Evening star., 1924-11-09
Special D'spat tch to The Star.

WORCESTER, Mass, November 8
Love for her adopted brother, from
| whom she could not bear to be sep
| arated, was the motive that led Mrs
| Peter Johnson to cut her hair, paC
/ her figure until it entirely lost Its
| girlish contour, and enlist for serV-
| ice in the Civil War, where she serv-
| ed for nearly two years. Such was
| the story that Mrs. Johnson Is max
| ing public for the first time, in the
| hope that the verifcation of the tale
! will provide the pension necessary to
| herself and her husband, in order thai
| they may maintain themselves out
| side Of the county institution, the
| home farm, where they have been en-
| rolled as inmates about two months
| Not only did Mrs. Johnson see ac'
| tual fighting, but she recalls the Bat
| tie of Antietam G eerly and distlnctlS
| The man next to her had the top ol
his head blown off and it was days
before she could sleep. or eat. from
| the memory Of the horrors about her
| A bullet wound on the finger or one
| hand, powder marks on the other
/ hand, a military bearing and snappy
| sa 'ute despite her 81 years, give
credance to the story that is attract
| ine wide attention and causing state
and civil authorities to speed up then
machinery and cut through knots OF
red tare in order to remove Mrs
Johnson and her husband from the
roor farm in the shortest possible
! time.
Enlisted in Navy.
| AS though the story was not un'
usual enough. the little old woman
| tells of a later enlistment in the Navy
| at Key West While serving as ar
ordinary seaman she met Queen Vic
! toria, and it was through the infiu-
| ence of the Queen of England that she
| was finally enabled to get out of THE
| Navy and into convent in Quebec.
| Mrs. Johnson's memory is Gear
about her early days. Of which she
| tells unhesita tingly. In the warm Fal
sunshine at the State farm, under the
! same roof with the husband with
whom she has lived for more than &c
! wears. but permitted to see him only
% minutes each week because of tho
| institutional rules. Mrs. Johnson sat
| quietly and told the story of heI
! eventful life. II was born February
| 7. 1870" she said. "My name was
Mary Ann MURPHY and my people 'ived
| killed in the old fort at Plattsburg
! and my mother died when l was
| years old. Benjamin Hill of Platts-
burg adopted me and ! lived with that
family until l was 16 years old.
Learned Chair Seating.
Most. of that time we lived in the
| town OF Westminster for the Hill
| family had moved from Plattsburg tC
| Keyesville and from there to farm
| in Westminster We lived there fiv.
wears and from there moved to Fitch
| burg near the lod stone mill. I and my
! brother by adoption, Tom Hill Were
sent to the mill to learn how to seat
, chairs. We were taught how to dc
| the work there and then were allow e(
| to take it home.
This all happened before the Civil
War, of course. When the war bhke
| out my brother Tom said he was go.
! ing to enlist in the army. He went &c
| Camp Groton. Aver, now known az
Camp Devens. My life at home be-
came unbe~ rable. I always had loved
! Tom, and always had shared his work
| his friends and his sports. / was
| never a girl because / never had any
| girls to play with. / was little-yor
! can see I've always been Httle-but
! was as strong as an OK and my adopt
| ed parents worked me terribly hard
| And when Tom went l made up my
| mind to go with him.
But making up her mind and ther
| easy then as it would be today. There
! were no trolley lines leading into
Groton. no busses making the camI
| accessible to lovelorn girls who woult
| a-visiting go.
| Distance was minor difficulty
| easier to overcome than what fol
| lowed, however. Mary Ann Murphy
started at midnight for Groton. tramp
| ing the long, lonesome way in pitcf
! ~
Whalon Marshes. near Whalon Park
she was overtaken by group O.
soldiers travelling in a barge to CamI
| Groton. They picked her up, rolled
| her in blankets and coats. and SNUG
| gled her into camp. Il asked to Sc,
f; Col. Davis or Lieut.. Pratt. but thi
| was refused" Mrs. Johnson says. 6
| was then taken. at my request, to m!
brother Tom; begged to go alons
with him. Tom at first refused. bu
moved by my pleading. at last con
sented, and his companions agreed t
| keep the secret with him and enlis
me as a man.
All Promised To Aid.
"They could not very we'll refuse
since on the previous week the wifi
! of one of their comrades had gon
through, and they had all aided her
Il was taken 10 new OTk, my ndl
| was clipped, a bandage was wrapped
| about me to conceal my figure ant
l was given a uniform and enlisted a
Saul Hill, Is years old. of Compan.
B, SD Massachusetts Regiment.
went to Missouri and served witt
that company for the remainder o
the war. which was about year and ,
half. 1 received $110 when 1 eniiste'
] and $110 when L was discharged
remember Capt. Corey we'll.
Lack of Medical Care.
Mrs. Johnson remembered othe
; things very distinctly. too. especially
the sanitary conditions-or the lacl
of them-existing in the militar
camps. The lack of medical care
the ignorance of the proper method
of treating wounded men-all o
these details have remained clearl
in her memory, although more i'm
portant events have slipped away o
become confused pictures. blurre
and indistinct of outline, in her mind
l She does recall the sight of tn
man next to her, whose head wa
blown off, and says that when sh
saw that she remembered that sh
| was first of all a girl and not a mai
at all, even though her uniform
indicated that she was.