The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1866-06-20
[From the Howard County Tribune.
A Day at the Soldiers Home.
KNIGHTsTOWN, May :

hNIGHTSTOWN, May n.
Knowing that your readers have six
or seven hundred dollars worth of
stock in the Indiana Soldiers Home,
[ have presumed that brief account
of this my first visit here, although
bunglingly given, could not be with
out interest to them. say gour read
sTs, for I believe, with but few excep-
tons, the men who have bought and
are now sustaining this Home are
readers of their Union county paper
They are easily recognized; for during
the war they stood fearlessly by the
old flag, aiding by their money, infiu-
ence and prayers the Union soldiery
and the cause they defended, Z They
gave to the Christian. and Sanitary
Commissions, to the soldiers families
at home, and to the country ip every
possible way And this is only one
ina long series of sgivings; the last
great gift, the browning of all, home
and home comforts to those whose
devotion To ns-aaAd evEE tnIeTeSIS, has
rendered homeless and helpless.
For nearly a year the Home was at
the Indianapolis City Hospital. But
a few weeks, since, the Board bought,
ata cost Of 49, 500, what Is generally
known as the Knightstown Springs
farm, and four weeks ago the Home
was permanently located there. The
change was a delightful one to the
soldiers, for they were firing of the
dreary walls of the hospital, where
everything reminded them of the
scenes and suferings in that land
where they had sacrificed SO much
but out here in the pure country air,
amid the green grass, and birds and
flowers. they begin to feel that life 5
pleasures are not all lost to them.
It was six o'clock in the evening
when we Chat u.s. the matrimonial
hGlues. sometimes represented by that
pronoun, )arrived at the Home. Being
as tired and hungry as we are capable
of feeling, as we caught sight of the
blue coots through the trees, our
first thdughtw was Of Ghard tack, n'cof-
fee, a la army, and that other accom-
payment, of which / need not speak
here, with a roll up in blankets.
But cominga little nearer, an iocca-
sional glimpse through the open
doors of the neat iron cots with their
clean counterpanes and snowy pillows
and here and there a little stand with
its dainty white cover and piles O
books and papers, standing near al
open window, Immediate introduction
to q substantially filed tea-table toll
us that our fears were IN vain. Blu
what a lovely spot Certainly one o
the finest, naturally, that ever Dor
the name Of Indiana. To BE sure tn
old and almost WORKOUT building
give it q rather dilapidated appear
ance lust now, but hammers are ring
ing from morning till night, and be
fore many moons it will look quit
differently. Some of the cottages in tn
ward. of which there are SIX or sever
are in somewhat better repair The
contain two or three rooms each, an
each room has its door and two o
three windows opening out on tn
bright green lawn in the front, The
are mostly occupied by the sick. Th
labors of the day were over wit
them and they, gathering about thes
cottage doors, or upon the broad vel
andaafn 'front.' read the evening pa
pefs,, fell the home news of the dal
or discuss graver matters of Presi
Dental or Congressional policies; G
stretching themselves upon the gree
grasspndersthe trees. relate little in
oidents in their soldier life, or funn
tales of their boyhood days. | fee
that at least one query have lon
entertained is solved, viz: VIII me
be happy and contented in this ne
home we are seeking to give them
khnU
Industrious and subject to Tdisciplin