The National tribune., 1901-12-05

the buildings occupied by the enemy. The
regulars" having tried that sort of work
before, advanced with serious mien, but
boldly and confidently. They poured a
heavy voley into the windows OF the de-
pot, driving the defenders away, where
upon Col Hanson Immediately surren-
dered.
LIEUT.. TOM MORGAN KILLED.
"At the last moment Of the fight a sad
loss befell US. Lieut.. Thomas Morgan.
younger brother of the General. was
| killed. He habitually sought and exposed
| himself to danger, seeming to delight in
| the excitement it afforded him. In that
| fight he, as usual, recklessly exposed him
self, and Gen. Morgan had ordered him
to leave the front. When the I'd Ky.
! advanced he rushed in front of it, and,
while firing his pistol at the windows Of
the depot, was shot through the heart.
He exclaimed to his brother Calvin that
| he was killed, and fell, a corpse, into
the latter's arms. Although only 10 when
| killed. he WAS a veteran in service and
experience. The first OF six brothers to
join the Confederate army, he had dis
played his devotion to the cause he had
espOused in the field and in prison. l have
never known a boy of so much genius
4 and Of so bright and winning a temper.
| His handsome, joyous face and gallant,
courteous bearing made him very popu-
lar. He was the pet and idol o; the I'd
| Ky. Gen. Morgan, whose love for the
members of his family was Of the most
devoted character, was compelled to fore
go the indulgence of his own grief to re-
strain the regulars who were furious
at the death of their favorite. When his
death became generally known there was
not dry eye in the command.
Although our loss in killed and wound
ed was not heavy in numbers, it included
some valuable officers and some of our
best men. We lost eight or nine killed
and % or 80 wounded. In the early part
of the fight Capt. Franks led n party
of the adyance-guard to the southern end
of the depot, and set it on fire. He was
severely wounded In doing this, making
the third officer, second in command OF
| the advance-guard, wounded in four days
The loss in the guard fell principally
upon members of the old Squadron OF
these were killed Lieut.. Gardner and Pri-
vate WOrsham, Serg't VIM. Jones and
Priyates LOgwOod and Hawkins being
badiy wounded, all very brave men and
excellent soldiers. A gallant deed was per-
formed on that day by Private Walter
| Ferguson, one of the bravest men l ever
knew. His friend and messmate. Log
| wood, lay helpless not far from the de-
pot, and Ferguson went to him, under
Calling fire from the depot windows,
| lifted him in his arms and bore him to q
| Gus.
"A large quantity Of ammunition, many
fine rifles, an abundant supply of medi-
cines, and a field full of ambuances and
wagons, were the fruits of the capture
Of Lebanon. The dilatory 'Michiganders'
had at length begun to make q business
like movement, and, as they were not on
our road, it was no part Of our policy
to await their coming. simply for the fun
| OF tight The prisoners accompanied
us to Springfield, eight miles distant,
where they were paroled."
WHY MORGAN PARoLED HIS SOLDIERS.
For his parole system" Gen. Morgan
had good and sufficient reasons. 1t Of
fered seductive inducements to unpatri-
otic Federals, grown weary of the pomp
and circumstance of war, saying nothing
Of the priyations and dangers collat-
eral thereto. To be paroled by Morgan
was equivalent to obtaining a furlough.
True, the soldiers arms and equipments
were retained by the captors, but that
was small matter-Uncle Samuel be-
| ing amply able to re-equip him when the
"furlough" had expired. Usually a pa
roied man was absent from duty for
months, at least. In case the Federal
officials were disinclined to respect the
parole, it required time to find the man,
as Morgan always sent him away on a
road where he was unlikely to meet
Union troops. Operating within Federal
lines, far from base, marching day and
night, the Confederate chieftain could not
afford to be handicapped by regiments of
useless prisoners. Gen. Buell., finding
that the parole system" adopted by For
rest and Morgan, especially by Morgan,
was vexatiously demoralizing to a GER
tain class of troops, issued an order as
follows:
"The system of paroles as practiced in
this army has run into an intolerable
abuse. Hereafter no officer or soldier be-
longing to the forces of this District will
give his parole not to take up arms, for
the purpose Of leaving the enemy's lines
without the sanction OF the General COM
manding this army, except when, by rea-
son Of wounds or disease, he could not be
removed without endangering his life.
Any parole given in violation of this or
der will not be recognized, and the per-
son giving it will be required to perform
military duty, and take the risks pre-
scribed by the laws of war"
Notwithstanding Bueli's order, Gen.
Morgan continued to parole his prison
ers and send them off on routes not trav-
eled by the Federals, just the same.
On the northward march from the
Cumberland to Springfield, about &C
miles, Morgan had encountered serious
obstacles, and yet he was n long way
from Burlington Island-and the Ohio
River rolled between.
At Springfield Morgan began to send
out detachments, his usual practice, send
ing Co. II, of the regulars" to Harrods.
burg, Somerset and Crab Orchard to mys-
tify the Federal cavalry and monopolize
their attention as much as possible A
whole company of the 9th Ky. took