Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1863-04-18

JuDGE ADvooATE- GENERALS OFFIoB !
| WAsHtSGroS March q, 1868.
Sh--I have the honor to transmit for
your consideration the accompanying do
positions Of - "l 'ts0
Corporal William Pittenger, Company @.
Setond Regiment Ohio Volunteers
Private jacob Parrot, Company X,
Thirty third Regiment Ohio Volunteers
! Private Robert Buffum, Company III,
twenty first Regiment Ohio Volunteers;
Corporal William Reddick, Compny B,
Thirty-third Regiment Ohio Voluteers; and
Private William Bensinger, Company O.,
Twenty first Regiment Ohio Volunteers;
! Taken at this ofice on the 25th instant,
in compliance with your written instruc.
tions, from which the following facts will
appear:
These non commissioned oficers and pri-
Yates belonging to ar expedition set on
foot in April, 1869, at the suggestion Of Mr.
j. j Andrews, a citizen of Kentucky, who
led it, aud under the authority and direction
Of General o M. Mitchell, the object of
which was TO destroy the communications
on the Georgia State Railroad, between
Atlanta ard Chattanooga.
The mode Of operation proposed was to
reach point on the road where they could
seize locomotive and train Of cars, aud
then dash back in the direction of Chatta-
nooga, cutting the telegraph wires and
burning the bridges behind them as they
advanced until they reached their owa
lines, The, expedition consisted OF twenty
foIr men who with the exception Of its
leader, Mr.. Andrews, and another citizen
. .,f upla hn
as the substitute of q soldier, had been se-
lecltd from the different companies for their
known courage and discretion.
They were informed that the movement
was 10 he "a secret one, they doubtless
comprehended something ofits peril, but
Mr. Reddick alone seems 10 have known
anything Of its preeise direction or object.
They, however, voluntarily engaged in
it, aud made their way. in parties Of two
aud three in ei'iz,n's dress and carrying on.
Iy their side arms, 10 Chattanooga, the
poiuL of rendeZ ,us agreed upon, where
twenty-five ont of the twenty four arrived
safely. Here they took passage, without
attracting observation, for Marietta, whSh
they reached at twelve o'clock on the night
VI the llth of April.
The following morning they took the cars
back again toward Chattanooga and at a
= place called Big Shanty while the engineer,
I aud passengers were breakfastins, they de-
tached the locomotive and three box cars
, from the train and started al fall speed for
, Chattanooga They were now upon the
: field OF the pe.ilonS Operations proposed by
the expedition, but suddenly encountered
unforeseen obsticles. According to tho
schedule of the road, of which Mr.. Au-
drew had possessed himself, they should
have met but single train on hat day,
whereas they met three, two Of them being
engaged on extraordinary service ,1
About an hour was lost in waiting to
allow these train to pass, which enabled
I their persIers to press closely upon them.
They removed rails, threw out ebstuctions
on the road, and cut the wires from time to
time, aud attained, when in motion, speed
of sixty miles an hour but the time lost
could not be regsiDed After having run
one hundred miles, they found their supply
of wood, water and oil exhausted while the
Rebel locomotive which had been chasing
them was in sight. U hder these circum.
stances they had no alternative but to a.
baHdon their cars aud fly to he woods,
which they did, under the orders OF M.
Andrews. each one endeavoring to save
G himself as best he might. aH-I t 's
The -expidtion thus failed from causes
! which reflected neither upon the genious by
/ which it was planned, nor upon the intrepid.
I ity and discretion of those engaged in con-
/ ducting it. Bat for the accident of meet.
ng the extra trains which could not have
been anticipated, the movement W ould have
been a complete cuccess, and the whole
aspec of the war ia the South aud south
west would have been at once changed
, The expedition itself. iu the daring ofits
conception, had the wildness of a romance
, while in the gigantic and Overw belming re-
. salts, which ii sought aud was likely to &C.
eomplish, was absolutely sublime. ...
t The estimate of its character entertained
S in the South will be foaud fully expressed
, in an editorial from the Southern COnfsde
= raey, prominent Rebel journal. under da to
$ of the 18Th of April, and which Suspended
, to and adopted as a part of Mr.. Pittenger's
y deposition. The editor says 1.-The mind
e and heart shrinks back appalled, at the bare
n contemplation of the awful consequence
0 which would have followed the success Of
y This ore act. We doubt if the victory of
IS Manassas, or Corinth were worth as much
= to us as the illustration of this grand coup
!, d'etat. 1t is not by any means certain THAI
d the annihlation by Beeuregsrds whole
IS army at Corinth would be so fatal blow
, TO us as Would have been the burning Of
IS .he bridges at that lime sy these men. -l1
't So soon as those composing the expe-
E. dtion had left the cars, and dispersed
l. themselves in the woods, the population OF
Is tha couDtry around turned ont In itheir
10 pursuit, employing for this purpose the
e dogs which are trained to hunt down the
o fugitive slaves of the South 10 The whole
10 twenty-five were captpred. Among them
IS was private Jacob Parrot, of company X,
y Thirty-third Regiment Ohio Volunteers. -
d When arrested, he was without any form
y OF trial, taken possession Of by a military
+ officer and ioursoldiers, who stripped him,
l. bent him over g stone, and while Two pis.
Q. tolls were beld over his head, Q lieutenant
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