Connecticut western news., 1881-02-16
THE DAUGHTER OF THE REGIMENT.
The Touching Little Story of a Regi-
 ment's Protege.

The child of the Seventh regiment is dead. This time the romance which Donizetti's opera has clothed in garb of imperishable melody has been re- enacted on the more prosaic stage of real life in New York. The death of Mrs. De Witt Cowdry, in Passaic, N. J., reopens story fully as touching as that immortalized on the boards of Italian opera, and appealing, perhaps, even more forcibly to the heart. The deceased lady's maiden name was Mary Divver. Her father, Joseph A. Divver, was an alderman in the Fourth ward, and engaged in lucrative business. He was of ardent and patriotic impulses, and took much interest ill military mat ters. He was the adjutant of the Seventh regiment, of which General A. Duryea was the commander, for eleven years. When the Mexican war broke out he was fired by spirit of patriotism, and accepted the commission of first lieu tenant in a company of dragons. Upon the death of the captain the command devolved upon Lieutenant Divver, and he served under General Scott with noted gallantry, being under fire in every battle between Vera Cruz and Mexico. After the close of the Mexican war he was honorably discharged, and returning again to New York he ran for the colonelcy of the Seventh, his old commander, General Duryea, being his rival candidate. General Duryea won the contest, and, with that brave and kindly spirit which distinguishes him still, he immediately conferred the post of ad1utant upon his defeated antago- mist, whom he had always held in great affection for his high soldierly and per sonal qualities.
 Soon after he died, and as he had en- deared himself to the members of the regiment, his death excited general sor- TOW. He was buried with all the mili- tary honors. Itwas during this mourn full ceremony that the regiment, through its humane colonel, came to adopt it's daughter. During the services slight, pretty, dark haired girl, with intelligent features and expressive eyes, attracted every ones attention. She tremblingly approached the casket and gazed with fearful eyes upon the dead face of her father. The poor child-Divver's only one-had already lost her mother. She was now indeed alone and friendless in the world, but help was nearer at hand than she in her convulsive sobs probably dreamed of. The commander of the Seventh had watched her narrow ly as he stood by the corpse, and he tenderly took her by the hand and led her away to his carriage, having already made up his mind in that moment that this little one should not be forsaken, but should find father and protector in the entire regiment. He called meet ing of the officers. The proposal to adopt the orphan as the child of the regiment was received by them with de- light and enthusiasm, and every man cheerfully responded to the command CTS call by contributing annually cer- tain sum for her support and education. This was not all. The colonel of the Seventh took her into his own home and into the very bosom of his family, ot which she was made loved and petted daughter. Together with General Dur yeas own daughters she was carefully educated.
 A memorable scene, which General Duryea still describes with the most vivid remembrance, took place at the City Arsenal on the 22d of April, 1855, when the regiment openly and formally acknowledged the orphan child as its daughter. "She was then only nine years old" said he, "and lovely child. I brought her in the evening at about