The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1893-02-09

and then mounted their horses and rode off,
| while one of them proclaimed with loud voice
1 THAT is the way to treat all the Yankee SOL
diers who left the South to fight for Abe Lin
| coln."
These men were killed in August and Sep
! tember 1864. Another son of Levi Guy was
4 killed in the month of February, 1865 He
was captured at his home, together with a
young man who had been scouting in the
! mountains with him for some time. They
were taken off about 10 miles to an old house.
/ where the rebels tied their hands behind them
/ and hung them up to joist. The blood-thirsty
1 wretches then
! BEAT THESE MEN WITH THEIR GUNS,
and broke their arms and several of their ribs
while they were struggling in the agonics of
death. These two men were hung about dark,
and the next morning some women who were
going TO feed their cattle discovered their dead
! bodies hanging in the old house. They were
/ hung on the edge of North Carolina, on the
main road leading from Jefferson to Taylors
vile. A man by the name of John Tilley also
fell a victim TO Bill Parker's vengeance, and
was sayageiy murdered in the following man
ner: lilly had been scouting for some time
and one of his twin children was taken vio-
/ lently i'll. and was not expected to live. He
had come TO the house to see his child and was
nursing il in his lap when Parker and his gang
/ of murderers rode up. He laid his child down
/ and went out into the yard and surrendered,
when Parker drew out his pistol and shot at
/ him. giving him a severe wound in the head.
! He was now convinced that they intended to
Kill him. and asked them only to allow him
/ few minutes to pray. But they returned him
/ no answer, and continued to shoot at him. The
/ poor fellow now turned to run, but he soon fell
! TO the ground, his body having been pierced
/ through with 10 balls. His wife now ont
toward her murdered husband, screaming and
crying with wild aud frantic agony. when one
OF these incarnate devils siezed hold of his gun
and knocked her down by the side of the dead
husband. His little children cried and begged
for their father all the time; but as we'll might
/ they have raised their tiny hands and feeble
/ voices to calm the raging storm in its mad
career as 10 endeayor to stop this gang of rebel
/ demons in their bloody work. After waiting
until their victim had breathed his last these
man -slayers went on their way, laughing at the
1 terrible misery they had left behind them and
/ looking forward in search of more human
! blood.
! They next met with three men who were
! entire strangers to them on Laurel Creek, some
six miles from TaylOrsville. They at once
captured these men, and after tying their hands
behind their back they then tied them all
/ three together. They then marched them on
/ for q short distance and stopped and shot them
! down in the woods and rode careleSsly on, leav-
! ing the bodies of their murdered victims to be
| consumed by the buZZards and hogs. The bodies
/ of these men were found several days after they
were killed by seme men who were scouting in
J the mountains When they approached the
place where their bodies were lying a gang of
I hogs were devouring them, and they did not
know that the hogs were eating human flesh
! until they went up to the place where they
! were fighting over the remains of these poor
murdered men. The men who found their
! bodies proceeded to search their pockets, think
/ ing that they might find something by which
! they would be enabled to identify them, but
! they found nothing but small Bible in one of
] their pockets, in which the name of its former
owner was written. The mans name that was
( written in the Bible was Latter. He was a
/ Methodist preacher from North Carolina, and
/ he and his companions were
ENDEAvoRING TO GET THROUGH THE LINES,
when they were unfortunately captured by the
/ rebels in Johnson County. The men who acci-
! dentally found their remains buried the parts
of their bodies that had not been devoured by
/ the hogs. They will rest quietly in the pro-
found stiffness of their lonely graves until the
1 loud trump of the Archangel shall sound, when
they will rise to meet their infamous MUIR
| derers at the bar of the great Judge of the
/ universe, who seeth not as man seeth, and
who cannot look upon sin with the least degree
! of allowance"
! In the month of November 1864, the Home
/ Guards of Johnson County captured man by
/ the name of William Church. who was coas-
script, and was scouting in the mountains at
the time he was caught They made him run
/ before their horses for about mile through
the creeks branches, and mud holes when
they halted and told him they were going to
! kill him. He commenced begging them to
/ spare his life, and told them that he would
/ Immediately 90 into the Southern army if they
| would not kill him. But as well might he
| have attempted to stay the earthquake as to try
| by any sort of pteous importantly to dissuade
his murderers from taking his life. One of his
| captors replied Il do not wish to guard you,
! and therefore / think it would be the best
! policy TO kill you" Another said to him ::
You shall be killed, for / want your clothes.
! ! should consider myself at any time well paid
/ for killing Lincolnite by getting his hat and
/ boots"
| This poor supplicating prisoner was now
| convinced of the hardened and reckless char
acter of the ruffians into whose hands he had
/ fallen; he knew that they intended to kill
| him, and he fell on his knees and commenced
/ praying One of the rebels then raised his
! gun and shot him while he was on his knees.
! The gun was held 80 close to his body that his
| clothes were badly burned where the bullet
struck him; and when he was found. the
| buttons that had been on his shirt and vest
| were lying loose upon MS OreaSt just Wnere
| they had been burned off his clothes. The
| fend who shot him took his hat, coat, and
/ boots as fee for killing him.
| The foregoing are but few out of very
! many similar cases of horrible murders which
| were perpetrated upon innocent men by the
rebel Home Guards of Johnson County. l
could extend this chapter much farther by
relating the sckening details of number of
| other foul murders, where men were unfor-
tunstely captured and shockingly massacred
| by the base aud vile rebel monsters who styled
themselves The Home Guards of Johnson
County" But presume the reader is aread y
/ tired OF pernsing the history of such human
depravity as was displayed by the rebels who
/ participated in the terrible murders ! have
alluded TO in the present chapter. l will
| therefore refrain from pursuing the disagree.
! able subject further.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
During the Summer and Fall of 1864 not less
| than 100 dwelling houses were burned belong
ing TO the Union people of Carter and Johnson
Counties. aud the most Of them were occupied
by the families of men who were serving
as soldiers in the Federal army, men who
had not seen their homes for number oi
months. Old Bill Parker was at the head OF
all this dreadful mischief. The lower part OF
Carter and Johnson Counties were thronged
with women and children who had been driven
away from their homes and all their property
destroyed by this old miscreant. Many OF