The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-12-31
WAR OFFICE SECRETS
MYSTERIOUS MEN AND WOMEN WHO
SUPPLIED INFORMATION.
Large Sums Paid During the War for
Secret servfce-Accounts Never
Audited-sIillions Paid to Agents.

pa-tment there Is jealously- guarded col
lection OF accounts and vouchers which
have not been, and probably never will be.
transmitted to the proper accounting off,
Ger OF the treasury for settlement. al
though the law requires that "all accounts
whatever in which the United States are
concerned, either as debtors or creditors,
shall be settled and adjusted In the De-
partment OF the Treasury" The accounts
In question show payments made by prom
inent officers of the army for secret sery-
ices during the last two years Of the war,
and the subsequent reconstruction period.
In the earlier part of the war the serv-
ices Of spies and other secret agents en-
ployed by the military authorities were
paid for either from the appropriation for
incidental expenses of the quartermaster's
department or from the appropriation for
contingencies Of the army, the former be-
Ing under the immediate control Of the
Quartermaster-general, and the latter un-
der the sole control Of the Secretary of
War; But as the var progressed the de-
mands growing out Of the employment of
spies. etc., became so great as to call for
q special appropriation, which was desig-
mated the secret service fund. Unlike other
appropriations, this fund was expended
at the discretion Of the officers to whom
1t was advanced. without regard to the
rules and regulations governing the dis
bursement of public moneys in general
found that many officers of rank. among
whom were Sheridan, Thomas, Candy,
Schenck and other well-known generals.
as they had receiverd large advances from
the secret service fund, but had not rem
dered any accounts to the treasury The
r-xx~ 49, e-t>@ tad hot nc
receiving public moneys which they We're
not authorized to retain as salary should
render monthly accounts, and that such &C
counts, with vouchers necessary TO the cor
rect and prompt settlement thereof, after
being examined in the bureau to which
they pertained, should be passed to the
for adjustment
AS a matter of fact it was known that
most of the officers above referred TO had
the War Department, where they were
held by order Of the Secretary of War as
confidential records too important to be
treated as mere accounts. 1t was also
known that they had not been properly ex-
amined. The Second Auditor Che late r..
b. French), to whom these accounts should
have been sent, was fully aware OF their
peculiar nature, and was not anxious TO
have in his custody a mass of documents
containing explosive material, which. in
the hands of careless or leaky clerks,
might shatter the regulations or sundry
people In the Southern States, or at least
very seriously compromise them.
At the same time he desired that the &C
counts should be formally balanced and
closed on the books of his office, not only
as matter of business, but also as ar an
who were placed in the anomalous position
of being in default to the treasury for pub
lie moneys which they had duly accounted
for to the War Department. The Auditor,
therefore, with the concurrence of the Sec
ord Controller Informed the Secretary of
War that the rendition to the treasury of
f-SQrvfce accounts and vouchers would
not be insisted upon, but that all such ac-
counts would be settled on the certificate
satisfactorily accounted for. This PROPOSE
ton met with the approval of the Secre-
tary of War, but 1t was several years be-
fore the necessary certificates were forth
coming, only one or two trusted en-
ployes being permitted to handle the pa
pers. 7ecrr rl1s
RESULT OF AN EXAMINATION. =
An examination Of the accounts showed
that in some instances the services paid for
we're Of a nature so secret that it was not
deemed prudent to give any clew to the
persons who performed them, and in such
cases the vouchers merely disclose the fact
that on certain dates so many dollars.
usually good, round sums were disbursed
for secret services. But in the great ma
jority Of cases there are formal receipts,
and that is just what makes the accounts
interesting as secret records, not only Of the
war Of the rebellion, but also of the period
when the seeding States were in process
Of reconstruction; for large sums we're paid
out for secret service long after the sur
render at Appomattox. OF course, many OF
the persons employed were ordinary scouts,
whose names would be of small consequence
to themselves and of no interest to the
public.
secret agents. who, if their names were
published, even at this late day, with a
statement of how much they were paid
and what 1t was paid for, would find them
selves unpleasantly situated. There was
one instance in which the role. of Benedict
Arnold was successfully played by rebel
brigader," who sent his wife under cover
of darkness to the headquarters of one of
our armies, with proposal that for $1,000
he would, at a specified time. so dispose
his force that 1t could be captured without
trouble. The offer was accepted, and at
the proper time our troops marched to the
appointed place and neatly gobbled the
brigadier's entire command. These details,
1t is perhaps needless to say, do not appear
in the secret service accounts, but they
we're given to me by the officer who paid
the money and saw the bargain consum-
In addition to scouts and spies regularly
employed at fixed rates OF compensation
there was large contingent of volunteer
spies, who found their way to our head
quarters at all times between tattoo and
reveille with intelligence of more or less
Importance. and who were rewarded accord
ing to the nature and estimated trust
worthiness of their disclosures. A staff
officer, who disbursed the secret service
fund for his chief. told me some years ago
that ali sorts of queer-looking customers,
including the intelligent contraband of that
period. used to visit his tent after dark
with orders that ran something like this:
Capt. Stars: Pay the bearer $50 for secret
services. ]. STRIPES M. G. Comdg."
IL the bearer; as sometimes happened,
was too shy to give his name no receipt
was taken-the generals order being good
enough for the captain, especially as the
former was Officially responsible for the
money The same officer also told me that
the most active and reliable spy he ever
encountered was woman, who. for long
time, piled her risky occupation success
fully. But, like some men similarly en-
gagged she ventured once too often. and
learned to her cost that martial law which
DEGREES that 1.-The spy is punishable with
death by hanging by the neck" is no re-
specter of sex. Early one morning when
our troops were making an important move
ment in consequence of intelligence brought
in by the female spy the previous night
they found her body dangling from the
bough of a tree.
A NOTEWORTHY CASE.
One OF the most noteworthy cases con-
nected with army secret service Is that of
a foreigner who. IT is said, was educated
in an imperial military institution in his ma
tive country, and took part in the Crimean
war. Having examined all the documents