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[Illustration: "GENERAL BUNKER."]
FOUR YEARS
A SCOUT AND SPY.
"GENERAL BUNKER,"
ONE OF LIEUT. GENERAL GRANT'S MOST DARING AND SUCCESSFUL SCOUTS.
BEING A NARRATIVE OF THE THRILLING ADVENTURES, NARROW ESCAPES,
NOBLE DARING, AND AMUSING INCIDENTS IN THE EXPERIENCE
OF CORPORAL RUGGLES DURING FOUR YEARS' SERVICE
AS A SCOUT AND SPY FOR THE FEDERAL ARMY;
EMBRACING HIS SERVICES FOR
TWELVE OF THE MOST DISTINGUISHED GENERALS IN THE U. S. ARMY.
By E. C. DOWNS,
MAJOR OF THE TWENTIETH OHIO VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY.
Illustrated.
ZANESVILLE, OHIO:
PUBLISHED BY HUGH DUNNE,
NORTH FOURTH STREET, ADJOINING COURT HOUSE.
1866.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1866, by
E. C. DOWNS,
In the Clerk's Office of the United States District Court, for the
Southern District of Ohio.
STEREOTYPED AT THE
FRANKLIN TYPE FOUNDRY,
CINCINNATI, O.
TO
LIEUTENANT-GENERAL U. S. GRANT,
_Whose undaunted energy, heroic valor, superior generalship,
and devotion to his country,
have proved him_
"THE RIGHT MAN IN THE RIGHT PLACE,"
_And won for him_
A WORLD-WIDE FAME;
_And to the gallant Officers and Soldiers
who have nobly assisted in sustaining our glorious nationality
by crushing the great rebellion,_
_THIS VOLUME IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED._
PREFACE.
It was with much difficulty that I was induced to give to the public a
narrative of my experience as a scout and spy. It was the intense
interest with which the people have listened to my narratives, whenever
I have related them, and their earnest entreaties to have them
published, that have prevailed upon me to do so.
I entered the army from purely patriotic motives. I had no vain ambition
to gratify, but simply a desire to sustain and perpetuate the noble
institutions that had been purchased by the blood of our fathers. I
valued the cause of liberty as well worth all the sacrifice that it
might cost to save it. I saw at once that the conflict was to be one
involving great principles, and that in the end Truth and Justice _must
prevail_.
The part that I have borne in putting down the great rebellion is the
one that naturally fell to me by the force of circumstances, and
entirely unsolicited. My relation in the affairs of life seems to have
been such as to have just adapted me to that part that fell to my lot to
act.
I have, without doubt, been indiscreet at times. Who has not? But the
reader must remember that he who goes from the peaceful pursuits of
life, for the first time, to engage in the art of war, does so with a
lack of experience. Soldiering was not my trade. War is demoralizing in
its tendency. This fact, I trust, will very much lessen any feelings of
prejudice that may arise, in the course of these narratives, from
passages clothed with the rough-and-tumble of army life.
Rough language and blunt manners are characteristics of war, because its
tendency is to destroy the finer feelings of our natures. Some of the
language used is of that character, and it would fail to be a truthful
representation of the reality if rendered less so. The incidents that I
have narrated are all of them facts that have occurred in my experience,
and, without further apology, I submit them to an indulgent public.
LORAIN RUGGLES.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
Parentage--Early discipline--Childhood incidents--Subsequent
occupations--Driven from Mississippi--Works on rebel
fortifications--Escape to Illinois--Enlists as a soldier--
Supposed to have deserted--How he got his name--Examination
by the Surgeon--Roster of the Regiment 11
CHAPTER II.
Moves to Cincinnati--Detailed to guard the forts--Meets a secesh
lady--First scout--Unexpected visit of the Colonel--The drill--
Bad report--The mischief investigated--Attempts to discover the
rogues--Innocent man accused--The accusers skedaddle--Who got
the chickens 22
CHAPTER III.
"Marching orders"--Arrives at Fort Donelson--The surrender--Goes
North with prisoners--Meets an old friend as a rebel Captain--
The Captain attempts to bribe him--Expedition up the Tennessee
River--Touching incident--Battle of Shiloh--Captures an Enfield
--Recommended as a scout 30
CHAPTER IV.
Rumored attack upon Grand Junction--"General Bunker" sent out
as spy--Passes himself as a rebel soldier--Falls in with rebel
cavalry--Visits a rebel camp--Attempts to deprive him of his
revolver--Discovers a Yankee forage party--Undertakes to return
--Captured by Yankees, and robbed of his revolver and money--
Passes as a rebel spy--Sent to the Provost-marshal--Sent to
General Hurlbut--Returned to Grand Junction 38
CHAPTER V.
Fired at by a citizen--The sick overseer--How he was cured--
Pickets fired on--Trip to White Church--Visits General Van Dorn
--Meets a rebel spy--Reports to General Leggett--Grand Junction
evacuated--Again sees the rebel spy--Attempt to arrest him--
Drinks wine with the rebel General Jackson--Discovers a hole in
the fence 53
CHAPTER VI.
The value of the Oath--Attempt to take "Bunker's" life--Sent
to Grand Junction--The hazardous ride--Shoots the picket--The
chase--Unfortunate occurrence--The chase abandoned--Meets with
guerrillas--They invite him to drink--Renewed vigilance--The
battle of Middleburg 69
CHAPTER VII.
Attempts to visit the enemy's camp--Learns the strength and
position of the enemy--Return intercepted--Perilous situation--
Loses his mule--Frightened by men of his own regiment--The plan
to capture the enemy--The negro's report--The forces discovered
--Disposes of a rebel picket--Reports his discovery 76
CHAPTER VIII.
Sent to find the enemy's pickets--Suspicious circumstance--Sick
child--Captures three citizens standing picket--Releases them--
Falls asleep--Perilous situation--Fortunate turn of affairs--
Attack on the pickets--A very pious man--He proves a rebel spy 85
CHAPTER IX.
Sent to Somerville--Finds himself a prisoner--Taken to Cold
Water--Meets with old acquaintances--Is paroled--Runs with the
2d Arkansas Cavalry--Goes to Lumpkins' Mills--Interview with
General Price--Stays all night with his brother, the rebel
General--Return to Bolivar--Reports to General Ross--"Steals
the Colonel's horse," and returns to the enemy--Runs away from
the enemy 93
CHAPTER X.
Sent to Grand Junction to capture guerrillas--Suspicious
incident--Strategy to get out the guerrillas--Orders disobeyed
--The rebel flag--The very kind secesh lady--The mistake--Out
of the frying-pan into the fire--Guerrillas watching for them
--The attack--The prisoner--Result of the trio 103
CHAPTER XI.
Sent to Lagrange--Observes two cavalrymen--Arrival at
Lagrange--Waits for the cavalry--Accompanies them out--Takes
his departure--Is pursued--Evades the pursuit--Finds himself
cornered--Crosses the Cypress Swamp--Robbed by outlaws--
Disloyal citizen--The fate of the robbers 115
CHAPTER XII.
Starts to find General Bragg's forces--"Wools" the secesh farmer
--Receives a bottle of rum--Guerrillas washing stockings--Finds
Bragg's advance--Recognized as a Yankee spy--Ordered off his
mule to be shot--The clamor of the crowd--Recognized as a
Confederate spy--Rebel Surgeon vouches for him--Is released--
Gray-headed rebel brought to justice--The Sutler of the 2d
Arkansas Cavalry a prisoner--What became of the guerrillas
that were washing stockings 127
CHAPTER XIII.
Reconnoiters Hickory Flats with a squad of seven men--Shoots at
the mark--Orders to march with two days' rations--Cause of the
alarm--Reconnoiter beyond Whitesville--Major Mudd's trap--
"Bunker" entices the rebs into it--Rides into the trap behind
rebel Captain--Sent out beyond Pocahontas--Passes as a rebel
artillerist--Secesh citizen stands guard for him--The a very
kind secesh lady--The anxious wife--Discovers guerrillas
burning a human being 139
CHAPTER XIV.
Starts on a trip for General Lauman--His instructions--A
Confederate widow--Discovers a squad of rebel soldiers--Captures
part of their arms--Learns the whereabouts of guerrillas--
Attempt to capture them--Guerrillas escape--Captures a prisoner
--Cause of guerrillas' escape--The "General" and squad get
arrested--The charges and specifications 157
CHAPTER XV.
Unfortunate state of affairs--Informality of charge and
specifications--Assistance of friends--Fails to get a trial--
Gloomy prospects--Evidence accumulates--Guard-house incident--
The "General" concludes to help himself--Narrow escape from
guerrillas--The capture--Reaches his regiment--Himself and
squad released 169
CHAPTER XVI.
Starts for Grenada--Instructions--Is captured--Returns to Water
Valley--Starts again--Arrives at Grenada--Condition of Price's
army--He returns--Again sent to Grenada--Proposes some fun--
Plan of strategy--Plan unnecessary--Returns with rebel cavalry
--Bivouac at Big Springs--The attack--More fun than bargained
for--The result 182
CHAPTER XVII.
The forage party--Runaways--Daring scout--Narrow escape--The line
of battle--Safe return--Scout reports--Assumes the character of a
rebel prisoner--Finds a friend--How he introduced himself--Where
he belongs--The burning of Holly Springs--The heroine--What she
captured--Shows partiality--Offers assistance--Rebel doctor
executed 192
CHAPTER XVIII.
Arrival in Memphis--Daring robbery--Detailed by the Provost-
marshal General--Assumes the character of a rebel Major--Secesh
acquaintances--Captures a rebel mail--A jollification--A rebel
trader--Plan to run the pickets--The escape of the outlaws 204
CHAPTER XIX.
Reports to Major-General McPherson--Instructions--Disguise--
Starts for Vicksburg--Changes his route--Reports to General
Denver--Acquaintance with a cotton-buyer--Plan to make money--
Visits guerrilla Sol. Street--The arrangement consummated--
Visit to General Price--Arrival at Jackson--Robbed of his
field-glasses--Introduction to President Davis--Visit to
Vicksburg--Visit to Edwards' Station--Meets his bear-hunting
comrades--Visits Black River bridge--Robbed of his horse--The
return--Reports to General McPherson--Reports to General Grant 217
CHAPTER XX.
Return to Mississippi--Instructions--Visit to Troy--Movement of
cavalry--Reports to General Denver--Is arrested--Federal cavalry
driven back--Is released--Visits Greenwood--Journey to the
Mississippi River--The perilous crossing--Again arrested--
Interview with Gen. Prentiss--Takes the oath of allegiance--
Meets a friend--Makes his escape--Reports to Gen. Grant 233
CHAPTER XXI.
Return to the regiment--The Henry rifle--The march from Milliken's
Bend--The tug of war--The army crosses the Mississippi--Capture
of Port Gibson--Battle of Raymond--Amusing Capture--The charge on
Jackson--Battle of Champion Hills--The rebel courier--Sharp-
shooting--The gallant charge--The march to Vicksburg--The place
besieged 245
CHAPTER XXII.
First sharp-shooting at Vicksburg--Silences two guns--The rifle-
pit--Shoots a Carolinian--The Carolinian's comrade--Outshoots a
squad of sixteen--The defiant rebel--Shoots for Gens. McPherson
and Logan--Beats the Parrot rifles--Joke on the Adjutant-General
--Visit to Admiral Porter--The French spy--The disclosures--
Capture of a rebel dispatch--The fate of the spy 259
CHAPTER XXIII.
Sent for by General Grant--Instructions--Crosses Black River--
Is captured by rebel cavalry--Sent to General DeVieu--The
interview--Passes as Johnston's spy--The attempt to escape--The
pursuit--Fired at by Federal pickets--Again fired at by the
enemy--The pursuers driven back--Again fired at by Federal
pickets--The alarm--Reports to General Osterhaus--Reports to
General Grant 275
CHAPTER XXIV.
Visit to Chickasaw Landing--Surrender of Vicksburg--Visit to
the city--The paroled Major--The Yankee trick--Returns to
Vicksburg--Made detective--Is sent to Yazoo City--Attends a
guerrilla organization--Makes them a speech--Returns to
Vicksburg 286
CHAPTER XXV.
Taken sick with the ague--Encounters his Satanic Majesty--The
Devil afraid of General Grant--Expedition to Bogue Chitto
Creek--Captures a rebel Colonel--Enlists as a veteran--Makes
a speech to the soldiers 295
CHAPTER XXVI.
Frightened by a dead Colonel--Burns Confederate corn in face
of the enemy--Gets into a tight place--A frightened Major--
Captures information--A headstrong Captain gobbled up--Captures
a rebel Provost-marshal General--Encounter with General Ross'
cavalry--A strange adventure--Races with a rebel Colonel--A
hard-hearted woman 305
CHAPTER XXVII.
Starts home on veteran furlough--Trouble at the table--Bluffs
the Captain--Suspected of being a rebel spy--Commissioned
officer serves him at the table--Kind attentions at home--
Silences an old maid--Returns to the front--Shot at twenty-one
times--The remedy--A Union lady--The dwarf weaver--The weaver
beheaded--Goes into Marietta as a spy--Confederate side of the
lines--Escape from the rebs--General McPherson's death--Hard
fighting 331
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Goes to Ohio to recruit--Raises twenty-one men--Difficulty with
the Governor--Visits Lieutenant-General Grant--Order from the
War Department--Again in difficulty--Runs away from the
Governor--Reports to General Sherman--Georgia raid--An amusing
coincident--Reports to General Granger, at Mobile--Reports to
General Grierson, in Texas--Makes a trip to the Upper Colorado
--Incident at General Grant's head-quarters--The war over 358
CHAPTER XXIX.
Ludicrous effect of fear--A Corporal outflanks a Captain--A
good Union man--A touching appeal--A scene among the wounded--An
old Secesh discovers his mistake--Suggestions from experience--
Concluding thoughts 390
INTRODUCTION
Lorain Ruggles was enlisted by me in December, 1861, at Columbus, Ohio.
The name of "General Bunker" was given to him by the men in his company,
and it was by that name that he was most generally known in the army,
and very many knew him by no other name.
Mr. Ruggles is a man possessed of great presence of mind, a strong
memory, and not a little of native wit, and great power of physical
endurance. These, with his knowledge of the Southern people and country,
admirably fitted him for the duties of a scout.
The narratives here related are of facts that actually occurred in his
experience, and very many of them are as well authenticated as any facts
in history can be. There has been no aim at making this a work of
general history, but simply a narrative of personal experience, coupled
with only so much of the general history of the war as is necessary to
explain the cause of the events that transpired in his experience. Many
of these are incidents of daring that are without parallel in the scout
service. The following testimonials of the value of his services and the
truthfulness of his reports will be read with interest:
"HEAD-QUARTERS 1ST BRIGADE, 3D DIVISION, }
"17TH ARMY CORPS, December, 11, 1863. }
"_Captain E. C. Downs, 20th Ohio:_
"CAPTAIN--I have known Mr. Ruggles since December, 1861,
when your company was first mustered. I remember very well
his first expedition as a spy, in June, 1862, when the
20th was at Grand Junction, then an exposed outpost, under
command of General Leggett.
"Since that time he has been continually employed on such duty,
often on expeditions of extreme hazard. He has shown as much
address as daring. Many a camp-fire has been enlivened with
stories of his adventures while commanding officers have set
high value upon his reports.
"I remember Mr. Ruggles as one of our best sharp-shooters in
the war. His skill as a sharp-shooter, as well as scout, often
got him leave to go out from the line on somewhat independent
duty. At Champion Hills I gave him leave to go out with company
A, which was sent out as skirmishers to open the way for an
advance, on account of his skill.
"At the siege of Vicksburg, he had a special permanent
permission to be among the sharp-shooters on the advanced
lines. On the day of the general but unsuccessful charge in
May, he was mainly instrumental in driving away the
artillerists from two of the enemy's guns on the right of the
Jackson road.
"His Henry rifle, given to him by General Grant, was one of the
marked pieces among the sharp-shooters of the 17th Corps at
that siege.
"Very respectfully, your ob't serv't,
"M. F. FORCE,
"_Brig.-Gen'l. Vols., late Colonel 20th Ohio_."
* * * * *
"HEAD-QUARTERS 3D DIV., 17TH ARMY CORPS, }
"VICKSBURG, MISS., December 7, 1863. }
"_Captain E. C. Downs:_
"DEAR SIR--Mr. Ruggles (or 'General Bunker,' as he is better
known) has acted as scout and spy for me on very many occasions
since the early part of June, 1862, and is now acting in that
capacity. In this character he has been remarkably successful,
seldom ever failing to satisfactorily accomplish the mission
on which he was sent.
"Many scenes of his life as a spy are intensely interesting. It
has been my fortune to meet in life very few persons who could
so successfully act an assumed character.
"At some future time, I shall probably be at liberty to relate
a few incidents of considerable interest in his career, of
which he himself is as yet ignorant.
"Very respectfully,
"M. D. LEGGETT,
"_Brigadier-General_."
* * * * *
"MEMPHIS, TENN., November 28, 1863.
"_Captain E. C. Downs:_
"DEAR SIR--You wrote me sometime since, inquiring as to the
services of Mr. Ruggles as a scout and spy for the Union army.
In reply I would state that Mr. Ruggles was a superior man
for the work assigned him, and the information obtained
through him of the movements of the enemy was always reliable.
"In the discharge of his duties, he was active, energetic, and
heroically brave. His gallantry in the service deserves
honorable mention in the work of which you speak.
"I am truly yours, etc.,
"LEEMAN F. ROSS."
* * * * *
"HEAD-QUARTERS 17TH ARMY CORPS, }
"DEPARTMENT OF THE TENNESSEE, }
"VICKSBURG, MISS., December 15, 1863. }
"_To whom it may concern:_
"This is to certify that Mr. Ruggles has been employed by me at
various times during the past year, and I have always found him
brave, adventurous, and truthful.
"His services as a scout have been very important, and he
deserves well of the military authorities.
"JAS. B. MCPHERSON,
"_Major-General_."
* * * * *
"ZANESVILLE, O., July 31, 1866.
"_Major E. C. Downs:_
"DEAR SIR--It affords me pleasure to state that I am
personally acquainted with Mr. Lorain Ruggles, known in the
army as 'General Bunker.' He belonged to my command, and I know
he was regarded as one of the most intrepid scouts in the 17th
Army Corps. He was in high favor with all our general officers,
and I think rendered more efficient service in the capacity of
scout and spy than any man with whom I am acquainted. He
certainly deserves well of his country.
"I never knew him to give false intelligence, and in his
forthcoming work should recommend it as a truthful narrative of
his personal adventures, many of which I am known to.
"G. F. WILES,
"_Late Colonel 78th O. V. V. I., and Brevet Brig.-General_."
"CARROLLTON, OHIO, June 27, 1866.
"_Major E. C. Downs, Zanesville, Ohio:_
"MAJOR--I am glad to add my testimony to the reputation of
'Bunker' as a scout and spy. I believe him to have been the
most reliable and successful scout in the Western army.
"'Bunker' had the confidence of Lieut.-General Grant and
Major-Generals McPherson and Logan, which he earned by skillful
labor during the campaign which resulted in the capture of
Vicksburg and its garrison. 'Bunker' deserves well of his
country.
"Yours truly,
"B. F. POTTS,
"_Late Brevet Major-General U. S. Vols._"
* * * * *
"CARBONDALE, ILL., July 1, 1866.
"_Major Downs:_
"DEAR SIR--I am well acquainted with Mr. Ruggles, or, as we
called him in the army, 'General Bunker.' He was certainly a
very excellent scout, and performed great service in that
ranch of duties. He served as scout for me, as well as for
many others, and at all times performed his part well, ran
great risks; was not only a good scout, but one of the best
sharp-shooters perhaps in the army.
"Yours truly,
"JOHN A. LOGAN."
* * * * *
"WASHINGTON, D. C., July 9, 1865.
"_Major E. C. Downs:_
"DEAR SIR--In the work of which you speak, you are at
liberty to refer to me concerning the value of the services
rendered by Mr. Ruggles as a scout and spy. His reports were
always reliable, and were held in high estimation by me.
"Yours truly,
"U. S. GRANT,
"_Lieutenant-General U. S. A._"
Such testimonials as the foregoing give the narratives contained in the
following pages a reputation of reliability that can not be doubted.
Whenever a mission of great danger was to be executed, Mr. Ruggles was
the man that was usually chosen to perform it. His quick comprehension
and heroic daring enabled him to address himself to the work, which he
rarely ever failed to accomplish. Often the boldness of his designs
proved to be the reason of his success. Very few have equaled, while
none have excelled, him in that line of duty. Many of the incidents in
his experience are so wonderful that in them the "truth seems stranger
than fiction."
THE AUTHOR.
FOUR YEARS A SCOUT AND SPY.
CHAPTER I.
Parentage--Early discipline--Childhood incidents--Subsequent
occupations--Driven from Mississippi--Works on rebel
fortifications--Escape to Illinois--Enlists as a
soldier--Supposed to have deserted--How he got his
name--Examination by the Surgeon--Roster of the Regiment.
I was born in the town of Copley, in what is now known as Summit County,
Ohio, on the 17th day of June, 1823, and at the time that I entered the
army I was thirty-nine years of age. My father's name was Alfred
Ruggles. At the time of his death he was living with his second wife.
His family numbered twelve sons and seven daughters. I am the youngest
of seven children by my father's second wife.
My father was a blacksmith by trade, and all of his sons, except myself,
were learned the trade, under his personal instruction. Lorenzo Ruggles,
my father's second son by his first wife, after having finished his
trade, was sent to college and educated. He is the General Ruggles of
the Confederate army.
When I was ten years of age my father died, leaving a large farm
disposed of by a will. The children went to law, and spent the entire
property in breaking the will and settling the estate. In consequence of
that I was thrown upon my own labor for my support at a very early age.
My father was an old-fashioned strict disciplinarian; in the government
of his family "he ruled with an iron hand." His government was not only
rigid but chilling. The deviation of a hair from the paternal command
was usually followed by a whipping, and sometimes one was administered
without proper investigation.
People often ask me, "What is the essential qualification of a good
spy?" My answer is, "It requires an _accomplished liar_." I mean by
that, a man that can _successfully practice deception_. I do not mean by
that that a man must be an _habitual liar_. There is nothing that I
despise more than a man whose word can not be relied upon. Whether
deception, as I have practiced it in the discharge of my duty as a spy,
is a moral wrong, I shall not here attempt to argue. Of this much I am
sure: it has many times saved my life, and perhaps the lives of
thousands of others, besides saving immense sums of money to the
Government.
Whatever of the art of deception I possess has been somewhat shaped by
the chilling discipline administered to me by my father. An incident or
two from my early life will serve to show what that discipline was, and
what effect it may have had in my after career.
In my childhood days I was noted as "a mischievous boy." I suppose that
means that I was constantly devising or hunting some sort of diversion.
My father usually kept wrought nails of his own manufacture to sell to
his customers. These I used to get and drive into the fence, firewood,
shade-trees, or any thing else that came in my way. This my father had
forbidden me to do, but sometimes the impulse of the moment would cause
me to break over, and as often I would be whipped for my disobedience.
One day, as my father was going away from home he charged me
particularly not to go into the shop during his absence. While he was
gone I became so much interested in play that I never thought of going
to the shop. Near the close of the day my father returned, and it so
happened that he needed a few wrought nails to use the first thing after
his arrival. On going to the shop after some, he found his nail-box
empty. His last impression, on leaving, had been that I _would_ get
them, and now his first impression was that I _had_ got them.
Consequently, I was immediately summoned to give an account of them.
"My son, what made you go into the shop during my absence?" inquired my
father.
"Father, I did not go into the shop," I replied.
"Somebody has been there and carried off my nails. Nobody else was here
but you; you _must be_ the one that got them."
"I did not get them, father; neither did I go to the shop. I certainly
did not."
My father knew that I had been in the habit of getting them, and, though
he had never known me to tell him a willful lie, nevertheless, he
thought that I had carried off his nails. I had not only disobeyed, but
had lied about it. It was too aggravated an offense to let pass without
punishment. Taking a hickory gun-wiper that stood in a corner of the
shop, he gave me a severe whipping, and then said, "Lorain, what did you
do with the nails?" Again I denied getting them, and again he whipped
me, which was repeated several times. At length "forbearance ceased to
be a virtue"--at least, my poor back _felt so_--and I said to him,
"Father, if you won't whip me any more, I'll tell you what I did with
them."
"Well, what did you do with them?"
"_I drove them into the grind-stone block._"
After having talked to me about the wickedness of telling a lie, he sent
me into the house, little thinking that he had been _forcing me to tell
one_.
The next morning, as I was standing by, a customer entered the shop for
some nails. He had called the day before, and finding nobody present,
and needing them for immediate use, took all that he could find, weighed
them, and returned home. "There, father," said I, "I told you that I did
not get your nails!" His heart smote him for the whipping that he had
given me, and he wept like a child. The incident, however, had its
effect, and not many days passed until I was again placed on trial.
Myself and sister Electa attended the district school. Our nearest
neighbor, Mr. Moss, had a daughter about the age of my sister, who used
to attend the same school; her name was Cordelia. She was a very
proud-spirited girl, and improved every opportunity to show off. Her
mother bought her a new work-pocket; this she would frequently display,
and say to my sister, in a proud, haughty way, "You haint got no new
work-pocket bought out of the store." It displeased me considerably to
have her assume to be any better than my sister; so I resolved to stop
it at the first opportunity.
One day, as we were returning from school we espied a squirrel that had
taken refuge in a small tree by the roadside. Cordelia laid her
work-pocket at the roots of the tree, and she and my sister mounted the
fence, and commenced to climb the tree to catch it. Discovering the
work-pocket, I picked it up unperceived, and started on. Coming to a
bank of loose earth, where a tree had been recently uprooted by the
wind, I buried it, and then returned toward my companions and called to
them to come along. The girls had started to overtake me, when Cordelia,
missing her work-pocket, returned to get it. She searched for it a long
time, but without success. Failing to find it, she accused me of getting
it, which I stoutly denied. At last, complaint was made to my father.
Both of the girls had seen it lying near the tree, but neither of them
had seen me have it. My father asked me what I had done with it; but I
denied having seen it. "You _must_ have taken it," said the old man,
"for nobody else was there that could have taken it."
"I _must_ have got the nails too," I replied. This outflanked him; he
remembered having whipped me once wrongfully, and feared a repetition
of the same thing. The result was I evaded punishment, and my father
never found out what I had done with the work-pocket.
The next summer, after my father's death, I hired out on board of one of
the packet-boats running on the Ohio Canal, as cabin-boy. I continued
for three summers to follow the canal in that capacity, and for four
summers following I was a canal driver. The last three seasons I drove
the same team, and at the end of the third season I received from the
Transportation Company a prize of ten dollars for having kept my team in
the best order.
The winter following, my seventh season on the canal, I went down the
Mississippi River to Arkansas, and spent the season chopping steamboat
wood. While thus employed on Island Twenty-eight, I had the fortune to
kill a very large black bear, which I sold to a steamboat captain for
what seemed to me at that time a great price. The incident turned my
attention to trapping and bear-hunting. I spent several successive
winters in hunting and trapping in the wilds of Arkansas. In the winter
of 1851 and 1852 I was employed in hunting wild hogs in the Yazoo
bottoms for a man in Vicksburg, Miss. I was thus engaged at the same
time that the fourteen French hunters were killed by wild hogs in the
Yazoo bottoms. I spent one year as an overseer for Mr. James Ford, of
Memphis, Tenn., on the French palace plantation, near the fort of Island
No. 60. My summers were usually spent on the Mississippi and its
tributaries. In the summer of 1859 I went to Pike's Peak, and thence to
Salt Lake. The winter of 1860 and 1861 I was at work on White River,
Ark., and had several hands at work with me, filling a contract for
shingles for a man by the name of Hanner, in Bolivar County,
Mississippi.
In the spring, I commenced to deliver the shingles, but Mr. Hanner
refused to receive them, on the ground that the country was engaged in
war. His refusal to receive them provoked me, and I said to him, "All
you need is a good thrashing, and then you'll behave yourself and not
talk so." That enraged him, and he turned and left me, muttering
vengeance as he went. An hour later he returned with a party of men,
threatening to hang me if he should catch me, but I was not to be found.
Mr. Hanner did not accuse me of being an abolitionist or a Northern man.
He was soon after made Colonel of the 17th Mississippi Zouaves. Knowing
that my life was in danger there, I made my way to Memphis, Tenn.
At Memphis, Tenn., I found the secession element decidedly too hot for
me. I saw no other way for me to do but "aid and comfort" the secession
movement or leave the country.
Lying at the levee was a steamboat just getting up steam, destined, it
was said, for St. Louis, Mo. She had on board a cargo of picks, spades,
wheelbarrows, and whisky. I took passage in her and went to Columbus,
Ky., and there she stopped and commenced to discharge her cargo. I soon
learned that she was going no further.
At that place I came across Mr. James Ford, for whom I had been an
overseer on the French palace plantation. He gave me a warm greeting,
and said that he was glad that I had come. He was at that time in
command of the post, and engaged in fortifying the place. He persuaded
me to take charge of a gang of negroes and work on the forts, which I
did, to kill all suspicion until an opportunity occurred for me to
escape. When I had been there engaged for five days, the steamboat
Amelia came up the river and landed, on her way to Cairo, Ill. I
happened to know the pilot, and told him that I was in a tight place,
and by his assistance I secreted myself on board the boat and went to
Cairo. It was the last steamer that was allowed to pass by Columbus,
Ky., until the place was captured by the Federal army.
From Cairo I went to Toledo, O. Recruiting for the Federal army was
going on rapidly all over the North. In the fall of 1861 I visited the
principal cities in Ohio, in search of a company of sharp-shooters, in
which to enlist. I found several such organizations, but none of them
were officered by men that suited me. In the month of December, while at
Columbus, Ohio, I met Lieutenant Downs, of the 20th Ohio Volunteer
Infantry, with a squad of ten men, on his way to Trumbull County to
recruit. Liking his appearance and that of his men, I enlisted, on
condition that he would furnish me with an Enfield rifle.
From Columbus we took the first train of cars to Cleveland; it was late
in the evening when we arrived. Passing a boot and shoe store that was
yet open, I obtained leave of the Lieutenant to stop and purchase a
pair of boots before going to our place of lodging. The Lieutenant and
party did not stop, but continued on to the hotel where we were to stop.
After having purchased a pair of boots, I got into an interesting
conversation with the shop-keeper, and remained somewhat longer than was
necessary. I had been intrusted to the care of Corporal Grinnell by the
Lieutenant, and my long absence had created a suspicion in the mind of
the Corporal that I had deserted. He had also heard Lieutenant Bostwick,
while in Columbus, advise Lieutenant Downs not to enlist me, for fear I
would run away. At last he started out with three men in search of me,
and found me still at the shop. I have since had many a joke with
Lieutenant Bostwick and Corporal Grinnell about their suspecting that I
would desert. They have been among my warmest friends in the army. The
next morning, at eleven o'clock, we reached Warren. At that place the
party dispersed to their homes, and I was furnished boarding at the
Eagle House, where I remained for ten days.
On Monday, January 8, 1862, we met to go to the regiment, then at Camp
King, near Covington, Ky. The squad had increased by accession of
recruits to twenty men. Our journey passed off pleasantly, and in two
days' time we reached our regiment. The party that went home with the
Lieutenant had carried their knapsacks with them; not knowing at that
time the name for them, I asked the Lieutenant if he had a "Bunker Hill"
for me to wear on my back. From that I received the name of "Bunker,"
and have been more generally known by that name in the army than any
other.
The next morning after our arrival in camp, we were marched over to the
Surgeon's quarters for examination. From a list of names that the
Lieutenant had handed him, the Surgeon called "Lorain Ruggles!"
"Here I am, Doctor," I answered; "what do you want of me?"
"I want to examine you, and see if you are sound."
"Oh, that's it, is it. You need not be to that trouble, I'm _sound_
enough."
"Well, but I must _see_ whether you are sound or not; hold out your
hands; work your fingers; touch your hands over your head."
Going through the motions, I added, "_Oh, I tell you that I am all
right._"
"Are you ruptured," he continued.
"_Ruptured!_ what is that?"
"Are you bursted?"
"No, I ain't _quite_ busted yet; I've a couple of dollars left."
"You don't understand me, Mr. Ruggles," continued the surgeon, placing
his hands on my abdomen. "Are your _bowels_ all right?"
"_Oh, I understand you now! They are a little thin; the rations don't
relish well yet._"
The doctor succeeded at last in making me understand, and having
finished his examination, we were accepted as a soldier in the United
States army.
Like all other recruits, as soon as mustered in I was placed under
drill. To me the "steps" and "facings," "times" and "motions," were
perfectly incomprehensible. I formed a dislike to them that I could
never get over. I was expert in the forest at handling my piece, and I
did not see why the same times and motions that would kill a bear would
not kill a "reb."
The following is a list of the commissioned officers that were in the
20th Ohio Volunteer Infantry at the time that I entered it:
CHARLES WHITTLESY, Colonel,
M. F. FORCE, Colonel,
J. N. MCELROY, Major,
E. L. HILL, Surgeon,
J. G. PURPLE, Asst. Surgeon,
E. N. OWEN, Adjutant,
P. M. HITCHCOCK, Qr.-Master,
JAMES KNAPP, Chaplain.
Elisha Hiatt, Captain Co. A. W. W. Updegraff, Captain Co. F.
William Rogers, 1st Lt. Co. A. D. R. Hume, 1st Lt. Co. F.
L. N. Ayres, 2d Lt. Co. A. W. D. Neal, 2d Lt. Co. F.
John C. Fry, Captain Co. B. J. N. Cassel, Captain Co. G.
A. J. Edwards, 1st Lt. Co. B. G. L. Melick, 1st Lt. Co. G.
R. M. Colby, 2d Lt. Co. B. Nathan Bostwick, 2d Lt. Co. G.
J. M. McCoy, Captain Co. C. James Powers, Captain Co. H.
Z. P. Atkins, 1st Lt. Co. C. E. C. Downs, 1st Lt. Co. H.
Conrad Garris, 2d Lt. Co. C. H. M. Davis, 2d Lt. Co. H.
C. H. McElroy, Captain Co. D. F. M. Shaklee, Captain Co. L.
V. T. Hills, 1st Lt. Co. D. Harrison Wilson, 1st Lt. Co. L.
Henry Sherman, 2d Lt. Co. D. W. L. Waddell, 2d Lt. Co. L.
George Rogers, Captain Co. E. Abraham Kaga, Captain Co. K.
B. A. F. Greer, 1st Lt. Co. E. David Rhinehart, 1st Lt. Co. K.
W. H. Jacobs, 2d Lt. Co. E. Seneca Hale, 2d Lt. Co. K.