The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-06-30
He Fell in With Friends.


This is too good story to slunber any
longer.
The winter of 1851 a young lady of II
| ington, KY, TO visit her aunt, and was
cut off from a return by the war.
|
At war meeting n wellsboro. Pa,
in September, 1851, where the bands were
| playing, drums beating and orators speak
! ing, a farmer lad of 49,. who had expert
! enced rough and tumble battle with life
since the age OF 5. when his father died.
| was an interested spectator When they
began to enlist men. after the speaking.
q gentleman tapped the boy on the Shout
| der, and said: do you want 20 enlist
| young man2'
! guess they will not.
"Oh. yes. they will You are Is. are
you not2'
81 guess So" said the boy. not quite
| liking to tell broadstde falsehood. Ten
| minutes afterward he was a recruit. The
| first winter he spent on an island not
/ far from Charleston, worrying lest the
! war should end before he had chance
! to see a battle. In August he started
| for Popes army, at that time mixing
| It's way back from Culpepper Court House,
! with Lee behind, pushing
| The force ne was with. Burnside's. start
ed with Mcclellan. after reorga nization
! at Washington. few days succeeding the
second Bull Run, through Maryland. He
| participated in the battles of South Noun
tain and Antetam. being of the number
that crossed the famous bridge under
Burnside. who held the left of the army
OF the Potomac in that battle, His next
great battle was Fredericksburg.
His regiment, the Forty-ifth Pennsyl-
vania. accompanied Burnside 10 Kentucky
early In 1853, and his duties gave him an
opportunity to see and participate N the
siege of yicksburg. There he was taken
sick placed upon a steamer and IN due
time brought up at Lexington, KY, and
for three weeks was unconscious When
he awoke he was in a large hospital, sur
rounded by numerous cots, Sitting by
his cot were two women. young girl and
an elderly lady. Though ne could scarcely
| speak, he noticed that they remained
there most Of the day. They returned
early the next morning and resumed their
places at his cot. They told him that
he had been sick of typhoid fever, but
was getting better, and that he must not
at present talk very much. Several times
every day the two women were at his side,
caring for MIN as mother and sister
might care for a son and brother. In the
meantime he had learned that both were
southern women, that the younger was
q native of Charleston, S. c., the niece Of
the elder. and both confedsrates. He ask
ed them how it happened that they, con-
federates. could devote themselves to
nursing a federal back to life The young
lady promptly answered: why there
is no war in this hospital. l have
brother, a lieutenant in the confederate
army, and how it would rejoice my heart
to know that if he, like you, were sick,
any woman, confederate or federal, were
TO take the same interest in him that
we have in you. There is no war in
hospital
The young man improved rapidly, and
when he was able to walk, learned that
his regiment was at Knoxville, and be-
gan pleading for his discharge from the
hospital that he might return to it. Con-
sent was given the LIST of December. Up
on reaching Cumberland Gap he reported
to an officer and learned that a wagon
train would start to Burnside the next
day. The second day out, at Clnch Gap,
the train was surrounded by a large cav
airy force and all were made prisoners.
He was sent first to Libby prison, then
TO Belle Isle, and was among the first
fully recovered his strength and therefore
was in poor condition to withstand the
hardships of prison life. He saw all of
his associates of the guard with whom
he was captured, twenty-one, die from
disease. One of them, Joe Jennings, Of
his own regiment, a very dear friend. who
had taken fatherly interest in the boy
from the start and nursed the little fell
low until he himself could no longer sit
up, threw his head upon his emaciated
arm and said: 81 can't stand It any long
er, but don't you give up, jim; don't you
give up"
Half an hour later Joe Jennings was
dead.
A young confederate doctor, who had
charge of the large squad of which the
boy was a member, took special interest
in him. He liked him and wanted to
Serve him. In speaking of the doctor the
young fellow said "he had a great big
heart, noble soul, but no medicine and
he used to come to see me daily. and
frequently would stop and talk with me
several minutes. He told me frankly that
the two things I most needed were quiz
nine and good, wholesome food. The
blockade shuts off the one, the army needs
more than We have got of the other, so
just talk TO you; that will do you some
good, 1 hope"
Now comes the most striking incident
connected with this story. 1t was August,
the weather very hot, the death rate large
and our boy soldier so weak that he could
scarcely speak. and he felt sure that the
dream Of the future, of home and happi-
ness, was slipping away, that they were
almost gone. AT this opportune time the
doctor came. A confederate captain &C
companied him. They sat by his side.
He was SO weak that he could simply no.
tice that they were there The officer
said: Doctor, give him some of this"
This" was brandy, and 1t revived the
lad. The confederate captain asked his
name, company and regiment, and he
gave il. Then he said: You were in a
federal hospital al Lexington, Ky, where
a young lady and her aunt cared for you
That young lady was my sister I re-
ceved letter from her not long ago,
telling me all about having cared for a
federal during a siege of typhoid fever
She gave the name, Company and regi-
ment Yesterday, in checking up the
prison lists, I came across the same name
and I came with the doctor TO look you
up You tell me my sister saved your
life in Lexington. I viii save it in An
jacksonville"
From that time on the lad had all Of the |
medicine required and wholesome food, |
smuggled in at odd times in mysterious |
ways, but 1t always came when most
needed. The improvement was as rapid /
as it had been in the hospital at Lexing- |
ton.
The next fall an order came 20 send ma |
ny OF the prisoners from Andersouville /