The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1899-04-07
CHAPTER XVIII.

NEWS.
Those two grizzled Cunfoderates were
knights to the core. When about to
mount for their eastward ride over the
broad swath of destruction left by s5her-
mans army, Acl-ers gently took the
arm of Lieutenant Oakman and point
ing to the horse which the Confederate
had ridden 10 the cabin, said
"LeftenHnt that mare Is acting as if
; she knowcd you. If it's all the same 10
you, I'll ride Miss Eld2idge's Jack and
you can stick TO your own.
The tears came to the eyes of the
Union officer. He had already recog-
nized his mare Fanny, who whinnied
her deITht at light oi him. but he reso-
lutely kept his face averted feeling
that he could ask no further favors Of
his friends.
"lhank you, Ackers l shall never
forget your kindness. -
The next moment the officer had
reached he happy mare, who stretched
out her silkeI nose, which was cal essad
ard patted, as well as her graceful
neck, the endelrnlent ending by the
owner giving her iss. Thrn I'll three
vaulted into Tie saddles and away they
went.
Under the escort of tn Two Confed-
crates and protected by the letter Of
Captain TRENHOLM no furtlal trouble
occurred, though the party were held
up and Questioned mere than once
Winter had come, nit its rigors wero
scftencd in that sol tler cline. Sher-
man was we'll owe, in Ssr1th Ga! Di;na,
his colnmne spreading devastation and
ruin far and wide. but he had not ~
got to Savannah wAet Linuuenan'
Oalslnan rca.hel the army and reported
to headquarters.
At n safe distance hn hnde goodby to
Ackers and Masters, the former Of
whom promised to letnrn yle black
horse to his mi@tl So many lnles away
in Georgia. The s:i 1cquent campaign
of General sherman :. q u!attor ~ b.
tory. All know how lie ,=iegr; yhcd TIE
capture OF savannah as Il Christmas
preacrt to President Lincoln, aftel
which hogan his resistiess sveeD north
ward on his way to join Grant VIII,
was hammering the broth of life out
of the furnishing Army Of Northern
Virginia un1er the lead ,'>D.p Of tn
greFt Lee III front of Richmond, aud il,
the following s:ring the end came. TIL
sun Of tho Southern COpfcd"racy Sc
forever behind the hills Of Appomattnx,
and the Union was restored migftlCi
than before, to continue as long a
grass grows and water runs.
Throughout these Days, when Lieu
tenant Oaklnan, who had been made
captain. recalled his experience i'll Geor.
gia he WIS frequently impressed wit.
"a feeling that it was his duty to send ar
expression of gratitude to Miss Eldridg'
for her immense kindness to him ri
nally he wrote the letter, though, in tn
disturbed state of the country, he doubt
ed whether it would ever reach her. II
was written in February, in North
Carolina, just after the battle of Ben
tonville and ran thus:
DEAR MISS ELDRIDGE-Thanks toy your kind
ness in loaning Inc your splendid horse Jack,
| was soon placed beyond all danger from pur.
suit. Then Ackers and Masters appeared at
the right moment and, like the brave men
they are, accompanied me all the way to my
own lines. Ackers placed me under additional
obligations by returning my own animal to me
and by taking your horse back to you. trust
that no accident befall him or Jack, for could
not forgive ysef If you failed to have your
pony restored to you. If you will be good
enough to drop me line stating that he Is
with you again. it will be vast relief to me.
The times are SO out of joint that this note
may be n long time in reaching you and posi-
bly, may fail to find you at all. l give my adj
dress below, so that if the spirit moves you to
write me q few lines think they will eventu-
ally come to my hands. 1t will be a great pleas.
ure to receive such an expression from you
In closing beg you to express my ferycnt
thanks to Captain Trenholm for his chivalrous
friendship, and venture to hope that at no
distant day may have the pleasure Of clasp
ing his hand. Please say to him for mo that
one reason why we are pushing the war for
the Union SO hard Is that the south il SO full
of glorious fellows like him that we are too
selfish to let en- go. They've got to stay with
u.s.
But there are Il few things to which pen and
words are unequal. One is to express my
gratitude to you for your acts to which my
life is owing. Probably shalt soon pass from
your remembrance, but you can never be for
cotton by me.
One hour after this missive had pass
ed beyond his control, Captain Oakman
began series of frantic efforts to cb-
tain possession Of it again.
at is the most preposterous stuff
that ever was written, was his humili-
ating thought. "Those last lines are q
virtual declaration Of love! They are i'm
pertinent and objectionable! They will
make her despise me! She will give
them no heed l shall never dare look
in her face again What possessed me ?
Confound it!'
Nevertheless some months later, a
dainty miseive wound its way in and
out of the wreck and remnants of the
Southern Coufederacy, and finally WIS
opened by the trembling hands Of the
young veteran in his faraway northern
home:
Lieutenant Ledyard oakman tshe didn't know
Of his prornotion):
DEAR SlR-I thank you very much for your