Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1898-09-29
cHAPTER XY.-CoNr1Nrrn.

An official report of Gen. Waterson,
the officer commanding the st. Mary's
expedition, has been preserved.
Whether it was forwarded before his
return to Laran or was written subse-
quently is not known. But it gives a
very clear explanation Of the novel
method adopted in this military cam
paign.
1t reads as follows:
"The whole plan has worked with few
slight discrepancies, as projected The feast
bility Of getting the whole regiment into st.
Mary's and the neighborhood without attract
ing attention was easily proven MY men be-
gan to como in four days before they assembled.
They were in fairly good shape and passed for
worlmen out Of employment .and idlers drawn
in by the excitement II was impossible TO go
anywhere without seeing them mingllng with
the workmen and standing about on the corners
with The unemployed In three days seven hua
dred were in St Mary and three hundred In and
about Paducah, with orders to come in strag
glingly to the former place on the fourth day.
At any other timo thousand men suddenly
added to the population Of so small town
would have excited suspicion, but the excite
ment Of the strike was supposed TO be drawing
the men from oil quarters and great credit
p
themselves close and avoided attracting atten-
tlon. On tho night OF the third day, three hun
dred were already In the old house on the bar.
rens or in the immediate vicinity undergoing
the most extraordinary discomfort on account
OF the want OF accommodations, and au hour
before sunrise on the fourth day / had the
whole command within reach nni most Of them
uniformed and armed We formed column at
five o clock in the barreEs Just three miles
southeast OF the town and marched in on the
railroad track; took possession Of the hank at
nine O'Clock, distributed money among regi-
mcnts ns planned without opposition, each man
carrying hundred and hfty eagles. The buck.
skin belts worked admirably. l deployed two
hundred men, Companies 4 and F, and kept
crowd one thousand feet from bank withdraw
ing them in squads and replacing them with
other men who we're loaded up with specie;
successfully avoided collision with sheriff
who wns completely bewiiered by events;
took camp OF six o'clock p m, on the terrace
as planned and the regiment began at once 10
melt away. -Four hundred men got out OF their
uniforms in tho center Of the camp (whcre
thoy we're securely shicldeD before nine
o'clock The suits in the knapsacSs turned
out better than / expected and Commissary
Fcnning should be credited with great skill
and ingenuity IN tho provision Of these suits.
The uniforms were put into tho knapsaclEs and
OF twelve midnight started the men in Indian
file 70 the old house and as by that time had
four hundred more men ready, there were eight
hundred kuapsacks and eight hundred guns to
be disposed Of; by making each man carry two
guns ami two knapsaczs, ] easily got the whole
eight hundred into the house The intense
darkness Of tho night was q great advantage
and the hardness Of the ground and the special
guards stationed along the lines 10 prevent
struggling or the littering Of the rout, aided US
much
akt three o'clock IN the morning the regi
ment o. a uniformed organization, had disap
poared
The disposition Of the men was as follows
ono hundred went seatterindy from the camI
hack 10 town In their former clothes at ter
o'clock; another hundred got on az clever
oitiock. and o third at twelve o'clock drew
them up by companies in o circle in the ccntci
ef me camp and started them out ia radiatinl
lines I calculated that IN fifteen minutes !
the mon walked hrlsElv, that there would be
distance Of nvo hundred feet between Cacl
man. and. of cotase, those going south and cas-
wnuld have 20 lna1lc q large dciour 20 rcacl
tbs town A. 20 I was reduced 90 fvl
ti.rdrrd men nj least two hundred havini
emo toanrd paducah in the same straPslinl
nanrer Tho remaining ave companies weri
siafie1 from che old house between 90
sei four O'Clock. going in widening line
sauth southeast emu southwest through th
haffens ana about one hundred under order
Ii strike iho railroad track o. long iateryal
and fttrrH to town ! held q oelasl oi NclV
t...i- men with me 30 complete nc work
.ieafinf up enc fragments ana a7lan-lns "a
.DtIsi III nr hnuac rhe Furs were iuE
~. tt. ssfirf amt thc knarsacks heaped upo
- ffsi aoor ana saturated bY ne Two sarFei