Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1901-07-04
PROTEGEE OF LINCOLN.
RS
Sad Condition of Mother Fereu-
son, Famous War Nurse.
PENNILEss AT THE AGE OF EIGHTY

Now She Is Alone and Destitute, Liv-
Ing on the Charity of Friends.
Cared For Soldiers In One
and FOrty-fve Battles Her War
RecOIIect1ons.
While there is a God and an Ameri-
can country you shall never starve.-
President Lincoln to Mother Ferguson.
She nursed a thousand soldiers dur
ing the civil war. She was in 145 bat
ties. Great generals did her honor.
They called her mother of Lincoln's
cavalry" Now, broken, helpless with
age, Mother Ferguson is living alone
in q shabby attic, destitute and penni-
less at 80, dependent on the charity of
a few old friends, all poor themselves.
Through a blur of tears she sat the
other night fumbling a ticket to the an
nual G.. A. r. excursion when a New
York World reporter found her.
i've never missed nj yet" she said
brokenly. 81 can't bear to think of
missing this. I won't miss it. I'll go
if I have to go barefoot"
She was alone but for her Catholic
prayer book. She lives on the top floor
of the frame house at 315 Sixteenth
street, Brooklyn. Pinned on the faded
mantle which she wore was an old tin
type of Lincoln and about it an an
Gent miniature flag.
1--WE worn it ever since Mr.. Lincoln
was assassinated," she said. 'That pin
is a veterans pin. You see, I'm a vet"
The old woman smiled wanly. Her
hair is white and her face lined with
wrinkles. She is bent with years. Her
face is n of mingled gentleness and
strength. The nose is Roman, and it's
contour shows great strength. The chin
is firm and full of determination, and
the eye, although now dim with years,
famed with a Wondrous fire when she
talked of her battles. Mother Fergu-
son is not unlike Clara Barton In ap-
pearance.
"Oh, l was a great old woman until
these last three years." she sadly said.
"They all knew me, the generals as
well as the boys, and they tipped their
hats to me as fine as you ever saw. |
But now [ can't get around any more. |
My son is i'll somewhere, and my
daughter is out in California. Sc I have |
to look after myself.
Il can't miss the vets excursion-I
won't. But look at those shoes. They |
are pretty bad, aren't they?" And the
old woman smiled bitterly again. "I'm
off over here in Brooklyn. The
old friends don't know where I am, |
and l can't get around to see them, else |
L know it would be all right. All
W. to look forward to is meeting the
soldiers"
Mother Ferguson is deaf and coughs
constantly. She told her story with
many breaks to the reporter. She wore
an old gown pen at the throat and sat
in a chair which G. A. r. women
months ago had made easy with pill
lows.
Il was in the wal from first to last"
she said. "I was at Bull Run, and 1
was at Appomattox. don't know
how old am. 1 guess it's rs or so.
My husband-he's dead these 80 years.
joined the First New York cavalry. l
remember the day just like yesterday.
Ihey were recruited up at 765 Broad
way, n it was the very first cavalry
company they organized for the Union
side. President Lincoln christened it
hlmself, and after that they always
IL AlucOln 8 cavalry.
1--WE went first to Washington. oh,
those were times! The streets were
alive those days. The very air was
with fight. 1 slept in the house {
where Colonel Observation-Disclosures of
zouaves-was staying. He was
killed a few days later. I had gone
along with the cavalry as a nurse. 1
stay behind, though my hus-
Oand begged me hard enough. l knew
Inc poor fellows would need somebody !
TO nurse them before the awful war !
was over, and / was strong then. !
"Ah, sir, few eyes have seen what
-hese have. I was with Mcclellan and 9
n Franklin and Sheridan and
Hunter and Porter and the rest of
HEM. I was at Bull Run, Antietam,
fredericksburg, Fair Oaks, Chancel-
orsville, Piedmont and in the seven
lays fighting at Gettysburg.
gettysburg! Oh, never was there
UGH fighting as there! I have seen
much, but nothing like Gettysburg"
Die woman put up her hands as if
o shut out the vision. "And l was
With Sheridan in his raids up the val F.,
with Sheridan twice over. 1
'hil! There was the boy!
"It was at Harrison's Landing 1 first
Lincoln. We had been licked, oh,
ably. / think he came down there to Il
ind out how many Of us hadn't been =
Tiled. They were all there-the big n
enerals and Lincoln-and they intro a
me to him and told him what l b
ad been doing. They said I'd been G.
18th his cavalry right through and tina p
had nursed the wounded and cared II
them. She's the mother of the "
avalry,"' they told him. And 1 was =,
0 proud as be stood there looking at r
lie kindly. c,