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ItlNCOLN t ON THE BATTLEFIELD.
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President Watched Contest For the
Possession of Washington.
Of all the places of historic interest
In and about Washington , there Is not
one that played a more important
i , part in the defense of the nation's
capital than picturesque Fort Stevens ,
t just to the north of the city. There ,
' a bit over forty years ago , Abraham
J-Ilncolp stood on' the parapets of this
hastily constructed fort and watched
' the battle for the protection of the
; city of Washington It was the only
time In the history of the country
when the President , who Is comman
der . In-chief of the army , has stood
exposed on the field at battle to the
bullets of the sharpshooters of the op-
' posing forces.
. . Sacred as the spot should be , it was
! for many years neglected. In recent
.
i years , however , n. dilatory Congress
. ' has seen to its care , and now It I. attractive .
, tractive enough to take many visitors
' ' , daily to the high ground five miles
north ot the city where the Union soldiers .
diers fought it out with Jubal Early's
men on that memorable morning .of
July 12 , 1864. There is a little cem-
etery hard by now , where clustered
about a _ tall flag pole from the top of
which the stars and stripes float to
i the breeze , are the graves of the men
f . who died that Washington might be
saved. It Is bard to say what might
have lieen the result had they not
checked Gen. Early's march on
, Washington. If President Lincoln had
escaped capture it must have been in
flight.
oJ High up from the pike , in former
: 1 days the main artery between Wash-
inglon and Baltimore , stands lo.day a
picturesque little church of stone ,
called Emory Chapel , the home of a
congregation { of the Methodist Episcopal .
- , copal Church , South It stands in the
very center 01' the old fort , and In the
. spot where the magazine then was.
Its position Is a commanding one , giving .
ing a view of all the surrounding coun-
try. Round and about it the breastworks .
; works of the old fort are yet to be
seen Here it was that the Union soldiers .
diers sustained the only onslaught of
the Confederate troops in their attack
on Washington. .
It was first called Fort Massachusetts .
setts , because it was largely con-
strl1cted by troops from the Bay state ,
but after It was strengthened and altered -
. - tered , in 1863 , it was rechristened
Fort Stevens , In honor of Gen. Isaac
. I. Stevens , colonel of the 79th regi-
i went , New York Infantry , afterward
. major.general of volunteers , who was
killed Sept. 1 at Chantilly.
t It was In the early part of July ,
1864 , that Gen. Early laid his plans
for a descent upon the national cap.
ital. Low Wallace had opposed his
march with the 6th corps at 1\Iona.
easy , and , though the Confederates
won the day , they were so worn by ,
the battle that they had to rest one
day before following up their advant-
age. That one day was fatal. It enabled .
nblerl Grant to overtake the 25th New
\ York cavalry by telegraph at City
Point and hurry them by way of Bal-
.
l' timore to Washington. They reached
11 ' Fort Stevens early on Monday morn-
\ .qng , twelve hours before the other reo
enforcements.
J News of Earl"s coming had reamed
I Washington , and the town WR , In a
turmoil of excitement. It W:13 : known
that the forts about the city were garrisoned -
risoned only by small forces composed .
posed chiefly of hundredday men ,
convalescents or the veteran reserve
corps 11.d clerks from the government
department who had bravely and
cheerfully responded to the call for
volunteers. So great was the anxiety
I " in the city that a steamboat was kept
( at the river front with steam up all
t' day ready to take away the President
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and the most valuable government
records. It was decided that the main
attack would bo made at Fort Stevens .
ens , anti so what force could be mus'
tered was concentrated thero.
The command of the forces for defense .
fense was placed in the hands of Mai '
Gen. Alexander McDowell McCool.
Ltteut.-Col. John N. Frazoe was given
immediate command of the fort. 1\1aj.-
Gen Horatio G. Wright was also
there. In fact , there were many generals .
erals and few privates ,
As Early's mon advanced , much
woodland was cut down and many
I
houses burned , the occupants being '
given but a few hours to get their
goods out. A skirmish line was
thrown out , consisting at the 25th
New York cavalry , and , although they
lost heavily during the first day's battle .
tie , they were able to hold Early's
forces In check until re.enforcements
arrived the day following. On Tuesday .
day the real battle was fought , and
the morning after not a Confederate
was to be soen. It was a fight in the
open , and a bloody one Of the 1,000
men of the 6th corps who went into
the fight 250 were either killed or
wounded.
The opposing forces were not more
than fifty rods from the fort , and during -
ing it all President Lincoln stood on
the parapets . apparently unconscious'
of his danger until an officer fell mortally -
tally wounded within three feet of
him. Then Gen. Wright peremptorily
represented to him the needless risk
he was running , and the dire consequences .
quences an injury to him would in-
volve - , I
Four hundred Union m iwere
'
killed and 600 Confederates , a loss
small in comparison to other battles .
of the cIvil war , but the Importance of
the result ' cannot well be overestimat-
ed. Confederate success would have
meant the flight of the President , and
the capital of the country in thelRnds
of the enemy. The effect of ' the resultant -
sultant demoralization to the loyal
men of the Union and foreign complications -
cations that would have inevitably
followed cannot bo told.
The little plot of ground a bit to
the north , called the National Battle
Ground cemetery , is where forty of
those who fought for the Union on
that hot Jkly day rest until the last
call Each year : , on Memorial day ,
the people gather there to do them
homage , while the children of the public .
lic schools strew flowers on their won
kept gray os ,
To the north of this beautiful spot ,
with its sheltering trees and quaint
littlE ' ; stone lodge , there is another
brave , that of an unknown wearer of
the gra ) ' . Every effort has been made
to learn the name of this brave man ,
who fought until he could fight no
more , but without success. There are
several storIes told about him , the
most authentic , perhaps , being that
told by Charles Hobbs , a native of
Montgomery county , Md. , who was an
eye witness of the battle.
He says that while EarJy's men
were failing back In front of the advancing -
vancing 6th corps a number of Confederate .
federate sharpshooters were left In
the rear to sting the oncoming lines of
bluo. These riflemen dodged from
tree to tree , firing as they retroated.
The unknown who fills the lone grave
was one of these "hornets , " evidently
more daring than his comrades , who ,
In his anxiety to bring down some of
the enemy , lagged too far in the rear , .
.
and met death by a minio ball through
his he&1't. His body was found the
next day In a clump of bushes , where
I' 1 : ) had crawled after receiving the
mortal wound. Ho was burled near
the spot where ho fell , and now a neat
marble monument marks the last rest-
ing place of the unknown soldier in
gra ) ' .
Gets Soldier Husband's Ring.
Mrs Spencer Pillsbury of Mt. Holly ,
Vt. , has just received word of the finding -
ing of a rIng on the battlefield I\t ;
Spottsylvanla , Pa. . which is marked
with the name of her first husband ,
Corp. David A. Patch , Co B , 2d Vermont .
mont volunteers , wha was killed In
that battle.
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Since Mother's Gone.
Since mother' ; ono I miss the smile
And gentle voce that used to cheer
My boyish heart , day after day .
And put to flight / each cure alai fear
Which chanced to he along my wuy. . " .
No more about the humble home
1 see her her '
ply dully care ,
Or hear her sing ! seine sacred song .
Or plead with God In fervent llray'r
For right to triumph over wrong
I love to hear Rome sacred song
Or hAllowed hymn she used to sing ,
Or pray the ! IJray'r she used ! to pray
That I to him may firmly cling
Who waR her comfort day lJy (111)
The ' mern'ry of her holy life
Remains to cheer me on my way
strengthens / my soul III I press on
Amid lIfo's toll from dRY to day ,
1'0 that sweet place whore mothor's
gone
-Alva N. Turner In Washington Post.
.
Fun with a Fly Seesaw.
Here is an amusing llltle trick that
you will find lots of fun : Stick a long
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See-Saw In Operation.
lead pencil in the end or a spool of
thread so that It will stand upright.
Now get a piece of very stiff blotting
paper and from It cut a strip two I
inches wide and about a foot long ,
On each end of this : put a drop or
molasses or s'rup.
Now balance the strip of hlotUnft
paper , with the syrup side up , on the
point of the pencil : You should have
two players , although one will (10.
Each player chooses an end of the
p por. In a moment a fly will alight
on one end , attracted by the syrup ,
and that end of the paper will go
down a trifle Then another fly will
light on the other end , or perhaps several -
eral will come there for the sweets
and things will be rovorsed.
As more files come , alighting on the
ends , the paper will lean first thIs
way , then that , till it overbalances
and falls to the tables Then the
player whose end grew so heavy as to
cause the tumble wins
Wo would not advise you to try this
Jn the house , but rather out at doors
In the warm sunshine , where the flies
will not bother any one.
Plndertoy.
This frolicsome frog needs only to
be cut out and the three parts pierced
through the dots with a pin , sticking
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the pin into a cork or stick to hold It .
firm. If pasted on an old visiting '
card it will have more body and last
longer.
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A Quiet Game.
It mother has asked you not to get
dirty after you have dressed for a
.
drive , and you do not know just what.
to do Lo amuse yourself , got sotto ono
Lo play time following little game with '
'ou. It Is very simple } , bill will help
the time to pass Jlensantlr :
"I see n color you don't see , " snytJ
one r
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"What color may it ho ? " osl:8'tho
other.
. . .
"It may be pink ( or some other col
or In the room , ) says the first In- .
quirer. Then ho begins the questi.u
. ing Is It the' paper ? The ribbon on
your hair ? The pink In the doll's
tar sj ! ? And so on , until happily the
guesser mentions the exact article of
pink that has been chosen. The sue-
cosHfui guesser than takes her turn
at saying "I see a color that you dou't
Rco.-Washlngton Star.
The Rat and the Dove.
There can be no doubt that strong
attachments are formed between ant-
mala , and that they are capable of
emotions of pity and acts at generosity .
ity , not only toward their own kind ,
hut even toward creatures of another
species
A gentleman who had a great num-
'
her of doves used to teed them near
the barn At such times not only
chickens and sparrows , but also rats ,
were accustomed to come and share
the meal. One day he saw a , large
mt fill its chocks with kernels at corn
and run to the coach house , repeating
this performance several tlmos. On
going over to Investigate , he found a
lame dove eating the corn which the
rat had brought.
Such an action on the part of human
beings would bl ) looked upon as a
charitl\ble desire to ro1tev t1'A poses-
sftl S Cp ! tel ! > les urippicr-and , we .
must also so consider It in the casi
or the rat.
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- ' -ry
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FruIt Jar Battery.
A correspondent writes : Seeing
that somebody asked It I ever made
a batter out of my mother's preserve
jars , I will answer , YOs.
First I obtained a few old dry batteries .
tories and took the carbons out or
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diem : at the store I obtained a number -
bor of zincs ( stick ) sometimes called
pencil zincs. I then washed out a few
jars and made pasteboard covers like
Flt 1.
I then put the zinc and carbon In
the cover , filled the jar two.thlrds full
of sal ammoniac and put In carbon
and zinc , my battery then being come
plete .
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plete:1
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- 'itt:1
Indoor Garden Patch.
This is a source of endless delight
to a little girl just able to use hot
needle. -
The necessary requisites are a small
square of green art denim , some pret-
ty remnants of flowered chintz , and n.
small box of tiny crystal beads. It
the little one is able to sit and use
her needle , alto will take unlimited
pleasure In clipping the flowers and
foliage from the chintz and transfer- .
ring them to her square of green In
artistic and odd effects. The crystal
beads are a good substitute for dew ,
and with a little ingenuity can be
most effectively placed. When com-
Iloted the garden patch can he utilized
for a pillow top , or can be made the
nucleus of a quitt.
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