Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1883-01-11
A PERILOUS POSITION.
How One Woman Made Matters Exciting for
Squad Of Wisconsin Soldiers.

Squad OF Wisconsin Soldiers.
There was a funeral of a woman near
New Haven, Ind, yesterday, who came
near being the cause of a deal of blood
shed at one hour of her existence. 1t
is a fact well known to old soldiers that
Southern women were very loyal to the
Southern cause, and that their LOYALTY
often led to difficulties between them
and the Federal soldiers. Margaret
Wilson was an Alabamian by birth.
and a hrm believer in Southern rights.
When the Union forces occupied Mem
phis she was to be seen at almost all
hours of the day engaged in something
which would exasperate the Yankees.
One day in the Summer of 1868
many prisoners were arriving in Mem
phis from Arkansas, and were being
guarded on the leVee by some men of
the Fifty-fourth Ohio. Mrs. Wilson
came down in sight of the prisoners
and their guards, having with her a
little rebel flag, which she waved over
her head. The prisoners saw it and
began to cheer it. The Captain saw
the cause Of this sudden outbreak of
loyalty, and, going up to the woman,
ordered her not TO display the flag
again. But no sooner had he turned
from her than she pulled the little piece
Of painted muslin from her bosom where
she had thrust it when the Captain
came up. and hotHrishel il again. The
Gag tam turned ~ her, trembling with
excitement and anger, and told her il
sne dared to show berilag again he shUtl /.
arrest her.
By this time there were probably
5000 persons on the levee, attracted
by the cheering. Every one expected
%bloOdshed and that the few Union SOL
diers would be mobbed and killed be-
fore assistance could come. The CAN
tain bestowed some vigorous words on
the offending woman, and again turned
TO leave her. He had not gone ten
steps before out came the little flag, and
high above her head she hourished it.
The Southerners cheered as if his horn
ed majesty himself had arrived in their
midst. The Captain turned to the off
ending woman, white with NIGER, and.
rushing up to her with clenched fist,
adj so far forgotten himself as to be
about to strike her, and would have
done so had not Lieutenant A. G..
Gregory, of the Thirty-second Wiscon-
sin, seized his arm.
Lieutenant Gregory whohad Just come
up with about thirty men, then under
took to arrest the offender, and she re-
sisted with all the tactics known to
women She threw herself on the
ground-kicked, scratched and yelled
The situation was critical in the extreme.
The crowd, numbering manythousands,
was II swaying mass of yelling, angry
men, and all sympathizing with the
woman. A Sergeant and private were
trying to gather the woman up in some
shape in order to carry her, while the
moi was closing in on every side. The
Lieutenant drawing his revolver, step
ped toward the crowd, and shouted that
he, would shoot the first man who adj
vanced a step nearer, ordering his men
to do the same.
Thus the angry men were held at bay
for n moment, and then an Indiana
regiment came hurrying forward, and,
at the point of the bayonet, cleared
their way to their comrades, who had
the offender now pretty well in hand.
Mrs. Wilson vas taken to h%eadquar-
ters, and the next morning was SEN
of the Union lines. She passed
many scenes during the war,
but she was never S o neal to causing
death as on that morning when the
Memphis mob surrounded Lieutenant
and his thirty men of the
Ihirty-second Wisconsin Cincinnati
EU0Ilirer