The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-06-13
PINNED a WOMAN TO THE GROUND.

The Matter Made Less Serious by the
Fact That She Wore Army Shoes.
Richard NJ. Sommers, the foreman of
the roller department in the mint, was
recently chatting with some of the men
who nad seen service in the late war,
and, after relating an interesting advent
ure that had occurred in 1862, said:
But never was so frightened in my
life as | was the day l pinned a fair
young rebel to the ground with my bay
onet. / thought had killed her.
The circumstances were these: In
August, 1868, when the Philadelphia
brigade was moving toward Mine Run,
Va, was detailed from my command,
the Seventy-frst Pennsylvania volun-
teers, known as Bakers California regi-
ment, to watch farmer who was be-
lieved 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, l was in
structed to report at his house, on the
Mountain View farm, in Fauquier coun-
ty, and state that / had 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.
l 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 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
the Union troops were invaders, and all
that sort of thing.
The Mountain View farm covered
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 a
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 l would make her a present
Of them. She seemed a little loath 20
accept them at first, not because Of pride,
but because she thought IL 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, bat that
didn't matter. She soon gOt used 70
them.
1t 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 sec him?
There he goes nnder the trees over there. "
started out after the intruder, but
I ran all over the part Of the farm indi-
Gated without seeing any one II was
very warm, and | was very warm and
tired when | returned. On seeing her
told her that could find 10 one, when
she laughed right IN nv face and said:
Il Just fooled the Wild Yank for fun.
II was fun for her. bat not for ne. How
ever, laughed with her. Just then
put my gun down on the ground. as was
my habit, bayonet downward intending
70 stick it into the ground and thus let
the piece stand reversed, but instead Of
that ! stuck i through her shoe and
pinned the beautiful girl fast
was never so frightened n ny Efe
as was then. would not have harmed
the young WOMAN for the word; she had
become 70 me ike Ester.
Maybe | wasn't glad when / say \
twinkle IN Ter bright, blue eyes, and
heard her sweet voice ringing n laugh
ter az she said:
We'll, Yank, vou id not hurt ne
bit: yo1 know tree Shoes are trTfe
large for me. and your bayonst Just went
through the ripper and sole without graz
ing my toe
/ was reioioef 70 hear her talk that
way, assure you. vas taken away
from there n ! few days after that, u
having been found tAst neE father wa
nos what he was suspected 20 ~. Bot
often thought about that family. espe-
ciallv IL one member. IN nv MARCHES
and II later Years. b-t never met again
with any raeraL,er q T. Net even VITA
nv pretty "swees sixteen friend. Tor
Vas engaged II g.sz. deal OF active