The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1869-06-10
A SAD STORY.
A Union-Rebel Soldier and His
Dead Wife.

"A O1l1OA>NcOCA 0OAuAOA SANA AAAo
Dead Wife.
A correspondent of the Boston Travel
er, writing from Vicksburg, met n
strange character wandering over the
old battletields. The writer tells the
ave told him that we were anxious
to see where the Federal lines were To-
Gated, as we were from Massachu-
| sets.
'Oh, yes, from Massachusetts,y said
he; Strengthening up. 4 have been in
Massach usetts, and was born in Yer
mont. Then after a pause he clenched
his hand, and said sadly, Il wish was
dead now
why 500 said we, feeling pity for
such wretched creature as heappeared
to be.
If you are going out toward the
bayou, l will show you, said he, Head
ing the way. ~
We began to think the man insane,
and after following him nearly 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 main roadintO
an open field, surrounded by a growth
of young timber; and after passing the
barren spot which appeared to have
been at some time the site of u building,
he suddenly stopped, and pointing to u
bunch Of rose Trees, said, ~ low
tone:
4 There! in that grave lies the reason
1 why wish ! was dead She was my
! III ow long has she been dead p asked
! we, as sympathetically as we could. .
Well, seeing you have taken interest
/! enough in me to come along so far, I'll
! tell you the whole storynn said he, TAX
t ing out his knife to trim the rose
! bush.
! -.~ --~ HIS STORY. f'-a 5:" - +"
! She was twenty.nne years old, sir,
4 and she wasa Southern lady, too. l
4 came down here long before the war,
and had nice bit OF land here. l fell
in with this lady at the city up river.
and we were married In 1867. l kept
out of the war as long as l could, be-
cause didn't like fighting anyhow, rs
/ was happy at home, and because / felt
more like lighting, if l fought at all
the Confederacy, and said SO, and it got
them down Oh me. so one day a COM
pany of in tantry came along and said
they would shoot me onmy own thres-
hold if | didn't enlist at once in the
Confederate army. lived right there
then where you see the weeds. l could
Mt get away from them, and finally,
with gun at my breast, said | would
enlist, and went of leaving my wife
crying at the door. | can see just how
she stood with her handkerchief up tC
her face, this way, aud left hera waving
like this. But no use, l. had to enlist
4 with the Missourians, and so did,
with the mental reservation that
iryf
But didn't get any chance, for they
watched me as close as a bloodhound
does nigser. Finally, when Grants
army came down here, our brigade wa.
sent out 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. a g q "a .t
The second day We msyed up i'm plai,
sight Of my house, our lines being along
that fence youdey. Then the Yankees
; they came otit Of the woods over there
and began 1ifing. q | wondered wha
had become of my wife, for the bullet:
; from both sides began to knock tn.
shinglesof the house, One side there
, where you see the cellar-like! Well
; that's where she went to get away from
, the shot, shetandSher waiter girl. Al
, night stood out there 10y that tree
wishing ! might go and see my wife
But she didn't know that was there a
all. But determined to odesert to tn
Union lines the next night. SO | ar
ranged 1t to be on picket, and | wa
sent out there in the corner of the field
Just as it was coming dark, lay dowl
on the ground SO that the other picke IT
might not see me, and cTawled alonI
slowly toward the house, and when
got within few rods jumped and raj
for the house 1T = H5ET~~, r.
When l came round the corner
: picket discovered what was at an,
; Hired at fi1e, and the bullet went owe
, my head ] screamed, Mary, Mary!
> and she knew my voice, aud came righ
I out to meet sme, on the step, and said
9 oh, dear, dear George, let's shurry ava,
from here and opened her arms to pu
: them around my neck and kiss me
but some of the Union pckets thinking
Z there was an advance In the direction q
: nay house, opened fire just tllen-and-
and-shot my vile through the heart
and she fell before she had kissed me, O
l her. Iie ballet that killed her wen
through my arm right there. 1 tool
her up and ran for the Union lines
shouting, Pm q deserter,' and the
finally let me in, but my wife was dead
. The batteries oyer there, Fearing I'll
muss about the house, began shelling i,
and set it on fire, aud how the maid go
out of the house don't see. But
came back here when the Union line
:, advanced, and buried my wife mex
day, an Illinois chaplain saying th
prayers And that's jusGWhy Iwishs
was dead. can't do anything, no
- think of anything but her. Oh, sh
was such q sgood wife @H
d I Here he paused and wiped his eye
of with his sleeve, and went on trimmin
y the rosebush. So sad tale and SO rea
n being in ths very place where it hal
d pened, brought tears TO our eyes in spi,
'r of us. We could not find it in OF
hearts to disturb him with more que
= tions after finding ourshis name, and {
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