On October 29, 1861, C. WALLACE, President, East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad, sent a warning letter to Tennessee Governor Isham G. Harris, in which he advised him of the immenient danger to the railroads of East Tennessee, from pro-Union elements. He said in part: " I don't like to meddle in things that are in keeping of men so much more vigilant and wiser than I am but I am constrained by the circumstances around me to believe that Zollicoffer and the railroads of East Tennessee are in a dangerous condition at present. " Wallace further elaborated by saying: " I am well satisfied that there is today a larger Lincoln force well armed in East Tennessee than Zollicoffer has of Southern men under his command; that this force is in such a state of organization that they can and will be concentrated in Zollicoffer's rear whenever they are advised of a sufficent force in his front. "

COLONEL W. B. WOOD, at Knoxville, sent a similar communication to Confederate Adjutant General S. Cooper, in which he related: " It is a great mistake to suppose that the people of East Tennessee are submissive or willing to acquiesce. They have only been held quiet by the force which was at Knoxville and now that it is gone they are evidently preparing for a general uprising if the Lincoln army should make any advance into Tennessee. "

The events of the night of November 8-9, 1861, at Lick Creek railroad bridge and other points in East Tennessee, made instant prophets of Wallace and Colonel Wood, when several bridges were burned.

JOHN R. BRANNER, President East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad, sent the following dispatch to Confederate Secretary of War, J. P. BENJAMIN, dated at Knoxville, November 9, 1861: "Two large bridges on my road were burned last night about 12 a 'clock; also one bridge on the East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad at the same time and an effort made to burn the largest bridge on my road. "

Information contained in the Official Records discloses that the Confederate States government took immediate action to bring the bridge-burners to justice. In a communication dated at Knoxville, Tennessee, on November 10th, 1861. from Confederate COLONEL W. B. WOOD to General Zollicoffer, the following statements are found: " Five of the incendiaries who burned the Lick Creek Bridge have been arrested. I have sent up for them. " In the same communication, Wood says, " Regretting as much as anyone this calamity, I feel that I did all that I could to prevent it, and am glad that it is no worse. I had a company at Lick Creek, but the incendiaries deceived them, and getting possession of their guns, took them prisoners and accompolished their ends." This communication was dated one day after the bridge was destroyed.

Another message of the same date, illustrates the great importance which the Confederate government attached to the railroad bridges, and telegraph lines. The dispatch was addressed to R. L. Owen, President Railroad, Lynchburg: " Colonel Leadbetter, of Engineer Corps, will leave in the morning with a battalion and battery of field pieces He is charged with the duty of restoring and guarding the communications. Other forces will be sent to him via Chattanooga. Your earnest cooperation with him is relied on by the President." It was signed: "J. P. BENJAMIN, Acting Secretary of War".


On November 11, 1861, COLONEL W. B. WOOD, sent a dispatch from Knoxville, to General Cooper, Adjutant and Inspector General, in which he requested instructions, and gave him the following update concerning the Lick Creek bridge-burners: "I have arrested 6 of the men who were engaged in burning the Lick Creek Bridge, and I desire to have instructions from you as to the proper disposition of them. The slow course of civil law in punishing such incendiaries, it seems to me, will not have the salutary effect which is desireable."

Colonel Wood's communication to Adjutant General Cooper, was soon given an answer, by Cooper's subordinate, Assistant Adjutant General Jonathan Withers. It came in the form of Special Orders, No. 216, which read as follows:

Adjt. and Insp. General's Office
Richmond, Va., November 11, 1861
Special Orders,
No.216
1.        Col. Danville Leadbetter, Provisional Army, is hereby assigned to the command of the troops to be stationed for the protection of the railroads between Bristol and Chattanooga, Tenn. He will reconstruct bridges, repair and keep open the line of communication between those points and will call upon railroad companies for such aid as he may require to carry out this order.

By command of the Secretary of War:

JNO. WITHERS,
Assistant Adjutant-General


All too soon, East Tennessee Unionists would learn that Colonel Danville Leadbetter, took those orders very seriously.


Acting Secretary of War, J. P. BENJAMIN told John R. Branner, President Railroad Company Knoxville, via, Bristol, on November 12, 1861: "Troops have already been sent to protect your road. Be sure you shall be fully and thoroughly protected."

The following day, November 13, 1861, J. P. BENJAMIN again reassured John R. Branner, as follows: " Troops now moving to East Tennessee to crush the traitors. You shall be amply protected. "


COLONEL W. B. WOOD, in Knoxville sent a dispatch to Hon. J. P. BENJAMIN, Secretary of War, on November 20, 1861, detailing some of his feeling about the strong Union seniment in East Tennessee, and of the expectations of an immenient invasion by the Federal army. He said: " The prisoners we have tell us that they had every assurance that the army was already in the State, and would join them in a very few days. that the property of Southern men was to be confiscated and divided amongst those who would take up arms for Lincoln. "


On November 20, 1861, in a dispatch from Knoxville, COLONEL WOOD, tried to reassure Secretary of War, J. P. Benjamin, by saying: " Sir: The rebellion in East Tennessee has been put down in some of the counties and will be effectually suppressed in less than two weeks in all counties. "

By November 25, 1861, time was beginning to run out for the captured bridge-burners. On that date J. C. RAMSEY, Confederate States District Attorney for the District of Tennessee, sent a dispatch to Secretary of War, J. P. Benjamin, in which he posed the following question: "The military authorities in command at this post have determined to try the bridge-burners and other men charged with treason by a court-martial. What shall I do? Answer. "

On the same date, the following communication was received by District Attorney Ramsey, in Knoxville, from Secretary of War, J. P. BENJAMIN, in Richmond: " I am very glad to hear of the action of the military authorities and hope to hear they have hung every bridge-burner at the end of the burned bridge. "


That communication effectively sealed the fate of the five bridge-burners . . . . four of them from "Pottertown." Henry Fry is thought to have lived a short distance away near Gustavus Post Office, close to present day Mt. Carmel.

Other Confederate dispatchs from the period, indicate that many of the pro-Union men were being sent to prison in Tuscaloosda, Alabama, by Colonel Leadbetter, if he didn't deem the charges against them serious enough to merit the death penalty.

Confederate Secretary of War J. P. Benjamin, in Richmond, and Colonel Danville Leadbetter in East Tennessee, seem to have been of a like mind, when it came to dealing with the insurgents. This communication from Confederate Brigadier General WM. H. CARROLL, to Secretary Benjamin, indicates that Carroll was under pressure to deal harshly with the pro-Union prisoners. " SIR: I am just in receipt of yours of the 25th. Your instructions shall be strictly obeyed. I have not heretofore released any against whom there was proof that they had been engaged in any rebellious movements. It was only those who were arrested upon mere suspicion that I permitted to take the oath of allegiance. "


On November 30, 1861, the first ominous dispatch left Greeneville, Tennessee. It was the first warning of the terror to come. It was from COLONEL D. LEADBETTER to Secretary of War Benjamin. It is shown here in its brief entirety:

HEADQUARTERS,
Greeneville, November 30, 1861

Hon. J. P. BENJAMIN, Secretary of War:

Two insurgents have to-day been tried for bridge-burning, found guilty and hanged.

D. LEADBETTER,

Colonel

That brief communication referred to JACOB MADISON HINSHAW, and HENRY FRY. Both men were hanged near the old depot in Greeneville, Tennessee, where their bodies were left on public display, hanging from a large tree, for many hours. Henry Fry left a widow and five children, and Jacob Madison Hinshaw left a widow and young son less than two years old.

On the same day, COLONEL LEADBETTTER published a "PROCLAMATlON" addressed " TO THE CITIZENS OF EAST TENNESSEE." The last paragraph very well summed up his attitude toward bridge-burners. It read: " Bridge-burners and destroyers of railroad tracks are excepted from among those pardonable. They will be tried by drum-head court-martial and hung on the spot. "Now, there seemed no question that the other men from "Pottertown" were doomed.

In a later communication from LEADBETTER to Benjamin, dated at Greeneville, on December 8, 1861, he briefly told of how the two men already executed, had been captured, "in the northern part of Greene toward Cocke County. "He named them as "Henry Fry, Jacob M. Hensie, (Jacob Madison Hinshaw) , and Hugh A. Self. " Leadbetter reiterated that " Fry and Hensie were tried by drum-head court-martial on the 30th ultimo and executed the same day by hanging. " Concerning the fate of Hugh A. Self, Leadbetter rather grudgingly admitted that " He is only sixteen years old not very intelligent and was led away on that occasion by his father and elder brother both of whom I learn have now been captured by General Carroll's troops. "

On December 10, 1861, another terse dispatch left Knoxville for Secretary of War, Benjamin. It was from GENERAL WM. H. CARROLL. It concerned the fate of C.A.HAUN, and is shown here in full:

KNOXVILLE, December 10, 1861

Hon. SECRETARY OF WAR:
The court-martial has sentenced A. C.. Haun ( Christopher Alexander Haun), bridgeburner, to be hung. Sentence approved. Ordered To be executed at 12 o'clock tomorrow. Requires the approval of the President. Please telegraph.
WM. H. CARROLL
Brigadier-General Commanding


Secretary of War, J. P. BENJAMIN, replied the same day, as follows:


RICHMOND, December 10, 1861
General W. H. CARROLL, Knoxville:
Execute the sentence of your court-martial on the bridge-burners. The law does not require any approval by the President, but he entirely approves my order to hang every bridge-burner you can catch and convict. "


CHRISTOPHER ALEXANDER HAUN, who left a pregnant wife and four young children, died on the gallows at Knoxville. His body was shipped home by railway for burial. The United States flag which covered his coffin, has been preserved by family members for thirteen and one-half decades. It is now in shreds, but is still honored by his descendants.

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