The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1885-11-26
HIS LITTLE SISTER.
A War Episode Told by an Ex-oonfederate
Soldier.

Wilson was sentenced to be shot
and on the back of which is tn,
Endorsement, "Approved-Jefersor
Davis, president"
You see, my command was ther
in Virginia, and it was war times
of a certainty. We rebels were
hard pushed on all sides, having
little to eat and less to wear, and il
did seem as if fight had got to be
matter Of daily occurrence. Some
of us we're philosophers enough to
endure what we couldn't cure, but
the young men, and specially the
chaps who had been conscripted,
we're terribly uneasy. They were
ready to give it up as lost cause
and start for home.
Well, this feeling. coupled with
starvation rations, ragged uniforms
and daily fighting, sent a good
many of our boys over to the
union lines as deserters, and this
brings about my story.
One of the conscripts of my com
pany was boy of seventeen named
Joe Wilson. All of us fellers of
thirty or thereabouts felt like a fa-
ther to him. Bless you! but the
idea of little Joey Wilson helping
to beat back yankee line of bat
tie would have set us all in a roar.
He orter been home with his ma,
and none of US felt anything but
pity Tor him.
One night, after the desertions
had gone on and become so nu-
merous that the big officers had to
take notice of 'em, a trap was sot,
and 10! our poor leetle Joe fell in
to it. Yes, sir-nabbed Sin the act
of deserving to the enemy" and
maybe you know what that signi-
fies. specially when the enemy isn't
cannon shot away? 1t was a sur
prise to US that the lad had plucked
up courage 'nuff to make a break,
but 1 reckon he was desperately
sick of the confederacy, and hoped
in some manner to get back to his
home.
1t was determined to make an
example of little Joey, and l guess
it wasn't over ten days before he
was convicted, and the sentence APP
proved at Richmond and an order
read that he was to be shot at
certain hour. suppose 1t was all
quite proper and according to army
but it must have Igone
hard with the men on that court
martial to convict him. Had he
been guilty of murder 1 could not
have aided to bring in a verdict
against him.
Nobody had seemed TO know or
care whether he had relatives or
not, and so our surprise was great
to learn, on the day before he was
to be shot, that a little sister had
arrived In camp to plead for little
Joe's life. It was too late. She had
been denied by the president, and
of course nobody in the field had
any authority to stop the execution.
She was in camp all day long, and
most sof us got to see her. If
should tell you that she was the
brightest, chippiest, smartest gal of
ten / ever saw l would only be tell
ing you the truth. She was exact
ly like Joe in looks, 'cept a few
points handsomer, and she had his
size and walk and ways. Tell you,
comrades, when l saw that gall
believe her name was Nell-break-
ing down under the bad news and
realizing her helplessness, / would
have been willin' to let. 'em shoot
me in Joe's stead! Deed 1 would,
though 1 say it so long after. l
just wanted to lay my hand on her
curly head and say;
"There, there, poor child-don't
cry any morei I'm all alone in the
world and nobody'll miss me, and
I'm going to take Joe's place."
However, that could not be done.
Joseph Wilson was the deserter,
and Joseph Wilson must be shot to
death as the penalty.
While the big officers couldn't
promise anything, they did grant
her a favor. She asked for an
hours visit with her brother, and
they gave it to her We had
him shut up in the granary of
barn, and on that very morning l
was given six men and told to
guard him till he was wanted for
execution. 1t was thus that the
gal came to me with bit of paper
on which was written:
''Pass Nellie Wilson to see the
prisoner for one hour. See that
she carries no weapon"
1t was signed and all stright, and
| could not question her right. /
was directed to see that she had
no weapon hidden away, but Lord
save you! dye think 1 even refer
red to such a thing? No sirl When
she looked up into my face, her
eyes full of tears and her little
heart beating like that of wound
ed bird, l says to her, says 1;
go right in, my dear, and may
God bless you for what you have
tried to do!'
Well, now, in about twenty miu-
utes after she had passed in, what
should enter into my head but an
idea that lifted my heels clean off
the floor. If that gal was as smart
as / took her to be, she had a plan
to carry out. What? Why, to
change places with little Joey and
send him out ir her place. That
was the idea, comrades, and for
about five inmates l couldn't make
up my mind what TO do. / figured
it out by and by, however.
Under one pretense and another
L got all the meA but a single
guard away from the door, hung
the lanturn up so as to throw a
shadow where l wanted it, while
waiting for the gal to Feappear, ]
says to the guard, says /:
Jim, that gal must feel jist aw-
full"
"Sartin she does,p he answered
Sand when she comes out she'll
be crying
"Reckon she will"