The Elbert County tribune., 1912-05-24

1858. I was lying In Fairfax Seminary Hos
pital in the suburbs Of Alexandria. Va. I was
part Of the wreckage of the second battle OF
Bull Run In the ward In which lay and to
the right OF me comrade seriously
wounded. He too. was a son of Ireland He
was the life Of the ward. and he smiled and
toked and laughed. confident Of his recovery.
'One day the surgeon notified the visiting
priest that he had better inform Pat that his
time short. I was lying so that I had
good view of his face when the priest broke
the dread to him He choked in his
throat in an EFFORT to master himself and then
asked the good father to wheel his bed around
SO he could look out of the window. 1t seemed
strange request, but without hesitation the
priest obeyed. And then. Pat turned his
gaze upon the world without his window
became aware of the reason Of his request-he
wished to Sc once more before he died the
flag floating at the head of the staff outside!
Darlint,' he breathed. fervently there ye
are an at tn top! Place God. ye shtill wave
onchallenged from Maine to Mexicoi'
Then followed In a rush of words the
things he had dreamed of 1t before he had
ever seen 1t on its native soil. He had prayed
that he and his loved ones might come under
Its benefcent folds to enjoy the perfect liberty
It promised Now 1t was in peril and he was
dying for 1t, unable even to raise his weak
ened hand and salute 1t. He bade the glorious
old banner goodbye. and. turning to the priest,
said:
dIAci, yen WTite TO ner nQ DreaK Ut
gintly ye kin? Sore will be her hear-rut
whin she knows thut Pat will come back no
more to her. nd tn bhoys. Till her charge
her wit me dying breat" to rear tn bhoys SO
that whin manhood comes to thhm and the
flag should ivir made thin. they will give thfr
loives aven unto death. thir fayther gives
his loife this day! N now. fayther to me
souls salvation
I'm the gray dawn of the following morning
commotion near my bed awoke Open
ing my eyes I saw them lift his lifeless form
and carry 1t out Of the ward"
did you ever hear OF Tim Regans dag7"
continued the old veteran who paid as his
price OF duty to his country both legG "No7
Wel, Tim Regan was son of the Emerald
Isle who had gone to war with the 9th Massa-
chusetts Volunteer Infantry. He, with many
other Union soldiers. lay In Libby prison as
that Fourth OF July drew near They chafed
In spirit at the thought of passing the Fourth
without even sight of the flag. Tim con-
ceived the Idea OF making one. He had a
new white woolen shirt and the others blue
ones. They pooled their slender amount of
cash and persuaded an amiable guard to pur.
chase for them some red and white woolen
goods. on the pretext that they wanted to
make them up into shirts. Out OF THIS ma.
terial they fashioned a flag. crude In construc-
tion, butt represented Old Glory.
They gauged we'll they could the door
OF the loft OF the prison and the probable
oSioAe ~ "hiSh INC phtTOitlDB guard might
raise his vision. Then. the night OF the ard
they clambered up among the rafters and
stretched their crude flag In the apex of the
loft The next day they gathered In circle
In the center of the chamber and sang patri.
otic songs throughout the day The guards
were a little curious to the cause OF the
unusual proceedings. but failed to discover the
banner above them. That night they took II
down. cut 1t into strips and divided 1t among
themselves Each thereafter a strip Of
that flag around his body next his skin. and
as each was paroled he bore out with him his
fragment OF the banner.
'Regan had taken the precaution to ascer
tain the home address OF each man. After the
war he corresponded with them or their sur
viving relatives and hnally-it was a work
Of years duration-had every bit OF the flag
back again. Again he sewed It together
Again he stood at salute before It. Now he
has gone to join his comrades In the great
beyond but the big he made is securely
guarded from dust and decay In a glass case