The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1915-10-07

died from stem to stern at short
range. After the boat had pulled
away some distance from the wharf
the cannon went off. The solid shot
went over us, and landed in negro
cabin across the river, killing ne
gro. A number of passengers were
killed and wounded among them
some Secessionists from Fort Pick
ems, Fla, who were going to Mem !
phis, Tenn. At Memphis we had an
other time This city had seeded |
from the State of Tennessee and
from the United States. They had
their own National flag; they were a
people by themselves. The Mayor
and officers of the city marched
aboard and took possession of the
Westmoreland in their own sover-
eign name, took off the cylinder heads
of the engines and put an armed
guard of 60 men aboard. We could
not move about the boat without the
permission of the guard. The West
moreland remained there As hours.
Capt. Evans being way-up Mason
and all the officers and the Mayor OF,
the same order, he got the boat re-
leased. Upon arriving at Cairo we
had grand jollification. The flag
was still there, and everybody aboard
nearly went crazy at the sight of it.
A sailor from the revenue cutter
Cass, that had been seized by the
SecessiOnists at Mobile, was aboard
the Westmoreland. He had brought
away with him the colors of the cut
ter, so Capt. Evans raised his flag
but it seems that the people along
| the Ohio had never seen the revenue
colors before (the stripes in this flag
ran crosswise) "a nd they took it for a
Secessionist flag. At several towns
along the river cannons were pointed
at us, and the people shouted: "Take
that Secession rag down or we Will
fire into you" The Captain took it
down to avoid trouble. At Cincin-
natl we got a great reception. EV-
erything that had steam up used it,
and the landing was blocked with
people yelling for dear life. What
made the people of Cincinnati so in
terested was the fact that an excur-
sion party from the city had gone
down to. New Orleans on the West
moreland and were returning on her.
Little did the people at the North at
that time know of the extent to which
the coming war had progressed in the
South. Shortly after arriving at Gin
cinnati the little devil" "deviled" at
the Cincinnati Commercial. Murat
Halstead and Mr.. Spofford Gate con-
gressional librarian) were the edit
ors. While there he learned of a
"critter" company being formed over
lin Kentucky this was company E,
Munday's Cavalry, and he joined it.
After the battle at Nashville all the
cavalry was assembled at PASSPORT
Miss, preparatory to the grand raid
under Wilson, which wound up with
the capture of Jeff Davis and the end
of the war. On the night we started
on this raid when the command
came to the Tennessee River to cross
it, what boat should be there to ferry
) us over the river but the good old
steamer Westmoreland. She took
the little devil" out of Dixie to join
the Union army and now she was
: taking him back to Dixie to strike
the last blow by putting an end tc
secession and the war. About q
years after the war one day in New
York this devil" ran against Mr.
Halstead, editor of the old Cincinnati
Commercial. They had not seen eacf
, other since the day of joining the
"critter" company. The devil" said
"Mr. Halstead, you don't know wht
1 ann" "Oh, yes, l do" he said, "yol
!, are the little devil that went to thu
e war from the Commercial. Your pc
: sition is still there when you want t.