The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1894-12-15
SHE'LL ANNIE.

Nobody expected General Sherman to
come into Atlanta from the south.
Oh, no; in the natural course. OF cveHts
he must have certainly sLoulderod his
way right straight on from the north,
and accordingly the grim and gri1ry,
frayed out fragments Of Hoods Confed-
crate army wallowed i'll the sitting
trenches all along the vast scnlicircalar
lire of outworks that faced tho valley
of tho Chattahooche and commanded
the approaches from the AllatCoAa hills
beyond.
But he of the eagle eve was:n ,strate-
gist. He wanted to cut off and coop Up
the gray jackets in the city, and for that
reason he quietly marched the larger
part of his army up the western bank of
tho river eight or ten miles, flung them
across the river, and with a mighty
war he struck them from the south, thus
cutting Of their lines of supplies blythe
Georgia railroad. Then followed those
terrible days which wound up with the
fierce onslaught of July %, Wien the
hopeless, half starved southern men and
the gallant men of the west met in a
mighty gladiatorial contest which re-
suited in the fall Of Atlanta.
These are matters for the historian,
but what l am going to recount is one
of these wild, weird romances with
which this terrible conflict was SO
fraught, and here is the strange story:
ION to the seal" was the watchword
of Sherman s armies, and the sullen and
logged retreat of the Confcderates ito
Jonesboro was the first movement of the
defeated and despairing Confederates.
Jonesboro was a little inland town,
nestled amid field and forest, inter
-spersed with beautiful undulating hills
and grassy valleys green with the hope
of the harvest, but little suited as a de-
fensive pointtfor the bruised and batter
ed legions whowere recoiling slowly to-
ward the southern sea.
Breastworks had been hastily thrown
up fianking thelline of the Central rail-
road, and i'll the bitches behind them the
struggling remnant of obstinate Confed-
crates was intrenched.
it was. a glo1iously beautiful summer
odaywhen the skirmish line of the north
.ern hosts :debouched from the works
and took up position in front.of these
:breastworks.
Taken by. surprise after relying in
vain on the ability of the southern
troops to check the .onf1ow of the le-
giens of the conquering hosts, the wom-
en- and children, led by the lame and
the halt and the aged men OF the ,eoun-
try, were fleeing for life, panic stricken
and utterly demoralized.
As the sun rose over the swelling
ridges the eyes of the soldiers of either
army caught the. CLEAN Of a little white
tent, half hidden in "a wood, just a lit
tie to the left of the line of attack, and
above it duttered atiny white flag no
bigger than q manss hand.
1t was a woman's handkerchief, and
all the chivalrous feelings of the Amer
lean soldier were aroused as the grim
veterans canght sight of that little ap-
peA2ing hit Of cambria floating there
through the uprising mists. of war. The
order was passed to respect that flag,
and when the great guns began their
works and shot and shell were hurled
blazing and crashing across field and
wood from either direction never a gun
ner trained his piece toward a point
near that little white tent.
The battle was ~fercely fought, but
the combat was of short duration, and
as the shadows heightened eastward the
southern troops were seen in full re-
treat, leaving the field to the trium-
plant Federals.
As they swept forward a drummer
boy, Otto Barden, of a Pennsylvania
regiment paused by the little white tent
in the wood.
Guards in blue uniform surrounded
it, and while the smoke Of battle swirled
above and around there was a plaintive
cry from the tent, and the stalwart sur
geon lifted the flap Of the little tent and
emerged, followed by an old negress,
bearing in her arms a tiny, white bun
die.
please God, marsa, is you gwinter
take us of ter de norf?'' walled she,
with the big tears coursing down her
withered face. It'll sho' kill Mis- An
ME eff yo' does"
"Not a bit of it, old lady, not a bit
of it," replied the good natured sur
geon, with a smile.
"Hello, Otto, you're the very boy /
want. This is your prize, as you are
nearest her age, and We are going to
detail you to take charge of this wee
prisoner and see that the little reb don't
escape"
The rough soldiers came crowding