304 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 



his pack. Providentially the bullet, so well direct- 

 ed, found a lodgment in his sword and hand in- 

 stead of his heart, which, you notice, lay just be- 

 neath. Major General Wilkenson, of the British 

 Army, on seeing this sword, said that he had seen 

 many of the heirlooms of prominent British fami- 

 lies, and the relics sent home from twenty years of 

 active service, and added, " Among them all there 

 are none that I consider as fine a personal relic as 

 this broken sword." The captain threw this away 

 as being of no further use to him; but it was pre- 

 served by his men. He also received a gunshot 

 wound in the shoulder, in the second battle of 

 Bull Run, Aug. 29, 1862. Entering the service a pri- 

 vate, he came out a captain, in that division of the 

 army when a captaincy meant [in some ways as 



CAPTAIN HETHERINGTON DURING WAR TIMES ; 



THE POSITION OF HAND AND SWORD WHEN 



STRUCK BY THE BULEET. 



much as the command of a whole regiment would 

 in some other branches of the service. A whole 

 regiment of sharpshooters was seldom posted to- 

 gether; but companies were used instead of regi- 

 ments. The sharpshooting service was a man-to- 

 man conflict, and it required great care and skill 

 in posting a company so that they would not be 

 picked off by the opposing riflemen. The captain 

 of Company D was killed in the battle of Gettys- 

 burg, July 3, 18&3, and Lieut. J. E. Hetherington 

 was recommended for promotion by Col. Berdan, 

 from the battle-field. At the close of the Gettys- 

 burg campaign, an order was sent to the command- 

 ing officers of the army, to report to the Secretary 

 of War the names of such officers and men as had 

 distinguished themselves for bravery and meritori. 



ous conduct during the campaign. The name of 

 J. E. Hetherington appears in this list, and fur- 

 nishes the best of proof that his promotion was 

 well earned. While in the army the captain was in 

 all the principal battles of the Army of the Poto- 

 mac, besides many minor engagements which will 

 never be recorded. He was discharged from the 

 service, Sept. 20, 1861, by reason of disability from 

 wounds received in action. For two years after, it 

 was a question whether he would live; but he 

 gradually regained a larger part of his former vig- 

 or. 



In personal appearance the captain is tall and 

 commanding, and looks every inch a soldier. Had 

 our army been more largely composed of such 

 men, the end would have come sooner, and general 

 pension bills would not now languish. With more 

 years, undoubtedly higher rank and greater hon- 

 ors had come to him. The beekeepers of this 

 country may feel honored that they have enrolled 

 in their ranks one who has performed so dis- 

 tinguished service in the great contest. 



Starkville, N. Y. P. H. Elwood. 



It was my good fortune to meet Captain 

 Hetherington at a bee-keepers' convention 

 in Cleveland, O., in December, 1871. This 

 was only one year after the National Con- 

 vention was started, and the bee-men of the 

 United States were, a good many of them, 

 comparatively slightly acquainted with each 

 other. The only time I ever met father 

 Quinby in person was at this convention. I 

 believe it was the first time I got acquaint- 

 ed with Prof. Cook. A. F. Moon was there ; 

 also W. F. Clarke, Dr. Bohrer, Dr. Hamlin, 

 Aaron Benedict, Gen. D. L. Adair, N. C. 

 Mitchell, Mrs. Tupper, Mrs. Savery, and 

 R. C. Otis. Rev. L. L. Langstroth was ab- 

 sent on account of illness, and so W. F. 

 Clarke occupied the chair. The memories 

 of that convention are very pleasant. Al- 

 though there were a few things that marred 

 the harmony, yet there were but a few. 

 H. A. King and R. C. Otis were at that 

 time having trouble about the Langstroth 

 patent. Among the exhibits of bee-hives, 

 Otis brought in an old weather - stained 

 American hive, and in an ironical way com- 

 menced to extol its merits. As a matter of 

 course, a part of the convention decided 

 with Otis and a part with King, and there 

 seemed to be great danger, for a time, of 

 hard feelings if not hard words during the 

 session of the convention. The president, 

 however, happily suggested that we close 

 the session by singing the doxology. The 

 effect of that simple hymn of praise acted 

 so like oil on troubled waters that I never 

 quite got over it. 1 was not a Christian at 

 the time, but I then got a glimpse of the 

 power of Christianity to subdue and con- 

 quer evil. I did not have a chance to get 

 much acquainted with Captain Hethering- 

 ton. I can only remember that, when the 

 essays were very long and dry, as you may 

 remember they used to be, he acted some- 

 what like a schoolboy under restraint ; and, 

 if I mistake not, he once started a little fun, 

 even during the reading of these essays. If 

 we could get him to attend the conventions 

 of the present time he would find a vast 

 change in them from what they were 18 

 years ago. 



