Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1886-10-22
CONFEDERA ATE SAL.
Strange Story Of : Nenan's Lie saA 1ragA
t:z% S$4 @ 3s Death. &. l5= ssS5 zss.. ES55

the lips of veteran who was axchang-
ing war "reminiscences with two OF
three friends. ! watched my opportn
nifty, and soon had the satisfaction d
seeing the group disperse, with the Ell
ception of the man who had attracted
my attention. We casually drifted
into q conversation, and l remarked
that the mention OF Confederate Sal
had excited my curiosity.
WAS she one of the heroines of the
war;" l asked.
."Well, no." was the reply, "it would
take a considerable stretch of the i'm
agination to make her a heroine, but
she was right lively character in her
day"
''Tell me the story" said l, as !
rendered a fresh cigar to my acquaint-
ance
"Story, bless you, there is none to
tell,' answered the old soldier, strik-
ing a match. "She was just Confeder-
ate Sal, and that is all there is in it.
She was a woman, you know, who was
up in Tennessee with the army, knock
ing around in the camps. We SIMPLY
couldn't stand her any longer, and we
put her out OF the way"
"Plt her out of the way"
eyes. and it is a rather remarkable
thing that although l was in the war
four years do not know that | had a
hand in the killing of any human be.
ing with the exception OF Confederate
SAL"
"Who was she?"
'"The Lord knows. She made her
first appearance as a sort OF peddler, sell
ling sta tionery and other little tricks
She was rather good looking and had
some dash about her. Before long we
found that she wouldn't do. Several
times she was ordered off, but the first
thing we knew she would turn up again
IN a few days, sometimes wearing
private's uniform. She was deter
mined to stick to us and we couldn't
get rid OF her.
"Was she q spy"
81 don't think she was. i think
loyalty to the. Confederacy was the
one solitary virtue that she possessed.
In several skirmishes l saw her pick
up musket and fight like a tigress.
NO, don't think she ever played us
false.'
"And yet she seemed to be special
ly obnoxious.
''She was, sir; and there was a good
reason for it. That woman, sir, was
drunk half the time. l have known
her to break up council OF war by
forcing her way into the generals tent
when she was howling drunk. She not
only drank herself, but smuggled liq-
uor into camp and made the soldiers
drunk. Oh, she was 8 terror
''she went on from bad to worse"
continued my companion, "and made
herself a most unbearable nuisance.
No doubt the liquor she drank effect
ed her brain; and it certainly made
her physical wreck and destroyed
what little beauty she had. Towards
the last she developed a. wonderful
cunning, the shrewdness, perhaps, OF
insanity, but l did not think OF such
an explanation at the time, Or might
have been more merciful. Sometimes,
when we were in quarters for weeks at
a time, the generals wife came to Wis
it him, and stopped atsome convenient
farm house within the lines. Whe:,
Confederate Sal found it out she tried
new racket. How shegot her money
was A mystery, but she would ride up
very nicely dressed to a house and tell
the inmates that she was the generals
wife and desired board for a few days,
as she wished to be as near as possible
to her husband. OF course she would
be given the best room and the family
would do their best to make her COM
Portable. Next day she would ride of
to camp and come back gloriously
boozy. Then the ladies of the family
would put their heads together and
say that it was an outrageous shame
for the general to give the lady liquor
when she went to see him, that OF
course she wasn't used to strong drink
and couldn't stand it. After another
day or two the woman would appear
at the house in a. state of beast'v in
toxication, and use such language as
to shake the inmates. Then our Off
GERS would be approached and asked
how our general came to have such q
wife, and, you understand, the whole
truth would come out"
''Did she run that schedule often?',,
Several times. AS the general i
wife she made bills in the neighborine
towns, borrowing money, bought
horses, and boarded with the incest
people in that part Of Tennessee. Well,
sir, the queerest rumors imaginable
got out about the general. His char,
acter was nearly ruined in Richmond
on account OF these rumors, and his
wife, one of the noblest ladies that
ever walked the earth, became an oh.
ject OF suspicion among the strangers
who were not acquainted with the
facts"
"You said that confederate Sal was
killed."
"Certainly, so she was. You know
those were rough times, and human
life was not very valuable. One day
we found that Sal had been cutting I'M
in particularly disgraceful way at .
gentleman's house near the river. She
had passed herself off as the generals
wife, and the very first night walked
into the parlor drunk as a. billed owl
and scattered the company by dane
ing the can-can. She was put out
of the house and fell into the
hands of some OF the bows
who were passing. was alone
with the crowd. We saw that there
was all sorts of row ia progress
and, after stopping long enough tc
get the drift of It, we took Confederate
Sal and hustled her to the river bank
We told her that we were going to
throw her in, and if she wanted tc
live she must strike for the opposit.
shore. If she came back on our sid.
we would kill her. Sal lust pritted
hor teeth and au.orn He - 49,