THE BOTANISTS OF PHILADELPHIA. 331 



Eclson's mother was a sweet-natured woman, domestic in 

 her tastes, quiet in her manners but keenly observant, and 

 though not a botanist in the scientific sense, a lover of 

 flowers and with a mind well stored with plant lore. At 

 the age of twelve the boy's heart was saddened, almost 

 broken, by the death of his mother. It was indeed an 

 irreparable loss, though three years afterwards when the 

 father re-married, the children learned to love and revere 

 their step-mother, whose affectionate nature and nobility of 

 character once more made their home a cheerful and happy 

 one. The boy led the usual life of a farmer lad in those 

 days, attending district school in the old log school-house 

 in winters, and helping at farm work in summer time until 

 about sixteen years of age, when he was sent away to school 

 at Carroll College, in Waukesha. 



His patriotism was deeply stirred by the events of 

 1862, and stopping midway in his college course, he 

 enlisted as a private in the 28th Wisconsin Infantry in 

 August of that year, and in December went with his regi- 

 ment to the front. He participated in the stirring cam- 

 paigns against Vicksburg and Arkansas Post, fought in the 

 battle of Helena, and marched with General Steele to the 

 capture of Little Rock. He had suffered much in health 

 from the malarial climate and the severe exposure incident 

 to camp life, and soon after reaching Little Rock 

 applied for and secured a clerkship at headquarters, 

 where he found employment suited to his tastes, and 

 the opportunity to regain his accustomed physical vigor. 

 He must have impressed his superiors favorably, for at 

 the end of a year, at the re-organization of the Fourth 

 Arkansas Cavalry, he was appointed a Captain in that 



