The national Republican. [volume] (Washington City [D.C.]) 1866-1870, 1869-07-08
Communicated. ]
. In1. IafQ

reports, although as general thing coming
from very insienihcant and unreliable
sources, may, II not contradictcd on my
part, exert some influence against me In q
business point Of view, aud thus, perhaps, 70
a small extent prevent the awarding OF JUS
tice, which is doubtless their object IN assall-
ing me without cause, have deemed II eS-
pedent to furnish the following brief record
Of the course pursued by me during and
since the late war. Although / will scarce
be able 10 give the hundredth part Of what
might be adduced, I trust the following facts
will be sufficient to satisfy all that did not
In any manner or form give countenauce or
aid to the rebellion during the late deplora-
BILE civil strife.
In a pamphlet Of l6s pages, entitled "a
Ray of Light" written by me, and pub
lished At Raleigh, North Carolina, In Au-
gust, 1862, occurs the following;
% Aud after he (Mr. Liucoln) called on these
States to furnish their quota, they were still
i ss tSc usurpe T Of bower at the South over.
run the capital and tear down the Govern.
mentt I call them usurpers because they had
i,y Of the eonstitntionaI voters OF the south,
as has already been shown" Page 90.
"why, then, so hs.ty to seeedsl why not
uniii he had, at least, done some uneonstitu.
TO act" Page %.
NY MAIN EehtOnh DtutNthk tnht WIS
Southern eonfodersey caanot long stand upon
its present foundation are founded 10 a pro-
fession OF religion, or In things that were
and if Il A T. whst II then experienced that ia.
caused me to attempt to write the present
work" Page 81. twhstsver may be Thought
Of the foregoing and similar statements, they
constituted the foundation Of my determined
opposition to the rebellion. IL 10 therefore
impossible to give a true narrative without
Then follows perhaps one of tho most re-
markable experiences upon record, embrac-
ing some 80 pages, somewhat similar 70, but
much more extensive than thet OF Joseph
Hoag, Of Ohio, l beiievo, which II will be
recollected he experienced In the year 1903.
Our predictions were verified TO the letter,
s<cept that Hoag prophesied that q mon
archial form of government would arise
after the abolition Of slavery and the over
throw OF tho Southern power, which has not
yet come to pass, and 1t Is TO be hoped will
not.
Soon AFTER publishing tho above work l
was arrested and cast into prison at Car
thage, North Carolina. Believing that was
right, still continued to labor in the Union
cause. In a circular, written whilst In prison,
occurs the following:
"The difficulties between the North and the
South should not be viewed as existing be.
| tween foreign enemies, but between people
| that should be towards each other as brothers,
both sides q which have erred and gone aside
al, Therefore, think we had best take the
bull by the horns AZ once, and advocate the
Union upon just and honorable terms, while
there is some OF the bone and sinew in US,
some hope OF getting our rights"
AMER four days imprisonment /, with six
others, was taken out and started for the
conscript camp at Raleigh, to be forced into
the army. ! managed to cyade II. next
morning went to the printer and set him to
work on the circular, written as aforesaid.
When completed ! took some forty copies
AID an equal number Of my pamphlet and
deposited them In the post-ofice at Rich
mond for jeff, Davis and certain members of
the Confederate Congress, believing that by
placing the important truths therein con-
tanned before them they could be induced to
forsake their wicked ways and let us have
peace and Union. A. II. Stephens after
| wards told me that he received and read his.
then returned to Raleigh.
That night a singular manifestation &C.
CURED to me, which will here relate. While
laying In bed, on the second floor, at the
house OF Samuel NJ. Parish, l saw a bright
| appearance on the wall In order not to be
deceived, I got out Of bed to sec what 1t was,
when found that 1t was reflection through
a window from . bright looking pillow
about the size Of man, standing apparently
| or the ground, and about ten or flftecn PAGES
| from the house. | had seen nothing like it
| In over fourteen years, and then on but two
| occasions, which are described in my
pamphlet, "a Ray of Light" This vista
tion gave me great comfort, as interpreted
1t that was right in offering opposition to
the war, to press forward and God would
be with me. Filled with desire to do good
and fearing no danger, I very early. next
culars and circulated them on the train for
Richmond from one end to tho other. TIC
make O long story short, was soon arrested
by five soldiers then on their way to the bat.
tle-hcld, and violence, to O small extent
committed on my person by one Of said
soldiers. Certain Of the passengers were In
favor Of taking me out and hanging me out
right others favored impressment into the
army; some that be delivered up to jeff
Davis; and some one thing and some another
The soldiers, to their credit will say, op
posed tho FIRST proposition. Even the one
who had given me small thrust In the
breast, afterwards seemed better disposed
towards tpe. believed, according to what
had seen the previous evening, that God
would be With me, and so he was. I, there
fore, had a\comforter adequate to the trying
occasion. From tho time I received said
visitation to the close Of the war / never
was bound to fall.
l was finally sent back to Raleigh and
again incarcerated. After three days i'm
prisonment | was brought out and taken
before Gov. Vance for q hearing. In the
course of the conversation that ensued he
remarked to me that he thought there would
have been much good In my publications II
they had been published earlier, but that
was too late about 1t, and was then doing
more harm to the Southern cause than
could do II was In Lincoln's army fighting
Ut was five months from the time com
menced writing my pamphlet before II wa,
Issued from the press, pecuniary embarrass
ments over which / had no control causing
considerable delay.) He finally released m,
on condition that would circulate no NOR,
of my publications.
In the meantime, certain Of the press hal
taken hold Of my case, and circulars, o
written articles rather, had been sent loosI
through the mails In my section, forbiddinl
postmasters to mail "incendiary documents.
Though no names were mentioned, the post
masters all understood that was the person
struck at, and after that time could get NJ
more Of my pamphlets mailed. For the cor
} rcctncss Of this statement | refer to JOIN
Brewer, postmaster at Fall Greek, Chatham
county, who took one Of the documents il
question out OF the mail, and after showing
II TO me, he deposited 1t again, and II passed
on nobody knows where. Notwithstanding
my field Of labor was thus measureably Gu
oil, | have the consciousness Of believing tina
stirred the people in my immediate neigh
borhood, and stirred them we'll. / after
wards regretted exceedingly that had no
got tho names of all the editors South
could and have given them a broadside a
the start.
few minutes before my first incarCcra
ton received, as l supposed, supernat
ural warning to flee North, mot neccssar.
to mention the circumstance here,) and
Immediately resolved that at a proper tim
would do SO. But I remained for som,
three months, and awaited myself of ever
opportunity to stab the Confederacy befor
putting II into execution. ], with others
visited the Southern army, and cooperate
with said persons In influencing assertions
Soon after we arrived home a squad of som
eight or ten deserters arrived from the army
q don't think that persons who RENAME
true to the United States flag should b
called deserters, but this Is the usual teri
= applled.) | was Informed Of 1t, and re
quested 10 write to certain others, as anothe
squad would leave II the others arrive
safely. wrote the letter, holding out a
} possible inducements for them to come, whic
/ presume they did, but as | left the Stat
4 soon after ! am unable to say whether q
not they came. AMER nucleus was forme
| of the resident UDlOnists and lrserteTs frOI