Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1886-06-18
A PRISONER OF WAR.
BY BERT BRUCE.

A PRISONER OF WAR.
BY BERT BRUCE
A few weeks before the war of the re-.
bellion broke out, my eldest brother,
Will, left the paternal roof to seek
his fortunes in the west, and took in,
on his way, a large and thrifty town in
Ohio, in which resided someinfluential
relatives of my mother. While "rest-
ing on his oars" enjoying the society
of his bright and pretty cousins, and
prospecting" for good location for
business, the tocsin of war was sound
ed by the attack on Sumter, and With
other young and patriotic men, he was
quickly enrolled in the LIST Ohio regi-
ment, which afterward, with the I'd
Ohio and I'd New York, constituted the
brigade OF General 'Schenck. They
were immediately sent east for equip
ment, Philadelphia being their tempo
rary headquarters.
Here Will made his home with me,
the barracks in Suffolk Park being un-
comfortable and dirty, and in my
house he met our winsome Rose, my
husbands ward-golden-haired, blue,
eyed, white and red OF skin, q mittle
maiden just from school," but the
maiden Of all the world in Wills eyes,
if one could judge by the way they
followed her every movement.
When marching orders came, we had
rolls of bandages, bundles of lint,
flannel havelock, all ready, and filled
his knapsack with all manner OF use.
less, as we'll as useful things, in the
blissful ignorance Of those first days
OF the war, that light marching or
DER" meant the carrying Of nothing
not absolutely necessary.
It is needless to say that every edi-
ton OF the daily papers was eagerly
scanned for news of the movements OF
the LIST Ohio, or that my husband was
beseiged for news from 1.-THE 'front.'" as
soon as he entered the house. Our
restlessness and apprehension were
wrought to fever heat. and when the
news of the battle of Big Bethel reach.
ed US, and the homecoming in his
coffin OF one of our bravest and best
young officers made US realize that
war was no holiday soldering, but q
hard and terrible reality, we wonder
ed at our own courage and confidence
in sending our dear brother from us to
be flood for powder" The sound of
marching feet, Of beating drums, and
piercing flies, never seemed to be out
of our ears, and often found myself
wondering if it were not all frightfui
dream. Watching, waiting, fearing,
we passed our days and nights, until
the second battle of the war, Bull
Run, with its crushing defeat,
warned US that the foe we had
to fight with neither children nor cow
ards, but men like our own, desper-
ate and resolved. When my hus.
band came home, laden with the latest
afternoon papers, Rose and I parcel
ed them out, each going to a quiet
corner, to scan the lists of the killed
and wounded; page after page, column
after column was eagerly read, the
only item which especially concerned
us being one to the effect that General
Schenck's brigade had covered the re-
treat from the field, and was therefore
in a position OF much danger. My
husband, wearied and wornwith the
excitement OF the day, had gone to
bed, and I sat under the gaslight, still
turning over the papers, while Rose sat
in an adjoining ROOM: each conscious
of the occupation of the other only by
the occasional rattle OF the newspa-
pers. @-.. .# =
Suddenly heard q low cry from
the other room, and running in, found
Rose pale and rigid; she looked up at
me piteously, as l entered, and point
ed silently to g line'in q column OF the
paper. - - ~ ks@.5H'
Tread thsre emong III killed, evil.
liam Marsten, I'd Ohio, Schenck's
brigade, killed by cannon ball, on the
retreat" The room swan fora few
minutes, but, recovering myself, Tread
it again, and then / perceived twas
the second and not the first Ohio.
The hope MAS slender one. that there
might be William Marsten IN each
regiment knew was scarcely proba-
BILE, % tho name was not common,
and 1t seemed much more likely that
9 mistake had been made a. to the
number OF the regiment, than that
there would be two men of the same
~ No ~. skhn tic nm, : = -