National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1884-12-13
Run Confederate soldier.


keep themselves posted as to tho plans
and movements Of their adversaries Is
somewhat Of mystery to those not be-
hind tho scenes. 1t would DO mighty in
teresting reading, for instance, If full
history of the secret service operations
put in practice by tho commanders
of the Armies of tho Potomac and of
northern Virginia respectively should be
written by competent hand. IL would |
show that there was as much devotion,
endurance, and bravery shown by class
who never figured in the reports as by
those who made tho marches and fought |
the battles. In this brief sketch l can
only give o few instances OF the opera
tions Of the class referred to (the spies In
fact) that come within my recollections
as q soldier In tho army of northern Vir-
ginia.
During the last year of the war at Rich
mond and Petersburg II was wonderful
to an outsider to see how quickly Gems.
Grant and Leo called CHECK ~ when
other one or the other made move. 1t
seemed as IL a division could not move or
change camp, even at night, unless cor
responding movement was made in the
other army. Frequent determined as
saults wore made on Lees thin lines at
various points, but he always
MANAGED TO HAVE RE-ENFoRcEMENTs
near at hand to meet them. To do this
he had the advantage of tho railroad line
between Petersburg and Richmond, and
the rolling stock In pretty fair quantity,
both passenger and freight, was ordered
to be constantly in readiness at any point
of the line to be cleared for troops at
moment'stnotice. Of course the cavalry
videttes and infantry outposts are OF great
service in obtaining information Of an
enemy's secret movements, but tho scouts
and spies arc the main reliance of q
general for news as to his opponents
purposes. Take for example the
case of the mine which was sprung
before Petersburg at the Battle
of the Crater" Although the federal
generals had taken every precaution to
keep the matter secret the excavation
had been scarcely begun before q spy
brought in tho news to Lee with its OK
act location and the fort it was destined
to blow up. Accordingly countermine
was Immediately commenced by the con-
federate engineers, and as an abundant
precaution an interior line of works was
constructed behind the threatened fort,
and -Mahones division (their homes
were about Petersburg and the vi
entity was brought up just
the night before the mine was sprung.
The trouble that occurred was caused by
the confederate engineers not going deep
enough with their countermine. The
federal engineers deceived them, and so
one fine morning South Carolina bat
TALON of artillery manning the fort with
all their guns and paraphernalia
WENT SAILING sKYwARD,
as If q young volcano had burst loose
beneath them.
Richmond literally swarmed with fed
eral spies at this time and the detective
system was SO inefficient that they en-
joyed comparative immunity, and came
and went within and without the line Of
works almost at their will and pleasure.
These people, male and female, had but
little difficulty in procuring passport to
20 from Richmond to Petersburg, but for
the last four or five months of the contest
stringent order of Gen. Lee was in force
directing the train officers to permit no
one whomsoever, from lieutenant gem
eral down, to board the trains from
Petersburg to Richmond without
exhibiting his personal signature-R E..
Lee, general. don't think this order
had the desired effect of preventing tho
coming and going Of spies, for parties
coming from beyond Petersburg could
pass on passport from any petty officer
commanding a post. Castle Thunder at
Richmond was full of suspected parties,
but never heard of any Of them being
hung as spies. That they were spies the
authorities believed to moral certainty,
but the difficulty was to prove the fact.
When one of these determined men en-
tered the enemy's lines he prepared him
self beforehand with carefully concocted
and plausible tale as to the reason of his
appearance within the lines, and he was
"too fly bird" to carry about his person
any discriminating" documents.
THERE WAS MRS. Won LEW,
now postmistress of Richmond. She did
moro harm to the confederate cause thar
q division of men. She was suspected Of
being strong unionist, and close watch
was kept upon her movements; yet none
of the detectives seem to have enter
tanned the least idea that she was moi
only q spy, but the most dangerous one
of all. Why, even the confederates mus
admire the GOODNESS, courage, and shrewd
ness with which she organized her grape
vine telegraph and by her agents KEEP
Gen. Grant infinitely informed of every
occurrence Of Importance that hap
pened at both Richmond ant
to be retired with tho rank and back pa,
of q captain of scouts. Even at this da,
il is mystery how the numerous fedora
agents in the confederate capital wer
enabled to communicate so freely will
each other and to assist prisoners to 90
oape from strictly guarded prisons. whei
the provost guards and the police and de
tectives were supposed to be CONSTANT,
on the alert Perhaps the solution of tn
matter may DO found in the fact tina
soap" makes things move easily, espe
cially when the general decentralization
caused by the privations of wa
is rampant. 1t is fact nov
we'll known that among the most re
liable and energetic secret agents oil
either side during tho sectional contes
were women of delicate nurture and higl
culture. No danger was too great to b
incurred, no hardship too severe to b.
borne, and no surroundings too unpleas
ant to be cheerfully submitted TO IL the!
could but make a point in aid of thei
cause. Their enthusiasm for tho caus
they championed amounted to positiv
monomaniacal fanaticism. There wa:
however, one advantage
THE FEMALE SECRET SERVICE AGEN
had over her male comrade. Sho was nc
liable to be shot or hung by either side
but long and close imprisonment
appears to me is the very next thing
being hung. Mrs. Surratts case ID not
the point, as she was charged, not wit
being spy. but as an accessory efor
the fact to murder.
have stated that had never heard {
any of the spies confined at Richmon
being hung, but did see two spies hun
on Lees last retreat, or rather saw tho
bodies swinging from the limbs of q tire
by tho roadside little after the exccr
tion had been contaminated. II was th
day before the arrival of Lees broke
army at Farmville. Two mounted pr
Yates, dressed in gray uniforms, rode bac
and forth once or twice throughout th
length Of the retreatinr column and In