Page 161 - Arkansas Confederate Women

140 Confederate Women of Arkansas

"Where before the altar hung
The proud banner, which with prayer,
Had been consecrated there;
And the nuns' sweet hymns were heard the while,
Sung low in the dim, mysterious aisle."

The repulse of General Holmes is said to have weighed

heavily on his mind for many years. He was sure of victory and

looked upon his plans as perfect. Within a few hours after the
close of the battle the Sisters of Mercy turned their St. Cather-
ine's Academy into both a morgue and a hospital. They helped
to coffin many a poor soldier, if a rough box could be styled a
coffin. The wounded in all stages of suffering demanded imme-
diate attention. Those only who have visited a battle field after
an engagement can understand what the good ladies of Helena
and the Sisters of Mercy were obliged to endure in the perform-

ance of hospital work.

In conclusion it may be truly said that as great as the
work of the women of the South was in the tumult of war, a

large share of the responsibilities consequent of the result of

the long contest fell to them in the care of the widow and
orphan. The Confederacy was filled with children without
father or mother and it is well known to those who are familiar
with the life of the institutions under charge of the Sisters of
Mercy, that many a child was reared to a high and happy career

through their noble charity.

BATES AND THE FLAG.

Mrs. Josiah Obear taught a private school just after the

war in Winnsboro, S. C. One morning her little scholars

assembled in front of her home and stood on the sidewalk, to see

Corporal or Sergeant Bates, of the United States army, pass.

In his arms he carried a large United States flag. He was

dressed in black velvet and raised his hat as he passed the little

scholars'. He walked and carried this flag all through the

Southern States, just after the surrender, yet no harm befell

him or his flag. M. R. G-antt.