Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1863-04-18
MISCELLANEOUS.
THE EXPEDITION TO DESTROY THE
GEORGIA STATE RAILROAD.
Suffering Of Union SOIdicrs-Fsc-
port of the Judge eAdvocate-esenc-
raj TO the Secretary Ofvvar.

JUDGE NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. OFFICE,
WASHINGTON, March 81, 1S63.-Sir-I have
the honor to transmit for your consideration
the accompanying dispositions Of
Corporal William Pittenger, Company G,
Second Regiment Ohio Volunteers;
Private Jacob Parrot, Company X, Thir-
ty-third Regiment Ohio Volunteers
Private Robert Buflum, Company ii,
Twenty first Regiment Ohio Volunteers;
Corporal William Reddick, Company B,
Thirty third Regiment Ohio Volunteers
and
Private William Bensinger, Company G,
Twenty first Regiment Ohio Volunteers
Taken at this Office on the 25th inst, in
compliance with your written instructions,
from which the following facts appear -
These non-commissioned officers and pri-
Yates belonged to an expedition set on foot
! in April, 1862, ut the suggestion of Mr.. J. j.
| Andrews, citizen of Kentucky, who led it,
and under the authority and direction of
General o. NJ. Mitchell, the object of which
was to destroy the communications on the
Georgia State Railroad, between Atlanta and
Chattanooga.
The mode Of operation proposed was to
reach point on the road where they could
seize n locomotive and train of cars, and then
dash back in the direction of Chattanooga
cutting the telegraph wires and burning the
bridges behind them as they advanced, un-
Ill they reached their own lines. The ex-
petition consisted of twenty -four men, who,
with the exception of its leader, Mr.. An
drews, and another citizen of Kentucky,
who acted on the occasion as the substitute
of q soldier, had been selected from the diff.
terent companies for their known courage
and discretion,
They were informed that the movement
was to be secret one, and they doubtless
comprchendcd something of its perls but
Mr.. Andrews and Mr. Rcddick alone seem
to have known anything of its precise dlrec-
ton or object. They, however, voluntarily
engaged in it, and made their way, in parties
OF two and three, in citizens dress, and car
rying only their side arms. to Chattanooga.
the point OF rendezvous agreed upon. where
twenty-five out of the twcnty-tour arrived
safely. Here they took passage, without
attracting observation, for Marietta, which
they reached at twelve o'clock on the night
of the 1th of April.
The following morning they took the cars
back again towards Chattanooga, and ut Il
place called Big Shanty, while the engineer
and passengers were brcaktasting, they de-
tached the locomotive and three box cars
from the train and started at full speed for
Chattanooga. They were now upon the
field of the perilous operations proposed hv
the expedition, but suddenly encountered
unforeseen Obstacles According to the
schedule of the road, of which Mr. Andrews
had possessed himself, they should have met
but single train on that day, whereas they
met three, two of them being engaged on
extraordinary service.
About an hour was .ost in waiting to !
allow these trains to pass, which enabled
their pursucrs to press closely upon them
They removed rails, threw out ohstructinns
on the road, and cut the wires from time to
time, and attained, when in motion, speed
of sixty miles an hour; but the time lost
could not be rcgained. After having ran
about 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. Under these
circumstance they had no alternative but TO
abandon their cars and fly to the woods.
which they did, under the orders of Mr..
Andrews, each one cndeavoring to save him
self as best he might.
The expedition thus failed from causes
which reflected neither upon the genius hy
which 1t was planned, nor upon the intrcpi-
dlty and discretion of those engaged in con
duCting it. But for the accident of meeting
the extra trains, which could not have been
the movement would have been
a complete success, and the whole aspect OF
the war in the South and Southwest would
have been ut once changed. The expedition
itself, in the daring OF its conception, had
the wildness OF Il romance; while 1t then
gigantic and overwhelming results, which it |
sought and was likely to accomplish, it WAS
absolutely sublime.
The estimate of its character entertained |
IN the South, will be found fully expressed |
in an editorial from the Southern ContedTacy |
a prominent Rebel journal, under date of the |
10th of April, and which is'appended to and |
adopted as part of AIr. Pittengers disposi- |
tion. The editor says :-"Thc mind and |
heart shrink back appalled, at the bare con
temptation of the awful consequences which |
would have followed the success of this one
act. We doubt if the victory of Manassas or |
Corinth were worth as much to us as the |
Illustration of this grand coup detat. 1t is |
not by any means certain that the annihila- !
tion of Beauregard's whole army at Corinth /,
would be so fatal a blow to us as would have 1
been the burning of the bridges at that time
by these men.
So soon as those composing the expedi- /,
tion had left the cars, and dispersed them /
selves in the woods, the population of the /
country around turned in their pursuit, en-
ploying for this purpose the dogs which are
trained to hunt down the fugutive slaves OF .
the South. The whole twenty-five were cap |
tured. Among them was Private Jacob |
Parrot, of Company X, Thirty y-thrd Regi- |
ment Ohio Volunteers. When arrested, he |
was, without any form of trial, taken posses ,
sion by military officer and four soldiers, |
who stripped him, bent him over a stone !
and while two pistols were held over his /
head, lieutenant in Rebel uniform inflicted, (
with raw hide, upwards of hundred /
lashes on his bare back This was done in .
the presence of an infuriated crowd, who .
for his blood, and actually brought |
Il rope with which to hang him. The OBJ /
ject of this prolonged scourging was 20 force
this young man to confess to them the OBJ !
ject of the expedition, and the names of his /
especially that of the engineer who .
had run the train. Their purpose was, no
doubt, not only to take the life of the latter
il Unidentified, but to do so with every cir |
cumstance Of humiliation and torture which /
they could devise.
Three times, in the progress of this horri- I
bile fogging, it was suspended, and Mr.. !
Parrot was asked if he would not confess
hut steadily and firmly, to the last, he re-