The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1891-05-29
THE elats SOLDIER LIFE.
fAe Romantic military Career OF Phil
adeIphia Lady.

fAe Romantic military Career OF Phil
adolphia Lady.
In January, 1869, Edward L. Pierce,
q Massachusetts,, was sent by Secretary
Case to Port Royal, s. c., TO inquire
into the condition of the negroes on the
Sea Island cotton plantation, and to re-
port on the feasibility of opening schools
ct that place for the benefit of the in
habitants.
As the masters had abandoned these
plantations and fed into the interior,
Mr.. Pierce returned to Port Royal with
o large company of young men and q
fsw women to begin his experiment. Of
the women there were Miss Susan
Walker, Mrs. johnson and Mrs. Don
olson, of Washington. Among those
who offered to go were two untried vol
unteers who were SO youthful that Mr..
Pierce declined to accept their services.
One of them returned to her home. The
other would not be denied, and her pa
triotic devotion was such she finally
overcame the objections of Mr.. Pierce.
she pleaded for the right to serve her
country in this manner, promising to
supplement by her strength and activity
the waning physical endurance of her
superiors in age. Soon all of the ladies
were installed in the home at the head
quarters of Mr. Pierce, on Pope's plan
tation, st. Helena Island. Under the
same jurisdiction was also the Eustace
plantation of Lady's Island.
On both plantations were 500 field
hands, with their families, needing every
kind of care which intelligence and
humanity could bestow. They were ac-
cnstomed to work only under the COM
pulsion of slavery. 1t was difficult to
believe in the direction Of white persons.
The first thing to be done was to per-
shade them to work for Just pecuniary
reward. When they found that Massa
Lincum meant freedom and gold dollars
besides, goodly crops were soon in the
ground and cheerful obedience was rem
dered.
Schools were established, the younger
pupils studying by day and the older by
night, and the reign of order and pros
perity had begun. The old ladies were
soon compelled to return north. The
young men were distributed in various
duties, and on the young devotee, who
was Miss Nellie Winsor, of Boston, aged
twenty-one, fell the sole direction of the
500 field hands. She appointed them their
daily tasks every morning. She was
their paymaster when their work was
dome, and in addition, she was their
teacher, minister, nurse and physician
Al IN one.
The duties of teaching were speedily
shared by Miss Laura Towne, of Phila-
dephia; by Miss Ellen Murray and by
several others, but the young girl who
pleaded for the right to serve her coun-
Try fulfilled every promise made to Mr..
Fierce by the full surrender of her
strength and activity. She began by
determining to finish each days duty be-
fore she closed her eyes in sleep. She
soon found that her multiplied offices
brought ever developing duties, and
that these never could be finished. Sleep
she must for the coming day and sleep
shodid, and thus preserved her youthful
vigor.
Apressing necessity was now revealed.
A. picket guard was offered, but for pru-
dmtial reasons Miss Winsor strongly OBJ
iected. She preferred to rely on her
own 500 field hands, with whom the
most amicable relations had already been
established. She therefore selected from
them 100 able bodied men, drilled them
daily in the manual of arms and estab-
Gshed her guard, which did good service
tor over year.
During this period Miss Winsor held
captains commission and drew the pay
of q captain. She was officially recog-
nixed by the United States government.
Her duties as captain occupied but one
hour daily, and, in fact, constituted but
asmall portion of her labors. 1t is, how
ever, possible that these duties proved
her as competent to deposit vote as
any one of those 500 men whom she di-
rected in the labor of raising cotton or
the 100 whom she drilled in the manual
Of arms.
When the necessity of protecting the
plantation no longer existed, Miss Win
sor's company entered Colonel Higgin-
son's First South Carolina regiment with
the advantage Of years drill in mill
sary tactics. H.,5
After the close of the war Miss Win
sor married and became Mrs. J. N.
Gushing. She went to Burmah as mis-
aonary, and remained in that service
fourteen years. rs.-Philadelphia Press.
--
Devil Dick.