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--Escape of the outlaws.
On the 22d day of January, 1863, General Logan's division arrived in
Memphis, Tenn., preparatory to moving down the Mississippi, to join in
the campaign against Vicksburg. While there, as I was passing through
the city, accompanied by William Goodhart, of the 20th Ohio, I saw a
splendid carriage approaching, drawn by a fine pair of black horses,
with silver-plated harness. In it were Captain Daniels and the
Quartermaster that had captured me and taken me to Cold Water to be
paroled.
As the carriage came up, we sprang into the street toward it, to capture
the inmates. Recognizing me, they sprang out at the opposite side, and
ran in different directions and made their escape. Supposing that the
carriage and horses belonged to them, we unfastened the horses, mounted
them, and started for camp, leaving the carriage standing in the street.
We reported, with the horses, to division head-quarters, and thence was
ordered to brigade head-quarters. At brigade head-quarters we were
ordered to turn them over to the Quartermaster of our own regiment,
which we did. The next morning, the following article appeared in the
Memphis _Bulletin_:
"DARING ROBBERY.--Yesterday, some time during the day, two
soldiers entered the stable of a citizen on Adams street, and
took therefrom a valuable span of black horses, and a set of
silver-plated harness, and succeeded in getting away with the
stolen property.
"Such outrages upon citizens of this city have become frequent
of late, and it is high time that the military authorities took
the matter in hand and suppressed such disgraceful
proceedings."
The same day that the above article appeared, an order was procured by a
citizen of the city for the release of the horses and harness. From what
I could learn, the horses belonged to him, and not to the persons
driving them.
With nothing to do about Memphis but idle my time away in camp, I began
to get restless and uneasy, and was about contriving some way to get
outside of the lines to work, when I received word that General Logan
wanted to see me. I immediately reported to him, and was handed a sealed
envelope and ordered to report with it to Colonel Hillyer,
Provost-marshal General on General Grant's staff. I carried the
communication to the Colonel, as directed, and, when he had read it, he
immediately sat down and wrote me an order, of which the following is a
copy:
"HEAD-QUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE TENNESSEE, }
"OFFICE OF THE PROVOST-MARSHAL GENERAL, }
"MEMPHIS, TENN., February 6, 1863. }
"The bearer, Lorain Ruggles, is in scout service of the
Government. He will be passed through all lines, at all hours.
He will be furnished with whatever assistance he may require.
"He has authority to make arrests, reporting the same to the
nearest military commander or Provost-marshal.
"All officers and soldiers of this command will, in every way,
facilitate his operations.
"By command of Major-General U. S. Grant.
"WILLIAM HILLYER,
"_Provost-marshal General_."
Handing me the order and some money, the Colonel told me to procure a
place to board, and then commence operations. He requested me to report
every two or three days the result of my labors, and to do my reporting,
when practicable, at night.
I selected a boarding-house on Adams street, kept by a Mrs. W----s.
There I represented myself as a Major in the rebel army. My former
residence in the city, at intervals of time, gave me an acquaintance
that enabled me readily to carry out the character of a rebel officer,
without exciting any suspicion to the contrary.
Having established myself in my boarding-house, I proceeded to drum up
the acquaintance of such persons as I had reason to believe were of
suspicious loyalty.
My first acquaintance of that sort was a Captain Wells, who formerly
commanded an independent company in Vicksburg, Miss., but who had
resigned his commission in the Confederate army and established himself
in business in Memphis. He was at that time a "_Union man_," with the
oath of allegiance in his pocket, but engaged in buying horses of
Federal soldiers, and smuggling them through the Federal lines.
My acquaintance with him soon led to an acquaintance with others,
variously engaged--some as guerrillas, some horse-stealers, some
smugglers, some as mail-carriers, and others in various disloyal
capacities. They all knew me by my assumed rank, and always addressed me
as Major Ruggles.
On one occasion, while looking about the city, one of my disloyal
acquaintances informed me that there was a large mail in town from
Missouri, to go to General Price's army; and, said he, "Major, I thought
that, perhaps, you would be going down that way soon, and if you are,
why not take it with you? I presume it is a mail of considerable
importance, and undoubtedly General Price would compensate you well for
it."
"Perhaps I will take it down," I replied. "But I must make some
arrangements with my wife before I go, and I will let you know in the
morning."
"Very well. Come up in the morning."
I then went and told the Provost-marshal General what I had learned. He
told me to keep watch, and when it started out, to capture it.
The next day I went to see about carrying it out myself, and was told
that a man had already made arrangements to carry it, and that it was
packed up, ready to go. While talking about the mail, another of my new
acquaintances came up, and I invited the two to walk over to the Italian
saloon with me and take something to drink.
"You go with me," said the new comer, "over to the saloon where I get my
drinks."
"Very well," said I, and we all went over.
In front of the saloon was hitched a horse and buggy. In the saloon,
besides the proprietor, was a very gentlemanly-looking man, who, soon
after we entered, asked the proprietor of the saloon if he had any word
that he wanted to send to Hernando. The man said he was going down that
way, and if he had any thing to send he would take it.
The proprietor had nothing to send, and the gentleman, without making
any further business, went out. The thought now occurred to me that the
mail was in the buggy at the door, and the man that went out was the
mail-carrier. I excused myself from my companions, as soon as I could,
and started out to watch the suspected gentleman. When I went out, he
had unhitched and started down the street. I followed along, through one
street after another, until the buggy stopped at a provision store.
There the gentleman purchased a demijohn of something, and a side of
bacon. I saw him place them in the buggy, and then return to make other
purchases.
I then went to Captain Taylor, who had charge of the Government horses
in the city, whom I found sitting on his horse at his stables. I told
him that a rebel mail was going out through the lines, and that I wanted
his horse long enough to ride out to the picket line, on the Hernando
road, and stop it. He lent me his horse, and I soon found myself at the
picket line.
I found a Lieutenant in command of the pickets. I told him that there
would be a rebel mail attempt to pass his lines, and that it would be in
a one-horse buggy, driven by a very gentlemanly-looking man, and that
the buggy that contained the mail would contain a demijohn and a side of
bacon. I told him to be thorough, and search the man's person and his
buggy and the cushions, and every thing else about the buggy and to do
it in such a way as not to lead the man to suspect that any information
had been given him. I then took another road and returned to the city.
I had not been gone more than an hour, when the man described drove up
to the pickets, halted, and handed out his pass for examination. The
Lieutenant, having examined it, told him that he presumed he was all
right, but attempts had been made to carry contraband articles through
the lines, and his instructions were such that he was under the
necessity of making a thorough search before passing him. The man
assured the Lieutenant that he had no objections to being searched, and
that nothing could be found about himself or buggy not mentioned in the
pass.
The man's person was searched and then the buggy and finally the
cushions of the buggy were examined, and in them, neatly quilted in, was
found the mail. It is needless to add that the gentlemanly personage was
furnished accommodations in the Irving Block, and the mail was turned
over to the Provost-marshal General. I never learned what became of the
man afterward.
A few days after the arrest of the rebel mail-carrier, I invited several
of my new acquaintances down to my boarding-house, to have a little
jollification. They all accepted the invitation, and, at the appointed
time, made their appearance.
When I went to Mrs. W----s's to board, I took with me a yellow boy that
had been in my Captain's employ nearly a year. I had trained him so that
he understood me perfectly, and, being naturally of a smart, ready turn
of mind, and quick to comprehend my meaning, was of great assistance,
when I was visited by rebel friends, in helping me to carry out my
assumed character.
On this occasion, he represented to perfection the character of a negro
waiter. I called him "Spence." Whenever his name was called, he would
promptly enter the room, with his hat under his arm, and approach me
with as much manifestation of profound respect as if I had been a king,
receive my orders with marked attention and execute them with wonderful
agility, and then immediately retire from the room.
I had procured a supply of whisky, and Spence was frequently called in
to exercise his masterly skill at preparing slings, punches, etc., for
which my guests had a peculiar relish.
From my rank, my companions seemed to regard me as possessing peculiar
advantages over them, and all seemed desirous to secure my advice and my
personal assistance in their individual projects. By that means, I was
enabled to find out very much that was going on, that I otherwise would
not have done.
Among my guests of that evening was a man that had been in the
Confederate army, and had been severely wounded in the shoulder in the
battle at Fort Donelson. On account of his wound he had been
discharged. As a sort of compensation, to enable him to make a living,
for which his disability had seriously disabled him, General Price had
given him a paper authorizing him to trade and sell goods in the
Confederate army.
After showing me his paper, signed by General Price, "Now," said he,
"Major, you can render me some assistance, if you feel disposed, that
will be of great help to me in my circumstances."
"Indeed! I should be very happy to do so; but you must remember that I
am under bonds to the Federal authorities, and I have to be very careful
what I do; if I am caught in any scrape, they will surely hang me."
"I am well aware of that, Major, but I think you can do it, without
subjecting yourself to any great danger."
"Well, what is it that you want I should do?"
"I'll tell you. I have been engaged, for some time, in purchasing, in
small quantities at a time, various articles of goods, to take through
the Federal lines to sell, and I have now got about four hundred
dollars' worth. The military authorities are beginning to suspicion me,
and I have got to move the goods to some place for safe-keeping. Your
boarding-rooms are not very public, and you could keep the goods here
without exciting suspicion."
"I expect that I might. I have done more hazardous jobs than that since
I have been in the Confederate service. I think I can manage it. You may
get the goods ready, and then let me know it, and I will send my servant
after them."
"Thank you, Major! You are just the man to do it. I will get them ready
in the morning."
My friend Captain W----s also had a little scheme in view, which he
related to me, as follows:
"I have got six fine horses, that I have purchased of Federal
cavalrymen, and I want to manage some way to get them through the Yankee
lines. Now, Major, what plan do you propose to get them through?"
"Well, really, Captain, I hardly know what course would be advisable.
The 'Yankees' are getting to be mighty strict in their picket duties. A
sudden dash upon the pickets, some dark night, by as many plucky riders
as you have horses, might take them through."
"That's my mind exactly, Major! and I was thinking if I could get some
military man of experience, like yourself, to lead us, the plan might be
executed to a charm! What do you say? will you lead us?"
"Well, Captain, the undertaking is a bold one, but I think I am good for
it; at any rate, I will try."
"Good! good! Major, here's your health!" and they all drank heartily.
Late at night, the festival broke up, with an agreement to meet at
frequent intervals, as opportunity offered.
The next day the contraband goods were brought over to my rooms and
secreted.
I will here relate a little incident concerning my servant Spence, to
show how well I succeeded in making my secesh acquaintances believe that
I was a Southerner and a slave-owner. I was in the habit of finding
fault with him, and would reprimand him severely for the slightest
neglect, and sometimes imaginary ones, were sufficient to call forth
from me the severest rebuke.
A few mornings after the night of our festival, several of my secesh
friends called on me to ride out in the city. I ordered Spence to bring
out my horse. When he made his appearance at the front of the house, I
went out to see that every thing was in proper order, and at once flew
into a terrible passion with him, on the pretense that the horse was not
properly cleaned. Spence, as if mistrusting something was up, was about
to leave.
"Here, you black rascal!" said I; "why didn't you clean that horse's
legs? Ha'n't I taught you better than that? Come here, you black lazy
calf, till I thrash you! What! lived with me all your life, and _don't
know how to clean a horse_! Ha'n't I thrashed you time and again for
that? Come here, I say! I'll fix you!"
Spence, as if apprehending a booting, manifested a wonderful fear of me,
and no inclination to approach nearer, and, as I approached him, he
involuntarily drew back. I attempted to catch him, and he ran away from
me into the back yard, and I after him. "Stop! stop! you black d--l you!
Stop! or I'll shoot you!" I shouted.
Mrs. W----s and my companions ran to the back door to see what I was
doing. As they came out, I fired my revolver. Spence stopped, and,
facing me, implored, "Oh, Lord! Massa Ruggles, don't shoot dis nigger!
don't shoot again, for de Lord's sake! don't shoot! I'll done clean de
hoss all off clean de nex' time! I will. I will, for shure, Massa
Ruggles!"
"Don't shoot him, Major!" implored Mrs. W----s.
"Don't shoot him, Major! for God's sake, don't shoot him!" implored my
friends.
"Well, I won't shoot him this time, but the next time he won't get off
so easy. Do you understand that, you black rascal?"
"Yes. Massa Ruggles! I 'spects dat I was careless. I'll done clean him
good now!" and away he went to clean the horse.
Many a laugh have Spence and I had, when by ourselves, over my pretense
to shoot him.
A few nights after the above occurrence, another jollification was held
at my rooms. Before separating, it was agreed that eight of us,
including myself and Spence, should take the contraband horses and
goods, and, on a night agreed upon, if every thing was favorable, make a
dash through the lines.
The time agreed upon came, and with it my rebel acquaintances, prepared
for the dash. I was not ready, and apologized by saying that the weather
had been so bad for a day or two that I didn't think they would be along
that night. I told them that I had left my saddle at a harness shop to
be repaired, but if they would wait until I could go and get it, I would
accompany them. To this they agreed. Taking Spence with me, I started
for the saddle.
I procured one, to prevent suspicion, and, carrying it with me, I went
to the officer of the provost-guards. I told him what was going on, and
then showed him my order from Colonel Hillyer, and told him that I
wanted six men. My plan was to place them where they could throw
themselves suddenly across a street that we would have to pass, as we
came up, and halt us, and to fire into every man that did not halt.
Spence and myself would, of course, halt and be captured. The Captain
would not give me any men unless I would take a whole company. I
remonstrated. I knew that six men would not be suspected of any thing
more than an ordinary patrol guard, if seen on their way to the place
designated, and it would be impossible to get so many men into position
without their being seen. The Captain would not yield, and I started
with a full company, under command of a Lieutenant. After we had
started, the Captain halted us, and charged the Lieutenant not to divide
the company into squads, but to keep his men compact in a body. That
completely spoiled my plans, but I had no other alternative.
Before we got within three hundred yards of the outlaws, they discovered
the force coming and mistrusted their object. They raised a yell of
defiance, and, swinging their hats with whoops and hurrahs, dashed out
of sight before the company could be got into line. They succeeded in
dashing through the lines, and I have never heard of them since.
The contraband goods, however, remained in my possession, and I turned
them over to the Provost-marshal.
I was heartily vexed with the failure, and disgusted with the detective
service, and resolved that I would never have any thing more to do with
it. How well I kept my resolution the sequel will show.