Nebraska Newspapers

    f
0
THE SEMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA.
s
amous oecret ocmce AQeras m
MEMO RIAL DAY
A
i tut
uvil War
oz Zfc? Z?0y zm? m
tory for Stonewall Jackson-
Exploits of Tim IVebster
and Elizabeth Van Lew
for Union cause-Many
interesting personalities of
those other war times
brought to mind by Me
morial Day, zJt
tltes Pauline Cushmart
TONEWALL JACKSON'S Valley
campaign wnH one of tlio great
deeds of hlHtory. Not since Na
poleon's 1 1 mo luivo men been ho
dazzled nB they wore by Hint Brent
exploit of his. Vt Stonewall might
linvo Bono down tlio Vnliey In defeat
lind It not been for n little college
Klrl nnmed Rolle Iloyd. On Mny 2.'i,
1802, nftor Jackson had routed
Banks nnd driven lilm In confusion up tlio line of
the Shonnndnnh, lio wrote HiIh letter:
"Miss Hello Iloyd: I thank you for myself nnd
for tlie nnny for tlio Immense service Hint you luivo
rondored your country today."
The Union General Shields wns quartered at
Miss Iloyd'H house. He hold a council of war
there. Miss Iloyd bored n hole In tho lloor of her
chamber, which wan over Shield's room, and Iny
thoro with her ear to It throughout tho nlKht. Tho
next morning Stonewall Jnckson was In full pos
Blon of tho plans for a great bnttle, and wns ablo
to defeat tho Union army.
Sho kept up her vnllnnt work for tho Confed
eracy until tho Union officers bcBnn to suspect
her, and Jackson ordered her to mrtvo from hor
Shennndoah homo to Winchester. She lind been
arrested by tho Federals and had flirted her way
to liberty for sho was a pretty girl, despite tho
libelous photographs of her. In Winchester, Jack
eon conferred upon her a commission ns cnptnln
In tho Confedernto nrmy. By this tlmo tho wholo
North had becoino nwaro of the services Hhe was
rendering tho Confederacy, and every officer and
private wns on tho alert to get hor. Yot she es
caped until 1801, when she wns eaiiBht on n block
ndo runner. Her captor lost bis heart to her,
deserted tho navy, and married her, nnd tho
prlnco of Wales, afterwnrd Kdwnrd VII, attended
tho weddttiB.
Hollo Uoyd Is tho most fninous of the spies, hut
thoro aro many others who deservo at least ns
much fnmo nH sho won, One of them was Ellba
both n. Vnn Low, who hnd tho Incredible courago
to act ns a Union spy In Richmond throughout
tho war. There was not a moment durliiR those
four years when Lizzie Vnn Lew could henr n step
behind her on tho street without expecting to have
somebody tap her on tho shoulder and say, "You
nro my prisoner." She did not confine her activi
ties to Hpylng nnd reporting whnt sho hnd dis
covered to tho Union generals; she hid escaped
prisoners In her house, sho dealt out messages to
soldiers In Llhby from their homes; her resources
wore endless. One of her favorlto devices wns
n metnl platter with n douhlo bottom, In which sho
useij to pretend to convey food to tho prisoners.
Onco a Confedernto soldier, whoso suspicion had
been aroused, Insisted on examining It; but thnt
day Lizzie, who had been expecting Homo movo
of this kind, had tilled tho falso bottom not with
ficcret messages but with scalding water, and thd
soldier dropped It with a shriek.
Lizzie Van Lew hnd a secrot recess In her
house, a hiding place for dispatches. Sometimes
Alio would niovo n hand idly toward this recess,
nnd nu hour or two later soino old negress, ap
parently dusting the room, would slip her hand
back of tho mnntcl nnd And it dispatch which
would go to Grant thnt day. It was Lizzie Van
Low who Htolo tho body of Col. Ulrlc Dahlgron
nnd smuggled It out of Richmond, ono of the most
ilaiing exploits of the war.
' Itosa R. flroenhow wnH n Confedernto spy In
'Washington who dazzled tho Union In tho early
dnys of tho war. It wiih ono of her assistants, n
JIlss Duvnl of Washington, who brought Reuuro
gnrd tho first nows of McDowell's ndvnnco and on
nbled him nnd Johnson to foil the Federal plans
for tho campaign of Hull Run. Mrs. flroenhow
ncnt Miss Duval to Rcaurognrd on July 10, giv
ing htm tho first nows of the contemplated ad
vance, and on July 10 she sent hlin word of tho
forces nnd tho contemplated movement of tho
Union army. Ho promptly wired the Information
to Davis, and tho word was sent to Johnson, which
resulted in his ndvnnco and tho torrlhlo downfall
of tlio Northern cause.
Tho Northern secret service wns technically
under tho direction of flen. Lnfnyotto C. linker, a
tnnn without scruple. After tho war Rnker In
sisted on taking to himself most of the credit for
what hnd been dono In detectlvo work, but as n
matter of fact tho best work dono In tho war wns
dono by volunteers, men and women, who wero
willing to risk a shameful death to servo their
country. Many of them were prlvnto soldiers;
Bomo woro enlisted among Allan Plnkorton's de
tectives. Of theso tho most famous was Timothy
Webster, one of tho greatest detectives who ever
lived. Webster succeeded in getting tho South to
bellovo In him to such' an extent that he camo near
being mndo the colonel of an Alalmmn regiment,
nnd In Raltlmoro ho was n member of the Knights
of Liberty. Ho even became a trusted emissary
of tho Confederato wnr department at Richmond,
nnd at Pittsburgh a Union mob tried to lynch hlin
nH u Confedernto spy. Nothing saved him but tho
nrrlvnl of Allan Plnkerton, with n drawn revolver,
and Webster and IMnkerton backed against tho
wall and stood off the mob until holp arrived.
WebBter wns tlnully captured In Richmond, and
was betrayed by one of bis associates, who con
fessed to n man ho supposed to be a Catholic
priest. The man was not n priest, but a disguised
Confederate soldier. The secrets of tho confes
sional, of course, did not npply In such a case, nnd
the brave spy was hanged. Hattle Lewis, Web
ster's sweetheart, got an nudlenco with Mrs. Jef
ferson Davis nnd begged her. with tonrs In her
eyes, to save the man sho loved. Instead, Hattlo
Lewis herself was convicted of being a Union spy
and served a year's Imprisonment
Thoro wns ono girl who won tho rnnk of rnujor
In tho Union nrmy. Sho wns Pauline Cushmnn, nn
actress, who became ono of tho best nnd most
famous spies In the Union nrmy. Often and often
Mnjor Paulino acted as a sort of ndvnnce gunrd
to tho Federal army. Twlco tho Confederates
captured her, but on both occasions sho escnped.
The first time she enmo near being released after
a first search, but a second revealed tho fact
thnt In a hidden recess In her garters there were
orders from Thomas. She was about to be hanged
when Thomas captured Nashville nnd saved her.
Secretary Stanton commissioned her as major In
tho Union army, and sho was the only woman who
held that rank except MnJ. Hello Reynolds, tho
wife of n captain In tho Seventieth Illinois, who
went to the war with her husband and performed
such prodigies of valor that Stanton honored her
with n commission.
Sum Davis, the boy spy of tin; Confederacy, left
nn Iniperlshablo record of heroism. Ho was only
fourteen when ho Joined the Confederate service,
nt first ns n prlvnto soldier. His tnlents ns a
spy wero great, and throughout Rragus long war
fare In Tennessee ho continually mndo uso of the
brnvo littlo fellow. Dnvis wns flnnlly betrayed
and captured In Nashville. Ho was tnken before
Gen. flrenvlllo M. Dodge, whoso story of tho hear
Ing mnkes a companion piece to tho Inst dnys of
Nathan Halo, ncre Is tho story ns General Dodgo
tells It:
"I took him to my prlvnto office nnd told him
it wnp a very serious chnrgo brought against him ;
that ho was a spy, and from what I found upon
his person, ho hnd nccurnto Information in rognrd
to my army, and I must know whero ho obtained
It. I told hlin ho was a young mnn nnd did not
seem to realize tho danger ho was In. Up to thnt
tlmo he hnd said nothing, but then ho replied In
n most respectful nnd dignified mnnner:
"General Dodgo, I know tho danger of my
situation, and I am willing to take the conse
quences.' " 'I know thnt I'll have to die, but I will not tell
where I got tho Information. And there Is no
power on earth that can make me tell. You nro
doing your duty as a soldier, and I am doing
mine. If I havo to die, I do so feeling that I nm
doing my duty to God and my country.'
"I pleaded with him and urged him with nil tho
power that I possessed to give me some chance to
save his life, for I had discovered that ho was a
most admirable young fellow, with tho highest
character and strictest Integrity. Ho then said:
'It is useless to talk to me. I do not Intend to do
It. You can court-martial me, but I will not betray
tho trust reposed In me.' Ho thanked me for the
Interest I had taken in him, and I sent him buck
to prison. I Immediately called a court-inurtlal
to try him."
Even then tho hoy received offers of liberty If
ho would betray his confederate. He would not.
The only thing he wrote wns n short note to his
mother Hnying thnt lie hnd been enptured nnd wus
to bo hanged nnd wns not afraid to die. As ho
stood on tho scaffold a messenger arrived from
General Dodge promising him Immunity If ho
would reveal the Identity of his confederate. The
rope wns around his neck; the boy answered:
"If I hnd a thousand lives I would lose them all
here before I would betrny my friends or tho con
fidence of my informant."
Then ho turned to the executioner nnd sold
cnsuully, "I am rendy." Tho trap wns sprung
nnd ono of tho heroes of tho Confederacy wns
dend. lie wns then sixteen yenrs old.
There wns nn underground railroad of Confed
ernto sympathizers running through Mnrylnnd nnd
Vlrglnln, bended by Custls Grymes of Virginia.
He enmo of the fntnlly which gnvo a wife to
fleorgo Washington, nnd mnny of bis emlssnries
wero high-born women. One wns n clergymnn,
Rov. Dr. Stunrt, nn irreproachable Eplscopnllan.
When the dnshlng but hopeless rnld on Vermont
by n Confederate force In Cnnndu wns ordered In
1801 Grymes sent n girl nnmed Olivia Floyd, who
concealed tho order In her hnlr. It was tho fash
ion then for women to wear a curly net over their
locks, nnd Ollvln hid tho documents there nnd
mnde n wild rldo on a bitter cold night into tho
lines, whero sho delivered the orders that resulted
In tho nttack of St. Albans.
Gen. Jim Lano had a womnn spy nnmed Eliza
beth W. Stiles, whoso husbnnd wns murdered lie
fore her eyes by Quantrell's guerrillas In 1802.
norder warfare was merciless; there was some
thing Indlnn about It. Mrs. Stiles devoted her
life to vengennce. Sho wns quite deliberate nbout
It. She went East and put her children in school,
and then enme back to tho West and put herself
under Lane's orders. She faced denth mnny a
time; once she wns arraigned before Sterling
Price himself, but sho made him believe she was n
Confedernto spy, nnd he gave her a horse nnd fire
arms and sent her on her way.
Ono Union spy, Mack Williams, found himself
In tho Confedernto lino fnce to face with his own
brother, a Confederate soldier. "I'm a Yankee
spy," said Williams ; "you're a rebel. Betray me If
you want to; It's your duty." It was a bant and
delicate question, but tho ties of nature won out
over patriotism.
General Raker has recorded the fact that for
two years a farm near Fairfax Court nouse was
frequented by Union officers, none of whom hnd
the least suspicion thnt u daughter of the house
was a Confederate spy. She was, Rnker says, "n
young and decidedly good-looking womnn, with
pleasing, insinuating manners." Sho appeared to
bo a violent Union sympathizer, yet at night sho
used to go out nnd meet Colonel Mosby and give
him the information she hail gained from tlio
credulous Union officers. Raker finally caught her
by sending a womnn spy who gnlncd her con
fidence. Now York Times.
ULYSSES S. GRANTMAN AND SOLDIER
Ity a practically unanimous verdict. Ulysses H.
Grant Is named as one of tho few great military
chieftains of tho world, And tho closest scrutiny
of his work will convlnco us that his fame rests
upon the most substantial foundation; upon suc
cess unqallilod and unquestioned; upon tho car
rying through to Its fulfillment of the most stu
pendous projects, Involving such perplexing and
eluflvo problems ns are only to bo encountered In
the art of war, Henry E. Wing writes In the Now
York Christian Advocate.
And ho won his success without any of tlio
purely personal udvnntages with which, in tho
popular fancy, tho Ideal hero Is endowed. Grant
was not a handsome man. I mean there was
nothing specially attractive In his bearing. Ho
bns the reputation of having been a wonderful
horseman; and ho wns, of a certnln sort, riding,
occasionally, tho most fractious animals, and rid
ing uhvitys like one of the furies. Rut, mounted
or afoot, ho had a careless nnd nlmost slouching
manner, and he cut a pretty poor flguro by the
side of the .stately nnd dlgnltled Monde nnd Rum
side, or the splendid nnd dashing Sheridan and
Hancock. Ills habitual conduct wns exceedingly
quiet and reserved, giving ono tht Impression of
lunate diffidence, bordering on real bnshfulnss.
His ordlnnry conversation was on the most com
monplace topics, and I havo no recollection of his
ever giving expression, by look or limguage, to the
extraordinary genius with which ho was certainly
endowed.
Tho trait for which he wns best esteemed, nt
the tlmo I knew Ulm, wns his tenacity. Rut I nm
certain that It was not appreciated. How, while
sturdily holding to his main purpose, ho sub
mitted the details of tho campaign to almost and
sunietlmes most radical changes. Ills messugo to
General Halleck, from Spottsylvnnla, "I purpose
to light It out nu thts lino If it takes all summer,"
was Interpreted to mean that ho would not alter
his course ono Iota, whatever might happen. This
did him grunt Injustice, as representing htm to bo
a very stubborn man; while, on tho contrary,
among Grant's most valuable characteristics wero
his opon-mlndodness and Ills wonderful faculty of
putting lessons onco learned Into practice.
Rehlnd that Impassive face tills silent mnn wns
holding a substantial scheme for putting down tho
secession. This schenio embraced tho general
movements of all tho great armies of tho United
States and involved the Intelligent co-operation
of half a score of loyal general commanders.
Grant hnd evidently such Implicit confidence In
this general plan thnt no incident of bnttle, mnrch
or siege could disturb his equnnlmlty.
Only onco In my presence In thnt wholo cam
paign did ho betray the slightest perturbation or
vexation. Thnt wns with ills chief subordlnnto
on tho fntnl morning of the Petersburg mine ex
plosion. After the mine had been tired it was
absolutely necessary thnt the nssnult should be In
stnntly miule. We waited a long tlmo to henr tho
cheers of the men ns they would chnrgo through
tho brenoh. At Inst, facing tho stalwart com
mander of the nrmy, he cried: "Why don't tho
boys go in?" And on Meade to whom this seemed
a new Idea starting to stammer some reply,
Grant gave him one look of Intense disgust, anil,
wheeling his horse, rushed headlong to the front.
An examplo of this resolute faith occurred nt
the Wilderness. When affairs wero In tho most
terrible confusion on our left, nn officer rodo up
and reported, In nn excited manner, that Han
cock had been cut off and enptured. Grant was
sitting on the ground with his ImOk to n tree. Ho
did not even cot to his feet. He ouiotlv tnnt m
pipe from his mouth and said thnt ho did not be
lieve It. And he was right. It Has during this
battle that he gave me a characteristic message
to Insert' In my dispatch to tho Ttlbuno. "Toll tho
pooplo that everything Is going swimmingly down
bore." This was In tho midst of nn engagement
which was at least Indecisive, und In which all his
plans were uelug frustrated.
s
I
"""HERE has not in the world's history
ffO been so splendid and continuing a
testimonial of a nation's gratitude as
the United States has paid to its citizen
soldiers; but it has not measured up to their
deserts. The last and most impressive of all
tributes is that which comes from the heart,
bespoken by the faltering voice, the moisten
ing eye, the quickening pulse. It is the
human testimony to the fact that as a nation
we have not forgot the pledge, on this
privileged day of a glorious anniversary, that
we will never forget the promise that the
future shall bring forth sons and daughters
capable and willing to sustain with equal
sacrifices the structure of human liberty and
national security that these veterans raised.
Looking upon the spectacle, the nation will
be moved to renew its assurance that, after
all, there are things in this world worth
fighting for, even dying for; that there are
worse fates than to give one's life for a
cause worthy the giving. There will be a
new and resolute determination that if need
shall come, as come it may, this nation
again will rise to its obligation and its duty,
inspired by the example of these men
who preserved for us the institutions that
have been made sacred by their sacrifices.
MEN WHO FIRED LAST
SHOTS OF THE WAR
AFTERWARD MET
A COLUMBUS (Ohio) mnn
claims to havo tired the lnst
shot of tho wnr of Seces
sion David N. Osyor, tne
Polumbus Dlspntch stntes. He wns a
member of Company F, Ninth Ohio
cavalry. On the morning of April 17,
1805, that command was nenr Dur
ham Station, N. C. It wns keeping
close wntch on Gen. Joe Wheeler's
cavalry, which was on the opposite
side of nn extensive swamp. Part of
the Union cnvalry was ordered to dis
mount nnd wade across tho swamp to
distract tho Confederates, while tho
rest constructed n corduroy bridge.
They used their carbines so vigorously
that the Confederates surmised that n
very considerable force wns coming at
them, and the road builders got nlong
lino with their bridge.
Nenr tho other edge of the swamp
Osyor says u Confederate bullet just
clipped his sergeant's chevron and the
skin on his arm. Looking for tho
source of the bullet, he spied tho long
bnrrel of a gun nnd tho gray legs of a
Confederate soldier in tho forks of a
treo in front of him, nnd ho tired nt
them. He saw tho legs withdrawn
nnd tho owner of them crawl slowly
uwny.
Just then a flag of truce camo In
sight and tho Union men wero ordered
to cease firing. The occurrence, Osyor
said, did not impress him at the time,
but that Hag of truco was really tho
sign of tho end of the Civil war, for
the general surrender enmo soon and
the tiuops were sent home.
A strange part of tho story is thnt
long after the war Osyor met at Bir
mingham, Ala., a man named Amos
Thompson, who was Inint said he
hnd been wounded In tho Confederate
service nnd, compnrlng notes, they es
tnbllshed to tho satisfaction of both
that Thompson was tho mnn who was
In tho tree on tho edge of tlio Durhnm
swamp back In 1805, had shot at Osyor
and been shot In turn by him. Osyor's
bullet struck Thompson in the knee
and made him n cripple for life. They
agreed that they had fired the very
last shot on each side In tho Civil wnr.
TRIBUTE TO GRANT AS
IMMORTAL SOLDIER
AND STATESMAN
THE FOLLOWING poem In trib
ute to Gen. U. S. Grant by Dr.
Thomns Culver was read by
tho author at tho exerclsea
celebrating Grant's birthday at tho
Metropolitan M. E. church, C street
and John Mnrshnll pluce, Wnshington.
GRANT.
When history uplifts her scroll
Within the beams of Glory's blaze,
Few names arc seen upon the roll
Reflecting fully all the rays;
Duty Before Men of Today.
In nn address nt tlio Uomewood cem
etery, Pittsburgh. Rev. J. E. Norcross
of the Shndy Avenuo Rnptlst church
said: "We are living In tho best period
of tho world's history. In spite of war
and rumors of wnr humanity Is ad
vancing. The rlso hnd fall of nations
form stages In the evolution of the
race. National rises aro not mere
happenings; they nro tho meeting
places of broken laws. God waits for
nations to move, but God moves while
we wuit. Nations, as well as Individ
uals, reap their harvests. Much will
bo required of us. To faltor will he
reckoned cowardice. Our strength
will bo equal to omnipotence If wo aro
aligned with God. It Is our specific
mission to holp America fulfill her
unique destiny."
The stain of selfish thirst for fame,
Undue ambition's fatal blight,
The Itching palm's encloudlng shame
Too often dim the golden light.
But when the shining name appears
Of one whose strength was truth
and worth;
Who no ambition knew, nor fears,
Save for the country of his birth;
Who had no thought of selfish ends,
But fought to win his country's,
fight
And change her foes to loyal friends
That name shows full effulgence
bright.
The youthful soldier's laurels green;
The citizen's plain, useful ways;
The victor's glad, yet modest mien,
When honored with a nation's
praise;
The manly heart that could but feel
Compassion for a fallen foe;
The statesman's patriotic zeal
All on his name their glory throw.
The soldier of Immortal fame
The grandest chieftain of his day
What citle can precede his name
And not due honors take away?
Oh, may that name, throughout all
time,
Desire In youthful hearts Implant
To emulate, In worth sublime,
The soldier and the statwmn,
Grant!
T
.fit