Brownlow's Knoxville Whig. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1866-1869, 1866-03-14
HISTORY.
A Card from Secretary Fletcher.

A cara from secretary FLETCHER.
To the Editor of the Press and Times:
The following is an extract from an editorial in
the Union and American Of the 25th Of February,
1866:
"MR. SECRETARY FLETcHER.-It is asserted that
the Secretary OF State, in whose handwriting it is
said the pending Franchise bill was presented to the
House, was an applicant to the Confederate author
tiles at Richmond, the first year of the war for a
military commission in the Confederate service or
for authority from the Confederate war office to
raise regiment for the ''rebeE' service and showed
every disposition of friendly interest in the cause"
1 allude to it, not for the purpose of making any
defense for myself, but because it recalls to the
memory portion of the history of East Tennessee,
which ought not to be forgotten, and which think
will interest tie general reader As for myself /
was one of the marked and "spotted" Lincolnites
who were watched for pretext for arrest from the
very inception of the rebellion, and there has never
been day or hour when my heart for a moment
beat in sympathy with treason or traitors Such men
Judge Milligan, Judge Patterson and the sons of
the President who were my associates, well know
this, and to defend myself against the accu-
sation of traitors who charge me with crime of
which themselves have been guilty in thousand
instances, thereby only frightening their own urpi-
tude.
The latter part of 1862 was the midnight of the
rebellion, and the darkest period of that reign of
terror and carnival of blood which the unoffending
Unionsts of East Tennessee had to endure for four
years. At one time the stoutest hearts seemed to
despair. Lee was careering north of the Potomac;
Bragg had escorted Buell. to the Ohio: Beauregard
had befooed and outwitted Halleck at Corinth
Price had things his own way the other side of
Mississippi; volunteering had ceased at the North;
the finances of the Government were crazy; a
Northwestern Confederacy was agitated; foreign
Intervention seemed imminent and the power of the
| nation seemed paralysed. No people the CONT
nent watched the progress of events with deeper
interest than the people of East Tennessee Their
all was at stake. They were in constant danger of
general massacre. More than one rebel leader had
advised that course and they were only deferred by
ideas of policy and the fear of retaliation in of
reverses to their arms. If the rebellion should be
successful the loyalists expected to be robbed and
slain or branded as tories and their children after
them as the descendants of such.
1t was at this gloomy epoch that the rebel author
tiles commenced the rigid enforcement of the con-
script law mot" as of their leaders declared
to strengthen the Confederate army but to get
clear of the tories and confscate their property
The conscript officers and examining surgeons had
done their wOrk-some of them in the most infa-
nous manner. All contracts, agencies and " bomb
proof" places were given to secessionists No plea
of disability or inirmity availed the Linconte when
brought before ''the Board of Examining Surgeons"
1t was everywhere declared that the Union con-
scripts would not be trusted with arms in their
hands but would be used fatigue parties on bitches
and Notifications exclusively.
The scenes attending the execution of this most
inhuman law beggar description. As precaution
strong guards had been placed on all the roads and
in all the passes and gaps of the Cumberland noun
tains. A regiment of Indian soldiers had been
brought in and trained to hunt the thickets and
mountains for concealed conscripts The people had
been thoroughly disarmed of every wespon that
could be found by searching parties. A few guns
and pistols concealed in hollow trees or garrets
were of avail, there was no ammunition to be
had. Strict orders were issued against the assem-
bling of mon men to the number of three more.
Passports refused them, and they were not al
lowed to travel from one neighborhood to another
Concert of action was thus rendered impossible
Besides the Indians large force of rebel cavalry
and infantry was distributed throughout the coun-
try. Disarmed and helpless, summoned and over
awed by bayonets with instant death before them
the penalty for loyal sentiment this brave and
hardy people presented a spectacle sufficient to
wiring the hearts of any class of people who ever
lived, except "the chiraLJy" Yetthey not sub
jugated! Nineteen out of every twenty had de-
termined to die rather than in the rebel army
And alas many of them met the dreadful alterna-
tive either in their native mountains on the field
of battle.
Such was the state of things when the order is
sued to bring in all conscrpts under forty to camps
of instruction. Many had anticipated the result
and escaped to Kentucky, and entered the National
army. Indeed, several regiments of East Tennes-
seeans were already in the field
Soon after the order for arresting conscripts was
issued, thousands disappeared from sight. Crowds
of from ten to one thousand started northward and
many Of them succeeded in reaching the Federal
lines at Camp Nelson others were not so fortunate
but were overtaken and shot down or rode over by
cavalry and captured and driven like dumb brutes
to headquarters at Knoxville When overtaken
they were but seldom ordered to halt until they had
received the fire of the pursuing party. When ia
ken prisoners they were driven through muddy
cFr tbouf 70 de
and sickness, taken 10 Knoxville and heavily ironed.
In the meantime the search went on in the country.
Every neighborhood and almost every house was
visited searched and abused by brutal soldiery.-
Helpless old men and women were hung up by the
neck and tortured almost odeath to extor from them
the hiding places of their Wives experienced
the same treatment in the absence of their husbands
for the same reason Murders, rapes, robberes and
inhuman fortunes were of daily occurrence in every
settlement. In some localities bloodhounds were
brought into requisition. The Indians following
the sign, and trailing from instinct, followed the
recusant conscript to his cave or his thcket and
brought him in, but with more humanity than the
chiyalry whom he served. Every conceivable out |
rage was perpetrated upon innocent families. And !
yet no Confederate officer or soldier pun
ished where the victim was Unionist male or fe- ,
male, adult or child. Near Greeneville poor !
helpless afflicted widow was shot through the breast
by soldier by the name of Woods, for refusing to
tell where her only son was concealed Woods was
soon after commissioned Lieutenant and subse- I
quently fell in single-handed rencounter with a
friend OF the wounded lady. Bad men made it q
business to hunt conscrps for the reward of $50 per
head, and made money out of it. They were sup
piled with handouts, and treated their captives
with more than barbarian cruelty. The rebel SOL /
diery did not spare non-conscrpts. These were of
ten whipped almost to death and left tied to tree
or to their own gates. A large party came into .
Greeneville and seized the Sheriff, Mr.. j. g. Gass |
most estimable gentleman, and hoisted him on a |
rail, hung to his limbs and paraded him through |
the streets They then went to the house of r. A |
Crawford, ESQ., well known lawyer of Greeneville |
and found hun alone with four little children the |
mother being absent and very ill. They forced |
Col. Crawford at the point of the bayonet to the /
main street. wherethey treated him as they had Maj
Gass. Next they went to the Office of the Hon. d. |
7. Patterson, now o. S. Senator with rail and a
pair of shears to shave his head. He had Just made
his escape by fight Next they started to the house
of the writer with the same implements they had
carried to the house of Judge Patterson. was sit
ting at an upper window With two double-barreled
shot guns and : of repeaters intending to sell
my life as dearly as possibe but they We're met by
a neighbor, who told them was not at home, when
they desisted. - ~ aI8
A few days after these occurrences, when there
were perhaps thousand Union men hiding in
Greene and Cooke Counties .Iudga PatferseD. Judge