Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1871-01-24

"Thas all those implicated IN burning tu'
martial, and. if found guilty, publicly hsnsel
| in the vicinity Of the burned bridges; sad tha
their bodies should be lsfs hanging for sewers
| days as q warning 10 the Union men OF Eas
| Tennessee"
! Among those executed were Jacob Har
mon and his son, while another SON wa
thrown into prison and Kept there until ht
| died.
Since the close of the war, the lawyer re-
| ferred to has foreclosed the mortgage and
| sold the farm to pay his services rs q law.
yer, of no benefit to his clients, while he
secured Shylock's fee; and the result Il
| that this poor widow, whose husband and
two cons died for the Union cause, and
| whose home has been frauduiently taken
from her as consequence of the loyalty
of her protectors, is now destitute and SUI.
fering for the necessaries of life.
1t Is to enable her to reclaim her home
that this bill provides, and since without
hesitation the House has passed this bill, !
doubt not the Senate will do the same.
fThe Chief Clerk read the above remarks
at the request of Mr. Brownlow, in conse-
quence of his physical condition disabling
him from addressing the Senate.1
The ce-President.-The bill is before
the Senate as in Committee of the Whole,
and open to amendment. It will be re-
ported IN full. - ' =
The Chief Clerk read the bill. The pre-
amble recites that in the fall of 1861 1t was
decided by the Secretary of War to cause
to be destroyed all the railroad bridges in
East Tennessee between Chattanooga and
Bristol, and accordingly men were sent
there to enlist parties to perform the work;
that one Captain David Fry did recruit
and enlist "a q portion of the force Jacob
Harmon and his two sons; that he, Fry,
administered the oath to them, and there
being no Bible at hand caused them to
place their hands on the Union flag, while
he solemnly administered the oath to he
ever faithful and true tn the Union: that
he then ordered them to destroy the bridge
across Lick creek, and the trestle work,
near one mile in length, in Greene
county, East Tennessee that the.
soon picked the opportunity. and
under the eye of Captain Fry put
fire to the bridge and trestle-work, and de-
stroyed them that Harmon and two sons
were arrested, placed in a rebel prison,
were tried by q rebel court-martial, con-
victed, and Harmon and one son hung till
dead, near the town of Knoxville, East
Tennessee, on the 18th of December, 1851.
(the other son, having contracted disease
while In prison, died } that Harmon en-
ployed counsel to defend himself and cons,
for which he executed his notes to his at
torneys for the sum of $1,000. and gave
them as security a lien or mortgage upon
his real estate; that on the 9th of July,
1853, q decree of sale of the land was order
ed for the sum of 81. 1913 so, which, If no re-
lief isgiven. will leave the widow with five
children and but little means left whereby
to make a support; that it is evident Har-
mon and sons lost their lives In the service
of the Government, and now, In the name
of justice. honor, and humanity the Con-
gress of the United States is In duty bound
to relieve the widow and her children from
his debt of oppression, they never having
received one cent for the services rendered
by her husband. The bill therefore di-
rects the Secretary of the Treasury to pay
to Malinda Harmon, the widow of Jacob
Harmon, deceased, of Greene county, East
Tennessee, the sum of 81 .696.70
The bill was reported to the Senate with
out amendment.
Mr.. Pomeroy.--I do not wish to object to
this bill, but should like to have the pre-
amble stricken out.
Several Senators-No, no /; let it stand.
Mr.. Morton.-I hope it will be allowed
to stand as model. ILaughter.l
The bill was ordered to third reading,
read the third time, and passed.