Whig and tribune. [volume] (Jackson, Tenn.) 1870-1877, 1873-10-25

his STAY at Gen. MaEey's hcadquar'
ter, that Ycs'ol had his interview
with Gov. Fooic. Gov. Foote Wa a1
that time q member Of the Comic de-
| rate Congress, representing the Ngsi-
Vile District, and was caudldate Tor
reelection, being opposed, as 1 now
remember, by Col Savage. The SOL
diers from Tennessee ia The army
I were allowed 10 vote, and the Cover
was out elcctionecriug among the SOL
I dicr-. While NJ Gen. Nancy s. head
! quarters some one pointed ont Nestol
| to Gov. FoUte, or introduced Nestol %
/ him %, o. Quaker that wouldn't hghi,
/ when tie following conversation oc-
Cured between them:
I Fpote-What. Young man, won
I you tgEt-yot are q stout, @oo4-loo"-
ing young mau-is It true that ycn
| refuse to FIGHT?
Nestol-Yes, sir.
Euote-Why, ygu are al wrong
/ about that. Suppose You were 10
marry beautiful and accomplished
/ young lady, and some ruiliiau We're 10
come into your house and grossly IN
I suit her. wouldn't you kin HIM:
! Ncstol-No. sir.
Foote- dumping from mis- seat iu
/ very excited mauuerl Why. Cd
| d-n him, III kill him in q minute.
Resuuing bis seat after minute.
l the Governor surveyed EeStol, and
/ again commenced a conversation with
! him.
Foote-Iouug mGu, you al wrong
! about this matter, even from q scrip
[ tural standpoint. When Christ was
upon earth he di.cchd d his disciples
[ t. pay tribute To Cesar. The money
I thus paid went into the Roman Treas
ury, and was used in carrying on the
wars Of the Roman people.
Ncstnl-No, sir; You are mistaken
ahout that; lhc TcmpIc of Janus was
closed at that time, and there Were 20
wars going on.
Fooie-By Cd, I believe lac
knows more about 1t than i DO.
don't know whether tho temple of ia
nus was closed then or not.
Such was substantially tho inter
view between this remarkable boy
and this remarkable man. Perhaps
two more opposite characters in many
particular, never came ia contact.
Governor Foote, as before stated,
was at that time member of the Con-
federlte Congress. Whether lie voted
for the couscript law, the officers APP
pointed under which be deuominates
the "blo0d-LouUds OF the Davis des-
potiSm, / know NOT IL was passed
during the time be was "a member of
the Confederate Congress whether
with his sanction or not 1 have no
means OF ascertainiuE. One thing =
certain, he used all has powers Of per-
suasiou To induce NcstOl 20 bear arms
4 q aa u
and was seeking the votes of the sol
diers who were bearing arms on that
side, and obtained the votes of hun
drels of them with the understand
iuw-implicd, ut lcust-tha. he was in
full accord with the Socth in hcr
struggle. On no other ground could
be have received "a vote.
But 20 return 10 the youug Quaker.
His case was such an extraordinary
Que that General Polk wrote the facts
t. the War Department at Richmond,
but never received an answer. so far
as I am advised. Nestol was ordered
to Knoxville, and from that place be
found his way 90 the Virginia army
aud WAS assigacd 10 the 18th or 9Th
Tennessee regiment, / do not now re-
member which Here lie was order
ell to DO military duty, but firmly re-
fused, as he had done before. The
Brigadier in command. knowing no
thing Of his history cor antccpdentS,
ordered him 10 he hayonclcd for dis
obedience of orders, and the bayonct
was applied to him repeatedly. He
bore IL with the spirit of a martyr,
and the soldiers seeing that he would
die willingly in preference 20 sac
rificing his principles, refused further
to punish him. No punishment, no
threats could shake the settled pur-
pose Of his soul for q moment. He
was under arrest all the while. Ere
quentIy, on retreats his guard would
lose sight of him, but in n day or two
Ycstol would march mp alone into
camp.
He made such an impression on mo
that after the war was over, ! inquired
of all those rcbs L supposed would
know, what became of him, and
whether he had survived the war, but
none of them could tell me.
In the year 1871, was sitting in my
Office one evening, when a young naa,
walked in and spoke TO me, aad asked
me if my name was not SO and so. /
told him yes, and asked him to take
seat, that 1 would talk to him in a
few moments, an l was engaged Just
then. He remarked that lac didn't
believe ! knew him. L looked n
him then more closely, and told him
I did not. He asked me if / remem-
bCred a Quaker az Chattanooga that
refused to fight. 1 at once recognized
Vestol, aud was really glad to meet
him, and made him give me a history
Of his ups and downs in the army after
l parted with him at Chattanooga.
He told me he was IN Castle Thunder
for a while, az Richmond, but was IL
ually permitted by tina Secretary of
Wa-, TO 60 down TO North Carolina
10 school, and was there at the time
the war closed. Feeling that his ed
ucation was not sufficient, at the close
of the war he went to Rhode Island,
and there continued his studies and
taught school a portion OF the time
He informed me that it was seven
years, from the time he left his fathers
house 10 report % Bragg at Chatta-
noOga, before he returned TO the pa
ternal roof He had Invented a mode
of taking of aud putting on wagon
bodies, for which he had obtained
patent, and was selling the right when
l met him.
/ suppose he is still living in the
neighborhood of Columbi2, Tenncs-
sec. y.