Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1863-10-29


tectives had found their way into many private
families The bearing Of his officers, alike to
loyai and disloyal citizens was often Insulting IL
the extreme They would rice through the
streets in manner peril lus u life aud limb, anu
carried themselves 20 Extensively that eaTneSt re
moustrances we're addressed 20 Gov johnson.
who himself appealed 10 General kO-ecrans Ia
have the nuisance checked. The General replied
that the Governor must apply directly to General
Truesdai for redress; but that eentlennn bad
long since ceased % be approacha"le by civilians.
He had taken the ground that neither his acts
nor those Of his agents were 20 be questioned
Ere long and without the issuing OF any order,
the Chief demanded ami seized all the Conieder
ate money in the banks and brokers offices al
Nashville The right of the Chief OF Police 10
do this questioned by Governor Johnson.
who addressed Mr. Truesdail upon the subject,
but received no reply Elated by his success in
this matter. he next contemplated seizure OF
the banks themselves, and conducting them under
his own SUPERVISION, his Judge Advocate cOuu-
selling him thereto Luckily before he took the
STEP he mentioned his purpose TO the Secretary
of State. Mr East, who gave him "a piece Of hs
mind Of such weighty proportions that the Dis
comleted Chief abandoned that speculation
However, he consoled himself soon aiterward by
inaugurating a system Of cOnhscaton, which he
successfully carried on for mouths. He was also
invested with authority to give passes, which
power was withheld from all legitimate comman
ders He seized goods; arrested whom he would
on a charge of treason; tried them IN his own
court convicted them, sent them TO prison. and
confscated their property. Indeed, the power OF
"W illiam Truesdai. Chief OF Police OF the Army
OF the Cumberland" was the talk OF the whole
armv and source Of regret aud modification 10
all the general officers who feared that both The
Government and the army would lose confidence
in their commander when it came To be known
that he tolerated such an institution, with such
head, in the army. Soon, however, The Chlei :
power was made still more conspicuous and profit
able He assumed the entire charge of the mails
letters, newspapers, &c, 70 and from the army,
farming out this profitable monopoly TO his son
and man named Scott, who both rapidly ac-
qured wealth bv il. Again Governor Johnson
demonstrated with Gen. Rosecrans about these
proceedings, but he turned deaf ear To his APP
peals Ii passed. in fact. into by word that
VIM TrueSdail WAS Command in Chief of the
Army of tie Cumberland. WeaTied with his
fruitless efforts 70 obtain from Gen. ROSecranS a
remedy for this evil. aud becoming anxious about
the consequences II II were permitted 10 continue,
the faithful Governor repaired To this CITY and
laid the whole thing before the Government
Circumstances at the time we're uniavorabe tor
graphing with il, and Governor Johnson returned
home disappointed Truesdsll now ia the
meridian OF his power. and he exercised u un
blushugly He began To boast that he could not
be removed, and il was the common talk. eS-
peciallv among officers from Grants army, who
visited Louisville that he had bold upon Gen.
Rosecrans which would one day destroy the lat
ter Of course the Generals reputa ion se
riously damaged by these things, for s"me Off
GERS openly charged Truesdtll with dishonesty
and Rosecrans with participating 10 it. The
Annals overooks all these facts, and it,
anonymous author. speaking OF Truesdalls says;
As NAV be readily supposed, such an extern
sive army organic ttion ere long attained con
siderable notOrety. 1t marshaed its friends aud
its enemies in almost regimental numbers Even
in the army it has been most violently assiied,
not only by the victims in the ranks, but by 9TH
GERS, whose evil deeds were not past finding out
If any direct charge was made, however, to Gen
ROSecrans. il was ut once and fully investigated
and i'm no one instance has the charge been main
tanned affecting the good character OF It's chief
or of his principal aids. The breath of calumny
has been ever waited to the Presidents ear. and
the newspapers of last spring contained the an
nOuncement that a special commission had been
appointed at Washington to investigate the ope
rations of the police of the Army of the Cumber-
land Many weeks elapsed. and this not
done At the solicitation of its chief and his
sistants, Gen ROsecrIns then appointed a special
Inspector, Capt Temple Clark. formerly a mem
Der of his staff in Mississippi. and now chief upon
the salf Of Brig. Gen johnson, of Kentucky, t.
examine into the operationss of the army police
and report.
One man. and he ranking only as Captain. to
investigate charges OF such magnitude anu gray.
iiyi The Annals does not tell what its author
must have known. that Capt Temple Clark was
the intimate friend of Rosecrans and TrueSda
aud that. on his arrival at Nashville. he So con
Quoted himself in a place of public amusement
that Capts Pratt and Garrett. OF Gen. MITCHELL.
staff, were, for the honor of the profession, con
strained to make charges against him for ICON
duet uubccomng an officer and gentleman.
aud that. when bis conduct was about 70 be 9th
cilly investigated. an order from General Rose
Grams put end to the proceedings
Was il 10 be wondered at that Capt Temple
Clark made favorable report? The incidents
in the lie OF SPY or detective policeman must
always he Interesting. and organization o
such magnitude the police OF the Army of the
Cumberland, could not well help discovering
many offenders But What we com plain of i'm the
Annals" IS, that iayortism and Partially ara
shown in the selections from the police records
IL becomes duty. it happens 10 be in our
power 20 describe other doings of this great or
ganizlton Soon after Ohief TrueSdail frs
moved into ZOliicoffer's house negro appeare,
at the Office OF Governor Johnson, representing
that he had run away from his master, and that
he had brought with him a horse valued al
NJ .UNt Tie NfONtTDOF uItlttVtl Nun I'd manu- ttt
horse over 10 the Quarermaster, who would re
turn IL To the owner if he WAS loyal nun II
turned out that Mljor" Russell had got posses
sion of the horse, and. when the negro presente,
himself with the Governors Or'ier for the horse
10 be transferred 10 the QuartermaSter. Ru,se
put him in prison. RemonStr,uee from Gov
johnson only brought a reply from Truesda
that he obeyed no order except from Genera
Rosecrans.
Again, an lriShman who had lost limb in the
federal service, and whose LOYALTY was well at
tested, obtained a permit TO take hundred bush
els of potatoes to Nashville for sale. Truesdsi
seized the potatoes the plea that the owner wa:
dsloyal, and the joint representations of the
Governor the Secretary of State. the PuStmi stei
and the Comptroller. failed Ia recover the poor
maus property. With regard to detectives. who
OF course generally successful in convictng per
sons OF disloysl sentiments and practices, AM
con6scation of their property speedily iooa Ell
But not seldom innocent parties suffered by The
doings ct the police One case particularly de-
serves attention One OF Truesdails detective,
called one DAY upon a hdy who was loval. but
Who had a son in the rebe army. He presented
himself a belonging 10 the same re- meut as her
SON adding that he should return in lew days
and tint IL she would prepare letter and some
under clothing, he would convey them 70 him
Sne informed him that although she would lO
regard such an act rs wrong IN view OF the deS
tuition Of the BOY, yet. l0val woman. she
could not send such articles Without first obtain