..>,■'' -/" . Ky V o V /^ Oo, o^ -n.^ ,0- -> x^" '^--, %.,0^ •V >• "■>. "Y F H ,0^- -s- OO^ ...^^^ ,0o '^'.p ,<\ ^^ v^^ o 0'' ^ ^ ■^^^ ';" V V>^ .\^^- n^- v^^ ^^-' -^' o 0^ ^'^^ ^^'" ' . '-5=- X'^' X v-^'' 2J?2, ^ •V '-fj, o 0' ;. A' f^. v^^ <<). .A"- :■' Ml//Z^ * THE GREAT LOCOMOTIVE CHASE A HISTORY OF THE ANDREWS RAILROAD RAID Into Georgia in 1862 By WILLIAM PITTENGER A Member of the Expedition EIGHTH EDITION THE PENN PUBLISHING COMPANY PHILADELPHIA MCMXVII THE GREAT LOCOMOTIVE CHASE. Sixth Edition, completely rewritten and greatly enlarged. The first edition was published in 1863, under the title "Daring and Suffering ; " the second in 1S«1, under the title "Capturing a Locomotive ;" the third in 1887. " One of the best and mo.st exciting books we ever read."-(7mnd Army Reecrrd " A vivid and authentic account of Andrews' railroad raid-a most daring adven lure. — The Neivs, Chicago. "Thisisanarrativeof oneof the wildest and most thrilling adventures of the ff&r."— The Evening Post, N.Y. City. « ui lue "There is no parallel in history to this undertaKing of Andrews in an enemy's country. —(Jommercial Gazette, Cincinnati, O. -iiis book is unsurpassed for its sustained interest. One :.mnot oegio it w-i'h )ut reading it through."— r/ie Hartford Courant. ,, 'I' .'' * ^^'<^'^^^ as thrilling as any exploit in the days of chivalry, and the fact that It is true does not dull its brilliancy."— CZet^etoHC? Leader -A series of adventures equaled by no war history, and the hook will have a« lasting qualities as Uncle Toms Cabin."— Philadelphia Tiinen. " The enterprise was the most daring ever conceived and was currien out with equal courage, though ill-fated as to results."— CVtiraao Tiynes. " So thrilliugly and graphically told that the reader's pulses tinde as his fancy accompanies this wild expedition."— T/ie Courier, Buffalo, N. Y. "^ "The realism of the author reminds one of Tolstoi and his military pictures in tne forms of both history and romance."— 77te Eagle, Brooklyn, N. Y. " Despite its tragic termination it shows whai a handful of brave men could under- take in America. -Comte de Paris' History of the Civil War. vol 2 p 187 " ' Daring ana Sullering ' should be read by every American boy thai ne may see Walinglon D c""^ Americans will do for love of eountry. "-The Eemcblican, " It was all the deepest laid scheme, and on the grandest scale, that ever emanated from the brains of ar.y ivumber of Yanke.. coinhined.-'-TJceSouihern Confederacy ^Atlanta, Oa.), April 15, 1862. ' "^'"''*' "The expedition, in the daring ot its conception, Had the wildness of a romance ■ while in the gigantic and overwhelming results it sought and was likely to obtain i: was absolutely sublime. "-Judge-Advocatk-Genkr^l Holt's Official Repokt " Thi.s expedition has been so nearly lorgoiten mat the public ought to be under great obligations to Mr. Pittenger for recording at length the bravery and endurance of those who participated in it. While such men exi.st the republic may never fear for Its safety."— r/te6'mi, N. Y. City. • ^'n-ai " The Siory of the Andrews Railroad Raid must always be one of the most pictur esqae, thnlhng and movino.epi.sodes of the rebellion, and though the facts were made public many years rtgo by the author of the work before us, this exhaustive revLsed and expanded narrative, will be received with the hearty welcome it deserves' • Daring and Suffering ' is indeed a remarkable book, not only for its matter bui for the manner of its recital. It deserves to take its place with the most notable hie tones of imprisonment and escape.''— Tribune, N. Y. City. Copyright, 1889, by William Pittenger; 1887, by the War Publishing Co. ; 1868, by J W Daughaday ; 1917, by Mrs. William Pittenger. MAR 20 \m judication. To THE GRAND ARMY OF THE WEST VHICH. UNDER COMMAND OF GENERAL SHERMAN, IN ONE HUNDRED DAYS OF CON- TINUOUS BATTLE, FOLLOWED US OVER THE LINE OF THE GEORGIA STATE RAILROAD FROM CHATTANOOGA TO ATLANTA, AND CONQUERED WHERE WE ONLY DARED. FRAGMENT OF HISTORY IS MOST RESPECTFULLY AND FRATERNALLY INSCRIBED BY THE WRITER AND HIS COMRADES ANDREWS RAID. PARTICIPANTS IN THE RAID Executed June 7th, i8b2: James J. Andrews. Leader. I Executed June iSih, 1862 : William Campbell, from Salineville. O. Perry G. Shadrack. Co. K ad a George D. Wilson. Co. B, 2d O. Samuel Slavens, Co. E. ajd'o " Marion A. Ross. Co. A, =d O. Samuel Robertson, Co G. 33d O. John M. Scott, Co. F, 21st O. Escaped October ibth, iSbz : Wilson W. Brown (Engineer), Co. F. 21st O. Mark Wood. Co. C 21st O William J. Knight (Engineer), Co. E, 21st O. John A. Wilson, Co. C, 2ist O John Reed Porter, Co. G, 21st O. John Wollam, Co. C. 33d O. , Martin J. Hawkins. Co. A, 33d O. Daniel A. Dorsey. Co. H, 33d O. » Exchanged March i8th, i8bj : Jacob Parrott. Co. K. 33d O. William H. Reddick. Co. B. 33d Q Robert Bupfum. Co H. 2xst O. El.hu H. Mason. Co. K, 21st o! « William Bensinger. Co. G, 2.st O. William Pittenger. Co. G. ad O. THE SURVIVORS OF THE RAID, AND THEIR POST OFFICE ADDRESSES JUNE, 1904: William J. Knight, Stryker, Williams Co., Ohio. Wilson W, Brown, Monclova, Lucas Co., Ohio. William Bensinger, McComb, Hancock Co., Ohio. Jacob Parrott, Kenton, Hardin Co., Ohio. John Reed Porter, Portland, Indiana. Daniel A. Dorsey, Enid, Garfield Co., Oklahoma. THE DECEASED SINCE 1862: Lieut. Mark Wood, died in Toledo, O., July nth, 1866. Lieut. Robert Buffum, died in Auburn, N. Y., Insane Asylum, July 20th, 1871. Lieut. Martin J. Hawkins, died in Quincy, 111., February 7th, 1886. John Wollam, died in Topeka, Kansas, September 25th, 1890. Buried at Jack- son, Ohio. Capt. Elihu H. Mason, died in Pemberville, Ohio, September 24tb, 1S96. William H. Reddick, died in Letts, Louisa Co., Iowa, November 8th, 1903. John Alfred Wilson, died in Perrysburg, Wood Co., Ohio, March 28th, 1904. William Pittenger, died in Fallbrook, San Diego Co., California, April 24th, 1904. T PREFACE. HIS book, which is partly historical and partly personal, is writ- ten from the standpoint of frank egotism. It is far more easy to tell what the writer thought, felt and did, in the f^rst person, than to resort to tedious circumlocution. As a large part of the interest of such a narrative must consist in describing the sensations experi- enced in passing through such appalling dangers and tremendous vicissitudes of fortune, it is clear that in a work of plain fact the writer cannot avoid making himself more prominent than his com- rades. His own emotions and the incidents in which he partici- pated will be indelibly engraven in his memory, while impressions received at second hand grow dim with the passage of years. It also happened that, in most cases where selection was practicable, the writer was made the spokesman of the whole party, and was thus brought into more frequent contact with both friend and foe. Many instances of this will be noticed all through the story. Great care has been taken in the citation of authorities. The writer has not hesitated to claim for his own notes and memories the full weight to which they are entitled, and has carefully indi- Gated the sources from which he has drawn all other facts. In no portion of war history of equal magnitude is there more abundant material preserved both on the Federal and the Confederate sides. This is indicated by the accompanying list of authorities ; and authority for separate incidents is adduced either in notes or at the 6 Preface. beginning of chapters. With great care in sifting testimony and constant references to original documents, the writer hopes | not only to give the exact and literal truth, but to carry the con- viction of the judicious reader with him on every page. Whenever conjectures or statements of probabilities are haz- arded to bridge any chasm in the narrative, they will be offered for what they are, and always clearly separated from known \ facts. This Sixth Edition contains considerable new matter, such ' as the account of the Ohio monument and the history of the Andrews Raiders to date. New illustrations also have been added. The greatest improvement, however, has been made by fusing into the continuous story all the additional material which had accumulated during the past thirty-one years, thus doing away with the cumbrous supplement of former editions. It is believed that no portion of the civil war has been more fully and faithfully recorded. Abundant references verify every material statement. The writer hopes that this complete and permanent edition will aid in maintaining for '' The Loco- motive Chase " its enviable place in the front rank of all war stories. WM. PITTENGER, Colton, Cal., Jan. ist, 1893. CONTENTS. CHAPTSR I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. XII. XIII. XIV. XV. XVI. XVII. XVIII. XIX. XX. XXI. XXII. XXIII. XXIV. XXV. XXVI. XXVII. XXVIII. XXIX. XXX. XXXI. XXXII. XXXIII. XXXIV. XXXV. XXXVI. XXXVII XXXVIII XXXIX. XL, XLI. XLII. XLIII. XLIV. XLV. A Secret Military Raid in the West General Mitchel and J. J. Andrews Arrange a Second Raid Selection of Engineers and Soldiers . Departure at Night .... Previous History of James J. Andrews. First Lessons in Disguise and Duplicity The Heart of the Confederacy Reached The Bloodless Victories of Mitchel Capture of the Train . Pursued ! . An AppaUing Struggle The Final Race What was Actually Accomplished Hunted in the Woods A Sad Sabbath Morning The Roll of the Captives First Prison Experiences The Old Negro Jail at Chattanooga Gleams of Hope Gen. Mitchel Saves the Raiders A Struggle Against Destiny Knoxville . A Day of Blood. After the Tragedy A Daring Escape In Cave and Mountain The Loyal Mountaineers Down the Tennessee . Floating to the Gulf . The Recaptured Prisoners Richmond and its Prisons Last E.xperiences in Rebel Prisons Homeward Bound Reporting to Secretary Stanton and President Lincoln Subsequent History of the Railroad Adventurers The South Revisited a Quarter of a Century After A Detailed Account of the First or Buell Railroad Raid Autobiography Editorial Account from the Southern Confederacy Message of Gov. Jos. E. Brown to the Legislature of Georgia in 1862 • • Official Report by Judge-Advocate-General Holt Criticisms of Generals Buell and Fry The Reburial of Andrews Proposed Monument Dedication of Ohio Monument in 1891 A PARTIAL LIST OF AUTHORITIES REFERRED TO IN "THE GREAT LOCOMOTIVE CHASE." 1. THE OFFICIAL WAR RECORDS.— These are now in course of publication by the Government at Washington. They comprise four series, each containing a number of large volumes. In several of these there are notices of the Railroad Raid, but the principal account is found in Series I., Vol. X., Part i, extending from page 630 to 639. 2. REPORT OF WOOD AND WILSON IN 1862.— This was made to the Sec- retary of War, on Nov, 12th, 1862, when the two arrived, as escaping prisoners, at Key West, Fla. A fuller account by the same persons was published in the Key West, Fla. , New Era, three days later. 3. SWORN TESTIMONY OF SURVIVORS.— The testimony of five of the sur- vivors, Buffum, Bensinger, Parrott, Reddick and Pittenger was taken under oath at Wash- ington, and phonographically reported, by order of Secretary Stanton. It is still pre- served in the Archives at Washington. 4. THE FIRST EDITION OF "DARING AND SUFFERING."— This was begun a short time after the return home of the writer, and was founded mainly on personal recollections, aided by a few shorthand notes. Several survivors also contributed personal sketches and incidents to the book. It was published in Philadelphia, by J. W. Daughaday, in October, 1863. In this book the narrative assumed its usual form. 5. UNPUBLISHED LETTERS AND PAPERS OF GEN. O. M. MIT- CHEL. — These, as well as an unpublished biography by himself, were generously placed at my disposal by his son, F. A. Mitchel, Esq. (A biography of Gen. Mitchel, *' As- tronomer and General," embracing most of these papers, by his son, is now [1887] pass- ing through the press of Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Boston.) 6. THE ADVENTURES OF ALF. WILSON, ONE OF THE MITCHEL RAIDERS, by J. A. Wilson. — Published in Toledo, Ohio. This is especially valuable as giving the marvelous adventures of the writer in escaping from prisons. 7. CAPTURING A LOCOMOTIVE, by Wm. Pittenger.— Published by J. B. Lippincott, 1881. 8. CONDUCTOR WILLIAM A. FULLER.— Accounts published by this gen- tleman, in The Stinny South and other papers, and still more important personal com- munications made to the writer, for which due credit is given in the appropriate places. 9. WAR* FILES OF SOUTHERN NEWSPAPERS, especially of the Atlanta, Ga., Southern Confederacy. 10. "AN EPISODE OF THE WAR."— This is an account of some of the most important events of this history to which he was an eye-witness, by Rev. W. J. Scott, and is published in a volume of essays, with a strong pro-slavery bias, entitled, " From Lincoln to Cleveland," Atlanta, Ga., 1886. 11. THE FOLLOWING MEMBERS OF THE ORIGINAL EXPEDITION have each furnished me with important manuscripts as well as verbal communications : D. A. Dorsey, Kearney, Nebraska; J. R. Porter, McComb, Wood Co., Ohio; William Bensinger, McComb, Wood Co., Ohio ; William Knight, Stryker, Williams Co., Ohio ; Jacob Parrott, Kenton, Hardin Co., Ohio; W. W. Brown, Dowling, Wood Co., Ohio; William Reddick, Newport, Louisa Co., Iowa. 12. FRANK H.A.WKINS, Treasury Department, Columbus, Ohio, and Captain Jas. F. Sarratt, of Steubenville, have furnished many written details of the first expedition. 13. MR. ANTHONY MURPHY, Foreman of Repair Shops of the Western and Atlantic Railroad. A very valuable written communication, descriptive of the chase on the railroad was prepared for me by this gentleman. 14. THE ANDREWS RAIDERS, by Frank M. Gregg.— Chattanooga, 1891. A local pamphlet furnishing many narratives of old citizens about Chat- taaiooga. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE 1. The Capture of the Train in an Enemy's Camp. . . Frontispiece 2. Map of Southern R.R. System Threatened by the Andrews Raid . . 12 3. Portrait of James J. Andrews ......... 17 4. Photograph of Gen. O. M. Mitchel 30 5. Photograph of Wilson W. Brown, Engineer. ...... 36 6. Photograph of William Knight, Engineer ....... 3^ 7. Photograph of Capt. James F. Sarratt ........ 38 8. Photograph of Marion Ross 41 g. Photograph of William Pittenger. ........ 45 10. Andrews Seen by the Lightning Flash ....... 51 11. Photograph of Flemingsburg, Ky. ........ 53 12. Photograph of J. J. Andrews ......... 55 Photograph of Miss Elizabeth J. Layton 5^ Photograph of Geo. D. W'ilson ......... 67 Photograph of William Campbell. ........ 67 Photograph of William Reddick 79 Preparing to Cross the Tennessee River ....... 82 Map of the Campaign of Gen. Mitchel. ....... 88 Gen. Mitchel's Armed Train 94 Map of the Western and Atlantic or Georgia State Railroad. ... 99 Bed-room Consultation at Marietta ........ lOO Photograph of Capt. W. A. Fuller (Confederate Conductor) . . . 102 Seizing the Train. ........... I04 Photograph of John Scott 106 Tearing up Track ........... lOQ Photograph of Anthony Murphy, Supt. W. & A. Machine Shops. . . 116 Oostenaula Bridge ........••• ^35 In Sight ! Ties Thrown from Car 138 At the Wood-station 139 Kindling a Fire in the Bo.\-car . 146 Leaving the Locomotive . . . . . . • • • • ^51 Photograph of the Locomotive " The General " ....« = 160 Climbing the Chattanooga Precipice . . . . ... • • 164 News from Ringgold !......• . . 180 Photograph of Samuel Slavens ......... 181 Slavens, Campbell and Shadrack in Chains . . . . . <■ . 182 Photograph of Jacob Parrott .183 Bloodhounds Seen on the Trail « . 185 List of Illustrations. 39. Wood and Wilson on the Tennessee . 40. The Iron Cage at Lafayette, Ga. 41. Chained in a Carriage, 42. Confronted with Gen. Leadbetter 43. The Swims Jail at Chattanooga . 44. Manner of Sleeping in the Swims Jail . 45. The Chained Men Descending into the Dungeon 46. The Raiders Seated in the Cars . 47. ' ' Meet me on the other side of Jordan " 48. Escape of Andrews and Wollam . 49. Riveting Chains in the Dungeon. 50. Photograph of Judge O. P. Temple . 51. Photograph of Judge Baxter 52. The Old Cour^-house at Knoxville, Tenn. . 53. The Court Martial 54. Photograph of Captain David Fry 55. Photograph of Rev. W. J. Scott. 56. Speech of Wilson on the Scaffold 57. Photo-I-ithograph of Letter to Jefferson Davis 58. Photo-Lithographs of Endorsements by Gen. Bragg, Jefferson Davis Others .... 5Q. Photograph of Geo. W. Walton . 60. Photograph of Robert Buffum 61. Photograph of William Bensinger 62. Seizing the Guard at Atlanta 63. The Race in the Woods 64. Photograph of Elihu H. Mason . 65. Victory over Bloodhounds ! 66. Brown and Knight Capture a Pig 67. The Fugitives entering a Cave . 68. Photograph of T). A. Dorsey 69. Photograph of Martin J. Hawkins 70. Photograph of John R. Porter . 71. Photograph of Mark Wood 72. At Sight of the Old Flag ! . 73. Photograph of Libby Prisons 74. Taking a Dead Man's Name 75. Eating in the Engine-room . 76. Fac-simile of Congress Medals of Honor 77. Interview with President Lincoln : " A little luck with the battles, 78. Photograph of W. W. Brown 79. Jacob Parrott and D. A. Dorsay overlooking Chattanooga 80. Photograph of William H. Roddick .... 81. Photographs of Seven Survivors of the Andrews Raid 82. Photographs of Members of the First Expedition 83. Captured Locomotive at Columbus G. A. R. Encampment 84. Ohio Monument ...•..,., and 308, DARING AND SUFFERING. I CHAPTER I. A SECRET MILITARY RAID IN THE WEST. ij 1" T is painful for me to recall the adventures of the year beginning April 7th, 1862. As I compose my mind to the task there rises before me the memory of days of suffering and nights of sleepless apprehension, — days and nights that in their black monotony seemed well nigh eternal. And time has not yet dulled the sorrow of that terrible day, when comrades made dear as brothers by common danger and suffering were suddenly dragged to a fearful death that I expected soon to share. A man who has walked for months in the shadow of the scaffold and escaped at last almost by miracle will never find the experience a pleasant one to dwell upon, even in thought. Yet it cannot be forgotten, and the easiest way to answer the inquiries of friends, and to satisfy the curiosity of the public, is to put the whole matter candidly, faithfully, and minutelv on record. In the spring of 1862 a small secret expedition was sent from the Union lines into the very heart of the Confederate States, In its progress it aroused great excitement, first in the South and afterwards in the North, occasioned the most intense suffering to the soldiers engaged in it, and afterwards gave rise to many eager controversies. Several publications of a more or less ephemeral character have been devoted to it, and no story of the war seems to have fixed itself so firmly in the popular imagination. The piosent work is the full and complete edition of a small volume by the same writer, with the same title, which was hurriedly written before the freshness of personal impressions had faded, and while the horror and agony came back almost nightly in dreams. The writer is confident that this story, faithfully told, will give a more vivid picture of the spirit, feel- ings, and awful earnestness of the civil war than any more general war history. To do justice to brave men who pe-rished in a manner ignomini- ous in form but not in reality, to place romantic and almost incredible events, for which there will soon be no living witnesses, upon a basis of J 4 Daring and Suffering. unquestionable certainty, and to help a new generation to realize the cost of upholding the Union, is the writer's aim. The manner in which this volume was produced leaves little room for that unconscious exaggeration to which even candid narrators are liable. The writer made phonographic notes of the principal events very near the time of their occurrence, — mostly on the margins of a smaU vol- ume of "Paradise Lost." There were enough days of dreary leisure for this or any other kind of work ! On leaving the enemy's territory, he and his comrades were, by order of the Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, brought to Washington, examined under oath, and their answers written down in shorthand, and ofificially published, together with a lengthened and eloquent report by Judge-Advocate-General Holt. Immediately after- wards the small volume, '''Daring and Suffering," was written at the solici- tation of friends — a crude and hasty sketch prepared before the author had recovered from the sickness that followed his unexampled privations — but preserving the facts in their freshness, and attested in its recital of incidents by all the survivors of the expedition. Now that twenty-five years have passed, and the passions of war and the bitterness of partisanship have de- clined, — now that the dispatches and letters of Generals and the captured Confederate archives are accessible, and that the author has been enabled to go carefully over the whole ground and explore every source of informa- tion, from friend or former enemy, it seems possible to supply all the de- ficiencies of the earlier edition without diminishing its intense personal in- terest, and thus to furnish a complete and well-rounded history of the most dramatic adventure of the Great Civil War. There were two distinct railroad raids into Georgia, which have some- times been confounded. The first was authorized by Major General Buell in March, 1862, and sent out from Murfreesboro',Tenn. The second start- ing from Shelbyville, Tenn., in April of the same year under the direction of Gen. O. M. Mitchel, was larger and more important, and had quite a different purpose. Nearly everything which has been published on the subject refers to the second expedition. I will, however, write the history of the first also, that the relation between them may be clearly seen, and all future mis- understanding be prevented. The Union cause looked bright in the spring of 1862. It was nearly three years before the Confederates saw again so dark a day. Our eastern army under Gen. McClellan, numbering more than 100,000, was about ready to advance on Richmond. Gen. Grant, after capturing Forts Henry and Donelson, had sent the bulk of his forces to Pittsburg Landing, and was hurrying forward eyery available man. Buell had occupied Nashville after the enemy — because of the capture of Fort Donelson — had retreated, and was now urged by Halleck to send a large part of his force by water A Secret Military Raid in int West 15 to reinforce Gran;,. This he declined to do, fearing that the enemy mignf- return to Tennessee and capture Nashville; but he at length divided his force, sending the larger portion by deliberate marches southwest toward Pittsburg Landing, and a single division of about 10,000 under Gen. O. M. Mitchel, supported by 7,000 more in garrison at Nashville and sur- rounding towns, in a southeast direction. To oppose these powerful forces the enemy had an army in Virginia not more than one half as large as McClellan's, and in the west, at Corinth, the commands of Beauregard and Johnston, which were not yet concentrated, and were much inferior to those of Grant and Buell. Gen. Mitchel had no organized enemy in his front, but was marching into a country of vast importance to the Confed- erates, which they were certain to strenuously defend. A few compara- tively small Union and Confederate armies opposed each other west of the Mississippi, and at various points along the sea-coast and the borders, with the preponderance usually on the Union side; but these may, for present purposes, be left out of account. The main rebel armies, those of Virginia and Mississippi, were united by a chain of railroads running from Memphis, Huntsville, Chattanooga, Knoxville and Lynchburg to Richmond; and this constituted their new and strong line of defense. They had indeed no other railroad communication except a very circuit- ous and precarious one along the sea coast. At Chattanooga this direct line was intersected almost at right angles by another extending from Nashville to Atlanta, and from there to all parts of the south. It was the object of the Union generals, while preserving all they had gained, to break this line, and thus isolate the rebel armies and render easy their defeat in detail. The first assault was to be made at Corinth, to which the Tennessee River formed an easy channel of approach. It was defended by a large army, for if captured, Memphis and all the upper Mississippi would also fall into Union hands. Unfortunately, this portion of the West was at that time in two different departments under the com- mand of Generals Halleck and Buell,— both able strategists but slow and timid. For fear of exposing Nashville to attack, the latter declined to reinforce Gen. Grant, who was acting under the orders of Halleck, by steamboat transport over the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers; but instead marched toward his position through Franklin and Columbia. With the magnified estimate Buell had formed of the enemy's strength in Tennessee, this appeared to be the more prudent course; and had the ad- vance been more vigorous and rapid, the imminent danger of disaster at Shiloh would have been removed. But even with this disposition, Buell feared that an army of the enemy might concentrate by rail somewhere in the direction of Chattanooga or Knoxville, and fall upon his rear. He believed ' that a large force was gathering at Atlanta and also in Eastern ' Buell to Halleck, Mar. 23, 1862. War Records. Ser. I, Vol. X., Part 2, Page 60. 1 6 Daring and Suffering. Tennessee, from which Nashville might be in great danger. These appre- hensions, which delayed and weakened his movement towards Pittsburg Landing and endangered Grant, had at least one good effect. Gen. Mitchel was detached from the main army and ordered to Murfreesboro, with a primary view of guarding against any Confederate advance from the South or East; but he was able afterwards, by using his discretionary power to the utmost, to make the brilliant march upon Huntsville and to accomplish more against the enemy than any Union general with similar forces had been able to do up to this period of the contest. While at Nashville, Mr. J. J. Andrews, a spy in the service of Buell, proposed to that General a daring plan, which, if successful, would for the time effectually relieve his fears and render a very important service to the Union arms. He offered to take a very small party of fearless men, dis- guise them as Southern citizens, conduct them to Atlanta, where he would meet a friend of his who ran a locomotive on the Georgia State Railroad from Chattanooga; then to ride with his party as passengers to a favor- able point; there to capture the locomotive and to cut the telegraph wirec behind him; then to run through Chattanooga and from this point west- ward, burning the bridges behind him, especially the great one over the Tennessee River at Bridgeport. Whether bridges were to be burned South of Chattanooga or not is a point that cannot now be determined; if not, it seems singular that Andrews should have conducted his men so far south as Atlanta; neither is the limit of his proposed operations westward accurately known. That the complete success of such a scheme would have greatly injured the enemy can be seen at a single glance. It would have hindered the concentration of troops and supplies at Corinth a week or ten days before the battle of Shiloh, which probably would not have been fought. It would have relieved Buell from his fears as to a flank or rear attack, or a march upon Nashville, and probably have induced him to reinforce Grant promptly and vigorously. It would have cut the main communication for some days or weeks between the eastern and western armies of the Confederate states at a most critical period. It did not promise the greater positive results of the second expedition, mainly because Gen. Buell was not looking toward rapid and aggressive action in Southern Tennessee. But no candid mind can question the great impor- tance of the results promised, or the daring character of the man who could plan such work 300 miles away in the heart of the enemy's country. We may safely assume that the scheme originated with the intrepid spy and not with his cautious chief.' The former probably saw that the com- manding General was anxious for the destruction of the enemy's com- munications, and suggested the means for accomplishing that end. This ' Gen. Buell confirms this view in a private letter to the writer January 7, 1887. A Secret Military Raid in the West. 17 plan Buell accepted the more readily because it involved so little risk; that is, as Generals count risk, — only the life of a spy and eight' men; and General Mitchel, whose division was nearest the scene of the proposed enterprise, was instructed to furnish volunteers for the purpose. Jaimes J. Anderws. Engraved from an old Ambrotype. From this point the expedition comes within the direct knowledge of the writer. As will be explained further on, I had seen Mr. Andrews previous - ' Gen. Buell says but six were authorized. In this he is probably mistaken, as eight were engaged. 1 8 Daring and Suffering. ly, but did not know his real character. And there were also reasons why the 2nd Ohio Infantry of Sill's brigade, Milchel's Division, should furnish all the men required, and Co. G. of that regiment, to which I belonged, one half the number. These and many other things will be made clear in the narrative of the second expedition to which this sketch is but introductory. The securing of volunteers was managed with the utmost secrecy. In addition to Generals Mitchel and Sill, a few of the officers of the 2nd Ohio were informed, in outline, of what was wanted, and they induced men to meet Mr. Andrews; these, after consulting with him, entered upon their strange and hazardous duties without opportunity to give the slight- est hint to their comrades. To the common soldiers of the regiment who were not selected, the whole affair was wrapped in mystery. Eight of our best men suddenly disappeared, and we knew not what had become of them. Numberless were the conjectures that floated through the camp and were discussed around the camp-fires. Some asserted that they had been sent northward to arrest deserters; others that they were deserters themselves ! But there were few deserters to arrest at this stage of the contest; and the latter idea was contradicted by the character of the men, who were among the boldest and most faithful in the whole regiment, and had been seen in close and seemingly confidential communication with officers just before their disappearance. The most frequent assertion — a pure conjecture, however, suggested by the fact that they were absent without any leave-taking, and that no inquiries were officially made about them, — was that they had turned spies. But this notion I did not seri- ously entertain, for sending such a number of spies from the private soldiers in the ranks of one company seemed absurd. At the most I sup- posed that they had gone on some scouting expedition or some attempt to surprise an enemy's post, such as we had been familiar with in Eastern Kentucky the year before. But I was not long left to my own conjectures. Indeed I had two reasons for urgent inquiries, one solely personal and not of a very exalted character, the other less selfish. My position in Co. G., James F. Sarratt, captain, was then that of first corporal, and I was looking anxiously for promotion to the next grade of non-commissioned officers, that of sergeant. To a civilian these petty grades seem utterly unimportant and almost undistinguishable, but they are not so to a soldier. On many a lonely guard line and dark night on picket, they make all the difference between commanding and being com- manded; and authority is sweet anywhere. A sergeant had died at Nash- ville, and his place would naturally become mine unless some one below me was considered more meritorious, in which case the captain had the authority to carry him, whether a lower corporal or only a private, over my head into the vacant sergeantcy. This would have been bitterly A Secret Military Raid in the West. 19 distasteful, not so much because of the increased wages and privileges of a sergeant, as because of the humiliation of being considered less worthy of promotion than a comrade, inferior in rank. One of the missing men happened to be second corporal, a splendid soldier in every respect, com- petent to fill any position in the company, and a great friend to the cap- tain. I had heard that he might be preferred to me, if for no other reason, because I was near-sighted. Now, some of the members of my army mess said: "Pittenger, when those men come back with feathers in their caps, the captain will be sure to make Surles sergeant." At the first opportunity I called Capt. Sarratt aside and told him what I had heard, and my own fears. He assured me, somewhat impatiently, that my rights should be cared for, and added, "Pittenger, this is a very little matter of yours. I only wish the men were back in the camp again." "But where are they ? '' I asked, "and when will they be back? I would like to know something about it, especially for Mills's sake." "I am not permitted to tell anything," he responded; "I don't know ivhen they will be back myself, but I know that till they do come I can't sleep much.'' The look of weariness on his face smote to my heart, and in view of such anxiety my errand looked utterly contemptible. But my own un- easiness in another direction was greatly increased, and when I left him, with sincere apologies, it was with the resolve to find out where these men were. Captain David Mitchel of Co. K., 2nd Ohio, was an intimate friend of mine, and a distant relative of our commander. His company had sup- plied one of the missing adventurers, — my cousin, B. F. Mills, who had been my messmate during the three months service terminating with the battle of Bull Run. It was especially for his sake that I felt such solici- tude for the absent men, and this, even more than my own interest, had moved me to speak to Captain Sarratt. I resolved to make an attempt on Mitchel, with stronger hopes of success. The opportunity soon pre- sented itself. I was War Correspondent of the Steubenville Herald as well as soldier — the letters being intended principally to inform a wide circle at home of the welfare of sons and brothers. It was time to write again or there would be anxiety by many a fireside among the Ohio hills. Taking pencil and notebook I strayed through the level streets of the white-tented city that had suddenly sprung up in the level fields border- ing the clear and beautiful little Stone River. A congenial spot was found on the sloping bank of the stream and I sat down to write. It was in the afternoon of a beautiful day, and the bustle of the camp was all around, but not near. The warm sunshine and the rest were doubly grateful after the rain- 20 Daring and Suffering. storms and hard marches, knapsack laden, of the two preceding days. Occasionally I would look around to note the occupations of the soldiers, either in the camp, or strolling along the river. But I was especially attracted by the view presented a short distance down the stream, where stood the ruined fragments of a railroad-bridge that had been burned by the enemy a few days before. Now a large working force w-as engaged in putting the bridge in repair with all possible celerity, and our General was stimulating them by w^ord and example. Large timbers were being hewed, framed, and slowly raised to their places. There was precision and speed such as I had never noticed before in similar work. The general himself seemed nervously eager, encouraging the willing workers, and heartily re- buking those who seemed inclined to shirk. Once I saw him precipitated with a splash into the shallow water, and to those who, like myself, were watching from the shoreward side, it seemed to be done purposely by a soldier whom Mitchel had hurried with a rotten piece of wood; but no sign of anger was manifested, and the General urged on the building as before. To a soldier who is "off duty" for a day, nothing is more enjoy- able than to see others work; and the whole afternoon realized to me the ideal life of the soldier. A comrade strolled along and I read to him my letter. It was very boyish, intensely partisan, its attempts at wit not very striking, and its estim.ate of Fremont as a leader, and of the Union people m the South, not such as would have been made later; but as it may serve to show something of the feeling of the soldiers at that stage of the contest, a portion of it is here inserted; besides, it has a pathetic inter- est, for when it was printed and read by home-friends, the trivial hard- ships mentioned in it were forgotten, and the writer was in a situation desperate as imagination can paint; while those who read believed him to have perished on the scaffold ! LETTER TO THE STEUBENVILLE HERALD. MURFREESBORO, Tenn., March 21, 1S62. " Friend Allison : — Again we have made a move, and an important one. The divisions of Nelson and McCook started before us, and no one lecause of defective vision — but always felt comparatively easy when I had a trusted comrade whose eyes I could use for distant objects. I was willing to risk the journey South- ward with a small squad, for I could see how persons moving in that direction would find it easy to allay suspicion, but was much more solicit- ous about the return journey, and asked Andrews whether after we had captured the train and used it in burning the bridges, we were to abandon it and try to steal north as we were now stealing toward the south. He answered me very explicitly, and in so doing revealed still more of the general plan. " No," he said; "General Mitchel starts south in the morning for a forced march with all his energy, and he will surprise and capture Hunts- ville on Friday, the very day we are to capture the train; so that when we get back to that point we will find him ready to receive us. If we cannot quite reach him, we will leave the train close to our lines and dash through in a body." This was glorious. The thought of such a coming into camp after piercing the heart of the Confederacy, set every ner^^e on fire ! But there was another possibility and I wanted to see that also provided for. So I asked again, whether, if we failed to run the captured train through Chattanooga and had to leave it south of that point we would still cling together. He answered emphatically; "When we once meet at Marietta, we will stay together and either come through in a body or die together." This satisfied me perfectly, and there was little but desultory conversa- tion afterwards. Andrews called on the men to form their squads accord- ing to their own preferences and then commenced distributing Confederate money among them, giving sufficient to one man of each group for all — though without intending to constitute the man so favored the leader of his comrades. This formation of these little travelling companies was a somewhat delicate matter, and in the hurry, was not always arranged to perfect sat- isfaction. I wished the company of Ross, but he asked permission to go along with Andrews as far as he could accompany any of the party, and one or two others making the same request, they were thrown together, and I had to find other companions. I was exceedingly fortunate, as two men of Captain Mitchel's, and one from Company B, the next in regi' Depart7ire at Night. 51 mental line, fell to my portion. We constituted the left wing of the 2nd Ohio ! The work of division was now completed; the hour for parting had arrived; and we once more listened to the words of our com- mander. " Boys," he began, " we are entering on a very hazardous expedition, but it will be glorious in its results, and will give the enemy the most deadly blow he has yet received. What a grand thing it will be to run through the South leaving the bridges burning and the foe in helpless rage behind ! If we burn those bridges, Mitchel will capture Chattanooga the very next day, and all East Tennessee will be open before him. But we must be prompt, for if he gets to Huntsville before us, the road will be so crowded with reinforcements moving against him that our task will be much harder. But if we have the bridges down first they can send no force against him, and he will have everything his own way. The last train leaves Chattanooga for Marietta at five in the afternoon. Be sure to catch it not later than Thursday, and I will either be on it, or an earlier one — good bye ! " About this time the rain began to fall — gently at first — but it soon came down in torrents. One group after another filed off with military precision from the place of meeting, and Andrews shook hands heartily with the members of each as they passed. A considerable interval of time was permitted to elapse between the starting of each squad and the succeeding one, for the separation was to be made from this point, and we did not wish to meet again till Marietta, Ga., was reached, or at least, till on board the last train of cars leading to that point. As we picked our uncertain way along the railroad, stumbling over the ties which were visible only by the lightning flashes, I looked back and saw Andrews, with none but the three members of the last group near him. He was looking after us, his head bent slightly forward in the pensive attitude habitual with him, and a broad stream of lightning made him at that moment stand out as clearly as the mid-day; the next moment he disappeared in utter darkness, and the crash of thunder overhead drowned every other sound. We hurried on our way and were soon far from the place of meeting. 52 Daring and Suffering. Seen by the Lightning Flash. CHAPTER V. PREVIOUS HISTORY OF JAMES J. ANDREWS. THERE are few more romantic figures among those who rose into prominence during the great civil war than James J. Andrews. The manner in which he inspired confidence among the officers of the Northern and Southern armies ahke, and bound to him all the private soldiers with whom he came in contact, is very remarkable. The charac- ter of our parting from him at the beginning of the furious thunderstorm Flemingsburg, Ky. From a photograph. on the evening of April 7, 1862, which was a fitting emblem of the enter- prise on which we had entered, shows how strong was the impression he had already made upon us. After that interview I felt no doubt as to the issue of the enterprise. -The quiet confidence and matter-of-fact tone of Andrews assured me of success. Similar feelings were expressed by other members of the party. Who was he, and how had he come to occupy his unique position — neither a soldier nor an officer, yet counseling officers and commanding 54 Daring and Suffering. soldiers ? None of our party could have answered this question then, but It IS well to give the reader all the information since acquired by diligent search at Flemingsburg and elsewhere. Flemingsburg is a small rural county seat, situated on the slope of a steep hill, on the border of the "blue grass " region of Kentucky. The population, only 1200, has scarcely changed since the beginning of the war. The branch of a small railroad now leads to it, but then it was almost completely isolated, being seventeen miles distant by turnpike from Maysville on the Ohio River, its nearest point of communication with the outside world. One day in the spring of 1S59, a traveller came either by stage or on foot into this secluded \nllage. He joined a group of idlers near the brick hotel opposite the court-house, and listened for a time in silence to the desultory conversation. At length he made some inquiries, and in response to questions addressed to himself, said that he had just come up from Maysville. and had thought of seeking a position as school-teacher. Noticing the name ''Andrews" on a sign across the street, he asked if there were man)- of those people in town. Being answered in the affirma- tive, and assured that ihey were among the leading citizens of the place, he said, " That is mj own name, and I think I will go no further, but make my home here for awhile. " He further stated that he was a native of Hancock Co., West Virginia, and that he had come down to Maysville on a raft. Though he had little money or apparent means, he was cordially received, and made to feel at home. No opportunity presenting fcr em- ployment as teacher, he began work as house and ornamental painter, and was ver}- skillful. He had a beautiful voice as a singer, and taught several "singing schools" in the, evenings, becoming a general favorite with young and old. There was always an air of resen-e and raysten,- about him. He seemed, as one of the citizens told me, " like a man who had a storj'." His wide information and refinement of manner, his manly beauty and easy grace in any company, gave him a marked ascendancy over his com- panions, even while he tried to be one of them. Nothing definite or posi- tive was known of his former life; and while no one cared to ask him directly on the subject, a stor}' was generally circulated as having originated with himself, to the effect that his father had entrusted him with $5,000, which he invested in a flouring mill with wool-carding attachment, in Ohio, but that the mill had burned without any insurance, and that when he returned to his father's, a sister reproached him so bitterly with this loss that he left home, resolving that his family should not hear from him until he had more than made this amount good. A modification of the same story of a still more romantic type was afterward told by him to some members of our party. I give it as repeated by Jacob Parrot from memory, and. after the lapse of so many years, it is possibly not accurate Previous History oj jumes J. Andrews. :n all details. It was said that shortly before the burning of the mill, Mr. Andrews had been on very friendly terms with two young ladies, and ulti- mately became engaged to one of them. When all his property was lost :n the flames, this lady wrote him a very chilling letter, asking, in view of changed circumstances, a release from the engagement. He at once rook this letter to the other lady, and finding the warmth of her sympathy a grateful contrast, he offered himself and was accepted. But his trials were not yet over. Within a month of the period fixed i'tt marriage, the second lady — he never gave the names of either — suddenly died. The three-fold disappointment — loss of money, the unfaithfulness of nis first love, and the death of the second — so wrought upon him that he left his home and resolved to make for himself a new life amid new scenes. His parents had pre- viously removed from West Vir- ginia to Southwestern Missouri. I have never been able to find the location of this mill or to veri- fy the story in either form. But the absence of all references to his former life in his last letter and bequests,' the heartiness with which he accepted the secluded Flemingsburg as his new home, Jamss j. .V!>:Er-*i. Fr— together with a kind of pensive- ness and melancholy which were manifest when not all p>oint to some decisive break in his history. Most of the people of Flemingsburg were convinced that Mr. Andrews was van.- anxious to make money. Yet this conviction seemed to have no other basis than his own words. He was not at all penurious, was strictly honest, and seemed to have done no more than maintain himself respectably. Some months later, an incident occurred which made Mr. Andrews feel still more at home in Fleming County. An old gentleman, named Lindsey, who lived some seven or eight miles from Flemingsburg, on tne Maysville Turnpike, partially rebuilt his house and employed Mr.Andrews to do the necessary painting. While thus engaged, he became intimate with Mr. and Mrs. Lindsey, and they frequently jested with him about actively engaged. - See Chapter XXI. t;e) Daring and Suffering. nis growing so old without marrying. He answered that he could find nc lady willing to accept him, who would not be extravagant and wasteful ot the property that he wished to earn. Lindsey rejoined that he knew one who possessed every desirable quality, without being in the least tainted with the defect feared. Andrews, still jesting, promised that if introduced to such a model woman, he would at least try to win her. Mr. Lindsey was a sympathizer with the South in the angry controversies that already began to presage war, while Andrews was as firm on the other side; but Miss Elizabeth J. Layton. From a photograph belonging to Mrs. Wm. Rawlins. this did not prevent a great esteem on the part of the older man for the younger, nor make him less in earnest in his match-making proposal; and soon Miss Elizabeth J. Layton, utterly unsuspicious of the serious conse- quences that were to follow, received an invitation from Mrs. Lindsey to spend a few days with her, to assist in sewing. The lady was tall, graceful and finely formed, of pleasing though not strikingly handsome countenance, and probably a year or two older than Andrews. Her man- ners were quiet and grave, but she had a very decided character. She was a member of the " Christian church ' (Campbellite), and her sym- Previous History of James J. Andrews. 57 pathies were entirely with the loyal side in the rising struggle. Hov\ much similarity of political views had to do with the result, we cannot sa;^ : but soon after becoming acquainted they were warm friends. Delightful evenings were spent in the large, old-fashioned parlor of the Lindseys; and Andrews soon confessed to his employer that the latter had judged well. Before the courtship had ripened into an engagement, the storm of war broke over the country, and for a time the lovers saw less ot each other. The young man from the North — for Hancock Co. , Virginia, and the whole " Pan-Handle " lying between Ohio and Pennsylvania, fully shared the sentiments of the loyal States — took no uncertain position, and with his work in the Kentucky State-guard, and afterwards in more important enterprises, his time was fully occupied. But soon he found an oppor- tunity of proposing to Miss Layton, and was accepted. At the solicita- tion of his betrothed, Andrews promised that when he had finished one more daring enterprise he would retire from military service. The date of marriage was fixed for June 17, 1862, But a dark tragedy was com- pleted before that date ! When the war broke out in the spring of 1861, Kentucky occupied a peculiar position. The majority of the people had no wish to secede, but they wished as little to engage heartily in war for upholding the Union. The call of the President for troops was received with scorn, and every county was agitated by the question of secession. For a time the im- possible task was essayed of remaining neutral. Troops were enrolled as a " State-guard,'' not to be called into service unless the state was invaded, when they were to be used against the party making the invasion. Such a position of "Armed Neutrality," was untenable, because refusing to aid the Government in time of need was disloyalty, and because the position of Kentucky between the two great sections made it sure that sooner or later the State would be forced to adhere to one side or the other. Andrews spoke decidedly in favor of maintaining the Union. He was never an abolitionist, but wished to see the old flag unsullied, and the nation undivided. He joined the volunteer organization of Fleming Co., and brought all his powers of persuasion to bear in securing its unqualified adhesion to the Union cause. The war excitement had brought all business to a standstill. There was no house building or other improvements during the spring and early summer months of 1861, and consequently no demand for painting. Andrews was at this time boarding at the hotel of Mr. J. B. Jackson, who, finding him out of employment, offered him the temporary position of clerk. This he held for several months. At length Andrews made a journey to Louisville, and on his return announced that he had been appointed deputy U. S. Provost Marshal, and that his jurisdiction in that capacity would be extended over Fleming and 58 Daring and Suffering. the adjoining counties. No small dissatisfaction was expressed at this appointment, especially by those whose sympathies were with the Con- federacy. But Andrews entered upon the duties of the office with much apparent zeal, purchasing a copy of " Conkling's Practice" to inform himself in regard to modes of procedure in U. S. Courts. But the same evening of his return from Louisville, he informed his friend Jackson that the office was only a blind; that his real business was that of spy for the Union Army. The account he gave of his entrance upon this busi- ness was that he met a young lieutenant, incidentally, while on business in Cincinnati, who recommended it to him as an employment in which he could render great service to his country; and that, being at the time out of employment, he went to Louisville, offered his services, and was im- mediately accepted. Jackson was greatly shocked at this revelation, not because of the nature of the employment, for he was a strong Union man, and in the feeling then existing nothing that could be done against the opposite side was considered too bad; but because of the danger involved. He told Andrews that if he did not give it up, his being detected and hung was only a question of time. Andrews did not deny the probabilicy, but said that he was doing no good now and that he was determined " to make a spoon or spoil a horn." Jackson understood him to mean that he would make a fortune in that busmess, or lose everything, life included: but it is easy to gi/e the words a nobler interpretation. As the remon- strances of Jackson were unavailing, he told Andrews that he 'must seek a new boarding-place in order not to compromise his friend. Andrews agreed to the propriety of this, and at once removed to Mrs. Eckles's board- ing-house. Andrews accompanied General Nelson in his expedition into the mountains in Eastern Kentucky, and there rendered considerable service, though not equal to his expectation, for there was not much real work in that place for a spy to do. What he attempted, however, aroused the bitter hostility of the enemy, and his escape from them was, in more than one instance, very narrow. In reference to this he told another friend, Mr. J. H. Cooper, that as the Confederates were so very bitter toward nim, he had resolved to do them all the injury in his power, or lose his life in the effort. It is doubtful whether Andrews up to this time can properly be called a spy, notwithstanding his use of the word to Jackson. He seems rather to have been a scout and agent for secret communication with the LTnion men of Kentucky. He was known in his own home and generally in the towns through which he passed as a Union man; and while he did not wear uniform, he was not directly in the military service, and seems to have been regarded simply as a Kentucky citizen rendering aid to the Federal army. This exposed him, when beyond the protection of the army, to Previous History of James J. Andretvs. 59 the hostility of the Confederates, and, at the same time, cut him off from the opportunity of obtaining information regarding the intentions of the enemy. He now resolved on a bolder course, and entered upon it in a characteristic manner. The first step, as told me by Mr. Ashton, present Postmaster at Flemingsburg, who was an eye-witness, is very striking. Andrews had been absent for several days — at Louisville it is presumed — and on his return was accosted in a friendly manner by Judge Cord, one of his intimate associates, and a leader among the Unionists. He replied coldly and gruffly. As the other approached, and again spoke cordially, Andrews said: " I don't care to talk with you." " What's the matter?" the other responded, still unwilling to accept the rebuff. Andrews returned: " I have been behind the scenes the last few days. I saw too much." " Why, what wonderful things have you seen?" said the other, deeply puzzled by this extraordinary change of front. " Why, I have seen how this war is carried on, and what it means. It's all a great speculation. Everybody is trying to make what he can out of it, and I will have nothing more to do with it." Mr. Ashton also was greatly astonished at such language from an ardent Union man, who had been virtually in the military service of the United States; but he saw not far away, and closely observing them, a certain William A. Berry — a bold, reckless man, the ringleader of the rebel element in that entire district. Of course he was greatly interested in this sudden conversion of Andrews. About an hour afterwards, Ashton observed Berry and Andrews in close and very animated conversation at another part of the street. Andrews was telling of his changed views, and ended by asking Berry to get him admitted to the societies by which the friends of the South were bound together, as it was now his intention to serve the South with all his might. At this proposition. Berry, who had seemed pleased at first, broke out in a volley of oaths, pouring upon Andrews the bitterest abuses and curses, saying, "Andrews, do you take me for a baby or fool? You are nothing more or less than "—with a volley of oaths attached — " an infamous spy ! and I will see that your character is made known and will gladly help hang you, as you deserve ! " Andrews quietly said: " Berry, you are excited. You will understand me better after awhile ! " and left him foaming with rage and threatening condign vengeance for the treason which he suspected. Andrews con- tinued to avoid the Union men of Flemingsburg in public, from this time, but all his advances were coldly received by the opposite party. He had been too fully committed, and there was a short time when he was in no small degree of personal danger. At first the leaders of the Union party in Kentucky had held their 6o Daring and Suffering. partizans back from enlisting in the Federal army until the posture of the State had been fully determined, for the sake of their influence and vote in local matters. But soon the ardent young men swarmed into the army in such numbers as in some places to materially affect the preponde- rance of their cause at home. During this period in Flemingsburg, Andrews was more than ever threatened; and it seemed as if all his great personal popularity had vanished. But he was then, as always, undis- mayed, and the Union sentiment soon became so firmly established and so aggressive that Berry and his chief friends found it convenient to retire beyond the rebel lines — the former engaging in business in Nashville. In another conversation with his confidential friend, Jackson, Andrews declared his determination to follow this example, and also go to Nashville. Remonstrances were tried in vain; Jackson saying ''Why, Andrews, what will you do about Berry? He wanted to hang you even here, but if he finds you in Nashville where the rebels have it all their own way, he will do it." "I can manage that,^' Andrews replied, and in due time made his way through the lines. At Nashville he boldly went to the largest hotel in the evening, and registering as J. J. Andrews of Flemingsburg, Kentucky, went to bed. Be- fore he was up in the morning he heard an impatient rap at his door, and a voice saying, " Let me in. I want to see you ! " He opened the door, and his visitor entering, announced himself as Judge Moore of Fleming County, and said: " What are you doing here ? I always heard that you were one of the head Yankees up there ! '' Andrews had seen Moore, though he had no personal acquaintance with him, and replied: " So I was at first, but the only difference between you and me is that you saw into this thing a little sooner than I did, and when I turned over to the right side, it got too hot for me at Flemingsburg. The Yankees have it all their own way there now. " Moore grasped his hand, warmly congratulated him on having come over, and welcomed him to Nashville. As soon as Andrews was dressed they breakfasted together, and Moore then took him up to Military Head- quarters and introduced him to Beauregard, Hardee, and other prominent oflficers, as "his friend Andrews from Flemingsburg." The latter told these officers that he proposed to run articles needed in the South through the Union lines — a very profitable, though a very hazardous business, and one that would be of great benefit to the Southern armies, which were in need of medical supplies, especially quinine, and other articles of small bulk but great intrinsic value. The stringent blockade had made all things not manfactured in the South excessively scarce and costly. They encouraged him, giving passes and all necessary facilities. Shortly after this, probably the next day, Andrews met Berry face to Previous History of James J. Andrews. 6i face on the street. The latter stopped as if thunderstruck, and exclaimed with a great oath, " Well ! what are you doing here, anyway, Andrews ?'* Andrews greeted him cordially ^told him that he was intending to hunt him up as soon as he got settled, and adding the same expression that he had used with Judge Moore, " The only difference between us, Berry, is that you saw how things were moving a little sooner than I did. " Just then one of the leading rebel officers in passing by, greeted Andrews familiarly, and Berry could hold out no longer. He said, "Andrews, I was a little hard on you when I thought you wanted to play the spy on me, but you must overlook that. I am glad that you are all right, even if I was mis- taken in you; and now if I can do you any favor here in Nashville do not hesitate to call on me." Andrews promised to bear that in mind, and as Berry had engaged in the saddler's business, he brought him through a cargo of buckles and other much-needed articles on his first blockade- running trip. Ever after he had no better friend in all the South than Berry. Andrews now occupied a position where he could do the Union cause the most essential service. His business as blockade-runner gave him free access to all parts of the territory held by rebel armies, and the pur- chase of new supplies furnished the opportunity and excuse for frequent visits to the Federal lines. The amount of trading that he thus did was duly reported, along with all other matters, to his employers. Before the general movement of the Union armies began which resulted in breaking the enemy's lines, and forcing him out of Kentucky, Andrews visited Fort Donelson, gaining admission probably as a bearer of medical supplies, and succeeded in getting a complete account of the Confederate forces there, together with a sketch of their works. In order that his in- formation might be in time for the movement which was then imminent, he rode sixty miles in one night. Andrews formed a business partnership with Mr. Whiteman, a well- known merchant of Nashville, who supplied him. with money needed for his purchases and aided him in the work of distribution. No doubt his own pecuniary profits were considerable, and these he took pleasure in repre- senting to his friends within the Confederate lines as the motive which induced him to run such extraordinary hazards. It is probable, though not certain, that the Federal commander was well pleased to have him thus pay himself, and save the arrny fund the heavy rewards a daring spy might have claimed. When Buell's advance division under Mitchel reached Green river, opposite Bowling Green, and began throwing shells across, Andrews was in the town. It is even said that he rendered the Confederate commander a slight service by moving out from the station a train of cars which had been abandoned, just as it was ready to start, by engineer and train hands 62 Daring and Suffering. on account of the severity of the Federal fire; and thus won tervent ex- pression of gratitude, and still more absolute trust. He remained in the captured town and was thus able to give precise hiformation of the condi- tion of the flying foe. Then he passed on ahead of the Union columns, and arrived in Nashville, in time to witness the rebel evacuation of that city, and to greet the Union armies on their entrance.' At some time near midwinter (probably about the first of February), Andrews visited Flemingsburg for the last time. The excitement attending his leaving the place had died away — he had returned once or twice pre- viously — and he was very kindly received, the confidence and good will inspired by former acquaintance having overcome the irritation occasioned by his professed change of views. But there were only three persons with whom he held any confidential communications. One of these was his friend Jackson, whom he trusted utterly, and whose warnings and entreaties to leave a business so fraught with danger, he answered by telling him how fully he was trusted by the rebel authorities, and — what Jackson could fully appreciate — what an excellent chance he now had to make money ! He assured his friend, however, that he would not continue in the same line of employment much longer. Another man he trusted was Mr. J. H. Moore, then quite young. He did not talk to him of money, as his motive in his hazardous career, but of the services he was rendering the country, and so enkindled his im- agination, that the young man wished to accompany him, and enter upon the same business. As he was intelligent and cool-headed, Andrews did not at first try to hinder him, though he told him that it was a dreadful life, far more dangerous than that of any soldier. Andrews consented very readily to accompany him at least as far as Cincinnati, and the two left Flemingsburg in company. On the trip down the river Andrews was very sociable, and made no objections to Moore's expressed intention of going on with him to Nashville, so that the latter considered himself as fully embarked on the career of a spy. Bu?; when they were shown to their room at Cincinnati at night, and were alone, Andrews laid his hand on him and said, " Young man, you don't know what you have undertaken. I like your spirit, but you are ten years too young. I am going to put the whole matter before you, and then if you go on. it will be on your own re- sponsibility.'' Andrews then drew a picture so frightful that young Moore felt all his ardor ebbing away. The sober thought of the morning completed the work that Andrew's evening words had begun, and Moore informed the latter, apparently much to his satisfaction, that his mind was made up to return home and enter the army in the common way. Then Andrews ' "'Andrews was within the Confederate lines when I advanced upon Nashville. He reported to me there." — From a letter by Gen. D. C. Buell to the Author, Jan. ii, 1887. Previous History of J tunes /. A ndrews. 63 made a simple request of him, which throws no small light on the charac- ter of this strange man. " Moore," said he, " Mrs. Bright asked me to send her back a dollar's worth of sugar from Maysville and gave me the money to pay for it; but I had so many things on my mind that I forgot all about it, and have her money yet. Will you get the sugar and take home with you for her?" Moore was accustomed to say long after this that Andrews actually seemed to think more of that old lady's disappointment than of all the dangers he was entering upon ! Andrews had not failed to visit Miss Layton during this final stay in Flemingsburg. He tried to make her think that there was no special risk involved in his present employment; but she was not so easily deceived. Intensely patriotic, and having her full share of the war spirit, she was glad that he was serving the Union cause; but there was so much of the hidden and mysterious element of danger in his present employment that she pleaded with him to give it up. He yielded so far as to promise that one more trip should be his last, a trip from which he was to return a consider- able time before their wedding-day. The reader may imagine the tender- ness and gloom of the parting between the lovers. Even the prospect of marriage four months distant could hardly have much cheer for the wait- ing woman, who understood but too well the dangers to which her hero was exposed. At Louisville, Andrews purchased a lady's trunk, large and elegant, and left it in charge of the landlord of the hotel at which he was accus- tomed to lodge. From his last, and most pathetic reference to this trunk, it is believed that he meant to bear the wedding-presents to Miss Layton in it. He then completed his cargo of articles for sale in the South and returned to Nashville. The capture of that city had made no change in the lucrative traffic carried on across the hostile lines by Andrews, except that he now took Nashville as a starting-point, and carried goods to Whiteman who had re- moved to Chattanooga, and to other persons as far south as Atlanta. He was several times seen in the latter city, and still continued to inspire the Confederate officers with unbounded confidence. On the trip preceding the organization of the first railroad raid he was said ' to have brought a son of the rebel Gen. Cheatham through the lines to leave in the care of some friends at Nashville for education. At the very time of which I am now writing, he rode a horse borrowed from Mr. Whiteman, and had alec received 10,000 dollars for the purchase of quinine and other articles that he was to bring through to Chattanooga. This employment did not, how- ever, make him the less watchful of the interest of his real employers — the Federal Generals. ' By Captain Sarrat Steubenville, O"-'" CHAPTER VI. FIRST LESSONS IN DISGUISE AND DUPLICITY. NO start on a long journey could be conceived more discouraging than ours. The night was pitchy dark and the rain poured down. The Tennessee mud, which we had pretty fully tested on our army marches, was now almost unfathomable. While we clung to the railroad this difficulty was avoided, but the danger of falling was still greater, and the blinding flashes of lightning gave a very uncertain illumination for avoiding cattle guards, and other hindrances. We hoped to pass Wartrace, our first stage, which was beyond the Federal pickets, before daylight. A walk of a dozen miles on the first night, would put us well on our way, and was possible by clinging to the railroad, though exceed- ingly difficult. But an hour or two of toilsome trudging added to the fatigues of the day and the intense nervous strain we had endured ever since our detail, ren- dered the thought of rest almost irresistibly attractive. We unanimously resolved to find a house and make up for the delay by an early start and a hard day's work on the morrow. But we did not wish to lie down in the rain, or under the shelter of a tree. There were none of the rude conveniences at hand which were never quite wanting in camps — no tents, water-proof blankets, or means of making a fire. We preferred to find a house, or at least a barn. This seemed very simple, but in practice was not so easy. The country was thinly peopled; and a mist which began to creep along the ground pre- vented us from seeing a rod before us. We continued on the railroad until we felt almost sure that there was no house that way before reach • ing Wartrace at the junction; and re'did not wish to find lodging in the village. So we turned out on the first road that crossed the railway, and watched more narrowly than ever for the shelter so much desired. For a time we had no better success than before. But as we plodded along in the mud, we suddenly heard the barking of a dog, which ceased as suddenly as it began. We huddletl together and disputed as to which side of the road it v/as on; then halloed to try to provoke more barking, but in vain. No question could be more puzzling than the simple one of finding the direction of a house indicated by the ear alone. But we heard First Lessons in Disguise and Duplicity. 65 no further sound, and taking one side of the road at random, we formed a line with long intervals, and passing frequent signals to keep from being separated, we moved forAvard and swept around in circles through the darkness and rain. A barn was our first discovery. A little earlier we would have been willing to accept this; but now we were so wet and chilly, and were so anxious to be sure of an early breakfast, that we resolved to look further for the house. Leaving one at the barn to prevent losing it — for even the lightning could scarcely penetrate the fog — we swept around in ever- widening circles till the house was reached, and the dog then was roused and made noise enough. Even with this aid it took some time to waken the old farmer, who on seeing us was greatly alarmed, and looked as if he would refuse us entrance if he dared. But the request of four strong men, in such a storm and at such an hour, had a good deal of persuasive force. The house, as we saw in the morning, was a rude log structure, con- sisting of two pens built twelve or fifteen feet apart, and connected by a roof, thus making an open porch between them — a style of house very common in the South at that time. When admitted, the smouldering fire in the large open fire-place was raked into activity, and fresh wood was thrown on, so that as we surrounded the hearth, there was soon abundant light without the use of candle or lamp, and a most grateful heat. Then our host, who insisted on providing us something to eat, though we told him that we needed nothing before morning — that all we now cared for was to get dried and go to bed, — questioned us as to who we were, and our motive in travelling so late in such a dreadful night. It was a very good opportunity to commence our drill in deception. If detected no special harm could follow, for we were stronger than our questioner, and being still near the Union pickets, he could not get help against us; while if we succeeded, we would be more confident when our life was at stake. We said we were Kentuckians from Fleming Co., and that we were travelling in the night to evade the Union pickets, and would not have stopped till we were in safety, if it had not been for the rain. He inquired our reason for leaving home in these troubled times and coming South. We replied that we were disgusted with the tyranny of the Lincoln Government, and meant to fight in the Southern army. His reply gave us great pleasure, which, however, we did not express: "You might as well save your trouble, for the whole South will soon be as much under Lincoln as Kentucky is." This avowal of Union sentiment was the more grateful, as we, like most of the Northern soldiers, doubted the sincerity of Union people in the South. He advised us to go back home and try to content ourselves there, for our errand was bootless, and that the rebellion would soon be put down as it deserved to be. 66 Daring and Suffering. We assured him that we would never submit; that we would die first. He laughed and said it was easy to talk, but that time would show. While we partook of a plain but good meal, and still more, when we again gathered for a short time around the fire preparatory to retiring, we continued to argue the great questions of the day. It was a novel experience, trying to maintain that the rebels were right in seceding and our own people all wrong; but we did the best we could. I noticed that George D. Wilson, who spoke with great ease and force, seemed dissat- isfied whenever Campbell or Shadrack took part in the conversation, as they did several times, expressing very radical Southern views with great emphasis of language; and that he would repeatedly interrupt them in the midst of their statements, and called on me for something in another direction. When our host and his wife, who also had been aroused to minister to us, had retired, Shadrack asked him the reason of this, which had been quite marked. Wilson replied that they were overdoing their parts, — as he expressed it, " making fools of themselves by being better rebels than the rebels themselves;" then he complimented me for being always moderate in statement and telling the necessary stories in such a way that they were sure to be believed. The truth was that the whole business of such false representations was distasteful, and I did just as little of it as would suffice to make the stories plausible. I supposed the very frank words of Wilson would be resented, and tried to think how best the disagreement could be smoothed down; but to my surprise, both Campbell and Shadrack admitted the justice of the criticism, and declared that they would hereafter, in the presence of strangers, limit themselves to endorsing all that Wilson and I should say. This they faithfully did through the whole of their journey, always waiting for one of us to take the lead in conversation. As we sit around the fire slowly undressing for bed, and enjoying the languor caused by the supper and the grateful heat, it may be a good time to sketch these companions with whom I was so long and intimatel}' asso- ciated. There is a deep sorrow in the task, for not one of them emerged from the gloom and darkness into which we were entering. George D. Wilson was the most remarkable man of all who enlisted with Andrews. He was not highly educated, and had spent many years as an itinerant journeyman shoemaker. He was 32 — nearly ten years older than the others, which increased his ascendancy over us. He had travelled and observed much and forgotten nothing. In vigor and force of language I never knew a man who surpassed him. He delighted in argument on any topic — social, political, or religious — and was an adver- sary not to be despised. In the use of scathing and bitter language, in bard, positive, unyielding dogmatism, in the power to bury an opponent under a flood of exhaustless abuse, he excelled. In coolness and brav- First Lessons in Disguise and Duplicity. 67 cry. in natural shrewdness and quickness of intellect, he was fully equal to Andrews; no danger could r'righten him. His resources always rose with the demand, and on one me- morable occasion he was carried to the very summit of moral hero- ism, and in the whole war no death was more sublime than his. Our friendship, which began on this first nigii.., increased to the end, though we often engaged in heated discussion. Wilson was tall and spare, with high cheek-bones, over- hanging brows, sharp gray eyes, thin brownish hair, and long thin whiskers. The acccrrxpany- ing photograph was taken ten years earlier. Perry G. Shadrack was about twenty-two, and came from Pennsylvania to Knoxville, Ohio, when the 2nd Ohio Regiment was being reorganized for the three years' service. He was not large, but plump and solidly built, merry and reckless, with an inexhaustible store of good nature. His temper was quick, but he was very forgiving and ready to sacrifice anything for a friend. His wit was fre- quently the life of the whole party, and his merry blue eye sparkled with mischief on the slightest provocation. As far as Wilson excelled all the other members of the party in intellectual strength and acuteness, so did William Camp- bell in the more tangible qual- ity of physical strength. His muscular feats were often mar- vellous. He weighed two hun- dred and twenty pounds, was of fine build, and with his great weight was as agile as a cir- WiLL, .M c..M,.BEL,.. From a war-time photograph, cus actor. Danger secmcd to George D. Wilson. From a photograph ten years before the war. 68 Daring and Suffering. have an innate attraction to him, and the thought of death but little terror. He was not in the least disposed to be quarrelsome, and often reproved wranglers. But it was said that the use of stimulants, which he did not touch so far as I know on this expedition, very consider- ably changed his nature. He was a native of Salineville, Ohio, and had led an irregular life, being in Louisville when the Union army passed through. He had not formally enlisted as a soldier, but was on a visit to Shadrack when the latter was selected for the Andrews expedition, and had requested permission to go along. Being fully trusted, and well qualified for dangerous work, his request was readily granted. As was natural, he and Shadrack were inseparable friends. At length our luxurious chat was over and we lay down for rest, two in a bed. I think Wilson slept at once, but I lay awake for some time, watching the fitful light of the declining fire as it flickered over the bare rafters and rough side logs of the room. I thought of many things which this eventful day had brought forth; and there was one line of thought which it may be as well to record with some care — more than I gave it then, — for it is sure to arise in the mind of many readers. How could we reconcile to our consciences the falsehood involved in the very nature of our expedition ? This question becomes more urgent as the years go by, and the stormy passions of the war are quieted; and especially as good feeling between the sections, and charity for former opponents, is restored. No such question was asked during the war; but it has been a thousand times since. It does not justify our leader or our- selves to say that we were placed in such a position that the preservation of life required us to deceive the enemy; for the real question is as to the moral right of putting ourselves in that position. The historian is not bound to justify what he records even of his own actions. But it is re- quired that these actions should be fairly weighed. Let it never be forgotten that we did not look on ourselves as upon the same plane with the enemy. We were not fighting against a nation armed with all the rights of independence. In our view our opponents were nothing but rebels, and we regarded rebellion itself as a crime which forfeited all rights and was justly punishable with death. We did not think that men who had associated together against our government had acquired any more rights by that association than a band of pirates or murderers. To kill them was a public duty — the very purpose for which we had left our homes. To defeat them in their criminal design by false- hood, seemed just like throwing a murderer off the track of his intended victim by strategy. In other words, we looked upon the rebels as out of the pale of all law by their own act. Men who would have shrunk with horror from the thought of deceiving any one in private life, found nothing but pleasure in outwitting the destroyers of the nation. In First Lessons in Disguise and Duplicity. 69 Flemingsburg, among the old neighbors of Andrews, no expression was more common than, " He was a true man. You could depend upon every word he said." But to deceive the enemy was accounted a virtue, not a crime. The manner in which the enemy carried on the war intensified this feeling. Their soldiers were imperfectly uniformed at best. They had encouraged guerilla warfare, and on more than one occasion Federal uniform had been used to get within our own lines and work injury, as in the case of the capture of Gallatin by Morgan but a few weeks before this date.' Their citizens were often found living in apparent innocence within our lines, and yet sending complete information of all Union move- ments southward, and taking the oath of allegiance only to break it — often seizing their rifles and acting as soldiers against us without any organiza- tion. It would have been as easy to carry on the war, while keeping the law of perfect truth, as to observe the law of love, which forbids all injury ! Our party, in their disguise, went forth to play at the enemy's own game, knowing full well its hazardous character, but feeling that the enemy would have no reason to complain. But there is a broader aspect of the question. Every war between the most civilized of powers must involve an element of deceit and fraud almost as prominent as that of violence and destruction. The moral law and the golden rule are set aside in both instances; and therefore some Christian denominations consistently take the ground that war can never be lawful. With them we have no controversy, for the subject is too large. Writing false dispatches, making movements which have no purpose but to deceive, using flags of truce for pretense or delay, sending out trusted soldiers as deserters to carry false intelligence, and employing every other possible ruse to mislead an adversary — all these things will be done by the most honorable general, and if they succeed are considered worthy of especial commendation ! A general will urge a soldier by large rewards to become a spy, and put lies in his mouth. On the well-accepted principle, that " the receiver is as bad as the thief," the general cannot be better than the spy ! If the laws of war remove all odiuni and danger from the general to fix it upon the spy, it should be remembered that the generals have made the laws of war, and naturally favor themselves; this, however, cannot change the abstract right in the case. The further consideration should be kept in view that, with the excep- tion of two or three, we were very young, not members of any church, and that we held ourselves amenable only to the common laws of army morality, which, so far as the enemy was concerned, were not very strin- gent — the common sentiment being that a rebel had no right to anything — not even to the truth ? Our commanders, from General Buell down, ' War Records. Series I., Vol X., Part i., page 31. 70 Daring and Suffering. had Sanctioned our expedition, knowing all that it implied, and the con. venient army morality which gives the blame as well as the praise to the officers was as applicable on this as on any other occasion. We had been directed to put off our uniform, and to make representations correspond- ing to our changed costume. We were also authorized to enlist in the rebel army — a measure which would have required the taking of an oath of allegiance to the Southern Confederacy — a most distasteful form of deceit, and one that would fall short of perjury only because no rebel could legally administer an oath to United States soldiers or citizens. We felt that we were serving our country in the way that the country itself had pointed out, and that if there was any wrong, the country, which was mak- ing the war, was responsible. We were absolutely true to each other, and to our rightful allegiance in the most trying emergencies, but we drew a decisive line in our dealings with the enemy — telling them the truth when there was no motive to do otherwise ! Yet I never liked to deceive them, though constant use made it less grating, after a time; and there even came to be a certain pride of dexterity in doing it well, which Wilson stimu- lated to the utmost by putting me forward on all possible occasions as spokesman, first of our own little squad, and afterward, when we were united, of the whole party. On such occasions his praise for being able to say plausibly and exactly what we had agreed upon beforehand was not altogether unrelished. We passed the night in quiet and safety. Our host had been pledged by us not to inform the Federal pickets of our presence — though it would have been an enjoyable practical joke under other circumstances to have let him bring in a squad and have us arrested — and after breakfast we went on our way. For a time the sky was clear but it soon clouded, and we were compelled to suffer the inevitable drenching which befell us every day on this weary journey. We reached Wartrace in the midst of a pelt- ing storm. At first we intended to go around the town, as it was the last station on the Union picket line. But it was raining so hard that we thought we might manage to slip along the street unobserved. On mak- ing the atterppt, however, we found that Mitchel's soldiers were too vig- ilant for that, and we were promptly halted. For a time we tried to per- sonate the innocent Southern citizen, but were compelled to wait under a sheltering porch until a messenger had ridden to brigade headquarters and brought an order for our release. Then we travelled onward, wading swollen creeks and plodding through the mud as fast as we could We were crossing what might be called the neutral zone between our lines and those of the enemy. The next stage ahead was the town of Manchester, 'at which point we were really to enter the enemy's country. Early in the afternoon we reached Duck River opposite the town, and as the river was at flood height, we crossed by a First Lessons in Disguise and Diiplicity, 71 liovel kind of ferry — being taken up one at a time by a horseman, and thus carried through the torrent. We found the population of the town in a wild ferment. Some of the citizens had reported that an approaching band of Yankee cavalry were even now visible from the public square. We repaired thither with aii speed to witness the novel spectacle of the entrance of National troops into a hostile town from the Southern point of view. Mingled were the emo- tions expressed, fear and hatred being the most prominent, but some people looked not unpleased. Soon the terrible band loomed up over the hill which bounded the view, when lo ! the dreaded enemies were seen to be only a party of negroes who had been working in the coal-mines a little further up the mountains. Some of Mitchel's cavalry had made a raid eastward to divert attention from their real movement southward, and hav- ing destroyed the works, these contrabands were run off here for safe keeping. The feeling of the town's people may be better imagined than described as they dispersed, with curses on the whole African race. Here we saw several others of our own party. There was no personal acquaintance between us previous to being detailed — I could not have given the name of a single member of the whole band aside from our cluster, and the one occasion when we had been together the previous evening had not been favorable for intimacy; — but there was something in the manner of each by which it was easy to recognize comrades. Reddick and Wollam had lodged for the night with a Confederate family who were afraid at first to harbor them, for fear of Yankee vengeance should they be discovered; but being persuaded to take the risk, they not only gave supper and breakfast, but furnished a guide who piloted them by a lonely path over fields and woods, around both Union and Rebel pickets, so that they escaped all molestation, crossed swollen creeks on fallen logs, and Duck river in a wagon, and finally reached Manchester in advance of all the others. We greeted several of our squads in Manchester, but did not long remain in company. Andrews also passed on horseback, but as all was well, we did not speak to him. As we pressed on in the dreary afternoon we realized fully that we were in the enemy's country. We obtained the names of the most prominent Secessionists along the route, and from this time had nothing more to do with Unionists. It is difficult for the reader of to-day, when our country is truly united, to form any idea of the mysterious horror which clung about the South at the period of the opening of the war. Slavery had been separating the two sections more and more for a generation preced- ing that event. Terrible tales of outrage upon suspected abolitionists " were freely told. If a Northc-n man travelled in the South, he was obliged to carefully conceal his sentiments on the subject of slavery or run the risk of being dragged from his bed at night and whipped, tarred and 72 Daring and Suffering. ^ feathered, or even hung. These tales may have been exaggerated, but they were beheved, and had some foundation. Three years before I had been turned back from an intended trip as a teacher to Kentucky, by the fear of violence. Now the smothered fiame had broken out openly; the sword had been unsheathed; and we were in the midst of deadly foes with no protection but the flimsy veil of falsehood. It is not easy to describe the half fascinating, half terrible sense of danger with which we passed from house to house and from village to village where we would have been torn to pieces in a moment if our true character had been suspected. But being entertained by those whose Confederate loyalty was above suspicion, and always inquiring for others of a similar character, it was taken for granted that we were like them, and few questions asked. We paid our way wherever money would be accepted; more frequently it was refused; the peopls declaring, " It is a privilege to do something for the gallant Kentuckians on their way to fight for the liberty of the South." CHAPTER VII. THE HEART OF THE CONFEDERACY REACHED. THERE are but few incidents of this downward journey upon which it is worth while to linger. That night we were still some miles from Hillsboro, having been greatly impeded by the muddy roads and swollen streams. The gentleman with whom we lodged this (Tuesday) evening was a slave-hunter, and hunted negroes with bloodhounds for money, as we heard for the first time from the lips of one who practised it. Our host said he had seen some one dodging around the back of his plantation just as it was getting dark, and that very early in the morning he would take his hounds and hunt him up; if it proved to be a negro he would get the re- ward always allowed for a fugitive slave. He said that he had caught a great number in that way, and regarded them as perfectly fair game, and the business as highly profitable. The idea that there was anything cruel or dishonorable about it had not occurred to him. We had to agree with all he said; but I well remember that the idea of hunting human beings with bloodhounds for profit caused a thrill of hor- ror and detestation. Not long after we found that these hounds were equally serviceable for other human game ! The next morning we continued our journey, and after walking about an hour, found a man Who agreed for an exorbitant price, and for the good of the Confederacy, to give us a ride in his wagon for several miles. We were anxious to avail ourselves of every help, for it was now Wednes- day, and the very next day we ought to reach Marietta. It was clear that we had no time to lose. But this conveyance was a great aid, and we trotted briskly along, becoming very lively. Several others whom we over- took were invited to share our good fortune, and jokes and laughter rang out in merry wise. A listener could scarcely have believed that we were leaving our homes as exiles to engage in war, as we claimed; still less that we had actually entered upon an enterprise as desperate as any forlorn hope that ever mounted a breach. Soon we came in sight of the Cumberland mountains, and to me no scenery ever appeared more beautiful. For a short time the rain had ceased to fall and the air was clear. The mountains rose before us as 74 Daring and Suffering. a mighty rampart of freshest green, and around their tops, just high enough to veil their loftiest summits, clung a soft shadowy mist, which, gradually descending lower, shrouded one after another of the spurs and high mountain valleys from view. The beautiful scene did not long con- tinue: soon the mist thickened into a cloud, and again the interminable rain began to fall. And as if to add to our discomfort, the driver of our wagon, about the same time, declared that he could go no further, and we were obliged again to plod along on foot. At noon we stopped for dinner at a miserable hut close to the road. There was nothing inviting about the place, but no other house was m sight. The owner belonged to the class of " poor whites," whose condi- tion in the old slavery days was little if any better than that of the slaves. They owned no property of their own, seemed to be devoid of any ambi- tion to better their condition in life, and eked out a scanty subsistence by hunting or fishing, only working for a day or two occasionally when driven to it by hunger. The terms " sand-hiller," " clay-eater," or " poor white trash," conveyed a terrible reproach, for even the negroes looked down upon them. Of course our entertainment was of the plamest, but we ate our half-ground and half-baked corn bread and strong pork cheerfully, paid a round price, and passed on our way. Soon after dinner we fell in with Mark Wood, who had possessed him- self of a bottle of apple-brandy and imbibed too freely. He was talka- tive, and in no fit state for meeting strangers. But we walked him along rapidly and gave no one a chance to say a word to him until the fumes had passed away, when he was so much frightened by his imprudence and its dangerous possibilities as to have no mclination to repeat the offense. This was the only instance of that kind during the whole trip; and there .was but little even of moderate drinking in the company. We had now reached the foot of the Cumberland mountains and ad- dressed ourselves to the task of climbing the steep slope. While going up the first long hill we overtook a Confederate soldier of the Eastern army who was at home on a furlough. He was quite a veteran, having been in a number of battles, and among them the first Bull Run, which he described very minutely. Little did he think that I too had been there, as we laughed at the wild panic of the Yankees. He expressed great de- light to see so many Kentuckians coming out on "the right side," and contrasted our noble conduct with that of some people in his own neigh- borhood who still sympathized with " the Abolitionists." When we parted he grasped my hands with tears in his eyes, and said that he hoped the time would soon come when we would be comrades, fighting side by side in one glorious cause. My heart revolted from the hypocrisy I was com- pelled to use, but having begun there was no possibility of turning back. On we clambered up the mountain till the top was reached; then across The Heart of the Confederacy Reached. 75 the summit, which was a tolerably level table-land about six miles in breadth; then down again over steep rocks, yawning chasms, and great gullies. This rough jaunt led us into, Battle Creek Valley, which is delightful and picturesque, being hemmed in by projecting ridges of lofty mountains. While here they told me how this valley obtained its name, which is certainly a very romantic legend, and probably true. In early times there was a war among the Indians. One tribe made a plundering expedition into the country of another, and after securing their booty retreated. Of course they were pursued, and in their flight, were traced to this valley. There the pursuers believed them to be conceal- ed, and, to make their capture sure, divided their own force into two bands, each one taking an opposite side of the valley. It was early in the morning, and as they wended their way cautiously along, the moun- tain mist came down (just as I had seen it do that morning), and envelop- ed each party in its folds. Determined not to be foiled, the pursuing bands marched on, and meeting at the head of the valley, each supposed the other to be the enemy, and at once attacked with great vigor. Not till nearly all their number had fallen did the survivors discover their mistake, and then they slowly and sorrowfully returned to their wigwams. The plunderers who had listened to the conflict in safety, being further up the mountains, were thus left at liberty to carry home their booty in triumph. But we had no leisure for legendary tales. The sun set behind the heavy masses of the mountain, and we again sought a resting-place for_ the night. We soon found the house of a rabid secessionist whom our soldier friend on the mountain had recom- mended to us. He received us with open arms, and shared with us the best his house afforded, giving us his only bedroom and sleeping with his family in the living-room or kitchen. This reception of open-handed hospitality, which we knew was given by those whose dearest hopes we were laboring to overthrow, was even more painful than the plentiful falsehoods to which we were compelled. We spent the evening in de- nouncing the Abolitionists, which term was used indiscriminately, like that of "Yankees," to designate all who did not advocate the acknowl- edgement of the Southern Confederacy. Practice had rendered it nearly ns easy for us to talk on this side of the question as on the other; and a little observation had shown us just how the Confederates liked to hear us talk. There was one truth we told, however, that made more impression than all our falsehoods. In the character of Kentuckians we informed our host that we were, so far as the Yankee sympathisers in our state could accomplish it, forever exiled from our homes by the expatriation law 76 Daring and Suffering. recently passed by the Kentucky legislature. This act made the reason, able provision that any person going south to fight in the army of the rebels should lose all rights of citizenship in the state which he thus for- sook. The old man thought this was unparalleled oppression; and in the morning before we were out of bed, came into the room and desired that I should write that law down that he might show his Union neighbors what the Yankees would do when they had the sway. As soon as I was up, I wrote it, and we all afterward signed our names to it. No doubt that document was the theme of many angry discussions in the houses among the spurs of the Cumberland during the months of rebel domina- tion that followed. So thoroughly did we deceive the old man, that when two days after, the railroad capture fell upon the astonished Confederates like a clap of thunder out of a clear sky, he would not believe that his guests were part of the men engaged in it. One of his Union neighbors afterward told us that to the last our host maintained that we were true and loyal Southerners. I would have greatly enjoyed visiting him in my true character, but never have had the opportunity. It was now Thursday morning. That evening we should have been in Marietta, and here we still were in the spurs of the Cumberland, more than a hard day's journey from Chattanooga. But a momentous decis- ion, full of disaster, had been arrived at the afternoon before. In our company we had discussed the slowness of our progress and had resolved to get supper, and then making the best excuse we could, to set out for a night journey, getting so near Chattanooga, or a station west of it, that we could reach there in time for the down train for Marietta. The pros- pect of such a night journey was not pleasant — far less than that of sitting by the fireside, discussing politics, and sleeping on a soft bed; but it was not an extraordinary hardship, and we would have endured it without complaint. Yet it was a considerable relief when we learned, from a squad that came along just after supper, that Andrews had postponed the enterprise one day on account of the unexpected hindrances of the weather. The result of this in increasing the difficulty of the final achievement fourfold, could not have been certainly foreseen; but delays are always dangerous. Why did Andrews take this risk ? The men could have easily been urged on to their work; and as will be seen hereafter, tho^e who did not get the word of postponement were on time at the Marietta rendezvous. The answer is easy. Andrews knew Gen. Buell better than he knew Mitchel. With probably any other officer in the war except Stonewall Jackson on one side, and Mitchel on the other, it would have been per- fectly safe to calculate that such a series of down pours as we had experi- enced ever since we had left camp, would have caused more than one day's delay in three days' march of an army; and if Mitchel was delayed. The Heart of the Confederacy Reached. yj It would be possibly better for us not to be too early on the ground. But Mitchel, with a fertility of resources almost incredible, and with in- flexible determination, had pressed on; and neither drenching rain, fathora- less mud, nor bridges swept away, delayed him an hour ! The calcula- tion of Andrews, which would have been right ninety-nine times, failed in the hundredth ! About noon on Thursday we came to the town of Jasper, and walked quietly up the street to the principal grocery of the place, where we rested a while and talked with the idlers gathered around on the state of the country. We told them that Kentucky was just ready to rise and shake off her Yankee chains. They gave us ready credence, and in turn com- municated some wonderful items of news. Having been now three days outside of our own lines we were extreme- ly anxious for any kind of intelligence. Nothing could be heard in regard to Mitchel, which was a little disappointing, as we thought that his move- ment southward would by this time have caused some excitement; but it was so silent, and all communication with his columns was so completely cut off, that until the blow fell the next day, scarcely anything was known of him. But we heard the first indistinct rumor of the battle of Shiloh or Pitts- burg Landing. Of course it was believed to be a great rebel victory, in which thousands of Yankees had been killed and innumerable prisoners taken, as well as scores of cannon. It was the impression that the armies of Grant and Buell were totally destroyed. This did not cause us any great degree of uneasiness, for we placed a low estimate on the accuracy of Southern news — being in this almost as extreme as some of the negroes we afterward knew in Atlanta, who made it their rule to believe the exact opposite of whatever their masters asserted. One countryman gravely assured me that five hundred gunboats had been sunk ! I told him that I did not think the Yankees had so many as that, but was not able to shake his faith. From Jasper we journeyed directly to the banks of the Tennessee River with the intention of crossing in the morning and taking passage on the Memphis and Charleston Railroad. We were recomended for the night to a kind of rude country hotel well known in the neighborhood as "Widow Hall's." The entertainment here was excellent; and as we believed the harder part of our travel to be over, we were in high spirits. Andrews and several others joined us, and for the first time, as we spent a social evening together, we had a chance to become in some de- gree acquainted. The large guest-chamber with its great roaring fire, and two beds in the corners opposite, was exceedingly comfortable; and after a smoking hot supper, we gathered around the open fire and began to talk. The family were with us, and we personated strangers who had met for yS Daritig and Suffering. the first time. Many stories were told of our home life in Kentucky, and the different parts of Fleming county from which we came, and in these, imagination naturally played a larger part than memory. Andrews was, according to his wont, rather silent and reflective, but appeared greatly to enjoy the conversation of others. Especially did he show that he appreciated the wit of Shadrack (which seemed to pour forth in an unend- ing stream) reftiarking: "That man never opens his mouth but he says •something !" Wilson as usual gave us copious information on every sub- ject that was broached. He let it be known that he had travelled widely, and dominated the conversation in all serious and political matters — for we did not shun the war politics of the day — as much as Shadrack did in sport and humor. Dorsey, who like myself had been a school-teacher, formed the idea that it might be better for him to appear to know but little, and carried out this notion during all the expedition as well as this evening. He was amused and felt complimented when told by a member of the squad who had follovved him, that some of the citizens of Jasper had referred to his party as a "lot of country fellows, who scarcely knew enough to come in when it rained.'' Songs were sung and the nine or ten of us who were together began to be acquainted — not the less so that each knew all the others to be acting fictitious parts. There was no drinking; for that would have been an element of danger, destroying all hilarity. Just such another evening I never spent. The absence of all restraint in speaking of our former life; the equal latitude with which we discussed our plans and hopes; the presence of some admiring auditors who either believed all we said, or, thinking that we were only using a traveller's privilege, were too courteous to contradict us; and another portion of the audience who knew we were acting, and could appreciate and imitate from that standpoint; — all combined to make the whole like a stimu- lating and highly interesting game. Our gaieties were prolonged to a very late hour, but no opportunity came to repeat them; before -another day closed we were in very different scenes. Several of our number were in advance, and four spent the same evening south of the Tennessee — two who had not been notified of the change in our plans even reaching Marietta. These latter were Por- ter and Hawkins: and as they found that the party were not on hand to start Friday morning, they remained in their hotel waiting for us. Reddick and VVollam lodged on Wednesday night with an exceedingly hospitable and influential rebel who lived in a large double house. Tney won his entire confidence even too completely, for he was very anxious that they should enlist in a cavalry company his son was commissioned to raise for Confederate service. Fortunately they had told him a slight modification of the common Kentucky story — claiming that they were already enlisted in the regiment of a Kentucky Colonel Williams, and The Heart of the Confederacy Readied. 79 were now on their way to join him. Their host offered to send at once to Colonel Williams and get them excused, entertaining them in the mean- while at his house, if they would only consent to join his son; adding that some other Kentuckians had just passed by who had left their homes in the same way, and he had sent on to Jasper to persuade them also to re- turn. They still refused to yield. He then told them that it was two days' hard walk from where they were to Chattanooga, but that he could put them on a plan by which they could reach there that same evening. ; "It is against the law," he added, "for any man in this country to ferry, except the regular ferryman, but to help you along I will take the responsibility upon myself. My sons are ferrying bacon across the river for the army; you go down and tell them that I said for them to put you over. It will then be only half a mile to Shell- Mound station, and you will have time enough to catch the twelve o'clock train for Chati^nooga. " He then gave them a guide to the ferry, and his boys obe- diently set them over and direc- ted them to the station. They had to wait long for the arrival of the train, which was several hours late. When it came they found a whole regiment of rebel soldiers on board, who had been sent on to Corinth to reinforce Beauregard, but for some reason that they did not understand had been turned back. Reddick and Wol- 1am did not fail to get on board and were kindly received, but managed to say little till they reached Chattanooga. They were just in time for the down train for Marietta, but as they had learned that the attempt was to be laid over for another day, they preferred waiting till morning. At the Crutchfield House to which they repaired, there was so great a crowd that the only bed they could get was in the same room with two very sick Confederate soldiers. These had some kind of fever and kept calling for water continually. The bell -knob had a card on it, saying that twenty-five cents would be charged for every time that bell was rung durmg the night. Our comrades, however, had money, and not only remained awake most of the night ministering to their foes, but invested a good many quarters in their behalf. The sick soldiers' gratitude and William Reddick. From a war-time photograph. 8o Daring and Suffering. ■ promises to return the favor if ever in tlieir power, were, under the circuniv stances, very touching. The next day the raiders strolled for a time about the town, l^eing in both the commissary and ordinance departments. This was scarcely pru- dent, but they seem to have acquired perfect confidence. They als(; witnessed the burial of some officers with the honors of war, who had beei. killed at Pittsburg Landing. Happening to go to a photographic gallery they were seized with the desire to have their pictures taken. The artist asked them to wait awhile, as he was engaged in whittling out a frame with his penknife from a cigar box, explaining that since he had been " cut off from communication with Yankeedom," he had been compelled to make everythmg for himself. The frames when completed were very handsome, and the pictures that were then taken for them were prized the more because of this home-made setting; but they were afterwards pre- sented to the wife of Swims, the Chattanooga jailer. In the evening they were at the depot when the remainder of the party came in. Andrews gave them a warm grasp of the hand, and assured them that all was right. There were three other men who reached Chattanooga in advance of the larger party, — an important contingent, for without them the whole expedition would have been helpless. Our engineers, Brown and Knight, were with this squad. They met at the night consultation, and from that time throughout the expedition were inseparable. They had the same ex- perience with the rain that has already been narrated, sleeping that night in a barn. At day-break they got up and walked five or six miles before breakfast, and then stopped with a strong "Southern rights man," which was just the kind of men they wanted to find. They told him that they were from Fleming Co., Kentucky, and were going to Chattanooga to see if they could find any regiment from their own State in which to enlist. Knight continues: " We asked him for the names of some good men we could trust along the line of our journey, so that we could keep away from all Yankee sympathizers. These he gladly gave, and guided us past the last Federal outpost. Soon after he left us, we came to a rebel picket in the bend of the road, and were upon them before we saw them. They were armed with double-barrelled shot guns and were not slow in bringing them to bear on us, and demanding that we should give an account of ourselves or be blown through. The usual story proving satisfactory, they dropped the guns and presented a quart bottle, whioli, being less formidable, we did not refuse. " That day we crossed the Cumberland Mountains and took dinner just beyond. An old lady and two daughters were the only persons in the house, and there was a small Union flag over the mantel piece. We told them that they were displaying the wrong kind of a banner, but they stood up for the old ' Stars and Stripes ' royally, and it went sorely against the grain for us to disagree with them. That was the last Union flag we saw for eight months. " That night we lodged with a Colonel who was a violent rebel, and gave us a terrible l-:jjf Heart of the Confederacy Reached. 8 1 downsetting on the sly. It would not have been safe for him to say what he did against Union soldiers if we had been sailing under our own colors ; but now he had the advantage, and we took it meekly. He sent us for the next night's lodging to a Major, who was more quiet and seemed to be reading our thoughts in secret. He could not have succeeded very well, for he gave us a letter to a squire, (all the people in the South had some kind of title ! ) and directed us to reach his house by the trail that led over the mountain spurs, through a most desolate part of the country. It was rough travelling, and we did not see a man or a house all day ; but it brought us out all right in the evening, and only five or six miles from Chattanooga. The squire proved to be a good entertainer, which after our dinnerless jaunt was well appreciated ; he seemed also well posted in army movements, telling us how the Yankees were moving on Huntsville, which was no news to us, though we had not before heard it intimated by any of the citizens. He said that the Southern army was moving back only to get the Yanks in a trap, which they had already set. He told us that we might see the last one of them in irons in Chattanooga before many days. We did not believe him then, but we certainly did see some of them in that condition. The squire was kind enough to give us a letter in the morning, which he said would pass us over the river, and introduce us to a Colonel in Chattanooga. We did not need to use it for the first, as there were no guards set that day ; and we had no inclination to use it for an introduction. " During the day we strolled around the streets of the village — for at that time Chat- tanooga was nothing more — and saw whatever we thought worth looking at. Toward even- ing we saw many of our party coming in. I did not know them personally, as I had not yet had an opportunity of becoming acquainted, but I could have picked them out from the whole Southern army. We were at the depot in time to take the evening train, with the others, for Marietta." Thus there were on Friday morning at least seven of our party south of the Tennessee, and it was necessary that we should overtake them before they arrived at Marietta, or join them this evening at that point. Notwithstanding our protracted gaiety at "the widow Hall's," we were up by daybreak, and Andrews mounted and rode back into the country without waiting for breakfast. It was but a few hundred yards to a place where an old flat-boat was kept, by which we intended to cross the Ten- nessee. So we waited for our breakfast and then went leisurely down to the river bank, for we had ample time to reach the station on the other side before the noon train; not to be in a hurry was a great luxury. But whiie the owner of the flat-boat was bailing it out, a man rode up with a stringent order to permit no person to cross, on any pretense, for three days. The only explanation given was the rumor that the Yankees were coming. We had no fear of the Yankees, and wanted to get over very badly; but our urgency could make no impression. We might have forced a passage, but we wished to abstain from violence. To build a raft and get over was possible, but if seen would have been reported at Chattanooga, and might have led to a searching investigation. The best thing we could think of was to go up the river to Chattanooga, and try to get over directly at the town. This involved a laborious and hurried half day's journey mostly over mountain paths and rugged valleys. The river is very crooked and as we journeyed we were sometimes on its banks, and again, 82 Daring and Suffering. hi miles distant. At length we turned into a road that was more travelled, and which led down a valley directly to the river bank nearly opposite Chattanooga. Travellers were now more frequent and from them we learned many items of news. The accounts of the battle of Pittsburg Landing were not quite so rose-colored as the day before, but still they told of a wonderful victory, though not won without considerable loss. One item of news from the East was still more interesting: it was that the Merrimac had steamed out, and after engaging the Monitor for some time without decisive result, had thrown her grappling irons on the latter, and towed her ashore, where of course she fell an easy prey. Our infor- Preparing to Cross the Tennessee River. mant claimed that now, as the Confederates had the two best gunboats in the world, they would be able to raise the blockade without difficulty, and burn the Northern cities. I need not say that the histories of the war have all neglected to record this wonderful capture. From this time forward we heard of almost continuous Confederate victories, although it was not infrequently stated, after a battle, that their own forces had fallen back for strategic reasons. On reaching the river shortly after noon we saw a large number of persons, several of them belonging to our own party. The ferryman was also here with his craft, a little frail boat driven by horses, but such a fearful wind storm was raging that he feared to attempt the passage. We waited as patiently as possible. Others of our number came up and the The Heart of the Confederacy Reached. 83 danger of detection correspondingly increased. We urged the boatman to try the passage, and not to be afraid of a httle breeze, but he was un- willing to do this until the wind moderated, as he said it was sure to do with the setting of the sun. This was well enough, had it not been that our train on the other side — the last which would be of any service to us — was to start at five o'clock in the afternoon, and it was drawing uncom- fortably near that time. At length, when we could not persuade him, we tried another plan — that of making him angry. We talked at him, speak- ing of his cowardice, which we contrasted with the bravery of Kentuckians or even of Ohio Yankees ! Soon he grew very indignant, and told us that if we would only show some of our skill by helping him to get out in the stream, he would put us across or drown us in the attempt; and for his part he did not care much which. We promptly accepted the not very gracious invitation, and when all who were willing to risk the passage were on board, we took hold with pushing poles, and also pulling on overhang- ing limbs, — for the river was flooded, and the current very swift, against which the beating of the wind raised sharp and ugly waves, — we succeeded in getting a good start up the river and after some tossing landed safely on the other side. We cared very little for the danger by water, because we feared an- other more formidable on the land. We had every reason to anticipate a strict guard on the Chattanooga shore, and supposed that at the rebel headquarters they would be less easy to satisfy than the citizens in the mountains. No pass had been asked for by the ferryman; but this was natural enough if the guard was on the other side. We looked with keenest interest across the turbid water toward the town. We saw no sign of fortifications, and at this date there were none. What then was there in its situation which made this place of so great import- ance, and caused rivers of blood afterwards to be shed for its possession? Chattanooga is not on a high mountain- — indeed much of it lies so low as to be easily flooded by the Tennessee — but there are sufficiently steep hills of moderate height immediately around it to render fortification easy. At a distance it is surrounded by mighty mountain ramparts, from which it commands the egress in almost every direction. Many valleys converge at or near Chattanooga — the upper and lower Tennessee, North and South Lookout, Chickamauga, and Sequatchie. The sides of these are all very steep, and some absolutely impassable to an army. This is the reason that all common roads and railroads through a large section of the coun- try converge at Chattanooga. Now it is a military maxim that an army is never so easily attacked and destroyed, or, on the other side, is never so weak in aggression, as when emerging from a mountain defile. Chatta- nooga, if adequately fortified and held by a moderate force, was well-nigh impregnable, and dominated all the surrounding country; it furnished the 84 Daring and Suffering. Surroundings of Chattanooga. best starting-point for a hostile movement in any direction. Wlien to this is added the fact that it was the natural centre of a great mountain district passionately loyal to the old flag, its importance to the Federals early in the war is seen to be immeasurable. Had Mitchel reached Chattanooga a day or two after we stood gazing at the town, ami with the bridges south of it burned, two or three things would have followed with almost mathematical certainty. He would have skillfully and quickly fortified the place; down every mountain defile would have streamed loyal recruits to his ban- ner; and East Tennessee, already in insurrection, would have driven out Gen. E. Kirby Smith with his small army. No doubt the enemy would have put forth tremendous efforts to regain a place of so much importance. But Mitchel would have had railroad communications open with Nashville and the North, while the enemy could not have come nearer than fifty miles by rail. Mitchel's army would have been at once increased; and he, not the languid Halleck, would probably have been the great man of the day, and the first Commander-in-Chief ! But the great and immediate question with us was, " How shall we pass the guard on the further side?" Judge then of our delight when, on crossing, we saw no guard whatever and were permitted to pass unques- tioned, and without entering the town, directly to the railroad station, where we had less than an hour to wait for the train. I have never learned certainly the reason of this sudden relaxation of vigilance. The simplest explanation would be to suppose that the sentries were with- drawn because no one was expected to cross in such a storm; but it is not common for soldiers on guard to be permitted so much indulgence. Probably all attention was called westward to meet the alarming ad- vance of Mitchel in the direction of Bridgeport. The panic produced by his occupation of Huntsville and his headlong rush eastward on the railroads with train-loads of soldiers, was intense, and the attention of the enemy was about equally divided l)etween preparing to resist, and preparing to evacuate — either of which called for the employment of every disposable soldier The occupation of this road also cut Chatta- nooga off from dire'ct communication with Beauregard at Corinth, leaving only the circuitous route through Atlanta; and when this also was de- stroyed for a time the next day, the excitement knew no bounds. At the station we found several of our party who had come earlier, The Heart of the Confederacy Reached. %^ and, like us, were waiting for tlie train. We also found a lar^e number of passengers, many of them soldiers. Of the town itself we saw almost nothing. ^ When we had purchased our tickets, and had ceased to walk about the station for the purpose of looking for others of our party, we got on board. Many of the passengers were furloughed soldiers, who were going back by the southern route to join Beauregard. 'J'he conversation still turned to the mighty battle of Pittsburg Landing, and the spirit of the soldiers seemed to be wonderfully stimulated by what they regarded as a great triumph. We took part in the talk, and expressing as much interest as any, our true character was not suspected. There was no system of pass- ports then in use on that line, or, indeed, in most others in the South, and travel was entirely unrestricted. Our raid, however, wrought a complete change in this particular. The sun was about an hour high as we glided out of the depot, and it soon sank to rest behind the hills of Georgia. On the northern end of the road which frequently crosses the crooked Chickamauga creek, there are many bridges, and one additional over the same stream on tlie East Tennessee Road— eleven large ones within thirty miles ; and as we ran southward we could not help picturing our proposed return on the morrow, and the probabilities of the destruction we intended to wreak upon them. Darkness gradually closed in, and on we went amid the laugtiter and oaths of the Confederates, many of whom were very much nitoxicated. I had been standing, but now procured a seat on the coal- box, and gave myself up to reflections, naturally suggested by the near culmination of our enterprise. Visions of former days and friends— dear friends both around the camp-fire and the hearth at home, whom I might never see again, floated before me. But before these had deepened into sleep, I was aroused by the call of " Dalton," the supper station. It was after dark, for tiie train had been making very slow time— whether it was behind or not I do not know, but the running on all the Southern roads was but moderate. There was a great rush for places at supper, and as I was near the door and excessively hungry, I managed to be among the foremost, and secured a good meal. I remember it the more vividly as It was the last regular meal to which I sat down for more than eleven months ! Not all of the passengers were so fortunate. There was not even room lor all at the second table, though the conductor was very patient. Buffum raised quite a laugh l)y a dexterous manoeuvre. He was small and agile, and when a large rebel officer rose from the table, Buffum stooped down and, rising under his arm, dropped into his place, just as a half dozen famished persons rushed for it. "That's a Yankee trick ! " was called out with some indignation, and a good deal more truth than the speaker imagined, for Buffum was a native of Massachusetts ! 86 Daring and Suffering. After supper I felt too comfortable to trouble myself much furthei either with speculations or memories equally vain; so, as the night wore on. I sank into a refreshing slumber, having obtained a regular seat in place of the one on the coal-box. Near midnight we were awakened by the conductor calling " Marietta." The goal was reached. We were now almost directly in the centre of the Confederacy, with our deadly enemies all around us. Before we coulc return many miles toward our own lines we were to strike a blow tha* would either make all rebeldom vibrate to its centre, or be ourselves at the m.ercy of the merciless. It was a time for very serious thought; but most of us were too weary to indulge in it. In the Tremont House, the greater part of us registered names — either our own or others — and were soon sleeping soundly — the last time we slept in bed for many weary months ! Andrews was with the larger party in the hotel near the railroad station, while four others, among whom were our three engineers, were in the other hotel at some distance. Two of these were not awakened in time for the next morning's train, and the other two were barely able to get over. Had they been a few moments later the great railroad adventure, with all its excitement and tragedy, would not have been! In order that the desperate chase of the morrow, and all the causes that affected its issue, may be fully understood, it is now necessary to narrate what had taken place since the adventurers had left their camp four days earlier. We do this the more willingly because no other cam- paign in the whole civil war displayed more of genius in conception, or of energy in execution. CHAPTER VIII. THE BLOODLESS VICTORIES OF MITCHEL.^ \ \ 7^^^ ^^"- Mitchel broke camp at Shelbyville on Tuesday morning, V V ^P'"'^ ^' ^^^^' '""^^ destination was a profound secret. Some of his soldiers may have conjectured that he meant to march to Huntsville and seize the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, but he com- municated his intention to no one. Even Gen. Buell was not positively informed, so far as appears; for that ofificer, after having written the com- prehensive letter of instruction dated March 27, 1862,= that summed up the views on which the two commanders agreed, had left him with virtually an independent command. He was now about to undertake a bold but not unduly hazardous advance, which, if successful, would regain more territory for the flag than any other movement hitherto made by the Union armies, except that on Fort Donelson. At the worst he would but be attacking the foe, who would otherwise attack him. The accompanying map will give a good idea of the campaign. Two railroads leading south diverged at Nashville, and after running about a hundred and twenty miles struck the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, which ran east and west to Decatur and Stevenson, points about ninety- five miles apart. There is a great bridge over the Tennessee River at Decatur and another long double bridge, with an island in the centre, at Bridgeport, likewise on the line of the Memphis and Charleston railroad. Between these bridges the Tennessee River arches south like a great bow, of which the railroad forms the string. Huntsville was situated on this railroad, nearer to Decatur than to Bridgeport. The first part of Mitchel's plan was to move quickly between the east and west railroads to Hunts- ville, and then, dividing his force, to occupy all the Memphis and Charles- ton Road north of the Tennessee; the second part was still more extended. Mitchel's army consisted of the three brigades of his own division with infantry and cavalry, amounting in all to about 10,000, in the highest state of efficiency; also Gen. Negley's brigade at Columbia with addi- tional scattered regiments designed to guard Nashville and protect his ' Special obligation is acknowledged to F. A. Mitchel, Esqr.. for use of papers relating to his father's campaign. The substance of some of his descriptions is closely followed. ^ War Records, Series I., Vol. X., Part 2, page 71. 88 Daring and Suffering. communications, numbering 7000 or 8000 more. These, however, were to be under his direct command only in case of emergency; but they did add materially to his strength. On Monday night' there was an almost tropical rainfall, which con- tinued with slight intermission the following day. This made the process of striking tents and preparing for marching Tuesday forenoon far from pleasant. Preparations were made very leisurely and no indication of hurry given A civilian can form but little idea of the discomfort and Charlotte o ,„„,,r:, IFrarfldin XewTourgh Shelbyville 3Iancliestei: '^^^Z S.S v. / 5* °A AltinontO-- fx 'A- '^3 # L/wrenceDurg ^jSu,aski5 (Fayetteville TVinchPSter A TV Decatur 3rou:ton° --i^tj^^- f Coal >nt\?s J -■/''^^ />► JaspeiiJ( StevensonVr^,^'!^ \ \ > .-••'^ mM^ \ 7 The Campaign of Gen. Mitchel. dreariness of moving camp in the midst of a rain-storm. The tents are wet through as soon as struck, the clothing of the soldiers is in the same condition; the knapsacks are wet outside and too often inside also; the three days' rations carried in the haversacks must be watched very closely, or sugar, salt, and crackers will melt into a paste-like mass. The forty rounds of ammunition and the loaded musket must be kept dry at any cost. Then the slow ploughing of the wagons through the mud, the sticking fast ^ The Andrews expedition left camp the same night. The Bloodless Victories of Mitchel. 89 of cannon, the roads soon trodden into thick and almost bottomless jelly — these are but ordinary discomforts, of which a soldier h:is no right to make special complaint. A forced march under such conditions is, how- ever, a terrible hardship, which only a General of iron will and great as- cendancy over his men can exact. But Mitchel had taught his troops to endure "hardness as good soldiers," and they plodded on. If the great weight of water-soaked garments and blankets, added to arms and equip- ments — a total of perhaps sixty pounds per man — with the mud under foot, compelled them to go slower, they only marched the more hours; if the wagons with the camp equipage could not get up to the camp at night- fall, the men laid down unsheltered on the flooded ground; and when the heavy wagons became immovable, the soldiers took rails and pried them out. So the great column moved wearily on. The cavalry was thrown far out on the flanks to bring in all travellers, and guard against any sud- den dash of an enemy, while chosen companies of infantry, also in advance of the solid marching columns, were scattered as skirmishers over the hills and through the woods, keeping even pace with their comrades in the road, and watching to see that no foe was lurking in ambush. Thus the great army with its many hundreds of wagons and cavalrymen, and thou- sands of marching men, wound its way steadily over the gentle hills and valleys and flooded rivulets of middle Tennessee. Fayetteville, a distance of twenty-seven miles, was reached in two days. Here one brigade was left behind as a guard for all the baggage and wagons not immediately needed in the still more active service beyond. The other two brigades rested till noon of Thursday, April loth, and then, being in light marching order, moved more easily and swiftly for- ward. The rain did not fall on this day and a strong wind soon made the roads more passable. One brigade continued longer on the march than the other, pressing on and on, till at dusk they turned into the fields for rest, pitching no tents and kindling no fires, but sleeping on their arms. Now they were within ten miles of Huntsville. Pickets were thrown out in all directions, and every person stirring was arrested, both to gain in- formation and to prevent any being carried to the enemy. The Huntsville mail coach w.s captured, and brought into the circle of peopled fields. From twilight until the moon went down about two o'clock all was quiet, and the soldiers, who were not on the terribly severe outpost duty, rested as best they could. Had the advance of the army been watched, the report would have doubtless gone forward that they were safely en- camped for the night. But this interval was one of intense anxiety for the commander, who was alert and at work all that night. He visited pickets and personally questioned citizens. At midnight came startling intelligence. A negro just captured made the assertion, on the authority of his master, that 5000 troops had arrived at Huntsville, and what was go Daring and Suffering. still worse, that they had been warned of the coming of the Yankees/ There was nothing improbable in such a body of the enemy being there, for Huntsville was in direct communication with the principal armies of the South, and Mitchel afterwards said that he fully credited the presence of the troops, but did not believe, in view of his precautions, that they could know of his own coming. The outlook was far from cheering, for he had not more than three thousand men in his advance-guard, with which the town must be won, if he was to realize the advantage of a sur- prise. But he did not for a moment hesitate. The cavalry was divided into three bands. The first and second, accompanied by two or three light guns, were to diverge in opposite directions from the main body and strike the railroad some distance on each side of town, for the purpose of preventing the escape of any engines or cars, and also by cutting the tele- graph wires to keep the capture a secret until Mitchel was ready to report it to the enemy by a further advance. The third detachment was to gal- lop directly to the telegraph ofifice and depot, stopping for nothing else, in order to capture all dispatches and prevent destruction of property. Before two o'clock the men were called to their feet without roll of drum or note of bugle, and Mitchel, who was a ready and inspiring speaker, briefly addressed each regiment as it filed past into the road, telling what a glorious morning's work was before them, and asking them to preserve perfect silence till the moment of action. Then they glided on their ghostly way like an army of shadows — even the horses seeming almost conscious that they were stealing on a sleeping foe ! No conversa- tion was permitted; the wagons were left behind; even the few cannons were moved so steadily and carefully over the muddy roads that, except on striking an occasional stone, or rumbling over a bridge, they gave no sound. As the morning hours wore on, the soldiers, in spite of the thrilling nature of their advance, grew tired and sleepy. Half way the little village of Meridianville was reached, and soon silently left behind, seeming like a city of the dead, for no voice or sound was heard, and the people could scarcely credit it when told that an army had gone by while they slept ! The coming of the dawn was watched for with the greatest eagerness by all the soldiers. At the first tinge of day, a party of cavalry galloped off to the West and was soon out of sight. The danger of the enemy's escape was greatest in that direction, as on the eastern side the railroad bent northward toward them. The success of this first party was complete and eventless. Now Huntsville is but four miles away, and the railroad leading east- ' The negro's story was in part true as to the troops. Over 3,000 had passed through Huntsville the day before. War Records, Series I., Vol. X., Part i, page 643. The Bloodless Victories of Mitchel. 91 ^ard not half that distance. The dawn broadens into clear twilight and the advance-guard hasten their steps; the infantry take the side of the road while the few pieces of artillery roll rapidly down the centre. An- other party of cavalry at full speed rushes eastward over the level fields. All restraint as to noise is removed, for speed, and not silence, is now the aim. Then followed an exciting scene. The scream of a locomotive —the regular eastward train to Chattanooga — rises shrill on the morning air. The engineer sees the army, and stops for a moment only, thefi presses on under full steam. One cannon is thrown into position — the mark is large but the distance great, and the time short ! The cannon booms, and the locomotive answers with a defiant scream — unhurt ! and goes roaring and rattling away among the hills. One train has escaped ! Another locomotive follows, but the second gunner is ready with better aim. Another long range shot and the engine is disabled and the engineer killed. Now the cavalry have reached the track and there can be no more escape for the valuable engines shut up in the enemy's town. But the third party, accompanied by Gen. Mitchel himself, have not checked their horses to see the result of this duel between cannon and locomotives. They gallop at breakneck speed into Huntsville, followed fast by the infantry, who have now forgotten all weariness, as soldiers will when the sound of guns is heard. If any enemy is in the town he must be given no time to rally; if not, all property must be saved, and at the telegraph office secrets hi the enemy may be found of greatest value. Citizens are roused from their morning slumbers, and doors and windows are thrown open, while the cry goes up from a thousand voices, "The Yankees are coming." Men rush into the streets almost naked, women faint, and children scream, while the negroes laugh, because it is only what they have long been hoping and praying for ! Fifteen locomotives and eighty cars,' two southern mails, all the tele- graphic apparatus, and one cypher message of priceless value— if it could be read -were captured. There was no key to the cypher, but Mitchel's wide knowledge came to his aid. He understood the principles on which cyphers were made; and laying it on the table and calling some of the young men of his staff to his aid, they soon made it give up its secret — when lo ! an appeal from Beauregard at Corinth to the rebel Secretary of War for help ! giving the exact number of his effective men, and stating that he was utterly unable to resist an advance in force by the Union army ! This was dated April 9=— only two days before— and as Hunts- ville was a repeating station, it had been copied, and the paper, which looked like a jumble of nonsense, was left lying on the desk. It was sent *t once to Buell and Halleck, and if they had been energetic soldiers, it • War Records, Series I., Vol. X., Part i, page 641. ' War Records, Series I., Vol. X., Part 2, page 618. 02 Daring and Suffering. would have sealed the doom of the rebel army at Corinth ! But against stupidity, it is said that even the gods fight in vain ! The despatch was only published in the Northern papers, and gave the Confederate War Department great trouble and perplexity, in trying to make out how it could possibly have been obtained and deciphered.' But Mitchel's work was not finished. Tne capture of Huntsville would be almost valueless if he did nothing more. At once he reorganized the railroad management, and spent the day in getting ready two other expeditions — this time by rail, where danger might be greater but hard- ships to the soldiers would be far less. Whether the first suggestion of running a train of cars through an enemy's country while they were sur- prised and deceived as to its character, came first from Andrews in his proposed railroad expedition, we do not know. The first expedition now planned consisted of a single regiment. This was placed on a train at six o'clock in the evening, and steamed slowly westward to save the Decatur bridge, and if possible to open communica- tion with Buell, by means of which a part of that army, which was now clearly not needed at Shiloh^ (unless for an immediate attack), might be used for great enterprises eastward. This expedition was perfectly suc- cessful. But to the east there were greater obstacles. The distance, even if Mitchel only advanced to Stevenson, was greater, being some seventy miles, while to Decatur was only twenty-five;* and the train which had escaped would naturally warn the enemy that some kind of a demonstra- tion was being made at Huntsville, though they could not know whether it was only a dashing raid, or an advance in force. But another matter in which Mitchel was still more interested might either be of the greatest help or a serious hindrance. The Andrews party he had sent into Georgia, would early this day, if on time, start toward Huntsville; and Mitchel could not on Friday have forgotten the men who had been picked from a whole brigade for desperate service on Monday. They could not reach Huntsville before the middle of the afternoon, but if they came then and had succeeded in burning the Chickamauga bridges, all his work and the grandest opportunity of the war would lie clear before him. They would bear exact information of the number and condition of the enemy's troops all along the line, and the state of the road over which they had passed. Then he could load his trains, using perhaps one of Andrews's engineers, and run, not simply to Stevenson or Bridgeport; but to Chattanooga at once; then with railroad communications opened with Halleck and Buell, and also with Nashville and the North; — with Beauregard despairing and demoralized at Corinth; with Lee outnumbered in the East; with the sea- ' War Records, Series I., Vol. X., Part 2, page 439. 'In the captured despatch Beauregard said he had but 35,000 men. The Bloodless Victories of Mitchel. 93 coast towns from which the rebels alone could draw any immediate supply of men, cut off by the burning of the Western and Atlantic bridges; — what might not be hoped ? The right use of the Western army would then end the war in a few weeks ! It was such considerations that prompted Judge Holt to say,' " The expedition itself, in the daring of its conception, had the wildness of a romance, while in the gigantic and overwhelming results which it sought and was likely to accomplish, it was absolutely sublime. ****** 'piig whole aspect of the War in the South and Southwest would have been at once changed; " and also led the Atlanta " Southern Confederacy'' of April 15, 1862, to exclaim,^ "It is not by any means certain that the annihilation of Beauregard's whole army at Corinth would be so fatal a blow to us as would have been the burning of these bridges at that 'time by these men." But alas I on that Friday, when the whole road from Chattanooga west- ward would have been open for us, and while Mitchel and his heroic army would make all the hills of Huntsville ring with cheers over our arrival, we were only going toward our destination as ordinary passengers, with all our work still to do! However, it was not yet too late for all the conse- quences described, if the work was still done; but Mitchel, in running eastward, would need to go very slowly, with a sharp lookout lest he should encounter our belated train. He could go to meet us, and at the same time hold the railroad according to his original plan — though without news from us, he would not wish to venture beyond Bridgeport. It was hardly an accident that Gen. Sill's Brigade — that from which the Andrews party had been selected — was chosen for this service The troops, per- fectly equipped, were loaded on long flat cars with low sides, that there might be no obstacle to their firing immediately or debarking to meet a foe. Two cannon mounted on a flat car pointed diagonally ahead on each side of the locomotive and were at least formidable in appearance. When every preparation had been completed, long after dark,^ the train, with 2000 men on board, and Mitchel himself stationed with t:\ engineer, moved silently from Huntsville on its perilous way. No other such advance over an enemy's railroad directly into an enemy's country was ever made during this or any other war. It was a perilous novelty. The progress was necessarily very slow. With a clear track the seventy miles to Stevenson might easily be made in two hours; but nearly five times that long was required. At every bend an ambush might be found, or an armed train, sent out by the rebels to learn why no ' War Records, Series I., Vol. X., Part i, page 631. ^ Ibid. 3 There is a great apparent discrepancy in the date of this expedition, some accounts placing it on the nth, others on the 12th. Probably it started near midnight, Friday evening or Saturday morning. 94 Daring and Suffering. Gen. Mitchel's Armed Train. The Bloodtess Victories of MttcheL 95 trains or telegrams came from Huntsville, might bear down upon them, and cause a frightful accident. The Andrews party might yet come, fol- lowed by a rebel train — in short the unknown road before them was full of alarming possibilities. A timid General would never have undertaken such a run. He would have preferred to advance on foot, or at least to keep cavalry guards ahead of the train, and in consequence would have en- countered far more real danger. On the m.orning of April 12, the little division of Mitchel presented, — had an eye been able to look over all the military field — an imposing spec- tacle, such as no equal body of men afforded during the war. They we-ir»- spread over more than two hundred miles of railroad. The Andrews party had captured their train and were running northward toward Chatta- nooga; another portion were far to the west, pressing on toward Decatur and Tuscumbia, two-thirds of the way from Huntsville to Buell's army; a stronger detachment was running eastward toward Chattanooga, certain to reach that point if the north-bound train did its work; while the remainder of the division which had been left behind on the forced march, was clos- ing up, overland, to Huntsville ! Such unparalleled activity showed that one commander at least wanted to finish the war. All obstacles were surmounted by the train which bore Sill's brigade, and early in the afternoon it drew near to Stevenson. Still no word of the Andrews train, which had been having a day of wild adventure and terrible vicissitudes of fortune far beyond that which came to any of the other railroad parties ! At Stevenson there were 2000 of the enemy, but these fled in all haste on Mitchel's coming, without firing a gun. Mitchel remained a short time securing the six additional loco- motives found at Stevenson, and then, getting aboard the train, steamed seven miles further to Widden's Creek.' This was the extreme point of his advance. Here he waited and pondered the situation. If Andrews had finished his work on Friday he would have reached Huntsville the same day. Even if he had burned his bridges on Saturday, it was now past time for him to have reported at this advanced post. It would not be prudent for Mitchel, in the absence of any intelligence, to advance further, at least until his western expedition had fully accomplished its work of joining communication with Buell. He could easily go on four miles further and reach the Tennessee River; but there was great danger that if he went that far, and then did not at once rush on and over the bridge, that the enemy would be alarmed, and burn it, which he was very anxious to prevent, as he says (letter to Chase, April 21, 1862), "I spared the Tennessee bridges in the hope that I might be permitted to march on Chattanooga and Knoxville." ^ He also says in his original report to Gen. ' E. Kirby Smith's Report, Series I., War Records, Vol. X.. Part I, page 643. * War Records, Series I., Vol. X., Part 2, page 115. q5 Daring and Suffering. Buell, April 12 (by mistake dated April 11), " I also ordered the destruc- tion o'f a small bridge between Stevenson and Bridgeport, which we can replace, if necessary, in a single day; " ^ and adds on April 29th his strong desire to strike a blow at Chattanooga, for which purpose he had spared the Tennessee bridge." From these dispatches we can almost watch the operations of Mitchel s mind as he paused at this bridge. By burning it, the enemy would think that he meant to go no further, and would spare the great bridges over the Tennessee, which would thus be ready for his use as soon as he should need them; if Andrews still came, he with his party could cross those bridges, and their engine be either abandoned, destroyed or left there until this bridge, " in a single day," had been rebuilt. At length, feeling that further delay was useless, Mitchel ordered com- bustibles placed under the bridge at Widden's Creek, and the fire to be kindled. He watched the rising flames for a time, and then turned away. It was the culmination of his own star, which from that time began to pale. He rendered excellent service to the country afterward, but from the hour in which he turned back on the road to Chattanooga, his opportunity to become the great general of the war ended. The fault was not his own, but the result was none the less sure. ^ ' War Records, Series I., Vol. X., Part i, page 642. ■ War Records, Series I., Vol. X., Part 2, page 619, % CHAPTER IX. CAPTURE OF THE TRAIN. THERE was a great panic in Chattanooga on Friday, April i ith. The day before, Gen. Maxey, who had commanded at Chattanooga, was sent to Corinth with three regiments and a battalion. These just succeeded in getting by before the capture of Huntsville. Only four regi- ments were now within reach— two at Bridgeport and two, one of which had not yet been armed, at Chattanooga. This great diminution of force, with the changes it required, was the probable reason for our party finding no guard at the ferry when we crossed at Chattanooga on the nth. The're was a regiment at Dalton, some three or four at Big Shanty, and six more somewhere on the way from Charleston. But all these except those at Bridgeport and Chattanooga could be brought up only by the line of railroad connecting with Atlanta. The slender and partly unarmed garrison of perfectly raw troops was under the command of Gen. Lead- better, a man whose only celebrity was in the terrible cruelties he had in- flicted on the Unionists of East Tennessee, many of whom had been hanged by him with scarcely the form of a trial, and multitudes of others subjected to the most barbarous imprisonment. He soon came to be as much despised by the Confederates for his cowardice as he was hated for his cruelty by the Union people. The train which had escaped Mitchel at Huntsville, Friday morning, arrived at Chattanooga about noon. They could only say that they had been fired on by artillery, and had seen charging cavalry. From their story it did not appear whether a lodgment had been effected on the line of the road or not; and the opinion was general that nothing more than a dashing raid for the destruction of property was intended. But telegra- phic communications were interrupted; no more trains came in, and none were suffered to go out until definite intelligence could be received. Toward evening the excitement increased, though the officials tried as much as possible to prevent knowledge of the trouble from getting among the people. Soon additional offices were cut off from the telegraph line; and the military authorities promptly made arrangements for removing valuable stores from the city, lest the enemy should suddenly sweep upon it as he evidently had done upon Huntsville. q8 Daring and Suffering. It is interesting to consider what would have happened if Mitchel with, out waiting for his raiders had pushed on to Chattanooga the next day. Gen. Smith has expressed the opinion that he might as well have done so as not, " If he had not been too timid ! " The full published reports en- able us at this distance of time to understand the situation as neither Mitchel nor Smith did then. Mitchel was advancing with two thousand choice troops, thoroughly disciplined and organized. For the present, this was about all that could have been spared from other parts of his line. He would have met at Chattanooga, or on the way, four regiments commanded by a coward, all raw, and one of them armed only with squirrel rifles and shot guns. The result of the first onset would not have been for a moment doubtful, and on Sunday Mitchel would have possessed Chattanooga. But all of the enemy who escaped would then have been reinforced by the six' regiments that Beauregard had telegraphed as being on the way from Charleston to Chat- tanooga; four or five more scattered along the road from Atlanta; and four which Smith says could have been spared from East Tennessee for offensive operations. Some sixteen or eighteen regiments could have gathered around the little band of Ohioans within two days, and have se- lected their point of attack— either at Chattanooga, or anywhere on the line of communications toward Bridgeport, or beyond. The highest gen- ius could scarcely have saved Mitchel, or have secured time for the slow help of Gen. Buell. But with the Oostenaula and Chickamauga bridges of the Western and Atlantic, and the Chickamauga bridge of the East Tennessee Railroad burned, all this is changed. All the regiments from the sea-coast and Big Shanty would then be stopped f^fty miles away. Smith and his four reg- iments could not come nearer by rail than ten or twelve miles of Chat- tanooga. They could form no junction with the other regiments, and could^attack in one direction only. Thus Mitchel would have time to bring up his own reserve force of f\ve or six thousand, join hands with Buell at Corinth, and with all the forces of the North at Nashville; and if the South chose to further reinforce, and make the f^nal issue of the war to be deter- mined around Chattanooga, the Federals would have no reason to com- plain. But enough of military speculation as to what might have been ! The Andrews party were greatly crowded in the large hotel at Marietta on Friday night, having to sleep three or four to a bed, but soldiers are not fastidious, and the greater number slept soundly. We had unbounded confidence in our leader, whose part it was to provide for all contmgencies. Andrews scarcely slept at all that night. He first went to the hotel and saw that those who lodged there had made arrangements for being ' Official Report of E. Kirby Smith, April 13th, 1S62. — War Records, Series I.. Vol. X., Tart i, page 643. Capture of the Train. 99 called on time in the morning. Porter and Hawkins, who had come down the evening before, and had gone to bed much earlier, were not seen, and as they had not paid the waiter any fee for rousing them early, they were left behind; a diminution of our force much regretted, as they were both brave men and Hawkins was an expe- rienced engineer. This left us but nineteen men out of the thirty that, I judge, had been originally selected. We were all roused promptly at the railroad hotel, a little be- fore daybreak. Andrews, who came back to us, now went from room to room while we were dress- ing, seeing every man, giving him exact orders as to his part in the work of the morning. There was suppressed fire in his low, almost whispered words, a calm confi- dence in his tones that was con- The Western and Atlantic, or Georgia State Railroad. Eto^aKV- Big SHanty KENNES^^ tagious. There seemed to be no doubt, hesitation, or shrinking on his part, but, on the contrary, an eagerness and jov that the time was so near at hand. When we were ready, as it still lacked a little of train time, we gathered in Andrews's room for an informal council of war. Some were seated on the edge of the bed, one or two on chairs, and the remainder stood around as best they could. We did not speak very loud as we wished no sharers in our plans. Andrews gave no exhortations— A ^t ^Marietta N.MfCRAES HILU ATLANTA/ lOO Daring and Suffering. the time for that had passed — but" rather cautions to prevent too precipL tate action. He said: "When the train stops at Big Shanty for breakfast, keep your places till I tell you to go. Get seats near each other in the same car, and say nothing about the matter on the way up. If anything unexpected occurs, look to me for the word. You and you," — designating the men, — "will go with me on the engine; all the rest will go on the left of the train forward of where it is uncoupled, and climb on the cars in the best Bed-room Consultation at Marietta. places you can, when the order is given. If anybody interferes, shoot him, but don't fire until it is necessary.'' Sergeant Major Ross, the ranking man of the party, and as brave as any, offered a respectful protest against going further. He said that circumstances had changed since we set out; that it was a day later than planned; that many more troops were at Big Shanty than formerly; that we had noticed the crowded state of the road as we came down, and that Mitchel's movements would make the matter worse. For all these rea% sons he thought it better to put off the attempt, or give it up altogether. Capture of the Train. lOr Our heads were very close together as we tiilked, and the words softly spoken; the door was locked, and the windows overlooked the railroad, so that we were sure to see the train coming. Andrews very quietly answered the objections of Ross, admitting all the facts he stated, but claiming that they only showed our way the clearer. The military excitement and com- motion, and the number of trains on the road would, make our train the less likely to be suspected; and as to the troops at Big Shanty, if we did our work promptly, they would have no chance to interfere. Capturing the train in the camp would be easier than anywhere else, because no one would believe it possible, and there would therefore be no guard. Andrews could always find a reason for everything; but these plausible arguments were not perfectly convincing. Several others, among whom was J. A. Wilson, joined in a respectful protest against proceeding. Then Andrews, speaking even lower, as was his wont when strongly moved, said: " Boys, I tried this once before and failed; now, I will succeed or leave my bones in Dixie." The words and manner thrilled every hearer, and we assured him that we would stand by him, and, if need be, die with him. He grasped our hands and we hurried to the platform, for the train was now almost due, I had said nothing in the discussion, for I felt that we were under the lead- ership of Andrews, and should simply obey, leaving the responsibility to rest on him. I am not sure that, on a later critical occasion, we did not carry this principle a little too far. Although we only needed tickets to Big Shanty, we purchased them to various points along the line that attention might not be attracted by such a number bound to one place. As the train came up, we noticed three closed box-cars attached. Every passenger train, as I have since been informed by Conductor Fuller, was at this time required to carry empty cars northward which were brought back filled with bacon and other pro- visions, vast quantities of which were then being gleaned out of Tennessee and stored in Atlanta. We all took our places close together in one car, that we might be ready to help each other in case of need. Knight sat near the front door, and says that on looking back he saw that most of our men were pale yet resolute. The passengers had that listless and weary air always seen in the early morning on board a train. The conductor, whose name we afterwards learned was William A. Fuller, entered and began to take the tickets. He looked narrowly at us, for it was an uncommon thing for so many persons to enter in a body as did at Marietta; besides, he had been warned very recently to watch that no conscripts used his train for the purpose of escaping, and ordered, in case of suspicion, to telegraph for help at once. No doubt we looked soldierly enough, but he afterwards told me that he did not suspect us of being conscripts. We also scrutinized him carefully, for it was possible Daring and Suffering. 1 02 that he might, if his suspicions were in the least aroused, endeavor to prevent us from taking his train. He was quite young for a conductor, being, as we afterward learned, only twenty-six, though he had been for seven years in that position He had a frank, genial, but resolute face, was of medium size, and looked active and strong. We had little leisure for looking at the grand form of Kenesaw moun- tain which rose on our left, and around the base of which the road de- ' scribes almost a half circle, and then turns away before it reaches Big Shanty. Here was fought one of the severest battles of the war between Sherman and Johnston; but this, with their prolonged struggle over the whole line of this railway, did not come until two years later. The question of deep- est interest to us, and one which would be quickly solved was, "How much of a fight will we have at Big Shanty? If the train is left guarded during breakfast time we will have to overcome the guards; if anybody sees us going on the engine, and a rush is made to prevent, we will have to fight sharply and at close quarters— the most deadly kind of fighting." Every revolver had been carefully exan. ined at Marietta before we slept, and every preparation made, so there was nothing to do but to wait as patiently as we could. ^ ^ It was a thrilling moment when the conductor called out, Big Shanty . twenty minutes for breakfast ! " and we could see the white tents of the rebel troops and even the guards slowly pacing their beats. Big Shanty (now called Kenesaw) had been selected for the seizure because it was a breakfast station, and because it had no telegraph office. When Andrews had been here on the previous expedition, few troops were seen, but the number was now greatly increased. It is difficult to tell just how man^ were actually here, for they were constantly coming and going; but there seems to have been three or four regiments, numbering not far from a thousand men each. Tney were encamped almost entirely on the wes side of the road, but their camp guard included the railroad depot. As soon as the train stopped, the conductor, engineer, f ^"^^"'/"^ ^"^^^^^^ the passengers hurried for breakfast into the long low shed on the east Captain Wm. A. Fuller. From a war-time photograph. Capture of the Train. 103 side of the road, which gave the place its name. No guard whatever was left — a fortunate circumstance for us, but not at all unusual on Southern roads even when not so well guarded by soldiers as this train was. Now was our opportunity ! yet for a moment we were compelled to keep our seats and wait the appointed signal by our leader. It required a strong effort of will to keep from rushing forvard. We had no desire for eating as we saw the passengers leavmg thai.; seats around us and pouring in to breakfast. The moments seemed hours; for we knew that when the signal was given, we must do our work in less than half a minute or be slaughtered on the spot; we also knew that any one of us who failed to get on board with the rest would be lost; but we did not know how long during the twenty minutes Andrews would wait. If anything could be gained by waiting five or ten minutes we were sure that he, with his mar- vellous coolness, would wait and expect us to do the same. It seemed already a considerable interval, for the last passenger who wanted break- fast had left the train and disappeared within the room. But Andrews did not mean delay. He had been absent from the car for a time as we came up the road and had only just returned, and taken his seat close to the door. Now he quietly rose, and without turning his head toward us, stepped to the door with the crowd that was pouring out. Engineer Knight, whether from natural impulsiveness, or at a signal from Andrews, rose also and went out with him. These two got off on the side next to the camp, and opposite the depot. They walked forward at an ordinary pace until abreast of the locomotive, which they saw at a glance to be vacant — engineer and fireman had gone to breakfast. That was very good \ Andrews walked a few steps further forward with Knight still at his side, until he could see ahead of the engine that the track was clear as far as a curve a little way up the road which closed the view. Then they turned and walked back until just in advance of the first bag- gage car and behind the three empty freight cars, when Andrews said with a nod, " Uncouple here and wait for me." Knight drew out the pin and carefully laid it on the draw bar. Andrews came back to the door of our car and opening the door, said in his ordinary tone, not a shade louder or more hurried than usual, "Come on, boys; it is time tG go now." Our hearts gave a great bound at the word, but we rose quietly and followed him. Nothing in this was likely to attract the attention of the few pas- sengers who still remained in the car; but it mattered little, for the time of concealment was now past. Andrews glided forward very swiftly, and Knight, seeing him coming, hurried on before and jumped on the engine, where he at once cut the bell -rope and, seizing the throttle bar, stood lean- ing forward with tense muscles, and eye fixed on the face of his leader. Andrews did not follow, but stood a step back from the locomotive with one hand on the rail, looking at his men as they ran forward. Brown ^mmm5m^^ Capture of the Train. 105 and Wilson (the other engineer and fireman) darted forward at the top of their speed and took their post beside Knight on the engine. As soon as the rest of us reached the hindmost box- car we saw that its door was wide open. Whether this was a mere happy accident, or whether, as is more likely, Andrews had gone forward before we reached the station and opened it, with his usual audacity, I do not know. But he motioned with his hand to us saying, " Get in ! Get in ! " We needed no urging. The floor was breast high, but the hindmost shoved and lifted the foremost and were themselves pulled up in turn. I helped to throw Shadrack up and had my arm almost pulled off as I was dragged in by him a second after. All this time a sentry was standing not a dozen feet from the engine quietly watching, as if this was the most ordinary proceeding, and a number of other soldiers were idling but a short distance away. They had not made up their minds what to say or do, and we were hidden by the train itself from the view of persons at the depot. The first report of the Atlanta papers speaks of four men only as taking the train — no one at Big Shanty seeming to notice any but the four who boarded the engine. All this work was of seconds only, and as the last man was being pulled in, Andrews stepped on board, and nodded to Knight, who had never taken his eyes from his face. Quick as a flash the valve was thrown open and the steam giant unchained ! — but for an instant which seemed terribly \ong ,the locomotive seemed to stand' still; Knight had thrown the full power on too suddenly, and the wheels slipped on the track, whirling with swift revolutions and the hiss of escaping steam, before the inertia of the pon- derous machine could be overcome. But this was an instant only; none of the soldiers had time to raise their muskets, give an alarm, or indeed to recover from their stupor before the wheels " bit," and the train shoi away as if fired from a cannon ! We were now flying on our perilous journey. The door of the box- car was pulled shut to guard against any shot that might be fired, and while partially opened afterwards to give us some view of what was passing, it was always closed again whenever we neared a station. This capture was a wonderful triumph. To seize a train of cars in an enemy's camp, surrounded by thousands of soldiers, and carry it off without a shot fired or an angry gesture, was a marvellous achievement. There are times when whole years of intense enjoyment seem condensed into a single moment. It was so with us then. I could comprehend the emotion of Columbus when he first beheld, through the dim dawn, the long-dreamed- of shores of America, or the less innocent but not less vivid joy of Cortez when he lifted the cross of Spain over the halls of the Montezumas. My heart beat fast with emotions of joy and gladness that words labor in vain to express. It was a moment of rapture such as will never return. Not a dream of failure cast a shadow over us. We had been toid that to reach jq5 Daring and Suffering. \ and take possession of the train would be difficult, but that all the rest of the enterprise would be easy. It would have been on the day or.gu.ally ""'various manifestations of triumph were made as soon as we were off Dorsey sprang to his feet crying, " Boys ! we are done P^^y-S -^^-; " We are out-and-out Yankees from this time on.' But ^^a D. Wdson who was older than the rest of us, cautioned him, saymg, Don t be too fast, Dorsey; we're not out of the woods yet." . , ,] . th. knd indeed it soon seemed as if we were to have serious trouble at he outset. The engine ran slower and slower, until it fi-lly.--^J° ^ ^; stop We were not yet far from camp. There had been just one burst ^ of speed, and then this sickening and alarming failure of power. We asked eagerly of those for- ward what it meant, and the an- swer was far from reassuring — " The steam has gone down." In a few moments we learned the reason. The dampers were closed on the engine fires when the stop for Big Shanty was made, and they were not opened by our boys in the hurry of the start; conse- quently, the fire was almost out. A little oil and some fresh wood promptly mended matters. No time was lost while stopping here in this enforced manner, for we had started ahead of time, and had leisure to obstruct the track. The telegraph wire was also cut. This was necessary, for though there was no office at Big Shanty a notable battery might be found, or a swift messenger be sent back to M rttta, and I sin'g.e lightning flash ahead would blight our fondes hopes. Breaking a wire is not as easy as ,t seems; but we adopted a pla^r which worked all day, and took up no time that was not also u.d.zed fo oLr purposes. John Scott, who was agile as a cat, ran up the pole and knocking off the insulating box at the top, swung down on .t. A small saw found on the engine easily cut the tightly stretched w,re close to the box This did not take more than one or two mmutes. At this first stop, Andrews, who had not shared our uneasiness about .he fire in the engine, came back and clasped our hands in ecstasy, mani- jestinl more excitement than I ever saw in him before; excla.m.ng that John W. Scott. From a war-time photograph. Capture of the Train. 107 we had the enemy now at such disadvantage that he could not harm us or save himself. " When we have passed one more train," he declared," we'll have no hindrance, and then we'll put the engine at full speed, burn the bridges after us, dash through Chattanooga, and on to Mitchel at Hunts- ville. We have the upper hand of the rebels for once ! " By saying that we had only one more train to pass before doing tins, Andrews did not mean that there was but one train coming toward us. There were three, which had already left Chattanooga; but only the first of these, a local freight, which might be met at any point between this and Kingston, was a real obstacle. Andrews knew the time scliedule of the other two, and could plan to meet them at any given station, even if we were far ahead of our own time. Had there been none but these three trains, his triumphing would have been well warranted. The following is the basis upon which Andrews made his calculations: he believed that no engine could be had for pursuit nearer to Big Shanty than Kingston on the north, or Atlanta on the South, each about thirty miles distant. If the rebels pursued toward Kingston the best they could do was to follow us on fleet horses, and the time, allowing for delay in starting, and the state of the roads, could not well be short of three or four hours, by which time we ought to be out of reach, with all our work done. If they rode or sent back to Marietta (where we had lodged for the night), which would seem to be their best plan, that would take at least an hour; then a telegram to Atlanta could very soon start a train after us, but it would be forty or fifty miles behind; and long before it could come up, bridges would be burned, the track and telegraph cut, and the road completely destroyed. We expected to run on our regular time to Kingston, which would thus take about two hours, but to obstruct the track at several places on the way; then with the local freight safely passed, hurry on to the Oostenaula (or Resaca) bridge twenty- four miles further in half an hour more, burn that, and sweep on over the eleven bridges of the Chickamauga, and leaving them in flames (also the one of the East Tennessee road, over the same stream), pass by Chattanooga on the " Y" running over to the Memphis and Charleston road, and press as rapidly as possible westward to Bridgeport, and on to Mitch'^1 wherever he might be. It will be seen that leaving out of account any accident to our train, and any difficulty in passing the trains we were to meet, our calculations were almost dead certainties. With two experienced engineers, and caution in running, accidents were not likely to occur; and Andrews trusted to his own marvelous address (and not vainly, as the result showed) to disarm suspicion from any trains met. On Friday, so far as human vision can now penetrate, these calculations would have worked out with the pre- cision of a machine, and all the results indicated have followed. To-day lo8 Daring and Suffering. there were new elements which were to task our powers to the utmost, but of these we as yet knew nothing. All careful and prudent preparations were now made for a long run. A red flag placed on the last car showed that another train was behind, and served as a kind of silent excuse for being on the time of the morn- ing mail. The engine was also carefully inspected by Knight, whose mechanical knowledge was most useful, and found to be in excellent working condition. It was thoroughly oiled. Then we moved leisurely onward, until we came near Moon's station, where some workmen were engaged on the track, and the opportunity of getting necessary tools was too good to be lost. Brown sprang down and asked a man for a wedge-pointed iron bar with which he was prying. The man gave it at once and Brown stepped back with his booty, but a little disappointed, fo- one of the bent, claw-footed bars, for pulling out spikes, would have been worth iruch more, but they had none. The bar taken was the only one of their tools that seemed likely to be of value, or more would have been borrowed — by force, if not otherwise. As we went on, Andrews cautioned his engineers not to run too fast, which they inclined to do; all of us would have relished more speed in this first part of the journey. But running on all Southern roads in war- times was slow; our train was not scheduled at over sixteen miles an hour. The road itself was exceedingly crooked, with abundance of short curves, and, having but light iron rails, was unfitted for high speed. We were anxious to get past the local freight that we might test the road's capabili- ties. Those on the engine were very much amused, as we ran by station after station, to see the passengers come up with their satchels in their hands, and then shrink back in dismay as we sped past without a sign of halting. But when by, we would stop and cut the telegraph wire so that no suspicions or inquiries could be sent ahead. Thus we passed through Ackworth, and Allatoona, and then stopping again to cut the wire, also endeavored to lift a rail. While we were sure that no train from Big Shanty could follow us, we wished also to make it difficult for one from Atlanta, if any should be sent from there, to run rapidly ; and what was of equal importance, we did not wish the local freight to procciid Southward after we met it, to be turned back by any pursuers. A lifted rail is almost sure to throw an unsuspecting train from the track; and we put such an obstruction before each train that we met on this journey. Yet the process of taking up a rail, though we made much of it, was far from easy with the imperfect tools we possessed. A single tool — a bar constructed expressly for drawing out spikes — would have enabled us to baffle all possible pursuit. But this we did not have, and more than five m'nutes were consumed for each rail taken up, in battering out some spike? with our iron bar, and afterwards prying the remainder loose with Capture of the Train. 109 handspikes, and with the rail itself. This delay was of no great impor- tance now, for we had a superfluity of time; but in the quick and terrible struggle further up the road, when seconds were decisive, it was far other- wise. The rails when lifted were carried away with us, and the break thus left was for a time a barrier (to a train not supplied with track -laying tools) as absolute as a burnt bridge. The feeling of security after such obstruc- Tearing up IracK. tion was very delightful and not unwarranted. In no case did a pursuing train pass a place where we had torn up a rail in time to do us any damage. There was an exultant sense of superiority while running along in the midst of our enemies in this manner, such as a man in a balloon might feel while drifting over hostile camps, or over the raging waves of the ocean. As long as all is well with his balloon the man need not care what takes place in the world below; and as long as our engine retained its 1 10 Daring and Suffering. power and the track was clear before us, we were in a similar state of security. But a knife blade thrust in the silk globe overhead, or the slightest tear in the delicate fabric, will in a second take away the security of the man in the clouds. So the loosening of a bolt, or the breaking of a wheel would leave us powerless in the midst of our deadly enemies. It was such possibilities, always so near, that imparted thrilling interest to our passage through towns and fields and woods in the heart of the enemy's country. At length we reached the Etowah River and safely passed over the great bridge at that point. No stop was made, though the first serious cause for anxiety was here visible. Hitherto everything had worked ex- actly as we had calculated, and our confidence in our leader and in final success was correspondingly increased; but on a side track which con- nected vvith a little branch road that ran up the river about five miles to the Etowah iron-works and rolling-mills, there stood a locomotive! It was but a short distance from us, and the smoke from the funnel showed too plainly that it was ready for work, thus constituting an element of the most dangerous character which had not been embraced in our calcula- tions. It was named the "Yonah," — a private engine used by the owners of the works for their own purposes. Thoroughly as Andrews had ex- plored the road, he had no knowledge of its existence until the moment when he saw it standing on the side track not a dozen yards away, and looking as if it was ready to enter upon a race with our "General'' on equal terms. It was still thirteen miles to Kingston, and the enemy, if there was any direct pursuit, would be able to get an engine that much sooner than we had supposed possible. Several men were gathered about it, but not enough to make an assault seem very formidable to our party. At the first sight, Knight said to Andrews, "We had better destroy that, and the big bridge," but Andrews refused with the remark, ' It won't make any difference." Nearly all critics of the expedition who knew of tht^ presence of this locomotive, — for a long time I did not, as I was shut up in the box-car — are disposed to think that here Andrews made a most unaccountable mis- take. But this is far from certain. Probably he had an aversion to the shedding of blood when not clearly necessary; but this he would not carry so far as to prevent anything he thought best for ultimate success. There is no reasonable doubt that we could have overcome the men about their engine, and then have caused it to jump off the track, or precipitate itself from the bridge; and a very few minutes more would have sufficed for setting the bridge in flames. The morning was damp and it had already began to rain slightly, which would have delayed the burning; yet all might have been done in twenty or thirty minutes, and when accomplished we would have certainly felt safer. Capture of the Train. 1 1 1 But, on the other hand, it must be remembered that the burning of this bridge formed no part of Andrews's original plan, and could have accom- plished nothing more toward the furthering of Mitchel's plans than the burning of the Oostenaula bridge. The local freight train was now due, and if it came in sight while we were engaged in destroying the "Yonah" or the bridge, and getting the alarm as would be almost inevitable under the circumstances, should get away from us and run back to Kingston, or should run on us and cause a wreck, our situation would be far worse than with this engine left behind us. But even if we could be assured that the local would not come, but remain for us at Kingston, still the attack here would alarm the enemy, and we would be followed from this point as readily as from Big Shanty, but eighteen miles further up the road. It would be but little more than an hour's gallop to Kingston, where a train for pursuit would surely be found. The capture at Big Shanty assured us of a longer start under any circumstances than seemed possible if we stopped to strike a blow here. To understand how clearly the case may be presented on the negative side, suppose the most favorable circumstances as actually taking place: We burn the bridge and go on to Kingston, and safely pass the local freight, which goes on southward and, coming in sight of the smoke, is warned in time, learns who has done the mischief and comes back after us ! For throwing off or disabling trains an injured track was far better than a burnt bridge, with its column of smoke visible for miles; though the latter was a far more serious and lasting injury to the road. For this reason we tore up rail: in front of each train that we feared might be turned back after us, in the expectation that it would be disabled by run- ning upon these places before suspecting danger. Viewing the matter from the standpoint of facts then in possession of Andrews, his decision was right. Had nothing else occurred than the presence of this engine "it would have made no difference." Leaving the engine and bridge behind, we glided on through Carters- ville, a town of considerable size, where there were many disappointed pas- sengers on the platform, and continued without incident until we reached Cass station. The town of Cassville is some distance from the railroad, but the station was important for us as the regular place for taking on wood and water. Here we stopped and began to wood up. William Russel, the tender, was naturally curious about the appearance of such a small train running on the time of the morning mail, with no passengers, and none of the regular hands. Here Andrews told a most adroit and carefully planned story, with enough of foundation to make it probable. He claimed to have been sent by Gen. -Beauregard, who was in desperate straits for ammunition, to impress a train, have it loaded with powder, and run it through at lightning speed. Had he been pressed more closely. 112 Daring and Suffering. ne could have produced passes proving himself worthy of belief But it was not necessary to go so far. The very appearance of Andrews, tall, commanding and perfectly self possessed, speaking like one who had long been accustomed to authority, was so much like the ideal Southern officer that Russel's credence was won at once. He knew very well that after such a battle as Pittsburg Landing it was natural that powder should be scarce, and if it did not come at once, what more natural than to send for it? Seeing the impression that he had made, Andrews, who of course did not work at throwing on wood, but left that to his companions, asked if he could not be supplied with a schedule of the road, as it might be useful. Russel, in his patriotic fervor, took down and handed out his own schedule, saying that he would " send his shirt to Beauregard " if the latter wanted it I When asked afterward if he did not suspect a man who made such an unreasonable demand, he answered, " No; I would as soon have suspected Jefferson Davis himself as one who talked with the assur- ance that Andrews did.' We were now within seven miles of Kingston, resupplied with woof? and water, without having met the slightest hindrance, and with a full schedule of the road. But at Kingston we had more reason to apprehend danger than anywhere else along the route, A braach road from Rome connected there with the main track, and the morning train from that town would be awaiting our arrival. This, with the local freight which we hoped to meet, and the complicated arrangement of the switches, would constitute no small obstacle to our onward progress. The real difficulties surpassed expectations. Andrews had made himself familiar with the minutest working of the road at this point, as also at Dalton and Chattanooga, and we would soon be able to see how he would overcome the hindrances ip his way. CHAPTER X. PURSUED ! WE reached Kingston a little ahead of time. A glance showed s that the local freight had not yet arrived. Without the slightest hesitation, Andrews ran a few hundred yards oast the station, and ordered the switch-tender to arrange the switch so as to throw us on the side track; then we backed out on it, stopping on the west side of the station, and almost directly alongside of the Rome passenger train, then lying on its own track, which joined the main line still further north. This train was expecting the coming of Fuller's mail, and of course, the arrival of our partial train in the place of the one they were expecting, was a matter of the greatest interest to them. The engineer stepped over to our locomotive and said, with an oath, " How is this? What's up? Here's their engine with none of their men on board." Fortunately Andrews was just at hand and promptly replied, " I have taken this train by Government authority to run ammunition through to General Beauregard, who must have it at once.'' He waved his hand toward the car in which we were shut up {repre- senting the poiuder !) and they inquired no further in that direction, but simply asked when the passenger train would be along, Andrews re- sponded indifferently, that he could not tell exactly, but supposed it would not be a great while, as they were fitting out another train when he left At- lanta. With this cold comfort they were obliged to be contented; and An- drews, leaving the engine in care of his three comrades, went into the tele- graph office, which was on the side of the depot next us and asked, " What is the matter with the local freight that it is not here ? " He was shown a telegraph dispatch for Fuller, ordering him to wait at this point for its com- ing — an indication that it was not very far away. This was the only infor- mation vouchsafed to us by the management of the road during the whole of that eventful day ! Andrews returned to his engine, and stood there, or walked about on the end of the platform near by during the tedious moments of waiting. He did not seek to enter into conversation with any one, but quietly answered any question asked. He appeared abstracted and a little anxious, 114 Daring and Suffering. as was natural for one running an express ammunition train, on which the safety of an army might depend ! It was fortunate- that his real and assumed characters were so much in harmony. Brown, Knight, and Wilson attended to their engine, seeing that all was in good order with a reasonable he'ad of steam, and refrained, as far as they could, from any kind of conversation, answering all demands in monosyllables. Their position during this enforced stop was embarrass- ing, but far less painful than ours in the box-car. We could hear low murmurs outside, we knew that we were at a station, and alongside another train, and could hear the tread of feet; but we could not learn why we did not press on. A thousand conjectures will spring up at such times; and the possibilities of our situation were ample enough for all kinds of imagin- ing. We had a tolerably high estimate of our fighting power, and did not doubt that we could capture any ordinary train, or the usual crowd around a village station. But to be shut up in the dark, while — for aught we knew — the enemy might be concentrating an overwhelming force against us, was exceedingly trying, and put the implicit confidence we had in our leader to a very severe test. There was one precaution Andrews had neglected — probably because he trusted so fully in his own marvelous gen- ius — but the need of which was felt keenly afterwards. No lieutenant was appointed. One who could have taken charge of the men, leaving Andrews free to plan and give general directions, would have been a support to us now, and a help to all of us later. With George D. Wilson or some other of the soldiers as authorized second, the force would have been in better fighting trim, and what is of still more importance, Andrews would have felt more free to order the capture of any pursuing train. But at present we had nothing to do but wait till the road was cleared for us. Before suspense became intolerable the whistle of an approaching train was heard, and the local freight rumbled up to the eastern side of the depot, and stopped on the main track. Andrews made haste to begin the inevitable conversation. He went over and spoke to the conductor, telling him to pull his train, which was quite long, on down the road so that we might get out of the switch and proceed on our way; adding the same powder story. This conductor saw that Andrews was treated with marked deference by the people about the station, and did not hesitate to believe his story and obey the order. But before he had moved his train, Andrews noticed a red flag on the hind car, and at once exclaimed; "What does this mean? I am ordered to get this powder through to Beauregard at the earliest possible moment and now you are signalling for another train on the track ! " No doubt Andrews felt all the vexation he expressed. The man said he was very sorry, but it could not be helped; and then he gave the reason, which was a startling piece of intelligence. M itched had captured Huntsville and was said to be advancing eastward Pursued. 1 1 5 toward Chattanooga by forced marches; and as they had no force to resist him, they were running everything out of Chattanooga, and had put a large extra train on the track to get the rolhng stock, as well as the goods, out of the way. Andrews thanked him for the information and told him to go a long way down the road so that the extra would have room enough to get by, adding, " I must be off the very first minute that is possible." The conductor made no objection, but asked, " What will you do about Mitchel at Huntsville?" Andrews replied; " I do not believe the story. Mitchel would not be fool enough to run down there, but if he is, Beaure- gard will soon sweep him out of the road. At any rate I have my orders. '» The train was pulled down the road, and the tedious process of waiting continued. While the moments are dragging their leaden weight along as the three trains rest on separate tracks at Kingston, it may be well to narrate the experiences of those whose engine was so unceremoniously wrested from them at Big Shanty. We had counted on a great commotion and excite- ment following the seizure, and in this we were fully warranted; but we also believed that for some little time no one would know what to do. In this we were mistaken. The absence of a telegraph ofifice or engine, or even of any horses, did utterly confound the great majority; but a fortunate mistake on the part of one man served the Confederate cause better than the deepest calculation could have done; in fact, gave rise to the thrilling railroad chase that followed. Conductor Fuller, Engineer Cain, and the foreman of the road machine shops, Mr. Anthony Murphy, sat down to the breakfast table not far apart. Before they had tasted a mouthful, however, the sound of escaping steam, the loud whirr of the wheels on the track, and the outcry that rose in a moment from guards and camp, brought them and all the breakfasters to their feet. By this time the locomotive had started, and Fuller and Murphy, with loud ex- clamations about the robbery of the train, rushed pellmell with everybody else out on the platform, the passengers who had been uncoupled and left on the road, not being behind others in their complaints and uproar. The whole camp also was in a turmoil. A single glance around showed Fuller that there was no chance for help there; and being a man of quick thought his mind fastened on an idea — utterly wrong as it proved — but which had the merit of putting him vigorously to work. The nearest guard declared that only four men were engaged in the capture — he had only seen those that mounted the engine— and others corroborated him. Fuller remem- bered the conscripts he had been warned to watch for, and at once the thought flashed across his mind, " Some of those men, one of whom hap- pens to know enough of an engine to pull open the throttle, have jumped on my train to get out of camp, and as soon as they are outside they will leave the engine and run into the mountains. I must follow as fast as ii6 Daring and Suffering. possible and try to get it back before I get very badly out of time." All ! there was no more regular time made on that road for several days ! The presence of Mr. Anthony Murphy that morning was purely acci. dental. He was going to examine an engine at Allatoona reported out of order. As an ofificer of high authority on the road, commanding all en- gineers and firemen, knowing all the engines and everything about the road perfectly, his presence at that time was most unfortunate for us. He was a man of great coolness and good judgment. His first action was far-sighted. He sent Mr. William Kendrick on horseback to Marietta, to notify the superintendent at Atlanta by wire. Mr. Kendrick arrived in time to hold a freight train there till orders were flashed back to drop all cars but one, run up to Big Shanty, load on sol- diers and pursue with all speed. This was the first train in chase. A message was also sent from Marietta to Richmond, but no re- sult followed that. My present opinion is that Andrews had in some way arranged for cutting the wire between Chattanooga and Knoxvillle, which was the only route by which the message could have gone around and got on the line of the Western and Atlantic railroad ahead of us. Had these been the only meas- ures of pursuit — wise and judi- cious as they were — our task would have been easy. But Fuller's error and his ardent temperament prompted to another course. He called to Murphy and Cain, "Come on with me;" they promptly followed and the three of them started at a dead run ■up the track. The spectacle of three men running vigorously after a flying engine, as if they expected to catch it, instantly restored the nrob to good humor, and they cheered, and shouted with laughter! What would have been the fate of these runners if they had overtaken us at the first stop, where we cut wire and obstructed the track, it is needless to inquire. They would have hardly begun such a chase had they not entirely underestimated our number, as well as mistaken our purpose. The Atlanta Southern Confeder- acy^ of the next day, in an article full of panic, written before the issue was determined, speaks of us as " some four men yet unknown.'' The whole article is so full of interest that we give it entire on a subsequent page. Anthony Murphy. Supt. of W. & A. machine-shops. Pursued, 1 1 7 The different running powers of the pursuers were soon made evident in this apparently hopeless chase. Fuller was extraordinarily fleet and of great endurance. His companions were equally zealous but less able for running. They were, therefore, soon spread out for a considerable dis- tance. While putting in his best efforts. Fuller shouted back encourage- ment to his comrades, but did not wait. The hope of getting his train soon was too strong, and he also feared that the reckless men who had taken it might do some injury to the engine before he could come up. The idea that they might offer any resistance did not enter his mind. But the chase could not long have continued in this manner for human muscles cannot be pitted successfully against steam. The labored breath and the decreasing pace of the runners showed that they were well nigh exhausted; and as curve after curve was rounded, — for with the instinct of railroad men they clung to the track, — they grew discouraged; but just before their "second wind" was exhausted, they received both help and renewed excitement. They came to Moon's station, some two miles from the place of starting, and have never been able to make even a plausible conjecture of the time consumed in this first stage of the journey; but it is certain that it was just as little as straining muscles and iron will could make it. Here they learned from the track-laying party that some of their tools had been "borrowed," and a short distance beyond some ties placed on the track, and the telegraph cut. This was our first halt, and the track had been obstructed that a train coming from Atlanta might be hindered. The pursuers here found a hand-car — not one of the elaborate machine cars, which may be driven at great speed, but what Fuller termed a "pole- car." It was at once pressed into service and gave a welcome rest. Fuller ran it backward a little way and picked up his companions who were behind, then drove forward as fast as the construction of the car would permit. Pushing with a long pole in flat-boat fashion, quite rapid time could be made on the level, and on down-grades, while on the steep up-grades, two would jump off and push at a full run. At Ackworth they got a reinforcement of two men, Mr. Smith and Mr. Stokely, and hurried forward. All idea that they were following conscripts had now been given up. They had learned that the captors had been seen oiling their engine, as if preparing for a long run, and seeming to perfectly understand their work. Fuller and Murphy were now able, for the first time, to consult abdut their plans. We were run- ning on regular time — a circumstance that they had noted in the reports received from the different stations, — and that time was only sixteen miles per hour, which meant two hours to Kingston. They were making seven or eight miles on the pole-car, and that, if kept up (it was the utmost they could do), would bring them to Etowah in two or three hours from the Ii8 Daring and Suffering. start. " Then if," Fuller continued, " we can find the old ' Yonah' ready at our end of the branch, we can take her and run up to Kingston in fifteen minutes more. There are to be some extra trains on the road to- day that will bother the scoundrels up there, and the chances are that we will overhaul them at that place, where we will get plenty of help." " But if we do not find the 'Yonah' ready?" was asked. " Why, then, so far as I can see, we are done," was the reply. They did not stop to speculate, but were all this time pressing on at the very highest speed possible. It might well be that one minute would make all the difference between finding the "Yonah" and her starting back to the iron works, miles away. But there was a sharp interruption just before they came in sight of Etowah, and while they were straining every nerve and looking forward to see if the smoke of the engine was yet visi- ble. We had taken up a rail, and there was a crash, a sense of falling, and they found themselves lying, hand-car and all, in a heap at the bot- tom of a ditch ! If the embankment had been as high at that place as at many others on the road, all our danger would have ended, for no other party that day originated anything against us; but the ground was almost level; and except a few bruises, they were unhurt, and at once placed their car on the track again. While doing this, they were greatly stimulated and hurried by noticing the smoke and steam of the "Yonah," which they could see across the long bend on their side of Etowah River. If they could only make the distance, a little more than a mile, before the engine went back on the branch ! With all their power, like men working for their lives, they drove forward. They were none too soon. The engine was on the main track still, and the tender was just being turned on the half-moon turn-table, preparatory to starting back. But the people there saw the furiously driven hand-car, with the shouting, excited men on it, and at once suspended their work and gathered around, to know the cause of these frantic gestures. Fuller had not much breath left to spend in talking, but managed to say that the Yankees had taken his train, and that he wanted their engine, and all of them with their guns to follow in chase. He, with every man of his party, was well known and there was no stopping to question. Their very appearance, streaming with sweat and almost exhausted, bore witness to the urgency of their haste. A score of strong arms whirled back the ten- der on the turn-table, and pushed it and an empty coal-car up to the engine, while a number of Confederate soldiers who were waiting to take the next train southward to Big Shanty, piled in also. Now they were off with a strong, well-armed party, and the chase was on more equal terms. "The 'Yonah,' " in the words of Fuller, " was not a strong engine, but had large wheels, was as active as a cat, and with a light load could run very fast." She was now just in the service adapted Pursued. 119 to her, and her drivers called out all her powers. As they flew over the ground, it was a refreshing contrast to the exertions on foot or hand-car. The thirteen miles were made in sixteen minutes. If the extra trains at Kingston only entangled us as long as Fuller hoped, the whole affair would soon be brought to a final issue ! He did not dread the fight that was likely to follow, for our number was only reported even yet by those who had seen us working as eight, while he had some twenty well-ai-med men with him at this stage of the journey; and there were the crews of the four or five trains at Kingston. Indeed, Fuller and Murphy might be excused if they rather feared that "the Yankees" might be captured before they arrived. But where were we while this train was flying toward us? Lying still on the side track at the left hand of Kingston station, enduring those agonies of suspense and intense alternations of hope and fear which were harder to bear than all the exertions of Fuller and his companions ! The local freight train came as previously narrated, and had drawn down the road to let the extra follow it, and still give us room to haul out above. Long and tedious was the waiting. But when we almost despaired the extra came. But alas ! on this train, also, was a red flag ! On being ques- tioned as to the meaning of another train, the conductor said that there were too many cars and too great a load for one engine, and that another section was made up, and would be along shortly. The delay for these two trains had already been little less than an hour; and here was a third train, stilb blocking the road before us ! How Andrews wished that he had taken the risk of running out in the face of the first extra and had tried to make, at least, the station above ! We could easily have suc- ceeded But now, in the absence of some telegraphic message — and no report was made to that office, while Andrews hardly thought it prudent to telegraph for instructions ! — it would be madness to run out between the two sections of a belated train. It was better to wait, even if that entailed the risk of a fight. For this possibility Andrews made ready; he said to Knight : " Go back and tell the boys, without attracting attention, that we have to wait for a train that is behind time, and for them to be ready to jump out at the signal, if needed, and fight." Knight sauntered carelessly along down the train, just as if he was tired to death with waiting and did not know what to do with himself; and leaning against our car, without turning his head or eyes toward us, said in a low tone which we heard perfectly: " Boys, we have to wait for a train that is a little behind time, and the folks around are getting mighty uneasy and suspicious. Be ready to jump out, if you are called, and let them have it hot and fast." We did not know how many of the "uneasy folks" there might be I20 Daring and Suffering. about; and so unbearable had become the suspense of being shut up in that dark car, and hearing the sound of voices outside, without being able to distinguish the words or know what was going on, that a command to spring out and begin a deadly strife would have been welcomed as a relief, without much regard to numbers. We said we were ready; we had been ready at any time the la&t hour ! Still we carefully examined the priming of every revolver, and saw that reserve ammunition was in pockets within easy reach. We did not intend, if it came to a fight, to shoot at long range, but to close right in, where every shot would be deadly. That we could, with the surprise of an unexpected assault, and firing each time to kill, have cleared the station of four times our number, I have never doubted. Could any situation be imagined by poet or novelist more try- ing than that of this carload of Union soldiers shut up in the midst of Rebel trains ! But we were not called upon to quiet the " uneasiness " outside, which was fully as great as Knight had described, in any such summary manner. Andrews played his part with surpassing skill. The people around, and especially the old switch-tender, began to grumble something about being sure that all was not right. A good many questions were asked as to why Fuller with the regular train was not along by this time, and why the super- intendent of the road at Atlanta had not sent notice of the powder train. Andrews answered each suggested question very briefly and plausibly, but without appearing at all anxious about their opinion; grumbled a little about the bad management of a road that would allow its track to be blocked at a time like this; gave accounts of himself in the camp of Beauregard, with an air so confident and truthful that no one ventured to question him. I think there was only one thing aside from the dangerous delay, which he really dreaded. He kept very near the telegraph office, and without seeming to do so, closely watched the operator. The attempt to telegraph any kind of a message up the line, would have probably brought on an immediate collision. Brown narrates a curious little episode as occurring here. He noticed a man who watched Andrews for a short time, and then, when no one else was near, stepped close to him and handed him a large and seemingly well-filled envelope. Andrews smiled, and placed it in his breast pocket. Brown intended to ask about it, but more pressing business put it out of his mind. Probably this was an incident of Andrews's contraband trade, and the package contained an order for goods with the money to pay for them. If Andrews was recognized on this raid by any who knew him, as he seems to have been on more than one instance, he was not at all compromised by such meeting, as long as the train was not known to be- long to the Yankees. But, however successful, this day's work must have ended the role he had been playing, and forever closed the South to him. Pursued, 121 Fuller and his party were now not many miles away, and were making more rapid time toward us than had ever been made on that road before. But we knew nothing of that — supposed that we were still an hour ahead of any pursuit that could be imagined. We had been at this place one hour and five minutes ! It seemed to those shut up in the box-car nearer half a day ! and when the whistle of a train was heard, which fortunately for us \s?^?, first from the north — not the pursuing train from the south — it was about as welcome as the boom of Mitchel's cannon with which we ex- pected to be greeted in the evening when our work was done. This last extra came up to the platform as the others had done, and was at once ordered by Andrews to draw on down the road that we might have room to go out. The conductor obeyed without hesitation, and this obstruction was removed. It only remained to adjust the switch so that we might again get on 'ihe main track. This Andrews directed the old switch-tender to do; but he had been getting in a worse and worse humor for the whole of the last hour; he had hung up his keys, and now roughly declared that he would not take them down again until Andrews showed him by what authority he was ordering everybody about as if he owned the whole road ! We who were shut up in the box-car, heard the loud and angry voice, and sup- posed that the time for us to act had come; yet we waited for our leader's command as we remembered how he had counselled us against being too precipitate. But he only laughed softly as if the anger of the old man amused him, and saying " I have no more time to waste with you," he walked into the station, to the place where he had seen the keys put up, and taking them down, went quietly and swiftly out and made the change himself. The tender's wrath knew no bounds at this; he stormed, de- clared he would have Andrews arrested, would report him, and many other things. Andrews then waved his hand to the engineer, and as our locomotive came promptly up, he stepped on board, and we glided out on the main track, and were off ! It had been a fearful ordeal, but it was well met. The three men. Brown, Knight, and Wilson, who were outside, declared that they did not see the slightest indication of fear, chagrin, or impatience on the part of Andrews, save what he exhibited when telling how much Beauregard was in need of his ammunition, and what a shame it was that the road should be blocked by any ordinary travel when the fate of their brave soldiers was trembling in the balance. Andrews had explained that it was because he could not get his orders filled without ruinous delays by the ordinary channels, that Beauregard had sent him to bring this powder through by force, if necessary; and declared that if the officers at home did not sup- port the army in the field better, martial law would soon be proclaimed ! Puch grumbling and threats were applauded by those who wished to be 122 Daring and Suffering. thought especially loyal to the rebel cause. For at least half an hour no distrust was shown. The hour and five minutes we were at this station added to our two hours run made us now three hours and five minutes from Big Shanty. Fuller was three hours and nine minutes on the way. He came in sight of Kingston just four minutes after we had glided around the sharp northward curve beyond; so near were we to the final collision at this place ! ^=J The Gathering of Trains at Kingston. CHAPTER XI. AN APPALLING STRUGGLE. AS soon as we were well out of sight of the station we stopped, and Scott, with a man at each foot to give him a good start, was in a moment at the top of the telegraph pole, the box was knocked off, and the wire cut. We wanted no message of inquiry sent ahead, prefer- ring ourselves to tell the story of the impressed powder train and Beau- regard's need of ammunition. While this was being done, others threw a few obstructions on the track. When once more on board we noticed a quickening of speed that after our long rest was delightful. We had been running slowly since leaving Big Shanty, but now Andrews said to his crew, " Push her, boys, push her. " Wilson heaped in the wood, and the fire which was but moderate when we left Kingston, was soon roaring, and great clouds of smoke escaping. Our leader's intention was to reach Adairsville in a few minutes, in order to meet two trains there which were now over due. These were the through freight and the Southern passen- ger trains, and they would wait for us (" Fuller's train") there. Our terrible delay at Kingston was in every way most unfortunate. If there had been no extra trains we could by this time have been at Dalton, forty miles further up the road, with the Oostenaula bridge burned behind us, and, these two trains passed, leaving no further serious obstacle to contend with. But while so anxious to reach Adairsville, the next station above, where there was a side track, it would never do to leave the way open from Kingston, as the distance is only ten miles, and if the enemy choose to make up a pursuing train at that point, on account of suspicions formed, it might be very embarrassing. So it seemed that we had scarcely got under full headway at a tremendous rate of speed, before the tender- brakes, all that we had on our train, were put sharply down, and we were on the ground almost before the train had stopped, and under the ener- getic leadership of Andrews were hard at work lifting the track, the readi- est mode of effective obstruction in our power. We again cut the wire, and also loaded on a large number of ties and other kinds of wood to be used in burning the bridge. We were the more anxious for abundant fuel as the ceaseless rain, which was now severe, would render kindling a fire 124 Daring ah J Suffering. without much wood, slow and difficult. No time was lost in these opera. tions, as but a few could work at track-lifting at once, and others were ready for any other useful employment. Lifting a rail seems easy enough, but it was far from easy in practice. The rail is long and heavy; it is securely bolted to other rails, and fast-^ ened with great spikes driven into solid oak ties, which in turn are deeply inbedded in the ground. This was the lirst place we wished to take up a rail very quickly, and accordingly we were far more sensible of the diffi- culty than when we had abundance of leisure. We were not excited, for we believed ourselves an hour ahead of any probable pursuit: but to pass the two trains still before us, and hurry to our real work of bridge burning, was an ardent desire. Slowly we drew out spike after spike, battering out the great nails as rapidly as possible with our one iron bar. I cannot tell how many minutes we spent, but time went by swiftly. The large load of ties which were not far away, was a great acquisition, and were all on board before the stubborn rail was half loosened.' The rail was loosened at the southern end, and for perhaps two-thirds of its length, was cleared of spikes. Eight of us, including our strongest men, took hold of it, to try to pull out the remainder by the rail itself. But they were too firmly fixed; and we were about to give up the attempt and wait to batter out a few more, when awa}'' in the distance, we heard, faintly but unmistakably, the whistle of a locomotive in pursuit ! But faint and far off as it was, no sound more unwelcome ever fell on human ear. Before us, only two or three miles away, there were two trains possi- bly blocking the track; and behind us a pursuing engine, which in a min- ute or two more would be upon us. It nearly seemed as if our race was ended ! But we did not pause for moralizing; we lifted again and with every particle of strength, as men lift for life. The strong rail bent under the terrible pressure and snapped with a dull twang ! All of us tumbled in a confused heap down the grade, but in a moment were on our feet, and hurrying towards the car, taking our precious half rail with us. For the time we were saved ! No matter who the pursuer was he would be ar- rested by that break, and give us time, with favoring fortune, to pass the trains above. Once more we were on board and away! We would soon know whether we were to have a clear track at Adairsville or to repeat the vexatious and ' Here, so far as I can determine, after a most exhaustive examination, occurred an in. cident which has given rise to much controversy. In " Daring and Suffering,"' of 1863, it was narrated substantially as above ; but afterward, some Confederate accounts induced me to think that myself and comrades had mistaken the place ; for concerning localities our recollections would naturally be less definite than those of our pursuers ; but full investiga- tion shows the balance, even of Confederate authority, to be on the side of the story as here given ; and it certainly renders all the events that followed more clear and intelligible. j An Appalling' Struggle, 125 I dangerous experience of Kingston. Once more the engine was given full force; we in the box-car were thrown from side to side, sometimes a little roughly; but this did not diminish our joy over the rapid motion which was "devouring" the distance between us and our friends in Tennessee ! As we came in sight of the station, there to our great satisfaction lay the freight train, which, indeed, had long been waiting for us, as we were now a half hour behind the time of Fuller's passenger train, and also waiting for the morning passenger train from Chattanooga, which should have overtaken the freight at this point, but which was also late. Indeed, the panic in Chattanooga, and the extra trains on the road had disordered the whole schedule, and enormously increased our difficulties. As we came near the station, speed was slackened, and we stopped on the main track beside the through freight. Andrews at once answered the usual storm of questions and asked others in turn. He heard still more of Mitchel's operations, how he seemed to have captured all their trains on the western road, so that for twenty-four hours not a car had got through, and that the telegrams were being interrupted further and further up the road, so that, from every indication, he was coming to Chattanooga. But Andrews was still more interested in asking news of the down passenger train, which was now half an hour late. No information was received, but the freight conductor had determined to run on south on the arrival of Fuller's train, in harmony with their rule of railroading at that time, by which a follow- ing train was to be waited for only a certain length of time, after which the waiting train had the right to proceed. Andrews approved of that intention, saying that Fuller with the regular train would probably wait for him at Kingston. Andrews might have held this train here by giving a message as from Fuller, but he preferred to get rid of it, so that if com- pelled to back before the belated passenger, it might not be in the way: and if compelled to fight, the fewer of the enemy the better: otherwise, its running down to the place of the broken rail was undesirable. The conductor said to Andrews: "You of course will remain here until my passenger train comes, and tell them to overhaul me at Kingston ! " No, " returned Andrews, " I must go at once ! the fate of the army hangs on my getting promptly through with those carloads of ammunition. Suppose the Yankees attack Beauregard ! He has not powder enough for three hours' fight." This was a startling possibility, and forgetting all about Mitchel being in the way, the conductor (the men on both sides had heard the conversa- tion, but had not joined in it) patriotically said : "Get through by all means; but you will have to run very slow and put a flag-man out on every curve, or you will have a collision." Andrews answered quickly: " I will attend to that;" stepped on his own 126 Daring and Suffering. engine and motioned to Knight who was still at the throttle. The latter hearing the words about running- slowly had put on the steam i:; a gradual manner, and the engine glided away at a moderate rate of speed. But this was not to last; neither was any flagman to be sent ahead; there had been delays enough. The time had come when it was wise to take a terrible risk. We dared not wait for the passenger train because of the pursuers we had heard, and of the freight which had started toward the break; and we must reach the station above before the passenger started out ! P>om Adairsville to Calhoun, the next station that had a side track, is a little more thar nine miles. The road runs directly north, is almost straight, and ',^ut little removed from level; this is the most favorable stretch for running on the whole line. Andrews said to his comrades, " Make her show how fast she can go; every second saved in getting to Calhoun counts." The effect of giving such orders to men whose nerv'es had all morning been thrilling with suppressed fire may be imagined! The engine was in the finest running condition. Knight had oiled it carefully during the long waiting at Kingston, and again, in part, at Adairsville, and a heavy pressure of steam had accumulated during the pause at the latter station. Now the full force of the mighty power was turned on at once, while oi was poured on sticks and these fed into the furnace. The three cars and twenty men were no load for the powerful engine, and it sprung to its work with a shock that nearly took every man from his feet ! The race against time which followed was grand and terrible. The engine seemed to be not so much running as coursing with great lion-like bounds along the track, and the spectacle from the locomotive as it rose and fell in its ceaseless rapid motion, while houses, fields, and woods rushed by, was wonderful and glorious, almost worth the risk to enjoy ! In the box-car, we were thrown from side to side and jerked about in a manner that baffles description. The car was so close to the engine that it felt every impulse of power and there was no following train to steady it. Many times we were startled with the momentary conviction that we were off the track; but there was no cessation of our rapid flight. We hardly knew what it meant, and though we pushed our door partly open, the risk of being thrown out was too great to permit us to open it wide; and gazing at the panorama that flitted by, with lightning-like rapidity, we could gain no clue to this frantic and perilous chase, for there was no mdication of a following train that we could perceive. There was no danger of being seen in the opening of our door, for the rapid flight of the train would have attracted all the attention that anything upon the car could. Andrews scarcely looked ahead while making this run. Brown and Knight, how- ever, did keep a sharp lookout, simply for the purpose of seeing when we came near the station that they might shut off' steam, and be able to stop there. They had no hope of reversing or stopping, if they saw the An Appallmg Struggle. I27 belated passenger train approaching. As well try to reverse a cannon ball in its flight ! if the train started out from Calhoun before we came in sight, it was simply and inevitably death for every one of us; and the people of the other train would not have fared much better. Our fireman, J. A. Wilson-, gives a very graphic account of this fearful effort to conquer time: ' "Our locomotive was under a full head of steam. The engineer stood with his hand on the lever, with the valve wide open. It was frightful to see how the powerful iron monster under us would leap forward under the revolutions of her great wheels. Brown would scream to me ever and anon, ' Give her more wood, Alf,' which command was promptly obeyed. She rocked and reeled like a drunken man, while we tumbled from side to side like grains of popcorn in a hot frying-pan. It was bew ildering to look at the ground or objects on the roadside. A constant stream of fire ran from the great wheels, and to this day I shudder as I reflect on that, my first and last locomotive ride. We sped past houses, stations, and fields, and out of sight, almost like a meteor, while the bystanders, who scarcely caught a glimpse of us as we passed, looked on as if in both fear and amazement. It has always been a wonder to me that our locomotive and cars kept the track at all, or how they could possibly stay on the track. At times the iron horse seemed literally to fly over the course, the driving wheels of one side being lifted from the rails much of the dis- tance over which we now sped with a velocity fearful to contemplate. We took little thought of the matter then. Death in a railroad smash-up would have been preferred by us to capture." Andrews kept his watch in his hand, seeming to notice nothing else, for time was the only element in this part of our problem; and he and Knight, who looked on the same watch, always joined in declaring that the interval of nine miles between the two stations was run in seven and a half minutes; and this not upon a magnificent road with steel rails as that road is to-day, but over a poor and neglected track ! It must, in candor, however, be allowed that Andrews probably reckoned the interval from losing sight of Adairsville until coming in sight of Calhoun. When near the two stations he would be otherwise engaged; and thus the rate may have been little over a mile a minute — surely enough for all the fear, wonder, and sublimity of motion ! Our escape on this run was exceedingly narrow. The passenger train had begun to move out before we arrived; but it had only just got under way while we were slackening up for the station. A minute earlier in their starting, would have ended the raid. But seeing us coming, and our whistle sounding out loud and peremptory, they backed before us up the track, and the proper officer obligingly opened the switch to let us on the side track. Of course this was done as much in the interest of the pas- senger train, which could not go on till we were out of the way, as in ours. But they did not go on for some time, and we were obliged to await ' Adventures of Alf. Wilson, Toledo, O., 1880. 128 Daring and Suffering. their movements. In backing tliey had gone far enough, not only to give us room on the side track, but also, as their train was a long one, to com- pletely block the far end of it, and we could not proceed on the main track until they should pull ahead. Before doing this they naturally wanted some explanation. The lateness of the regular train; our having Fuller's engine, without him or any of his men; and not least, the manner in which we had swooped down upon them like some beast of prey, coming without any signal man ahead at a time when under railroad rules they were entitled to the road — all this which only some most urgent occasion or public calamity could excuse, called for explanation. Andrews calmly told his story, and the urgent need of ammunition was felt to justify every thing; and all the questions were asked and answered that are common among railroad men on meeting. Yet Andrews would have talked little and would have made a very short stop, had it not been for the manner in which the passenger train bound in his own. We had a good right to be uneasy here, for we had not cut the wires between this station and Adairs- ville because we had not dared, in the terrible urgency of reaching Calhoun, to delay even for this purpose. A question might come on the wires at any moment which Andrews, with all his adroitness, would not find it easy to answer. Neither had we put any obstructions on the track. This latter omission prepared the way for another race against time, only less swift and fearful than our own. Thus we were again delayed. Andrews tried gentle and indirect means to persuade the conductor of the passenger train that it was per- fectly safe for him to run down and get to Adairsville before Fuller's passenger train. But he was not easily persuaded. The bare escape from collision with our train had shaken his nerves too much for him to wish at once to repeat the experience. Neither did he seem at all in a hurry to move his train ahead and let us out on the main track; but as his train was the only obstacle, it would not have been long, had he continued obstinate, until the reserve force of our party would have been brought into requisition. It may be said here that Andrews was perfectly sincere in telling him that there would be abundant time for him to reach Adairsville before Fuller with his train would be along. We did not think that Fuller would be along that day, and with his own train he was not. But as matters were, if the Calhoun man had allowed himself to be persuaded to start southward, a fearful collision would have ended all possi- bilities of pursuit, and left us free to burn bridges at our leisure. Here was another of the narrow escapes made by the enemy. To understand this it is necessary to recur to Fuller and Murphy, who were within two or three minutes of Kingston when we left that place. They were terribly disappointed when they found themselves stopped quite a long distance below Kingston by three heavy freight trains, and An Appalling Strnggu\ 129 learned in a brief conversation with the engineer of the nearest, and the persons who had run down that way on hearing their whistle, that their game had flown. They heard with wonder how long the commander of the captured train had been held there, and how he had succeeded in concealing his real character. The formidable nature of the enemy ahead was now clearly revealed, but it looked for a moment to Fuller as if all his labor had been for nothing, and that he would be able to continue the pursuit only after a ruinous delay. To back all these trains up the heavy grade so that he could get on the side track, and then down again to get off at the upper end, would require an amount of " see-sawing," that would give the captors of his train a hopeless start. Hvere arose a difference of opinion between Fuller and Murphy, who up to this time had worked together in perfect accord. Murphy ran ahead and cut loose the " New York," the new and good engine of one of the freights, attaching it to the car which had brought their tools from Etowah. He then called to Fuller to move the Rome engine back out of the way that he might come round on the " Y." But Fuller had different plans. The Rome engine and train had stood on its own track all this time waiting for his coming; the Rome branch led into the main track above all the impediments. Why not take that engine? No sooner thought than executed. Fuller had taken one foot race that day, and he now took another, shorter but not less important. The engine was headed already toward Chattanooga with only one car attached, and in the most favorable position. There was abundance of volunteers, and no need of explana- tions, for now everybody was sure that the impressed powder story was false and absurd, — had thought so all the time ! Conductor Smith, of the Rome train, gave it for the service at once. All was done so quickly that Murphy saw them start and had to run at his best speed to keep from being left behind ! Fuller probably made a mistake in not taking the "New York," as the other engine was much inferior, with small wheels and incapable of great speed. But the distance in which they could use it turned out to be short, and being driven at the height of its power, it is not probable that much was lost; while the time spent in changing the freight trains out of the way might have cost the Oostenaula bridge. A mile or more from Kingston they found some ties on the track at the place where we cut the wires, and were obliged to stop and throw them off. Of course an effort was made to send a message from Kingston to Chattanooga as soon as Fuller arrived, but we had cut the wire too quickly for them. Continuing on the way, they came in a few minutes to the place where the track had been torn up. A Southern account says that sixcy yards had been removed; but this is a gross exaggeration. Track lifting was only intended to make the road temporarily impassable, and one broken rail answered this purpose as well as a dozen. Had there 130 Daring and Suffering. been a regular track layer with the pursuers, a rail would not have caused a great delay; but it was in all cases sufficient for its purpose on this day. Though we had heard the whistle of the pursuers, they neither heard nor saw us at this point, and came near wreck; but they were on their guard because of the similar break which had caused their fall fro the hand-car, and by great effort and reversing the engine, they were able to prevent an accident. But their progress seemed to be completely barred. As usual no one but Fuller and Murphy seemed to have the least idea of what to do; in fact during the whole day every hopeful plan of pursuit sprung from their indomitable energy. Too much credit (from the Confederate point of view) cannot be given to tiiem. They were already practiced in foot travel, and once more set out in that manner; all the rest, remain- ing behind, had no further influence on tlie fortunes of the day. But at full speed the two pedestrians i)ushed over the slippery and muddy road and through the driving rain. They felt sure of finding the freight train, or the passenger, either at Adairsville or further on this side. Should they be obliged to take the terribly fatiguing run to the station itself they would probably be too late; but they were determined to do their utmost. Notice how all things seemed to work against us on this eventful day. If we had not stoj^ped to take up this rail at all, we would have had abundant time to reach the freight and start it south, as we did; and the freight train running south, and Fuller's train running north at full speed would have produced a frightful collision, which could scarcely have been pre- vented; for the freight man had been induced to set out by tlie repre- sentations of Andrews, and Fuller, on his part, probably believed that Andrews was still running on slow time and had not reached the station above. The stopping to lift this rail, as it turned out, was probalMy the greatest mistake Andrews made. On the other hand, if the freight had waited for Fuller, so great a delay would have ensued that the Oostenaula bridge, which we were now very near, would have been in flames. But the pursuing pair had scarcely been well breathed in this third f'>ot- race, when they heard the welcome whistle of a locomotive. Fuller, who was ahead, stopped in a place where the view was clear, and gave the signal of danger; the freight was checked up as quickly as possible, and while Fuller told in a few words what had happened, and what he wanted. Murphy who had been distanced, came up, and they sprang on board, and took command. With all the power of the " Texas," which was one of the very best engines on the road, and the best the pursuers had yet obtained, they pushed backward toward Adairsville, and learned that Andrews had left a few minutes before. Fuller took his place on the last freight car which was now the front of the train, and directed their move- ments. Murphy was the official superior of all the engineers on the road. An Appalling Struggle. 13 1 He stood by the lever to render assistance when needed and all his orders were cheerfully obeyed. It was not long till they were back at the station, when Fuller jumped off, threw the switch over to turn the freight cars which were detached at the same time and allowed to run with their own momentum on the side track; and then as the last one passed by, he changed the switch back, sprung on the engine and outran the cars which contmued to move parallel with him ! This was quick work. They now had a comparatively small crew, but they were all armed with guns, and loaded on the tender and engine alone. It was true that the engine was reversed, but this, while it is somewhat less handy, does not diminish strength or speed. The first question which confronted the j:)ursuers was whether to risk running up to Calhoun in the face of the delayed passenger train. They did not hesitate, as the way had been made clear for them. It was less than ten minutes since Andrews had left, promising to run slowly and carefully, and if he kept his word, he could be overhauled and enclosed between the two trains before he could reach Calhoun; and even if he did not, the danger of collision would be borne by the train ahead and not by the following one. The marvellous flight which Andrews had made was not, of course, dreamed of. Had A.ndrews been able to persuade the passenger-conductor to push out, as he did the freight-conductor. Fuller's and Murphy's career would have ended. These indomitable men now had an excellent engine and ordered full speed. The whole distance of nine miles was made in little more than ten minutes ! There was no obstruction of any kind, and they trusted to the fact of being so close behind Andrews to assure them against any lifted rail. Before they reached Calhoun, however, Andrews was released from his perilous position. After he had chatted with the conductor and en- gineer of the down freight for some time and found them indisposed to go on their way, he said in the most matter-of-fact and positive manner: " I must presson without more delay. Pull your engine ahead and let me out." When the order was given in this direct form they were obliged to obey, or give a good reason for refusing; and it may be considered cer- tain that if they had delayed, though Andrews did not threaten violence, yet our engineers would at once have taken control, and executed the order, probably not without bloodshed. At last we are on the main track with no train between us and Chattanooga ! and if the reports from Huntsville are true there is no obstruction west of that town, as all travel is cut off by Mitchel. There is reason for exultation on our part. An open road ahead and scores of miles of obstructed and broken track behind us ! For the whole morn- ing we have been running with a train right in front of us, or waiting J. 2 Daring and Suffering. for a belated one. We had passed five trains, all but one either extras or behind time— a wonderful achievement ! now the way is clear to our own Unes; and the "Y" at Chattanooga is no more difficult of passage than any of the many side tracks we have already successfully encoun- tered No small amount of the exultation we felt on first taking the train was again ours, as we rushed rapidly on for a mile or more, and then stopped to cut the wire, and to take up a rail (as we hoped) for the last time The Oostenaula bridge was just ahead, and when that was burned, we would simply run from bridge to bridge, firing them as we passed; and no more of this hard drudgery of track raising and still more terrible work of sitting silent and housed in a dark car waiting for trains to arrive ! We had heard the whistle of a following train a dozen miles back; but it probably was one from Kingston, and if not wrecked by the broken rail, would return there for tools. We knew nothing of Fuller's and Murphy's pursuit, and if we had been told the full story, as already narrated, we would have thought it too wild and improbable even for good fiction. But it was expedient to take up this one rail more, before we finally changed our mode of operations. A piece of torn track had been put be- fore or after every train that we had met. It was well to put a broken road behind this passenger train also, that it might not turn back after us on any sudden suspicious freak, and come upon us while working at the Resaca (Oostenaula) bridge. The crisis of our fate approached, and we believed it would be triumphantly passed. Nothing had as yet been lost but time and if we were fairly prosperous for fifteen minutes more, all would be regained, and the fulfillment of all our hopes, as far as human prospects could reach, be in our own hands. No wonder that we worked gladly and cheerfully. Scott climbed the pole with even more than usual agility. Some worked at the taking in of all kinds of combustibles, for we wished to be well provided for the bridge. Every stick and piece of wood we could get hold of was soaking wet, but by breaking and whittling, they could be made to add to a flame, and from the engine, which was kept full of wood for the purpose, we could give a crood start to a fire. We had only one iron bar to drive out our spikes; a bent "crow's foot" would have been worth more than its weight in gold; but we hammered away with what we had, and spike after spike was drawn. Here I saw Andrews show real impatience for the first— I am not sure but I may say the onlv-time. He had altered his dress, throwing off the cape and hicrh hat that he wore while at stations, and had a small cap on, which greatly changed his appearance. The nearing of the time when his plans would all culminate in success seemed to thrill and inspire him. He snatched the iron bar out f the hands of the man who was wielding it, and-though we had strong and practiced workmen in our party-I had not before seen the blows rained down with such precision and force. Some An Appalling Struggle. i^^ say that he uttered an catb on this occasion, but though standing by I did not hear him: the cn!y words J did hear being directions about the work- given in his mild tones but with quite an emphatic ring of triumph in them. He wanted that rail up in the fewest number of seconds and then —the bridge ! There were several using a lever of green wood and tryina to tear up the end of a rail from which the spikes had not yet been drawn"^ but the lever bent too much, and a fence rail was added and we lifted again. At that instant, loud and clear from the South, came the whistle of the engine in pursuit ! It was near by and rt-nning at lightning speed. The roll of a thousand thunders could not have startled us more. What could we do ? At the end where we had been prying the rail it was bent, but it was still too firmly fixed for us to hope to lift it, or break it like the last. But we did the best in our power; we bent the loose end up still further, and put the fence rail carefully undei" it with the hope that it would compel the pursuers either to stop and adjust it, or throw them from the track, and then piled into the car and engine with a celerity born of long practice, and with one of its old bounds that jerked us from our feet,— for Brown and Knight threw the valve wide open,— the "Gen- eral " bore us rapidly on. The impatience of Andrews to reach the bridge had not been diminished by the appearance of this new element in the situation. Here our pursuers were greatly startled. Their story had been swiftly told when they reached Calhoun, and the engine and tender of the passeiv ger car with a reinforcement of armed men followed them up the road. Fuller stood on the tender of his own train, which was in front, gazing intently forward to see if there was any dangerous obstacle or break in the track, such as they had already many times encountered. Soon he beheld us at work with feelings which cannot be described. Before get- ting near enough to see our number, we had mounted and sped away, and he saw with exultation that we had not broken the track, and that there seemed to be no obstruction. With full speed he ran on till too close to stop, and then beheld what he believed, at first, to be a broken rail and gave himself up for lost; but it was on the inside of a curve, and as an engine running rapidly, throws most of its weight on the outside, when he ran on it, the bent rail was only straitened down, and they were safely on the other side of this danger. The next train which followed almost im- mediately after, did not notice the obstruction at all There is scarcely a doubt that two minutes more, enabling us to finish getting a rail up at this point, would have given the control of the day into our hands, for there were no more trains on the road either to delay us or to be turned back after us. But as it was, the " Te.xas " pressed on after us without the slightest loss of headway. The coming of this train before the track was torn up was by far the 134 Daring and Suffering. most serious misfortune that we had yet encountered. But might it not still be overcome ? The plan which first presented itself to the undismay- ed spirit of Andrews was to use two of our cars as projectiles and hurl them back at the enemy. This was more in accordance with his genius, which delighted in strategy, than the plain course which most of the soldiers would have preferred; that is, a straight out-and-out fight with the pursuing train. Accordingly our engine was reversed-could we have selected a down grade the chance of success would have been better, but we were coming so near the bridge that we could not delay to choose-and when the speed in this way had been checked and the pursuing train was quite close and still going fast, we uncoupled, and bounded on agam. But the skillful pursuers were not thus to be beaten. They saw what we were about, and checking their headway when the car was dropped, they also reversed, and coming up to it with moderate force, coupled on, which was easier because their tender was in front. The bridge was now just at hand. What should we do ? To leave it intact was to be thought of only in the direst necessity. We had carried our ammunition-the fuel we had gathered-into our last car, and while it was not as good as we would have liked, yet in a little time we could make a fire. We now punched a hole in the back end of our car-in fact we had done this in passing from one car to another previous to dropping the last one,- and now began to let ties fall out on the track while we ran They followed us "end over end " and showed a most perverse disposition to get off the track, but a few remained. This moderated the speed of the pursuing engine, which was a help that we sorely needed, for it was now evident that they either had a faster engine than ours, or better fuel The latter was certainly the case, for we had been using wood very rapidly without any opportunity for a long time past to replenish it. The first feeling of despondency of the whole route took possession of us as we approached the bridge with our pursuer close behind. The situation was in every way unfavorable for us. If we passed by without leaving it in ashes we felt that one important part of our business would be undone even if we were completely successful afterwards in evading pursuit and destroying the Chickamauga bridges. Murphy expresses the opinion that we made a great mistake at this point. There was at this time a long and high wooden trestle by which the Resaca bridge is approached. As we came near, we "slowed up, and right in the middle of this trestle we dropped our last car. Murphy says that if we had but thrown it across the track the bridge would have been at our mercv, as well as all the bridges above. He is right, but the diffi- culties in doing this were greater than he thinks. To pull or push the car off by means of the engine, involved some risk of getting the engine itself off, which would have been fatal. We had no good means of moving it An Appalling' Struggle. 135 in any other way, and the element of time was all important. The pur- suers were right behind, and while they could not have fired on us at effective range, they could very quickly have alarmed the town ahead of us, and then the track could have been obstructed to prevent our passage. It is easier to imagine what might have been done, than actually to do it, even if the circumstances were repeated ! There was no opportunity to turn and fight at this point. The town of Resaca was within a few hundred yards of the bridge, and any noise would bring help from that quarter. Besides our pursuers were armed with guns, and our only chance of getting at close quarters was by an OOSTENAULA BRIDGE. ambuscade. Had the day been dry, we could have flung faggots from the engine upon the roof, but now a fire even on the inside of the large frame bridge, would require careful nursing. With a station only a few hundred feet ahead, where the track might be so easily obstructed, and with the guns of the pursuers behind, we could not give time for this; so we slowly and reluctantly passed over the bridge, after dropping the car, and on through the village of Resaca. The pursuers "took up" this car as they had done the other, and pushed them both through the bridge, and left them on the Resaca side track. It may be well to notice here how our ignorance of the enemy and his ignorance of us both inured to his advantage. There had been already many intimations among us that it would be well to turn and fight rather 136 Daring and SuJ^ering. than to be chased any further. Had the real weakness of the enemy on the first train been known, Andrews would have certainly ordered the attack. On the other hand, if Fuller's party had known how strong we were he could not have induced them to continue the chase, even if the resolute conductor himself had not been willing to wait for help. It was believed at first that we were but four — the number on the engine. The estimate was never raised higher than eight, Murphy suggesting to Fuller even then, that it would be better to wait for the train behind and take on more men. But Fuller resolved to persevere and at least delay us at the risk of his own life. Had it been known that we were twenty, he and his slender band would not have been guilty of the madness of crowding on nearly twice their number, even if better armed, and sure of help at every station. But this madness, this imreasonable pursuit, the result of imperfect knowledge, served them well. After passing Resaca, we again forced our pursuers back by dropping ties on the track, and not knowing whether it was a telegraph station or not, we again cut the wires. No obstructions were placed on the track at this point, but it was on a curve, and taking a rail which had been bent in lifting it I placed one end under the rail at one side and the other pro- jecting diagonally toward the train on the other side. The pursuers saw us start, but seeing no obstructions they ran at a good rate of speed right over this rail ! Their escape was marvellous. Persons on the tender jumped a foot high, and one of Fuller's staunchesc helpers demanded that the train be stopped to let him off ! he wanted no more such running as that ! But Fuller, though considering this the greatest of their dangers, would not stop; and it was impossible for him to keep a closer lookout than he had done. But what conjectures did we form to account for the unexpected ap- pearance of this pursuing train ? The story as given to the reader was totally unknown then, and we were greatly perplexed. The matter had great practical importance. Was this engine started after us by an au- thority which had also alarmed the whole road ahead of us ? If so, we would do well to abandon our efforts for the destruction of bridges, and seek our own safety. Of one thing we felt sure: it must have been one of the trains that we had passed at Calhoun or Adairsville that was fol- lowing; but why? There were three possibilities only to choose from. The first and least serious was that the suspicious conductor at Calhoun, who had been so unwilling to let us pass, had determined that we were impostors, and at his own motion had set out to follow us. If so, we would have to deal only with him, and might yet accomplish a part of our work. Or it might be that the freight had run to where we had broken up the track, had escaped wreck, and, turning back, had telegraphed ahead before we had cut the wire. In this case all the road ahead would be An Appalling Struggle. i^y alarmed, and this was probable indeed. Or, once more, a messenger might have been sent down to Marietta from Big Shant}', and a dispatch sent to Atlanta and around the whole circuit of the Confederacy baclc to Chattanooga^ and, before the wires had been cut, to one of tlie trains we had passed, with orders to follow us closely and prevent us from damag- ing the road until a train could be sent out from Cliattanooga to secure our capture. If either of these latter conjectures were true— and they were the most probable — our race was almost run ! We would be obliged to leave the road, and essay the far more difficult task of escaping on foot. If Andrews thought either of these probably true, it would fully account for his reluctance in ordering the capture of a pursuing train; for such a capture could do no permanent good, while every one of his party wounded in the fight would be disabled for the inevitable and terrible land journey ahead, and would surely be lost. In view of the almost hopeless situation as it appeared to us then — far worse than the reality, for the road ahead had not been warned as yet — the heroic constancy of Andrews, who continued to put forth every possible effort as coolly and quietly as if success had been within his grasp, is made brightly conspicu- ous. There were now three chasing trains; first. Fuller and his men with the locomotive of the down freight; second, the Calhoun passenger, which had immediately followed him and was not very far behind; and last, the train started from Marietta, and loaded with soldiers. For a time after leaving Resaca we did not run very fast. It was evident that we could not get away from the engine behind us by mere speed; the only hope was in some way to disable them, or to obstruct the track; and we were obliged to be saving of our fuel. But now we were approaching Green's, a wood station near Tilton, and we were determined to have a fresh supply at any cost. So the last wood in the box, with a little of our precious oil, was shoved into the furnace, and Brown, who had now taken the throttle, turned on a full head of steam, and we once more flew along the track. At the same time, we who were in the box- car, put a line of ties along its floor and kept them moving to the hole in the end, and let them drop, as fast as possible on the track. This was rapidly exhausting our ammunition, but it was effectual in enforcing slow- ness and caution upon the pursuers. Fuller could not run rapidly in the face of such a succession of obstacles. He did the best he could, giving the signal to reverse whenever he saw a tie on the track, jumping off and removing it, and on again, when the engineer would start with a full head of steam, and reduce speed, as the engine gathered headway to such a rate as would admit of stopping in time, when another tie was seen. It was fearfully perilous; and the only wonder is that he was not wrecked long before the chase was done. But he probably understood that we were racing for the wood-yard ahead. 138 Daring and Suffering. In Sight.— Ties thrown from the Car. An Appalling Struggle. When we reached it there was no lingering in the work of loading^ The wood was piled in frantically by men working for life; but before ^ i»ad half filled the tender we again heard our relentless follower. So ■-•ager were we to get the largest possible supply of wood that we did not take their first whistle as a sufificient intimation to start. Then came scream after scream of the most unearthly character, obviously designed At the Wood Station. to alarm the keeper of the wood-yard that he might hinder us from getting: a full supply. But this did not discourage us, for even when Andrew ^ reluctantly gave the word to come on board, Wilson, who as fireman had ^ great appreciation of the need of fuel, lingered still to get a huge armload more, and the enemy seeing our engine standing there, were actually obliged to " slow up " to avoid the collision that seemed inevitable. How- ever we did not wait for them to get close enough to use their shotguns— 1^8 Daring and Suffering. ast not to any effect, though Wilson, in his published account, is pite positive that some guns were fired. He says: ' •We had, however, secured only a partial supply when the chasing train came in sight, loaded with armed soldiers. Our pursuers were worked u^. to an infuriated pitch of excitement, and rent the very air with their screeches and ycMs as they came in sight of us, like dogs when the quarry is sprung. They opened on us at long range with mus- ketry. The bullets rattled around us like hail, but fortunately none of our party was hit.'' But we now had a good head of steam, and with a joyful bound, our engine, as if refreshed from its rest, sped on again. We had been careful to so obstruct the track that the enemy was obliged to come to a full halt, and thus give us time to once more get out of sight. We passed Tilton in safety, and the water station, which at that time was at a different place from the wood-yard, was soon reached. Our sup- ply of this necessity was low, and without it our progress would be at once arrested. We stopped, adjusted the pipes, told the powder story — although from the battered appearance of our only car, with a hole knocked in each end, that story was no longer plausible, but it answered for the moment, and we succeeded in getting all the water we needed. Had any objection been made, we would have taken it by force; and the assurance with which we went to work aided in securing confidence. Before the tank was full the pursuers came in sight, but seeing us, they ran slowly, and as a party of our men had run back and put some obstructions on the track, out of gun-shot, they were obliged to come to a full stop there, thus giving us the time needed. Then we mounted and sped on toward Dalton. It was advisable at once to get decisively ahead of the pursuers before reaching this town, which might present serious difficulties. As there were no bridges to burn now for a considerable distance, the only other thing was to try once more to tear up the track. The engine was again in good running condition, and we rushed rapidly forward, putting frequent obstructions on the track — mostly by dropping ties or sticks of firewood, but in one or two instances by reversing the engine, jumping out and piling up obstructions. At a favorable place we stopped again for a more per- manent break. Long practice had made us skillful in this matter, and the last two stops had shown us that the enemy could not run upon us without great care. So we divided at once into four parties. Scott and a companion cut the telegraph: Knight carefully inspected the engine; two or three ran back just out of gun-shot, and heaped obstructions on the track, while the remainder worked with might and main in taking up a rail. It was here that a little occurrence took place that has been much misrepresented. A Southern account, widely copied, says that Andrews's men almost mutini- ' Adventures of Alf. Wilson, Toledo, O., 1880. An Appalling Struggle. 14V ed against him at this place. The facts are these: the writer and the men m the box-car had come to feel that there was no need of running so long before the pursuing train, which we could see to be a short one, with pro- bably not much if any greater force than our own. Now while as many were at the rail as could find places to work — the process of lifting it with our imperfect tools was very slow, requiring more than five minutes — I said to Andrews, " We can capture that train, if you are willing." " How ?'' he asked. I answered : "Find a good place on a curve where there are plenty of bushes" — (as the road had numberless curves, and ran mostly through woods, this was easy); "then let us put on some obstructions and hide; one of our en- gineers can run ahead a mile or two, and come back after us; when the enemy stop to clear the track, we will rush on them, and when we have captured them, our other engineer can reverse their engine and send it in a hurry down the track to clear the road of any more trains that may be following." Andrews said, in his quiet way, "It is a good plan. It is worth try- ing," and looked around in a meditative manner as if weighing the chances. Then the enemy's whistle sounded, we saw them rush up to the obstruc- tions we had placed on the track, stop by reversing, and labor as frantical- ly to clear the road as we were doing in trying to raise the rail. But our efforts were in vain. The stubborn spikes still held, and as they were ready to move on again, Andrews called out, "All aboard, " and we dashed away. That was not the place to make a fight as we all knew, for revolvers against shot guns and rifles would have had no chance at long range; but from an ambush we could have been climbing into their engine and cars before they could pick up their guns, and the con- flict would not have been many minutes doubtful. This was the nearest we came to what a Southern account called " open mutiny" — a mere re- spectful suggestion in the line of our work. No officer was ever more heartily obeyed than was Andrews during the whole of this day, and none of us said anything more about this plan for the time, partly because we felt that our leader was better able to judge what was to be done than we, and partly also, I must confess, because we thought he was only waiting for the best place to turn on our foes, and that we would soon have all the fighting we wanted. The full speed of our engine was again called into requisition as we neared Dalton, and by the aid of a few ties dropped on the track, we were once more a respectable distance ahead. We needed this interval badly, for it was by no means certain that the switches at this point would be properly adjusted for our immediate passage through; and if not, serious difiiculty might arise. We might have a battle with forces in front as well as in the rear, for Dalton was the largest town we had reached since leav- 142 Daring and Suffering. ing Marietta. Here a road diverged to Cleveland in Tennessee, where it connects with the main line from Richmond to Chattanooga (see map), thus making a large triangle, or as a railroad man would say a great " Y." At that time no telegraph wires were on this cross road; they were not put up till 1877. There were also numerous side tracks, and a proba- bility that cars might be left standing on some of them; and as we had more than made up our hour's delay at Kingston, and were now much ahead of time, there was no certainty of the road being rightly adjusted for us. It was therefore necessary to stop at the opening of the switch, which was fortunately a little way down from the large passenger depot, which had a shed over all the tracks, and through which we had to pass. Here the coolness and adroitness of Andrews shone out with pre- eminent lustre. It is likely that when we had spoken of fighting a little way back, his mind was occupied rather with the problem of passing Dal- ton, and of judging by what took place there whether the enemy was warned. The train was stopped, he ran forward, observed that the track was clear, spoke to one or two bystanders, and was back to his post in an exceedingly short time. To one or two who had come up even in these few seconds, he said, " I am running this train through to Corinth, and have no time to spare;" and nodded to Knight, who once more put on the full force of the engine— there was nothing to be gained by care m avoiding alarm any longer, for the distant whistle of the pursuer was heard— and we rushed at the depot, which then stood right across the double track, and passed with fearful speed under its roof. Here Knight got his most terrible fright. The darting into the partial darkness of the shed was bad enough; but just at the far end, the main track bends sharply to the left, and the swerve was so sudden, and the speed already so high, that Knight believed that he was rushing on another side track and that in a moment would come the awful crash. But instead, the en- gine instantly righted and he again saw the track straight before him. But so quickly had we passed that we could not certainly determine whether the people at the station had been warned or not ! CHAPTER XII. THE FINAL RACE. A MILE above Dalton, which was about as soon as the headlong rush of the engine could be checked, we stopped again, just opposite to where Col, Jesse Glenn's regiment of conscripts was encamped in a field. Their position, which was within two or three hundred yards of us, was probably not seen until we were close to them, and it was better to take the risk of their interference than to lose time by seeking another place for most pressing work. Again the wire was cut; but it was a second too late; for a message had just been flashed through, no doubt even as Scott was bringing it down. The usual obstructions were here piled on the track, and we again essayed to take up a rail, for the Chickamauga bridges were just above, and we wanted time enough to get them on fire; hoping that Fuller would stop long enough at Dalton for the purpose of getting his telegram ready, to allow us to finish the track lifting. No men ever worked with more desperate energy, but all in vain; long before the rail was loose the pursuers were again upon us. The race recommenced with all its speed and fury. The great tunnel was a short distance ahead— a glorious place for an ambush, where, in the darkness, the guns of the enemy would be of little value. If Andrews was disposed to fight, there would be the place of all others to do it. With the smoke of our train filling the space, with our party in ambush along the sides, success would be comparatively sure, if they had twice our number, for of course we could not tell how much of a reinforcement they might pick up at Dalton. But we kept right on through the tunnel and the village of Tunnel Hill beyond, where we carefully drew down to con- ceal our number from the curious eyes of any who might be about the station. At Calhoun Fuller had received a small but very effective reinforce- ment — only a boy thirteen years old, but worth a dozen of ordinary men — by means of one of those apparently small circumstances which often in- fluence the course of great events. At Chattanooga the chief officers of the road had become alarmed by receiving no dispatches from Atlanta, or the stations below Kingston. They therefore directed the young assistant operator at Dalton, to jump on the passenger train just then leaving that 144 Daring mid Suffering. station and go south, sending them back word at each station passed till the cause of the trouble was found. He had only got as far as Calhoun when Andrews passed, and Fuller in a moment after. The latter hardly came to a stop before he saw the operator, and called him, and without a word of explanation, seized his hand and dragged him on the train. In the run up, however, he made all the necessary explanations, and wrote out the following dispatch: FULLER'S TELEGRAM. " To Gen. Leadbetter, Commander at Chattanooga: " My train was captured this A.M. at Big Shanty, evidently by Federal soldiers in dis- guise. They are making rapidly for Chattanooga, possibly with the idea of burning the railroad bridges in their rear. If I do not capture them in the meantime, see that they do not pass Chattanooga. WILLIAM A. FULLER." This he gave to the operator, saying, " Don't speak to anybody or lose a second till you put that through to Chattanooga. Jump for the plat- form when I slow up, for I must push on and keep those Yankees from getting up a rail, or burning the bridges." It was terribly quick work. The operator was at home in the office, and almost before Fuller had cleared the shed he was at the desk and the first words were over the wires. Whether they had time to get the whole message over before the cut is very doubtful, and not material, for the first two lines would answer every purpose. Had Fuller stopped at this point, and himself went into the office long enough to set the operator at work, it is almost certain that we would have had the rail up, and then all the bridges above that point would have been burned; though it is still possible that enough of the message might have been pushed through to secure our arrest in Chattanooga. This was another striking instance of the many narrow margins on which this day hinged. Just north of Dalton an incident occurred which well illustrates the spirit that possessed the Confederates on this occasion. Benjamin B. Flynn, who resided in the immediate vicinity of Dalton, happened to cross the track just in advance of our engine. Noticing the fearful speed, he raised his hand and said to his companion, " That engineet will be dis- ■charged for reckless running." The gesture was seen and assumed to be a signal. He joined in the chase afterward, but that night when he returned home, a detachment from the regiment where we had torn up the track, dragged him from his bed, and tying him up, whipped him almost to death ! ' ' See a full account of the affair, with Flynn's own letter, in the Atlanta Southern Confederacy, of April 20th, 1862. The Final Race. 145 As Fuller pressed on toward the great tunnel, even his resolute heart almost died within him, while all his party began to blame him for fool- hardmess. He feared to plunge into its dark depths. It was still filled with smoke from our engine; and he well knew that if we jumped off at the far end and hurled back our locomotive at him, it meant a horrible death to every one on his train; and he was by no means sure that we would not do it. Mr. Murphy, who had so ably stood by him all the while, here counselled prudence, pointing out all the perils of an ambush. But Fuller realized as apparently no one else did the desperate need of pressing on to save the road; and he had made so many escapes and been so marvellously favored, that a kind of fatalism took hold of him. He determined not to lose a minute, no matter what the danger might be. It may as well be said here that no prudent and common-sense kind of pursuit, such as possibly any other man would have employed, could have had the slightest chance of success. But even Fuller quailed as they dived into the cloud of smoke that hung around the entrance of the tunnel, and held his breath for a few seconds (they were still at full speed), till he saw with a sigh of relief a gleam of light ahead and knew that there was no other engine now in the tunnel ! On he pressed, for he knew the value of the Chickamauga bridges ahead as well as we did. But for the wetness of the day all his efforts even yet would have been foiled. We now did what had been in the mind of Andrews, doubtless, for some time past— what he might have tried even at the Oostenaula bridge had not the interval between that and Calhoun been so fearfully short. He ordered us to fire our last car, while we were running. It was said easily but was much harder to do. Everything about the car was as wet as it well could be. The rain fell in torrents, and the wood was drenched in the tender. It was by no small effort and skillful firing that the engine fire could be kept at the heat required for fast running. But desperate fingers tore everything combustible loose from the car, and smashed it into kindling. Some blazing faggots were stolen from the engine and the fire made to burn. The rapid motion with driving rain was an obstacle at first, but as we fed up the blaze and sheltered it as well as possible, it grew rapidly till soon but one could stay on the car and watch it, and all the others crowded on the tender and locomotive. The steam was now gradually shut off that we might come slowly upon the bridge and be able to leave the burning car just at the right place. We came to a full stop at this first Chickamauga bridge, a large one, and well covered.' Inside it was at least dryer than on the outside, and we doubted not that with time it would burn well. The only question was, " Will that time be given ?" We added almost the last of our oil and nearly ' The bridges are of different pattern now and would be much more difficult to burn. T46 Daring and Suffering. the last stick of wood — knowing that a wood station was not far ahead, and if this bridge could be made to burn well, we could have all the time we wanted to get wood and everything else. In fact we put life itself on this last throw, and left ourselves, in case of failure, hopelessly bankrupt. For a considerable time, as it seemed to us, though it must have been measured by seconds rather than minutes, we remained on the other side Kindling a Fire in the Box-Car. of the fire watching. Then the inexorable smoke of the foe was seen; the pin connecting the burning car with our engine was pulled out and we slowly moved on. Too clearly we saw the ruin of all our hopes ! To wait the coming of our foes was vain. They were now near at hand, and we could see their guns, with which they would be able to fight us at long range. The car which, if the day had been dry, would long before this have filled the bridge with a mass of roaring flame, was burning faster than Tiie Final Race. '47 the bridge. To take it to another bridge was useless, for the drenching rain would have given it little chance to burn away from the shelter of the bridge. Very sadly we left the tall column of smoke behind. The pur- suers saw the car, and realizing how serious their loss would be if it was permitted to consume the bridge, they pushed right into the smoke and shoved the burning car on to Ringgold but a short distance ahead, where it was left to smoke and sputter in the rain on the side track. We were now on what proved to be our last run. I have often been asked if this day was not one of great fear and terror on the part of those who were engaged in the race. For my own part, I cannot honestly lay claim to any greater fear than I had often felt in ordinary military service. No matter what happened, there was the assurance that we still had one re- source — the power to turn around and attack the pursuing foe. From the beginning, such a conflict had been present to my mind as a matter of course. Before leaving camp, this had been reckoned a natural con- sequence of our position. It had been frequently talked of among the men, and not one of them seemed to regard it with any more dread than an ordinary battle. We had been careful to select large revolvers for use, and not for show, and when we found the enemy gaining upon us, or our leader's plans for their destruction failing, we only felt or said that our time to strike would soon come. We did not have the boastful feeling that we were an overmatch for a large body of southern soldiers, for we all knew how desperately they could and often did fight; but of the ordi- nary citizens gathered up as we presumed our pursuers were, or even of conscripts, we had no great fear. That we had not our accustomed arms was a serious disadvantage, but this could be remedied by getting into close quarters; and we trusted that our leader, who had shown such won- derful skilHn management, would be able to put us within short range of the pursuing train where we felt sure that we could quickly give a good account of it. Probably the fact of Andrews having never been in battle, but always engaged in schemes where his own cool daring and sagacious planning counted for everything, and mere force for nothing, made him hesitate to order an attack which would throw aside all these qualities and deter- mine the issue by simple fighting. A time was near when we would firmly have disputed our leader's command if there had been an officer of any authority among us who could have been substituted for him; but not until Andrews himself had definitely abandoned his authority. Many times the question has been asked, " Why did you not reverse your engine, and, jumping off, let it drive back at the enemy?" What good could that have done ? If their engine and our own had been de- stroyed, as was very probable, together with a considerable number of lives, we would only have been where we were before we captured the 148 Daring and Suffering. engine at all, except that the whole country would have been aroused, and our disguise thrown off. The second train would have been on the ground in a few minutes and the power of pursuit would have been undiminished. We had no wish to sacrifice our own engine until the last effort possible had been made. To merely destroy had no charm for us, when that de- struction could neither promote our escape nor serve a military purpose. We crouched down as well as we could in the tender while passing Ring- gold, that the enemy might not see our number; and when beyond the town we arose and looked about us. The country was mostly wooded and rough, being much cut up by the branches of the swollen Chickamauga creek. We had no fuel, though we might have taken on a few water-soaked fence rails and broken them to burn; but what would have been the use ? Every combustible scrap was carefully gathered up and thrown into the engine. Worst symptom of all, a large pair of saddle-bags which we had never seen Andrews without from the time of the midnight conference, together with his cap and some other pieces of clothing that he did not need for im- mediate use, were flung remorselessly into the furnace. Various papers went along. These were probably documents that he feared would compro- mise himself or others in case of capture. Such preparations were indeed ominous. But his next command — the last he ever gave to us as a party — was more dreadful still, and for the first time that day there shot a pang of mortal terror to my heart. Not the crash of the engine down an en- bankment, nor the coming of another train of the enemy from the north shutting us between two fires, would have caused such a sense of despair and hopeless misery to steal over me. This was the order, which, as inti- mated before, our party, had they been properly organized, would not have obeyed. For our situation was still far from desperate. Aside from the capture of the pursuing train, which would now have been very difficult from the fact that we had neither fuel for rapid running, nor the obstructions on board that were necessary to place us far enough ahead for ar. ambuscade, there was another plan to which our leader was virtually pledged, which presented every prospect of saving our own lives, though it was now too late to accomplish our original purpose. We were some five miles beyond Ringgold, within a mile of Graysville, or nineteen miles by the longest railway course from Chattanooga. From that city westward to Bridgeport was twenty-eight miles further. But the nearest way to Bridgeport was not through Chattanooga, but further south, and by that route it was not distant more than thirty-five or forty miles. The direct course was at right angles with the numerous mountain ranges which here run almost north and south, a route over which cavalry could not be used, and which was known to more than one of our party. Two comrades had pocket com- passes which would liave guided us in thick woods or in cloudy weather by The Final Race. 149 day or night. Now to have left our train in a body, and without delaying to seek concealment, to have struck over the streams and mountains at right angles, as rapidly as we could go, would have been our most hopeful course. Long before night of the next day we would have been safe within Mitchel's lines! Whj^ not? How could the enemy have cap- tured us ? If they sent cavalry, these would necessarily have made long circuits and have been obliged to adhere to the lines of the road, and thus could not have come near us while clinging to the valleys and mountain sides. Even in thick woods they could not have overtaken us. If they followed us with a strong party on foot, we fleeing for our lives, would not have deserved to escape, if we could not have held our distance for forty miles or more. If they had ridden ahead and raised the whole country for a gen- eral man-hunt, they would have had only twenty-four hours or less to or- ganize it, and no small party then could have arrested twenty armed men. In fine, this plan of escape through a mountainous and densely wooded country did not appear to me to be more dangerous than a cavalry dash on the lines of the enemy's communications — an every-day military affair. Even if Mitchel did not prove to be in the neighborhood of Bridgeport when we arrived, we would then have been in the loyal mountainous dis- trict where we would have met as many friends as foes. All that we needed in the way of provisions and guides, our force would have en- abled us to command, and even guns and ammunition could readily have been gathered on our way. But all these advantages depended on our keeping together under one head. An army scattered and disorganized is lost; and our little army was no exception. The fatal command which Andrews now gave as we were huddled together in the wood-box of the tender, was to jump off, one by one, scatter in the woods, and each man strive to work his own way back to the Union army ! We hesitated, but had no concert of action, no leader, no time for council, and the instinct of obedience was still strong upon us; but it was a fatal order, and led directly to the calamities that followed. It transformed us in a moment from a formidable body of picked soldiers ready to fight to the death, into a scattered mass of fugitive boys, bewil- dered and hopeless in an enemy's country ! Yet no one of us felt like censuring our leader for this order, which every one at the moment believed to be a terrible mistake. He was not a trained soldier, and had never learned the power of disciplined men. All that he had achieved heretofore had been by the force of individual •effort; and he never seemed so much at home as when thrown on his own resources. In a most pathetic letter, printed on a subsequent page, he ex- pressed perfect confidence in his power, in the absence of a certain con- tingency, to have eluded the enemy and secured his own escape; and what he felt confident of doing he thought others could also do; or 1 50 Daring and' Suffering. that if they were captured he would be in ^ .position to give them very efficient help. Probably he thought that each man of the party would find the same relief that he did, in being cast entirely on his own re- sources. Then it must further be remembered, in explanation of this mistaken order, that Andrews had slept none the night before, that he had been nearly twenty-four hours without food, and that he had spent nearly two days and a night in the most exhausting labors, both mental and physical, that it is possible to conceive. He had seen his cherished plans, when on the brink of success, overthrown by what seemed the remorseless hand of destiny. To the many failures and sorrows of his past life had been added the crowning misfortune of this defeat. It had ever been his sad and tantalizing lot, to almost, but not quite achieve; to succeed grandly up to a certain point, and then to fail through some cause too strong for human power, and too obscure for human foresight. Perhaps under his calm brow he realized this with an intensity of anguish, and felt that the greatest favor he could do those he had led within sight of a hor- rible death, and into the presence of an enraged and triumphant foe, was to separate them at once from his own dark and shadowed destiny. If so, that was the most fearful mistake of all; and as this order was given, we could almost, as we looked southward through the driving rain and the storm-clouds, behold already the dark outline of the Atlanta scaffolds! It was pitiful! The " General " had served us well ever since the morn- ing hour in fearful speed and patient waiting, in exulting raptures and in almost despair. It was hard to abandon her now. She was substantially uninjured. The engineers. Brown and Knight, had taken good care of her, and, with wood and oil in abundance, there would have been no diffi- culty on her part in completing the run to Huntsville. She was still jog- ging along at the rate of eight or ten miles an hour, and could maintain that pace a little longer. The pursuers had also diminished their speed, so as to just keep us in sight, having apparently no wish to press upon what may have seemed to them like a wounded and dying lion. The command to " jump off and scatter " was repeated with the injunction to be quick about it, as the engineer wished to reverse the engine and drive it back upon the enemy. With such a reason, there could be no more hesitation. It is said that some three or four had already got off at the first word of command; but the most of us had hesitated, not on ac- count of the still rapid motion of the train, but in the idle hope that in some way, this terrible parting might be averted. Now one after another clambered down on the step and swung off. I was neither among the first nor the last; and jumping unskillfully out from the step, instead of for- The Final Race. iSi ward, whirled over and over on hands and feet for several revolutions. Rising in a dazed condition, though unhurt with the exception of a few scratches from the briers with which the place abounded, I looked over the animated scene, with the deepest interest. The men who had jumped off were, according to instructions, flying in different directions; a few others were just coming off the engine in almost the same way that I had done, while the erigineen were attempting to carry out their scheme of reversing the engine, which could do no good now, except possibly to Leaving the Locomotive. delay the inevitable pursuit a little, and give us a better opportunity to organize our plans. The brakes of the tender were put on still more to diminish speed, and the reversal was made. Here is a slight conflict of authority. The pursuers say that the brakes were not loosed again; but our engineers are equally positive that they were. It is not material, for the result is the same. The steam power was so low, that though the engine moved back, it was with moderate velocity and I saw the pursuers rever'^e 15 J Daring and Suffering. also, and coming to a full stop, whistle two or three times as it approached — a seeming whistle of alarm, though there was little in the approach of our poor " General " to fear; and then they moved slowly before it for a short distance till the two were in contact, when the weaker stopped, and the steam was shut off. The great Railroad Chase was over ! CHAPTER XIII. . WHAT WAS ACTUALLY ACCOMPLISHED. WHOEVER has attentively read the preceding pages will under- stand that the enterprise described was not a mere hair-brained and reckless raid which could scarcely hope for success and could have achieved no solid result. On the contrary he will realize that it promised much, and came very near success; while its ultimate failure was only one of those chances of war which no human wisdom can avert, and which give to this game of life and death its terrible fascination. Why did it fail ? Four causes may be assigned, three of which are but branches of one. 1. The delay of one day. This is the first and far the most important. Had Mitchel been equally delayed, no harm would have resulted; but he was not, and in consequence the road was crowded with extra trains. The responsibility for this delay must rest upon Andrews himself. 2. The rain on Saturday. This made the use of fire slow and difficult. But it may be regarded as a part of the first cause, for on the day assigned,, this difficulty would not have existed. On Friday there was a clear day and a roaring wind. We would not have spent much time then in the lifting of rails, for a bridge fired and fanned by such a breeze as delayed us in crossing the Tennessee, would in a few minutes have made an impassable barrier. But on Saturday the rain fell in torrents, and everything was almost insured against fire. 3. Atidrews's reluctance to fight. He took the men along as laborers rather than warriors; he did not inspect their arms, but simply advised that each be furnished with a good revolver. I was asked by a person to whom I gave this reason whether I thought Andrews cowardly ! The term might as well be applied to Julius Caesar ! But his plans were based on strategy rather than force; and the failure to turn and fight at the pro- per time was disastrous. A second in command who would have stood by him, and at the critical time have advised him to turn on the foe. would have remedied this evil. It is the opinion of the Confederates, as well as our own, that if we had attacked them with half the determi- nation shown afterward at Atlanta when weaker and fewer, we would have been sure of success. The fault for this neglect was in General 154 Daring and Suffering. Mitchel, who should have put some determined fighter in command of the party, under the direction of Andrews. If he had not wished to risk an- other man there were members of the party fully competent. 4. The pursuit of Fuller and Murphy. It was mere accident that the latter with his coolness and knowledge of all repairs, and official authority on the road, was present that morning. The day before he would not have been. Fuller was probably the only conductor on the road who would have been equal to the terrible vigor of this pursuit; and it was doubtful whether he could have carried it through without the help of Murphy. When it is reflected that a difference of one minute or less at any one of two or three distinct points, would have given complete success despite all hin- drances, it will be seen how narrow was the margin, and how little the help of Murphy could have been spared. It required all of these four to defeat us. No one of them, nor any three, would have been sufficient. Looking back over the whole matter I give it as my candid opinion that when we set out from camp our chances of success were as good as those of Mitchel in his march upon Huntsville. But in war there are no certainties. It may also be maintained that even in what was actually done, the score of men engaged rendered to their army, at whatever cost of suffer- ing to themselves, a greater service than ten times their number could have wrought in the ordinary line of military duty, and contributed their full share to the overthrow of the rebellon. Three considerations support this claim. The superintendent of the VVestern and Atlantic Road at once tele- graphed a request for strong guards at all important bridges; and E, Kirby Smith from Knoxville, under date of April i6th, directs Gen. Leadbetter to send troops from Chattanooga for that purpose. There were twelve or fifteen bridges on this road alone, all requiring guards to insure them against the repetition of an attempt such as ours; and when to these is added all other bridges in exposed positions, about which the enemy was made uneasy in consequence of our raid, the number so em- ployed cannot be estimated at less than several hundreds, abstracted from active service at a time when every man was urgently needed. As a sim- ple diversion of force, this raid was eminently successful.' But another result was in the end not less important. Everything that increased the rigor of the war-pressure inured in the long run to the advantage of the Union cause. From the time when it was shown that Federal soldiers in disguise could penetrate to the very heart of the Con- federacy, a much more stringent passport system was adopted. All guards at ferries, as well as bridges, were strengthened; arriving and departing trains were rigidly examined; and a general atmosphere of distrust and ' See also the message of Gov. Brown, of Georgia. Supplement, Chap. VI. IV/iat was Actually Accomplished. 155 suspicion was intensified all through the South. The running of the in- ternal or land blockade, which had been encouraged on the Southern side because of their great need of the articles imported, was carefully scruti- nized and thus made more difficult; an important result, as the Federals were greatly interested in reducing the amount of contraband articles carried into the South. They could not expect many persons to employ such a trade to their advantage as Andrews had done; and the Southerners on their part were so frightened by the deadly blow which had been* aimed at their heart under cover of this secret trade, that it became difficult for any genuine blockade-runner to convince them that he was not also in the interest of the enemy. A large force employed in guarding the frontier could not have accomplished as much as did our expedition in this totally unlooked-for direction. The same consideration will show how absurd is the statement made by many Southern authorities, that Andrews was to be rewarded for his part in this raid by the privilege of "trading to the extent of five thousand dollars a month afterward !" In the case of success no less than failure, his trading would have been over; no doubt, he felt that what he had promised his betrothed — that he would after this one enterprise retire from the perilous business in which he was engaged — was the expression of a simple necessity. He could never have been trust- ed by the Confederates again. But the third consideration is far above these. The greatest gains or Josses in war connot be weighed or measured. A daring deed may ac- complish nothing in material results, and yet in kindling the emulation and raising the spirits of the one side, and inspiring the other with respect for their adversary, it may accomplish more than the capture of a fortress. The death of Leonidas, with his three hundred at Thermopylae, was worth more to the Greeks than the gain of many a battle; the Persian concep- tion of Greek valor was immeasurably heightened, and in many a doubt- ful conflict, may well have turned the scale; while every Greek felt his arm nerved anew by their heroism. It was especially necessary that in this conflict there should be some unmistakable illustrations of Northern daring; for it had been an accepted tradition, to some extent at the North as well as at the South, that in personal bravery, in dash and enthusiasm, the Southern soldier far excelled the Northern; and up to this time nearly all the daring movements and dashing raids had been displayed on behalf of the South. The idle boast that one Southern soldier was worth five •'Yankees" was probably never sincerely made in that extreme form; but there was a firm belief that, man for man, the advantage was on the side of the rebels. Nothing during the whole war did so much to shake this feel- ing as our raid. It was beating the enemy at his own game. They acknowledged even with exaggerated emphasis that Morgan, their favorite raider and guerilla chief, had done nothing to equal this; and they spoke 156 ■ Daring and Suffering. of the possibilities of Northern valor with far more respect after this signal illustration of it. An almost amusing expression of this feeling will be given later in narrating the exaggerated caution with which the captives of this band were guarded; and one Confederate countryman said to Geo. D. Wilson, one of the most heroic of the number, with charming simplicity, *' Has Mitchel any more men like you ? " Wilson was equal to the occasion and at once answered, "Why, we are the worst men of his division, the refuse of the whole army, and he only sent us down here to get rid of us ! '' In recounting much of indignity and severe suffering inflicted, it is but just to remember, in extenuation, the extreme rage naturally felt toward our leader. Just in proportion as he had been trusted, was the revulsion of feeling and the desire for vengeance, when the enemy discovered that he had been playing false. It might have been foreseen that the pursuit would be pressed with remorseless vigor, and that none of the means em- ployed in hunting fugitive slaves would be spared. When captured, the probability was that every one would at once be put to death in the most summary way that fury could suggest. Not one of us but would have preferred to remain in a body and fight till all had fallen, rather than de- pend upon the enemy's mercy; the circumstances were not such as to greatly invite clemency, and our belief was that the people with whom we were now to settle accounts would not be disposed to a merciful view of our deeds. Two things only could cause the least delay in the death of any of the party who might be so unfortunate as to fall into their power; curiosity arising from the uncertainty as to who and what we were, and the fear of retaliation by the Federals. The latter might be effectually guarded against if the capture of any of the number when taken could be kept a profound secret, and our officers be led to believe that we had all perished at the outset. In !;ertain quarters, even on the loyal side and since the war, our ex- ploit has been spoken of as " stealing an engine," and " the robbery of a train." Such expressions were natural on the part of the Confederates. They would incline to do all in their power to belittle the whole matter, and make it appear right to treat us with indignity. But these phrases are now neither correct nor in good taste. To speak of Grant as "robbing" the enemy of Richmond or Sherman as "stealing" Atlanta would be equally justifiable. The Western and Atlantic Railroad was used in the military service of the rebels; and to destroy its property or convert it to the use of the Federal government was in no sense " stealing," unless the whole war for the preservation of the Union was one gigantic theft. All day on Saturday intense excitement and suspense reigned along the whole line of the Western and Atlantic Railroad as well as in the sur- rounding country. The great raid was known to be in progress; but W/iat was Acttially Accomplished. 157 tor many hours the result was doubtful. The terrible passions evoked on the part of all engaged were shared with but little diminution by those who were interested so directly in the result. The Southern peo- ple had from the beginning of the war been taught that the coming of the "Yankees," as the Federals were generally called, would bring with it the most terrible calamities to which a people could be subjected. The loss of property, the burning of houses, and even the murder of women and children were not the worst evils threatened. Reports of Southern victories had hitherto been so exaggerated and frequent that these startling dangers had seemed distant; but now in a single day they were brought terribly near. The news that Mitchel had taken Huntsville in Alabama, had followed directly the reports of a great battle on the borders of Mississippi, and the same day the enemy were in their own midst, in the heart of Georgia ! It is still possible by the aid of files of Confederate newspapers to enter into this natural, even if exaggerated feeling, which had the most practical importance to us, as it led to the terrible pursuit and probably to much of the ill-treatment that followed. A circumstance that added to the speed with which the intelligence was diffused, and made the pursuit to be more prompt and better organ- ized, while increasing the general excitement, was that Saturday was a general muster day. As the trains passed they found people already gathered in their towns, with their guns. These were of rude pattern, but very efficient for the use nocv demanded. They waited with breathless interest, as many of them as could not crowd on the pursuing trains, to learn the result. The telegraph wires were restored as fast as possible and the news sent back. Each message, whether by this channel or by couriers on horseback, was listened to with the greatest avidity. The simple facts were distorted in a hundred ways. An amusing account is given by a correspondent of the Atlanta ^'"Southern Confedera