The Washington herald., 1907-12-01
by DEXTER MARSHALL.

Snowy-haired and with face and voice
Of singular gentleness. although he car
ries himself with military erecness. like
the soldier that he is, the chaplain Of st.
Elizabeth's Hospital. al 4l5 West Fifty
first street, New York, may be seen daily
walking up and down its wards and min
istering 20 the spiritual needs Of the suf-
fering in that institution. To them that
watch for his coming as they watch for
the sunshine he is Father Olmsted,
whose words Of peace and consolation
help them forget their aches and pains,
inspire them with hope for the future ia
this world and abiding faith in the next.
But to those who knew him when his
whitened locks were brown and when
the alarms Of civil war were heard
throughout the land he is Brig. Gen.
William a. Olmsted. who raised the first
company of volunteers in the State Of
New York. fought from the early opera
tions OF 1861 till peace had been declared
again, and, although not generally cred
lied with it in the history books. played
a most important part in the prelude to
the last act Of the long, bloody drama
the surrender Of Lee at Appomattox on
April g. 1865.
Christmas His Birthday.
Father Olmsted will be seventy-three
years old next Christmas Day. He was
born IN Albany and was twenty-seven
when he became a soldier in the North
ern army; ne was ffty-six when he be-
came a priest of the church. In his time
he has been an executive railroad man
and "A physician as we'll as clergyman
and fighting man, and there are few men
% any calling whose course through life
has resulted i'm more varied experiences
than his. His father. a retired sea cap
tain. who had become interested in Hud-
son River navigation. came of fine old
Colonial Dutch family originally called
HOImstadt-House in the Elms
He wished his son TO be a merchant
and go into the tea trade, but the lat
ter wanted TO be a civil engineer. and
laid out his own course i'm life by get
ting employment with the New York
Central Railroad Company BY 1861 he
had risen to be superintendent Of the
local branch between Albany and Troy.
and was putting in his spare time
nights and Saturday afternoon. and
whenever" studying for the profession
ne 50 Nltcn NlSntu 10 1OllOW-
Approach of Civil War.
Like most cities, both North and South
Troy was nightly stirred up over the
possibilities OF a break between the two
sections OF the country all through the
first three months Of '6l More than
most Northern cities it was divided as tC
the rights of the contention between
them. Partially. at least, this was be-
cause of the influence of>an officer or
the staff Of Gen. Wool who had charge
Of the Watervlict ArSenal-a Mai Deas
who. being from the South, naturally
was for the South, and did all he could
10 spread Southern sentiment in Troy
and round about
Young Olmsted was ardently for thu
North and he remembers an incident o.
The times which. although forgotten by
the world at large, is well worth givins
here although not directly part of tn,
Omsted story
Not long before there had been per
fected and set UP in the Watervlle
Arsenal a machine for making bullet!
much more rapidly than by the method
till then in use. The old way was I,
melt up a lot OF lead. and cast the bul
lets in a mold. The new machin,
punched them out of cold metal
Clever Plot Is FOiIed.
Deas coveted that machine for the us
Of the South. DeteAnining to get pos
. session OF 1t. somehow, and send il {,
Virginia. he organized bold plan 70
realizing his ambition. There were tw,
big nail works. just below the city limits
in South Troy, employing some hundred
OF men, These men Deas-a man of som,
magnetism-labored among zealously an,
succeeded in convincing them. that th'
South was right. Then he proposed tina
q few OF them should go TO the arsena