been exerted in favor of the Lincoln Government, and they are the parties most to blame.

"They really deserve the gallows, and, if consistent with the laws, ought speedily to receive their deserts. But there is such a gentle spirit of conciliation in the South, and especially here, that I have no idea that one of them will receive such a sentence at the hands of any jury. I have been here at this station for three months, half the time in command of this post; and I had a good opportunity of learning the feeling pervading this country. It is hostile to the Confederate Government. They will take the oath of allegiance with no intention to observe it. They are the slaves of Johnson and Maynard, and never intend to be otherwise. When arrested, they suddenly become very submissive, and declare they are for peace, and not supporters of the Lincoln Government, but yet claim to be Union men. At one time, while our forces were at Knoxville, they gave it out that a great change had taken place in East Tennessee, and that the people were becoming loyal.

"At the withdrawal of the army from here to the Gap, and the first intimation of the approach of the Lincoln army, they were in arms, and scarcely a man but was ready to join it and make war upon us. The prisoners we have all tell us that they had every assurance that the enemy was already in the State and would join them in a few days. I have requested at least that the prisoners I have taken be held, if not as

traitors, as prisoners of war. To release them is ruinous. To convict them before a court is next to impossibility. But if they are kept in prison for six months, it will have a good effect.

"The bridge-burners and spies ought to be tried at

once.

"Very respectfully, yours,

"W. B. WOOD."

Benjamin's Reply.

"WAR DEPARTMENT, RICHMOND, November 25, 1861.

"COLONEL W. B. WOOD:

"SIR:-Your report of the 20th instant is received, and I now proceed to give you the desired instruction in relation to the prisoners of war taken by you among the traitors of East Tennessee.

“First. All such as can be identified in having been engaged in bridge-burning are to be tried summarily by drum-head court-martial, and, if found guilty, executed on the spot by hanging. It would be well to leave their bodies hanging in the vicinity of the burned bridges.

"Second. All such as have not been so engaged are to be treated as prisoners of war, and sent with an armed guard to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, there to be kept imprisoned at the depot selected by the Government for prisoners of war.

"Whenever you can discover that arms are concen

trated by these traitors, you will send out detachments, search for and seize the arms. In no case is one of the men known to have been up in arms against the Government to be released on any pledge or oath of allegiance. The time for such measures is past. They are all to be held as prisoners of war, and held in jail to the end of the war. Such as come in voluntarily, take the oath of allegiance, and surrender their arms, are alone to be treated with leniency.

"Your vigilant execution of these orders is earnestly urged by the Government.

"Your obedient servant,

"J. P. BENJAMIN,

"Secretary of War.

"COLONEL W. B. WOOD, Knoxville, Tenn.

"P.S.-Judge Patterson, (Andy Johnson's son-inlaw, Rem. Corresp.,) Colonel Pickens, and other ringleaders of the same class, must be sent at once to Tuscaloosa to jail as prisoners of war."

INCIDENTS

CONNECTED WITH THE GREAT SOUTHERN REBELLION IN TENNESSEE;

TO WHICH IS ADDED

A Sketch of Prison-Life,

AND THE SUBSEQUENT RELEASE AND JOURNEY OF THE AUTHOR.

CHAPTER XIX.

MUCH of what now follows was written down by the author in small blank-books, with a pencil, in the Knoxville jail, and in a private room, while the outer doors were guarded with Rebel bayonets. That portion given in the form of a journal will be transmitted to posterity just as it was written down at the time, and without any attempt at polish. When most of these sketches reach the eyes of my prison-companions in the Knoxville jail, they will recall to them our mutual sufferings, and they will readily attest the truthfulness of my narrative. They will at once bear testimony as to the fidelity of my descriptions and the accuracy

with which I have stated facts, although they will regret that I have not gone more into detail.

Whilst I desire to let the world see what the real spirit of Secession is in the South, and to expose the guilty leaders to the scorn and contempt of all coming generations, I wish to enlist the interests and sympathies of all who may find leisure to peruse these pages. I have known, during my darkest hour of trial, that I had the sympathies of all good citizens in the loyal States, and did not doubt that thousands of devout prayers were offered up for my preservation and ultimate release, and for the safety and release of the innocent Union men confined with me and in other jails. If in these pages I can vindicate my consistency and satisfy the public that their sympathies have been merited, I will have accomplished all that is desired or aimed at by the publication of them.

When the storm arose in the South,-say a little over twelve months ago,-and the current set in seemingly favorable to Secession, vast numbers rushed into their ranks, actuated by the worst motives that ever governed the actions of as many bad men,—the daring and improvident, the indolent, the thoughtless, the bankrupts of the country, and the thousands indebted to Northern merchants, debauched members of the churches, apostate preachers, and the intemperate,-all the loose elements of society in the towns and villages,-those who were reckless of consequences, and to whom no