The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1890-11-13
A Valuable Cabinet.

|
Mr.. II. II. Cross, pressman and engi-
neer, in Mr.. Murphys coat mandatory
in Norridgewock has most interesting
cabinet of war relics. Three shelves are
enclosed in glass case, and these shelves
are covered by bullets and other articles
which bring before one the actual exist
ence of our late war, as nothing else can.
Every piece OF lead has its history, has
been in battle and brings up picture of
the dark side of our rebellion, that no
amount of musing on the freedom of the
blacks, or the glorieS of the New South
can dispel The show case is very small
but it contains volumes. One of the
most striking relics is an old faded letter
written by a confederate soldier to his
father.
He wrote from the trenches about
Richmond, and being an intelligent edu.
Gated and far seeing man, he reviews the
condition of things at that time as IL came
home to every Southcrner, who curbed
his hatred of the North, so far, that rea-
son could assert herself. He writes to
his father that the movements OF the
Northern troops are quite mysterious.
Grant is running his trains night and
day. and sure enough he was. lie writes
also of the rebel senate, tells though al
most with visible reluctance of their ina
hility to serve the cause which they pre-
tended to represent In fact that letter
speaks louder than history, for it shows
how q man, who was On the spot, felt and
what he saw in the future for the cause
he was UNFOLDING. NO matter which
side wins the freedom of the negro Is
sure to be- Thus he wrote and thus he
ln her a
came to pass. The letter is prophecy
committed 10 paper and sealed, opened
again after years it proves the writer
whoever he.,was, wherever he lived, to
be man of sense, of education and of
t, ought
Nc narration of events that have been,
can effect reader with half the force,
as the contemporary record of the events,
by an other who is himself an actor in
them. Aud the letter is the more pow
crful, as it describes the situation of the
country at. that time, since it is in the
handwriting of the author, the original
account of what that one unit of the
struggling thousands felt and saw. But
| this letter is not the whole museum.
There is the last ration of hard tack and
sugar Mr.. Cross ever drew. There are
| bullets with histories, this one was fired
at Mr.. Cross, that one was picked up al
Appomattox, another at Gettysburg. There
are two articles which are purely confed-
crate, these are sheet iron breast plates,
made in such a manner as to completely
protect the chest and body, two deep
dents in them tell of as many escapes
from death, by the ones who wore them.
The soldiers were in the habit of hlins
Ii notch across the cartridge and after
extracting the powder using the exhaust
ed cartridge for bullet, the notch catch
ing the air would produce most fright
full bowling and add an additional terror
20 the natural feeling of discomfort
under fire. One of these whistles was fire
at Mr. "a oss, and picked up by that gen
tleman, after it had knocked down the
board which he was using for gun rest.
There are shreds from the battle flag of
the 9th and 10Th Maine regiments, more
interesting even than the flags them
| selves.
There are caps worn by men whom we
meet every day on The street, through the
most bloody fights of the rebellion. 1t
| is probably the local connection which
these reminders of the war have, that
gives the interest in their examination,
to citizen of our town.
Gov. Burleigh after looking through
the cabinet remarked that he had never
seen a more interesting collection of the
| kind