Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1883-02-23
THE NEW ISSUE.
major Grigsby Gives an Inter-
esting Account OF NOme
Ihot Was Stolen.
Morristsgn Gpzetts.

VI AShhS9seei auu lulnk tnat q
few iacts, personally known to me,
concerning part Of that money which
vas put in circulation might be of
some interest to the public, | will
state them as briefly as possible. In
1858, when General Burnsides occu.
pied East Tennessee. K. ClayCrawtord
was In command Of battery known
as the First Tennessee battery, u. S.
Volunteers: arriving at Knoxville the
said Crawford Obtained authority
from General Burnsides to recruit a
regiment Ct artillery; in a short
time he left Knoxville for the upper
counties of East Tennessee and was
gone some two weeks or more: when
he returned he had a considerable
number OF horses, mules, carriages.
buggles, etc, and now and then some
OF the men who were with him on his
trip would have some State Bank
money. On the first day of November.
1863, Colonel R. Clay Crawford, with
a part Of his command, left Knoxville.
and marched to Camp Nelson. XIV
All along the road some person or
persous would occasionally pass a
blank Tennessee bill of some denomi.
nation from one dollar to FIVE. No
one was dete as the guilty party.
Colonel r Clay Crawford being per
sonally 10 command, not much was
said about the matter. We arrived at
Camp Nelson about the 18th day Of
November. In a short time Colonel
Crawford left and went north to Gin
cinnati, and probably to New York.
In January, 1864, Colonel Crawford
took his command to Nashville, Ten
nessee, where it remained, with the
exception OF a few companies. CAP,
tain Vincent Meyers, Company &c"
First Tennessee Light Artillery, was
left at Nashville. Colonel Crawford 8
headquarters was at Nashville also.
Sometime in the spring of 1864, Cap.
tain Meyers preferred charges and
specifications against Colonel r, Clay
Crawford for uttering and passing
counterfeit money Of the Bank OF
Tennessee. Among the several spec
lications was one that the said Craw-
ford had broken open the Branch
Bank Of Tennessee at Rogersyille.
and had taken tberefrom a large
amount of unsigned bills of said bank;
that he, the said Crawford, had
signed or procured the sign
ing Of the said bills - coun
terfeiting the names Of Z. G.
TOrbett and +. G. Dunnington to the
same, and that he had passed and
caused to be passed large amount of
said counterfeit money. The said
Crawford was arrested and one II. G.
Avery, who was a second lieutenant of
Company &C." LIST Tennessee Light
Artillery. Avery was carried before
MOjlr j. W. Church and Colonel q.
0 Loomis, chiefs of artillery-Maior
Church for the post at Nashville, and
Colonel Z. 0. Loomis for the district
of Tennessee-and made full confess
sion of the robbing of the bank at
Rogersvllle and of Crawford's having
had tho blank bills filled up and that
he, with some other members of the
company and regiment, had acted as
Crawfords agent Tor the passing OF said
money, and that the oounterfeiting
was so perfect that the bankers of
Nashville had not detected the SINE
to be counterfeit-that any Of the
merchants and brokers OF Nashville
would take The said money at sixty
cents to the dollar readily, On in
vestigation Of the statement made
by the said Avery, Captain Meyers
found about eight thousand dollars
in possession Of members of Company
Q, lst Tennessee Light Artillery,
some Of whom hal bought the same
Of the agents Of Col. h. Clay Crsw.
ford for forty or fifty cents. One
had sent the amount bough by him
home, believing the same wsuld be
worth dollar for dollar wAe9 the war
was over. Colonel Crawford was put
on trial by court martial organized
BY Major General George H.
Thomas, with General Thomas
Il. Champion, late of Knoxille,
Tennessee, President of the same. |
The charges and specifications were
fully sustained and Colonel Crawford |
was honorably dismissed from tle ser |
yies Of the United stStes, never to
hold Office Of trust and profit In the
United States, by general order No.
l5O, from headquarters department
Of the Cumberland, the proceedings /
OF which trial, | suppose, are on Gle
in the Adiutant Gepe;sl'a once Of he |
StSta II Iennessee." Captain Miller
Brother 6f the present Senator from
California, was the Judge Advocate
who conducted the case for the United
States, and J. A, Campbell fog Craw. |
toFd beioFe tue court ma. .tial.
Respectfully,
JOSEPH GRI0sAY,
Late lGt Lieut.. and Capt. Go. y lst
Tennasaaa A rtillar,, Wo1a IT q