The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1897-11-19


earth. He lived near \ Jenna On Pain
River Rock, fifteen miles from NY
fathers home. and of course l,ne"
the roadH and paths and trails through
out this section, and the lost ferries
on tle Tennessee. He was invaluable
as a guide to the MON soldiers. lie
| knew Buck Island, too, as will appear
and what l am about to relate is only
one OF the maay bloody deeds of this
bloody villain.
My witness is G. l. Hardcastle, who
now lives near Gurley's, a station Oh
the Memphis and Charleston Railroad
Few men have had such thrilling
experience as this man, and fewer
would wish to repeat it.
| | knew the Rodens. all of whom
We're killed. and the fact of their muir,
der is well known 10 everyone in and
| about this section.
As HardcastIe was also shot. and
| lefs for dead, and survived this fright
| full ordeal, | hunted him up in 1892.
| and had him write he his story. 1t
is this:
ION the 2lst of Der, 1863, |
was at home on furlough. Ny peo-
! pie ut that time were living in Marshall
! county, Ala bama, on the northern
side OF The Tennessee River. About
ten days before the expiration of my
| leave of A6 ,ence wn we're alarmed by
| the suduea 4pF, -.,... ~ / neigh
'borhOOd of the notorious Den Harris
and his gang of marauders. Knowing
| that if we were caught we would pro-
| liability share the fate of many others
| who had been killed by this murderer.
| /, together with James II. Roden T.
| NJ. Rodeu and Porter Roden, sought
| refuge III Buck Island, where Ben
| Roden had already driven his cattle,
| and constructed Il rude cabin for
! the shelter of himself and family in
case of necessity, and in order to pre-
vent his cattle from being stolen by
| various parties of foragers.
''At this place of concealment we
were joined by old Ben Roden him
self, shortly after we arrived there.
We remained here in supposed secur-
ity until the morning of December %,
when, about two o'clock, we were
aroused from our sleep by knocking
at the door and demand for our sur
render. To our dismay, we found
that we were in the hands of Ben
Harris.
He demanded to know the place
where We had concealed our boat, and
we were promised our lives if we would
aid him and his men in raising the
boat, which We had sunk, and ferry
ing the stock from the island to
the north bank of the river. He was
accompanied by a squadron of men
in the uniform of United States cav
airy.
After we had accomplished this
20 i
yards down the river-bank, and;were
then informed that we had to be shot.
1t so happened that old Mr.. Roden
had long been acquainted with Capt.
Harris. and he asked him to step aside
that he might speak to him privately;
but his plea for our lives was i'll vain.
When he returned he told us that our
ease was hopeless, and that we We're
condemned 10 be shot, and we all
then saw that the object of Harris in
shooting Us was TO prevent its being
known, when the war might be over,
that he had taken cattle and property
belonging to Mr.. Roden. Harris
stated to us that if any of us wanted
to pray, we could do so, and that if
we had anything that we wished to
send to our people, they would take it
to them for any OF us. Porter Roden
gave them several things TO carry
back to his wife and little children. [
have since learned that they never
gave these things to the widow As they
had promised.
In looking back over the horrible
experience it still seems to me the
prayer Porter Roden made for himself,
and for all of us, us we stood there
within few minutes of eternity, was
one of the most earnest appeals to the
mercyofthe Eternal Judge of Man that
verfell from the lips of mortal. When
We had finished, we faced them, and as
we stood in line it SO happened that
| was one at the end il the right of
the line. Harris and his men began
the shooting from the lead of the line,
and shot them all from two to four
times each with their pistols. | being
at the foot OF the line was the last one
and Il the flash OF the first pistoi-ShOt
aimed at inc at close range. | fell to
the ground as if dead. The ball. which
wounded me passed through my right
arm, for turned sideways to them as
they shot me, and the bullet cut the
artery in my arm. When they were
dragging our bodies to throw them in
to the river, they stopped to feel my
pulse, but, fortunately for me, they
felt the side which had been already
wounded. As the pulsation at the
wrist was absent, they threw lie with
the Others into the river, like so many
dogs. As | was plunged into the
water. unfortunately | became slight
ly strangied and coughed. Some one
said, Stick your saher into his id
body but l mad tloated out from the
bank, beyond the reach of his weapon
when they shot at me but missed me.
As they fired | held my breath and
sank under the water. and they turn
ed and left me for dead.
Il iloated under some driftwood
which had caught in the trees on the
bank of the river, and under this
brush succeeded in concealing my
self where | could get air until sutli-
cient time had elapsed for them to 20
away. | was so greatly weakened from
the cold flor this was winter and
from the loss of blood that 1 was
scarcely able to reach the bank and
crawl mp out of the water. How long
| remained upon the ground scarcely
know, but it seemed like IL long time
before | was able to travel about one
mile to the house OF my brother-in-
law, y. II. SjtdGllS, anu lIeEe ScI eOluo
stimulants, food and dry clothes. My
friends then went with Inc to the
river, where | got II boat md was
ferried to the other side
Such, with very little changes in
phraseology, is the simple story of
this remarkable experience. Few per
sons have ever gone so far into the
the valley of the shadow of death"
and then returned. No doubt it was
to the wonderful presence of mind of
this unassuming and plain country
man that he owed his preserva-
ton. Many man would have given
up at once, lost his self-control, and
submitted perhaps with equal courage
to his fate. But this man determined
at the first crack of the pistol fired at
him to drop as if dead, and did,
courageously, Notwithstanding the
wound which had disabled him, and
with two or three other shots fired at
his supposed inanimate body, remain
perfectly still, and by so doing saved
his life Despite this wound and two
others received in battle he survived
to give to the world a true account of
this horrible massacre, only one of
many of like ferocity which swept
men to untimely death, and left moth
ers and wives and children helpless
and hrokeD- heartal Such WAS orr