He was an amiable old fellow, with gray hair carefully combed back from his
curved forehead, a florid countenance, boyish blue eyes, puffed cheeks, a
smooth chin, and very military-looking gray moustache. He was manifestly
a man who ate ample dinners and amply digested them. He would glance
contentedly downward at his broad, round body, and smilingly remark:
"I didn't have that girth in my fightin' days. I got it after the war was
over."
All who knew him admired him. He would tell with simple frankness how,
after distinguishing himself at Antietam, he chose to remain a private
rather than take the lieutenancy that was placed within his reach. He would
frequently say:
"I ain't none o' them that thinks the country belongs to the soldiers
because they saved it. No, sir! If they want the country as a reward,
where's the credit in savin' it?"
How could one help exclaiming: "What a really noble old man!"
Finally some of the young men who received daily inspiration from his
autobiographical narratives arranged a surprise for the old soldier. They
presented him with a finely framed picture of the battle of Gettysburg,
under which was the inscription:
"To a True Patriot.
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