The record-union., 1897-12-25

| ment was taken out of its brigade and
division TO make the assault. Alone
and unsupported the Eleventh Con-
necticut Went scrambling down the
| hillside in the face of the deliberate
aim and fire of the enemy. 1t did not
| last TO reach the bridge, much less to
cross and dislodge the Confederates
from their picked position. The un-
wise plan which gave TO a single regi-
| nent such a task is one of the inexpli-
cable facts OF Antietam.
kingsbury fell mortally wounded at
the head of his regiment The granite
monument is also a reminder of the
strange tangle of many lives which
came of that Inflated first assault on
the stone bridge. General d. Il. Jones
commanded the Confederates who re-
pulsed this assault by the Eleventh
Connecticut and killed kingsbury
Jones was a brother-in-law of Kings
, bury. 1t is a curious fact that Jones,
who handled division with signal
ability and delayed Burnsides move
ment against the Confederate right un
til late in the afternoon. when Hill
came to the relief from Harper's Fer
ry, was but little heard of afterward-
ne SltheiiSu anu CiSU.
The wives of kingsbury and Jones
We're sisters. They We're nieces of
President Zachary Taylor and cousins
of the first wife OF jefferson Davis.
kingsbury had married Miss Taylor
few months before the battle Jones
had been married longer He was
Missiseippian of considerable note.
kingsbury was the son of an army
officer.
When the blood stained relics were
placed in the hands of the young wife
in Washington two days after the bat
tie the scene was heartrending
7 don't think that in all of my expe-
rience." said the the officer who per-
formed the painful duty, Il ever saw
such intensity of grief displayed as was
manifested by Mrs Kingsbury when
l delivered to her the personal belong
ings Of the Colonel. On my first call
the sight of the things brought on an
attack of Mysteries. l was asked to
come again and give her the details
of her husbands death. | was accus-
toned to the horrors of war, but the
depth of feeling manifested on that oc-
casion- / can never forget"
A posthumous son was born about
two months after the death of Colonel
kingsbury. This boy became the heir
to an estate which at the time of the
Chicago fire in 1871 was estimated to
be worth S2OO0,0o0. He was also a
central figure in one of the most sensa-
tional lawsuits of thirty years ago.
The father of Colonel Kingsbury was
an officer in the army. Long before
| the var he was stationed at Fort Dear
born, on the site Of what is now Chi
cago. With some of the other officers
of the post the elder Kingsbury entered
into real estate speculation, perhaps
the earliest in the history Of the city.
Major kingsbury invested few hun
dred dollars. His share in the deal
was about forty acres of land. Brother
officers disposed of their holdings when
the profits multiplied the investments
several times. Major Kingsbury held
on. IT was a standing joke in the army
that the reason he didn't sell was that
he was too lazy to sign the papers On
two CT three occasions, according to
tradition he accepted, verbally, tempt
ing propositions, but postponed MAX
ing acknowledgment of the deed until
intending purchasers impatiently gave
up the bargaining. The nestegg put
away in the '4Os increased enormously.
Major Kingsbury had a daughter, as
we'll as the son who fell at Antietam
The daughter married Simon Bolivar
Buckner of Kentucky some time be-
fore the war When General Buckner
decided to go with the Confederacy the
danger of confiscation of his wife's in
terest in the Chicago estate confronted
fa y,,iIU
transfer of Mrs Buckners property to
her brother. Colonel Kingsbury fell in
battle without leaving a will to protect
his sisters Inheritance. When the war
closed the return of Mrs. Buckners in
terest in her fathers estate was asked
for in behalf of her children. Mrs.
Kingsbury declined to concede it. She
claimed all that had been left in her
husbands name for her son and her
self. Litigation followed and dragged
along through years. Major Kings
bury's forty acres was in the heart of
Chicago when the fire occurred
In the years Immediately following
the war Washington had few women
more talked about than the beautiful
widows Mrs. Becky Jones and Mrs.
kinssbury, the nieces of an ex-Presi-
dent of the United States. Mrs. Kings
bury became the wife of Gallatin Law
renee, son of one of the wealthiest man.
ufacturerS in Rhode Island. Gallatin
Lawrence had chosen a diplomatic ca
reer. He was sent to Costa Rrica as
Minister. When he came back society
at the capital had a great sensation
over the talk of a duel between Minis
ter Lawrence and Captain Won der
Hass of the Belgian legation because
of the Captains attentions to the beau
tiful Mrs. Lawrence The Belgian sailed
for Europe So did Mrs Lawrence.
Gallatin Lawrence followed. There
was duel, and then a divorce case.
Ven der Hass went to Egypt Mrs
Lawrence went there too. Gallatin
Lawrence returned to the States The
son of Colonel Kingsbury was sent to
Oxford His inheritance was cut in
two by decision restoring to the
heirs Mrs. Buckner's share in the forty
acres. One day young Kingsbury came
home from Oxford. bringing a college
friend Between the English student
and Mrs Lawrence an attachment
quickly developed Mrs Lawrence was
twice the age of her sons chum. She
married him, and Is, or was the last
that friends in this country learned,
living with him abroad. Kingsbury
married a Levantine, and he too. is in
a foreign country. The fortune ac-
qured through the Chicago investment
has been much reduced Mrs. Becky
Jones, after long career in Washing
ton. travelled extensively, and settled
III Canada, where she is still living, by