Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1900-05-01

Jackson Did Not Pass the Old Ddmes'S House
in Frederick.
Cen Douglas, Who Was With Him 4a Day,
Deals Anothe' Blotc to the Verify of the
Lines: = Hat! The Dust Bro,on Ranks Stood
Fast FIrei OmbEazed the Rife Blast. .
New York Sun, April 24.l
Gen. Henry Kyd Douglas 1ectu red
before the Peoples Institute at Cooper
Uuion last night on Stonewall Jackson.
under whom he served In the course
of the lecture Gen. Douglas turned aside
to demolish the Barbara Frietchie legend.
Gen. Jackson, ne said. crossed the
Potomac few days before the day of the
alleged incident described in Whittier's
poem. He was hurt by his horse and
was carried about in a stretcher. He
went into Frederick but twice. l ac-
companied him on both visits. On Sun
day he went in an ambulance. 1t was
at night. We passed through Frederick
again on the following Wednesday, the
day on which the Barbara Frietchie in
cident was supposed to have occurred.
1t was at 6 o'clock in the morning We
stopped for a few moments in the square
at Patrick and Nam street, and Gen.
Jackson asked me to take him to the home
of Rev. DR.. Ross. He was not up at that
hour and we left our cards and went away
without seeing him. Gen. Jackson asked
me to take him by the shortest way to
the head of the column. l was perfectly
familiar with the streets of Frederick
and took him past the house of Mr..
William Bantz down the street called
Mill Alley to the Middleton pike on the
way to Hagerstown When we reached
that point the head of the column had
passed and Gen. Jackson rode onto catch
up with it. He did not pass Barbara
Frietchie's house.
"She was an old woman. She was
helpless and was said to be quite blind.
If she had a flag out that day nobody
was known to have seen it. for years
made series of inquiries. investigating
the subject. No citizen can be found
who saw the thing; no soldier can be
found who saw it, no relative of Barbara
Frietchie ever admitted the truth of the
story; not even a member OF the ubiqui-
tous army of newspaper correspondents
ever heard of the thing before the pub
'lication of Whittier's poem. Whittier is
said to have had his information from
Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth, the no.
velist. Being novelist she was not
concerned with the facts l was with
Gen. Jackson every minute that he was
IN Frederick, and l can say finally that,
so far as Stonewall Jackson and Barbara
Frietchie were concerned, all of that
beautiful poem was pure fiction"
AT the conclusion of the lecture Prof.
Sprague Smith. who presided, said that
Gen. Douglas would answer any ques-
ton that the audience might like to ask.
A number of questions were asked as to
Stonewall Jackson's campaigns and tao
tics and Gen. Douglas answered them
painstakingly. When Prof. Smith reached
the section of the hall that was on the ex-
treme left of the speaker and asked if any
body in that section desired to ask any
questions, a swarthy man who looked
like Russian or Hungarian, rose,
F." 1 would like to ask" he said, WAS
that war just. in your opinion ?"
Prof. Smith waved the man down. but
Gen. Dougl as, with his shoulders thrown
back and his eyes flashing, insisted on
answering the question.
+" If that friend asked the question for
information, he said II must refer him
to the historians If he asks to obtain
my personal opinion 1 will say that am
not ashamed of any act of mine that had
to do with the Confederacy. 1 will say
to him. as Gen. Grant once said, that no
man need ever make any apology for
having followed the Southern Cross or
for having worn the gray"
The crowd cheered. The man rose up
again from his seat
II would like to ask" he said, what
your reasons are for not being ashamed"
Prof. Smith announced in loud and
commanding tone that vote of thanks
was in order, and in an aside to the
qnestioner told him to sit down. The
vote of thanks was passed with whoop.
A deed was admitted to record at
Charleston recently, by which James F.
Brown and wife conveyed to Judge Dan
iel B. Lucas the 10, o,23S-acre tract situated
in Boone county and embracing the en-
tire watershed of Fork Greek. which for