Morris tribune., 1881-03-24
TOM KELLEY.
Remarkable Faculties of Union Scout and
Sny.

Remarkable Faculties of Union Scout and
Spy.
From the Buffalo Express.
One of the most remarkable private
soldiers on either side in the late war was a
young man named Tom Kelley, private in
the Second Michigan Infantry. This re-
markable man began with his build. He
had arms full hand longer than any man
who could be found. He had no more
backbone than snake, and could almost
tie himself in knot. He could tell the
date on silver dollar held up twenty feet
away, and he could hear every word of a
conversation in common tone of voice
across street. He could run half mile
as fast as any horse could gallop,
and there was a standing offer of $40 to any
man who could hold him down. On a bet
of box of sardines he once passed six
sentinels within an hour. On another oc-
casion he entered the colonel's tent, and
brought away that officers boots.
When Toms remarkable qualifications
were discovered, he was detailed as scout
and spy, and was changed from one depart
ment to another. In the capacity of spy he
entered Richmond three times. He
preached a sermon to the soldiers a week
before the surrender. He was in New Or
leans five days before that city was taken.
He was a man who firmly believed that he
could not be killed by an enemy, and he
governed his movements accordingly.
While under the orders of Gen. Hooker,
Kelly proved on several occasions that he
could see further with the naked eye than
any officer could with field glass. If he
could get place of concealment within
fifty feet ofa picket, he could catch the
countersign. He visited Lookout Mount
ain, intending to spike as many of the Con-
fedelate guns as possible. His disguise
was that of farmer who had been driven
from home by the Union soldiers. The
enemy somehow got suspicion of him, and
he was placed in the guard house for the
night. There was sentinel at the door,
and others near by standing guard over
guns and stores, but it was all the same to
Kelley. With an old tin plate for use as
shovel and scoop, he burrowed out at the
two pieces of artillery and spiked both be-
tinels began firing at him he ran out of
camp, but before he was clear of it he was
fired upon fifty times. l.a.
Kelly was once captured by Missouri
guerrillas. When he opened his eyes he
was surrounded by five or six men on foot
and others in the saddle. 1t was under a
tree in an open field, and he had been
tracked by dog. AS he rose up at their
command, he resorted to his wonderful
skill as a gymnast. BY lodging and twist
ing and jumping. he got out of the crowd,
pulled man off his saddle, and would have
escaped had not the dog fastened to his leg.
He was then put under guard in log house
with only one room. Two sentinels sat at
the door with revolvers in their hands, and
kept watch Of his every movement. After
an hour or two Kelly approached as if to Of
fer them tobacco, and jumped clear over
their heads like deer. He had half mile
of open field to cross, and he crossed it un-
der the fire of a score of muskets and revol-
vers without being hit.
During his three years and half in the
service Kelly captured fifty-two confeder-
ates and turned them over as prisoners.
He himself was captured and escaped five
times. As spy he entered more than thir-
ty Confederate camps and forts. He was
fired upon at least 1000 times, and yet was
never wounded. He said that he would
never die by the hand of an enemy, and his
prophecy came true. In the last year OF
the war while bringing captured Confed-
crate scout into camp, both were killed with
in forty rods of the Union lines by ball Of
lightning.