New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-07-02

mediately. He went.
"The next tidiDes that came to me
brought word that he loved me and was
we'll; the next, that he loved me- and was
we'll; the next, that he loved me and was
dead Madam, my husband, Ralph Lut-
tretge Kinsolving. was shot-as Spy
lyon start-yOu questiOn-you doubt.
But spies were shop in those days, were
they nots That is q matter OF history.
Very we'll; YOU are face to face now with
the wife OF one of them.
"You did not expect such meeting, did
you? You have always thought of spies as
outcasts, degraded wretches. and If you re-
membeled their wives at all. 1t was with
the idea that they had not much feeling,
probably being SO low dow in the scale OF
humanity. But, madam; in those bitter
hurrying DAYS men were shot as spies who
were no spies. Nay. let me finish; know
quite we'll that the shooting was not con.
nned to one side; acknowledge that; but
it YVES done, and mistakes were made. Now
and then chance brings case TO light, so
unmietakabie in its proof that those who
hear it shudder, az no " and then also chance
brings coffin to light whose occupant
was buried alive, and came to himself when
it was too late. But what of the cases that
chance does not bring 10 light9
My husband was no spy; but it had been
luH tlluo iOE tuo ANOl COluuuduu
ers; suspicion lurkeG every where; the " hole
North clamOred to them to advance, and
yet their plans, as fast as they made them,
we're betrayed in some way to the enemy.
An example was needed-my husband fell
in the way.
"He explained the suspicious circum-
stances Of his case, bat cloud OF witnesses
rose up against him, ard he proudly closed
his lips. They gave him short shrlft; that
same day he was led out and met his death
in The presence of thousands. They told
me that he was quite calm and held himself
quite proudly; at the last he turned his
face to the South, as if he were gazing
down, down into the very heart of that
land for whose sake he was about to die. /
think he saw the cotton fields then and our
home; / think ne saw me also for the last
time
by the end of that year, madam. my
heavy black hair was gray, as you see it
now; l was an old woman at nineteen
my father and | and that grave-eyed
baby lived on in the old house. Our ser
wants had left US, all save one, old CASEY,
who had been my nurse or 'maumee,' as we
lived as very poor people live. The poorest
slaves in the old time had more than We
had then; but We did not murmur; the
greater griefs bad swallowed up the less.
said, Is there any eO7rOw like unto my sOr-
row. But the end was not yet.
lyon have heard the story of the great
march, the march to the sea! But there
was another march after that, march of
which your own writer's have said that it's
route was marked by pillar of smoke by
day and of flame by night-the march
through South Carolina The Northern
soldiers shouted when they came to the vel
low tide Of the Savannah and looked across
and knew that the other shore was South
Carolina soil. They crossed, and Carolina
was bowed to the dust. Those were the
days we cried in the morning. % God, that
it were night" and in the night, % God,
that it we're morning" RetributiOn, do you
sayi 1t may be 60. We still lie bound
hand and foot before you. But love for the
the Elm of our fathers, not ours. Surely We
have expiated it now.
Chile, chile, dey is Gems" cried old
Classy, bursting into my room one after
noon. her withered, black face grayly pale
with fear. l went out. Cavalrymen were
sweeping the village of all it contained. the
meagre little shat was left 10 US in our
penury. My father was asleep; how l
prayed that he might not waken. Although
an old man, he was fiery as boy, and
passionately rebellious against
UuC l0lC "ulCu udu COmc upuu US. ouE
house was some distance back from the
road, and broad. stretching grounds sepa-
rated US from the neighboring residence
CASEY and softly piled our pillows and
cushions against the door and windows that
opened from his room on to the piazza,
hoping to deaden the sound outside, tor
some of our people were resisting, and now
and then | heard shouts and oaths. But
it was no use. My dear old father
awoke, heard the sounds and rushed
put into the street, sword In hand
honor through the Mexican war. Made
desperate by my fears for him, followed
There was a melee in the road before our
house; high wind blew the thick dust in
ny eyes and half blinded me, so that only
saw struggling forms on foot and on horse
back, and could not distinguish friend or
oe. Into this group my father rushed. |
never knew the cause of the contest; pro-
,ably it was an inadvised attack by some
If our people, fiery and reasonless always |
But, whatever it was, at length there came |
me, two. three shots, and then the group |
broke apart. rushed forward and received |
ny old father IN my arms, dying-dead. |
His head lay on my shoulder as knelt in |
he white road. and his silver hair was dab |
,led with blood; he had been shot through |
he head and breast, and lived but a mo- |
nent.
1--WE carried him back to the house, old |
;assy and |. slowly. and with little regard |
or the bullets which whistled through the |
r, for the first shots had brought together
he scattered cavalrymen, who now rode |
through the streets firing right and left,
more a. random. l think, than with direct |
i'm, yet still determined to brighten the
ebels,' and avenge the soldier, one of their
lumber who had been killed at the begin
ing of the fray. We laid my father down
4 the centre of the hall, and prepared him
Or his long eleep. No one came to help us:
o one came to sorrow with us; each house
old gathered it's own together and waited
18th bated breath Tor what was still to
ONE. | watched along beside my dead that
light, the house-cOors stood wide open, and
ouch. said to myself, Let them come now
nd take their fill But no one disturbed
le, and kept my vigil from midnight un-
l dawn; then there came sound of many
let, and when the sun rose our streets
ere fall of blue coated soldiers, thousands
pom thousands; one wing of the great
rmy was marching through. There was
ill hot anger against us for our resistance,
nd when the commanding officers arrived
ley ordered guards to be staff. ned at
very house, with orders to shoot any man |
!. boy who showed himself outside of his
All day and night the federal
ldiers would be passing through, and the
lards gave notice that if another man was
jured twenty rebel lives should answer
r it.
"'Ws must bury my father, you and
gether, Casey said: there is no one to
help US. Gomez
The old woman followed me without
ord. Had l hidden her go alone, even as
r as the doorstep, che would have covered
my feet in abject terror: but, following
e, she would have gone dumb and un-
,estiOning to the worlds end. The family |
rial place was on our own grounds, &C
riding to the common custom of the South, |
ither We turned our steps, and in silence
flowed out a grave, as best we could.
'e guard near by watching us with Gu