Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-05-21

and woman were administering restor-
atives. A negro mammy WAS holding
a baby The two officers. who had en-
tered. stood awe stricken. Birney saw
his father. mother. child. wife. he
was a soldier and brave man. but In
all men there is something womanly
that when pent to overfiowtng viii
burst its bounds. In fury OF tears
the young husband and father. point
ing to the livid body Of his wife, ex-
claimed:
There. general. is the cause OF my
cowardice You have forced me TO fire
on those who are all the world TO me,
TO kin my own wife. And now you
have put me under arrest. Take my
sword; / have no further use for it
wish to God | had disobeyed your
order and you had cut me down for
mutiny. Coward 1 have been cow
ard Had / been brave l would have
shot you rather than have turned my
guns on my own home"
The general stood looking from his
subordinate to the pale face Of the
wife and mother as one turned to mRr-
Bile He saw a horror of war such as
he had never seen before. And it was
by his order that his lieutenant had
fred the guns against his own wife,
recovering from the effects or child
birth. Then. suddenly starting from
his lethargy, he cried to an infantry
man who had come down the stairs:
go for a surgeon. Don't lose mo-
ment! Ride for lifeI'
The man disappeared, and the gen.
eral turned again to the group. Lieu
tenant Birney was kneelipg beside his
wife, with his arms about her, begging
her to live for his sake. her father
was standing with bowed head. Her
mother was tanning her to give her
air
''She must be moved from here" said
the general. and, calling on several
privates who had strayed from their
commands and were rambling agog
through the house, he ordered them to
carry the lounge and its burden up
stairs and into n room where the least
wreckage had been done. There the
invalid, buoyed by the presence Of her
husband, gathered little strength and
was enabled to wind her arms about
his neck.
Then came a surgeon and applied
simple restoratives.
IF she recovers," he said, latter be-
ing in house battered by artillery
while she was in such a condition it
will be a miracle"
bis official duties carried the gen.
eral away. Before leaving he directed
that everything the medical staff could
supply be brought for her use.
"And you, lieutenant" he added to
Birney, "are to remain on duty here till
further orders"
Under her husbands tender care the
mother passed a crisis and recovered.
but before that the army had with
drawn southwark. and within a fort
night Birney retoined his battery, Of
which, the captain having died of his
wounds, he was promoted to the COM
mand.
The general pondered long as to how
he could make reparation to his in
ferior and at the same time refrain
from laying bare the delicate situation
under which his own unattended in
justice had been perpetrated.
1t is customary in armies after an
engagement Tor the commander 10 is
sue an order detailing what has oc-
Cured. On this occasion the order
contained. among other matters, this
brief mention:
Such courage as was displayed by
Lieutenant Winfield Birney in success
fully driving the enemy from under
cover of a wood surrounding a manor
house Notwithstanding a Union re-en-
forcement on the premises was never
before witnessed by the commanding
general"
The army was agog to know what
the general meant, and the members
Of Birney's battery wondered where |
was the enemy's reinforcement. |
Meanwhile it was pulling Justify on a
bottle.