Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1879-08-07
A FAIR SPY.
She Sends Valuable Inform alton to Gen. kheP
tdan In Tin FOiI-A Romantic Incident Of
the Camp align Of 1854.
C.rr. Detroit Free Press.


A round moon, warm and gold
en-, shone on The quaint town OF
Winche+ter, Va, one evening in
the middle If September, 1864. La
the vine-coVered porch of house,
whose broad, brooding roof envol
oped it in sombre shadow, sat a
brown barred, haz eyed girl watt
ing for q visitor.
A man erect and soldierly, wear
ing gray unifnim, came up the
walk. The Donlight roburnished
the fadeo gold lace Of his epauIettes
and sword knots with som thing
of their pristine splenI n as ne adj
vanced. They talked of tho then
all absorbing topic. the war which
was blazing its way through the
lovely valley at their feet with the
ashes of homesteads, and charred
skeletons of mills and frrges and
foraged lands. The officer WAS
member of General Early's staff, a
Loui.ianian, tervid with hope and
fierce with desire to drive the I'm
ion soldiers back The girl was
Virginian of that simple fate that
disbelIeves in strife and boodsh, d,
and her name was Rebecca. 1t wac
another "Rebecoa a. the weIl,r
with this differ ence--that she drew
out OF the glib-tongued officer the
number and position of Gen Ear
ly's army, their intrenchmen's and
batteries on the Oppeqaan, and
what troops had been withdrawn
This was doue in the mos. natural
manner possible, for To know these
thiSgs was interesting, and she bad
no idea of making history snd be.
coming heroine, for the two had
only met few evenings previous
at social gathering, when he had
sought an introduction and the
privilege of calling upon her. This
was his first visit, and it proved his
last. When the young aide de
camp departed that Wednesday
night he had told SO much that he
had placed the fortune of bis COM
mand in the keeping of Rebecca.
! On the following Friday, while
sittin 9 on the same porch, she heard
bird call low and tremulous 10 the
shrubbery of the lawn. She an.
swered it by clapping her hands
softly, when man, as black as the
shadows she sat in, came up, and
taking something out of his mouth
handed it to her and vanished into
the night. Speeding up TO her
chamber, she found the gift to be q
small roll of tin foil, such as Is
wrapped about various articles,
among others, chewing tobacco.
Carefully unrolling it, email bit of
paper was within, on which was
written
forces and position of Gen. Early? II so
transmit by bearer. SHERIDAN.
How strange is destiny She
alone, of the UnionIoving souls in
Winchester knew what the harassed
cavalry commander desired. To
/ RAt WIG tbioi naitUu uOWu aUu TQtl
it into the same receptacle did not
require many moments, when she
again appear.d upon the porch
clapping her hands. The slave
seemed to rise up ont of the earth.
He hastily placed the tiny packet
in hls mouth, and without word or
gesture disappeared.
Before daylight on the 10Th OF
September, 1864. the Confederate
pickets were charged on the Oppe-
guam, and Sheridan moved like an
avalanche upon Winchester. A ter.
rible contest foil loved, the two ar
mics advancing and retreating ike
the surging pillows of the ocean
The battle never ceased until sur.
down, Ieasing Sheridan the victor
OF the battle OF the Oppeq Ian. A
series Of disasters pursued Early,
and on The 18Th of 0ctober-a