Capturing a Locomotive: A History of Secret Service in the Late War.Pittenger, William
History
Capturing a Locomotive: A History of Secret Service in the Late War.
Pittenger, William
Chattanooga Railroad Expedition, 1862; United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Campaigns
All possible inquiries were guardedly made concerning him, for it
was not safe to appear too inquisitive.
"How did you feel while thus waiting in suspense?" I asked.
"I felt as if I wanted to be back in camp, and had no business to be in
that town any longer," replied Frank. "To hear the curses and threats
made against everything that belonged to the Union, and to be obliged to
keep perfectly quiet, or to agree with them, was more than I could
easily endure. And the folks about the hotel were more anxious every day
to know who I was, and I had to tell them lies without number. I
resolved not to stand it much longer."
"Were you really afraid of being found out, Frank?" I queried. "Did you
consider yourself in much danger?"
With great emphasis he answered, "No money could hire me to put myself
in such a position again. I would have run away if we had been obliged
to stay much longer."
This man was as brave as any human being. I had seen him perfectly cool
and serene under circumstances of great danger, when every one else in
the company betrayed some sign of fear. I did not suspect him of
exaggerating the perils of the situation in which he was placed, and,
having a deep personal interest in the matter, I put the question
bluntly,--
"If men should be wanted to try this thing again, would you not go?"
"Never!" was the unequivocal response. "If Andrews and Mitchel want
bridges burned, they can go themselves and burn them! I will do my duty
as a soldier, but as to going out among those----"
The terms applied, and the energy given to the accompanying description
of the horror of being alone among blood-thirsty enemies, feeling that,
sleeping or waking, a rope was around one's neck, just ready to be
tightened on the utterance of a single careless word, it is not
necessary to transcribe here.
"But why did not that man come to help you? Did you find out anything
about him?"
"Andrews told us, on the third day after we had reached Atlanta, that he
had heard through some of the railway officials that the engineer had
been transferred to the Mobile and Ohio Railroad to help in running
troops to Corinth" (this was a short time before the battle of Shiloh).
"But my own opinion is that the man got scared and had himself
transferred there to get out of a bad scrape."
"But how did Andrews take this disappointment?"
"He was very much cast down. He asked each of us if we had ever been
engineers or firemen. But no one had ever occupied such a position. He
hated terribly to give up; but, as nothing more could be done, he at
last told us we might work our way back to camp."
"Where are the other boys?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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