Pomeroy weekly telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio) 1860-1866, 1862-07-11
For the Pomeroy Weekly Telegraph.
Letter From the Camp.
CAMP IN THE WILDERNESS, /
Iulu 1860


CAMP IN THE WILDERNESS,
July l, 1862. !. n
Editor 7elegraph:-Though in my
correspondence with home friends. [
freely give the results of my observa-
tions and reflections; yet | have always
been ayerse to parading them in the
public prints. But the conduct of the
Government or Government officials has
been so unfeeling and outrageous, in
some matters, that have come under my
immediate notice, that feel impelled
by sense of duty to expose it..
The army of Gen. Mitchell, after
passing Shelbyville, Tenn, found no
friends among the white people. No.
information could be obtained from them
of the whereabouts or the strength Of
the enemy, but slaves came to our camp,
and at the risk of their lives gave us
valuable Information, by which the
lives of many Of our soldiers were
saved. ] will give one case which is
nearly the history of hundred others
within my knowledge: /,
An intelligent slave df French, In
dian and African extraction, came t5
our Camp at II o'clock at night, and in
formed the Commander that band of
22 Confederate soldiers and eitizens was
on the road to cut off our eoariers, and
to kill and rob small parties going 20
and returning from hospitals, &c. lie
had obtained this information by over
hearing the Captain of the gang tell his
master. The slave was detained as a
guide, and on this account did not get
back to his master until 8 o'clock next
morning. We found the information
correct, but the master having missed
his slave and horse suspected that in
| formation had been given us, and in
formed the gang who decamped two
hours before our party, who were sent
&c capture them, had arrived
The master had the slave arrested,
and he was taken by two rufians to a
stable where they threatened to pay him
for his nights job. The boy got loose
and ran for our Camp. We gave him
protection, and employed him to cook
for us, and as slaves are uniformly hung
| that are retaken, after giving such
information l concluded to take
him out of the way of harm. Having
an order to 60 on business, came to
Nashville. Here | found the rules so
strick thatI could not take him through
without difficulty. l at length, how
ever, succeeded in getting him to Louis
vile, where l got on board the mail
boat, but the hell-hounds scented the
African, and although 1 was a Ken
tuckian, and promised not to take him
out of the State, he was taken from me
and is now in, Jail, and his old rebel
master will be notified that on his proof
of property, hescan have him at the ex-
pense Of the writer of this, if said writer
can be found
The writer Of the above is an ofic er
of volunteers, formerly resident among
I us. although now resident of Kentucky,
known to many Of our readers,
and whose word no one would dare
to question. It is such scenes as
these, which are making A6olitioitists Of
men who were the farthest from it when
the war commenced. If God wefe te
permit us to put down the rebellion on
such conditions, it would be teaching
4 rebellion to his o,cn moral Government
by the working of His own Providence
4 This He will not do. He may permit
4 US to waste our substance in the vain at.
tempt, until we have been stripped of al
we ever extorted from the unpaid labor
of the slaves-until we become poor as
the slaves themselves, as righ teous re
tribution. But the hope of success
with the view ofstill, holding on to the ac
: cursed system, and being free and pros
porous. ourselves, is the baseless hope
of the atheist, a dream that will never be
realised. five cannot be made to bless
the earth by our virtues, He can make
us do it as warning to coming genera
= -
tions, by teaching them through oul
history theterrible results toa nation, o
denying His Pf.zidence and setting a
defiance the laws of justice and reason
Rebel E1aggerations.
MEMPHIS. July 9TH Richmond dis
i patches to July 1st and I'd, still claim
4 that. the rebelsscaptured s generals, r.
8 600 prisoners, all Mcclellan 5 siege guns
and supplies enough for the Rebel army