The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1864-10-07
STARTLING AND REVOLVING
DISCLOSURES.
The Paducah Investigating Com
mission.
EvnrutfnnC Nithnut Form Of YrkSi.
Executions without Form Of Trial.
Barbarian Of General Halne AZ Pa"
ducah, and Col. mcChesney
Mt Mayfield.
HON. LUCIEN ANDERSON AND HIS
FRIENDS IMPLICATED.
rom the Louisville Journal, Sept. 81.

From the Louisville Journal sept. 81.
Some time ago Col. Craddock, Of the
Kentucky service, was called by business
into the District of Western Kentucky,
then commanded by Brig. Gen. E. A.
Paine. The Colonel found the people
completely cowed, not daring to utter q
word, when every day their most sacred
rights, by military force, were Aagrantly
violated. By close observation he became
convinced that General Paine and his
subordinates were exercising the iron rule
of despots, were prosecuting and robbing
the people under various fimsy pretexts,
and that the worst corruption prevailed
in his Office and characterized all his Off
cial acts Being convinced of these facts,
he sought Major Gen. Burbridge at his
headquarters in Lexington, and fully stated
the case to him. The General was 10th to
believe that crimes 80 enormous as rep
resented by Col. Oraddock could be openly
practiced by a man clothed with the au-
thority and honor of an officer of the
United States Government; but, on the
solemn assurance of the truth of the
statement, he concluded to appoint COM
mission to investigate the case. On the
9th of September an order was made de-
failing Gen. s. s. Fry and Ool Brown as
q commission to proceed to Paducah and
fully investigate the conduct of General
Paine while in command of the Western
District of Kenturky. Col. Craddock was
appointed to accompany the commission
and assist them in their labors. Just
before the arrival of Gen. Fry at Padu-
cab, Gen. Paine was relieved of his COM
mand by Gen. Meredith. Paine was Or
dered to remain at his headquarters and
meet al charges that might be preferred
against him before the commission. This
he refused to do. When Gen. Fry and
bis associates arrived, they found that
Gen. Paine had fed to Illinois, where he
is still without authority. All of his SUI
coordinate officers also took French leave, ="
knowing their conduct would not bear in
vestigation. Gen. Fry found it very diff
cult to commence operations, as the main
parties were absent, and the clerks and
orderlies with whom they had surrounded
themselves, and possessing a knowledge
of their transactions, had been previously
sent out of the district The citizens were
SO completely cowed that they would not
open their lips with one word Of complaint
against the policy pursued by Gen. Paine.
Acting on the authority of Gems. Meredith
and Fry, Col. Craddock publicly proclaimed
the object of the commission in visiting
Paducah, assured the people, that, if they
would come forward and testify to facts
they should receive full protection from
all parties who might be implicated by
their statements. This had the desired
effect. Gen. Fry was received with the
greatest enthusiasm. The people threw off
their restraint, and extended the warm
hand of welcome They greeted him
with cheers and smiles upon the street,
and thrOnged his headquarters during the
day, showing him every kind attention in
their power.
Gen. Meredith ia very popular with the
people. We published an extract from
the Oairo papers some time ago Of the
cheering demonstration that marked his
advent into office. With the feelings of q
true soldier, he afforded every facility in
his power to aid the commission in their
labors All the evidence taken before the
body is in the form of affidavits, and the
record is quite voluminous. 1t was found
that Gen. Paine had exercised the most
arbitrary will, and that the worst corrup-
tion prevailed in his office. Citizens had
been arrested and thrown into prison With
out show of trial, and no record of q
single charge preferred sgsinst them could
be found among any of the official papers
in the office. Prisoners were executed
without q hearing, and often without any
definite charge being preferred againDt
them. Forty-three graves, said to be
those of executed prisoners, were counted
at Psducah Among this number were
two men, named Nolin and Taylor, of
well-known loyalty, who by some act
offended the General in power, and q
tragic death was their doom.
To show the manner in which the exc
cutiOns were made, we have a statement
from the evidence given by Hiram r..
EnOch, Quartermaster of the 1920 re2i-
ment Illinois volunteer infantry. He says
that he heard of four citizens being exc
cuted without the shadow of trial-Kes-
terton, Taylor, Mathey and Hess. Col.
McChesney, commanding at Mayfeld, by
the appointment and acting under the in.
structions of Gen. Paine, told him, about
the LIST of September, 1864, that he had
shot seven men at Maytield, and had one
more in the guard-house that he intended
to execute the next day. He said that he
gave them no trial, and boosted that one
of the prisoners was shot and covered uI
in his grave in forty-fve minutes from the
time he was first reported by scout at his
headquarters. The whole of Gen. Paine's
official career in the District of Western
Kentucky was marked by the coarsest bru'
tality, calculated to exasperate the people
and send recruits to the rebel army. He
would order citizens to bis headquarters
and, without provocation, would abuse
them, applying the most offensive terms tc
them, such as id rebels, id scoun-
drels, &c.
The people of Paducah were driven
from their homes without any just cause,
and their houses turned over to negro
families for occupation. General Prince,
commanding at Smithland, states that