The National tribune., 1904-08-11
A BAD might HOUR.
Carrying Dispatches TO Gen. Burnside in
Knoxville.
BY-COL. GEO. NJ. FINCH.

The Federal army under Gen. Burnside
was besieged in knoxville. in the early
Winter OF 1868, by the Confederate forces
commanded by Gen. Longstreet.
Gen. Sherman after the battle of Mis-
sion Ridge. had been directed by Gen.
Grant to march his corps from Chatta-
nooga to Burnsides assistance and to raise
the siege.
AS a staff officer | was detailed as bearer
of dispatches advising Gen. Burnside to
hold on persistently, as relief was close
at hand
| AS all direct communication was cut off,
it was Necessary that | should pursue a
roundabout way through the mountains.
and, TO avoid attracting unpleasant atten-
| tion. that l should be accompanied by one
trooper, who carried duplicates of my dis
patches stitched between the inner and
outer SOles of one of his boots. so that
i'll the event that either of us was cap
tured, there was still a chance to get the
dispatches through to Knoxville.
| The first night out we slept in the cabin
of one Joe .Jemmison, strong Union man
living on the edge of little mountain
hamlet known as Briar Hill.
| In the morning he directed us to the
road. which he said was plain one, that
| would take us about nightfall to the cabin
of Henry Myers. in Paradise, hamlet
| located at higher altitude in the noun
| tainS.
Corporal Tanner and l had ridden all
day over muddy and half-frozen roads. AS
night approached it became intensely cold,
and snow fell heavily, and drifted in the
rising wind.
In truth. it was "a nipping and an
eager air we faced, the sleety snow cut
ting our faces like sand blast. as we
spurred our tired horses up the rough
mountain road, now in the bed of a noun
tain rivulet. anon stumbling into and out
of gullics filled with the drifting snow.
We suffered intensely from the cold :;
our horses were almost used up, and with
all we were intensely hungry. We had
ample time to think of the dangers of the
situation. riding over debatabe ground, as
1t were, and ignorant of the roads only as
we obtained information from the widely
scattered natives, sometimes friendly and
sometimes not.
AS the temperature was falling rapidly
and the snow becoming heavier and our
personal sutferings increasing, we realized
that it was mot all Of life to live, nor all
of death to die
As we began to despair Of reaching
Paradise or any wayside shelter that night.
we were encouraged by the faint twinkliug
of dim light in the distance. Our weary
and hungry horses pricked up their ears.
and whinnying with delight accelerated
their speed without urging.
In a few moments we drew up in front
OF rough mountain cabin. and took the
precaution Of shouting ''IIaloo the house -
as it would be at the risk of bullet for
one to dismount and approach a door at
night, in that country, without giving
notice.
Slowly and cautiously the door was un-
barred, and i'll the cheerful light of the
wood fire on the broad hearth we could
see the owner pecriNg out, rifle III hand.
| "Ilaioo! yo'uDs who be you, and what's
wantn' out thar" was his salutation.
We are Federal soldiers ON our way
to Knoxville. and Joe Jemmison, of Brar
| Hill, directed Us to you as a good Union
man. and we want food and shelter for
| ourselves and horses"
"Ail right; yo'uns ride up here, so |
can get n squlnt at you Being salts
fed after inspecting rs, he invited to US
git off our critters and walk inside.
| We were so benumbed with the cold,
that il was anything but an easy matter
| to comply.
| discovered 1T once was the only one, and
used for all purposes
a boy was told to lead our horses to
the barn and give them a generous feed of
| corn.
We sat on a rude bench before the fire.
thawing out, while the nOuntaineer's
buxom wife and daughters hustled about
and cooked hasty meal of fried bacon
and corn-pones for us. The menu was
brief, but the quantity ample and our ap-
| petlteS simply immense.
| When the debris was cleared away, we
sat around the blazing fire. the adults of
the family. male and female. enjoying with
us a social smoke from our well-filled
| tobacco pouches, while We told them the
war news from Chattanooga how Bragg
had been whipped at Mission Ridge. and
was IN full retreat southwark. When
| they had expressed their delight at the dis
comfture of the rebs. preparations We're
made for the night just how they would
| arrange that one room to give sleeping
accommodations for three men, three WON
en- and eight children, the oldest boy of
16. was a problem to us. but the women
| folks soon solved it by dividing the room
into three parts by hanging calico cur
| tains.
The Corporal and were no featherbed
soldiers. We promptly took possession Of
our allotted corner, and with our blankets
for couch and our saddles for pillows
we had all the comforts reasonable men
could ask for.
Soon all were sound asleep. The fire
had died away to pile of slumbering
embers that gave out no light through
the. mass of ashes covering them.
Sometime after midnight we were all
feet babel of screams, means and pitful
sobbng and crying of the suddenly awak-
ened and now thoroughly frightened chill
dren; yels of "Kill him'-"Kill him."
the rush or feet and the banging of some
heavy instrument On the puncheOn floor ac-
companied by cries and calculations as
some one was heavily thrown to the floor.
In the intense darkness enveloping us, it
seemed as if Hades itself had broken loose
and its component parts transferred to
that rude cabin in the mountains of East
Tennessee, while bloody and cruel murder
was being done.
The Corporal and I hastily made our
toilet by jumping to our feet and throw
ing off our blankets, and seizing our re-
volvers we began to grope about in the
darkness to find-we knew not what
A wild rush. smothered groan, and
some one collided with me. Losing my
balance, 1 fell heavily. with the other fell
low on top of me. In my fall struck
one of the huge old fashioned andirons on
the hearth. the jostlng of which upset
and stirred mp the embers. and solitary
piece of wood remaining. it fared into a
flame, giving light enough to enable us to
| take in the situation.
The children were scattered all over the
floor. the women folks huddled in one cor
ner somewhat in dishabille. except the
mother of the family. who lay across me
in dead faint, pinnine me to the hearth.
Henry Myers. with rifle in hand anxious
ly looking for foeman. the Corporal with
revolver ready. for instant USE was