Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1909-09-24
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War Of the Rebellion, but the hero of
this tale was not only the smartest
Mac" but the youngest and most d.
minutive enlisted member of the Army
of the United States, and now for
more than twenty-five years by far the
youngest comrade In the Grand Army
of the Republic and a frequent and a
welcome guest at many reunion OF
the G. A. r. posts other than his own.
Never has this youthful veterans re-
c1tal of the surprising incidents sur
rounding his remarkable enlistment,
the exhibition of the yellowed docu-
ments filled In with ink now faded,
although clearly decipherable-his en-
listment and discharge papers-failed
to arouse enthusiasm among his older
comrades.
In the little Mississippi river town
of Fort Madison, Iowa, the site of
former governmental frontier fort and
the scene of many a skirmish and
more than one full-fedged battle be-
tween the redskins on one hand and
the soldiers and pioneers on the other,
there lived in the late sos young
and patriotic physician, Abel Cummins
Roberts, a graduate of the University
of Michigan, with his wife and two
little children.
In addition to being physician DR..
Roberts was the editor and publisher
of weekly newspaper, the Fort Mad
ison Plaindealer He was a strong adj
vocate of colonizing the negroes and
of having the government reimburse
the masters of the coloniZed slaves.
He advocated this as the only plan
that would make possible the avoid
ance of war.
However, partisan feeling was
strong in those days-so strong, in
fact, that a party of Fort Madison men
provided themselves with long, stout
rope and called on the editor one night
at his home and offered him the I'M
enviable choice of abandoning his pol
icy of advocating negro colonization
and of publicly apologizing for some
of the pointed things he had said in
print or taking a plunge in the Faith
er of Waters tied to his old Washing
ton hand press with the rope
But DR.. Roberts had heard that he
would be called upon, and he had
blood in his veins, so, after listening
quietly to the leaders Of the mob, he
calmly laid his Colts navy on the
porch rail and talked bluntly and for
al OH no vol
tee of free speech and Of free press,
and Of his steadfast determination to
avail himself of his constitutional
rights, mob or no mob. He concluded
by inviting them to come on" if they
were still dissatisfied They refused
change his policy.
Later, when war began and volun-
teers were called he forsook both the
pen and his advocacy of colonization
and became a member of the Twenty
first Missouri Infantry Volunteers, as
Surgeon Major, and as Major Abel G.
Roberts served through the entire per-
iod of the war with one brief furlough.
In 1853 the Twenty-f1rst was quar-
tered at Memphis, Tenn. Opposite the
camp grounds was the home of then
wealthy Southern planter, DR.. Whea-
ton The surgeon of the Twenty-frst
found occupation plenty and seldom
left his quarters. One day, however,
while all was quiet in camp willowy,
sweet-faced Southern girl came rush
ing from the old mansion Of the Whea-
tons and into the camp of ''the enc
my" Mary Wheaton was in deep
trouble. She had been left alone that
day and something had gone wrong
Two of her fathers pet pickaninnies
had INDUCED in poison berries and
were in the grip of death. The girl
hastily told her troubles and asked:
us there not some one here who will
help me, please, for they are sure
'nough dying?'
Moved by the girls Distress Major
Roberts volunteered. An emetic was
given, bit of pummeling done, and
after a brief while the tangles were
Strengthened and the children sprawl
ed out in the sum- sadder but wiser
Africans.
Major Roberts and DR.. Wheaton
grew to be great friends. One day
the regimental surgeon betrayed an
anxiety concerning his wife, then i'll
IN the North to his Southern friend
and what did the old planter do but
command Major Roberts to send for
his little family at once There was
no disregarding such proffer of hos
pitality. The open door. Of a South
erner means Come in and happy is
he who does as hidden. A few days
later saw the little family reunited
the husband in his tent and the little
wife and two boys only stones throw
away, safely lodged in the old plant
er's home.
In the early morning of Dec. 81,
1868, there arrived in camp just be-
fore reveille youngster who was
promptly christened Edward McClel-
Ian Roberts, the Edward being for one