. They were Confederate soldiers--that was quite enough. + +In the cool drawing-rooms pleasant chat beguiled the summer hours, +sweet songs floated out upon the air, or the more stirring notes of +"Dixie" or "The Bonnie Blue Flag," played with a spirit and vim which +electrified every listener. + +If these warriors who lingered here could have chosen for themselves, +they would never have thus quietly rested upon the laurels won at +Manassas. Contrary to their wishes, they had been recalled from the +pursuit of the flying foe and consigned to temporary inactivity. + +As the new companies or regiments came in they were marched into camp +in the suburds or temporarily provided for in the immense tobacco +warehouses which were numerous all over the city. Passing one of +these, at every window appeared laughing or discontented faces of +soldiers newly arrived, full of ardor, ready and expecting to perform +prodigies of valor, yet ignominiously shut up within four brick walls, +with a sentinel guarding every door. + +The evening drills at the camp-grounds were attended by hundreds of +ladies. So enthusiastic were these, so full of pride and admiration +for the braves who had come to defend their homes and themselves, so +entirely in accord with the patriotic spirit which burned in every +manly heart, that not a soldier, no matter how humble, came near or +passed before a group of these animated beauties who was not literally +bathed in the radiance of kindly smiles,--transformed into a demigod +by the light of gloriously flashing eyes. + +No pen can do justice to the scenes I would fain describe. Language is +quite inadequate to express the feeling which then lived and had its +being in the hearts of all Southern women towards the heroes who had +risen up to defend the liberties of the South. Exalted far above mere +sentiment, holding no element of vanity or selfishness,--idolatrous, +if you will, yet an idolatry which inspired the heart, nerved the +hand, and made any sacrifice possible. No purer patriotism ever found +lodgment in human breast. No more sacred fire was ever kindled by +human hands on any altar than the impulse which imperatively called +men from the peaceful avocations of life to repel the threatened +invasion of their homes and firesides. They were actuated by no spirit +of hatred or revenge (_then_). They sought not to despoil, to lay +waste. But, when justice was dethroned, her place usurped by the demon +of hate and prejudice, when the policy of coercion and invasion was +fully developed, with one heart and voice the South cried aloud, +"_Stand!_ The ground's your own, my braves." + +Swift as a meteor, yet clear and unwavering, flashed and burned the +beacon-light first kindled in South Carolina. A million torches +lighted at this flame were borne aloft throughout the Southland. + +And now the invader had been met and foiled in his first attempt to +conquer and desolate the homes of Virginia. Who can wonder that their +brave defenders were the idols of a grateful people? Their valor, +having been fully tested, had far surpassed the expectations of the +most sanguine. "Hope told a flattering tale." Alas! _too_ flattering, +for the confidence begotten by this first success inspired a contempt +for the foe quite undeserved. + +Meanwhile, the summer sun still brightened the unharmed capitol. The +summer wind still bore aloft on the dome in Capitol Square the flag of +the new Confederacy, the "stars and bars." Here, after sunset and in +the moonlight, came young men and maidens, matrons and children. Old +men, too, who, baring their silvery heads to the cool breeze, gazed +upward at the bonnie flag, with a look half triumphant, half sad; for +the love of the "star-spangled banner" had grown with their growth and +strengthened with their strength, and it had been hard to tear it from +their hearts. + +To young eyes the new flag seemed an emblem of glory. Young hearts +glowed with pride as often as they looked upon it. The story of the +eventful hour when it first replaced the "stars and stripes" and +floated over the capitol building in full view of the whole city, +hailed by acclamations from many thousand voices, is still told with +pride by the citizens of Richmond. + +The moment it was known that Virginia had passed the ordinance of +secession, the cheering, enthusiastic crowd which had for hours +surrounded Mechanics' Institute, made a rush for the State-House to +"haul down" the old flag, and run up the "stars and bars." Upon making +the attempt, it was found impossible to move the United States flag, +some one having either nailed or driven it with staples to the staff. +Two boys, burning with zeal, started for the cupola to cut loose the +flag. One of these, although a lad of eighteen, was a member of the +Richmond Howitzers. Hoping to outstrip the other, he climbed hand over +hand up the lightning-rod. Just as he reached the goal of his +ambition, however, the staples securing the rod pulled out and the boy +was left swaying back and forth in mid-air, while the crowd upon the +top of the capitol and on the ground below looked on in horror. The +lightning-rod was one of the old-fashioned sort, and more than an inch +in diameter. One after another the staples gave way under the weight. +The rod swayed gently back and forth as if uncertain which way to +fall, but finally lurching towards the up-town side. Every one +expected that the lad would be so disconcerted and appalled when he +struck the edge of the roof, that he would be unable to look out for +his own safety. One of the party resolved to attempt a rescue, +although by so doing his own life would be endangered. Throwing +himself flat on the roof like a bat, he slid down headforemost to the +gutter, which, fortunately, was very wide. Placing himself on his back +in this gutter so as to be able to arrest the other poor boy in his +fall, he waited until the lightning-rod struck the roof, then called +out loudly, "Let go; I'll catch you." The boy obeyed, and as he +slipped down the roof in an almost unconscious condition, his rescuer +in the gutter grasped and held him until he recovered his +self-possession, when both pulled off their shoes and climbed the +steep roof to the skylight. Both boys were gallant soldiers, but +perhaps neither was ever again in greater danger than when excess of +patriotism cost the one that hazardous ride on the lightning-rod, the +other to assume the equally dangerous but noble position of rescuer. + +Both are still living,--veterans now. One, occupying a position of +honor and of public trust, is a personal friend of the writer. + +To me the Confederate flag was an object of profound love and +passionate devotion. It represented hopes that I thought could never +fail, possibilities so glorious that imagination was dazzled. I used +to go to the square before sunrise, leading my little boy, trying +vainly to make him understand and share in some degree my own +enthusiasm, but instead he only busied himself in trying to steal near +enough to pounce upon one of the many little birds flitting from spray +to spray with happy songs. Approaching the beautiful monument where +the statues are so lifelike as to appear real companions, sentient and +cognizant of one's presence, I chose always a seat where I could gaze +upon the face of Patrick Henry, recalling his stirring words, trying +to imagine what he would have thought and said now, and almost daring +to wish that soul of fire might come, if only for a moment, to animate +the cold form; that the silent lips might speak, the eyes look upward +to where the breeze of morning stirred the sacred flag which my own +heart saluted. Lingering thus until the first rays of the sun came to +glorify its waving folds, I drank in deep draughts of patriotism and +love for the holy cause, sweet, inspiring, elevating; a tonic powerful +and lasting in its effects, bracing mind and soul to persevere in the +course I had marked out for myself, to tread unfalteringly a path +beset by difficulties then undreamed of. Not long afterward the +capitol square became forever sacred to Southern hearts; for here, +standing upon the steps of the beautiful monument, beneath the bronze +statue of George Washington, the first President of the Southern +Confederacy took upon himself the solemn vows of office, and at the +same time the stirring airs of "Dixie" and "The Bonnie Blue Flag" +received the stamp of nationality. Ah! then how overwhelming the +applause. But no one dreamed of a time in the far future when the +Southern Confederacy should have become a thing of the past; of a time +when the first faint notes of "Dixie" would have power to sway the +hearts of thousands, to turn quiet crowds into excited, surging masses +of men who would rend the air with cheers and the dear old "rebel +yell," of women who, unable to control their feelings, would testify +by applauding hands, waving handkerchiefs, and streaming eyes how +precious were the memories awakened. + +One moonlight evening I stood again before the statue of that grand +patriot and statesman, Patrick Henry. My companions were Mrs. Frances +Gawthmey, of Richmond, and Commodore Matthew F. Maury, a man whom the +scientific world delighted to honor, and of whom it may be well said, +"We ne'er shall look upon his like again." When Virginia cast her +fortunes with the Southern Confederacy, he held a distinguished +position under the United States Government. Had he sought +self-aggrandizement, renown, the fullest recognition of valuable +services to the Government, the way was open, the prospect dazzling. +But he was not even tempted. Beloved voices called him,--the voices of +love and duty. He listened, obeyed, laying at the feet of the new +Confederacy as loyal a heart as ever beat,--a resplendent genius, the +knowledge which is power. + +In the days of my childhood I had known _Captain_ Maury, and had been +taught to revere him. When we met in Richmond, _Commodore_ Maury was +still my friend and mentor. His kindly offices were mine whenever +needed, and his care followed me through all vicissitudes, until, +after many months, the varying fortunes of war separated us, never, +alas! to meet again in this world. + +On the evening referred to above, Mrs. Gawthmey and myself, escorted +by Commodore Maury, passed through the square on our way to the hotel, +where we expected to meet a brilliant circle of distinguished +Southerners. Arrived in front of the monument, we paused +involuntarily. The same thoughts which had before come to me seemed to +possess all our minds. Mrs. Gawthmey remarked, "If Patrick Henry had +been living, I reckon Virginia would have stepped out of the Union +side by side with South Carolina." "Well," replied Commodore Maury, +"he would have acted as he thought. There would have been no 'pros and +cons,' and his irresistible eloquence would have carried all before +it." Then baring his head, while the moonlight seemed to glorify his +grand intellectual countenance, he repeated a portion of that grand +oration of Mr. Henry ending, "Give me liberty or give me death." As +those immortal words fell from his lips all remained silent, though +wrought up to the highest pitch of patriotic excitement. After a +moment we walked on very quietly, until, passing out of the mellow +moonlight, we entered the brilliantly-lighted parlors of the +Spottswood Hotel. + +The hum of conversation, the sound of careless, happy laughter, the +music of a band playing outside, soon brought us down from the heights +of enthusiasm to the delightful realities of the present. For, spite +of battle and death and perplexities, even certain trouble ahead, +Richmond was gay, hopeful, and "all went merry as a marriage bell." +The gaunt spectres of privation, want, disease, death, of ruined +homes, starving families, and universal desolation, were shadows which +fled before the legions of hope pressing so gladly and gayly to the +front. Here in one corner laughing girls bewitched and held in thrall +young soldier boys,--willing captives,--yet meeting the glances of +bright eyes with far less courage than they had shown while facing the +guns upon the battlefield. Thrilling tales of the late battle wore +poured into credulous ears: "_We_ were _here_. _We_ were _there_. _We_ +were everywhere. Our company accomplished wonderful deeds of valor;" +and if Beauty's smile be indeed a fit reward, truly these young heroes +received it. + +Our party exchanged greetings with several groups, seating ourselves +at last within the brilliant circle surrounding Judge and Mrs. +Hopkins, of Alabama. Here were several ladies, wives of distinguished +officers in the Confederate service, members of the Cabinet, and +others, and splendid-looking officers in handsome uniforms were +constantly coming and going, exchanging courteous greetings, lingering +for a few moments in conversation, grave or gay. Here, perhaps, a +stately form strode up and down the large rooms so engrossed in +thought as to be regardless of all that was passing. There, in deep +converse, stood a group equally regardless of their surroundings, +whose grave faces and earnest questions showed the importance of the +subject under discussion. Among those who upon that evening and +afterward, "many a time and oft," were met together in those brilliant +rooms there was not one heart untouched by the fire of patriotism,--a +flame fed by every thought, word, and action, burning ever with +steadily-increasing brightness. + +I fail to recall many of the illustrious names which on that night +sounded like stirring music in my ears; but as often as memory reverts +to that scene, the forerunner of repeated pleasures, I seem to feel +anew the pressure of friendly hands, unforgotten faces appear through +the mists of the past, still aglow with "the light of other days." + +Judge Hopkins was rather an invalid, but his high position, fine +appearance, his pleasant conversational powers, marked him as one +worthy of attention from all. + +To Mrs. Hopkins had been entrusted the duty of caring for the sick and +wounded soldiers from Alabama. Two State hospitals had already been +established by her, and she had full power to control all matters +connected with these hospitals, except such as came within the +province of the surgeon in charge. + +I have never seen a woman better fitted for such a work. Energetic, +tireless, systematic, loving profoundly the cause and its defenders, +she neglected no detail of business or other thing that could afford +aid or comfort to the sick or wounded. She kept up a voluminous +correspondence, made in person every purchase for her charges, +received and accounted for hundreds of boxes sent from Alabama +containing clothing and delicacies for the sick, and visited the wards +of the hospitals every day. If she found any duty neglected by nurse +or surgeon or hospital steward, her reprimand was certain and very +severe. She could not nurse the sick or wounded personally, for her +whole time was necessarily devoted to executive duties, but her smile +was the sweetest, I believe, that ever lit up a human face, and +standing by the bedside of some poor Alabamian, away from home, and +wretched as well as sick, she must have seemed to him like an angel +visitant. A more decided woman in dealing with all who came within her +influence or control I never knew, yet she was kindly withal, though +never expecting or brooking opposition. To her husband alone she +deferred in all things, and was gentleness itself. + +On meeting her for the first time she called me to her side, saying, +in her abrupt way, "I like you, you are so in earnest; do you really +mean to nurse our sick soldiers during the war, as Mr. Maury tells +me?" I replied, as I distinctly recollect, with great fervor, "I do, +God helping me." + +"But you are not strong enough, and you are too young." + +Again I replied, "I feel that I am called to the work, and strength +will be given me." + +She laid her hand kindly upon my shoulder, smiling as she said, "I may +put you to the test some day; be ready." + +This conversation occurred on the evening of my visit to the hotel +with my friends. On the way home an earnest protest against my +"quixotic idea" was made by both, which ended in a truce of a few +days, during which it was hoped I would repent and rescind my +determination. + +On the corner of Clay and Twelfth Streets stood the pleasant and +commodious residence of Mr. and Mrs. Booker. + +My friend Mrs. Gawthmey resided here, and here the greater part of my +time was spent when "off duty" (of which more anon). + +This model Virginia household was so true a type of the homes of +Richmond as they were at that time, that its description will present +to the reader _all_, for the same spirit pervaded every one. As in +almost every case, the young men of the family were in the Confederate +service (the sons of this household were of the Richmond Howitzers). +The father, in feeble health, yet lavished his means and his little +strength upon every patriotic duty which arose. The mother, far more +youthful, active, and energetic, full of enthusiasm for the cause, +exceeding proud of the brave boys whom she had freely sent out to +battle, loving and serving all soldiers with heart and hand, was +seconded with equal ardor and wonderful ability by her sweet young +daughters. The spare sleeping-rooms were always daintily prepared, and +at the service of any _soldier_ who needed care and rest. _Soldiers_ +feeble from recent illness were encouraged to recline awhile in +restful arm-chairs in the cool flower-scented parlors, while the girls +often entertained them with music or pleasant conversation. + +Not a meal was set in that house unshared by one or more _soldiers_. +The table was always as attractive as finest linen damask, elegant +china and glass, and handsome silver could make it. The meals were +abundant and nourishing, but plain. Delicacies of all kinds were +prepared constantly in that "Virginia kitchen," and daintily arranged +in the pantry by the ladies' own hands, but only to be sent to the +sick and wounded strangers lying in the numerous hospitals. + +Opposite to the home just described arose the spacious but +unpretentious residence of President Davis, the Confederate "White +House" (in this case only in a figurative sense, for the executive +mansion was of dark brown stone or stucco). As nearly as I can +remember, the main entrance was on Clay Street. On one side the +windows opened on Twelfth Street, on the other lay a beautiful garden +extending quite to the edge of "Shokoe Hill," which overlooked the +classic valley of "Butchertown," through the midst of which ran +"Shokoe Creek." The boys of this region, from generation to +generation, had been renowned for exceeding pugnacity. Between them +and the city boys constantly-recurring quarrels were so bitter that +sometimes men were drawn in through sympathy with their boys. The law +seemed powerless to put an end to this state of things. + +Regular arrangements were made, definite challenges were given and +accepted, and fights took place between successive sets of boys as +they grew old enough to throw down or take up the gauntlet. Richmond +was at that time considered a law-abiding city, and had only a few +policemen, whom the boys found it easy to elude. The appearance of +officers Chalkly and Tyler, however, generally served to close the +fight _until next time_. + +Within the Presidential mansion was no magnificence of furniture or +appointments,--nothing in the style of living calculated to create +dissatisfaction or a sense of injustice in the minds of those who, +equally with their chosen leader, had already sacrificed much, and +were willing to give their _all_ to the cause. No pomp and +circumstance chilled loyal hearts. + +Jefferson Davis, the _statesman_ to whose wisdom had been entrusted +the destinies of the South; the _patriot_ who merged his ambition, his +hopes, _himself_, in his devotion to the right; the _Christian_, who +humbly committed his ways unto the Lord, whose dignity enhanced +prosperity, whose fortitude conquered adversity,--Jefferson Davis, the +chosen exponent of undying principles, was yet in his own house simply +a Southern gentleman,--a kindly, genial host, extending genuine +hospitality to all. + +Of Mrs. Davis my recollections are very pleasant. Always meeting from +her a cordial reception, admiring the unaffected courtesy which put +her visitors at their ease, I yet became distinctly conscious that in +her the feelings of wife and mother were stronger than any other; that +no matter into what station of life it should please God to call her, +devotion to these womanly duties would be paramount. + +From the very first there was among the people of the South an earnest +dependence upon God, a habit of appeal to His mercy and +loving-kindness, and a marked attention to religious duties. On +Sundays the churches were crowded with devout worshippers. Every +service was attended by more or less Confederate soldiers, generally +in squads, but sometimes even in companies, marshalled by some of +their officers. + +The first Sunday after my arrival in Richmond, kneeling in St. James's +Church, I heard for the first time the _changed_ prayer for the +"President of the _Confederate_ States and all others in authority." A +death-like silence prevailed during the most solemn and impressive +reading of the prayer. Then from every mouth welled forth a fervent, +heartfelt "Amen!" The earnest, manly voices of the soldiers added +depth and volume to the sound which thrilled every pulse of one's +being. It did not seem to us that we were merely going through a form +of prayer for one of "those in high places," but that our President +was one of ourselves, and all hearts went out toward him, earnestly +desiring for him heaven's choicest blessings,--the all-wise guidance +he was so sure to need. + +Scattered all over the city in many a shady nook were cosey, pleasant +retreats, where wounded or sick soldiers were gladly welcomed,--private +hospitals presided over by ladies, sustained by their constant +attention and unbounded liberality. One lady generally had direction of +the affairs of one particular hospital, assisted by others whose duties +lay just there, and who devoted each in turn on successive days their +entire care and attention to this labor of love. For instance, on +Monday certain ladies sent in all the cooked food needed by the +patients. Others personally nursed the sick. Still others attended to +the distribution of the food or superintended the servants, and so with +all duties required. On Tuesday another set of ladies were on duty, and +so on. + +My whole heart and soul went out toward the sick soldiers. My days +were mostly spent in visiting the hospitals. + +At first the larger ones attracted me, because there seemed to be so +many sufferers and more need of nurses. My timid advances (never +amounting to a direct application, but only a suggestion as to my +qualifications as a nurse) were condescendingly smiled down by the +surgeons in charge. My youthful appearance was against me. Besides, +there really was no need for other nursing in many of the State +hospitals, notably that of Louisiana, than the angelic ministrations +of the Sisters of Charity, whose tireless vigils knew no end, whose +skill and efficiency, as well as their constant devotion, environed +the patients committed to their care. Occasionally I was allowed the +blessed privilege of fanning a sick hero or of moistening parched lips +or bathing fevered brows. But somebody always came whose _business_ it +was to do these things, and I was set aside. One day, however, by a +happy chance, I found in a ward of one of the hospitals a poor fellow +who seemed to have been left to die. So forlorn, so feeble, so near +death did he seem, that my heart yearned over him, for he was only a +boy, and I knew he was _some_ mother's darling. He had, like many +other soldiers, been unwilling to go to a hospital, and remaining in +camp while broken out with measles, took cold and provoked an attack +of pneumonia. In addition to this, terrible abscesses had formed under +each ear, and his eyes were swollen and suppurating. His surgeon said +there was little hope of his recovery; none at all unless he could be +removed to some more quiet place, and receive unremitting care and +watchfulness as well as excellent nursing. "Can he be removed if I +promise to fulfil all these conditions?" said I. "It is a risk, but +his only chance," replied Dr. ----. "Then I will go at once and +prepare a place." As I spoke, the suffering boy grasped my hand with +all his feeble strength, as if afraid to let me leave him. Reassuring +him as well as I could, I rushed off to the "Soldiers' Rest," where I +knew I should find friends ready and willing to help me. My tale was +soon told to the ladies in charge, who at once and with all their +hearts entered into my plans. One vacant cot temptingly clean and +white was moved into a secluded corner and assigned to me for the use +of my "sick boy." The loan of an ambulance, readily obtained, +facilitated his removal. That same evening I had the satisfaction of +seeing him laid carefully upon the comfortable bed so kindly prepared +by the ladies of the Soldiers' Rest, exhausted, but evidently not +worse for the change. + +Right here began my career as a nurse of Confederate soldiers. This +was my first patient,--_my very own_,--to have and to hold until the +issues of life and death should be decided. All facilities were +accorded me by the ladies. Dr. Little gave his most careful attention +and his greatest skill, but the nursing, the responsibility, was mine. + +I may as well state that I came off with flying colors, earning the +precious privilege, so ardently desired, of being enrolled among those +ready for duty and _to be trusted_. My patient recovered, and returned +to his command, the ---- Mississippi Regiment. His name was D. Babers, +and twenty years after the war I met him once more,--a stalwart, +bearded man, as unlike as possible the pale young soldier who had +lived in my memory. His delight and gratitude and that of his family +seemed unbounded, and so I found the bread once cast upon the waters +very sweet when returned to me "after many days." + +Finding that my desultory wanderings among the larger hospitals were +likely to result in little real usefulness, and that the ladies +attached to the Soldiers' Rest would be glad of my help, I became a +regular attendant there. This delightful place of refuge for the sick +and wounded was situated high up on Clay Street, not very far from one +of the camps and parade-grounds. A rough little school-house, it had +been transformed into a bower of beauty and comfort by loving hands. +The walls, freshly whitewashed, were adorned with attractive pictures. +The windows were draped with snowy curtains tastefully looped back to +admit the summer breeze or carefully drawn to shade the patient, as +circumstances required. The beds were miracles of whiteness, and clean +linen sheets, in almost every case, draped and covered them. Softest +pillows in slips of odorous linen supported the restless heads of the +sick. By the side of each cot stood a small table (one or two +old-fashioned stands of solid mahogany among them). Upon these were +spread fine napkins. Fruit, drinks, etc., were set upon them, not in +coarse, common crockery, but in delicate china and glass. _Nothing was +too good for the soldiers_. The school-house contained three rooms. +The school-room proper was quite large, and here were ranged about +thirty beds. One of the recitation-rooms was set apart for patients +who might need special attention or seclusion. The other was occupied +by the ladies whose duty it was to receive and distribute the delicate +and nutritious supplies of food which unfailingly arrived at stated +hours, borne by aristocratic-looking colored servants, on silver +waiters or in baskets covered with snowy damask. During every hour of +the day, gentle women ministered untiringly to the sick. They woke +from fevered dreams to behold kindly faces bending above them, to feel +the touch of soft hands, to receive the cooling draught or welcome +food. Every evening brought carriage-loads of matrons and young girls +laden with flowers or fruit, bringing books, and, better than all, +smiles and pleasant words. The sick soldiers were objects of interest +to all. All hearts yearned over them, all hands were ready to serve +them. As night came on, the ladies who had served during the day were +replaced by others. No one ever failed to meet her self-imposed +duties. No patient was for a moment neglected. + +I cannot recall the names of all the ladies who attended at the +Soldiers' Rest. Those whom I knew best were Mrs. Gawthmey, Mrs. +Booker, Mrs. Grant, Miss Catherine Poitreaux, Mrs. Edmond Ruffin, and +Miss Susan Watkins. + +A few steps below, between Ninth and Tenth Streets, was another +private hospital, similar in almost every respect to the one just +described, organized and presided over by Mrs. Caroline Mayo. She also +was assisted by several ladies, but had entire direction, and threw +herself into the work with all her soul. Her patriotism was boundless, +her courage and endurance unfailing. Not only at that time, but for +three years, every hour of her time, every thought of her heart, was +given to the sick and wounded Confederates. + +Sometimes, alas! the care and nursing lavished upon the sick was +unavailing. Death often invaded the "Rest." In every case the rites of +burial were accorded. Women remembered tenderly the far-distant mother +or wife, and therefore honored their dead. + +For a few days after my patient had ceased to need special nursing I +continued to serve with, the ladies attached to the little hospital on +Clay Street, still longing, however, for a larger sphere of +usefulness. + +One morning, just as I had arrived there and was preparing to begin my +daily duties, a carriage stopped at the door, from which Mrs. Judge +Hopkins descended, and, hastily entering the hospital, announced to +the ladies that she had "_come for Mrs. Beers_." They strongly +demurred, and I felt at first great hesitation in obeying so hasty a +summons. But Mrs. Hopkins was very much in earnest. "Indeed, you +_must_ come," said she, "for I have great need of you. A large number +of sick and wounded Alabamians will arrive this morning. I have found +a place to put them, but some one must be there to prepare for their +accommodation, to receive hospital supplies, and direct their +arrangement, while I make purchases and attend to other matters. +Come," holding out both hands towards me; "no _hireling_ can fill the +place. Come, _now_; with me: we have no time to lose." I hesitated no +longer, but entered the carriage. We were at once driven down-town, +stopping to order cots, mattresses, etc., then to the corner of ---- +and ---- Streets, where stood an immense tobacco factory, owned by +Messrs. Turpin & Yarborough. + +Arrived here, a pitiful sight met our eyes. Perhaps fifty sick men had +arrived unexpectedly, and were sitting or lying about in every +conceivable position expressive of feebleness, extreme illness, utter +exhaustion. Mr. Yarborough, having given up the keys to Mrs. Hopkins, +was impatiently pacing in and out among the prostrate men. Coming upon +this scene, both Mrs. Hopkins and myself at once realized all that lay +before us, and braced our nerves to meet the emergency. + +The men were soon under shelter, but no beds had yet arrived. Mrs. +Hopkins led me into the factory, introduced me to Dr. Clark, who had +come to take charge as surgeon, and placed me under him at the head of +affairs as her deputy. A corps of nurses, hastily summoned, were +ordered to report to me. + +Meantime immense boxes arrived from the depot, sent by the people of +Alabama. These contained pillows, comforts, sheets, as well as wines, +cordials, and every delicacy for the sick, also quantities of shirts, +drawers, and socks, old and new. The boxes were wrenched open, pillows +placed quickly under the heads of the sickest, and cordials +administered. As the beds came in they were placed, made up, and the +worst cases first, others afterward, were transferred to them, until +all were lying comfortably between clean sheets and clad in clean +shirts and drawers. There was no lack of food, both substantial and of +a kind proper for the very sick. + +I do not believe that a squad of sick soldiers arrived in Richmond, at +least during the first year of the war, who were not discovered and +bountifully fed shortly after their arrival. In this case waiter after +waiter of food was sent in, first from the house of Mr. Yarborough and +afterward by all the neighborhood. Hospital supplies having been +ordered as soon as it was known the sick men were expected, all +necessaries were soon at hand, while the boxes referred to supplied +many luxuries. The large room into which all these were huddled +presented for days a scene of "confusion worse confounded." The +contents of two of the largest boxes were dumped upon the floor, the +boxes themselves serving, one as a table for the drugs, the other as a +sort of counter where the druggist quickly compounded prescriptions, +which the surgeons as hastily seized and personally administered. +Carpenters were set at work; but of course shelves, etc., could not be +magically produced, so we placed boards across barrels, arranging in +piles the contents of the boxes for ready use. + +Mrs. Hopkins, sitting upon a box, directed these matters, while I had +my hands full attending to the poor fellows in the wards where they +had been placed. + +Four of our sick died that night. I had never in my life witnessed a +death-scene before, and had to fight hard to keep down the emotion +which would have greatly impaired my usefulness. + +At the end of a long, large wing of the factory were two excellent +rooms, formerly the offices of the owners. These were comfortably +fitted up, the one as a bedroom for myself, and the other as a +sitting-room and private office. A female servant was specially +assigned to me, who slept on a mattress on the floor of the +sitting-room, and whose duty it was to accompany me through the wards +and render any special or personal service required. A long hall ran +along this wing, connecting the offices with the main building. The +long, broad room opening out of this hall was fitted up as a ward +specially mine, for the reception of my own friends and very ill +patients who needed my special attention day and night. This favor was +granted me because I had shown some unwillingness to place myself in +any position where I could not nurse any Louisiana soldier friends or +others who might desire or be permitted to come to me. As soon as +matters were somewhat settled, my little son joined me in my new +quarters, and thus the Third Alabama Hospital became our home for many +a month. The little fellow spent very little time there, however. My +Richmond friends never lost sight of me for one day during my service +in that city. Nearly every day my little boy was sent for to play +among happy children, far away from the impure atmosphere of the +hospital, which was soon filled with patients suffering from almost +every form of disease. + +As the demand for more room became pressing, the three stories of the +main building were successively utilized, as well as a large +storage-room in the yard. The ground-floor contained the surgeons' and +steward's offices, store-rooms, etc., while the second and third +formed two immense sick-wards. The first floor of the long wing before +mentioned was occupied by the kitchen and sleeping apartments for +servants. + +Mrs. Hopkins and I thought exactly alike regarding the disposition of +the delicacies continuously sent from all points in Alabama for the +sick and wounded. None but the sick should have them. Nothing but the +simple though plentiful rations were ever served at the meals, which +the resident surgeons and druggists shared with me. Yet, by the +never-ceasing kindness of friends outside, I was well supplied with +luxuries enough for myself, and to share with my messmates each day. + +Having the care and responsibility of so many sick, my time was fully +occupied, I seldom went out. I could not stop to talk to visitors, but +often led kind ladies to the bedsides of those whom I knew would enjoy +and be benefited by their bright presence and kindly words, as well as +by their offerings of flowers, fruit, or dainties. + +Amid disease and suffering, battling always with death (too often, +alas! the conqueror), I was yet happy and content. The surgeons were +skilful and devoted; the means at hand to supply the wants, even the +caprices of my patients, as soon as expressed. + +I loved very dearly these heroes whom I served, and felt that I was as +well beloved. Welcoming smiles, eager greetings, grateful words, +blessed me as unfailingly as the sunlight and dew the earth. Every +hour of toil brought its own rich reward. These were Confederate +soldiers. God had permitted me to work for the holy cause. This was +enough to flood my whole being with content and deepest gratitude. + +Next to Commodore Maury one of my most faithful friends was Dr. +Little, of Richmond. He was surgeon of the Soldiers' Rest, and also +attended the sick soldiers at many private houses in the city and at +some of the larger hospitals. + +Small in stature, in extremely delicate health, he was yet a giant as +far as skill and work were concerned. An earnest Christian, a polished +gentleman, of quiet and unassuming yet elegant manners, interesting in +conversation, a true, firm friend, an unflinching patriot, what more +could be added to indicate an almost perfect character? His care and +watchfulness, combined with rare skill,--directed by the All-merciful +Father,--saved the life of my little boy, who was brought to death's +door by an attack of typhoid fever during the fall of 1861. + +Meantime, as the months rolled on, it became evident that the victory +at Manassas could not be considered as a criterion of future success. +Everywhere there was fighting. Varying fortune attended the +Confederate arms. _Un_varying glory, unsurpassed, magnificent bravery +so dazzled the eyes of the nation that none saw or admitted defeat +anywhere. Yet valuable territory had been surrendered. Homeless +refugees flocked into Richmond, but even these were hopeful and +defiant, almost proud of their early martyrdom, ready to serve the +cause by "doing all their hands found to do with their might." + +If anything had been needed to inspire hope, to arouse patriotic +pride, the appearance of Johnston's army as it passed through Richmond +on its way to the Peninsula to foil once more the "On-to-Richmond" +plans of the enemy would have more than sufficed. + +Oh, what days were those, which came _unheralded_, to write their +history in letters of fire upon the records of the city of Richmond! + +General Johnston had kept his own counsel. Says Pollard: "With such +consummate address was this move managed, that our own troops had no +idea of what was intended until the march was taken up." Soldiers had +been continually passing through the city, but by companies or +regiments, each in its turn admired and enthusiastically cheered. Now, +when seemingly countless legions swept by with martial tread, their +resounding footsteps and splendid appearance equally with the roll of +many drums and the clash of regimental bands stirred the hearts of the +multitude thronging the sidewalks, crowding every door-way and +gallery, "mounting wall and battlement, yea, even to chimney-top;" +not, indeed, to see a "great Caesar," but to hail with wildest delight +a magnificent army, of which the humblest soldier was a "greater than +Caesar," inasmuch as he was ready to sacrifice upon the altar of +patriotism all that the Roman conqueror held most dear first of +all,--_personal ambition_. + +Among the crowd, side by side with the ladies resident in Richmond, +stood mothers, wives, sisters, from other Southern States, looking +eagerly for the well-known uniform worn by _their own_, proudly +pointing them out as they passed, even to utter strangers, sure of +warmest sympathy, following them with longing eyes until they were +lost to sight, hundreds, alas! _forever_. + +Among the gayly-fluttering banners borne proudly aloft some were +ragged and torn by shot or shell. As each of these appeared men +shouted themselves hoarse, women drew shuddering sighs and grew +deathly pale, as if realizing for the first time the horrors of war +and the dangers their loved ones had passed. + +For several days this excitement was kept up. All night heavy +artillery rumbled along Broad Street. At any hour of the night I could +see from my window shadowy figures of mounted men, could hear the +ceaseless tramp of cavalry horses. Every day the sun shone upon the +glittering bayonets and gay flags of swiftly-passing soldiery. The air +was flooded with music until the last strain died away, and the calm +which preceded a terrible storm of battle fell upon the city. + +The glorious scenes of the past few days had engendered a sense of +protection and security. All felt that this splendid army _must_ prove +invincible. + +In the Valley of Virginia brave troops under Stonewall Jackson were +actively engaged in keeping the enemy at bay. Forced marches, +insufficient food, the want of tents to shelter them from the weather +while they slept, continually decimated this army. + +The number of wounded in our wards increased daily. Sick men poured +into the hospital. Often they came too late, having remained at the +post of duty until fever had sapped the springs of life or the +rattling breath sounded the knell of hope, marking too surely that +fatal disease, double pneumonia. Awestruck I watched the fierce battle +for life, the awful agony, trying vainly every means of relief, +lingering to witness struggles which wrung my heart, because I could +not resist the appealing glance of dying eyes, the hoarse, whistling +whisper that bade me stay,--because I must try to comfort the parting +soul, must hope to catch some last word or message to comfort the +loved ones at home. + +Since then I have witnessed every form of suffering and death, but +none more appalling than the fierce struggle for breath, when the +lungs are filling up by sure degrees, in the last stages of the +disease. Never has the Death Angel seemed to me more merciful than +when he took in his icy grasp the fevered hands wildly beating the +air, closed the starting eyes, silenced the gasping breath. + +Fortunately, I then had ample means at my command to relieve +suffering, in many cases even to indulge the caprices of the sick. In +this I only acted as the almoner of devoted, generous women in +far-away homes, who deprived themselves of every luxury to benefit the +sick soldiers. There seemed to be no end to the arrival and unpacking +of boxes. + +To nearly every one of numberless pairs of socks and gloves was pinned +a paper upon which was written some kindly message, a few words of +cheer, generally signed with the name of the donor. Strange as it may +seem, it is perfectly true that I found among these (not once, but +several times) the name of one of my patients, and at a venture +bearing the article to his bedside, watched his delight, the eager +grasp, the brightened eyes, the heaving breast of some poor fellow who +had thus accidentally received a gift and message from his own home. + +Although relieved of all unnecessary fatigue, having at my command +nurses and servants to carry out my plans for the sick, the burden of +their suffering lay heavy upon my own heart. The already full wards of +the hospital now became crowded. For many of the gallant men who a few +weeks before had marched so gayly to their doom were brought back +bearing horrible, ghastly wounds. + +Anxious responsibility murdered sleep. A shuddering horror, a +consuming pity, possessed me as often as dreadful groans from the +operating-room reached my ears. No one could have convinced me then +that I should ever _get used to it_, as I _did_ later. + +Mrs. Hopkins watched over me with the tenderness of a mother. But she +also had hands and heart full. Her cautions, with those of other +friends, bore not a feather's weight in comparison with the increasing +demands of my sick. But one day I fell fainting while on duty. Thus +began a severe attack of nervous fever, which brought me very low. Can +I ever forget the tender, devoted nursing of some of the ladies of +Richmond! Truly it seemed as if "God had sent angelic legions," whose +sweet faces bent above me day after day, whose kindly voices pervaded +my feverish dreams. The same care usually given to sick soldiers was +now lavished upon me. After several days I was able to leave my bed, +but, finding myself totally unfit for duty, and being unwilling to +remain a burden upon my kind friends, I decided to go to my husband's +relatives in Alabama, though fully intending to return to my labors in +Richmond as soon as my strength should be restored. + +My husband having been transferred to the Army of Tennessee, where he +continued to serve until the close of the war, this plan was changed. +I have never since revisited the scene of my earliest service to the +Confederacy. Perhaps it is as well that I did not, for memory +preserves at least this one picture, more full of light than shadow, +because always softly illumined by the beautiful star which had not +then begun to wane,--"the star of Hope." + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +ALABAMA. + +_"Here we rest."_ + + +The hoarse panting of the steam-pipes, the clangor of bells, the +splashing of the paddle-wheels, died away in the distance as I stood +upon the landing watching the receding boat steaming down the Alabama +River on its way to Mobile. + +Ah, how lovely appeared the woodland scenery around me! The sombre +green of pines, and the equally dark though glossy foliage of oaks, +were beautifully enlivened by lighter greens, and by the brilliant +hues of the sassafras-tree. Here climbed in tantalizing +beauty--tempting as insidious vice, which attracts but to destroy--the +poison-oak vine. Cherokee roses starred the hedges, or, adventurously +climbing the highest trees, flung downward graceful pendants. Upon the +edge of the bank stood a lofty pine, branchless and dead, but, by the +law of compensation which nature delights to execute, clothed to the +very top with closely-clinging vines of mingled green and brightest +red. + +Standing upon the bluff above the river, drinking in the beauty of the +scene, listening to the murmur of waters, the song of birds, the weird +music of the pines, I repeated to myself the sweet name _Alabama_ with +a new sense of its fitness: sweet quiet and restfulness seemed to +belong to the spot. + +Surely, the noise of battle, the suffering and sorrow I had so lately +witnessed, could never invade this abode of peace. Walking towards the +house where I was to await conveyance to the plantation of my uncle, I +heard the moaning of one apparently in deep distress. At the door the +lady of the house appeared, with red eyes and a sorrowful countenance. +Said she, "Just listen at Mrs. ----. Her son went off on the boat to +join the army, and 'pears like she can't get over it. _She kept up +splendid until after he got off_." I sat listening, not daring to +intrude upon such sorrow. + +Over the lovely landscape before me fell the shadow of the future, a +shadow soon to darken every fair domain, every home in all the South. + +After a time the grieving mother passed out, and, entering her +carriage, was driven away to her desolate home. + +Later, I, too, accomplished the last ten miles of my journey, arriving +at my destination in time for supper, and meeting with a cordial +welcome from my friends. + + +Let none give undue praise to the women to whom during the war +Almighty God vouchsafed the inestimable privilege of remaining near +the front, even though they may have endured untold hardship, hours of +agony while listening to the noise of battle, fully realizing the +extreme danger of beloved fathers, husbands, or sons. + +Never until my visit to Alabama had I fully realized the horrors of +suspense,--the lives of utter self-abnegation heroically lived by +women in country homes all over the South during the dreary years of +the war. + +Every day--every hour--was fraught with anxiety and dread. Rumor was +always busy, but they could not hear _definitely_: they could not +_know_ how their loved ones were faring. + +Can imagination conceive a situation more pitiable? + +Ghastly visions made night hideous. During the day, the quick +galloping of a horse, the unexpected appearance of a visitor, would +agitate a whole household, sending women in haste to some secret place +where they might pray for strength to bear patiently whatever tidings +the messenger should bring. + +Self-denial in all things began from the first. Butter, eggs, +chickens, etc., were classed as luxuries, to be collected and sent by +any opportunity offering to the nearest point of shipment to hospital +or camp. Fruits were gathered and made into preserves or wine "for the +sick soldiers." Looms were set up on every plantation. The whirr of +the spinning-wheel was heard from morning until night. Dusky forms +hovered over large iron cauldrons, continually thrusting down into the +boiling dye the product of the looms, to be transformed into +Confederate gray or _butternut_ jeans. + +In the wide halls within the plantation-houses stood tables piled with +newly-dyed cloth and hanks of woollen or cotton yarns. The knitting of +socks went on incessantly. Ladies walked about in performance of +household or plantation duties, sock in hand, "casting on," "heeling," +"turning off." By the light of pine knots the elders still knitted far +into the night, while to young eyes and more supple fingers was +committed the task of finishing off comforts that had been "tacked" +during the day, or completing heavy army overcoats; and painfully +these toiled over the unaccustomed task. + +When a sufficient number of these articles had been completed by the +united efforts of ladies for miles around, a meeting was held at one +of the churches, where all helped to pack boxes to be sent to "the +front." I attended one of these meetings, the memory of which is ever +fresh. + +We started from the plantation in the early morning. Our way lay along +the red clay roads which in many parts of Alabama contrast so +beautifully with the variously-shaded green of the woods and the brown +carpet beneath the pines. The old negro driver, "Uncle George," +sitting upon the box, looked solemnly out from the enormous and stiff +shirt-collar which helped to support his dignity. + +I believe the old man always drove his beautiful horses under protest. +It was either too early or too late, too hot or too cold, the roads +either too muddy or too dusty. + +This particular morning was so lovely that even the horses seemed to +enjoy it, and for some reason "Uncle George" was less pompous and more +gentle than usual. Perhaps the anxious faces of the ladies touched his +heart, or he may have been softened by the knowledge of the perils his +young masters were being subjected to. + +As often as we passed horseman or carriage on the road a stop was +ordered, while the ladies made eager inquiries for news from Richmond. + +The battle of Shiloh, and afterwards that of Seven Pines, had +desolated many homes in the vicinity. The fate of some was yet +uncertain. Strong fellow-feeling knit all hearts. _Any_ passer-by, +even if a stranger, asked or answered questions. + +A drive of eight miles brought us to the church, a simple, lowly +building, the "Grove Church" I believe it was called. Here beneath the +shade were drawn several carriages, and at the door a few +plantation-wagons waited, some laden with straw, others with articles +to be sent off. In the vestibule, boxes were being rapidly filled. It +was a busy scene, but by no means a gay one. A few unconscious +children "played at party" in the pews, setting out on leaves or bits +of bark their luncheon, broken into fragments, and serving in acorn +cups cold water for tea. Unmolested and unreproved, they ran up and +down the steps of the high, old-fashioned pulpit, half-fearfully +sitting down upon the minister's chair, or standing on tip-toe to peep +over the sacred desk at the busy group below. Young girls moved +silently about "helping." Over their pale lips not a ripple of +laughter broke. The fire of youth seemed to have died out of their sad +eyes, quenched for a time by floods of bitter tears. + +To kindly question one of these replied, "Mamma is well, but of course +utterly prostrated, and does not leave her room. Papa is still in +Virginia nursing Buddie Eddie. We have no tidings of brother yet; he +is reported 'missing,' but we hope he may have been taken prisoner." + +Some familiar faces were absent. And of these it was told that one had +lost a husband, another a son, and so the sadness deepened. Presently +the trot of a horse was heard. In another moment the good minister +stood among his people. Alas! he could only confirm the fearful tales +of battle and carnage. But from the storehouse of mind and heart he +brought forth precious balm, won direct from heaven by earnest prayer +and simple faith. With this he strove to soothe the unhappy, anxious +ones who looked to him for comfort. His heart yearned over his little +flock, wandering in a pathway beset with sharpest thorns. But upon his +troubled face was plainly written, "Of myself I can do nothing." A few +faltering words he essayed, but, as if conscious of the utter +uselessness of any language save that of prayer, he raised imploring +hands to heaven, saying, simply, "Let us pray." + +Calmer, if not comforted, all arose from their knees, and, having +finished their labor of love, separated, to return to the homes which +had known beloved forms and faces, but would know them no more for +years, perhaps forever. + +Upon reaching once more our own home, we crept, one by one, to a +darkened chamber, where lay a martyred mother whose son had been slain +at the battle of Seven Pines. Pale as death she lay, her Bible clasped +to her breast, the sad eyes closed, the white lips murmuring always +words of prayer for patient submission to God's will, the nerveless +hands never losing their grasp upon the "rod and staff" which +comforted her. + +Of this family, every man, and every boy old enough to handle a gun, +had long ago joined the Confederate army. The dear boy whom our hearts +now mourned had just graduated with the highest honors when the war +broke out. Never a blind enthusiast, but an intelligent patriot, he +had been among the first to lay ambitious hopes and literary +aspirations upon the altar of his country. His brothers were cadets at +the Virginia Military Institute, and afterwards did good service under +Stonewall Jackson. Our slain hero joined the Third Alabama Regiment, +and, notwithstanding his tender age and delicate health, had already +made his mark as a soldier, brave as the bravest, never succumbing for +a moment to unaccustomed hardship. His record as a son was all that a +mother's heart could desire. He had been seen by a comrade during the +terrible battle, sitting up against a tree, shot through the breast +and mortally wounded. The enemy swept over the ground and he was seen +no more. Not even the poor comfort of knowing that his last hours were +rendered comfortable or where his grave was made, was vouchsafed to +this distracted mother. Two more brave boys of the household were +still unheard from, but believed to be unhurt, as they were not +reported "dead," "wounded," or "missing." And yet the noble women of +this as well as of numberless families so situated in every State of +the new Confederacy never intermitted, even for a day, their work for +"the soldiers,"--left no domestic duty unattended to,--in many +instances taking the place and doing the work of the men whom +patriotism had called to the field. + +Much as I admired and revered this "noble army of martyrs," I lacked +moral courage to emulate their example. Such a life of anxiety and +suspense would have driven me mad. The pitiful faces of the sick and +wounded haunted me every hour. I yearned to be with them. I felt sure +that I was called to this work. My health being restored, I could no +longer remain idle. But where to go, how to begin, I knew not. + +One day there appeared in the Selma paper a letter from Surgeon W.T. +McAllister, Army of Tennessee, describing the dreadful condition of +hundreds of sick and wounded men, who, after the terrible battle of +Shiloh and the subsequent evacuation of Corinth, had been huddled into +hospital-quarters at Gainesville, Alabama, and inquiring for a "lady" +to assist him in organizing, and in caring for the sick. Here was a +chance for me. I applied for the position, and, receiving a favorable +answer, proceeded without delay to Gainesville, leaving my little boy +at the plantation in charge of his father's relations. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +BUCKNER HOSPITAL, GAINESVILLE, ALABAMA. + + +Had I yielded to the almost irresistible impulse which tempted me to +fly from the painful scenes and fearful discouragements which met me +at Gainesville, Alabama, these "Memories" would have remained +unwritten. + +I had stipulated that while I would not receive compensation for +nursing sick Confederates, and was quite willing to live on the +government rations, I must always be provided with a sleeping-room in +some respectable private family, apart from the hospital. This was +promised; and this arrangement continued as long as I remained at the +"Buckner." + +Dr. McAllister, surgeon in charge, being unavoidably absent, I was met +at the depot by Dr. Minor, assistant surgeon. His look of surprise, +almost consternation, when I appeared gave me an uneasy sensation; +but, assuming an extra amount of dignity, I calmly accompanied him to +a most comfortable-looking house, where my room had been engaged. The +hostess was unmistakably a lady. I met with a pleasant reception, and +was soon seated at supper with several officers and their wives, +During the meal I had an uneasy consciousness that curious glances +were bent upon me from all sides. The evening, however, was spent +agreeably. After I had gone to my room, a kind old lady came to me to +beg that I would reconsider my determination to accept the position of +matron, but, finding me firm and somewhat dignified, left me to my +fate. + +The next morning, escorted by Dr. Minor, I went through the hospital. + +For the first time my heart utterly misgave me, and I felt that my +courage was inadequate to the task before me. I must premise that this +was not a State hospital, but under the direction of the Confederate +Government, which, at that time, was full of perplexity and trouble, +yet, like all new governments, exceedingly tenacious of forms. Dr. +Minor told me that the time and attention of Dr. McAllister had been +fully occupied in untying, one after another, knots of red tape, and +that, so far, perfect organization had been impossible. + +I entered the wards expecting to find something of the neatness and +order which in the Richmond hospitals had charmed every visitor. + +Alas! alas! were _these_ the brave men who had made forever glorious +the name of Shiloh? + +Hospital supplies were scarce; beds and bedding could not be often +changed. Here were rooms crowded with uncomfortable-looking beds, on +which lay men whose gangrened wounds gave forth foul odors, which, +mingled with the terrible effluvia from the mouths of patients ill of +scurvy, sent a shuddering sickness through my frame. In one room were +three or four patients with faces discolored and swollen out of all +semblance of humanity by erysipelas,--raging with fever, shouting in +delirious agony. + +The hospital had formerly been a large hotel, and was divided into +many rooms, all crowded with sick. The wounded men who were not +gangrened were carefully kept apart from those who were. Some of these +were frightfully disfigured in the face or head, and presented a +ghastly appearance. In rooms filled with fever-patients old men and +mere boys lay helpless, struggling with various forms and stages of +disease, hoarsely raving, babbling sweetly of home, vainly calling +remembered names, or lying in the fatal stupor which precedes death. + +Although many convalescents paced gloomily up and down the halls, or +lounged upon the spacious galleries, I noticed few male nurses. +Perhaps half a dozen women met us at the doors of different wards, +jauntily dressed, airily "showing off" their patients, and discoursing +of their condition and probable chances of life, in a manner utterly +revolting to me. I caught many a glance of disgust bent upon them by +the poor fellows who were thus treated as if they were stocks or +stones. These women were, while under the eye of the surgeon, +obsequious and eager to please, but I thought I saw the "lurking devil +in their eyes," and felt sure they meant mischief. + +Dr. McAllister arrived that night. The next morning I was regularly +installed. But I could not help feeling that there was a reservation +of power and authority, a doubt of my capacity, due to my youthful +appearance. Very helpless and friendless I felt, as, escorted by the +"surgeon in charge," I once more made the rounds. He left me at the +door of one of the fever-wards. This I entered, and stood for a moment +looking upon the scene of suffering humanity, wondering how and where +to begin the work of alleviation. Suddenly a faint voice called +"Milly! _Oh_, Milly!" I turned to meet a pair of blue eyes regarding +me with a look of pleased recognition, although it was at once evident +that I had been mistaken for some "loved one at home" through the +delirium of fever. Humoring the fancy, I stepped to his bedside and +gave my hand to the hot clasp of the poor fellow, a man of middle age, +whose eyes, fever-bright, still devoured my face with a happy look. +"Howdy, Milly! I've been looking for you every day. I'm mighty glad +you've come. The roar of the guns has hurt my head _powerful_. Get +some water from the far spring and bathe my head, Milly." + +It so happened that one of his own company, of some Georgia regiment, +a convalescent, had by his own request been detailed to nurse the sick +man. He soon brought me water, and I bathed the hot head, face, and +hands, until the patient fell asleep. + +This little incident encouraged me greatly. Passing on among the sick, +I found no lack of work, but sadly missed the facilities, comforts, +and luxuries which in Richmond had been always at my command. + +Lest it seem strange that such a state of things should have existed, +I will here ask the reader to remember that military movements of +tremendous importance were then taking place. An immense army was +executing, "with admirable skill and precision," a change of base. +Upon this army depended the destinies of a large portion of the +Confederacy. Means of transportation for the troops and their military +supplies, including, as an important precautionary measure, medical +stores, became an imperative necessity. The wounded and sick had also +been moved, and at least placed under shelter. Surgeons, however, were +unable to obtain either suitable diet or needed medicines. +Requisitions failed to be promptly filled, and hence the state of +things I have tried to describe. + +Dr. McAllister was absent most of the time in the interests of the +unfortunates under his charge. Meantime, I struggled to perform my +duties among the sick, and to exert authority, of which, as I soon +discovered, I possessed but the semblance. Nothing was left undone by +the women before referred to to thwart and annoy me. They had +evidently determined I should not remain there. I had ample evidence +that they were neglectful and unscrupulous in their dealings with the +patients. + +In one of the rooms, separated from the other patients, I found a man +who had been brought in several days before, suffering from excessive +drinking. Not being able to obtain whiskey, he had managed to get hold +of a bottle of turpentine emulsion from a table in the hall, and had +drank the whole. Dr. Minor and I worked for hours with this +unfortunate and hoped he would recover, but other patients required +looking after, and during my absence whiskey was smuggled in to him, +of which he partook freely. After that, nothing could save his life. A +patient suffering agonies from gastritis was also placed under my +special charge. I was to feed him myself, and avoid giving water, +except in the smallest quantities. I did my best, but he grew worse, +and just in time I found under his pillow a canteen full of water, +which had been procured for him by the woman who attended in his ward. +If I called for a basin of water to wash the face and hands of +neglected men, one of these women would laugh insultingly and say, +"Perhaps ye'll wait till I get a nagur to bring it to you, or a silver +waiter." They would insist that the surgeon had ordered them to do +this or that, and stop to argue against my directions, until I was +fain to save the sick further noise and clamor by leaving the ward. + +Not wishing to begin my work by complaining, or reporting to the +surgeons these daily-recurring annoyances, I struggled to hold my own +and to break down opposition by patient endurance. But one morning the +"last straw" was added to my burden. I found my Georgia soldier +apparently dying,--breathing heavily, and as cold as death already. +His comrade was in great distress, but ready to do all in his power, +and together we went to work in earnest. I sent for brandy and a box +of mustard. Pouring through the white lips spoonful after spoonful of +the stimulant, rubbing hands, arms, and legs with mustard, applying +plasters of the same, as well as bottles of water, to restore warmth +to the body, I soon had the satisfaction of seeing a faint color tinge +the cheeks and lips,--the clammy sweat superseded by returning warmth. +Working earnestly, thinking of nothing but the human life that hung in +the balance, I failed to observe the presence of the most disagreeable +of the female nurses, who was standing, with "arms akimbo," looking +on, until, with an insulting leer, she remarked, "It seems to me ye're +taking great liberties _for an honest woman_." Paralyzed with surprise +and indignation, I knew not how to act. Just then the surgeon in +charge of the ward, who had been summoned, appeared. + +After a hasty examination, "Madam," said he, "you have saved your +patient." + +Leaving the case in his hands, I fled to my room, resolving never to +enter the hospital again. Forthwith I wrote my resignation, and +demanded transportation back to Alabama. + +Meantime, the comrade of the sick man had reported to the surgeon the +whole matter. The next morning I received a visit from Surgeons +McAllister, Minor, and ---- (whose name I am sorry to have forgotten), +of the ward I had fled from. A letter had been received from Dr. +Little, of Richmond, whose name I had given as reference. The ill +behavior of the nurses having come to the knowledge of the surgeon in +charge, he at once acted with his usual promptness and decision. The +obnoxious women had already been discharged and furnished with +transportation to Mobile; the men who had aided and abetted them were +ordered to their regiments. I was urged to remain, on my own terms, +and offered a position of trust, responsibility, and honor,--my +authority to be second only to that of surgeon in charge in general +matters; in the wards, to that of the ward surgeons. Under these +circumstances I could not refuse to withdraw my resignation. + +The next day the work of reorganization commenced. Then and there I +was invested with full power and authority, and received from Dr. +McAllister assurances of entire confidence and thorough co-operation, +which were accorded in the highest degree during the whole term of my +service in the Buckner Hospital, and the prestige of which gave me +great advantages in other fields of labor. + +Aside from profoundest love of "the Cause," and (as I firmly believed) +the inspiration which directed my efforts to serve it, I had nothing +to offer. "With all my soul, with all my heart, with all my strength," +I was ready to serve; but this would have availed little had not my +right to do so been officially acknowledged, had I not acquired power +to follow out the dictates of reason and heart for the benefit of my +patients. + +As the organization begun at Gainesville, and the rules and +regulations then adopted, were fully perfected soon after we reached +the next "post," and remained in full force as long as the Buckner +Hospital existed, it may be as well to briefly describe them here. + +Convalescents were turned over to the steward, and their meals were +attended to by him and his assistants. I had only to see that their +mess-room was kept in order and that their rations were cooked to the +best advantage. For the sick I had my own kitchen, my own cooks and +other servants, my own store-room, also liberty to send out foragers. +Every morning I sent to each surgeon a list of such diet as I could +command for the sick. With this in hand he was able to decide upon the +proper food for each patient. Each bed was numbered. The head-nurse +kept a small book, into which he copied each day's diet-list. He was +also expected to have ready every morning a fresh piece of paper, upon +which the surgeon wrote the numbers of the beds, and opposite, F.D., +H.D., L.D., V.L.D., or S.D. (full diet, half diet, light diet, very +light diet, and special diet). If special directions were needed, the +surgeon brought the list to my business-room. If not, it was left with +the head-nurse, and when I made my own rounds it would be my guide in +consulting the tastes of the patients themselves as to the kind of +food they preferred and its preparation. Of all this I made notes. I +made it a point to feed the very ill patients myself. Others wore +served from a distributing-room, where at regular meal-times I always +presided, sitting at the end of a long table, having a pile of tin +numbers before me corresponding to the numbers on the beds in the +wards. There was an under-steward whose business it was to supply the +plates; also two helpers. The head-nurse from Ward No. 1 having come +down with his subordinates would call out, "No. 1, full diet," or as +the case might be. As the plate was filled, I handed out the +corresponding number, which was put upon the plate. The plates having +been placed upon large wooden trays, were carried off to the ward. +Then came No. 2, and so on, all the special patients having been +attended to previously. + +Everything relating to the bedding, clothing, and the personal +belongings of the sick and wounded I found in a fearful state. In one +room down-stairs perhaps two or three hundred knapsacks, haversacks, +canteens, etc., were thrown upon the floor in large piles. No one knew +to whom they belonged, no one seemed to care, and it appeared to me +_impossible_ to bring any degree of order out of the chaotic mass of +wet, half-dry, rough-dry, in some cases mildewed clothing lying +everywhere about. Prompt measures were taken with the washerwoman, +which resulted, in a day or two, in a procession of darkies, each +bearing a pile of clothing embracing almost every article of men's +apparel. A "linen master" having been detailed, a "linen-room" set +apart and shelved, the articles were placed upon large tables to be +sorted and piled upon the shelves, ready for reclamation by the +convalescents and others who were not too ill to identify their own. +Some of these clothes were torn and buttonless. My detailed men could +not sew. The demands of the sick and the duties of general supervision +left me no time. Taught by my experience of the devoted women of +Virginia and Alabama, I resolved to visit some of the ladies of +Gainesville, and to solicit their aid. The response was hearty and +immediate. Next day the linen-room was peopled by bright, energetic +ladies, at whose hands the convalescents received their renovated +garments with words of warm sympathy and encouragement that cheered +their hearts. + +The lack of clean bedding being made known, these generous, patriotic +women sent in soft, clean old sheets, pillow-slips, etc., also a few +old shirts,--some of them even bearing with me the horrors of the +scurvy and gangrene wards to assist in making the sufferers more +comfortable. Details for all purposes were made as soon as I asked for +them, and as "many hands make light work," order and system began to +pervade all departments. A baggage-master, with several temporary +assistants, found work for several days in disposing of the knapsacks, +haversacks, blankets, etc. As fast as they were claimed, they were +ticketed with the number of the ward and bed of the claimant, and +piled away to await his return to his regiment. Those unreclaimed and +known to have belonged to the dead were labelled as far as possible +with the name and date of death, company, and regiment, and stored +until friends should come or write for them. + +The work of organization was not nearly complete, when Dr. McAllister +received orders to report with his hospital staff at Ringgold, +Georgia. The sick were to be removed elsewhere,--at any rate were not +to accompany us. Hospital stores would be supplied at Ringgold. The +doctor and his attendants awaited transportation, which seemed +difficult to obtain. Many bodies of soldiers crowded every +train,--passenger, freight, and even cattle cars. + +Dr. McAllister decided to send his wife and myself by private +conveyance to Marion, Alabama, to remain there until we should receive +final directions. Two servants belonging to Mrs. McAllister +accompanied us. Our kind hostess had put up a basket of provisions. + +I took a sad leave of the patients who had become so dear to me, and +one bright morning we drove rapidly out of Gainesville on our way to +Marion. + +The ride was a perfect delight, over excellent roads, or through +aisles of the forest, where the healthful odor of the pines perfumed +the air, and myriads of birds made sweetest music. Stopping beside +some sparkling spring to lunch and dine, chatting gayly all day, +growing thoughtful and silent, as, borne upon the breeze of evening, +there came to us the whispering voices of memory, renewing the sorrow +of parting, awakening afresh anxious fears for the absent. + +We slept at any house along the road where night overtook us, always +expecting and finding a welcome. In these homes, as everywhere else +over the South, sorrow and care had taken up their abode. Haggard, +weary-looking women, from whose hearts and homes joy had departed with +the dear ones who had gone forth to battle, plied us with eager +questions. We related to them all we knew of military movements. But +it was very little, and we could give them no tidings of their own. + +The third day brought us to Marion, where, at the pleasant home of +Mrs. McAllister, we awaited further orders. + +I have very pleasant recollections of Marion, and of the elegant homes +where I was so delightfully entertained. But already love for my +chosen work had reached (so people told me) the height of infatuation. +Between me and every offered pleasure appeared the pale, reproachful +faces of the suffering soldiers. My place was beside them, and I +longed for the summons. + +A letter from Dr. McAllister to his wife announced the establishment +of a hospital post in Ringgold, Georgia, but counselled our waiting +until "things could be straightened out." I _could not_ wait, so left +the same evening, arriving in time to organize my own department, +which, as the assistants had not been changed, and fell easily into +their places, was not so difficult as at Gainesville. Besides, we +received a fair supply of hospital stores, and were enabled to make +patients very comfortable. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +RINGGOLD. + + +The hospitals established at Ringgold, Georgia, early in the fall of +1862, received the wounded and the not less serious cases of typhoid +fever, typhoid pneumonia, dysentery, and scurvy resulting from almost +unparalleled fatigue, exposure, and every kind of hardship incident to +Bragg's retreat from Kentucky. These sick men were no shirkers, but +soldiers brave and true, who, knowing their duty, had performed it +faithfully, until little remained to them but the patriot hearts +beating almost too feebly to keep soul and body together. The +court-house, one church, warehouses, stores, and hotels were converted +into hospitals. Row after row of beds filled every ward. Upon them lay +wrecks of humanity, pale as the dead, with sunken eyes, hollow cheeks +and temples, long, claw-like hands. Oh, those poor, weak, nerveless +hands used to seem to me more pitiful than all; and when I remembered +all they had achieved and how they had lost their firm, sinewy +proportions, their strong grasp, my heart swelled with pity and with +passionate devotion. Often I felt as if I could have held these cold +hands to my heart for warmth, and given of my own warm blood to fill +those flaccid veins. + +Every train brought in squads of just such poor fellows as I have +tried to describe. How well I remember them toiling painfully from the +depot to report at the surgeon's office, then, after being relieved of +their accoutrements, tottering with trembling limbs to the beds from +which, perhaps, they would never more arise. This hospital-post, as +nearly as I remember, comprised only two hospitals, the Bragg and the +Buckner. Of the Bragg, Dr. S.M. Bemiss was surgeon in charge; +assistant surgeons, Gore, of Kentucky; Hewes, of Louisville, Kentucky; +Welford, of Virginia; Redwood, of Mobile, Alabama, and some others +whose names I cannot now recall. Dr. W.T. McAllister was surgeon in +charge of the Buckner. Of the assistant surgeons I can only remember +Dr. W.S. Lee, then of Florida, now a successful practitioner and an +honored citizen of Dallas, Texas; Dr. R.D. Jackson, of Selma, Alabama, +who since the war has lived a well-beloved physician and druggist in +Summerfield, Alabama; Dr. Reese, also of Alabama, and Dr. Yates, of +Texas, now dead. For a few months Dr. Francis Thornton, of Kentucky, +was surgeon of the post. He was a fiery, impetuous, _manly man_, a +rigid disciplinarian, but always compelled to fight against the +dictates of his large, warm heart when duty compelled him to execute +severe justice. + +Mrs. Thornton was one of the most lovable women I ever knew; impulsive +and earnest in her friendship, of a sunny, cheerful temperament seldom +clouded. Her pride in her husband and her happiness in being with him +was pleasant to see. While she remained in Ringgold we were warm +friends. To her thoughtful kindness I owed many an indulgence in +dainties not supplied by the Confederate Government. My room was in +the same house where the surgeons and their wives were boarding. Often +returning late from the hospital, weary and dispirited, her sweet +voice would "_halt_" me at the foot of the stairs, a kindly arm +impelling me to her cheerful room, where a cup of tea and a nice +little supper was in readiness, made far more enjoyable by her loving +service and pleasant talk so full of cheer. The other ladies were just +as kind-hearted, but none had the sweet, winning grace that +characterized Mrs. Thornton, except, perhaps, Mrs. Lee, wife of the +surgeon above mentioned. She was also one of the dearest and kindest +of friends. My enthusiasm in regard to Mrs. Lee was almost like that +of a lover. She was a beautiful woman, tall, majestic, graceful, +towards the world at large dignified and, perhaps, a little reticent; +to those whom she honored with her love or friendship, irresistibly +fascinating. Her eyes were--not magnificent, but just "the sweetest +ever seen," and combined with a perfect mouth to make her smile a +caress. In addition, rare intelligence and fine conversational powers +rendered her a delightful companion. Dr. Lee was by birth a South +Carolinian, a polished gentleman, and, though in general +self-contained and of quiet manners, proved a warm friend and a most +pleasant host. Mrs. Lee used to search for me through the wards, and, +having found me, would flourish a "prescription," made out in due +form, for "an hour of leisure, to be repeated twice every week before +retiring." These hours spent at the pleasant quarters of Dr. and Mrs. +Lee were, indeed, "a feast of reason and a flow of soul," often +diversified by funny experiments in disguising the remains of the +day's rations by cooking recipes familiar in ante-bellum days, but +which generally failed because substitutes would never produce the +same results as the real ingredients. + +Dr. Lee was some months afterwards transferred to Cherokee Springs as +surgeon in charge of one of the convalescent hospitals, of which Mrs. +Lee volunteered to act as matron. We parted with real regret, but +truly her patients gained by our loss. For she was most competent, +faithful, and well-beloved by those to whom she ministered. + +The autumn passed quickly, some pretty severe days giving us a +foretaste of the rigor of a winter in North Georgia. By November 1 it +was not only bitterly cold, but snow covered the ground to the depth +of six inches, and the roads were furrowed and frozen. Terrible +accounts reached us from Bragg's army, who were without shoes, +blankets, or clothes, and suffering fearfully. Officers and men were +alike destitute. General Patton Anderson determined to make an effort +to supply his division, and for this purpose selected Lieutenant J.A. +Chalaron, Fifth Company, Washington Artillery, as one in every way +qualified to carry out such an undertaking, who was therefore ordered +to Savannah and other places to secure the needed supplies. + +He cheerfully accepted the charge, although it involved deprivation of +the rest so greatly needed, and the continuance of hardship already +extended almost beyond human endurance. But the young officer was +every inch a soldier, and one of a company which had already won a +name for itself not less for invincible courage than for soldierly +bearing and devotion to duty. That so young a soldier was selected to +conduct such an undertaking proved how surely he had deserved and won +the confidence of his superior officers. In those days railroad +travelling was far from pleasant. The train upon which Lieutenant +Chalaron embarked at Knoxville was a motley affair,--perhaps a single +passenger-car, rough and dilapidated (crowded with those who, though +ill, made shift to sit up or recline upon the seats), box-cars and +_cattle-cars_ filled with suffering men helplessly sick. In order that +these might not be crowded, Lieutenant Chalaron, with one or two +others, rode on the top of a box-car for twelve hours, from Knoxville +to Chattanooga, exposed to the inclement weather which he was ill +prepared to meet, having shared the inexpressible hardships of the +Kentucky campaign, including destitution of suitable clothing. I take +pleasure in recording this noble act, because Lieutenant Chalaron was +from New Orleans (also my own beloved home). The impulse of +self-sacrifice, and of chivalrous devotion towards the helpless and +suffering, sprung from a heart pulsating with the knightly blood of +the Creole of Louisiana. Ah, that impetuous blood which stirred at the +first call to arms, which was poured out in continual libations to +Southern liberty, from the time it gushed from the breast of the first +martyr of the war (our Charlie Dreux), until almost in the "last +ditch," piled high with masses of Confederate dead, lay the gory body +of _Edgar Dreux_, the very topmost man, proving how invincible was the +courage that quailed not at the sight of that ghastly altar of +sacrifice! + +The large brick court-house in the centre of the town of Ringgold was +especially devoted to my use. The court-room occupying the entire +upper floor was fitted up for fifty patients. This was facetiously +called "the nursery," and its occupants "Mrs. Beers's babies." In this +ward were placed, as far as its capacity permitted, patients who +needed to be visited very often, and for whose proper nourishment and +the prompt administration of medicine I was responsible. For instance, +if one of the fever-patients was taking veratrum, I must see it +dropped and given, and note the pulse. If one was just struggling +through dysentery, I must attend to his nourishment, and generally fed +him myself. Down-stairs was one large room, and three of good size, +but smaller. The large one was also a ward. My business-room opposite +was also the linen-room of the hospital. Shelves ran from floor to +ceiling, a counter in front of them. In one corner stood my desk, and +beside it a large country rocking-chair; in another a rough lounge for +the convenience of visiting patients. In front of the immense +fireplace (where there was always a cheerful fire) stood a table and +chairs for the surgeons, who came in after each round through the +wards, to leave special directions and diet-lists. Through the day +this room was a cheerful place. I seldom entered it without finding +one or more visitors, especially in the morning, when the surgeons +always met there, and their wives generally joined them. On the other +side of the hall was the distributing-room in one corner, in the other +a store-room, where, also, under my own lock and key, I kept the +effects of dead soldiers, labelled and ready for identification by +their friends. I was assisted in this work, in keeping the linen-room +in order, and in various other ways, by a young German who had been +detailed for that purpose. He was a well-educated young man and a fine +musician,--in fact, had been a professor of music before the war, had +entered the service intelligently, desiring to remain in active +service, but some disability caused his detail. His position was no +sinecure: he was expected to keep a full account of all stores in my +department, all bedding, hospital clothing, all clothing of the +patients, and a great many other things, having full charge of the +laundry and the laundresses, with whom he was always in "hot water." +For this reason he was dubbed by the surgeons _General Blandner_, and +his employees were called _Blandner's Brigade_. He was methodical in +all things. His books were exquisitely kept. I had been a good +musician, and now used often to sing to Blandner's lute, which he +played in a masterly manner. His improvisations were a great delight +to me, and, finding me so appreciative, he composed a lovely set of +waltzes, "_The Hospital Waltzes_," which were dedicated to me, but +never published, only exquisitely written out on pieces of wall-paper +by the composer. After the war, Mr. Blandner obtained through Dr. +McAllister the position of professor of music at the female college at +Marion, Alabama, but removed later to Philadelphia, whore he now +resides, still as a professor and teacher of music. + +The cold increased, and the number of patients grew larger. Snow and +ice rendered it difficult for me to get to the wards, as they lay +quite far apart. The boarding-house at first occupied by the surgeons' +families was now vacated and fitted up for officers' wards, a room +being found for me in a log house, owned by an old lady, Mrs. Evans, +whose sons, except the youngest, a mere lad, were in the Confederate +army. + +It was nearly a quarter of a mile from the courthouse. The road +thither, lying through a piece of piney woods, was almost always +blocked by drifted snow or what the Georgians called "slush" (a +mixture of mud and snow). I must confess that the freezing mornings +chilled my patriotism a little, but just because it _was_ so cold the +sick needed closer attention. One comfort never failed me: it was the +watchful devotion of a soldier whom I had nursed in Gainesville, +Alabama, and who, by his own request, was now permanently attached to +my special corps of "helpers." No matter how cold the morning or how +stormy, I never opened my door but there was "Old Peter" waiting to +attend me. When the blinding storms of winter made the roads almost +impassable by night, Peter would await my departure from the hospital +with his lantern, and generally on very stormy nights with an old +horse which he borrowed for the occasion, savagely cutting short my +remonstrances with a cross "Faith, is it now or in the mornin' ye'll +be lavin'?" He would limp beside me quite to the door of my room, and +with a rough "Be aisy, now," in reply to my thanks, would scramble +upon the horse and ride back. + +"I know not is he far or near, or that he lives, or is he dead," _only +this_, that my dreams of the past are often haunted by the presence of +this brave soldier and humble, loyal friend. I seem to see again the +lined and rugged face ("harsh," others thought, wearing always for me +a smile which reminded me of the sunlight brightening an old gray +ruin,) and the toil-hardened hands which yet served _me_ so tenderly. +I seem to hear once more the rich Irish brogue which gave character +and emphasis to all he said, a _naughty_ character and a most +_unpleasant_ emphasis sometimes, I must admit, fully appreciated by +any who chanced to displease him, but to me always as sweet and +pleasant as the zephyrs blowing from "the groves of Blarney." Peter +was an Alabama soldier. On the first day of my installation as matron +of Buckner Hospital, located then at Gainesville, Alabama, after the +battle of Shiloh, I found him lying in one of the wards badly wounded, +and suffering, as were many others, from scurvy. He had been morose +and fierce to all who approached him. At first I fared no better. +"Sure, what wad a lady be wantin' in a place like this?" said he, +crossly. "Why, comrade," I replied, "I thought you would like to have +a lady to nurse you ?" "Divil a wan," growled he, and, drawing the +coverlid over his face, refused to speak again. I felt disheartened +for the moment, but after a consultation with Dr. McAllister, surgeon +in charge,--than whom a better disciplinarian or a kinder-hearted man +never lived,--it was decided that Peter should be induced or compelled +to receive my ministrations. For several days, however, he remained +sullen and most unwilling to be nursed, but this mood softened, and +long before he was well enough to leave the ward the warm Irish heart +had melted, and I had secured a friend whose unalterable devotion +attended me through all the vicissitudes of the war. + +Being permanently disabled, by reason of his wound, from service in +the field, Peter was detailed for hospital service, and by his own +request attached to my special corps of assistants. He could and did +in a hundred ways help me and contribute to my comfort. No matter how +many times I met him during the day, he never passed without giving me +a military salute. If I was detained by the bedside of one very ill or +dying, hoping to save life, or at least to receive and treasure "for +the loved ones at home" some word or message, I was sure to hear +Peter's limping step and his loud whisper, "Sure it's dying he is; +can't ye lave him in the hands av God, an' go to your bed?" He +constituted himself, in many cases, my mentor, and deeply resented any +seeming disrespect towards me. + +I recall a case in point which highly amused the whole "post." While +located at Ringgold, Georgia, it was considered desirable to remove +some of the convalescents to a camp hospital at Cherokee Springs, some +three miles out of town. It became my duty to see these patients every +evening, and I rode out on horseback attended by Peter. Riding into +camp one evening, I dismounted near a tent in front of which a group +of officers were standing, in conversation with Dr. ----, of Kentucky. +We exchanged a few words of greeting as I passed on to attend to my +patients. Returning, to mount my horse, I noticed that Peter rather +rudely pushed before Lieutenant ----, who came forward to assist me. I +also noticed that his face wore the old sullen look, and that his +manner was decidedly unpleasant. Before we had gone far, he broke out +with, "'Dade, ma'am, ye'll go there no more, if ye plaze." Amazed, I +questioned why? "Sure, thim fellers was makin' game av ye an' callin' +ye out av yer name." "Why, Peter," cried I, "you are crazy: _who_ +called me names, and what did they call me?" "Thim offshurs, ma'am. +Sure, I couldn't make out their furrin worruds, but I belave 'tis a +_sinner_ they called ye. Faith, an' if _ye're_ a sinner, where wad the +saints be?" Of course, woman-like, I became furious, and, on our +arrival at headquarters, indignantly reported the "offshurs" to the +surgeon in charge, who promised to investigate. + +The sequel is most amusing. It turned out that Peter had overheard a +conversation between the officers above mentioned and Dr. ----. They +having made some kindly remark as to my hospital service, Dr. ---- as +kindly replied, "Yes, she is a _sine qua non_." My amusement was +mingled with chagrin at my hasty anger, but Peter remained unconvinced +and never forgave the offenders. Upon another occasion I was compelled +to interfere to protect an innocent victim of Peter's wrath. One of my +"boys" about returning to his command came to take leave of me and to +offer a little keepsake. This was, or appeared to be, a crochet-needle +prettily carved and having _one end fringed out_. I took it with +thanks, saying, "I hope I may use this needle to crochet a pair of +mittens for you." Cried the donor, "That ain't no crochet-needle." +"No? Well, what is it?" "It is a dipping-stick; don't you chaw snuff?" +Upon my indignant denial, the crestfallen man exclaimed, "Well, Lor', +lady, I made sure you did, you're so yaller complected" (I had shortly +before recovered from an attack of jaundice). Now, it chanced that +Peter, knowing my fondness for a pine-knot fire, had collected a +quantity of knots, which he just then brought in, and, hearing the +uncomplimentary remark of my soldier-friend, turned upon him with the +utmost fury, and such a tirade of abuse as followed baffles alike my +power to recall the words or to describe the rage which prompted them. +I was compelled to interfere and order Peter out of the room. + +"When, in the course of human events," those who for four years had +shared the fortunes of war separated to seek their several homes, I +lost sight of my devoted friend. + +He was "_Old_ Peter" then, and, in all probability, no longer lives, +save in my memory. If he be dead, "peace to his ashes." If living, may +God bless and sustain him in the days that are "full of trouble." + + +In the midst of this terrible winter, on one of the most bitter days, +there came about noon an order from "the front" to prepare for two +hundred sick, who would be down late the same night. There was not a +bed to spare in either of the hospitals. Negotiations were at once +opened for the only church in Ringgold not already occupied by the +sick. The people declined to give it up. But, "necessity knows no +law;" it was seized by Dr. Thornton, the pews being taken out and +piled up in the yard. Fires were then kindled in both stoves to +thoroughly warm the church. There was, however, not a single bunk,--no +time to make any; all the empty ticks when filled with straw and +placed upon the floor fell far short of the number required. For the +rest straw was littered down as if for horses, and when the pillows +gave out, head-rests were made by tearing off the backs of the pews +and nailing them slantwise from the base-board to the floor, so that +knapsacks, coats, etc., could be used for pillows. + +The order had reached Ringgold about noon; it was ten at night before +the rough preparations were completed. Meantime, such nourishment as +hot soup, coffee, and tea, milk, egg-nog, and milk-punch (prepared +with home-made peach or apple brandy), were kept in readiness. Near +midnight I stood in the church awaiting the arrival of the train. +Candles were scarce, but light-wood-fires outside gave sufficient +light. The candles were not to be used until needed by the surgeons, +who were now at the depot waiting to receive the sick. At last the +train arrived,--departed; shortly thereafter there poured through the +doors of that little church a train of human misery such as I never +saw before or afterward during the war, and pray God I may never see +again. Until that night the tale of the retreat from Moscow had seemed +to me overdrawn; ever since I can well believe "the half has not been +told." They came, each revealing some form of acute disease, some +tottering, but still on their feet, others borne on stretchers. +Exhausted by forced marches over interminable miles of frozen ground +or jagged rocks, destitute of rations, discouraged by failure, these +poor fellows had cast away one burden after another until they had not +clothes sufficient to shield them from the chilling blasts of winter. +Not one in twenty had saved even a haversack, many having discarded +coats and jackets. One man had gained possession of an india-rubber +overcoat, which, excepting his underclothing, was his only garment. +Barefooted,--their feet were swollen frightfully, and seamed with +fissures so large that one might lay a finger in them. These were +dreadfully inflamed, and bled at the slightest touch; others were +suppurating. The feet of some presented a shining, inflamed surface +which seemed ready to burst at any moment. Their hands were just as +bad, covered with chilblains and sores. Many were tortured with wounds +which had at first seemed slight, but by neglect and exposure had +become sources of exquisite torture. The gleaming eyes, matted hair +and beard hanging about their cadaverous faces, gave to these men a +wild, ghastly look utterly indescribable. As they came in, many sunk +exhausted upon the pallets, some falling at once into a deep sleep, +from which it was impossible to arouse them, others able only to +assume a sitting posture on account of the racking, rattling cough +which, when reclining, threatened to suffocate them. Few would stop to +be undressed: food and rest were all they craved. Those who crowded to +the stoves soon began to suffer from their frozen feet and hands, and +even ran out into the snow to ease their pain. The surgeons worked +faithfully, and the whole force was in requisition. But, alas! alas! +death also was busy among these unfortunates. The very first man I +essayed to feed died in my arms, two others during the night. The poor +wounded feet I tried to handle so tenderly bled at every touch. The +warmth of the room, while it sent some into a sound sleep which seemed +death's counterpart, caused terrible agony to others, who groaned and +screamed. It seemed to me just as if those men, having previously kept +up with heroic fortitude under trials almost too great for human +endurance, had, as soon as the terrible tension was loosened, utterly +succumbed, forgetting all but the horrible pain that racked them. + +Fever running riot in the veins of some found expression in delirious +shouts and cries, which added to the horror. My courage almost failed +me. About half-past two, Dr. Thornton, yielding to my earnest +entreaties, went home and brought Mrs. Thornton to share my vigil, +although, as a general thing, he was opposed to her going into the +hospital wards. Together we labored through that long night. Soon +after daylight next morning, passing into the church porch, we stood +for a few moments silently, hand in hand, for, although both hearts +were too full for speech, our labor of love had drawn us very near +together. + +Everywhere the snow lay white and glittering. In the church-yard, upon +some of the pews arranged for the purpose, had been placed the +lifeless bodies of the three men who had died during the night. There +they lay, stark and stiff. Upon these cold, dead faces no mourners' +tears would fall; no friends would bear with reverend tread these +honored forms to their last resting-place. Rough pine boxes would soon +cover the faces once the light of some far-away home, careless hands +would place them in their shallow graves, without a prayer, without a +tear. Only the loving hand of nature to plant flowers above them. + +For months after entering the service I insisted upon attending every +dead soldier to the grave and reading over him a part of the +burial-service. But it had now become impossible. The dead were past +help; the living _always_ needed succor. But no soldier ever died in +my presence without a whispered prayer to comfort his parting soul. Ah +me! The "prayers for the sick, and those near unto death," are to this +day more familiar to me than any other portion of the Prayer-Book, and +at no time can I hear unmoved the sacred old hymns so often sung +beside dying beds. Passing to my office along the path traversed last +night by the incoming soldiers, I found the snow along the whole +distance stained by their bare, bleeding feet, and the sight made my +heart ache sorely. I think I never in all my life felt so keen a sense +of utter dependence upon a higher Power, or understood so thoroughly +how "vain is the help of man," than when, in the seclusion of my own +room, the events of the night passed in review before me. With a heart +aching with supreme pity, ready to make any sacrifice for the noble +martyrs who, for my sake as well as for that of all Southern women, +had passed unshrinking through inexpressible suffering, never +faltering until laid low by the hand of disease,--I could yet do +nothing. I could not save them one moment of agony, I could not stay +the fleeting breath, nor might I intermit the unceasing care +imperatively demanded by those whom timely ministrations might save, +to give due honor to the dead. + +Only an hour or two of rest (broken like the sleep of those of a +household who retire from the side of beloved sufferers, leaving them +to the care of others while they snatch a few moments of the repose +which is needed to prepare them for fresh exertions) and I was once +more on my way to the wards. At the gate of the boarding-house stood +one of the nurses. Again, as often before, I was summoned to a bed of +death. A soldier who had come in only two days before almost in the +last stages of pneumonia was now dying. I had left him at eight +o'clock the night before very ill, but sleeping under the influence of +an opiate. His agony was _now_ too terrible for any alleviation; but +he had sent for me; so I stood beside him, answering by every possible +expression of sympathy his imploring glances and the frantic clasp of +his burning hand. Finding that my presence was a comfort, I sent for +Dr. McAllister, and, requesting him to assign my duties to some one +else for a while, remained at my post, yielding to the restraining +grasp which to the very last arrested every movement away from the +side of the sufferer. A companion of the sick man lay near. From him I +learned the excellent record of this young soldier, who, during the +frightful "retreat," had contracted the cold which culminated in +pneumonia, but would not consent to leave his regiment until too late. + +I had feared an awful struggle at the last, but the death angel was +pitiful, bringing surcease of suffering; and so, peacefully sped the +soul of John Grant, of the ---- Mississippi Regiment, happily +unconscious of the end, and murmuring with his last breath, of home +and mother. + +I remember with great distinctness his face,--suffering while he yet +struggled with death,--happy and tranquil, when he stood upon the +threshold of life eternal. Almost the very saddest and most trying +portion of my Confederate service was just here. Only that my record +must be faithful, I would fain bid memory pass with flying feet and +veiled eyes over the scenes of that terrible winter at Ringgold, when +my very soul was steeped in pity so painful that every night I was +fain to cry out, "It is too hard! I cannot bear it!" and every morning +my heart, yearning over "my boys," gave itself with renewed ardor to +"the Cause" and its defenders. + +Returning to my patients in the church about noon, I found a change +for the better in many cases; in others it was but too evident that +days, even hours, were numbered. Two soldiers in particular attracted +my attention. One was an Irishman, of an Alabama regiment, the other +from Arkansas. The Irishman was fast passing away, and earnestly +desired to see a priest. There was none nearer than twelve miles. One +of our foragers, himself a Roman Catholic, volunteered to go for him +and by permission of Dr. McAllister rode off through the snow, +returning after nightfall to report that Father ---- had been called +in another direction, and would not return home until the next day. +Finding the poor fellow, though almost too far gone to articulate, +constantly murmuring words of prayer, I took his prayer-book and read +aloud the "Recommendation of a soul departing," also some of the +preceding prayers of the "Litany for the dying." He faintly responded, +and seemed to die comforted and satisfied. Afterwards I never +hesitated to use the same service in like cases. + +The Arkansian was a devoted soldier and a pronounced "rebel." He had +preserved through all vicissitudes a small Confederate flag, made for +him by his little daughter "Annie," now alas torn and shattered. When +he came into the church on that terrible night, although almost +destitute of clothing, he bore the flag safely pinned inside of his +ragged flannel shirt. A few days afterwards I found the poor, +emaciated frame propped up in bed, with a crumpled sheet of paper +spread upon a piece of pine board before him, while, with unaccustomed +hand and unaccustomed brain, he toiled over some verses of poetry +addressed to "Annie." After a week or two, when he lay dying, I +received from his hand the flag and the verses pinned together, and +addressed to "Miss Annie ----," in some part of Arkansas; but as I +hoped to retain, and finally to deliver safely, the articles so +addressed, I did not tax my memory with it, and when afterwards, in +Macon, all my belongings were taken by the raiders, I had nothing left +to recall the name, and only remember one of the verses, which ran +thus: + + "Your father fought under this flag, + This bonny flag so true, + And many a time, amidst the fray, + The bullets whistled through-- + _So, Annie, keep the flag_." + +The verses were headed, "Annie, Keep the Flag," and each one ended +with the same words. + +The sad days of winter passed slowly away; with the spring came +changes. Dr. Thornton was ordered to another post (I had forgotten +just where), and of course Mrs. Thornton accompanied him. Everybody +connected with the post regretted their departure, especially the loss +of Mrs. Thornton, who was a general favorite. We had not ceased to +miss her when tidings came of Dr. Thornton's death, and of the wild +grief of the stricken wife, which resisted all control. A messenger +had been despatched to call me to her side. I found her clinging to +the body of her murdered husband, stained with his blood, yet +resisting all attempts to remove her. Dr. Thornton having severely +punished a case of insubordination, the culprit swore vengeance, and +had fulfilled his oath in a most complete though cowardly manner. Just +after dark, as the doctor was sitting at supper with his wife, a voice +at the gate called his name. He answered the summons at once, followed +closely by Mrs. Thornton, who, standing upon the doorsteps, saw and +heard the murderous blow which laid him dead at her feet, stabbed to +the heart. For many hours horror and grief dethroned the reason of the +wife. After I had persuaded her to go to her room, she continually +insisted upon washing her hands, which she shudderingly declared were +red with _his blood_. Subsequently she struggled successfully for +composure, pitifully saying, "He liked me to be brave; I _will try_," +and with remarkable fortitude she bore up through the trying ordeal +which followed. In my ministration to Mrs. Thornton I was assisted by +a lady whose name is well known and well beloved by the soldiers of +the Army of Tennessee,--Mrs. Frank Newsome. Of remarkable beauty, +sweet and gentle manners, deeply religious, and carrying the true +spirit of religion into her work, hers was indeed an angelic ministry. +We had never met before, but in the days of my early girlhood I had +known her husband, Frank Newsome, of Arkansas, who, with Randal +Gibson, of Louisiana, Tom Brahan, of Alabama, and my own husband (then +my lover), studied together under a tutor in preparation for the +junior class of Yale College; they were room-mates at a house in the +same village where my mother resided, and I had known them very well. +Dr. Newsome had died some time before, but his having once been my +friend proved a bond of sympathy between his widow and myself. +Although our pleasant intercourse was never again renewed, I continued +through the years of the war to hear accounts of Mrs. Newsome's +devotion to the Confederate soldiers. Duty requiring my presence at +the hospital, I was compelled to leave Mrs. Thornton, who soon after +returned to Kentucky. I never met her again, but remember her with +unchanged affection. + +Dr. Gamble, of Tallahassee, Florida, succeeded Dr. Thornton as surgeon +of the post at Ringgold. He was one of the most thorough gentlemen I +ever knew, as courteous to the humblest soldier as to General Bragg, +who was then and during the summer a frequent visitor. His wife lay +for some months very ill at some point near Ringgold. Mrs. Gamble, +who, with her lovely children, was domiciled at Cherokee Springs, +three miles distant, was also a delightful addition to our little +circle. She was thoroughly accomplished, of charming manners, although +perfectly frank and outspoken. Her musical talent was exceptional, and +her lovely voice, coined into Confederate money, was freely given in +aid of all charitable objects. She was a frequent visitor at my +office, walking into town in the evening to ride out with her husband. +During the summer, Mrs. Bragg passed many days of convalescence at the +lovely cottage-home of Dr. and Mrs. Gamble, at Cherokee Springs, but +she was quite too feeble to come into town very often. Religious +services were frequently held in the beautiful grove at the Springs; +these I attended as often as I could be spared, Mrs. Gamble always +sending for me and sending me back in the ambulance. Later a +convalescent camp was established there, and then I rode out on +horseback every evening to look after my "boys," until the transfer of +Dr. Lee as surgeon in charge and Mrs. Lee as matron rendered my +services no longer necessary. Very pleasant memories cluster about the +room in the court-house at Ringgold assigned to my special use. I +often seem to hear once more the sweet music of "General Blandner's +lute," sometimes accompanied by the clear soprano of Mrs. Gamble, +sometimes by our blended voices. I remember as distinctly as if it +were only yesterday the kindly faces and cheerful voices that smiled +upon and greeted me as I ran in from the wards to take a few moments' +rest. I had collected and kept on the shelves in my office a great +many books for the use of convalescents, who were my most constant +visitors. The mantelpiece was decorated with articles of curious +workmanship and miracles of beautiful carving (the gifts of my +patients), variously inscribed. There were cups and saucers, with +vines running over and around them, boxes which simulated books, +paper-cutters, also rings made of gutta-percha buttons, with silver +hearts let in like mosaic. I was as proud of them as a queen of her +crown-jewels, and always kept them on exhibition with the precious +notes of presentation attached. Had I retained possession of these +treasures, I would have proudly bequeathed them to my children; but, +alas! these, like everything else, fell into the hands of raiders. +Many officers of distinction visited my little sanctum,--not only +surgeons from other posts, but men of military distinction, clergymen, +and others. General Bragg came frequently for a time, also Bishop +Beckwith, and many others whose faces come to me while their names +elude the grasp of memory. I welcomed them all alike, for I have never +felt a prouder heart-throb in the presence of an officer, no matter +how exalted his rank, than while viewing the shadowy forms of my +convalescents or answering their earnest greetings as they passed in +and out of my office, or rested awhile in my one easy-chair, or, still +better, came with buoyant step and bright eyes to bid me farewell when +ready to report for duty, never failing to leave with me the "God +bless you!" so precious to my soul. + +Some of the poor fellows who were wounded at the battle of +Murfreesboro' now began to suffer from gangrene. Tents were pitched +outside the hospital for such cases, and it was often my fate to stand +beside these sufferers while the surgeon removed unhealthy granulation +with instruments or eating acids, or in other ways tortured the poor +fellows to save life. + +The establishment of an officers' ward added to my cares. As in most +cases they were waited upon by their own servants, I could do a great +deal by proxy. If any were very ill, however, as often was the case, I +attended them myself. Among those whom I nursed in Ringgold was +Captain E. John Ellis, of Louisiana. If I am not mistaken, he had been +slightly wounded at the battle of Murfreesboro'. At any rate, he was +for a time very ill of pneumonia, and received all his nourishment +from my hand. Often since the war, as I have seen him standing with +majestic mien and face aglow with grand and lofty thoughts, or have +listened spellbound to the thrilling utterances of "the silver-tongued +orator," memory, bidding me follow, has led me back to a lowly room +where, bending over a couch of pain, I saw the same lips, fevered and +wan, open feebly to receive a few spoonfuls of nourishment. "Aye! and +that tongue of his which now bids nation mark him and write his +speeches in their books" cried faintly, "Give me some drink." + +Captain Ellis recovered rapidly, but insisted on rejoining his command +while yet pale and weak. + +The incident I shall here relate is intended to illustrate and +emphasize the thoroughly gentlemanly qualities of our Southern +soldiers, their unvarying respect and courtesy toward women, and their +entire appreciation and perfect understanding of my own position among +them. I presume all will comprehend my meaning when I assure them that +the occasion referred to was the only one during four years of service +when even an unpleasantness occurred. In the same ward with Captain +Ellis were three officers,--one, Colonel ----, of Alabama (very ill), +another just able to sit up, and one, Lieutenant Cox, of Mississippi, +only suffering from a bad cold which had threatened pneumonia. My +constant habit was to carry into the wards a little basket containing +pieces of fresh linen, sponges, and a bottle of Confederate bay-water +(vinegar). Invariably I bathed the faces and hands of the +fever-patients with vinegar and water, but as soon as they were well +enough to dispense with it gave it up. One day, upon entering the ward +above mentioned, I found Captain Ellis up and standing before the +fire, his back towards it. It struck me at once that he looked +worried, and at the same time appeared to be struggling between +vexation and a desire to laugh. Lieutenant Cox was covered up in bed, +rolling and holding his head, seemingly in dreadful agony. +Approaching, I asked a question or two regarding his sudden seizure, +but he only cried, "Oh, my head! my head!" at the same time shaking as +if with a violent chill. Turning down the sheet, I placed my hand upon +his head, which was quite cool. As soon as I caught a glimpse of his +face, I saw that he was laughing, and, glancing at the others, +realized that all were full of some joke. Drawing myself up haughtily, +I said, "I see I have made a mistake; I came here to nurse +_gentlemen_; I shall not again lend myself to your amusement," and out +I swept, nor ever while in Ringgold entered the officers' quarters +again, except to nurse very sick or dying men. It seems that +Lieutenant Cox had received a box from home containing, among other +dainties, a bottle of home-made wine. One day he said to the other +occupants of the ward, "Mrs. Beers never bathes _my head_. I believe +I'll get up a spell of fever, and see if I can't get nursed like you +other fellows." The others declared that he could not deceive me, and +he offered to bet the bottle of wine that he would have me bathe his +head at my next visit. The result has been described. I had hardly +reached my office, when a special patient and friend of mine, Charlie +Gazzan, of Mobile, Alabama, arrived with an apology from Lieutenant +Cox, a few words of explanation from Captain Ellis, signed by all the +officers in the ward, and the bottle of wine, sent for my acceptance. +I would not accept the wine or read the note, and in this course I was +upheld by Dr. McAllister, who severely reprimanded Lieutenant Cox, and +excused me from future attendance upon that ward. + +I have said that Charlie Gazzan was a special patient and friend; +perhaps the expression needs explanation. A few weeks before, he had +been brought to me one night from the ambulance-train, a living +skeleton, and seemingly at the point of death from dysentery. His +family and that of my husband were residents of Mobile, Alabama, and +intimate friends. He seemed almost in the agony of death, but had +asked to be brought to me. There was not, after the battle of +Murfreesboro', a single vacant bed. He begged hard not to be put in a +crowded ward, so, until I could do better, he was placed upon the +lounge in my office. One small room in the officers' ward being +vacant, I asked and obtained next day the privilege of placing him +there. He recovered very slowly, but surely, and during his +convalescence made himself useful in a hundred ways. My sick boys owed +many a comfort to his wonderful powers of invention; even the surgeons +availed themselves of his skill. He often relieved me of a task I had +sometimes found very wearisome, because so constantly recurring,--that +of writing letters for the sick. He made his own pens and his own ink, +of a deep green color, and seemingly indelible. A more gentle, kindly, +generous nature never existed, and yet his soldierly instincts were +strong, and almost before he could walk about well he "reported for +duty," but was soon relegated to his room and to special diet. + +Spring proved hardly less disagreeable in Upper Georgia than winter +had been. The mud was horrible, and I could not avoid it, as the wards +were detached, occupying all together a very wide space. The pony was +no longer available, because he splashed mud all over me. Old Peter +brought me one day an immense pair of boots large enough for me to +jump into when going from one place to another, and to jump out of and +leave at the entrance of the sick wards. With these, an army blanket +thrown over my shoulders and pinned with a thorn, and my dress kilted +up like a washerwoman's, I defied alike the liquid streets and the +piercing wind. My "nursery" was at this time filled to overflowing. My +mind's eye takes in every nook and corner of that large room. It is +very strange, but true, that I remember the position of each bed and +the faces of those who lay there at different times. As I said before, +they were principally the youngest patients, or those requiring +constant supervision. I seem to see them now, lying pale and worn, +their hollow eyes looking up at me as I fed them or following with +wistful gaze my movements about the ward. Some bear ghastly wounds, +others sit upon the side of the bed, trembling with weakness, yet +smiling proudly because they can do so much, and promising soon to pay +me a visit downstairs, "if I can _make_ it; but I'm _powerful weak_ +right _now_." I remember two brave Texas boys, brothers, both wounded +at Murfreesboro', who lay side by side in this ward. One of them was +only fifteen years old. When he was brought in, it was found that a +minie-ball had penetrated near the eye, and remained in the wound, +forcing the eye entirely from the socket, causing the greatest agony. +At first it was found difficult to extract it, and it proved a most +painful operation. I stood by, and his brother had his cot brought +close so that he could hold his other hand. Not a groan did the brave +boy utter, but when it was over, and the eye replaced and bandaged, he +said, "Doctor, _how soon can I go back to my regiment_?" Poor boy! he +_did_ go back in time to participate in the battle of Chickamauga, +where he met his death. Twenty years after, I met his brother at a +reunion of Confederate soldiers, in Dallas, Texas, and he could hardly +tell me for weeping that Eddie had been shot down at his side while +gallantly charging with the ---- Texas Cavalry. Another youth, ---- +Roundtree, of Alabama, lingered in that ward for many weeks, suffering +from dysentery, and, I believe, was finally discharged. + +Dr. Gore, of Kentucky, took the deepest interest in my nursery, and +sometimes asked permission to place young friends of his own there, a +compliment which I highly appreciated. Dr. Gore was one of Nature's +noblemen. In his large, warm heart there seemed to be room for +everybody. His interest in his patients was very keen, and his skill +greatly enhanced by extreme tenderness and unfailing attention. He was +an earnest Christian (a Methodist, I believe), but upon one occasion I +saw him so excited and distressed that he "fell from grace," and gave +vent to a fearful imprecation. He had brought to me a boy of seventeen +very ill of dysentery. For days it seemed that he must die. Dr. Gore +and I watched him and nursed him as if he had been very near and dear. +A slight improvement showed itself at last, and of course his craving +for food was insatiate. As this was a special ward, the nurses had +been forbidden to admit visitors without a permit, and no stranger was +ever allowed to feed the patients except when some particularly +nourishing and suitable food was brought, when I used to take a great +delight in the mutual pleasure of patient and visitor, hardly knowing +which was more happy, the giver or receiver. Our sick boy continually +craved and talked about some "apple _turnovers_," such as his mother +used to make, but of course was denied. One day, during my absence, an +old lady gained access to the ward, and when she heard the boy's +desire for "turn-overs" promised him some. The next day she found an +opportunity to keep her promise. At midnight, Dr. Gore and I having +been hastily summoned, met at the bedside of the poor fellow, who was +in a state of collapse, and died before morning. Dr. Gore was so +overcome that he actually wept. The boy had been a patient of his from +his infancy, and in a piteous letter, which I afterwards read, his +mother had implored the doctor to watch over him in case of sickness. +When, under the dead boy's pillow, was found a portion of the +apple-pie, revealing the cause of his death, the doctor's anger knew +no bounds, and he gave vent to the imprecation above mentioned. + +As the summer waned, our commissary stores began to fail. Rations, +always plain, became scant. Our foragers met with little success. But +for the patriotic devotion of the families whose farms and plantations +lay for miles around Ringgold (soon, alas! to fall into the ruthless +hands of the enemy), even our sickest men would have been deprived of +suitable food. As it was, the supply was by no means sufficient. One +day I asked permission to try _my_ fortune at foraging, and, having +received it, left Ringgold at daylight next morning, returning by +moonlight. Stopping at every house and home, I told everywhere my tale +of woe. There was scarcely one where hearths were not lonely, hearts +aching for dear ones long since gone forth to battle. They had heard +mischievous and false tales of the surgeons and attendants of +hospitals, and really believed that the sick were starved and +neglected, while the hospital staff feasted upon dainty food. +Occasionally, perhaps, they had listened to the complaint of some +"hospital rat," who, at the first rumor of an approaching battle, had +experienced "a powerful misery" in the place where a brave heart +should have been, and, flying to the rear, doubled up with rheumatism +and out-groaning all the victims of _real_ sickness or horrible +wounds, had remained huddled up in bed until danger was over. After +having been deceived a few times by these cowards, I became expert at +recognizing them, and paid them no attention whatever. I really +believe that in some cases it was a physical impossibility for men to +face the guns on a battle-field, and I have known instances of +soldiers who deliberately shot off their own fingers to escape a +fight. These men were conscious of their own defects, and often, +smarting under a knowledge that the blistering, purging, and +nauseating process pursued in such cases by the surgeons was intended +as a punishment, grew ugly and mischievous, seeking revenge by +maligning those in authority. I do not know what abuses may have +existed in other hospitals of the Confederacy; I can, however, say +with entire truth that I never saw or heard of a more self-sacrificing +set of men than the surgeons I met and served under during the war. +With only two exceptions, they were devoted to their patients, and as +attentive as in private practice or as the immense number of sick +allowed them to be. These exceptions were both men who were unwilling +to get up at night, and if called were fearfully cross. At one time I +had a fierce contest with a surgeon of this kind, and fought it out, +coming off victorious. I was called up one night to see a patient who +had required and received the closest attention, but who was, we +hoped, improving. Finding him apparently dying, I sent at once for +Doctor ----, meanwhile trying, with the help of the nurse, every means +to bring back warmth to his body, administering stimulants, rubbing +the extremities with mustard, and applying mustard-plasters. The poor +fellow was conscious, and evidently very much frightened; he had +insisted upon sending for me and seemed to be satisfied that I would +do everything in my power. Doctor ---- came in, looking black as a +thunder-cloud. "What the devil is all this fuss about? what are you +going to do with that mustard-plaster? Better apply it to that pine +table; it would do as much good;" then to the nurse, "Don't bother +that fellow any more; let him die in peace." My temper was up, and I +rushed at once into battle. "Sir," said I, "if you have given the +patient up, _I have not_ and _will not_. No true physician would show +such brutality." He was nearly bursting with rage. "I shall report +you, madam." "And I, sir, will take care that the whole post shall +know of this." He went out and I remained with the soldier until he +was better (he eventually recovered). The next morning, bright and +early, I made _my_ report to Dr. McAllister, who had already received +an account of the affair from the nurses and other patients of the +ward. He reprimanded the surgeon instead of gratifying his desire to +humble me. + +But to return to my expedition: Fortunately, I was able to disprove +the false tales which had prejudiced the country people. Their +sympathy being thoroughly aroused, they resolved to make up for lost +time; and after this ladies rode in town every day, arranging among +themselves for different days, and bringing for the convalescents the +fresh vegetables which were so valuable as a palliative, and +preventive of scurvy; for the sick, chickens, eggs, fresh butter, +buttermilk, and sweet milk. Country wagons also brought in small +supplies for sale, but never in proportion to the demand. Many of the +ladies, after one visit to a ward or two, were utterly overcome by the +ghastly sight, and wept even at the _thought_ of looking upon the +misery they could not relieve. Others seemed to feel only deepest pity +and a desire to "do _something_ for the poor soldiers." As there were +so many, it was difficult to distribute impartially: some must be left +out. The ladies, finding so many craving buttermilk, sweet milk, +home-made bread, etc., did not well know how to manage; but the +soldiers themselves soon settled that. "I ain't so _very_ bad off," +one would say, "but that little fellow over yonder needs it _bad_; +he's _powerful weak_, and he's been studying about buttermilk ever +since he came in." + +All the time his own emaciated frame was trembling from exhaustion, +and, spite of his courage, his eyes greedily devoured the dainties +which he denied himself. This was but one of a thousand instances of +self-abnegation which go to make up a record as honorable, as brave, +as true as that of the glorious deeds which such men never failed to +perform whenever opportunity offered. + +During this foraging trip, and once afterwards during a spell of fever +which lasted a week, I was cordially received and elegantly +entertained at the house of Mr. and Mrs. Russell, who lived about ten +miles from Ringgold. This aged couple were eminently and most +intelligently patriotic. + +Their sons were in the Confederate service. Their time and their +substance were literally at the disposal of all who served the cause. +The silver-haired mother knitted and spun incessantly for the +soldiers. The father superintended the raising of vegetables, and sent +wagon-loads to the hospitals. + +Miss Phemie, a lovely young girl, was a frequent visitor to the +hospitals, and often herself dispensed the golden butter and rich +buttermilk prepared under her own direction; she would even dispense +with the carriage and ride in town on the wagon, that she might bring +_plenty_ of vegetables, fruit, etc. Convalescents were entertained +royally at the old homestead; those who could not go so far were often +treated to pleasant and invigorating rides. + +To me Miss Phemie's friendship and kindness brought many comforts, and +I remember gratefully the whole family. + +Through the summer frequent skirmishes and fights were heard of, and +sick and wounded men came in every day, and every few days squads of +men who had "reported for duty" took their places at the front. At +last, about the first of September, 1863, appeared the never-failing +forerunner of a real battle near at hand,--a small brigade of "hospital +rats," distorted, drawn up, with useless crippled fingers, bent legs, +crooked arms, necks drawn awry, let us say by--_rheumatism_. A day or +two later was fought the sanguinary and fiercely-contested battle of +Chickamauga. I could not if I would describe this or any other battle, +nor is it necessary, for historians have well accomplished this duty. +The terrible results to the brave men engaged only appeared to me, and +these guided me to an opinion that among the horrible, bloody, +hard-fought battles of the war none could exceed that of Chickamauga, +and afterwards Franklin. From the lips of my boys, however, I often +gained knowledge of deeds of magnificent bravery which cannot be +surpassed by any which adorn the pages of history. These jewels have +lain undiscovered among the debris of the war. Would I could reclaim +them all. Seen in the aggregate, they would even outshine the glory +already known and visible. Finding memory a treacherous guide while +searching for these hidden treasures, I have called upon my comrades +to aid me in clearing away the dust and cobwebs,--the accumulation of +years,--but only in a few instances have they responded. I shall here +relate one incident of the battle of Chickamauga never before +published, but which is true in every particular. + +Austin's Battalion of Sharpshooters, composed of two companies, the +Continental Guards and Cannon Guards, both from New Orleans, was as +well known to the Army of Tennessee as any organization in it, and +commanded the respect and admiration of all the army. The following +lines from the pen of a gallant soldier in Fenner's Louisiana Battery +truly portray the sentiments of their army comrades towards the famous +battalion: + +"In the Army of Tennessee, Austin's Battalion always occupied the post +of honor in the brigade (Adams's and Gibson's Louisiana) to which it +belonged. In the advance, that battalion was in the front; in the +retreat, it hung upon the rear, a safeguard to the Confederates, and a +cloud threatening at every step to burst in destructive fury upon the +advancing enemy. + +"Who is on the front?" "Austin's Battalion." "Then, boys, we can lie +down and sleep." Such were the words heard a hundred times among the +troops of the Army of Tennessee, to which was attached Austin's +Battalion of Sharpshooters. Whose tongue could so graphically picture +to the mind's eye a soldier and a hero as do these brief questions and +answers interchanged between battle-scarred veterans in the gathering +gloom of the night, when they knew not, until they were assured +Austin's Battalion was in the front, if they could snatch a few hours +of repose from the toil and danger of battle? Austin's Battalion, +famous throughout the armies of the Confederacy for its discipline and +fighting qualities, was formed out of the remnants of the Eleventh +Louisiana Regiment, which distinguished itself at Belmont, and which +was literally shot to pieces at Shiloh. The battalion is well known to +all the survivors of the Army of Tennessee as a fighting organization. +During the active campaign of the army, it was almost continually +under fire, and Ned Austin, on his little black pony, was always in +the advance, "fooling the enemy, or in the retreat fighting and +holding him in check." + +As the title of the battalion indicates, it was always in the front, +on the advanced skirmish-line, pending a battle. It will be remembered +by all the heroes of the Army of Tennessee that nearly every regiment +in that army at the time of the battle of Chickamauga had on its +battle-flag "cross-cannon," which signified the regiment's +participation in the capture of a battery, or part thereof, at some +time and place. Austin's Battalion had not won that honor when it +commenced its destructive fire upon the enemy early Saturday morning, +September 19, 1863. Sunday, the 20th, the battalion, on the extreme +right of the army, moved forward upon the skirmish-lines of the +Federals about eight o'clock in the morning, driving them rapidly back +towards their main lines, leaving many dead and wounded on the ground, +and many prisoners in the hands of the enthusiastic advancing +Confederates. It was published in general orders after the battle that +Austin's Sharpshooters captured three times as many prisoners as they +had men in their whole battalion. The Continentals, on the right of +the battalion, commanded by Captain W.Q. Loud, suddenly found +themselves in range of and close quarters to artillery, as shells were +singing through the woods directly over their heads. Still advancing +as skirmishers, they saw on the road two pieces of artillery, +supported by perhaps a small company of infantry, about one hundred +yards from their advanced position in the woods. The command, "Rally," +was given by Lieutenant William Pierce, commanding first platoon, and +as the word was passed along by the sergeants all within hearing +jumped to the command, and as "Forward, charge!" was given, in a +minute the gallant Confederates had forced back the Federals and had +possession of the guns, Lieutenant Pierce striking one of them with +his sword, proclaiming the right of the battalion to have cross-cannon +at last on its beloved flag. Although the battalion, as was just and +correct, participated in and enjoyed the proud honors of the capture, +it will cause no feeling of envy among the members of Company B living +to-day to give the exclusive credit of the capture of those guns to +the first platoon of the Continental Guards. The Federals, seeing how +few were the numbers of the foe who had driven them from their guns, +rallied, advanced, and fired a volley into the victorious +Confederates, who were still surrounding the pieces. Three men were +wounded by the volley, among them Lieutenant William Pierce, whose leg +was so badly shattered that amputation was necessary. The boys in gray +retired to the first line of trees, leaving their lieutenant under the +guns, surrounded by the boys in blue. It was for a short moment only: +a volley which killed three and wounded more of the Federals, a yell +and a charge, and the lieutenant's comrades again had possession of +the guns, and soon were carrying him and dragging the guns to the +rear, making the captured Federals assist in both duties. The +advancing brigade was more than a quarter of a mile from where the +guns were captured. It is very doubtful whether the history of the war +will record a similar capture of artillery supported by infantry, +disclosed suddenly by an advance-line of skirmishers who +unhesitatingly charged, took possession of, and carried to the rear +the guns. One would have supposed that Lieutenant Pierce, having +suffered amputation of a leg, might have rested upon laurels won so +gloriously. Ah, no! his gallant soul was yet undismayed. At the +earliest possible moment he returned to his command, there receiving a +rich recompense for past suffering. Imagine his great pride and +satisfaction when, following his comrades to the quarters of the +gallant Major Ned Austin, he was shown the battalion flag with its +"honored and honorable" cross-cannon liberally displayed. + +The survivors of the Continental Guards, returning to New Orleans +after the war, have clung together like true brothers, retaining their +military organization and the name they bore so gallantly. Of the +veterans, not many remain; these are known and revered by all. Captain +Pierce is fondly beloved and highly respected by his former command, +as well as by the younger members of the company, who, having "fallen +in" to fill up the ranks which time and death have decimated, are +striving nobly to uphold the name and fame of the Continentals. Under +the command of a gallant gentleman and excellent executive officer, +the new Continentals have guarded and kept ever fresh the laurels won +by their predecessors, adding an exceptional record of their own, both +military and civic. Upon all patriotic occasions the _veterans_ appear +and march with the company. Our veteran companies are the pride and +glory of New Orleans. Citizens never tire of viewing the beautiful +uniform and the martial step of the Continental Guards. And who can +look upon Captain Pierce, bearing his trusty sword, keeping step +equally well, whether he wears a finely-formed cork leg or stumps +along on his favorite wooden one,--his bearing as proud as the +proudest, his heroic soul looking gloriously forth from its undimmed +windows,--and fail to remember proudly the young lieutenant who fell +under the enemy's gun at Chickamauga? Or who can listen unmoved to the +music of the cannon which so often woke the morning echoes upon the +bloodiest battle-field of the war? A parade of the Washington +Artillery is, indeed, a glorious and inspiriting sight. Here they +come, gayly caparisoned, perfect in every detail of military +equipment, led by elegant officers who may well ride proudly, for each +is a true soldier and a hero. Scarcely less distinguished, save for +the plainer uniform, are the rank and file that follow. Can these be +the same men whom history delights to honor,--the heroes of a hundred +battlefields,--both in the army of Virginia and Tennessee, who, +stripped to the waist, blackened with powder and smoke, bloody with +streaming wounds, still stood to their guns, and, in answer to the +enemy, thundered forth their defiant motto, "_Come and take us!_" And +now--who more peaceful, who more public-spirited, who more kind in +word and deed? Of the Virginia detachment I knew little except their +splendid record. From the fifth company I frequently received patients +during my service with the Army of Tennessee, for, like their comrades +of Virginia, they seemed to be in every battle, and in the thick of +it. In fact, New Orleans and the whole State of Louisiana, like every +city and State in the South, are peopled with veterans and heroes. In +comparatively few cases have military organizations been kept up. +Other duties engross the late Confederates, of whom it may be truly +said their record of citizenship is as excellent as their war record. +If to any reader it occurs that I seem to be doing particular justice +to New Orleans troops, I will say, let the feeling which arises in +your own breast regarding your "very own" plead for me. Remember that +my husband was one of the famous Dreux Battalion, and afterwards of +Gibson's Brigade, also that Louisianians were exiles, and that love of +our home, with sorrow and indignation on account of her humiliation +and chains, drew us very close together. But aside from this natural +feeling there was no shadow of difference in my ministration or in the +affection I bore towards all "my boys." + +There was not a single Southern State unrepresented among the bleeding +victims of Chickamauga. From that hardly-contested field, as from many +others, a rich harvest of glory has been reaped and garnered until the +treasure-houses of history are full to overflowing. Glowing accounts +of the splendid deeds of this or that division, brigade, regiment, +company, have immortalized the names of--_their officers_. And what of +the unfaltering _followers_, whose valor supported their brave leaders +and helped to _create_ many a splendid record? Here lay the shattered +remnants, each ghastly wound telling its own story of personal +bravery. The fiery sons of South Carolina, unsubdued by the perils +they had passed, unmindful of their gaping wounds, as ready then to do +and dare as when they threw down the gauntlet of defiance and stood +ready to defend the sovereignty of their State. The men who followed +where the gallant Forrest led, "looking the warrior in love with his +work." The devoted patriots who charged with Breckenridge. The tall, +soldierly Tennesseeans, of whom their commander said, when asked if he +could take and hold a position of transcendent danger, "Give me my +Tennesseeans, and _I'll take and hold anything_;" the determined, +ever-ready Texans, who, under the immortal Terry, so distinguished +themselves, and under other leaders in every battle of the war won +undying laurels; North Carolinians, of whose courage in battle I +needed no better proof than the pluck they invariably showed under the +torture of fevered wounds or of the surgeon's knife; exiled +Kentuckians, Arkansians, Georgians, Louisianians, Missourians, +Marylanders, sternly resentful, and impatient of the wounds that kept +them from the battle-field, because ever hoping to strike some blow +that should sever a link in the chains which bound the homes they so +loved; Alabamians, the number of whose regiments, as well as _their +frequent consolidation_, spoke volumes for their splendid service; +Georgians, who, having fought with desperate valor, now lay suffering +and dying within the confines of their own State, yet unable to reach +the loved ones who, unknowing what their fate might be, awaited with +trembling hearts accounts of the battle, so slow in reaching them; +Mississippians, of whom I have often heard it said, "their fighting +and _staying qualities_ were _magnificent_," I then knew hundreds of +instances of individual valor, of which my remembrance is now so dim +that I dare not give names or dates. I am proud, however, to record +the names of four soldiers belonging to the Seventeenth Mississippi +Regiment: J. Wm. Flynn,[1] then a mere lad, but whose record will +compare with the brightest; Samuel Frank, quartermaster; Maurice +Bernhiem, quartermaster-sergeant, and Auerbach, the drummer of the +regiment. I was proudly told by a member of Company G, Seventeenth +Mississippi, that Sam Prank, although excelling in every duty of his +position, was exceeding brave, often earnestly asking permission to +lead the skirmishers, and would shoulder a musket sooner than stay out +of the fight. Maurice Bernhiem, quartermaster-sergeant, was also brave +as the bravest. Whenever it was possible he also would join the ranks +and fight as desperately as any soldier. Both men were exempt from +field-service. Auerbach, the drummer of the Seventeenth, was also a +model soldier, always at his post. On the longest marches, in the +fiercest battles, whatever signal the commanding officer wished to +have transmitted by means of the drum, night or day, amid the smoke of +battle or the dust of the march, Auerbach was always on hand. The +members of the Seventeenth declared that they could never forget the +figure of the small Jewish drummer, his little cap shining out here +and there amid the thick smoke and under a rattling fire. Before +taking leave of this splendid regiment, I will give an incident of the +battle of Knoxville, also related to me by one of its members. + + [1] Mr. Flynn is now pastor in charge of a Presbyterian Church + in New Orleans, and is as faithful a soldier of the cross as + once of the lost cause. + +By some mismanagement, Longstreet's corps had no scaling-ladders, and +had to cut their way up the wall of the entrenchment by bayonets, +digging out step after step under a shower of hot water, stones, shot, +axes, etc. Some of the men actually got to the top, and, reaching +over, dragged the enemy over the walls. General Humphrey's brigade had +practically taken the fort. Their flag was flying from the walls, +about a hundred men having reached the top, where the color-bearer bad +planted his flag, when the staff was shot off about an inch above his +hand. The men were so mad at losing the flag, that they seized the +shells with fuses burning and hurled them back upon the enemy. Some of +the members of this gallant regiment were among the hundreds equally +brave who, after the battle of Chickamauga, became my patients. +Scattered all through the wards were dozens of Irishmen, whose awful +wounds scarcely sufficed to keep them in bed, so impatient were they +of restraint, and especially of inactivity,--so eager to be at the +front. Ever since the war I have kept in my heart a place sacred to +these generous exiles, who, in the very earliest days of the +Confederacy, flocked by thousands to her standard, _wearing the gray +as if it had been the green_, giving in defence of the land of their +adoption the might of stalwart arms, unfaltering courage, and the +earnest devotion of hearts glad thus to give expression to the love of +liberty and hatred of oppression which filled them. As Confederate +soldiers they made records unsurpassed by any, but they never forgot +that they were Irishmen, and bound to keep up the name and fame of Old +Ireland. So, company after company, composing many regiments, appeared +on fields of glory bearing names dear to every Irish heart,--names +which they meant to immortalize, _and did_. + +That I should be permitted to serve all these heroes, to live among +them, to minister to them, seemed to me a blessing beyond estimation. +Strange to say, although my toil increased and the horror deepened, my +health did not suffer. After days and nights of immeasurable fatigue, +a few hours of sleep would quite restore me, and I dared to believe +that the supporting rod and staff was given of God. + +It now became very difficult to obtain food either suitable or +sufficient. The beef was horrible. Upon two occasions rations of mule +meat were issued, and eaten with the only sauce which could have +rendered it possible to swallow the rank, coarse-grained meat,--i.e., +the ravenous hunger of wounded and convalescent men. Meal was musty, +flour impossible to be procured. All the more delicate food began to +fail utterly. A few weeks after the battle, Dr. S.M. Bemiss was +ordered to Newnan, Georgia, to arrange for the removal of the hospital +"post." We were, therefore, expecting a change of location, but quite +unprepared for the suddenness of the order, or the haste and confusion +that ensued. The _upsetness_ was so complete that it almost seemed to +me an actual fulfilment of a mysterious prophecy or warning often +uttered by old negroes to terrorize children into good behavior: +"Better mind out dar: fust thing _you_ knows you ain't gwine ter know +nuffin'." Everything seemed to be going on at once. The +ambulance-train, with a few baggage-cars attached, was even then at +the depot. A hoarse, stifled whistle apprised us of the fact, and +seemed to hurry our preparation. Dr. McAllister was _everywhere_, +superintending the removal with the energy natural to him. In the +court-house all was confusion. Boxes were hastily filled with bedding, +clothing, etc., thrown in helter-skelter, hastily nailed up, and as +hastily carted down to the train. Sick and awfully wounded men were +hurriedly placed upon stretchers, and their bearers formed an endless +procession to the rough cars (some of them lately used to transport +cattle, and dreadfully filthy). Here they were placed upon straw +mattresses, or plain straw, as it happened. No provisions were to be +had except sides of rusty bacon and cold corn-bread. These were +shovelled into carts and transferred to the floor of the cars in the +same manner. There was no time to cook anything, and the chances were +whether we would get off at all or not. Procuring a large caldron, I +dumped into it remnants of the day's dinner,--a little soup, a few +vegetables, and some mule meat. The stoves had all been taken down, +but there was a little cold cornmeal coffee, some tea, and a small +quantity of milk. This I put into buckets; then, importuning the +surgeon in charge until he was glad to get rid of me by assigning me a +cart, I mounted into it with my provisions and jolted off to the cars, +where hundreds of tortured, groaning men wore lying. There I met Dr. +Gore (for both hospitals were to be moved on the same train), who +helped me to hide my treasures and to administer some weak milk punch +to the sufferers. Meanwhile, the pine-wood fires kindled in the +streets all around the hospitals made the town look as though it was +on fire, and threw its weird light upon masses of soldiery,--cavalry, +infantry, artillery,--moving in endless numbers through the town, +shaking the very earth with the tramp of men and horses and the heavy +rumble of wheels. The men were silent, and looked jaded and ghastly in +the lurid light. Some had bloody rags tied about head and hands, their +breasts were bare, the panting breath could be heard plainly, their +eyes shone fiercely through the grime of powder and smoke. They had +been fighting, and were now retreating; still they marched in solid +column, nor broke ranks, nor lost step. The faces of the officers were +grave and troubled; none seemed to observe our frantic haste, but all +to look forward with unseeing eyes. I did so long to have them rest +and refresh themselves. During the whole of that eventful night my +cheeks were wet, my heart aching sadly. Before daylight we were off. +Railroads at that time were very defective and very rough. Ah, how +terrible was the suffering of those wounded men as they were jolted +and shaken from side to side! for haste was necessary to escape the +enemy. About noon the train came to a full stop, nor moved again for +many, many hours,--hours fraught with intense suffering to the sick +and wounded, as well as to all who shared the hardships of that +journey. It was reported that the enemy were passing either to the +right or left, I do not remember which. Not a wheel must move, not a +column of smoke arise; so, with the engine fires extinguished, the +train stood motionless in the midst of a barren pine forest. The small +supply of cooked food was soon exhausted, the ladies on the train +assisting to feed the wounded soldiers. All were parched with thirst. +The only water to be procured lay in ruts and ditches by the roadside, +and was filthy and fetid. So the day passed. All through the night +every one was on the alert, listening intently for sounds that might +mean danger. No lights, no roadside fires could be allowed; but the +moon shone brightly, and by its light the surgeons moved about among +the suffering men, whose groans, united with the plaintive sigh of the +chill wind through the pine forest, served to make night dismal +indeed. In the intervals of attending upon the sick we slept as we +could, leaning up against boxes, tilted back in chairs against the +side of the car, or lying down, with anything we could get for +pillows. Some of the surgeons and attendants bivouacked under the +trees in spite of the cold. In the morning we were hungry enough to +eat the stale corn-bread, and tried to like it, but even of that there +was very little, for the wounded men were ravenous. Drs. Gore and +Yates set themselves to whittle some "army-forks," or forked sticks, +and, cutting the bacon in thin slices, made little fires which they +carefully covered with large pans to keep the smoke from arising. By +these they toasted slices of bacon. Ah, how delicious was the odor, +how excellent the taste! Several hands were set at this work, but it +was necessarily very slow. I remained among my own patients, while my +servant climbed in and out of the car, bringing as much meat as she +could get, which I distributed while she returned for more. The +wounded men were clamorous for it, crying out, "Give it to us raw; we +can't wait." This we were soon compelled to do, as it was feared the +smoke might escape and betray us. I cannot now recollect by what means +we received the welcome order to move on, but it came at last, and on +the morning of the third day we reached Newnan, Georgia, where, after +a few days' bustle and confusion, we were pleasantly settled and had +fallen into the old routine, Dr. Bemiss having arranged not only for +excellent quarters but for fresh supplies of rations and hospital +stores. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +NEWNAN, GEORGIA. + + +Just here Memory lays a restraining hand upon my own. Turning to meet +her gaze, it pleads with me to linger a while in this sweet and +pleasant spot, peopled with familiar forms, and kindly faces, +well-beloved in the past, fondly greeted once again. Ah, how closely +our little band clung together, how enduring were the ties that bound +us! Ignoring the shadow, seeking always to stand in the sunshine, we +welcomed with yet unshaken faith the heavenly guest who stood in our +midst, turning upon us almost for the last time an unclouded face, and +eyes undimmed by doubt or pain,--the angel of Hope. + +The ladies of Newnan were truly loyal, and in spite of the fact that +the whole town was converted into hospitals, and every eligible place +filled with sick, murmured not, but strove in every way to add to +their comfort. I wish I could place every one before my readers to +receive the meed of praise she so richly deserves; only a few, _very +few_, names now occur to me. The hospitable mansion of Judge Ray was a +complete rendezvous for convalescent soldiers; also the homes of Mrs. +McKinstry and Mrs. Morgan. The latter was one of the most beautiful +women I ever saw. Dr. Gore used to say, "She is just _plum pretty_." +She was a perfect blonde, with a small head "running over" with short, +golden curls. The Misses Ray were brunettes, very handsome and +stately. Their brothers were in the army. Judge Ray never allowed his +daughters to visit the hospitals, but atoned for that by unbounded +hospitality. Mrs. McKinstry was a constant visitor to the hospitals, +and had her house full of sick soldiers. Only one church in the town +was left vacant in which to hold services. Rev. R.A. Holland, then a +young, enthusiastic Methodist minister, and a chaplain in the army, +remained for some time in Newnan, holding meetings which were largely +attended. Dr. Holland was long after the war converted to the +Episcopal faith, and called to Trinity Church, New Orleans. The +bishops and ministers of the Protestant Episcopal Church also held +frequent services, and often Catholic priests came among the sick, who +greatly valued their holy ministration. Through the kindness of a +friend, an ownerless piano found in one of the stores was moved to my +room, and, although not a good one, contributed largely to the +pleasure of the soldiers, also serving for sacred music when needed. +Mr. Blandner's lute, my piano, and Mrs. Gamble's soprano voice, joined +to that of a Confederate tenor or bass, or my own contralto, made +delicious music. Concerts, tableaux, plays, etc., were also given for +the benefit of refugees or to raise money to send boxes to the front: +at all these I assisted, but had no time for rehearsals, etc. I could +only run over and sing my song or songs and then run back to my +patients. Some money was realized, but the entertainments were never a +great financial success, because all soldiers were invited guests. +Still, some good was always accomplished. These amusements were +greatly encouraged by physicians and others, as safety-valves to +relieve the high-pressure of excitement, uncertainty, and dread which +were characteristic of the time. I was always counted in, but seldom, +very seldom, accepted an invitation, for it seemed to me like +unfaithfulness to the memory of the gallant dead, and a mockery of the +suffering in our midst. I could not rid myself of this feeling, and +can truly say that during those fateful years, from the time when in +Richmond the "starvation parties" were organized, until the end, I +never found a suitable time to dance or a time to laugh or a time to +make merry. + +My own special kitchen (an immense wareroom at the back of the store, +which was used for a distributing-room) was in Newnan well fitted up. +A cavernous fireplace, well supplied with big pots, little pots, +bake-ovens, and stew-pans, was supplemented by a cooking-stove of good +size. A large brick oven was built in the yard close by, and two +professional bakers, with their assistants, were kept busy baking for +the whole post. There happened to be a back entrance to this kitchen, +and although the convalescents were not allowed inside, many were the +interviews held at said door upon subjects of vital importance to the +poor fellows who had walked far into the country to obtain coveted +dainties which they wanted to have cooked "like my folks at home fix +it up." They were never refused, and sometimes a dozen different +"messes" were set off to await claimants,--potato-pones, cracklin +bread, apple-pies, blackberry-pies, squirrels, birds, and often +_chickens_. For a long time the amount of chickens brought in by "the +boys" puzzled me. They had little or no money, and chickens were +always high-priced. I had often noticed that the men in the wards were +busy preparing _fish-hooks_, and yet, though they often "went +fishing," they brought no fish to be cooked. One day the mystery was +fully solved. An irate old lady called upon Dr. McAllister, holding at +the end of a string a fine, large chicken, and vociferously +proclaiming her wrongs. "I _knowed_ I'd ketch 'em: I _knowed_ it. Jes' +look a-here," and she drew up the chicken, opened its mouth, and +showed the butt of a fish-hook it had swallowed. Upon further +examination, it was found that the hook had been baited with a kernel +of corn. "I've been noticin' a powerful disturbance among my fowls, +an' every onct in while one of 'em would go over the fence like +litenin' and I couldn't see what went with it. This mornin' I jes' sot +down under the fence an' watched, and the fust thing I seed was a line +flyin' over the fence right peert, an' as soon as it struck the ground +the chickens all went for it, an' this yer fool chicken up and +swallered it. Now, I'm a lone woman, an' my chickens an' my +truck-patch is my livin', and _I ain't gwine to stan' no sich!_" The +convalescents, attracted by the shrill, angry voice, gathered around. +Their innocent surprise, and the wonder with which they examined the +baited fish-hook and _sympathized with the old lady_, almost upset the +gravity of the "sturgeons," as the old body called the doctors. + +There was one dry-goods store still kept open in Newnan, but few +ladies had the inclination or the means to go shopping. The cotton +lying idle all over the South was then to a certain extent utilized. +Everything the men wore was dyed and woven at home: pants were either +butternut, blue, or light purple, occasionally light yellow; shirts, +coarse, but snowy white, or what would now be called _cream_. +Everybody knitted socks. Ladies, negro women, girls, and even little +boys, learned to knit. Each tried to get ahead as to number and +quality. Ladies' stockings were also knitted of all grades from stout +and thick to gossamer or open-work, etc. Homespun dresses were proudly +worn, and it became a matter of constant experiment and great pride to +improve the quality and vary colors. Warp and woof were finely spun, +and beautiful combinations of colors ventured upon, although older +heads eschewed them, and in consequence complacently wore their clean, +smoothly-ironed gray, "pepper-and-salt," or brown homespuns long after +the gayer ones had been faded by sun or water and had to be "dipped." +Hats and bonnets of all sorts and sizes were made of straw or +palmetto, and trimmed with the same. Most of them bore cockades of +bright red and white (the "red, white, and red"), fashioned of strips +knitted to resemble ribbons. Some used emblems denoting the State or +city of the wearer, others a small Confederate battle-flag. Young +faces framed in these pretty hats, or looking out from under a +broad-brim, appeared doubly bewitching. Ladies worked early and late, +first upon the fabric, and then upon beautifully-stitched homespun +shirts, intended as gifts to favorite heroes returning to the front. +During the winter nights the light of pine-knot fires had sufficed, +but now Confederate candles were used. It did seem as if the bees were +Southern sympathizers, and more faithfully than usual "improved each +shining hour." The wax thus obtained was melted in large kettles, and +yards of rags torn into strips and sewn together, then twisted to the +size of lamp-wicks, were dipped into the liquid wax, cooled, and +dipped again and again until of the right size. These yards of waxed +rags were wound around a corncob or a bottle, then clipped, leaving +about two yards "closely wound" to each candle. One end was left loose +to light, and--here you have the recipe for Confederate candles. + +When I came through the lines I was refused permission to bring any +baggage; therefore my supply of clothing was exceedingly small. I had, +however, some gold concealed about my person, and fortunately procured +with it a plain wardrobe. This I had carefully treasured, but now it +was rapidly diminishing. At least I must have one new dress. It was +bought,--a simple calico, and not of extra quality. The cost was +_three hundred dollars!_ With the exception of a plain muslin bought +the following summer for three hundred and fifty dollars, it was my +only indulgence in the extravagance of dress during the whole war. Two +pretty gray homespuns made in Alabama were my standbys. + +A good-sized store had been assigned to me as a linen room and office. +The linen room, standing upon the street, was very large, and shelved +all around, a counter on one side, and otherwise furnished with splint +chairs and boxes to sit upon. My sanctum lay behind it, and here my +sick and convalescent boys came frequently, and dearly loved to come, +to rest upon the lounge or upon my rocking-chair, to read, to eat nice +little lunches, and often to write letters. The front room was the +rendezvous of the surgeons. In the morning they came to consult me +about diet-lists or to talk to each other. In the evening the +promenade of the ladies generally ended here, the surgeons always +came, and I am proud to say that a circle composed of more cultivated, +refined gentlemen and ladies could not be found than those who met in +the rough linen-room of the Buckner Hospital. Dr. McAllister often +looked in, but only for a few moments. He was devoted to his business +as surgeon in charge of a large hospital. The multifarious duties of +the position occupied him exclusively. He was a superb executive +officer: nothing escaped his keen observation. No wrong remained +unredressed, no recreant found an instant's toleration. He was ever +restless, and not at all given to the amenities of life or to social +intercourse, but fond of spending his leisure moments at his own +temporary home, which a devoted wife made to him a paradise. His +manners to strangers were very stiff; his friendship, once gained, was +earnest and unchangeable. Dr. Gamble, surgeon of the post, was an +urbane, kindly gentleman. Business claimed his entire time also, and +he was seldom seen outside of his office. The ladies of our little +circle have been already mentioned, as well as most of the surgeons. +Dr. Bemiss, of all others, was a general favorite. We did not see much +of him, as he was a very busy man; but at least once a day he would +find his way to the rendezvous, often looking in at the window as he +"halted" outside for a little chat. Invariably the whole party +brightened up at his coming. He was so genial, so witty, so +sympathetic, so entirely _en rapport_ with everybody. A casual +occurrence, a little discussion involving, perhaps, a cunning attempt +to enlist him on one side or the other, would prove the key to unlock +a fund of anecdotes, repartee, _bon-mots_, and, best of all, +word-pictures, for here Dr. Bemiss excelled every one I ever knew. My +own relations with him were very pleasant, for he was my adviser and +helper in using properly the Louisiana and Alabama funds. The +friendship between Drs. Bemiss and Gore seemed almost like that of +Damon and Pythias. I think that Dr. Bemiss was first surgeon in charge +of the "Bragg," but when a larger field was assigned to him Dr. Gore +succeeded, Dr. Bemiss still retaining in some way the position of +superior officer. Both these men were eminent surgeons and physicians, +possessing in a remarkable degree the subtle comprehension and +sympathy which is so valuable a quality in a physician. The tie that +bound these two embraced a third, apparently as incongruous as +possible,--Dr. Benjamin Wible, also of Louisville, a former partner of +Dr. Bemiss. Diogenes we used to call him, and he did his best to +deserve the name. + +His countenance was forbidding, except when lighted up by a smile, +which was only upon rare occasions. He was intolerant of what he +called "stuff and nonsense," and had a way of disconcerting people by +grunting whenever anything like sentimentality or gush was uttered in +his presence. + +When he first came, his stern, dictatorial manner, together with the +persistent coldness which resisted all attempts to be friendly and +sociable, hurt and offended me; but he was so different when among the +sick, so gentle, so benignant beside the bedsides of suffering men, +that I soon learned to know and appreciate the royal heart which at +other times he managed to conceal under a rough and forbidding +exterior. + +Dr. Archer, of Maryland, was as complete a contrast as could be +imagined. A poet of no mean order, indulging in all the idiosyncrasies +of a poet, he was yet a man of great nerve and an excellent surgeon. +Always dressed with _careful_ negligence, his hands beautifully white, +his beard unshorn, his auburn hair floating over his uniformed +shoulders in long ringlets, soft in speech, so very deferential to +ladies as to seem almost lover-like, he was, nevertheless, very manly. +Quite a cavalier one could look up to and respect. At first I thought +him effeminate, and did not like him, but his tender ways with my sick +boys, the efficacy of his prescriptions, and his careful orders as to +diet quite won me over. Our friendship lasted until the end of my +service in the Buckner Hospital, since which I have never seen him. +Another complete contrast to Diogenes was Dr. Conway, of Virginia, our +_Chesterfield_. His perfect manners and courtly observance of the +smallest requirements of good breeding and etiquette made us feel +quite as if we were lord and ladies. Dr. Conway had a way of conveying +subtle indefinable flattery which was very elevating to one's +self-esteem. Others enjoyed it in full, but often, just as our +Chesterfield had interviewed _me_, infusing even into the homely +subject of diet-lists much that was calculated to puff up my vanity, +in would stalk Diogenes, who never failed to bring me to a realizing +sense of the hollowness of it all. Dr. Hughes was a venerable and +excellent gentleman, who constituted himself my mentor. He never +failed to drop in every day, being always ready to smooth tangled +threads for me. He was forever protesting against the habit I had +contracted in Richmond, and never afterwards relinquished, of +remaining late by the bedside of dying patients, or going to the wards +whenever summoned at night. He would say, "Daughter, it is not right, +it is not safe; not only do you risk contagion by breathing the foul +air of the wards at night, but some of these soldiers are mighty rough +and might not always justify your confidence in them." But I would not +listen. My firm belief in the honor of "my boys" and in their true and +chivalrous devotion towards myself caused me to trust them utterly at +all times and places. I can truly say that never during the whole four +years of the war was that trust disturbed by even the roughest man of +them all, although I was often placed in very trying circumstances, +many times being entirely dependent upon their protection and care, +_which never failed me_. So I used to set at naught the well-meant +counsels of my kindly old friend, to laugh at his lugubrious +countenance and the portentous shaking of his silvery head. We +remained firm friends, however, and, though my dear old mentor has +long since passed away, I still revere his memory. Dr. Yates was an +ideal Texan, brave, determined, plain, and straightforward, either a +warm, true friend or an uncompromising enemy. He wished to be at the +front, and was never satisfied with hospital duties. Mrs. Yates was a +favorite with all. Dr. Jackson, of Alabama, in charge of the officers' +quarters, performed some miracles in the way of surgical operation. He +was a great favorite with his patients, who complained bitterly +because they were so often deprived of his services for a time, when +his skilful surgery was needed at the front. Besides these were Drs. +Devine, Ruell, Estell, Baruch, Frost, Carmichael, Welford, and +Griffith, none of whom I know particularly well. + + +Meantime, the wounded of several battles had filled and crowded the +wards. As before, every train came in freighted with human misery. In +the Buckner Hospital alone there were nearly a thousand beds, tenanted +by every conceivable form of suffering. + +An ambulance-train arrived one night, bringing an unusually large +number of sick and wounded men, whose piteous moans filled the air as +they were brought up the hill on "stretchers" or alighted at the door +of the hospital from ambulances, which, jolting over the rough, +country road, had tortured them inexpressibly. + +Occasionally a scream of agony would arise, but more frequently +suppressed groans bespoke strong men's suffering manfully borne. In +the ward where those badly wounded were placed, there was so much to +be done, that morning found the work unfinished. + +It was, therefore, later than usual when I found time to pay my usual +morning visits to other wards. + +Upon entering Ward No. 4, my attention was attracted by a new patient, +who lay propped up on one of the bunks near a window. He was a mere +lad (perhaps twenty). His eyes, as they met mine, expressed so plainly +a sense of captivity and extreme dislike of it that I felt very sorry +for him. He had been dressed in a clean hospital shirt, but one +shoulder and arm was bare and bandaged, for he was wounded in the left +shoulder,--a slight wound, but sufficient to occasion severe pain and +fever. + +At first I did not approach him, but his eyes followed me as I paused +by each bed to ascertain the needs of the sick and to bestow +particular care in many cases. At last I stood by his side, and, +placing my hand upon his head, spoke to him. He moved uneasily, +seemingly trying to repress the quivering of his lip and the tears +that, nevertheless, would come. Not wishing to notice his emotion just +then, I called the nurse, and, by way of diversion, gave a few +trifling directions, then passed on to another ward. + +Returning later, bringing some cooling drink and a bottle of +Confederate bay-water (vinegar), I gave him to drink and proceeded to +sponge off his head and hands. He submitted, as it seemed at first, +unwillingly, but just as I turned to leave him he suddenly seized my +hand, kissed it, and laid his burning cheek upon it. From that moment +I was eagerly welcomed by him whenever I appeared among the sick. + +When he began to mend and was allowed to talk freely, I learned his +name, Charley Percy, that he was a native of Bayou Sara, Louisiana, +and a member of the fifth company of Washington Artillery, Captain +Slocomb commanding. He had been wounded at Resaca. I grew to love him +dearly. As soon as he was permitted to leave his bed he became averse +to remaining in the ward, and most of his waking hours were spent in +the little room which was specially allotted to me. Whenever I +returned after my rounds among the sick it was a certainty that the +glad, bright presence awaited me, and that many little plans for my +rest and comfort would make the rough place homelike. + +He became to me like a dear young brother, devoted and +ever-thoughtful. The matron's room at the hospital was called very +often "Soldiers' Rest," and sometimes "The Promised Land," because +many soldiers came there every day, and those newly convalescent made +it a goal which they aspired to reach as soon as permitted. + +This habit gave me an opportunity to use properly what might have been +sent in boxes which arrived frequently from different quarters, filled +with a variety of goodies, but in quantities entirely insufficient to +supply all the soldiers. A sangaree or any other delicacy, taken while +resting after a walk which taxed the weakened energies to the utmost, +or a meal served outside the fevered air of the wards, did more to +build up the strength than any amount of medicine could have done. As +there never was, by any chance, a supply of these things for one +thousand men (the usual number assigned to Buckner Hospital), +delicacies (already becoming scarce) were served only to the very sick +or to convalescents. + +It was beautiful to see how young Percy delighted to assist in waiting +on these visitors to "The Soldiers' Rest,"--how his sprightliness +pleased and amused them. His own great embarrassment seemed to be that +he had lost all his clothes at the time he was wounded, so was +compelled to wear the unbleached shirts with blue cottonade collars +and cuffs, which were supplied to all patients, numbered to correspond +with the bunks. These he called State's prison uniform. One day, +however, Dr. Fenner from New Orleans, Louisiana, paid a visit to +Buckner Hospital (then located at Newnan, Georgia), leaving with me +two large boxes of clothing and stores for the Louisiana soldiers. +Percy assisted to unpack these boxes, soon finding himself amply +provided with underclothing and a nice jacket and pants of gray, also +a new blanket. He was pleased, but not yet quite satisfied, for the +jacket was simply gray. He wanted it trimmed with red. + +It chanced that there was in one of the boxes a piece of red flannel. +With this I trimmed the suit under his careful supervision. I can +never forget how happy he was to get into this suit, or how he danced +around me, pretending to go through the artillery drill, and to load +and fire at imaginary Yankees. + +Later, his cap was retrimmed, the letters and artillery badge +furbished up, and one beautiful day was made sad and gloomy to his +friends and myself by the departure of this brave, dear boy, to rejoin +his command. + +Eager, bright, full of fire and ardor, the young soldier went to meet +his doom. He reached the front (where the company to which he belonged +was always to be found) shortly before the battle of Peach-tree Creek, +and here, his bright young face turned to the foe, his eager hands +serving his gun to the last, he met a soldier's death. + +Alas! poor Percy, his fate seemed hard; yet, while sincerely grieving, +I remembered with some degree of comfort the fact that so he had +wished to die,--"Upon the field of glory." + +There came to the hospital at the same time with young Percy an +intimate friend and comrade of his, whose name and the circumstances +of his death were preserved in a diary kept by me, but which, with all +my papers, fell into the hands of the enemy subsequently. This poor +fellow had pneumonia, which soon developed into typhoid. He was +delirious when brought in and never regained consciousness. Vainly I +strove to soothe him, stroking back the long, straight hair, black as +a raven's wing, vainly trying to close the magnificent black eyes, +which forever stared into space, while the plaintive voice repeated +ceaselessly, "Viens a moi, oh, ma mere" and thus he moaned and moaned +until at last the white eyelids drooped beneath the gaze of Death, and +the finger of eternal silence was laid upon the fevered lips. + +Of course Percy was not told how his friend died until long afterward, +when his questions could no longer be evaded. He was deeply moved, +crying out, "I don't want to die like that. If I must die during this +war, I hope I shall be instantly killed upon the battle-field." This +wish was granted. + +He sleeps in a soldier's grave. In the light of eternity the sad +mystery which still shadows the hearts of those who live to mourn the +holy cause--loved and lost--exists no more for him. + +Besides the "Buckner," there were the "Bragg" and two more hospitals, +the names of which I have forgotten, one presided over by two gentle +ladies,--Mrs. Harrison and Mrs. ----, of Florida,--whose devotion and +self-sacrifice, as well as their lovely Christian character and +perfect manners, made them well-beloved by everybody at the post. Mrs. +Harrison was a zealous Episcopalian. Through her influence and +correspondence frequent services were held in Newnan. We several times +enjoyed the ministrations of Bishops Quintard, Beckwith, and Wilmer. +The large number of wounded men, and the fearful character of their +wounds, made skill and devotion on the part of the surgeons of the +greatest importance. These conditions were well fulfilled, and aided +by the healthy locality "and" (during the first few months) "the +excellent possibilities open to our foragers," many a poor fellow +struggled back to comparative health. I was particularly fortunate +while in Newnan in having at my command supplies of clothing and money +from both Louisiana and Alabama. This, with the aid of my own wages, +which, although I had refused to receive them, had accumulated and +been placed to my account, and which I now drew, gave me excellent +facilities for providing comforts, not only for the sick, but for the +braves at the front, whose rations were growing "small by degrees and +beautifully less." Upon two occasions I received visits from the +venerable Dr. Fenner, of Louisiana, and his colleague, Mr. Collins. +Each time they left money and clothing, giving me large discretionary +powers, although specifying that, as the money was supplied by +Louisianians, the soldiers from that State should be first considered. +Through Mr. Peter Hamilton, of Mobile, Alabama, I also received boxes +of clothing and delicacies, and, upon two occasions, six hundred +dollars in money, with the request, "Of course, help our boys _first_, +but in _any case_ where sufferings or need exist, use your own +judgment." As there were hundreds entirely cut off from home, actually +suffering from want of clothing, sometimes needing a little good wine +or extra food, I found many occasions where it seemed to me right to +use this discretionary power, especially during visits to the front, +which I was called upon to make about this time, first to my husband +and his comrades in Kingston and Dalton, later to Macon to look up +some Louisiana and Alabama soldiers, and lastly to Atlanta, where my +husband and many other friends lay in the trenches. (Of these +experiences more hereafter.) + +Mrs. Harrison, Mrs. Gamble, myself, and one or two others were the +only Episcopalians among the ladies of the Post, but the services were +attended by soldiers, both officers and privates. Mrs. Gamble, of +course, led the choir. We could always find bassos and tenors. I sang +alto. The music was really good. The death of Bishop Polk was a great +grief to everybody, especially to the faithful few among us who +revered him as a minister of The Church. Even while saying to +ourselves and to each other "God knows best," we could not at once +stifle the bitterness of grief, for it seemed as if a mighty bulwark +had been swept away. I had known Bishop Polk as a faithful and loving +shepherd of souls, feeding his flock in green pastures, tenderly +leading the weary and grief-stricken ones beside the waters of +comfort. But when the peaceful fold was invaded, when threatening +howls were arising on every side,--casting aside for a time the garb +of a shepherd, he sallied forth, using valorously his trusty sword, +opposing to the advance of the foe his own faithful breast, never +faltering until slain by the horrid fangs which greedily fastened +themselves deep in his heart. As I have already mentioned, I made +during the winter and spring several visits to the front. At one time +my husband, a member of Fenner's Louisiana Battery, was with his +command in winter quarters at Kingston, whither I went to pay a visit +and to inquire after the needs of the "boys." My little son (who had +by this time joined me at Newnan) accompanied me. Kingston was at this +time a bleak, dismal-looking place. I stopped at a large, barn-like +hotel, from the gallery of which, while sitting with visitors from +camp, I witnessed an arrival of Georgia militia, whose disembarkation +from a train in front of the hotel was met by a noisy demonstration. +They were a strange-looking set of men, but had "store clothes," warm +wraps, sometimes tall hats, in all cases _good ones_. This, with the +air of superiority they affected, was enough to provoke the fun-loving +propensities of the ragged, rough-looking veterans who had collected +to watch for the arrival of the train. As the shaking, rickety cars +passed out of sight, these raw troops walked up to the hotel and there +strode up and down, assuming supreme indifference to the storm of +raillery which assailed them. Of course my sympathies were with the +veterans, and I laughed heartily at their pranks. One of the first to +set the ball in motion was a tall, athletic-looking soldier clad in +jeans pants, with a faded red stripe adorning one leg only, ragged +shoes tied up with twine strings, and a flannel shirt which +undoubtedly had been washed by the Confederate military process +(_i.e._, tied by a string to a bush on the bank of a stream, allowed +to lie in the water awhile, then stirred about with a stick or boat +upon a rock, and hung up to drip and dry upon the nearest bush or tied +to the swaying limb of a tree). "A shocking bad hat" of the slouch +order completed his costume. Approaching a tall specimen of "melish," +who wore a new homespun suit of "butternut jeans," a gorgeous cravat, +etc., the soldier opened his arms and cried out in intense accents, +"_Let_ me kiss him for his mother!" Another was desired to "come out +of that hat." A big veteran, laying his hand on the shoulder of a +small, scared-looking, little victim, and wiping his own eyes upon his +old hat, whined out, "I _say_, buddy, you didn't bring along no +sugar-teats, did you? I'm got a powerful hankerin' atter some." An +innocent-looking soldier would stop suddenly before one of the +new-comers neatly dressed, peer closely at his shirt-front, renewing +the scrutiny again and again with increasing earnestness, then, +striking an attitude, would cry out, "_Biled_, by Jove!" One, with a +stiff, thick, new overcoat, was met with the anxious inquiry, "Have +you got plenty of _stuffing_ in that coat, about _here_" (with a hand +spread over stomach and heart), "because the Yankee bullets is mighty +penetrating." Each new joke was hailed with shouts of laughter and +ear-piercing rebel yells, but at last the "melish" was marched off and +the frolic ended. + +I received two invitations for the following day, one to dine with the +officers of Fenner's Louisiana Battery, and one, which I accepted, +from the soldiers of my husband's mess. About twelve o'clock the next +morning an ambulance stood before the door of the hotel. From it +descended a spruce-looking colored driver, who remarked, as he threw +the reins over the mule's back, "Don't nobody go foolin' wid dat da +mule ontwill I comes back. I jes gwine to step ober to de store yander +'bout some biziness fur de cap'n. Dat mule he feel mity gaily dis +mornin'. Look like he jes tryin' hisseff when he fin' nuffin' behin' +him but dis amperlants (ambulance) stid ob dem hebby guns." Off he +went, leaving the mule standing without being tied, and looking an +incarnation of mischief. The road to camp was newly cleared and full +of stumps and ruts. As I stood upon the upper gallery awaiting the +return of our Jehu, our little boy, taking advantage of the extra +fondness inspired in the heart of his father by long absence, clamored +to be lifted into the ambulance. This wish was gratified, his father +intending to take the reins and mount to the driver's seat, but before +he could do so the mule started off at headlong speed, with Georgie's +scared face looking out at the back, and perhaps a dozen men and boys +in hot pursuit. The mule went on to camp, creating great alarm there. +The child in some miraculous manner rolled out at the back of the +ambulance, and was picked up unhurt. This accident delayed matters a +little, but in due time we arrived at the village of log-huts, called +"Camp," and, having paid our respects to the officers, repaired to the +hut of my husband's mess. The dinner was already cooking outside. +Inside on a rough shelf were piles of shining tin-cups and plates, +newly polished. The lower bunk had been filled with new, _pine_ straw, +and made as soft as possible by piling upon it all the blankets of the +mess. This formed the chair of state. Upon it were placed, first, +myself (the centre figure), on one side my husband, exempt from duty +for the day, on the other my little boy, who, far from appreciating +the intended honor, immediately "squirmed" down, and ran off on a tour +of investigation through the camp. The mess consisted of six men +including my husband, of whom the youngest was Lionel C. Levy, Jr., a +mere boy, but a splendid soldier, full of fun and nerve and dash. Then +there was my husband's bosom friend, J. Hollingsworth, or Uncle Jake, +as he was called by everybody. Of the industrial pursuits of the mess, +he was the leading spirit, indeed, in every way his resources were +unbounded. His patience, carefulness, and pains-taking truly achieved +wonderful results in contriving and carrying into execution plans for +the comfort of the mess. He always carried an extra haversack, which +contained everything that could be thought of to meet contingencies or +repair the neglect of other people. He was a devoted patriot and a +contented, uncomplaining soldier; never sick, always on duty, a +thorough gentleman, kindly in impulses and acts, but--well, yes, there +was one spot upon this sun,--he was a confirmed bachelor. He could +face the hottest fire upon the battle-field, but a party of +ladies--_never_ with his own consent. Upon the day in question, +however, I was not only an invited guest, but the wife of his messmate +and friend. So, overcoming his diffidence, he made himself very +agreeable, and meeting several times afterward during the war, under +circumstances which made pleasant intercourse just as imperative, we +became fast friends, and have remained so to this day. John Sharkey, +Miles Sharkey, and one more, whose name I have forgotten, comprised, +with those mentioned above, the entire mess. The dinner was excellent, +better than many a more elegant and plentiful repast of which I have +partaken since the war. All the rations of beef and pork were combined +to make a fricassee _a la camp_, the very small rations of flour being +mixed with the cornmeal to make a large, round loaf of "stuff." These +delectable dishes were both cooked in bake-ovens outside the cabin. +From cross-sticks, arranged gypsy-fashion, swung an iron pot, in which +was prepared the cornmeal coffee, which, with "long sweetening" +(molasses) and without milk, composed the meal. In this well-arranged +mess the work was so divided that each man had his day to cut all the +wood, bring all the water, cook, wash dishes, and keep the cabin in +order. So, on this occasion there was no confusion. All was +accomplished with precision. In due time a piece of board was placed +before me with my rations arranged upon it in a bright tin plate, my +coffee being served in a gorgeous mug, which, I strongly suspect, had +been borrowed for the occasion, having once been a shaving-mug. Dinner +over, Lieutenant Cluverius called to escort me through the camp, and +at the officers' quarters I met many old acquaintances. Upon inquiry, +I found the boys in camp contented and entirely unwilling to receive +any benefit from the fund placed in my hands. They had taken the +chances of a soldier's life, and were quite willing to abide by them. + +The terrible bumping which I had experienced while riding to camp, in +the ambulance drawn by the "gaily mule," disinclined me for another +ride. So, just at sunset, my husband and I, with our boy and one or +two friends, walked through the piny woods to the hotel, whence I +returned next day to Newnan. This was during the winter. Later, I made +a second trip, this time to Macon, having been called upon to supply +money to the family of an old soldier (deceased) who wanted to reach +home. Wishing to investigate in person, I went to Macon. On the +morning of my return, while passing through one of the hospitals, I +met at the bedside of a Louisiana soldier a member of Fenner's +Battery, John Augustin, of New Orleans. At the depot we met again, and +the gentleman very kindly took charge of me. I was going to Newnan, he +returning to camp. Delightful conversation beguiled the way. Among +other subjects, poets and poetry were discussed. I told him of Dr. +Archer, and a beautiful "Ode to Hygeia" composed by him, parts of +which I remembered and repeated. Gradually I discovered that Mr. +Augustin had an unfinished manuscript of his own with him, entitled +"Doubt," and at last persuaded him to let me read it. Finding me +interested, he yielded to my earnest request,--that he would send me +all his poems in manuscript. In due time they came, and with them a +dedication to myself, so gracefully conceived, so beautifully +expressed, that I may be pardoned for inserting it here. + + "L'ENVOI. + + "TO MRS. FANNIE A. BEERS. + + "To you, though known but yesterday, I trust + These winged thoughts of mine. + Be not, I pray, too critically just, + Rather be mercy thine! + + "Nor think on reading my despairing rhymes + That I am prone to sigh. + Poets, like children, weep and laugh at times, + Without scarce knowing why! + + "Thoughts tend to heaven, mine are weak and faint. + Please help them up for me; + The sick and wounded bless you as a saint, + In this my patron be; + + "And as the sun when shining it appears + On dripping rain awhile, + Make a bright rainbow of my fancy's tears + With your condoling smile. + + "KINGSTON, February 23, 1864." + +At the front, desultory fighting was always going on. Our army under +General Johnston acting on the defensive, although retreating, +contesting every step of the way, and from intrenched position, doing +great damage to the enemy. As the spring fairly opened, our troops +became more actively engaged. From the skirmishes came to us many +wounded. In May, the battle of New Hope Church was fought. General +Johnston, in his "Narrative," speaks of this as "the _affair_ at New +Hope." Judging from my own knowledge of the number of wounded who were +sent to the rear, and the desperate character of their wounds, I +should say it was a _very terrible_ "affair." A great many officers +were wounded and all our wards were full. There came to me some +special friends from Fenner's Louisiana Battery, which was heavily +engaged, losing several men and nearly all the horses. Lieutenant Wat. +Tyler Cluverius, while standing on the top of the breastworks and +turning towards his men to wave his sword, was shot through both +shoulders, a very painful wound, but which the gallant young soldier +made light of, pretending to be deeply mortified because "he had been +_shot in the back_." Although an exceptional soldier, he was a most +troublesome patient, because his strong desire to return to his +command made him restless and dissatisfied, greatly retarding his +recovery. Indeed, he would not remain in bed or in his ward. A more +splendid-looking officer I never saw. Better still, under his jacket +of gray there beat a heart instinct with every virtue which belongs by +nature to a Virginia gentleman. With the ladies of the "post" he +became a prime favorite. So kind and attentive were they that I gave +myself little thought concerning him. He was off and away in a +wonderfully short time, for duty lay _at the front_ and the strongest +attractions could not outweigh its claims. + +W.T. Vaudry, also of Fenner's Louisiana Battery, was by his own +request sent to me. His wound was as painful as any that can be +imagined. He had been struck full in the pit of the stomach by a spent +ball, and was completely doubled up. He had been left on the field for +dead, and for some time it was feared that fatal internal injuries had +been received. From the nature of the wound, a full examination could +not be made at first. Speedy relief was quite impossible. Even the +loss of a limb or the most severe flesh-wound would have caused less +intense agony. Courage and endurance equally distinguish the true +soldier: the one distinction was his already, the other he now nobly +won during days of exquisite torture. I little thought as I bent over +him day after day, bathing the fevered brow, meeting with sorrowful +sympathy the eyes dim with anguish, that in this suffering _boy_ I +beheld one of the future deliverers of an outraged and oppressed +people. The officers' ward was delightfully situated on the corner of +the main street. Its many windows commanded a pleasant view of a +beautiful shaded square in the midst of which stood the brick +court-house (now filled with sick, and pertaining to the Bragg +Hospital). The windows on the side street gave a view far up the +street, becoming a post of observation for the gallant young officers +within, who invariably arranged themselves here "_for inspection_," at +the usual hour for the ladies' promenade, looking as became +interesting invalids, returning with becoming languor the glances of +bright eyes in which shone the pity which we are told is "akin to +love." Later these knights being permitted to join in the promenade, +made the very most of their helplessness, enjoying hugely the +necessary ministrations so simply and kindly given. Among these +officers were two whose condition excited my most profound sympathy as +well as required special care. Both were exiles; both badly wounded. +One, indeed, bore a wound so terrible that even though I looked upon +it every day, I could never behold it without a shudder. From a little +above the knee to the toes the mechanism of the leg was entirely +exposed, except upon the heel, which always rested in a suspensory +bandage lifted above the level of the bed upon which he rested. Every +particle of the flesh had sloughed off, and the leg began to heal not +"by first intention" but by unhealthy granulations like excrescences. +These had constantly to be removed, either by the use of nitric acid +(I believe) or by the knife. As maybe imagined, it was horribly +painful, _and there was no chloroform_. Day after day I was sent for, +and stood by, while this terrible thing was going on, wiping the sweat +from the face that, though pale as death, never quivered. Save an +occasional groan, deep and suppressed, there was no "fuss." + +Does it seem to you that this was exceptional, dear reader? Ah! no; in +the wards outside, where lay hundreds of _private soldiers_, without +the pride of rank to sustain them, only their simple, noble manhood, I +daily witnessed such scenes. The courage and daring of our soldiers +have won full appreciation from the whole world. Of their patient +endurance, I was for four years a constant witness, and I declare that +it was sublime beyond conception. I cannot remember the name of the +heroic officer whose wound I have described. I remember, however, that +Dr. Jackson treated it successfully, and that in the desperate days, +towards the close of the war, the wounded man was again at his post. I +know not whether he fell in battle or if he still lives bearing that +horrible scar. Captain Weller, of Louisville, Kentucky, was also an +inmate of the same ward. My remembrance of him is that he also was +badly wounded. I also recollect that he was a great favorite with his +comrades in the ward, who spoke enthusiastically of his "record." He +was never gay like the others, but self-contained and reticent, and +frequently grave and sad, as became an exile from "the old Kentucky +home." My cares were at this time of constant skirmishing, greatly +increased by anxiety for my husband. + +He had at the battle of New Hope Church, while carrying ammunition +from the caisson to the gun, received a slight wound in the left foot, +but did not consider it of sufficient importance to cause him to leave +his command. Later, however, he succumbed to dysentery, and after the +battle of Jonesboro', although having served his gun to the last, he +was utterly overcome, and fell by the road-side. The last ambulance +picked him up, and he was sent to Newnan, as all supposed, to die. Had +I not been in a position to give him every advantage and excellent +nursing he must have died. Even with this, the disease was only +arrested, not cured, and for years after the war still clung about +him. Under Providence, his life was saved at that time. This one +blessing seemed to me a full recompense for all I had hitherto +encountered, and a thorough justification of my persistence in the +course I marked out for myself at the beginning of the war. Various +"_affairs_" continued to employ the soldiers at the front; in all of +these our losses were _comparatively_ small. I never saw the soldiers +in better spirits. There was little if any "shirking." As soon +as--almost before--they were recovered they cheerfully reported for +duty. The "expediency" of Johnston's retreat was freely discussed. All +seemed to feel that the enemy was being drawn away from his base of +supplies into a strange country, where he would be trapped at last, +and to feel sure that it was "all right." "Let old Joe alone, _he_ +knows what he is about," and on every hand expressions of strong +affection and thorough confidence. The army was certainly far from +being "demoralized," as General Hood must have discovered, when, +immediately afterward, on the 22d of July, and later at Franklin, they +withstood so magnificently the shock of battle, and at the word of +command hurled themselves again and again against the enemy, rushing +dauntlessly onward to meet overwhelming numbers and certain death. On +the 18th of July, the news reached us that General Johnston had been +relieved from command, and that General Hood had succeeded him. I knew +nothing of the relative merits of the two commanders, and had no means +of judging but by the effect upon the soldiers by whom I was then +surrounded. The whole post seemed as if stricken by some terrible +calamity. Convalescents walked about with lagging steps and gloomy +faces. In every ward lay men who wept bitterly or groaned aloud or, +covering their faces, refused to speak or eat. From that hour the +buoyant, hopeful spirit seemed to die out. I do not think anything was +ever the same again. For, when after the awful sacrifice of human life +which followed the inauguration of the new policy, the decimated army +_still_ were forced to retreat, the shadow of doom began to creep +slowly upon the land. The anchor of _my_ soul was my unbounded +confidence in President Davis; while he was at the helm I felt secure +of ultimate success, and bore present ills and disappointments +patiently, _never doubting_. Meantime, disquieting rumors were flying +about, railroad communication was cut off here and there, and with it +mail facilities. Of course the Confederate leaders were apprised of +the movements of the Federals, but at the hospital post we were +constantly on the _qui vive_. Large numbers of convalescents were +daily returning to the front, among them Lieutenant Cluverius, Mr. +Vaudry, and Captain Weller. + +Rumors of the approach of the Federal forces under McCook had for days +disquieted our minds. The little town of Newnan and immediately +surrounding country was already full of refugees. Every day brought +more. Besides, the presence of hundreds of sick and wounded, in the +hospitals which had been established there, rendered the prospect of +an advance of the enemy by no means a pleasant one. But, as far as the +hospitals were concerned, the surgeons in charge must await orders +from headquarters. As long as none were received, we felt +comparatively safe. + +One night, however, a regiment of Roddy's Confederate Cavalry quietly +rode in, taking possession of the railroad depot at the foot of the +hill, and otherwise mysteriously disposing of themselves in the same +neighborhood. The following morning opened bright and lovely, bringing +to the anxious watchers of the night before that sense of security +which always comes with the light. All business was resumed as usual. +I had finished my early rounds, fed my special cases, and was just +entering the distributing-room to send breakfast to the wards, when a +volley of musketry, quickly followed by another and another, startled +the morning air. Quickly an excited crowd collected and rushed to the +top of the hill commanding a view of the depot and railroad track. I +ran with the rest. "_The Yankees! the Yankees!_" was the cry. The +firing continued for a few moments, then ceased. When the smoke +cleared away, our own troops could be seen drawn up on the railroad +and on the depot platform. The hill on the opposite side seemed to +swarm with Yankees. Evidently they had expected to surprise the town, +but, finding themselves opposed by a force whose numbers they were +unable to estimate, they hastily retreated up the hill. By that time a +crowd of impetuous boys had armed themselves and were running down the +hill on our side to join the Confederates. Few men followed (of the +citizens), for those who were able had already joined the army. Those +who remained were fully occupied in attending to the women and +children. + +It was evident that the fight was only delayed. An attack might be +expected at any moment. An exodus from the town at once began. + +Already refugees from all parts of the adjacent country had begun to +pour into and pass through, in endless procession and every +conceivable and inconceivable style of conveyance, drawn by horses, +mules, oxen, and even by a single steer or cow. Most of these were +women and boys, though the faces of young children appeared here and +there,--as it were, "thrown in" among the "plunder,"--looking +pitifully weary and frightened, yet not so heart-broken as the anxious +women who knew not where their journey was to end. Nor had they "where +to lay their heads," some of them having left behind only the smoking +ruins of a home, which, though "ever so lowly," was "the sweetest spot +on earth" to them. McCook, by his unparalleled cruelty, had made his +name a horror. + +The citizens simply stampeded, "nor stood upon the order of their +going." There was no time for deliberation. They could not move goods +or chattels, only a few articles of clothing; no room for trunks and +boxes. Every carriage, wagon, and cart was loaded down with human +freight; every saddle-horse was in demand. All the negroes from the +hospital as well as those belonging to the citizens were removed at +once to a safe distance. These poor creatures were as much frightened +as anybody and as glad to get away. Droves of cattle and sheep were +driven out on the run, lowing and bleating their indignant +remonstrance. + +While the citizens were thus occupied, the surgeons in charge of +hospitals were not less busy, though far more collected and +methodical. Dr. McAllister, of the "Buckner," and Dr. S.M. Bemiss, of +the "Bragg," were both brave, cool, executive men. Their +self-possession, their firm, steady grasp of the reins of authority +simplified matters greatly. Only those unable to bear arms were left +in the wards. Convalescents would have resented and probably disobeyed +an order to remain. Not only were they actuated by the brave spirit of +Southern soldiers, but they preferred anything to remaining to be +captured,--better far death than the horrors of a Northern prison. So +all quietly presented themselves, and, with assistant-surgeons, +druggists, and hospital attendants, were armed, officered, and marched +off to recruit the regiment before mentioned. + +The ladies, wives of officers, attendants, etc., were more difficult +to manage, for dread of the "Yankees," combined with the pain of +parting with their husbands or friends, who would soon go into battle, +distracted them. Fabulous prices were offered for means of conveyance. +As fast as one was procured it was filled and crowded. At last, all +were sent off except one two-horse buggy, which Dr. McAllister had +held for his wife and myself, and which was driven by his own negro +boy, Sam. Meantime, I had visited all the wards, for some of the +patients were very near death, and all were in a state of great and +injurious excitement. I did not for a moment pretend to withstand +their entreaties that I would remain with them, having already decided +to do so. Their helplessness appealed so strongly to my sympathies +that I found it impossible to resist. Besides, I had an idea and a +hope that even in the event of the town being taken I might prevail +with the enemy to ameliorate their condition as prisoners. So I +promised, and quietly passed from ward to ward announcing my +determination, trying to speak cheerfully. Excitement, so great that +it produced outward calm, enabled me to resist the angry remonstrances +of the surgeon and the tearful entreaties of Mrs. McAllister, who was +nearly beside herself with apprehension. At last everybody was gone; +intense quiet succeeded the scene of confusion. I was _alone,--left in +charge_. A crushing sense of responsibility fell upon my heart. The +alarm had been first given about eight o'clock in the morning. By +three the same afternoon soldiers, citizens, _all_ had disappeared. + +Only a few men who, by reason of wounds too recently healed or from +other causes, were unable to march or to fight had been left to act as +nurses. + +I sat down upon the steps of my office to think it over and to gather +strength for all I had to do. On either side of me were two-story +stores which had been converted into wards, where the sickest patients +were generally placed, that I might have easy access to them. +Suddenly, from one of the upper wards, I heard a hoarse cry, as if +some one had essayed to give the rebel yell. Following it a confused +murmur of voices. Running hastily up-stairs, I met at the door of the +ward a ghastly figure, clad all in white (the hospital shirt and +drawers), but with a military cap on his head. It was one of my fever +patients who had been lying at death's door for days. The excitement +of the morning having brought on an access of fever with delirium, he +had arisen from his bed, put on his cap, and started, yelling, "_to +join the boys!_" Weak as I had supposed him to be, his strength almost +over-mastered my own. I could hardly prevent him from going down the +stairs. The only man in the ward able to assist me at all was minus an +arm and just recovering after amputation. I was afraid his wound might +possibly begin to bleed, besides, I knew that any _man's_ interference +would excite the patient still more. Relying upon the kindly, +chivalrous feeling which my presence always seemed to inspire in my +patients, I promised to get his gun for him if he would go back and +put on his clothes, and, placing my arm around the already tottering +and swaying figure, by soothing and coaxing got him back to the bed. A +sinking spell followed, from which he never rallied. In a lower ward +another death occurred, due also to sudden excitement. + +Fearful of the effect that a knowledge of this would have upon other +patients, I resorted to deception, declaring that the dead men were +better and asleep, covering them, excluding light from windows near +them, and even pretending at intervals to administer medicines. + +And now came another trial, from which I shrank fearfully, but which +must be borne. + +In the "wounded wards," and in tents outside where men having gangrene +were isolated, horrible sights awaited me,--sights which I trembled to +look upon,--fearful wounds which had, so far, been attended to only by +the surgeons. + +These wounds were now dry, and the men were groaning with pain. Minute +directions having been left with me, I must nerve myself to uncover +the dreadful places, wash them, and apply fresh cloths. In the cases +of gangrene, poultices of yeast and charcoal, or some other +preparation left by the surgeons. + +Entering Ward No. 3, where there were many badly-wounded men, I began +my work upon a boy of perhaps nineteen years, belonging to a North +Carolina regiment, who had one-half of his face shot away. + +My readers may imagine the dreadful character of the wounds in this +ward, when I relate that a day or two after a terrible battle at the +front, when dozens of wounded were brought in, so badly were they +mangled and so busy were the surgeons, that I was permitted to dress +this boy's face unaided. _Then_ it was bad enough, but neither so +unsightly nor so painful as _now_ that inflammation had supervened. +The poor boy tried not to flinch. His one bright eye looked gratefully +up at me. After I had finished, he wrote upon the paper which was +always at his hand, "You didn't hurt me like them doctors. Don't let +the Yankees get me, I want to have another chance at _them_ when I get +well." Having succeeded so well, I "took heart of grace," and felt +little trepidation afterward. But--oh! the horror of it. An Arkansas +soldier lay gasping out his life, a piece of shell having carried away +a large portion of his breast, leaving the lungs exposed to view. No +hope, save to alleviate his pain by applying cloths wet with cold +water. Another, from Tennessee, had lost a part of his thigh,--and so +on. The amputations were my greatest dread, lest I might displace +bandages and set an artery bleeding. So I dared not remove the cloths, +but used an instrument invented by one of our surgeons, as may be +imagined, of primitive construction, but which, wetting the tender +wounds gradually by a sort of spray, gave great relief. Of course, +fresh cloths were a constant necessity for suppurating wounds, but for +those nearly healed, or simply inflamed, the spray was invaluable. The +tents were the last visited, and by the time I had finished the +rounds, it was time to make some arrangements for the patients' +supper, for wounded men are always hungry. + +I remember gratefully to this day the comfort and moral support I +received during this trying ordeal from a South Carolina soldier, who +even then knew that his own hours were numbered, and was looking death +in the face with a calm resignation and courage which was simply +sublime. He had been shot in the spine, and from the waist down was +completely paralyzed. After he had been wounded, some one +unintentionally having laid him down too near a fire, his feet were +burned in a shocking manner. He was one of the handsomest men I ever +saw, and, even in his present condition, of commanding presence and of +unusual intelligence. I strive in vain to recall his name, but memory +in this as in many other cases of patients to whom I was particularly +attracted will present their faces only. Calling me to his bedside he +spoke kindly and cheerfully, praising my efforts, encouraging me to go +on, drawing upon his store of general knowledge for expedients to meet +the most trying cases. + +Everything that Dr. McAllister did was well and completely done. He +was kind-hearted, generous, ready to do or sacrifice anything for the +real good of his patients; but his rules once laid down became +immutable laws, not to be transgressed by any. His constant +supervision and enforcement of rules affected every department of the +hospital. In my own, I had only to report a dereliction of duty, and +the fate of the culprit was sealed. If a woman, I had orders to +discharge her; if a man, the next train bore him to his regiment or to +the office of the medical director, upon whose tender mercies no +wrong-doer could rely. + +Consequently, I had only to go to my well-ordered kitchen to find +ready the food which it had been my first care to have prepared in +view of the (as I hoped) temporary absence of the cooks. The departing +men had all taken marching rations with them, but there was still +plenty of food on hand. A bakery was attached to the Buckner. We also +owned several cows. In the bakery was plenty of corn-bread and some +loaves of flour-bread, although flour was even then becoming scarce. + +The cows, with full udders, stood lowing at the bars of the pen. Among +the doubts and fears that had assailed me, the idea that I might have +trouble with these cows never occurred to my mind. During my childhood +my mother had owned several. I had often seen them milked. One had +only to seize the teats firmly, pull quietly downward, and two streams +of rich milk would follow. Oh, yes! I could do that easily. But when I +arrived at the pen, a tin bucket in one hand, a milking-stool in the +other, and letting down the bars, crept inside, the cows eyed me with +evident distrust and even shook their horns in a menacing manner which +quite alarmed me. However, I marched up to the one which appeared the +mildest-looking, and sitting down by her side, seized two of the +teats, fully expecting to hear the musical sound of two white +streamlets as they fell upon the bottom of the tin bucket. _Not a drop +could I get_. My caressing words and gentle remonstrances had not the +slightest effect. If it is possible for an animal to feel and show +contempt, it was revealed in the gaze that cow cast upon me as she +turned her head to observe my manoeuvres. I had heard that some cows +have a bad habit of holding back their milk. Perhaps this was one of +them. I would try another. Removing the stool to the side of another +meek-looking animal, I essayed to milk _her_. But she switched her +tail in my face, lifting a menacing, horrid hoof. "_Soh, bossy!_" +cried I. "Pretty, _pretty_ cow that makes pleasant milk to soak my +bread." In another moment I was seated flat upon the ground, while my +pretty, pretty cow capered wildly among the rest, so agitating them +that, thinking discretion the better part of valor, I hastily climbed +over the fence at the point nearest to me and returned to the kitchen. + +What should I do now? Perhaps one of the decrepit nurses left in the +ward knew how to milk. But no, they did not, except one poor, limping +rheumatic who could only use one hand. Just then a feeble-looking +patient from the Bragg Hospital came tottering along. He also knew how +to milk, and they both, volunteered to try. Much to my surprise and +delight, the cows now behaved beautifully, perhaps owing to the fact +that, obeying the injunctions of my two recruits, I provided each with +a bundle of fodder to distract their attention during the milking +process. There was more milk than I could possibly use, as nearly all +the convalescents were absent. So I set several pans of it away, +little thinking how soon it would be needed. + +By the time all had been fed, I felt very weary; but it was midnight +before I found a minute's time to rest. + +I had made frequent rounds through all the buildings of the hospital, +each time finding some one who had need of me. At last, wearied out by +the excitement of the day, the sick grew quiet and inclined to sleep. +Released for a time, I sat down on the steps of my office to think and +to listen: for I did not know anything of the whereabouts of the +enemy. The town might have been surrendered. At any moment the Federal +soldiers might appear. Just then, however, the streets were utterly +deserted. The stillness was oppressive. + +If I could only discover a friendly light in one of these deserted +dwellings. Oh, for the sound of a kindly voice, the sight of a +familiar face! + +Doubtless there may have been some who had remained to protect their +household gods, but they were women, and remained closely within +doors. + +Melancholy thoughts oppressed me. Through gathering tears I gazed at +the pale moon, whose light seemed faded and wan. There came to me +memories of the long-ago, when I had strayed among the orange-groves +of my own dear home under a moonlight far more radiant, happy in loved +companionship, listening with delight to the voices of the night, +which murmured only of love and joy and hope, inhaling the perfume of +a thousand flowers. To-night, as the south wind swept by in fitful +gusts, it seemed to bear to my ears the sound of sorrow and mourning +from homes and shrines where hope lay dead amid the ruined idols cast +down and broken by that stern iconoclast--_War_. + +As I sat thus, buried in thought, a distant sound broke the silence, +sending a thrill of terror to my heart. It was the tramp of many +horses rapidly approaching. "Alas! alas I the enemy had come upon us +from the rear. Our brave defenders were surrounded and their retreat +cut off." + +I knew not what to expect, but anxiety for my patients banished fear. +Seizing a light-wood torch, I ran up the road, hoping to interview the +officers at the head of the column and to intercede for my sick, +perhaps to prevent intrusion into the wards. To my almost wild +delight, the torch-light revealed the dear old gray uniforms. It was a +portion of Wheeler's Cavalry sent to reinforce Roddy, whose meagre +forces, aided by the volunteers from Newman, had held the Federals in +check until now, but were anxiously expecting this reinforcement. + +The men had ridden far and fast. They now came to a halt in front of +the hospital, but had not time to dismount, hungry and thirsty though +they were. The regimental servants, however, came in search of water +with dozens of canteens hung around them, rattling in such a manner as +to show that they were quite empty. For the next half-hour, I believe, +I had almost the strength of Samson. Rushing to the bakery, I loaded +baskets with bread and handed them up to the soldier-boys to be passed +along until emptied. I then poured all the milk I had into a large +bucket, added a dipper, and, threading in and out among the horses, +ladled out dipperfuls until it was all gone. I then distributed about +four buckets of water in the same way. My excitement was so great that +not a sensation of fear or of fatigue assailed me. Horses to the right +of me, horses to the left of me, horses in front of me, snorted and +pawed; but God gave strength and courage: I was not afraid. + +A comparatively small number had been supplied, when a courier from +Roddy's command rode up to hasten the reinforcements. At once the +whole column was put in motion. As the last rider disappeared, and the +tramping of the horses died away in the distance, a sense of weariness +and exhaustion so overpowered me that I could have slept where I +stood. So thorough was my confidence in the brave men who were sure to +repel the invaders that all sense of danger passed away. + +My own sleeping-room was in a house situated at the foot of the hill. +I could have gone there and slept securely, but dared not leave my +charges. Sinking upon the rough lounge in my office, intending only to +rest, I fell fast asleep. I was awakened by one of the nurses, who had +come to say that I was needed by a patient whom he believed to be +dying, and who lay in a ward on the other side of the square. + +As we passed out into the street, another beautiful morning was +dawning. Upon entering Ward No. 9, we found most of the patients +asleep. But in one corner, between two windows which let in the +fast-increasing light, lay an elderly man, calmly breathing his life +away. The morning breeze stirred the thin gray hair upon his hollow +temples, rustling the leaves of the Bible which lay upon his pillow. +Stooping over him to feel the fluttering pulse, and to wipe the clammy +sweat from brow and hands, I saw that he was indeed dying, a victim of +that dreadful scourge that decimated the ranks of the Confederate +armies more surely than many battles,--dysentery,--which, if not cured +in the earlier stages, resulted too surely, as now, in consumption of +the bowels. + +He was a Kentuckian, cut off from home and friends, and dying among +strangers. An almost imperceptible glance indicated that he wished me +to take up his Bible. The fast-stiffening lips whispered, "_Read_." I +read to him the Fourteenth Chapter of St. John, stopping frequently to +note if the faint breathing yet continued. Each time he would move the +cold fingers in a way that evidently meant "_go on_." After I had +finished the reading, he whispered, so faintly that I could just catch +the words, "_Rock of Ages_," and I softly sang the beautiful hymn. + +Two years before I could not have done this so calmly. At first every +death among my patients seemed to me like a personal bereavement. +Trying to read or to sing by the bedsides of the dying, uncontrollable +tears and sobs would choke my voice. As I looked my last upon dead +faces, I would turn away shuddering and sobbing, for a time unfit for +duty. _Now_, my voice did not once fail or falter. Calmly I watched +the dying patient, and saw (as I had seen a hundred times before) the +gray shadow of death steal over the shrunken face, to be replaced at +the last by a light so beautiful that I could well believe it came +shining through "the gates ajar." + +It was sunrise when I again emerged from Ward No. 9. Hastening to my +room, I quickly bathed and redressed, returning to my office in half +an hour, refreshed and ready for duty. + +The necessity for breakfast sufficient to feed the hungry patients +recalled to me the improvidence of my action in giving away so much +bread the night before. It had gone a very little way toward supplying +the needs of so large a body of soldiers, and now my own needed it. + +There was no quartermaster, no one to issue fresh rations. Again I had +the cows milked, gathered up all the corn-bread that was left, with +some hard-tack, and with the aid of the few decrepit nurses before +mentioned made a fire, and warmed up the soup and soup-meat which had +been prepared for the convalescent table the day before, but was not +consumed. My patients, comprehending the situation, made the best of +it. But the distribution was a tedious business, as many of the +patients had to be fed by myself. + +I had hardly begun when some of the men declared they "heard guns." I +could not then detect the sound, but soon it grew louder and more +sustained, and then we _knew_ a battle was in progress. For hours the +fight went on. We awaited the result in painful suspense. At last the +ambulances came in, bringing some of the surgeons and some wounded +men, returning immediately for others. At the same time the hospital +steward with his attendants and several of our nurses arrived, also +the linen-master, the chief cook, and the baker. With them came orders +to prepare wards for a large number of wounded, both Confederate _and +Federal_. Presently a cloud of dust appeared up the road, and a detail +of Confederate cavalry rode into town, bringing eight hundred Federal +prisoners, who were consigned to a large cotton warehouse, situated +almost midway between the hospital and the railroad depot. + +My terrible anxiety, suspense, and heavy responsibility was now at an +end, but days and nights of nursing lay before all who were connected +with either the Buckner or Bragg Hospitals. Additional buildings were +at once seized and converted into wards for the reception of the +wounded of both armies. The hospital attendants, though weary, hungry, +and some of them terribly dirty from the combined effect of +perspiration, dust, and gunpowder, at once resumed their duties. The +quartermaster reopened his office, requisitions were made and filled, +and the work of the different departments was once more put in regular +operation. + +I was busy in one of the wards, when a messenger drove up, and a note +was handed me from Dr. McAllister,--"Some of our men too badly wounded +to be moved right away. Come out at once. Bring cordials and +brandy,--soup, if you have it,--also fill the enclosed requisition at +the drug-store. Lose no time." + +The battle-field was not three miles away. I was soon tearing along +the road at breakneck speed. At an improvised field-hospital I met the +doctor, who vainly tried to prepare me for the horrid spectacle I was +about to witness. + +From the hospital-tent distressing groans and screams came forth. The +surgeons, both Confederate and Federal, were busy, with coats off, +sleeves rolled up, shirt-fronts and hands bloody. But _our_ work lay +not here. + +Dr. McAllister silently handed me two canteens of water, which I threw +over my shoulder, receiving also a bottle of peach brandy. We then +turned into a ploughed field, thickly strewn with men and horses, many +stone dead, some struggling in the agonies of death. The plaintive +cries and awful struggles of the horses first impressed me. They were +shot in every conceivable manner, showing shattered heads, broken and +bleeding limbs, and protruding entrails. They would not yield quietly +to death, but continually raised their heads or struggled half-way to +their feet, uttering cries of pain, while their distorted eyes seemed +to reveal their suffering and implore relief. I saw a soldier shoot +one of these poor animals, and felt truly glad to know that his agony +was at an end. + +The dead lay around us on every side, singly and in groups and +_piles_; men and horses, in some cases, apparently inextricably +mingled. Some lay as if peacefully sleeping; others, with open eyes, +seemed to glare at any who bent above them. Two men lay as they had +died, the "Blue" and the "Gray," clasped in a fierce embrace. What had +passed between them could never be known; but one was shot in the +head, the throat of the other was partly torn away. It was awful to +feel the conviction that unquenched hatred had embittered the last +moments of each. They seemed mere youths, and I thought sadly of the +mothers, whose hearts would throb with equal anguish in a Northern and +a Southern home. In a corner of the field, supported by a pile of +broken fence-rails, a soldier sat apparently beckoning to us. On +approaching him we discovered that he was quite dead, although he sat +upright, with open eyes and extended arm. + +Several badly wounded men had been laid under the shade of some bushes +a little farther on; our mission lay here. The portion of the field we +crossed to reach this spot was in many places slippery with blood. The +edge of my dress was red, my feet were wet with it. As we drew near +the suffering men, piteous glances met our own. "Water! water!" was +the cry. + +Dr. McAllister had previously discovered in one of these the son of an +old friend, and although he was apparently wounded unto death, he +hoped, when the ambulances returned with the stretchers sent for, to +move him into town to the hospital. He now proceeded with the aid of +the instruments, bandages, lint, etc., I had brought to prepare him +for removal. Meantime, taking from my pocket a small feeding-cup, +which I always carried for use in the wards, I mixed some brandy and +water, and, kneeling by one of the poor fellows who seemed worse than +the others, tried to raise his head. But he was already dying. As soon +as he was moved the blood ran in a little stream from his mouth. +Wiping it off, I put the cup to his lips, but he could not swallow, +and reluctantly I left him to die. He wore the blue uniform and +stripes of a Federal sergeant of cavalry, and had a German face. The +next seemed anxious for water, and drank eagerly. This one, a man of +middle age, was later transferred to our wards, but died from +blood-poisoning. He was badly wounded in the side. A third could only +talk with his large, sad eyes, but made me clearly understand his +desire for water. As I passed my arm under his head the red blood +saturated my sleeve and spread in a moment over a part of my dress. So +we went on, giving water, brandy, or soup; sometimes successful in +reviving the patient, sometimes able only to whisper a few words of +comfort to the dying. There were many more left, and Dr. McAllister +never for a moment intermitted his efforts to save them. Later came +more help, surgeons, and attendants with stretchers, etc. Soon all +were moved who could bear it. + +Duty now recalled me to my patients at the hospital. + +My hands and dress and feet were bloody, and I felt sick with horror. + +As I was recrossing the battle-field accompanied by Dr. Welford, of +Virginia, the same terrible scenes were presented to the view. The +ground was littered with the accoutrements of soldiers,--carbines, +pistols, canteens, haversacks, etc. Two cannon lay overturned, near +one of which lay a dead Federal soldier still grasping the rammer. +Beneath the still struggling horses lay human forms just as they had +fallen. Probably they had been dead ere they reached the ground, but I +felt a shuddering dread lest perhaps some lingering spark of life had +been crushed out by the rolling animals. + +We had nearly reached the road when our attention was arrested by +stifled cries and groans proceeding from a little log cabin which had +been nearly demolished during the fight. Entering, we found it empty, +but still the piteous cries continued. Soon the doctor discovered a +pair of human legs, hanging down the chimney, but with all his pulling +could not dislodge the man, who was fast wedged and only cried out the +louder. + +"Stop your infernal noise," said the doctor, "and try to help yourself +while I pull." By this time others had entered the cabin, and their +united effort at length succeeded in dislodging from the chimney,--not +a negro, but a white man, whose blue eyes, glassy with terror, shone +through the soot which had begrimed his face. He had climbed up the +chimney to escape the storm of shot, and had so wedged himself in that +to release himself unaided was impossible. Irrepressible laughter +greeted his appearance, and I--I am bitterly ashamed to say--fell into +a fit of most violent hysterical laughter and weeping. Dr. Welford +hurried me into the buggy, which was near at hand, and drove rapidly +to town, refusing to stop at the hospital, landing me at my room, +where some ladies who came from I know not where kindly helped me to +bed. Under the influence of a sedative I soon fell into a deep sleep, +awakening at daylight to find my own servant (who had returned with +other negroes during the night) standing at my bedside. The surgeons +had sent a little of the precious _real coffee_, of which there was +only one sack left. Upon awakening, I was to be at once served with a +cup. A warm bath followed. By six o'clock I was once more at the +hospital, ready for duty, after two days and nights, during which, it +seemed to me, I had lived for years. + +Even at this early hour, Buckner hospital presented a scene of great +activity. Some of the surgeons had remained all night on duty, and +were still busy; while others, having snatched a few hours of sleep, +were now preparing for their trying work. + +In almost every ward lay a few wounded Federals, but, all the spare +beds having been filled, a long, low, brick building, on the corner +opposite the drug-store, once used as a cotton-pickery, was fitted up +as comfortably as the limited hospital-supplies at our command would +allow for the Federals exclusively, and they were permitted to have +the attendance of their own surgeons, although ours always responded +readily, if needed. + +These Federal surgeons appeared to me to be very indifferent to the +comfort of their patients, and to avoid all unnecessary trouble. They +were tardy in beginning their work the morning after the battle, and, +when they were ready, coolly sent in _requisitions_ for _chloroform_, +which, having been (contrary to the dictates of humanity and to the +customs of civilized nations) long since declared by their government +"contraband of war," was almost unattainable, and used by our +Confederate surgeons only in extreme cases. In all minor, and in some +severe, operations the surgeons relied upon the manly fortitude of the +patients, and, _God bless our brave boys_, they bore this cruel test +with a courage fully as worthy to be recorded as the most brilliant +action on the battle-field. + +On the morning in question, as I made my early rounds, there met me +everywhere ghastly reminders of the battle,--men shot and disfigured in +every conceivable manner. Many, fresh from the hands of the surgeons, +exhausted by suffering, looked as if already Death had claimed them for +his own. Attendants were constantly bearing into different wards fresh +victims from the operating-rooms, where the bloody work would still go +on for hours. These must have immediate attention,--must be closely +watched and strongly nourished. This was _my_ blessed privilege; and, +thanks to the humane and excellent policy adopted by General Johnston, +and continued by General Hood,--both of whom looked well to the _ways +of quartermasters_ and _commissaries_,--the means to provide for the +sick and wounded were always at hand,--at least, up to the time of +which I write. + +Some of my favorite patients, whom, previous to this battle, I had +nursed into convalescence, were now thrown back upon beds of pain. In +one corner I found a boy whom I had nursed and fed through days and +nights of suffering from typhoid fever. His name was Willie Hutson, +and he belonged to the ---- Mississippi Regiment. Two days ago he had +been as bright as a lark, and pleading to be sent to the front. Now he +lay, shot through the breast, so near death that he did not know me. +As I bent over him with tearful eyes, a hand placed upon my arm caused +me to turn. There stood Dr. Gore, his kind face full of sympathy, but +greatly troubled, at his side a Federal surgeon in full uniform. Dr. +Gore said, "This is one of my old chums, and--" But I cried out, "Oh, +doctor! I _cannot_,--look" (indicating with my hand first Willie, then +the entire ward)! Passing swiftly out, I fled to my office and locked +myself in, shedding hot tears of indignation. The dreadful work of the +invaders had been before my eyes all the morning. I felt as if I could +have nothing to do with them, and did not wish to see one of them +again. They had not only murdered my poor boy Willie, but dozens of +dearer friends. They were even now running riot in the home I loved. +They were invaders! + +I could _not_ meet them,--could not nurse them. + +It is painful thus to reveal the thoughts of my wicked, unchristian +heart; but thus I reasoned and felt just then. + +After a while a note from Dr. Gore was handed me. He said (in +substance), "I know how bitterly you feel, but pray for strength to +cast out evil spirits from your heart. Forget that the suffering men, +thrown upon our kindness and forbearance, are _Yankees_. Remember only +that they are God's creatures and helpless prisoners. They need you. +Think the matter over, and do not disappoint me. Gore." + +I do not believe that ever before or since have I fought so hard a +battle. God helping me, I decided to do right. The short, sharp +contest ended--I acted at once. + +On my way to the Federal wards, I met more than one hospital-attendant +carrying off a bloody leg or arm to bury it. I felt then, and saw no +reason to alter my opinion afterwards, that some of their surgeons +were far rougher and less merciful than ours; and I do not believe +they ever gave the poor, shattered fellows the benefit of a doubt. It +was easier to amputate than to attend a tedious, troublesome recovery. +So, off went legs and arms by the wholesale. + +I had not been five minutes in the low, brick ward, where lay the most +dangerously wounded Federals, when all animosity vanished and my +woman's heart melted within me. + +These were strangers and unwelcome, but far from home and friends, +suffering, dying. The surgeon said to me, "Madam, one-half the +attention you give to your own men will save life here." + +The patients were all badly, many fatally, wounded. They were silent, +repellent, and evidently expectant of insult and abuse, but after a +while received food and drink from my hands pleasantly, and I tried to +be faithful in my ministrations. + +I believe that most of the soldiers in this ward were from Iowa and +Indiana. + +One I remember particularly, a captain of cavalry, who was shot +through the throat and had to receive nourishment by means of a rubber +tube inserted for the purpose. A young man in a blue and yellow +uniform--an aide or orderly--remained at his side day and night until +he died. His eyes spoke to me eloquently of his gratitude, and once he +wrote on a scrap of paper, "God bless you," and handed it to me. He +lived about five days. + +The mortality was very considerable in this ward. I grew to feel a +deep interest in the poor fellows, and treasured last words or little +mementoes as faithfully for their distant loved ones as I had always +done for Confederates. + +Among the personal belongings taken from me by raiders at Macon, +Georgia, was a large chest, full of articles of this kind, which I +intended to return to the friends of the owners whenever the +opportunity offered. + +In another ward were several renegade Kentuckians, who constantly +excited my ire by noting and ridiculing deficiencies, calling my own +dear boys "Old Jeff's ragamuffins," etc. One day Dr. Gore happened to +be visiting this ward when these men began their usual teasing. +Something caused me to eulogize Dr. Gore and all the Kentuckians who +had sacrificed so much for "The Cause." One of these fellows then +said, "Well, I'm a Kentuckian too, what have you got to say about me?" +I replied, "I think you hold about the same relation to the true sons +of Kentucky that Judas Iscariot bore to the beloved disciple who lay +upon the bosom of our Saviour." Then walked out of the ward. + +It was rather a spiteful repartee, I must confess, but was provoked by +many ill-natured remarks previously made by this renegade, and had the +good effect of putting an end to them. + +We were comparatively safe once more,--for how long no one knew. I now +became very anxious about the men in the trenches at Atlanta who were +lying day after day, always under fire. Suffering from insufficient +food, exposed to the scorching sun or equally pitiless rain, sometimes +actually knee-deep in water for days. The bombardment was heavy and +incessant, ceasing only for a while at sunset, when carts were hastily +loaded with musty meat and poor corn-bread, driven out to the +trenches, and the rations dumped there. Many of my friends were lying +in these trenches, among them my husband. In addition to other ills, +the defenders of Atlanta were in instant danger of death from shot or +shell. I could not bear it. The desire to see my husband once more, +and to carry some relief in the shape of provisions to himself and his +comrades could not be quelled. Many things stood in the way of its +accomplishment, for, upon giving a hint of my project to my friends at +Newnan, a storm of protest broke upon my devoted head. Not one bade me +God-speed, _everybody_ declared I was crazy. "A _woman_ to go to +Atlanta under such circumstances; how utterly absurd, how mad." So I +was obliged to resort to deception and subterfuge. My first step was +to request leave of absence, that I might forage for provisions to be +sent to the front by the first opportunity. + +Dr. McAllister very kindly accorded me his permission, placing at my +disposal an ambulance and a driver, advising me, however, not to +follow the main road or the beaten track which had already been +drained by foragers, but to go deep into the piny woods. Said he, +"Only one of our foragers has ever been through that region, and his +reports were not very encouraging. The people want to keep all they +have got for home-consumption, and greatly distrust 'hospital people,' +but if success is possible, _you_ will succeed." In anticipation, this +ride into deep, odorous pine woods seemed delightful. When the +ambulance with its "captured" mule drove up before my door, I gayly +climbed into it, and, waving merry adieux to half-disapproving friends +(among them Dr. Hughes, with his distressed face, and _Diogenes_, who +looked daggers at me), set off in high glee. The ride along the +pleasant road was lovely; early birds sung sweetly; the dew, yet +undisturbed, glistened everywhere, the morning breeze blew freshly in +my face. As the sun began to assert his power, I became eager to +penetrate into the shady woods, and at last, spying a grand aisle in +"Nature's temple," bade the driver enter it. For a while the result +was most enjoyable. The spicy aroma of the pines, the brilliant vines +climbing everywhere, the multitude of woodland blossoms blooming in +such quantities and variety as I had never imagined, charmed my +senses, and elevated my spirit. Among these peaceful shades one might +almost forget the horror and carnage which desolated the land. The +driver was versed in wood-craft, and called my attention to many +beauties which would have otherwise escaped me. But soon his whole +attention was required to guide the restive mule through a labyrinth +of stumps and ruts and horrible muddy holes, which he called "hog +wallows;" my own endeavors were addressed to "holding on," and +devising means to ease the horrible joltings which racked me from head +to foot. After riding about two miles we came to a small clearing, and +were informed that the road for ten miles was "tolerbal clar" and +pretty thickly settled. So after partaking of an early country dinner, +also obtaining a small amount of eggs, chickens, etc., at exorbitant +prices, we resumed our ride. That expedition will never be forgotten +by me. At its close, I felt that my powers of diplomacy were quite +equal to any emergency. Oh, the sullen, sour-looking women that I +sweetly smiled upon, and flattered into good humor, praising their +homes, the cloth upon the loom, the truck-patch (often a mass of +weeds), the tow-headed babies (whom I caressed and admired), never +hinting at my object until the innocent victims offered of their own +accord to "show me round." At the spring-house I praised the new +country butter, which "looked so very good that I must have a pound or +two," and then skilfully leading the conversation to the subject of +chickens and eggs, carelessly displaying a few crisp Confederate +bills, I at least became the happy possessor of a few dozens of eggs +and a chicken or two, at a price which only their destination +reconciled me to. + +At one house, approached by a road so tortuous and full of stumps that +we were some time before reaching it, I distinctly heard a dreadful +squawking among the fowls, but when we arrived at the gate, not one +was to be seen, and the mistress declared she hadn't a "_one_: hadn't +saw a chicken for a _coon's_ age." Pleading excessive fatigue, I +begged the privilege of resting within the cabin. An apparently +unwilling assent was given. In I walked, and, occupying one of those +splint chairs which so irresistibly invite one to commit a breach of +good manners by "tipping back," I sat in the door-way, comfortably +swaying backward and forward. Every once in a while the faces of +children, either black or white, would peer at me round the corner of +the house, then the sound of scampering bare feet would betray their +sudden flight. Suddenly I caught sight of a pair of bare, black feet +protruding from under the bed. Presently an unmistakable squawk arose, +instantly smothered, but followed by a fluttering of wings and a +chorus of squawks. So upset was the lady of the house that she +involuntarily called out, "_You Isrul!_" "Ma'am," came in a frightened +voice from under the bed, then in whining tones, "I dun try to mek 'em +hush up, but 'pears like Mass Debbel be on dey side, anyhow." + +Further concealment being impossible, I said, "Come, you have the +chickens ready caught, I'll give you your own price for them." She +hesitated--and was lost, for producing from my pocket a small package +of snuff, to which temptation she at once succumbed, I obtained in +exchange six fine, fat chickens. As I was leaving she said, in an +apologetic tone, "Well, I declah, I never knowed you was going to +light, or I wouldn't have done sich a fool-trick." + +Stopping at every house, meeting with varied success, we at last, just +at night, arrived at a farm-house more orderly than any we had passed, +where I was glad to discover the familiar face of an old lady who had +sometimes brought buttermilk and eggs to the sick. At once recognizing +me, she appeared delighted, and insisted upon my "lighting" and having +my team put up until morning. This I was glad to do, for it was quite +out of the question to start on my homeward journey that night. +Greatly I enjoyed the hospitality so ungrudgingly given, the +appetizing supper, the state bed in the best room, with its "sunrise" +quilt of patch-work. Here was a Confederate household. The son was a +soldier. His wife and his little children were living "with ma" at the +old homestead. The evening was spent in talking of the late battle. +Here these women were, living in the depths of the woods, consumed +with anxiety, seldom hearing any news, yet quietly performing the +monotonous round of duty with a patience which would have added lustre +to the crown of a saint. + +I talked until (wonderful to relate) my tongue was tired: my audience +being the old, white-haired father, the mother, the wife, and the +eager children, who were shy at first, but by degrees nestled closer, +with bright eyes from which sleep seemed banished forever. + +The next morning when, after a substantial breakfast, I was once more +ready to start, every member of the family made some addition to my +stores, notably, a few pounds of really good country butter. This was +always highly prized by the soldiers. As a general thing, when the +cows were fed upon cotton-seed the butter was white and "waxy," this +was yellow and firm. The oldest girl brought me a pair of socks she +had herself knitted; one of the little boys, six eggs laid by his own +"dominiker," which he pointed out to me as she stalked about the yard +proud of her mottled feathers and rosy comb. + +Even the baby came toddling to the door saying, "Heah, heah," and +holding out a snowy little kitten. The old gentleman, mounting his +horse, offered to "ride a piece" with us. Thanks to his +representations to the neighbors, I was able in a short time to turn +my face homewards, having gathered an excellent supply of chickens, +eggs, hams, home-made cordials, peach and apple brandy, and a few +pairs of socks. The old farmer also showed us a way by which we could +avoid a repetition of the tortures of yesterday, and rode beside the +ambulance to the main road. I remember well how he looked, as he sat +upon his old white mule, waiting to see the last of us. His hat, +pushed back, showed a few locks of silvery hair; his coarse clothes +and heavy, home-made boots were worn in a manner that betrayed the +Southern gentleman. The parting smile, still lingering upon his kindly +face, could not conceal the "furrows of care," which had deepened with +every year of the war. But, alas! I cannot recall his name, although I +then thought I could never forget it. + +Upon arriving at Newnan, I lost no time in preparing my boxes for the +front. Everything was cooked; even the eggs were hard-boiled. There +was sufficient to fill two large boxes. Having packed and shipped to +the depot my treasures, I prepared for the final step without +hesitation, although not without some doubt as to success in eluding +the vigilance of my friends. Announcing my determination to see the +boxes off, I--accompanied by my maid--walked down to the depot just +before train-time. There was only one rickety old passenger-car +attached to the train. This, as well as a long succession of box-and +cattle-cars, were crowded with troops,--reinforcements to Atlanta. +Taking advantage of the crowd, I, with Tempe, quietly stepped on +board, escaping discovery until just as the train was leaving, when in +rushed Dr. McAllister, who peremptorily ordered me off; but, being +compelled to jump off himself, failed to arrest my departure. I was in +high spirits. On the train were many soldiers whom I had nursed, and +who cared for my comfort in every way possible under the +circumstances. I was the only lady on the train, so they were +thoughtful enough to stow themselves in the crowded boxes behind, that +I might not be embarrassed by a large number in the passenger-car. At +last, as we approached Atlanta, I heard the continuous and terrific +noise of the bombardment. The whistle of the engine was a signal to +the enemy, who at once began to shell the depot. I did not realize the +danger yet, but just as the train "slowed up" heard a shrieking sound, +and saw the soldiers begin to dodge. Before I could think twice, an +awful explosion followed; the windows were all shivered, and the earth +seemed to me to be thrown in cart-loads into the car. Tempe screamed +loudly, and then began to pray. I was paralyzed with extreme terror, +and _could_ not scream. Before I could speak, another shell exploded +overhead, tearing off the corner of a brick store, causing again a +deafening racket. As we glided into the station, I felt safer; but +soon found out that every one around me had business to attend to, and +that I must rely upon myself. + +The shells still shrieked and exploded; the more treacherous and +dangerous solid shot continually demolished objects within our sight. +For a few hours I was so utterly demoralized that my only thought was +how to escape. It seemed to me _impossible_ that any body of soldiers +could voluntarily expose themselves to such horrible danger. I thought +if _I_ had been a soldier I must have deserted from my first +battle-field. But at last I grew calmer; my courage returned, and, +urged by the necessity of finding shelter, I ventured out. Not a place +could I find. The houses were closed and deserted, in many cases +partly demolished by shot or shell, or, having taken fire, charred, +smoking, and burnt to the ground. + +All day frightened women and children cowered and trembled and +hungered and thirsted in their underground places of refuge while the +earth above them shook with constant explosions. After a while I grew +quite bold, and decided to stow myself and my boxes in the lower part +of a house not far from the depot. The upper story had been torn off +by shells. I could look through large holes in the ceiling up to the +blue sky. The next move was to find means of notifying my husband and +his friends of my arrival. I crept along the streets back to the +depot, Tempe creeping by my side, holding fast to my dress. Then I +found an officer just going out to the trenches, and sent by him a +pencilled note to Lieutenant Cluverius, thinking an officer would be +likely to receive a communication, when a private might not. Soon +after sunset, my husband joined me, and soon after many friends. They +were all ragged, mud-stained, and altogether unlovely, but seemed to +me most desirable and welcome visitors. + +One of my boxes being opened, I proceeded to do the honors. My guests +having eaten very heartily, filled their haversacks, and, putting "_a +sup_" in their canteens, returned to camp to send out a fresh squad. +The next that came brought in extra haversacks and canteens "for some +of the boys who couldn't get off," and these also were provided for. + +With the last squad my husband was compelled to go back to camp, as +just then military rules were severe, and very strictly enforced. I +passed the night in an old, broken arm-chair, Tempe lying at my feet, +and slept so soundly that I heard not a sound of shot or shell. Very +early next morning, however, we were awakened by a terrible explosion +near us, and directly afterwards heard that within a hundred yards of +our place of refuge a shell had exploded, tearing away the upper part +of a house, killing a man and his three children, who were sleeping in +one of the rooms. This made me very uneasy, and increased Tempe's +terror to such an extent that she became almost unmanageable. During +the next day I actually became accustomed to the noise and danger, and +"with a heart for any fate" passed the day. At night my levee was +larger than before; among them I had the satisfaction of seeing and +supplying some Alabama, South Carolina, and Tennessee soldiers. That +night the bombardment was terrific. Anxiety for my husband, combined +with a shuddering terror, made sleep impossible. + +The next morning, my husband having obtained a few hours' leave of +absence, joined me in my shattered retreat. The day was darkened by +the agony of parting. It seemed to me _impossible_ to leave him under +such circumstances, and really required more courage than to face the +shot and shell. But I could easily see that anxiety for me interfered +with his duty as a soldier, so--we must part. On the same evening I +returned to Newnan, where my friends were so overjoyed at my safe +return that they forbore to upbraid. Soon afterward the battle of +Jonesboro' again filled our wards with shattered wrecks. As I have +already stated, my husband then came for the first time to claim my +care. Before he was quite able to return to duty, the post was ordered +to Fort Valley, Georgia, a pleasant and very hospitable town, where +new and excellent hospital buildings had been erected. From here Mr. +Beers returned to his command. The day of his departure was marked by +hours of intense anguish which I yet shudder to recall. The train +which stopped at the hospital camp to take up men returning to the +front was crowded with soldiers,--reinforcements. I had scarcely +recovered from the fit of bitter weeping which followed the parting, +when, noticing an unusual commotion outside, I went to the door to +discover the cause. Men were running up the railroad track in the +direction taken by the train which had just left. A crowd had +collected near the surgeon's office, in the midst of which stood an +almost breathless messenger. His tidings seemed to have the effect of +sending off succeeding groups of men in the direction taken by those I +had first seen running up the road. Among them I discovered several +surgeons. Something was wrong. Wild with apprehension, I sped over to +the office, and there learned that the train of cars loaded and +crowded with soldiers had been thrown down a steep embankment, about +three miles up the road, and that many lives were lost. Waiting for +nothing, I ran bareheaded and frantic up the track, for more than a +mile never stopping, then hearing the slow approach of an engine, sunk +down by the side of the track to await its coming. Soon the engine +appeared, drawing very slowly a few platform-and baggage-cars loaded +with groaning, shrieking men, carrying, also, many silent forms which +would never again feel pain or sorrow. The surgeons upon the first car +upon descrying me crouching by the roadside, halted the train and +lifted me upon the last car, where, among the "slightly hurt," I found +my husband, terribly bruised and shaken, but in no danger. Arrived at +camp, where tents had been hastily pitched, the wounded and dying were +laid out side by side in some of the largest, while others received +the dead. The sights and sounds were awful in the extreme. At first I +could not muster courage (shaken as I had been) to go among them. But +it was necessary for purposes of identification, so I examined every +one, dying and dead, feeling that _certainty_, however dreadful, might +be better borne by loving hearts than prolonged suspense. + +Among these dreadful scenes came a minister of God, whose youthful +face, pale and horror-stricken, yet all alight with heavenly pity and +love, I can never forget. Tenderly he bent above these dying men, his +trembling lips touched by divine inspiration, whispering words +precious to parting souls. Unshrinkingly he performed his mission to +those who yet lived, then, passing among the dead, lovingly composed +and prepared for decent burial the mutilated bodies. One +burial-service served for all; this was as tenderly rendered as if +each unfortunate had been dear to himself. + +This young clergyman was Rev. ---- Green, of Columbia, S.C., a near +relative of the eminent divine and inspired patriot, Dr. B.M. Palmer, +now of New Orleans. + +Few patients were sent to Fort Valley. Upon recovering from the +effects of the railroad accident, my husband again left for his +command. Growing dissatisfied, I applied to Dr. Stout for a position +nearer the front. Not receiving a satisfactory reply, went to Macon, +where for a few weeks I remained at one of the hospitals, but still +felt that I was losing time, and doing very little good. In November I +was offered a position in a tent-hospital near the front, which I +eagerly accepted, little dreaming (God help me!) of the hardship and +disappointment which awaited me. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +OMEGA. + + +The detention of the railroad-train belated us, and when we (I and my +servant) were left at a small station in Mississippi, night had +fallen. The light from a little fire of pine knots, built on the +ground outside, while illuminating the rough depot and platform, left +the country beyond in deeper darkness. It was bitterly cold. The +driver of the ambulance informed me, we had "quite a piece to ride +yet." A moment later, Dr. Beatty rode up on horseback, welcomed me +pleasantly, waiting to see me safely stowed away in the ambulance. The +ride to camp was dismal. I continued to shiver with cold; my heart +grew heavy as lead, and yearned sadly for a sight of the pleasant +faces, the sound of the kindly voices, to which I had been so long +accustomed. At last a turn in the road brought us in sight of the +numberless fires of a large camp. It was a bright scene, though, far +from gay. The few men who crouched by the fires were not roistering, +rollicking soldiers, but pale shadows, holding their thin hands over +the blaze which scorched their faces, while their thinly-covered backs +were exposed to a cold so intense that it congealed the sap in the +farthest end of the log on which they sat. Driving in among these, up +an "avenue" bordered on either side by rows of white tents, the +ambulance drew up at last before the door of my "quarters,"--a rough +cabin built of logs. Through the open door streamed the cheery light +of a wood-fire, upon which pine knots had been freshly thrown. + +A bunk at one side, made of puncheons, and filled with pine straw, +over which comforts and army-blankets had been thrown, hard pillows +stuffed with straw, having coarse, unbleached cases, a roughly-made +table before the fire, a lot of boxes marked "Q.M.," etc., to serve +as seats, and you have my cabin in its entirety. + +Drawing my box up close to the fire, I sat down, Tempe, in the mean +while, stirring the coals and arranging the burning ends of the pine +in true country style. + +Presently my supper was brought in,--corn-bread, cornmeal coffee, a +piece of musty fried salt meat, heavy brown sugar, and no milk. I was, +however, hungry, and ate with a relish. Tempe went off to some region +unknown for the supper, returning unsatisfied and highly disgusted +with the "hog-wittles" which had been offered to her. Soon Dr. Beatty +called, bringing with him Mrs. Dr. ----, a cheery little body, who, +with her husband, occupied a room under the same roof as myself, a +sort of hall open at both ends dividing us. + +We had some conversation regarding the number of sick and the +provisions for their comfort. On the whole, the evening passed more +cheerfully than I had expected. My sleep that night was dreamless. I +did not even feel the cold, although Tempe declared she was "dun froze +stiff." + +Very early I was astir, gazing from the door of my cabin at my new +sphere of labor. + +Snow had fallen during the night, and still came down steadily. The +path was hidden, the camp-fires appeared as through a mist. A +confused, steady sound of chopping echoed through the woods. I heard +mysterious words, dimly saw figures moving about the fires. Everything +looked unpromising,--dismal. Chilled to the heart, I turned back to my +only comfort, the splendid fire Tempe had built. My breakfast was +exactly as supper had been, and was brought by the cook, a detailed +soldier, who looked as if he ought to have been at the front. He +apologized for the scanty rations, promising some beef for dinner. + +Soon Dr. Beatty, accompanied by two assistant-surgeons, appeared to +escort me to the tents. I went gladly, for I was anxious to begin my +work. What I saw during that hour of inspection convinced me, not only +that my services were needed, but that my work must be begun and +carried on under almost insurmountable difficulties and disadvantages. +I found no comforts, no hospital stores, insufficient nourishment, a +scarcity of blankets and comforts, even of pillows. Of the small +number of the latter few had cases; all were soiled. The sick men had +spit over them and the bedclothes, which could not be changed because +there were no more. As I have said, there were no comforts. The +patients looked as if they did not expect any, and seemed sullen and +discontented. The tents were not new, nor were they all good. They +seemed to me without number. Passing in and out among them, I felt +bewildered and doubtful whether I should ever learn to know one from +another, or to find my patients. Part of the camp was set apart for +convalescents. Here were dozens of Irishmen. They were so maimed and +shattered that every one should have been entitled to a discharge, but +the poor fellows had no homes to go to, and were quite unable to +provide for themselves. There were the remnants of companies, +regiments, and brigades, many of them Louisianians, and from other +States outside the Confederate lines. Had there been any fighting to +do, they would still have "taken a hand," maimed as they were. The +monotony of hospital camp-life made them restless; the rules they +found irksome, and constantly evaded; they growled, complained, were +always "in hot water," and almost unmanageable. + +The first time I passed among them they eyed me askance, seeming, I +feared, to resent the presence of a woman. But I made it my daily +custom to visit their part of the camp, standing by their camp-fires +to listen to their "yarns," or to relate some of my own experiences, +trying to make their hardships seem less, listening to their +complaints, meaning in earnest to speak to Dr. Beatty regarding +palpable wrongs. This I did not fail to do, and whenever the doctor's +sense of justice was aroused, he promptly acted on the right side. I +do not wish to convey to my readers the idea that there were men +always sullen and disagreeable. Far from it, they were a jolly set of +men when in a good humor, and, like all Irishmen, full of wit and +humor. After I became known to them their gentle, courteous treatment +of me never varied. They were very fond of playing cards, but whenever +I appeared upon one of the avenues, every card would disappear. Not +one ever failed to salute me, often adding a "God bless you, ma'am, +may the heavens be your bed," etc. Disliking to interfere with their +only amusement, I let them know that I did not dislike to see them +playing cards. At this they were very pleased, saying, "Sure, it's no +harrum; it's not gambling we are; divil a cint have we to win or +lose." One day I stopped to look on a moment at a game of euchre. One +of the players had lost an arm (close to the shoulder). Said he, +"Sure, ma'am, it's bating the b'ys intirely, I am." I did not +understand, so he explained, with a comic leer at the others,--"Sure, +haven't I always the '_lone hand_' on thim?" At once I recalled a +similar remark made by an Irish soldier lying in the hospital at +Newnan, who had just lost one of his legs; when I condoled with him, +he looked up brightly, and, pointing at his remaining foot, explained, +"Niver mind, this feller _will go it alone and make it_." + +Among the surgeons in camp was one who had highly offended these +convalescents by retiring to his cabin, _pulling the latch-string +inside_ and remaining deaf to all calls and appeals from outside. +Mutterings of discontent were heard for a while, but at last as there +was no further mention of the matter, I believed it was ended. + +About this time the actions of the convalescents began to appear +mysterious: they remained in their tents or absented themselves, as I +supposed, upon foraging expeditions. Frequently, I found them working +upon cow-horns, making ornaments as I thought (at this business +Confederate soldiers were very expert). One day I caught sight of a +large pile of horns and bones just brought in, but still thought +nothing of it. Shortly, however, a small deputation from the +convalescent camp appeared at the door of my cabin just as I was +eating my dinner: all saluted; the spokesman then explained that the +"b'ys" were prepared to give the obnoxious surgeon a "siranade" that +same night. They had been working for weeks to produce the instruments +of torture which were then all ready. "We don't mane to scare _ye_, +ma'am, and if it'll be displazin' to ye, sure we'll give it up." I +told them that I did not want to know about it, and was sorry they had +told me, but I would not be frightened at any noise I might hear in +the night. "All right, ma'am," said the spokesman, winking at the +others to show that he comprehended. The party then withdrew. About +midnight such a startling racket suddenly broke the stillness that in +spite of my previous knowledge, I was frightened. Horns of all grades +of sound, from deep and hoarse to shrill, tin cups and pans clashed +together or beaten with bones, yells, whistling, and in short every +conceivable and inconceivable noise. + +After the first blast, utter stillness; the startled officers, +meanwhile, listening to discover the source of the unearthly noise, +then, as if Bedlam had broken loose, the concert began once more. It +was concentrated around the cabin of the surgeon so disliked. As the +quarters of the officers were somewhat removed from the hospital +proper, and very near my own, I got the full benefit of the noise. I +cannot now say why the racket was not put a stop to. Perhaps because +the serenaders numbered over one hundred and the surgeons despaired of +restoring order. At all events, during the whole night we were allowed +to sink into slumber, to be aroused again and again by the same +hideous burst of sound. I only remember that the next day the horns, +etc., were collected and carried away from camp, while the offenders +were refused permission to leave their quarters for a while. + +In the sick camp there lay over two hundred sick and wounded men, +faithfully attended and prescribed for by the physicians, but lacking +every comfort. Dr. Beatty was worried about the sick, but under the +circumstances what could he do? Soon after occurred the terrible +battle of Franklin, when our tents were again filled with wounded men. +These men were unlike any I have ever nursed. Their shattered forms +sufficiently attested courage and devotion to duty, but the enthusiasm +and pride which had hitherto seemed to me so grand and noble when +lighting up the tortured faces of wounded soldiers, appearing like a +reflection of great glory, I now missed. It seemed as if they were yet +revengeful and unsatisfied; their countenances not yet relaxed from +the tension of the fierce struggle, their eyes yet gleaming with the +fires of battle. The tales they told made me shudder: Of men, maddened +by the horrible butchery going on around them, mounting the horrible +barricade (trampling out in many instances the little sparks of life +which might have been rekindled), only to add their own bodies to the +horrid pile, and to be trampled in their turn by comrades who sought +to avenge them; of soldiers on both sides, grappling hand to hand, +tearing open each other's wound, drenched with each other's blood, +_dying_ locked in a fierce embrace. It turns me sick even now when I +remember the terrible things I then heard, the awful wounds I then +saw. During the whole period of my service, I never had a harder task +than when striving to pour oil upon these troubled waters, to soothe +and reconcile these men who talked incessantly of "sacrifice" and +useless butchery. This was particularly the case with General +Clebourne's men, who so loved their gallant leader that, at his death, +revenge had almost replaced patriotism in their hearts. + +I do not consider myself competent, nor do I wish to criticise the +generals who led our armies and who, since the war, have, with few +exceptions, labored assiduously to throw the blame of failure upon +each other. I have read their books with feelings of intense sorrow +and regret,--looking for a reproduction of the glories of the +past,--finding whole pages of recrimination and full of "all +uncharitableness." For my own part, I retain an unchanged, +unchangeable respect and reverence for all alike, _believing each to +have been a pure and honest patriot, who, try as he might, could not +surmount the difficulties which each one in turn encountered_. + +A brave, _vindictive_ foe, whose superiority in numbers, in arms, and +equipment, and, more than all, _rations_, they could maintain +indefinitely. And to oppose them, an utterly inadequate force, whose +bravery and unparalleled endurance held out to the end, although +hunger gnawed at their vitals, disease and death daily decimated their +ranks, intense anxiety for dear ones exposed to dangers, privations, +all the horrors which everywhere attended the presence of the +invaders, torturing them every hour. + +While yielding to none in my appreciation of the gallant General Hood, +there is one page in his book which always arouses my indignation and +which I can never reconcile with what I know of the history of the +Army of Tennessee, from the time General Hood took command to the +surrender. Truly, they were far from being like "dumb driven cattle," +for _every man_ was "_a hero_ in the strife." It seems to me that the +memory of the battle of Franklin alone should have returned to General +Hood to "give him pause" before he gave to the public the page +referred to: + + (_Extract._) + + "My failure on the 20th and the 22d to bring about a general + pitched battle arose from the unfortunate policy pursued from + Dalton to Atlanta, and which had wrought 'such' demoralization amid + rank and file as to render the men unreliable in battle. I cannot + give a more forcible, though homely, exemplification of the morale + of the troops at that period than _by comparing the Army to a team_ + which has been allowed to balk at every hill, one portion will make + strenuous efforts to advance, whilst the other will refuse to move, + and thus paralyze the exertions of the first. Moreover, it will + work faultlessly one day and stall the next. No reliance can be + placed upon it at any stated time. Thus it was with the army when + ordered into a general engagement, one corps struggled nobly, + whilst the neighboring corps frustrated its efforts by simple + inactivity; and whilst the entire Army might fight desperately one + day, it would fail in action the following day. Stewart's gallant + attack on the 20th was neutralized by Hardee's inertness on the + right; and the failure in the battle of the 22d is to be attributed + also to the effect of the 'timid defensive' policy of this officer, + who, although a brave and gallant soldier, neglected to obey + orders, and swung away, totally independent of the main body of the + Army." + +Time softens and alleviates all troubles, and this was no exception. +But the winter was a very gloomy one: my heart was constantly +oppressed by witnessing suffering I could not relieve, needs which +could not be met. The efforts of the foragers, combined with my own +purchases from country wagons (although Dr. Beatty was liberal in his +orders, and I spent every cent I could get), were utterly +insufficient, although the officers of this camp-hospital were +self-denying, and all luxuries were reserved for the sick. I hit upon +an expedient to vary the rations a little, which found favor with the +whole camp. The beef was simply atrocious. I had it cut into slices, +let it lie in salt with a sprinkling of vinegar for a day, then hung +the pieces up the chimneys until it was smoked. I first tried it in my +own cabin, found it an improvement, and so had a quantity prepared for +the hungry wounded. And so these dark days sped on, bringing, in due +time, + +THE LAST CONFEDERATE CHRISTMAS. + +I will here subjoin an article originally written for the _Southern +Bivouac_, which will give my readers an idea of how the Christmas-tide +was spent. + +For some time previous I had been revolving in my mind various plans +for the celebration of Christmas by making some addition to the diet +of the sick and wounded soldiers then under my charge. But, plan as I +would, the stubborn facts in the case rose up to confront me, and I +failed to see just how to accomplish my wishes. We were then located +at Lauderdale Springs, Mississippi. I, with my servant, Tempe, +occupied one room of a small, double house, built of rough-hewn logs, +and raised a few feet from the ground; a sort of hall, open at both +ends, separated my room from one on the opposite side occupied by Dr. +---- and his wife. All around, as far as one could see, amid the white +snow and with lofty pine-trees towering above them, extended the +hospital-tents, and in these lay the sick, the wounded, the dying. +Hospital-supplies were scarce, our rations of the plainest articles, +which, during the first years of the war, were considered absolute +necessaries, had become priceless luxuries. Eggs, butter, chickens +came in such small quantities that they must be reserved for the very +sick. The cheerfulness, self-denial, and fellow-feeling shown by those +who were even partly convalescent, seemed to me to be scarcely less +admirable than the bravery which had distinguished them on the +battle-field. But this is a digression: let me hasten to relate how I +was helped to a decision as to Christmas "goodies." One morning, going +early to visit some wounded soldiers who had come in during the night, +I found in one tent a newcomer, lying in one of the bunks, his head +and face bandaged and bloody. By his side sat his comrade,--wounded +also, but less severely,--trying to soften for the other some +corn-bread, which he was soaking and beating with a stick in a tin cup +of cold water. He explained that the soldier with the bandaged head +had been shot in the mouth, and could take only soft food. I said, +"Don't give him that. I will bring him some mush and milk, or some +chicken soup." He set down the cup, looked at me with queer, half-shut +eyes, then remarked, "Yer ga-assin' now, ain't ye?" + +Having finally convinced him that I was not, I retired for a moment to +send the nurse for some food. When it came, and while I was slowly +putting spoonfuls of broth into the poor, shattered mouth of his +friend, he stood looking on complacently, though with his lip +quivering. I said to him, "Now, what would _you_ like?" After a +moment's hesitation he replied, "Well, lady, I've been sort of +hankerin' after a sweet-potato pone, but I s'pose ye couldn't noways +get that?" "There," thought I, "that's just what I will get and give +them all for Christmas dinner." + +Hastening to interview the surgeon in charge, I easily obtained +permission to go on the next day among the farmers to collect +materials for my feast. An ambulance was placed at my disposal. + +My foraging expedition was tolerably successful, and I returned next +evening with a quantity of sweet potatoes, several dozen eggs, and +some country butter. Driving directly to the door of my cabin, I had +my treasures securely placed within; for, although holding my +soldier-friends in high estimation, I agreed with the driver of the +ambulance,--"Them 'taturs has to be taken in out of the cold." My +neighbor's wife, Mrs. Dr. ----, entered heartily into my plans for the +morrow, promising her assistance. My night-round of visits to the sick +having been completed, I was soon seated by my own fireside, watching +the operation of making and baking a corn hoecake, which, with some +smoked beef of my own preparation and a cup of corn-coffee, made my +supper on this Christmas eve. It was so bitterly cold that I did not +undress; but, wrapping a blanket around me, lay down on my bunk. Tempe +also rolled herself up, and lay down before the fire. In order to +explain what followed, I must here say that the boards of my floor +were only laid, not fastened, as nails were not to be had. I was +awakened from "the first sweet sleep of night" by an unearthly yell +from Tempe, who sprang unceremoniously upon my bunk, grasping me +tightly, and crying, "O Lord, Miss ----, yearthquate dun cum!" Sitting +up, I was horrified to see the boards of the floor rising and falling +with a terrible noise. A moment later I realized the situation. A +party of hogs had organized a raid, having for its object my precious +potatoes. A sure-enough "yearthquate" would have been less appalling +to me, as I have always been mortally afraid of hogs. Just then one of +the invaders managed to knock aside a board and get his head in full +view. I shivered with terror, but Tempe now grasped the state of the +case, and, being "to the manner born," leaped forward to execute dire +vengeance on the unfortunate hog. Seizing a burning stick from the +fire, she rushed upon the intruder, who had gotten wedged so that +advance or retreat was alike impossible. Her angry cries, and the +piercing squeals of the hog, roused all in the vicinity. Help soon +came, our enemies were routed, quiet was restored. My pones were a +great success. All who were allowed by their surgeons partook of them. +I had two immense pans full brought to my cabin, where those who were +able brought their plates and cups, receiving a generous quantity of +the pone and a cup of sweet milk. + +But these struggles and hardships were nothing in comparison to what +was now to befall us. The constant fighting and daily-increasing +number of wounded at the front required the presence of experienced +surgeons. After the battle of Franklin some of ours were sent up. In +one or two instances those who replaced them were young and +inexperienced. They were permitted to attend the convalescents and +light cases. One morning, I was aroused very early by a nurse who +begged me to go to one of the convalescents who had been calling for +me all night. + +Arrived at the tent, which at that hour was rather dark, I lifted the +flap to enter, but was arrested by a piteous cry from the patient, who +lay facing the entrance. "For God's sake keep out that light," said +he, "it hurts my eyes." The nurse said, "It's masles he has, ma'am." +So I concluded the pained eyes were not unusual. + +Approaching the bunk, and taking the patient's hand, I found he had a +raging fever. But when I placed my hand upon his forehead, and felt +the dreadful pustules thickly covering it, my heart almost ceased to +beat. An unreasoning terror overpowered me; my impulse was to flee +at once from that infected tent. But I must not give any alarm, so +I simply said to the nurse, "I will go to Dr. Beatty for some +medicine; let no one enter this tent until I come back." Dr. Beatty +was not yet out of his cabin, but receiving my urgent message, soon +appeared. I said, "Doctor, in tent No.---- there is a very sick man; +can we look at the books and learn what diagnosis his surgeon has +made?" We went to the office, found the patient's name and number: +diagnosis,--_Measles_. I then said, "Dr. Beatty, it is not measles, +but, I fear, smallpox." At once, the doctor strode off, followed +closely by myself. As before, the tent was dark. "Lift those flaps +high," said the surgeon. It was done, and there lay before us a +veritable case of smallpox. + +Dr. Beatty's entire calmness and self-possession quite restored my +own. Said he, "I must have time to consult my surgeons, to determine +what is to be done. Meanwhile, retire to your cabin. You will hear +from me when matters are arranged." + +The next few hours were for me fraught with fearful anxiety and +uncertainty,--yes, _uncertainty_,--for (to my shame, let it be +recorded) I actually debated in my own mind whether or not to desert +these unfortunate boys of mine, who could not themselves escape the +threatened danger. + +God helping me, I was able to resist this terrible temptation. I had, +I reasoned, been already exposed as much as was possible, having +attended the sick man for days before. Having dedicated myself to the +Holy Cause, for better or worse, I could not desert it even when put +to this trying test. So, when Dr. Beatty came to say that in a few +hours quarantine would be established and rigidly enforced, offering +me transportation that I might at once go on with the large party who +were leaving, I simply announced my determination to remain, but asked +that Tempe might be sent to her owners in Alabama, as I dared not risk +keeping her. + +The poor fellow who had been first seized died that night, and +afterward many unfortunates were buried beneath the snow-laden pines. +Some of the nurses fell sick; from morning until night, after, far +into the night, my presence was required in those fever-haunted tents. + +When not on duty, the loneliness of my cabin was almost insupportable. +Sometimes I longed to flee away from the dismal monotony. Often I sat +upon my doorstep almost ready to scream loudly enough to drown the sad +music of the pines. Since the war I have seen a little poem by John +Esten Cooke, which always reminds me of the time when the band in the +pines brought such sadness to my own heart: + + "THE BAND IN THE PINES. + + "Oh, band in the pine-wood cease! + Cease with your splendid call; + The living are brave and noble, + But the dead were bravest of all! + + "They throng to the martial summons, + To the loud, triumphant strain; + And the dear bright eyes of long-dead friends + Come to the heart again. + + "They come with the ringing bugle + And the deep drum's mellow roar, + Till the soul is faint with longing + For the hands we clasp no more! + + "Oh, band in the pine-wood cease + Or the heart will melt in tears, + For the gallant eyes and the smiling lips + And the voices of old years!" + +When, at last, we were released from durance vile, the Confederate +army had retreated. Of course, the hospitals must follow it. By this +time my health was completely broken down. The rigors of the winter, +the incessant toil, the hard rations had done their work well. I was +no longer fit to nurse the sick. In February I left the camp, +intending to go for a while wherever help was needed, relying upon a +change to recuperate my exhausted energies. + +But from that time there was so much irregularity as far as hospital +organization was concerned that one scarcely knew how best to serve +the sick. Besides, the presence of a lady had become embarrassing to +the surgeons in charge of hospitals, who, while receiving orders one +day which were likely to be countermanded the next, often having to +send their stores, nurses, etc., to one place while they awaited +orders in another, could find no time to provide quarters and +sustenance for a lady. As an illustration of this state of things, I +will here give an extract from a letter addressed to me after the war +by Dr. McAllister, of the "Buckner Hospital." + +"I was ordered late in November to Gainesville, Alabama; before +reaching that place, my orders were changed to Macon; in February to +Auburn, Alabama; thence to the woods to organize a tent hospital. No +sick were sent there, and I had nothing to do but to build. Put up +eighty large tents, built octagon homes, with rounded tops, and +flag-poles on the top of each. Everything looked gloomy, but I kept on +as if I expected to remain there always. Just as I had everything +completed, received orders to move to Charlotte, North Carolina. When +I got to Columbus, Georgia, was ordered to send on my stores with my +negroes and women-servants, in charge of a faithful man, while I and +my detailed men were to remain in the city during its investment, and +as long as the struggle lasted, but at last to save myself, and join +my stores in Macon, Georgia. Remained during the fight, while the city +fell, and all my detailed men were captured; rode out of the city by +the light of the burning buildings, and my road was lighted for twelve +or fifteen miles by the burning city; borrowed horses about twelve at +night, caught the last retreating train, put my servants Noel and Sam +on it; rode on with my true friend Dr. Tates. Found the servants at +Genoa Station, a distance of thirty-five miles, next morning at +sunrise, thence to Macon; next night found my wife on the same crowded +box-car; left her with Mrs. Yates, Mrs. Calan, and another lady from +Columbus. Some of my stores had been sent to Atlanta, and some had +been sent to Macon; then the railroad was cut between Macon and +Atlanta; I had either to remain at Macon and be captured, or take the +only road that was clear to Fort Valley, which I did, leaving my wife +and Mrs. Yates at Dr. Green's. Yates, myself, Sam, and Noel took to +the woods, and there remained about ten days, living as best we could. +Then there was a flag of truce, and we came into Fort Valley. +Thousands of Yankee cavalry were there in camps; all the railroads cut +so we could not leave. One night we stole from the Yankees two good +mules, borrowed a wagon, and took our wives across the country until +we could strike one end of the Atlanta road, of which the Yankees had +not got possession; went on into the city of Atlanta, where I met Dr. +Stout, who told me the game was up, that my stores were some of them +at Congress Station, some hundred miles away on the Augusta road, and +for me to go on there and surrender to the first Yankee who commanded +me to do so. Great heaven! what a shock to me! I would rather have +died than to have heard it. I went down the road and found my stores, +but did not have the honor of surrendering to the Yankees. A mob, +constituted of women, children, and renegade Confederate soldiers, and +with some negroes, charged my encampment and took everything except my +wife, and trunks, and Mrs. Yates, and her trunks, which we saved by +putting them into a wagon and driving for our lives out of the back +alley of the town. At last we came to Atlanta, where we parted with +Dr. and Mrs. Yates. My wife and I travelled to Marion in an old wagon, +leaving the poor negroes scattered about in the woods. I only had time +to tell them to go where they came from, to their former owners. After +a tedious journey, having to beg my bread, I arrived at home (Marion, +Alabama) about the first of May, 1865." + +The same irregularities existed everywhere; my state of health forbade +me to follow these erratic movements: indeed, I was utterly broken +down and therefore made my way, not without great difficulty and many +detentions, to Alabama, where my little boy had preceded me. Even +then, we never dreamed of surrender, nor did the sad news reach us +until many days after it had taken place. We were utterly incredulous, +we could not, would not believe it. Meanwhile, the state of things +described in one of the articles contained in another part of this +book, designed for children (Sally's ride) culminated in the +long-dreaded _Raid_. + +Why the raiders had recrossed the river, returning to Selma, and +leaving undisturbed (alas! only for a time) the elegant +plantation-homes which lay all along their route, remained a mystery. +It was certain that a detachment of them had been seen and reported by +our own scouts, who at that time were in the saddle day and night +"watching their motions;" the negroes also declared, "Dey was dare, +_suah_, 'case we dun _seed_ 'em." All able-bodied men had long ago +gone to the front. The "home-guard," who were doing their best to keep +watch and ward over helpless women and children, were only boys, full +of ardor and courage, but too young to join the army, or men who from +age or disability were also ineligible. These knew every inch of +ground, every hiding-place for many miles. At every plantation they +were expected and welcome, whenever they could find an opportunity to +dash in, dismount, report the state of matters outside, and hastily +swallow the "snack" always kept ready and set before them without loss +of time, quite as a matter of course. + +The news brought by these scouts, far from quieting apprehension, +tended to increase and deepen it. The old man who, time out of mind, +had managed the little ferry fifteen miles away, had been shot for +refusing to ferry over some Federal soldiers. The bright light so +anxiously watched one dark night proved to have been a fire, which had +consumed the dwelling, gin-house, stables, etc., of a widowed cousin. +Her cows had been slaughtered, her horses stolen, her garden and +"truck-patch" ploughed all over in the search for hidden silver. Other +and even more hideous tales (alas! too true) appalled the hearts and +tried the courage of the women, who yet must never give up _trying_ to +protect the interests confided to them, must _seem_ to hold the reins +of power when really they were at the mercy of the negroes, who (to +their credit be it spoken) behaved under these trying circumstances +extremely well, in some cases showing the most affectionate solicitude +and sympathy. They could not, however, in all cases be trusted to +withstand the bribes sure to be offered for information as to +hiding-places of valuables. So, little by little, silver and jewelry +were made up into small packages to be disposed of secretly. + +For several days _all_ were on the _qui vive_. The fearful suspense, +dread, and anguish of that time will never be forgotten by those who +shared those anxious vigils; from earliest light until nightfall, +restless feet traversed the house and yard, anxious eyes watched every +possible approach,--the road, the woods, the plantation. At night, not +one of the "white folks" thought of undressing; the very last of a bag +of real coffee, which had been treasured like gold, was now brought +out. During the day, the usual sweet-potato coffee was served. In the +cool April nights, a cheerful fire always blazed in the open fireplace +of the parlor, by it was set a pot of very strong coffee, upon which +the ladies relied to keep them awake. One at a time would doze in her +chair or upon the sofa, while the others kept watch, walking from +window to window, listening at the fast-locked door, starting at every +sound. Occasionally the dogs would bark furiously: "There they are!" +cried everybody, and rising to their feet, with bated breath and +wildly-beating hearts, they would listen until convinced that their +four-footed friends had given a false alarm. Those of the +women-servants who had no husbands begged every night to sleep "in de +house." They were terrified. Their mattresses strewed the floors, and +it really seemed as if they were a kind of protection, although they +always fell asleep and snored so loudly as to drive the ladies, who +wanted to listen for outside sounds, to the verge of distraction. Some +one would occasionally interrupt the noise by administering to each in +turn a good shake or insisting upon a change of position, but at best +the lull was temporary. Soon one of the sleepers would give a +suppressed snort, to be immediately joined by one after another, until +the unearthly chorus once more swelled to rack the quivering nerves of +the listeners. + +Sometimes a peculiar tapping announced the presence outside of the +master of the house. Creeping softly to the window of an empty room, +the wife would receive assurances of present safety. She would then +hand out valuable packages of silver or jewelry to be hidden far in +the woods in places unknown to any but the owner, who marked the way +to the buried treasure by "blazing" certain trees. Many valuables were +hidden in this way and recovered after the war. The feeble condition +of Colonel ---- added tenfold to the anxiety of his family, for, +although he persisted in doing his duty, it was certain that continual +exposure and fatigue might at any time prove fatal. Insidious disease +was even then gnawing at his vitals; but, Spartan-like, he folded +above the dreadful agony the robe of manly courage and dignity, which +hid it from even those who knew him best. Amid all the darkness and +sorrow his pleasant smile cheered, his commanding presence inspired +respect and confidence. From the windows of his soul shone the steady +light of the patriotism that hopeth all things, believeth all things, +endureth all things. It was not God's will that he should go forth to +battle, but with a kindly heart and generous hand he helped the +soldiers to do their duty by caring for their "loved ones at home." + +Meanwhile the noble wife proved a helpmate indeed. A true type of +Southern women. Not a duty was neglected. She looked well to the ways +of her household and the well-being of the negroes committed to her +care. The spinning and weaving of cloth for the almost naked soldiers +in the field went on; the quarters were visited, the sick were cared +for. The calm, steady voice read to the old, precious promises, or +instructed the young negroes as to the way of truth. So day after day +passed, the same anxious dread chilling all hearts, added fear always +recurring as the darkness came with its terrible possibilities. + +April had come, bringing a greater profusion of flowers, painting the +face of nature with lovelier hues. No one knew why the neighborhood +had thus far escaped being "raided." One evening the scouts (not one +alone, but several) reported, "Not a Yankee on this side the river. +Gone off on a raid miles on the other side." Colonel ---- came in +later confirming the report. He was persuaded to remain for one night's +rest, and immediately retired to his room. About dusk two men in the +disguise (it is _now_ believed) of Confederate soldiers--ragged, worn, +_barefooted_, and hungry--came stealing in, apparently fearful of being +discovered and taken prisoners. No one suspected them. They were warmly +welcomed. A supper of broiled ham, milk, eggs, corn-muffins, and real +coffee was set before them. They were afterwards shown to a comfortable +cabin in the yard,--"the boys' room,"--provided with every comfort, a +servant to wait on them, and left to repose. These also having assured +the ladies that "the Yanks" had gone off on a raid on the other side, +it was deemed safe to take advantage of such an opportunity to go +regularly to bed and rest, in preparation for whatever might befall +afterwards. By ten o'clock everybody was sound asleep. About midnight +one of the ladies, hearing a slight noise, arose and looked out the +window. Old Whitey was walking about the yard, nibbling the grass. +Knowing he was never allowed in the yard, she simply supposed that one +of the servants had left open the quarter-gate. Not another sound save +the mule's step broke the stillness of the night. Strange to say, the +dogs were nowhere to be seen, nor did they bark at the mule. Wondering +a little at this circumstance, the lady was about to lie down again, +when simultaneously every door of the house was assailed with the butts +of guns with a terrific noise. At the same time many hoarse voices +yelled, "Open these doors, d---- y--! Open up, here, or we'll burn the +house over your heads!" Everybody at once realized the situation. In +that fearful moment strength and courage seemed to come as from above. +The servants, sleeping upon the floor, began to scream, but were +instantly silenced. The ladies, slipping on dressing-gowns, but never +stopping to put on shoes or stockings, quietly opened the doors. +Instantly the whole house swarmed with Federal soldiers. Their first +act was to capture Colonel ---- and drag him outside the house, giving +him no time to put on any clothes save his pants and night-shirt. The +raiders then proceeded to ransack the house. Every room, every closet, +every trunk, box, drawer, was rifled. Two men went to the sideboard, +quietly gathering up the few silver spoons, forks, ladles, etc., not +hidden, wrapped them up and put them in their pockets. Others stripped +off the pillow-and bolster-cases, stuffing them with clothing, +pictures, etc., tied them together, and placed them ready to be slung +over the backs of their horses. Bayonets wore thrust through portraits; +the sofas, beds, and lounges were pierced in search of concealed +valuables; bureau-drawers were emptied, then pitched out of the doors +or windows; the panels of locked _armoires_ were broken or kicked to +pieces to get at the contents; even the linen sheets were dragged off +the beds and thrust into already full sacks and bags. Meanwhile, +bonfires had been kindled in the yard. By the light the swarming demons +carried on their destructive work outside. Around the pans of delicious +milk in the dairy men reached over each others' heads to fill their tin +cups. Buttermilk, clabber, fresh butter, disappeared in an instant. In +the basement the officers were feasting on ham, etc. The smoke-house +was left bare. Sugar, meal, flour, rice, were emptied into the yard, +and stamped or shuffled into the dust. Axes or the butts of guns were +employed to literally smash everything. Ham, shoulder-meat, etc., were +tossed into wagons. Cows were driven off, and, oh, the beautiful +horses, the _pride_ and pets of their owners, were _led_, snorting and +frightened, into the road, where the saddles of the cavalry-horses were +put upon their shivering backs preparatory to being mounted and ridden +away by their new masters. + +With perfect calmness the ladies watched the havoc and desolation +which was being wrought in their beloved home, among their household +treasures. To one of them had been given, some time previous, a sacred +trust, a watch which before the war had been presented to a minister +by his congregation. When dying in one of the Confederate hospitals he +had given it to Mrs. ----, begging that, if possible, it might be sent +to his wife in Arkansas. This watch had been concealed upon the tester +of a bed, and so far had escaped discovery. But one of the servants +having given information regarding it, suddenly two soldiers dragged +Mrs. ---- into her own room, where they believed it was concealed. She +positively refused to give it up. Throwing off the mattress, the men +held a match to the feather-bed beneath, saying, "_Here_ goes your +d----d old house, then." Had the house been her own she might still +have resisted, but as she was only a guest, and had been sheltered and +most kindly treated, the watch was given up. The ruffians then +insisted upon searching her, and in trying to force a ring from her +finger, bruised and hurt the tender flesh. Even the negro cabins were +searched. In several instances small sums of money which had been +saved up were taken. Many threats to burn up "the whole business" were +made, but, for some unknown reason, not carried into effect. Just at +dawn the raiders mounted their horses and rode away, recrossing the +river to Selma with their prisoners. As they rode through the +"quarters," the negro men joined them on mules, horses, or on foot. +Among the prisoners rode Colonel ---- upon an old, worn-out horse, +without saddle or bridle. By his side, guarding him and mounted upon +the colonel's magnificent riding-horse, fully accoutred, was a negro +man belonging to a neighboring plantation, who had guided the Federals +to "ole ----'s place." Just behind, upon a sorry mule, escorted by a +mixture of negroes and Yankees riding his own fine horses, came +Colonel M----, his head erect, his eyes blazing scornfully, glancing +from side to side, or drawing a sharp, hard breath between his +clinched teeth as he overheard some ribald jest. His house and +gin-house had been burned, his fields laid waste; he had left his +young daughters without protection and without shelter. What the +ladies felt as they saw this sad cavalcade pass out of sight may not +be told. Morning dawned upon a scene of desolation, sickening in the +extreme,--ruin, waste, wreck everywhere. The house emptied of +everything valuable, floors filthy with the prints of muddy feet, the +garden ruined, furniture battered and spoiled. Outside, broken +barrels, boxes, etc., strewed the earth; lard, sugar, flour, meal were +mingled together and with the sandy soil; streams of molasses ran down +from broken casks; guns which had belonged to the family were broken +and splintered and lay where they had been hurled; fences were broken +down. Had there been any stock left, there was nothing to keep them +out of garden or yard. Only old Whitey was left, however, and he +walked gingerly about sniffing at the cumbered ground, looking as +surprised as he was able. The carriage and buggy had been drawn out, +the curtains and cushions cut and _smeared thoroughly with molasses +and lard_. Breakfast-time arrived, but no Ruthy came up from the +quarter; no smoke curled upward from the kitchen-chimney; a more +hopeless, dismal party could not well be imagined than the three women +who walked from room to room among the _debris_, neither noticing or +caring for the losses, only intensely anxious regarding the helpless +prisoner, who was surely suffering, but whom they could not hope to +relieve. As the day wore on, some of the women from the quarters +ventured near, bringing some coarse food which had been cooked in +their own cabins; they would not, however, go inside the house, "Mass +Yankee tole us we gwine ter get kill ef we wait on you all." Towards +evening Mrs. ---- walked down to the "quarter." Not a man was to be +seen. The women were evidently frightened and uncertain as to how far +the power of "Mass Yankee" extended. Their mistress had been a kind +friend, and their habitual obedience and respect for her could not at +once be overcome, but the threats and promises of the Federals had +disturbed and unsettled them. Aunt Sophy was an old servant who had +nursed Mrs. ----'s mother. For years she had been an invalid, kindly +nursed and cared for by her master and mistress, receiving her meals +from the family table, and having always some of the younger servants +detailed to wait on her. Passing by her cottage now, Mrs. ---- was +astonished to see it empty. "Where is Sophy? what has happened to +her?" "Oh, she dun gone to Selma." "That is impossible; why, she has +not walked even as far as the house for months." "Well, she dun gone, +shuah; she make Elsie hitch up ole Whitey in de cart and dribe her +ober. One genplum he gwine gib her a mule for her own sef and forty +acres ob groun'; so she dun gon' ter see 'bout hit." "Did any one else +go?" "Oh, yes, mistis, Uncle Albert and Aunt Alice dey go too, and dey +want we all to go 'long, but I's gwine ter wait untwill sees what Jack +got ter say, 'cause I ain't gwine _nowha_ dragging all dem chillum +along untwill I knows for sartin whar I's gwine ter stop." Sick at +heart, the lady turned away, slowly returning to the desolated house. +Her occupation was gone; order and system could not be restored. There +was nothing before the anxious woman but to watch and wait for news. +On the second day one of the negro men returned, bringing a tale +almost too horrible for belief,--Colonel M----, whose defiant bearing +had incensed his captors more and more, had been shot down for +refusing to obey orders. "Master was well, but looked mighty bad." The +man also brought the first news of the surrender, a rumor which all +refused to believe, although even the possibility filled all breasts +with terrible forebodings. _Could_ it be true? No! a thousand times +no! And yet,--oh, the dread, the anguish of waiting to know. + +The bright sunlight, the waving trees, the joyous notes of the +feathered songsters seemed a mockery. Their stricken hearts cried out +to all the beautiful things of nature,-- + + "How can ye bloom so fresh and fair? + How can ye sing, ye little birds, and I so weary, fu' o' care?" + +Towards evening on the third day of suspense the master returned fresh +from the prison, weary, ragged, dirty, and utterly woe-begone, for he +had been set at liberty only to learn that liberty was but an empty +sound. Sadly he confirmed the story of the surrender. The kindly eyes +still strove to cheer, but their happy light was forever quenched. The +firm lip quivered not as he told to the sorrowing women the woful +tale, but the iron had entered his soul and rankled there until its +fatal work was accomplished. Ah, many a noble spirit shrunk appalled +from the "frowning Providence" which then and long afterwards +_utterly_ hid the face of a merciful and loving Father. And yet, as +mother Nature with tender hands and loving care soon effaces all +traces of havoc and desolation, creating new beauties in lovely +profusion to cover even the saddest ruins, so it is wisely ordered +that time shall bring healing to wounded hearts. The women who on that +April evening long ago grieved so bitterly over the news of the +surrender have since known deep sorrow, have wept over many graves. +But, like all the women of the South, they have taken up the burden of +life bravely, and, God helping them, will not falter or fail until He +shall release them. + +By and by, the men and boys of the family, from distant Appomattox, +from the Army of Tennessee, came straggling home. All had walked +interminable miles,--all wore equally ragged, dirty, foot-sore, weary, +dejected, despairing. They had done their best and had failed. Their +labor was ended. + +All over the land lay the ruins of once happy homes. As men gazed upon +them, and thought of the past and _the future_, the apathy of despair +crept over them; life seemed a burden too heavy to be borne; they +longed to lay it down forever. For a time, men who had faced death +again and again while struggling for _freedom_, could not find courage +to look upon the desolation of the land, or to face the dread future. +Closing their weary eyes, they slept until the clanking of chains +awakened them. + +Despotic power wrung the already bleeding, tortured heart of the +South, until crying aloud, she held out to her sons her fettered +hands. And then, fully aroused, hearing the piteous cries, the rattle +of chains, seeing the beloved face, full of woe, conscious of every +bitter, burning tear (which as it fell, seemed to sear their own +hearts), struggling to reach, to succor her, they found _themselves_ +bound and powerless to save. + +Alas, dear friends, that the pathway which opened so brightly, which +seemed to lead to heights of superlative glory, should have ended +beside the grave of hope. Oh, was it not hard to believe that +"whatever is is right?" To kneel submissively in this valley of +humiliation, and lift our streaming eyes to the heavens, that seemed +of brass, to the Father who, it then appeared, had forgotten to be +merciful. The glory which even then was apparent to the outside world, +could not penetrate the clouds which hung above us. + +The land was yet red with blood that had been poured out in vain. From +once happy homes came wails of grief and despair. + +Even the embers wore dead upon the hearths around which loved ones +should never more gather. + +And since hope is dead, and naught can avail to change the decrees of +Fate, let me close this record of mingled glory and gloom, for hero +must be written,-- + +OMEGA. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +CONFEDERATE WOMEN. + + +No historian can faithfully recount the story of the war and leave +untouched the record made by Southern women. Their patriotism was not +the outcome of mere sentiment, but a pure steady flame which from the +beginning of the war to the end burned brightly upon the altars of +sacrifice, which they set up all over the land. "The power behind the +throne" never ceased to be felt. Its spirit pervaded every breast of +the living barricades which opposed the invaders, nerved every arm to +battle for the right, inspired valorous deeds which dazzled the world. +From quiet homes far from the maddening strife, where faithful women +toiled and spun, facing and grappling with difficulties, even dangers, +never complained of, came bright, cheery letters, unshadowed by the +clouds which often hung dense and dark over their daily pathway but +glowing with unshaken faith, undaunted patriotism, lofty courage, and +more than all pride in the exceptional bravery which _they always took +for granted_. Men must not fail to come up to the standard set up in +simple faith by mothers, wives, daughters, and, as all the world +knows, _they did not_. + +It was my daily business during the war to read and answer letters to +sick soldiers. Almost all were such as I have described. A few, alas! +were far different. As I read them and watched the agony they caused, +I understood why some men became deserters, and absolutely revered the +manliness and patriotism which resisted a temptation so terrible. + +It seemed once that I could never forget the contents of letters which +particularly impressed me, but am sorry I have done so and cannot +reproduce them here. One I can never forget. A tall, splendid Missouri +soldier came into my office one morning, his face convulsed with +grief. Handing me a letter, he sank into a chair, burying his face in +his hands and sobbing pitifully. A letter had been somehow conveyed to +him from his sister-in-law announcing that his wife was dying of +consumption. Appended to the letter (which was sad enough) were a few +lines written by the trembling hand of the dying one. "Darling, do not +let any thoughts of me come between you and your duty to our country. +I have longed to see you once more, to die with my head upon your +breast; but that is past,--I am calm and happy. We have long known +that this parting must be; perhaps when my soul is free I may be +nearer you. If possible, my spirit will be with you wherever you are." + +I can only recall these few lines. A volume could not convey more +strongly the spirit of Southern women, strong even in death. I could +only offer the stricken soldier the little comfort human sympathy can +give, but my tears flowed plentifully as he told me of his wife and +his home. + +He was, as I afterwards learned, killed at the battle of Franklin. I +thought almost with pleasure of the happy reunion which I felt sure +must have followed. + +How often I have marshalled into the hospital wards mothers and wives, +who for the sake of some absent loved one had come from homes many +miles away, to bring some offering to the sick. Timid, yet earnest +women, poorly dressed, with sunbrowned faces and rough hands, yet +bearing in their hearts the very essence of loving-kindness towards +the poor fellows upon whose pale faces and ghastly wounds they looked +with "round-eyed wonder" and pity. After a while they would gain +courage to approach some soldier whom they found "sort o' favored" +their own, to whom they ventured to offer some dainty, would stroke +the wasted hand, smooth the hair, or hold to the fevered lips a drink +of buttermilk or a piece of delicious fruit. Ah, _how many_ times I +have watched such scenes! To the warmly-expressed thanks of the +beneficiaries they would simply answer, "That is nothing; 'mebbe' +somebody will do as much for mine when he needs it." + +About seven miles from Ringgold, Georgia, lived an old couple, Mr. and +Mrs. Russell, who, although ardently loving the _cause_, were too old +and feeble to _serve_ it otherwise than by their unceasing prayers, +and by giving freely of their substance to sustain the patients at the +hospitals then established at Ringgold. Their daughter, "Miss Phemie," +a beautiful young girl, was never weary of conferring benefits upon +the Southern soldiers; every day she rode in, never minding even heavy +storms, and often riding upon a wagon because it would hold a larger +supply of vegetables, etc. Many a soldier was taken to the homestead +to be cared for. Those who could not go from under medical or surgical +treatment were often treated to little rides. Her devotion to the +soldiers I can never forget. + +Among the sick and wounded who were sent to the hospital at Newnan +were many Georgians whose homes were within twenty-five or thirty +miles. + +After the fight at Missionary Ridge, two boys, brothers, were brought +in. One was threatened with pneumonia; the other, a lad of sixteen, +had his right arm shattered from the shoulder down. At his earnest +request his mother was sent for; the necessary amputation being +deferred awhile, because he begged so hard that the surgeon should +await her arrival. She had to ride all the way on a wagon drawn by a +steer (oh, mothers, can you not imagine the agony which attended that +lengthened journey?), and she was so long detained that I had to take +her place at her boy's side while the operation was performed. The boy +rapidly sunk,--when his mother came was past speaking, and could only +express with his dying eyes his great love for her. Kneeling beside +him, she watched intently, but without a tear or a sob, the dear life +fast ebbing away. The expression of that mother's face no one who saw +it can ever forget. + +When all was over, I led her to my own room, where she asked to be +left alone for a while. At last, in answer to the sobbing appeals of +her remaining son, she opened the door. He threw himself into her +arms, crying out, "Buddie's gone, but you're got me, ma, and I'll +never leave you again. I'll help you take Buddie home, and I'll stay +with you and help you work the farm." + +The mother gently and tenderly held him off a little way, looking with +burning eyes into his face; her own was pale as death, but not a sob +or tear yet. Quietly she said, "No, my son, your place is not by me; I +can get along as I have done; you are needed yonder (at the front); +_go_ and avenge your brother; he did his duty to the last; don't +disgrace him and me. Come, son, don't cry any more; you're mother's +man, you know." + +That same night that mother started _alone_ back to her home, bearing +the coffined body of her youngest son, parting bravely from the elder, +whose sorrow was overwhelming. Just before leaving, she took me aside +and said, "My boy is no coward, but he loved his Buddie, and is +grieving for him; try to comfort him, won't you?" + +I did try, but during the whole night he paced with restless feet up +and down my office. At daylight I sat watching his uneasy slumber. + +A few weeks later a young wife came by train to visit her husband, who +lay very ill of fever, bringing with her a lovely blue-eyed baby girl +about two years old. + +I found a room for her at a house near the hospital, and she was +allowed to nurse her husband. When he was nearly ready to report for +duty, a fearful accident happened by which the baby nearly lost her +life, and was awfully disfigured. At the house where the young wife +boarded there was a ferocious bull-dog, which was generally kept +chained until it showed such evident fondness for the babe that he was +sometimes allowed to lie upon the gallery beside it while it slept, +and the little one on awakening would crawl all over the dog, who +patiently submitted, and would affectionately lick her face. + +One day, however, when the family were all assembled upon the gallery, +the dog suddenly sprung upon the little girl, fastening his dreadful +fangs in one side of her face. Everybody was stricken with horror. +Nothing availed to make the beast loosen his hold, until suddenly he +withdrew his teeth from the child's face and fastened them once more +in her shoulder. At last, as no other alternative presented itself, +some one placed a pistol to his ear and killed him. The baby on being +released still breathed, but was so torn and disfigured that the sight +turned strong men sick. + +The father fell in a swoon; the young mother, pale and shaking as with +an ague, yet held her mutilated babe through all the examination and +the surgical operations which followed. For two weeks it seemed as if +the child must die, but she did not, and soon, unconscious of her +disfigurement, began to play and smile. All pitied the unfortunate +father when, after some time allowed him through sympathy with his +misfortune, it became necessary for him to return to the front. He had +borne an excellent record, but now broke down utterly, declaring he +could not leave his child. The young wife, putting down with a strong +hand her own sorrow, actually set herself to rouse her husband to a +sense of duty, and succeeded; I was present at the depot when the +brave, girlish wife waved to the soldier a smiling farewell, and +afterwards witnessed her vain efforts to suppress the short, sharp +screams of agony which had been kept under as long as her husband +needed to be upheld, but which after his departure convulsed her at +intervals for hours. + +There are two women against whom, during and since the war, I held and +still hold a grudge. One was of that class of women who undervalue and +strive to undo all the good done by others; who hold opinions and +views which they absolutely insist upon carrying out regardless of +consequences. + +During the whole four years of the war I was annoyed by these would-be +directresses of hospitals. They would intrude themselves into my +wards, where they hesitated not to air their superior knowledge of all +sickness, to inspire discomfort and distrust in the patients by +expressive gestures, revealing extreme surprise at the modes of +treatment, and by lugubrious shakes of the head their idea of the +inevitably fatal result. While the kindly women, who, though already +overburdened, would take from the wards of the hospital enough of +convalescents or sick men to crowd their own homes, often thereby +saving lives,--always doing good,--these prowling women would manage +to convey their sense of the dreadful condition of hitherto +well-satisfied patients without ever suggesting a remedy. In one of +the large churches used for sick-wards in Newnan lay a young man from +Maryland, who had suffered the amputation of an arm. The wound had +been carefully bandaged, the arteries taken up, etc., but as +inflammation supervened the pain became almost unbearable, the poor +fellow moaned unceasingly. One night two old women visited the ward. +Afterward, upon making my last round, I found the young man above +mentioned so quiet that I did not disturb him. It so happened that Dr. +Merriweather, of Alabama, was in Newnan, in close attendance upon his +young son, who had received a most peculiar and apparently fatal +wound. He was shot through the liver. The wound, at all times +excessively painful, exuded bile. Whenever Dr. Merriweather wanted an +hour's rest I took my place at the bedside of the lad. Interest in the +case took me very frequently to the ward. Just before bedtime, +therefore, I returned to the side of young Merriweather to let his +father off for a while. Inquiring of the nurse as to the patient who +had been so restive, I learned that he had neither moved nor spoken. +Feeling uneasy, I walked over to the corner where he lay. At once I +heard a drip, drip, drip, and, calling for a light, soon discovered +that the bed and floor were bloody. Dr. Yates was called at once, but +too late. That dreadful meddler, the old woman visitor, had actually +dared to loosen the bandages, and the poor victim, feeling only +relief, had sunk tranquilly to his death. + +The other was a heartless girl, who has, I feel sure, by this time +made a selfish, unloving wife to some poor man. Her lover, after the +battle of Franklin, was brought to the tent hospital, having lost a +leg and being wounded in the face. He confided to me the fact of his +engagement to "one of the prettiest and _peartest_ girls in +'Massissip,'" and begged me to write her of his condition, and, said +the poor fellow, "If she don't care about sticking to a fellow +murdered up like I am, I reckon I'll have to let her off" (this with a +sigh). Then, with a brighter look, "Maybe she'll stick, anyhow." How +he watched for the answer to that letter! His restlessness was pitiful +to see. I tried to help him by reading to him and by relating to him +instances of women who only loved more because the object of their +affection had been unfortunate. Among other things, I told him of the +noble English girl who wrote to her mangled lover that she still loved +and would marry him "if there was enough of his body left to contain +his soul." Afterward I felt sorry that I had encouraged him to hope, +for it was my misfortune to read to him a very cold letter from his +lady-love, who declined to marry "a _cripple_." She wanted a husband +who could support her, and as some man who lived near was "mighty fond +of her company and could give her a good home," she reckoned she would +take his offer under consideration. + +For a few days my poor young friend was inconsolable; but one morning +I found him singing. "I've been thinking over that matter," said he, +"and I reckon I've had a lucky escape. That trifling girl would never +have made me a good, faithful wife." From that day he seemed to have +recovered his cheerfulness. I have never forgiven that faithless girl. + +All over the South, wherever "pain and anguish wrung the brow" of +their defenders, women became "ministering angels." + +Even those who had been bereft of their own suppressed their tears, +stifled the cry of bleeding hearts, and, by unwearied attention to +living sufferers, strove to honor their dead. Self-abnegation was, +during the war, a word of meaning intense and real. Its spirit had its +dwelling-place in the souls of faithful women, looked out from the +bright eyes of young girls, whose tender feet were newly set in a +thorny pathway, as well as from the pale, stricken faces of those +whose hearts the thorn had pierced. + +Among the tender and true women with whom I have corresponded since +the war is the mother of Colonel Robadeaux Wheat, the noble +Louisianian who fell at Gaines's Mill. I have several of her letters +by me, written in the tremulous hand of one who had passed her +seventy-ninth birthday, but glowing with love for the _cause_, and +fondest pride in the sons who died in its defence. It is touching to +see how she clings to and cherishes the record, given by his +companions in arms, of "Robadeux's" last hours on earth, when, in the +early morning, before going forth to battle, his heart seemed to +return to the simple faith of his boyhood, and, gathering his +subordinate officers around him in his tent; he read reverently the +service of prayer which committed himself and them to the protection +of the God of battles. Mrs. Wheat's letters are, I think, among the +most beautiful and touching I ever read, yet sprightly and +interesting. Believing that all my readers will feel an interest in +the mother of glorious "Bob Wheat," I will here transcribe a small +portion. In one letter she says,-- + + "I am, thank God, in excellent health for one aged seventy-eight. + My husband was born in this city (Washington, D.C.) in _the year + one, he says_. + + "We shall soon celebrate the fifty-ninth anniversary of our + marriage, and he is deeply engaged upon some 'post-nuptial lines' + for me." + +In another,-- + + "I want to send you a sword and flag for the Exposition. How I wish + I could _take_ it to New Orleans, where I lived many years when my + husband was rector of St. Paul's Church! You know, our second son, + I.T. Wheat, was Secretary of the Secession Committee when Louisiana + seceded, also Secretary of the Legislature. He was killed at Shiloh + at the same hour as General Sydney Johnston, and is buried in + Nashville. We are hoping to have the dear brother's monument in + Hollywood, Richmond, where both beloved ones shall rest in the same + grave." .... In conclusion, "Our love and blessings rest ever on + yourself and all friends of our hero sons. Truly yours, in + Christian fellowship, + + "Selima Wheat." + +Here is the record of another mother, who is to this day proud of the +splendid record made by her sons, and devoted in the memory of _the +cause_. + +At the commencement of the war there lived in Sharon, Mississippi, Mr. +and Mrs. O'Leary, surrounded by a family of five stalwart sons. Mrs. +Catharine O'Leary was a fond and loving mother, but also an +unfaltering patriot, and her heart was fired with love for the cause +of Southern liberty. Therefore, when her brave sons, one after the +other, went forth to battle for the right, she bade them God-speed. +"Be true to your God and your country," said this noble woman, "and +never disgrace your mother by flinching from duty." + +Her youngest and, perhaps, dearest was at that time only fifteen. For +a while she felt that his place was by her side; but in 1863, when he +was barely seventeen, she no longer tried to restrain him. Her +trembling hands, having arrayed the last beloved boy for the +sacrifice, rested in blessings on _his_ head ere he went forth. +Repressing the agony which swelled her heart, she calmly bade him, +also, "Do your whole duty. If you must die, let it be with your face +to the foe." And so went forth James A. O'Leary, at the tender age of +seventeen, full of ardor and hope. He was at once assigned to courier +duty under General Loring. On the 28th of July, 1864, at the battle of +Atlanta, he was shot through the hip, the bullet remaining in the +wound, causing intense suffering, until 1870, when it was extracted, +and the wound healed for the first time. Notwithstanding this wound, +he insisted upon returning to his command, which, in the mean time, +had joined Wood's regiment of cavalry. This was in 1865, and so +wounded he served three months, surrendering with General Wirt Adams +at Gainesville. A short but very glorious record. This young hero is +now residing in Shreveport, Louisiana, is a successful physician, and +an honored member of the veteran association of that city,--Dr. James +A. O'Leary. + +Of his brothers, the oldest, Ignatius S. O'Leary, served throughout +the war, and is now a prominent druggist of Vicksburg, Mississippi. + +Dr. Richard O'Leary, surgeon P.A.C.S., now practises medicine in +Vicksburg. + +Cornelius O'Leary, badly wounded at the battle of Fredericksburg, lay +on the field for hours with the legions of friend and foe alternately +charging over him. After a long illness he recovered, and is now a +planter near Sharon, Mississippi. + +John Pearce O'Leary was killed in the battle of the Wilderness. + +Mrs. O'Leary still lives in Sharon. The old fire is unquenched. + +There are two names of patriotic women which will always awaken in +every Southern heart profound veneration, and imperishable love and +gratitude,--women who devoted themselves so entirely, so continuously +to the soldiers of the Confederacy as to obliterate self, +unconsciously winning for themselves the while a name and fame which +history will proudly record. + +Their names--written in many hearts, fondly cherished in the homes of +veterans whose children are taught to revere them--are Mrs. Buck +Morris and Mrs. L.M. Caldwell. Mrs. Morris was by birth a Kentuckian, +but at the beginning of the war resided with her husband, a prominent +and wealthy lawyer, in Chicago, Illinois. + +Her sympathies, always Southern, became strongly enlisted upon the +side of the unfortunate prisoners at Camp Douglas. Both Judge Morris +and his wife were deeply implicated in the plot to release these men. +Their home in Chicago was a place of secret rendezvous for Southerners +who, in the interest of these prisoners, were secretly visiting +Chicago. + +By some means constant communication with the prisoners was +established, and if they still suffered horribly, hope revived among +them for a while, and her blessed presence lightened their burdens. +Mrs. Morris well knew that by implicating herself in the plot she was +placing herself and husband in a position to suffer in their own +persons and property in case of failure. Death would be the most +probable consequence. Yet she risked it all. To use her own words, +copied from a letter which I received from her shortly before her +death, "I _did_ help my suffering, starving countrymen, who were +subjected to the horrors of Camp Douglas. I loved them with all the +sympathy and pride of a mother, and I did spend upon them every dollar +of my own money and as much of my husband's as I could _get_ by fair +means or foul in my hands. + +"At the close of the war we found ourselves broken in health and +fortune, but my husband had still enough left for our support; but the +great Chicago fire swept our all away. + +"Should my health improve, I wish to make an effort to send you a +fuller account, and to add my small morsel of praise to the gallantry +and patient endurance of the most bitter and maddening trials that men +were ever called upon to endure. + +"One unselfish action I would like to have recorded of a member of +J.H. Morgan's command, the same to which my dear friend Colonel B.F. +Forman belonged, and he can tell you how proud all Kentucky was of her +brave boys. This is what I wish to write, because I like to have every +noble deed recorded. After my good brother, Ex-Governor Blackman (who +has administered medicine whenever I needed it), removed to Tennessee, +and I felt the attack coming on from which I have so long and so +severely suffered, I applied to Dr. R. Wilson Thompson for medical +advice, and, receiving it, put my hand in my pocket. He said, almost +sternly, 'No, no, Mrs. Morris, do not attempt that; you cannot do it,' +and, rising abruptly, left the house. Returning the second day, he +said, 'I fear you did not understand me, Mrs. Morris: I feel as every +Confederate soldier feels, or ought to feel,--that he could never do +enough for _you_; we could never receive pay from _you_ for anything.' +And so for the last five months he, although like many of our brave +boys has had many hardships to endure, and his constitution shattered, +has come through snow and sleet night and day to minister to the +relief of an old woman who only did her duty to him and his people +twenty long years ago. How few remember to be grateful so long! +Present my best love to my old friend B.F. Forman. I remain always +your friend and well-wisher, + +"MRS. MARY B. MORRIS. + +"SPRING STATION, KENTUCKY." + + +From one of the many Louisiana soldiers who received, at the hands of +Mrs. Caldwell, the tender care and excellent nursing which doubtless +saved his life, I have received a description of the "Refuge," which, +during three years of the war, was opened to Louisiana soldiers; not +to officers, although a few personal friends of Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell +were there by special invitation; but it was understood that none but +private soldiers were expected without an invitation, while all +privates were welcomed as to a home. + +The 'Refuge,' the residence of John B. Caldwell during the war, was +situated in Amherst County, Virginia, about three and a half miles +from Lynchburg. The residence was of peculiar build, having more the +appearance of the Queen Anne style of architecture than any else, and +was probably the only house in that section of country where the +constructor had diverged from the accepted style for a country +residence, hence, even in its isolated situation, it was known far and +wide. The estate comprised an area of about eight hundred acres, and +was cultivated in wheat, corn, etc. The route to it from Lynchburg +lay, for about a mile and a half, along the north side of the James +River, from which the road turned at almost right angles toward the +north, over an undulating country, and through a long lane, which was +part of the farm. + +The house stood about fifty yards from the road, and presented a +rather picturesque appearance, the lawn being surrounded by a fence, +outside of which and in front of the house a circular lawn had been +laid out, around which was the carriage drive. + +There were four rooms on the ground floor of the house, and two in the +main building up-stairs, and two additional rooms which had been +added, but were so situated that an accurate description would be hard +to give, and perhaps harder to understand after giving. + +The house faced nearly east, and had a porch up and down-stairs, and +on the north side a gallery. There were the usual out-houses, and a +feature of the place was the spring, which was situated at the foot of +the hill upon which the house stood. Water was supplied from this +spring by means of a ram-pump with pipes. Around the spring was a +growth of very fine walnut-and chestnut-trees, which made it a very +cool retreat during the warm days of summer. A large orchard of +apples, plums, and peaches was immediately in the rear of the +residence. Between the farm and the road which led from Lynchburg to +Amherst Court-House, a distance of about two miles, was a thick growth +of woods, consisting principally of chestnut-trees. + +"The whole face of the country consisted of hills and dales, and was +rather rugged; the soil rather poor, probably having been exhausted by +long cultivation. The nearest house was fully a mile distant, that +section of country being but sparsely settled." + +Their painful journey thitherward ended, just imagine what it must +have been to these suffering men to arrive at such a haven of rest!--a +"refuge" indeed. Think of the cool, breezy chambers, clean and white +and fragrant, _like home_, of the tender ministry of that gentle +woman, whose loving service was theirs to command, of the country +food, of the cool, sparkling water from the spring under the oaks, +held to fevered lips by ever-ready hands, while the favored patients +drank at the same time draughts of sympathy from eyes whose kindly +glances fell upon the humblest as upon their very own. The excellence +and faithfulness of the nursing is fully proved by the fact that while +three or four hundred patients were sent to this blessed "Refuge," no +mortality occurred among the soldiers, the only death being that of a +little son of Captain Laurence Nichols, who had fallen in battle at +Gaines's Mill, and whose widow found in this lovely, hospitable home a +temporary resting-place for the body of her gallant husband, and +shelter for herself and child, a lovely boy of three years, who was +thence transferred to the arms of the Good Shepherd. Sad, indeed, were +the hearts of the little band of women gathered at the "Refuge." + +The trials of the bereaved wife and mother were indeed sore and hard +to be borne, but she could go to the graves of her dead and there pray +for faith to look upward, where she knew her treasures were safe for +time and for eternity. Under the same roof the wife of General Francis +T. Nichols passed days and nights of agonizing suspense. Her husband +was wounded and a prisoner. She knew he had suffered amputation of an +arm, but could learn nothing more. _Rumors_ were fearful enough to +distress the young wife, whose trembling heart was filled with +foreboding. Every few days reports that _seemed_ true startled +her,--he was _dead_. Alas! it might be true, for how could he live in +the midst of enemies to whom his high spirit would not bend, wounded, +suffering, deprived of the loving care for which he pined? Again, he +had tried to escape in the garb of a peddler, and had been taken up as +a spy (which no one who knew him believed). In that sad household Mrs. +Caldwell's duties became onerous and multifarious enough to appall one +less stout-hearted or less devoted to the cause. The inmates of the +dwelling looked to her for sympathy, advice, nursing, and all kinds of +attention, as well as for the comfort which could come only by +superexcellent housekeeping. And all this was done, and _well_ done, +by one woman, inspired by supreme devotion to the _Confederate_ cause +and its defenders. Truly such a woman deserves to be immortalized, to +live in history long after the hearts that now enshrine her image +shall have ceased to beat. + +Later, larger hospital accommodation having been provided, it became +difficult to obtain permission for private soldiers to leave the wards +to which they had been assigned. + +Mr. and Mrs. J. Edwards Caldwell then resolved to fill up the "Refuge" +with their own friends among the officers, saying to each other, "We +will do all the good we can, and will agree to sustain each other in +any course without consulting." Very sick and very badly-wounded +patients were now sent to Mrs. Caldwell. In fact, cases which were +considered hopeless, but lingering, were despatched from the hospital +to the "Refuge" to die, but not one of them did what was expected of +him. The efforts of Mrs. Caldwell were blessed of God, and her +patients, without exception, improved. One of these was Lawson Lewis +Davis, of New Orleans, wounded at Frazier's Mills, near Richmond. He +was suffering from a terrible wound, the cap of the shoulder having +been removed. He suffered for a whole year before recovering. A still +more remarkable case was that of Captain Charles Knowlton, Tenth +Louisiana Regiment. He was wounded in the knee in November, 1863, and +was at once invited to the "Refuge," but, having recession of the +knee, was compelled to remain under surgical treatment until April, +1864, when he was sent to Mrs. Caldwell, and remained nine months more +under her care. An order had been issued that in all such cases +amputation should be performed, but Dr. Reid, of Richmond, his +attendant surgeon, decided to attempt to save the limb, and was +successful. Out of many cases of the kind, this was the only one +recorded where amputation was avoided and the patient's life was +saved. + +Captain Knowlton now resides near Hopevilla, East Baton Rouge, +Louisiana, is married, and has two children. Another desperate case +was that of John McCormick, from whose leg nearly all the bones were +removed, but who also recovered. + +There were, besides, three men sick of fever and dysentery, +desperately ill, considered hopeless when sent to the "Refuge," but +who all recovered. This is certainly a remarkable record, and one to +be proud of. Among the patients was that noble patriot, Colonel +Alcibiades de Blanc, of St. Martin's Parish, Louisiana, of whom +Lousianians proudly relate that he refused to be made a +brigadier-general, saying he did not feel competent to fill such a +position, and was content to serve his country as a private soldier, +feeling that no position could be more honorable. + +Of Company K, Eighth Louisiana, and Company H, Seventh Louisiana, +nearly all the sick and wounded enjoyed, at one time or another during +the war, the hospitalities of the "Refuge." General Hays was a +personal friend and honored guest. Henry Weir Baker there recovered +from typhoid fever. This gentleman was a member of Washington +Artillery, a distinction which is enough of itself, without an added +word of praise. He is now residing in New Orleans, a successful +journalist, and has been untiring in his patriotic efforts to develop +the splendid resources of Louisiana. Fred Washington, of New Orleans, +was also saved to his country by the kindly attentions of Mrs. +Caldwell. He also is an honored citizen of New Orleans, engaged as a +journalist, and is one of the faithful few who _do not forget_. + +He is an active member of the association A.N. Va., always "to the +fore" when opportunities occur to honor the dead Confederates or to +succor the living. + +Of the hundreds who now live to remember with liveliest gratitude the +"Refuge" they once found from the horrors and toils and pains of +battle, and the gentle hostess who so unweariedly ministered to them, +I can gather only a few names besides those already mentioned,--those +of Lieutenant Brooks, Seventh Louisiana; Dr. Henry Larreux, ---- ----; +Lieutenant Henri Puisson, Tenth Louisiana. + +Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell were New Orleans people. Their temporary home in +Virginia was taken with the definite object in view of offering a +"refuge" to sick and wounded Louisiana soldiers. She is, of course, +proud of its "record" and her own, but simply says in her letter to +me, "On opening the 'Refuge' (Mr. John Edwards Caldwell said to his +wife) we will each do all we find to do, and all we _can_ do, without +consulting or telling each other what we do. And this we carried out." + +While seeking materials for this sketch, I have interviewed several of +the veterans who were in Virginia her guests and patients. I had but +to mention her name to ask, "Do you know Mrs. Caldwell, of the +'Refuge?'" and forthwith the eyes of stern men grew misty, and an +indescribable look brightened careworn faces, the look I know so well +and have learned to think more beautiful than "any light that falls on +land or sea." "_Know her!_ Why, but for her I must have died." Thus to +become of blessed memory is worth a lifetime of toil and +self-devotion. And yet the _cause_ and its defenders were worth it +all, and more. As far as the wounded and sick soldiers are concerned, +I am sure that Mrs. Caldwell, equally with myself and all others, who +during the war were so blessed as to be permitted to minister to them, +will be willing to declare that magnificent as were their brave deeds, +their patient endurance seemed almost "the better part of valor." + +There is one bright, shining record of a patriotic and tireless woman +which remains undimmed when placed beside that of the most devoted of +Confederate women: I refer to Mrs. Rose Rooney, of Company K, +Fifteenth Louisiana Regiment, who left New Orleans in June, 1861, and +never deserted the "b'ys" for a day until the surrender. + +She was no hanger-on about camp, but in everything but actual fighting +was as useful as any of the boys she loved with all her big, warm, +Irish heart, and served with the undaunted bravery which led her to +risk the dangers of every battle-field where the regiment was engaged, +unheeding the zip of the minies, the shock of shells, or the horrible +havoc made by the solid shot, so that she might give timely succor to +the wounded or comfort the dying. When in camp she looked after the +comfort of the regiment, both sick and well, and many a one escaped +being sent to the hospital because Rose attended to him so well. She +managed by some means to keep on hand a stock of real coffee, paying +at times thirty-five dollars per pound for it. The surrender almost +broke her heart. Her defiant ways caused her to be taken prisoner. I +will give in her own words an account of what followed. + +"Sure, the Yankees took me prisoner along with the rest. The next day, +when they were changing the camps to fix up for the wounded, I asked +them what would they do with _me_. They tould me to 'go to the divil.' +I tould them, 'I've been long enough in his company; I'd choose +something better.' I then asked them where any Confederates lived. +They tould me about three miles through the woods. On my way I met +some Yankees. They asked me, 'What have you in that bag?' I said, +'Some rags of my own.' I had a lot of rags on the top, but six new +dresses at the bottom; and sure I got off with them all. Then they +asked me if I had any money. I said no; but in my stocking I had two +hundred dollars in Confederate money. One of the Yankees, a poor divil +of a private soldier, handed to me three twenty-five cents of Yankee +money. I said to him, 'Sure, you must be an Irishman.' 'Yes,' said he. +I then went on till I got to the house. Mrs. Crump and her sister were +in the yard, and about twenty negro women--no men. I had not a bite +for two days, nor any water, so I began to cry from weakness. Mrs. +Crump said, 'Don't cry, you are among friends.' She then gave me +plenty to eat,--hot hoe-cake and buttermilk. I stayed there fifteen +days, superintending the cooking for the sick and wounded men. +One-half of the house was full of Confederates, and the other of +Yankees. They then brought us to Burkesville, where all the Yankees +were gathered together. There was an ould doctor there, and he began +to curse me, and to talk about all we had done to their prisoners. I +tould him, 'And what have _you_ to say to what you done to _our_ poor +fellows?' He tould me to shut up, _and sure I did_. They asked me +fifty questions after, and I never opened me mouth. The next day was +the day when all the Confederate flags came to Petersburg. I had some +papers in my pocket that would have done harrum to some people, so I +chewed them all up and ate them, but I wouldn't take the oath, and _I +never did take it_. The flags were brought in on dirt-cars, and as +they passed the Federal camps them Yankees would unfurl them and shake +them about to show them. My journey from Burkesville to Petersburg was +from eleven in the morning till eleven at night, and I sitting on my +bundle all the way. The Yankee soldiers in the car were cursing me, +and calling me a damn rebel, and more ugly talk. I said, 'Mabbe some +of you has got a mother or wife; if so, you'll show some respect for +_me_.' Then they were quiet. I had to walk three miles to Captain +Buckner's headquarters. The family were in a house near the +battle-ground, but the door was shut, and I didn't know who was +inside, and I couldn't see any light. I sat down on the porch, and +thought I would have to stay there all night. After a while I saw a +light coming from under the door, and so I knocked; when the door was +opened and they saw who it was, they were all delighted to see me, +because they were afraid I was dead. I wanted to go to Richmond, but +would not go on a Yankee transportation. When the brigade came down, I +cried me heart out because I was not let go on with them. I stayed +three months with Mrs. Cloyd, and then Mayor Rawle sent me forty +dollars and fifty more if I needed it, and that brought me home to New +Orleans." + +Mrs. Rooney is still cared for and cherished by the veterans of +Louisiana. At the Soldiers' Home she holds the position of matron, and +her little room is a shrine never neglected by visitors to "Camp +Nichols." + +Upon every occasion when the association of A.N.Va. appear as an +association, Mrs. Rooney is with them, an honored and honorary member. +Neatly dressed, her cap of the real Irish pattern surmounting her +face, beaming with pride in "the _b'ys_." + +In fiery patriotism, unfaltering devotion, defiant courage the women +of New Orleans had no rival, save the women of Baltimore. I know no +other place where the fiery furnace was so hot, the martyrdom so +general or so severe. In both instances the iron hand of despotism +failed to crush or subdue. + +Women continued to give aid and comfort to Confederate soldiers in +hospital and prison, using every art they possessed to accomplish +their ends. The sick were nursed and fed and comforted. Prisoners were +assisted to escape, concealed until they could be spirited away, while +their fair friends bravely faced and dared the consequences of +discovery, never hesitating to avow their partisanship, crying, "If +this be treason, make the most of it." A dozen arrests among these +devotees did no good, for their name was legion. Every house was a +nest of "treason;" for here dwelt the women whose best beloved were +Confederate soldiers. + +And when the end came, when the bravest soldiers returned, wretched +and despairing, even weeping bitter tears within the faithful arms +that sheltered them, the faces which bent above them still bravely +smiled. Beloved voices whispered of encouragement and hope, patient +hearts assumed burdens under which men fainted and failed. + +From the root of patriotism, deeply buried in the hearts of Southern +women, sprung a new and vigorous growth. Its tendrils overspread and +concealed desolate places; the breath of its flowers filled all the +land, stealing over the senses like an invigorating breeze. + +"There is life in the old land yet," said men to each other. Let us +cherish and develop it. And so, once more each lifted his heavy +burden, and finding it unexpectedly lightened, turned to find at his +side, no longer a helpless clinging form which should hamper his every +step, but a true woman, strong in the love which defied +discouragement, "with a heart for any fate," a _helpmeet_, indeed, who +hereafter would allow no burden to remain unshared. + +Thus faithful to the living, the women of the South never forgot their +dead heroes. At first it was impossible to do more than to "keep +green" their sacred graves, or to deposit thereon a few simple +flowers, but the earliest rays of the sun of prosperity fell upon many +a "storied urn and animated bust," raised by tireless love and +self-sacrifice, to mark "the bivouac of the dead." In connection with +one of these, erected by the ladies of New Orleans, in Greenwood +Cemetery, I know an anecdote which has always seemed to me +particularly beautiful and touching, as illustrative of an exquisite +sentiment which could have had its birth only in the heart of a true +and tender woman. After the removal of the bones of the Confederate +soldiers, who had died in and about New Orleans, from their lowly +graves to their last resting-place, under their grand and beautiful +monument, many people repaired thither as to a shrine. Among them +appeared one evening Mrs. H----, a sister of the gallant and +ever-lamented Major Nelligan, of the First Louisiana. After viewing +the monument, Mrs. H---- strolled over among the graves, and there +came upon a few bones of Confederate soldiers, which had been +accidentally left upon the ground. + +They seemed to her so precious, so sacred, that they must have +sepulchre; but how should she accomplish this end? Nothing that she +had or could get, in short, nothing that had been used would do. +Instantly she sought the first store where a piece of new linen could +be bought; returning with it, she reverently laid the bones within it, +and, without speaking a word to any one of her intentions, buried them +in the garden at home, where they now lie. + +I have not yet told all I know about Confederate women, nor even the +half, nor is it needful that I should. While recounting their history +to future generations, Fame will put by her brazen trumpet, yet sing +their praises in tones so sweet and clear that all the world shall +hear and wonder and admire. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +AN INCIDENT OF THE BATTLE OF THE WILDERNESS. + + +These facts were related to me by a Virginia soldier, and woven by me +into a story for the _Southern Bivouac_. + +On the night of May 11, 1864, Lee had withdrawn his forces from a +salient point called the "Horseshoe," in consequence of a retrograde +or flank movement of the enemy opposite that point. A battery of +artillery, consisting of four companies, which was to have occupied +that point, was removed some two miles back. At early dawn, word was +brought that Grant's forces had again advanced, and the artillery was +ordered to return with all speed. Faster and faster they advanced +until they reached the top of the hill, in the very toe of the +Horseshoe, to find themselves in the jaws of the enemy. It fell to the +lot of a non-commissioned officer of Captain W.P. Carter's Battery to +prepare the ammunition. He first cut the fuse for one second's time. +After preparing several shells and receiving no word from his general +he made ready several charges of canister, knowing the enemy to be +close at hand. Still nobody came for the ammunition. He observed next +that the drivers of the limber-chest had dismounted and left their +horses, and the horses being without a driver, backed the wheels of +the limber over the ammunition. To prevent damage, he seized the +off-leader by the bridle, turning them back to a front position. While +doing this, he distinctly heard the minie-balls crashing through the +bones of the horses. They did not fall at once, however, and he had +just gotten them to a front position, when a forcible blow upon the +right shoulder, made by the enemy's color-bearer with the point of his +staff, showed him that they were upon him. There was no time to say +"good-morning," so he beat a hasty retreat around his limber, "_Sauve +que peut_." He had scarcely commenced to run when he felt a heavy blow +about the middle of his back. His thought was, "Can that color-bearer +have repeated his blow, or am I struck by a ball, which has deadened +the sense of feeling?" There being no flow of blood, however, he +concluded he was not much hurt. After a run of forty yards he came to +the dry bed of a stream between two hills. Here he paused to +reconnoitre. The morning fog and the smoke of battle obscured the +view, except close to the ground. Crouching on all-fours, he peered +below the cloud of smoke toward the crest of the hill where the +battery was. He soon saw that the case was hopeless, and the battery +in possession of the enemy. Looking to the left, he read in the +anxious countenance of an aide-de-camp on horseback that matters at +that point were in a desperate case. Running up the bed of the stream, +he reached the shelter of the woods on his left. So far he had run +parallel to the line of battle. When well in the woods, turning at +right angles, it seemed that he had made his escape. Meeting just then +with an officer of the battery (the only one who escaped) and several +comrades, a brief consultation was held, suddenly cut short by a +continuous roar of musketry in the rear and near the heel of the +Horseshoe, showing that the party were in danger of being enclosed and +cut off within the circle. The consultation was summarily ended, and +flight again resumed. This time they ran well out of the Horseshoe and +out of danger, stopping not until they met Lee's reinforcements going +to the front. Here, from a point of safety, they could hear war +holding high revelry in the bottom below. Now, for the first time the +soldier took occasion to examine his knapsack. A minie-ball had +entered the lower part, passing through sixteen folds of tent-cloth, +many folds of a blanket, riddling several articles of underwear, and +finally burying itself in a small Bible. Such was its force that not a +leaf from Revelations to Genesis remained without impress of the ball, +and half the leaves were actually penetrated. + +Just at this time he was overjoyed to see his brother (about whom he +had been painfully anxious) returning to the rear with a company of +the Richmond Howitzers, who, having spent all their ammunition, came +to replenish their chests. This young man had been color-bearer of the +company, and when the battery first reached the hill, had turned to +the woods on his left to tie his horse. Hearing a wild yell, which he +supposed to be the battle-cry of the Confederates, he joined lustily +in the shout and rushed forward bearing his colors. The fog and smoke +concealing from him the true state of affairs, it was a terrible shock +to see, suddenly, the enemy's color floating from the battery. +Realizing for the first time that all was lost, he hastily lowered his +flag between the chests of a caisson, and, tearing off the colors, +thrust them into his bosom, throwing the staff away. He then ran into +the woods and up the lines, where he came upon a company of the +Richmond Howitzers, and served with them until their ammunition was +exhausted. + +A remarkable circumstance connected with the above incident was the +fact that, during the confusion and haste following the order for the +hasty march, the brothers lost sight of each other, and the elder (who +bore the flag) was compelled to gallop to the front, leaving the +tent-cloth and blankets, which usually were included in the roll +behind the saddle, to be carried in the other's knapsack. The first +thought of the younger was impatience at the unusual burden he had to +carry into battle, but reflection brought with it a feeling (perhaps a +premonition), "It is all right and perhaps the means of saving my +life." In less than half an hour it had proved indeed a blessing in +disguise. + +The owner of the Bible, then a youth of nineteen, now a minister of +the Protestant Episcopal Church, cherishes the book and the +minie-ball, not only as a memento of the war, but with feelings of +deepest gratitude, which find appropriate expression in the +consecration of his life to Him who "protected his head in the day of +battle." It is his earnest hope that he may, by the blessing of God, +so expound the teaching of that blessed Book as to make it a means of +salvation to many souls. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +FENNER'S LOUISIANA BATTERY. + + +Dear friends, when you read the caption of this page in my book of +"Memories," do not accuse me in your hearts of favoritism. Of all +soldiers who wore the gray, only one was nearer than others to my +heart. I took no special pride in one organization above others, save +in the command to which my husband belonged. Surely this is quite +natural. + +Who does not remember the epidemic of blue cockades which broke out in +New Orleans during the winter of 1860 and 1861, and raged violently +throughout the whole city? The little blue cockade, with its pelican +button in the centre and its two small streamers, was the +distinguishing mark of the "Secessionist." + +By none was it more universally and proudly worn than by the youth and +young men, who, in April, 1861, discarded it with their citizen's +dress and began "the wearing of the gray," which they have helped to +make a garb of honor and a glory forever. + +When the Dreux Battalion embarked for Pensacola, it was with a +definite purpose in view, and a certain conviction that they would at +once meet and vanquish the enemy. Their prowess was to teach the +Yankee a lesson and to settle matters inside of sixty days. They fully +expected to fight, and were eager to begin. Day after day, night after +night, they momentarily expected an assault upon Fort Pickens. But +they did _not_ expect to be set at the hard duty of digging and +wheeling sand hour after hour, and throwing up intrenchments under a +burning sun. + +Then the irksomeness of being under military discipline, which at +first was frequently infringed. For instance, a party of Orleans +Cadets overstayed their leave of absence an hour or two; "upon our +return we found ourselves locked up in the guard-house for four hours +and a half." + +Here is an account of one of the monotonous days, transcribed from a +letter of one of the Orleans Cadets, a boy who had been used at home +to take his coffee before rising, a late, comfortable breakfast, and +to walk down-town at his leisure on the shady side of the street, clad +in the cool, white linen suit then so universally worn: "We get up at +five o'clock to attend roll-call; at 6.30 get our coffee and our +breakfast, which consists of crackers and salt pork; at 7.30, back to +our tents and pack our knapsack, rub our guns, and get ready for +parade at nine o'clock. + +"We are now drilling at light infantry tactics (Hardee's), which +occupies until eleven. We then _wash our clothes, bring wood for the +cook, also water_ and various other things; dine at two, and again +drill at four until dark; get our supper at seven; lie around until +roll-call at nine; afterward go to bed to dream of home. + +"General Bragg has just sent us word that we are to be exempt from +hard labor at present." + +It is not to be supposed that the men were confined to the rations +here mentioned. All had money and could buy additional food; most of +the messes had negro servants, who were excellent cooks, and boxes of +goodies arrived continually from home. But, as I said before, the +strict discipline, combined with deprivation of the glorious fighting +in which they had expected to participate, was terribly irksome. + +It was a most welcome order which transferred them to Virginia, and to +the shady and delightful camping-ground which I have described in a +former article (Introductory). An order to join the forces about to +engage in the battle of Manassas was countermanded on account of a +movement of the enemy which resulted in the "affair" at "Bethel +Church." They remained upon the Peninsula under General McGruder, who +was successfully holding McClellan in check by appearing at every +point assailed by the Federals. + +"The forces under General _McGruder_ were the only obstacle in +McClellan's road to Richmond. + +"Under these circumstances, McGruder, with superb rashness, threw out +his whole force as skirmishers, along a line of nine or ten miles. + +"The Dreux Battalion bore a conspicuous part in all the operations of +this campaign." Later, the battalion went into winter quarters. + +Because I wish to contrast the condition of these men during the first +part of their service and when, later, they encountered inconceivable +hardships and deprivations, I will here give entire a letter from one +of the battalion, kindly placed at my disposal, describing the +"house-warming" which was given when they moved into winter quarters +on the Peninsula: + + "CAMP RIGHTOR, November 29, 1861. + + "I received yours of the 14th a few days since, and the 20th + yesterday, both of which I will answer in one. The half-barrel of + sugar was received long since, as you will see by looking over my + letter to you about three weeks ago. The sugar came through in good + order, also the white sugar, medicine, and coffee; the latter we + use sparingly, mixing it with wheat,--one-third coffee and + two-thirds wheat. The wheat does not seem to change the flavor in + the least. Sweet potatoes are also used in camp in place of + coffee,--you dry it, then parch and grind it; we have not tried + that method yet on account of the scarcity of potatoes. All our + cabins are finished at last; the tents are used no more to sleep + in. Our house-warming has taken place. We made about ten gallons of + egg-nog for the occasion; we used about six dozen eggs. Walton's + mess was over, and a good many from the rifles; various members + from both companies of the guards. Also the major, doctor, + adjutant, and Lieutenant Dunn, Grivot Guards. They say it was the + best nog they ever drank; the house was crowded. The nog gave out, + and we had to produce the jug. If we had had our sick messmate from + Williamsburg, we would have had noise (Noyes) all night, but as it + was it only lasted until one o'clock. Everybody in camp seemed to + be trying to make more noise than his neighbor. Beard told us next + day that it was a very well-conducted affair, that everything + passed off _so quietly_ with so much nog as that. He evidently went + to bed early after he left us. I saw Posey yesterday, he was + looking badly, seeming to have been troubled with the chills for + some time. Since it has become so cold we have had to take the cook + in the house, which makes eleven. This boy outsnores creation, + beating anything you ever heard; he woke me up last night, and I + thought it was the dog Cadet barking outside at the door. + + "If you get this before ma sends off the expected-to-be-sent + package, and if there is some room, you might put in _one_ blanket. + Since we sleep two in a bunk, we spread our blankets across the + bunk. Brunet has three, and I have three, which makes it equal to + six apiece. Send the blanket; it shall do its share of warming, I + assure you. I suppose what ma sends will be my share of Christmas + in New Orleans. Our turkeys look droopy, and there is no telling + when they will peg out. We keep the gobbler's spirits up by making + him fight. The camp is full of turkeys, and we make ours fight + every day. _I have plenty of clothes and socks: I have over half a + dozen of woollen socks_. + + "The Gopher Mess send their best regards. + + "Yours affectionately, + + "Co. A, ORLEANS CADETS, + + "Louisiana Battalion, Williamsburg, Virginia." + +The formation of Fenner's Louisiana Battery was attended by tremendous +difficulties and discouragements, patiently met, nobly overcome, by +the gallant officer who found himself at last at the head of a company +composed of men who, whether considered in the aggregate, or as +individuals, had not their superiors in the Confederate +armies,--intelligently brave, enthusiastic, patriotic, gentlemen by +birth, breeding, and education, whom chivalrous devotion to duty +forbade to murmur at any hardship which fell to their lot. As officers +or private soldiers, looking to the future of the Confederacy as to +something assured; never despairing, ready to follow wherever and +whenever a "hope" was led, no matter how "forlorn." + +The record of this little band of devoted patriots has never been +thoroughly known or understood as it deserves to be. Only once has its +history appeared in print,--upon the occasion of a reunion of the +command held in New Orleans, May 12, 1884. With great pride I transfer +to these pages part of an article which then appeared in the +_Times-Democrat_ of that date: + +"As the term of service (twelve months) of the corps began to approach +its end, Captain Charles E. Fenner, commanding the company of +Louisiana Guards, conceived the idea of raising a battery of +artillery. He had no difficulty in getting the men, a sufficient +number volunteering at once from the battalion, but he encountered +other most disheartening obstacles. The War Department had not the +means of equipping the artillery companies already in service, and +authorized to be raised, and he could only obtain the authority to +raise this battery on condition of furnishing his own armament of +guns. He succeeded, however, in making arrangements with his friends +in New Orleans to furnish the guns, and the battery had been made and +was ready for him in New Orleans, when the city fell, and it was +captured. + +"Upon the discharge of the battalion, however, he changed his +rendezvous to Jackson, Mississippi, and proceeded there to try and +accomplish his object. Many of those who intended to join him looked +upon his enterprise as so hopeless that they abandoned it and joined +other commands. A sufficient number, however, rallied around him at +Jackson, Mississippi, and, on the 4th of May, 1862, his company was +organized by the election of officers, and on the 16th was mustered +into service. Meantime, the chance of getting an armament was hopeless +indeed. At last, however, Captain Fenner found, lying abandoned by the +railroad, the ruins of a battery, which had been destroyed on the eve +of evacuating New Orleans, under the apprehension that it would have +to be left, but was subsequently brought off. The guns were spiked and +rammed with wads and balls, the spokes and felloes of the wheels were +cut, the trails hacked to pieces, and all the ordinary means of +disabling a battery had been resorted to. The task of reconstructing +this ruined battery was undertaken, and, after much difficulty, +successfully accomplished. + +"Then came the trouble of obtaining horses, harness, and other +equipments, which had to be wrested from reluctant and ill-supplied +quartermasters and ordnance-officers. At last, however, all +difficulties were overcome. A few weeks of active drilling, and +Fenner's Battery was ready for the field. On August 20, 1862, it +received marching-orders for Port Hudson. Arrived there just after the +evacuation of Baton Rouge by the Federal forces. Ordered on to Baton +Rouge. Remained there a few days, when the battery returned to Port +Hudson with the exception of one section, which was left with one +regiment of infantry to occupy the city. Held it till retaken by the +Federals in December, when our small force successfully evacuated it +under the fire of the enemy's gunboats, and before the advance of +their infantry, which had landed. The battery remained at Port Hudson, +participating in all the operations of the forces there till May 1, +1863, when it was ordered to Williams's Bridge to intercept Grierson's +raid, arriving there a few hours after the raid had passed. + +"May 7. Ordered to Jackson, Mississippi, with Marcy's Brigade. + +"Participated in the Big Black campaign of General Johnston. + +"In position at Jackson, and engaged in the fighting around that place +from 10th to 16th of July, losing several men killed and wounded. + +"After the evacuation of Jackson, retreated with Johnston's army to +Forrest and Morton. Thence to Enterprise, and from there to Mobile, +and remained there till November 21, 1863, when ordered to the Army of +Tennessee. + +"Reached Dalton November 27, just after the defeat at Missionary +Ridge. + +"Spent the winter in building winter-quarters successively at Dalton +and Kingston, which were evacuated before occupied. + +"On the 1st of May, 1864, General Sherman advanced from Chattanooga +toward Dalton, and the great Georgia campaign commenced. From that +time till the 1st of September following, the Army of Tennessee was +almost constantly engaged with the enemy. + +"May 8 to 12. Battery in position at Mill Creek Gap, near Dalton, and +engaged with the enemy. They fell back to Resaca. Engaged on the 14th +of May in supporting charge by Stewart's Division upon the enemy. + +"On the 15th, battle of Oostenaula. The battery was divided, one +section on each side of a battery in a fortified work. The charge of +the enemy was most desperate, and they captured and held the +fortification, but were repulsed from the front of each section of +Fenner's Battery, which held their positions till night, and then +evacuated. Retreat of the army was continued to Calhoun, Adairsville, +Cassville, Centerville; engaged more or less at each of those points. + +"On the 25th of May occurred the battle of New Hope Church, one of the +finest fights of the war. It was an assault of the whole of Hooker's +Corps on Stewart's Division. The attack was almost a complete +surprise. Fenner's Battery went into position at a gallop, had several +horses killed while unlimbering, and fired canister at the first +discharge. The engagement was continuous for two hours, during the +whole of which time, owing to the thickness of the woods, the enemy's +skirmishers were enabled to maintain their position within from fifty +to one hundred yards, but their repeated charges were well repulsed. +The enemy's loss was terrific, admitted to be over two thousand, far +exceeding the number of our men engaged. Fenner's Battery lost +twenty-three men killed and wounded, and nearly all of its horses, and +was specially complimented in orders for gallantry and efficiency. + +"From this point, in continual conflict with the enemy, the army +gradually fell back till it reached Atlanta, around which continuous +fighting was kept up, until its evacuation on the 2d of September. + +"1st September. Battle of Jonesboro', in which the battery was +engaged. + +"This may be considered the end of the Georgia campaign. + +"After brief rest at Lovejoy's Station, the army commenced its long +march to Tennessee by Centre, Jacksonville, Gadsden, and Florence. + +"Left Florence November 20; arrived at Columbia, Tennessee, and struck +the enemy there November 26. Enemy evacuate on the 28th. + +"November 30. Battle of Franklin. + +"December 2. Reached Nashville. + +"December 6. Fenner's Battery was ordered to join General Forrest's +command at Murfreesboro'; participated in the battle of Murfreesboro' +on the 8th, and was still with Forrest when the battles of Nashville +were fought, on the 15th and 16th, and the great retreat commenced. + +"In this fight, which is called the second of Murfreesboro', it will +be remembered that Bates's Infantry Division was stampeded early in +the action, causing the loss of several guns of the Fifth Company, +Washington Artillery. On this occasion (one of the few instances, if +not the only one during the war) six pieces of field artillery, being +four Napoleons of Fenner's Battery and two rifled pieces of Missouri +Battery, placed in position by General Forrest,--their horses having +been sent to the rear across Stone River,--held the line for +three-quarters of an hour against the enemy's entire force until the +infantry and wagons had safely crossed the river on the only bridge +half a mile in the rear. + +"As soon as the news reached Forrest, his command started across from +Murfreesboro' to join the main column at Columbia. There was no +turnpike, the roads were in awful condition, the horses reduced and +broken down, and a continuous rain pouring down. Two of the guns +reached Columbia in safety; the other two would have been brought +through but for the swelling of a creek by the rain, which it was +impossible to cross,--the only guns the battery ever lost. The men +remained by them alone till Columbia was evacuated by our forces and +the enemy within a mile of them, when they destroyed their pieces, +swam Duck River, and started after the army. The terrors of the +retreat from Tennessee in midwinter, the men shoeless, without +blankets, and almost without clothes, need not be recounted here. + +"January 10. The battery reached Columbus, Mississippi. + +"January 31. Ordered to Mobile. Remained there as heavy artillery till +11th of April, when it was evacuated; go up the river to Demopolis; +from there to Cuba Station, Meridian, where, on the 10th of May, arms +are laid down and the battery with the rest of General Taylor's army." + +A member of the battery, who was an exceptional soldier, and who still +cherishes and venerates everything that reminds him of the glorious +past, has kindly placed in my hands some letters which I am permitted +to copy and here subjoin, feeling sure that they will prove quite as +interesting as the numerous documents of the kind published in the +"lives" of those high in authority, although they contain only the +experience of a young private soldier, conveyed in dutiful letters to +his mother. Some of these will suggest the changes which befell the +soldiers who gave the house-warming in Virginia, and the difference +between the first and last years of the war. + + "NEAR NEW HOPE CHURCH, GEORGIA, + + "May 26, 1864. + + "MY DEAR,--Knowing that you will be anxious to hear from me and the + company after the late fight, I avail myself of the first + opportunity to write. Stewart's Division of Hood's Corps arrived in + the vicinity of the Church yesterday morning. Soon after skirmishes + commenced, moving a mile off, and gradually approached us. By 3 + p.m. it commenced to near us, and 5 p.m. found us galloping into + position. Clayton's Brigade supported us behind log works, which + served as an excellent shelter for us from the minies. The Yankees + approached under cover of the woods to within two or three hundred + yards, where they made their lines. As soon as we could see where + they were we commenced firing into them, and kept it up until the + ammunition of the limber was expended. They made several charges, + but were repulsed by the infantry and artillery each time. Our loss + was heavy (artillery), the infantry not being as much exposed as we + were; their casualties were slight. At our howitzer Willie Brunet + was killed after firing some fifteen rounds. He was killed in the + act of giving the command to fire, the ball piercing him above the + left eye. Early had four wounded,--viz., Vaudry, painfully in the + breast; J.T. Pecot, painfully in the back; Eaton, in the wrist; + Corporal J----, ball in the side. At Carly's piece none were + killed, but McGrath and Joe Murphy were shot through the arm,--the + latter it is thought will lose his arm,--and young Ford. At + Woester's piece, R.A. Bridges was killed; Joe Bridges was shot in + the leg; McCarty, in the foot; Dunbar, in the thigh; Lieutenant + Cluverius, wounded in the side; Joe Reeves, through the leg; St. + Germain, foot. The loss in horses was heavy. Woester had all eight + horses of his piece killed, and his riding-horse. Lieutenant + Cluverius lost his horse 'Rebel,' who was shot in the head, and + died. Our detachment had three wounded; the horses saved themselves + by running away. In all, we lost twenty-three, and perhaps more. + Stanford was on our left, they lost about fifteen killed and + wounded; Oliver, sixteen. John Cooper has a welt on his shin from a + spent ball; John was driving and lost both horses. I was number six + at the limber until Willie was killed, when I acted as gunner. + McGregor ranks me, and hereafter I expect to be caisson-corporal. + General Clayton paid us the very highest compliment upon the manner + in which the guns were managed; '_too flattering_ to be + repeated,' as Captain Fenner remarked. 'Owing to the loss in + horses, men, and ammunition expended,' we were relieved and sent to + the rear to replenish. A couple of days may right us, when we will + again be in the front. Stewart did the fighting yesterday; I don't + believe any other division was engaged. A part of Polk's (if not + all) arrived about midnight. Since Polk's Corps joined us, I have + found several acquaintances, among whom are John Butler, lieutenant + of engineers; the two Spencer boys, in Cowan's Battery; and Ed. + Hoops, in Tenth Mississippi. They were all apparently well when I + saw them last, and inquired particularly of you. + + "Respectfully Yours, + + "----" + +I enclose a letter that we received from General Clayton on a copy of +the letter to the captain, with an extract from the general's report +of the battle of New Hope Church: + + "HEADQUARTERS, CLAYTON'S BRIGADE, + + "June 7, 1864. + + "CAPTAIN,--I take pleasure in making for you the following extract + from my report of the battle of New Hope Church. With renewed + expression of the profoundest acknowledgments for the signal + service you did the country, and particularly my brigade, of which + every officer and man speak in the highest terms, + + "Believe me, dear captain, + + "Yours always, + + "A.D. CLAYTON, + + "Brigadier-General." + + ("_Extract._") + + "For its conduct in the engagement too much praise cannot be + awarded to Fenner's Louisiana Battery, which occupied a position + along my line. Although the enemy came within fifty or sixty yards + of the guns, every officer and man stood bravely to his post." + +The following letter describing a Christmas dinner in 1864 presents +so true a picture of the situation, and at the same time so well +illustrates the soldierly spirit of the battery, that I publish it in +full: + + "RIENZA, MISSISSIPPI, January 4, 1865. + + "MY DEAR MOTHER,--An opportunity of writing now offers,--the first + since our leaving Florence, before going on our Tennessee campaign, + which has finally terminated so disastrously for us. Had orders + been obeyed and carried out at Spring Hill, there never would have + been a fight at Nashville. By some misunderstanding, the Yankee + army was allowed to cross at the above-named place without being + attacked. We followed on their tracks to Franklin, picking up + stragglers and prisoners all along the way, to the amount of + several hundred. + + "We left Columbia at daylight, marched twenty-three miles, and + fought the battle of Franklin before dark. Our battery did not take + part in the battle: we were in position, but, owing to the close + proximity of the two armies, could not fire,--we were under fire, + but no one was hurt. Stewart's and Cheatam's Corps with one + division from our corps, fought the battle. I passed over the field + next morning and saw _enough_ for never wanting to see another such + field. The men were actually lying in some portions of the trenches + _three deep_. Ours being the attacking party suffered + severely,--almost an equal loss to the Yankees. Our loss was about + forty-five hundred, and theirs five thousand, including prisoners. + Next day we started for Nashville, eighteen miles distant. Our + battery remained there till the 5th, when we were ordered to + Murfreesboro' to aid General Forrest in reducing that place. On the + 6th we arrived there, took position, and built works. Next day, on + account of a flank movement by the enemy, we had to move our + position back a mile. Soon the enemy appeared in our front, and + skirmishing commenced. The infantry fell back, leaving the + artillery to do the fighting without one musket to protect us. We + stayed as long as we could, when we finally had to follow the + footsteps of the infantrymen. The fight--there was none--nothing + but a big scare and run. General Forrest sent General Bateman with + his division to Nashville, but kept our battery with him. We lost + one man at Murfreesboro, I.T. Preston, brother of the Prestons of + Carrollton. We stayed in camp for seven days when General Forrest + determined to attack again and took one section of the battery with + him,--the other section, the one I belong to, was sent to protect + his wagon-train. Two days afterwards the army commenced its retreat + from Nashville (the particulars of which no doubt you have already + learned). Our march was over a muddy and rugged road for fifty + miles to Columbia. It was the severest march I ever undertook: we + pushed and worked at the wheels all the time. The horses finally + broke down, and we had to take oxen and yoke them in and drive + them. Can you imagine me up to my knees in mud, barefooted and + muddy, with a long pole, driving oxen. It was a very picturesque + scene, and no doubt the 'Yankee Illustrators' would pay a good + price for such a picture. I was about on a par with two-thirds of + the others, and we made as merry as possible under the + circumstances. We had no rations, and lived entirely on the people: + they treated us splendidly, gave us more than we could eat, and + left us duly indebted to them for their many kindnesses. I for one + will never forget the hospitality received in Tennessee. We + recrossed the Tennessee on the 26th of December. Christmas day was + quite an event to us. We were then out of Tennessee, in a poor + country, and could get very little to eat. All day myself and mess + were without food; late in the evening we saw a butcher-pen and + made for it; all we could get was oxtails and a little tallow + procured by a good deal of industry from certain portions of the + beef. One of the boys procured a lot of bran and unbolted flour and + at twelve o'clock at night we sat down at our Christmas dinner + (oxtail soup and biscuit), and if I ever enjoyed a meal I enjoyed + that one. The army is retiring to Okolona and the artillery to + Columbus, Mississippi. The barefooted men were left here to go by + rail. When we get away I cannot say. We had to leave two of our + pieces stuck in the mud, the other side of Columbus; the third + piece was thrown in the river; the fourth piece, the one I am + interested in, was saved and represents the battery." + +And here is the _last_, written from Demopolis, Alabama, April 15, +1865: + + "DEAR MOTHER,--You have heard ere this of the evacuation of Mobile, + which happened on the day of the eleventh. After the fall of + Spanish Fort and Blakely, all hope of holding Mobile was given up. + The works around the city were made to be manned by eight thousand, + but, after the capture of the garrison at Blakely, our forces were + too much reduced to hold the place. When evacuated, the place was + not threatened, but might have been completely invested in a week's + time. All the heavy guns were destroyed: we destroyed seven + twenty-four pounders. The total loss of guns must have amounted to + three hundred. We left Mobile by boat, and each man with a musket. + It is a heavy fall for us who have been in artillery for three + years, and now find ourselves as infantrymen, much to our displeasure. + As much as I dislike it, I shall keep my musket until something + better turns up...." + + +The history of the battery, from first to last, is that of thorough +soldiers, brave in battle, uncomplaining, cheerful, even _jolly_, +under the most trying circumstances, bearing with equanimity the +lesser ills of a soldier's life, with unshaken fortitude and +undiminished devotion to "The Cause," indescribable hardships and +discouragements. + +Proud as I am of their whole record, I must admire the noble spirit +which animated these patriots, when, at Mobile, having been deprived +of their cannon, they _cheerfully_ shouldered the muskets assigned to +them, and were prepared to use them, never dreaming that the bitter +end was so near. All soldiers will well understand that this was a +_crucial test_ of their devotion and patriotism. + +The exceptional talent which, during the war, these young men freely +gave in aid of every charity, was then only budding. Since the war, +splendid fruit has appeared. + +Perhaps no single company of veterans numbers among its members more +talented and remarkable men, or more prominent and loyal citizens. + +Of the "boys" who once composed Fenner's Louisiana Battery, a goodly +number yet survive. + +The ties of old comradeship bind them closely. Not one forgets the +glories of the past. True, + + "_Some_ names they loved to hear + Have been carved for many a year + On the tomb," + +but the survivors "close up" the broken ranks, and still preserve, in +a marked degree, the _esprit du corps_ which belonged to + + "The days that are no more." + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +"BOB WHEAT." + +_The Boy and the Man._ + +(Communicated.) + + +In the early summer of 1846, after the victories of Palo Alto and +Resaca de la Palma, the United States Army, under General Zachary +Taylor, lay near the town of Matamoras. Visiting the hospital quarters +of a recently-joined volunteer corps from "the States," I remarked a +bright-eyed youth of some nineteen years, wan with disease, but cheery +withal. The interest he inspired led to his removal to army +headquarters, where he soon recovered health and became a pet. This +was "Bob Wheat," son of an Episcopal clergyman, and he had left school +to come to the war. He next went to Cuba with Lopez, was wounded and +captured, but escaped the garroters to follow General Walker to +Nicaragua. + +Exhausting the capacity of South American patriots to _pronounce_, he +quitted their society in disgust, and joined Garibaldi in Italy, +whence his keen scent of combat summoned him home in time to receive a +bullet at Manassas. The most complete Dugald Dalgetty possible; he had +"all the defects of the good qualities" of that doughty warrior. + +Some months after the time of which I am writing, a body of Federal +horse was captured in the valley of Virginia. The colonel commanding, +who had dismounted in the fray, approached me. A stalwart, with huge +moustache, cavalry boots adorned with spurs worthy of a caballero, +slouched hat and plume; he strode along with the nonchalant air of one +who had wooed Dame Fortune too long to be cast down by her frowns. + +Suddenly Major Wheat near by sprung from his horse with a cry of +"Percy, old boy!" "Why, Bob!" was echoed back, and a warm embrace +followed. Colonel Percy Windham, an Englishman in the Federal service, +had parted from Wheat in Italy, where the pleasant business of killing +was then going on, and now fraternized with his friend in the manner +described. + +Poor Wheat! A month later he slept his last sleep on the bloody +battle-field of Cold Harbor. He lies there in a soldier's grave. + +Gallant spirit; let us hope that his readiness to die for his country +has made "the scarlet of his sins like unto snow." + + + + +PART II. + +FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +NELLY. + + +In the early autumn, on a lovely afternoon, a little girl sat upon the +stile which led from a spacious farmyard into a field of newly-mown +wheat. In her hand she held a long switch, and her business was to +watch the motions of a large flock of fowls, which, as is usual at +harvest-time, had been kept in their coop all day, and only let out +for an hour or two, just before sunset, to run about in the grassy +yard, seeking bugs and worms, or other dainties, which they alone know +how to find. + +Of course they could not be allowed in the field before the grain had +been safely garnered, so Nelly had been permitted to mount guard upon +the stile, the better to observe and control them. She quite felt the +importance of the trust, and, holding her switch as proudly as if it +had been a sceptre, was eager and quick to discover occasions to use +it. Many a staid and demure-looking hen, or saucy, daring young +chicken, had stolen quite near to her post, stopping every few moments +to peer cautiously around, or to peck at a blade of grass or an +imaginary worm, as if quite indifferent to the attractions presented +by the field beyond, but just as they had come close to the fence, +thinking themselves unnoticed, Nelly would jump from her perch, and, +with a _thwack_ of the switch, send them squawking back to their +companions. At length, however, the child seemed to grow weary of her +task. Slowly descending to the ground, she walked toward the barn, +and, returning with her apron full of corn, opened the door of the +chicken-house, and, having enticed her charge within, shut them up +for the night. This done, Nelly wandered aimlessly about for a while, +then, sitting down upon a large stone, which seemed to have been +rolled under a tree just to make a nice seat, she looked around +in an impatient and discontented manner. The sights and sounds +which surrounded her were very pleasant, and--one would have +imagined--exceedingly attractive to a child. The rays of the declining +sun, slanting across the grassy yard, brightened up the low, brown +farm-house until the old-fashioned glass door and latticed windows on +either side seemed as if brilliantly lighted from within. One might +easily have imagined it an enchanted castle. The mossy roof looked as +if gilded. In front of the house the well-bucket, hanging high upon +the sweep, seemed dropping gold into the depths beneath. On the porch, +upon a table scrubbed "white as the driven snow," were set the bright +tin pans ready to receive the evening's milk. Within the house the +maids were singing gayly as they passed to and fro preparing a +substantial supper for the farmer. Outside, the creaking wagons were +being driven into the barn-yard. Gentle oxen, released from their +daily toil, stood patiently waiting to be fed. Horses, with a great +deal of stamping and fuss, were led into the barn. Up the lane came +the cow-boy, alternately whistling, singing, and cracking his whip, +until at length the drove of sweet-breathed cows stood lowing at the +bars, which, at milking-time, would be let down for them to pass each +to her own stall. + +Nelly seemed to see and hear nothing that was passing around her. The +shadow upon her face deepened; the sweet blue eyes filled with tears. +At last she rose, and, crossing the stile, passed rapidly through the +wheat-field, climbed a low stone wall and presently came to a green +knoll, shaded by a sycamore-tree, commanding a view of the public +road. Here she stood, eagerly gazing down the road, while seemingly +struggling to subdue a sorrow which, however, soon found vent in +heart-broken sobs. Still searching the road with anxious, tearful +eyes, she seemed to hesitate for a while, but at last, after casting +many a fearful glance toward the farm-house, the little girl began to +descend the high bank, slipping many times, and sadly scratched by the +rough gravel and projecting roots of the trees. + +Having reached the bottom, she did not pause a moment, but drew her +light shawl over her head and ran swiftly away. And now let us try to +discover the cause of all this trouble. + +My dear young friends, have you ever heard of a disease called +"nostalgia?" A long, hard word, and one which contains a world of +terrible meaning. It is a kind of sickness which attacks not only +children, but also strong and wise men, who have been known to suffer, +nay, even to _die_, because they could not obtain the only remedy +which ever does any good. Nostalgia means homesickness. + +Poor little Nelly was homesick, and in desperation she had fled, +hoping to find, not her own dear, Southern home, for that she knew she +could never see again, but the house of her grandmamma, where she had +some time before left her dear mother. The little girl had, ever since +she could remember, lived very happily with her parents in their +lovely Virginia home. An only child, she was petted to her heart's +content, having scarcely a wish ungratified. But when the war began +her papa became a soldier. Nelly thought he looked very grand in his +uniform of gray with its red trimmings and bright buttons, and rather +liked the idea of having a soldier papa. But after he had gone away +she missed him dreadfully. Her mamma was always so pale and sad that +the child also grew anxious, and could no longer enjoy her play. At +first letters from the absent soldier cheered them, but as the months +passed they ceased to hear at all, except the wild rumors which often +frightened and distressed the anxious wife. "Maum Winnie," an old +negro servant, who claimed to have "raised Mars Ned" (Nelly's papa), +now proved a faithful friend and a great comfort to her mistress; but +Nelly, missing the old woman's cheerful talk and the laugh that used +often to shake her fat sides, thought she had grown cross and +exacting. + +The bright morning sunlight sometimes made the little girl forget to +be sorrowful, and when her "Ponto" came frisking around her, she +gladly joined him in a wild romp. Immediately Maum Winnie would +appear, the very picture of dignified astonishment,--"Now, Miss Nelly, +_ain't_ you 'shame'? Yer pore mar she bin had a mity onrestless night, +an' jes' as she 'bout to ketch a nap o' sleep, yere you bin start all +dis 'fusion. Now, her eye dun pop wide open, an' she gwine straight to +studyin' agin." The days passed, each made more gloomy by rumors of +the near approach of the enemy. At last, one dreadful night, a +regiment of Federal soldiers suddenly appeared, and at midnight Nelly +and her mamma were compelled to seek shelter in Maum Winnie's cabin. +The next morning only a heap of smoking ruins remained to show where +their sweet home had been. + +The plantation owned by Nelly's papa was some three miles distant from +the family residence; therefore, only the few servants necessary for +household service lived upon the "home place." Their cabins, somewhat +removed from the house, had escaped the flames. Maum Winnie's was +larger and better furnished than any, and far more attractive in +appearance. A rustic fence, built by her old husband, "Uncle Abe" +(long since dead), enclosed a small yard, where grew all kinds of +bright, gaudy "posies," with here and there a bunch of mint or parsley +or sage, and an occasional stalk or two of cabbage. Over the little +porch were trained morning-glories and a flourishing gourd vine. +Beneath, on each side, ran a wide seat, where, in the shade, Maum +Winnie used to sit with her knitting, or nodding over the big Bible +which on Sunday evening she always pretended to read. The neat fence +was now broken down, the bright flowers all trampled and crushed by +the feet of men and horses. Inside also, the once spotless floor was +muddy and stained with tobacco, all the old woman's treasures being +broken and scattered. Amid all this confusion, in the little front +room, once the pride of Winnie's heart, was carefully placed almost +the only thing saved from the burning, an easy-chair, cushioned upon +the back and sides, and covered with old-fashioned chintz. How the +faithful soul had managed to get it there no one could have told, but +there it stood, and Winnie said, "Dat ar wos ole mistes' cheer, and +she sot in it plum twill she die. Ole Winnie couldn't stan' an' see +_dat_ burn, nohow." Upon the little porch sat Nelly and her mamma on +the morning after the fire, worn out with excitement, and feeling +utterly forlorn. Soon Winnie appeared, bearing upon a gay red tray two +steaming cups of coffee. Mrs. Grey took only a sip or two, then +setting the cup upon the bench at her side, she grasped the arm of her +old servant, and, leaning her head upon the faithful breast, began to +sob and moan piteously. Nelly at this also cried bitterly. Tears +streamed down Winnie's fat black cheeks. But the faithful negro tried +to soothe and comfort her mistress, patting her shoulders as if she +had been a baby, saying, "Dah! Dah! honey, don't take it so haad. Try +to truss in de Lawd. He dun promus, an' he aint gwine back on nobody. +I's dun sperience _dat_." + +At last, won by Nelly's caresses and Maum Winnie's coaxing, the weary +lady consented to take some repose in "ole missis' cheer," where, +leaning her aching head upon the cushioned side, she fell asleep. + +Nelly greatly enjoyed the strong coffee (which she never before had +been allowed to drink). It made her feel very wide awake. Presently +she strolled off toward the adjoining cabins. These were quite empty, +the men-servants having disappeared with the Federal soldiers the +night before, the women had followed to their camp not far distant. +Not a living thing was to be seen; even the chickens had disappeared. +The whole scene was very desolate,--the smoking ruins, the deserted +cabin, a cloudy sky. Soon the child remembered her playfellow, Ponto, +and began to call him. A doleful whine answered her, seeming to +proceed from under one of the negro cabins. Nelly stooped to look, but +could only see two glowing eyes, and hear the knocking of the dog's +tail upon the ground. Ponto had been so badly frightened that no +coaxing or ordering would induce him to come out. So his little +mistress walked angrily away, and, passing through the broken gate, +stood looking up and down the road. Presently there came riding along +a Federal officer on horseback, who, discovering the forlorn child, +stopped to speak to her. + +Nelly's first impulse was to run away, but, instead, she stood +clinging to the gate-post, kicking the ground with one foot and +flashing angry glances at the "Yankee." The officer sighed deeply as +his glance fell upon the ruined home, and then upon the little, +tear-stained face before him. Dismounting, he approached more closely, +and strove to take the unwilling hand. But the child now broke into a +storm of sobs, crying out, "Go away! you're a naughty Yankee, and I +hate you. 'You alls' have burnt up my mamma's pretty house, and all +our things, and my mamma just cries and cries; but my papa is gone to +fight the 'Yankees,' and I hope he will shoot them all!" + +The soldier slowly paced back and forth. "Ah," said he, softly, "if +this were my little Ida: God bless her! Little girl, where is your +mamma? Perhaps I can help her. Will you lead me to her?" + +The child had hidden her face upon her arm, but now looked up in +affright. "You won't hurt my mamma? You ar'n't going to burn up Maum +Winnie's house?" said she. + +Gradually his kind face and gentle manner reassured her, and she was, +at last, persuaded to convey to her mother a few lines which he +pencilled on a card. To Nelly's surprise, Mrs. Grey consented to +receive the "Yankee." The little girl was sent to conduct him to the +cabin. The lady was standing at the door as the officer and his little +escort drew near. Nelly thought she had never seen her mamma look so +pretty. Her eyes were shining, a lovely red spot glowed upon each +cheek, but she did not smile as she used to do when receiving a guest, +and, while offering the stranger a seat, she remained standing, +looking very tall and grand. + +During the conversation which followed, Mrs. Grey learned that as a +battle was imminent at the front it was impossible to pass her through +the lines (which had been her hope when she consented to see the +officer). It was equally impossible to remain where she was. Her only +place of refuge was her mother's home in Maryland, where she had been +raised, and had lived previous to her marriage. + +Promising to arrange for her transportation to the nearest railroad +station, the kind-hearted officer took his leave. + +When Maum Winnie was told of the proposed journey, she was greatly +troubled. But when Mrs. Grey further informed her that she was free +and not expected to make one of the party, her distress knew no +bounds. Rushing out of the cabin, she seated herself on a log at some +distance, and, throwing her apron over her head, rocked her body to +and fro, wailing out, "Oh, my hebbenly Marster, 'pears like I aint +fitten to bar all dis trouble. An' how dem dar gwine to do 'out ole +Winnie?" + +After a while, drawing her pipe and tobacco from her pocket, she +sought the comfort of a smoke. Just then, Ruthy, the cook, made her +appearance with a large bucket on her head. Flaunting past the old +woman, she entered the kitchen without a word, and set about preparing +a supper for the hungry inmates of the cabin. Where the material came +from she declared was "her bizness," and her saucy manner and +independent talk so confounded Maum Winnie that she asked no more +questions, concluding that "Mars Yankee sont 'em an' made dat gal +fotch 'em." + +Mrs. Grey and Nelly had few preparations to make for the morrow. The +child, soon after sunset, threw herself across the foot of the high +feather-bed which stood in a corner of the cabin, and slept soundly. +Maum Winnie, taking off her shoes, bustled about in her stocking-feet, +apparently very busy. Her movements were for some time unobserved by +her mistress, who was lost in thought. At last, kneeling before the +fireplace, she reached up the chimney and brought out from its +hiding-place an old, black tea-pot, with a broken spout. From this she +took several papers of dried "yarbs," some watermelon-seed, an old +thimble, a broken tea-spoon, a lock of "de ole man's ha'r," and +lastly, the foot of an old stocking, firmly tied up. + +This last it took some time to undo, but finally, approaching Mrs. +Grey, she turned out into the astonished lady's lap what proved to be +a collection of gold and silver coins, the hoarded savings of years, +the gift of many whom she had served. + +"Why, Winnie," said Mrs. Grey, "what does this mean? Where did you get +this money, and why do you give it to me?" + +"Wall, Miss Ellen, yo' see, ez fur back ez ole mass an' mistes' time, +me an' my ole man usen to wait on de wite genplums an' ladies wot come +to de big house, an' de ole man he mity clus-fisted, an' nebber spen' +nuffin, an' sence he die, an' ole mass an' miss dey gone, too, Mars +Ned he dun tuk mity good keer of ole Winnie, an' I nebber bin had no +excessity to spend dat money, so I's kep' it an' kep' it, ontwill +'pears like de Lawd he dun pint out de way fur it to go. 'Sides, we +all's gwine way off yander, an' we can't 'pear _no ways_ 'spectable +'dout little cash money." + +"But, Winnie, only Nelly and I are going away. You are free now, and +will find other friends, and--" + +"Dah! dah! honey," broke in the poor old creature, "don' say no mo'! +I's _'bleeged_ to go 'long. Wat I want to be free for? Who gwine keer +'bout me? 'Sides, I dun promus Mars Ned I gwine to see to you an' dat +chile yander, an' I's gwine 'long _shuah_." + +Wearied and exhausted with the discussion, and unwilling to grieve her +husband's faithful old nurse, who still clung to her own fallen +fortunes, Mrs. Grey ceased to object, but resolutely refused to take +the money, which Winnie reluctantly gathered up and carried out of the +room, to seek among the numerous secret pockets she always wore a +secure hiding-place for her treasure. This decided upon, while Mrs. +Grey sank into an uneasy slumber in the chair, the old woman made a +little fire just outside the back shed, where, with her pipe now +lighted and now "dead out," she nodded and dozed until morning. + +Nelly awoke at sunrise, bewildered at her strange surroundings, then +oppressed and sadly grieved by recollections of all that had happened. +Catching sight of her mother's pale, suffering face, the child flew to +her side, seeking to cheer her by fond caresses. + +Just then the sound of wheels was heard as the ambulance-wagon, which +was to convey them to the railroad, drew up before the door. The +driver dismounting, announced that, as the camp was about to be broken +up, Colonel ---- desired the ladies to start at once, adding that "the +colonel would ride over to see them off." + +Their loss by the fire had been so complete that there was no baggage. +Nelly was glad to wear a clean, white sun-bonnet of Winnie's, and Mrs. +Grey was similarly equipped with a black one and a small black shawl. +Maum Winnie appeared in full Sunday rig, her head crowned with a +towering head-handkerchief. Her manner was lofty and imposing. +Evidently she was aiming to support the family dignity, which had been +quite lost sight of by the others, Mrs. Grey being far too sorrowful, +and Nelly, in spite of everything, gay and excited at the prospect of +a ride and a change. Putting on her brass-rimmed spectacles, the old +woman inspected, with an air of supreme contempt, the "turnout" before +the door, occasionally rolling her eyes toward the driver in a manner +that spoke volumes, but was quite lost upon "dat po' wite trash, who +'spected Miss Ellen to git in dat ole market-wagon." After the others +were seated, Winnie disappeared within the cabin, and, after much +delay, came out dragging an immense bundle. She had tied up in a +gorgeous bed-quilt her feather-bed and pillows with,--nobody knows how +many things besides. + +The driver sprang to the ground in consternation. + +"Hey, old nigger, what's in that great bundle? You can't lug that +along. What you got in there, anyhow?" + +"Dat my bizness," retorted Winnie. "You is too inquisity; 'sides, who +you call nigga'? I's a 'spectable cullud ooman, and Mars Ned nebber +'low nobody to call me outen my name." + +Mrs. Grey vainly tried to restore peace; her voice was not even heard; +but just then Colonel ---- rode up, and as Winnie seemed inclined to +stand her ground, he gave her a choice between mounting at once to a +seat beside the driver or being left behind. Then perceiving that Mrs. +Grey seemed quite overcome by emotion, and wishing to remove her as +quickly as possible from the desolate scene before her, he gave the +order to drive on, and, raising his hat, rode off towards camp before +the lady could find voice to express her gratitude. A few hours' ride +brought the refugees to the railroad station, where they took the cars +for ----, the home of Nelly's grandmamma. Here a warm welcome and +entire comfort awaited them. Nelly had often spent weeks at a time +with her grandmamma, and was delighted to find all her old haunts as +pleasant as ever. Her dolls, toys, books, etc., had been carefully +kept. Better than all, she discovered a fine Newfoundland puppy and a +litter of pretty white kittens to console her for the loss of Ponto. + +One day, when they had been at grandmamma's only a fortnight, Nelly +saw a neighboring farmer drive up to the front gate, and ran gladly to +meet him, for farmer Dale was a cheery old man, who had always seemed +very fond of the child. Now, however, he looked very grave, merely +shaking hands, then bidding Nelly tell her grandmamma that he must see +her at once, "and, Nelly, you need not come back," said he, "I have +business with your grandma." Soon after the farmer drove away, while +grandmamma returned to the house, wearing a very serious face, and +after sitting in the darkened parlor awhile, apparently thinking +deeply, passed slowly into her daughter's room. Then Nelly heard a +faint cry from her mamma, and hurrying into the house, found her +excitedly walking up and down, wringing her hands, and crying, "I must +go to him! I must, I must!" A letter received by farmer Dale from his +son, who was a Confederate soldier, had contained the news that Mr. +Grey was wounded and a prisoner. Just where was unknown, or whether +his wounds were severe or perhaps fatal. This news rendered the poor +wife almost frantic. All night she paced the floor in sleepless agony. +Next day the farmer paid a second visit, and was for a long time +closeted with the distressed ladies. Afterward, Mrs. Grey seemed more +restless than before, requiring the constant attention of both +grandmamma and Maum Winnie. Thus a week passed. + +Suddenly, one morning farmer Dale again appeared, and this time very +smiling and gracious to Nelly. + +"Chatterbox," said he, "how would you like to ride home with me and +stay awhile, until your mother gets better? You can run about over +there, and make all the noise you want to; nobody will mind it." + +Nelly could not tell whether she would like or not. It was very dull +where she was, but she did not care to leave her poor mamma. +Grandmamma, however, decided the matter by assuring her that Mrs. Grey +needed perfect quiet, and would be better without her. So the little +girl ran off to Maum Winnie to be dressed for her ride. + +Arrived at the farm-house, the kindness of the family, and the novelty +of everything she saw, so charmed the child that for a while she was +quite content. Little tasks were, by her own request, assigned to her, +easy and pleasant, but seeming to the child of great consequence. But, +in spite of all, homesickness attacked her; she grew weary of +everything, and begged to be taken to her mamma. The kind farmer and +his wife tried to turn her thoughts from the subject, telling her she +could not go just then; but day by day Nelly became more dissatisfied, +the longing for home grew stronger, until, on the evening when this +begins, she actually ran away. And now let us see what became of her. + +Once on the road, Nelly ran very fast, until, almost breathless, she +found herself compelled to rest awhile in a little grove by the +roadside. Scarcely had she seated herself upon the grass when the +steady trot, trot of a horse was heard. She had barely time to hide +behind a large tree when one of the farm-hands passed on his way from +the mill. It seemed to Nelly that the slight rustle of the leaves +under her feet must betray her, and the loud beatings of her heart be +heard. But the boy passed on, and soon his low whistle, as well as the +measured beat of the horse's hoofs, grew fainter. + +However, all danger was not over, for just as she was about to venture +forth, the panting of some animal startled her. For a moment her +terror was extreme. This changed to chagrin and vexation as Rover, the +farmer's dog, ran to her hiding-place and fawned upon her. Having +followed the farm-boy to the distant mill, the poor dog, growing weary +with his long run, had fallen far behind. Now Rover and the little +girl had been great friends, and had enjoyed many a romp together, but +just then his presence made her very cross; so, seizing a large stick, +she beat the poor fellow until he ran yelping away. + +Left alone once more, Nelly set off in the direction of town. Having +often, in her rides with grandmamma, passed along the same road, she +thought she knew the way; but night was approaching. It appeared to +the child that darkness must bring added danger. Besides, she would +soon be missed at the farm, pursued, overtaken, and carried back. This +dread gave her fresh courage, and again the young traveller walked +rapidly on. Before she had gone far, a light wagon overtook her. In +its driver she gladly recognized an old man who sometimes supplied her +grandmamma with vegetables. He drew up in great astonishment as Nelly +called to him, but at her request allowed her to climb to the seat +beside him. As they approached the town, the heart of the runaway +began to sink; a sense of her disobedience, and the knowledge that it +would add to the grief of her dear mother, and, perhaps, greatly +displease grandmamma, oppressed her sorely. She decided that she could +not face them just then. Begging the old man to put her down at the +nearest corner, the unhappy little girl approached the house by a back +entrance, and, concealed amid the shrubbery, stood trembling and +weeping. The lamps had been lighted, and from the windows of the +dining-room a bright ray shone out upon the lawn, seeming almost to +reach the place where the child was hidden. Within was a pleasant +little group gathered around the tea-table. To her great surprise, +Nelly discovered her mother busily engaged in arranging upon a waiter +covered with a white napkin a nice supper, while grandmamma added a +cup of steaming tea. Winnie stood by as if waiting to carry supper to +somebody, but Nelly was puzzled to know for whom it was intended. Just +then, however, the gate-bell rang loudly. Winnie hurriedly caught up +the waiter and disappeared as the opposite door opened to admit farmer +Dale. His first words seemed greatly to disturb and alarm the ladies. +Grandmamma quickly arose with a cry of grief and horror. Mrs. Grey +stood motionless, her eyes fixed on the farmer's face, her hands +pressed to her heart. + +Nelly could bear no more. Rushing impetuously into the house, she +threw both her arms around her frightened mother, crying,-- + +"Oh, mamma, grandmamma, I am not lost, but I have been so naughty. I +wanted you so, and I ran away. Oh, let me stay; please let me stay." + +The mother sank into a chair, her arms instinctively enfolding her +naughty child, but she did not kiss or welcome her. Grandmamma, too, +looked very grave and troubled. After a few minutes of painful +silence, the farmer took his leave, saying,-- + +"I'll leave you to settle with the little one. I must make haste to +relieve my wife's anxiety." + +After his departure, the penitent nestled more closely to her mother. +She felt sure of her love and forgiveness, and hoped that grandmamma +might not be too severe, although she fully expected a good scolding +and some kind of punishment besides, which she meant to bear quite +meekly. To her surprise, neither mentioned her fault. Her mother +seemed to be thinking of something else, and Nelly did not at all +understand the queer looks which passed between the ladies. At last +Winnie put her head in the door, evidently to deliver some message, +for she began, "Mars--," when Mrs. Grey started up suddenly, saying,-- + +"Oh, Winnie, here is our Nelly," while the child sprang forward to +throw herself on the breast of her astonished nurse. + +"De Lawd er Massy! Whar dat chile cum from dis time o' nite?" + +"Why, Winnie," explained grandmamma, "she has run away from the farm, +and here she is. Did you ever hear of such badness?" + +"Dah, now!" cried the negro, "didn't I tole you dat? I jest know dat +chile wasn't gwine to stay nowhar 'dout her mar an' me. Po' chile, she +look mity bad, 'deed she do." + +"Well, Winnie, never mind that now, she is only tired; let her eat her +supper and go to bed." + +Nelly had expected, at the very least, to be sent supperless to bed, +but instead, grandma gave her all she could eat, and, but for the +strange preoccupied manner which so puzzled her, the child would have +been very comfortable. When, led by her mamma and attended by Winnie, +she went up-stairs she found that her couch had been removed into her +grandmamma's room. "You will be better here," explained Mrs. Grey, +"for I am very restless and might disturb you." + +Nelly was just conscious of an unusual bustle in the passage outside, +and of hearing voices and footsteps going up to the third story; but, +too sleepy to pay attention, she soon ceased to hear anything. + +When she awoke the morning was far advanced, and her grandmamma was +not in the room. While she lay thinking over the strange events of the +day before, Maum Winnie appeared with some fresh, clean clothes upon +her arm. + +"Mornin', little missy," said she, pleasantly; "is you gwine ter sleep +all day?" + +Nelly sprang up and was soon dressed. Running into her mamma's room, +she found it all in order, the sweet wind and the morning sun coming +in freely through the open windows. Mrs. Grey, however, was not there; +nor did she find her in the breakfast-room, where only grandmamma sat +waiting to give the child her breakfast. Upon the sideboard stood a +tray which had contained breakfast for somebody; Nelly wondered who, +and suddenly asked,-- + +"Is mamma sick?" + +"No, she is quite well now," was the reply. + +"Well, did she eat breakfast with you?" + +"Yes." + +The child again glanced toward the sideboard, and at last asked +plainly,-- + +"Whose breakfast is that yonder, and who did you all send supper to +last night?" + +"Nelly," said her grandmamma, sharply, "eat your breakfast, and ask no +more questions. Little girls should be seen and not heard." + +The child obeyed, but remained curious, and determined to find out the +mystery, if she could. Soon her mother came in, kissed her +affectionately, and stood for a few moments by her chair, smoothing +back her curls just as she used to do. Nelly thought gladly of the +happy day she would spend at her mother's side, but Mrs. Grey +disappointed her by saying,-- + +"My daughter, you must play as quietly as possible to-day, and don't +run or romp near the house. I am far from well, and very nervous." + +The little girl, however, drew her mother out of the room upon the +vine-shaded gallery, where they walked up and down for a few moments. +But Mrs. Grey still seemed ill at ease, and soon returned within the +house. Then Nelly ran down the steps and across the lawn in search of +her old playmates, the kittens and the puppy, visited the garden and +summer-house, where she occupied herself in arranging a bouquet for +her mamma. At last it seemed to her that it must be nearly twelve +o'clock; so returning to the house, and finding the lower rooms +deserted, she wandered into the kitchen, where she found Maum Winnie +broiling some birds and preparing some nice toast, while near by upon +the kitchen-table was a waiter ready to carry up the delicate lunch to +somebody. Nelly at once began,-- + +"Oh, Maum Winnie, who are those birds for? Where is the cook? What are +you in the kitchen cooking for?" + +Winnie seemed wonderfully flurried and confused by all these questions, +and Nelly was equally disconcerted at finding the old woman so cross. + +"Jes' listen to de chile!" cried Winnie. "Wot you makin' all dis +miration 'bout? I nebber seed nobody so inquisity as you is. De cook +she dun leff, an' I's cookin' ontwill yer grandmar git somebody. Ef +you don' belieb me, ax yer mar. Ennyhow, I's gwine to 'quaint yer mar +with yer conduck, axin' so many perterment questions." + +"But, who are the birds for?" persisted Nelly. "I know mamma never +eats birds, and grandmamma isn't sick." + +"I 'clar, Miss Nelly, _I's_ outdone wid you. Go outer heah, 'fore I +calls yer grandmar." + +Nelly left, still very curious and dissatisfied. + +Having wandered about aimlessly for a while, the little girl at last +strayed into the empty parlor, and there sat down to consider. +Suddenly she heard a stealthy step upon the stairs. At the same time a +faint odor of broiled birds saluted her nostrils. Nelly crept softly +to the door, just in time to see her grandma ascending the flight of +stairs leading to the third story. "Now," thought the child, "I will +find out what all this means." + +Waiting until the old lady had passed out of sight in the corridor +above, she stealthily followed. All the doors of the rooms in the +third story were closed, but through an open transom came the sound of +voices. Listening eagerly, she heard her mamma speaking, and in reply +a voice which set her heart beating wildly and made her dizzy with +surprise. In a moment she was vainly striving to open the locked door, +screaming loudly, "Papa! oh, papa!" Instantly the door was opened, and +she found herself dragged inside the room, her grandma's hand placed +closely over her mouth, while her mother, in a hoarse whisper, said, +"Nelly, for _pity's sake hush, no one must know_." Gazing about her +with wildly-distended eyes, the frightened girl beheld, reclining in +an easy-chair by the bedside, her dear papa, but, oh, so pale, so +changed. A small table drawn closely to his side so as to project over +the arm of the chair held a large pillow covered with oil-cloth, upon +this lay one arm, which, with the shoulder, was entirely bare; just +under the collar-bone appeared a frightful wound, over which Mrs. Grey +was preparing to lay a linen cloth wet with cool water. Nelly gasped +for breath and turned very white, but when her papa held out his well +hand towards her with the old sweet smile she so well remembered, she +ran to his side and nestled there, still trembling and sobbing, for +she had been frightened, first by the rough treatment of her grandma, +and yet more by the changed appearance of the dearly-loved father, +who, as it seemed to her, must be dying. As further concealment was +useless, Nelly was taken into the confidence of the ladies, who, +however, seemed almost in despair lest the child in some thoughtless +manner should betray the _secret so anxiously guarded_. + +A short time before the visit to the farm a dreadful battle had been +fought in Virginia, not many miles from the State-line, near which +stood the house of Nelly's grandma. It so happened that the regiment +to which Mr. Grey belonged had participated in the fight, and at the +conclusion he found himself badly wounded and a prisoner. Having been +ill previously, the wounded soldier was unable to be marched off with +other prisoners, but was left, as all supposed, to die. The tide of +battle rolled on, leaving the field where the fight began strewn with +the dying and the dead. A blazing sun poured its intolerable light and +heat upon the upturned faces and defenceless heads of hundreds of +suffering, dying men, adding frightful tortures to the pain of their +wounds. When the dews of night came to moisten parched lips, to cool +aching brows, Mr. Grey managed to drag himself to a stump near by, and +placing his back against it, waited hoping to gain a little more +strength. His mouth was parched and dry, but he had not a drop of +water. Suddenly his eyes fell upon a canteen lying at no great +distance, almost within reach of his hand; with infinite pain and +trouble he at last possessed himself of it. It was not quite empty, +but just as Mr. Grey was about to drink, he heard a deep groan, and +turning, met the imploring eyes of a Federal soldier. He was but a +youth, and had been shot through the body and mortally wounded. His +parched lips refused to speak, only the earnest eyes begged for water. +Mr. Grey at once handed him the canteen, although he felt almost as if +he would die for want of the water it contained. Eagerly the dying boy +drank. It seemed as if he must take all, there was so very little, but +after a swallow or two he resolutely handed it back, gasping, "God +bless ----. Left you some." When the moon arose, its rays fell upon +the dead young face of the boy in his gory blue, whose last words had +been a blessing upon the wounded, exhausted soldier in gray sitting +beside him. + +Later came help,--old men who, starting when the first news of the +battle reached them, had ridden miles guided by the sound of the +firing. Most of them were Marylanders, who had sent forth their sons +to battle for the Confederate cause, and who now sought among the dead +and dying with dim, anxious eyes for the loved faces they yet prayed +not to find. Among them came farmer Dale, whose son was a Confederate +soldier. Eagerly he examined the faces of those who lay upon the +bloody field. All, however, were strange, until at last he came upon +Mr. Grey. Carefully assisting him to reach an old cabin which stood +near, he made the suffering man as comfortable as possible, then, +without loss of time, set out to convey the news to Mrs. Grey. Now, it +would seem that the very easiest thing would have been to carry the +wounded soldier at once to the house of his wife's mother to be nursed +and _cared_ for, but it must be remembered that the Federal army had +been shown in many ways that they were considered as invaders by the +people of Maryland, and that their presence was obnoxious and hateful. +They, on the other hand, considered all Southern sympathizers as +traitors to their flag and their country. Every open expression of +such feelings was severely punished. Had it been known that any +Confederate soldier was harbored or concealed in any house within the +Federal lines, the owners would have been arrested together with the +soldier they had hidden, their house would probably have been burned. +So it was necessary in the case of Mr. Grey to observe great secrecy +and to plan carefully his removal. + +My readers will remember that Nelly was suddenly sent off to stay at +the farm-house. Then Maum Winnie took occasion to pick a quarrel with +the white servants, in which she succeeded so well that they both left +in high displeasure. Shortly afterward, one dark night, Farmer Dale +drove up to the carriage gate with a high-piled load of hay. There was +a great deal of "geeing" and "hawing" and fuss, and then, instead of +getting down, the farmer called out,-- + +"Say, are you all asleep?" + +At once Maum Winnie's voice was heard inquiring,-- + +"Who dat?" + +"Hey, old girl, come down here and open the gate. I've brought your +hay, but I got stalled on the way, and it's too late to put it up +to-night. I'll have to drive the wagon in and leave it. I'll unload it +in the morning." + +Maum Winnie shut the window, and soon was heard shuffling along the +carriage-road, grumbling to herself. + +"'Fore do Lawd, I _is_ plum wore out. I dun wuk sence sun-up, an' dere +dat ar fodder fotch here jes' es I gwine ter lie down." + +This pretence of ill-humor was kept up until the wagon was well out of +sight from the street and driven up under a shed close by the +kitchen-door, when poor old Maum Winnie came up close and whispered,-- + +"_Is_ you brung Mars Ned shure 'nuff? Oh, _whar_ he? tell Winnie +_whar_ he!" + +Just then the two ladies stole out from the house and came close to +the wagon. Both seemed calm and self-possessed, save that the hurried +breathing of Mrs. Grey showed her excitement. A light might have +betrayed them, and they dared not run any risks. No time was now to be +lost. Mr. Grey was, indeed, concealed among the hay, and needed +immediate attention, for the long ride had greatly increased the pain +and fever of his wound. + +Slowly he crept out from his hiding-place, and, with the assistance of +the farmer and Winnie, managed to reach an upper room, where he sank +exhausted, yet with a contented sigh, on the comfortable bed which had +been for days awaiting him. + +Under the loving care of the ladies and Maum Winnie he slowly +improved. No one had suspected his presence in the house until Nelly +discovered him, as above related. + +Mr. Grey scarcely dared to hope that the little girl would be able to +keep the secret, but all was explained to her. She was made to +understand the extreme danger to all concerned in case of discovery. +The trust reposed in her made the child feel quite womanly. Every day +she became more helpful, a greater comfort to her anxious mamma, +better able to assist in nursing. + +Weeks passed, bringing renewed health and strength to the soldier, who +began to feel very anxious to rejoin his command. Various plans were +discussed, but none appeared practicable. Rumors of an advance of the +Confederate forces, and of an impending battle, became every day more +like certainties. At last, one morning all were startled by the sound +of heavy guns; later, volleys of musketry could be plainly heard. +Federal troops marched at double-quick through the town, on their way +to the scene of strife. All day the fight raged. Sometimes the sound +of firing would seem nearer, then farther off; at nightfall it ceased. +When it became quite dark, Mr. Grey, bidding them all farewell, +hurriedly left the house, hoping to join some detachment of +Confederates during the night, and to participate in the battle next +day. + +The next day was fought the battle of ----, which raged almost in +sight of the town. Nelly was, of course, in a state of great alarm and +excitement, but both her mamma and grandma were carefully preparing +the house for the reception of the wounded. Soon every room was +occupied, and the ladies had their hands full in attending to them. On +the second day a wounded Federal was brought to the house. While +nursing him, Mrs. Grey learned that he was a private in the regiment +commanded by Colonel ----, the officer who had so kindly assisted in +her time of need. He told her that the colonel had been terribly +wounded and carried to a hospital on the battle-field. Mrs. Grey at +once determined to find him, and, if still alive, to do him all the +good in her power. So, summoning farmer Dale, she rode with him to the +hospital. Being an officer, Colonel ---- was easily found. He had just +suffered amputation of an arm, and was weak from loss of blood, but +recognizing Mrs. Grey, smiled and seemed glad to see her. It was +impossible to move him, but from that time he lacked nothing that +could add to his comfort. Later, Nelly was allowed to visit him, +frequently bringing flowers, and in many pleasant ways cheering his +loneliness. + +Meanwhile the Confederate forces had swept on into Pennsylvania, but, +alas, were forced back. When they returned to Virginia, Mrs. Grey and +Nelly went with them, for both preferred to risk all chances rather +than to remain within the Federal lines, cut off from all +communication with the husband and father who might at any time need +their services. So they became "refugees," living as did thousands of +homeless ones, as best they might. Maum Winnie having proved her skill +as a nurse, found plenty of employment. Her wages, added to the little +Mrs. Grey could earn by her needle, kept them from absolute want. At +last came the sad day of "the surrender." + +Nelly was yet too young to understand the sorrow and despair of her +mother, nor could she refrain from exceeding wonder when one day Mr. +Grey appeared, looking like an old and haggard man, and without a +greeting to his wife and child, tottered to a seat, throwing his arms +upon the table, burying his face within them, while be moaned and +sobbed as only a man can. Kneeling by his side, his wife tried to +soothe and comfort him, but although he was able at last to restrain +his grief, it was many a day before he was seen to smile. + +There was nothing left for the impoverished family but to return to +the old Virginia home, and try to make the best of it. They were +compelled to travel as best they could, sometimes walking many miles, +sometimes taking advantage of a passing wagon. At last one evening, +just as the sun was setting, they approached the home-place, once a +blooming paradise, now a desert waste. The cabin of Maum Winnie with a +few of the servants' houses were still standing, but deserted and +desolate. Doors, log fireplaces, etc., had been torn down for +firewood, and in many places patches of charred wood, or dead embers, +showed where camp-fires had been lighted. The little garden in front +of Maum Winnie's cabin, made and carefully tended by "de ole man," was +a wilderness of weeds among which flowers of rank growth still +struggled for a place. Where the chimneys of the "house" still stood, +and all over the half-burned trunks of once beautiful trees crept and +clung sickly-looking vines, springing from the roots which had once +nourished a luxuriant growth and were not wholly dead. + +As Mr. Grey surveyed the scene, a deep groan burst from his lips; but +the wife laid her hand upon his shoulder, saying, "Courage, dear, we +will make a home even here." Maum Winnie here stepped to the front, +briskly leading the way to the little cabin, followed by Nelly, who, +child-like, entered readily into any plan that promised to be novel +and exciting. Everything of value had been carried off, but a few +chairs and a bed with a shuck mattress remained, together with a few +pots and pans. The fireplaces were also ready for use. Winnie soon had +a cheerful fire, while Nelly set out on the top of a box the remains +of the rations they had brought along, and which with some steaming +coffee of parched corn formed the evening meal. + +Ten years later a plain but tasteful cottage occupied the site of the +ruined home. Fast-growing vines were doing their best to rival the +luxuriant foliage which once almost hid the old house. A well-kept +garden perfumed the air and delighted the eye. Fields ripe for the +harvest occupied the land where the negro cabins had stood, forming an +effective background to the newly-repaired and whitewashed house of +Maum Winnie, which stood, a pleasant feature of this scene of peace +and plenty, its fences intact, posies blooming as of old. On the +little porch sat the old woman, dozing over her knitting. The gallery +of the house was occupied by a family group, who were enjoying the +fresh coolness of the evening out of doors. Mrs. Grey sat upon the +upper steps arranging some flowers, which were supplied to her as she +called for them by a lovely boy, who had just brought his apron full +of them. Nelly, swinging in a hammock, was a picture of lazy +enjoyment. The attention of all was attracted by the sound of wheels, +which ceased as a carriage drove up containing a gentleman and lady, +and a young lady who sat by the driver (an old negro who was often +employed as a driver and guide by strangers). Nelly ran down to the +gate, followed by her mother. The gentleman had by this time +descended. One glance at the empty sleeve was enough, even if the +kindly face had not been so little changed. It was Colonel ----, who, +having business in Richmond, had "stopped off" at the wayside station +for a few hours, that he might endeavor to find the Greys, and +introduce to his wife and daughter the kind friends who had so +faithfully nursed him when wounded, and also show them the scene of +incidents often related to them. + +The ladies having been introduced, the strangers accepted a cordial +invitation to alight. While they were chatting pleasantly upon the +vine-shaded gallery, Mr. Grey rode into the yard upon a strong-looking +white mule. The greeting of the soldiers was courteous and pleasant. +The contrast between them was striking indeed. + +The one clad elegantly and fashionably, his shirt-front blazing with +diamond studs, his hair and beard luxuriant and carefully kept. The +pleasant eyes untroubled and smiling. The other in the plain garb of +one who must earn his bread, coarse but scrupulously neat. The face +bronzed from exposure, the hair damp with the sweat of toil, and yet, +when the brown, hardened hand of the Virginia gentleman met the white +clasp of the rich man of the North, Mr. Grey lost nothing by +comparison. Colonel ---- having laughingly inquired after Maum Winnie, +the whole party repaired to her cabin. The old woman received her +guests with stately politeness, holding her turbaned head high, as she +_majestically_ stalked before them to show, at their request, her +chickens, ducks, and pigs. She omitted nothing that was due to her +visitors, but there was a strained politeness, and a rolling of her +eyes toward them, which made Mrs. Grey uneasy and quite prepared her +for what followed. While Colonel ---- was in the act of saying +something which he thought would quite win the old creature's heart, +she looked up at him over her glasses, saying,-- + +"Yer ain't seen nuffin er dat ar fedder-bed yet, is yer? Kase ole Miss +she dun giv' me dat ar bed too long to talk about, an' ebery one ob +dem fedders was ris rite on dis yere place. 'Fore de Lawd, if ole Miss +know I dun loss dat ar bed she gwine ter rise rite outen de grabe." + +Colonel ----, remembering the scene of the disaster to Winnie's +feather-bed, felt inclined to laugh heartily, but wishing to mollify +the old creature preserved his gravity while he offered her quite a +handsome sum "to buy some more feathers." A look from Mr. Grey put a +stop to the old woman's talk. Soon the visitors took their leave, +having given and received most pleasant impressions. Their visit +recalled so vividly their time of trial and adventure that the Greys +sat talking far into night. + +The next morning Mr. Grey walked over to the cabin to administer a +rebuke to Maum Winnie. As he drew near the gate the quavering voice of +the old woman was heard singing jerkily, and with a pause between +every few words,-- + + "Al_do_ yer _sees_ me _gwine_ 'long _so_, + I has my troubles _heah_ below." + +At last, discovering Mr. Grey, she rose and dropped a courtesy. + +"Mornin', Mars Ned." + +"Well, Winnie, you forgot your Virginia raising yesterday. What is all +this about your feather-bed?" + +"Well, Mars Ned, dey dun stole it." + +"Who stole it?" + +"_Dah_, honey, de Lawd only knows, an' he ain't gwine ter tell. I dun +loss it anyhow, an' my pore ole bones mity sore sleepin' on dem +shucks." + +Mr. Grey, finding that the old creature's grievance was very real to +her, refrained from scolding, and, passing out through the little +flower-garden, proceeded to the stable to feed the stock, a piece of +work which before the war had employed many hands, but which now was +performed by himself, assisted only by one negro man. + +Upon the summer air rang the sweet voice of Nelly as she sang at her +work. In the scented garden Mrs. Grey with her little boy weeded and +trimmed and twined the lovely flowers, feeling really a greater +delight in the fruit of their labor than if they had no real +acquaintance with the flowers, but only received them from the hands +of a gardener. + +Dear reader, we must now say farewell to our Nelly. Let us hope that +the clouds which darkened her childhood and early youth have passed +never to return, and that although "into each life some rain must +fall," her rainy days may be few and far between. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +BRAVE BOYS. + + +I believe I may safely say that no cause ever fought for, no army ever +raised, numbered among its adherents and soldiers so many mere boys as +rallied around "The Bonnie Blue Flag," bringing to its defence the +ardor of youth, added to unquestioning loyalty and Spartan bravery. +Aye, more wonderful, more worthy of admiration than the bravery of the +Spartan youth, because our Southern boys had, up to the beginning of +the war, known nothing of hardship or danger. Yet they met with +splendid courage all that fell to their lot as soldiers, fighting with +an impetuosity and determination which equalled that of the oldest +veterans. My book contains already many instances of lofty courage and +patient endurance as shown by boys. I will add one or two incidents +worthy of record. + + +In one of the companies of the Third Lee Battalion was a bright Irish +boy named Flannagan, who had been brought to Virginia by one of the +officers as his attendant. During the seven days' fight around +Richmond this child, having procured a small shot-gun, fought with the +best of them, coming out safe and sound. I learned this little history +from a soldier who knew the boy. Flannagan now lives in Texas. + + +It is well known that the boys of the Virginia University did +excellent service under "Stonewall" Jackson. Here is a story of some +other school-boys, related to me by their teacher, himself a brave +soldier who lost an arm in one of the battles around Richmond. + + +When Wilson's raiders reached Charlotte County, Virginia, preparations +were made by the Home Guards, aided by a few veterans who happened to +be home on furlough, to check their further progress. Breastworks were +thrown up on the south side of Stanton River, the railroad bridge was +blockaded, and a gun placed in position to defend the passage. Colonel +Coleman, who was at home on furlough, gave it as his opinion that +these precautions must be supplemented and supported by rifle-pits on +the north side, or no successful defence could be made. The pits were +hastily dug, but, when volunteers were called for, the extreme danger +prevented a hearty response. None appeared except a few old soldiers +and six or seven school-boys, whose ages ranged from fourteen to +sixteen. The Yankees advanced in line, in an open plain, about two +thousand strong. A rapid fire was opened from the rifle-pits and from +the gun on the railroad bridge. + +After a few minutes the enemy retired, reformed, and came on again, +but were again routed as before. Although the boys held a place where +many a veteran would have quailed, they stood their ground nobly, and +did a soldier's duty. + +After the fight was over, two of them had a quarrel regarding a +Federal officer whom both shot at and both claimed to have killed. + +These were Virginia boys, the sons of veterans, and attending a local +school. + +The raid came to grief soon after, being routed by Fitz-Hugh Lee. + + +Thomas Hilton, of Uniontown, Alabama, volunteered in the "Witherspoon +Guards," Twenty-first Alabama Regiment, at the tender age of fourteen. +He was too small to carry a musket, and was detailed as a drummer boy. +At the battle of Shiloh he threw away his drum and so importuned his +captain for a gun that it was given him. + +Shortly after, while in the thick of the fight, he was shot through +the face, the ball entering one side and passing out at the other. + +Rev. N.I. Witherspoon (chaplain of the regiment) found him lying upon +the ground, bleeding to death as he then supposed, and knelt beside +him to pray. To his surprise the boy looked up, the fire in his eyes +unquenched, and gasped out while the blood gushed afresh at every +word,-- + +"Yes--chaplain--I'm--badly hurt--but--I'm--not--_whipped_." + +Thomas Hilton still lives in Uniontown, Alabama, respected by all who +know him. His fellow-citizens regard the ugly scar which still appears +upon his face with pride and reverence. + + +The battle of Mansfield, Louisiana, was one of the most +hotly-contested and bloody of the war, the loss in men and officers +being terrific. The tide of battle rolled on, through lofty pine +forests, amid tangled undergrowth, and over open fields, where the +soldiers were exposed a to storm of shot and shell, and where, on that +beautiful Sunday morning, hundreds of the dead and dying strewed the +ground. While the battle was at its height it became necessary, in +order to secure concerted action, to send dispatches to a certain +point. The only way lay across a ploughed field, exposed to a terrific +fire from the enemy, whose target the messenger would become: and it +seemed as if certain death must be the fate of any one who should +attempt to run the gauntlet. And yet the necessity was met. _A boy of +eighteen years_ stepped forth from the ranks of Company G, Crescent +Regiment, Louisiana Volunteers, and offered to perform this dangerous +service. + +Dashing on through a perfect hail of shot and shell, stumbling and +falling over the furrowed ground, struggling up and on again, he +passed unharmed, successfully executing his mission. His escape was so +miraculous that one can only account for it by the belief that God +gave his angels charge concerning him. + +The name of this valiant boy--James V. Nolan--should live in history. +He still lives, and has been for years secretary of the Cotton +Exchange at Shreveport, Louisiana. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +THE YOUNG COLOR-BEARER. + + +The story of "The Little Apron" was written up by Major McDonald, of +Louisville, to be read at a meeting of veterans of Association Army of +Northern Virginia, Kentucky Division. It is true in every +particular,--indeed, a matter of history. + +I have given it a place here because I feel sure that many of my young +readers will remember having seen the apron in question, and will like +to read its full history. It was very kindly loaned to me, during the +New Orleans Exposition, by Major McDonald, and was on exhibition at my +tent ("The Soldiers' Best"), among many other Confederate relics, +where it never ceased to be an object of profound interest and +veneration. Hundreds of people handled it. Veterans gazed upon it with +moistened eyes. Women bedewed it with tears, and often pressed kisses +upon it. Children touched it reverently, listening with profound +interest while its story was told. The little apron was of plain white +cotton, bordered and belted with "turkey red,"--an apron of "red, +white, and red," purposely made of these blended colors in order to +express sympathy with the Confederates. It yet bears several +blood-stains. The button-hole at the back of the belt is torn out, for +the eager little patriot did not wait to unbutton it. There is another +hole, just under the belt in front, made when the wounded boy tore it +from the staff to which he had nailed it to conceal it in his bosom. +The story as told by Major McDonald is as follows: + +In the spring of 1863, while the Army of Northern Virginia was +encamped on the Rapidan River, preparing for that memorable campaign +which included the battle of Gettysburg, there came to it, from +Hampshire County, Virginia, a beardless boy, scarcely eighteen years +of age, the eldest son of a widowed mother. His home was within the +enemy's lines, and he had walked more than one hundred miles to offer +his services to assist in repelling a foe which was then preying upon +the fairest portions of his native State. He made application to join +Company D, Eleventh Virginia Cavalry, which was made up principally +from his county, and, therefore, contained many of his acquaintances, +and seemed much surprised when told that the Confederate government +did not furnish its cavalry with horses and equipments. Some members +of the company present, who noticed his earnestness and the +disappointment caused by this announcement from the officer, said,-- + +"Enroll him, captain; we will see that he has a horse and equipments +the next fight we get into." + +On faith of this promise he was enrolled,--James M. Watkins, Company +D, Eleventh Virginia Cavalry, Jones's Brigade. Shortly afterward the +campaign opened with the fight at Brandy Station, in which twenty +thousand cavalry were engaged from daylight to sundown. Before the +battle was over Watkins, mounted and fully equipped, took his place +with his company. It was not long after this engagement that General +Lee advanced the whole army, and crossed into Maryland, Watkins's +command covering the rear. During the battle of Gettysburg, on the 3d +and 4th of July, we were engaged several times with the enemy's +cavalry on our right, upon which occasions he was always found in the +front, and while on the march was ever bright and cheerful. + +On the evening of the 4th, General Lee, in preparation for his +retreat, began to send his wagons to the rear in the direction of +Williamsport, when it was found that the enemy's cavalry had gone +around our left and taken possession of a pass in South Mountain, +through which lay our line of march. To dislodge them required a +stubborn fight, lasting late into the night, in which General Jones's +brigade was engaged, and he himself, becoming separated from his men +in the darkness, was supposed to have been captured or killed. + +Finally the Federals were repulsed, and the wagon-train proceeded on +its way to Williamsport. In the morning Watkins's command was ordered +to march on the left flank of the train to prevent a renewal of the +attack upon it, and on approaching Hagerstown those in the rear of the +column heard loud and repeated cheering from the men in front. After +having been in an enemy's country fighting night and day, in rain and +mud, those cheers came to those who heard them in the distance as the +first rays of sunshine after a storm. Many were the conjectures as to +their cause: some said it was fresh troops from the other side of the +Potomac; others that it was the ammunition-wagons, for the supply was +known to be short; while others surmised that it was General Jones +reappearing after his supposed death or capture. Whatever the cause +was, its effect was wonderful upon the morale of those men, and cheers +went up all along the line from those who did not know the cause in +answer to those who did. When the command had reached a stone mill, +about three miles southeast of Hagerstown, they found the cause only a +little girl about fourteen years of age, perhaps the miller's +daughter, standing in the door wearing an apron in which the colors +were so blended as to represent the Confederate flag. A trivial thing +it may seem to those who were not there, but to those jaded, war-worn +men it was the first expression of sympathy for them and their cause +that had been openly given them since they had crossed the Potomac, +and their cheers went up in recognition of the courage of the little +girl and her parents, who thus dared to give their sympathy to a +retreating army, almost in sight of a revengeful foe. When Company D +was passing the house the captain rode up and thanked the little girl +for having done so much to revive the spirits of the troops, and asked +her if she would give him a piece of the apron as a souvenir of the +incident. "Yes, certainly," she replied, "you may have it all," and in +her enthusiasm she tore it off, not waiting to unbutton it, and handed +it to the officer, who said it should be the flag of his company as +long as it was upon Maryland soil. + +"Let me be the color-bearer, captain," said young Watkins, who was by +his side; "I promise to protect it with my life." Fastening it to a +staff he resumed his place at the head of the company, which was in +the front squadron of the regiment. + +Later in the evening, in obedience to an order brought by a courier, +the Eleventh Cavalry moved at a gallop in the direction of +Williamsport, whence the roll of musketry and report of cannon had +been heard for some time, and, rejoining the brigade, was engaged in a +desperate struggle to prevent the Federal cavalry from destroying the +wagons of the whole army, which, the river being unfordable, were +halted and parked at this point, their principal defence against the +whole cavalry force of the enemy being the teamsters and stragglers +that General Imboden had organized. The Eleventh Cavalry charged the +battery in front of them, this gallant boy with his apron flag riding +side by side with those who led the charge. The battery was taken and +retaken, and then taken again, before the Federals withdrew from the +field, followed in the direction of Boonsboro', until darkness covered +their retreat. In those desperate surges many went down on both sides, +and it was not until after it was over that men thought of their +comrades and inquiries were made of the missing. The captain of +Company D, looking over the field for the killed and wounded, found +young Watkins lying on the ground, his head supported by the surgeon. +In reply to his question, "was he badly hurt?" he answered, "Not much, +captain, but _I've got the flag!_" and, putting his hand in his bosom, +he drew out the little apron and gave it to the officer. When asked +how it came there, he said that when he was wounded and fell from his +horse the Federals were all around him, and to prevent them from +capturing it he had torn it from the staff and hid it in his bosom. + +The surgeon told the captain, aside, that his leg was shattered by a +large piece of shell, which was imbedded in the bone; that amputation +would be necessary, and he feared the wound was mortal. "But," he +added, "he has been so intent upon the safe delivery of that apron +into your hands as to seem utterly unconscious of his wound." + +After parting with his flag the brave boy sank rapidly. He was +tenderly carried by his comrades back to Hagerstown, where a hospital +had been established, and his leg amputated. The next morning his +captain found him pale and haggard from suffering. By his side was a +bouquet of flowers, placed by some kind friend, which seemed to cheer +him much. The third day afterward he died, and was buried in a strange +land, by strangers' hands, without a stone to mark the place where he +sleeps. + +Thus ended the mortal career of this gallant youth, who had scarcely +seen sixty days' service; but though he lies in an unknown grave, he +has left behind a name which should outlast the most costly obelisk +that wealth or fame can erect. Gentle as a woman, yet perfectly +fearless in the discharge of his duty, so sacred did he deem the trust +confided to him that he forgot even his own terrible sufferings while +defending it. Such names as this it is our duty to rescue from +oblivion, and to write on the page of history, where the children of +our common country may learn from them lessons of virtue and +self-sacrifice. In his character and death he was not isolated from +many of his comrades: he was but a type of many men, young and old, +whose devotion to what is known as the "lost cause" made them heroes +in the fullest acceptation of the term, flinching from neither +suffering nor death itself if coming to them in the line of duty. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +BRAVERY HONORED BY A FOE. + + +The following story was written out for me by Eddie Souby, of New +Orleans, while I was acting as assistant editress of the _Southern +Bivouac_. + +It was related to him by his father, E.J. Souby, Esq., formerly a +gallant soldier of the Fifth Regiment, Hay's Brigade, and now an +honored member of Association Army of Northern Virginia, Louisiana +Division. It is a true story in every particular, and the name of the +youthful hero is given, that it may live in our hearts, and be honored +as it deserves, though he who so nobly bore it is now dead. I wish +that I could also give the name of his generous foe,--no doubt as +brave as generous,--the Federal officer who interposed his authority +to preserve the life of this gallant boy. They should be recorded, +side by side, on the same page of history, and be remembered with +pride by the youth of our land, no matter whether their fathers wore +the blue or the gray during the late civil war. + +Nathan Cunningham was the name of this young hero. He was a member of +the Second Company Orleans Cadets, afterwards Company E, Fifth +Regiment, Louisiana Volunteers, Hay's Brigade, Array of Northern +Virginia, and color-bearer of the regiment at the time the incident +narrated below occurred. The story is as follows: + + +It was a dark and starless night. Tattoo-beat had long been heard, and +Hay's Brigade, weary after a long day's march, rested beneath the dewy +boughs of gigantic oaks in a dense forest near the placid +Rappahannock. No sound broke the stillness of the night. The troops +were lying on nature's rude couch, sweetly sleeping, perhaps, little +dreaming of the awful dawn which was soon to break upon them. The +camp-fires had burned low. The morrow's rations had been hastily +cooked, hunger appeased, and the balance laid carefully away; but that +which was most essential to life had, unfortunately, been neglected. +No provision for water had been made. The springs being somewhat +distant from the camp, but few had spirit, after the day's weary +march, to go farther. The canteens were, for the most part, empty. + +Though thirsting, the tired soldiers slept, oblivious to their +physical sufferings. But ere the morning broke, the distant sound of +musketry echoed through the woods, rudely dispelling the solemn +silence of the night, and awakening from their broken dreams of home +and kindred the whole mass of living valor. + +The roll of the drum and the stentorian voice of the gallant chief +calling to arms mingled together. Aroused to duty, and groping their +way through the darkness, the troops sallied forth in battle array. + +In a rifle-pit, on the brow of a hill overlooking the river, near +Fredericksburg, were men who had exhausted their ammunition in the +vain attempt to check the advancing column of Hooker's finely equipped +and disciplined army, which was crossing the river. But owing to the +heavy mist which prevailed as the morning broke, little or no +execution had been done. To the relief of these few came the brigade +in double-quick time. But no sooner were they intrenched than the +firing on the opposite side of the river became terrific, and the +constant roaring of musketry and artillery became appalling. + +Undismayed, however, stood the little band of veterans, pouring volley +after volley into the crossing column. + +Soon many soldiers fell. Their agonizing cries, as they lay helpless +in the trenches, calling most piteously for water, caused many a tear +to steal down the cheeks of their comrades in arms, and stout hearts +shook in the performance of their duty. + +"Water!" "Water!" But, alas! there was none to give. + +Roused as they had been from peaceful dreams to meet an assault so +early and so unexpected, no time was left them to do aught but buckle +on their armor. + +"Boys!" exclaimed a lad of eighteen, the color-bearer of one of the +regiments, "I can't stand this any longer. My nature can't bear it. +They want water, and water they must have. So let me have a few +canteens, and I'll go for some." + +Carefully laying the colors, which he had conspicuously borne on many +a field, in the trench, he leaped out in search of water, and was +soon, owing to the heavy mist, out of sight. + +Shortly afterwards the firing ceased for a while, and there came a +courier with orders to fall back to the main line, a distance of over +twelve hundred yards to the rear. It had, doubtless, become evident to +General Lee that Hooker had crossed the river in sufficient force to +advance. + +The retreating column had not proceeded far when it met the noble +youth, his canteens all filled with water, returning to the sufferers, +who were still lying in the distant trenches. The eyes of the +soldier-boy, who had oftentimes tenderly and lovingly gazed upon the +war-worn and faded flag floating over the ranks, now saw it not. The +troops, in their hurry to obey orders and owing, probably, to the +heavy mist that surrounded them, had overlooked or forgotten the +colors. + +On sped the color-bearer back to the trenches to relieve the thirst of +his wounded companions as well as to save the honor of his regiment by +rescuing its colors. + +His mission of mercy was soon accomplished. The wounded men drank +freely, thanked and blessed him. And now to seize the flag and +double-quick back to his regiment was the thought and act of a moment. +But hardly had he gone ten paces from the ditch when a company of +Federal soldiers appeared ascending the hill. The voice of an officer +sternly commanded him to "Halt and surrender!" The morning sun, +piercing with a lurid glare the dense mist, reveals a hundred rifles +levelled at his breast. One moment more and his soul is to pass into +eternity, for his answer is, "Never while I hold these colors." + +But why is he not fired upon? Why do we still see him with the colors +flying above his head, now beyond the reach of rifle-balls, when but a +moment before he could have been riddled with bullets? And now, see I +he enters proudly but breathlessly the ranks, and receives the +congratulations of his friends in loud acclaim. + +The answer comes, because of the generous act of the Federal officer +in command of that company. When this noble officer saw that the love +of honor was far dearer to the youth than life, in the impulse of a +magnanimous heart he freely gave him both in the word of command,-- + +"Bring back your pieces, men! don't shoot that brave boy!" + +Such nobility of character and such a generous nature as that +displayed by this officer, must ever remain a living monument to true +greatness; and should these lines perchance meet his eyes, let him +know and feel the proud satisfaction that the remembrance of his noble +deed is gratefully cherished, and forever engraved in the heart of the +soldier-boy in gray. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +SALLY'S RIDE. + + +On a bright Sunday morning Sally sat upon the gallery of her uncle's +house slowly swaying backward and forward in a low rocking-chair. In +her hand was her prayer-book, but I greatly fear she had not read as +she ought, for while her finger was held between the shut covers, +marking "the Psalms for the day," her bright eyes wandered continually +over the lovely scene before her. Above her head branches of tender +green were tossing merrily in the March wind, at her feet lay a +parterre bright with spring buds and flowers. Beyond the garden-fence +the carriage-road described a curve, and swept away under the lofty +pines which here bounded the view. On either side lay fields of +newly-planted cotton. Behind the house, seen through the wide-open +doors and windows, the orchard gleamed pink and white. Still beyond, +blue smoke curled upward from the cabins of the negroes in "the +quarter,"--almost a village in itself. The noise of their children at +play was borne upon the wind, mingled with the weird chanting of hymns +by the older negroes. The family, with the exception of Sally, had +gone to church,--a distance of twelve miles. + +For weeks it had been known that "Wilson's raiders" would be likely at +any time to appear; but continued security had lulled the +apprehensions of the planters hereabouts, and, besides, they depended +upon Confederate scouts to give timely warning. But suddenly on this +peaceful Sunday a confused noise from the direction of "the quarter" +startled Sally, and directly a crowd of frightened negroes ran to the +house with the tale that a party of scouts had been driven in, +reporting the Yankees approaching and only ten miles away. + +The sense of responsibility which at once took possession of the +girl's mind overmastered her terror. She, as well as a few servants +considered worthy of trust, had received clear instructions how to act +in such an emergency; but before anything could be accomplished a +party of horsemen (Confederates) rode up, and hastily giving +information that the Federals had taken the "Pleasant Hill road," +dashed off again. This knowledge did not relieve Sally's mind, +however, for on the Pleasant Hill road lay the fine plantation of +another uncle, Dr. ----, who was, she knew, absent. + +The overseer, unaware of the approach of the raiders, would, unless +warned, not have time to run off the valuable horses. By the road the +enemy had taken the distance was several miles, but there was a "short +cut" through the woods, which would bring a rapid rider to the +plantation much sooner, and at once it occurred to our heroine to send +a boy on the only available animal, an old white mule, which had long +enjoyed exemption from all but light work as a reward for faithful +services in the past. Alas! Sally found she had "reckoned without +her"--negro. Abject terror had overcome even the habitual obedience of +the servants, and not one would venture; they only rolled their eyes +wildly, breaking forth into such agony of protestations that the girl +ceased to urge them, and, dismayed at the peril she was powerless to +arrest, sat down to consider matters. She know that the family had +that morning driven to church, and so the carriage-horses were safe +for the present. + +But there was the doctor's buggy-horse, a magnificent iron-gray, and +Persimmon, her cousin's riding-horse, a beautiful cream-colored mare +with black, flowing mane and tail, and _Green Persimmon_, her colt, +which was like its mother, and scarcely less beautiful. Besides, there +were horses and mules which, if not so ornamental, were indispensable. +Oh, these must be run off and saved,--but how? Goaded by these +thoughts, and upon the impulse of the moment, the girl ordered a +sidesaddle to be put upon old "Whitey," and, hastily mounting, +belabored the astonished beast until, yielding to the inevitable, he +started off at a smart trot. + +Once in the woods, Sally's heart quailed within her; her terror was +extreme. The tramp, tramp of her steed she thought was as loud as +thunder, and felt sure that thus she would be betrayed. The agitation +of the underbrush caused by the wind seemed to her to denote the +presence of a concealed enemy. She momentarily expected a "Yank" to +step from behind a tree and seize her bridle. As she rushed along, +hanging branches (which at another time she would have stooped to +avoid) severely scratched her face and dishevelled her hair; but never +heeding, she urged on old Whitey until he really seemed to become +inspired with the spirit of the occasion, to regain his youthful fire, +and so dashed on until at length Sally drew rein at the bars of the +horse-lot, where the objects of her solicitude were quietly grazing, +with the exception of Green Persimmon, who seemed to be playing a +series of undignified capers for the amusement of her elders. To catch +these was a work of time: Sally looked on in an agony of impatience. +But, fortunately, a neighbor rode up just then with the news that for +some unknown reason the Federal soldiers had, after halting awhile +just beyond the forks of the road, marched back to the river and were +recrossing. With the usual inconsistency of her sex, Sally now began +to cry, trembling so violently that she was fain to dismount, and +submit to be _coddled_ and petted awhile by the old servants. She +declared that she never could repass those dreadful woods, but later, +a sense of duty overcame her nervousness, and (the family having +returned), escorted by her cousins and followed by a faithful servant, +she returned to her anxious friends, who in one breath scolded her for +having dared so great risks and in the next praised her courage and +devotion. + + +The visit of the raiders was, alas! not long delayed, but its +attendant horrors may not here be described. The terrible story may, +perhaps, be told at another time,--for the present, _adieu_. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + +The following story, originally written by me for the _Southern +Bivouac_, is strictly true. The successful forager was once a patient +of mine, and is well known to me. I also know that he perpetrated the +joke as described. The article is intended to appear as if written by +a soldier's son. + +HIGH PRICE FOR NEEDLES AND THREAD. + +By Walter. + +My father was once a private soldier in the Confederate army, and he +often tells us interesting stories of the war. One morning, just as he +was going down town, mother sent me to ask him to change a dollar. He +could not do it, but he said,-- + +"Ask your mother how much change she wants." + +She only wanted a dime to buy a paper of needles and some silk to mend +my jacket. So I went back and asked for ten cents. Instead of taking +it out of his vest-pocket, father opened his pocket-book and said,-- + +"Did you say you wanted _ten dollars_ or ten _cents_, my boy?" + +"Why, father," said I, "whoever heard of paying ten dollars for +needles and thread?" + +"I have," said he. "I once heard of a paper of needles, and a skein of +silk, worth _more_ than ten dollars." + +His eyes twinkled and looked so pleasant that I knew there was a story +on hand, so I told mother and sis' Loo, who promised to find out all +about it. After supper that night mother coaxed father to tell us the +story. We liked it ever so much: so I got mother to write it down for +the _Bivouac_. + +After the battle of Chickamauga, one of "our mess" found a needle-case +which had belonged to some poor fellow, probably among the killed. He +did not place much value upon the contents, although there was a paper +of No. 8 needles, several buttons, and a skein or two of thread, cut +at each end and neatly braided so that each thread could be smoothly +drawn out. He put the whole thing in his breast-pocket, and thought no +more about it. But one day, while out foraging for himself and his +mess, he found himself near a house where money could have procured a +fine meal of fried chicken, corn-pone, and buttermilk, besides a small +supply to carry back to camp. But Confederate soldiers' purses were +generally as empty as their stomachs, and in this instance the lady of +the house did not offer to give away her nice dinner. While the poor +fellow was inhaling the enticing odor, and feeling desperately hungry, +a girl rode up to the gate on horseback, and bawled out to another +girl inside the house,-- + +"Oh, Cindy, I rid over to see if you couldn't lend me a needle! I +broke the last one I had to-day, and pap says thar ain't nary 'nother +to be bought in the country hereabouts!" + +Cindy declared she was in the same fix, and couldn't finish her new +homespun dress for that reason. + +The soldier just then had an idea. He retired to a little distance, +pulled out his case, sticking two needles on the front of his jacket, +then went back and offered one of them, with his best bow, to the girl +on the horse. Right away the lady of the house offered to trade for +the one remaining. The result was a plentiful dinner for himself; and +in consideration of a thread or two of silk, a full haversack and +canteen. + +After this our mess was well supplied, and our forager began to look +sleek and fat. The secret of his success did not leak out till long +afterward, when he astonished the boys by declaring that he "had been +'living like a fighting-cock' on a paper of needles and two skeins of +silk." + +"And," added father, "if he had paid for all the meals he got in +Confederate money, the amount would have been far more than ten +dollars." + +I know other boys and girls will think this a queer story, but I hope +they will like it as well as mother and Loo and I did. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +BUNNY. + + +One bright morning I sat in the matron's room of the "Buckner +Hospital," then located at Newnan, Georgia. Shall I describe to you +this room--or my suite of rooms? Indeed, I fear you will be +disappointed, dear young readers, for perhaps the word "hospital" +conveys to your mind the idea of a handsome and lofty building +containing every convenience for nursing the sick, and for the comfort +of attendants. Alas! during the war hospital arrangements were of the +roughest. Frequent changes of location were imperative, transportation +was difficult. So it became a "military necessity" to seize upon such +buildings as were suitable in the towns where it was intended to +establish a "post." Courthouses, halls, stores, hotels, even churches +had to be used,--the pews being removed and replaced by the rough +hospital beds. + +The "Buckner Hospital" was expected to accommodate nearly one thousand +sick and wounded, and embraced every building for two solid squares. +Near the centre a small store had been appropriated to the matron's +use during the day. Here all business relating to the comfort of the +sick and wounded was transacted. The store as it stood, shelves, +counters, and all, became the "linen-room," and was piled from floor +to ceiling with bedding and clean clothing. The back "shed-room" was +the matron's own. A rough table, planed on the top, stood in the +centre. With the exception of one large rocking-chair, kindly donated +by a lady of Ringgold, Georgia, boxes served for chairs. A couch made +of boxes and piled with comforts and pillows stood in one corner. This +served not only as an occasional resting-place for the matron, but, +with the arm-chair, was frequently occupied by soldiers who, in the +early stages of convalescence, having made a pilgrimage to my room, +were too weak to return at once, and so rested awhile. + +Here I sat on the morning in question looking over some "diet lists," +when I heard a slight noise at the door. Soon a little girl edged her +way into the room. + +Her dress was plain and faded, but when she pushed back the calico +sun-bonnet a sweet, bright face appeared. She came forward as shyly as +a little bird and stood at my side. As I put out my hand to draw her +closer, she cried, "Don't, you'll scare him!" + +And then I perceived that she held close to her breast, wrapped in her +check apron, something that moved and trembled. Carefully the little +girl removed a corner of the apron, disclosing the gray head and +frightened eyes of a squirrel. Said she, "It's Bunny; he's mine; I +raised him, and I want to give him to the sick soldiers! _Daddy's a +soldier!_" And as she stated this last fact the sweet face took on a +look of pride. + +"What is your name, and how did you get here?" I said. + +"My name is Ca-line. Uncle Jack, he brung in a load of truck, and +mammy let me come along, an' I didn't have nothing to fetch to the +poor soldiers but Bunny. He's mine," she repeated, as she tenderly +covered again the trembling little creature. I soon found that she +desired to give the squirrel away with her own hands, and did not by +any means consider _me_ a sick soldier. That she should visit the +fever-wards was out of the question, so I decided to go with her to a +ward where were some wounded men, most of whom were convalescent. My +own eyes, alas! were so accustomed to the sight of the pale, suffering +faces, empty sleeves, and dreadful scars, that I did not dream of the +effect it would have upon the child. + +As we entered she dropped my hand, clinging convulsively to my dress. +Addressing the soldiers, I said, "Boys, little Ca-line has brought you +her pet squirrel; her father is a soldier, she says." But here the +poor child broke down utterly; from her pale lips came a cry which +brought tears to the eyes of the brave men who surrounded her: "Oh, +daddy, daddy; I don't _want_ you to be a soldier! Oh, lady, _will_ +they do my daddy like this?" + +Hastily retreating, I led the tortured child to my room, where at last +she recovered herself. I gave her lunch, feeding Bunny with some +corn-bread, which he ate, sitting on the table by his little mistress, +his bright eyes fixed warily upon me. A knock at the door startled us. +The child quickly snatched up her pet and hid him in her apron. The +visitor proved to be "Uncle Jack," a white-headed old negro, who had +come for "little Missy." + +Tears came to my eyes as I watched the struggle which at once began in +that brave little heart. Her streaming eyes and heaving breast showed +how hard it was to give up Bunny. Uncle Jack was impatient, however, +and at last "Missy" thrust the squirrel into my hands, saying, +sobbingly, "_Thar_, you keep him to show to 'em, but don't let nothin' +hurt him." I arose and placed Bunny in the deep pocket of an army +overcoat that hung by the window, where he cuddled down contentedly. +Ca-line passed out with a lagging step, but in a few moments ran back, +and, drawing a box under the window, climbed upon it to peep into the +pocket at her pet, who ungratefully growled at being disturbed. She +then ran out without a word to me, and I saw her no more. + +Bunny soon attached himself to me. Creeping into my pocket, he would +always accompany me in my rounds through the wards. The sick and +wounded took the greatest delight in his visits. As soon as I entered +the door the squirrel would run up on my shoulder; from thence, +jumping upon the beds, would proceed to search for the treasures which +nearly every patient had saved and hidden for him. His capers were a +source of unceasing amusement to his soldier friends,--I cannot +describe to you how great. The story of little Ca-line's +self-sacrifice went the rounds among them. All admired and truly +appreciated her heroism and her love for "the poor, sick soldiers." + +Bunny lived happily for a long time. One day, however, as I was +passing along the street, he began as usual to run from out my pocket +to my shoulder, and back again to nestle in his hiding-place. + +Just then a large dog came by. The frightened squirrel made a vain +attempt to reach a tree by the road-side. Failing, he was at once +seized and instantly killed. My regret was shared by all the soldiers, +who long remembered and talked of poor Bunny. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +BEAUREGARD. + + +One very cold day in the winter of 1862 there came to the Third +Alabama Hospital, in Richmond, Virginia, a sick soldier, belonging to +the Third Alabama Regiment. He was shivering, and so hoarse that he +could only speak in whispers. Instead of going at once to bed, +however, he sat down upon a bench by the stove, keeping his blanket +drawn closely over his chest. His teeth were chattering, and continued +to do so until I ordered him to go to his bed immediately, meanwhile +hastening down-stairs to prepare for him a hot drink. Upon my return, +my patient was in bed, closely covered up,--head and all. As soon as I +turned down the bedclothes from his face, I was startled by a furious +er-r-r-r bow-wow, wow, wow, which also attracted the attention of +every one in the large ward. Of course it was impossible longer to +conceal the fact that the new patient had brought with him a dog, so +he showed me--nestling under his arm--a young Newfoundland puppy, +looking like nothing so much as a fluffy black ball. His bright eyes +gleamed fiercely and he continued to bark in a shrill tone, which +could not be allowed to continue, as it excited and disturbed the +sick. I am a lover of dogs, and now offered to take charge of this +little waif. His master was unwilling to part with him, but there was +no alternative, so I carried him off down-stairs, where, installed in +comfortable quarters and petted by everybody, the ungrateful little +dog seemed to forget the sick master who had cherished him so fondly, +and, far from grieving or moping at the separation, grew every day +more frolicsome. From the soldier I learned the history of his dog. He +said,-- + +"Shortly before I was sent to the hospital our regiment captured a +Federal camp. Among the plunder I found that little fellow curled up +in a camp-bed that some Yankee had just got out of, and as warm as +toast. He seemed to take to me right off. I reckon the Yankee had a +name for him, but I call him 'Beauregard.' The poor fellow has had a +hard time since I got him, for rations in the valley are poor and +scant, but _I've_ done with less so _he_ could have a bite, and I tell +you he has kept me warm a many a night." + +However, when the soldier was ready to return to camp, Beauregard had +grown quite too large to be carried in his master's bosom. So he was +given to my little son, and remained to claim our care and to become +an object of interest to all inmates of the hospital. It became so +much a matter of course for me to take the dog with me on my morning +rounds through the wards that whenever he was left behind, my patients +never failed to miss him, and to inquire, "Where's the general +to-day?" He was very intelligent, easily learning to trot quietly +along down the rows of beds. If he ever grew too frisky, I had only to +stop short, pointing to the entrance, when down would drop his tail, +and he was off like a shot to the yard. There he awaited my coming, +always looking anxiously in my face to see if I was still angry. When +I would ask, "Are you sorry, Beau?" he would whine and come crawling +to my feet. As soon as he heard me say "All right," he began to bound +and run around in a circle and in other ways to show his joy. + +Among the patients he had many warm friends who used to take great +pleasure in saving scraps to feed him with. They also loved to tease +him by wrapping some nice morsel in many papers. The parcel was then +hidden. Beauregard knew just which beds to stop at, and, greatly to +the delight of his friends, would put his paws upon the bunks and +"nose about" under the mattress or pillows for the bundles there +hidden. After many attempts to get through the many papers in which +lay a coveted morsel, he would grow impatient and disgusted, and would +at last sit down, looking earnestly first at the inmate of the bed, +then at the parcel on the floor. Then, if he was not helped, he would +push the bed with his paw, until at last he succeeded in gaining his +wish. + +Early in the spring Beau fell into some disgrace, for while romping +with my little boy he threw him down and broke his arm. Everybody +scolded the poor dog, crying shame on him wherever he appeared, until +he got a habit of slinking out of sight. Before the broken arm was +quite well, little Wally grow very ill of typhoid fever, so ill that +his papa was sent for, for it seemed that he must die. Beauregard +attached himself very closely to my husband, rarely leaving his side. +When his new master returned to camp, I went down to the boat to see +him off. The dog followed us. The boat was crowded with soldiers going +to reinforce McGruder, so I did not go on board, but when ready to +return discovered that Beau was missing. The first letter from my +husband announced that the dog had followed his master on the boat, +where he must have hidden, for his presence was not discovered until +some time after the boat had left the wharf. In camp he became a +terrible nuisance. No matter how securely he was tied, the dog always +managed to escape and _attend the drill_. Here he would sometimes sit +down and gravely watch the proceedings, cocking his head first on one +side, then on the other, but usually he would rush into the ranks to +find his master, getting under the feet of the men, who in consequence +lost step and got out of line, of course becoming very angry. The +shells frequently exploding in the vicinity became a constant terror +to this unfortunate, who knew not how to avoid them. He soon learned +to distinguish the shriek of a coming shell, and would race off in one +direction, looking fearfully back over his shoulder, until a similar +sound in another quarter would so puzzle and terrify him that he would +stand still awhile until the noise of an explosion _utterly_ +demoralized him, when he would frantically dig up the ground, as if +trying to bury himself. + +I am afraid I must acknowledge that my dog was not strictly honest. In +fact, his depredations upon their larders won for him the undying +hatred of the colored cooks of various messes, who were always seeking +revenge. Their dislike culminated one day in a dreadful scalding, +inflicted upon the poor dog by the cook of an officers' mess, who +poured a whole kettle of boiling water upon his back, causing him +weeks of suffering and the loss of part of his beautiful glossy coat. +This seemed to have implanted in his mind a profound distrust of +negroes, which he never ceased to entertain until the day of his +death. After this Beauregard was sent up to Richmond that I might cure +his wound; this I was more easily enabled to do, as my friends among +the surgeons kindly advised and assisted me. He was soon quite well, +the growing hair nearly concealing his scars. When I left Richmond +with my little boy, Beau accompanied us, and found a permanent home +upon the plantation of a relative in Alabama. It was here that he +first showed his extreme dislike for negroes, which attracted +attention and became unmistakable. At first it gave much trouble, but +gradually he grew tolerant of the servants upon the "home-place," +although he never took kindly even to these. He never forgot that he +had been scalded. At any time steam arising from a boiling tea-kettle +or pot would send him yelping away. I remember hearing the youngsters +say that once when Beauregard had followed them miles into the woods, +seeming to enjoy the tramp and the hunt, they having decided to have a +lunch of broiled birds, heated some water in a camp-kettle to scald +them preparatory to picking off the feathers. As soon as the birds +were dipped into the water and taken out steaming, the dog set out for +home, where they found him, upon their return, hiding under a +corn-crib. + +Although, as I said before, Beau became used to the servants whom he +saw every day upon the home-place, no strange negro dared to come +inside the big gate unless accompanied by one of the family. Whenever +the deep, hoarse bark of Beauregard announced the appearance of +strangers, it was known that the dog must be chained. Not once, but +many times, I have seen a load of "fodder" or "garden-truck" driven +into the yard and immediately _surrounded_ by this one big dog, who +would keep the black driver crouching at the very top of the load with +"ashy" face and chattering teeth, while his besieger walked growling +around the wagon, occasionally jumping up upon the chance of seizing +an unguarded foot. Until the dog was securely chained nothing would +induce his prisoner to venture down. No chicken-thieves dared to put +in an appearance so long as this faithful beast kept watch upon the +premises. And for his faithfulness he was doomed to destruction. Such +a state of security in any place could not long be tolerated. The +would-be thieves, exasperated by the impunity with which fine, fat +turkeys, geese, ducks, and chickens walked about before their very +eyes, and smoke-houses, melon-patches, and wood-piles remained +undisturbed, at last poisoned faithful Beauregard, whose death left +the home-place unprotected, for not one of his successors ever +followed his example or proved half as watchful. + + + + + +PART III. + +AFTER TWENTY YEARS.[2] + + [2] These articles, originally prepared for _The Southern + Bivouac_ and "South Illustrated," are here republished by special + request. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +"MY BOYS." + + +_Address to the Wives and Children of Confederate Veterans._ + +I have been often and earnestly requested by "my comrades" to address +to you a few words explanatory of the tie which binds me to them and +them to me. They tell me, among other things, that you "wonder much, +and still the wonder grows," that I should presume to call grave and +dignified husbands and fathers "my boys." Having promised to meet +their wishes, I must in advance apologize for the egoism which it is +quite impossible to avoid, as my own war record is inseparable from +that of my comrades. + +Does it seem strange to you that I call these bronzed and bearded men +"my _boys_?" Ah, friends, in every time-worn face there lives always +for me "the light of other days." Memory annihilates the distance +between the long-ago and the present. + +I seem to see them marching, with brave, bright faces and eager feet, +to meet the foe. I hear the distant boom of cannon, growing fainter as +they press the retreating enemy. And then, alas! many come back to me +mutilated, bleeding, dying, yet with ardor unquenched, repressing +moans of anguish that they may listen for the shout of victory: +wrestling fiercely with the King of Terrors, not that they fear to +die, but because his chill grasp palsies the arm that would fain +strike another blow for the right. + +I stood among the sick and wounded lying in a hospital in Richmond, +Virginia, while the magnificent Army of Northern Virginia was passing +from the scene of their late glorious victory at Manassas to meet the +invaders under McClellan, who were marching upon the Peninsula. Around +me lay many sick and wounded men, gathered under the immense roof of a +tobacco factory, which covered nearly a whole square. Its windows +commanded a full view of the legions passing on both sides. + +The scene I can never forget. As the strains of martial music fell +upon the summer air, pale, gaunt forms struggled to their feet, feebly +but eagerly donned clothes and accoutrements, and, staggering under +their weight, crept to the office of the surgeon in charge, piteously +begging that they might "get to go on with the boys." Many, too weak +to rise, broke into bitter sobs: tears poured from eyes bright with +fever or dim with the shadow of death. Passing among these, I was +startled to see a patient, whom all had supposed to be dying, sitting +up in bed. Stretching his arms toward me, he cried out, "Lady, lady, +come here!" He was a boy of sixteen years, one of the glorious Third +Alabama, and he begged so hard to be allowed to see "the boys" that I +had his bunk drawn up to an open window, supporting him in my arms so +that he _could_ see. When his own regiment passed, he tried with +faltering breath to cheer, but, failing, waved his feeble hand, +gasping out, "_God knows_, I wish I could be with you, boys, but +'pears like the heavenly Master ain't willing." + +His comrades passed on. The boy was borne back to his place, whence, +in a few hours, he passed beyond all pain and disappointment. + +I need not mention here the magnificent record of the army that passed +that day the streets of Richmond. The pages of history are ablaze with +the glory of it. Not less glorious to me are the records written in my +heart of heroic fortitude, patient endurance, sublime resignation. +Alas for my poor, worn, shattered, suffering, dying boys! how their +souls were tried, _yet never found wanting!_ + +The fortunes of war led me from the scenes of my first service to +rejoin my husband, who had been ordered to the Army of Tennessee. On +my journey, and while waiting to be assigned to duty, I lingered for a +while among the homes of Southern soldiers. How can I convey to you +the impressions there received? + +Here lay the main-spring of the valor which then and long afterward +astonished the world. In the towns and near the front thousands of +women daily ministered to the sick and wounded. When a battle ended, +these could soon know the fate of loved ones, perhaps were permitted +to nurse them, to attend their dying hour, or--inestimable +privilege--reclaim the precious casket which had enshrined a gallant +soul. But in many a country home women endured, day after day, +crucifixion of the soul, yet heroically, patiently, toiled and prayed +on. Startled by flying rumors, tortured by suspense, weary with +unwonted labor, they never dreamed of leaving the post of duty or of +neglecting the interests confided to their care. No comforter had they +save their God, no resource but unwearied prayer. + +Memory brings back to me a scene which sadly illustrates the exalted +courage and faith of these noble women. I was present one night when, +at a plantation home, the family and servants were assembled, as +usual, for prayers. The aged father led the worship, but, while +praying for the absent sons, two of whom had already fallen in battle, +he faltered and ceased. Instantly the clear, sweet voice of the mother +was heard as she prayed fervently, not only for the dear ones at the +front, but for the holy cause, for _other_ parents, _other_ sons, and +for _strength_ to _submit_ to _God's will_. + +I have, sitting by the bedside of sick or wounded soldiers, read to +them letters from just such homes, breathing lofty courage, full of +cheer, although I knew that the hearts of the writers had been almost +breaking, the fingers that penned them stiff and trembling with toil +hitherto unknown. God bless the women of the South. + +If from every wreath that ever adorned the brow of a hero the +brightest laurels were plucked, all would not form an offering too +resplendent to lay at their feet. + +Soon after the battle of Shiloh began my service with the Army of +Tennessee. How shall I make you understand, dear friends, how strong, +how dear, how imperishable are the ties which bind me to these grand +and noble heroes,--the true, brave boys with whom I shared until the +bitter end their trials and glory. Heroic souls who bore with equal +fortitude and transcendent bravery alike the shock of battle, the +pangs of "hope deferred," the untold hardships which soon became their +daily portion. Their bleeding feet dyed alike the snows of Georgia and +the rocky mountain paths of Tennessee. + +As their ranks were decimated by battle, disease, starvation, death, +the hearts that were left swelled higher and higher with holy zeal, +sublime courage. Night after night, with lagging, unwilling feet, they +made the hated retreat. + +Day after day the sun shone on those defiant faces as they presented a +still unbroken front and hurled themselves again and again against the +invaders, contesting every inch of the land they loved. + +Ah, the horrors of those latter days, when daily, almost hourly, +brought to me ghastly wrecks of manhood, when my ears were always +filled with the moans of the dying, or irrepressible agonizing shrieks +of those who were undergoing the torture of the surgeon's knife +without the blessed aid of chloroform, for that was contraband of war. +Do you wonder, then, that I love to call those comrades of mine "my +boys"? Whether they served in the Army of Northern Virginia or the +Army of Tennessee, they were all alike my comrades. Their precious +blood has often dyed my own garments. I have gone down with them to +the very gates of death, wrestling with the death angel every step of +the way, sometimes only to receive their last sighs as they passed +into the valley of the shadow, sometimes permitted to guide their +feeble feet once more into the paths of glory. + +I have shared their rations, plain but plentiful at first, at the last +only a mouldy crust and a bit of rusty bacon. I have been upon an +ambulance-train freighted with human agony delayed for hours by rumors +of an enemy in ambush. I have fed men hungry with the ravening hunger +of the wounded with scanty rations of musty corn-bread; have seen them +drink eagerly of foetid water, dipped from the road-side ditches. Yet +they bore it all with supreme patience; fretted and chafed, it is +true, but only on account of enforced inactivity. I have packed +haversacks with marching rations for forty-eight hours, a single +corn-dodger split and with only a thin slice of bacon between the +pieces. This was a _Confederate sandwich_. And on such food Southern +soldiers marched incredible distances, fought desperate battles. The +world will never cease to wonder at the unfailing devotion, the +magnificent courage, the unparalleled achievements of the Southern +armies. Scarcely less admirable is the heroic spirit in which they +have accepted defeat; the industry which has hidden the desolation of +our land with bountiful harvest, the honesty of purpose which now +seeks to restore the constitution framed by our forefathers as it was, +the patient yet invincible determination which has driven out tyranny +and oppression, and reclaimed for posterity this beautiful Southland, +rich with historic memories, made sacred and beautiful by the graves +of heroes. + +And these are _my boys_--still--always my boys. From the highest +places of the land they turn to give me a comrade's greeting. I glory +in the renown of these, but just as dear and precious to me is the +warm grasp of the toil-hardened hand and the smile which beams upon me +from the rugged face of the very humblest of "the boys who wore the +gray." + +Dear friends, this subject is to me inexhaustible; but I may no longer +trespass upon your patience. With loving, reverent hands I have lifted +the veil of the past. Let the transcendent glory streaming through +penetrate the mask which time and care and sorrow have woven for the +faces of my boys, and show you the brave, unfaltering hearts as I know +them. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE CONFEDERATE REUNION AT DALLAS. + + +On the morning of August 6, 1885, a small party of ladies and +gentlemen set forth from Shreveport to attend the Confederate reunion +at Dallas, Texas. + +The gentlemen of the party were veteran soldiers, and your +correspondent claimed like honors. (Place this admission to my credit, +for, believe me, it is a ruthless sacrifice of womanly vanity to +dearer memories.) + +In congenial companionship the day passed quickly. Its close brought +us to Dallas. And here began at once an emotional experience which +might well be called "a tempest of the heart,"--glimpses of glory once +real. "Forms and scenes of long ago" appeared in such constant +succession that it seemed like a resurrection of the dead and buried +past. + +The first object that met our view was a large Confederate +battle-flag, suspended from a conspicuous building on one of the +principal streets, surmounted, surrounded by "star-spangled banners," +large and small, but still there, to set our hearts throbbing wildly, +to call forth a rain of blinding tears. This was but the beginning. +Borne swiftly onward to the hotel, we momentarily started forward with +streaming eyes and bated breath to gaze upon the phantom legions ever +passing. Squads of cavalry dashed by, manly, weather-beaten boys in +gray, and elegant-looking officers wearing the well-remembered +slouched hat with cord and feathers, and full Confederate uniforms. +Infantry and artillery officers and privates thronged the sidewalks, +arm in arm, walking in half embrace, or standing with hand grasping +hand. Those not in uniform wore the badges of their respective +commands, and frequently some faded remnant of "the gray." + +In the largo dry-goods establishment of Sauger & Brothers an immense +show-window was skilfully and beautifully arranged in honor of the +occasion. Confederate soldiers (life size), so natural and life-like +as to startle one, were grouped around a camp-fire anxiously watching +a large kettle containing a tempting-looking "mess" of green corn, +potatoes, other vegetables, and the rations of pork and beef. Blankets +neatly rolled and strapped, canteens, haversacks, etc., lay near upon +the ground. In the background, a deck of cards and two piles of +Confederate money had evidently been thrown down and deserted to +"watch the pot." We learned that this most realistic arrangement was +the work of a "Yankee boy," whose father had served in the Federal +army,--a loving tribute to the people among whom he had come to make +his home. + +Arrived at the hotel, where a crowd of people waited in the parlor to +be assigned rooms, we witnessed many a touching scene between veterans +who met now after twenty years. An anxious face would look in at the +door, a manly form would advance irresolutely into the room, furtively +scanning the new-comers. Suddenly,--"Jim, can this be you?" "Why, +Dave, old fel! great God, is this Dave?" Then as hand met and grasped +hand these strong men would often break into sobs which forbade all +speech, while every heart of those who looked on thrilled with +responsive feeling. + +From what I learned of the intended evening festivities at the +camp-ground (music and dancing under the glare of the electric light), +I felt disinclined to be present. All day I had walked hand in hand +with memory, turning again and again to clasp her closely and to feel +the throbbing of her sad heart upon my own. The dear presence still +enthralled me, and I could imagine no counter-charm in the laughing +face and airy form of Terpsichore. + +On the following morning, Amy and I, escorted by a gallant Missouri +veteran, set out for the rendezvous, where we found assembled three or +four thousand people, among whom hundreds wearing more or less of the +gray were conspicuous. The perfect and magnificent arrangements for +the comfort and entertainment of guests inspired one with genuine +admiration for those who had so well accomplished the grand results +everywhere apparent. Did one thirst? In a hundred cool, pleasant nooks +were placed casks of ice-water, with dippers and gourds of all sizes +attached by long chains. If hungry, at "Headquarters" requisitions +were furnished and duly honored by the commissary, who seemed to have +a never-failing supply of delicious barbecued beef and mutton, also +generous rations of fresh bread. + +These were supplemented by elegant refreshments of all kinds, served +under shaded tents by ladies, whose entire cordiality made them +charming hostesses. + +Bands of music continually enlivened the scene. One of these (Gauche +Brothers, of Dallas) was of rare excellence, rendering "Bonnie Blue +Flag," "Dixie," and an exquisite nocturne, "The Soldier's Dream" +(composed for this occasion by the leader of this band), with so much +expression and skill as to elicit great applause. The speaker's stand +was beautifully ornamented. Hanging on either side of the rostrum was +a Confederate battle-flag. Above them, in the centre, floated a new +and very handsome United States banner in graceful undulations. From +its blue field not a star was missing. All had been restored, and the +bunting waved proudly as if instinct with knowledge of this fact. But, +oh, those other flags! sacred emblems of a cause so loved, so nobly +defended, yet, alas, lost! shattered and torn by shot and shell, +begrimed with the smoke of battle, deeply stained with precious blood; +as the summer breeze dallied with their ragged folds, they seemed to +stir with a feeble, mournful motion, like the slow throbbing of a +breaking heart. Pictures illustrating camp-life, battle scenes, etc., +ornamented the stand, which was also decorated plentifully with red +and white, with a sufficient admixture of blue to make one remember to +be loyal to the present. The attempt to depict camp-life, cannon, +camp-fires, tents, stacked guns, sentries, etc., was utterly upset by +the presence of hundreds of ladies and children, with the inevitable +paraphernalia necessary to their comfort. "The front of grim-visaged +war" was constantly being smoothed into beauty by baby fingers. Men, +lured by siren voices, deserted the tented field, and were happy, in +entire forgetfulness of duty (so called). Soldiers who did _not_ bring +ladies enjoyed hugely living in tents and once more "messing" +together. Many eloquent speakers addressed the crowd. Pearls of +eloquence were sown broadcast, and brought forth a generous harvest of +applause. + +The number of officers present was surprising. Generals, colonels, +majors were pointed out to me by the score, and at last I began to +wonder whether in the portion of the Confederate army here represented +there were any "privates," at least I _might_ have so wondered had I +not _known_ that, after many of the battles now being recalled with +honest pride and merited applause, my own eyes had been too dim with +tears to see the glory, my ears had failed to catch the sounds of +triumph, because so filled with awful death-groans or the agonizing +cries of the wounded. Men whose parting breath was an ascription of +praise to the god of battles, whose last earthly joy was the knowledge +of victory, and others who, shattered and torn and in throes of agony, +yet repressed their moans that they might listen for the music of the +fount which "springs eternal," whose bright waters (to them) mirrored +the cause they loved so well. + +All honor to those who planned the glorious campaigns of the late +war--who dauntlessly led heroic legions. Their record is without a +parallel in the history of nations. Equal honor to the rank and +file--whose splendid valor and self-sacrifice made success possible +even when further efforts seemed but a "forlorn hope." + +I believe I have omitted no important detail of the reunion. Each day +was just like the preceding one. Meetings and partings "tried men's +souls," and women's hearts were stirred to their depths. + +At last the end came; afterwards to many painful reaction. Still it +was passing sweet to meet old friends and comrades, and to find that +memory had not proven faithless to her trust. For many a day in the +future we shall stand in the light of the surpassing glory which +streamed through as the curtain, which has so long obscured the past, +was lifted again and again by tender, reverent hands, under the oaks +at Dallas. + +_An Incident of the Dallas Reunion._[3] + + [3] Written at the time for the Shreveport paper by Colonel + Henderson, a true and gallant soldier, who has since died. + +(The scene here described is to me a "_memory_" passing sweet, and one +which I desire to perpetuate. This feeling is far removed from vanity. +Had the "Lost Cause" been triumphant, my lips would have been sealed +as to my own service. As it is, I glory in having served it, and +cherish fondly even the slightest token that "my boys" do not forget +me.) + + +"On the last day of the Southern Soldiers' Reunion at Dallas, and when +sentiments had been read in honor of this and that officer of +distinction in the service of the Lost Cause, a lady occupying a +somewhat retired position on the platform handed to General Gano a +slip of paper on which was traced the following noble sentiment as +read by General Gano in a clear, distinct voice, and in tones that +expressed his entire concurrence. + +"The sentiment and the name subscribed are sufficient of themselves. +We give it as follows: + + "'THE PRIVATE SOLDIER OF THE CONFEDERATE STATES ARMY. + + "'He bore in his bosom a heart of oak; he withstood the brunt of + battle and sustained the heat and burthen of the day. His blood + nourished the laurels which otherwise had never bloomed to grace + the brow of Lee and Jackson. For myself, no blessing has ever + crowned my life more highly prized than the God-given privilege I + enjoyed during four years of the war, of ministering to the boys + who wore the ragged, unornamented gray. + + "'Your devoted friend and comrade, + + "'MRS. FANNY A. BEERS, + "'Late of the Confederate Army.' + +"To this sentiment came the response of three cheers and a regular +rebel yell, repeated and repeated for the space of twenty minutes. + +"But the most touching feature followed. A number of old Confederate +soldiers, who had in wounds and sickness received gentle and healing +ministrations from the hands of Mrs. Beers, and learned just then that +she was present, in defiance of all order, rushed to the stand and +gathered about her. Each and every one bore the mark of some wound +received in the war, and wore about their person some fragment of +Confederate uniform--a hat, a coat, or other article--as souvenirs of +the days of trials and glory. + +"Like old children they gathered around her, grasping her hand and +blessing her and testifying to all the world what a blessing she had +been to them. + +"It was, indeed and truly, the most touching and striking incident of +the late reunion of Confederate veterans at Dallas." + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +CAMP NICHOLS. + +The Louisiana Soldiers' Home. + + +I must begin with a digression, for, as thought concentrates itself +upon this pleasant subject, one is irresistibly impelled to remember +the delightful ride thitherward, and to wonder if any other city in +the United States can boast of street-car routes so beautiful. The +visitor to "Camp Nichols," taking on Canal Street a car of the +Esplanade and Bayou Bridge line, is borne smoothly along for miles +under cool, green arches of oak-trees, a broad street on either side, +bordered by elegant residences and lovely, fragrant gardens. + +Looking back, where the green arcade narrows away in the distance, or +forward, to observe how the rough track is made beautiful by the shadows +of dancing leaves and boughs,--glancing at the rapidly-succeeding +pictures of beauty and comfort on either side, inhaling the mingled +perfume of flowers,--one is placed under a spell of enchantment which +lasts until, at "Bayou Bridge," the end of the route is reached. +Leaving the car, a very short walk along the banks of the Bayou brings +the visitor to the "camp." Upon entering the gate the first thought is, +"How pleasant, how peaceful, how homelike." The comfortable-looking +house is beautifully shaded by large live-oaks. Under these green grass +is diversified by neatly-kept walks. Midway between the outer gate and +the house a small stream is spanned by a rustic bridge. As I stood upon +this bridge and saw, upon the pleasant galleries in front of their +rooms, the maimed and scarred veterans sitting in groups or apart, +tranquilly smoking and chatting or reading, the dying words of our +"Stonewall" Jackson came into my mind,--"Let us cross the river and +rest in the shade of the trees." To him was given eternal rest. The +weary spirit even then stood by the river of death and viewed beyond +the trees of paradise. Less happy these who remain to witness the +downfall of hope. Ah, what can be more glorious, yet more deeply +sorrowful, than the story of their past. The strength and beauty of +their youth and early manhood was freely given to the cause they deemed +sacred. It was, alas! lost; and, the tempest of war subsiding, left +upon a desolate shore these wrecks. + +Returning after the war to find only ruined homes and shattered +fortunes, those who had retained health and strength found them taxed +to the utmost. Necessity held them in bonds of iron, and the demands +of helpless families absorbed them. All the same, manly hearts have +been often and painfully stirred by the silent appeals of maimed and +suffering comrades, and the faithful few have never ceased to hope and +strive for the result now attained in the "Soldiers' Home." + +It is pleasant to feel that the first rays of the newly-arisen sun of +prosperity have dispelled the darkness wherein these poor fellows have +wandered so long, revealing to them the kindly faces of brothers, who, +having gone in search of them, will lead them to home and rest. + +As I said before, the "Home" viewed from the bridge, a few hundred +yards in front, suggests ideas of comfort which are fully realized +upon a closer investigation. The rooms are delightfully situated +(opening upon a shaded gallery), perfectly ventilated, and very cool, +furnished with iron bedsteads, comfortable and cleanly bedding, +wardrobes or bureaus, and washstands. The library and reception-room +is a charming nook, embellished with many gifts from loving hands. + +Immediately opposite the entrance is placed an excellent portrait of +General Francis T. Nichols, a hero whom all (Louisianians especially) +delight to honor. From the bloody battle-fields of Northern Virginia +he brought back a mangled and shattered body, but enough to hold and +enshrine a powerful, active brain, and a heart as brave and generous +as ever beat in human bosom. + +He is idolized by his comrades and beloved by us all. By a unanimous +vote of the board of directors the home has been called "Camp +Nichols," and from a gracefully-proportioned flag-staff, placed +directly in front of the reception-room (the gift of the Army of +Tennessee), floats a banner whereon this honored name was embroidered +by the daughters of Generals Lee and Jackson during their recent visit +to New Orleans. + +The dining-room is very large, well lighted, and fairly shines with +cleanliness. In short, every appointment is excellent, and every +effort of managers and officers is directed toward making the disabled +veterans feel that they are honored inmates of a home which they have +earned and deserved, not recipients of charity. Camp Nichols may well +be called a trysting-place of heroes. Here old comrades meet as +comrades and friends. In the warm grasp of hands there is no suspicion +of patronage. Right down in these brave, long-suffering hearts shine +glances full of the unforgotten "light of other days," causing eyes +dim and clouded by care and sorrow to beam with a responsive +brightness. Ah, who shall undertake to estimate the value and +blessedness of this work! + +The Legislature of Louisiana organized this enterprise in 1881, making +a yearly appropriation for its support. It is designed for all +soldiers of Louisiana who have been disabled by wounds received in +her service or have become incapacitated by age or disability; is +controlled by a board of directors, also created by the State, +consisting of the president, three vice-presidents, and recording +secretary of the Army of Northern Virginia, and the president, three +vice-presidents, and recording secretary of the Army of Tennessee. + +The harmonious action of this board is nobly sustained by the members +composing both organizations. + +The president of the Army of Tennessee, Judge Walter Rogers, is an +indefatigable worker, as he was once a brave and faithful soldier. He +may with perfect truth be written "as one who loves his fellow-men" +(especially his fellow-soldiers). I believe he will, as long as he +lives, stand a faithful sentinel upon the sands of time, watching lest +the ever-encroaching tide of years may obliterate sacred foot-prints. + +All arrangements having been nearly completed, the Home was opened +January 1, 1884. Eight soldiers were at once admitted, and since the +number has been increased to fifty. Under the rules of the institution +no compulsory labor is allowed except that necessary to properly +police the quarters. Yet all feel so deep an interest in their Home +that they yield willing assistance whenever asked. They choose such +occupations as they are physically able to perform, and take delight +in keeping things in order. + +The Home has many friends outside of the Confederate organizations, +none more zealous and truly kind than the officers and members of the +Grand Army of the Republic, "Mewer Post." These are frequent and +welcome visitors to Camp Nichols, and have shown both generosity and +thoughtfulness in their contributions to the comfort of its inmates. +The superintendent, Captain William Bullitt, was selected on account +of his soldierly qualities and excellent administrative abilities, and +by a unanimous vote of the board elected to fill the position. + +His record is untarnished and excellent. At the inception of the war, +having assisted in raising the First Company Louisiana Guards, he went +out as first lieutenant of the same, won by promotion the rank of +captain and afterwards of major, which he held at the close of the +war. Used, therefore, to command, he also brings to his work a +thorough love for it, and an amount of intelligence in interpreting, +and skill in carrying out arrangements and improvements proposed by +the board of directors, which insures success and the satisfaction of +all concerned. + +"God bless our Home," and let the light of His countenance shine upon +it and bless it. + +And may God strengthen the kindly hands which have led these weary +ones away from thorny pathways "through green pastures and beside +still waters." May they never falter nor fail until the all-merciful +Father shall himself provide the "rod and staff" which shall guide all +through the dark valley to rest eternal. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE MARCH OF TIME. + + +Thoughts suggested while witnessing the ceremonies attending the +unveiling of a statue of General Albert Sydney Johnston, erected upon +their tomb by the Louisiana Division, Army of Tennessee, in New +Orleans, Louisiana, April 6, 1887.[4] + + [4] The article was first published in "The Illustrated South." + +Little more than three years ago there came a day long to be +remembered by every man, woman, and child resident in New Orleans, and +by all strangers then sojourning within her gates. A day when the +souls of thousands held but a single thought, when all hearts beat as +one, when one impulse, strong, thrilling, irresistible led willing +feet to where, upon a pedestal, raised stone by stone by love and +self-sacrifice, stood the shrouded figure of General Robert E. Lee. +Above hung heavy clouds, alas! too suggestive of the hopes that +perished forever at Appomattox, but ever and anon the struggling sun +broke through, lingering awhile as if to recall the matchless glory +which, even in the hour of disaster and defeat, gilded and made +immortal the untarnished swords, the stacked arms, then and there +surrendered. + +To me the terrific storm which soon broke, upsetting all arrangements, +abolishing all ceremonies, hushing all oratory, seemed to solemnize +and mark in a most fitting manner this great occasion. For no tongue +of man or angel could have evoked a feeling so strong, a sentiment so +lasting, as that written, as it were, by the finger of Heaven that day +upon the hearts of that awe-stricken multitude. Years hence, those who +were boys then will remember the lesson there learned. They will tell +you of the soldierly figures standing at the foot of the monument, +exposed to the pitiless storm, immovable, unshrinking ON DUTY, and +these were men who, following where duty led, had won an imperishable +record under the immortal Lee. + +They will describe how, in the storm-swept streets outside the +enclosure, legions of soldiers, the Blue as well as the Gray, calmly +faced the howling tempest, standing "at rest," awaiting the moment +when the form of the great commander should be revealed to their +reverent gaze. Among these, the veterans of the Army of Tennessee bore +a conspicuous part. In their true, brave hearts, second to none in +allegiance to their commander-in-chief, there yet lay enshrined +another image, there burned another purpose equally high and holy. +Hope pointed down the long vista of the future to where lay--a tomb! +only a tomb! nay, more--a "bivouac of the dead," where, life's battle +fought, the toilsome march ended, weary comrades might gather to their +rest. And so far distant, yet always in sight, gleamed their Mecca; +steadily towards it marched the pilgrims of memory, unfaltering, +undismayed, led by a few brave, faithful spirits, through deserts of +discouragement, when oases were few and far between, patiently +bridging chasms which seemed impassable, until to-day they stand at +the goal so hardly won. There lie the veterans who one by one have +stolen to the bivouac. "After life's fitful fever they sleep well." +Above, faithful comrades keep watch and ward. Here is a solemn but +glorious trysting-place. + +On the morning of the 6th of April, twenty-five years ago, a sky as +bright and beautiful as that which to-day bends above us, became +obscured and darkened by the smoke of battle. Of the Confederate +forces then and there engaged it has been said, "Their splendid valor +has been rarely equalled, never surpassed, on any field of any war." +Alas! why must it be that grief and glory always go hand in hand? Up +through the heavy clouds which hid the face of nature that terrible +day sped hundreds of gallant souls, straight to the light wherein was +made clear _to them_ the awful Providence which even now disquiets our +hearts and clouds our earthly vision. Among them, one whose sudden +taking off filled every breast with gloom, and wrested from the +Confederacy the fruits of a splendid victory. + +So many and so grand are the eulogies which have been pronounced upon +Albert Sydney Johnston that nothing remains for me to add. Who does +not remember the sorrow of a nation at his death? Who can forget the +lava tide of indignation which spread over our land when the +"conquered" were forbidden to mourn their fallen hero, when a stricken +people were compelled to "lay their hands upon their mouths, their +mouths in the dust," when even the mournful voices of the bells were +silenced? + +Viewed in the glorious light of to-day, how like a prophecy fulfilled +appear the beautiful lines of Father Ryan,-- + + "There's a grandeur in graves, there's a glory in gloom, + For out of the gloom future brightness is born, + As after the night looms the sunrise of morn, + And the graves of the dead, with grass overgrown, + May yet form the footstool of Liberty's throne." + +Years of bitter strife have left sad traces all over this beautiful +Southland. In lovely valleys, upon every hillside, in the majestic +forests, lie, side by side, the Gray and the Blue. The sun clothes +every mound with equal glory, the sky weeps over all alike. Standing +beside these graves, angry passions die in the hearts of brave men; +"one touch of nature" moistens manly eyes, softens obdurate hearts. +Involuntarily hands meet in a firmer clasp, which expresses respect as +well as sympathy. + +The soldiers on both sides have learned to appreciate and understand +each other, so, in spite of those who would fain prolong the strife, +the long-oppressed people of the South are free to mourn their dead, +and + + "The graves of the dead, with grass overgrown," + +indeed + + "Form a footstool for Liberty's throne." + +To-day the veterans who met and fiercely battled at Shiloh unite in +doing honor to the memory of General Johnston and of the men who, with +him, won immortality upon that bloody field. + +To-day imperishable laurels bloom afresh upon the upturned brows of +the men who hail with loud acclaim the image of their chieftain placed +here to guard forever + + "War's richest spoil,--the ashes of the dead." + +It is fitting that, on this day of memory, rich strains of martial +music should awaken long-silent echoes in this city of the +dead,--fitting that nature should be despoiled of her floral treasures +to deck this sacred place which, indeed, is "not so much the _tomb_ of +virtue as its shrine." + +The flowers that yield their beauty and fragrance to grace this scene +will fade and die. Yon radiant sun will set, but not before it has +burned an indelible record upon the young hearts of thousands to whom, +ere long, we must trust this precious spot. + +Of the remnant of the once magnificent Army of Tennessee gathered here +it will soon be said,-- + + "On Fame's eternal camping-ground + Their silent tents are spread." + +But the figure of their chieftain will be left to tell the story of a +patriotic purpose long cherished in faithful hearts, at last +accomplished by patient hands. + + "Nor wreck, nor change, nor winter's blight, + Nor Time's remorseless doom, + Can dim our ray of holy light + That gilds this glorious tomb." + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +A WOMAN'S RECORD.[5] + +(From the _Southern Bivouac_.) + + [5] Written in 1883 by Major McDonald, of Louisville, Kentucky, + then editor _Southern Bivouac_. + + +This record will be found to substantiate in every particular my own +history of the period referred to. + + +Being inspired by an ardent zeal or a high sense of duty, not a few +noble women during the war arose conspicuous to view. Their gentle +deeds, though done in humble spheres, yet shone like "a bright light +in a low world." + +Fair exemplars they were of patriotic virtue, whose acts of devotion +helped much to enshrine in our memories a melancholy past; and they +should not be forgotten. In the March number of the _Bivouac_ was +given a short sketch of a lady who, during the war, tenderly cared for +the sick and suffering Confederates in a Northern prison. It is now +proposed to give the record of one who, animated with a romantic love +for the cause of the South, left a luxurious home and spent nearly +four years in nursing the sick and wounded in Confederate hospitals. + +Mrs. Fannie A. Beers was a native of the North, and the child of fond +parents, who gave her every educational advantage, and the means of +acquiring all the accomplishments usual in refined circles. + +When very young she was married to her present husband, and before the +war came South to reside at New Orleans. By nature ardent and +susceptible, she readily adapted herself to the surroundings of her +new life, and soon grew to love the people and the land of her +adoption. A few years of happiness passed and then came the sectional +storm. Pull well she knew that it threatened to sunder cherished ties, +but it did not move her from the side of her choice. + +When the struggle came at last, and her home was broken up in New +Orleans by the absence of her husband in the field, she returned to +the parental roof, to beguile the time in the companionship of her +mother. But the separation, with the anxiety it brought, became +intolerable; besides, from the positiveness of her opinions and the +warmth of her zeal, she soon became ill at ease in the land of her +birth. So, with her mother's approval, she resolved to face all +perils, and to return and share the fortunes of the Confederacy. +Taking her little boy she set out for "Dixie," and, after many trials, +arrived at Richmond, Virginia, just after the battle of Bull Run. Here +she was kindly cared for by some old acquaintances, among whom was +Commodore Maury, a friend of her family, and who had dedicated his +"Geography of the Sea" to her uncle, George Manning, of New York. +Through his introduction she made many dear friends among the ladies +of Richmond, some of whom pressed her to come and dwell with them; but +she neither needed nor was seeking roof and shelter. If she so wished, +she might have found them with her husband's relatives in Alabama. +What she felt the want of was occupation,--work in behalf of the cause +to which, in spite of selfish reasons, she felt impelled to devote +herself. + +In order that she might have this work, and at the same time be where +assistance could be rendered her husband and friends at the front, she +asked to be appointed a hospital matron. + +Commodore Maury for some time protested against such a step, saying +that she was too young, and had been too tenderly raised; but she +persisted, so he finally yielded, as appears from the following letter: + + "RICHMOND, August 10, 1861. + + "MY DEAR FANNY,--You bear the heart of a true and tender woman, in + the breast of a noble patriot. I will no longer oppose your wishes, + and mean to help you all I can. Command me at any and all times. + + "Yours truly, + + "MATTHEW F. MAURY." + +At first she assisted in a private hospital maintained by some +Richmond ladies, who, by turns, sent in all the food required. +Permission was applied for to enter the Louisiana hospital, but it was +refused. + +In a few weeks she was appointed matron-in-charge of the Second +Alabama Hospital, with liberty to receive a limited number of her +friends, who might be taken care of there. + +Soon after she entered upon her regular duties the sick and wounded +began to pour in, and from this time forward she was constantly +employed till within a few weeks of the battle of Shiloh. With the +departure of her husband's command to Tennessee, she was disposed for +a like change of field-duty. She now left Richmond, and for a few +weeks only was occupied with a visit to her husband's relatives. Then +she resumed her hospital work at Gainesville, Alabama. + +Her subsequent career is best related in the following letters from +surgeons of high rank, and whose official positions gave them abundant +opportunities of estimating the work she performed and the strength of +the spirit which animated her. The letters were called from their +authors in the spring of 1883, nearly twenty years after the close of +the war, upon the occasion of a musical and literary entertainment +being tendered Mrs. Beers by her soldier friends in New Orleans. So +profound was the gratitude for her former services to sick and wounded +Confederates, that all the military organizations exerted themselves +to make it a success, and at the meeting of the members of the "Army +of Tennessee," complimentary resolutions were passed, and the letters +read. + + "NEW ORLEANS, March 8, 1883. + + "JUDGE ROGERS: + + "DEAR SIR,--Understanding that the members of the 'Army of + Tennessee' have tendered Mrs. F.A. Beers an entertainment, I feel + anxious to aid in securing its success. + + "I am well qualified to testify to the valuable and disinterested + services which this lady rendered in the Confederate hospital + during the late war. In truth, aside from officers and soldiers who + may be now living and still holding in remembrance the kind and + skilful nursing which she gave them personally while wounded or + sick, I know of only four persons whose positions made them fully + cognizant of the heroism, devotion, and self-sacrifice which she + brought to the discharge of her duties. These are, first, Dr. T.H. + McAllister, now of Marion, Alabama, in whose admirably-conducted + hospital she was the only matron during the greater part of the + war; second, Dr. C.B. Gamble, now of Baltimore; third, Dr. S.H. + Stout, now of Roswell, Georgia, medical director of hospitals of + the Army of Tennessee; fourth, the writer. + + "I know that I can venture to speak in behalf of these gentlemen + and for myself in declaring that the skill and efficiency with + which she nursed and fed our sick and wounded soldiers, and the + coolness and bravery with which she faced danger in discharge of + these duties do merit suitable recognition from the survivors of + those rapidly-diminishing numbers who fought under the Confederate + flag. + + "Very respectfully, + + "S.M. BEMISS, M.D., + + "Late Assistant Medical Director and Medical Director of Hospitals, + Army of Tennessee." + + + "MARION, ALABAMA, March 11, 1888. + + "Dr. S. BEMISS, New Orleans,--Having heard an entertainment was to + be given in your city on March 29 for the benefit of Mrs. Fannie A. + Beers, I feel it to be my duty, as well as pleasure, to add my + testimony to her worth and to the part she played in the late war. + + "During the three years she was with me as a Confederate hospital + matron, she conducted herself as a high-toned lady in the strictest + sense of the term, and to every word I may say of her there are + hundreds, yea, thousands, of Confederate soldiers scattered all + over the South who would cheerfully testify to some facts if + opportunity were offered them. + + "After the battles of Shiloh and Farmington, and then the + evacuation of Corinth, I was ordered to establish hospitals (in + June or July, 1862) for the sick and wounded of General Bragg's + army, at Gainesville, Alabama. With scarcely any hospital supplies + I began preparations for the same, and in answer to a card + published in the Selma (Alabama) papers, asking for supplies and a + suitable lady to act as matron, she promptly responded. At first + sight her youthful, delicate, refined, and lady-like appearance, + showing she had never been accustomed to any hardships of life, + caused me to doubt her capacity to fill the position of matron. + + "She said she desired to do something while her husband was at the + front defending our Southern homes. I soon found what she lacked in + age and experience was made up in patriotism, devotion to the + Southern cause, constant vigilance, and tenderness in nursing the + Confederate sick and wounded. I soon learned to appreciate her + services and to regard her as indispensable. + + "She remained with me as hospital matron while I was stationed at + Gainesville, Alabama, Ringgold, Georgia, Newnan, Georgia, and Port + Valley, Georgia, embracing a period of nearly three years. She was + all the time chief matron, sometimes supervising more than one + thousand beds filled with sick and wounded, and never did any woman + her whole duty better. Through heat and cold, night and day, she + was incessant in her attentions and watchfulness over the + Confederate sick and wounded, many times so worn down by fatigue + that she was scarcely able to walk, but never faltering in the + discharge of her duties. + + "At one time, while at Newnan, Georgia, the Federal forces under + General McCook were advancing on the town, and it became necessary + for every available man--post officers, surgeons, convalescents, + and nurses--to leave the town and wards in order to repel the + invading enemy. I was much affected while hurrying from ward to + ward giving general orders about the care of the sick during my + absence in the fight, to see and hear the maimed begging Mrs. Beers + to remain with them, and they could well testify to how well she + acted her part in remaining with them and caring for their many + wants, while the able-bodied men of all grades went to battle for + all they held dear. + + "At the same time, all the citizens and officers' wives sought + refuge in some place of safety. After the battle, which resulted in + victory to the Confederates, and the wounded of both armies were + brought to our wards, and the Federal prisoners (about one + thousand) to the town, her attention and kindness was, if possible, + doubly increased, extending help and care as well to the boys in + blue as to those in gray. In her missions of mercy she made no + distinction. There she was daily seen with her servant going into + the prison of the Federal soldiers with bandages and baskets of + provisions to minister to the wants of such as were slightly + wounded or needed some attention. Many a Federal officer and + soldier would doubtless bear willing testimony to these acts of + unselfish kindness. + + "While Atlanta was invested and being shelled she, contrary to my + advice and urgent remonstrance, took boxes of provisions to her + husband and comrades in the trenches when the shot and shell fell + almost like hail. While at Fort Valley her courage and patriotism + were put to the severest test in an epidemic of smallpox. + + "When all who could left, she remained and nursed the Confederate + soldiers with this loathsome disease. I desire to say she was a + voluntary nurse, and did all her work from patriotism alone, until + it became necessary for her to remain as a permanent _attache_ of + the hospitals that her name should go upon the pay-rolls. After + that she spent her hard earnings in sending boxes to the front and + dispensing charity upon worthy objects immediately under her care. + + "She was with me as voluntary nurse, or matron, for more than three + years, and during that time she conducted herself in every respect + so as to command the respect and esteem of all with whom she came + in contact, from the humblest private to the highest in command, + and the citizens of every place where she was stationed gave her a + hearty welcome, and invited her into the best of society. + + "Feeling this much was due to one who suffered so many privations + for 'Dear Lost Cause,' I send it to you for you to use as you think + proper in promoting her good. You know me well, and can vouch for + anything I have said. + + "Very respectfully, + + "WM. T. McALLISTER, M.D., + + "Late Surgeon P.A.C.S." + +After such testimonials of worth and work, anything more would seem +out of place. Yet we cannot refrain from mentioning some of the +sayings of soldiers who, though forgotten, yet recall her with +affection for the tender nursing received at her hands. Says one, "She +was the moving spirit in the hospital, officially and practically. The +first object of her ministrations was to relieve suffering and save +life. The next was to fit men for service. When health was restored +she would brook no shirking, but with the power of kindly words +impelled patients to the field. Her zeal sprang from profound +convictions of the righteousness of the Cause, and with the vehemence +of sincerity she wielded a great influence over those who had +recovered under her care." + +Another declares that he has seen her "not only bathing the heads of +soldiers, but washing their feet." + +So the evidence accumulates, and it is no wonder she is called by many +"The Florence Nightingale of the South." + + +THE END. + + + + +THOMPSON IMPROVED BUILDING PAPER. + +A Substitute for Plastering and for Wall Paper and Canvas. +In use from the Atlantic to the Rocky Mountains. +No Experiment, but an Established Success. + +SHEETING AND LINING PAPERS, +TARRED PAPERS, +ROOFING FELT, ROOFING PITCH, +ASPHALT, ETC. + +Metal Shingles in Iron and Tin, Painted and Galvanized. + +BEST BANGOR ROOFING SLATES, ROOFING TILES, ETC. + +Samples of Paper and Circulars sent on application. Address +EDWARD THOMPSON, +112 and 114 Poydras Street, NEW ORLEANS, LA. + + + +THE SOUTH ILLUSTRATED. + +130 Gravier St., New Orleans, La. + +A TWENTY-PAGE MONTHLY. + +Published under the auspices of leading Business Men and Capitalists +of the State. + +H.H. BAKER, Managing Editor. GEO. MOORMAN, Associate Editor. + +_Devoted to the Development of the South, particularly Louisiana. +Superbly Illustrated._ + +SUBSCRIPTION, $1.00 PER YEAR. + +Every issue replete with information pertaining to the resources of +the Southern States, their unmatched advantage of climate and soil, +adaptation to a wide range of agricultural products, tropical fruits, +etc. Vast and widely-distributed mineral and wooded wealth, and the +late marked impetus on many lines of industrial progress, especially +in railroads, iron manufactures, etc. + +THE MOST EFFECTIVE ADVERTISING MEDIUM IN THE SOUTH. + +Rates for advertisements and subscription furnished promptly on +application at the office, + +13O GRAVIER STREET. + + + +A.K. MILLER & CO., + +AGENTS FOR + +"State," "American," "Inman," "Cunard," "White Star," "Red Star," +"Allan," "National," "Guion," "Hamburg," and "Italian" Lines of +Steamers. + +All Classes of Passage to and from all Places in Europe and America, +via New Orleans, New York, Baltimore, and Philadelphia. + +SIGHT DRAFTS ON ALL CITIES IN EUROPE. + +37 Carondelet Street, New Orleans, La. + + + +THE +LIVERPOOL AND LONDON AND GLOBE +INSURANCE COMPANY. + +Fire Assets $15,014,725.47 +Total Fire Liabilities 5,614,692.11 + ------------- +Surplus for Policy Holders $9,400,033.36 + +Assets in United States $6,639,780.55 +Liabilities in United States 3,562,242.30 + ------------- +Surplus in United States $3,077,538.25 + +HENRY V. OGDEN, CLARENCE P. LOW, +Resident Secretary. Assistant Secretary. + +LOSSES CASHED UPON ADJUSTMENT WITHOUT DISCOUNT. + +194 GRAVIER STREET. +NEW ORLEANS. + + + +John I. Adams. W.H. Renaud. J.G. Ong. P.A. Bonito. + +JOHN I. ADAMS & CO., + +Wholesale Grocers +AND +DEALERS IN PROVISIONS, WINES, AND LIQUORS, + +Nos. 43, 45, and 47 Peters Street +(formerly NEW LEVEE), + +Coffee, Sugar, Molasses, and Rice a Speciality NEW ORLEANS + + + +F. CODMAN FORD, +Building Specialties, +63 and 69 Baronne St., New Orleans, La. + +_Terra-Cotta of Every Description. +Stained and Decorative Glass. Fine Hard-Wood Mantels. +Glazed and Encaustic Tiles. +F.W. Devoes & Co.'s Paints and Varnishes._ + +SEND FOR CATALOGUES AND ESTIMATES. + + + +H.P. BUCKLEY, +No. 8 Camp Street, New Orleans, La., + +HAS ON HAND A FINE STOCK OF +Waltham Watches, +AT LOW PRICES. + +ALSO SILVERWARE, JEWELRY, SPECTACLES. + +Watch and Jewelry Repairing a Specialty. + + + +RICHARD M. ONG, +92 and 94 Magazine St., New Orleans, + +Paints, Building Materials, Naval Stores, Oils. + +WHITE AND RED LEAD, NAILS, FIRE BRICK, +MIXED AND DRY COLORS, LIME, SAND, +WINDOW GLASS, CEMENT, HAIR, +VARNISHES, GLUES, PLASTER PARIS, +BRUSHES, ETC. FIRE CLAY AND FIRE TILES. + +Burning and Machinery Oils and Axle Grease. + + + +New Orleans National Bank +(UNITED STATES DEPOSITORY), + +Corner of Camp and. Common Streets. + + +Capital $200,000 +Surplus 400,000 +Undivided Profits 65,000 + -------- + $665,000 + +A. BALDWIN, President S. KATZ, Vice-President. WM. PALFREY, Cashier. + + + +JOHNSON IRON WORKS, + +Julia St., from Delta to Water, + +LEWIS JOHNSON } +HENRY D. STEARNS } Proprietors NEW ORLEANS. + + + +TULANE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA. + +High School, College, University, Law, +and Medical Departments. + +Hon. RANDALL LEE GIBSON, U.S. Senator, President of Board of + Administrators. +WILLIAM PRESTON JOHNSON, LL.D., President of University. + +Forty-seven Professors and Instructors. + +HIGH SCHOOL. Three Classes--Preparatory, Intermediate, and +Sub-Freshman. Four Parallel Courses. Drawing and Manual Training two +hours daily for all classes. + +COLLEGE COURSES.--Classical, Literary, Natural Science, Mathematical, +Mechanical, and Commercial. + +UNIVERSITY COURSE leads to degrees of Master of Arts, and further +study to degree of Doctor of Philosophy. + +LAW AND MEDICAL DEPARTMENTS thoroughly organized, with efficient +Faculties and large attendance of students from city and country and +adjoining States. + +H. SOPHIE NEWCOMB MEMORIAL COLLEGE +FOR YOUNG WOMEN, + +Under Charge of the Administrators of the University. + +Catalogues containing announcement of all departments may be obtained +upon application to + +WM. O. ROGERS, +Secretary Tulane University, +New Orleans, La. + + + +A.B. GRISWOLD & CO., + +Corner Canal and Royal Streets, NEW ORLEANS, + +IMPORTERS OF + +_Watches, Diamonds, Jewelry, and Silverware._ + + + +JNO. T. MOORE, JR., & CO., + +WHOLESALE GROCERS +AND COMMISSION MERCHANTS, + +Nos. 37, 39, AND 41 TCHOUPITOULAS STREET, +P.O. Box 1806. Telephone 1150. Between Poydras and Gravier Streets. + +WAREHOUSE, No. 14 NATCHEZ STREET, +NEW ORLEANS, LA. + +_CASH ADVANCES MADE._ + + + +S. JAMISON'S SON, + +No. 69 Carondelet St., New Orleans, + +IMPORTER AND DEALER IN + +English and German Portland Cements, + +ROSENDALE AND WESTERN CEMENTS, + +Marble Dust, Sand, Plaster, Hair, Lime, and Fire Bricks, +Fertilizers, Fire Clay, and Tiles, +Laths, Rosin, Pitch, and Building Materials. + +OILS A SPECIALTY. + +CORRESPONDENCE SOLICITED. + + + +THOS. FAWCETT & SONS, + +_Branch of Thos. Fawcett & Sons, Miners and Shippers of Coal, +77 Water Street, Pittsburgh, Pa._, + +DEALERS IN + +PITTSBURGH, ANTHRACITE, AND CANNEL +COAL AND COKE. + +OFFICE, 166 POYDRAS STREET, +NEW ORLEANS. + +Yard, on Levee, Head Bobin St. Telephone 842. + +Families, Presses, Factories, Plantations, etc., Supplied at Lowest +Market Rates. COAL IN CASKS FOR SHIPMENT. + + + +MRS. T.J. BROWN, + +W.W. HAWKINS, Manager, + +DEALER IN + +WALL PAPERS, + +Window Shades, Hollands, Cornices, Cornice Poles, +Room Mouldings, Etc., + +263 CAMP STREET, +NEW ORLEANS. + +SAMPLES MAILED ON APPLICATION. + + + +JOHN H. MURPHY, + +Copper, Brass, and Iron Works, + +MANUFACTURER OF +SUGAR MACHINERY, + +Nos. 123 to 131 Magazine Street, +CORNER GIROD, +NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA. + + + +AUGUST F. SLANGERUP, Superintending Engineer. +WILL R. TAYLOR, Business Manager. +WALTER A. TAYLOR, Mechanical Engineer and Draughtsman. + +TAYLOR BROTHERS & CO. + +(Successors to Wm. W. Taylor), + +Contracting and Manufacturing + +MACHINISTS AND ENGINEERS + +Will prepare plans, specifications, and estimates, and contract for +the manufacture, erection, and repairing of + +_Engines, Boilers, Bagasse Burners, Steam and Vacuum Pumps, Sugar +Mills, Vacuum Pans, Double and Triple Effects, Filter Presses, Steam +Trains, and General Sugar Machinery_, + +SOLE BUILDERS OF + +Taylor's Patent Steam Traps. Taylors Improved Bagasse Burners, Taylors +Patent Bagasse Feeders. + +Manufacturers' Agents for Guild and Garrison's Boiler, Feed, Tank, and +Vacuum Pumps. + +Our shops are new, and equipped with new and improved machinery, +enabling us to do first-class work. + +Office and Works, Constance and St. Joseph Streets, New Orleans. + + + +Telephone 278. + +JOSEPH J. HOOPER, + +STATIONER, + +No. 60 Carondelet St., New Orleans. + +SPECIALTIES: + +_Printing and Blank Book Manufacturing._ + +Write for quotations; it will cost you only _one cent_ and may +save you a dollar. + + + +REYNOLDS IRON WORKS, + +MANUFACTURERS OF + +The Celebrated Reynolds's Patent Cotton Presses + +Agricultural Implements, +MACHINERY, CASTINGS OF ALL KINDS, ETC., + +Cor. Delord and Fulton Sts., New Orleans, La. + +THOS. O'CONNOR, Jr., Manager. + + + +LOUISIANA BREWING CO. +OF NEW ORLEANS. + +Brewery and Office, Jackson and Tchoupitoulas Sts. +TELEPHONE, no. 822. + +P.W. DIELMANN, President. J. HASSINGER, Vice-President. +FRANK FEHR, Superintendent. H. ENGELHARDT, Secretary. + +BOARD OF DIRECTORS. +P.W. Dielmann. J. Hassinger. F. Raquet. H. Armbruster. +Albert P. Noll. Frank Fehr. M. Vonderbank + + + +Frank Walker. H.J. Leovy, Jr. + +FRANK WALKER & CO., + +MILL SUPPLIES, + +Mill Builders and Contractors, + +117 TCHOUPITOULAS ST., NEW ORLEANS. + +RICE MILL WORK A SPECIALTY. + + + +MONTGOMERY U.S. BONDED WAREHOUSES, + +Fulton and Peters, between Julia, and St. Joseph Streets. + +CHAS. A. THIEL, +_Proprietor_, + +MAIN OFFICE, 115 FULTON STREET, +NEW ORLEANS. +TELEPHONE 926. INSURANCE A 1. + + + +CRESCENT SUGAR AND RICE WAREHOUSES, +Commerce and Tchoupitoulas, bet. Julia and St. Joseph Sts. + + + +YALE & BOWLING, + +WHOLESALE +DRY GOODS AND NOTIONS + +17, 19, and 21 Magazine St. +AND +88 Common St., +NEW ORLEANS, LA. + + + +THE LOUISIANA NATIONAL BANK, +OF NEW ORLEANS. + +Capital $500,000.00 +Surplus 200,000.00 +Undivided Profits 140,000.00 + ---------- + $840,000.00 + +R.M. WALMSLEY, A. LURIA, LEON F. JANIN, +President. Vice-President. Cashier. + + + +M. HACKETT, + +WHOLESALE AND RETAIL GROCER, +Importer, Wine and Liquor Dealer, + +223 TO 227 MELPOMENE STREET, +_BARONNE STREET SIDE OF DRYADES MARKET_, +NEW ORLEANS. + + + +JNO. P. RICHARDSON, + +WHOLESALE +DRY GOODS AND NOTIONS + +CORNER +Magazine and Common. Sts., +NEW ORLEANS, LA. + + + +P.A. BARKER. BARKER & PESCUD, P.F. PESCUD. + +River, Marine, and Life Insurance Agents, + +No. 58 Carondelet Street, New Orleans, La., +REPRESENT FOLLOWING COMPANIES, VIZ.: + + _Assets_. +AEtna Ins. Co., Hartford 89,568,839 +Home Ins. Co., New York 7,803,711 +Hartford Fire Ins. Co., Hartford 5,005,946 +Springfield Fire and Marine Ins. Co., Massachusetts 3,044,915 +Lion Fire Ins. Co., London 4,504,155 +Sun Fire Office, London 1,706,268 +Commercial Ins Co., California 500,000 +Employers Liability (Accident), London. 763,078 +Metropolitan Plate Glass Ins. Co., N.Y., 220,000 + +P.O. Box 667. LOSSES ADJUSTED AND PAID IN NEW ORLEANS, LA. + + + +E.C. FENNER, + +CARRIAGE REPOSITORY, + +Bicycles, Tricycles, Velocipedes, and Lawn Tennis, Baby Carriages, +Harness, Whips, Robes, and Carriage Trimmings, + +105 AND 107 GRAVIER STREET, +NEW ORLEANS, LA. + + + +[Illustration: Carriage] + +JOSEPH SCHWARTZ, + +Nos. 41, 43, 45, and 47 Perdido St. + +THE LARGEST +Carriage and Wagon +Repository and Manufactory in the South, +And Dealer in Carriage, Wagon, and Cane Cart Materials. +Agent for the Celebrated Tennessee and Studebaker Farm Wagons, +and Coldwater Road Cart. + +P.O. Box 3365. NEW ORLEANS. + + + +T.H. STAUFFER. B.F. ESHLEMAN. WALTER R. STAUFFER. + +STAUFFER, ESHLEMAN & CO., + +SUCCESSORS TO STAUFFER, MACKREADY & CO., + +IMPORTERS AND DEALERS IN HARDWARE, + +Cutlery, Guns, Pistols, Iron, Nails, Tin and Leaded Plates, Metals, +Oils, Paints, and Cordage. + +AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS. + +No. 103 Chambers St., New York. + +Nos. 11 to 23 Dorsier, 52 and 54 Customhouse Streets, +and 71 Canal Street, +NEW ORLEANS. + + + +C.M. SORIA, Pres. JNO S. RAINEY, Vice-Pres. F.W. RAINEY. Sec. and Treas. + +STANDARD GUANO AND CHEMICAL MANUFACTURING CO., + +Successors to Sterns Fertilizer and Chemical Manufacturing Co. + +Manufacturers of Super-Phosphates, Pure Ground Bone, Animal Charcoal, +and Chemicals. Special Fertilizers for Cotton, Sugar, Grain, Fruit, +and Vegetables. + +Highest Standard Guaranteed. + +_P.O. Drawer 442. 14 Union St., New Orleans._ + + + +ERNEST MlLTENBERGER, H. GALLY, SCOTT McGEHEE. +PRESIDENT. VICE-PRESIDENT. SECRETARY. + +Southern Insurance Company +OF NEW ORLEANS, + +No. 54 CAMP STREET. + +CASH CAPITAL $300,000 +ASSETS, JAN. 1, 1888 440,000 + + + +CRESCENT INSURANCE COMPANY. + +NEW ORLEANS. + +Incorporated as a Mutual Company in 1849. +Reorganized as a Stock Company in 1880. + +CASH CAPITAL $400,000. + +_Has Paid over Ten and One-Half Millions for Losses since 1849._ + +ANNUAL AND TERM POLICIES ISSUED ON DESIRABLE FIRE BUSINESS. + +W.R. LYMAN, Pres't. JOSEPH BOWLING, Vice-Pres't. +CHAS. E. RICE, Secretary. + + + +ESTABLISHED 1875. + +A.J. GIURANOVICH, + +Jeweler and Practical Diamond Setter, + +126 ROYAL STREET, +Between St. Louis and Toulouse Sts. NEW ORLEANS, LA. + +Nine Years with Mr. I.C. LEVI, New Orleans, La. + +Three Years with Mr. VERAX, Paris, France. + + + +BOOTS AND SHOES. + +E. MARQUEZE & CO., + +MANUFACTURERS, BOSTON, MASS. + +SOUTHERN JOBBING HOUSE, +No. 75 CANAL STREET, +NEW ORLEANS, LA. + + + +E.F. BRAKENRIDGE, + +DEALER IN + +Pine and Cypress Lands, + +_No. 20 ST. CHARLES STREET_, +NEW ORLEANS, LA. + + + +R.J. DOWNEY, + +SLATE ROOFER. + +Contracts taken in this and all adjoining States. + +SEND FOR PRICES AND ESTIMATES. + +OFFICE, 109 ST. CHARLES ST., +P.O. Box 3106. NEW ORLEANS, LA. + + + +A. McDERMOTT, + +MANUFACTURER OF +ARTIFICIAL LIMBS, +TRUSSES, AND SURGICAL APPLIANCES, + +Crutches and Elastic Hosiery, + +_900 St. Charles, between Julia and St. Joseph Streets_, +NEW ORLEANS, LA. + + + +A. BALDWIN & CO., + +74 Canal St., New Orleans, and 77 and 79 Broad St., New York. + +91. 93, AND 95 COMMON STREET, +NEW ORLEANS, LA. + +Importers and Dealers in Foreign and domestic + +HARDWARE, +CUTLERY, GUNS, PISTOLS, + +Barbed Fence Wire, and Agricultural Implements. + + + +Souby Art Gallery + +113 CANAL STREET, +NEW ORLEANS, LA. + +Crayon, with Frame, $15.00. +Pictures on Watch Dials a Specialty. +Imitation Porcelain Picture, with. Frame, $1.50. +A Good Photograph at $1.50 per Dozen. + +_Give us a call. No trouble to show specimens and prices._ + +CORRESPONDENCE SOLICITED. + + + +A.T. TERRY. E.J. MACK + +TERRY & MACK, + +MEN'S FURNISHING GOODS, + +_No. 9 Carondelet Street (near Canal)_, +NEW ORLEANS. + + + +G.W. DUNBAR'S SONS, + +Packers of Semi-Tropical Products, + +FRESH GULF SHRIMP, + +Potted Shrimp, Green Turtle, Preserved Figs, Orange Preserve, Figs in +Cordial, Okra, etc. + +_Manufacturers of French Cordials and Fruit Syrups._ + +Office and Salesroom, No. 3 Tchoupitoulas Street, NEW ORLEANS. + + + +A.O. PESSOU, + +Office, 71 Carondelet St., Warehouse, 487 and 489 Calliope St., +NEW ORLEANS. + +_Corrugated Iron, Steel Wire Nails, Bricks, Sand, Lime, Cement, +Plaster, Hair, and Laths, Ready-Mixed Paints, Sewer Pipe._ + +SOLICITS COUNTRY ORDERS. + + + +DAVID LEMLEY + +Copper, Tin, and Sheet-Iron Worker, + +192 ST. CHARLES STREET, NEW ORLEANS, LA. + +LEMLEY'S PATENT RAIN-WATER CUT-OFF, + +_THE ONLY BEST._ + +ROOFING, GUTTERING, SLATING, ETC., ETC. + +Repairs Executed with Dispatch. + +BERGER PATENT TEN-FOOT GUTTER + + + +ANNOUNCEMENT FOR 1888. + +The complete novels that have already been arranged for to appear in + +LIPPINCOTTS MONTHLY MAGAZINE + +for 1888 are as follows: + +"CHECK AND COUNTER-CHECK." By BRANDER MATTHEWS and GEORGE H. JESSOP + (January). + +"THE SPELL OF HOME." After the German. By Mrs. A.L. WISTER (February). + +"HONORED IN THE BREACH." By JULIA MAGRUDER (March). + +"THE QUICK OR THE DEAD?" By AMELIE RIVES (April). + +This series of novels, it will readily be seen, will be of great +literary value and interest. Miss Amelie Rives has excited universal +admiration by the short stories and poems that she has contributed to +current magazines, and a novel from her pen will be eagerly welcomed +by a wide circle. Edgar Saltus, a brilliant young author, whose "Mr. +Incoul's Misadventure" was excellent in itself and gave promise of +still more brilliant performance in the future, is another rising +name. William H. Bishop and Brander Matthews have an established +position among contemporary novelists, and the new novels from their +pen will be equal to any of their former work. Mrs. A.L. Wister's +adaptations are known to all readers of American fiction. Miss Julia +Magruder, whose "Across the Chasm" and "At Anchor" (in Lippincott's +Magazine) were hailed as among the most charming of modern Southern +novels, is another writer with an audience already created. Miss M. +Eliott Seawell is the author of "Maid Marian," a delightful little +extravaganza in the December, 1886, number of Lippincott's, and the +novel which she has written for this magazine will add another star to +the galaxy of Southern novelists. + +In addition, Albion W. Tourgee will contribute a notable series of +stories, illustrating the interesting and exciting phases of the legal +profession, under the general title of "With Gauge & Swallow." Each +story will be complete in itself, though all will revolve around a +common centre of interest. + +Stories, essays, and poems may be expected from Amelie Rives, Edgar +Fawcett, Thomas Nelson Page, H.H. Boyesen, Joaquin Miller, Walt +Whitman, Will Carleton, M.G. McClelland, Helen G. Cone. Mrs. S.M.B. +Piatt, J.J. Piatt, C.L. Hildreth, Will H. Hayne, Lucy C. Lillie, Edith +M. Thomas, and many others; and autobiographical articles, dealing +with interesting phases of their career, from Lotta, Fanny Davenport. +H.H. Boyesen, Edgar Saltus, Clara Barton, Belva Lockwood, Frances E. +Willard, etc., etc. + +A number of ideas new to periodical literature will be exploited +during the year. For example, the February number will be written +entirely by women for women, and will contain a novel by Mrs. Wister; +a novelette by Miss Amelie Rives; poems by Mrs. Piatt, Helen G. Cone, +Edith M. Thomas, and Ella Wheeler-Wilcox; autobiographical sketches by +Belva Lockwood, Fanny Davenport, etc.; and articles of general +interest by other famous women of the country, + +Subscription per Annum, $3.00. Single Number, 25 Cents. + +J.B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY, Publishers, +715 and 717 Market Street, Philadelphia. + + + +FIRE. RIVER. MARINE. + +Incorporated April, 1857. +Reorganized April, 1882. + +HOPE +Insurance Company +OF +NEW ORLEANS, + +No. 188 Gravier Street. + +Cash Capital $250,000.00 +Assets 403,766.98 + +PROGRESSIVE AND LIBERAL. + +J.A. CHALARON, President. MAURICE STERN, Vice-President. +LOUIS BARNETT, SECRETARY. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Memories, by Fannie A. 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