Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1889-12-19

paign, Miss Taylor has dOnned neat
blue chapeau, beneath which her long
hair is compactly yet gracefully ar
ranged, and bears at her side regula-
tion sword, with silyer-mounted pis-
tolls in her belt, all OF which gives her
a dashing military appearance.
"She is quite the idol OF the Ten
nessee boys, who look upon her as
second Joan of Arc. And Miss Taylor
is full of courage, and skilled in many
manly accomplishments. Having be-
come an adept in sword exercise and
sure shot with the pistol, she is deter
mined to aid in the great cause of re-
storing to their homes her exiled and
oppressed countrymen. These perse-
cuted men look upon the darling girl
who follows their fortunes through
sunshine and shadow with the tender
est feelings, and each one would freely
| offer his life in her defense"
Such is the stirring story that comes
down to us from the columns of o
Western newspaper of 1868; and now
is it not possible for us to have the
sequel? Did brave and handsome
come the bride of one of the stout
mountaineers, or was some more
northern soldier the happy man, who
caused this warlike maiden to capitu-
late? That she could ever have mar
ried any other than q soldier, and a
soldier of the Union, is not to be
thought of.
The Easton presumably Illinois)
Express of June %, 1861, gives the
following incident occurring about
that time in Kane County, Illinois:
"At a fag-raising at North Plato,
after the stars and stripes had been
duly hoisted, the assemblage adjourned
to the village church, where some
speeches were made by patriotic gen.
tlemen, and an opportunity was offer
ed for young men to come forward and
enlist, the company at Plato not being
quite full. Not a man went up. This
aroused the patriotism as well as the
anger Of the village schoolmistress,
Miss Mary Hancock, who, with many
other ladies, was present, and she
walked boldly forward to the Secre-
tary's desk and put down her name.
She was followed by another lady,
and 10 and behold the Plato company
was not long in filling its ranks. The
muster-roll bearing the names of these
patriotic ladies has been sent to head
quarters and the company accepted by
the authorities. Since that day four
hag-raisings have been held in that
portion of Kane County, and Mary
and May - the soldier girls - in
uniforms of red, white and blue,
have attended all of them, at the re-
quest of the officers. marching at the
head of the company. The Captain
says he could not get along without
them. Much of the success of the re-
cruiting service in old Kane is attribu-
ted to the gallant conduct and bright
eyes of these young ladies'"
Surely, there are veterans enough
surviving in that county who can tell
us more about so interesting an Incl
dent, and possibly what became of
the two patriotic girls.
The remarkable story of Annie Lii
lybridge, of Detroit, is given at some
length in an issue of tho Chicago Post
in May, 1868. Ipresent it here much
condensed. Her parents resided in
Hamilton, Canada. In the spring of
1862 she was employed in dry goods
store in Detroit, and there became at
tached to Lieutenant w., of the Twen-
ty-frst Michigan Infantry. Resolving
not to be parted from her lover, she
donned male attire and enlisted in the
same regiment. She was so well dis
guised that her secret was long unsus-
pected, even Lieutenant w. not recog-
nizing her.
She left with the regiment for Ken
tucky, passed through all the hard
ships of campaigns, enduring long
marches and sleeping on the ground
like other soldiers Before the battle
of Pea Ridge, in which her regiment
took part, her sex was discovered by
one of the company; but upon hearing
her story, the soldier gallantly prom
ised to keep the secret.
She passed through the battle
bravely and unhurt, and on the follow
ing day was one of q party sent to bury
the dead. Among the first buried she
identified the man who had discovered
her sex.
Some weeks after, while on picket,
she was shot in the arm. TWAS dis
abliug wound, which confined her for
months in the hospital, after which she
was discharged the service. And all
this time her presence was unknown to
her lover, and her secret was her own!
AT Cincinnati she disclosed herself to
benevolent lady, and was furnished
with female attire.
This account is given in the paper
much more fully than [ have stated it,
and it smacks strongly of the truth.
Can we not obtain the later half of the
story? Do not some of the survivors
of the Twenty-tirst Michigan know
something of it?
The foregoing will answer merely as
specimens of the spirit and heroic en-
durance displayed by women in the
war; The same facts existed at the
South; possibly the. ladies there ex-
hibited fervor and enthusiasm that
was unknown to most of their Northern
sisters. But the true story of the war
can never be told without putting
woman in the foreground. She is the
same as she was two thousand years
ago.
shewhile disciples shrank could danger brave
Toct Mt md ri 10 ot q CrrnI