Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1889-01-18
STILL A MYSTERY.
A TRAGEDY OF TWEAsg,Y- FIVE YEARS
AGO IS YET DNsoLvEo.

A Beautiful Young Lady sryste-soasly
Murdered I'm Atlanta Ca. During the
wnr-round Dead an Her Bed, Arrayod
in Gay Attire.
During the Sherman siege OF Atlanta m
1884 a tragedy occurred which has ever since
beon enveloped In mystery, and which at the
time almost caused the besieged people TO
forget the great army which was pressing
into the city. Che population Of the city
was reduced to less than 5000 civilians, who
lived in bomb proofs frequently aud who.
being cut OFF from the world, formed com
munity Of its own. This community for tho
most part was formed of women and chill
dren, the men being absent in the army. The
officers and soldiers Of the garrison, between
tbs general engagements, would enjoy social
reunion with the citizens, and many dances
were given by the young ladies for the
amusement of their military admirers
Before the circle around the city was COM
plete there came into Atlanta by the West
Point road young lady giving hor name as
Miss Jane Moorehead, from Mobile, Ala.
Her arrival was somewhat mysterious as
well as her stay in the city. She at once
sought occupation in the hospitals, where she
Ctltlto 70 DO u hil dlBcl Oh mercy.
ANGEL OF THE HOSPITAL
Her beauty is described as having been
great, and she had many accomplishments
and was evidently Of gentle breeding. She
would never refer to her past life, bat 1t
came 70 be believed that her love had died
on one Of the battenelds Of Virginia, and
that she had simply resolved to devote her
life to the alienation Of the sufferings OF the
soldiers in the hospitals
Later on and nearing the end Of the siegea
ball was announced TO take place In one of
the houses on Walton street Miss Moore
head. who never went TO place of amuse-
ment, was urged by captain whom she had
met In the hospital to go to the ball. Tho
ladies Of her aequaiptance also joined in and
urged her to take this recreation She finally
consented When the captain called for her
DO found her in a full bridal costume, with
valuable and brilliant jewelry. II was the
tlrst time she had ever SO appeared. At the
ball she was one of the gayest and seemed
50 unlike the sad hospital visitant that 1t at-
tracted general remark. At 2 in the morn
ing the ball ended and the guests scattered
for their homes
When Miss Moorehead failed to arise by s
a. m. it did not surprise the lady with whom
she boarded but when 10 o'clock came with
no sign of her the door was opened. There
Miss Moorehead was found fully dressed as
she lay across the bed, her face toward the
wall
sTABpr-
>, ....D TO THE HEART.
A can did not arouse her, and touch told
that she was dead. Two stabs had pierced
her heart, and were so closely made as
scarcely to make a crease in her dress The
sensation which followed was intense. Her
fidelity to the wounded soldiers made every
one Of them feel that she was a sister The
fears Of the ladies were aroused at the mys-
| FERROUS assassination.
Who could have been her murderer, and
what was his motivei The captain who had
been her escort the night before had left her
\ safely at home, and no one thought of sus-
| pecting him at the time The chamber win
| dow opened upon the garden. Footsteps lead
| ing up thereto showed that it was through
this window that the murderer made his way.
The fact that not a jewel had been misplaced
showed that it could not have been a robber
who had done the deed. There were those
| who invented oil manner Of theories. The
one most generally accepted was that some
one, struck by her beauty while at the ball.
had entered the chamber in the manner do.
scribed with improper motive, and, finding
himself repulsed, quickly dispatched her.
| Others believed that the captain, who had
urged her to marry him, and finding her oh
durate, had committed the deed to prevent
her from falling into other hands While
the sensation among the beleaguered people
was at its height SherInans forces entered
the city, scattered the people and prevented
Investigation; but when the people year
later returned 70 their homes the talk of the
tragedy was renewed The captain had been
killed meantime in the battle Of Jonesboro,
and the tragedy passed into memory, and to
this day is frequently spoken of-Atlants
| (Ga-9 Cor. Chicago Tribune.