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Little Starlight // Lula's Letter

Harper's Weekly Text
October 29, 1864, p. 702 (1-4)

Synopsis

An army unit adopts a young black boy who wanders into camp one day.  The boy, during an informal interrogation, talks of having stolen all of his master’s pigeons, then of making his way to Virginia.  The boy also claims to be willing to kill his master, saying that only then would he be truly free.  In time, this feisty fugitive becomes the unit’s drummer boy, despite the company chaplain’s belief that he has a habit of stealing.  In a heated battle one day, the boy cries out to the chaplain that he sees his master and, grabbing a weapon, takes off after him.  Following the battle, the chaplain finds the master and sees that he is dead, having been stabbed several times.  A sergeant comes up to the chaplain and tells him that the boy is dying, much to the grief of the entire company.  When the chaplain sees the boy, the boy smiles and says that he is finally free.  After his death, the boy is buried in a grave marked by a board with an epitaph scratched on it.


Harper's Weekly References

History:

"Scenes at Fredericksburg"
June 11, 1864, p. 379 (1-4)

Military Background:

"In the Wilderness"
November 5, 1864, p. 718 (2)

Illustrations:

"The Drummer Boy of Our Regiment"
December 19, 1863, p. 805 (1-4)

"About the Size of It"
June 25, 1864, p. 416 (1-2)

"The Halt"
October 1, 1864, p. 628 (1-4)

"Abraham Lincoln and the Drummer-Boy"
April 27, 1867, p. 264 (1-4)

Commentaries:

"The Victory"
May 21, 1864, p. 322 (1-2)

"Mr. Lincoln and the Drummer Boy"
April 27, 1867, p. 257 (4)

 


 
 
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Little Starlight // Lula's Letter

     
 

 
     
 

 
     
 

 

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