Devoted to the Protection of Home and the Interests 1 tlio County.
ESTABLISHED II 1889.
Vol. 5.
f J. E. PAGE, )
Editor asd PnormrjTOR. J
Gastonia Nj aiBecember 23, 1887J
f One Dollar and a IIalf per Annum, V "IVTA K1
in Advance. j ll U U X
ESTABLISHED IX 1SS0.
Wiiy irl-i io AVronar.
Ella Wheeler Wilcox's Letter.
Youth is" youth where ever you find
it. . Young' ' blood flows swift uud
warm through pulsing veins. Young
hearts long for companionship, young
brains indulge in vague, sweet
dreams of pleasure yet to come. A
beautiful youiig girl can no mare he
content witli prosaic duties, without
one day of pleasure to brighten . her
life than a meadow lark can be con
fined in a cage. To attend faithfully the
most commonplace tasks all day, to
bear no word of praise for her labors,
and to. retire at 8 o'clock on a beauti
' ful moonlight evening is little ' less
than fortune to a girl full of sentiment
.-t i i i : . , . i I , : ;a
the existence of hundreds of country
" cirls.
The parents regard any hours spent
in plearure as so much lost time.
They extract industry and obedience
from their offspring, invite no con
fidence, and object to late hours or
merrymaking. The young heart
seethes in silent rebellion, and learns
to hate its lot, and lives in hope that
something will happen to give color to
life. If the city idler, or the amorous
farm-hand, or the married seducer
happens to find her in these rebellious
moods, why then we read in the news
papers an item about the "Strange
Disappearance " or " Uuaccountable
Mesalliance" or " Shocking Depravi
ty " or a hitherto quiet and respecta
ble girl.
The heartbroken parents are crushed
with shame and sorrow. They can
not understand why their beloved
daughter should go astray. Ah! if
they had only shown her demonstra
tion of their love, if they had only
sought to know her secret thoughts
and longings, if they made an effort
once a month to give ber a few hours
of pleasure, she need not have gone
astray.
DARING AND SUFFERING.
A History of the Andrews Eailroad
Raid Into Georgia in 1862.
The Most' Heroic and Tragic Episodo
of the Civil "War.
Einbraclne a Fall alid Accurate Account
.-t ttt the Secret Jonnioy tw the Heart of
Kail way Train iu w Confederate Camp,
tbe TrrllIe Chase That Followed, and
" tlie Subsequent Fortunes of the Lender
and Hl Party.
The (txneditiou, in the daring; of its inception,
hod the W'iUlnews of a romance; while in the
Kignntic ami bverwhelmin;; results it sought and
wua likely .o obtain it was absolutely sublime.
Ji'Do:; Advocate General IIoi-t's Official, Eb
pout. It woh all tho iWjjest laid scheme, and on tile
grandest Boalo, that ever emanated from the
bruin ; of any number of Yankees combined.
The SiTHERS Cosfederacv (Atlanta, Ga.),
Aih-.I 15. lfcOi
Despite it3 tragic termination, it shows what a
hnmll'u of -bruve. men could undertake in Amer
ica. t'ouTE de Paris" IIibtoiiy of thc Civil V.'ab
IX Asn;aicA, vol. 2, p. 17.
By WILLIAM PITTENGER,
t A mnjUEit OP THE EXPEDITION.
ICbpyrijfhted,.18S7, by "War Publishing Co., N. Yn
and published by arrangement with them.j
CHAPTER X. ,
OOSTEXAEXA BKIDGE.'
The bridge was now just at hand.
What should we do To leave it intact
was to be thought of only in the direst
necessity. Wo had carried our ammuni
tionsthe fuel we had gathered into our
last car, and while it was not as good as
we would have liked, yet in a little time
we could make a fire. We now punched
a hole in the back end of our car in fact
we had done this in passing from one car
to another previous to dropping the last
one and now began to let ties fall out on
the track while we ran. They followed us
"end over end," and showed a most per
verse disposition to get oil the track, but
a few remained. This moderated the
speed of the pursuing engine, which was
a help that we sorely needed, for it was
now evident that they either had a faster
engine than ours or better fuel. The
latter was certainly the case, for we had
been using wood very rapidly without any
opportunity for. a long time past to re
plenish it.
The first feeling of despondency of the
whole route took possession of us as we
approached the bridge, with onr pursuer
close behind. The, situation was in every
way unfavorable for us. If we passed by
without leaving it in cshes we felt that
. one important part of our business would
, be undone, even if we were completely
successful afterward in evading pursuit
and destroying the Chickamauga bridges.
Murphy expresses the opinion that we
made a'great mistake at this point. There
was at this time a long and high wooden
trestle by which the Resaca bridge is np-
proached. As we came near we "slowed
up," and right in the middle of this trestle
we dropped tftir last car. Murphy says
that if we had but thrown it across the
track the bridge would have been at our
mercy, as well as all the bridges above.
He is right, but tte difficulty in doin this
Is greater than ho thinks. To pull or
push the car off by means of thc engine
involved some risk of getting the engine
itself off, which would have been fatal.
We had no good means of moving it in
any other way, and the element of time
was aU important. The pursuers were
right behind, and while they could not
have fired on us at effective range, they
could very quickly have alarmed the town
ahtad of tis, and then the track could have
been obstructed to prevent our passage.
It is easier to imagine what "lnight have
been done, than actually to do it, even if
tho circumstances were repeated.
There was no opportunity to turn and
fight at this poiiit.' The town of Kesaca
was within a few hundred yards of thc
bridge, and any noise would bring help
froin that quarter. Besides our pursuers
were armed with guns, and our only
chance of getting at close quarters was by
an ambuscade. Had the day been dry,
we could have flung fagots from tile eii
irine upon the roof, but now a lire even on
the inside of the large frame 'bridge
would require careful nursing. With a
suition only a fw hundred feet ahead,
where the track might be so easily ob-
OOSTEXACLA ISKII'CE.
etructed, and with tho guns of the pur
suers behind, we could not give time for
this; so we slowly and reluctantly passed
over the bridge, after dropping the car,
and on through the - village of Kesaca.
The pursuers took up this car as they had
done the other, and pushed them both
through the bridge, and left them on the
Resaca side track.
It may be well to notice here how our
ignorance of tlie enemy and. his ignorance
of us both inured to his advantage. There
had been already many intimations among
us that it would be well to turn and fight
rather than to be chased any further.
Had the real weakness of the enemy on
the first train been known, Andrews
would have certainly ordered the attack.
Ou the other hand, if Fuller's party had
known how strong we were he could not
have induced them to continue the chase,
even if the resolute conductor himself had
not been willing to wait for help. It was
believed at first that we were but four
the number on the engine. The estimate
was never raised higher than eight, Mur
phy suggesting to Fuller even then that
it would be better to wait for the train
behind and take on more men. But Fuller
resolved to persevere aud at least delay ns
at the risk of his own life. Had it. been
known that we were twenty, he and his
slender band would not have been guilty
of the madness of crowding on nearly
twice their number, even if better armed,
and sure of help at every station. But
this madness, this unreasonable pursuit,
the result of imperfect knowledge, served
them well.
After passing Resaca, we again forced
our pursuers back by dropping ties on the
track, and not knowing whether it was a
telegraph station or not, we again cut the
wires. No obstructions were placed on
the track at this point, but it was on a
curve, and taking a rail which had been
bent in lifting it I placed one end under
the rail at one side and the other project
ing diagonaUy toward the train on the
other side. The pursuers saw us start.
but seeing no obstructions they ran at a
good rate of speed ri..rht over this rail!
Their escape was marvelous. Persons on
the tender jumped a foot high, and one of
Fuller's stanchest helpers demanded that
the train be stopped to let him off! he
wanted no more such running as that!
But D uller, though considering1 this the
greatest of their dangers, would not stop:
and it was iinpossibla for- him to keep a
ciifcfr luo&uuii Liiaii lie naq. none. e- -
But what conjectures did we form to
account for the unexpected appearance of
this pursuing train? The Etory as iven
to the reader was totaUy unknown then
and we were greatly perplexed. She
matter had great practical importance.
Was the engine started after us by an
authority which had also alarmed the"
DKOPPIXG TIES OU THE TRACE.
whole road ahead of tis? If so, we would
do well' to abandon our efforts for the
destruction of bridges and seek our own
safety. Of one thing we felt sure, it
must have been one of the trains we had
passed at Calhoun or Adairsville that was
following, but why? There were three
possibilities only to choose from. The
first and less serious was that the sus
picious conductor at Calhoun, who had
been so unwilling to let us pass, had de
termined that we were impostors, and at
his own motion had Bet out to follow us.
If so, we would have to deal only with
him, and might yet accomplish a part of
our work. Or it might be that the freight
had run to where we had broken up the
track, had escaped wreck, and, tiirning
back, had telegraphed ahead before
we had cut the wire. In this
case all the road ahead would be
alarmed, and this was probable indeed.
Or, once more, a messenger might ' have
been sent down to Marietta from Hig
Shanty, and a dispatch sent to Atlanta
and around the whole circuit of the
Confederacy back to Chattanooga, and,
before the wires had been cut, to one of
the trains we had passed, with orders to
follow us closely and prevent us from
damaging the road until a train coSld
Ihj sent out from - Chattanooga to secure
our capture. If either of these latters
conjectures were true and they were the
most probable our race was almost run!
We would be obliged to leave the road, find
essay the far more difficult task of
escaping ou foot. If Andrews thought
cither of these probably true, it would
fully account for his 'reluctance in order
ing the capture of a pursuing train; for
such a capture could do no permanent
good, while every one of his party wounded
in the fight would be disabled for the in
evitable and terrible land journey ahead,
and would surely be lost. In view of the
almost hopeless situation as it appeared
to us then far worse than the reality,
for the road ahead had not leen warned
as yet tlie. heroic com-tancy of Andrews,
who continued to put forth every possible
effort as coolly and quietly as if success
had been within his grasp, is made
brightly conspicuous. There were'now
three chasing trains; first, Fnllrr and his
men with, the locomotive of the down
freight; second, the Calhoun passenger,
which had immediately follower! him and
was not ery fir behind; and last, the
tratu started from Marietta, and loaded
with soldiers.
For a time after leaving Resaca we did
uot run very fast. It was evident that we
could not get away from the eugine be
hind us by mere speed; the ouly hope was
in some way to disable them, or to ob
struct thc track; and we were obliged to
be saving of onr fuel. J5ut now we were
approaching Green's, a wood station near
Tilton, and we wore determined to have a
fresh supply at any cost. Ko the last wood
in the box, with a. little of our precious
oil, va shoved into the furnace, and
.Brown, who had now taken the throttle,
turned on a full head of steam, and we
once more flew along the track. At the
same time we who' were in the box car
put a line of ties along its floor and kept
them moving to the hole in the end, and
let them drop as fast as possible on the
track. This was rapidly exhausting our
ammunition, but it was elf ectual in enforc
ing slowness and caution upon our pur
suers. Fuller could not run rapidly in
thc face of such a succession of obstacles.
He did the best he could, giving the sig
nal to reverse whenever he saw a tie on
the track, jumping off and removing it,
and on again, when the engineer would
start with a full head of steam, and re
duce speed, as the engine gathered head
way to such a rate as would admit of
stopping in time when another tie was
seen. It was fearfully perilous, and the
only wonder is that he was not wrecked
long before the chase was done. But he
probably understood that we were racing
for the wood yard ahead.
When we reached it there was no linger
ing in the work of loading up. The wood
was piled in frantically by men working
for life; but before we had half filled the
tender we again heard our relentless fol
lower. So eager were we to get tho larg
est possible supply of wood that we did
not take their first whistle as a sufficient
intimation to start. Then came, scream
after scream of the most unearthly char
acter, obviously designed to alarm thr
' I
AT THE WOOD STATION.
keeper of the wood yard that he might
hinder ns from getting a full supply. i:ut
this did not discourage us, for even whan
Andrews reluctantly gave thc word to
come on board, Wilson, who as firemen
had a great appreciation of the 'r.ctd of
uel, lingered still to get a hu.e r.r;::To:id
more, and the enemy, oein;; our engine
standing there, were actually obliged to
"slow up" to avoid the collision il.at
seemed inevitable. However we. did .not
waifr for them to get. close enough t: use
their shotguns at least cot to any cfA-ct,
though Wilson is quite positive that eomo
guns were fired. He says:
"We had, however, secured only a par
tial supply when the chasing train cr.nie
in sight, loaded with armed sold-ers. Our
pursuers were worked up to an infuriated
pitch of excitement, and rent the very air
with their screeches and yells as they
came in sight of us, like dogs when the
quarry is spruag. They opened on us at
long range with musketry. The bullets
rattled around us like hail, but fortu
nately none of our party was hit."
CHAPTER XI.
A DIKIXT RAILROAD CHASE.
But we now had a good head of steam,
and with a joyful bound our engine, as if
refreshed from its rest, sped on again.
We had been careful to so obstruct the
track that the enemy was obliged to come
to a full halt, and thus give us timer to
once more get out of sight.
We passed Tilton in safety, and the
water station, which at that time was at
a different place from the wood yard, was
soon reached. Our supply of this neces
sity was low, and without it our progress
would be at once arrested. We stopped,
adjusted the pipes, told the powder story
although from the battered appearance
of our only car, with a hole knocked in
each end, that story was no longer plaus
ible, but it answered for the moment and
we succeeded in getting all the water we
needed. Had any objection been made
we would have taken it by force, and the
assurance with which we went to work
aided in securing confidence. Before the
tank was full the pursuers came in sight,
but seeing r.s they ran slowly, and as a
party of our men had run back and put
some obstructions on the track, out of gnn
shot, they were obliged to come to a full
stop there, thus 'giving ns the time needed.
Then we mounted and sped on toward
Dalton.
It was advisable at once to get deci
sively ahead othe pursuers before reach
ing this town, which might present seri
ous difficulties. As there were i:0 bridges
to burn now for a considerable distance,
the only other thing was to try once more
to tear up the track. The "cngk e was
again in good running condition, and wo
rushed rapidly forward, putting f cqnent
obstructions on the track most ly by drop
ping ties or sticks of firewood, but in one
or two instances by reversing the i I'nine,
jumping out and piling up obstructions.
At a favorable place we stopped again for
a more permanent break. .
Long practice had made us skillful in
"this matter, and the last two stops had
shown us that the enemy could not run
upon us without great care. So we
divided at once into four parties. Scott
and a companion cut' the telegraph;
Knight carefully inspected the engine;
two or three ran back just out of gnn
shot, and heaped obstructions on the
track, while the remainder worked with
might and main in taking up a rail. It
was here that a little occurrence took
place that has been much misrepresented,
A southern account, widely copied.
says that Andrews' men almost mutinied
against him at this place. Tho facts
are these: The writer and the men in the
box car had come to feel that there was
no need of running so long before the pur
suing train, which we could see to be a
short one, with probably not mjtch if any
greater force than our own'. Now while
as many were at tho rail as could find
places to work the process of lilting it
with our imperfect tools was very slow,
requiring more than five minutes I said
to Andrews: "We can capture that train, -if
you are willing."
"How.-"' he asked. I answered:
"Find a good place on a curve where
there are plenty of bushes" (as the road
had numberless curves, and ran mostlv
through woods, this was easy); "then let
us put on some obstructions and hide; one
of our engineers can ran ahead a mile or
two and come back after us; when the
enemy stop to clear this track we will rush
on them, and when we have captured
them our other engineer-can reverse their
engine and send it iii a hurry down the
track to clear the road of any more trains
that may be following.'' , -
Andrews said, in hiiquiet' way, "It is a
good plan. It is wiMrth trying," and
looked around in a meditative manner as
if weighing the chances. Then the
enemy's whistle sounded, we saw them
rush up to the obstructions we had placed
on the track, stop by reversing, and labor
as frantically to clear the road as we were
doing in trying to raise the rail.
But ' onr efforts were in vain. The
stubborn spikes still held, and as they
were ready to move on again, Andrews
called out, "All aboard," and we dashed
away. t That was not the place to make a
fight, as we all knew, for revolvers against
shotguns and rifles would have had no
chance at long range; "but from an am
bush we could have been climbing into
their engine and cars before they could
pick up their guns, ajid tlie conflict would
not have been many minutes doubtful.
This was the nearest v?e came to what a
southern account called "open mutiny"
a mere respectful suggestion in the line of
our work. No officer was ever more
heartily obeyed than was Andrews during
the whole of this day,, and none ef us said
anything more about this plan for the
time, i partly becausS ive felt that our
leader was better able to judge what was
to Ie done than we, and partly also, I
must confess, because we thought he was
only waitiug for the best place to turn on
our foes, and that ive would soon have
all the lighting we wanted.
The ful! speed of oilengine was again
called into r!quisitf$HJrtS we neared Dal
ton, and by the aid jf a few tie3 dropped
on the track we were oncmore a respect
able distance ahead. We needed this
interval badly, for it was by no means
certain that the switches at this point
would be properly adjusted for our im
mediate passage through; and if not, se
rious difficulty might arise. We might
have a battle with forces in front as well
as in the rear, for Dalton was the largest
town we had reached since leaving
Marietta. Here a road diverged to Cleve
land m Tennessee, where it connects with
the main line from Richmond to Chatta
nooga, thus making a large triangle, or, as
a railroad man would say, a great Y. At
that time no telegrapli wires were on this
cross road; they were not put up till 1877.
There were also .numerous side itracks,
and a probability that cars might be left
standing on seme of them; anil as we had
more than made up our hour's delay at
Kingston and were . now much ahead of
time, there was no certainty of the road
being rightly adjusted for us. It was
. therefore necessary . to stop at the open
ing or the switch, wuich was fortunately
a little way down ffom the large passen
ger depot, which had a shed over all the
tracks, Mud through which we had to
pass. ' ,
TTer tiu enolnfMia find nIiv-nfuoaa et An.
drews Klmne out ftiih pre-eminent lusteriCj
It is Jikeiy that when we had spoken of
fighting a little wafback, his mind was
occupied rather. wijjU. -.the problem of pass
ing Dulton, and o&idging by what took
place t hero whether the enemy was warned.
The train was stopped, he ran forward.
observed that the track was clear, spoke
to one or two bystanders, and was back
to his post in an exceedingly short time.
To one or two who had come up even in
these few seconds, he said: "I am running
this train through to Corinth, and have
no time to spare;" and nodded to Knight,
who once more put on the full force of
the engine there was nothing to be gained
by care in avoiding alarm any longer, for
the distant whistle of the pursuer was
heard and we rushed at the depot, which
then stood right across the double track,
and passed with fearful speed under its
roof. Here Knight got his most terrible
fright. The darting into the partial dark
ness of the shed was bad enough, but just
at the far end the main track bends sharply
to the left, and the swerve was so sudden,
and the speed already so high, that Knight
believed he was rushing on another side
track, and that in a moment would come
the awful crash. But instead the engine
instantly righted, and he again saw the
track straight before him. But so quickiy
had we passed that we could not certainly
determine whethef the people at the sta
tion had been warned or not!
A mile above Dalton, which was about
as soon as the headlong rush of the engine
could be checked, we stopped ngain, just
opposite to where Col. Jesse Glenn's regi
ment of conscripts were encamped in a
field. Their position, which was within
200 or 300 yards of us, was probably not
seen until we were close to them, and it
was better to take the risk of their inter
ference thau to lose time by seeking an
other place for more pressing work.
Again the wire was cut; but it was a
second too late, for a message had just
been flashed through, no doubt even as
Scott was bringing it down. Tho usual
obstructions were lwre piled on the track,
and we again essayed to take up a rail,
for the Chickaniauga bridges were just
above, and we wanted time enough to get
them ou fire, hoping that Fuller would
stop long enough at Dalton for the pur
pose of getting his telegram ready, to
allow us to finish the track lifting. No
men ever worked with more desperate en
ergy, but all in vain; long before the rail
was loose the pursuers were again upon
us.'
The race recommenced with all its speed
and fury. The great tunnel was a short
distance ahead a glorious place for an
ambush, where, in the darkness, the guns
of the enemy would be of little value. If
Andrews was disposed to fight, there
would be the place of all others to do it.
With the smoke of our train filling the
space, with our party in ambush along
the sides, success would be comparatively
sure, if they had twice our number, for
of' course we could not tell how much of
a re-enforcement they might pick up at
Dalton. But we kept right on through
the tunnel : and the village of Tunnel Hill
beyond, where wo carefully drew down to
conceal our number from the curious eyes
of any who might be about the station.
At Calhoun Fuller had received a small
but very effective re-enforcement only a
boy thirteen years old, but worth a dozen
of ordinary men by means of one of
those apparently small circumstances
which often influence the course of great
events. At Chattanooga the chief officers
of the road had become alarmed by re
ceiving no dispatches from Atlanta, or
thc stations below Kingston. They there-'
fore directed the young assistant operator
at Dalton to jump on the passenger train
just then leaving that station and go
south, seuding them back word at each
station passed till the cause of tho trouble
was found. He bad only got as far as
Calhoun when And -t w s passed, and Fuller
in a. moment aftr. The latter hardly
came to a stop betore he saw the operator,
and called him, and without a word of
explanation seized his hand and dragged
him on the hrain. In the run up, how
ever, he made all the necessary explana
tions, and wrote out the following disi
patch:.- v . : i .. . .
" FULLER'S TELEOilAM, I
"To Gen. Leadbctter, commander at Chafc
tanooga:. i i . ' . '
"My train was captured this n. m. at
Big Shanty, evidently by Federal soldiers
in disguise. They are making rapidly; for
Chattanooga, possibly with the idupi of
burning the railroad bridges in their rear.
If I do not capture them in the meantime,
see that they do not pass Chattanooga;
: "William A. Ft-ller."
This he gave to the operator, saying,
"Don't speak to anybody or lose a second
till you put that through to Chattanooga.
Jump for the platf onu, when I slow up,
for I must push on and keep those
Yankees from getting up a rail or burning
the bridges." . ... j . i
It was terribly quick work. The opera
tor was at home in the office, and almost
before Fuller had cleared the shed he was
at the desk and the first words were over
tlie wires. Whether theyi had time to get
the whole message over before the cut is
very doubtful, and not material, for ; the
first two lines would answer every pur
pose. Had Fuller stopped at this point,
and himself went into the office long
enough to set the operator at work, it is
almost certain we would have had the rail
up, and then all the bridges above that
point would have been burned; though it
is still possible that enough of the message
might have been pushed through to secure
our arrest In Chattanooga. This wns
another striking instance of the many
narrow margins on which this day hinged.
As Fuller pressed on toward the great
tunnel, even his resolute heart almost
died within him, while all his party began
to blame him for foolhardiness. He
feared to plunge into its dark depths. It
was still filled with 'smoke -from our en
gine; and he well knew that if we jumped
off at the far end and hurled back ur
locomotive at him,: it meant a horrible
death to every one on his train; and he
was by no means sure that we would not
do it. Mr. Murphy, who had so ;ably
stood by him all the while, here counseled
prudence, pointing out all the perils of
an ambush. But Fuller realized as ap
parently no one ; else .did the desperate
need of pressing on to save the road; and
he had made so many escapes and been'
so marvelously favored, that a kind of
fatalism took hold of him. He deter
mined not to lose a minute, no matter
what the danger might be. It may as
well be said here that no prudent and
common sense kind of i pursuit, such as
possibly any other man would have em
ployed, could have had the slightest
chance of success. But even Fuller
quailed as they dived into the cloud of
smoke that hung around the entrance of
the tunnel, and held his breath for a few
seconds (they were still at full speed), till
he saw with a sigh of relief a gleam of
light ahead and knew that there was no
other engine now in the tunnel! On he
pressed, for he knew the .value of the
Chickamauga bridges ahead as well as
we aid. ; i i
CHAPTER ;XH.
A BURNING CAR.
But for the wetness of the day all' his
efforts even yet would have been foiled.
We now did what had been in the mind
of Andrews, doubtless, lor - some time
past what he might have tried even at
the Oostenaula bridge had not the inter
val between that and Calhoun been so
fearfully short. Ho ordered us to fire
our hist car while wc were running. It
was said easily, but was much harder to
do. Everything about the car was as wet
as it well could be. The rain fell in tor
rents, and the wood was drenched in the
tender. It was by no small effort and
skillful firing that the engine fire could
be kept at the heat required for fast run
ning. But desperate fingers tore every
thing combustible loose from the car, and;
smashed it into kindling. Some blazing
fagots were stolen from the engine and
the fire made to burn. The rapid mo
tion with driving rain was an obstacle at
first, but as we fed up the blaze and shel
tered it as well as possible, it grew rap
idly, till soon but one could stay on the
car and watch it, and all the others
crowded on the tender and locomotive.
The steam was now gradually shut off
that we might come ; slowly upon the
bridge and be able to leave the burning
car just at the right place. We came to
a full stop at this first Chickamauga
bridge, a large one, and well covered. In
side it was at least drier than on the out
side, and we doubted not that! with
time it would burn well. The only ques
tion was: "Will that time be given?" We
added almost the last of our oil and nearly
the last stick of wood knowing that a
wood station-was -nob far ahead, and if
this bridge could- be made to burn well,
we could have all the time we wanted to
get wood and everything else. In fact we
put life itself .on this last throw, and left
ourselves, in case of failure,- hopelessly
bankrupt. For a considerable time, as it
seemed , to its, though it must ' have been
measured by seconds rather than minutes,
we remained on the other side of the fire
kindling a fire in the eon car.
watching. Then the inexorable smoke of
the foe was seenj the ;piu connecting the
burning car with our I engine was; pulled
out and we slowly moved on. Too clearly
we saw the ruin of all our hopes! To wait
the coming of our foes was vain. Thy
weie now near at hand, and we could see
their guns, with which they would be able
to light us at long range. The car which,
if the day had been dry, would long before
this have filled the bridge with a mass of
roaring flame, was burning faster than
the bridge. To take it to another bridge
was useless, for the drenching rain would
have given it little chance to burn away
from the shelter of i the bridge. : Very
sadly we left the tall column of smoke
behind. The pursuers saw the car, and
realizing how serious their loss would be
if it was permitted to consume the bridge,
they pushed right into the smoke and
shoved the burning car on to Ringgold,
but a short distance ahead, where it was
left to smoke and sputter in " the rain on
the side track. ) ., j -: . , .-- . -We
were now on what proved to be our
last run. I have often been asked if this
day was not one; of great fear and terror
on the part of those who were engaged in
thc race. For my own part," I cannot
honestly lay claim to any greater fear
than I had often felt in ordinary military
scrvicp. No matter what happened, there
was the assurance that we still had one
resource the power to turn around and
attack he pursuing foe. From the be
ginning, such a conflict had been present
to my mind as a matter of course. Be-i
fore leaving camp, this had been reckoned
a natural consequence of our po&Ilion.l
It had been frequently Talked of among
the men, ami not one of them seemed to
regard it with any more dread than an
ordinary battle. We had been careful to
select large revolvers for use, and not for
show, and when we found the enemy
gaining upon tis, or our leader's plans for
their destruction failing, we only felt or
said that our time to strike would soon
come. We did not have the boastful feel
ing that we were an overmatch for a large
body of southern, soldiers, for we all
knew how desperately they could and
of ten did fight; but of the ordinary citi
zens gathered up as we presumed our
pursuers were, or even of conscripts, we
had no great fear That we had "not our
accustomed arms was a serious disad
vantage, but this could be remedied by
getting into close quarters; and we trusted
that our leader, who had shown such
wonderful skill in management, would be
aole to put us withm short range of the
pursuing train, where we felt sure that we
could quickly give a good account of it.
Probably the fact of Andrews having
never been in battle, but always engaged
in schemes where his own cool daring and
sagacious planning counted for every
thing, and mere force for nothing, made
him hesitate to order an attack which
would throw aside all these qualities and
determine the issue by simple fighting.
A time was near when we would firmly
have disputed our leader's command if
there had been an officer of any authority
among us M'ho could have been substi
tut oil for him; but not .until Andrews
himself had definitely abandoned his au
thority. '- - . . . ;-;;- t
Many times the question has been
aSked: "Why did you not reverse your en
gine, and, jumping off, let it drive back at
the enemy?" What good could that have
done? If their engine and our own had
been destroyed, as was very probable, to
gether with a considerable number of
lives, we would only have been where we
were before we captured the engine at
all, except that the whole country would
have been aroused, and our disguise
thrown olr. . -The second train would have
been on the ground in a few minutes and
the power of pursuit would have been un
diminished. We had no wish to sacrifice
our own engine until the last effort pos
sible had been made. To merely destroy
had no charm for us, when that destruc
tion could neither promote our escape nor
serve a military purpose. s
: chapter xrn.
. ' THE last itopje.
We crouched, dowii as well as we could
in the tender while passing Ringgold, that
the enemy might not see our number, and
when beyond - the town we arose - ami
looked about us. The country was mostly
woooea ana rougn, Deing mucn cut up by
the branches of the swollen Chickamauga
" creek. We had no fuel, though we might
have taken on " a few water soaked fence
raits and orofcen them to Durn mrtr-wliatr
would have been the use? Every com
bustible scrap was carefully gathered up
and thrown into the engine. Worst symp
tom of all, a large pair of saddle bags,
Which we had never seen Andrews with
out from the time of the midnight confer
ence, together with his cap and some
other pieces of clothing that he did not
need for immediate use, were flung re
morselessly into the furnace. Various
papers went along. These were probably
documents that he feared would compro
mise himself or others in case of capture.
Such preparations were indeed ominous.
But his next command the last he ever
gave to us as a party was more dreadful
stSl, and for the flrst time that day there
shot a pang of mortal terror to my heart.
Not the crash of the engine down an em
bankment nor the coming of ' another
train of the enemy from the north, shut
ting us between two fires, would have
caused such a sense of despair and .hope
less misery to steal over me. This was
the order which, as intimated before, our
party, had they been properly organized,
would not have obeyed. i
For our situation was still far from des
perate. Aside from thc capture of the
pursuing train, which would now have
been very difficult from the fact that we
had neither fuel for rapid running, nor
the obstructions on board that were nec
essary to place us far enough ahead for
an ambuscade, there was another plan to
which our leader was virtually pledged,
which presented every prospect of saving
our own lives, though it was now too late
to accomplish our original purpose. We
were some five miles beyond Ringgold,
within a mile of Graysville, or nineteen
miles by the longest railway course from
Chattanooga. From that city westward
to Bridgeport was tweuty-eight miles fur
ther. But the nearest way to Bridgeport
was not through Chattanooga, but fur
ther south, and by that route it was not
distant more than thirty -five or forty
miles. The direct course was at right
angles with the numerous mountain
ranges which here run almost north and
south, a route over Which cavalry could
not be used, and which was known to
more than one of our party. Two com
rades had pocket compasses which would
have guided us in thick woods or in
cloudy weather by day or night. Now. to
have left our train in a body, and without
delaying to seek concealment, to have
struck over the streams and mountains at
right angles, a3 rapidly as we could go,
would have been our : most hopeful
course. Long before night of the
next day we would have beeu safe
within Mitchel's li.nes! Why not? How
could the enemy have, captured us? If
they sent cavalry, these would necessarily
have made long circuits and have been
obliged to adhere to the lines of the road,
and thus could not have come near us
while clinging to the valleys and f the
mountain sides. Even in -thick-woods
they could not have overtaken us. If
they followed us with a strong party on
foot, we fleeing for our lives, would not
have deserved to escape, if we could not
have held our distance for forty miles or
more. If they had ridden ahead land
raised the whole country for a general
man huut, they would have had only J
twenty-tour hours or less to orgamzo it,
and no small party then could have ar
rested twenty armed men. In fine, .this
plan of escape through a mountainous
and densely wooded country did not ap
pear to me to be iuoi dangerous than a
cavalry dash on the lines of the enemy's
communications an every day military
affair. Even if Mitchel did not prove to
be in the neighborhood of Bridgeport
wheu we arrived, we would then have
boon in the loyal mountainous district
Where we would have met as many friend.
as foes. All that we needed in tho way of
provisions aud guides our' force woul1
have enabled us to command.: and even
guns and ammunition could readily have
been gathered on our way. . .
But all these advantages depended an
our keeping together under one head. An
army scattered and disorganized Is lost;
and our little army . was no exception. .
The fatal command which Andrews, now
gave as "we were huddled together in the
wood lxix of tho tender ,was to jump on!,
one by one, scatter in the woods, and each
man strive to make his owtfway back to
the Union 'army! We hesitated, bat had
no concert of action,no leader, no. time
for council, and the instinct of obedience
was still strong Upon us; but it was a
fatal order, and led directly to the calami
ties that followed. It transformed us in
a moment from a formidable body ot
picked soldiers, ready to fight to death,
into a scattered mass of fugitive boys, be
wildered aud hopeless in an enemy's
country.
Yet no one of us felt like censuring our
lender for this order, which every one at
the moment believed to be a terrible mis
take. Probably he thought that .each
man of the party would find relief in
being cast ent irely on his own resources.
It must further be remembered, in ex
planation of this mistaken order, that
Aiidrews had slept none the night before,
that he had been nearly twenty-four hour
without food, and that he had spent nearly
two days and a night in the most exhaust
ing labors, both mental and physical, that
it is possible to conceive. . He had seen his
cherished plans, when on thebrink of buc-
cess, overthrown by what seemed the re
morseless hand of destiny. To the many
failures and sorrows of his past life had
beeu added the crowning misfortune of
this defeat. Perhaps under his calm brow
he realized this with an intensity ot
anguish, and felt that the greatest favor
lie could do those he had led within sight
of a horrible death, and into the presence
of an enraged and triumphant foe, was to
senarate 1 hem at nnm from bis own dart
and shadowed destiny.' If so, that was
the most fearful mistake of all; and as this
order was given, we could almost, as w
looked southward through the ' driving
rain and the storm clouds, behold already
the dark outline of the Atlanta scaffolds!
It was pitiful! The General had served
us well ever since the morning honr in
fearful speed and patient waiting, in ex
ulting rapt ures and in almost despair. It
was hard to abandon ner now. She was
substantially uninjured. The engineers,
Brown and Knight, had taken good care
of her, and with wood and oil in abund
ance, there would have been no difficulty
on her part in completing the run to
Huntsville. She was still jogging along
at the ratetf eight or ten miles an hour, -and
could maintain that pace a little
longer. The pursuers had also dxminiehed
their speed, so as to just keep ns in sight,
having apparently no wish to press upon
what may have seemed to them like a
wounded and dying lion. The command
to "jump off and scatter" was repeated
with the injunction to be quick about it,
as the engineer wished to reverse the en
gine and drive it back upon the enemy.
With such a reason there could be no
more hesitation. It is said that some
three or four had already got off at the
first word of command; but the most of
ns had hesitated, not on account of tho
still rapid motion of the train, but in tho
idle hope that In some way this terrible
parting might bo averted. Now one
oiivr (UlUlIll 1 uuimuucu uuwu oil ui Lep
and swung off. I was neither among
the first nor the last, and jumping unskUl
fully out from-the step, instead of for
ward, whirled over and over on hands and
feet for several revolutions. Rising in- a
dazed condition, though unhurt, with the
exception of a few scratches from tho
briers with which the place abounded," I -looked
over the animated scene with the
deepest interest. . The men who jumped
off were, according to instructions, flying; '
in different directions, a few others were
same way that I had done, while the en- .
gineers were attempting to carry out their
scheme of reversing the engine, which
could do no good now, except possibly to
LEAVING THE LOCOMOTIVE.
delay the inevitabla pursuit a little, and
give us - a better opportunity to organize
- nlna rPV.n V. 1. . 4-1. A .1
the reversal was made. Here is a slight
conflict of authority. The pursuers say
that the brakes were not loosed again; but
our engineers are equally positive that
they were. It is not material, for the re
sult is -the same. The steam-power was so -low,
that though the engine moved back'
it was with moderate velocity, and I saw
the pursuers reverse also, and conung to a
full stop, whistle two or three times as it
approached a seeaiing whistle of alarm, "
though there was little ift the approach of
our poor General to fear; and then they
moved slowly before it for a short distance
till', the two were In contact, when the'
weaker stopped and the, steam was shut
off. The great railroad chase was overl
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