Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1889-09-19

George Sloan 2? demanded the Colonel,
while the crowd at once increased.
No, sir, not the one | mean, and l
| don believe there are two of them.
do you mean the George Sloan of
Company H, Seventh Arkansas, l quietly
asked.
Il do
'sWeIl, you forget faces very quickly.
You are Lieutenant Hatfield. formerly my
orderly sergeant. You left US a year
ago.
Eyes, that's correct, - he said, in an I'M
certain way; but | can't believe you are
| George Sloan.
gave the name of the Colonel of the
regiment, those of several sergeants and
corporals of the company, and gave the
present location of the regiment. For
tundtely for me it was not in Jackson.
''Well, you are dead right, said the
Lieutenant, but there s something mighty
queer about this.
Take him to the guardhouse until I can
investigate further" ordered Colonel
Lount, and, presto change, | was on the
road to the gallows.
In the presence of an enemy a spy gets
speedy trial for his life Within an
hour, Colonel Lount sent for me- His
face was hard and his voice stern as he
said:
You are accused of being a Yankee
spy"
hour. | quietly replied.
''How?"
Take me to General Johnston"
Il was about to do so. What can you
prove by him?''
4 can detail every word of our con-
versatiOn before | set out for Vicksburg"
Johnston was then with his chief engi-
neer establishing a new line two or three
miles away and the Colonel could not have
taken me to him. | did not know this,
however, until afterward
''Do you know any citizen of the town."
asked the colonel, after pause.
Eyes, sir; | know David Oldfelds, John
Hampton and William Rich have
lodged with Rich several nights. =
"Oh, you have. Sergeantr'
He stepped to the door and called to a
Sergeant who was just then passing with
a squad of men; as the officer halted and
saluted he continued:
Take this man under guard and see If
ne can lead yot to the house of William
Rich. If he can, see if the people can
identify him as George Sloan. Have him
describe the interior of the house and con-
duct you to the bedroom he occupied. F"
Had | not pumped the captured rebel
scout of these very particulars | should
have been in a nice fix. ! had identified
the house that very day, and so when the
Sergeant took me in charge made no mis-
take In leading him directly to the dwell
ing.
''You are right, " he said. as he halted
at the gate. Nov describe the rooms -
This front door opens into a hall,
which runs back into a dining room. The
stairs are on your left, the parlors on your
right Back of the dining-room is the
kitchen. Up stairs there are only two
rooms, front and back. | slept in the
front room. 1t has a green carpet on the
floor. Opposite the bed is picture of an
old English castle and grounds. On the
wall at the foot of the bed is a picture of
the cruciixiOn. "
THAT pretty glib, but we'll see about
it, he answered, as we advanced and
knocked at the door.
1t was opened by a woman, whom I
knew to be Mrs. Rich, and | called her by
name and passed the time O day. She
looked hard at me for a minute, and |
thought she was going to deny my pres
elCb. Dul dllbE ii Ul1ll6 she SAID:
''Oh, yes, you are one of the soldiers
whom William has brought home with
him. Yes, | recall your face now. What
name, please?"
''SlOan, ma 'am-George Sloan"
''Oh, certainly. And what is the trou-
ble?"
MY friends here seemed in doubt that
| ever lodged here"
ETTbav did Wbyv Of co,,,.ea x1o,, l,o1,o
Il want to see the front bedroom up
stairs, observed the sergeant, and he was
told to go right up. When he came down
he had good natured look on his face,
and as he walked away he asked:
"What is the old man driving at, any
way?"
"a half-drunl1en officer who couldn t
see straight denied that l was George
Sloan, > | replied.
Il see. If you were not Sloan you
must be somebody elsa Yankee spy,
perhaps?"
That's it.
And the Colonel would have stood you
up for target within half an hour"
When he had made his report the Colo
mel seemed a bit disappointed for a
moment, perhaps having made up his
mind that a shooting match was to come
off. He rallied, however, and after con-
graduating me turned me loose and order
ed me to report next morning. That
night at o'clock | passed out through
the lines and made bee line for Sherman
headquarters. Next day. when he opened
fire with all his artillery, he knew all the
weak points in Johnston's line.
1t was three years after the war that l
got the last chapter of my adventure.
When the inebriated Lieutenant sobered
up he pushed the case against me. de-
claring his belief that | was not George
Sloan. As luck would have it a Con-
federate prisoner escaped from Vicksburg
and brought in the news that Sloan was
there, and then Colonel Lount had hot
hunt for me. | had been gone for hours,
however, and they looked in vain. In his
chagrin at being duped he caused the ar
rest of about a dozen civilians who were
camp followers. and in his zeal to make
amends for one blunder he convicted a
good Confederate of being a Yankee spy
and had him hung.
Hpusekeenino of tbe Future