The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1913-06-17
A Battlefield
Baby
BY ARTHUR w. BREWSTER

Twenty years after the civil war
went south with party to look ovel
the backgrounds of Chickamauga anC
Missionary Ridge. A young man &C
companied our party who told us that
as a baby he had been in a battle
When he had grown old enough to be
told anything about himself his sup
posed father inform ed him that he (the
father had been Union soldier in the
battle Of Missionary Ridge and during
the fight hearing cry In some bushes,
| had gone there and found baby. He
took the little chap out of the fight.
| and when ordered to march on the
baby was adopted by the company and
| carried along. The finder afterward
took him home and brought him up.
He was now on his way to visit the
battlefield with view to learning
something of his parentage.
remained for some time at Chat
tanooga, and the young man, Runyan.
who was looking for his ancestors re-
manned with me. | was engaged In
certain work on the battlefield of
Chickamauga, and Runyan was engag-
ed in his own search There was an
old negro in the hotel at which we
stayed who did odd jobs, and I paid
him to do things for me. He was
lugubrious old fellow. and never but
once saw a smile on his face
One day | asked him why he was so
melancholy.
Dat are story by its own SELF
was his reply, with solemn shake of
the head.
well. uncle" I said to him, "you
might as well tell me, for I'm so Gu
rious to know that / won't let you
alone till you do"
He hemmed and hawed awhile and
finally told the story:
81 wor horned on a plantation on de
redgs, and my mars wor one OBJ de
best young men in de souf. wor glib
en- TO him by his fadder when he wo-
married. Dat wor not long befo' de
wah broke out My young mars he
had little plantation OBJ he own, and
he Wink II with no mo- N dozen mig
gahs. | wor house servant and, hav-
in belonged to de family TO- so long.
had charge of eberyfing.
Den de wah come on, and mars he |
go jine de Confederate army. When he
went away he say to me, Joe, rs
gwine to leab my wife and my chile |
what isn't bawn yet in 20 car his |
voice trembled when he spoke OBJ de |
chile-'and | spect yo TO glib up 70
own life befo' yo' let any trouble hap
pen EN-
II toll him dat 1t don't make no diff
ference wedder it no'the'n or southern
pusson, kill him if he touch ha'r OF
missiles head
while he wor away fightin' wod
come to missile dat he got Token sick.
By dat time de baby wor bon and
about a yea old Missile say TO me
one day, says she: Joe, my husban'
am berry sick, and l got to go TO him.
Do 20 t'ink yo' kin take car OBJ de
baby till l come backT / say, sho'
I kim So missile told me all about de
baby's food and what to do when dis
happen and dat happen till don't
know wedder / wor on my head or my
heels. Den she went away.
missile hadn't been gone berry long
befo' dere wor fightin' at Chickamaugy
creek. and | wheeled de baby out to
de brow OBJ de redge where could see
lie battle goin' on. De no'the'n folks
wor driben purity nigh into dis place,
and after dat de fghtin' stopped TO a
ong time Mr.. Bragg's army wor
Town below de redge, and then he come
up on top OBJ de redge. Meantime mis-
lie come back, and when de south'n
army wor camped on de redge mars
he got token sick some mo-, and she
vent away ag'in, leabin me In charge
,b de baby.
Zone day wor wheelin' de baby
long de brow OBJ de redge, and I see
lie no'the'n folks down below all
narchln' up and down IS IL dey wor
'aradIn'. Fus' ting / knowed a lot OBJ
lem sojers jus started TO climb de hill
De men on top wor shootin' down at
I'm, and dey wor de debble to pay.
Wheeled de baby back towa'd de house
s fas' as I kin. but l meet some
outhe'n sojers. and one oh de ossifers
ay TO me:
" 'Heah. 20 niggah. 20 put shout
er to de wheel OBJ de gun
II didn't dare disobey. i put my
boulder to de gun. and we took IL TO
e brow oh de redge. De Yankees
pine right Up and took de gun. and ] II
-or in de middle oh de fight tried to
Il back TO de baby. and when I got
ar whar I lef him in de bushes he
-or gone"
Runyan while the story was being II