The daily Evansville journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1862-1863, 1863-06-24
"HnIling" Butternuts.


Corps were passing over the O. & NJ.
railroad, the patriotic ladies of Washing
ton, Indiana, prepared baskets of pro-
visions and a good supply of hot coffee
for the tired soldiers and dispensed these
comforts to the men while the cars lin
gered in their town. Some of tue ladies
also prepared beautiful bouquets of flow
ers which, no doubt, were as acceptable
TO many of the young men who fought
sc aebly at Roanoke Island, South Noun
tain aud Antietam, as the more substan-
.tial refreshments.
But these manifestations of good will
and sympathy on the part of the ladies
aroused all the swellering venom
sleeping got of all the copperheads n
the place, and one of them was selected
to give vent to their spleen through the
columns of the Vihcennes Sun-the
sewer for all the copperhead filth in this
part of the State. Accordingly, COM
munication was prepared in which it was
charged that a portion of the Ninth
Corps were free American citizens of
African descent" and that these reeeiv-
ed especial attention from the ladies,
and that one of their bouquets was label
ed ''God bless the negro" 1t was also
asserted shat the ladies who were so pat
riotic in administering to the comfort of
the free American citizens of African
descent" actually permitted the wife and
child of a soldier to die of hunger and
cold, on the 18th day of last December,
and that this deplorable incident occur
red in the next building to that in which
the Soldiers Aid Society, (Which
boasts of the inequalities extended to
suffering soldiers families) held their
meetings, and to whom this needy sol
diers wife had applied in vain for sue
cor sa
Justly indignant at the base attempt to
SANDER them for simply donating COM
forts to American soldiers on their wayIto
battle in defense of their Government,
the ladies at once called meeting and
s.Pfe;.4tod oa.4..-itteo wait t-Pvs. tire
Editor Of the Sun and demand the maze
of The slanderous author The commit
tee discharged their duty, obtained the
desired information, and returned to
Washington the same evening.
The next morning they assembled a
the depot in force and proceeded to the
residence of JAMES NEEL, the author of
the communication, to make him give
written acknowledgement of its falsity
He refused to sign the statement pre-
pared for him at first, pretending that he
could substantiate some ofthe statements
in his communication Theladies insist
ed that he should do so at once, profess
ing willingness to go with him to ex-
anime his proof Neel, accompanied by
the ladies. proceeded to the office of a
celebrated copperhead-N. S. Given--who
now misrepresents the loyalty of Davies
county in the State Legislature Here
Neel did not attempt to 'substantiate
anything, but, through his friend Mr..
Given, made severaF.attempts to palm of
upon the ladies some nondescript docu-
ment that might be made to mean one
thing to them, ard quite different thing
to Neeps friends. 1t was no go, howeY-
er. The ladies were not going to be sat
isfed with anything but plain confes-
sion of his SANDER; and seeing no other
chance, Neel finally signed the document
the ladies had prepared-though he said
he did so under compulsion.
Terribly incensed at the shrewdnes'
and pertinacity of the patriotic ladies
the gentleman from Daviess" inso
lently ordered them to leave his Office il
=" double quick" request they complied
with willingly, as, like Mother Eve, the,
had enough of Enthusiastically of TIL
eopperhsad speeiesv T@
The following is the retraction signe'
by Neel. A whip ought to be put in tn
hand of every mother and sister, VIII
have boys and brothers in the army, t
lash the cowardly calumniator throug
the State: s- ar AK f- ~
WASHINGTON, Ind, June l6, 1863
81, James Neel, acknowledge that
am the author of communication
the Vincennes Western San, publishe
on the 18th day of June, 1868, over tn
signature of u S.; that said commun
cation was written with the deliberat
intention of slandering and insulting tn
good name and feelings of the Washing
ton Union ladies, and that the whole {
said communication was wilful and d
liberate falsehood.
GAMES NEIL.
"Signed under eompulsion."
After securing this interesting doc,
ment, the ladies passed series of res,
lutions, thanking the editor of the So
for giving the name of the author 4
the way thing he was compelled to
or assume the responsibility of the ar
1t Al tloYA