Elizabeth daily monitor. [volume] (Elizabeth, N.J.) 1868-1880, 1869-07-01
gIigabsts Daily a g
PUBLISHED AT 155 BROAD STREET, BY
J.. MADISON DRAKE.
A SAD STORY.

| ouOl y 90 lClioN''
owe told him that we were anxious
to see where the federal lines were To-
Gated, as we were from Massachusetts,
" Oh, yes, from Massachusetts,, " said
ye, Strengthening up &c have been
in Massachusetts,, and was born in YER
mont" Then after pause he clench-
ed his hand, and said sadly, 81 wish I
was dead now"
"Why so ?" said we, feeling pity
for such wretched creature as he APP
peared to be.
eff you are going out toward the
bayou will show you," said he, lead
ing the way.
We began to think the man was in
sane, and after following him nearly a
a mile, we halted, and asked him how
far he intended to go. He stated that
we were almost there and SO we kept
on. He soon turned off from the road
into an open field, surrounded by a
growth of young timber and after
passing the barren spot which appear
ed to have been at some time the site
of building, he suddenly stopped,
and pointing to bunch of rose trees,
said, in low tone.
"There In that grave lies the rea-
son why I wish L was dead. She was
my wife, sir"
"How long has she been dead %
asked we as sympathetically as we could.
"Well, seeing you have taken inter
est enough in me to come along so far,
I'll tell you the whole story" said he,
taking out his knife to trim the rose
bush
"She was twenty-nine years old, sir,
and she was a Southern lady, too.
came down here long before the war,
and had nice bit of land here. I fell
in with this lady at the city up the
river, and we were married in 1862.
kept out of the war as long as [ could,
because I didn't like fighting anyhow,
as was happy at home, and because
felt more like fighting, if [ fought at
all, among my native Vermonters.
hated the Confederacy, and said o,anG
it got them down on me. So one day
q company of infantry came along ano
said they would shoot me on my OWE
threshold if / didn't enlist at once il
the Confederate army. I lived right
there then, where you see the weeds.
I couldn't get away from them, anC
finally, with a gun at my breast, L sale
[ would enlist, and went, off, leaving
my wife crying in the door. | can see
Just how she stood, with her handber
chief up to her face, this way, and left
her a-waying like this. But no use ; ]
had to enlist with the Missiourians
and so | did, with mental reservation
that would run away the first oppor
tlnity. But [ didn't get any chance
for they watched me as close as blood
hound does a niger. Finally, whe1
Grants army came down here, oul
brigade was sent ou5 to kind O. hold
them in check. I hadn't been home
since went away, and my wife wrote
me trying to cheer me up. The sec
ond day we moved up in plain sight o.
my house, our lines being along where
that fence is yonder. Then the Yam
KEGS, they came out of the woods over
there, and began firing. l wondered
what had become of my wife, for the
bullets from both sides began to knock
the shingles off the house. One side
there, where you see the cellar like
Well, that's where she went to gel
away from the shot, she and her waiter
gnl. All night stood out there by
that tree, wishing 1 might go and sec
my wife. But she didn't know that ]
was there at all. But / determined tc
desert to the Union lines the next night
so arranged it to be on picket, and
was set out there, in the corner of the
field. Just as it was coming dark, l lay
down on the ground, so that the Other
pickets might not see me, and crawled
along slowly toward the house, and
when got within few rods I jumped
and ran for the house. When [ came
round the corner, picket discovered
what [ was at, and fired after me, and
the bullet went over my head. scream
ed, Mary, Mary, and she knew my
my voice, and came right out to meet
me on the step, and said, ooh, dear,
dear GeoIge, let's hurry away from
here, and opened her arms to put
them around my neck and kiss me but
some of the Union pickets thinking
there was an advance i'll the direction
of my house, opened fire just them.
and-and-shot my wife through the
heart, and she fell before she had kiss
ed me or 1 her The bullet that killed
her went through my arm, right there.
[ took her up and ran for the Union
lines shouting, Elm a deserter," and