Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1862-11-03
nonmIBLE BEDRRAL OUTRAGE
Tro Confsasr9ies Murdered.
The Fall rar'ieurar. Of ,he scene.
Ion the Pslmrra llll.saurll coprlsr.L

From the Palmyra QiissourD Courier.I
Saturday last, the 18Th inst, witnessed the
performance of a tragedy in this once quiet anC
beautiful city of Pslmyrs, which, in ordinarily
pesceful times, would have created profound
sensation throughout the entire country, bu
which now scarcely produces distinct ripple
upon the surface of our turbulent social tide.
Il viii be remembered by our readers that on
the occasion Of POrter's descent upon Palmyrs
he captured among other persons, an old and
/ highly respected resident Of this city, by name
andrew Allsmsn. This person formerly be-
longod to the Sd Missouri cavalry, though toe old
tn endure all the hadships Of very sctive duty.
( He was therefore detailed as a kind Of special
or extra provost marshaps guard OF eicerone-
/ making himself generally useful in s variety OF
ways to the military Of the place B5ing an
old resident and widely acquainted with the
people Of the place and vicinity, ha was tTe-
/ quently called upon for information touching
! tine loyalty Of men, which he always gave to the
extent of his ability, though acting, we believe,
I in all such cases, with great candoT, and actu
ated solely by conscientious desire to discharge
/ his whole duty to bis government. His know
| ledge Of the surrounding country vas she reason
Of his being frequently called upon to act as :
guide to scouting parties sent out to arrest dis
loyal persons. So efficiently and successfully
did be act IN these various capacities, that he
won the bitter hatred Of all the rebels in this
city and vicinity, and they only awaited the
coming of favorable opportunity to crafty
their desire for revenge. The opportunity came
at last, when Porter took Palmyra That the
villains, with Porter's assent, satiated their
thirst for his blood by the deliberate and pre-ds-
termiHed murder of their helplesS victim, 10
truly loyal man doubts. When they killed him,
or how, OF where, are items Of the act not yet
revealed TO the public Whether he was stabbed
at midnight BY the dagger Of the assassin, or
shot at midday by the rifle Of the guerrilla
whether he vas hung, and bis body hidden be-
meath the scanly sell Of some osken thlckst, or
left as food for hogs to fatten upon; or whether
ike the ill-tated Wheat, his throat was severed
from ear to ear, and his body sunk beneath the
waEs-we know not. But that he WAS f5ully,
cAusslessly murdered, it is useless to attempt to
deny.
When General Mcneil returned to Palmyra,
after that event. and Rscertziaed the circum-
stances under which Allsman had been abduc:ed.
he caused to be issued, after due deliberation,
the following notice:
PALMYRA, No, October s, 1862
JOSEPH G. PORTER-Sir: Andrew Alsman,
sn aged citizen Of Palmyra, and e non combat
ant, having been carried from his home by
band of persons unawfully srTayed agsin5t the
pbACc anu kUUu tiluA VI tAb Dk1l1 VI 1AAooNtti-H
and which band Was under your control, this is
to notify you that unless said Audfew Alisman
is returned unharmed to his family within ten
days from date, ten men who have belonged to
your baud, and uHlaWiully sworn by yen to
carry arms against the government Of the United
States, and who are ROW in custody, will be shot
as a nete reward for their crimes, among which
is the illegal restraining of said Allsman Of his
liberty, and, if not returned, pIesumptiyely aid
ing II his murder.
Your prompt attention to this will save much
suffering Yours, etc,
W. R, STRACHAM,
2. II. Gen. Dist n +. No.
Per order Of Brisadiar- General Commanding
McNeil's column.
A writtea duplicate Of this notice he caused
to be placed in tho hands Of the wife Of Joseph
G. Porter a. her residence, in Lewis county,
who it was we'll known, was in frequent COM
municstion with her husband. The notice was
publish widely, and as Porter was in Northern
Missouri during the whole Of the ten days sub
sequent to the date of this notice, it IS impossi-
bic that, with all his varied channels of infor-
nation, be remained unapprised Of General Nc
Neirs determination in the premises.
Msny rebsis believed the whole thing was
simply intended as a scsre-declaTing that Nc
Neil did not dare (l) to carry cut The threat.
The ten days elapsed, and no tidiBgs came Of
the murdered Alsmsn. II is not our intention
TO dwell at Ioagth upon the details OF this tTsls-
action. The tenth day expired with last Friday.
On that day ten rebel prisoners, already in Gus
tody, were selected TO pay with their lives the
penalty demtnded The names Of the men so
selected were as follows:
Willis Baker, Lewis county Thomas Hum
/ ston, Lswis country Morgan BxleT, Lewis
county; Herbert Hudson, Rails county John
I n LEaIa Rsfls tu MARROW La Rails
/ county; Captain Thomas A. Snider, Monroe
! county Eleazar Lske, Scotland couuty Hiram
| Smith, KnoI county
/ These parties were informed on Friday even
ing, the. urleas Dir. Alisman was Tstoru0d %
! his family By one O'Clock on the following day,
they would all be shot at thss hour.
Most Of them received the announcement
with composurs or iudiference The Raw JAS,
! s.. Green, Of this city, remained with than
during that night as their spiritual adviser, en-
| desv0riDg to preP.re them for their sudden en-
trance iuJo ths presence Of thsiT maker.
A little after Ii o'clock A. M, the next day,
three government wagons drove to the jail One
contained four Gnd eseh Of the others three
rough, board ccffias. The condemned msn
were conducted from the prison and seated il
the Wagons-one upon each cOIiia. & sufficient
guard of soldiers accompanied them, and thc
cAvalcads started for The fatal grounds. Pro
ceeding east to Main street, the eOTtege turned
and moved slowly southwsrd IS fzr as Malone's
livery stebls, Thence tuning east, it ente5sc
the Hannibal road, pursuing 1t nearly to th,
residence Of Colonel James Culberts0n, ThGr.
throwing down the fences, they turned north
ward, entering the fair gTOuud3 half q miit
east of the towa) on the west side, and driving
within the circular amphiEheatrica ring, paussl
for the final contamination Of the scene.
The ten cofius were removed from the veg
ons and placed in q row, six or eight feet apart
forming . line north and south, about lifeeI
PAGES east Of the central psgoda or music siam
in the center of the ring. Each eofin wa
placed upon the ground, with It's foot west ane
head east Thirty soldiers of the 2I 81. s. "a.
were drawn up in single line, extending notl
aud south, facing the row Of collins This lin
of e1ecuti0ners run Immediately st the east ba5'
Of the pagois, leaving space between Ehen
and the collins, of twelve or thirteen PAGES
Reserves were drawn up in lne uPon eIlae
bank Of these exeeuti0ncrs.
The arrangements completed, the doOne
men knelt upon the grass between their ceaia
and the soldiers, while the Reverend Il. II
Rhodes otfsred up 5 prayer. At the conclusloi
Of this each prisoneT took his seat upon the f:o
OF his coffin, facing she muskets which in a fsv
moments were to launch them into eternity
They were nearly all firm and undaanted IH
or three only showed signs OF trepidation.
The most noted Of the ten was Captain Thos
A. Siduer, of Monroe county, whose capture q
Shelbyville, in the disguise of 8 woman, We re
/ lated several weeks since, Hs was now elegan5.
attired in suit Of black breadcloth, with
white vest. a luxurious growth Of besuhiu
hair rolled dowaed upon his shoulders, which
with lis fLs p rsonal appearance, could no I6
1 but bring 80 mind the handsome but vicious 40
SALON. There was nothing especially worth.
of note in the Appearance Of the others. On
! of them, Willis sker, OF Lewis county, Wa
Trover 70 he the nan who, la't year, shot ant
Killed Mr.. Fzekl Pralts, his Umon neighboI
near WIlliamstown, in that cUunty. All to
Others were rebels Of lesser note, the particular
Of whose crimes we are not familiar with