USA > Ohio > History of Ohio; the rise and progress of an American state, Volume Four > Part 13
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Late in August the Confederate General Kirby Smith, with twenty thousand men and forty pieces of artillery, invaded Kentucky from Tennessee. On September I, he occupied Lexington and from this point, two days later, he dispatched General Heath with five thousand men against Covington and Cin- cinnati. The condition of public furor created by this menacing march to the Ohio border can well be im- agined. The exposure of a Northern city of a quarter of a million people, with defenseless surroundings, might be the occasion of a National calamity. Cin- cinnati met the exigency with great courage and calmness. There was no panic or flight from the city.
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The City Council met and pledged the faith of the city to meet any expense desired by the military authorities, authorized the Mayor to suspend all busi- ness, and call every man in the city to its defense. General Horatio G. Wright, the Department Com- mander, was requested to call for all the men and money to defend the city.
General Lewis Wallace, a young officer from Indiana who was in Kentucky commanding a volunteer regi- ment from his own State, was ordered by General Wright to defend Cincinnati and her Kentucky suburbs, Newport and Covington. It was nine o'clock in the evening when General Wallace arrived at Cincinnati, and at two o'clock the next morning he issued an order declaring the three cities under martial law. This prompt and vigorous proclamation was received with obedience by the people. It commanded all business houses to close that morning at nine o'clock; at ten o'clock all the citizens were to assemble in convenient public places to receive orders for the work to be performed. "The principle adopted is: citizens for labor, soldiers for the battle, " read the proclamation. Although the military force in the cities was not suffi- cient to enforce these orders if the same was necessary, the citizens cheerfully and loyally obeyed them to the letter. That morning there were meetings in every ward, and before noon there were thousands of citizens drilling, and thousands more were back of Newport and Covington commencing a series of breastworks and fortifications.
By the next morning a pontoon bridge had been constructed across the Ohio River, and long trains of
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men and wagons were bearing material and guns for the newly made defenses.
Governor Tod started from Columbus when General Wallace reached Cincinnati, and the next morning, September 2, found General and Governor in consul- tation. Then followed Governor Tod's famous appeal to the citizens of Ohio for the defense of Cincinnati and the southern border. In response came a body of minute-men such as answered the call of Paul Revere. They came by twos, and dozens, and hun- dreds; organized and unorganized; with and without uniforms. So many came clad in their homespun, with powder-horn and buckskin pouch, that they were called the "Squirrel Hunters," a name officially rec- ognized afterward by the Legislature. These citizen- soldiers came with a rush from all over the State. Governor Tod had ordered all railroad companies to carry any armed men or bodies of men to Cincinnati who would say on their honor that they were going to its defense, and the State would pay the bill.
On September 4, Governor Tod telegraphed from Columbus to General Wright: "I have now sent you for Kentucky twenty (20) regiments. I have twenty- one (21) more in process of organization, two of which I will send you this week, five or six next week, and the balance the week after, provided I can get arms and equipments." Fully fifty thousand were ready to march to Cincinnati in case they were needed, but Governor Tod checked the movement on September 13, when it became known that General Kirby Smith had retreated the day before. To Edwin M. Stanton, the Secretary of War, Governor Tod, on the date
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mentioned, sent this telegram: "The minute-men or 'Squirrel Hunters' responded gloriously to the call for the defense of Cincinnati. Thousands reached the city, and thousands more were en route for it. The enemy having returned, all have been ordered back. This uprising of the people is the cause of the retreat. You should acknowledge publicly this gallant conduct."
Thus ended the "Siege of Cincinnati"; the Con- federate forces, numbering about twelve thousand, were before the city eight days. There is no doubt whatever but that the preparations made for the enemy's recep- tion prompted his withdrawal and retreat.
General Wallace, upon taking leave of the city, issued the following address :
"To the People of Cincinnati, Newport and Coving- ton:
"For the present, at least, the enemy have fallen back, and your cities are safe. It is the time for acknowledgments, and I beg leave to make you mine. When I assumed command there was nothing to defend you with, except a few half-finished works and some dismounted guns; yet I was confident. The energies of a great city are boundless; they have only to be aroused, united and directed. You were appealed to. The answer will never be forgotten.
"Paris may have seen something like it in her revolu- tionary days, but the cities of America never did. Be proud that you have given them an example so splendid. The most commercial of people, you sub- mitted to a total suspension of business, and without a murmur adopted my principle-'Citizens for labor, soldiers for battle.'
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"In coming time, strangers, viewing the works on the hills of Newport and Covington, will ask, 'Who built these intrenchments?' You will answer, 'We built them.' If they ask, 'Who guarded them?' you can reply, 'We helped in thousands.' If they inquire the result, your answer will be, 'The enemy came and looked at them, and stole away in the night.'
"You have won much honor; keep your organizations ready to win more. Hereafter be always prepared to defend yourselves.
"Lewis Wallace,
"Major General Commanding."
An event that is inseparably connected with Ohio's part in the Civil War occurred in April, 1862, in the heart of the Southern Confederacy. This was an expedition organized under the authority and by the direction of General Ormsby M. Mitchel, having for its purpose the destruction of railroad communication between Atlanta and Chattanooga on the Georgia State Railroad. This was to be accomplished by reaching a point on the road where a locomotive and train of cars could be seized, and by a dash back in the direction of Chattanooga, burn the railroad bridges and otherwise destroy the railroad. Judge Advocate General Holt, in his official report to the Secretary of War, said: "The expedition, in the daring of its conception, had the wildness of romance; while in the gigantic and overwhelming results it sought and was likely to obtain, it was absolutely sublime."
In order to appreciate these words and to have a better understanding of the far-reaching results that would flow from the success of the perilous enterprise,
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we will be compelled to examine the military situation at that time. In the East General McClellan was marching on Richmond, and in the West General Grant had won Fort Donelson; this defeat caused the Confederates to abandon Kentucky and Eastern and Middle Tennessee. The Union army followed up this favorable situation and advanced by transports and gunboats up the Tennessee River as far as Pittsburg Landing. To meet this the Confederates were using every effort to concentrate sufficient troops under Generals Johnston and Beauregard to crush General Grant's army before it marched farther south. Con- sequently, troops and supplies were furnished plenti- fully and speedily, and the State of Georgia was the most fruitful source of this constant supply of both. The route over which these levies and assistance came was the Memphis and Charleston Railroad. Corinth, Mississippi, where the Confederates lay, is on this road, as is also Chattanooga, with the full width of the State of Alabama between them. From Chattanooga south to Atlanta the traffic was over the Georgia State Railroad.
Over this road Georgia and the South sent aid, both men and supplies, to the Confederates who were getting ready for battle at Corinth. They also used the road in connection with the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad by way of Chattanooga, for trans- portation of assistance to Richmond and also to Cumberland Gap, then threatened by General George W. Morgan, of Mt. Vernon, Ohio, with a division of the Union army. It is apparent from these facts that the Georgia State Railroad, which intersected at
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Chattanooga the roads running to Virginia on the east and to Corinth on the west, was the most necessary and potential factor to the Confederates. As a means of transporting and distributing troops and supplies in a short time when most needed, it was absolutely essential, in order to resist the Union armies under Grant in the West and McClellan in the East.
General Mitchel saw the vast benefit to the Union cause that would result from the destruction of this great artery of supplies to the Confederates. He saw also that it would be too hazardous to attempt this with a large force, as it would take his army hundreds of miles from its base of supplies. J. J. Andrews of the secret service of the United States, who had recently visited Atlanta and other points in the Confederacy, was positive that the railroad could be destroyed by a small secret expedition. He laid his plans before General Mitchel, who approved them. At the same time the General realized the dangers of the project; but the results charmed him, for he knew that it would, if successful, create terror and dismay in the South, and that it would separate the Confederate armies. General Mit- chel advised Andrews that failure meant capture, and capture meant death. He gave him permission to make his audacious attempt provided he could find twenty men in the division to accompany him on his perilous journey. The detail was easily secured from three Ohio regiments in General Sill's brigade. Without any knowledge of the nature of their service or their destination the following were selected: William Knight, Co. E; Wilson W. Brown, Co. F; Mark Wood, Co. C; J. A. Wilson, Co. C; John R. Porter, Co. C;
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Robert Buffum, Co. H; William Bensinger, Co. G; John Scott, Co. K; and Sergeant E. H. Mason, Co. K, all of the Twenty-First Ohio; Daniel A. Dorsey, Co. H; Martin J. Hawkins, Co. A; John Wollam, Co. C; Jacob Parrott, Co. K; Corporal William Reddick, Co. B; Samuel Robertson, Co. G; and Samuel Slavens, Co. G, all of the Thirty-Third Ohio; Captain William Pittenger, Co. G; George D. Wilson, Co. B; Marion A. Ross, Co. A, Sergeant Major of the Regiment; and Perry G. Shadrack, Co. K, all of the Second Ohio. In addition to these was William Campbell, from Salineville, Ohio, not in the service, but temporarily a resident of Kentucky.
Andrews, the leader of the expedition, was a fine specimen of manhood, nearly six feet in height, of powerful frame, black hair and long, black, silken beard, Roman features, a high expansive forehead and a voice fine and soft as a woman's. He combined in- tellect and refinement with a cool dauntless courage that quailed under no difficulty or danger. The young men from Ohio were nearly all farmer boys of intelli- gence and bravery. It was enough for them to know that they were about to dare and suffer for their country. They had no idea that they were about to engage in the most tragic and thrilling episode of the Civil War.
On the night of April 7, the day that Shiloh was fought and won, General Mitchel met Andrews and his men in a secluded spot outside the town of Shelbyville, Tennessee. The object of the expedition was by him fully explained to all for the first time. He wanted them to penetrate the Confederate lines to Marietta,
EDWIN McMASTERS STANTON
Born in Steubenville, Ohio. December 19, 1814; ad- mitted to the bar, 1833, and began practice in Cadiz, Ohio; elected Prosecuting Attorney of Harrison county, 1837; returned to Steubenville, 1839, and was reporter of the Ohio Supreme Court, 1842-45; removed to Pitts- burg, Pennsylvania, 1848, and to Washington, D. C., 1857; Attorney-General of the United States under Buchanan, December 20, 1860; appointed Secretary of War by Lincoln, January 15, 1862, and continued throughout Lincoln's administration and a part of Johnson's; ap- pointed by President Grant Justice of the United States Supreme Court, December 20, 1869; died in Washington, December 24, 1869
THE RISE AND PROGRES
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On the night of April 7, the day that Shiloh w fought ami won, General Mitchel met Andrews and h men In a secluded spot outside the town of Shelbyvill Treowe The object of the expedition was by hi filly expired to all for the first time. He wants Theo to penetrate the Confederate lines to Mariett:
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Georgia, then to seize by some means a train of cars and run northward to the Union lines, burning all the bridges behind them and destroying the railroad so as to prevent pursuit and break all communication with the South. One of those present has written ("Adventures of Alf. Wilson," by John A. Wilson, Toledo, 1880) of this interview: "This business over, the good old General took us each by the hand and with tearful eyes bade us good-bye, saying as he did so, that he feared he should never see us again." After instructions from Andrews, the band divided into small squads, and were told by their leader "to travel east into the Cumberland Mountains, then south to the Tennessee River. You can cross the river and take passage on the cars at Shell Mound or some station between that and Chattanooga on the Memphis and Charleston Railroad. You must be at Chattanooga not later than Thursday afternoon, and reach Marietta the same evening, ready to take passage northward on the train the next morning. I will be there with you or before you and will then tell you what to do." With these last words, the band divided and started on a journey that was to shock the Confederacy. They had discarded their uniforms and wore citizens' clothes. Andrews provided them with funds, in Confederate money, to meet all expenses. They were to explain to all inquirers that they were Kentuckians, disgusted with Union rule in their State, on their way to Chat- tanooga to enlist in the Southern army. They were finally advised that if it became necessary to enlist to carry out their representations, they were to do so.
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On the eleventh, after a tramp in snow and rain, over the mountains through the enemy's country, the little parties met at Chattanooga,and, purchasing tickets for Marietta, they arrived at that place about midnight. On retiring at the hotel, they gave orders to be awak- ened at four o'clock in the morning and until then they slept soundly. Before daybreak, all were aroused except Porter and Hawkins who failed to fee the servant to perform this service. They were conse- quently left behind to be captured later. Prior to action, Andrews gathered his Spartan band in his room for final conference and instruction. The plan outlined was for all to board the express train as passengers; in order not to attract attention tickets were to be bought to various points on the road. The place of action, however, was fixed at Big Shanty, a station on the road, eight miles north of Marietta. This place was selected because it had no telegraph office and also because it was an eating station at which passengers were given "twenty minutes for breakfast." It was during this period, while engineer, fireman, conductor and passengers were at their meal, that the train was to be seized. The other reason why Big Shanty was determined upon was indeed a bold one. Here was Camp McDonald, and ten thousand Confederate soldiers were in plain sight of the station. Andrews reasoned that a plan like his would be wholly unsus- pected and unexpected, and he was sure that the depar- ture of the engine would be regarded by the soldiers as simply a part of railroading.
All these things being settled Andrews said: "When the train stops at Big Shanty for breakfast, keep your
-
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places until I tell you to go. Get seats near each other in the same car, and say nothing about the matter on the way up. If anything unexpected occurs, look to me for the word. You and you," designating Brown and Knight, who were engineers, and Alfred Wilson, "will go with me on the engine; all the rest will go on the left of the train forward of where it is uncoupled, and climb on the cars in the best places you can, when the order is given. If anybody inter- feres shoot him, but don't fire until it is necessary."
The express from Atlanta rolled into the station on time; it was packed with passengers and was hauled by a fine locomotive. Andrews and his Ohio boys, all cool and resolute, quietly took their seats under instructions. The train slowly pulled out and they waited for the decisive moment to arrive. Presently came the shrill whistle of the locomotive, then a slowing up, then a stop. The conductor had already cried out, "Big Shanty! Twenty minutes for breakfast!" Then he, the engineer, fireman and the crowd of passengers all poured in hot haste into the restaurant. The time for action had arrived!
When the crowd was pouring out of the car Andrews and Knight moved first, and getting off on the side opposite the depot, walked forward to the engine and saw that the cab was empty; then they walked ahead far enough to see that the track beyond was clear. Turning backward they passed the locomotive, its tender and three empty box cars, when Andrews quietly said, "Uncouple here," and Knight pulled out the pin and laid it on the draw bar. Going to the car, where the balance of his men were seated, Andrews
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said quietly, "Come on, boys; it is time to go now." They arose, and without attracting the attention of the few passengers who had not left the car for break- fast, they went forward and leaped into one of the box cars. Brown, Knight and Wilson sprang on the engine; Andrews was the last to mount the cab. As he stepped aboard he nodded to Knight, who pulled the lever and threw on a full head of steam; it took a moment before the wheels "bit," then the train went off at a frightful rate of speed.
The crowd left behind, gazed at the fleeing train with dumfounded confusion. Half a mile out the engine came to a dead stop, owing to the exhaustion of steam and fire. In the meantime the troops had started for the train, but by the time they came within forty rods of it the engine was again on its way. Dur- ing this forced stop while the fireman was feeding the furnace with wood and oil, Scott with coolness and agility climbed the telegraph pole and cut the wires. At Kingston, a junction of a branch road from Rome, Andrews stopped to allow a regular freight to pass; he discovered by a red flag signal that another train was to follow. In the meantime let us return to Big Shanty.
When the kidnapped train moved out, the conductor, W. A. Fuller, was at breakfast, and when he heard escaping steam he knew something was wrong. He with the engineer and the trackmaster jumped from their table and ran after the disappearing train. To the crowd and the soldiers the idea of running to catch a locomotive was ridiculous, and jeers and laughter followed the pursuers. But they kept on
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until about two miles out, when they found a hand-car, which they drove up to the Etowah River, where they found an engine fired up and ready for use. It belonged to the Rome division and was a much better engine than the one pursued. Now came the race for life or death; for success and fame on the one hand, or an ignominious fate on the other. Andrews and his Ohio heroes knew that they were pursued and their locomotive was given a full head of steam; the engineer stood with his hand on the lever with the throttle wide open. The powerful engine leaped forward like a hound; then it rocked and reeled like a drunken man, while the men in the box car "tumbled from side to side like pop-corn in a frying-pan." A stream of fire ran from the wheels. It sped past sta- tions, houses and fields; bystanders looked on with fear and horror. Between Adairsville and Calhoun the nine miles was made in seven and a half minutes, and this was not the Twentieth Century Limited, but a train on a Southern railroad fifty years ago! At one point the raiders stopped to take up a rail, but the shriek of a pursuing whistle warned them onward again. Closely pursued they dropped one of their cars, as an obstruction, but Fuller's engine was reversed in time to prevent a collision; the box car was coupled to the front of the engine and pushed forward.
The wild chase was kept up until, nearing Chat- tanooga bridge, it was determined to stop and set fire to it; the last box car was uncoupled and left on the bridge to start the blaze. It was soon in flames, but the bridge was too wet to burn. The pursuing engine steamed onto the bridge and pushed the burning
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car ahead until it was side-tracked. This was dis- heartening; it was now apparent that the expedition was a failure and the only action left was to fight or flee. The last effort to escape was made by a new burst of speed; but all resources had been exhausted. There was nothing aboard to throw off to obstruct the track, and no water, wood or oil for steam or fire. The engine that had made the fearful race was now almost dead; the joints were loose, the journals and boxes were melted and the steel tires red hot. As a farewell attempt at thwarting the pursuit, the engine was reversed for the purpose of collision with the on-coming train, but in vain-the engine was dead. Then Andrews gave the order "jump and scatter."
"The expedition thus failed," says Judge Holt, "from causes which reflected neither upon the genius by which it was planned, nor upon the intrepidity and discretion of those engaged in conducting it." If the conduct of the heroes was that of courage in their bold raid, the subsequent events of flight, escape, sufferings and death exhibited a moral bravery truly sublime. Scattered in all directions, they were hunted by men and hounds from Richmond to the Gulf of Mexico. The South was thrown into a fever of frightened anxiety, for they knew not when another plan of destruction would develop. At the same time there was rejoicing at the thwarting of the bold project, for it meant incalculable injury to the Confederate cause. An estimate of its far-reaching character was published in the Southern Confederacy, April 15, a few days after the chase and flight: "The mind and heart shrink back appalled at the bare contemplation of the
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awful consequences that would have followed the success of this one act. We doubt if the victories of Manassas or Corinth were worth as much to us as the frustration of this grand coup d'etat. It is not by any means certain that the annihilation of Beauregard's whole army at Corinth would be so fatal a blow to us as would have been the burning of the bridges at that time by these men."
In time the whole party of twenty-two were captured. Words revolt at describing their sufferings in captivity. The heroic conduct of Jacob Parrott is a striking example. This young man, eighteen years of age, the junior of the band, when arrested, was, without trial, taken possession of by a military officer and four soldiers who stripped him, bent him over a stone and inflicted a hundred lashes with a rawhide on his bare back. This was done in the presence of an inflamed mob who clamored for his blood, and had a rope ready to hang him. The object of this scourging was to force the young man to confess the object of the expedition and the names of his comrades, especially that of the engineer who ran the train. Three times in this horrible flogging its progress was suspended and Parrott asked if he would confess, but resolutely to the last he refused a word to his tormentors until finally the brutal work was abandoned. The captives were held in the negro jail at Chattanooga, a black hole, thirteen feet square, half under ground, with not enough room for all to lie down. While here Andrews was tried, and, subsequently, June 7, was hung at Atlanta. Twelve were afterward removed to the prison at Knoxville, Tennessee, at which place
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