The Portland daily press., 1895-08-17

| StfeetS OF daSh6d between the town and
the ever nearing scene of slaughter The
Oldest inhabitant had never seen a
gloomier New Years day The only
persons IN high spirits i'll Murfreesborc
at that time were the prisoners in blue.
Ignoring their hunger and cold, they
Jeered at their guards, sang their own
patriotic camp songs, and shouted when
ever the crash of artil llery seemed heavier
than usual:
"Clear the way. Johnny, the boys in
blue are oomingr'
As night came on the rain ceased, and
a bitter wind blew down from the north,
lnorusting with ice the rutted roads and
freezing the shallow life currents in the
veins of the wounded out on the field.
At O'Clock that evening an ORDERLY
called at the headquarters of the tele-
graph and signal corps and told James
Coleman that he had come to escort him
to the drumhead court martial then as.
sembled at the provost's office to try the
spy, Snow. An assistant judge advocate.
who carried his arm in sling, and q
half dozen other officers, all looking
particularly stern and gloomy, had as
sembled to try the spy. Snow sat in
among them with handouts on his
wrists, and near by were the two SOL
diers who had overheard the prisoner
telling his story to the Pennsylvania in
the barn.
Drumhead courts martial are not dis
tinguished for their fairness or formal.
lty. The charges and specifications were
general and vague, but they were suf-
ficient to show the court that it would
be sought to prove that Snow had acted
as spy for the enemy while in the
Confederate service, and further, that
he had been captured while trying to
desert. Snow was the coolest man in the
room while the charges were being
read, and when asked to plead he an
swered "Not guilty and asked that the
| Pennsylvanlan be brought in to testify in
his behalf
Over this request the officers of the
court held a hurried consultation, but it
| did not take long to show that they
were a unit in voting not to send for the
Yankee. The president expressed his
own view and that Of his friends in this
| way:
I I'VE know what the Federal soldier
said in your behalf 1t may be true, or
1T may not. We are very certain that
he would not hesitate at lie to save
friend. Again, the man is prisoner on
our hands, and we have no power to
compel his presence or authority to re-
celve his evidence if he were here. . Y
| Snow, still the coolest man present,
unless it might be Coleman, urged that
the Union prisoner would be willing to
tell the truth if brought before the court,
and he cited cases where such action
had been taken in other wars.
Had the prisoner been nervous and
excited it would have been in his favor,
but his coolness and intellectual dexter
lty told against him. The two Confed-
crates were examined, and, it should be
sad IN their favor, that they told the
exact truth. Both had seen the prisoner
about headquarters, but they knew moth
ing OF his antecedents-did not even
know his name till after his arrest, and
SO could have no malice in their evil
dence. These witnesses stuck to their
tirst statement, and this Snow, who ex-
amined them in his own behalf, could
not shake. Indeed his efforts, able
though they were, served but to empha-
size the evidence against him.
For the defense James Coleman was
summoned. After being sworn he was
asked his name, age and place of birth.
He responded promptly, but instead of
saying he was born at Portsmouth, O..
he gave it as Transyille, KY, a place
with which he was quite as familiar as
he was with his own home He said
that he first met the prisoner at Corinth,
Miss, about the middle of the previous
May He had been much in company
with him, and they had often talked
over the war and it's prospects. He had
never met more patriotic man thar
Snow. One of the soldiers who had
given evidence against the prisoner he
Coleman knew very we'll. The man
was In the guardhouse at Tupalo the
previous July for theft. but got clear in
the course of the confusion that followed
Bragg's preparations for the invasion of
Kentucky.
Coleman was by all odds the ablest
man present. His cross examination
strengthened his evidence, but this did
not avail. for that court was convened
to convict.
just one hour from the time the trial
began the officers put their heads to-
gether and talked in low tones for
Few minutes Then all nodded and be-
gan nervous coughing. The prisoner
was told to stand up, and he was asked
py the presiding officer what he had to
say in his own behalf.
Although he could not see spark of
hope IN the eyes of the members Of the
court, Snow remained undaunted. He
told his story in way that commanded
admiration and would have carried with
it conviction had not these men been
smarting under the bloody defeat of that
day. They did not cross examine the pris-
oner. As their minds were made up such
proceeding would have been waste of
time. There was no motive that they
could see other than a sense of duty