The Trials of the Soldiers Wife

The Trials of the Soldier's Wife,
by

Alex St. Clair Abrams This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at
no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it,
give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg
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Title: The Trials of the Soldier's Wife A Tale of the Second American
Revolution
Author: Alex St. Clair Abrams
Release Date: March 10, 2006 [EBook #17955]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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Transcriber's Note:

The author states in the Appendix "The book which our readers have
just completed perusing, is filled with many errors; too many, in fact,
for any literary work to contain."
Only the very obvious errors have been corrected.

THE TRIALS
OF
THE SOLDIER'S WIFE:
A TALE OF THE
SECOND AMERICAN REVOLUTION.

BY ALEX. ST. CLAIR ABRAMS.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA:
1864.
Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1864,
BY THE AUTHOR,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Confederate States for
the Northern District of Georgia.

DEDICATION
TO

COLONEL JOHN H. JOSSEY.
Of Macon, Georgia.
MY DEAR SIR--
Accept from me the dedication of this little work as a token of
appreciation for the kind friendship you have ever displayed towards
me. Wishing you all the happiness and prosperity that can fall to mortal
man, believe me.
Your Friend,
THE AUTHOR.

PREFACE.
The plot of this little work was first thought of by the writer in the
month of December, 1862, on hearing the story of a soldier from New
Orleans, who arrived from Camp Douglas just in time to see his wife
die at Jackson, Mississippi. Although the Press of that city made no
notice of it, the case presented itself as a fit subject for a literary work.
If the picture drawn in the following pages appears exaggerated to our
readers, they will at least recognize the moral it contains as truthful.
Trusting that the public will overlook its many defects, the Author yet
hopes there will be found in this little book, matter of sufficient interest
to while away the idle hour of the reader.
ATLANTA, April 20th, 1864.

THE TRIALS
OF
THE SOLDIER'S WIFE.

CHAPTER FIRST.
THE "CRESCENT CITY"--THE HUSBAND'S DEPARTURE.
Kind reader, have you ever been to New Orleans? If not, we will
attempt to describe the metropolis of the Confederate States of
America.
New Orleans is situated on the Mississippi river, and is built in the
shape of a crescent, from which it derives the appellation of "Crescent
City." The inhabitants--that is, the educated class--are universally
considered as the most refined and aristocratic members of society on
the continent. When we say aristocratic, we do not mean a pretension
of superiority above others, but that elegance and etiquette which
distinguish the parvenu of society, and the vulgar, but wealthy class of
citizens with which this country is infested. The ladies of New Orleans
are noted for their beauty and refinement, and are certainly, as a general
thing, the most accomplished class of females in the South, except the
fair reader into whose hands this work may fall.
It was in the month of May, 1861, that our story commences. Secession
had been resorted to as the last chance left the South for a preservation
of her rights. Fort Sumter, had fallen, and from all parts of the land
troops were pouring to meet the threatened invasion of their homes. As
history will record, New Orleans was not idle in those days of
excitement. Thousands of her sons came forward at the first call, and
offered their services for the good of the common cause, and for weeks
the city was one scene of excitement from the departure of the different
companies to Virginia.
Among the thousands who replied to the first call of their country, was
Alfred Wentworth, the confidential clerk of one of the largest
commission houses in the city. He was of respectable family, and held
a high position in society, both on account of his respectability and the
elevated talent he had displayed during his career in the world. He had
been married for about five years, and two little children--one a
light-eyed girl of four summers, and the other an infant of two

years--were the small family with which heaven had blessed him.
After joining a company of infantry, and signing the muster roll, Alfred
returned home to his wife and informed her of what he had done,
expecting that she