Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1870-09-15
A Soldier Romance.

During the late war, a great many ar
ticles of clothing for the use Of the army,
were manufactured in St. Louis Near
ly all the sewing was done by poor girls.
huddled together in upper rooms ftall
buildings, with few windows. The work
was tedious, hard, and pay small. Gree
dy army contractors had no room in their
avaricious, greenback- loving hearts, for
pity for poor sewing girls. The city was
iull of soldiers, gathered from all parts
of the West. The prospects for ever mar
rying, to many of these girls, often, no
doubt, seemed small.
One day in 1863, pretty girl employ
ed in one of these clothcs-making estab-
lisements, rather unthoughtfully stitched
her name inside of gray wooden shirt.
which she had finished, in such place
that when on soldier the letters would
come over his heart The garment was
passed to the foreman, accepted as being
all right, and placed in a box, with hun
dreds Of others. to be shipped, aud the
fair worker of the same scarcely thought
of what she hadc done, until one unusu-
ally cheerful day, some months after
wards, she received letter. It vas
from the army, too, from a stranger in
strange regiment, from a strange State.
She wondered what it could mean She
didn't know who the writer was, but
Elade up her mind no harm could result
from answering his letter, and conse-
quently did SO.
Many letters followed The soldier
was modest and elegant in his language,
and the girl had reason to respect him.
The soldiers letters after awhile, became
very interesting, and were looked for
anxiously by the sewing girl Ditto
with the soldier. he whiled away many
an otherwise montonous hour writing to-
her. Many an otherwise sad and lone
ly evening she pleasantly passed in seri-
bing to him. One evening, in 1864.
while on his way home on re-enlistment
furlough, the unknown writer called at
the humble home of the girl on Morgan
Street, and introduced himself 1t would
sound story-like to say that they both
came to the conclusion, at the first meet
ing. that they loved each other. but such
is the truth. He stayed in St. Louis sew
eral days longer than he intended. He
came near fogetting thai he had mother,
father, brothers and sisters, with prior
claims..upon bis sec ETY.. He went home but
when he returned to the field via St.
Louis, and while there called again at the
little house way out on Morgan street.
He returned to his regiment at the
proper time The girls letters were the joy
of his life Without them, camp life would
have been uncomfortable She was quite
as deeply interested IN his illusions. She
would sit and sew for hours, and wonder
if he would not wear some of the gar
ments she was making -and think if she
knew he would how nice she would make
them No use of lengthenmg out Il
short story Some much state of affairs
as described, exist uutil the final dishand-
ing of the army. At that time fhe did,
not return via the city so dear to him, for
the treasure it held. He won't home
first, aud when he did go down, hg
brought away the sowing girl as his wife.
Shortly after the ending of the ceremony,
he explained to his blushing bride how
he procured her address, by showing her
a piece of coarse gray flannel, with ''Ju-
liza --. St Louis, No." upon it.
He was an Iowa editor, and now lives In
Polk county. The same girl makes
shirts for him yet, and also for five
year old boy who call the two of them
pa and ma.