The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-01-11
w. c. DoDsoN.

had engaged a disaffected engineer on the road who was to assist in stealing the engine and run 1t while Andrews and his party burned the bridges and cut the telegraph wires,
 Everything worked out substantially as planned. Andrews and seven of his men met in Atlanta at the time agreed upon. only one having failed to make his way south through the lines. On arriving here they took lodging at the Trout House, at the time, one of Atlanta prominent hotels. One of them relates that he went to hear Gen. Robt. Toombs make secession speech, and applauded as loudly as the confederates, and that General Johnston and other prominent confederate officers were the guests at the hotel which they were stopping.
 But the engineer could not be found. After several days spent in cautious ip- quiry it was ascertained that he had left the city and taken employment on the Mobile & Ohio R. R. His name seems never to have been revealed. This rem dered the expedition abortive, and, after learning that no one of his party knew anything about running a locomotive, Andrews ordered them to disperse and make their way back to the federal lines. This, they succeeded in doing but with much greater difficulty than they had encountered In coming south.
 It Is significant that these men did not care to report their experience, as not one of them could be induced to engage in the second expedition, ana several tried to dissuade their companions from the undertaking. They had had enough. for, as one of them expressed it. he felt all the time they were with the confeder- ates that all that stood between him and a rope around his neck was being able to tell the right lie at the right time
 This is the expedition spoken of by General Buell., as having been under taken by his orders at the suggestion of Andrews. It seems that he did not know of the second raid for sometime after- ward, 1t having been inaugurated by Gen-i eral Mitchell after he (BuelD had gone to join Grant at Corintn.
 I cannot better set forth the objects sought to be accomplished by these raids than by quoting from the official
 Report of Judge Advocate General
 Holt.
 Judge-Advocate-Gener office, March
 27 1863.
 'Sir:-I have the honor to transmit for your consideration the accompanying de- positions of Sergeant William Pittinger, Company G, Second Regiment, Ohio Vol unteers; Private Jacob Parrot. Company K, Thirty-third Regiment, Ohio Volun- teers; Private Robert Buffum, Company H. thts-llot plllO NoluHlCtIS, 1uIpoi- al William ReddieS. Company E, Thirty third Regiment, Ohio Volunteers, taken at this office on the 25th instant, in &C., cordance with your written instructions, from which the following facts will ap- pear: -
 "These non-commissioned officers and privates belonged to an expedition set foot in April 1862, at the Suggestion of MT. J. J. Andrews a citizen of Kentucky, who led it, and under the authority aud direction of General O. M. Mitchell the object of which was to destroy the com manifestations on the Georgia State railroad between Atlanta and Chattanooga.
 "The mode of operation proposed was to reach point on the road where they could seize q locomotive and train of cars, and then dash back in the direction of Chattanooga, cutting the telegraph wires and burning the bridges behind them as they advanced. until they reach ed their own lines. The expedition con- sisted of twenty-four men, who, with the exception of it's leader, MT. Andrews and another citizen of Kentucky who acted on the toccasjonf as the substitute or soldier,-had been selected from the diff ferent companies for their known cour- age and discretion. They were informed that the movement was to be secret one, and they doubtless comprehended something of its perils. but MT Andrews and MT. Reddiclk alone seem to have known anything of its precise direction