Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-08-30
A HAND IN A LETTER.
An Incident After tho Battle of An
tietam

Gathered about an office window, over
looking Marquet square last evening was
group of veterans OF the late war, men
who had been with Grant, and the death
OF the great military captain, and the
noble tribute which the nation had paid
to his memory, was the subject OF CONVEX
sation. Many and interesting were the
bits Of personal "reminiscences related on
that occasion, and as the twilight shad-
ows gradually gave way to the deeper
darkness OF the night, aud clouds of pur-
pie smoke curled upward and hung Ike a
! graceful undulating web overhead, the
mind was insensIbly carried back - those
! days OF anxiety and dread, when the
1 national life tremoled Ia the balance.
Memory like a huge pendulum swinging
/ imperceptibly between the past and the
/ present, brought Yvldly 10 mind the
scenes of other days, and the veterans
! gave themselves up 10 a season OF remi-
nlscence, aud striking incidents Of blv-
ouac, camp and battlefield were narrated
with that duectnoss and impressive effect
which only man who has been an actor
! in the scenes described can give to bis
| story. The season OF storytelling bad
| continued for some time, when one q the
! party who had previously been an inter
/ ested listener to the narratives Of his
! friends said as he tilted his chair against
| the wall:
There was one Incident IN my army
! experience which above all the others
! has impressed itself indelibly on nv mind.
! IL is but a simple thing, and possibly you
! may smile when ! tell you thar amid the
/ await scenes at the battle OF Antietam no
! incident fixed itself 50 strongly on my
memory as the finding OF r little letter
/
who had fallen under our fire. GOu re-
member that battle as well as | do, 40
that need not 20 over the details OF the
! engagement. Our battery. with several
others, had Il position on the right Of our
/ line. and we had been pounding away tor
some hours at Lees left, When we were
ordered 20 another position. Later in the
day we were sent back to our old position
on the right, and again went at it. The
engagement WAS terrific. Lees left
which was directly in front of us, was
held by several batteries, and [ tell you
they made 1t warm for us. The next day
after Ice had Withdrawn his army some
Of our boys wanted TO 20 over the ground
lately occupied by the Confederate bat
ter1es so as to ascertain how efleOtual our
fire had been. The necessary permission
was obtained and party or four or five
started. When we reached the rising
ground occupied by the Confederate ar
tillery the scene which met our view was
a terrible one. On ground pl0wed and
| furrOwed by our shot and shell lay IN
ghastly confusion the dead bodies OF men
and horses, wrecked caiss0ns and splinter
ed timbers, while IN an irregular, wavy
line, stretched as far as the eye could
reach, the earth was strewn with Coined
Gratis dead. Such scenes did not affect us
much, for we had become Injured to such
spectacles, and so we passed on, taking
mental note OF the accuracy Of our fire as
SHOWN IN the number and positions Of the
dead. While thus engaged we found ~
ing on the ground the body OF "a artillery
man, who had been killed by a bursting
shell. His knapsack had at the same
time been shattered SO that part OF its con-
| tents had fallen on the ground nea" him.
| There was nothing in his appearance TO
attract special attention any more than
/ The thousands who llkN him had fallen.
/ but out Of curiosity picked up letter
| much soiled by trequenS handling and
! proceeded 10 read it. My comrades gath
cred around me, and at theif request |
read the missive aloud. 1t made no pre-
tensi n TO elegance Of dictiOn, nor was the
spelling OF the simple words employed al
ways correct, but IL was the message of a
young wife who, from her home in a small
Alabama town, had sent 20 her husband
the tidings of the birth of a daughter. IL
had been written in september. 1861, near
ly year previous, aud IN its simple
phrases of love and soicitude was truly
touching. The letter mads it's impression
upon us. hut on turning it over we noticed
the outlines of babes hand. The
mother had evidently taken the little
ones hand, placed IL on the paper aud
then with a pencil traced its outlines.
This outline was then dotted with ink 50
as to bring it out more clearly.
Within the lines were written the
simple words Martha Virginia, her
/ hand sent 10 her pa while on the
/ outside of the message appeared, If YOU
want to kiss the baby you must kiss
this hand' The boys drew around me
/ and gazed at that little sketch. and / am
not sure that most o! them did not take
! of their caps. When | looked up from
! the missiye ! saw lips culver and now
/ and then a tear take its course silently
down cheeks brOnzed and hardened
/ What was there In that little letter TO
make men who could gaze without emo
on on slaughtered thousands soften
under its influence? Was 10 because IL
told the story Of the purest love, or be-
| cause we knew that often in the still
hours of the night that letter had been
taken from its place 70 be read, perchance
IN be caressed? VAST because 1t brought
forclbly 30 mind the thought that many Of
our own fallen boys in the blue had. too,
/ some keepsake. some souvenir of loved
ones az nome, whose grief and tears
and heartache would be their only re.
QUEEN? know not what il was. l only
know that TO me that little hand, standing
out in Its dotted outlines from It's soiled
white BACKGROUND, told me how terrible
would be the anguish 81 that mother when
the story OF Antietam's battle reached
| that quiet Alabama town. Well, we
buried the poor fellow near whore be fell,
and we putt letter in his narrow grave.
Aud tears Of sympathy wclled up into our