The National tribune., 1910-03-31


cident so infuriated the men that they
destroy it and to burn the railroad
bridge oyer Holeston River. and it was
with great difficulty that they were pre-
vented from doing it.
The Union people became desperate,
and began making plans for the de-
structiOn of the railroad bridges. They
well knew what the result would be,
but they did not stop to count the cost.
They knew that the destruction of the
bridges would seriously cripple and in
terfere with the movements of troops
and supplies of the rebels.
Out of the nine bridges marked for
destruction five were destroyed OF the
night of Nov. s, 1861. The rebel au-
thoritfes and railroad officials were not
expecting this, and the result was they
were thrown into a panic.
John r. Branner, President of the
E.. T., V. &, G.. Railroad, telegraphed to
]. p. Benjamin, rebel Secretary of War,
that there was great excitement along
his road, and that the Union people
were going to destroy or take posses
sion of the whole line from Bristol to
Chattanooga. On Nov. % Benjamin
| telegraphed to Col. w. B. Wood, 10th
Ala, who was in command at Knox
vile:
! Il proceed to give you tie desired
| instructions in relation to thG prisoners
taken by you amongst the traitors in
East Tennessee. First, all such as can
be identified as having been engaged in
bridge burning are to be tried sum-
marily by drumhead court-martial, and
| if found guilty executed on the spot by
| hanging. II would be well to leave
| their bodies hanging in the vicinity of
the burned bridges.
Second. All such as have not been
so engaged are to be treated as prison
ers of war, and sent with an armed
| kept imprisoned at the depot selected
| by the Government for prisoners of
war"
Gov. Harris wrote to jefferson Davis
! from Nashville:
THE burning of the railroad bridges
! in East Tennessee shows a deep-seated
spirit of rebellion in that section. Union
men are organizing. The rebellion must
| be crushed, and the leaders arrested
and summarily punished. / shall send
Immediately about 10000 men to that
section"
Jacob NJ. Hensie and Henry Fry were
| the first patriots to be hung. They had
! assisted in the destruction of the Lick
Creek Bridge. A. C. Haun was hung at
/ Knoxville Dec. 10. Harrison Self was
next tried and convicted, and the date
of his execution fixed for Dec. 26, but
| his daughter made a final appeal to
! Jefferson Davis the President of the
! IConfederacy, and, strange to say, he
was not executed. Jacob Harmon and
his son Henry were executed in Knox
! vile. Young Harmon was executed
first while his father. who was an aged
man, was compelled to witness this
shocking sight.
Capt. David Fry, of Greenville, Tenn,
who was arrested while trying to make
! his escape TO Kentucky, was sentenced,
! but for some reason his execution was
| delayed, and he was sent to Atlanta to
prison. from which he escaped and re-
turned to his regiment, the I'd Tenn.
| Many others were arrested and
thrown into prison. The Jail at Knox
vile was crowded beyond its capacity
with Union men awaiting transporta-
uon to Columbus, Ga. or Tuscaloosa
Ala. The next move of the Confeder-
ate authorities was the arresting of the
more prominent Union men Hon.
Samuel Pickens, a member of the State
Legislature from Sewer County; Mont
gomery Thornburgh, of jefferson Coun-
| ty: Attorney-General Hon. Levi Trew-
init. almost 20 years of age, an able
lawyer of Bradley County: DIR. VIM
! Hunt, a brother-in-law of Rev. w. G.
| Brownlow, were sent South, and all died
IN prison. Not one of them was al
~" ~ Il biidit anu lNc only charge
against them was that they were out,
spoken Union men. / could relate hun
ldreds of cases similar TO the above, but
those mentioned will convey to the
reader the fact that the Union people
lof East Tennessee suffered more in
suits and cruel treatment than did the
loyal men Of any other State.
In January, 1862, President Lincoln
wrote Gen. Buell.: My distress is that
Jour friends in East Tennessee are be-
ing hanged and driven to despair. and
leYen now, fear, are thinking of taking
rebel arms for the sake of personal
protection. In this we lose the most
valuable State we have in the South
Pilots or guides were in great de-
lmand for conducting Union men beyond
tine lines Some of these guides lost
their lives in this work. One Capt
lSpencer Deaton was captured in 1864