The Washington herald., 1914-05-16
WARS CRUELTY.
BY NJ. QUAD.

\ There were four companies Of US hold
ing a gap in the mountains Of East Ten
nessee. under command Of Mai. Bell. Nov
and then our outposts had brush with
the enemy or. were fired upon by bush
! wackers, but there were long intervals
Of security. We were well away from
| war. and its alarms and horrors. anc
| the rank an file were glad Of the rest
So. too. were the officers. except tn,
major. At rare intervals in the arm,
during the civil war you found a soldier
who delighted in killing. He was mar
| who would have committed murder al
home but for his fear of the law. He
enlisted that he might satisfy his crav.
ings for bloodshed and fear no punish
| ment. Such man was always an out
law in his own company and had neither
| chum nor tent-mate. 1t was a soldiers
| duty to kill but In war killing may some.
| times mean murder. The major would
have been outlawed as a private soldier
\ 1t did not take US long to find him out.
and we hated him as a man. a soldier
| and an officer There came into our camp
| one day a half -witted young man. the
son of a mountaineer living three or four
| miles away. His only object was to sat
| isfy his curiosity. but the major wanted
| victim He had the boy arrested as a
| Spy. and after a drum-head court-mar-
tial there was q hanging. When the
mother and the sister of the dead came
| down to cry out against the monstrous
injustice. they were Imprisoned for q
week and then escorted out of camp. A
union man who had been in hiding for Q
week in a cave In the mountains came
down to offer his services. We had him
at one of the outposts for three hours
before taking him into camp, and his
honest face and frank speech satisfied US
that he was what he claimed to be- As
soon as he reached camp. however. he
was arrested as a spy. and even before
his trial he was warned by the major
to prepare for death. There were Union
women and children within two or three
miles of us who could have testified for
the prisoner. but they were not permit
ted to. His court-martial was rushed
through and he was hanged as a spy.
As / said. the enemy sent down a de-
tachrlent Of regular troops now and then
to feel u.s. 7 There would be a sharp
skirmish, perhaps. with a half a dozen
killed or wounded, and that would be
the end OF IT. On one occasion after one
OF these attacks. the major led two COM
panfes OF us in pursuit Of the retreating
force. Not being aware of the pursuit.
the fifty men comprising the force sent
against us had halted after an hours
march. and most of them were bathing
In a river when We came up. We had
them at our mercy and could have shot
every man down Our orders were to
XIII. The major rode up and down ana
ordered and stcrmed and cursed but not
one OF US would fire upon the unarmed
and helpless men. With arms in their
hands and opposing us II -zEouId have
been war. coming upon them as we did
would have been murder. Most of
them swan to the other bank and es-
capped. and the few We did capture had
TO be treated as prisoners Of war. In
revenge. the major put every company
oincer under arrest and smirched our
good name as far as he possibly could.
There were few guerrillas in our
neighborhood-men who shot a fora1er
or run on horse now and then. As
matter Of fact these men were
ouuawed by both sides and preyed
on both alike. At any rate, the
few scattered families In the noun
tain coves had no influence over
them, but were continually harassed and
robbed. One day 1t occurred to the
major that the way to get rid of the
guerrillas was to get rid of the inhabi-
tants. and they were ordered out to clear
the country. Eleven families were driven
out and their cabins burned and crops
destroyed. In the last cabin we found
a Confederate soldier. He was a young
N@Ae>" eAAeCh kWChly ycdTS VI axe, VINO
had been wounded in battle and given a
furlough to come home. As he was regu-
iarly enlisted and in Confederate uni
form he was no more nor no less than a
prisoner of war. but the Major pounced
upon him with the ardor of a hungry
vulture. He was charged with being q
spy. and drum-head court-martial sent
him to his death within twenty-four
hours There was disgust among the
onicers and indignation among the men.
but the Major was all powerful. Not
q soldier in the command would place
the moose about the wounded mans neck,
and the teamster who did 1t for pay had
to leave camp the same day.
The mother did not appear. but when
the news Of the execution reached her
the sister came into camp. She was Q
girl Of about seventeen, poorly dressed
and without beauty. but her face bore a.
look which no man has ever forgotten.
The Major tried to avoid her, but she
forced her way past the sentinel into his
tent and called upon God to curse him.
Those who were with him and heard
her said she spoke without excitement
and her language was that of the poor
and lowly, but the bloodthirsty Major
trembied under her words. She scathed |
MIN for five minutes and received no
word In reply. Then she turned and
passed out Of the tent. AS she did SO the |
Major sprang up and ordered the sentinel
to detain her. What he intended doing |
cannot say. but he probably meant to |
hold her prisoner for few days, at |
least. The sentinel grasped the girl with
one hand and she gyasped his musket
q the same time. There was brief
struggle, the musket was accidentally
discharged and the girl lay dead on thst
ground. There was such excitement In
camp over the occurrence that Major Bell
was alarmed. He could not send heri