The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1900-04-06

of September was the occasion of
a scandalous intention in derOg-
alton of its honor, which has
gone to the world as the ballad of
barbara Frietchie." The point
and the pathos of this creation OF
the imagination is in the de-
Scription of scene i'll which an
aged and decrepid woman, fired
by patriotism and nerved by a
courage in which the men were
lacking, Haunted the flag of the
United States defiantly i'll the
face of the Confederate column
as it swept through Frederick;
that by the order of Stonewall
Jackson a volley was fired at hee
and flag, and then seized by sud
den remorse the ideal Confeder-
ate hero passed on with heart
wrung by grief and head bowed
by shame for the unnatural crime
of which he had been guilty.
1t transmits in smooth and me-
lodious verse the explicit state
ment that one of the chief his.
torical characters of the COnfed-
eracy-he whom the love of his
contemporaries and the veners-
ton of the good in the whole
world has singled out and apoth-
eosized as the hero, the genius,
the martyr of the cause Of honor,
chivalry and patriotism = that
Stonewall jackson ordered Con-
federate soldiers to tiRe on an old
woman feebly Haunting flag out
OF garnet window, and then,
overwhelmed with grief and re-
morse, hung his head and fled
from the scene of his shame.
The function Of the singer has
in all time been akin to that of
the prophet.
While the latter gave express
sion to the will and purpose of
the gods, the former moulds into
words the hopes, the memories
and the aspirations of races, of
people and nations. The real
poet is under obligations to ruth,
for truth lives and stirs the heart
and perpetuates heroic deeds and
desires to do them. Therefore
there is no excuse for this SANDER
and libel on the Confederate
cause, the Confederate hero.
Not only in every allegation is
the story of Barbara Frietchie
false, but there never existed any
foundation for it.
was born in Frederick and
lived there until May, 1861, when
| joined the Confederate Army.
| had known Barbara Frietchie
all my life. l knew where she
lived as well as | knew - town
clock. She was then s. yeaW
of age and bedridden for some
time. She never saw a Confed-
crate soldier and probably no
one of any kind. Her home was
at the corner of Patrick street
and the Town Greek bridge.
The troops marched by there dur
ing portion of the 10th of Sep
TENDER. On that morning Gen
eral jackson and his staff rode
into the town and rode to the res.
ldence of the Rev. DR.. Ross, the
Presbyterian clergyman there,
and paid a visit to Mrs. Ross,
who was daughter OF Governor
Mcdowell, of Lexington, Vir.
ginia, where Jackson lived and
whom he knew we'll. After the
visit to Mrs. Ross at the parson.
age, which was next to the Pres
byterian Church and not on the
same street nor near Mrs. Fret.
CHIEFS house, he rode at the head
OF his staff by the courthouse,
down through the Mill Alley, up
to Patrick street, some distance
beyond the Frietchie house. He
never passed it and in all proba.
ability never saw il. 1t is need
less to say that no such incident
as that described by Whittier
could have occurred in the Con.
federate Army, which was com
posed OF men in all stations of
life, fired by enthusiasm by the
cause of honor, liberty and pa
trlotlsm. The highest admira.
ton and the warmest love of prin-
ciple were the forces which con.
trolled and directed it.
1t is quite possible that the fu-
ture historian may designate the
passion that moved it for four
years of privation, of starvation.
OF battle wounds and death as
tanatical. But it was devotion
to the highest ideal which men or
nations have created for them
selves. Therefore, it was impos.
sible for such men, so led, to per-
petrate the puerile act laid to
their charge, and no snch thing
occurred anywhere, in Frederick
or elsewhere.
l doubt not that women and
children waved Union flags in
the faces of the Confederates.
Such incidents were natural and
doubtless did occur, but the sol.
dlers never resented it; on the
contrary. il amnsad than, -