Daring and Suffering: a history of the Great Railroad Adventure [i.e. the Andrews Railroad Raid.] ... With an introduction, by ... A. Clark

Front matter

CAPTURE ok this train in an enemy's camp. Daring and Suffering: A HISTORY OF THE Andrews Railroad Raid INTO GEORGIA IN 1862, EMBRACING A FULL AND ACCURATE ACCOUNT OF THE SECRET JOURNEY TO THE HEART OF THE CONFEDERACY, THE CAPTURE OF A RAILWAY TRAIN IN A CONFEDERATE CAMP, THE TERRIBLE CHASE THAT FOL- LOWED, AND THE SUBSEQUENT FORTUNES OF THE LEADER AND HIS PARTY. 3Y WILLIAM PITTENGER, A MEMBER OF THE EXPEDITION. 'The expedition, m the daring of its conception, had the wildness of a romance; while in the gigantic and overwhelming results it sought and was likely to obtain it was absolutely sublime."— Judge-Advocate- General Holt's Official Report. . 'It was all the deepest "laid scheme, and on the grandest scale, that ever emanated from the brains of any number of Yankees combined." — The Southern Confederacy \ (Atlanta, Ga.), April 15, 1S62.

"Despite its tragic termination it shows what a handful of brave men could undertake in America."— Comte de Paris' History of the Civil War in America^ Vol. 2, p. 187. NEW YORK: THE WAR PUBLISHING COMPANY. 1SS7. Copyright, 7887. BY THE WAR PUBLISHING COMPANY, 34 Vesey St., New York. The Publishers' Printing Company, 157 and 159 William Street, New York. gcxUcalxou. To THE GRAND ARMY OF THE WEST WHICH UNDER COMMAND OF GENERAL SHERMAN, IN ONE HUNDRED DAYS OF CON- TINUOUS BATTLE, FOLLOWED US OVER THE LINE OF THE GEORGIA STATE RAILROAD FROM CHATTANOOGA TO ATLANTA, AND CONQUERED WHERE WE ONLY DARED. THIS FRAGMENT OF HISTORY IS MOST RESPECTFULLY AND FRATERNALLY INSCRIBED BY THE WRITER AND HIS COMRADES OF THE ANDREWS RAID.

Preface

. THIS book, which is partly historical and partly personal, is written from the standpoint of frank egotism. It is far more easy to tell what the writer thought, felt and did, in the first person, than to resort to tedious circumlocution. As a large part of the interest of such a narrative must consist in describing the sensations experi enced in passing through such appalling dangers and tremendous vicissitudes of fortune, it is clear that in a work of plain fact the writer cannot avoid making himself more prominent than his com rades. His own emotions and the incidents in which he participated will be indelibly engraven in his memory, while impressions received at second hand grow dim with the passage of years. It also happened that, in most cases where selection was practicable, the writer was made the spokesman of the whole party, and was thus brought into more frequent contact with both friend and foe.

Many instances of this will be noticed all through the story. Great care has been taken in the citation of authorities. The writer has not hesitated to claim for his own notes and memories the full weight to which they are entitled, and has carefully indi cated the sources from which he has drawn all other tacts. In no portion of war history of equal magnitude is there more abundant material preserved both on the Federal and the Confederate sides. This is indicated by the accompanying list of authorities ; and authority for separate incidents is adduced either in notes or at the Preface. beginning of chapters. With great care in sifting testimony and constant references to original documents, the writer hopes not only to give the exact and literal truth, but to carry the conviction of the judicious reader with him on every page.

Whenever conjectures or statements of probabilities are hazarded to bridge any chasm in the narrative, they will be offered for what they are, and always clearly separated from known facts. WM. PITTENGER, Haddonheld, N. J., October, 1887. CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE I. A Secret Military Raid in the West ....... 13 II. General Mitchel and J. J. Andrews Arrange a Second Raid . . 25 III. Selection of Engineers and Soldiers ....... 36 IV. Departure at Night .......... 45 V. Previous History of James J. Andrews ...... 53 VI. First Lessons in Disguise and Duplicity ...... 64 VII. The Heart of the Confederacy Reached ...... 73 VII [. The Bloodless Victories of Mitchel 87 IX. Capture of the Train .......... 97 X. Pursued! 113 XL An Appalling Struggle 123 XII. The Final Race 143 XIII. What was Actually Accomplished ....... 153 XIV.

Hunted in the Woods 161 XV. A Sad Sabbath Morning 171 XVI. The Roll of the Captives 181 XVII. First Prison Experiences ......... 203 XVIII. The Old Negro Jail at Chattanooga 216 XIX. Gleams of Hope 228 XX. Gen. Mitchel Saves the Raiders 235 XXI. A Struggle Against Destiny . 250 XXII. Knoxville 264 XXIII. A Day of Blood 279 XXIV. After the Tragedy 291 XXV. A Daring Escape 306 XXVI. In Cave and Mountain 327 XXVII. The Loyal Mountaineers 334 XXVIII. Down the Tennessee 342 XXIX. Floating to the Gulf 348 XXX. The Recaptured Prisoners 360 XXXI. Richmond and its Prisons 374 XXXII. Last Experiences in Rebel Prisons 386 XXXIII. Homeward Bound 397 XXXIV. Reporting to Secretary Stanton and President Lincoln . . . 406 SUPPLEMENT. CHAPTER PAGE I. Subsequent History of the Railroad Adventurers 5 II. The South Revisited a Quarter of a Century After 13 III.

A Detailed Account of the First or Buell Railroad Raid ... 29 IV. Autobiography 35 V. Editorial Account from the Southern Confederacy 41 VI. Official Report by Judge-Advocate-General Holt 47 VII. Message of Gov. Jos. E. Brown to the Legislature of Georgia in 1S62 . 48 VIII. Criticisms of Generals Buell and Fry A PARTIAL LIST OF AUTHORITIES REFERRED TO IN "DARING AND SUFFERING." I. THE OFFICIAL WAR RECORDS.— These are now in course of publication by the Government at Washington. They comprise four series, each containing a number of large volumes. In several of these there are notices of the Railroad Raid, but the principal account is found in Series I., Vol. X., Part I, extending from page 630 to 639. 2. REPORT OF WOOD AND WILSON IN 1862.— This was made to the Sec retary of War, on Nov. 12th, 1862, when the two arrived, as escaping prisoners, at Key West, Fla.

A fuller account by the same persons was published in the Key West, Fla., New Era, three days later. 3. SWORN TESTIMONY OF SURVIVORS.— The testimony of five of the sur vivors, Buffum, Bensinger, Parrott, Reddick and Pittenger was taken under oath at Wash ington, and phonographically reported, by order of Secretary Stanton. It is still preserved in the Archives at Washington. 4. THE FIRST EDITION OF "DARING AND SUFFERING."— This was begun a short time after the return home of the writer, and was founded mainly on personal recollections, aided by a few shorthand notes. Several survivors also contributed personal sketches and incidents to the book. It was published in Philadelphia, by J. W. Daughaday, in October, 1863. In this book the narrative assumed its usual form. 5. UNPUBLISHED LETTERS AND PAPERS OF GEN. O. M. MIT CHEL. — These, as well as an unpublished biography by himself, were generously placed at my disposal by his son, F. A. Mitchel, Esq. (A biography of Gen. Mitchel, "As tronomer and General," embracing most of these papers, by his son, is now [1887] passing through the press of Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Boston.) 6.

THE ADVENTURES OF ALF. WILSON, ONE OF THE MITCHEL RAIDERS, by J. A. Wilson. — Published in Toledo, Ohio. This is especially valuable as giving the marvelous adventures of the writer in escaping from prisons. 7. CAPTURING A LOCOMOTIVE, by Wm. Pittenger.— Published by J. B. Lippincott, 1881. 8. CONDUCTOR WILLIAM A. FULLER.— Accounts published by this gen tleman, in The Sunny South and other papers, and still more important personal com munications made to the writer, for which due credit is given in the appropriate places. 9. WAR FILES OF SOUTHERN NEWSPAPERS, especially of the Atlanta, Ga., Southern Confederacy. 10. "AN EPISODE OF THE WAR."— This is an account of some of the most important events of this history to which he was an eye-witness, by Rev. W. J. Scott, and is published in a volume of essays, with a strong pro-slavery bias, entitled, " From Lincoln to Cleveland," Atlanta, Ga., 1886. 11.

THE FOLLOWING MEMBERS OF THE ORIGINAL EXPEDITION have each furnished me with important manuscripts as well as verbal communications ■ D. A. Dorsey, Kearney, Nebraska; J. R. Porter, McComb, Wood Co., Ohio; William Bensinger, McComb, Wood Co., Ohio ; William Knight, Stryker, Williams Co. Ohio ■ Jacob Parrott, Kenton, Hardin Co., Ohio; W. W. Brown, Dowling, Wood Co.', Ohio' William Reddick, Newport, Louisa Co., Iowa. 12. FRANK HAWKINS, Treasury Department, Columbus, Ohio, and Captain Jas. F. Sarratt, of Steubenville, have furnished many written details of the first expedition. 13. MR. ANTHONY MURPHY, Foreman of Repair Shops of the Western and Atlantic Railroad. A very valuable written communication, descriptive of the chase on the railroad was prepared for me by this gentleman. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE I. The Capture of the Train in an Enemy's Camp. . . Frontispiece 2. Map of Southern R. R. System Threatened by the Andrews Raid . . 12 3. Portrait of James J. Andrews ......... 17 4. Photograph of Gen. O. M. Mitchel 3° 5. Photograph of Wilson W. Brown, Engineer. 3° 6. Photograph of William Knight, Engineer . 38 7. Photograph of Capt. James F. Sarratt 3$ 8. Photograph of Marion Ross. ......... 41 9. Photograph of William I'ittenger. ........ 45 10. Andrews Seen by the Lightning Flash ....... 51 11. Photograph of Flemingsburg, Ky 53 12. Photograph of J. J. Andrews 55 13. Photograph of Miss Elizabeth J. Layton 5° 14. Photograph of Geo. D. Wilson 67 15. Photograph of William Campbell. ....■••• 16. Photograph of William Reddick 79 17. Preparing to Cross the Tennessee River • 82 18. Map of the Campaign of Gen. Mitchel 88 19.

Gen. Mitchel's Armed Train 94 20. Map of the Western and Atlantic or Georgia State Railroad. ... 99 21. Bed-room Consultation at Marietta I0° 22. Photograph of Capt. W. A. Fuller (Confederate Conductor) ... 102 23. Seizing the Train IO-t 24. Photograph of- John Scott Io6 25. Tearing up Track ICK5 26. Photograph of Anthony Murphy, Supt. W. & A. Machine Shops. . . 116 27. Oostenaula Bridge r35 28. In Sight ! Ties Thrown from Car 1^i 29. At the Wood-station T39 30. Kindling a Fire in the Box-car . 146 31. Leaving the Locomotive '51 32. Photograph of the Locomotive " The General" l6° 33. Climbing the Chattanooga Precipice l64 34. News from Ringgold ! • ■ ..10 35. Photograph of Samuel Slavens 1°1 36. Slavens, Campbell and Shadrack in Chains l32 37. Photograph of Jacob Parrott l83 33 Bloodhounds Seen on the Trail lS5 List of Illustrations.

PAGE 39. Wood and Wilson on the Tennessee ......•■ '99 40. The Iron Cage at Lafayette, Ga. • • 2°3 41. Chained in a Carriage. ......•••• 20 42. Confronted with Gen. Leadbetter .....■•• 2r3 43. The Swims Jail at Chattanooga 2l8 44. Manner of Sleeping in the Swims Jail ........ 22° 45. The Chained Men Descending into the Dungeon . . . • • 223 46. The Raiders Seated in the Cars ......••• 23° 47. " Meet me on the other side of Jordan" ....... 249 48. Escape of Andrews and Wollam ......... 252 49. Riveting Chains in the Dungeon. ......-■ 256 50. Photograph of Judge O. P. Temple ........ 2D0 51. Photograph of Judge Baxter 267 52. The Old Court-house at Knoxville, Tenn. ....... 268 53. The Court Martial 271 54. Photograph of Captain David Fry ........ 275 55. Photograph of Rev. W. J. Scott 281 56.

Speech of Wilson on the Scaffold ........ 287 57. Photo-Lithograph of Letter to Jefferson Davis ...... 293 58. Photo-Lithographs of Endorsements by Gen. Bragg, Jefferson Davis and Others 308, 309 59. Photograph of Geo. W. Walton ......... 313 60. Photograph of Robert Buffum . . . . . . ... . 317 61. Photograph of William Bensinger ........ 318 62. Seizing the Guard at Atlanta ......... 319 63. The Race in the Woods .......... 323 64. Photograph of Elihu H. Mason 328 65. Victory over Bloodhounds ! ......... 329 66. Brown and Knight Capture a Pig ........ 331 67. The Fugitives entering a Cave ......... 332 68. Photograph of D. A. Dorsey ......... 334 69. Photograph of Martin J. Hawkins ........ 336 70. Photograph of John R. Porter ......... 342 71. Photograph of Mark Wood ......... 348 72. At Sight of the Old Flag ! 358 73.

Photograph of Libby Prisons ......... 3-5 74. Taking a Dead Man's Name ......... 391 75. Eating in the Engine-rcom 404 76. Fac-simile of Congress Medals of Honor . . . . . . 412 77. Interview with President Lincoln : " A little luck with the battles, now !" . 414 SUPPLEMENT. 78. Photograph of W. W. Brown D 79. Jacob Parrott and D. A. Dorsay overlooking Chattanooga ... 7 80. Photograph of William H. Reddick g 81. Photographs of Seven Survivors of the Andrews Raid ... 27 82. Photographs of Members oi the First Expedition .... ■,<-> Southern Railway System threatened by the Andrews Raid.

Chapter I

A SECRET MILITARY RAID IN THE WEST. IT is painful for me to recall the adventures of the year beginning April 7th, 1862. As I compose my mind to the task there rises before me the memory of days of suffering and nights of sleepless apprehension, — days and nights that in their black monotony seemed well nigh eternal. And time has not yet dulled the sorrow of that terrible day, when comrades made dear as brothers by common danger and suffering were suddenly dragged to a fearful death that I expected soon to share. A man who has walked for months in the shadow of the scaffold and escaped at last almost by miracle will never find the experience a pleasant one to dwell upon, even in thought. Yet it cannot be forgotten, and the easiest way to answer the inquiries of friends, and to satisfy the curiosity of the public, is to put the whole matter candidly, faithfully, and minutelv on record.

In the spring of 1862 a small secret expedition was sent from the Union lines into the very heart of the Confederate States. In its progress it aroused great excitement, first in the South and afterwards in the North, occasioned the most intense suffering to the soldiers engaged in it, and afterwards gave rise to many eager controversies. Several publications of a more or less ephemeral character have been devoted to it, and no story of the war seems to have fixed itself so firmly in the popular imagination. The present work is the full and complete edition of a small volume by the same writer, with the same title, which was hurriedly written before the freshness of personal impressions had faded, and while the horror and agony came back almost nightly in dreams. The writer is confident that this story, faithfully told, will give a more vivid picture of the spirit, feelings, and awful earnestness of the civil war than any more general war history.

To do justice to brave men who perished in a manner ignomini ous in form but not in reality, to place romantic and almost incredible events, for which there will soon be no living witnesses, upon a basis of unquestionable certainty, and to help a new generation to realize the cost of upholding the Union, is the writer's aim. The manner in which this volume was produced leaves little room for that unconscious exaggeration to which even candid narrators are liable. The writer made phonographic notes of the principal events very near the time of their occurrence, — mostly on the margins of a small vol ume of "Paradise Lost." There were enough days of dreary leisure for this or any other kind of work ! On leaving the enemy's territory, he and his comrades were, by order of the Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, brought to Washington, examined under oath, and their answers written down in shorthand, and officially published, together with a lengthened and eloquent report by Judge-Advocate-General Holt.

Immediately after wards the small volume, "Daring and Suffering," was written at the solici tation Of friends — a crude and hasty sketch prepared before the author had recovered from the sickness that followed his unexampled privations — but preserving the facts in their freshness, and attested in its recital of incidents by all the survivors of the expedition. Now that twenty-five years have passed, and the passions of war and the bitterness of partisanship have de clined, — now that the dispatches and letters of Generals and the captured Confederate archives are accessible, and that the author has been enabled to go carefully over the whole ground and explore every source of informa tion, from friend or former enemy, it seems possible to supply all the de ficiencies of the earlier edition without diminishing its intense personal in terest, and thus to furnish a complete and well-rounded history of the most dramatic adventure of the Great Civil War.

There were two distinct railroad raids into Georgia, which have some times been confounded. The first was authorized by Major General Buell in March, 1862, and sent out from Murfreesboro',Tenn. The second start ing from Shelby vil le, Tenn., in April of the same year under the direction of Gen. O. M. Mitchel, was larger and more important, and had quite a different purpose. Nearly everything which has been published on the subject refers to the second expedition. I will, however, write the history of the first also, that the relation between them may be clearly seen, and all future mis understanding be prevented. The Union cause looked bright in the spring of 1862. It was nearly three years before the Confederates saw again so dark a day. Our eastern army under Gen. McCIellan, numbering more than 100,000, was about ready to advance on Richmond.

Gen. Grant, after capturing Forts Henry and Donelson, had sent the bulk of his forces to Pittsburg Landing, and was hurrying forward every available man. Buell had occupied Nashville after the enemy — because of the capture of Fort Donelson had retreated and was now urged by Halleck to send a large part of his force by water to reinforce Grant. This he declined to do, fearing that the enemy mignt return to Tennessee and capture Nashville; but he at length divided his force, sending the larger portion by deliberate marches southwest toward Pittsburg Landing, and a single division of about 10,000 under Gen. O. M. Mitchel, supported by 7,000 more in garrison at Nashville and sur rounding towns, in a southeast direction. To oppose these powerful forces the enemy had an army in Virginia not more than one half as large as McCIellan' s, and in the west, at Corinth, the commands of Beauregard and Johnston, which were not yet concentrated, and were much inferior to those of Grant and Buell.

Gen. Mitchel had no organized enemy in his front, but was marching into a country of vast importance to die Confed erates, which they were certain to strenuously defend. A few compara tively small Union and Confederate armies opposed each other west of the Mississippi, and at various points along the sea-coast and the borders, with the preponderance usually on the Union side; but these may, for present purposes, be left out of account. The main rebel armies, those of Virginia and Mississippi, were united by a chain of railroads running from Memphis, Huntsville, Chattanooga, Knoxville and Lynchburg to Richmond; and this constituted their new and strong line of defense. They had indeed no other railroad communication except a very circuit ous and precarious one along the sea coast. At Chattanooga this direct line was intersected almost at right angles by another extending from Nashville to Atlanta, and from there to all parts of the south.

It was the object of the Union generals, while preserving all they had gained, to break this line, and thus isolate the rebel armies and render easy their defeat in detail. The first assault was to be made at Corinth, to which the Tennessee River formed an easy channel of approach. It was defended by a large army, for if captured, Memphis and all the upper Mississippi would also fall into Union hands. Unfortunately, this portion of the West was at that time in two different departments under the com mand of Generals Halleck and Buell, — both able strategists but slow and timid. For fear of exposing Nashville to attack, the latter declined to reinforce Gen. Grant, who was acting under the orders of Halleck, by steamboat transport over the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers; but instead marched toward his position through Franklin and Columbia.

With the magnified estimate Buell had formed of the enemy's strength in Tennessee, this appeared to be the more prudent course; and had the ad vance been more vigorous and rapid, the imminent danger of disaster at Shiloh would have been removed. But even with this disposition, Buell feared that an army of the enemy might concentrate by rail somewhere in the direction of Chattanooga or ifnoxville, and fall upon his rear. He believed ' that a large force was gathering at Atlanta and also in Eastern " Buell to Halleck, Mar. 23, 1862. War Records. Ser. I. Vol. X., Part 2, Page 60. Tennessee, from which Nashville might be in great danger. These appre hensions, which delayed and weakened his movement towards Pittsburg Landing and endangered Grant, had at least one good effect. Gen. Mitchel was detached from the main army and ordered to Murfreesboro, with a primary view of guarding against any Confederate advance from the South or East; but he was able afterwards, by using his discretionary power to the utmost, to make the brilliant march upon Huntsville and to accomplish more against the enemy than any Union general with similar forces had been able to do up to this period of the contest.

While at Nashville, Mr. J. J. Andrews, a spy in the service of Buell, proposed to that General a daring plan, which, if successful, would for the time effectually relieve his fears and render a very important service to the Union arms. He offered to take a very small party of fearless men, disguise them as Southern citizens, conduct them to Atlanta, where he would meet a friend of his who ran a locomotive on the Georgia State Railroad from Chattanooga; then to ride with his party as passengers to a favorable point; there to capture the locomotive and to cut the telegraph wires behind him; then to run through Chattanooga and from this point westward, burning the bridges behind him, especially the great one over the Tennessee River at Bridgeport. Whether bridges were to be burned South of Chattanooga or not is a point that cannot now be determined; if not, it seems singular that Andrews should have conducted his men so far south as Atlanta; neither is the limit of his proposed operations westward accurately known.

That the complete success of such a scheme would have greatly injured the enemy can be seen at a single glance. It would have hindered the concentration of troops and supplies at Corinth a week or ten days before the battle of Shiloh, which probably would not have been fought. It would have relieved Buell from his fears as to a flank or rear attack, or a march upon Nashville, and probably have induced him to reinforce Grant promptly and vigorously. It would have cut the main communication for some days or weeks between the eastern and western armies of the Confederate states at a most critical period. It did not promise the greater positive results of the second expedition, mainly because Gen. Buell was not looking toward rapid and aggressive action in Southern Tennessee. But no candid mind can question the great impor tance of the results promised, or the daring character of the man who could plan such work 300 miles away in the heart of the enemy's country.

We may safely assume that the scheme originated with the intrepid spy and not with his cautious chief.' The former probably saw that the com manding General was anxious for the destruction of the enemy's com munications, and suggested the meairs for accomplishing that end. This 1 Gen. Buell confirms this view in a private letter to the writer January 7 plan Buell accepted the more readily because it involved so little risk; that is, as Generals count risk, — only the life of a spy and eight' men; and General Mitchel, whose division was nearest the scene of the proposed enterprise, was instructed to furnish volunteers for the purpose. James J. Anderws. Engraved from an old Ambrotyp From this point the expedition comes within the direct knowledge of the writer. As will be explained further on, I had seen Mr. Andrews previous- 1 Gen. Buell says but six were authorized.

In this he is probably mistaken, as eight were engaged. ly, but did not know his real character. And there were also reasons why the 2nd Ohio Infantry of Sill's brigade, Mitchel's Division, should furnish all the men required, and Co. G. of that regiment, to which I belonged, one half the number. These and many other things will be made clear in the narrative of the second expedition to which this sketch is but introductory. The securing of volunteers was managed with the utmost secrecy. In addition to Generals Mitchel and Sill, a few of the officers of the 2nd Ohio were informed, in outline, of what was wanted, and they induced men to meet Mr. Andrews; these, after consulting with him, entered upon their strange and hazardous duties without opportunity to give the slight est hint to their comrades.

To the common soldiers of the regiment who were not selected, the whole affair was wrapped in mystery. Eight of our best men suddenly disappeared, and we knew not what had become of them. Numberless were the conjectures that floated through the camp and were discussed around the camp-fires. Some asserted that they had been sent northward to arrest deserters; others that they were deserters themselves ! But there were few deserters to arrest at this stage of the contest; and the latter idea was contradicted by the character of the men, who were among the boldest and most faithful in the whole regiment, and had been seen in close and seemingly confidential communication with officers just before their disappearance. The most frequent assertion — a pure conjecture, however, suggested by the fact that they were absent without any leave-taking, and that no inquiries were officially made about them, — was that they had turned spies.

But this notion I did not seriously entertain, for sending such a number of spies from the private soldiers in the ranks of one company seemed absurd. At the most 1 supposed that they had gone on some scouting expedition or some attempt to surprise an enemy's post, such as we had been familiar with in Eastern Kentucky the year before. But I was not long left to my own conjectures. Indeed I had two reasons for urgent inquiries, one solely personal and not of a very exalted character, the other less selfish. My position in Co. G., James F. Sarratt, captain, was then that of first corporal, and I was looking anxiously for promotion to the next °rade of non-commissioned officers, that of sergeant. To a civilian these petty grades seem utterly unimportant and almost undistinguishable, but they are not so to a soldier.

On many a lonely guard line and dark night on picket, they make all the difference between commanding and being com manded; and authority is sweet anywhere. A sergeant had died at Nash ville, and his place would naturally become mine unless some one below me was considered more meritorious, in which case* the captain had the authority to carry him, whether a lower corporal or only a private over my head into the vacant sergeantcy. This would have been bitterly distasteful, not so much because of the increased wages and privileges of a sergeant, as because of the humiliation of being considered less worthy of promotion than a comrade, inferior in rank. One of the missing men happened to be second corporal, a splendid soldier in every respect, com petent to fill any position in the company, and a great friend to the captain.

I had heard that he might be preferred to me, if for no other reason, because I was near-sighted. Now, some of the members of my army mess said: "Pittenger, when those men come back with feathers in their caps, the captain will be sure to make Surles sergeant." At the first ooportunity I called Capt. Sarratt aside and told him what I had heard, and my own fears. He assured me, somewhat impatiently, that my rights should be cared for, and added, "Pittenger, this is a very little matter of yours. I only wish the men were back in the camp again." "But where are they ? '' I asked, "and when will they be back? I would like to know something about it, especially for Mills's sake." "I am not permitted to tell anything," he responded; "I don't know when they will be back myself, but I know that till they do come I can't sleep much."

The look of weariness on his face smote to my heart, and in view of such anxiety my errand looked utterly contemptible. But my own un easiness in another direction was greatly increased, and when I left him, with sincere apologies, it was with the resolve to find out where these men were. Captain David Mitchel of Co. K. , 2nd Ohio, was an intimate friend of mine, and a distant relative of our commander. His company had supplied one of the missing adventurers, — my cousin, B. F. Mills, who had been my messmate during the three months service terminating with the battle of Bull Run. It was especially for his sake that I felt such solicitude for the absent men, and this, even more than my own interest, had moved me to speak to Captain Sarratt. I resolved to make an attempt on Mitchel, with stronger hopes of success.