“'Well, sah! dat was the wussest lookin' Sesh I eber did see. He war lyin' in de hay, and when he look at me I lef; yes, sah, I lef. Somefin wrong dar, sah. You better ax Massa Joseph, when he be down to de house, 'bout dat.'
“We satisfied Ham by agreeing to find out on the next day; so we came home, and were sitting on my portico talking about what was best to do, when the General received a dispatch from Washington, stating that Gen. Rosenfelt, commanding the Army of the Center, had asked for Gen. Anderson to be assigned to him, which would be done whenever he was well enough to take the field. The General was somewhat disappointed, as he wished to return to the Army of the East, for reasons that you can understand from what occurred in his hearing while at Gen. McGregor's headquarters. He was a true soldier, however, and said not a word, but promptly telegraphed, thanking them for the assignment, and saying he would report very soon. He felt that he would be able to attend to duty without very great danger to himself; so he directed Capt. Jackson, as we now called him, to get ready, also Capt. Day, who had come in a few moments after the receipt of the telegram. The young men seemed particularly well pleased. Capt. Jackson felt that he would be with Peter and Stephen. Stephen had been promoted and was now a Brigadier-General. So all seemed pleased, though I knew how Gen. Anderson felt.
“The General sent a telegram to Gen. Rosenfelt, who was then encamped between Nashua and Stone Run, Tenn., informing him that he would start for his headquarters in about two days. He did not get away, however, as soon as he stated.
“The next day Joseph Dent came, and was greatly delighted at something. So we gave him a seat and cleared the decks, as you must know that these secret matters about how information was obtained of which we were coming in possession, other than in the ordinary course of things, was not told to the whole household. Before proceeding, however, we asked him to tell us who was in the barn at the farm the day before, that had so alarmed Ham. He laughed and said it was his partner; so we dropped further inquiry, but did not tell Ham.
“Joseph Dent said he attended the Circle the night before, as he had promised, and that they were in great trouble. They had been advised that the agents would not be needed for the present; that some scheme that was on foot had been postponed, and that a consultation was to be held in order to come to an understanding as to what course was to be pursued. He said a man who was a stranger to him stated that two of their principal men who were to carry out the scheme (whatever it might be) had been sent to Europe, and that this left them in a condition so that they could not proceed until they could work up their plan; that their plan or scheme was being matured by the men, who were to obtain their material in England; that it could not be done here without suspicion being aroused. This, he said, was all that was said or done. So you see, this meeting evidently had reference to some desperate undertaking, of which their leaders in Indiana seemed to be posted as to the fact that something was to be done, without knowing the details. This proved to us that they had communication one lodge with another all over the country, and also with the heads of the conspiracy, and therefore we would have to take every precaution in all of our movements; but as we acted only through persons that we could trust with our lives, we considered the matter comparatively safe, and were very sure that we would be able to post the President at all times as to what might be danger in the way of our success.
“The next day, when the family were informed that the General, Capt. Jackson and Capt. Day must leave us, our house again became a scene of distress. My wife cried all day long. Mary Anderson was nearer breaking down than I had ever seen her since we heard that the General (then a Colonel) was killed at Dolensburg. Jennie also nearly gave way. The two children begged them most piteously not to go away to fight (as they termed it) any more.
“Ham seemed rather serious, and did not relish the renewal of his acquaintance with the Sesh, The next morning, all matters being arranged, the General and his two aides, with old Ham, after taking leave of all the family, left. The scene that followed in my household I will not attempt to describe. Ham lingered a little behind, but finally he embraced Aunt Martha, and said:
“'Good-by, Marfa; I guess I'se a gone darky dis time. I tell you I do not like de dream what I had.'
“'Go long, you ole fool; dreams 'mount to nuffin. You eats too much cabbage las' night. Dats all what ails you. Dar's no danger you git kill. You jes' go long wid Massa Tom. Dat's what you do.' “'All right, Marfa, I do it. Good-by.'
“They arrived at Gen. Rosenfelt's headquarters (which were with his army) and reported. Gen. Rosenfelt was very glad to see the General, and told him that he would assign him to the command of a first-class division under Gen. Papson, his army then being divided into three full corps, commanded respectively by Papson, Gen. Critsinger and Gen. McCabe. His army numbered, embracing all arms of the service, some 56,000 effective men, and was well supplied with all necessary material for any kind of movement.