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A 



A VIEW OF THIS BOOK 

IN PROOF-SHEETS. 

As onr last form was going to press we received the following note Prom 
a Minister of the Gospel of this city, whose name is widely known, and as 
Widely respected, both in Europe and America. 

A. S. BARNES A BUBB, PubllsheraL 
Nrw York, Oct 1, 1S62. 

Inscrutable "Dixie!" your "adversary has written 
a book," as damaging to Rebel dom as the Monitor to 
the Merriraac. The secrets of Rebel counsels and re- 
sources have been well concealed, while National plans 
have been penetrated by traitorous eyes and revealed 
by treasonable tongues. At last the vail has been up- 
lifted, and we have more of valuable, reliable informa- 
tion, as to the internal condition of Jeff-dom and its 
armies, than has leaked out since the fall of Sumter. 

" Thirteen Months in the Rebel Army" gave " An 
Impressed New Yorker" rare opportunities of knowing 
what is to be known outside of the Richmond Cabinet. 
Let a sharp-witted young man make his way from 
Memphis to Columbus and Bowling Green, and thence 
to Nashville, Selma, Richmond, and Chattanooga; put 
him into the battles of Belmont and Shiloh ; bring him 
in contact with Morgan, Polk, Brcckenridge, and a 
bevy of Confederate generals; employ him consecu- 
tively in the infantry, ordnance, cavalry, courier, and 
hospital services ; then put a pen in his hand, and if 
his sketches of men and thin<r8 in the land of darkness 
have not interest and value, pray what would you read 
in war-time? 

The writer has been favored with the perusal of the 
proof-sheets of this remarkable book. Many of its in« 



A VIEW OF THIS BOOK. 

cidents had had the charm of personal narration from 
the lips of the author; bat it is only just to say, that 
the lucid, graphic style of the author gives all the 
vividness of pei*sonal description to the scenes and in- 
cidents of which he was an eyewitness. That so many 
and such varied adventures should have fallen to the 
lot of a single person, is passing strange ; and that he 
should have survived and escaped to relate them, is, 
perhaps, yet stranger. That they were all experienced 
substantially as related, none will doubt, when the mi- 
nute details of name, date, place, and surroundings are 
found to be sketched with palpable truthfulness. 

The temper of the book is scarcely less noteworthy 
than its fund of incident and anecdote. Parson Brown- 
low's book and speeches are brimful of invective. He's 
a good hater, indeed. He claimed in his Academy of 
Music speech that, " If there was any thing on God's 
earth that he was made for, it was to pile up epithets 
against this infernal rebellion 1" Chacun a aon gout. 
Our young author has struck a harder blow at the 
Confederacy by his damaging facts, than if he had in- 
tensified them with the vocabulary of profanity and vi- 
tuperation. There has been more than enough of bitter 
words. North and South ; it is now a question of 
strength, and skill, and endurance. This book will 
teach us to respect the energy, while we detest the 
principles, of this stupendous rebellion. 



THIRTEEN MONTHS 



IN 



THE EEBEL ARMY. 



THIRTEEN MONTHS 



IN 



THE REBEL ARMY: 



BEiva 

A KARRATIVE OF PEKSOML ADVENTUBES 

IN 

THE INFANTRY, OKDNANCE, CAVALRY, CODRIER, 

AND 

-HOSPITAL SERYICESj 

WITH 

AN EXHIBITION OF THE POWER, PURPOSES, EARNEST- 
NESS, MILITARY DESPOTISM, AND DEMOR- 
ALIZATION OF THE SOUTH. 



BY AJ? IMPRESSED NEW YORKER. 



I »' 

»* 



NEW YORK : 
A. S. BARNES & BURR, 

51 A 53 JOHN-8TRBET. 
1862. 



^ # r^ . 



7 






Entered neeordtng to Act of Comprrem, In the year 1862^ 

Br A. S. BARNRS A BURR. 

Ill the Clerk's Offlee of the District Court of the United States forth* 
Sonthem District of New York. 



Rennir, Shba a Lindsat, 

8terkotypkrs and klectr0ttpkr8, 

81, 83, A 83 (;RNTRK-8TRRBT, 

Kr%i 2^orfl. 

OEORGR W. wood. Printer, 
Mo. 2 Duteh-st., N. T. 



PREFACE. 



A WORD TO THE READER. 

I GIVE to you, in the following pages, a sim- 
ple narrative of facts. I have no motive to 
misrepresent or conceal. I have an honest de- 
sire to describe faithfully and truly what I saw 
and heard during thirteen months of enforced 
service in the Rebel army. 

If I should seem to you to speak too favorably 
of individuals or occilrrences in the South, I beg 
you to consider that I give impressions obtained 
when in the South. If my book has any value 
it lies in this very fact, that it gives you an in- 
terior view of this stupendous rebellion, which 
can not be obtained by one standing in the 
North and looking at it only with Northern 
eyes. 

I have confidence in truth ; and unwelQome 
truth, is none the less truth, and none the less 



8 PRE PA CM. 

valuable. Sure am I, that if the North had 
known the whole truth as to the jpower^ thi 
unanimity^ and the deadly purpose of the lead- 
ers in the rebellion, the government would have 
been far better prepared for promptly meeting 
the crisis. Look then candidly at facts, and 
give them their true weight. 

As I am under no obligation, from duty or 
honor, to conceal what I was compelled to see 
and hear in the South, I tell it frankly ; hoping 
it may be of value to my bleeding coimtry, I 
tell it plainly. I have no cause to love the 
Confederate usurpation, as will fully appear, 
yet I refrain from abusive and denunciatory 
epithets, because both my* taste and judgment 
enjoin it. 

For the accuracy of names, dates, and places, 
I rely wholly upon memory. I kept memo- 
randa during my whole service, but was com- 
pelled to leave every thing when I attempted 
escape, as such papers then found in my posses- 
sion would have secured my certain death ; but 
in all material things I can promise the accu- 
racy which a retentive memory secures. 



PREFACE. 9 

If an apology is needed for the constant re- 
currence of the personal pronoun in these pages, 
let it be said that the recital of personal inci- 
dents, without circumlocution, necessarily com- 
pels it. 

With this brief word, I invite you to enter 
with me upon the Southern service ; you can 
stop when you please, or go with me to the 
end, and give a huzza as you see me escape and 
reach the loyal lines. 

WILLIAM G. STEVENSON. 

New Yoek Oitt, Sept. 16th, 1862. 



CONTENTS. 



■♦♦ » 



CHAPTER I. 

HOW I VOLUNTEERED. 

Object in going to Arkansas. — Change of Purpose. — ^Young Ac- 
quaintances. — Questioned on Slavery. — Letter to my Parents. — 
Unfortunate Clause. — A Midnight Call. — Warlike Preparations. 
— Good Advice. — Honor among Lynchers. — Arrival at Court of 
Judge Lynch. — Character of Jury. — Trial commenced. — Indict- 
ment and Argument. — Excitement increases. — Butler Gavins 
and his Lariit. — The Crisis. — The Acquittal. — No Safety from 
it. — First Impulse and subsequent Reflection. — Attempted Es- 
cape.— Night Ride. — Helena. — An Uneasy Boat Ride. — Mem- 
phis. — "A Blue Jacket." — Committee of Public Sal'ety. — A 
Surprise.— Dismissal followed by Unwelcome Letter and Po- 
liceman. — Recruiting Station. — Volunteering 16 

CHAPTER II. 

INFANTRY SERVICE. 

Character of our Regiment. — No Escape. — A Fixed Resolve. — 
Randolph. — Camp Life. — Sabbath. — Father Daly. — Washing. — 
Fort Wright. — Grand Defect. — Rations.— Stolen Waters. — Mu- 
tiny. — Sentence. — Fort Pillow. — Slaves. — Aiding the Rebellion. 
— Deep Earnestness of the People. — Strength of the Fort. — 
** Pillow's Trot Line." — No Pay, and the Result.— General 



12 CONTENTS. 

Pillow described. — Columbus, Ky. — Hard Work. — ^Pillow in 
the Ditch. — The Batteries. — Torpedoes. — Battle of Belmont. — 
False Report. — Troops cross. — Untimely Joking. — The Tide of 
Battle. — A Charge.— Cruelty.— Victory.— Why ? — ^Loss. — Burial 
of the Dead. — How Not to KilL—Accident. — The Military 
Bishop 40 

CHAPTER III. 

ORDNANCE SERVICE. 

Transferred to Ordnance. — Camp Beauregard. — Was my Oath 
binding? — Resources of the Rebels. — Cannon stolen. — Manu- 
factured. — A Rifling Machine. — ^Beauregard's Bells. — Imported 
Cannon.-rRunning Blockade. — Silence of Southern Papers. — 
Small-Arms made. — Altered. — Abundant. — Earnestness of all 
Classes. — Imported Arms. — England's Neutrality. — Ammuni- 
tion imported. — Manufactured. — Smuggled. — A Railroad Epi- 
sode. — A Deserting Engineer. — A New Hand at the Throttle. 
— Caution. — A Smash Up and Pistols. — Reconciliation. — Result 
of Smash Up.— Bowling Green. — Size of Army. — Sickness. — 
Personal. — Kindness of Nashville People. — Moral and Religious 
Efforts for the Rebel Army.— Vices prevalent. — Seminaries and 
Schools disbanded 79 

CHAPTER IV. 

CAVALRY SERVICE. 

New Field of Action. — Promotion. — Guerrilla Warfare. — Charac 
teri&tics. — Tendencies. — Captain J. H. Morgan. — Character.-- 
Personal Appearance. — Anecdotes. — Success. — Southern Cav- 
alry superior to Northern. — Advantages. — Riding Courier. — 
General Johnson evacuates Bowling Green. — Excitement in 
Nashville. — Preparations for Defense. — Commissary Stores. — 
Vandalism. — Rear Guard. — Line of Retreat. — Dreadful Hard- 



CONTENTS. 13 

ships. — ^Losses. — ^Forced March. — Desolation. — Cause of Ee- 
treat. — Other Counsel. — Accident. — No Union Feeling evident. 
—Intolerant yet Sincere. .., 108 

CHAPTER V. 

COURIEB SERVICE. 

New Duties. — Battle approaching. — Deserters and Scouts. — A 
Providence. — Position and Forces of the Confederates. — Orders 
to prepare to move. — My New Position. — March to the Battle- 
field. — Federals off their Guard. — Care of the Confederates 
against Desertion. — Council of War. — A Dreary Night. — Awful- 
ness of War. — The Fight opened. — Beauregard's Address. — 
The First Dead. — Detour. — Camp of 7l8t Ohio Volunteers. — 
Failure of Strategy. — General Johnson killed. — Death con- 
cealed. — Furious Fighting. — Horse killed. — Sad Scene. — Bebels 
gaining.— Stnick by a Shell. — Another Horse killed. — The 
Wounded Cavalryman and his Horse. — Sleep in the Camp of 
the 7l8t Ohio.— Startling Reveille.— Result of First Day's Bat- 
tle. — Victory for the Rebels. — Arrangements for Second Day.— 
Bloody Scenes. — Grant's Attack. — Rebels fall back. — Fluctua- 
tions of the Day.— General Hindman blown up. — Retreat de- 
termined on. — Leaving the Field. — Horrors of the Retreat. — 
Sleep among the Dying. — Reach Corinth. — Resolve 188 

CHAPTER VI. 

HOSPITAL SERVICE. 

Wounded arriving. — Care of my own Men. — Appointment as 
Assistant-surgeon. — Discharge from Rebel Army.— Dreadful 
Scenes. — Sickness. — Nurses. — Stoicism. — Military Murder of a 
Deserter. — No Pay.— Go to Mobile. — Spirit of the People on 
the Way. — Met at Depot.— No Means of Escape.— The Stagnant 
City.— Surveillance of the Press. — Forced Charity. — In charge 



14: CONTENTS. 

- of a Hospital. — Selnia. — Kindness of Ladies. — Piano. — Artesian 
Wells. — Model Uospital. — Furlough to Sichmond. — Bigid Dis- 
cipline.— r Disappointment. — Bitter Thoughts. — Crinoline and 
Volunteering. — North asleep 175 

CHAPTER VII. 

MY ESCAPE. 

Obstacles in the Way of Escape. — Farewell to Selma. — Gold ver- 
■ stis Confederate Scrip. — An unnamed Friend. — Conscription 
Act.— Swearing in a Regiment. — Soldier shot. — Chattanooga 
reached. — Danger of Kecognition. — Doff the Military. — Trans- 
formation. — A Bivouac. — A Retired Ferryman. —Conscience 
versus Go4d. — Casuistry. — Embarkation and Voyage. — Pistols 
and Persuasion. — An unwilling Pilot. — A Night-reverie. — My 
Companion's Pisgah. — Selim. — Secession a destructive Princi- 
ple. — Practical Illustration. — A third Night in the Hocks. — 
Home and the Welcome. — The Dying Deserter. — One more 
Move— but how ? — My Loss and Selim's Gain. — Off for Home. 
— Federal Officer and Oath of Allegiance. — Plea for Treason. — 
Sanctity of an Oath. — Hesume.—^omQ 196 



THIRTEEN MONTHS 



IN 



THE EEBEL AEMY. 



CHAPTER I. 

HOW I VOLUNTEEEED. 

Object in going to Arkansas. — Change of Purpose. — Young Ac- 
quaintances. — Questioned on Slavery. — Letter to my Parents. — 
Unfortunate Clause. — A Midnight Call. — Warlike Preparations. 
— Good Advice. — Honor among Lynchers. — Arrival at Court of 
Ji^dge Lynch. — Character of Jury. — Trial commenced. — Indict- 
ment and Argument. — Excitement increases. — Butler Cavins 
and his Lariat. — The Crisis. — The Acquittal. — No Safety from 
it. — First Impulse and subsequent Reflection. — Attempted Es- 
cape.— Night Eide.-^Helena. — An Uneasy Boat Eide. — Mem- 
phis. — "A Blue Jacket."— Committee of Public Safety.— A 
Surprise. — Dismissal followed by Unwelcome Letter and Po- 
liceman. — Eecruiting Station. — ^Volunteering. 

Having spent my boyhood near Louisville, 
Kentucky, and falling in love with the charac- 
ter of the young men of that chivalrie State, 
I found my way back to that region in the be- 



16 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

ginning of the year 1861, from my home in the 
city of JSTew York. In March, I went down the 
Mississippi river to seek a school, and stopped 
in Arkansas, where I hoped to find a relative 
who was engaged in teaching. Failing to find 
either my kinsman or a remunerative school, I 
entered into partnership with a young man from 
Memphis named George Davis, for the purpose 
of getting out wine-cask staves, to be shipped 
to New Orleans and from thence to France. 
We located in Phillips county, Arkansas, bor- 
dering on the St. Francis river, more than 100 
miles from Memphis. The venture proved prof- 
itable, and with five hired hands — Frenchmen 
— we were making money fast enough to satisfy 
a moderate ambition, and I had time to look 
about me and study the various phases of Ar- 
kansas society. 

Frequent log-rollings — meetings of the neigh- 
bors to clear away the dead timber which falls 
during the winter — brought me into contact with 
the citizens for miles aroimd. All sought ac- 
quaintance with the stranger youth, and were 
generally courteous and friendly. In trials of 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 17 

strength and skill, I occasionally gained an ad- 
vantage whicli made me friends among tlie 
older, but evidently waked up envy in the 
breasts of some of the rougher young men. My 
refusal to drink with the crowd, also widened 
the breach which I noticed was forming with- 
out any cause on my part. 

I was often sounded on the subject of slavery, 
which is the touchstone always used in the South 
to test the character of a new-comer. As a 
young man, I had no very fixed views upon the 
subject. I had the impression that where it ex- 
isted it should be left to the control of those 
who were connected with it ; and an outsider, 
as I was, had better keep hands ofl^, so far at 
least as any direct efforts were concerned. Nor 
had I any disposition to promulgate the anti- 
slavery convictions of my boyhood, since I well 
knew they could have no good effect there; 
and as I had met a few radical and half-crazy 
men in the North, Whom I could not avoid op- 
posing, I was able to say some truthful things 
respecting them, which conciliated my ques- 
tioners. Yet I would not include the great 



18 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

body of ]S'ortherners, whom I admitted I had 
met in my Kentucky residence (I hailed from 
Kentucky), as of that hated class called by 
them " abolitionist ;" hence they still looked 
upon me with a shade of suspicion. 

Freedom of opinion in the South upon this 
subject is not tolerated for a moment, and no 
honest anti-slavery man was safe for an hour in 
that section. But as I was only a youth, they 
were willing to suppose I knew but little of the 
subject, and I thought that they were satisfied I 
was not a dangerous resident of their State. 
While things were in this condition I concluded 
to write to my parents, who I knew were anx- 
ious to hear from me ; but I dared not direct a 
letter to JSTew York, and hence inclosed it in an 
envelope to a friend near Louisville, Kentucky, 
with the request that he would " hand it to my 
father as soon as convenient," not doubting that 
he would direct and mail it to New York. In 
this letter, cautiously written, I remarked, "This 
is a hard place to live in, as I had to ride ten 
miles to get paper and ink to write this letter ;" 
an unfortunate statement, as will soon appear. 



Iir THE REBEL ARKY. 19 

The letter was deposited in the post-office ob 
April 16th. I went home, and, as if urged by a 
guardian, though warlike, spirit, cleaned up my 
two six-shooters, and, after examining my am- 
munition, laid them away unloaded. On the 
niffht of April lYth, 1861, I was awakened out 
of a sound sleep about 11 o'clock by three men, 
who requested me to accompany them to Jeffer- 
son ville, a small town on the St. Francis river, 
eight miles distant. These men I had often 
met. One of them I regarded as a good friend, 
and had some confidence in the other two. I 
asked for time to dress and get ready, which 
they cheerfully granted. I carefully loaded and 
capped my " Navies," and saddling my horse 
started with them, like Paul, "not knowing 
what was to befall me there," but I fear without 
much of the spirit of the good apostle, of whom 
I had learned in the pious home of my child- 
hood. I soon found these "carnal weapons" 
essential safeguards in that place, though if I 
had been an apostle I might not have needed 
them. 

On the way to town my friend Back Scruggs 



20 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

— ^he deserved a better name — asked me to ride 
forward with him, and gave me this informa- 
tion and advice. "You are now going to' be 
tried by the Phillips County Vigilance Com- 
mittee on suspicion of being a Northern man 
and an abolitionist. When you reach the gro- 
cery where they are assembled, seat yourself on 
the counter in the back part of the room, where 
if you have to defend yourself they cannot get 
behind you. Make no studied defence, but 
calmly meet the charges at the fitting time and 
in brief words. Keep cool, and use no lan- 
guage which can be tortured into an offensive 
sense, and if possible I will save you. If the 
worst comes, draw your pistols and be ready, 
but don't shoot while ever there is hope, for 
you will of course be killed the instant you kill 
any one else." 

I listened very intently to this advice, given 
as coolly as if he had been chatting about an 
every-day concern, and concluded that all de- 
pended upon my coolness and steadiness of 
nerve when the final struggle came, and re- 
solved to sell my life dearly if it must be sacri- 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 21 

ficed to the fury of a causeless persecution. To 
my proposition to escape then, having a fleet 
horse, he would not assent, as he had pledged 
his honor to take me to the Vigilance Commit- 
tee. Honor is as essential among lynchers as 
among thieves, and all I could do was to brace 
myself for the encounter, of the nature of which 
I had but an imperfect conception. About 12 
o'clock we reached the place, and I was ushered 
into the presence of fifty or sixty as graceless 
scoundrels as even Arkansas can present, who 
greeted me with hisses, groans, and cries of, 
« Hang him I" " Bum him !" &c. Two-thirds 
of the mob were maddened by the vile liquor 
which abomids ia such localities, and few, if 
any, were entirely sober. The hope that my 
innocence would protect me, which I had cher- 
ished until now, vanished, for I well knew that 
drunken cut-throats were blind to reason, and 
rather offended than attracted by innocence. 

Order was soon restored, and my friend Mr. 
Scruggs was called to the chair. In this I saw 
a ray of hope. The constitution and by-laws 
of the Vigilance Committee were read ; the sub- 



22 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

stance of which was, that in the present troubled 
state of the country the citizens resolve them- 
selves into a court of justice to examine all 
Northern men, and that any man of abolition 
principles shall be hung. The roll was called, 
and I noticed that a large proportion of the 
men present were members of the Committee ; 
the others were boatmen and loafers collected 
about the town. The court of Judge Lynch 
opened, and I was put upon trial as an " Abo- 
litionist whose business there was to incite an 
insurrection among the slaves." 

The first efforts of the chairman to get the 
witnesses to the point, were unsuccessful. A 
mob is not an orderly body, and a drunken mob 
is hard to manage. General charges were 
freely made without much point. One cried 
out, because I refused to drink with them: 
" This should hang him ; he is too white-livered 
to take a dram with gentlemen, let him swing." 
" Yes," shouted another ; " he is a cursed Yan- 
kee teetotaler, hang him." In a quiet way I 
showed them that this was not the indictment, 
and that hanging would be a severe punish- 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 23 

ment for such a sin of omission. To this 
rejoinder some assented, and the tide seemed 
for a moment to be setting in my favor, when 
another urged, " He is too 'tamal smart for this 
country. He talks like a Philadelphia lawyer." 
— Arkansas would be a poor place for the mem- 
bers of the legal profession from the city of 
brotherly love. — "He comes here to teach us 
ignorant backwoodsmen. We'll show him a 
new trick, how to stretch hemp, the cursed 
Yankee." At length the chairman got them 
to the specified crime. " An abolitionist I An 
abolitionist!" they cried with intense rage, — 
some of them were too drunk to pronounce the 
word, — ^but the more sober ones prevailed, and 
they examined the evidence. The hearsay 
amounted to nothing, -end they plied me with 
questions as to my views on slavery. I an- 
swered promptly, but briefly and honestly, that 
J held no views on that subject to which they 
should object, an^ that I had never interfered 
with the institution since I came among them, 
nor did I intend to do so. My calmness 
seemed to baffle them for a moment, but the 



24: THIRTEEN MO'NTHS 

bottle was passed, and I noticed that all reason 
fled from the great majority. Words grew hot 
and fierce, and eyes flashed fire, while some 
actually gnashed their teeth in rage. I saw 
that the mob would soon be uncontrollable 
unless the chairman brought matters to an»end, 
and suggested, that as there was no evidence 
against me, they should bring the trial to a 
close, when to my surprise they produced the 
letter written to my father but thirty-six hours 
before, as proof conclusive that I was a JSTorthern 
abolitionist. I then saw, what I have had abun- 
dant evidence of since, that the United States 
mail was subject to the inspection of Vigilance 
Committees in the South at their pleasure. 
The ruffianism of these scoundrels did not allow 
them even to apologize for their crime. The 
only phrase in the letter objected to was the 
unfortunate but truthful one, "This is a hard 
place." I never felt its force as at that instant. 
It served as a catch-word for more abuse. 
" Tes, we'll make it a hard place for you before 
you get out of it, you infernal spy," &c. The 
chairman argued rather feebly as I thought — 



IN THE BEBEL ABMY. 25 

but he understood his audience better than I 
did — ^that the letter was free from any proof 
against me, that I was an innocent-looking 
youth and had behaved myself correctly, that I 
evidently did not know much about their pecu- 
liar institution, and he thought I had no designs 
against it. They then went into a private con- 
sultation, while I kept my place upon the 
counter, though gradually moving back to the 
further edge of it. I saw the crisis was at 
hand, for smothered but angry argument was 
going on in knots of men all over the room ; my 
life was suspended upon a breath, and I was 
utterly powerless to change the decision, what- 
ever it might be ; but I must say that my 
nerves were steady and my hand untrembling, 
— the unwonted calmness of one who knew that 
death was inevitable if they should decide in the 
affirmative on the charge, and who was deter- 
mined to defend himself to the last, as I well 
knew any death they could there inflict, was 
better than to fall into their hands to be tor- 
mented by their hellish hate. 

During the consultation, one Butler Gavins, 



26 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

who had a good deal of influence (he owned 
about twenty slaves), left the grocery with five 
or six others and was absent about ten minutes. 
He returned with a coil of rope upon his arm, 
elbowing his way through the crowd, and ex- 
claimed, " Gentlemen, I am in favor of hanging 
him. He is a nice, innocent young man. He 
is far safer for heaven now than when he learns 
to drink, swear, and be as hardened an old 
sinner as I am." I could not, even at the peril 
of life, refrain from retorting : " That, sir, is the 
only truth I have heard from you to-night." 
My friends, yet few, and feeble in the advocacy 
of my cause, seemed slightly encouraged by 
this rebuff, and gained the ear of the rabble for 
a little. Gavins could not be silenced. "This 
is a fine lariat, boys; it has swung two aboli- 
tionists. I guess it will hold another. Come 
on, boys," and a general gathering up in the 
form of a semicircle, crowding nearer the coun- 
ter, occurred. At the same moment jumping 
back off the counter and displaying two six- 
shooters, I said, " If that's your game, come on ; 
some of you shall go with me to the other 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 27 

world ! The first man that makes another step 
toward me is a dead man." There was one 
moment of dread suspense and breathless still- 
ness; hands were tightened on daggers and 
pistols, but no hand was raised." The whole 
pack stood at bay, convinced that any attempt 
to take me would send several of them to cer- 
tain death. My friends, who had kept some- 
what together, now ranged themselves against 
the counter before me, facing the crowd, and 
Buck Scruggs said, "He has not been con- 
victed, and he shall not be touched." James 
Niel and Dempsey Jones, the other two who 
had aided in my aiTCst, joined Scruggs; and 
their influence, added to the persuasive elo- 
quence of my pistols, decided the wavering. 
In twenty seconds more than twenty votes were 
given for my acquittal, and the chairman de- 
clared in a triumphant voice, "He is unani- 
mously acquitted." The unanimity, I confess, 
was not such as I would have desired ; but all 
agreed the youngster had pluck, and would soon 
make as good a fighter as any of them. With 
a forced laugh, which on some faces ill con- 



28 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

cealed their hatred, while others made an un- 
seemly attempt at coarse wit, they adjourned, 
voting themselves a drink at my expense, which 
I must perforce pay, as they had generously 
acquitted me! I confess to an amiable wish 
that the dollar I laid on the counter of Gavins 
for a gallon of whiskey might some day buy 
the rope to tighten on his craven throat, though 
I did not deem it wise to give expression to my 
sentiments just then. 

As the bottle passed for the last time, the 
change of feeling was most rapid, and I was 
greeted quite patronizingly by some who had 
been fierce for hanging me. The more malig- 
nant shrunk away by twos and threes, and soon 
the grocery was empty. My special friends, 
who were now more than ever friends, having 
risked their own lives to save me (I even then 
thought of One who had given up His life to 
save me), advised, in earnest words — " Now, S., 
put thirty miles between you and these fellows 
before to-morrow ; for some of them are enraged 
at their defeat, and if you stay here you are a 
doomed man." 



IN THE EEBEL ARMY. 29 

My first impulse was to return home, attend 
to my regular business, defy them, and, if neces- 
sary, sell my life as dearly as possible. But 
what could one man, and he a youth and a 
stranger, do against a corrupt and reckless pop- 
ulace ? When suspicion was once aroused, I 
knew that the least spark would kindle it into 
a flame. Society there was completely barbar- 
ous in its character, so far as law was concerned. 
The mob has ruled for years, and the spirit of 
rebellion, now rampant all over the South, had 
taken form and expressed itself in these vigilance 
committees, constituting as cruel courts of in- 
quiry as was ever the Inquisition. 

Instances of recent occurrence of most atro- 
cious character were in my mind, showing that 
these men would persecute me to death, sooner 
or later, if I remained. Only two nights before, 
a part of this same gang had murdered a Mr. 
Crawford, who was a native of Sullivan county, 
New York, but had lived in Arkansas sixteen 
years — a man against whom no charge could 
justly be brought. A few days previous to this 
murder a man named Washburne was whipped 



80 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

to death by four ruffians, of whom Gavins waa 
one. His only crime was that he was a North* 
ern man. His body was thrown into the St. 
Francis river, after the diabolical deed was con- 
summated. I had heard these horrible recitals 
until my blood curdled, and I saw there was no 
hope but in leaving this hell upon earth. 

The simple knowledge that I had ever lived 
in New York would, I think, have hung me 
without fail that night. 

The causes of this mad lawlessness I may not 
fully understand. Some of them lie upon the 
surface. Keckless men settled there originally, 
and, living beyond the control of calmly and 
justly administered law, they gradually re- 
solved themselves into a court, the most daring 
and active-minded becoming the self-elected 
leaders. 

Then the system of slavery gives them almost 
unlimited power over the persons and lives of 
large numbers of human beings, and this fosters 
a spirit of despotism so natural to all men, even 
the most civilized, when invested with supreme 
power. 



IN THE REBEL ARMY: 31 

And, still further, some fanatical men from 
the North, determined violently to break the 
bonds of the poor slave, had been found in re- 
cent years spreading incendiary works among 
the poor white population and the negroes who 
could read, thus endangering the lives of the 
masters and their families. As a matter of self- 
defence, Northern men were watched with un- 
remitting and eagle-eyed vigilance. 

But whether all this explains the fact or not, 
no Northern man's life was safe for an hour in 
that section of Arkansas at the time of which I 
speak. Hence I concluded that their advice 
was good, though I must lose what interest I 
had in my business partnership. Then, how 
was I to travel thirty miles before daybreak, as 
it was now two o'clock? I immediately took 
the road to Helena, on the Mississippi river. I 
will not record all my thoughts during that ride 
— homeless, friendless, and, though innocent of 
crime, hunted like a very murderer, in free and 
enlightened America ! 

How long is this system of terrorism to con- 
tinue? This utter disregard of law and the 



32 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

sanctity of human life? Among the questions 
to be settled by this war, are not these import- 
ant ? Shall an American citizen be allowed in 
safety to travel or reside anywhere in his own 
land ? Shall there be any freedom of opinion 
and speech upon the question of slavery ? 

If it be said that the institution of slavery- 
can not tolerate freedom of thought and speech 
with safety to the master, then the system is 
barbarous, and can not exist in a free land. Let 
it be admitted that there are difficulties con- 
nected with the institution; that John Brown 
raids, and incendiary emissaries, are wicked; 
that unlicensed denunciations of all implicated 
in th6 system, are grossly wrong. Still, can 
there be no calm and considerate discussion of 
the rightfulness or sinfulness of the laws which 
define and regulate slavery ? Must all the cru- 
elties and iniquities which accompany its exist- 
ence be left unchallenged, and their authors 
uncondemned? Then is the whole system to 
be swept away as a curse and enormity, which 
neither the civilization of the nineteenth century 
nor a just God will longer tolerate? 



IN THE REBEL ABMY. 33 

The blood of hundreds of American citizens 
shed on Southern plains with dreadful tortures, 
cries from the ground, "How long, O Lord, 
holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge 
our blood on them that dwell on the earth?" 
Has not the day of avenging already com- 
menced ? 

The intensity of my emotions for three hours 
had exhausted me, and now the temporary es- 
cape from imminent peril allowed me to sink 
down almost to fainting, scarcely able for a 
time to keep my seat in the saddle. A feeling 
of loneliness and utter desertion, such as I have 
never else experienced, came over me, and I 
longed once more to be in the free North, and 
at the home of my affectionate parents. 

But as the day broke, I aroused myself to the 
realities before me, and after procuring break- 
fast at a private house, rode into Helena, in 
time to take the Memphis boat, which left at 
ten o'clock, a. m. This boat, the St. Francis, 
No. 3, left Jeffersonville (where I was tried and 
released) at seven o'clock in the morning, on its 

way down the St. Francis river, thence to 

3 



34: THIRTEEN MONTHS 

Helena, and thence up to Memphis. As it left 
Jeffersonville four hours after my escape from 
that place, the report that " an abolitionist had 
been tried that night and ran off," had reached 
the boat at the wharf. When I took the same 
boat at Helena at ten o'clock, I heard the ex- 
cited crowds detailing the incidents in which I 
had been so deeply interested a few hours before. 
It required all the skill in controlling the 
muscles of my face which I could possibly com- 
mand, to appear neither too much nor too little 
interested in what was the theme of every 
tongue. I was pleased to see that no one 
thought of the probability of the escaped 
"abolitionist" having reached that boat, and 
hence I was not suspected : at least, I thought 
so. Yet there was nothing in my surroundings 
tliat gave me much encouragement, as the pas- 
sengers, who were numerous, were chiefly vio- 
lent men and full of denunciation of the North. 
I was already exhausted by the scenes through 
which I had passed, and poorly prepared for 
another and more trying one, which soon met 
me, and of course was not able to get much rest 



IN THE BEBEL ABMY. 35 

during tlie day and night passed on the way to 
Memphis. 

As the St. Francis touched the wharf on the 
morning of the 19th of April, the very day that 
the blood of the Massachusetts sixth regiment 
dyed the streets of Baltimore, shed by her mur- 
derous rebels, I stepped upon the landing ; mean- 
ing to look over the state of things in the city, 
and see if I could get out of it in the direction 
of Nashville, where I had friends who, I thought, 
would aid me homeward. 

But I had not left the wharf, when a " blue 
jacket," the sobriquet of the military police- 
men that then guarded the city, stepped up and 
said, " I see you are a stranger." " Yes, sir." 
"I have some business with you. You will 
please walk with me, sir." To my expression 
of astonishment, which was real, he replied, 
"You answer the description very well, sir. 
The Committee of Public Safety wish to see 
you, come along." As it was useless to parley, 
I walked with him, and was soon ushered into 
the presence of that body, a much more intelli- 
gent and no less intensely Southern organiza- 



86 THIBTEEN MONTHS 

tion, than I had found in the grocery of Jeffer- 
sonville. 

They questioned me as to my home, political 
opinions, and destination, and received such 
answers as I thought it wise to give. Where- 
upon they confronted me, to my amazement, 
with a member of the Vigilance Committee 
which had tried me at Jefferson ville, one hun- 
dred and twenty miles distant, thirty hours be- 
fore. I was amazed, because I did not imagine 
that any one of their number could have reached 
Memphis before me. He had ridden after me 
the night of my escape, and when I stopped for 
breakfast, he had passed on to Helena, and 
taking an earlier up-river boat, had reached 
Memphis some hours in advance of the St. 
Francis; long enough before me to post the 
Committee of Public Safety as to my person 
and story when before his committee. Even 
with this swift witness against me, they were 
unable to establish any crime, and after con- 
sultation, they told me I could retire. I was 
immediately followed by the policeman, who 
handed me a letter written by the chairman, 



IN THE REBEL ARMY, 37 

suggesting that I would do well to go directly 
to a certain recruiting office, where young men 
were enlisting under the Provisional Govern- 
ment of Tennessee, and where I would find it 
to my interest to volunteer^ adding, substan- 
tially, as follows : " Several members of the 
committee think if you do not see fit to follow 
this advice, you will probably stretch hemp 
instead of leaving Memphis ; as they can not be 
responsible for the acts of an infuriate mob, who 
may hear that you came from the North." I 
was allowed no time for reflection, as the police- 
man stood waiting, he said, "to show me the 
way." I now saw at a glance, that the military 
power of the city had resolved to compel me to 
volunteer^ and in my friendlessness I could think 
of no way to escape the cruel and dread neces- 
sity. 

Still the hope remained that perhaps I might 
make a partial promise, and ask time, and yet 
elude the vigilance of the authorities. As the 
M. P. grew impatient, and at length imperious, 
showing that he well knew that he had me in 
his power, I walked on to avoid the crowd which 



38 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

was beginning to gather, and soon reached the 
recruiting station. I saw, the moment I was 
inside, that the only door was guarded by 
bayonets, crossed in the hands of determined 
men. The Blue Jacket, in a private conversa- 
tion with the recruiting officer, soon gave him 
my status; when, turning to me, the officer 
said, with the air of a man who expects to 
carry his point, " Well, young man, I learn you 
have come to volunteer ; glad to see you — good 
company," &c. 

To which I replied, " I was advised to call 
and look at the matter, and will take some time 
to consider, if you please." 

" No need of time, sir — ^no time to be lost ; 
here is the roll — enter your name, put on the 
uniform, and then you can pass out," with a 
glance of his eye at the policeman and the 
crossed bayonets, which meant plainly enough, 
" You do not go out hefore,'^^ 

To my suggestion that I had a horse on the 
boat which I must see about, he replied very 
promptly, " That could all he done when this 
business was through.'*^ 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 39 

The meslies of their cursed net were around 
me, and there was no release ; and with as good 
a grace as I could assume, I wrote my name, 
and thus I volunteered ! 

Does any reader say, " You did wrong — you 
had better have died than have given your . 
name to such an infamous and causeless rebel- 
lion?" I can only answer: It is far easier to 
say what a homeless youth, hunted for his life 
for two nights and a day, until exhausted, faint, 
and friendless, in the midst of an excited and 
armed populace, sJiould do^ than it was in the 
circumstances to do what will stand the test of 
a high, calm, and safe patriotism. Let none 
condemn until he can lay his hand upon his 
heart and say, " No conceivable pressure could 
overcome me." 



40 THIRTEEN MONTHS 



CHAPTER II. 

INFANTRY SERVICE. 

Character of our Regiment. — No Escape. — A Fixed Resolve.— 
Randolph. — Camp Life. — Sabbath.— Father Daly. — Washing. — 
Fort Wright. — Grand Defect.— Rations.— Stolen Waters. — Mu- 
tiny. — Sentence. — Fort Pillow.— Slaves.— Aiding the Rebellion. 
— Deep Earnestness of the People.— Strength of the Fort. — 
" Pillow's Trot Lino."— No Pay, and the Result.— Gen. Pillow 
described. — Columbus, Ky. — Hard Work. — Pillow in the Ditch. 
—The Batteries.— Torpedoes.-Battle of Belmont.— False Re- 
port. — ^Troops cross. — Untimely Joking. — The Tide of Battle. — 
A Charge.— Cmelty.— Victory.— Why?— Loss. — Burial of the 
Dead. — How Not to Kill.— Accident. — The Military ^Ishop. 

The fine horse, which was to have carried 
me to Nashville and thence to Kentucky, was 
kindly disposed of by an auctioneer, and the 
^ice, minus a handsome commission, handed 
to me, and then I commenced service in the 
" Jeff. Davis Invincibles," Co. B, Second Tenn. 
Volunteers, under command of J. Knox Walker, 
of Memphis. I still entertained some hope of 
escape, as I had not yet taken the oath ; and I 
worked hard to obtain information which miglit 
aid my purpose. I could find no one to trust, 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 41 

and dare not be too inquisitive about roads and 
distances. 

The first regiment raised in Memphis was 
composed largely of the upper classes, and 
represented many millions of property. It was 
of the same type as the 7tli regiment of New 
York, whereas the second contained about 750 
Irishmen, chiefly Catholics, in character like the 
fine 69th New York. We camped in the Fair 
Ground, a short distance from the city, an in- * 
closure of some seven acres, surrounded by a 
high board fence, and guarded by thickly sta- 
tioned sentinels. As these sentinels were not 
from our newly-formed regiment, but from 
trusted companies of older standing, I was soon 
convinced there was no chance of escape, and 
resigned myself to the necessities of my lot. ♦ 

This being once settled, my first resolution 
was to master all the details of military duty, 
and perfect myself in drill, feeling conscious of 
ability soon to rise above the station of a private 
soldier. This determination saved me fro*m de- 
spondency, and was of signal advantage- in sub- 
sequent adventures. 



42 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

On May 6tli we received orders to proceed to 
Randolph, sixty-five miles above Memphis, ou 
the Tennessee shore of the Mississippi river, ar- 
riving by boat on the 7th. The town of Ran- 
dolph, which formerly contained about three 
hundred inhabitants, is situated above high- 
water mark on a narrow strip of land nearly 
three hundred yards wide, behind which rises a 
bluff ninety feet high and very steep. On this 
bluff, overlooking the town and the river, we 
established our camp, and here commenced our 
real soldier's life. The daily routine was as fol- 
lows : Reveille at 5 a. m. ; drill from 5^ to 7^ ; 
breakfast, 7^ ; fatigue call from 8 to 10 ; orderly 
call, 10 ; dinner, 12, m. ; fatigue from 1 p. m. to 
4 ; drill and dress parade from 4^ to 7^ ; supper, 
8 ; tattoo, 9 p. m. The fatigue call did not mean 
rest, but work. 

Thus we toiled for eight weary weeks without 
rest, except as the Sabbath — the blessed day of 
rest — gave us some relaxation. My observation, 
even ^o early in my military life, convinced me 
tliat the observance of the Sabbath is no less a 
physical necessity than a religious duty — though 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 43 

I can not say that our regiment kept it with a 
very intelligent view of its sacred character. 
Our chaplain, Father Daly, celebrated mass in 
the morning, preached a sermon in the after- 
noon, and in the evening settled the drunken 
rows — which were entirely too numerous to rec- 
ommend to a Protestant youth the religion of 
which the priest was nevertheless a very favor- 
able representative. His influence was vastly 
important as a governing power, and he wielded 
it wisely and kindly. 

The idleness of the Sabbath was a great evil, 
as there was nothing to read, and card-playing 
and cock-fighting were the chief amusements. 
This was also our wash-day, and the ration of 
soap issued for six men was only enough to 
wash one shirt ; hence this was given by lot to 
one of the mess, and the others were content 
with the virtue of water alone. While our regi- 
ment was often commended for its ability in 
building fortifications, no one ventured to com- 
pliment its cleanliness. 

Soon after we camped at Randolph I was ap- 
pointed third sergeant, and after serving a few 



44: THIRTEEN MONTHS 

days as such was promoted to orderly sergeant. 
This position, of course, exempted me from 
actual labor in the trenches, but I had to over- 
see a squad of workmen. During these two 
months we, with three other regiments, built 
Fort Wright, an irregular fortification, inclos- 
ing about thirty acres. The fort had no spring 
of water within the line of intrenchment ; and 
after long deliberation about some means of 
supplying it with this indispensable article, — 
during which time we carried every bucket of 
water used from the river, — the engineers erect- 
ed a small wheezy second-hand steam-pump on 
the bank of the river, which was intended to 
force the water up the bluff into a large cistern 
that had been constructed for that purpose. 
The cistern held about a week's supply for two 
thousand men ; but they never seemed to think 
that a single cannon-ball could smash up the 
pump and cut off our supply of water. If this 
defect had been remedied, and the fort had been 
well armed and manned, it would have been 
hard to take ; but it never availed any thing to 
the Confederate service. We built four bat- 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 45 

teries oh the bank of the river, three of them 
mounting three guns each, and the lower one 
six guns. These guns were 32 and 64 pound- 
ers. Three miles further up, above the mouth 
of Hatchie river, another battery of three 32- 
pounders was built. 

Our rations at this time were neither very 
lavishly given nor very choice in quality, yet 
there was no actual suflfering. For the first 
month whiskey was served, and the men were 
satisfied to work for the promise of forty cents 
a day extra pay and three drams. In the fifth 
week the drams were stopped, and the extra pay 
never began. I am letting that little bill against 
the Jeff. Davis government, and some larger 
ones, run at interest. The reader will agree 
with me that they are likely to run some 
time. 

" Stolen waters are sweet," says high author- 
ity, but some of our regiment seemed to set a 
higher value upon stolen liquor. While the 
whiskey ration was continued, there was little 
drunkenness. The men were satisfied with the 
limited amount given, and the general health 



46 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

of all was good. When the spirit ration was 
stopped, illicit trade in the " crathur" was car- 
ried on by Jews and peddlers, who hung around 
the camp a short distance out in the woods. 
The search after these traders by the authori- 
ties was so vigilant, that at last there was no 
whiskey vended nearer than the little town of 
Covington, eight miles distant. This, however, 
did not deter the men from making frequent 
trips to this place after it. Various expedients 
were resorted to, in order to bring it inside of 
the guard-lines. Some stopped the tubes on 
their guns, and filled the barrel with liquor. 
The colonel, while passing a tent one day, saw 
one of the men elevate his gun and take a long 
pull at the muzzle. He called out, " Pat, what 
have you got in your gun ? Whiskey ?" 

He answered — " Colonel, I was looking into 
the bari'el of my gun to see whether she was 
clean." 

The colonel walked on, muttering something 
about the curiosity of a man's eyes being located 
in his mouth. He was no sooner out of sight 
than Pat inspected his weapon again, and from 



IN THE REBEL ARMT. 47 

the sigh of regret which escaped him as he low- 
ered it, I judged that it was " clean dryP 

During our stay at Fort Wright, we were all 
thrown into commotion one day by a mutiny, 
which for a time threatened very serious conse- 
quences. Some of the members of Captain Cos- 
sot's company, of our regiment, having found a ' 
treasure in the shape of a barrel of whiskey, 
which an unlucky trader had not concealed 
securely from their vigilance, got drunk, "ov 
coorse," and determined to show their inde- 
pendence of military rule by absenting them- 
selves from evening dress-parade. The colonel, 
noticing the small number present from this 
company, instructed Lieutenant Beard, then 
acting captain, to have all the absentees arrest- 
ed and sent to the gu£|,rd-house. When parade 
was dismissed, and the company returned to 
their quarters, the lieutenant gave the order to 
one of the sergeants, who was himself intoxi- 
cated. On attempting to carry out the order, 
the sergeant was badly beaten by one of the 
offenders. A private in the company by the 
name of Whalen, here interfered and rescued 



48 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

the sergeant from the hands of his assailant. 
At this moment the regimental quartermaster, 
Isaac Saffarrens, a brother of the redoubtable 
hero of Belmont, whose deeds of valor will be 
duly chronicled, appeared on the scene of ac- 
tion, and attempted to arrest the man Whalen, 
whose only crime had been committed in saving 
the sergeant from further beating. Whalen 
told him that he would not be arrested, as he 
had not created any disturbance. The quarter- 
master then tried to seize him, and was knocked 
down for his trouble. By this time a crowd of 
officers had hurried to the ground, and the sur- 
geon of the regiment, Dr. Cavenaugh, came to 
the assistance of his brother officer, and got a 
pair of damaged eyes for his interference. The 
drunken company, who were really the proper 
subjects for punishment, now sided with Wha- 
len, and loaded their guns with the avowed in- 
tention of shooting all the officers if they again 
attempted to take him. In the melee that fol- 
lowed, one of the officers shot Whalen, but the 
ball glanced from his forehead, leaving only a 
red line on the skin, and he was soon on his 



IK THE BEBEL ABMY. 49 

feet. He used no weapon but his fist ; but he 
knocked the officers down as fast as they ap- 
proached. Keinforcements now arrived for the 
officers. Colonel Walker, seeing that a general 
mutiny was imminent, ordered out two bat- 
teries of light artillery and two companies of 
infantry. The guns were placed so as to sweep 
the camp of the mutineers, and they were sum- 
moned to surrender. They had intrenched 
themselves behind a large mass of rock, whence 
it would have been difficult to dislodge them 
without serious loss of life. After some delib- 
eration, they agreed to surrender if they were 
allowed to retain their arms and return to duty. 
This proposition was of course rejected, and the 
guns were double-shotted with grape, and a sec- 
ond summons to surrender sent to them. This 
time they obeyed and threw down their arms, 
which were secured, and they were soon strong- 
ly guarded. I was detailed the same evening, 
with a number of others, to guard these muti- 
neers. During the night a fight occurred be- 
tween one of the mutineers and a prisoner in 
the guard-house. I interfered between them, 



50 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

and was handsomely whipped by both of them. 
This was too much for any one to stand, and 
seizing a gun from a sentinel I pinned one of 
them to the wall of the guard-house with the 
bayonet, and the other was bound by the 
guard. I now released the man I had pinned 
to the wall, and was glad to find that he was 
only slightly wounded in the side. He was 
also ironed and confined in the black-hole. 

Fourteen of these mutineers were tried in a 
few days by a general court-martial. Whalen 
was sentenced to death. Four of the others 
were sentenced to wear a ball and chain for a 
month, and lose six months' pay. Three of 
these being non-commissioned oflEicers were pub- 
licly degraded, and put into the ranks. The 
remainder were sentenced to wear a ball and 
chain for a month, and lose three months' pay. 
Whalen's sentence was to have been carried out 
a month from the time he was tried ; but as 
there was a strong feelilQg of indignation in the 
regiment about the severity of his sentence, a 
recommendation for pardon was presented to 
General Pillow, and Whalen was reprieved and 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 61 

sent to Memphis. He was at last pardoned, 
and transfen'ed into a regiment which went to 
Virginia. This was done that he might not 
return to the regiment again and encourage 
others to mutiny, holding out his own exam- 
ple of pardon as a safeguard against punish- 
ment. 

What effect this leniency had on the future 
conduct of this regiment will be hereafter seen. 
It will be observed that this mutiny might have 
occurred in any army. Others yet to be de- 
scribed had their origin in the defects of the 
Kebel discipline, and will demonstrate radical 
evils in their system. 

One of the most serio-comic affairs that oc- 
curred during my service, may be worth the 
narration. Shortly after reaching Randolph, 
one of our sergeants named Brown imported his 
better-half from Memphis, and for some days 
they agreed remarkably well ; but the sergeant 
obtaining a jug of whiskey one day, and imbib- 
ing too much of the potent fluid, made up his 
mind that Mrs. Brown should not drink any 
more, and informed her of his decision. He 



52 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

argued in a masterly way that, as they two 
were one, he would drink enough for both ; and 
she being fond of the crathur^ demurred to this 
proposition. Thereupon ensued a very lively 
scene. Mrs. Brown, who weighed some four- 
teen stone, and was fully master of her weight, 
intrenched herself behind* some boxes and bar- 
rels, with the precious jug in charge. Mr. 
Brown first tried compromise, and then flattery, 
but she was proof against such measures. 

Mr. Brown. Mrs. Brown, my dear, jist come 
over to me now and we'll argue the matter. 

Mrs. Brown. No, you don't. Sergeant, ye 
don't catch me wid any ov ye'r compromises. 
I have the jug now, and I'll hould on to it. So 
1 will. 

Mr. B. Shure, Honey, I was only jokin' 
wid ye before. Ye may hev half o' the crathur. 

Mrs. B. Now, Sergeant, ye may as well 
hould ye'r tongue, for a drap ov this liker ye'll 
never touch agin. 

Maddened to desperation, the sergeant at- 
tacked Mrs. Brown, who valiantly defended 
herself with half of a tent-pole which lay near 



IK THE REBEL ARMY. 53 

at hand. About this juncture, their " discussion 
wid stick^'* was interrupted by the captain or- 
dering out a guard of four men to take the pair 
and put them in confinement. As I was Or- 
derly Sergeant, I immediately attempted to 
carry out this order, and arrested the sergeant 
first. I then advanced to seize Mrs. Brown, 
but she charged with the tent-pole, and as the 
four men were engaged in carrying off the ser- 
geant, who resisted desperately, and called lus- 
tily to Mrs. Brown for assistance, I was forced 
to beat a hasty retreat and seek reinforcements, 
at the same time feeling a very unpleasant 
tingling sensation across my shoulders from a 
blow Mrs. Brown had administered with her 
stick. Being reinforced by several more men, 
we surrounded the enemy, and she surrendered 
at discretion, and was put under guard in the 
middle of the parade ground with her affection- 
ate spouse. Tlien ensued a scene which almost 
beggars description. 

Mrs, B. O Brown, ye cowardly spalpeen 1 
to stand by and see yer wife abused in sich a 
manner I 



54: THIRTEEN MONTHS 

Mr. B. Now, honey, be aisy, can't ye? 
Shure I was tied before they took ye. 

Mrs, B, Shure it was meself that riz ye up 
out ov the streets, and give ye six hundred dol- 
lars that I had in bank, and made a gintleman 
ov ye ; and now ye wouldn't rize yer hand to 
protect me ! 

Here Mrs. Brown again became very angry, 
and would have given her lord a good drub- 
bing, if the guard had not interfered and sep- 
arated them. Mrs. Brown became so furious 
that the colonel heard the disturbance, and 
walked down from his quarters to see what it 
meant. She immediately demanded to be re- 
leased, but this the colonel refused; and she 
then cited many illustrious military men who 
had been tyrants in some cases, but never so 
daring as to put a woman under arrest. 

Mrs, B. Now, Colonel, I want to tell ye a 
thing or two. Gineral Washington, nor the 
Duke of Willington, nor Napoleon niver put a 
woman under guard, nor ye haven't any right 
to do it ; and I'll have ye court-martialed, ac- 
cordin' to the Articles of War. So I will. 



IN THE REBEL ABMY. 55 

Colonel. Mrs. Brown, if you dg not be qniet 
I will gag you. 

Mrs. B. Ye'll gag me, will ye ? Well, I'd 
like to see ye about it. Ye would make a nice 
reputation to yerself, gaggin' a woman ! 

Colonel. Very well, Mrs. Brown^ I will show 
you that I am in earnest. Sergeant, place a gag 
in that woman's mouth. 

Mrs. B. Och, Colonel dear, ye wouldn't be 
BO bad as that, would ye ? Shure, Colonel, I'll 
be jist as quiet as a lamb. So I will. 

Colonel. Well, Mrs. Brown, if you will 
promise to behave yourself I will not gag you ; 
but you must not make any more noise. 

Mrs. Brown promised obedience and was soon 
after released, and went to her tent to search for 
the precious jug and drown her sorrows in an- 
other dram ; but while the melee had been going 
on I had smashed the jug, and she came back 
again to bewail her sorrows with Brown, who 
was still under guard. He was soon after re- 
leased, and they returned to their quarters a 
wiser if not a happier pair. That night Mrs. 
Brown was heard to say ; 



56 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

" Sergeant Brown, ye made a fool ov ycrself 
to-day." 

" Yis, Missus Brown, I think we both made 
a fool of ourself. So I do." 

About the first of July we were ordered to 
Fort Pillow, which is by land fourteen miles 
above, on the same side of the river. Wlien 
we reached that place, they were daily expect- 
ing an attack from the gunboats, of which we 
had heard so much, but had not yet seen or 
feared. Here the commanders wanted to exact 
the same amount of toil as at Fort Wright ; but 
the men drew up petitions, requesting that the 
planters, who were at home doing nothing, 
should send their slaves to work on the fortifi- 
cations. General Pillow approved of this plan, 
and published a call for laborers. In less than 
a month, 7000 able-bodied negro men were at 
work, and there would have been twice as 
many, if needed. The planters were, and are 
yet, in bloody earnest in this rebellion; and 
my impression, since coming North, is, that the 
mass of Union-loving people here are asleep, 
because they do not fully understand the re* 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 5Y 

sources and earnestness of the South. There is 
no such universal and intense earnestness here, 
as prevails all over the Eebel States. Eefined^ 
and Christian women, feeling that the Northern 
armies are invading their homes, cutting off 
their husbands and brothers, and sweeping 
away their property, are compelled to take a 
deeper interest in the struggle than the masses 
of the North are able to do, removed as they 
are from the horrors of the battle-scenes, and 
scarcely yet feeling the first hardship from the 
war. Indeed, I do not doubt that regiments of 
women could be raised, if there was any thing 
they could do in the cause of the South. That 
they are all wrong, and deeply blinded in 
warring against rightful authority, makes them 
none the less, perhaps the more, violent. 

The employment of slaves to do the hard 
work was of great advantage in several respects. 
It allowed the men to drill and take care of 
their health, as the planters sent overseers who 
superintended the negroes. It kept the men in 
better spirits, and made them more cheerful to 
endure whatever legitimately belongs to a sol- 



58 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

dier's life, when they had slaves to do the toil- 
some work. These slaves were not armed, or 
^•elied upon to do any fighting. I have no 
means of judging how they would have fought, 
as I never saw them tried. 

The natural situation of Fort Pillow is the 
best I saw on the Mississippi river. It is built 
on what is called the First Chickasaw Bluflfl 
Fort Wright is on the second, and Memphis on 
the third bluff of the same name. The river 
makes a long horseshoe bend here, and the fort 
is built opposite the lower end of this bend, so 
that boats are in range for several miles. 

The first battery built here was just above 
high-water mark, and nearly half a mile long. 
Bomb-proof magazines were placed in the side 
of the hill; and more than twenty guns of 
heavy calibre, 32 and 64:-poimders, were mount- 
ed on double casemate carriages; and it was 
intended to mount many more. A formidable 
defence was this expected to be against the 
gunboats. 

We also made a fine military road, thirty feet 
wide, cut out of the side of the bluff, and as- 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 59 

cending gradually to the summit. It served 
the double purpose of a road, and also a protec- 
tion for riflemen ; as a bank was thrown up on 
the outer edge of it breast high. Where the 
road reached the summit of the blufl, was 
placed a six-inch mortar, mounted on a pivot 
carriage ; and a little further on was a battery, 
mounting three eight-inch mortars, which were 
cast in 1804, and looked as if they had seen 
much service. A great extent of ground was 
cleared on the summit, and extensive land de- 
fences laid out ; but while these were in progress 
we were ordered away. 

The river was blockaded a short distance 
below Fort Pillow in a novel, but not very effi- 
cient manner. Flat-boats were anchored in the 
river about one hundred yards apart, and heavy 
chain-cables stretched across them. This was 
intended to stop the boats which should attempt 
to run past the fort, until the land batteries 
could sink them. This all did very well, until 
a rise in the river, when the boats lifted the 
anchors, broke the chains, floated away down 
tlie river, and stuck on a bar several miles 



60 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

below. This blockade was facetiously called by 
the men, " Pillow's trot-line." 

Here again the independent character of the 
men composing our regiment showed itself more 
strongly than at Fort Wright. The regiment 
had now been without pay or bounty for nearly 
four months, and the men determined to find 
out why it was not forthcoming. One morn- 
ing, at drill-call, the men in my own company 
marched out and stacked their arms, refusing to 
drill. I then proceeded to call the roll, but no 
one answered. I then reported to the captain 
that no one had answered to roll-call, but that 
all the " absentees were /presenC^ in camp. He 
ordered me to take a guard and arrest every 
one who refused to fall into ranks. But the 
question now arose, where was the guard to 
come from — no one would answer to the guard 
detail ? 

The captain went to the colonel, and reported 
his company in a state of mutiny. Colonel 
Walker immediately mounted his horse, and 
galloping to our quarters, ordered the men to 
take their arms and proceed to the drill-ground. 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 61 

Not a man moved to obey this order, although 
a few would have done so had they not feared 
the vengeance of their comrades. The colonel 
stormed and swore, and assured them that he 
would have them all shot next morning, if they 
did not return to duty; but finally, cooling 
down a little, he demanded of them the reason 
for refusing to do duty. Some of them an- 
swered that they wanted their money. He 
scornfully asked them, if they came out to fight 
for the paltry sum of eleven dollars a month ; 
upbraiding them with their lack of patriotism. 
One of the men remarked, that the oflicers 
could afford to be very patriotic, as they drew 
their pay regularly every month. The colonel 
then got wrathful again, and ordered out the 
rest of the regiment to quell the mutiny ; but 
in the mean time they had come to the same 
resolution, and refused to move. He then placed 
all the commissioned officers of the regiment 

* 

under arrest, for not quelling the mutiny. As 
there was but one other regiment at Fort Pillow 
at that time, they could not put it down by 
force. In two days we were paid, and all re- 



62 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

turned peaceably to duty. Colonel Walker was 
then put under arrest by General Pillow, and 
tried by a court-martial, for allowing his regi- 
ment to be off duty for two days, but he was 
acquitted. 

General Pillow, from whom this fort received 
its name, is a short, stoutly built man, about 
fifty years of age ; has a mild, pleasant expres- 
sion when not excited ; firm, large mouth ; gray 
eyes; hair and whiskers sprinkled with gray. 
He is fond of the good opinion of his men, and 
does every thing consistent with militaiy rigor 
to gain their good-will; nevertheless, he is a 
strict disciplinarian, and has punished several 
men with death for desertion and disobedience 
of orders. 

About the middle of August, General Pillow's 
division, including my regiment, was ordered 
to Columbus. On our way we passed Island 
No. 10, which was then being fortified, and did 
not stop again until we landed at Columbus, 
Kentucky. This town is situated on the east 
bank of the Mississippi river, 140 miles above 
Fort Pillow, and 20 miles below Cairo ; while, 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 63 

directly across the river, lie two or three houses 
which are designated by the name of Belmont. 
The hardships of Fort Wright were here re- 
newed; that is, hard work and harder drill. 
At one time we worked twelve hours out of 
every thirty-six, so that every other work-turn 
came at night. Generals Polk, Pillow, Cheat- 
ham, and McGown were present day and night, 
encouraging the men with words of cheer. 
General Pillow at one time dismounted and 
worked in the trenches himself, to quiet some 
dissatisfaction which had arisen. The night 
was dark and stormy, the men were worn out, 
and many gave utterance to their dissatisfaction 
at having to work on such a night. General 
Pillow was sitting on his horse near by, and 
occasionally urging on the men the necessity of 
pressing on with the work ; when an old Mexi- 
can war veteran, named W. H. Thomas, who 
was allowed some little latitude by his general, 
called out, " Old Gid, if you think there is so 
much hurry for this work, suppose you get 
down and help us a while." The general, seeing 
that he had an opportunity to gain popularity 



64 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

with the men, dismounted, and laying aside his 
sword and cloak, worked for several hours. 
This was a feather in his cap, in the eyes of 
the poor fellows, for many a day. 

An immense amount of work was performed 
here, and Columbus was often called the " Gib- 
raltar of the Mississippi river," and the Con- 
federate generals fancied that it could not be 
taken. The town itself is built on a level plain 
scarcely above high-water mark, as it has been 
submerged by some of the great floods of 
former years. A range of hills running par- 
allel to the river, rises directly north of the 
town. On these hills most of the batteries 
were erected, and extensive breastworks ^were 
also thrown up, since this was the terminus of 
the Mobile and Ohio railroad, which it was 
important to keep unobstructed, as the only 
land communication to Memphis and the inte- 
rior, should the river navigation be interrupted 
below Columbus. On the river side were the 
heaviest batteries. A sand-bag battery mount- 
ing six heavy guns, was constructed at the 
upper end of the town, just in front of G^eneral 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 65 

Pillow's head-quarters. This battery was con- 
structed by filling corn-sacks with sand, and 
piling them up in tiers, leaving embrasures for 
the guns. These tiers were carried several feet 
above the heads of the men employed in work- 
ing the guns, so that they were comparatively 
safe; for if a ball struck the battery, it was 
merely buried in the sand and no damage done. 
These guns were thirty-two and sixty-four 
pounders, brought up from New Orleans. 
About a mile north of the town, where the 
bluff juts out flush with the river, a shelf had 
been formed by a landslide about half way 
between the level of the river and the summit 
of the bluff. This shelf was enlarged and 
leveled, and a battery constructed upon it 
which completely commanded the river in the 
direction of Cairo. This battery was large 
enough to mount ten or twelve heavy guns. 
On the summit of the bluff was placed a large 
Whitworth rifled gun, carrying a round shot 
weig^iing one hundred and twenty-eight pounds. 
H^ie shot of much heavier weight were also 
ted in this gun. This was one of four which 

5 



66 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

ran the blockade in the Bermuda into Charles- 
ton, South Carolina, in the early autumn. 
. All these works were constructed under the 
direction of competent engineers, the chief of 
whom was Captain E. D. Pickett, since adju- 
tant-general to Major-general Hardee. 

Torpedoes and other obstructions were placed 
in the river ; but all this kind of work was done 
secretly by the engineer corps, and the soldiers 
knew but little of their number and location. 
Some of these torpedoes were made of cast iron 
at Memphis and Nashville, and would hold 
from one to two hundred pounds of powder as 
a charge. Others were made of toiler ii'on, of 
different shapes and sizes. They were to be 
suspended near the surface of the water by 
chains and buoys, and discharged by wires 
stretched near the surface, which a boat would 
strike in passing over them. I never learned 
that these infernal machines did any damage, 
except that one of them nearly destroyed one of 
their own transport boats, which had incau- 
tiously ventured too near its resting-place. 

After spending nearly two months in the 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 67 

monotonous camp life of drill and fatigue duty, 
on the morning of the Tth of November I ex- 
perienced a new sensation, more startling than 
agreeable. I had as yet been in no battle, and 
certainly had no desire to join in a fight against 
my country and against my kindred, some of 
whom I had no doubt were in the opposing 
army, as it was recruited where many of them 
lived ; and I knew they would be loyal to the 
old flag, and ready to defend it with their lives. 
But the alarm came so suddenly that I had no 
time to feign sickness, or invent an excuse for 
being off duty. 

Tappan's Arkansas, and Eussell's Tennessee 
regiments, with a battalion of Mississippi cav- 
alry, about fifteen hundred men in all, who 
were stationed at Belmont, across the river, 
were attacked, about seven o'clock, a. m., by 
General McClernand, with a little over seven 
thousand men, according to Union authorities. 
It was a complete surprise to us. At first we 
thought it was a picket skirmish with the 
cavalry; but soon Frank Cheatham, our brig- 
adier, came galloping through the camp, bare- 



68 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

Leaded, in shirt and pantaloons, ordering us to 
"fall in," saying that the "enemy were mur- 
dering the sick men in their tents across the 
river." The report thus started soon took this 
form : " The Yankees have bayoneted the sick 
men in Eussell's regiment." This regiment 
vras composed mostly of Irishmen, as was ours. 
Instantly the rage of our men was such they 
could scarcely be restrained, and many of them 
swore they would swim the river if necessary, 
to reach the enemy, and would give no quarter. 
I called the roll of the company, as was my 
duty, and found seventy-nine men out of one 
hundred and three present, — there was a good 
deal of sickness then in the army. Soon four 
of the company came in from the hospital, 
declaring they would have a share in the fight ; 
and fourteen who were on guard were added, 
making the company nearly full. 

Two steamboats soon had steam up, and by 

* 

nine a. m., General Pillow, with his brigade of 
three thousand five hundred men, was across 
the river and in the fight. 

Up to this time, the Federal force had driven 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 69 

the Confederates back from their camps, and 
threatened their annihilation, but Pillow's arri- 
val stayed the retreat. By ten a. m., Cheat- 
ham's brigade of 2500 men, iji which was my 
regiment, were also coming into the engage- 
ment. By eleven a. m., both armies were fully 
employed. In the mean time some of the guns 
on the fortifications at Columbus were trying 
their range upon the Federal gunboats, which 
lay about three miles distant, and replied fierce- 
ly to their challenges. But little execution on 
either side was done by this firing. The care- 
lessness of the officers in our brigade nearly 
lost the day, early in the contest. The men had 
but ten rounds of ammunition, which was soon 
expended, and we were compelled to retire be- 
neath the bank of the river until more was 
supplied. 

This incident developed a strange, and to me 
a very sad, trait of human nature, — other illus- 
trations of which I have observed repeatedly 
since, — an unusual disposition to witticisms in 
the most solemn circumstances, when it might 
be supposed that even the most hardened would 



70 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

reflect upon the fearful fate sure to seize upon 
some of tliem. One of the captains of our regi- 
ment, J. L. Saffarrens, ran into the river waist- 
deep, in his desire for safety, when one of his 
men called out, " Captain, dear, are ye off for 
Memphis ? If ye are, tell the ould woman the 
last ye saw ov me I was fighting, while ye were 
runnin' away." 

The gallant captain received a ball in the 
face, while stuck in the mud into which he had 
sunk, and was taken to Memphis with the 
wounded next day ; but I never learned that he ■ 
delivered the message to the '^ould womanP 
A curious little Irishman in our company, nick- 
named "Dublin Tricks," who was extremely 
awkward, and scarcely knew one end of his gun 
from the other, furnished the occasion of another 
outburst of laughter, just when the bullets were 
flying like hail around us. In his haste or 
ignorance, he did what is often done in the ex- 
citement of rapid firing by older soldiers : he 
rammed down his first cartridge without biting 
off the end, hence the gun did not go oft*. He 
went through the motions, putting in another 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 71 

load and snapping his lock, with the same re- 
sult, and so on for several minutes. Finally, 
he thought of a remedy, and sitting down, he 
patiently picked some priming into the tube. 
This time the gun and Dublin both went off. 
He picked himself up slowly, and called out 
in a serio-comic tone of voice, committing the 
old Irish bull, "Hould, asy with your laffin', 
boys ; there is sivin more loads in her yit." 

Another Hibernian called out to his men, 
"Ulivate your guns a little lower, boys, and 
ye'U do more execution." 

Such jokes were common even amid the hor- 
rors of battle. However unseemly, they served 
to keep up the spirits of the men, to which end 
other spirits contained in canteens were also 
freely added. A most reprehensible practice 
this, for men should go into battle free from 
unnatural excitement, if they wish to serve the 
cause in which they are engaged; and more- 
over, the instances of cruelty which sometimes 
are perpetrated on the wounded and dying, are 
caused by the drunkenness of such ruffians as 
are found in every army. 



72 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

Our brigade, after receiving ammunition, ex- 
ecuted a flank movement on McClernand's left, 
next the river, while General Pillow was hold- 
ing their attention in front ; this came very near 
surrounding and capturing the Federal force. 
For five hours the battle raged with varying 
success, the Eebel forces on the whole gaining 
upon the Federals. Our regiment charged and 
took a part of the 7th Iowa. 

A charge is a grand as well as terrible sight, 
and this one, to my inexperienced eyes, was 
magnificent. I had often witnessed, with wild 
delight, the meeting of thunder-clouds in our 
western storms, the fierce encounter, the blind- 
ing lightning, the rolling thunder, the swaying 
to and fro of the wind-driven and surging 
masses of angry vapor, the stronger current at 
length -gaining the victory, and sweeping all 
before it. With an intenser interest and a 
wilder excitement, did I watch these eight hun- 
dred men, as they gathered themselves up for 
the charge. At the word, every man leaped 
foi*ward on the full run, yelling as if all the 
spirits of Tartarus were loosed. In a moment 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 73 

comes the shock, the yells sink into muttered 
curses, and soon groans are heard, and the 
bayonet thrusts are quick and bloody. Brute 
strength and skill often meet, and skill and 
agility usually win. 

The Iowa men were overpowered, and threw 
down their arms, some four hundred of them, 
and were sent to the rear, and afterward to 
Memphis. It was reported that this Iowa regi- 
ment had murdered the sick men early in the 
day, and it was said that some of them were 
bayoneted after they surrendered. I saw noth- 
ing of this, but it may have been so. If so, the 
author of that accusation was responsible for the 
barbarity. 

I do not doubt such cruelties do sometimes 
occur in the heat of battle, as there are in all 
armies some brutal men; but I must do the 
Eebel officers the justice to stjtte, that they 
always condemned them, and warned us against 
acts not sanctioned by the laws of civilized 
warfare. 

The Federals, though fighting well, so far as 
I know, commenced falling back between two 



74 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

and three p. m. The retreat soon became a rout, 
and was a running fight to their boats, some 
three miles. The Confederates pressed them 
hard, and recaptured several pieces of artillery 
lost in the early part of the engagement, and 
did sad execution on the running men ; even 
after they reached the gang-planks of their 
boats many were shot. I know of no reason 
why the Union soldiers were, routed, unless it 
was the better fighting of the Rebels. The 
forces were about equal, and neither had much 
advantage in ground. General Polk, the com- 
manding general of the Rebels, was not on the 
ground until near the close of the action, and 
deserved no credit for the success of his men. 
General Pillow and Brigadiers Cheatham and Mc- 
Gown, were the efficient commanders that day. 
Our wounded, about seven hundred, were 
carried to the rear during the engagement, and 
forwarded to Memphis, and we returned and 
recrossed the river to our camps about seven p. m, 
completely exhausted. Our company lost, in 
killed and wounded, twenty-three; the regi- 
ment, one hundred and fifteen. 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 75 

The next day parties were detailed to bury 
the dead. Ours numbered three hundred. We 
dug trenches six feet deep and four wide, and 
laid the bodies in side by side, the members of 
each company together, the priest saying over 
them his prayers; the whole closed by three 
volleys of musketry. The Federal dead were 
also gathered, and buried in like manner, except 
the religious services and military salute. Our 
company buried their dead just before sunset ; 
and when the funeral dirge died away, and the 
volleys were fired over their graves, many a 
rugged man, whose heart was steeled by years 
of hardship and crime, shed tears like a child, 
for those bound to him by such ties as make all 
soldiers brothers. One of the worst men in the 
company excused this seeming weakness to a 
companion thus: "Tim, I haven't cried this 
twenty year ; but they were all good boys, and 
my countrymen." The next day when the roll 
was called, and they answered not, we thought 
of their ghastly faces as we laid them in the 
trench, and hearts beat quick. When we sat 
down to eat and missed a messmate, the query 



76 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

went round, " Will it be my turn next ?" A 
comrade's faults were now forgotten, his good 
qualities magnified, and all said, " Peace to his 
ashes." 

I may here say, that if one is compelled to 
fight against his friends, as I was, there are sev- 
eral ways in which he can avoid taking life. A 
cartridge without a ball, a pretended discharge 
without a cap, or an extra elevation of the 
piece, will save his friends and not expose him 
to suspicion. Not rarely, also, in the heat of 
battle, a hated officer meets his fate by a ball 
from his own men, instead of the enemy. 

The second day after the battle a sad accident 
added to the gloom. A crowd had assembled 
to see the monster Whitworth rified gun fired 
off", as it had continued loaded since the day of 
the fight. She was named the " Lady Polk," 
and the militant bishop and general was present 
to add interest to the scene. The gunner warned 
the crowd that there was some danger, but they 
heeded not, and pressed close around. The gen- 
eral stood near, why should not others ? I stood 
within thirty feet, and as the gunner ran back 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 7Y 

with the lanyard, so did L The next moment 
occurred the most terrific explosion I had ever 
heard. As the dust and smoke lifted, we saw 
the shattered remains of nine men ; two more 
died subsequently from wounds received here. 
Both the percussion-shell and the gun had burst, 
and hence the destruction of life. General Polk 
narrowly escaped; his cloak was swept from 
him and cut in two as with a sword. 

A word of this man, who laid aside his spirit- 
ual for military duties, will close my history of 
soldiering on the Mississippi. 

Major-general Leonidas Polk is a tall, well- 
built man, about fifty-five years of age; hair 
slightly gray ; wears side whiskers, which are 
as white as snow; aquiline nose, and firm 
mouth. His voice is a good one for command, 
and having a West Point education, improved 
by many years of research on military science, 
it was expected he would make a skillful gen- 
eral; but the people were much disappointed 
by his display of generalship in the Western 
Department, and many clamored for his re- 
moval. It was at one time thought he would 



78 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

be called to the Confederate cabinet as Secre- 
tary of State ; but this was never done. Many 
of his old friends and admirers were pained to 
hear the report circulated, that the good bishop 
indulged in profanity when he got too deep in 
his potations ; and as these reports were in part 
confirmed, his reputation suffered greatly. 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 79 



CHAPTER III. 

ORDNANCE SERVICE. 

Transferred to Ordnance. — Camp Beauregard.— Was my Oath 
binding? — Resources of the Rebels. — Cannon stolen. — Manu- 
factured. — A Rifling Machine. — Beauregard's Bells. — Imported 
Cannon. — Running Blockade. — Silence of Southern Papers. — 
Small Arms made. — Altered. — Abundant. — Earnestness of all 
Classes. — Imported Arms. — England's Neutrality. — Ammuni- 
tion imported. — Manufactured. — Smuggled. — A Railroad Epi- 
sode. — A Deserting Engineer. — A New Hand at the Throttle. 
-Caution. — A Smash Up and Pistols. — Reconciliation. — Result 
of Smash Up.— Bowling Green. — Size of Army. — Sickness. — 
Personal. — Kindness of Nashville People. — Moral and Religious 
Efforts for the Rebel Army. — ^Vices prevalent. — Seminaries and 
Schools disbanded. 

On the 14tli of November, I was breveted 
second lieutenant for the time, that I might 
take charge of a shipment of ammunition to 
Camp Beauregard, near Feliciana, a small town 
in Graves county, Kentucky, near the New 
Orleans and Ohio railroad, about seventeen 
miles from Columbus. This place was held by 
a brigade of about four thousand men, under 
Brigadier-general John S. Bowen, as a key to 



80 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

the interior, to prevent the Federal forces from 
attacking Cohimbus in the rear. 

Having now spent six months in the infantry, 
and mastered the details of a soldier's common 
duties, I was heartily sick of the life. I sought 
a transfer to the ordnance department and 
obtained it, with the rank and pay of ordnance 
sergeant. Acting on the ever-present purpose, 
to keep my eyes and ears open and my mouth 
generally shut, to see and hear all and say little, 
I knew the ordnance department would open a 
new field for observation, which might per- 
chance be of use in the future, — a future that 
was very uncertain to me then, for I could see 
no daylight as to escape. I may as well admit 
here, that whenever I reflected on the violation 
of an oath, — the oath to bear true allegiance to 
the Confederate Government, — I had some hes- 
itation. An older and wiser head would per- 
haps have soon settled it, that an oath taken 
under constraint, and to a rebel and usurped 
power, was not binding. But I shrunk from 
the voluntary breaking of even an involuntary 
bond, in which I had invoked the judgment of 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 81 

God upon me if I should not keep it. To this 
should be added the consideration, which per- 
haps had too much weight with me, that as I 
was trusted by the authorities with a position of 
some importance, my honor was at stake in ful- 
filling all my obligations. The idea that I should 
betray those who were reposing confidence in 
me at the time and become a deserter, with its 
odium forever following me, was more than I 
could contemplate with pleasure. I state this as 
the exact truth in the case, not as an apology for 
my conduct. Under this general feeling, I con- 
fess I strove more to acquire knowledge where 
I was, than to escape from the Rebel service. 

During the six weeks I was attached to the 
ordnance department, I learned some facts which 
it were well for the North to know. Since 
reaching home, I hear wonder expressed at two 
things: the vast energy of the South; and 
their unexpected resources, especially in the 
procuring of cannon, small-arms, and ammu- 
nition. How have they secured and man- 
ufactured an adequate supply of these, during 

such a protracted and destructive struggle ? 

6 



82 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

In answer to this inquiry let me say: The' 
immense supply of cannon — to speak of them 
first — which that stupendous thief Floyd trai- 
torously placed in the Southern forts and ar- 
senals during his term of office, made a very 
good beginning for this arm of the service. It 
was also said by Southern officers, that a large 
number of guns which had been used in the 
Mexican war were still stored in the South, — ^I. 
have heard, at Point Isabel. These were soon, 
brought into use. Many old Mexican and 
Spanish brass guns were recast into modern 
field-pieces. These were said to have made the 
finest guns in the Rebel service, because of the 
large percentage of silver contained in the 
metal. 

Yery early in the rebellion, an extensive 
establishment for the manufacture of field 
artillery existed in New Orleans, which sent 
•ut beautiful batteries. Tliese batteries I saw 
in various parts of the army. This factory was 
under the superintendence of Northern and 
foreign mechanics. Memphis supplied some 
thirty-two and sixty -four pounders, also a num- 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 83 

ber of iron Parrott guns. These were cast in 
the navy yard by the firm of Street & Hunger- 
ford. At Nashville, Tennessee, the firm of T. 
M. Brennan & Co. turned out a large amount 
of iron light artillery of every description ; and 
shortly before Nashville was evacu&ted, they 
perfected a fine machine for rifling cannon, 
which I examined. They sent a spy North, who 
obtained, it was said, at the Fort Pitt foundery 
the drawings and specifications which enabled 
their workmen to put up this machine. Tliis 
expensive, and to them valuable machine, was 
removed to Atlanta, Georgia. In escaping 
home I came through Nashville a few weeks 
since, and saw about a dozen large cannon still 
lying at this foundery, which the sudden flight 
of the Rebels from Nashville prevented them 
from rifling or carrying away. All know that 
the Ti'edegar Iron Works in Richmond, Virginia, 
is an extensive manufactory of guns of large 
caliber. Indeed, every city of the South, 
having a foundery of any size, boasts of fur- 
nishing some cannon. 

Many of these guns were defective and even 



84 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

dangerous. One battery from the Memphis 
foundery lost three guns in a month by bursting, 
one of them at the battle of Belmont, Novem- 
ber 7th. After the Eebel reverses at Forts 
Henry and Donelson, and the retreat from 
Bowling Green and Nashville, when General 
Beauregard took command of the army of the 
Mississippi valley, he issued a call to the 
citizens for bells of every description. In some 
cities every church gave up its bell. Court- 
houses, factories, public institutions, and plan- 
tations, sent on theirs. And the people fur- 
nished large quantities of old brass of every 
aescription — andirons, candlesticks, gas fixtures, 
and even door-knobs. I have seen wagon loads 
of these lying at railroad depots, waiting ship- 
ment to the founderies. The Rehels are in 
earnest. 

But the finest cannon have been received 
from England. Several magnificent guns of 
the Whitworth and Blakely patents I have 
seen, or heard described as doing good execu- 
tion among the " Yankees." How many have 
been imported I can not tell, but surely a large 



IN THE BEBEL ABMY. 85 

number. In explanation of my ignorance npon 
this point, let me state this fact. For some 
months after the blockade was declared, vessels 
from Europe were running it constantly, and 
the Southern papers boastfully told of their 
success. The Confederate authorities saw the 
evil of this publicity, and many months ago 
prohibited the notice of such arrivals. Hence 
we see no mention of them recently, but it is a 
great mistake to imagine that there are none. 
The constant arrival of new European arms and 
ammunition, the private talk in well-informed 
circles, the knowledge of the latest European 
news, and especially the letters from Confed- 
erate emissaries regularly received in the South, 
convince me that the blockade is by no means 
perfect. From the innumerable inlets all along 
the southeastern coast, and the perfect knowl- 
edge possessed of these by Eebel pilots, it is 
perhaps impossible that it should be so. The 
wisdom of the South in compelling the papers 
to omit all mention of the facts in this case, is 
most unquestionable. Well would it be for the 
North if the press were restrained from pub- 



86 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

lishing a thonsand things, which do the readers 
no good, and which constantly give aid to the 
Kebel leaders. 

As to small-arms, the energies of the South 
have been more fully developed in their manu- 
facture than is dreamed of by the North. As 
early as April, 1861, Memphis had commenced 
the alteration of immense quantities of flint- 
lock muskets, sent South during Floyd's term 
as Secretary of War. I saw this work progress- 
ing, even before Secession was a completed fact 
there. New Orleans turned out the best rifles 
I ever saw in the South. They were similar 
to the French Minie rifle, furnished with fine 
sword-bayonets. The Louisiana troops were 
mostly armed with these. At Nashville and 
Gallatin, Tennessee, rifles were also made, and I 
suppose in every considerable city in the South. 
In addition, it should be known that thousands 
of Government arms were in the hands of the 
people, all through the Southern States ; how 
they procured them I do not know. These were 
gathered up and altered or improved, and issued 
to the troops. Many of the regiments went into 



IN .THE BEBEL ARMY. 87 

the field armed with every description of guns, 
from the small-bore squirrel-rifle and double- 
barreled shot-gun to the ponderous Queen Bess 
musket and clumsy but effective German Yager. 
The regiments were furnished as fast as possible 
with arms of one kind, and the others returned 
to the factories to be classified and issued again. 
Sword-bayonets were fitted to double-barreled 
shot-guns, making them a very effective weapon. 
Others were cut down to a uniform length of 
about twenty-four inches, and issued to the 
cavalry. Common hunting-rifles were bored 
out to carry a Minie ball, twenty to the pound, 
and sword-bayonets fitted to them. One entire 
brigade of Tennesseans, under General Wm. H. 
Carroll, was armed with these guns. 

When recovering from sickness at Nashville, 
I spent hours of investigation in the base of the 
capitol, used as an armory, where an immense 
amount' of this work had been done. I have 
been told that the basement of our National 
capitol has been used to prepare bread for loyal 
soldiers ; that basement was used to prepare 
them bullets. At Bowling Green I saw many 



88 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

thousands of rifles and shot-guns which had 
been collected for alteration, and the machine- 
shop of the Louisville and Nashville railroad was 
used as an armory. Many of these guns were 
destroyed, and others left, when the town was 
evacuated. Nor should it be forgotten that al- 
most every man of any position owned a pair of 
Colt's repeaters, many of them of the army and 
navy size. These were eagerly bought up by the 
Confederate authorities, who paid from thirty to 
sixty dollars apiece for them. They were for the 
cavalry service. Add to these facts, that every 
country blacksmith made cutlasses from old files, 
&c. ; most of them clumsy but serviceable weap- 
ons in a close encounter. Artillery and cav- 
alry sabers were manufactured at New Orleans, 
Memphis, and Nashville, and probably at other 
places. 

In short, at the beginning of the year 1862, 
there was rather a surfeit than any scarcity of 
arms all over the South. Indeed, the energies 
of the entire people were employed in the pro- 
duction of every description of small-arms, and 
the enthusiasm displayed rivals the example of 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 89 

ftncient Carthage, in her last fruitless struggle 
against the Eotnans. And this enthusiasm per- 
vades all classes. I doubt not, if the bow was 
considered a weapon of war now, the fair maid- 
ens of the South would gladly contribute their 
flowing tresses for bowstrings, if necessary, as 
did the women of Carthage. Their zeal and 
self-denial are seen in the fact that the ladies 
have given vast amounts of jewelry to be sold 
to build gunboats, fortifications, &c. ; the wom- 
en of Alabama actually contributing $200,000, 
as estimated, for the construction of a gunboat 
to protect the Alabama river. Does the reader 
ask, Why such sacrifice ? They are in earnest. 
They think they are fighting for property, home, 
and life. 

Yet after all that has been said, the largest 
supply of small-arms comes from England and 
France. I have repeatedly heard it said that 
300,000 stand of arms have been received from 
abroad ; — that 65,000 came in one load by the 
Bermuda. 

The imported guns are principally Enfield, 
Minie, and Belgian rifles. The first Enfields 



90 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

received had been used somewhat, probably in 
the Crimean and Indian wars. The crown 
marks on the jftrst importations, were stamped 
out with the initials of those who had bought 
them from the government ; the later arrivals, 
exhibit the crown marks uneffaced, I have seen 
Enfield rifles of the manufacture of 1861 and 
1862, with the stamp of the "Tower" on the 
lock-plate ! Officers, in opening and examining 
cases of these, would nod significantly to each 
other, as much as to say, " See the proof of Eng- 
land's neutrality P^ The French and Belgian 
rifles, among the best arms ever made, are 
mostly of recent manufacture, and elegantly 
finished. Yes, the South has arms in abnn- 
dance, and good ones ; and they know how to 
use them, and they are resolved to do it. 

The question is often asked. Where does the 
ammunition come from to supply the Southern 
army ? I would state in reply, that with the 
cargoes of arms, ammunition was supplied, at 
the rate of a thousand roimds for each gun. 
While engaged in the Ordnance Department, I 
often issued boxes of ammunition, which were 



IN THE BEBBL ARMY. 91 

put np in London for the Enfield rifle. ' The 
fixed ammunition of England is said by South- 
em officers to be the finest in the world. But 
much was also made at home. The largest 
laboratory for making cartridges, of which I 
had any knowledge, was in Memphis, after- 
ward removed to Grenada, Mississippi. Pow- 
der-mills were established at various points, one 
of the largest at Dahlonega, Georgia ; ^nd old 
saltpeter caves were opened, the government 
offering forty-five cents per pound for saltpeter, 
and exempting all persons employed in its man- 
ufacture from military duty. Percussion caps 
were made in Richmond early in 1861, and 
great numbers were smuggled through the 
lines, in the early part of the war. As to the 
supply of ammunition, my opinion is, that the 
South will not lack while the rebellion lasts. 

On the 17th of December, I left Camp Beau- 
regard with a car-load of ammunition, attaclied 
to a train of twenty-five box-cars, containing 
the 27th Tennessee regiment. Colonel Kit Wil- 
liams commanding, for Bowling Green, where 
a battle \vas expected. Colonel Williams' or- 



92 THIBTEEN MONTHS 

ders were, to go through with all possible dis- 
patch. Here was a new field for observation to 
me, and one of great interest. As soon as I 
saw my special charge, the car of ordnance, all 
right, I doffed my uniform for a fatigue dress, 
and took my position with the engineer, deter- 
mined to learn all I could of the management 
of the locomotive. The knowledge I acquired 
pretty nearly cost me my life, as will soon be 
seen, — a new illustration that " a little knowl- 
edge is a dangerous thing." 

We left Feliciana in the morning, and ran 
down the New Orleans and Ohio railroad to 
Union City, 18 miles, thence on the Mobile and 
Ohio road to Humboldt, which we reached by 
five o'clock in the evening. It had now grown 
dusk. During this time, I had mastered the work- 
ing of the engine, when all was in good order ; 
had noted the amount of steam necessary to run 
the train, the uses of the various parts of the 
engine, and had actually had the handling of the 
locomotive much of the way. When we reach- 
ed Humboldt, where we took the Memphis and 
Clarksville railroad for Paris and Bowling 



IN THE BEBEL ARMY. * 93 

Green, the engineer, Charles Little, refused to 
run the train on during the night, as he was not 
well acquainted with the road, and thought it 
dangerous. In addition, the head-light of the 
locomotive being out of order, and the oil 
frozen, he could not make it burn, and he could 
not possibly run without it. Colonel Williams 
grew angry, probably suspecting him of Union 
sentiments, and of wishing to delay the train, 
cursed him rather roundly, and at length told 
him he should run it under a guard ; adding, to 
the guard already on the engine, " If any acci- 
dent occurs, shoot the cursed Yankee." Little 
was a Northern man. Upon the threat thus 
enforced, the engineer seemed to yield, and pre- 
pared to start the train. As if having forgotten 
an important matter, he said, hastily, " Oh, I 
must have some oil," and stepping down off the 
locomotive, walked toward the engine-house. 
When he was about twenty yards from the cars, 
the guard thought of their duty, and one of 
them followed Little, and called upon him to 
halt ; but in a moment he was behind the ma- 
chine-shop, and off in the dense woods, in the^ 



94 * THIRTEEN MONTHS 

deep darkness. The commotion soon brought 
the colonel and a crowd, and while they were 
cursing each other all round, the firemen and 
most of the brakemen slipped off, and here we 
were with no means of getting ahead. All this 
time I had stood on the engine, rather enjoying 
the melee^ but taking no part in it, when Colo- 
nel Williams, turning to me, said, 
'' Can not you run the engine ?" 
I replied, " No, sir." 

" You have been on it as we came down." 
" Yes, sir, as a matter of curiosity." 
" Don't you know how to start and stop her ?" 
" Yes, that is easy enough ; but if any tiling 
should go wrong I could not adjust it." 

" No difference, no difference, sir ; I must be 
at Bowling Green to-morrow, and you must put 
us through." 

I looked him in the eye, and said calmly, 
" Colonel Williams, I can not voluntarily take 
the responsibility of managing a train with a 
thousand men aboard, nor will I be forced to 
do it under a guard who know nothing about 
an engine, and who would be as likely to shoot 



IN THE REBEL ABMY. 95 

me for doing my duty as failing to do it ; but 
if you will find among the men a fireman, send 
away this guard, and come yourself on the loco- 
motive, I will do the best I can." 

And now commenced my apprenticeship to 
running a Secession railroad train, with a Kebel 
regiment on board. The engine behaved ad- 
mirably, and I began to feel quite safe, for she 
obeyed every command I gave her, as if she 
acknowledged me her rightful lord. 

I could not but be startled at the position in 
which I was placed, holding in my hand the 
lives of more than a thousand men, running a 
train of twenty-five cars over a road 1 had never 
seen, running without a head-light, and the 
road so dark that I could only see a rod or two 
ahead, and, to crown all, knowing almost noth- 
ing of the business. Of course I ran slowly, 
about ten miles an hour, and never took my 
hand off the throttle or my eye from the road. 
The colonel at length grew confident, and almost 
confidential, and did most of the talking, as I 
had no time for conversation. When we had 
run about thirty miles, and every thing was 



96 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

going well, Colonel Williams concluded to walk 
back, on the top of the box-cars, to a passenger 
car which was attached to the rear of the train 
and occupied by the officers. 

This somewhat hazardous move he com- 
menced just as we struck a stretch of trestle- 
work which carried the road over a gorge some 
jftfty feet deep. As the locomotive reached the 
end of the trestlework the grade rose a little, 
and I could see through, or in, a deep cut ^vhich 
the road ran into, an obstruction. What it was, 
or how far ahead, I had almost no conception ; 
but quick as thought — and thought is qtiick as 
lightning in such circumstances — I whistled for 
the brakes, shut off the steam, and waited the 
collision. I would have reversed the engine, 
but a fear that a reversal of its action would 
crowd up the cars on the trestlework and throw 
them into the gorge below, forbade; nor was 
there wisdom in jumping off, as the steep em- 
bankments on either side would prevent escape 
from the wreck of the cars when the collision 
came. All this was decided in an instant of 
time, and I calmly awaited the shock which I 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 97 

saw was unavoidable. Though the speed, which 
was very moderate before, was considerably di- 
minished in the fifty yards between the obstacle 
and the head of the train, I saw that we would 
certainly run into the rear of another train, 
which was the obstruction I had seen. 

The first car struck was loaded with hay and 
grain. My engine literally split it in two, 
throwing the hay right and left, and scattering 
the grain like chaflf. The next car, loaded with 
horses, was in like manner torn to pieces, and 
the horses piled upon the sides of the road. 
The third car, loaded with tents and camp 
equipage, seemed to present greater resistance, 
as the locomotive only reached it, and came to 
a stand-still. 

My emotions during these moments were 
most peculiar. I watched the remorseless pres- 
sure of the engine with almost admiration. It 
appeared to be deliberate, and resolute, and in- 
satiable. The shock was not great, the advance 
seemed very slow; but it plowed on through 
car after car with a steady and determined 
course, which suggested at that critical moment 



98 THIBTEEN MONTHS 

a vast and resistless living agent. When motion 
ceased, I knew my time of trial was near ; for 
if Colonel Williams had not been thrown from 
the top of the cars into the gorge below, he 
would soon be forward to execute his threat, — 
to shoot me if any accident occurred. I stepped 
out of the cab on the railing running along to 
the smoke-stack, so as to be out of view to one 
coming forward toward the engine, and yet to 
have him in the full light of the lantern which 
hung in the cab. 

Exactly as I had surmised, — for I had seen a 
specimen of his fierce temper and recklessness, — 
he came stamping and cursing; and jumping 
from the car on to the tender, he drew a pistol, 
and cried out, " Where is that cursed engineer, 
that did this pretty job? I'll shoot him the 
minute I lay eyes on him." 

I threw up my six-shooter so that the light of 
the lantern shone upon it, while he could see me 
but indistinctly, if at all, and said with delibera- 
tion, " Colonel Williams, if you raise your pistol 
you are a dead man ; don't stir, but listen to 
me. I have done just what any man must havo 



IN THE BEBEL ABMY. 99 

done under the circumstance^ I stopped the 
train as soon as possible, and I'll convince you 
of it, if you are a reasonable man ; but not 
another word of shooting, or you go down." 

" Don't shoot, don't shoot," he cried. 

" Put up your pistol and so will I," I replied. 

He did so, and came forward, and I explained 
the impossibility of seeing the train sooner, as I 
had no head-light, and they had carelessly neg- 
lected to leave a light on the rear of the other 
train. I advised the choleric colonel to go for- 
war3 and expend his wrath and curses on the 
conductor of the forward train, that had stopped 
in such a place, and sent out no signal-man in 
the rear, nor even left a red light. He acknowl- 
edged I was right. 1 then informed him that I 
was an officer in the ordnance department, and 
was in charge of a shipment of ammunition for 
Bowling Green, and would have him court- 
martialed when we reached there, unless he 
apologized for the threats he had made. This 
information had a calming eflFect on the col- 
onel, who at heart was really a clever fel- 
low. He afterward came and begged my par- 



100 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

don ; we shook hands cordially, and were good 
friends. 

Having settled this talk of shooting, and put 
the responsibility where it belonged, we had 
time to look at the damage done by the col- 
lision. It was nothing compared with what it 
might and would have been, if we had been 
running at high speed. Even as it was, it 
stirred up the sleeping men not a little. The 
front train contained a regiment of men, most 
of whom were asleep, while the employees 
were repairing an accident to one of the truck- 
wheels of a car. They had it "jacked up," 
and had all the lights available, including 
the one from the rear of the train, to aid in 
their repairs. "When we struck them they were 
driven ahead some thirty feet, and of course 
their disabled car was still more damaged. Our 
men were all suddenly waked up, and some of 
them slightly bruised. The colonel himself was 
thrown down by the shock, but fortunately did 
not roll off the car, and was but little injured; 
and there were no lives lost, except of three of 
the horses. But we had a toilsome night of iL 



i:^ THE BEBEL ARMY. 101 

The debris of the three cars which had been 
smashed up was carried back through the cut, 
between the train and the steep sides, and 

• 

thrown down into the gorge, off the trestle- 
work. The dead horses were drawn up the 
bank with ropes, and the front train put in run- 
ning order, after six hours of hard work by as 
many men as could be employed in such nar- 
row quarters. As the day broke, the forward 
train moved off; in a few minutes more we 
followed, and reached Paris by seven o'clock, 
A. M., December 18, 1861. Thus began and 
ended my railroad-engineering in Kebeldom. 
At Paris they found a professional runner, and 
I resumed my uniform, very thankful to get out 
of the profession so creditably. Eeader, the 
next time I run a railroad train in such cir- 
cumstances, may you be there to see it. 

On the 19th of December I reached Bowling 
Green, and found there a larger army than I 
had before seen, — 65,000 men at least, — under 
General Albert Sidney Johnson as commander- 
in-chief, with Generals Buckner, Hardee, Hind- 
man, and Breckenridge on the ground. Floyd 



102 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

came within a few days, bringing about 7000 
more. Others were soon added, for on the 25th 
of December the commissary-general issued 
96,000 rations, and by January 1, 1862, 120,000 
rations a day. The number of rations shows 
the whole number attached to the army in 
every capacity. 

During the month of December, sickness in 
the form of pneumonia and measles became 
fearfully prevalent, and by the middle of Janu- 
ary one-fifth of the army was said to be in the 
hospital. The prevalence of disease was attrib- 
uted by the surgeons to the constant rains, the 
warm winter, and incessant labor day and night 
on the fortifications. 

Though up to this time I had enjoyed uninter- 
rupted good health, the pneumonia now seized 
me violently ; and after a week of " heroic 
treatment," I was put into a box-car and started 
for the hospital at Nashville. This was the 
dreariest ride of my life thus far. Alone, in 
darkness, suffering excruciating pain, going per- 
haps to die and be buried in an unhonored 
grave, my " Christmas" was any thing but 



IN THE BKBEL ARMY. 103 

**meny." And yet the month following my 
arrival in Nashville was the most pleasant, on 
many accounts, that I had yet spent in Dixie. 
I was carefully and tenderiy nursed by Drs. 
Stout and Gambling and the ladies of Nash- 
ville, who showed the true woman's heart in 
their assiduous care of the poor suflFering men, 
prostrated by disease and home-sickness. Some 
of the ladies were strong Secessionists; but I 
thought then, as I believe now, that most of 
them, not all, would have shown the same 
kindness to any suffering soldiers who might 
have come under their notice. I knew my 
mother would be a Good Samaritan to a dying 
Eebel ; why should not they to wounded 
"Unionists. 

In two weeks I was convalescent, and yet I 
daily exhausted my returning strength by gain- 
ing a knowledge of the Nashville founderies, 
machine-shops, bridges, capitol, industry, and 
whatever I thought worth visiting. 

At this juncture I also found an old friend of 
my father's, who with his interesting family did 
much to make my days of recovery pleasant 



104 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

days; supplying many little things which a 
soldier's wardrobe and an invalid's appetite 
needed. How much of a Rebel he was I could 
never exactly make out, but I think his regard 
for my family held deep debate with either love 
or fear of the ruling authorities, to settle the 
question whether he should aid me to reach 
home. At least, there was not in what he said 
in our frequent interviews that entire outspo- 
kenness which would have prompted me to 
make a confidant of him; hence I made no 
headway toward escaping to the North. In- 
deed, I considered it the only safe way, in talk- 
ing with him, to show a guarded zeal for the 
Southern cause, lest, if he were a hearty Eebel, 
he might betray me. I am now inclined to the 
opinion that I was too suspicious of him, and 
that he was at heart a Union man. At all 
events, I shall ever be grateful for his kindness 
to me. 

I may as well record at this point what I 
know of the moral and religious efforts put 
forth in the South in behalf of the soldiers, and 
the effect of the Eebellion on the educational 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 105 

and religious interests of the people generally. 
As a general truth, when the recruits first came 
to the army, those with religious inclinations 
or who had pious friends, brought along a 
Bible or Testament, but these were in most 
cases soon lost or left behind, and the camps 
were almost destitute of any good books. Ee- 
ligious publications were not distributed to the 
soldiers except in the hospitals, and to a very 
limited extent there. The regiments composed 
of Irish or French Catholics, usually had a priest 
as chaplain ; but I saw very few of the Prot- 
estant chaplains who gave themselves up to the 
spiritual care of their men. "We had a good 
many ministers in the army of the Mississippi 
valley, but they almost all held a commission 
of a military, rather than a religious kind, and 
so far as I could judge, were fonder of warlike 
than of heavenly ministrations. In the hospital 
at Nashville, on the other hand, good men and 
women endeavored faithfully to present the 
truths of the Bible and the consolations of 
religion to the attention of the inmates. But, 
as I have hinted, the army ^as not much 



106 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

benefited by the clerical members attached to 
it, though their loss may have been felt by the 
churches they had forsaken. There were but 
few of what are called Gospel sermons, preached 
in the army anywhere within my reach during 
my soldier life. As a consequence of the 
inherently demoralizing effect of war, and this 
great destitution of conserving influences, vice 
reigned almost unrestrained in the army. The 
few good and devout men, and the infrequent 
prayer-meetings which were held, seemed pow- 
erless to restrain the downward tendency of 
morals. Profanity, the most revolting and 
dreadful, abounded, though contrary to the 
Articles of War, and many of the officers were 
proficient in this vice. Gambling, in all the 
forms possible among soldiers, was the main 
amusement on the Sabbath-day. These were 
the prominent vices, and, if possible, they were 
growing more and more monstrous continually. 
As for the effect of the war upon the country 
generally, I can not give many facts, though I 
had some opportunity of observation, as will be 
seen. Preaching was maintained in most of 



IN THK REBEL ARMY. 107 

the churches in the large cities ; but in many 
of the smaller places, and in country churches, 
service was suspended. This was true so far as 
my observation reached, and it must have been 
BO in other places, from the fact that so great a 
proportion of the men were engaged in the war. 
And even where preaching was kept up, every 
sermon I heard was embellished and concluded 
by a grand flourish, about the duty of praying 
and fighting for their homes and institutions. 
This universally belligerent spirit was evidently 
unfavorable to the progress of true and consist- 
ent piety. Schools and seminaries of learning 
were chiefly closed, and they were not very 
abundant before. In fine, I think if this Rebel- 
lion continues a year or two longer, the South 
will be a moral wilderness. 



108 THIBTEBN MONTHS 



CHAPTER IV. 

CAVALRY SERVICE. 

New Field of Actiou. — Promotion. — Guerrilla "Warfare. — Charao- 
teristies. — Tendencies. — Captain J. H. Morgan. — Character.— 
Personal Appearance. — Anecdotes. — Success. — Southern Cav- 
alry superior to Northern. — Advantages. — Biding Courier.-— 
General Johnson evacuates Bowling Green. — Excitement in 
Nashville. — Preparations for Defence. — ^Commissary Stores. — 
Vandalism. — Rear Guard. — Line of Retreat. — Dreadful Hard- 
ships. — Losses. — Forced March. — Desolation. — Cause of Re- 
treat. — Other Counsel. — Accident. — No Union Feeling evident. 
— Intolerant yet Sincere. 

While at IsTashville, recovering from the 
typhoid pneumonia, I resolved to seek a trans^ 
fer to the cavalry service, as affording me a 
new field of observation, and perhaps a more 

stirring and exciting life. As Captain F s 

was recruiting a company in and around IsTash- 
.ville, I rode with him from day to day over the 
country, and thus secured his advocacy of my 
wishes. On the 4th of February, 1862, 1 was 
transferred to his company, and entered it as 
orderly sergeant, and a vacancy soon occurring, 
I was promoted to a lieutenancy. Our com- 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 109 

pany was to have been attached to a battalion 
commanded by Major Howard of Maryland, 
formerly of the United States array, and as my 
captain was in service on General Hardee's 
staff, I acted as captain during the whole of my 
term in this branch of the service. Shortly 
after, my company was attached to the com- 
mand of that celebrated guerrilla leader. Cap- 
tain J. H. Morgan, at that time, however, 
acting under the rules of regular warfare, and 
not, as now, in the capacity of a highway 
robber. 

The system of guerrilla warfare has been 

« 

indorsed by an act of the Confederate Congress, 
and is fully inaugurated over a large part of 
the South. As there practiced now, it is dis- 
tinguished from regular warfare by two things : 
First, the troops are not under any brigade 
commander, but operate in small bands, much 
at their pleasure, with a general responsibility 
to the major-general commanding in their de- 
partment. 

One result of this feature of the system is to 
develop a large amount of talent in the ranks, 



no THIRTEEN MONTHS 

as every man has an individual responsibility, 
and constant opportunities to test liis shrewd- 
ness and daring. It also gives a perfect knowl- 
edge of all roads and localities to the whole 
force in a given section, as some one or more 
soldiers will be found in each gang, who, in 
their frequent maraudings, have traversed every 
by-path and marked every important point. 

The second prominent characteristic of guer- 
rilla warfare, is the license it gives to take by 
force from supposed enemies or neutrals, horses, 
cash, munitions of war, and, in short, any thing 
which can aid the party for which he fights; 
with the promise of full pay for whatever he 
hrings off to his head-quarters. This is the es- 
sential principle of the system, giving it its 
power and destructiveness. As it displaces 
patriotism from the breast of the fighter, and 
substitutes in its room the desire for plunder, 
! the men thus engaged become highway robbers 
in organized and authorized bands. IsTor do 
guerrilla bands long confine their depredations 
to known enemies. Wherever a good horse 
can be found, wherever silver plate is supposed 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. Ill 

to be secreted, wherever money might be ex- 
pected, there they concentrate and rob without 
inquiry as to the character of the owner. Hence 
the system is destructive to all confidence, and 
to the safety of even innocent and defenseless 
females. 

It requires no prophet's ken to foresee that 
the Confederate authorities have commenced a 
system which will utterly demoralize all en- 
gaged in it; destroy the peace, and endanger 
the safety of non-combatants, and eventually 
reduce to ruin and anarchy the whole commu- 
nity over which these bands of robbers have 
their range. 

This process has already commenced, and if 
the loyal troops were withdrawn to-day from 
all Secessia, and the South allowed its inde- 
pendence, the people would find themselves in 
the hands of bandits to harass and plunder for 
months to come, and would have long scores of 
wrongs to right, which have been inflicted upon 
neutrals and friends of the Eebellion by its 
professed soldiers. Should the contest continue 
for two or three years longer, the South bids 



112 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

fair to lapse into the semi-barbarisra of Mexico, 
or the robber-ruled anarchy of Spain after the 
Peninsular war. The legitimate tendency of 
the system is understood by the Southern gen- 
erals, and some of them resisted its introduction ; 
but the desperation of the whole Southern mind 
swept away opposition, and they are now era- 
barked on a stormy sea, which will assuredly 
wreck the craft, if it be not sooner sunk by loyal 
broadsides. 

How the government should treat these free- 
booters when captured, as some of them have 
been, is plain, if the usual laws of war are to be 
followed ; they are to be punished as outlaws, 
and hung or shot. But, in this case, can it be 
done safely ? There were, when I left Secessia, 
not less than 10,000 men organized as guerrillas. 
There may be far more at this writing. Is it 
possible to treat such a number as banditti, 
without inaugurating a more bloody retaliation 
and massacre than the world has ever seen ? I 
only raise the question. 

Morgan,^as a citizen in times of peace, main- 
tained the reputation of a generous, genial, jolly, 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 113 

horse-loving, and horse-racing Kentuckian. He 

went into the Rebellion con amore^ and pursues 

it with high enjoyment. He is about thirty-five 

years of age, six feet in hight, well made for 

Strength and agility, and is perfectly master of 

himself; has a light complexion, sandy hair, 

and generally wears a mustache, and a little 

beard on his chin. His eyes are keen, bluish 

gray in color, and when at rest, have a sleepy 

look, but he sees every one and every thing 

around him, although apparently unobservant. 

He is an admirable horseman, and a good shot. 

As a leader of a battalion of cavalry, he has no 

superior in the Kebel ranks. His command of 

his men is supreme. "While they admire his 

generosity and manliness, sharing with them all 

the hardships of the field, they fear his more 

than Napoleonic severity for any departure 

from enjoined duty. His men narrate of him 

this — that upon one occasion, when engaging 

in a battle, he directed one of his troopers to 

perform a hazardous mission in the face of the 

enemy. The man did not move. Morgan asked, 

in short quick words, 

8 



114 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

" Do you understand my orders ?" . 

" Yes, captain, but I can not obey." 

" Then, good-by," said Morgan, and in a 
moment the cavalryman fell dead from his sad- 
dle. Turning to his men, he added, " Such be 
the fate of every man disobeying orders in the 
face of an enemy.' 

No man ever hesitated after that to obey any 
command. 

But Morgan is not without generosity to a 
foe. A Federal cavalryman related to me, 
since my escape, an unusual act for an enemy. 
Losing the command of his wounded horse, 
which goaded by pain plunged wildly on, he 
was borne into the midst of Morgan's force. 
" Don't shoot him !" cried Morgan to a dozen of 
his men who raised their pistols. " Give him a 
chance for his life." The pistols were lowered 
and the man sent back to his own lines un- 
harmed. Few men have appeared on either 
side in this contest who combine dash and cau- 
tion, intrepidity and calmness, boldness of plan 
with self-possession in execution, as does Mor- 
gan. The feat reported of him in Nashville, 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 115 

shortly after the Kebel army retreated through 
it, illustrates this. Coming into the city full of 
Federal soldiers 4n the garb of a farmer with a 
load of meal, he generously gives it to the com- 
missary department, saying, in an undertone, 
that there are some Union men out where lie 
lives, but they have to be careful to dodge tlie 
Rebel cavalry, and he wishes to show his love 
for the cause by this little donation. Going to 
the St. Cloud to dine, he sits at the same table 
with General McCook, since cruelly murdered, 
and is pointed out to the Federal officer as the 
Union man who had made the generous gift. 
He is persuaded to take the value of it in gold, 
and then, in a private interview, tells the Fed- 
eral officer that a band of Morgan's cavalry is 
camping near him, and if one or two hundred 
cavalry will come down there to-morrow he will 
show them how to take Morgan. The cavalry 
go, and are taken by Morgan. So the story 
goes. An equally successful feat it was, to step 
into the telegraph office in Gallatin, Tennessee, 
at a later date, as he did, dressed as a Federal 
officer, and there learn from the operator the 



116 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

time when the down-train would be in, and 
arrest it, securing many thousands of dollars 
without loss of men or time. -Another anecdote 
of his cool daring and recklessness is this. Hid- 
ing up to a picket post near Nashville, dressed 
in full Federal uniform, he sharply reproved 
the sentinel on duty for not calling out the 
guard to salute the officer of the day, as he an- 
nounced himself to be. The sentinel stammered 
out, as an excuse, that he did not know him to 
be the officer of the day. Morgan ordered him 
to give up his arms, because of this breach of 
duty, and the man obeyed. He then called 
out the remaining six men of the guard, in- 
cluding the lieutenant who was in charge, and 
put them under arrest, ordering them to pile 
their arms, which they did. He then marched 
them down the road a short distance where 
his own men were concealed, and secured all 
of them, and their arms and horses, without 
resistance. 

In an engagement Morgan is perfectly cool, 
and yet his face and action are as if surcharged 
with electricity. He has the quickness of a 



IN THE REBEL ARMT. 117 

tiger, and the strength of two ordinary men. 
One cause of his success is found in the charac- 
ter of his chargers. He has only the fleetest 
and most enduring horses ; and when one fails 
he soon finds another by hook or by crook. 
His business in his recent raid into Kentucky 
(July 28th), seemed to have been mainly to 
gather up the best blooded horses, in which 
that State abounds. 

Unless in some fortunate hour for the loyal 
cause he should fall into the hands of the Fed- 
eral forces. Colonel John H. Morgan will be- 
come one of the most potent and dangerous 
men in the Eebel service. 

So far as my observation extended, the South- 
em cavalry are superior to the loyal, for the 
kind of service expected of them. They are not 
relied upon for heavy charges against large 
bodies of infantry closely massed, as in some of 
the wars of the Old World during the close of 
the last century and the first part of this ; but 
for scouting, foraging, and sudden dashes against 
outposts and unguarded companies of their ene- 
mies. In this service, fieetne^s, perfect docility, 



118 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

and endurance for a few hours or a day, are requi- 
site in the make-up of the horses used. And in 
these traits Morgan's blooded horses are admi- 
rable. And then, with the exception of some 
of the Western troopers, the Southerners are 
more perfect horsemen than our loyal cavalry. 
They have been on horseback, many of them, 
from youth, and are trained to the perfect con- 
trol of themselves and their steeds in difficult 
circumstances. In addition to these causes of 
superiority, they have a vast advantage over 
the Federal troops in the present contest from 
two causes : It is hard to overestimate the ad- 
vantage they find in a knowledge of the ground, 
the roads, tlie ravines, the hiding-places, the 
marshes, the fords, the forests, &c. But even 
more important than this is the sympathy they 
have from the inhabitants, almost universally, 
who give them information by every method, of 
the approach, strength, and plans of their ene- 
mies. Even the negroes will be found often, 
either from fear or other motives, to give all the 
information they can obtain to the Southerners. 
And the Southerners know far better than we 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 119 

do how to obtain, and sift, and estimate, the 
value of what the slaves tell them. 

From these causes, we should look for and 
expect no little trouble from the mounted men, 
who will continue to constitute a pretty large 
element in the Kebel forces. 

After commencing my service in the cavalry, 
we spent some three weeks in scouting and for- 
aging, having Nashville for our center. During 
thip time I rode as courier several times, on one 
occasion riding sixty miles, from Nashville to 
Shelbyville, in seven hours. Upon another oc- 
casion, my blooded horse made fourteen miles 
in a little less than fifty minutes ; but this was 
harder service than we generally exacted from 
our horses. Upon reporting myself to General 
Breckenridge, for whom this arduous service 
had been performed, he merely said " Tres 
hierO'^ — from which I saw that he expected 
prompt worl^ from those who served him. 

On Saturday the 15th of February, the re- 
port came that General Johnson would evac- 
uate Bowling Green, and Sunday morning we 
learned, to the amazement of citizens and sol- 



120 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

diers, that Fort Donelson was taken. Never 
was there greater commotion than Nashville 
exhibited that Sabbath morning. Churches 
were closed, Sabbath schools failed to assemble, 
citizens gathered in groups, consulted hastily, 
and then rushed to their homes to carry out 
their plans. Bank directors Were speedily in 
council, and Confederate officials were every- 
where engrossed in the plan of evacuation. A 
general stampede commenced. Specie was sent 
off to Columbia and Chattanooga, plate was re- 
moved, and valuables huddled promiscuously 
into all kinds of vehicles. Hack-hire rose to 
twenty-five dollars ail hour, and personal sei> 
vice to fabulous prices. Government property 
was removed as fast as transportation could be 
furnished. Vast amounts of provisions and am- 
munition had been accumulated at Nashville, 
for the armies at Donelson and Bowling 
Green ; and so confident were they of holding 
those points, that no provision had been made 
for retreat. 

On Sunday the advance of the Bowling Green 
army began to come in, and those who escaped 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 121 

from Donelson on Tuesday. The appearance 
of these retreating forces increased the panic 
among the people, and as the troops came in 
the non-combatants went out. By the 20th, all 
who could get away were gone, and none but 
the military were prominent in the streets, and 
the sick and wounded were sent southward. 
The main body of the army camped on the 
Nashville side of the river. Work was sus- 
pended on two fine gunboats in process of con- 
struction, and orders given to be ready for their 
destruction at a moment's notice. Tlie railroad 
bridge was also prepared for the same fate. 

In the mean time the citizens, believing that 
General Johnson would make a stand, com- 
menced a fortification, four miles from the city, 
on the south side of the Cumberland, for the 
purpose of resisting the advance of the gun- 
boats. When it was announced that no defence 
would be made, the people were highly indig- 
nant, because the suddenness of this decision 
left the citizens no time for the removal of their 
remaining goods. As the Confederate authori- 
ties could not remove all their commissary 



122 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

stores, the warehouses were thrown open, and 
the poor came and carried off thousands of dol- 
lars' worth. Some of these people subsequently 
set up boarding-houses and fed Union soldiers 
from the provisions thus obtained. 

At length the railroad bridge and the gun- 
boats were burned, and the suspension bridge 
cut down. An act of pure vandalism was this 
last, as it neither aided the Eebel retreat nor 
delayed the Federal advance. Curses against 
General Floyd and Governor Harris* were loud 
and deep for this act, and General A. Si John- 
son never recovered the reputation lost during 
this retreat. 

My company was constantly on scout duty, 
guarding the roads on the north side of the 
river, protecting the rear of the retreating hosts, 
and watching for the coming of Buell's advance. 
This whole retreat, from Bowling Green to Cor- 
inth, a distance of nearly three hundred miles 
as traveled by the army, and occupying six 
weeks, was one of the most trying that an army 
was ever called upon to perform in its own 
country and among friends. The army was not 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 123 

r 

far from 60,000 strong, after General George B. 
Crittenden's forces were added to it at Murfrees- 
boro. The season of the year was the worst 
possible in that latitude. Eain fell, sometimes 
sleet, four days out of seven. The roads were 
bad enough at best, but under such a tramping 
of horses and cutting of wheels as the march 
produced, soon became horrible. About a hun- 
dred regiments were numbered in the army. 
The full complement of wagons to each regi- 
ment — twenty-four — would give above two 
thousand wagons. Imagine such a train of 
heavily loaded wagons, passing along a single 
mud road, accompanied by 55,000 infantry and 
5000 horsemen, in the midst of rain and sleet, 
day after day, camping at night in wet fields or 
dripping woods, without sufficient food adapted 
to their wants, and often without any tents, the 
men lying down in their wet clothes, and rising 
chilled through and through ; and let this con- 
tinue for six weeks of incessant retreat, and you 
get a feeble glimpse of what we endured. The 
army suffered great loss from sickness and some 
from desertion ; some regiments leaving Bowl- 



124 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

ing Green with sil or seven hundred men, and 
reaching Corinth with but half of this number. 
The towns through which we passed were left 
full of sick men, and many were sent off to hos- 
pitals at some distance from our route. 

One of the most desperate marches men were 
ever called to encounter, was performed by 
General Breckenridge's division between Fay- 
etteviUe and Huntsville. They moved at ten 
A. M., and marched till one o'clock next morn- 
ing, making thirty miles over a terrible road, 
amid driving rain and sleet during the whole 
time. The reason for this desperate work was, 
that a day's march lay between the rear-guard 
and the main body of General Johnson's army, 
and there was danger that it would be cut off. 
It cost the general hundreds of men. One- 
fourth of the division dropped out of the ranks 
unable to proceed, and were taken up by the 
guard, until every wagon and ambulance was 
loaded, and then scores were deserted on the 
road, who straggled in on following days, or 
made their way back to their homes in Tennes- 
see or Kentucky. 



IN THE REBEL ABMY. 125 

This retreat left a good deal of desolation in 
its track ; for although the officers endeavored 
to restrain their men, yet they must have wood ; 
and where the forest was sometimes a mile from 
the camping ground, and fences were near, the 
fences suffered; and where sheep and hogs 
abounded when we came, bones and bristles 
were more abundant after we left. Horses were 
needed in the army ; and after it left, none were 
Been on the farms. And then the impressed 
soldiers, judging from my own feelings, were 
not over-scrupulous in guarding the property 
of Rebels. The proud old planters, who had 
aided in bringing on the rebellion, were unwill- 
ingly compelled to bear part of its burdens. 

This long and disastrous retreat was rendered 
a necessity as soon as Fort Henry, on the Ten- 
nessee river, was taken by the Federal forces, 
as this river was opened, and they could throw 
an army in the rear of the Confederates as far 
south as Florence, in Alabama, within a few 
days. Indeed the Confederate officers expected 
this, and wondered that the Federals failed to 
do it immediately, as this movement would 



126 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

have cut off Johnson's retreat, and have forced 
him to surrender, fight, or escape eastward 
through Knoxville, giving up the whole West 
to the loyal forces. The delay of the United 
States forces to take Fort Donelson allowed 
General A. Sidney Johnson to reach Corinth by 
March. Here General Beauregard, in command 
of the army of the Mississippi valley, and already 
there in person, determined to make a stand. 

Great difference of opinion existed among 
Southern officers as to the expediency of this 
retreat. Many, among whom were Generals 
Breckenridge, Hindman, and Bowen, counseled 
to assume the offensive, and make a bold dash 
upon Louisville, Ky. This became the general 
opinion subsequently ; and had it been adopted 
as the policy in the beginning, would have 
given a different phase to the war in the West, 
at least for a time. 

A ludicrous scene occurred at this time, illus- 
trating the liability to panic to which even 
brave men are sometimes subject. While rest- 
ing at Murfreesboro, of course we were liable to 
be overtaken by Buell's cavalry, and as Colonel 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 127 

Morgan was not a man to be caught asleep, he 
kept scouting parties ever on the alert, scouring 
the country on different roads for miles in the 
direction of the Federal army. I was in com- 
mand of a squad of eight men, with whom I 
made a long and rapid march in the direction 
of Lebanon, and when returning by a different 
route, night overtook us some fifteen miles from 
camp. After getting supper at a farm-house, 
we were again in the saddle at ten o'clock of a 
calm, quiet evening, with a dim moon to light 
lis back to camp. We jogged on unsuspicious 
of danger, as we were now on the return from 
the direction of the Federal cavalry. Within 
ten miles of camp, near midnight, we passed 
through a lane and were just entering a forest, 
when we became aware that a cavalry force was 
approaching on the. same road; but who they 
were, or how many, we had no idea. We were 
not expecting another party of our men in this 
direction, and yet they could hardly be Federals, 
or we would have heard of them, as we had been 
near their lines, and among the friends of the 
Southern cause. 



128 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

Acting on the principle that it is safer to. ask 
than to answer questions in such circumstances, 
1 instantly ordered them to " Halt," and asked, 
" Who comes there ?" Their commander was 
equally non-committal, and demanded, "Who 
comes there ?" 

"If you are friends, advance and give the 
countersign," said I ; but scarcely was the word 
uttered when the buckshot from the shot-guns 
of the head of the column came whistling past 
us in dangerous but not fatal proximity. Thus 
challenged, I instantly ordered, " Draw saber — 
Charge!" and with a wild yell we dashed at 
them, determined to keep our course toward our 
camp, whoever they might be. To our surprise, 
they broke and ran in disorder, and we after 
them, yelling with all the voice we could com- 
mand. I soon saw, from their mode of rid- 
ing and glimpses of their dress, that they were 
Confederates ; but as we had routed them, 
though seven times our number, — there were 
sixty-five of them, — we determined to give them 
a race. Keeping my men together, yelling in 
unison, and firing in the air occasionally, we 



k 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 129 

pressed them closely six or seven miles. When 
within three miles of camp, I drew my men up 
and told them we must get in by another route, 
and, if possible, as soon as they. A rapid ride 
by a longer road brought us to the lines in a 
few minutes, and we found the whole force of 
over a thousand cavalrymen mounting to repel 
an attack from a formidable force of Federal 
cavalry, which had driven in the scouting party 
of sixty-five men, after a desperate encounter. 
I immediately reported the whole affair to Mor- 
gan, when, with a spice of humor which never 
forsakes him, he told me to keep quiet; and, 
calling up the lieutenant who was in charge of 
the scouting party, ordered him to narrate the 
whole affair. The lieutenant could not say how 
many Federal cavalry there were, but there 
must have been from three to five hundred, 
from the rattling of sabers and the volume of 
sound embodied in their unearthly yells. At 
all events, their charge was terrific, and his 
wonder was that any of his men escaped. How 
many of the Federals had fallen it was impossi- 
ble to estimate, but some were seen to fall, &c. 



130 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

When Morgan had learned the whole story, 
with the embellishments, he dismissed the lieu- 
tenant. But the story was too good to keep, 
and by morning the scare and its cause were 
fully ventilated, greatly to the chagrin of Major 
Bennett's battalion, to which the routed men 
belonged. They were questioned daily about 
" those three hundred Yankees who made that 
terrific charge ;" and whenever a loud noise of 
any kind was made, even by a mule, it was 
asked, with a serious face, if that was equal to 
" the unearthly yells of the Yankees." Indeed, 
for weeks, " the three hundred Yankees" was a 
by-word of ridicule, in reply to any boast from 
one of Bennett's men. 

Before we reached Shelbyville I met with 
my first wound, — though not from the guns of 
the Federals. I had chosen a vicious but noble- 
looking stallion for my Bucephalus, and in 
Rareyfying him into submission to Kebel rule, 
he got the better of me, so far as to land me 
about a rod over his head, and taking advan- 
tage of my being for the moment hors du 
cornbat^ ran over me, struck me with one of his 



IN THE BEBEL ABMY. 131 

hind feet, and broke my kneepan. But so 
excited was I with the contest, and smarting 
under my defeat, that unconscious of the se- 
riousness of my wound, I remounted, and rode 
four miles to camp at a speed which cooled his 
ire and taught him some manners. He ever 
behaved respectably after that, though I always ' 
doubted whether he was at heart a true and 
willing fighter in the Secession ranks, any more 
than his master. At the end of this race my 
knee had swollen to twice its usual size, and 
was exceedingly painful. With difliculty I 
dismounted, and for days^ was an invalid, for 
months lame, and even now at times suflfer 
from the old contusion. Like many another 
disaster, this proved at length a blessing, as 
will yet be seen. 

The state of society in Tennessee and Ala- 
bama, observed on our retreat, calls for no 
special remarks, except as to its loyalty to the 
Confederate usurpation. I am often asked 
respecting the Union feeling in the seceded 
States, and can only answer, that while I was 
there I did not see any. My position as an 



132 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

officer was not the most favorable for finding it 
if it had existed; still I would have seen the 
smallest evidences had they anywhere cropped 
out around me, as I was on the lookout for 
this; and then my last months in the South, 
were spent among the citizens, where 1 must 
have seen any Union sentiment if it showed 
itself at all. The truth is, and it should be 
stated frankly : the whole people, men, women, 
and children, were a unit, cemented together 
under a high heat in opposition to "the in- 
vaders." 

" But were there not many who if they had 
opportunity would have proclaimed themselves 
for the United States Government?" That 
question is answered in part by the conduct of 
most of the inhabitants in the Southern cities 
and neighborhoods already occupied by the 
loyal troops. Up to this writing, the develop- 
ments have not been very encouraging. Yet I 
doubt not there are some, who in the depth of 
their hearts believe Secession wrong, and as a 
principle destructive to all government, and 
who long for the return of the peaceful and 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 133 

beneficent authority of the Constitution and 
laws of the Union ; but they are too few and 
timid to exert the smallest influence. Nor dare 
they attempt it. The tyranny of public opinion 
is absolute. No young man able to bear arms 
dares to remain at home ; even if the recruiting 
officers and the conscription law both fail to 
reach him, he falls under the proscription of 
the young ladies and must volunteer^ as I did, 
though from not quite the same kind of force. 
And then, no expression of Union feeling 
would be tolerated for a moment. From their 
stand-point, why should it? They feel them- 
selves engaged in a death-struggle, to defend 
their property, honor, and life. Any hint of 
Unionism among them is treachery to all their 
interests, and, besides, a rebuke upon their 
whole rebellion. When the North becomes as 
deeply and generally enlisted in the war as the 
South, and feel it to be a struggle for existence 
as keenly as they do, no man here will dare to 
express sentiments favoring the people or insti- 
tutions of Rebeldom. 

" But how," I am asked, " how can good and 



134 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

sensible men, and ministers, even, thus take 
ground against a beneficent government, and 
justify themselves in attempting its destruc- 
tion ?" Among the facts I have noted in my 
brief life, one is this : That the masses of men 
do not reason^ \i\3Xfed. A few minds give the 
cue, and the herd follow ; and when passion 
takes possession of the heart, its fumes obscure 
the brain, and they can not see the truth. A 
general impression reiterated in a thousand 
forms, always aflirmed and never denied, fills 
the mind, and is believed to be the truth. And 
thus it is with the people. " Are they sincere ?" 
Yes, as sincere as ever were martyrs in going to 
the stake. This is demonstrated by their whole 
conduct; and conduct is the test of sincerity, 
while it proves but little as to the righteousness 
of the cause. 

In addition it should be said, the common 
feeling is, " We are in for a fight, and must carry 
it through ; there is no hope for us but in fight- 
ing; if we give up now, our institutions are 
ruined, and we forever the vassals of the domi- 
neering and meddling Yankees." This the lead- 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 135 

era and prominent men feel most acutely, and 
hence they will fight to the last, and keep the 
people up to that point as long as possible. 
How long that will be depends upon the will of 
the North, as no sane man doubts they have the 
power, and no loyal man questions the right. 
But the spirit, the enthusiasm, the enlistment 
of all the people with all their power and re- 
sources, are, with the South, as yet far beyond 
any thing I have seen North. 

I may here state that the Confederate author- 
ities have complete control of the press, so that 
nothing is ever allowed to appear in print which 
can give information to the North or dishearten 
their own men. In this it appears to me that they 
have an unspeakable advantage over the North, 
with its numberless papers and hundreds of cor- 
respondents in the loyal armies. Under such a 
system it is an absolute impossibility to con- 
ceal the movements of the army. "With what 
the correspondents tell and surmise, and what 
the Confederates find out through spies and in- 
formers of various kinds, they are able to see 
through many of the plans of the LTnion forces 



136 THIBTESN MONTHS 

before they are put into execution. Ko more 
common remark did I hear than this, as officers 
were reading the Northern papers : " See what 

fools these Yankees are. Greneral A has 

left B for C . We will cut him oflF. 

Why the Northern generals or the Secretary of 
War tolerate this freedom of news we can not 
imagine." Every daily paper I have read since 
coming North has contained information, either 
by direct statement or implication, which the 
enemy can profit by. If we meant to play into 
the hands of the Eebels, we could hardly do it 
more successfully than our papers are doing it 
daily; for it must be remembered that they 
only need hints and scraps of information, 
which, added to the antecedent probabilities 
that our army is about to proceed to a certain 
point, will enable them to forecast with almost 
absolute certainty the movements of their ene- 
mies. Sure am I, that if a Southern paper 
would publish such information of their move- 
ments, as do the Northern of theirs, the editor's 
neck would not be safe an hour. 
Does any reader aver, " But we see informa- 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 137 

tion often quoted from the Southem papers of 
their movements." Never, until they are made. 
It is safe to conclude, if you see in a Southem 
paper any statement that the army is about to 
do a certain thing, that they will not do any 
such thing, but something very different. No, 
the Southem government is now a complete 
military despotism, and for a successful carry- 
ing on of the war against them I think we must 
adopt, to some extent, the same rigid policy. 
Freedom of opinion is a precious right, and 
freedom of the press a valuable boon, but when 
the publication of news and the utterance of 
personal opinions endanger the lives of our sol- 
diers, and even the success of our armies, surely 
it is the duty of the government to restrain that 
utterance. 



138 THIRTEEN MONTHS 



CHAPTER V. 

COURIER SERVICE. 

New Duties. — Battle approaching. — Deserters and Scouts. — A 
Providence. — Position and Forces of the Confederates. — Orders 
to prepare to move. — My New Position. — March to the Battle 
Field. — Federals off their Guard. — Care of the Confederates 
against Desertion. — Council of War. — A Dreary Night. — Awful- 
ness of War. — The Fight opened. — Beauregard's Address. — 
The First Dead. — D6tour. — Camp of 7 1st Ohio Volunteers. — 
Failure of Strategy. — General Johnson killed. — Death con- 
cealed. — Furious Fighting. — Horse killed.— Sad Scene. — Rebels 
gaining. — Struck by a Shell. — Another Horse killed. — The 
Wounded Cavalryman and his Horse. — Sleep in the Camp of 
tlie 71st Ohio.— Startling Reveille.— Result of First Day's Bat- 
tle. — Victory for the Rebels. — Arrangements for Second Day. — 
Bloody Scenes.— Grant's Attack. — Rebels fall back. — Fluctua- 
tions of the Day.— General Hindman blown up. — Retreat de- 
termined on. — Leaving the Field. — Horrors of the Retreat. — 
Sleep among the Dying. — Reach Corinth. — Resolve. 

General Breckenridge, about the 1st of 
April, let me know that he would soon wish 
me to act on his staflf as special aid-de-camp^ 
and advised me to instruct the next officers in 
command what to do in my absence. 

But, before proceeding further, let us return 
to the movements of the Federal army under 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 139 

.General Grant, which we left at Fort Donelson 
in February. 

During the month of March, this army was 
transported down the Cumberland and up the 
Tennessee river in boats, and landed at Pitts- 
burg, near the foot of Muscle Shoals, beyond 
which large transport boats could not pass. 
They camped about twenty miles from Corinth, 
Mississippi, and were awaiting Buell's column, 
before making an advance on Corinth. 

Deserters and scouts gave Beauregard early 
notice of Grant's flotilla at Pittsburg Landing, 
about the 1st of April. ' Let me here repeat that 
the Rebel army has an incalculable advantage 
over the Federal troops, because fighting on 
their own soil, and \fhere every man, woman, 
and child is a swift witness against "the in- 
vaders." 

Beauregard and Johnson in conjoint com- 
mand, resolved to attack Grant at Pittsburg 
Landing before Buell shotild join him. And 
here occurred one of those accidents, or provi- 
dences, as a Christian man rightly regards them, 
which decided the character of the contest and 



140 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

its result. Grant was expecting Buell with re- 
inforeements ; Beauregard was looking for Price 
and Yan Dorn, witli 30,000 Missouri and Ar- 
kansas troops, who were coming down White 
Eiver. They were expected to come to Mem- 
phis by boat, and to Corinth by rail, and it was 
hoped they would reach the Rebel forces by 
Sunday, the 6th of April. Hence our attack 
was delayed from Saturday the 5th, when we 
were ready to make it, in order to give time for 
at least the advance guard of our reinforcements 
to come up. This delay prevented the complete 
defeat and rout of Grant's whole force, as the 
Confederates since believe. I merely give this 
as their opinion. Indeed, my whole narration 
of events is intended to present the facts as they 
appeared to those with whom I was constrained 
to act. To give as clear a view as possible of 
the Southern side of that destructive conflict, 
let the situation and strength of the Eebel army 
|J)e especially noted. On Thursday, the 3d of 
April, the preparations for the attack were com- 
pleted by the commanding generals. Our army 
then presented a front toward Shiloh cross- 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 14:1 

roads and church, which place was occupied by 
Gteneral Grant's advance. The right wing, 
commanded by Brevet Major-general John 0. 
Breckenridge, rested at Bumsville, ten miles 
east of Corinth, on the Memphis and Charleston 
railroad. The center and left were massed at 
and near Corinth, the center commanded by 
Major-generals Hardee and Bragg, and the left 
by Major-general Polk and Brevet Major-gen- 
eral Hindman. 

Breckenridge had 11,000 men, Bragg and 
Hardee about 20,000, Hindman and Polk not 
far from 10,000. The whole Confederate force 
was afterward stated in their official reports to 
be 39,000 men ; it probably reached 45,000, but 
certainly not more. This statement will create 
surprise, and perhaps denial, but I know where- 
of I affirm in this. At that time I did not know 
it, nor did the troops generally have any clear 
idea of our force. 

On Friday the 4th, orders reached us, at two 
p. M., to prepare five days' rations, roll up our 
tents, leave them, and be prepared to march in 
two hours, with forty rounds of ammunition. 



14:2 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

At the same time an aid from General Brecken- 
ridge ordered me to go to his head-quarters, 
with six reliable men. In a few minutes we 
answered to the order, every man splendidly 
mounted, and ready for any mission which he 
should designate. 

With his quick eye he selected one for one 
duty and one for another, until each had sped 
away ; and turning to me, he said, " You will 
act as a special aid-de'Cam/pP This announce- 
ment I received with especial gratification, as it 
would relieve me of all actual fighting against 
the Old Flag, and give me an opportunity to 
•i^e far more of the progress of the battle which 
was to ensue than if I were confined to the 
ranks. The special danger of the mission to 
which I was called made no impression upon 
me. I can not recall any time when I had a fear 
of falling, and I had none then. From that 
hour until the close of the battle on Monday, I 
was near General Breckenridge, or conveying 
dispatches to others from him ; hence my nar- 
rative of the scenes of the next three days will 
be mainly of what occurred in General Brecken- 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 143 

ridge's division, and what I saw while traversing 
the field of action, which I crossed and recrossed 
twelve times. 

On Friday, at eight p. m., we commenced 
4,0 move toward Shiloh, in silence, and with 
great circumspection, the army on different, but 
converging roads. We made eight miles, and 
reached Monterey, a little more than seven 
miles from Shiloh, at five o'clock on Saturday 
morning. Here the different divisions formed 
a junction, and marched forward prepared for 
action, though not immediately expecting it. 
We proceeded with extreme caution until within 
three and a half miles of Grant's pickets, and 
until our scouts had determined their situation. 
We could get no nearer without bringing on an 
engagement; and as General Beauregard had 
great confidence that the reinforcements would 
arrive by morning, the afternoon of Saturday 
was spent in making all necessary disposition 
of the forces for an early and combined attack 
on Sunday morning. 

While it is no part of my duty, in this narra- 
tive, to criticise military movements, and espe- 



144: THIRTEEN MONTHS 

cially those of the Union forces, I may state that 
the total absence of cavalry pickets from Gen- 
eral Grant's army was a matter of perfect amaze^ 
ment to the Kebel officers. There were abso- 
lutely none on Grant's left, where General 
Breckenridge's division was meeting him, so 
that we were able to come up within hearing 
of their drums entirely unperceived. 

The Southern generals always kept cavalry 
pickets out for miles, even when no enemy was 
supposed to be within a day's march of them. 
The infantiy pickets of Grant's forces were not 
above three-fourths of a mile from his advance 
camps, and they were too few to make any re- 
sistance. With these facts all made known to 
our head-quarters on Saturday evening, our 
army was arranged for battle with the certainty 
of a surprise, and almost the assurance of a vic- 
tory. Every regiment was carefully and doubly 
guarded, so that no man might glide away from 
our ranks and put the Union forces on their 
guard. This I noted particularly, as I was 
studying plans of escape that night, that I 
might put the loyal forces on their guard 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 145 

against the fearful avalanche ready to be hurled 
upon them. I already saw that they would 
stand no fair chance for victory, taken com- 
pletely at unawares. But the orders were im- 
perative to allow no man to leave the ranks, 
and to shoot the first who should attempt it on 
any pretence. Then of the nature of the ground 
between the opposing forces I knew nothing, 
except that it was said to be crossed and seamed 
by swamps, in many places almost impassable 
by daylight, much more so at night. If, then, 
I should attempt to desert, I must run the 
gauntlet of our own double guard, risk the 
chance of making the three or four miles 
through woods and swamps in deep darkness, 
and the more hazardous chance, on reaching 
the Federal lines, of being shot by their pickets. 
I was therefore compelled to relinquish the hope 
of escape that night — a sad necessity, for if I 
had succeeded, it might have saved many Union 
lives. 

About eight o'clock p. m. a council of war 
was held among the principal generals, and the 
plan of battle arranged. In an open space, 

10 



146 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

with a dim fire in the midst, and a drum on 
which to write, you could see grouped around 
their "little Xapoleon," as Beauregard was 
sometimes fondly called, ten or twelve generals, 
the flickering light playing over their eager 
faces, while they listened to his plans and made 
suggestions as to the conduct of the fight. He 
soon warmed with his subject, and throwing off 
his cloak to give free play to his arms, he 
walked about in the group, gesticulating rapid- 
ly, and jerking out his sentences with a strong 
French accent. All listened attentively, and 
the dim light just revealing their countenances 
showed their different emotions of confidence or 
distrust in his plans. General Sidney Johnson 
stood apart from the rest, with his tall straight 
form standing out like a specter against the 
dim sky, and the illusion was fully sustained 
by the light-gray military cloak which he 
folded around him. His face was pale, but 
wore a determined expression, and at times he 
drew nearer the center of the ring and said a 
few words, which were listened to with great 
attention. It may be he had some foreboding 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 147 

of the fate he was to meet on the morrow, for 
he did not seem to take much part in the dis- 
cussion. General Breckenridge lay stretched 
out on a blanket near the fire, and occasionally 
sat upright and added a few words of counsel. 
General Bragg spoke frequently and with earn- 
estness. General Polk sat on a camp-stool at 
the outside of the circle, and held his head 
between his hands, seeming buried in thought. 
Others reclined or sat in various positions. 
What a grand study for a Rembrandt was this, 
to see these men, who held the lives of many 
thousands in their power, planning how best to 
invoke the angel Azrael to hurl his darts with 
the breaking of morning light. 

For two hours the council lasted, and as it 

broke up, and the generals were ready to return 

■ 

to their respective commands, I heard General 
Beauregard say, — raising his hand and pointing 
in the direction of the Federal camps, whose 
drums we could plainly hear, — "Gentlemen, 
we sleep in the enemy's camp to-morrow night." 
The Confederate generals had minute infor- 
mation of General Grant's position and num- 



148 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

bers. This knowledge was obtained through 
spies and informers, some of whom had lived 
in that part of the country and knew every 
foot of the ground. 

Yet that was a dreary night to prepare for the 
dreadful battle of to-morrow. The men were 
already weary, hungry, and cold. No fires were 
allowed, except in holes in the ground, over 
which the soldiers bent with their blankets 
round their shoulders, striving to catch and 
concentrate the little heat that struggled up 
through the bleak April air. Many a poor fel- 
low wrote his last sentence in his note-book that 
night by the dim light of these smothered fires, 
and sat and talked in undertones of home, 
wife, and mother, sister or sweetheart. Prom- 
ises were made to take care of each other, if 
wounded, or send word home, if slain ; keep- 
sakes were looked at again for the last time, 
and silent prayers were offered by men unused 
to look above. What an awful thing is warl 
Here lay, almost within cannon-shot of one an- 
other, eighty or ninety thousand men — ^brothers 
of the same race and nation, many of them 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 149 

blood relations ; thousands of them believing in 
the same Saviour, and worshiping the same 
God, their prayers meeting that night at the 
throne of Heavenly Grace ; — ^yet waiting for the 
light of the holy Sabbath that they may see how 
most surely to destroy one another ! And yet 
the masses of these have no ill feeling. It is 
human butchery, at the bidding of 'arch-con- 
spirators. Upon them be all the blood shed! 
A fearful guilt is theirs ! 

What sleep the men could get on the cold, 
damp ground, with little protection or fire, they 
secured during the early part of Saturday night. 
On Sunday morning, the 6th of April, we were 
under arms and ready to move by three o'clock. 

General Hardee, one of the bravest men in 
the Confederate service, led the advance and 
center, and made the attack. Had I not been 
called to staff duty, I should have been in the 
advance with my company. Glad was I that 
I was not called to fire upon the unsuspect- 
ing soldiers of my Northern home. As the day 
dawned we could hear the musketry, first in 
dropping shots, then volley after volley, as the 



150 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

battle grew hotter. A little after daylight we 
passed General Beauregard and staflP, who were 
then over a mile in rear of the troops engaged. 
He addressed each brigade as it passed, assuring 
them of a glorious victory, telling them to fight 
with perfect confidence, as he had 80,000 men 
available, who should come into action as fast 
as needed; and wherever reinforcements were 
wanted, Beauregard would be there. This boast 
of 80,000 men the officers knew to be false, as 
he had not a man over 45,000 ; but as he ex- 
pected 30,000 under Price and Van Dorn he 
counted them in, and added 10,000 more to 
strengthen confidence. But neither he nor any 
other Confederate general asks any defence for 
such statements. " Military necessity" will jus- 
tify any course they choose to take in advancing 
their cause. After we passed Beauregard, a 
few minutes of " double quick" brought our di- 
vision to Grant's advance pickets, who had been 
surprised and cut down by Hardee's cavalry. 
This was the first time many of the soldiers 
had seen men killed in battle, and they stepped 
carefully around the dead bodies, and seemed 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 151 

to shudder at the sight. General Breckenridge 
observing it, said quickly, "Never mind this, 
toys ; press on !" Before night, those who re- 
mained walked over dead bodies in heaps with* 
out a shudder. We soon reached an open field, 
about eighty rods wide, on the further side of 
which we could see the camps, and the smoke 
of battle just beyond. We here made a sharp 
detour to the right, and ascended a broken range 
of hills, pressing on for nearly a mile. Here we 
took position just in front of General Albert 
Sidney Johnson and stajff, and awaited orders. 
General Breckenridge rode up to General John- 
son, and after conversing in a low tone for a few 
minutes, Johnson said, so that many heard it, 
" I will lead your brigade into the fight to-day ; 
for I intend to show these Tennesseans and Ken- 
tuckians that I am no coward." Poor general ! 
you were not allowed the privilege. We then 
advanced in line of battle, and General Statham's 
brigade was engaged first. " Boys," said Breck- 
enridge, "we must take that battery which is 
shelling Statham. Will you do it?" A wild 
shout of " Ay, ay, sir," and " Forward to take 



152 THIBTEEK MONTHS 

that battery," was the word ; but before we 
reached the ground it was withdrawn. We 
now advanced, cautiously, and soon entered the 
camp of the Seventy-first Ohio Volunteers. By 
this time, ten o'clock a. m., the battle seemed to 
be raging along the whole line. 

A part of the original plan of battle was to 
have a space several hundred yards wide be- 
tween Breckenridge's left and Hardee's right, 
and thus invite Grant's men into a trap. They 
refusing to be entrapped, and keeping their 
front unbroken, Breckenridge sent me to Gen- 
eral Johnson for new instructions. When I 
had come within about ten rods of Johnson's 
staff, a shell burst in the air about equidistant 
from myself and the staff. The missiles of 
death seemed to fill the air in every direction, 
and almost before the fragments had found 
their resting-place, I reined up my horse and 
saluted. General Johnson, who was in front of 
his staff, had turned away his horse and was 
leaning a little forward, pressing his right knee 
against the saddle. In a moment, and before 
the dispatch was delivered, the staff discovered 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 153 

that their leader was wounded, and hastened to 
his assistance. A piece of the shell, whose 
fragments had flown so thick around me as 1 
came up, had struck his thigh half way be- 
tween his hip and knee, and cut a wide path 
through, severing the femoral artery. Had he 
been instantly taken from his horse and a tour- 
niquet applied, he might perhaps have been 
saved. When reproached by Governor Harris, 
chief of staff and his brother-in-law, for conceal- 
ing his wound while his life-blood was ebbing 
away, he replied, with true nobility 6f soul, 
" My life is nothing to the success of this charge ; 
had I exclaimed I was wounded when the troops 
were passing, it might have created a panic and 
defeat." In ten minutes after he was lifted 
from his horse he ceased to breathe. Thus died 
one of the bravest generals in the Rebel army. 
My dispatch was taken by Colonel Wickliffe 
and handed to Harris, who directed me to take 
it to General Beauregard. When he had read 
it, he asked — 

" Wliy did you not take this to General John- 
son ?" 



154: THIRTEEN MONTHS 

« I did, sir." 

" Did he tell you to bring it to me?" 

" General Johnson is dead, sir." 

" How do you know ?" 

" I saw him die ten minutes ago ?" 

" How was he killed ?" 

I told him. He then dictated two dispatches, 
one to Governor Harris and one to General 
Breckenridge, telling them to conceal the death 
of Johnson, and bidding me not to speak of it 
to any one. So far as the report of his death 
was circulated the officers denied it, some affirm- 
ing that it was Governor Johnson of Kentucky 
who was killed, others admitting that General 
A. S. Johnson was slightly wounded. The army 
knew not of his death till they reached Corinth. 

When I returned to General Breckenridge's 
staflF they had advanced half a mile, and were 
furiously engaged within half-musket range with 
both small-arms and artillery. About noon Gen- 
eral Bowen's brigade — Breckenridge's left — ^was 
forced to fall back for ammunition and to re- 
form, their place being supplied by two regi- 
ments of Louisiana troops. Here, from two to 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 155 

four P. M., was the hardest fighting in the battle. 
Breckenridge's own brigade losing nearly one- 
fourth within two hours. The fire of the Union 
troops was low and very effective. A battery 
here did fearful execution among the Kebels 
with shell, grape, and canister. A wounded 
gunner belonging to this battery told me the 
shells were fired with one-second fuses. Our 
men were ordered to lie down and load, and yet 
many were killed in this position, so accurate 
was the fire of the Federal troops. I saw five 
men killed by the explosion of one shell. 

About three o'clock I was sent to the rear 
with dispatches of the progress of the battle, 
and asking reinforcements. When about half 
way to Beauregard's staff, riding at full gallop, 
my first serious accident occurred, my life 
being saved by but a hair's breadth. As my 
horse rose in a long leap, his fore-feet in the air 
and his head about as high as my shoulder, a 
cannon-ball struck him above the. eye and 
carried away the upper part of his head. Of 
course the momentum carried his lifeless body 
some ten feet ahead, and hurled me some dis- 



156 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

tance further, — saber, pistols, and all. I gatlii- 
ered myself up, and to my surprise was not 
hurt in the least. One second later, the ball 
would have struck me and spared the horse. 
Thankful for my life, I threw off my saber and 
my tight uniform-coat, gave my pistols to a 
cavalryman near by, and started in search of 
another horse. General Breckenridge had told 
me in the morning, if my horse was killed to 
take the first unemployed one I could find. I 
knew where some of the infantry field-officers 
had tied their horses in a ravine in the rear, 
and while seeking them, I met a scene which 
lives in my memory as if it were but yesterday. 
I had just filled my canteen at a spring, and 
as I turned from it my eye met the uplifted 
gaze of a Federal officer, I think a colonel of 
an Illinois regiment, who was lying desperately 
wounded, shot through the body and both legs, 
his dead horse lying on one of his shattered 
limbs. A cannon-ball had passed through his 
horse and both of his own knees. He looked 
pleadingly for a drink, but hesitated to ask it of 
an enemy, as he supposed me to be. I came up 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 167 

to him, and said, "You seem to be badly 
wounded, sir; will you have some water?" 

" Oh, yes," said he ; " but I feared to ask you 
for it." 

" Why ?" 

" Because I expected no favor of an enemy." 

Two other men coming by, I called them to 
aid in removing the dead horse from his 
wounded limb. They did so, and then passed 
on ; but I seemed bound to him as by a spell. 
His manly face and soldierly bearing, when 
suJBfering so terribly, charmed me. I changed 
his position, adjusted his head, arranged his 
mangled legs in an easy posture, supporting 
them by leaves stuffed under the blanket on 
which we had laid him. In the mean time he 
took out his watch and money, and requested 
me to hand him his pistols from the saddle- 
holsters, and urged me to take them, as some 
one might rob him, and I was the only one 
who had shown him kindness. I declined, and 
wrapping them up in a blanket, placed them 
under his head, telling him the fortunes of war 
might yet bring his own troops to his side. 



168 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

He seemed overcome, and said, "My friend, 
why this kindness to an enemy ?" 

As I gave him another draught of water, I 
said, " lam not the enemy I seem, /" and press- 
ing his hand, I walked quickly on. 

He could not live long, but I hope his friends 
found him as they swept back over the ground 
the next day. 

I soon found a splendid horse, and rode to 
General Beauregard for orders, and reached my 
own general about four o'clock p. m. I found 
that the Federal troops had fallen back more 
than a mile, but were still fiercely contending 
for the ground. The Rebels were confident of 
victory, and pressed them at every point. I 
had scarce time to mark the condition of things 
however, until I was again dispatched to the 
commander-in-chief. I had but fairly started, 
when I was struck on the right side by a piece 
of a shell almost spent, which yet came near 
ending my earthly career. My first feeling 
after the shock was one of giddiness and blind- 
ness, then of partial recovery, then of deathly 
sickness. I succeeded in getting oif rather than 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 169 

falling from my horse, near the root of a tree, 
where I fainted and lay insensible for nearly an 
hour. At length, I recovered so far as to be 
able to remount my horse, whose bridle I had 
somehow held all the time, though unconscious- 
ly. I had ridden but a few rods when a mus- 
ket-ball passed through the neck of this, my 
second horse, but, to my surprise, he did not 
fall immediately. A tremor ran through his 
frame which I felt, convincing me that he was 
mortally wounded. I dismounted, and stood 
watching him. He soon sank on his knees, and 
then slowly lay down on his side. As his life- 
blood ebbed away, his eye glazed, and making 
a last futile effort to rise, he fell back again and 
died with a groan almost like the last agony of 
a human being. The pain of my side and my 
knee, which was never entirely free from pain, 
grew worse, and I saw that unless I found sur- 
gical attendance and rest, I would soon be ex- 
hausted. In making my way to the general 
hospital which was established on the ground 
where the battle commenced, I met one of For- 
rest's cavalry, wounded in the foot, and very 



160 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

weak from loss of blood. With my handker- 
chief and a short stick, I made a simple tourni- 
quet, which stopped the bleeding, when I ac- 
companied him to the hospital. After the 
dressing of my wound, which was an extensive 
bruise, about five inches in diameter, I took the 
cavalryman's horse, and started back to my 
command. When I had reached the camp of 
the 71st Ohio Yolunteers, my strength failed, 
and after getting something to eat for myself 
and horse, and a bucket of water to bathe my 
side during the night, I tied my horse near the 
door of a tent, and crept in to try to sleep. But 
the shells from the gunboats, which made night 
hideous, the groans of the wounded, and the 
pleadings of the dying, for a time prevented. 
iVeariness at length overcame me, and sleep 
followed more refreshing and sound than 1 
hoped for under the circumstances. 

The sharp rattle of musketry awakened me 
early, announcing the opening of the second 
day's battle. But before I speak of Monday the 
7th, I will state why the Confederates ceased to 
fight at half-past five p. m., on Sabbath evening, 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 161 

when they liad another hour of daylight. They 
had already driven back the Federal forces more 
than three miles along their whole line, had 
taken 4000 prisoners, including most of Gen- 
eral Prentiss's brigade, had captured about sev- 
enty pieces of artillery, according to their state- 
ment, had taken an immense baggage-train, 
with vast quantities of commissary, quartermas- 
ter's, and medical stores, and had driven Grant's 
forces under the shelter of their gunboats. Had 
the battle ended here, the victory would have 
been most triumphant for the Eebels. Generals 
Bragg and Breckenridge urged that the battle 
should go on, that Grant's force was terribly 
cut up and demoralized, that another hour 
would take them all prisoners, or drive them 
into the river, and that then the transport fleet 
of more than a hundred boats, would be at the 
control of the Confederates, who could assume 
the ofl^ensive, and in five days take Louisville. 
Other officers argued that half of their own 
troops were disabled or scattered, that it would 
risk the victory already gained to push the re- 
mainder of Grant's forces, which now turned at 

n 



162 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

bay, might make a desperate stand. They esti- 
mated their own loss at ten or twelve thousand 
men, and knew that many, thinking the battle 
was over, had left their commands and were 
loading themselves with plunder, from the 
pockets of the dead and the knapsacks lying 
over the field or found in the Federal camps. 
Some expressed strong confidence that Price 
and Yan Dorn would arrive during the night, 
and the victory would be easily completed on 
the morrow. 

While this argument lasted, the men were 
resting, the hour passed away, and night spread 
her sable pall over the scene. 

The niglit was spent in removing the wound- 
ed, and as much of the captured stores and 
artillery as possible; but horses and wagons 
were scarce, and most of the stores and some 
wounded were left. The Confederates carried 
off thirty-six pieces of artillery, which were not 
retaken. Hospitals were established on the road 
leading to Corinth, and most of the wounded of 
the first day received every attention possible 
under the circumstances; though the advance 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 163 

had been made so suddenly, tliat insuflBlcient 
attention had been given to providing medical 
stores and surgical instruments. The scattered 
regiments were gathered, reorganized, and put, 
as far as possible, in order for battle, and Beau- 
regard ordered a large cavalry force to stretch 
themselves out in a line a short distance in rear 
of the army, to turn back all stragglers, and 
gave them instructions to shoot any unwounded 
man retreating. This was rigidly enforced, and 
some who attempted to escape were shot. Or- 
ders were issued to shoot any one found plun- 
dering the dead or wounded. Stragglers were 
forced into the nearest regiment, and every 
thing done that could be to insure success. 

From the foregoing account it will be seen 
that the following telegram, sent by Beauregard 
to Richmond, is not far from literally true : 

** Battlb-field of Shiloh, 
Via Corinth and Chattanooga, April 6, 1862. 

"General S. Cooper, Adjutant-general, — We 
have this morning attacked the enemy in strong 
position in front of Pittsburg, and after a severe 
battle of ten hours, thanks to Almighty God, 



164 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

gained a complete victory, driving the enemy 
from every position. 

" The loss on both sides is heavy, including 
our commander-in-chief. General Albert Sidney 
Johnson, who fell gallantly leading his. troops 
into the thickest of the fight. 

" G. T. Beauregard, 

General commanding." 

The morning of Monday, April 7th, was dark 
and gloomy ; the men were weary and stiffened 
by the exertions of the previous day, and from 
the chilling effects of the rain which fell during 
the night. Tlfe dead of both armies lay strewed 
over the field by hundreds, and many of the 
desperately wounded were still groaning out 
their lives in fearful agony. At five a. m. I was 
in the saddle, though scarcely able to mount, 
from the pain in knee and side ; and in making 
my way to General Beauregard's staff, my head 
reeled and my heart grew sick at the scenes 
through which I passed. I record but one. In 
crossing a small ravine, my horse hesitated to 
step over the stream, and I glanced down to 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 165. 

detect the cause. The slight rain during the 
night had washed the leaves out of a narrow 
channel down the gully some six inches wide, 
leaving the hard clay exposed. Down this 
pathway ran sluggishly a band of blood nearly 
an inch thick, filling the channel. For a minute 
I looked and reflected, how many human lives 
are flowing past me, and who shall account for 
such butchery ! Striking my rowels into the 
horse to escape from the horrible sight, he 
plunged his foot into the stream of blood, and 
threw the already thickening mass in ropy folds 
upon the dead leaves on the bank ! The only 
relief to my feelings was the reflection that I 
had not shed one drop of that blood. 

I took my position on General B.'s stafl^ at six 
o'clock in the morning, and remained near him 
most of the day. The Federal forces had al- 
ready commenced the attack, and the tide of 
battle soon turned. Grant's reinforcements had 
come up during the night, but Beauregard's 
had not, and early in the day it became evident 
that we were fighting against fearful odds. 
Beauregard sent forward 8000 of his best troops, 



166 THIBTSSy MONTHS 

held as a reserve during the first day. They 
did all that so small a nnmber eonld do, but it 
was of no avail. Step by step they drove us 
back, while every foot of ground was yielded 
only after a determined resistance. The battle 
raged mainly on our left, Greneral Breckenridge's 
division doing but little fighting this day, com- 
pared with the first day. General Grant seemed 
determined to outflank our left, and occupy the 
road behind us, and as the Confederates had not 
men enough to hold the camps they had taken, 
and check this flank movement, retreat became 
necessary. About nine a. m. I rode to General 
Beauregard for orders; when returning, I heard 
the report that General Buell had been killed 
and his body taken toward Corinth. This re- 
port that the Federal commander, as many 
supposed Buell to be, was killed, and his body 
taken, revived the flagging hopes of the Con- 
federates. Of the fluctuations of the battle 
from nine a. m. till three p. m. I can say but 
little, as it was mainly confined to our center 
and left. During this time the Rebel forces 
had fallen back to the position occupied by 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 167 

Grant's advance Sabbath morning. The loyal 
troops had regained all the ground lost, and 
whatever of artillery and stores the Rebels had 
been unable to convey to the rear, and were 
now pressing us at every point. 

Just before the retreat, occurred one of the 
most remarkable incidents of the battle ; few 
more wonderful are on record. General Hind- 
man, than whom no more fearless, dashing, or 
brave man is found in the Rebel service, was 
leading his men in a fearful struggle for the 
possession of a favorable position, when a shell 
from the Federal batteries, striking his horse in 
the breast and passing into his body, exploded. 
The horse was blown to fragments, and the 
rider, with his saddle, lifted some ten feet in the 
air. His staff did not doubt that their general 
was killed, and some one cried out, "General 
Hindman is blown to pieces." Scarcely was 
the cry uttered, when Hindman sprang to his 
feet and shouted, " Shut up there, I am worth 
two dead men yet. Get me another horse." 
To the amazement of every one, he was but lit- 
tle bruised. His heavy and strong cavalry sad- 



168 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

die, and probably the bursting of the shell 
downward, saved him. In a minute he was on 
a new horse and rallying his men for another 
dash. A man of less flexible and steel-like 
frame would probably have been so jarred and 
atunned by the shock as to be unable to rise ; 
he, though covered with blood and dust, kept 
his saddle during the remainder of the day, and 
performed prodigies of valor. But no heroism 
of officers or men could avail to stay the ad- 
vance of the Federal troops. 

At three o'clock p. m. the Confederates decided 
on a retreat to Corinth ; and General Brecken- 
ridge, strengthened by three regiments of cav- 
alry, — Forrest's, Adams', and the Texas Hangers, 
raising his effective force to 12,000 men, — ^re- 
ceived orders to protect the rear. By four p. m. 
the Confederates were in full retreat. The main 
body of the army passed silently and swiftly 
along the road toward Corinth, our division 
bringing up the rear, determined to make a des- 
perate stand if pursued. At this time the Union 
forces might have closed in upon our retreating 
columns and cut off Breckenridge's division. 



IN THE KEBEL ARMY. 169 

and perhaps captured it. A Federal battery 
threw some shells, as a feeler, across the road 
on which we were retreating, between our divi- 
sion and the main body, but no reply was made 
to them, as this would have betrayed our posi- 
tion. We passed on with little opposition or 
loss, and by five o'clock had reached a point one 
and a half miles nearer Corinth than the point 
of attack Sabbath morning. 

Up to this time the pursuit seemed feeble, 
and the Confederates were surprised that the 
victorious Federals made no more of their ad- 
vantage. Nor is it yet understood why the 
pursuit was not pressed. A rapid and persist- 
ent pursuit would have created a complete rout 
of the now broken, weary, and dispirited Rebels. 
Two hours more of such fighting as Buell's 
fresh men could have made, would have demor- 
alized and destroyed Beauregard's army. For 
some reason this was not done, and night closed 
the battle. 

About five o'clock I requested permission to 
ride on toward Corinth, as I was faint and 
weary, and, from the pain in my side and knee, 



170 THIBTSEX MOXTHS 

would not be able to keep the saddle much 
longer. This was granted, and I made a detour 
from the road on which the army was retreating, 
that I might travel faster and get ahead of the 
main body. In this ride of twelve miles along- 
side of the ronted army, I saw more of hnman 
agony and woe than I trost I will ever again be 
called on to witness. The retreating host wound 
along a narrow and almost impassable road, 
extending some seven or eight miles in length. 
Here was a long line of wagons loaded with 
wounded, piled in like bags of grain, groaning 
and cursing, while the mules plunged on in 
mud and water belly-deep, the water sometimes 
coming into the wagons. Xext came a strag- 
gling regiment of infantry pressing on past the 
train of wagons, then a stretcher borne upon 
the shoulders of four men, carrying a wounded 
officer, then soldiers staggering along, with an 
arm broken and hanging down, or other fearful 
wounds which were enough to destroy life. 
And to add to the horrors of the scene, the 
elements of heaven marshaled their forces, — a 
fitting accompaniment of the tempest of human 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 171 

desolation and passion whicli was raging. A 
cold, drizzling rain commenced about nightfall, 
and soon came harder and faster, then turned to 
pitiless blinding hail. This storm raged with 
unrelenting violence for three hours. I passed 
long wagon trains filled with wounded and 
dying soldiers, without even a blanket to shield 
them from the driving sleet and hail, which fell 
in stones as large as partridge eggs, until it lay 
on the ground two inches deep. 

Some three hundred men died during that 
awful retreat, and their bodies were thrown out 
to make room for others who, although wound- 
ed, had struggled on through the storm, hoping 
to find shelter, rest, and medical care. 

By eight o'clock at night I had passed the 
whole retreating column, and was now in ad- 
vance, hoping to reach Corinth, still four miles 
ahead. But my powers of endurance, though 
remarkable, were exhausted, and I dismounted 
at a deserted cabin by the wayside, scarce able 
to drag myself to the doorway. Here a surgeon 
was tending some wounded men who had been 
sent off the field at an early hour of the first 



172 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

day. To liis question, "Are you wounded ?" I 
replied that my wound was slight, and that 
I needed refreshment and sleep more than sur- 
gical aid. Procuring two hard crackers and a 
cup of rye coffee, I made a better meal than I 
had eaten in three days, and then lay down in 
a vacant room and slept. 

When I awoke it was broad daylight, and 
the room was crowded full of wounded and 
dying men, so thickly packed that I could 
hardly stir. I was not in the same place where 
I had lain down ; but of my change of place, and 
of the dreadful scenes which had occurred dur- 
ing the night, I had not the sli^test knowl- 
edge. 

As I became fully awake and sat up, the 
surgeon turned to me, and said, "Well, you 
are alive at last. I thought nothing but an 
earthquake would wake you. We have moved 
you about like a log, and you never groaned or 
showed any signs of life. Men have trampled 
on you, dying men have groaned all around 
you, and yet you slept as soundly as a babe in 
its cradle. Where is your wound?" 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 173 

How I endured the hoiTors of that night, 
rather how I was entirely unconscious of them 
and slept refreshingly through them, is to me a 
mystery. But so it was, and it seemed to be 
the turning-point of my knee-wound, as it has 
never troubled me so much since. 

I now rode on to Corinth, where I changed 
clothes, had a bath and breakfast, and found a 
hospital and a surgeon. He decided that I was 
unfit for duty, and must take my place among 
the invalids. After dressing my wounds he 
advised rest. I slept again for six hours, and 
woke in the afternoon almost a well man, as I 
thought. 

Thus ended my courier service, and I then 
resolved that no earthly power should ever 
force me into another battle against the Gov- 
ernment under which I was born ; and I have 
kept my resolution. 

General Beauregard's official dispatch of the 
second day's battle, given below, was a very 
neat attempt to cover up defeat. It expresses 
the general opinion of the people in the South 
as to the battle of Pittsburg Landing. 



174 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

" Corinth, Tuesday, April 8, 1862. 

"To the Sf:cretary of War, Riclimond : 

" We have gained a great and glorious vic- 
tory. Eight to ten thousand prisoners, and 
thirty-six pieces of cannon. Buell reinforced 
Grant, and we retired to our intrenchments at 
Corinth, which we can hold. Loss heavy on 
both sides. 



IN THE EEBEL ARMY. 176 



CHAPTER VI. 

HOSPITAL SERVICE. 

"Wounded arriving. — Care of my own Men. — Appointment as 
Assistant-surgeon. — Discharge from Rebel Army. — Dreadful 
Scenes. — Sickness. — ^Nurses. — Stoicism. — Military Murder of a 
Deserter. — No Pay. — Go to Mobile. — Spirit of the People on 
the Way. — Met at Depot.— No Means of Escape.— The Stagnant 
City. — Surveillance of the Press. — Forced Charity. — In charge 
of a Hospital. — Selma. — Kindness of Ladies. — Piano. — Artesian 
Wells. — Model Hospital. — Furlough to Richmond. — Rigid Dis- 
cipline. — Disappointment. — ^Bitter Thoughts. — Crinoline and 
Volunteering. — North asleep. 

The wounded were now arriving in large num- 
bers, but so exhausted by the loss of blood, the 
jolting in rough wagons, and the exposure of 
the fearful night, that many were too far gone 
for relief. 

As I had, while at school in New York, fre- 
quented the hospitals, and also attended two 
courses of medical lectures, I had gained a little 
knowledge of wounds and their treatment. This 
fact, and a special fondness if not aptitude for 
that study, decided my future course. 

My first care was for the members of the 



176 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

company I had commanded during the long 
retreat from Nashville ; hence I went out to 
seek them. Meeting them a short distance from 
Corinth, I had them taken to a hospital estab- 
lished in an unfinished brick church in the 
north end of the town, and here I remained, 
giving them all possible care and attention. 

Next morning, Dr. J. C. Nott, Surgeon-gen- 
eral of the Western division of the Confederate 
service, appointed me as assistant-surgeon on 
his staif. The scarcity of surgeons to meet the 
immense demand, and, perhaps, a little skill 
shown in dressing wounds, secured me this ap- 
pointment. On the following Saturday, April 
12, 1862, I obtained an honorable discharge 
from the army, on account of my wounds, but 
retained my position of assistant-surgeon, as a 
civilian appointment. 

During the ten days I remained at Corinth 
the town was a perfect aceldama^ though all 
was done that could be to save life and alleviate 
suffering. Many of the best surgeons in the 
South arrived in time to render valuable assist- 
ance to the army surgeons in their laborious 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 177 

duties. Among these may be named Surrell 
of Virginia, Hargis and Baldwin of Mississippi, 
Kiehardson of Xew Orleans, La Fressne of Ala- 
bama, with many others of high reputation. 
During the week following the battle the 
wounded were brought in by hundreds, and 
the surgeons were overtasked. Above 5000 
wounded men, demanding instant and constant 
attendance, made a call too great to be met suc- 
cessfully. A much larger proportion of ampu- 
tations was performed than would have been 
necessary if the wounds could have received 
earlier attention. On account of exposures, 
many wounds were gangrenous when the pa- 
tients reached the hospital. In these cases de- 
lay was fatal, and an operation almost equally 
Bo, as tetanus often followed speedily. Where 
amputation was performed, eight out of ten 
died. The deaths in Corinth averaged fifty per 
day for a week after the battle. While the sur- 
geons, as a body, did their duty nobly, there were 
some young men, apparently just out of college, 
who performed diflScult operations with the as- 
surance and assumed skill of practiced surgeons, 

12 



178 THIBTEKN MONTHS 

and with little regard for hnman life or limb. 
In a few days erysipelas broke out, and numbers 
died of it. Pneumonia, typlioid fever, and mea- 
sles followed, and Corinth was one entire hos- 
pital. As soon as possible, the wounded who 
could be moved were sent off to Columbus, 
Okalona, Lauderdale Springs, and elsewhere, 
and some relief was thus obtained. We were 
also comforted by the arrival of a corps of 
nurses. Their presence acted like a charm. 
Order emerged from chaos, and in a few hours 
all looked cleaner and really felt better, from 
the skill and industry of a few devoted women. 
A pleasant instance of the restraint of woman's 
presence upon the roughest natures occurred in 
the hospital I was attending. A stalwart back- 
woodsman was suffering from a broken arm, 
and had been venting his spleen upon the doc- 
tors and male nurses by continued profanity; 
but when one of his fellow -sufferers uttered an 
oath, while the " Sisters" were near ministering 
to the comfort of the wounded, he sharply re- 
proved him, demanding — " Have you no more 
manners than to swear in the presence of la- 



IN THE BEBEL ABMY. 179 

dies ?" All honor to these devoted Sisters, who, 
fearless of danger and disease, sacrificed every 
personal comfort to alleviate the sufferings of 
the sick and wounded after this terrible battle. 

An instance of most heroic endurance, if not 
of fool-hardy stoicism, such as has few parallels 
in history, occurred during the contest, which 
deserves mention. Brigadier-general Gladden, 
of South Carolina, who was in General Bragg's 
command, had his left arm shattered by a ball, 
on the first day of the fight. Amputation was 
performed hastily by his staff-surgeon on the 
field ; and then, instead of being taken to the 
rear for quiet and nursing, he mounted his horse, 
against the most earnest remonstrances of all his 
staff, and continued to command. On Monday, 
he was again in the saddle, and kept it during 
the day ; on Tuesday, he rode on horseback to 
Corinth, twenty miles from the scene of action, 
and continued to discharge the duties of an 
officer. On Wednesday, a second amputation, 
near the shoulder, was necessary, when General 
Bragg sent an aid to ask if he would not be re- 
lieved of his command. To which he replied, 



180 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

" Give General Bragg my compliments, and 
say that General Gladden will only give up his 
command to go into his coffin." Against the 
remonstrances of personal friends, and the posi- 
tive injunctions of the surgeons, he persisted in 
sitting up in his chair, receiving dispatches and 
giving directions, till Wednesday afternoon, 
when lockjaw seized him, and he died in a few 
moments. A sad end was this, for a man pos- 
sessing many of the noblest and most exalted 
characteristics. 

Two days thereafter, on the 11th of April, 
there was perpetrated one of the most diabolical 
murders ever sanctioned by the forms of law. 
It illustrates the atrocious wickedness of the 
rebellion, and the peril of sympathy with the 
Union cause in the South. Patriotism here 
wins applause, there a culprit's doom. The 
facts were these : When the Rebels were raising 
a force in Eastern Tennessee, two brothers by 
the name of Rowland volunteered ; a younger 
brother, William H. Rowland, was a Union 
man, and refusing to enlist was seized and 
forced into the army. He constantly protested 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 181 

against his impressment, but without avail. He 
then warned them that he would desert the first 
opportunity, as he would not fight against the 
cause of right and good government. They 
were inexorable, and he was torn from his 
family and hurried to the field. At the battle 
of Fort Donelson, Rowland escaped from his 
captors in the second day's action, and imme- 
diately joined the loyal army. Though now to 
fight agaipst his own brothers, he felt that he 
was in a righteous cause, and contending for a 
worthy end. 

In the battle of Pittsburg Landing he was 
taken prisoner by the very regiment to which 
he had formerly belonged. This sealed his fate. 
On thp way to Corinth several of his old com- 
rades, among them his two brothers, attempted 
to kill hinj, one of them nearly running him 
through with a bayonet. He was, however, 
rescued from this peril by the guard. Three 
days after the retreating army had reached 
Corinth, General Hardee, in whose division 
was the regiment claiming this man as a 
deserter, gave orders to- have Rowland exe- 



182 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

cuted. The general, I hope from some mis- 
givings of conscience, was unwilling to witness 
the execution of his own order, and detailed 
General Claibourne to carry out the sentence. 
About four o'clock p. m., some 10,000 Tennessee 
troops were drawn up in two parallel lines, 
facing inward, three hundred yards apart. The 
doomed man, surrounded by the guard, de- 
tailed from his own former regiment to shoot 
him, marched with a firm step into the middle 
of the space between the two lines of troops. 
Here his grave had been already dug, and a 
black pine coffin lay beside it. No minister of 
religion offered to direct his thoughts to a 
gracious Saviour. I fear he was poorly pre- 
pared for the eternity upon which he was just 
entering. 

The sentence was read, and he was asked if 
he had any thing to say why it should not be 
executed. He spoke in a firm, decided tone, in 
a voice which could be heard by many hun- 
dreds, and nearly in the following words. 
"Fellow-soldiers, Tennesseans, I was forced 
into Southern service against my will and 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 183 

against my conscience. I told them I would 
desert the first chance I found, and I did it. I 
was always a Union man and never denied it, 
and I joined the Union army to do all the 
damage I could to the Confederates. I believe 
the Union cause is right and will triumph. 
You can kill me but once, and I am not afraid 
to die in a good cause. My only request is, 
that you let my wife and family know that I 
died like a man in supporting my principles. 
My brothers there would shoot me if they had 
a chance, but I forgive them. Now shoot me 
through the heart, that I may die instantly." 

Such were his fearless, even defiant words, 
and I recall them with the distinctness of a 
present thought, for it needed little imagination 
to place myself in his stead. Had I succeeded 
in escaping at any former period and been 
retaken, this would have been my fate. While 
I saw the hazard, I was none the less resolved 
to make the attempt, and soon. , 

After Rowland had ceased to speak, he took 
off hat, coat, and necktie, and laying his hand 
on his heart, he said, "Aim here." But the 



184 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

sergeant of the guard advanced to tie his hands 
and blindfold him. He asked the privilege of 
standing untied; the request was not granted^ 
His eyes were then bandaged, he kneeled upon 
his coffin, and engaged in prayer for several 
minutes, and then said he was ready. The 
lieutenant of the guard then gave the word, 
" Fire," and twenty-four muskets, half of them 
loaded with ball, were discharged. When the 
smoke lifted, the body had fallen backward, 
and was still. Several balls had passed through 
his head, and some through his heart. His 
body was tumbled into the rough pine box, and 
buried by the men that shot him. Such was 
the fate of a Tennessee patriot. His blood will 
be required of those who instigated the Kebel- 
lion. General Hardee said afterward, when, 
the scene was described to him, "I think the 
man was half crazy from brooding over his 
fancied wrongs. His execution was necessary 
to prevent others from deserting, but no sum of 
money could have induced me to witness it." 
General, were they " fancied wrongs ?" 
This scene strengthened my purpose to dis- 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 185 

connect myself from the South as soon as I 
could get my pay, which was now many 
months in arrears. I could not travel many 
hundreds of miles without means, and in a 
direction to excite suspicion in the mind of every 
man I might meet. But the paymaster was not 
in funds ; and while he approved and indorsed 
my bills, he said I must go to Kichmond to 
receive the money. I had not means to go to 
Kichmond. My horses, of which I owned two, 
I was determined to keep, to aid me off; hence 
I was forced to continue in my position as 
assistant-surgeon for a time. 

On the 17th of April, the surgeon-general to 
whose staff I was attached left Corinth for 
Mobile, nearly three hundred miles distant, 
with a train conveying about forty wounded 
men. The journey was tedious, and to the 
wounded, painful, as they occupied box-cars 
without springs, and the weather was exceed- 
ingly warm. A few of the men were left under 
the care of physicians by the way, being unable 
to endure the motion of the cars. We proceed- 
ed leisurely from station to station, stopping 



186 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

long enough to receive provisions for all on 
board from the citizens on the line of the road, 
which were freely and gratuitously furnished. 
Wherever we stopped long enough to give the 
people time to assemble, crowds came to offer 
relief, — ladies with flowers, jellies, and cakes 
for the poor fellows, and men with the more 
substantial provisions. One rich old gentleman 
at Lauderdale Springs, named Martin, sent in a 
wagon loaded with stores. This exuberance of 
supplies thus voluntarily furnished, is an index 
of the feeling of the masses in the South as to 
the cause in which they have embarked their 
all. 

At the end of two and a half days we reached 
Mobile, and were met at the depot by a large 
company of ladies with carriages, to take the 
wounded men to a spacious and airy hospital, 
prepared with every necessary and comfort 
which could be devised. A large number of 
servants were in attendance, to carry those too 
severely wounded to ride in the carriages ; and 
whatever water, and clean suits, and food, and 
smiles, and sympathy, and Christian conversa- 



IN THE REBEL ABMY. 187 

tion, and religious books, could do for their 
comfort, was done. 

After seeing the men nicely cared for, and 
resting, I set myself to investigations as to the 
possibility of escape from Mobile out to the 
blockading fleet, in case I could not get my pay 
to go home by land. I met no cheering facts 
in this search. There were about 4000 troops 
in and around the city. Fort Morgan was 
strongly guarded, and egress was difficult, while 
the Union fleet lay far out. I gave this up, as 
not feasible for the present, at least. 

Mobile was stagnant commercially, business 
at a stand-still, many stores closed, and all 
looked gloomy. The arrival from Havana of a 
vessel which had eluded the blockading fleet, 
loaded with coffee, cigars, &c., produced a tem- 
porary and feeble excitement. But so frequent 
were these arrivals that the novelty had worn 
off: though in this fact I see no ground for re- 
proaching either the heads of department at 
Washington or the commanders of the block- 
ading squadron at that point. The whole coast 
is indented with bays, and interior lines of navi- 



188 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

gable water are numerous ; so that nothing but 
a cordon of ships, in close proximity along the 
whole coast, could entirely forbid ingress and 
egress. 

Another instance of the rigid surveillance of 
the press maintained in the Confederate States 
is suggested by this incident. The city papers 
of Mobile made no mention of this arrival, 
though all knew it. Early in the year, South' 
em papers boasted of the number of ships which 
accomplished the feat, giving names, places, and 
cargoes ; but months ago this was forbidden, 
and wisely for their interests, Recently I have 
seen no mention in Southern papers of the im-? 
portation of cannon or any thing else, except in 
purposely blind phrase as to time and place. 

I returned to the hospital, feeling that my 
destinies were wrapped up with it for a while 
yet. Here I witnessed an illustration of the 
power of popular enthusiasm worthy of men- 
tion. A miserly old gentleman, who had never 
been known, it was said, to do a generous act, 
and who had thrown off all appeals for aid to 
ordinary benevolent causes with an imperative 



IK THE REBEL ARMY. 189 

negative, was so overcome by the popular 
breeze in favor of the soldiers, that he came 
into the hospital with a roll of bank-bills in his 
hand, and passing from cot to cot gave each 
wounded man a five-dollar bill, repeating, with 
a spasmodic jerk of his head and a forced smile, 
"Make yourself comfortable; make yourself 
comfortable, my good fellow." I am afraid he, 
poor fellow, did not feel very comfortable, as his 
money was screwed out of him by the power of 
public opinion. 

The Surgeon-general, a man as noble in pri- 
vate life as distinguished in his profession, asked 
me to take charge of a hospital at Selma, one 
hundred and eighty miles up the Alabama river, 
under the direction of Dr. W. P. Reese, post- 
surgeon; and on the 21st of April I left for 
that place, with twenty-three wounded men 
under my care. We reached the town the next 
day, my men improved by the river transit. 
Here we were again met by carriages, in readi- 
ness to convey the wounded to a hospital, fitted 
up in a large Female Seminary building, ad- 
mirably adapted for the purpose, with spacious 



190 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

rooms, high ceilings, and well ventilated. One 
wing of this building, containing a large music- 
room, was appropriated to my charge. The sick 
men of a regiment organizing there, occupied 
another part of the building. The school, like 
BO many others in the South, was scattered by 
the war. 

Here again we were burdened with kindness 
from the ladies. Wines, jellies, strawberries, 
cakes, flowers, were always abundant, served by 
beautiful women, with the most bewitching 
smiles. I had been so long cut off from refined 
female society, that I appreciated most pro- 
foundly their kind attentions. So intent were 
they upon contributing to the comfort of the 
men who had been wounded in protecting their 
homes, as they regarded it, that they brought a 
piano into my ward, and the young ladies vied 
with each other in delectating us with the Mar- 
seillaise, Dixie, and like patriotic songs, inter- 
spersing occasionally something about moon- 
light walks in Southern bowers, &c., which my 
modesty would not allow me to suppose had 
any reference to the tall young surgeon. 



IK THE REBEL ARMY. 191 

Selraa is a beautiful town of three or four 
thousand inhabitants, situated on the right bank 
of the Alabama river, on a level plateau, stretch- 
ing off from the bank, which rises from forty to 
fifty feet above the river by a steep ascent. A 
distinguishing feature of the place is its Arte- 
sian wells, said to be equal to any in the world. 
In the main street of the town, at the crossing 
of other streets, are reservoirs, five in number, 
which receive the water thrown up from a depth 
of many hundred feet, and in quantity far be- 
yond the demands of the inhabitants. The 
water is slightly impregnated with mineral 
qualities, is pleasant to the taste, and regarded 
as medicinal. The people of Selma are gener- 
ally highly intelligent and refined, and no more 
pleasant acquaintances did I form in the South 
than here. Their zeal for the Kebel cause was 
up to fever heat, and their benevolence for its 
soldiers without stint. The provisions for the 
hospital were furnished gratuitously by a com- 
mittee of the Relief Association, and they ap- 
peared grieved that we made no more demands 
upon them. That my hospital was a model of 



192 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

neatness and perfection in its line, was attested 
by a report of Adjutant-general Cooper, who 
visited incognito the hospitals through the South 
while I was at Selma. He gave it the prefer- 
ence over all he had seen, in a publication which 
appeared shortly after this time in the Southern 
papers. 

At the end of three weeks of attendance here, 
I obtained a furlough for ten days, that I might 
go to Richmond to secure my pay. Securing 
government transportation, I reached Kichmond 
on the 15th of May, exceedingly anxious to find 
the quartermaster in an amiable mood and in 
funds ; for upon my success here depended my 
hopes of a speedy escape. Money will often 
accomplish what daring would not. But here I 
was disappointed — at least partially. I secured 
but one-fifth of my claim, which was admitted 
without question ; but I was told that the quar- 
termaster of the Western division had funds, 
and I must get the remainder there. My re- 
monstrances availed nothing, and I left the 
office in no amiable mood. 

I now determined to avenge myself upon a 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 193 

faithless government, by acquiring all possible 
information of the status of the Eebel army in 
and about Richmond, which might be of use to 
me and my country. In this I also failed, from 
the exceeding, and, I must say, wise vigilance 
of the authorities. My pass to enter the city 
allowed nothing further — I must procure one to 
remain in the city, and this was called for at 
almost every street corner ; and then another to 
leave the city, and only in one direction. 

Although I appeared in the dress of an assist- 
ant-surgeon, with the M. S. upon my cap, I could 
gain no access to the army outside of the city, 
nor make any headway in my tour of observa- 
tion ; and as they charged me five dollars per 
day at the Ballard House, I must soon leave, or 
be swamped. I had not been so completely 
foiled in my plans hitherto. 

I left Richmond for Selma the 20th of May, 
reflecting bitterly upon the character of a rebel- 
lion which, commenced in fraud, was perpet- 
uating itself by forcing its enemies to fight their 
own friends, and then refused to pay them the 
stipulated price of their enforced service. The 



194 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

longer I reflected, the more fully was I convinced 
that I never would receive my pay. The con- 
Bcription act, which took effect the 16th of May, 
was being enforced with a sweeping and search- 
ing universality. If I returned to Corinth to 
seek the quartermaster there, the payment would 
be defended, from one excuse or another, imtil I 
•hould be forced into the service again. The 
thought that tlie Rebel authorities were break- 
ing their pledges to pay me, that they might 
get their hated coils around me once more, from 
which I had but partially extricated myself, al- 
most maddened me. I knew, moreover, that I 
could not long remain in Selma, in my present 
situation. The men were all recovering, except 
one poor fellow, who soon passed beyond the 
reach of earthly mutilations, and no new ship- 
ments of wounded were coming on. And the 
force of public opinion in Selma was such, that 
no man able to fight could remain there. The 
unmarried ladies were so patriotic, that every 
able-bodied young man was constrained to en- 
list. Some months previous to this, a gentleman 
was known to be engaged for an early marriage, 



IN THE BEBEL AEMY. 195 

and hence declined to volunteer. When his be- 
trothed, a charming girl and a devoted lover, 
heard of his refusal, she sent him, by the hand 
of a slave, a package inclosing a note. The 
package contained a lady's skirt and crinoline, 
and the note these terse words : " Wear these, 
or volunteer." He volunteered. 

When will the North wake up to a true and 
manly patriotism in the defence of their national 
life, now threatened by the tiger-grasp of this 
atrocious Rebellion ? Hundreds upon hundreds 
of young men I see in stores and shops, doing 
work that women could do quite as well ; and 
large numbers of older men who have grown 
wealthy under the protection of our benign gov- 
ernment, are idly grieving over the taxation 
which the war imposes, and meanly asking if it 
will not soon end, that their coffers may become 
plethoric of gold ; while the question is still un- 
settled whether the Eebellion shall sweep them 
and their all into the vortex of ruin and anar- 
chy. The North is asleep! and it will iecome 
the sleep of deaths national death^ if a new spirit 
he not speedily awaked ! 



196 THIRTEEN MONTHS 



CHAPTER VII. 

MY ESCAPE. 

Obstacles in the Way of Escape.— Farewell to Selma. — Gold ver- 
sua Confederate Scrip. — An unnamed Friend. — Conscription 
Act. — Swearing in a Regiment. — Soldier shot. — Chattanooga 
reached. — Danger of Recognition. — Doff the Military. — Trans- 
formation. — A Bivouac. — A Retired Ferryman. — Conscience 
versus Gold. — Casuistry. — Embarkation and Voyage. — Pistols 
and Persuasion. — An unwilling Pilot. — A Night-reverie. — My 
Companion's Pisgali. — Selim. — Secession a destructive Princi- 
ple. — Practical Illustration. — A third Night in the Rocks. — 
Home and the Welcome. — The Dying Deserter. — One more 
Move — but how ? — My Loss and Selim's Gain. — Off for Home. 
— Federal Officer and Oath of Allegiance. — Plea for Treason. — 
Sanctity of an Oath. — Reeume. — Home. 

It was now evident that I could not avoid 
the conscription if I remained longer, and yet 
I could not secure my pay; and how could I 
travel hundreds of miles without means? I 
would have sold one of my horses, but prices 
were low at Selma, far away from the seat of 
war, and the pay must be in Confederate money, 
which was of little value. This sacrifice I was 
unwilling to make, especially as I might need 
every dollar I could procure to help me out of 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 197 

Dixie. Other obstacles lay across the pathway 
of escape. Every military point was guarded, 
and every railroad and public highway under 
military control. It was hence impossible for 
me to escape, traveling in citizen's dress ; and 
yet I had no military commission, having left 
the service when I entered the hospital. I re- 
solved to retain my officer's cap and martial 
uniform, and travel as a Confederate officer pn 
furlough, and if not questioned too closely might 
succeed. 

On the morning of May 26th I had made all 
the arrangements possible for the welfare of my 
patients, and passing through I looked each in 
the face, as a kindly farewell on my part, to 
which they might return their adieu some days 
after, when they "found me missing." I 
charged young Dr. Keese to take good care of 
the men till I returned, as I thought of taking 
my horses up the Alabama river to place them 
on a farm for pasture. Taking a last look at 
the beautiful town of Selma, with a suppressed 
sigh that I should no more enjoy the society of 
its fair ladies, I embarked on the Oreat Hepub' 



198 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

lie for Montgomery, the capital of the State, 
and for a time the capital of the Confederacy. 
I reached this point in the evening, having 
made sixty-five miles toward the north star. 
I remained at Montgomery over night, and 
managed to obtain a military pass and trans- 
portation from this point to Chattanooga, which 
was now in possession of a large force of Con- 
fe(Jerate cavalry, organizing themselves into 
guerrilla bands, while the Federal forces held 
the north side of the Tennessee. "While here it 
seemed necessary to exchange my Confederate 
money into gold, as the only sure means of 
paying my way when I should reach the Fed- 
eral lines. But this was not easily effected. 
The Confederates sent their gold to Europe by 
millions to buy arms and munitions of war, 
relying upon the patriotism of the people to 
keep up the credit of the national currency; 
and lest brokers should undertake to depreciate 
it, they passed a law imposing a heavy penalty 
upon any one who should discount Confederate 
notes. For a time this succeeded in keeping 
up the credit of the circulating medium ; but 



IN THB BEBEL ARMY. 199 

all gold disappeared, and silver change was 
unknown. But as I must have gold, I walked 
into a broker's office and stated that I wished 
to purchase seven ounces of gold, and exhibited 
a roll of Confederate notes. "After a little 
figuring, he said seven ounces would cost me 
two hundred and seventy dollars of my money. 
I replied, " Weigh it out." 

" Bullion or coin ?" 

I answered that coin was more convenient to 
carry. The coin was weighed, and I retired, 
wondering if anybody had broken the law 
forbidding the discount of Confederate scrip. 

After leaving Montgomery by the railroad 
train for Chattanooga on the morning of the 
27th, I fell in with a soldier whose name I must 
for the sake of his family, who showed me great 
kindness, conceal. He said he was going home 
on furlough. As I then suspected and after- 
ward learned, he was deserting, while I was 
escaping. A fellow-feeling, though at first 
unconfessed to each other, drew us together, 
and. at length I learned his whole history. My 
greater caution and accustomed reticence, gave 



200 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

Mm but a meager idea of my adventures or 
purposes. His story, reaffirmed to me when 
near death some weeks later, is worth recital, 
especially as it illustrates both the strength of 
the Rebel Government, and the desperate 
lengths to which they go in pressing men into 
the service. 

The conscription act passed by the Confeder- 
ate Congress went into operation on May 16th, 
1862. By this law all able-bodied white male 
citizens, between the ages of eighteen and thirty- 
five, were actually taken into the service ; that 
is, they were taken from their homes, placed in 
camps of instruction, and forwarded to the ar- 
mies in the field as fast as needed. Another 
clause of the act required the enrolling of all 
between the ages of thirty-five and fifty-five 
years, as a reserve militia, to serve in their own 
State in case of invasion. As their States have 
all been "invaded," this virtually sweeps into 
the Southern army all white men able to bear 
arms between eighteen and fifty-five years of 
age. Another clause provided that all persons 
then in the army, under eighteen and over 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 201 

thirty-five, might return home discharged from 
the 'service within ninety days after the act took 
eSect, provided their regiments were filled up 
with conscripts. By this provision the regi- 
ments would be kept full. Still another clause 
directed that the twelve-months men now in the 
service, should "be allowed" (i. e., required)j 
"at the expiration of their twelve months to 
elect new officers, and take the oath for two 
years or the war." Under this last clause, the 
reorganization of the twelve-months volunteers 
was going forward at Corinth, when the Fifth 
Tennessee regiment of volunteers, composed of 
Warren county boys. Colonel J. B. Hill com- 
manding, determined they would not be forced 
to continue their service, and especially out of 
their own State. Before this determination had 
entirely taken form the officers were apprised 
of the disaflfection, and resolved, with true mili* 
tary decision, to forestall the threatened mutiny. 
The regiment was marched out some distance 
from camp and drilled for an hour or two, and 
then allowed to stack arms and return to camp 
for dinner. While in camp their arms were re- 



202 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

moved, and 30,000 men drawn up : 15,000 on 
each side of a hollow square, with a battery of 
ten field-pieces loaded with grape, gunners at 
their post, occupying a third side, while the 
fourth was open. Into this space the regiment 
was marched, without arms, and requested, all 
of tkem who were free to do so^ to take the oath. 
After its administration to the regiment in a 
body, the colonel said if there were any mem- 
bers who had not voluntarily sworn, they could 
step out in front of the ranks. Six men ad- 
vanced, two of them brothers, and remonstrated 
that they had cheerfully volunteered for one 
year, had served faithfully, and endured every 
hardship without complaint and without fur- 
lough ; had left their families without means of 
support, who must now be suffering ; that if 
allowed to go home and rest and make some 
provision for wife and children, they would then 
return. Colonel Hill, who was from the neigh- 
borhood of these men, knew the truth and felt 
the force of their arguments, and was trying by 
kindness to satisfy their minds, when General 
Beauregard rode up and asked — 



IK THE REBEL ARMY. 203 

" Colonel Hill, do these men refuse to swear?" 

" Yes, sir." 

"Unless they comply, have them shot to- 
morrow morning at ten o'clock," said the gen- 
eral, and rode away. 

Before ten o'clock they had all taken the 
oath ; but one of the two brothers, in his rage, 
declared he would desert. For this he would 
have been shot, had he not acknowledged him- 
self wrong and professed penitence, though his 
resolution remained unshaken. 

Some days after, this brother was placed upon 
picket duty, and, as the night came on, he at- 
tempted to pass out through the lines of cavalry 
pickets, when he was shot in the side, but not 
dangerously wounded as he then thought. He 
crawled back into his own line, and then re- 
ported himself as shot by a Federal picket. He 
was taken to camp, the ball extracted, and he 
sent to Atlanta, Georgia, to hospital. From 
this place he escaped and reached Montgomery 
on his way back to Warren county, Tennessee. 
His wound healed externally. 

This was the deserting soldier I met on the 



204 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

cars as we left Montgomery for Chattanooga. 
I put him in temporary possession of one of my 
horses; we united our destinies, and prepared 
for the future as well as we could. 

We reached Chattanooga on June 1st, and I 
found it, to my chagrin, a military camp, con- 
taining 7,500 cavalry, under strict military rule. 
We were now in a trap, as our pass here ended, 
and we were near the Federal lines. How to 
get out of the town was now the problem, and 
one of the most difficult I had yet met in my 
study of Rebel topography. We put up at the 
Crutchfield House, stabled our horses, and sat 
about in the bar-room, saying nothing to attract 
attention, but getting all the information possi- 
ble. I was specially careful not to be recog- 
nized. The cavalry company I had commanded 
on the long retreat from Nashville, was in Chat- 
tanooga at this time. Had any one of them 
seen me, my position would have been doubly 
critical ; as it was, I felt the need of circumspec- 
tion. It was clear to nle that we could not 
leave Chattanooga in military garb, as we had 
entered it, for, without a pass, no cavalryman 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 205 

could leave the lines. This settled, a walk 
along the street, showed me a Jew clothing- 
store, with suits new and old, military and 
agricultural. My resolution was formed, and I 
went to the stable, taking with me a newly 
fledged cavalry officer, who needed and was 
able to pay for an elegant cavalry saddle. Be- 
ing " hard up" for cash, I must sell : and he 
flush of money and pride, must buy. Thus I 
was rid of one chief evidence of the military 
profession. A small portion, of the price pur- 
chased a plain farmer-like saddle and bridle. 
An accommodating dealer in clothes next made 
me look quite like a country farmer of the mid- 
dle class. My companion was equally success- 
ful in transforming himself, and in the dusk 
of the evening we were passing out to the 
country as farmers who had been in to see the 
sights. 

' We safely reached and passed the outer pick- 
ets, and then took to the woods, and struck in 
toward the Tennessee river, hoping to find a 
ferry where money, backed, if necessary, by the 
moral suasion of pistols, would put us across. 



206 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

I was growing desperate, and determined not to 
be foiled. We made some twelve miles, and 
tlien rested in the woods till morning, when 
selecting the safest hiding-place I could find, I 
left my companion with the horses and started 
out on a reconnoissance. 

Trudging along a road in the direction of the 
river, I met a guileless man who gave me some 
information of the name and locality of a ferry- 
man, who had formerly acted in that capacity, 
though now no one was allowed to cross. Care- 
fully noting all the facts I could draw out of 
this man, I strolled on and soon fell in with 
another, and gained additional light, one item 
of which was that the old " flat" lay near, and 
just below, the ferryman's house. Thus enlight- 
ened, I walked on and found the house and my 
breakfast. Being a traveler, I secured without 
suspicion sandwiches enough to supply my com- 
panion with dinner and supper, which he en- 
Toyed as he took care of the horses in the woods. 
A circuitous route brought me to them, and I 
was pleased to see the horses making a good 
meal from the abundant grass. This was rd 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 207 

important point, as our lives miglit yet depend 
upon tlieir speed and endurance. 

I laid before my companion the rather dubious 
prospect, that the orders were strict that no man 
should be ferried across the river ; the ferryman 
was faithful to the South; he had been con- 
scientious in his refusal to many applications ; 
no sum would induce him to risk his neck, &c. 
All this I had heard from his lips, backed with 
a quantum suffioit of oaths, which for once I was 
rather willing to hear, having already learned 
that the man who accompanies his statements 
with a gratuitous and profuse profanity, is not 
usually brave to make them good when the trial 
comes. Tohis boastful words that " no white- 
livered traitor to the Southern cause should 
ever cross that ferry to give information to the 
Yankees," I fully assented, and advised him to 
be doubly on his guard, as the Federals were 
not far off, not hinting that /wanted to cross. 
Yet my purpose was formed : we must cross 
the river that night, and this man must take us 
over, as there was no other hope of escape. 
Having laid the plan before my companion, as 



208 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

evening drew on I again songht the cabin of 
the retired ferryman. My second appearance 
was explained by the statement that I had got 
off the road, and wandering in the woods, had 
come round to the same place. This was lit- 
erally true, though I must admit it did not give 
to him an impression of the whole truth. A 
rigid casuist might question the truthfulness of 
my statement to the Secession ferryman ; but a 
man fleeing for his life, and hunted by a relent- 
less enemy, has not much time to settle ques- 
tions in casuistry. 

After taking supper with the ferryman, we 
walked out smoking and chatting. By degrees 
^ I succeeded in taking him down near the ferry, 
and there sat down on the bank to try the effect 
upon his avaricious heart of the sight of some 
gold which I had purchased at Montgomery. 
His eyes glistened as he examined an eagle 
with unwonted eagerness, while we talked of 
the uncertain value of paper-money, and the 
probable future value of Confederate scrip. 

As the time drew near when my companion, 
according to agreement, was to ride boldly to 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 209 

the river, I stepped down to take a look at his 

unused flat. He, of course, walked with me. 

While standing with my foot upon the end of 

his boat, I heard the tramp of the horses, and 

said to him, in a quiet tone — " Here is an eagle ; 

you must take me and my companion over." 

He remonstrated, and could not risk his life for 

that, &c. Another ten dollars was demanded 

and paid, the horses were in the flat, and in two 

minutes we were off for — home. 

During that dark and uncertain voyage, I 

had time not only to coax into quietness my 

restive horse, but also to conclude that it would 

never do to dismiss our Charon on the other 

bank, as half an hour might put on our track a 

squad of cavalry, who, in our ignorance of the 

roads and country, would soon return us to 

Rebeldom and a rope. A man who would take 

twenty dollars for twenty minutes' work, after 

swearing that his conscience would not allow 

him to disobey the authorities, was not to be 

trusted out of your sight. Standing near my 

companion, I whispered — "This man must pilot 

us to some point you will know." I should have 

14 



210 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

stated that this deserting soldier was within sixty 
miles of his home, and had some knowledge of 
the localities not far north from onr present 
position. With this purpose, I arranged, when 
we touched the bank, to be in the rear of the 
ferryman, and followed him as he stepped off 
the boat to take breath before a return pull. 
"Now, my good fellow," said I, "you have 
done us one good turn for pay, you must do an- 
other for friendship. "We are strangers here, 
and you must take us to the foot of Waldon's 
Ridge, and then we will release you." To this 
demand he demurred most vigorously ; but my 
determined position between him and the boat, 
gentle words, and an eloquent exhibition of my 
six-shooter, the sheen of which the moonlight 
enabled him to perceive, soon ended the parley, 
and onward he moved. We kept him in the 
road slightly ahead of us, with our horses on 
his two flanks, and chatted as sociably as the 
circumstances would permit. I am not careful 
to justify this constrained service exacted of the 
ferryman, further' than to say, that I was now 
visiting upon the head, or rather the legs, of a 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 211 

real Secessionist, for an hour or two, just what 
for many months they had inflicted upon me. 
For six long miles we guarded our prisoner- 
pilot, and, reaching the foot of the mountain, 
the summit of which would reveal to my friend 
localities which he could recognize, and from 
which he could tell our bearings and distances, 
we called a halt. After apologizing for our 
rudeness on the plea of self-preservation, and 
thanking him for his enforced service, we bade 
him good-night, not doubting that he would 
reach the river in time to ferry himself over be- 
fore daylight, and console his frightened wife 
by the sight of the golden bribe. 

We were now, at eleven o'clock at night, 
under the shadow of a dark mountain, and 
with no knowledge of the course we were to 
take, other than the general purpose of pressing 
northward. 

After making some miles of headway and 
rising several hundred feet, we struck off at a 
right angle from the road, worked our way for 
a mile among the rocks, and tying our horses, 
lay down under an overhanging cliff and tried 



212 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

to sleep. But I wooed Somnus in vain. Mv 
brain and heart were too full. On the verge of 
a Canaan, for which I had looked and strug- 
gled during thirteen wearisome months, would 
I now reach it in peace, or must other perils be 
encountered, and I perhaps thrust back into a 
dungeon to meet a deserter's fate ? The future 
was still uncertain, and my mind turned back- 
ward, recalling childhood's joys and a mother's 
undying love. Oh, how I longed for one gen- 
tle caress from her soft hand to soothe me into 
sleep, and how vividly came back to my mem- 
ory words committed long ago, — ^words which, 
with slight change, tenderly expressed the 
longing of my spirit that night. I sank into 
forgetfulness, repeating over and over those 
•sweet strains: 

" Backward, turn backward, Time, in your flight ; 
Make me a child again, just for to-night ! 
Mother, come back from' the far-distant shore, 
Take me again to your heart as of yore ; 
Over my slumbers your loving watch keep, — 
Rock me to sleep, mother — rock me to sleep. 

" Backward, flow backward, tide of the years ! 
I am so weary of toils and of tears. 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 213 

Toil without recompense, — tears all in vain, — 
Take them, and give me my childhood again. 
I have grown weary of dust and decay, 
Weary of flinging my soul- wealth away, 
"Weary of sowing for others to reap, — 
Eock me to sleep, mother — rock me to sleep. 

** Hred of the hollow, the base, the untrue, 
Mother, mqther, my heart calls for you. 
Two weary summers the grass has grown greeo. 
Blossomed, and faded, our faces between ; 
Tet with strong yearning and passionate pain, 
Long I to-night for your presence again ; 
Come from the silence so long and so deep, — 
Bock me to sleep, mother — rock me to sleep. 

" Over my heart in days that are flown. 
No love like mother-love ever has shone ; 
No other fondness abides and endures. 
Faithful, unselfish, and patient, like yours. 
None like a mother can charm away pain 
^rom the sick soul and the world-weary brain ) 
Slumber's soft dews o'er my heavy lids creep, — 
Bock me to sleep, mother — rock me to sleep. 

" Goipe, let your brown hair, lighted with gold, 
Fall on your shoulders again as of old ; 
Let it fall over my forehead to-night, 
Shading my eyes from the moon's pallid light. 
For with its sunny-edged shadows once more 
Happily throng the sweet visions of yore ; 
Lovingly, softly its bright billows sweep, — 
Bock me to sleep, mother — rock me to sleep. 



214 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

" Mother, dear mother, the years have been long, 
Since last I was hushed by your lullaby song ; 
Sing then, and unto my soul it shall seem 
That the years of my boyhood have been but a dream ; 
Clasp your lost son in a loving embrace, 
Your love-lighted lashes just sweeping my face, 
Never hereafter to part or to weep, — 
Rock me to sleep, mother — rock me to sleep." 

On the morning of June the third the sun 
rose beautifully over the Cumberland Moun- 
tains, flooding the valley of the Sequatchie, as 
we descended into it with lighter hearts than 
we had felt for many a day. As we rode down 
the mountain, my companion recognized the 
localities in the distance, and described the 
route which, in so many miles, would bring us 
to his father's house. His side hurt him severe- 
ly that day, as the hardships of the way had 
given him a cold, which threatened to inflame 
and reopen the wound he had received in at- 
tempting to escape through the cavalry picket. 
He talked much of home, and was sure his 
mother could cure him. Poor fellow ! he was 
already beyond his mother's help, though I did 
not then suspect it. 

By nine o'clock we reached a farm-house, 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 215 

whose inmates, without many troublesome in- 
quiries, agreed to feed our half-starved horses 
and give us some breakfast. My noble Selim 
sorely needed food and grooming, and I could 
not but wish for a few days of rest for him. He 
had been my companion in many a wild dash, 
and had learned to respond to my patting of 
his finely-arched neck with a pricking up of his 
ears and a toss of his head, as much as to say, 
"I am ready." When first I formed Selim's 
acquaintance he was wild and self-willed, and, 
as already related, gave me a blow upon the 
knee from which I have not yet entirely recov- 
ered. But I had long ago forgiven him this 
nnkindness, for he had earned me through all 
that terrible retreat from Nashville, had never 
failed me when a hard and hazardous scout was 
on hand, had' stood quietly at Corinth while I 
lost two of his companions on the battle-field of 
Shiloh, and then, as if grateful that I had saved 
him from their fate, he ever after served me 
with entire docility. At Selma he bore me on 
many a pleasant jaunt beside some fair one of 
that pleasant town, and now he was with proud 



4 



216 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

step bearing me toward my long-desired home. 
Did he not deserve my special care ? 

Everybody we met was Secession, and took 
for granted we were. Was I not demonstrating 
my sentiments, by seceding from a government 
which aflSrmed the right in its fundamental 
law? 

By the way, if the Sonth could make good 
their present effort for an independent national 
existence, they would immediately change that 
provision by which they allow each State to 
withdraw at pleasure. The impression among 
the thinking minds with them is already fixed, 
that the principle is destructive of all perma- 
nent national authority, and existence even. A 
practical and almost fatal illustration of the 
principle of secession was given at Corinth just 
after the battle of Shiloh. 

Tlie Arkansas authorities, fearing the power 
of the Federal forces, required all the troops 
from their State to return home and protect 
their own citizens. General Hindman, who 
commanded the Arkansas troops, was in favor 
of returning to their own State ; but Beauregard, 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 217 

as commander-in-chief of the Western army, re- 
sisted the demand. Excitement ran high, and 
mutiny was imminent for some days. Nothing 
but the resolute bearing of General Beauregard, 
threatening to shoot the first man who should 
attempt to leave, saved the Rebel army from 
destruction ; for if the troops of one State had 
been allowed to withdraw on the plea of pro- 
tecting their own borders, why should not all ? 
This was well understood, and hence resisted 
resolutely and successfully. At a later day, 
and as if in pursuance of a general plan, the 
Arkansas troops did go home; and thus they 
avoided a mutiny, whicli, had it been fully de- 
veloped, would have involved at least 10,000 
men. So rigid is the surveillance of the press, 
that no publication, so far as I know, was ever 
made of this affair, which threatened the disin- 
tegration of the whole Rebel army. 

To return, we made some thirty miles, and 
ascending the Cumberland range in the even- 
ing, we again sought rest among the rocks. 
This we judged safest, since we knew not who 
might have seen us during the day, of an in- 



218 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

quiring state of mind, as to our purpose and 
destination. 

On the raoraing of June 4th5 by a detour to 
conceal the course from which we came, and a 
journey of a dozen of miles, we reached the 
home of mj wounded friend. I shall not at- 
tempt to describe his tearful, joyful meeting 
with his mother and three sisters, and the pride 
of the good old father as he folded his soldier- 
boy to his heart. My own emotions fully occu- 
pied me while their greetings lasted. I thought 
of my own fond mother, who had not heard 
from me for more than a^yeai*, and was perhaps 
then mourning me as dead, perchance had gone 
herself to the tomb in grief for the loss of her 
first-born son; of my reverend father, whose 
wise counsel I had often needed and longed for; 
of my sweet sisters and little brother, who every 
day wondered if their big brother still lived and 
would ever come home. 

After a kindly greeting to the stranger who 
had brought home their wounded son, for they 
never suspected either that he had deserted or 
that I was escaping to the hated Yankees, they 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 219 

introduced me to all the comforts of their pleas- 
ant dwelling ; and for the first time for many 
months I began to feel somewhat secure. Yet 
they were all Secessionists, and talked constant- 
ly of the success of the cause, and I must, of 
necessity, conceal my views and plans. 

The day after our arrival, the wounded soldier 
took to his bed and never rose again. The hard- 
ships he had endured in the journey home, act- 
ing upon a system enfeebled by his wound, ter- 
minated in inflammation of the lungs, which 
within a week ended his life. I watched by his 
bed, nursed him carefully, and told him what 
little I knew of the better world, trying to recall 
all the sweet words of comfort I had heard pious 
people pour into the ears of dying ones in my 
childhood, when my father, as pastor, was often 
called to such scenes. I was not an experienced 
counselor, but I knew there was One Name of 
sovereign power. That Name I told him of as 
best I could. About the 12th of June he passed 
into the Dark Beyond. 

After the funeral ceremonies were over, a let- 
ter ca^ie from the other brother, detailing the 



220 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

manner in which they had been compelled to 
swear in for the war, and saying that he wonld 
soon be home. lie had not reached when I left 
there. I fear he failed in his attempt. 

But one more step was needed to make me 
safe ; that was, to get within the Federal lines, 
take the oath of allegiance, and secure a pass. 
But how could this be accomplished ? Should 
the Federal authorities suspect me of having 
been in the Rebel service, would they allow me 
to take the oath and go my way ? I knew not ; 
but well I knew the Confederate officers were 
never guilty of such an absurdity. Judging 
others by themselves, they put little confidence 
in the fact that A. B. has sworn to this or that ; 
and hence they watch him as carefully after as 
before. The North should know that oaths 
taken by Southerners before provost-marshals, 
in recovered cities such as Memphis, Nashville, 
&c., are not taken to be observed, as a general 
rule. They are taken as a matter of necessity, 
and with a mental reservation, that when the 
interests of their State demands, they are freed 
from the obligation. That this is a startling 



IN THE REBEL ARMY. 221 

statement I admit, and if called on for the proof 
I might find it difficult to produce it ; and yet 
from what I saw and heard scores of times, and 
in different parts of the South, I know it to be 
indubitably true. 

An incident which occun'ed about the 20th 
of June, both endangered my escape and yet 
put me upon the way of its accomplishment. 
I rode my pet Selim into the village of McMinn- 
ville, a few miles from the place of my sojourn, 
to obtain information as to the proximity of the 
Federal forces, and, if possible, devise a plan of 
getting within their lines without exciting sus- 
picion. As Selim stood at the hotel, to the 
amazement of every one. General Dumont's 
cavalry galloped into town, and one of the 
troopers taking a fancy to my horse, led him off 
without my knowledge, and certainly without 
my consent. My only consolation was, that my 
noble Selim was now to do service in the loyal 
ranks. My best wish for my good steed is, that 
he may carry some brave United States officer 
over the last prostrate foe of this ever-glorious 
Union. 



222 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

The cavalry left the town in a few hours, after 
erecting a flag-staff and giving the Stars and 
Stripes to the breeze. Within a few days a 
squad of Morgan's cavalry came in, cut down 
the staff, and one of them rolling up the flag 
and strapping it behind his saddle, left word 
where General Dnmont could see the flag if he 
chose to call. 

I left soon after the Federals did, but in an 
opposite direction, with my final plan perfected. 
Spending two or three days more with my kind 
friends on the farm, I saddled my remaining 
horse, and telling the family I might not return 
for some time, I rode through McMinnville, and 
then direct for Murfreesboro, at that time in 
possession of the Union forces. When hailed 
by the pickets, a mile from the town, I told 
them I wished to see the officer in command. 
They directed me where to find him, and al- 
lowed me to advance. They knew far less of 
Southern cunning than I did, or they would not 
have allowed me to ride into the town without 
a guard. When I found the officer, I stated 
that some Federal cavalry had taken my horse 



IN THE REBEL ABMY. 223 

in McMinnville a few days ago, and I wished 
to recover liim. He told me he conld give me 
no authority to secure my horse, unless I would 
take the oath of allegiance to the United States. 
To this I made no special objection. With a 
seeming hesitation, that I might wake up no 
suspicion of being different from the masses of 
farmers in that region, and yet with a joy that 
was almost too great to be concealed, I solemnly 
subscribed the following oath : 

" I, A B , solemnly swear, without 

any mental reservation or evasion, that I will 
support the Constitution of the United States 
and the laws made in pursuance thereof ; and 
that I will not take up arms against the United 
States, or give aid or comfort, or furnish infor- 
mation, directly or indirectly, to any person or 
persons belonging to any of the so-styled Con- 
federate States who are now or may be in re- 
bellion against the United States. So help me 
God." 

The other side of the paper contained a mili- 
tary pass, by authority of Lieutenant-colonel J. 
G. Parkhurst, Military Governor of Murfrees- 



224 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

boro. 1 regarded myself as free from any pos- 
sible obligation to the Confederates when dis- 
charged from their service on account of my 
wounds at Corinth. In voluntarily taking this 
oath, I trust I had some just sense of its awful 
solemnity, for I have never been able to look 
upon the appeal to God in this judicial form as 
a light matter. How good men can satisfy 
their consciences for the deliberate violation of 
the oaths which so many of them have deliber- 
ately taken to support the Constitution of the 
United States, I know not. I know what they 
say in self-defence, for I have often listened to 
their special pleading. The nptoTov 'ipevSog^ as 
my good Professor Owen of the Free Academy 
would term it — the foundation falsehood — of 
the whole Secession movement, is the doctrine 
of State Eights, as held by the South. " I owe 
allegiance to my State, and, when it commands, 
obedience to the United States." This idea has 
complete possession of the leading minds, and 
a belief in it accounts for the conduct of many 
noble men, who resisted Secession resolutely 
until their State was carried for the Eebellion. 



IN THE BEBEL ARMY. 225 

Whenever a State act was passed they yielded, 
and the people were a unit. 

In addition to this fundamental error, they 
aver that they are engaged in a revolution, not 
a rebellion ; and that the right of revolution is 
conceded, even by the North, now endeavoring 
to force them back into an oppressive and hated 
union ; and that if we justify our fathers in for- 
swearing allegiance to the British crown, we 
should not condemn the South in refusing obe- 
dience to a Union already dissolved. If this 
were as good an argument as it is a fallacious 
one, ignoring as it does the total dissimilarity 
in the two cases, and assuming falsely that the 
Uuion is already dissolved, it fails to justify the 
individual oath-breaking of many of the leaders 
in the revolt. They swore to support the Con- 
stitution of the United States at the very time 
they were meaning to destroy it. Some of them 
took the oath <as Cabinet officers and members 
of Congress, that they might have the better 
opportunity to overthrow the government. The 
truth must be admitted — and here lies the dark- 
est blot upon the characters of the arch-con- 

15 



226 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

spirators — they know not the sanctity of an oath, 
nor regard its solemn pledges and imprecations. 
They have shown, it has been eloquently said, 
the utmost recklessness respecting the oath of 
allegiance to the nation. Men who sneered at 
the North as teaching a higher law to God 
which should be paramount to all terrene stat- 
utes, have been themselves among the first to 
hold the supreme law of the land and their oath 
of fealty and loyalty to that land, abrogated by 
the lower law of State claims and State inter- 
ests. It could not be sin in the man of the 
North, if God and his country ever clashed, to 
say, that well as he loved his country, he loved 
his God yet more. ' But what plea shall shield 
the sin which claims to love one's own petty 
State better than either country or God ? They 
have virtually tunneled and honey-combed into 
ruin the fundamental obligations of the citizen. 
Jesuitism had made itself a name of reproach 
by the doctrine of mental reservation, under 
which the Jesuit held himself absolved from 
oaths of true witness-bearing, which he at any 
time had taken to the nation and to God, 



IN THE BEBEL ARMY. 227 

if the truth to be told harmed the interests of 
his own order, whose interests he must shield 
by a silent reservation- The lesser caste, the 
ecclesiastical clique, thus was held paramount 
to the entire nation ; and oaths of fidelity to the 
religious order, a mere handful of God's crea- 
tures, rode over the rights of the God whose 
name had been invoked to witness truth-telling, 
and over the rights of God's whole race of man- 
kind, to have the truth told in their courts by 
those who had solemnly proclaimed and delib- 
erately sworn that they would tell and were 
telling it. The State loyalty as being a mental 
reservation evermore to abrogate the oath of 
National loyalty : — what is it but a modern re- 
production of the old Jesuit portent ? 

But perjury however palliated, and whether 
in Old World despots or in New World anar- 
chists, involves, in the dread language of Scrip- 
ture, the being " clothed with cursing as with 
a garment." That terrible phrase of inspiration 
describes, we suppose, not merely profuse pro- 
fanity, but the earthly deception which attracts 
the heavenly malediction, the reply of a mocked 



228 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

God to a defiant transgressor, vengeance invok- 
ed, and the invocation answered. " So help mb 
God !" is a phrase so often heard in jury-boxes 
and custom-houses, beside the ballot-box, and in 
the assumption of each civil office, that we do not 
at all times gauge its dread depth of meaning. 
It is not a mere prayer of help to tell the truth, 
but like the kindred Hebrew words, "So do 
God to me and more also !" it is an invocation 
of His vengeance and an abjuration of all His 
further favor if we palter with the truth. It 
means, "If I speak not truly and mean not 
sincerely, so do I forswear and renounce hence- 
forth all help from God. I hope not His help 
in the cares of life. I hope not His help for the 
pardon of sin. I ask not His grace, — ^nor hope 
from His smile in death, — nor help at His hand 
into His eternal and holy heavens. All the aid 
man needs to ask, all the aid which God has to 
the asking heretofore lent, I distinctly surren- 
der, if He the truth-seeing sees me now truth- 
wresting." Now the risk of trifling with such 
a thunderbolt is not small. The many noble, 
excellent, and Christian men, who may have 



IN THE BEBEL ARMY. 229 

been heedlessly involved in this Rebellion, in 
spite of past oaths to the nation, it is not our 
task to judge. But the act itself, of disregard- 
ing such sworn loyalty to their whole country, 
— the act in its general principles apart from 
all personal partakers in it, — we may and we 
must ponder. Now in this respect, if these 
views of our national oaths be just, our present 
Rebellion has not been merely treasonable, but 
its cradle-wrappings, its very swaddling-bands, 
have been manifold layers of perjury, — its 
infancy has been " clad with cursing as with a 
garment." * Can a jealous God consolidate and 
perpetuate a power commenced in perjury? 

After taking the oath, I told the officer that 
there were from seven to ten thousand Rebel 
cavalry at Chattanooga, a detachment of whom 
would surprise him some morning if he was not 
wide awake. 

Having performed this first loyal act under 
my oath, I went out in search of Selim. He 
was not to be found in Murfreesboro, and a fur- 



* Rev. W. R. Williams, D. D. 



• 



230 THIRTEEN MONTHS 

ther search would have consumed time and 
thrown me back toward the Rebel lines. Over- 
joyed at my escape from the last danger, and 
not reluctant to make this contribution to the 
cause of my country, I turned my now buoyant 
steps homeward, under the protection of the 
Stars and Stripes. I rode into Nashville the 
28th of June, with feelings widely different 
from those which crowded my breast when four 
months before I had ridden out of it in the rear 
of General Johnson's retreating army. I was 
then, though pleased with the excitement and 
dash of cavalry service, in a cause where my 
heart was not, in a retreat from my own friends, 
and becoming daily more identified in the minds 
of others with the Rebellion ; now I was free 
from its trammels, with my face toward my 
long-lost home, with a wish in my heart, which 
has grown more intense daily, to aid my coun- 
try in her perilous struggle. 

A few hours at Nashville enabled me to see 
my father's friend, who had treated me so kind- 
ly when sick, and again thank him for his good 
deeds, and then I left for home. 



IN THE BKBBL ARMY. 231 

I will not ask the reader to follow me in my 
rapid journey through Louisville and Cincin- 
nati, and thence to New York. Nor need I 
describe my joyful, tearful, welcome reception 
by father, mother, sisters, and brother, as of 
one alive from the dead. 

The story of my life in Secessiondom is ended. 
If the foregoing pages, beside depicting my per- 
sonal experience, have given any facts of value 
to my bleeding country — facts as to the diabol- 
ical barbarism of Southern society in trampling 
upon all personal rights — ^facts showing the in- 
tense and resolute earnestness of the whole 
Southern people in the Kebellion — ^facts demon- 
strating the large resources of the Rebels in 
arms and men, and the absolute military des- 
potism which has combined and concentrated 
their power — facts of the atrocious character of 
the guerrilla system organized and legalized 
among them — facts exhibiting the efficiency of 
every arm of their military service — facts show- 
ing the necessity of restrictions upon the free- 
dom of the press in times of war — facts reveal- 
ing the demoralizing influence of the doctrine 



233 THIRTEEN MONTHS, ETC. 

of State Eights in nullifving national fealty, 
and disregarding the sanctities of an oath — facts 
which, if universally known and duly regarded, 
wonld stir the North to a profounder sense of 
the desperate and deadly struggle in which 
they are engaged than they have ever yet felt 
— then my time and labor will not have been 
spent in vain. 



THE END. 



A, S, Barnes & Burros Puhlixiations, 



%vXwm\ S^tx\t%. 



A MILITARY BOOK FOR YOUTH. 




OB 



BY THE 

AUTHOR OF "SCHOOL AMUSEMENTS." 
Price 50 cents. 



BEC0MHENDATI0N8. 

The publication of a book like this naturally brings np the question, how far it 
is desirable to introdace military exercises in schools. There are many things to 
be said in favor of so doing. Simply as a form of physical exercise it has its ad* 
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Infantry Tactics should be taught in the school. Just as well as Reading, Writ* 
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the boys ; and the teacher, or one of the pupils, can, by the directions laid down 
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A. 8. Barnes d; Bun' a Publications. 






FOR TEACHERS IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS AND PRIMABY CLASSES. 

BY A. S. WELCH, 

PRINCIPAL OP MIOHIGAM 8TATB NORMAL BOBOOI. 



From Prstalozzi : — " Obaervation id ihs ahtoliUe basis qf all knotbl' 
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Principles, without appli«ation, have been harbored and sus- 
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In commending this book to the general examination of teach- 
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where a systematic presentation of the subject has been secured. 



// 



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A. S. Barnes & Burr's PtMicaiions. 



IJtntiaMi $^tx\t%. 



BY 

E. G. PARKER and J. M. WATSON. 



• 

NATzOlVAIi rRIMBR, or IVORD-BUIIiDICR 15 e. 

NATIONAJL BliKMESNTART SPBIiliESR 15 e. 

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BEGOHHEKDATIOKS. 

The new Spelling-book is a crowning excellence to the series. It is destined 
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I have examined the National Pronouncing Speller, and am free to say that It 
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M. R. Jiarnard, Prin. Union School, Ithaca^ N, T, 



U 



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A. 8. Barnes S Burr's Ptiblications. 



^itmX j^iHijf. 



BY 

E. G. PARKER and J. M. WATSON. 



NATIONAIi FIRST RBADESR, 118 pp. $0.95 

NATlONAIi SECOND RBADESR, »S4 pp 0.37 

NATIONAIi THIRD RESADESR, »88 pp O.50 

NATIONAIi FOURTH READER, 405 pp. 0.75 

NATIONAL FIFTH RESADRR, 600 pp 1.O0 

This series of Readers is unsurpassed by any ever 
issued from the American press, in the excellence of 
its selections, in the proper grading of the pieces, in 
its admirable system of elocution, in the variety and 
interest of the matter appended in the form of notes, 
and in the substantial and beautiful style of art in 
which they are published. 



L 



BSGOHHENDATIOKS. 

These Renders, In my opinion, are the best I have ever examined. I hare had 
better success witn my reading-classes since I commenced training them on these, 
than I ever met with before.— ul. P. Harrington^ Principal of Union Sehoolt 
Marathon, N. Y. 

In the simplicity and clearness with which the principles are stated. In the ap- 
propriateness or the selections for reading, and in the happy adaptation of the 
different parts of the series to each other, these works are superior to any other 
textboolcs on this subject which I ha^e examined.— Cftar2e« S. Hal»ey^ Prin. 
Collegiate Inntitute, Newton, N. J. 

From a brief examination of them, I am led to believe that we have none et|tial 
to tliem. I hope they will prove as popular as they are excellent. — Pix/. Fred, 
S. Jewell, N. Y. State Normal School. 

The National Readers and Speller I have examined, and carefhlly compared 
with others, and must pronounce them decidedly superior, in respect to literary 
tnerit, style, and price. — JV. A. Hamilton, Prea. Tearherni* Union, WhiteiccUer, Wis, 

I connider tliem emphatically the Readers of the present day, and I believa 
that their intrinsic merit will insure for them a full measure of popularity.— 
J. W. Schtrmerhom, Prin, CoU. Ituttitule, Hiddletoutti^ If, J, 



U 



1 



A. 8. Barnes db Burros Publications. 



^ntkml 3tvU&. 



By S. W. CLARK, A. M. 

Clark's First Lessons in English Qrammar $0.30 

Clark's New English Qrammar 0.60 

Key to Clark's Qrammar 0.50 

Analysis of the English Language 0.40 

Qrammatical Chart 3.00 

The true place to test any text-book is the class- 
room. Tried by this test, Clark's Grammars have 
won unqualified commendation. Pupils become in- 
terested in the study more readily and generally by 
this than by any other system. The reason is ob- 
vious. Any species of instruction that can be ad- 
dressed to the eye is more easily and quickly seized 
than when presented in any other way. The system 
of diagrams, with the use of the blackboard, makes it 
both easy and philosophic. 



BEGOHHEKDATIOK. 

Clark's Grammar is a new thing in the study of language : by his system, the 
blackboard, the great weapon of the modern educator, is made to play an im- 
portant part even in the ordinarily dry and dull study of Engliiih Grammar. 
His diagrams are at once simple and unique in conception, and universal in 
application. The most wild and uncouth sentences that Carlyle ever wrote, 
equally with the most polished and mellifluous of Byron or Tom Moore, are 
readily caught, tamed, and made to trot in double or single harness through the 
scholar's parsing vocabulary. While looking over the pages or (Uark's New 
Grammar, we could not but think of old Lindley Murray, and the aching heads 
that used in our boyish days to pore over his crabbed pages, aid wonder why 
nolXKiy thought of so obvious an improvement before. — Racitut AdvocaU, 



\. 



L 



A. 8. Barnes & Burr's Ptiblications. 



^nlimul S>ttU». 



BY 

JAMES MONTEITH and FRANCIS MoNALLY. 



Monteith's First Lessons im Gheograpliy $0.25 

Monteith's Introduction to Manual of Gheography 0.40 

Monteith's New Manual of Qeography 0.60 

McNally's Complete Sohool Gheography 1.00 



BEGOMMEKDATIOKS. 

All the geoflrrnphies in use in onr common Hchools have received fh>m me a 
careful and critical examination. The National Series was one of two series 
that received my full approbation. The opinion that I formed of ibeir great 
merit is Justified by th^ir extensive use in the public schools of this city. I have 
found, by examination of the Book of Supply of oar Board, that considerably the 
largest number of any series now ased in our public schools, is the National, by 
Monteith and McNally. — B. A. Adams, Chairman of " Committee on Course of 
Studie.n and School -books,^* and Member of '* Committee o/Suppliet" of Board of 
Education of New York. 

During an experience of ten years in teaching, I have found no series of 
Geographies so well calculated, in matter, arrangement, and system, to facilitate 
the progress of the learner as Monteith and MfiNally's.— 5o7omo/i Myert, Prof, 
of English Grammar and Qeoffraphy in the York Co. Normal School, Pa. 

This s.'ries was adopted after a careful examination of the best works in this 
branch of study, and a year's experience makes us better and better satisfied with 
our choice. — Josiah T. Read, Prin. Marshall (Mich.) Union SchooL 

We have used McNally 's Geography since its publication, deeming It the best 
class-book in the market. It not only is the equal of its rivals in positive merits^ 
but is superior to most of them as to tchcU it 0mits. It is both practical and prao^ 
tieable as a text-book.— JS«p. Joseph E. King, A. M., Principal of Fort Edward 
Institute, N. Y. 

We hare used McNally's and Monteith's Geographies for three years, and 
would not exchange them for any others in the market. — Rev. B, St. James Fry^ 
A. li.^ President of WorihingUm Fenuile OuUcge, Ohio.. 



16 



A. 8. Barnes db Burr's FubliccUions, 






By CHAELES DAVIES, LL.D. 

SInnrntars Coursr. 

DAVIKS' PRIMARY ARITHMETIC AND TABLE-BOOK fO.16 

DAVIES' FIRST LESSONS IN ARITHMETIC 0.21) 

DAVIES» INTELLECTUAL ARITHMETIC 0.25 

DAVIES' NEW SCHOOL ARITHMETIC 0.46 

KEY TO DAVIES' NEW SCHOOL ARITHMETIC 0.46 

DAVIES' NEW UNIVERSITY ARITHMETIC 0.76 

KEY TO DAVIES' NEW UNIVERSITY ARITHMETIC 0.50 

DAVIES' GRAMMAR OF ARITHMETIC 0.30 

DAVIES' NEW ELEMENTARY ALGEBRA 0.76 

KEY TO DAVIES' NEW ELEMENTARY ALGEBRA 0.60 

DAVIES' ELEMENTARY GEOMETRY AND TRIGONOMETRY 1.00 

DAVIES' PRACTICAL MATHEMATICS 1.00 

^tiianceli ffoursr. 

DAVIES' UNIVERSITY ALGEBRA 1.26 

KEY TO DAVIE.S' UNIVERSITY ALGEBRA 1.00 

DAVIES' BOURDON'S ALGEBRA 1.80 

KEY TO DAVIES' BOURDON'S ALGEBRA 1.50 

DAVIES' LEGENDRK'S GEOMETRY 1.80 

DAVIES' ELEMENTS OP SURVEYING 1.50 

DAVIES' ANALYTICAL GEOMETRY 1.25 

DAVIES* DIFFERENTIAL AND INTEGRAL CALCULUS 1.25 

DAVIES' DESCRIPTIVE GEOMETRY 2.00 

DAVIES' SHADES, SHADOWS, AND PERSPECTIVE 2.60 

DAVIES' LOGIC OF MATHEMATICS 1.26 

DAVIES' MATHEMATICAL DICTIONARY 2.80 

DAVIES' Mathematical Chart (Sheet) 0.26 



BEG0HHENDATI0K8. 

We have tented the coropleteneu of this dictionary by loolclnff for a consider- 
able number and variety of titles, under all of which we have found statements and 
discussions, succinct without being obscure, and sufficiently thorough to render the 
work a reference -book for proficients as well as for pupils in Matliematics. It it 
Just such a book as we have needed for a score of years. — North Amer. KeHew. 

Each treatise serves as an introduction to the next higher by the similarity of 
Its reasonings and methods, and the student is carried forward by easy and 
gradual steps over the whole field of mathematical inquiry, and that, too, in a 
shorter time than is usually occupied in mastering a single department. I sin- 
cerely and heartily commend them to the attention of mv fellow-teachers in 
Canada.— -JoAfi McLean Bell, B. A., Prin. Lower Cancuta O^lege. 

The undersigned has examined with care, and tanght some time since, several 
▼olumes of Davies' Mathematics, and is of the opinion that, as a whole, it is the 
most complete and best course for academic and collegiate Instruction with which 
h« is acquainted.— Horace 1F«bs(er, XL.2>., Pru. N. Y. Free Aeadem\t. 

J7 



:^ 



« ' 



A, 8. Barnes & Burr's Fublicationa. 



§nti«tt«I 3txifi». 




i]Sit0»| d th UttM J^teto. 



By EMMA WILLARD. 



School History of the XTnited States $0.75 

Ijarge History of the XTnited States 1.50 

The author's long experience as a teacher at the 
head of one of the most noted Seminaries of the 
country, gave her great advantage in preparing a 
book on our National History adapted to use in 
schools. The unqualified commendation bestowed 
upon these books by the leading statesmen of the 
age is a sufficient guarantee of their merit. 



BEGOHHEKDATIOKS. 

I can not b«tter express tny sense of the yaloe of your HU'ory of the United 
States, than by saying I Iceep it near me as a book of reference accurate in facta 
and dates. — Daniel Wt\$ter. 

Similar testimonial! have been received firom Henry Clay, John McLean, 
Elijah Willard, Senator Dickinson and many other eminent men. 

This is a noble and well-icritten book, whk'h It is both a pleasure and a profit 
to read. The sty e is lucid, and varies with the impulse of the subject Mrs. 
Willard should 1 e considered as a benefactress, not only by her own sex, of 
whom slit became in early years a prominent and permanent educator, but by 
the country at large, to whose good she has dedicated the gathered learning aad 
faithful labor of life's later periods. The truths that she has recorded, and the 
pr/aclplos that she has impressed, will win from a future race gratitude that can 
not grow old, and a garland Ibat ^vrVVV ii«n«x t«A«.— Mrs. L. H. SiQounMif. 



18 



""JoaTozoJ^^ ' 



THE BORROWER WILL BE CHARGED 
AN OVERDUE FEE IF THIS BOOK IS 
NOT RETURNED TO THE LIBRARY ON 
OR BEFORE THE LAST DATE STAMPED 
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