The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1869-10-22
Another EnOch Arden-Singular and
Romantic Story. a.

A GENTLEMAN who witnessed the play
of "Enoch Arden" at De Bars Opera
House, relates circumstance very similar
in its details to the sad story of the cast
away sailor. We give the statement in
his own words:
"That play recalls to my mind circum-
stance that happened in my own expert
ence. A Sergeant in my regiment was
wounded at Chickamauga, and was re-
ported dead. He was seen to fall in the
heat of the engagement, and our lines be-
ing pushed back, the body was not re-
covered until next day. When the poor
fellow was found, he was so mutilated by
being trampled on by the cavalry, that his
face could not be recognized A comrade,
however, found in his breast pocket min
iaturc of his wife, and sent it to her, with
an account of his death. 1t turned out
that the body was not that of Tom c.,
but a sergeant of another company. Tom,
desperately wounded, fell into the hands
of the enemy, and was sent to Anderson
vile, where the rebel surgeon cut off one
of his arms and one of his legs, and in
spite of his bad fare, he recovered in due
time. never knew why they kept Tom
so long in prison, except it was for the pur
pose of exchanging him for sound man.
"When poor Tom returned to his home
in Pennsylvania he was a mere wreck of
his former SELF and nobody in the village
knew him. His wife had removed to Hi
nois with her parents more ethan a yearpre-
viously. Without making himself known to
any of his old acquaintance in the village,
Tom started for Illinois to hunt for his
wife. When he arrived in the heighborhood
where she was living, he learned that she
was married to an old friend of his who
had followed her from Pennsylvania. His
first impulse was to make himself known
to her, and claim her as his own; but
when he saw the snug cabin in which she
was living, and heard how kindly she was
treated by her husband, he changed his
mind. Suppose go and claim her." he
said to himself; how can support her
What can / do for her, with only one arm
and one leg, and body weakened by
months of suffering at Andersonville? No;
she is happy and contented, and thinks
me dead, and viii! not destroy her happi-
ness and become burden to her."
Tom acted upon this resolution, and
worked his way to New York, where he
set up small business as a curb-stone
merchant, selling nuts, and cake, and soda
water, and getting along prosperously.
He soon made money enough to buy him
an artificial leg, and after while he got a
patent arm made, and to see him walking
along the street you would not suppose
that he was but little more than half a
man. He was a good business man, and
in the course of a year enlarged his stock
in trade and opened a regular retail gro
Gerry. He made money fast, and became q
prosperous merchant, respected by all who
knew him.
"In his prosperity, he never forgot his
wife, and always cherished hope that she
would be restored to him. He was regu-
lar subscriber to the village paper pub
lished at the town near which his wife
lived, and read it with great interest. One
day he saw in this paper the announce
mcnt of the death of the man who had
married his wife. He lost no time in start
ing for Illinois. He found his wife in
deep mourning for her late husband, and
she had added another infantile link to the
family circle. Tom made himself known
to her, and was rejoiced to find that she
still loved him as fondly as ever. 1t was
some time before he could convince her
that he was not ghost returned from the
other world. In order to make things
sure the parson was called in, and Tom
and his wife were married over again.
They went to New York, where they are
still living, as happy couple as you will
find in Gotham. They live in brown