Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1864-09-08
Down in Tennessee.


in reviewingit it, makes the following extracts
THE MAN WHO 'DoN'T SURRENDER MUCH.
A little elevation at the right of the rail
way was the scene of one Of the most heroic
exploits efthe war. There Colonel Innis--
warned by the old negro l have introduced
to the reader-with little band of three
hundred and eighty-niHe Michigan men
without artillery or other defense than a
heavily thrown up barricade Of camp. wagon;
and underbrush, beat off Wheeler's whole
force of three thousand horse and two field
pieces.
Colonel Innis," said General Rosecrans
to him on the eve Of the battle of Stone
River, will you hold Lavsrgne?"
"I'll try, General"
II ask if you will do it'll" exclaimed the
laconic General.
Il will" quietly responded the Colonial,
and he kept his word.
Just as the New Years sun was sending
its first greeting to the little band that
OF the rebel column emerged from the woods
which skirt the Southern side of the town,
and Captain Firman riding forward to the
fimsy breastwork, cried out:
Gen. Wheeler demands an instant and
unconditional surrender"
Give Gen. Wheeler my compliments,
and tell him we don't surrender much, /"
came back to him from behind the brush
heaps.
Mounting then his Kentucky roam, the
| heroic Colonel rode slowly around the rude
intrenchment. Boys" be said, they are
three thousand-have you said your pray
ers?"
1--WE are ready, Colonel. Let them come
on! answered the brave Michigan men.
And they did come on!
"Six times we swept down on them," said
Captain Firrnan, Wheeler's aide, to me,
''and six times rode up with flag and
summoned them to surrender; but each
time Innis sent back the message, varied.
now and then, with an adjective, we don't
surrender much He sat on his horse du-
! ring the first charges as if on dress parade
but at the third fire saw him go down. /
thought we had winged him, but when we
charged again, there he sat, as cool as if the
thermometer had been at zero. One of our
men took deliberate aim, and again he went
down; but when rode up the fifth time
and shouted, We'll not summon you again
surrender at once it was Inuis who
yelled out, Pray don't, for we don't surren-
der much.' At the seventh charge | was
wounded, and the General sent another off
Ger with the summons. Your people halted
him few hundred yards from the breast
work, and an officer, in acavalryman's over
coat, came out to meet him. They had
killed my tive herses,' said Colonel Innis to
me afterward. and was afraid they would
SINCE my uniform--the FIRE was rather hot
so covered it.
"'What is your rank, sir?' demanded the
Union officer.
Major, sir
"'Go back, and tell Gen. Wheeler that
he insults me by sending one of your rank
to treat with one of mine. Tell him, too,
have not come here to surrender. | shall
fire on the next flag
1T was Innis, and by that ruse he made
us believe he had received re-euforcements.
Thinking it was so, we drew off and the
next day Innis sent W heeler word by pris-
oner that he had whipped US with three
hundred and eighty nine men!"
BATCH OF WESTERN GENERALS.
While the two Generals were in conversa-
| ton, spare, sallow-faced, dark k-haired man,
who had the air and manners of a gentle
man, entered the room, and bowling to the
officers about me, Joined the two in the cor
ner. THAT is Crttenden, said the officer.
They are here for consultation. We must
leave"
We all passed into Gen. Garfeld's apart
ment, and every chair and stool in the room,
and the low camp. cot in the corner, we're
soon filed with ''sitters"-and sitters who
would grace any portrait gallery in the world.
The reader has heard of every one of
them. The stout, full faced, forid complex.
ioned man, leaning against the wall by the
window, was the "old Russian" Turchin.
The very tall slim young man, with long,
dark hair and flowing beard, just then can't
ed back in his chair, with his long legs
perched on the window sill, was the Chief
of Cavalry-Stanley. The handsome man
next TO him, with wavy, brown hair, and
face so much like Lowell's, was st. Clair
Morton, who might be poet, and is he
ro. The SCARED warrior on his right, with
long, white beard, thin, gray tufts on
the side of his head, and spectacles, on his
nose, was Van Cleve; and leaning against
the wall, at his back the dark man, with
keen, intense eyes, heavy black beard, and
coarse wiry hair starting. up into q sort Of
pyramid on the top of his head, was jeff
g. Davis, who killed Nelson. The plain,
farmer-ike, plucky looking man on my
right, was Palmer--new commanding the
| Fourteenth Corps. The tall man next to
him, in rusty uniform and big boots, with
full, clear eye and expressive face, was Neg
ley; and in other parts of the room were
Hazen, Lytle, Reynolds, Harker, King,
NJ Kibben and others, too numerous to
mention"
Thrusting his pen behind his ear, Gar
field wheeled about on his stool and opened
the conversation. 1t soen turned upon the
rebellion, which he compared to the con-
spiracy Of Cataline II had, he said, the
same origin aud objects, aad was set afoat
by similar class OF bankrupt scoundrels. =
A discussion followed. and in it Garfield
who, at fifteen, drove horses on canal, and
worked his way though college with saw
and a jack-plane-displayed classical
knowledge that would have done credit to
any Harvard professor. At its close sin
gularly quiet, unassuming man, in plain
pants, hose blue sack, and everyday boots,
entered the room aud took a seat on the
window sill by the side ofStanley. He was
below the medium hight, slightly built,
with closely cut hair and beard, and a dark
sun-browned face. There was nothing about
him to attract attention, except his eye. but
that seemed hall of black hame. ..iew
are you, Phil?" "Good morning., Shsr'-
dan," greeted him from various parts Of the
| n..cotl tarninn IN. ma aaid-