St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-01-17
Prepared Exclusively for the st. Paul
Sunday Globe" Prom Entirely
Original Sources.
An Old Soldier Relates an Incident Con-
nected With Braggs Raid
Into Kentucky.
How a Slave Kept Guard Overa Young
confederate and Gained
His Liberty.
Ladies Whose Friendly Interest Was
Turned to Scorn--A Troop
of Horse.

VI course IL IS Il matter OF history Llat
Bragg entered Kentucky from Tennessee
in that month; that he and Buell. raced
across the state; that Bragg defeated the
inadequate force defending Lexington, and
occupied that city; that Buell. threw him
self between his adversary and Louisville.
and that the battle Of PeTyville was fought.
1t is not 50 generally known, however
that the approach Of Heth's Confederate
division 1.-THE advance Of Bragg's auny)
toward Cincinnati caused a tremendous
panic. The movement was wholly unex-
pected and the city wholly unprepared for
it. There were but few troops but the
very day that | arrived Gen. Lew Wal
lace had taken command and estab-
lished headquarters, and he at once pro-
claimed martial law. There were i'm the
city great many copperheads secession
list sympathiZers and doubtless active Con-
federates. One of the officers Of Bragg's
army told me quite recently that he visited
the city after the war on a business errand.
and was entertained at the house of a we'll
known resident. The wife of this gentle
man treated him rather colby because, as
he supposed, of his having fought on the
Southern side. After a while TO his great
surprise, she said size had found it hard to
greet him kindly because he had not taken
the city in 1862 and
BURNED EVERY HOUSE.
Gen Wallace issued perfectly compre-
hensive and epgrammatic order. 1t was
Flight or Dig" The citizens Of Cincinnati,
said he, shall help save their own city. If
they cannot or will not shoulder muskets.
why, by heavens. they shall work i'm the
trencheS-and they did. Hundreds of
prominent residents who, like the newly
arrived lrishman. were "agin the govern
ment," were set to work on the fortiiica-
tions hastily thrown up on the Kentucky
side of the river. Men poured in, too,
from the rural Ohio, from Indiana. and
elsewhere; and soon there were 60, 900 of
them, militia, imprOvsed troops, squirrel
hunters" and the like, handling either the
rife or the pick and shovel. POntOOn bridges,
hastily constructed of coal barges, were
thrown across the Ohio; and, in fact, every
thing possible was done TO prepare for the
expected attack.
AS | said, | arrived the evening Of the
very day on which Gen. Wallace took com
mand and the first acquaintance ! met IN
the street early next morning was Mr.
Rufus King. He could hardly wait to
shake hands, but would have me 90 with
him, post-haste, to Wallace's headquarters.
General" said he, there is the very
man we want-a cavalry officer" The
general wasted little time in greetings or
preliminaries. He had
NO MOUNTED FORCE,
he said, and sorely needed one for reconnois-
sances We speedily arranged matters
and l set out to organize the company
which l was empowered to raise, equip and
command. 1t had become known that |
wanted good horsemen, and numbers of
young gentlemen with whose fathers or
families | was acquainted applied promptly
TO me. / accepted thirty or forty of them,
and the rest of the eighty embryo troopers
whom l had ready to be sworn into the ser
vice at o'clock p. m. were stalwart young
rough riders, hardy and plucky. picked up
in stables, on the streets and wherever 1
could find them. The stable-keepers lent
me great aid in this. A capital youngster
from Boston, Williams by name, who was
in Cincinnati on business. aided me i'm re-
cruiting and became one of my lieutenants.
Before the afternoon of that day my com
mand was enrolled, sworn into service.
mounted, equipped, armed and off across
the pontoOn bridge for a scout into Ken
lucky. l am not, however, writing history
of the general doings of this fOrce-which
was eventually 500 strong and of much ser
vice-but single curious episode of one of
our raids.
After a preliminary reconnaissance was
ordered to report to a general officer who
had come to assist in the defensive opera
tons, and who, to my mind, is one of the
best and bravest men that ever wore shout
der-straps-I mean A. j. Smith. He was
then, / should think, about ~ years old.
and looked older than he really was. lie
cared nothing for appearances, but he was
FIGHTING MAN
''frOm the crown Of his head to the sole Of
Ia /
Oh an important duty, in the performance
of which, ] may mention, we succeeded in
getting well to the rear of Heths column.
l had strict orders to look out for any Con-
federates, and these orders 1 meant to carry
out; SO we kept sharp watch and searched
all dark corners and back roads as we swept
TO the southwark.
One day we approached large and
stately mansion, standing, OF course, some
distance back from the road, with the usual
outbuildings. 1 halted the troop and sent
an officer and two men to see if there were
any of our Southern friends in the house.
When they had reached the entrance l saw
a colored man, evidently a house-Servant.
standing in an outbuilding and gesticuating
most earnestly, pointing in the direction of
the house and making strenuous efforts to
attract and retain our attention. In due
time my officers returned and reported that
there were no COnfederates in the house.
i felt some doubts on this score, and / could
easily see that these doubts were shared bv
the more intelligent of my men. There
was no mstaking the eaTneStness of our con-
traband friend, and had strong impression
as TO his meaning. Accordingly went nv
self to the house and was admitted. To my
astOnishment there came to greet me a ven
cradle lady, the widow Of an old Kentucllian
of great note in his day-a man of wealth
and culture. She was accompanied by two
other ladies'; all these were well known to
me- and had been on
TERMS OF INTIMACY
with them in former DAYS. when no wars
and rumors of wars were distracting fine
country. The elderly lady greeted me effu-
Sively. She was surprised and delighted To
see me. How was /? and my good father
and my mother? 1t was so pleasant to see
me! | must sit down and tell them of the
welfare of mutual friends. This reception
was rather embarrassing. but | REPLIED 70
their questions as best l could and i'm dine
time told them that | was ordered TO ascer
tain if there were any COnfederates i'm the
vicinity or in that house. They said with
great readiness and apparent frankness that
there were none at all under their roof; that
''sOme gentlemen from Arkansas had
been there a while previously, but had
gone away. I said that their assurances
on this point was very gratifying. but that
of course only as a matter of form-I
should be compelled to ask them to let me
search the house. In moment all was
changed. Their interest in me and mine
disappeared i'm the twinkling of an eye,
add the walls of wrath were poured on my
devoted head. / was miserable villain,
renegade, a traitor TO nv own blood.