, 1871-05-04
Areumaasls Soldier.

Not long since Ad;ntAnt General Baker
recrivrd q letter Of inquiry asking about q
certain soldier in the 24th Iowa infantry.
The tone Of the letter was so prculiar as
to attract considerable attention and cre>
ate much comment in thr ofics. In reply
the General stated that the record of the
regimen we've in his Office. and fhe record
of the snldjer, whom, for the sake of ron
vrnienc., VIZ viii call Smith, although
that is far from the real name. A few
days afterward gentleman from North.
ern IowasappraFed at the Office, inquired
for G,n. Bsker, found that character, and
was closeted with him long enough to dis
close the following singular tale: When
the war broke out, Miss Mary Smith,
daughter Of the Generals visitor, was re-
siding in Ohio, working for a farmer in
the kitchen. Her fathers family had
moved to Iowa the fall preceding the at
tack on Sumter, Irnvifg Mary behind to
follow IN the spring Various causes
transPired to delay htr departure for her
new home until autumn, and it was Sep
tembrf before she landed At Museatine,
from which Place she exp. cted to travel
by land 10 her !athcr's house. She was a
large sized h, ariy looking girl, eighteen
years sof age. Arriving at Mascaiius,
some Strange freak induced her to assume
man apparel and enlisted in the twenty>
fourth, infantry, then in rendezvous, in tha:
city. She aid this without exciting any
suspicion. bufnrd all her feminine gar
ments and papers. neglected to inform her
'hiends, either in lava or Ohio OF her arr
rival OIL Hawkeye soil, and became sol.
dier. Some coI1ment was elected by her
brardlrss face aud girlish appearance, but
as -she- did her duty promptly and well,
was particularly 1qndy il cooking and
taking care of the sick, thsJouhg warrior
speedily bscatnt q general fav.site alike.
with officers and men. She passed
through alI flie campaigns in which the
regiment was Engaged. without scratch,
except close call ffrm a Mimic ball at
SL6ine's Cross Roads, which took the
skin off of the back Of her left hand, voted
wilhsthe other members of the regiment
fop President in 1864, and was finally
mustered ont with her comrades at the
close Of the war. When she was dis
charged she procured female apparel-al-
tlough in doing 80 she was oblighrd to
make confdant of one of her own sex
and procured work in Illinois. not far
from Rock Blend Six months elapsed
before the tan of five summers wore of.
and when she had again become white,
aud had learned the almost forgotten GUS
toms Of womanhood. she presented her
self at her fathers house. where ste was
received with open arms. To all the
questions which were asked by the vari.
ous members Of the family, conc rnirg her
whereabouts for so many years she re-
| fused to make any answer. ouly replying
that she had bee hons ly employed, ana
had never forsaken the right way. She
had been reOnomical in the army, and in
vested several hundred dollars in land in
NOrihrrn I'wa, which rapidly appreciated
in vaIne, aud to~day she is well enough
of to be beyond Ihs reach Of want With
the remainder Of her money she attended
school. Last January a worthy man, who
had ieen in the same regiment, but in a
different company, made her an ,ffer of
marriage. L ke true woman, she Wa
unwilling to bestow her hand whrn any
part OF her former lif,. was unknown. and
before accepting the cffe' she male to him
a full revelations Of her soldier days. At
first he could not hrIieve it, but when she
proceeded to narfate events and incidents
which could br known only to active par
ticipants in them, told of MARCHES, camps.
skirmishes, battles and the thousand and
onesthines which never appear in print,
hut which ever remain living pietures
with old soldiers, he was obliged to accept
the atrangr tale as true. The story how>
ever did not lessrn his regard for her, and
about The frs, OF Februay they were mar
ried.a The hdy'a fathrr. who learned the
tale Of her fife when she made il plain 70
her would-be husband, was still incredu-
Ious, and ouly satisfied himself Of its truth
BY 6visit to the Adju'anI GrGeraPs office
and an inspection of the records. By com
pairing dates furnished him by bis daugh-
ter with the original rolls there on file. he
brcrms sully convinced that it was ull
true. "ft,h ts-..l1t'- s-. sfuttt