Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1878-12-05
ANNIE M'KEENE.
6uerriiia in 1868. a Slater of Mercy i'm
1878 How She Gave Her Life Away 10 the
Cause Of Sweet Charity.


1878. How She Gave Her Life Awsv 10 The
Csuse Of Sweet Charity.
/ Sister Celeste, who died in New
Orleans while caring for the yellow
fever sufferers, made strange con-
iession before her death, which has
Just been made public through the st.
Louis Post. In 1862, Qnantrell's gang
OF guerrillas stopped at her fathers
house in Missouri to forage their hors.
es. Quantrel was invited to take
dinner with the family, and his
officers were invited to come with
him. One who went was
JOHN M'KEENE,
IN courage aud stature the peer of any
man in the command, and one Of the
great guerrilla chieftain's most trusted
counselors He had become famous
for daring deeds as well as a hand
some appearance.
Sister Celeste was then a girl sew
enteen years old, and rather pretty.
Her eyes We're blacker than an Indian
maiden's and as piercing, and her hair
was as straight type of woman
well known to those who lived in
Western Missouri in those trouble.
some days. She made flags, large
and small, which she gave to those of
her nelghborhood who went out to
fight. She had made herself a dress
OF red and white. Any sort Of Rebel
soldier 20 her was a demi god. The
wild insanity of the times found in her
splendid representative. Her name,
young as she was, had been spoken
throughout half a hundred counties.
She was known at every Federal post
in the State, and the authorities had
often threatened TO
DANISH OR IMPRIsoN HER.
As woman she was as notorious as
John M'Keene was as man. They
had heard of each other many time,
and had longed to see each other.
He had said she was the bravest
woman in Missouri she had said he
was the bravest man of all the rough
| riders of the border. Consequently,
when they met at her fathers table, it
was cordial meeting, and each was
more than pleased.
AS the sun went down, Quantrell
and his men rode away; as they
| passed along in front of the house,
Annie stood at the gate and received
a salute from each one. Then it was
that she wished more fervently than
ever that she was a man that she
might 60 along.
Shortly after Quantrel's band had
| left her fathers house, a number of
armed men rode up, called her father
out, shot him down and burned his
house for his hospitality to the guerilla
chief. She and her mother fled, while
the men who had killed her father
went in chase of the band. Quantrell
was overtaken, there was a sharp
fight which resulted in the defeat and
dIsbandment OF the guerrillas. John
NJ Keene returned to the ruins of the
homestead and learned the whole sto-
ry. lie met her and the two pledged
their vows of eternal vengeance.
There was more than that. See said
she would go with him and deal the
blows of death as he did.
ON HORSEBACK
they went to humble preachers
house, and without alighting, had him
make them man and wife. She threw
away her woman's dress and donned
male attire. She put on belt be.
sides and two revolvers, and her long
hair she tucked under her hat. On
June morning, 1868, as they with half
dozen others were riding along over
the prairie where now stands the lit
tie town of Lees Summit, they were
met by a detachment of the Seventh
Missouri State Militia. There was
DESPERATE ENCOUNTER,
in which John MKeene was shot dead
and Annie MKeene was shot through
the shoulder The others of the guer-
illas escaped When the Federals
came up to where M'Keene and his
wife we're lying, one of the soldiers
leveled his revolver at the head of the
woman in disguise, but before the
trigger was pulled she threw off her
hat, snatched her long hair down, and
sat up before him with the face of
woman. The revolver was put up,
and the mystery solved. She told
them that all she had lived for was
gone, but that she was not ready to
die herself. She begged them to give
her companion the best burial they
could, and said she wanted to 60 to
Kansas City. There was tone of
voice and style of earnestness about
what she said that touched the hearts
of the rough soldiers, and they buried
John M'Keene out on the broad prai-
RE; but there was not stone nor
piece of wood within half dozen
miles OF the place, and nothing was
left to mark the place of the grave
But it was such burial as many
poor man did not have in those days.
Annie M'Keene was taken to Kan
sas City, where she recovered under
the blessed care OF some
SISTERS OF MERCY.
She went to Memphis, Tennessee, and
there joined the Catholic church and
resolved to devote her life to the care
of the sick and the distressed. She
became Sister Of Mercy, went to the
front of the army, and during the re-
mainder of the war was unremitting
in her work of love and mercy. After
the coming of peace, she went to New
Orleans and became attached to the
convent of the Sisters of Mercy. In
devotion to her mission there was not
one who surpassed her IN earnestness.
She was always ready to bear the
heaviest burden and manifested the
fortitude in good work that she had
IN a reckless guerilla warfare as the
wife of John M'Keene.
She bore the secret of her life well.
1t was memory that had grown sa-
cred by her expiration, and around it
was the sweet incense of thousand
prayers that had gone up out of soul
of tears.
WHEN THE LATE EPIDEMIC CAME
On oha wac auapprr tho foramast IN rp