The Hancock Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Ohio) 1857-1870, 1869-06-18
SELECT STORY.
A Union Rebel Soldier and his Dead
49, l. ~ Wife = - 4 d j.

1 A Union Rebel Soldier and his Dsa
| -t~ Il N>G-Wife. : --L d
A correspondent of the Boste
1raue!er, writing from Vicksbur.
met,a strange caaEacier wan nderiE,
ovcf the OLD battle-fcl1. TIE writI
tells the story as follows 'p'1' si.-
We told him we we're anxious f
see where TIE Federal lines ger
located, as We were from Massachu
sets.
"Oh, yes,J from Massachusetts,,
said be, looking up. 81 have beeI
in Massachusetts,, ami was bonn il
VERNON Then, after a parse, h,
clenchedL his hand aud said sadiy y
4 ~ wiskI was sdealloklAy Il ssG
"Why so p said |, feeling n pity
for such a wrctehed creature as Ii,
appeared to be. 20 r0l55f .fg ysf
"If you are goifg out toward the
bayou, / will show you,' leading the
way.
z We began to think aie man insa an
ard alter following him nearly q
mile, We halted, and asked him how
far he intended 10 60. lie stated
that we were almost there, and so We
kept on. He soon turned Off from
the main road into an open field,
surrounded bysa growth Sof- young
timber; and, utter passing the bar
ren spot which appcarsd 10 lave
been at some iuie the sitaofa build
ing, lie suddenly stopped, and, point
ing 10 bunch OF rose-trees, SAID, in
a low tone: - u g.
There! Ia That grave-lies the
reason why wish | was dead. Sic
was my wife, sir" So
"IIow long has She been dead ?"
asked we as sympathe.:cally as we
could. ~-- FfvI
.'weh, seeing you have taken in
terest enough IN me to come along
so Tar, Iii tell you the whole story
said he, taking out his knife 10 trim
the rose-bush.
"She was tWelty-Aine years old,
sir, and she was Southera lady,
too. / cane down here long before
the war, and had g nice hit Of lsnd
here. | fell in with iai> lady at tue
city up river, aud We Ecsc marricd
in 1862. / Kept out OF The var as
long as ] could, because | .didn shAe
Fighting anyhow, as ! WAS napPy a,
home, and because / felt more ,.ac
lighting, if 1 fcug htat ull, among bag
native VermoDters. l hated the
Confederates, ard / said so, and II
got them down en- ne. 80 oaa day
a company of Infantry came a!ong,
and said they would shoot lne on NY
own threshola'if ] didn't enlist a
once in the Confederate amy !
lived right here then where YOU see
the weeds. | could not get away
froln them, ard iinan3, with a gun
at my breast, | said l would eClist,
and went of, leaving my vide crying
at the door. / can see just how siie
stood with her handkerchief NJ 10
her face this way, and left her AWAY
ingit like this. But no use; bad Ia
enlist with the Missoufians, and So |
did, with the mental reserya,ion that
| would run away with the fcst op
portunity. But | didn't get any
chance, for they watched me as close
a, n l,1nnlbnrnI Ioac a pioror-
Finally, when Grants army came
down here, our brigade was sent put
to kind o. keep them in check !
hadn't been home since went away,
and my wife wrote me trying to
cheer me up.
"The second day we moved upln
plain sight of our house, our lines
being along where that fence is yOn
der. Then the Yankees. they came
out of the woods. over there, Sand
began firing. | wondered what had
become of my wife, for the bullets
from both sides began to knock liie
shingles off thez sheuse-cpes SHE
there, where you see the cellar like.
Well, that's where she went to get
away from the shot, sher and her
waiter girl. All night | stood out
there by that tree, wishing ! might
90 and see my WIFE But she did not
know that was there at all. But !
determined TO desert to the Union
lines the next night. So l arranged
to be on picket, and was sent out
there in the cernerof the field, just
a. it was coming dark, Hay down
On the ground, to that the other pick
cts might NOT see me, and crswled
along Slowly toward the house, and
when l got within q few rods l Jump
ed up and ran for the house. cd !
"When l came round the corner,
a picket discovered what L was at
and fred at me, aud The bullet went
over my head. l screamed Mary
Mary = and she knew my voice and
came out to meet me on the step, and
said, %, dear, dear George, let's
hurry away from here,' and opened
her arms to put them round nv neck
and kiss me /; but some of the U.ioD
pickets, thinking there vas, an ad.
vance in the direction Of my house,
opened fire just then-and-and-
shot my wife through the heart, and
she fell before she had kissed me, OF
| | her. The bullet that kiIletl hel
went through my arm right there
1 took her'up ard rsn for the Union
lines, shouting, Pm deserterh and
they finally let me Ia; but my wife
was dead. The batteries over thele
hearing the muss about the house
began shclling it, and set it on fire
and how the maid got out OF tht
iho'-- teame back