Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-10-18

RgMk8 HAMG GREME
Remarks of Speaker vanehu. Am &as
senate, Oct. ~, ON senator Gibsch's
49, - Af#
1 Offences Committed during the LATE War yritb
the exception OF Murder and Rape.
| Mr.. Speaker, (Mr. DuBose In the chair:1
! arise to oppose the passage of the bill on
its second reading, and l do hone this
body will reject It. And why? Because II
will work injustice to my friends in Fast
Tennessee The men who served in fine
Confederate army or sympathized with
them have all generally been tried. and 4
am sorry to say some of them are serving
out their terms now, and others have. for
offenses they committed. While some of
the friends Of the honorable Senator from
Campbell were tried and the iuries made
a perfect farce of their trials.
No juror was allowed to set on
such trials without he could take fine
iron clad or jurors oath, while many of tbe |
Senator's friends have never been tried. and
now when the Grand Juries and Courts
are willing to punish all criminals. the
Senator brings in his bill to turn his friends
all scot free, who are now being indicted
for offences that he wants them 10 he re-
lieved from, while those who were Confed-
crates have suffered all they can. do hone
this body will not pass the bin. Meninmv
county and others were shot down without
a cause. There was Mr.. Cox and a Mr.
Smith murdered in Knoxville and KNOT
county, and no one ever p,Inished
and other crimes committed. and + nnder,
stand some of the guilty have lately been
indicted. A Mr.. Trotter and two Mr. Chr
tees, and others in Monroe, were murdered
and no one yet punished, and other crimes
committed; and now pass this bill. and some
criminals cannot be reached, and thew win
return back defiant, ready TO commit more
crimes. i say, Mr.. Speaker, let the law
take its course, and let the guilty be pun
ished -1.. - ..ssssii7aii' .'..ss 4 -
In answer to the remarks of
the Hon. Senator from the coun-
ty OF Blount, l acknowledge that
both armies and citizens did do wrong and
commit crimes and acts that they Should
not have done. The Confederate army
first occupied East Tennessee, and did some
things wrong. Then the Federal army
came in and they retaliated, and each army
time and again occupied East Tennessee
until the county was nearly all laid waste.
and citizens on both sides badly treated,
which | confess. But in answer to the
Senator's remarks from Blunt, that | had
done things that / regretted and was wrong.
| say here before high heaven that L never
pressed or wronged any Union citizens or
soldiers intentionally, and never did any
act that regret.
In answer TO the remarks of the Senator
from Campbell, that / had committed
crimes in Morgan and Scott, or in upper
East Tennessee, and had been indicted, and
was afraid to go, and dare not 90 back
there, have this to say: If any such in
dictments are on record, that the county of
Ulcers have failed to discharge their duty in
not sending writs and arresting me. have
been in Monroe county for over two years,
and they knew it. The Senator from
Campbell may have told them so. 1
know the Hon. Horace Maynard did
tell it from every stump that he mounted in
those counties, that the Democratic ticket
was headed by rebel General in the person
of John G. Brown, and on the tail of it was
John @. Vaughn, both rebel Generals. 1t is
true went into those counties under orders
from Gen, Leadbetter, which order l have
now in my pocket. l confess those orders
were severe on those people, and for not
executing them as ordered-te destroy the
whole country-I came near being court
martialed.
l again was near being arrested for DISC
bedience of orders, when was ordered to
arrest at Kingston, East Tennessee, Mrs.
Col. X. K. Bird and send her through our
lines into Kentucky where her husband was |
an officer in the Federal army. Her mother |
was sick, afterwards died.) l disobeyed |
4lsaS ,la-r
was always on the side Of mercy. During !
that campaign in those counties (when they |
were overrIIn by returned soldiers and citi- |
Gems from Kentucky with new arms) / suf- !
fered much; my command was bushwhack- |
ed from every hill and mountain, and |
some of my men shot down in the |
road. 1t is true we drove the enemy, but |
we suffered more than they did. Col. John |
Brownlow, after the war; said to me, |
"Vaughn, you done me much good when |
you went into those mountain counties. |
L was then at Camp Dick Robinson, in |
Kentucky, and the East Tennessee bows |
were not enlisting as fast as wanted them |
to do, but when you was after them they |
came by companies, and soon filed my |
command. They reported that you was |
laying waste to the whole country, and COM |
uniting all kinds of crime, burning houses, |
etc, q! On my first visit (said Col. |
Brownlow,) | found in those counties old /
houses generally toall the standing chimnies, !
and the Union men and women MANY of !
them told me that Gen. Vaughn was more |
kind to them than any other Rebel General -
As to what the Senator from Blunt has /
said, will just say that after Gen. Long
streets failure to take Knoxville, and we fell |
back to upper East Tennessee, he turned |
overto me fifty-seven Union prisoners, many
OF them citizens, and Gen. Longstreet said |
to me, Gen. Vaughn, you are from among |
these people and know them, take these |
prisoners and send them to Richmond, or |
do what you think is best with them. |
Among that number was a friend to the |
Senator from BlOunt, a former Provost |
Marshal, who had tied two Southern men |
up and had them stand out nearly all |
night when it was very cold. These !
charges were made against him, but !
after all turned every single one loose,
told the Provost from Blount to 90 home |
and do all he couldt to protect Southern men |
and women in Blount, which he did do, all |
he could, and done them much good. The |
whole State, from Carter to Shelby, has !
heard of BlOunt and how some of her citizens. |
when ministers Of the gospel were sent |
there to preach to sinners, took them out, |
tied them up to trees and whipped them
until the blood run from their backs. | !
don't make any direct charges who done so,
but it was done and the records of our |
courts in East Tennessee show the facts. |
Nv. Speaker i do insist that this bill should |
not pass. Let the law take its course, and !
reject the bill. ...........--....1
FROM baby-show TO show of maidens
is but natural and easy step. The sue
cess of the baby-shows at North Woolwich |
Gardens, Kent, near London, has induced |