Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1910-05-13
Civil War Stories



George w, Perkins, one of j. Pier
eont Morgan's partners, has repaired
b curious bit of damage to the Eplsco-
pal church at Milledgeville, Ga, done
| by Sherman's soldiers more than forty
five years ago, during the historic
march from Atlanta to the sea,
When Sherman and his huge army
reached this quaint old town, then the
capital of Georgia, they remained here
| some time. Milledgeville, in ante
| bellum and war times, was one OF the
most important cities of the State.
| Many of the w%ealthiest families lived
here; there was an abundance or n
%provender for soldiers and horses n
appliances for repairing damage to his
army's equipment which were taken
advantage of by Sherman.
His soldiers camped everywhere.
| One regiment took the Episcopal
| church as it's home, the church being
located in a large park close to the
old capitol building. Sherman had
many humorists in his army, who did
strange things in Milledgeville, but
the men of the regiment housed IN the
Episcopal church outdid their rivals
when they poured many gallons of mo-
lasses down the pipes OF the churcn
organ.
That organ still does service in the
Episcopal church, the Baltimore SUI
says, and the molasses bath given 1t
in wartimes has stuck to it ever since,
Notwithstanding years of pious effort
L. % rorl FpiSrnn1 l11nC
to rid it of the Sherman contribution.
Twice a day on Sunday, morning and
evening, and at funerals n other
solemn occasions, the old organ
wheezes pitifully and strangely.
The present organist is Mrs. Ruby
Bland, a finished musician. Her nus
band, Marshall Bland, is the local rep
resentative of the New York Life In
surance Company. Twelve years ago,
when George w. Perkins was the most
conspicuous figure in the New York
Life, a daughter was born to Mr.. and
Mrs. Bland. The Nylic organization,
created by Mr.. Perkins, was then at
it's height, and the girl baby was chris
tened Nylic.
About a yea ago a new rector came
to the Episcopal church, Rev. Mr..
Scarrett of Boston. He INC his sew
eral daughters are all music lovers,
and the poor old molasses-treated Or
gan in the Episcopal church upset
their nerves twice every Sunday. The
Scarretts delicately inquired as to the
cause of the organs queer disability,
and because of the r%ector's New Eng
land origin, hid the truth from him,
not wishing to seemingly stigmatize
anything northern, but finally a boy
blurted out the truth, saying:
"The Yankees poured molasses down
the pipes when that dog-gone old Sher-
man was here"
Steps to get a new organ were i'm
mediately taken. Since war time Mil
ledgeville has never been overburdel-
ed with money, and tie purchase of a
new organ was a serious undertaking
for the parishioners of Mr.. Scarrett's
church, even with cotton bringing Is
cents. Immediately schemes were
hatched to raise money-societies and
committees were organized and the
dollars began to dribble in slowly
when the 1~2-year-old brain of Nylic
Bland worked out a solution of the
problem to her own great surprise.
She had heard her father speak Of
George w. Perkins, so she sat down
and in school girl fashion wrote hin.
an artless letter asking him to give
something toward the purchase of the
new organ. If Mr.. Perkins had sent
5 or even 81 Nylic would have been
overjoyed, but instead the little girl
received this telegram:
"Buy the organ and send the bill to
me. GEO. w. PERKINS,"
A committee was at once appointed
to buy the organ and the momentous
purchase has just been made. The or
gan selected cost $1,000. Some of the
committee were afraid Mr.. Perkins
could not afford to give away such a
large sum of none and would not
ratify the purchase until he was COM
he were willing to have such a fine or
gan purchased. Mr.. Perkins answer
removed the last obstacle and in a few
Sundays the poor old organ with its
molasses-obstructed pipes will wheeze
in the Episcopal church for the last
lime.
A Pair of Captured Shoes.
The old army shoe," said a slen-
der dark-haired man, was a great in
stitution. l have a pair at home that
l have preserved, not as momentos OF
any long march, but as landmarks in
a venturous life. 1t was a custom
among the poorly shod Confederate
troops to remove, after a battle, the
shoes from the dead Union soldiers.
This was not done in any spirit of
vandalism or heartlessness. The. shoes