Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1886-07-23

ing, for was obliged to listen to a recapitu-
lation Of our own former conversations and
correspondence with him which made me
feel very much like an eavesdropper. lie
had neither wife mother nor sister, and, like
myself, was a wanderer from his native land
There was strong bond Of sympathy exist
ing between us, for we both believed that
duty called US there, and we're willing to lay
down even life itself, il need be, in this Clio
rious cause. Now he was gone, and 1 was
left alone with deeper sorrow in my heart
than had ever known before"
The chaplain told her how the lieutenant
met his death and the circumstances of his
burial He was an aid on the staff of tho
brigade commander, and had been sent to
the outposts to carry an order TO the officer
in command of the picket line While rid
ing near the skirmish line he received Mimic
ball in his forehead and fell to the ground
corpse. The soldier girl could not reslizs
Z. the truth Of the recital, and went to her tent
in dazsd condition which lasted well into
the night. The narrative may now be resum-
ed in her own words:
Twelve o'clock came, but could not
sleep. Visions of a pale face and mass of
black, wavy hair, matted with gore which
oozsd from dark purple spot in the temple,
haunted me. rose quietly and passed out
into the open air. The cool night bre, 10 folt
grateful to my burning brow, which must
have glowed with feverish excitement. With
hasty word Of explanation, l passed the
camp guard, and WAS soon beside the grave
OF Lieut.. V. The solemn grandeur of
the heavens the silent stars looking lovingly
down upon that little heaped.up mound Of
earth, the deathike stiffness of the hour, only
broken by the occasional booming OF the
enemy's cannon all combined TO make the
scene awfully impressive. felt | WAS not
alone. | was in the presence OF that God
who had summoned my friend into the eter-
nal world and the spirit Of the departed one
was lowering near, although my dim eyes
could not penetrate the mysterious veil which
hid him from my view. 1t was there, in that
midnight hour, kneelng beside the grave Of
him who was very dear to me, that | vowed
to aveuge the death OF that Christian hero
| could now better understand the feelings of
poor Nellie when she fired the pistol at me
because | WAS one of the hated Yankees
who WAS in sympathy with the murderers of
her husband father and brothers But |
could not forgive his murderers ~ sue did.
| did not eujDy taking care Of the sick and
wounded as 1 once did but | longed to 20
forth snd do as a noble chaplain did at the
battle Of Pittsburg Landing. He picked up
the musket and cartridge box of a wounded
soldier, stepped into the frcnt rank and took
| deliberate aim at one rebel after another un.
| til he had fired 60 rounds of cartridges, and
a. he sent a messenger of death to each
heart, he sent up brief prayer, - May God
have mercy on your miserable soul "
Thus was cruelty severed, at the battle of
| Fair Oaks, tie which was evidently a strong
and tender one, between the lieutenant and
| the courier. Soon after this she seems to
have been imbued with a lighting spirit. She
asked for detail that would bring her to
the front as a fighting man. She was desig-
mated as an orderly to Brigadier General Poe,
commanding her brigade, who is now a col
| ouel of engineers and says he remembers
perfectly the smooth-faced aud courageous
| youth who served with him during part of
the eventful campaign of which Frederick
burg was a disastrous incident.
After the war she married Mr.. Seelye and
went to Kansas. In her petition for relief,
recently filed with Congress, she says, con
corning her western experiences and deser-
ton after the peninsular campaign
81 went to Kentucky on or about the goth
Of March, 1868, with Company F, Second
| Michigan infantry. About this time the
| Second Michigan was transferred from Ber-
| rvs brigade, Birney's division, Third corps,
to First brigade Burns's division, Ninth corps,
Col. William Humphrey commanding regi-
ment l remained with Company L, Second
Michigan, at Bardstown, and Lebanon, Ky,
until l became debilitat,d by chills and fever
contracted on the peninsula. | had, previous
to this, applied for leave of absence, but WAS
refused my papers having been returned
'diaapproved.' now became discouraged,
and fearing that il | remained longer my se
| might lie discovered, | left the army in April
| 1868, and proceeded to Oberlin, OHIO, where
| remained four weeks in the ZANE costume
| in which | served as mail carrier Then
changed my apparel and resumed my own
| proper dress, aud bave never worn any dis.
| guises since, except when sitting for pictures
1t is a little singular that throughout her
narrative, both in the petition to Congress,
and in the war story issued by Hubert, viii
Jams & Co. Of Hartford, the authoress avoids
giving prominence to her experiences as a
spy within the enemy's lines. This service
WAS exceedingly hazardous and was doubt
| less attended by many thrilling incidents
| To this feature Of her career she makes the
| following remarkable alusion in her petition
81 make no statement of any secret ser
| vices In my mind there is almost as much
odium attached to the word spy as there is
to the word 'd,serter. There is so much
mean deception necessarily practised by a
spy, that l much prefer every one should
believe that never was beyond the enemy 5
lines rather than fasten upon me by oath a
thing that despise so much. It may do in
war time, but it is not pleasant TO think upon
in time Of peace. | never was wounded in
battle nor taken prisoner but was disabled
by accident on three different occasions while
on duty, from the effects Of which, | think,
| have never fully recovered.
II have never received any bounty or back
pay from the state or government l do not
remember the date to which | was paid in
the army"
Having gone West in 1867, Emma Ed.
| nAa nod x,t.v
and remained in obscurity for many years
In 1884 her old captain, William h. Morse,
under whom she enlisted the second time in
the field, happened to be travelling in Kan
sas He was waiting over between trains,
and accidently heard of the name of Seelye.
He recalled that his soldier boy, Frank
Thompson, had married into this name and
gone West somewhere to live. He improved
an idle hour to investigate the Seelyes of
Fort Scott. Capt. Morse tells of his expert
ence, from that point on, in these words
81 called at the house a little girl met
me at the door. told her to tell her mother
that a gentleman wished to see her but did
not send in my name. l was shown into a
neat but plain little parlor. 10 few minutes
the lady made her appearance and recoguiz-
ed me. l spent very pleasant hour in talk
ing over old times and in listening to the
story of her life. She said that when she de-
serted she made her way to Louisville and
resumed the habiliments of her sex. She en-
tered the Christian commission and served
until the close of the war. During this time
she published her book and devoted $1,000 of
the proceeds to the com mission. She after
ward married and removed to Fort Scott,
where she still resides"
Mrs. Seelye was granted a pension of Sl2
a month by the last Congress. This she was
very glad to get, as she is now the mother OF
a family and in bad health but she found
out that she might get her back pay amount
ing TO perhaps $50, and bounty under the
act of 1866, provided she could get the mark
of desertion removed from her war record,
This she now is in fair way to accomplish,
rs the House unanimously passed Gen. Clutch
cons bill for this purpose, and there is but
little doubt of the Senate's favorable actor
upon it.