Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1910-12-01
WOMAN'S GLIMPSE OF WAR,
Battle OF MonOcacy Entirely Different
from What She Expected

4 remarkably vivid description Of n
real battle Monocacy-as seen by Il
woman is incorporated in Anne Dams
short story, stockings and Pumps,
which appears in Lippincotts. After
breakfast we al sat on the wide front
pore h, and the Jameson girls and [
talked of wha. we should do neat, finally
deciding on Il horseback ride through the
shady woods''-so runs the story. 'Why
no one knew or guessed of the impend-
ing battle ! canot imagine. except that
as havc said. the coming and going of
troops were common occurrences. AS
yet there had been no fighting within
thirty miles. and no fear of it. AS We
arose to prepare for the ride. three
officers in blue trotted rapidly down the
pike and called to Mr. Jameson to take
his family and ay to the woods The
rebels We're coming. Before we had
time to do anything. other officers came
along. shouting. To the cellar with you
To the cellar The colored servants
fled to the woods. leading horses and
driving cattle and pigs in front of them.
They had been told what to do in just
such an emergency. They were faithful
creatures, those black people and brave.
Mr.. Jameson sprars for his gun. to
fight on the Union side. | packed my
tat trunk wasn't going to lose my
pretty gowns II could help it--and
dragged it down to :he cellar, where
mother and daughters and l took refuge
ell Oh the right side, all praying that
our cause would win. And with us were
the old black nanny and the old black
cook. In order to reach the cellar. we
had to 20 down steep stone steps. And
SO it was that | saw the battle of
| Monocacy through wide barred windows.
and it lasted from 1900 a. IN. to 4:90 p M
by the clock.
Everything was different from what
| lad expec ed. There was the patter Of
| bullets, the screaming and bursting OF
| shells. the thunder OF cannon on both
| sides, and the smell and drift of smoke:
| but the fighting in front of our eyes was
| a hand-to-han conflict OF savage men. in
| groups of twos or three, or more shoot
| ns with their pistols, clubbing with tho
| butts Of guns. slashins with their bay
| onets. or wrestling ana falling over each
| other. intent to kill. We could see it
all as distinctly as you see a drama on
n stage, except when the combatants
came too near and there was only a play
| of blue and gray legs or the fall of
| broken and bleeding bodies. on the side
| toward Monocacy bridge q federal how
| itZer was pounding. and one of the balls
| strucN the Jameson house. but FORUM
ately only the diningroom and kitchen
annex. which went down with horrible
roar OF falling walls.
During the luls of the battle Mrs
Jameson and her daughters would call
ut intervals: Don't fight on the lawn,
You are ruicinE the lawn. Go down in
the road and fight And it didr't seem
to me strange. Now I: does, but it did
not then. The beautiful young lives
were going out. the brave young bodies
were breaking in blood and agony; bl,
the ancestral home seemed crumblinc
10 pieces as WELL and velvet lawn and
| hoary trees were ruined Tor another gen
| GRAFTON. ] only 15 and thought
less girl, but 1 seemed caught up into
larger spaces where the passions of men
were lost in the pain, ard | felt q
vast pity for each shattered one, the blue
or the gray. each dying SO salartly for a
! prnciple ard toI my lilac bush, and foi
the drcnrhed and tormented grass an,
the puzzled tree trunks, yielding them.
selves so innOcontly for nothing that they
could understandable quurreIs of inscn.
would so gladly have given peace AM
shade am pagan in this l believ,
the big trees know things-not common
Things. wise and comfortinG-and thai
they suffer as well as die"