Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-05-26

| OLDW Al HOSI Of
@W the Grand Army of
| the Republic was
/ !. ! !.
| NsNsSG( J about as small as
| .,11~GJNr. any post could be
| ms d 0N.hu without going out of
/ GS. SMINW existence. When first
M HEJ& w organized ii had a
ENM F full dozen of men,
/ kEYNlNJ bers. but some of the
| iH ENFj boys died and others
! uAlf n moved from the vii
| ! u lage. until there re-
manned only Crease,
Wadderly and Trup-
sum- 1t was not an Illustration of the sur
vival of the fittiest. either. for the three
members were about as dilapidated as the
post itself All had be- dashing troopers
in their day, but no one would have thought
1t few years later, for Crease the tailor,
had lost leg, Wadderly had lost three
/ fingers, and Trupsun had lost all OF his
grip. They had no ffier DIS but one another,
for they had bored the villagers to death
with stories Of the one notable period Of
their lives. and they weren't Of much &C
count in any way. even to their respective
families.
They were Of great comfort to them
selves. Though ALMOST every night they
met in Crease's dingy little shop to talk
over old times and old comrades, and with
pipes and profanity they would make the
air as blue and rank as any they had ever
breathed on the battlefield. They kept up
Boldway Post. too. after a fashion, though
the department had ceased to recognize the
Organization. Once year they elected
officers, taking turns as post commander,
and they always celebrated Decoration
day by marching through the principal
street OF the village to the cemetery one
bearing a sword, another carrying the ma
tonal colors, on which were inscribed the
names OF fights in which their regiment
had been engaged. while the third carried
a handsome post flag. presented by the
ladies of the village in the days before en-
! thusiasm over survivors of the war had
gone out of fashion. They could not afford
to hire band, and the local Cornet Quar-
tet had wearied of volunteering to play in
front of three shabby old chaps, so they
took turns in humming dead marches on
the way to the cemetery and whistling
Rally Round the Flag" and Marching
Through Georgia during the return march
AT the cemetery their decoration cere-
monies were brief. for families of deceased
soldiers usually preferred to themselves
strew flowers over the graves of their lost
ones The boys never failed, though, to
place some flowers on the monument of
Boidway, for whom the post was named.
Boldway's remains were not under the
stone; they were supposed to be somewhere
among the unknown dead within the enc
mys lines, where Boldway fell, severely
wounded, during a repulse. The little fell
low had been the darling of the company
TO which the original members OF the post
belonged, although he was a stranger in
the village In which his comrades had reared
a little monument to his memory with the
proceeds OF d post fair.
Whenever at Crease's shop the procession
OF oVerWorked war stories began to lag
YEARLY the three survivors would drop
into "Reminiscences of Boldway's good quail
ties.
Clipper as he was little" was Crease's
usual remark, "and the Lord knows he was
mighty near to bein the littlest member of
the troop"
Always jolly, though he never took a
drink. how in thunder he managed il beats
me-" Wadderly would say.
Sure to whistle an sing when evrythin
was goin' wrong an everybody else was
cussin, was Trupsuns customary state
ment. Then ali would recall incidents OF
Boldways career, and sometimes the &C
cumuiation of recoliections would work I'D
the old fellows 50 nightly that collection
Would be taken on the spot to purchase a
hfteen-cent half-pint OF whisky with which
to drink to the gallant fellows memory.
Just as the sun of one Decoration day hal
got far enough above the house tops 10
make the dusty main street look like a
trail in the Sahara desert the president OF
the Great Stretch railway emerged from
the dining room of the best hotel stood in
the office doorway overlooking the street.
lit mild cigar, and looked inquiringly to
the right anu left. The president did not
reside in the village; he never had seen the
place until that very morning, when he had
arrived. by appointment, to meet another
in MA
know anything of either of them. and in
which they could therefore have a quiet and
important talk without fear of being dis
covered by newspaper men.
Across the street and in front of the
hotel began the lane on which Crease had
his shop, and against the front of the build
ing the president saw all of Boldway Post
leaning as soldly as if they were under
contract to keep the shop from tumbling
forward. All three of the members. who
were in Grand Army uniform, were staring
at the clock in the tower of the town hall
As the hands indicated the hour Of 9 the
one-legged tailor, who was post commander
that year. and who had his sword at his
| thigh beside his crutch, exclaimed:
Sound the assembly,"
Wadderly whistled the call, after which
he and Trupsun stood side by side
once year." remarked the proprietor
of the hotel, as he sauntered near his
new guest once a year those old fellows
do get sand enough in them to stand up
straight for a minute two"
"Umph!' replied the president. who are
they?"
They're our village pest of the G. A. r.
what's left of it,
Indeed? Village unhealthy?"
Not bit of 1t, but, you see, twas a
good deal smaller in war times Besides
a real estate boom collapsed few years
ago. and some of the old vets moved away
Then, of course, some have died.
ALL see. Well. is this any special &C.
casion, that they are ip uniform
Decoration day, L believe"
why, SO 1t is" The president looked
bit shame-faced as he raised his hand to
the side of his breast where the heart is
popularity supposed to be. Just then Crease
emerged from his shop with the posts two
flags, and gave one to each of his comrades
Then he closed the door, took his stand in
front of the couple, drew his sword and
shouted:
"Forward-march."
Wadderly whstled the CALL which no
soldier can ever forget. The railway presi-
dents shoulders suddenly rose a couple of
inches.
File right-march."
AS the post filed into the main street the
railway man looked solemnly at it. raised
his hat, stroked his beard, frowned and
said:
II thought citizens usually took some part
in Decoration day proceedings"'
well, they used to here, replied the
landlord, but, the fact is, our people don't
ike to follow three fellows like those"
why not? Didn't the three fight?"
ssOh YES. but-well If YOU saw them ont