Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1881-10-30

nessee Cavalry" Stokes had been in
Congress, and remained, with Maynard
and Etheridge, true to the Union. But
"Old Bill as We used to call him, was a
curiosity in more ways than one. and es,
peciai!y was he a curiosity as military
man. But he managed to raise ten COM
panies, each one hundred strong, and was
com nissioned colonel First loyal Middle
| Tennessee cavalry. l peraodally took
charge of this matter, and handed Bill his
commission, and he actually wept for Joy.
| 1t was generally undeis ood, AMI even
job uson himself felt that such was tho fact,
that the rebels had taken away
choice men of that section; still.
| we were determined to give old Bill and
| bis men chance -ic not to fight, to do
garrison and police duty, and to draw ra
| tons and pay. The only thing that regi>
ment ever did regularly an we'll was to
| draw its rations and pay. | never saw
| body of men that knew so little about dis
| cipline or the manael. Ii was sort of
"go .as-yo please" regiment, with neither
restraint respect 1t was the terror of
the country through with it at fret ope.
| rated, and it's members ransacked farms
| houses hem houses and smoke houses
alike, and made war upon every body
| and everything except rebel: They used
to come TO Nashville in great crowds with
!
| together would get drunk, travel around
| quarrel, shoot eff their revolving-arms
| lecklessly, and generally make hideous
| the precincts they visited. | remember
| having 100 of them in the guard, house one
morning, al! of whom had come into
the city without leave. and had been
| locked up for drunkenness aud dis.
orderly conduct, and they were as COW.
sIdly as they were undlscplined. So l.
| was impossible to get them into an engage
mept and get them killed. We did, how
ever, manage to re>6ficer the regiment,
and, at last, to partly disci olina most OF the
men who had not either deserted or died.
Old Bill even tried to kill himself during
an attack Of delirum tremens one day, but
his thick epdermis resisted the bullet, ana
he lived long enough to again go to Con-
son, and aid ia the attempt to imp .ch the
President because the latter, losing all pa
tience, with Stokes. had years before in
sisted On his resi- gning from a service
which hs had repeatedly disgraced. And
this brings me to the anecdote.
We had been blockaded il Nashville for
several weeks. Buell's army was in Ken
lucky. operating against Bragg. We were
entirely cut off from the outaide world,
and could see the reb carnp-fres encir
cling the city night after night for more
than month We were com pletely sur
rounded ~ the forces Of Morgan, Forest
and Breckenridge. One morning in Sep
TEN Der we received the following which,
at least, reflected on St0kes's cavalry:
FoUR MILES FROM NASHVILLE
OK TBE LEBANON PIKE
September 80, 1862.
SIR: l demand the immediate surrender
Of the city of Nashville, with ali of its
troops, stores and arms. If this demand
is not acceded to, l intend to attack in
force. For humanity's sake, however, L
viii give you six hours after the reception
of this notice to remove the women ard
children. S okes' cavalry and all other
non combatauts n. B. FOREST.
Andrew johnson, Military Governor of
Gen ia es S. Negley, who was Cor
mandant of Nashville at that time. also
received Forests demand for surrender,
phrased as above, but, out of kindness for
Stokes las he infol med me years after
ward, he never Incorporated it in his Of
fetal papers.
| During the summer of 1854 there were
several regiments of negro troops raised in
end around Nashville, and scarce were the
abled bodied blacks who did not prefer
camp life and labor to that of any other
kind in those days. Sam Carrier kept the
ST. Cloud Hotel, the best public house in
tie city. and among the walters were an
old darby, named Sandy, ard his son SAM
Il seems that Sam WAS crazy to join the
Union forces, end claimed that, as the war
race and for the freedom of
the slave, it was not only his right but his
duty to Join the Lincoln army.
Andy johnson, John f. Miller, Alvin Q.
Gllem, Lowell IL. Rossesu and crowd of
lesser men, were sitting in front Of the St
Cloud ore evening, and along came the
two dsrkies wrangling.
Il "a done jined de Linkum troops, an
dats de settlement OBJ de whole fuss said
Sam, tiiumphantIy.
You hss?" interrogated Sandy, doris.
lively.
Eyes, hasl"
Il say, honey, sposen big cam a ball
come Dustin through de sir, and take de
top q dat simple head O yourn right clean
Oft, wat would ye say; whar would We be?'
Il takes my chances. Understands all
about dis fuss, l does. De Yankees are
fghtin' for da freedom of de niggers, an
our boys are fghtn' to keep US slaves.
heard Yankee officer say dis mornin' dat
de Niger was de bone 90 de contention,
sab, an --->-"
OATS it, honey, now you's got it all
right, sure De Niger is de bone an de
two armies is fghtn' ober it, an us de
Dizziness Of de bone to lay low and let 'em
J fight. See here, honey, hadn't ysr many
a lime seen two dogs fghtin' ober an old
bone?'' You has?' Yes, sab"
:Well,, now, honey, did you eber see
the bone fght?"