Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1881-10-06
A RECONSTRUCTED REBEL.
How She was Reconstructed.

II WaS uUliiiS ti.e WIZ tluleS. UruIll WAS
laundering at the gates of Richmond, and
Lee was pressing back the enemy. The
battle days of the Wilderness had Just been
passed. and the Federals were swinging
around the circle, looking for weak spot.
The Confederates were moving on an in
her line, closing up the gap. On our side
great wagon trains, heavy artillery, droves
of beeves, and munitions of war were
moving to the left. From the front new
regiments were advancing to the battle
ground; fresh horses, cavorting in fields of
Virginia clover, were smelling the battle
from afar. On every side were movements
OF n great army-cavalry, artillery, infantry.
| endless trains of wagons, tremendous parks
of guns, hospital tents with the yellow flag,
ambulances Carrying the wounded to the
rear. The base was White House. There
stood the two lone chimneys of the Wash
ington mansion, that had been burned.
There was left the spring house of stone,
| and from the bubbling fountain soldiers,
teamsters, and stragglers were filling their
| canteens. The river was jammed with its
| fleet of ships Of all kinds. There was the
fleet of the Sanitary Commission. there
were the hospitals, there thousand tents
| reporters from all the northern journals:
excitement on every side, apparent confu-
ever, on his duty, and every one with some
thing to do. There was the great commits
| sary fleet, bringing stores, provisions, and
| ammunition, moving out in column, pro-
tected by cavalry; wagon trains passing on
to the front, whence came the noise OF re-
verberating cannon.
This beautiful spring morning / found
| myself an un- noticed unit in this multitude,
mounted on a comfortable horse, with can
teen and canvas bag well filed brandy in
he flask and bareback in the bag-furnish-
ed by the Reverend John Anderson, once
a clergyman at Stockton, and now member
of congress, then captain of one of the
sanitary commissions we'll provided steam
ers He knew would give my brandy to
wounded soldier, if found one. And I
did. Fer on the third day thereafter, I
| found, walking from ont the hell of conflict.
soldier Of Badly Smiths brigade, his
arm fairly orn from her shoulder by she'll
gave him drink, and, clingng with his
unwounded hand to the pommel of the sad
die, turned him over to the operating
| surgeon, saw him tossed upon the table,
sniff of chloroform put to his nose, and in
MON ent the cleaning knife had done its
bloody work, and one-armed soldier was
placed in q comfortable ambulance, and
driven to the rear, with my brandy flask.
l went to the front in company with regi-
ment from Maine-ereat, handsome
Americans from the pine North; broad
shouldered, thin-faced Yankee stalwarts.
| enlisted Tor no bounty, going out to give
| their lives if necessary, in defense of their
] native land. l am writing this to tell q
love story an incident of those heroic days
and so hasten on with my tale. Some
ten miles on our way 1 came to a Vir-
ginia farm. From field there came
young two-year old colt, thoroughbred,
too young for the saddle. He joined the
cavalcade, and would have gone forward
to the battle-ground had not the
colonel ordered some of his men to drive
him back and close the gate. This was
done, and I tell the story to illustrate the
kindly feelings of Northern soldiers. I
reached the farmhouse-a nice, spacious,
old-fashioned Virginia mansion, with a
broad porch, standing in grove of trees.
Cherries were ripe, the orchards being full
OF the red, ripe fruit, and it was guarded by
Yankee soldiers from Yankee spolation.
Had been the colonel, would have saved
the colt, but would have given the boys all
the cherries in Virginia. Behind the house
was well-an old-fashioned we'll, with
sweep and iron-bound bucket-and here
the soldiers were drinking from gourds and
filling their canteens, falling out of the line
as 1t went marching by. Soldiers were not
permitted to enter the house. I was not a
soldier, and entered. / sat myself, unin-
vlted, upon the porch. I was asked to
enter the house by one of the sweetest of
Virginia girls. AS she saw I was not
soldier, think she wanted somebody to
whom she could vent her rebel indignation
against Lincoln's Yankee hirelings. She
was genuine rebel. saucy and splendid,
have no doubt genuinely sorry that she
could not go out to fight the invading bar
barian Northmen, to come home as her
brother had-whom I saw-minus leg
and with his right arm in sling, mutilated
for life. Taken into the drawing
room, with the mother, daughter and
rebel soldier, I spent an hour in
| conversation over the war, its
causes and its consequences. As
Californian, was treated as neutral,
The rebel soldier was willing to admit the
| gallantry of northern men. He admitted
also their generosity. 1t was northern
| soldier who had found him on the skirmish
line, wounded and bleeding to death, and,
| carrying him out from the carnival of
strife, had hid him in clump of bushes,
given him water, bound up his wounds and
after nightfall had stolen to his hiding
place and carried him into the rebel lines.
at the peril of his own safety. The mother
good, pious, loving soul-looked upon
| her handsome, pale-faced and wounded
boy, and dropped q tear as again he told
the story Of his rescue; but away down in
| her unforgiving heart was hatred of the in
va3er; hatred of the men who had saved
her sorrel colt, for on the sire of this colt
her husband was away with Gusts Lee, in
| the Virginia Black Horse Cavalry, fighting
for her loved south. But the girl! How
her black eyes flashed in rebel indignation:
how she tossed her head in audacious def
ance OF the Yankees. Sweet seventeen is
brave. In answer to my bandinage, that
when the cruel war was ended the northern
officers would return to Virginia and marry
all the girls, she vowed and declared, with
all the resoluteness and confidence that is
begotten of youth, beauty, and patriotism,
that indeed she, for one, would not marry
the best man that ever was born north of the
| Potomac. Filled with cherries and admira-
ton OF the saucy rebel beauty, I mounted
and overlook my company.
AS moved to the front, I heard the guns
| answering each other with the challenge of
war. Yesterday had been battle day. To-
day there was only an occasional report, as
1t from some great sleepy gun, waking up
to the consciousness Of duty upper
formed. All day, till evening, was amid
the moving mass of trains, and marching
regiments, and ambulances. Then followed
week of battles, eliminating in the bloody
struggle of Cold Harbor. While the battles
ragged, it seemed as though hell had been
loosed on earth; and when the strife ceased
the crickets were heard singing in the quiet
groves. During the night the stiffness
| IL: 4
and the cuckoo called to its mate with loving
note. Suddenly the stiffness was broken,
and there burst forth an artillery duel.
Cannon deem ihroafad af,axuarad canno.,