New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1893-01-04
LOVE THROUGH ENMITY,

gallery-the old soldier. his wife and
i. We had been chatting and laugh
ing merrily. and then Influenced. per-
,haps. by the calmness OF the nj ght,
we. too became quiet and thought
full. And so we sat. watching the
soft moonlight playing over the broad
green lawn and the twinkling stars
peeping between the great snowy
clouds and listening to lonely katy
did calling it's mate and mocking
bird warbling softly to its young.
The old soldier looked around
'ohoughtfully for awhile. then toy wing
with the buttons on his coat said half
aloud and more to himself than to u.s.
1T was just such night as this
just such a night The moon was
full and gave a soft. mellow light.
Such night as it was. l couldn' t
forget it even though lived forever.
1t was shortly before the capture of
Richmond and we were ordered to
burn Banks place and keep the fiery
work up along the line as far up as
the Heath's, where one of our camps
was
when soldiers are commanded
they must obey. whether to charge a
battery or burn some gray headed
mother out Of house and home.
While the order sometimes meant
barns alone. there wasn't one chance
in five OF any house escaping after
the barn was fired. Only those troops
detailed to carry out the order can
realize what it meant and the hard
ships entailed. The order was i'm
perative. No warning was given. un-
less the great smoke rising up here
and there to signify destruction we're
taken as warnings Of what was to
come.
IA squad of men galloped up the
women and children were told the
substance of the order and the match
was applied. An hour later they sat
on the grass houseless and homeless
and nearly dumb with terror. War
brought on thousand hardships. but
this order brought ruin aud desola.
ton. One might pity. but one could
not protest. On the night Of which l
speak g rode up to the Banks place.
a quaint old farm house half hidden
among fruit trees. There was no
need to knock on the door, for every
one being on the alert for anything
and everything; We were seen and
met by little girl who wore gray
for her country. but had eyes as blue
as her Yankee lover coat.
She was trem bling so that she
dropped on the steps 10 keep from
falling. One of the windows opened
, and the white head of a man raised
up off OF his pillow, but through ner-
vous excitement he fell back without
saying a word.
I'VE told the girl our orders,
' whereupon she fell upon her knees
before me and prayed us to have
mercy and leave them their home.
She sobbed pleaded and prayed till
tears ran down my checks like rain.
Then taking me by my hand. she led
me into a room where lay this white.
haired old man. ILL., helpless and bed
ridden. then in another room where
lay girl IN the last stages Of con-
sumption. Then leading me quietly
out on the gallery again she said be-
tween her sobs. still holding my
hands between hers and looking into
my eyes:
90 leave US our home I've no.
where to go. no one to go to- What
will my poor old grandfather do? Lie
on the grass under that tree and die?
And my sister, dying with consump-
'tion. shall she breathe her last lying
out there too. without shelter or food?
Oh. in Gods name spare us our home,
spare us, spare US.
when | told her orders had to be
obeyed she screamed and tainted and
before she came to her grandfather
and sister had been taken out in the
orchard on their beds and the match
applied to that home but not by my
hands. would have died IN my
tracks first No. one of the troopers
did it. but not me. and I couldn' t
even look to see it done. Besides
had caught that little girl in my arms
when she tainted. and held her there
flaming her with my hat When she
came to herself again I led her out
in the orchard where her sister and
grandfather were.
Il found my right hand bleeding
profusely. Her falling against it had
:reopened a very contrary wound re-
~ceived weeks before. When she saw
the blood she tore a strip off the
sheet, on which her grandfather was
lying and tied it up tenderly, taking
more pains than my mother would
have done. We had no time to lose;
so when the narrow string was
tied l whispered a few words of
sympathy to her. held her hand in
mine a second and saying just loud
enough for her to hear: All is fair
in love and war; dear mounted nv
horse and hurried on to catch nv
companions. 81.
Il looked back once and just in
time to see her look first at her home.
almost in ashes then at the old man
and her sister, after which she bowed
down her head and sobbed fearfully.
How my heart ached for her. What