Heroism of a widow.
[from the Atlanta (Ga.) Constitution, November 9, 1895.]
General Schofield's recognition of the bravery of a Southern woman.
It was on the first and second days of September, 1864,
General Hardee, of the
Southern forces, was sent to
Jonesboro from
Atlanta with 22,000 men to head off a formidable flank movement of the enemy which had for its purpose to cut off Southern communication
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and thereby compel the evacuation of the city of
Atlanta.
The flank movement consisted of 40,000 or 45,000 men, and was commanded chiefly by
Major-General John M. Schofield, together with
General Sedgwick, who was also a corps commander, and consisted of the best fighters of the
Federal army.
As the two armies confronted each other two miles to the north and northwest of
Jonesboro, it so happened that the little house and farm of a poor old widow was just between the two lines of battle when the conflict opened, and having nowhere to go she was necessarily caught between the fire of the two commanding lines of battle, which were at comparatively close range and doing fierce and deadly work.
The house and home of this old lady was soon converted into a Federal hospital, and with the varying fortunes she was alternately within the lines of each contending army, when not between them on disputed ground.
So the battle raged all day, and the wounded and dying of both armies were carried to the humble shelter of this old lady until her yard and premises were literally strewn with the dead and dying of both armies.
During the whole of this eventful day this good and brave woman, exposed as she was to the incessant showers of shot and shell from both sides, moved fearlessly about among the wounded and dying of both sides alike, and without making the slightest distinction.
Finally night closed the scene with
General Schofield's army corps in possession of the ground, and when the morning dawned it found this grand old lady still at her post of duty, knowing, too, as she did, the fortunes, or rather misfortunes, of war had stripped her of the last vestige of property she had except her little tract of land which had been laid waste.
Now it was that
General John M. Schofield, having known of her suffering and destitute condition, sent her, under escort and arms, a large wagon-load of provisions and supplies, and caused his adjutant-general to write her a long and touching letter of thanks, and wound up the letter with a special request that she keep it till the war was over and present it to the United States Government, and they would repay all her losses.
She kept the letter, and soon after the
Southern Claims Commission was established she brought it to the writer, who presented her claim in due form, and she was awarded about $600—all she claimed, but not being all she lost.
That letter is now on file with other proofs of the exact truth of this statement with the files of the
Southern Claims Commission at
Washington.
Her name was Allie McPeek, and she died several years ago.
