The National tribune., 1885-03-12

J
/ tanooga. he had not been debarred this privi-
| lege But in this and one other particular. to
| be narrated later, the rebels used our soldiers
with less show of justice than had been accord
ed to Andrews himself.
After three or four Of our number had
been tried, one of our lawyers read to us the
| plea, which he said he had read after the
| trial of each man, and would continue to
read. 1t appeared to me to be paper of great
| ability, and | cannot conceive how it could be
successfully answered. Judge Advocate General
| Holt officially speaks of it as This just and
unanswerable presentation OF the case 1t
was contended that our being dressed in citi-
zens clothes instead of Federal uniforms which
was the only unmiltary incident in the whole
history ought not to weigh against MS, because
this nothing more than the Confederate
! Government had expressly authorized in the
| case of their own soldiers, and that making
war without uniform was practiced by all the
guerrillas in the Confederate scrvice,-by some
| from necessity and by Others because they
were thus able better to escape detection, and
! infict more damage upon the enemy. special
| instance was cited in which Gen Morgan had
! dressed a detachment of his partisans in Fed
| erai uniform, and passed them Oft as belonging
/ TO the Sth Pa. Cav, by which means he had
succeeded in reaching and damaging railroad
within the Federal lines. Some of these very
men were captured by the Federal Government,
aud were, up to the present, held as prisoners
of war. To decide that we were spies because
we were captured without our uniform would
not only provoke retaliation, but establish a
| principle far more dangerous to the Confederate
| than to the Federal forces. 1t was urged that
we had stated the object of our expedition,
which was purely military one, and as such
entirely within the laws of war. No evidence
! had been adduced to show that we were other
| than what we claimed. The plea closed by
| asking what good purpose could be served by
! Sup tpiu q n
! brave men on a charge which had been con-
cluSively diSproved by the evidence, and which
| every member of the court knew to be really
untrue. We not spies in fact, and to call
us such against heir convictions and on merely
| technical and constructive grounds, would be
as unwiSe as it was cruel. The plea did not
embrace one argument which added very much
| to our hopefulness, and which our lawyers con-
| Sidered likely to have great weight with the
! court, though they dared not formally state it.
| Mcclellan had not yet been repulSed before
| Richmond, and the collapse of the rebellion
seemed imminent The same rigid construction
which was necessary to make us spies would
asSuredly render them all liable to the punish
! ment of treason, and they were not in posi-
| ton TO make it prudent to invoke the utmost
| seventies and extreme penalties of the laws of
| war. AS | glance back over the lapse of 20
years it still seems to me strange that the decis-
| ion of the cOurt-marta in our favor could
| have been for moment doubtful. But, alas
reason and sound Judgment do not always rule
| in human affairs. Though we knew it not
| then, the life of every man in that Knoxville
prison was trembling in the balance.
| For one whole week-seven days-the trials
went on, the same forms being used in the case
| of each man, who was taken out for an hour
| and returned knowing nothing of his sentence.
| having heard no pleading against himself, and
| being treated in no sense differently after his
trial. On the seventh day we read that Gen.
| Mitchell had advanced to Chattanooga and was
Smelling the town across the river, and also,
! that the Federal Gen. Morgan was advancing
from Cumberland Gap and threatening Knox
vile. We frequently hoped that the latter
! would settle the question of our fate by cap
| turing the town while we were still in it. This
! would have done away with all further per-
| plexity as to the decision of the court-martial
| This advance did prevent all further trials.
! The officers OF the court were hurried OFT
| to their regiments to resist the enemy. From
| the newspapers, which some prisoners managed
| to obtain every day, and then loaned or read TO
all the others, we were kept well informed as
| to the progress of events. Some of the
! intelligence they brought thrilled us to
! our souls More than week before this
| we read of the escape of Andrews and
| Wollam from the Chattanooga prison. We
| greatly rejoiced, believing firmly that our
! leader would be sure to get to our lines, and
then use all his influence to secure some form
| of help for u.s. The news of his recapture
Overthrew all these hopes and filled us with
anxious apprehension, although We were igno-
rant of his being sentenced TO death. OF the
| fate of Woilam nothing was stated.
But more terrible blow III store. One
| day a newspaper was silently passed up TO our
cage by some friend outside, and, glancing at
| it, the first thing that arrested our attention
was an account of the execution Of ARdrews!
| With equal silence we sent it into the other
cage. just before this deadly intelligence came
we had been engaged i'll story telling and in
various games for we were always merry, re-
fusing to indulge in gloomy forebodings. But
| this was the sudden opening of an awful gulf
at our feet All noise and merriment were
! suspended, and we passed the whole day in
mourning. We could not talk to our guards
as lightly as we had done before, for there was
! now blood between AS. We all loved Andrews
and would have undergone any peril TO save
| him, but there was no possibility now even of
vengeance. aud, although his fate was gov
erned by different principles from ours, we
! could not help feeling more distrustful of our
! own position.
An extra guard, bearing a great number of
ropes, came in the morning after the last tlia
and we were called out of our cages. This was
! startling as We had no hint of their purpose
and the word was even passed around that we
were all to be taken out and hanged immedl-
ately. But one of the outside prisoners found
an opportunity to inform us that he had over
heard the commander saying that he was to
remove us to prevent our capture in case of a
sudden Federal dash upon Knoxville This
convinced that we were only to have an
other of our frequent changes of prisons.
| In our cages here we had not been ironed
aud our letters had been used on some pris-
Oners sent to Richmond, we were now Obliged
! to content ourselves with most liberal allow
! ance of cotton rope. 1t was this provision for
! tying US which at first excited our apprehen-
siOns
While we were being securely bound ! had
an amusing passage-at words with the Adu-
tant who was experimenting that operation
/ said to him, as politely as | could
II suppose, sir our destination is not
known"
at is not known to you at any rate, SIR"
was the gruf reoinder.
This was noticed by the whole party and /
felt rather beaten; but moment later came
my chance for revenge He turned again to
me, and said, in a dictatOral manner
"Who was it that run your engine through?"
bowed and returned in the bandest tone,
" That is not ka0Wn 10 y0u at any rate SIR"
All the prisoners around roared with laugh
ter, and the Adjutant, reddening to the eyes,
the engineer myself!
When the process Of tying was completed to
the Adjutants satisfaction we took our DEPART
ure southwark, and passed through Chatta-
nooga once more, but, TO our satisfaction did
not stop there. We continued southwark in
the direction of Atlanta. No rations were