The Alleghanian. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1859-1865, 1863-12-03


came into our regiment, his wife and sis
ter, who hurried on from their home to
| meet him, arriving just too late. FoItu-
| nately, we had the queer little gingham
book to identify him by, and when some
one said, 1T is the man, you know, who
screamed so,' the poor wife was certain
about him. He had beer crazy before
the war, but not for two years now, she
said. He had been fretting for home
since he was hurt, and when the doctor
told him there was no chance OF his being
sent there, he lost heart, and wrote to his
wife to come and carry him away. It
seemed almost hopeless for two lone wo-
men, who had never been out of their own
little town, to succeed in finding soldier
among so many, sent in SO many different
directions, but we helped them as we
could, and started them on journey next
morning, back on their track, to use their
common sense and Yankee privilege of
questioning. A week after, Mrs -
had letter full of gratitude, saying that
home.
'sThat same night we had in our tents
two fathers, with their wounded sons, and
a nice old German mother with her boy.
She had come in from Wisconsin, and
brought with her patchwork bed quilt
for her son, thinking he might have lost
his blanket, and there he laid, all covered
up in his quilt, looking so home-like, and
feeling so, too, no doubt, With his good
old mother close at his side. She seemed
bright and happy, had three sons in the
army-one had been killed, this one
wounded, yet she wassso pleased with the
tents, and the care she saw taken there
with the soldiers, that while taking her
tea from barrel head, she said, Indeed,
if she was man, she'd be soldier too,
right off,
"Late one afternoon-too late for the
cars-a train Of ambulances arrived at
our Lodge with over one hundred rebels,
to be cared for through the night. Only
one among them seemed too weak and
faint to take anything. He was badly
hurt and failing. went to him after his
wound was dressed, and found him lying
On his blanket stretched over the straw
fair haired, blue-eyed young lieutenant; !;
face innocent enough for one of our own
New England boys. I could not think of
him as a rebel; he was too near beaven
for that. He wanted nothing; had not
been willing to eat for days, his. comrades
said but / coaxed him to try little milk
cruel, made nicely with lemon and bran
dy, and one of the satisfactions of our
three weeks is the remembrance of the
empty cup took away afterward, ard his
perfect enjoyment of that supper. 1T
was SO good-the best thing he had had
since he was wounded and he thanked
me so much, and talked about his good
supper for hours.
Poor creature, he had no care, and it
was surprise and pleasure to find himself
thought of; so, in pleased, childlike
way, he talked about it till midnight, the
attendant told me, as long as he spoke of
anything, for at midnight the change
came, and from that time he only thought
of the old days before he was soldier,
when he sang hymns in his fathers
church. He sang them now again, in a
clear, sweet voice, Lord have mercy upon
me; and then sang songs without words
"a sort of low intoning. His father was
Lutheran clergymen in South Carolina,
one of the rebels told us in the morning,
when we went into the tent, to find him
sliding out Of care.
"All day long We watched him, some
times fighting his battles over, oftener
singing his Lutheran chants, till in at the
tent door, close to which he lay, looked a
rebel soldier, just arrived with other pris-
oners He started when he saw the
Lieutenant, and exclaimed, kneeling down
by him, Henry! Henry But Henry
was looking at some one great way off,
and could not hear him. do you know
this soldier p we said. 'Oh, yes, ma'am !;
and his brother is wounded, and pris-
oner, too, in the cars, now Two or three
men started after him, found him, and
half carried him from the cars to the tent
Henry did not know him, though; aud
he threw himself down by his side on the
straw, aud for the rest of the day lay in a
sort of apathy, without speaking, except
to assure himself that he could stay with
his brother without the risk of being
separated from his fellow prisoners.
"And there the brothers lay, and there
We strangers sat listening to the strong,
clear voice singing, Lord have mercy
upon me- The Lord had mercy, and at
sunset l put my hand upon the lieuten-
ants heart to find it still. All night the
brother lay close against the coffin, and in
the morning went away with his comrades,
leaving us to bury Henry, having conf
dence,' but first thanking us for what we
had done, and giving all that he had to