THE WAUPACA REPUBLICAN

November 10, 1893

 

A War Relic.

 

            The other day Mr. S. D. Childs stepped into our office and, throwing down an old yellow sheet of paper, said, “What do you think of that?”  We picked it up and found that it was an old Confederate quartermaster’s report sheet that measured 15x22 inches.  It was a blank on one side and the other side contained six columns of printed matter.  The columns were not separated by rules but were crowded together.  Upon looking at the upper left hand corner we noticed that it was a “War edition” of “The Louisiana Democrat,” volume 19, No. 34, published at Alexandria, La., Tuesday, March 15, 1864.  The first article was headed “The Situation” and it called attention to numerous clippings from various leading papers of the North and South.  It closed with the following:  “Suffice it, for the present, to state, that grim vizaged war has NOT smoothed his wrinkled front,” hard by our devoted place, but is snorting around at big strides, and his votaries are good looking, knocking at the door and will come in.  Good bye, good people, behave yourselves as we intend to do, and may you all live a thousand years, &c., &c., &c.”

            We asked Mr.Childs for an explanation.  He replied, “Well, you see I was with old Gen. A. J. Smith, who commanded portions of the 16^th and 17^th Corps and we entered Alexandria on the evening of March 16, 1864.  I belonged to Co. A, of the 8^th Wis. regiment.  It was the regiment that became noted on account of the old eagle, that followed it through the war and is now stuffed and mounted in the state house at Madison, Wis.  Our captain was Josiah Redfield who was editor of the “Spirit” at Waupaca, Wis., when the war broke out.  He had a brother Bill, who was a private in the same company, and Bill was foreman in the “Spirit” office.  Well, when we got to Alexandria, Bill got permission to get out a paper.  The office was pretty well demoralized.  Type was pied and all the column rules were missing, but Bill made up the forms as best he could and added that ‘Postscript’ you see there, and then ran off a big edition on report sheets and scattered them all over town and among the boys.  I brought that one back as a memento of the occasion. It was ‘run off’ on a Washington press and as soon as the edition was off, the press and material were put on one of the gunboats and taken down the Red.  The ‘boys’ had lots of fun with it and Bill Redfield was the hero of the hour.  We staid in Alexandria a little over two weeks waiting for Banks, who was expected from Galveston, Texas.  After going up the Red River to Shrevesport, we returned and again camped at Alexandria for about ten days.  Yes, sir, we had lots of fun with that old paper.”  After listening to his account we again turned to the old, yellow sheet and wondered where all the ‘boys’ were who read it and laughed at it nearly thirty years ago.  The editorial by Bill Redfield was very good.  We quote the following, “With the most polite bow imaginable, we modestly assume the chair just vacated by the late editor of the DEMOCRAT, and usurp the privilege of compiling, for the gratification of some of our friends, a few extracts from a form of that paper, found in that office and as will be seen from his farewell address just upon the eve of skedaddling before, ‘the wrinkled front of grim visaged war’ – or in other words, the d---d YANKS! We found the material of the office in the utmost confusion; forms in pi, column rules, composing sticks and rules all gone – ‘cabbaged,’ no doubt – and every thing else in dire conglomeration. And if, out of this universal chaos, we shall have presented anything readable, we shall think we have done well, and will claim your especial commendation.  Shall we have it?  The ‘old steel pen’ of the late editor was ‘yanked up’ so suddenly that it broke! – and we were compelled to resort to his ‘gray goosequill.’  Some of the articles given elsewhere we were unable to obtain entire, but we have done the best we could under the circumstances.  Hoping that there may be no more wild editorial treason-spouting in the very pleasant little town of Alexandria and wishing that ‘the invading armies of the North may never again have cause to come up Red River on an errand of death, we respectfully lift our beaver, and bid you – good morning!”  At the close of his news items, the new editor says, “We have taken the press upon the ‘Linkum’ boats and will give particulars in our next.”  What a world of thought this old sheet arouses!  We find upon examination that the “Democrat” is being published today at Alexandria by Henry L. Blossat and has a circulation of 700 copies.  Wonder if he is the editor who “skedaddled.”                                                                     -  Renville Star Farmer, Minn.