Produced by Chris Curnow, Sharon Verougstraete, Joseph Cooper and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net [Illustration: "IF YOU ARE AROUND HERE WHEN WE BEGIN THE JOB, YOU WILL FIND OUT ALL ABOUT THAT."] THE BOY SPY A SUBSTANTIALLY TRUE RECORD OF SECRET SERVICE DURING THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. A CORRECT ACCOUNT OF EVENTS WITNESSED BY A SOLDIER ATTACHED TO HEADQUARTERS THE ONLY PRACTICAL HISTORY OF WAR TELEGRAPHERS IN THE FIELD--A FULL ACCOUNT OF THE MYSTERIES OF SIGNALING BY FLAGS, TORCHES, AND ROCKETS--THRILLING SCENES OF BATTLES, CAPTURES AND ESCAPES BY MAJOR J. O. KERBEY CHICAGO. M. A. DONOHUE & CO. 407-429 DEARBORN ST. COPYRIGHT BY J. O. KERBEY. 1887-88-89-90. PREFACE. The following unpretending narrative of some of the actual experiences of a boy in the War of the Rebellion is fraternally dedicated to my comrades of the G. A. R. Part of these adventures were recorded in the press of the country at the time of their occurrence, and more recently, in detached and crude form, in different papers. Through the kindly interest of many friends, and especially that of my relative and comrade, Col. J. H. Madden, of Danville, Illinois, the revised and collated Story is now offered to the public and corrected from the original notes and MSS. Yours in F. C. & L., THE AUTHOR. CONTENTS. [Transcriber's Note: Chapter XVIII was duplicated in the text. The Table of Contents has been changed to reflect the chapter numbers given in the text.] CHAPTER. PAGE I. Introductory 9 II. On Duty as a Spy at the Rebel Capital, Montgomery, Alabama--Living in same Hotel with Jeff Davis and His Cabinet--Conspirators from Washington Interviewed--Bounty Offered by Confederates before a Gun Was Fired--Fort Sumter and Fort Pickens 19 III. Pensacola, Florida--In Rebel Lines--Fort Pickens--Admiral Porter and the Navy 28 IV. Crossing the Bay to Fort Pickens, etc. 38 V. Rebel Newspapers--On Admiral Porter's Ship 52 VI. Admiral Porter Saves the Boy's Life--Interview with the Rebel Flag-of-Truce Officers, Who Claim Him for a Victim--Scenes on Board a Man-of-War--Return Home by Sea--Reception in New York--Telegraph Acquaintances--New York Papers Record the Adventure in Full Page 65 VII. Reporting to the Secretary of War, at Washington--Ordered on Another Scout to Virginia--In Patterson's Army, in Virginia, before the Battle of Bull Run 80