Between the Lines Part 23

I am Captain, Very respy. your obdt. servt, H. B. SMITH, Lt. & Chief.

Headquarters, Middle Department, 8th Army Corps.

Baltimore, Dec. 6, 1864.

Capt. W. H. Wiegel, a.s.st. Provost Marshal, 8th Army Corps.

Captain.--I have the honor to report the arrest of John Henry Skinner Quinn, alias J. Y. Plater, alias Simpson, on charge of being a spy.

I hand you two sworn statements that he made to me, also his memorandum book in which is a partial description of his first visit to Baltimore, also some entries, some of which he explains in his statement. I also hand you his furlough, which he said he did not have, in his first statement.

On this trip he registered at Miller's Hotel as "Simpson." On 23d April last, he registered at same hotel as John Y. Plater.

You can see by his statements that he tries to conceal the Rebel sympathizers of this Department, and some he positively refuses to name, but asks me to kill him, and not ask him any more questions.

He came to this office to report as a Rebel deserter, but when he found that I had been on his track, he owned up, but refused to implicate his friends.

I am, Captain, Very respy. your obdt. servt., H. B. SMITH, Lt. & Chief.

As General Wallace had said, it was our duty to ascertain by every means, the status of all persons; our archives were crowded with information, which materially helped us to avoid the dilemma General Schenck described.

Headquarters, Middle Department, 8th Army Corps.

Baltimore, Dec. 7, 1864.

Capt. W. H. Wiegel, a.s.st. Provost Marshal, 8th Army Corps.

Captain.--I have the honor to report the arrest of E. R. Rich, of the 1st Md. Rebel Cavalry, on the charge of being a spy. He came to this office to report and take the oath of allegiance, but I think he did not come until he heard from his friend Quinn, with whom he came to this city. I hand you herewith his sworn statement, memoranda and pocket book, which show his character.

You will also see an entry in his memoranda where Skinner Quinn (now in prison) started for Baltimore last spring, which corroborates Quinn's statement. You will also see that he registered under several names.

The memorandum book shows that it was his intention to return for good to Virginia.

Very respy. your obdt. servt, H. B. SMITH, Lt. & Chief.

Both Quinn and Rich were sentenced to be hanged, but their sentences were finally commuted to imprisonment during the continuance of the war.

FILE XXVII.

Statement of Illinois Crothers, giving valuable and reliable information, implicating Mr. William Mitch.e.l.l and a Mrs. Keenan, of Winchester, Virginia--Report on Daniel W. Jones and Joseph Bratton--Am given unlimited access to prisoners in Baltimore city jail.

Headquarters, Middle Department, 8th Army Corps.

Baltimore, Dec. 10, 1864.

Lt. Col. Woolley, Provost Marshal.

Colonel.--I have the honor to hand you statement made by Illinois Crothers, of 1st Md. Rebel Cavalry, who came to this office to report.

I questioned him closely and on every point of importance, he seemed very ignorant. He was in this city several days without reporting, and to all appearances is as bitter a Rebel to-day as ever.

I took from him a doc.u.ment marked "A," which shows that it was generally known to the authorities in Virginia, that he was coming to Maryland, and unless they were sure he would return, he would not have been granted the liberty. You can also see that he came an unusual route, for a deserter, i. e., by the way of Richmond.

I have reliable information that all of the Rebel Spies, commissioned as such, are from the Signal Corps.

Harry Brogden, named in the doc.u.ment, was once in our hands, tried as a spy. Herewith I hand you Brogden's history.

I think that this doc.u.ment shows that he, (Crothers), came with the consent of the Rebel authorities, and with the intention to return.

I am, Colonel, Very respy. your obdt. servt., H. B. SMITH, Lt. & Chief.

P.S.--Mrs. Keenan, of Winchester, should be arrested.

This is not the first transaction of the kind implicating Mr.

Wm. Mitch.e.l.l. (H. B. S.)

It required experience and skill to cull out the spies from among real deserters and refugees. Spies would swallow the oath of allegiance as easy as water. One of the best tests of probabilities, was to ascertain the route travelled in coming out from the Confederacy.

Harry Brogden was the Confederate secret signal officer on the Potomac.

No real deserter or refugee came by his way. I knew him, and if my operations had been extended to the peninsula between the Potomac and Rappahannock, as we desired, I would have caught him; personally he was a fine fellow. He was a prisoner at Fort McHenry under me; he and I joked about turning our "arms into ploughshares" many times. He was certainly as loyal to his side as I to mine.

The following is a report made from the records in my office, and it serves to show how thorough in detail our data had come to be:

Headquarters, Middle Department, 8th Army Corps.

Baltimore, Dec. 13, 1864.

Lt. Col. John Woolley, Provost Marshal, 8th Army Corps.

Colonel.--I have the honor to give you a history of the previous arrests of Daniel W. Jones, and Joseph Bratton, of Somerset Co., Md.

The first arrest of Daniel W. Jones was made in 1862, and he was placed in Marshal McPhail's custody, under charge of attacking an enrolling officer. He was afterwards released on giving bonds to the amount of $2,000 to keep the peace, and to deport himself in every way becoming a loyal citizen. A copy of the bond is on file in this office.

He was again arrested by General Lockwood, May 7, 1864, on charge of having violated his parole; on this last charge four sworn statements are on file in this office, one to the effect that he drew a revolver on a Union man because said Union man declared his sentiments.

Joseph Bratton was arrested March 31, 1864, on the charge of disloyalty, and aiding the Rebels. A sworn statement now on file in this office shows that Bratton aided an escaped prisoner from Point Lookout to evade military and get back within the Rebel lines.

I am, Colonel, Very respy.-your obdt. servt., H. B. SMITH, Lt. & Chief.