The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1865-01-12
The Fruits Of Stoneman's Expedition

The results Of General Stoneman's
late expedition into Southwestern Eir
GINA, have been of the most favorable
character TO the Union cause, and p
severe blow to the rebels Over ninety
miles of railroad, with all its bridges,
depots and stations; fifteen locomotives
and nearly two hundred and fifty army
wagons, loaded with supplies and am-
munition, were destroyed, together with
many manufactures, quantities of ma
chinery and military supplies, am ountIng
to many millions Of dollars Nineteen
pieces Of artillery, and twenty caissons
and eight hundred prisoners, besides
militia paroled, were captured. The
works at the lead mines were destroyed,
and the great salt works were reduced
TO heaps Of ruins. The rebel forces
under Breckenridge, Vaughn and Duke
were whipped wherever met, and so
thoroughly, too, that they will scarcely
be able to annoy East Tennessee again
for months.
The rebel newspapers and their senof
mous conductors Jared badly, Five
them were summary suppressed and
anon Z them was one publisher ut Bristol
by the former proprietors of the Knox
vile Register. It's editors. who had
been among the most violent Of Parson
Brownlow's enemies, together Will, Fox
the brutal TAILOR who held the Par son in
custody in the early period of the war,
were captured taken to Knoxville and
presented to the meek tempered f'arson
as q christmas gift. Those who have
read Brownlow's account Of his sutferTngs
in the Knoxville Jail and the outrages to
which he was subjected there, can reatli-
" imagine that the militant Par.on will
pray over his pets extensively.
The first description we have seen Of
the salt works. which was one of the oh
jects OF the expedition, is given by
cores ,ondent OF the Cincinnati Com
mercial, as follows:
The SALT WORKS.
These were on the most extensive
scale, and capable of making I vast
yield. / estimated that there were, at
the time they seized them, $50, 900 bush
els of salt. ready to be shipped to mar
kct 1t was of the finest quality This
they could not destroy, except to trample
il into the mud and expose it to the rain.
They destroyed over 1000 great kettles
used in cooperating it. These were
manufactured at the Tredegar Iron
Works, at Richmond, and were. on the
bottom, nearly three inches in thickness.
There are but four wells, and these ail
stand within space of sixty square feet
Repeated attempts have been made, on
all sides OF them. to strike other veins.
so that nearly the whole surface has been
bored over. but nothing has been found.
The wells are $50 feet deep; three of
them are four and half These are
lined with copper tubes. and into these
were dropped shells and shot which fitted
closely, and the spaces filled up with
bullets and shreds of iron. Railroad
iron was also dropped in The chief
engineer of the works, who was captured
and returned, gives it as his opinion, that
it will be easier to bore new wells than
to clear these The immense loss which
this will be to the Confederacy, can be
readily conceived
In addition to the destruction spoken
of in the above extract, everything in the
shape of buildings connected with the
works, was burned
The manner of carrying on war has
changed since it took forty wagons to
haul the trsppings of Generals head
quarters, in the grand donothing cam
paigns of three years ago. Gen. Stone
msn's force of five thousand men march
ed four hundred and fifty miles, and
subsisted themsel st the expense Of
the enemy trtt3outd single sragon- ~
All honor 10 Generals Stonem m.
Burbridge and Gillem, and a nations
thanks TO the above men under theirS
command, whose only reward for faith Z
full and brilliant service is a conscious
ness of duty discharged. and that they
deserve well OF their country.