The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1886-09-28
"CONFEDERAT SAL"
A Queer Character Of the War.
Atlanta Constitution.

Confederate Saln'
The name struck me as it fell |
from the lips of a veteran who was
exchanging war "reminiscences with
two or three friends. ! watched my
opportunity, and soon had the sat
isfaction Of seeing the group dis
persc, with the exception of the man
who had attracted my attention.
We casually drifted into conversa-
tion. and remarked that the men-
ton of Confederate SAL had excl
ted my curiosity.
"Was she one of the heroines of
the war;" / asked.
"Wcll, no. was the reply, it would
take considerable stretch of the
imagination to make her a heroine,
but she was right lively character
in her day.
"Tell me the story" said l, as /
rendered fresh cigar to my ac-
quaintance.
STORY? Bless you, there is none
to tell" answered the old soldier,
striking match. She was just
Confederate Sal. and that is all there
is in it. She was woman, you
know, who was up IN Tennessee with
the army, knocking around the
camps. We simply couldn't stand
her any longer, and we put her ont
of the way
/ "Put her out of the wayy'
"Yes, and it is a rather remarka
bic thing that although / was in the
war four years l don't know that I
had hand in the killing of any
human being with the exception of
Confederate Sal"
"Who was shc:'
THE Lord knows. She first made
her appearance as a sort Of peddler,
selling stationery and other little
tricks. She was rather cookbook
ing, 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
new way, sometime wearing pri-
Yates uniform. She was determin-
ed to stick to us, and we couldn't
get rid of her.
"Was she spy"
II don't think she was. | think
that loyalty to the Confcderacy was
the one solitary virtue that she pos
sesscd. In several skirmishes l
saw her pick up a musket and fight
like tigrcss. No, I don't think
she ever played us false"
eAnd yet she seemed to be spe-
cially obnoxious"
"She was, sir; and there was
good reason for it. That woman,
sir, was drunk half the time. /
have known her to break up coun-
Gil Of war by forcing her way in the
1 Generals tent when she was howl
ing drunk. She not only drank
herself, but smuggled liquor into
camp and made the soldiers drunk.
i Oh, she was terror
"Shc went on from bad to worse"
continued my companion, land made
herself most unbearable nuisance.
No doubt the liquor she drank af
fected her brain; it certainly made
her physical wreck and destroyed
what little beauty she had. Toward
the last she developed wonderful
cunning, the shrewdness, perhaps,
Of insanity, but l did not think of
such an explanation at the time, or
l might have been more merciful.-
Sometimes, when we were in quar-
| ters for weeks at time, the Cen
erals wife would come to visit him,
and stop at some convenient farm
house within the lines, When Con-
federate Sal found it out she tried a
new racket. How she got her mon
ey 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 Il few days, as she wished
TO be rs near as possible to her hus-
band. Of course she would be Civ
en- the hest room, and the family
would do their best to make her
comfortable. Next day she would
ride off to camp and come back
gloriously boozy. Then the ladies
of the family would put their heads
together and say that it Was an out
ragcous shame for the General to
give the poor 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
slav or two the woman would appear
at the house in 4 state of beastly
intoXication, and use such language
+. rs. to shock the inmates. Then oul
; officers would be approached and
asked how our General came to have
such wife, and, you understand
y the whole truth would come out
: Did she run that schedule often?
''Several times. AS the Generals
wife she made bills in the neigh
boring towns, borrowing money
: bought horses, and boarded will
: the incest people in that part O
Tennessee. Well, sir, the queerest
rumors imaginable got out about tht
General. His character WIS nearly
: ruined in Richmond ON account o
Il these rumors, and bis wife, one o
J the noblest ladies that ever walked
+ the earth, became an object of sus
picion among strangers who were
= not acquainted with the facts. y.
:, "You said that Confederate Sa
was killed."
{ '1Certainly, so she was. You know
! those were rough times, and human
. life was not very valuable. ON
{ dsy we found that Sal had been cut
! ting up in particularly disgracefu
{ way at a gentleman's house near th
) river. She had passed herself OF
as the Generals wife, and the yer,
h first night walked into the parlo
# drunk as billed owl and scattered
d the company by dancing the can
. can. She was put out of the house
| IL 4ln e,R. IL,