Some weeks having elapsed since Uncle Daniel was excused, we were anxious to hear him further, and assembled again at Mr. Wilson's house. Uncle Daniel was feeling quite well, greeted us pleasantly, and asked that we be seated. After the compliments of the season, we inquired if he was ready to continue his story. He replied that he was, and began by saying:
“After Jackson had returned from escorting Seraine to her home in Detroit, we discussed the question as to what steps should now be taken. Gen. Anderson was still quite feeble, his wound being very painful. It was thought that it would require considerable time for him to recover sufficiently to again be able to take the field. He thought it would, perhaps, be several months. Jackson, after reflection, thought he would continue his investigation of the Golden Circle conspiracy, and to do so satisfactorily deemed it best for him to go to England and get on the track of their allies in that country, and see what preparations were being made abroad in connection with the leaders in this country. Gen. Anderson thought this a good plan. Henry, who had been growing stronger, said to Jackson, that while he (Jackson) was making his voyage of discovery through parts of Europe, he would go to Canada as soon as he was able to do so, and carry out the plans left unexecuted by Jackson at the time he returned from New York. This arrangement being understood by all, we sent Ham out to the farm, in order that Dent might be summoned to Allentown to give us what information he had gathered, if any, during our afflictions and consequent suspension of our operations in that direction.
“We directed Ham to bring Mr. Dent back with him the next morning. At ten o'clock Joseph Dent and Ham arrived from the farm. As soon as we could conveniently do so, we had an interview with Dent as to what was transpiring in his immediate neighborhood among his friends, the Knights of the Golden Circle. He related to us the facts in reference to a meeting held two nights before, about which he had intended to come in that day and tell us, if Ham had not come after him. The facts, as he stated them to us, were these:
“A person by the name of Harris stated to his confederates that he was just from Richmond, Va., at the same time claiming to be a member of the Confederate Congress from Missouri. (A part of Missouri believed that it had seceded, as you may remember, just as a few Counties in Kentucky thought they had.) Harris had passed through the lines, coming through West Virginia and Kentucky, as any one could have done at any time, and as many doubtlesss did. His statement, as Dent told it to us, was this: That he was sent by the President of the Confederate States (so-called), and was on his way to Indianapolis to lay a plan before the leaders in this and other States; thence he was to pass into Canada and meet the leaders there, and in that way have prompt action and co-operation assured. His greatest desire seemed to be to meet Mr. Thos. A. Strider, who, he said, was one of their best and shrewdest advisers. His headquarters were to be at Windsor, Canada. He directed the Lodge to which Dent belonged to be ready at a moment's notice to do whatever might be directed from the Supreme Council. He told his hearers to spread the alarm wherever they could without being suspected, that there was to be a great destruction of property in the North; that, he said, would terrify leading men and property holders; and, in order to satisfy his confederates that there was a basis for this statement, he disclosed a part of a plot that had been proposed to Jefferson Davis and was soon to be carried out. It was that a discovery had been recently made by a professor of chemistry, one McCullough, by which towns and cities, and vessels coming in and going out of our ports, could be easily burned without danger of discovery. With this newly-discovered combustible material a general and wholesale destruction of all kinds of destructible property was to be inaugurated. Harris said that agents were to be employed all over the country, who were to be selected from the members of the Knights and to be made up of the most reliable and tried men; that this matter had been duly considered and determined upon by the authorities at Richmond; that Jacob Thomlinson, C. C. Carey and others were now on their way to England to meet Mr. McCullough, who was already there, and where the destructive material was to be manufactured and brought in an English vessel to Canada, as there was noway of getting from the Confederate States to the place from which they wished to operate without running the gauntlet, and perhaps meeting with dangers not desirable to be encountered. This man Harris also instructed all who heard him that the penalty now fixed by the authorities in the Councils of the Knights for disclosing any of their secrets was death, which might be inflicted by any of the Order ascertaining the fact so that no doubt could exist as to the guilt of the person who had played traitor to them.
“This, I could see, alarmed Dent and made him cautious and hesitating at times when we would give expression to our utter abhorrence of the use of such villainous means as seemed to be in contemplation by our enemies. We constantly assured the old man, however, that he need have no fears of any of us, which, of course, he had not; yet he was somewhat timid. He could not tell which way Harris started from their meeting, nor how he was traveling. This ended his recollection of Harris's statement. We then got Dent again to repeat the signs, grips, passwords and instructions to Gen. Anderson and Capt. Jackson, as well as to Henry, and so they found themselves well posted. Then, thanking Dent and encouraging him to persevere in his discoveries, we allowed him to go and make his arrangements with David's widow about matters at the farm and then return home.
“The next day I wrote to the President, giving him the history of matters as detailed to us by Joseph Dent; also, the plan we had laid out for the future. In a few days I received a note from Washington, unsigned, merely saying, 'the plan is approved.' I knew from whom the note came, and was well satisfied to have the plans carried out.
“The next day we received a letter from Peter, informing us that he was well, and that the Army of the Center was in camp and were expecting a long rest after the two great battles. This delighted my wife, as she felt that while they were not moving, her boys were safe. By this time all necessary arrangements had been made for Jackson's departure, and after bidding his mother and the rest of us good-by he left for New York; from there he expected to sail for Europe. On arriving at New York he called upon Mc-Masterson and B. Wudd, and made satisfactory statements to them as to the reasons for not going to Canada. After obtaining letters of introduction to Jacob Thomlinson they proceeded to discuss the situation, and from them he learned that preparations, such as had been detailed to us by Dent, were evidently being made for great damage to towns, cities, and property generally. He also obtained letters from McMasterson to some important persons in London, where he professed to be going on some mission for the rebels. The letters, as before, introduced Mr. Jackson, of Memphis, Tenn.
“He sailed the following day and had a pleasant voyage. While on board the vessel crossing the Atlantic he made the acquaintance of one Capt. Redingson, a jolly, gentlemanly companion. They were very suspicious of each other for some time, but finally Capt. Redingson gave him the sign of the Golden Circle, to which Jackson responded. The friendship was then at once established. Jackson carefully felt his way,—as you have seen, he was a cautious man,—and finally discovered that Capt. Redingson was well acquainted in Memphis. This rather placed Jackson in a dilemma, as his letters located him at Memphis. Finally he turned the conversation in the direction of building railroads, and finding that Capt. Redingson knew nothing about railroads, he mentioned that he had been employed in engineering work on the Memphis & Chattanooga Railroad. He said he lived in Ohio, but claimed Memphis, Tenn., as his residence, inasmuch as he was a rebel and would have nothing whatever to do with the North while they were making war against his friends, as his people were all natives of Virginia, he himself having been born there. This statement made all things right, and the two had a jolly good time together the remainder of the voyage.