USA > Tennessee > The Annals of the Army of Tennessee and early western history, including a chronological summary of battles and engagements in the western armies of the Confederacy > Part 18
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And now Captain Murphy is out of prison, but in the enemy's country, hundreds of miles from the Confederate lines, without a cent of money, attired in the garb of a Federal soldier, and liable any mo- ment to be arrested as a deserter. In addition to this, he was in very feeble health; but, with incomparable courage, he determined to try to make his escape out of the country. Consequently, on the after- noon of the same day, he set out on foot for Detroit, Michigan. Trav- eling mostly by night, and subsisting chiefly upon the charity of the Irish laborers along the Lake Shore Railroad, to whom he represented himself sometimes as a discharged soldier, sometimes as a soldier on furlough, and, finally, after having found means to exchange his sol- dier's clothes for a citizen's suit, as a wrecked sailor, after many days he arrived, weary and foot-sore, at Detroit. He now had great fear that he would be captured; for though he had made arrangements to have his name answered to at roll-call, yet the lapse of time had been so great that he feared he had been missed on the Island and a search instituted for him. He feared, also, that a strict embargo was laid on all the shipping by Uncle Sam, so that he could not pass. He must cross the river, too, and he had nothing to pay the fare on the ferry- boat. In devising a plan to cross, the small rope which he had pro- cured for the purpose of making a raft brought some aid. Ascertain- ing the given name of the captain of the ferry-boat, he called to him familiarly as the boat was starting, and, when the captain had begun to take up the tickets, said, "I am going over to Windsor for my dog, and I will pay when I return." The captain, seeing his rope in hand, thought all was right and let him pass, and in a few minutes he was landed on the Canada side and was safe from arrest.
Arriving at Windsor, he found quite a number of Confederate sol- diers, and many citizens of the United States who had left home for "principle." He also found an agent of the Confederate States, who at once supplied him with money and clothing. Captain Murphy was now in a condition to recuperate his health, which he needed very much. From Windsor he went to Toronto, where he met Lieutenant
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Thompson, of the Confederate States, to whom he reported for duty: but this officer could do no more than supply him with additional means and instruct him to return to the Confederate States if he found opportunity.
He went thence to Niagara, thence to Montreal, thence down the St. Lawrence river and gulf, and around to Halifax, where, after some weeks' delay, he embarked, with several other Confederates, upon a blockade-runner bound for the port of Wilmington, N. C. The weather was fine at first, but soon changed, and they had five days of very heavy weather; so much so, that it sorely tried the courage of the passengers and crew. Arriving thirty miles off Wilmington, they waited till night before essaying to run through the blockading squad- ron. Starting as soon as it was dark, they safely passed the Yankee fleet; but, when within the bay and near the Confederate forts, they ran upon a sunken wreck and had to make a sudden turn, when the batteries on shore, thinking that it was an armed vessel taking position to deliver a broadside, opened all their guns upon her. At the same time, the blockading squadron, thinking they were the object of the attack, returned the fire vigorously. The seemingly devoted little vessel, seeing no chance to reach the landing under a fire both in front and rear, took advantage of the excitement, and, wheeling around, again ran the gauntlet of the Yankee fleet, and sought safety upon the deep sea. On the following night they endeavored to enter the port again, but, while running near the coast to evade the fleet, they stuck fast upon a sand-bar, where they labored till 3 o'clock in the morning before they got afloat. By this time the moon was up, and they could not think of making an effort to run in when there was so much light. So they put to sea again. By this time their coal was exhausted, and it became necessary to run down to Nassau for a sup- ply. Remaining here several days, while their coal-bunkers were be- ing filled, they again cleared for Wilmington. When they were near the port they were chased by a man-of-war, and would have been cap- tured had not the friendly night put an end to the chase. During this chase, they lost their position, and the weather not being favorable for observing, they knew not which way to go. They found, upon sound- ing, that they could not be far from land, and during the forenoon they sighted the spires of a city which proved to be Georgetown, S. C. Ap- proaching nearer to the shore, they descried a signal flag. Not being able to make out the signals, our hero, with some other Confederates,
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took a life-boat, and, approaching, discovered nine men in blue, mak- ing the signals. Not wishing to take the risk of going on shore, they proposed to them that one of their number should swim to the boat, which he did. These nine men proved to be Yankee prisoners, escaped from Andersonville. Learning from these that if they went ashore they would be safely within the Confederate lines, Captain Murphy and his Confederate companions, being tired of the sea and of block- ade-running, determined to go. Returning to the vessel for their bag- gage and to take leave of their friends on board, they landed, and, after a good, long walk to the railroad, they flagged the first train that passed and got aboard.
The rest of the story is soon told. The true-hearted soldier hastened to the front, only to meet his regiment returning from the disastrous cam- paign in Tennessee. He followed its standard until it was lowered in surrender at Greensboro, N. C., but gilded with the brightest effulgence that ever shone upon the Confederate arms-that which was reflected from its last battle-ground-the glorious, the immortal field of Benton- ville, N. C.
E. W. HOLT, Capt. of Co. A, Fifth Reg. Tenn. Infantry, C. S. A.
[From Judge Guild's Forthcoming Book, "Old Times in Tennessee."] AN INCIDENT OF FORT MACKINAW.
How a "Rebel" Prisoner Saved an Indian's Life.
N incident occurred at Mackinaw, while that post was used as a " Rebel" prison, which caused as much excitement as did the appearance in the town of Strasburg of the man with the big nose, so graphically described in " Gil Blas." I had the honor of being a guest of that place for several months during the "unpleasantness " of a few years ago, together with a number of gentlemen from Tennessee and other Southern States who had fallen under the ban of some mil- itary satrap. The crime of which we were guilty was that we sympa- thised with the people among whom we lived. In those days, if a southern man had political opinions of his own-in other words, if he dared to be a MAN-he not unfrequently found himself an inmate of some grim old fortress.
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Mackinaw is an Indian name, and means the big turtle. The island was evidently thrown up by a volcanic eruption, with its mountain-crest high above the waters of the strait, while there is a beautiful beach along the southern base of the mountain, where the town is built. This sec- tion of country was discovered and settled by the French, the Jesuits being the pioneers. More than two centuries ago they built a strong fort upon the mountain's rocky side, which looks down some two hun- dred feet upon the beach washed by the limpid waters of the strait connecting Lake Michigan with Huron. Here we sojourned for some six months. The post was under the command of Captain Wormer, who was a gentleman and did honor to the uniform he wore. From him, as well as from his command, we received many acts of kind- ness, which I recall with pleasure and gratitude. The fort had not been garrisoned since the war of 1812, and needed repairs, and, until this could be done, we were placed at a tavern called the Missionary House, kept by a clever gentleman named Frank, who had two pretty, accomplished daughters, who contributed no little to relieve the tedium of prison life. Captain Wormer permitted his prisoners to take a walk of two hours each day on the beach, attended by a guard of two armed soldiers, for exercise and to enjoy the sights to be met with in such a stroll. One day I sauntered up the beach to the court-house, about four hundred yards distant from the tavern, where the Circuit Court was in session. I discovered that the court-yard and the court-room was crowded with a mixture of Indians, half-breeds and whites, all manifesting great interest in a trial then proceeding in court. A young Indian about twenty-one years of age was being tried for the murder of another Indian. Most of the witnesses were Indians, who were present and saw the rencounter between the prisoner and the de- ceased. Interpreters were sworn, who translated the questions into the Indian dialect and the answers into English. The jury was com- posed of whites, Indians, and half-breeds. I became interested in the case as it progressed, and learned that the prisoner and the deceased had been rival suitors for the hand and heart of one of the Pocahon- tases of the tribe, and that the prize had been won by the prisoner, upon whom the Indian maiden smiled graciously. The defeat of the other swain greatly chagrined him, and he became surly and morose, a fact which was well known to the tribe. These Indians lived upon a distant island, and from that point they brought various commodities to Mackinaw to sell. They came in their birch canoes, a fleet of
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twenty to thirty at a time, following a leader in single file, as is the habit of the Indians on the trail. They bring with them their birch house, and as soon as they arrive on the beach the house is put up, which requires but a few minutes. Here all connected with the fleet sleep and abide until they depart on their return voyage, which gener- ally occurs within two or three days. _ One keeps house and cooks, two go about the town to dispose of what they have to sell, while the remainder get drunk, quarrel, fight, and "turn up Jack generally." Two fleets of canoes arrived about the same time, and each brought one of the young Indians who had been suitors of the dusky maiden. Once on the beach, the deceased discovered his rival; his jealousy was moused to a pitch of frenzy, and he flourished his tomahawk over his head in a menacing manner, accompanied by the war-whoop, which the other understood, as it was intended, as a challenge to mortal com- bat, and he, too, flourished his tomahawk and sounded the war-whoop, in token of his readiness to give battle. The deceased glared furiously upon his rival, and then, with a wild whoop, made a rush at him. They grappled with savage ferocity and fought with the desperation of tigers, inflicting terrible wounds upon each other. It was a death-struggle, and so impressed the bystanders. Finally, the accepted lover sent his tom- ahawk crashing through the skull of his antagonist, deep into the brain. That was "the last of earth" with him. He reeled for a moment, then, raising himself to his full height, fell backwards, and his spirit took its departure for " the happy hunting grounds." For this the prisoner was arrested, and was now upon his trial for murder. I soon discovered that the attorney for the defendant did not see the nice dis- tinction necessary to make this a case of self-defense ; at least he was not endeavoring to establish that point by the testimony. I told him that I was an old criminal lawyer, and suggested that he direct his ex- amination of the witnesses so as to avoid the effect of a mutual com- bat, and place the act of his client upon the ground of self-defense, a law of principle which may always be acted upon when one's life is imperiled. He did not seem to fully comprehend the point I desired him to establish by the proof, and asked me to examine the witnesses, and get the case fully before the jury in my own way. By permission of the court I examined the witnesses, and made out a pretty clear case of self-defense. After the proof had all been heard, the Attor- ney-General presented the case to the jury, bringing out as strongly as possible his point that it was a mutual combat, with some show of prob-
VOL. I, NO. IV .- 3.
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ability, and that, in taking the life of the deceased, the prisoner was guilty of murder. I apprised the court that I was a stranger here, that I had been requested to close the argument for the prisoner, and that, with the permission of the court, I would do so. This permis- sion was courteously granted. I will not attempt to give a synopsis of my speech, but will simply state a point or two I'made. I laid down the proposition of the common law, which is observed and acted upon in every civilized government in the world, that God, who gave life, accompanied the gift with the right, under all circumstances, of de- fending and preserving it, even to the taking of the life of another. This was a great natural law, stamped upon the heart of every man, that no court, no jury, no law could take away. This natural right is recognised by the law of the land. If a man's life be put in peril by another, or if he shall believe, upon reasonable grounds, that it is so endangered, he has a right to slay the person whom he thus suspects · of seeking his own life, notwithstanding it might afterwards turn out that his life was not so imperiled. This great doctrine was laid down by Judge Catron, of the Supreme Court of Tennessee, fifty years ago, and it has been recognised and charged by every Judge in that State ever since, and by the Judges in all the States of the Union. I said, I do not controvert the doctrine laid down by the Attorney-General, that in voluntary, mutual combats, if one party slay the other, the slayer is guilty of murder. When the Attorney-General brings such a case before the jury upon reliable proof, his doctrine will hold good, but it certainly will not apply to the present case. I asked, What is the case made out by the proof against the prisoner? He won the prize and possessed it, and, of course, had no cause for malice or re- venge against the deceased. On the contrary, it was shown that the deceased felt sorely aggrieved toward the prisoner. The one he loved dearly had been won and carried off by his rival ; his hopes were blasted, and he gave himself up to despair, scowling upon the prisoner wherever he met him; he " nursed his wrath to keep it warm," until the rivals met on the beach on that fatal day, when every passion of his nature was kindled to a frenzy, and in the desperation that controlled him, sought the life of the prisoner, by making a deadly assault upon him. The prisoner reasonably concluded that his life was not only imper- iled, but was about to be taken, and he was justified in defending that life by every means within his power, even to the taking of the life of his antagonist. It had been urged that the prisoner should have run
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to the wall before he could have been justified in taking life in defense of his own. This, I maintained, was not the law, and no court, prop- erly appreciating the law and the rights of man under it, would so hold. I also maintained that if a man is assailed in such manner as to endanger his life, he may stand and slay in its defense; and, in fact, the assault may be so fierce-as it was in the case before the court-as to justify him in pursuing and slaying his assailant. These were some of the points I made, and enforced them by the law and the testimony, occupying about one hour and a half in my argument. I have a pair of good lungs, and I spoke so as to be heard at a con- siderable distance along the beach. I attracted the whole town; merchants, clerks, and citizens of every calling and of no calling, came in haste to the court-house to see what all this noise was about ; they had never heard the like before. When I concluded and sat down, I was greeted with vociferous applause. The Judge charged the law as I had laid it down in my argument. The jury were out about ten minutes, when they returned with a verdict of not guilty, and the prisoner was discharged.
· I then hurried out of the court-house with my guard, to return to my quarters, for I had then been out the full extent of the time allowed me. When I stepped into the court-yard, the Indians and half-breeds, friends of the Indian I had defended, seized me, raised me to their shoulders, and carried me up and down the beach in a hilarious manner, and with every demonstration of gratitude. . I tried to disengage myself, in order to hurry to my quarters, fearing the con- sequences of such an unseemly exhibition. It was reported to Cap- tain Wormer that there was a row down town, in which some Indians and half-breeds were engaged with one of his prisoners, and he sent a dozen soldiers down with fixed bayonets, who dispersed the crowd and took me to my quarters. Captain Wormer reprimanded me severely for practicing law, as he termed it, and raising a mob in the streets; thus abusing the privileges he had granted me. I told him I had not in- tentionally violated any privilege, and reminded him that I had given my parole of honor that I would not make my escape, nor do any thing detrimental to the United States, and that I had faithfully kept that pledge. I explained to him that I had found a human being on trial for his life; that, according to the law and the testimony, he should be acquitted, and that I had simply contributed my mite to save his life, as I regarded it my duty to do under the circumstances.
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I expressed the hope that he would take the proper view of the mat- ter, and not withdraw the privileges he had granted me. He dis- missed me, saying that he would consider the matter. That was the last of it. I was always treated by the Captain and his family in the kindest manner, for which I felt as grateful to them as did the Indian to me for saving his life.
ON THE PICKET-LINE.
M OST trying contests often took place on the picket-lines, and this kind of service was, at times, not only disagreeable, but very dangerous. One of these ,affairs in front of Polk's Brigade, on the Kennesaw line in Georgia, will, I dare say, never be forgotten by those participating in it. On taking up a new line, it was generally the first care to establish strong picket works, but on this occasion it was neglected in favor of strengthening the main line. The right wing of Johnston's Army lay on the Kennesaw, and the left extended south- ward through a broken upland mostly covered with timber, with an oc- casional small farm. The first picket works of the Second Tennessee Regiment were only one hundred yards in front of the main line, and lay along the edge of a woods fronting an open field of several hun- dred yards in width. . These works consisted merely of a double layer of fence rails, locked at front like a V, against trees at regular intervals. Two hundred yards in front of this was a low ridge, with a deep, bushy ravine at its farther side, which sloped rapidly to its base. For several days this had been occupied by the enemy's videttes, who oc- casionally got in a good shot on some unlucky Reb at the breastworks, and it was determined to dislodge them and fortify the place. Accord- ingly, at midnight, a detachment from the several regiments fronting here carried it at a dash, and by morning had made a good line of picket-holes. At the earliest dawn, a detail from the Second Tennes- see Regiment was thrown forward under the writer to relieve its work- ing party and occupy the place, canteens being filled with water before starting for the day's supply. The enemy were on the alert, even at this early hour, and seriously wounded Wm. Strother, of Company I. before he reached the line. A similar movement had been made b; Cheatham's skirmishers on the left, and successfully carried out.
The immediate front of the Second Tennessee skirmishers was an
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open field three hundred yards in depth, flanked on either side by a thick growth of timber. A house stood on the farther side, and from this and other points a lively fire was kept up for several hours. About 10 A.M., a glistening of guns in the woods beyond showed that some movement was afoot, and in a brief time a line of skirmishers, followed, at short interval, by another, advanced into the field and at- tempted to cross, at a double-quick, to the ravine at the foot of the hill. Only a few of these succeeded directly, the rest being driven back by our fire or forced to seek shelter in the woods on either side. The line coming through the woods reached the ravine with little op- position, and distributed itself so quietly along our front that its pres- ence was not suspected for some time. Sharp-shocting was now the order of the day, as both sides fought from cover, and an animated practice of " cross-lifting " treed Yankees was indulged by the Second Tennesseeans to their evident advantage and delight. Such contests have a good deal of personality about them, and men often sacrificed themselves in their eagerness to get a good shot. However, there were, fortunately, no casualties on our side at this stage. Cheatham's men on the left did little firing, having orders from the officer in com- mand to save their ammunition-a piece of worldly wisdom that was not appreciated at that extremity, when the enemy was under our noses in heavy force. The firing had been so constant for hours, that this part of the line at length found itself nearly out of cartridges. A man was dispatched to the rear for a supply, which came promptly to hand, but not a whit too soon. The force ensconced in the ravine dared not make a farther advance, but, in the meantime, several indi- viduals had crawled up to within a few feet of the left pit. Sergeant Clay Haynes, of Company K, happening to discover one of these, leaned over the works and shot him as he lay; at the same time another was crouched behind a tree at the corner of the bracket, but, seeing the fate of his adventurous comrade, he leaped to his feet and made lightning speed down the steep hill-side. As it happened, all of the guns were empty at this time, and he escaped amid the cries of "shoot that d-n Yankee," which quickened his gait to a fearful speed. He straddled young saplings as if they were no hindrances.
About noon a gleam of guns across the field, and a movement of horsemen to and fro, showed that a line of infantry was in motion.
The skirmishers were now warned to turn all their attention to the line of battle as soon as it appeared in full view, which it did in a few
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minutes later, and caught such a sharp volley that it quickly receded from sight into the woods beyond. At the first appearance of this force, the right wing of the skirmishers, supposing that it was not in- tended to make a stand against a line of battle, proceeded to quit their posts, but was quickly rallied and returned to their places. A man was now dispatched to the rear with a statement of the situation and a request for reinforcements, which was responded to at once by Colonel Robison, of the Second, and Colonel -, of the One Hundred and Fifty-fourth Tennessee Regiments. But the lines of battle, advancing through the woods on the left, met with little opposition, and closed in rapidly on our slender force, with loud cheers. The Second Tennes- see skirmishers were now ordered to quit their works and fall back on the reserve line, which they did without the loss of a man.
Cheatham's skirmishers were less fortunate; being held to their places they were quickly overpowered, and nearly the entire line was killed or captured. The reinforcements were met at the reserve works, and all were quickly formed by Colonel Robison to recover the lost position, as he supposed that it had been abandoned too hastily, but the display of a number of Federal flags along the front, convinced him that he had done the defenders injustice, and both detachments were ordered behind the rail piles. The enemy began to fortify at once, under fire, and in an astonishing short time were under cover of earth works. In this interval they hadn't fired a shot, while on the Confederate side no attempt had been made to strengthen their posi- tion-a piece of negligence which cost them dearly before night came on and put an end to the unequal contest. In less than an hour our antagonists had finished their works, and then they opened fire from a full line on our frail defense, which was kept up without intermis- sion for at least four long hours. They must have been greatly damaged by our rifles during the day, or they would have hardly ex- pended so much ammunition against a skirmish line which soon ceased to respond in a great measure, and lay flat on the ground for safety: at least such was the conclusion reached by the councils of war held couchant behind the rail piles, and their only consolation, during the lon; siege of waiting for night to come. It seemed that the sun would never set, but hung like a huge orb of blood in the heavens, magni- fied by the smoke of battle, waiting the bidding of some modern Joshua, who had commanded it to stand still on Kennesaw. Still the pelting of bullets went on, and splinters flew from the rails every vol-
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