-.-l




r.t


to~


4'. It
*0                             'r      I f. 1...r      r
I    -It
iI , -
I N


p.1.1    I i
I          t 0
I


I.',k,,& I.
PM,,
=111                       f
I
4 I.. N. I
I,    9.  I 1 7 

I


V
it.   %
k


llt— %  f
c


I',l


ll
I     , 0
1%            j   ,
1%\1
i
4/O
" %i        v


tZ%4,~




'V.,
) ,*1       p.', 6"
     *t          I
'".4'
'4
44
*I.                           V
d
Ii;


-4


0,,






'.7lo,^
- f. "'. 4
1,)t                      'i,
11      ip


I


v -.'


U,
'A,
'p
t
I
U

#   S.


4
-,,    1,  - 1*
I I:1 -,
I      i
11.
I I


ii


1*


/! 4r.."   jt-,t     I k,,
1.:-,E, lk
I. '
I;,   i




f
f
t
I
I         I /
000000000",.0
4
I.i
40
fu         /          0




I




I
t
I
i
t
N
4 %.
I I
%, -.. r, 'l4k
I
ft, -,
I
,, I




J0


I1


0 I
C)
In
LI
L).
C,
I)
4>                       '"4




 -, -,N,-     - -,                  I  '7       4
'i;,..  1
W. -et.,       '!
".     '..;         - I
K      ',
I,,   I


Ai *.,,
o i.- ~


FOUR YEARS PESONAL EPIU XCk
AS NURSE IN, TIME UXJO0' ARbIYo ANV) IN R~,4I Wt'*LK il
EN HOSPITALS. CAMP6, ANT) AT TIM~F!'T PIW)Uk4
THIE WAS OF THE REDgLLION.
WITH1
anerbots, Ilattjtc Nwftbnflw,  9briiw,  Unitser
tFOXTRA YtX44
THE LIGEHTS AND SB1ADOWS OF HOSPITAL LIFE~
APP
':7iL        SM~AR  ~VICE OF THE WAR.
rf


N1$ Fl


A                      1%,*oTo   lits.


D~uptwbl!'"Ormtt4e


WI 7W Pf)RR.lTF AND YC7MP#r
S?5AL. AND FINN ORRA~l'


ij   A,  "  I-  4


HARTFORD, ( ~A




6'
-.~ cl
"`,Tii;r
r
r b r
i rr
1 ~~;*
5




MY STORY OF THE WAR:
2  btoman' Nagrrattie
OF
FOUR YEARS PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
AS NURSE IN THE UNION ARMY, AND IN RELIEF WORK AT HOME,
IN HOSPITALS, CAMPS, AND AT TIE FPRNT, DURING
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION.
WITH
tnectotes, Patetic incibntet, anb!triling  tneminitcncet
PORTRAYINO
THE LIGHTS AND SHADOWS OF HOSPITAL LIFE
AND
THE SANITARY SERVICE OF THE WAR.
BY
MARY A. LIVERMORE.
juperblig llustrattd
WITH PORTRAITS AND.SCUEROUS FULL-PAGE F.,IFOR 7NwO O
STIEL, AND FINE CBROMO-LITHOGROAP PLATES.
HARTFORD, CONN.:
A D. WORTHINGTON AND COMPANY.
1896.




Antered, according to Act or Congress, in the year 1887,
BY A. D. WORTHUrOTON AND COMPAMY,
In the Oice of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. D. C.




To
THE ICTRIOUS SOLDIZERSOF THE UNION A PMY,
rEWEVEE CCMTAED AND WHEREVERL UVING;
1*             WHO MADE THIS 50IL 0F TUB SOUTH Z1U.OWT
WITH TRZIR GRLAVES;
Kf SRURVIVIG 00-WORESIN THAT NOBIZ OROAIAIK
TUE UNrTED STATES SANITARYOKISOI
T-a WORE IS DEDICA TED.




8d.




AT the close of the war, I was importuned to publish my
experiences and reminiscences in connection with the
hospitals and the relief work of the Sanitary Commission.
But I declined to do so. A horror of the war still enwrapped the country. The salvation of the nation had been
purchased with the blood of her sons, and she was still in
the throes of anguish because of her bereavement. The
people had turned with relief to the employments of peaceful life, eager to forget the fearful years of battle and car
nage. I put away all mementoes of the exceptional life 1
had led, and re-entered with gladness upon the duties connected with my home and family, giving my leisure, as
before the war, to charitable work and literary pursuits
I expected this quiet and happy order of things would continue to the end.
It has been otherwise ordered. The twenty-odd years
that have passed since the bells rang in the long prayer for
peace have been unlike any of which I had ever dreamed.
They have been packed with work, have brought me in contact with people and events of national importance, have
afforded me extended opportunities of travel in my own
country and Europe, and have given me a largeness and
7




8


PREFACE.


variety of experience not often gained by a woman. The
sun of my life is now sloping swiftly to the west, the years
that I have travelled lie stretching in long array behind me,
and I am approaching the time when one lives much in
memory. I have again been asked to write for publication
my story of the war and its relief work, and this time the
request has found me favorably disposed to the undertaking.
The public ear has listened eagerly to the stories of the
great battles of the war of the rebellion, told by the master
spirits who conducted them, and who led the hosts of freedom to victory. The plan of the campaigns, the division
of the forces, and the parts assigned to the various officers
in command, the topography of the battle-fields, the personal
prowess and heroism developed in the hotly contested
struggle, and the jubilant victory which resulted, whose
paeans of joy drowned the cries of the wounded and the
wails of bereavement -of these histories the people have not
grown weary. Every detail of Fort Donelson and Vicksburg, Antietam  and Gettysburg, and the surrender of
Appomattox is eagerly sought and devoured with zest.
Millions of readers bend over the thrilling autobiographies
of Grant, Sherman, Logan, and other great captains of the
memorable war, when, on the top wave of a nation's righteous wrath with slavery, four million of slaves were lifted
to the level of freemen.
But there is a paucity of histories of the private soldier,
of sketches of the rank and file. These have not been
written, partly because of the modesty of the men whose
experiences were worth narrating, and partly because they
were not favorably circumstanced for extensive observation.
There is a whole world of thrilling and heroic deed and
endeavor, of lofty patience, silent endurance and sacrifice,
connected with the soldiers of the army, of which the world




PREFACE.


9


will always remain ignorant. It cannot be told. Neither
can the deeds of nobleness performed by the people who
remained at home, and who stood loyally by the government
in its every hour of extremity. They measured their ready
aid by the nation's need, and, in their consecration to the
cause of national unity and freedom, outran all outward
demands made upon them.
The patriotism of men, the solemn joyfulness with which
they gave of their possessions and of themselves, the unfaltering faith which no disaster could shake and no treachery
enfeeble, who has told us of these, in detail? Who has
fully narrated the consecrated and organized work of
women, who strengthened the sinews of the nation with
their unflagging enthusiasm, and bridged over the chasm
between civil and military life, by infusing homogeneousnesB
of feeling into the army and the people, "keeping the men
in the field civilians, and making the people at home, of
both sexes, half soldiers"?  It can never be understood
save by those who lived through that period, when one year
counted more in the history of noble development than a
half-score of ordinary years of buying and selling, building
and furnishing, visiting and feasting. If this book shall in
any way help to supply the deficiency I have indicated, my
purpose will be accomplished.
I am largely indebted to my husband and friends for the
materials from which this book has been made. My own
tendency is to destroy the records of my past, as soon as an
event or experience has ended. I have had little taste for
preserving records, journals, memoranda, and letters, and am
never hampered with this sort of impedimenta. "Let the
dead past bury its dead!" has been one of my cherished
mottoes. The duty of the hour, the work of the "living
present," has enthralled me, rather than contemplation of




10


PREFACE.


the past. But, in this instance, what I have been careless
of preserving, my kindred and friends have held in trust
for me.
For more than a dozen years, covering the entire period
of the war, I was associated with my husband in the editorship of his paper, published in Chicago. For its columns I
wrote sketches of all events, that were interesting or inspiring, in connection with the Sanitary Commission.   Its
readers were informed of every phase of its relief work, as
soon as it was undertaken, and of its special calls for aid.
And when I went to the hospitals on errands connected with
the sick, wounded and dying, or made trips into the army in
charge of sanitary stores, for whose disbursement I was held
responsible, I always corresponded for the press. And no
issue of my husband's paper appeared, when I was thus
engaged, that did not contain long letters from the front,
packed with narrations of facts and events, for which I
knew its readers were eagerly looking.
I sent similar letters to other periodicals in the Northwest, wrote war sketches for magazines struggling for existence, edited the monthly bulletins of the Chicago Branch of
the Commission, which were its means of communication
with its four thousand Aid Societies, wrote its circular
letters appealing for specific and immediate aid, wrote for
its contributors a detailed history of the first great Sanitary
Fair, which proved the inspiration and model of those which
followed it, dictated and penned letters by the thousand
from the rooms of the Commission, which were inspired by
the emergencies of the time, and which have been largely
preserved by the individuals and societies to whom they
were addressed, answered every soldier's letter that I
received, whether I had ever heard of him or not, wrote
letters by the hundred to their friends at home, by the bed



PREFACE.


11


side of sick, wounded and dying soldiers, and in behalf of
those who had died-in short, notwithstanding the herculean work imposed on me, as on all women at the head of
the Branch Commissions, I accomplished more with my pen
during the four years of the war than during any similar
period of time before or since.
Whatever of mine was published, or whatever related to
my work during the war, my husband preserved in chrolological order, as he did all memoranda or diaries made by
me. And whatever letters came to me from the army, or
from civilians working in the interest of the country, he saved
from destruction. When to these were added my personal
letters to friends, which after twenty years were returned,
il response to an appeal for them, copies of circulars, bulletins, reports, crude magazine sketches, synopses of addresses,
all inspired by the one absorbing topic of the time -the
war for the Union, and its brave soldiers, with their anxious
and suffering families,- I was embarrassed by the enormous
bulk of the collection. It was no small task to collate and
arrange the appalling mass of documents, and to decide
what would be of present interest, and what had been made
valueless by the lapse of years.
At last the book is completed, and is now presented to the
public. In no sense does it purport to be a history. It is
a collection of experiences and reminiscences, more interesting to me in the retrospect than at the time of their occurrence. For then all who loved their native land, and strove
to save it from disintegration, carried its woes on their
hearts like a personal bereavement, and only lived through
the awful anguish by the help of the mighty panacea of
absorbing work for others. No one is more keenly alive
than I to the defects of this volume. But any farther
attempt at improvement would result, I fear, in its entire




12                    PREFACE..vithdrawti. And as I have something to say in behalf of
the common soldiers, most of them veritable Philip Sidneys
in their heroism and unselfishness, and of that noble army
of women who worked untiringly for the right, while the
war lasted, "exerting a greater moral force on the nation
than the army that carried loaded muskets," I hasten to
save my work from destruction, by placing it beyond my
reach, in the hands of the publisher.
May it receive a warm welcome from the A" Boys in Blue,"
whose thinning ranks can never know an increase, and from
my surviving co-workers in the Sanitary Commission, whose
beloved comradeship is one of the priceless possessions of
which the covetous years have not wholly bereft me.
tA                             me,


a




JAndp Engraveb on WtMl
tAom 1jbotograpbis, anb from Original Drsigps brafon pmrrsslp for tlis bIorh
ba far. I.*. 45. Darlrp anb Mcr. MIm. '. ~bqipatb.
PORTRAITS.
1. PORTRAIT OF THE AUTHOR......     Frontipiece
From a photograph taken expresly for thin work. Engraved on stee
In pam Ulne, by Mr. CARALKS SCUILECHT.


2 MRS JANE C HOGE
3. MRS. MART A. BICKERDYKE          1WOMEN Or THE WAR. -
(" INOTKIR ICKZRDT KS"        FAMOUS NUrr8r8 OF UN4 MISS MARY J. SAFFORD.                ION SOLDIER8. To face
c MRS. CORDELLA A. P. HARVEY,
Enraved fom photographs xpresa for this work by Kr. S. HoLLyza.




PAGE
180






FIGURE ILLUSTRATIONS.
Engraved on steel In pur Ul  man stipple, by Mr. JoHN J. CADR.
L A WOMAN N BAT'TTLE.-" MICHIGAN BRIDGET " CARRYING THE FLAG. DsiO'sED By F OF            C. DARLEY.. To face   118
Sometimes when a soldier fel she tmk his place. fihtlin In his rte..d
with uquallng courage-always fearlss and daring, always doing goo
servic as a sodier."
111




14                   LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
2. THE DYING SOLDIER. - THE LAST LETTER FROM
HOME.      DESIGNED BY F. O. C. DARLEY.....To face      210
He drew from an inside pocket a letter inclosing a photograph of a
most lovely woman, and feebly whispered, ' My wife.' I spoke to him, but
he seemed not to hear, and there was a far-away look in the gaze, as if his
vision reached beyond my ken. The wardmaster approached, and laid his
finger on the wrist. 'He is dead I' he whispered."
3. PRAYER-MEETING IN A CONTRABAND CAMP -WASHINGTON, 1862. DESIGNED BY WM. L. SHEPPARD.. To face                262
"Oh, I'm gwine home to glory —won't yer go along wid me,
Whar de blessed angels beckon, an' de Lor' my Savior be?"
4 FLEEING FROM THE LAND OF BONDAGE. -ON THE
MISSISSIPPI RIVER         IN  1863. DESIGNED BY F 0. C. DA]LEY......................To face  342
"Mothers carried their babes on one arm, and led little woolly.headed
toddlers by the other Old men and women, gray, nearly blind, some of
them bent almost double, bore on their heads and backs the small 'plunder' they had 'toted' from their homes. They were all going forth, like
the Israelites, 'from the land of bondage to a land they knew not.'
5. "OUR BATTERY" AT THE FRONT.-REVEILLE AFTER
AN   ANXIOUS      NIGHT.      DESIONED BY WM. L. SHEPPARD.
To face 380
"They stood ready to aid in an immediate attack for three days and
nights."
6. DEATH OF SERGEANT DYER WHILE SPIKING HIS GUN.
DESIGNED BY F. O. C. DARI.EY....   To face  394
"Our boys tried to save their guns, but, finding that impossible, they
endeavored to spike them. 8ergeant Dyer, whom I have before mentioned
as a rare nurse in sickness, was shot through the lungs, and mortally
wounded, while in the act of spiking his gun. Of one hundred and ten
hores, they took of the field but forty.five."
7. MIDNIGHT ON THE BATTLE-FIELD. DESIGNED BY F O.
C. DARLEY.........   Toface    484
"It was Mother Bickerdyke, with a lantern, still groping among the
dead. Stooping down and turning their cold faces towards her, she scrutinized them searchingly, uneasy lest some might be left to die uncared for.
She could not rest while she thought any were overlooked who were yet
living."
8 A REBEL SHELL, BURSTING IN' A                    NION HOSPITAL.
DKSI(NED BY F      0. C. DARLEY..... To face   494
"On the second day of the fight (Corinth), to her horror, her hospital
eame within range of the enemy's artillery, and the fearful missUes of death
fell with fatal precision among her helplea4 men."




a   *   0a**
a            S.a    *


ARRANGED BY STATES.


MAINE.
1ST M9AINE HEAVY ARTILLERY..


PLATF     VAOK
Ii H.. 239


NEW HAMPSHIRE.


5TH REGIMENT INqFAN.,TRY.........................vi.


597


VERMONT.
HEADQUARTERs GuIDoN OF THE OLD VERMONT BRIGADE,


1... 93


IST VERMONT CAVALRY


0..   e VI..  597


MASSACHUSETTS.


2frH REGIMENgT INFANTRY
21ST REGIMENT INFANTRY
24TH REGIMENT IN-FANTRY
54TH IREGIMENT INFANTRY.


1. 0
0               0     0
6    0
0               0     0


00
'a0


VI.
Ii.
ii.
VI.


597
239
239
597


RHODE ISLAND.
IST RHJODE ISLAND CAVALRY...00
CONNECTICUT.
IST CONNECTCUT HEAVY ARTILLERY
11TH REGIMENT I.NFANTRY..
14TH REGIMEN.T IN.%FANTRY..
18H REGIMENT INFANTRY.....YEW YORK.
7TH NuW YORK HECAvy ARTILLERY.
18TH N-NW YORK CAVALRY......
40tH REGIMENT IMF-AN.TRY..
48tH REGIMENT IN'F'AN.TRY.......
105Tm REGIMENT INqFAN.TtY........."EW JERSEY.
18T NEW JERSEY CAVALRY
9TH ]REGIMENVT LYFAN TRY.........
PE'."NNSYhVA.NIA.
7fru RzGImxNT INFANTRY..........
83D REoimt'.%T INFANT~tRY
150rM REGIMENT INFANTRY.........
15


vi..      597.. IL..239..i..93
Ii H.. 239
vi. w.. 597
itIi..    329
0viii..   57
1if..239
v..       4
*. v.. 43


a.
v~. 443. 443


viii.
V.
V &.


857
"43
"43




16     BATTLE-FLAGS, ARRANGED BY STATES.
OHIO.              PLATE
MCMULLEN'S 1ST INDEPENDENT OHIO BATTERY.. Vii.
78TH REGIMENT INFANTRY......~......


PAGE
* 625
657


INDIANA.
0..  00   0   0    0viii..   657


32D REGIMENT INFANTRY


KENTUCKY.
9TH REGIMENT INFANTRY.
ILLINOIS.
13TH REGIMENT INFANTRY.
129TH REGIMbENT INFANTRY.


*..........     Vill..   657
*. *..        Wii...329
viii..    657


MICHIGAN.
2D REGIMENT INFANTRY.......    iii..  329
24TH REGIMENT INFANTRY...... ill... 329
WISCONSIN.
"OLD ABE," WISCONSIN'S WAR EAGLE............vii... 625
21 REGIMENT INFANTRY..............vii... 825


MINNESOTA.
1ST MINNESOTA ARTILLERY


ii W..     329


IOWA.


PTH REGIMENT INFANTRY. ~      ~ ~   ~     vi..


MISSOURI.


7Tu REGIMENT INFANTRY
8TH REGIMENT INFANTRY
KANS)
kD REGiMENT INFALTBY  I
21 KAxSAS BATTrE:RY.........


0                 0    ii.
&S.. vii..


* 825 -625
329
625.8025
*   93


BzADWQuAZTEm   GUIDON OF THE 8TH ARMY Corns


a L &


CONFEDERATE BATTLE-FLAGS.


BATrLE-FLAG CAPTURED FROMt GENERAL BRAGG
BATTLE-FLAG OF THEc 42D Mls'riSSIPPI REGIMENT
BATrrLE-FLAG OF THE 12TH MISSISSIPPI CAVALRY.
BLOOD-STAIN ED SILK FLAG OF THE ftu TEXAS REGIMENT,
BATTLE-FLAG OF AUSrTIN'S BATTERY.
BATTLE-FLAG OF A SoUTH CAJROLIfA REGIMENT
BATTL-FLAG, BLACK (No QUARTER), SUPPOSED TO HAVE
BELONGED TO A TEXAB REGIMENT.
SILK BATTLE-FLAG


iv.
Iv.
iv.
iv.
iv.
iv.


0
0
00
00


421
421
421
421
421
421


iv... 421
iv... 421




.0


THE Publishers deem a few words of explanation necessary respecting the colored battle-flag plates which
occupy so prominent a place in this volume. No patriot eye
can look upon these battle-stained mementos of the war
without mingled feelings of admiration, pride, and sadness.
They have been wafted by the sighs and prayers of a strugglilg people, and hallowed by the blood of patriot sons.
They have a peculiar fitness and place in this record of a
woman's work for and among private soldiers, for they were
the men who proudly and bravely carried them. Private
soldiers were the true heroes of the war. Their bravery
was as great, their judgment often as good, and their capacity for commanding often equal to those under whom they
were content to fight without distinction or reward.
It was no part of the original plan to introduce in this
volume so many of these flags. It was at first thought that
a single frontispiece page, composed of two or three flags in
facsimile, would be a novel and appropriate feature. and lend
additional interest to the work. But it proved a difficult
and delicate matter to select only two or three from many
thousand flags entitled to representation; for the Publishers
wished to act with strict impartiality and without rendering
themselves open to the criticism of exalting one flag, regi17




18 PUBLISHERS' INTRODUCTION TO THE FLAGS.
ment,or state over others entitled to equal praise. In this
dilemma it became apparent that if flags were introduced as
illustrations at all, the North ought to be generally represented.
To this end an artist and a photographer were sent to the
capital of each northern state, to make photographs and
color sketches of the flags. Serious and unexpected obstacles met them at the very outset, for nearly every state had
provided a permanent place for its tattered banners, and
rightfully guarded them with tender care. In several states
legislative enactments made it seemingly impossible to obtain
permission to disturb the flags in the least, -no hand was
even permitted to touch them -much less to remove them
from their glass cases for any purpose whatever. And yet
it was absolutely necessary to take them out of the cases
and arrange them properly before they could be photographed and color sketches made. One by one all obstacles
were surmounted, and the Publishers are at last enabled to
show the flags with exact fidelity to the originals, both in
appearance and color.
In selecting the flags the Publishers endeavored to exercise a wise and careful discrimination. Their artists photographed a number of flags in each state capital, selecting
those that were represented as possessing the most interesting history. From these the Publishers made a final choice,
and they were guided in this by first obtaining from reliable
sources a history of each flag, finally selecting those that
appeared to have the greatest interest attached to them.
They cannot hope that they have been completely successful
in making this selection, but they acted wholly from the
best information they could obtain, and carefully weighed
ever) fact and incident, and the authority for them, before
making their decision. If one color-bearer or regiment per



PUBLISHERS' INTRODUCTION TO TIIE FLAGS. 19
formed more conspicuous service than another, it was only
because of better opportunity. All were brave men, and
the Publishers regret that every Union battle-flag could
not find a place in this book. If all tlhe heroic deeds of
those who died under their folds, andt of tlose who took
their places and kept the colors flying, could be gathered,
they would fill a volume.
The most difficult task of all was to obtain tile story of
each flag and establisli its truth.  Manly of the nmen wlho so
proudly carried them in battle sleep in ulnklnown graves oil
southern battle-fields, far away froIm their nolrtherll lhomles.
"Southern dews will weep above tlem,as gently as though
they lay in their northern village church-yards; grass andI
grain will cover them; winter will decorate their restingplaces as with monumental marble, and summer will spread
over theml its flowers of red, white andl blue; thle libors of
the husbalndien mray obliterate these hillocks of tlhe dead,
but the power of their sacrifice will forever Clrculate in the
life of the nationl "*  Of the survivors manv have died
since the close of the war, alnd twentv-five years have nmade
the memory of those wlho are left Inuch less reliable than
they think. Conflicting statemenets hiave arlsenl e.ven from
those who were eve-witnesses (of some of the scenes described, but these differences were generally respecting
minor details. Even oflicial statements do not always;agree.
In one state capitol is exhibited a flag oil which is pinned a
piece of paper purporting, to give its hlistor. The story is
very thrilling, but olll  a small part (,f it is true  Thle
writer of it (unknown) simply got tlhe story of two flags
mixed and attached his "history" to a single flag. whicl is
daily gazed upon by visitors, who naturally regard this par~ Rev. Dr.E. 11. Chapin on presentation of New York battlde-tlag, at
Albany, N. Y.
2




20  PUBLISHERS' INTRODUCTION TO THE FLAGS.
ticular flag as the most interesting of them all. To get at
tlhe truth uInder such circumstances was by no means easy.
A vast amount of correspondence, too, was necessary. Veterans of the war are widely scattered. One comrade would
refer to another, and he to another, often in a distant state,
and frequently after long and patient search information was
returlned that the man sought for died many years ago.
Sometimes thle most meagre data came in response to repeated appeals, and where tlhe most was expected the least
was obtained. Many letters were returned marked "unknown " or "uncalled for." It is much to be regretted that
a full history could not be obtained of all the flags. Earnest
an(d patient effort was made in every case.
It will be seen from the above statement that the labor
alnd care involved in producing these illustrations have neces.
saril mnadle this part of the work both difficult and slow,
and in consequence the publication of the volume has been
delayed nearly two years.
One page is devoted to a few of the mnany hundred Confederate battle-flags captured by Union soldiers. Witlh two
exceptions these are from photographs and color sketches
made fromn the original flags, in tlhe keeping of the War
Department at Washington. The statements pertaining to
tlhese flags are taken fromn Government Record and presumably are correct.
Tlhe Publishers invite furtler information from any source
respecting the flags shown in tlis vlume, so tliat in future
editions of the work a still fuller history of each one may
be given. Despite the greatest care, inaccuracies may have
crept into the narratives, and the Publishers will gladly
correct any misstatements.
Finallv, the Publishers return their sincere thanks to alland their name is Legion -who have in any way helped




PUBLISHERS' INTRODUCTION TO THE FLAGS. 21
them in this undertaking. The uniform courtesy of gover.
nors and state officials made it possible to obtain photographs
and color sketches of the flags; and veterans of the war,
and others, have imparted valuable information, without
which the story of these flags could not have been writte -




THE FLA          0F O UR UNION.
Flag of the brave! thy folds shall fly,
The sign of hope and triumph high!
Wlen speaks the signal-trumpet tone,
And the long line comes glistening on
(Ere yet the life-blood, warm and wet,
Hath dimmed the glistening bayonet),
Each soldier's eye shall brightly turn
To where thy sky-born glories burn;
And as his springg steps aulvance,
Catch war aul vengeance from the glanc.
Anl when the cannon mouthings loud
Heave in wild wreaths the battle-shroud,
And gory sabres rise and fall
Like shoots of flame on midnight's paUThere shall thy meeor-glances glow,
And cowering foes shall sink beneath
Each gallant arm that strikes below
That lovly messenger of death.
Flag of the free hearts hope and homeBy angel haIns to valor given!
Thy stars have lit the welkin dome,
And all thy hues were born in heaven.
Forever floal that standarl sheel!
Where breathes the foe that fals before u,
With Freeom's soil beneath our feel,
And Freedom's banner sreaming o'er us!
J. BODAN DlRAa.




I


2




WITH
Descriptionz     anb  Explanations.
NOTE BY THE PUBLISHERS.-No expense or pains have been spared to make these
chromo-lithograph plates accurate In drawing and coloring. The flags were first photographed, thus insuring fuluess of detail, and a color-sketch was then made of each flag,
by a skilful artist, directly from the flag itself. The photographs were then transferred
to stone, from which the plates herewith presented were printed. Each plate requires no
less than sixteen printings to produce the various colors and tints necessary to a faithful
representation of the flags, thus requiring one hundred and twenty-Vegh engraved stones
to produce these eight plates. The engraving and printing were done by Messrs. Wm.
H. Dodd & Co., Hartford, Conn.
PLATE    I.                     PAOE 93.
NO. 1.-FLAG OF THE ELEVENTH REGIMENT CONNECTICUT VOLUNTEERS.
THIS regiment saw over four years' service, and took an
active part in many of the most noted battles of the war,
including Newbern, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Drury's Bluff, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, etc. The
national color carried by the regiment, and which is now
deposited in the state capitol at Hartford, consists of the
remnants of two flags. One of these flags was presented by
the Sons of Connecticut residing in New York, when the regiment passed through that city en route for the war, in 1861.
In time it became so badly worn and shot-riddled that it
could hardly be unfurled, and a new flag was presented to
the regiment March 1, 1863, by Miss Julia A. Beach of Wallingford, Conn., through its colonel, Griffin A. Stedman, to
whom    she was engaged.*      The new flag, and what remained
of the old one, were tied to the original staff, and were in
this manner carried by the regiment till the close of the war.
* Geeral 8tedman wa killed In front of Pterburg in 1864.
23




24


DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


The first color-sergeant was George E. Bailey, Jr., of Deep
River, Conn., a large, fine-looking man, who was killed at
the storming of the stone bridge at Antietam. The 11th
led the charge, and lost one hundred and eighty-one men in
this battle. The state flag was carried in this battle by
Sergeant David Kittler, who refused to go forward in the
charge because the color was not supported by a full colorguard. Kittler was immediately wounded by an officer, who
slashed him across the arm with his sword for refusing to
advance. At this moment Corporal Henry A. Eastman of
Ashford stepped forth and said, "Give me the colors!" and,
taking them from Kittler, went forward amid the cheers of
his comrades. Eastman carried the colors for some time, and
was finally promoted captain.
At the battle of Drury's Bluff the flag was carried by
Sergeant Orrin Wilson. Four of the color-guard were
wounded. At the battle of Cold Harbor one of the colorguard was killed, and Color-Sergeant Metzger and two
members of the color-guard were wounded. In that short,
terrible and unsuccessful charge, nearly one-half the regiment were killed or wounded in the short space of five minutes. In this battle the flag was struck by many bullets, and
the flag-staff was shot completely in two. The staff was
then bound together with pieces of a harness belonging to
the horses of a battery near by.
July 30, 1864, at the "Crater" in front of Petersburg, a
rebel shell burst among the color-guard, killing one and
wounding six. The one killed was literally blown Jo pieces,
and his brains were spattered on the flag and staff.
While in front of Petersburg the camp of the regiment
was in a ravine, through which flowed a small stream of
water. One day a violent storm quickly made the stream a
roaring torrent, and the camp was suddenly under water.
The men hardly had time to reach high ground before the
camp was swept away. Corporal Reisel of the color-guard
tried to save the colors, but was borne down by the dibris in
the water and drowned. The colors were carried down the
stream some distance before they were recovered. This flag
was among the very first to enter Richmond, April 8, 186.




DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAG8.


25


No. 2.- HEADQUARTERS       GUIDON    OF THE    OLD
VERMONT BRIGADE.
This was the oldest brigade in the service from Vermont,
and had mustered on its rolls, in all, almost ten thousand
men. At one time hard fighting had reduced its numbers
to eleven hundred.
The Vermont Brigade was composed of the 2d, 3d, 4th,
6th, and 6th Vermont regiments, to which was subsequently
added the 11th. It was a portion of the 6th Corps, and General Sedgwick proudly spoke of it as " the best brigade in the
Army of the Potomac." Its history is written on every
page of that of the Army of the Potomac, and no brigade
in that gallant army performed more brilliant service or
received greater honor.
NO. 3.-MAJOR-GENERAL JOHN SEDGWICK'S SIXTH
CORPS HEADQUARTERS FLAG.
No corps in the Union army was better known or more
honored than the old 6th; and no corps commander was
better loved than Major-General John Sedgwick, -" Uncle
John," as he was called by " the boys." At the close of the
war this headquarters flag came into the possession of Colonel James H. Platt, a member of General Sedgwick's staff and
Judge-Advocate-General of the army. In 1868 Colonel Platt
presented the flag to the Association of Vermont Officers,
and in a letter to the association said: -
" This fag should be especially dear and sacred to the old
Vermont brigade, as it is the only one that our beloved Sedgwick ever used while he commanded the immortal 6th Corps.
It was his headquarter battle-fag. Always carried near his
person in every action in which he commanded the corps, it
will be recognized by every soldier of the Old Brigade at
once, and must awaken in their hearts vivid memories of the
numerous fields upon which, under its folds, they achieved
so much of their imperishable renown. It will recall the
noble Sedgwick, who loved them so well and was so well




26


DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


loved in return, who was at once the brave soldier, the able
commander, the sincere friend; the best soldier and the
noblest man it was ever our good fortune to serve under.
It will also recall our brave comrades who sealed their devotion to their country by their heroic deaths upon the field
of battle under its folds. I have regarded it as a precious
and sacred relic; and, believing I had no right to retain it all
to myself, have long contemplated presenting it to this association. I respectfully request my old comrades, through
you, to accept it as a valuable addition to their store of
relics; that they will permit it to grace the hall at their
annual reunions, and cherish it as a memento of our beloved
Sedgwick and the old Corps."
General Sedgwick was killed May 9,1864, at Spottsylvania.
He was at the most advanced point of the Union line of
battle, near a section of artillery at a fatal angle in the
works, accompanied by members of his staff, and was directing the movements of the men then occupying the rifle-pits.
His manner, attitude and gesture as he stood communicated
to the enemy that he was an officer of rank and authority,
though he wore no uniform, not even a sword. From across
the little valley which separated the Union forces from the
enemy's line, from one of their sharpshooters concealed in
the woods, came the swift messenger of death, which pierced
his left eye and killed him instantly.
His body, immediately after death, was placed under a
bower of evergreens, hastily constructed to receive it, among
the pine woods, and was laid out upon a rough bier made for
him by soldiers' hands, and this, his old headquarters flag,
was thrown over his face. All day long, as he lay upon this
bier, there came from all parts of the army the old and the
young, the well and the wounded, officers and men, to take
their last look at the beloved chieftain.




DESCRIPTION OF TIE BATTLE-FLAGS.


27


PLATE II.                PAGE 239.
No. -— FLAG OF THE TWENTY-FIRST             REGIMENT
MASSACHUSETTS VOLUNTEERS.
THE national flag of this regiment is re(llenel with the
blood of the brave Sergeanlt Thrloas Plunkett, slle(l wlile
the 21st was charging iupon the elnemyls works in front of
Petersburg, December 12, 18;i2. The regillent was nlet by
a terrible storm of shot andl sliell, and when within;about
sixty rodls of tlie enenmy's line Color-Sergeant C'llins, wlio lad
carried the flag throlugil  five battles, was struck by a shot,
and fell. Sergeant Plulnkett instanitlv seize(l tlie flag, llnd
bore it onward to the fartlest point reacled lby tle LUnion
troops during the battle, lwhen a shell, ccning with fatal
accuracy from, tlhe rebel wvlrks, burst over the flag, and
brouglht it to tlhe ground wet witli Plunkett's blood.  Botli
of his arms were sliot com(plete! 1 off. Plutlkett died in Worcester, I;ass., in 1884, and in honor of his meImory this flag
was taken from tlhe State House in lBo.ston and placed leside
his coffin, a mute but eloquent remindier of his cgr;eat sacrifice.
NO. 2.-FLAG OF THE FORTIETH          REGIMENT NEW
YORK VOLUNTEERS.
This regiment was organized in tle city of New York, and
left for tlhe seat of war July 4, 1861, with one tlhisanl l mein,
splendidly armed and equipped. Its national flalt wa;s plrsented by Hon. Fernandol( \\Wood, Imayor of New Yor(k. o,,l
bellalf of tlhe Union Detfnce Committeec.  It wa.s,ne of the
fighting regiments of the war, a;nd scaled its devotion t, tlie
nation whiose emblem it carried by tlhe loss,f nine hundn-d
and thirtv-six men in battle  Of its eollir-bearers five were
killed in battle, four were wounded. andt two, (lied of dis,.ase.
Color-Sergeant Joseph C,,n!.rv carried tills llag ilt,) actill
at Fair Oaks, and was killed on that fiel(l. ('lor-(;rporal
Charles Boyle then took tlhe colors. was woullded andl,ordered
to the rear, refused to go, and was killed soon, after  (' tlor



28


DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


Corporal George Miller bore it at Robinson's Field, Glendale,
Malvern Hill, Haymarket, Bull Run, and Chantilly. He
died of disease. Color-Corporal Alfred Conklin carried it
at Williamsburg, Fair Oaks and Malvern Hill. He died
of disease, at Harrison's Landing. Color-Corporal Edwin
Howard carried it at Bull Run and Chantilly; was distinguished in all the battles of the regiment, and wounded at
Fredericksburg.  Color-Corporal Oliver P. Bisbing carried
it at Williamsburg and Fair Oaks, and was killed in the
last named battle. Color-Corporal John Brundage carried
it at Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, Glendale, Malvern Hill, and
Bull Run, and was killed in the latter battle. Private Joseph
Browne carried it at Haymarket, Bull Run, and Chantilly;
was distinguished il eight engagements, and was promoted
Color-Sergeant. Color-Corporal Robert Grieves carried it
at Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, and Malvern Hill; was
wounded and promoted at Fair Oaks. Color-Corporal
Thomas Read carried it at Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, Malvern Hill, Bull Run, and Chantilly; was always distin.
guished, and was afterwards killed at Fredericksburg. ColorCorporal Thomas Braslin carried it at Fair Oaks, and was
dangerously wounded. Color-Corporal Horatio N. Shepherd
carried it at Malvern Hill, Bull Run, and Chantilly. ColorCorporal Jacob D. Bennett carried it at Williamsburg.
Color-Corporal William Moyne carried it at Williamsburg,
Fair Oaks, and Malvern Hill; and Color-Corporal Joel Slat.
tery carried it at Malvern Hill, Bull Run, and Chantilly; was
afterwards badly wounded at Fredericksburg.
NO. 3.-FLAG OF THE FOURTEENTH REGIMENT
CONNECTICUT VOLUNTEERS.
To tell the story of this flag is to write the history of the
Army of the Potomac. The regiment saw long and severe
service, and was everywhere known as the,t Fighting Four.
teenth." It participated in thirty-three battles and skirt
mishes, besides the long siege of Richmond. This list
includes all the great battles of the Army of the Potomac




DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


29


from Antietam to the close of the war. Its casualties were
seven hundred and eighty-eight.
All through Grant's campaign, from the Wilderness to
Appomattox, the 14th had its full share of work, glory, and
losses. Its colors are so torn by shot, shell and bullet that
they cannot be safely unfurled without being supported by
ribbons. Ninety-one different soldiers held commissions in
the 14th during its term of service. Three of its field officers were brevetted to be brigadier-generals, and several to
colonelcies.  It was a familiar saying that "he who joins
the 14th will be a captain or a dead man in a year's time."
Its colors were proudly borne in the battle of Antietam, and
were passed from hand to hand as their brave bearers fell.
In this battle the staff of the national flag was shot in two
by a bullet, and the eagle's head knocked off with a piece of
shell. Color-Sergeant Thomas J. Mills of New London
was mortally wounded, and dropped the flag as he fell. Sergeant George A. Foote, Jr., of Guilford, instantly volunteered
to take it, and carried it the rest of the day.
At the battle of Fredericksburg, as the regiment charged
up into the jaws of death on Marye's Heights, Sergeant
Charles E. Dart of Rockville carried the flag, and fell
mortally wounded. Again Sergeant Foote attempted to
carry it, but was shot in the leg and fell. Sergeant Foote
was a brother of the late Mrs. Gen. Joseph R. Hawley, and
was one of the most gallant soldiers of the war. Of her
brother's part in this battle Mrs. Hawley writes: —
"The colorsergeant fell, terribly wounded, just as the
regiment had been ordered to fall back. Foote stooped, and
tried to pick up the flag; the brave old sergeant held on to
it, saying, 'I will take care of it,' and suddenly rose to his
feet, but instantly fell back dead. As Foote stooped to pick
it up, he was shot in the leg and fell. After lying on the
field a short time, he tried to rise, but was instantly fired upon
by the rebels, wounding him slightly in the head and hip.
All the rest of that awful day he lay still where he had fallen;
three times our men charged over him, of course trampling
on his wounded leg, while he, half-delirious, begged them to




30


DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


kill him to end his sufferings, -but none had time then to
attend to one poor wounded fellow.
"That night he managed to crawl off to a little hut near
the field, where sone other wounded men had hung out a
yellow flag. Here they lay, with a little hardtack and still
less water, till the third day after the fight, when they were
visited by a rebel officer with a few men, who spoke roughly
to them, asking them what they were here for. Foote coolly
lifted his head, and said, ' I came to fight rebels, and I have
found them; and if ever I get well I'll come back and fight
them again.'  Bully for you!' said the officer; 'you are a
boy I like!' and at once gave him some water out of his
own canteen, sent one of his men for more, washed his leg
and foot, and bound it up as well as he could, paroled him,
and helped him across the river to the Lacy House hospital.
In fact, he and his men gave him a blanket, and cheered him
as the wagon drove off. Foote said afterward, 'I didn't
know but he would blow my brains out, but I didn't mean
he should think we were sneaks.'
" The poor fellow's leg had to be amputated; and, although
he was commissioned a lieutenant for his gallantry, he was
never able to be mustered in, nor did he recover strength to
survive the war but a few years, dying in 1869."
After Foote was wounded, the state flag was picked up
by Private William B. Hincks (afterwards major) and Captain Doten, both oi Bridgeport, and by them brought safely
off the field.
At Chancellorsville Sergeant Samuel Webster, while carrying the national flag, was wounded in the wrist, and afterwards transferred to the Invalid Corps. At Morton's Ford
battle, in 1864, Sergeant Amory Allen of Hartford, while
carrying the national flag, and Corporal Chadwick of Lyme,
of the color-guard, were killed in a charge upon the enemy
across the Rapidan. Corporal John Hirst of Rockville
picked up the flag as Allen fell, and bore it the rest of the
day. At the battle of Hatcher's Run, Henry Hospodky of
Rockville, of the color-guard, was wounded.
Of the battle of the Wilderness, in 1864, Major Iincks
writes:




DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.     3


31


" On the morning of the second day's fight the brigade to
which the 14th belonged drove back the rebel outposts for
upwards of half a mile. It being almost impossible to hear
an order in the horrible din, the adjutant took the colorbearer by the shoulder, and, pointing to the trunk of a fallen
tree, shouted for him to kneel by it. Many officers and men
of the 14th then rallied around the colors, together with a
handful from the other regiments, other members of the 14th
extending the line by deploying as skirmishers, and fighting
from behind trees, Indian fashion. Corporal Charles W.
Norton of Berlin was severely wounded at this time, while
carrying the flag. Later in the day, during an attack by
Longstreet's corps, Corporal Henry K. Lyon of New London,
a brave soldier who carried the national flag, was mortally
wounded. Handing the flag to Lieutenant-Colonel Moore,
the dying soldier said, 'Take it, Colonel; I have done my
best ' Colonel Moore gave it to John Hirst of Rockville.
The regiment at this time was almost surrounded, and in
danger of being captured, but Sergeant Hirst brought the
flag safely from the field, and carried it from that time
through every battle until the close of the war."
Corporal Robert Wolfe of Waterbury, a member of the
color-guard, was wounded in this engagement, and subsequently at the battle of Ream's Station.
At the battle of Gettysburg, the 14th held one of the
most important positions in the line of the Second Corps, on
which line the rebel charge spent itself in vain. In this
battle the 14th charged upon the enemy and captured the
colors belonging to the 14th Tennessee, 1st Tennessee, 16th
North Carolina, and 4th Virginia, besides capturing many
prisoners.
At the close of the war the flag was carried, amid the
plaudits of thousands, before the President, at the grand
review in Washington; thence it was borne back to old
Connecticut, to be deposited in its final resting-place at the
Capitol.




32


DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


No. 4.-FLAG OF THE TWENTY-FOURTH REGIMENT
MASSACHUSETTS VOLUNTEERS.
The flag of this gallant regiment is inscribed with the
names of twenty-three battles in wliich it participated. Fur.
ther than this its history cannot be learned.
No. 5.-FLAG OF THE FIRST MAINE HEAVY ARTILLERY
The 1st Maine Heavy Artillery was in service three years,
but served in the field only the last year of the war, joining
the Army of the Potomac near Spottsylvania Court-House
in May, 1864. The colors were then il charge of Sergeant
James M. Smith of Ellswortl. He, with eight other noncommissioned officers, composed the color-guard. On May
19, 1864, out of the nine three were killed and four wounded,
leaving the sergeant and one corporal unhurt.  Seven
men immediately filled their places, and on June 18 following, while storming the enemy's works near Petersburg,
two were killed, and Sergeant Smith with five others
wounded, leaving only Corporal Ames, who thus twice passed
through the furnace of fire, only to be taken prisoner four
days later. On the above named 18th of June the regiment
advanced over a level field about seven hundred yards.
Sergeant Smith fell near the rebel works, with a leg shattered. Under cover of the smoke from the batteries, he
quickly rolled up the flag, and, drawing the case from his
pocket, slipped it over the colors; then, with the help of the
staff, he worked hinmself off the field. Mlajor-General Robert
McAllister, who witnessed this charge, wrote of it as follows:
" In all my army experience no scene of carnage and suffering is so imlpressed on my mind as that fatal charge made by
)'our regiment on the 18th of June. 1864.... The brigade
moved off, your fine regiment handsomely in the front. You
went gallantl, not to meet success. That was impossible,.. you were a forlorn hope. In a few minutes out of your




DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


33


regiment, which advanced nine hundred strong, six hundred
and thirty-two were laid low on the battle-field."
Four days later this regiment formed a part of the 8d Division, 2d Corps, which was flanked by the enemy. Intently
engaged in front, it was suddenly attacked in the rear. The
line faced about, and immediately, among the thick undergrowth, the blue and the gray became mixed, lines broken,
and men fighting in squads; prisoners were taken and retaken, flags were captured and again yielded up to a superior
force, the regiment all the while working itself out of the
thicket. Nobly the color-guard defended their flag, one of
their number being snatched from the squad a prisoner, until
they gained a more open space, where they planted their
standard, around which the regiment rallied and held their
ground against further attack.
April 6,1865, the regiment formed the skirmish line of the
vanguard of the 2d Army Corps, following General Lee's
retreating columns. It made seven distinct charges on the
hastily constructed works of the enemy. Their captures during the day amounted to forty-seven wagons, three pieces of
artillery, two battle-flags, and three hundred and fifty prison.
ers. Sergeant Woodcock, who carried the flag at this time,
showed such reckless bravery in displaying his colors, always
a little in advance of the skirmish-line, that the colonel sent
an orderly bidding him to be more cautious lest the flag fall
into the enemy's hands. During the war five from the colorguard were killed, eleven wounded, and one taken prisoner.
NO 6.-FLAG OF THE FIRST CONNECTICUT HEAVY
ARTILLERY.
The 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery was one of the
largest and most efficient organizations sent to the war
from Connecticut, and was ranked by military judges as
the best volunteer regiment of heavy artillery in the field.
It left Hartford for the seat of war in June, 1861, and soon
after, by speial orders from the War Department, its organiztion was hanged to consist of twelve oompanies of one




34


DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


hundred and fifty men each. It now numbered eighteen
hundred officers and men, under a high state of discipline.
It was in service four years and four months, and was splendidly equipped with a siege train of seventy-one pieces of
artillery, many of them very heavy guns. It took a prominent part in the siege of Yorktown, and in the series of
battles at Hanover Court-House, Gaines' Mill, Chickahominy, Golden Hill, Malvern Hill, siege of Fredericksburg,
Kelly's Ford, Orange Court-House, siege of Petersburg,
siege of Richmond, Fort Fisher, etc.
At Malvern Hill, during the night of June 80, fourteen
heavy guns were dragged up the steep ascent and occupied
the highest ground on that battle-field. The guns were
served with great rapidity and caused tremendous havoc
amid the enemy's advancing column.
General McClellan had great confidence in the Connecticut Heavy Artillery, and Major-General W. F. ("Baldy")
Smith writes: "I saw much of the 1st Connecticut Artillery during the campaign of 1862, and was surprised at the
skill and gallantry of its officers and men. During the time
I commanded the 18th Corps before Petersburg, I called
heavily upon it for siege guns, and never before during the
war have I witnessed such artillery practice as I saw with
that regiment, which has not its equal in artillery firing."
Its great services were recognized by an order directing
the names of its battles to be emblazoned on its flag.
PLATE HI.               PaI 329.
NO. 1.-FLAG OF THE THIRTEENTH REGIMENT ILLINOIS VOLUNTEERS.
THI flag is stained by the life-blood of Patrick Reilly,
color-sergeant, who was killed at Ringgold Gap, November
27, 1868. He was shot through the breast and fell in such
manner as to be rolled up in the flag.




DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


35


No. 2.-NATIONAL FLAG OF THE TWENTY-FOURTH
REGIMENT MICHIGAN VOLUNTEERS.
The fatality that attended the color-bearers, officers, and
men of this regiment at the battle of Gettysburg was very
great. It had in its ranks on the morning of this memorable fight four hundred and ninety-six officers and men. It
lost in killed and wounded three hundred and sixteen. The
24th was a part of the Iron Brigade, which was the first
infantry engaged at Gettysburg. It carried into this battle
only a state flag, which was presented to the regiment by
the citizens of Detroit. This was carried by Color-Bearer
Abel G. Peck, a tall, straight, handsome man, and as brave
a soldier as ever gave up his life for his country. He was
instantly killed almost at the beginning of the famous charge
of the Iron Brigade. The flag was then seized by Private
Thomas B. Ballou, who was desperately wounded immediately after, and died a few weeks later. The flag was
then carried by Private August Ernst, who was instantly
killed. Corporal Andrew Wagner then took the colors
and carried them until shot through the breast, from
the effects of which he died about a year after the close of
the war.
When Corporal Wagner fell, Colonel Henry A. Morrill took
the flag, and gallantly attempted to rally the few survivors of
the regiment. But Private William Kelly insisted on carrying it, saying to Colonel Morrill, " You shall not carry the
flag while I am alive." The gallant fellow held it aloft and
almost instantly fell, shot through the heart. Private L.
Spaulding then took the flag from the hands of Kelly, and
carried it until he was himself badly wounded. Colonel
Morrill again seized the flag, and was soon after shot in
the head and carried from the field.
After the fall of Colonel Morrill, the flag was carried by a
soldier whose name has never been ascertained. He was seen
by Captain Edwards - who was now in command of the
regiment-lying upon the ground badly wounded, grasping
the ag in his hands. Captain Edwards took the flag from
a




36


DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


him and carried it himself until the few men left of the
regiment fell back and reached Culp's Hill.  Captain
Edwards is the only man who is known to have carried
the flag that day, who was not killed or wounded.
This grand old flag is no longer in existence. It was so
riddled and torn with shot and shell that scarcely a square
foot of it remained intact. The staff was shot and broken
in pieces also. The men had great affection for the old flag,
and after the battle of Gettysburg they agreed to cut it up
and distribute the pieces to the survivors. This was done,
and to-day in many a Michigan household a small piece of
faded blue silk is cherished as one of the sacred mementoes
of the war.  The flag shown in the illustration is the
national color carried by the regiment.
NO. 3. —FLAG OF THE EIGHTH REGIMENT            MISSOURI VOLUNTEERS.
This was the first flag on the parapets of Forts Henry and
Donlelson. It was riddled at Shiloh; was carried up to the
breastworks in the charge at Vicksburg; was upon the
breastworks at Kenesaw, where the regiment went over the
works, and changed sides with the rebels, and fought handto-hand. It led the way in the march to the sea; waved over
Fort McAllister, and on the flag-staff at Columbia, S. C., and
Raleigh. It was carried in many battles and skirmishes.
NO. 4.-FLAG OF THE FIRST MINNESOTA ARTILLERY.
History unknown.
NO. 5.- FLAG OF THE SECOND REGIMENT MICHIGAN VOLUNTEERS.
This flag was presented to the regiment by the ladies of
Niles, Mich., and during the war was followed by no less
than two thousand one hundred and fifty-one men. Of that
number three hundred and twenty-one lie buried on southern




DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


37


soil. If this old flag, that so many brave men followed to
the death, could only tell its own story, what a tale it would
tell of love of country, of patriotism, of glory, of suffering,
disease, wounds, and death. It was carried through fortyfour battles and skirmishes, and was the first Union flag to
enter Petersburg. It was carried in Burnside's " Geography
Class," from Virginia to Maryland, Kentucky to Mississippi,
back to Kentucky and Tennessee, and finally back to Virginia, there to participate in the closing scenes of the rebellion.
NO. 6.-FLAG OF THE SEVENTH NEW YORK
HEAVY ARTILLERY.
This flag and that of the 5th New Hampshire were the
only ones that went over the rebel works at Cold Harbor.
An officer of the 5th New Hampshire Regiment writes:
" The 7th New York Heavy Artillery was a very gallant
regiment. At Cold Harbor both regiments went over the
rebel works together, and no other colors but those of these
two regiments were anywhere near that point." Both regiments, however, were driven out with great oss, but, before
falling back, captured and sent to their rear about two hundred and fifty prisoners. The 7th New York Heavy Artillery also performed splendid service at Ream's Station, and
covered itself with glory. In this engagement it was reduced to a mere handful.
PLATE IV.                PAes 4L
CONFEDERATE BATTLE-FLAGS.
NO.. -CONFEDERATE       BATTLE-FLAG     CAPTURED
FROM GENERAL BRAGG'S REBEL ARMY AT LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN.
TH   flag was captured by Sereant F. N. Potter of the
149th Regiment New York Volunteer, November 24, 1868,
in a desperate hand-tohand fight, from a rebel sergeant, who




38


DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


was disarmed and taken prisoner by Sergeant Potter. The
latter was soon afterwards wounded. (Now in the keeping
of the War Department, at Washington, D.C.)
NO. 2.- CONFEDERATE BATTLE-FLAG OF THE
FORTY-SECOND MISSISSIPPI REGIMENT.
Captured before Petersburg, in a hand-to-hand fight, by
Corporal Charles H. Dolloff of the 11th Regiment Vermont
Volunteers. Seeing the furious charge of the Union troops,
the rebel color-bearer tore the flag from  its staff and
attempted to destroy it, but was prevented by the quick
movements of Corporal Dolloff, who captured the flag and
its bearer. (Now in the keeping of the War Department, at
Washington, D.C.)
NO. 3.- CONFEDERATE BATTLE-FLAG OF THE
TWELFTH MISSISSIPPI CAVALRY.
This flag was captured with its bearer, at Selma, Ala,
April 2, 1865, by Private James P. Miller of the 4th Iowa
Cavalry. (Now in the keeping of the War Department, at
Washington, D.C.)
NO. 4.- CONFEDERATE BLOOD-STAINED SILK BATTLE-FLAG OF THE NINTH TEXAS REGIMENT.
Captured in battle by Private Orrin B. Gould of the 27th
Regiment Ohio Volunteers. The 9th Texas Regiment, with
this flag at their head, charged upon the 27th Ohio. Private
Gould of the 27th shot down the rebel color-bearer and
rushed forward for the colors. A rebel officer shouted,
"Save the colors, men," and at the same time shot and
wounded Gould in the breast. Gould, with the flag in his
hands and a bullet in his breast, rushed back to his regiment,
waving the flag defiantly in the face of the enemy. (Now
the property of the state of Ohio.)




DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


39


No. 5.- CONFEDERATE BATTLE-FLAG OF AUSTIN'S
BATTERY.
Captured at Columbus, Ga., April 16, 1865, with its colorbearer, inside the rebel line of works, by Private Andrew
W. Tibbetts of the 8d Iowa Cavalry. (Now in the keeping
of the War Department, at Washington, D.C.)
No. 6.- CONFEDERATE BATTLE-FLAG CAPTURED AT
MALVERN HILL.
Captured July 1, 1862, by Sergeant W. J. Whittrick of
the 83d Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers. It was taken
from a South Carolina regiment, who piled up their dead to
resist the attack of the Union Brigade. (Now in the keeping of the War Department, at Washington, D.C.)
NO. 7.-CONFEDERATE BATTLE-FLAG, BLACK (NO
QUARTER), PROBABLY FROM TEXAS.
Captured within the rebel lines near North Mountain,
Maryland, August 1, 1864. The "Lone Star" in the centre
of the flag no doubt indicates that it belonged to a Texas
regiment. (Now in the keeping of the War Department, at
Washington, D.C.)
NO. 8.-CONFEDERATE SILK BATTLE-FLAG.
Very handsome, and one of the first Confederate flags
captured in Virginia. It contains the words "For Liberty
We Strike" in gold letters on the centre stripe. (Now the
property of Post No. 2, G. A. R., Philadelphia, Pa.)




40


DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


PLATE V.               PAGE 448.
NO. t.-FLAG OF THE FIRST NEW JERSEY
CAVALRY.
THIS was one of the first regiments of volunteer cavalry
that entered the field in the war of the rebellion, and was
one of the last to leave it. According to the official report
of the Adjutant-General, this gallant regiment was engaged
in no less than ninety-seven actions, including many of the
most noted battles of the war, and this flag was carried
through ninety-two of them. The regiment was recruited
three times to the full maximum, and as often melted away
before the enemy's fire. The flag of a regiment that performed continuous service, and whose record is one of brilliant achievements, must have a thrilling story; but all
efforts to obtain it have proved fruitless.
In the preface to the " History of the First New Jersey
Cavalry," written by the chaplain of the regiment and published soon after the war, the following reference is made to
the flag: --  Though soiled and tattered, it has a glory that
belongs alone to itself and the men who carried and followed
it so bravely." Notwithstanding this suggestive statement,
not a single incident pertaining to the flag is given in the book.
NO. 2.- FLAG OF THE FORTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT
NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS.
This flag was presented to the regiment by Mrs. General
Viele, October, 1861, at Annapolis, Md. Part of the staff
was shot away at Fort Wagner. It was borne in action at
Port Royal Ferry, Pocotaligo, Morris Island, and Fort
Wagner. The regiment was also engaged in the battles of
Drury's Bluff, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Chapin's Farm,
Fort Fisher, and several minor engagements. Of the bearers of this flag, Sergeant George G. Sparks was wounded
and transferred to the invalid corps; Corporal G. Vredenberg was wounded and discharged; Corporal James W.




DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


41


Dunn was wounded, promoted Captain, and killed at Fort
Fisher; and Corporals Alonzo Hilliker, Alexander Hyers,
and Sidney Wadhams were killed.
At the battle of Cold Harbor, the 48th lost one flag, not
through cowardice, but sheer bravery.  The color-bearer
was shot down, and another seized the fallen standard only
to perish beneath its folds. Then a third man, Color-Sergeant William H. Porch, lifted its proud challenge to the
foe and planted it upon the parapet, in the very midst of the
rebel host, where he too died, pierced with bullets, and flag
and bearer fell together over the parapet, into the arms of
the enemy. The flag was never recovered.
Of the death of Sergeant Porch, Rev. A. J. Palmer, D.D.,
who served three years as a private in this regiment, says: -
"It may be doubted if in the whole history of the Fortyeighth a more gallant deed will be chronicled than that of
the death of Porch. He had been falsely twitted with cowardice at Drury's Bluff because he had taken the colors to
the rear, when ordered to do so, when our force retired; some
one, who did not know that he was but obeying orders, had
accused him of showing the white feather. No charge could
have stung his noble soul more keenly. Porch was a gentleman and a hero. He had been a student at Pennington
Seminary, New Jersey, and was the first to write his name
on the roll of Company D. He was an educated, well-to-do
boy from New Jersey, and his death was a spectacle which
his comrades ought never to forget. Sergeant John M.
Tantum * was his bosom friend, and, just as our men reached
that second line of rifle-pits that bristled with bayonets and
swarmed with rebels, Tantum cried to Porch, 'Now, Billy,
show them that you are no coward ' To mount that bank
was instant death, and yet without hesitancy and without a
single word Porch leaped up the bank alone. He was shot
by a score of bullets, and, throwing his arms around his flag,
fell with it into the midst of the foe. Not another man
followed him - he was left alone there in the keeping of his
flag and of glory."
* Sa   t Tantlm wa aftrward kisled at Strawberry Plains




42


DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


For a regiment to lose its colors in battle is esteemed a
reproach. In this case it was, on the contrary, a high honor,
which was recognized at headquarters; for, although an
order had been issued that a regiment losing its colors should
not carry them again for three months, a special order was
issued permitting the 48th to carry colors immediately.
NO. 3. -FLAG OF THE 460TH ("BUCKTAIL") REGIMENT PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS.
This regiment was recruited in the mountain region of
Pennsylvania, where the deer range, and where every member, before he could be mustered in, was obliged to produce
the evidence that he had shot a buck, which was the tail of
the animal. This he wore in the front of his cap when he
went into battle. The regiment was always designated as
the "Bucktails."  They were known as expert marksmen,
and were correspondingly feared.
At the battle of Gettysburg the regiment was posted in
an orchard, between the Chambersburg pike and the woods
where General Reynolds was killed. The rebels attacked the
regiment in great force, but the rapid and accurate fire of the
" Bucktails," followed by a gallant charge, threw the enemy
into confusion, and caused them to beat a hasty retreat.
But the rebels soon renewed their attack with a greatly increased force and with desperate fury, and poured a destructive cross-fire from the woods into the regiment, inflicting
great loss among the " Bucktails," particularly in the vicinity
of the colors, causing the line to waver. The regimental flag
was borne by Sergeant Samuel Phifer, than whom no braver
soldier ever lived. Colonel Huidekoper ordered him to stand
fast, and, in tones which rang like a bugle-call, cried, "' Bucktails,' rally on your colors!" The regiment instantly reformed, and, in spite of the fact that they now numbered
less than two hundred men, they checked the rebel advance,
and held the position until they were nearly surrounded,
when, to escape capture, they fell back to Seminary Ridge.
In this last desperate struggle Sergeant Phifer gave up his




DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


43


life at almost the last moment before the regiment retired,
dying with his face towards the enemy, his hand waving the
flag, while his life-blood flowed from numerous wounds. His
gallantry had attracted the attention of the rebel General
Hill, as the following extract from the diary of Colonel Freemantle, published in Blackwood's Magazine for September,
1863, will show:" General Hill soon came up. He said that the Yankees had
fought with unusual determination. He pointed out a field
in the centre of which he had seen a man plant the regimental color, around which the regiment had fought for
some time with great obstinacy, and when at last it was
obliged to retreat, the color-bearer retired last of all, turning
around every now and then to shake his fist at the advancing
rebels. General Hill said he felt quite sorry when he saw
this gallant Yankee meet his doom."
Corporal Gutelins, who was now the only member of the
color-guard unwounded, seized and carried the flag. The
regiment finally abandoned its position on Seminary Ridge,
and fell back into the town of Gettysburg. Up to this time
-about four P. M. -the flag was safe, although every member of the color-guard, excepting Corporal Gutelins, had
been killed or wounded. Gutelins had nearly reached the
town when he too was struck by a ball. He still insisted
upon carrying the flag, but in passing through Gettysburg
became confused, and was separated from the regiment.
Becoming weak from loss of blood, he sat down for a moment
on a step to rest, in company with a wounded comrade. Instantly the rebels were upon them, and Gutelins was shot
dead, with the colors clasped in his arms. Before his comrade could release the flagtaff from Gutelins' dying grasp,
the rebels had cut off his retreat, and the flag thus fell into
the hands of the enemy.
The flag was soon afterwards presented by the rebels, with a
grand flourish of trumpets, to Jefferson Davis, and was found
with his effects when he was captured in Georgia, in the
spring of 1865. At the close of the war, repeated efforts were
made by Colonel Huidekoper and General Simon Cameron




44


DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


to secure the return of the flag to the state of Pennsylvania,
and it was finally transmitted by the Secretary of War to the
Adjutant-General of Pennsylvania, October 25, 1869, with
a letter, in which the Secretary says: "I am directed by the
President to send herewith the flag of the 150th Pennsylvania Volunteers, said to have been captured at Gettysburg,
and recaptured with the baggage of Jefferson Davis." The
flag is now deposited, with the other tattered ensigns of the
state, in the Capitol at Harrisburg.
NO. 4.- FLAG OF THE EIGHTY-THIRD REGIMENT
PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS.
In May, 1861, Governor Curtin addressed a message to the
Legislature of Pennsylvania, informing that body that the
" Society of the Cincinnati of Pennsylvania" had presented
to him the sum of five hundred dollars, to be used towards
arming and equipping Pennsylvania soldiers. The governor
asked that the manner of its use should be directed by
statute.
The " Society of the Cincinnati " was originally composed
of surviving soldiers of the Revolution, who pledged lasting
friendship and aid to each other. Washington was at its
head, and Mifflin, Wayne, Reed, and Cadwalader were members of it. 'The gift thus tendered to the state of Pennsylvania was accepted by the Legislature for the state, and was
devoted to the purchase of a battle-flag to be carried at the
head of one of the Pennsylvania regiments.
The flag thus acquired was presented to the 83d Regiment
Peunsylvania Volunteers, and was presented to them while
in camp at Hall's Hill, Va., by Hon. Edgar Cowan, United
States senator from Pennsylvania, who represented Governor Curtin on this occasion.
This flag was borne in the most desperate fighting at
Gaines' Mill, where the commander of the regiment was
killed. A few days later, at Malvern Hill, the 83d held a
vital point in the line, and lost one hundred and forty-four
men in the struggle. Corporal Ames, the color-bearer, was




DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


45


killed by a bullet, which at the same time pierced and splintered the flagstaff. The flag fell, and he fell upon it. It
was picked up by Sergeant Alexander Rogers, who waved it
over his head and gallantly advanced to the front of the
regiment. During the most desperate fighting Sergeant
William Wittich of the 83d, seeing one of the enemy's
battle-flags lying upon the field, in advance of our lines,
dashed out and secured the flag. For this act of heroism he
was promoted to a lieutenancy, by order of General Porter,
commanding the corps.
Sergeant Rogers bore the old flag gloriously through a
dozen bloody fights, and was finally killed in the first day's
battle in the Wilderness, on the 5th of May, 1864. Finally,
a new staff, and eventually a new flag, took the place of the
old. It was still, however, the same valor-inspiring emblem,
and wherever its star-lit folds could be discerned amid the
smoke and carnage of the fray there gathered the true and
tried hearts, whose every beat was responsive to its safety
and honor.
In the battle of Laurel Hill, on the 8th of May, 1864,
the 83d was ordered to storm intrenched works strongly
held by the enemy. The charge was fearlessly made, and
some of the men succeeded in crossing the enemy's works,
where they fell to bayoneting the foe; but the odds were
too great, and the regiment was forced to fall back, with a
loss of over one hundred and fifty in killed and woundedsome of the bravest and most daring going down in this illadvised charge. The flag on this occasion was carried by
Corporal Vogus, who had rescued it whel Sergeant Rogers
fell at the Wilderness, three days before. While the regiment was charging up to the breastworks, he received a
severe wound in the side, and fell with the flag. Corporal
John Lillibridge of the color-guard immediately seized it,
and was about to carry it forward when Vogus recovered
and, again taking the flag, pressed forward and planted it
on the breastworks of the enemy.  In a few moments afterwards he was shot through the breast. Fearing that the
fag might be captured, and more careful for it than for him



46


DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


self, he seized it while he was in the act of falling, and'
hurled it to the rear, where it was caught by Corporal Dan
Jones. Jones was shortly after wounded himself, and, while
getting off the field, handed the flag to a soldier of the 44th
New York; and it was soon afterwards returned to the regiment.
The number of battles in which this flag was carried, as
published in orders and recorded in the Official Army Register of 1885, is twenty-five.
NO. 5.- FLAG OF THE NINTH REGIMENT NEW
JERSEY VOLUNTEERS.
Color-Sergeant George Myers carried this tattered flag
at Roanoke Island, Newbern, Southwest Creek, Kingston,
Goldsboro, Walthall, Drury's Bluff, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, and in every campaign and battle in which the 9th
New Jersey participated. Myers was a brave soldier, and
this flag always waved in the thickest of the fray.
In the unequal battle at Drury's Bluff, Va., May 16, 1864,
Myers had a narrow escape. Under cover of a dense fog a
division of rebels suddenly burst upon the Union line, and,
although they met with a withering fire from the New Jersey Riflemen, and were four times hurled back in confusion
and dismay by the terrific volleys thrown among them, it
was at last evident that the Union line must give way. The
9th New Jersey had lost most of its officers and men, when
suddenly the exultant rebels burst in upon the survivors
with redoubled fury, determined to be avenged for the terrible injuries inflicted upon them. Sergeant Myers, undismayed, and calm and collected as if on parade, seeing himself and a few comrades surrounded by the enemy, with
scarcely a hope of escape, stripped from the staff the silken
shred, which had been his inseparable companion for years,
and, hastily buttoning it within the folds of his blouse,
grasped a rifle, and, calling upon those near him to follow,
dashed through the advancing line of rebels, dealing heavy
blows for'life and liberty, and thus escaped capture and
saved the flag. His clothing was perforated with bullets.




DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


47


NO. 6.-FLAG OF THE I06TH REGIMENT NEW
YORK VOLUNTEERS.
This flag was presented to the regiment by the ladies of
Le Roy, Genesee County, N. Y., and was carried in many
battles. Seven color-bearers were killed or wounded while
carrying it. It bears the marks of many bullets and a piece
of shell, and its staff was cut in two by a ball. The regiment was engaged in nine battles before it had been in the
field nine months.
PLATE VI.             PAGo 697.
NO. 1.- FLAG OF THE FIFTH REGIMENT NEW
HAMPSHIRE VOLUNTEERS.
OVER two thousand two hundred men were enrolled in
this regiment during its three years' service. It lost over
half the command in six different engagements. At Gettysburg, every fifth man of the number engaged was killed or
mortally wounded. Its casualties in action, during its term
of service, were appalling. Its first flag - which had upon
it the bloodstains of three men, one a captain - was worn
out at Fredericksburg. In this battle the regiment was first
in line, and its dead were found nearer the enemy's position
than those of any other troops. The flag was carried in this
battle by Color-Sergeant Reuel G. Austin, who was wounded,
and it was then carried by Sergeant George S. Gove, who was
also wounded. The flag was then seized by Sergeant John
RI McCrilli, who carried it off the field at the close of the
day.
During the battle Captain James B. Perry, a most gallant
officer, was shot in the breast and mortally wounded. It
was impossible to take him to the rear under the terrific fire
then raging, so he was cared for by his comrades where he
lay. Turning to a brotherofficer, the wounded soldier said,
"I know I shall not recover from this wound, but I am




48


DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


content if I can see the old flag once more."  The flag was
brought to him, but his sight had failed and he could not see
it. Its folds were put iin his hands, and, pressing the banner
to his lips, he murmured his farewell to it and to his comrades at the same time, and died with the flag in his grasp.
The flag carried by the fifth at Gettysburg was one of a
second set presented to it. In this battle seven men were
killed or wounlded with this flag in their hands.
No regiment fought more valiantly, and few, if any, were
in a greater number of desperate battles. Its history is sad
but glorious. Wherever the Army of the Potomac met the
enemy, there lie the bones of the 5th New Hampshire.
NO. 2.- FLAG OF THE FIRST RHODE ISLAND
CAVALRY
Rev. Frederick Denison, chaplain of the 1st Regiment
Rhode Island Cavalry, relates the following story of this
flag:
" Color-Sergeant G. A. Robbins (Troop I., 1st Cavalry
R. I ), finding that capture Awas inevitable, stripped the regimental standard from the staff, broke the staff and threw
it away. Opening his bosom, he wrapped the colors about
his body, and so concealed them. He was captured, but on
his way to Richmond, after a number of days, escaped and
found his way back into our lines. Finding at length the
headquarters of the broken but brave and honored regiment, lie reported for duty, and then drew from his breast
the loved and precious flag - an act that drew tears of gratitude and admiration from all beholders, and shouts of applause from his brave comrades, and won instantly for him a
lieutenant's commission."
NO. 3.-FLAG OF THE SIXTEENTH REGIMENT
CONNECTICUT VOLUNTEERS.
Tlhe 16th Connecticut Infantry Regiment was thrown into
the hottest of the battle at Antietam, a brave but undisci



DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


49


plined and undrilled body of men, but twenty days from
home. The regiment came out of this battle with a loss of
two hundred and thirty-eight in killed, wounded, and missing. Subsequently it followed the fortunes of the Army of
the Potomac, and saw service at Fredericksburg under Burnside, and participated in other engagements, finally being
ordered to Plymouth, N. C.
Plymouth was a fortified post defended by a line of earthworks and by a fleet of Union gun-boats anchored in the
river. Sunday evening, April 17, 1864, the picket line of
the regiment was driven in by the rebels, and this attack
was followed by a heavy artillery fire and an unsuccessful
assault upon the earthworks. During the night the rebels
brought their troops into position, and the light of morning
showed they had completely invested the place with an
overwhelming force. The Union troops consisted all told
of only sixteen hundred men fit for duty. This force was
surrounded by three brigades of rebel infantry-Hoke's,
Ransom's and Kemper's —sixteen regiments in all, with
eleven batteries of field artillery and two companies of cavalry, the entire force amounting to over thirteen thousand
men, the choicest troops of Lee's army. They were aided
by the rebel ram Albemarle, which drove off and sunk the
fleet of wooden gun-boats in the river and poured a destruotive fire into the Union camps. For three days the federal
troops defended the garrison with the utmost gallantry, but
one redoubt after another was carried by the rebels, until on
Wednesday morning, April 20, it was evident that the
Union troops could hold out but a few hours longer. All
demands for surrender had thus far been met with refusal.
After the last flag of truce from the enemy had returned to
their lines bearing a refusal to surrender, a tremendous fire
of musketry and artillery was opened on the Union line;
the rebels fairly swarmed over the last line of breastworks,
and poured into the Union camps with the confidence of
victory near at hand. At an angle in the breastworks they
tptured a portion of the artillery and turned the guns on
the Union forces, by this act cutting the 16th Connecticut




50


DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


in two, part of the men, with the color-guard, being on one
side, and a part, with some of the field officers, on the other.
At this juncture, with every hope of escape destroyed, surrounded by nearly ten times their number, LieutenantColonel Burnham shouted to the color-guard: "Strip the
flags from their staffs and bring them here." To tear each
flag from its staff was the work of a moment; but who
should carry them across a field five hundred feet, through
that merciless hail of grape and canister?  It required
brave men, and they were not wanting. Color-Sergeant
Francis Latimer took the national color, Color-Corporal Ira
E. Forbes the state flag, and, crossing the most exposed part
of the field, safely delivered them to Colonel Burnham.
Corporal Forbes then returned and brought back the flag of
the 101st Pennsylvania Regiment. The only thought now
was to save the colors from capture. An attempt was made
to burn them, and was partially successful. What was left
was torn into small pieces and distributed among members
of the regiment near at hand, who at once concealed them
on their persons.
Hardly had the flags been disposed of and the last pieces
distributed, ere the defenders of the garrison found themselves prisoners of war. The rebels demanded the colors
and were greatly chagrined at not obtaining them. Believing them to be concealed, they made a thorough but unsuccessful search for them.
The Union soldiers captured in this engagement were
incarcerated in various southern prisons, most of them at
Andersonville, where they suffered untold horrors. The
16th lost more men at Andersonville and other rebel prisons
than any other Connecticut regiment. Nearly two hundred
of this regiment alone -or nearly one-half of the entire
number captured —died in Andersonville. No words can
describe their terrible sufferings. A large number of the
survivors died soon after the war, of disease contracted
in those fearful pens. Few if any of those now living
are free from the life-long effects of horrible starvation
and exposure.   All through the terrible days of their




DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


61


imprisonment the little patches of the old flag were carefully
guarded and preserved by those to whom they were in.
trusted.
After the war a beautiful white silk flag was procured for
the regimental organization. A meeting of the survivors
was held, and the little shreds of the old flag were assembled
from widely scattered sources and sewed together in the
form of a shield and scroll, and these were sewed on the
centre of the new white silk flag.
A year after the close of the war the rebels were so
determined to find the missing colors that they ploughed up
the ground covered by the camps of the Union forces and
levelled the breastworks at that end of the town, believing
the flags had been buried by our men. They found nothing
to reward them but the flag-staffs, which had been thrust
into a hole under the breastworks.
One of the flags of the 16th was an elegant state flag
which was presented to the regiment by the Sharps Rifle
Manufacturing Company, Hartford, and had an inscribed
silver shield on its staff, with the name of the donors.
After the flag was stripped from its staff, torn up and passed
around, this silver shield was removed by Color-Sergeant
Latimer and hastily secreted in the lining of his dress-coat.
All through his long imprisonment Sergeant Latimer
carefully guarded this cherished relic; but when exchanged
and presented with clean clothes at Annapolis, in his delight
at getting rid of his dirty, vermin-filled rags, he threw them
on the lively pile accumulated from those ahead of him in
line, utterly forgetful of the silver shield sewn into the lapel
of his old coat His grief was great when he discovered his
losr; but it was too late, and the shield was forever lost.
NO. 4.-FLAG OF THE FIFTY-FOURTH (COLORED)
INFANTRY REGIMENT MASSACHUSETTS VOLUNTEERS.
The 64th Massahusetts wa a brave regiment of colored
troop, oommanded by Colonel Robert G. Shaw, a man of
refinement and gentle mannes, and brave as a lion. The
4




52


DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


national flag carried by this regiment was the gift of
certain young colored ladies of Boston, and was presented
to the regiment by the great war governor, John A.
Andrew, after a speech full of eloquence and deep feeling, and passed from his hand to that of Colonel Shaw.
It was the only national flag carried by the regiment
during its term of service, and was borne in the following actions: —James Island, July 16, '68; assault of Fort
Wagner, July 18, '63; siege of Fort Wagner, July 18,
Sept. 7, '63; siege of Charleston, 1863, '64, '65; battle of
Olustee, Feb. 20, '64; James Island, July 2, '64; Honey Hill,
Nov. 30, '64; Devaux's Neck, Dec. 9, '64; and Boynkins
Mills, April 18, '65.
The 54th led in the terribly fatal assault upon Fort Wagner, on the iight of July 18, 1863, and the flag of the regiment was the object of the most determined bravery. The
attack, although a failure, was signalized by unsurpassed
daring, and thousands of men were sacrificed. The fort was
surrounded by a moat filled waist-deep with water. Behind
this rose a great bank twenty-five feet in height. Before the
assaulting columns were formed, a storm arose, and it grew
suddenly dark. It was about eight o'clock when the word
of command was given to the 54th, who led the charge six
hundred and fifty strong, commanded throughout by white
officers. Colonel Shaw's last words as the regiment moved
forward on the double-quick were, "We shall take the fort
or die there." The charge was made with magnificent courage. As the troops approached the ditch, they met a witherilg fire.  The garrison outnumbered them two to one.
Before that murderous fire of grape, shrapnel, and musketry,
the intrepid regiment of black men wavered, broke, and fled.
Some followed their brave colonel through the ditch, and up
the bank behind it, among them Color-Sergeant William H.
Carney, who planted the flag in the most gallant manner
upon the ramparts, and there maintained it until all hope of
taking the stronghold was abandoned. There Colonel Shaw
was shot through the heart, and fell back dead in the ditch,
and many of his brave colored soldiers died by his side.




DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


53


Most of the color-guard were killed or wounded. Finally
Carney retired through the ditch, filled with dead and
wounded, in the darkness, toward the federal lines, amid the
storm of bullets and cannon-sllot, and was wounded while
doing so in the breast, both legs, and the right arm; but he
struggled on, crawling on ha(ds and knees, with tile flag,
until some distance from the fort. Here, at a point where
Captain Luis F. Emilio was engaged in rallying the 54th,he having succeeded by casualties to the command of the regiment on the field of battle, - the flag was brought to him,
and, as it would serve no purpose in the darkness as a rallyingpoint, he directed the gallant Carney to take it to the rear.
A more ghastly scene was never witnessed than that on
the slope and around the ditch of Fort Wagner the next
morning. The dead and dying were piled on one another
three feet deep, and the rebels claim to have buried over one
thousand Union soldiers on the beach the next day. Colonel
Shaw was buried " in a pit, under a heap of his niggers," but
it was not in the power of the rebels to dishonor him.
At the battle of Olustee this flag was borne with conspictous gallantry by Acting Sergeant James H. Wilkins, who
escaped miraculously, though more than half the colorguard were killed or wounded, and the color-corporal (with
the state flag) was mortally wounded at Wilkins' side.
Ever after this flag was carried with bravery and devotion
by Sergeant Charles W. Lenox, who escaped severe wounds,
but was frequently struck by spent balls or shot through his
clothing.
NO. 5.-FLAG OF THE FIRST VERMONT CAVALRY.
It is to be regretted that no history of this flag is at hand.
Its tattered and smokeetained folds are eloquent with the
names of glorious battles, from Mount Jackson to Cedar
Creek. No soldiers performed more valiant service in the
war of the rebellion than did the Green Mountain boys
Not a single lag did they surrender to the enemy during the
four years of the rebellion.




54


DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


NO. 6.- FLAG OF THE TWENTIETH REGIMENT
MASSACHUSETTS VOLUNTEERS.
The most diligent inquiry has failed to discover the story
of this flag. It is inscribed with the names of no less
than twenty-six battles.
PLATE VII.               PAGE 625.
OLD ABE, THE FAMOUS WAR EAGLE OF THE
EIGHTH REGIMENT WISCONSIN VOLUNTEERS.
THIS fateotus bird was captured in Upper Wisconsin in
1is14 b1 a ('li)ippe;wa Indian, and was presented to the 8th
WiscOlusill wllen that regiment left for the seat of war. One
of tile tallest men of the regiment was detailed to carry and
take care eof hlim, witl the understanding that at the end of
the war lie was to convey him to Washington and present
him to lPresiulent Lincoln.  He was usually carried on a
war sliield., mounted at the top of a staff, and above this
shield a plercll was made to which Old Abe was tied by a
cord. For three vears lie was carried beside the colors of this
regiment, and (luring that time he was in twenty-two battles
and thirty skirmishes, and was wounded in three of them.
At the battle of Corinth, it is said, the rebel General Price
ordered his men to capture or kill him at any hazard, saying
that lie would rather have them capture the eagle of the 8th
Wisconsin than a dozen battle-flags; and that if they succeeded he would give his troops A" free pillage in Corinth."
During this battle the cord that confined him to his perch
was severed by a ball, and Old Abe soared far above the
sulphurous smoke. The rebels sought in vain to shoot him.
Suddenly he caught sight of his regiment and flag, and,
sweeping down, alighted on his perch. During a battle he
was sometimes on the ground, then on his perch, uttering
wild and terrific screams, and the fiercer and louder the




DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


55


storm of battle the more excited was he. He would stand
by a cannon, which was being served with the greatest rapidity, without flinching, and the rattle of musketry had no
terrors for him.
With the close of the regiment's period of service, Old
Abe's fighting days were over, and he became the ward of
the state of Wisconsin, to be "well and carefully taken care
of as long as he lived," and his remarkable civil career was
then begun. He made numerous triumphant journeys
through the country, always proving a great attraction.
His feathers were eagerly sought for at $10.00 each. Thousands of children throughout the North —from Maine to
Oregon - were organized into a society, called " The Army
of the American Eagle," for the purpose of selling a little
pamphlet history of Old Abe's career, with his photograph,
and their labors netted to the fund for sick and disabled
soldiers the sum of $16,308.93. More than twelve thousand
letters were received frolm boys and girls interested in this
ingenious device for raising money for the soldiers. At this
time a western gentleman offered $10,000 for him, and P'. T.
Barnum offered $20,000; but money could not buy him. A
distinguished sculptor made a marble statue of him; and
while Old Abe was on exhibition in Boston a celebrated
artist painted his picture in oil, which still hangs on the
walls of the Old South Church in that city.
On all his journeys he received a constant ovation. During
the Centennial Exhibition, the Wisconsin legislature authorized the governor to detail a veteran soldier at state expense
to take Old Abe to Philadelphia and care for him during the
exposition. He was constantly surrounded by throngs of
visitors, and his photographs were sold by the thousand.
His fame had long before spread over Europe, and foreignera were greatly interested in him. Some of his feathers
are now owned and prized by eminent persons, many of
whom purchased them at round figures. A New York gentleman has one mounted in gold, and many important documents have been signed with pens made from Old Abe's
quill. No other bird ever achieved such fame or reached
ch a distinguished place in history.
e




56


DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


Old Abe died in 1881, and his preserved and stuffed body
may now be seen in the War Museum at the state capitol in
Madison, Wis.
NO. 1.-FLAG OF THE NINTH REGIMENT IOWA
VOLUNTEERS.
The 9th Iowa Regiment entered the service in August,
1861. At the battle of Pea Ridge, Ark., March 7, 1862,
after a most extraordinary march of forty-two miles, the
regiment displayed great valor and was engaged for ten
hours in stubborn fighting, losing two hundred and thirtyseven men killed and wounded. But they held their ground
against fearful odds, and that night they slept upon their
arms, ready to re-form their lines at a moment's warning.
Five months after this battle the regiment received a
handsome silk flag from some ladies of Boston, Mass., and
the following comments on the presentation of this flag to
the regiment are taken from Lieutenant-Colonel Abernethy's
journal:
"' Camp 9th Iowa, near Helena, Ark., Sunday, August 3,
1862.-The regiment was formed at 2 P.M. to receive the
stand of beautiful colors sent by a committee of ladies of
Boston, Mass., as a testimonial of their appreciation of our
conduct at Pea Ridge. Colonel Vandever delivered a short
speech at the presentation and seemed much affected, as did
many others present, at the respect and honor thus manifested by the noble women of a distant state, and at the
associations connected with the occasion."
This flag was guarded and cherished with religious care,
and was borne over many a field of blood.
On the 22d of May, at Vicksburg, in line with the whole
Army of the Tennessee, the regiment led the assault. Its
flag went down a few feet from the rebel works after the
last one of the color-guard had fallen, either killed or
wounded. In the few terrible moments of this assault the
regiment lost seventy-nine killed and wounded, or nearly
one-third of their number, in action. The assault failed, and


S




DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


57


the Union soldiers found themselves lying in ravines, behind
logs, close up to and partly under the protection of the
rebel earthworks. There they were compelled to lie until
darkness gave them a cover under which to escape. Sergeant Elson had fallen, frightfully wounded, upon the flag.
Captain George Granger drew its dripping folds from under
the bleeding body of its prostrate bearer, and after dark
brought it safely off the field, concealed beneath his blouse.
Eight other brave boys followed up the flag as color-guard
in that memorable assault, namely: - Corporals Otis Craw.
ford, Lewis D. Curtis, Zadoc Moore, Albert D. Strunk, James
H. Gipe, Jasper N. Moulton, John Logue, and James Smith.
Though covered with blood, and riddled by both shot and
shell, the flag was afterwards safely carried through the
second siege of Jackson, and the battles of Brandon, Cherokee Station, Tuscumbie, Lookout Mountain, Missionary
Ridge, and Ringgold, besides more than a score of lesser
engagements. It travelled two thousand miles of Confederate soil, traversed six states in rebellion, went up to the
cannon's mouth at the heights of Vicksburg, clambered up
the rocky steep of Lookout Mountain, stood on the brow of
Missionary Ridge on that bleak November night after the
great battle of Chattanooga, in the midst of those shivering,
hungry, and tired soldiers, and at last was no longer fit for
service.
At this time the members of the regiment re-enlisted in a
body for another "three years or during the war," and by
unanimous vote the old flag was placed on the retired list
and returned to the original donors in Massachusetts.
One month later, while the regiment halted for a day at
Nashville on its way home on a thirty days' veteran furlough, another silk flag was received from the same committee of Massachusetts ladies, to take the place of the old one.
In connection with tle extract previously quoted from
Lieutenant-Colonel Abernethy's journal, the following interesting story, by Miss Phebe Adam, explains how it hap.
pened that a committee of Massachusetts ladies presented flas
to the 9th Iowa Regiment. In a recent letter she says: —




58


DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


"It seems to me that I ought to explain how it happened
that Massachusetts women were interested in sending flags
to an Iowa regiment. My brother, McG. Gordon Adam,
who went from Massachusetts and was engaged in the practice of law at Decorah, Iowa, when the war of secession
began, enlisted as a private soldier in Company H, 9th Iowa
Infantry. In a home letter, shortly after the battle of Pea
Ridge, he wrote to us that the regiment had not in that
battle a flag to rally round, and added, Will not some of
my Massachusetts friends send us one?'
"As soon as this was known among his Boston friends,
they determined to supply the want, and the money to procure one came in so abundantly that not only a flag but a
standard was sent to the regiment, reaching it while stationed
at Helena, Ark. Colonel Vandever was asked by the donors
to permit Private Adam to unfurl and present the colors on
behalf of his Massachusetts friends; but my brother was
too ill with fever, at the time, even to witness the presentation. The box was, however, opened by the side of his sickcot, and the colors were unfurled for him to see them. This
brief account of the flags will show that, although carried
out in Massachusetts, the idea of our sending them was suggested by Private McG. Gordon Adam, and his name rather
than that of his sister should be forever connected with
them.
"In a letter written during convalescence with regard to
the presentation of the flag, my brother writes:' How disappointed you and my friends at home will be
that I could not unfurl the colors and address the regiment
in your behalf. I was not able to sit up when the flag arrived, and shall not be strong enough to go through with
such an affair for a month, perhaps. I wrote a line to Colonel Vandever, telling him that I was too ill to comply with
the kind wish of the ladies. He wrote me that he would
delay the presentation if I wished it, but I wrote him not to
wait as the time of my recovery was very uncertain, and I
did not wish to deprive the regiment for so long a time.
Colonel Vandever then sent me word that he would send




DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


59


through me a formal written acknowledgment of its reQeption. I have talked with a great many officers and men of
the regiment, who came to see me while I was ill, and I will
tell you what I have heard through them of the presentation, as I know how anxious you will be about it. As soon
as the flags were unfurled and the address of the donors was
read by the adjutant, Colonel Vandever read a printed reply,
copies of which were delivered to the regiment. When he
got to the last paragraph he choked for several moments, and
three-fourths of the regiment were in tears. Not a single
cheer was given for the flag at this time. What with the
address and the reply, and the surprise at so splendid a testimonial from far-off Massachusetts, the men and officers were
so affected that an attempt to cheer would have been a total
failure. But when the colors were planted near the colonel's
tent, the boys collected round them and cheered like madmen. Nothing could have a better effect on the regiment
than this gift  The men were dispirited by their continued
privations, because many of them, like myself, have never
seen a paper in which their conduct at Pea Ridge received
anything but the ordinary newspaper praise bestowed on the
whole army. The poor fellows were surprised and delighted
to find that they are understood and appreciated away off in
old Massachusetts.
' Your gift has infused a fresh spirit into the men. They
look brighter and happier, and would die to the last man
before the colors should fall into the hands of the rebels I
should like to write more, but am too weak to do so.'
"On the 29th of August, 1868, the flag was returned to
us, accompanied by a letter from Colonel Carskaddon, then
in command of the regiment It showed the hard service it
had been through, for it was torn and blood-stained, or, I
should say, u torn and bloodstained, as it is preserved in
our own home as a precious relic of the war.
"Colonel Carskaddon says at the close of his letter: 'We
return this flag to you, because it has fulfilled the mission
on which you sent it. Beneath it many a martyr to constitutional liberty has gone to his last rest. It is to us, and




60


DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


we trust it will be to you, the emblem of an eternal union
cemented by the best blood of patriots.'
"When the regiment returned to Iowa on its veterans'
furlough, the flag created a perfect furor in Dubuque. People hurrahed and cried over it. It was very difficult to preserve it from destruction, as everybody was trying to obtain
a little piece of it as a relic of the fight in which some father,
son, or brother served, perhaps was wounded or killed. Only
one old lady got a piece. She begged the colonel, with tears
in her eyes, to give her a small piece, as her two sons had
fallen under it.
" After the battle of Vicksburg, my brother wrote to me
as follows: 'The poor old 9th has been put in the front
again at Vicksburg and suffered dreadfully. Your flag has
been baptized by the blood of many a brave fellow. I had
hoped that it would be the first to be planted on the hills ot
Vicksburg, for the 9th went farther than any other regiment
and stood for two hours within twenty feet of the enemy's
guns, but they were not sustained, and the remnant of the
brave little band was at last compelled to fall back. During
the assault, which was so bloodily repulsed, our color-bearer
got on top of the enemy's works, and, being a little ahead
of the boys who were clambering up the acclivity, he stuck
the flag-staff firmly into the ground and cheered the men on
to protect it. The brave fellow was shot down, and our
charging party was almost annihilated and driven back. The
color-sergeant had fallen on the flag, with. a bullet through
his thigh; his blood is on it. Afterwards each of the colorguard successively, excepting one, was shot down. We were
obliged to lie close until dark, and, when the retreat commenced, Captain Granger took the flag along. It is riddled
with balls and stained with blood, and unfit for further use.
The boys are discussing whether to send it back to you, or to
the governor of Iowa. "
NO. 2.- FLAG OF THE SECOND KANSAS BATTERY.
History unknown.




DESCROPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


61


NO. 3.-FLAG OF THE SECOND REGIMENT WISCONSIN VOLUNTEERS.
The 2d Wisconsin Regiment was a portion of the Iron
Brigade of the West, of which General McClellan said,
"They are equal to the best troops in any army in the
world."
In the battle of Antietam the entire color-guard of this
regiment was killed or wounded; but the flag was safely
brought off the field.
At the battle of Gettysburg the first volley received from
the rebel line cut down nearly thirty per cent of the regiment, and out of thirty-three men in the color company
twenty-three were killed or wounded in thirty minutes.
When the last color-bearer was killed, Private R. E. Davison picked up the colors and rushed to the front with
them, and bore them in advance of the regiment in the
charge of the Iron Brigade, shouting to the boys to " come
on." For gallantry on this occasion he was made sergeant.
The regiment went into this battle with three hundred men
and in half an hour lost one hundred and sixteen in killed
and wounded. That night there were but fifty of the three
hundred men left to answer roll-call. In these and subsequent battles the flag was riddled and torn by bullets, the
flag-staff was often shot and was once cut entirely in two.
At Gettysburg it was so badly rent and torn that it was sent
home and placed in the state capitol, and a new one was
provided by the state.
The following interesting statement is taken from a letter
recently received from Private R. E. Davison: -
"At the battle of Antietam we had a full color-guard;
they were all killed or wounded. When the last one fell, I
picked up the national colors and carried them. I did not
have them more than five minutes before I was wounded by
a minie-ball in my right shoulder, that put an end to my
operations on that day. After I was wounded, I turned the
flag over to a man belonging to Company C, who already




62


DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


had the state colors. He told me afterwards that he carried
both flags the rest of the day, and was not wounded. The
next time the flag came into my hands was at the battle of
Gettysburg. Our color-guard was not full at this time. We
had one sergeant and one corporal as color-bearers, and two
corporals as guards. In the first of the fight the color-sergeant and guards were killed or wounded, and as the flag
went down I sprang forward and caught it, and carried it
through the rest of the fight. Captain Rollins made me a
sergeant on the field, and I was complimented in general
orders. I carried the flag from that day until the regiment
was discharged, in 1864. In the seven days' fight in the
Wilderness the flag-staff had two or three bullet-holes put
through it while in my hands, and I know not how many
holes through the flag."
NO. 4.-FLAG OF THE SEVENTH          REGIMENT MISSOURI VOLUNTEERS.
The 7th Missouri Regiment carried an American and an
Irish flag side by side. The Irisll flag (shown in the illustration) was a beautiful silk one, and was presented to the
regiment by Surgeon P. S. O'Reilly and a few other friends.
It was carried through many battles, including Corinth and
the siege of Vicksburg.
The first two boats that ran the gauntlet of the rebel batteries at Vicksburg carried the 7th Missouri Regiment.
Wblile these boats were passing the batteries, Color-Sergeant
Fitz-Gerald defiantly waved the flag at the enemy. On the
22d of.May the regiment stormed the rebel fortifications at
Vicksburg, making a most gallant charge. It reached the
rebel works (Fort Hill), when Private Patrick Driscoll
raised a scaling-ladder and held it while Color-Sergeant FitzGerald, with the Irish flag in his hands, bravely ascended.
Fitz-Gerald reached the top of the works, and triumphantly
waved the flag, but was instantly shot dead. Another soldier seized the flag and ascended the la(lder only to suffer
the fate of his predecessor. Eight men were killed in a few




DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


63


minutes under this flag, during this memorable assault. The
regiment finally fell back, bringing its flag with it.
NO. 5.- FLAG OF THE SECOND REGIMENT KANSAS
VOLUNTEERS.
"This was the only Federal flag on the battle-field of Wilson's Creek, when General Lyon was killed. Three colorbearers were killed or wounded wlile carryilg it. It was
finally carried from the field blood-stained, bullet-marked,
tattered and torn."
This statement, pinned to the flag, is perhaps the only
history that will ever be written of it, for the reason that
the men who carried it were killed, and most of tile officers
and men who siiplorted it are either dead or cannot be
found. The flag is made of bunting, and the blood-stains
are plainly discernible upon it. It is now deposited in the
state capitol at Topeka.
NO. 6.-FLAG OF MCMULLEN'S FIRST INDEPENDENT OHIO BATTERY.
History unknown.
PLATE VIII.              PAGE 657.
NO. t- FLAG OF THE SEVENTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT OHIO VOLUNTEERS.
THIRTEEN members of the color-guard who defended or
carried the regimental colors during the period of service of
the 78th were killed or wounded. In the battle of Atlanta,
July 22,1864, Color-Sergeant John Spring, who held aloft
the flag, was shot dead. He fell in the road in front of the
line of battle, with the flag tightly clasped in his arms.
Sergeant John F. Kennedy, and his comrade Joe Brown,
seeing the flag about to be taken by the enemy charging the




64


DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


line, rushed out of the ranks, and, rolling the dead body of
Spring off the flag, safely returned with the standard to the
regiment. Sergeant W. Sutton then carried the flag, and
was wounded in both thighs, and died shortly after. Sergeant James C. Aerick then took the flag, and was mortally
wounded. Later in the same battle, while the flag lay on
the ground by the side of its dead defender, a rebel rushed
forward and had nearly succeeded in capturing it, and was
stooping over for the purpose, when Captain John Orr completely decapitated him with his sword. For saving the flag
on this occasion he received a gold medal from the Board of
Honor of the Army of the Tennessee. The flag was carried
through the rest of the battle by Sergeant Russell Bethel,
who was slightly wounded.
No. 2.-FLAG OF THE SEVENTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS.
This flag was carried through the campaigns of the Army
of the Cumberland, including the battles of Stone River,
Chickamauga, the Atlanta campaign of 1862, battle of Nashville, etc. At the battle of New Hope Church, Georgia,
May 27, 1864, while the regiment was under a heavy fire, a
soldier of the 19th Ohio became separated from his regiment
and attached himself to the 78th. While gallantly performing his duty a shell completely decapitated him, and dashed
his head against the flag of the 78th, staining it with his
blood.
No. 3.-FLAG OF THE THIRTY-SECOND REGIMENT
INDIANA VOLUNTEERS.
This flag was carried through many battles, including Shiloh, Stone River, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, the Atlanta
Campaign, Resaca, Peach-Tree Creek, Siege of Corinth, and
many minor engagements and skirmishes. It is part of the
regimental history that the first four color-bearers were
killed while carrying the flag at the head of the regiment,




DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE-FLAGS.


65


each man being shot through the head. The 82d Indiana
was composed of Germans, and this flag was presented by
German ladies of Indianapolis. The staff has two bulletholes in it.
NO. 4. - FLAG OF THE NINTH REGIMENT KENTUCKY VOLUNTEERS.
In the battle of Stone River the color-bearer of this flag
was instantly killed, and the flag fell to the ground. Moses
Roark, a mere boy, instantly picked it up, and bravely carried
it through the battle. He was promoted to color-sergeant,
and carried the flag through every engagement in which the
regiment afterwards participated.
NO. 5.-FLAG OF THE 129TH REGIMENT ILLINOIS
VOLUNTEERS.
Color-Bearer Frederic D. Hess carried this flag in the
charge upon the rebel works at Resaca, and was one of the
first upon the enemy's breastworks, where he stood erect
amid the rain of shot and shell, and waved the flag to cheer
his comrades on. While holding it in his right hand a ball
shattered the arm, but he immediately raised the falling colors with his left, which soon shared the fate of his right arm;
but with his bleeding stumps he still clung to the flag, staining it with his life-blood.
No. 6.-FLAG OF THE EIGHTEENTH NEW YORK
CAVALRY,
Known as the " CORNIG LIGHT CAVALRY.      History unknown.




45I-a


'11=        -M     4FI6
%.. 40...                #I
0,.                        - -.0..01,I                   c-,,                                                 I
-  -Oolh-?
I        I


--         -- - -C-"
-. -..j.W..  -.,A- -— =- -,


1. Tsim M11s81s1PPI STEAMER ' FAN-NY 0(h;DEN " ON hfER WAY WITH RELIEF FOR SICK
AN-D NWoUNI)ED SOLDIERS.
2. ON THE WAY Tei ANTIETAM WITH HOSPITAL SUPPLIES.




CHAPTER I.


THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR-THE SPIRIT OF 181 -FIRST
CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS -UPRISING OF THE NORTHl- EXCITING SCENES AND INCIDENTS.
In Boston with my dying Father — His early History - Surrender of Fort
Sumter —Uprising of the North- President Lincoln's ('all for
Seventy-five Thousand Troops - Their Rendezvous in Faneuil Hall
-Departure of the Massachusetts Sixth for Washington- Scenes
at the Boston and Albany Station -Interview with Mr (;arrison
and Wendell Phillips —The Massachusetts Sixth attacked i IBaltimore-War Scenes in Auburn, N Y - My Return to ChicagoImpressive Scenes In the Republican Wigwam -Cairo, 111., a
strategic Point - North and South hasten to seize it - Chicago
Troops arrive first and take Possession - Increased Preparations for
War- Washington carefully guarled - Defeat at Bull Run - The
North nerved to Power and Purpose -The South exultant In SelfConfidence- Lines now sharply drawn between loyal and disloyal
States.................  8
CHAPTER n.
LOYAL WOMEN       OF THE     NORTII -THEIR     PATRIOTISM     AND
DEVOTION - IEROINES OF THE BATTLE-FIELD - HOMEWORK    ANI) RELIEF      SOCIETIES -SCRAPING       LINT   AND
ROLLLNG BANDAGES.
The Patriotism of Men paralleled by that of Women - Notable Examples-Testimony of President Lincoln - Blunders of Inexperience
-The Havelock Mania - A Woman Soldier in the Nineteenth Illinois-Sent out of Camp, she attempts Suicide- Is rescued and
joins her Husband - Madame Turchin, Wife of the ('olonel - Her
Bravery and military Skill - Her Ability as a Nurse - She defeats a
(ourt-Martial -Other military Heroines -Annie Etheridge of the
Third Michigan- Bridget Devens of the First Michigan Cavalry

5


07




68                         CONTENTS.
Kady Brownell of the Fiftll Rhode Island - Georgianna Peterman,
the Wisconsin Drummer-Girl -Army Stories of military WomenBandage and Lint Craze - Local Relief Societies - Queer Assortnent of Supplies —Cars flooded with fermenting Goodies —Great
Waste and Loss - Liberality of the People continues - Wiser
Methods are devised.................109
CHAPTER       III.
AT THE     FRONT-WRETCHED          IOSPITAL     ARRANGEMENTSTIlE   SANITARY     COMMISSION - ITS      OBJECT, METHODS,
AND WORK- BATTLE-FIELD RELIEF.
Early Ignorance and Inefficiency of Officers —The Cause of Sickness
and Deatl in C'amp- Letters from the Front in Proof-Fearful
Mortality of British Soldiers in the Crimea, in 1.55- Occasioned by
sinilar (auses - Local Relief Societies organized - New York
Women show practical Wisdom - The Sanitary Commission evolved
from their Metiods- Plan of Organization drawn up by Dr. Bellows - Sanctioned by the President and Secretary of War —The
(Commission soon conquers all Prejudice - Its Work very extensive
- Inspectors sent to Camps anld Iospitals -Monographs prepared
on the Hygiene of the Army - Portable "Soup-Kettles" -"Hospital Cars"-Forty Soldiers' IIomis — (laim, Pension, and Back
Pay Agency-" ' Hospital l)irectory" -- Battle-field Relief Service"
-Ten "*BraMnch Commiiissions" -Relief rendered at Shiloh and
Antietan -- The Supplies, or Money for their Purchase, Made or
Collected by Women........           123
CHAPTER IV.
MY FIRST CONNECTION WITIII TIIE SANITARY COMMISSIONHOME SUPPLIES FOI: T'IIE S(LDIE.RS-A PEEP INTO THE
BOX-ES-LETTERS FOUND INSIDE -ODD CONTRIBUTIONS.
Local Societies merged in the Commission - Become identified with the
Chicago Branch —The Secrets of the Boxes of Supplies -Notes
packed in with the Clothing -They are tender pathetic, heroic,
and comic-A letter-writing Army — "Consecrated Chicken, be
jabers!" - "Butter an' Chase, bedad!" - " Comfort-bags "
"Benedictions" in the Murfreesboro' and Vicksburg Boxes - "One
Box a Month" —Ingenious Wisconsin Farmers' Wives- Women
in the Harvest-field-A Talk with them -Generosity of a "Tail



CONTENTS.                           69
oress" - The "five-dollar gold Piece " -" Matches! Matchesl "Afraid of a Kiss-Children's sanitary Fairs-Gift of a five-year
old Boy............135
CHAPTER V.
AT THE ROOMS OF THE SANITARY COMMISSION -ITS WORKERS AND     ITS VISITORS - HEART-RENDING SCENES AND
INCIDENTS-THE RECORD OF A DAY
Rooms of the Chicago Commission -The Din of Draymen and Packers
-Sewing-Rooms for Soldiers' Families —"The Perfume of the
Sanitary "-The dingy little Office- Immense Work performed in
it-Judge Skinner, the Presidenlt —Mr. Blatchfortd, TreasurerThe "Quartette" of the Office —John Freeman, the "Man of all
Work " — William Goodsmith, our "Sheet-A nchorr" - Mrs. Hoge,
my Friend and Co-Worker - Volunteer and transient Ielp -
Women, Girls, and Soldiers - Drayloads of Boxes - Ladies seeking
Information — Express Messengers- The M1orn iln Mal -'The aged
Father and his dead Son -"What ails the little Fellow?"- A
Bevy of Nurses-A sorrow-stricken.Iother- Soldiers from the
City Hospitals - More loaded Drays - More 1Men and Women come
and go -The Day declines- Return to my Home- " A Suburb of
Heaven..............15
CHAPTER VI.
A CAMPAIGN PLANNED BY A W\O)MAN - DESPERATE BATTLES
— TERRIBLE SCENES ON THIE         BATTLE-FIELD- TERI:IFIC
FIGHTING    AND   APPALLING     SUFFERING-    -THE AGONIES
OF WATR
General McClellan supersedes General Scott —Missouri becomes the
Field of Battle -General Grant wins a Victory at Belmont - Flet
of "Ironclads" for Service on Southern Rivers - Thb "Tennessee
Campaign" planned by Anna Ella Carroll. of Miaryland- Plan
adopted by President Lincoln and Stcretary 'tanuton -Carried out
by General;rant-The "Court of Claims,' in 1s.<, decides in her
Favor - Fort Henry on the Tennessee captured by Glunboats- They
fall to take Fort Donelson on the Cu'mbirlalnd —;.rleral (grant
attacks by Land-The Fort surrenders, after Three I)Ays' Fihtting
" Unconditional Surrender Grant " —Joy of tlh. Northw.stFrightful Suffering of the Wounded-Many frozen to Death on
both Sides -The People move to succor the Woundedl - Immense
Quantities of Supplies forwarded -Seven thousand Pri,-oners s?-nt
to Camp Douglas - Five hundred die...                11




70                         CONTENTS.
CHAPTERI VII.
AFTER THE BATTLE - MY FIRST EXPERIENCE IN A MILITARY
HOSPITAL-A DEATHLY FAINTNESS COMES OVER MENERVING    MYSELF FOR THE WORK-TOUCHING SCENES.
Mrs. Hoge and myself visit the Hospitals of St. Louis - Our first Experience- Boisterousness of new Recruits- The grim Silence of Men
who had "been under fire" - Our remarkable Hostess - Conspicuous and unflincling Loyalty - Ier " IIospital Kitchen " and " Hospital Wagon " -" Eleven Hundred Soldiers' Letters! "- The Donelson Wards - Tleir sickening Odor and ghastly Sights- Horrible
Mutilation of the Men -A deathly Faintness came over me - The
Wounded and Dead robbed on the Field of Battle - Plucky Fellow
— " They couldn't be bothering with us" -"Afraid to die!""Send for a Methodist Minister!" — The Magic of Song-The
mental Conflict of the Night that followed —St. Louis sitting in
Gloom - Sad Wedding in the Hospital - Death of the Bridegroom. 184
CHAPTER VIII.
I BECOME ACCUSTOMED         TO HOSPITAL WORK-FILTH AND
DISCOMFORT, NEGLECT AND SUFFERING-LEAVES FROM
MY EXPEIEIENCE - MESSAGES FROM TIlE DYING TO LOVED
ONES AT HOME.
Cairo an immense Basin, partially filled-Skilful Pilotage neededComfortless Hospitali -" My Wife came this Morning " — " Bring
me a drink from the Spring" - The "Brick Hospital" a Marvel
of Excellence — "Sisters of the Holy Cross" its Nurses- The
young rebel Prisoner —Longing for his Mother —" Philip Sidneys" in every Hospital- Mary Safford my Companion the second
Time- Her Method of Work- Her Memorandum Book and Baskets -Something for every one - " You are the good Fairy of the
Hospitals" - Men crying for Milk - Mourning the Loss of
"Mother Bickerdyke" -Wounded Soldier from     "Island No.
Ten" - Noble Letter from  his Wife- "The Children needed
him more than I" - Eulogy of Mary Safford - Her Career since
the War -Professor in the Boston University School of Medicine. 201
CHAPTER IX.
AWAITING    THE BATTLE OF SHILOH -PREPARATIONS FOR
THE WOUNDED-AWFUL SLAUGHTER-VARIED PHASES
OF HOSPITAL LIFE-" MISSING."
A Perfect Military Hospital —"Mother Angela," the Lady "Supdrieure" - " White-winged Sun-bonnets " - Battle of Shiloh- Ap



CONTENTS.                             71
palling Slaughter on both Sides - Rebel Prisoners' Ward - "Youuns Is very good to we-unsl" -The Rebel Surgeon's Fear-Meet
an Old Acquaintance among the Rebel Wounded —The Valiant
Eleventh Illinois-Great Prejudice against Protestant NursesThe "Sisters" preferred- " They never see anything, nor hear
anything, and tell no Tales" -Good General Strong, Post Commander at Cairo -Am sent to St. Louis for Invalid SoldiersTurner's "Descriptive List" Missing-Found In the Clerk's Office
- General Curtis discharges him - He also furloughs young
Brackett-Great Jollificatlon In the Ward - They accompany me
to Chicago.................... 217
CHAPTER X.
THE DARKEST PERIOD OF THE WAR- MY VISIT TO WASHINGTON IN 1862 -STRANGE EXPERIENCES ON THE JOURNEY-PITIFUL SCENES IN A CONVALESCENT CAMP.
Woman's Council called in Washlngton —Mrs. Hoge and myself the
Chicago Delegates - Darkest Period of the War- Am detained at
uspension Bridge-A lestless Crowd in the Waiting-room - A
blind Vocalist Charus them  to Quletness-Homeward-bound
Invalid Soldiers on the Trains —Repulsive Instrument of Slave
Torture-Train going North from Washington packed with furloughed Soldiers-President Lincoln's Explanation -"The War
to be ended by Strategy!" — We take in our Charge a sick Soldier
-New Experience in Baltimore —Visit to Dorothea Dlx-Her
extensive Work-Superintendent of Women Nurses-Washington
Soldier' Home- Amy Bradley the Matron -     Solid Chunks of
Sunshine" - Visit Alexandria - "Camp Misery"-" A perfect
Golgotha" —Great Indignation of Vlsitors-Amy Bradley take
up her Abode In the Camp-Grat Improvement follows -" The
Soldiers Journal '-We visit Presidet Lincoln....
CHAPTER XI.
LIF IN A CONTRABAND CAMP-WASHINGTON IN 18 —A
CONTRABAND PRAYER MEETING-MY INTERVIEW WIT
8ECRETARY STANTON- THE DRUMMER-BOY OF THE
EIGHTH MICHIGAN.
Nitive Slaves rejohdng In Freedom - Pryrmeeting n Camp - Meet
od  " Aun  Aggy" —An EpLode of Slavery -"' Tr' a Day
a-cma'!"   - Lvely Praying-Telmpetuous Singing-Intense
ieetalans-A Boy PhFloopbt-V     t W ddngtonin l8ls   -Grat
Cbha —Deert         from  the Enmy-Runaway Negro with a




72                         CONTENTS.
Six-Mule Team- Courtesy and Kindness of Secretary StantonMeet Admiral and Mrs. Farragut —Their Simplicity and Geniality
— Lieutenant Cushing, the Hero of the Ram Albemarle -Other
Eminent Notabilities- The Drummer Boy of the Eighth Michigan
- Enlists with his Teacher-Charlie petted by all- His Teacher
and Captain shot at James Island- Fierce Life of the Eighth
Michigan-Charlie shares it All- Struck by a chance Shot —
Fatal Result......................a...... 257
CHAPTER XII.
A  TRIP   DOWN    THE   MISSISSIPPI-AMONG        THE SICK    AND
DYING - OUR MISSION AND STORES- LOVING MESSAGES
FROM   HOME-A BRIDE'S SONG FOR A DYING SOLDIER.
The Army encamped at Young's Point - They cut the Levees - Great
Sickness results-Special Relief Corps sent down-Mrs. Colt, of
Milwaukee, and myself attached to the Corps - Our ProgrammeOutfit -Some of the Meeuages entrusted me -Our wheezy BoatDisloyal Offcers - Musical Talent on Board - Singing in the Hospltals -Touching Episode-Scene in a Memphis Hospital"Mother, don't you know your Boy?" -Our Headquarters in
Memphis, at Gayoso House- Women Secessionists-To be sent
within Confederate Lines- A stormy Interview —" Allows me to
be at large!" - We embark on the Tigress for the lower Mississippi
- A drea     Journey.................  280
CHAPTER XIII.
ALONG THE DREARY RIVER-SAD SIGHTS IN A REGIMENTAL
HOSPITAL- JOLLY BATTERY BOYS -I AM WELCOMED TO
CAMP BY OLD FRIENDS.
Perils of the lower River - The Tigress and its disloyal Officers - The
Stewardes a Virago- "I could throw you overboard as If you
were a Cat!" - Lake Providence and its fathomless Mud -" The
Sanitary Commislon's got mired!" - Go down to Milliken's Bend
-Distribute Supplies to Hospitals —Sorry Plight of a Wisconsin
Regimental Hospital - Surgeon-General Wolcott, of Wisconsin,
breaks it up- In the Camp of the Chicago Mercantile Battery"What a Hubbub       What a Jubilee!" -Evening Praye
in Camp —The Boy get Breakfast -" The Victuals will tate
better if you don't see the Cooking!" — Leave for Young's
Point - General Grant's Depath Boat Fanny Ogden gives
me Pig....................    D 2




CONTENTS.                             73
CHAPTER XIV.
OPPOSITE    VICKSBURG - ARRIVAL          AT   GENERAL     GRANT'S
IEADQUARTERS-MY INTERVIEW              WITH   HIM-MY PETITION-A     TOUCHING STORY.
We call on General Grant-Reticent, patient, and persistent - We put
ourselves on "short Rations" of Talk with him-Stories of his
Intemperance foul Calumnles —His chivalric Defence of General
Sherman-Am entrusted with a Variety of Errands to him - My
Decision concerning them - Second call alone on General Grant"The Gibraltar of America" -The General is very accessible —
Not hedged about by Formalities - The most bashful Man I had
ever encountered -" I will let you know To-morrow "- Discharges
twenty-one invalid Soldiers, and gives me Transportation for them
- One dies in Memphis- Another dies in Chicago, almost Home. 808
CHAPTER XV.
I AM INSTALLED HEAD COOK IN A FIELD HOSPITAL - CHEERING UP THE " BOYS"- CAPRICIOUS APPETITES —MY RIDE
WITH BLACK SOCRATES- VICKSBURG.
Large Field Hospital at Young's Point- Am put in Charge —Cater
to the capricious Appetites —" Tea and Toast" for a forty-fiveyear-old "Boy" —* Tea! tea! tea! from the homespun Teapot"
-Lemonale under Difficulties-Men transferred to Hospital
Steamer City of Memphis- Visit to the Thirteenth Illinois —
"Socrates" and his Six-Mule Team-" Mules Is dat mean dey
has ter be licked!" - Accomplishments of the Thirteenth Illinois
-" The   tealing Regiment" - Accompany the Engineer Corps
down the Levee-Peep into Vicksburg with a powerful GlassNo sgn of Home-Life - Rams Lancaster and Switzerlnd run the
Blockade-One destroyed, the otherdisabled........          819
CHAPTER XVI.
COMING UP THE RIVER-A FREIGHT OF LIVING MISERYGOING OUT FROM THE LAND OF BONDAGE-AMONG SICK
SOLDIRS, CONTRABANDS AND REFUGES.
A f   ard Movement - Gunboa    run the VtlekIu g Batteries-They
coTvey Transport down the River -Troop cr      and belegur




74                          CONTENTS.
Vicksburg -We take Passage In the Maria Denning for CairoThe Boat packed with human and animal Misery- Sick Soldiers
comforted by our Presence -Johnny, the Virginia Refugee, given
to my Care - His History - The tempestuous "Praise-meetings"
of the Contrabands tabooed - Refugees encamped on the River
Bank - Signal the Boat to stop-The Captain dares not - Fears
Treachery - Meet Ford Douglas at Lake Providence - Agree to
take a slave Boy to Chicago, despite Illinois " Black Laws"... 339
CHAPTER XVII.
THE STORY OF THREE LITTLE ORPHANS-SMUGGLING A
PLANTATION WAIF THROUGH " EGYPT " -THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD-SAFE AT LAST-AFFECTING MEETING.
We find three Orphan Refugees in Camp Convalescent, Fort Pickering
- Their pitiful History -We take them to the Chicago Home of
the Friendless-Adopted by an Iowa Family - Cairo makes Addition to our Cares- Lizzie the Orphan Refugee from Missouri- Go
aboard the Chicago Sleeper, with Johnny and the black Lad - The
stuttering Porter hides the black Boy-" D-d-d-dat Woman's slep'
mighty little fo' mos' s-s-s-six Weeks -- "She's d-d-d-done got monst'ous sick " - We defy " Egypt " and the " Black Laws" - Reach
Chicago at Midnight-Sunday Morning, hunt up the black Lad's
Mother - Affecting Meeting - Sarah Morris tells her Story -
Johnny and Lizze cared for.............  356
CHAPTER XIIm.
OUR BATTERY BOYS-A SECRET DRILL-THE DISCOVERYOFF TO THE FRONT-GOD-SPEED AND FAREWELL TO MY
SUNDAY-SCHOOL BOYS - EXTRACTS FROM THEIR DIARIES
Our Church In Chicago - The Morale of its young Men - Memories of
the Past - A loyal Congregation -What happened at Evening Service - Sudden Disappearance of our young Men - A peculiar Sound
from the Sunday-School Room - Tramp! Tramp! Tramp I - We
stealthily open the Door and peep In - Our Discovery - " We have
all decided to enlist" - An unspoken Prayer - All but two of our
young Men are mustered Into the Chicago Mercantile Battery -
The Grief of Parting - Solemn Consecration - An affecting Farewell - Extracts from their Diaries- A jolly set- Roughing it
without Whining - The Art of Frying Cakes "- Sweet Times
hem" - The Siege of Vicksburg- Awaiting the Battle - Army




CONTENTS.                            75
Life at the Front -" Spoiling for a Fight" - Ordered into Action
- We keep up Communication with our Boys - A Country devastated by War-An unexpected Visitor.......... 869
CHAPTER XIX.
THE STORY OF OUR BATTERY BOYS CONTINUED-A DISASTROUS EXPEDITION-A         TRAP OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION-SCENES OF HORROR-THRILLING ACTS OF BRAVERY AND DEVOTION.
Changes among our Boys-Breaking down under the Hardships of
War-The Battery constantly shifts its Encampment-Working
hard to kill Time - The Humorous Side of Life In Camp - History
of "Doggie Doggett," the Canine Member of the Battery — Hi
Exploits and Unknown Fate - Lost In the Service - Unfortunate
Expedition -Up the Red River - Charging the Enemy with a
Baggage-Train-Our Boys fall into a Trap of Death and Destructlon-A terrific Charge by ten thousand Rebels- Overpowered
by superior Numbers - Retreat or Surrender the only Alternative -
The Guns of the Battery captured - Death of Lieutenant Throop
- Sergeant Dyer shot while spiking his Gun - Many of our Boys
are aken Prisoners -Hugh Wilson's Devotion —Only eight of
our Boys return at the Close of the War..........87
CHAPTER XX
TE    FIRST GREAT SANITARY         FAIR-RAISING      MONEY    FOR
HOSPITAL RELIEF-A GREAT AND MEMORABLE DAY-A
MOTLEY PROCESSION THREE MILES LONG.
ontinued Needs of the Hosptals lead to a great Sanitary Far-A
Woman's nterpre from the Begnnng —Large P        arationsSeventeen Bushels of Fair Circulars and Lette  sent at one Mall
- M. Hoge obtains Help from Pituburg and Philadelphla - Potter Palmer from New York -Boston and Connecticut contribute -
The whole Northwest ransacked for Attractions-At last, Men
th the Fair Mania-Their varied Gift —Opening Iaugu
Pr   m     - Captured rebel Flap bone along —Scool Chidren
In Carriaes and Omnibuses-Conaeset     olde tfrom Hospitls
-Pros       of Farm Wagos, with Vegetable-Proc lon halt
on the Court House Lawn -Firng of thlrty-for Gum announces
the Opinof the Fair........... *.   4




76


COTNTENTS.


CHAPTER XXI.
STORY OF THE GREAT FAIR CONTINUED -ITS SIX HALLS
PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S DONATION - UNEXAMPLED ENTHUSIASM-"GOD BLESS THE FARMERS."
Profusion of Wares and rapid Sales- Daily Excursion Trains - President Lincoln donates the Manuscript of the Proclamation of Emancipation —Large Quantities of Food sent from the Country to the
Dining-Hall-How Dubuque furnished her Quota of SuppliesPicturesque Scene-Hall erected for Donations of MachineryOur Bargain with the Builder-A Revelation and its ResultsCounty Court Room transformed into a " Curiosity Shop" - Rebel
Flags, and Battle Trophies —Slave Shackles and Collars —Large
Loan Collection of Art Works -Anna Dickinson's LecturesDinner to Northwestern Governors, Congressmen, and other Dignitaries - Gift of Live Stock - Auction Sales on the Sidewalk.. 427
CHAPTER XXII.
LAST DAYS OF THE GREAT FAIR- SOLDIERS' DAY-TOTAL
RECEIPTS NEARLY ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARSINTERESTING ITEMS AND INCIDENTS.
Dinner given by the Ladies to eight hundred invalid Soldiers in Hospitals-Lady Managers dined by Gentlemen, who serve the Feast
- Mighty Frolic - "Completely tuckered out!" - Items and Incidents -Afghan made with Money found in a dead Soldier's Pocket
-Contraband's Gift- Donation of Octogenarians - Mite of the
German Woman - The Luck of the Chickamauga Soldier - MajorGeneral Herron of Iowa in the Fair -Letters of Gratitude from
Soldiers in Hospitals-"Must see that Fair"-"All I have"Safe place of Retreat-Pleasant Greetings- "A Soldier's Psalm
of Woman"- Cheers for Lincoln - Cheers for the SoldiersCheers for the Ladies of the Sanitary Commission -Specimen of
the Soldiers' Battle-cry -The Dead..........   450
CHAPTER XXIII.
SHERMAN'8 MARCH TO THE SEA-DEATH-BLOW TO THE REBELLION -SURRENDER OF LEE -SASSSNATION OF PRES
IDENT LINCOLN - THE MARCH OF EVENTS.
The   nd draws near-Sherman's March to the Sea-He finds the
outhern Confederacy a Shell to be easily crushed - Much AnDiets




CONTENTS.


77


felt at the North for the Result —He takes Savannah, with its
immense Stores, and informs the President of his Gift —The
South. surprised -English Journals prophesy Failure - Reaches
the Atlantic Coast - Co-operates with Grant and Lincoln - Richmond evacuated -Lee surrenders -Delirious Joy of the Nation -
Characteristic Procession improvised in Chicago —Lincoln assassinated - Joy swallowed up in passionate Sorrow- Disbanding of
the Army - Motley Treasures brought Home by Soldiers -Eager
to reach Home - Gladness of the Nation at the Return of Peace. 488
CHAPTER XXIV
MOTHER BICKERDYKE- STORY OF A REMARKABLE WOMANHER MOTHERLY CARE OF THE "BOYS IN BLUE"-HOSPITAL SIGHTS AND SCENES-ON THE BATTLE-FIELD AT
NIGHT.
A remarkable Woman- Sent into the Service at Cairo by Ladies of
Galesburg, 111.- Improvises a sick-diet Kitchen —Stratagem to
detect the Thieves who steal her Delicacies - " Peaches don't seem
to agree with you, eh?" - Colonel (now General) Grant removes
the dishonest OfficialS —Mother Bickerdyke after the Battle of
Donelson-A Surgeon's Testimony - She extemporizes a Laundry
-Is associted with Mrs. Porter of Chicago- After the Battle of
Shiloh - " I get my Authority from the Lord God Almighty; have
you anything that ranks higher? " - Her System of foraging - Her
"Night-Gowns" as hospital Shirts- "Say you jerked them from
the Secesh, Boys! - Experiences at Corinth- Finds a dying
Soldier left in a Tent...............                 476
CHAPTER XXV.
THRILLING    INCIDENTS IN      THE LIFE OF MOTHER BICKERDYKE-HER HOSPITAL EXPERIENCES-HER                  FIRST  FURLOUGH-RETURN TO THE FRONT - FIGHTING THE DOCTORS-A COW-AND-HEN EXPEDITION.
he is much worn down —Extremely Perilous to remain longer without Rest-Her Health demands a Respite from her Labors for a
Time-Comes to my House on her Furlogh —Attends a Weddlng-"Have enjoyed your Wedding as f it were a PrayerMeeting!" —Calls Meetiog   to rae Supplies-Returns to the
Frot, orpnixe    and reeerate    Hospls-Reognes her
Lundries in Memphis-Quarrels with the Medical Director- Out
wuaw     hnm-"One of m two gos to the Wall, and 'faint neer
a I" -The Storm finally ends In Sunshine -They become
rimd-He end her North on a Cow-nd-Hen Expedition —




78                         CONTENTS.
Returns with a hundred Cows, and a thousand Hens -Improved
Condition of the Hospitals - Confided in everywhere - Impatient
of Red Tape - Cared little for Sect, but much for the Comfort of
the Soldiers................... 499
CHAPTER XXVI.
MOTHER BICKERDYKE AND GENERAL SHERMAN A NIGHT
OF HORROR - HEROIC EFFORTS TO SAVE THE WOUNDED
FROM FREEZING-HEART-RENDING SCENES AND TERRIBLE SUFFERING.
Mother Bickerdyke's Idolatry of General Sherman -She becomes an
Attach6e of his Corps -Comes to Chicago and does good Work
for Soldiers' Families -Goes to Chattanooga after the Battle, and
establishes a Hospital - Incredible Exertion to save her Patients
from Freezing - Orders Breastworks torn down for Fuel-" All
right, Major, I'm arrested! Only don't meddle with me till the
Weather moderates!"- General Burnside beleaguered m   Knoxville, Tenn. -Sherman marches to his Relief -Fearful Suffering
from Cold and short Rations -Horrors of the Return Route to
Chattanooga - Railroad from Nashville completed at last - Joyful
Welcome of the first Train - All Night in the icy Gale - She ran
from Tent to Tent - She encouraged the shivering Soldiers - Her
Name mentioned only with Tears............                  515
CHAPTER XXVII.
STORY OF MOTHER BICKERDYKE CONCLUDED -FOLLOWING
THE FLAG IN THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN- HER MOTHERLY MINISTRATIONS IN         THE MIDST OF BATTLE-HER
LIFE AND CAREER SINCE THE WAR.
Mother Bickerdyke makes an eloquent Speech - Disregards Sherman's
Orders, and calls on him. Obtains the Favor she seeks-Six
Months in the Rear of Battles —Death of General McPhersonSherman begins his March to the Sea - Mother Bickerdyke packs
all Hospital Supplies, and sends to Nashville - Goes to meet Sherman, with a Steamer loaded with Supplies, as he directed - They
are not needed, and she cares for the Andersonville PrisonersThe War ends, and she returns to Louisville -Her Life since the
War - The Government grants a pension to her - The Soldiers do
not forget her -Her Effort to keep a Hotel in Kansas not a Success - Unsectarian, but Christian - Her present Home.... 530




CONTENTS.                             79
CHAPTER XXVIII.
MY REMINISCENCES OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN -EXPERIENCES
IN  THE    " WIGWAM" - EXCITING        SCENES - MY      INTERVIEWS WITH THE PRESIDENT AT THE WHITE HOUSE.
Early Life of President Lincoln -My first Knowledge of him, In 1858
" The Battle of the Giants " - He is nominated In 1860 for the
Presidency - My Experience in the "Wigwam ' as a ReporterThe memorable Scenes attending the Nomination -My Visit to
Washington in 1862- Gloomy Period of the War- Call on the
President - His Depression - Discouraging Statements - Wholesale Desertions from the Army-" To undertake to fill up the
Army is like shovelling Fleas!" - Mrs. Hoge and I see the President alone - His Suffering during the War -He contributes the
manuscript Proclamation of Emancipation to the Chicago Sanitary
Fair-A Premium sent him as the largest Contributor.... 547
CHAPTER XXIX.
REMINISCENCES      OF   PRESIDENT      LINCOLN     CONTINUEDSCENES AT THE WHITE HOUSE -A WIFE'S SAD                 STORY
AND   AFFECTING     PETITION- I INTERCEDE         WITH    THE
PRESIDENT- HIS SYMPATHY AND MERCY
The President refuses to pardon a Virginia Spy -Wife of the condemned Illinois Major —Her sad Story - She is too much broken
down to plead for her Husband's Life- " Beg the President not to
allow my Husband to be shot!" - I tell her Story - The President's
Sympathy- "These Cases kill me"- He had already commuted
the Major's Sentence - His Delight at the Discovery -" I know all
about it now"- The grateful Woman fainted - She is told to go
and visit her Husband - The broken-hearted Wife goes away
Imploring Blessings on the President- Beautiful Reception of
Miss Elizabeth Peabody-Touching Letter to Mrs. Bixby- Her
five Sons were killed in Battle - Humorous Reply to his Advisers
-" Keep Silence, and we'll get you safe across'....... 566
CHAPTER XXX.
MY LAST INTERVIEW        WITH    PRESIDENT LINCOLN-SCENES
AT HIS RECEPTIONS-HIS INEXHAUSTIBLE HUMOR — IS
ASSINATION-A NATION IN' TEARS.
Chicaeo projectsa second mammoth Sanitary Fair - Attendance of
Preident and Mr   Lincoln solicited- His comical Narration of




80                          CONTENTS.
his Experiences at the Philadelphia Fair —"I couldn't stand
another big Fair "-A   humorous Inducement —Both promise
Attendance - Mrs. Lincoln's Reception - The President's Manner
of Receiving- Crowds in Attendance -Love for Children"Stop, my little Man" — "You expect to be President sometime" —An unexpected Reply-The Humble welcomed — Love
universally manifested for him -The Remains of the martyred
President are received In Chicago-The unfeigned Grief of the
Northwest - The Body lies in State at the Court House - "All is
well with him forever I............... 578
CHAPTER XXXI.
HEROISM    OF SOLDIERS' WIVES-WHAT THEY ENDURED AT
HOME-A SUNDAY MORNING VISIT TO THEIR FAMILIESLEAVES FROM MY JOURNAL-PATHETIC INCIDENTS.
Petition of four hundred and eighty Soldiers in Southern Hospitals
— " Ignore us, but look after our suffering Families!"- Heroism
of Wives and Mothers-Visit Soldiers' Families with Chaplain
McCabe-Children fierce and wild with Hunger-An underground Room, and great Wretchedness- The Soldier's Widow dies
in the Night-Her Mother, in the Darkness, defends the Body
from Rats - The Baby falls from the Chamber Window, while the
Mother is away washing —A colored Woman turned out on the
Sidewalk, with her dying Child, for unpaid Rent - Her Husband
fighting under Colonel Shaw, in the Fifty-fourth MassachusettsGovernor Andrew sends me Carte blanche in the way of Relief
for Families of that Regiment -The Historian should remember
the Heroism of the Hearthstone.............586
CHAPTER XXXI.
MY FIRST PUBLIC SPEECH- CROSSING THE MISSISSIPPI IN A
ROW-BOAT —"A VOICE FROM THE FRONT               -FACING AN
AUDIENCE FOR THE FIRST TIME-AN EVENTFUL NIGHT.
Return from the Front-Accept Invitation from Dubuque to address
the Ladles - Ferry-boat detained by moving Ice in the Mississippi
-Cross in a Row-boat- The Trip attended with much Danger -
The Risk assumed -Many prophesied evil Results - They proved
false Prophets - Crossed the River safely - " All Iowa will hear you
to-night "- Appalled at the Prospect-Am advertised for a Lecture,
without being consulted -" A Voice from the Front!" -Fear to
attempt a public Speech - Hesitation overcome by Colonel Stone's




CONTENTS.


81


Argument - The Results that followed - An Iowa Sanitary Fair is
planned and carried out-Aggregates nearly 60,000....    601
CHAPTER XXXIII.
REMINISCENCES OF THE WAR-TOUCHING STORY OF A RING
-THE MAJOR WHO CRIED FOR MILK-CAPTURE OF GENERAL GRANT —"OLD ABE," THE WISCONSIN WAR EAGLE,
AND HIS WONDERFUL CAREER.
Confronted by one of my own Letters - The widowed Mother tells her
Story-Puts her dead Daughter's Ring on my Finger -Officers'
Hospital at Memphis — Its wretched Condition- Is made comfortable by the Commission - Incident at the Fabyan House,
White Mountains-" Do you remember the Major who cried for
Milk?" - Second Sanitary Fair in Chicago - Held after the War
ended - Regiments, Soldiers, and Officers received there - An
Ovation to General Grant -Executes a flank Movement on the
People - Is captured by young Ladies -" This beats Vicksburg
all out of Sight!"- "Old Abe," the Eagle of the Eighth Wisconsin - His military Behavior - Children sell his Pictures for the
Soldiers' Fair- Make $16,308.93 by the Sales.......   613
CHAPTER XXXIV.
SOLDIERS' LETTERS FROM         THE FRONT DURING        THE FIRST
YEAR OF THE WAR-VIVID PICTURES OF LIFE IN CAMP
-DESOLATION - AMUSEMENTS - MARCHING - FORAGLNG
-PICKET DUTY-LETTERS FROM HOME.
Authors of the Letters-Life in Camp-Exploits of the First Iowa
-" A bully Boy" - Hardships of a ('haplain - Fight at Conrad's
Ferry -The Desolation of War —Impatient to be led into Action
-" Little Mack"   President's Reception -The Picture of W\'eari
ness and Despair — Amusements- Morals -Without the Comforts of Civilization-Secession Literature-Hutchinsons sing in
Camp -Soldiers wild with Delight-Dying from Camp DiseasesThe poor Horses - Depression of the Men - Picturesque Scenes -
Breaking up Camp, and starting off-Going Into Camp for the
Night - Foraging -Difficulty of Moving a large Army - Longing
for Letters from Home - Their blessed Influence - " The musty
Crackers and rusty Bacon are better" — Fatigues of Picket Duty
— In Pursuit of Something to eat —"Somebody had been frying




82                         CONTENTS.
Chickens " -Battle of Pea Ridge - As good as Dead the last half
of the Battle....................                    629
CHAPTER XXXV.
SOLDIERS' LETTERS FROM THE FRONT DURING THE SECOND
YEAR OF THE WAR —HOW A SOLDIER FEELS IN BATTLE
SWAMPS OF THE CHICKAHOMZINY - A BABY                 ON  THE
BATTLE-FIELD-" OLD ROSY."
Letter from a Nurse on a Hospital Boat - After the Battle of Shiloh
-Battle Scenes -- Marching all Day, and fighting all Night"Fearful Condition of the Sick and Wounded - Intimidating Effect
of the howling Shells —Burning commissary Stores-" It is all
over! I am to be killed 1" - Hard Lot of the Sick-Wading through
the villanous Mud of Virginia - General Howard wounded"Hereafter let's buy our Gloves together " - Letters from Home
- "A Means of Grace " - Negro Friendliness - Splendid Foraging
-Surprised at the good-looking Yankees- Life in a Rebel Prison
-The Counterpart of Jeffreys and Haynau- Putrid Mule-BeefSoup swarming with Bugs and Maggots -" A Baby on the BattleField " - The Army of the Cumberland - " Old Rosy" - Nationalities represented in the Army-"Schpike dem new Guns! No,
Sheneral, It vould schpoil dem!"...........  650
CHAPTER XXXVI.
SOLDIERS' LETTERS FROM        THE FRONT DURING THE THIRD
YEAR OF THE WAR-HOUSEKEEPING IN CAMP-RIDING
"CRITTER-BACK" - DARING DEEDS- REBEL PICKETS.
Battle of Chickamauga - Remarkable Presentiment - Housekeeping in
Camp- Ignorance of the Enemy - "The walking Regiments""Cannon Soldiers " - Wept over his lifeless Body - Ignorance of
secesh Soldiers - Yet they fight bravely - Have plenty of Hay, but
no Impunity - Greater Loss by Sickness than on Fields of Battle
-Evidence that the Enemy are near —" Riding Critter-back "
After the Battle of the Wilderness - " Any Commander but Grant
would have retreated" - Recklessness of the Cavalry - Daring of
the Soldiers - " Divide is the word, or you are a dead Johnny! " -
Ten thousand Men sing "Rally round the Flag, Boysl"-" One
vast, exultant Roar! "-Talking with rebel Pickets......   72




CONTENTS.                            83
CHAPTER XXXVII.
SOLDIERS' LETTERS FROM        THE FRONT DURING        THE LAST
YEAR OF THE WAR-LIFE IN REBEL PRISONS -DREADFUL SCENES - HORRORS OF ANDERSONVILLE - LAST DAYS
OF THE GREAT REBELLION-PEACE.
A Hospital Picnic -" The Stump Squad " - Strawberries for the Army
-" Virginia a vast Blackberry Field" -- Old Hundred" in Camp
- Hunting Bloodhounds - Letter from a Hospital Nurse in Annapolis-Thirty thousand Prisoners cooped up at Andersonville, in
ten Acres - Their Hands and Feet rot off- Swarming with Vermin
-Bones protrude through the Flesh -The Men become Idiots and
Lunatics -Different Treatment of Southern Prisoners by the North
-" The Yankees take good Care of us " - Last Days of Sherman's
"March to the Sea" - The Army reaches the Atlantic Coast -
Columbia, S. C., is burned -Destitution of the South -" At the
Mercy of a General more powerful than Grant or Sherman, General Starvation"...........68


6




5,r
4; —
~~
AFTER THE BATTLE.




CHAPTER I.


THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR- THE SPIRIT OF 1861 -FIRST
CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS- UPRISING OF THE NORTH -EXCITING SCENES AND INCIDENTS.
In Boston with my dying Father - His early History — Surrender of Fort
Sumter -Uprising of the North - President Lincoln's C'all for Seventyfive Thousand Troops -Their Rendezvous in Faneuil Iall - Departure
of the Masachusetts Sixth for Washington -Scenes at the Boston and
Albany Station- Interview with Mr Garrison and Wentlell IPhillips —
The Massachusetts Sixth attacked in Baltimore - War Scenes in
4uburn, N Y. —My Return to Chicago - Impressive Scenes in the
Republican Wigwam - Cairo, Ill., a strategic Point - North and South
Fasten to seize it -Chicago Troops arrive first and take l'ossession -
Increased Preparations for War-Washington carefully guardedDefeat at Bull Run-The North nerved to Power and Purpose —
The South exultant i Self-Confidence - Lines now sharply drawn
between loyal and disloyal States.
HE        opening of the War of the Rebellion
found me in      Boston, my native citN.      My
own home had been in Chicago for years,
but my     aged   father was thought to         be
dying, and the stern speech of the telegram had
summoned me to his bedside.          It was a time of
extreme and unconcealed anxiety.          The daily pal)pers
teemed with the dreary records of secession.            The
Southern    press blazed    with   hatred   of the   North,
and with fierce contempt for her patience and her
avowed desire for peace.       Northern men and wonleni
were driven from     Southern home.s, leaving behind all
their possessions, and thankful to escape with life.
85




86


" MY GOD NOW LET ME DIE I"


Every one was asking his neighbor, " What will be
the end?" but there was no answer, for over the
whole North the paralysis of death seemed to have
settled.
The day after my arrival, came the news that Fort
Sumter was attacked, which increased the feverish
anxiety. The threats of its bombardment had been
discredited, for the North believed the South to be
as deeply rooted in attachment to the Union as it
knew itself to be. All its high-sounding talk of war
was obstinately regarded as empty gasconade, and
its military preparations, as the idle bluster of angry
disappointment.  When, therefore, the telegraph,
which had registered for the astounded nation the
hourly progress of the bombardment, announced the
lowering of the stars and stripes, and the surrender
of the beleaguered garrison, the news fell on the land
like a thunderbolt.
During those never-to-be-forgotten days of Sumter's bombardment, I vibrated between my father's
sick-room and the bulletin-board. With his anxious
eyes asking speechless questions, he challenged
every one who entered his apartment. When the
speedy end came, and he was told that "Sumter had
fallen!" he turned his face to the wall with an exceedingly bitter cry: "My God! now let me die, for
I cannot survive the ruin of my country!" His illness was occasioned by mental suffering, and not by
bodily ailment. The pending calamities of the nation,
and the threatened disruption of the Union, had
smitten him with sore anguish of heart. And mistaking the patience of the North, which hoped to
avoid a collision with the excited South, as acquiescence in its rebellion, he believed the Republic rent




A VICTIM OF THE BRITISH " PRESS-GANG."  87
in twain. For him, every fibre of whose being was
intertwined with an almost ecstatic love of country,
all joy in life was over.
Born just at the close of the War of the Revolution, in which his father and his kindred had served,
my father was reared in a home where the memories
of that war were sacredly cherished.  Its great
underlying moral cause -the defence of "inalienable
human rights," - its hardships, heroism, and undying
glory,  these were burned into him in his boyhood
by constant recital, and he grew to manhood an
enthusiast in his love for the young Republic. When,
in 1812, war was declared by the United States
against Great Britain, my father was more than a
willing volunteer, and lie entered the naval service.
The persistent claim of Great Britain that she had
a right to search American vessels for deserters from
her navy, -a right which she exercised in the most
offensive manner, until she had "impressed" thousands of American-born seamen into her unwilling
service, —was the cause of the war. My father had
been a victim of the British "press-gang," and,
although born in Massachusetts, among the Berkshire
hills, he was alTested on board an American tradingvessel, as an English deserter, and was forced to do
duty on a British man-of-war.
I have listened, spell-bound, in childhood, to his
graphic narration of the indignities and cruelties
to which he was there subjected. Suspected of a
purpose to escape, he was degraded to menial service;
and when he refused to fight against his own countrymen in time of an engagement, he was lput in
irons and threatened with death. WVhen unexpectedly restored to menial service, he watched his oppor



88


THE REBELLION DENOUNCED.


tunity, and, running fearful risks, succeeded in escaping from the detested British war-vessel while it was
lying at Copenhagen. After weary weeks of hiding
and watching and waiting, with experiences of danger
that afterwards were woven into many a terrible
dream of the night, a chance of return to his own
country was given him, and was gladly accepted.
Hostilities had already commenced between the
two l)elligerent nations, and, fired with a desire to
avenge his wrongs, he enlisted on the frigate " Constitution" and served under Commodores Hull and
Bainbridge until the end of the war. Now, fighting
under the flag of his country, he coveted hardship
and rejoiced in peril, for his early patriotism had
become a devouring flane, only equalled in its intensity by his burning hatred of Great Britain. Ever
after, love of country and pride of American citizenshil) were a vital part of his nature, dominating his
speech and his life. The dreary winter of secession,
when the nation seemed slowly disintegrating, had
brought low his pride, and consumed both life and
hope. and it seemed doubtful if he would survive the
shock of Fort Sumter's reduction.
The next day, April 14, was Sunday. The pulpits
thundered with denunciations of the rebellion. Congregations applauded sermons such as were never
before heard in Boston, not even from radical preachers. Mainy of the clergy saw with clear vision, at
the very outset, that the real contest was between
slavery and freedom; and, with the prophetic instinct
of the seer, they predicted the death of slavery as
the outcome of the war. Some of the ministers
counselled war rather than longer submission to the
imperious South. Better that the land should be




THE WHOLE NORTH AROUSED.


89


drenched with fraternal blood than that any further
concessions should be made to the slaveocracy. For
they were willing to disrupt the Union rather than
yield their hated purpose to extend slavery throughout the Republic. The same vigorous speech was
heard on the streets, through which surged hosts of
excited men. There was an end of patience, and( in
its stead was aroused a determination to avenge the
insult offered the nation. Conservative and peaceful counsel was shrivelled in a blaze of belligerent
excitement.
Monday dawned, April 15. Who that saw that
day will ever forget it! For now, drowning the exultations of the triumphant South, louder than their
boom of cannon, hearld above theiil clang of bells and
blare of trumpets, there rang out tle voice of Abr'aham Lincoln calling for seventy-five thousand volunteers for three months. They were for the protection
of Washington anid the property of the government.
All who were in arms against the country were commanded to return home in twenty days. anld Congress
was summoned to meet on the 4th of July.
This proclamation was like the first peal of a surcharged thunder-cloud, clearing the murky air. The
South received it as a declaration of war, the North
as a confession that civil war had begun; and the
whole North arose as one man. The Union was not
to be destroyed without a struggle that would deluge
the land with blood. The calls of the governors of
the loyal states were met with a response so generous, that ten times seventy-five thousand volunteers
could have been furnished had they been asked.
All the large cities and towns raised money for the
volunteers and their families, and it was believed




90


PREPARATIONS FOR WAR.


that abundant means were placed at the disposal of
the general government for a speedy quelling of the
rebellion.
Evelywhere the drum and fife thrilled the air with
thelir stirring call. Recl'uiting offices were opened
ill ever city, town, and village. No stimulus was
needed. The plough was left in the furrow; the
carl'lnter tur'ned fiomn the bench; the student closed
his books; the clerk abandoned the counting-room;
the lawyer forsook his clients; and even the clergyman exchanged his pulpit for the camp and the tented
field, preaching no longer the gospel of peace, but
tle duty of war. Hastily formed companies marched
to camlps of rendezvous, the sunlight flashing from
gun-lbarrel and bayonet, and the streets echoing the
ll.asurle(d tread of.oldiers. Flags floated from the
r(of:s of hol uses, were t1hngr to the breeze from chambers of comcIli'.ee and boards of trade, sl)alled the
urgillng streets, decolated the private parlor, glorified
tlhe school-room, festollned the church walls and
lllpit. and blossolned everylwhere. All normal habits,f life were suspended, and business and pleasure
alike were foirrotten.
To my father this uprising of the country was the
very- lix.ir of life. The blood came again to his
check, anid vig, r t(, lhis sxtcin. And when, on the
n111'iinrg of Tuesday, v-,lunteer.- 1b)gan to arrive in
];),ton, anI Faiiciil Iall. the (,1(1 "' C'nll of Lib('t,." wa- op,.eld foI; th(-i ' a(.coiiomiilo(lati,0. he ini-t.ed on I1, I, lifti, l into a carriage. and on.<in to
\witil:- their' a'rrival a:nd rec.pl)ti(ln. A- they mlarch'led
fI'oml tle rail oa( staltli )n- th&e\ tel(  ' es C(.o'-)rtcd 1)by
(Icrowd(,s Cl)h'teelllr vif'ul  M1 rctliant1 and cleiks
rushled (out from:tores, bareheaded, ailutingr them as




SALUTING THE FLAG.


91


they passed. Windows were flung up; and women
leaned out into the rain, waving flags and handkerchiefs.  Horse-cars and omnibuses halted for the
passage of the soldiers, and cheer upon cheer leaped
forth from the thronged doors and windows. The
multitudes that followed after, and surged along on
either side, and ran before in dense and palpitating
masses, rent the air with prolonged acclamations.
As the men filed into Faneuil Hall, in solid
columns, the enthusiasm  knew no bounds.  Men,
women, and children seethed in a fervid excitement.
"God bless it! " uttered my father in tender and devout tone, as he sat beside me in the carriage, leaning
heavily forward on his staff with clasped hands.
And following the direction of his streaming eyes,
and those of the thousands surrounding us, I saw
the dear banner of my country, rising higher and
higher to the top of the flagstaff, fling out fold after
fold to the damp air, and float proudly over the hallowed edifice. Oh, the roar that rang out from ten
thousand throats!  Old men, with white hair and
tearful faces, lifted their hats to the national ensign,
and reverently saluted it.  Young men greeted it
with fierce and wild hurrahs, talking the while in
terse Saxon of the traitors of the Confederate States,
who had dragged in the dirt this flag of their country, never before dishonored.
I had never seen anything like this before. I had
never dreamed that New Elnland, sloo to wrath,
could be fired with so warlike a spirit. Never before had the national flag signified anything to me.
But as I saw it now, kissing the skies, all that it
symbolized as representative of gotvernment and
emblematic of national majesty became clear to my




92    THE FLAG CLAD WITH NEW MEANING.
mental vision. It was honored on all seas -it afforded sanctuary in all lands -it represented the
authority and protection of a united people.  It
signified an advance in human government, for it
had been adopted by millions of men, who stepped
out before the on-looking world, and wrote out a
declaration of human rights as the basis of national
life, pledging to its maintenance "life, fortune, and
sacred honor"  a pledge they kept so nobly that
the world learned a new meaning to the word, consecration. It was this holy flag that had been insulted
-it was this mother country, the grandest on earth,
with all its faults, that the South were determined to
slay- it was this nationality of which they would
bereave us.  And all in the interest of human
slavery! I knew the full meaning of slavery, for I
had lived two years on a plantation in Southern
Vir'ginia, twenty years before, and had seen its woe
and shame. "If it be a question of the supremacy
of fieedom or slavery underlying this war," was my
mental ejaculation, "then I pray God it may be settledl now, by us, and not be left to our children.
And oh that I may be a hand, a foot, an eye, a
voice, an influence, on the side of freedom and my
country! " I was weak with the new tides of feeling
coursing through my being.
That day calttridges were made for the regiments
by the hundred thousand. Army rifles were ordered
from  the Springfield Armory.  Fifteen hundred
workmen were engaged for the Charlestown Navy
Yard. Enlistments of hardy-looking men went on
vigorously, and hundreds of wealthy citizens pledged
pecuniary aid to the families of the soldiers.  flilitary and professional men tendered their services to




oo"A


a')




''!'<
1
I  V'     *  '                                      -          '  'b
~
* 4$ *''
A.,,t.z-'r.,.,'.
,e4  1..4                                  '  -'  %A"                .       'C'
y**.
A    '2~'     "'1'                 'A3                      A                    4'.'
'P' 
C
r
*4         " A.A\C' g%
-'A.' ''r 
N.                          '                                           4.4
-                                                      2">
4                                            r' tr V
*.t'
'-V
"A
fs#t'                      hi
'Ii'
r   s
K           '4>,        C"s        ' 9~t4"'4     t/;?
' "'t,M.   
*                 '5.kr


AIL
*kle
~  t~'*~f~'$,%4;.
Ik
tC.74A




Til     FAQCLAD WITH 'NEW )MEA \JIN(.T
w1 ib      It IN.  honore01"d on1 '11 scav- It afTd1s~itia'     in Wt land8 -it represvrnted the
~ wia td poW; 1ol of at uniited p401()pb'.*f
~    11  'v ti IIc I 1 Illff I  L' II  ovcrntnlent, for ~
4IJ tl)X miiili,iis (tl1(III Who stC{)f )ed
t' 1as f1)4 w11 j-~kilt wo ~( rld, antid 'wrIotQ- cmt a
it oni h) it tavt riiit   he a;sis (of national
-mdciiit) it.~ rna-i;inenance ", Iil, for-tune, and
*4  tIli' apeg'I he    {jt     ii obly' that
14IIc~   "Aie   I aViw hI I a n i ng ito h'-. xv1 jrd, conset w.a~ iiI - ho II4gtt  hat had( been insulted
"' s bi    Iii~t ('r ccmiti'V, thec grawl e(Iet o)n earth.
I i s hu  t  f,,  that    N S'Utl Wre de(term1inetd to
w ~a- thyi- flanioalitN ot ~\\ idc th&:v Would
X O:i -  AAnd1 all in) the(;nleirest of humman
-i kuv\ thc iXu11 uwnea1tin- of shav-ry fbr I
v ears oni a pL)i:1tti tio in S~outhern
Ai~ v years 1 F'fi~ aIId hId ~euits woe
It' it w it quc.-t ion lot' the supPivnitCY
>~i~ilai n   It( 1 it i I j) ivU (God it ina~v be cst.
Al  1)\  II-,  f1i('1d 1101  hIi  1. ft  to  ol91r  ('hildrefl.
th at I niiiv he) a hand, a fott. an eve, a
x,                   -I41 infun(i' o   th, iI e. of'1 f'reid bin) and1 Illy'
*4 I t v I w~a's w~ak- withi the w'wti  - df fticfing
Hifb'w d.  r 111;                  the   (.flhlt
1w, the hm11hv11o  I::Ies 'Weret or1d-red
All~  Ih Sit'ifte~n                         hundlre(I!'Ifu wI Ci~'harlestown ZNavy
Lt~ti~iOf' f'.ifuking inou 'went oii
a'~               wealth' (Oit*1z (eI Ib_~ pie L,red;."fni       nt  of thIe s8oldic I-.  Miii'14 prt tendt. 1rcd their servicte — to




~
N4rr!~~




.. 0...1                                   4M.
I. tar,I;l 1. I, A
-:




" FALL INTO LINE! "


95


the government in its present emergency.   The
Boston banks offered to loan the state three million
six hundred thousand dollars without security, while
banks outside the city, throughout the state, were
equally generous in their offers.  By six o'clock on
the afternoon of Tuesday, April 16, three regiments were ready to start for Washington, and new
companies were being raised in all parts of the state.
On the afternoon of the next day, the Sixth Ma.ssachusetts, a full regiment one thousand strong, stalrted
from Boston by rail, leaving the Fourth Massachusetts to follow.
An immense concourse of people gathered in the
neighborhood of the Boston and Albany railroad
station to witness their departure. The great crowdd
was evidently under the influence of deep fiee ling,
but it was repressed, and the demonstrations welre
not noisy. In all hands were evening editions of
the daily papers; and as the record of the disloyal
behavior of Maryland and Virginia wa. read aloud.
the comments were emphatic in disapproval. WAit
the arrival of the uniformed troops, the excitement
burst out into a fienzy of shouts, cheers. and riniginli:
acclamation.  Tears ran down not only the cheeki,
of women, but those of men; but there was no fillter.
ing. A clergyman mounted an extemporized Iplat.
form, to offer prayer, where he could be seen and
heard by all, and a solemn hush fell on the excited
multitude, as if we were inside a church. His voice
rang out to the remotest auditor.  The long train
backed dowrn where the soldiers were scattered
among mothers, wives, sweethearts, and friends uttering last words of farewell.
"Fall into line " was the unfamiliar order that rang




96


ON TO WASHINGTON'.


out, clear and distinct, with a tone of authority. The
blue-coated soldiers released themselves tenderly
from the clinging arms of affection, kissed again,
and again, and again, the faces upturned to theirs,
white with the agony of parting, formed in long lines,
company by company, and were marched into the
cals. The two locomotives, drawing the long train
slowly out of the station, whistled a shrill "goodbye "- every engine in the neighborhood shrieked
back an answering farewell -from the crowded
streets, the densely packed station, the roofs of
houses, the thronged windows, and the solid mass of
human beings lining both sides of the track, further
than the eye could see, there 'rang out a roar of good
wishes, and parting words, accompanied with tears
and sobs, and the waving of hats and handkerchiefs
-and the Sixth Massachusetts was on its way to
Washington. Ah, how little they, or we, foresaw the
reception awaiting them in the streets of Baltimore!
As I turned to leave the station, my attention was
attracted by little grobups, in the centre of which
were sad men and weeping women. A woman had
fainted, and I waited till restoratives and kind offices had brought her back to life. She apologized
for her " weakness," saying she was not very well,
and her son's departure was sudden.  One of the
company added that "Mrs.    - didn't know that
Andrew had enlisted till to-day noon, and she hadn't
got over the bad news received a week ago; for
Clement, her only other child - and a good boy he
was, too - was drowned last week in the Bay of San
Francisco." My heart went out to the poor woman,
and I tried to say something comforting to her.
" He has only gone for three months, you know,"




WEAK IN BODY ONLY.


97


I said, "and probably will not be called to do more
than police duty. I hardly think there will be any
fighting -certainly nothing more than skirmishing."
My speech took counsel of my wishes, for I did not
believe what I said. But there was a general feeling that the rebellion would be suppressed speedily,
and that the determined attitude of the North would
end very shortly the hostile bluster of the South.
The pallid middle-aged mother was weak in body
only. "If the country needs my boy for three months,
or three years, I am not the woman to hinder him,"
was her answer. "He's all I've got, now that Clement is drowned; but when he told me he'd enlisted,
I gave him lmy blessing, and told him to go - for if
we lose our country what is there to live for?'
My father's condition was so improved that there
was no longer any need of my remaining in Boston.
He lived, active and vigorous, anld with perfect nmcltal
clearness, until within a few weeks of the surrender
of Lee, in April, 1865 - always admonishing me,
whenever we met, that " the severest yeCars of a war
are the twenty-five that succeed it, when the demoralization which it has engendered is found in every
department of business, society, and government."
He had had experience in war and its demoralizing
influence.
My husband's letters from Chicago were full of the
war excitement of the West. The more than doubtful position of Missouri, and the fact that the lower
tiers of counties of Illinois and Indiana were allied
to the South by kinship, trade, and political smlpathy,
caused great anxiety. The banks of Illinois were
based on Southern state bonds, and secession had
caused suspension, failure, and financial distress.:. My




INTERVIEW WITH MR. GARRISON.


husband was editor and proprietor of a prosperous
weekly paper, whose subscribers were scattered
tlhroughout the Northwest, and I was associated with
him. I knew that a large proportion of them sympathized with the secessionists, and would immediately
discontinue the paper, and become its active, open
enemlies, if its editors came out decidedly loyal to the
Union, as he had written me we must do in the very
next issue. I must hasten home to Chicago. But,
before leaving, I coveted an interview with Mr. Garrison or Wendell Phillips. For many years they
had been to me prophet and king, and I now sought
them, as, of old, the oracles were consulted.
I found Mr. Garrison in his office on Washington
Street, with composing-stick in hand, setting up
matter for the next week's Liberator. He was as
calm and serene as a summer morning. No one
could have divined, from his passionless face and
1manner, that a hurrlicane of feeling was raging in the
moral and political world.
" IMr. Garrison," I inquired, "what is your opinion
of this Southern rebellion? Will it be a 'sixty days'
flurry,' as Secretary Seward prophesies, or are we to
have war?"
"We are to have war-a bloody, merciless wara civil war, always more to be dreaded than one with
a foreign nation."
"Do you think it will be a long war?"
"N o one can tell. It may last as long as the War
of tle Revolution. The North underrates the power,
purpose, and ability of the South, over which it expects an easy triumph. Instead of this, it will be
plunged into a desperate struggle, of which it does
not dream."




PREDIOTION OF WENDELL PHILLIPS.


99


"What will be the result? How will the war end
-in dissolution of the Union? "
"No one can answer that question. Of one thing
only am I certain —the war will result in the death
of slavery!"
"Do you believe that, Mr. Garrison? Theodore
Parker has predicted that slavery would go down in
blood, but it has never seemed possible that his
prophecy would be verified."
At that moment Mr. Phillips entered, with the
morning paper in hand, glowing with the account
it gave of the magnificent ovation accorded the Sixth
Massachusetts in its passage through New York.
How impassioned he was, and yet how self-poised!
If Mr. Garrison appeared the incarnation of serenity,
Mr. Phillips seemed aglow with sacred fire. In the
first pause of the conversation between the two men,
I interrogated Mr. Phillips as I had Mr. Garrison.
"Mr. Garrison tells me that he is confident the
war will result in the destruction of slhveLry. Do
you share this confidence with him, Mr. Phillips?"
"Yes; slavery has taken the sword, and it will
perish by the sword. Five years hence not a slave
will be found on American soil!
The next morning I left for Chicago. All along
the route were excited groups of people, eager for
news from Washington, and everywhere was displayed the national flag.  At Albany, wlhere we
halted for dinner, we learned the reception given the
Massachusetts Sixth in their passage through Baltimore the day before. A vast and angry crowd had
opposed their progress, showers of stones and other
missiles were hurled at them fiom the streets and
house-tops, the soldiers had defended themselves and




100


SOLDIERS MOBBED IN BALTIMORE.


fired into the mob, and the dead, dying, and wounded
lay in the streets. So read the telegram. It was
startling news, and blanched the cheeks of those who
listened while the exaggerated accounts of the
papers were being read. The war had indeed begun.
The dead silence was broken by a tall, stern, sinewy,
and grizzled Yankee, who had listened standing with
both hands deeply plunged in his pockets.
" Waal, now, them Southern fire-eaters have gone
and done it- that's a fact I"
The quaintness of the speech, with the peculiar
tone and manner, spoke volumes. The breach between
the North and South was fast becoming irreparable.
War had begun in Baltimore, and its streets were
reddened with fratricidal blood. The bodies of the
Massachusetts fallen were "tenderly sent forward"
to Governor Andrew, in obedience to his telegram.
The whole city joined in the obsequies of these first
martyrs of the new revolution, and, linking their
memories with those of the early patriots who fell at
Concord and Lexington, the drums that had done
service at the battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill,
were beaten at the head of the funeral escort.
I was detained en route over Sunday in Auburn,
N. Y. The war spirit was rampant there, as everywhere. A newly recruited company of volunteers
were to leave on Monday morning for New York,
and they were honored with a public leave-taking in
one of the churches that evening. The spacious
church was crowded to suffocation, - as large an audience waiting outside as was packed within. The
pulpit was decked with the national colors. Bunting
festooned the walls and the sides of the gallery.
The great audience rose, clapping and applauding,




INTENSE EXCITEMENT IN CHICAGO.


as the soldiers filed into the pews reserved for them.
The very air was electric with patriotic feeling.
The sermon stirred the pulses like the blast of a
bugle. It was a radical discourse, and recognized
slavery as the underlying cause of the outbreak,
which, it predicted, would result in the fieedom of
the Southern serfs.
The choir sang patriotic odes, the audience joining
with one voice in the exultant refrain, " It is sweet, it
is sweet, for one's country to die " The great congregation without caught it, thrilling the evening air
with the spirit of the hour, "It is sweet, it is sweet,
for one's country to die! " So intense was the feeling
that when an appeal was made from the pulpittransformed by the excitement into a recruiting office
-for volunteers to defend the country, some half
dozen rose, who were afterwards mustered into the
service.
In Chicago there was more stir and excitement
than I had seen elsewhere. The war spirit, war
news, and war preparations engrossed everybody.
The day presented scenes of din and bustle, and
the night was scarcely less tranquil. The streets
were thronged with eager men and women rushing
here and there as incidents called them.
On the evening of the very day that Fort Sumter
capitulated, an immense meeting of citizens was held
in the great " Republican Wigwam," erected especially for the accommodation of the convention which
nominated Abraham Lincoln to the presidelncv, less
than a year before. It was now re-bal)tized, and
called " National Hall," and was consecrated afresh,
not to " party," but to " patriotism." Eycrve inch of
standing room was utilized on the ground floor, and
7




102


AN IMPRESSIVE SCENE.


the gallery was packed to the ceiling. Men of all
religious creeds and party affiliations came together
-a unit now     to deliberate on the crisis of the
hour.
The gentleman chosen to preside had voted against
President Lincoln. "But," he said, "the Administration, which I did not help elect, shall have my support now to the last, for this is a just and holy war on
which we are entering."
Hon. George Manniere, eminent and popular, administered to the assemblage the oath of fealty to
the government. Never was there a more impressive scene. The vast multitude rose, numbering
nearly ten thousand, and, reverently baring the head,
and raising the right hand, - old men and youths, ma.
trlons and maidens, and even young children, - they
relpeated solemnly after Judge Manniere the words of
the following oath:
"I do solemnly swear, in the presence of Almighty God, that
I will faithfully support the Constitution of the United States,
and of the State of Illinois. So help me God."
All the speeches of the evening were short and to
the point. The time for harangue was over - the
time for action had begun.
"I did not vote for Abraham Lincoln," said Hon.
John Van Armen, " but I will sustain him to the last
drop of my blood."
" As long as this war lasts," said E. W. McComas,
of the Chicago Times, a Democratic journal, "I
will stand by the flag of my country. Intimations
have been thrown out that I shall not be true to my
country, because I am of Southern birth. I came
here of my' own free will. Your allegiance is my




THE RUSH FOR CAIRO.


103


allegiance. I am no longer a Virginian, but a citizen
of Illinois and of the United States."
On Sunday night, eight days after the fall of Sumter, troops were despatched fromn Chicago to Cairo,
the southern terminus of the state, and a point of
great strategic importance. At that time a muddy
little town, it is situated at the confluence of the
Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and is the key to the
navigation of both. It is also the southern terminus
of the Illinois Central railroad, whose northern termini are Dubuque and Chicago. Its importance as
a military post at that time could not be over-estimated. Had the South seized it, it could have controlled the railway combinations of the Northwest,
and closed the navigation of the Ohio and Mississippi. Southern leaders were well aware of its value
as a railway and river centre, and were hurrying
preparations to take possession of it.
They were forestalled in their action by Chicago.
In less than forty-eight hours a force of infantry and
a company of artillery were ready to march fiom that
city. It was a citizen-corps, made up mainly of
young men, most of them belonging to the best
families of the state. Not only were these youths
surrendered to the service of the country, but, aided
by requisitions on the stores of Chicago, they were
equipped with such munitions of war as they carried.
They left in haste, little time being accorded to leavetaking or indulgence in grief. The long train of
twenty-six cars stood waiting them at the station,
with two powerful engines attached, which panted
and puffed and shrieked as if eager to be off. As
the precious train moved slowly out along the pier, the
tens of thousands who lined the lake-shore bade




104


" THEM BRASS MISSIONARIES."


them farewell with deafening cheers. Round after
round rang out over the Prairie City, and were seconded by the prolonged shrill shrieks of all the
locomotives waiting at the numerous railway stations.
They were none too soon in their occupation of
Cairo. Many of the inhabitants were credited with
a leaning towards secession, and would have been
glad to welcome Southern instead of Northern troops.
But they found the arguments of four brass sixpounders, accompanied by men with power and
authority to use them, quite irresistible, and the
town stiffened into undoubted loyalty immediately.
"Thlem brass missionaries converted a heap o' folks
that was on the anxious seat, now I tell ye! " said a
plain, loyal man of the town, with a knowing wink of
the eye, when narrating these events.
If the North had been skeptical as to the probability of war with the South, it was swiftly undeceived. For the President of the Southern Confederacy had also called for volunteers, and for persons
to take out letters of marque as privateers, to destroy
the commerce of the North, and his proclamation
was received with an enthusiastic response. To
meet this, President Lincoln declared all Southern
ports blockaded, and denounced as pirates the commissioned privateers.  Nothing daunted by the
dreary prospect before them, the Southern leaders sent
messengers to Europe, to obtain a recognition of their
government as an equal nation contending with the
North, and to get the blockade broken by promising
England free trade and an ample supply of cotton.
The South was in earnest, and the North began to
believe it.


p




THE AGONY OF THE NORTH.


105


On the 3d of May, President Lincoln issued another
proclamation, calling for forty-two thousand and
thirty-four volunteers, at the same time increasing
the regular army. In six weeks from the fall of
Sumter, over half a million of men had volunteered
to support the Union, nearly two hundred thousand
of whom had been accepted, or were on the march,
or were drilling preparatory to active service. More
than one hundred thousand were organized by the
different states, who were not accepted.
The two hostile armies were rapidly nearing each
other on the Potomac, for the South was intent on
capturing and holding Washington, and boastingly
proclaimed its determination to do this. This would
give the Confederacy prestige in the eyes of the
world; and when once in occupation of the capital
city of the nation, it could demand the recognition of
foreign powers with a probability of success. Now
its position was anomalous. Its seat of government
was at Montgomery, Alabama, "a capital without a
capitol. It had a Secretary of Treasury without any
treasury; a Secretary of Navy without any navy;
a Secretary of the Interior without any interior; a
Secretary of Foreign Affairs without any foreign
affairs: a Postmaster-General without any postoffice; a Judiciary without any judgment, - in
short, an Administration with nothing to administer.". To protect Washington was the one agony of the
Northern people. Regiments were hurried forward
without proper preparations for their care, which
caused them great privation and suffering. They
were quartered in the Capitol; they camped in
the public squares; they were even accommodated
in the house of the President. Arms were stacked




DEFEAT AT BULL RUN.


in the rotunda of the Capitol, the stately edifice
became a fortification.  Zouaves lounged in the
cushioned seats of members of Congress; and a
military hospital was made of the Washington Infilrmary, located on the site of the present Judiciary
Square Hospital.  Washington looked like a besieged city; and the nation breathed freely, for its
seat of government was safe. There were constant
collisions between small bodies of troops, and an
incessant skirmishing between pickets, in which the
Union soldiers were generally victorious. This kept
the war excitement at fever heat, and confirmed the
North in its confidence of crushing the rebellion at
an early day.
The defeat at Bull Run extricated the nation
from this condition of perilous self-confidence, and
lea it to measure more accurately the mighty work
on which it had entered. Our soldiers, enlisted only
for three months, most of them unskilled, and commanded by officers who had never "smelt gunpowder," marched into Virginia to attack the rebels
with a gay sang froid, as if bound on a military
picnic.  They plundered as they marched, riotous
with fun and frolic, accompanied by Congressmen,
reporters, civilians —all who could muster passes
from the government   and who followed on in
carriages, omnibuses, and on horseback. They were
going to witness an easy victory.
From a combination of causes the battle of Bull
Run was lost to the Union army, composed mostly
of raw troops fresh from the counting-room, farm,
and workshop, who had been marching and fighting
for thirteen hours without any respite.  Wearied
and famished, and agonizing with thirst, ten thou



ROUTED, TERROR-STRICKEN FUGITIVES.


107


sand fresh troops of the enemy were thrown suddenly upon them, and a panic ensued. Back they
fled to Washington, a headlong, disorderly mob;
men in regiments and men in groups, army wagons
and sutlers' teams, riderless horses, and the thunderous artillery, crushing all that came in their way
- a routed host, confused, terror-stricken, and
choked with dust, that no authority could halt, and
no military skill re-organize. The rain came down in
torrents, deepening the gloom, as the drenched fugitives poured over Long Bridge into the capital,
cumbering the roads behind them with abandoned
cannon, arms, and equipments, leaving their dead
and dying uncared for. They filled the public ear
with exaggerated accounts of surprise, slaughter,
and pursuit, which could not be corrected, when
later they were followed by orderly regiments and
solid battalions, that unbroken and with military
discipline marched back to their old encampments.
As the story of this disaster was carried by the
telegraph into the homes of the people, the North
was stunned and temporarily paralyzed. Its dream
of invincibility was over. It was a gigantic war
into which it was precipitated, and a giganltic army
must be collected, equipped, and organized to meet it.
Lifting itself out of the despair which for the moment prostrated it, the nation girt itself anew with
power and purpose. Its army of seventy-five thousand
three months' men melted away as soon as its brief
term of service was ended. In its place the government now proceeded to raise, equip, drill, and prepare for the field an army of half a million; and the
North rose in majesty to aid the administration in
its herculean task.




THE SOUTH WILD WITH SUCCESS.


But if the North was sobered by this disaster, and
nclerve(l to a ti'llmer grapple with her foes, the South
was intoxicatlcd \itl her easy success. Her forces
were stLengthlenced and consolidated by this victory.
Shei had little doubt but the independence of the
St111h'ern c(onf'erl'acy was now achieved. Whoever
throllluhout theu South had hesitated t)o swear allegi;ante 1(, t the causts of sece''!ssl)ion delayed no longer.
TltllnSs, nowNlO  voted to leave the Union. A great
army of,' reblels suddenly made their alpparan(ce in
Missourlli, which was now rent with the ravages of
civil war. And Fort Fillmore, in (New M5exico, with
se ven hundted men, surrendered to a body of Texans
withoul t tiringr a gun. And now at last matters had
sharply lfi(edl tlhemselves; the lines were drawn
ectween tlic States that were loyal and disloyal, and
the millions of the United States were ranged on one
side,or the other of a long and desperate struggle.
Meantime, what did the women of the North?




CHAPTER II.
LOYAL WOMEN OF THE NORTH-THEIR PATRIOTISM                AND
DEVOTION — HEROINES OF THE BATTLE-FIELD - HOMEWORK    AND   RELIEF SOCIETIES -SCRAPING       LINT   AND
ROLLING BANDAGES.
The Patriotism of MIen paralleled by that of Women - Notable Examples -
Testimony of President Lincoln - Blunders of Inexperience - The Havelock Mania -A Woman Soldier in the Nineteenth Illinois-Sent out
of Camp, she attempts Suicide — Is rescued and joins her Husband -
Madame Turchin, Wife of the Colonel - Ier Bravery and military Skill
- Her Ability as a Nurse - She defeats a Court-Martial - Other military
Heroines-Annie Etheridge of the Tlird Michigan-Bridget Devens of
the First Michigan Cavalry - Kady Brownell of the Fifth Rhode Island
— Georgianna Peterman. the Wisconsin Drummer-Girl —Army Stories
of military Women - Bandage and Lint Craze - Local Relief Societies -
Queer Assortment of Supplies -Cars flooded with fermenting Goodies
- Great Waste and Loss —Liberality of the People continues  Wiser
Methods are devised.
HE   great uprising among men, who ignored
party   and   politics, and    forgot   sect   and
trade, in the fervor of their quickened love
of   country. was      l)aralleled   by   a  similar uprising    among     women.       The    patriotic
speech    and   song, which     fired  the   blood   of
men, and     led  them   to enter the     lists as soldiers,
nourished    the   self-sacrifice  of women, and stimulated   them   to the   collection of    hlospital supplies,
and to brave the horrors and hardships of hospital
life.
If men responded to the call of the country when
it demanded      soldiers   by   the   hundred    thousand,
women     planned    money-making       enterprises, whose


109




UPRISING OF WOMEN.


vastness of conception, and good business management, yielded millions of dollars to be expended in
the interest of sick and wounded soldiers. If men
faltered not, and went gayly to death, that slavery
might be exterminated, and that the United States
might remain intact and undivided, women strengthened them by accepting the policy of the government uncomplainingly.  When   the telegraph
recorded for the country, " defeat" instead of "victory," and for their beloved, "death" instead of
"life," women continued to give the government
their faith, and patiently worked and waited.
It is easy to understand how men catch the
contagion of war, especially when they feel their
quarrel to be just. One can comprehend how, fired
with enthusiasm, and inspired by martial music, they
march to the cannon's mouth, where the iron hail
rains heaviest, and the ranks are mowed down like
grain in harvest. But for women to send forth their
husbands, sons, brothers and lovers to the fearful
chances of the battle-field, knowing well the risks
they run, - this involves exquisite suffering, and
calls for another kind of heroism. This women did
throughout the country, forcing their white lips to
utter a cheerful " good-bye," when their hearts were
nigh breaking with the fierce struggle.
The transition of the country from peace to the
tumult and waste of war, was appalling and swift
but the regeneration of its women kept pace with it.
They lopped off superfluities, retrenched in expenditures, became deaf to the calls of pleasure, and
heeded not the mandates of fashion. The incoming
patriotism of the hour swept them to the loftiest
height of devotion, and they were eager to do, to




CASTE AND SECT FORGOTTEN.


111


bear, or to suffer, for the beloved country. The
fetters of caste and conventionalism dropped at their
feet, and they sat together, patrician and plebeian,
Protestant and Catholic, and scraped lint, and riolled
bandages, or made garments for the poorly clad
soldiery.
An order was sent to Boston for five thousand
shirts for the Massachusetts troops at the South.
Every church in the city sent a delegation of needlewomen to "Union Hall," heretofore used as a ballroom. The Catholic priests detailed five hundred
sewing-girls to the pious work. Suburban towns
rang the bells of the town hall to muster the seamstresses.  The plebeian Irish Catholic of South
Boston ran the sewing-machine, while the patrician
Protestant of Beacon Street basted, - and the shirts
were made at the rate of a thousand a day. On
Thursday, Dorothea Dix sent an order for five
hundred shirts for her hospital in WVashington. On
Friday, they were cut, made, and packed —and
were sent on their way that night. Similar events
were of constant occurrence in every other city.
The zeal and devotion of women no more flagged
through the war than did that of the army in the
field. They rose to the height of every emergency,
and through all discouragements and   reverses
maintained a sympathetic unity between the soldiers
and themselves, that gave to the former a marvellous
heroism.
At a meeting in Washington during the war, called
in the interest of the Sanitary Commission, President
Lincoln said: "I am not accustomed to use the language of eulogy. I have never studied the art of
paying compliments to women. But I must say that




11.2


THE " HAVELOCK."


if all that has been said by orators and poets since
the creation of the world in praise of women, was
applied to the women of America, it would not do
them justice for their conduct during this war. I
will close by saying, God bless the women of America I
Entirely unacquainted with the requirements of
war and the needs of soldiers, it was inevitable that
the first movements of women for army relief should
be misdirected. They could not manifest more ignorance, however, nol blunder more absurdly, than did
the government in its early attempts to build up an
effective and disciplined army.  Both learned by
blundering.
It was summer; and the army was to move southwacd, to be exposed to the torrid heats of the season
and climate. A newspaper reminiscence of the good
service rendered British troops in India by General
Havelock set the ball in motion. He had devised a
white linen head-dress to be worn over the caps of
his men, which defended them from sunstroke, and
in his honor it was named the "Havelock." Our
men must, of course, be equipped with this protection, and forthwith inexperienced women, and equally
inexperienced men in the army, gave orders for the
manufacture of Havelocks. What a furor there was
over them! Women who could not attend the " sewing-meeting" where the "Havelocks" were being
manufactured, ordered the work sent to their homes,
and ran the sewing-machines day and night till the
nondescript headgear was completed. "Havelocks"
were turned out by thousands, of all patterns and
sizes, and of every conceivable material.
In the early inexperience of that time, whenever




" THE CAKE AND PIE BRIGADE."


113


regiments were in camp awaiting marching orders,
it was the custom of many women to pay them visits,
laden with indigestible dainties.  These they furnished in such profusion, that the " boys " were rarely
without the means of obtaining a " permit" to the
hospital until they broke up camp. While the Havelock fever was at its height, the Nineteenth Illinois,
commanded by Colonel Turchin, was mustered in,
and was ordered to rendezvous at Camp Douglas.
A detachment of the " cake and pie brigade," as the
rollicking fellows called them, paid the regiment an
early visit, and were received by the men who were
not under drill, en ffavelock. As the sturdy fellows
emerged from their tents, all wearing "the white
nighteaps," as they had irreverently christened the
ugly head-dress, their appearance was so ludicrous
that a shout went up from officers, soldiers, and lady
visitors. They were worn in every imaginable fashion, -as nightcaps, turbans, sunbonnets, bandages,
sunshades,  and the fate of the "k IIavelock " was
sealed. XNo more time nor money was wasted in their
useless manufacture.
En passant, I remember another occurrence of
that afternoon when we visited the camp of the Nineteenth Illinois.  I was watching companies that
were drilling, a good deal amused at their awkwardness and their slow comprehension of the orders
given them. One of the captains came to me, with
an apology for intrusion, and begged to know if I
noticed anything peculiar in the appearance of one of
the men, whom he indicated. It was evident at a
glance that the " man " was a young woman in male
attire, and I said so. "That is the rumor, and that
ia my suspicion," was his reply. The seeming sol



" GO WITH HIM I WILLI "


dier was called from the ranks and informed of the
suspicions afloat, and asked the truth of them.
There was a scene in an instant. Clutching the
officer by the alrm, and speaking in tones of passions
ate entreaty, she begged him not to expose her, but
to allow her to retain her disguise. Her husband
had enlisted in his company, she said, and it would
kill her if he marched without her. "Let me go
with youl " I heard her plead. " Oh, sir, let me go
with you I" She was quietly conducted outside the
camp, when I took her in charge. I wished to take
her to my home; but she leaped suddenly from the
carriage befbre we were half way from the camp,
and in a moment was lost amid the crowds hastening
home from their day's work.
That night she leaped into the Chicago river, but
was rescued by a policeman, who took her to the
Home of the Friendless. Here I found her, a few
days later, when I made an official visit to the institution. She was extremely dejected, and could not
be comforted. It was impossible to turn her from
her purpose to follow her husband. "I have only
my husband in all the world," she said, " and when
he enlisted he promised that I should go with him;
and that was why I put on his clothes and enlisted
in the same reginent. And go with him I will, in
spite of everybody." The regiment was ordered to
Cairo, and the poor woman disappeared fiom the
Home the same night. None of us doubted but she
left to carry out her purpose.
Madame Turchin, the wife of the Colonel of the
Nineteenth Illinois, was the daughter of a Russian
officer, and was born and reared in foreign camps, a
favorite with the men of her father's command.




MADAME TURCHIN.


115


She followed the fortunes of her husband in the
War of the Rebellion, and accompanied him to the
field. I met her at Springfield, Ill., where her husband's regiment was waiting marching orders. Finelooking, but unmistakably foreign in appearance and
manner, she was intensely loyal to the Union, and
thoroughly American in her sympathies and interests.
She was as popular with the men of her husblnd's
regiment as she had been with the Russian soldiers
commanded by her father. They went to her with
their illnesses and troubles, and she received them
with kindness, a good deal of playfill badinage, and
very careful nursing when it was needed.
In the spring of 1862, when the Nineteenth Illinois
was actively engaged in Tennessee, Colonel Turchin
was taken seriously ill, and was carried for days in
an ambulance. Madame Turchin not only nursed
her husband most tenderly, but took his l)lace at the
head of the regiment - the men il the ranks, and the
subordinate officers, according her implicit and
cheerful obedience.  She was not one whit behind
her husband in courage or military skill.  Utterly
devoid of fear, and manifesting perfect indifference
to shot or shell, or minie-balls, even when they fell
thickly around her, she led the troops into action,
facing the hottest fire, and fought bravely at their
head. When her husband was able to resume his
command, she gave herself again to the care of the
sick and wounded, in the field hospital.
An attempt was made to drive Colonel Turchin from
the army, and on some pretext, ill or well founded,
he was court-martialed. His plucky wife hastened
to Washington, and not only obtained an order to
set aside the court-martial, but her husband's promo



" MICHIGAN BRIDGET."


tion to the rank of Brigadier-General. Dashing back
to Tennessee, she entered the court-room triumphantly, just as her husband was being declared
"guilty," with the order to abandon his trial in one
hand, and his commission in the other. If the young
woman who was mustered into her husband's regiment, disguised as a man, appealed to Madame Turchin for permission to accompany her young soldier
husband, I know she was not denied. No captain
would be allowed to conduct her out of camp a
second time. Madame Turchin's permission for her
to serve as a soldier would be as effective as one from
the Secretary of War.
The number of women who actually bore arms
and served in the ranks during the war was greater
than is supposed. Sometimes they followed the
army as nurses, and divided their services between
the battle-field and hospital. I remember Annie
Etheridge, of Michigan, who was with the Third
Michligan in every battle in which it was engaged.
When their three years' service was ended, the reenlisted veterans joined the Fifth Michigan, and
Annie went with them. Through the whole four
years of the war she was found in the field, often in
the thickest of the fight, always inspiring the men to
deeds of valor, always respected for her correctness
of life. Soldiers and officers vied with one another
in their devotion to her.
Bridget Devens, known as " Michigan Bridget,"
went to the field with the First Michigan Cavalry,
in which her husband was a private, and served
through the war.  Sometimes when a soldier fell
she took his place, fighting in his stead with unquailing courage.  Sometimes she rallied rctreating




-D4
I n
"I




iit "1 ot~  a     MI [i'A. I i IJ-G!II oi 1*A  alin a
1'  cn 't,.1~&t'~            ~  Cstli0IT     trInii~
UTI K   uI;is lItoI 11t1sVAaflld vi  be' 9  declared
y,"\ViI Ilie )i'e''I C ~I 41 Io 6bi tri.tl ill one
1  iiI;uid hi- clwlIIi~issi)1 in ll( s& ot  r.  If the \oiuing
'1AI Nl V!I(o vo as iftV, (1 dit U   her' hussh;ind's re~i-'I
I  r.     d flv- i' nan, 8qppe1akh1 to _Ntad,-1jij ~Pur~ Ito ' mdu1rt `(' ulit crf cam,. a. \:'btiiic TrIcihin~.- w)r11J s1-of;or her
*.:' I',l l(mi~''dihi ca.b i clfe(7tix"t1 aVS oi ie frorn
Ua  - 4li -.Ii in  r~'aiik-  duringr thc x\ar wtn,  r ater
Lb IY          i'. So1mI i-imcd'1 tHir Se1i')mv(
1111  ()1p61. erv1~iiii. u0  c.\ ni
I           4  I ifyjg"11I, wvho w8:os w1it t~o  Thrd4.j
V(It1' j- ~(Vi cc w~as c(,iId' I. t he_ re
J~ifP(1the  ifli Mchigyan, afld
Ith theml.   Th'ouio-h the whole 1'(ur
Vwll she was foiuui  in the fit 1i, utcul ill
lii *t of t h e I'~t, 81),J n  i i pitirw th  n  t
O':1w -    V-]).(Pe te, I f. lut hle  ''ii1c~t11iOS
11ith111 oer.          e,    i    ih    1.n te
t                                     "a: ('valry,
ill IL1                                          SerIVu~l
* L                            -       r4(t1 Cel
ti va  wit~h i~ui-I
'icid retreatince




CL,
I r-e








A WOMAN DRUMMER.


troops - sometimes she brought off the wounded
from the field- always fearless and daring, always
doing good service as a soldier. Her love of army
life continued after the war ended, and with her
husband she joined a regiment of the regular army,
stationed on the Plains.
Mrs. Kady Brownell was, like Madame Turchin,
born in camp, her father being attached to the British army. She accompanied the Fifth Rhode Island
Infantry to the war, of which regiment her husband
was a non-commissioned officer. She was the color.
bearer of the regiment, and was a skilful sharpshooter and expert swordsman. She marched with
the men, and asked no favors as a woman, but bore
the brunt of the battle, on occasion, as fearlessly as
her comrades. She was in General Burnside's expedition to Roanoke Island and Newbern, where her
husband was severely wounded.  When he was pronounced unfit for further service, and discharged,
she also sought a discharge, and retired with him to
private life and domestic duty.
The Plattville, Wis., Witness, of March, 1864,
records, as if it were nothing unusual, "the
return from the army of Miss Georgianna Peterman." Says the local paragrapher, "Miss Peterman
has been for two years a drummer in the Seventh
Wisconsin. She lives in Ellenboro', Wis., is about
twenty years old, wears soldier clothes, and is
quiet and reserved." Similar paragraphs appeared
occasionally in other Western papers all through
the war.   These half-soldier heroines generally
adopted a semi-military dress, and became expert in
the use of the rifle, and skilful shots.
Some one has stated the number of women soldiers
8




120


MILITARY WOMEN EXCEPTIONAL.


known to the service as little less than four hundred. I cannot vouch for the correctness of this
estimate, but I am convinced that a larger number
of women disguised themselves and enlisted in the
service, for one cause or other, than was dreamed of.
Entrenched in secrecy, and regarded as men, they
were sometimes revealed as women, by accident or
casualty.  Some startling histories of these military women were current in the gossip of army life;
and extravagant and unreal as were many of the
narrations, one always felt that they had a foundation in fact.
Such service was not the noblest that women rendered the country during its four years' struggle for
life, alnd no one can r'egret that these soldier women
were excel)tional and rare.  It is better to heal a
wound than to make one. And it is to the honor of
American women, not that they led hosts to the
deadly charge, and battled amid contending armies,
but that they confronted the horrid aspects of war
with mighty love and earnestness.  They kept up
their own courage and that of their households.
They became ministering angels to their countrymen
who perilled health and life for the nation. They
sent the love and impulses of home into the extended
ranks of the army, througlh the unceasing correspondence they maintained with " the boys in blue."
They planned largely, and toiled untiringly, and
with steady persistence to the end, that the horrors
of the battle-field might be mitigated, and the hospitals abound in needed comforts. The men at the
front were sure of sympathy from the homes, and
knew that the women remembered them with sleepless interest.  "This put heroic fibre into their




LINT AND BANDAGE MANIA.


121


souls, said Dr. Bellows, "and restored us our
soldiers with their citizen hearts beating normally
under their uniforms, as they dropped them off at
the last drum-tap."
The decline of the Havelock fever was followed
by a "lint and bandage" mania, which set in with
great fury. For a time it was the all-absorbing
topic. Knowing now how insignificant in value
these items of relief proved in the actual experience
of the war, one cannot forbear a smile when reading
the sapient discussions of the time. " What is the
best material for lint?"  " How is it best scraped
and prepared?" "By what means can it be best
gathered, in the largest quantities?" These were
the questions of the hour, discussed gravely by professional men. And the "New York Medical Association for furnishing Hospital Supplies," actually
held meetings to discuss "the lint question," and
finally opened a "lint and bandage depot." Thus
stimulated, every household gave its leisure time to
scraping lint and rolling bandages, till the mighty
accumulations compelled the ordering of a halt. A
little later, the making of lint by machine relieved
women of any firther effort in this direction.
So determined were the people that their citizen
soldiers should be well cared for, that "Relief Societies" were frequently organized in the interest of
regiments, as soon as they were mustered into the
service. They proposed to follow the volunteers. of
their neighborhoods with their benefactions-" to provide them with home comforts when well, and with
hospital supplies and nurses when wounded or sick."
It would have been an admirable plan if it could
have been carried out. But numerous difficulties




122


A CHAOS OF BENEVOLENCE.


and failures soon brought these methods into disrepute. The accumulation of perishable freight for
the soldiers became fearful. It demanded instant
transportation, and the managers of freight trains
and expresses were in despair.
Women rifled their store-rooms and preserveclosets of canned fruits and pots of jam and marmalade, which they packed with clothing and blankets, books and stationery, photographs and "comfort-bags." Baggage cars were soon flooded with
fermenting sweetmeats, and broken pots of jelly,
that ought never to have been sent. Decaying fruit
and vegetables, pastry and cake in a demoralized
condition, badly canned meats and soups, whose
fragrance was not that of " Araby the blest," were
necessarily thrown away en route. And with them
went the clothing and stationery saturated with the
effervescing and putrefying compounds which they
enfolded.
Added to this discouragement was the frequent
loss of the packages. For the constant movements
of troops rendered it impossible for express agents
to forlward boxes to special regiments. For a time
there was great waste of the lavish outpouring of
the l)eople. It did not, however, check their liberality, but compelled wiser methods.  For out of
this chaos of individual benevolence and abounding
patriotismi the Sanitary Commission finally emerged,
with its carefully elaborated plans, and its marveluuby system.




CHAPTER m.
AT THE FRONT-WRETCHED          HOSPITAL    ARRANGEMENTSTHE   SANITARY    COMMISSION - ITS OBJECT, METHODS,
AND WORK-BATTLE-FIELD RELIEF.
Early Ignorance and Inefficiency of Officers-The Cause of Sickness and
Death in Camp - Letters from the Front in Proof - Fearful Mortality of
British Soldiers in the Crimea, in 1855 - Occasioned by similar Causes
-Local Relief Societies organized - New York Women show practical
Wisdom - The Sanitary Commission evolved from their Methods -Plan
of Organization drawn up by Dr. Bellows -Sanctioned by the President
and Secretary of War — '11 (C'ommission soon conquers all Prejudice -
Its Work very extensive —Inspectors sent to Camps and IIospitalsMonographs prepared on the Iygiene of the Arny- Portable "SoupKettles" - " Hospital Cars" -Forty Soldiers' Homes -- 'laim, Pension,
and Back Pay Agency-" Hospital Directory" -" Battle-field Relief
Service"- Ten "Branch Commissions"- Relief rendered at Shiloh
and Antietam —The Supplies, or Money for their Purchase, Made or
Collected by Women.
-'HE   work   of sanitary relief was very soon
outlined by the necessities and sufferings of
the men at the fiont.        In the early period
of the war, the troops reached          their destinations   generally    in   a  very   unsatisfactory
condition.      They   were    clowided    into   cattle
cars as if they were beasts, firequently with empty
haversacks, and with no plrovision fol their comfort
on the road.     Prompted by generous impulst, men
and women boarded the trains as they halted at the
stations in cities, and served to the men hot coffee
and   such food as could most readily be           provided.
But it was only by accident, or through tireless and
123




IGNORANCE AND INCOMPETENCE.


patient watching, that they were enabled to render
this small service to their country's defenders; for no
telegram announced the coming of the hungry men,
nor for long and weary months was a system devised
for the comfort and solace of the soldiers, as they
passed to and fiom the battle-field. Many became ill
or exhausted fiom exposure, but no relief was furnished.
Rarely were preparations made for their reception.
" Mell stood for hours in a broiling sun, or drenching
rain, waiting for rations and shelter, while their ignorant and inexperienced Commissaries and Quartermasters were slowly and painfully learning the duties
of their positions. At last, utterly worn out and disgusted, they reached their camps, where they received
rations as unwholesome as distasteful, and endeavored to recruit their wasted energies while lying
upon rotten straw, wrapped in a shoddy blanket."
Such fearful misery contrasted sadly with the cheerful scenes they had left, and if it did not cool their
enthusiasm for the national cause, it developed an
alarnling prevalence of camp diseases, which might
have been prevented, if efficient military discipline
had prevailed.
The hospital arrangements, in the early part of the
war, were as pitiful and inadequate as were the facilities for transportation. Any building was considered
fit for a hospital; and the suffering endured by army
patients, in the unsuitable buildings into which they
were crowded during the first year of the war can
never be estimated. Before the war there was no such
establishment as a General Hospital in the army.
All military hospitals were post hospitals, and the
largest contained but forty beds.  There was no




THE FLOWER OF OUR YOUTH.


125


trained, efficient medical staff. There were no wellinstructed nurses, no sick-diet kitchens, no prompt
supply of proper medicines, and no means of humanely transporting the sick and wounded. Our
entire military and medical systems, which seemed
well nigh perfect at last, were created in the very
midst of the war.
All this was the more keenly felt by our volunteer
soldiers, because they were, in the beginning, men of
remarkable character and spirit.   They were not
reared in dissolute camps, nor raked fiom the slums
of the cities. They were the flower of our youth,
young men who not unfrequently had been tenderly
reared by mothers, to whom young wives had surrendered the keeping of their happiness, and who had
faithfully discharged their duties in time of peace.
They sprang, at the call of their country, from the
workshop, the counting-room, the farm, the college,
the profession, the church, the Sunday-school and
Bible-class, ready to lay down their lives for their
country, if it were necessary. All the more sensitive were such men to the neglect of government and
the incapacity of officers.
I maintained a somewhat extensive correspondence
with many of these young citizen soldiers throughout
the war. Their letters lie before me. One of the
volunteers of the Chicago Light Artillery, writing
from "Camp Smith, near Cairo, Ill.," June 2, 1861,
says:My departure from Chicago was very unceremonious I had
not time to say "good-bye" to my father and mother, to say
nothing of my friends; but I resolved, when the first gun was
fired at Sumter, if the government should call for men to sustain
the honor of the country, not to be the last to offer. A young
man cannot sacrifice too much in this cause; and every man in my




126


RARE PATRIOTISM.


company is of this mind. Not a man among us but has left a
lucrative situation, and is undergoing many privations for the
country's service. Not a man here knows as yet, or is anxious to
know, what pay he is to receive for his services. To know that
we have done our duty will be sufficient pay for most of us.
The government has done very little for us yet. My friends
at home gave me a capital outfit, and I am prepared for all kinds
of weather. Many of our men are not so fortunate. Many are
sick from exposure and lack of proper protection. For these we
need very badly, beds, blankets, pillows, socks, and something in
the way of food besides " hardtack and salt junk." But nobody
complains; for we know the administration is heavily burdened,
and has everything to do, and that all has been done for us that
could be done, during the time that we have been in camp. We
are eaten up by mosquitoes, and maintain a constant warfare with
every kind of insect and "creeping thing."
Another, belonging to the Fifth Wisconsin, writing from   "Camp Griffen, near Washington, D. C.,"
Nov. 12, 1861, tells a similar story: -
I suppose you would like to hear what we are doing in Virginia in the way of bringing the rebels to subjection. As yet we
have done little fighting, but have lost a large number of men.
They are dying daily in the camps and hospitals, from pneumonia,
dysentery, and camp diseases, caused by severe colds, exposure,
and lack of proper food when ill. We have taken very heavy
colds lying on our arms in line of battle, long frosty nights. For
two days and nights there was a very severe storm, to which we
were exposed all the time, wearing shoddy uniforms and protected
only by shoddy blankets, and the result was a frightful amount of
sickness. We have about thirty in our regimental hospital who
will never again be good for anything, if they live.
Our hospitals are so bad that the men fight against being sent
to them. They will not go until they are compelled, and many
brave it out and die in camp. I really believe they are more comfortable and better cared for in camp, with their comrades, than
in hospital. The food is the same in both places, and the medical
treatment the same when there is any. In the hospital the sick
men lie on rotten straw; in the camp we provide clean hemlock
or pine boughs, with the stems cut out, or husks, when we can
" jerk " theim from a " secesh " cornfield.




WRETCHED HOSPITALS.


127


In the hospital the nurses are "convalescent soldiers," so nearly
sick themselves that they ought to be in the vwnrds, and from their
very feebleness they are selfish and sometimes inhuman in their
treatment of the patients. In the camp we stout hearty fellows
take care of the sick, -rough in our managenment, I doubt not,
but we do not fail for lack of strength or interest. If we could
be sure of being half-way well cared for when we get sick or
wounded, it would take immensely from the horrors of army life.
We need beds and bedding, hospital clothing and sick-diet,
proper medicines, surgical instruments, and good nurses, —and
then a decent building or a good hospital tent for the accomnlodl;.
tion of our sick. I suppose we slall have them when the government can get round to it, and in the meantime we try to be
patient.
One of the writers of these letters was a teacher,
and the other was in his sol)hoilore year in college,
when the war began.      Similar letters. from  equally
intelligent sources were written to palrties throughout the country, and they quickly found their way
into print.
The same lack of sanitary care and proper food
complained of in these letters had wrought fearful
havoc in the British armn, in the war of the Crimea,
in 1855, only six years before, and the American
people remembered it.    Out of twent —four thousand
troops sent to the Crimea, eighteen thousand had
died in less than nine months, -a mortality, it has
been said, "never equalled since the hosts of Sennacherib fell in a single night."     They died fiom
lack of care, propel sanital'y regulations, and the diet
necessary to the sick.   With their slowly dimming
eyes they could see the vessels anchored in the harbor, freighted with the food and medicine, clothing
and tenting, sanitary supplies and preventives, for
want of which they were perishing.
All were tied up with the red tape of official




128


FRIGHTFUL WASTE OF LIFE.


formalism until Florence Nightingale, with her corps
of trained nurses, and full power to do and command,
as well as advise, landed at Scutari, and ordered the
storehouses opened.   Then want gave place to
abundance, and, through her executive skill and
knowledcge of nursing and hospital management, the
firighltful mortality was arrested.
There was a resolute determination in the hearts
of the people, that neither inexperience nor dogged
adherence to routine should cause such wholesale
slaughlter of their beloved citizen soldiers. Whether
sick or well, they should receive such care as the
soldiers of no nation had ever known before. No
failure of their plans of relief abated their ardor, and
no discouragement stayed the stream of their beneficence. Especially did women refuse to release their
hold on the men of their households, even when the
government had organized them    into an army.
They followed them with letters of inquiry, with
tender anxiety and intelligent prevision, which eventually put them <n r'apport with the government, and
developed a wondlerfll system of sanitary prevention
and relief. For the outcome of their patriotism and
zeal, their loyalty and love, was the Sanitary Commission.
"The Wnoman's Central Association of Relief"
was the name of a large and remarkable organization, formed in the city of New York, very early in
the war. In connection with other similar organizations, they decided to send a committee to Washington, to learn, from the highest authorities, "in what
way the voluntary offerings of the people could best
be made available for the relief of the army."
Dr. Bellows was chairman of this committee, and




AIM OF THE SANITARY COMMISSION.


129


before he returned from Washington, a plan of organization for the U. S. Sanitary Commission, drawn
up by himself, received the sanction of the President
and the Secretary of War. Not heartily, however,
for the very highest officials of the government
regarded the whole plan as quixotic, and consented
to it only because " it could do no harmn." President
Lincoln himself failed at first to comprehend the
large humanity of the organization, and described it
as "a fifth wheel to the coach." But for the zeal,
intelligence and earnestness of his numerous women
constituents, it is more than probable that Dr. Bellows would have retreated before the rebuffs and
hindrances opposed to his humane efforts.
The object of the Sanitary Commission was to do
what the government could not. The government
undertook, of course, to provide all that was necessary for the soldier, whether sick or in health;
whether in the army or hospital. But, fiom the very
nature of things, this was not possible, and it failed
in its purpose, at times, as all governments do, fromn
occasional and accidental causes. The methods of
the Commission were so elastic, and so arranged to
meet any emergency, that it was able to make )lroovision for any need, seeking always to supplement, and
never to supplant, the government. It never forgot
that " it must be subordinate to army rules and regulations, and in no way break dowll the essential
military discipline, on the observance of which everything depended."
In a few months, the baseless prejudice against the
Commission melted away. The army surgeons, at
first opposed, became enthusiastic in its praise.
And the people, who were, in the outset, bent on




AIM OF THE SANITARY COMMISSION.


dispensing their charities only to the companies and
regiments organized in their neighborhoods, came
finally to accept the larger methods of the Commission, which disbursed the sanitary supplies it received
to any hospitals or soldiers that needed them, without regard to sectional limits. The government accorded to the Commission increased facilities for
pefobrming its work. The railroads transported all
its freight free of charge -the express companies
carried its packages at half price - and the telegraph
companies remitted the usual charges on its messages.
The Commission did a more extensive work than
was at first contemplated, or is to-day generally
known. It sent inspectors, who were always medical
mel, to the army, to report on the " quality of rations
and water -the method of camp cooking  ventilation of tents and quarters-the drainage of the
camp itself — the healthfulness of its site-the administration of the hospital -the police of the camp
- the quality of the tents, and the material used for
flooring them - the quality of the clothing, and the
personal cleanliness of the men "-and other points of
importance to the health and efficiency of the army.
It also caused to be prepared, by the best medical
talent in the country, eighteen concise treatises on
the best means of preserving health in camp, and
on the treatment of the sick and wounded ill hospital
and on the battle-field. These were acknowledged
by tile surlgeons to be of great value.
It put nurses into the hospitals who had been
trained for the work, and who, in addition to having
aptitudes for the care of the sick, were attracted to
it by large humanity and patriotic zeal.




ITS MULTIFORM BENEVOLENCE.


131


It established a series of kettles on wheels, with
small portable furnaces attached, in which soup was
quickly made in the real of battle-fields, for the faint
and wounded, even while the battle was in progress.
It invented hospital cars, for the humane transportation of the wounded, in which the ordinary hospital
bed was suspended by stout tugs of india rubber,
preventing jolting.
It maintained  forty  " Soldiers' Homes," or
"Lodges," scattered all along the route of the
army, and over the whole field of war, which were
free hotels for destitute soldiers, separated from
their regiments, or passing back and forth, with
neither money, rations, nor transportation.  Over
eight hundred thousand soldiers were entertained
in them, and four and a half million meals, and a
million nights' lodgings were gratuitously furnished.
It established a "Claim Agency," to secure the
bounty of the soldiers, when, by some neglect or
informality, it had been kept back. It opened a
"Pension Agency," whose name explains its office.
It arranged a "Back Pay Agency," which took the
defective papers of the soldiers, on which they could
not draw their pay, regulated them, and in a few
hours drew the money due them, sometimes securing
twenty thousand dollars back pay in one day.
It maintained a " Hospital Directory," through
which information could be officially obtained concerning the invalids in the two hundred and thirtythree general hospitals of the army, and concerning
others, reported as " missing," and "fate unknown."
In the four offices of the Directory, at Washington,
Philadelphia, New York, and Louisville, there were
recorded the names of more than six hundred thou



132


1  BATTLE-FIELD RELIEF.,9


sand men, with the latest information procurable in
recgard to them.
The Commission also methodized a system of
"Battle-Field Relief," which did much to mitigate
the horrors inevitable to battles. Its agents were
always on the field during an engagement, with
surgeons, ambulances, and store wagons, with anaesthetics, surgical instruments, and every species of
relief.  They rendered invaluable aid, and were
sometimes in advance of the government in their
ministrations on the field of conflict. There were
over six hundred pitched battles between the two
hostile forces during the War of the Rebellion. History will record only a very few of them as "great
battles."  The suffering and horror incident to those
were so immeasurable, that they could be only partially relieved; and had the ability of the government and of all the volunteer agencies of the country
been tenfold greater than they were, they would have
been inadequate to the awful necessities of those titanic conflicts.
After the battle of Antietam, where ten thousand
of our own wounded were left on the field, besides
a large number of the enemy, the Commission distributed " 28,763 pieces of dry goods, shirts, towels,
bed-ticks, pillows, etc.; 30 barrels of old linen, bandacges, and lint; 3,188 pounds of farina; 2,620
pounds of condensed milk; 5,000 pounds of beefstock and canned meats; 3,000 bottles of wine and
cordials; 4,000 sets of hospital clothing; several tons
of lemons and other fruit; crackers, tea, sugar, rubber cloth, tin cups, chloroform, opiates, surgical
instruments, and other hospital conveniences."
After the battle of Shiloh, in the West, where




TEN THOUSAND AID SOCIETIES.


133


nearly as many wounded men were left on the field
as at Antietam, the Commission distributed "11,448
shirts; 3,686 pairs of drawers; 3,592 pairs of socks;
2,777 bed-sacks; 543 pillows; 1,045 bottles of
brandy, whiskey, and wine; 799 bottles of porter;
941 lemons; 20,316 pounds of dried fiuit; 7,577 cans
of fruit; and 15,323 pounds of farinaceous food."
Whence came these hospital supplies, or the money
for their purchase? They were gathered by the
loyal women of the North, who organized over ten
thousand " aid societies " during the war, and who
never flagged in their constancy to the cause of the
sick and wounded soldier. As rapidly as possible,
"branches " of the United States Sanitary Commission were established in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Chicago, and other cities  ten
in all.  Here sub-depots of sanitary stores were
maintained, and into these the soldiers' aid societies poured their never-ceasing contributions. The
supplies sent to these ten sub-depots were assorted,
repacked, stamped with the mark of the Commission,
only one kind of supplies being packed in a box, and
then a list of the contents was marked on the outside. The boxes were then stored, subject to the
requisitions of the great central distributing depots,
established at Washington and Louisville. Through
these two cities, all supplies of every kind passed to
the troops at the front, who were contending with
the enemy.
A most rigid system was observed in the reception, care, and disbursement of these hospital supplies; for the methods of the Sanitary Commission,
through its entire system of agencies, were those of
the best business houses. It was easy to trace tlh




THE BUSY HEADQUARTERS.


packagnes sent to hospitals back to their original contrilbutors, v\,ouchers being taken of those who rec('cled them,l at \every stage of their progress to their
ultimllate destination. Only a very insignificant fiaction of i tlhmc was lost or misused.
Thlro, gh all the branches of the Commission there
was tll same wisdlom in pllanning, ability in executinilg, and jo) I'ullness in sacrific(. Into them all, were
1),lbrne tlh suf1l ring aln( pla:titence of the soldier in the
hlospital, alld the slorrlt,   and alnxiety of his family at
home    Men,/ o,,/oim, to the firnt, full of' manly
stl'elln th 1and ('cull.rae, and men er, r'oitte from the
ciinll)r 1 battle-field,oin,' home to die, invaded the
busy   Il ea(dllluartersl.  IPeople of all conditions and
'i'e  stt anees, wise ani d  unwise, rich and poor,
women a111nd men;llit 1, Went'l  thither for inspiration and dire(,tion. S, enc- were the 'e enacted and deeds perforlinle  whli( h tlrail-fiiiri''l human nature, and made
it (1divi  It t;wa thenl' that,one felt the pulse of the
coi.intriv, and mneast'ured its heart-beats.
M5I  own experienelC' was with the Chicago Branch
of thle Saniitarx CAdmmiinA. And the brief resume
of the varle(ll phatse of life that flowed and ebbed
thlroL   it Unll,' tll-nt( ious i)m.s, which follows in
the next (:hal4t r', will give the reader some idea of
the Ipatriotic zeal, tlie )nobl)e  lf-denial, and organized
Nwork,of thl. wolilen of tile vwar, in which they were
gr'aillly a;siste(. l l)V men.




CHAPTER IV.


MY FIRST CONNECTION WITH THE SANITARY COMMISSIONHOME SUPPLIES FOR THE SOLDIERS-A PEEP INTO THE
BOXES -LETTERS FOUND INSIDE -ODD CONTRIBUTIONS.
Local Societies merged in the Commission —Become identified with the
Chicago Branch - The Secrets of the Boxes of Supplies - Notes packed
in with the Clothing-They are tender, pathetic, heroic, and comicA letter-writing Army-" Consecrated Chicken, be jabers "-" Butter
an' Chase, bedad! "-" Comfort-bags" — " Benedictions" in the Murfreesboro' and Vicksburg Boxes -" One Box a Month  - Ingenious
Wisconsin Farmers' Wives - Women in the Harvest-field - A Talk with
them -Generosity of a "Tailoress " - The " five-dollar gold Piece "
"Matches! Matches " -Afraid of a Eiss-Children's sanitary Fairs
- Gift of a five-year old Boy.
RGANIZATIONS of women for the relief
of sick and wounded soldiers, and for the
care of soldiers' families, were formed with
great spontaneity at the very beginning of
the war.     There   were a dozen     or more of
them    in Chicago, in less than a month after
Cairo was     occupied   by  Northern    troops.    They
raised money, prepared      and forwarded supplies of
whatever was demanded, every shipment being accompanied by some one who was held responsible
for the proper disbursement of the stores. Sometimes
these local societies affiliated with, or became parts of,
more comprehensive organizations.         Most of them
9            135




SECRETS OF THE BOXES.


worked independently during the first year of the
war, the Sanitary Commission of Chicago being only
one of the relief agencies. But the Commission
gladually grew in public confidence, and gained in
scope and power; and all the local societies were
eventually merged in it, or became auxiliary to it.
As in Chicago, so throughout the country. The Sanitary Commission became the great channel, through
which the patriotic beneficence of the nation flowed
to the army.
When the local aid society of which I was president, merged its existence in that of the Sanitary
Commission, I also became identified with it. Thenceforth, until the bells rang in the joyful news of peace,
my time and energy were given to its varied work.
In its busy rooms I was occupied most of the time
when not in the hospitals, or engaged with some of
the Northwestern soldiers' aid societies.
IIee'c, day after day, the drayman left boxes of supplies sent fiom aid societies in Iowa, Minnesota,
Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana. Every
box contained an assortment of articles, a list of
which was tacked on the inside of the lid. These
were taken out, stamped in indelible ink with the
name of the " CHICAGO SANITAY COMMISSION," the
stamp as broad as your hand, and the letters so large
as to be easily read across a room. For the convenience of the hospitals they were repacked,shirts by themselves, drawers by themselves, and so
on. Then they awaited orders from the hospitals.
One day I went into the packing-room to learn the
secrets of these boxes, - every one an argosy of love,
-and took notes during the unpacking. A capacious box, filled with beautifully made shirts, drawers,




NOTES FOLDED IN THE GARMENTS.


137


towels, socks, and    handkerchiefs, with "comfortbags" containing combs, pins, needles, court-plaster,
and black sewing-cotton, and with a quantity of
carefully dried berries and peaches, contained the
following unsealed note, lying on top:
DENAR SOLDIERS, - The little girls of -- send this box to you.
They hear that thirteen thousand of you are sick, and have beec
wounded in battle. They are very sorry, and want to do something for you. They cannot do much, for they are all small; but
they have bought with their own money, and made what is in here.
They hope it will do some good, and that you will all get well and
come home. We all pray to God for you night and morning.
The box was carefully unpacked, each article
stamped with the mark of the Commission, as a preventive to theft, and then carefully repacked just as
it was received. That sacred offering of childhood
was sent intact to the hospital.
Another mammoth packing-case was opened, and
here were folded in blessings and messages of love
with almost every garment. On a pillow was pinned
the following note, unsealed, for sealed notes were
never broken:
MY DENa FRIEND, -You are not my husband nor son; but you
are the husband or son of some woman who undoubtedly loves
you as I love mine. I have made these garments for you with a
heart that aches for your sufferings, and with a longing to come to
you to assist in taking care of you. It is a great comfort to me
that God loves and pities you, pining and lonely in a far-off hospital; and if you believe in God, it will also be a comfort to you.
Are you near death, and soon to cross the dark river? Oh, then,
may God soothe your last hours, and lead you up "t the shining
shore," where there is no war, no sickness, no death. Call on
Fim, for He is an ever-present helper.
Large packages of socks, carefully folded in pairs
in the same box, contained each a note, beautifully




138


" THERE'S A GOOD TIME COMING 1"


written, and signed with the name and address of the
writer.   They were as various as the authors.     Here
is one: -
DEAR SOLDIER, -If these socks had language they would tell
you that many a kind wish for you has been knit into them, and
many a tear of pity for you has bedewed them. We all think of
you, and want to do everything we can for you; for we feel that
we owe you unlimited love and gratitude, and that you deserve
the very best at our hands.
Here is another, of a different character:Mly DEAR BOY, - I have knit these socks expressly for you.
How do you like them? How do you look, and where do you live
wllhen you are at home? I am nineteen years old, of medium
height, of slight build, with blue eyes, fair complexion, light hair,
and a good deal of it. Write and tell me all about yourself, and
how you get on in the hospitals. Direct to —.
P. S. If the recipient of these socks has a wife, will he please
exchange socks with some poor fellow not so fortunate?
And here is yet another:MY BRAVE FRIEN.D, -I have learned to knit on purpose to
knit socks for the soldiers. This is my fourth pair. My name
is —, and I live in. Write to me, and tell me how you
like the foot-gear and what we can do for you. Keep up good
courage, and by and by you will come home to us. Won't that
be a grand time, though? And won't we all turn out to meet
you, with flowers and music, and cheers and embraces? "There'e
a good time coming, boys!"
Very many of these notes were answered by the
soldiers who received them, and a correspondence
ensued, which sometimes ended in lifelong friendship, and, in some instances which came to           my
knowledge, in marriage.
A nicely made dressing-gown, taken from       one of
the boxes, of dimensions sufficiently capacious for
Daniel Lambert, had one huge pocket filled with
hickory nuts, and the other with ginger-snaps. The




" I HOPE THEY'LL CHOKE HIM I "


139


pockets were sewed across to prevent the contents
from dropping out, and the following note was
pinned on the outside:My DEAR FELLOW, - Just take your ease in this dressing
gown. Don't mope and have the blues, if you are sick. Moping
never cured anybody yet. Eat your nuts and cakes, if you are
well enough, and snap your fingers at dull care. I wish I could
do more for you, and if I were a man I would come and fight
with you. Woman though I am, I'd like to help hang Jeff
Davis higher than Haman -yes, and all who aid and abet him,
too, whether North or South!
There was exhumed from        one box a bushel of
cookies, tied in a pillow-case, with this benevolent
wish tacked on the outside:
These cookies are expressly for the sick soldiers, and if anybody else eats them, I hope they will choke him /
A  very neatly arranged package of second-hand
clothing, but little worn, was laid by itself. Every
article was superior in quality and in manufacture.
Attached to it was a card with the following explanation, in most exquisite chirography: -
The accompanying articles were worn for the last time by
one very dear to the writer, who lost his life at Shiloh. They are
sent to our wounded soldiers as the most fitting disposition that
can be made of them, by one who has laid the husband of her
youth - her all - on the altar of her country
Rarely was a box opened that did not contain
notes to soldiers, accompanying the goods.       In the
pocket of one dressing-gown, a baby's tin rattle was
found-in another, a small china doll, tastefully
dressed- in another, a baby's photograph -       in   et
another, a comic almanac.    In every box was a good
supply of stoutly made "comfort-bags."       A   "icomfort-bag" usually contained a small needle-book,
with a dozen stout needles in it, a well-filled pin



140


14  COMFORT-BAGS."


ball, black and white thread, buttons, etc. These
"' little usefuls," as the boys called them, were invaluable to the handy fellows, who very often became
skilful extempore tailors.
As whittling and wood-carving were among the
prime amusements of the hospital, a jack-knife was
added, and generally a pair of scissors. Sometimes
a square piece of tobacco was included among the
miscellanies, nor was the " comfort-bag " considered
less valuable in consequence. Often a small Testament increased the value of the little bag, with the
name and residence of the donor on the fly-leaf.
And if the comfort-bag contained no letter, with a
stamped envelope, and blank sheet of paper added,
its recipient was a little crestfallen.  The stationery was rarely forgotten. Folded in the sleeves
of shirts, tucked in pockets, wrapped in handkerchiefs, and rolled in socks, were envelopes with
stamps affixed, containing blank sheets of note
paper, and usually a pencil was added. The soldiers expressed their need of stationery in almost
every letter they wrote. Most of the letters sent
to the army contained stamped envelopes, and
paper, for the men were without money so vmuch
of the time, that when the sutlers had stationery for
sale at exorbitant prices, the soldiers were unable to
buy it.
There never was an army so intent on corresponding with the kindred and friends left behind. If
you ewent into any camp at any time, you would see
dozens, and sometimes hundreds, of soldiers writing
letters. Some would be stretched at full length on
the ground, with a book or a knapsack for a table -
some sitting upright against the trunks of trees, with




A LETTER-WRITING ARMY.


141


the paper resting on their drawn-up knees - others
would stand and write. The average number of letters sent to the army on the Atlantic coast was fortyfive thousand daily. An equally large number was
sent through the mails by the soldiers, making an
aggregate of ninety thousand daily letters that passed
through the post-office at Washington. About the
same number were carried by the mails to and from
Louisville, these two cities being the gateways to the
army during the war.     One hundred and eighty
thousand daily letters received and answered, created
a demand for stationery, which in the army it was
not always easy to supply. On one day of the
week preceding the battle of Pittsburg Landing, or
Shiloh, there were sold to the soldiers, from the
Pittsburg post-office, seven hundred dollars worth of
postage-stamps.   Vho wonders that our army fought
like heroes?
Over and over again, with unnecessary emlphalsis
and cruel frequency, officers, surgeons, and nurses
were adjured, through notes in the boxes, to bestow
on the sick and wounded the comforts and delicacies
contained in the cases. There was more honesty in
the hospitals, and much less stealing by the officials,
than was popularly believed.
"For the love of God, give these articles to the sick and
wounded, to whom they are sent!"
"He that would steal from a sick or wounded man would rob
hen-roosts, or filch pennies from the eyes of a corpse!"
"Surgeons and nurses, hands off! These things are not for
you, but for your patients,- our sick and woundied boys! "
"Don't gobble up these delicacies, nurses! They are for the
boys in hospital!"
Similar injunctions were found tacked on the inside lid of many boxes, or stared us in the face in




142


" IT SMELLS TOO LOUD INTIRELYi"


startling colored capitals, when the cover was hammered off.
Occasionally the opening of a box revealed an
unwise selection of donations, or a careless preparation of them. A pacldng-case was opened one morning, smooth and polished without and neatly jointed,
when an overpowering odor smote the olfactories,
that drove every one from the room. It was as if a
charnel-house had been opened. Windows and doors
were flung wide to let in the fresh air, and a second
attempt was made to examine the odoriferous box.
The intolerable stench proceeded from "concentrated
chicken," which had been badly prepared. The box
had been some time on the journey, and the nicely
cooked chicken had become a mass of corruption.
"Be jabers!" said Irish Jimmy, the drayman, as he
wheeled the box back into the " receiving-room," " I
hope the leddies -God bless 'em!- won't send
enny more of their consecrated chicken this way, for
it smells too loud intirely."
Another box came from the depot completely besmeared with honey, leaking from within. Irish
Jimmy pronounced it "grease," and, always ready
with an opinion, declared that "the leddies were gittin'
no sinse at all, to be afther sindin' grease in a box,
loose like that, and the weather jist hot enough to
cook ye!" When told that the Sanitary Commission
called for no "grease," he ventured the sagacious
opinion that it was "butter and chase inside, bedad!
and by the howlv Moses! they'd a jist melted in the
great heat and run together. And shure! that was
grease, and nobody could deny it." Two large boxes
of honey in the comb had been packed with hospital
clothing. In transportation the honey had drained




" WE ARE PROUD OF THE BOYS I"


143


from the comb, leaving it empty and broken, and
had saturated the contents of the box.
Many of the boxes for the wounded at Murfreesboro' and Vicksburg, and packed for them especially,
contained indications of the deepest feeling. "We
send these supplies to the noble boys that beat back
Bragg's army  We are proud of them " "Three
cheers for Rosecrans' army l" "Dear wounded soldiers! we shall never forget your gallant conduct at
Murfreesboro' and Stone River I " May God place
his everlasting arms of love underneath you, my dear
wounded brothers!"  These and like benedictions
were affixed to almost every article.
In looking over the contents of the boxes as they
were unpacked, one realized the passionate interest
in the war felt by the women of the North. They
toiled, economized, and retrenched to furnish the
necessary supplies to the hospitals, and then hallowed
them with a patriotic and religious spirit. They
flung heart and soul into the labor of their willing
hands, until the articles of their manufacture were
redolent of blessings and affection. Then, pouring
out their souls in written ejaculations of love and in
tender benedictions, they forwarded these to the
soldiers with the material comforts.
The aid societies were asked to contribute one box
of hospital supplies a month, and this was the standard of efficiency upheld throughout the war. Some
did much more than this, and some less; but the
standard was never lowered. As there were nearly
four thousand aid societies in existence in the Northwest, auxiliary to the Chicago Branch of the Sanitary
Commission, and as over seventy thousand boxes
were received, or were packed and forwarded from




144 "WHERE THERE'S A WILL, THERE'S A WAY! '
our rooms to Southern hospitals, it is evident that the
women in the newly settled and sparsely populated
states did not shirk the duties which the war imposed
on them. They rifled their houses of whatever bedlinen could be spared; denied their families canned
and dried fruit; retrenched in the use of butter and
eggs, that they might have more to take to market,
and so more money to bestow on the soldiers; held
festivals and dime parties; gave concerts; got up
fairs, - in short, their ingenuity was as limitless as
their patriotism.
Some farmers' wives in the north of Wisconsin,
eighteen miles fiom a railroad, had donated to the
hospitals of their bed and table linen, of their husbands' shirts, drawers, and socks, until they had
exhausted their ability in this direction. While the
need lasted, they could not be satisfied to remain
inactive, and so cast about to see what could be done
by new and untried methods. They were the wives
of small farmers, lately moved to the West, and living in log cabins,-where one room sufficed for
kitchen, parlor, laundry, nursery, and bedroom,
doing their own housework, sewing, baby-tending,
and dairy-work. What could women do so burdened,
hampered, and straitened? "Where there's a will,
there's a way."
They resolved to beg wheat of the neighboring
farmers, and turn it into money.  Sometimes on
foot, sometimes with a team, amid the snows and
mud of early spring, they canvassed the country for
twenty and thirty miles around, everywhere eloquently pleading the needs of the blue-coated boys
in the hospitals, - their earnest speech proving an
open sesame to the granaries. Now they obtained




A SACRED BANK-CHECK.


a little from a rich man, then a large quantity from a
poor man - deeds of benevolence are half the time
in an inverse ratio to the ability of the benefactors
-till they had accumulated nearly five hundred
bushels of wheat. This they sent to market, when
they could obtain the highest market price, and
forwarded the money to me, to be given the Sanitary
Commission.  Knowing the history of their contribution, their bank-check had a sacredness in my
eyes.
During the war I was called into the country on
frequent errands.  Sometimes it was to organize aid
societies - sometimes to attend mass conventions,
called for inspiration and instruction in the work to
be done. The attendance was increased by a natural desire for social enjoyment, which the necessities
of the times greatly abridged. Sometimes a meeting
would be called in a large town for the double purpose of stimulating hospital supplies and enlistments
- sometimes I went in charge of soldiers, too ill or
enfeebled from wounds to be sent alone.  On these
trips I noticed a great increase of women engaged
in outdoor work, and especially during the times of
planting, cultivating, and harvesting.
In the early summer of 1863, frequent calls of
business took me through the extensive farnning districts of Wisconsin, and Eastern Iowa, when the
farmers were the busiest, gathering the wheat harvest.  As we dashed along the railway, let our
course lead in whatever direction it might, it took us
through what seemed a continuous wheat-field. The
yellow grain was waving everywhere; and two-horse
reapers were cutting it down in a wholesale fashion
that would have astonished Eastern farmers. Hun



146


WOMEN IN THE HARVEST-FIELD.


dreds of reapers could be counted in a ride of half a
dozen hours. The crops were generally good, and
in some instances heavy, and every man and boy was
pressed into service to secure the abundant harvest
while the weather was fine.
Women were in the field everywhere, driving the
reapers, binding and shocking, and loading grain,
until then an unusual sight.  At first, it displeased
me, and I turned away in aversion. By and by, I
observed how skilfully they drove the horses round
and round the wheat-field, diminishing more and
more its periphery at every circuit, the glittering
blades of the reaper cutting wide swaths with a
rapid, clicking sound, that was pleasant to hear.
Then I saw that when they followed the reapers,
binding and shocking, although they did not keep
up with the men, their work was done with more
precision and nicety, and their sheaves had an artistic finish that those lacked made by the men. So I
said to myself, " They are worthy women, and deserve
praise: their husbands are probably too poor to hire
help, and, like the 'helpmeets' God designed them
to be, they have girt themselves to this work- and
they are doing it superbly.  Good wives! good
women! "
One day my route took me off the railway, some
twenty miles across the country.  But we drove
through the same golden fields of grain, and between
great stretches of green waving corn. Now a river
shimmered like silver through the gold of the wheat
and oats, and now a growth of young timber made a
dark green background for the harvest fields. Here,
as everywhere, women were busy at the harvesting.
"I've got to hold up a spell, and rig up this 'ere




ALL THREE OF 'EM 'LISTED I"


147


harness," said my driver; "something's got out
o' kilter." And the carriage halted opposite a field
where half a dozen women and two men were harvesting.  Not a little curious to know what these
women reapers were like, I walked over and accosted
them.
" And so you are helping gather the harvest " I
said to a woman of forty-five or fifty, who sat on the
reaper to drive, as she stopped her horses for a brief
breathing spell. Her face was pleasant and comely,
although sunburned, with honest, straightforward
eyes, a broad brow, and a mouth that indicated firmness and tenderness. Her dress, a strong calico, was
worn without hoops, then thought essential on all occasions, and she was shod with stout boots, and wore
a shaker bonnet.
" Yes, ma'am," she said; "the men have all gone
to the war, so that my man can't hire help at any
price, and I told my girls we must turn to and
give him a lift with the harvestin'."
"You are not German? You are surely one of
my own countrywomen -American? "
"Yes, ma'am; we moved here from Cattaraugus
county, New York state, and we've done very well
since we came."
" Have you sons in the army?"
"Yes," and a shadow fell over the motherly face,
and the honest eyes looked out mournfully into vacancy. "All three of 'ema 'listed, and Neddy, the
youngest, was killed at the battle of Stone River, the
last day of last year. My man, he went down to get
his body, but he came back without it. There were
nine thousand of our men left dead on the field
there, and our Neddy's body couldn't be found




148


A NOBLE MOTHER AND DAUGHTERS.


among so many. It came very hard on us to let the
boys go, but we felt we'd no right to hinder 'em.
The country needed 'em more'n we. We've money
enough to hire help if it could be had; and my man
don't like to have me and the girls a-workin' outdoors; but there don't seem no help for it now."
I stepped over where the girls were binding the
fallen grain. They were fine, well-built lasses, with
the honest eyes and firm mouth of the mother, brown
like her, and clad in the same sensible costume.
"W ell, you are like your mother, not afraid to
lend a hand at the harvesting, it seems!" was my
opening remark.
"No, we're willing to help outdoors in these
times. Harvesting isn't any harder, if it's as hard
as cooking, washing, and ironing, over a red-hot
stove in July and August - only we have to do both
now. MIy three brothers went into the army, all my
cousins, most of the young men about here, and the
men we used to hire. So there's no help to be got
but women, and the crops must be got in all the same,
you know."
"One of our German women," said another of the
girls, " tells us we don't know anything about war
yet. For during the last war in Germany men were
so scarce that she had to work three years in a blacksmith's shop. You wouldn't think it, though, if you
should see her. That would be rather tough, but I
tell Annie we can do anything to help along while
the country's in such trouble."
" I tell mother," said the Annie referred to, standing very erect, with flashing eyes, "that as long
as the country can't get along without grain, nor
the army fight without food, we're serving the coun



"AS GOOD A BINDER AS A MAN."


149


try just as much here in the harvest-field as our
boys are on the battle-field - and that sort o' takes
the edge off from this business of doing men's work,
you know." And a hearty laugh followed this statement.
Another one of the women was the wife of one
of the soldier sons, with a three-year-old boy toddling beside her, tumbling among the sheaves, and
getting into mischief every five minutes. His mother
declared that he was "more plague than profit."
From her came the same hearty assent to the work
which the distress of the country had imposed on
her. And she added, with a kind of homely pride,
that she was considered "as good a binder as a man,
and could keep up with the best of 'em."
Further conversation disclosed the fact that amid
their double labor in the house and field, these
women found time for the manufacture of hospital
supplies, and had helped to fill box after box with
shirts and drawers, dried apples and pickles, currant
wine and blackberry jam, to be forwarded to the poor
fellows languishing in far-off Southern hospitals.
My eyes were unsealed. The women in the harvestfield were invested with a new and heroic interest,
and each hard-handed, brown, toiling woman was a
heroine. When the driver called to me that he had
mended the broken harness, I bade the noble harvesters " good-bye," assuring them that they were the
" peers of the women of the Revolution."
A poor girl, who called herself a " tailoress," came
one day to the rooms of the Commission.
" I do not feel right," she said, "that I am doing
nothing for our soldiers in the hospitals. I must do
something immediately. Which do you prefer - that




150


GIFT OF A SEWING-GIRL.


I should give nmoley, or buy material and manufacture it into hospital clothing? "
You must be governed by your circumstances,"
was the answer made her. " We need both money
and supplies, and you must do that which is most
convenient for you."
' I prefer to give money, if it will do as much
good."
" Very well, thlen, give money. We need it badly,
and withlout it (cannot do walt is most necessary for
our bral1ve Imen."
"I will give the Commission my net earnings for
the next two w{eeks. I would give more, but my
Imothler is an invalid, and I help support her. Usually
I makle bllt,one vest a day, as I do 'custom work,'
and a11 well paid for it. But these next two weeks,
which 1blong to the soldiers, I shall work earlier and
later."
In two wt(,ks., sh  came again, the poor sewing
g1rl, with a ra(liant flace. Opelling her I)orte-lmonnlle, lhe cou'llllntd (ollt,intj iit   dtolllr,'s anil thirty^s' rf/i c  frut.  SIhe had stitched into the hours of
mdll(lllight oJn every one of the working days of those
two weX-eks.
A little,irI', lnot lillh vyetar old, with sweet and
timid, ra<-. e,  te 'd oni afternoon, and laid a five(dollar goll )ie on, lesk. iHalf-frightened, shei
told It,- tor.  Mv uncl(e rl ave me that before the
1ai\',:andxl I was goimi' to keep it always. But he's
rot killed1 in the arIi., and now mother says I may
1_lvc. it to, the solldies if I want to- and I'd like to.
AWill it l,)i mlnuch-] for themn?
I led the child to the Atre-room, and pointed out
to her what it would buy -. o many_ cans of con



"IT WILL DO LOTS OF GOOD I"


151


densed milk, or so many bottles of ale, or so many
pounds of tea or codfish, etc.  Her face brightened
with pleasure. But when I explained that her fivedollar gold piece was equal then to seven and a half
dollars in greenbacks, and told her how much comfort
could be carried into a hospital with the amount of
stores it would purchase, she fairly danced for joy.
"Why, my five dollars will do lots of good, won't
it? "
Folding her hands before her in a charmingly earnest way, she begged me to tell her something that
I had seen in the hospitals. A narration of a few
touching events, such as would not too severely
shock the child, but which showed the necessity of
continued benevolence to the hospitals, brought tears
to her eyes, and the resolution to her lips, to "get all
the girls to save their money to buy things for the
wounded soldiers." And away she ran, happy in the
luxury of doing good.
A little urchin who often thrust his unkempt pate
into the room, with the shrill cry of "IMatches!
Matches!" had stood a little apart, watching the girl,
and listening to the conversation.  As she disappeared, he fumbled in his pockets, and drew out a
small handful of crumpled fractional currelcy, such
as was then in use.  "Here," said he, "I'll give yer
suthin' for them are sick fellers!  And he put fiftyfive cents in my hand, all in five-cent currency. I
was surprised, and hesitated.
" No, my boy, don't give it. I am afraid you cannot afford it. You're a noble little fellow, but that is
more than you ought to give. You keep it, and I'll
give fifty-five cents for you - or somebody else will."
"Git eout! " was his disgusted commentary on my
10




152   "I AIN'T ONE 0' THAT KISSIN' SORT "
proposal.  "Yer take it, now. P'raps I ain't so
1oor as yer think. My father, he saws wood, and
mly mother, she takes in washin', and I sells matches,
and Tom, he sells papers, and p'raps we've got more
money than yer think. Our Bob, he'd a gone to the
war hisself, but   gt he got his leg cut off on the railroad,
in a smash-up. He was a brakeman, yer see. You
take this, now "
I took the crumpled currency. I forgot the boy's
dirty face and tattered cap; I forgot that I had called
the little tatterdemalion a "nuisance " every day for
months, when he had caused me to jump from my
seat with his shrill, unexpected cry of "Matches "
and I actually stooped to kiss him.
IIe divined my intention and darted out on the
sidewalk as if he had been shot.
"i No, yer don't! " he said, shaking his tangled head
at me, and looking as if he had escaped a great danger. "I ain't one o' that kissin' sort!"
Ever after, when he met me, he gave me a wide
berth, and walked off the sidewalk into the gutter,
eyeing me with a suspicious, sidelong glance, as
though he suspected I still thought of kissing him.
If I spoke to him, he looked at me shyly and made
no reply. But if I passed him without speaking, he
challenged me with a hearty "Hullo, yer!" that
brought me to an instant halt.
During the July and August vacation of 1863, the
little folks of Chicago were seized with a veritable
sanitary-fair mania,  a blessed form of craze, which
had had an extensive run among their elders during
the winter and spring. These juvenile fairs were
held on the lawns of private houses, or, if it rained,
in the large parlors, and they became immensely




CHILDREN'S SANITARY FAIRS.


153


popular among the little people. They were planned
and carried on exclusively by children from nine to
sixteen years of age, who manifested no little
shrewdness in their calculations, and ingenuity in
their devices. In one fortnight these fairs netted
the Commission about three hundred dollars in money
a handsome sum for children to make during the
torrid holidays.
I accepted a pressing invitation to one of these
mimic bazars. A boy of eleven stood at the gate as
custodian, gravely exacting and receiving the five
cents admission fee. Another little chap, of ten, perambulated the sidewalks for a block or two, carrying
a banner inscribed, " SANITARY FAnIR FOR TIIE SOLDIERS! " and drumming up customers for his sisters
under the trees. "Here's your Sanitar'y Fair for
sick and wounded soldiers!l" he shouted, imitating
the candy vender who was licensed to sell his wares
fromn a stand just around the corner. "All kinds of
fancy goods, in the newest style, and cheap as dirt,
and all for the soldiers! Walk up and buy, ladies
and gentlemen, walk up!"
The fair tables were spread under the trees, with
an assortment of toilet-mats, cushions, needle-books,
pen-wipers, patriotic book-marks, dolls, and confectionery. The national colors floated over the little
saleswomen, some of the very smallest sitting in high
dinner-chairs, and all conducting their business with
a dignity that provoked laughter. Big brothers and
sisters stood behind them, ostensibly to assist in
making change, but in reality because they enjoyed
the affair. The mimic traders stoutly resented their
interference, declaring "they could make change
themselves." One of the little gypsies shook back




154


c5 DIV THIS TO THE SOLDIERS "


her yellow curls, and, lifting her sunny face to the.ascibled  buyers, announced that "they'd dot
twelltysftrre( dollars already, and the fair hadn't but
just begun."
The faiir mania extended into the country, and
chill'ldl's letters were daily received containing variotls s11111s of money netted by their little enterprises.
A carriaget. stloppd at the door of the Commission
)lone da;, and landed a black-eyed and rosy-cheeked
1),b\ at the office. I-e ran into the room with a twodollar gI'recnbackl in his extended hand. "I'm five
yeas o(ld to-day, alnd my dlral/pa div me this to buy
some nuts and w  ud ttlf,. But tflily makes me sick,
and I[ (loni wat   none, and mamma says dtv it to the
soldicrs wvhat (ets slhot."'  And bactk le 1ran, -lamberinlC illt, thl  (arr'ia,'e without waiting to give his
1iame 0o to be kissed(l.
It was froin thes(. i ald similar sources, multiplied
tlholsall.s of timel, that tle st'ream of supplies for the
Sl( k a;1d w(ear. of the armyl maintained its - ast and.onIstailt prpo l,'ltolns to the v{ery close of the war.
ThIl stllqulles  ariied acc(rdliln to tlie needs of the
men at the front. But whatever was the need as to
qualit. quantity, or (ost, it was soon apparent that
ill tlhe z(.eal and intensC'   nationallitv,f the women of
the -No'th lth ere w:ts a certatinlt of its being suppliedl  -,tcinaticalll and b)ountlfully.  No Irebuffs
(',uld (lhill therl zeal: n) reverses repres.ss their ard1,:  1(, 1( ( )I-ragmetC'lllt  w ea(keCn their devotion.
ThIe WvU n,  had enlilsted ftr the war.




CHAPTER V.
AT THE ROOMS OF THE SANITARY COMMISSION —ITS WORKERS AND ITS VISITORS-HEART-RENDING SCENES AND
INCIDENTS-THE RECORD OF A DAY.
Rooms of the Chicago Commission - The Din of Draymen and Packers —
Sewing-Rooms for Soldiers' Families- " The Perfume of the Sanitary"
-The dingy little Office - Immense Work performed in it - Judge
Skinner, the President- Mr. Blatchford, Treasurer - The "Quartette"
of the Office- John Freeman, the " Man of all Work" - William
Goodsmith, our "Sheet-Anchor" - Mrs. Iloge, my Friend and CoWorker - Volunteer and transient Help - Women, Girls, and Soldiers
— Drayloads of Boxes —Ladies seeking Information- Express Messengers - The Morning Mail - The aged Father and his dead Son -
"What ails the little Fellow?" - A Bevy of Nurses -A sorrowstricken Mother - Soldiers from the City Hospitals - More loaded
Drays - More Men and Women come and go - The Day declines -
Return to my Home - "A Suburb of Ieaven."
HE     headquarters     of   the   Chicago,     or
"Northwestern      Sanitary Commission," as
it was correctly re-christened —     for all the
Nolthwestern states became its auxiliaries
-were the least attractive rooms in the city.
Except during a brief period of its early existence, it occupied the large rooms under McVicker's Theatre, then, as now, on 3Iadison Street.      They
seemed smaller than they were, becaunse they were
generally crowded with boxes and packages, huddled
together to    suit the    convenience     of those    who
opened, unpacked, assorted, stamped, and repacked
their contents.     Drays were continually      unloading
155




156


" THE PERFUME OF THE SANITARY."


and re-loading with a furious racket; and the draymen were not possessors of " soft, low voices." The
din was further increased by incessant hammering
and pounding within, caused by opening and nailing
up boxes. Horse-cars passed to and fro every minute, and heavily laden teams, omnibuses, carriages,
carts and wagons of all descriptions, rolled by with
intermitting thunder.
The sewing-rooms of the Commission were located
on the floor above us, where between thirty and
forty sewing-machines ran all day. Upstairs, and
downstairs, and over our heads, the women of the
soldiers' families maintained a ceaseless tramp from
morniing till night, coming to sew, to receive or retulln work, or to get their greatly needed pay. Add
to this a steady stream of callers, on every imaginable errand, in every known mental mood  grieved,
angry, stupid, astonished, incctldulous, delighted,
agonized - all talking in the tones of voice in which
these various moods betray themselves - was there
an element of distraction omitted?
The odors of the place were villanous and a perpetual torment. Codfish and sauer-kraut, pickles and
ale, onions and potatoes, smoked salmon and halibut,
ginger and whiskey, salt mackerel and tobacco, kerosene for the lamps, benzine for cleansing purposes,
black paint to mark the boxes, flannel and unbleached
cotton for clothing, -these all concentrated their
exhalations in one pungent aroma, that smote the
olfhctories when one entered, and clung tenaciously
to the folds of one's garments when one departed.
We called it "the perfume of the sanitary," and at
last got used to it, as we did to the noise.
From one corner of this room an office was par



SMALL OFFICE -IMMENSE WORK.


157


titioned, so economical in dimensions that ten people
crowded it. One large window lighted it, the lower
half of ground glass. The upper half of the partition
was also of glass, for the double purpose of light, and
of keeping easily in communication with our coworkers in the outer room. The floor was carpeted
with ingrain, and desks of the simplest pattern and
chairs of the hardest wood completed the furnishing.
In these uninviting quarters the work of the
Northwestern Sanitary Commission was outlined or
performed. Here were packed and shipped to the
hospitals or battle-field 77,660 packages of sanitary
supplies, whose cash value was.$'1,056,192.16. Here
were written and mailed letters by the ten thousand,
circulars by the hundred thousand, monthly bulletins
and reports. Here were planned visits to the aid
societies, trips to the army, methods of raising
money and supplies, systems of relief for soldiers'
families and white refugees. Homes and Rests for
destitute and enfeebled soldiers, and the details of
mammoth sanitary fairs.
Hon. Mark Skinner of Chicago was president of
the Commission through the darkest and most arduous davs of its existence. Just as its work had
become so organized and systematized that anxiety
concerning it was at an end, and the machinery ran
with very little frietion, Judge Skinner was compelled to resign because of ill-health, and Mr. E. B.
McCagg of Chicago succeeded to the office. It was
indeed a bereavement to lose Judge Skinner from the
board. The weight of his name and character. and
his worth as an adviser, greatly strengthened the
organization with the outside community; while the
charm of his manner, and the subtle humor that




GOOD AT ANY KIND OF WORK.


brightened his speech, rendered his almost daily visits
to the rooms a pleasure that was keenly anticipated.
Mr. E. W. Blatchford of Chicago was treasurer
till the Commission disbanded. His office was no
sinecure, for he not only received the money, but expended it. No language can describe the promptness, accuracy, and conscientiousness, which he
carried into this work. Nor is it possible to measure
in words the courtesy, patience, kindness, and fineness of spirit, which all felt who were brought into
relations with him.  I shall always congratulate
myself that the work of the Sanitary Commission
brought me into association with Mr. Blatchford.
For I learned of him an exactness and promptness,
and a careful attention to detail in matters of business,
that, as a woman, I should have learned nowhere
else. Both Judge Skinner and Mr. Blatchford had
large business and professional engagements of their
own, demanding all their time and attention, which
rendered their devotion to the cause of hospital relief
more noteworthy.
The constant habitues of the little office were four.
Mr. John Freeman was nominally the shipping clerk;
but if there was any kind of work connected with the
rooms at which he did not lend a hand, I have yet to
learn what it was. He attended to the boxes, to the
packing, to the shipping; helped soldiers to obtain
transportation back to their regiments, or assisted
them, when feeble and wounded, to reach their homes;
went on the most surprising and unheard-of missions,
and accomplished them, - in short, did anything and
everything, whether in the line of his duty or not
and always did it well. He was a man of remarkable
good-nature, which no contretemnp could disturb, and




OUR " SHEET-ANCHOR."


this made him a universal favorite. He possessed
that "tact which is almost talent," and a discretion
which bore him safely through many peculiar experiences where another would have blundered. Not
the least valuable of his accomplishments was his
keen sense of the ludicrous. Rarely did he return
from one of his many expeditions- sorrowful though
they sometimes were -without a comic story to narrate, or a funny incident to describe. Seasoning both
with a spice of native waggery, he would cause the
rooms to resound with laughter, and render us all
oblivious for a moment to both work and care. We
regarded him at such times as a benefactor.
Mr. William Goodsmith was a man of different
temperament. Care did not sit lightly on his shoulders. Under Mr. Blatchford's directions he made
purchases of supplies, which were always selected
with care, paid bills, transacted business with banks,
and all difficult and delicate matters were entrusted
to his management. All relied impllicitly on his
judgment, good sense, and honor. So carefill was he
in all transactions, so absolutely faithful and painstaking in everything, that limitless confidence was
reposed in him. I have never known a more trustworthy person. His ideal of excellence was very
lofty, and his spirit so unselfish that at times he was
unjust to himself. With all his recognized abilities,
there was a hint of reserved power in his speech and
manner, that made one sure he would be equal to the
duties of a much higher position than he held. The
Commission was very fortunate to command his services. We sometimes called him our "i -heet-anchor."
Mrs. Jane C. Hoge and myself completed the quartette of the office. Rarely were we both absent at




160


A GRAND, GOOD WOMAN.


the same time. We were personal friends, and had
long been associated in the charitable work of the
cit. She was a practical woman, and her executive
ability was very marked. Her power of patient, persistent work was seemingly limitless. Her force of
character was irresistible, and bore down all opposition.  Her energy was simply tremendous.   She
excelled in conducting a public meeting, and was a
very forceful and attractive public speaker.  The
inspiration of the war developed in her capabilities
of whose possession she was not aware, and she surprised herself, as she did others, by the exercise of
hitherto unsuspected gifts. Of how many women
workers of the war could the same be said!
A devoted Presbyterian fiom childhood, Mrs. Hoge
was very catholic in spirit. Her largeness of heart
included the race, and, united to her keen sense of
justice, led her into the charitable and reform work
of the time. She was concerned for the public welfire, and gravitated instinctively towards public
work. It was impossible for her to do otherwise
than identify herself with the interests of the country.
And when two of her sons entered the service, she
gave herself unreservedly to the work of relieving
our sick and wounded soldiers.
My fiiend still lives in Chicago, where the calm
evening of her days is brightened by the society of
her husband, with whom she has spent more than
half a century of happy wedded life, and by the
encompassing tenderness of her children, seven of
whom are settled around her. By her grand, good
life she has earned a long sojourn in the "Land of
Beulah," while awaiting the summons to the " Celestial City."




,Ir
- T -
 j..  I
I,.,t,

Di. -1


IL


I,


4


OitZ Si


I
I I


'A
I


'N...P
4f.v s-.'


4            11  -
I.       J-.       t -   01 -t.             I..-               I a    -       - -
— dmk-                                                                                I%
14 .                                                                     - r
Il ..', lk...   n.
I
4%1,
L


AF-.&


N*


-


S
$0


Of t N
11 *
Aft"".
X r


t;; -0 -, -.         P.. A"
'ri I    or-".' 
i 7.
11


I - r I.,, '14, -
4        -t,- I-    't I


I


'z.         j'
%X'g )NI VN             'it




"   ( I'l   1 4.-,!
I     (I HA     21 I 4             I I


Oa4i IIi.,.-Pe   dow   -,el oppv-i'
LI)l  nktifg;ii  a~ a
)~ th  t~xe'hii
I Iit a'war. andy i-v' ue
I  t: I it I iU'  cIN  aid!
Her ch-l,,'          OfI~Mis hIi ga
41 t~)  ~itt I(  '11i-   s(bfl-4!tt I' 1 )I tO  di4 I I  )1   ic  xv ii1-:4w, herJ" ~(I(1) otherwvise.
'4$ E' the c'ulltrvV
d:~; brh. bt 11.1 h 1tU O cit&'1v of
t~~V  i  a'e    4jd(         ".11l 1o. the
'1  i'h         tong 11o      ~       L~and of
u ~il           Th  ~ tie -. I     '" thle '' (
0 'ty'




.;I
-Akthl I-IZA
p
I


h...I.,I!   -1,
I I


4rI,#k,F - -           -. "!Ik- -s.. - OT
'I.     t .,   -4-61
-    V —       -i:
-,,% N..
$1            NE   C. HOk.,E, O'; S, JA


'r


I8I


I


A I


IAFt5I-C!- I -IAA C' ~4A 'r V Ev


I)fs `'I~ E


~'11GL  ~jq E CF




14




< A DAY AT THE ROOMS."


163


There was always more or less volunteer and transient help in the rooms. Sometimes companies of
ladies, who gave their services on certain days; sometimes young girls, who caught the patriotic spirit of
the time, and craved a share in the work; sometimes detailed soldiers from Camp Douglas, doing
guard duty over rebel prisoners; sometimes convalescent soldiers fiom the hospitals, who sought to
dispose of the laggcing hours while awaiting transportation to their regiments. There was never any
lack of employment. The rush of business lasted all
day and ran over into the midnight. We fiequently
took letters to our homes requiring immnediate an-swer,
and in the stillness of the night overtook the work
that outran our most diligent efforts during the day.
Not even could we control the hours of Sunday
during those busy years.  The work of hospital
relief ran over into them, and busy scenes were sometimes enacted at the "rooms," of which the closed
doors gave no hint to the thronging clhurch-goers.
"It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath da.."
A description of "A DAY AT TIE RooMs OF TIIE
SANITARY COMMISSION," which I wrote at the time
for the columns of my husband's paper, gives a
vivid idea of the routine of daily life in the busy
office, and so I transcribe it here:"It is early mornitn, - not nine o'clock, for the
children are flocking in merry droves to school. The
air is resonant with their joyous treble and musical
laughter, as with clustering heads and interlacino
arms they recount their varied experiences since they
parted the night before, and rapturously expatiate on
the delights of a coming excursion or promised picnic. With a good-bye kiss, I launch nmy own little




WORK IN WAITING.


ones, bonneted, sacqued, and ballasted with books,
like the rest, into the stream of childhood that is
setting in a strong, full current towards the schoolroom. I then catch the first street-car and hasten to
the rooms of the 'Northwestern Sanitary Commission.'
"Early as is my arrival, a dray is already ahead of
me, unloading its big boxes and little boxes, its barrels and firkins, its baskets and bundles. The sidewalk is barricaded with the nondescript and multiform packages, which John, the faithful porter, with
his inseparable truck, is endeavoring to stow away
in the crowded 'receiving-ropm.' Here, hammers
and hatchets, wedges and chisels are in requisition,
compelling the crammed boxes to disgorge their
heterogeneous contents, which are rapidly assorted,
stamped, repacked, and reshipped, their stay in the
room rarely exceeding a few hours.
"I enter the office. Ladies are in waiting, desirous
of information.  The aid society in another state,
of which they are officers, has raised at a Fourth of
July festival some six hundred dollars, and they wish
to know how to dispose of it, so as to afford the
greatest amount of relief to the sick and wounded of
our army. They were also instructed to investigate
the means and methods of the Commission, so as to
carry conviction to a few obstinate skeptics, who
persist in doubting if the Sanitary Commission, after
all, be the best means of communication with the
hospitals. Patiently and courteously the history,
methods, means, views, and successes of the Commission are lucidly explained for the hundredth time
in a month, and all needed advice and instruction
imparted; and the enlightened women leave.




A BUDGET OF LETTERS.


165


"An express messenger enters.   He presents a
package, obtains his fee, gets a receipt for the package, and without a word departs.
" Next comes a budget of letters - the morning's
mail. One announces the shipment of a box of hospital stores which will arrive to-day. Another scolds
roundly because an important letter sent a week ago
has not been answered, while a copy of the answer
in the copying-book is indisputable proof that it has
received attention, but has in some way miscarried.
A third narrates a bugaboo story of surgeons and
nurses in a distant hospital, with gluttonous habits,
who are mainly occupied in 'seeking what they can
devour' of the hospital delicacies, so that little is
saved for their patients. A fourth pleads passionately that the writer may be sent as a nurse to the
sad, cheerless, most poorly furnished and far-away
hospitals. A fifth is the agonized letter of a mother
and widow, blistered with tears, begging piteously
that the Commission will search out and send to her
tidings of her only son, -
'Scarce more than a boy, with unshaven face,
Who marched away with a star on his breast,'
and has not been heard fiom since the battle of
Grand Gulf. A sixth asks assistance in organizing
the women of a distant town, who have just awaked
to their duty to their brothers in the field. A seventh
is a letter from two nine-year-old girls, who have
between them earned five dollars, and wish to spend
it for 'the poor sick soldiers.' God bless the dear
children! An eighth begs that one of the ladies of
the Commission will visit the aid society of the town
in which the writer lives, and rekindle the flagging
zeal of the tired workers. They propose to cease work




166


A BEREAVED AGED FATHER.


during the hot weather, forgetting that our brave
men halt not on their marches, and postpone not
their battles, because of the heat or of weariness. A
ninth announces the death of one of our heroic
nuli.sis, who was sent by the Commission a few
months ago to Tennessee -a serious, comely girl, with
heart as true as steel, and soul on fire with patriotic
desire to do somelthing for her country, and who has
now given her life. And so on through a package
of twenty, thirty, forty, sometimes fifty letters; and
this is but one mail of the day - usually the heaviest,
however.
" Now begins the task of replying to these multitudinous epistles - a work which is interrupted every
five minutes by some new comer. A venerable man
enters, walking slowly, and my heart warms towards
him. I remember my aged father, a thousand miles
away, who is, like him, white-haired and feeble. He
has been here before, and I immediately recognize
him.
"' Have you heard anything yet from my son in
Van Buren Hospital, at Milliken's Bend?'
"'Not yet, sir; you know it is only nine days since
I wrote to inquire for him. I will telegraph if you
think best.'
"'No matter;' and the old man's lip quivers, his
figure trembles violently, a sob chokes him, his eyes
fill with tears, as with a deprecating wave of the
hand he says,' No matter now!'
"I understand it all. It is all over with his boy, and
the cruel tidings have reached him. I rise and offer
my hand. He encloses it convulsively in his, leans
his head against the iron column near my desk, and
his tears drip, drip steadily.




WIIAT AILS THE LITTLE FELLOW?


167


"'Your son has only gone a little before you,' I
venture to say; 'only a hand's breadth of time between you now.'
"'Yes,' adds the poor old father; 'and he gave his
life for a good cause - a cause worthy of it if he had
been a thousand times dearer to me than he was.'
"'And your boy's mother - how does she bear this
grief?'
"The tears rain down his cheeks now.
"' It will kill her; she is very feeble.'
"What shall assuage the sorrow of these aged parents, bereft of the son of their old age by the cruel
war that slavery has invoked? Sympathy and comfort are proffered the poor father, and after a little
the sorrowing man turns again to his desolate home.
"A childish figure drags itself into the room, shuffles heavily along, drops into a chair, and offers a
letter. What ails the little fellow, whose face is
bright and beautiful, and yet is shaded by sadness?
I open the letter and read. He is a messenger-boy
from Admiral Porter's gunboats, who is sent North
with the request that the child be properly cared for.
Not thirteen years old, and yet he has been in many
battles, and has run the gauntlet of the Vicksburg
batteries, which for ten miles belched forth red-hot
and steel-pointed shot and shell, in fruitless efforts
to sink the invulnerable ironclads. Fever, too much
medicine, neglect, and exposure, have done their
worst for the little fellow, who has come:N'orth, homeless and friendless, with the right side paralyzed.
He is taken to the exquisite tenderness of the
' Soldiers' Home,' and for the present is consigned to the motherly care of the good ladies
who preside there.




All THAT WHITE, ANXIOUS FACE I


" Who ntext? A bevy of nurses enter with carpetbargs, shawls, and hbldl.Cs-  A tgram    from  the
Collniission llas summoned them, for the hospitals at
AlMemllphis lneed them,:and straightway they have
girded themselves to the work. One is a widow,
whose lusband fell at Shiloh; another is the wife of
a lifeutenant at Vicksburg; a third lost her brother
at Cllanecellolrsville; a fourth has no family ties,
1and tlhere is no one to miss her while absent, or to,loul'n her if she levler retu'rns.  They receive their
illnl'tlltiollsl, ('Onllllmssiolls, and transportation, and
huriz' olnward. (od(;( guide you, birave, noble women!.Ah! tliat wlhitc, anxious face, whiter than ever, is
aLalin fiamed in the doorway. Is there no possible
e(cape tfrom it?  One, two, three, four days she has
lhauntel  te os:  oollms, waitingr the answer to the telegIr'aIn dlspatch('l' to Gettysburg, where her son was
woundedlt1 ten dlays ago. The answer to the telegram
is t)lis Illolllt in 1m1v ocket - how shall I repeat its
sterln mIcssage to, tlhe wvhite-faced, sorrow-stricken
motlher?  I mll \luntaril leave my desk, and bustle
anlut, a n if in,sarch of solmething,, tiving to think
w},ow t(- br)Ieak the ncws. I am spared the effort, for
tht i. morningr papers have announced her bereaveiicent, and:-he has,only come to secure the help of
the Conlllmi —l  ill (,taiinl IP(,.slssion of her dead.
Th( reI arc no teaI'- no Avwords o( f 'rlief; only a still
aronl, a.  re '1(ressed anllfui-h. which it is painful to
^ltlle —  r1. F'retnan accomI)panies her to the rail1(,lad oticala. where his Iplading sto!r  wins the
charlity,ft a; fi're Iass for the lor woman to the
' nilitary liie.'  There -he must win her way,
ai(ldd 1,\ tle letters of endor-ement and recommendation we gi-e her. Bowiing under her great sorrow,




THE DAY IS CROWDED WITH WORK


169


she goes forth on her sacred pilgrimage. Alas I
how many thousand mothers have been bereft at
Vicksburg and Gettysburg, refusing to be comforted,
because their children are not
"Soldiers from the city hospitals visit us, to beg a
shirt, a pair of slippers, a comb, or a well-filled pincushion, 'something interesting to read,' or 'paper,
envelopes, and stamps,' to answer letters from wives,
mothers, and sweethearts. They tarry to talk over
their trials, sufferings, and privations, and their anxiety to get well and join their regiments,' which is
better than being cooped up in a hospital, even when
it is a good one.' They are praised heartily, petted
in motherly fashion as if they were children, which
most sick men become, urged to come again, and
sent back altogether lighter-hearted than when they
came.
"And so the day wears away. More loaded drays
drive to the door with barrels of crackers, ale,
pickles, sauer-kraut, and potatoes, with boxes of
shirts, drawers, condensed milk and beef, with bales
of cotton and flannel for the sewing-room, all of
which are speedily disposed of, to make room for the
arrivals of the morrow. Men and women come and
go - to visit, to make inquiries, to ask favors, to
offer services, to criticise and find fault, to bring
news from the hospitals at Vicksburg, Memphis,
Murfreesboro' and Nashville, to make inquiries for
missing men through the 'Hospital Directory' of
the Commission, to make donations of money,
always needed, to retail their sorrows, and sometimes
to idle away an hour in the midst of the hurrying,
writing, copying, mailing, packing and shipping of
this busy place.
11




170


A SUBURB OF HEAVEN.


"'The sun declines westward, its fervent heat is
abating, and the hands of the clock point to the hour
of six, and sometimes to seven. Wearied in body,
exhausted mentally, and saturated with the passing
streams of others' sorrows, I select the letters which
must be answered by to-morrow morning's mail,
replies to which have been delayed by the interruptions of the day, and again hail the street-car, which
takes me to my home.     Its pleasant order and
quiet, its welcome rest, its cheerful companionship,
its gayety, which comes from the prattle and merriment of children, who have a thousand adventures
to narrate,-all seem strange and unnatural after the
experiences of the day. It is as if I had left the
world for a time, to refresh myself in a suburb of
heavenl. And only by a mental effort do I shut out
the scenes I have left, and drop back for a time
into my normal life-the life of a wife, mother,
and housekeeper. I try to forget the narratives of
gunshot wounds, sabre strokes, battle and death,
that have rained on me all day. This hour with my
husband and children shall not be saddened by
sketches of the suffering men and women who have
defiled before my vision during the hours of daylight. There is a bright side even to these dark
pictures; and there comes to me like a tonic the
grand solace of the poet:
"' Above, or underneath,
What matters, brothers, if we keep our post
At tnlth's and duty's side! As sword to sheath,
Dust turns to grave - but souls find place in Heaven I '




CHAPTER VI.
A CAMPAIGN PLANNED BY A WOMAN-DESPERATE BATTLES
-TERRIBLE SCENES ON THE BATTLE-FIELD-TERRIFIC
FIGHTING AND APPALLING SUFFERING -THE AGONIES
OF WAR.
General McClellan supersedes General Scott-Missouri becomes the Field
of Battle - General Grant wins a Victory at Belmont - Fleet of "Ironclads" for Service on Southern Rivers - The " Tennessee Campaign"
planned by Anna Ella Carroll, of Maryland - Plan adopted by President
Lincoln and Secretary Stanton - Carried out by General Grant- The
"Court of Claims," in 1885, decides in her Favor-Fort I-enry on the
Tennessee captured by Gunboats —They fall to take Fort Donelson on
the Cumberland - General Grant attacks by Land - The Fort surrenders, after three Days' Fighting - "Unconditional Surrender Grant!" -
Joy of the Northwest- Frightful Suffering of the Wounded - Many
frozen to Death on both Sides - The People move to succor the
Wounded —Immense Quantities of Supplies forwarded-Seven thousand Prisoners sent to Camp Douglas - Five hundred die
FTER       the   battle  of Bull Run       had been
fought and     lost, there was a      lull in  the
storm  of war on the Atlantic Coast.         "All
is quiet on the Potomac! " was daily bulletined   from  the army for months, until the
people   became    depressed    and    exasperated.
They could not understand the strange inactivity of
the land forces, nor the timidity and weakness of the
government.
In November, 1861, Major-General Scott, weighted
with age and infirmities, resigned his position, and
young General McClellan was installed in his place
as commander-in-chief of the army. The heart of
171




172


WAR IN MISSOURI.


the nation went out to him in trust and affection, and
it bent its ear southward, to catch the first sound of
the forward movement of the mighty host under his
leadership. The government had now in its service
for thel suppression of the rebellion six hundred and
eighty-two tlhousand soldiers and sailors, and a larger
foree was at its disposal whenever it was demanded.
Blt the mild weeks of the autumn dragged away,
now;11nd t1 ll'h  a fi(erce storm )lresaged the coming
wilnter; and(t yet the idrear'y bulletin was daily repeated,
"All is qIliet on the Potomacl"
In the lit mantiIme all eyes were turned to the WVest,
for Mi.ssolulli 1had )cc)ome the great field of battle.
Ge ltnerl Frl'elmlont had returned from Europe in June
wltlh aIlrIms tfIr tihe g,(vernlment, an(l had been assigned
th tl Dt)epartment o(t the A\est.  He reached St.
Loinsl in.JtI\, an(l took command. Before he had had
time to a:Icullaint himself witl the condition of affairs,
to,organize t anl army, ()r decide on a plan of action, the
battle,of \Nil,ii's Creek,C11urrelCd, in which General
Lv,, w\as;klled, and a lar'1.ce portion of Missouri was
left in the ha:n(ls of the -ebels. Then came the battle
of I(xLxmrton, in which( the enemy was again victori-,ou.. an;d 5Missouri was now the scene of widespread
(vastltlio  adtl(l blood. Small blodlcs of troops kept
the fieldl, and there were incessant skirmishes and
colmbat-s.  teCliote town\is were oc(cupied alternately
bv tlhe Unionis( ts and tlhe encinv. Railroads and
lilzges were dt.stred, houtses and 1)arns fired,
fili.isi s.( attere1, neiTihbo'rhoolds desolated, and
111turders were o(f con-tat occu'rr'ence.
Later, l   N1 ovemern expedition was sent from
Cairo, under (Ten(ral Grant, to break up a camp of
the enemy in Belmont. It was not only done, but




THE PLAN OF CAMPAIGN IS CHANGED.


173


more was accomplished than was proposed, which
toned up the troops engaged in the fight to great
confidence and fortitude. Almost simultaneously
with the battle of Belmont, Major-General Halleck
superseded Fremont.
During the first two years of the war, the naval
forces took a very prominent part in all Western
operations. The blockade of the Mississippi and the
breaking out of hostilities had thrown large numbers
of the river steamers out of occupation. When these
were sheathed with iron, they could defy the heaviest
artillery of the enemy; and, as they were of light
draught, they could steam up shallow streams into
the interior of the country, and make their way in
rivers at the lowest stage of water. When these
"ironclads" carried heavy guns, as most of them
did, they were especially dreaded by the enemy.
Early in the year 1862 a fleet of these dreaded
ironclads moved down the Southern rivers, and
began the long-talked-of advance into the Confederate States. No decisive blow had yet been struck at
the rebellion, but there seemed now to be a purpose to
wrest the valley of the Mississippi from the control of
the enemy. It was seen that the strategic key of the
war of the Southwest was not the Mississippi, but the
Tennessee. It was determined to break the line of
defences along the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers
by taking Forts Henry and Donelson, both of theIl
strong fortifications. Fort Henry was on the Tennessee and Fort Donelson on the Cumberland, only
twelve miles apart, in Tennessee, near the state line.
This change of plan-which transferred the national
armies from Cairo and Northern Kentucky to a new
base, in Northern Mississippi and Alabama, and which




174   ANNA ELLA CARROLL MADE THE PLAN.
made the fall of the Confederacy inevitable - has a
remarkable history. It was planned by a woman,
Anna Ella Carroll, of Maryland, a descendant of
Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, of Revolutionary times,
and whose father was governor of the state in 1829.
Belonging to one of the first families of the country,
of brilliant intellect, and intensely loyal to the Union,
she comprehended state and military questions with
wonderful clearness. She wrote and published papers and pamphlets on some of the debated important
topics of the time, that attracted the attention of leading members of Congress, and made her one of the
advisers of President Lincoln. She was admitted to
his presence at all times, and " he reserved a special
file for her communications."
By advice of the War Department she went to St.
Louis in the fall of 1861, and there studied and
planned the Tennessee campaign, which was adopted
by the administration, and carried out by General
Grant. By this campaign the Confederacy was cut
in twain, the Mississippi was opened to Young's
Point, opposite Vicksburg, European intervention
with the United States was averted, the national
credit was revived, the heart of the country strengthened, and its drooping courage toned up to firm
resolution.
Not only did President Lincoln acknowledge Miss
Carroll to be the author of the plan of the Tennessee
campaign, but Secretary Stanton gave her the same
credit. So also did Hon. Henry Wilson, Chairman
of the Senate Military Committee of the FortySecond Congress, in a report on the memorial of
Miss Carroll, asking for compensation for her services, as she had become an invalid and was in want.




COURT OF CLAIMS DECIDES IN HER FAVOR.


Hon. B. F. Wade, Chairman of the Committee on
the Conduct of the War, was most emphatic in testifying to Miss Carroll's authorship of the plan of
the campaign, as was Hon. L. D. Evans, of the
Supreme Court of Texas. Their letters and statements have been published again and again, and
have now passed into history.
At last the Court of Claims, which decides all cases
on their merits, has, after careful consideratiol, decided in her favor. It has " substantiated the claim
to recompense she long ago made before Congress
for services performed during the civil war." That
she has been obliged to wait until the present time
for recognition is pitiful. But the delay has arisen
fiom two formidable obstacles, as was stated before
the Court of Claims: first, the unfavorable attitude
of the military mind towards what emanates from
outside circles; and, secondly, the fact that the
claimant is a woman  a fact for which she is not
responsible -has operated against her through all
these years in a powerful manner.
In pursuance of this plan of the Tennessee campaign, Fort Henry was first attacked. Commodore
Foote, with seven gunboats, engaged the batteries
on the river fiont; and before General Grant had
arrived with his troops fiom Cairo, the main force
of the enemy retreated to Fort Donelson, and the
remainder surrendered.
Fort Donelson was next attacked, lying nearly
opposite Fort Henry, a stronger and more important
position, garrisoned by twenty-one thousand troops.
General Grant moved his forces across the country,
and invested the place, while waiting for Commodore
Foote with his gunboats, which were to engage the




176


FORT DONELSON SURRENDERS.


river batteries, as at Fort Henry. The three days of
the fight, the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth of
February, were days of intense anxiety in the West,
especially in Chicago. It was known that the attack
by water, which had been so easily successful at
Fort Henry, had failed at Donelson through the disabling of Commodore Foote's gunboats; and the
heart of the Northwest was sick with forebodings
of failure.
When, therefore, on Sunday, the sixteenth, the telegraph flashed to the nation the news of Grant's victory, - that nearly fifteen thousand troops, sixty-five
guns, some of them of the largest calibre, and seventeen thousand six hundred small arms, had fallen into
the hands of the victor,- the delight of the West was
boundless. " The whole of Kentucky and Tennessee
fell at once into the hands of the national forces.
The Tennessee and Cumberland rivers were opened
to national vessels for hundreds of miles. Nashville,
the capital of Tennessee, and a place of immense
strategic importance, fell. And the Mississippi was
left free of the rebel flag from St. Louis to Arkansas."
All this was the legitimate result of the capture of
Fort Donelson.   It was a great victory, and the
first of any importance since the beginning of the
war. Great as were its military results, its happy
effect on the spirits of the soldiers and the people
was even greater.
No one of the later or larger victories of the war,
not even the fall of Richmond, awoke the enthusiastic
delight of the Northwest like the fall of Fort Donelson. Bells rang; cannon thundered the general joy;
bands perambulated the streets of the cities, playing
the national airs, deafening cheers often drowning




UNIVERSAL REJOICING.


177


their music; flags were flung out from almost every
house, and where there was any reluctance to give
this manifestation of loyal delight, from sympathy
with secession, the overjoyed people took possession
and compelled the display of the national colors.
Many a disloyal wretch who had assisted to plot the
rebellion, and had contributed money and arms to
the enemy, was compelled to enter his house under
the flag of the stars and stripes, which he had been
forced to purchase. Men rushed from their stores,
offices, counting-rooms, shops, and work-benches, to
congratulate one another. They met on the streets
and threw their hats in air, embraced one another,
wept, and shouted.
The public schools of Chicago had each purchased
a flag by joint subscription, and a flagstaff had been
planted on the roof of every one of the handsome
brick schoolhouses for just such occasions as this.
So the boys ran up their flags amid immense cheering,
and, under the direction of the teachers, the day was
given up to patriotic dissipation. National songs
were sung, patriotic scraps of speeches found in the
reading-books were recited, and the location and importance of Fort Donelson were explained to the
young people. When the hour of dismissal came,
they added to the joyful confusion of the streets by
shooting out of the schoolhouses like bombs from
mortars, with shrill and prolonged hurrahs leaping
from their lips as they rushed through every part of
the city. Night came, and the' people crowded the
churches to return thanks to God. Meetings were
held to raise funds for the relief of the wounded.
The streets blazed with bonfires, and the glare of the
flames was like that of a great conflagration. Nor




APPALLING SUFFERING.


did the rejoicings cease until physical exhaustion
compelled an end of them.
With the news of the victory the telegraph flashed
the terrible needs of the wounded men. During the
first day of the fight a cold, heavy rain fell ceaselessly, converting the roads into rivers of mud,
through which the troops painfully toiled. During
the night the rain changed to sleet and snow, and
the wind blew in fierce, wintry gusts, the weather
became intensely cold, and the thermometer dropped
to zero. Our brave fellows were mostly young, and
not yet inured to the hardships of war. With the
improvidence of inexperience, they had thrown away
their blankets on the march, and had only the insufficient rations they had brought in their haversacks, of
which they had been very careless.  They had no
tents; were obliged to bivouac in line of battle, lying
on their arms; and as the rebel pickets were out in
strong force, no fires could be kindled, as their position would be revealed.
The enemy were in much worse plight, as, in
addition to their foodless, fireless and tentless condition, they were poorly clad. All through the long
winter night both armies were pelted by the driving,
pitiless snow and hail. Many of the soldiers on both
sides were frozen to death before morning. "An
incessant firing was kept up by the pickets; and the
groans of the wounded, who lay shivering between
the two armies, calling for help and water, were heard
all through the night." Meantime the muffled sounds
that came from the front during the pauses of the
storm told them that the enemy were receiving heavy
re-enforcements. The next two days were equally
bleak and cold; and the men bivouacked each night




A DESPERATE BATTLEO


179


on their arms, in the snow, and on the frozen ground.
In the morning they were roused from their icy
couches, and stumbled stiff and shivering into their
places in the ranks.
The very topography of the battle-field added to
the miseries of the fight. It was made up of hills and
valleys, stretched across ravines and broken ground,
and extended through dense forests. Every commanding height bristled with cannon, constantly
sending shot and shell among our men massed below.
Every position of the enemy on the precipitous
heights was carried by storm. Our brave men, in
regiments, swept up the steep sides of the hills, in the
face of sheets of fire, and amid tempests of balls.
The gaps in their ascending ranks were instantly
closed, and, stepping over the dead and wounded,
they pressed resistlessly on, silent as death, reserving
their fire till they reached the crest of the heights.
Then, with exultant shouts, they poured in their volleys of shot, and flung themselves like an avalanche
on the enemy, driving them at the point of the bayonet. All through the three days of the struggle,
the roar of the contending hosts was like that of a
tornado, as they surged back and forth through the
forest, strewing it with dead and wounded.
But few of the wounded could be removed from
the field while the fight lasted.  There they lay,
some two and three nights and days, uncared for,
many freezing to death.  Hundreds who fell in
the beginning of the battle, when the ground was
soft and muddy, were frozen into the earth; and
it was necessary to cut them out of the ground,
when attention could be given them, and in this
deplorable plight they were taken to the extemporized




180


ROYAL GENEROSITY.


and unready hospitals. Their removal was horrible
torture; for there were few ambulances, and the
wagons and carts impressed into the service were of
the rudest construction, and generally lacked springs.
In these the poor fellows were jolted and pitched
down the precipitous heights, where they had lain
for two or three days and nights, encased in bloody
and frozen uniforms. Any convenient shed, barn,
house, or church received them. They were laid on
the bare floor, their wounds undressed, their frozen
clothing unchanged, faint from loss of blood and extreme bodily anguish, and hundreds died miserably
before relief came to them.
The surgeons of the government were few in number, and its medical supplies utterly inadequate to
the occasion. But the people moved to the succor of
the wounded, with a royal generosity. The Chicago
Board of Trade immediately raised three thousand
dollars, needed supplies were purchased, and a committee of citizens started for the scene of suffering.
Seventeen physicians were sent down on the first
train that left Chicago after the fall of Donelson was
known. The Chicago Sanitary Commission had been
sending supplies to its depot in Cairo for weeks, at
the rate of a thousand dollars' worth daily, and it
continued to do this for weeks afterward.  These
were drawn upon ad libitum for the occasion.
Floating hospitals, or "Hospital Steamers," as they
were called, which after this were always in the
near neighborhood of the gunboats as they advanced
down the Southern rivers, were rapidly fitted up and
loaded with supplies by the Chicago and St. Louis
Commissions, and sent on their errands of mercy.
Merchants, lawyers, clergymen, women, -ten times




" UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER" GRANT.


181


as many as were needed,- volunteered as nurses.
Spontaneous contributions of sheets, pillows, shirts,
lint, bandages, jellies, canned fruits, and other stores
of the housewife, were poured into the recently
opened rooms of the Commission in magnificent
abundance. There was but one heart in the community, an eager and determined purpose to alleviate
the sufferings of the heroes of Donelson. Every day's
fuller report of their bravery and indescribable endurance only intensified the compassion and gratitude
of the great Northwest, - not then as rich and powerful as nowv,-and there was no withholding anywhere.
The elation of the country was boundless. After
so many delays and defeats, this victory cheered the
nation and inspired the army. General Grant had
won national fame. His memorable answer to General Buckner, the rebel commander, who proposed
" the appointment of commissioners to settle terms of
capitulation," gave him the hearts of his countrymen.
" No terms except immediate and unconditional surrender can be accepted. I propose to move immediately on your works." The speech and the deed, of
the not yet recognized leader, were indications of
character. The enthusiasm of the Western army was
enkindled. They dubbed their commander "Unconditional Surrender Grant," declaring this to be the
name indicated by the initials " U. S."
There was a great lack of hospital clothing, and
one of the largest halls of Chicago was loaned to the
women for its manufacture. To this hall they flocked
in such numbers, that it was necessary to apportion
the days of the week to the various districts of the
city, so as to accommodate all the willing workers.




182 "YOU-UNS GOT BETTER GRUB THAN WE-UNS.'"
Every sewing-machine office in the city put its rooms,
machines and operators to the same service, to the
entire suspension of its own business. Never was
clothing manufactured more rapidly; for the machines were run into the small hours of the morning, and there was no slacking of effort while the
urgent demand lasted. It was the same all over the
West. The facts of the desperate battle, the severe
exposure of the wounded, the incomplete preparations for their removal and care, the great destitution
of surgeons, instruments, supplies, of everything,
that was needed, - as these became known to the
people, their patriotic generosity was stimulated to
fever heat.
Seven thousand of the enemy taken at Fort Donelson were sent to Chicago as prisoners of war, and
were given accommodations at Camp Douglas. They
were quartered in the same barracks, and were furnished with the same rations, both as to quality and
quantity, as were accorded our own troops that had
occupied the camp a few months before. It was
amusing, as well as pathetic, to listen to their openly
expressed satisfaction.  "You-uns got better grub
than we-uns down South; better barracks, too." A
more motley looking crowd was never seen in Chicago. They were mostly un-uniformed, and shivering with cold, wrapped in tattered bedquilts,
pieces of old carpets, hearth rugs, horse blankets,
ragged shawls,- anything that would serve to keep
out the cold and hide their tatterdemalion condition.
They had evidently suffered severely in the terrible
three days' fight at Donelson, not only from the arctic weather, but from insufficient food and clothing.
If their own pitiful stories were true, they had failed




GAVE UP THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE.


1eS3


to receive good care fromn the time they entered the
Confederate service. They seemed a poorly nourished and uncared-for company of meni, and their
hopeless and indescribable ignorance intensified their
general forlornness. Despite go)odl medical attendance in camp and hospital, and notwithstandi(   the
sick lacked for nothing in the matte' of nursing and
sick-diet- -so well managed was tlhe hospital, and so
constant the ministrations of the women of Chicag omore than five hundred of them died at Campn Douoglas before they were exchancged. It was pitiful to
see how easily they gave up all strugglc for lifte, and
how readily they adjusted themselves to the ilevitable.  Not less uncomplainingly than the camel,
which silently succumbs to) the heavv laed, (lid thlese
ignorant, unfed and unclad fello)ws turn thelir fhces
to the wall, and breathe out their lives, without a
regret, or a murmur.




CHAPTER VI.
AFTER THE BATTLE - MY FIRST EXPERIENCE IN A MILITARY
HO.SI'ITAL- \ IDEATIILY FAINTNESS COMES OVER MENERVING M.YSELF FOR TIIE WORK-TOUCHING SCENES.
Mrs. Ilog.L and myself visit the Iospitals of St. Louis-Our first Experience - Boisterollsnlss of now Recruits - The grim Silence of Men
w(ho had ",been under Fire" - Our remarkable Ilostess - Conspicuous
and unflinching I,oNyalty - 1er " Hospital Kitchen" and "Hospital
WV;ioEn "-"  El leven I undred Soldicers' Letters! " —The Donelson Wards
- Their,i,-kening )dor and ghastly sights- Ilorrible Mutilation of the
iMen —A deathly Faintllnes came over nme-The Wounded and Dead
rolbel on the Field of Battle -Plucky Fellow- "They couldn't be
botheriln with us" - ' ifraid to die!" - ".Send for a Methodist MAinister! - Thl Magi;i   of Sonl-'Tlle mental Conflict of the Night that
followed -  t Louis sitting in d4loom - Sad Wedding in the Hospital -
I ).th of t1l Blridltgrooin.
)iILE      the demand for "battle         supplies"
3ii clntlnuedt, 5Mrs. IIoge  my co-worker
VO;andm  m  sl lf; assisted in collecting, purchasing,  cutting. making, and packing what7'             Nevel' wa.s in  (ldmand.  But it  became
j lvidl(l.    th:t  thet tide of war: was setting towards
othj( ' llage )battl(es; and, as soon as there was a lull in
thhe dt( anidl oI;,1':anitarv stolres, IMr. Ho^re and myself
we\,', senlt to tlhe' hospitals anId to medical headquartte's at tlie front, witli instructions to obtain         any
pos-iible intorlmatio, n that would lead to better preparation for the wo(unded of another great battle.
The   great,prolortion      A,' the  wounded     of Fort
184




VISIT TO ST. LOUIS HOSPITALS.


185


Donelson had been taken to the excellent general
hospitals established at St. Louis, and our first visit
was to this city. We stopped at Springfield, Ill., en
route, to obtain the endorsement of Governor Yates,
and letters of recommendation fiom him.  They
were heartily given. From Chicago to Springfield,
we went in company with recently formed regiments
of soldiers, who, with the boisterous enthusiasm that
always characterized the newly enlisted, made the
night hideous with their shouts and songs.  We
soon learned that we could easily distinguish soldiers
who had "been under fire" from the new recruits.
Boatloads of the former would steam past us, going
up or down the Mississippi, in a grim silence that
was most oppressive; while men fresh from their
first camp would deafen us with their throat-splitting
yells and shouts. The former had had experience of
war; and the first rollicking enthusiasm of ignorance
had given place to a grimness of manner that impressed one with a sense of desperate purpose.
During our stay in St. Louis, we were the invited
guests of one of the few wealthy families of the city
which had remained loyal. The mistress of the
household was a New England woman, whose ancestors had borne an honorable part in the war of the
Revolution. Her husband, who had died just before
the outbreak of the rebellion, was allied by blood and
friendship with the foremost leaders of the Southern
Confederacy, and was himself, during his life, a
slaveholder, a stout defender of slavery, and intensely
Southern in his feelings. At his death, his widow
manumitted all the slaves bequeathed her, and
then hired them all at fair wages. Eight of them
were connected with the household in some capacity,
12




186


OUR REMARKABLE HOSTESS.


and held their mistress in idolatrous estimation.
The noble woman hesitated not an instant as to her
line of conduct, when the rebellion was inaugurated.
She clung to the loyal party of the state of Missouri,
with a Roman firmness, and an uncompromising
fidelity that never wavered.
Those of her children who had grown to manhood
and womanhood sided with the South, as the younger
ones would have done but for her all-compelling
will, that held them true to their country. She overbore the purpose of the older sons to enter the Confederate army, and persuaded them to go to the
south of Europe with a delicate sister, in quest of
her health. Two of her children, a son and daughter, never returned, but died before the war ended,
as inuch fiom chagrin and disappointment at the
failure of the South, and grief over the death of
kindred lost in the war, as from  disease.  The
younger sons, who were terribly demoralized by the
disloyal and defiant atmosphere of St. Louis, were
sent to New England, to school and to college.
Then, with one loyal daughter, she gave herself, her
wealth, her elegant home, her skilled and trained
servants, her influence, her speech, all that she was
or had, unreservedly to the service of the country.
That household was representative of many in the
border states.
Some three of the wounded officers of Fort Donelson, one of whom had lost an arm, another a leg,
and the third had a broken shoulder, and had been
shot through the lungs, were taken to her stately
home, where they were nursed as tenderly as if they
had been her sons. There we found them in her
charge, a hired, trained nurse being installed over




HER WORK IN THE HOSPITALS.


187


them, and her own family physician entrusted with
the duty of restoring them to health. Her whole
time and labor were given to the hospitals.
In her house, a kitchen had been fitted up expressly for the preparation of such delicate articles
of sick-food as were not at that time easily cooked in
the hospitals. It was called the " hospital kitchen,"
and her best cook was installed in it, with such assistants as she required. A light covered wagon,
called by the coachman the "hospital wagon," was
fitted up expressly for the transportation of these
delicacies to the wards or invalids for whom they
were designed. More than half the day was given
by Mrs.   - to visiting the hospitals, to which her
social position, her wealth, and her noted loyalty,
always gave her admission, even under the most
stringent medical administration.  The evenings
were devoted to writing letters for the soldiers, from
memoranda she had gathered during the lay - and
into this work she impressed all who were under
her roof. Mrs. Hoge and myself took our share of
it every evening during our stav with her. Over
eleven hundred letters for soldiers were written in
this house in one year alone.
In company with this lady I made my first visit to
a military hospital. We drove to the "Fifth Street
Hospital," and passed directly into a ward of the
wounded fiom Fort Donelson. The sickening odor
of blood and healing wounds almost overpowered
me. In the nearest bed lay a young man whose
entire lower jaw had been shot away, and his tongue
cut off. A surgeon came to dress the poor fellow's
wounds, and I was directed to render hin  what
assistance he required. The process of healing had




188  A DEATHLY FAINTNESS CAME OVER ME.
drawn down the upper part of the face, so that when
the ghastly wound was concealed by plasters and
bandages, the exposed portion of the face was sadly
distorted. But when the bandages were removed by
the surgeon for examination of the wound, its horrible nature became apparent. A deathly faintness
came over me, and I was hurried from the ward to
the outer air for recovery.
Three times I returned, and each time some new
horror smote my vision, some more sickening odor
nauseated me, and I was led out fainting. The horrors of that long ward, containing over eighty of the
most fearfully wounded men, were worse than anything I had imagined; but not worse than scenes in
which I afterwards spent weeks and weeks without
a tremor of the nerves or a flutter of the pulse. This
was my first experience.
"A great many people cannot stay in hospitals,
or render any service in them, they are so affected
by the sights and smells," said the surgeon. "I
would not try to do anything here were I in your
place."
But was I to shrink from the sight of misery
which these brave men were so nobly enduring?
The thought was a tonic, and despising my weakness, I forced myself to remain in the ward without
nausea or faintness. Never again were my nerves
disturbed by any sight or sound of horror. I was
careful to hold myself in iron control, until I had
become habituated to the manifold shocking sights
that are the outcome of the wicked business men call
war.
In the second bed, a mere boy, a rebel prisoner, was
dying. Both mutilated legs had been amputated




"THEY COULDN'T BE BOTHERING WITH US I" 189
above the knee, inflammation and fever had set in,
the brain had become involved, and he was wild with
deliriuml-singing, gesticulating, and babbling. Occasional paroxysms of fear seized him, when his
shrieks would resound through the ward, and but for
the attendants he would have leaped from the bed,
struggling and wrestling with some phantom of his
diseased brain, calling piteously all the while,
"Mother! Mother! Mother! "
Another form of horror occupied a bed adjoining.
He was one of the wounded who had fallen in the
first of the battle, sinking into the mud, into which
he was afterwards fiozen, and from which he could
not extricate himself. He had been cut out from the
congealed earth; but his feet had been so badly
frozen as to render anl)utation necessary. The flesh
in places had sloughed off his frozen back and thighs,
and his lower limbs were paralyzed.
"How long were you left on the field'?" I inquired.
"Two days and nights," was the answer.
"If you had been a rebel you could not have been
used worse " I replied, with indignation; for the
dire necessities of war were then new to me. " Who
was to blame for such neglect?"
"Oh, they couldn't be bothering with us," said the
patient sufferer; " they had to take the fort, and we
didn't expect anybody to stop to see after us, till that
was done."
" Did you think of that while you lay there freezing those long nights?"
"Of course!" was his nonchalant answer. " We
knew we should be taken care of as soon as the fort
surrendered. We were as anxious for that -we
who were wounded-as were the troops who were




190


ROBBING THE WOUNDED.


fighting. We fellows on the ground all cheered, I
tell you, when the fort showed the white flag, and
we knew the rebs had surrendered. I had dropped
into a drowse, when I heard the boys cheering
enough to stun you. I couldn't cheer myself, for I
was most gone. I guess I shouldn't have held out
much longer. But Jerry, over in that bed," nodding
across to a bed opposite, "his left arm was gone, and
his right hand shot away; but he threw up his right
stump of an arm, and hurrahed enough to split his
throat." He gave this account feebly and disconnectedly - and not rapidly and coherently, as I have
written it. He was yet in a low condition; but the
surgeon thought he would ultimately recover, maimed
as he was.
As the tide of battle flowed and ebbed around the
fort during the three days' conflict, our wounded men
on the field were sometimes brought within the lines
of the enemy, by the surging back and forth of the
combatants. They were well clad, and had money;
for they had been paid only a few days before. The
rebels were very insufficiently clothed; and, when
the opportunity offered, they rifled the pockets of
our helpless fellows, robbed them of their watches,
and stripped them of any clothing they coveted.
Wounded though they were, our men, in some
instances, fought like tigers against this robbery,
two or three lying together uniting against the rebel
thief. They were overpowered by the robbers; and
some who resisted were clubbed to death with their
own muskets, and others were pinned to the earth
with their own bayonets.  Incredible as it seems,
some of these latter were in this ward of the badly
wounded, and in every instance were recovering.




"I AM AFRAID TO DIE"I


191


"Well, boys," I said to some of them, "you got
more than you bargained for this time. Don't you
wish you had remained at home?"
" Not a bit of it!" was the plucky answer. " We
enlisted as folks marry, for better or worse; and if
it's for the worse, we oughtn't complain."
I had nearly completed the tour of this ward, making memoranda for letters which the men desired
written, or of some want to be gratified or some
errand done, - every bed being occupied by a very
severely wounded man, - when I halted beside one
on whose handsome face the unmistakable look of
death was settling. He labored painfully for breath,
and large drops of perspiration stood out on his forehead.
"You are suffering a great deal," I said.
"Oh, yes oh, yes! " he gasped, "I am, I am! but
not in body. I can bear that. I don't mind painI can bear anything - but I can't die! I can't die!"
"But perhaps you may not die. It is not certain
but you may recover. While there is life there is
hope, you know."
"Oh, no, I can't live — I know it - there's no
chance for me. I've got to die —and I can't die!
lamn afraid to die! "
I went to the surgeon, still in the ward, and inquired about the man. The poor fellow was right;
there was no chance for him.  "Ile was horribly
cut up," the surgeon said. One leg had been amputated, the other had suffered two amputations, the
last one taking off the leg between the knee and hip;
the right arm had been broken, a caisson had crushed
the lower left arm, and he had been shot twice
through the abdomen. "There had been no expec



192


PITIFUL MENTAL DISTRESS.


tation of his life when he was first brought in," said
the surgeon; iand it seemed an utterly hopeless
c('se. But he has pulled along from day to day, as
if in defian.ce of leath, and at last there seered a
ghost of a chan(ce 1o;, his recovery; but gangrene
ihas set il, al(d (Idfics medical treatment, and it will be
over with hllil illn a few 11 rs. All you can do is to
help hllil (lie (eas'.  I lrturncd to the poor fellow,
wlhost anxllioxls eyes were following me.
\\alit dloes the doctor say?" he asked. "Oh, I
know I miust d(ie! I can't! I can't! I can't!" And
li( almost sliricked in his mental distress, and trem)le(d so violenltly as to shake the bed.
A"VW   ar1e., o afraid to die?" I inquired. "Tell
'e, 11i  1 p) 1'ol)' bo
~ I ain't lit to die. I have lived an awful life, and
I'n aflraid to die. I sh:ll go to hell."
I dIrew a ciamp-stool to his bedside, and, sitting
dlown, p1ut my ]la~nds on his shoulders, and spoke in
('commadll  tLonls, as to as  excited child: "Stop
screamIingit. l3e quiet. This excitement is shorteningI yVuW life. If you n/must die, die like a man, and
not like a coward. Be still, and listen to me.' And
I plroc.eded( to (combat his fear of death and his sense
of guilt with a.su ranes of C;od's willinglnes to pardon. I t,)ld him ol  f Christ'- 1s-1,sin on tearth, and
atred lhim that h(ve\ 'r l''t'eat had })een his sins
thely w uld be frgiven zll f Go(, s.inc( I lie  penitent,;l,    r1( it  or-rives. Antl I blade him repeat
aft'r ' me the awo,,l-s of a pr)ay.er, which he did witlh
te'arful'l t.eal'rtitness.  I b}acked(( t) nu   as-t'ran(.es by
tIlotationIl. f'roin the Bible and illustrations from the
life,1' Cliris'lt; but I nmade little imlpression on the
(ld  ll'g Ilal.1




MINISTRATIONS OF A METHODIST MINISTER. 193
"Can't you get a Methodist minister? " he asked.
"I used to belong to the Methodist church, but I fell
away. Oh, send for a Methodist minister! "
One of the attendants remembered that the hospital
steward was also a Methodist minister, and hastened
to find him. To him I communicated the particulars
of the case, and besought him to assist in allaying the
anguish of the dying man, which was distressing to
witness. Whatever was done for him must be done
speedily, as he was fast sinking.
The announcement that the steward was a Methodist minister was beneficial to the sufferer. To him
he listened eagerly. "The love of Christ," was the
chaplain's theme.  "He had only to trust in the
Saviour, only to ask for forgiveness, and God, who
was always ready to pardon, would grant his prayer.
Christ had died to save just such conscience-smitten,
stricken, penitent souls as he "- thus ran the chaplain's talk. And then he prayed, earnestly, feelingly,
tenderly -the dying man frequently taking up the
prayer, and joining in it.
"Can't you sing, chaplain?" I inquired. For it
seemed to me the poor fellow, in this last hour
of life, needed soothing more than argument or
entreaty.
Immediately, in a rich, fill, clear tenor, whose
melody floated through the ward, and charmed every
groan and wail into silence, he sang hymn after
hymn, all of them familiar to most of his audience.
"Come, humble sinner, in whose breast
A thousand thoughts revolve;""Love divine, all love excelling,
Joy of heaven, to earth come down;" -




THE MAGIC OF SONG.


"Jesus, lover of my soul,
Let me to thy bosom fly;""My days are gliding swiftly by,
And I, a pilgrim stranger;"all of them hymns so well known to his dying
auditor, that I saw he followed the singer, verse after
verse.  The music affected him     as I had hoped.
The burden rolled from the poor boy's heart, and in
feeble, tender tones he said, " It's all right with me,
chaplain! I will trust in Christ! God will forgive
me! I can die, now "
" Sing on, chaplain!" I suggested, as he was about
to pause, to make reply. "God is sending peace
and light into the troubled soul of this poor boy,
through these divine hymns, and your heavenly
voice. Sing on! Don't stop!"
He continued to sing, but now chose a different
style of hymn and tune, and burst forth into a most
rapturous strain:" Come, sing to me of heaven,
For I'm about to die:
Sing songs of holy ecstasy,
To waft my soul on high.
There'll be no sorrow there,
There'll be no sorrow there,
In heaven above, where all is love,
There'll be no sorrow there."
I looked down the ward, and saw that the wan
faces of the men, contracted with pain, were brightening. I looked at the dying man beside me, and
saw, underneath the deepening pallor of death, an
almost radiant gleam.
With folded hands, and upturned gaze, almost




DRIFTED TO THE IMMORTAL SHORE.


195


entranced with his own music, the chaplain continued
to sing:("When cold, the hand of death
Lies on my marble brow,
Break forth in songs of joyfulness,
Let heaven begin below.
There'll be no sorrow there," etc.
" Then to my raptured ear
Let one sweet song be given;
Let music charm me last on earth,
And greet me first in Heaven.
There'll be no sorrow there," etc.
A second and a third time he repeated the song,
the exultant air suiting well the triumphant words.
Patients, attendants, surgeons, all in the ward, glowed
under the soaring melody, and the dying man's
face grew rapturous. Then the chaplain was summoned away, by a call from his office. It was getting
late in the afternoon, for I had tarried a couple of
hours at this bedside, when my friends came fioom
other wards of the hospital, to say that it was time
to return.
"Don't go    stay!" whispered the fast sinking
man. The words rushed to my memory, " Inasmuch
as ye have done it unto one of the least of tlese, ye
have done it unto me," and I promised to remain
with hin to the end. The end came sooner than
any one thought. Before the sun went down, he
had drifted to the immortal shore. The mutilated,
lifeless corpse was carried to the dreary "deadhouse," and preparations made for burial next day.
I reached   my friend's  house, with    my  nervous system   at its highest tension. I could not
talk, eat, sleep, nor sit. All night I paced my




MEANING OF WAR.


rooml, livingc over and over the experiences of
thet day. And this was only my  'ttrf'e into hospital
Itle alnd work. I was not equal to it-I would
witlhdraw -- I could not live in the midst of the
fagollie's of war. Ald then I remembered that what
I hazd witnessed( in that ward of eighty men, was
but a smatll segmentot of the l)hysical anguish wrought
b1 the blalttl oft Fort Donelson, -that two thousand
of our llmlen we  woun1111,  aill twellty-five hundred
of tlie einemlv, — 1 l(l tllht this battle mnight be multiplie( 1)b hundredls beftore the war ended.
A\lin this;war was but one of countless thousands
wli( }I1 1i(n had( waie(lcd with one another, in which
hltud(I'd Is o(f millions had 1been slain -transfixed
with la i(.s, hewn l  in pie((ces with l)attle-axes, torn in
Ila"'u'ents. with p)1t1 in~ iig shot, or (ldadly canister, or
lienldih(l  1,oi!,, nmowed down with rakling fires of
letaden sleet., engutllfed il the explosion of subterra1Ca11 mines1, impallld on,legleaming bayonets, dying
on tinI fi.ld, of woullls, fever, neglect,  forgotten,
uncarc'(td f;or, a pev to the vultture, and d(evoured by
the jac.kal l and wildl blast. WVhile the mothers who
bon,' tlhese menI,  land tlie wiv.s who loved them,
11i\-d,. sutff1erin'r a prolonged death, finding the
s.w.-tllte.s's (f life changedl to cruel bitterness because,1' tlheil bc'Ieavemtnlt. Nevr\'  before had I attained
"a ({)Ii)'chelVn'ion (,1' w t was meant by that one
wo)l' t  wai'.
Let te11 1a that thls instance which I have narr'attdl. w;'i ti(e n111 (;ae of fear of death I Imet in my
i-it t, tl l,,p)lttal  I often fiound men reluctant
to ldie bljcau'-ue,f fiamilies d(ependent on them-or
bceau-le  if' a lnatural tenacity to life —or because,
as thce' phraltd it, ' t]hey did not wanlt to be mus



GLOOM IN ST. LOUIS.


197


tered out till the end of the war." But this man
was the only one I ever met who was afraid to die.
Over and over again I have listened to public narrations of horrible dying scenes in hospitals and on
battle-fields - but I knew personally of but this one
instance.
We spent some two or three weeks in the different
hospitals of the city, visiting every ward, and communicating with every patient, doing for him whatever we could. I cannot recall a single cheerful or
humorous event connected with the visit. There
was gloom everywhere. St. Louis itself was under
a cloud.  The spirit of rebellion within it was
intimidated, but not subdued.    Business was
depressed, stores were closed, and of its oldtime sociality and hospitableness there was no sign.
The guns of the fortifications were pointed at
the city, holding it to compulsory neutrality, if not
loyalty.
Fifteen thousand troops marched out of Benton
Barracks, the great camp of rendezvous, and fiom
other encampments while we were in St. Louis, and
went down the river, on their way to the front. Many
of them were without muskets, drill, or military experience. Some of the regiments had no surgeon, not
a surgical instrument, nor a particle of medicine with
them, while their officers were fresh from the plough,
the shop, the counting-room, or office, ignorant of
military tactics, knowing nothing of military hygiene
or sanitary laws. In this wholly unprepared condition, these raw, undisciplined soldiers were, in a few
weeks, precipitated into the battle of "Pittsburg
Landing," or " Shiloh "- one of the most desperate,
hotly contested, and sanguinary fights of the whole




198


THE DEAD AND DYING EVERYWHERE.


war, when the two armies, for two days, stood up
and fought, without intrenchments on either side.
Through whole long    streets these regiments
marched, on their way to the boats, with colors flying,
and bands playing, in their first enthusiasm rending
the air with their shouts; and not a face appeared at
a door or window with a "Godspeed" in its look,
not a woman waved her handkerchief in welcome,
not a child shouted its pleasure. The closed houses
frowned down on them, as if untenanted; and the
few men who passed on the sidewalks drew their hats
over their eyes, and slouched by sullenly. St. Louis,
at that time, had no heart in the gigantic preparations of the government to conquer the rebellion.
To add to the general depression, the city was full
of the relatives of the dead or wounded, waiting for
their bodies to be given them for burial, or striving to
nurse them back into health. Fathers and mothers,
wives and sisters, were in the wards beside the men
they loved, and who had passed through the hell of
battle alive, but mangled and mutilated. How they
fought death, inch by inch, for possession of these
remlnants of humanity! In every ward were dying
men; in every dead-house were the coffined dead, and
the ambulance, standing near, was ready to take the
cold sleepers to their last resting-places. The men
whoin no home fiiends visited looked with hungry
eyes at the manifestations of affectionate interest bestowed ol their comrades, and, after a few preliminaries, were included in the petting, soothing, and
praising, that were always helpful to the poor fellows.
In one hospital I found a patient, feeble and
ghastl., packing a valise with the help of a convalescing comrade. He had received a furlough, and




WEDDING IN THE HOSPITAL.


199


was going home for a month, and, despite his low
physical condition, was full of courage. Three days
later, I had occasion to pass through the same ward,
and the man was just breathing his last.
"What has happened?" I inquired. "Wasn't the
poor fellow able to make the journey after all?"
"His furlough was revoked for some reason; and
he immediately fell back on the bed in a faint, and
hasn't rallied yet."
He never rallied, but died from the removal of the
stimulus of the promised visit home.
A young captain in the officers' ward interested
me greatly, and I went daily to visit him. A refined
and delicate fellow, with a very sensitive nervous
organization, he had suffered severely. He had endured two amputations of the arm, which still refused
to heal, and a third was ordered. He had become so
reduced that the surgeon feared the result, and so
informed his patient. Then the young officer telegraphed the girl who was to be his wife, and who
had only delayed coming to him because of his earnest entreaty that she would not encounter the horrors of a hospital unless he sent for her. She came
as fast as the lightning express could bring her; and,
at her own desire, before he submitted to another
operation, they were married by the chaplain. The
arm was removed to the shoulder. For a day or two
there was hope of him, and then he sank rapidly.
I entered the ward about two hours before his
death, and found his three days' bride ministering to
him with inexpressible tenderness. There were no
tears on her cheek, no lamentations on her lip, but
her face shone with unnatural brightness. and she
seemed to be lifted above the depression of her sur



200


THIE BRIDEGNIOOM DIES.


roundings. Mrs. -   and myself were about to pass
thlem by, not thiningc best to intrude on the sacredness of' their prlivacy or sorrow. But the look in the
husbland's eyes illvitcd us, and we moved softly
towa'rdst the couch of dleath. He was conscious and
undelrstood what was said, but could only speak in
occa.sionlal whispIers.
'Y-ou are l'rady to go?" asked Mrs., my
hostess, who lhad see''n mnuch of him, and whom he
welco ied with a smile.
For a1lnswerl, hie loo)kedl at his young wife, who was
gazingr 1  In11s hlace. She understood him, and answerel:
" (Ys, we are )both ready -he, to go, and I, to
stay"  lAld, turnling to us, she added, "When he
enlllstc(l. I g(ave himl to G(od and the country. I exp-''te(d tllis, and am plreplared for it."
Tie Ilext morning I met her embarking for home
with the body,f lhe(r bl)loved. Her own relatives
w  e'  a I 11married sister, and a brother in the Army of
thet Potoimac. S'1(, was taking the coffined remains
to the wl(dowed(l mntlher of the dead man, who lived
near ('cntralia, III., and who had two other sons in
the armyv and a. son-in-law. The exaltation of her
sI)1rit till ulbl)bore her, and I saw that nature would
not as.sc't itself till her duties to the dead were over.




CHAPTER VIII.
I BECOME ACCUSTOMED TO HOSPITAL WORK-FILTH AND
DISCOMFORT, NEGLECT AND SUFFERING        LEAVES FROM
MY EXPERIENCE- MESSAGES FROM THE DYING TO LOVED
ONES AT HOME.
Cairo an immense Basin. partially filled -Skilful Pilotage needed —Comfortless Hospitals — My Wife came this Morning" - " Bring me a
drink from the Spring"-The "Brick Hospital" a Marvel of Excellence - "Sisters of the Holy Cross" its Nurses -The young rebel
Prisoner-Longing for his Mother-"Philip Sidneys" in every Hospital - Mary Safford my Companion the second Time- Ier Method of
Work —Her Memorandum Book and Baskets - Somethling for every
one -" You are the good Fairy of the Hospitals" - Men crying for Milk
- Mourning the Loss of " Mother Bickerdyke " - Wounded Soldier from
" Island No. Ten "- Noble Letter from his Wife - "The Children needed
him more than I"-Eulogy of Mary Safford- Her Career since the
War-Professor in the Boston University School of Medicine.
ROM    St. Louis we went to Cairo, Ill., where
were other hospitals overflowing with        the
sick and wounded.      It was by no means a
lovely place at that time.    Every one visiting it bestowed on it a passing anathema.
A  levee built up    around the south and west
protected   it fiom   the overflow   of the Mississippi
and Ohio.    From the levee the town looked like an
immense basin, of which the levee formed the sides
and rim. It was partially filled with water; and the
incessant activity of the steam-pumps alone saved it
from inundation.    Vile odors assailed the olfactories,
as one walked the streets. If it chanced to rain, one
18           201




202


" THE ORDER OF EXERCISES."


was in a condition to obey the New Testament
illjunction, to "be steadfast and immovable"; for the
glutinous, tenacious mud held one by both feet, makiug locomotion anything but agreeable. How to find
my way to any given point was a problem; for the
paths were fearfully circuitous, and skilful pilotage
was necessary.
Go where I would, this was "the order of exercises." I went down a flight of crazy stairs, across
a bit of plank walk, around a slough of unknown
depth, behind somebody's barn, across somebody's
back yard, over an extempore bridge of scantling
that bent with my weight, then into mud, at the risk
of losing rubbers, boots, and I sometimes feared for
myv feet, and, at last, ferried over a miniature lake in
a skiff, I reached my destination. "Living in Cajro
(onllverts us soldiers into sailors," said the soldier
wlho rowed me from the "Brick Hospital." "Yes,"
said another, "the children born in this town are
web-footed." They certainly ought to be.
My object in visiting Cairo was to see the hospitals  not the town. I first visited the regimental
hospitals, never very attractive institutions. There
were some half-dozen of them, established in small
dwelling-houses, carriage-houses, sheds, or other
accessible places. Were I to describe them as I saw
them, the account would be discredited. Compressed
within their narrow limits were more filth and discomfort, neglect and suffering, than would have sufficed to defile and demoralize ten times as much
space. The fetid odor of typhoid fever, erysipelas,
dysentery, measles, and healing wounds, was rendered more nauseating by unclean beds and unwashed bodies; while from the kitchen, which




"MY WIFE CAME THIS MORNING I"


203


opened into the hospital wards, came the smell of
boiling meat and coffee, befouling still more the air
of the unventilated apartments.
The nurses were convalescent soldiers, wan, thin,
weak, and requiring nursing themselves; and, though
they were kind to their comrades, they were wholly
worthless as nurses. I saw no signs of a surgeon in
these poor hospitals, although the patients told me a
doctor had visited them one, two, or three days before, the statements varying in the different hospitals. Nor were there any signs of woman's presence, save in one instance, where a poor fellow, with
mingled tears and laughter, told me that "his wife
had come that morning, and now he believed he
should get well, although the night before he had
utterly given up hope."
And, to be sure, I soon met his wife - a cheery,
active little woman, under whose vigorous sweeping,
and scrubbing, and purifying, a dingy corner chamber
was growing sweet and clean. And when she
opened her trunk for my inspection, and showed the
coarse, but clean sheets, shirts, drawers, and socks,
she had brought, with "a new horse blanket for a
rug, when he put his feet on the floor," I could easily
believe her assurance that, "with the cleanliness, and
the sun shining through the clear window-panes, and
her to make his tea and gruel, he'd a'most think himself at home in a day or two."
It gave me the heartache to see the patient sufferers in these hospitals, for they seemed left to their
fate. They were very young, homesick, and ready
to break down into a flood of weeping at the first
word of sympathy. The sick men were always more
despondent than those who were wounded. For




204


" SISTERS OF THE HOLY CROSS."


under the wasting of camp diseases they became
mentally as weak as children; while the men wounded
in battle were heroes, and were toned up to fortitude.
One fine fellow, not yet twenty, was raving in the
delirium of brain fever. He fancied himself at home
with his mother, to whom he incessantly appealed for
*" a drink of water right from the spring at the back
of the house, the coldest and clearest in all Illinois."
He was sponged with tepid water, his tangled hair
smoothed, his burning head bathed, and his stiff,
filthy clothing changed for clean garments from the
depot of the Chicago Sanitary Commission located
in the town. He dropped off into a quiet sleep immediately, which lasted for several hours. Similar
beneficial results followed similar small ministrations
in all these wretched hospitals. Residents of Cairo
were so tortured with the neglect and suffering of
these hospitals that they were finally broken up, at
their instance, and the patients transferred to the
excellent " General Hospitals." The men always
rebelled at being sent away from their regiments, and
preferred to risk the chances of suffering and neglect
with their comrades to any promise of better care, and
wiser nursing, separated from them.
There was one General Hospital in Cairo, called by
the people the " Brick Hospital."  Here the " Sisters
of the Holy Cross" were employed as nurses, one or
more to each ward. Here were order, comfort, cleanliness. and good nursing. The food was cooked in
a kitchen outside the hospital. Surgeons were detailed to every ward, who visited their patients twice
daily, and more frequently if necessary. The apothecary's room was supplied with an ample store of
medicines and surgical appliances, and the store-room




LONGING FOR HIS MOTHER.


205


possessed an abundance of clothing and delicacies for
the sick.
It was a sad sight to pass through the wards and
see row after row of narrow beds, with white, worn,
still faces pressed against the white pillows. And it
gave one a heartache to take each man by the hand,
and listen to his simple story, and to hear his anxieties for wife and children, of whom he received no
tidings, or for the dear mother, whom he could hardly
name without tears.
A young man from West Virginia, a rebel prisoner, must have possessed the highest type of manly
beauty, in health. He was battling for life, for he
hoped to see his mother once more, who was on her
way to him. There was something very winning in
the lad's manner and spirit; and surgeons, nurses,
and sick comrades, were deeply interested in him.
Oh, how he longed for his mother's presence! "Do
you really believe she will get here before I die?" he
inquired anxiously, giving the date of her leaving
home and her distance from him. I sought to buoy
up his siinkng spirits, and, sitting beside him, talked
to him as if he were my own son. "If I had been
home in Western Virginia I shouldn't have got into
this hospital. My mother is a Union woman; but
my uncle in Tennessee, for whom I was clerking,
was a secessionist, and I had to go into the Confederate service."
In every ward the men greeted me gladly. They
stretched out their hands to take mine; they talked
freely of their homes, their fiiends, and regiments.
Over and over again, with indescribable pathos, I
was told by the poor fellows: "I've got a good
mother at home, one of the best of mothers. She'd




206


MARY SAFFORD.


come to me if she knew I was in the hospital; but I
dont want to worry her, and I'll write her when I get
well." The Christ-like patience of the men surprised
me. I had been accustomed, as are most women, to
think men more impatient in sickness, more exacting,
and less manageable than women. But this was not
true of these soldiers in hospital. They complained
little, endured much, were grateful for the least kindness, and as a rule were very unselfish. There were
Philip Sidneys in every hospital, who refused comforts and ministrations offered them, in behalf of
some more suffering comrade.
My second visit to the Cairo hospitals, was made
in company with Miss Mary Safford, then a resident
of Cairo. She commenced her labors immediately
when Cairo was occupied by our troops. If she was
not the first woman in the country to enter upon hospital and camp relief, she was certainly the first in
the West. There was no system, no organization,
no knowledge what to do, and no means with which
to work. As far as possible she brought order out
of chaos, systematized the first rude hospitals, and
with her own means, aided by a wealthy brother, furnished necessaries, when they could be obtained in
no other way.
Surgeons and officers everywhere opposed her,
but she disarmed them by the sweetness of her manner and her speech; and she did what she pleased.
She was very frail, petite in figure as a girl of twelve
summers, and utterly unaccustomed to hardship.
She threw herself into hospital work with such energy, and forgetfulness of self, that she broke down
utterly before the end of the second year of the war.
Had not her friends sent her out of the country, till




A CHEERY VISION.


207


the war was over, she would have fallen a martyr to
her patriotic devotion. She was in a Paris hospital
for months, under the care of the most eminent surgeons of the world, receiving surgical treatment for
injuries incurred in those two years of over-work.
Every sick and wounded soldier in Cairo, or on
the hospital boats, at the time of my visit, knew her
and loved her. With a memorandum book in one
hand, and a large basket of delicacies in the other,
while a porter followed with a still larger basket, we
entered the wards. They had a vastly more comfortable appearance than on the occasion of my first visit.
The vigorous complaints entered against them, and,
more than all, a realistic description of them that
found its way into the Chicago papers, had wrought
reforms. The baskets were packed with articles of
sick-diet, prepared by Miss Safford and labelled with
the name of the hospital and number of the ward
and bed.
The effect of her presence was magical. It was
like a breath of spring borne into the bare, whitewashed rooms - like a burst of sunlight. Every
face brightened, and every man who was able, half
raised himself from his bed or chair, as in hoinage,
or expectation. It would be difficult to imagine a
more cheery vision than her kindly presence, or a
sweeter sound than her educated, tender voice, as
she moved from bed to bed, speaking to each one.
Now she addressed one in German, a blue-eyed boy
from Holland - and then she chattered in French to
an6ther, made superlatively happy by being addressed in his native tongue.
The baskets were unpacked. One received the
plain rice pudding which the surgeon had allowed;




208


THE GOOD FAIRY OF THE HOSPITAL.


there was currant jelly for an acid drink, for the
fevered thirst of another; a bit of nicely broiled
salt codfish for a third; plain molasses gingerbread
for a fourth; a cup of boiled custard for a fifth;
half a dozen delicious soda crackers for a sixth;
"gum-drops" for the irritating cough of a seventh;
baked apples for an eighth; cans of oysters to be
divided among several, and so on, as each one's
appetite or caprice had suggested. One man wished
to make horse-nets, while his amputated limb was
healing, and she had brought him the materials.
Another had informed her of his skill in wood-carving, but he had no tools to work with, and she had
brought them in the basket.
From the same capacious depths she drew forth
paper, envelopes, postage stamps, pencils, ink, Atlantic Monthlies, Chicago Tribunes, checkers and a
folding checker-board, a jack-knife, needles, thread,
scissors, buttons, music books, for the musically inclined, of whom there were many in every hospital;
a "waxed end" and a shoemaker's awl, for one to
sew up rents in his boots; knitting-needles and red
yarn, for one who wished to knit his boy some
" reins " for play,- every promise was remembered
by Miss Safford.
"Oh, Miss Safford!" said one bright young fellow, "you are the good fairy of this hospital I Can't
you bring me the invisible seven-leagued boots when
you come again, so that I can just step into Milwaukeec and see what a certain little woman and her
baby are doing, in whom I am interested?"
One hospital thoroughly visited, Miss Safford deplarted, leaving it full of sunshine, despite its rudeness and discomforts, and hastened home, rejoining




MEN CRYING FOR MILK.


209


me in a short time in "Hospital No 2," with a fresh
instalment of baskets and goodies -and so on
through the whole number. The visiting done for
that day, she hurried home with her filled memorandum book, in which had been noted the wants and
wishes for the next day, and began anew the marketing, purchasing, cooking, packing, and arranging.
Was it wonderful the delicate little woman broke
down, almost hopelessly, at the end of two years?
In one ward, two men were weeping bitterly; and
when she inquired the cause, it appeared that the
surgeon had given them permission to drink a tumbler of milk, night and morning. But the hospital
funds were lacking for its purchase, and "French
Maria," the milk-woman, who had just passed
through the ward, had refused to let them have it on
credit. This was too much for the fortitude of the
feeble sufferers, and they were weeping like children.
Miss Safford hurried out, and, recalling the milkmaiden, obtained the milk for the day, directing her
to leave the same quantity every day, and come to
her for payment. In another hospital, the men were
all in the dumps. Every one looked sad. "What
has happened?" inquired Miss Safford. "Mother
Bickerdyke went down the river this morning, and
we shall all die now," was the disconsolate answer.
No wonder they mourned the loss of " Mother Bickerdyke," who more than any other person, in the
beginning, assisted in the regeneration of the badly
managed hospitals of Cairo.
As we were making the tour of the hospitals, a
tall and stalwart man was brought in on a stretcher,
who had been shot the night before on one of the
gunboats stationed at Island Number Ten. It was




210


HE FEEBLY WHISPERED, "MY WIFE."


not a dangerous wound apparently —only a little
hole in the left side, that I could more than cover
with the tip of my smallest finger- but the grand-.
looking man was dying.
"Can we do anything for you?" one of us inquired,
after the surgeon had examined him, and he had
been placed in bed.
" Too late I too late " was his only reply, slightly
shaking his head.
" Have you no friends to whom you wish me to
write? "
He drew from an inside vest pocket- for his clothing was not removed - a letter, enclosing a photograph of a most lovely woman. "You wish me to
write to the person who has sent you this letter?"
He nodded slightly, and feebly whispered, "My
wife."
Bowing her head, and folding her hands, Miss Safford offered a brief touching prayer in behalf of the
(lying man, bending low over him that he might hear
her softly spoken words. Her voice faltered a little,
as she remembered in her prayer the far-absent wife,
so near bereavements "Amen " responded the dying man, in a distinct voice, and then we left him
with the attendant, to minister to others. Lifting the
photograph, he gazed at it earnestly for a few moments, pressed it to his lips, and then clasped it in
both hands.  When I returned to his bed, some
twenty minutes later, he was still looking upward,
his hands still clasping the photograph, and his face
was irradiated with the most heavenly smile I have
ever seen on any face. I spoke to him, but he seemed
not to hear, and there was a far-away look in the
gaze, as though his vision reached beyond my ken.




IV
I 
I N.
i 4
I
k`-?       r)
A.      I
i   I      "I"
, Aj
i




-ngei o  h-i I (*vut";t
i- in bed.
ti o4tt       1.6    kt
- ~  elt you thi i ta*tvr
A. leebix whit~j!'ei~I4d foldinior her1;idi1s
t- hiLU that hl ie
let' v~oice tz~iieci"1
0V1   thle lhi..a
1IWIfi,  'r%.e    ttip1'. and t1w -.
NA)th ktAuii            I rettuir necdv
twentyv rmuu11tes Later, Ibe was sf 2'          pw-ard,
h iis h oiids still elaiu -An* I h'wt'F  hkIi fia!t',was irradi~af -d with the flb):-A 1wit.   -mib611 [ hasN
vt.r ~~er  il ~n~fIe- I"  1 ~-pok   k'al bu~t Iu' f-'eted
not. tt' bear, anC th"1 w I -       -aw y lo k       V
graze,, as thimtgh hi -    ai~   r*- -ted beyoiid




It.
kiU
Ji4L'Vlij!








LETTER OF A SUPERIOR WOMAN.


213


I stood still, awestruck.  The wardmaster approached, and laid his finger on the wrist. "He is
dead!" he whispered.
The duty of writing the widowed wife was assigned me, and I took the letter and photograph.
Ah, what a letter was that which the dying man had
placed in my hands! He had evidently not replied
to it, for it had been only just received, and had not
the worn look of having been carried long in the
pocket. It was fiom his wife, informing her husband
of the death, on the same day, of their two children,
three and five years old. It was the letter of a suiperior woman, who wrote nobly and tenderly, hiding
her own grief, in her desire to comfort her husband.
"I do not feel that we have lost our childrn,"
thus she wrote; "they are ours still, and will be ours
forever.  Their brief life was all sunshine, and by
their early departure they are spared all experience
of sorrow and wrong. They can never know the
keen heartache that you and I must suffer at their
loss. It must be well with them. Their change of
being must be an advance, a continuance of existence
on a higher plane. And some time, m, dear Harry,
we shall rejoin them. I sometimes fear, my darling,
that you may meet them before I shall. Their death
has taken from me all the f ar of dying, which, you
know, has so greatly distressed me. I can never
fear to follow where my children have led. I have
an interest in that other life, whatever it may be,
an attraction towards it, of which I knew nothing
before. Oh, my dear Harry, do not mourn too
much! I wish I were with you, to share with you,
not alone my hope, but the great conceptions of that
other life which have come to me."




214


2SHE SAVED MY LIFE."


1 enclosed to the bereaved wife her own letter and
l)hotor'alph takeln from the dead hands of her hush,;and, land told her all I knew of his death. A corIrespondelnce ensued, which stretched itself along the
next threle ycars.. In the depth of her triple bereavenient, the saddened woman found comfort in the
b(liet' that ler childrenl and husband were united.
I soletimes 1beliexve the children needed him more
than,l  " was her lfrequent assertion.
WhVlle writing of Miss Safford, let me add the
testil)ony of (ne of the (captains of the Fifty-Seventh
Illinois Volunteers, w-lich regiment was badly cut
up. a few days later, at the battle of Shiloh.;God I)less Mar!y Safford!" he writes.   " She.sa;1'd 111v lifN e 1 VWhen I was wounded at Shiloh I
wa;s (.arre1(1d n1 boalrd the hospital boat, where she
wa. i i atten(dan(ce.  vy wtound goft to bleeding, and,
thllilrl I was faint froml loss of blood, I (id not
know what was the matter. She found it out, for.s11e lilppedl in a 1p)l1 of blood beside my bed, and
callced a su'Litrgeon to me, jist in time to save my life.
(;1lac1o1us! }vhow that little wmnan worked! She was
e -verywhere, doing everytlhing, straightening out affaiis. s.o,,thing and comforting, and sometimes prayiLr. (lressig  wllwunds, co,,)kinll  and nursing, and
keepingl the laggards at tlchir work.  For herself,
she -eeim(ed to live o)n air.
~ ' And 1,he had,i' it, too, I tell you. They broug'ht.'am  1 o-sto on's - tl)n aboard, wounlded, a rebel officer,
^ an;1 n',  tl  (,ltlfe(lC'eate. unifor;,m, and ordered one,f' tlle pl'iN;tcs remve(ld firomi a comfortable berth
l, inal. to) Ilake. room for this younzr traitor. You
s.-houldl have -ee Mii  Saf;frd! ';he straitllte.ned
tlp. as if sthe. weI'e ten fiet tall, and declared, in a




THE CAIRO ANGEL.


215


grand way, that' the humblest Union soldier should
not be removed to make room for a rebel officer, not
if that officer were General Lee himself '  She
stood by the berth, and looked so resolute that they
were glad to find another berth for Sam Houston's
son. I do not wonder that all the boys called her 'the
Cairo angel!' She did as she pleased everywhere,
and the biggest sort of men obeyed her. She was
the only one that seemed to know what to do on that
boat."
Many another Union soldier in the West owes his
life to Mary Safford, and is proud to acknowledge it.
After the battle of Belmont, she was the first to go
on the field, in the face of the enemy's guns, which
ploughed the ground around her with their plunging
shot. Tying her handkerchief to a stick, she waved
it above her head, as a flag of truce, and continued
her ministrations to the wounded, whose sufferings
were aggravated by a keen wintry wind sweeping
over them. When war broke out in Italy, she was
in Florence, and, at the invitation of Madamne Mfario,
immediately joined the Italian ladies in their prel)arations for sick and wounded soldiers. So ingrained
is her inclination to help the needy, that in Norway,
Switzerland, and Germany, I heard of her devising
ways and means for the assistance of poor girls who
desired to emigrate to America, where they could
find employment, and had relatives.
Her experiences during the war undoubtedly decided her future career.  Returning from Europe
with improved health, she determined to fit herself
for medical practice.  Graduating from a mcdical
college in the city of New York, she returned to
Europe, enlarging her knowledge in studies at Zu



'16


6A HIELP IN TIME OF TROUBLE.


rich and Vienna, where she had especial advantages
ill clinics. She is to-day one of the Professors in
the Boston Univerisity School of Medicine, where
slhe tlakes high ralllk as lecturer, physician, and sur-,geon. IIHr holme life is as charming as though she
were not a p1)(fessiolnal woman. Her residence is in
a delilhtilul part of' the city of Boston, where she
passes the brief leisure of her busy life, with the
childlrenl o( her love and adoption. But neither the
challrn  her homeln   and family, nor her literary and
prof;ssional lablors, render her oblivious to the denaands of the poor and friendless, who are sure to
1illd In hler " a present help in time of trouble."
Shie listens patiently and tenderly to all who need
he(- assistaille, a11d the hlumblest have reason to bless
God for the life of this grand, good woman.




9


CHAPTER IX.
AWAITING THE BATTLE OF SHILO          - PREPARATIONS FOR
THE WOUNDED-AWFUL SLAUGHTER- VARIED PHASES
OF HOSPITAL LIFE     "MISSING."
A Perfect Military Hospital - "Mother Angela," the Lady " Suprieure "" White-winged Sun-bonnets " -Battle of Shiloh - Appalling Slaughter
on Both Sides — Rebel Prisoners' Ward - " You-uns Is very good to weuns " - The Rebel Surgeon's Fear - Meet an Old Acquaintance among
the Rebel Wounded - The Valiant Eleventh Illinois - Great Prejudice
against Protestant Nurses- The " Sisters" preferred-" They never see
anything, nor hear anything, and tell no Tales! "-Good General Strong,
Post Commander at Cairo- Am sent to St. Louis for Invalid Soldiers -
Turner's "Descriptive List" Missing-Found In the Clerk's Office
- General Curtis discharges him - He also Furloughs young Brackett -
Great Jollification in the Ward - They accompany me to Chicago.
ROM    Cairo we proceeded to        Mound City,
Paducah, Bird's      Point, and other places
where hospitals were established. Except in
Mound City, everything was in a chaotic
condition, compared      with   the  completer arrangements afterwards made.         The hospital at
Mound City occupied a block of brick stores, built
before the war, to accommodate the prospective commerce of the town. They had not been occupied.
and, as the blockade of the Mississippi rendered it
uncertain when they would be needed for their legitimate use, they were       turned   over to   the  Medical
Department for hospital use.         At the time of my


217




218


A SUPERIOR MILITARY HOSPITAL.


visit, the Mound City Hospital was considered the
best military hospital in the United States. This
was due to the administrative talent of Dr. E. S.
Franklin, of Dubuque, Iowa, who, despite paucity of
means and material, transformed the rough block of
stores into a superb hospital accommodating one
thousand  patients.  Fifteen  hundred  had been
crowded into it by dint of close packing.
The most thorough system was maintained in every
department. There were an exact time and place for
everything. Every person was assigned to a particular department of work, and held responsible for
its perfect performance. If any one proved a shirk,
incompetent, or insubordinate, he was sent off on the
next boat. A Shaker-like cleanliness and sweetness
of atmosphere pervaded the various wards, the sheets
and pillows were of immaculate whiteness, and the
patients who were convalescing were cheerful and
contented. The "Sisters of the Holy Cross" were
employed as nurses, and by their skill, quietness,
gentleness, and tenderness, were invaluable in the
sick-wards. Every patient gave hearty testimony to
the kindness and skill of the " Sisters."
"Mother Angela" was the matron, the " Superieure," of these " Sisters " - a gifted lady, of rare cultivation and executive ability, with winning sweetness of manner. She was a member of the Ewing
family, and a cousin of Mrs. and General Sherman.
The "Sisters" had nearly broken up their famous
schools at South Bend, Ind., to answer the demand
for nurses. If I had ever felt prejudice against these
" Sisters " as nurses, my experience with them during
the war would have dissipated it entirely.  The
world has known no nobler and no more heroic




DEVOTION OF CATHOLIC SISTERHOODS.


219


women than those found in the ranks of the Catholic
Sisterhoods. But I often sympathized with some of
the sick men, who frequently expressed a wish for a
reform in the headgear" of the "Sisters." " Why
can't they take off those white-winged sun-bonnets
in the ward?" asked one. "Sun-bonnets " sneered
another of the irreverent critics; "they're a cross
between a white sun-bonnet and a broken-down
umbrella; and there's no name that describes them."
It was very evident from preparations that another
great battle was impending. Indeed, the surgeons
admitted this. During the previous week the hospital beds had been emptied of all who were well
enough to be furloughed, or sent back to their regiments. Over six hundred beds were awaiting occupancy by the wounded of the next battle, and another
hospital was being fitted up rapidly with accommodations for five hundred more. Orders had been
received at the rooms of the Commission in Cairo for
supplies to be in readiness for twenty thousand
wounded men; and shipments of battle-relief stores
were arriving from Chicago in unprecedented quantities.
The battle came off at Shiloh before I reached
home. The enemy, seventy thousand strong, swept
down on the Union forces, greatly inferior in numbers, in an unbroken, overwhelming rush. It surprised them, and put them to flight like a flock of
sheep, before they had time to form in line of battle.
General Grant was at Savannah, several miles down
the Tennessee river, when the fight began.  But
General Johnston, Commander of the rebel forces,
was on the field, directing the movements of his
army, and hurling it against the flying and disorderly
14




220


THE GREAT BATTLE AT SHILOH.


masses of the North. Step by step, the Union army
was driven towards the river; and General Beauregard's promise to "drive the whole Northern army
into the Tennessee " seemed sure of fulfilment. The
close of the first day's conflict, a balmy, beautiful
Sunday in April, found the Union forces broken, despondent, and exhausted; while the enemy were
confident, and waited for the morning to complete
their triumph.
The next day, with General Grant in command, our
men retrieved their losses of the day before. Guns
were recal)tured, lost ground was won again, and the
batteries of the enemy, wrested from their possession, were turned on them with murderous fire.
Coltesting the ground, inch by inch, fighting valiantly and with desperation, the enemy were driven
from the field, and moved off towards Corinth, where
the next struggle was to be made for possession of
the valley of the Mississippi.  The close of the
second day reversed the decision of the day before,
and the costly victory remained with our troops.
Tel thousand dead lay on the field, " the blue" and
" the gray " sleeping together, for the enemy had left
their dead for our men to bury. Among them lay
dead horses in harness, broken caissons, abandoned
blankets and muskets, scattered drums and haversacks.  Trees, whose branches had been wrenched
off by bursting shells, looked as if Titans had been
hurling thunderbolts among them.  The air was
heavy with the sulphurous breath of gunpowder, and
tainted with the smell of blood.
The loss on each side was fourteen thousand in
killed, wounded, and missing, -a mighty slaughter,
and an appalling amount of suffering, for which no




MOURNING CAME WITH VICTORY.


221


adequate preparation could be made. All the means
of relief of the Northwest were called into active service, and yet there were unavoidable neglect and
suffering. Following so quickly on the carnage of
Donelson, there was scarcely a hamlet in the whole
Northwest that was not in mourning for its dead.
And the notes of rejoicing for the severely won victory were mingled with the sound of the tolling bell,
and muffled drum, heard everywhere.
I hastened to Chicago to assist in the work which
the battle of Shiloh precipitated on the Commission.
But I remained at Mound City long enough to visit
every ward of the hospitals, and to converse with
every patient. Without an exception, all testified to
the excellence of the care they received, and to the
kindness of their treatment. One ward was devoted
entirely to wounded rebel prisoners, taken at Fort
Donelson. Most of them were unlettered farners'
sons, innocent even of the alphabet. Their speech
was almost unintelligible at times; for they talked a
patois, made up in part of negro gibberish and in
part of barbarous English.
" You-uns is very good to we-uns," said one of the
convalescents, clad in a uniform of butternut jean.
"How much furderer Norf do vou-uns come from?"
"'Spect I've got to tote a crutch round in ole
Mississip' the balance o' my life, —Ido," said another,
apropos to nothing.
" This 'ere grub's better'n th' ole woman's bacon
and hominy," was the eulogium of a third, as he
tasted his soup.
Two of the boys, who were superior to the others
in bearing and intelligence, were but sixteen and
eighteen years of age. They were from Mississippi.




222 GOOD TREATMENT OF REBEL PRISONERS.
Each had a fearfully crushed and mutilated leg.
Dr. Franklin had saved both fiom amputation, and
had patched and pieced and fitted together the
broken bones, and torn ligaments, as one would
mend a damaged specimen of bric-a-brac or rare
china. The boys were very grateful, and delighted
to recount, to any who would listen, the story of Dr.
Franklin's skill.  Although the lads were more
intelligent than their comrades, they had no adequate conception of the magnitude of the war, nor
of the circumstances that led to it. They drifted
along with the current, and enlisted because the
rest did.
Dr. Hall, the surgeon of their regiment, had
allowed himself to be captured that he might take
care of "the boys." He fiankly confessed that he
never imagined rebel prisoners would fare as well
as our own wounded men, and "he feared things
might be different in a reverse of circumstances."
Ah, the poor fellows in Libby Prison and at
Andersonville "found things" very "different!"
Dr. Hall was from Mississippi, a gentlemanly and
cultivated man. He declared himself opposed to secession in the abstract, and sought to hinder his state
from rushing out of the federal compact, "but when
Mississippi went out of the Union, honor compelled
him to go with her." He spoke mournfully of this
fiatricidal war, but avowed himself ready to fight
for the South as long as the war lasted.
A youlng captain, wearing the Confederate gray,
kept his dark eyes upon me, following me, as I went
hither and thither, with intense scrutiny. Wondering why I was an object of interest, I commenced a
conversation with him.




AN UNEXPECTED MEETING.


223


"I have met you before," he said, after a little
preliminary conversation. "You do not remember
me? It is not strange," he continued, "for it is
twenty years since I saw you on St. Leon plantation, in Mecklenburg county, Va., and then I
was a boy ten years old." He had enlisted in Mississippi, as had most of the men in the ward. I
recalled him as a bright little playmate of one of my
pupils in southern Virginia, whose home was on a
neighboring plantation. Hle was a rabid secessionist, and did not hesitate to avow his convictions in
the most defiant manner.
Two boys belonging to the valiant Eleventh
Illinois were in another ward, still suffering from
the terrible wounds of the Fort Donelson battle.
There were eighty-five in their company when they
went into battle, but only seven came out alive and
unharmed. They were shot down the day before
the surrender, having been beaten back nearly two
miles, fighting all the way, and were thought to be
mortally wounded. Their uniforms, new the day
before the battle, were stripped off by their inhuman
enemies, whom they saw pillaging, and plundering
the dead and dying. XNearly naked, the poor fellows managed to creep under both their blankets,
lying as closely as possible to each other for warimth,
and in this way lay neglected for forty-eight hours.
"What will you do when you get well?" I inquired.
"Going back to our regiment to fight!'" was the
plucky answer. "Hiram and I went in for three
years, but I think we'll stay through the war.
We've got an account to settle with these rebs now.
We sha'n't forget in a hurry how the Eleventh Lli



224


POOR SURGEONS IN HOT WATER.


nois was cut up at Donelson." Never were there
greater loyalty and bravery than were shown by our
young soldiers. It was to me a perpetual wonder,
while their Titanic endurance of suffering compelled
my admiration.
I found everywhere, at this time, the greatest
prejudice against Protestant women nurses. Medical directors, surgeons, and even wardmasters, openly
declared they would not have them in the service,
and that only the "Sisters" of the Catholic Church
should ieceive appointments. I sought for the cause
of this decision.  "Your Protestant nurses are
always finding some mare's-nest or other," said one
of the sulrgeons, "that they can't let alone. They
all write for the papers, and the story finds its way
into print, and directly we are in hot water. Now,
the 'Sisters' never see anything they ought not to
see, nor hear anything they ought not to hear, and
they never write for the papers- and the result
is we get along very comfortably with them." It
was futile to combat their prejudices, or to attempt
to show them that they lacked the power to enforce
their decisions. I contented myself with declining
to take any part in filling the hospitals and boats
with Catliolic Sisters, as I was entreated, nor would
I consent to do anything to discourage the detailing of Protestant nurses.
On my way home, I met at Centralia more than a
dozen Protestant nurses, en route for the hospitals.
They were women of nearly middle age, serious,
practical women, sensibly dressed, with no other
baggage than a necessary change of clothing in a
valise. All were women of experience, had been
carefully examined and properly detailed. They




"OUR HUSBANDS AND SONS NEED US."    225
bore with them letters of recommendation, and
written assignments to their respective posts, signed
in due form by Dorothea Dix, who was authorized to
detail women nurses by the Secretary of War.
I told them the little chance they had for employment, and assured them they would be unwelcome,
and would undoubtedly be sent back. They listened
as though they heard not.
"Our husbands, sons, and brothers need us, and
want us, if the surgeons do not. If we are sent
from one post, we shall go to another. And if the
medical authorities are determined to employ Catholic Sisters, to the exclusion of Protestant nurses, we
shall al)peal to the Secretary of War."
The Protestant nurses carried the day, chiefly because of their good sense and worth, and hundreds
went to the fiont before the end of the war, welcomed by both surgeons and patients, and rendering
invaluable service.
General Strong was the post commander at Cairo,
and I met him there, when returning home. I shall
always retain a tender memory of him, for, though
not a man of military genius, he sympathized with
the soldiers, whether in the field, in camp, or in hospital. I was indebted to him for many favors, which
he granted for the sake of humanity - for the sy mpathy he felt for suffering everywhere. The last
time I met him was at St. Louis, about eighteen
months before the close of the war, when he gave me
his always ready help, and saved at that time the
life of one of our Chicago boys.
Among the thirty-four young men who enlisted on
the same day from the "Church of the Redeemer,"
in Chicago, was one, a universal favorite, who should




226


EVERYBODY LOVED HIM.


have been rejected because of physical disability, but
whose patriotism and ambition would not allow him
to remain behind, when his companions enlisted.
They all went into the Chicago Mercantile Battery.
After many ups and downs, and much hard service,
he broke down utterly, and was sent with a sick
comrade to the "House of Refuge Hospital" in St.
Louis. He could never again be well, sank rapidly,
and was certain to die soon in the hospital, if not
discharged and sent home. This was the message
that came to his friends and acquaintances  and
everybody loved him. Immediate steps were taken
to procure his discharge from the service, and his
return to his home.
Three or four gentlemen of standing went to St.
Louis, one after another, but though it was conceded
by all the medical authorities that young Turner
ought to be discharged on account of hopeless invalidism, each in turn came back without him.
There was something wrong with his papers, that
forbade his release, and as an order had just been
issued forbidding furloughs, they were unable to
take him to his home, that he might have the privilege of dying with his kindred. Finally, I was besought to undertake his discharge, and though it
seemed absurd for me to attempt what three or four
influential men had failed to accomplish, the intercession in his behalf was so urgent, and my own
interest in him so tender, that I went on the errand,
although hopeless of success.
The hindrance to the discharge of the young man
was occasioned by the loss of his "descriptive list."
An order had been sent to his command for another,
but as the battery was in the field, moving from




THE MISSING LIST FOUND.


227


place to place, it might be months before the order
was answered. Young Turner denied the truth of
this statement, as did Brackett, his sick comrade,
and both declared the surgeon mistaken. They were
young men of great intelligence and business training, and not likely to be in the wrong. They belonged in the same battery, had come together to
the same hospital, were located in adjoining beds in
the same ward, and asserted, agaiD and again, that
they surrendered their descriptive lists to the hospital clerk at the same time.
I was confident, from my long acquaintance with
both, that they were correct, and that Turner's missing list must be found, if at all, in the hospital office.
So I returned to the surgeon, and told my story, and
expressed my belief that the lost list was somewhere
in the office. The face of the young clerk flushed
a little with annoyance, but he politely drew from a
pigeonhole the lists of "Ward D," filed alphabetically, and, standing beside me, began to turn them
over, while I read aloud the name endorsed on the
back of each.
"Stop!" I cried, as a familiar name met my eye.
" No," said the clerk, " that name has cheated all
Turner's fiiends who have been down here.  His
name is Lowell D. Turner, and this, you see, is
Lori ng D. Turner."
"Open it; let's see the inside." He did, and there
the name was correctly written, but inaccurately
engrossed on the back. This was the long-lookedfor list. I had had just such an experience before.
It was plain sailing now.  The surgeon made
out the certificate of disability, and sent a military
messenger with me to the medical- director. He




A PERT LITTLE LIEUTENANT.


l(1omlptly wrote an olrdel fIol the discharge papers,
wlhich the nmessencgr boy received, and then he and
I moved( on to the headquarters of the Deparltment,
wh\11're tlhe'! \ere to be filled out, and the work would
be dlon. There I was halted. A pert little lieuten-;anlt, who1 sat slmokillng  n the office, with his heels
hilgher th:aln Iis' lihead, fell back on his dignity and
r' red tale, an1ll dec(lared these l)pa)ers could not be
mllade out ill 1,p'c'Cedencl of others, Vwhichl it would
take two, weeCks to di(sl)>osc of, unlel~ss General Curitis,
low tile Cllll(ommanderlll   of the Department, gave an
ode'(lr ft(li th o ireceive iimmediate attention. And
withl evidelllt satisflaction lie iniformiied me that General ('urltis was holding a meeting with his staff
rOficers,:and  had  given positive orders not to
admnit 1an  onu to his room until four in the after11(1no. All tihe tilllC, I knew that the bribe of a dollar woul(d1 remnve the sc'rulles of the lieutenant, and
1',(procure1'  ' omec the rapid filling out of my papers. I
at(d l iha( p)'eviots cxper'inceii  in this line also.
I wenlt out of thle  ')r)om, into the hall, and was
stali(i'g t 1 ill, tr'vin, to think what next to do, when
(   lnerall tloll. haplpened to pass. He immediately
ca(inm to,e iW ith extelded hands, and beaming face,
with 1hI olt-alkd lieti    1o, on hi1 lips,M'  y Iea:r mllladl, what (c;an I do for you? "
"(; 1ltin'ral t'tio'L", if Vyon ('iai o,!tain me an inter\ i w- (f fi\. milnute  witlh Genceral Curtis, you will
k;1   1.m tile lll)-t 'ratefil woman in St. Louits. '
"Comae with Im!"     Up stai'rs, and down stairs,
and tlm ',lro  Lih almost interminable lhalls, he led the
way, alnd I followed.   Every guard saluted him
(coul'ttl.,t-lv and lallowed us to pass, until we reached;eneral Curti-' Iroom.   A  w-ord of explanation to




THE FURLOUGHED SOLDIERS.


229


the guard, and he opened the door, when General
Strong led me in, where General Curtis was sitting
in solemn conclave with the officers of his stalf. I
had met the General in Helena, Ark.; and to my
great relief he remembered me, and rose to meet me,
calling me by name. I made known my errand, and
obtained a written permission fiom him to take poor
Turner to Chicago that afternoon.
"Canll I do anything more for you?" asked the
General, so kindly that I ventured to ask a filteen
days' furlough for Brackett, the sick comrade, whose
family also lived in Chicago, promising to take
charlge of both, and to see them safely delivcered to
their kindred. Happy woman fwas I, for that, too,
was granted, and the furlough was placed in my
hands.
"General Strong, you can never measure the good
you have done! " I said to him, when we were outside General Curtis' room.  '"You have probably
saved the life of a noble young fellow, and have
made two households happy, by the great favor you
have granted me."
"I am very happy, madam, to have served them
and you. It will be something pleasant for me to
remember on my death-bed."   A v'ery brief time
afterwards, the good man came to his death-bed. If
the memory of his humanities did not then lighten
the dark valley, he surely heard the One Voice welcoming him to heaven -"Enter thou into the joy
of thy Lord!"
I hurried back to "Ward D," in the " House of
Refuge Hospital," at some distance from the heart
of the city. It was past noon and the train left for
Chicago at three o'clock. As I opened the door of




AN AFFECTING~ SCENE.


the ward, every soldier who was sitting up looked at
rue scrutmnizingly. They all kincw my errand; all
had comec to love youngr TUrnci', and had buoyed
himi up, duiring, miy absence, with the prediction that
he wvould certainly see his friends the next morning.
4 Oh, I'm  afraid you haven't got Lowell's dischar~re' "  aid youngr Brackett, at his usual post
beside Turner, who -,-,at propped in bed; "you look
dreadful glum!11 I
C You kziio\\ I told you not to indulg'e in any exPeel ations of' II-N succes's.'
Poor Turner gYas~ped, tuined a deadlier white, and
would haive fallen over had I not caught him. "6My
dear boydntdosvil a thing(01t(0  j1T- as to faint -you
arie no( longrer a soldier!  You are to go to Chicago
wvith mne this afternloon, and here is G'eneral Curtis'
order. Your' discha-rge lpapers and back pay will be
hent to you!
icBulkx foI. '_(tj ou re!  a-s the first unconventiojial cigFif1Ilat hit) I)fi H")if aI i~iegliboi'iii bed, and 'in
a~ iiio11cint tliei' Nvtai~ a temnpest ()f chveers and rejoictug11fl i i abouit Turner-s (-( 4. Br-ackett was quiet,
I uit vern tendler to)wardls his feeble comrade, conLT I tiat illtIIL hini Nvith eves full! of tear's.
'veneral Cturtis was so) knid as- to g)rant you a
funImb )uh (T) liftce n lai s Brackott dlo youi want to
~ptwn1l vow'i tunec in S4t. Louis, or- in Clhicag)?. I have
ti-anl-1')rtatw     II,( rvot  it' Noll wanlt  to  40
i\V'u"'. tlhero' Nvas-_ a coinniotioni inl the wvard. 'Most
ft th iiit.ii wci'e ('iVio"(o.,and in fp2O~d spii'its.
I i' ktt b "(d)o.(1 ait Ile allll Mle tlazc(I fi t a mnoment,
and then-i thiew hiS armis around mxN nwec  a(  kssed
Mim, 3  It' I We1J- hi mo1(ther.  Twoj or three of the
imen tui'ued  (oiwah       n thei' becb- another




THE SOLDIER'S FINAL DISCIIARGE.


231


called for three cheers, for me, General Curtis, and
Turner, and Brackett. And half a dozel organlized
themselves into a band, and promenaded the ward,
one playing a bugle, another a bagl)ipe, anotllr a
double bass drum, another a flute, all in admirable
pantomime, and in mimicry of the tones of tle
various inlstrumentT.
The excitement was too much for Turner. lie
fainted several times before we left St. Lluis, anll I
watched him through the night in the slucpilng-car,
hardly exspectinjr he would live to reach his riindlls.
But he did, and was nlursed bv tlem into stl( h tolerable health, that, after two vears' l'(esidclnce in thlt
Minnesota pinerie's, he ventur'cd to 1)'propoe )   tthe
girl whom le had lon  loved, and they were mnarr'ie(d.
Ten years of blissful wedded life wereC theirs, whell
he succumbed to the pulmolnarly trouble whiclh hla(l -,
long menaced him- and his yo(ungii  wife followed
him, two years later, dying of the same disease.




CHAPTER X.
THE DARKEST PERIOD OF THE WAR-MY VISIT TO WASHINGTON IN 1862 -STRANGE EXPERIENCES ON THE JOUR
NEY-PITIFUL SCENES IN A CONVALESCENT CAMP.
Woman's Council called in Washington -Mrs. Hoge and myself the Chicago
Delegates- Darkest Period of the War —Am detained at Suspension
Bridge- A Restless Crowd in the Waiting-room - A blind Vocalist
Charms them to Quietness - Homeward-bound Invalid Soldiers on the
Trains — Repulsive Instrument of Slave Torture — Trains going North
from Washington Packed with Furloughed Soldiers-President Lincoln's
Explanation -  The War to be ended by Strategy!"-We take in our
Charge a Sick Soldier — New Experience in Baltimore —Visit to Dorothea Dix- Iler extensive Work - Superintendent of Women Nurses -
Washington Soldiers' Home - Amy Bradley the Matron -" Solid
Chunks of Sunshine " - Visit Alexandria - " Camp Misery " -" A perfect Golgotha" - Great Indignation of Visitors —Amy Bradley takes
up her Abode in the Camp —Great Improvement follows -"The Soldiers' Journal " - We visit President Lincoln.
N   November, 1862, the United States Sanitary    Commission     called   a council of its
members      at Washington, to which         every
Brianch of the Commission sent women representatives.     Sanitary supplies were rapidly
on the decrease, while the increasing demand
for them   was pitiful.   The people lacked confidence
in  the  ability  of the Commission to carry          to  the
suffering   soldiers the supplies intrusted to its care.
They    knew    nothing   of its    system   of inspection
and relief. They did not then comprehend the dire
necessities of the hospital and battle-field, which grew
out of the expansion of the army, and the increased
232




WOMEN IN COUNCIL.


233


area of its operations; nor yet the inability of the
government to meet these necessities, while it was
taxed to the utmost in every other direction.
A more perfect organization of the system of relief
was necessary; so also was a greater concert of action and a unification of methods, while the patriotism of the people, their loyalty to the Union, and
their sympathy with the soldiers, needed to be quickened and fired with new zeal. Only in this way
would it be possible for the Commission to provide
assistance and consolation for the sick and suffering
of the army "abundantly, persistently, and methodically." To the women of the country the Commission looked for the accomplishment of these great
aims. Hence the call for the "Woman's Council."
It was a time of great depression and discouragement. In the East there were only reports of disaster to our armies. After the battle of Antietam,
which resulted in no substantial advantage, General
McClellan rested so long a time on the north side of
the Potomac, that President Lincoln and his military
advisers ordered an immediate advance of the army.
But McClellan still delayed, and, while he halted,
raids were made into Maryland and Pennsylvania by
the enemy, who penetrated to Chambersburg, a score
of miles in the rear of our army, and then speedily
returned to Virginia, having entirely completed the
circuit of the Federal forces.  Wlhen, at length,
McClellan began to cross the Potomac, with the
design of engaging the enemy, he received a telegram fiom Washington relieving him of the command of the army, and ordering him to turn it over
to General Burnside, who reluctantly and with many
protests accepted it.




234


THE PEOPLE MUCH DEPRESSED.


This announcement fell on the country like a thunderbolt, and a fierce partisan discussion sprang up
concerning the wisdom of the removal and the merits
of the retired commander, which created great bitterness. Following quickly on the heels of this change,
BuIrnside made a rapid march to Fredericksburg, hoping to capture the place before Lee's army could reach
it, and thus cut off his retreat towards Richmond.
He was repulsed with frightful slaughter, and the
wearied and bleeding, but heroic Army of the Potomac was driven fiom before Richmond.
At the West the military movements were not
crowned with the success the public had expected
from previous rapid victories. The triumphant fleet
which had regained control of the Mississippi above
and below Vicksburg, was baffled by this city, built
on a high bluff, fortified like another Gibraltar, and
bidding defiance to the gunboats. It had seemed
to the people that the work of opening the great
river was about ended, and now it appeared to them
just begun. The enemy again invaded Missouri,
and made alarming raids into Tennessee and Kentucky. Cincinnati was threatened and consternation
sent among its citizens, who rallied for immediate
defence, as did the people of other similarly situated
towns. Instigated by the enemy, the Indians on the
frontier began their depredations, and Minnesota
became the theatre of a horrible massacre.
The question of giving recognition to the Southern Confederacy was openly discussed in England —
by the press, at public meetings, and in both Houses
of Parliament. The South became bold and confident, and its President appointed a day of thanksgiving throughout the Confederacy, because of its




A DARK PERIOD OF THE WAR.


235


successes and hopeful prospects. Those who opposed the war at the North broke out into defiant
demands for an immediate cessation of hostilities,
and for "peace at any price." The loyal masses
found themselves confronted by an enemy within
their own territorial limits. Everywhere there were
doubt, despondency, gloom, and forebodings.  It
was one of the darkest periods of the war.
It was with heavy hearts that Mrs. Hoge and mnyself started from Chicago at this time, on a mid-winter
journey to Washington. On account of my honored
father, who had been waiting his release from life
through weary months of physical infirmity, I was
obliged to go to Washington by way of Boston. I
was detained at Suspension Bridge one entire night
by a collision of freight trains, which tore up the
tracks, blocked the road, and hindered all travel for
twelve or fourteen hours. There were not even sitting accommodations for the great multitude emptied
into the comfortless station-rooms, as several other
trains were halted here besides our own. After the
first three or four hours of waiting, as the night
deepened and the time wore heavily on, our condition became more comfortless, and the great crowd
became intolerably uneasy. Mothers were impatient, children fretting and crying, fathers persistently ill-natured. One or two games of fisticuffs
were extemporized, by way of settling political
differences, which most of the men were discussing
in loud and heated language; and there were universal grumbling and growling over our uncomfortable
situation, thus making a bad matter worse.
Among the few who possessed their souls in
patience was a young lady, nearly blind, and her
16




THE POWER OF MUSIC.


brother, who carried a violin in a case. Some one
carelessly asked the lad to "play a tune," when the
boy replied that he did not play, but that'his sister
was an excellent periolrmer on the violin, and several
other instruments, and that she also sang. An earnest entreaty fiom three or four of us brought the
violin from its case, which the young girl lifted to
her shoulder.  Inclining her cheek caressingly to
it, she tuned it, and then gave us melody after
melody of exquisite sweetness, that gradually hushed
the turbulence of the restless throng, and charmed
the noisiest into silence. A song was besought of
her- and without excuse, or apology, or delay, the
almost sightless girl gave us the touching ballad,
"Just before the battle, mother," in a voice whose
sweetness, purity, and pathos, thrilled every heart.
Solng after song was now asked for and granted,
until the unknown singer had exhausted her repertoire of patriotic and common songs, when she fell
back on operatic airs, giving English translations of
Italian gems, and proving herself as skilful in execution as she was gifted in voice.
Gradually the mood of the heterogeneous audience
chalned from curiosity to interest. And when our
youlng vocalist sang the majestic Marseillaise, throwing herself into the spirit of the grand hymn, interest
heightened into enthusiasm.  Here and there, one
and another joined in the chorus, until it was sung
by many voices. Men threw up their hats and
cheered, and women clapped and applauded. For
two hours she sang and played in the dingy, crowded
waiting-.room, only stopping occasionally, to mend a
string of the violin, or to put it in tune, until, towards
daylight, the train came shrieking to the door. And




THE BLIND SINGER.


237


for two hours she held the weary, impatient, and at
times semi-brutal crowd spell-bound by the magic of
her voice. It was the old story of Orpheus and his
lyre, charming the beasts from their savageness and
the mountains fiom their immobility. In the detention at which all had murmured all now rejoiced.
Some conscientious body, who believed in paying
for what he received, passed round the hat, taking up
a collection of nearly twenty dollars, which the girl
was compelled to accept, as a testimonial of gratitude
for the most acceptable concert ever given. Our singer
was chary of information concerning herself, and
reluctant to speak of her blindness. But we learned
enough of her to know that her case was one of
those where nature withholds one gift that she may
double another. She was on her way to New York,
her brother said, for better cultivation of her rare
musical gifts.
All along the route furloughed or disclarged soldiers were taken aboard, on their way home, most of
them maimed, crippled, pale, thin, weary, and shabby.
Unobtrusive, patient, and submissive, they took whatever accommodations chanced to fall to them. Whien
we stopped to breakfast or dine, they bought lunches
of bread and meat, or brought forth rations fiom
their haversacks, that they might mlore carefilly
husband  their slender means. 'When   inquired
of, they gayly replied that "they had plenty,
their money and food were ample," and of their
discomforts they made very light, in a lofty soldier
fashion.  They were on their way home, and this
soothed every pain, and made the poorest fare delicious.
At Springfield, Mas., where we made connection




238


A SAD RETURN.


with a New York train for Boston, some twenty more
of the poor fellows were added to the company.
They belonged to Maine regiments, and were on
their way home fiom Port Hudson, recovering from
wounds, or convalescing from sickness. Poor fellows I
How different their return from their going forth
to the war I Then, they marched in solid columns,
gay in new uniforms, led by martial music, cheered
by admilring crowds, their breasts heaving with ambition and patriotism. Now, if the grave had yielded
its dead, their appearance could not have been ghastlier. Many of the Maine men were without money,
and knew not what to do on their arrival in Boston,
in their enfeebled condition, but were confident they
should find fiiends, as they had done all along
the route. Ali were provided for long before they
reached Boston; for the people on the train became
infected with generosity and patriotism, and freely
gave whatever money was needed.
While I was in Boston, an instrument of slave
torture was on exhibition, such as Northern people
had often heard described, but in whose existence
few believed. It was shown at the art rooms of
Willians and Everett, on Washington Street, and
seemed fearfully out of place amid the pictures, statuary, and bric-a-brac, of the handsome rooms. It was
a rough, heavy iron collar, weighing half a dozen
pounds, from which three curved prongs rose, with a
joint at the back, and closed in front with a rivet.
It was taken from the neck of a slave girl, near
New Orleans, by Captain S. T. Reed, of the Third
Massachusetts Cavalry. The girl was about eighteen
years of age, quite white, - an octoroon, - and very
beautiful. She had attempted to run away; and, as




If
4.  44
#.      1<4'A.\4.
K-.
Vt
17




I
*~                 I1,,
4'
\      44- >;4)A   '     A
At
'<W             4   4
'F
4$     4.           %Z,  
4
~2


rY
tolt
eeL..4


p
A
a, U


I


i.X


I
fi
-I,":
I
ir,:., I
W.I


I  I,  ".
A
11                I
AI
-.1.RI   '..?41,4. otI"r- e".-t I
I.,.. WI      A "
W; I,.. 1   I


II
rr~


'',t4.
4.4. t  5 44s4f
4  49
be    t
A
4.4'
4,4.  a4'
444
4,
S
4


944




'cr*jv -;.4


*4T.4,
44  I


1,.1, YO


v4 4




A S AA)., 1,


jilii zN )%wX York i rnl fbi'I  >t
IIL v *v  I  ik  'Aed  i~ f)  I  I lu  I keCOm1   eil( Ire ir
AN, ~f( MJU 0, o't~)t~~l  r~i~  ie   Poot' fellows!
Jo~% (iiflCPr(flt their' 1vttU1,1 fri" f thI)ir groing tor'th
i T voPh m~, the\  iflt '(W(  4'(l  il  -,(Aid  COflui iu s
tiN ~irfitlif  ii  ~' IC-II   ify 101 e.Ia.t  htiPS   vI Sl)id 4 I ei cI 'eVaIs I'c couh r!lw 11cavixlo i4 it it 1a-P
uitl lin anlkv  riot  i"h1iu  t do  WfiB  e  c1i'il\; l I  V V 1
v!1(;  rI   d:11  u   COd4   (14)I-iav lla(l
I i  '.  NI-liv otthc A.  1ide41 It v  Nit'r   1,i'( III t
am                                 il iIstrumett0of
he;n(  itwI -~ttod tillu   nwoe      x'i
h w~  A:1%l    ( th  ar roofidnt Iof
rI' I ( HolIi'  p;AI'Iij ~  h 1f 1 oz4
F' &Y   Cl?* et (A,      Wl)
as I r lb withernIx
A u in wilae e-x, near
1N '               -!,wm  i at tRee art rQ,)as Tof
V  ~  t~  ~  T~.Jr  ~ `a;t   rt eigteeni
vei~ i  ie q ~    4A~hie  -ti  llv ~itil it and very
hemaul —~t1  She had a4Wteuiyted to ruia~'oy and, as




iif


I








INSTRUMENT OF SLAVE TORTURE.


241


the city was occupied by Federal troops, she was
suspected of "sympathy with the Yankees." For
this she was invested with this iron collar, -which
had rusted into the neck,-and she had been
chained in a dungeon and half starved for three
months.
The girl was taken to the city, where the iron
collar was removed from her neck by a blacksmith,
and she was subsequently freed by military authority.
As we approached Washington, we were filled
with amazement at the number of furloughed soldiers
whom we met en route for the North. It seemed as
if the army was being disbanded. They were not
like those whom we had met in Massachusetts, for
few of these were disabled, wounded, or invalid.
They were bronzed and hardy, jolly and hearty,
looking as if they lead seen service but had been
toughened by it. They filled the railway stations,
packed the trains, crowded the platforms of the cars,
and cheered our southward bound train as they
passed us. We could not understand it. While in
Washington we received an explanation of this phenomenon, from no less an authority than President
Lincoln.
"The army is constantly depleted," he said, "by
company officers who give their men leave of absence in the very face of the enemy, and on the eve
of an engagement, which is almost as bad as desertion. At this very moment," he continued, "there
are between seventy and a hundred thousand men
absent on filrlough fiom the Army of the Potomac.
The army, like the nation, has become demoralized
with the idea that the war is to be ended, the nation
united, and peace restored, by strategy, and not by




24~


INCIDENT ON THE RAILROAD.


harld ldesperate fighting.  Why, then, should not the
(oldie r's haVe firllougohs?"
Aks we were approaching Baltilnore slowly, experiening'l   numerous (lelays, our tranlll an off the track
and we were detained for houlrs. While we waited,
the afternoon deepiened into evening, and despite the
continued tl'ampl)ngL in and out of impatient men,
who vcllte(l their disttress at {our slow progress in
emlljhatic and not very reverent language, I fell
a:slee. I was awakened by a peculiar noise, like
that of an alnilmal in distress.  The conductor just
then passed throu(,'h the train, and Mrs. Hoge asked
of hilnli:an expl.anlation of the distressinog sounds.
"A  d'unklen so(ldier on the l)latform of the rear
car. Madlam " was the nonchalant answer.
It was s)nowingll fiuriously. The cries of distress
(ontilitued. i'ising. at times into short, sharp shrieks.
Thle cond.(l  t or' return-ed through the train, and Mrs.
IIo,';ag;inl accosted him;"')'ukl or sol)er, clonductor, that man is in distre —. lie is a sollier, ad(l must not be left on the
platl o'm.  Pleas.e bl'iv  him in 1}here."  He gruffly
refiu-'d. declarinr that " drunken  ( soldiers were no
coml)pauL for ladies! " and rudely pushed ahead.
MI'- IIore rose and went to the door, and I followed 1her.   A. man lay coiled in a heap on the
p)latt;lil'ln  the rear' car, wr'ithin, in the fierce throes
of co' llvtilsiolls  With assistanie from l)bvstandlers,
\\(& brI'ut(ht hinm in, arrange(I a r'ouglh bed with the
-at-. ulnbuttoned his military over'c(oat, bru.shed off
t he snow- that ( -.vered him. and then looked into the
p)ale face of a detlicate lad of eighteen.  IIis staring
\ xe- sa;w notlhing: lhis lim)bs were rigid: he was as
cold as if dead, and lhis mouth was flecked with




"AT HOME WITH MY MOTHER."


243


bloody foam. In the terrible spasms, his teeth had
bitten through tongue and lips.
There was no lack of interest now, and no withholding of assistance. Every one in the car was eager
to help. Blanket shawls were heated and wrapped
around the slender fellow's figure. Hot bricks, and
heated sticks of wood, were applied to his feet and
legs.  His hands and pulseless wrists were vigorously chafed, and hot cloths were applied to the chest
and abdomen. The train was searched for a physician, and at last one was found who added his remedial skill to our nursing. In about two hours we
were rewarded for our efforts by seeing the young
soldier relieved from pain, his muscles relaxed, his
breathing became regular, and he was conscious.
Gazing at us wonderingly for a few monents, he
covered his face with his thin fingers, through which
the tears trickled. "Excuse me, ladies! I thought
I was at home with my mother." He was a convalescent soldier, going from the hospital to his regiment, and altogether too much of an invalid for the
exchange.  The cold, exposure, fatigue, and improper food of the journey had nearly bereft him of
life, when we fortunately discovered him.
Just as we were entering Baltimore an officer with
a captain's bars on his shoulders came into our coach,
and accosted our patient, in amazement, -
" Why, William, what's the matter?"
Mrs.Hoge answered with much feeling. "He has
been very near death, but is better now. Are you
his captain, sir? "
"Not exactly," was the reply. "I was put in
charge of one hundred convalescents to be taken
back to their regiments. None of them are well




244


A DESERVED REPROOF.


enough to go, but they had to be sent away, the
hospitals are so crowded, to make room for sicker
men. Some of my men are as sick as this fellow."
" Do you know this young man personally?" inquired Mrs. Hoge.
" No," he replied, "but they requested me at the
hospital to be careful of him, as he is delicate, and
they gave him a good name for pluck and patience.
I had him in the rear car with the rest, and went out,
leaving him there. I have been in the smoker, and
only missed him just now when I went back."
" I was sick, captain," said the lad; "I thought I
was going to faint, and went to the platform for air,
and that is all I know."
Mrs. Hoge's indignation had been steadily rising,
and now burst forth. " And this is the way you discharge your obligations to sick soldiers, placed in your
care!  You leave them for hours to be neglected,
abused, branded as drunkards, while you seek your
own gratification! Four hours after this boy fell on
the platform, and was left to die like an animal, you
come to inquire after him. But for us, you would
have found only a corpse; for the physician who has
attended him declared that he could not have lived
an hour longer, uncared for. This is not the way,
sir, to treat the ' rank and file' of our army, made up
of the very flower of American young manhood. No
wonder soldiers desert, if this is a specimen of the
treatment accorded them. Had this lad died, sir, you
would have been responsible for his death." She
spoke sternly, and with feeling.
The captain winced under her rebuke, and said
he had not intended to be neglectful, and had not
supposed William was so badly off. When we vol.




TOO MUCH RED TAPE.


245


unteered to stop over in Baltimore, and see him
safely bestowed in a hospital, he turned him over to
our care, and gave us a written order for this purpose. We reached Baltimore at midnight, and for
two hours rode from hospital to hospital with our
charge, before we succeeded in finding a place for
him. At last, we met a surgeon, in charge of a
smaller hospital, who was willing to cut the red tape
that barred our sick soldier fiom the wards, so as to
admit him. Neither William's captain nor ourselves,
at that time, were acquainted with the multitudinous
forms to be observed before admission could be secured to a military hospital. We left him in comfort, and heard fiom him daily when in Washington.
On our return to Chicago, weeks later, we received
a touching letter of thanks from his mother and sister
in New Jersey, who spoke of their son and brother
most tenderly, as good and true, faithful and obedient.
It was Sunday morning when we arrived in Washington; and, as the Sanitalr Commission held no
meeting that day, we decided, after breakfast, to pay
a visit to Miss Dix. I had known this lady by reputation for years. I had heard of her deep interest in
the condition of paupers, lunatics, and prisoners, and
knew that she had spent her life in their service. She
had visited poorhouses, prisons, and insane asylums,
had accomplished reforms, corrected abuses, and
secured favorable legislation for their relief. WTith
a passion for justice, great energy of character, and
wonderful executive talent, she was a veri interesting personage. I anticipated great pleasure from
the interview.
Miss Dix passed through Baltimore shortly after




246


VALUABLE SERVICES OF MISS DIX.


the dire tragedy of April, 1861, when the Sixth Massachusetts regiment, on its way to the defence of the
national capital, was mobbed in its streets. Some
were left dead, and others wounded. Her first work,
on reaching Washington, was to nurse to health
these victims of the Baltimore mob. Washington,
at that time, was a great camp. Hospitals were hastily organized, and filled with sick, while there were
few to nurse them. Everywhere there were confusion
and disorder, lack of discipline and executive ability.
Miss Dix offered her services to the government in
any department where she could be made useful. On
the tenth of June, 1861, Secretary Cameron vested
her with sole power to appoint women nurses in the
hospitals.  Secretary Stanton, on succeeding him,
ratified the appointlnent; and she had already installed several hundred nurses in their noble work,all of them Protestants and middle-aged. She personally examined the qualifications of every applicant.
The women must be over thirty years of age, plain
almost to repulsion in dress, and devoid of personal
attractions, if they hoped to receive the approval of
Miss Dix. She also insisted on good health and an
unexceptionable moral character. Many of the women
whom she rejected because they were too young and
too beautiful entered the service under other auspices,
and became eminently useful. Many women whom
she accepted because they were sufficiently old and
ug1y proved unfit for the position, and a disgrace to
their sex.
Fortunately we found Miss Dix at home, but just
ready to start for the hospitals. She was slight
and delicate looking, and seemed physically inadequate to the work she was engaged in. In her




OPPOSITION OF SURGEONS.


247


youth she must have possessed considerable beauty,
much as she deprecated its possession by her nurses.
She was still very comely, with a soft and musical
voice, a graceful figure, and very winning manners
when she chose to use them. Her whole soul was in
her work. She rented two large houses as depots
for the sanitary supplies sent to her care, and houses
of rest and refieshment for nurses and convalescent
soldiers. She employed two secretaries, owned ambulances, and kept them busily employed, )printed and
distributed circulars, went hither and thither fiom
one remote point to another in her visitations of hospitals, adjusted disputes, settled difficulties where her
nurses were concerned, undertook long journys by
land and by water, and paid all expenses incurred
from her private purse.  Her fortune, time, and
strength were laid on the altar of her country il its
hour of trial.
Unfortunately, many of the surgeons in the hospitals did not work harmoniously with M3iss Dix. They
were jealous of her powel, impatient of her autlolrity,
condemned her nurses, and accused her of being
arbitrary, opinionated, severe, and capricious. [Many,
to rid themselves of her entirely. obtained permission
of Surgeon-General Hammond to employ Sisters of
Charity only in their hospitals, a )roceeding not at
all to Miss Dix's liking. I knew, by observation, that
many of the surgeons were unfit for their office;
that too often they failed to carry skill, morality, or
humanity, to their work; and I understood how this
single-hearted friend of the sick and wounded soldier
would come in collision with these laggards.
Miss Dix regarded her army work as only an episode of her life, and, when the war closed, returned to




248


WORK OF THE SANITARY COMMISSION.


her early labors, working for the insane and the
criminal, until increasing years and infirmities compelled a cessation of them. Since the close of the
war she has resided in Trenton, N. J.
Of the prolonged meetings of the Sanitary Commission held during the week, no account need be
given. They resulted in the formation of wise plans
of work, which, faithfully carried out, soon swelled
the amount of sanitary stores to an extent never
anticipated.  Special agents were appointed, and
a thorough system  of canvassing was adopted.
Monthly  bulletins were issued  by the various
branches to their tributary aid societies, containing
latest accounts of actual work, compiled receipts of
sanitary stores up to date, and a statement of the
immediate necessities of the hospitals. Earnest and
successful efforts were made all along the lines to
induce all organizations working for the relief of
the army to adopt the Sanitary Commission as the
almoner of their bounty; and great quickening resulted immediately. Henceforth to the end of the
war " an enthusiastic spirit of devotion to the soldier
inspired the popular heart." The treasury of the
Commission was kept full, and "its storehouses
overflowed with plenteousness."
The sessions of the Sanitary Commission being
ended, and the Woman's Council adjourned sine die,
we remained a few days in Washington to visit hospitals. soldiers' homes, and other places of interest.
The hospitals in Washington were, even then, marvels
of order, comfort, and neatness. Among the nurses
were some of the very noblest women of the Eastwomen of culture, of family, and of rare nobleness
of character. The Soldiers' Home in Washington




BENEFIT OF SOLDIERS' HOMES.


249


had been established by the Commission for the comfort of the private soldier travelling to his regiment
or home, who ran the risk, while awaiting transportation, of being entrapped by sharpers, always seeking
to fleece every man connected with the army. It
also received the sick men who could not go on immediately with their regiments, furnishing them with
food, medicines, and care. It obtained the back pay
of discharged soldiers, secured for them  railroad
tickets at reduced rates, sought to make them clean
and comfortable before they left for home, and was
in constant readiness with food or clothing, in large
quantities, for soldiers who passed through Washington in any direction. Forty similar homes were established and maintained before the close of the war.
On Reverend Frederick N. Knapp, an agent of
the Commission, whose name is imperishably associated with its grand work of special relief, devolved
the duty of establishing this Home. He selected as
matron, Miss Amy M. Bradley -an alert, executive
little woman from Maine. She had been a successful
teacher before the war, and had already achieved an
enviable reputation in the hospital service of the
Commission. For our men speedily fell victims to
the malaria of the miasmatic swamps of the Chickahominy during the terrible Peninsular Campaign, in
the spring and summer of 1862. The hospital transports of the Commission did heroic service in those
dark days, in removing the poor fellows North,
where they could have a chance to live, or at least to
die amid their kindred. Amy Bradley had made
herself a power on these transports by her skill in
nursing, in preparing food for the sick and wounded,
in dressing wounds, and in making herself generally




250


AMY BRADLEY'S FAITHFULNESS.


useful to the wretched men temporarily placed in
her care.
She was absent from the Home when we entered
it, but the spirit of neatness, good order, and cheerfulness which characterized her was visible everywhere.   There were three hundred and twenty
exquisitely clean beds awaiting occupants.  The
pleasant reading-room was filled with quiet readers,
every man of whom seemed comfortable. As we
spoke to them, each one had his grateful story to tell
of Miss Bradley's care and faithfulness.
" Miss Bradley obtained over one hundred dollars'
worth of back pay for me, which I could not get
myself," said one, "and I have forwarded it to my
family in need of it."
" One  hundred  dollars!" interjected  another.
"She has obtained over one hundred thousand dollars' worth of back pay from government for soldiers, since she came to this Home."
" She nursed over nine hundred of us in the hospital," chimed in another, " and only let thirteen die.
Bring on your doctor who can do better."
"You ought to see the letters she writes every
week for the men in this Home," added an assistant.
"The letters she writes haven't any blue streaks in
them, but are solid chunks of sunshine."
In every department of the Home this panegyric
of Miss Bradley was repeated. She returned just as
we were departing, and we had the pleasure of an
interview with the noble little woman, whose untiring work, begun with the war, for the soldiers, has
been continued to this day among the poor white
people of the South. She is still laboring among
them at Wilmington, N. C. Erect and decisive,




WHERE THE BRAVE ELLSWORTH FELL.


251


quick of comprehension and prompt in action, we
were immediately won by her kindly face and winning manners. It was not strange that the soldiers
loved and respected her.
The next day we went to Alexandria, across the
Potomac, some nine or ten miles fiom Washington.
Just outside the town there was a large encampment,
significantly named by the soldiers, " Camp Misery."
Here we were to pass the day. We took the carriage road rather than the boat.  The road was
through an almost continuous encampment.  The
country was nearly bare of trees, for many of them,
umbrageous with the growth of centuries, had long
ago been felled by the necessities of war.  The
fences also had vanished, and the numerous forts and
groups of tents revealed themselves plainly as we
rode on. I had driven over this same country many
times in happier years, and the desolation visible
everywhere touched me painfully.
We were "halted" at every bridge, and crossroad, were compelled to show our passes, and, hour
after hour, rode past never-ending trains of heavily
laden army wagons, rumbling slowly along. Soldiers
were everywhere - drilling, cooking, cutting wood,
washing clothes, writing letters, cleaning arms,
mending clothes, playing games, working on forts,
digging graves.  Whichever way we turned we
beheld United States soldiers.
We stopped a moment at the hotel in Alexandria,
where the chivalric Ellsworth foolishly threw away
his life. I saw him for the last time in Chicago, just
before the war began, when he gave an exhibition
drill of his wonderful Zouaves. They had just returned home from a triumphal tour through the prin



252


THE CAMP A PERFECT GOLGOTHA.


cipal cities of the East. At the very first call of the
country, the Zouaves, with their brave Colonel, entered the service. Their loyalty to the Union created
a furor wherever they appeared. The career of the
young and handsome commander was brief, and
ended in a tragic death.
Passing the hotel in Alexandria, from the roof of
which floated a rebel flag, he was so stung by this
insult to the government, offered within the very
eight of the capital, that he bounded up the stairway
and tore it down. On the instant he was shot dead
by the proprietor of the hotel, who, in his turn, fell
beside his victim, slain by the avenging bullet of
Ellsworth's friend and comrade, who had accompanied him. The hotel had been entirely remodelled,
as a protection from the visits of the curious.
In the large encampment at Alexandria were included four camps. One was for "new    recruits
awaiting orders to join regiments in the field." Another was for paroled prisoners waiting exchange.
Another for stragglers and deserters, captured and
soon to be forwarded to their regiments. And the
fourth was for convalescents from the Washington
and Maryland hospitals. The first two were in anything but a good condition, there being great destitution of everything needful and convenient. The
stragglers' camp was neglected and disorderly, as
might be expected; but the convalescent camp was a
perfect Golgotha. The four camps were located on
a hillside, bare of grass, whose soil was so porous
that a heavy shower saturated the whole like a
sponge. The convalescents were camped at the foot
of the slope, where it was forever damp, even in dry
weather, from the drainage of the camps above.




"CAMP MISERY " INDEED.


253


Here, ranged in streets named from the states to
which they belonged, were fifteen thousand feeble
men, all of them unfit for duty, and sent here to
recover. "Recover!"  this was the governmental
fiction which glossed over the worst condition of
things I had ever beheld.
Most of the men were poorly clad, without blankets, straw, or money, though many had seven or
eight months' pay due them. They were lodged,
in the depth of a very severe winter, in wedge and
Sibley tents of the smallest pattern, five or six to
a tent, without floors or fires, or means of making
any, amid deep mud or frozen clods. They were
obliged to cook their own food and obtain their own
fuel; and, as all the timber in the neighborhood had
been cut, it was necessary for them to go a mile for.
even green wood.
They slept on the bare ground, or, when it rained,
as it did while we were there, in the mud. Their
food was the uninviting rations of the healthy men.
There were but three surgeons for the four camps;
and if the boys needed medicine, they must go to
one of them. The surgeons only visited the hospital
of the camp, which was full and running over, so that
many were refused admission who were seriously
sick, and who remained in their fireless and bedless
tents. Such destitution, squalor, and helplessness, I
had never beheld. Bowel diseases were very prevalent; throat and lung difficulties met us at every
turn, and the incessant coughing made us all nervous.
In our party were representatives fiom most of the
Northern states; and there was a simultaneous burst
of indignation from the lips of all, as we saw the
utter neglect of these invalids. In Illinois Street,
16




254


SOLDIERS INQUIRING ABOUT HOME.


two young men, connected with the Eighth Illinois
Cavalry, accosted me by name.  They came from
Chicago, and had been my near neighbors. But the
mother who bore them would never have recognized
the skeletonized fellows. Feeble as they were, they
overwhelmed me with an avalanche of questions
about home. Women were rare visitors in these
camps, for the Alexandrian ladies were indifferent to
the welfare of Northern soldiers. As the lady visitors, therefore, sought out the soldiers of their various states, they were instantly surrounded by groups
of wan and fleshless men, eager to see a woman from
home who had interested herself to call on them.
The inquiries made by them can be imagined, but not
their sad faces and sadder stories.
Wne visited many of the miserable little tents,
where the pool fellows were doomed to pass much of
their time.  They were cold and cheerless; and
memories of the condition of their suffering inmates
gave us the heartache for weeks after. When, on our
return to Washington, I read in a morning paper
that half a dozen of the feeblest of these convalescents had frozen to death in their tents during the
previous cold night, I was not surprised.  As we
left, we were commissioned with affecting messages
for friends at home. I filled pages of my memorandum book with these messages and errands. I was
to call and see the mother and sisters of one; to assist
a wife in getting the discharge of her hopelessly in.
valid husband; to convey to a young wife her own
photograph and that of her child, with a half-finished
letter taken fiom the pocket of her dead husband;
and so on.
All of us had been accustomed to hospitals from




DESPONDING MEN TOOK HEART.


255


the beginning of the war, and were used to sad
sights; but this convalescent camp, -where fifteen
thousand brave men, who had lost health and heart
in the service of the country, were huddled as no
good farmer would pen up cattle, - outweighed in
sadness anything we had previously seen. The apparent indifference of the authorities concerning themn
seemed almost brutal. An endless stream of protests
had been sent to the Secretary of War and the Surgeon-General, to whom the horrible condition of this
camp was made known; and still it was not broken
up, nor was any apparent attempt made at its improvement.
Before we left, we found a gleam of light, for we
heard again of Amy Bradley. She had been sent
down to " Camp Misery" by the Sanitary Commission, as a special relief agent, and had taken up her
quarters among the men. She had made frequent
visits to the camp during the previous three mnonths,
always bringing supplies, which she personally distributed. Now she had come to stay with the convalescents; and the desponding mneni took heart as they
heard the glad tidings. She had set up her tents,
and arranged her little hospital cook-room, storeroom, wash-room, bath-room, and office. WVe were
told that she had passed round with the officers that
very morning, as the men were drawn up in line for
inspection, and had supplied seventy-five almost
naked men, who were very feeble, with woollen
shirts.
We walked over to her hospital tents. She had
forty patients in them, who were washed, made clean,
had been warmed and fed. We breathed easier; we
felt sure that at last light had dawned on the dark



256


LIGHT DAWNED ON THE DARKNESS.


ness. Nor were we mistaken; for, during the next
six mlonlths, she conveyed more than two thousand soldiet's fioln this camp, whose discharges she had obtalled, and turned them over to the Soldiers' Home
in WVaslhington. Most of them were incurably ill,
and would have perished but for her divine ministratiolns. In four months she had relieved " one hundred( anld thilrty patients in her little hospital, fifteen
of wholm died."  To the friends of the (lead shle sent
'lull accunllts of the last hours of their lost ones.
Before the close of' s/.c months she hadl procured the
lr-instatement of one hundred and fifty soldiers, who
had been droppedl)d from the muster rolls unjustly as
".deserters." had secured their back pay to them,
amonmllitin in all to eilght thousand dollars.
Tliee sceiIlc(edt to b) no limit to this little woman's
capacity fII' helpfulnicss. She was as cheery as a
sullbeam, a(nd inlfused health, hope, and courage into
all with wholm she came in contact. When, at last,
thle coll\;ale(scenlt campI was broken up, and its inmates
translei'r1cd to the " Rendezvous of Distribution" in
Wa:hn-iitonl slle l,,cated herself amonr them there.
Sh etl-tablished a weekly paper at their headquarters,
called the  Soldielrs' Journal," a quarto sheet of
ci, rht lpa,'(.s, which \was edited with remarkable
ability, until the 1Ireaking up of the Rcndezvous and
(lii-lanldinjgr,f the holspital at the end of the war.
" lThl.e rl',tits of the paper were twenty-two hundred
(oll11;arl, l(-s~ides thle value,o the printing-pre'ss and
mate':il i- T Il am  lut w as expended for the benefit
(I rh'lll.-. wh\-le fatll.'- had been connected with
tlht c:Il), aInd wa\;  in( reased by generous contributios fol'J-)m other'.-:ources."




CHAPTER XI.
LIFE IN A CONTRABAND CAMP-WASHINGTON IN 186 —A
CONTRABAND PRAYER MEETING        MY INTERVIEW    WITH
SECRETARY    STANTON - THE    DRUMMER-BOY     OF   THE
EIGHTH MICHIGAN.
Fugitive Slaves rejoicing in Freedom -Prayer-meeting in Camp - Meet old
"Aunt Aggy "-An Episode of Slavery - "Thar's a Day a-comln' I"
-Lively Praying-Tempestuous Singing - Intense Sectarians -A
Boy Philosopher - Visit Washington in 1865- Great Changes -
Deserters from the Enemy - Runaway Negro with a Six-Mule Team -
Courtesy and Kindness of Secretary Stanton- Meet Admiral and Mrs.
Farragut- Their Simplicity and Geniality —Lieutenant Cushing, the
Hero of the Ram Albemarle - Other Eminent Notabilitles- The Drummer Boy of the Eighth Michigan -Enlists with his Teacher- Charlie
petted by all - His Teacher and Captain Shot at James Island - Fierce
Life of the Eighth Michigan-Charlie Shares it All —Struck by a
Chance Shot - Fatal Result.
CONTRABAND camp had been established at Washington, made up principally
of fugitives from    Maryland and Virginia,
though we found numerous representatives
of the "patriarchal institution" from     )North
and   South   Carolina, and   Georgia.     There
were three thousand of them in camp at the time of
our visit, but the number varied fiom     week to week.
Rev. D. B. Nichols, a former superintendent of the
Chicago Reform School, was in charge of this motley
company of escaped slaves, and although there was
evidence of a lack of administrative talent, the poor
refugees from bondage had certainly, for the time, a
happy home in their miserable quarters.
257




A CONTRABAND CAMP.


All agcs, both sexes, every shade of complexion,
and (every variety of chalacter, were found here. I
had lived on a Soutllhern plantation for two years, in
my,;ea1ly lif;, and the people and scenes were not as
novel to me as to mly companions. They were overNwhelnmed with astonishment at the intelligence, good
sellns(, alld (decor'umn manifested by all. They had
'x)excted to se a galthering of half-humanized babooiis or gorillas, and were not certain that they
oulgllt not take witl them ian illterpreter. All with
whoml we con vesed gave an intelligent and graphic
account of their escailc l roml slavery, and their
descriptions of " llassl  " and " lnissus" revealed
a clear insight into character. They admitted that
thlety were not in as good condition now as they had
been " at ho0me,' but they expected to have better
days 1by and 1b?, andI to carn money, and to keep
house,a( and to ' live like white folks."  Not one
regrette(l their change of circumstances.
'A\hv\, llilus," s;aid( a very intelligent mulatto
w m111an, with (co, (lderal le prIetensions to beauty, who
h]ad come 1f rom l'oint Lookout, laying her right forefinlger in tlhe br',ad palm of her left hand to give
empIn.sai to lher secch, " wc'd ruther be jes' as po'
as we can be, if weI's only free, than tcr b'long to
any,,1o)(dy, an' hab all de money ole massa's got, or is
el)e.r 4,\v ie telr hab."
(CGnl;pared with white people at the North they
we('. Inot industlrious, but they coiml)ared favorably
with tlie humbler < las-ecs of whites at the South, and
were even1 ahead of them in intellect and industry.
E\ 1rV norniing the men of the camp went into the
cltv to get %work for the day. So did the women
who had not yolung children to care for. Few of




A PRAYER-MEETIN'G.


259


them failed to find employment. Government employed the men - and the women found chance jobs
of house-cleaning, washing, etc., for which they
asked and received moderate compensation. Many
had thriven so well that they had commenced housekeeping by themselves, an event to which all were
aspiring. The contraband camp at Washington was
therefore very nearly a self-sustaining institution.
Our first visit to the contrabands proved so interesting that we accepted an invitation firom Mr.
Nichols to attend their evening prayer-meeting.
The prayer-meetings were held every evening as
soon as supper was ended, and were the great staple
of their enjoyment. In them they found never-failing satisfaction. They had all assembled when we
arrived, but the advent of so large a company of
white people had the effect to disband several minor
meetings in the various huts, and to augment the
larger one in Mr. Nichols' quarters.  Room  was
made for us by the dense crowd with great courtesy.
The utmost decorum prevailed, seriousness sat on all
faces, and a hush settled over the sable assembly.
The oppressive stillness was broken by a comely
mulatto woman, far advanced in years, who rose,
and came towards me.
"I 'clar to goodness," she said, in a subdued
undertone, respectfully extending her hand, "you're
Miss Lucy's and Miss Mary's and Massa Robert's
teacher, down on de ole plantation! I knowed ver
de minit I seed yer a-comiin' in a-walkin' so straight
and so tall! I allers knowed yer on de ole place,
'clar way off furder'n I could see yer face, cos yer
allers walked so oncommon straight."
It was "Aunt Aggy," the housekeeper on the




260


2" AUNT AGGY."


plantation where I had been governess in my early
womanhood. She was the nurse of my pupils, and
the foster-mother of two or three of them. A slave,
she was entirely trusted, and was always respectful
and obedient. Never garlTulous, always grlave and
tacit urn, she carried herself in those days with a rare
dignity, ald neverl became obsequious, as did the
other house-servants. I instantly recalled a drama
of tlhose long gone years, in which she was both
speetator and actor.
Her daughter "Car'line" (Caroline), a pretty and
gr.aceful lmulatto, was a servant in the dining-room.
One mornin   when lassing a cup of coffee to Mr.
-,her mniaste' and owllner, by an unlucky movement of his hand he knolcked it fiom the tray on
which shet serve(l it, to his knees. It was warm
weather; he was attired in linen, and the hot coffee
scalded himn. lJumping up with an oath, he raised
his chair, and felled the girl to the floor, striking her
two or three times after she had fallen. She was
carn'ied to the cottage of " Aunt Air,-y," her mother,
whlo had witnesse(l the scene firom an adjoining room,
stunnle(, biruised, bleeding, and unconsciou.  I
left the table and withdrew to my own apartment,
shocked l)bel-ond exl)re-sion at the brutal outrage of
the pa'sioIlate ainalster'.
Latetr in the da5 1 ' Aunt A'try " came to my room
Oil som011t hslSehol(l erraln(l. whlen I (Xl)p(',sse(l my
iinilttitnatai n at tlh(~  it. t al treiatm' nt hetr daugthter had
rec ie,  utteri'i  inws-lf with the fia8nkness of a
New lEn:lnd riril1 of nineteten who had been trained
to 1)e true to }lier e- (lni(tioln.  I wa  to~ tni_.hed at
the ehane that came over the taciturn' and dii'nified
w   Im~an.  TurninL  siqtuarelv about and facilrn me,




THAR'S A DAY A-COMIN' 2"


261


with her large, lustrous eyes blazing with excitement,
she spoke in a tone and manner that would have
befitted a seer uttering a prophecy:" Thar's a day a-comin'l Thar's a day a-comin'l"
she said, with right hand uplifted; " I hear de rumblin'
ob de chariots I I see de flashin' ob de guns! White
folks' blood is a-runnin' on de ground like a riber,
an' de dead's heaped up dat highl" measuring to the
level of her shoulder.  "Oh, Lor'l hasten de dly
when de blows, an' de bruises, an' de aches, an' de
pains, shall come to de white folks, an' de buzzards
shall eat 'em as dey's dead in de streets. Oh, Lor'!
roll on de chariots, an' gib de black people rest an'
peace. Oh, Lor'! gib me de pleasure ob livin' till dat
day, when I shall see white folks shot down like de
wolves when dey come hongry out o' de woods!"
And without another word she walked fiom the
room, nor could I ever afterwards induce her to
speak of the beating given Caroline.  I reminded
"Aunt Aggy" of the occurrence, at the close of the
prayer-meeting, and found that it was photographed
on her memory as distinctly as on mine.
"I allers knowed it was a-comin'" she said. "I
allers heerd de rumblin' o' de wheels. I allers 'spected to see white folks heaped up dead. An' de Lor',
He's keept His promise, an' 'venged His people, jes'
as I knowed He would. I seed 'em dead on de field,
Massa Linkum's sojers an' de Virginny sojers, all
heaped togedder, wid de dead bosses, an' de smash-up
waggins-all de fightin' done done for dis yer
world foreber. Ole massa and missus bof done died
afore de war, an' young Massa Robert, what you
teached in de school-room, he done died in dese yer
arms. Little Mass' Batt, what liked to say his prars




262


262    A MIGHTY RUSH OF MELODY.


in ver room, he went to de, war, an'9 was shot, in ole
Car'lina, an' buried wid his sojers. Miss Lucy an'
little Courty bof done died when de war begin, an'
dey was lburie(I in Libet     Ill   De, ole place is all
done bro)ke up, anl' de e-olored. folks gro jes' what' dey
1)lease -no ipasses nowv. Oh, de Lor' He do jes'
righlt, if you only gib) Himi time, enougrh to turn
Iii se If.
The, m-eetingr commenced by the shinging, of a
hymn-11.  It wvas ai songc and chorus.  The leader, a
g( )O(d s4inger, stood inl the, centre of the room, and
sangc aflone the first two linies:I Sue( tie_ anI~rCS beck'n in' - I hear dern call me 'wvay,
I seeL(I dc  )1(ldcl (itv, an (le dle~si'cav
Anid t hen the~ whl( d c( )in"Teo'ation rose to their feet,
an1d wvith a 1iiiigh1ty rushl of ielodv, and anl astonishiii '1. ethusiasm1, ju)ined,( ill the in11spiring10 ehoruis:Oh1, I'm1 gWirrn bm)1j t4 glj(rv - won't yer gYo alon~r Nid me,
Witr I l1e(1:1T1rls~ be 'kon, an'I de Lou' mx' aviour be?"
Thec leade-r was a1 (Ioo d impijrovisatore as, well as
sln111erT:an1 ]( l~flL after the stock of ready-made verses
waCxhau-,ed(, hie wvent oni anid ovi- adding impromptu
ad   rou1,(lrhl rhvmne-, and the cono-recration came in,
~)rinpl\anid wvith ever-rishing enthiusiasm, with the
oflreeaedc1)oruIs.  All sano' with closed eves,
thii-~ slitittiiigr mit all externial jiiipre('sions5. anid a-ban1 -(b ii  teinelesto the c(Psta-sx  of' the hour-.  The
It a.ei'L41t( tliated  viOlenti v.%  will ughis armis
art 'un11d hai' h-a(I, up1)lifting his hands, and claspingthem t(ightly aiid pointhing into sp;jaeec; while his, coinblidoins swvayed slowly, to and fr-o, beatingr time to
the(- mu111i with their fi(et.
AL la-t the swvay-ing lbeeame wild and dizzy gyra



p                   A
6Or




n        ht                          1 a'  4 It in ole
Ca'hfua, wa  1 0.               I bs r A. ir.,-s Lucy an'
little (Ckiri1 'Ov     LVirA, hu~n de war begin, an'
dey was bli.. rt- iIll.          De ole place is all
done- br(,k#-     v ~  4     u" t fjks go jes' whar dey
Phiei -                    It h, die Lor' He do jes'
right. 'i ou   al        H I ti  time enouigh to turn
I~ fte~       mnier n1,dI by the singing o'f a
h  a.  WAXi 3    *;,1iVii.d chorus. The leader-, a
11 ~ t~i~Aiii the centr&~rof the roo~m, and
NvO,:l* the frt tIwo Iines:r4.Iv rL4 IAin-1 hear dem call me 'way,
*!v A~e 4'i v, an' de eberlastin' dlay!
Aw  'utl     wli(ulv cimngregation rose to theirfeet,
-d 0i a~ iiiiihty ruIsh1 of melody, anid an astonish-.;!ffi~At I f1I)II.niwd in the 'inspiring chorus:~ I'   Il-e omt glory - won't yer go along wid me,
~ t~t.t- i. ed~T)PI 1)(-(kof, an' de Lort- my Saviour be'""
T11  k*AAbr was a grood improvisatore as well as
44ivr bind longr after the stock of ready-nmade vters-ei
w,  1;1II ~1 he w- ent on and on, adding 4111pvo.ptu
ard1 I r..ih v IIvme~-; and the eongreg)i i.ntin in
Prornp-tirl ov,)'.i With eN V-Isi:4ng enthn-1iu  -ih the
thn'-f '1ilin figl (mt, all * t  tI  4~~% "11and abanidoried th#1-4nis. lv#  II hi' *vta-tsN *i i  hour. The
lex'U.4r -~-si-iae  Nr'i 4 i8t v.  1Wflgi!I  his arnis
ArOUrT*I his hI v1k, 1nj'Iliftiit- Ili- handt, and claispingr
til1icn tyihtly 8ui41 pointing iflt4) ~pc;while his comnn1ras Avfawed slowly to and fro, beating time to
the       With tlwirj feet.
At law- th#4 -~avyrg 14 Came wild and dizzy gyra



?r -           -
all
Nq   A                               as     I.   I.  I
- I               I.        I I - z - X


z — "~ eu L,,.j _    c w 'L r


-,, -11 I":.o 46 - :     -. I, I -, -. '.








SCENE OF WILD EXCITEMENT.


265


tions, which were interspersed with quick, convulsive
leaps from the floor. Accompanying all this was a
general hand-shaking, in which we white people
were included.  One powerful Maryland woman
nearly toppled me from the elevated and precarious
seat which I had selected, the better to look down
on the congregation, so fervent was her hand-clasping. All of us were glad when this exercise was
ended, for our hands ached.
After this followed a prayer. Never have I heard
a prayer of more pathos and earnestness. It appealed to God, as Infinite Justice, and with confidence that the wrongs of the slave would be redressed.
"You know, 0 Lor' King," said the kneeling
supplicant, "how many a time we've been hollgry,
and had noffin to eat,-how we've worked all day
and night in de cotton and 'bacca fields, and had no
time to sleep and take care of our chillen, and how
we've bin kep' out in de fiost and de snow, and suffered many persecutions. But now, 0 King, you've
brought us up hyar under de shadder o' de Linkum
army, and we 'pend on Thee for de rest. We're
gwine to wait for Thee, O King, to show us do
way." With the utmost fervor he prayed for the
Union army —that "the Lor' would smother its
enemies,"  and for " Massa Linkum, who was doing
de good Lor's will." And to both these petitions
the whole audience added a tempest of supplicatory
responses. Finally, after specifying every distressed
class of whicth h any knl they had ay owledge, they begged
the Lord to " pardon the damned out o' hell, if so be
de good Lor' could do it."
During this prayer a dozen of half-grown mulatto




"BRESS MY POOR JIM!'


boys had entered the rear of the room, who were not
imnlued witl the seriousness of the great congregation. After a few moments they became uneasy,
and be(ian to fiolic. Once or twice one of the number made some comment to his companions, in an
audible tone of voice, and several times they broke
down in a suppressed giggle. They were remembeed by a vlenerable negro who prayed next, in this
ingenuous fashion:
"0 Lor, b1)'ess us all poor sinners. Bress dese
yet boys, 0 Lot'; dey'se got so many blessin's, dey
dunno what to do wid 'em; dey'se like de hogs under
de 'simmons trees, eating 'simmons,  dey dunnowhar
dc!y come firoln. 0 Lor', bress us all poor sinners, an'
bress.ml I poor Jim,"' -who now laughed outright"'case he's a berry bad boy, Lor'; he's a badder
box dan you knlow for; he swars; he swars more
dan;l y(,  kllw about; he swars more in de tent dan
he d(oes outdoorsl. Now\, Lor', bress us all, an' stan'
by me. ilan' I'll stal' by  ou, sartin."
A prolongdcl   exhor tation followed this prayer. It
was. nmainly devoted to the case of one of their
nunlber who had died two nights before, who was a
notorious thief, and who, the speaker unhesitatingly
dec(la'd, " \was in hell." "An' now, chillen, whar
yoV 'spect un1cl1e Ji done to-lic? Wednesday night,
chilleli, at half' Ipast ten o'clock," —the hour at which
tlie man dicd,- " uncle Jil donlle (.(-)loe to hell. Now
he roll al)out on de red-hot slest-i'on floor tha', an'
he e(lim' ill) (1, Je(l-hot walls, an' fall )bak agin"an(l,) o(n. I ron!iess I fIlt quite reconciled to uncle
~J   lil- unlpllea)ts:nt )predicamenlt, ill (c nsidleration of
tlheir pll-raye that God N iould lard(l)n the damned.
Otihr.'cenes, speeches, and pra)yer.l  followcd, but




MORE PIOUS THAN MORAL.


267


one was a sample of all. The meeting was of the
liveliest character throughout. They were not only
hearers, but in a very emphatic sense they were also
doers, and with their gesticulations, beating of feet,
shaking of hands, and unintermitted responses, they
made busy and hard work of their prayer-meetings.
They were mostly Baptists, and were intensely
sectarian. One Methodist brother ventured to start
a hymn, but he had it all to himself. The Baptists
sat still with folded hands and closed eyes, grim as
sphinxes, and let him sing it through alone, without
the aid of a single helping voice.
Mr. Nichols informed us that while the piety of
these people was of the most orthodox character,
their morality was not so satisfactory. The vices of
slavery very naturally clung to them, and they were
not truth-telling nor honest.  All knew that the
President had issued a Proclamation of Emancipation, and they expected to be free before the end of
the war. When they sang their celebrated song,
until then always sung stealthily and in secrecy, beginning,
"Go tell Moses, go down into Egypt,
An' tell King Pharaoh, let my people go,"
the leader improvised verses at the close suited to
their circumstances, and the congregation changed
the chorus, shouting with excitement, and gesticulating in a way that would have been terrific had they
been less jubilant, " He wil let my people go!"
Our return route to Chicago was by way of Philadelphia,:s we wished to visit the Branch Commissions in Philadelphia and New York. Walking up
Chestnut Street, I met a cheery-faced lad, wearing
the blue uniform of the army, who had lost a leg,




268


"'TAINT SO BAD AS IT MIGHT BE I"


anld wa\s swillningl along painlfully on a crutch. I
cotld (l ot (lo otherwise than sl)eak to him..
"Iy chlild, you have been very unfortunate."
"Yes, ina'am," he replied, as cheerfully as though
I had siml)ly remarkled, " It is a pleasant day."
"Do you belong to the army? "
Yes, ma'am- I 1am a drummer."
"Did you lose your leg in battle?"
"Yes, ma'am; I sul)ppse it was partly my fault,
thouoh. I was told not to go down where the fight
was, for I was not needed. But I wanted to see the
fiun, and went; and a piece of shell splintered my
ankle so that I had to have my foot taken off."
"My poor boy! I am very sorry for you, and now
you must be a criplple for life."
" Oh, well, 'taint so bad as it might be.  I'm
goilln to lhave:Il artificial leg, some time. I might
11av1e  e,C 11o, lbut I shlould outgrow it in a year;
ainil, asl they cst fifty dollars, a fellow can't afford to
11hae a lnew leg every sprling, like he does a pair of
tiloiset s. But 1whten I (get grownN  I shall have one,
an;lld tllch  I can go it as well a;s ever."
1lc-sins' on the cheery-faced thirteen-year-old
phlilo )ph1le! In his sunny natulre and hopeful spirit
he hbad a greater fCitllne thanl the wealth of Vanderbilt would give hilll if he lacked these qualities.
I was conmpelled to x isit Washington for the last
tince duirinr tlhe wa', in 1G65, alout a month before
L,;C's arml!y -turlrender(ed to General Grant at Appomatt)ox.  MIy viit then was in the inteI'e-t of the
la;>t sanitary fair of the count'ry. Washington was
fiull, andl rtuniiing over.  Congres s wasS just at the
close of the terim, overcrowded with work, and hold



WASHINGTON IMPROVED.


269


ing sessions day and night to finish up the necessary
business of the country. People were in the city,
representing every taxable interest, entreating immunity from taxation for their particular industry, seeking appointments for themselves or
friends, endeavoring to get real or fancied wrongs
righted, eager to go to the fiont, - fiom curiosity
or to aid sick and wounded fiiends, or awaiting
the ceremonies of the approaching inauguration of
President Lincoln for a second term, which promised
to be more than ordinarily brilliant.
The city had changed during the war. More
money had been spent on its streets during the
four years of the war than in all its previous history.  Horse-cars ran in every direction, the city
was well lighted, and the sidewalks and crossings
were in good condition. The city had taken on a
business look, and its old dulness had disappeared.
But it was even then what it had always been- one
of the most unlovely cities of the Union. Ragged
and straggling, with the oddest jumble of amazing
houses on its spacious streets, whose depths of mud
were immeasurable, the magnificent public buildings
only emphasized the general meanness of the city,
making it painful to behold.
The sights of war were not as numerous as in
1862. Then, all day and all night one heard the
unceasing rumble of army wagons. Regiments were
constantly passing through the city.  Everywhere
one caught the gleam of the bayonet, and heard the
roll of the drum. Two great hostile armies were
then encamped but a short distance from Washington, and one's spirits rose and fell with the rumors
that hourly disturbed the public mind.




270 WAO ILESALE DESERTION OF THE ENEMY.
Now, one realized that the theatre of war was
remote; anld in the prophetic soul of every one dwelt
the unshaken conviction that the end was near. The
only unusual sight in the military line was the daily
processions of deserterls from the enemy, constantly
arriningc within the lines of our army.  General
Granlllt had promised, by proclamation, to buy of the
desertlers the teams and munitions of war they
brought with them, and they came loaded, hundreds
every night, squalid, ragged, dirty, and miserable.
Two or three tunes a day I met them, under the
escort of our soldiers, unkempt, almost barefooted,
and generally bareheaded, as brown as berries, but
jubilant, and often hilarious.
Whole picket lines deserted; and the rebel guards,
who witnessed the transaction, and who remained
behind because they had families in the Confederacy,
refrailed friom firling on the deserters, or fired high,
so as not to hit them. General Lee's army was melting away like snow in the spring sun; and to him
cvrV deserter was an irreparable loss, for he could
not b)e replaced. Most of the men were unmarried,
and soimec had families in the Xorth. In conversation
with them, they informed me that the married men
deserted to their homes in the South, and in four
tullle- the numbersl of the single men who escaped to
thlie N-rth.
One day(. a negro, who was believed trustworthy,
wa.. sent out (of the enemy's lines with a six-mule
team aIr a )ig l,,oad of wood. HIe had got beyond the
pi1l et-. and.seemed to think it worth while to venture al little fairtler. and o keplt on towards "Uncle.amn'. }boy-."  The 'rebel pickets saw him going, and
'u-lied after hun. Our men saw him coming, and




LIBERTY AND A GOOD START.


271


rushed towards him. The ebony teamster whipped
up his mules, shouted, hurrahed, and urged them on.
Guns were fired on both sides, and the yelling and
excitement were tremendous for a few minutes. But
the negro gained the day, and ran out of slavery into
freedom. lie was taken to the quartermaster, who
gave him several hundred dollars for his team, so he
not only got his liberty but a good start. He was
sent up to Washington, at his desire; for his wife
had worked her way to the city, and he wished to
seek her. His story found its way into the papers,
and for a brief day he was a small hero.
"Golly, missus!" was his comment, when I expressed my surprise that he had not been killed in
the attempt to escape, "I was dat s'prised when I
foun' myself alive and free in Massa Linkum's army.
wid all dat money for my own, dat I couldn't b'lieve
it. I was dat weak I couldn't stan' no more'n a
broken-winded mule can run. It's a heap sight better up hyar, dan down on de ole place, and I 'spect me
and de ole woman'll stay hyar when I'se found her."
Of my interview with President Lincoln, and its
result, I have given an account elsewhere. I was
commissioned to borrow the captured rebel flags, the
battle-flags in the possession of the government, and
the government bunting, for the use of the last great
fair of the Sanitary Commission. For this purpose
I went to the Secretary of War. I must confess that
I never approached a human being more reluctantly
than I did Secretary Stanton. I had heard fearful
accounts of his porcine manners, discourtesy, and
vulgar hauteur; and I dreaded to meet him. I did
not then know that these charges were brought
against him by cotton speculators, Southern traders
17




272


VISIT TO SECRETARY STANTON.


in goods contraband of war, and other harpies, who
had sought to prey on the government, and whose
rapacious schemes he had thwarted.
A great crowd was in attendance, each waiting his
turn, one standing behind the other in a long line
that stretched far out into the hall. A hush like that
of death pervaded the apartment. Each one in turn
stepped forward to the Secretary, who stood to receive the applicants, and in a low tone proffered his
request, or presented his papers. In the same subdued tone Mr. Stanton gave his advice or decision,
and the interview ended.
My turn would not have come for two or three
hours, and I had not the time to spare; so I sent by a
page a brief letter of introduction given me by Mrs.
Lyman C. Trulnbull, long since deceased, one of the
noblest women of the land, for whom Secretary
Stanton had a great regard. It worked like the
"open sesame " of the fairy tale. The page conducted me to the Secretary immediately, who greeted
me very pleasantly, holding in his hand the open
letter of our mutual friend. " Mrs. Trumbull sends
no one to me on a trivial or doubtful errand!" was
his only comment; and then he stood in an attitude
of attention. There was no waste of words on either
side. What I asked was granted, an order for the
flags was written on the spot by the Secretary, who
informed me how to obtain the bunting.
Finding this so easily accomplished, I grew bolder,
and asked other favors of the same sort, and for the
same use; and they were promised in black and
white. At last, I invited the Secretary to honor our
Chicago fair with his presence, as President and
Mrs. Lincoln had promised to do, on the day of




ADMIRAL FARRAGUT.


273


opening; and this he declined.  "Your efforts,
madam, are in the direction of mitigating the
horrors of war. Mine are in the direction of
finishing the war; and till that is accomplished,
here is my place." I left the War Office with a
very different impression of the Secretary fiom that
with which I entered. Excepting President Lincoln,
he was, by common consent, the hardest-working
man of the administration. He had a grand head
and a good face.   He was fearfully industrious,
laconic, and stern, when opposed to the enemies of
the government, at home or abroad; but everywhere
in Washington, among loyal people, he was known to
be just, courteous, honest, and humane.
I accidentally fell in with Admiral and Mrs. Farragut on this occasion, whom it was a pleasure to
meet-they were so simple and unaffected.  The
admiral was the most genial, social, simple-hearted,
and jolly sailor imaginable. He seemed utterly oblivious to the fact that he was a great man; and I
doubt if he ever comprehended that his deeds of
loyalty and heroism were unusual. When I made
some allusion to his being lashed to the lmast while
fighting the battle of New Orleans, he burst out in
amazement: '"I want to know if you have heard of
that out in Chicago! That wasn't much of an affair,
although the papers have made a great ado over it."
The admiral was livillg in Norfolk. Va.. when that
state seceded. He fought against secession with
entreaty and argument; but it availed nothing, and
he was notified by the authorities that he must leave
Norfolk with his family in two hours. *' I tell you,"
said the admiral, " we packed our trunks in a hurry,
and brought off lots of plunder. There were four of




24 4  DARING DEED OF LIEUTENANT CUSHING.
us, and we packed sixteen large trulnks among us,
containing most of our valuables." In the course of
the war he captured many of his old friends and
neighbors.  "TThey met me rather stiffly," said the
admiral; "not a bit like they used to."  Fond of
the naval life he led, and proud of his profession,
he liked to boast that " since his twentieth birthda5, he had not been inland sixty miles from the
ocean."
OC'0ll.
Lieutenant V. B. Cushing was another of the
hero's whom  I met in Washington.     The wllole
c(untry\ was at that time rinuging with his praises,
for lie 1;(1l pl)erfo;llred one of the nmost daring and,rllllllt deeds1 of tlhe war,1 for which the Secretary of
the Navy lIad thliankeld ]liln, in a most complimentary
letter. Tle rel)el ram Allemarle had attacked the
Unlion fleet, ald (lestroyed some of our vessels.
Lieutetnanltt Ctushinll w:as charged with the perilous
duty of destr(l)ying tle rain. Constructinog a torpedo
boat, and selectinl his otlicers and crew, thirteen in
all, not one o f whom expected to return alive, he
set out on the expedition.
The AllVI)marle lay near the mouth of the Roanolk,t dletn(led by a stoutly built enclosure of logs,
the balnk; of the river lined all the way with pickets.
lBut with inllc'l'redilble darin' the yo'uni  lieutenant
drovel tlhe torpeldo uldtr tlh ram,' and exl,,ded it,;anl the dreaded A)lbcarle sank at 1er moorings.
O()nly o,1c of tli( company besdles Lieutenant Cushing
retltilured1 fioll this exploit. The ret were never
11heard fiom. but were killed, captured, or drowned.
o, one nw-ould lhave iimagined the 1boish, rosy(}hecke.( lieutenant to be a her',. lie was painfully
llmoduet, and any eulogi-tic allusion to his services




OTHER NOTABLE PEOPLE.


275


dyed his face with crimson blushes to the roots of his
hair.
There were other notable men and women to be
seen in Washington at that time, some of whom will
always be remembered by the country - General
Hooker, the hero of Lookout Mountain, " the battle
fought above the clouds," and who, despite the wear
and teal of military life, was still one of the handsomest men of the day; Chief-Justice Chase, whose
Jove-like head and kingly port made him the observed of all observers; Mrs. Stephen A. Douglas,
who, it was said, had been more toasted and feted
than any other woman in America, because of her
personal beauty; Mrs. General W. T. Sherman,
who was intent on seeking attractions for the Catholic department of the forlthcoining Sanitary Fair, of
which she had been chosen superintendent; Captain Winslow, the brave commander of the Kearsarge,
that crippled, and compelled the surrender of the
Confederate Alabama, "which had made the ocean
lurid with the flames of our burning merchantmen."
There was no lack of eminent personages for the
pursuit of the lion-hunter. But the nation was in
no mood for lionizing its celebrities. It was watching the closing scenes of the mighty drama, now
being played before Richmond. It was waiting in
hushed expectancy for the news of the great surrender, which would bring an end of war, and restore peace to the weary people. In less than twenty
days it came-and the lightning flashed the glad
tidings to the farthest verge of the civilized world.
Just as I was leaving Washington, I received a
telegram asking me to stop in Indianapolis to inquire the fate of a drummer boy, belonging to the




A FAMOUS DRUMMER BOY.


Eighlth Michigan, whose faliily lived in my neighborho( d.  Charlie Galllrdner was a schoolboy, thirteen
and a half years old, in the town of Flint, Mich.,
when the war beganl. Under the first call for sevent -live thousand troo'ps, his father, who was connectted with a militar'y organization of long standing,
leftt for the c defince of tlhe national capital. Soon
thCl'e camne; seconld (call, fo;r thiree hundlred thousand
01mor, whenll Clharlie's teacher, an exemplary young
man, (resigncd his lsltion alld eiitered the army.
Betweeni tills teacher and the boy there existed a
very ardent attachmelnt, and Captain Guild seconded
( 'll;lhlie's earnest entreaties that he might go with
h11m;1 a (I i'11111mmr. He had been famous fiomn baby]hood fli' llis lllmsical gifts, and ha(l acquired a good
dea.l of lo( cal notoriety f; r his skilful handling of the
dr(l'llHsticks.
"If I.can 1,, to the -war wiith my drum, and take
the pla(ce (f' a m1an who can ca!rr' a musket," was
ClIhalil's lj)esi,'lstet plea, "'I think it mny (uty to go,
(p)ecicallv as you, in,,tlcWl, do ot,  rct eatl need me at
hlome."  At last, reluctantlx, the pooir mother, who
htadl' sirrenidercdl her hulsband, gave up her (son, and
lie was ntmustered into tile Eighth Miiclhigan, with his
teac her.
The ic'gitcient was or(dered to Port Royal, and on
thei' waN\  tlithler (Cliarlie met his father in AVashlinogto. As they were returning froml the Navy Yard,
wel}e.'e thev lad becen to tteceive their aris, lie saw
his i fthler:at a (ditance, and, fo;rgetfil of military
rule, }1i br)oke fiom tle r'anks, and raii with childish
joy into, hi. aIrms. It was their la-t meetlin, a- Mr.
Gardner died the following Novenber, at Alexand*'ia, of tvphoid fever.  Charlie's letters to his




"CYOU HAVE ME LEFT, MOTHER I"


277


mother, after this bereavement, were remarkably
thoughtful for a boy of fourteen.  "I am nearly
broken-hearted," he writes. "I try to be cheerful,
but it is of no use, for my mind continually runs
towards home, and a fresh gush of tears comes to
my eyes, and I have to weep. But, my dear mother,
if this is so hard for me, what must it be for you?
Do not take it too much to heart, for remember that
you have me left, and I will do my best to help
you. I shall send you all my money hereafter, for I
really do not need money here." This promise he
fulfilled to the letter.
By and by we heard of the fearless little fellow,
small beyond his years, on the battle-field with the
surgeon, where the grape and canister were crashing
around him, pressing forward to the front during an
engagement, with the hospital flag in his hand, to
aid in the care of the wounded.  A peremptory
order from his superior officer sent him to the rear.
When the wounded were brought in, he worked
all night and the next day carrying water and
bandages, and lighting up the sorrowfulness of the
hour by his boyish but never-failing  kindness.
Never was the lad more serviceable than during
a battle.
At the terrible battle of James Island, in an
assault on the fort, his beloved captain, always
foremost in a fight, had climbed the parapet, when
a shot struck him, he fell backwards, and was seen
no more. Now was Charlie indeed bereaved. His
teacher, captain, friend, father, lover, dead on the
battle-field, and the poor satisfaction denied him of
burying his remains. His letters after this were one
long wail of sorrow. He could not be comforted




278   FIERCE LIFE OF THE EIGHTH MICHIGAN.
and yet, always thoughtful for others, he wrote,
"Oh, how I pity Guild's poor mothelr!"
Months passed, and the Eighth Michigan was
ordered to Vicksburg to rie-enfobce Grant, who had
beleaguered that doomed city.   Battle after battle
followe(d-nineteen of thelm-in all of which Charlie
particilated, oftenl escaplilg death as by a miracle.
Somethling of the fierce life led by this regiment may
be inftrlr'ed fi1om the faict that of fifteen hundred and
sixty-three men wihose names werse on its musterrolls, less tlan four hundred survived at the close
of tle war. On marches, on reconnoissances, and
througlhout campllailgns, Charllie klept with the regimenlt.  TheN crossed the mountains to Knoxville,
Tenll., il Genelral Burnsillde's corps, when they were
(col)elled to su111sist on three ears of co'n a day.
Fol' weeks they wcere slhut up in that city, besieged
1b LoIg(sti'e ctfs forces, where they weiec put on quarter rationls.  Yet not one word of complaint ever
came fi'onll the lpattient lad, -not one word of regret,,11\;1an earinest desiIre to remnain in the service until
the iend of the wai'.
At la.t there camen  a letter fiom  the surgeon.
Durnllgl the siege,f Knoxville Charlie had been
woundl   for tlle fi'-t time. A (chance shot entered
tlhe (wi-wl(lW of the holi-e in which he \was sitting,
str'11ck hiiii oIn the shoulder', and, glancincg, entered
ihe left lunll.  " lie h/.s been il a veiry danl,' g us
(.olndlti(,n" wt',)t( tlie su'i geont; "1)tit he is now fast
't.'().,\ eI',l,. lie i a unive(i'al pet, and i; w.ell care.1(
1(r in tIle otf i 1 l qual'telr-"  Th( next newsc \w:1i
t\ (   ol,111,i'e c( 11t;fortinll'.  The rer'iiment was on its
-wa to De troit,o  a thirtN days' fuirlouh, would recrult, Iettulrl, and remain until tlle end of the war.




"CHARLIE DIED IN INDIANAPOLIS."


279


Now, a telegram announced that the regiment was
in Louisville, then in Indianapolis, in Michigan City,
at last in Detroit.
With a happy heart, the glad mother telegraphed
her boy to come to her in Chicago, whither she had
removed on her husband's death. Then she watched
the arrival of the trains.  "He will be here tonight! He will be here to-morrow " she said; and
answered every summons of the door-bell herself,
expecting to greet her boy. Everything was in
readiness for the lad-his room, his clothes, the
supper-table spread with the delicacies he loved.
Mother, sister, brother, all were waiting him.
A ring at the door. All start, all rush; now it
is surely Charlie. No; only a telegram: " The regiment has arrived in Detroit; but Charlie died in
Indianapolis." God help the poor mother
I obeyed the direction sent me to Washington, and
went to Indianapolis in search of the lad's dead body.
He had not been in that city. I went to Louisville,
and consulted the hospital directory of tile Sanitary
Commission. He had died in Louisville, fiomn hemorrhage of the lungs, occasioned by the chance shot
which penetrated them. The lifeless corpse was exhumed fiom the soldiers' burying-ground, and forwarded to the mother. Ah, the war of the rebellion
cost us dearly!




CHAPTER XII.


A TRIP DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI —AMONG THE SICK AND
DYING    OUR MISSION AND STORES-LOVING MESSAGES
FROM HOME-A BRIDE'S SONG FOR A DYING SOLDIER.
The Army encamped at Young's Point-They cut the Levees-Great
Sickness results-Special Relief Corps sent down-Mrs. Colt, of Milwaukee. and myself attached to the Corps - Our Programme - Outfit -
Some of the Messages entrusted me - Our wheezy Boat - Disloyal Officers - Musical Talent on Board - Singing in the Hospitals - Touching
Episode - Scene in a Memphis Hospital — " Mother, don't you know
your Boy? "- Our Headquarters in Memphis, at Gayoso House - Women
Secessionists -To be sent within Confederate Lines —A stormy Interview -" llolrs me to be at large!" - We embark on the Tigress for the
lower Mississippi - A dreary Journey.
HE   grand passion of the West during the
fist half of the war was to re-open the
Mississippi, which had been closed by the
enemy.     This   great water highway        had
been wrested from the possession of the rebels
as far south as Vicksburg, which frowned down
firom  its unique eyrie, bristling with batteries, and
hurling shot and shell at our brave men encamped
at Young's Point, opposite.         It seemed, from      its
position, to be thundering forth the mandate, "Hitherto shalt thou come, but no farther."
General Sherman's attempt to take the fortifications and batteries which defended Vicksburg on the


280




CUTTING THE LEVEES.


281


north had failed, and, after a triumphant and conquering expedition up the White River into Arkansas, the whole Western army had been moved down
the Mississippi in transports. At that time the men
were living in boats, or were vainly seeking dry land
for their encampments, amid the swamps, lagoons,
bayous, and sloughs of the abominable portion of
that country, known as the "river-bottoins." The
levees of the river had been cut in many places, as a
"military necessity," or from sheer wantonness on
the part of the " boys," who gloried in any mischief
that brought trouble to the "secesh."
But cutting the levees in this case proved a twoedged sword, not only injuring the enemy but
drowning out our own men. Those who could, took
to the crowded river-boats.  The rest remained in
their wet encampments in the pestilential swamps
and bottom  lands, drenched with the protracted
spring rains, almost buried in the unfathomable mud,
and drinking death froln the crystal waters of the
Yazoo.   Soon sickness and suffering stalked in
among them. The death which they had escaped on
Southern battle-fields sprang upon them here like a
tiger from the jungle. Twelve thousand men lay
sick at one time -about thirty-three and one-third
per cent of the army at that point - and the wail,of
agony from the sick and dying was borne to the
listening ears of the tender-hearted Northwest.
Quick to hear, it was swift to relieve. Surgeons and
physicians who had acquired a national reputation
for skill in their profession, were despatched to the
scene of suffering, to battle with the miasmatic foe
which was conquering the conquerors.
Immense shipments of supplies were sent down on




QUICK RELIEF SENT FROM THE NORTH.


tlhe sanitary boats, with men and women of executive ability, who attended to their safe transmission
andl equitable distribution.  Accompanying these
were special corps of relief accustomed to the work
in hospitals, and possessed of physical endurance,
able to cncounter any horror of army life without
blenlchiing.
It was with one of these shipments of sanitary
stores, anld as one of thle relief corps, that I went
do1,wl tlle MIississllpi ill March, 1863. Quartermasters, State Sur'geon-Generals, nmembers of the Legislatlure, lrepreselntatives of tlle Chicago Chamber of
Commer111 cet', 1a c(mpatny of Illnrses whom I was to
locate ill hlospitalls, and somne two or three women
whol, had been active in work lng for our invalid sol-.dierls from tlie very first, malde up the delegation.
Two of' us only -  IMr. Colt,,of Milwaukee, and my-.s If- were conlected with the Sanitary Commission.
Mi's. Colt was the. executtve woman at the head of
the sailitarv w(ork in Wisconsin, whose enthusiasm
infe.tc(l tlie lwhole state with patriotism and generotit;'. The.anitarly stlIp)lies, albout thirty-five hundrcdl boxes and Ipackages in all, were sent by the
C, ln issi, n anld Clhica. o Board,of Trade.
T'rI l)rI'O'iinLme Iai'tked out for us was this. We
were' to \viit evei' h o-I)ital from Cairo to Young's
Print.,  ll,, sittc Vick'k-biti'; relieve such needs as
were press-in,; Imake oul'rsclvcs usefil in any way:ai),n.,r the Si( k and woulile(l, co-()operatingrb harmoni(,usly\ a  'al'r a1s 1)(ossitle with medical and military
aulth(ii'ities  Fr',m (every point we weret to report
o,1l' mllov'el nt.s the result,of' our observationsl, w\hat
we h;ad accomlilished, andl what we found needing
attention, employing the Chmeago Press and the bul



OUR OUTFIT AND STORES.


283


letins of the Sanitary Commission as our mediums of
communication.
Our assortment of stores comprised almost everything necessary in hospital relief; potatoes, onions,
sauer-kraut, and vegetables - chiefly for the scorbutic patients, who constituted a majority of the sick
-farina, corn starch, lemons, oranges, pearl-barley,
tea, sugar, condensed milk, ale, canned fruits, condensed extract of beef, codfish, jellies, a small
quantity of the best of brandy, with hospital shirts,
drawers, sheets, socks, slippers, bandages, lint, r'ubber rings, and whatever else might be needed for
wounded and sick men. We also took down about
five hundred "private boxes," forwarded by private
parties for particular companies, or squads, or individuals, and committed to our care for safe transmission and delivery. 'My own personal outfit consisted
of a long pair of rubber boots, reaching to the
knee, a teapot, a spirit-lamp to boil it, with a large
quantity of Japan tea, condensed milk, sugar and
crackers.
Through the daily papers, we volunteered to take
letters, messages, or small packages, to parties on our
route connected with the army, and to deliver them
whenever it was possible. For a week before we
started, my time was consumed by people who came
to the rooms of the Sanitary Commission on these
errands. I made memoranda of the verbal messages
and inquiries, which were many and mostly from the
poor and humble. My memorandum book lies before
me. Here are samples of these messages: -
"Mercantile Battery, Milliken's Bend, George
W —. His mother called. She is well; is not
worrying about her son; has gained thirteen pounds




. -  84


284" STAND IT LIKE A MAN!1"


sin1ce the Co1(1 Wetathei  Ain to makle particular in(IfliIiiis about her son's habits; does hie drink, swear,
01' moe      Tell him his mother would rather he
wouilti be senit home dead, than that he should return
alive aiid (lissip;ated."
lol)imigYs Point, Onie Hundred and Thirteenth
lIhu1omsl Peter RPiWfi         called.  She and the
SIX chiuldreni are wvell; gets plenty of work, good pay,
anil the counit allt)waince, of three dollars weekly.
lie is,- not to wNorry about themi- at all - at all. Mirtst
vef ierltl11 (kin   (b'srtin(g.  Stand it like a man!  All
the( fhmilyjN 1p-Ira daily to the, Virgin for him."
Lake6 Pmoldne       L~tet          isconsin, John
KFX       Father tailntimo thei called.  Brougyht four
le.tters fo hm. ]il.Tcell himi to take, care of' his health,
avI't )id1lou r 7/rroi'(   h  tIwifu')u)f   to (iCS(C'rt. Brte
Willianm. ini Seeonid WNiseommisii, has grot well of his
Wound(, andI ~fomi back to the -Army of'thie Potomac."
TIi'v to  Ica i'II somilthingc concern1ing, Herliert
H     &o Fifteenitl Wisconisinl. Ha —s niot been heard
),.(III Slllt'e( battle of Stonie River."  (Ilie was never
hefard f'ron until the flis of' the A-~ndersonville dead
Were 1u)111)lilh(L.
bbrprv to gtl permim%.on for James R      to ogo to
lleleiia fi r hi'.- br~t 4 hr's dead lbody,, and take it to
Tm'v- to) ge(-t di mehargeo for Richard R,dyingy
inl (A )'l etoii IIo'1)ltatl, MNelnl)h15s, of consumption, and
1)!'! 11 liii ho me to hi~- paren-lts;."
Sere     j~, ws %ere filled with similar memoI' nd a.
(4 )ur -ttre*~. withi ouseves  ere lpassed over the
J11lino,i- Cenlti'al Raulro)ad to Cairo., where we found
'-amitarov:t~1    mothitv for the relief of' scorbutic




THE RIVER BOATS AND THEIR OFFICERS. 285
and fever patients,  pouring into the town from
every point, all clamoring for immediate shipment.
Government had impressed all the boats on the
river into its service, and, as there were no troops
to be hurried forward, these generous consignments
were transhipped as rapidly as possible from the cars
to the boats. The boat to which we were assigned
was a little, rickety, wheezy, crowded, unsafe craft,
which poked along down the river at about one-half
the usual rate of speed. It towed along three or four
barges of hay, which kept us in constant alarm, as
they easily took fire from the sparks of the chimney.
One got loose and drifted away, nobody knew
where, and nobody seemed to care, since it belonged
to " Uncle Sam." We had no doubt it was purposely
detached in the night, at a point agreed upon beforehand, where it could easily be secured by the rebels.
The officers, like those of almost all the boats at that
time, were secretly in sympathy with the rebellion;
though, for the sake of the " greenbacks" of the
government, they made a show of loyalty to it. They
bore themselves very cavalierly towards us, treating
us with scant politeness when they noticed us at all,
and ignoring us altogether when it was possible to
do so.
Several army officers were on board. who had been
home on furloughs. Some of them were accompanied
by their wives, who were going as far as MeIcml)phis,
beyond which point no civilian could pass without
special permission.  The colonel of the Twelfth
Michigan was accompanied by his bride, a beautiful
young woman and an exquisite vocalist, whose voice
had been carefully cultivated. There were also in
the company flutists and violinists, and half a dozen
0




286    "CAN YOU SING FOR A DYING MAN?"
members of a brass band attached to one of the
regiments stationed( down the river. The boat was
riging with patriotic music all the time.  Wherever
thelre were military posts or hospitals, the boat stopped
fob hours. As we steamned to the landings, all our
mu.sical force mustered on deck, and announced our
aril'val by a granid chorlus of voices and instruments.
Thley ren(lered " The Rd,,  hite, and Blue," ' The
Stal-Sp1anrlced Bannler "  Rally round the Flag,
Boys! "    ald otliher national song's, in a ringing fashion, that l1'oughl t every soldier fiolll his tent, flying
l)own11 the blutfl to welcome us. The vocalists always
accomplanietd us to the lOl)sitals, and made the tour
of tle warlds with us, sinrlngn  charmingly while they
r'emallned- It x\als a great deliht to them to observe
hiow the ilns)ill(ing music brigihtened the weary, suffering men. Without any solicitation, they filled every
monmelt of theitr stay with the cheeriest songs and
mont lat'ioitict airs.
)One 1),,po  lad, dvin ' of consumption, too far gone
to be senit to Ins home in Iowa, fixed his large, luminous eves on tlie flair'  ' rl bride, whose voice was like
that ot' an algel, and asked, " Can you sing somethl11ig o' a (IdinIg man?
It wa.;1he first acquaintance with hospitals, her
filst  itt ltactwith silkness and deatlh. But without
hesita;ltlil he mollve(l to his bedside, seated herself (,n:a (camlll^tool }o.eslIe him, and, taklin  one of his thin
ha;il-d in her. salln,, with great feeling, " _Neanrer, my
(;,,. to Thee  Tlhere was sob)ling in the ward.when
hhe ei.ded: lbut the lvy to whom -he sang only gazed
at 1he' w-itlh e.yes (,f bese.ecliing. " Can you sing
The Sv\ ect 1By and B\?" lie iquiired. That was
given. with the choru>, in which all joined. And then,




MEN WEPT ALOUD.


287


unasked, her tender, sympathetic voice floated again
through the long ward, in the exquisite melody of
"Sweet Home." Never have I heard it so feelingly
rendered.
The scene that followed was alarming. Men
buried their faces in the pillows, and wept aloud; and
others, who were sitting up, in partial convalescence,
threw themselves on the bed, face downward, in excess of emotion. This would not do. To change
the current of feeling, I called for the stirring song,
"Rally round the Flag, Boys!" which was given with
a will. Then "America" rang out on the air; and,
as the whistle of the boat was calling us to return,
the choir took leave of the hospital, singing as they
went, -
"There's a good time coming, boys,
Wait a little longer! "
This visit to the hospital greatly affected our beautiful bride. She was to be separated from her husband at Memphis -he to go to his command, and
she to return to her home in Detroit. She entreated
her husband with tears to allow her to enter the
hospitals as a nurse. "You are going to the front
to serve your country,-let me be detailed to the
hospitals in the same good cause." She was so thoroughly in earnest, and swept away his remonstrances
with such passionate entreaty, that I went to his help
with the assurance that her vouth forbade her serving in the hospitals. I might have added, her beauty
also-for Miss Dix detailed only those lacking
personal attractions.
We distributed our sanitary stores with a lavish
hand, wherever they were needed. Wliere women
were acting as matrons in the hospitals, we committed
18




288


"NO, THAT'S NOT MY BOY."


ourl benefactions to their c(are. Where were suspiclous looking stewards, or intemperate surgeons,
we were less bountiful in our bestowments, and
liniireled to disburse' oiur supplies to individual cases,.as fril as we could. At Memphis, there were eleven
hoslptals, co(ntaining nearly ceight thousand patients,
and11 this number was daily 'e-enforced by boatloads
of sick 1men, sent up fiom points below. I went on
board one ot' these newlyv arrived transports, and
was appalled at the condition of tht men. Not one
in twenty could have been recognlized l)y his kindred
or filellds, so disguised were the poor fellows by
m111d, squalor, verl'in, rags, and the wasting sickl'ess of s(cu'vy and swamp) fever.
I wenllt with a  onmalln, from  central Illinois, to
searlci forl her sol, Are were informed that he had
bencc tal;ke to Jaclksoni IHos.lital, and the record book
of the (clerkl showed limll to be in bed INo. 15, ward C.
AeV wtvent to the ]bed,( indicated, but there lay an
emlaciated man of sixt! or seventy apparently, sleepin    ' AVe (lidl not wake him, but returned to the
clek )of the hospital and assured him there was a
mistake. The younlg man for whom we were looking
was9 not tlhere. I-e was sure his entry book was
'c,'rre'ct, and wve returned for another examinatioin.
TheI nmotlher Ir2lze(d lo 1,, and searclhinglyv at the sleeping man in warId C, andl then said: —
' SN,, that's n11t mn 1) bo. M5y son is but twentyt  ').
l-)il'e(tlv the sleeper opened hi, evy,, and stared
vacaltly at l)oth o f us.
N No," sh(. repeated, " no, he is not my bo "
"Oh, mothei'!" cied the man, in sick, weak,
quavei'ilng tones, quickly  recogiizing  the dearly




" MOTHER, I AM YOUR BOY I28


289


beloved face, and slowly uplifting his long bony
arms toward her, "I am your boy! Don't you know
your Willie?"
I went through every ward of every hospital in
Memphis, and visited every patient, as I had promised when leaving Chicago. The most home-like
and the best kept of them all was the " Gayoso,"
of which the well-known " Mother Bickerdyke " was
matron, and which was called everywhere in Memphis, " Mother Bickerdyke's Hospital." I remember
the names of many of the surgeons in charge of the
other hospitals. But of "Mother Bickerdyke's" I
only remember that she was matron, that " HandyAndy," a detailed soldier, was heri "right-hand man,"
working with her, and carrying out all her plans and
purposes, as if there were but one mind and soul between them. I also remember that she had scores of
"contrabands" detailed to her service. Who were
her surgeons and stewards I never knew. They
were really overshadowed by the matron.
There were nine hundred patients in the hospital.
And, in addition to the work imposed on her by this
immense charge, almost the entire laundry work of
the hospitals in Memphis had drifted into her hands,
and was being done by contrabands under her supervision. She was also virtually, though not nominally,
matron of the i" Small-pox Hospital" at Fort Pickering, two miles down the river, below 5Memphis. Once
a week she went there, with her faithful "Andy," in
an ambulance, ready to arouse a moral earthquake,
or let loose a small tornado of wrath, if she discovered any cruelty or unkindness to the men, or found
disorder and uncleanness in the hospital, or on the
premises.




290


GAYOSO HOUSE.


" I have to look after this hospital pretty sharp,"
shc wvuld say, "for small-pox patients are mighty
apt not to be taken good care of."  But I will not
now expatiate on " Mother Bickerdyke," as I shall
have somnething to say of this remalkable woman in
another chapter.
Ouir headquarters while in Memphis were at the
" (ayoso House," which had a grecat reputation for
st\ le, sec(ession proclivities, and discomifort. The last
two characteristics were pre-eminent.  There were
nightly drunklen rows and fights in the house, sometilmes ill rooms adoilllllng oturs, when the crash of
g.lass, the ribald s(,n', the fearful profniity, and the
driunken miirtll, drove sleep fiom our pillows. We
w(er detained over two weeks in Meml)his, so difficult was it to obtain transl)ortaltion for ourselves and
stolres down the river.  Strict military sit'rceillance
wNs klelt (,ver the l,,bats bound for the South, and
lnoe w\ere allonwel to leave MemAphls without a pass
'frmIn the ('ommander of the Department.    Our
storcs wer'c piled on the levee, waiting reshipmcnt, and a guard was placed over them to keep
them  from thieves. The (;avoso House was overflowing \with attcfilCh's of the armn, waiting a chance
to,(r, d(o(wn the river, like ourselves.
A large companl) y of wonmen were also staving here,
who madle ino sec ret of their sympathy with the
Southt  Some half(-dozen were waiting an opportunilt! t, l, Il) passe within the enemy's lin(,. whither
the.! hadl (bee1n ordered b\ our officers. They were
aetlint.l a - s  and sendlill  information to- their
husiband(l,. liather-, and l)rothell'-, in the Confederate
arm\nx  The officer' were bad(Ire(red bleyond ieduralce lyv them, lor tI'hey were continually clamorinmg to




CONFEDERATE WOMEN.


291


be sent to Vicksburg. Every loyal woman in the
house was subjected to their insults, and that, too,
while they were virtually prisoners of war. We who
had just come from the North were specially obnoxious to them. In every petty way they manifested
their aversion to us. They ran furiously against us
in the halls and on the stairways, made a general
stampede fiom  the parlors whenever we entered
them, held their handkerchiefs to their nostrils when
in our neighborhood, withdrew their garments from
the contamination of contact with ours as they passed
us, uttering loud sneers against "Yankee soldiers,"
"Yankee women," and " Northern white trash."
One afternoon, while waiting for a chaplain, who
was to drive me to some of the regimental hospitals
outside of Memphis, two of these women came into
the parlor and sat down. After we had measured
each other with our eyes for a moment, one of them
commenced a conversation. She was the wife of a
member of the Confederate Congress, and her home
was in Thibodeauxville, La.
"I am told you are going down below to look
after sick Yankee soldiers," was her opening remark.
"I have been sent from Chicago with some thousands of boxes of hospital stores for the use of
United States soldiers," I replied, putting a special
emphasis on the words "United States," for I had
heard her loudly express her disgust at the name.
" I think it is high time somebody went down to
them, for they are dying like sheep, and have just no
care at all."
"That is a mistake. They have the best of care,
the best of nursing possible under the circumstances,




A)(I'A, et/ —


A PLAIN TALK.


go(,dl suli'gons, and delegations going down and
bal k all the while in their service."
" lWell, anyhow, you're the filst woman that has
come down here to look after them. This city is
filll of Yalnkc women, wives of Yankee officerscold-blooded, white-fiaced, lank, lean women, decked
out il cotton lace, cheap silks, and bogus jewelry,
women whlo are' C thelir own servants at home, -what
do tIhi: car'e for Yalnllkee soldiers, whether they live
or di(i?  We have don(,le wearing silks and jewels in
the South until the war is over.  I sold my jewels
and gave the money to the hospitals; and I'd come
dowl to wearing 'nig,,'r cloth,' and eating corn
breadl mixed with water, and prepared with my own
hands, Ie {f;ire tlle men in our hosplitals should want
" Mladai, I lihonor )our devotion to your soldiers,
anll (1onh I'r,'Tt tlie badncss of your cause. At the
Nolth we are equally solicitous i;,r the welfare of our
I11e  But vyol make the mistake of supposing that
we;t tle Nrtli are as )' as you at the South.
The waI 1is not impl,verishing us as it is you. Our
women; can aff,'rd to wear silks and jewelry, and yet
provide everc'  tllln(r needful for the soldiers. WAhenever it b)econcms necessary, we shall be ready to make
as re'cat sacrifice.s als N Aol.u.
'At. i' i have soldiers wrorth the sacrifice we
mnake ^'  le sai d, with a1 loftv air. " Otr men are
thle flower of oulr vuth; they have the best 1blood of
tlie wo( rldl in tllcir veins —q,'/tl,,e,,, eve'r one of
thten  But vour Yanlkee soldiers- ugh!" w-ith a:hi\er tof lisg.u-lt and a grimace of aversion; "they
are the dregs of your cities - gutter-snipes, drunken,
ignoiant -!"




"ALLOWS ME TO BE AT LARGE!    29


293


"Stop!" I interrupted; "stopl I won't hear such
calumny. I know just what sort of' gentlemen' your
soldiers are; for we have had seven thousand of
them at Camp Douglas in Chicago, taken prisoners
at Fort Donelson; and if they were the 'flower of
your youth,' you are worse off for men in the South
than I had supposed."
" And I have seen your soldiers, too, to my sorrow
and horror. They are barbarians, I tell you. They
came to my husband's villa after he had gone to
Congress, and I was left alone, with my servants in
charge, and they destroyed everything - everything!
My plate, china, pictures, carpets, even my furniture, were imported; and the wretches! they burned
up everything! "
" If your manners were as unbearable as they have
been during the two weeks I have seen you in this
house, I only wonder you escaped cremation with
your villa and furniture. It is astonishing clemency
that allows you to be at large in this city, plotting
against the government and insulting loyal people."
"Allows me to be at large! " she fiercely screamed,
almost purple with rage. " Who dares imprison me,
I'd like to know. You would like to put me in jail,
and shut me up with murderers, and niggers, and
thieves, would you? The tables will be turned by
and by. England is going to help us; and we will
have our feet on your accursed Yankee necks, before
you are a year older or wickeder."
She was standing at her fullest height, her face
aflame, her eyes on fire, her voice at its highest pitch.
It was useless to talk further, so I rose and left the
room, saying at the door, with a low bow, " Until
that time, madam, I bid you farewell."




294


A COMPLAINT LODGED AGAINST ME.


I learned afterwards that she went to the provostmarshal, and lodged a complaint against me, declaring that she had reason to believe I was taking contraband goods down the river to smuggle within the
rebel lines, like morphine, quinine, chloroform, medi(cines in the package, and cotton cloth in the piece.
Afterwards, at the dinner-table, she offered to lay a
wager of a dozen pairs of glove's that not one of our
l)ar'ty would go below Memphis, but that we would
be sent North by the first boat. She would have
lost her bet had any one taken it, as we left Memphis
for Vieksburg that very night, on the Tigress.
I learned afterwards that this woman, with her
fiiends and companions, was passed within the Confederate lines at Vicksburg a fiew days later, where
they remained until the surrender of the city to General Gr;lllt, on the Fourth of July. They were as
helric il their endurance of the horrors of the long
siecge' as the Confderlate men, and evinced courage
as un)yielding, and tenacity of purpose as unflinching,
as any officer who wore the Confederate gray.




CHAPTER XIII.
ALONG THE DREARY RIVER-SAD SIGHTS IN A REGIMENTAL
HOSPITAL - JOLLY BATTERY BOYS- I AM WELCOMED TO
CAMP BY OLD FRIENDS.
Perils of the lower River-The Tigress and its disloyal Officers -The
Stewardess a Virago- " I could throw you overboard as if you were a
Cat!" - Lake Providence and its fathomless Mud - " The Sanitary Commission's got mired!" -Go down to Milliken's Bend-Distribute
Supplies to Hospitals -Sorry Plight of a Wisconsin Regimental Hospital
- Surgeon-General Wolcott, of Wisconsin, breaks it up - In the Camp
of the Chicago Mercantile Battery - " What a Hubbub! What a Jubilee!" - Evening Prayers in Camp - The Boys get Breakfast -" The
Victuals will taste better if you don't see the Cooking!" - Leave for
Young's Point-General Grant's Despatch Boat Fanny Ogden gives
me Passage.
lower Mississippi was " on the rampage,"
and was all over its banks.      It was shoreless in some places, and stretched its dull,
turbid waste of waters as far as the eye
could reach.    No river is as dreary as the lower
Mississippi.   Day after day, there was but the
swollen, rushing stream     before us.   And when the
banks could be seen, only the skeleton cottonwood
trees greeted our eyes, hung with the funereal moss,
that shrouded them as in mourning drapery. The
swollen river was in our favor; for the enemy could
not plant batteries on the banks and fire into the passing boats until it subsided, especially as the steamers kept very near the centre of the stream. The
295




0')6


A QUADROON VIRAGO.


pilot-house of the Tigress was battened with thick
oak plank, to protect the helmsmanl fiom the shots of
the guecrillas. Dozens of bullets wAere imbedded in
it, which had been fired from the shore on the last
trip up the river. And a six-pound shot had crashed
thirough the steamer, not two months before, killing
two, or three passengclrs in the saloon, and badly
slhatteri nr the boat.
Tlce Tigre.ss.s was a large, well-appointed boat, and
had 1)(ccn hanldsome, betfore it entered army service.
The officers \were understood to be disloyal at heart,
but willing to 0work for thel government because of its
magniificent, pnom)t, and sure pay. The stewardess
\was a beautiful qluadrloon of thirty-five, with a catlike.'ral(ce aci(l sulpplelness of figure, and was wonderlfullv att'ractiv in her manners to those whom she
liked. I have never seen a handsomer womnan. But
whlat a vir.ulcint, vul(ar, foul-niouthcd rebel she was!
Tliere wa\s not a half-hour of the{ day that she (id not
ro'(s,.l inlstilt s(mle e,f onur party. Thlre was no
red'(,rl,, for we( saw that she bore some relationship
to the clerk, that lhe -%was a great favorite with all
tlhe ofTi er~s, and that they tnjoyevd our discomfort
ulnde' her ins(lecll, which they abetted. She hung
her mno I king-blird named " Jeffv Davis," at our door,
and then talked to hll by the hourl, but (ft II, calling
u  b!y t1nc1mes with whilch I cannot beftiul this pare,
an1d c('ll'' ill u with lt the vilest purposesI in cominig
(loIwn to the army
Oni1 (day, while we were negotiating with the laundres-( of the boat concerning some work we wished
(1( e. Louisa, the stewardess, came allng
"('an I wash for these ladies to-day?" inquired
the lauunldre-   of the quadroon virago.




INSOLENT MANNERS.


297


"Ladies " scornfully echoed the insolent creature.
"Ladies!   What's yer talkin' about, gal?  Yer
hasn't seen no ladies sence yer lef' N'Orleans. If
yer means this 'white trash,' "- with a contemptuous
toss of the head towards where we stood, -"yer
may wash for 'em or the debil, if yer likes. But
mind yer gits yer pay, gal, for Yankees are mighty
mean cusses."
That day, after dinner, I went into the stern of our
boat to read. We were opposite the mouth of the
Yazoo, where a gunboat was standing guard, the
river being miles wide, and rolling like a sea. Louisa
followed, to hang up some wet linen to dry, and, as
usual, commenced talking at me.
"Dere's dat Yankee gunboat agin! 'Pears like
ebery Yankee dere 's done dead; for yer neber sees
nobody. Bress de Lord if dey be! I'd like to see
ebery boat gwine Norf, piled way up wid dead Yanks.
Ki! Ebery boatload would make dis yere nigger
grow one inch fat on de ribs."
She had approached very near, and was standing
behind me, and we were alone. I turned sharply
round, laid my hand heavily on her shoulder, and
looked as terrible as possible. I spoke low, but in a
very determined tone.
"You will please stop all this talk about 'dead
Yankees,' and 'white trash,' and cease your insolent manners towards my fiiends and myself! We
have had enough of it. If it is not stopped immediatly, I will take the matter into my own hands. I
shall not enter any complaints against you to the captain or clerk, but I will put you where we shall have
no more of your impudence." I brought my other
hand down heavily on her other shoulder, and spoke




298   "I COULD THROW YOU OVERBOARD EASILY
yet lower, and in a tone so tragically terrific that I
half laughed to hear it. " I could throw you overboard as easily as if you were a cat, and I have a
good mind to do it this minute!-" tightening my
gr'asp on her arms and lifting her from her feet.
"CGo, take that cage down, and carry it to your
rooml, and let me hear any more insolent talk if you
dare, - that's all! You will see what one Yankee
woman dares do, for I'll put you where you'll be
quiet, I plromise you!"
She looked at me frightened, stammered sometlhllg, and, evidently thinking I meditated mischief,
hurried away from me into the saloon. She was
colllplletely ccwed-  WVhenever we met afterwards,
her eves soughlt mine, with a " comest-thou-peaceabl?" ll(l quir) in them.  She g'ave me a wide
berth as she 1)lssed n1e, and treated me with a
considerationl tlha.t was born of vague fear.  But
there was a mar-ked impllrovement in her behavior,
so, gcreat, ilnd(leed, that it was thle subject of general
(ommenit. I didl not divulge lnv interview with her
until after we had left the boat, when I informed the
party of the mnoral suasion I had brought to bear on
her.
WVe stopped at Lake Providence, Louisiana, and
finding everwtlhino more than or'dinarily comfortable
in tlhe hosI)itals,-tlhe sickest of the men having been
reImlvl  N )orth, - we left a quantity of vegetables
1land needed stores for the 'onvales(cents, for there
were 1()no ther invalids and then visited the encamptilent. A (ianal had been cut from the Mi-:Aissippi to
Lake Providene(, a quarter of a mile distant, in
whichl was a fall of fifteen feet. It was hoped that
the river wo-uld lbe turned from its natural channel,




" THE SANITARY COMMISSION'S GOT MIRED I " 299
through the lake, - thence through two bayous connecting with it, and into the river Tensas, which
empties into the Mississippi far below Vicksburg,
making the circuit of the city. Thus it was believed
a continuous waterway might be established in the
real of the defiant city, but this attempt at flanking
Vicksburg by water failed, like all others before or
afterwards. The swollen flood of the Mississippi
rushed into the newly cut channel, broke away all
confining levees, and deluged and nearly washed
away eighteen or twenty of the richest counties of
the state.
Everywhere we found our brown, busy, rollicking
fellows seeking a dry place for their encampments.
There was no limit to their ingenuity. For hours
and hours we rode through sloughs, finally breaking down in one. Then a score of brawny fellows
dropped their work of "shebang" building, as they
called it, and rushed to our relief with rails, and
planks, and whoops, and yells sufficient for a whole
tribe of Indians. The two mules, that had sulk to
their bellies, were extricated first. The men were
devising ways to lift the ambulance to terra firma,
when General Logan rode up; who was in command
at this horrible place.
"What's the matter, boys?" asked the General,
seeing the great commotion.
" Oh, the Sanitary Commission's got mired, that's
all!"
The General peeped into the ambulance, where I
was sitting on the floor, " holding on," as I had been
directed. The forward wheels had broken through
the rotten logs that formed a corduroy bridge over
the slough. The ambulance had pitched forward,




300


DISTRIBUTING SANITARY STORES.


and I was "holding on " as well as I could, considering I had laughed at the comical performances and
speeches around me until I was exhausted. The
whole thing Was so ridiculous that the General
laughed too, but set himself to effect my release from
the imprisoning mud, and succeeded at the expense
of a soiled uniform. We left regiments and hospitals, fighting mud and water everywhere. We informed them of the vegetables sent them by the
Chicago Board of Trade, notified them of the private
boxes intended for different parties among them,
deposited at certain points, distributed the letters we
had brought, and then went to Milliken's Bend,
farther down the river.
When we arrived at the Bend, where some thirty
thousand men were encamped, we notified the Medical Director of our arrival with hospital stores.
He immediately despatched an "orderly" to every
hospital, sending to every surgeon in charge an
order on the sanitary boat for whatever he lacked or
needed, accompanying it with an order on the quartermaster for teams to remove the packages. In
many instances we followed the loads to the hospitals, and witnessed the joy of the poor fellows at this
tangible proof that they were not forgotten at home.
Here, as in Memphis, most of the patients were sick
with miasmatic diseases. There were comparatively
few, among the thousands and thousands whom we
saw, suffering from wounds. The dejection of sick
soldiers we always found greater than that of those
wounded. They needed more encouragement and
more cheerful talk. They were homesick, many of
them longing for mother, wife, sister, and friend.
Often as I bent over a sick man with a sympa



METHODS OF WORK.


301


thetic word, he would burst into a passion of weeping, the more violent for long repression. If I found
I had not time to go from bed to bed with a few
words to each, I would take a central position, and
endeavor to cheer the pale, sad, emaciated men, lying
with white faces pressed against white pillows, their
hearts travelling back to the homes they had left. I
would tell them how they were remembered in loving
pride by the loyal North; how all the women of the
land were planning, and toiling, and sacrificing for
them; of the loaded boats at the levee, sent them in
care of a special delegation; of the certainty felt by
all that our cause would triumph; of the glad welcome that awaited them when they returned conquerors; and of the dear God who was ever near, in
sickness, in camp, on the battle-field, protecting and
guiding, and from whose love they could never be
separated by any depth of misery, suffering, degradation, or sin.
If any had messages to send home, or letters to
write, or friends whom they wished me to visit, I
took memoranda of what was desired, in my inseparable notebook.  Many a dying message these
books contained, from lips hushed a few hours after
in death. Many an injunction was written in them
to comfort friends at home, who still sit in the
shadow of death, feeling that they cannot be comforted until they too pass over the river, to rejoin
their lost ones.
From one of the hospitals at the Bend there came
no surgeon and no requisition. I ordered the inevitable ambulance, with its pair of mules and colored
driver, and rode two and a half miles to visit its surgeon. A sadder sight I never witnessed during the




302


A DRUNKEN SURGEON.


war. It was a regimental hospital - always a comfortless place.  It contained about two hundred
men, all of them very sick, all lying in their uniforms
on the bare board floor, with their knapsacks for
pillows, with no food but army rations, no nurses but
convalescent soldiers, themselves too sick to move
except on compulsion, the sick men covered with
vermlin, tolrmented by flies during the day, and devoured by mosquitoes at night,  and their surgeon
(dead-drllnk in bed.
I went through the four large wards of the hospital, each one as horrible as the other. In all the
wards men were dying, and in all they seemed hopeless and despairing. There was no complaint, no
lamentatilo - only now and then some delirious
fe ver 1)atient would clamor for " ice water," or " cold
water right fiom the well." I stooped down and
took one Ian b) the hand, who was regarding me
with most beseeching looks. "My poor boy," I said,
"I all very sad to see you in this dreadful condition."' le pressed my hand on his eyes with both
his own, and wept aloud.
Weeping is contagious, and in a few moments one
half the men in the hospital were sobbing convulsivelv. I was afriaid it would kill them, they were so
xcxe. csivlcl w-cak, but it was some time before they
C(culdl )b calmetd.   I had taken alonIr in the ambula('e, tea, sti:a;r, condensed milk, and crackers.
Atft(r I had made tea and distributed it with the
crackert-s, I we\-t lbatk to medical headquarters to repolt thle 1dir:lacC-fUl ((,ndition of the hspital. I was
fortlllnatc. foir I ran acros- Sur reon-General Aolcott,
of Wiscon-in. a verv noble man. It was a Wisconilln regiment whose sick were left uncared for, to die




THE CHICAGO MEROANTILE BATTERY.


303


like dogs -and he rested not until the hospital was
broken up, the surgeon sent home in disgrace, and
the men removed to the receiving-boat Nashville.
This was a hospital boat, built on a barge, three
stories high, fitted up with cooking apparatus, bathrooms, laundry, cots, and whatever else was necessary. It was towed from landing to landing, receiving the sick temporarily, until they could be taken
off by the hospital steamers, and carried farther
North. Three weeks later, in passing through the
wards of the Nashville, I was hailed from one of
the beds in the following jolly fashion: " I say! We
are going to live after all, spite of old G-0-  "- the
surgeon,-  maggots, flies, mosquitoes, and everything else.  We are getting to be pretty sassy
again." Here they were, sure enough, getting well
and already full of fun, and jolly over their discomforts.
The Chicago Mercantile Battery was encamped
two miles from the landing, and, as it enrolled over
thirty young men from the Sunday-school and
society of my own church in Chicago, besides a
great many others whom I knew, I determined to
visit them, when the hospital work at Milliken's Bend
was done. I had already sent them their private
packages and letters, and notified them of my intended visit. The ambulance left me a mile from
their camp, and in the fiagrant twilight of a lovely
spring day I walked inside the levee, towards its
location. Soon I saw the dear fellows striding along
the top of the levee to meet me, their figures standing out clearly against the evening sky. I called to
them, and down they rushed. Such a welcome!
such a chorus of manly, familiar voices! such a shak19




304    WHAT A HUBBUB I WHAT A JUBILEE I
ing of hands I such hearty embraces from the younger
members, sixteen of whom had been members of my
own Sunday-school class. As I walked with them
into camp, the boys swarmed from tents and "shebangs," bronzed to the color of the Atlantic Monthly
covers, all shouting a hearty welcome, noisy, jolly,
and excited.  What a hubbub! What a jubilee I
Here was a guest from home, who had talked a few
days before with their fathers and mothers, sisters
and wives. The best "shebang " of the encampment
was placed at my disposal, for I was to spend the
night with them.  I was too far from the boat to
return, had I desired it, and I had planned to be with
them two or three days. There were unvisited hospitals in that neighborhood.
Everything in the way of shelter, in camp parlance,
that was not a tent, was a shebang. Mine was a
rough hut made of boards, with a plank floor, roofed
with canvas, with a bona fide glass window at one
end, and a panelled door at the other. The furniture
consisted of two bunks, one built over the other,
bedded with fresh hay. A pair of blankets had
been shaken free from dust, and for my special use,
the officers' overcoats folded smoothly for pillows.
There was a rough pantry with shelves, holding rations, odd crockery and cutlery "jerked from the
secesh," a home-made rickety table, a bit of lookingglas.s, sundry pails and camp-kettles, a three-legged
iron skillet, and a drop-light, extemporized from the
handle of a broken bayonet, and a candle, the whole
suspended fiom the ridge-pole by a wire.
We had a lively time in the "shebang " that evening. It was packed with the boys, all eager to hear
from home, who put me through a course of cate



PRAYER-MEETING IN CAMP.


305


chism concerning matters and persons in whom they
were interested, that soon exhausted my stock of
information, and left me no resource but to draw on
imagination. The tide of talk flowed over the night
into the morning. The "tattoo" had been beaten for
retiring, and still the boys were loath to go. At last
I broke up the conference. But before withdrawing,
George Throop, one of the young men, drew from
his breast pocket a copy of the New Testament.
"You know," he said, "when Mr. T —     took
public leave of us in church," -Mr. T  was our
pastor —" he gave each a Testament, and made us
promise to read it, if possible, daily, while we were
away. We haven't failed but once or twice, and then
we were on a forced march. One reads aloud and
the others listen; and if you are willing, we will read
here to-night."
All heads were instantly uncovered, all hum of
voices ceased, and a portion of the fifteenth chapter
of Luke's Gospel was read, when Sergeant Dyer, a
very noble man belonging to a Baptist church of
Chicago, voluntarily offered a brief and appropriate
prayer. Alas! I never saw again the young lieutenant who officiated as Bible reader, nor the sergeant who offered prayer. Both are sleeping under
the sod on the banks of the Red River, where they
fell in battle. One, the young, brave, and handsome
lieutenant, was shot from his horse as he was urging
his men on to the fight; and the other, the fatherly
sergeant, was shot through the heart as he was spiking his gun, before joining in the retreat which was
sounded.
I had a wakeful night. It was my first attempt to
sleep in camp, and I did better afterwards, when I




306  "WE DON'T DO THINGS WOMAN FASHION."
became used to it. I was in the enemy's country - I
heard the steady footfall of the guard past my tent,
and the incessant booming of the great guns at
Vicksburg, fifteen miles away. I had lived in an
atmosphere of suffering ever since I left home;
and all the visions of horror I had witnessed now
danced about my sleepless pillow. Long before the
drums beat the reveille, or the myriad birds had finished their matins, I had made my ablutions in the
three-legged iron skillet, given me for that purpose,
and completed my toilet before the little six-by-ten
inch looking-glass. I hurried out at roll-call, and
offered to assist in getting the breakfast.
But I was not allowed this gratification of my
feminine desire, for the boys confessed that "they
didn't do things woman fashion," and that I had
better remain ignorant of their modus operandi.
"The victuals would taste better if I didn't see the
cooking!" I thought so too, after I got a glimpse of
them making bread in the iron skillet in which I had
bathed my face and hands. For breakfast, we had
hot biscuit baked in ovens made of Louisiana mud;
fried ham; good coffee, to which I added condensed
milk and white sugar; potatoes, and pickles. Camp
life gave me a good appetite, and I honored the
cuisine of the boys by eating heartily. They challenged admiration of their ingenious housekeeping,
and I gratified them by praising them ad libitum.
For two days and nights I remained with them.
There was enough to do, as the Thirteenth Army
Corps was stationed here.  Then General Grant's
despatch boat Fanny Ogden, the fastest boat on the
river, steamed to the landing, and with the promise
of repeating the visit before I returned home, I left




BELEAGUERED VICKSBURG.37


307


for Youngo's Point. The Tigre(,ss had preceded me,
and had trainsferred her remainhing stores to the sm
tar-y boat Omaha. Here I found thema, the( boat anchor-ed beyond the rangre of the baitteries, (1iIretlN ini
front of beleaguered Yi'cksburg.- Silent and dark as
a dad  it, i ly stealthily behind its defeiies
Wvatchingc wvith Aicrgus eves thc mox ements oWf the JIbe
in fronit, belchingr de~fiance-( -and p)l'oest, fr dfl its; iw fSter gruns,4 which-1 bmrstlcd tier al)(ovc tier, 1~'omn thle
river brink~c to the top ()I' the higrhest blut1.  -No )t a
sicin of' life- was visible)]( d11ringl the day, nor i-(4 durimgt the ncight.e.xcept whenl the heax'     1 guns blaz(i1
out in fiery menace. accentuatincr thienr threat with a
grlowNl of thunder.  here too were mooredI the Blawk
Hawk, the headquarters oE( Commodore P(orteri' anid.
the Magnolia, hea(lquart ers of' Generlz Grn.M
experitences her-e must formn the subject of anothier
chapter.




CHAPTER XIV.


OPPOSITE VICKSBURG - ARRIVAL AT GENERAL GRANT'S
HEADQUARTERS-MY INTERVIEW WITH HIM-MY PETITION- A TOUCHING STORY.
We call on General Grant - Reticent, patient, and persistent - We put ourselves on " short Rations" of Talk with him - Stories of his Intemperance foul Calumnies -His chivalric Defence of General Sherman-Am
entrusted with a Variety of Errands to him —My Decision concerning
them  Second call alone on General Grant -" The Gibraltar of America"-The General is very accessible -Not hedged about by Formalities - The most bashful Man I had ever encountered- " I will let you
know Tomorrow "-Discharges twenty-one invalid Soldiers, and gives me
Transportation for them-One dies in Memphis-Another dies in
Chicago, almost Home.
AVING      reached Young's Point, our first
movement was to call on General Grant, to
present our letters of introduction and endorsement.     Our letters of endorsement
were fiom the Secretary of War, the Governors
of Illinois and Wisconsin, and our letters of
introduction from Dr. Bellows, the President of the
United States Sanitary Commission. Two or three
of us, who had wished to be prepared for any special
emergency that might arise, had obtained letters of
recommendation from personal friends of General
Grant. His headquarters were on the Magnolia,
where we found him domiciled, unsurrounded by any
308




GENERAL GRANT NOT GARRULOUS.


309


circumstance of pomp or state. All of us who called
upon him were as well bestowed in our sanitary boat
Omaha, as he, and had in our quarters as much style
and luxury.
Our interview was a brief one, and, on the part of
the General, laconic.  l'e talked; he listened, and
appeared to approve our errand. For, as we rose
to go, he inquired if he could aid us in our work.
Calling one of his staff officers, and presenting him
to us, he requested him to see that any help we might
require in the way of escort, passes, ambulalces,
transportation, etc., was promptly furnished.  He
regretted, at the same time, that he had not a tug to
put at our service, to take us fiom point to point on
the river.  The Fanny Ogden, he continued, was
his despatch boat, and the swiftest boat in the Western service. It would be running back and forth
continually, and whenever it went in a direction that
corresponded with our movements we were heartily
welcome to its transportation.
This interview decided two points which hlad been
discussed among ourselves and others. One was,
that General Grant was not a garrulous man; and
the other, that he teas not intemperate. All the way
down fiom Chicago, we had heard continually of
General Grant's sayings, as well as his doings. We
were told that he had said " he would take Vicksburg
in so many days, if it cost him three fourths of his
army"; that "he would turn the waters of the Mississippi, and leave Vicksburg high and dry, a mile
and a half inland," with other like nonsense, which,
at that time, did not seem nonsense to the anxious
people at home, who neither understood Grant nor
the colossal work on his hands.




310    GENERAL GRANT NOT INTEMPERATE.
Our faith in all this twaddle had been somewhat
feeble, to be sure; but, as we went out from our first
audience with the General, we utterly renounced all
credence in its verity. In the first five minutes of our
interview, we lealned, by some sort of spiritual telegraphy, that reticence, Ipatitence, and 1)ersistence were
the dolninant traits of General Grant. We had had
famlliliar and unconventional interviews with other
offic(ers we had met, had asked questions and given
opinions, had gossiped and joked and "played the
agrleeable " with them. But we would as soon have
undertaken a ft'e-a~-tfte with the Sphinx itself as with
this quiet, reprlessed, reluctant, undemonstrative man;
and we should have succeeded as well with one as
witil the other  We instinctively put ourselves on
" short rations" of talk with him, and so compressed
the porosities of language that no one of us will ever
have to give account of "idle words" used on that
occasion.
Neither was General Grant a drunkard,- that
was immediately apparent to us. This conviction
gave us such joy, that, had we been younger, we
should all, men and women alike, have tossed our
hats in air and hurrahed. As it was, we looked each
other in the face, and said heartily, "Thank God!"
and Ilbrathed molre fieely. We had seen enough, in
o01r ll',olr  downl the river, at the different head1quarlterls where (we liad called, to lrnder us anxious
be})lond1 m.easure le-t our brave army should be jeoparldi'zed. if' not tur holy cause itself, by the intenmper:-e,'( of its (commander's. But the clear eye, clean
skiii. firm fle-h, and steady nerves of General Grant
rave thet lie to the universal calumnies, then current,.oncerningr hik liitemnlpcrate habits and those of the




GENERAL SHERMAN DISCUSSED.


311


oilcers of his staff. Our eyes had become practised
in reading the diagnosis of drunkenness.
There were ladies in our party who both played
the piano, and sang, very charmingly. One evening,
we accepted an invitation from General Grant's
Chief-of-Staff to pass an hour or two on board the
Magnolia. Our host informed us that " there was a
very good piano at General Grant's headquarters,
and that he was very fond of music." After an hour
of music, we drifted into a conversation upon various
topics, until finally General Sherman became the subject of discussion. I observed now that General
Grant listened intently.
General Sherman, at that time, was under a cloud.
With the right wing of the Army of the Tennessee,
thirty thousand strong, he had passed down the
Mississippi and up the Yazoo to Johnston's Landing, where he made an assault on the well-manned
fortifications and batteries which defended Vicksburg on the north. Abundant and efficient co-operation was promised him, and he hoped to develop
some weak point in the enemy's defences, which
extended fifteen miles, from Haines' Bluff to Vicksburg. Then it was believed he could fight his way
along the heights into the city.
But for various reasons he failed to receive the
support which was promised, while the difficulties
growing out of the topography of the abominable
country were almost insurmountable. He was repulsed with great slaughter, losing over two thousand men, while the enemy reported a loss of only
sixty-three killed. Burying his dead under a flag of
truce, General Sherman re-embarked his men for
Young's Point - and Secretary Halleck ordered




831   " THE GREATEST SOLDIER IN THE WORLD."
(General John A. McClernand of Illinois to supersede hiln.
Immeln diate ly General Sherman fell in public estimation. The Northern press was very decided in condelmnllation of his genceralslip; and as we went down
tlhe river, wc  had heard this condemnation reiterated and  mlnphasized by men in all positions, many
of w1homn declalred the General insane. Some of this
gossip)i was repl)eated in the conversation that took
place( on the Magnolia, one of the company remarking that " it was verl'y evident that General Sherman
hlad l)een munch overrated in the p)ast."
This broutght out (General Grant. " You are mistakenl, si '! " he sai(l, verly quietly. "General Shermlllan ('ilot be overrated  II is the greatest soldier
of thle w()rl(l; and if' the Duke of Wellingcton were
lilve, I vwould not rank him second even to him."
b The country will pllace vou before General
Shlermall   ii.sol(lierly ability ' replied 0some one
pr,'e'it  " It will never assent to the statement
tlhat (reclIeral Shermlan is.entitled to the first place,
nlot (ev'l when you make it."
~The cuntrly (does General Sherman great injustic(e, at )prese.nt. was Gencral Grant's reply. " I am
not hi- superlior as a (soldier. If I surpass him anywhere, it may be in the planning, of a camlllpaign.
11t t (,f wlat value alr the best planned caimpaigns,
f' there ar1e n1  t grea't sololdiers like General Shiernman
to execclute them'  And he s )(.pokle with the vwaimnth
o,f fricndshilp, and as one jealous of the honor of a
br(lthler so.ldier. Subsequent events have justified
thi- etiinate of General Sherman, and demonstrated
the  n Illo:siil)ilit! of creating jealousy or antagonism
between these two great men.




MY DECISION.


313


I had been entrusted with a great variety of
errands to General Grant, every military post and
hospital at which we stopped adding to my budget.
I received these commands, and took copious memoranda of facts, events and dates connected with them,
not quite sure what I should do when the time came
to act.  Some presented requests to have wrongs
righted. Others asked favors not easily obtained, or
made a statement of grievances, or besought pardon
for offences which were being punished with loss of
position, -and so on. I was fiequently told that
my only hope of success, in some of these cases, lay
in the fact that I was a woman, and that " women
could do anything they desired with army officers."
I came to a very swift decision concerning these
errands after I had been to General Grant's headquarters. Only one class of them was sufficiently
important to challenge the attention of a commander
whose whole soul was absorbed in the attempt to
solve the problem how best and most speedily to
conquer Vicksburg, the "Gibraltar of America," as
Jefferson Davis had confidently declared it. There
rose the impregnable city, strong in its natural position, bristling with batteries to its very highest pinnacle, and for fifteen miles along the river bank.
And here sat the determined officer, defeated in his
every attempt to flank the Mississippi, but still unfaltering in his resolve to subjugate this defiant
citadel of the Confederacy, and revolving more
daring schemes for the accomplishment of this neverto-be-yielded purpose. The only petition I could
bring myself to present to such a man, at such a
time, was one that involved the life of a score of his
soldiers - my brothers.




314-  A PETITION FOR TWENTY-ONE SICK MEN.
Ill my visits to the hospitals there had been brought
to my notice the c.ases of several sick soldierstwenlty-one in all - who were pronounced incurable
by the surgeons. The poor fellows would speedily
die, or thclr illnesses would become chronic, and
tlhey would drag,on a few inls(erable years in confirmed invali(lism. In any case. they were worthless
to tile governmnent, and1 should be dischalged from
its s'ervice. Therle wiere m:any such cases, but these
were of' pectuliar lhardship, 1because in every instance
thlere was an al)solute hindrance to their discharge,
throu.gh irrecgulalrity, for which they were not reslpOlnsil)lb, and that (could not be easily righted.
They htad lost their " descriptive lists "; or their
regimenlllts w(1ere on somlle remote expedition, beyond
tl he r:ea( h,f mlails; or they were too ill to go home
Illluna(ccmllanlied, an1l 'furloughs were just then a forbi(ddenl favor. All the. details,f these twenty-one
c(';:t wr\\   ('comllitt('e to me, with the endorsement
of the srllceons in whose ho.spitals they were, and
wlo cer'tifiedl tlhat these men could render the governIllllt Ino fu'rther aid, and should be released from
military eric'v(e.
Tlie 'e-qest th' t thtse tlw((e tw  t-one dying soldiers.honldl 1)e 11.i 1 har(el,. andl senlt home, was the only
oI1  I felt w'illilln  to prcsent to General Grant,
for, a- nmatters were, h. alone, coi.uld discharrge them.
aI Ii  "  r( t tl he 1han." of' the Ge(eral on tlte first
it elt lext.w, I,,lve( t( seC'e hili aain, alone, and
IIr'LT myl slit in lbehalf of' the poor fello)ws. It was:a monewl t irreirlar procee(ding, and I knew it; but
I al-s knew that he hlad the power to di-charge them
il tle teeth of anv info)rmality, and I believed he
wo-uld, when he knew all the facts. At any rate, I




TERRA FIRMA WAS NOWHERE.


315


would not go back without making an effort foi the
helpless boys who had besought my aid, and had
sent after me their prayers and anxious thoughts.
So a few mornings after, when breakfast was over,
without informing any one on the sanitary boat of my
purpose, I started alone for the Magnolia. How to
get there was a question, for terra firma was nowhere. Where it was not mud, it was water; and
where it was not water, it was mud; and the mud
was so liquefied that you sank into it as though
walking through porridge. There was substantial
footing on the levees, but those did not run in the
direction whither I was going. One of the boys of
Colonel Bissell's Engineer Corps spied me standing
ankle-deep in mud, and offered his help. I needed
it, for the Magnolia had moved upstream nearly half
a mile, and I had lost my reckoning. He piloted me
over sloughs bridged by his corps, in which lay rotting carcasses of horses and mules, which had got
"mired," and been left to die. I went up the gangway of the Magnolia, and there confronted the
guard.
" I wish to see General Grant," I said to him.  ' I
have letters of introduction  one from the Secretary of War - and I wish to put these papers in his
hands."
"Pass up stairs into the saloon," was his reply.
At the head of the stairway I was halted by another
guard, to whom I told the same story.
"Pass round behind the screen," was the reply.
The saloon of the Magnolia was partitioned into
three apartments by movable green baize screens.
I passed round in front of the first of these, as
directed, and came upon the officers of General




316


A SECOND CALL ON GENERAL GRANT.


Gilant's staff, lounging and chatting.  To them I
repeated my story, and was directed to pass round
behind the next screen. There sat a body of medical
men, with reports and documents, and any quantity
of budgets tied with red tape. One of them chanced
to be a Chicago physician, and we recognized each
other. To him I told my desire, and presented my
papers, and was again directed to pass around behind
the screen - the third one - where I should find the
General alone.
I obeyed, and, through the blue haze of cigar smoke
circling through the apartment, I saw General Grant,
sitting at the table, wearing his hat, a cigar in his
mouth, one foot on a chair, and buried to his chin
in maps, letters, reports, and orders.  Whatever
mauvaise hionte I may have felt in thus obtruding
myself upon the modest General, was speedily banished by his discomposure. For a moment he seemed
the most bashful man I had ever encountered. Rising, and placing a half-dozen chairs at my service,
he begged me to be seated, removing his hat, and
taking his cigar from his mouth, and then quickly
and unconsciously replacing both. I remained standing, and, without ally circumlocution whatever, announced my errand, and implored his aid. He heard
me without interruption.
" But these are matters that should be laid before
my Medical Director. I have put all these things out
of my hands," were his first words.
Yes, I knew that, and told him so; and I also told
him that it was necessary for some one to " cut red
tape" boldly and promptly in behalf of these men;
that no subordinate dared do it, but all said he
could, and encouraged me to believe that he would.




DISCHARGE OF MY PROT9GiS.


317


And I besought him, with the earnestness that women
felt in these sad cases during the war, to give me the
pleasure of returning these boys to the mothers,
sisters, and wives, who would lighten with love the
dark valley of death into which they were fast descending. I promised, if he gave them discharge
and transportation, to take every man to his friends,
leaving no one of them until I saw him well cared
for. The General briefly examined the documents I
gave him, and then said "he would let me know
to-morrow what could be done."
The next evening, an officer of his staff came to
our boat, enlivening an hour with most charming and
intelligent conversation.  He made me supremely
happy with the discharge of these twenty-one soldiers from the service of the country, who had been
rewarded with loss of health, and, as it afterwards
proved to some of them, with loss of life.
But if I was happy, what shall I say of the poor
emaciated fellows, who looked for my return to them
as one looks for a reprieve from sentence of death?
Most of these men were brought North on our sanitary boat. One of them died on the way, and was
buried at Memphis, and another died in Chicago.
His home was in Wisconsin; and a ride of four
hours more would have taken him to the arms of his
mother, who was expecting him. But when we
reached Chicago, Saturday evening, the train for his
town had left, and he was compelled to remain in the
city over Sunday. I took him to a hotel near the
station from which he was to start on Monday; and,
when I had seen him comfortable in bed, wished to
leave him, to telegraph his mother of his nearness to
her, and then to go to my own family. I promised




318


SLEEPING THE SLEEP OF DEATH.


to send him a nuise in less than an hour, and to ac.
comil)any him homne to Wisconsin myself on Monday.
But hel beggrced so wildly that I would return myself
and stay with him, that I consented, after I had infolrmed my ahmily of my return to the city. He followed nme to the door with his beseeching eyes, saying, "I hate to have you go, for it seems as if I
should not see you again."  I assurled him that I
wotll( not b)e lab.sent above two hours at the furthest,
allnd, as lie wisihed  o one to remiain in the room with
hilll, I left the d(11'r ajar, getting the prloinis of the
chablleli'lnaid to look in upon him occasionally.
In less than two hours I was back at his bedside.
" Ie hlas )(I.en sleeping quictly ever since you left,"
s;:1(1 tlih servant. Tlhere le lay as I had left him,
w-ith iie,1land 1I11der his head, his face turned
to\walrds the door, that lhe might see any one who
lenter'ted the room. Sleeping? Yes-the sleep of
deat h.
MI,)tlhe.s will not think me weak when I confess
that I closed tlie doori and locked it, and then wept,jon)l and l}itterl\ over the (lead boy —not for him,
but for the Inothcer whose youngest child he was.
lie had so lonI1 ed for his mother, this boyish, twenty~c.ar-old(.-ldlc'l!  A,'am and again had he said to
me: " I don t cxpect to get well - I know I must
die; but if I can onl  see my mother once more I.halll be  wIllin:z to  (lie
()n MonAdax -lie caitle for his coffined lbody. As
hle bent o\ ver himi and w\\(restled with her mighty
g,'rit.f. she eemlned( to find comfort in the oft-uttered
tholught, that " he had given his life for his country."




CHAPTER XV.
I AM INSTALLED HEAD COOK IN A FIELD HOSPITAL - CHEER.
ING UP THE "BOYS"-CAPRICIOUS APPETITES — MY RIDE
WITH BLACK SOCRATES -VICKSBURG.
Large Field Hospital at Young's Point - Am put In Charge - Cater to the
capricious Appetites - " Tea and Toast" for a forty-five-year-old " Boy "
-"Teal teal teal from the homespun Teapot"-Lemonade under
Difficulties —Men transferred to Hospital Steamer City of Memphis
-Visit to the Thirteenth Illinois- "Socrate" and his Six-Mule
Team —" Mules is dat mean dey has ter be licked!" - Accomplishments of the Thirteenth Illinois-" The stealing Regiment" - Accompany the Engineer Corps down the Levee-Peep into Vicksburg
with a powerful Glass - No sign of Home-Life - Rams Lancaster and
Switzerland run the Blockade - One destroyed, the other disabled.
',OST of the hospitals at Youngs Point were
regimental. There was one large field hospital, made by pitching tents lengthwise,
one beside the other, and one opening into
the other, but it was a comfortless place.          In
this field hospital were one hundred and fifty or
two hundred men, all sick with diseases that had
assumed a chronic form, the surgeon said. A hospital steamer, the City of Memphis, was daily expected
at the Point, when this hospital was to be broken up,
and the patients removed to St. Louis. I received
permission to do anything I pleased for them within
certain specified limits; and the head surgeon seemed
20          319




320


INCONVENIENCES FOR COOKING.


luch gratified that I manifested an interest in his
menl. He evidently lacked force and vital sympathy
with his patients. He was a man of routine, a man
of prescriptions; but he was kind-hearted. He indicated what patients might have toast, tea, and softboiled eggs; who could be treated to "egg nog,"
who to lemonade; who might have soup, and who
only gruel; and he plainly marked on the diet-book,
for my assistance, the food for each. There was
nothing for any of the patients in the hospital but
army rations.
" Moreover," said the surgeon, " if you really wish
to arrange special diet for these men yourself, I will
put at your service the most efficient colored help we
have, and our conveniences for cooking."  Conveniences! The good man must certainly have meant
inconveniences; for there was no kitchen, no stove,
no cooking apparatus, - nothing except two or three
immense portable soup-kettles, or boilers, with a little
furnace and pipe attached. The cooking was performed in the open air, where rain, smoke, and ashes
saturated both the cook and the food. The colored
men speedily made a huge fire of cottonwood logs
sufficient to roast an ox; and, having seen water put
into the boilers to heat, I went into the hospital to
investigate the appetites of the men.
It was a miserable place, although, at that time, and
in that locality, the best probably that could be done.
The cots were placed inside the tents, on the unplankcd ground. The soil was so dropsical that
wherever one trod, it sank under one's weight, and
one immediately stood in a little pool of water. The
legs of the cots stood on small square pieces of board,
which alone kept them from sinking into the moist




THE MEN HAD LOST HEART AND HOPE.


321


earth. The weather was warm as July in our climate, although it was April, and the atmosphere was
dense with gnats, small flies, and every other variety
of winged insect. The hospital swarmed with large
green flies, and their buzzing was like that of a beehive. The men were hushed to the stillness of death.
They had been sick a long while, and had utterl'y
lost heart and hope. Many of them did not even lift
their hands to brush away the flies that swarmed into
eyes, ears, noses, and mouths.
I walked through the oozy, muddy aisle to the end
of the connected tents; but not even the rare sight
of a woman among them induced a man to speak, few
even to turn their heads. I wanted to break this
apathy, to see a little life kindled in these disheartened fellows. I saw that I must create a little sensation among them. So, taking a stand in the centre
of the tents, I called to them in a cheerful, hearty
tone, "Boys! do you know you are to be got re.ady
to go North in a day or two?" This brought up a
few heads, and caused a little additional buzzing from
the flies, which were brushed awav that the men
might hear better. "This hospital is to be broken
up by day after to-morrow," I continued,  and you
are to go to St. Louis, and perhaps to the Chicago
hospitals. The City of Memphis is on its way down
here for you. By next Saturday at this time you
will be almost home. Isn't this tiptop news?"
I had roused them now. There was a general
waking up at the sound of the words " almost
home." They had lost mental stamina in their protracted illness, and needed the tonic of a great hope,
or the influence of a stronger mind exerted upon
them. After the first shock of surprise was over,




322


CATERING TO CAPRICIOUS APPETITES.


the men gathered their wits, and precipitated questions upon me, in a slow, sick, drawling, semi-articulate fashion, a dozen speaking at a time: "Where'd
-you - come - fiom?"       "Who - told - yous?"   'What - you -down - here - for?" I had
arloused theil curiosity, and I hastened to answer
thelil' (lquestions as they had asked them -all at once.
I had gained an advantage, and hastened to follow
it ull.
" N,. boys, I expect to stay here till this hospital
is b1)rokelv ulp; and if' you would like to have me, I
am  "(0o1114 to stay here with you. I have lots of good
things l  r you.I The llks at home have sent me
d1own hleret, aln(l hlave given me everything that you
ll(e'(d;  gg,. ' tsa, t'a rackers, white slgal', condensed
llilk, IeC111)1-, ale, (everything -and your surgeon
wanist vou to) have themn. He has told me what each
(one oft y(ou ctan have. Now, my boy"' turning to the
man nearest m(e, " if' yvo  could have just what you
wantedl. 'wht Nwould you ask for?"   H-e was a
ma111;1''1d main. as old as myself, but at that time, in
his miserallble w aklnicss and discoul'raement, a mere
It w\as a.n etl'it 1;i' him to think or decide; but
iinallv hl.e sttle(l on a slice of toast, a poached egg,;1and ta  I b})r'iult,olt my spirit lamp, bottle of
alch ol,. and teal)t, and (made the tea Itefo,'e llis eyes,.~v\eeten(ig. it with ) ltf' ullrar and a(d1(d l o.. condlensed
iIlk   ()1ie f tl te neL'ro as.isvtaint- toasted the bread
b\ t}le 'oal'il", (i-'a( klinl' tire outside. l)lbrning up
]half' a d(1oz-11 li( ces l? vay- of preliminaries, and
lookilr. whe1n -he,Lrmoulht the crispy- cindlerls to me,
with her ( haractt ri- ti,  It's done doie, missis' " as
if:he had stre'wn a:-hes onl her head for her ill-luck.




TEA AND TOAST LIKE THAT 'ERE I "


323


I dropped an egg into boiling water, cooking it
slightly, and laid it on the toast, buttering the whole
economically for the sake of the sick man's stomach,
and then took it to his cot.
A hundred pairs of eyes had been watching these
preparations, and as I set the tin cup of tea and tin
plate of toast on the campstool, I received a score
of orders from neighboring beds for "some tea and
toast, just like that 'ere." Crowding his knapsack
and pillow behind him, I propped up the forty-fiveyear-old "boy" to whose uncertain appetite I was
catering, and invited him to taste his "special diet."
As he tasted, a sickly smile distorted his thin ghastly
face, which was succeeded by a fit of weeping, his
tears literally mingling with his drink. "Is it
good?" I asked.   "Oh, - proper - good! - jest
- like- what - my - wife- makes! " with the
drawl of long sickness and great weakness.
I had got into business. "Tea! tea! tea! with
white sugar and milk in it!" —was the cry that
came up from every bed. I undertook to make the
tea by the wholesale, in the inevitable camp-kettle, in
which soldiers make tea, coffee, soup, and cook
everything. But no! they would have it from my
"homespun teapot," as one of them called it.
"Don't - let - that - 'ere - old - teapot - o' yourn
- git - played- out- before - you - git - tome!" entreated a Missourian at the farther end of
the hospital. I explained to him that there was no
" play out" to the teapot; that I had alcohol and tea
enough to keep it in active operation for weeks,and he then waited patiently for his turn.
For nearly three days I made tea for all who
wanted it in that three-pint teapot, over an alcohol




324


THE SICK BECOME MORE HOPEFUL.


lamp. It came out from this service as good as new.
And when a party of nine of us went from Chicago
across the Plains, four years after, all the tea necessary to our inspiriting was brewed in that same army
teapot.  It still lives, and does duty at midnight,
when now and then a hard night's work cannot be
avoided.
I had with me the condensed extract of beef, and
desiccated vegetables, so that the soup-making was
an easy matter.  Before dark, limited as were the
arrangements of my cuisine, every man was made
more comfortable, happier, and more hopeful, than
had seemed possible in these forlorn quarters. Except, alas! some seven who lay dying, their wideopen eyes seeing only the invisible - slowly drifting,
(1rifting, drifting, out on the great ocean of eternity.
Three of them died before morning, and were buried
in the side of the levee before I got round to the
hospital the following day.
The next day and the day after were spent in
about the same way, varied with letter-writing for the
men, and in hearing the multiform versions of their
various troubles, which were mainly the troubles of
wives and children, and friends at home. As badly
off as they were themselves, covered with the mud
and filth of months of sickness, neglected, unnursed,
unwashed, uncared for as they needed to be, they had
little to say of themselves. It was of their dear ones
at home, some of whom, not thinking of the harm
they were doing, poured out their magnified little
sorrows into the letters they wrote their soldier relatives. These were read and re-read, and brooded
over, and then placed under the pillow to be read
again, until the sick man's fevered imagination peo



SILENT, UNCOMPLAINING HEROES.,325


4
pled his waking, as his sleeping hours, with phantoms of horror.
If our men were brave on the field, they were still
braver in the hospital. I can conceive that it may be
easy to face death on the battle-field, when the pulses
are maddened by the superhuman desire for victory,when the roar of artillery, the cheers of the officers,
the call of the bugles, the shout and charge and rush
impel to action, and deaden reflection. But to lie
suffering in a hospital bed for months, cared for as a
matter of routine and form, one's name dropped, and
one only known as " Number Ten," " Number Twenty," or "Numbel Fifty "; with no companionship, no
affection, none of the tender assiduities of home nursing, hearing from home irregularly and at rare intervals, utterly alone in the midst of hundreds; sick, in
pain, sore-hearted and depressed, —I declare this requires more courage to endure, than to face the most
tragic death.
Oh, the Christ-like patience I have seen in the
hospitals! Oh, the uncomplaining endurance of soldiers who had been reared as tenderly as girls, and
who were just from under their mothers' wing! In
every hospital there were these silent heroes, whose
gentle patience and uncomplaining fortitude glorified
the rough wards. Every woman nurse, every matron, every "Sister of Mercy" who did duty beside
the beds of our sick and wounded during the war,
carries in her heart tender memories of them, which
sanctify the otherwise horrible associations of army
life.
On the third day the City of MLemphis steamed
to the landing, and as rapidly as possible the patients
of this comfortless field-hospital were taken on board,




:2(6


"THIS IS LIKE HOME!"


put in a warm bath, their hair cut, fresh, clean garmnents given them  in exchange for the filthy ones
they wore, and then in sweet, clean beds they started
up the river for St. Louis. They had been transferri'ed f' n one hospital to another, each as destitute
of pl'ope' accommodations as the one they had left;
so, that most of them were rooted in the belief that
the transfer to this hospital steamer would prove
only another illustration of a change of place, and a
retention of disco.mIfort. But a smile stole to their
faces as they wCere lifted into fresh beds, and from
scorIes,t' pallid lips caine the outspoken satisfaction:
Oh this is g ood! this is like home! "
I went on board to bid them "good-bye," and
otitd( them vastly iilproved )by their change of conditiol. To some( I had been more drawn than to
others, and in a few I had become sl)ecially interstt(l. O()ne of these had never recovered from an
attack of pneumn(nila, and was fearfully attenuated
a11dl )pe(ctr'al. lHt hi. plhysical decay had not told
()I his it ental C()nidition, and lie was enduring mutely
and herloically, asking no sympathy, making no conmplailts, never parading his sufferings, never whining
(r Iilatieilt, iantd always accepting the attentions
paid, hi with grratefu l courtesy. I wvent over to his
bled and,,offleriL  myv h'and, said in a lower tone,
and le-s fainiliarl tlhain to the others: " (()Good-bye,
mN friend! I am glad vou are going r Ni,'th. The
( ial:ee of climate will -et vyo up directly; I think
x nil\ NVi1ll e't xwe1l rit.rht awav now."
lie' shook hi- lI.ad  ' I Im1 not Col(cerned al)out
it  I r;ave 1 ev.1lf' to G(/,od wh-en I entered the se{rvice,
~and1 I have tried to d(1 mny duty.  XnWiether I live or
die is lis bu.ine-ss."




BLACK "CSOCRATES."


327


"' That is so; but for the sake of those who love
you, I hope you will recover."
Without lifting his eyes again to my face, and
withdrawing his hand fiom mine, he said in a lower
voice, " There is nobody to care whether I live or
die. I am obliged to you, though, for the interest
you express." I never heard of him afterwards.
I had been requested before leaving home to visit
the camp of the Thirteenth Illinois, if I should happen in their neighborhood; and I had been entrusted
with various packages for individuals belonging to it.
These I had sent forward, and had received acknowledgment of their receipt. They were encamped
seven miles down the levee, and almost daily I had
received a note from some man of the regiment
charging me "not to forget to come to them," with
other similar messages.
One pleasant day I started for their encampment.
The only chance of riding was in an army wagon,
drawn by six mules, and loaded with molasses, hardtack, salt pork, and coffee. A very black negro
drove the team, who rejoiced in the name of " Socrates." He pronounced his name as if it were
"Succotash." In this lumbering ark I took passage
through the mud and water.  We had gone but a
little way when we stuck fast in the mud. Thereupon
black Socrates fell into a passion worthy of Xantippe, and cudgelled the mules unmercifully. They
kicked, and pulled, and floundered, and at last extricated themselves. We started again, rode slowly on
a little farther, again got stuck in the mud, and again
Socrates plied his cudgel, and beat and swore, and
swore and beat, until I could endure it no longer.
" What are you beating the mules for?" I remon



328


THE THIRTEENTH ILLINOIS.


strated.  "Don't you see they are doing the best
they can?"
"i Lors, missis, dey orter be licked. Mules is dat
mean dey allers won't pull a bit when dey knows
yer's gwine som'whar in a hurry."
" Well, I won't have them beat any more. Now
stop it. I cannot stand it. It hurts me."
Socrates threw back his head, showed all his
gleaming teeth, and laughed immoderately. "Yer'd
git hurt a heap, missis, if yer stayed hyar allers; for
I 'clar to goodness, mules is dat mighty mean dat
yer jes' has tel lick 'em! " and he flew to cudgelling
again. It was too much. I could not endure it;
and, crawling out from the molasses and pork, I
picked my way to the top of the levee, thickly dotted
with soldiers and tents.
For miles the inside of the levee was sown with
graves, at the head and foot of which were rude
wooden tablets, bearing the name and rank of the
deceased, and sometimes other particulars. The soldiers spoke of their buried comrades in a nonchalant
way, as " planted." In most cases the poor fellows
lad been wrapped in their blankets, and buried without coffins, or "overcoats," as the men called them.
In places the levee was broken, or washed out by the
waters, and the decaying dead were partially disinterred. This sickening sight did not move me then
as it would now, for hospital and army life, after the
first few weeks, mercifully bred a temporary stoicism,
that enabled one to see and hear any form or tale of
horror without deep emotion.
A young lieutenant became my guide and escort
to the camp of the Thirteenth Illinois. We came
upon it unexpectedly. I halted reverently, and laid




 ''I i,
    I-   P,   I  [ "


4 -N,F
i Air.,  +,. l,      t
",         - -.,-                                                  W%', A..    -.. J.., ",             -— i      "   " 'O..


4"
"444;~                      1>
4 4
4                          V
Y.,




i  I, 4
P    "  -'!
I' i iTil-TEEN't'll!,-i 11


r -rAtt (..     11 101  1c the\~ a,        '
L  I.             twr  '  licked.  k14 -  ts (tat
~~ ~  v  ~     pull a i dt wvheiii  ki
y I.I   t4) gn ('a  I~   &   rrlv. *"n     a
ter lik  a;~~k he %  morto o)hPC ii
P~~~~tL             1  ol   ittdi      t
aut th    Cll n           t of  hic  ee rude:tii             I oietlh  hE ou jPnIt 1(d &iars.  it -u
II~)k  1  the)It I iiij ' Lit a (In: ii-' ii d n on halan
M  AI V~ rate i 1i1J TiP b:h*nkvict  thI ickly dtitl* ~~f~iuai..,  )   tvhilts.e           tem


*&Qrror wii ho-~ ktie
to tflc (CVfIjP.ft
UpX~ii it uiwixpectedl~t~


* ~ ~  "~    s (hit tlvte
Ad ~W    dI disi ni.,   n14~  then
iueaftcr the
f e   toIrn or tile of
a~ii"In,"ni gui(1C and escort
1-ieenth iluinois. _We cam-te
haltedt rexeruntly. and laid




PL &ATE: III.. I,/J.  ":0                                                                                                   it
I"
104.14, "
I
I, 'I.
k                                                                                                                             Af




Ad


I


A




1.


S.


S


I
I


I


j


k.*.1 —...- 17.



FIAi/-uS KT          11ON,
t  I M.. -,I. I   tV'








"THE STEALING REGIMENT."


331


my hand upon the lieutenant's arm, for some sort of
service was in progress in the camp. The men were
standing or sitting in a body, and a chaplain was
delivering an address, or preaching a sermon. As I
listened, he seemed to be setting the sins of his audience before them in a manner that savored more of
frankness than tact, and he was exhorting the men
to repentance. The boys, however, seemed to enjoy
the recital of their shortcomings and sins of commission, and frequently assisted the preacher's memory
to facts which he had forgotten, or did not know,
suggesting peculiar punishments for them, all of
which was immediately adopted into the discourse.
I thought the interruptions of the soldier audience
needless and profane. Little as I sympathized with
the queer exhortation of the chaplain, I tried to infuse into my manner an expression of reverence,
that would rebuke the wild fellows. The service
was brought to an abrupt close by one of the men
shouting out, "I say, Harry, you'd better wind up
your gospel yarn, and see who's behind you!"'
There was a shout. The speaker turned toward
me, when lo, it was no chaplain, but the young
brother of one of my friends, an irrepressible wag
and mimic. His mimicry in this case, if reprehensible, was perfect. I found that this regiment had
made itself quite a reputation by its versatility.
There was nothing its men could not do. All the
arts, trades, professions, and mechanical employments were represented in it. In addition to their
other accomplishments they were such experts in
quizzical thefts, that they had earned the somewhat
equivocal sobriquet of "The Stealing Regiment."
The brigade surgeon walked back with me part of




:*: o
f f 4.J


2  "HAVEN'T GOT ANY HOSPITAL!"


the way, and gave me an ainusino account of their
exploits in this line, some of which were very comical. He told me afterwards, that while he was thus
enlgagced, the boys went to his tent, and while some
of them diverted the attention of his servant, others
stole his stove with all the pipe attached to it, the
fire in it burning all the while, all his kettles and
pan1s on it, and his supper cooking in them. They
gave Operatic concerts, theatrical performances, mock
trials, sham fights, exhibitions of gynlnastics and
feats of legerdemlain, were proficients in negro minstrelsy, gave mlledical lectures, and conducted religious services - in short, there was no performance
to which they were not equal.
As. soon as we had recovered from the laughter
raise.(l at the exl)ense of the counterfeit chaplain, I
asked(l to be shownll to the regimental hospital.
Ilaven't got any! w" as the answer in choi'us.
i Vhy, what do you do with yo(ur sick men?"  I
inllilll 'red
"Don't have any!" was the reply, again in chorus.
And indeed the raiarely had sickness in their camp.
llthey wlere fortunate in the men to beogn with, who
we,'e strong, not too young, and mostly married.
Thlen almost all had resources in thkemselves, thanks
to tlheilr m(ental ability and early training. They had
an inducement in their families to take carec of themselves atd(I ood influences  Iere exerted over them
b) tle letter of wives and milthe'-r. Their officers
were men tof iltelligence, wlho knew how to take care,,f their nnt-. lad bec )me attached to theil' comimands,
werNe humane and noot drlik,#il n. Theyv had lost heavilv- at the battle,,f Chicka.awv Blufls, their colonel
h)ei Lr left among the dead. But when it came to




AN EXCITING NIGHT.


333


sickness, they hooted at the idea. The regiments in
their neighborhood were a little afraid of them, I
found; they were so hearty and roistering, and so
full of mad pranks. Aftel dining with the adjutant,
I left them, not quite satisfied with my visit, because,
as that worthy explained, "I had unfortunately found
them all well instead of sick."
On the way back I passed black Socrates, still
ploughing through the mud, but evidently reconciled
to the "mighty meanness" of his mules, as he was
sitting aloft on the driver's seat, shouting in a singsong recitative,"An' I hope to gain de prommis' lan',
Glory, hallelujah!
Lor', I hope to gain de prommis' lan',
Dat I do!
Glory, glory, how I lub my Savior,
Dat I do!"
When I reached the sanitary boat Omaha, I found
that a portion of our delegation, and some of the
supplies, had been transferred to the Fanny Ogden,
destined for a point up the river a few miles, where
there were sick men in great destitution. I went on
board the boat with them.   But after dark we
steamed down the river, below the point where a
canal was being cut by Colonel Bissell's Engineer
Corps, which, it was hoped, would divert the main
current of the Mississippi, and leave Vicksburg on a
bayou two or three miles inland. Backwards and
forwards, up the river and down the river, the little
boat darted most of the night, carrying orders and
despatches for General Grant. Most of the time we
were within range of the enemy's guns, which kept
up an incessant firing of shot and shell at the dredg



334


PLANTING A BATTERY.


ing boats in the canal, whose locomotive headlights
furnished an admirable mark.
We sat on deck through the night, watching the
shells as they flew shrieking over our heads, which
we could distinguish by the lighted fuse, and endeavoring to judge the size of the shot by the singing, howling, whizzing, or shrieking they made in
their swift transit through the air.  The Fanny
Ogden did not go up the river at all, but returned
to the landing by morning, out of the reach of the
enemy's guns, where she lay until night. We were
again informed she was bound up stream, again embarked on her, only to pass the second night like the
first, steaming up and down the river, carrying General Grant's despatches.
During the day, a detachment of the Engineer
Corps was sent down inside the levee, to plant a
battery at the extreme point of land directly opposite
Vicksburg, where the Mississippi is very narrow and
deep. The levee at this place was nearly fifteen feet
high, and the battery was to be built into the levee
from the inside.  Its object was to destroy the
foundries and railroad and machine shops of Vicksburg, lying near the river, and which were in great
activity day and night.  The prospecting for the
position of the battery, and the planning and marking out of the work, had been done in the night, not
to attract the attention of the enemy. Now they
were to work wholly inside the levee, and so were
busy in the daytime.
Colonel Bissell himself was in command, and I
accepted his invitation to accompany the squad, and
take a nearer view of Vicksburg than it was possible
to gain elsewhere.  We steamed down near the




A PEEP INTO VICKSBURG.


335


mouth of the canal, took a rowboat through one of
the creeks to the point of land opposite the city, and
then walked behind the levee. While the men were
working like Titans, the Colonel loaned me a powerful field-glass, and found for me a position where I
could look over into the beleaguered city, without
being seen by their pickets. Here the river was so
very narrow that the pickets of the two armies
could carry on conversation, when all was still —as
they sometimes did.
At the right was the hospital, swarming with grayuniformed Confederates. They were sitting il the
windows, at the doors, on the piazzas, lying on the
grass in the yard, coming and going, some on
crutches, some led by assistants. A newsboy was
selling papers among them, and I could distinguish
between the large type of the headings and the
smaller print of the columns. In the belfry of the
court house, more than half-way up the hill, an officer was signaling with flags, of which he seemed to
have an immense variety. Beside him stood two
ladies, one wrapped in a cloak, and the other in a
shawl. I could even see that the bonnet of one was
blue in color. Two negresses. carrying baskets on
their heads, which looked as if filled with clean
clothes, set down their baskets, bowed and courtesied to one another, and then, with a-rms akimbo,
stood and gossiped, laughing convulsively, if one
could judge from the motions and gesticulations.
Gray guards were pacing back and forth before the
foundries. Officers were galloping to and fio; trains
of freight cars were being loaded; new batteries
were being placed in position; and other scenes of
warlike activity were apparent. But nothing was




RAMS RUN THE BATTERIES.


visible that betokened pleasure or social life, or such
proceedings as occupy the people of a city in time
of peace.  No children were on the streets, no
womenn walking or shopping, no gay equipages, no
sign of inhabited homes.
During the cly I learned that the gunboats Lancastter and Switzerland were to run the Vicksburg
batteries during  the night, to co-operate  with
Admiral Falrragut.  Ile lIad steamed up the river
fi'oll New\ Orlceans, had fought his way past Fort
Hu(Idson, and was now inoored nearly opposite the
canal before spoken of, but on the other side of the
bend, below Vie.ksburg  The Mississippi River was
n1o\  op)e its entire length, save here at Vicksburg.
rThe gnllllb)ats. (lid lnot get started as soon as they
were orldered, and it was daydawn before they came
ullnlcle the Irebel filre. They were both rams; one, the
Lanlcaster, being of wood, and every way fiailer than
its conlsor(t, tle Switzerland.
As they IroundedCd the peninsula, from which the
trees had been cut, a signal rocket was sent up by
the enemy, and then the heavy guns opened their
iron throats and l)cl( bed tlunder and fire. All along
the river bankl,,below, and al)ove, flames seemled to
leal),ut of the (grollu(l, at if the very bottomless pit
had )bee  tll ap(el)cd, and thel the earth and the
\watl' shook \ itli the roar of' the batteries. Louder
and1l faster il' ellved the (c.anon, and the whole,opI,,site hillsidc,ccived on fire  But on went the rams,
not a li\ inr thill' beinl visible about them, seeming
to ctea ca1;1med lives.t, that culd not be wrecked by
-hot or shell.  Tlhey will get by in safety! ' we said,
at- \\w. atlched themil through the portholes of the
gunboat Lalayette, which lhugged the west shore of




ONE SUNK - THE OTHER DISABLED.


337


the river: "Another quarter of an hour, and they
are safe!"
Vain prediction! There came a plunging shot -a
rush of steam - an explosion - the air was full of
cinders and splinters, and then men could be seen
leaping into the water, swimming and struggling for
life. A shot from one of the upper batteries had exploded the boiler of the Lancaster, and then a shell,
bursting in another part of the boat, completely
wrecked her. The Confederate batteries continued
to pour in upon her a tremendous fire. She was
struck thirty times. Her entire bow was shot away,
causing her to take water so rapidly that she sank
almost instantly, turning a complete somersault as
she went down.
The Switzerland was more fortunate, but was
finally disabled by a sixty-pound ball penetrating
her steam drum. She floated below Vicksburg, the
batteries still keeping up their terrible fire upon her,
and striking her repeatedly. At last, the Albatross,
from Admiral Farragut's fleet, which had come up
from New Orleans, steamed to her relief, fastened
to her, and towed her to the lower mouth of the
canal, where she lay helpless.
Those who were watching the contest, when the
Lancaster was wrecked, and who knew the current
of the river, climbed over the embankment of the
Vicksburg and Shreveport Railroad, and threw out
planks and limbs of trees, and aught else that the
swimmers could seize, around whom, as they struggled in the water, the shot and shell were flying like
hail. One after another they were drawn to land,
some of them scalded, and all exhausted. As the
engineer of the Lancaster clutched the hand of a
21




338


DEATH OF THE ENGLNEER.


mall who ldrew himl from the water, the skin of the
s(calded hand came off in that of his helper, almost
as it it were a glove. It retained the creases of the
knlickles, and the nails of the fingers.  The poor;ellow was scaldcd horribly, but as he stepped on
shorle lhe drew his revolver, and, turning upon his
c('1oilades, exclanied: "  here's that coward that
talked of surrendelring?lll) I'll shoot /lim before I die!"
and discveringl the man, who had said just before
the expllosionll f the boiler, " It's of no use, we shall
hlave tto surrlender!" lhe rushed upon him, and would
1have hlarmned him but for the bystanders.
lThe 1)"pr fillow, with one other as badly scalded,;lan  stvera'll in le1ss distress, was taken to the hospital,
\ 1(lher lie (died that afternoonl. I went over to see
Ilil., Ihut lie was frce fri'Om pail and needed nothing,
si]kl" ral,)idly away  IIe had no fear of cleatlh, and
Cexpl)tesse(l treg'o-ret only for one thing, that his boat, the
LaIca(.;tlr, had1 l not 1run tlhe batterie  as well as the
Switzc'lalnd. xwhic h iot l;imt the '"tins, and joined
Farra:u't, althougrh badllyN cut p). " But," he added,
" I did i!m  duty and never talked of surrender'ing.
Anal I thlank l(;,o  I have no, mother, wife, nor child
to 1110o11'1 for me.  And so did I. ' "You may say a
pra;'er for 1me" l saidl faintly; " a short one, for it's
alinost ov\-r.."  Aind the l 1rave man's s.l)irit went up,
on the 1breatlh o f the slhort, )blt heartfelt petition
that wa^ iad(le ifor 1h1ui.




CHAPTER XVI.
COMING UP THE RIVER-A FREIGHT OF LIVING MISERYGOING OUT FROM TIE LAND OF BONDAGE-AMONG SICK
SOLDIERS, CONTRABANDS AND REFUGEES.
A forward Movement - Gunboats run the Vicksburg Batteries - They convoy Transports down the River - Troops cross, and beleaguer Vicksburg
-We take Passage in the Maria Denning for Cairo — The Boat packed
with human and animal Miser —Sick Soldiers comforted by our Presence -Johnny, the Virginia Refugee, given to my Care -Hils History
-The tempestuous " Praise-meetings" of the Contrabands tabooedRefugees encamped on the River Bank - Signal the Boat to stop- The
Captain dares not - Fears Treachery-Meet Ford Douglas at Lake
Providence -Agree to take a slave Boy to Chicago, despite Illinois
"Black Laws."
IT  was the last week of April, 1863, when,
having finished the work we were sent to
do, we turned our faces homeward.       There
was no longer any need of our remaining
" down the river."      The troops at Lake
Providence, and those sent to " flank the Mississippi" by the way of Yazoo Pass and Steele's
Bavou, under Generals Sherman         and McPherson,
were brought down to Milliken's Bend.           By   the
complete breaking up of all the hospitals, and the
removing of all the sick to the North, as well as from
the general note of preparation in the camp and
among th. fleet of gunboats, we understood that a
839




:340


A FORWARD MOVEMENT.


"forward movement " of some kind was resolved on.
We were not left to conjecture what it might be.
We were told fiankly, by one of the officers, of the
new line of operations marked out by General Grant.
Vicksburg was to be assailed from the east; and the
ironclads and gunboats, with the transports, were to
run the batteries, and coiivey the army across the
r1iver at a pIoint farther down. The Thirteenth Corps
had already left Mliliken's Bend, and marched down
the west bank of the Mississippi. They were to be
ready to cross in the transports when they should
have run the gauntlet of the terrible batteries, and
'(ot safeily below the defiant stronghold. So we now
to,,,k passle-c in the Malria Denning, and prepared
lr ol our slo \ tllp up the river.
While,our boat was taking its heterogeneous
fieighlt on h1ard,( the latst gunboat of the expedition
rctulrined, wh11( had been seekincg a way to the rear
of the dlefence(s of Yicksblurg via Yazoo Pass, on the
east sl(le of the Mi.ssissippi. Busy as everybody was,
on land and on river, and bls. as the soldiers had
become with contiued excitement and adventure, the
return,f this gunboat created a decided sensation.
It had beeni n-avigating narrow, tortuous streams,
whichl, at that stage of high water, had a headlong
cu11Irrcent. b)uearing'I   ther11 through gigantic forests, which,ove'llrc.hd and i lterla(ced, sweeping awav smokesta; kl. and scrapiing the de, k clean of plilot-house
1and i very )ther standi HL fixture.
_Ablru1tt turns aIt:almno-t evey boat's length of the
wa\ down tlie Coldwater and Tallahatchie Rivers liad
1)rokel heir bow andl danaged her sides, wile sna,'
andl fEallen trets, 1and 1(ow and tlhen ecttinl a,,roulnd,
had injured the r'uddI( 1 and wheels. They had been




THE MARIA DENNING.


341


halted at Greenwood, on the Tallahatchie, where the
rebels had erected defences, and, with the aid of
rifled Whitwbrth guns, had compelled the expedition
to return to the Mississippi by the same way it had
come. Some of the men had been killed; several
were badly wounded, and were brought on board our
boat to be taken to the Memphis hospitals. All were
exhausted by the protracted and excessive work, performed on half and quarter rations. And yet all
wanted to go forward with the new movement of the
forces to the east of Vicksburg. The wounded
brought on board the Maria Denning loudly lamented
their hard fate in being sent to the hospitals "just
when something was going to be done."
The Maria Denning was an uncouth and lumbering
three-decker, if so definite and dignified a name may
be applied to a nondescript river-boat. It was three
stories high, each of the upper two stories being more
contracted in dimensions than the one immediately
beneath it. The lowest deck, or story, was open, not
enclosed, and was devoted to the transportation of
condemned government mules and horses, sent to St.
Louis for sale. The second story was occupied by
contrabands who had comle from the plantations
within the lines of our army, and who, like the mules
and horses, were bound for St. Louis. Here, also,
were sick and wounded soldiers, going home on furlough or discharge. The third story was for the
accommodation of the officers of the boat and passengers.
The dumb animals were driven from their corral,
some three or four hundred of them, with a vast deal
of whooping, shouting, and wild driving. They ran
in every direction but the one in which they ought,




342


ILL-USED MULES AND NEGROES.


and at every turn were'l met by fresh outbursts of
shouts and yells and fiantic gesticulations.  For
soldiers seemed to spring out of the ground, who
joined in the unf eeling spolt, until the poor, jaded,
worn-out beasts were mad with firlght. It was half.a da( before any of them were got on board. And
several of them, in tlecir terror, ran into an immense
sloulg, sa:nk slowly in the mire with but feeble strug-1e, alld died before our eyes.
AVhen this war is ovclr," slid Mrs. Governor
Ilar ey!, of AWiscoiisin, who passed three years of the
war il the hslpitals, and at the front, in devoted labor
for the soldiCes, "I never want to see again a negro
ol a m 1ule. Both of them are so abused in the army,
atl  bo)(tll a11c s.(, dumbly p)atient, anld uncomplaining,
at(d receive so little symplathly, that I suffer a perpetual heaIlt;a le on their account."  To express pity
for, or interest in, a suffilelng mule, or to interpose
eintreaties ()o its l)ehalf, was to run the gauntlet of
the' mnost stingingi ridicule.  Everybody beat and
neglected tlice unhandsome brutes; and when they
fell into the handls of the ill-treated negroes, they
farhcd,wrse than ever  From their own persecution
andl (abuse, the! seemed to have learned only lessons
tof blutalit and tyranny, when they became muledriver's.
As the half-llimbruted contrabands came on board,
ullider C  Ilitarly ^' ii,''71illi,7cP, clad in the tattered gray
rad black - Iligrger cloth," and shod with the clouted
)broo;11s of the plantation, my heart went out to them.
Sul)(lued, lill)assive, solemn, hope and courage now
tnd then lighting up their sablle faces, they were
a mnost interestil  study.  Mothers carried their
1iqulant-fiaced babies on one arm, and led little




r   -  I,.,,
-1                      p. '.,-..'l
I,,,,
I                     c,-  o
-.    k - ".a


ii
Y


qr,       0.,- 4.111.                   %       I
A-          4-        I
11,  j
 M. -


As


— v
-f I
V)I
d
21 "


r- 
I
7
'A


I'


I  0


N


rf
IL
4` 1
p;
I ,P%


II
If
im.w
". 4
4.
11    I
I
-,d.".?.10".
 Ilk.     4r,
i.. I




, x       %! " "i,       %. 4.     4 i,     i 4, i   I,       0
'I'[,]                                                                    A       I              -4


tdi~  t ~*.r4  '~I~  lit() the ground, N%: ho
he4 intc    fi 41   t'i it, until  tht  1)oO1-i- jat( ti,
). 110 11, i 1k;Vs ''- Mun II~~ ~ fr'i4rht. It wae 'half
~We~ i of~t'': ~  e  ot o  board. And
U1(a  ~  if 't. rtl'r t IHi ]%M into an inuuIH,~ufle:41    a'I    i,    si   M    Governor
t I WsuuM. NN.- i)am,,ed thivwi years of the
tj the 1u1dds1md aft the front, in devoted labor
Ie t-b ie      I Wis lVLI' IWan1t, 10 seagain a negro:m ~e.  loi  e thern are s#' bused in the army,
rothl "IFC 54O (I1lbIIUI)y ldalnIt, and uncomplaining,
Irt-~eiv&'e  little sv'iflpa-cthy, that I suffer a U ),t
hi' ii:i () II theci i ac' 'ouut."~ To express pity
Alr, i jitvret  'Ill, at — Iiffcn:r in e 111,, or  to  interpos-e
iVat -1I C Sr Ott t beh~alf.,  to- r'un thie gauntket of
iiia~t~tiug'n ' ribul.  EdVI'Pybody bcat and
rief'teui Ost.. lnaii~~w~  t1   nd whilj) they
finll Ilhe hands aI h  i"14 —atld ng~,they
~N4- ui se t h~iq3 e %er. z'~ iir   ercdution
Vf.I~bi tas hn If i i;bru'"d (ca d.esr    board,
ler Aolitai-N s w ih. r             rered (*'ray
ga!I of the jifh.O:'twerit %tout to them.
)(uvd, imjflj ii V\- M i.,   andi eourage now
I ~hn bgturu.'v           h    aces, they were
11o-t int ~i 1estihI" st I \1Nother'-. carried their
uant'.faced babi't  o   i J. arn, and led little.I
4




n
Fr


'n.;,,:k,. I.1.t%.,.


-v~fI" '
4-~  ~.1
I
IL,.  d
I
a
I d


S1
kN


11.
I


A.








THE IMPASSIVE, SOLEMN CONTRABANDS.


345


woolly-headed toddlers by the other. Old men and
women, gray, nearly blind, some of them bent almost
double, bore on their heads and backs the small
" plunder" they had "toted" fiom their homes, on
the plantation, or the "bread and meat" furnished
them by some friendly authorities. They were all
going forth, like the Israelites, "from the land of
bondage to a land they knew not."
Like the Hebrews, they trusted implicitly in God
to guide them, and their common speech, as we spoke
with them, had an Old Testament flavor. Never
before had I witnessed so impressive a spectacle.
There were between three and four hundred of
them. Half of the middle deck of the huge boat
was assigned them, into which they filed, and begal to arrange themselves in families and neighborhood groups.
The other half of this deck was used by sick and
wounded soldiers, who were brought on board in
great numbers. They were either furloughed or discharged. Some of them were brought on stretchers,
and a comrade was detailed to accompany them, and
assist them in their long journey.  Others swung
themselves painfully on crutches, or were led between
their comrades, frequently falling firom weakness; or
they crept feebly and haltingly on board, without
assistance.
We stationed ourselves - the women of the company-in this compartment of the boat, which we
saw was going to be packed with misery and suffering. As the soldiers were brought in, we fell into
maternal relations with them, as women instinctively
do when brought into juxtaposition with weakness,
and were soon addressing them individually as " my




346


BEGIN WORK AMONG THE SICK.


sonl,"  'lny boy," or "my child."  They were all
greatly comforted to learn that we were going up
thel river with them. Those who had had fears of
d ilng before they reached their homes, grew courageous alnd hopleful, as we assured them that we were
goin' to take calre of them. Before the boat started
we were at \work, -making tea for one, filling a canteeCn with fesll water for a sec(nd, bathing the soiled
ftace and hands of a third, sewing ul) rents in the
garments of a fourth, pirepariing hot applications for
the cure of carache fir aI fifth, and beseeching our
one )phllsician on board to prep)al'e immediately a
cout^hi mixture for the whole company, who were
couglhingo in deafelning chorus, but in the most inconleivable dissonancl. The contrabands were also
(coiuIlilln with iigyht and lmain, and there were times
%when this violent and lirritating lung exercise was so
genleral, that conversation was as impossible as in the
lidst of a b1risk artillery fire.
Amongo, tlhe soldiers wass one delicate boy of fifteen
- tall, sledler, and frail. A chaplain accompanied
him, and g'ave 1me his history. He was the only child
of a        Vwealtly Viirginian, living near Petersburg, who
remained loyal to the old flag, and voted against:cc:-ioni. AVhien X-ilrinia wvent out of the Union,
he was so fierce in his denunciation of its trea.son,, active lin h hois h-tilitv to the new-fangled Confedceracv, that lhe was arre-tedl and (-cnt to Libbly Prison
J.lh(lllllny. " tle  (,il, s.!yml)atl1ize(l withl  hi   flthter, rand
a;fter his arr.'et 'was l   llole lpasionate and terril)le in
lii, oiutsl)ken s(.(1crn and( hate of the treachetri of his
native statel, than his father had dared to, be.
(1nlv the fact of his l)eingl  a mere boy saved him
firom his flthelr's> fate, or perhaps from ass..:asination.




C REFUGEE " JOHNNY.


347


As it was, the overseer of one of his father's plantations, who loved the boy, secreted him for a few days;
for he had awakened such enmity towards himself,
that on one or two occasions he had been attacked
in the streets of Petersburg by a mob of boys of his
own age, and beaten half to death. The overseer
got him safely beyond the rebel lines, and gave him
a horse and two hundred dollars in gold, with the
name and residence of one of his father's brothers,
living somewhere in Missouri. He had also furnished
him with a letter of instruction as to the route he
was to take to reach his uncle.
Johnny got on very well as far as Louisville, Ky.
There he fell sick, and, when he recovered, found
himself in the " Refugees' Camp," his money gone,
his horse missing; even his letter of instruction had
been stolen.  Strolling around, he came upon the
encampment of one of our regiments, into which he
was absorbed, notwithstanding his boyishness and
feebleness, and where he remained nearly a year.
He became the pet of the regiment, any of his
comrades being always ready to relieve Johnny of
any severe duty or rough work which fell to his lot,
or to share with him any delicacy or pleasure. He
was of the genuine metal, however, and asked no
favors, until the regiment came to live an amphibious
life at Young's Point. Then he succumbed to
swamp fever, and, after lying at the point of death
for days, had recovered partially. Thinking it suicidal for the boy to remain in the army, young and
delicate as he was, one of the chaplains had procured
his discharge, and brought him on board the boat,
with transportation to St. Louis.
My heart went out to the poor child immediately.




348


THE CAPTAIN GRANTS MY PETITION.


He had never known his mother, as she had died at
his birth; but of his father he spoke with eloquent
and tearful affection. He was wholly unfitted to
search for his uncle; and knowing, as he did not,
what a complete overturning the war had made in
Missouri, I proposed to him to go home with me, and
stay until he became strong, when I would help him
seek his relative, of whom he knew nothing save his
name and address. The lad put his thin, tremulous
hand in mine, lifted his large brown eyes to my face,
and tried to say " Yes." But his lips moved only,
without emitting any sound, and then he broke down
in tearless sobs.
I hunted up the captain, and made friends with
him, although he was a coarse, whiskey-drinking
man, for I had a favor to ask of him. After some
fifteen minutes of good-natured palaver, in which I
played the role of the amiable woman to the utmost, I
obtained permission to take Johnny into the upper
saloon among the passengers, and also two or three
others of the soldiers, who were very ill. They could
be made more comfortable there than in the middle
compartment of the boat, to which they were assigned, and I could more easily nurse them.
At last, after two or three days' delay, we started.
It was a tedious journey home. We were impatient; for we had finished our work, and had been
a long time from our families, who were eagerly
looking for our return. The passengers, with whom
we were closely shut up most of the time - for the
weather had turned cold and stormy - were coarse,
ruffianly, brutal fellows, with one or two exceptions.
They smoked, chewed tobacco incessantly, and expectorated in so reckless a way as to make it danger



SIGNALLED BY PEOPLE ON SHORE.


~49


ous to sit in their vicinity.  Gambling, smoking,
swearing, and berating the Union and its fiiends,
were their unvaried pastimes.
The Maria Denning was a slow sailer, and puffed
and snorted up the river against the rapid, headlong
current at a snail's pace, compared with the speed at
which we had descended the Mississippi. A terrific
gale drove us against the east bank of the river,
which was skirted with cottonwood trees, heavily
shrouded from their roots to the topmost branches
with the funereal moss which is a parasite, upon them.
Here we remained immovable nearly twenty-four
hours; not without anxiety, for we were in the enemy's country, and boats in similar stress had been
burned by the rebels only a few days before, and
their crews and passengers murdered or taken prisoners.
Now and then, as we kept the middle of the
stream, still at a very high stage of water, we would
be signalled by people on the banks, where was no
sign of habitable life. With waving of white flags,
and passionate gestures of entreaty, they begged us
to take them on board. An inspection of them
through the field-glass aroused our captain's suspicion, and, fearing a ruse to decoy us ashore to our
own destruction, we went on our way, and left them
behind.
One afternoon, as the sunset was deepening into
twilight, we made a bend in the river, when we received a momentary fright from a huge fire blazing
red, straight before us, close at the water's edge. A
great crowd was hovering about it, waving flags,
gesticulating, and signalling us. As we came nearer,
we found they were negroes, of all sizes, and had




;.,() MORE SOLDIERS, CONTRABANDS, AND MULES.
their little bundles in their hands or on their heads
and backs.
The captain dared not, or would not, stop. As the
I"or' creatures saw us steaming directly by, they
redoubled their exertions to attract our attention.
Catching up blazing firebrands, they ran up the
shlore with them, waved them, threw them in air, and
withl tlhe mlost firantic pantomime sought to convey to
us a sense of their ageerness to be taken aboard. It
seelmld pitiful not to stop for them. They had made
their way to the river, not doubting, probably, but
any of" 'Ma:.isa Linkum's" boats would take them on
lboard. Doubtless they had signalled other boats
ahelad of us; and still they were left on the river
baliks, amid tlhe g'ray moss-draped cottonwoods, as
far '(from the lan(l of fieedom as ever.
At Milllkcn's IBelnd another detachment of brokendown lmules was received on the lower deck, but
witliout the brutality attending the reception of the
filst lot  Our (contrabands were increased by the
addition of fifty or a hundred more; and a score or
two of soldiersl were taken aboard, all a little under
the weatlher,.'oing home on brief leave of absence,
or permanenltly discharged fiom the service. One
who undertook to come on the boat slipped, in his
vweakne —, as lwc came up tlhe plank, and his crutch
ftlw out f'I'r11 his ":1'rasI) into the river'. He tried to
c;atch it, lost lli- balance, and tumbled head foremost
into tlie tlur'(d, whirling stream. On(c he came to
tle sIlf'ti(ce on the otheri side of the boat, whither he
\\N;i- ( carri'e t   l |y th1e cuii'ent.  Ropesl)  chaiins, and
ilaiks weict tlhrown him, but he sank, and we saw
lI:m no more.  Who lie was, wlhat was his name,
\\ here was hi home, 'what wa- his regiment, no one




FORD DOUGLAS.


351


could tell us. Perhaps father and mother looked and
longed vainly for his coming, until hope died out in
despair. To all their inquiries they could only learn
the one fact, that he started for home, and could be
traced no farther. "Missing " was his only record.
At Lake Providence we stopped to take on cotton.
Very little of the cotton on the deserted Providence
plantations had been gathered; and the government
let the job to contractors, who picked it on halves,
delivering it in bales to the govui.ment. The contractors paid the negroes a penny a pound for picking, and the government furnished them rations. A
large quantity being ready for transportation North,
the Maria Denning agreed to carry it.
As I was standing on the upper deck, watching
the negroes roll the bales up the plank, I espied
in the crowd below Ford Douglas, a well-known
colored man of Chicago, who had no inconsiderable local reputation as an anti-slavery lecturer.
Like his great namesake, he was born in slavery,
had run away from his master, and concealed
his own name, assuming one which he liked
better. Although prejudice against the black race
was then at its highest pitch at the North, and especially in Illinois, and the offers of colored men to
enlist in the service of the country were refised with
scorn, Ford Douglas was enlisted in the Ninetyfifth Illinois, where his virtues, talents, and, above all,
his fiery eloquence, gave him welcome.  He was
fraternized with as if he were a white man. Everybody respected him.
He uttered a little cry of joy as he saw me, accompanying his salute with a gesture of delight.
We had known each other for some years, and he




t' ) b).__a)


THE BLACK LAWS OF ILLINOIS.


rushed on board to meet me. Grasping my hand
wallrmnly, he said: "The Lord has sent you this time,
sure! I halve been praying that Ile would send along
sollnebody that I could trust; but I little thought He
would answeir by sending you. You will not refuse
to do 1me a goreat favor?
"Ceirtaily not, Ford; you know that without
askinligr.
"I have in my tent a little colored boy, six or
eight years old, a slave child whom I have stolen.
His mother was a slave living near New Orleans, but
belore the war she escaped to Chicago. Will you
take the boy to his mother? "
It will not 1e safle,.Nirs. Livermore," immediately
iilteirl)psed one of,our comipany, a member of the
Illinois Lcgislattre.  " You will rutn great risk in
ulclertakllng to car'y a nCegro b1)( throuagh Illinois."
The infamous " Black Laws ' of Illinois were then
in 1;,1'(.,;an(1 al!i' olne who took a ne'gro into the state
was liable, under tllse statutes, to heavy fine and
impris) onment.  1 1e the stimulus of a most senselec-  and rabid negt'ol)hobia, then at fever heat, the
prOV)0o,-t-lmarl'hal at Cairc.-sarit bed every Northernb1oull train fori neri'oes, as -well as deserters. Whenever they- \wter found, they wterce arrested; the former
were S(ent to ltc (cltlrabland camp, an abandoned,
cmlt;,ortl,,s. GCodl-,fsaklen place, and the latter to
the tllarld-hI,ouse.
" Yout cannot escape detection if you try to run
tillh 1,,-o  throl uh Cai'ro," said the sul'reon of our
Iart". " You had better let the clild alone.'
I kicnw both of these objectors thoroughly. They
felt it to be their duty to warn me of the risk I was
incxllned to Iulln, and were unwilling that I should get




THE SLAVE BOY'S HISTORY.


353


into trouble. But they were the most reliable of
anti-slavery men, and, when their feelings were
touched, would run any gauntlet of danger to serve
a distressed human creature. So I turned to Mr.
Douglas, and pressing his arm significantly, to
secure his silence, I replied, "Well, never mind
about your slave boy, Ford, let me know what yoa
are doing down here. Come to the after part of the
boat, out of the way of this noise, where I can talk
with you." And we went aside by ourselves, where
I learned the little black boy's history.
Not long before the war, the boy's mother, then a
slave on a Louisiana plantation, accompanied her
master and mistress to Newport, R. I., leaving her
only child behind her, a guaranty, in the opinion of
her owners, that she would return. But the slave
mother, following the example of several of her relatives, found her way to Chicago on the "underground railroad." After she had obtained her wellearned freedom, she made persistent efforts to get
possession of her child, but without success. Once
her uncle, himself a runaway slave, and from the
same neighborhood, went down to the vicinity of
the plantation to hunt for the lad. But after lurking around for weeks, and almost securing him, he
returned without him.
When Mr. Douglas' regiment was ordered South,
to Lake Providence, the mother begged him to
search for her boy, and, if he was found, to forward
him to her. Ford obtained leave of absence from
his regiment, went directly to the plantation, found
the child, and brought him away with him. For six
weeks the boy had been concealed in his tent, and
he had been watching an opportunity to send him to




354


BROUGIT ON BOARD THE BOAT.


Chicago. The opportunity had now arrived. Clad
in plantation clothes, tll lad was stealthily brought
on board the Maria Dunning, and placed among the
other contirabands, whom he resembled in appearance, in the patois he spoke, the rough clothing he
wolre, alnd ill manners. The colored stewardess, a
womatn of cle)lphantine Irol)(rtio)ns, whose heart must
have been as big as her body, judging from     her
devotion to the forlorn people of her own color, took
inm  proteeg6 under her slecial care. She fed him
bountifuilly whenever he was willing to eat, which
was about every hour of the twenty-four.,,'re sick soldiers were brought on board, and
given to our care. One, onl a stretcher, was so very
low, that I,,!ordered him carried immediately to the
uller saloll, anld (cle), sited beside my stateroom,
where I could attend him night and day. Then we
st;ated a^(ailn, aftlte twenty-four hours delay at Lake
Provlldencec.
VWhattt a freight of living misery our boat bore up
the river! I vcenlltred on1ce to the lower deck, given
upi to the hoir-es and munlles. Some had slipped their
halters, a(ld, in conselqucence of weakness, had fallen
ulnder the feet of othelrs, where they were stamped to
dl:eath. It was a lhorrible sight, which I wished I had
o)t seenl  Ii tl te iiddlel compl)artmlent of the boat
were. tlhe c)lntral)anl(d, always in great activity, iII
('oIl>t(jilieCc oft' the ltare number of children among
ltheml. I (iild (o,1ly think of a vast nest of anrlewo'nns, wrr,'lilr anll twistinl, whhen I went amoncg,
thelicl  \\Whlen thl v were awake, they w-ere either
c,,okin,. or eating, (r h(,ldlig ' praise-meetinvrs."
It wouldl be dllfficult to -ay whi( h thev most enjoyed.
The ' pIraI>e-Ileetill:^ was the usual occupation of




"PRAISE-MEETINGS " PROHIBITED.


the evening. Then they sang and prayed until their
enthusiasm became tempestuous. They beat time
with their feet, they whirled in dizzy gyrations, or
vented their effervescence of spirit in quick convulsive leaps from the floor, accompanied by ear-splitting
shouts.
The sick soldiers, who shared one half of the middle compartment, dreaded these "praise-meetings"
inexpressibly. The poor fellows were so feeble that
they had neither strength nor nerve to endure the
intolerable din, and it became necessary at last to
interfere with the negroes, and to prohibit the Ineetings altogether, since, once begun, they could not be
kept within bounds.
One of our sick men died before we reached Memphis. Like most men in his circumstances, he was
possessed with but one desire - to see his home once
more-but it was apparent from the first that he
would be buried on the way.  In his delirium he
babbled incessantly of home and its occupations.
"Harness the horses to the reaper, and we will start
out for that twenty-acre piece of wheat!" " We are
all going to the picnic to-morrow, so get your basket
ready, Sisl"
Sometimes in his lucid moments he would please
himself by instituting comparisons between  his
mother and myself. " You have just her eyes, and
her hair, and her way of talking and doing; and if
I didn't look, I should think she was here!" I rarely
rendered any service to these poor fellows that they
did not assure me that I was like their mother, or
wife, or sister.
22




CHAPTER XVII.
THE STORY OF THREE LITTLE ORPHANS -SMUGGLING A
PLANTATION WAIF THROUGH "EGYPT "-THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD-SAFE AT LAST-AFFECTING MEETING.
We find three Orphan Refugees in Camp Convalescent, Fort PickeringTheir pitiful History-We take them to the Chicago Home of the
Friendless - Adopted by an Iowa Family - Cairo makes Addition to our
Cares —Lizzie the Orphan Refugee from Missouri —Go aboard the
Chicago Sleeper, with Johnny and the black Lad -The stuttering
Porter hides the black Boy - " D-d-d-dat Woman's slep' mighty little
fo' mos' s-s-s-six Weeks —She's d-d-d-done got monst'ous sick" —We
defy " Egypt" and the " Black Laws " - Reach Chicago at MidnightSunday Morning, hunt up the black Lad's Mother-Affecting Meeting
-Sarah Morris tells her Story -Johnny and Lizzie cared for.
T Fort Pickering, two miles below Memphis,
there was a convalescent camp, and, while
the boat stopped for coal, we went ashore
to pay it a brief visit.   In one of the tents
we found three dark-haired, dark-eyed little
girls, whose ages ranged from        two to nine
years.   They   seemed    perfectly  at home, climbing
upon the knees of the four convalescent soldiers
assigned to the tent, ransacking their pockets for
jack-knives, pencils, and other like treasures which
the soldiers stowed in them for the use of the children. And with juvenile restlessness they rushed
from one employment to another, asking the aid of
356




THREE LITTLE ORPHAN REFUGEES.


357


their military companions, with a confidence that
showed they were not often repulsed. Whose children were these tangle-haired, bare-footed, unkempt,
ragged little urchins? The soldiers told us.
Their father was a Union man of Memphis, and
lost his life before our troops took possession of the
city. Their mother, with these three children, the
youngest then an infant in arms, came within our
lines for protection, and made herself useful in the
officers' quarters by washing, cooking, etc. Three
months before, she had died firom exposure, hard
work, and heartsickness. There was no one to take
the children, and so the soldiers had gathered them
into their tents, and taken as good care of them as
they knew how.
"But what's to become of them when you are
ordered away?" we asked.
The soldiers shook their heads. "Don't know;
they ought to be taken care of, for they are good,
bright little things!" was their reply.
We could think of but one thing to do for them,
and that was to take them to Chicago. But we were
already burdened with as many dependants as we
could take along at one time. While we were debating what to do -for to leave the children with so
uncertain a future, and no one responsible for them,
was not to be thought of- the chaplain of the post
came along, and we learned that his wife was with
him on a brief visit, and was to return North in a
week. It was arranged that she should bring the
children, and deliver them to my care in Chicago.
This she did, and I took them to the " Chicago Home
of the Friendless," of which institution I was a
manager, and advertised in the daily papers for a




.)8    " YOU SHAN'T TOTE AWAY MY BABY "
home for them, giving a brief account of their history
and appearalc(. After they were washed and dressed
in dec(nt appalrel, they were very pretty and promising.
An Iowa tradesman, from one of the growing inlan1( cities of his state, came to the Iome with his
wife, in quest,f a baby for adoption. They had
buried fivNe inftnt children in eight years, and had
deecided to adopt an orphan child to fill the void in
thleir lereaved land childless home. They selected
tlie yullgest of' the thlree little refugees as the object
of theil lal'enltal affection. But whenl they prepared
to take heir awayv, a touching scene eiisued. Jenny,
the eldest sister, clasped the little one in her arms,
and ildlyl and witl tears )protested.
"011, nlo, no, no! " she cried; "you mustn't have
ly   lby. I wonn't let you have her. You sha'n't
tote hert away! You sha'l't hatve my baby! Xo, no,
no!   and they clung wildly to each other, hugging
ca1( h other \vith all their little might.
The Iowa couplle sougrht to compromise the matter
lby ofiTrin,. to take the middle sister. But to that
Jminny also oplpose(d tears and r'esistanc e. " No, no,
no!" 'refised the child. " You sha'n't tote either of
them away, tlheyv shall stay with me!"
The llore we sought to 1)ersuade the eldest sister,
the more fielrcly she (lung to the little ones, who
shr'ieked in terrol', at tlhey knew not what, until half
thet ( lil'drcnl ill thle house wre screamitng in sympatl    >o,, I paclfie(1 tthe mIothlerly little Jenny, telling
her that 1nobody:,,,hould take her " babies ' awty,lI.(, -. hIe (a led he r sisters, - -ule s she said so, and
disin-{(.ed tle Io)a Ipople.
TIhe next lmorning the gentleman and his wife
came )ack, offering to take all three of the sisters,




THE IOWA COUPLE ADOPT ALL THREE.


359


and adopt them as their own. They had lain awake
all night, talking it over, and, as the lady expressed
it, they had concluded that God had emptied their
hearts and home of their own children, to make room
for these three orphans. We called Jenny and told
her of the proposal. Half laughing and half crying, she put her hand on her adopted mother's
shoulder, and sobbed out the question, " Then won't
you tote us all right away to-day, before anybody
comes to take sister and baby?"
Trembling with eagerness, delight, and fear lest
something would yet intervene between them and
their future home, she followed the two little ones
into the carriage with the adopted parents, unwilling
to go herself until the last, lest somebody should be
left. In the last year of the war, the dear Jenny,
who had grown close to the hearts of the adopted
father and mother, died of scarlet fever. She was
much the most promising of the three, and, had she
lived, would have developed into a womanhood of
unusual excellence.
At Cairo, where we left the boat and took the
Illinois Central Railroad for Chicago, there was another accession to our cares.  Dr. Taggart, the
humane surgeon of the large General Hospital in
Cairo, had picked up on the levee, some three months
before, a girl of fourteen, whom he had first thought
in a dying condition. She, too, was the daughter of
Southern refugees. Her father was a Union man of
southern Missouri, who was driven from his farm
with his wife and two daughters. Escaping, with
others, to St. Louis, he joined our troops, leaving
his family behind him in the city, and was killed at
Island Number Ten.




LIZZIE S HISTORY.


Shortly after he left them, his wife and younger
datlghter (lied of tylphoid fever, induced by improper
food allnd wattel, nleglect, hunger, cold and exposure.
'Then Lizzie, the elder daughter, not knowing that
her' fatllher was (lead, sought to find him. Aided by
tlhe kindltness of officials, and chance friends who
started up1 in her path, she reaclhed his regiment
on the islanld, only to learn that she was an orphan.
Not knowingl wlhere to go, she struggled back to
Cairo..  In the incessant rush and whirl of the
tlhn busy city, she was unnoticed, and left to live
oIr die as might hal)l)en. For sixteen bitterly cold
nights, she slept in outhouses, barns, underneath,overtul'lrnd boats, in sheds, or in any other place
tlhat (,ofered shelter  Such food as she obtained,
was given hler at back doors, by servanlts, or by
Isoldiers, who wvere colntinually crowding the levees.,At last she sllcctlnlbel)   t, the hardships of her fate.
S;e'kitig an11 olt-,f-the-way cconer, racked with pain,
l)u111rlg with fex er, weak, e sick, foitsore, discouraged,
she lay (dow-n to (lie, praying God for speedy release
f;'o ) s11.llffel'llnf
IIhee, Dr. Tag^-art stumbled upon her, and, immediatel  orderi'ng an ambulance, he took her to his
lho1spital. and devoted himself to her cure. Poor
Lizzie a;lwav- insisted that her mother canme to her
in her abl)andonment, and remained witl her, only
r()111nr ba1ck to heaven when her daucghter was parti:lll\ ictoled to, health. AWho can sa that this was
al Ine'e:ick-bedl fancy?  Not I, and I never gainsaid
the 1 I' ( hild's assertion. To whom should the ang,( Is of heaxen mini-ter, if not to the homeles and
fJ'r'ndless little ones of earth?  I had arreed to receive her when she wa.- able to go to Chicago, and




THE STUTTERING PORTER.


361


it was thought best that she should be taken along
now, when I could attend to her in person.
We bade adieu to the contrabands who were going
to St. Louis, and to those of the sick men whose
transportation papers took them by the same route.
Then, taking the refugee boy, Johnny, by one hand,
and Ford Douglas' charge, Ben Morris, the little
slave boy, by the other, I walked directly to the train
standing on the track.  It was nearly midnight;
the train was to start for Chicago at three in the
morning, and the sleeping-car was then half full of
sleeping passengers. Almost all our party had similar responsibilities on their hands as myself; and
those who had not, agreed to assist our sick and
wounded soldiers to re-embark on the Chicago-bound
train. Entering the sleeping-car, to my great joy, I
found the same colored porter who had been in
charge whenever I had journeyed to and from Cairo.
IIe dropped the boots fiom which he was scraping
deposits of Cairo mud, and gave me a glad welcome.
"I g-g-g-got jes' one lower b-b-b-berth lef' I " he
said. He was an inveterate stammerer.
"But, Henry, does the provost-marshal come in
now to search the train for negroes and deserters?"
I asked.
" Y-y-y-yes, jes' afore the t-t-t-train st-tarts;" and
he glanced at the white boy on one side of me, and
then at the colored boy on the other. So I gave hin
the boy's history, and asked him to help me hide the
little fellow until we had safely passed through
"Egypt," as the southern part of Illinois was called.
and which at that time was aflame with intense hatred
and persecution of negroes. He proposed at first
that I should put the boy in the back of my berth,




362L


LITTLE BEN S HIDING- PLACE.:lnd coveri him well with the blankets; but, as the
cllild was swalrmingl with vermin, I entreated him
to think of some other plan.   Looking under the
I.betlh, where was a large unoccupied space sufficient
for a good-sized x aliis, for it was a sleeping-car of an
old style, IIenry said,
"A l)-lp-l)-plantattiol nig like dis yere ch-ch-ch-chile
canl sleep anywhar! " and forthwith he stowed him
aw.ay under' my berth, where no plovost marshal
would ever' think of seiarching for him. In a few
momenlts I heard him snoring 'as nonchalantly as
tllholgl thel'e were no provost-marshals or negrohatetrs in existe nce.
IIelnry was erly uneasy when the provost-marshal
canie in to ilnsplect the train; for, by the " Black
Las\s" of Illinois, whoever assisted in bringing a
legrlo into the State, was liable to a year's imprisonment land a finl  of' one thousand dollars. So he
walkedl up1 tlh aisle of the sleeper with the officer,
plast Nmy berth, talking cralidly, asking needless questio.ns, ad stultter'ling at a fearful rate. Meanwhile,
the little fellow underneath the berth was snoring as
louly as thoullh he was under a contract to furnish.nasal music for the entire train. But his hidingplace was. no t sustl)ectcd, and we reached Centralia at
ninei tlice nexct 11morning1, no one1 having discovcred this
w;ait of the plant.tiatln, who was enljoving a fiee ride
tilliughl the glreat State of Illinois, in utter defiance
oft its  Bla( k Laws."It w;as a;'ran,(ed thilt I should not lhave my berth
Until \we 'realcht C -ntralia, where we were to breakfi.st, and to) cllhalle conductors, and where Henry
left the t ra.in. The car.s were crowded to overflowing, a lartlI number of per'.ons being obliged to
0  11'~                        o




HE JOURNEYS IN SAFETY TO CHICAGO.


363


stand. As I occupied in my section the room that
would accommodate four when seated, there was
naturally a very urgent desire among the standing
passengers that I should be compelled to get up.
"Why don't you wake that woman up? " I heard
one savagely inquire of Henry. "Is she going to
lie abed all day?"
" D-d-d-dat woman's bil down to t-t-t-take keer ob
de s-s-s-sick sojers " stuttered Henry. " S-s-s-she's
slep' mighty little f-f-f-fo' mos' six weeks, an' she's
d-d-d-done got mowst'ous sick I L-l-l-let her sleep! "
Henry was right. I was "monst'ous sick," and
for the next ten days I could hardly lift my head
from the pillow. Every other member of the party
had been sick down the river. I was the only one
who had not had a touch of swamp fever, and I had
boasted of my exemption. But my time had come.
It would not do to give up until we reached
Chicago, and I compelled my will to triumph over
my aching, fevered body until I was again at home.
At Centralia, I learned, fiom the wife of a Chicago
physician, that the conductor who now took charge
of our train had served a long apprenticeship on the
"underground railroad,' and so my black boy's
perils were over. We reached Chicago at midnight
on Saturday. Johnny and Lizzie went home with
me, but the black lad was altogether too filthy to be
taken into any decent house. One of the gentlemen
left him in care of his barber until morning, and the
little fellow dropped sound asleep on the floor, beside
the stove, almost immediately.
The next morning, about church time, we instituted a search for the boy's mother. We only knew
her name, and that she was a regular attendant at




364


MEETING OF MOTHER AND CHILD.


the African Bapltist Clhurch. To that church we
wenlded our way, and in the vestibule met the sextoll, to whom we told our errand. lie proceeded to
the pulpit and repeadl ted tihe story to the minister. In
his turnl he relhearsedl it to the congregation, and
inl(lulred it' Sarah AMorris, the boy's mother, was
1)I'present. One of(t the assembly infborined the minister that the mlother was a Metlhodist, and not a Baptist; and so wve tUrlled our steps to the Methodist
cutlllch, lwhe re the sa:me programme was followed,
ellcitiig' the inftolrmation that Sarah IMorris was not
at church, but lived at No. -     Avenue.
AVe followed up our clew, accompanied by quite a
plrocessillon tlhat had joined us from both the Baptist;an( Metlodllst churches, and at last discovered the
lhouse where the mother lived as cook. She was not
at ~homel, ho)wever', but was sitting with a sick fiiend
tlhat da:tv, and very conftiusd directions to the house
of the fi'ien l( were (,iven us, A.which we pr,)ceeded to;o11,w. At last Sarah Morris was found. As the
door wa1s ()openell to us, we saw sme eight or ten
c()lo'Cre(l men and w(meni sitting within, and, as my
ete ran 'll ove(r tile group, I recognized the mother,
from0 he' resemblance to her son. Before one word
was..Spoken,,.sh  threw ]h(rself Ul)On her bo)y with a
joyftul shi'ek of 'e(ognition, tlhe child rushing towards
he' lhalf-wa\, as if' b)y ilial instinct, and they wept in
eaI( I other's arms, unc(,)ntrollablv  In kisses and
la-slpin'- aid endearing epithets. the defr.tauded love
of tlio mother vented itself upon her clhild, whom she
liad (mourined almost as one dead. All in the room
d(ro)pped on their knees, and the air was vocal with
thanksg,'ivings and hallelujahs.
In a week or two the mother called on me with her




SARAH MORRIS' STORY.


boy, to show me how cleanliness and decent dress
had improved him, and to reiterate her gratitude for
his recovery.
"But how could you run away from your baby,
even to obtain your freedom? " I inquired.
"Well, missis," said the woman, "when I left
Lou's'anny I didn't tink not to go back agin. I tole
my ole man, and all de folks on de ole place dey'd see
me back, sure, to my pickaninny. Ebery gal missis
had done took Norf for tree year had done gone and
run off; and dat's why she took me, an' lef' my chile
on de place. When we'd got Norf, to a place dey
call Newport, I didn't tink den to run away. But
one Sabba' day massa and missis dey gone to ride on
de beach, an' I set down on de doorstep an' tink o'
my little chile; an' den I hear de Lor' speak to me
out o' de stillness. HIe say, ' Sarah, go up stars, an'
pack up your tings, an' go to Ch'cago!' But I say:
'Oh, no, Lor'! I want to go back to dat chile. Wrhat
dat little chile do on dat big place widout his mammy?
No, Lor', I don't want to go to Ch'cago.'
"An de Lor' He speak agin in de stillness, an' dis
time wid a great voice, and say: ' Sarah, do as I tell
yer! rll take keer o' dat chile; you go to Ch'cago.'
So I go up stars, an' pick up my duds, a-cryin' an'
a-cryin' all de time. I tell de Lor' on my two knees
two, tree time: ' If yer please, 0 Lor King, lemme
go back to my chile! I don't want to be free. What
for shall I be free, an' my chile be lef' down on
massa's ole place?' Ebery time de Lor' King He say
loud, so it fill all de room,' Go to Ch'cago!' So I go
down to de cars, an' sot down on de seat, a-cryin' all
de time in my heart, 'cos I was 'shamed to cry wid
my eyes 'fore all de people. An' when de conductor




366


"DAT CHILE'S MY CHILE "


gib de word, 'All aboard I ' I was gwine to jump off,
f;,l' I said: 'O Lor' King, I doin't want noffin widout
my chile!  I don't wanlt heben widout my pickanillny! I (an't go to Ch'cago ' An' de Lor' King
he ketched me back; al' he said, so loud and strong
I 'spected all de folks woul(l hear, ' DAT CHILE'S MY
CHILE; I'LL.TAKtE KEER O' OIM!  SSO I gin up to de
LoI' (den, honey; alld all de big storm in my heart
stlo), al' I was dat happy I could ha' sung an'
shout(ld, like I was in a praise-meetin'.
Anl' de Lo ' IIe take all de trouble out o' my way,
aln Ile fix cberyting for me, 'fore I know it's got to be
fixed; an' IIe send fiiecn's at ebery l)lace, to tell me
lwharl to go, anl' to gib me money, an' clo'es, an' grub,
till I "it to Ch'ca(o. An' he hab a place all ready
for' mIe hyrar, an' I lnblber hab a day idle 'cos thar was
lolin to do, or 'cos I was sick. Sometimes, when I
hab a great misery in my heart for my chile, den I go
to de Lor', an' tell IIiml all about it. An' de Lor' He
would take all de misery 'way; for He would 'clar dat
chile was IIisn, aln dat He would tote him to me bimeb). An' de Lor' Kin is jes' as good as Iis word; an'
Ic's sent de pickanilny, grown so peart an' so big
dat nobol)d  bult his mnanmm  would eber ha' known
lilli. So no\ I proliis' de Lor' Kin"' I'll neber mistrult HII1 1no more, an; dat dis chile shall be His chile,
fo,, shurlc, snccc IIe (done took keer o' de little chap
when he didi't hab no mammy, an' was too little to
take keer o' hisself."
The eari'iestness, pathos, and solemnity of this
inarrat tion ( annot be described. To the mother, the,,)ice of the Lord and His direct guidance were veritlI -.
But what of Johnny and Lizzie?    As soon as




CHAPLAIN M'CABE'S STORY.


367


possible, I published their histories in brief in the
city papers, and applied to a loyal and generous
people to compensate them for the suffering entailed
on them by the loyalty of their parents. Most generous were the responses. Chaplain McCabe, known
throughout the country, saw the published account
of the refugee children, and came to my house to see
them, suspecting that he knew something of Johnny's
father. In conversation with the lad, his impressions
deepened into certainty.  Chaplain McCabe was
taken prisoner at the first Bull Run battle, and was
thrown into Libby Prison. Here he found a number
of Virginians incarcerated for their hostility to secession.
One of them was in failing health, and solicited
the chaplain's prayers and ministrations. Gradually
the man told him his story.  He proved to be
Johnny's father. He had been informed of his son's
departure for Missouri, and often begged the chaplain to seek the lad and the uncle in Missouri, whenever he regained his liberty. The chaplain had the
address of the uncle, which was the same as that
given to Johnny. "If I needed other proof of your
being the son of my fellow-prisoner," said the chaplain, "I have it in your complete resemblance to him.
You are his perfect fac-simile."
"Yes," said Johnny, "they always used to say I
was exactly like my father. Did you leave him in
Libby Prison when you were released?"
A shadow fell over the chaplain's fine face. Alas!
alas! Johnny was an orphan. Chaplain McCabe
had seen his father pass through the valley of death
and had commended his departing spirit to the dear
God, who rules, even in the midst of the inharmonies




368


JOHNNY AND LIZZIE CARED FOR.


and strifes of our human existence. The boy could
not be comforted. He went to his room, and, locking
himself in, wept aloud. It was hours before I could
obtain access to him. His father had been to him
both father and mother, and until the war they had
been inseparable. Now all was gone — he was
alone.
After a time he was received into a family, that
became deeply interested in him; and as there were
only daughters in the home, they hoped to keep him
always with them. For a year he attended school,
and grew rapidly to the height of manhood, but was
thin and frail. The iron had entered his soul deeply,
and it was not possible for him to settle down into
quiet life in the North. Despite the remonstrances
of his adopted parents and sisters, who had become
mucl attached to him, and in utter disregard of my
entreaties and promises to aid in re-instating him in
his home and property at the close of the war, he
went again into the service, about six months before
the conflict ended. He was in camp at Springfield,
Ill., for some time, where he was attacked with pneumonia, and died in hospital, never reaching the field.
Lizzie was adopted by a Southern family driven
from Misissippi for loyalty. Not brilliant, nor very
quick of perCception, she proved a good girl, and
matured in the home of her adoption, under most
favorable influences. There were no other children
in the family, and she became the companion of the
lady who stood to her in place of mother. I often
saw her, and rejoiced that the habitually sad look on
her face was gradually displaced by as heavenly a
smile as ever irradiated a human countenance. She
had a very happy temperament.




CHAPTER XVIII.
OUR BATTERY BOYS -A SECRET DRILL         THE DISCOVERY
OFF TO THE FRONT- GOD-SPEED AND FAREWELL TO MY
SUNDAY-SCHOOL BOYS-EXTRACTS FROM THEIR DIARIES.
Our Church in Chicago - The Morale of its young Men - Memories of the
Past -A loyal Congregation -What happened at Evening Service - Sudden Disappearance of our young Men - A peculiar Sound from the Sunday-School Room- Tramp! Tramp I Tramp! - We stealthily open the
Door and peep in - Our Discovery - "We have all decided to enlist"
- An unspoken Prayer - All but two of our young Men are mustered
into the Chicago Mercantile Battery - The Grief of Parting - Solemn
Consecration - An affecting Farewell - Extracts from their Diaries -
A jolly set - Roughing it without Whining - The Art of Frying Cakes
-" Sweet Times here" - The Siege of Vicksburg - Awaiting the Battle - Army Life at the Front - " Spoiling for a Fight" - Ordered into
Action - We keep up Communication with our Boys - A Country
devastated by War - An unexpected Visitor.
ERE     was an unusually large number of
interesting young people in the
Society, of Chicago, when the wai of the
rebellion   began.    The older members of
the parish felt that the church       had in itseilf
more than ordinary strength and plrollise, because of the well-born, well-bred, well-educated, anid
consecrated young men and women who confessed
loving allegiance to its faith and its interests. Especially were they proud of its young men; and they
felt that the future of the church was v. ry much in
their keeping.    Some were about to enter Harvard,
Tufts, or Yale, and all were connected with           good
869




370


RARE YOUNG PEOPLE.


Ihllilics.  In  addition to their other excellences,
they lossessed that nameless ease and grace which;11(are  ly acquired in the (nvironments of honies
l)residc.(d ovcr by pure, relined, affectionate mothers
and sisterls.
Tlih  Sunday-school was large, numbering more
tlhanl ix Ie hundrled tetache rs and scholars, who packed
the estiries and pai'lol's of t ttie church every Sunday,
rergardless (ot weattller }lor outside attractions.  Into
tis school was Ihariicsscd our entire force of young
en1(' an(d m11aid'nsl, who did duty as teachllers, librarianls, sinlgers, or meml)ers of the Bille class. They
did their wiork witll w*onderful hearltiness and earllstlles'.s: and tlc h 're was such genuine fiiendliness
among, them tlhat one( would have thought they were
icllb)ers (of tllhe same fmily.
What aIll'rvellous festivals and pleasure parties
thel!  xtcmplo'ized in those days! Into what delightfill 1rur11tl fttes and excursions were we older people
elntic'l l)y the.se "ySun)g folks," who led us captive
to tlheiir will! AWhat continual surprises they planned
t;,r tlc l)bcwildermnenltt of' the pastor, and the no less
beloved 1)astor's witf! How they swarmed at the
fortnightly  chulrch  " sociables," and with  their,brightne.:  and buo1 anc1y, their contagious good11atull'e andl 4 )Vt llowl, hilar'ity, their wit and cleveirlne., thlell' In:e lfi-les> an(l tact, Iade each of tliese
s.miall o(,(ca.sIos mlore inviting, than a grand ban(II, t  I 'e(Icall th}e me11 OIr' of thoec days, removed
ilit(, tlh Ia-t Ifo('.vrc, not with plleaIlure alone, but
with at:n> 1of l. Some of the grandest of our,u1in, mell X-were brlought fi'mll the battle-field, wr'apped in thi flar f;,r ' which they h1ad given their lives.
Other'- are:leepi1gr in -unn), but unknown graves




THE ARMY ABSORBED THEM.


371


in the far-away South, and all are scattered by land
or by sea, never to be re-united until God " gathers
in one, all the families of the earth."
There was not, from first to last, a disloyal person
in the parish. It honored every draft upon its means
with generous contributions of money, and almost
every young man it numbered, old enough to bear
arms, went into the service of the country, with the
addition of several so young and some so old as to
be legally exempted from military duty. First, one
enlisted in the cavalry service; then two or three
went into one of the Illinois regiments. Two or
three others raised companies, and went to the front
in command of them. Then the gunboat service
took away a few more; until finally we found our
large Bible class wholly depleted of its young men.
But as they went singly, or in groups of two and
three, with intervals of months between, we gradually became used to it, as to other sad events of the
war. We had still a large number left, and, as their
ranks were thinned, they closed up more solidly,
increased their activity, became doubly useful to the
parish, and doubly dear also.
One evening in the summer of 1862 there happened to be two meetings in the vestry-one of
Sunday-school teachers, in the library-room, and
another of some sort in the small Sunday-school
room. We missed our young men teachers, but went
on with the business of the evening without them.
Something unusual must have detained them, we
said, for they were rarely absent from meetings of
this kind.
"What is going on in the large Sunday-school
room?'" vas asked.  No one knew. But all the
28




3;7l.  "WE SHALL ENLIST IN TIIE BATTERY."
cvnclill,,' we heard a muffled, peculiar, regular sound
l)l'ocee(dillgt thelie - tramp! tramp! trlamp! - tramp!
tramp! tramp! - which we could not explain. It
conlltinued with almost the regularity of the ticking
o11 a clIock.  Tramp! tramp! tramp! tramp!  and,
lour mIleetilng being ended, we stealthily opened the
door, and peel)ped in. There were our missing young
ciien, and they were drilling
The settecs were all moved to one side of the
room, so:as to make a (clear space for their rudimental dr'ill.  The drillmaster was the Superintendent
of the Sunlday-school, who had organized it in the
beginning, and had lbrought it to its p)resent efficiency
adl,size  lHe ceased the "left! left! left!" with
whi (I lie directed their steps, as we swarmed, ecurious a1nd fase..inated, ilto the room, and the young
nn c.anle to a halt. Before we could ask an expla!iation,of this unutsutl pri )eeding, Mr. S - had
vo(teh-;iafed it; -
\\   have all (lecided(l to enlist in the Chicago
Meurcantilt BattenrN, now belingz formed, and shall
lhanld ill (our namle.sl t-mIllorrow
AVe s.anned their' fa(es earnestly for a moment,
and in.silence  N-o! they wer not jesting   they
were in lead ca earnest. An audible sigh ran through
tle groUpl) of lokeri-on, and -omie of us took in the
whole meltanli,' of what MrI. S  had said. To our
prollpheti(' vision, the future loomed up clad with the.so( rrw, anxiety. and ri( f it afteriwards bore. 4 Let
tI-s lmp 1p  - from u '. " was the unspoken prayer of
ev\ i; liheart.
Co(uld we give up AIr. S —, tle idol of our
four lhundred Stinday-school children, the leader
of the choir, whosec cheerful words and prese2nce




COULD THEY BE SPARED?


373


always toned us to hopefulness and courage? Must
George Throop go, whom the loss of a finger legally
exempted, when his enlistment would bereave his
parents anew?  They had just laid under the sod
one of the noblest sons God ever gives to parents.
Could not the Brackett brothers excuse themselves
from obeying the call of the country, by pleading the
necessity of parents declining in years, the invalidism of a brother, and the helpless condition of the
little daughter, whose young mother had but just
passed on to heaven?
Young Willard was a mere boy, preparing for
Harvard, unfitted by constitution and mental training for the life of a soldier. Turner was delicate,
alarming us continually by his oft-recurring illnesses,
and he would be on the sick-list immediately. The
almost girlish slightness and fiagility of young Munn
were a perpetual reminder of the insidious pulmonary
weakness which had carried his mother to a premature grave. Pitts had just taken to his heart and
home a beautiful bride, a fair young girl, who shrank
in an agony of apprehension from the prospect of
his leaving her for the dangers of the tented field.
While Hugh Wilson, the youngest of them all, was
still in the High School- a sixteen-year-old boy,
the youngest of his own family - a sort of church
Mercury, who ran hither and thither as with winged
feet, distributing library books, carrying messages,
doing errands, ubiquitous, almost omniscient. Surely
they would never muster that child into the artillery
service!
All this, and much more, I thought, faster than it
has been written, but I did not say it then. Mr.
T —, our minister, spoke first, with tremulous voice,




7 Il
oi44


"OUR BATTERY BOYS."


and eyes glistening with tears.    "It will be very
hlard to ogive yot1 up, and we shall miss you inexpl)rssilly; but if you feel it to be your duty, go, and
( (,od blss you!" Our lips acquiesced, but our hearts
said, "Stay here!"    Their resolution could not be
shake:ll, altllough  fathers, moherers, lovers, wives,
sistIers, ad(l f'ricnds, p)lcaded for a reconsideration
of tlhir ldetl ei'lination.  They were all mustered
into tlie C(ic(ago AtMrcantile Battery, and ever after
wer'e know1; 11n to Is ais " OUR BATTERY BOYS."  This
disllanltlcld,or society of the young strength and
prom.is.e of which we had been so lproud. All the
yv(,uli 111(me  of the parish, except two, were swalo1,wed upl in this battery, and they would have gone
If tll stll'rge,)l   ^h o 1 xalnined them  had not refused
to accepIt tihem. It was a heav!y blow to the parish,
1and for a time it was enshroudcd in sadness. Almost
cvc'\ home had its individual shair   in the grief of
p)aIltIll, as;. indee(d, almost every ihamly in the comnmunityt had pal't in a like so,rl'OW. For
"The lines 4,f every printed sheet
Throuth their dark arteries reeked with running gore.
(rirls at the feast, and c(hildren in the street,
Prattled of horrors."
But we were t(,o patriiotic and considerate of the
fitlin  - of tlh 1b)rave  ounmg fellows, who had made
heroic' l( ri'ilie(  for their ccuntry, to manifest the
dl(prei' —ion we fe lt. Towards them we bore ourselves
like 1 tm,11a Ilnati'ol- and maidens, g(r(iUr oftent to
thelr c'allI) to witness their military drills, talking
l)r'oudly of thleir ftlture,, anld pleldging to them  our
devltlIl(n and service to the uttermost. Picnics were
IplaInnctl almnlt dalmh f;b their benefit, and there was




A PUBLIC LEAVE-TAKING.


375


not a day while they were in camp that they were
unvisited by some members of the parish. We made
them waterproof needle-books, filled with needles,
thread, scissors, and buttons, whose use they were
skilful in learning. We made them portable waterproof writing-cases, and supplied them with abundant postage stamps. We provided those who would
accept them with small cases of such medicines as
were supposed to be indispensable in army life.
It became a part of our religion to serve and to minister to their happiness.
Before they broke up camp, and went to the front,
public leave was taken of them in church. It was
a lovely Sunday in August, and the house was
crowded to suffocation. The boys occupied front
seats, wearing their artillery uniform; and the entire
services were arranged with reference to their departure and their consecration to the cause of liberty.
Instead of a sermon, Rev. Mr. T — delivered an
address to the newly made soldiers, in which he besought them to guard well their health and morals,
not only for their own sakes, but for the sake of those
who remained at home. They were entreated to
return to us, if they came at all, as good and pure as
they were leaving us. They were instructed that
the war was caused by slavery, and would only end
with the death of slavery, and the transformation of
the slave to a free man; and they were cautioned not
to side with the persecutors of this long downtrodden people.
To each one Mr. T-   presented a pocket Testament, with the request that it should be read daily,
when unavoidable hindrances did not prevent. He
asked the boys, as far as practicable, to maintain




SOLEMN CONSECRATION.


Iwcekly lreligious services when on the march and in
t lie campi. HIe pledgced to themn the public prayers of
thel churcht oil evecry Slabbath until their return, or
thelir rliel' from  the service by death.   He   promised( that their friends and famillles should be the
speci(al charge of the church, which would rejoice in
thlcir jo!, and so'rrow il their sorrow, and, when cir('ltlllStlalllc(   deCalln(led  it, would match their need
with reqillsite aid.  Nob1,ly w\ere these promises redeeimle(l!  Thel soldiers were never forgotten, and
their frielnds at honml   were ever remembered.
The!-(,un'- artillerynlen were consecrated to God
ill 1)p';r.el, its s(olemnity and earnestness moving every
hearlt; its t earful tenderness ilidicatiing the pr'ciousIess of the,ift being laid on tle altar of freedom.
I w\rote \vers'.s in thoi:e days, and, by request of
the  boys, ful' nislhed  tlhe  following  hymn, which;ws   sungL' b})y the great congregatlon    to  "Auld
Lang Syne ".'
So here we part! Our paths divergeEach ]ca:1s a different way:
Yo(u (o to freedom's holy war;
'We talrry hen to, pray
Our hanlds jliin briecf in farewell now,
T}hat ne'er so clalsplel before:
Oh, brotherl,. in this partinV, hour,
Death's Titterne.s i, o'er.
Yet 1roullvf tfloiuh with hearts that ache,
VWe, ri\ e t-, (,u Godspeed!"
Haste for,ur country (rasls for lifeThis is her hour of neel.
Her anlil-hed cry comes on the breeze,
Anwl smites the listening ear;
The trait',r's sword is at her heart
And shall ve linger here?




OTHER NOBLE MEN IN THE BATTERY.


377


Nay, brothers! haste, with blessings crowned,
Engirded with our love;
Our hourly prayers, besieging heaven,
Shall plead for you above.
Your dear ones left in lonely homes,
Shall hence our lot divide;
We are but one blest household now,
Whatever may betide.
We will not weep I Be done with tears
Both paths lead home to heave --
That marked for you through battle-fields,
And that which God has given
To us, who, weary, watch afar
The tide of battle swell -
Then, hearts, be brave, and, souls be strong I
'Tis but a brief farewell!
The chorus of voices became less in volume as the
song proceeded.   One after another ceased to sing,
because they could not forbear to weep. And by the
time the last stanza was reached, our boys were singing alone, clear, strong, and unfaltering.
There were other excellent and very superior young
men in the battery besides our boys, but my sketch
does not deal with them. Lockport, Ill., sent a contribution to the battery, from the flower of her youth
-young men who had grown up in refined, cultivated
homes, with no thought of the destiny Providence
had in store for them. There was a great variety of
talent among them. One was a noble fellow, born in
Burmah, the son of a missionary. Another had so
good a knowledge of nursing, and so general an
acquaintance with the milder forms of sickness, that
he was nicknamed " Doctor," and was soon installed
as the nurse of the battery. There was another
whose forte was cooking, and who was forever build



378


MAKING THE BEST OF THINGS.


inug ovens of Southern clay, and out of the crudest
ilaterials concocting soIme delicacy to tickle the palates of his (oml)aliions. I can testify that he was
splc(ially skilful in the art of frying cakes, and
baking corn bread.
Thle -ouncr men affiliated readily, regardless of
se(t or (lifller'nce of opinlion, reading, singing, playing baseball, and often holding religious meetings togetl(er,.;as if tlhe)T had always been associated.
I have in my possession some of tlhe diaries kept
by them, froi' the time of enlistment to the expiration of their time of service. In looking them over,
I am imp)'ressed anew with the evident cheerfulness
that charactcrized them, as it did the men of our
arv generall. Wheln well, they were a jolly set,
1roughing it Nwitlhout much winig, and inclined to
malke tlle l)st of their frequent grave discomforts.
I give a few of the entries taken at random from
two of tlie d(lar'ies:"V Weather terribly cold  Rose at half-past eight
o'clock  S;t on the rround(l in captain's tent, and
wro(te a long- Ncw Year's letter to mother. In the
aftern-oon, put tip t.ents, and got a warm meal. Had
haridtack and raw po rk for breakfast- o ster supper
in the e.ven1ing  A joll\ time."
"at I iu neral Cover Squad Six's hor'se. Doggie
D)oIt.r _ t  a d o the? took with them- " principal
lha l- me a- a Yamnke, p)igsty  Invite(l tlle squad,
aId1i had a pow-wow in the (.evenii<'".
") pe1t all thle morning fiing  ake ill(; c uld not
-ect ahlead. box,) ate them so f:lt. Don't like tlie
Lu t-incs^.  Lcwi- died this morning. Body to be




" SWEET TIMES HERE."


379


sent to Chicago.  Had a jolly supper of oranges,
soft bread, cold boiled beef, onion and cucumber
pickles, and coffee. Wrote to father."
"Boys foraging fieely.  Plenty of turkeys and
chickens. One of the Forty-Eighth Ohio, and one
of the Twenty-First Iowa, captured by guerillas,
while foraging, a mile fiom camp. They were tied
together, and shot. One killed, the other wounded.
They were brought into camp, and the wounded and
dead were passed through on a horse, so that all saw
them.  There was great indignation.  The Sixth
Missouri Cavalry sent in pursuit. Boys found some
hogsheads of molasses. Helped themselves. Got
daubed fiom head to foot, and came into camp buzzing like beehives with flies. Had a bully game of
base ball. Received letters from home."
"Boys all busy making molasses candy. Sweet
times here."
"Face and lips parched with the wind, and covered with dust. Squad Two's men clossed the
bayou, and caught sheep, but were ordered by the
guard to leave them.  After dalrk, Dick Powell
swam over with a rope, and hitched the sheep to
it; one of them was drawn over by the boys.
Ordered to move at five o'clock in the morning."
"Thirtieth day of the siege of Vicksburg. Bullets flying over us day and night. Have had lively
times. Shell from a twelve-pound howitzer struck a
man belonging to Ninety-Sixth Ohio, while lying in
bed, - tearing his jaw, and dislocating his shoulder.
Read 'Bitter Sweet.' Took a bath. Held theological
discussion with Higby, Mendsen, and others. Wrote
to mother."
"Put up tent, just in time to escape a terrible




:'380


380 "TIHE REBS TRYING TO PEPPER US."


slhowecr.  Turned ii, and slept in the water all
night. but knew nothingr of it till morning.  Hot
- hot - hot!   We're getting cooked down here, and
the irebs,  knowing  it, keep tryingo- their hand at
pepper-ingY u1s.  (:ot nine letters from  home to-day.
Other boys got mor-e-. W'e tallked, and sang low, a
gi'eat deal al)OUt home. No sled) all night."
Tlicre is scarcely an entry in one of the diaries
that does not Irecord1 some event with a touch of
humor ill it, a frolic, or,, at Ic;last, a gay social time
that cliveiied the g)-1()(miness o)f army life.
Theyv reached the arimy just in time to be incorporatcd Nvith the tro)ops whose efforts were directed to
thei re-(openingo of the MNE -~ississippi, anfuid first to the
rdcIlltionll o)ft VicjsbtlrU'g, ais the dii'ect means to that
eniid.  Tlicv aceomipariied Gncieral Sherman on the
r1a;ll.I~lt(hliic~ march, which was " mere fun," as the
1~:l~ v(rc O( Ni), the countrv new to them, arid very
Ilea~"alt  Thein tlhwv wevnt ill his command to- Chick61SIMw Biniffh. wherc thcy stood ready to aid ini an
iiiwd1liate attaek, for- three davs anid mhts. The
hlV)!'-%e \\~wte       nesasfi   harii.~-~deI aiid staindincr, and
the men -leepless and expc,-tant; the rain pouring,
the mud o)f the swvamip-land, where they wvere stationed            the excerable 1)av( us about them
I ee( 1H11 It  h( 1 \ )Irl XIPWC 1   dan<rer( )tis aili imnlpassablle.
1)afflced. beatenii back(, and(I repulsed with gP-reat slaughtbi.'  hr I IIan l' etlIrnledl ll) the river to Millikecln's
Bend1(, aui ()il nih v,~ ineorporated hit() the Thiirtc'wnth ( rps, in which they afterwards remained,,were ordert d thither also(-.
Ujndleir command o)f (4eneral MAfcClerinand, they
iiext weniit i  an expedition aain4iii, Arkansas P01t4
or Fort Iliudiman, up X1hite iRiver, fifty miles fromt




C-,


V.. i..1  'IL


-7
Jr,...!I -
hT
I
",' I  - 4" f,
- -: I.         I, "t..'
4     I. I..,-f, f
t &.-. f-. Al.


%id


h.                             lilt


i.If


r


I
I -;a..
p
/I?M,. I                     4-P. j!              ol. 13f
lb        I&.,       c
I.
- D!L:.l....I
I A.
i
- It


2;..




I   I ~   i II ~'T


tit in i. lit v~ atetr all
nitL fill m,1ornng                     Hot
V ~ ~'      keI down here, and
I C vy't the(-ir hand 81
pi I        I     ~1,r.' I t l ~f1 Illi1h  to-(day-.
A ~ ta 4 l.ad. Sanig low,;
i~'I -fitf. in! One of the diarirs
WI   event   ith a touch
-t oav sal fi 'me
~bz ~i~ ~t' i rmy life.
1" tl 1 f, I 1t 18ti I I I t I )c  i I  (Ol'pOfhfu ~Olf'l    f ~~  ffoits; wore( (Iiec~tod to
ig~t~ '1, o        -mlpi fld fl rst tio the
4 \eL  m~~, i~the direc-t meaii~ to that
V  11)PI1ifd (}~IIl Sherman oil the
hiuc init'ch,01 N% hich o.a " mere funl]  as the
1, I e (-c()u i it ru new t o th em, and very
TW, n thev went, in his, conumand to Chickwhere( ihv y ~4-tood re.idv to aid in an
W 1:wkA   three- (O jv- andt- ngight  The(
h;~ rie~$d #u h i aniding, anld
al-W     \xpeetw   t he- rain p)ouring.
#.,I Th  %Wig fllK"1 Id  -'IVW-t' 1-u th('  e't' sn
*  I.! '!')''rt'  1i  %  1~1,   imr f:tlsablex.
$Iatcie k-, kg rMd -*mj ~~ itlh cenat slaugrhte  'v'jjtietur it~d u''d   rk~er to NrIul~iken' -
jur      nc~w I~     into the Thirteenth 'j4,rv1 taw'c    i  i.twrward-s remained,
wVTAI(1r1: rdcrtil thdhf'- -.
Unde~r cornnuwd~ of,. McClernand, they
mrNe  wenit wm an exptAdi"1 ~na4Ai  Arkaiv-,as Post,
W ~frt IHilld'l~aI1. Up W-hiie River, fifty- mikc-_ from




N
4-1
eao
C.
L4
L,
n
CL
LI
- 4
O'
(- I
'I
N, I


'I


N
I,1,,-I
I


r.9








CAME DOWN THE TREE IN A HURRY.


383


the Mississippi, which fell into the hands of our
troops, with five thousand prisoners.  The following entries from two of the diaries briefly tell the
story of their share in this engagement:"January 9, 1863. - Started up White River on
steamer Louisiana, which received our men, horses,
and guns. Left our sick men on the Adriatic, in
charge of Corporal Dyer (the excellent nurse we
have before mentioned), as we are bound on an
expedition of some sort against the enemy.  Sent
two short notes to father and fiiends, not knowing
what may happen. Men in excellent spirits, spoiling
for a fight."
"Jan. 10. - Left the boat, and travelled three miles
towards the Fort, against which we are proceeding.
Received an accession of five men to our squad from
the One Hundred Thirty-first Illinois Infantry.
Horses remained harnessed to the guns all night.
Passed a line of rebel rifle-pits.  The gunboats
shelled the woods and Fort all the evening."
"Jan. 11. -Our battery ordered into actiol.
Started about nine o'clock. Passed the second line
of rifle-pits, and halted near a grave-yard. At noon
the ball opened. We were drawn up within three
hundred yards of the Fort. Early in the engagement
a shell exploded over and around us, giving Hugh
Wilson a big scare, who, boy-like, had climbed a
tree, standing right in the range of the enemy's guns,
hoping to see what was being done in the Fort. He
was covered with broken branches, cut off by the
explosion of the shell, and came down in a hurry,
uttering a prayer or an oath, he says he does not
know which. The artillery thundered around the
Fort in all directions. We fired about forty rounds




:; 1)


CAPTURE OF VIOKSBURG.


fir, ')i Old A\be,"'- For so they had named one of their
g'um is,-" whvltn the rebs ran up the white flag. Amid
ti'ecneiidous checrin'i, that seemed to rend the heavens, we swarncd into tle Fort, and took possession.
WNVe ca.miped on the field that night."
Our bows wei'e highlly complimented by their offiCeri's Pthr 1heir gallant l)ehavior on this occasion. The
1:pers tr'umpeted their praises, and on the next
Sutinida;, wvtheni Mi'. T  thanke~d God for their
l~i'ese'Vati,,l), in the prayers of the mnorning' servi(.e, (,ht,!'\ heart uttered a voiceless but fervent
and de,'vNtt "A\mcn!"
Next camnc the siege o)f Vicksburg, when they
niariche(d from  MIilliken's Bend down the west bank
()f thc Mississippi nearly seventy miles, to a point
pp)l)),steG (s,   (tlfl IIGi'e they cr'ossed with other
tr'ooI)s, and, undelr the lead of Gcnie'al Girant, marched
to thle ral'r (o that seem iiingly invincible city. Until
its sur''rendlcr, thev we're active in the various measure't's thlat hi(l to its capitulation on that glorious
F1oiirth, whtn the nation surrendered itself to a deliri   o,  ),,y over the suce.(es of out' armies at Gettys-!)tam'~r and VXicksbtrg
Ilithert, we haad been able to keep up constant
comintunication with the boys. There was an uninte.l.!.il~tA l,.,(.essiii,,f box(,s g(,)inig down to them,
tilled with eNver'ythlllg foi' which they asked and with
mana~ h     tmFS fir which theyv ncver thoug,'ht of asking.
I, 'tlte-  1,al,; l~eriiodlcaV  cl(,)thin~, writing mate'ial,.,~ )qa,',. —tamls,' 1phot(,,'raphs of persons, places,
and -,',.ce e.em'Vtlinyg which seemewl likely to amnuse,
c,,'mnifowt.,,r: i-~t. wa- sent on its way to, their en('ail)lt'lnt  cNei'y many,,f their friends obtained,a —c within the lines, and visited them, m'eturning




THE MISSISSIPPI OPENED.


385


with such cheerful accounts of their daily life as
greatly relieved their relatives of anxiety for them.
But from this time they passed beyond the reach
of fiiends or packages from home, except at rare
intervals. While they were in the rear of Vicksburg, there were weeks when we knew nothing of
their condition or whereabouts. But through all the
daily assaults and sallies of that memorable siege,
although they were often in great danger, they were
unharmed, except as the terribly hot weather, poor
fare, and bad water caused sickness among them.
Hardly had Vicksburg surrendered when they were
sent with other troops to re-enforce Sherman on the
Big Black, who had gone thither to oppose Johnston.
Over a region devastated by war, parched by the
drought, both men and horses being maddened by
thirst, suffocated by dust, and scorched by the July
sun, they pressed on towards Jackson, Miss., only to
learn that the city was evacuated by the rebels. They
had hurried across Pearl River, burning the brlidgc
behind them to prevent pursuit. They were ordered
back to Vicksburg; and after the fall of Port Huldson the battery was transferred to General Banks'
command in the Department of the Gulf. The surrender of Port Hudson completely removed the rebel
embargo on the commerce of the Mississippi, and
permitted its waters to flow unvexed to the sea.
In one of the diaries are the following entries: —
"July 10, 1863.-Glory to God in the Highest!
Port Hudson surrendered four days after Vicksburg!
The Mississippi has got back again into the Union!
The Confederacy is cut in twain! General Gardner
gave up his sword to General Banks, they ran up the
stars and stripes on the top of the highest bluff, and




:386


UNEXPECTED VISITOR.


then a sutler opened his shop down by the landing.
The Mississippi is open to trade its whole length! "
July 20, 1863. -HIartley suddenly dropped down
in our campl) to-day. Didn't know he had left ChicagLo, or thought of visiting us. A visit from the
Sultan of Turkey iwouldn't have surprised us more.
II lIrought St. Louis papers of July 12, eight days
after the fall of Vickslburg.  Counted advertisements of ni)teteen steam bo,(ts, soliciting passengers
and fieight for the lower Mississippi, including
Helena, rMemphis, Vicksburg, and New Orleans.
The old times are coming back to us! The Mississippi is once more open to commerce! Hurrah "




CHAPTER XIX.
THE STORY OF OUR BATTERY BOYS CONTINUED- A DISASTROUS EXPEDITION-A TRAP OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION-SCENES OF HORROR —THRILLING ACTS OF BRAVERY AND DEVOTION.
Changes among our Boys - Breaking down under the Hardships of War -
The Battery constantly shifts its Encampment - Working hard to kill
Time — The Humorous Side of Life in Camp - History of " Doggie Doggett," the Canine Member of the Battery — His Exploits and Unknown
Fate-Lost In the Service  Unfortunate Expedition - Up the Red
River - Charging the Enemy with a Baggage-Train - Our Boys fall into
a Trap of Death and Destruction - A terrific Charge by ten thousand
Rebels - Overpowered by superior Numbers - Retreat or Surrender the
only Alternative - The Guns of the Battery captured - Death of Lieutenant Throop - Sergeant Dyer shot while spiking his Gun - Many of
our Boys are taken Prisoners- Hugh Wilson's Devotion-Only eight
of our Boys return at the Close of the War.
this time, a good many changes had occurred among the boys.       Five of them    had
broken down under the unaccustomed hardships to which     they were subjected, and,
after suffering   for a long time in hospitals,
were discharged from      the service.    One had
died, and his body had been sent home for burial.
Lieutenant S —, the original superintendent of
the Sunday-school, was forced to resign because of
circumstances that he could not control, and he had
returned to Chicago. His resignation caused deeper
despondency and discouragement than the sickness
and death of all the others. The remarkable manli887




388


WE HAD COUNTED THE COST.


ness, judgment, and good sense of the man, as well
as the sterling integrity of his character, his cheerfulness, and affectionate nature, made him indispensable to our boys. We all felt that his association
with them gave them a sort of immunity from many
of the ills of a soldier's life. In a very large sense,
the boys of the parish had been given to his keeping,
as to that of a wise and good elder brother. But
after a while we became accustomed to these
changes, as to the other inevitable bereavements,
disappointments, and griefs which the war had
brought on us and on the dear country. We had
counted the cost, and did not lose heart when it
proved heavier than we anticipated.
Until the spring of 1864, our boys were stationed
in Louisiana and Texas, shifting their encampments
occasionally as the movements of the enemy compelled them. Now, we heard from them at Carrollton, some half-dozen miles from New Orleans.
Then, at Fi anklin, Algiers, Brashear City, Opelousas, New Iberia, Baton Rouge, and' other points.
They were continually flitting hither and thither,
now to protect a point which the enemy threatened;
or, as an intimidation to guerillas; or, because a " reconnoissance in force " was proposed; or, as the boys
themselves sometimes believed and openly declared,
to render safe the cotton spoliations, in which not a
few of our officers were at that time concerned.
This sort of life was not to their liking, and they
grumbled about it not a little.
3Much of the time for the six or eight months succeeding the fall of Vicksburg, they were. comparatively idle, save as they worked hard to kill time.
The diaries kept during this period, show that this




" GRUMBLERS' DEN, -" POW-WOW HALL." 389
was dreary business. They gave concerts, extemporized theatrical performances, built shebangs, and
painted over each some outr6 name, in the temporary
absence of the occupants, which was intended as a
joke on their peculiarities or history. If one was of
a taciturn temperament, and had a shebang all to
himself, he would find in the morning that his
cabin had acquired during the night the painted
cognomen of " Celibacy Hall." The shebang occupied by two dear fiiends rejoiced in the name of
"Hotel de Siamese Twins." Three or four, more
given to fault-finding than the rest, dwelt in "0 Grumblers' Den." A quartette of inveterate wags sported
over their tent the staring announcement, "PowWow Hall! Protracted meetings held herel" Two
or three others, not very scrupulous, who had been
detected in imposing on their best friends, the negroes, received their retribution in the unsolicited
sign, painted in the night: "Legree House- Negroes for Sale Here!" And so on.
Sometimes a waggish squad, assisted by a neighboring infantry company, would arouse the whole
encampment at midnight with a moonlight parade.
The men would be attired fantastically in what they
called " night uniforms," with wash-dishes for caps,
and caisson shovels for swords, and every other
ridiculous contrivance in the way of dress. They
would have " cow-horn " music, by " Gideon's Band,"
a blast of which was strong enough to blow down
the walls of any Jericho against which it was
directed.
At Baton Rouge, where they were encamped some
time, they found employment for themselves, and
helped fill their empty pockets, by a public exhibition
24




HISTORY OF "DOGGIE DOGGETT."


of negro minstrelsy. They persuaded the provostmarshal to give them the free use of the largest and
most elegant hall in the city for several nights.
There was a good deal of musical talent among the
boys. They could play several instruments finely,
and had often assisted us at home when we gave
exhibitions of tableaux, or held festivals, with the
music of an improvised band. Many of them were
excellent singers; so they arranged a programme,
blackened their faces, got up fantastic costumes, and
for a week gave nightly entertainments to crowded
houses, their audiences expressing their delight by
the most boisterous applause. This was so profitable pecuniarily, that they would have repeated their
negro l)peformance elsewhere had they been able to
command a hall.
Sometimes they went a-fishing, or, more frequently,
a-foraging, and "Doggie Doggett" always accompanied them. I find frequent mention of this canine
member of the battery. When our boys left Chicago
they took two dogs with them; one a large, noble
Newfoundland, which was lost on the Tallahatchie
march, and the other a miserable little shepherd
dog, that they christened "Doggie Doggett," and
which proved invaluable to them. He was a great
pet, and was instructed, and trained, and frolicked
with, and caressed, until he became a highly accomplished animal. His exploits would occupy
more space and time in recounting than would
those of "old Mother Hubbard's dog," whose
chronicles are to be found in the veritable nursery
books of Mother Goose. He paid no heed to
the stringent orders issued from time to time,
commanding respect for the rights of property in




LOST IN THE SERVICE.


391


the country through which he marched or where he
encamped. If he saw a sheep or a pig at a distance,
he immediately went for it, and held it until our boys
could despatch it. Stimulated by the praise he received, he redoubled his efforts in the foraging line;
and it was the boast of the battery that "Doggie
Doggett could kill more sheep in one night than any
other dog on record." He possessed so much of the
savoir faire, that if he visited a flock, and was not
discovered and called off, he left not one alive to tell
of his dealings with them.
It was the intention of the boys to bring him
North and make a hero of him; and this they promised the ugly little brute over and over, all through
the war. His love of sheep would have cost him his
life at an early day had they brought him home; and
it is not therefore to be regretted that they lost him,
just as the war ended, when they were on their way
to the North. Amid the confusion of regiments
hastening homeward, the dog became bewildered, and
marched off with the wrong battery. That is the
theory of the boys. So dear had he become to them,
that they actually obtained a pass for a man to go to
Brashear City to seek him, as he was supposed to
have straggled off in that direction. But "Doggie
Doggett ' was not to be found, and to this day no
one knows his fate; but his memory is honored in
the records of the battery.
In the latter part of the winter of 1864, General
Banks planned an ill-starred expedition, whose line
of operations was Red River. Its object, was the capture of Shreveport, with the rout and d(ispersion of
Kirby's army, culminating in the recovery of Texas,
and a boundless supply of cotton for our mills and for




:3!)
~ -).   7


UNFORTUNATE EXPEDITION.


ex)(port. Admiral Porter was to take ten thousand of
Shertil 'sll   old larmy, under General A. J. Smith, up
Red Riverl, with a stlolng fleet of ironclads.  At
Alexandrtlia he was to meet General Banks with fift(cll thousand mlore, who were to march overland
ifrom tlie A!te.hafalaya. At the same time General
St(eele, with lil'teen thousand tried troops, was to
11lov: o1n Sh'rev(po't fiom Little Rock. Our boys
wenillt,1on this Ibadly planlned expedition, with two thin
tlivisions of theli Thirteenth Corps, of wlich they were
a l)pa't, unllde' the immediate command of General
Rallnso1,m  tallln whom  the country had no nobler
patli'lot and soldiir.
r'l, expedcition proved a disastrous and mortifying
filill're  ('neir'al Banlks' fblrce was t'le days behind
tim(e in a(lt'ctilm  a junction at Alexanldria with Adnira'l Plrtcr. There was not water enough to float
the }1(;av\ ir'oncla(ls as they prI(cee(dedl upl Red River,
a1id the heavielst wCer left )below _Alexandria. To
make matte's.t l worse, a portion of General Smith's
troo()Ps we\e v. recalled to protect the Mississippi fiom
i.c.s-sant iand tr(,oublesome raids..As General Steele
colill not r'clnder any assistance until the three divisions met at Shreveport, General Banlll' force of
fiort! tlillusadl  enIl  was reduced, practically, to
twellt  tolit.sand.  There.was little pretence of
s(c ' c(*!ai the part (of our ari'nv, and the enemy
knewi., ju-t;I well as did our ownvi commanders, what
wah ' the (bje(t of thle  IpeditioII, where it \was oing,
by wlhat I'rllte, how 1illany tropl)s were enraed in it
anl wvhat were the character, calibre, and experience
of the men \ ho officered it. Every relbel prisoner
calpttured ont the wa  was as well st    on thse
matters as our own mn11-e sometimllnes even more so.




FELL INTO THE TRAP SET FOR THEM.


393


They met with no very obstinate resistance until
they reached Natchitoches, although the enemy kept
up a steady skirmishing with the van of our army all
the eighty miles of the way from Alexandria. From
Natchitoches to Shreveport was one hundred miles,
through pine woods, barren, sandy, and uninhabitable. On they pushed, into the trap set for them,
right into the jaws of death and destruction. They
left Natchitoches on the 6th of April and pressed on,
meeting larger bodies of the enemy, the skirmishing
growing hotter, the fight assuming larger, sharper,
and more serious proportions. On the morning of
the 8th, when they had come within two miles of
Mansfield, they were unexpectedly confionted by the
rebel "Army of the Trans-Mississippi," twenty thousand strong, commanded by Kirby, Smith, Dick
Taylor, and other able officers. The principal portion of the rebel troops lay in thick pine woods, with
a hill between them and our forces; and across this
hill lay the only road which our men could follow, as
it was the only one leading to Shreveport.
The van of our army was mainly composed of the
Thirteenth Corps, and the Mercantile Battery, to
which our boys belonged, was in the extreme front.
Just as they marched from a dense pine forest into a
small clearing, they were attacked by the rebels in
great force, on both flanks and in front. A line of
battle was immediately formed. The guns of the
battery were put in position, and, for a time, it
seemed as though our men would make a successful
defence. But suddenly there rose, as if out of the
very ground, ten thousand rebel troops, who charged
down on our panic-stricken men with terrific yells.
They stood their ground bravely until they were




')4


RETREAT OR SURRENDER.


ovel'rpowered by sul)erior numbers. What availed
two thoulsand cavaliry, three thousand infantry, and
twenty pieces of artillery, so placed( as to be unable
to act ill concert, agaiilst a1 solid fobce of ten thousand
mlen?   An iinmense bagglage and supply train of
bl)twee t ln thl'e and four hundred huge army wagons
was inl the i  elldme(liate rear of the advance, completely
fillinI, up1) thle  l'one narrow, illndilln forest road, and
re11nlderi(ng'   i imlossible ifr the nmain body of the
aln'111 to gicve any sIl)p(ort to the advance.
T]'l'ee xwas. nothing left our men but to retreat or
surren1lder. The officers of the battery, which was
doillnr (,oold lservice, cheered on the men; for it was
not i1l thei' naturet to g'ive way, while there was a
pol>.lsilit (,f1 l)catinl' back the rebels. AVith uplifted
sw\(,'d, andl wordl s of (cheel' on his lips, George Throop,
inow a lieutetnant of the l)attery, was struck in the pit
of the sto,111chl b tbley ft'ralamn(lt of a shell.  Vitll the,single ' exlamlatiol, " M!\ God, I am killed! " he fell
1)ack fir()in his  l'horse, was c(.atghlt bly his companions,
111an  taken to the rear. But, heiroicallv, he bade them
'etuirii to the fil'ht and leave him to die, since they
c(,otl 1d  h1i  no good. A  surgeon pronounced his
w(,und nmital, and he was placed in an ambulance to
l)e taken f'roml the field.
lBeft'r;,   it (oulld (ret undter headway, a retreat was
soundlc(l and thent a horrible rout ensued, (f' which
(General FI'anklin hlas said that " Bull Run was not a
c.i'-umisttan(c in (coipl)ai'iso:n." He was on both battlefieldls  Ou)r ),oys ti'ied to save their guns, but, finding
that 111ll,,-sible, they endiavored to spike them. SergeaIlt I)ver, whom I have befoire mentioned as a rare
iu'-* in sickne-s: was w hot through the luli>-, and
mortally wounded, while in the act of spiking his




'4  f  i.
~ ~1'e"
T&
TW
jo                                ~




l'4~uIf ilhIred hugo  arm-y W<Iri is
~   A b  W   I' h&"            1;Id,.
e,           — w  mI1n b)ut to VIvtor
1J)  I 'j( I -9(4II  r  NV C i s:
*    V    N  ie  t h4 —r  'vfs  a
IsiV't~?l  the i'tOd S     ~~1 i11.cdp
l~it (it, *tV Iflt010',r  wast stP4"Lek itt the 1)it
>i(l~bYth  ii 4jelt4)1a hel. With the
liwittj~on, M4-N1v God, I -i:rn killed!' he fe
his hf)isc IN' ieAtht Iby hl,, companion-,
t te r1ir IIt, helro'alI\, hbe, bade them
"ItL:t:ttid b4'tv. him  to dlie, i' tney
K. Ogl'ood.   sur~reon Jpn-iouinced his
K~d h  W~  IIAO  in an ambulanice;Q I'lbif~lway, a rt treat Nwas
4W-A-h hi.- '4~ Oui  A'BI Il Rim   as inot a
~ f~  et5~)~'~'~"  i~W.T 41'n both ba-tttleJ V ~ilitheir gou1; s, hut, findingr
Lfm I e it v i-vor& to,k e t h em. Ser*iv h0-.I Ih h.. r. Lot fo' tiwritioiied as a rare
~ wa~%h't:'b      the lungs,- and
l i,( whice iii 1ut act of spilingr his




I f~


i
f!
I -i- At
6, -.;,
I  I'(^      lk. I
d
-;3h.
- -AMIL-,%- &,


I
v


'JI.
, --- Mr


it& 1
LI\   Z I


w F- W-'


-. p24
I '''bj   *


i,y-,!-  I  L  7.
Dw  /1.-^n,


Ar;)  *             ~      j,,:&            p








A WILD AND MADDENING SIGIT.


397


gun. The captain and two other commanding officers were taken prisoners, one of them was fatally
wounded, and thirty-two of the men were killed or
captured. Of one hundred and ten horses, they took
off the field but forty-five. The rest were left
wounded, dying, and dead. All their guns were
captured, and fourteen others, belonging to other
batteries.
" Sauve qui peut! "- Let whoever can, save himself- was the motto of the hour, and a wild and
maddening flight ensued. The drivers of the army
wagons, occupying the only road through the woods,
turned to flee, upsetting the huge vehicles, when
they cut the traces fiom the mules, and fled with
them. Immediately the road was choked with overturned, crushed, entangled wagons, with struggling
horses and mules, and half-crazed men. It was impossible to save the valuable wagon-train, and that,
too, fell into the enemy's hands. There was no
order, no heeding of commands, no thought of anything but safety, and only a headlong stampede.
Men on foot rushed precipitately to the rear. Bareheaded riders, with ashen faces, lashed their terrified
beasts to more furious haste. Cavalry horses galloped riderless, at full speed, over the terrified
infantry, the prostrate wounded and dying, and
others on foot. Officers with drawn sabres, hoarse
voices, and almost death-stricken faces, implored their
unheeding men to stop, form again, and make a new
stand. And in full pursuit of these routed fugitives
the rebels followed pell-mell, yelling, shouting, and
maintaining a continuous fire. The whistle of musket-balls filled the air in all directions. The crashing
of trees, the breaking of fallen wood, the galloping




!)98 TIHE NINETEENTH CORPS DRIVES THE ENEMY.
of horses and mules, the eddying whirlpool of maddened men, —all this made up a scene of horror that
beggars description.
For a full mile this terrible stampede continued;
1and then the fugitives came upon the magnificent
Nil(nteenth Corp)s, formed in full line of battle, right
across their load. Even this could not halt the
pl:lni(c-stticken menb. So, opening their ranks, the
Nillt eenth (' orps permitted the disorderly retreating
fo'ces to  ass thrughl.  Then they closed up solidly
a1'lain, and waited the oncoming shock of the enemy,
11tuIlth(d with vilctory, who anticipated no check. On
thelt  came, with headlong iml)etuosity, shouting and
tirinl  as they adlvanc'(ed, driving in the skirmishers
that hlad )been throvwn (uit, and charging on the inti'epil lines of btlue alnd glistening- steel as though
t l(hey wn( t tlie routted filugitives they had been driving.
On)1 thley gralllopel, 1rushing almost up to the very
lizzltes tof the g-uns, till they could look in the eyes
of thllil t;,..,uI' 1me1n standing like animated granitc. ri( er Inx tlheil' fire till the word of command was
Li il   '1 Ihen tlhre camc ont blinding flash of flame,
one r'eve-rbe'lat i-'i burst (of thuider, from our gallant
hllots. (tne fierce rain of leaden hail (n the ranks of
thce enemy, 'and thle rebels su'rgeld back in a great
wa\e, litk the (itroinl tide.   Their pursuit was
hl, (eke., tl}i)' lin1e- 1 ' i,,keli, and they could not rally:I;,in  It vwa;<  tliiw  t      ei turnd to,   they fell
iba k in  iiXa-t'. lCax ilnr thei' dead and dx in1r n1 the
litll '11 fi lt la-tdl but a few; 11oius, liut it bl).(rou'lt
411(i IliIltit llre ai ild1 4 1(1) humiliationl to (olil f;lC(es.  It
(c,,-t tlle 1l-  (,f tr f.'. t l, thout-and men and twenty
l   e,l':al tillex. all c( m elled the entire army to
tui'rn:adllx 1)( k t,, NL w Or)leans.




HUGH WILSON'S DEVOTION.


399


But what of our boys?   When George Throop
fell, despite the battle raging around them, the boys
all rushed to their fallen leader. But he commanded
them to return to their duty, saying to each a tender
"good-bye," as they turned away, and, dashing off
the blinding tears, stood again manfully to their guns.
" I am dying," were his words; " but I am not afraid
to die. Tell my father and mother that I die willingly; my firm faith sustains me. I give my life for
a glorious cause, and I do not regret it. So leave
me, boys, for you can do nothing for me, but take
care of yourselves." And so they left the brave
young officer to die.
All but one; and he would not obey. He was
Hugh Wilson. We had objected more seriously to
his entering the service than to all the others. A
mere schoolboy, a Sunday-school pet, the youngest
child of his mother, he would be only the plague and
the plaything of the battery. Why should he go? A
larger license had always been l)ermitted hima than to
any other of the battery boys, and so, instead of
obeying the command of his officer to return to duty
as the others did, he jumped into the ambulance, determined to save Lieutenant Throop if possible. The
cry of retreat was sounded behind him, and the terrified driver immediately cut one mule from the
traces, and, mounting it, sought his own safety. Hugh
seized the reins, and with the remaining mule endeavored to pilot the ambulance through the labyrinthine maze of fleeing men, broken wagons, and
galloping horses, to a place of safety. The road was
rough, and the dying lieutenant was roused to consciousness. Again, with characteristic unselfishness,
he remonstrated with the lad for running such risks




400


" SAVE YOURSELFI QUICK, HUGH I"


to his own life and safety: "I am dying, Hugh, and
you cal do nothing for me. Save yourself; leave
me, I entreat you "
But the warm-hearted boy, loving his long-time
friend more and more as he saw him drifting away
forever, once more gathered up the reins, and urged
the mule to greater speed. They came to a side
road, and into this Hugh turned the ambulance. It
looked as if it might lead to a less obstructed pathway. Alas! it led to a narrow stream of water, with
steep banks and deep, swift current. It could not be
forded. Again the lieutenant paused on the very
threshold of heaven to beseech Hugh to seek his own
safety.  The iciness of death had already settled
upon him. The unmistakable look of mortal pallor,
that the human face never wears but once, was on his
features. His speech was becoming inarticulate, and
his pulse barely fluttered under the pressure of
Hugh's finger. "Hugh, you must go! You will be
taken prisoner. I am beyond the reach of the enemy;
they cannot harm me. Put something under my
head, and then go. Save yourself I Quick, Hugh!"
At the same moment rebel troopers came dashing
down the road, and, catching a glimpse of Hugh,
called on him to " surrender!"
Quick as thought, Hugh stripped off his jacket,
forgetting that it contained all his money (he had
been paid off a few days before), the photographs of
his father and mother, the little Testament his pastor
had given him, and all the valuables he had in the
world. Folding it under George Throop's head, he
kissed his cold lips again and again, whispered a
swift "good-bye," which the dying man had no
voice to answer, leaped down the bank of the stream,




A GLOOMY HOUR.


401


and hid himself among the rank undergrowth, half
in the water. They were parted now; one going
back to the conflict, the other mounting heavenward.
The rebels rushed down to the bank, and, not
seeing Hugh, fired into the clump of bushes where
he was secreted, and then rode away. The balls whizzed around him, but did not harm him. Cautiously
the poor lad felt his way out to the edge of the
still retreating tide of Union soldiers, and, weepilng
silently, disheartened, and bereaved, commenlced a
search for his surviving comrades. He found them
at last, such as were not left dead on the field, or
prisoners in the hands of the enemy.
It was a gloomy hour. But one officer was left
the battery, and of the missing they could not tell
who was dead and who captured. Some tilne atler,
one of the battery boys who was left wounded on the
field, and was taken to a rebel hospital, wa.s paroled
and came home. He brought with him a blouse
which was known to be Lieutenant Throop's, as it
bore his name marked by himself. He stated that he
discovered one of the attendants at the hospital
wearing it, and, on inquiry, learned that he took it
from the dead body of a lieutenant of artillerly, whom
he had buried with other Union dead, after the battle
of Mansfield. The grave of Lieutenant Throop is
not known to this day, but his memory is green in
the hearts of all who loved him, and they number all
who knew him. It is no disparagement to the other
members of the battery to say that his was the completest, most harmonious, and best developed character among them. To all the battery boys lie was
leader, and his influence was always for good. Hisi
superior officers respected him the more deeply in
0




402    A SAD AND WEEPING CONGREGATION.,l'Ol)(ortion as they were truly sul]erior in the highest
sensec of the word. All trusted him.
His diary came into my hands, and its indications
f' filial and fiaternal affection impressed me deeply.
No one sought to comfort his father and mother, but
all sat down and wept with them. "Oh,' said one of
llis comlrades, "how Geor1ge Throop loved his mother!
It woulld have been easy fr him to die for her!"
Anlld by that tokenc judge how the nlother loved the
son. She iwas the first to speak when the sad news
wa;s bornec to the broken household.  Lifting her
whitc, tearles'lcs fa.ce, she said, " If it be true that all
is,over with (xeor'gc in this world, that he is dead,
land not lillnger'ing in SUffer'lng, I rejoice for him!
1It will inever have to suffer as his father and I are
Mflf'r'i!,,' now "
We gathered in the church on the following Sabbatlh, a sad and wCeep)ing clngregation. We recalled
the 11holu wh(en fi'nl its altar we had dismissed the
o\w g lor1(i(ied V\'(oug lCader' to battle, to death, to
IIlav.l. G;d had granted him a discharge from all
eai;'tlvl- c({nflict, and for him there were no tears.
We repre>s-cl our own lesser grief in the presence of
thet 'reat berelavem ent of the parents. The choir
san^' (,' vic-tor,, ald their voices swelled in a triumhllaat soii- of' thanks'iving for the glorious hole of
imimmotality that illulmines our t(larkniess  The play-. (   ' te      ni      eathd    siation t thei   beathed rn t  the
i( rultabl)l,cor   of' I)ix ill  Priovid(ence, which had:stlc.ken lus -o, -ver'el'. a1nd impllored the peace of
I I.avn to (1ntter oilr ( uls. And the sermon lifted us,itt (if' th1( da(ltll- a1nd- fogrs,f' our' earthly atmosphere
iilto tle -er1ene li'hi t of the happx hlereafter. Time
has.:Cfteined tlhe p,)(igllancy of grief felt dutiing the




A REBEL PRISON IN TEXAS.


403


months that followed, and memory and hope have
done much to subdue the pain inflicted by that
grievous wound.
- "God keeps a niche
In heaven to hold our idols! and albeit
He brake them to our faces, and denied
That our close kisses should impair their white,I know we shall behold them raised, completeThe dust shook from their beauty- glorified
New Memnons, singing in the great God-liglit I"
Those of our boys who were taken prisoners were
carried to Camp Ford, in Tyler, Tex.    Althougb
they fared hard, and endured many privations, theil
lot was comfortable compared with that of the poor
martyrs at Andersonville. They were placed in a
camp of about ten acres, where seven thousand Union
men were held as prisoners of war. It was inclosed
by a stockade of oak timber, twelve feet high, and
within its limits were five living springs of pure, clear
water. These springs were ample for all the uses of
the men, and, crowded as was the place, there was no
excuse for personal uncleanness. No prisoner was
allowed to come within ten feet of the stockade, and
not unfrequently men who violated this rule, inadvertently or through ignorance, were shot down like
dogs. When our boys first reached the rebel camp,
there were but six axes for the entire seven thousand
men, who were obliged to cut their own fuel and
build their own cabins. But an exchange of prisoners was effected shortly after the arrival of the
battery boys; and as some of the exchanged men
were from Illinois, an appeal was sent to Governor
Yates for axes and clothing. The appeal was munificently answered by an abundant supply of whatever




404


INGENUITY OF OUR BOYS.


was asked, sufficient for six or seven hundred men,
which- was faithfully distributed. With the arrival
of the axes, the boys went to "shebang" building,
in which they had had much experience. Permission
was given them to cut timber in the woods, and very
soon they had as good houses of their own as the
Texans of the town, and commenced housekeeping
under difficulties, and in a somewhat primitive way.
Many of the men were in a complete state of nudity,
and their entire persons were browned to the color of
Indians. Even their blankets were in rags; and on
one occasion, when some were exchanged, they were
sent to New Orleans, and marched through the
streets in very nearly the simple costume of our
first parents before they went into the manufacture
of fig-leaf clothing. They also suffered from a lack
of vegetables, and this induced scurvy. Some of the
discharlged men were so afflicted with scurvy that
their teeth fell out, and they came home with them
in their pockets instead of in their mouths.  To
obtain vegetables, our boys manifested no little ingenuity, assisted by others as energetic as themselves.
The prisoners had to slaughter their own cattle;
and they were allowed the heads and hoofs as perquisites. From the hoofs the Yankee boys made
glue. With this and the sinews of the cattle they
manufactured violins of every size, and by and by
organized a band, whose performances were greatly
relished by their fellow-prisoners. They obtained
files, and transformed the backs of their knives into
saws, with which they sawed the horns of the cattle
lengthwise, and then cut them into combs. These
combs were very salable, and brought a good price
in Confederate money. Not infrequently, rebels of




FUTILE ATTEMPTS TO ESCAPE.


405


high social position would come into camp, and order
combs, stipulating in advance their size and the price
to be paid. Some who bought of them   had been
without combs for a year.  With the money thus
earned, our boys bought sweet potatoes and other
vegetables, which kept scurvy, the great foe of the
camp and prison, at a distance. They bribed the
guard to bring them chisels and files, and then manufactured froln the horns that fell to their share complete sets of chessmen and checkers. For one set of
chessmen they received fiom a rebel officer Confederate money equal in value to ten dollars of our currency.
There were frequent but always futile attempts
to escape from the prison. The men dug tunnels,
one of which was eight months in progress. But
there were always rebel spies in camp, who were
well informed of the plans for escape, and when,
after eight months' patient subterranean labor, the
tunneling party came out through it, one hundred
and fifty yards beyond the camp, there stood the
rebel jailers waiting to receive them. If, by good
luck, a man made his escape for a time, he was soon
caught, and in two or three weeks brought back to
his old comrades, who received him with shouts of
faughter and mocking jeers and jibes. Some escaped
temporarily by hiding in the carts of refise and offal
that were daily hauled outside the camp. Whlen the
officers learned this, a cartload was never dumped
outside until the guard had repeatedly plunged his
bayonet through the mass, sometimes transfixing the
secreted soldier, nearly suffocated under the refuse
debris of the cabins. Fresh lots of prisoners were
constantly added to the camp, and with them there




4O6


LOYAL'TY IN MARStALL, TEXAS.


was always smuggled in one or more of the rebels,
disguised in Union uniform, who prowled about as
spies.
The rebel regiments sent to guard the camp were
repeatedly changed. The Union prisoners soon demoralized them; for the guards became completely
faisc(ilated with their convTer'sation. This was underst(ood ill the caml), aldl, although conversation was
p)rohil)itedl betwween thle guards and the prisoners, it
was carried on co nstantly and without interruption.
Tlhe formlnr hlad sufficient intelligence to comlprehend
tlhat their l)iris, lners were better e(lucated than thems(lves, bettetr informed, and viastly their superiors in
all matters of knowledg'e and skill. As they listened
to their recital of tlhe cauises of the war, the overwhelmllillng adv.antagets of the North, and the inevitable lad ftast-hastenlling end of tle conflict, the guards
were won overt to the side of loyalty, and fraternized
with those who\\l   they were to control.
At MtIarshall, Tex., where' the boys were sent to
tle llosl)ital forl a tuine, they found all openly avowed
sentitilient of lo, alty. The ladies of the town came
to the.wards and nursed them, feid them with food
fromn tlhir,own- tables, and attended personally to
theirl wants. a1 if they were kindr'ed instead of
stl'alI(rrs. The lma\ ' (f thte city alldl his son called
(,o themlil, 1penl! avwing Union seiitimecnts, anld denou.incin, tlie war' an(l the Confederate' governinent.
IIad tlhey }b)een 11 a Chicago lhospital, among their
own fri'lends, th'ey cou ld not have received kinder or
mor'te gellnl'e s treatment.
Tlhe b,)s were held as p)'isoners for fourteen
onlltlhs, and tllhn the war ended. As soon as the
ne-ws of the fall of Richmond reached the rebel




RELEASED WHEN LEE SURRENDERED.


407


guards, they left their posts without ceremony and
went home.    The prisoners saw their camp unguarded, and, understanding what it meant, made
preparations to follow the example of their guards.
With their usual good sense and foresight, they had
been preparing to leave for some time, and, as they
earned money, had bought supplies of crackers, and
sewed them up in their clothing, against a day of
need. It was well they did; for, though their jailers
promised rations for the long march to Shreveport,
and thence, hundreds of miles, to New Orleans, it was
days before any were received, and then there was
but a meagre supply. Nearly naked, not very well
fed, they at last found their way within the Union
lines, when each man was furnished transportation to
his own command, where he could receive his pay, or
be mustered out of service.
They found the wreck of the battery at New
Orleans, where the men had been doing " fatigue
duty," a part of the time at Camp Parapet. The
powers that be had ordered them to take muskets
and serve as infantry, and, I think, had sent the
muskets for that purpose. But the boys indignantly
refused them, or to perform any of the duties of infantry. They had enlisted in the artillery. Their
decision brought them  into bad odor with the
resident military authorities. Some petty tyrannies
and indignities were attempted towards them by
officials, which waked up the Chicago Board of
Trade, under whose auspices they were mustered
into the service; and that organization took the
matter in hand, and summarily redressed their
wrongs.
At the close of the war the battery was mustered
25




ONLY EIGIT MEN LEFT


out of the service, and 1,ur boys came back to Chica;go.  Tlere were but eight of them    left.  All the,)tlIl('s had died, or been killed in battle, or had
(ll'rollped out (of the service fromi invalidism; but two or
thlree of them survive to-day. One died in Minnesota,,f illlless colltracted in the service.  Another graduated frm 1 HaIrvard, and practises law in Michigan.
Anlother is connected with the silver mines of Coloradlo.  And of the young alld manly strength, and
powver, and beauty, which were our boast when the
vwar c(ommenced, there is scarcely a trace remaining.
Out' boys lrc nlot; and others have succeeded to their
places. AVe have lost them; but some time we shall
find them.
"For as we hasten through these regions dim,
Lo, how the whlite wings of the Seraphim
Slhiic in the sunset! On that joyous shore,
Our liihtc(l liearts shall know
The  life of l-,Il r:Ir(
The sorrow-lburdeled Past shall fadeForevermore I"




CHAPTER XX.


THE FIRST GREAT SANITARY FAIR —RAISING MONEY FOR
HOSPITAL RELIEF-A GREAT AND MEMORABLE DAY-A
MOTLEY PROCESSION THREE MILES LONG.
Continued Needs of the Hospitals lead to a great Sanitary Fair-A
Woman's Enterprise from the Beginning - Large Preparations - Seventeen Bushels of Fair Circulars and Letters sent at one Mall-Mrs. Hoge
obtains Help from Pittsburg and Philadelphia — Potter Palmer from
New York - Boston and Connecticut contribute - The whole Northwest ransacked for Attractions — At last, Men catch the Fair ManiaTheir varied Gifts —Opening Inaugural Procession- Captured rebel
Flags borne along-School Children in Carriages and Omnibuses -Convalescent Soldiers from Hospitals - Procession of Farm Wagons, with
Vegetables- Procession halts on the Court House Lawn -Firing of
thirty-four Guns announces the Opening of the Fair.
LIHE continued need of money for the purchase of comforts and necessaries for the
sick and wounded of our army, had suggested   to the loyal women of the Northwest many and various devices for the raising
of funds.    Every city, town, and       village  had
had its fair, festival, party, picnic, excursion, concert,
and regular subscription fund, which had netted more
or less for the cause of hospital relief, according to
the population, and the amount of energy and patriotism awakened. But the need of money for this
sacred purpose still continued.      Our brave men were
still wrestling with the Southern rebellion, which,
409




410   CONTINUED NEEDS OF THE IOSPITALS.
though oft-times checked, was not conquered. The
hospitals whos    e wards were vacated by death, or re('coec'y of their patients, were speedily refilled by
new flaces wlich disease had rendered pallid, and
new fonrms shatterled by cannon-shot or sabre-stroke.
It was necessary to continue to pour down sanitary
stiul)lies fbo the comfobrt and care of the suffering
soldiers, whose well-being, at that time, lay so near
thle lhearlts of all loyal men and wormen. Since the
most valuable sanitary suppllies could only be obtained with money, the ingenuity of women was
taxed to the utmost to raise funds.
The exclenses of the Norlthwestelrn Sanitary Comllis-ion 1had been1 very heavy thlrough the summer of
Si:3, and ever'y nmeans of rais.ing money had seemed
to )be exhausted. At last, Mrs. Hogre and myself
1propo,,,, d a l.eat Northwestern Fail. TWe had been
to the fiolt of' the army ourselves, and had beheld
the practiecal working of the Sanitary Commission,
with wlhich(  w w'ere associated. We knew its activitv, its metlhdsl, its ubiquity, its harllmony with military rules and (cllstoms, and we knew that it could be
(reliced on with certainty when other means of relief
filled  We saw tlhat an immense amount of' supplies
\wa\s  leceCsarYl for the comfo't and healing of the
a11rn\  of briave invalids, and wounded men, that filled
otur Illitai;l' ho,-litals, atid ou  hearts sank as we
i'.ealize.( the depleted condition of the treasury of the
(A '111111l..'-1 11
W\e \were -ure thlat a L,,'and failr, in which the whole
N,rt hwest would unite, would replenish the treasury
of the ComGmission. which, from the beginning, had
sent to battle-fiel(ls and hospitals thirty thousand
boxes of sanitary stores, worth, in the aggregalate a
'~~ --                   "'I  ~




A SANITARY FAIR PROJECTED.


411


million and a half of dollars. We knew, also, that it
would develop a grateful demonstration of the loyalty of the Northwest to our beloved but struggling
country. That it would encourage the worn veterans
of many a hard-fought field, and strengthen them in
their defence of our native land. That it would reveal the worth, and enforce the claims of the Sanitary Commission, upon those hitherto indifferent to
them. That it would quicken the sacred workers
into new life.
Accordingly, we consulted the gentlemen of the
Commission, who languidly approved our plan, but
laughed incredulously at our proposition to raise
twenty-five thousand dollars for its treasury. By
private correspondence, we were made certain of the
support and co-operation of our affiliated Aid Societies, and our next step was to issue a printed circular,
embodying a call for a woman's convention, to be
held in Chicago on the 1st of September, 1863.
Every Aid Society, every Union League, and every
Lodge of Good Templars in the Northwest, were
invited to be present, by representatives. Some ten
thousand of these circulars were scattered through
the Northwest. A copy was sent to the editor of
every Northwestern paper, with the request that it
might appear in his columns- a request generally
granted - and clergymen were very generally invited
by letter to interest their parishioners in the project.
Pursuant to this call, a convention of women delegates fi-om the Northwestern states was held in
Chicago on the 1st and 2d of September, at Bryan
Hall. The convention was harmonious and enthusiastic. The fair was formally resolved on. The time
and place for holding it were fixed. The delegates




41 2),


AN ENTERPRISE OF WOMEN.


came instructed to pledge their respective towns for
donations of every variety, and help to the utmost.
The women delegrates were llmarkllably efficient and
earnllest; fori each society had sent its most energetic
andl executive members. This convefntion placed the
sucl(cess  f the fail' 1beyofnd a doubt, and Mrs. Hoge
and nivsellf saw clearly that it Nould surpass in interest andl 1pecmuiiary p)rofit all other fairs ever held
ill the ('olliltry.
Oni tlhe evening of tlhe first day, a grand social
re-union was held ill tlhe parllrs of the Tremont
Ho1use  This gavNe the ladies who had gathered fiom
all parts of the c(lumntry an opportlunity of forming
(1each ot hers' acquaintance, and of discussing socially
tle varlious toplcs of int(,l't s.U(r(rested by the conventionl  Oi tle alfternoon of the second day, a
mass meeting of women was held in Bryan Hall,
w(e(-lI atdesss w(ere delivered by Thomas B. Bryan,
Esq.. Ion 0. II. Lovejoy of Illinois, Hon. Z. Chandler of Michi.gan-t, and some of the city clergymen.
Tlheir tutte'rances nerved those who were laboring in
tlIe:arduous w (rk o(f hospital relief, to renewed and
leeper (coiscration. It was a fitting close to the
two days' leetinL', and kindled a flame in the hearts
of tlhe womten who attended it. They returned to
their homes glovwing with enthusiastic interest in the
forthcomingr fail'.
This fii.rst Sanitar' fair, it must be remembered,
w a an exlter iment, an(l was 1)re-eminently an enterplsie ot wmenl, receivin,(r no assistance from men in
its early be'innin ^. The city of Chicago regarded
it with indliffterence, and the gentlemen members of
the Commi —ion barelv tolerated it. The first did
not iundtrstand it, and the latter were doubtful of its




SEVENTEEN BUSHELS OF MAIL MATTER I


413


success. The great fairs that followed this were the
work of men as well as of women, from their very
incipiency — but this fair was the work of women.
Another circular was now issued, and this enumerated and classified the articles that were desired.
It was a new experience to the Northwest, and advice and plans were necessary in every step taken.
Preparations now went on in good earnest. Up
to this point the efforts had been to create a public
sentiment in its favor, and to induce the prominent
organizations in the Northwest to pledge it their
active support.  These ends being now attained,
the work of gathering articles for the fair went on
rapidly.  Twenty thousand copies of the second
circular, specifying what articles were needed, when,
where, and how they should be sent, were distributed over the Northwest. The aid of the press was
invoked, and it was granted in a most hearty aid
generous fashion.  An extensive correspondence
was carried on with governors, congressmen, members of state legislatures, military men, postmasters,
clergymen, and teachers. The letters addressed to
the women of the Northwest, explanatory, hortatory,
laudatory, and earnest, were numbered by thousands.
Some idea may be formed of the amount (of machinery requisite to the creation of this first Northwestern fair-the pioneer of the great Sanitary
fairs which afterwards followed, "the first-born
among many brethren" - fiom the fact that on one
occasion alone there were sent from the rooms of
the Sanitary Commission, seretdeenL bushels of mail
matter, all of it relating to the fair.
Nor was this all. Mrs. HIoge went to Pittsburg,
Pa., for a few days, and formed a society for the




414


HELP FROM EASTERN CITIES.


express purpose of aiding the fair. She had formerly resided in that city, and had scores of fiiends
and relatives there  So successful were her appeals
to the citizens of Pittsburg, that it was necessary to
fit up a booth for the reception of the articles contributed.  Manufacturers, artisans, and merchants
sent choice sl)ecllllns of value, skill, and taste, from a
lthuge sheet of iron, worthy of Vulcan, and a breechloadlin steel cannon of terrille beauty, to rich and
rarel fIabrics of foreign looms, fit for the draping of a
lrilncess. Evel the carbon oil, with which we have
only unsightly and unsavory associations, was sent
in llhundreds of beautiful casks with painted staves
and gilded hoops, bearing     mottoes of undying
lox alt v.
From Pittsburg she proceeded to Philadelphia,
the cit! of lher )irth and early girlhood. Although
the lremoteness of Philadelphia might have excused
her fiolm particilpating in the work' of the fair, she
cawught the c(,lta.1,10on,of li)berality, and sent substantial tokens of approval and interest.
Potter Palmer, the proplrietor of the famous hotel
tlhat bears his name in Chicago, took the city of
New York in hand, obtaining contributions fiom her
iml)l'rter's, jobl)eI'>s and inanufacture'rs, ainounting to
11near1x.six thouSan(l dollars.
I,,)-ton, wa- alrady astir with plreparati(,ns for a
gral(  *,I s)ldier, and sailors' faiir, which )pr( 'ved a;la.nitfice(.t lu(cce('. But sh (l did not turn a deaf
ear to m! reltquest for aid, but, with characteristic
gert'-llSl'oit\,.tset a lar'e bo),  filled with trea-lures
abi(lant with he1(t, blt rare in the N,'rthwest. The
-.lCiin-,,f' Cliii,,. hadiwl'rk,,f Fayal laces, of
ea ca I-laln   alsl ',l a:s deli ate as vapor and arra rnged




AT LAST, MEN CAUGHT THE FAIR MANIA. 415
in sets, curious fans, slippers, pictures, and table
ware in the highest style of Japanese art —these
were rare at that time in the West, and when offered
for sale at large prices vanished like dew before the
sun. All sold quickly.
Connecticut sent a magnificent donation that realized thousands of dollars, and with it a deputation of
Connecticut ladies, who superintended that department, and acted as saleswomen.
In every principal town of the Northwest " fair
meetings" were held, which resulted in handsome
pledges that were more than fulfilled. Towns and
cities were canvassed for donations to the " Bazar "
and "Dining Saloon." The whole Northwest was
ransacked for articles, curious, unique, bizarre, or
noteworthy, to add to the attractions of the " Curiosity Shop." Homes beautified with works of art,
paintings, or statuary, were temporarily plundered of
them for the "Art Gallery," and all who possessed
artistic, dramatic, decorative or musical talent were
pressed into the service of the " Evening Entertainments."  Executive women were chosen in every
state, who fieighted the mails with rousing appeals
from their pens, or with suggestions born of their
experience, frequently visiting different sections to
conduct meetings in the interest of the great and
noble enterprise.
At last, even men became inoculated with the fair
mania.  They voluntarily came forward, pledging
large donations in money or merchandise, or favoring
the ladies with suggestions, and aiding in the work,
which had now grown to huge proportions, and
eclipsed all other interests. Mechanics offered their
manufactures, one after another, -mowing machines,




416


AN AVALANCHE OF GIFTS.


reapers, threshing-machines, corn-planters, pumps,
drills for sowing wheat, cultivators, fanning-mills, —
until a new building, a great storehouse, was erected
to receive them. They gave ploughs, stoves, furnaces, millstones, and nails by the hundred kegs.
Wagons and carriage-springs, plate glass, and huge
plates of wrought iron, - one the largest ever rolled,
at that time, in any rolling-mill in the world, - block
tin, enamelled leather, hides, boxes of stationery,
cases of boots, cologne by the barrel, native wine in
casks, refined coal oil by the thousand gallons, a
mounted howitzer, a steel breech-loading cannon, a
steam-engine with boiler, pianos, organs, silver ware,
crockery, trunks, pictures, boatloads of rubble-stone,
loads of hay and grain and vegetables, stall-fed
beeves, horses, colts, oxen, the gross receipts of the
labor or business of certain days, - in short, whatever they had of goods or treasure.
During the last week of preparation, the men
atoned for their early lack of interest, and their tardiness in giving, by a continued avalanche of gifts.
The fate of Tarpeia seemed to threaten the women
who were the committee of reception. Such a furor
of benevolence had never before been known. MIen,
women, and children, corporations and business
firms, religious societies, political organizations,all vied with one another enthusiastically as to who
should contribute the most to the great fair, whose
proceeds were to be devoted to the sick and wounded
of the Southwestern hospitals. As the Hebrews, in
olden time, brought their free-will offerings to the
altar of the Lord, so did the people of the Northwest,
grateful to their brave defenders, lay their generous
contributions on the altar of the country. The rich




THE INAUGURAL PROCESSION.


417


gave of their abundance, and the poor withheld not
from giving because of their poverty.
An inaugural procession on the opening day of the
fair was proposed, and the proposal crystallized into
a glorious fact. The whole city was now interested.
The opening day of the fair arrived. The courts
adjourned; the post-office was closed; the public
schools received a vacation; the banks were unopened; the Board of Trade remitted its sessions.
Business of all kinds, whether in offices, courts,
stores, shops, or manufactories, was suspended. All
the varied machinery of the great city stood still for
one day, that it might fitly honor the wounded soldiers' fair. Could a more eloquent tribute be paid
our brave men, pining in far-off hospitals, who lad
jeopardized life and limb in the nation's cause?
No better description of this splendid inaugural
pageant can be given than the following, taken from
the Chicago Tribune of Oct. 28, 1863. It gives a
graphic picture of the procession as it gathered up
its forces and moved on under the bright October sun,
three miles in length. But there can be no description given of the spontaneous patriotism, the infinite
tenderness, the electric generosity, the moral earnestness, and the contagious enthusiasm, that transfused
and glorified the occasion. One could as easily depict the shifting hues and lights of the Aurora:
"Yesterday will never be forgotten, either in the
city of Chicago or in the Northwest. It will remain
forever memorable, as history and as patriotism.
Such a sight was never before seen in the West upon
any occasion, and we doubt whether a more impressive spectacle was ever presented in the streets of
the Imperial City itself. The vast procession of yes



418


THE OPENING DAY OF THE FAIR.


terday, with its chariots and horsemen, its country
wagons and vehicles, its civic orders and military
companies, on horse and o0 f;oot, with their various
lcesignls, alld mottoes, and brilliancy of color, converlted Chicago, for the time being, into a vast spectacular dramila.
"Flom tll earliest dawnl of day, the heart of the
grea ct cit wa s aw;ake. Long before eight o'clock the
street.s wve thlllronge(l with people. Citizens in gala
dress lhuilied excitedly to and fro. Country women,
with their children, drove in early in the morning,
with ribbolns tied to theirI bridles, the national colors
deco'a;tiln  tlleir wagons, and miniature flags and
bal'nners at tlicir horses' heads. From the housetops,
fi'lll the chuI'ches, fiom the public buildings, was
(llsIlayed the glorious flag of liberty.  By nine
o'clock, the city wats in a roar. The vast hum of
multitudinous voices filled the atmosphere. Drums
beat everywhecre summo ning the various processions,
or accompl)anN inr them to the great central rendezvo-us. Band(s of mnusic playing p)atriotic airs, bands
of young men and womlen shingIng patriotic songs,
gr',oul)p of children singing their cheerful and loyal
S(.11001 so,1gs, enliivcned the streets. Every pathway
was j.anmmed with lhuman being's, so that it was with
extrleme difficulty any Ileadway could be mnade.
~'TIe p't.ocessio, n was adNvertisel to assenble at
nnll.e o(,'c'lok pI''ci.ely. and wan composed of nine
11 IsionI. As n'ar ten;s pol,,ible, it started -banI'e   jl1 illr, ldruin- l b 1eating,' all manner of brazen
im-tl'llInents tlrl-iinlr the listening ear, and stirrlinr
thel hearlts of the vast multitudes,f people with
ex( itillr mfln-ici  It was a mnlLht Ipcageant.  The
enthllu-lia-m that ac'llllpa)ied the lproce-ioln, fiom




THE HEART OF THE PEOPLE RIGHT.


419


first to last, has rarely been witnessed on any occasion. It was a grand, sublime protest, on behalf of
the people, against the poltroons and traitors who
were enemies to the government, and opposed to
the war.  Bursts of patriotic feeling came from
many a loyal bosom on this never-to-be-forgotten
day. The people were overflowing with loyalty,
and could not contain themselves.
"For a long time they had been silent, keeping
alive their love for the old flag, nursing their wrath
against those that hated it - and who had so long
fired upon it in the rear - finding nowhere any adequate utterance of their passionate feeling. Now the
mighty eloquence of this majestic and sublime procession spoke for them. This was the thing which
all along they had wanted to say, but could not.
They were in themselves ciphers, mere units of the
nation; but in all those thousands of men they saw
themselves multiplied into an incalculable, irresistible
host. They felt that their hour of triumphant speech
had come at last. This was the answer which they
thundered out in trumpet tones, to the miserable
traitors who had so long torn the bleeding heart
of their country."
"I always knew," said one old man at our elbow
in the crowd, while we were watching the procession,
"that the heart of the people was right; they did
not know their danger for a long while; now they
have found it out, and this is what they say about it."
In this remarkable pageant, the carriage containing the captured flags attracted much attention, and
excited great enthusiasm. These were the flaunting
rags which the rebels had borne on many a battlefield, and which our brave soldiers had torn from the




420


CAPTURED REBEL FLAGS.


hands of their standard-bearers.   No longer were
tllhev ilaunting in haughty defiance at the head of
rebel amies, but as lllormn e.twvice - spoils of
war- they were carried in triumph at the head
of a ci1 ic proce ssion in the peaceful streets of Chicago. Tlhey) must have conjured up many a tearful
memory il the minds of spectators there present,
wlose sols fought in the battles where these flags
were ca;ptured, and whose graves make the soil of
the South billowy.
No less attractive was the sixth division of the
1)pro',ss'i0,l, consisting of omnibuses and carriages
crowdled with children, who rent the air with their
song, of 'Johnl Brownl's body lies a-mouldering in
tlle,^rave!" and wh(ose tiny flags fluttered incessantly in tlie air, like the wings of gi-gantic butterflies. After tlhem camle, in carr'iages, the convalescent
sol(ieirs fi'rnm the hospitals in the immediate vicinity;
wanl. thlll, bron1zed, harardl, Illaimed, crippled. One
il(ncssanlt ',roar (' reetedt thein in their progress. They
were' pelted with flowers.  Ladies surrendered their
pai);I'a;ls to them, to screen themi from  the sun.
Pe(,,ole r'u-lid firom  tle sidewalks to offer their
hanid.   IIandkel hiefs were waved, and shout fol1,)wed shoult thl'oul)hout the long three miles.
lBut pl)erhal;l   thle lmost interesting spectacle of all
was the "Lak;el Count dele(gation."  This was a proCc^colll 1 of tlle fhrllnll'es of Lake County, who came
into, tle (itv at an tearly hour, andt wheeled into line
with tlihe roc(e<-in. Ther'e were hundreds of farmwaLt,,,, 1,oad.(ed to overfloowing with vregtablles. The
sttaid farm'I-hlorl-s were decorated with little flags,
larrer lla,.;s flto,:tinl  over the wagons, and held by
ttout flalnelr hands.  The fir.wt wagon of the pro



'I
I 9'i, ' 5


oil


y1 -I.C


PI
0
I


'1~
I'I
p.
L


9
1
0
-4.1,2
1             "i.    - -
1 N.


'r 11 *
j it I




 II
i.,


~ hthe     Ir
Spbtatilu's her ",
ie, si~xth div i -,i. c: of
iil~nbu-ses-:tid:v
O tll!te URi1ir wivah~.4iu  fromihero  t
t Off(i'. th.
Z1,02 ~   iA   ind,-tou
Mt(C'Ut fimrmm,




1VLATE I-V


*1'


I
II:-j


t           4


k.14,


I


".I
L A.4 I


zi.1
U4:.,
kL
 A-,


S1


e 0




V.


I                                                     AO
0.
10             ' ' ' '
14 "
f"'..      AW
'o, t.,*
I
t.,;AI


co


4)  ~




8




LAKE COUNTY FARMERS.


423


cession bore a large banner, with this inscription:
'' THE GIFT OF LAKE COUNTY TO OUR BRAVE BOYS
IN THE HOSPITALS, THROUGH THE GREAT NORTHWESTERN FAR." It was a free-will offering from
hearts that beat true to freedom and the Union. No
part of the procession attracted more attention, and
no heartier cheers went up from the thousands who
thronged the streets, than those given, and thrice
repeated, for the splendid donation of the Lake
County farmers. There were no small loads here.
Every wagon was filled to overflowing with great
heaps of potatoes and silver-skinned onions, mainmoth squashes, huge beets and turnips, monster cabbages, barrels of cider, and rosy apples- load after
load, with many a gray-haired farmer driving.
3Iany of the farmers were sunburned nien, with
hard and rigid features, and a careless observer would
have said that there was nothing in these farm-wagons
and their drivers to awaken any sentiment.  But
there was something in this farmers' procession that
brought tears to the eyes as the heavy loads toiled
by. On the sidewalk, among the spectators, was a
broad-shouldered Dutchman, with a stolid, inexpressive face. He gazed at this singular procession as it
passed,-the sunburned farmers, the long narlrow
wagons, and the endless variety of vegetables and
farm produce, the men with their sober faces and
homely gifts,-until, when the last wagon had passed,
he broke down in a flood of tears. He could do
nothing and say nothing; but he seized upon the
little child whom he held by the hand, and hugged
her to his heart, trying to hide his manly tears behind
her flowing curls.
Among the wagons was one peculiar for its look




424


4 WE DID THE BEST WE COULD."


of lpoverty.  It was worn and mended, and was
drawn by hor'ses which had seen much of life, but
little grain. The driver was a man past middle age,
with tlhe clothing and look of one who had toiled
hard, but his filc was thoughtful and kindly. By
his side was his wlfe, a silent, worn woman,-for
nilany of tlhe flnlrmers lhad their wives and daughters
on the loadls,- anld in the relar was a seeming girl of
filteeln and her sister, both dressed in black, and with
thein a )baby
Sonme one said to the man, "My fi'iend, I am
curious to know what you are brlinging to the
soldilrs.  What have you? "   "Well," said he,
'lcere alc pl)otatoes, and here are three boxes of
olliolls; and1 tllerl' are some ruta-bag:s, and there are
a ftew tlurlil)s; and that is a small bag of meal; and
t11h(', yo'u seet, the cabbages fill in; that box with
sl;ats lias dltucks in it, Nwhich (one of our folks sent."
"()h, then this is not all your load alone, is it? "
"inVl, no; 1our re''ion where we live is rather
1)0oo' sil, aln  we haven't any of us much to spare,
aiivwav: vet for this business we could have raked
iup as much again as this, if we had had time. But
we didn't (et the notice that the wagons were going
in until last Iighlt at eight o'clock, and it was dark
and rainingl tlhen. S, i1  wife and I and the girls
((o,11ld (1ly jro 1',11un( to five o' six of the neighbors
\within a mil or' s,': but we did the best we could.
AV   \e worked pretty much all the night, and loaded so
a; to be 1'ead(ly to, grt out to the main road and start
with the r'(.st of 'em this morning. It's little, but then
it's somnthiing f, ' the soldiers."
H"ave -you a son in the arn1my1
"Well, no," he an-wercd slowly, turning round




THE SANITARY FAIR OPENED.


425


and glancing stealthily at his wife. "No, we haven't
now. We had one there once. He was buried down
by Stone River. He was shot there. That's his
wife there with the baby," pointing over his shoulder
to the real of the wagon without looking back; " but
I should not bring these things any quicker if he were
alive now and in the army. I don't know as I should
think so much as I do now about the boys way off
there. He was a good boy."
The goal of the procession was the spacious yard
of the Court House, where it halted for an address by
Thomas B. Bryan, the loyal and gifted nephew of
the rebel general Robert Lee.
The fair was opened at noon, and the firing of
thirty-four guns gave to the public the indication
that its managers were in readiness to receive guests,
and to put on the market its varied wares. As the
last gun boomed on the ears of the vast multitude,
they surged like a tidal wave towards Bryan Hall,the first of a series of six or seven, occupied by the
fair, to be entered.
The Lake County delegation of farmers proceeded
first to the rooms of the Sanitary Commission to
unload their freight of vegetables. The hundreds of
wagons drew up before the doors, and soon the sidewalks and streets were filled with boxes, barrels, and
sacks. Scores and scores of bystanders eagerly put
their shoulders to the work, proud to aid in unloading the farmers' produce. Madison Street, for a
whole square, was blockaded an hour, and the progress of the street-cars arrested, but nobody grumbled. The passengers alighted and increased the
crowd, cheering the farmers, shaking hands with
them, offering help, uttering congratulations and
26




TOU(LIitNG INCIDENT.


b)Cledictiofls. Many a roughyl felIlow, who elbowed
his wvay into the dense throngr to lend a hand at the,
d~isburni'demnng of the wagons, fioai  his hitherto everreatldy W%( )rd-s Ihil him, and turnied to dash away, with
tlie 1)a(k (&4) his hand, unwonted tears, of which he
need not have been ashamed.
The 1)ack r(oon of' the Commission was speedily
fi lied wvithi Nwhat. Mlr. MleViekei', the well-known
fichatric'al inn~iiaoer, tenidered the use, o)1 his capacious
elar undii'(i the theatre for the vegretables, and that
alsvas so '0 )U lhued. AWhilc unloatdino' a messengfer
froin the womeni managreris approachbed the, farmers
wvith anII invitaition to Lowvem Bryain Hall, where a
%sI1il11)t 114s )U 1 di nnei wvas awaitingf them. The sturdy
eo ine, 11iC"i1),aopaedb  the unamshals of the several
dmviv-ioins, nmairched to the hail, where the women
\'var IIm\l t We('O omne(d t ht-II.
A.touIChing1 little episode o(('ri'edl while the farmiesWC1i'e dfinling  In  the  neil)hborhood of' their
table wtere several sodldicet's, wxho had also ordered
diiiiiei'. (  (n&41 them('haninL  to givre an o)rder
(l11'iI140 a b)Iief 1)at15( in the coniversationi, the tones
Caiu11,ht the ear of one(- of the farmners., who turned
(1ui'l,-v, and~( rce('onizedl in the Ibronzedl and blue('aelsoldicrI behindl him hi-s own sofln, whom he( had
not sen    woi two ~ eai-s and a half. lIe() wvas -now on
fIII wvav homae fi'oiii \icksburgf onI a shor't furlougPh.
Tri (lc('i'%0Jv a~iil r'C('owiitioii wvere mutuial  Father
andI ~,oii startedl up at the same grlad momnent. and, in
t Ie ItoII 'ithingr lan IaeIo  Scriptur'e, literally I.f'ell on
ea1ch "Ohei'S neC~k' and wvept "This little occuirrence
4~o na e wN% ze4, to the dinner, and added to the excitemnent of the hour.




CHAPTER XXI.
STORY OF THE GREAT FAIR CONTINUED-ITS SIX HALLSPRESIDENT LINCOLN'S DONATION- UNEAMPLED             ENTHUSIASM-" GOD BLESS THE FARMERS."
Profusion of Wares and rapid Sales -Dally Excursion Trains - President
Lincoln donates the Manuscript of the Proclamation of Emancipation -
Large Quantities of Food sent from the Country to the Dining-Hall -
How Dubuque furnished her Quota of Supplies- Picturesque Scene
-Hall erected for Donations of Machinery-Our Bargain with the
Builder-A Revelation and its Results-County Court Room transformed into a "Curiosity Shop" -Rebel Flags, and Battle TrophiesSlave Shackles and Collars-Large Loan Collection of Art Works-Anna
Dickinson's Lectures-Dinner to Northwestern Governors, Congressmen, and other Dignitaries- Gift of Live Stock - Auction Sales on the
Sidewalk.
BRYAN HALL BAZAR.
inaugural ceremonies being over, we will
follow the multitude to Bryan Hall, transferred for the nonce into a bazar, rivalling
those of the Orient in bewildering I      calutv.
A   semi-circle of double booths       followed   the
curve of the gallery, and       another semi-circle
was arranged against the wall, a broad aisle being
left between for a promenade.      In the centre of the
hall, under the dome, a large octagonal pagoda was
erected, two stories high; the lower floor occupied
by fair saleswomen and brilliant wares, while in the
gallery, overhead, the band discoursed sweet music
through the afternoon and evening.           The leading
427




42'8   TIlE HALLS BEAUTIFULLY DECORATED.
architect of the city p)lanncd the interior arrangelenllts of tllhe hllls, while their decoration was happily
cntrusted( to a committee of German artists. This
was eminently patriotic in character, and full of significanlc ill the history of the country at that time.
The national flag was festooned, and clustered in
a:ll app)rop)iate places. It floated overhead, it depen(led fromi arches, it entwined(l columns.  It was
1(looped in silken folds over (very door so that no one,ul ( enter any of' itS departients without passing
under tlhe  la.   Soldiers fiom the battle-field, on
briefl furloi(ughs home, would glance around on the
belv    Itllaner t(everywhere displayed. Tlhey had followed it to, x ictorv, and had endured, in its defence,
hardhtp.ll, sickness, and mutilation.  Tears, which
thei\ c(.oild 1ot Crel)press, coulsed down their brown
ite. a- lhe\ beheld(1 the (exaltation of the national
en:i.i   S(, ldIieis were web.lcmed to any department
of tihe flir, n all oecasions, and the blue uniform of
the armN  or navy) g'a: e a firee passpor't to all soldiers
and sailo rj's.
If thl( ((-)(Ids and wares exhibited for- sale were as
astoni shinll' in profiusion as in variety, there was no
la k,( f )pu( hasers. Froin eight o'elock in the morning until t'en at nirht, and( sometimes until a later
hlir. the -ix halls of the fair were densely packed
with ca^rer an(l inte.rested crowds. To judge from
til          o t liberalt  oft' the purchasers, one would have supl,-t.d Ihat e;a(  I posssese  the inexhautstible purse
}whl( 1i the f alirv ga NV to Forittiuat us, for there was no
lhai. rrl inI ab)ult price- and iio baekwairdness in buyn1r   It' the al, - lackened, the fair traders had but
to utter the tali-masnic wo-rds, Buy for the sake of
the -oldie'-!" and they proved the "open sesame"




GOODS SOLD RAPIDLY.


429


to all purses and pockets. The affable saleswomen,
who, at the opening of the fair, were dismayed at
les embarras des richesses, that piled their counters,
remembering the vast quantities that lay snugly
packed in boxes underneath, saw their goods disappear like snow in the warm spring sunshine, and
the second week found them exercising their woman's ingenuity to replenish their rapidly disappearing stock.
Arrangements had been made with the railroads to
run excursion trains, at low prices, each day, fiom
different parts of the country. This brought daily
new crowds of large-hearted, whole-souled country
people, who brought with them a fresh gush of national feeling and glowing patriotism, and before
whose unselfishness and devotion to country, the
disloyalty of the city shrank back abashed.  The
weather had no effect on the throngs  rain or shine,
cold or warm, calm or blustering, the halls of the fair
were so densely packed that at times it was impossible to cross them. Policemen were stationed at
the doors of the halls, to enforce entrance by one
door and exit by another. The sales of tickets were
sometimes stopped for an hour or two at a time, to
relieve the overcrowded halls. It was ascertained
fiom the doorkeepers that the average daily attendance was six thousand.
It would not be possible to describe in detail the
rare and beautiful articles that attracted throngs of
people to this hall. The most noteworthy of all. and
that in which the widest interest was felt, was the
original manuscript of President Lincoln's " Proclamation of Emancipation," of the four million
slaves of the South.  This was the gift of the




EMANCIP~ATION PROCLAMATION.


Pres,-ident to the fair, wIho accompanied it with the
I ol1( )ifll~ characteristic letter-:Exi,:curi~vE, MANSION, WA\SHINGuTON, Oct. 26, 1863.
To t1/i Lmr(ics luwrig ini c/Wfrf/ the AVi/ wclrstwrn
Fib for) the ASmuhtary (Cwnuussw,I ( Ydca o, Il.:Aceor~dinir to the reqIuest nind(1 inl vmU1' 1)Chlm, the O)riLrinal draft
Of the Etn-cianeiti( ) Procl.amation is herewith enclosed. The
fM iiiial w( )ds nt the t jp, mind at the cmneicision, except the signattuir, pm) pJrcc&iNe, aire IHt inl my handii'  it 1flL. rley were writteit at the Staitt. Depaitniueit by wlioni I knowv iot. The printed
)art N"als (lit fnm: 1  of the prehnlim iry Pr-oclamatiorm, and
Fl.aste' Ol 011`lleil V\ to save wiritiniia  I hl(1 soinc (1(-sire to retaihi the
paper; buit if it shall contribute to the relief orl comfort of the
S0l(Iiers, that is better.      Your obedient servant,
A. LINCULN.
Tb i-s manus~cript was- Jurcliased for three thousand
d~dar"; b, Tiom-~- B   r  ()r  heChicao'o Soldiers' lb nu, otf whichi ass )c(iation he was president.
It wa    timlv- Ihth( ),raj)h(,d, aUid COl~is were s0old lby
the B( )ar(l ( )  angr     f r the benefit of a p~ermnanent
lI" Vme Iim )In lvalidl IIlluilS s,;)ldier's, thloustands of dol.
laisl accruini'' to the fund from  thecir sale.  The original- maii     1 rit wa-s finall\ placed in the archives of
the Chicalp'( Historical Society f()ir safe keeping, and
INa therec burneud at the. time of the g-reat confliagriationl.
THlE DINNING-HALL.
W~hile 'Upper lirvan Hail was occupied as a salesroo0m, Lower Bryan111 Hail was use(1 througrhout the
i a'- a dmining   anld  refreshment hail.      The lady
man allo 11s had promise~(d to dine fifteen hundred peopie dail\ with home co-mfort anid elegance; and they
amply] fulfilled their pledg-e. The rush to this —, haill,was11 as grieat as to the others, and hundreds- wvent




GENEROUS DONATIONS OF FOOD.


431


away every day to restaurants and hotels who could
not be accommodated.   The perfect system with
which the dinners were managed, merits a passing
notice.
The city was thoroughly canvassed for donations
to the fair, every district being taken by a lady, and
faithfully visited by her, or her subordinates. The
names and residences of all who would contribute
to the dinner-tables were taken, with the articles
they would furnish, and the days on which they
might be expected. The canvassing over, a meeting
of the canvassers was held, and the aggregate supply
for each day ascertained.  Previous exlperience in
these fair dinners had taught the ladies what quantities of each article were necessary for one dinlnerso many turkeys, so many ducks, so many roasts, so
many pies, so many puddings, so many gallons of
milk, so many pounds of coftee, and so many calns
of oysters, etc. If the amount pledged for each day
was not sufficient, the dinner committee supplied deficiencies. These supplies thus pledged were sent to
the dining-hall on the days they were promised, or
to depots appointed in the various divisions of the
city, whence express wagons ran daily, at specified
and advertised hours.
In addition to this source of supply, large quantities of ready-cooked food were sent fiom various
parts of the country. Notification of the time when
it might be expected was previously mailed to the
committee. Michigan sent immense quantities of
the finest fruit, twenty times as much as was required by the exigencies of the refreshment tables.
Hundreds of barrels of apples of late varieties
were immediately despatched to the hospitals, whence




4t:2


HOT FOOD SENT FROM DUBUQUE.


in due tine caime grateful acknowledgment of the
wclcome donations. Grundy County, Ill., sent game
exclusively, nicely cooked and carefiully packed, and
fo;,lwarlded witl such despatch that it hardly had time
to cool before the express delivered it in the dlning1ball. Elgin, Ill., fiom her abundant dairies, supplied
a largo- pl roportion of tle milk used during the fair,
lhe' "milkmnlen " calling regularly at the dinner hour
with overflowing cans.
Dubuque, Iowa, calle to the help of the dining-hall
ill a mnost generous manner. The Dubuque ladies
who visited the fair during the first week learned
that thlere w;as not enough of poultry pledged for
ccrtain days of the week followinc. They hastened
hliome to make up the deficiency. Some half-dozen
of tllcir best " shots " wiere instantly sent off " gunninlg."  A          'gneral raid was made on hencoops.
Tullrkeys( were bouglht or bergged by the dozen.
D)ucks and chlickells were soon obtained by the hun(dred  (O)1 the day1s w hen. their contributions for
edilbles were dtu, they sent to Chicago over one
hundred turkeys. two or three hundred ducks, and
as nmany chickenls, exquisitely cooked, which were
c.arried piping hot from the Dubuque kitchens to the
exp1s'cs cla  S \'(everal of the ladels s:st lup all the prevlolls nilhtlt amd,ave perso,, l hell) and suI)er'vision
to the w(,rk of dressing, baking, and paclkng these
fowls. 1B  solme l'mystery  f tile cmsli;i,1 on their
-arial iln C11hicag  t(hey were bruight to the table a],hot a- thoughlr  tlhe} had just imade tleir d(ll,/,t from
tile  l)ak  l)aln.
1olurteen tablel were -et in the lining —hall, with
ac(, mml(,(lat(,In- for three hunlred at oni time.
erc table wa- re-s t foiur o]r five times daily. Six




ALL WILLING TO SERVE.


433


ladies were appointed to take charge of each table
throughout the fair. Two presided daily-one to
pour coffee, the other to maintain general supervision.  These ladies were the wives of congressmen,
professional men, clergymen, editors, merchants,
bankers, commissioners, -none were above serving
at the Soldiers' Fair dinners. Each presiding lady
furnished the table linen and silver for her table, and
added any other decorations and delicacies that her
taste and means suggested, or that her friends and
acquaintances contributed. The table waiters were
the young ladies of the city, deft-handed, swiftfooted, bright-eyed, pleasant-voiced maidens, who,
accustomed  to being served in their own homes,
transferred themselves for the nonce into servants.
Both the matrons who presided, and the pretty
girls who served, were neatly attired in a simple
uniform of white caps and aprons, made, trimmed,
and worn, to suit the varied tastes and styles of
the wearers.  In common with every lady who assisted at the fair in every capacity, they wore the
national colors.
A more picturesque scene than the dining-hall
offered, when dinner was in progress, cannot be imagined. The decorations were like those of the other
halls, with the national flag waving over every table,
and crowning the table ornaments. There was a
profusion of flowers everywhere, mostly hothouse
exotics; and a small bouquet was laid beside every
plate. The gas was lighted day and night, giving
additional brilliancy to the scene. The numerous
tables, crowded with ladies and gentlemen who had
come to dine; the long line of carvers, one for each
variety of meats, who had closed the ledger, and laid




,1:,-,


WIT IELD HIGI CARNIVAL.


do(\\11 the pen, to don the white apron, and take the
klilbe of this department; the,griacefhil girls in their
p'retty unlforms, gliding hither and thither in the dis-.chalrge of their novel duties; the agreeable matrons,
who received all who came to their tables as though
tlhey were honored guests in their own homes; the
(ci'o\wds who stood 'round. determined to dine in this
lhall,,,oodl-llnatl redly bidinll tlleir turn, with mnaly a bonz
l),ot whichll pl'ovoked coistant peals of laughter; the
c(Olltillull: il('omill'i ot' fresh trays, baskets, and pails,
ladenll ith vianids fli, the dinlner,- all this formed anl
anlmat(l at   nd unusual picture, that pen cannot portrav. There was no lack of sociality at these dinners.
Mirthi and laulhtll. wNere as abundant as the food.
AVit held lhi 'h carnival. And a strlanger, ignorant of
the o(cc.asion, \would havc beIlieved this a new Babel,
whler  a secCod " confulsionl of tongues " had been
The kitchen adjoined( the dining-hlall, where the
hlavv w ork was d( one by servants; and into these
j,,//(,t (//,,l o(Nl a fia)ored few were admitted. The
rule wa. ilxol rabh)l; and woe to the curious wight
who ventured witlhin its precincts without leave or
bu-ines4-! Little ceremony wa s emplyed in enforcingi hi.- departulre  Checks laid lbeside the plate
indilated to ( ach his indlebte(dness, whi( was more
or lel-  accordingr t( tle b111l of ftre lhe 11had ordered.
These b1ills \wrce settled at the tablle of the caslier,
whlo, rave in return1 a receipt, in the foirm of another
(che1k.,o the pri'senltation of which at the door the
p)arty (ffering it was allowed to leave the hall. There
wa1- i(M exit otherwise. No delpartment of the fair
re'lli'led more executive skill in management, and
nnCe;a more pl l)tulal;' r or uccessful.




"A MATTER OF LAW."


435'

MANUFACTURERS' HALL.
A temporary hall was erected, adjoining Bryan
Hall on the east, for the reception of the heavy and
bulky machinery contributed. A hall on the ground
floor was necessary for this purpose, and such a hall
Chicago did not possess. Obtaining a permnit fiom
the authorities for the erection, within the fire limits,
of the temporary wooden structure that was needed,
Mrs. Hoge and myself sought a builder. A gift of
lumber had been made for this use; and we desired
to contract with him for the erection of the hall. The
plan was drawn, the bargain made, the contract written, and we both signed it.
"Who underwrites for you?"' asked the builder.
"What? " we inquired in concert.
"Who endorses for you?" he explained.
" We wish no endorsers. We have the money in
bank, and will pay you in advance, if you will draw
the contract accordingly. We have more faith in you
than you manifest in us," we replied.
"It isn't a matter of faith at all, was his answer,
"but of law. You are married women; and, by the
laws of Illinois, your names are good for nothing,
unless your husbands write their names after you'rs
on the contract."
"Let us pay you then in advance," we said. ' We
have money of our own earning, and are able to settle
your bill on the spot. Instead of a contract, give us
a promissory note, like this: 'In consideration ofdollars, I promise to build for Mrs. Hoge and Mrs.
Livermore a hall of wood,' etc. Can't you do
that? "
"The money of your earning belongs to your hus



436


A SURPRISING REVELATION.


bands, by the law. The wife's earnings are the
pl)operty of the husband in this state. Until your
hlusbands give their written consent to your spending,oul'r earinings, I cannot give you the promise you
ask. The law must be respected."
Here was a revelation. We two women were able
to enllst the whole Northwest in a great philanthlllopi(, inone,, -makilg enterprise in the teeth of
1great oppositionl, and had the executive ability to
ca'rry it forl\ward to a successful termination. We
had money of our own in bank, twice as much as
was nce.ssarl' to pay the builder. But by the laws
)of the state in which we lived, our individual names
were nlot worth the paper on which they were writtei  ()tur earnling's were not ours, but belonged to
0Il'our husbl)ands. Later in the conversation, we learned
that we had no legal ownership in our minor children ', vwhoin we had won, in anguish, in the valley of
de:Ith. Thev too were the prloperty of our husbands.
A\e learned( much of the laws made by men for
w(omen, in that conversation with an illiteiate builder.
It,opeined a new world to us. WVe thought rapidly,
and felt intensely. I registered a vow that when
the war was,over I would take up a new workthe work of making law and justice synonymous for
w,(,men. I have kept in! vow religiotusly.
The sign'in,_ of the contract was delayed till our
hut.and-.(),tlol 4rive legality to it, by signing with
u.. And then the building was pu)shed rapidly for-warl;:' to, (.olp)letIi, WAien it was no longlerl nee(led,
it a- remo,oved, and pal-ced away forever  But the
inlltince ol' the conve'rsation with its builder still
abiev with Itime.
It wa^ so con-tructed as to be entered from Bryan




ALL KINDS OF MAN Ub'AT'I'U IS.E.


437


Hall by a side door. The contributions to this department were amazingly liberal, embracing almost
every article of farm and household use, and were
sufficient in number and importance fol a good-sized
State Fair. As the articles were mostly manufactured by contributors especially for the fair, they
were made of the best material, and in the highest
style of workmanship. In some remote districts,
where a knowledge of the fair penetrated at a late
day, manufacturers donated orders for machinery not
then made. One order of this kind fiom Decatur,
Ill., was for nine hundred dollars' worth of machinery, and was available until the next July.
Of ploughs there were scores, embracing almost
every l)atent. Xails were donated by hundreds of
kegs. Stoves were contributed by dozens, no two
being of the same pattern. Barrels of kerosene oil
of every brand were piled on one another, no inconsiderable portion of the space being allotted them.
There were a dozen sets of scales, four of them of
the manufacture of the Messrs. Fairbanks, worth one
hundred dollars each. Reapers and mowers were
donated that had borne off the prizes at several State
Fairs, and threshing machines which had received
similar honors. There were corn-shellers and cornplanters, straw-cutters, and grain and grass seed
drills, fanning-mills and non-freezing pumps, sugarmills and marble mantels, nests of wash-tubs and
stacks of pails, every conceivable style of washing
and wringing-machines, millstones, knife and scissors sharpeners, cases of boots and shoes, Saratoga
trunks, common-sense chairs, carriage-springs, axles,
hub and buggy spokes - in short, there were specimens of every branch of Northwestern manufacture.




438


NOBLE-HEARTED MECHANICS.


That which attracted the most attention was a
beautiful ten-horse power upright engine made and
presented by the generous employes of the Chicago
Eagle Woks - every member of the establishment
contributing to it. It was a most thoroughly built
piece of machinery, and was very handsome. A
boilel was also contributed by the boiler shops of
the city, so that the engine was run during the fair,
exciting great admiration by its easy and almost
noiseless movements. The mechanics of the Northwest manifested a noble interest in the fair. In
several instances, the employes of manufactories
clubbed together and worked " after hours " to build
machines for the fail. When this was not possible,
they contributed their money, and sent a generous
cash donation to its treasury, or they gave the entire
proceeds of certain days' work. Not only did they
contribute articles of their manufacture, but in the
evening thev came and assisted the ladies to sell
them, disposing of the heaviest lby raffling, and finding purchasers among their own customers for
others. God bless them! Whether in the workshop or on the battle-field, the mechanics of the
Northwest at that time proved themselves brave,
true, noble-hearted men.
THE CURIOSITY SHOP.
The supervisor's hall in the Court House, occupied
mostly by the sessions of the County Court, Judge
Bradwell presiding, was surrendered to the ladies, to
be occupied by them as a "Curiosity Shop." Not
only did the obliging Judge adjourn his court for two
weeks, but gave up his room to the fair, and, with
his wife, Mrs. Myra Bradwell, he gave his services to




BATTLE-TORN FLAG8.


439


assist in arranging and superintending this department. More attractive than all else in this hall were
the battle-torn flags of our own regiments, and the
captured rebel flags. The fourteen rebel flags, which
were trophies of victory, were loaned for exhibition
by Secretary Stanton. In the history of each of
them there was material for volumes of narrative
and romance. One Union flag, blood-stained and
rent, had been selected by General Grant to be first
unfirled over the Court House at Vicksburg when
that city surrendered. Another had been captured
in the battle of Bull Run, and with it the colorbearer. Both were in Libby Prison for more than a
year.  A heartfelt and tearful interest clustered
around the flags; and, though rent in shreds, discolored, soiled, and blood-stained, they lent a glory
to the walls upon which they hung. Nor was it forgotten that those who had fought under them had
laid down life in their defence, and were then sleeping
the "sleep that knows no waking," no more to be
saluted by friend or assaulted by foe.
A long table ran through the centre of the hall,
covered with a motley collection of trophies captured
from the enemy, including guns, cimcters, bowieknives of all shapes, butcher-knives of most ferocious
aspect, swords, balls, pistols, shells, camp-stools, etc.,
-every one of which had a history.
Among these trophies was a shackle taken from
the neck of a slave at Port Gibson by the "aWalsh
Guards," Eleventh Wisconsin. It was made of bar
iron, three inches wide and half an inch thick, weighing between three and four pounds, and had beeit
worn eleven months. One trophy, which challenged
the attention and roused the indignation of all, was




40


A "SOUTIERN NECKLACE."


called the " Southern necklace,' and had the following
history:
VWhile our' army was at Grand Gulf, Miss., an intelli,'ent c )t oltralanld gave much valuable information
as to the positionl of the enemy, and otherwise rendered hlimself' useful to our forces. He finally fell
into tle lhands of the rebels, who administered one
hllundred ald fifty lashes, and placed an iron collar
arounLlld hlis neck, riveting it on very strongly. Afterwar(ds. the nlegro \as cal)tured from the rebels at
Baton Rouge, La., by Company F, Fourth Wisconsinl, an1d w\as imme(liately released firom the collar.
This c(ollar was al round rod of iron, two inches in
ci curln iuenl cc, riveted together before and behind
with tvwo i',on prongl',s,ne ilch wide, three fourths of
a;1 ill( i thick, a:lld twelve inches long, rising from.ac1'l s.Ialu dircl(tl) outsilde the ears.
'I'lTre wverc little keep)sakes made from  the old
historic fi'irate (C'llotittlion, better known as "Old
Il'ronsids(', and fi'arinents of the wrecks of the rebel
r'am IMerrllnac(, and the frigate Cumberland, which
the 5Meriilac hlad so murderously destroyed in
11amil,>ton  oads a lshlort time before. A silver band
and tlhree silver br)acelets, in perfect preservation,
taken fiomn the brow and arm of a gigantic Indian,skeleton, \were sent fiom Quincv, Ill., where it was
elxhumed a f(\w,lavs.I previous to the fair. A young
ladv t(fiomn the Illand of St Helena iiting Chicago,
'llI' i ledl the fiail with a fuill collection of vie\s of the
il:and, and a lalrre number of relics associated with
Napoleo ' life when heldl a prisoner there by Great
Britain   Senator Chandltr of Micligan sent an
Allpilt stafl u-ed by Napoleon when crossing the
Al-ps to make war oni Italy. The assistants in this




THE ART GALLERY.


department daily talked themselves hoarse and weary
in reiterated explanations of their storied collection,
to the never-ceasing crowds of curiosity-seekers.
And probably this was the most interesting collection
of articles and relics ever seen by Western people.
The best arranged and best lighted hall in the city
was placed at the disposal of the fair for an Art
Gallery. It was free of rent, and to be occupied as
long as it might be needed for that purpose. Partitions were run up between the large windows, dividing the spacious hall into alcoves, both sides of which,
as also the walls of the room, were covered with
pictures. Lady canvassers waited upon the citizens
of Chicago, and obtained the loan of their best works
of art for exhibition. Very few declined, and the
number collected was a surprise to all. Pictures
were sent from New York, Wisconsin, Michigan,
Iowa, and some from Pittsburg. The Chicago artists generously painted pictures which they donated,
and which were sold at very liberal prices. Young
as Chicago was at that time, over three hundred
works of art were loaned from her homes.
Church was represented by two South American
pictures, which reminded one of his " Heart of the
Andes." There were pictures by Rossiter, Cranch,
Angelica Kauffinan, Durand, Cropsey, Gifford, and
Kensett. Of works by the old masters, there were
paintings by Rembrandt, Sassaferato, and Tintoretto.
Many of Mr. Healy's best portraits were on the walls.
He had just completed a portrait of Dr. Orestes A.
Brownson, and another of the glorious head and face
of Longfellow. They were classed among the masterpieces of this artist. Like all Healy's portraits,
they were distinguished for their marvellous coloring,
27




4421'


SUCCESS OF THE ART EXPOSITION.


tlchir carefuil finish, and conscientiousness of detail.
''lTie exhibition of statuary was slmall. A  Mercury
a#tid Venlus by Thorwaldsen, with several bronzes and
mledallions, made up all that was valuable in the colle'tionl. Ab),vc the gallery was another hall, devoted
to photograpl)hs, water-colors, and steel engravings;
an(l a verly creditable collection was brought together.
The success of the Art Exposition may be inferred
firol the fact that twenty-five thousand people visited
the gallery during the fair, and that it was necessary
to conltinue it two weeks after the other departments
closed, to satisfy the demands of the public. During
the first fivt days, seven thousand catalogues were
sol(d, aii(l the profits fromn their sale alone were suffieiiet to defiray all the eCxpenses of the exhibition.  On
1oe d(1;1 al.lle, eigthteen llunldred and fifty tickets
wereI sold at the d(1tor, and eight hundred catalogues.
EVrENING ENTEIrTAIN IM  TS.
Ietrolpolitan IHall was (levoted ex(-lusively to eveningll cltertallllnents, aild l ws not open duriing the day.
Its (lccal'tlionl was  1I' ve1 t, a colll)any of German
artists, \who tllransfi 'red it into a scene of bewildering
)cait   '.  Ever y irn colllllunl  v as fluted with the
wlitc a(nd tlie red(. Fctoons of red, white, and blue,
rlittt-rinl  with gold, stars, depended fi'om  the gallerv'. Ever') where were mottoes exl)'r.sslve of faith
in ( od, l (evotion to the coulntry, and undying interc4t 11l hcr 1ra'c (le'fenders.  The )proscenitum was
arl''lrangd witl fluted decorations and festoons of the
natlonal col,rs-. Busts of AWashinl,4ton and Llnceoln
wvre on either side,f the sta.'ve; while over the curtain hovered the national eagle, resting on a shield,
m, on a               2hield,




'ids


'4
'ci.4'.&'r -w
4 V
lj,
1'
'V
Vt
~5
'S
t
4
I.
>2.


.   q
*        4%.
C'

Vt,
4>54
4
A
&
*4*
Itt.5


P4
A
I
U
t lip


k'.
I'
It


9'
At
A   v,
'',  " ' j,   I  4.1.




-  "                          I        r   I I
(11 F        I!,) i,I      I. li


~rwalINCiI, Wih, -"er s1 h'Nze  and
~11 tht X\ vaS V1Ubleh ill thie, cOA'
~.e~i',amd steel-. engj tvi Wgs;
jJ,  Uetctiofl was bt _i~git t~o
* th* ArL kx   ition Hln1y be ii' frred
wa, 4ty-iv thtus,:tnd v ')pie visited
K  ihir,1:H1td th'at 'it v as nccessary
k   ~:tt  he other (Iep r'tmlents
if           1 ( thlt pul liC'. Duringr
4," 1'&hIt)0U         ti(  (atola(i'. es  wiere
If a4t- tom un  t iir -.alc alone v( ere suffit~~ l h( e x 1)teti -e  u - ot th x (' ~ihi  ii O
''rtect bunjidrIAi and Atty tick-ets
(10, and14 eight haindredl catalogues.
LV  i N 1N( -,~NxE i wrx'N- M ENTS.
1,.I it n 1tI wi  tle!.%otcd4'-~ uivl to cveilr1JI Ia t1L'.- anidl 'i Ir~t opcin (11r1iict.c the ('iv.
a &nI t 4) at e~fnipaiy of (.4umnaf
w I  Ain. a -eu-(Si'o i ewilder'ingv
(w$?I.U')fltr limed with the
4  h.whi'te, ai d blue,


( i.d4V t4Pri
ftd v itih  fltU tlt'i


la'!e# fr om the cral
4Q    t'prs'e4 fai th
w:In.1 II:,d  iI)r  titerr           r hIcF)I "I4*'linH was
qv~ iird festoons of the
Jglmiolgon and Lincol,
1 Ao,  whfle~ Cver' the, cur

seat,                   I                j-"
It P4 -.t I          e a A - c,           II    on I" t 6f i   t li t  hit-tid,




k
I
A                I
k -'.
-COaar Mountain, 49, 81


I
'A4
f 7
4          il,


C


I" k


A,


' t &


I


I


I


4


T


IF


r-        - I
r - T:
L-   -       i    L- -
I




0




AID BY DETROIT LADIES.


445


grasping the stars and stripes in the talons of one
foot, and the arrowy lightnlings with the other.
In this hall the managers of the fair catered to the
amusement of the crowd every evening of the fair.
Every night the spacious hall was filled to its utmost
capacity. Sometimes it was a children's concert.
Then an exhibition of tableaux, allegorical, historical, patriotic, or classical, exhibited on a revolving
platform. Chicago audiences never wearied of' tableaux in those days. The ladies of Detroit gave an
exhibition of tableaux, bearing all the expenses
incident to preparation,  costumes, travelling expenses, hotel bills,  and giving to the fair the gross
receipts of the entertainment. For magnificence of
costume, artistic grouping, and startling effects, they
could not be surpassed, even when arranged by professional artists. A monastic procession at miidnight
was a moving tableau. A company of nuns and
priests, arrayed in the garb of their several orders,
and bearing torches, filed slowly through the corridors and arches of the monastery, chanting clearly
and sweetly the " Miiserere " fiom " II Trovatore."
Richard Storrs Willis, brother of N'. P. Willis the
poet, known then as one of the first composers and
pianists of the country, with tMrs. AWillis, accoml)anied the Detroit party to Chicago. In the closing
tableau, Mrs. Willis personated the Goddess of Liberty, in a bodice formed of the Union, with a skirt of
the stars and stripes, wearing the liberty cal), and
holding the flag. At her left were army officers, and
a group of jolly tars in naval uniform. In a semicircle in the background were arranged the three
graces, Faith, Hope, and Charity.  Suddenlv the
goddess, Mrs. Willis, broke forth with the " Anthem




446


THlIRILLING EFFECT OF SONG.


of Liberty," both music and words of which were
coml)osed by Mr. Willis for the occasion: -
"Anthem of Lilberty, solemn and granl,
AVake in thy loftiness, sweep through the land!
Lilrht in ea; h breast anew, patriotic fires!
Pledlge the old fl:l,:alr:lin, flag of our sires!
Fling all thy folds:broad, banner of light!
Onward, still onward, flag of our night!
Onward, victorious, God for the right!
Amen, amen! "
The chorus was sung by all the group, and was
most inspirlllng.  The effect was clectrical.  The imen'll'se audience rose to its feet, and the curtain fell
1l11ll(1 tulllultlltui ls cheers and applause. Ag'ain it rose;
and agl nll tile ( l1ddess of Liberty, as if inlspired anew
with platri'ltlc firvor, sang the " Star-Stpangled BanneC'1',  the entire adi'll(nce rising and jo)iinng in the
(:ho rul. accompl)anied by the Light Guard Band.
Voc.al 1and1 illstlrumental concerts filled ulp the eveninl., with hops and pantomiime an(l amateur theatricals.  TIen came the novelty of two lectures,
delivered by
ANNA DICKINSON,
whose carteer as an eloquent and patriotic lecturer
wa- tlhen attracting universal attention. It was her
first appl)learance in Chicago.  The press had raised
the exl)c.tatioti I of tlh( I' pe, vervy highll bv the narr'ati( 'n of her,oratoli(cal triutmphs- in. t  The
l kpctl li(anll  Iarty had Iacknowledged its indebtedness
to her el iquenoc for victories in Connecticut and
New I lnaml)hmlre; and tho-e who had been brought
1111un   the -ipell of her speech were extravagant in
hcr pr'aise. Every one was on the quti v' e to see and




AN EFFECTIVE ADDRESS.


447


to hear her; and her audiences were limited only by
the capacity of the hall.
Her addresses were not so remarkable for originality, logic, or argument, as for the magnetic power
with which they were delivered. With a fearful
array of indisputable facts, she exposed the subterfuges of those who planned the rebellion at the South,
and those who defended it at the North. With the
majesty of a second Joan of Arc, she invoked the loyalty, patriotism, and religion of the North to aid in
quelling it. It was a wonderful sight. She was a
young girl, of twenty summers; but she held an immense audience spell-bound by her eloquence, now
melting them to tears by the pathos of her voice and
of her speech, and now rousing them to indignation
as she denounced the enemies of the country, fighting against our armies at the South, or plotting treason at home.
Sandwiched between Miss Dickinson's lectures was
a grand dinner, given by the lady managers to the
dignitaries of the Northwest.  Governors and exGovernors, members of Congress, distinguished military men, at home on furlough, with such local magnates as could add iclat to the occasion, composed
the guests. There were some two hundred in all.
The most complete arrangements were made for
their reception and entertainment. The hall was
decorated for the occasion; and to add to the picturesque effect, the young lady waiters were attired in a
costume of their own devising, which harmonized
admirably with the patriotic surroundings. A blue
peasant-cap, skirt of the stripes of the flag. and a
jaunty little red cap, trimmed with gold braid and
tassels, gave to some of the girls a stateliness of




AN()'TIIER PROCESSION OF FARMERS.


p)reC'nce,;and to others only added piquancy. "I do
lnot lin(l it easy t1 give ollrders for dinner to these
oun(g goddcesses of liberty," said one of the Governolrs; 11and otherls experlienced a like embarrlassment.
A  largec audience listened to the   after- dinner
spl)eclles,f the leminent guests, which were all
allo\w will lo1fty patrliotisln. It was the aim of the
lmnal:gerls of the fair,not,only to make money, but to
kiill(le anew the loyalty and devotion of the NorthwVest.
A scond(. l  farlmers' lprocession of wagons loaded
with vegetables came in to the fair at noon on the
(a of the Governors' dinneir  One would have sup1)osed that the fair lha(l just commenced, the proces(In,1 created so, i11m1 excitemlent. The streets were
ai;alln throiigc( witlh leolple.  The procession of
wagons lparaded thrulgh the principal thoroughfitl'res, (heere('d whcterever it passed, and then pro'e(ed('ed to the rooms of the Saanitary Commission,
Nc here the wagons were unloadcld.  This was a
sulrl)rise to all, andl helped to keep up the patriotic
cxcltemnent to the utnmost.
After uIloadi r their storecs, the farmers proceeded
to the,oldiec's' IHomnc, where a dinner had been provi(led exptressly f;, them  Two hundred soldiers on
their way to the front dined with them. They made
a Joll\ party.A(llress;ec s were delivered after the
dlinner was endel, the band played its most stirring
alrs, the best womcen of the city served them, and,poulred' thcir tea and coffee, and then the gallant
boys, hurrying back to the battle-field from hospitals
and fiurloughs at home, gave cheer upon cheer for
the farmeirs, when they learned of their generosity.
In the midst of the festivities, a sick soldiei' in the




"GOD BLESS THE FARMERS."4


449


hospital of the home, to whose dull ear the glad
sounds penetrated, inquired the cause.  When an
explanation was given him, he said, " That is goodI
God bless the farmers I" and, turning his face to the
wall, before the gayety was ended, he yielded his
spirit to the God who gave it. WEith the benedictions of the living and dying resting on them, the
farmers climbed to their empty wagons, and returned
richer than they came.
Among other donations for which the ladies were
unprepared was that of live-stock. Thoroughbred
colts, pet bears, Morgan horses, Durham cattle, and a
stall-fed ox, which weighed when dressed eighteen
hundred pounds, were included in these donations.
As we were notified of these novel contributions, advertisements were inserted in the daily papers. A
day and hour were appointed for their sale at auction
on the sidewalk in front of Bryan Hall. A crowd
always collected, and spirited bidding ensued, which
resulted in the sale of all the live-stock given to the
fair.




CHAPTER XXII.
LAST DAYS OF THE GREAT FAIR- SOLDIERS' DAY-TOTAL
RECEIPTS NEARLY ONE IUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARSINTERESTING ITEMS AND INCIDENTS.
Dinner given by the Ladies to eight hundred invalid Soldiers in Hospitals
-Lady Managers (lined by (;entlemen, who serve the Feast -Mighty
Frolic - " ('ompletely tuckernd out! " - Items and Incidents -Afghan
made with MIoney founl in a dead Soldier's Pocket - Contraband's
Gift-l)onation,f ()ctocia;rians -Mite of the German Woman -
The Iuck of the C hickainau;l  Soldier- Major-General Herron of Iowa
in the Fair - LItters of (;ratitucle from Soldiers in Ilospitals - " Must
see that Fair" — " All I hlave "- Safe place of Retreat - Pleasant Greetings - "A,Soldier s Psalm of Woman" - Cheers for Lincoln - Cheers
for the Solldiers - ('Clers for the Ladies of the Sanitary Commission
- Specimen of the Soldiers' Battle-cry- The Dead.
TIHE LAST DAY OF THE FAIR.
T was decided to give a grand         dinner on the
Cl closing day of the fair to all the soldiers in
Camp     Douglas, the     convalescents     in  the,      5ltMarine and City Hospitals, and the Soldiers'
oIIlne   About eight hundred in all were present,     )ut there were    many others, too       feeble
for the excittleent, who remained behind.             Public
annllllulncen''lt,f  the   dinner having      been   made,
doItn;tiolls  f,' efi'eshellelnts were s^(nt to  the hall in
(reat   p)roft-iionl.  Such   a fullr(r (f lpepl)aratlol   as
tlhat nlornlil, witnesed!        Hot-lhoutls were rl ifled
of tflhir fltwer'>,-plate-chests of their silver, and
every 1slecIes of patriotic olnallment wa- devised for


450




THE BRAVE SOLDIERS HONORED.


451


the occasion. Rare fruit, ices, jellies, flowers, and
game poured in upon the ladies in the greatest abundance. The best band in the city was engaged for
the occasion. The hall was redecorated, and made
more attractive than ever.  The pretty waiter-gills
made their toilets anew, and, taking their places behind the chairs, we saw that we had not merely one
Hebe, but scores of them.
Anna Dickinson had agreed to utter the words of
cheer and praise and kindly remembrance with which
every woman's heart dilated. The ladies felt it was
not possible to sufficiently welcome and honor the
brave fellows they had invited to dine with them.
A more beautifully laid table was never seen. It far
surpassed in elegance and sumptuousness that set
for the dignitaries of the Northwest the day before,
and the dining-hall glowed and glittered with the
most brilliant of the combined decorations brought
from the other halls of the fair.
At twelve o'clock precisely, all being in readiness,
the doors were opened, and the guests of the day
marched into the hall. It was a bronzed, scarred,
emaciated, halt, blind, deaf, crippled, skeleton corps,
some without arms, some without legs, some swinging painfully on crutches, some leaning feebly on
those stronger than themselves, all beqring evidence in
their persons that they had suffered for their country.
"Brave Boys are They!" crashed the band. The
ladies waved flags and handkerchiefs, and, according
to the programme they had marked out for themselves, essayed a cheer.  But it was drowned in
audible sobs, as they gazed on the poor boys who
were their guests. They were slowly seated at table,
and then with eyes humid with teairs, and voice




452


SOBS AND CHEERS.


tremulous with emotion, Anna Dickinson, a fair
young girl orator at that time, welcomed them in
eloquent words, in behalf of the managers of the
fair.
Grace was then said by the chaplain of Camp
Douglas, and the waiters darted off for soup, fish,
turkey, game, vegetables, pies, puddings, ices, tea,
coffee, -anything that was called for.  The poor
fellows were served as brothers and sons would have
been at home. Their food was carved for them, and
their not over vigorous appetites were coaxed and
catered to as though feasting were the supremest joy
of life. Dinner was soon over, and then came the
after-dinner talk. Speeches were made by chaplains
and officers who happened to be present.
" Three cheers for Abraham Lincoln! a diamond
in the rough!" proposed a manly voice; and so
mighty a cheer thundered through the hall, that our
guests seemed no longer invalids. Then "Three
cheers for the ladies of the Northwestern Fair!"
shook the hall again. The ladies, in their enthusiasm, responded by "Three cheers for the soldiers! "
given with an accompaniment by the band and with
the waving of flags and handkerchiefs.
One of the chaplains proposed that the soldiers
should give the ladies a specimen of their battle cry,
as they charged, double quick, on the enemy - and,
unconsciously to themselves, the men took the attitude, and their faces assumed the determination of
the charge as they uttered so prolonged, unearthly,
and terrific a yell as beggars its description. We
can imagine its power on the battle-field.
The excitement was now at a white heat, and
there was no vent for it but in music. The band




THE DEAD REMEMBERED.


453


played "The Red, White and Blue" —the boys
joining in rousingly with their bass and tenor; the
ladies adding soprano and contralto, and for the
next hour all sang together, until the entire repertoire of patriotic and soldier songs was exhausted.
"Let us not forget our dead! " said Chaplain Day.
"They who went out with us to the conflict, but
whose slumbers on the battle-field shall not be
broken until the r6veille of the resurrection morn
shall awaken them. Let us remember that
"'He who for country dies, dies not;
But liveth evermore! '"
All stood in solemn silence, with uncovered heads,
while the band wailed a dirge for those to whom
God had granted a discharge fiom the conflict, and
promoted to the ranks of the crowned immortals. A
doxology was the only fitting close to the hour, and
a thousand or more of voices joined in singing
"Praise God, from whom all blessings flow!" Thell
with swelling hearts and quivering voices, with
tremulous clasping of the hands, and broken words
of thanksgiving, the boys slowly returned to the
hospitals.
" We are not worth all this. We have not earned
this kindness," they said. " But on our next battlefield, the memory of this day shall make us braver
and stronger."
Is there but one step from the sublime to the
ridiculous? I hesitate to give the finale, but, as a
faithful historian, I must tell the truth. " This is the
soldiers' day!" said a practical woman at the door,
as the boys were making their exit. " Let us crowd
into it all the good things we can. Hold on, boys!




454


IN FOI A FROLIC.


Run, John, run round the corner, bring some boxes
of fine cigars! "  A moment's delay, and the cigars
came.c  And then to every soldier was given, as he
welnt out, ciga'rs and matches. We saw them depart
with an aureole of smoke about their brows, if not of
glory. To those whose feebleness detained them in
the hospitals, bloxes of tempting and delicate viands
wrl'e senlt, - such -as the surgeons endorsed, -and
com(llittC'ees,1' ladies accompanied them, and served
them to tle invalids, sometimes in bed. They even
spenlt the largler part of the day in the hospitals,
hellingi the poor fellows to have a veritable gala day.
Now,followed a scene.  Two hundred young,enltlemen fiom the l)usincss circles of the city, had
prolposl a dinner to tle ladies of the dining-hall,
ad as tfie 1)oys went out, these gentlemen came in.
Tlche irl waitelrs doffed their white aprons and caps,
and tle gentl tlemen b(egged them to retire to Upper
'Bryan Hall, wllile the tables were reset with the
lhell of serlvants,:and the dinncr prepared. After an
lhour or two, of' waiting, tlhe ladies were escorted to
thle dining-hall  Th   e gentlemen had attired themselves gr',)tecs(ullli  in the uniform  of white aprons
andl caps, wlhicl they regarded as the servinag-gear
of tlhe fairi Tle mIotley condition of the tables gave
evidence l(cof tlie hnllldliwork of unskilled men, and not,of servats  It was evident they were in for a
h\\lo tihat partook of that dinner will ever forget
it  IIn)appy -he who did not receive a baptism of
osv.ter soup or (coffee. as tlec gentlemen waiters ran
hither and thither like demented men, colliding with
ea.ch,  lttl.. to, tlh glreat dama,'e of tureens and coffee
ur'-.;ald the imnicen. bespattering of the fair ones




"COMPLETELY TUCKERED OUT!"


455


waited upon. We saw one city editor industriously
peddling toothpicks before the soup was removed.
Another, presiding at the coffee urn, was so intent
upon a flirtation with his next neighbor, that he
forgot to turn the faucet when the first cup was
filled, and was not reminded of it until the urn was
emptied on the floor, and a river of coffee was running underneath the table, among the feet of the
ladies.  For an hour fun and frolic held sway.
Shout after shout of laughter pealed from the merry
girls at the contretemps of their servitors. Now and
then came a little shriek at a smash of crockery or
the upsetting of a coffee cup. Fatend fster and faster ran
round the awkward waiters, until, at last, the masculine attendants, whose caps had fallen on their
necks, and whose aprons had got twisted hind-sidebefore, gave up in utter despair.  They declared
themselves " completely tuckered out," and begged
the ladies to help themselves to anything they liked,
or could find.
In the evening, not satisfied with the fun of the
afternoon, the young people, aided by carpenters,
cleared away the booths, working like Titans, and
wound up the fair with a vigorous dance, that closed
as the clock struck eleven. At the same time, the
German ladies of the fair gave a grand ball at Metropolitan Hall, which was largely attended, and pecuniarily was a great success.
And so ended the Northwestern Fair, whose net
receipts were nearly eighty thousand dollars, with
unsold articles, of sterling value, slowly disposed of
afterwards, to make the sum total nearly a hundred
thousand. Other fairs followed in quick succession
in Cleveland, Boston, Pittsburg, St. Louis, and finally




OTHER FAIRS FOLLOWED.


in New York and Philadelphia. But none of them
were characterized by the enthusiasm, originality,
earnestness, and contagious patriotism that glorified
this, and made it forever memorable.
ITEMS AND INCDENTS.
Several incidents which came to my knowledge
during the fair are worthy of record. I will give a
few.
In one of the Southwestern hospitals there died a
young soldier whose home was in Chicago. He left
an only sister to mourn the loss of the strong arm
and brave heart necessary to her in the fierce battle
of life. After his death there was found in his pockets a small sum of money, all the worldly wealth he
had. His sister regarded the money as too sacred to
be applied to daily uses. She purchased with it a
quantity of worsted, out of which she wrought an
afghan, memories of him who died dimming her eyes
and saddening her heart as she crocheted.  She
brougllt it to the fair, and, modestly donating it, told
its history. It was an article of exquisite beauty, and
was sold at an early day, for one hundred dollars.
One of the contrabands from Montgomery, Ala.,
brought an offering to the fair, and, presenting it to
the secretary, asked, "Please, missus, may dis yer
sheet, what I got wi' my own money, and stitched
wi' my own hands, be sold for Massa Linkum's
sojers?"  She held forth a large bleached cotton
sheet, very neatly made. She was a comely woman,
and gave her history briefly as follows: " I'se raised
in Jones County, Ala. I'se fifty year old, missus.
I'se left nine chillen in de land o' bondage. Ten o'
my lambs de great Lord took, and dey's done gone




"IT IS ALL I HAVE."


457


home to glory." Out of twenty children she had but
one with her. Her touching story, pathetically told,
caused a speedy sale of her offering, which brought
much more than its actual value.
One of the ladies of the fair was called to the door
of Bryan Hall by the doorkeeper, with the statement that "an old man at the ticket office wanted to
see her, but dared not come in." She obeyed the
summons, and found a white-haired old man, eighty
years old and bowed with infirmity. He said:  My
wife and I are very poolr. We had two sons; both
went into the army. One was killed on the 'Hatchie,
and the other is still in the service. We want to do
something for this fair, but it's so little that we are
ashamed to speak of it." On being assured that the
smallest gifts were acceptable, he continued: "We
keep a few chickens; and, if they will do you any
good, I will kill four, and bring them to-morrow all
cooked. My wife is as old as I am; but she is a
good cook, and will dress and roast them herself."
Tickets of admission for himself and wife were given
him; and the grateful words of the lady made his
withered face glow with pleasure. The next day, at
dinner time, he came again, with the nicely roasted
fowls, covered with a snowy napkin.  " I wish I
could do more, lady," he said; ") but it's all I have."
An elderly German woman, with toil-hardened
hands, came to the managers, and in broken Engrlish
told her story. She was a widow with two sons, one
in the army, and the other a mere lad, whom she sulpported by taking in washing. She offered fifty cents,
and begged the ladies to " please accept that."
A brave fellow from Chickamauga, who had lain
for weeks in the hospital, was sent to Illinois on fur



458


"MARY, I MUST SEE THAT FAIR."


lough, with the hope that his wounded leg would
heal, and his health improve.  His wife came to
Chicago to meet him, and to help him complete his
journey.   le was very eager to attend the fair.
"Mar y, I must see that fair," he said, "if it takes my
last dollarl " IIe was brought in an invalid chair,
and carrlied througllh Brlyan Iall, his wife accompanyilg hil. The brig)ltncss of the bazar dazzled him.
It was an amlazing contrast to the battle-field, hospitals, and barracks he had left behind. A silver cakebasket was being sold in shares at a dollar each.
The style was pretty, and the silver was of the value
of conll.  I'd like to take a share for you, Mary,"
said the wounded hero; and a half shadow fell over
thel f(lace of the witi  as she saw his last dollar go.
T1ie drI'awLilg comlllenced, and to the wounded brave
firoml Chi kalmautga wlas delivered the cake-basket.
IIs t(iclkt had drawn it. There was great delight
over I lli  L'O(,,   luck.
~ I enjo"!(ed more.seeing how glad the ladies were
that I wa:s the lucky one," said the happy fellow
afterwards, "than I did in getting the cake-basket."
Hatlf a dozen young ladies from Como, Ill., sent
five barrels of potatoes to the fair, which they had
planted, hoed, and dug, with their own hands. A
similar c(,Itributlon came from  Pekin, Ill., from a
yolilun  ladyl who " hadl dedicated a portion of her
ga,rdie to the. soldiers
A Ip(or (.antraband mIother from Lake Superior
sent socksl kllit by herself for her own son, also a
runaway slave, but who went to an early grave while
serlvin  in tlhe armny of freedom. When the black
woman Ill flc l f'ill 4slave'ry, she went with her baby boy
to the cold isolation of the upper lake, feeling safe




THE VISITOR RECOGNIZED.


459


with him in that remote locality. The war broke out,
giving him a chance to strike for the freedom of his
downtrodden race; and though he had not attained
his majority, the boy enlisted. He was ordered,
with his regiment, to the very place of his birth, and
in the first engagement he fell a martyr to liberty.
Every day saw large numbers of military men in
the fair, many of them officers of high rank, and not
a few whose feats of bravery and brilliant daring
have given them a place in history. They were
always the lions of the hour, and were the recipients of unnumbered courtesies from the ladies. One
morning, a tall, slender, fine-looking gentleman, modestly dressed in citizen's clothes, entered the hall, and
made the tour of the booths, his numerous questions
evincing more than ordinary interest. Soon a soldier
who had lost a leg, and walked with a crutch, sprang
from his seat, and hobbled towards the young man
as fast as his enfeebled condition would allow. Forgetting the military salute in his eagerness, grasping
him by the hand, with his face working with emotion,
he said, " General, I was with you at Pea Ridge!"
Up came another, with emaciated face and figure,
but with the same breathless gladness, "General, I
fought under you at Prairie Grove!" Then others: "General, I was with you at Vicksburg!" "I
marched with you through Arkansas!" "I have
been with you ever since we left DubuqueI "- until,
pretty soon, the almost stripling was surrounded
with soldiers, all more or less Mwrs de combat, and
was shaking hands with them, congratulating them,
and reciprocating their joy in the heartiest manner.
"Who is he?" was whispered around the hall.
"He is certainly a distinguished officer, who is here
28




460


SOLDIERS SEND GREETINGS.


without shoulder-straps."    Soon the Dubuque ladies
caught a glimpse of him, and then there was another
rush. The soldiers gave way for the ladies from
Dubuque and Pittsburg- some of them dear friends
of his early life - and for a few minutes he seemed
in greater danger from encircling arms, and salutes
not military, than when at Pea Ridge and Prairie
Grove.    It was Major-General Frank Herron, whose
bravery in the battles of the Southwest made him
worthy of honor and warm regard.
A very lively interest was felt in the fair by the
soldiers in the Southwestern hospitals, who, since
they could do no more, sent innumerable letters and
messages to the ladies engaged in it.       There were
three thousand in the hospitals at Memphis, Tenn.,
who sent their greetings to the ladies in the following  letter, written  at their request, and     sent by
them:
MEMPHIS, TENN., Oct. 28, 1863,
To the fMatamgers of the Northwestern Fair
LADES, - The sick and wounded soldiers in the hospitals at
Memphis send you greeting, and, through you, return thanks to
the women of the Northwest for their efforts to alleviate our
wants and sufferings. We are deeply grateful for the sympathy
manifested towards us in words and deeds. We are cheered,
comforted, and encouraged. Though absent, we are not forgotten
by you, nor shall we be, when returned to duty in the field, as we
trust we soon may be. We shall be nerved once more to fight on
until this unholy rebellion is crushed, and the old flag once more
floats over a free, united, and happy people. In the light of your
smiles, and in this great earnest of your sympathy, we have an
additional incentive never to relax our efforts for our native land,
whose women are its brightest ornaments, as well as its truest
patriots May your success be only measured by your love to
home and country.   In behalf of three thousand soldiers at
Memphis                       [Signed]    T. B. ROBB,: S. S.nitary  gent for Illinois.




TRIBUTE TO WOMAN.


461


A similar letter was sent from the hospitals at
Chattanooga, Tenn. It bore the signatures of thousands of the wounded men, traced in every conceivable style of chirography. Many of the autographs
indicated the extreme feebleness of the writers. Many
of the men who signed it, and were eager to do so,
were standing "just on the boundaries of the spirit
land "; and some of them passed over the dark river
of death before the letter was mailed for Chicago.
The following tribute to the women "whose efforts
in behalf of the great fair at Chicago, for the benefit
of the Sanitary Commission, accomplished such beneficent results for his sick and wounded comrades,"
was written by an Illinois soldier at Chattanooga.
Has woman ever received a more exquisite tribute?
A SOLDIER'S PSALM OF WOMAN.
Down all the shining lapse of days,
That grow and grow forever,
In truer love, and brighter praise,
Of the Almighty GiverWhatever godlike impulses
Have blossomed in the human,
The most divine and fair of these
Sprang from the soul of woman.
Her heart it is preserves the flower
Of sacrificial duty,
Which, blown across the blackest hour,
Transfigures it to beauty.
Her hands, that streak these solemn years
With vivifying graces,
And clasp the foreheads of our fears
With light from higher places.
Oh, wives and mothers, sanctified
By holy consecrations,




462


THE SOLDIER'S PSALM.


Turning our weariness aside
With blessed ministrations
Oh, maidens, in whose dewy eyes
Perennial comforts glitter,
Untangling war's dark mysteries,
And making sweet the bitterIn desolate paths, or dangerous posts,
By places which, to-morrow,
Shall be unto these bannered hosts
Aceldamas of sorrow;
We hear the sound of helping feet —
We feel your soft caressings -
And all our life starts up to greet
Your lovingness with blessings
On cots of pain, on beds of woe,
Where stricken heroes languish,
Wan faces smile, and sick hearts grow
Triumphant over anguish.
While souls that starve in lonely gloom,
Flash green with odorous praises,
And all the lowly pallets bloom
With gratitude's white daisies.
Oh, lips, that from our wounds have sucked
The fever and the burning!
Oh, tender fingers, that have plucked
The madness from our mourning I
Oh, hearts, that beat so loyal true,
For soothing and for saving!
God send our hopes back unto you,
Crowned with immortal having!
Thank God! oh, love, whereby we know
Beyond our little seeing,
And feel serene compassions flow
Around the ache of being;Lo, clear o'er all the pain and dread
Of our most sore affliction,
The sacred wings of Peace are spread
In brooding benediction I




CHAPTER XXIII.
SHERMANI S MARCH TO THE SEA-DEATH-BLOW TO THE REBELrLION -SURRENDER OF LEE -ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN-THE MARCH OF EVENTS.
The End draws near — Sherman's March to the Sea-He finds the Southern Confederacy a Shell to be easily crushed - Much Anxiety felt at the
North for the Result -He takes Savannah, with its immense Stores,
and informs the President of his Gift - The South surprised - English
Journals prophesy Failure - Reaches the Atlantic Coast -Co-operates
with Grant and Lincoln - Richmond evacuated - Lee surrendes -
Delirious Joy of the Nation - Characteristic Procession Improvised in
Chicago- Lincoln assassinated - Joy swallowed up in passionate Sorrow- Disbanding of the Army - Motley Treasures brought Home by
Soldiers - Eager to reach Home - Gladness of the Nation at the Return
of Peace.
S the day drew     near when the death-blow
would be given to the rebellion, a hushed
expectancy settled over the country.        The
return  of peace was longed       for with   an
intensity not to be expressed in words; and
the movements of the great armies as they
drew more closely together for a last, final grapple,
were watched with indescribable eagerness.         There
was no abatement of the iron resolve that the rebellion should be conquered.      If it had been necessary
to prolong the war another period of four years to
accomplish this, the North would        have girt itself
anew with will and persistence, and matched the
463




464


SlHERMAN'S MARCH TO THE SEA.


emergency.   But it was (vident that the end was
d(rawing ncar - that the decisive blow was soon to
be struck; and the nervous strain on the people, who
waited and listened( for this desiled consummation,
interfered setr'ioisly with the ordinary pursuits of
business and lif(.
(il(eneil'll Sherman had preparled for his march to
tlhe sea. Rome andll Atlanta were burned, with their
foundllries andl tanlner(ies, their lnmerchandise and storehoulses, their floiiur-mills alnd  il refineries, with thousainds of bales ot cottonl, milli(ons of dollars' worth of
freight, bridges, turning-tables, fireight-sheds, railroad
depots, -all were soon in a fierce flame of fire. The
levw people who remained in Atlanta fled, frightened
b1 the conflagration   In November, Sherman was
(lttache(l fi'oin all his communications, and ready to
mno\ e. AVhen about to start, he wrote to Admiral Porter(, on the Atlantic coast, to " look out for him about
Clristna-.' from IIilton Head to Savannah."  To his
wifie he wr.ote. "' This is iy last letter from here. You
will healr from me, hereafter thl'ou(h rebel sources."
F,, twenty-four days Shcrmnafn's armny disappeared
fromn the view of the North, lost in the very heart of
the reblellion  About sixty-five thousand men swept
over the country, in a track fifty miles wide. General
Kilpatrick's ( a:val'v, five thousand strong, moved in
front and, on each flank; and the advance was from
fifteen to twenty miles a day. The holidays found
She ran in Georgia, in possession of Savannah,
wli( li lie presented to the President in the following
ter-e despatch," I be.. to present you, as a Christmas gift, the citv of Savannah,
with,ne hundrecl and fifty Lruns, plenty of amnmunition, and
twenty-five thousand bales of cotton."




THE CONFEDERACY A HOLLOW SHELL.


465


There proved to be thirty-eight thousand bales.
Three steamers were captured, besides locomotives
and cars; and eight hundred of the enemy were taken
prisoners. The success of this march through the
South was not believed in; and, from the middle of
November until Sherman was heard of at Savannah,
there was great anxiety at the North. The South
derided this proposed march to the sea; and English
journals, with scarce an exception, prophesied only
disastrous results.  General Kilpatrick, who made
an extensive raid into the South, had declared " the
Southern Confederacy to be but a hollow shell, which
could be easily crushed "; but his statement was received as the utterance of extreme foolhardiness.
Even General Grant, in reply to Sherman's request
to be allowed to undertake this enterprise, had written
him: "If you were to cut loose from your communications, I do not believe you would meet Hood's
army; but you would be bushwhacked by all the old
men, little boys, and such railroad guards as are still
left at home."
"This march could not have been made through
one of the Northern states," says a writer. "And
slavery, which the South boasted was an element of
strength in war, because it allowed all the whites to
enter the army, and yet secured the cultivation of the
soil, was found, in an invasion, to be an element of
fatal weakness. The working population in a free
state would have hung round the flanks of such an
invading army like lightning around the edge of a
thunder-cloud. But in the South that population
was all on the side of the invaders; in short, it was
an element of strength to us."
Having rested his army at Savannah, and com



THROUGH THE CAROLINAS.


pleted his plans, General Sherman commenced his
campaign through the Carolinas.   His movements
now attracted the attention of the whole country.
"What will this wonderful man do next?" was the
question ill cvery one's mouth. Some believed that
h11( would strike Augusta. Others were certain that
Clharleston was the place he wished to capture. But
it was his ldetermination to take his army through the
heart of the two hostile Carolinas, five hundred miles
north, to G()ldsb)o(Iro'. This he did. On the road he
)pursued such tactics that on the night of the 16th of
February, Charleston, S. C., was evacuated, and the
Unioln fltag once more floated over Fort Sumter.
Tllen pushing forward his columns, as though his
ol)ectlve Ipoint was Raleigh instead of Goldsboro',
he hastened onward, completely befooling the foe.
Now he lmad(e a feint in one direction, and now in
allotlhe', wadlinll thr'ougl h boggy marshes and swollen!river.s; over! inulndated lowlands and treacherous
quicksands, his route illumined by the conflagrations
of propelrty, enkindled by the enemy, in the bitteries.:s Of lhate and despair. At last he reached Goldsloro'.  Then, tulrnilg his army over to Geieral
Sclhfield, hI hastened to City Point, where he met
(r;elral (rl';rat 1and President Lincoln, who gave him
a lea;lrt w(l(cllt'; an(I the ttrio consulted together
ret..l)ectin^- the next move to be. made.
(';eat lp'.lpa'at lls 1had been made for the relief of
( reiiUC i1l Sherimain's army whlen it should appealr on
tlie  tllantic ca;-t. IIospital sulpplics of evcn' variet?. andl ill Immmen-i quantities, wcere in readiness
at Pl'lhadellllhia and AWs.hington, with sur0geons and
1nur.s- to a;cc )mpaliy tlhem. Ships were l1 aded with
these:anltal' stlr't-., and witl food fur the men also;




GREAT BATTLE AT PETERSBURG.


467


for it was expected that the men who " marched from
Atlanta to the sea" would be famished and exhausted- a skeleton army, requiring medical skill
and careful nursing to save them from death.
But the sanitary supplies and medical skill were
uncalled for. Sherman's men came out from their
long march hale and hearty, having foraged on the
enemy and lived on the fat of the land, but brown
and barefoot, ragged and dirty. It was indeed a tatterdemalion army that invaded the Carolinas. In
a fortnight afterwards, the quartermaster supplied
twenty thousand of the men with shoes, and a hundred thousand with clothing, and everything necessary for entering on another campaign.
The march of events was now very rapid. General Grant wrote to Sheridan, "I now feel like ending the matter, if it is possible to do so before going
back. We will all act together as one army here,
until it is seen what can be done with the enemy."
Sunday, the 2d of April arrived, and all saw the
beginning of the end. A great battle had been
raging near Petersburg for some days, which ended
in the complete rout of the enemy, who fled in confusion, leaving all their guns and a large number of
prisoners in the hands of the Union army. That
night, both Petersburg and Richmond were evacuated.
But as long as General Lee's army had a collective
existence, it could not be said that the war was
ended. This fact was impressed on every mind, and
on no one so strongly as on General Grant. Precaution had been taken to prevent the rebel arny
escaping South when it evacuated Richmond. And
now, hemmed in by Sheridan and the Appomattox




468


LEE SURRENDElRS TO GRANT.


Ii\vc' oil one side, by Meade on another, by Hancock
on;a thilrd, and Thomas on the fourth, the destruction
of that arl'ly was only a question of time. The
celerity of Gclelral Grant's movemnents pl'ecipitated
thle surrelcnder of Lee. And on the 9th of April,
1SG5, (;General Lee surrlenderled his sword and the
AI'U1y of Norlthern Virginia to the eminent Lieutenallt-GellCe'al commandinll tlhe al'lices of the United
States. Tlhe reell larny of Johnston, with Sherman
ill his ifrnt and Grant in his rear, must dissolve like
the b1aseless ftbri'c of a vision, or likewise surrender
to the victor'ious armies of the Uniol. The great
rcbellion hiad ended, and the Union remained intact
a.11d undllivied!
T11i (a1; foi,' thichl all loyal souls had prayed and
\waitedl fl;, four' lo(g )cearsa had come at last. The
nation w:as deli'rious w\ith the intoxication of' good
cnews tcle/Ir'al1liped firom  WVshington, - "LEE HAS
SUI:I.I;KEIEI)}I r To (RANT! " Just as the Sunday
e\( (c.iLr cllur( 11 se.rvicecs were ended, the bells of
Chic(;agol claglcd (out tile glad tidings, and the event
they rejoiced in was instinctively understood by
~hearit  All w-ere waiting for it; all knew it could
not b)e long delayed. The iron-throated cannon took
up tlCi juibilant tidlinr, and thundered it from a
lhundled gunsl- 1Bnfirces blazed it joyfully in all the
street:, rIckets Ila;.hed it evervywlere on the night
air,. tlie huzzas and songs of the people rolled out
fromil the heart of tlle city to the suburbs, and the
oildinarv quiet of the Sunday night was broken by
univer'aIl 'rjoicinig.
Thle  lext day, the rejoicing was renewed with
more alti,/1oin than ever. BellW pealed afresh, cannon
thundered anew, the air was rent with ten thousand




DEMONSTRATIONS OF JOY.


469


hurrahs. Everybody saluted his neighbor with mingled laughter and tears. Flags floated from steeples
and housetops and windows, -they streamed from
wagons and carriages and car-roofs, - of tiny proportions, men wore them in their button-holes, and
women in their hats. At every street corner one
caught the sound of martial music, mingled with the
ringing bass and tenor of manly voices singing
patriotic songs.  Courts adjourned, banks closed,
the post-office was summarily shut up, schools were
dismissed, business was suspended.  The people
poured into the streets, fienzied with gladness, until
there seemed to be no men and women in Chicago,only crazy, grown-up boys and girls.
A procession was hastily improvised, -the people's procession, -measuring miles in length, and
cheered by the tens of thousands lining the streets
through which it passed. On they came, — the
blue-coated soldiers stepping proudly to glorious
music,-and shouts rent the air, and white handkerchiefs floated fiom the windows, and gentle
hands waved them welcome. Then followed the
brazen-mouthed cannon, drawn by noble horses, that
arched their necks and stepped loftily, as if conscious
they had the "peace-makers" in their train. On
they came, - men on horseback, men a-foot, six
abreast, led by the Veteran Reserve Corps Band,
thrilling the air with the triumphant strain, " Glory,
Glory, Hallelujah!" The great multitude- tens of
thousands of men, women, and children - caught up
the refrain, and joined in the glorious chorus, singing, with heart and soul and might, " GLORY, GLOBY,
1]LLELUJAH I"
Still they came. All the draye in the city; all the




470


" GLORY, GLORY, HALLELUJAHI "


steam  fire-engines, with the red-costumed     firemen;
all the express wagons; all the post-office wagons;
all the omnibuses, loaded with men, and boys, and
soldiers, ringing    bells, beating   drums, blowing
trumlpets, and( fifes, and every manner of instruenllt that makes a joyful sound; blossoming with
fliags, vocal with hurrahs, bearing banners with eloquent llottoes, firing guns and pistols into the air,
and in every conlcelvable manner testifying their unboullnded  ladlcnss..As thl lolg lprocession moved on, fathers pointed,ut its peculiar features to their sons, and charged
thelll to r'elnel ber the day, and its history, to tell to
their ('hlil(d'ei  I Mothelrs lifted their little daughters,
to rcadl t}h  monttoesc emlblazonicd on the banners, and
to exsllall  the enmblelms that thronged the line of.marchi.  Were there ever before two such carnival
dlay. crowded into one,hort week?       Only a week
bIefo;re, the (chordls of the national heart were swept,by the wildest ccstasy of joy, as tidings of the fall
of Richmtl on d flas hed over the wires   and now the
lurrendlc ',of Lee ma(ld the nation fairly drunken with
delight   Peace had returned,"Nut like a mourner bowed
F,)r lhonor lt, anil lear ones wasted;
lBut l,r,,1l,l to meet a l(people proud,
With,v ls tl it toll,f triumlph tasted!
W1ho, <':,i', with handl upon tle hilt,
Andl step, that lprove' lier Victory's daughterL,(lrinir for lher, (,ur spirits wilt,
Like -hipwl,wreektl Ien's, on rafts, for water.
I'.:.,?, suclh:s montlit rs,rayed for, when
They ki —'d tlheir soJs, with lips that quivered;
W\' lii b)rinqs fair waf',s for brave menA nation:la'e'l! A race lelivere l '




PRESIDENT LINCOLN ASSASSINATED.


471


From the height of this exultation the nation was
swiftly precipitated to the very depths of despair.
On the fourteenth of April, President Lincoln was
assassinated, and the great joy of the previous two
weeks was drowned in passionate sorrow. Everything was forgotten in the presence of this overwhelming calamity. The air was solemn with the
toll of bells. Flags, bordered with crape, floated at
half-mast. Minute guns reverberated from vale to
hill, from mountain to mountain, and across the continent. Cities and towns and hamlets of the broad
land were draped in black. Business was suspended.
Men and women wept. At the call of the bells, the
churches were thronged with weeping congregations.
No attempt at comfort, nor any explanation of the
bitter dispensation was given, but all seemed benumbed by the national bereavement. Never was
a month so crowded with the conflicting emotions of
exultation and despair, as was the month of April,
1865. Richmond fell on the third, General Lee surrendered on the ninth, President Lincoln was assassinated on the fourteenth.
Despite the bitterness of the times, the honesty,
simplicity, and kindliness of President Lincoln had
greatly endeared him to the national heart, and the
people were thrilled with horror at the manner of his
death. He had piloted the nation wisely through its
stormiest years. Lacking superior mental qualities,
and failing of careful educational preparation for his
high office, singleness of purpose had guided him,
and the wisdom of his presidential life placed him
by the side of Washington, as his peer. Enemies,
as well as friends, bewailed his death.
The funeral obsequies were celebrated in the Ex



472   THE COUNTRY DRAPED IN MOURNING.
ecutive Mansion in Washington, and then the body
of the (lead iruler was borne to his former home in
Springfield, Ill.  The whole land was draped in
mourning, and the tolling of bells, and the wail of
funereal music accompanied the cortege, as it moved
across the continent on its solemn mission, to the
burial of the coffined corse.
And now began the disbanding of the army.
Regiments returned to their homes on almost every
train. The army of the Potomac, and the army led
by Sherman, were henceforth only to be known in
history. Comrades who had shared together the
perils of the picket-line and the storm of the battle;
exposure to the elements, and suffering from wounds;
the fatigue of the march, and the grapple with
swamp fever; the longing for home, and the inexpressible luxury of letters from dear ones left behind, now bade each other adieu.  Scarred and
maimed, these defenders of the Republic exchanged
the discomforts and privations of the camp, for the
solacing influence of their own firesides.  Henceforth, instead of the everlasting drum corps, and the
crack of musketry, they were to hear the voices of
wives and children, parents and friends.
They did not return as they went forth - strong
in numbers, with gleaming guns, stainless uniforms,
and brilliant banners.  But reduced in strength,
dust-stained, battle-scarred, war-worn, with faded
uniforms, tattered flags, sometimes with an empty
coat-sleeve, sometimes swinging on crutches. Whenever it was possible, as regiments passed through
Chicago on their way home, they were publicly
received. Addresses were made to them, and dinner
furnished at the Soldiers' Home, where the ladies




MOTLEY COLLECTION OF TREASURES.


473


were always in readiness to feed two hundred men.
Although they bore the unmistakable marks of
war in their appearance, they carried themselves
proudly, and responded with a will to the cheers
that were given them.
So motley a collection of treasures, picked up in
the South, as the returning soldiers bore home, one
does not often see. One had a yellow puppy, a little
barking nuisance, which nestled in his bosom,
although he was so sick with chills and fever, as
to be almost incapable of taking care of himself.
Another had a shrill-voiced, but gay parrot, in a
cumbersome cage - another a silken-haired spaniel
- another a pet rabbit - another a kitten from Fort
Sumter - another a mocking-bird, and the thoughtful fellow had cut off the skirts of his blouse, to
wrap around the songster's cage, to keep him warm.
They had relics, shells from the Gulf of Mexico,
curious insects in boxes, and slips of rare shrubbery,
set in potatoes, which they were going to plant at
home.
With some, there was a great parade of washing,
brushing, and furbishing up, so as to look respectable in their proposed walks about the city, while
waiting their departing train. These toilet performances met with every species of comical interference,
from their mischievous comrades. Apple, orange,
nut, and cake peddlers drove a thriving business
among them, every man within reach of the apple
woman investing largely in her wares.  Hilarious,
and full of rough fun, they waited impatiently for
the hour when they would leave Chicago. Their
conversation was mainly of the campaigns through
which they had passed, and the homes to which they




4741


ANXIOUS TO GET HOME.


were going.    Sometimes, as they recounted the
changes that had taken place in their absence, a
choking sob silenced them, or they dashed into a
fiolic to colnceal their e-lotions.
"I left foulr children when I went away," said
a middle-aged man; "and now, there is but one left.
I sha1ll miss my thllree little girls."
My motllher has died since I went into the service," said another in a low tone.
"They are going to p)ut me off at Denton," said a
thilrd, with an anxious face; "my wife is very low
with consulmption, and if I should be detained long,
I llight never see her."
Forl somLe, poor fellows! other changes were near
at hand.   For the labored breath, the incessant
couhll, tlle attenuated figure, and the hectic flush
predi ted a not far distant promotion to the higher
ranks, wher'e wars are unknown.
Thle're were enlisted into the service, during the
war, '28.501),()  men. By the first of November, 1865,
there lhad lben iitistered ont 1,023,021 men, and the
arin\  was lreduced to eleven thousand soldiers.
Thzee wer-le killed in battle during the war, fifty-six
thousand. There died of wounds and disease in the
militarv holpitals, two hundred and nineteen thousand. Therle dicel, after discharge, from disease contra(tt d duringl the sCerviC'e, eigllty thousand-making
a total l,-s of abou)lt three hundred thousand men.
A\,,)llt tw\( htllldred thousand were crippled or permIn:lletl v di.al lecl. One hundred and thirty-four thouItsI1l.slee1i inl ameless graves. Of colored troops,,one hlundred and eighty thousand enlisted, and thirty
thlou-anlld diedl.  The national debt June 30, 1865,
awml'-unted to $ 2,66,0,000.00.   During the war, the




GENEROUS GIFTS OF TlHE PEOPLE.


475


Sanitary Commission disbulrsed in money and supplies, not less thall $25,000,000.  The Christian
Commission disbursed $4,500,000.
These figures give a better idea of the war of the
rebellion, wvhich was gigantic in charactet'r, and,f
the immense sacrifices made by tlt pettpl), than:any
elaboralttC statement in words. The courage of the
nation Iprove1d equal to tle grIeat teergcy.  Its
patri(,tism never fihltcred, its tl ltl il thile l)peliialeI'(y
of the undivided Republic g'rcw 11ighritici':t the
contest \was protraIcted.  But nevcr wa1s a nation
mo11re Iprofoundlly thanlkfll for the (ceslsattionl () warI
than were the Amierican pLc plce  T11e! turnedl wAith
infinite gladness to the duties of p' acc -tley soug ht
to forget the dark days of conflict tllhrough which
they had toiled.  Quietly, and without any friction,
the vast airmvy was resolved into its ori,/_.ginaIl elemen11ts,
iand slldiers becamei agrain civilians, Imelinubes o(f
homes, and cmiipl) icnt  of families.  A    grat.eful
nation still hlonors the memories of thosc who fell in
the conflict. caries tenderli  for tlhose who were disabled, and cherishes their stricken families.




CHAPTER XXIV.
MOTHER BICKERDYKE-STORY OF A REMARKABLE WOMANHER MOTHERLY CARE OF THE "BOYS IN BLUE" -HOSPITAL SIGHTS AND SCENES-ON THE BATTLE-FIELD AT
NIGHT.
A remarkable Woman - Sent into the Service at Cairo by Ladies of Galesburl, 111.- Improvises a sick-diet Kitchen —Stratagem to detect the
Thieves who steal her Delicacies - "Peaches don't seem to agree with
you, ehl?" - Colonel (now General)Grant removes the dishonest Officials - Mother Bickerdyke after the Battle of Donelson —A Surgeon's
Testllllony - She extemporizes a Laundry- Is associated with Mrs.
Porter of Chicago - After the Battle of Shiloh- " I get my Authority
from the Lord God Almighty; have you anything that ranks higher?"1ler System of foraging- Her " Night-Gowns " as hospital Shirts- "Say
you jerked them from the Secesh, Boys!" -Experiences at CorinthFinds a dying Soldier left in a Tent.
I MONG the hundreds of women who devoted
a part or the whole of the years of the war
to the care of the sick and wounded of the
army, "Mother Bickerdyke" stands            preeminent.    Others were as heroic and consecrated as she, as unwearied in labors, and as
unselfish and self-sacrificing.   But sne was unique in
method, extraordinary in executive ability, enthusiastic in devotion, and indomitable in will. After her
plans were formed, and her purposes matured, she
carried them   through triumphantly, in the teeth of
the most formidable opposition. She gave herself to
the rank and file of the army, - the private soldiers,
476




" MOTHER BICKERDYKE."


477


- for whom she had unbounded tenderness, and developed almost limitless resources of help and comfort.
To them she was strength and sweetness; and for
them she exercised sound, practical sense, a ready
wit, and a rare intelligence, that made her a power
in the hospital, or on the field. There was no peril
she would not dare for a sick and wounded man, no
official red tape of formality for which she cared
more than for a common tow string, if it interfered
with her in her work of relief. To their honor be it
said, the "boys" reciprocated her affection most
heartily. " That homely figure, clad in calico, wrapped
in a shawl, and surmounted with a' Shaker ' bonnet,
is more to this army than the Madonna to a Catholic! " said an officer, pointing to Mother Bickerdyke,
as she emerged from the Sanitary Commission headquarters, in Memphis, laden with an assortment of
supplies. Every soldier saluted her as she passed;
and those who were at leisure relieved her of her
burden, and bore it to its destination. To the entire
army of the West she was emphatically "Miother
Bickerdyke." Nor have the soldiers forgotten her
in her poverty and old age. They remember her
to-day in many a tender letter, and send her many a
small donation to eke out her scanty and irregular
income.
I was intimately associated with this remarkable
woman during the war. Whenever she came to Chicago, on brief furloughs from armny work, my house
was her home. Utterly regardless of her own comfort, and ignoring her personal needs, it was absolutely essential that some one should care for her;
and this grateful work I took into my own hande.




478


A REMARKABLE WOMAN.


Whatever were her troubles, hindrances, or liabilities,
I persuaded her to entrust them to me; and, with the
help of Mrs. Hoge, my inseparable co-worker, she
was relieved of them. Little by little, I learned the
story of her early life from her own lips,- a story
of struggle with poverty, hard fate, and lack of
opportunity, but glorified, as were her maturer years,
by unselfishness and a spirit of helpfulness, that recognized the claims of every needy creature. Such of
the incidents of the following sketch as did not come
under my own observation were narrated to me by
Mrs. Bickerdyke herself. I only regret my inability
to repeat them in her language.
Mary A. Bickerdyke was born in Knox County,
Ohio, July 19, 1817. She came of Revolutionary
ancestors, and was never happier than when recounting fiagments of her grandfather's history, who
served under ~Washington during the whole seven
years' struggle. When Washington made the memotable passage across the Delaware, her grandfather
was one of those detailed to keep the fires burning
on the shore, and crossed in one of the last boats.
She married, when about twenty-five, a widower with
four or five children, by whom she has been beloved
as if she were their natural mother, and between
whom and her own two sons she has never seemed
to know any difference. The marriage was a happy
one, although I suspect that the immense energy and
tireless industry of the busy wife proved, sometimes,
annoying to the easy-going husband. His death occurred about two years before the breaking out of
the war. I have heard heher tell married men, in a sort
of warning way, and very seriously, that she really
believed her husband might have lived twenty years




HER INFLUENCE FELT EVERYWHERE.


479


longer, if he had not worn himself into the grave
trying to boss her. "c He wanted me to do everything
in his way," she would say, " and just as he did; but
his way was too slow, I couldn't stand it."
She was living in Galesburg, Ill., and was a member of Rev. Dr. Edward Beecher's church when the
war of the rebellion broke out. Hardly had the
troops reached Cairo, when, from the sudden change
in their habits, their own imprudence, and the ignorance of their commanders on all sanitary points,
sickness broke out among them. At the suggestion
of the ladies of Galesburg, who had organized to do
something for the country - they hardly knew what
at that time - Mrs. Bickerdyke went down among
them. Her well-known skill as a nurse, the fertility
of her resources, her burning patriotism, and her possession of that rare combination of qualities which
we call " common sense," had always enabled her to
face any emergency.
There was at that time little order, system, or discipline anywhere. In company with Mary Safford,
then living in Cairo, she commenced an immediate
systematic work in the camp and regimental hospitals at Cairo and Bird's Point. In the face of obstacles of every kind, she succeeded in working a great
change for the better in the condition of the sick.
The influence of her energetic, resolute, and systematic spirit was felt everywhere; and the loyal
people of Cairo gladly aided her in her voluntary
and unpaid labors. A. room was hired for her, and a
cooking-stove set up for her especial use. She improvised a sick-diet kitchen, and carried thence to
the sick in the hospitals the food she had prepared
for them. The first assortment of delicacies for the




480


FACING A DltUNKEN SURGEON.


sick sent to Cairo by the Chicago Sanitary Commi-ni
sion, were given to her for distribution. Almost all
the hospital supplies sent fiom the local societies of
Chicago or Illinois, were, for a time, given to her
tlutstworthy care.
After the battle of Belmont she was appointed
matron of the large post hospital at Cairo, which
was filled with the wounded. She found time, howeve', to work for, and to visit daily, every other hospital in the town. The surgeon who appointed her
was skilful and competent, but given to drunkenness; and he had little sympathy with his patients.
He had filled all the positions in the hospitals with
surgeons and officers of his sort, and bacchanalian
carousals in the "doctor's room" were of frequent
occurrence. In twenty-four hours Mother Bickerdyke and he were at swords' points. She denounced
him to his face; and, when the garments and delicacies sent her for the use of the sick and wounded
disappeared mysteriously, she charged their theft
upon him and his subordinates.
He ordered her out of his hospital, and threatened
to put her out if she did not hasten her departure.
She replied that "she should stay as long as the men
needed her-that if he put her out of one door
she should come in at another; and if he barred all
the doors against her, she should come in at the windows, and that the patients would help her in. When
anybody left it would be he, and not she," she assured him, "as she had already lodged complaints
against him at headquarters." "Conscience makes
cowards of us all"; and he did not proceed to expel
her, as he might have done, and probably would, if
his cause had been just.




"PEACHES DON'T AGREE WITH YOU, EH?" 481
But though she was let alone, this was not the
case with her supplies for the sick and woundedthey were stolen continually. She caught a wardmaster dressed in the shirt, slippers, and socks that
had been sent her, and, seizing him by the collar, in
his own ward, she disrobed him sans cbrbmonie before
the patients. Leaving him nude save his pantaloons,
she uttered this parting injunction: " Now, you rascal, let's see what you'll steal next l" To ascertain
who were the thieves of the food she prepared, she
resorted to a somewhat dangerous ruse. Purchasing
a quantity of tartar emetic at a drug store, she mixed
it with some stewed peaches that she had openly
cooked in the kitchen, telling Tom, the cook, that
"she wanted to leave them on the kitchen table over
night to cool." Then she went to her own room to
await results.
She did not wait long. Soon the sounds of suffering from the terribly sick thieves reached her ears,
when, like a Nemesis, she stalked in among them.
There they were, cooks, table-waiters, stewards, wardmasters, - all save some of the surgeons, - suffering
terribly from the emetic, but more from the apprehension that they were poisoned. "Peaches don't seem
to agree with you, eh?" she said, looking on the
pale, retching, groaning fellows with a sardonic
smile. " Well, let me tell you that you will have a
worse time than this if you keep on stealingl You
may eat something seasoned with ratsbane one of
these nights."
Her complaints of theft were so grievous that
there was sent her from the Sanitary Commission in
Chicago a huge refrigerator with a strong lock. She
received it with great joy, and, putting into it the




482   " I NEVER WANT TO SEE HIM AGAIN."
delicacies, sick-diet, milk, and other hospital dainties
of which she had especial charge, she locked it in
presence of the cook, defying him and his companions. " You have stolen the last morsel from me
that you ever will," she said, " for I intend always to
carry the key of the refrigerator in my pocket."
That very night the lock of the refrigerator was
broken, and everything appetizing inside was stolen.
The depredation was clearly traced to Tom. This
was too much for Mother Bickerdyke. Putting on
her Shaker bonnet, she hastened to the provostmarshal, where she told her story so effectively that
he sent a guard to the hospital kitchen, arrested the
thievilg cook, and locked him in the guard-house.
The arrest was made so quickly and silently, from
the rear of the hospital, that only Mother Bickerdyke
anld two or three of the patients knew it; and, as she
enlJoined sec (recy, Tom's sudden disappearance was
involvled in1 mystery.
Greatly mollified at this riddance of her enemy,
Mother Bickerdlyke courteously offered to "run the
kitchen " until Tom returned; and Dr. -  accepted
the prlop, sal.
"I am afraid," said the doctor, as days passed, and
no tidings of Tom were received, "I am afraid that
Torn went 1onl a spree, and fell off the levee into the
river, and is dr(,,wled."
Sm;all loss! " replied sententious Mother Bickerldvke1: " I never waint to see him again'."
(;olilgrt to te 'ulard-house a week after, on some
erailnd,l. the (1o(toll discovered the lost cook, and
ilimeliately sougrht his release. He was too late.
Mother Bickerdykte had made such char,'es algainst
him, and the other subordinates of the hospital, that




THE DRUNKEN SURGEON REMOVED.


483


the provost-marshal investigated them. Finding
them true, he laid them before General Grant -then
Colonel -who was in command of that department.
He ordered the men sent back to their regiments,
and better officials were detailed in their places.
Their removal was followed shortly after by that of
the surgeon, and Dr. Taggart, one of the noblest
men, was put in his place. The story of Mother
Bickerdyke's exploits in this hospital preceded her
in the army. The rank and file learned that she was
in an especial sense their friend, and dishonest and
brutal surgeons and officials, of whom there were not
a few, in the early months of the war, understood, in
advance, that she could neither be bought nor frightened. Throughout the war, the prestige of her hospital life in Cairo clung to her.
After the battle of Donelson, Mother Bickerdyke
went from Cairo in the first hospital boat, and
assisted in the removal of the wounded to Cairo, St.
Louis, and Louisville, and in nursing those too badly
wounded to be moved. The Sanitary Commission
had established a depot of stores at Cairo, and on
these she was allowed to make drafts ad libitum: for
she was as famous for her economical use of sanitary
stores as she had been before the war for her notable housewifery. The hospital boats at that time
were poorly equipped for the sad work of transporting the wounded. But this thoughtful woman, who
made five of the terrible trips from the battle-field of
Donelson to the hospital, put on board the boat with
which she was connected, before it started from
Cairo, an abundance of necessaries.  There was
hardly a want expressed for which she could not
furnish some sort of relief.




4S 1


TO ALL SHE MINISTERED TENDERLY.


On the way to the battle-field, she systematized
matters perfectly.  The beds were ready for the
occupants, tea, coffee, soup and gruel, milk punch
and ice waterl were prepared in large quantities,
under hclr slupervision, and sometimes by her own
hanld. AWhen the wounded were brought on board,
-mangled almot out of human sliape; the frozen
grounrl l fi'oin which thely had been cut adhering to
them; chill'd witl the intense cold in which some
had lain for tw\nity-four hours; faint with loss of
blood, 1phlsical a'onlly, and lack of nourishment;
ra.cked with a terrible five-mile ride over fiozen
roads, in ambullanccs, or comimon Tennessee farm
wag,1,s, without lspl'l-,gs; burning with fever; raving
in dteliriulm, or iln the itfintness of death, - Mother
Bi(kclrdtl;ykes boat w1as in readiness for them.
"I ne 1(verl saw ainyblody like her," said a volunteer
s11Lut 'e)ln who calme1 on the,boat with her. " There
was really notllinr for us surgeons to do but dress
w,(,  1(ls anlld aIiminisi.ter medicines.  She drew out
c(leanl shirts,or draw'ers. from some corner, whenever
they were eelde(l. Nourishment was ready for every
man a;s s)on, ats lie was brought on board. Every
one Va.s.so lllcd f'omn blood and the frozen mire of
the battle-fieldl, as fahr as his condition allowed. Iis
bl,)1(d-stitI;encdl and sometimes horribly filthy uniformn. was excharnged f;,r soft and clean hospital
arments. Ilnces.ant cries of " Mother! AMother!
IMotherI  ' r'anl thlrough the boat, in every note of
l,)e(.chling, and anguish.  And to every man she
turned with a heavenly tenderness, as if he were
indeed her son. She moved about with a decisive
air, and grave directions in such decided, clarion
tones as to ensure prompt obedience. We all had




"%I''
.   -
I     I t,jt 
I i-y
"IV
"'..1..0 -,
-.4
4t;tl.
1-.1, C,..


FV —  %%.  " I "
'i.0 A, ,
1,   I...


- I -
-,et


'N


44
'4'
O.II,. 4
ri. 4.1
'oI I
VI I.1,
1,
14?AP,4,I-,- I
k.
- -.,t I


3 -- r I.0 -


 4.
1#1.3,,
— &    11      if., 04..,,
i ".     -.


41.,?                 I   — k   
i:         AV. -,
S'.
'L
I
'i 4;: 
I,v
1V*
la.,%.        4,




i'sI


'T*$      A    L i,   ' —  i 'A""   "#    ' ', U*  Ile -    -,       1" ", "S" "I - ", s  N',.


DOR'tIS'itel.T  be&) v~ tre rva dy fbi' th1-e
04).h;,itlikt.', soup1:1TV,~re1 iinilk puiti*b1
1 tt  W4:et(PaI in lai'o'e (juanlitiue%.11
V~'Vr-Oli(11 01vk -somnctnies by her ownk
10 w1* Qd i  weVr( br-ought oni i
dt K huan shape; the% 1'f tra
I  h-id bWCeu CLt adh e ruig (  (j
-~.~ a i'lu imitewm(- cold ini which souiae
uir Ih' urs; fi-tiit, with loss (4
and lack of" nourishmeat;
iiv.-mile ride over froi '
of, (Olflfll0l Teninetssee lar
D1 b11furn with 1'cvci'; raving
Fima'.,' of death, -A.-I-other
t _.  r i~ I:adi c's for thluw.
Th, i*tt       ke tier,' said a volunteer
"AIt eani-1e Onl the boat withi her. "There
nothmyhW- For us, surgyeonis to (lo but dress
Al I mI n#1nuini,-;er tmedicinies.  She drew  out
i-jq (,,t raW c & s, fromi some corner, whenever
~ 4.  \irihmenit '   ready for- every
i~tt wa.-~ brought q'n board. Ev':-rv
fr'.4 h'x~and t he frozen mire of
)fi coutit ion allowed. His
U141itns h rribly filthy uni-  h!i    and clean hospital
I I)~f  ~i~  -ir  of'  Mother  Mthr.1i~g throuigi.  bot 'Inl ever  not of
0~r1ivt alm       A. d to ever   ma     ise
I.th lia hca~' vha~rness, as if he were
Y-r s f   >Y,;.tt 61A*d about with a decisive
"Siv! g'ti  d'I r e ti — I i such decided, clarion
is o~ vit-ure p1 '5iija oixdedtit-se.  Xe aill had




I  t 1.,,,Lr- A -       Is;'








ON THE BATTLE-FIELD AT NIGHT.


487


an impression that she held a commission from the
Secretary of War, or at least from the Governor of
Illinois. To every surgeon who was superior, she
held herself subordinate, and was as good at obeying
as at commanding." And yet, at that time, she held
no position whatever, and was receiving no compensation for her services; not even the beggarly pittance of thirteen dollars per month allowed by
government to army nurses.
At last it was believed that all the wounded had
been removed from the field, and the relief parties
discontinued their work. -Looking fiomn his tent at
midnight, an officer observed a faint light flitting
hither and thither on the abandoned battle-field, and,
after puzzling over it for some time, sent his servant
to ascertain the cause. It was Mother Bickerdyke,
with a lantern, still groping among the dead. Stooping down, and turning their cold faces towards her,
she scrutinized them searchingly, uneasy lest some
might be left to die uncared for. She could not rest
while she thought any were overlooked who were
yet living.
Up to this time, no attempt had been made to save
the clothing and bedding used by the wounded men
on the transports and in the temporary hospitals.
Saturated with blood, and the discharges of healing
wounds, and sometimes swarming with vermin, it had
been collected, and burned or buried. But this involved much waste; and as these articles were in constant need, Mother Bickerdyke conceived the idea of
saving them. She sent to the Commission at Chicago
for washing-machines, portable kettles, and mangles,
and caused all this offensive clothing to be collected.
She then obtained from the authorities a full detail of




488


ENDURING COLD AND HUNGER.


conltrabands, and superlintended the laundering of all
tllhese hideously fibul garments. Packed in boxes, it
all came again into use at the next battle.
This work once begun, Mother Bickerdyke never
interinitted.  HIei' washing-machines, her portable
kettles, her posse of contrabands, an ambulance or
two, and one or two handy (letailed soldiers, were in
her retinue after this, wherever she went.   How
multlch she saved to the go',ernmient, anld to the Sanitary (Co.Miinission11, 1111ia be ilnferred fronm the fact that
it vwas no unusual thing for three or four thousand
pieces to pass through her extemporized laundry in a
day. Each piece was returned to the hospital from
which it was takenl, or, if it belonged to no place in
particutlar, was used;i, tratnsitd. She saw it boxed,:and the 1)boxes (delosited in some safe place, where
shel c uld easilx 'reach them in time of need.
l)urnl  a la1rge l)part of her army life, Mrs Bickerdvkc 1:was a  iiatel with, and most efficiently suppleminitedl 1)v, M'rs. Eliza Porter, wife of a Congregationall,-t cl((ermlan of Chicago.  She entered the
se.N ice in tlhe beg1trining, as did her associate, and
turnled noIt f'roi, tht. work until the war ended. Togethtler tlhey worked in the hospitals, enduring cold
and hunger,' dw Illin.P amid constant alarms, breathinw thle tainted aill of wounds and sickness, and foregJ,,,IlI e, v' sc.ties of enjo\ mient save that which
C((Iit - fol'lm the ( on-,iott lne.ss of duties well done.
Vlnik,, in all rc.,pets, the)  harmonized admirably;
and etach I(.helped the othe:r. Mrs. Bickeirdvke came
le- It'requently into collis-ion with (flieials when in
(,( )i\lp]lv )-   ith Mr-. Porter; and the,,obstacle s in the
ay (f tile latter were more readix overcome when
tlhe enIergy of,Mrts. Bickerdyke opposed them. Mrs.




BATTLE OF SHILOH.


489


Porter patiently won her way, and urged her claims
mildly but persistently. Mrs. Bickerdyke was heedless of opposition, which only nerved her to a more
invincible energy; and she took what she claimed,
no matter who opposed. Both were very dear to the
soldiers, from each of whom they expected sympathy
and pity, as well as courage and help.
After the wounded of Donelson were cared for,
Mrs. Bickerdyke left the hospitals, and went back
into the army. There was great sickness among our
troops at Savannah, Tenn. She had already achieved
such a reputation for devotion to the men, for executive ability, and versatility of talent, that the spirits
of the sick and wounded revived at the very sound
of her voice, and at the sight of her motherly face.
While busy here, the battle of Shiloh occurred, nine
miles distant by the river, but only six in a direct
line. There had been little provision made for the
terrible needs of the battle-field in advance of the
conflict. The battle occurred unexpectedly, and was
a surprise to our men, - who nearlyl suffered defeat,
- and again there was utter destitution and incredible suffering. Three days after the battle, the boats
of the Sanitary Commission arrived at the Landing,
laden with every species of relief,- condensed food,
stimulants, clothing, bedding, medicines, chloroform,
surgical instruments, and carefully selected volunteer
nurses and surgeons. They were on the ground
some days in advance of the government boats.
Here Mother Bickerdyke was found, carrying system, order, and relief wherever she went. One of
the surgeons went to the rear with a wounded man,
and found her wrapped in the gray overcoat of a
rebel officer, for she had disposed of her blanket




490   GOD'S AUTHORITY FOR HUMANE WORK.
shawl to some poor fellow who needed it. She was
wearing a soft slouch hat, having lost her inevitable
Shaker bonnet. Her kettles had been set up, the fire
kindled underneath, and she was dispensing hot soup,
tea, crackers, panado, whiskey and water, and other
refreshments, to the shivering, fainting, wounded
men.
" Where did you get these articles? " he inquired;
" and under whose authority are you at work? "
She paid no heed to his interrogatories, and, indeed, did not hear them, so completely absorbed was
she in her work of compassion. Watching her with
admiration for her skill, administrative ability, and
intelligence, - for she not only fed the wounded men,
but temporarily dressed their wounds in some cases,
he approached her again: -
"Madam, you seem to combine in yourself a sickdiet kitchen and a medical staff. May I inquire
under whose authority you are working? "
Without pausing in her work, she answered him,
"I have received my authority from the Lord God
Almighty; have you anything that ranks higher than
that?" The truth was, she held no position whatever at that time. She was only a " volunteer nurse,"
having received no appointment, and being attached
to no corps of relief.
The Chicago boat took down over one hundred
boxes of sanitary stores, on which she was allowed
to draw. But they were only as a drop in the bucket
among the twelve thousand wounded, lying in extemporized hospitals in and around Savannah. Other
consignments of sanitary goods were made to her
from Chicago and Springfield, Ill. The agents of
the St. Louis and Cincinnati Commissions gave to




SCORNED ALL DANGER.


her freely, when she made requisition on them. When
every other resource failed, Mother Bickerdyke would
take an ambulance, and one of her detailed soldiers
as driver, and go out foraging. Never returned she
empty-handed. The contrabands were her friends
and allies; and she always came back with eggs,
milk, butter, and fowls, which were the main objects
of her quest. These foraging expeditions sometimes
placed her in great peril; but she scorned any
thought of danger where the welfare of the boys was
concerned.
After she became an agent of the Sanitary Commission, we endeavored to keep her supplied with
what she needed. But emergencies were constantly
arising which she could not foresee, and for which
the Commission could not provide, which would
throw her on her own resources; and these never
failed her. Sometimes, when opportunities for purchasing hospital supplies came in her way, she would
buy largely, and send the bills to the Commission
with her endorsement. Again, at other times of
great need, she would borrow money, exlend it for
the boys in her charge, and, sending to Mrs. Hoge
and myself vouchers and notes, would leave the affair
with us to settle.
The gentlemen of the Commission. while they had
no doubt that the good woman made a legitimate
use of the money and of the articles purchased, objected to these irregular and unbusine.ss-like transactions; and they were in the right. Again and again
have we taken these bills, notes, and vouchers into
our hands, and raised money to pay them outside the
Commission, among personal friends who knew Mrs.
Bickerdyke through sons, husbands, and brothers.




492


SUSTAINED IN HER GOOD WORK.


They believed she should be sustained in her wondelrfuil work, even though she were a little irregular
in her proceedillngs.
The ladies of the city and country were continually sending Mi's. Bickerdyke boxes of clothing for
her own use. In her life of hard work, her clothes
vwere soon worn out; and as she never had time to
bestow on herself, slie was greatly in need of such
kindnesses.  ReseIt vinl for herself a few articles of
lwhich she had imlperative need, she would take the
remaielrl of the garm;lnents in her ambulance to the,Southerll women in the neighboring country, and
pedd(ll themn for honey, fiuit, milk, cggs, and butter,
of' which she neverl could have too much.
Amnollg the articles sent hcr at one time were two
very eleallnt l](1g nlight-dresses, embroidered, and
triinmced with ruffles and lace. They were the gift
of' very d(ear frielnds; and she had some scruples
about barteIrinng tlhem away as she did other garmcints. Retur'ning with the " plunder" she had receivc(l in exchangee for her superfluous clothing, she
cross.ed a railroad track, on which stood a train of
box cars.  Stopping the ambulance, she began to
explore them, according to her usual custom. Inside
of ole were two wounded soldiers going home on
furlouihh. Their unhealed wounds were undressed,
and full of verlmin; they we-re wetak for lack of food,
we'Ce d prlessed and discouraged, and in all respects
we're in a velry solrry plight.
b HuInlph!" said Mother Bickerdyke; " now I see
what them furbelowed night-gowns were sent down
here for. The Lord meant I should put 'em to a
good us.e, after all "
The wounds,f the poor fellows were washed and




" MY SAKES I THIS IS LUCKY I"


493


cleansed. Tearing off bandages from the bottom of
the night-dresses, she properly dressed and bandaged
them. Socks, and drawers, and handkerchiefs were
found in the ambulance; but she was entirely destitute of shirts. A happy thought came to her.
" Here, boys," she said; '< put on the upper half of
these night-gowns; they're just the thing. My
sakes I but this is lucky! "
But to this the men decidedly objected. "They
would wear the dirty, tattered shirts, that had not
been changed in two months, rather than go home in
a woman's night-gown! "
" Oh, pshaw, boys  don't be fools!" persisted
practical Mother Bickerdyke. " Night gowns, or
night shirts; what's the odds? These will be softer
to your wounds; and Heaven knows they're enough
sight cleaner. Put 'em on, and wear 'em home. If
anybody says anything, tell them you've jerked 'em
from the secesh, and the folks will think a heap sight
more of you for it."
The men were persuaded, and got into the nondescript garments. In passing through Chicago, they
halted for a brief rest at the Soldiers' Home, where,
when their wounds were dressed, their outdr shirts
were discovered, marked in indelible ink, with Mrs.
Bickerdyke's name. We offered to exchange them
for genuine hospital shirts; but the men had had
such sport already, that they clung to the abbreviated
night-gowns, one of which is to-day preserved in a
Wisconsin household as a sacred relic.
As the Savannah hospitals were vacated by the
transfer of the men farther North, Mother Bickerdyke, still keeping in the immediate rear of the army,
was sent to Farmington. Here was one large hos80




494


BATTLE OF CORINTH.


pital, of which she was appointed matron. The
wounded of the battle of Iuka were brought here,
and those disabled in various skirmishes. Here for
the two months of July and August, amid incessant
alarms fiom the enemy, Mother Bickerdyke stood at
her post, personally superintending the cooking,
washing, and nursing of some thousands of sick and
wounded men. The hospitals were then removed to
Corinth, where the elevated ground gave promise of
a healthier situation, and the defences of the town
secured perfect safety.
Hardly were the hospitals in running order again,
hardly had Mother Bickerdyke again extemporized
her laundry and diet kitchens, before the battle of
Corinth was fought. On the second day of the
fight, to her horror, her hospital came within range
of the enemy's artillery, and the fearful missiles of
death fell with fatal precision among her helpless
men. There was no alternative but to remove the
poor fellows again. Worn out with the heat and
her unparalleled labors, while shot and shell, and
grape and canister were dealing death around her,
she bent her energies to this unaccustomed work.
They were removed to a beautiful grove within the
range of the hostile guns, where shot and shell
passed harmlessly over them. After the battle, they
were carried back to their hospitals.
This battle greatly increased the labors of Mother
Bickerdyke. She had learned how to take care of
meln brought in from the battle-field, and was always
prepared with soups, tea, coffee, milk punch, stimulants, rags, bandages, and whatever else might be
needed. The rebel wounded fell into her hands, and,
bitterly as our heroine hated the "secesh," all the




It
VV
Al  IT
4.




I            (4.


pe ~tV I '  4
~I.


Ot R4hi N-A! j~~iwi slr'uis~hes.  Here for
1~,J  t, ".ii  \ linust., ami'd ine(essant
'the~le' Bickerclyke stoodl at
PjNroin-tending the cook'Ing,
-(.mnie thousands of sick and
i(;itals wtere then removed to
1051~ ground gatve promise o
tlthe, dvl'Ocuces of the towh


in running order agan',J#A,,yL- again extempor':d
o ltore the battles of
)'I - fl e-econd daiy of the
came withi~ r'ange
W11.1 tl,( fearfuil mis-iles c~f
u~ui p(:~slItamongv itfr helpl(#-,C
kik, altkv1'11-ltive( but to removeth
WV'0r1s )uit with flwv heat and
dhorS', hIi., sh;OtI andf)( shdll, anid
v'(vI'e dtuig4r (letith aroufld her,
-tome d work.
'h  zr~ve within the,
~ irt ~,dot and shell
i he battle, they
t h     'r  f Mother
1)  to taike care of
*0 —iv41eH, Itk11d was alwaxlys
Ii   b~t milk punch, stinm- hatever el-se might be
tt ret1'wll 'IIinto her hands, and,
lur twcroane huated the " secesh,  all the




r
Iz
k.


I..








HER WORK NEVER DONE.


497


bitterness died out of her heart when the wounded
in gray uniforms were left to her tender mercies.
She became a mother to them, as to the boys in blue.
Her work was arduous beyond description.  Had
she been contented to perform her work as a matter
of routine, it would have been easy for her, but this
would not suffice her great heart and conscientious
nature. Her work was never done. If anything
could be suggested to save a man who was dying,
to soothe, or inspire, encourage, or strengthen a
patient who was anxious or disheartened, her work
was not done until this was accomplished. Nowhere
in her department was there neglect or suffering,
misrule or waste.
Orders had been given to bring the wounded lying
in tents into her large hospital, as fast as there was
room for them. At last she was informed that the
tents were all vacated. With her habit of seeing for
herself if the work was done, she went fiom tent to
tent, examining them.  Turning from   one, she
thought she saw a movement under a heap of
blankets in a corner. She l  aised the nauseous, flycovered blanket, and there lay a man, still breathing,
but hardly alive. He had been shot through both
cheeks, a part of his tongue had been cut off, which
was swollen to bursting in his mouth, and the left
shoulder and leg were broken. How long he had
been forgotten, no one could tell; but the flies had
rioted in his wounds, and he was in a most lamentable condition.
He was brought on a stretcher immediately to her
hospital, when she devoted herself to his restoration,
fighting grim death inch by inch, hour by hour, until
she came off conqueror, and the man recovered. He




4!9S


CALLS HER "HIS SAVIOR."


is living to-day, and is proud to call Mother Bickerdykc his savior. It was something to witness the
temlpest that burst over the heads of the men who
had been commissioned to remove the wounded, and
had passed by this poor fellow. Mother Bickerdyke
was. mercTiless on such an occasion, and flashed such
lighltlings of wrath on the offenders as to astonish
tllhem into) slpecclessness. Nothing so aroused her
as carelessness, r1' neglect of the helpless, the sick,
or tlhe wounded. She would work day and night
herself, to reclicvc suffering, and she was impatient,
even to severity, to witlinss indifference or neglect
on thce pa't of o'thers. Her only thought was to help
the 1,poor oldiers; and she did this in a way that
sc(ured( the favor of man, and the approbation of
tHeaven.




CHAPTER XXV.
TRILLNZ  q INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF MOTHER BICKERDYKE-UHER POSPITAL EXPERIENCES-HER FIRST FURLOUGH-R RE'T'RN TO THE FRONT-FIGHTING THE DOCTORS-A 'COW-AND-HEN EXPEDITION.
She is much worn down - Extremely Perilous to remain longer without Rest
-Her Health demands a Respite from her Labors for a Time- Comes
to my House on her Furlough - Attends a Wedding- " Have enjoyed
your Wedding as if it were a Prayer-Meeting!" - Calls Meetings to
raise Supplies - Returns to the Frolt, organizes and regenerates Hospitals- Re-organizes her Laundries in Memphis- Quarrels with the Medical Director —Outgenerals him — " One of us two goes to the Wall, and
'taint never me! " - The Storm finally ends In Sunshine - They become
Friends- He sends her North on a Cow-and-Hen Expedition -Returns
with a hundred Cows, and a thousand Hens- Improved Condition of
the Hospitals -Confided in everywhere - Impatient of Red Tape -
Cared little for Sect, but much for the Comfort of the Soldiers.
h N  November, 1862, Mrs. Bickerdyke           was
compelled, for the first time, to take a furl ough.     She   was    thoroughly   worn    out,
although she would not admit it, and was as
indomitable in will, and      as Herculean in
energy, as at the first.      But the medical director and    the  surgeons    under whose      immediate
direction she was then working, and who were noble
men   and   her personal friends, saw      that she    had
reached a point of nervous exhaustion when it was
extremely perilous for her to remain longer at her
post. They compelled her to take a furlough. She
came direct to Chicago, and, as I had requested, to
499




"VERY MANY ALL SHOT TO PIECES."


my holuse. I was not at home when she arrived, but
1re.turned that evening. " Norwegian Martha," who
had presided in my kitchen for years, and who had
never l)e fire seen AMother Bickerdyke, informed me
of the new arrival in ciaracteristic style.
"Awotlher one ~amor'e of them nurse woman have
(.omf  with some carp.)et-bag, Martha said. (The
nllt'ss sn(lt )by tile Comiliiission into the service had
ma:le im' house a sort of lheadqtlarters as they passed
through thle citN, a plroeteding greatly disapproved
bv Martha )    This one have no afraid to do anythitinr an1l have make her'self to take a bath, and have
put hiertel' to bed till sull)per time. She say she have
M.' rV man? hundred miles rode, and very many alls/oft-lp " -shot to 1)wees -" soldiers to take care
o,; and she.be got awful tired, and, poor woman, she
lo,,ok s,, (,i( k). But she have make me to think of
mv pio, mothlwr, what make herself to die in Norway
with so in(ieh wolrk too har'd, before to this country I
(oilc. I like thlis nurse woman whlat have come more
than the ret-t that -tayed away."  The influence of,otlher BickerdNke's great maternal heart was felt
e vet'rvwhe're.
After tea, I accompanied my family to the wedding
of a friend. which' was solemnized in a church near
V)5. Wearie d as AIMother Bickerdyke was, she insisted
on makingsr one tf the company. She believed it would
re-t 1lhe to see the insidc of a meeting-house; it was
a si^rht that had not blessed her eyes for eighteen
moThstlh,:he.said. It was an intensely tedious ceremonv; for the old eler,ryman who officiated at the
marriage added to a very long prayer, a Scripture
readinr and a   full half-hour's exhortation to good
living, with directions for accomplishing it, which he




"ENJOYED YOUR WEDDING VERY MUCH."


501


counted off, firstly, secondly, thirdly, and so on. It
was a sermon, in fact. After the marriage, the newly
wedded halted for a few moments in the church
parlor, to take leave of their friends, as they were to
proceed directly to the train, en route for the distant
city of their future residence. Mother Bickerdyke
was introduced, at her request; for she had learned
that the young husband held the rank of major in
one of the Illinois regiments.
"My dear," said our motherly heroine in a naive
way to the bride," I have enjoyed your wedding very
much; it has done me as much good as a prayermeeting. I am very much refirshed by it." (She
had slept through the interminable service.) "I am
sure you will make your husband a good wife, for
you have got the face of a good girl; and I hope you
and he will live together a good many years. If he
gets wounded in battle, and falls into my hands, I
will try to take good care of him for you."
"Why, Mother Bickerdyke! God bless you! I
am glad to see you!" burst out the bridegroom, with
a mighty welcome. "You have already taken care
of me. After the battle of Donelson I was brought
up on one of the boats filled with wounded men, and
you took care of me, as you did of the rest, like a
mother. Don't you remember a lieutenant who had
a minie-ball in his leg; and the doctors wanted to
amputate the leg, and he fought against their doing
it, and how you helped him keep it? I am the man.
Here's the old leg, good as new. I have been promoted since." But she could not recall his case
among the thousands more seriously wounded whom
she had since carefully nursed.
This one wedding, attended on the first evening of




502


INCREASE OF SUPPLIES SECURED.


her arrival, was the only recreation of her furlough.
The very next morning she set herself to work to
stimulate tlh increase of supplies, which were called
fori now in lgeater quantities than ever. A meeting
of the ladies of the city was called in Bryan Hall,
and to them the earlinest woman made so eloquent an
appeal, backLed by suchl thrilling statements, that they
(colnsctrated thelnselves anew to the work of relieving
oull' blrave 1enll. She pursued the same course at
MIil\ aukee, Slrill -field, (;alesburg, Aurolra, and
many otlhrc cities. With many of the leading men
of tliesc cities she held interviews, when her devotion,
('o011111011 sesll, I)athos, Ipluck, and energy, so secured
their cofidence, and aroused their sympathy, that
tlhey 1;ade lal'rge donatiolls to the Sanitary Commission, to be repeated quarterly while the war continlll (d.
Iltestel and recuperated, and having placed her two
sols ait,o:ardin-school where she could feel easy
al),ut them. shec reported to the medical director at
Meiimphis, as -he had been orldered, in January,
1Stil;.  Iminellll   ospitals were being organized in
that cltt, which wa-s also b}einl made a base of military and medical supplies.   She was first set to, organzinl' the A\d:(las Block HoIspItal, and, that compltced. -hie w\;.:tlt to Forlt Pickeringr to re-oorganize
the  "Sma;ll-lpox lIos-pital."  There had been great
ntZle(t 1lhre. anld the loathsonlm  pIlace had been left
lite;irel r until it was o;,ulce and molrle  olsolIme
thfini:1ii Aue-an stable. lBut Mother BickicrdvNke;i- a ji-t th}  I l'crlecl-t to clean-c it  She raised tsuch
a hlltricane aboult the ears,f the officials whose nclglect hadl catu-ed its terlrible condition. as took the
head.s from some of them, and sent back to their




IMPROVED CONDITION OF HOSPITALS.


503


regiments several private soldiers who had been detailed as nurses.
The storm she raised left the atmosphere and
premises sweeter than she found them. The walls
were whitewashed, the kitchens regenerated, so that
the patients could have the diet necessary to them,
and both they and their beds were supplied with fresh
clothing. Disinfectants were used with a lavish hand,
and then, leaving a matron in charge who was an
abridged edition of herself, she went to the Gayoso
Hospital, to organize and take charge of that.
In the meantime she organized anew her huge
laundries, in which was performed all the washing
of the Memphis hospitals, even when there were
eight and ten thousand patients in them. Washingmachines, wringers, caldrons, mangles, and any other
needed laundry machinery, were sent her by the
Sanitary Commission. Her old apparatus had been
destroyed at Holly Springs, Miss., when that point
was captured by the enemy, through the incompetence of Colonel Murphy, of the Eighth Wisconsin.
About one million dollars' worth of ordnance, subsistence, and quartermasters' stores belonging to
Grant's army was destroyed at Holly Springs at the
time of its capture; and so also was a splendidly
furnished depot of sanitary stores.
It was some time before the medical authorities
at Memphis were able to understand Mother Bickerdyke.  There was perfect harmony between the
military authorities and herself; and she readily obtained from them any co-operation she desired. As
her work increased, she asked for details of more and
more contrabands, and rations for them, until, when I
went down to Memphis, in the spring of 1863, there




CONFIDED IN EVERYWHERE.


wer'e fiom  fifty to seventy men and women in her
emlploy. General Granlt had given her a pass anywhere within the lines of his department, into all
camsll)s  (l an  hospitals, past all pickets, with authority
to (d.raw on anly qluartermaster in his department for
ar'lly wagolns to tranlsport sanlitary or hospital stores.
Tliis pass, enlarlged as his department extended, she
he(l1 uilltll the c(1l of the war.
'The Saniitary C(,lmmissioln authorized her to draw
O,1 its (leplot of stores at Mmclphis, Cairo, or Chicago,
ifo' IIanth]nl' needled for the boys. She was never
refticed by tlhe Id(llanapolis, Cincinnati, or St. Louis
C(ols,1111lll(,li.  Illndeed, the St. Louis Commission
sullppliedd her as if she lwere its own accredited agent;
an:(1 1Mr. Yeatmenl, its president, was ever one of her
best frie'tnds an1l wis(st countsellors. All this power,
andl atllthorriy, andll oplulence of relief, enlarged her
sIlerI',,t':if.tiI.l aind made her a very important pers,nag' in Iemllis. She never, in a single instance,
btllse(l thle tr' lt reposed in her', but, with rigorous
anIl( tel'r'lle (coictientiouslnss, devoted all she had
and was to the cure' and comfort of the soldiers in
ho-pital, witlhout favoritismi or partiality.
AWith the   llmiclal authorities slhe was for a time
at variance. The medical director at Memphis was
a -vonll,"I 1a11 l)ell,,ginri  to the regular army -able,
iiildist 'rio,,. skilful, and punctilious.  He wished
MI'- 3lckcerdke1;(   to revolve in an orbit he maIrked,()t fir her- to regninze 1/inn as the head, and
i.evter t, c(o l),evo d him, or outside him, for assistan1ce (,r authority. Moreover, he was a Catholic, and
naturall y gave the preference to the excellent " Sister- of Mercy " as nurses; nor was he backward in
1l)1blicly eixpreslng his preference. He disapproved




IMPATIENT OF RED TAPE.


505


of Mrs. Bickerdyke's laundry; chiefly, it seemed, because he had not organized it. He did not approve
of her contraband help, nor of her possessing so
much power; nor, if the truth must be told, of Mother
Bickerdyke herself. He could not see any excellence in a woman who worked with her own hands,
who held no social position, who was as indifferent
to the Queen's English as to his red tape, who cared
little for the Catholic, but very much for the Congregationalist Church, and who did what she wished,
when and as she wished, without consulting him, the
medical director.
Mrs. Bickerdyke cared little for what he said or
thought, if he did not meddle with her; for she was
no more in love with the medical director than he
was with her. He inspected her hospital regularly,
and never found fault with it; for its perfect management defied criticism. Once, in passing through
a ward, he espied some half-dozen eggs under a sick
man's pillow. The man was recovering from a fever,
and had a great craving for food, that could not be
allowed him in his weak condition. Especially he
coveted boiled eggs; and, as the poor fellow was
very babyish, Mrs. Bickerdyke had petted him in
her motherly way, and tucked half a dozen hardboiled eggs under his pillow, telling him he should
have them to eat when he was well enough. The
sick man found a vast deal of comfort in fondling the
eggs with his hands. I have seen men in hospitals
handling half a dozen potatoes under their pillows
in the same way. The medical director espied the
eggs, and ordered them to the kitchen, declaring " he
would have no hens' nests under the pillows." The
man was just weak enough to cry miserably over his




506   " KEEP THE EGGS TILL THEY HATCH."
loss; and the nurse in charge hastened to report the
story to Mother Bickerdyke.
If any unnecessary offence came to her boys, woe
to him through whom it came.    She would have
"' shown fight" to Secretary Stanton himself, if he
had been the offender.  Catching up a large pail
filled withl eggs, she strode into the ward, her blue
)eyes blazinllg, her cheeks glowing: ' Dr., will
you tell me what harl' it does to humor a sick man
in an innocent fiancy? Let this boy have the eggs
where he can sec them. There, John, there's a whole
pailful of eggs," pushijng them under his bed; " and
you may keel) them there until they hatch, if you've
a mind to.' And she strode out again. The doctor
chose not to hear, and the boy's eggs were not meddled with a(ain.
A. few days after, on her return from her regular
visit to the Small-pox Hospital, she found that the
1bl)1w wlhich had been impending had fallen. The
medical director had left a written order that all the
contrabands d(etailed to her service should be sent to
the contraband (amp by nine o'clock the next morning. the holur for hospital inspection. It was night
when she returned and received the order, and it was
rainiln hard. Going to the door, she recalled the
departing ambulance.
"h ere, AlndN" she said to the driver, " you and I
mustt have some supper, these mules must be fed, and
then x '  mni~N t g, to (; rneral Hui'lburts headquarters.
I'll sete it these dar'kies are (riong to be sent to the
)c(,ntral)baid (camp. If Dr.  is roingr to be ugly,
he'll find two can play at that game, and a woman is
bett.er at it than a man." The negroes stood around
with comically doleful faces, like so many statues in




"I'LL GO, SAFE OR NOT SAFE."


507


ebony. They liked Mother Bickerdyke and the hospital, and they hated the camp with its forlornness.
"When's we gwine from dis yer hospittle?" they
inquired.
"When I tell you to, and not before I" was her
laconic answer. " Get yourself ready, Mary Livermore, to go with me "
I protested against her taking this drive; for the
streets had been torn up by the enemy before the city
was surrendered, there was no gas, and no street
lights, we had not the countersign, the rain poured in
torrents, and the project was fraught with danger.
She silenced me, "Oh, we'll leave you behind, if
you're such a coward; but Andy and I'll go, safe or
not safeI " Knowing that I had more prudence than
she, I finally accompanied them.
Through the pouring rain, over broken and excavated streets, not a glimmer of light anywhere, save
from the one lantern of the ambulance, halted at
every few paces by the challenge of the closely set
guards, -for Memphis, though conquered, was still
a rebellious city, - Mother Bickerdyke and I toiled
on to the headquarters of the Post Commander. By
and by, we met the officer of the night, making the
grand rounds, and he gave us the countersign. Then
we proceeded a little more comfortably.
It was hard work to get access to the Commander,
for he was in bed. But at last her importunity prevailed, and she was conducted to his presence. She
told her story honestly, and with straightforwardness,
and asked for written authority to keep her detailed
contrabands until he, General Hurlburt, should revoke the order. It was granted; and back through
the rain we rode, Mother Bickerdyke triumphant.




508


"BUT I SHAN'T GO, DOCTOR."


The next morning, at nine, the medical director
made his appearance at the Gayoso Hospital, according to appointment. The negroes were all at their
work in the kitchen, in the laundry, in the wards,
everywhere, as if no order had been given for their
dismissal. He came to the kitchen, where Mother
Bickerdyke was making soup.
" Mis. Bickerdyke, did you receive an order I left
for you Saturday morning? "
"I did, sir " continuing to season and taste her
soup.
"An order for the dismissal of these black people
to their camp?"
"Exactly, sir."
"I expected it to be obeyed I" in a positive tone of
voice.
"I suppose so, sir!" very nonchalant in manner.
"And why has it not been?" in a louder tone, and
with rising anger, menace in his eyes, and a flush of
wrath on his cheek.
i" Because, sir," turning and facing him, "General
Hurlburt has given me an order to keep 'em here
until lie dismisses them; and, as General Hurlburt
happens to outrank you, he must be obeyed before
you." And putting her hand in her pocket, she produced General Hurlburt's order.
There was a storm. The doctor was vulgarly
angry, and raved in a manner that was very damaging to his dignity. He threatened all sorts of dreadful things, and wound up by telling Mother Bickerdyke that "he would not have her in Memphis "
that " he would send her home before she was a week
older."
"But I sha'n't go, doctor!" she answered. "I've




"CDON'T PLAY SECOND FIDDLE TO YOU."


509


come down here to stay, and I mean to stay until this
thing is played out. I've enlisted for the war, as the
boys have, and they want me and need me, and can't
get on without me; and so I shall stay, doctor, and
you'll have to make up your mind to get along with
me the best way you cal. It's of no use for you to
try to tie me up with your red tape. There's too
much to be done down here to stop for that. Nor is
there any sense in your getting mad because I don't
play second fiddle to you; for 1 tell you I haven't
got time for it. And, doctor, I guess you hadn't
better get into a row with me, for whenever anybody
does one of us two always goes to the wall, and
'tain't never me I"
The doctor had a keen sense of the ridiculous, and
Mother Bickerdyke's novel method of pacification
amused him when he got over his short-lived anger.
He was really a very superior officer; but like many
another clever man he was dominated by the inborn
belief that all women were to play " second fiddle"
to him. He had the good sense to appreciate blunt
Mother Bickerdyke's excellences, and when mutual
friends entered on the work of pacification they were
successful.
Turning to her one day, in a threatening way, but
half jocularly, he said, "Take care, madam; your
turn to go to the wall may come yet!" "May be
so!" was her brief answer; and then she went on
with her work. From being at disagreement, they
finally came to a perfect understanding, and by and
by became the best of friends.
A week after, I was in her hospital about noon,
when the wardmaster of the fourth story came to
the kitchen, to tell her that the surgeon of that ward




510   "YOU DRUNKEN, HEARTLESS SCALAWAG."
had not made his appearance, the special diet list for
the w\ard had not yet been made out, and the men
wcere sufifer'ing fir their breakfasts.
" IIaven'tl had their lbrelaklfstsl Why did'nt you
tell mc ofl this sooner? Here, stop! The poor fellow\\s must be fed immediately."  And filling enormo0us tin pails andl trays with coffee, soup, gruel,
toast, and other like food, she sent half a dozen men
ahead with thlem. Extending' to me a six-gallon pall
of ]lot soul), she bade me follow her, being freighted
herself with a pail of similar size in each hand. I
stoo(l loolllng on at the distribution, when her clarion
oi(ce rang out to inc in tones of authority; "Come,
make yourself alive, Mar!  Livermore! Try to be
luseulhl! IIel) these men!"  I never knew any one
who ldcliberatel} disre,'arded her orders- I had no
thoughltlt ibut to obcy -and so I sat down to feed a
nman who was too weak to help himself.
lWhile we were all busy, the surgeonn of the ward
came in, looking as if he h ad just risen from sleeping
off a nigrht's debauch. Instantly there was a change
in tle tones of Mother Bickerdyke's voice, and in the
exlpres.sion,f her face. She was no lolnger a tender,
pit!yilnr, sympnathizingr mother, but Alecto herself.
"You mniseral)le, drunken, heartless scalawag!"
shaking h1er filnger and helad at him threateningly,
"W hat do you mean by leaving these fainting, sufferiii.r 11en to,,o tuntil noon with nothing to eat, and no
attenltion? Not a word., sil!" as he undertook to
make:1 expllanation.  " Off with your shoulderstrals, and,:et out of this hospital! I'll have them
off In three days, siir! This is your fourth spree in a
month, and you shall go where you belong. Off
with your shoulder-straps, I tell you, for they've got




THE UNWORTHY SURGEON DISMISSED.


511


to go." She was as good as her threat, for in less
than a week she had made such charges against him
that he was dismissed the service, and that by the
very medical director with whom she had had weeks'
wrangling. The dismissed surgeon went to General
Sherman to complain of the injustice done him. "He
had been grossly belied, and foul charges had been
made against him, which he could prove false,"
was his declaration.  "Who was your accuser?"
asked General Sherman; "who made the charges?"
" Why - why - I suppose," said the surgeon reluctantly, " it was that spiteful old woman, Mrs. Bickerdyke." " Oh, well, then," said Sherman, " if it was
she, I can't help you. She has more power than Ishe ranks me."
It was more difficult to supply the hospitals with
milk and eggs than with any other necessaries.
With the supplies furnished by government, the tea,
coffee, sugar, flour, meat, and other like articles,
which were usually of good quality, Mother Bickerdyke could work miracles in the culinary line, even
when there was a lack of sanitary stores, if she could
only have an abundant supply of milk and eggs.
But these were very difficult to obtain. They could
not be sent from the North, and they could not be
purchased in sufficiently large quantities to supply
the enormous demand.   In the enemy's country,
where the hospitals were located, their prices were
exorbitant beyond belief.  Mother Bickerdyke hit
upon a plan to remedy these difficulties. When the
medical director came into her hospital one morning,
on a tour of inspection, she accosted him thus:"Dr. --, do you know we are paying these
Memphis secesh fifty cents for every quart of milk




512


" MILK AND EGG PRODUCERS."


we use? And do you know it's such poor stuff, -
two thirds chalk and water, -that if you should
pour it into the trough of a respectable pig at home,
he would turn up his nose, and run off, squealing in
disgust? "
" Well, what can we do about it? " asked the doctor, between whom and herself there was now an
excellent understanding.
" If you'll give me thirty days' furlough and transportation, I'll go home, and get all the milk and eggs
that the Memphis hospitals can use."
"i Get milk and eggs I Why, you could not bring
them down herle, if the North would give you all it
has. A barrel of eggs would spoil, this warm weather,
befiore it could reach us; and how on earth could you
bring milk?"
"But I'll bring down the milk and egg producers.
I'll get cows and hens, and we'll have milk and eggs
of our owni. The folks at home, doctor, will give us
all the hens and cows we need for the use of these
llospitals, and jump at the chance to do it. You
needn't laugh, nor shake your head! " as he turned
away, amused and incredulous.  "I tell you, the
people at the North ache to do something for the
boys down here, and I can get fifty cows in Illinois
alone for just the asking."
"d Pslaw! pshaw! " said the doctor, " you would be
laughed at from one end of the country to the other,
if vou should go on so wild an errand."
"Fiddlesticks! Who cares for that? Give me a
furlough and transportation, and let me try it!"
So she came North again, and did not stop until
she reached St. Louis. She was escorted as far as
that city by several hundred cripples, a every one of




"THESE ARE LOYAL COWS AND HENS."


513


whom had lost either a leg or an arm." These she
saw placed in hospitals, and then came on to Chicago.
She secured the cows with little difficulty. Jacob
Strawn, of Jacksonville, one of the wealthy farmers
of Illinois, with a few of his neighbors, gave the
hundred cows without delay. They were sent to
Springfield, Ill., - whence Governor Yates had promised they should be shipped to Memphis, - in herds
of fifteen or twenty, with some one in charge of each
detachment, to take care of the animals.
The hens were sent to the rooms of the Commission in Chicago. In a week after the call, our building was transformed into a huge hennery, and all the
workers therein were completely driven out. The
din of crowing, cackling, and quarrelling was unbearable; and, as the weather was warm, the odor
was yet more insupportable. The fowls were despatched to Memphis in four shipments, in coops
containing about two dozen each.
Before her thirty days' leave of absence was ended,
Mother Bickerdyke was on the return route to her
hospital, forming a part of a bizarre procession of
over one hundred cows and one thousand hens, strung
all along the road fiom Chicago to Memphis. She
entered the city in triumph, amid immense lowing
and crowing and cackling. She informed the astonished Memphians that, "These are loyal cows and
hens; none of your miserable trash that give chalk
and water for milk, and lay loud-smelling eggs."
General Hurlburt, who was then at the head of the
department, hearing of this novel immigration within
his lines, gave up to the noisy new-comers P:ecsident's Island, lying in the Mississippi opposite 3Memphis, a stretch of land so elevated that it is above the




514


GOOD CHEER OF HER VISIT.


highest stage of water. Contrabands were detailed
to take charge of' them; and as long as Mrs. Bickerdyke remained in Memphis there was an abundance
of milk and eggs for the use of the hospitals.
Mrs. Bickerdyke remained at Memphis till after the
fall of Vicksburg. During the siege of that defiant
stI',onhold, she went again and again to the hospitals,  a little beyond the reach of the guns, -taking
lemlons, ice, condensed milk, and portable lemonade.
She always left the heroic suffeeres more cheerful
and (co,(nfortable, in their stifling little coops of temporalry hoslitals, for the good cheer of her visit. After
the fall of Vicksburg, she remained at that point, and
at Jackson, Miiss., until the hospitals were nearly
emptied tof their severely wounded or sick men. No
oi( ever wolrked more heroically, unselfishly and
untiringly, than did this large-hearted woman for the
welfare of sick and suffering soldiers.




CHAPTER XVI.
MOTHER BICKERDYKE AND GENERAL SHERMAN- A NIGHT
OF HORROR - HEROIC EFFORTS TO SAVE THE WOUNDED
FROM FREEZING- HEART-RENDING SCENES AND TERRIBLE SUFFERING.
Mother Bickerdyke's Idolatry of General Sherman-She becomes an Attachie of his Corps - Comes to Chicago and does good Work for Soldiers' Families - Goes to Chattanooga after the Battle, and establishes a
Hospital —Incredible Exertion to save her Patients from FreezingOrders Breastworks torn down for Fuel — "All right, Major, I'm arrested! Only don't meddle with me till the Weather moderates! "-G(eneral Burside beleaguered in Knoxville, Tenn. -Sherman marches to
his Relief - Fearful Suffering from Cold and short Rations - Horrors of
the Return Route to Chattanooga - Railroad from Nashville completed
at last- Joyful Welcome of the first Train - All Night in the icy Gale
-She ran from Tent to Tent-She encouraged the shivering SoldiersHer Name mentioned only with Tears
NERAL SHERMAN was the beau ideal
of Mother Bickerdyke.        He was her great
man and great soldier.       She would always
defend General Grant like a tigress if he
were assailed; but it was clear to every one
that General Sherman was the special object
of her idolatry.    And to-day I think she would find
it easy to give her life for Sherman, if the sacrifice
were necessary.     She would count it a small thing to
die for him.      She  rates him     higher than     Grant,
higher than    Lincoln, and altogether superior as a
soldier to Washington or Wellington; and woe to
the luckless wight who would dare lower her ideal
515




AN ENVIABLE NOTORIETY.


General Sherman on his side fully appreciated
Mo)ther Bickerdyke; and when he was curt and
repellant to all aIgents, nurses, and employes of the
Sanlitary, Christian, and State Commissions, she had
thle (-trT/,c: to his headquarters, and obtained any
favor she chose to ask. There was something in her
lcaracter akin to his own.   Both were restless,
impetu ous, fiery, hard working, and indomitable.
After the fall of Vieksburg, Mother Bickerdyke
became a special (tt(ar//r'c of his corps, the Fifteenth.
Ev\r atter, during the war, she considered herself in
a special sense underl Sherman's direction; and the
soldiers,,f the Fifteenth Corps have always claimed
xc(lusive( owniership of her
\Wh'n Shermlan.; w'ent to re-enforce Grant at Chattanooll,,   she ca;nl  North, by Sherman's direction,:land lhasteln(c to the same destination by way of
l,)uisville; but, as Shcrman's army was to march
from the Bi, Blackl, arloss the enemly's country, to
Chattanool(){,at. atd she was to go round by railroad;ad(l teatilhat, she had a few days to spare, and
(,:1une arain to Chica.go for a brief visit. Her explolts In sul))! ingr Meml)phis with milk and eggs, as
well as thlce gran(l accounts of her famous nursing,
br'ol lrlt homel bv furloullhed soldiers who were scatterecd throtugh every town in the Northwest, had
giv(en her;an enviable notoriety. Everybody wanted
to see the (rood>d wo-man, amd to aid her personally, or
asiIt il }her work. Her arrival in Chicago was
announctid in the papers, when she was overwhelmed
with attenltions, which she put aside with the utmost
inditltrernce. Invitations to visit towns, cities, and,,cietices, poured in upon her like a flood. Receptions nwere tendered her, ladies offered to make par



NO TIME NOW TO FROLIC.


517


ties for her, and the invitations to lunch came by
dozens. But she declined all, with the stereotyped
rebuke " that the country had a big war on its hands,
and that this was no time for visiting or frolicking."
She made several visits to the families of soldiers
whom she had left in hospital, resident in the vicinity
of Chicago, always carrying aid and comfort with
her.
She found one of these families in great distress
and poverty. The husband and father had been in
positions for ten months that removed him beyond
reach of the paymaster; and his family were in great
need of the money which he failed to receive. They
were owing six months' house rent; and the landlord, a hard man, had served a writ of ejectment
upon them, and was preparing to put them summarily into the street. Mother Bickerdyke paid him a
visit at his office, and sought to turn him from his
purpose with all the peculiar eloquence of which she
was mistress. He could not be moved, but scorned
her and ordered her from his premises. She rose to
go, and, taking a Bible from the shelf, which was
never used except to give legality to oaths, she
opened to the sixteenth chapter of Luke, and, straining to her full height, with a solemn and almost terrible face, she read these words before an audience
of a dozen or more men,
"'And it came to pass that the beggar died, and
was carried by angels into Abraham's bosom. The
rich man also died and was buried, and in hell
in HELL - in HELL,'"- increasing the emphasis
each time -"' he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in
his bosom.' You see what you are coming to,




518


HER WORK AT CIIATTANOOGA.


sir," she added, "and the time may not be far off.
May God have mclecy on your mean soul! Goodbye."   Then the resolute woman sought another
house for the soldier's fanmily, and rested not in her
humane wolrk until she had raised the money to pay
the rent six months in advance.
Her visits always stirred us up at the North.
Whnlever she needed an extra quantity of sanitary
stores, she would write us word to "stir up the aid
societies as with a big spoon." And this work was
cffibectally accomplished by one of her visits. Her
detaile(d account of the work done in ministering to
our sick and woulded men, the methods employed,
to(gether' with a recital of events in which she had
particil)ated, would quicken our flagging spirits, and
in.cite.us all to newv lal)or and sacrifice.
IIaIdly was the l)battle of Chattanooga fought,
when MoLthler Bi(iclkerdyke was established at the
base of Mis.lion Ridge, in a field hospital. Here she
was the only woman ait work for nearly six weeks.
II the verIy mnidst of the din and smoke of the carnage, she b)er.an to receive the wounded and exhlallsted, until ver'v nearly two thousand of the worst
cascs were assinllled to her nursinl. Never did she
render more valtiuale{ se.rvice. The Sanitary Commission had p)tllhedl throutll  fiom Louisville, with
imlense tra;ilns (, wa()ns,11, heavily loade(l with supp)lies, and1 had bo)untif'Illly )1'ovld(lc l M[other Bicker\(vkt' witll te storelC  Iot 1(''ded after the battle.
'Tlie 'ailroad:l runningl fiom na-hville, Ibadly built,
with polo)  material, and;lr light travel, had been
1i-'d( u1  l:' 1bc;,'re. IBut a. Chattanooga was to be
tlic bace of' the army foir.omie tille, another road
- is ni.s-arv lor heavy army use, and this was now




NURSED TWO THOUSAND PATIENTS.


519


in process of construction. Everything, therefore,
needed for the army, - rations and clothing for the
men, provender for the horses and mules, hospital
supplies for the wounded and sick,-was hauled
through in army wagons, while this work was being
done.
No pen can depict, and no tongue narrate the sufferings, hardships, and privations of our brave men
in southern and eastern Tennessee, during the months
of November, December, and January, of 1863 and
1864. Hunger and cold, famine and nakedness were
their inseparable companions.  Horses and mules
starved also, ten thousand animals starving at Chattanooga. The reproachful whinnying complaints of
the famishing beasts wrung the hearts of the soldiers, even when they were slowly dying themselves
from lack of food.
Mother Bickerdyke's field hospital was on the
edge of a forest, five miles from Chattanooga. The
weather was as arctic as in New England in the
same season. Men were detailed to fell the trees
and pile log heaps, which were kept continually
burning, to warm the camps and hospitals. These
log fires were her only means of cooking; nor could
any other be hoped for until the railroad was completed. By these log fires Mother Bickerdyke, with
her aids, contrabands, or convalescent soldiers, did
all the cooking for her two thousand l)atients. Here
she made tea and coffee, soup and toast. Here she
broiled beef and mutton without a gridiron. Here
she baked bread by a process of her own invention,
blistering her fingers while doing it, and burning her
clothing. A dress which she wore at this time came
into my hands, and was kept at the rooms of the




SUCCESS AT FORAGING.


Commission for some time as a curiosity. It was
burinedl so, full of holes that it would hardly hang
to,(therl wheln heldt up. It l;ooked as if grape and
canister had played hide-and-seek through it.
i"f Th  boys were' all the time putting me out," she
said., ln(aning her dlress; ii and a dozen of 'em were
'grabbiig  ne whenever I was coolking by the log
fires; fr the fire would snap, and my clothes would
c(atch, ult I couldl't tell iwhere."  After a time men
were1 (l.tailed to tear down some of the store-houses,
with tle lumber of which they put bunks into other
similar buildings, and these served as hospitals.
WVitli bricks froml thle demolished chimneys the men
cnl'tructed ovenis of herl design, more convenient for
the, llaking (of b1read. Il one of her foraging expediti(,,ll! 11( ( ame  a(cr.c.ss liure potaslh lkettles, and an
aalIndloid1 mill, AwNhere was plent> oi' flourt, cattle, and.sheep., \\1l1h lhad )elon(ged to General Bragg's disclllfited amyl. All these were laid under contribution for the camp ainlld the hospital.
'The l;ast (day of the  ear; 1863 was one of memon'l,le c(,ldlness, al were the filrst few (lays of the year
186;4. The rigor of the weather in Chicago at that
time actuall.y sul'cended all outdoor business, and
laid an emllarglo,on travel in the streets. It was
evenl sever('(er \Ceatlier in Mother Bickerdyke's locatioi; for the icy- wind.. swep)t down Lookout Mounta;l. ^ le''lre th}le  wC'ere r'-enforced by currents of air
tha:it tor~e tlhroughl tle \ alleys of Mission Ridge, creatin., a, furiouts arctic hurricane that overturned the
ho,-l)ital tenti in which the most badly wounded men
W(,re lo(cated.  It hurled  the partially recovered
patients out into the pouring rain, that became glareice as it touchled the earth, breaking anew their heal



RELIEF TO SUFFERING SOLDIERS.


521


ing bones, and chilling their attenuated frames with
the piercing mountain gale.
The rain fell in torrents in the mountains, and
poured down their sides so furiously and suddenly
that it made a great flood in the valleys at their base.
Before the intense cold could stiffen the headlong
current into ice, it swept out into the swollen creeks
several of the feeblest of the men under single hospital tents; and they were drowned. Night set in
intensely cold, for which the badly fitted up hospitals
were wholly unprepared.
All that night Mother Bickerdyke worked like a
Titan to save her bloodless, feeble patients from
being frozen to death. There were several hundred
in hospital tents- all wounded men - all bad cases.
The fires were piled higher and higher with logs,
new fires were kindled which came nearly to the
tents, until they were surrounded by a cordon of
immense pyres, that roared and crackled in the
stinging atmosphere. But before midnight the fuel
gave out. To send men out into the forests to cut
more, in the darkness and awful coldness, seemed
barbarous. The surgeon in charge dared not order
them out, and it is doubtful if the order could have
been obeyed had it been given. " We must try and
pull through until morning," he said, "for nothing
can be done to-night." And he retired to his own
quarters, in a helpless mood of mind.
Mother Bickerdyke was equal to the emergency.
With her usual disdain of red tape, she appealed to
the Pioneer Corps to take their mules, axes, hooks,
and chains, and tear down the breastworks near them,
made of logs with earth thrown up against them.
They were of no value, having served their purpose




5~)~)
r ^)o


ALL NIGHT IN THE ICY GALE.


during the campaign.   Nevertheless, an order for
their demolition was necessary if they were to be destroyed. There was no officer of sufficiently high
rank present to dare give this order; but, after she
had refreshed the shivering men with a cup or two
(of panlado, composed of hot water, sugar, crackers,
and whiskey, tlhy went to work at her suggestion,
without orders fioml officers. They knew, as did she,
that oil the conltinuance of the huge fires through
tlie nigilt, depclnded the lives of hundreds of their
wounded clomrades; for there was no bedding for
tlhe tents,,only a blanket or two for each wounded
suiffeIingc man.
The men of the corps set to work tearing down
the b1reastwo~rk.s, andl hauling the logs to the fierce
filres, while MAotlher Bcekcrd ke ordered half a dozen
barrel. of lmeal to be broken open, and mixed with
wa'rm water, fir tlheir mules. Immense caldrons of
lhot drinkis were rene c wclly made under her direction
- hot (,otl;e, I)anado, and other nourishing potables;
and lav!ers of lhot brlicks were put around every
woIid(lcl and.sick man of the entire fifteen hundred
a- he l]; in hln cot. From tent to tent she ran all
thec ul rht il the' 1('\ rale, hot bricks in one hand, and
holt drinks. in the o,tlher, cheering, warming, and enc,Iur:i;L:lng tle I)or shivering fellows..S<ellcily1 there was a g-reat cry of horror; and,
lokinlg 11 thet lirectilin whence it proceedled, she
a;\v thil'ttell;i1111,ulan.es filled with wounded men,
w\\lhi,  l,thad b   -tarted for her hoSpital fiom Rinrgold,
in the,morning by) order of the authorities. It hadf
lc(.,lle ncc, ( — arv to breIak up the small outlying
)p,-t hopital.s, and concentrate at Chattanooga.
These. had been delayed b) the rain and the gale,




NECESSITY OF CUTTING RED TAPE.


523


and for hours had been travelling in the darkness
and unparalleled coldness, both mules and drivers
being nearly exhausted and frozen. On opening the
ambulances, what a spectacle met Mother Bickerdyke's eyes! They were filled with wounded men
nearly chilled to death. The hands of one were frozen
like marble. The feet of another, the face of another,
the bowels of a fourth, who afterwards died. Every
bandage had stiffened into ice. The kegs of water
had become solid crystal; and the men, who were past
complaining, almost past suffering, were dropping
into the sleep that ends in death. The surgeons of
the hospital were all at work through the night with
Mrs. Bickerdyke, and came promptly to the relief of
these poor men, hardly one of whom escaped amputation of frozen limbs from that night's fearful ride.
As the night was breaking into the cold gray dan,
the officer in command of the post was informed of
Mother Bickerdyke's unauthorized exploits.  He
hastened down where the demolished breastworks
were being rapidly devoured by the fierce flames.
He took in the situation immediately, and evidently
saw the necessity and wisdom of the course she had
pursued. But it was his business to preserve order
and maintain discipline; and so he made a show of
arresting the irregular proceeding.  By no mere
order of his could this be done. Not until daydawn, when they could go safely into the woods to
cut fuel, were the men disposed to abate their raid
on the breastworks, which had served their purpose
of defence against the enemy weeks before.
"Madam, consider yourself under arrest!" was
the Major's address to ubiquitous Mother Bickerdyke.




524


"ALL RIGHT, MAJOR! I'M ARRESTED."


To which she replied, as she flew past him with
hot lbricks and hot drinks, " All right, Major! I'm
ar,1rested! Only dont meddle with me till the weather
lmoderates; l;r my men will fieeze to death, if you
do! "
A story got in ci.rculation that she was put in the
guardl-house by thle  Iajor; but this was not true.
Tr'let  w:s some  little official hubbub over her
nigh'lit's exlploits, but she defended hel'self to the
offi.ce's who re'lpr)oved her, with this indisputable
statemenlt, " It's lucky for you, old fellows, that I
did iwhat I did. Folr f I hadn't, hundreds of men in
tle hospital tents would have fiozen to death. No,o1  at the Norlth would have blamed me, but there
w(lld lhave blenii such a hullabaloo about your heads
for allowilg it to h11appen, that you would have lost
th(em, wll(hether o'1 no.' S)iMel of the officers stood
l)ol(,1v )V hic', oplnly declaring that she had done
'IiLt, and adlvised lher to pursue the same course;lrati. tu11ide' thl sam:1e cicltel'itan-ces.  This was
needlels advice, a- she would assuredly have done
The men foir wlhom -he labored so indefatigably
eoul ld mention hlecr nameic only with tears and benedictlon0-,1And thlOce iIn amp1) manifiested their.apl)roval
(1' h}r 1, h}a;ilin' heilc with three tinimes three deafenii     huralll'l- wlhencer she alppeared amon(r them,
Until. anno,v4  sh(1  he leLr,,\,  them  " for Heaven's
-,tik to stop) t}heC 1on I,1s 11, and shut up!'
l;   i'\                    at o;,'I,t 'ifflein: came at once that winter,
in that s{ctionll o Tennessee.  1lWhile the inclement
\e atllhr was at its worst, the men were suffering
f1',im!-hort I'atiolns, colnslquent on their distance from
th}e base olt uppllies. and the lack of railroad con



MAN AND BEAST SUFFER FOR FOOD.


munication. They were in the enemy's country,
which had been stripped and peeled for the sustenance of their own troops. It was impossible to
keep the large army in that vicinity fully supplied,
until the railroad from Nashville was completedand that was being pushed forward with all possible
despatch. Whole brigades were called out to receive
as their daily rations three ears' of corn to a man,
while the horses and mules were served more generously. For the famished beasts had not the spirit of
the American soldiers to keep them alive, whether
well fed or not. And yet so wild with hunger were
many of the men, that a guard stood over the animals while they were feeding, to protect them fiom
the pilfering of the soldiers- and this did not
always restrain them.
In the meantime General Burnside, in command of
the Ninth and Twenty-third Corps, had crossed the
mountains to Eastern Tennessee. Leaving behind
his commissary wagons, and subsisting his army on
such poor rations as came in their way, avoiding the
safe and travelled routes, which were strongly defended by the rebel army, he moved so secretly aind
rapidly that his approach was not even suspected.
The rebel troops were lpanic-stricken at the appearance of the Union forces, and fled in dismay, leaving
behind them in Knoxville a large lquantity of quartermaster's stores. So confident was General Bragg of
his ability to manage the army under Grant and
Sherman at Chattanooga, that he sent Longstreet
with his division to recapture Knoxville, of which
General Burnside had taken possession. It was the
only instance during the war when the Union forces
sustained a siege. For three weeks Burnside and




o..6


" THEY SHALL HAVE RELIEF."


his men were locked up in Knoxville, enduring the
pangs of hunger, expecting hourly the assaults of the
enemy, and ignorant of the fate of the army at Chattanooga.
At last, Burnside managed to send a despatch to
(General Grant, saying that his supplies would not
last a week, and asking for help. Knoxville was
ninety miles distant, and to reach it in time to save
Bu'rnside would ll equire heavy marching.  When
Sherman received the order to go to his relief he
said: " Seven days before, we left our camps on the
otlher side of the Tennessee with two days' rations,
withotlt a change of (lothing, stripped for the fight,
with but a sinlle 1)lanket or coat per iman, from myself.1 to, tlle private,, i!n( luded. We have no provisions
lbut wliat we have gathlere(l by the road, and are illsupl)l)lie(1 for s.i( li a march; but fifteen thousand of
our fellow-soldie.rs are beleaguered in the mountain
town of Knoxville; they need relief, and must have
it in tchree days. That is cnough,, and it shall be
His tired troops cheerfully consented to follow
their' leader (on this long march, and started that
ni'rht. Tlhey ])ressed forward rapidly, at great cost
of men and animal-, determined to accomplish their
(rraind. Btut tlieir ral)id aplproach, flushed with victory, wa  - uflfciient to drive off the besiegers from
KIoxville: and, when tlhey lad seen Longstreet de-;a1mii) with his tatterdemialion troops, they turned and
marche(d bla-k to Clhattanooga.
Manv of theIn were in a deplorable condition; for,
whln the Fifteeitli C'orps started from the Big Black
und1er Genieral bherian to re-enforce General Grant,
the'y were clad in summer clothes, light blouses, poor




BLOOD MARKING THEIR FOOTSTEPS.


527


shoes, and thin garments. No distribution of clothing was made to them before they started for Knoxville; for all army supplies were waiting the
transportation of the not yet completed railroad.
Their insufficient garments were worn out with hard
service; and, shivering in summer rags in fiigid
midwinter, with the smallest amount of food that
would keep body and soul together, with worn out
shoes, and bruised feet, they came back over the
mountains, sometimes tracking their path in blood.
No banners waved over them, no martial music
inspired them; not even such cheer was theirs as
comes from a marlh in serried columns, where each
man seeks to help his comrade onward.
But in squads of twenty, thirty, or fifty, - now in
large companies, and then in smaller groups, - sometimes singly and alone, -the weary, famished, shivering, footsore conquerors painfully made their way
back. Many sank on the march, and left their bones
to bleach on the mountains. Others were so spent
with fatigue that they reached Chattanooga only to
die. Some live, testimonies to the hardships of that
winter, utterly broken in constitution, and doomed to
invalidism for the remainder of a reluctant life.
As the poor fellows trooped into Mother Bickerdyke's hospital, she had little to offer them, save
sympathy and kind words. She, brave woman, was
on short rations with the rest, and often gave up her
meagre allowance of food to some wistful, weary
soldier less able to fast than herself. But she supplied them with warm water for their swollen and
bleeding feet, which had been wrapped by the men
in the cut-off skirts of their blouses, on the return
march. Sometimes the cloth had festered into the
32




528


"A STARVATION COOK-BOOK!"


wounded feet, and it required careful nursing to save
themi fiom amputation. She taxed her ingenuity to
lmake much out of the little they possessed, and concocted outre soups of unusual materials, for which no
cook-book has ever given receipts.
Nothing that she did was amiss with them; and
the singular preparations of food which she sometimes furnished them from an almost empty larder,
were devoured with the keenest relish. "When I
get home, boys," she used to tell the men, jocularly,
"I shall publish a starvation cook-book, containing
receipts for making delicious dishes out of nothing."
If' any one could prepare such a manual, Mother
Bickel'dyke is that person.
At last, as the winter was ending, the railroad was
coimpleted. One day, when the gloom hung deepest
over camp and hospital, a distant and not very distinct sound, as of a steam whistle, aroused the attention of the long-enduring men. Hospital patients
sat up, hushed, voiceless, listening for its repetition.
It came presently; and as the train rounded the
curve to the station, the grateful sound of a long,
loud, shrill blast fiom the whistle of the locomotive
smote their ears. It was pleasanter music than any
instrument of sweetest note could make.
One mighty shout from camp and hospital answered it; and then a tide of blue-coated humanity
surged down to welcome the incoming train. That
long-expected train signified to them food, clothing,
warmth, comfort, communication with the far-off
homes, from which no tidings had reached them for
months. They were not forgotten - the long-silent
North was reaching down to them with hundredhanded bounty.




RELIEF CAME AT LAST.


5")


Up sprang the mailned fiom their cots, and reaclied
for their rouglh crutches. Up slowly.cret the fteble
who had thought themselves dollne  itl life, and hadl
turned their fhccs heavcnwardl.   Mle who, (ould(
not walk were led along betwncll those wlio were
stronger, or sometimes borne onl tlie backs of the
Stlont'ct. And as they saw the l( lg, loaded train
halt in their midst, they went wild wilth j(o.  Tlhev
cheered the railro;ad  the tlrail- tlie Ntl'h-.tihe
food that had conme - the barrels of " Bo~ston c.lrackers,^ speedily unhcaded for them.  Thley lpatted the
giant locomnotive, and caressed it as thloug'h it were a
pet horse. And when three times tlhree cheers wero
prol(,(se(d t1 r home, ien who were d! inI, and who-e
last breath exhaled from their lil)s a few minutes
later, threw up thcir white wasted ha(lls, and theit'
lips moved in wordless syn)pathy with the great roar
of shouts fiom mlanll throats.




CHAPTER XXVII.
STORY OF MOTHER BICKERDYKE CONCLUDED - FOLLOWING
THE FLAG IN THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN -HER MOTHERLY MINISTRATIONS IN THE MIDST OF BATTLE-HER
LIFE AND CAREER SINCE THE WAR.
Mother Bickerdyke makes an eloquent Speech-Disregards Sherman's
Orders, and calls on him. Obtains the Favor she seeks-Six Months
in the Rear of Battles-Death of General McPherson -Sherman
begins his March to the Sea-Mother Bickerdyke packs all Hospital
Supplies, and sends to Nashville- Goes to meet Sherman, with a
Steamer loaded with Supplies, as he directed-They are not needed,
and she cares for the Andersonville Prisoners - The War ends, and she
returns to Louisville - Ier Life since the War - The Government
grants a pension to her -The Soldiers do not forget lher-Her Effort
to keep a Iotel in Kansas not a Success - Unsectarian, but Christian -
Her present Home.
S OW   for the first time, and the only time,
i Mother    Bickerdyke     broke   down.     The
hardships through which she had passed,
hel labors, her fastings, her anxieties, had
been   sufficient to  kill a dozen women.       She
j  was greatly reduced by them; and as soon as
her place could be supplied by another matron, she
came North, a mere shadow of her former self.
The same efforts were made to honor her as on a
previous visit; but, as before, she put aside all invitations. She had rendered great service to the Wisconsin regiments in      the Western     army; and the
people of Milwaukee, who were just then holding a
530




ELOQUENT SPEECH IN MILWAUKEE.


531


fair for the relief of sick and wounded soldiers,
would not be denied the pleasure of a visit from her.
I accompanied her, for she refused to go anywhere
to be lionized unless some one was with her, " to bear
the brunt of the nonsense," as she phrased it. She
was overwhelmed with attentions. The Milwaukee
Chamber of Commerce had made an appropriation
of twelve hundred dollars a month for hospital relief,
to be continued until the end of the war. And she
was invited to their handsome hall, to receive from
them a formal expression of gratitude for her care
of Wisconsin soldiers. Ladies were invited to occupy the gallery, which they packed to the utmost.
A very felicitous address was made her by the President of the Board of Trade, in behalf of the state
of Wisc6nsin, and she was eloquently thanked for
her patriotic labors, and informed of the recent
pledge of the Board. A reply was expected of her,
which I feared she would decline to make; but she
answered briefly, simply, and with great power.
"I am much obliged to you, gentlemen," she answered, "for the kind things you have said.  [
haven't done much, no more than I ought; neither
have you. I am glad you are going to give twelve
hundred dollars a month for the poor fellows in the
hospitals; for it's no more than you ought to do, and
it isn't half as much as the soldiers in the hospitals
have given for you. Suppose, gentlemen, you had
got to give to-night one thousand dollars or your
right leg, would it take long to decide which to surrender?  Two thousand dollars or your right arm;
five thousand dollars or both your eyes; all that you
are worth or your life?
" But I have got eighteen hundred boys in my hoe



"GIVEN AN ARM, A LEG, AN EYE "


pital at Chattanooga who have given one arm, and
one lkg, and some have given both; and yet they
dol't seeln to think they have done a great deal for
theilr country. And the graveyard behind the hospital, andl the l)attle-field a little farther off, contain the
lodies of thousands who have freely given their lives
to save yoll and your homes and your country from
ruin. Ohl, gentlemen of Milwaukee, don't let us be
telling of' what wr  a have given, and what we have
dolln!  J1V hlave done nothing, and given nothing, in
colll)ar;ison with tf/Irni  And it's our duty to keep
on gix in and doing just as long as there's a soldier
do,\w  South figlhtng or suffering for us."
It would not l)e easy to match the pathos and elo
quIelncl of tlls untutored sl1eech.
As,     lso  as sli1 had regained health and strength,
M\,otl(r Bickelrdyk1e returned to her post. General,;lherma wa.I- Ipouinlg suplplies, provender, and amnillltio into C(lattanoogaa; for it was to be his base
of uplf lies for tle Atlanta campaign. He had issued
an,r d   l,'i al,,lutely forbidding agents of sanitary
stre(.s, or arents of anyl description, to go over the,roa(d 'frm Nashville to Chattanooga. He alleged as
the reas;on0 foi this prohibition that he wished the
entire aliltv (f tlhe railroad devoted to strictly active
military o,,erations. There was great distress in the
1h(,slitals below Nashville, in consequence of this
striiig'ent ord'e, an(l unceasin-ss and anxiety at the
No,'-th. bt(.caue11' of it- seemingly needless inhumanity.
MIthler Bic(kerdx('lke found Nashville full of worried
a.Izet-. andl of.anitary stores that were needed down
the road, and spoiling for lack of transpoltation.
I-Ier pias fiom (;eneral Grant would take her to
Chattanooga despite General Sherman's prohibition.




"CGUESS HE WILL SEE ME."


533


Before starting, her fertility of invention manifested
itself in a characteristic act. Ambulances with mules
in harness were being sent to various points, against
the day of need. iNo barrels were allowed in these
ambulances; but all the bags they could hold could
be crowded in. Getting such help as she could muster, they made bags, which were filled with dried
apples, peaches, potatoes, and any other sanitary
articles that could be sent in them as well as in barrels; and the ambulances went away packed with
articles for the hospitals. Forty such left for Huntsville, Ala., thirty for Bridgeport, and several for other
points. Then Mother Bickerdyke, despite remonstrance and opposition, took the next train for Chattanooga, and made her unexpected d~but at General
Sherman's headquarters.
"Halloo! W'hy, how did you get down here?"
asked one of the General's staff officers, as he saw
her enter Sherman's headquarters.
" Came down in the cars, of course. There's no
other way of getting down here that I know of,"
replied the matter-of-fact woman. "I want to see
General Sherman."
"He is in there, writing," said the officer, pointing
to an inner room; " but I guess he won't see you."
" Guess he will! " and she pushed into the apartment. "Good morning, General I I want to speak to
you a moment. May I come in?"
"I should think you had got in!" answered the
General, barely looking up, 'in great annoyance.
" What's up now?"
" Why, General," said the earnest matron, in a perfect torrent of words," we can't stand this last order
of yours, nohow. You'll have to change it, as sure




5:,4   " I CAN'T STAND FOOLING ALL DAY."
as you live. We can get along without any more
11nurses anld agrents, but the supplies we must have.
l'he sickl and wounlded men need them, and you'll
have to give l)rinission to bring them down. The
flact is, (t llenral, after a man is unable to carry a gun,;ald dropls out of the lines, you don't trouble )ourself
a:lbolt hill, but turnll him over to the hospitals, expc(tillg tli doltors and nui'ses to get him well and
pult blak a'ainl into the service as soon as possible.   1,t hlow are we going to make bricks without
stra Iw? Tell me that if you can."
- Well, I'n busy to-day, and cannot attend to you.
I will see you some other time."  But though Shermanl kliet on wiritiln, alid did not look up, Mother
Bl(ckerdlke slaw a smile lurking in the corner of his
lmouth, alld knew she would carry her point. So
she l)er-istcd.,No. (;Gclleal! Don't send me away until you've
fixedl this thilir as it ought to be fixed. You had
11 a:ssig nel to your,o'rps), and told me that you
xt X- ted inle to look after the nursing of the men
wh11o m1.ededl it. But I should like to know how I
ca11 (,d thll if I (dont have anything to work with?
I Livt some so e ie> ab(out it now-, Genelral!"
'l1here wa-  a Ilearltv laurh at this, and a little
}:;lldina;l' eIlIe(,l. which IMother Bi(kerdxke ended
in1 hl r i'  u-(tI' u   \\.t. wl ith, Al   ll, I can't  stand  foollg here.tll daty. Now, (-'enral, write an orde.r for
\v, (';'ar- a (lav to, be s.'en t down from the Sanitary
(,,)mm —ion at Na-lhville, anid I'll be satisfied.-" The,'l \-s wrIttell, allnd( f rq week- all the sanitary
vt,l'  elt 'fri',I Nashlivlle to Chattanow,, a, and the,l,.tl a;loI'r that 'ro:ad, wtere sent directly (,r indirectly
thro,ugh thi.s mediation of MoIther Bickerdyke.




THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN.


535


When General Sherman was prepared to move on
his Atlanta campaign, Mother Bickerdyke with Mrs.
Porter accompanied the army on its bloody but
victorious march. They were constantly in the immediate rear of the fighting, and made extraordinary
exertions to keep the department of special relief at
its very highest point of efficiency. In this they
were aided by the Sanitary Commission, and by the
army officers. It was not unwise for officers to
reveal to Mrs. Bickerdyke enough of army plans to
enable her to make preparation for coming emergencies, for she always proved a safe depositary of
secrets. Those who worked with her most constantly saw that she generally knew when to have
prepared in the hospitals, huge kettles of coffee, soup,
and mush; when to have rough beds made of pine
and hemlock boughs with the large stems cut out, on
which were spread blankets; when to order forward teams laden with supplies, following herself in
close proximity in an ambulance. They attributed
her promptness to intelligent foresight; but it was
actual knowledge of coming events, in most cases.
I despair of giving any account of the work
accomplished by Mrs. Bickerdyke and Mrs. Porter
from April to November of 1864. What it is to
"follow an army " when there is no fighting in progress, can only be understood by those who have
experienced it. What it was to follow Sherman's
army in that Atlanta campaign, when it fought every
foot of the way, over rugged mountains, through
deep, narrow ravines, through thick, primitive woods,
across headlong rivers -to follow with only the one
aim of ministering to the exhausted, the suffering, the
wounded, the dying-with only a blanket and a




536


IN TIHE MIDST OF BATTLE.


pillow for a bed - the roar of artillery, the clash of
arms, the cries of distress, and the shout of battle
(.ontlit1ually resounding-to live night and day in
ile mill(lst of these horrors, il constant attendance
upon the mangled and anguished soldiers brought to
thnem fiom the rear, or taken to their extemporized
hospl)itals,- this cannot be described.
As they were plushling allonig in their ambulance on
(11(' c('('sion, )pae'ked with battle-stores, they heard
the distant sounds of a fierce cannonade  and knew
that a battle was ill progicess ahead of them. On
tlhe\ wentt, the soundls becoming louder, clearer, and
nmore distinct. Now it was mingled with the crash
of mlusl;ktlry, the (a11ls of half a hundred bugles, the
tIlIltn'('dred (c,lmatilnls of offi(ers leading their men
to tlie (cnflict, thle \ells of the infuriated soldiers as
the\ lhuled111   tllhemse(lves ont their antagonists with the
shock of a;l avalanche- and sometimels, overtopping
all, t}he awfil (erc's of mortal agony, that came up
irom tlie l)attle-field, fromn men writhing in every form
of lh}astl!  wtoWtiuid. They were in the rear of the
l)aittlc of RKseaca. On one side were heaped the
knal)-acki and othler ilzmt iruli-ta, of which the men
had( st'ri)pped thenmselves( for the fight- on the other
the aiiln)tatI'gr tents of the surgeons, surrounded by
all e.ver-IICreasing quantity of mallngled and dissevered 1llm). Tie. field hospitals were in readiness for
tlie  llwonded(l, who la- about under trees, and on the,',,ras-. awa\iting their turn at the amputating table, or
to have their wounds dressed.
In a verv short time both women were at work.
Their pl)rtablle kettles, with furnaces attached, were
set up, their concentrated extract of beef was uncanned, and.soon the fainting and famishing men
I              ~0              C




RECEIVED MESSAGES OF THE DYING.


537


were uttering their thanks for the great refreshment.
of a palatable soup. In the interim, they dressed
wounds, took down memoranda of last messages to
be sent North to friends, received and labelled dying
gifts to be distributed East, West, and North, encouraged the desponding, and sped the parting soul
to Heaven with a brief verse of hymn, a quotation
from the words of Christ, or a fervent and tender
prayer. This arduous but blessed work they continued at Kingston, Altoona, and Kenesaw Mountain,
on to Atlanta.
Never were the services of women more needed:
never were soldiers more grateful for their motherly
ministrations. The Atlanta campaign was made a
success, not alone by the consummate genius and
skill of its great commander, but by downright, unflinching, courageous hard fighting, such as the world
has never seen surpassed. The whole campaign
must forever stand unsurpassed in the annals of history.
Nor were the enemy less daring and wondrously
brave than the Union forces. "For half an hour
the two armies fought face to face, each side of the
same line of intrenchments, with the battle colors of
the respective armies flying from the same works."
At the battle of Atlanta, General McPherson was
killed, an officer beloved by all, civilians, privates,
and commanders. General Grant discovered his
worth, and depended on him, long before the public
had heard of him. He was very able in council, or
on the field, and was as noble and pure-minded as he
was able. When the tidings of his death reached
General Sherman, he turned away from his staff
officers, and burst into tears. Nor was General




5;IS


SIIE LEFT THE DOOMED CITY.


Glanlt less afflicted. Always reticent and undemonstrative, he walked away to his headquarters, where,
for a long time, he was alone with his sorrow. With
hcr usual thouglht fill nss, Mother Bickerdyke took
the blouse in which General McPherson met his
death, and wlich was saturated with his blood, washed
it, and then forwarded it to the bereaved mother of
the dead ofic(ler.
Aftler Sherlllan had talcn possession of Atlanta,
IMoLther B1( klrdkce went there also, pursuing her unwearied work as the good Samaritan of the soldiers.
Not ultil ShermIan stood detached from his communications, with  his whole force grouped   about
Atlanta, ready for his march to the sea, did she prepare for her d(lepartuire. Then she superintended the
packling_ and bloxing of all the hospital supplies, saw
thlem safely and seculrely on their way to Xashville,
and left the doomled clty. And then Atlanta was on
fire, and. as she lookcd back, on her road northward,
it was enlvelol)ed in smoke and flames, like a second
So,,dol  and (;,lomorrah.
Gecnera:ll Sherm;:n had directed her to meet him
when he reIachedl the Atlantic coast, and to bring to
his troo)p- all the supplies that could be gathered.
lie g;ave her( orders for transportation on his account
to;nv dtesirdl extent. She was in Philadelphia, on
tlh( 1,ook, t f'or ti(ilnsI firom him, when hle reached
S.iva;ninalh  -ith iis,,rders, she had obtained a
st;eamllat fi,,roi the qullartermaster; and then she
(;llhl,I n the C(ristintll Commiission to fill it. Its
pre-idenlt. (;eo,,rge II. Stuart, di( not hesitate to grlant
5Mi. Il l;kel;lkc's requecst. The boat was loaded
undelr h]is directiin, nwith choice dried and canned
firuit- clothinglr, crackers, butter, cheese, tea, sugar,




AD TO ANDERSONVILLE VICTIMS.


539


condensed milk, tapioca, extract of beef, corn starch,
lemons, oranges, tin cups for drinking, a span of
mules, an ambulance for her own use, -everything,
in short, suggested by knowledge and experience.
It steamed to Wilmington, S. C., carrying happy
Mother Bickerdyke along. Here the Andersonville
prisoners were first brought, and again the indefatigable woman set to work, regardless of Sherman and
his soldiers, who were well enough without her; for
they appeared at Savannah fat and hearty; and if
ragged and dirty, the government was able to supply
in full their demands for clothing and rations. But
the poor Andersonville victims, who had been starved
into idiocy and lunacy, now claimed her attention;
and not until the last of these were buried, or were
able to leave for the North, did she take her departure.
By this time Lee had capitulated, the war was
ended, and the whole country was given up to a
delirium of thankfulness. Then she followed the
stream of blue-coats to Washington, finding daily
more work to do than a dozen could perform. She
had the great pleasure of witnessing the grand review of the troops at Washington, and then went
West, laboring in the hospitals at Louisville and
Nashville until they were closed.
While she was at Louisville, some troops left for
a distant post in Texas, where scurvy was making
sad havoc. As a quantity of anti-scorbutics could
be forwarded to the sufferers in the care of these
soldiers, Mrs. Bickerdyke decided it should be done.
The vegetables could reach their destination without
trans-shipment; the captain of the boat promised to
delay the departure of the steamer until their arrival




G40


"I MEAN WHAT I SAY.".,ln the wharf.  Under difficulties that would have
tllhval'tcd any Xwonm'en 1'les resolute than Mrs. Bickerdlyke allnd MI's. Polrter, wagons were hiriel, the potatoes loaded, and started for the wharf, both ladies
ae(Comllllanvillng the shipmelt.  The rain poured in
tolrrenlts, the mud was almost inmpassable, and the
dl'ive('1s made slow time.  When they reached the
landing tlie boat was fiar out in the stream.
"It slhall (coie back!" said indomitable Mother
Bi3 keri 'd\ke; and, rising in the wagon, while the
raill pelt ed l),tll womn piteously, she beckoned
cnelgcel',tcally to the boat to return. The captain saw
Ihr'. and seemled to be cnsidering. 'With yet more
emplll;hasis and atitho,,ity, she waved renewed signals
1r01 at retturn.  The bat slackeined speed. Now,
dI'e rs' ls, bvstalndlerl, and both women, by pantomime,
that el tcx.'Sl  -t eltatv and command, urged the
boat to ret'rac'e its (coursie. It rounded to, steamed
ba;( k to, tlie landing, and took the anti-scorbutics on
b, )11'(1
I 1I(lIdn' tiliik you could get them down here in
tlls l)ot''inL  r 'ai l, e1I)ecially as it is Sunday! " expll:,el t}le ('aptali.
~ Idl1t/,,' tt;.'".t saild Mther Bickerdyke. " Sakes
allx e' \lihat 1did1 ou.uppl)o-c I meant when I told
v\i,1 tlhet.sli/,,td t/l   herelc  at the time you appointed?
I.mean i\hat I.:av, and I like to have folks do as
r1 hu n11, t,morning a (caricatui'e appeared in the
h1,p I w\ lllow\ (,' L,,u ville, representinl a woman in
a shaker lb)Innet (irdCring a government steamer with
a wa\x c of 1he hand. A copl)y,of it found its way to
thc I',,lno - of the C'ommm-isn.
For1 a year' after the Nwar, Mother Bickerdyke




a


ENGAGES IN HOUSE-KEEPING.        541
served as house-keeper in the Chicago " Home of the
Friendless," where the family averaged one hundred
and fifty. Such house-keeping never was known
there before. It seemed small business to her, however, and she became discontented and left. She
pushed West into Kansas, which was fast filling up
with returned soldiers, who were eager to locate the
one hundred and sixty acres of land given them by
government within the limits of that promising
state. She pre-empted her claim with the "boys,"
taking care to secure it, so that eventually it would
become the property of her sons.
Encouraged and aided by the Kansas Pacific Railroad Company, she opened a hotel at Salina, a town
of about a thousand inhabitants at that time, lying on
the Santa Fe route. Five trains daily passed to and
fro through the town, while the " prairie schooners,"
as the emigrant wagons were called, maintained an
almost unbroken procession westward past her doors.
She called her house " The Salina Dining-Hall "; but
everybody else called it "The Bickerdyke House."
In her dining-room, where one hundred and ten persons could be comfortably seated, one was always
certain of an excellent meal, well cooked and well
served, while the neatness of the whole establishment
was proverbial.  There were thirty-three sleeping
rooms in the house, plainly furnished, but glorified
by wonderful cleanliness. When she could play for
the property she was to become its owner. Were
Mother Bickerdyke the excellent financier that she is
nurse and house-keeper, she would now be in possession of a comfortable home and of a valuable piece
of property. It is not often that one woman combines in herself all excellent, or even necessary qual



54)


AIDING SUFFERERS IN MICHIGAN.


ities; and Mother Bickerdyke's hotel passed out of
her hands through her lack of financial skill.
When Kansas was ravaged by locusts, and the
people were brought to the verge of starvation, she
(ane11  East to solicit help for them.  Carloads of
food and clothing were forwarded to various reliable
parties for distribution, at her suggestion, while she
remained in the field, stimulating continued donations. She went to Washington to plead for seed
for the farmers, which was granted in abundance,
and only ceased her efforts when the needs of the
destitute people were supplied.
She repeated this merciful work when the forest
fires of Nor'thern AIichigan swept away millions of
dollars worth of property, and caused the loss of
hundred(ls of llves. The suffering and destitution
of that section (of country were inexpressible, and
Mother Bickerdyke bent her energies again to the
work (of relief, (listributing in person the supplies she
c )llecte(l.  IIHer executive abl)ility was called into
requisition, as, witlh her customary ubiquity, she was
here alld there and ever'N where, seekincg to rebuild
hol(.e which had been destroyed, and to gather
households (lispersed by the merciless conflagration.
At prese.nt, she resides. in San Francisco, where
sh1i  ha~ a posltiofln il the V  S. Mint. More than
eig}te \e'l  {as ei> t'o, her filen(ls began to petition
'( onre-s to,rraint her a pension. Their efforts were
lper-.-tent atnd earnest, until, a year ago, they were
n rw  ( n( (1 w lth uc(es.s, and a monthxl pension of $25
was (riven ]her. It was a niggardly and tardy recogniti(on otf Ihtr heroic services. If she had her deserts
she wolul(l be handsomely provided for by GovernInent  But the Grand Army Posts of the country




HER PERSONAL APPEARANCE.


543


do not forget her, and her friends will bear her on
their hearts, through life.
Last summer she came to Massachusetts for a
brief visit with her old friends. She arrived at my
home at the close of a dismally rainy day, wet and
exhausted. She had spent the day in Boston, searching for an old soldier from Illinois, who had served
out three terms in the house of correction, for drunkenness, during the last ten years. I remonstrated.
" My dear friend, why do you, at the age of seventythree, waste yourself on such a worthless creature
as B?"  Turning to me with a flash of her blue
eyes, she answered: " Mary Livermore, I have a commission from the Lord God Almighty to do all I
can for every miserable creature who comes in my
way. He's always sure of two friends- God and
met"
Mother Bickerdyke is of medium height, with
brown hair, now well sprinkled with white, blue eyes,
and a mouth of sweetness and firmness. When
young, she must have possessed considerable beauty;
for, after more than sixty years' incredible wear and
tear of life, she is still a comely woman. Always
cheerful, never discouraged, brave, indomitable, witty,
shrewd, versatile, clear-headed, unique- she only
needed early advantages to have made her a very
remarkable woman. Sympathy with the oppressed
and feeble, with little children, and with all who are
in trouble, is a prominent characteristic of her nature.
Although she is a member of the Congregationalist
Church, yet in church matters, as in war times, she
cuts red tape, and goes where she pleases. She
communes now with Methodists, and now with Unitarians, just as she happens to "light on 'em," to
88




544


UNSECTARIAN, BUT CHRISTIAN.


use her own phraseology, and nobody can hinder.
She is a practical Christian of the most genuine
type.
To know the estimation in which she was held by
the army, one needs to go West. Many of my engagements are with lecture committees of Grand
Army posts in the West. And at the first convenient moment the old veterans look into my face with
the inquiries, "How  long since you saw Mother
Bickerdyke?" or "Isn't it possible to get a pension
for Mother Bickerdyke?" Immediately, the members of their households cluster about us, and for a
few moments every heart beats faster and kindlier,
as her deeds of unselfish heroism are chronicled, or
the motherly tenderness of her life in the hospitals is
discussed, for the hundredth time.
While this book was in press, I was called to
Kansas, a state in which one hundred and eighty
thousand soldiers are settled. While I was there, a
Soldiers' Convention was held in Topeka, the capital
city, which was very lalgely attended.  Mother
Bickerdyke came from San Francisco, the invited
guest of the Convention, and, just as the veterans
were entering on their deliberations, made her appearance in the rear of the house.
In an instant there was a joyful confusion in the
neighborhood of the door, a rush, a subdued shout.
a repressed cheer. The presiding officer called for
order. and rapped vigorously with his gavel. But
the hubbub increased, and spread towards the centre
of the hall. Again the chairman sought to quell the
disturbance, rapping forcibly, and uttering his commands in an authoritative voice: "Gentlemen in the
rear of the house must come to order, and take their




TEARS OF MEMORY AND GLADNESS.


545


seats  It is impossible to transact business in this
confusion "
"Mother Bickerdyke is here!" shouted a chorus of
voices in explanation, which announcement put an
end to all thoughts of business, and brought every
man to his feet, and sent a ringing cheer through the
hall.  All pressed towards the motherly womllan,
known by all soldiers in the West, many thousands
of whom are indebted to her for care, nursing, tenderness, and help, in the direst hours of their lives.
Gray-haired and gray-bearded men took her in their
arms and kissed her. Others wept over her. Men
on crutches and men with empty coat-sleeves stood
outside the surging crowd, with shining eyes, waiting their turn to greet their benefactress.
"Why, boys, how you behave " was Mother Bickerdyke's characteristic exclamation, as, releasing herself from the smothering caresses and the strong
imprisoning arms, she wiped away tears of memory
and gladness.  This raised a shout of laughter.
Oh, mother, your brown hair has grown white as
snow," said one; "but I should know you by your
speech, if I met you in Africa."
"I should know her by the tender eyes and the
kind mouth," said another. "I shall never forget
how good they looked to me after the battle of
Resaca, where I lost my foot, and gave myself up to
die, I was in such pain. I tell you, it seemed as if
my own mother was doing for me, she was so gentle.
She looked down upon me, and encouraged me, and
nursed me, as if I were her son." And he wiped his
wet eyes with the back of his hand.
Had Mother Bickerdyke been a queen, she could
not have been more royally welcomed. It seemed




;46


ROYALLY WELCOMED.


implossible for the men to pay her sufficient honor.
They noted her increasing feebleness, her crippled
lhands(, he' snowy hair, her dinmming eyes, and said
to each other, "It isn't the result of old age; it is
Nw liat slle did for us during the war."  Only that
tIlthler Biclkerdyke resolutely forbids it, they would
su'rround her with luxury, and she would lack for no
comllfort, even if they inl)overshed themselves to
ol)taill tell1. "The boys have all they can do to
nlake a livnlg fr tlhemselves and families," she says,
" a1nd they sliall lnot be weilghted with the care of me."
1Andl s.o,, whe\n the Convention was ended, and the
11me w\(ent b)ack to their farms and shops and offices,
she turnel(d helr lhce tow;ards San Francisco, to take
Up) a,'ain tlie I lurden o lf her lo nely life.
Alhile. the;Mas;sachutsetts State Prison at Charlesto wn was uicnder the manaag;ement of WaVrden Gideon
I Iayv (., I wa invited to address the prisoners. At
t1l  ](<1,, (o1' thle informnal talk, Mr. tHaynes gave
th} co(llvicts wh},o clesiried to speak with me permissio11 to remnain in their seats when the rest marched
to tllher cells. About a dozen accepted the invitation  Of these, three were solicitous to know somethll.r c(ncernll('llil' M rother Bickerdy ke.  Was she
llvin'?"    IIad she a pension?"   "What was her
l,(,-t-oflice a(ldllre' —? "  And as each one detailed the
irc( tmlltalce ll   of his per'sonal acquaintance with Mrs.
I(kel-(,lvkc. I knew enough of his story to le true
t(, Nine:Xt the whole.
Ah if I h}ad had a mother like her," said one, as
wte pzartted. "I  }lhouldn't be here to-day. For she
wa: a t uce nmotheir to me - not only nursing me, but
alvi-ijn mPe."  Similar utterances were made by
others.




CHAPTER XXVII.


MY REMINISCENCES OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN —EXPfRIENCES
IN THE   " WIGWAM" - EXCITING      SCENES - MY INTERVIEWS WITH THE PRESIDENT AT THE WHITE HOUSE.
Early Life of President Lincoln —My first Knowledge of him, in 1858 —
" The Battle of the Giants " - He is nominated in 1860 for the Presidency- My Experience in the " Wigwam" as a Reporter - The memorable Scenes attending the Nomination -My Visit to Washington in
1862- Gloomy Period of the War - Call on the President - His Depression -Discouraging Statements - Wholesale Desertions from the Army
-" To undertake to fill up the Army is like shovelling Fleas!" - Mrs.
Hoge and I see the President alone - Ills Suffering during the War -
He contributes the manuscript Proclamation of Emancipation to the
Chicago Sanitary Fair- A Premium sent him as the largest Contributor.
AT TRE is not lavish of great men, but disl tributes them  charily through the centuries.
Often she evolves them from       the obscurity
where they have slowly        crystallized   into
force and clearness only when the crises
appear for whose mastership they were ordained.
Like the stars of evening, they sp)ring not into instantaneous being, but only appear after they have
been slowly formed in dimness and mistiness, after
long revolving, condensing, and gathering pale rays
of light. Then they stand out on the brow of night,
ever after to be the guide and admiration of men.
It was thus with President Lincoln, whose life was


547




54 1S


LINCOLN AS THE NATION'S LEADER.


crowned with the glory of martyrdom. The discillilne ot poverty, andl hard wrestling with nature in
the blended timber and prairie country of the unsubdued West, matured him to a late but sturdy manhood. The softening culture of the schools was held
aloof, firom him. The civic honors for which in early
life lie stirul,'led eluded his pursuit, and crowned
his rival. Thie golden stream of Pactolus flowed far
away fi',,m his feet. And so Nature and circumstance slhaped him  vigorous, cool-headed, warmhea lrted, self-poised, strong-handed.  A  child-like
simplicity remained in him, that ever proved more
thlan a match for the subtleties of political tricksters.
TI'rans(endent honesty and clear-sirghted goodness
stood him in stead of genius and inspiration. For
half a century ]his manhood was built up by gradual
accre''tionls,f powel', strength, and wisdom, and the
lquaflitie's wlhich inspire ti'ust, and then the great epoch
l,.st uplon the country, for which Providence had
The nation was writhing in the agonies of disruptlmn, and the fir.es of a gigantic civil war were smoul(dering in her bosom, when Mi%. Lincoln took in hand
the reins of government. Through Gethsemanes of
agonxT he 1eh(l the nation steadily, on its sanguinary
wa) to f'reedo m, till the goal was won. Then death
claieitd hl1I. O(ne moment he was charged with a
nation's fahte tlhe next - a shock, a dim, b)lank pause,
aid lie b}eheld tile King in His glory. One moment
the nois.y and capricious applause of the people:rI'lleld around him; the next he heard the Heavenly
Voice, "W ell done, good and faithful servant!"
'Th.v nation -,)l)lbed its farewell to him, but still
reache- out to him in yearning love. It hoards its




THE BATTLE OF THE GIANTS.


549


memories of him as priceless wealth. It exhumes
from the past the minutiae of his daily life, and laughs
afresh at his rare humor, and weeps anew over the
pathos and tragedy crowded into his history.
I well remember when I first heard of Mr. Lincoln,
and the impression made upon me by the first words
of his I ever heard. It was in 1858, a year or so
after my removal t tthe West from New England.
He had been put forward as a candidate for the seat
of Hon. Stephen A. Douglas in the Illinois Senate,
whose term of office was soon to expire, and who
was himself a candidate for re-election. The two
aspirants for the same position " stumped " the state,
and met in joint debate at seven points of geographical importance. These debates created an intense
interest; and everywhere the people flocked to heal
them. To this day, that memorable and peculiar
discussion is known in Illinois as " the battle of the
giants."
Mr. Lincoln had been nominated for State Senator
by the Republican Convention at Springfield, Ill., in
June, 1858. He addressed the Convention on that
occasion, and his speech constituted the platform of
the great debate between Mr. Douglas and himself,
at which time he made the following prophetic utterance, which has been so often quoted: —
"A house divided against itself cannot stand. I
beieve this government cannot endure permanently
one half slave and one half free. I do not expect
the Union to be dissolved-I do not expect the
house to fall. But I do expect that it will cease to
be divided - it will become all one thing, or all the
other." He seemed, even at that early date, to speak
with prophetic prevision.




550


NOMINATED FOR PRESIDENT.


Mr. Lincoln lost the election, and Mr. Douglas
won it. But the former gathered to himself the
trulst of all who hated slavery and loved freedom -
wlile the later forfeited their confidence forever.
Mr. Lincoln prepared the way for his tliinmphant
elevation to a higher post of honor - but Mr. Douglas took the initial steps towards a defeat that ended
il death.
It was my good fortune to be present at the
National Convlention in   Chicago, in 1860, which
nominated Mr. Lincoln to the Presidency. It was
hcld ill all inmmense building erected for the occasion,
and knlown as the "Wigwam."      I had undertaken
to reIjort the l)roce(dlings for an editor fiiend, and a
sea;t wa.s:asslllncd nie near the platform, where the
elec.tors fi'rom  tlhe sevcral states were seated, and
wl'here nolt one( word could escape me. MIy place was
Hin thie lid(st of the grecat reportorial army collected
fi'1m all l)arts of the c(ountrt~y. I was fortunate above
-all woicn on that occ(.asion, for the far-away gallery;wal a.lin(d( thlem, and thex were strictly forbidden
thle e(nclosed anld guarded lower floor, which was
sa; r-d to lmen exclusivelr. Fromn the immensity of
the  AVigrwai,"l thle 1)Ioceedin.s could not be heard
ill tlh i  raller, and  CeinedCd there like gigantic panto1 Ihatve nti\er unlltl'stotd the g(ood luck that be-.stoweld nme amolng the r'elcrtel  at that time, nor
lo  I s.cl1(c'((l  in retaining mny pI,(iti,)  when the
oltici;il att lllipt was made to r.move me. Women
n por)-te.s were then almost unlheard of; and mncon1i)i( tio(-:as I had endeavored to make inmse~lf by
lrclt-nl^r in black, like my brethren of the 1)'cpress the
mlar.Ill of the (day  pied me, after the lower floor




MEN WILD WITH EXCITEMENT.


551


was densely packed with masculinity. In stentorian
tones that rang through the building, while his
extended arm and forefinger pointed me out, and
made me the target for thousands of eyes, he ordered
me to withdraw my profane womanhood fiom the
sacred enclosure provided for men, and " go up
higher," among the women. I rose mechanically to
obey, but the crowd rendered this impossible. My
husband beside me, reporting for his own paper,
undertook to explain, but was not allowed. The
reporters about me then took the matter into their
own hands, and in a tumult of voices cavalierly bade
me "Sit still!" and the marshal "Dry up I" A
momentary battle of words was waged over my
head, between my husband and the reporters, the
police and the marshal, and then I was left in peace.
The unconventional West was new to me, and I was
a good deal disturbed by this episode, which no one
but myself seemed to remember tel minutes later.
I was well repaid for the annoyance, by being a
near witness of the electric scenes which followed
the nomination of Mr. Lincoln to the Presidency, on
the third ballot.  Who that saw the tumultuous
rapture of that occasion could ever forget it! Men
embraced each other, and fell on one another's
neck, and wept out their repressed feeling. They
threw their hats in air, and almost rent the roof with
huzzahs. Thousands and thousands were packed in
the streets outside, who stood patiently receiving
accounts of the proceedings within, from reporters
posted on the roof, listening at the numerous open
skylights, and shouting them in detail to the crowd
below.  Sometimes, messengers ran from these reporters at the skylights to the eaves of the building,




5 -")J


ANTI-SLAVERY CANDIDATE.


thence to vociferate to the remote but patiently
waiting crowd outside what had just been said or
dol(e.  They would then take up     the subsiding
chorus of shouts within, and re-echo them still more
wildly, until they drowned the city's multitudinous
llrr,.an1d were lheard a mile away. The billows of
this delirious joy surg(ed around me, as I sat amid
tlhe swaying', I'c(klll, foi' ls of' hIen who had sprung
to thelli feet and 1grast)ed ea(ch other by the hand, or
1:had f1llen inllt one anllother's arms, and were laughin,. ry')i,'l  and talking' incoherently.
I (confess I was lnot fully en, rapplort with the insanity,f gladness racing around me. It seemed to me
thesells (lcIIi1ost';ltlOIIs we'Nre,( made rather because the
antit-slavet' prlinciplll, had1 tl'tiunl)hed, than because
IMr. Linidii, hlllll' lf was; a special favorite.  The
'rea;lt mIllajol'lt!\t knew him on,,ly as a country lawyer,
ad1 nt e'' distilrngui-llhd at that. But they also
lknew tliat h(e wa Iiteslltel liostile to human slavery,:;(1l h1:1(1 s() av)w;1(ed hisllllf  Is it certaiJn that Mr.
Linl i,    an u iom11  r('liomisin g anti-slavery man?"
I illqlil'.d of a Mi;tSachllusetts reporter next me.
" Thet  is no, hullllll   al)out it? Mr. Lincoln is not
anti-ljLven'x jlust,now flo the sake of getting votes, is
I    (; an  ou ifio rnm me?
loIr answel', he took f'rom his po,(ketbook a little
frallllent otf' IIewspal)ei, which c(ltaitined this extract
'roin hl  l',e vria Ill., pechl," made Oct. 16, 1854,
a;lid pa:l-d it to mc with the simple query, "Do you
thnlk he ( an take the back track after saying that?"
'Th'is is the (jquotation:
~ Slavery is founded in the selfishness of man's
natturIe )- loosition 'to it, in the love of justice.
Thes-e principles are in eternal antagonism; and




"CCANNOT REPEAL HUMAN NATURE."


553


when brought into collision as fiercely as slavery
extension brings them, shocks and throes and convulsions must follow ceaselessly. Repeal the Missouri
Compromise; repeal all compromises; repeal the
Declaration of Independence; repeal all past history;
you cannot repeal human nature. It will still be in
the abundance of man's heart that slavery extension
is wrong, and out of the abundance of the heart his
mouth will continue to speak."
When the President-elect left his Illinois home for
Washington, to confront an organized and ripened
conspiracy against the life of the nation, as he jourl
neyed from city to city, the whole country turned
out to look upon the man it had chosen to be its
leader.
On a raw February night in 1861, impelled by a
like anxious curiosity, I went with the multitude and
stood at the edge of an effervescing crowd -that had
shouted itself hoarse, and was then gesticulating its
frantic delight-that I might look in the rugged,
homely face of our future President. Like many
others on whose hearts the gradual disruption of the
Union that dark winter lay like an agony of personal
bereavement, I longed to read in the face of our
leader the indications of wisdom and strength that
would compel the people to anchor in him and feel
safe. His simple, unaffected, but almost solemn
words thrilled through and through the hearts of his
listeners. Eager lookers-on like myself hung on the
skirts of the mercurial crowd, and the comments that
trembled from lip to lip indicated their anxiety. "He
seems like an honest man!" "He is evidently impressed with the solemn responsibilities of the hour! "
Will he be equal to this tremendous emergency?"




554   GOD HELP HIM FULFIL THE CONTRACT."
"There is no spread-eagle nonsense about him
that is one consolation! " "He has taken a big contract -( God help him fulfil it!"  "He is probably
nlt mluch of a statesman, nor even a politician; but
thien lie is a Northern man, an anti-slavery man, and
lie is lhonest and lo)yal, and perhaps we could not have
do0ne be)tter thllan to elect ' old Abe' President!"
These were the comments made around me, and I
saw that all werel fceeling their way to an anchorage
ill him, althourgh few found it until a later date.
In Novembler, 1862, I found myself in Washington,
whlitller I had lbeen summnoned to attend a council of
womenl connected with the Sanitary Commission. It
wa.s at l(),onllo time all over the country. The heart
ot tll. 1 pople had. wn sick with hope deferred; and
tile firuitl(-s ulndertalkinls and timid, dawdling policy
of' (;neral McClellan aiad l pelirlexed a1nd discouraged
all loyalsts, anld sttrentlhened and made bold all
traito-  Tle armly wlas always entrenched or entrenclhii. Its;dvIne was forbidden by the autum1I;1 ';rains, a(nd tlle poli(y o f its commanding general,
whatev(er tlha;t mIniht havec been. The rebcll army was
in fiont, alnd eCver day a new crop of rumors was
harv, ted il reference to its purItose  One hour,
Wa\-;lhinrton was slf(e! " and " All was quiet on the
I'otol;( "  l 'ie next, "The rebels were marching
ol to:WaSlhigto,  b" They were bloc(king our river
(i., nllllalllltio,  ' " They w ere threatening to overwl,!I,,I l, I t'- I" or, Tl The') liad already taken our
p)sitioll'" l)t-l) pndcnc\ -at,on every face.
I w(llndel wlhether M3IeClllan rmelan to do anytlhnlll " < lta MrI. Lincoln one dav to a fiiend. "I
-hoiul like to borrow the army of him for a day or
two)..




WEIGHTED WITH HIS BURDENS.


555


Those of the women who had come from the loyal
and sanguine Northwest, listened in undisguised
amazement to the open-mouthed secession of more
than one half the people we met; for in the Northwest it was hardly safe to talk treason openly; and,
despite the discouragements of the military situation
in the East, the people bated not one jot of their
confidence in the ultimate restoration of the Union,
without the loss of a single state. Our hearts died
within us; and when the Woman's Council adjourned, we were glad to accept an invitation to call
on the President in a body. The President had
appointed an early hour for our reception.
I shall never forget the shock which his presence
gave us. Not more ghastly or rigid was his dead
face, as he lay in his coffin, than on that never-to-beforgotten night. His introverted look and his halfstaggering gait were like those of a man walking in
sleep. He seemed literally bending under the weight
of his burdens. A deeper gloom rested on his face
than on that of any person I had ever seen. He
took us each by the hand mechanically, in an awkward, absent way, until my friend Mrs. Hoge, of
Chicago, and myself were introduced, when the
name of the city of our residence appeared to catch
his attention, and he sat down between us.
" So you are from Chicago!" he said, familiarly;
" you are not scared by Washington mud, then; for
you can beat us all to pieces in that." And then he
asked about the weather we had had during the fall,
the health of the city, and other matters of local interest, as one to whom the Northwest was home, and
dear. It was explained to him that we were all identified with the Sanitary Commission, and that we had




NO ROYAL ROAD TO PEACE.


called, before separating to our widely divergent
homes, to obtain from him some word of encouragement - something to cheer and stimulate. " I have
no word of encouragement to give " was his sad
and blunt reply. " The military situation is far from
bright; and the country knows it as well as I do."
There was no attempt at question or answer; but a
momentary deep and painful silence settled on his
auditors.
"The fact is," he continued after a pause, "the
people haven't yet made up their minds that we are
at war with the South. They haven't buckled down
to the determination to fight this war through; for
they have got the idea into their heads that we are
going to get out of this fix, somehow, by strategy!
That's the word-strategy! General McClellan
thinks he is going to whip the rebels by strategy;
and the army has got the same notion. They have
no idea that the war is to be carried on and put
through by hard, tough fighting, that will hurt somebody; and no headway is going to be made while
this delusion lasts."
Some one ventured to remonstrate against this, and
reminded the President how hundreds of thousands
had rushed to arms at the call of the country; how
bravely the army and navy had fought at Forts
Henry and Donelson, Pea Ridge, Shiloh, and New
Orleans; and how gloriously they had triumphed.
He admitted this, but returned to his first statement. "The people haven't made up their minds
that we are at war, I tell you!" he repeated, with
great positiveness. "They think there is a royal
road to peace, and that General McClellan is to find
it. The army has not settled down into the convic



"LIKE SHOVELING FLEAS."5


6557


tion that we are in a terrible war that has got to be
fought out- no; and the officers haven't either.
When you came to Washington, ladies, some two
weeks ago, but very few soldiers came on the trains
with you - that you will all remember. But when
you go back you will find the trains and every conveyance crowded with them. You won't find a city
on the route, a town, or a village, where soldiers and
officers on furlough are not plenty as blackberries.
There are whole regiments that have two thirds of
their men absent - a great many by desertion, and a
great many on leave granted by company officers,
which is almost as bad. General McClellan is all the
time calling for more troops, more troops; and they
are sent to him; but the deserters and furloughed men
outnumber the recruits. To fill up the army is like
undertaking to shovel fleas. You take up a shovelful," suiting the word with an indescribably comical
gesture; " but before you can dump them anywhere
they are gone. It is like trying to ride a balky
horse. You coax, and cheer, and spur, and lay on
the whip; but you don't get ahead an inch-there
you stick."
"Do you mean that our men desert?" we asked,
incredulously; for in our glorifying of the soldiers
we had not conceived of our men becoming deserters.
"That is just what I mean!" replied the President. "And the desertion of the army is just now
the most serious evil we have to encounter. At the
battle of Antietam, General McClellan had the names
of about one hundred and eighty thousand men on
the army rolls. Of these, seventy thousand were
absent on leave granted by company officers, which,




558


THE ARMY WEAKENED.


as I said before, is almost as bad as desertion. For
tihe men ought not to ask for furloughs with the
enemy drawn up before them, nor ought the officers
to grant them. About twenty thousand more were
in hospital, or were detailed to other duties, leaving
only some ninety thousand to give battle to the
enem.. General McClellan went into the fight with
this lllnumber. 13lBt in two hours after the battle commnenced thirty thousand had straggled or deserted,
and so tile battle was fought with sixty thousand
and as the enemy had al)bout the same number, it
rovedl a drawn game. The rebel army had coiled
itself' u1) in such a position that if McClellan had
only had the seventy thousand absentees, and the
tlhirtt thousand dleserterls, he could have surrounded
Lee, calttllredl the w hole rebel army, and ended the
war at a stroke without a battle.
" We have a Stragrrle rs' Camp out here in Alexandria, in connection vwith the Convalescent Camp, and
from that (.ampl, in three months, General Butler has
returlned to their regriments seventy-five thousand
desertcrs and straogglers who have been arrested and
sent there. Don't you see that the country and the
armx fail to realize that we are engaged in one of
the greatest wars the world has ever seen, and
whi( h (can only )be ended by haird fighting?  General
M,(>1 1lan is rlel)on-i)le for the delusion that is untiinilr the whole arimy -that the South is to be con(jte ljer(l tr.t'tratc(,y"  [That very week, General
Mc(lellan had( beeti removed from the command of
the armyn and Geneiral Burnside - of whom the
I'-c-i(lent -1poke m ot eutlogistically -had been appl)iited(l in hi: place, but none of us knew it that
night.]




" BETTER OFF THAN THE ENEMY."


559


"Is not death the penalty of desertion?" we inquired.
"Certainly it is."
"And does it not lie with the President to enforce
this penalty?"
"Yes."
"Why not enforce it, then? Before many soldiers
had suffered death for desertion, this wholesale depletion of the army would be ended."
"Oh, no, no! " replied the President, shaking his
head ruefully: "that can't be done; it would be unmerciful, barbarous."
"But is it not more merciful to stop desertions,
and to fill up the army, so that when a battle comes
off it may be decisive, instead of being a drawn
game, as you say Antietam was?"
"It might seem so. But if I should go to shooting men by scores for desertion, I should soon have
such a hullabaloo about my ears as I haven't had
yet, and I should deserve it. You can't order men
shot by dozens or twenties. People won't stand it,
and they ought not to stand it. No, we must change
the condition of things in some other way. The
army must be officered by fighting men. Misery
loves company, you know," he added; i' and it may
give you some consolation to know that it is even
worse with the rebel army than it is with ours. I
receive their papers daily, and they are running over
with complaints of the desertion of their soldiers.
We are no worse off than they are, but better; and
that is some comfort."
The conversation continued for an hour, the President talking all the while of the country and of the
aspect of affairs in the most depressing manner.
84




560


APPEARANCE OF THE PRESIDENT.


VWhell we left him, we agreed among ourselves that
it would not be wise to repeat the conversation, so as
to lhave it get into the papers.  For, in the then
feverish state of the public mind, whatever was rep)ortedl as comilln fiom  the President, no matter
lhow or by whom reported, was eagerly seized upon.
The infllenlce of the talk upon ourselves was too
dispiriting for us to wish to extend its effect.  It
(,ost those of us who lbelonged to the Northwest a
nighrt's slep. The condition of the country, the
unsatlsfactolry military aspect, the uneasiness of the
peolle, the state of the army, all wore hues of midnight )befoire our interview with the Chief Magis~
trate, and tlis had griven them such additional gloom
tlhat we almost 'rel)ented our visit to Washington.
Thie next day niy lfriend Mlrs. IIoge, and myself,
h}1:ad a;lnothe intervilew with the President, on busi1c's eitrll'lsted to us. If we we'r shocked the night
1)te1o)1'e;at his haz ':t d faice, how nimuch more were we
pai: dl' wh\(en thl l)I, )iad lighit of day revealed the
Irav':ae  wi(lch ca, alixietv, and overwolrk had
wI'(lIrohlt. Ii (,ou' dceslndllent condltlon it was difficullt to (control o1ur feelings so as not to weep before
him   ()Our unilspoken tlhoulght ran thus: "Our national atlairs ntust 1, in thle very cxtremitv of hope1e.-l  s   if- Ith   they thu  1)re  on the mind and life
oft thle P'Iie-delt.  The countlry has been slain by
tre:aoii — he klilos it, and that it cannot recover
itc, lI
() ll' l-usinlss ended, before we witlhdrew we made
on0e Illnr' attempt to draw encouraging words from
the reluctant head of the nation. "MIr. President,"
we said tiidlly. '" we find ourselves greatly depressed
l)y the talk of last evening; you do not consider our




DISCOURAGING, BUT NOT HOPELESS.


561


national affairs hopeless, do you? Our country is
not lost?"
"Oh, no " he said, with great earnestness, "our
affairs are by no means hopeless, for we have the
right on our side. We did not want this war, and
we tried to avoid it.  We were forced into it; our
cause is a just one, and now it has become the cause
of freedom." (The Emancipation Proclamation had
just been promulged.)  "And let us also hope it is
the cause of God, and then we may be sure it must
ultimately triumph. But between that time and now
there is an amount of agony and suffering and trial
for the people that they do not look for, and are not
prepared for."
No one can ever estimate the suffering endured by
President Lincoln during the war. I saw him several
times afterwards, and each time I was impressed
anew with the look of pain and weariness stereotyped on his face. " He envied the soldier sleeping
in his blanket on the Potomac," he would say, in his
torture. And sometimes, when the woes of the country pressed most heavily on him, he envied the dead
soldier sleeping in the cemetery.
"Whichever way this war ends," he said to a fieind
of mine, "I have the impression that I shall not last
very long after it is over." After the dreadful repulse of our forces at Fredericksburg, when the
slaughter was terrific, the agony of the President
wrung from him the bitter cry, "Oh, if there is a
man out of hell that suffers more than I do, I pity
him!"
Mrs. Hoge and I accepted the morsel of hope given
us by the President's last words, and went out together. Side by side we walked up Pennsylvania




562


QUICKENED TO NEW EXERTIONS.


Avenluc, (luiietly weeping behind our veils, neither
trustingl hlerself to speak to the other. But saddening as was this meeting with the President, it was
not without its good effect on all of us. We were
women, and could not fight for the country. But the
instinct,of patriotism within our hearts, which had
lain dormant when our beloved land knew no danger,
wa1s 11\nw (develo(,ped into a passion. We returned to
(ulr v arliotls homes, scparated by thousands of miles,
mlor'e nlspir'cd than ever to link ourselves with the
hosts o f ficreedomn, wlho were yet to work better and
more blra;vcl tlan they knew.
Thel women of the Sanitary    Commission set
themselllv.es to work in the different states of their
ieSlcidclle, as tlheir circumstances and localities deinandedl.  YTWe wlo belonged to the Northwest
res,lved,n a Northwestern Soldlers' Fair, to obtain
l,11onev or the lpu(rchlse of comforts and necessaries
f;,r theI kick and wounded of our army, and immediatte l  ])egall to pllan fo;r it. In the projection of this
flair thi.re was a doluble purpose. To obtain money
wa- not its,sole aim. We believed it would develop a
grlatefl'ul demonstration of the loyalty of the Northwett to our st1rugglinr country; that it would en(.couraI;g  the worn veterans of many a hard-fought
ii( Id. and(l strengthen them, as the\T perilled their lives
in do. ecl;te,f their native land; and that it would
inlithuc into the scattered worker's for our suffering
-4,1(1 1.s;nl ilmlpetus that would last throlugh the war.
Thi fa.ir' ca.me otff il al,,,ut onc year after our visit
to the I'Prte-ideit, and yielded the then unprecedented
u11In of nearly one hundred thousand dollars.  It
reiltuiredl IIt'culean effort to conduct this first fair.
At fir.lt, and for a long time, onl) two women and no




MORAL INFLUENCE OF THE FAIR.


563


men were interested in it; and this was enough with
many to summarily condemn it. It remained throughout a woman's fair. Unlike the East, the West had
then few competent and able people of leisure who
could work continuously in an enterprise like this. A
large fair, pecuniarily successful, had never been held
in the West, and was not believed possible. And
the public mind was so pre-occupied that it was next
to impossible for us to get a hearing for our grand
project. But we succeeded; and the fair came off at
the appointed time, and was found to have accomplished vastly more than it contemplated.
It attracted the attention of the whole loyal North
for weeks, and was the cynosure of all eyes and the
theme of all tongues. That it rendered good service to the deal cause of the country was manifest;
for disloyalists, from first to last, assailed both it and
its managers, publicly and privately, in the most venomous manner. The most malignant falsehoods were
put in circulation to its detriment, while the wholesale defamation of its managers, was so coarse and
disgusting that it carried with it its own refutation.
It was both bano and antidote in one. The spontaneous enthusiasm which the fair enkindled, its electric
generosity, its moral earnestness, and its contagious
patriotism glorified the occasion, and were of more
worth to the country than the money which was
raised. Other mammoth fairs, in other large cities,
came off after this, largely modelled on its plan, and
largely outdoing it in pecuniary results; but by none
was its morale excelled.
From the first public announcement of this fair,
President Lincoln took a lively interest in it. He
bore testimony again and again to its moral influ



t; l


THE PItISIDENT'S GIFT.


ence., and inquired concerning its progress of every
visitant fIroml the Northwest that found his way to
the White Iouse   WVe wrote with much hesitation
for we never forgot llow he was shouldering the
wo(,S and (calres of the country - asking for some contrilution fiomi himself to our fair. The people of
the Nortlhwe.st were idolatroulsly attached to him;
andl we klnew thllat ally gift froml hin would be prized
abolve all pice. So we Irged our petition as earuestlv as we 1knew how, and enlisted Hon. Isaac N.
Ar1'lll h, ot Cli.,  pelesonal friend of Mr Lincoln,
to scc)nlld our l)l'ayers in person.
"Yes," said the Pr sident, " I must send somethillg o t tllt fairi; but what'?"
A hal)l)p thoullht came to Mr. Arnold. "Why
not se t(l tle ladies the original manuscript Proclamation o)t Emancilpation? They can make a good thing
o( t (of it
rThe IPre-lident wished to keep it himself, but
fi:nall co e,sente(l, and it reached Chicago the day
afteri tle fhlil ol)cpened. On unlckking  my post-office
dr:awe \ r that morningl  I found the precious document,
aill carrield it triullmphantly to Bryan Hall, one of
the six halls (occ{ulied )by the fair, where the package
\wa opene(1d. The maniucril)t of the Proclamation
was accmml,)anied by a characteristic letter, which I
have tiven e lsevwhere
Its receipt was announced to the immense throngs.rowdllt thle bllil(ding. who welcomed it with deafenilrg ee. It Iwas. enclos.ed in an elegant black walnut firaiie, so, a.11ranged that It could be read entirely
through the plate glass that protected it from touch,
and hung where it could be seen and read by all.
At an early condition of the fair, before a furor in




GIFT TO THE PRESIDENT.


565


its behalf had been aroused, a patrioti( gentlemnan of
Chicago offered the premium of a fine gold watch to
the largest single contributor to the fhir. The don:ltion of the manuscript Emancipation Proclamation
entitled President Lincoln to this watch, which was
elegant and valuable, and which, aft'tr being properly
inscribed, was sent to him.  lie acknowlecdged its
receipt, in a notc written by his own hand. Since
his deatlh it is pleasant, to know that this watch
has fallen into the hands of his soil, Robert Lincoln, our late Secretary of War, who holds it
sacred as a memento of a touching incident in his
father's history.




CHAPTER XXIX.
REMINISCENCES     OF  PRESIDENT    LINCOLN    CONTINUEDSCENES AT THE WHITE HOUSE -A WIFE'S SAD STORY
AND   AFFECTING   PETITION-I INTERCEDE WITH         THE
PRESIDENT-HIS SYMPATHY AND MERCY.
The President refuses to pardon a Virginia Spy - Wife of the condemned
Illinois Major - Her sad Story - She is too much broken down to plead
for her Husband's Life - " Beg the President not to allow my husband to
be shot! "- I tell her Story - The President's Sympathy - " These Cases
kill me " - He had already commuted the Major's sentence - His Delight
at the Discovery- " I know all about it now" - The grateful Woman
fainted - She is told to go and visit her Husband - The broken-hearted
Wife goes away imploring Blessings on the President -Beautiful Reception of Miss Elizabeth Peabody-Touching Letter to Mrs. BixbyHer five Sons were killed in Battle-Humorous Reply to his Advisers"Keep Silence, and we'll get you safe across."
HAD     an opportunity during       the war of
witnessing the reception by the President
of two applications for pardon, which met
with widely different fates.      The case of
the first was this: A young man, belonging to
a Virginia family of most treasonable characterl, remained in Washington when the rest of the
household went with the Confederacy. Though he
took no active part with the loyalists of the capital,
he was so quiet and prudent as to allay their suspicions concerning him, and finally to gain their confidence. He opened a market and kept for sale the
very best quality of meats, supplying many of the


566




PUNISHMENT OF A "SPY."


567


families of prominent officers of the government,
and for a time the family at the White House. He
even managed to obtain a sort of intimacy in some
of these households, through the intrigues of disloyal servants. As afterwards appeared, he possessed himself of information that was valuable to
the rebels, and which he imparted to them promptly
and unreservedly.
When Lee moved up into Pennsylvania, in the
summer of 1863, this young man was suddenly missing from his place of business, and another person
was installed in his place. "He was unexpectedly
called away by business," was assigned as the reason
for his absence.  In one of the cavalry fights, or
skirmishes, which occurred almost daily in Maryland,
or Southern Pennsylvania, during that June raid of
Lee's army, the young man was taken prisoner by
General Kilpatrick's men, near Winchester, in a
"spirited brush" which they had with Stuart's cavalry.
I do not remember all the technicalities of the
case, if indeed I ever knew them. But the young
man was recognized. was )proved to be a spy, and,
but for the President's leniency, would have been
hanged. Instead of the punishment of death, however, he was sentenced to twenty years' imprisonment. Immediately all the rebels of Washington
were moving to his relief. Every wire was pulled
that was supposed to have any power to open his
prison door. Members of Congress were besought
to intercede for him, and at last the President himself was besieged.
It was in the President's room, while waiting my
turn for an interview, that I learned the above facts.
Two persons were pleading in his behalf-a man




58;S


58HE DESERVES TO BE HUNG.


and a woman - the latter elegant, beautiful, and
with a certain air o' culture, but the former having
the look o' a refined villain. It was a very plausible
st(or') as they told it. "Their truly loyal young kins-.man had gone lnto Maryland to buy beeves for the
A\ashingt,,n narket-t was 'gobbled up,' with his
filne, fit kine, by Stuart, who confiscated his propert! and imprl'essed its owner into his cavalry. And
tlhen, as i' tlhat we're not calamnity enough for one
day, he was captIrlled aglail by Killatrick, who, naturlall enoli 'h not understanding the circumstances,
1nor the latent lo0)alty of his prisoner, judged him by
the 1comlpalny in whllic  he was found, and supposed
him to be a rebel like the rest."
Th'le Precsident listened impatiently and with a darkenintg flce  Therec is not a word of this true!" he
}bulit in, albrutl)tly and sternly, " and you know it as
well aIs I dlo. IIe  as a spy, he has been a spy, he
ouhllt to have (been hanged as a spy. Fiom the fuss
x-ou folks are makilng ablout him, who are none too
loyatl, I am convinced he was more valuable to the.au.se of the cenemy than we have yet suspected. You
are the thii'd set, f 1,ewrsons that has been to me to
get him )ar(l(onc(l. Now I'll tell you what- if any of
vyo clomel botheting 1ne any more about his being set
at li)bert\. that will decide his fate. I will have hIim
haniied.,;s lie de.seives to be. You ought to bless
vyr s1 tars that he got off with a whole neck; and if
(, II donit wanlt to.ec 1him hanged as high as Hainan,
(Ido(t y,(u come to mIe a(ain about him."  The petitionters, as ila!y be imagined, " stood not upon the
toder of' their going, but went at once," and after
thteiIr departure the President narrated the facts which
I have given.




THE WOMAN WAS WEEPING.


569


The other case was of a different character. I was
in the ante-chamber of the President's room, one
morning, waiting the exit of Secretary Stanton, who
was holding an interview with Mr. Lincoln. Then,
as my party was under the escort of a Senator, we
were entitled to the next interview. A member of
the Cabinet takes precedence of all who wish to enter
the presence of the Chief Magistrate. A Senator
ranks next, and goes in before any inferior personage.
A member of the House is next in order, while persons unattended by any of these officials take their
turn among those desiring an audience. As we were
waiting the departure of the Secretary of War, who
was making a long visit, I looked round upon the
crowd who were biding their time to present their
claims upon the President's attention.
Standing, sitting, walking, lounging, talking, with
hats on, and generally with mouths full of tobacco,
there were some fifty men in attendance, and, besides
myself, only one woman. She was sitting in a corner
of the ante-room, with her face to the wall. Thinking
she had shrunk into this place from shamefacedness
at being the only woman among so many men, I
moved a little towards her to get a peep at her face.
I was somewhat curious to look at a woman who
feared to face such men as were congregated about
her, for they were not of the first order. She was
poor looking, shabbily but neatly dressed, middleaged, sunburned, and careworn. Her hands were
tightly clenching a handkerchief, which she held close
against her breast, with the evident effort to master
the emotion that was shaking her whole frame, and
she was weeping. I saw by her manner that she was
in trouble, and my heart went out to her.




570)


"MY HUSBAND TO BE SHOT I"


Putting my arm about her, I stooped and said as
kildly as I could, "My pool woman, I am afraid you
arc in trouble; can I do anything to help you?"
She turned a most imploring face towards me, and
clutlched my hand nervously. " Oh," said she, "I am
ilil great tirouble. My husband is to be shot, and if I
cannot get him pardoned nobody can comfort me."
A kildly appearing man stepped forward, a country
neiglhblor of the poor woman, and told her story.
HIer husband was major of an Illinois regiment,
and had served two, years in the army with honor
and fidelity. His colonel, like too many of the same
ranlk, was a lhard man, and, when intoxicated, abusive,
nlllcoltlillable, and )profane. He was, however, a,")()od -slolier', and, in the main, popular with his men.
AVlhile under the influence of strong drink, he had
comen fiercel) il collision with the major, and a most
pr'oflIl1 and angry altercation ensued in presence of
half thle regimllent. Foul epithets were hurled back
lndl firtl until the co lonel called the major a
" c,\ war1ld," w\ith numerout 1's,obsccene and profane prefixes \which c.lannt be repeated.
The major was a sob)er man, reticent, somewhat
u1lpullaI', veriy cool, and slow to anger; but this.tun  himi. "Take that back, colonel!" he demailldt i.1 fiercely, (ldrawinlg his revolver, " or you are
a dead man1."  The,ol ol repeated the in.sult, even
mori, 1',ttl ely. Beflre the bystanders could interferec. thle colonel f1ll dead by the major's hand. For
tln- h(e was tried, conlvicted, sentenced to be shot,
andl w\a- tlien lying in Jail in IMemnphis, awaiting his
(dealtl. IlI hald written hlls wife a farewell letter,
entreltatlln her to be recnc, ild to the event- a
brief cpiltle, whlich lh.e gave iie to read-full of




<"WON'T YOU TALK FOR ME?"


571


tenderness for her, and accusation for himself, but
evincing great manliness. The Judge-Advocate had
also written her, urging her to go immediately to
Washington, and in person ask the too-forgiving
President to commute her husband's sentence to
imprisonment.
A sympathetic neighbor had accompanied her, and
they had been in Washington twenty-four hours
without having seen the President, simply from their
modesty and ignorance of the most expeditious
method of getting an audience with him. My expressions of sympathy broke the poor woman completely down. She could not stand, and she sobbed
so hysterically that she could not talk. She had
been unable to eat or sleep since she had heard her
husband's sentence, and, as her townsman expressed
it, it seemed as if "she would soon be in her coffin if
the President did not take pity on her."
Senator Henderson of Missouri was to introduce
my friends and myself to the notice of the President,
and we entreated that he would also escort this poor
woman, and give her an immediate opportunity to
present her petition. He gladly consented. I sought
to allay her agitation. "Now you must be calm," I
said, "for in a minute or two you are to see the
President, and it will be best for you to tell your
own story."
"Won't you talk for me?" she entreated; "I am
so tired I can't think, and I can't tell all my husband's
story; do beg the President not to allow my husband
to be shot." I put my arms about the poor creature,
and pressed her to my heart as if she had been a
sister; for never before or since have I seen a woman
so broken down, or one who so awoke my sympathies.




.52


" THESE CASES KILL ME."


" Don't fear " I said; " the President does not hang
or slloot lpeople when he ought; and he certainly will
lighlten your husband's sentence when he comes to
hear:llt the,t(acts. Whlile her agitation was at the
hilchest the door opened out into the ante-chamber,
anld (S.cretary Stantonl came forth with a huge
bud'rget,t' ilnl)ortant lolkigi documents.  Immediately Senator I-Il(nderson ushered us Into the apartln('It the seci'Ct;a'y lhad vacalted, two of us leading
the tlrembling wife between us, as if she were a
child 1lcarn1n1(   to walk.
The townsman of the woman was first introduced.
who, thcen led forth the wife of the condemned major.
sayiIln, " This \woman, Mr. P'resident, will tell you
11hr story"  But instead of telling her story she
(11,opped(, trelnll)li,'_ly into a chair, only half alive;
n111(, litftill  her whlite face to the President's with a
1)esee(l llig lo,k, m11(,e eloquent than words, her
(.colrl( -1,s-is l oved(l without emitting any sound.
Seillng -l was;~ l,':-t speech1, I lpoke quickly in her
llhal. -talt i nir her c.'aL, aLnd uirgino her prayer for
1her' h-band's l life with all tile ear!ectnes s that I felt.
All tle hwliile the lhunglr,  c-les of the woman were
riveted (l  n tile PI'-lident's f:ce, and tearless sobs
shook(I heir firame. The chair she sat on touched
1mine. and. I itll ]ic' tirclulousness, it beat a tattoo
w}h11  nI0;dt,ime ne( M odiS.
TlIe Pit-ideiit vlt  as til'ou)lcd. " Oh, dear, dear!"
lte said(.; —m^l li. hand overC his face and through
I}-, hair.  The-' case.s kill me! I wish I didn't have
t, hear' albut them! WVhat shall I do? You make
the law-." ttunilg to, membelrs of Congress in the
room. alnd thlen you come with heart-broken women;and a4k me to -et them aside. You have decided




"I KNOW ALL ABOUT IT NOW."


573


that if a soldier raises his hand against his superior
officer, as this man has done, he shall die! Then it
I leave the laws to be executed, one of these distressing scenes occurs, which almost kills me."
Somebody ventured the remark that "this seemed
a case where it was safe to incline to the side of
mercy." "I feel that it is always safe," replied the
President; "but you know that I am to-day in bad
odor all over the country because I don't have as
many persons put to death as the laws condemn."
The attendant of the wife gave the President an abstract of the case, which had been filrnished by the
major's counsel, and which the President began
gloomily to run over. Now and then he looked up
pityingly at the speechless woman, whose white face
and beseeching eyes still confionted him, expressive
of an intensity of anguish that was almost frightful.
He had turned over some half-dozen pages of the
abstract, when he suddenly dropped it, sprang forl
ward in his chair, his face brightened almost into
beauty, and he rubbed his hands together joyfully.
"Oh," said he, "I know all about it now! I
know all about it!  This case came before me ten
days ago, and I decided it then. The najor's crime
and sentence were forwarded to me privately, with a
recommendation to mercy; and, without any solicitation, I have changed his sentence of death to two
years' imprisonment in the penitentiary at Albany.
Major -- has been a brave mall and a good man,
and a good soldier, and he has had great provocations for a year. Your husband knows all about it
before now," he said, addressing the wife; "and
when you go back you must go by way of Albany,
and see him. Tell him to bear his imprisonment like




TMIE "POOR WOMAN ' FAINTED.


a,man, and take a new start in the world when it is
over."
The major's wife did not at first comprehend, but
I explained to her. She attempted to rise, and made
a motion as if she were going to kneel at the President's 1feet; but instead she only slid helplessly to the
floor before him, and for a long time lay in a dead
faint. The President was greatly moved. He helped
raise her; and when she was taken from the room, he
paced back and forth for a few moments before he
1could attend to other business. " Poor woman! " he
said, " I don't believe she would have lived if her
lthusband had been shot. What a heap of trouble
thllis war la.s nadle! "
Thei exlircssion of the  President's face as it
(lawned ul)lon him that he had already interposed bet c ele tile maljor and death will never leave my memor'). His swarthy, ruggced, homely face was glorified
by the dehhllt of his soul, which shone out on his
feiatutres. lie delighted in nmercy. It gave him positive happ)iness t conlfer a favor.
()nce after, I had the pleasure of seeing those sad
feattures liglht ui) with holy feeling.  It was at a
public I'ecep)tion. (;enr'al Hitchcock had led Miss
Elizaltbeth Pcabodv. of Boston, to him, the sister-inlaw of IIo(n oIIracc Mann, and as such he introduced
t(her. Tlhe PI'ecsidcnt shook hands with her cordially,
but evidentIx d(11(1 ot comprehend who she was, nor
(tijtte tak 111 what General Hitchcock had said. Relhctanth, anl as if The were not sati-fied, Miss Peab) )dly rno1l,o  n with the general, to make way for
(Ithers whlio -ought the pleasure of an introduction.
They had Iv.ea l r )pa:sed from the room, when it could
be seen frIom  the quick light that flashed into the




A GENIUS FOR KINDNESS.


575


President's face that he had just comprehended what
General Hitchcock had said, and who Miss Peabody
was. Springing after them, he arrested their progress.
" General," said he, " did I understand you to say
that this lady is Hon. Horace Mann's sister? "
"Yes," said General Hitchcock, introducing the
lady formally once more.
"Allow me to shake hands with you again, Miss
Peabody!" said the President, offering both hands,
and shaking hers warmly. " When I first came to
Washington, Horace Mann was in the zenith of his
power, and I was nobody. But he was very kind to
me, and I shall never forget it. It gives me great
pleasure to take one so near to him by the hand. I
thank you for calling on me."
No painter has ever put into the sad face of the
President any hint of the beauty that could radiate
and completely metamorphose his homely features,
when his great soul shone out through them. No
sculptor has ever liberated from the imprisoning
marble the face that shone like an angel's when the
depths of his large heart were reached. '" No artist
is successful," said Healy, - one of the most successful painters of portraits,  " who does not bring out
on the canvas, or in the marble, the best there is in
his subject, the loftiest ideal of Nature when she
designed the man." If this be true, then neither
painter nor sculptor has ever been successful with
Mr. Lincoln's face.
President Lincoln had a genius for kindness and
sympathy. He travelled out of his way to do good;
and, overwhelmed with public affairs, he found time
for many exquisite private ministrations. Has anything ever been penned more touching than the fol85




576


FULL OF TENDERNESS.


lowing letter, written by him to a mother whom the
war had bereaved of five sons?
DE\R MADAM,-I have seen in the files of the War Depart
ment a statement of the Adjutant-General of Massachusetts that
you are the mother of five sons who died gloriously on the field of
battle. I feel how weak and comfortless must be any words of
mine which should attempt to beguile you of the grief of a loss
so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the
consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they
died to save. I pray that our H-eavenly Father may assuage the
anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished
memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be
yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.
Yours very sincerely and respectfully,
A. LINCOLN.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, Nov. 21, 1864.
Mrs. Bixby, to whom this letter was written, had a
sick son in the hospital at that time, who had been
severely wounded in one of Sheridan's battles.,
And yet, to this quick and ready sympathy with
suffering, which during the war made him " a man of
sorrows and acquainted with grief," he joined an inexhaustible fund of humor that often did him good
service.  When I was in Washington at one time,
people were telling this story of him, and laughing
over it with infinite zest.
A delegation of civilians from the North called
upon him to tender him some advice concerning the
conduct of the war.    He was tormented all through
his administration with visits from self-appointed and
zealous censors and advisers, in whom self-esteem
supplanted wisdom, and who made up in presumption
for what they lacked in knowledge and experience.
They complained that he had gone too fast here, and
too slow in another direction. He had not put the




A 1HUMOROUS ANSWER.


577


right man in the right place, the war was being protracted unbearably, and the people were weary of it.
For every mistake, or failure, or shortcoming of the
President they had a remedy in the form of advice as
impracticable as it was impertinent. He heard them
patiently to the end of a half hour, and then not only
silenced their complaints, but charmed them into good
nature with the following characteristic reply:"Gentlemen, suppose all the property you are
worth was in gold, and you had put it into the hands
of Blondin to carry across the Niagara River on
a tight-rope.  Would you shake the cable and
keep shouting to him, 'Blondin, stand up a little
straighter!' 'Blondin, stoop a little more!' 'Blondin, go a little faster!' 'Lean a little more to the
North ' 'Bend over a little more to the Southl'
No, gentlemen, you would hold your breath as well
as your tongues, and keep your hands off until he
was over. The government is carrying an immense
weight. Untold treasure is in its hands. It is doing
the very best it can. Do not badger us. Keep
silence, and we will get you safe across."




CHAPTER XX.
MY LAST INTERVIEW WITH PRESIDENT LINCOLN- SCENES
AT HIS RECEPTIONS- HIS INEXHAUSTIBLE HUMOR-HIS
ASSASSINATION -A NATION IN TEARS.
Chicago projects a second mammoth Sanitary Fair - Attendance of President
and Mirs. Lincoln solicited- His comical Narration of his Experiences at
the Philadelphia Fair - "I couldn't stand another big Fair " - A humorous Inducement - Both promise Attendance - Mrs. Lincoln's Reception
- The President' s Manner of Receiving - Crowds in Attendance - Love
for Children -" Stop, my little Man " -" You expect to be President
sometime" - An unexpected Reply - The Humble welcomed - Love
universally manifested for him -The Remains of the martyred President
are received in Chicago - The unfeigned Grief of the Northwest - The
Body lies In State at the Court House - " Al is well with him forever! "
HEN the second mammoth Sanitary Fair
was planned in Chicago, my friend Mrs.
Hoge and myself were again despatched
to Washington, New       York, Philadelphia,
Boston, and other cities, to seek attractions for it; and this time to solicit the attendance of President and Mrs. Lincoln, Generals Grant
and Sherman, with their wives, and other notables.
Once more, and for the last time, we were admitted
to the well-known audience-chamber, and to an interview with the good President. He was already apprised of this second fair, and told us laughingly, as
we entered the room, that "he supposed he kew
578




"dJOSTLED AND PULLED ABOUT."


579


what we had come for. This time, ladies, I understand you have come for me." We confessed that
no less an ambition was ours than to secure the
President of the United States for our fair, and that
this alone had drawn us to Washington. He said
that he had been to one of these big fairs, and he
didn't know as he wanted to go to another. He gave
a most laughable account of his visit to the Philadelphia fair.
"Why," said he, " I was nearly pulled to pieces
before I reached Philadelphia. The train stopped at
every station on the route, and at many places where
there were no stations, only people; and my hand was
nearly wrung off before I reached the fair.  Then
from the depot for two miles it was a solid mass of
people blocking the way. Everywhere there were
people shouting and cheering; and they would reach
into the carriage and shake hands, and hold on, until
I was afraid they would be killed, or I pulled from
the carriage.  When we reached the fair it was
worse yet. The police tried to open a way through
the crowds for me, but they had to give it up; and I
didn't know as I was going to get in at all. The
people were everywhere; and, if they saw me starting for a place, they rushed there first, and stood
shouting, hurrahing, and trying to shake hands. By
and by the Committee had worried me along to a
side door, which they suddenly opened, pushed me in,
and then turned the key; and that gave me a chance
to lunch, shake myself, and draw a long breath.
That was the only quiet moment I had; for all the
time I was in Philadelphia I was crowded, and
jostled, and pulled about, and cheered, and serenaded, until I was more used up than I ever remem



,S0)


LINCOLN INVITED TO THE FAIR.


ber to have been in my life. I don't believe I could
stand anlother big fait."
b But," we said, ' there is no escape from this
fair, Mi. Lincoln, and this will probably be the last,of tlhem. The Northwest won't listen to your decllinin; and the ladies of Chicago are circulating
a; letter of invitation to you, which will have ten
thlousand signatur'es of women alone. The whole
Northwest lrol'poses to comel to Chicago to see you;
and tllc delsirel is so general and urgent that you
imiusst not feel like declining."
" Tel thousand women! What do you suppose my
wife will sa, at ten thousand women coming after
()1, thce invitation includes her; and we have
alread(y seen Mrs. Lincoln and ascertained that she
woluld like to (o01C."
"'Sh}e woulul? AVll, I suppose that settles the
matt(er, thenl. I know the lpeople of the Northwest,wo1uld like to see nme, and I want to see them; and,
if st:tec duties (l)d not absolutely forbid, - and I hope,y that time they will not, -I will try to take a
brieif tour West at the time of your fair and visit it.
I dread it, tlhouh."
"We have talked the whole matter over," said
1Mrs. IIoge;  and the people of Chicago will give
y(O,  a se.ason of absolute 'est when you come. We
will pt)t Vyou, excelpt at certain times, where people
(cannot reac-h vou with their endless shaking hands:and m;laking lr  eeches." (Were the words prophetic?
This was b)ut five weeks before his assassination.)
" \Why, what are you going to do with me? Where
do! ou propose to put me?"
We will charter a boat to take you out on Lake




"I WILL COME," SAID HE; "I WILL COME I"  581
Michigan for a trip to Mackinaw, where the affectionate desire of the crowd to shake hands with you
cannot be realized."
He rubbed his hands together in a pleased manner, outstretched at arm's length, as he was accustomed to do when specially delighted, and laughed
heartily.
"I will come," said he; " I will come! The trip
on Lake Michigan will fetch me; you may expect
me."
In the afternoon we attended Mrs. Lincoln's
reception, at which the President also received calls.
We went early, purposely for a private interview
with Mrs. Lincoln, when we saw both together.
The President playfully accused her of " conspiring
to get him into another big fair like that at Philadelphia, when they were both nearly suffocated."
She did not deny the charge, but begged that the
letter of invitation from the ladies of Chicago might
be sent to her to present to her husband. "I told
you my wife would be looking after those women! "
said the President, with a drollery of tone and gesture.
As the crowds began to throng the lofty, spacious
apartments, we passed out and took a stand at one
side, where we could watch the steady influx of
callers, and the President's reception of them. Some
entered the room indifferently, and gazed at him
vacantly as if he were a part of the furniture, or
gave him simply a mechanical nod of the head.
These he allowed to pass with a slight bow in return, as they halted. Others met him with a warm
grasp of the hand, a look of genuine fiiendliness, or
grateful recognition, or tearful tenderness, and then




582


" STOP, MY LITTLE MAN."


the President's look and manner answered their
expression entirely. To the lowly, to the humble,
the timid colored man or woman, he bent in special
kindliness. As soldiers swung themselves past him
painfully on crutches, or dangled an empty coatsleeve at their side, or walked feebly, wan and emaciated from recent sickness in the hospitals, his face
took on a look of exquisite tenderness, and brightlnced ilto that peculiar beauty which I have often
heard mentioned, but never seen depicted.
Not a child was allowed to pass him without a
wo(rd of kindness. A beautiful bright boy about the
size and age of the beloved son he had buried, gazed
tup reverently at the President, but was going by
without speaking.
" Stop, nl) little man!" said Mr. Lincoln, "aren't
you going to speak to me?"  The little fellow laid
his alld in that of the President, and colored with
eInlbarirasllelt  " You are older than my Tad, I
" r11 t'.,i;.
I am thirteen, sir! " replied the lad.
"And (,u go, to school, I suppose, and study
geoCgr',aplhy, arithmetic, and history, and all that.
One of these da!s you mean to be President, don't
von. and t)o stall(l here where I am, shaking hands
with evci Xlbod\?
N., sir, I hope not!" replied the boy veheintentlv; "'I lnever want to be P'resident."
" Yotl 1i ll  well say th:at (- vo  mani  well say you
lhope not'. answer ed the Pre'uid(ent; I you have
-),p)kn,ore w'i.elv than 5yoi knIwx." And takiln
th. blv )- lhands ill hi> he llkced lovinglx and long
in his fa( e.
A   poorly  dressed, humpbacked   woman   a1p



HE WELCOMED THE HUMBLE.


583


proached, whose face had that rare spiritual beauty
often seen in connection with this deformity. Her
lustrous eyes looked up almost adoringly to the
Chief Magistrate, but in her humility she forbore to
offer her hand. Low bowed the President to her
short stature, with that heavenly look in his face, of
which I have before spoken, and he said something
kindly in low tones to the poor cripple, that called a
warm flush of gratitude to her face. It was impossible not to love the President. Awkward, homely,
ungraceful, he yet found his way to all hearts, and
was the recipient of more affection than any man of
the nation.
In the midst of all the attractions of that afternoon, there was but one object of interest. And he
was the tall, dark, sad, wan man, who stood in the
middle of the room, now kindling with interest in
those who accosted him, now sinking back in deep
thoughtfulness, unmindful of the procession that filed
before him, as if occupied with the grave affairs that
for four years had rested on his heart and mind. I
walked through the magnificent suite of rooms belonging to the Executive Mansion, all thrown open.
Everywhere rare and beautiful flowers were exhaling
their sweetness -the exquisite strains of the 3Marine Band were floating on the air- throngs of distinguished and titled people moved though the
apartments - and yet the homely President was the
nucleus around which all interest and affection clustered. "God bless him!" was the utterance which
I heard over and over again, as I loitered an hour or
two in the crowd. And if ever a sincere prayer
went from my own heart, it was that which trembled on all lips, " God bless the good President! "




584


TIHE MARTYRED PRESIDENT.


Once more I saw     the Precsident  and then in
Chicago, whl(ch opened its arms to receive the hallow\\d  'remains ot' the martyred leader.  For two
wceeks tle city ladl been shroudld in its grief as in a
pall. Thle people of the great metropolis, with tens
of thousands froml the farms and workshops of the
Nolrthwest, went forth to receive the illustrious dead,
mingllii. their tears with the sad wailing of dirges
thlat pullsed thlrough the streets, with the solemn tolling of 1be11s, and the heavy booming of minute guns.
Therec was none of the huml of business; none of
tlhe rush alnd whirl and hot haste that characterize
Chi(ca.1g',.- btlt (,losd stores, silent streets, and sadlness estiln on all faces. Flags bound with crape
ll(,;lte(l mlollrnftiullN at half-mast.  Black draperies
shli'ouded tile l)buldinlgs. All talk was low and brief.
5Many wei)t as thcy walked, and on the breast or arm
)to all were m u   ingn  b ad.(ges.  All nationalities,
c.l'e..l.,: lhl(l.sc ects were ranged alolng the route to be
takenl by tlle fu;neral cortege, or stood amid the
sole6mn lpa1Le(antltN atnd funereal splendor of the great
At tle al)I)ointed hour the train arrived at its destl;atilon, bealing the corse of the man whom the
WVect lovedl at(l delighlted to honor. A gun annoliunced it- arrlival to the solemn crowd. The same
or(ler of' arranrments was ol)se'ved as had been
p)l:an1I1(d for tile P'resident's recepltion at the fair,
<,!d  ho},w heavily shadowed by the atmosphere of
ldeathl' The sacred remains were removed to the
fln('Iral car l)Iepared to receive them, and then they
mn)ved(l sadly and slowly to the Court House, where
they lay in state to receive the last visits of affection.
MIinute guns boomed steadily; bells tolled unceas



THE PEOPLE IN TEARS.:11gly; sad dirgres wailed their lamentations; muffled
drums beat continuotisly, and tihe tears of flth elKople
fell as the eortecge filed 1xist. As the haellowed (ltist
lpasse(1, the strieken throngi(-s uncoveredl, while audible sobs buirst from the bereavedI lookers- )f.
Not thus had Chi(eaLo-u h01)ed to Ireecivt the lCOe
President.    -A m1-onthi Iatei', and the gre-at, Northwvest
would beave     p)repared   for him a11,1 brilbiant \veleomic.
Thien with grieat shouts ro-end(ing the air, wvithsix ()s
of  artillerv, with     thri~llinlLr s~trainfls  of' tritiplihanit
music, With S dl(I' &C and m-ati( )11 from ()ld and ( vmiii),
from   childIren  and   maidens, wvithI flowvers. andI e (stI y
gifts, andI with overtl( )winllg hearts,, it had 1i ped to
testifN  the almost idolatr( )i~ love it 1) Iehiiii.      X() (I
order'ed o~therwvise, and traiwlatedl him be)k oind our
poor praises -    ah( )   ( )lir caritlil V ( )fleIinl s.
Oh, frivind.! if flhotirrht anid scwii( — avail iiut,
T) kniow tlit.t a-v thim artThat all is well with th~c forcvor,
I trust the ins-tinicts oif iy hcart"




CHAPTER XXX.


HEROISM OF SOLDIERS' WIVES-WHAT THEY ENDURED AT
HOME-A SUNDAY MORNING VISIT TO THEIR FAMILIESLEAVES FROM MY JOURNAL-PATHETIC INCIDENTS.
Petition of four hundred and eighty Soldiers in Southern Hospitals - " Ig.
nore us, but look after our suffering Families" 1-Heroism of Wives
and Mothers - Visit Soldiers' Families with Chaplain McCabe - Children fierce and wild with Hunger -An underground Room, and great
Wretchedness - The Soldier's Widow dies in the Night-Her Mother,
in the Darkness, defends the Body from Rats - The Baby falls from the
Chamber Window, while the Mother is away washing -A colored
Woman turned out on the Sidewalk, with her dying Child, for unpaid
Rent - Her Husband fighting under Colonel Shaw, in the Fifty-fourth
Massachusetts - Governor Andrew sends me Carte blanche in the way
of Relief for Families of that Regiment - The Historian should remember the Heroism of the Hearthstone.
T a Sanitary Convention held in Des Moines,
/jIa., a petition was presented from four hundred and eighty soldiers in the general hos) pitals at the South, asking, among                other
things, that the people of that state would
look after the welfare of their families while
they were in the service of the country. "We are grateful for all kindnesses shown us," was the language
of these veterans.     " We appreciate your noble and
thoughtful charity, which reaches us in camp, in the
hospital, and on the battle-field. But we prefer that
you should forget us, and leave us to struggle with
our fate as we may, if you will but look after our
586




"LOOK AFTER OUR FAMILIES."


587


wives and children, our mothers and sisters, who
are dependent upon us for support. A severe winter
is before them, and we are rent with anxiety as we
remember their slender resources, and our meagre
and irregular pay. Succor them, and withhold your
charity from us."
I often heard the same entreaty from men in the
hospital and in camp, from men in health and on the
march, and from men just passing into eternity.
"Our wives and children, our mothers and sisters,
who will take care of them?" Public sympathy was
easily awakened for the brave men who went out to
fight the battles of the country, and all demands
made on the means and money of the loyal North for
their relief were promptly met. Money and supplies
were poured without stint into the Sanitary Commission; and wherever an opportunity was offered, either
by the return of a regiment, or by visits to the hospitals, the people delighted to lavish their bounty
directly on the soldiers.
But an immense amount of heroism among the
wives of soldiers passed unnoticed, or was taken as a
matter of course. For the soldier, he had his comrades about him, shoulder to shoulder. He had
excitement. He had praise, if he did well. He had
honorable mention, and pitying tears, if he fell nobly
striving. But alas for his wife! Even an officer's
wife, who had sympathizing friends, who had the
comforts and many of the luxuries of life, whose
children's future was provided for if their father
fell, - what hours of dreadful suspense she passed,
even under those favorable circumstances!
But for the wife of the poor soldier, who in giving
her husband to her country gave everything; who




588   PRAYING FOR " iPAPA TO COME HOME."
had no friend to say "Well donel" as the lagging
weeks of suspense crept on, and she stood bravely at
her post keeping want and starvation at bay; whose
imagination was busy among the heaps of dead and
wounded, or traversing the wretched prison-pens,
and shuddering at the thought of their demoniac
keelpers; who kept down her sobs as her little
daughter offered up nightly prayers for " dear papa
to come home I" or her son traced slowly with his
forefinger the long list of killed and wounded "to
see if father's name was there"; who shrouded her
eyes fiom the possible future of her children should
her strength give out under the pressure of want and
anxiety; compared with her sharp mental torture, the
physical suffering of the soldier sinks into insignificance. This silent army of heroines was too often
forgotten. They were martyrs who died and made
no sign. The shouts of far-off victories drowned
their feeble wailings, and the horrors of hospitals
overshadowed deeply their unobtruded miseries.
During the progress of one of the sanitary fairs, I
called on a man and wife for help in the evening
entertainments, when the wife observed, "You are
doing a great work in aiding to relieve the sufferings
of the soldiers; but there is another class, quite as
worthy, that receives but little attention."
" What is that? " I inquired.
" The destitute families of soldiers in the field and
of soldiers deceased. My husband enlisted in the
beginning of the war. He left a good situation
which had %yielded us a comfortable living; and I was
willing he should, for I was as patriotic as he, and
knew that the country needed his services. He was
to send me ten dollars of his monthly pay. A man




AN ARMY OF HEROINES.


589


of wealth promised to pay my rent the first year.
Another was to furnish the winter's fuel.  And
another was to supply me with work from his clothing store. I had three children to provide for, the
eldest six years, the youngest three months. I expected to live more economically than ever before,
and I was willing to do so for the sake of the country.  My husband's regiment received marching
orders, and, although it was almost like burying
him, I bore up under his departure, and put the best
foot forward, remembering how much now depended
upon me.
"Almost immediately my husband got sick and
was sent to the hospital, and there he remained nine
months, crippled with rheumatism. All that time
not a cent of his pay reached me. My rent was paid
the first three months, and then Mr.  removed to
New York, and that was the end of his promise.
Mr., who was to help me in the matter of fuel,
forgot his promise; and when I went to him to remind
him of it, he complained of his own poverty and of
the high prices of fuel, and answered me so rudely
that I never troubled him afterwards. I only got
sewing from the clothing store three months out of
twelve. I cannot tell you what I suffered during the
first eighteen months. That winter I was in such
poverty that I could not obtain food sufficient for us
all. The cries of my hungry children almost drove
me mad, and to them I carried all the food I obtained,
often suffering from hunger myself so that I longed
to die.
"Matters went from bad to worse. I was forced
to move three times because of unpaid rent, and at
last there came a time when I was without money,




590


TEMPTED TO SUICIDE I


food, almost without fiel, and utterly without work
or thel prospect of any. I broke down in utter despair, and one night, after my children got asleep, I
rushed down to the lake shore, determined on suicide.
At the last moment my courage failed me, as I thought
of my three helpless little children left with no one to
care for themn. I amn an Ellglishwoman, and I had
neverl before known want, and had never begged.
But as I went back to my children that night, my
pride was lhumbled, and I resolved to go to the poormaster in the mlorning and ask that we might be sent
to the poorhouse. But in the morning relief came.
I received a letter from my husband, with a hundred
and thirty dollalrs in it, and that saved me that time.
"As tlhe llmonths wenllt oil the pressure became so
terrible that at m5 entreaty my husband sought his
dischalrge, and ol)tained it, and came home. You
won,1ld call the 1ean;l  emplloyed to obtain his dis(.hall'rge dlishonolrable, and he would not have resorted
to, tllhtln lut f;,' the fclt that his family was starving.
lie mglh'l t have remained in the service a year longer
if we had beeii cared for. I could tell you of other
cases Iharlder than mine."
tA ew weeks lateir a slight, delicate, pale-faced
woman entered tlie rooms of the Commission about
tenl in the mlornig, whlose face told us immediately
that sit was in sult'erin,. I knew her as a soldier's
wif.  wlt}h five small ( hildr'en, for she had been to me
l)he t, re  Witl a bur-t of ag)onized feeling, which no,,e Who w\ t1 leSed will ever forget, she said, "What.shall I do)? For (;,d's sake tell me what I shall dol
M5! childrl' i have literally abs,,lutely had not one
mouthfull to eat since ten (,'clock yesterday morning.
All yetterda  aIfternoon I tried to get work at wash



"DO HELP MY POOR CHILDREN."


591


ing, scrubbing, or cleaning house. Some did not
want me then; others wanted help immediately, but
thought me too feeble for their work; others promised me work in a day or two; and I went home as
empty-handed as I started. I was going to try again
this morning, faint as I am for lack of food; but I
have left my children famishing, crying with hunger,
and I have come to beg. For God's sake do something for my poor little children I "
A wealthy lady standing by, who had heard the
story with streaming eyes, gave the poor mother ten
dollars, and hurried her back to buy food for her children. Others interested themselves in her directly,
and before night there was sent to the soldier's wife
and her children a barrel of flour, two barrels of
potatoes, two hams, a bushel of beans, twenty pounds
of pork, fifty dollars' worth of groceries, a ton of coal,
and a half-cord of wood sawed and split. It was not
often, however, that relief came so quickly or in such
abundance.
On one occasion the week had been so crowded
with work that I was obliged to devote Sunday morning to visiting some half-dozen soldiers' families, concerning whom I was feeling great anxiety. Chaplain
McCabe, of the Christian Commission, who had been
a chaplain in the army, and was captured at the battle
of Bull Run, spending months in Libby Prison,
wished to accompany me in these visits. He desired
to witness for himself the poverty and distresses of
the families of men in the field. With one exception
I had visited every family on which we called for a
year or longer, and knew their circumstances intimately, so that there was no chance for imposition.
I transcribe from my journal the details of the visits
86




592


NO FOOD FOR HER FAMILY.


made that morning, as they were written out on my
return:
" Visit number one was made to a German woman,
whose husband is in the Twenty-fourth Illinois, now
before Atlanta, Ga. She has seven children, the two
youngest of whom cannot walk,- one from paralysis,
and the other from its babyhood. Her husband left
her eighteen dollars when he went away, and he has
sent her money but once since, as he has been most of
the time in the hospital. They own a little house with
three rooms, built on leased ground; but the lease
expired the first of this month and the land has been
sold to an Irishman, who wishes the house moved off.
What to do, she is unable to decide. Where she can
lease a new lot, or obtain the money for leasing, and
for moving the house, she does not know. If her
hulsband were at home, all would be well; for his
neighbors with one voice testify to his industry and
sobriety. 'He is too much patriot,' they cry; 'he
fight too much in the army.' And to prove their assertion they tell you he went into the revolutionary war
of Europe in 1848, leaving his family then in distressing circumstances.
"Three times in a year the poor woman has been
to me, weeping bitterly because she had not a mouthful of food for herself and children. On one occasion she brought three of her younger children into
my kitchen. Ordinarily they are exceedingly quiet
and well behaved; but this time they were so hungry
that they were fierce and wild, and caught at food
like animals, eating so rapidly and voraciously that I
had to interfere lest harmful results would follow in
the matter of digestion. To feed, clothe, and warm
her family this winter, she has only her own labor to




HEROIC IN SUFFERING.


593


depend upon, and the irregular and small remittances
from her husband. She washes, cleans house, and
picks rags. Both the house and children were 'scrupulously clean, although indicative of extreme poverty; and the mother, though worn with care and
labor, says she does not regret her husband's enlistment. 'It was right,' she says."
"Number two was an American family.      The
father is in the Ninety-first Illinois, and is in
Vicksburg, guarding the prison. He is a carpenter,
and could earn two and a half to three dollars per
day if he were at home. His wife is a lovely, delicate woman, with three children. The husband is a
noble fellow, and has only expended five dollars at
the sutler's in two years; and that has been for stationery. He has drawn as little clothing as possible,
and sends all his money home. It has reached his
wife with unusual regularity. She owns a sewingmachine, gets plenty of work; for she is a most
skilful needlewoman, aside from being a good operator on the machine. She is able, with the assistance
Df her husband's pay, to get along comfortably. But
the last hundred dollars from her husband, brought
up by one of his discharged lieutenants, was gambled
away by the latter when coming up the tMiissippi.
"She has lately fallen ill and been confined to
her bed by sickness. The loss of this money plunged
her into poverty, which, with the instinct of American women, she kept to herself. At last the unpaid
rent had accumulated to thirty dollars, and she was
in imminent danger of being turned out of doors.
Ftuod and fuel were gone, and starvation stared her
in the face. All the while she wrote brave, cheerful
letv-.rm to her husband, hiding the truth from him,




DISTRESSING OASES.


and assuring him all was well. She would not distress him with the narration of troubles he could not
remTedy, she said; and so suffered and kept silence.
I learned accidentally of her destitute circumstances.
It is needless to say that speedy relief was carried to
her and her weeping children.
"I Ier husband also learned accidentally how sad
wns the plighlrt of his family, and besought his commanlder so earnestly for a furlough, that three weeks'
leave of absence was given him. That visit brought
the wife back froml the verge of the grave; and,
when lher husband returned to his regiment, leaving
herl the money he had earned at his trade during his
u'rlough}, which a few generous people had largely
1il(lC'easd(l ) dollations that they coml)clled him to
alcc pt, she.atgain took up her burden of life, a little
StI'l(gel to bl)(ar it. She cannot work yet; but she
is not lo'r-gotten by the generous and patriotic, and
will nl()t be
"Visit nulbl)er three was to an underground room,
iI an 'old tiumble-down building,,on Wells Street,
which i. iinhabited by nine families, one half of whom
live in cellars, below the level of the street. Here,
the wife of a.-oldiei' in one of the Ohio regiments, an
Amer'ican womnan, (lied sonme two months since. I
(only learne~d of the case after she was dead. I went
iii theli mlorlilig to the aparttment, and found her aged
io)thel, Ovtl'.et'vetx, With tw,  ehildrtci, two  and
foi ll' V-;ars (f ae, her oix surviving relatives. They
w,'e,'o P", that the) had not even a bit of candle,
nI!r 1 ( droI) of kerosene, nor a stick of fuel with
whi<( i to make a light during the night, when the
dviiiLz woman asked her mother to read some verses
from the Scriptures, as -she was passing away. The




DEFENDING THE LIFELESS BODY.


595


dreadful underground room is infested with rats, and
during the remainder of the night the aged mother
stood by her daughter's bedside, fighting the' rats
from the lifeless body.
" A few weeks after the mother's sorrowful death,
the youngest child died. There remain now only the
aged grandmother and the boy of four years. The
husband was killed in the army some eight months
before. They have no acquaintances, except among
those who are in such abject poverty that affection
is killed by it. They have no near relatives. The
aged grandmother clings to her little grandson, who
is her only tie to life. The sufferings of the dead
mother and the entire family have been fearful; and
the attenuated figure of the little boy and of the
aged woman tell a story of starvation. No one
knew them until suffering had done its dreadful work
on the young soldier's widow, and laid her at rest
from the sorrows of life.
" The poor grandmother is an object of the deepest commiseration. I never go to her comfortless
home that I do not surprise her in tears. She is
afraid her dead daughter has failed of heaven; and I
am always compelled to go over my grounds of assurance that all is well with her. Chaplain McCabe,
who listened to the poor woman's story, prayed and
sang with her, and bade her be comforted with the
confident assertion that her daughter was with the
blessed. Arrangements are nearly completed to
place the grandmother in the Old Ladies' Home, and
to take the little boy into the Home of the Friendless.
" Number four was a soldier's family whose heaviest burdens have been removed by the return of the




596)


" A QUEEN MIGIT THEN ENVY ME!


lhusband and fthler to his family. He has been dischar11.'cd fiom the service, in consequence of serious
inlljuriies received in the left hand, arm, and side, fiom
the )lurlsting of a shell. IIc has found a little light
cplnlolyment, which, with the work of his energetic
Amerl'i(canl wife, r'tenders them comparatively independl'nt of ch1arit. She has toiled, suffered, and endured
pa:tienlltli, il his long absence, to support herself and
child.  Since tlhe relturn of her crilppled husband,
the lilichel look has let her face, and the pallor of
deatli has been sulpplanted by a healthy hue. 'If I
could only get p)lenty of work,' she says, 'I should be.s, lhappy that a queen might envy me! '
"Num nlbe five was the wife of one of the men who
are forcingll (  tlhcir way into ]Mobile under Admiral Farr:,urtt.,lS is one of tlhe better sort of Irish women;
an,1, tllhough slhe rarely receives money from her husband,l. she cearns enough to sul)port herself and little
(laiWlzhter. AWhel well, she needs no assistance; but
a -weetk's sic( kess or the loss of a week's work puts
her in a1 tiTht place.
"Numller:ix is a woman whose husband is in the,'Seventv-second Illinois. She has three children to
maintain, wlhom she has to neglect in order to earn
lbrelad( fI, them. Almost every day, week after week,.}1e leaves the' t\w, 3ounger in the care of the older,
a little irirl of nine years, and goes out to work, washlllg, -u'l ngll)lll.r afn(l cleaning, from seven in the morningt till six in the evening. Last week, when her
h( ildren wNere locked up in the room in her absence,
tiht bal,! el1hteen Imnths old, fell out of the secondstorl chambIlr) window, and was taken up for dead.
It did not kill the child immediately, but he may yet
(lie fiom tle effects of the fall. He was taken to the




'I
~
PAW'''
2
'S ~
'K'
'4 '
'1
*9
I


I


41


'I w4
4'


ANt
itte
AZ




'II
44'l
A   1$
I',  &tJ
NW:
'  *:~  ~      lt
"'44' 1s




'o,, %, 4 O'., '. k *, V  ,, f#,.


[4  '~tht.~ So\j(v,  1(    ~       of serions
I.P!I      i~ tire LftY 1~1,4 at-.:  %dide, froin
~ Kr~,w~of i   4l.  lie has lViiud a little, lighlt
~~nI~ ~&'it 'vvl: ~7l;the work of hits energetic
Ail               -i~[tl inompara-i~vely mclepew3~2 f                  tiilQol. ~sutfereed, atid endureod
*  s~  -~. ~~'ue    support herself and
A                  '11 fit hir crippledi husband,
ti er tEe, and the pallor of
4i by a healt hy hue. 'I
NN ok. She uS.y, I I should be
'i'  e!
r'Ih iAl      tI  wif of one of the- men who
I(.'C a tie~W~  i~tMobile under Admniral Far' h', iv riou of th% jttur' sort of Irish women;
*.piwl, thI'ug (h site raivtlv v2'1'e 0 moey from her huslilamd, he esarw4 emu   t sup port herself and little
t1ait rh t t  A hWiwi well. Ah( miuds no as,-~i:~anee; but
AW W(kk' i       0;ics  ozhe loss, of a week's wor-k puts
tier' in a tigrht pltacc.
Nf wtihe  i is at wornan whose:( husband i's in the
'At" ' 1IFI Ililliu. She lias, three children to
1v ~I~ Itk-.jie h;t — t~o Ih:o2lkct in order to earn
*i?*r thi lb  Ah~pto IV~  try, week after week,
W. 7    the t, NI Y0111getI iin tbhC cate of the older,
gir~lr of fine  a $e0, )d 1 (Ie. o0utt to WO rk, waishohhi.~ii~.~aiig  rom    ti e in the morn~i vi i  rw t v eining. i Last wveek, when her
Awnl Wer[t     il upin the roomn in her absence,
N. 4        t41 aimuth!- "SId, fIll out of the second4~;r  ~  ~ io~,arid,Ytts taken up for dead.
i di% Initt k1101it1, childl immediateIy, but htc may yet
fI i    he. v  I, ffects,_- of the fall, lie wa, taken to the




'Yorktown.
It point.
'e ae    hturd.
Mather
(Tha
Ant)
Fred
UChan                              4 '


A I~     I
Wildertie.ON


I


I      I
I
I
O-VI 1 -
It
L'i




15.


S       A4


I


Ais
4J.


%
Lh-,


V


3




146
0
9




"NOT BURIED LIKE A PAUPER."


599


children's ward of the hospital, where he can receive
the care and nursing that his mother cannot give
him. She is worn to a skeleton with hard work, but
rarely complains, or asks for help. These last two
women occupy three miserable attic rooms together,
paying ten dollars per month for rent; and they
render each other all the assistance in their power.
Poor as they are, they are very helpful to one another.
" Number seven was a colored woman, whose husband has been in the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts,
under Col. Robert G. Shaw, from its organization.
Not a cent has yet been paid by government to any
colored soldier who has gone fiom Chicago. This
woman was a slave when the war began,  is still, as
far as any manumission by her master is concerned.
Since her husband's absence, she has passed through
hunger, cold, sickness, and bereavement. Her landlord, a rich man of the city, a German, put her out
of her house on the sidewalk, in a cold rain storm,
because she owed him five dollars for rent, and could
not then earn it, as her child was sick unto death with
scarlet fever. One of her colored neighbors, as poor
as she, took her in; and the baby died on the next
Sunday morning. She came to me to get the baby
buried, without going to the poormaster. 'It don't
seem right for my child to be buried like a pauper,'
she said,' when her father is fighting for the country.' And I agreed with her.
"A way was devised to give the little one decent
burial; and the mother's heart is comforted by the
thought that her child will never have to pass through
what she has. The woman's husband was born a
slave in Beaufort, S. C., and thither his regiment




600


HELP CAME TO THE NEEDY.


was first ordered. He has learned to read and write,
and wrote me a most graphic account of the battle in
which his heroic colonel, the brave Robert G. Shaw,
was killed.  I made the poor woman supremely
happy by reading to her a letter from Governor Andrew of Massachusetts, giving me carte blanche for
the relief of the families living in Chicago whose
husbands and fathers have enlisted in the Fiftyfourth.  I promised to help her to house-keeping
again, as soon as she can collect her scattered household goods.
"Number eight was the wife of another colored
soldier of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts. She has
fourl children, and has not received any of her husband's earnings.  Government has not paid him.
She is lying very sick with typhoid fever. I gladdened her by telling her of Governor Andrew's
letter, which will immediately procure her a physiciaii and nurse, medicine, and food for her children.
Chaplain McCabe sang her a beautiful hymn, in his
melodiotus and expressive style, and then prayed with
her   The colored people in the neighborhood, whom
mulsic always attracts,,silently flocked into the room,
a.s lie sanrL and plrayed; and, as they stood weeping
and li-teninzg, I foundl it (lifficult to repress my own
tea^l' for tlhe f 'iendles and feeble wives of the soldlier. of whoset sad (-ond(lition I know so) much. They
are not renicinl'ed(l. nor minister'ed to, nor sympatlllzed  N% itll, as tlheN -lmould  1).. '
It' the histoi'v of this war slall ever be written in
full, whabtver cl>e the historiann may forg'et, he will
not fail t,, chronicle the sublime valor manifested at
the hearthstone, all over this struggling land.




CHAPTER XXX.
MY FIRST PUBLIC SPEECH —CROSSING THE MISSISSIPPI IN A
ROW-BOAT-" A VOICE FROM THE FRONT "-FACING AN
AUDIENCE FOR THE FIRST TIME -AN EVENTFUL NIGHT.
Return from the Front-Accept Invitation from Dubuque to address the
Ladles-Ferry-boat detained by moving Ice in the Mississippi-Cross
in a Row-boat - The Trip attended with much Danger - The Risk assumed - Many prophesied evil Results - They proved false Prophets
Crossed the River safely -"All Iowa will hear you to-night" — Appalled at
the Prospect -Am advertised for a Lecture, without being consulted
— "A Voice from the Front!" -Fear to attempt a public Speech
Hesitation overcome by Colonel Stone's Argument-The Results that
followed An Iowa Sanitary Fair is planned and carried out- Aggregates nearly $60,000.
CAME up the Mississippi River the last of
April, 1863, where      I had   been   spending
some weeks in work among the hospitals.
I found my desk loaded with invitations to
visit aid societies, or deliver addresses, in
which I should narrate my experiences.           All
were eager to hear directly from        the army at the
front, which was fighting not the enemy alone, but
swamp fever, malarial diseases, and, worse than all,
scurvy. The invitation which I decided to accept
was one which in the order of date was first given,
and that took me to Dubuque, Ia. The ladies had
written as follows:


601




(;()32


VISIT TO DUBUQUE.


" The hall in which we hold our meetings will
accomlnmodalte about three hundred. We shall pack
it for an afternoon mieeting. We want you should
larrate to the ladies who will be in attendance what
you hlave seen. Explain to them the need of sanitarv stores - how it halppens that the government
loes ot do ever(ythilng for the soldiers - and what
is thle particulalr kiind of relief most necessary. In
tile evenllilng w  slhall adjourn to a larger hall, where
we shall have. mIusic, sell cake, ice cream, hot coffee,
1alnd other 'refresh1ments, and where we hope the
attenlldallce will be doublcd. The great attraction
will be () lur presence, and the fact that through you
the geniltlemeni can get such information as they may
desire  If we have good weather, we shall clear one
hundredl dolla11s.
I started the light before from Chicago, on one of
the Pullman s.leepers, and reached Dunleith-now
East D)tulnqu-e -.lar  in the morning. No bridge
tllhel s.a,;n111ed tlle Mississpll:l)p at that point —it was
)on1 a l).osiility il the future. A ferry-boat took
1,;pae'cer' s across. But as we alighted from the
tral';, we saw tlhe boat on the opposite side, with no
pi',-lect o,f' b)ein^ able to steam across immediately.
The Ie i hatd moved down fiom the upper river, and
was1 \('cl 1ed 1 in 'ret masses )oplosite Dubuque, the
broke;t and ploi(der' us sheets 'rfinding against each
othrll  ad stre'ctcllin  fiom shore to shore. All feri;iagre (of freightt ai(l passengers had ceased for
twvcet\-fl;r hourCs, and we only increased the anxiolu  and impatient crowd; most of whom vented
their di-pleasure at this unwelcome blockade in useles IlImprecations- on the railroad officials.
I.pent the w-eari day watching the munoving ice,




THE RIVER CROSSED SAFELY.


603


and wondering what was to become of my engagement in the evening. About three in the afternoon,
I observed two men, on the Dunleith side, launching
a row-boat where the river was open. By dint of
earnest entreaty, and promise of handsome payment,
I persuaded them to row me over. They assured me
that I would be drowned -and one of them declared
" if she were my wife, she shouldn't go a step! "  I
was not so certain of that. And I also knewv that the
boatmen were accustomed to this mode of conveyance,
and had no expectation of being drowned themselves.
If they dared take the risk, I need not fear to accompany them. My fellow-passengers bade me " goodbye" ruefully, prophesying, with the boatmen, that
I should be drowned — or, at least, " handsomely
ducked." They all proved false prophets.
It took a long while to cross, for the men were
obliged to row up-stream, above the loose ice, into
clear water, and then to descend the river on the
Dubuque side. I was safely landed, at dark, a mile
above the regular wharf. I found my way to the
house of my friend, who was to entertain me. A
great shout of joy welcomed me as I entered the
door. She was the President of the Aid Society,
and the ladies had gathered in her parlors to arrange a new programme for the evening, as they
despaired of keeping the promise they had made the
public. Talking all at once they began to inform
me of their grand arrangements for the evening,
which my unexpected arrival would enable them to
carry out.
So great an interest had been awakened that they
had decided to hold their meeting in the evening in
the Congregational church, and, to encourage me,




604


"ALL IOWA WILL. HEAR YOU."


they told me that neither Professor Agassiz, nor
Bayard Taylor, who had lectured in it that winter,
had been able to fill it with their voices. Governor
Kirkwood was to preside; the Governor-elect, Colonel Stone, who was at home from the army with a
gullshot wound, was to be in attendance; so were the
Adjutant-Genlral, the Attorney-General of the state,
the leading members of the Legislature of both
Iouses, the Indian Commissioner,. and, in short,
almost all the Iagnactes of the state of Iowa.
"You never could have a better opportunity to
tallk to all Iowa! " said the women, all in one breath.
"For e('-ry county of the state will be represented
in the audience to-night, and everything is auspicious
of ltarge resu lts. How imlmensely fortunate that you
w'ere ablec to cross the river!"
I was appalled and dumbfounded. At that time,
I had never attempited a public address to a promisCtolous audiencle. I had only addressed audiences of
womenc,. sittiln in a c(hair decorously before them,
an(l tlrying with all my might to keep my hands
fo)lde(d lon mly- lap- I had nlo idea whether I had voice
to reach an audience such as the ladies had invoked
— o,' couI'a:e1I'  to bear me through the ordeal. I was
sure of,)ne tillng -that I had nothing whatever to
S1y1 to a (on.)1egrgation so imiposing in numbers and
ill, iaracter, alid I flatly refused to carry out their
o )'( gra';1 hlme1'.
' Yo11 n1.ve'l should have made thesc arrangrements
wlthout (),In.llltilr me! " was my friiThtened rejoi(el'  "I am i/o( a public speaker; I have never,madle 1a spceI)   h in mI! life, land never have addressed
a1i l)ut conml)panies of women. I had somethin, to
say to vou. ladle.- a- the Aid Society, but it is not at




"I CANNOT DO IT."6


605


all worthy to be presented as an address to the great
audience that you have unwisely called together.
I cannot do it!"
The ladies protested. They had extensively advertised the evening meeting, and the town was gay
with colored placards, announcing in letters as large
as my hand, not only my name, but "the title of my
lecture " -" A VOICE FROM THE FRONT!"- for so
they had christened my unborn speech. They knew
I could do all they had promised in the bills, if I
would only attempt it. They had not supposed it
was necessary to consult me - they had taken it for
granted that I could talk to three thousand as well
as three hundred  and to back down because men
were, in part, to compose the audience, why, that
was too absurd -I must not think of such a thing
But the more they urged and persuaded, the more
cowardly and helpless I became, until, at last, my
courage took an utter stampede, and I was hardly
able to talk coherently with them in the parlor. No
shallop left on the shore by the retreating tide was
ever more helpless or inert than I felt myself to be.
There was no float in me  and I could not believe
there ever would be.
Gentlemen began to arrive-governors, generals
home on furlough, colonels, adjutants, and they all
joined their entreaties to those of the crestfallen
women. But they might as well have entreated a
post. The thing was not in me. I dared not attempt it. At last it was settled that Colonel Stone,
the Governor-elect, in whose regimental hospital I
had spent some days, and with whom I had had an
acquaintance at the front, should make my speech
for me. I was to tell him what I intended to say to




606   " (~OD HAS PREPARED THIS OPPORTUNITY."
the woic1en - to give him  all the poilts which I
wisl(d enfolll ed - to tlansfer to him such phases of
limy cxl)pe'ie1nce as would be particularly interesting,
a.n(d, above all, to acquaint him with the sore need of
large (uan111:111titis f sainitary supplies. And especially
with the fiact that the Airmy of the Mississippi was
sutll'rin'g extremely from a lack of anti-scorbutics.
Thel hour Ifm r the meeting' arrived. The church
adjoined im place of entertainmennt. The gentlemen
camne in to hurry us, in advance of the advertised
hour, for the house was so packed that not another
I)ersoIi could enter, nor was an inch of standing
()om lilnoccUI)ied.  Dreadfully chagrined and depre.ss.ed - but much less humiliated than I, the inno(celt c(ause of' their abasement t -the ladies of the
Aid,;So(ietv went ahead to the seats reserved for
tlhem  Then the dllmntaries of the state followed,
while Colonel,tonte;and I brought up the rear. As
we pa;:ed down from tlhe 1arlor, lihe drew me by the
ai'II ilnto thle lo)wer rcecptioi-room, the door of which
stoo()d (1)(,il a.1 we were p1)ssini4. Closing the door
and tuill'niI  the ke\ in tlhe 1(lk, lhe stood with his
back t,, it. anid fitced me.
I have no expectation, Mirs. Livermore," he said,
f that I ('can il the least change your decision concern'llingl tlihe t'e'(eni  address, but this has occurred to
me    I lha11:e( 1. -  onl at the front, watched your work
in th h)s[)ital-, and believe ( on are in earnest, and
are hlie.-t. When   ()ou tell me that you want to be
a hand} or a fo;t, a eye or an ear, a voice or an influ1e.ce in the work of:;:>isting the country in its sad
hour of trouble, I believe ju-t what you say; I think,vout mean it. To-nigrht God has prepared for you an
opp)orttlnit\ t).spewak to all Iowa. You have not




"HOW DARE YOU SAY, 'I CANNOT DO IT'?" 607
wished it. The ladies of the Aid Society have not
done it. These eminent gentlemen have happened
here on various errands, and this opportunity has, in
a certain sense, come about providentially. Now, how
dare you, when God has given you such an opportunity to do a great work, how dare you refuse, and says
'I cannot do it'? It is not necessary for you to deliver an oration; it is only necessary to say to the
great audience in the church just what you had come
prepared to say to the ladies of the Aid Society. It
will be more effective than any labored speech, or any
carefully prepared address. It is for you to say
whether the evening shall be a success for the hospitals of the South  whether the state of Iowa shall
commence doing sanitary work, or whether this grand
occasion shall prove a failure."
He spoke very impressively, looking me earnestly
in the face. For a few moments we stood silently
confronting each other.  Somehow I felt the full
force of all that he had said, and there came over me
a complete revulsion of feeling. I felt willing to undertake what I had flatly refused to do while talking
with the ladies, and a subtle consciousness stole over
me that I should succeed in it. I said, " Very well,
Colonel Stone, I will attempt it; only do not allow
long preliminaries; and after Governor Kirkwood
has opened the meeting, let him introduce you as the
orator of the evening. You must explain to the people that I am not a public speaker; that I have
never in my life made a public address; that I
have only come prepared with a small statement of
facts for the Ladies' Aid Society; and then introduce me as quickly as possible, and I will do the
best I can."




608


MY FIRST PUBLIC ADDRESS.


I followed him down the aisle of the church to the
llatfolrm, erected in fiont of the pulpit, where a seat
was rcserved for me. The ladies of the Aid Society
looked their:astonishmcnt. As speedily as possible
(C'olonlel Stone presented me to the great gathering.
I rose vy a supreme effort, trembling in every fibre
of my being, although outwardly appearing calm.
Shutting out all thught of the expectant multitude
l)e' flr me, I conce(,ntrated my mind upon what I had
to say. For the first ten lminutes I talked into utter
(larkn1ess. It was as if the house was unlighted. I
di(d not \even hear the sound of my own voice - only
a l'oalilng, as if ten thousand mill-wheels were thunlder'inL  about me.  The knocking of Belshazzar's
kneelts was1 Ilnt a circumstance to the play that mine
Ikep lt l)p. The physical tumult into which this effort
plulllr(lnged  was exhausting. It would have prostl 'ated a fhebler woman, and it was days before I recovt'(re1 (   usNalll calimness of nerve and steadiness of
lBut gradually it began to grow light about me. I
)beall t( hear my owni voice. I could, after a little,
listilluijh the faces of people whom I knew. I was,awarl that I w:as being heard all over the house.
rT}.i I ],-t all -,eIse of fiar, and after the first fifteen
minutes I forgot the audience, the fact that I was a
no\ ice a, a pltl)lic spelaker, and only remembered the
(lcstilttitll, -icke.-s, and suffering I had seen at the
fillt. A\nd tlh feellin grew stroinr within me that
the l)'PoIl cf Iowa. who had, as I knew, contributed
but little to the c;ause of hospital relief, must be;arolted to (do their share of the work. Once I was
interrulpteld by lonr and loud applause. I was so
absorbed that I did not understand it for a moment,




GREAT ENTHUSIASM AWAKENED.


609


and looked around to see what had fallen. I thought
some of the seats had given way.
When I closed I supposed I had spoken half an
hour; I had in reality talked an hour and a quarter.
Governor Kirkwood immediately followed. " Without any attempt at speech-making," he said, "Mrs.
Livermore has to-night given us facts. She has told
us of the soldiers' needs; she has told us of our
duties. It is now our turn to speak, and we must
speak in dollars and gifts." And asking Colonel Stone
to keep the tally of the contributions, he called for
donations.
I cannot describe the scene that followed. More
rapidly than two could record it, eight thousand
dollars in money were pledged, five hundred barrels
of potatoes, eighty-eight barrels of sauer-kraut, one
hundred and fifty bushels of onions, which are the
very best anti-scorbutics, and five hundred pairs of
hospital shirts and drawers.
Attorney-General Bissell now rose, and said:
"Mrs. Livermore has told us that it is possible
for Iowa to do a great deal through a sanitary fair,
and, as the fair epidemic has travelled eastward all
over the country, until it has exhausted itself on the
Atlantic coast, I think it will be well for us to invoke its re-appearance here in Dubuque. It is now
almost eleven o'clock. If those who must leave the
house will retire as rapidly as possible, the rest of
us will remain; and, if Mrs. Livermore will assist
us, we will organize the skeleton of an association
for an Iowa Sanitary Fair."
Very few left the church. When the meeting adjourned, at half-past twelve, subject to the call of the
President on a future occasion, the organization for
87




610


PATRIOTIC IOWA!


a sanitary fair was well formed, and the plans
)pretty well mapped out. With these results attendant on my first speech, is it surprising that I have
accepted the platform as powerful in the advocacy of
a good cause, or in advancement of a great reform?
From the beginning of the war Iowa had nobly
responded to the call of the country. From her
sparse population she had sent forth her sons to
assist in the defence of freedom and the subduing
of the rebellion, until she was then twenty thousand
ahead of her quota. On every battle-field Iowa men
had won an imperishable name for the lofty courage
with which they had contemned death. From almost
every home in Iowa, wives and mothers, sisters and
lovers, had surrendered to the exigencies of war those
deal to them as their heart's blood. Under the call
for men for the " hundred days' service," the colleges
alnd institutions of learning had sent forth their
entire senior classes, so that there was not a college
Commencement that year in Iowa. And for the
same reason the courts had adjourned, and all legal
and United States business had been postponed for
the present.
But while Iowa had contributed so nobly of her
sons to the country, she had not kept pace with the
other Northwestern states in the sanitary work for
the relief of the sick and wounded. There had been
reasons for this. A diversity of opinion as to the
best methods of doing this work was probably the
most potent. The sanitary supplies had largely been
sent through unreliable channels, and so had failed
to reach those for whom they were intended. This
had brought discouragement throughout the state.
But this evening meeting in the Congregational




IOWA FAIR A GREAT SUCCESS.


611


church quickened the whole state into intense activity; and in the furor which followed, she outdid
her sister states, which had been longer at work.
After making arrangements at home for my
absence, I spent some months in Iowa, riding in
" mud-spankers," in stages, " prairie schooners," on
railroads, and in every conceivable way. I held
meetings, and did whatever was necessary, in connection with the men and women who had organized
for this purpose, to make their sanitary fair a great
success.
It opened in the last week of June, 1864. I had
been kept informed of its steady growth, and was
prepared for something creditable, but was surprised
by its beauty and magnitude. It was a wonderful
fair, when all that pertained to it was fully comprehended. It was held west of the Mississippi, where
the refinements and luxuries of civilization were not
supposed to exist in large measure. It was held in
a new state, where railroads were not numerous,
and where prairie stage-coaches were still the principal conveniences for travelling.
At that time more than half the territory of the
state was in the hands of Eastern speculators, who
refused to open it to immigration. The male population had been so drained by the repeated calls of
the country, that women were aiding in the outdoor
work of the farms, all through the state, ploughing,
reaping, mowing, and threshing. The fair was held
in a state not rich, save in the great hearts of its
loyal men and women, and its broad acres of virgin
prairie, holding uncounted wealth in its bosom.
There were no ladies and gentlemen of elegant leisure
among her people. Few idlers or listless hangers-on




61'_


CCIOWA EXCELLED THEM ALL."


welre there, all being enlgaged in the earnest work of
subduing natur,- in building highways and railroads, bridges and steam-boats, school-houses and
wa'1cl)umses, alnd in bringing the soil under cultivation.
As I entiered the spacious City Hall building, three
stories high, c(ompletely occupied by the fair, and
went froml one department to another, each filled with
articles tasteful, beautiful, and usefll, I was astonislhd at the great variety of wares displayed. This
latest born,1 of the great sisterhood of fairs seemed, at
a c'"I) d'wltuil, equal in beauty and general effect to
any of its pl)l'ede'essors.
It;was intended to hold the fair for one week only.
But, finldin it impln ssible to carry out the purpose of
tle ex(cutive committee, it was decided to continue
it a wcck ]1longer.  Thet gross receipts of the first
W(b(,k 1were sixty thousand dollars. It was a splendid
lresult, and an unparalleled succ(ss, when all the circui'tlta(ncs w'ere considered. At the end of the
sec(nd \week tle managers of the fair were able to
antlloulce ti} ir nI't profits as nearly sixty thousand
dollars. In estimating all the disadvantages under
whi( h this far-away state labored from the outset,
and recallin, her patriotism, loyalty, and generosity,,Ine is forced to say, " Many states did excellently;
but Iowa excelled them all! "




CHAPTER XXXII.
REMINISCENCES OF THE WAR-TOUCHING STORY OF A RING
-THE MAJOR WHO CIUED FOR MILK - CAPTURE OF GENERAL GRANT-"OLD ABE," THE WISCONSIN WAR EAGLE,
AND HIS WONDERFUL CAREER.
Confronted by'one of my own Letters-The widowed Mother tells her
Story — Puts her dead Daughter's Ring on my Finger- Officers' Hospital at Memphis - Its wretched Condition - Is made comfortable by the
Commission- Incident at the Fabyan House, White Mountains- " Do
you remember the Major who cried for Milk? "- Second Sanitary Fair
in Chicago - Held after the War ended - Regiments, Soldiers, and Officers received there- An Ovation to General Grant- Executes a flank
Movement on the People - Is captured by young Ladies - " This beats
Vicksburg all out of Sight!" - " Old Abe," the Eagle of the Eighth
Wisconsin - His ilitary Behavior - Children sell his Pictures for the
Soldiers' Fair - Make $16,308.93 by the Sales.
THE GIFT OF A SOLDIER'S WIDOW           AND MOTHER.
OME few years ago I filled a lecture engagement in Albion, Mich.      At the close of the
lecture, I observed, standing       outside   the
little  group   of  acquaintances     who    surrounded me, a white-haired, elderly woman, who
approached me with the following inquiry: —
"Do you remember writing a letter for John --,
of the Twelfth Michigan, when he lay dying          in the
Overton Hospital, at Memphis, in the spring of 1863?
After he died, yon completed the letter, writing to
his mother and wife; do you remember it?"
I was obliged to tell the sad-faced woman that I
performed so many offices of this kind during the
613




(i14


"YOUR LETTER,'SAVED US."


war, when at the fi'ont or in the hospitals, that it was
hardly possible for me to recall any individual case.
Drawinll from her pocket a letter, that had been,)worn1 ill pieces wh er it had lbe1,e folded, and which
wals s(iwed\\l, togetlcher with file cotton, she held it up
to ne.
"1),o 3 o1 remlember this letter? "
I 'cc(giiized my penmlllanship, and, glancing over
the coIntents of the letter, saw what it was. The
first four lage.s I had \written at the dictation of a
y(ullng man who had been shot through the lungs, and
w.s (lyillng. The language was his, not mine, and I
had not lamienlded his phrlascology. I had completed
the letter after' his death, by the addition of three
p:lrges, ill w(hich I sought to comfort the bereaved
si '\viV  )rs.
"I thought Joln's wifi and I would die when we
hear;ll 1h was deadl1," said the long-bereaved mother.
'( Y r lett(e sav.d lus. VWe were both comforted by
it.:1(ld 1' ad( it land re-read it, even when we had
tlearnte( it w(rd fo'I r wod lby mluch reading. When
we hbear(d of oth.er womei similarly bereaved, we
loa:necd them the letter, until it was worn in pieces.
Thenl' we sewed( it together; and then we made copies,tf it. and sent to ourt bereaved friends, and kept it
in cir( ilation until after the war ended.
"Jo, )l' death was a great lo)ss to us. He was
I11N  i,1l' childl. ald was born after my husband's
l:eath. a 11(.ssinr, alnd a (comfort fromi the day he saw
tlhe li-rht  Ie lhad been engaged to be married for
three v'ears when the war came.. He felt that he
olllht to enlist. lut Anna and I could not listen to.such a piropwn.al. and we talked it down. At last he
ielt it was a duty for him to enter the service, and




"CANNA NEVER GOT OVER IT."


615


that he must go. We all three agreed to pray over
it for a week, and to announce our decisions the next
Sunday morning. When we came together at the
end of a week, we had all decided that it was his
duty to serve his country in the field. He enlisted
in the Twelfth Michigan, under good officers, and
the regiment was ordered South immediately.
"Anna insisted that their marriage should take
place before he left, that she might go down and
nurse him if he got sick or was wounded. She
accompanied him as far as Louisville, when she could
go no farther, and was sent homeward. At John's
request we made one family, and she was a true,
loving daughter to me. For eighteen months no ill
tidings were received from my son. He was alwvays
well, never was wounded, and the February before his
death he came home on fourteen days' furlough. We
had received only three letters from him after his return, when your letter came, announcing his death.
"Anna never got over it. She worked and kept
busy, went to church and taught her class in the
Sunday-school, but all the life had gone out of her.
She used to be very gay, and full of frolic and fun,
but she dropped down to a kind of mild sadness, and
I never heard her voice ringing with laughter as in
the old days. She fell into delicate health, and grew
thinner and feebler as the years went by. Eight
years ago she had gastric fever. After the fever was
subdued, she didn't rally, but failed every day, becoming whiter and weaker, until I saw she must die. I
tried hard to persuade her to live, for she was all I
had, and I loved her for her own sake as well as John's.
"One day, when I was bathing her, her wedding
ring rolled off her finger, which had wasted to the




616


"LET ME WEAR IT TILL I DIE."


bone, and it was some time before it could be found.
I proposed to put it away for safe keeping. 'No,'
said Anna, 'let me wear it till I die. Roll a bit of
paper on the inside to make it fit my finger. And,
mother, when I am gone, if you can learn where
MIrs. Livermore lives, send the ring to her, and ask
her to wear it foir my sake and John's. Tell her it
was lly dying request.'
"I live eight miles fiom here," said the worn
woman. "'And when I saw by the paper that you
were going to lecture in Albion, I drove over to see
and hear you. The ring has been cleansed this
aftlernoo by a goldsmith, so that no taint of sickness
(, d.eath clilgs to it. So p)lease wear it, not only for
tlie sake of Joln and Anna, but for my sake, for I
shall pprobably never meet you again." And taking
1lmy hald, the widowed and childless mother slipped
tlt rilln r on ny finger, fi'om which it has never since,been takell. Biddinog me "Good-bye," she seated
hers'elf in the cutter, and, gathering the reins in her
halnd, dr'ovet away il the moonlight, over the glittering snow, to her deso)late homt, eight miles away.
Aff.{ ted as I was by the narrative, I am unable to
r.catll a sin ile cilcumstance of the event. But for
tlhe Ipr' of (of Iny own letter I should be half tempted to
betllieve tile )ere'avCed woIlan had confounded me with.^S()1e  thelr w,'orker in the hospitals, so, completely is
all iei io'lll   of the incident effaced fi'om my mind.
"D   YO)U 1 E3IEMEMBER TIE MAN WHO CRIED FOR
MILK?"
A\elien in iMeip)his, on one occas.ion during the
war. I heanlrd o a, n Otlicetr' HTospital in a mo-t pitiable conditioi. I N\ent over to in-cstigate it. Its




THE OFFICERS' HOSPITAL.


617


wretchedness could not be exaggerated. Government made no provision for the care of officers when
they were sick, beyond furnishing medicine and advice. They were better paid than the privates, and
were expected to provide themselves with the food
and clothing demanded by their situation. But they
received their pay at such irregular intervals that,
not unfrequently, when they became victims of disease, they suffered for the necessaries of hospital
life. which were furnished freely to the rank and file.
There were over a hundred officers in this dreary
hospital, many of them gentlemen, and most of them
men of intelligence and character. There was not a
cot in the wards, nor even an apology for a bed, nor
was there an article of hospital clothing. There was
an unusual dearth of everything at the Government
Purveyor's-so that no remedy for the discomforts
of the hospital could be expected from that quarter.
A large shipment of hospital furniture, blankets,
clothing and food was on its way to Memphis; and
when it arrived, I was informed that the Officers'
Hospital would be properly fitted up and furnished.
In the meantime, the men were lying in their uni
forms, on rubber blankets, or on the bare floor, with
their knapsacks for pillows. All were too ill to sit
up, and some were sick unto death. Some were
accompanied by colored servants, ignorant of any
knowledge save what was sufficient for the roughest
work, and so stupid and shiftless as to be encumbrances rather then assistants.  There were no
nurses, not even convalescent soldiers. The poverty
and desolation of the hospital were indescribable.
The officers did not complain, but expressed satisfaction that the privates were better cared for than they.




CIS


GRATITUDE OF T-IE OFFICERS.


I applied to the Sanitary Commiission in Memphis,
whose shelves and drawers were crowded with clothilli, alld \ here lar-'e( rooms were packed to repletion
with ( (,ts, tables, bedding, calll-stools, sanitary stores
of all kilnds, and delicacies. The Commission was
not xslpeted to provide for officers, even when they
'I'were in lhosp.Iital- they were popularly believed to
be able to care for themselves. Neither was it to
allowN su h mnitigable suffering as this to be un(.1ared1 f1,l', 1l(l it lnovedl immediately to the relief of
t le sick men   I was 'requested to make out the
order for all that was necessary, and wagon-loads of
cots, bed(lding, clotling,, anld whatever else was needed
(1were imllllncdiatcly despatched, accompanied by relief; 1 1(' n t s
'I'l'ere N wa s admirable l)rolnptness, and the work of
thel:a(enllts of tlhe Commission was not remitted until
every man wa;s relieved of Ins uniform, bathed,
drcs-'dl in hospitall garlmncts, and placed in a clean,
sw\tet   d. (l.  A  sick-diet kitchen was established,
111an  f;ui',of tlce vwomen nurses whom I had brought
'froii) Chica'go, were detailed to service in the wards,f the holsital. The gratitude of the neglected and
helIc'sl -, fficer's W;  unlsolnded. They could only
expl'rsc their thanks in l)roken words and sobs.
011m mornln.111   the sur'geon informed me that all the
p)atient- with IoWel (lifficultles might be allowed a
I.-pt.fiedl  qatietitv of milk three times a day-an
(or(ler which I repeated to the men, as I knew they
wul(d cwelcolne it with gratitude, as milk was the
article,of' f;,d( tlhe nmost craved. As I left the ward,
I sa\\ one of the officers, a major, bury his face in
the pillow, and abandon himself to hysterical weeping. He had been very ill with pneumonia, through




CRYING FOR MILK.


619


which he had barely lived. His convalescence was
slow, and his complete recovery depended on careful
nursing and proper diet.
I begged to know the cause of his grief. After
much soothing and coaxing, I drew from him the
reason of his tears. " I want milk too," he sobbed
bitterly, "but I haven't had bowel trouble, only
pneumonia! " And turning his face to the wall, he
broke afresh into violent weeping. I hastened to
the surgeon, and obtained an oFder for milk to be
given patients convalescing from pneumonia, of which
I informed the major without delay. It was with
great difficulty I could stanch his tears, for he was
so pitifully weak as to be beyond his own control.
Two summers ago, I was at Fabvan's in the White
Mountains. A tall, fine, military looking man sat
opposite me at dinner. Like myself, he was attending the sessions of "The National Institute of
Instruction." The essays and discussions of the
morning formed the topic of conversation, in which
all joined. In a lull of the talk, my vis-d-'is addressed me personally.
"Pardon me, madam - but were you in Memphis
in April, 1863?"
" I was."
"Did you visit the Officers' Hospital at that time,
and remain till it was made comfortable, and put on
the footing of a first-class institution?"
"I did."
" Do you remember a major who nearly cried himself to death because he wanted milk, which had
been prescribed for some of the patients, but not for
him, who was recovering from pneumonia?"
"Very well, indeed, sir."






C I AM THAT MAN."


"Allow me to shake hands with you, madam. I
am, thlt nman. I have always believed that I should
have died but for the milk diet on which I was then
pIlacedl. I want to thank you now for the good serx ice you rendered me, as I have never before had an
opporltunity, and to tell you how ashamed I am when
I cnremember my childishness."
'Thlee was no occasion for shame, or a sense of
lhumiliation. For perisons of unbending will, and
irol control, lwhen in good health, break down into
infantil  weakness of lind - when surrounded by
the tender care of home, and the ministrations of
lovc - if the nerves lose their tone, or disease saps
tlie bo(l ot its vigor. How much stronger the tendclleiesi to despondency in a comfortless hospital,
%whelre (one is left to battle with sickness, uncheered
by a;flection!
1HOW GENERAL (;RANT WAS CAPTURED.
A sccnd gre,.at sanlitary farl' was in progress in
Cl.hi ca o, when the war endcd. At no time were the
wants If tlie s ldieris more pressing than then;
while tlhe ClitcaL.L o Soldiers' Home, established for
tlec permatnently disalbled and il(ligent soldiers of
Illllni-.:\;Ls n 1uflltt'lln iCeed of funds. The profits,f tlie flaii' wevtre to, be divided betweei the Home and
tle ( 'linnli^l1 - -land;(rain the Northwest bent its
ee'li -, to th te t1ue tc C.c l manaemnent of a sanitary
'Th "o1,v,-' in bllue," returning home firom service,
dro1,1)ed iito, thle fiair cntinually  Smetimes they:ne:iirlv. -0lometlime in compaInies, and sometimes
regimenlts were received, with 1),nmp and ceremony.
To, all ofliccr-s  f the armn there was a(corded a




GRANT ENTHUSIASTICALLY RECEIVED.


621


hearty welcome, while the eminent generals, to
whose leadership the country owes the preservation
of the government and the restoration of peace,
were received with ovations.
To General Grant a reception was accorded unequalled in the history of the Northwest. A vast
crowd awaited his arrival at the railroad station, and
it was with great difficulty that the mounted aids
could make a way for him to the fair through the
cheering throngs. Inside the bazar, the aid of the
police was necessary to enable him to reach the platform. When the bands played " Hail to the Chief,"
and "The Red, White, and Blue," ten thousand
voices sang the words, drowning the instruments.
Amid the wildest enthusiasm, he was presented to
the people, who received him with tremendous applause, cheer upon cheer, that did not subside for
some moments. Addresses were made by generals
and governors, poems were read, written for the
occasion, and there were music and cheering ad libitum - but both General and Mrs. Grant were imprisoned on the platform. They were unable to visit
the various departments, to accept the courtesies
offered them, nor could they reach the hall where an
elegant lunch was awaiting them.
The next day General Grant visited the fair again,
accompanied by his wife, and executed the greatest
manoeuvre of his life. He made a flank movement
on the people of Chicago, and visited the bazar in
the early morning, when only those were present who
were putting the great fancy ware-rooms in order for
the day. He had nearly completed the tour of the
several departments, both Mrs. Grant and himself
had received many handsome gifts prepared espe



622


GRANT CAPTURED BY YOUNG LADIES.


cially for them, when the clock struck ten,-the
hour for the arrival of the young ladies who were to
serve for the day. A volunteer staff of them immediately surrounded the General. He was captured.
They accompanied him from booth to booth, and
from gallery to gallery, until several hundred of the
loveliest girls of the city were in his retinue.
They whisperingly appealed to me, again and
again, for permission to kiss the great man, as
modest and shy as he was famed, until at last I said
to him,"General Grant, these girls are very desirous to
kiss you, but they have not the courage to propose it
themselves."
"Well," said the gallant General, turning towards
them, " if they want to kiss me I do not see what
there is to hinder. I have been here three days and
nobody has kissed me yet but my wife."
Instantly, dozens of charming fairies pounced upon
him. lie attempted to retreat, but it was in vain.
He tried to break through the rosy ranks, but without success. For the first time he confessed himself
vanquished, and calmly awaited events. The truth
must be told -he gave kiss for kiss. Never was
such a man subjected to such an ordeal. On came
the maidens, singly, or in file, or by squads. They
kissed him on the forehead, they kissed him on the
nose, they kissed him on the cheek, chin, or neck.
There must have been dozens of kisses lying around
loose at the close of this attack, hidden in the General's whiskers. All the while the hero of a hundred
battle-fields blushed until his face was crimson.
"Well," said he at the close, "that beats Vickar
burg all out of sightI"




SALUTED EVERYWHEREo


623


It tested the General's courage severely during
that visit to show himself anywhere. His appearance on the street was the signal for a furor. A
surging sea of humanity set toward him from every
point, until the streets were blocked and business
interfered with. On the following Sunday he attended the Methodist church on Indiana Avenue.
When the service was concluded, the audience filed
down one aisle and up the other to grasp the hand
of their hero. After streams of people had flowed
along for three-quarters of an hour, until it seemed
as if half a dozen congregations must have exhausted themselves, it was found that the worshippers of neighboring churches were filing in, and it
became necessary to close the church doors.
THE WISCONSIN WAR EAGLE.
The story of "Old Abe," the Wisconsin war eagle,
has been frequently told. The eagle was taken from
his nest by an Indian in upper Wisconsin in the
summer of 1861. Having been sold by his captor,
he was finally presented to Company C, Eighth Wisconsin. A standard was made for him, and he was
carried beside the regimental flag. For three years
he was in all the marches of the regiment, taking
part in twenty-two battles and thirty skirmishes, and
was wounded in three of them.
When the regiment was engaged in battle, "Old
Abe" manifested delight. At such a time, he would
always be found in his proper place, at the head of
Company C.    When enveloped in the smoke of
battle, he spread his pinions, jumped up and down
on his perch, uttering such wild and fearful screams
as only an eagle can. The fiercer and louder the




624


INTELLIGENCE OF THE EAGLE.


storm of battle, the fiercer and louder his screams.
1He seemed always to understand army movements,
such as dress palrade, and preparation for the march.
Before he had been a year in the service, he would
give heed directly to "Attention! Battalion!" With
his head obliquely to the front, his right eye turned
),uon the c(mnlander, he would listen and obey
or(lders, lntillr tile carefullly.  After parade had
lbeen dismiss l, and the ranks were being closed by
thc sel'rgeant, he would lay aside his soldierly manner,
1lap his win1s, loll about, and make himself at home
gellerally.
AVhenll thlller was an order to form for battle, he
andl tlhe colors were the first upon the line. His
actilons uponl tlo.se occasions were uneasy.  He
w, olll(l turl l Ils head anxiously fiom right to left,
looklin  to see whenl the line was completed. As
soo(, a- tile regilmlent grot ready, faced, and began to
marlch, lie would alssume a steady and quiet denmeanor,. IIe culotll alwsays be seen a little above the
hetad;s,of the solliers., close by the flag. That position of honor was never disallowed him.
At the battle of Farmington, May 9, 1862, the
m(enl w.ere oT, rde,ed to lie down on the ground. The
instlant they lil d  so, ()ld Abe'" flew from his perch.
Ike Ilsistle on being p)rotected as well as they, and
flattened himlself on the tground, remaining there
unltil the men rose,. whenC, with outspread wings, he
flew black to his I)lace of peril, and held it until the
( 1,.,f thle coltestt  At the battle of Corinth the
rell gelneral Price discovered him, and ordered his
men to take him if they could not kill him, adding
that "c he would rather capture that bird than the
whole brigalce.' The bird was never so excited as




1Ilk


I I
#4.


-A.
If I
I" 4, rI
I     -


LI


I
- A.,A,. I i-i " Iq
I.'li .  1.4,
O't      -I. 0,,:, ",.1..0
I. 4
q   11                 ot


I %


'a


i                    *   11,  q         -  k, i     "I., -
'.   I                           I'-  I, "                                      I


'p$
K,,A   ~1, 4   h.   I,~  N"~~.




oicreams.
iid preparatiou t- 'i' tho, march.
di i ear in the service, he wul
Of to "Atteiition!1 Battalion!"  W~ith
vit~y t o the(, front, his right eye turned
11e1A1(d(r, hie would  listen  and obey
k.Am&  time eaI-j. 1ullj\.  After parade had
ti1, and the ranks were being elosv-d by
h'o woulld lay aside his isoldierly. manumer,
w   #,[1d about, and make himself at home
fAl thlit-ro  an order to form  for-battle, he
1i.e voters \-'erC iho IirsK  upon the, line. 'Hisj
OibV W- pton01  tlh(Os  oceas-ions were  Uneasy.  Ilie
v' i Idi( turn his head anxiously from  righbt to left,
loltkino- t 1) se  when the- line wvas completed. As
ao)i s the veptimmot g )1 ready, faced, and began to
m~ireu  he 'Would;sifCa steady and quiet del IeI(4: I Ior6  Ilie could -always be seen a little, above the
lit'ad,- o)f the soldieors, (dose by the flag. That position of honor WvA.s never dtisiallowed him.
At the Liattle of' Farmington, May 9, 1.862, the
men wcre, orderced to lie down on the ground.    The
ins —tai't they dlid ~ ~OlN Abc " flew from his perch.
IlIb inbi I vd o n V'1 ingt, pr(J0..tecte  as- well as, they, and
flo~tt- ned Iiirnoff o)n the  r'nremaining there
until' the men rose, wheti, with outspread wings, he
flew ba( k to his place of peril, and held 'it until the
Cbloe of the corite',t. At the battle of Corinth the
rebe-l gee, rat Price discovered him, and ordered his
men to takie him if they e'-otld not kill him, adding
that "Ihe would rathe-r capture that bird than the
whole bi-irrade.   Thet bir-d was never so excited as




-1
41. I
It".?t - -
-.-V
--- -.doo                      -1.


Jr-404


00,.7,yr-, uwaft
r,,4. i.6  I.I,        to
-i,,lfvwv"
lt*-            ml


I
4 k -


el,,,.01 --
bmw.




If


p..


cii






r.. -,.1. I " I 
-                   
I"    I             1..''P-,




"ARMY OF THE AMERICAN EAGLE."


627


during that battle.  Flying from his perch to the
length of his chain, flapping his wings, with wideopen mouth, his screams could be heard in every
lull of the battle.
Mr. Sewell, a Chicago publisher, devised a very
original mode of raising money for the sanitary fair,
in connection with this war eagle. Pictures of the
bird were struck off, and offered for sale. A child
that sold one of these pictures for ten cents was to
be considered a private in the "Army of the American Eagle." One who sold a dollar's worth was to
be commissioned as corporal. Five dollars made one
first lieutenant; ten dollars conferred the rank of
captain; fifty dollars made a lieutenant-colonel; a
hundred dollars a colonel; two hundred dollars brigadier-general; four hundred dollars made a child
major-general.  The plan took with the children,
who were charmed with the ingenious device. All
over the country the little folks sold pictures of
"Old Abe"- from Maine to Oregon, from upper
Minnesota and Lake Superior to points far south
which the soldiers had wrested from the enemy.
More than twelve thousand letters were received
from boys and girls, which were carefully filed in
alphabetical order.  The net profits of the children's "Army of the American Eagle" footed up
sixteen thousand three hundred and eight dollars
and ninety-three cents. It was all paid over to the
treasury, and cost the fair not one cent for expense.
It was more than was paid in by any other department; and all was obtained from the efforts of
children. Gold, silver, and bronze medals were
presented to the children by Mr. Sewell, through
General Sherman, in the fair building, one day near
88






THE WAR EAGLE VISITS BOSTON.


its close, with all the pomp of speeches, music, hurrahs, and waving of handkerchiefs and flags.
At the close of the war "Old Abe" became the
pensioner of the state, and a room was appointed him
ill the State IIouse, at Madison, Wis. An appropriatioll was made for his care, and for the salary of his
attelldanlt, who took great pride in the warlike bird,
betwencc  wholm and himself there sprang up an affection that lasted during "' Old Abe's " life. In charge
of tils attendant, the eagle visited soldiers' re-unions,
l.lbecame an object of interest and profit at Grand Army
fair's, was borne in procession at the dedication of
sldicrs' llloulllenllts, and figured at the consecration
tf memlorial lhalls. One of these occasions brought
11111 to B13ostol, where he excited unusual interest.
IIe licld immell se receptions in the "Old South
Meet tllng-lhouse, where children, as well as adults,
p1(lal him court, all eager to see the imperial bird,
wblli(  liad been throlughl the fire of scores of battles,.sll;ll'ill tlhei' (xitemellnt and danger with the men.
So;, Igrea't was tile inlt'erest his visit awakened, that
Mi,'. I Iemmlcewav, the eminent woman philanthroPist (f the city, wlho has assisted in the preservation
of the " Oldl South " as a historic museun, commis-.sill(nel;an arti-t to;paint " Old Abe's" portrait, which
hanllrs on tile walls, with other pictures of historic
w,I't l.




CHAPTER XXXIV.
SOLDIERS' LETTERS FROM THE FRONT DURING THE FIRST
YEAR OF THE WAR-VIVID PICTURES OF LIFE IN CAMP
-DESOLATION - AMUSEMENTS -MARCHING -FORAGING
— PICKET DUTY -LETTERS FROM HOME.
Authors of the Letters- Life in Camp- Exploits of the First Iowa — "A
bully Boy" —Hardships of a Chaplain-Fight at Conrad's FerryThe Desolation of War- Impatient to be lei into Action —"Little
Mack" -President's Reception — The Picture of Weariness and Despair - Amusements - Morals - Without the Comforts of Civilization
- Secession Literature - Hutchinsons sing in Camp - Soldiers wild
with Delight -Dying from Camp Diseases - The poor Horses - Depression of the Men -Picturesque Scenes - Breaking up Camp, and starting
off- Going into Camp for the Night - Foraging - Difficulty of Moving
a large Army -Longing for Letters from Home -Their blessed Influ.
ence - "The musty Crackers and rusty Bacon are better" - Fatigues of
Picket Duty - In Pursuit of Something to eat -" Somebody had been
frying Chickens"-Battle of Pea Ridge-As good as Dead the last
half of the Battle.
URING      the war I maintained an extensive
correspondence with      soldiers in   the field
and   hospital, and with officers, chaplains,
and   nurses.   They were mostly       personal
acquaintances      men from   my own neighborhood; church and Sunday-school associates;
sometimes intimate friends and relatives. In every
instance they were men of a high order, well educated, of a lofty moral character, and who entered
the service from devotion to the imperilled country.
They gave up lucrative positions, withdrew from
their studies in colleges or professional schools, and
all left homes of refinement where they were beloved
629




6(30


LETTERS FROM SOLDIERS.


and trusted, anld where their absence created a sadness, which in some instances was deepened by their
death.
I have selected from these epistles some of the
most interesting, for the conclusion of this volume.
They l)p'seit phases of life during the war that can
be reaclhed in llo other way. They give the reader a
gllmllse of the lnobleness of the American soldier,
who, tralnlel to t the arts of peace, entered into "the
hidetl s busillness called war " at the behest of duty,
bu)t gladly renounced it for the life of the civilian
w\lh n tle bell.s rang in the joyful tidings of "peace."
I doult if a collecti(,n of letters as intelligent and
inltrcl't.tinll colC(l be gathered fiom the correspond(ncl( (of' tle s.,ldierN of any other nation in the worldI
I dollbt if the,general wholesomeness of inner army
lif;, of( ' wli( h ()oe gets hints in these epistles, could
be (exeell edb by that of any army ever mustered for
l)attle! I d I1)tlt if the Alnerican soldiers, the subori(linatets and(l lrivates, were not almost phenomenal
in tlhe ir v rsaatilit), patriotism, intelligrence, and heroic
la)ticlwe! My iltlerest in them was albsorbing during
tli( war, m11v admiration of and pride in them is limitles sinlce the war ended.
tlAnd I nevter mee t the poorest and most desolate of
the ranl1k 1 and file in the hosplitals and Soldiers' Homes
inl \\ lich the c(ountry is shelterlin' them, that I do not
realize lanew that the nation owes the soldiers of the
la]t \war a dlelt which it never can pay - a gratitude
\ liich it 1li111il be 1)l',ud to manifest.
If' the s.oldierI' of the lRvcolutionary War defended
th(} rLi:ht of the infant republic to life, and beat back
the mlonan( hists that would have strangled it in its
cradle, the soldiers of the last war saved it from




LAST SAVIORS OF THE REPUBLIC.


631


assassination at the hands of its own children, and
cut out by their swords the cancerous evil which was
poisoning its whole system and eating away its life.
All honor, then, to these last saviors of the republic!
LIFE IN THE CAMP.
ROLLA, Mo., Nov- 23, 1861.
You remember our regiment left Aurora, Ill., on
the 24th of September. We have buried two men
since we left, although we have had very little sickness. Our commander is General Greusel, an old
schoolmate of General Sigel, an officer whom the
regiment almost idolizes. Where he leads, the Thirty-sixth Illinois will follow.
We were paid yesterday, and are now well provided with clothes, having two suits throughout, an
overcoat, a good oil-cloth blanket, and the best of
tents. For all these comforts we are indebted to the
untiring energy and perseverance of our officers.
We are making quite a reputation as foragers. On
the 1st of November, the colonel, with two companies of infantry and two of cavalry, scoured the
country for fifty miles round, bringing in a large
amount of stock - horses, mules, cattle, sheep, and
wagons. Among the prisoners are a rebel colonel
and captain. They also captured a drum and flag.
The drum is a queer thing. It consists of a hollow
log about three feet long, the ends covered with
sheepskin. The flag is a piece of white cloth, on
which is painted a map of the seceded states. It is
a wonderful specimen of Southern ingenuity.
The First Iowa regiment has joined us. It performed various feats, while coming through Missouri,
which profoundly disgusted the secessionists.  At




"G OUR WIOLE UNION.7


Renlick the men captured a rebel flag, and ran up the
stars and stripes on the same pole. A painter in one
of the companies climbed up to the hotel sign in the,i'ght, and tranlsformled it from "Yancy House" to
"Union IHouse."  At Macon they took possession of
the office of the Regzster, a hot secession sheet. There
are no less than fo;l'ty printers in the regiment; and
lbfoir tllh  left the office they had set up, printed,
and issued, in its place, a spicy loyal little journal,
called "O(tu \Whole Union."  When they arrived at
1ooneville. they entered the office of the Patriot,
took the p)lace of the editors and compositors, whose
sece-(slon sclntiments lhad rendered them very unpopiular at IBooneville, and promptly issued a loyal paper
ill its stead.
OutI c(hllalalil is a capital fellow. The boys call him
'a }bulll boy,!" which, you know, is their highest
praise, O0n a weairisoIme march that we made last
w-ek,(. }( c(onItantly rode along the line, encouraging
thle h, s with hll  hearty, cheei'inig laugh. You can
hav-e no ideal how the mien pick up strength after the
c(haphllln l)peaks to them. IIe gives us capital sermonn-.;atd is ver' popular, because his discourses
nt\ 4'l exctted fifteen minutes in length; and as to
'ravei'., tl.re is but one to a service, and that is
)l)CIe:  lIe is as (ood a friend to Tom and Dick and
H-I:rr. t even when he catches them swearing, as he is
toan e l tpalletted o(ffi:cer.
XWe ha;le    ' (rular services every Sabbath. The
clolel is very strlict about our attending Sabbath
servict:  and all must be there who are not on the
sick li-t. or th^y must go to the guard-house. Reliion,, i- compulsory in this regiment. He is very
thoughtfull about the morals of the men, and so is the




THE RIGHT SORT OF CHAPLAIN.


633


chaplain, neither of whom is a man of the preaching
sort. But, nevertheless, there will be profanity and
other vices. We are expecting a forward movement
very soon. For several nights the guards have been
doubled, and the men have slept on their arms, ready
to start at a moment's warning. At any moment of
the day or night our regiment may receive marching
orders to start in an hour. We shall be only too glad
to go.             Yours truly,       s. P. s.
HARDSHIPS OF A CHAPLAIN'S LIFE.
ALEXANDRIA, VA., Nov- 30, 1861.
You seem to think that a chaplain's life must be an
easy one. I grant you it may be if a chaplain shirks
his duty. But if he is ready to share the perils of
the soldier, a chaplain will find his life full of hardships and exposure. I acknowledge my letters are
"light and trifling," as you characterize them; but
have you not heard of the boy who whistled to keep
up his courage? Let me give you a few facts concerning my life.
I have slept in the open air, with scarcely any covering, so chilled in the morning as to rise with great
difficulty. I have slept in a government wagon, with
hungry mules foraging around, and snatching the
hay which formed my bed. I have slept with crickets, bugs, spiders, centipedes, and snakes crawling
about my couch as thick as princes in Germany.
For one week I had no food but salt pork, which I
detest, and bread which water could not soften.
Since I have been in camp, I have not been comfortable the whole of one night, because of cold. I have
no abiding-place, nor has the rest of the army. I
must be ready to march, rain or shine. Very differ



6(34


TRY IT AT HOME.


cnt this fiom my life at Iudson, N. Y., where I had
m) books, my study, and home.
Tell H      [a country clergyman] that he need
not comlle here to see if he likes it, for he can make
a few experiments at home. Let him sleep on the
lloo' (of the attic a few nights without a pillow or comfolter, or in the garlden, wrapped in a pair of horse
blankets. Let him get a pound or two of the rustlest
1)or0k he can buy and some mouldy crackers, and feed
on tlhemn for a week. Or let him treat himself to a
couple of salt herrings, and drink his black coffee
without lllk or sugar. These will be good preparaton'! stel)s before his enlistment.  After he has
enlistesd, tell him he must make up his mind to be a
malll;I1amon 1   1111 n, cheerful, brave, blameless.  He
mlust ponllt out the road, and he must also lead the
wayv  Like Cromwell, lie must trust in God, and keep
Ills powde'r dy.
I).((.:3. -\t  l have just had a battle, that took
plae. at C(')nrad's Ferry, which resulted disastrously
to (oIr tl'oopl. A narr''ow river separated my men,
wit}h Ix1 sclf; fi'om tle battle-field; and, as we had no
Ilt1n1'ls  f cr ',)sin  the deep, swift stream, we could
1''e' (toulr c('Ol)anlions no assistance.  I remained
witll h   (1v omra'l(1. (luring the night, assisting the
woln(led, ad Ilrenldering all possible aid to the fugiit \-  At the c(,nclllsion of the fight, our brave
feillow- we(t, olrderedl to save themselves as they best
(co(l1,1. 1Mai:   plunled into the water, and swam to
am -,lainl il the ri i'r, and wer-e afterwards conveyed
to the M5;ix land l -hore. ManNy (of them were nearly
nakd.   All ^\ere cold and.hiverling.  I assisted
tll'ii t ttle exten't of my ability; and not only encou'1l':"ed thle mlen, but literally drove them to wa-k.




c"SLAUGHTERED LIKE SIEEP."       635
to camp without delay. I feared otherwise they
would freeze to death.
About midnight the fugitives ceased to arrive, and
I sought for rest in a shock of corn beyond the canal.
I had scarcely fallen asleep when I was aroused by
heavy firing of musketry on the Virginia side of the
river. I hastened to the shore, and learned that
about four hundred of our soldiers had hidden themselves in the early part of the evening, and had just
been discovered. They were slaughtered like sheep.
Those that could swim, rushed to the river. Many
were drowned. The remainder were butchered on
the spot, or made prisoners.
I shall never forget what I saw and heard that
night on the banks of the Potomac. It was one of
the most dreadful nights of my life. I have passsd
many that were sorrowful. I have watched and
waited calmly for death amid the chilling blasts of
the North and the fearful tornadoes of the torrid
zone. I have kept vigil by the bedside of those
dear to me as drops of my heart's blood, and have
felt that the light had gone out of my life, when the
sunrise saw me sitting by my dead. But I have
never endured so much of agony and of horror as
during that night, when I saw men butchered by the
hundreds in cold blood, simply because they wore a
different uniform fiom their murderers.
Yours truly,        G. C.
TEE DESOLATION OF WAR —THE PRESIDENTS
RECEPTION.
FOBTRis8 MOX0RO, VA., Dec., 23, 1861.
I take it for granted that you, and all my other
friends at home, are desirous to hear from me; so I




(;>(6  ' AME TO FIGHT FOR OUR COUNTRY."
wr!ite as firequently as possible, and am  only too
thllankful if my hastily scrawled epistles keep me in
affectionate remenblrance, and evoke a reply. The
rTweVticth Indiana is stationed at Fortress Monroe,
p)er'tfcting itself in drill, and impatient to be led into:(action. 'hile prospect of going into winter quarters
is \ cry distastteful to us. " We didn't come here to
drlill and clampl, and become veteran soldiers," say
tllhe boNs. " Ae c.ane hlIre to fight for our country,
and why are we not led into action?"  There is a
rgo(d d(eal of glrumbling over this "masterly inactivlt!,";and the lboys are singing much less of the
do(,ggercl in praise of McClellan than we heard some
few weNtks a, go",14   r littl  I: Mac'k,
lit totk the tr:ack,.\Anl swore to lbeat the rebels back!
Wh},! Whack!
HuI rr:th! for little Mack!"
This 1:has rtuni tllrough thle regiment day after day,
until I 1have a;llnst wished " little Mack" had never
}1)tn boI1n. VWe feel the cold weather, and do not
el)'(rcive Inmu(h diffelrence between the climate of Viri inia; and Indiana. The boys have invented all sorts
of.( ontlivanes;ll   for warming their tents, some of
which would makll  you smile. Some answer their
prpo l<..  an;d.so'me are a llague to the invlentors.
r'lt It i- 1,e Wexcelltelt luality in the army. What(vi' maNlv be the di..comforts of the men, or their
hardship)s, they do not complain, but pass it over
with fuin and jokes. With a good deal of unemp1)l!'cl tie (,n their hands, and with little to read,
and nothingl in the way of diversion, they take to
ful in a wholesale way. This is better than grumb



DESOLATION OF WAR.


637


ling or desponding, but we all feel it would be better
if we could have full and absorbing employment;
such, for instance, as driving the " secesh " down into
the Gulf, whose drums we hear within two or three
miles of us.
The desolation of war can only be understood by
those who behold, the country around us despoiled
of its grand forests, centuries old. The earth is cast
up into fortifications, and trodden into dust by the
continuous tramp of three hundred thousand men.
The burned village of Hampton, just before us, looks
desolate enough. I was over there a few days ago,
and brought away as mementoes a fragment of a
tombstone bearing date 1701, and recording the
death of a man one hundred and twenty-eight years
old, and a lump of the melted bell of Hampton church,
which was wantonly burned by the rebels. It was
more than two centuries old, and was brought to this
country fiom England.
I was sent to Washington with despatches a few
days ago; and as I had to stay the night that I might
take back answers, I began to look about for diversion. I learned that the President held a levee that
evening, and with five other officers I decided to
attend it. So, brushing up hats, coats and hair, we
started for the White House. No white kids graced
our hands, but we thought we had as good a right
to see the great "rail-splitter" as anybody. We
worked our way to the reception room, through
billows of silks and satins, through clouds of lace
and feathers, amid spangles and jewelry, epaulets
and swords, brass buttons and spurs. The scene
was very brilliant, and so was MIrs. Lincoln, the wife
of the President. She was all smiles, and decked




6:38


PITY FOR THE PRESIDENT


out in the most fantastic style. But my heart ached
for the 1)oor President. He looked the very picture
of' wearinss and despair. While standing listening
to the " Hutchinson family," singing patriotic songs,
he tw\ice closed his eyes, and partially went to sleep
with all that effervescilg crowd of office-hunters,
colntrl;t-se(lkel's, and pleasure-lovers about him. If
President Lincoln does not live out his term of office,
I, 1fo1 one, shall not be surprised. I sincerely pity
111111.
As to any news, you have it and we are wholly in
the dark; so I shall not undertake to tell you anythilg. They are making sixteen thousand minieballs at the V;ashington Navy Yard, every ten hours.
That looks as if this inactivity of the army would
(e1d lef;,ole long. I was very glad to receive your
p)aI'rs and books.   They have been read all in
I''ces. Any donations of that kind will never come
aliiss.             Yours truly,          E. G.
AMIUS K.ME tN -  MIORALS -SECESSION LITERATURE.
ROLLA, IM., Jan. 3, 1862.
The holidays are over, and the soldiers are again
i,,ii:I through the regular routine of camp life.
Aol,,it thrlee thousalid cavalry have gone in search
of tlle lluch-dc(irled (;enllral Price, and I hope they
will lnot retut'  l'ricc-l.. To-day our mnules and
wa/.;1,ns hav arived, aved nd the boys have been having
-lp'rt l)'reakingr the wild mules. The whole ground
i. cvere'.(d with a shteet of ice and sleet.
Our amulseinents are various. Ball-playing, pitchillr qtjlit-. llayng (lominis and euchre, washing,
il',linz, c,,(okinLr, weteping the street. and last, but
nit least, writing letter-.  Tlhe fact that a man




MORALS OF THE SOLDIERS.


639


belongs to the army, entitles him, we think, to write
to any one, so that we are constantly soliciting correspondence, nor do we fail very largely of our
object.
I wish I could give you a description of the country and of the people here. For miles around the
country is dotted with the campfires of the poor
refugees, driven from their homes by the disloyal
bushwhackers. It is a pitiable sight to see these
people, destitute of nearly every comfort of civilization. Hardly one of them has a stove, or other
shelter from the driving storm except a small tent.
The children are barefooted, and their pinched faces
plainly indicate their suffering and starving condition. On an average, I do not find one in fifteen,
among either adults or children, who can read or
write. It is a timber country where we are encamped. The wood is so crooked and knotty that,
when cut and burned, it will not make straight
ashes. The hogs are so thin that they are not discernible to the vision except when viewed by the
left flank (side in front); and the most of the people
in this vicinity have never seen either church or
school-house.
The morals of the soldiers are much better than
could be expected. Only one man has been intoxicated in our company, which is really remarkable
considering the enticement to drunkenness. In the
Fourth Iowa camp, near us, there is a regularly
established Good Templars' Lodge, that holds weekly
meetings. I hope to attend one of them next week,
and will write you if there is anything interesting to
tell. Profanity is very common. It is really a sutrprise to me, accustomed to it, to hear how easily and




6;40


COIPY OF A REBEL RECRUITING BILL.


with what originality the men swear.      Our chaplain
(oes all in his l)pwer, with his mighty persuasion, his
x])\ er-'-llilln, goo,  d humlor, and his abounding kindli-,e'ss, to suppl)ess this and every other vice.
Barracks are certainly injurious to the soldiers.
The Iowva Fourth have substantial log barracks; and
'eve' si(nce they left their tents and went into them,
they hlave had sickness, one man dying a day on an
t1,ave,e.  Ill Dec(lnber thcy buried thirty men. I
attril)ute much of their sickness to the fact that their
camnil)-g',iund is in a former bulrying-ground.    This
certainly ll  ust have something to do with it. Would
oou like to see one of the recruiting bills of Price's
a1llly?  Here is a copy of one':S( ti,DIERS WANTED
In Itlh, s, & 9 Milit:ary Districts immediately now is the
tinme to (c.n,1 andl join (General l'ri'e,o his march Northeast to
lrivs tllll a,,litio,l lhordes from our land your brethren are at
Ework andl call for heclp
By (,,d ler of  MAJ GENERAL PRICE
(His signature)
Then rally mn  rally men, arouiidl the tl:hlr unferld
Tih. r:llelt 1dced,1 of Soulthern men are rinlinr through the world
Fall iintl tihe Soouth.rn rank, form one united band
And wt. 11 drive, AB\E JIsN,'-)JN'S arnns forever from our land.
Thii i: a           i,,'rL, ti,,f l,/fe,,,n; et.spellatiml copy of
a 1,ill -tuck up in the( l:tad of  siccesh."  As it is late
andl I;am  l^Iepy. I hid  out good night.
Y)1urs truly,             s. P. 8.
IIUTCIINI -sN-: srN-G IN CAMP -  SICKNESS OF THE MEN.
FAIl:FAX ( U,,RT-HoUSE, VA., Jan. 18, 1862.
AWt have been highly favored lately with concerts
given by the "IIutchlnson Family."       The last one




POWER OF SONG.


641


was given in the chapel of Fairfax Seminary. This
was occupied before the war by the Episcopal Theological Institute. The buildings are very substantial
and beautiful, and of brick, all of which were left
with their furniture. The college is used for a hospital. The boarding-houses, and the dwellings of
the principals and professors are occupied by the
chaplain and surgeon of our regiment,- the First
New Jersey,- and by other officers. We have the
use of the chapel for meetings, lectures, and concerts.
Colonel Farnsworth's Illinois Cavalry is encamped
within two miles of us, and the men came up en
masse to attend the concert. It was very interesting
to see with what zest the soldiers crowded around
and within the chapel, and how wild they were with
delight when some song was sung which met their
approbation. There were probably fiom twenty-five
hundred to three thousand jammed into or packed
around the chapel. When the Hutchinsons sang
"Rock me to sleep, mother," "Do they miss me at
home," and other songs which called up recollections
of happy days, and of parents and friends, the poor
fellows wept, and seemed not to care who saw
them.
We are exceedingly tired of the monotonous life
we are leading, and of this do-nothing policy. We
are willing to go into the jaws of death rather than
remain where we are. A scouting party of some two
or three hundred cavalry, made up in part of Colonel
Farnsworth's and in part from another Illinois regiment near by, commanded just now by Major Beverage, has just started off in high glee. There had
been a strife all the morning, often rising into angry
and hitter words, among the men, as to who should




G4'2


TIRED OF THIS LAZY LIFE.


have the t  rivilege of going off on this dangerous
tlrip. I had hoped to go, for I am as tired as any one
or this lazy life. But the lot did not fall on me.
We are dyilng faster fiom   the sicknesses of camp
than from the casualties of wvar. Nearly all the men
have 1)ad colds, so that sometimes during a concert
the coughin fairly dllowns the music. Why should
the 1men not take cold? Many of them lie on the
damlp ground, with only a blanket under them. Over
onlle hullndred and thirty are in the hospital firom
Cololel Farnswlorth's regiment alone. They have
bulried several men lately; and where the rebels kill
oln, disease slays ten.
T'1i. 1'pol' horses look sorry enough, I tell you.
Trihl  a1re tie(l to lonll poles l)laced in crotches set in
tle groullnd, and e(xtendeCd tel to fifteen rods. On
ca( 1h si1lc are tie(l the animals. They have no floor,'or lhelter, and alre ill soft mud six to eight inches
deep). An,rder lias jlust b)een issued that if any of
ui p),or ftllo.)ws, stan.ding gtuarid in the wind or storm,
we.t or (.11(1., tramlplling tllrough mud and water, drop
a.lct'ep thlrough fatirgue or0 exhaustion, we are to be
-1hot  Per contra, let a notorious traitor be taken,
who ha- killedl an(d deestroyed everything within his
rT1ae., a;nd who would murder (every loyal man in the
Union, if he could(, and all he has to do is to take the
oath, and  e is let (off. Will you tell me where is
thle jll-ti(;(: of till?  You's truly,  T. G. A.
I'ICT'ITIRE.SQUCE SCENES -FORAGING.
IEBANNON, Mo.. Jan. 26, 1862.
Since my last, we have nmet with some changes.
WVt brokek camp at RLolla, and marched three days to
thi- location. On the way, we passed a storehouse,




"LACK OF EVERYTHING HERE."


643


in which two thousand barrels of pork and other
supplies were stored, intended for Price's army. As
we do not intend that he shall visit this locality
again, it was loaded on our wagons, and sent ahead,
for safe keeping.
At the end of three days we ran short of provisions, and began to be hungry for the despised hardtack which we threw away at Rolla. General
Osterhaus, our acting general, did all in his power
to protect the hogs and cattle in the way of the
moving column. But the boys made a good use of
powder and ball, and in some measure supplied our
lack of rations. In wonder and amazement I cry, for
what purpose was this desolate, unbounded Missouri
wilderness created? After travelling four days, we
have seen but four houses; and during our sojourn
of four months in Missouri we have seen neither
church nor school-house. There is a lack of everything here. Yesterday, Sunday, Captain Joslyn sent
eight privates and myself in search of meat. We
hunted faithfully all day, and at night had found but
twelve hogs for a company of eighty men. We shall
remember this Sunday for a long time.
Jan. 28. - We broke up camp before daybreak
on the 22nd, and were on the road long before
sunrise. It is a picturesque scene, this breaking up
camp and starting off, and worth an artist's trouble
to sketch. At the roll of the drum, we take down
our tents, and load them on the wagons. At the
second roll we fall into the ranks; then we are ready
to march. The smouldering campfires, the hurrying
to and fro of the men, the loud word of command,
the howl of the teamsters as they get the mules
into line, the roll of the drum, and the general bustle
so89




644


c" WE FIRED, AND PIGGY RAN."


and stir, combine to make the occasion lively and
interesting.
That afternoon, at one o'clock, we went into camp.
We had marched twelve miles. The moment we
halt for the night, we stack arms, unsling knapsacks,
and break ranks. Then the boys scatter in every
direction to get wood, straw, leaves, water, and anything else they can find, with which to make themselves comfortable through the night. By the time
we get things ready, our teams have arrived, and we
take our tents, pitch them, and make coffee the first
thing. This and hard crackers have constituted our
supper lately. Still we will not grumble or whine.
The next day we marched to Lebanon, where we arc
now in camp.
We were told this morning that we should be
short of meat for the next nine days. Accordingly,
two of the boys, with myself, got permission to go
forl-,ging. We were not allowed to take our muskets out of camp, and so we took revolvers. After
travelling a mile, we overtook a fine large hog. We
fired at him - piggy ran. We fired again- he ran
again; and so it continued, until we had put twelve
balls into this four-footed object of our desire. We
skinned the animal, and carried it back in triumph
into camp.
We found another treasure. We passed an old
storehouse half full of tobacco. You should have
seen the way the boys pounced on it. They have
been for some days in much need of this filthy weed;
and the way they seized it would have done honor
to a "half-famished Numidian lion" seizing sheep.
The only place we have passed untouched, and from
which we have not levied contributions on our




"REBELS EVEN HAVE DESERTED US."


645


inarch, has been a graveyard. The boys did not
even take a slab from that. Postage stamps are
eight and a third cents apiece, or three for two bits.
I wish you could enclose a few when writing me;
for the paymaster visits us but rarely. To-night I
go on picket duty, and will not protract my letter.
Yours truly,         8. P. 8.
DIFFICULTY OF MOVING A LARGE ARMY - LONGING
FOR LETTERS FROM HOME.
HEADQUABTER8, FORTRESS MON.1O)E, VA., Feb. 3, 1862.
Quietness reigns supreme here at present, and I
doubt if I shall be able to write you even one interesting page. The weather for some days past has
been rainy, and in consequence we have had no
drills. We are so near " Dixie " that snow seldom
reaches us, and never in quantities to be anything
but a vexation. Even our enemies seem to have left
us to amuse ourselves as best we can. Picket, or
grand guard duty is the only diversion from lazing
in camp these dull, rainy days, and, as the rebels
have deserted us, even that is getting uninteresting.
Tame as it is getting to be, it must be attended to,
as the safety of the entire army depends upon the
grand guard.
The people at home have very imperfect ideas of
the difficulty of moving a large army. Almost every
paper that we receive from the North criticises our
generals for not exhibiting more energy in surmounting the obstacles that retard the movement
of large bodies of infantry and artillery, with their
army wagons, ambulances, cattle herds, and materials for the building of roads and bridges. They do
not understand that an army train, upon the most




646


AN IMMENSE AFFAIR.


limited allowance compatible with freedom of operations, for a fewx days, away fiom its depots, is an
ilnllllens  affair.  Under the existing allowances in
the Army of the Potolac, says Lieutenant-Colonel
Tolles, a corps of thirty thousand infantry has about
se(\ 'en ]Ihu1(nr'ed wagons, drawnl by four thousand two
('hundrelld nuilcs. The horses of officers and of the;lrtillel  y will briing tlie nutnber of animals to be providetd for 111u to al),ut seven thousand.
" 01 tl malllch'll, it is calculated tllat each wagon
will (o.eupl  a)(bout eighty feet, in bad roads much
more      ll C llonseqently, a train  of seven hundrled
wa;(,lMs Vwill cover fift)-six thousand feet of road,
0or over1 t(en miles. The ambulances of a corps will
o''Ip'!y ab;ollut a m1le, landl the batteries about three
1iles'T. rhlliit  thlousndlld  troops need six miles to
marc'(h In, it' tlhey;lfoll but one column. The total
le11ngth o tlhe II;arcllhin (columnn of a corps of thirty
tilills;anl 11e11 is, therefore, tt,,,,ly mil.s, even with-,out illntultllig cattle herds and trains of bridge
1iate rial.
11 al(ldtion to Colonel Tolles' statement, try to
inag;lJie t}lh villanolus roads and soil of this country,
it- ulln1l'1lCred tl'icals, its forests, and its lack of.:1l1J'ls). Thlen rclinenlbr tlhat in a forward moveIllit nt lot  armyI corpls (of thirty thousand men is
vet(l. )lbut t11 srx,. i, t, o' tent,  acc o,'rding to the
1l; rilnittile of, the proplosed operations, and tell me if
tlhe ^rtiiii l( r- of the,ppers ought lnot to have an
cc.asi(,ial s.l.I-I;)   of sen-ls and - silence.
WVe (1o Inot ^et letters (enough. Do the folks at
hl(rec write and do the letters miscarry? or do they
ftret us?  You can have no idea what a blessing
lettei'r- froml home are to the men in camp. They




"CWE DON'T GET LETTERS ENOUGH."


647


make us better men, better soldiers. We get the
blues sometimes, and feel like going to the dogs.
We are sometimes worn out with duty, wet, and
muddy.   The coffee is bad, the crackers worse,
the bacon worst of all; and we are as hungry as
wolves. Just then the mail boy brings in a lettera good long one from you, or from mother, or from
some of the dear girls on the West Side. Immediately all the weariness is gone; the fire has quit
smoking; the musty, fusty, rusty crackers and bacon
are better; and I am just the happiest fellow in all
the world.
One of our men was drunk, and fought and swore
so shockingly, day before yesterday, that we had to
send him to the guard-house. To-night he is taking
a good repenting cry between the blankets. Do you
know why? He got a letter this afternoon from his
mother, and I have no doubt that she spoke of the
Sabbath-school, the church, and the prayer he used
to say when a little fellow at home, when his mother
tucked him in bed. He instantly made for the blankets; and though he thinks none of us know it, we all
know the poor fellow is there sobbing his heart out.
Do write; long letters; full letters; tell us everything; we want to know particulars.
Yours as ever,           E. G.
FATIGUES OF PICKET DUTY   BATTLE OF PEA RIDGE.
LEBAs os. Mo., Feb. 4. 1862.
My last was broken off rather abruptly because I
was detailed to go on picket duty. There is a double
row of pickets all the way round this camp, so you
can judge of the duty we are required to perform.
The inner camp is about twelve miles round. Our




(;8  " SOMEBODY IAD BEEN FRYING ClICKENS."
squad went out about three miles and camped. We
wtereT well provided with cartridges, etc., but had but
two hard clrackers for twenty-four hours.  I was
1put on the lirst relelll, and as soon as relieved I
went with two other men in pursuit of something to
eat. 01' course we were not allowed to fire a gun,
nor could we run down a Missouri hog. We were
not 1folh;,ard(1N elougl to atteml)t this, either. I would
a1s soon thilnk 1'of runnig d(own a wild horse. I pre1iiiie youl have had little experience with the fourfooted.sort of' animals; you only know the bipeds,
a;nd so cannolllt understand my description of these
lfour-footed lMii ssourlans. Why, the sun almost shines
ti',tlllrgl,o11e (, thel, they are so fearfully thin, and
all tih blos le( laire;1 that it takes three of them alongslile to iiiake a shadow.
Blllt \wh11  the sun went down, three or four suspicio(ll —l,(okiinr persoinages might ha; e been seen loiter11in  11'neal the' lier-roo.st of a neighboring plantation.
I }hia'i't tell vo w\hat they did; but whatever the prelinlllnllm s were. they were sp)eedily arranged, and
befl;,ltr Inorning the savorN smell plainly indicated
that some)bo(d hadl,bee fiying chickens. We were
niot canl, ftul eIoulgh, aid the featherls betrayed us when
thle c( 1 olcl;^ a; maklin the grand round.
I ha ve.c1;bee aill tie ltailed to go out on picket with
inv colmpal;. ()1 O   beat extended a mile and a half;aclro,-;1 a col ad deo(,latc prairie, and cold rain began
t,  l tll;a- -,n a.- w\e we\\t on gua.rd - characteristic of
in\ lu-k. It coltinued to rain and freeze until three,'clock in the morniiig, and then sn(wed until we
were( relicverl. at,one,'clock next day. We had
har(llyv rot back to camp. encased in ice, when the
hun burst out in all its.plendor. I confess we were




FIGHTING ENOUGH FOR ONCE.


649


a little downhearted when we found only hard crackers. This country is as desolate as Sahara.
PEA RIDGE, ARK., March, 1862.
I am sitting on the battle-ground, and write you a
few lines to tell you that a victory has been won besides that at Fort Donelson. Many of our brave boys
lie around me, sleeping with the dead. I will not
undertake to give you an account of the battle. I
could not do it intelligently, and you will have the
details before this reaches you. But I have had
fighting enough for once. I only wonder that I am
alive, for again and again I was covered with earth
thrown up by plunging shot. While I lay on the
ground at one time, six horses attached to the cannon
at our right were killed, and one man in Company E,
on my left, was struck in the head with a cannon-ball
and killed instantly. I was so sure that I should lose
my life, that I really felt no concern about it. I considered myself as good as dead the last half of the
battle. Nevertheless, I am still alive and kicking.
Our men were very cool and unexcited during the
whole battle. Price's army is scattered now in every
direction. Many have gone home, and the rest are
driven all over the country. The Iowa Fourth and
Ninth were terribly cut to pieces. Our regiment,
the Thirty-sixth Illinois, lost a few men, and some
were wounded. The rebel general Ben McCullough
was killed. Generals Mackintosh and Price were
wounded. I have not heard from you for weeks.
Are you too busy to write?
Yours truly,        & P. s.




CHAPTER XXXV.
SOLDIERS' LETTERS FROM THE FRONT DURING THE SECOND
YEAR OF THE WAR-HOW A SOLDIER FEELS IN BATTLE
-SWAMPS OF THE CHICKAHOMINY - A BABY ON THE
BATTLE-FIELD -" OLD ROSY."
Letter from a Nurse on a Hospital Boat — After the Battle of Shiloh- Battle Scenes - " Marching all Day, and fighting all Night" - Fearful Condition of the Sick and Wounded- Intimidating Effect of the howling
Shells-Burning commissary Stores-"It is all overl I am to be
kllledl "- Hard Lot of the Sick- Wading through the villanous Mud
of Virginia- General Howard wounded -"Hereafter let's buy our
Gloves togetherl" -Letters from Home -" A Means of Grace"Negro Friendliness - Splendid Foraging - Surprised at the good-looking
Yankees -Life in a Rebel Prison —The Counterpart of Jeffreys and
Haynau - Putrid Mule-Beef - Soup swarming with Bugs and Maggots
-" A Baby on the Battle-Field "- The Army of the Cumberland —
"Old Rosy" - Nationalities represented in the Army - " Schpike dem
new Guns! No, Sheneral, it vould schpoil dem "
LETTER FROM A NURSE ON THE CITY OF MEMPHIS -
AFTER THE BATTLE OF SHILOH.
HOSPITAL BOAT CITY OF MEMPHIS,
PIrTTBUBO LANDIoG, TENN., June 6, 1862.
HAVE      not yet become familiar with my
new  field  of labor.   It is one where      all
i; classes and creeds are reduced to a common
equality   by the stern    leveller, war.   You
are well versed in the sad story of battle and
death connected with this locality. The heart's
blood of our sons, fathers, and brothers has been
freely poured out on the plains of Shiloh. The common private and the common enemy have been
buried where they fell. It was not possible to do
otherwise. But I have a kind of heartbreak as I
look at the rude and unsightly trenches in which
thousands of our soldiers are buried. In one grave
650




HOSPITAL SCENES.


651


within a quarter of a mile of Shiloh church lie fortyseven Union men with their captain. A few rods
from them is a long trench in which were buried two
hundred and thirty-four secessionists. My post of
labor is on the hospital boat City of Memphis.
She has taken to the general hospitals at Mound
City, Paducah, Cairo, and St. Louis, over five thousand sick and wounded since the battle of Pittsburg
Landing. An old, gray-haired man is working with
me. He is a nephew of General Winfield Scott.
He and three sons are fighting to save the Uniol;
he as a hospital nurse, and they as Union soldiers.
Many incidents of daily occurrence show what
strong ties of friendship bind officers and soldiers
together. A lieutenant was wounded. We took him
on board. When it was time to start, most of his
command came to bid him " Good-bye." They took
him by the hand, unable to speak a word, but wiped
off manly tears from their bronzed cheeks with their
coat-sleeves. At last, one who had better control of
his feelings than the rest grasped the hand of the
lieutenant, and said, "Good-bye, Bob! God bless
you! Get well as quick as you can, and write to a
fellow as soon you are able!"
Another, whose leg had been amputated, asked me
to take the address of his young wife, and, as soon as
I could, write her a letter; for he did not wish her
to be kept in suspense until he was able to write
himself. He seemed disposed to talk; but as he was
very weak, and the surgeon insisted upon his being
quiet, I sat down beside him, and soothed him by
repeating to him fragments of hymns. Twice I went
through the whole of that beautiful hymn, " Nearer,
my God, to Thee!"




652


A TERRIBLE WEEK.


"Oh," said he, "I have heard that sung hundreds
of times, but never before did it sound to me so
beautiful." He dropped asleep. I went to him two
or three times to be sure that all was well with him,
and was gratified that his slumbers were so calm.
The last time my foot slipped. I brought a shaded
night-lamp for examination, and found a large pool
of blood coagulating under his cot. I turned the
light full upon the young fellow's face. He was
dead. The leg had not been well bandaged after
amputation. The artery had slipped, and he had
bled to death. I had a very different letter to write
the young wife from what I had planned. How
thankful I shall be when this stormy night of war is
ended, and when the peace bells shall once more
announce the beginning of a new day.
Yours as ever,          J. s.
BATTLE SCENES -RETREAT TO HARRISON'S LANDING, VIRGINIA.
CAMP NEAR HARRISON'S LANDING, VA., July 21, 1862.
Of course you have already heard a great deal
about our famous retreat- or " change of front," as
our commander-in-chief and our newspapers prefer to
call it. The scenes through which I passed during
that terrible week, seem more like a dream to me
than a reality. For seven consecutive days, some
part of the army was engaged with the enemy. The
men were worn by hardship, and were suffering from
the malign influences of an unhealthy climate. But
they were obliged to mancauvre before the enemy, or
to fight him all day, and then to march all night —
carrying knapsacks, guns, and whatever else they
needed. This, protracted through a whole week, has




FALLING BACK FROM RICHMOND.


653


been almost unendurable.  If ever men merited
gratitude at the hand of their country, these pool
fellows do.
We were ordered to strike our tents Saturday
morning, the 28th of June. It was whispered that
we were to fall back from Richmond. Our camp
was situated in the timber, some two miles in fiont
of the enemy's lines. We had hardly commenced
the business of striking tents, when the enemy's
shells began to scream through the air over our
heads. Few things have so intimidating an effect
upon men as these shells.   They howl, shriek,
whistle, and sometimes seem to groan, as they pass
through the air. And though you cannot see them
-so rapid is their flight - unless when they explode,
you hear them so distinctly that you think you might
see them if you took time and looked sharp. We
did not get far from our camping-ground that day.
At night, we bivouacked upon the ground.
The next morning I awoke early, not much rested,
for my bed was in a swampy pasture, and it had
rained. Our sick and wounded had been taken
mostly to Savage Station, upon the railroad.  A
sadder sight I never beheld. I know not how many
hundreds of sick and wounded were there, in a condition so unprotected and wretched that a heart of
stone would have ached. The number was so large
that there were only tents to shelter a few of them.
The amount of suffering was so great that to me it
seemed absolutely useless to try to do anything to
make the poor fellows more comfortable. Their
wounds were of every possible description. Some of
the gaping wounds were actually flyblown, and covered with larva and maggots. Many were without




654 MARCIUNG, COUNTERMARCHING AND FIGHTING.
shirts and drawers. Some were entirely nude, and
tried to wrap themselves in a rargged blanket.
Thle  were burning commissary stores in the
nighbll)rhood, which could not be taken away, and
that might fall into the hands of the enemy. In the
conflall-ration there was a constant explosion of shells,
thlat, by accident or otherwise, were mixed with the
general mass. The fragments of exploded shells
wetl'c hurled over among these poor wounded fellows,
lacerating and killing them, so that at last all attempt.s to remove them to a safer place were abandoned,. as sonme of the assistants were themselves
killed. All thes.e wounded and sick fell into the
hanlds of the enemy. But as they had more than
enough sick and wounded of their own, they sent a
flar of trteec to G(eneral McClellan to come and ren(,move them - and this was done. But in what a
pl)l ilt were they re1cmoved!
h'l,La was occul)ied with marching and counterInal'ching- none of us understanding what was
aimed at, and content to blindly obey orders. Again
it was- niight. But after darkness had set in, a batterv that the enemy had been getting in position
opened upon u1s  Ve endured the most fearful shelli Ir. ^z all colfess that heard it, that has been known
in tlie prog-re's of this war. It seemed as though all
tilt fire- 1in the infernal regions had been suddenly
ltt Wl,):o upilon us. Ae were in a narrow belt of
tlimberl. and tle.hells flew through like hail, crashi111'r do\\I b nl1:h  o f trees, and ploughing up the
earth;I l ere thev.struck. It was a fearful hour.
Ea rlv in tlIe mornin:, the troops encamped near
u-. with our,.-(lvc, were agrain in motion. It was a
rctr(o ra de moven  t, and w  were put nearly at the
I_                          i       ~




"THE FLANKING GUNS OPENED ON US."    655
head of the column. It was a confused, pell-mell
march,-infantry, artillery, and cavalry straggling
along the road together. Nature was fairly exhausted. Again the flanking gulls were opened on
us, and for a moment there was a little faltering. I
think everybody felt as I did in the first moment,
that we must escape from it. But directly the feeling toned me up, that I must go on, though all the
batteries of the lower regions should open upon us.
On we moved through the trees, balls and shells
whistling and howling around us. The fire became
so hot that we were ordered to lie down. I expected
to be killed. I wondered whether I should be taken
off by a minie-ball or a shell. The man next me was
torn in a half score of pieces. I was spattered with
his blood and rent flesh. Then the splinters of a tree
that was struck by a shell covered me, as I lay on
the ground. I am amazed now when I recall my
mood of mind, for I absolutely grew cheerful and
indifferent. "It is all over," I said; "I am to be
killed. My body will be so mutilated that it will
be buried on the battle-field!" And a great gush of
joy stole through me as I remembered that my wife
and daughter would not be sickened by the sight of
my mangled remains.
There came a momentary lull in the firing, of which
advantage was taken. There was a rapid deploying
of our troops, a swift unlimbering of the big guns, a
terrific cannonading from our side, a fierce charge
on our adversaries; and soon by the cheering we
knew our men were driving the enemy. I was so
utterly exhausted that I remember it all as a dream
in a nightmare. Louder and more general became
the cheering; the whole muddy, weary, and exhausted




WADING THROUGH A SEA OF MUD.


army grew wild with delight, and rent the heavens
with their cheers.  The battle was sharp, but it
ended in temporary victory. A few moments' rest
was given the men, and then the weary retrograde
march was resumed.
Before the head of the column reached Harrison's
Landing, it set in to rain, and poured down without
stint. In a very few hours, this broad and beautiful
plantation, memorable for being the birthplace of
General Harrison, was one sea of mud. The sacred
soil of Virginia became such a villanous paste that it
was all a strong man could do to wade through it.
I shall never, throughout eternity, it seems to me,
forget the terrible scenes that passed before my eyes
on that day. The whole army was worn out, twothirds suffering from scurvy and malarial diseases,
and yet it was obliged to bivouac in this horrible
mud, and to be pelted with a drenching rain. The
wounded were brought in ambulances by hundreds.
The noble mansion of the estate was not a hundredth
part large enough to receive them. It was a blessed
thing that the river was at hand, and that there were
transports upon it to receive these poor fellows, and
to bear them to places where they could have better
attention.
It fared the worst with the sick. No appeal of
theirs was attended to.  They lay in thousands
around the premises, upon the wet ground, covered
only with a bit of gum cloth or a blanket. It was a
sitght to make a man forever -hate the name of war,
to see these little mounds of human wretchedness.
They gave no signs of life, save a stifled groan, or
the motion given to the bit of cloth by the act of
breathing. All day and all night they remained in this




U  '~t. 4    ~....t
1.  1-,                                           1' Ir.
~                           49.1                                     IL'.. 4~_
iAt
Akt m                                                          a I
164            J&
'V          4
let.'                                         'v
'p4
%Ar*
\t        A -i U4




-J.  A   _ _ I,.
rz


4 -

4. —


I


i. )  -4  Irl
*-4


$
b. 4 A 

- -      47C




-ii    - -_  I-i-;


*             
-.v
(A
111
I
I.
$
I
I'
V'kMOlJS U':
)hu' ktQ t.2




I4,'.t.;t




GENERAL HOWARD'S ARM SHATTERED.


659


exposed situation, many of them hurried out of the
world by this neglect. I suppose the surgeons, for
the most part, did what they could; but I have a feeling
that there is a great fault somewhere. Everybody
declares that the Medical Department, as now organized, is a disgraceful failure.
At the battle of Fair Oaks, General Howard's
right arm was shattered by a ball, so that it had to be
amputated above the elbow. Waving the mutilated
arm aloft, he cheered on his men, and was borne
from the field. While being carried on a litter, he
passed General Kearney, who had lost his left arm in
Mexico. Rising partly on the litter, he called out
gayly, "I want to make a bargain with you, General.
Hereafter let's buy our gloves together!"
The estate upon which the army was encamped is
called Berkeley on the map. It is a noble plantation, lying in a bend of the James River. Every
sign of vegetation is trampled out, and its broad
acres are as bare and hard beaten as a travelled
road. The house is an ancient brick edifice, quite
large, and flanked by two smaller ones. At a distance are the negro quarters, more comfortable thnn
I have usually found them. The owner was in Richmond when the army advanced, andl had directed the
overseer to burn everything that the Yankees could
appropriate. But the order was not carried out.
Most of the elegant furniture was left in the house.
The rich carpets remained upon the floor. In three
hours' time they were completely covered with mud
and soaked with human gore. The genius of destruction is let loose in war.  Soldiers acquire a
passion for destruction. It made my heart ache to
see them break mahogany chairs for the fire, and




660


LETTERS BY THE HUNDRED.


slplit up a rosewood piano for kindling. But any
jrotest is immediately received by the soldiers with
cursing of the rebels and all who sympathize with
thlem.               Yours truly,      z. H. H.
HEAVY MAILS - NEGRO FRIENDLINESS - SPLENDID
FORAGING.
MErMPUIS, TENN., Dec. 20, 1862.
We enltelred Memphis yesterday afternoon, after a
mlarch of eighteen days, when we accomplished one
hulndred and fifty miles. We were overjoyed to get
back, anll  were no more than comfortably settled
when u1' quartermaster came into camp with one
hunll(red a1nd forty letters for the boys. I was one
of thle ulnfortunate ones who received no mail; but I
ellj,!cd the hal)pilness of the rest. A Chicago Trib71l, Of l)e'(. S was read fiom tent to tent, to a
tclt fll at a time. The firlst notice in the local
(,column was the opening of the new skating park,
which scemc(edl ilcredible to us, as we perspire in our
shirt-sleevcs, without any fire, as if it were midI ha1d rotten over mly disappointment when one of
the li- utenants came into camp, followed by the captain. the armns of both heaped with letters and papers.
Thk.N had 1brought threel hundred and ten more lettcx.r. and an imnmcnse airmful of papers. Now, I
had( f;ourteen letters and five papers. I read and
re-rciad thenm, an(l succeeded in digesting them all
b) m(orIning(  You cannot imagine what a change
camel over the camp after the men had read their
letter-.
Soilln time  our expediti(osl and reconnoissances
take us away from camp for a month at a time, so




"'A MEANS OF GRACE."


661


that we neither receive nor send any letters until our
return. The men always become rough and somewhat demoralized on these occasions. They become
profane and boisterous, some of them obscene and
quarrelsome, and there will be bad blood among
them, with the prospect of several fights, as soon as
they can manage them. By and by we get back to
camp, and a big mail awaits us. All the men will
have letters and papers from mothers, wives, sisters,
and friends; and there is a.change immediately. A
great quietness falls on the men; they become subdued and gentle in manner; there is a cessation of
vulgarity and profanity, and an indescribable softening and tenderness is felt, rather than perceived,
among them. Those who were ready to shoot one
another a few hours before are seen talking with
one another, and walking together, sometimes with
their arms around one another.  It is the letters
from home that have changed the atmosphere of the
camp. If the people at home only knew what "a
means of grace" their letters are to the men, they
would write frequently.
The climate is delightful, and as yet we have had
but little weather that could be called chilly. The
December weather has been like that of September
and October in Chicago. Trees are budding, birds
are singing, and the flies are a torment. As we go
farther south I presume the weather will be even
warmer.  Almost all the inhabitants left in the
country are old men and women and negroes.
There is any number of the latter. We could have
collected a small army of contrabands if the Emancipation Proclamation had been in effect. Most of the
work in the army is done by negroes. Some regi40




662


IMMENSE SUPPLIES.


ments have sixty or a hundred of them. They cook,
take care of the horses, wash, make roads, build
bridges, and do almost all the heavy work. It surprises them to see white men work. " Why," they
say, " you can harness a horse as well as any nigger.
Our massas could no more harness a horse than they
could fly." They constantly ask me why we will
not let them fight. Most of them say they will stay
with us through thick and thin, if we will only bury
them when they are killed. Some of them are very
importunate to drill and get ready against they are
needed.
You would be surprised to see the amount of provisions the white people have stored away. When our
men go to their houses and help themselves to sugar,
molasses, meal, or anything, they will beg most pitifully: "Oh, don't take that, it is all I've got! I shall
starve!" But an investigation of cellars, sheds, and
smoke-houses, reveals immense quantities of supplies. Not a man in ten even pretends to be in favor
of the Ulion; and they say all they dare in favor of
the South. They declare that the North has always
abused them, and that the time has come for them to
rebel.  They openly express their surprise to see
such good looking men among the Yankees. Our
orderly took dinner with a wealthy planter one day,
and, while at the table, the lady of the house asked
her little daughter, "if that man looked like a
Yankee? " pointing to the orderly, who is a very fine
looking fellow. "Why, no!" said the young lady;
I don't believe he is." When the orderly asked the
reason of her doubt, she answered very frankly,
"Why, Yankees are hideous looking creatures "
Truly yours,            G. T.




IN THE EMBRACES OF THE cc BUTTERNUTS.' 663
LIFE IN A REBEL PRISON.
WAsuINGTON, D. C., Jan. 5, 1863.
It is so long since I have been able to write you,
that I feel like saying, in the words of the old Scotch
song,
"Oh, years have flown since we have met,
And sorrow has been mine."
I have been learning, with a very ill grace, I fear,
a lesson of patience and resignation in the prisons of
Dixie. When I enlisted I had no expectation of
being covered with glory or crowned with bay leaves;
but I confess that I have seen considerably more
than I bargained for. I fell into the tender embraces
of the " Butternuts" on the 1st of last June, with a
score of my comrades of the Ninth MIichigan, and we
have just been released from their loving hands.
I was taken in a skirmish at Chattanooga, Tenn.
My captors conveyed me into the presence of General Kirby Smith. He questioned me very closely
as to the number of men we had across the river,
if our officers intended to attack the town, etc.,
questions which he had no right to ask, and which
I had no idea of answering. After evading them
for some few minutes, I replied to the august Kirby,
as he demanded that I should tell him the truth,
that he could easily solve all his own problems by
crossing the Tennessee River, and reconnoitring for
himself.
"Don't you dare give me any of your Yankee impudence!" was his amiable repll, and then I was
dismissed to the camp of the Forty-third Georgia,
where I was detained a couple of weeks. With
other prisoners, I was marched to Atlanta, Ga., from




INHUMAN TREATMENT.


thence to Macon, and turned in with about thirteen
hulldred Yankee prisoners, taken at various times.and placles. The camp consisted of about four acres,
an(l was enclosed by a broad stockade, twenty feet
high.  I think the location was healthy, and we
werec we\(ll suppllied with water; but we lacked almost
teverytliing clse. The months of my detention there
seeI('l'II   to me1 like years, life was so desolate.
The inlilotlous Rylander, the "secesh" major in
char'e (o' us ait Macon, has a counterpart in the
bloodvy-hta(ded Jeiffreys of English history, or in the
inlllllanlll Ia ynau of the Hungarian war. He instrlictetd hlis guarlds to shoot "the first  Yankee
th:t ca:ine wvitlini ten steps of the guard line." I cones tllhat there were days when the wish within me
waV1 so strong to murder this tyrant, that it was all I
(could (1do to lp'event mlyself rushing upon him, foolhlard1 as the deed would have been; for I should
hlave ftlle  before I had reached him. He could
h:ave bl),roughlt a little sunshine into our dreary lives
-le c( ul(l hlave soothed the dying hours of many of
ou'Jr pool'  llows —but he seemed to take a fiendish
(ldelight in sceingl, the men droop and die. Nearly
three} hundre'd (f our men died in this prison during
t}le foltr months that I was a prisoner there. Every.-tate in tlhe U'11on was, represented.
Man\ of the boys were young and not inured to
Ia:d.ls}ahips, andl they went under rapidly. Fragments,of tlhat sad )oen, "The Prisoner of Chillon," would
cro-s nIv memory as I saw Ipalefaced striplings die
1, fore m1 eves. without the 1)(pwer to help. As true.as tleitis is a God in Ieaven, many were starved to
dee;th, and plerislhe( for lack of the bare necessities
of life.,ome who grew inlsane with their sufferings,




STARVATION RATIONS.


665


rushed beyond the dead line, and were shot immediately. That was merciful compared to the treatment others received.
Our rations were a half pint of flour and a small
piece of bacon per man. Some of the time the
bacon was so bad that we had to throw it away.
When we did not have bacon, we were sometimes
furnished with what we believed was mule beef. At
times this was so putrid that it was impossible to eat
it. We had no salt, unless we bought it at the rate
of two dollars and a half per pound. If we asked
for flour, we could have it by paying a dollar for
three pints. Sometimes we received beef; but we
were never allowed but eighteen pounds of beef,
bone included, for one hundred men. Sometimes
soup was made with this beef, and with black beans.
River water was used in the making of the soup.
Part of the time it was without salt; but it always
contained plenty of bugs and maggots. Our rubber
blankets, canteens, and haversacks were taken from
us. Some of us received tents. Some had to lie
outdoors; but none of us had anything with which
to cover our bodies.
About the middle of September, rumors of a general parole of prisoners reached us, and by the last
of October, with as thankful hearts as must have
filled the bosoms of those released from the Bastile,
we left the hated place. Death on the battle-field,
death in the hospital, or death under any circumstances, is preferable to the brutality and starvation
of a rebel prison. We were crowded into cattle cars
and started for Richmond. At Columbia, S. C., we
were stared at like wild animals; and the people
appeared surprised and disappointed that we did




i(;(;


" THIS BELONGS TO UNCLE SAM! "


not have horns, and hoofs.   The cultivated and
efinled ladies amused themselves with walking backwards and 1l;,lrwards, making faces at us, spitting at
us, and uttering- gibes.
At Charlotte, N. C., we remained four days, awaiting transportation to Raleigh, with only a little rice,
brea(l, anld,more putrid meat, which lasted us to
Ralighl. IHere we received crackers that must have
becnl anIcienlt when the war began, to judge fiom their
stonlinss, and some raw bacon, which we ate uncool;kd. for lack of fire. From Raleigh we were
sent to Petersburg, and thence to Richmond, where
wC w''tere pl)a'11led.
All! ott slhould have seen us when we trod the
de(  ot ',' "U lel Sam's " transports, if you want to
knowv ho(w n11n prize liberty. Despite the weak and
emlaciateld cond(ltion o(f the boys, they were wild with
nthulsiasml.  Theiy kissed the flag, hugged the
stanc;hionl of the b, at, patted its side, and said,
rTl'hi. belongs to Uncle Sam!'" I was starving for
cofle(,. a(nd spent most of the first night drinking
co({flee, until there began to be danger of my becomingl. wate -l,'Lred  As we steamed down James
Riv.er to Fortlres.s Monroe, up Chesapeake Bay, and
the Potomlac River, to the national capital, I think,
dleslite our worni, ragged, and dirty condition, the
sun nll 1ver shone on a happier set of fellows.
I h1ave so)me new ideas concerning the Southern
soldie'I-.  Iatred of the,Northerners seems to be the
(,It alh-,orbing passion of their lives. They have any
qulaiitit of' brute force, for they have been reared to
)be haldy physically.  But the illiteracy of the
Southlern army is amazing. Not one in ten can read
or write. How the South will get through the win



A TOUCHING LITTLE INCIDENT.


667


ter is a mystery to me, for the corn crop of Georgia
and North and South Carolina is exceedingly scanty,
and there is a great scarcity of meat. Shoes are
worth nineteen dollars a pair. Everything is scarce
and expensive. The only means of subduing this
rebellion, in camp and in council, is with powder,
ball, and bayonet. But will you think me lacking in
patriotism when I confess that just now I feel like
endorsing Horace Greeley's proposition to "let the
wayward sisters depart in peace " - or in pieces, as
they prefer?       Ever yours,        J. B. R.
A BABY ON THE BATTLE-FIELD.
BOLIVAR, TENN., Jan. 10, 1863.
Let me relate a touching little incident that is very
affecting. At the battle of 'Hatchie, when the conflict was raging fiercest, midway between the contending forces we found a little blue-eyed baby
lying on the cold earth. A tear was on its cheek,
which it had wept at finding itself alone, but it was
unalarmed amid the awful confusion of the battle.
With the missiles of death flying thickly about
it, and crowding close upon its life, it lay there
in miraculous safety, and by its smiles, and helplessness, and innocence, appealed to us for protection.
Now would you suppose that in the midst of that
wild, fierce battle, with the field strewn with the
dead, the shrieks of the wounded rending the air
with agony, a great army would pause to save a
helpless baby? Yet that is just what the Fourteenth
Illinois did; and an officer of the regiment ordered
the baby carried to headquarters, and tenderly cared
for. The next day after the battle, the baby was




668


MOTHER SEARCHING FOR HER CHILD.


brought before the Fourteenth   and unanimously
adopted as " the child of the regiment."
But three or four days later a heart-stricken,
poverty-pinchled mother came searching the battlefield and the camp in quest of her child. Wild
'exclamations of thanksgiving burst fiom her when
she learnied that her child had been rescued, and
care;d ftor with a mother's tenderness.  I saw her
recceive the child, heard her brief prayer for the
soldiers who, saved it, and, with the blessing of a
thousand men following her, she carried away our
little laughing, blue-eyed baby.
Always yours,       o.
THE ARIMY OF TIHE CUMBERLAND    GENERAL ROSECRANS -GCERMAN OFFICERS.
IN CAMIP NEAR MURFREESBOnO, TENN., Jan. 22, 1863.
After so 1,lng a silence, I seat myself to write you.oncernlling the Army of the Cumberland. Since the
battle of Stone River many changes have taken place
with u1. Our poor wounded comrades have all been
sent North. Not. alas, as they came to us; for then
they could carry whatsoever they needed, and now
thev return un:blc to carry themselves. But such is
tlhc foltunlle of war.
A lar c cnvalescent camp has been established
near tlie f)rtificatlins, whe' c the boys are taken as,,,on i:1 the' _)(rill tlo recover a  ap ar)loach the time
whit.l tllhe are fit for duty. Thi.i i- a noble institution(. andl. retlkcot- credit on o)ur worthy general.
Nr;' th} c'ampll is a Ilarge field or kitchen garden, culti' at-d 1b\ convale-'cent-l and details fiomn the army,
\wh l't-  wi1ll }be rai-ed more,lrarden -auce, or "t truck,"
than could possibly be consumed by the entire con



GENERAL GOOD FEELING.


669


valescent corps. This is necessary on account of
scurvy.
We are indebted to "Old Rosy" (General Rosecrans) for the great improvement in our bill of fare
and general condition.  We in the Army of the
Cumberland think him almost as big a man as " Old
United States" (General Grant) or "Tecumseh"
(General Sherman). We have drawn pickles, good
ones too; something we have not seen before since
we enlisted.  They have sharpened our appetites,
which, to tell the truth, were keen enough before.
We have also received pepper, which you should be
deprived of for a time if you wish to know how to
appreciate it. We have also received a lot of real
"Irish Murphys" (potatoes). These favors cause
us to mention the name of "Old Rosy" very gratefully. I think it has never been our good fortune
since we went into the service to be situated where
there was such general good feeling. We think we
have the right man in the right place, and we hope
the authorities at Washington will agree with us.
We could not lose Rosecrans from this army without
-serious injury.
A few days ago, one of the boys, in a fit of great
wrath, occasioned by a letter he received from his
family, who were suffering from want, wrote the
following letter to General Rosecrans:
GERAL, -- I have been in the service eighteen months, and
have never received a cent of pay. I desire a furlough for fifteen
days that I may go home and remove my family to the poor
house.
' Old Rosy " gave him his furlough.
In my last I complained about the German officers,
did I not?  Well, I guess I must take that back.




670


MANY NATIONALITIES IN THE ARMY.


''Flea\ atre splendid fighters; in fact, all the foreigners
a'c,who are with us. I wonder if you know how
man l  nationalities are represented in this army.
Sigel is a Germall, Tulrchin is a Russian, Stahl a
HutIngarian, Malggi a Sardinian, De Monteine is a
Fre' llhman, De Courcecy an Englishlman, Ericsson
a Swede, Corcoran and Meagher are Irishmen, and
Fidella is anl It.llan.
There is a GCrnal   officer in camp concerning
whoim they tell tlis story; they say at the battle of
Sliloll he rode up to an aide and inquired for Grant.
Thlat's him with the field glass," said the aide,
wheellng his holrse about. Our Dutchman rode furious1! up to the General, and, touching his cap, thus
addresst(l him -
" Shelleral, I vannts to make von report. Schwartz's
Batterl is took."
" b11." said the General, "how is that? "
"Vll. vonu sec, Sheneral, (lde sheshessionists came
uJ) t de front of us; de    sheshessionists flanked
us; andl (de    shcshessionists came to de rear of
us: and Schwartz's Battery vas took."
"Well. si,"' said the General, "you, of course,
spike(l the,.'uns?"
"Vat!" exclaimed the Dutchman, in great astoni}hnent. "S(hpke (cdem gtis! Schpike dem new
^run.-!  No,. Sheneiral, it vould schpoil demn."
~ Well,".aid the General, sharply, " what did you
d,,?"
Do, Sheneral? VY, ve took dem back again from
de.- heslhessionists! "
Thlic- Germans will fight, and they care as much
for this country as we Yankees do. And so, if I
have complained of them, forget it.




QUEER KIND OF JUSTICE.


671


For several days past, sentence of death has been
daily executed upoln spies, mulrdcrers, anld deserters.
Spies avnd murdlerers arel hanged, but deserters are
shot. It is a fear ful thing flo soldiers to shoot their
companiolns i ll'llls, and yet to maintaiin dls('illille it
has to be done. Two were executdc( to-day   Thousands flocked to m itness the splectacle, but I wenit as
far as possible fi'oml t fl sihllt oft tre l'a,(l  Dlurillg
the last two y ea's I have seen men cenouh lmaklng
their unceremonollus exit firom tliis vale of tcars and
"hardtack" not to feel eager to witnless a?,one's
deliber'ate departurle.
Cedarl rails make excellent filrewood. andl  t lhat is
probablyl the reason iwhy tlhere are no fences in this
vicillitV. Rail fences disappear like dew be1)tl'oi,   tlhe
sun the moment an arsmy ('ampsl in their' 'vi( ilt.
Ouir camp is in close pl )rximitv to tile battle-,'il'ound,
and the stenchl arisnl f'rom the ('arcas-ses of' (ead
hobrses and mutles, which lhaxv not b)een11 b)uried,1. 1;llmakes
our' ca)mp anytllilr butt agreealble  W c arc waitin
patiently for the fate of XVickslburil   to be decided,
and then we shall take up a 1'o,'ward ina'rch.
YouIrs truly,        S-. 8.




CHAPTER XXXVI.
SOLDIERS' LETTERS FROM THE FRONT DURING THE THIRD
YEAR O(F THIE WAR-HOUSEKEEPING IN CAMP-RIDING
"C''I'TE-BA(K '" -DARING DEEDS-REBEL PICKETS.
Battle of (hicekamiauga- lemarkable Presentiment- Housekeeping in
('amp - Ignorance of the Enemy - "The walking Regiments -" Cannon Soldiers"-W\ept over his lifeless Body - Ignorance of secesh
Soldlirs -Yet they fight bravely -Have plenty of Hay, but no Impunity- (;rcat(,r Loss by Sickness than on Fields of Battle -Evidence
that tll Enemy a.rt near -  Riding Critter-back "-After the Battle
of the Wilderness -" 'ny Commander but Grant would have retreatedl" - Recklesslnss of tlie Cavalry- Daring of the Soldiers- "Divide
is tle word, or youl are a (lead Johnny " —Ten thousand Men sing
" IRally rould tihe Flag, Boys!" - " One vast, exultant Roar! " -Talking with rIl-l I'ickets.
BATTLE OF CHICKAMAUGA.
IIEADIQUA ITERS, FIIRST BRIGADE, SECOND DIVISION,
CIIATTAN.OO(, A, TENN., Oct. 29, 1863.
IIE,,sounds of booming cannon and retreating
c,   lusketr' y hlave s(al'cely died away, nor are
^        the effects of the glreat battle of Chicka-;   ll1auLra vet removed from  our sight.    I see
thii- momncll t a tlir'ong of ambulances wending
thell.  way to tho e l)pontoon bridge, loaded with our
o)llll'adel  who, a st hor't tine -sin(e, were joyous and.stioll. Iw  carried away minus a leg, without an
all., -(:rre(l...a;lshed, ald with a weight of Confed-rate lead il their bodies.
I -lall nllt uldeltake to (rive you any description
of the. },:ttle   Elvery pr(imiient l)al)er ha, its special
c,'l'e.-Onl, dent down here, and when they write their
67'2




GREAT LOSS OF LIFE.


673


letters from information obtained by themselves at
headquarters - and not from cowardly stragglers -
it can be, in the main, depended upon. You at home
are probably better acquainted with the details of the
battle than we here. My knowledge is properly confined to the part taken by my own brigade. We
were not engaged on Saturday at all; but on Sunday,
the 20th, we were formed in line of battle, in a strong
position. Had we been left there, our loss would not
have been what it is, and the loss of the Confederates
in their desperate charge upon General Thomas would
have been double; for we were in position to attack
them with our artillery and infantry, on their left flank.
I think we could not only have checked, but utterly
annihilated their massed columns. But no sooner
had the troops on our left commenced to give way,
than we were moved on the double quick to form a
line in the face of a terrible charge, with our troops
falling back and breaking through our line, while one
section of our battery was unlimbered. Our muchbeloved general, William H. Lytle, fell at the head
of our column, twice wounded. We could not remove his remains from the field. Our brigade numbered fourteen hundred men, of whom we lost five
hundred in killed and wounded. My Company, H,
lost eighteen men out of twent —eight, and two of
our officers were killed; but we are in good spiritshave not been whipped, and do not believe while
" old Rosy " commands us we can be. We have another idol. It is "little Phil" (General Sheridan).
This place is now in such a condition that it is lost to
the rebels. They might as well charge up into the
heavens to obtain the sun as to waste their time on
this place.




674


REMAlRKABLE PRESENTIMENT.


I have never come out fiom any fight with such a
sense ol loss as fiom this. Seven of my company are
lyingl side by side in one grave, within four rods of
\whe1re they feill. My dear messmate, comrade, fiiend,
an1d b1)edlllow, Alvin Bunker, fiom whom I have
(nt lbeen' sle)arated one night since we entered the
secrv'lc togetllhe, was killed in the act of taking aim.
01i tlle nigh11 t befl;'e the battle we lay down together,
ne alr wlhere we t  formled the line in the morning. That
lwas the third Illgllt we had been engaged, and so we
Awere obliged to lie down with neither fire nor coffee,
although it was very cdld and rainy. Alvin and I
sp)l'dl,our blanllkts and lay down together, having
Mon our l)elts 1and a'rms. IIolding each other by the
11;and, we talked for a long night about the possibility
tof tll;at )beill the last timice we should sleep together.
AVe I)l(),lise(1 each otllhrc tlhat if either fell the other
w-,ulll ltake (  large of Iiis lifeless remains and write
liom1  all the partic(ular's. And then -I don't mind
telling! /,, / of it-we repeated together the little
1pra!'.r,.   X   I lay me down to sleep," and, with
Imn,'(' -,lenllitx and tendern'lessl than we ever before
eCX^re.d(.. we. w at(le  e eac other " Good night."
Il tlhe nll'lllll, AXlvin took out his watch, purse,
so',lt )llht,:allhs, atend little keelsakes, directed me
w hat t  1 w1it l tlieii in (c;sc lihe was killed, and then
a1ltl,.S, - ll w\11 l1ave to go, home without me.
It 1;a1ll up1 with I1c. I. shall lb killed in the first
]hour,,f tlhe ti,'lt."  I rem,,n-tiitted, even with tears,
loi' ',,ul know how I louved Alvin; but I could not
shl;ake hlini in thle lat. Befo-re nine o'clock, as he
Nwas -tallin. ll  b mIe, taking aim, a cannon-ball spattelt'(l lle wiith hi1 Ilood and bi'ains.
All whlo were alive and not wounded soon retreated,




WEPT OVER HIIS DEAD COMRADE.


leaving our wounded for the rebels to rob, and our
dead for them to mutilate. But I could not leave my
brother, my comrade, and my friend, and I bore his
mangled and bleeding body with me a little out of
the ranks of the army and wept over it. He was
decently buried. If my letter is blue, have I not
occasion?       Yours sorrowfully,   s. P. s.
HOUSE-KEEPING IN CAMP- IGNORANCE OF THE
ENEMY.
LITTLE ROCK, ARK., Nov. 20, 1863.
We boys have learned pretty well how to take
care of ourselves, and, about as soon as we get into
camp, we set up house-keeping, as though we expected to spend our lives in camp. Cosey cabins are
fitted up. One will have a fireplace and a chimney,
which he plasters with the red earth. Another has
"jerked" a crane from some "secesh" house, and
swings thereon his three-legged dinner-pot. Tables,
stools, and benches are tumbled together in the
quickest way possible, and by the roughest of carpenters. Most of   have t of u hv  of looking-glass that
hangs on the wall, revealing to us our bronzed faces.
Some of the boys have "jerked" a banjo from some
quarter, which is strung up on a hook; and before
many days the whole camp will have a real homelike
air. The spaceways between the tents are cleared
and kept smooth, or "policed," as the camp language
has it. And in front of the tents there will be always
little seats shaded by boughs of trees, where we can
take our ease when off parade or duty.
But suddenly there comes some mornilg an order
for striking tents, and then this canvas city vanishes
more rapidly than it grew. The regiments march




6 76  "HAVE IIAY, BUT ARE OUT OF IMPUNITY."
out, the bugles blow, the bands play, the roll of the
drum is heard. Then the army wagons stretch along
behind, and, at last, where, but a few nights before,
all was life and animation, there are only desolation
and the valrious impedimenta that a camp always
leaves behind.
A. moe heathenish set of human beings do not
exist outside the Orient than the country people of
Alrkllls:as; and the soldiers know little more than the
civilians. In the parllance of this state, the Arkansas
Infanlltry are " The Walking Regiments"; the artillery alrc " Cannon Soldiers "; all officer on horseback
is  riding (critter-back."
AVt( alwiays call our antagonists "Johnny Rebs,"
and the hail us a;s "Yanks " and "You-uns." We
soliet ilmes have civery amnusing conversations with the
ignorant fellows, which not unfiequently end in practical jokes. Ignorant as they are, they are pretty
good lighrters.;, and lead us a lively dance sometimes.
DI)n't imnaine that ignorance is confined wholly
to the  se secesh." We have a little display of it in
oult own qluarters once in a while. One of the field
oflicer. da-hed up to headquarters a few weeks ago,
his hors reeking with foam from hard riding, dismounted. and threw the reins to his servant, who is,
like mvnsclf. a.Jelrsev man.
1 eed, him!" sa;id the officer.
Isn't he too warm to feed now?" inquired the
sei.'vant.
No,. not at all. You can feed him hay with
impunity."
T 1,pl//,,;t/?" queried old stupid.  "We hain't
g,>t none  The qiuarterminaster has furnished us hay,
but na'r a pound of impunity."




BRAVE DEEDS COST MANY LIVES.


677


We have lost more men by sickness than we have
by skirmishes or battles. I imagine that statement
is true of the whole army.
Yours very cordially,  H. C. L.
GENERAL GRANT —RECKLESSNESS OF THE CAVALRY
- DARING OF THE SOLDIERS.
HBADQUARTERS TWENTIETH INDIANA,
SECOND Coups, BImNEY'S DIrvsiox, June 8, 184.
We have been resting for two days now, and, after
thirty-five days of incessant marching and labor generally, and thirty days of battle, we appreciate it, I
assure you. By " rest" I do not mean that we have
left the front, and are out of sight and hearing of
rebels; for our lines are only five hundred yards
apart, and the occasional whirr of a rifle-ball, or the
explosion of a shell, is assurance that they still live,
full of murderous intent. We commenced the campaign on the 2d of May, and on the 5th were fighting. Every day until the 5th of June our regiment
has been under fire, and not a day has passed but
that we have lost one or more men before its close.
In the charge of the 12th, the flag of the Twentieth
Indiana was the first placed upon the rebel works,
and its bearer, who had carried it since Gettysburg,
was immediately shot down, and fell over among the
enemy - dead. He was a noble fellow, and had only
planted the flag when he fell.
Again at the crossing of the North Anna we were
first, and alone charged the works, protecting the
crossing of the others. But I do not like to think or
to tell of these honorable deeds; for they always cost
us the lives of our comrades, and the spilling of the
blood of noble hearts, and their remembrance is
painful.
41




678


"' GRANT DOES NOT RETREAT."


General Grant's tactics are novel, and to us peculiar. Any other commander would have retreated
after the battle in the Wilderness, but he does not
know how to retreat. He continued the onward
movement by flanking General Lee, causing him to
seek a new position in haste. This flanking movement has continued until now; and rebel papers say,
"Grant is enamoured of his left flank." I hope he
will remain so. Confidence is unbounded in him.
There is much in the letters of correspondents that is
not true in regard to the great general. He never
gets in a rage; never goes about cursing and swearing. He is never loud nor swaggering; and as to the
stories of his inebriety, they are utterly baseless. He
is always cool, self-governed, modest, reticent, quiet,
and low-spoken. We are angry in the army, when
we read the abominable yarns written concerning the
u npretentious Lieutenant-General.
Nor have the stories of his disgusting style of
dress a word of truth in them. I have never seen
more style at the headquarters of the army than now,
and General Grant himself, when I last saw him, was
in splendid attire, but almost alone. He is the finest
looking man on horseback I ever saw. The " inevitable cigar" is true of him, for he smokes continually.
He is so taciturn that when any one comes to us with
an account of a talk that be has had, or heard of any
one having with General Grant, he is chaffed unmercifully. Not a word that he says is believed.
This is a fine portion of Virginia through which
we have passed. War has not, heretofore, laid waste
many of these old plantations, and a certain kind of
luxury continues here. The people generally have
fled at our approach, and, of course, we have appro



"NOT WATER, BUT MILK."


679


priated the good things they left behind them,- ice,
chickens, pigs, corn meal, etc.,-they were luxuries
to us. Our mess was so fortunate as to be able to
supply itself with lots of corn meal and a cow, so that
mush and milk, the best food in the world, has taken
the place of the army delicacies,  hardtack and
coffee.
A few days ago I met a cavalry man on the road.
I was thirsty, and asked him if he had water in his
canteen. He replied, "No, not water, but milk." I
took the canteen, and laughed at what I supposed
was the fellow's joke; for I supposed that the milk
had come through the commissary's faucet. But it
was indeed milk, not cold.
"Have you found a spring?" said I, laughing.
"Oh, no," replied he, nonchalantly; "there are
about forty cows round here, and we just milk them."
And so they did. The cavalry men are reckless
fellows, under less discipline than the infantry, and
have "just everlastingly lived," in army phrase.
When I went ashore at White House, I had not
been there an hour before I saw some one coming,
leading a cow triumphantly. I followed the man into
a farmyard, and there I saw signs of the herd that
he told me of, -not forty, but certainly more than
twenty.
The daring of our men is to me amazing, as much
as I have seen of it. It is reckless foolhardiness at
times. But it is not surpassed by that of our enemies. One biting cold morning last winter, when
the armies of Meade and Lee were drawn up on
opposite sides of a little rivulet, all strung to so high
a tension that moments seemed hours, and hours
days, the deadly strife was so near at hand, a solitary




SENTINELS DIVIDE TIlE SHEEP.


shcep walked leisurely along the bank of the stream,
on the ribel side. A rebel vedette fired and killed
the sheep, and, dropping his gun, he rushed forward
to seculre his prize. In an instant he was covered by
a gun in tlhe hands of a Union vedette, who said, in a
tone that carried conviction with it, "Divide is the
w   o,d, or you ar, a dead Johnny! "  "Johnny Reb"
asscleted to the proposition, and there, between the
two skiirmish lines, the rebel soldier skinned the
shee), took half of it, moved lack to his post, and
resumced his musket. His challenger in turn dropped
his Cun, cros',sed the rivulet, lifted to his shoulder the
other half of the sheep, waded back to his line,
1resumedll   his in l and the duties of his position amid
the heart! chcers of his comrades, who expected to
hellp him eat it.
During ole of the eventful nights through which
we hlav(e been passing, when we lay in line of battle
)(eh'1   0111or t(.lpmpo'raI'y fortifications, and the continuouls ( rack,t' the sharpshooter's rifle rolled along the
fronlt. a solitary. ringing tenor voice struck up the
stirring song,, "Rally round the flag, boys!" Almost
in-tantlv. thousands of men, who seemed to have
been waitirn for that or something else to dissipate
the rlOln el ngenldered by the carnage of the day,
joii(ed in tl)e mcloQd. The volume of voice with
whli h the\ rendered the chorus shook the very forests
aboutt u1:The Union frevc-r, hurrah,,l1ys, hurrah!
Dw)n with the traitor,:Lnl up with the star!"
The chorus was repeated, the whole line joining in
it. until the refiain swelled into one vast exultant
roar, -which flung defiance to the enemy, who sent




INSPIRED BY THE MUSIC.


681


showers of bullets in the direction of the music,
but the missiles whizzed harmlessly by. Our men
were immensely inspired by the music, and it was
elry evident that the Johnny Rebs were equally
irritated by it.
I have been having a talk with rebel pickets il
fiont.  They will trade anythingi for coffee and
sugar, will take l-eenb)acks for tobacco, but decllne
rebel money, which ourt b1oys hlave taklen fi'ro  their
deead. They ask wl\y wve do not send back to the
South the five tllhousalnd Cnlfedelate soldierls Nwho
have remained in the hospitals in and about Gettysburg, and who are now convalesctent. I asked them
how thev knew this.    Tliir answer was, s Wrce
learned by "'apevile( te'l egral."  The truth is,
these rebels havce a.sked ol, to b)e sent tSouth, as
they vwill aglili be forced illto the ranks.  Tli
pickets express (great admiration for General MeClellan. They say. "If the So)uth (could vote, they
would make McClellan Presidellt."
Yours sincerely,    E. G.




-/


CHAPTER XXX.VI.
SOLDIERS' LETTERS FROM THE FRONT DURING THE LAST
YEAR OF THE WAR-LIFE IN REBEL PRISONS - DREADFUL SCENES - HORRORS OF ANDERSONVILLE - LAST DAYS
OF THE GREAT REBELLION-PEACE.
A Hospital Picnic-" The Stump Squad "- Strawberries for the Army"Virginia a vast Blackberry Field" -"Old Hundred" in CampHunting Bloodhounds-Letter from a Hospital Nurse in Annapolis
- Thirty thousand Prisoners cooped up at Andersonville, in ten Acres
- Their Hands and Feet rot off- Swarming with Vemin - Bones protrude through the Flesh - The Men become Idiots and Lunatics -Different Treatment of Southern Prisoners by the North -" The Yankees take
good Care of us" - Last Days of Sherman's " March to the Sea" - The
Army reaches the Atlantic Coast - Columbia, S. C., is burned - Destitution of the South -" At the Mercy of a General more powerful than
Grant or Sherman, General Starvation."
A HOSPITAL PICNIC -         OLD HUNDRED      IN CAMP.
HOSPITAL CAMP NEAB WASHNGTON, D. C., July 26, 1864.
HAVE     been wondering if I could find in6       teresting matter with which to fill a letter to
you.   I confess the motive is a selfish one,
for I hope to bring to myself a speedy re-!^   ply -  one of your long spicy letters, full of
news and gossip, and pleasant things about
my negligent friends of the West Side.
I have just witnessed a hospital picnic. It is a
new thing for maimed and sick men to participate in
out-door festivities; but is there any form     of kindness, or any manifestation of tenderness, in which
the men and women of the Sanitary Commission fail
to express themselves? If this war has developed
682




"WE ARE THE STUMP SQUAD 1"


683


some of the most brutal, bestial and devilish qualities lurking in the human race, it has also shown us
how much of the angel there is in the best men and
women- has reconvinced me that man, with the
propensities of the lower creation still lingering in
him, is yet divine, and ordained ultimately to a noble
destiny.
The convalescent portion of this large community
was out to-day in full force. It was an odd-looking
company, I can assure you. For they came to the
picnic provided for them with arms in slings, and
sometimes with but one arm - sometimes both were
lacking. Some on one leg, and others, with scarcely
healed wounds, by the aid of friendly hands and
crutches, were helped to the place of meeting. But
there was a group the like of which, I venture to
say, was never before seen at a festive gathering. It
was composed of men whose limbs had been recently
amputated. "We are the Stump Squad " said one
of the brave fellows facetiously, "and we are determined to see the fun." These were carried in their
beds, by nurses and friends, out into the grove, and
placed where the shade was densest, and where the
breath of heaven could freely kiss their wan faces.
New light came into the eyes of these maimed heroes
as they looked round on the festive scene. Their
stronger comrades made good use of the summer day.
Some were engaged in games upon the thick greenaward; others were swinging in the great box
swings, or trying to amuse themselves in the bowling
alleys. They were treated to excellent music, by the
fine band of the Fourteenth New Hampshire, who
came from their camp to help make the occasion
pleasant. Every delicate viand which it was safe for




BLACKBERRIES FOR TIHE SOLDIERS.


the   00oor fellows to eat was furnished them, even to
stlrawberries and ice-cream. And those were fed who
were unable to help themselves, amid incessant jokes,
witty badinage, and lgay repartee.
I suplpose you have learned of the efforts of the
hladies to fiulnish all the sick and wounded men in the
AVashliltln hosl],slitals with sti'awberries. They distributed tiis fruit to nearly ten thousand.  They
expected to do lbetter than this; but they had difficulty in obtalning strawberries fiom the Washington
and Baltimore markets, and could not use the money
given tlhenm fr that purpose. Having a large sum
still iunexpecnded, the ladies determined to use their,own J1 1Jllgl'i  t il its expenditure for the men. It is
a,r-'.:et stride fromn strawberries to tobacco. They
had olserved that most of the soldiers desired toIbacco, but had not the means for its purchase, and
tlley conseqluently distributed tobacco, chewing or
smllokin, with lipes, to eleven thousand and sixtyeight 1nc11.  Tlhe ladies learned very quickly, by
inqtuiry, that there was nothing, outside of government rations, which the patients in the hospitals more
carnestl!v decired than this filthy weed.
Thele is 1no lilit to the thoughtfulness of the
pe)op1l for the comfort and happiness of the army.
La-t C('hristllas holilavys, over five thousand roasted
ttirkve, with all thle (ct'erav.s', we're sent to the soldie'rs of thle kArmy of the Potomac, through Adams'
Exl)press a:ld otlher sources.  Blackberries are the
grea;t luxury of the soldier at p1resent. Virginia is
one vast blackberry field. The army was never in
)etter sanitary condltion than now-and it is due,
so) the urglon-s -say, to the fiee use of blackberries
as a diet. One of the surgecons told me that these




SINGING PATRIOTIC SONGS.


685


Virginia blackberries would save the government a
million dollars in medical and hospital stores.
While I am writing a letter about good times, let
me give you another incident. A few nights ago,
when the air was perfectly still, and an unusual quiet
reigned on the earth and in the heavens, we listened
to the singing of " Old Hundred," in which some ten
thousand men joined. The air was vocal with the
grand old strains. One man had started it, a dozen
took it up, and directly the whole camp was singing
it. That was the beginning. They went from that
to "Sweet Home," "Auld Lang Syne," " America,"
"The Red, White and Blue," and finally wound up
by singing "Coronation." Before they had finished
their concert, the blue canopy of evening was studded
thickly with stars. I have no doubt the men were not
only happier but better for this improvised concert.
One item more, and I am done. One regiment,
the Fifty-Second Indiana, has recently been hunting bloodhounds. They have killed between twenty
and thirty, valued at a hundred dollars each. They
were kept to hunt runaway negroes, and were set
upon the track of some of our men; and hence the
slaughter. Let me hear from you as soon as you can
get leisure to write, and tell me all the news. Not
war news, but home news - and all that relates to
the old days of peace. Will they ever come again?
Your friend,       E. o.
LETTER FROM A HOSPITAL NURSE IN ANNAPOLIS, MD.
-HORRORS OF ANDERSONVILLE PRISON.
ST. JomNr' COLLEGx HOSPITAL, A.NAPOLIS, Md, Dec. 10, 184.
I haa thought that by being detailed to a hospital
near where my husband was doing duty, if he were




(686  BIUUTAL TREATMENT OF UNION SOLDIERS.
sick or wounded I could be with him in his hour of
need.  But it was oldered otherwise.  I had. requested Miss Dix to detail me to these Annapolis
hospitals, feeling sure that I should be within reach
of' 11111 f he( slhould be wounded or should be stricken
down with sickness. Not even one of his company
or lregiment was with him. He was sent to the hospital on the 20th of June, and died the next day
amlonlg entire stlrangers, as thousands of our soldiers
do. He sleeps amlong the silent dead, at City Point,
Va.,,ol the banks of the James River, where he
yiel(ded up his life, a willing sacrifice to the cause of
Ills e(, untl'  a11ld  lil)betv
I 'trulst soell kind woman stood by him to minister
to Ilimll wlhenll d( n, as I alm daily doing for brave
mnen silmilly'lv situated. I believe that the angels of
o(;d cialie ldown, strengthening him as he passed
th rou,1l I the dark i  alley, and conducted his emancil)alte.l spirlt ti Ili, Father and his God. I am com1;,Irtd'( to re''leeiber' this, and to think of the welcome
thalt l1e musntt have received fromn the near and the
de.ar wliho had prleceded him. I have never so thanked
(God for the,loriouls faith of an immortal life beyond
the,r;a\  as in.ce I have been in these hospitals,
witnlle'lin  the dail\ dteparttulre of grand and good
men to tlhe b)ette' wo,)rIld..e,.*val thol-anld of our returned prisoners have
arni ed at Anallllis firom Andersonville, Ga., during
thce la;-t two, or, tllree we\.ks; and more are comlinlI.
~'X'( ethirt  thousand U,f our men have been held
there a- prisoners. cooped up like cattle within the
"lpace of ten acres, without shelter from the sun,
without water, without proper food. and receiving all
thl while tle most brutal treatment. Twelve thou



"THAT HELL OF HORRORS."


(;87


sand have been starved into idiocy, lunacy, and
death, in that hell of horrors. As the boats containing the poor fellows approach the Landing, a band
of music attached to the military post strikes up
" The Star-Spangled Banner," or some other national'
air, which the returning captives who are conscious,
welcome with inexpressible delight. The wharf is
densely packed with anxious friends, gazing upon
the motley group who throng the vessel's deck, most
of whom are bareheaded, without shoes, and thinly
clad. They are equally anxious, after a captivity, in
many cases, of more than two years, to recognize the
features of some familiar face from home. Their
tears fall in abundance as the poor fellows stand
once more upon what they call " God's ground."
Last Monday, the flag of truce boat landed four
hundred more men, brought from the prisons of
Richmond and Belle Isle. Many were living skeletons, with just the breath of life left in them. The
hands and feet of others were dropping off from dry
rot. All are completely swarming with vermin, many
are insane, and others have been made idiots from
the treatment they have received at the South. Over
one hundred were carried upon stretchers to the hospitals, only a few rods from the Landing. Oh, to
have been treated as they have been! My blood
curdles with indignation, and I can hardly endure it.
Scores have already passed out of life since last
Monday. They died under the stars and stripes,
and the flag was laid over their coffins. There has
not been a day since their arrival that we have not
had eight or ten coffins standing in the chapel, side
by side, awaiting funeral services and burial. Sad
sights like these must touch the feelings of even the




INHUMANITY OF SOUTHERN LEADERS.


Soutlth; for I know there must be humane men and
w(,omen amonlg them.
The appearance of many of these poor creatures is
ver y pl)c'ulliar.  Their hair looks dead, sunburned,
andl faded.  Theilr skins, from long exposure and
contact with the pitch-pine smoke of their camp-fires,
and a long dearth of soap and water, are like those
of the American Indian. Their emaciated forms,
with the bones protruding through the skin in many
installces, and the idiotlc expression of their protrudinl, eves, tell of unparalleled cruelty and savage
balrbarit. The stron-gcst land first, and are examilced In the surlgeon. Those that are able are sent
to Cam!l  Parole, a beautiful and well regulated
camn), two miles fiom the hospitals, on the railroad
lcladiing to Washing'ton and Baltimore.  Then the
weaker alnd more sickly follow, supported by strong
men to keel) them from falling. Then the stretchers
brillng after them the sad, large remnant of helpless
sufltl'crers and they are taken to the Naval School
IIo.l)it;ls or to St. John's College Hospital.
La:-t. and sadd-st of all, come the martyred dead,
who, hlave died( oil their journey from the prisonlens to thsl point. There were thirty-eight on one
l),,;t, the Baltic, and the same number died after the
),at ha;d reached her moorings, before the noon of
tle next dav. The day after the arrival of a recent
bat filled with our released men, there was a funeral
of fortv-three firo' the Naval School Hospital, whc
hadl (li1el,tI thl( Ieturnl voyage. They were buried
a:t,nt tilncw. with sad and imposing solemnities as
-il(ch loll,-tortured martyrs for right and truth:,hold be  As thes lay in their coffins, one was
tluck w\ith the similarity of their appearance, which




LONG-TORTURED MARTYRS FOR RIGHT.


689


was that of extreme emaciation, with other indications of death from starvation, exposure, and neglect.
How different this treatment received by our men
at the South from that which was given Southern
prisoners in the hospitals and camps of the North!
A copy of the Christian Index, a Baptist paper, published at Macon, Ga., lies before me. Let me give
you an extract from a letter published in its columns,
written by Captain W. B. Haygood, of Georgia, who
was taken prisoner by the Union forces at Gettysburg, in July, 1863. His letter is dated, Hospital at
Chester, Pa., Sept. 25, 1863. He says, -
"This is a first-class hospital.  Our beds are
good, with warm blankets, and all have clean sheets
once a week. We have plenty to eat, and it is neatly
served. We receive good light bread, beef, pork,
ham, mutton, tea, coffee, rice, butter, syrup, and vegetables in abundance. All the prisoners are supplied
with good warm clothing. I have a good suit of
clothing, and a large woollen shawl. We are all
right on the clothing question. We have plenty of
reading matter, and I spend a good portion of my
time in reading. I am in fine spirits, although I long
to be in Dixie. Whatever reports may be in circulation in the South, or if you hear anything that conflicts with what I tell, you, don't believe it! The
Yankees are taking as good care of us ' rebel prisoners,' as they call us, as of their own men. I confess that my prejudice against the Yankees has died
out under their treatment."
It is a significant fact, and a fall answer to the
charge of cruel treatment of rebel prisoners at the
North, that of five hundred who were selected for
exchange at Camp Chase, Ohio, two hundred and




UNION SOLDIERS CRUELLY TREATED.


sixty voted to remain in prison. And of three thous;and tw\o hundred and twenty-three in Camp Douglas, at Chicago at one time, seven hundred and fifteen
refused to be exchanged.
Not even arc the men in Southern prisons allowed
to write letters to their relatives in the North, a
privil(,ge wlhich is lreely accorded to Southern prison'ers in (o1r lands. Union prisoners at Libby Prison
are1 compelled to limit their letters to six lines. One
of our wVolllen nurses, whose husband is detained
there in captivity, has just received the following
letter fi'oml  her husband, which  has been   three
months on the way.
D)1:.\l W\IFE - Yours received - In hopes of exchange - Send
corn starlch - War:nt socks - No money - Rheumatism in left
shotlller — ickles verv r(,,i - Send sausages-God bless you
- Kiss the baby - Iail Columbia!
Your devoted husband.
()Ot' returln soldier's who are able, receive a new.ct o' (clothing, tw\\  months' back pay, and are sent
holnme onl a firloulgh of thirty days. Please excuse
this implerfectly written letter, written by jerks at
odd lmo(ments. My duties as nurse, leave me no
leisture.
Yours truly,    M. M. C.
The horrors of southern prisons were well known
til'rlllghlllt the SNorthl, and desperate chances were
often taken b1y,pisione.rs to escape, and were fre-,intently  u(.(scsfuhl.  Thle following account of a
Unlo1n prisoner's escape while on his way to Ander-,,nville is taken fiom a letter written to the Hon.;11Smuel P. Bates, LL.D., by a member of a Penn-yl\ ania ': Bucktail" reliment. He says: -




A LEAP FOR LIBERTY.


691


About twenty-five members of the "Bucktails"
were captured with me, and we laid a plan for escaping from the cars while on the way to Andersonville.
We were to overcome the guard, bind and gag them
at a concerted signal, and leap fiom the car. I had
stationed myself near the door, just beside one of
the guards, with courage screwed up and nerves
strung, ready to do my part. Just after dark it was
announced to me that the enterprise had been
abandoned.
I then made up my mind to escape alone. The
weather was warm, and the guard permitted the door
of the car to stand open. His gun rested across it.
I stood for more than an hour by his side, just on
the point of springing out, but still held back by the
dread of what might be the result. I cannot describe my feelings at that time. I knew that in a
moment I might be a mangled corpse, or I might be
alive and free; or, what was more likely, I might be
disabled from travelling, recaptured, and subjected to
the punishment that I knew would follow. I took
out my watch, which, through some unaccountable
oversight on the part of the rebels, had not been
taken from me, and in the darkness felt the hands,
and found that it was eleven o'clock. So, waiting
for a favorable moment, I suddenly caught hold of
the guard's gun, thrust it to one side, and leaped
out into the darkness. The next moment I felt
myself tumbling and rolling down an embankment.
I heard the cry of the guard, trying to raise an
alarm, as with a rush and a roar the train swept out
of hearing, and I was left alone and free, but far in
the heart of the Confederacy. I got upon my feet
and felt to see if I was all right. I found that I was




692


BEGGING BREAD FROM AN ENEMY.


slightly bruised, somewhat scratched, and that I was
terribly seared; but, with the exception of breaking
open the wound I had received in the Wilderness, I
was not much hurt.
Alonec, unarmed, I was in the midst of the enemy's
country. Above me, to the north, I could see the pole
star, wAhich was to be the beacon to guide my footsteps
by night. To attempt to go by the seaboard, I knew,
would be to invite certain capture. Hence I shaped
my cou'rse to the north, intending to travel till I had
(,crossed( the lEast Tennessec Railroad, and then strike
wtet till I reached New River, which I meant to follow douwn to thle Kanawha. My first purpose was to
get solething to cat, for which I felt ready to make
an} depl)Icrate att(Tnpt. I travelled through woods and
field(s for three hours before I came to a house. By
that time I wa:s nearly famished, having had nothing
to, cat for fourteen hours, and then only a small piece
of crln-bread. At last I came upon a large Vir'illia mallion, and, having thoullht of a plausible
story to ttll, walked boldly up and knocked at the
door. Two large dogs answered my summons by
rushing out and barking at me furiously, but I stood
nm  ground: and soon an upper window was thrown
open. fiom which a man asked, "W7ho's there?"
-Without ansiweringl his question, I said, "Quiet these
do(rS (,r I will shoot them.' This he did, and then I
toldl hiil to) come to the door, that I was a fiiend,
had colnmand of a scouting party of Confederate
soldiers, that we were out of rations and wanted.something to eat. Ie at once came down and procecded to rget what I wanted, all the time talking to
me and asking the new-. I invented some stories
which made him think that the war would soon be




NEARING THE UNION LINES.


693


over, and that Southern Independence was an accomplished fact. He gave me a large piece of cornbread and about a pound of boiled pork. Thanking
him, I bade him good-night and hurried away. Seeing him follow me, I got into the woods as quickly
as I could, and in a tone of command I called out,
"All right, boys! Fall in  Forward I march!" and,
being afraid that my little ruse would be discovered,
I was not long in putting a considerable distance
between me and that house, after which I sat down
and ate a hearty meal, and then, securing a comfortable bed among some dense undergrowth, I lay down
and slept till daylight, which was not more than two
hours.
During the next five days and nights I travelled
as fast as I could in the direction I had determined
to pursue, meeting with several very narrow escapes,
from capture, and getting my food as best I could,
mostly from the negroes, whom I could trust at all
times and under every circumstance. On the morning of the sixth day, I heard from a woman, at
whose house I had stopped to get something to eat,
that the Yankees were at Buckhannon, twenty-five
miles across the Blue Ridge. I determined to reach
their lines, so I pushed ahead, keeping in the woods
as much as possible. During the day I passed over
the Great Otter Mountain (Big Peak), and in the
evening, about an hour before sundown, I arrived in
the valley, and then I knew there was nothing between me and the Union forces but the Blue Ridge,
which I determined to cross, if possible, during the
night. I cautiously approached a log cabin, knocked
at the door, and asked the woman who opened it if I
could get something to eat. Being told that I could,
I entered and sat down to wait till it was ready. Of
42




694


A DESPERATE ENCOUNTER.


course, I had to give an account of myself at every
place I stopped, and I was always prepared with some
plausible story. Sometimes I was a rebel soldier,
going home on furlough; at others I was a scout on
important business pertaining to the rebel governs
ment. It was only to the negroes that I revealed my
true character. To this woman I concluded to tell the
truth, so I said I was an escaped prisoner trying to
make my way North. While talking and waiting, I
was startled to see coming round the corner of the
house, with musket in hand, a genuine rebel guerilla.
There was no escape. He walked straight up to the
door, cocked his musket, and said, "You surrender!"
I cannot describe my feelings on hearing that word
as he repeated it, "You surrender!" Instead of the
bright vision, which had almost come to be a reality,
of reaching the Union lines, I saw before me the
lpospect of probable death by hanging, or, upon
the least provocation or pretext, by the hand of my
captor; and if I escaped immediate death, then starvation at Andersonville. A heavy weight seemed
resting upon my heart. I could feel my lips quiver.
I could not control my voice, and for a moment my
feelings were those of complete despair. But in
another moment I was myself again, and my eyes
took in the situation exactly. It did not take me
many seconds to make up my mind that, at all hazards, I would escape from my captor or lose my life
in the attempt. I determined to take advantage of
any chance that should present itself. He directed
me to pass out of the door and take the path up the
mountain-side leading to the highway. I started,
but was stopped by the woman, who said, "Wait
till I get you something to eat," and she brought out
two pieces of corn-bread, one of which she handed




THE MARCH TO THE SEA.


695


me, which I put in my haversack, and the other to
my captor, who was standing with his gun lying
across his left arm. Just as he turned his eyes from
me, and reached out his right hand, I sprang upon
him, seized him by the throat, threw him over upon
his back, and with both hands caught hold of his
gun, knowing that if I once had possession of it, the
tables would be turned. The woman now lent assistance to the rebel, and the only thing for me to do
was to beat a retreat and take the chances of a shot.
I slipped my hand down the barrel, cocked the piece,
and pulled the trigger, thinking I could fire it off
and get out of sight before my escort could reload;
but it missed fire. So, making a desperate effort, I
tore myself from my antagonists and fled. The
rebel followed some distance, calling upon me to
halt or he would shoot me, and when I was within a'
few rods of the woods I heard the cap snap; but
again the gun missed fire, and in another moment I
was over the fence, into the woods, and out of sight.
I travelled all night, and in the morning, about daylight, came upon Union pickets, and was soon in
camp, safe at last.  Yours very truly,  o. B. L.
LAST DAYS OF THE " MARCH TO THE SEA."
HEADQUARTERS SECOD BROADE, SECOND DIVISION,
FIFTrEzXT ABMY CORPS,
CAMDEN, NAB GOLDSBORO, N. C., March 30, 1865.
I received with great gratitude the package of
papers and magazines which you forwarded to me.
They were not stale to me, but new and fresh, as I
h 4d been out of reading matter for nearly three
months. It enlivens the dull monotony of camp life,
amid makes my tent seem a hundred-fold more like




696


COLUMBIA IN FLAMES.


home, with a pile of papers and magazines lying in
one corner, waiting perusal.
I believe we were at Beaufort, S. C., when I last
wrote you.   I dreaded to start out on the road
throuogh South Carolina, knowing the settled hate of
the soldicrs towards the state, and their determination to destroy all they could, as they marched
through it. Whether they are right or wrong, they
look uplon South Carolina as the hot-bed of secession
and treason, the prime mover in this cruel war,
which has cost so much blood, treasure, and, sufferilln. As I anticil)ated, fire and smoke and complete
destruction marked our pathway.
A\e arrived at Columbia, the state capital, on the
l(thl February, with bullt little fighting and small loss.
Our march to the sea had not been hotly contested.
Colllumbia was taken, and the Fifteenth Corps entered the city on the 17th. It was not the intention
of,our commanding officers that Columbia should be
sacked and burned, and stringent orders were given
to prevent this. But the saloons and cellars of the
(ity wv:-rc ftull of intoxicating drinks. The bovs found
them, go,t drunk, and blroke fom all restraint. A
few- were shot f;oi disobedience to orders, and many
mor wlere arre.sted; but nlothing could stay them.
Thle'y l'.shed on in their work of ruin, like the very
g-4.eii:  of (lest trtiction.
It wa a Widl(l) nirght. The city was firedl in many
pla:\(, Ian( anl a the flames letlaed from buildingr to
ltbildinLt. all tlhe efforts of officers and sober men
w\tere Iltct.ssar to.save fanilies- and drunike n soldiers
froml the wirath of the devouring element. In spite
)t all et1flort-, sle Nc wee'c burned to death. The roaring of the flames, the clouds of black pitchy smoke,




A NIGHT OF HORRORS.


697


the screams of women and children as they fled from
burning homes, with the yells of the inebriated and
infuriated soldiers, inflamed with whiskey, combined
to make that a night of horrors, such as I never before witnessed, and such as I pray God I may never
see again. On Saturday morning, the city of Columbia was in ashes. I doubt if a city was ever more
completely wiped out in one night.
Camden, the place made memorable in the history
of the Revolution by the defeat of General Greene
by the British, shared nearly the same fate as Columbia, and from nearly the same cause. The citizens
of Camden had taken measures to conceal their
liquors in the woods, a mile and a half from town,
where they had buried them. But the soldiers found
them, got drunk, straggled into Camden, and the
night was again lighted up by the fires of burning
buildings, which spread their lurid glare over the
country for miles.
Cheraw, on the Great Pedee, was the next place
of importance we reached.  That was pretty well
scorched and singed, as was also Fayetteville, on the
Cape Fear River. At Columbia much danger attended the burning of the arsenal and the railroad
depots, from the bursting of shells.  One shell in
bursting killed seven men and wounded thirty. Two
of the men were never found. The hat of one was
found in a tree; all other traces of them were lost.
The country through which we have passed is generally a pine timber, quite level, with light sandy
soil, poorly adapted for raising produce, and abounding in swamps and quicksands. In many places
where the ground appearls to the eye to be dry and
firm, a team of mules will break through the crust and




DESOLATIONS OF WAR.


go down to their bellies, and the wagon-wheels will sink
to the axle-tree or box. We have often found ourselves il such a fix. It has therefore been necessary
to corduroy tlhe roads, in sonme places for miles on a
stretch.  This has made our march slow, difficult,
and laborious.
Btut the great evil of all is the destitution in which
we leave the poorer classes of these people. I have
often seten them sitting with rueful countenances as
we lpassed, solnctilles weeping. Not a thing has
been left to eat in many cases; not a horse, or an ox,
or a mule to work with. One of our men who has
been Jout foraging saw a man ploughing with two
little boys harnessed into tlhe plough for a team; and
Ita wo'(1111fn told mll, with her cheeks wet with tears,
that sh.e d(rew tlhe plough hellrself while her husband,
old and quitt d(ecrepit, held it, to prepare the soil for
all the c (orn the raised last year-and now that was
gone. It wvas,not the intention of the commanding
(tli(cc's that plo),r people should be thus mercilessly
t tri 1ped. But 1nlp'incipled stragglers ramble out of
the linesl, and out of the way of officers, and show no
mercy or heart. They are the "bummers " of the
armyV. Those who could, fell into our ranks as refu-.s, 11 caine th     t   o a   point where they could
rt tra-lis' tation. fleeinlg from a general more powerfuil tlIan (;enIieral Sherman or Grant- general star-,'tt/'//  Ie were looking for a place where they:n1(l their' wiv.es and children could live, but did not
knw where to go.
We passed over the battle-field of the old Revolution. near Camden, and a citizen showed us where
(;,neral Grreene had his headquarters, on a little hill
capped b~ a s.ugar-loaf —haped rock. But what were




i"THE WOODS FULL OF THEM."


699


the military operations of that day and age in
comparison with the present? I suppose General
Greene's whole army would not compare in numbers
or efficiency with one of the divisions of our corps.
It is not necessary for me to give accounts of our
battles. You receive those by the papers sooner
and more complete and correct than I can give them.
Suffice it to say, in closing, that men are constantly
coming in from the enemy's lines and surrendering.
A few came in yesterday, who reported themselves
all that were left of one whole division of their army
after the battle of the 19th and 20th. They also
reported the woods around full of men waiting an
opportunity to come into our lines or to return to
their homes.
The war is evidently nearing the end. I shall not
be surprised any day to learn that Richmond is taken,
and that Lee has surrendered. It does not seem to
me possible that hostilities can be protracted another
three months. The Union forces have overrun the
whole South, the country is stripped and peeled, and
the rebel soldiers are thoroughly demoralized. The
armies of the enemy are melting away like snow in
a June sun. Please God, let the day of peace soon
dawn! Let war, which is the concentration of everything infernal, end in our republic forever!
Yours for the right,   R. L. T.
Richmond was evacuated, Lee surrendered, and
peace declared in two weeks after this letter was
written, and a month, nearly, before it reached me.
With heartfelt earnestness I repeat the ejaculation of
my friend: "In our republic may there be no more
war forever ln Slavery, the iniquitous cause of war,




700


A BETTER WORK BEFORE US.


Is dead, never again to know a resurrection. The
nation is entering on a grander work -that of healing, conciliation, and union. A century hence, when
these shall have wrought their perfect work, our children's children will justify the fearful expenditure of
life and treasure which was the cost of the excision
of the hideous serfdom which had become an integral
part of the republic. While it remained, there could
have been no permanent peace and no certain prosperity.  The bravery and sacrifice of the South,
worthy of a better cause, could not preserve it. It
was alleady doomed by the advancing civilization of
thle age, before the North and the South fought
across the continent-one for its destruction, the
other for its continuance.  While we hope that it
may know no resurrection here, may we not hope
that it will everywhere cease among the nations
of the earth?


p








II




/




! - ,r .
ii, ".  -   if
W A'q ,




~ A~4
1N~ V,1   c'
I;)It
40p                    -j
#&7~
n1Z
Vief9,'~   k _  -          -
ArA
Wyfrk