Rice had instructions to buy out the Augusta Chronicle and Constitution, perhaps the most influential Democratic paper in Georgia and run it in the interest of the Radical Party, the object being to create a strong sentiment among the negroes and stimulate their hatred toward their old masters and the white race generally, and also to keep the scalawag white element of the country well in line with their fanatical scheme of making a finish of the South.
While stopping here I claimed to be an ex-Confederate soldier from Tennessee, seeking employment. I had frequent discussions with Rice about the causes of the war and especially its cruel conduct by the Lincoln Government, which he approved unhesitatingly, saying that we deserved no better and he had come down here for the purpose of getting a slice of what was left. He said that he expected to make a cool hundred thousand and go back home and live on it for the balance of his days, in peace and plenty. On one occasion in our discussions, he seemed to get mad and said if he had his way about it, he would hang the last d—— one of us and commence by hanging Jeff Davis. He had hardly finished the sentence when I had a chair over his head and if it had not been caught by the telegraph official, I would likely have knocked him senseless.
On another occasion, when he was organizing his publishing force, he offered me the position of mailing clerk at a salary of $75.00 per month, which I turned down contemptuously, telling him that whenever I got ready to go to the dogs, I would affiliate with his sort. He said he thought he ought to have one good Rebel in his office. Now, I do not recall whether he succeeded in buying out the Chronicle and Constitution, or brought on new material for his paper.
After spending a few days in Augusta, I found that one of my old commanders, General Lafayette McLaws, was then acting clerk of the Superior Court, with his office at the court house. I scouted for General McLaws from Savannah, Georgia, to Bentonville, North Carolina, and immediately called upon him. I found him wearing his old Confederate gray, with buttons and trimmings shorn off, and in conversation, referred to his love of the old uniform, still preferring it, but he said it was not a matter of choice, but a matter of necessity. He had a large dependent family and his fee, or salary, hardly furnished him sufficient means for a decent support; besides, he expected to be ousted most any day, as the Radical sheriff, whose name I have forgotten, and Foster Blodgett, the mayor of the city, a renegade ex-Confederate major of artillery, would no doubt, succeed in their efforts to oust him. It is hardly necessary to say that during my stay here of several months, I made him daily visits and had a most pleasant, but sad, intercourse with him. He seemed to be at a loss as to his future; said he was educated a soldier, which he had always been and never tried to make a living as a civilian, in fact, didn’t know anything else. He had an urgent invitation from General Pope, he said, who was in command of Georgia, with headquarters at Atlanta, and who was an old classmate of his at West Point, to make him a visit, but was almost afraid to accept, fearing unjust criticism by leading men of the State of Georgia, who would suspect that the object of this visit was to get office and join the Radical band. This he never expected to do, though the State of Georgia had treated him badly and especially his rich acquaintances, at one time friends, and he seemed to feel he was an outcast with no prospect of ever re-entering the army, therefore, not knowing what to do.
He declined the visit to General Pope, with due and proper thanks, but, after a few years, during General Grant’s administration, was appointed marshal of the Southern District of Georgia and subsequently, by some other administration, postmaster of the city of Savannah, Georgia, in which position, he died. I had several nice letters from him while postmaster at Savannah; one just before his death.
I never cultivated or had much to say to our one-legged captain, the Provost-Marshal of the place, and in a few days, induced Mrs. Oakman to give me a seat at another table, thereby keeping my distance. No one at Augusta, Georgia, ever knew my secret but General McLaws, nor ever suspected anything wrong.
After spending nearly two months in Augusta, with no prospect of any business of any character, and having received notice from my wife that it was thought that they had got on my track, I concluded best to leave there for Lebanon, Tennessee, where I formed some pleasant acquaintances during the war, notably Captain James Britton, commanding a company from that town, called the Cedar Snags, which formed a part of the Fourth Tennessee Regiment. Captain Britton advised me to stay there until it became too dangerous, as quite a number of people knew me and I had to retain my own name in order to keep down discussion of my case among these people that knew me, thereby making it too public if I had assumed another name.
At Lebanon I found the family of General Anderson, whose son, Dewitt, became an intimate friend of mine, while in the army. He insisted on my spending a couple of weeks at his father’s ranch, about five miles out on the Nashville pike, which I decided to do. In the meantime, I was introduced by Captain Britton to Judge Green, the Dean of the great Law School at Lebanon, also to ex-Governor Campbell, and the Motley brothers, bankers, over whose bank I roomed with Captain Britton and boarded at Mr. Toliver’s, his brother-in-law. The above mentioned gentlemen, except Mr. Toliver and General Anderson, were influential, strong Union men during the war, but on account of the fanatical reconstruction policy, had just turned Rebels. I confided my trouble to ex-Governor Campbell and Judge Green and was assured by Governor Campbell that if I ever had the misfortune to be captured and my life was spared before my case could reach Washington, he would personally proceed to Washington, being an intimate friend of President Johnson’s, and intercede to have my life spared.
I finally went down to the Anderson ranch to fish and hunt squirrels, in company with Dewitt, and found the old gentleman in charge, he preferring the ranch to his home in Lebanon. Returning from a hunt one day, alone, I found a horse at the gate and was met by Dewitt before reaching the gate, anxious to explain the object of the visitor’s presence and especially his character.
Dewitt stated that he was a captain, whose name I have forgotten, who commanded a company in Stokes’ Regiment, a notorious renegade; Captain Blackburn, commanding another company, was frequently on scouts with this gentleman and his company. During the war a Lieutenant Davis of the Terry Rangers, with eight of his men, were surrounded in a house by Captain Blackburn, with his company and this man’s company. They demanded Davis’s surrender, which Davis refused and kept them from the house all night, until their ammunition, gave out. Davis was badly wounded, in the nature of a broken ankle, unable to stand up, when he agreed to surrender, Blackburn promising that their lives should be spared and they should retain their horses, provided they would leave Tennessee at once, which Davis agreed to do and advised his men to move out and turn over their arms. After being disarmed, Blackburn had them led out into the woods and shot down in cold blood; he, himself, dragging Davis out to the gate post, cursing him and emptying the contents of his pistol into his head. Now this man, the guest of General Anderson, was present with his company, and Dewitt was anxious to apprise me of his great friendship to his father, during the war. When the Federals entered Lebanon the first time, General Anderson had some very fine horses and about eight thousand dollars in gold, with which he fled to the mountains near Middleton and made this man’s house his home, being old friends and acquaintances. While staying there a short time, this man came to him one day and told him that he felt that he could not stay at home longer, that he was a Union man in principle and, on account of it, was ostracised by some of the neighboring families and said he had decided to go and join Stokes’ cavalry, but his joining the Federal Army should make no difference with General Anderson, that he wanted him to continue making his house his home, assuring him that he would be as safe, although he had joined the Federal Army, to stay there, as though he had joined the Confederate Army. Knowing the man as he did, General Anderson had no hesitancy in accepting his generous offer, but remained there for several months with his fine horses and eight thousand dollars in gold, and this man never betrayed him. This was the man, then, that was a visitor at General Anderson’s, with his horse at the gate, of whose character Dewitt was anxious to have me acquainted, satisfied if he learned that I belonged to the Texas Rangers, he would refer to the Davis murder.