Western Carolina Democrat and French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1913-1915, 1913-06-19
"A SPY AMONG THE VETERANS

J. S. Harris, of Concord, the Here
of Most Thrilling Adventure N
the Civil War.
The following from the Chatta-
nooga Times, written during thu
recent reunion, will be of interest
to the people Of this section. an6,
to old soldiers particularly:
Being tried and sentenced to b.
hung at daylight the next morning
and then escaping about an hour
before the execution, was thE
thrilling experience of j. Shakes
peare~ Harris, now a prominent
business man ofConcord, N. C. Nh.
Harris is one of the regular attend
ants at the reunions and there is
probably no man better known In
the army of Virginia than he.
During the four years of the
war, Mr.. Harris seldom wore =
gray uniform, although he was OF
more aid to the confederate army
than if he had been a regiment OF
men. He was a scout for Hamp-
ton s comamnd. He posed during
the war until his capture, near
the close of the struggle, as an Off
GER of the Union army. Being
admitted to the conferences and
having access to the plans and pa
perS, he proved himself a valuable
spy. At one of the battles in
North Carolina he gave the infor-
nation as to the plans of the I'm
ion forces to the commander of the
eonfederates. A charge was to-
be made and during the night the
Southern forces concentrated their
men. The charge was made by
the Union men supposing the Cob
federates to still be asleep. The
first volley from the Confederates-
killed 220 of the northern men,
throwing the regiment into utter
confusion and rout. A monument
concentrating this battle now
stands on the field. During the
battle MI. Harris remained In the
rear in his union uniform and d-
rected the battle to the advantage
Of the confederates as much as
possible.
Near the close Of the war, suspl
cion fell upon Mr.. Harris, and one
night by a prearranged plaE he
was dragged and %intoxicat I'd and
lie then admitted the truth. He
was tried with another spy, inns
Sloan, and sentenced. Shortly af-
ter midnight, Sloan, having ~aH
hands, freed himself of the hand
cuffs. He jumped into the river
and swan for a mile. where he
found a skif. and was safe. Not
deserving his comrade, he went In
this boat into the lines again, and
after breaking the shackles of
Harris, helped him to make his. es
cape in the boat.
At the reunion in Dallas, Mr..
Harris was walking along the
street one day when avery poor
horse, hitched to a still worse
buggy, came along the street with
one man driving. Harris gave a
mere glance at the man and then
went to him and threw his arms
about him and wept for joy. The
man in the buggy was Sloan and
it was the first time they had met
since the close of the war. Mr..
Harris had prospered with an
abundance of fortune and Sloan
was practically penniless. Taking
his money out Of his pocket he
ave to his rescuer $3.50 and then
told him he would give him a home
and a large acreage of ground for
the rest of the mans life In North
Carolina. The offer was not ae-
cepted, however, and now Sloan
and Harris visit each other often
and talk of the eventful night OF
1865.
MI. Harris will not talk any OF
his war record to anyone but a few
veterans, where this bit of history
was secured yesterday by a Times
reporter. He is still strong and
healthy and is a modest man IN
every sense. Pleasant and good
natured, he always has a crowd
around him listening to The war
tales he tells, but never a word IS
mentioned about his part in the
struggle. If asked what part he
took. he merely answers he was IN
Hampton's division.