Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1893-02-23
A REVOLUTIONARY DAUGHTER.
She Sang a Patriotic Ditty to Two English
Officers.


Mrs, Mercy Wardwell. who recently
died in North Orland, Me, was the
daughter of William Hutchins of the
town of Penobscot Me-, the last SUR
vivor, but one, of the revolutionary
soldiers He died at Penobscot in May,
1866, aged nearly one hundred and two
years. Mrs. Wardwell'was about nine.
ty-fve years old. One sister, Mrs.
Charlotte Veazic, of Belfast, Me-, is the
only surviving child of the once nu-
merous William TIutchins family, and,
so far as the writer knows, the only
surviving child of Revolutionary sol
der
Mrs. Wardwell married a Methodist
clergyman, and became the mother of
a large family of sons and daughters.
Four of the sons entered the Methodist
ministry, one Gf whom subsequently en-
listed as n private in our late civil war
and was promoted to the chaplaincy Of
the regiment. He died in the service
and was buried in the SOUTH
She was noted in her childhood Tor
vivacity and bubbling with music,
and untiinching courage in times when
her elders were timid. When the En-
glish army and navy took possession of
the town of Castine, in 1914, Mrs.
Wardwell was then a young girl at
home. Her fathers house was situated
about six miles from Castine village, on
the road to Bluehill. The English Off
| GERS sometimes called at her fathers
house as they passed to and fro to their
duties
On one occasion, two of them hav-
ing learned that little Mercy could
sing, importuned her for song. She
was very shy ut first, but upon the
promise of silver dollar, which would
be a fortune to her, she lightly sprang
upon the dining table, and, TO the con-
sternation of the family, began one OF
those almost unending patriotic ballads
of the day. in which the English came
in for some severe reflections and
tongue castigations.
The memories of the revolution had
not died out among the older people,
and little Mercy stood where she could
see the spot where, thirty-five years be-
fore, her grandfathers home was
burned by the English, while he with
his wife and eight children fed under
its glaring light to save his life for his
sturdy defense with his rifle.
Little Mercy's mother and her elder
sister attempted to stop her singing
for they saw the brow of the younger
officer darl1en, and heard him mutter
what sounded like angry expressions,
but the elder officer laughed and said:
80, let her 60 on. ] like her courage"
She did go on till she had sung more
than fifty verses When the original
lacked appropriateness to the then
present circumstances she improviscd
with skill and daring that brought
out angry expressions from the Young
er officer, but a laugh and "IIcar,
hear" from the elder.
When she finished the elder officer
tossed to her silver dollar, at the
same time rcmarlsing: You're brave
little girl. If you were man we
should feel it our duty to-" bat the
last part of this remark was not
spoken.
He was a gentleman, and called upon
the family several times afterward, and
greeted little Mercy with n smile ant
courteous bow. Two of Mrs W.
brothers were then in the American
army, and she took especial pains tC
let the English know it.-Lewistou
Journal.