GETTYSBURG SILK HANDKERCHIEF

Portion of letter written to Raymond N. Stumpf:

1805 Hills Ave., Tampa, FL, February 17, 1943

"Another Episode in my life, I think will be of interest to my children. The evening before the Battle at Gettysburg the streets and pavements were crowded with Soldiers. I was not afraid and played out on the pavement as usual. One of the Soldiers who was sitting on our doorstep asked me to come and talk to him. He then told me he had a little Girl at home, and that on the coming day there would be a great battle fought, and he might never see his little Girl again. He asked me if I would kiss him for her sake, so I said I would go ask my Mother and she said, Yes under the circumstances I could do so, which I did. He then gave me a beautiful silk handkerchief. The border was striped in red white and blue and in the center was a picture of the head of Washington. I kept this as a treasure all these years. But I was afraid age and handling it was beginning to show signs of wear, so I asked Earl if he could find me a small box with a glass top, that we might see it, but not handle it. He said he thought he could fix it satisfactorily, and he certainly succeeded. It is now framed in glass and is on our antique stand in our living room. It is but natural that we would all like to know if the Soldier that gave me the Handkerchief ever returned to his little Girl, or if he sleeps in that beautiful cemetery at Gettysburg. I am afraid that is a question that can never be answered in this World. I hope this is what you wished me to tell you about."

Your loving mother,

Emma Yount Stumpf

LINCOLN BOUQUET

"You want me to tell you about my throwing a bouquet to President Lincoln. It was the time he visited Gettysburg and made that memorable speech. How little we knew at that time that the speech of the great man would never be forgotten. He was entertained at the home of Laver Wills about one block from my home. But when I threw the flowers, he was seated at an open window in the train which was to take him back to Washington. I stood right under his window and tried to throw the flowers in, but was not quite tall enough to reach so high, so a girl standing by my side helped me to get them in. I was young and thoughtless, so do not remember if he accepted with words or bow. There were hundreds standing around, so there was great noise, so I could not have heard anyway."

From letter written by Emma (Yount) Stumpf, age 86, to her son, Rev. Raymond N. Stumpf, 501 Fourth St., Braddock, PA. Emma was 7 years old living in town at the time of the Battle of Gettysburg