The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-06-09
YANKEE MUSIC.
The Effect of serenade a Sharp-Tongued
Female Rebel

Female Rebel
From Chaplain Hibbins Memorial Day Address at
Philadelphia.
Unfortunately, the women of the South
made their quarrel with the Federal govern
ment bitter personal one and, to express it
mildly, they turned cold shoulder" upon
every Union man, soldier or citizen, officer
or private, and never let an opportunity pass
of exhibiting how deeply the virus of aver
sion was seated in their hearts. l
can give you one instance of the wretched re-
suit of trial of the placating effect of a SER
enade on Southern lady who was afflicted
with this virus of hatred, and to use camp
parlance, "had it bad" In the summer of
1862 shortly after the evacuation of Corinth,
General Lew Wallace's division of Grant s
army en- route for Memphis was encamped
at Somerville, Tenn, on the ground of a
widow of wealth, whose fine mansion was in
sight of our camp. The lady honored Gen
eral Wallace by formal call upon him at
his tent, and by her grace and converse
tlonal power made such an impression that
he requested that our band would
give her and her daughter a serenade. The
daughter, we were informed, was married
lady, but as her husband was absent fight
ing for the bonnie blue flag" in the Confed-
crate army, she made her home with her
mother at the mansion. About IL O'clock
on beautiful summer evening, a portion of
our band gathered in front of the house and
discoursed in our best style one of our most
favorite airs. The last notes of this overture
had hardly died upon the still, sweet-scented
night air. when the silence was interrupted
by woman's voice from one of the balconies
above us, distinctly articulating, in meas
ured. musical tones: yankee music has no
charm for Southern earsl" Before we could
recover from the shock of surprise excited
by an announcement which seemed so ill
timed and spiteful, another voice was heard
saying, in very decided and excited man
ner, Gentlemen, the one who has just spok-
Ell was not authorized to speak for the mis-
tress of this house; am, and thank you for
your beautiful music" This somewhat mol
lifted our ire and chagrin, and we went quiet
ly away from the house praising the mother
believing in her loyalty and honesty, and
condemning the daughter as a "shrewish,
spiterul rebel" But to-day under the soften
ing and enlightening influences of twenty
years of peace, we judge differently. We sus-
pect that our music and our presence were
as unacceptable to the mother as to the
daughter, but the former being older and
more polite, with an eye to her fences and
live stock and other outside property, spoke
under the duress of slavish fear, and proba-
bly, spoke insncerely There can be no doubt
however, that the daughter spoke sincere
ly. In her case hatred overcame
all fear If she had had cannon planted on
the portico full-charged and in position, so
bhdb OIlC ohOb SOulu Our
whole division including its commanding
officer, l have no doubt that she would have
applied the match without hesitation or
conjunction. But in the absence of any
other available weapon, she used the one es-
pecially given by nature to woman, both for
attack and defense and always ready for
either-her tonguel And effectively; for she
drove us away as she intended. May peace
and happiness be to her to-day, if she be
alive and 1 nope that her husband if he
was good one, returned safely from the
war.