The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-07-19
a sToRYlOF THE .WAR.
How Ben Butler disposed of Esounty -Jnmpars
and Resartess-4A Heroic Remedy.

and ResarteHs-tAH Heroic Remedy.
National RepIIIlican
mo, abhank you, said the MaioraEvhen offered
achance to witness the execution of the murderer
Briee. I've seen all ofFthat sort of thing 1want
to; one that witnessed during the WIFI satisfied
me for alltime, and was one that i never will
forget if Live to be as old as Gen. Harvey In
1864 was serving in the army of the James,
where there had been an immense number of
cases of ,desertion of bounty jumpers Those
fellows used to play their game this way: They
would enlist up North in some locality where big
amounts for substitutes were paid, and would
getsometimes as Inuchas So, GOO or may he more.
Well, they would come down to The 'front.' do
every duty right up to the handle,
and until the game was dropped,
the officers world be half tickled to death at
getting such splendid new material Most of
them showed, That they had handled gun, saher
or rifle before. These fellows were always the
eleanest and sneatest of the troops for guard
duty, and a good deal Of the time took orderly
duty en'the guard inspection.
We'll, the game was this: When they had
gained the confidence Of officers and mates they
swomId quietly wait until the brigade regiment
wenton picket dirty or got into alftte sltirmish
line circus, and then quietly skip across lots to
the Johnnres, gun accontrements ammunition
and all, and tell there story of being Southern
born, or if of foreign birth that was tTer safest
gagl, that they were synpathizers with the
heroic Southern cause, and had enlisted IN the
id blue beIied Yankee ranks Just to get
chance 10 get through the lines safely and join
reeeivedwith open arms, for the rebs.. to encour
age desertion, had law offering $l00 cash to
each deseFter, and, besides, used to pay in gold
the1yalUe Of the nfunitions of war taken across
the lines Besides TINS, they were not obliged to
enter the confederate service against their viii,
but were given civilian employment somewhere
by the government
.Of course, theyawould be sent UP to Rich
mond when they came from the army of the Po-
tomac, lanes, or the Valley, and there were.
lionized in minor way for their brave devotion
to the cause What good did it do them? just
this: After docking round long enough to
get posted and familiar with matters,
they would enlist as substitute for some,
rich banker or contractor orygovernment official,
and getias much as 81 500 to s. 600 in gold and
be sent to the 'front.' where they would play the
same racket, and come into our lines as loyal,
North ern4born men. who had been living South
at the outbreak of the rebellion, unable to get
North, forced into the rebel ranks, watched and
suspected and abused for loyalty, and could not
escape from the cruel bondage until now when
their id loyal hearts We're almost bursting
with emotion, and tears were streaming down
their lying faces at the sight and embrace of the
dear old flag that it had broken their hearts to
fight against Dern my buttons I've seen these
loyal North G7iny' fellows feel SO good over the
flag that it made me ashamed of my own loyalty
and devotion to it. Same old game, all through
Fay for their rebel arms and equipments, trans
portatlon North. exemption from draft, good
work in the qnartermasters or commisSary's
made them go into the army to help the dear
old flag and scoop in another big bounty
:. Ben Butler wasn't very much of a general,
although he would go poking in under fire every
once IN a while to mako himself believe he was;
but he is n keen one and when any one picks
him up for fiat, they will ascertain that
great mistake of judgment has been made.
After while General Butler, who was com
handing the army of the James in '64, dropped
to the fact that great many very loyal men
were coming into our lines alta very late period
IN the war, and to the whole game The next
time rebel deserters came into our lines he gath
cred them up at his headquarters and had each
ones story reduced to writing#by one of a lot of
lawyers he had on his staff, and then Mr.. Johnny
Reb Deserter was marched off to every white
regiment in the Tenth and Eighteenth corps and
introduced. In many cases they met whole reg
iments full of old acquaintance, and in such
cases the smarty was introduced to a court
martial Court-martial meant sentence of death,
and with Butler commanding that meant a
firing party, a volley, and-no more desertion
II don't recolect exactly the date this thing
occurred that / am telling you Of, butt was
either the latter part of December, 1864, or very
early IN January, 1865, that it happened that
fourteen of these poor DEVILS who had come to
the end of their game were collected in the First
Division, Tenth Army Corps, all waiting action on
their court-martial sentences, when one day an
order came over from Buffers headquarters APP
proving the sentence of death in4each case, and
ordering the execution by shooting the very
next day. The necessary orders were at once
issued by General Alfred II. Terry, then the
division commander and next morning, about 10
o'clock, the troops of the command were formed
on three sides of a square in a broad field out
side the line of breastworks, General lnow
Senator) Hawieyis brigade facing north and
the others facing inward on the right and left
About the center Of the field a rowsof fourteen
graves had been dug IN the frozen ground and
all was ready for the execution.
1.-THE day was the most depressing thar have
ever seen just before, it had showed to the
depth of perhaps fifteen inches, and then, during
all the night before slow, cold rain had steadily
fallen, and was still falling, which had soaked
the snow thoroughly without melting-it or soften
ing the frozen ground beneath. Some delay
caused the troops to stand in line in deathiike.
silence for more than an hour before the weirdly
mournful music of the .Adeste Fidelis was heard
from the band, and soon after the long column
slowly filed ont from the dark pines over toward
headquarters and approached the scene, Each
wagon contained two of the condemned men,
each sitting upon his own coffin. and the eortege
was composed Of the guards, firing PARTIES and
the provost marshal and his aids. On arriving
the collins were taken out eand placed be-
fore the row of graves, and the prisoners
with bound arms placed kneeling upon them
Then came the weary reading of the orders and
the sentence in each case, w4file the dall gray
clouds still dropped the suIlen rain, which made
the official witnesses in waiting feel as though it
were better to die on such a-day, because the re-
greet at leaving life was lessened.
rat last the firing parties. ten men and ser
geaHt for each of the condemned, were ranged
before the respective prisoners who were made
to kneel on the collins, and soon came the orders
of the provost to fire. There were few among
the 5000 in that division that watched with
open eyes the xolley, but as the smoke cleared
away to the horror of all, several OF the men
stil remained upright ON the collins, others were
wrfthing and struggling or screaming. and but
four or five, 4 think it was, were still In death
The men of the firing parties, in horror of
theirstern duty. had fred high. It was a sight