Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1884-09-18
LITTLE SHELL ANNA.

to a Babe Born in EattIe-An Incident OF
the Atlanta Campaign-The Strange story
OF a Christening.
Washington National Tribune.
It was in the Summer of 1864, and the
army under Sherman had fallen back
from its position before Atlanta and
swept around to Hoods rear, General
Logan leading the advance. I remember
that the country was densely wooded,
/ and that magnificent forests of pine, oak
and chestnut lowered on either side Of the
road over which we marched. We were
not mOlested until we neared Flint River.
! There the enemy had planted a masked
! battery, and as we approached 1t ennIad-
/ ed our line. on could scarce encounter
more disagreeable travellers on a lonely
road than shot and shell, and the boys
were not long in taking to the shelter Of
/ the timber. But General Logan at once
ordered up a field battery Of brass ma
! pOleOns," and presently accepted this
! challenge to an artillery duel There was
nothing to direct the fire Of our gunners
/ save the white puHs OfsmOke that could
| be seen rising above the foliage and the
/ course of the enemy's shots, but they
| nevertheless soon silenced the rebel can
non and once more cleared the way for
! the column.
We then rode forward again, the
/ writer in company with DR.. Woodward,
/ the medical inspector of General LOgan's
staff, and until his death, some four years
ago the head Of the Marine Hospital Ser
J vice. Just as we turned a bend in the
road we emerged suddenly into a small
! clearing. A rude log cabin, surrounded
! by evergreen shrubbery, stood in the
| clearing, and hanging from one Of the
/ bushes we noticed yellow cloth.
/ AS medical officers it naturally Oc-
| Cured to us at once that this was an i'm
prOvised hospital of some sort, and We
rode up to inquire. At the door of the
! cabin, as we approached an old woman,
! evidently of the familiar Cracker" type,
! presented herself, but, on seeing that we
were Yankees" beat a hasty retreat.
! But we were not disposed to be 80 easily
/ batded, and, calling her out again, began
to ply her with questions.
! She told Us "there want no wounded
men thar" and when asked why she had
/ put out yellow flag there, she replied:
! WAL, yer see my gal IS sick, and
reckOned eff put out that yer hOsp'tl
rag you'ns wouldn't be pesterin' round
so much"
whats the matter with your child?"
said /; eve are medical officers, and per
haps we can do something for her"
"Waal, now" she quickly responded,
"ef yOu'uns is real doctors, just look IN
and see what yOu'ns all done with your
shellin.' Time my gal was sickest, two
of yOu'rn shells come clar through my
cabin, and, 1 tell you, 1T was right skeery
for a spell.'
We accepted the old woman's invita-
ton and walked in. 1t was as she said.
The cabin, built of rough pine logs, af-
fOrded but one room, about twelve feet
square. A small log meat-hOuse (empty)
was the only Out-building-the cOW-sta-
BILE having been knocked to pieces by
our shells-except a small bark-thatched
-rr,51o Of Z lnr i1n
a loom of the most primitive sort, and
constructed in the toughest fashion, con
tanning a partially completed web Of
coarse cotton ''hOmespun." Aside from
this loom, the only household articles
visible were an old skillet, a rather di-
lapidated bed, two or three chairs with
out backs and queer collection OfgOurds.
ITheshells had, indeed, played havoc with
the interior. The roof had been badly
shattered, and a strap shot had pierced
the walls.
1t had cut one of the logs entirely in
two, and forcing one Jagged end into the
room so far that it hung threateningly
over the bed upon winch, to our astonish-
ment, we saw lying a young girl, by whose
side was a newborn babe with the prints
fthe Creators fingers fresh upon it. 1t
was a strang yet touching spectacle. Here,
in this lonely cabin, stripped by laWless
stragglers of both armies Of food and
clothing, and shattered by the flying
/ shells Of our artillery, in the storm and
fury of the battle had been born this
sweet innocent. The mother, we learned,
was the wife Of a Confederate soldier
whose blood had stained the Sacred
soil" of Virginia but few months after
his marriage and CONSUMPTION into the
service, and the child was fatherless.
The babe was still clad only in its own
innocence, but the writer, with his
handy iack-knife, cut from the unfnish-
ed web in the old loom a piece of coarse
homespun. in which it was soon deity
sWaddIed. Fortunately we had our hos
pital knapsacks with us, and our order
lies carried a little brandy, with q few
medicines and a can of beef extract, and
we at once did all that our limited stores
permitted to relieve the wants Of the
young mother and child.
But by this time quite a number of Off
GERS and men, attracted by the sight of
the yellow flag and our horses waiting at
, the door, had gathered about the cabin,
and while we were inside, they amused
themselves by listening to the old lady's
| account Of this stirring incident. One OF
the officers had given her some 'store
terbacker," with which she had filed a
cob pipe, and the fact that she was spit
ting through her teeth with such accur-
acy as to hit a fly at ten PAGES nine times
out of ten showed that she was enjoying
herself after the true Cracker style.
Presently some one suggested that the
baby ought to be chTistened with full
military hOnOTs, and it being duly ex-
+ planned to her that to ''christen" was ali
the same as to 'baptize'' she replied, with
alacrity, 20 yes baptized, I reckon, if
yOu'uns got any preacher along"
This was all the boys wanted, and an
orderly was at once sent back to the
General commanding with the compi-
ments of the surgeon and a request that
a chaplain belonging to one of the regi-
4 l.