The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1875-06-10
BARBARA FRE!TCHIE.

The latest contribution to the discussion
of the historical basis for the poem of Bar
bara Freitchie" is letter from the arthor
of the famous lyric, called forth By a recent
article in the Boston Advertiser and copied
in recent issue Of the Timss. Mr.. Whit
tier says:
II notice in the Alperttser Of yesterday an
article upon the vexed question Of Barbara
Freitchie. with an account of the writer's
conversation with me in reference to it.
wish to correct some light Inaccuracies nat
urally enough arising from brief and hur-
ried interview. The lady referred to in the
letter Of Ju1geI Underwood was mentioned
a relative and net as a daughter Of stonewall
jackson. The presentation Of the cane made
from the wood of Bari ara Freitchie's house
vas not made by the nephew of the venerab BILE
woman on his visit to me, but by United
States officer. a member Of the scientific con-
vcntion at Salem some years ago.
The evidence adducod on the other side,
the substance Of which appears IN the art Gle
IN your paper, is not without weight. and, if
by no means conclusive is entitled to re-
spectful cousiderlti1n have no desire.
nor do | feel under obligation, to enter into
any controversy upon the SUI ject. The facts
in the case are before the public, and | have
no wish to bias its decision. 4 have 10 inter
est in it apart from the truth ! wrote the
ballad in the firm belief OF the truth of the
incident il describes, and the grounds of that
belief seemed to me ample, 1t may be that
my original lutocmant--a lady IN whom /
have entire confidence was herself misin.
formed by her friends. IL may te that the
cumulative and corroboratlye evidence have
~
only say that shall regret it, not so much
from feeling Of personal disappointment ~
that it involves the loss Of the noble idej. of
patlaos ism TO which | sought to do honor.
As matter Of fact | have no wish to perpet-
uate in any offensive sense the incidents Of
that sad traternal strife, the very rames of
whose battle fields | would gladly see erased
fron our national flags.
-..Buried be the dreadful past
IT. common slain be mourned aud let
Nj memories soiten to regret
1T seems to be admitted by these who
,a,ccny the main incident Of the ballad, that
the venerable union woman did not hesitate
10 make way with her caue through the
confederate soldiers at her door, applying to
them epithets more energetic ,uau pu.4,c,
and that she had a union nag IN her house.
If she did not show il on that OCCASION so
much the worse for Frederick CITY; and
those who have given credit to the story Of
the herosm of its oldest inhahtant will very
naturally sympathize with the indignant in
ouiry Of one Of her Juvenile admirers: Ill
Barbara Freitchie didn't shake the flag at
the rebels, why didn't somebody else 10 it?',
john 6 WHITTIER
Amesbury, 9Th month, 18th, 'S75."
\ writer in the Richmond (Va.l Dispatch
says, on the same subject: Having seen the
communication Of Geu. Early in your paper
"a regard to the Barbara Fritchie' case.
beg leave to say, upon the authority of Mr.
Lewis Markell, a most respectable citizen or
Frederick City, Md and a relative of the
old lady, that no such incident as that i'm
mortalzed tysthe poet Whittier ever occur
red, or anything like il. He states, however
that the old lady had little union flag in
her hand, and that confederate soldier ask
ed her playtully to give it to him. which she
unhesitatingly did. That is all there was Of
it. Only this AMI nothing mere Mr.
Markell is a retired merchant, aud his state
ment will need no confederation among those
who know him. lie was during the war a
firm union man and is now strong radical,
and would not be likely to make the case any
more favorable TO the rebels than the facts
justified