The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1909-02-25
Civil War Stories
Touching story of the War.


barely five feet tall, with gray hair and
bright, deep-set eyes, full of human
sympathy, who is Il heroine in her way.
having done valiant service in the war
is volunteer nurse from its very be-
ginning until its close. Mrs. Y. has
had many and thrilling experiences,
and now and then in her work at the
Pension Office among the applicants
for pensions she will run across one of
her former patients, or someone whom
she knew during the period of her hos
pital experiences, says the New York
Tribune
In the early days of the war Mrs. y.
was charged with the distribution of
some hospital stores with headquarters
at small town in Virginia. which may
be called Sampson The house in which
she was placed was owned by a South
ern family, the men all in the Confed-
crate service. only the women, mother
and daughter. being left. These women
locked themselves in the rooms they
were permitted to retain and would
have no intercourse with the Yankees,
whom they hated none the less that
their errand was a merciful one.
Mrs. Y. made advances to her I'M
willing hostesses. but was repulsed ut
every step. Finally, she found that
these women had become so poor that
they were suffering for the very neces-
stiles of life. and left outside their door
each morning food for the day. At first
it remained untouched, but after day
or two it was taken inside, and one
morning the daughter meeting Mrs. Y.
on the stairs, thanked her In a proud
way for her kindness, and said she
would not have accepted it but that her
mother was i'll and needed the nourish-
ment. After this the Yankee nurse and
the Southern girl spoke when they met
but their acquaintance, despite the eff
forts of Mrs. N. who felt that she
might help and sustain these poor WON
en-, went no further.
A day or two before she left Samp-
son Mrs. Y. was anxious TO make a bag
to hold lint, bandages, emergency med
icines. etc, that she could carry with
her to the front There was nothing
among her stores available for This
purpose, and nothing to be had in the
village. Without considering the mat
ter, she boldly knocked at the enemy's
door, and asked for Il bit of cotton.
Much to her surprise a cordial recep-
ton was accorded her, and, on making
her want known, her neighbOrS search
ed their belongings TO accommodate
her, but nothing was found that could
be utilized At last the girl took from
her mothers linen chest n beautiful
towel, exquisitely embroidered, and
with her own hands made the bag
which was to hold banda yes and medi-
icines for her enemies. Then they said
goodbye, never expecting to meet
again.
In the Pension Office more than thir-
ty years after Mrs. ". acting in the
absence of her chief, received a call
from a stately, gray-haired woman,
who had a pension case dating back
| to the Mexican war pending before
the bureau There was pitlful story
Of want, deprivation, almost starva-
| ton, back of it, The case excited the
interest and sympathy of Mrs. Y. and
there was something in the appearance
Of the woman that appealed TO her
strongly She examined the papers
carefully, pointed out some technicali-
ties that had not been complied with.
started them In the right direction, and
before many days the pension was al
owed the papers signed and the APP
| plicant in possession OF a handsome
again called on Mrs. J., this time to
| thank her.
| you owe me no thanks" said Mrs.
X. Don't you remember me? | was
your guest In Sampson during the war.
Have you forgotten the towel with
your monogram on it? l still keep the
bag as a souvenir
Yes. yes" said the woman, sOftened
by years of suffering and sorrow. land
twice you have saved me from starva-
ton"
A Secesh Lady and Her Sweetheart.
We read pages of fiction and yield
our sympathies TO affecting incidents
which happen at any time, and the
| following romantic incident OF the wal
might furnish some writer with q
heroine as fascinating as any ever
written of. The following letter from
a soldier tells the tale. He says:
while coming home from n scout
this forenoon we called at a house by
the roadside and found a couple of la
dies. quite young, and one as handsome
as Hebe. They were 'secesh' to the
back bone and each had a lower in
the Rebel army; one of them was a.
Yorktown and only left the day before
and carry such information as he haC
gotten from us. The young lad,
showed us his photograph Ca COCO
looking lleutenanD, and hoped w,
should meet him face to face and thai
he might leave us for dead oh y sale
she. If all the Yankees were one MAJ
and ! had a sword here, | should Xix,
10 cut his throat And she said il
with vim, too. We laughed and told
her we would take care of her gooC
looking lieutenant, and would see TO i
that she should have IN opportunity
to change her name after the war wa:
over. hoping for an invitation to tn,
wedding, and as she had called me III,
| divine chaplain of the regiment,
| proposed to marry them after we Lac
A., taken Yorktown. Never said she;
hope he will come home dead befor,
you shall take Yorktown. / would
| wade in blood to my knees to bury hi:
| keIy Che cnol.a af rnfcon I'm, a. 81 g,