Connecticut western news., 1897-05-27
A TORN STAMP.
rCopyright, 1897, by the Author.]
BY CAPTAIN KENNETH GILMER.

ICopyright, 1897. by the Author.]
 When the Army of the Potomac started on the Wilderness campaign in the spring of 1864, there was hasty rally of scatter ed commands, and men of all ranks and stations who were on furloughs, detached service and the like turned from their tenn porary occupations or pastimes, as do bor- der settlers in time of Indian alarm, and rushed to the field of danger reached the Wilderness battle-ground after an air line run to Washington and forced march across Virginia, and that, too, without an ounce of personal baggage, without mon- ey, with nothing but a soldiers regulation equipments and Q scribbler's inevitable portfolio. I was veteran campaigner, and after that fight the myriad dead whose dumb, cold forms would never again utter love messages reminded me that the dear ones left behind me would anxiously await tidings by every northern mail. A volun- teer soon learned that patriot fire must be fed by dear homo ties; that in order to fight we'll the soldier must love well, and so mother and sister and cousin and sweet heart must share the warriors thought and affection. wrote the usual home let ters and hastily put on stamps, letting the other remain so that I might use every sec- ond of time before the bag would close. When the call sounded and the mail courier was gathering his burden, added 'just another word," closed 1t and reached for a stamp, but found nothing but fragment of a cent issue. "Has any one a spare stampp'' I called out. The answer from all over camp by mocking laughs and catcalls told me that I had echoed query already ancient.
 In my absorption had been oblivious of the stamp famine raging around me. The agents of the friendly commissions who sometimes forward army letters were not at hand, SO I scribbled across the edge of the envelope, "A soldiers battlefield letter to his sweetheart; no stamp" and tossed 1t into the mail bag, returning the torn stamp to my portfolio quite carelessly. For . fact the kindly countenance of the Father of His Country seemed to smile on me from that stamp as glanced at 1t. l re called some of the stories of the young British lieutenant and his amatory ardoI until fancied he was my friend whisper ing to me each time that I thought about my wandering missive "It is all right my boy; that Wilderness letter Is going to Lucy" the whisper would say. We went into battle after battle, and our marchfni and fighting postponed all letter writing We shouldered our way to Richmond, am was ono of the 10, 900 who crawled ava from Cold Harbor, maimed and bleeding with a stinging hurt to carry for life. W were soon en route to Washington, and tn river and railway conveyances were weight ed with crushed and grooming humanity.
 About thyee days after left the field
 received from the sanitary people two Bos ton crackers and gill of milk puncf When saw Washington at the end of
 week, I was burning and thirsting an longing madly for something to cool tf fever of lip and head and coursing vein
 All about the wharfs where our steamt nut in thara were hucksters of every sort 1