Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1863-09-07
Deserters from Bragg's Army.

1
A correspondent of the Cincinnati Gazett
with the army of the Cumberland, writn
| from Stevenson, Ala, on the oath ultmo
furnishes the following interesting informa
ton Two days ago it was my fortune t
meet at the house of union citizen in Frank
/ lin county, Tenn, citizen of Georgia. IL
has resided quietly with his family in Lump
| kin county, few miles north of Dahonega
asked him if it was really true that ther,
were many deserters from the rebel arm,
among the mountains of North Georgia, ant
told him some of the reports had heard con
corning them.
''You have not heard half the TRUTH" sale
he. "There is not in all North Georgia q
cave, dense forest or a rock of difficult &C.
cess, where these men may not be found. Ny
own county is full of them, and so also arc
White, Dawson and Pickens, especially the
latter. In the vicinity of Prince Edward and
Stock Hill large number of refugee con-
scripts and deSerters are banded together.
The rebel authorities made some vigorous
efforts at first to break up and capture this
band; but so formidable in numbers are they
and 80 inaccessible are the mountains among
which they operate, that every attempt to dis
lodge them has proved failure, and the rebel
government now virtually leaves them to
themselves. Since the retreat of Bragg from
Iullahoma their numhers have largely in
creased, aud before | left they were in the
habit OF coming down boldly from the noun
Jams In the towns, purchasing (and in some
instances taking without purchasing and then
returning to their haunts, no one offering to
modest them. Indeed the people of North
Georgia are, in certain sections, governed by
them. They are kind and clever to the
Union citizens, but hate implacably every
avowed rebel, and visit with speedy vengeance
every one whom they suspect of giving in
formation ag ainst them.
CHARACTER OF THESE MEN
"Perhaps," SAID l, ''these men are mere
treebooters, who, too cowardly to serve in the
army, and too lazy to labor, have banded to-
gether for the purpose of plundering their fell
low citizens"
say that OF them. Their mode of life is. | adj
init, having bad effect upon their charac.
tiers, and it may be that many of them are
gradually becoming what you say; but it was
not so at first. | know men among them who
all their lives were quiet, honest, peaceful, in
dustrlouS citizens, up to the day when they
joined the rebel army, some of them yolunta-
rlly, others involuntarily, or received notice
that they had been conscripted. Among the
former Qhe deserters) are some men of album.
dant means, who led this life merely to avoid
being forced back into the rebel ranks. The
conscripts who fled to the mountains were. in
majority of cases, poor men, but all OF good
character, all without a blot upon their hon
esty, all Woodworking, sober citizens"
Are these men mostly in favor of the
Union?" inquired.
'All are now," was the answer, s'becausc
a InfNI- f,NN l,nA
assure them OF their safety, and restore them
again to friends and home Among the de-
serterS, however, are some who were bitter
secessionsts from the start, and were among
the first to volunteer in the rebel army"
"And do you think these men are sincere
Unionists now?" | asked
mo, was the remarkable reply s'they
doubtless love the Union now no better than
they dld at first but so terrible have been their
sulferlngs IN their attempt to overthrow it,
that hereafter no men will be more fiercely
hH 's.Were most 81 fhe ade stdheeyr y ~
refer enlisted originally in north Georgia."
II can not say that most of them WERE" he
answered. ''rhey are from every southern
state. | knew of an entire company from an
Alabama regiment who are now staying i'll the
mountains, and one at least of their llcuten
ants is with them. Hundreds are there. also,
from Tennessee, and even South Carolina has
contributed to swell the number Notwith-
standing this, he continued, sit is still true
that, from some of the neighbOrhoOds in
Georgia, almost every man who went into the
rebel service, and has not persisted on the
field or in the hospital had deserted, and is
now safe among the mountains -
Glow many do you suppose there are al
together of these deserters in north Georgian?
was my next question.
81 cannot say for all this section" was the
old mans reply. Il am not much acquainted
with affairs outside the three counties, Lump
kin, Dawson, and Pickens; but in these l
should judge the number would not fall short
of five thousand"