Four Years a Scout and Spy / "General Bunker", One of Lieut. General Grant's Most Daring and Successful Scouts, Being a Narrative of ... the Experience of Corporal Ruggles During Four Years' Service as a Scout and Spy for the Federal Army

by E. C. Downs

"It was too late; the ball had penetrated his heart, and Charles was dead. The sharp report aroused his sleeping companions, who were lying by the roadside, a little distance from him, and the noise they made as they sprang for their guns warned Mr. R——s of his danger, who quickly sprang to his saddle and dashed away unharmed, but not without being fired at by the remaining pickets. He made a safe return, and reported to General Grant, but since that time his acquaintances have noticed that he has become a changed man."

I arrived at General Granger's head-quarters in Mobile, Alabama, April 9, 1865, the next day after the capture of Blakely. I had traveled in all, since leaving Savannah, a distance of nine hundred miles, and that without molestation.

During my journey, two of the most important events of the war had transpired. General Lee had surrendered his command to General Grant, and General Johnston had surrendered his command to General Sherman. Kirby Smith's command, west of the Mississippi, was the only armed force that had not surrendered.

The returned Confederate soldiers, wherever I met them in my route, had expressed themselves as satisfied with their attempt to sustain the Confederacy, and gave it up as a lost cause. Experience is said to be the "best school-master." The Confederate soldiers evidently thought so.

A few days after my arrival, the intelligence was received that President Lincoln had been murdered. It was too sad intelligence for the soldiers to believe, nor would they believe it until officially confirmed. Then their anger knew no bounds, and it was with the utmost difficulty that commanding officers restrained their men from committing retaliatory depredations.

In the midst of a nation's rejoicing, she was called to mourn the death of the man who had steered the Ship of State clear of the shoals that threatened her destruction, was to be swept from the helm as the ship was entering the haven of peace, and within sight of her desired moorings. While it was hard to deprive him thus of the sweet anticipations in prospect before him, it was nevertheless necessary, in the wise directions of a beneficent Providence. The murder of Abraham Lincoln was necessary as the closing act of the great rebellion. The picture of the scene, revolting as it had been, was not complete until the finishing shades of blackness had been added by the hand of an assassin.

The war was now virtually closed, and during our stay at Mobile General Granger had nothing for me to do. In July he moved to New Orleans, taking most of his troops with him. It was generally supposed that we were going there to take transports home to our respective States, to be mustered out; but in this we were disappointed. At that place General Granger ordered me to report to the Provost-marshal for duty as a detective. Why I was so often selected for such duty is more than I can tell. If I had all other necessary qualifications for that business, my dislike for it was so great as to overcome them. I went to the Provost-marshal with my order, and told him that I was at his disposal for duty, but that I had objections to engaging in that kind of service—not that I was unwilling to obey my superior officers, but simply because I had a dislike for the business that it was impossible for me to overcome. I told him that I had twice tried to operate as a detective and had failed, and the more I tried it the less I liked it. It was a kind of duty that was not congenial to my nature, and it seemed to me like low business. I was satisfied that there were those who were better adapted to such business than I, but if he insisted upon it I would go to work and do the best that I knew how.

He told me that he had but very little detective business to do, and that he did not wish to have me engaged in business that was not agreeable to my feelings. He told me to return to General Granger's head-quarters, and that if he found occasion to need my services he would send for me.

I have since had reason to suspect that setting me to work as a detective was simply a show of something for me to do, on the part of commanding officers, that I might be retained in the service longer, lest, in the future, something might turn up that would give them occasion to need me. At that time there was great clamoring among the soldiers to be mustered out, and orders had been issued to muster out all detached men who were not actively engaged.

We remained in New Orleans until the latter part of July, when we embarked on board the transports and went to Galveston, Texas. At that place there was as little for me to do as there had been in New Orleans. Having no use for me, General Granger sent me to Columbus, Texas, a distance of one hundred and sixty miles inland, to report to General Grierson.