Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1883-04-07
AFTER ApPOMATTOX.

EehOls Who Were Not ''in at the
Death" Received the News of Gen
Lees Surrender.
BY Captain II. C. Graham, judy,
Advocate ofthe Military Court Department
Il Southwestern Virginia.
70, the Phil. Times.
.Ihe Department of Southwestern Vir
mia during the last two years of the war
mbraced nearly all that section of Nir'
lnia from Lynchburg to Bristol, Tenn
md such portion of East Tennessee as
hen remained in possession of the Con.
Federate forces. The writer being dis
sbied from further service with
ms infantry regiment, was ordered to
report, as Judge Advocate of the Militia
ry Court of this Department, to Major
General sam Jones, then commanding
and was on duty there when the war
- ended. AS part of the history of the
Confederate army, it may be mentioned
thE one of these military tribunals, con-
gsting of three colonies and captain,
With captain as Provost Marshal, was
attached to each army corps, as part OF
the stat, and sat as permanent court
martial for the trial ofmi)itary offenders,
thus doing away with the necessity for
calling general and garrison courts. Gen.
~ Jones having been relieved from the
command of the department of South
western Virginia and ordered elsewhere
he was succeeded by General John c.
Breckenridge. When. General Brock
enrldge became Confederate Secretary
of war the command of the department
deyolved upon General John Echols,
with headquarters ut Wytheville, Va.
The force i'll this department, consisting
ofinfantry, cavalry and artillery, formed,
as it were, one of the extreme outposts
of General Lees army. Although but
little was known of the operations of
- this command before the appearance of
General Jones' articles in recent num-
bers of the Weekly Times, vet there
were performed some of the most gal
liant services rendered during the war.
and there figured some of the
most romantic characters of confederate
history.
There fell John II. Morgan, kentucky's
= trooper. There roamed that relentless
guerilla, Champ Furgusson, afterwurd
executed by military, commission for
the killing of Lieutenant Smith, and for
which crime he was under charges and
~ the eve of trial by the confederate
authorities when the war ended There
figured the brave Clarence Prentice
son OF George ID. Prentice, of Louisville,
= and there, too, was General Basil Duke.
another of kentucky's accomplished sol
dlers. who succeeded to the command
of the brigade of his bIother-in law, John
Morgan: there also was the unfortunate
, Crlttenden; j. Stoddard Johnson, Albert
Sidney Johnson's nephew, and now one
Of kentuckv's most distinguished cit
liens, was the chief of staff; j. Howard
Smith, since Auditor OF Kentucky, held
an important command; Jimmy" Clay,
Henry Clay's grandson, was an aid on
the staff, while towering above all rose
the figure of Breckenridge. There also
were Vaughn, ofTennessee, with hiscay-
airy brigade; McCausand and Wharton,
it'll their Virginia infantry: Byron and
burroughs, with a battery of artillery
each, and that gallant Virginia gentle
man of the Olden time, General Preston,
with his brigade Of reserves.
These forces had passed through one
of the severest winters of that cold
mountainous region with occasional in
terruptions from the bands OfStOneman's
troopers. When the spring of 1865 OPEN
ed not one of the command dreamed of
the disaster that awaited the COnfeder-
ate arms. Rumors were constantly ar
irving at headquarters of big raid by
Stoneman, and finally word came that
he was advancing again toward Saltyille,
the great depot of the salt supply of the
Confederacy. All was now activity.
Ge-eTal EchOls at once put the entire
force under his command in motion to
meet the advancing enemy, While
none of us had the faintest idea of what
was then taking place at Petersburg, yet
the very atmosphere seemed to whisper
that mighty events were near at hand
and the roll of the artillery and the clat-
ter Of the hoofs of the cavalry, as we
moved onward over the macadamized
road, gave forth sounds of ominous por-
tent.
General Echols moved his forces az
far as Abingdon and there Camped for
the night. That night he received dis
patch to stem back with all speed to
Lynchburg. The cavalry and artillery
were ordered instantly to retrace their
steps and push toward Lynchburg by
forced marches, while the infantry were
iterally packed on the few platform
.srs that could be collected at Abingdon,
drawn by the only engine, wheezy old
concern, that could be found at that end
of the road. Arriving at Dublin, a sta
ton on the Virginia and Tennessee rail-
road, General Echols learned that rail-
road and Geographic communication
had been severed between him and
Lynchburg, and the infantry were re-
moved from their excessively comfort
able quarters on the cars and marched
on toward Christiansburg. the next sta
ton on the road. The whole country
was now thoroughly aroused and excite
ment was at fever heat, yet not word
had reached us of the events that were
even then happening at Appomattox
and not a soldier in the command
dreamed of such dire calamity as sur
render.
The writer in company with other
members Of the staff, had received an
invitation to supper from a gentleman
near Dublin. AS a good meal was an
opportunity never to be sighted in those
furnishing days, and as our whole force
expected to go in camp that night near
Christiansburg, several of US got per-
mission to accept the invitation, with
orders to reioin the command at day
light. Woe be unto that gentleman's
larder had he extended many more such
inyitatiOnsl The supper was excellent
and the appetites of the guests some
thing more than keen, for we had not
learned to fast more than two days.
After we had pretty we'll exhausted our
selves in the effort to eat our host out
of house and home, feeling in a much
better humor with ourselves and the
world at large, we were sitting on the
veranda chatting pleasantly and smok-
ing the pipe of hospitality when a conr-
Ter came dashing up at full speed with
orders for all hands to report imme
diately at headquarters.
It was about 10 O'Clock and beautiful
night. Bidding our host hasty adieu
we were quickly in the saddle and hur-
rying in the direction of Christianburg.
The writer was riding in company with
DIR. Dove, the Medical Director of oul
army, fine officer and most genial gen
tleman. AS we rode along we discussed
the meaning of the hasty summons to
report at headquarters and engaged in
ali manner of surmises as to what our
movements would he. A little before
Il ,.,.I,E s. h.,