Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1878-11-15
A GUERRILLA PLOT.
How it was Proposed TO Capture
General Grant.

affecting the destiny OF the nation
1t appears that, after Nicksburg
b had been invested and the Soutl
I threatened at other points, Gov
5 ornor Allen, Of louisiana, con
. ceivcd the desperate idea of cap
turing the person of General Grant
} He believed that Grant was the
j evil genius of the Confederacy, and
that, if he could be killed or taken
prisoner, the siege Of Vicksburg
could be raised and the Federal
army driven back. He sent for
/ Joe. Lee, impaired to him his
thought, and asked him if he could
I devise a plan. 1t was readily taken
to by Lee, who Immediately pro
posed to execute the daring enter
prise. At that time-in the spring
I Of 16G3-Grant and his army were
encamped at Milligan's Bend, near
, Young's Point, on the Mississippi,
some eighteen miles above Vicks-
burg. General Grants headquar-
. tiers were in the dwelling house that
belonged to a magnificent planta-
ton, much Of which can be seen
from the deck of a passing steamer.
Joe. Lee proposed to 50 to that
house, and bring away the body Of
/ General Grant dead or alive.
( He chose five Of his trusty men.
They were the two James brothers,
two of the Younger brothers, and
John Jarrett. There never were
six better men for such an expedi-
ton. They were young, strong,
and as brave as the bravest. They
had already seen all there is in war.
They had been tried in the most
trying places; had suffered all man.
ncr Of hardships; did not care much
whether they lived or died were
the quickest and best shots in the
world, and rode the 1eetest horses /
in the land. It was just before the |
Federal army set out on that sur~
Prising march down the west side Of
the river. The country was all full f.
Of marshes, bayous and morasses, I
50 that the natural advantages for .
the execution Of the plot were good. I
The plan was for Joe Lee and his /
five trusty followers to dress M in .
full Federal uniform, ride on horse +
back to AIilligau's Bend, 90 direct
to the house where General Grant /.
was stopping, rush in and secure his
person, put him on a spare horse, |
and then escape to the swamPs which .
we're near by.
On one Saturday evening, late,
the party set out from DIckson's
house. near Delhi, and rode toward
the Mississippi river. Not a soul
beside themselves and Governor
Allen knew of their desperate mis-
sion. It was something over %
miles they had to GO, and the night
was a dark one, but long before day
they were at the edge of the woods
that bordercd on the plantation On
which Grant was quartered. There
was no enemy to attack from the west
side, and there was no particular
precaution about guards. The
9icEets were passed before sun-up,
and, while the General was yet
asleep, the guerillas rode boldly up
through the open field toward the g
house. There they were, six men
seven horses, the empty saddle
or the commander of the 100000 :
men who were camped about in 8
very direction. c
They approached to almost a 5
tones throw of the house, when ,
hey met a negro. They were dis P
overed. 1t was an old man whom ;
lese very men had run away from
)elhi not ten days before. He
new them all, and Immediately =
ave the alarm. In a moment
lere was a great tumult, and the =
tx gueriilas had nothing to do but l.
ave their lives. They broke
trough the field and in the twink
NJ OF an eye were back in the
GODS, but not until a hundred !
iots had been fired after them. \,
Before the sun went down they 8
ERE safe at their fayOrite rem
czvous. Thus was frustrated one
f the most daring plots of the 3.
var. It IS not probable that Gems
raj Grant took any particular =
office Of the aflir, and it is not at e
Il probable that he las ever :
called the valuable services of the q
ID colored man. What intorpreta- Fl
on the officers of the army put
pom the presence of the strange Fl
nd hostile men at such a time and
lace is not known; but, if there Z
ere any doubts as to their mission, Ia
lis bit of history may serve to re-
ove them.-Letter to Chicag0 r,
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