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A ROMANTIC REMINISCENCE OF THE CIVIL WAR.(Contributed.)On tiu* first day of July, about 3 o’clock p. m., 1863, there was found on the battle field of Gettysburg a soldier paralyzed by the passing of a minnie ball through his body and lodging on his spine. Robert Augustus Smith, company G, eighth Louisiana regiment of infantry, was carried to the improvised field hospital about sun down and the bail removed from his body. On the third day of July he was removed to an old barn near Emmitsburg, Md., where a temporary hospital was erected for the Louisiana wounded soldiers. On the morning of the fourth of July the Confederate army retreated across the Potomac into Virginia, leaving the wounded soldiers as well provided for as could be under the circumstances.General Harry T. Hayes, commander of the first Louisiana (Tiger) brigade, passed through the old barn and bid every wounded soldier of his command goodby. Coming to Smith he was shocked to find that he had been neglected and his wound not dressed. The general reprimanded the surgeon in charge and ordered him to attend to Smith at once, which he did, very much to Smith’s relief and comfort.About 8 o’clock on the morning of the retreat the cavalry had a skirmish around the barn and the building waspnwell riddled by the ball butno injury done to the inmates.Pretty soon after the passing of the cavalry many straggling Yank-passed through the barn, guying and cheering as soldiers do. Mr. Sokolo-ski, the old German who owned the barn, came in and read to the soldiers the fall of Vicksburg that day; exulting in the failure of the rebels, ashe called them*On the morning of the fifth of July Miss Annie McBride visited the hospital with Dr. Strickland, who wasleft with the wounded, to ascertain the needs of the wounded prisoners. When they came to Smith, lying on a bed of straw paralyzed, Dr. Strickland expressed his surprise at the tenacity with which Smith clung to life. Miss McBride, stooping down and passing her fingers through the bushy locks of the wounded man, remarked, “I will bring you a little Louisiana friend to nurse you tomorrow.”The next day she brought an angel ol mercy, Miss Nannie H. Riggs, saying, “Here is your Louisiana friend. She is the daughter of Dr. Jas. R.Riggs, deceased of Millikin Bend, La.” Now, when General Grant was besieging Vicksburg he occupied the home of Mrs. Bledsoe, the mother of Miss Nannie, as his headquarters. He gave Mrs. Bledsoe a pass to Emmits-burg to be with her children and out of danger till the war was over.This angel of mercy at once went to work to make her patient as comfortable and as well as possible. The lirst thing was to clean up, provide clothing and bedding and suitablefood.After being made comfortable, the wounded soldier slept a sweet sleep and dreamed of his widowed mother and little brothers and sisters in the far-off land of the pelican and the magnolia. When he awoke he spoke of mother and home. Then Miss Nannie proposed that he write to his mother and she would see that the letter would pass through the lines to the dear mother. She provided the material ami held it so that he might write the message with his own hand that he was yet alive and under the care of a kind providence and being nursed back to life. That letter did reach the distressed mother and family and was the only word from theboy till he reached home, Mount Lebanon, Rienville parish, La., August 13, 1864, about a year after.Attending almost daily, bringingsuitable nourishment and encouraging cheer, Miss Nannie continued her ministrations till the 20th of July, when those soldiers who could be transported were sent to hospitals where they might be provided for more conveniently in the north.Miss Riggs brought her album andrequested Sergeant Smith to write a memento and she gave him her address as Independence, Washington county, Texas, as her future home when the cruel war was over. She gave him as a keepsake a talisman, a pearl case, containing a gold pencil knife, a small cushion and a strand of beads, a rosary. And when they clasped hands and said the last good-by there passed to his hand a roll of “greenbacks,” to supply his future wants. v.Sergeant Smith was carried to the hospital, David’s Island, in New York bay, where he remained until November 12, 1863.During the time he corresponded with Miss Riggs and received from her and her mother financial aid. A few days after he was able to walk again he was sent by ship via Fortress Monroe to City Point. \ a., paroled and sent to Petersburg, Va., thence to Ma-Jcon, Ga. There he remained visiting I relatives and friends until August 8,1864. He was exchanged in February, 1864. During his stay in Georgia he met Miss Annie Gertrude Dunham to whom he was married November 22, 1866.In February, 1867, while they were walking about the yard they read in a scrap of the New Orleans Crescent the marriage of Miss Nannie H. Riggs to D. L. Bledsoe.Mr. Smith felt assured she was the “angel of mercy” that had preserved his life. Remembering the address, “Independence, Washington county, l exas,” he at once adressed Mrs. Nannie Riggs Bledsoe there, requesting the postmaster to forward if necessary. In two weeks came an answer from Mrs. Nannie Ft. Bledsoe claiming to be the identical lady. In reply to this letter Mr. Smith asked for a copy of the lines written in her album atthe barn in Pennsylvania. When itcame the identity was complete.Then came years of correspondence till the Confederate reunion at Dallas when Prof. R. A. Smith visited Mrs. Bledsoe at the home of Mrs. Sarah R. Moore in Bryan. This visit quickened the correspondence and there was an exchange of photos and visits by the children.And now*, after 55 years, the old people are enjoying each other.Professor Smith and his wife, a charming old lady with snowy locks, are visiting Mrs. Bledsoe and her sister, Mrs. Moore.Verily our good deeds bloom and their fragrance is wafted along the shores of our declining years. True gratitude is the fruit of true love andis eternal.DON'T FAIL TO GO TO THE DIXIE TONIGHTCatarrh Cannot Be CuredWith LOCAL APPLICATIONS, as they cannot reach the seat of the disease. Catarrh is a local disease, greatly influenced by constitutional conditions, and in order to cure it you must take an internal remedy. Hall’s Catarrh Medicine is taken internally and acts thru the blood on the mucous surfaces of the system. Hall's Catarrh Medicine was prescribed by one of the best physicians In this country for years. It is composed of some of the best tonics known, combined with some of the best blood purifiers. The perfect combination of the ingredients in Hall’s Catarrh Medicine is what produces such wonderful results in catarrhal conditions. Bend for testimonials, freeF J. CHENEY CO.. Props., Toledo. O.All Druggists, 76c.Hall's Family Pills for constipation.
Newspaper Details
Bryan Daily Eagle
Bryan, Texas, US
Fri, Sep 06, 1918
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Joe O.
USA 02 Mar 2018
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