The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1891-06-12
PINNED A WOMAN TO THE GROUND,
The Matter Made Less Serious by the
Fact That She Wore Army Sboss

Fact That She Wore Army Shoes.
Richard NJ. Sommers, the foreman O,
the roller department in the mint, was
recently chatting with some of the meI
who had seen service in the late war
and, afterrelating an interesting advent,
ure that had occurred Vi 1862, said:
But never was so frightened in nv
life as ! was the day l pinned fair
young rebel to the ground with my bay.
onet. | thought had killed her.
Inc circumstances were these: In
August, 1868, when the Philadelphia
brigade was moving toward Mine Run,
Va, was detailed from nv command
the Seventy-hrst Pennsylvania volun-
teers, known as Bakers California regi-
ment, to watch farmer who was be.
leved to be spy.
In order to throw him off 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 Fauauier conn
ty, and state that l lad come there by
command of Colonel w. Penn Smith, in
IN order to protect his home from any
struggling 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
realized that the hospitality of Vir-
ginia's first families was all that it was
reported to be, The two pretty girls,
sisters, one a blonde and the other a
brunette, were at first 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
tSe 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 | called the pretty blonde,
had no shoes with which to cover her
well shaped little feet. Now | had a
brand new pair Of army shoes in my
knapsack and fairly good pair on my
feet. | asked her if she would wear nv
new pair if | 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 soldier who might soon
stand In need of them himself. But at
last she did accept them, and was real
well pleased to do so. Of course, they
were mile too big for her, but that
didn't matter. She soon got used to |
them.
1t used to be her custom to watch for |
toraging soldiers and then to send me
after them to drive them away. One
morning she said: "Oh, Yank! there is a
forager out there. Don't you see him?
There he goes under the trees over there"
started out after the intruder, but
ran all over the part of the farm indi-
Gated 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
u just fooled the wild Yank for fun"
1t was fun for her, but not for me. How
ever, laughed with her. Just then |
put my gun down on the ground, as was
ny habit, bayonet downward, intending
20 stick it into the ground and thus let
,he piece stand reversed, but instead of
hat | stuck it through her shoe and
pinned the beautiful girl fast
was never so frightened in my life
Is was then. | would not have harmed
he young woman for the world; she had
become to me like sister.
Maybe | wasn't glad when | saw a
Wrinkle in her bright, blue eyes, and
leard her sweet voice ringing in laugh
er as she said:
"Well, Yank, you did not hurt me a
ut; you know these shoes are trife ,
arge for me, and your bayonet just went
trough the upper and sole without graz
ng my toes"
was rejoiced to hear her talk that
way, assure you. was taken away
rom there in few days after that, it
aving been found that her father was '
ot what he was suspected to be. But | o
ften thought about that family, espe-
tally OF one member, in my marches
nd in later years, but never met again
nth any member of it. Not even with .
~ pretty ''sweet sixteen" friend, for |
vas engaged in great deal of active
ervice in the army, and when l was I
lustered out of it l returned to Phila-
elphia and never went back to Virginia. a
Philadelphia Press. f.