Mexico weekly ledger., 1896-04-02


less and innocent Conf ederates in the
old Capitol, and, realizing what ter
rible deed it would be for n mob to
hang, shoot or kill 800 or 400 help
less men on the streets ofWashington,
who were innocent of any completely
in the assassination of Mr.. Lincoln,
procured the services of two or three
friends to hold the mob in hand by
speaking until he could see Secretary
Stanton and provide some means, if
possible, to protect the prisoners
from the rage of the mob. His friends
God bless them, whoever they were
and wherever they are-responded
promptly, mounted box on the
streets and addressed the mob. When
one had said all he could say, another
followed him, and so on, occupying
half an hour, perhaps an hour, thus
giving General Smith time to see Mr..
Stanton.
General Smith went, or, rather, ran,
to the war office, rushed in and found
that Mr.Stanton's private office door
was locked. He knocked again and
again, without a response. Finally
General Smith made himself known,
and was admitted. He says that
Stanton was overcome with excite
ment, was armed, and without doubt
greatly frightened. General Smith
told him briefly of what was going on
in the streets and begged for troops
to protect the unarmed prisoners
from the mob. Mr.. Stanton told him
"to do as he thought best" General
Smith left in run, soon found a bat
TALON of troops in the streets, took
charge of them, rushed them to the
Capitol, arriving just in time to place
them between its walls and the en-
ragged mob-just in time to save from
terrible death some 800 or 900 help
less Confederate prisoners.
During the night the prisoners sus-
pected that something unusual was
going on, though they had not the
slightest idea of what it was. Guards
were doubled, troops were marching,
horses galIoping all night, all of which
they could hear. Next morning at
daylight we were told by the guard
that Mr.. Lincoln had been shot at
Ford's Theater and was dead; that
Mr.. Stewards throat had been cut and
he was dying; that mob was Oh
hand to destroy us. We looked out
through the windows and saw files OF
soldiers with fixed bayonets, artillery
unlimbered in the streets and loaded,
cavalry with drawn sabers, and a mob
whose very look was appalling.
Our feelings can be imagined, but
they cannot be described. The writer
of this went out in the gray light of
the morning in the back yard to get
some water at the pump, but he could
not drink. He tried to wash his face
and hands, but he could not. He sat
down on an old trough, placed his head
in his hands, and sat there, absorbed
in thought and weeping, until friend
touched him on the shoulder and ask
ed him what was the matter.
The mob fingered about the prison
several hours before it broke. Its
dispersion lifted load from the
bosomS-orthheeprt prtsG1e t4sa s,1.
Weighted them down to the ground.
On the Sunday following the prison
ers left for Johnston's Island Lake
Erie, where they were kept until
grim -visaged war had smoothed its
wrinkled front in all parts of the Con-
federate States.
To General Green Clay Smith, then
Representative in Congress from
Kentucky, temperance candidate for
President in 1876, at present pastor of
the Baptist Church in Mount Sterling,
KY, and a gentleman of the noblest
impulses and finest nature, the Con-
federate prisoners in the old Capitol
at Washington on April IA, 1860, are
indebted for their lives. But for his
exertions they would have suffered
the most horrible death - death by
hanging, shooting and burning by an
infuriated mob. There were not a
thousand men in Washington that
night who would have done as Gen
eral Smith did. May God bless him
and his through all time and eternity.
The above paper, read by Capt. c.
l