Evening journal., 1897-01-26
THE STORY UNTRUE.
A Tale of the Late War in
Which Col. Fellows Figured.
TRUE ACCOUNT OF THE INCIDENT

Which Col. Fellows Figured.
TRUE ACCOUNT OF THE INCIDENT
THE FOLLOWING LETTER WILL
PLACE THE NAME OF COLONEL
FELLOWS IN A BETTER LIGHT
WITH THE PUBLIC.
A story Of the late war which may
interest the readers of the Evening
Journal Is here given. IL seems that
a southern newspaper first printed the
story, but +. A. Doyle, Of Brunswick,
Ga, who was adjutant OF the Twenty
third Regiment, North Carolina troops,
during the late conflict. denies the
whole story as a canard. He further
says that he, at the time of the con-
fiict. was a fellow prisoner Of Colonel
Fellows, and gives his version, which
he says is the true one. Addressing
the editor Of the paper which printed
the misquoted story, he says.
Il saw in a recent issue of your
paper a statement that Colonel Eel
lows. while a prisoner at Fort Della
ware, prevented the COnfederates
lutu lHCIt lIOui idhlnE Alt Odlu Ol dl-
legiance to the Federal government
by mounting a barrel and using his
persuasive eloquence upon them. This
statement leads one to reflect upon
the fact that a monstrous misstate-
ment is often made with a very, very
small grain of truth for a foundation.
The Confederate officers imprisoned
at Fort Delaware were not made of
l.. 10 f..rta ff.
forswear their allegiance to their gov
ernment, nor to be moved in such a
momentous matter by the eeloquence of
any one man, however gifted in that
way he might be. The truth Of his
tory requires that a correct state
ment of the facts be given.
After the surrender Of General Lee,
Secretary Stanton issued an order to
the commanding officer at Fort Della
ware to call the roll of the officers
then imprisoned at the fort and
thereby to ascertain how many of
them were willing TO take the oath OF
allegiance to the United States gov
ernment. with a view to their release.
This order provoked a very animated
discussion among the prisoners, part
Of them contending that with the sur
render OF Lee the cause for which
they had fought was lost, and that
they should follow the example of
their great leader and become as soon
as possible again good citizens.
Others contended that Kirby Smith
was still in the field. and there was
yet hope OF establishing a Trans
Mississippi confederacy
Naturally enough, those taking the
latter view were, for the most part,
from those states furthest west,
while the majority of those from Vir-
gnia, the Carolinas, Georgia and
Florida felt that there was no hope of
their states at any rate adhering to
the Lost Cause" as they then con-
sidered It. and indeed that the surren-
der of General Kirby Smith would
take place as soon as the news of Lees
surrender should reach him. As a
matter of course these took the cor
rect and only practical view of the
situation, but for the time it was not
the popular view. The question was
put to each man Of the 1000 or more
prisoners, and as his name was called
each answered aye or no, and the
noes were in a decided majority, and
after the roll-call was over they held
q sort of iolliflcation meeting, al
which Colonel Fellows and others
made speeches enthusiastically ap-
plauded at the time, but seeming la
mentally fiat in the light of events
occurring very soon thereafter
Colonel Fellows peroration was in
these words: Take the OATH No
never! Suppose they tell me that
must remain here till l do? Their
here | will remain till / die! Suppos,
they bid me mount the scaffold? Their
the scaffold will | mount and make it
next the cross, the emblem of mans
redemptlon!'
"The writer was one Of those thai
favored the recognizing of the in
evtable, and as he is now also
national Democrat, he was forcibl,
reminded of Colonel Fellows effort OF
reading Bryan's crown of thorns
climax. both very thrilling but lack
ing solid foundation, for within tel
days after the crowd was electrified b,
reading his defiant speech, Colone
Fellows and many others expressinj
these views were released on specia
application, while the majority o
those who differed with him quietl,
remained in prison till a general re
lease was ordered some six week
later. We, at least, escaped the NOR
tification of asking tho privilege o
taking the oath. We knew that it hal
to come. but we did not break on
necks in mad haste to make a specia
application. Not that ] am blamin
Colonel Fellows or others who acte
in the same way. Recognizing tina
the end had come, IL made very littl
difference about a little sooner. or
little later, but never was there a bel
ter illustration of how men may some
times take extreme views under IN
influence of a mistaken public oplnio
than in the incidents that ocourre
within those prison walls. which hay
never, ] believe, been before narrate
in print.