Year: 1866

In the Spring of 1861, when Fort
Sumter had surrendered to the mob
which had surrounded it, there was a


fervor of excitement in Charleston, rel


atiye to raising troops to invade the
North. A company Of young men he
longing to the first families in the
city had been organized, and the
ladies belonging to that circle had
made it their province to raise the
money necessary TO equip the COM
pany, furnish it with arms, and send
1t to the seat OF war in a style which
should reflect credit upon the patriot
ism even Of the first families of
Charleston. The excitement was in
tense, and the young lady friends of


the soldiers were in a fever heat as


to which should do the most towards
aiding the cause and firing the South
ern heart. \ fair was held. at which


the beauty and chivalry were present


and from this large sum was real
lied. One Young lady, a beautiful


and well-educated girl, daughter of a
! New York merchant who had settled


as a cotton factor in Charleston some


twenty years before, threw her whole
soul into the work She forgot her


relations at the North, forgot that


everything but her deep interest in


the ccuse of aiding the South. and


with foolish romance winch only the


excitement of these times could ex-


plain, at the fair sp0kcn Of offered


her heart and hand as a prize in the


rattle, the only stipulation being that


the person who drew them should be


of respectable parentage and d sol


dier. The novelty Of the proposition


added great interest to the fair, au
immense sum was realized aided 10y


the rattle, she being a petted child Oi


southern society, young, gifted, beauti-


ful and wealthy The holder Of the


prize ticket was young man, a gam


bier and spendthrift, who had run


through his fortune, and civil war


was au excitement Just suited to his


nervous temperament. lie wa S a


member of the company-the Charles


ton, Tigcrs-which the young ladies


were fitting out, and was q scion OF


the family of Rhetts. After it was


known who the lucky man was, his


well-knOwn prOpenSities, ,notwithstand-


ing his f amily connections, caused


every inducement to be offered by the


lady's parents to make her recede


from the promise she had made. No,
she had given her word, and her part
of the contract should be religiOu5ly
: kept. With great eciat the parties


were married-the occasion was the
} theme of much talk for a few days
) and then disappeared before the stern
er realities of war.


War brings strange revolutions.
The father of the young lady saw his
[ property wasted and he died in pow
, erty. Poor now, the folly and 70
nance which had once been the them
} of all praise was laughed at; but the
! more singular thing of all was that
the young lady loved the object upon
[ whom she had so strangely placed
| her heart. He had gone to Virginia
with his company. She heard of and
from him regularly, until the Summer
/ of 1864, when all traces of him ceased
The Tigers" were broken as com
. pany organization, and the few OF then
/ left were scattered through other reg
iments. Her ceasing to hear from
the man led the lady to believe tina
2 he was dead, and as a martyr to tht
|, cause she loved was he mourned
t When, however, war had ceased, anC
e the scattering fragments of Southern
|. chivalry came scattering back, she
learned that her husband had beer
: taken prisoner near Norfolk, and hac
J. enlisted in a company of United
k States volunteers, composed OF de
p serters from the Southern army, ane
S with them been sent up into Minnesota
; for duty on the border. THIS was