The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-08-11
A War Heroine.
To the Editor Of the Eagle.

To the Editor Of the Eagle.
| The celebration of Mother Bikerdyke day
| reminds me of heroism and self-sacriilce
| that I witnessed in the old war days, in
| the early struggles Of the first organized
branches of the sanitary commission All
honor to Mother Bikerdyke; We are prouder
of her than Nebraska is of her fayorite
son, for she is far nobier. srander char
acter. But deeds grand and glorious We're
performed in the privacy or the Viuase
home and farmhouse that should not De
lest to the world The first president OF
our society q will call her Worth. though
that was not her name.) was one 10 be re-
membered with honor. She was ever pres
ent az our meetings, always active and al
ways knew the right thing 10 do. We were
connected with both the sanitary and
Christian commission, and for the one we
supplied all the hospital garments and otn-
er stores pillows and cushions OF all shapes
and sizes, old linen Int, and all the dain-
ties and all the vegetables We could get
And for the other, all the Bibles, the mag
az:nes and literary papers ana all othe-
reading that was clean and Wholesome lot
the conyalescents, and those VINO were nee
essarily idle. A history of all We crowded
into those busy, anxious days would Ill
volumes, but 10 my story: one morning
on assembling our president greeted US
with swollen eyes and pale face. She had
received a telegram from the surgeon OF
his regiment that Harvey, her second son.
was in hospital, hopelessly III OF typhold
fever, and begged constantly for her. But
she could not go. her only daughter was
slowly dying of decline and could not BE-
left. She worked energeiically as usual
till some one Brought in the letters from
all "
handed to her; she opened It; her face went
down upon the table and her hands AT her
sides, as if paralyzed. but sac neither spoke
nor went Some of US kissed her fadei
cheek; 1t was the only form Of sympathy
we dared offer to grief like that. Horace,
her eldest son, had been out with a scout
ing party; they were all captured and hur-
red off to Andersonville. But she remained
inactive only short time; she raised her
head took up the scissors and commenced
fash:on:ng the garments to make some poor
soul a little more comfortable, as she ex-
dressed It, But harder trial was to be
hers the next week. They were IN the
habit of taking the invalid daughter out
each afternoon to drive and Mr.. W. sent
the boy for the horse while ne put up his
tobacco, (the raising of tobacco brought in
considerable revenue in those days. TIE
10y returned with the horse and on going
to see what kept his father, found him on
the -four breathing his last In putting up
tie sticks Of tobacco he had lost his bal
ance. fallen backward and broke his neck
The shock was too much for the feeble
daughter and IN less than two weeks she
was laid beside him and the mother was
left alone with her youngest boy, but work
ing with the same untiring energy TO anne
liorate the condition of those suffering for
their country's cause, never missing a
meeting, planning how to get supplies. and
nearly always with success, putting aside
her own sorrow with heroism that was
sublime.
And here I am glad 70 relate that her
hoys both survived the dreadful ordeal and
returned to her emaciated, shattered and
broken, the one by the dreadful fever and
the other by the starvation, hardship and
horror of that dreadful blot on the south
ern name, the Andersonville prison.
MRS S. c. WILLIAMS.