Ironton Register 21 June 1888 – James Roberts was a member of Company C 4th Ohio Cavalry. Upon a request from the Register man for a ‘Narrow Escape.’ Mr. James Roberts told of an incident in the early part of the war, in which there was no bloodshed worth talking about but in which there was a vast amount of painful anxiety.
The incident he referred to in May 1862 after Gen. Mitchell had captured Huntsville, Alabama. It seems that on the way thither some of Gen. Mitchell’s men had broken into a store belonging to a Mr. Bridgeman at Jasburg, Tennessee, and stolen $5,000 in money from him. When Gen. Mitchell heard of it, he set to work to arrest the men who broke into the store and get the money. In this effort, he succeeded reclaiming all the money except about $4,000.
Photo courtesy of Ohio Historical Society
“Our company,” said Mr. James Roberts, “was stationed near Stevenson within twelve miles of where Bridgman lived. The rebels held the ground between us and Bridgeman. We received an order to go under the flag of truce and inform Bridgeman of the recovery of his money and procure his passage through the line of Gen. Mitchell where he could get it.
So, six of us started under a Sergeant with a flag of truce flying before us. About halfway there we encountered some rebels with whom we had quite an experience. We were galloping quite briskly through the forest when we suddenly came upon a strong outpost. We were right upon them before they knew it, and some become so excited [they] hurt some of their men and horses.
“Of course, we were captured, the flag of truce, and all. In vain did we plead our flag of truce and our peaceful mission. They pointed to our loaded carbines and our apparent purpose to ride past them. The upshot of it was they took up prisoners and sent us to Chattanooga.
We were the first yanks who had appeared on the sacred soil of Chattanooga except for Andrews’s men who were guarded closely. The citizens treated us meanly. They slapped some of the boys and even spit in their faces and said all sorts of tantalizing things to us.
“At Chattanooga, we were put in prison and held as spies and the terrible information came to us that we would be shot that day or the next. In fact, we expected every day to be our last. Some of the Andrews’ men had been executed two weeks before and the citizens were clamoring for more executions.
I think Gen. Mitchell had heard of their bloody purpose of respecting us and had informed them that he would shoot seven rebels for every one of us that was executed. Anyhow, we were turned loose and left Chattanooga for our command. As bad luck would have it, we were captured again at the very place we were first taken in at Willow Creek, and held some days before the rebs were satisfied with our story and let us go.
“It was five weeks from the day of our capture till we rejoined our command and [we were] so tired, hungry, and dilapidated were we that the colonel ordered that we be excused from duty for six weeks. But I never want the anxiety of those days at Chattanooga to harrow my mind again.
“I was captured once after that in October of the same year. That was near Lexington, Kentucky. I was captured by Gen. John Morgan and paroled by him in Henry Clay’s Mansion. After that I was paroled, I had a talk with the general. I asked him if he wasn’t a Welshman and he said he could understand the language but couldn’t talk it well.
He lectured me kindly because I was fighting against the South and finally gave me a horse for the ride to Ohio. He was a clever fellow and I will never forget him for treating me so nicely. I mounted my horse and rode to Paris, Kentucky. I think I sold the horse because I wanted to buy something to eat. I got $3,000 for the animal and one dollar of it was counterfeit but I got a few good square meals and went onto Cincinnati.”
“Well, Mr. James Roberts,” said the reporter, “you enjoy the distinction of being captured twice in six months.”
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