The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1879-06-26

conversation was well satisfied they were spies.
Smart as they were, they gave frequent and dis
tlnct evidence Of duplicity After this dispatch
came to hand, which it did about 10 O'Clock
tmidnight, search Of their persons was or
dered To this the Major consented without
| opposition, but the Colonel protested against
| 1t, and even put his hand to his arms. When
the Majors sword was drawn from the scab-
| bard, there was found etched upon it these
words, sit W. G. Peter, @. s. A. At this dis
coyery. Col Baird remarked: Gentlemen.
| you have played this id well" YES" said
| Lieut. Peter, Sand it came near being perfect
success" They then confessed the whole mat
ter, and upon further search various papers
showing their guilt were discovered upon
| their persons Lieut. Heter was found to have
on rebel cap, secreted by the white flannel
j havelock.
Col Baird Immediately telegraphed the facts
| TO Gen. Rosecrans, and asked what he should
/ do, and in a short time received an order to
Try them by drum-head court-martial, snd if
| found guilty, to hang them immediately" The
court was convened, and, before daylight, the
| case was decided and the prisoners informed
that they must prepare for immediate death by
hanging.
At daylight men were detailed to make a
scaffold. The prisoners were visited by the
| Chaplain of the Seventy eighth Illinois, who,
| upon their request, administered the sacrament
to them. They also wrote some letters to their
friends, and deposited their jewelry, silver
cups and ether vaiusbles for transmission to
their friends.
The gallows was constructed bya wild cherry
tree. not far from the depot, and in q very
public place. Two ropes hung dangling from
the beam, reaching within eight feet Of the
ground. A little after 9 O'Clock a m. the whole
garrison was marshaled around the place Of
execution in solemn sadness. Two poplar cof-
fins were lying few feet away. Twenty min
utes past the guard conducted the prisoners
to the scaffold They walked firm and steady,
as if unmindful of the fearful precipice they
were approaching. The guards did them the
honor to walk with their arms reversed
Arriving at the place of execution, they
stepped upon the platform Of the cart and took
their respective places. The Provost Marshal,
Capt Alexander then tied linen handkerchief
over the face Of each and adjusted the ropes
They then asked the privilege of bidding last
farewell, which, being granted, they tenderly
embraced each other. This over, the cart
moved from under them, and they hung in the
air What fearful penalty They swung off
at $50. In two minutes the Lieutenant ceased
to struggle The Colonel caught hold of the
rope with both hands and raised himself up at
three minutes, and ceased to struggle in five
minutes. At six minutes, DR. Forester, Sur
geon of the Sixth Kentucky Cavalry; DR.. Moss,
Seventy eighth Illinois Infantry, and myself,
who had been detailed to examine the bodies
approached them and found the pulse of both
full and strong. At seven minutes the Colonel
continued to beat seventeen minutes, and In
twenty minutes all signs of life had ceased.
The bodies were cut down in thirty minutes,
and incoffined in full dress. The Colonel was
buried with gold lOcket and chain on his
neck The locket contained the portrait and
braid of hair of his intended wife; her portrait
was also IN his vest pocket These were buried
with him at his request. Both men were buried
in the same grave.
/ should have stated in another place thatthe
prisoners did not want their punishment de-
layed, but, well knowing the consequences of
their act, even before their trial asked to have
the sentence, either by hanging or shooting,
quickly decided and executed But they
deprecated the idea of death by hanging, and
asked for communication Of the sentence to
shooting.
The elder and leader of these unfortunate
men was Laurence Williams, Of Georgetown,
d. @. He was as fine looking man as have
ever seen, about six feet high and perhaps 80
years old. He Wass sonof Capt Williams, who
was killed at the battle of Monterey. He was
one of the most intellectual and accomplished
men have ever known. have never known
any one who excelled him as talker. He was
a member of the regular army, with the rank of
Captain of cavalry, when the Rebellion broke
out, and at that time was Aide-de-Camp and
Private Secretary to Gen. Winfield Scott From
this confidence and respect shown him by so
distinguished man may be judged his educa-
uOu hLlu lnpll5uulSuiS ne Was 1Ibl
cousin to Gen. Lee, commanding the Confed-
crate army Of the RappahannOck He was
awhile on Gen. Bragg's staff as Chief of Artil-
lery, but at the time of his death was Inspector
General When he entered the Confederate
army he altered his name, and now signs it
thus: Laurence ". Orion, Col. Cav p. A, @.
S. A" provisional army, Confederate States
of America) Sometimes he writes he name
SOrton," and sometimes SAuton," according to
the object he has in view. This we learn from
papers found on him. These facts in relation to
the personal history of Col Orion have gath
cred from the Colonel himself and from Col
Watkins, who knows him well they having be-
longed to the same regiment of the regular
army-Second United States cavalry. Col Wat
kins did not recognize him, however, until he
made himself known, and now mourns his
apOstasy and tragic fate.
The other victim of this delusive and reckless
daring was Walter G. Peter, Lieutenant in
the rebel army, and Col Orton's Adjutant He
WAS tall, handsome young man of about %
years, and gave many signs of education and
refinement Of his history have been able TO
gather nothing He played but second part
Col Orion was the leader and did all the talk
ing and managing
To the last, however, they denied being spies.
They claimed that they were endeavoring to
get through our lines to visit friends in the
North ana in Europe. But that story was so
poorly matured that when either told il would
uOl HdIlB together, anu luSIt WIS llJll6 TCS6IU-
blance between the accounts which the two
gave. The arrest so completely COMPOUNDED
them that they were never afterward able to re-
cover from it The unfortunate men made no
complaint of the severity of their punishment,
except that they deprecated the ignOminy of be-
ing hung. They we're too well informed not to
know that on conviction of being spies they
must suffer death. and hence they expected it,
and Col Orion, who recognized Col Watkins
as soon as ne saw him, told him that he barely
escaped with his life when the arrest was made;
that he had his hand on lbs pistol to kill him
and escape; that had it been any one else he
would have done so.
Col Orion delivered bis sword and pistol to
Col Watkins and told him to keep and wear
them. He also presented him with his horse,
which he valued at $1,000, and asked him to
treat it kindly for his sake.
Such is a succinct account Of one Of the most
daring enterprises that men ever engaged in.
Such were the characters and the men who
played the awful tragedy. History will hardly
furnish its parallel in the character and stand
ing Of the parties, the boldness and daring of
the enterprise, and the swiftness with which
discovery and punishment were visited upon
them. They came into our camp and went all
through it, infinitely inspecting our position,
works and forces, with a portion Of their trait
orous insignia upon them, and the boldness of
theiI conduct made their fimsy subterfuges
almost successful.
We are all sad over this event. There is a
gloom on every face. Although we are fully
satisfied that the mission of these men was to
plan our destruction; and that even they recog
nized their punishment as just according to the
accepted rule of war among all nations, still to
see such men suffer such penalty has filled
our garrison with sadness. W. H,
Surgeon Thirty-ffth Indiana
The execution of these men was, in
several respects, without a parallel in
history. From the connections of the
men involved, and the wonderful speed |
with which they were hurried into
eternity, it stands without an equal. 1t |
seemed as If the intention was to cut off |