accept my heartfelt gratitude; and may God bless
you and protect you from all dangers; may you be
eminently successful in your present pursuit. I
enclose a flower, a present from a sainted mother;
it is the only gift I have to send you. Had I a
picture, I would send you one. I know nothing of
your history, but I hope you always have and
always may be happy, and since I will be unable to
see you in this world, I hope I may meet you in
the better world where there is no war. May God
bless you, both now and forever, is the wish of
your grateful friend.

Such rewards for loving service must have been very grateful to one of
Annie's sensitive nature, and she continued to toil on in the spirit of
love and heroism through the battle of Gettysburg, and the engagements
of Grant's closing campaign, where her gentleness and courage were
favourite themes of the soldiers, who could scarcely bear to have her
out of their sight when they were sick or wounded.

At the battle of the Wilderness, when the fighting was fiercest and the
balls were raining like hailstones, the Fifth Michigan, to which Annie
was now attached, together with other troops, were surrounded and nearly
cut off by the rebels and as the line of battle swung round, the rebels
at once took the places vacated by the Union men. Annie was at that
moment speaking to a little drummer boy when a bullet pierced his heart,
and he fell against Annie, dead. For the first and only time during the
war she was overcome by a panic of terror and laying the dead boy on the
ground, she ran like a hunted deer towards what she took to be the Union
troops, to find to her horror she was mistaken. It was the rebel forces,
but, too late to retrace her steps she dashed ahead, cutting her swift
way through the enemy's line, and though shots whistled after her, she
escaped in safety.

With every month of service, Annie's patriotism grew stronger and her
desire to serve the cause for which the Union was fighting, keener.
During the battle of Spotsylvania she met a number of soldiers
retreating, and when imploring them to turn back had no effect, she
offered to lead them herself, and shamed into doing their duty, by a
woman's courage, they turned, and led by the dauntless girl, went back
into the thick of the fight, under heavy fire from the enemy. Never did
Annie bear the regime