Today in History:

387 Series I Volume XVI-II Serial 23 - Morgan's First Kentucky Raid, Perryville Campaign Part II

Page 387 Chapter XXVIII. CORRESPONDENCE, ETC.-UNION.


HEADQUARTERS CONFEDERATE STATES FORCES, Chattanooga, August 21, 1862.

Major General D. C. BUELL,
Commanding United States Forces, &c.:

GENERAL: I have to bring to your notice the following: I have evidence which convinces me that a few days after Captain Brewster, of our service, had surprised and taken some men of your forces, a detachment of United States forces, under a Colonel Stewart, of Indiana Volunteers, captured a Georgian of Brigadier-General Forrest's command, and subsequently shot him while a prisoner because the detachment meantime had been fired into.

Three days subsequent to this act another detachment of the same regiment, possibly under another commander, captured another private of Forrest's command, who had been left sick at the house of one Brown, near Hill's Creek, Warren County, Tennessee. This man was also taken out and shot, according to the confession of the commanding officer.

I am also obliged to believe that a man by the name of Gougue, a member of Confederate States First Regiment Kentucky Cavalry, was taken prisoner and afterward put to death at or near the house of one Israel Hill, in the same county. For these atrocious acts no measures of a retaliatory character have been ordered by the commander of the Confederate forces in this quarter, he being assured from your past conduct that if you are duly informed of the facts you will take prompt and efficacious measures to trace up and summarily punish those responsible for acts so contrary to all obligations of humanity, and he feels it needless to point out to you the inevitable consequences that must ensue from a repetition of such sanguinary violations of the rules of war.

It becomes my duty to ask your attention to another matter.

An order of yours, Numbers 41, dated "In Camp near Huntsville, Ala., August 8, 1862," which has appeared in our newspapers, prescribes a course for the officers of your command which I respectfully submit to be in direct conflict with the third paragraph under article IV of the cartel arranged on the 22nd of July between Major General J. A. Dix, U. S. Army, and Major General D. H. Hill, C. S. Army, in behalf of their respective Governments, and by virtue of which all prisoners, of whatever arm of service, are to be exchanged or paroled in ten days from the time of their capture if it be practicable, &c.

This plainly makes it the duty of the capturing party to parole, and assuredly the execution of your order must nullify that requirement and in a short while lead to consequences of a dread character, which it is thought you can scarcely desire shall characterize the war on this border.

Respectfully, your obedient servant,

SAM. JONES,

Major-General, Commanding.

DECHERD, TENN., August 22, 1862, Via Corinth, 25th, via Cairo, Ill., 26th-10.30 a. m.

Major-General HALLECK,

General-in-Chief, Washington:

General Johnson, under whom I had concentrated all the cavalry I could possibly spare from detachment service, attacked the enemy near


Page 387 Chapter XXVIII. CORRESPONDENCE, ETC.-UNION.