St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1862-06-12

From Gen. MoDowell:s ARMY.

I.I.L l..iD..U N. -.
From Gen. MoDowell:s Arm =.
- &SN ,tu. an2-@v--+z-+gii. .sue.} 20 5si
WHAT "coNrRA9ANDs" ARE GOOD FOR,
II From, ths New York Tribune ~ ~ wv. Is ~
FREDERIcKsBURa;'NI May 25,H 1852. IL
81 70 alb who Nonaiotpl bglievep that loyal
blacks i.avs been, aanf Uahi still b. useful
to the army I'M the~hig gbest desree,' l''aoukl
advise an immediate visit to> the Army oi
the Rappahaunock, and a.catefaladd' hon.
est investigation nt; ,the faotsxprescutea to
them, anu theu,if atterNuph examinabion,
they still remain, skeptieal ,absqlstsodem
ous1ratlpn is OF 10 value, whates srao minds
created like theirs: Several, days siuqs, the
loyal'black came cme' in anlal aynlal told teld the Generals
the rebels were preparingt to retreat. their
story, was in part <belieyed, hqt, was not
made the, basis Of action until yesterday,
distance and see If tie eehnemys ) pickets
were still in sight, The order was imme-
diately put in cxscutionp md the result
was, ,spo Rebel pickles sean either ot'iafan-
try or cavaly;. : hns suo' (; 10 .Ho, .,
.: In the eseripg Of the same day, txo;oy.
al blacks were brought to the headquarters
Of Gen, Patrick .hstweepr@ 6le Of soldiers,
and, upon being interrosatediby that most
Christian ttAiaal, ike gentleman ana solaisE IL
has besn your coyrespopdcut,s pleasure to
meet, said they were slaves sf Capt. Sher-
man, of Col. Johnson's regi%syht }st / Of Rebel
cavalry, and had left their nlaster's house
at Sp6ttsylvvania Court House- tbat i morn.
ing upon hearing il Reported that. .they
'wefey about to be taken 'SSoutt : that sew!
eral days before, the Rebel infantry all re-
treated, aud but one regiment of cavalry
renaincd to perform picket duty, and that
a son of Capt. ,Sher,nah told them aths en-
tire force inT'iront Of Gen. McDo veil had
been ordered. to prepare four days. rations,
and 10 fall BACK, upon the junction with
the Gord6nsti1le Road and further still,
thai all tie bridgtsl ,wReft Being Burned to
obstrruilet' tts' advance Of our army:
Upon hearing their story Gen Patrick
Immediately sent them to Mcdowell, who
cross. examined them until he vas. entire-
ly satisfied that tie" told the truth u, n This
morning, acting upon the information ob-
ftaineed through these 'ldyaf blacks, Gen,
Patrick t6Uk' q Battalion Of the Harris
Light. Cavvalry and made d Reconnaissance
IN the direction Of the' encihy's camping
grOuhd. oou7 - r. ",.H =? 'nDh 2nn ii }:1il
S Before starting, however, hc sent for
Henry Tyler, an! Intelligent loyal black
SLAVE; Of the. famous. or rather infamous,
alfred lernard Of Fredericksburg, mount.
ed him upon good horse, put pair Of
spurs upon his heels, placed him on his
right, and told him he had appointed hin,
as chief aid and guide for the day. l.
This conspicuous position aud SUI dden
promotion rather embarrassed the faithful
black at first, but in few moincnts YOU,
correspondent could rot discoveries far US
modesty Of depcrt,hent, and the prompt
execution of ,au orders committed tV him
was concerned, but what ;.he 1atqaiittcd
'himselfas! we'll as any one eIseydpOHi; the
staff, and that is saying a great.deal, for a
more gallant and, gentlen,anly staff than
Gen. Patrick's there is not in the army OF
the Rappahaonock:; During the entire re.
connoissapce Gem Patrick. sqnspl&ed. Hen
ry every few np,nents with gegsrd to the
position Of The roads and. paths; the names
of the occupants of the. different dwellings
we passed, whyther, they were loyal or dis
loyal, the amount Of corn on hand, and the
number of slaves to consume it, and on
many other subjects Of value to an officer
making reconnaissance =
T." Upop seeing how graceful Henry bore
his honoarss and how w7elI he diseharged His
duties, your correspondent became curl
to know more ct, him something Of his
past life or experience. He told me he
was born slave of Alfred Bernard. thai
he renal ned with hin, until about six
months a go, when, after the most inhu.
man treatment, be resolved to be-a free
man: . Being qiiite tile; most 2energctie
person on the plantation, he made, ha-
rangues to a1fe sotherr p Slaves, and urged
fthelh a!l:to strtkestor nlieir. freed NIL At
ter much dtIaa,,, and pefsuadin;s, keb5at
last prevkiledi upon fosrtetnp 70 leave, and
one dark esaihy Gig gbg1$l 1900 d*6tthl sot
tAhfed Bernard sapfopefty ysuddehly adisap.
pcared.L IL &%aTA eh1 III h2hsilduq tnuua
iii Thirteeni Of the fNoidirteent escaped, ,1eaad
found what, they so ',Auyli Ibrizea +avhei,
f4ecdomLwithibHfhe lines ofthe fUhioho Ar.
my. ,i-Hehry,1 after seeing the oti,sfs safs.
ly through, went backA traseleH9by nigh!
Through the 99'Alswv5iWgith the iqteptipn Of
hripsipg M 81 IF f. FL Fl the tfe,s rs@ai@nins pins slayes a9'
Bsrnard's pla3tation.r, II this attempt, he
WAS aiscoveted aUfUodfsee,, treatR cht the
most brutal and inhumaAtfollowca.' .'arThe
sharp lash of theoyerseer gashed his back
his wrists were oop6aedfi1tairoh hsndtufs
and his feet hound together With cords. !