The San Francisco call. [volume], June 16, 1912, Image 28

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
In the
Presidio Sleeps
AAJOR PAULINE CUSUMAR
m American Joan of Arc
IN a simple grave In the national
■cemetery at the PreeMio in this citj
'lie the remains of a woman who maj
rightly be called the American Joar
Of Art; —a woman to whose interepidity
patriotism and resouicefulneee th*
union army operating In Tennessee am!
Kentucky was indebted for much ol
the success It achieved 49 years ago.
This woman was Pauline Cushman
acout and spy, the counterpart In th«
northern army of the famous Bell«
Boyd in the southern. Young, beauti
ful brilliant, feeHese *-"»<* intensely pa
triotic. Pauline Cushman braved risk!
from which even courageous yen would
shrink.
The grave of this romantic character
is In tae first row of tht, officers sec
tion of the cemetery, for a gratefu!
government, ii. recognition of Mis:
Cuehraan's invaluable services at a crit
ical time, gave her a commission at
snajer of cavalry !n the army, n.aklne
her one of but two or three women tc
whom the United States has given mili
tary rank.
Today the final resting place ol Pau
line Cushman li*» picture of profound
peace. Gentle aephyrs sway the
branches of the trees above it, birds
sing Joyously in the flower scented air,
all is quiet and soothing.
How different from the stormy life
led by this woman warrior in the tragia
days of 1563 and later. In July, 1863.
the great struggle between north and
south was truly titanic. This period
has b*en- termed "the high water mark
of the rebellion," for it was th4n that
the nation's fate hung in th<» balance.
Lee, it Iβ true, wee driven back into
Virginia luring t x • first week of the
month after the bloody battle of Gettys
burg, but the righting ardor of his
splendid army was not quenched. Grant
was operating in Tennessee, and the
able confederate funerals, Bragg and
Forrest, were confronting him and other
union general*.
It was at this tlxae that Pauline
Cushman was the majnstay of the
northern commanders, for the ability
she displayed in securing information
concerning the, movements of the enemy
was extraordinary. ,
Nothing daunted her. Twice she was
captured and the second time she wal
sentenced to be hanged as a spy, for
spy she was, and a spy of a type most
dangerous to the enemy. She was res
cued in the nick of time.
Pauline Cushman's biography la
chapter after chapter of romance and
exploit. Her father was a Michigan
pioneer, who traded with the Indians,
and she was born and raised in the
wilds of the frontier. She was an ex
pert horsewoman and was reared with
firearms in her hands. Danger she
seemed net to comprehend, at leaat
when her country called, Tor devotion
to the flag was one of her most marked
traits.
Gifted with beauty and intelligence,
■be was given a good education by her
father, and she adopted the stage as a
profession. It was this that gave her
the opportunity to serve her country,
and the opportunity came in the most
Interesting way.
In the spring of 1863 she was playing
In "The Seven Sisters" at Wood's the
ater in Louisville, Ky., which at that
time was held by the union forces, al
though filled with confederate sympa
thisers. The city was under strict
martial law and people were arrested
•ne severely dealt with for even the
•lightest exhibitions of treason.
One day two confederate officers,
prisoners of war at liberty on parole,
proposed to her that she drink a south
ern toast upon the stage before her au
dience The suggestion that she should
do such a foolhardy thing astonished
her, but when they urged her and of
fered her $300 if She would dt> it a sud
den idea entered her head. She asked
the officers to give her some time for
consideration, which they did.
After they had left she straightway
went to the union provost marshal.
Colonel Moore, and told him of the re
quest. To her surprise Colonel Moore
told her to go ahead and drink the
toast and to make it as southern in
tone as she could. Right then did Pau
line Cushman begin her career as a
union spy, for the toast, which was,
"Here's to Jeff Davis and the southern
confederacy; may the south always
maintain her honor and her rights!" at
once stamped her, in the minds of the
confederates, as a southern woman,
heart and soul, for had she not dared
to insult th* north in one of its strong
holds in the face of certain arrest?
Indeed, to carry out the .program ar
ranged between her and Colonel Moor>,
■he really was arrested and imprisoned.
But she was soon released. Thence
forward, she was received with open
arms by the confederates. She had
free run of their camps; they talked
freely before her of their plans. None
thought for an instant that this beauti
ful and daring younjr woman wae any
thing but a devoted daughter of the
aouth.
Under many disguises, the n«w made
epy went about, gathering secrets of
the enemy on every hand. Disguised
as an old woman peddling shoe strings,
she discovered the "underground, route"
by which arms and ammunition ,#«re
smuggled into the south from t£e
north. Dressed as a country lad, she
frequented saloons, where she picked
up information from all sorts and con
ditions of men.
Beyond the lines, however, were her
courage and loyalty put to the severest
tests. Ofttfmes she would mount a swift
horse and dash away into the country,
by night or day, and into the very
lines of the enemy.
One of her earliest and most dare
devil exploits was to penetrate to the
headquarters of the confederate Gen
eral Bragg. So high wae her reputa
tion as a southern sympathizer that
■he had little difficulty in arriving at
her destination, only to find, however,
that the general was away. But for
tune helped her. A young officer of
engineers had left some important
drawings and plans where she 'saw
them. In an instant • she had them
concealed in her clothing and then she
hastened away. The country was cov
ered with confederate outposts and
patrolled by confederate cavalry. Her
capture seemed sure, for the loss of
the drawings was quickly discovered
When night came on she took refuge
in a farm house, where there was a boy
whose clothing looked as If It would
fit her. During the night, she took the
boy's clothes, mounted her horse and
rode rapidly away.
She had not gone far when she was
met by a party of guerrillas, who tried
to halt her. She plunged with her
horse down a steep ravine, daring her
near captors to follow her. They dared
not, yet she escaped without injury and
reached the union lines in safety with
her information.
Nothing daunted this cool, courageous
young patriot. Once, while staying in
The San Francisco Sunday Call
th« house of a smuggler of arms, *he
was suspected and then betrayed by
him. She was placed under arrest and
sent away under the guard of a scout.
As they went their way Pauline Cush
man saw that, when she was delivered
up to the commanding officer, she
would surely be executed as a spy. Her
guard had not thought to search her for
arms. She had a small pistol in her
waist. There was no alternative.
Yet, as she was about to shoot, the
man turned in his saddle and smiled
pleasantly and trustingly at her. Her
woman's heart was too tender to; kill
him after that. She replaced her pistol
quickly and permitted herself to be
turned over to General John Morgan,
the confederate cavalry leader.
Hardly was she imprisoned when, in
the darkness of a rainy night, an alarm
was given that the union troops were
coming. In the confusion she escaped,
found a swift horse and dashed away,
taking refuge in a lonely farmhouse.
She had barely laid down to rest after
her long and wearisome day and night
than four confederate horsemen ap
peared, looking for her. Again wa»
she made a prisoner and taken before
General Forrest, who in turn sent her
to General Bragg.
The evidence was all against her. The
stealing of-the plans from the young
engineer, the flight, capture and escape
were all damning. To these was added
a charge of shooting and killing two
pursuing cavalrymen whose bodies
were found on the road over which she
had passed during her escape the night
before. It was later learned by her
that these men were killed by union
scouts sent in search of her by the
. union' general, Granger, who rightly
feared- she had met with misfortune.
Now came a romantic chapter in the
fearless girl's career. The provost
marshal at General Bragg's head
quarters, Captain S. ti. Pedden. was be
witched by her beauty and dash. He
made known his intense love for her,
but ehe did not reciprocate. While
he guarded her, he plied his courtship,
but it was in vain. Then came the
verMict of the summary co«urt martial,
that she should be hanged as a spy.
No other verdict was possible, under
the clrcumstancfs. Upon Captain Ped
den himself fell the duty of conveying
the news to his fair prisoner. This he
did with streaming eyes, but then he
gave her one slim hope. He told her
that the Union army was approaching
and that if it arrived before the time
set for her execution, she might yet
escape. Under these dramatic circum
stances, he again begged her hand,
but was again refused.
As luck.would have It, however, by
forced marches the Union trobps really
did arrive, much sooner than they were
expected, and being in overwhelming
numbers, the confederates retreated,
after a sharp engagement, the sounds
of which brought cheer to Pauline
Cushman's cell. As she heard th-e fir
ing coming nearer and nearer; as she
finally heard the tramp of the boys in
blue and saw the stars and stripes
pass under her window, she knew that
she was saved, but* by' what a narrow
margin!
When she reached Nashville, the gar
rison and the loyal inhabitants gave
her a rousing reception. Generals
vied with one another in doing her
honor, and it was soon after this that
she received her commission as major
in the army, bringing with it the
right to wear the uniform witli the
gold leaves on the shoulder straps; to
be saluted and to be obeyed. Sne soon
appeared in & riding habit, wits a
ttetit-flttins military blou§«, wfth all
proper insignia of rank, and she wore
It well. A jaunty, picturesque flguf*
ehe made, this gT.llant girl, uniformed,
upon a prancing charger, which she
rode with grace and skill.
That affair with General Bragg was
her closest call, although many a time
ehe risked capture, risked death and
suffered the worst of hardships when
on her perilous expeditions in search
of Information concerning the enemy's
plnns arvd movements. With the health
and strength of buoyant youth. Inured
to danger and fatigue, she hesitated at
no undertaking, however difficult and
dangerous it might be. More than
once she was seen by the enemy's pa
trols and fired upon by his pickets.
Naturally Captain Pedden was not
her only lover. She had many. Every
one admired her and not a few devoted
themselves to the winning of her love,
bin it was not until the war was over
that she let her heart assert itself.
While the conflict was on but one
love vyas possible—that for her country.
Southerners as well as northerners
were captivated by thjs venturesome
grlrl. Perhaps the prettiest, yet the
■addest, of her romances was that with
• young confederate soldier, James
McCann, who fell in love with her whiie
he was guarding her during her im
prisonment. She laughed at his pro
posal of marriage, but gave him a rib
bon from her hair, telling him that
When he stopped fighting against the
Union he might bring it back to her.
Not long afterward, while in San
dusky. 0.. she received a call from Mc-
Cann in the uniform of a northern sol
dier! Asked to explain, he saia he had
decided to fight on her side for the rest
of the war. She returned the ribbon,
telling him to'wear" It next to his heart
in battle. He did so. Three days Liter
he fell, mortally wounded, on the field
of -bloody Chickamauga. Wilh his
dying breath he asked that the ribbon
be sent to Miss Cushman with the mes
sage that he had obeyed her. She re
ceived the ribbon from the colonel of
McOann's regirrmnt.
Until the end of the war, Miss Cush
man served her country devotedly and
continued in its service afterward. She
was employed for some time by Colonel
Wiles, provost marshal of the depart
ment of the Cumberland, rendering him
material aid. When no longer .needed
by the army, she was employed as a
detective by the chief of police of
Nashville, Term., In the region where
xnost of her military exploits were
performed. Here she was noted for
the same keenness and nerve that had
served her so well daring the stormy
war days.
With peace came the softening in
fluence of love and the yearning for
domesticity. It was a Californian, I*
Tyer, who finally wooed and won her,
and for years she lived with him in
his home in the Santa Cruz mountains
often harking back to the days of the
civil war, when Mrs. Tyer was the
heroine of the union army.
Friendships made in these stirring
times were lasting, and until the day
of her death Mrs. Tyer. "Pauline
Cushman, the union spy and scout,"
received the homage of her old com
rades in arms. Many times, at gath
erings of the veterans, have stories
of her daring been recounted, and
many are the anecdotes still told of
the brave, patriotic woman who risked
her life over and over again to aid the
cause of the union.
In the official war department rec
ords of the war of the rebellion, in
the literature of the Military order of
the loyal legion and of the Grand army
of the republic and in many other
archives of the war. especially those
referring to the operations in Tennessee
and Kentucky, the name of Pauline
Cushman is found in prominent places
as the gatherer of Intelligence of the
highest military value. Upon informa
tion received from her many a success
ful move of the union forces was based
and many a move of the enemy check
mated.
In her home" in Santa Cruz, in July
1595, Mrs. Tyer died a natural death',
ending in peace the life that was so '
tempestuous In early years. Her loss
was mourned by thousands of veterans
throughout the country. Even In the
south, where she was admired as well
as feared, words of regret for her
death were spoken.
She was first buried in the soldiers'
plat in Golden Gate cemetery in San
Francisco, but to her old comrades this
spot seemed an obscure and neglected*
one for her and Colonel .W. c. Elder
berg of this state took the matter up
with the Avar department, with the re
sult that her remains were exhumed
and transferred to the army cemetery
at the Presidio.
.There, in a location of honor to which
her rank as major as well as her gal
lantry and fidelity entitled her, the fa
mous woman scout lies, surrounded by
hundreds of other gallant soldiers who
have laid down their lives for their
country. There, in the military atmos
phere she loved so weH. she awaits the
final reveille and the call of the roll
of honor upon which tier name dttlroa
forth briprhriy.
Superintendent Richie of the Pres!dio
cemetery, himself a veteran soldier 70
years old, but carrying himself with
the air of one years younger, tells many
anecdote of Pauline Cushman, whom
he knew in her girlhood. T>e two
families v. -re ndgbbora in tho
years agone and well does the old
soldier retail the girl scout's ap
pearance and achievements. They are
still neighbors, for her grave is \>u* 15
feet from tho doorway of his lodge =t
the cemetery. They will doubtless be
neighbors ever more, for when "taps"
is sounded for the grim old soldier his
remains will rest in the ground not
far from his friend of youth.
The grave of this American Joan ofc
Arc is tenderly cared for. not only by
the regular attaches of the cemetery
and the officers and men of the garri
son of the Presidio, but by the old vet
erans who from time to time visit it.
It gets more than quota of flowers
on Memorial day, and the little flag
that is then annually placed upon it
seems to fly with especial pride over
the last resting place of the woman k"
who loved so well that ensign and all
it represents.