The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-01-12

hand of the royal throne. ., | for his lbation, and when the last of these
 had been announced by trumpss % S tS the hngat m%, l hall and took their places.
 WAR REMLNIsCENCE
 Account of Attack on General Joe Wheeler While on Parole. R. A. Halley, writing for The Nashville Banner, gives the following interesting account of stirring event in the nfe or Passing by the site of the old City l Hotel the other day, I was reminded-l don't know why-of the remarkanie as- | sault therein that was made on General | 1 don't know when I had thought about l 1t before Wheeler was then prisoner
 under parole, and was temporarily Tn Nashville, staying meanwhile at the City | Hotel The war had ended some four
 months before. and a considerable DOT | tion of the time since the end Wheeler | had spent in Nashville. The assault was l the more mysterious in that I never I heard any grounds alleged which could
 have excused or even palliated 1t, and l presume that there were none, as the | judgment of the Federal authorities who ! investigated it shows unqualified condeIn- | nation. . .o.- | about o'clock General Wheeler was lying on his bed in the City Hotel, no | other person being in the room, when some one knocked at his door. He arose,
 partially dressed himself unlocked the | door, and two officers, partially in Uni- l ted States uniform, entered. One or
 them stated that he had at one time | been a prisoner in General Wheeler s | hands. and that he had come to thank
 his former capsor for kindnesses received l at that time. The other officer simply
 said that he had known General Wheel CT and had called to pay his respects They were invited to be seated, and a | few minutes of polite conversation fol- | lowed. after which both the visitors arose | and stated that, as they saw he was not | well, they would not remain longer. | They accordingly bade Jim good bye and
 retired, and the door was locked behind | them,
 Scarcely five minutes elapsed when l there was another knock and General | Wheeler unb3lted the door as quickly as | possible. Two officers entered. both | dressed in uniform, neither of whom | General Wheeler had ever seen before | to his knowledge. One advanced and ex-
 tended his hand, which the General took. | While in the act of shaking hands, the visitor said: "Is this General Wheelerg' On being answered in the affirmative. he stated that he was Colonel Blackburn: l Thereupon the other officer at once yseized l General Wheeler by both arms,f when | Colonel Blackburn, without having given | any previous intimation of his hostile | purpose. struck Wheeler violently upon
 the head twice with club of consider able dimensions.
 | Struggling away from the man who held | him, General Wheeler left the room, fol- l loweG by both the. men. the other officer
 holding pistol in threatenlng man | ner. By consistently keeping Blackburn l between himself and the pistol, the Gen
 eral prevented shot being fired, which l the man with the pistol was constantly trying to accomplish. All the time Col l Rlapl<hurn continued attempt | strike Wheeler, and Wheeler continued
 to evade the blows or ward them off
 with his arms Finally. some gentlemen
 caught hold of the other officer. when
 Blackburn ran back and down the steps. | Wheeler was totally unarmed, having, l since his release on parole May l, lS65, | had no weapons about his person or his baggage. He had previously been confined | as a prisoner of war, and had been pa roled bv the War Department in accord
 ance with terms agreed upon between | General sherman and General Johnston. Being satisfied that an attempt had
 been made on his life, General Wheeler | reported the circumstances to Major l General G. Fl. Thomas, commanding, and | stated the facts stating as well that he | had never issued any order whatever | to the prejudice of Colonel Blackburn or any of his men, and that all or his
 men held as prisoners were ever kindly | treated and allowed to return to their l commands in bodies in order that they might not be molested by any one. He
 also stated that while passing through
 the country he did not recollect that l any complaint was made by any of Col
 oneI Blackburn's family. or that anything ! was ever taken from them.
 A full investigation was had and re- | port made by General E. c. Mason, com | manding the post of Nashville, as a re-
 suit of which Colonel Robert H. Ram
 say. Assistant Adiutant General. commit
 nicated the decision of General Thomas
 concerning the matter' Your report has been carefully and impartially considered by the Major-Gen-
 eral commanding, and the facts therein | elicited and brought out, with other facts
 in the same connection which have been | brought to his notice, show the attack
 upon MT. Wheeler by Lieutenant Colonel
 Blackburn and Captain Quinn, 4th Ten nessee Cavalry, to have been wholly un- provoked and unjustiiiable. and unbecopi- | ing an officer In the service of tho Uni
 ted States. MT. Wheeler, as paroled prisoner. is justly entitled to protection. l instead of being exposed to assault, and | his position, by virtue of his parole-an ! unardned man and hence without means | of defense-should have been and must | in the future be respected and not only l in this case. but in the cases of all other l persons occupying a similar position. You will convey to Lieutenant Colonel | Blackburn and to Captain Quinn of the lth Tennessee Cavalry the notification of | the displeasure and reprimand of Major | General Thomas for their unotficer-like and highly reprehensible conduct. and | say to them that the muster out of the | service of their regiment has been the only reason for their. not being subjected | to arrest and trial by court-martial. 1 Their conduct at the time of the assault, l as well as subsequently, has been an in- suit and disgrace for the uniform they | wore. and is justly discountenanced and | drowned down upon by every honorable
 and high minded officer and enlisted man | In the service.
 The Major General commanding di- rects that you will further require of | Lieutenant Colonel Blackburn and Cap | tain Quinn positive and satisfactory as- | surances for their future good conduct ! and the strict compliance with all orders | and regulations for the preservation and | maintenance of the public peace. and at | the same time advising them that they will be held to strict accountability for any future breach of the same
 It was a part of the judgment that q l copy of the charges made by General l Wheeler and a copy of the reprimand be l furnished to the newspapers of the city | for publication, and this was done. But l the publications, So far as I have been | able to examine them, fail to throw any light on the supposed provocation for the | assault | presume that the reporters of those days took it for granted that ev- l erybody knew the facts, and that 1t was, | therefore. unnecessary to write them out | for publication.
 The Oldest Cop.