The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1870-02-24

loar currents, actually swept out into
she swollen rushing creeks several ST the
fee,iest Of the men under single hospi-
tai tents and they were crowned. Night
set in, with the moot intense coldnese,
such as the badly fitted up hospitals
were wholly UMPIRE pared for.
All that night Eother BieEerdyEo
worked like a Titan 20 save her blooc
less feeble patients from being frozen so
death. There we've 6fteeA hundred In
hospitcl tents-ali wounded men-sN
bad cases. Tho fires were piled higher
end higher, with logs, new free verc
built with closer proximity 60 the tents,
until they were surrorrded by GORDON
of immense piles blazing ind cEsckling
in thc etinging zintry atmosphere. Be
fore miGnS-hc the fuel gave out, AID Co
send neer out into the forest to cat more
in that darkness and,auful coldnsss seenl
cd harhefeuc The Surgeon in charge
crcule(. OF into his quertefs, gro CRAP
ming hihnself in blankets, left Mother
|pickerdyEc 90 meet the emergency. She
vas equel to it. With her usual disdein
Of red tape, she appealed to the pioneer
corpe TO take their mulea ard aLss Eooes
and chains, and tear doTn the breast
work aear them made OF logs, with earth,
thrown up against tkcm.
There waa no ono rho dared Cire the
order tor this to bs done, but after che
had refreshed tho ohiyering Ger with
cup or two Of paRede epiece, made Of
whisky, hot water. cugar emo
crackers, they went 70 worn
OF her suggestion without orders.
They knew es did she, that on the cor
tinuance Of the huge fires through the
night depended tho, lives Of hundreds of
their wGuhded Comrades. Por there wa
no bedding for che tents, only blanktt
or two for each SouHded nsn. So the
men Of the pioneer corrs set to work,
tearing dovn the breastworks, end houl-
ling the legs up To Che fierce fires, Mother
Bick esdy Ike directing half g dozen barrels
| OF meGl to be broken open, and mixed
With warm watar, to feed their lnGlee.
| Immense cautdgons Of hot DRINKS we're
reae weJlly made under her direction
hot coffee, panrdA, end other like noyrish
| ING potubles-cnd layers OF hot bTicEs
we're pue around eve:y wounded Snd eieE.
n1an OF che entire flfteeE hundred, GO hs
ioy in bic cot. Froca text 20 tent she rae
all night in the Sele hot bricks in OBS
| bend and hot drinkG in the other, cheer
ing and Ysruaing, end encouraging The
poor ohiverinC fellows,
AS the night wsa passing slowly into
the cold, cray day, the Major OF the guard
commanding the post, was informed
of Mother Biclserdyke's unauthorized ez-
PLOTS. and fastened down where the de-
molished breastworas were, fest being
consuxse{. By the hungry flames, lie took
in the whole affair immediately, and evi-
IDENTIFY saw the necessity and wisdom OF
the course she had pursued. But it WY
his business tc preserve order, and main
taia discipline, and so he made G show OF
arresting the irregular proceedings. By
no mere order Of his could this be done.
Not until day dawn. when they could Sc
safely into the woods to get fuel, were
the men disposed to relinguish thelr raid
on the breastworks, which were compaF-
atively useless, having served their pur-
pose of defence against the enemy weeks
before.
| {" Madam, consider yourself under ar
rest p was the Majors address to ubiquit-
Gus Mother Bickerdyke.
To which she replied, as she flew past
him with her hot bricks and hot drinks.
/" All right, Major! only don't meddie
with me till the weather moderates, for
nav men will freeze 20 death If you do =
A story got il circulation that she was
pat in the guard houae by the Major, and
| this is still current in the west, and by
many is believed but it is not true.
There was some little official hubbub over
her nights work, but she defended her
self to the officers who quiet y reproved
her action, with this indisputable state
nent: Its lucky for you, old fellows,
that I did what die For it | hadn't,
hundreds OF men in the hospital tents
would have frozen to death. Nobody In
the north would have blamed me, but
there would have been such hullaballo
raised round your heads, for allowing il
to happen, that they would have had to
come off, whether or no"
After the battle of Chickamauga in
1858 and during the succeeding winter,
Mother Rickerdyke's labors and anxieties
for her " oys" were 80 great, that physlc-
ally, she became completely worn down
and at the opening of spring she was
obliged to go north to recuperate. But
as soon as she had regained her strength
she again returned to her post General
! Sherman was pouring supplies, proven
der and ammunition into Chattanooga,
for it was to be his base Of supplies for a
long campaign So he had issued an or
der absolutely forbidding a pound OF
sanitary stores, or an agent Of any des
cription, from going over he road from
Nashville to Chattanooga alleging as the
reason for the prohibition that he wished
the entire ability Of the railroad devoted
to strictly active army operations There
was great distress in the hospitals below
z Nashville in consequence of this strin