The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1875-05-05
From the Cincinnati Commercial.
The True Story of Barbara Freitchie

William Tell did not shoot the ap.
pie off his sons head; General Wash
ington did not bark his fathers's cher
ry tree with his little Ratchet; the
famous historical exclamation of the
Mexican War, "A little more grape
Captain Bragg has been transform
ed, under the searching lamp of truth
into an exclamation not half so ele-
CANT, but far more forcible and to the
point; and finally the newspapers
have discovered that Barbara FRET
chic never put her head out OF an up
stairs window and waved the stars
and stripes in the face of Stonewall
Jackson and said:
''Strike, il you will, this old gray head,
But spare your country's flag"
And now people are beginning to
pronounce Barbara Frietchie herself
a myth, born of poets Imagination.
Human belief, when once started on
the high road of skepticism, nearly al
ways travels too far; and so it is in
the present instance There was a
veritable, historical Barbara Friet-
chic, and a brave old patriot she was,
too, and her memory ought to be res
cued from the inglorious oblivion
which threatens it. The true story of
Barbara Frietchie has wholesome,
honest flavor of naturalness about il
which makes it more forcible than the
romantic and rather theatrical story
of the poet.
1t is true that Stonewali Jackson
never marched through the streets of
Frederick. and never stopped at the
house of Barbara Frietchie, and the
good dame never waved a Union flag
from an upstairs window at the reb :
els. Barbara Frietchie's own niece.
who lived in the house with her, tells
her true story, and it is substantially
this: The good old dame was loyal to
her hearts core, and kept a small
Union flag as precious thing in her
house. But bands Of rebel soldiers
frequently passed near them, and Bar
bara. fearing her precious flag would
be taken from her if discovered, hid
it between the leaves of her Bible,
and kept it there. She would not
have risked waving it from a window
for fear of losing it. She was very
religious, and anxious above all
things for the success of the Union
troops Although Stonewall Jack
sons men never came to her house,
other bands of rebel soldiers did, and
on one occasion when some of these
wandering rebels were resting them
selves in her porch, the brave old
woman gave them piece Of hermind
in strong, homely words which ought
to be historic, if they are not. She
was somewhat feeble with age aud
walked with cane. As the rebels
were resting on her porch she went
directly out among them, and poked
one and another of them with her
cane, and ordered them away in these
words:
''Begone, you lousy packI'
And that is all there is of it. 1t
was Anna Dickinson, if mistake not.
who heard of Barbara Frietchie, and
first told the poet Whittier of her.
and under the inspiration of the mo-
ment, he wrote the poem of Barbara
Frietchie." [ suppose the source.
whatever it was, from which Miss
Dickinson obtained her information
is responsible for the incorrectness of
the Whittier version. 1t is so easy
to get stor;- wrong, aud so hard to
get it right, in this world
when at length the Union forces OBJ
was loud in her demonstrations Of
pleasure. She may have waved her
Union flag from an upstairs window
then; don know. She lived to see
the cause she loved victorious. and
died in peace, some time after the
war, old and full of years She is
buried in the graveyard near her
home. c.