The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-10-05
THE REAL BARBARA FRE1roH1E.
1t Was Mary Ouantrell Who Waved the Flag
at Jackson's Troops.


at Jackson's Troops.
Mr. Joseph Walker, son-in-law of Mrs Mary
Quantrel, tells the correspondent Of the Balti-
more Herald, the following story Of the incident
Whittier has made immortal in his poem:
''I'll tell you the exact particulars" said Mr.
Walker 'and they have never before been cor
rectly given. have never given my account of
that affair. None of the versions heretofore pub
hshed are accurate. In the first place, there were
none Of the poetic incidents mentioned by Whit
tier There was no window sill and there was no
old woman about it Mrs. Mary A. Quantrell
was at that time a woman of thirty-two, black
haired. and though she did become my mother
ln-law afterward, | must say that she was very
pretty Her husband was then at work as a
compostor on the National Intelligencer, in
this city, and Mrs Quantrell was living in
Frederick with her children. On the day that
jackson and his army passed through Fred
erick she and her little daughter Virgie Guam
trell, who Is now the wife of Mr. Perry Brown,
at present an employee of the government print
ing Office, were standing at the gate. They
had several small Union flags which they
marched by Mrs. Quantrell was enthusiastic
cally loyal, and she, Awoman like, simply took
Advantage of the occasion TO show her devotion
to the Union They stood within few feet of
the line Of march. Nirgie was waving a very
small flag, such as children play with on patri-
otto days. Many of the rebel soldiers had called
out; Throw down that flag" but the little
girl kept walving it. Suddenly lieutenant
drew his sword and cut the staff in two,
the flag falling to the ground The lit
tie girl then took another flag and waved
it and this, in turn, was cut from her
hand. Then Mrs. Quantrell displayed larger
flag and waved it in a conspicuous manner.
This she continued to do until Stonewall Jack
son and his men had all marched past her house
She was not molested in the least In fact
many of the officers ana men treated her with
marked courtesy. Some of the officers raised
their hats and said ITO you, madam not to
your flag"
Mr.. Walker expressed his indignation that his
motherin law should have been robbed of the
credit Of this patriotic performance. He gave
diagram of the streets in that portion of Fred
erick, showing that Barbara Freitche did not
live Jackcons line of march; that
her house was a block and half around the
corner, and so situated that she could not have
got a sight at the eonfederates without
leaving her premises that the good old dame
never claimed the honor of having waved flag
on that day, and that all Frederick knew it was
Mrs. Mary A Quantrell, and not Barbara
FreiJche, who should have been immortalized in
verse by the Quaker poet
The Quantrell family is now in possession of
the letters from Whittier acknowledging his
mistake and the injustice that had been done
the real heroine, or rather the two heroines as
it would seem that the little Virgie as much
entitled to a niche in temple of Iame
as her patriotic mother. These letters Mr.
Walker offered to show your correspondent if he
would accompany him to his home. In one Of
them Mr.. Whittier says that he derived his IN
formation as to Barbara Freitche from Mrs. e.
ID. N. Southworth, the manufacturer of sensa-
tional literature, who wrote him a letter detail
ing the incidents and suggesting that it afforded
material for masterful poem, whereupon he
sat down and evolved the thrilling story of the
nonogenarian dame who had Haunted the
stars and stripes in the face of the rebel
invaders, Mr.. Whittier admits that Mrs.
SOuthwOrth made mistake, but says that the
poem has become so widespread that a corree-
InrO IF In scr,lA ha INN 10
Quantrells evidently fail to appreciate the force
of Mr. Whlttiers logic, as they are unable to
see how it is to late to correct such an gorgeous
blunder.
Mrs. Quantrell was for several years teacher
in Frederick, and was lady of unusual acorn
plishments She was frequent contributor to
the press, the York pa Evening Herald having
printed many of her poems and other
literary efforts. She was a Miss Sands
whose brother, George w. Sands, was a member
of the Maryland Legislature and United States
collector of internal revenue by appointment Of
President Lincoln. He was succeeded in that
offGeby the now Senator German. The troubles
of Collector Sands We're notorious few years
ago. The government claimed that he was in
arrears to the extent of $l4 900. his property
seized and sold to satisfy the deficit, and his
boDdsmen were called upon to pay an unsatis,
fed balance. Sands always asserted
that he was the victim of injustice
and Collector German, who succeeded him, bore
testimony that the books of the office showed
that the shoe was on the other foot, and that the
Government really owed him. Four or five years
ago a bill was introduced reciting the wrong
that had been done Sands and providing for his
relief, but Senator Ben Hill and others violently
oppose dthe measure, and it was slaughtered in
the Senate for which the Sandses and the Guam
trells do not hold Ben Hill in grateful memory.
Mrs, Quantrell died about three years ago 1t
is said that she always felt keenly the injustice
that had been done her by Whittier. She was
proud and ambitious Just the sort of woman
who yearned for the glory of posthumous fame.
Her niece and namesake Mary A. Quantrel is
now a clerk in the Treasury Department. Her
daughter and co:heroine Mrs. Perry Brown, also
living here has inherited her mothers talent
and has a decided literary turn