The Russellville Democrat., 1891-07-30
PINNED A WOMAN TO THE GROUND.

The nTnffer Made Loss Serious by the Fact That Ssse Wore Army Shoes. Richard M Sommers, the foreman of the roller department in the mint, was recently chatting with some of the men who had seen service in the late war, and. after relating an interesting advent ure that had occurred in 1869, said:
 But never was So frightened in my life as 1 was the day pinned fair young rebel to the ground with my bay onet. Thought had killed her.
 The circumstances were these. Tn August, 1863, when the Philadelphia brigade was moving toward Mine Run, Va, was detailed from my command, the Seyenty-first Pennsylvania volun- teers, known as Bakers California regi- ment, to watch farmer who was be- lieved to be spy.
 In order to throw him of his guard and also to enable me to learn the better whether he was spy or not, was in structed to report at his house, on the Mountain View farm, in Fauquier coun- ty, and state that 1 had come there by command of Colonel ". Penn Smith. in in order co ..;souect his home from any ss..Tzaggiing soldiers that might trespass with view to foraging on the premises.
 was well received by the family. who, living in that out of the way coun- try, were quite timid and in constant fear of the passing troops. was housed there, and fed at their expense, and soon l realized that the hospitality of Vir- ginia's first families was all that it was reported to be. The two pretty girls, sisters, one q blonde and the other brunette. were at first a little shy of the "wild Yankee" as they called me, but we soon became friends. however, al though they would persist in telling me the Confederate cause was just. and that the Union troops were invaders, and all that sort of thing.
 The Mountain View farm covered a good many acres of ground, but the owner was poor at that time, and sweet sixteen" as l called the pretty blonde, had no shoes with which to cover her well shaped little feet. Now had brand new pair of army shoes in my knapsack and fairly good pair on my feet l asked her if she would wear my new pair if would make her present of them. She seemed little loath to accept them at first, not because of pride, but because she thought 1t unfair to take them from soldier who might soon stand in need of them himself But at last she did accept them, and was real we'll pleased to do so. Of conrse, they were a mile too big for her, but that didn't matter She soon got used to them
 It used to be her custom to watch for foraging soldiers and then to send me after them to drive them away. One morning she said: "Oh, Yank there is |, forager out there. Don't you see him? There he gees under the trees over there"
 started out after the intruder, but | ran all over the part of the farm indi cated without seeing any one. It was very warm, and was very warm and tired when returned On seeing her told her that could find no one, when she laughed right in my face and said:
 "I just fooled the wild Yank for fun. It was fun for her, but not for me- How ever, laughed with her. Just then put my gun down on the ground, as was my habit, bayonet downward, intending to stick it into the ground and thus let the piece stand reversed. but instead of that l stuck it through her shoe and pinned the beautiful girl fastl
 was never so frightened in my life as was then. would not have harmed the young woman for the world; she had become to me like sister.
 Maybe 1 wasn't glad when I saw a twinkle in her bright, blue eyes, and heard her sweet voice ringing in laugh ter as she said:
 Well, Yank, you did not hurt me bit; you know these shoes are trife large for me- and your bayonet just went through the upper and sole without graz ing my toes"
 l was rejoiced to hear her talk that way, l assure you. was taken away from there in few days after that, it having been found that her father was not what he was suspected to be. But often thought about that family. espe- cially of one member, in my marches and in later years. but never met again with any member of it. Not even with my pretty sweet sixteen" friend, for l was engaged in great deal of active service in the army, and when l was mustered out of it returned to Phila- delphia and never went back to Virginia. Philadelphia Press