St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1862-08-07
Lieut.. Aaron Sullivan,

>S~'~ 90
St. Cloud. While she was here her only
son Joined the army. and her distress at
thought Of his danger was such as to
make her ill. Now comes the news of his
death aud those who knew the tender
ness of the family ties which bound him
to earth only wonder how long
mother and sister will survive him. A
correspondent of the Pittsburg Gazette
says:
On Thursday, of last week, three or four
companies of Colonel Williams 9th Pennsyl-
vania Cavalry were surprised at S o'clock A,
NJ, at Tompkinsville, KY. by On overwhelm-
ing force of rebel cavalry. Since that time
parole, and they report that in that encounter
Lieut. Aaron Sullivan was killed. Mr.. Sulli-
van, in 1861, accepted a commission as second
lieutenant in company D, of that regiment, and
since then has been doing duty in Kentucky.
l have known the deceased for a long time,
and am prepared to say that this unholy re-
bellion has not claimed nobler victim. For
ced by q modesty and self depreciation which
it seemed impossible to overcome, he accept
ed a subordinate position, when his talents,
requirements and habits of thought entitled
him to command. His mind was Of a very high
order. and his natural gifts had been cultivated
by years of incessant and profitable study.
think have met no man of his years who was
possessed Of such thorough general informa
ton. Although thrown into active life, he
seemed to me to move on uncontaminated with
the callousness Of business, and to retain
most clearly the warm feelings and honorable
tone of student. feel sure that in the
course Of his life he never committed an act
which was not proof Of an honorable mind
and an upright heart. Considerate and gen.
tie with his friends as woman, he also pos
sessed the courage which has resulted in his
death. He was true friend in sickness and
in health, in good fortune as well as in bad.
He was a lover of art, genuine wit, fine
writer, and man of science. No man could
be more genial and entertaining than he, and
very few could command the resources Of the
mind with so much readiness.
Engaged in active life, he had but little
time to devote to literary efforts, yet he found
leisure to contribute several pieces Of great
merit to leading magazines. They are mod
els of style and purity of language, and en-
induced to pursue literary career.
Mr.. Sullivan is the son of the late Hon.
Moses Sullivan, of Butler, who for many years
occupied posts of honor in the government of
this Commonwealth. After leaving college,
Lieut.. s. pursued the profession Of civil engi
neering with great success, gaining an envia-
BILE reputation therein, and continued in that
profession until the railroad crisis rendered
it improbable. Complying with the urgent
solicitations of his friends, he prepared him
self for the practice of the law, and stood
ready for admission when his great love of
country called him to other duties. AS law
| yer his thorough training, habits Of thought
and power of mind, would certainly have gain
eb him the first rank in the profession.
| Lieut.. Sullivan spent many years in this
! by hundreds in this community. His memo
ry will be enshrined in their hearts forever.
The Butler american, paper publish
ed in the town where his boyhood was
spent, has a long obituary notice, from
which We make the following extracts:
The last weeks terrible suspense of
friends and comrades for the fate of Lieut..
aron Sullivan, the feverish heartbeat
ings of hope and conjecture, are ended,
and they arc bowed low In the despair Of
unutterable sorrow. The horrible story,
that with his company, our friend Aaron
was surprised by the Guerrilla Morgan,
surrounded, shot through the head by a
Texan Ranger, bayonetted, his body abus-
ed, is only relieved by the fact that the
brave fellow refused to surrender, and
laid low in the dust four of the accursed
devils before he fell. That such man
as Aaron Sullivan, whom we honored and
trusted and loved, man so much above
the standard of humanity in all That con-
stitutes man, should be shot and bayo-
melted by such carricature of humanity
as a greasy, soulless, goddess Texan Ran
ger, a creature of incest and pollution, is
thought that harrows the brain.
X X X X X
His literary productions were his own
secret. He carried system, order and
neatncss into the minutest details Of life
Dirt and confusion were his peculiar aver
sion. His religious opinions were strange
new and startling, yet not skeptical. He
read his Bible frequently an2 earnestly
In short he was man Of extraordinary
and eccentric talent. He was star of
the first magnitude, constantly trying to
get behind cloud. He was a true and
open friend, and as an officer, was idolized
by his men.
To those of us, whose good fortune it
was to be his friends, the loss is heavy,
terrible; we cannot be reconci]ed to it,
we expect as ever his welcome visit, it
would be no surprise to see his handsome
face, but that he is dead, is thought
prolific Of suffering, Of deep curses, of bit.
ter fostering hatred. His body lies mould
ering in Southern soil, accursed soil -
But the memory of his talents, his brave
ru his gondness his 1lenkh cannot be bur-