National Republican., 1885-08-06

at the point they intended to break out
TO freedom. The escape was planned to
take place during my tour Of duty, and
had il succeeded would have been cash.
tered as sure as fate. The sympathy
with deserters, shown in this case by
men of the battalion, caused much
anxiety among the officers from that
time forward, though no such occurrence
took place afterward, possibly because
the officers were sleeplessly vigilant and
only trusted the men when they could
not avoid it.
STARVATION AND MUTINY.
1t was in the latter part of February,
1866, that the men of some OF the
brigades in the trenches were virtually
in state Of mutiny on account of priva.
ton and hardships which had become
almost insupportable. The integrity of
the organization Of the army required
that any overt act of mutiny should be
punished with the strong hand. But
though the fire did not bl ze out II was
nevertheless smoldering there. And so
it happened that one night sentinel on
duty at the government flour mills which
were located on the canal in the Bland.
ford suburb, and not more than half
mile from Gen. Lees headquarters,
rushed into the quarters of Capt. Charles
A. Davidson, commandant Of the
prison, and informed him that the guards
at the mills, except himself, had been
overpowered and captured by body of
armed men who were then engaged in
plundering the mills of their contents.
Davidson hastily called out the reserve
at the prison (some twenty or thirty mem
and marched them down to the mills.
There he saw crowd of some two or
three hundred armed men, part OF
whom were drawn up in regular order
to protect the remainder who were
busily engaged in bringing out sacks oil
meal and flour or filling haversacks
for easy transportation. When David.
son approached within twenty yards oi
the line its leader stepped out and or
dered him to halt his men or take the
consequences. All the rioters were
masked or disguised. Davidson in
quired, "What does all this mean2" ''lt
MEANS" said the leader" ''that we in
tend to takeithese provisions. We will
starve on the lines no longer.
Davidson implored the men to re
place the sacks aud return to theii
camps in peace. ii, oil them it wa'
his duty to protect the government prop
erty, and he intended to do SO as long ai
he had life, and that they were simply
putting their necks in a halter. Ate
some further palaver he posted o hal
dozen men at the door Of the mill, direct
ing them to let no one pass carrying
sack, but to take no notice Of the others
He then stepped up to the leader of tn
men in the line, which was evel
then dwindling away, for the mutineer
began to realize the gravity of their siua
ton, and arrested him without even draw
ing his revolver. A dozen or so other
who persisted in standing by their leade
were also arrested, none of them olierinl
any resistance.
Within ten minutes after the appear
ance Of the guard the last of the rioters
save those arrested, had skunk off an,
none too soon, for shortly aiterward Gen
Lees headquarter cavalry battalion cam
laundering up at full gallop, with a sec
ton of artillery behind them; this fore
having fortunately been met with while o
the march near the city by one of the pro
vost marshal's couriers, who eXpaine
the situation to the commander. How
ever, the mutineers succeeded in gettin
! away with large amount of flour i
their haversacks, and don't think an
5 ofthem were ever brought to punishment
> not even the ring leaders.
, The affair was hnshed up as soon q
possible and the newspapers did M
{ mention word of it, possibly at the RI
5 quest of the authorities. Itmay well
imagined from the above that vetera
t soldiers must have been suffering cruell
1 before they could bring themselves
. commit 30 gross breach of discipline.
! i have purposely refrained from mer
, tioning the brigadcs from which thes
men were assembled, for the reason tbs
when the final tug came they stood upt
, bravely us the bravest. No doubt I'll
+ mutineers had become nervously pro
trated for the moment from watching an
. fasting, and were for the moment ten
3 porarily insane. The men Of Lees arm
| look bacl, with anything bat friend
} feelings to the authorities whose duty
was to strnjn every nerve to clothe m
t feed them. THOMAS j. MURRAY.