The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1883-09-05

ter Morgan was slain, Gillem's AdJu'
tant General and Lieut.. Col. Brown
low IA son Of Parson BrownleN) jump
ed down eff their horses and each took
off one of the dead mans boots, while
their command gave three cheers and
a tiger; then, riding of in high glee,
they left US with the dead body"
First-I have the documentary evil
dence of two of Morgan's staff to prove
that he was not killed after he su-rend-
cred, but "while endeaVoring to es-
cape" But whether he was killed as
charged or not, / am not responsible
for it, because did not command the
brigade, and the men who constituted
the party which surrounded the Will
liams garJea, and shot him, were of
not my regiment and were net under
nv command. Soon after he was kill
I ed saw Capt. Samuel Northington,
I now of Kansas, of the Thirteenth Ten
nessee Cavalry, riding among the
troops with the body of the dead chief
/ tain thrown across his horse, the blood
! still lowing freely. / at once told
him to place the body on the grass out
| of the muddy road. 1 did this because
the body was repulsiVe. saw the
body but a moment, and went straight
into a general engagement which fol-
lowed, in which the whole Union force
did not exceed twelve hundred, while
Gen. Morgan's command numbered
TWENTY-FIVE hundred, with six pieces
Of artillery. will add that, while the
men of my regiment did not kill Gen.
Morgan, it lost more in killed and
wounded in the engagement than all
the rest of the brigade, though 1t num-
bered only one-third of the FederaI
force. / did not again see Morgan's
BODY till after it had been dressed for
burial in Mrs. Williams house. Above
two hours had then elapsed after the
engagement. By order of Col. John
X. Miller, Of the Thirteenth Tennes-
see, after the fight was over, pursued
the retreating force several miles,
From the firing of the first gun, before
Morgan was shot, and until after ne
had been dead several hours, was not
out of the saddle. Gen. Morgan was
killed i'm his shirt-sleeves. Hours az
terward Lieut.. Mort, Of my regiment
fthe Ninth Tennessee), came to me
holding In his hands Morgan's coat ana
vest. which he had brought from the
room in which the General slept the
night before, saying: "Colonel, l want
YOUR permission to keep these" Capt
Henry b. Clay, now living In East
Tennessee, was present, and he at once
asked that the General might be buried
In them. said Certainly, you shall
have them" They were given to him
on the spot by nay order, though sew
eral men importuned me for them as
trophies. This Missouri correspondent
of yours would have the public believe
that my conduct was unsoldierly and
brutal. Mai G. A. Withers, chief of
Morgan's staff, who resides, l think,
In Cincinnati, and whom l have never
seen or communicated with since the
war. directly or Indirectly, wrote an
account of the killing Of his chief for
the Noble (Alg) Register few years
ago. An extract from the account in
the Register was copied in the Nashville
American TO the effect that while the
conduct of nearly all the leading offi :
GERS of Gillem's brigade, including
Gillem himself, toward the captured
Of Morgsn's command was insulting
or most Objectionable, there was one
notable exception, says Maj. Withers,
"the conduct Of Col. Brownlow, OF
Tennessee, was entirely gentlemanly
and humane" The stan and captured
men of Morgan's command were or
dered by Gen. Gillem to ''foot it"
through eighteen miles Of mud TO
Bulls Gap from Greeneville, because
we had no spare horses. put may
Of them, including Capt. Clay, on
horses behind men of my regiment,
and they ode all ofthe eighteen miles.
The officers and men Of Morgan's COM
msnd were profuse in expressions OF
gratitude to me for my kindness. BY
the testimony of Clay, Withers and
others / can prove that my conduct
was absolutely the reverse of that as
cribed 70 me by Mr.. Gaines, OF Slater,
Mo. offer no apology for being the
only field officer out Of four Of my reg
iment in this attack upon and surprise
of Morgan's command, but my native
instincts and respect for the daring
and military genius Of the great Con-,
federate cavalry leader would prevent
nv maltreatment of his lifeless re-
mains or OF his captured officers and
men. To those who knew, me person.
ally, this denial is needless. In fur
ther refutatiOn Of this slander, / might
mention that with full knowledge Of
the Bart 1 took In the engagement
which resulted In the death Of Gen.
John III. Morgan the venerable Sam
uel ID. Morgan, Of Nashville, univer-
slIy beloved and esteemed, the Gen.
erals uncle, cordially invited me TO
visit his house In Nashville, and re-
quested me to write an account Of the
affair In the shape Of letter addressed
to him.
attribute Mr.. Gaines misrepresen-
tations to that utter decentralization