The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1902-06-18

-A4' Joltn u BuTch1eld- Watckm2n at
the General Land once, has been a
close observer of things all his life and
Las seen many events of a stirring na-
tvre- He Is an expert Waterman and
has been well trained for any sort Of
outy involving vigiIance and bravery
he was one OF the youngest soldiers in
the Union Army and had full four
years term OF active service in the
civil war He IS an interesting con
veTsadonalist
MI BUrchfeld was boru IN Elizabeth
ton. Tenn II 1861 he went with his
father 10 Charleston to sell a drove Of
hcgs and was at the old Charleston
Hotel when the firing on Fort Sumter
was commenced The Tennessee boy
joined the excited throngs and saw the
Llomentous events of the day as they
oceurG ed As q boy he was impressed
with the portent OF the storm Next
day he started 10 Tennessee, and when
he reached home the volunteers were
gathering, some for the Union side. some
Tor the Confederate. His people were
generally Union in sentiment, and the
boy WGs soon out to do mans deadIiest
work
Col Dan Slower organized a corps of
young men for scout duty, and young
B1rchfeld Joined Colonel Slower was a
son-ln-iaw of Governor {afterwa ard
PTesideat) Johnson. The men he COM
ma1ded were set TO burning bridges
and they performed their duty so we'll
as 20 seriously impede The progress of
the Confederate troops. Young Burch-
Held WIS fifteen year old. but was in
-
" found his home cave that nobody
bad ever thought of filing with provis-
lens He had narrow escapes from death
al various times and was captured more
than once He was saved from i'm
penang death at one time By a com
Faoe, who fred on his CRpIOrs from am
bush After burning the bridge at Unior,
the burners found II necessary TO VAN
Dose the ranch" and they lay in
cave for days with Confederates hunt
ing all around They had a collision
with Ledbetter's command at TayIor's
ford
In 1858 Mr. BUTchheId and his com
redes who had not been killed in fights
or hanged by The Confederates as spies
we're mustered into the Thirteenth Ten
1Eessee Cavalry. They led q lively ex-
1stence from that tine on, part:CiDat-
ing IN many battles. One OF his COM
rades killed Gen John H Morgan. the
famous Confederate, at GreenviIIe.
Tenn, and Mr.. BurchfaId was close to
the Williams house, where Morgan was
stopping, when his death occurred. He
vas IN Sto1emaB's famous raid through
Virginia and the CaTolinas. At one time
he captured his own brother, who was
q member Of 4 Confederate regiment
Later, at Salisbury n. c. he was pur-
suing Confederate. and narrowly es-
capped death himself. He laid out his
lad been dealing with his first cousin.
Mr.. BuTchield was a witness to
tLuching incident about the close OF the
war In marching from Andersonvile
across the mountains toward Washing
ton the cavalrymen came up with two
surrendered ConfederateS who were
trudging homeward. The commander, a
colonel, had been lingering with the
wine and was not feeling we'll so he
ordered the men shot and detailed DR.. /
Cameron, z splendid Tennessean. to pick /
q squad. Some of the men refused 10 20 /
on the squad, Mr. Burchfield among I
them, saying the war was over. But 1
the orders were 10 shoot and the word 4
was about to be given when one of the I
condemned men gave sign Dr. Cam /
eTon halted the squad and had a talk
with the Confederates- He hunted the 4
commander and got him 70 release the /
the war Dr. Cameron took q drove Of I
horses to South Carolina along this
route and stopped with the men whose /
lives he had saved. and. as may web I
be surmised. they had a great time /
II is was al a little mountain settlement /
going By the classic name Of Pumpkin /
town and the men who were nearly shot 4
were among the best citizens Of the /
community The incident has often done
duty at Masonic gatherings
At one time M. BurchfeId was caught (
by Zeb Vance's troops and vas restored +
70 liberty by the BLUFF and !,eloved North (
Carol MAN after a thrilling discourse on /
the presence Of children in the army.
After the war Mr.. BurchfeId went to
Illinois and from there 10 Kansas. He
was taken in hand by Senator Plumb
who put him on the Capitol police force.
North Carolina politics came up for
consideration at a late meeting Of the
Southern clerks who maintain an inter
est in the political affairs Of their re-
spective States. Their meetings are q
little On the cIandestine order. The /
Tar Heel member insisted that his State
could get up more excitement and keep
il up longer than any CT the States. and \
he showed a bundle of newspaper clip i
pings which were taken as evidence
that a great deal had bseE going on
down there and that the people were
addicted 10 raising something besides
cotton and tobacco
TON Dixon's novel is pretty excit-
ing. but II does not tell il all" said the
Tar Heel We have had trouble and
plenty OF il since the UrheavaI Of the B
early 'eo's. when the farmers broke
loose from the regular Democracy,
were organized as Populis1s and traded
By their leaders TO the Republicans !,
Thfre we're enough White Republicans
in the State to make a respectable
showing and the Populist recruits made
a big addition Then the negroes we're
brought out. The Democrats got
swamped and were in a bad fix Rus
sell was governor and he played the ]
dickens with the State generally. The
Democratic politicians had to go to
work
IN 'es the Democrats went in to win }
They announced that il was q case If g
'Rrer Rabbit des 'bIeeged ter clam CT
tree The election had % be carried
and an amendment put in 10 get the {
negro vote killed. There was a strenu- 7
Gus fight on the amendment in the II
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