The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1885-05-07

p0Dx-1;u1g ncDx11s.
A~ oa1fstss DsvvssDse - Visit to
The War Dspa1sAsat
from the Warrington Star
AZ Star reporter entered the effice
Of War Department official the other
day, he was struck By the appearance
end voice Of visitor who was just tax.
ny his leave. He was . heavy-set man,
with IN intelligent 1ee, dark brown
hair and heavy mustaehe, and appar>
emily between ~ and 80 years Of age.
The reporters first impression was that
he was . military officer Of some promi-
nenoe, but Is he babe tbs official good
day" there was . very peroeptibls for
eign accent in bis speech.
@Was that IN army omoer?" asked
the reporter after the door had closed
upon the departing visitor.
"No." replied the. omcial. II never
saw him before that I know o.. but hi
has Just rslstsa . nles ysry interesting
story
II am just in the hu1nn 1oe . story
said the reporter.
well, my visitor i Swede. Dur
ing the rebellion he left his home IN
Sweden, young man, to como to this
country to fight for liberty. he was .
man of meaps, and was actuated simply
by heroic motives. Upon arriving here
he at once enlisted in New York regi-
ment and was, sent South. His regi-
ment, % I remember it. was rather
hard one, composed mainly of French
and Germans, of . pretty rough class,
with officers not much better. At New
Orleans the young Swedes abilities were
quickly recognized, and he was given
clerical work. In short time he was
taken very i'll with chronic diarrhes,
and when almost at deaths door he was
shipped north on a sixty days furlough.
That was in the summer. He did not
improve much, and as cold weather ap-
preached the doctors advised him to
seek warmer climate. He was entire
~ ignorant of military regulations, and
being DESTROYS only of saving his life
he made his way, he says, to Havana.
There he was under the care of a physi-
clan who was IN some way connected
with the United States Consulate. By
the time he regained hiz health the war
was over. think he then went back
to Sweden; at any rate he didn't return
to this country again until few days
ago, when he came to New York to
engage in business. Imagine his sur
prise when he learned that his name is
recorded as that of a deserter. His
mission here is to clear himself
of that stigma, so that he can
enter business with an unstained repu
tation. He says that he never received
a cent from the government when he
was in the army, and did not even get
his bounty money. He doesn't care for
that, though, he says; all he wants is to
have his name cleared. I don't know
about the truth or falsity of
his story, but he tells it very straight.
He will have to bring afidavits and
other proofs to establish it before his
case can be acted upon. I only give you
the story as he related it to me just
now.
"1suppose you have many strange war
incidents brought to your attention."
suggested the reporter.
"Oh, yes, lots of them," was the re-
ply. II have in mind now the case of q
man who was reported as killed in
action, but who turned up few years
ago at reunion of his regiment like q
ghost among his comrades, who had
never heard word about him since the
battle when he was shot. 1t
was at the second battle of Bull Run,
think. He was a cavalryman, and rode
in the front ranks in q charge. He was
shot from his horse at the beginning of
the charge, and the whole regiment
passed over him. There was no doubt
about his death, and that his body
was not found occasioned no surprise.
As he tells the story, he knew moth
ing until he regained conscious
ness, two or three months later, out in
Michigan, being cared for by some
strangers who had taken him in. He
was physical wreck, and when 1 saw
him he looked like regular Quilp.
He was all twisted and torn out OF
shape as if he had been blown up in q
boiler explosion and patched up after
wards. He wandered about for several
years, and finally visited his former
home. He found that his wife, believ-
ing him dead, had married again. He
didn trouble her, but continued tray
cling about until finally he gained the
friendship of well-to-do man, and
with him he made his home, finally
marrying one of his daughters. After
his appearance at the reunion of his reg
iment he brought his case before the
department to have his record cor
rected and to secure the pension which
he claimed on account of his wounds"
"The strangest incident within my
recollection" ntinued the official, "was
connected with the death of colored
soldier. Both his widow and his mother
claimed a pension. The widow swore
that this man, her husband, died in
Tennessee in 1862 of the smallpox, but
that his mother was not living at the
time of his death nor even several years
before. The mother claimed that this
man, her son, died in 1864 of small
pox in Tennessee; that she had re-
peatedly seen him between 1862 and
1864, but that her son had never been
married. Now, that was a nice snarl
to untangle, for both women were evil
IDENTIFY telling the truth. There was
record of the man in question. according
to which he was enlisted at certain
date in that regiment and company, and
died of smallpox in 1864. But there
was also strong evidence that he died
in 1862 of small po1."
''How was it Strengthened out ?" ask.
ed the reporter.
well, it was learned that the man