Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1891-05-14
PINNED HER TO THE GROUND.
{ The Matter Made Less Serious by the Fact
"a that She Wore Army Shoes.

sslNNED HER TO THE GROUND.
Y The Matter Made Less Serious by the Fact
G that She: Wore; Army Shoes.
Richard N. 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
adventure that had occurred in 1862,
h said:
" But never was so frightened in
my life as / was the day / pinned a
I fair young rebel to the ground with
my bayonet / thought ] had killed
1. her.
The circumstances were these: In
August, 1868, when the Philadelphia
Brigade was moving toward Mine Run,
Va, l was detailed from my command,
the Seventy-tirst Pennsylvania Volun-
teers, known as Bankers California
Regiment, to watch a farmer who was
believed to be a rebel spy.
In order to throw him off his guard
and also to enable me to learn the
better whether he was spy or not, I
was instructed to report at his house,
on the Mountain View Farm, in
Fauquier county. and state that l had
come there by command of Col. w.
Penn Smith, in order to protect his
home from any struggling soldiers that
might trespass with view to foragine
On the premises.
Il was we'll received by the family,
who. living in that out-of-the-way
country, We're quite timid and in con-
! slant fear of the passing troops. Twas
housed there and fed at their expense,
and soon realized that the hospitality
of Virginia's first families was all that
it was reported to be. The two pretty
girls sisters, one blonde and the
other a brunette. were at first a little
shy of the wild Yankee as they
called me, but we soon became friends,
however. although they would persist
in telling me the Confederate cause
was just and the Union troops were in
vaders, 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 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 a fairly good
pair on my feet. J asked her if she
would wear my new pair if I would
make her a present of them. She
seemed little loath to accept them at
first, not because of pride, but because
she thought it unfair to take them from
a soldier who might soon stand in need
of them himself. But at last she did
accept them, and was real pleased to
do so. Of course they were mile too
big for her, but that didn't matter.
She soon got used to them.
lit 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 himP There he goes,
under the trees over there.
81 started out after the intruder, but
ran all over the part OF the farm in
dictated without seeing any one. It
twas very warm, and was very warm
lind tired when returned. On seeing
Mar i told her that 1 could find no one,
when she laughed right in my face and
I said n al ri
~ ~ j uSb5 AOO1Cu 5tN0 WIN L duk ZOE
fun 1t was fun for her. but not for
me. However laughed with her.
Just then Iput 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 fast!
8.'l 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 a
sister,"
Maybe wasn't glad when saw a
twinkle in her bright, blue eyes, and
heard her sweet voice ringing in
laughter as she said:
.'.Well, Yank, you did not hurt me
a bit; you know these shoes are trihe
large for me, and your bayonet just
went through the upper and sole with
out grazing my toes
"I'Was rejoiced to hear her talk that
way" " assure you. l 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, es-
SpeciaHy Of one member, in my marches
I and in later years, but never met
again with any member of it. Not
even with my pretty, sweet sixteen
friend, for was engaged in a great
deal of active service in the army. and
when was mustered out of it I re-
turned to Philadelphia and never went
back to Virginia - PHILADELPHIA Press.
A Hint for Home Decorators.