Part 20 (1/2)

In addition to my report I wish to give you a brief outline of the state of affairs in the Provost Department in New York and Philadelphia. Wherever I went in search of my man I met ”Bounty Jumpers,” who openly avowed themselves such, and seemed to defy the authorities. d.i.c.k Callery, who keeps a groggery at No. 126 Callowhill street, Philadelphia, stated he was aware of Deegan's transactions. Most of Callery's customers were ”jumpers.”

In New York we could go but a short distance without meeting these characters. From what I could see I should think one thousand a low estimate of their numbers; they are very bold.

They pay this Department quite a compliment, i. e., they say if they can only get clear from Baltimore they are all right.

If about fifteen or twenty pigeons could be thrown into New York and Philadelphia to co-operate with a strong force of Detectives and Military, hundreds of these ”jumpers” would be brought to justice.

These jumpers without an exception are the firm support and backbone of the Copperhead Clique, and the same parties that caused the riots in New York last year. The arrest and punishment of these parties would cause rejoicing among respectable people. From my observation I can see that this cla.s.s of men before the war were pickpockets, burglars, &c., but now resort to this last and easier means of stealing, i. e., ”bounty jumping,” at the same time they please the ”Copperheads”

by filling successively, the quotas of different districts, and not furnis.h.i.+ng the Army one soldier; thus defeating the object of the Draft.

I am, Colonel,

Very respy. your obdt. servt., H. B. SMITH, Lt. & Chief.

My report and recommendations were so highly esteemed by General Wallace that he had a copy sent to General N. L. Jeffries, the Provost Marshal General of the United States, and by him were my suggestions acted upon.

Colonel Lafayette C. Baker was sent to New York with a force of men and very ample money; a very vigorous and extended raid was made, partially successful, but I think my plan of putting fifteen or twenty men in with the jumpers, to actually ”jump” with them, thus obtaining evidence to convict, would have been more successful. The current newspapers treated this matter as of great importance, using the findings of my report, saying: ”Our quotas are being fraudulently filled, and furnis.h.i.+ng no men for the army, etc.”

FILE XXIV.

General Wallace's letter to secretary of war, Charles A. Dana (afterwards editor of the New York ”Sun”) asking for an extension of territory for my work, incidentally introducing Colonel John S. Mosby, giving a list of his men and their home addresses--A train robbery, paymasters robbed--I recapture part of the money--Commissions in promotion declined.

Coleman's Eutaw House, Baltimore, Nov. 19, 1864.

(Unofficial.) Hon. C. A. Dana, a.s.st. Sec. of War.

Dear Sir.--Lt. Smith, my Chief of Detectives, will hand you this note.

It is necessary to one of his schemes, based upon a late discovery, that he should have a pa.s.s from the Secretary of the Navy to go through the lines of the blockade on the Potomac. The pa.s.s should cover a vessel, a crew of six or seven men and two or three hundred dollars' worth of goods.

I have every confidence that Lt. Smith will uncover a good thing.

About his honesty there is no doubt.

Very truly, Your friend, LEW WALLACE, Major General Commanding.

The above letter is in General Wallace's own handwriting. I prize it more than any commission or brevet commission that I have.

I needed just such an extended privilege as General Wallace asked for, and in March following I obtained it.

Colonel John S. Mosby's Guerillas were the most annoying and expensive antagonists we had. He operated along the line of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad west of Was.h.i.+ngton, and also with a detachment between the Potomac and Rappahannock. My probings extended into the territory covered by him. I made a study of his tactics and was preparing to counteract him. His men were at home in the district; it was, in fact, their home. They were, or many of them were, farmers, who might be innocently tilling the soil as our scouting parties pa.s.sed, but who, at Colonel Mosby's whistle, if the chance was propitious, would jump on horse and surprise us before long. Small bodies of troops were taken unawares. They never offered a front to large bodies; they would swoop down on a defenceless train, or destroy railroad bridges.

Mosby was a valuable a.s.set to the Confederacy, worth many times Harry Gilmor's Raiders.

I think, without doubt, it took twenty or thirty thousand of our men to guard against his intermittent incursions.

Mosby was an educated man. An impression was abroad then that he was a barbarian; he was not. He was loyally doing for the South what I would have done for the North. I captured his foraging order, on one occasion and it opened my eyes for it was evidence of as civilized methods of war as was ever manifested. In this order he provided for payment for private property which he took.

I planned to organize a body of men to compete with Mosby, and I asked for a command to operate independently of district lines, or military commanders.

I had been locating Mosby's men (their homes), from all sorts of sources of information, preparing to capture them in detail. I was planning to take them at their disadvantage, when they were at the plough, and not when they were in the saddle. Here is part of my list so tabulated:

”Members of Mosby.”

Wm. Robinson, Wend Robinson, John Robinson--Three miles above Front Royal, on the Culpepper Pike. Father is a farmer.