United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Anecdotes
starting place, they learned that the local freight coming from
Chattanooga was about due, so Andrews put his engine over on the siding
and waited. After a long delay, the freight arrived, but it carried on
its caboose a red flag showing that another train was behind. Andrews
stepped up to the conductor and indignantly inquired how any train
dared delay General Beauregard's special powder-cars.
"Well, you see," said the freight's conductor, "the Yanks have captured
Huntsville thirty miles from Chattanooga and special trains are being
run to get everything out."
Andrews realized that General Mitchel had started against Chattanooga
and that if he could burn even one bridge, the capture of the city was
certain. Another long wait and the special freight came in, but it
carried another fatal red flag. It turned out that it was so large that
it was being run in two sections. There was nothing to do but wait. By
this time crowds of passengers and train-hands had gathered around the
so-called powder-train, all curious to look it over. The four men in
the engine sat there smoking, seemingly unconcerned. As a matter of
fact, however, they were ready any moment to fight for their lives. If
any of the crowd opened the baggage-cars and saw the other men hidden
there, no amount of explanation could persuade them that there was not
something wrong. If the waiting was hard on the men in the engine, it
was still worse for the men crouched back in the cars, not knowing what
was wrong and expecting to hear the alarm given any moment. For an hour
and five minutes the Union train was kept at Kingston. At last a
whistle was heard and the long-expected freight passed by and the
General was again on its way. A mile out from Kingston the coon-hunter
was sent up another telegraph pole and the wires again cut. The rest of
the party were leisurely trying to loosen another rail with the poor
tools which they had, when from far in the rear a sound was heard which
brought the man at the wires down with a run. It was the whistle of an
engine coming their direction and meant that in some mysterious way the
enemy was on their track.
"Pull, you men!" shouted Andrews. "They've got word somehow and they're
after us."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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