Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1906-07-18
IDENTIFIED


y
under the care Of their aunt, spinster'
Miss Keyes. A couple of young Fellows
had attached themselves to the MISSES
Hicks. and the chaperon had all sne
could do to keep the young people Will
In conventional bounds.
"Aunt Lenie," protested Bess wnen
taken to task for some mild 1ndiscre-
tion. "why can't you remember tnat
Won were once young yourselff you
act as If you'd never had young man
attentive to you. don't believe you
ever had or you would know how 10
sympathize with a girl"
We visited the museum In the presi'
dents mansion, the site OF LIBBY prls-
on. and one morning drove over tne
fields of the battles which had resulted
in the driving back Of McClelians
army from the environs OF the city. IL
was a sunny morning, and the boys
and girls were In merry mood. One
would not suppose that they were VS.
ting scenes In which a. generation De-
fore laughter would have been discord-
ant. in which at every volley Oh mus
ketry. every discharge Of cannon, poor
fellows were laid low and those VINO
loved them were made to mourn.
At one of the battleAelds the guide
who conducted us was very garrulous.
He had been born on the ground ana
taken part In the fight. After IL was
over he had helped bury the dead. and
wears later had been In the employ OF
the United States exhuming and idenu-
fying the bodies which now lie IN the
little cemetery near by.
"There" he said, pointing, was a
trench In which were fifty-fve bodies.
From under that tree took up the
BODY of young man and have got the
trinkets I took out Of his pocket yet,
hoping that 1 might Identify him by
them. There were a pocketknife WIN
q bone handle, little comb and
silver heart"
BY this time the boys and girls mad
ouieted under the guides pictures, all
the more affective since he had seen
them with his own eyes. Aunt Lenie
seemed to be living again In those
davs when thousands at home were
scanning long lists Of killed and wound
ed. dreading to see what they looked
for I was looking at her when the
guide was naming the articles ne hau
taken from the soldiers pocket, and
when he mentioned the silver heart l
saw the blood leave her cheeks as II
taken out at the first stroke of an air
pump.
sometimes" continued the guide,
81 took things off the bodies that had
something on em to Identify the own
or such as initials Of regiment and
company. This silver heart l spoke Oh
had initials on both sides and date
but no corps"
"Where do you keep such thingsT
asked.
"At the house usually. This one I've
made pocket piece of"
He drew a fat silver heart from hi
pocket and held it up for us to see.
happened to glance at Aunt Lenie
There are no words to describe her ex
} preston. but knew by 1t that the bi
of silver was a connecting link between
her and a dead past. In a moment sh
had regained her self control and cas-
a quick glance at her nieces to see ]
they had noticed her emotion.
) ION this side" the guide went on
"are the letters j. r. and on TIL
| AZ II co,,t IN 1901 ~
A silence fell on us all. We wer
D standing among the pines that ha
t sprung up since thirty years before t
e shade the graves of those who sti
e slept there. We crowded around tn
guide to read the letters and the dat'
Aunt Lenie was standing back.
We were startled by a sob.
l. AS we turned to look Aunt LEM
g turned also, so that we could not sc
a her face, but we knew the sob ha
8 come from her. In moment she wa
e herself again.
It "The grave" she said-"where Is fl
e graveT
d The guide led us to the little pl'
% with its uniform white headstones an
Is stopped before one marked vi
D. known" Aunt Lenle knelt beside
lie We men uncovered, and the girls, 6
n ing to their aunt, knelt one on eat
N side of her, with an arm about d
rs waist.
Motioning to the men Of the party
come. | moved away, and they II
lowed me. 1 bought the articles foul
IA on the dead soldier of the guide.
m. offered them without price, but
Mt thought that Miss Reyes, for whom
ma intended them, would prefer to pay.
H. Later I learned the story-a story
MT old as the peninsula on which the
no men fought and as fresh as the I'll
IRA wild flower that springs up over t
of soldiers graves Tom Ray, your
,et ster Of twenty, loved LeonOre Reyes
do girl of nineteen. He enlisted In
h,o Union army, and shortly before
10. marched south they plighted tn
mi trotb. Leonore had treasured frt
oIr childhood a silver heart, and when
me young soldier departed she gave II
of him with his initials engraved on Q
ire side and her own on the other WIN
the date that she had promised him u
nd she would on his return be his WI
did After the battle he had been report
ef. missing, and Leonore Reyes had
non years family hoped that he wo'
adj come back to her.
The soldiers grave is no lon
g. marked unknown" A headstone
which his full name and corps are
49, en- has replaced the other.
ga Miss Reyes must admit that an
,as maid may still have heart.